Friday, February 26, 2010

Briefly Powerless

My apologies for a slow posting schedule this week. In the early part of the week, I had no real excuse - I was just remarkably busy, with lots of driving to and fro.

However, the end of the week had a better excuse. We lost power last night during the windstorm. Highest recorded wind in the state? 91 mph. Where? Right here in Portsmouth. Does that count as a good excuse? We got it back tonight, while making supper by candlelight. We're lucky, though. Estimates say that around 60% of the city went dark in the last day or so and city officials don't expect power to be restored for a few days yet.

However, my time of powerlessness is ended. Expect a better blogging schedule next week. ;)

Friday, February 19, 2010

Old-School Songs, Son

I have no idea what made me think of this. When I was a kid, my grandmother used to play some old songs on the record player and we'd dance around the living room. She loved Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra, so we got a lot of that, but I really remember the more obscure songs.

So, at the risk of doing two music posts in two days, here are some of the wonderful, totally random old songs that always remind me of my grandmother:

Mack the Knife, sung here by Bobby Darrin



Sixteen Tons



And that classic silly song, One-eyed One-horned Flying Purple People Eater

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Non-traditional Ceremony Songs

In some ways, ours will be a traditional wedding. We are getting married in a religious ceremony in a church, I am wearing a white (well, ivory) dress, etc. etc.

In some ways, though, we are most assuredly not. The groom and his male attendants will be sporting Chucks, Justin's female friend is serving as "groomswoman," etc. etc. When it comes to ceremony music, I'm leaning more towards the non-traditional side of the scale. "The Wedding March" and "Pachelbel's Canon" are all well & good, but they're far from original. And in the end, what should our wedding be if not original and our own?

So, here are my thoughts at present. These may easily change before June, but I'm happy with them for now.

Processional for ring bearers, flower girl, and bridesmaids: "All You Need is Love." I dearly love the trumpets in the beginning and it's a good length (I think) for everyone to get down the aisle before we change over to my song. And come on - it's the Beatles! Telling us all we need is love! It's perfect.


Our recessional song will be "Sunny Side of the Street" by The Pogues. Justin introduced me to The Pogues when we started dating. A lot of their stuff is . . . well, perhaps inappropriate for a church is the right way to say it. However, this song is lovely, happy, and upbeat and I see it as a wonderful celebration of being announced husband & wife!


Now, the bridal processional has been a bit trickier. I want a song that's dramatic without being pretentious, classic without being boring, and appropriate without being dry as toast. All in the first 30-60 seconds. ;)

Here are the current contenders:

"On the Sunny Side of the Street," by Louis Armstrong:


"Suffragette City" or "Rebel, Rebel," both by David Bowie



And the current top contender - "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire. It's been used a lot lately (in the trailer for "Where the Wild Things Are, on recent NFL commercials), but I really like it and especially like the first 30 or 40 seconds, which is all we'll probably end up using.


Anyone have any thoughts/suggestions/questions?

(cross-posted at Wer Ond Wif, OBVIOUSLY)

Monday, February 15, 2010

V-Day Goodies

Lest you think that my sweetums didn't get me anything for V-day (since I didn't mention it yesterday), here are my presents!

Hydrangeas, both for viewing and for playing with (they're the wedding flowers, so I have all kinds of sample projects planned!)

My beautiful wildflower bouquet - all the flowers selected by Justin

A very yummy Sunday brunch, complete with scrambled eggs,
cottage bacon, and vanilla-and-molasses pancakes!

And our main present to each other was a leisurely dinner at Ristorante Massimo, an old-school, upscale, but wonderfully charming restaurant on Penhallow Street in Portsmouth. :)

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to one & all, in honor of my parents. Next Wednesday, my parents will be celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. This year, Valentine's and their anniversary are a little tough to celebrate, as my mother had hip surgery two days ago. Not that they're not going to recognize the occasions - Dad is bringing a Valentine's surprise to the hospital later today and they're planning to get Chinese for their anniversary to avoid cooking - but it's not ideal.

However, their relationship is one of the loving, committed ones I was blessed to grow up around. After thirty years, two daughters, two sons-in-law (well, almost), two grandsons, and the loss of three parents, it's easy to see how very much they still love each other and how important they are to each other. On Superbowl Sunday, they were sitting at one end of the couch at their friends' house, tickling each other. At 53!!! And I thought to myself, "If Justin and I can be like that at their age, we'll be very lucky indeed." Love you, Mum & Dad!

(cross-posted at Wer Ond Wif, of course. Marriage is the most important part of having a wedding!)

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Catching Up

Today was . . . slower than usual. In a good way.

I've been really busy the last few weeks. If I wasn't working or driving somewhere, I was meeting with a vendor for the wedding or spending my evenings emailing said vendors. I needed a bit of a break.

After an early morning (had a training meeting for work at 8am), I was home and done with the day's work around noon. I was supposed to work at my job in Massachusetts this afternoon, but my boss called me to tell me to stay home due to the snow. Justin got home at 1, we had lunch, and then peace settled over the apartment.

For the last three hours, he's been doing schoolwork at the kitchen table and I've been stretched out on the couch, catching up on the last 3½ months over at Cold Antler Farm. The lights are on, making the apartment warm & cozy, but we've left the blinds open to watch the snow and welcome the last of the daylight. Just now, we got hungry, so we ate some mixed nuts and made some tea (blueberry for me, white tea for him).

Sometimes, you just need a little time to rest and remember that while the world can be a stressful place, it can also be a good place.

Saturday, February 06, 2010

Finally - Birthday Pics!

Dear reader, I lied. As you may have noticed, I did not post photos of the boys' birthday party yesterday. For that, I most sincerely apologize. I'm sure the five people who regularly tune in were heartbroken. ;)

So without further ado, the 2nd and 4th birthdays of Things 1 and 2 were celebrated last Sunday and here is a selection of party photos!

The slightly sweaty boyos enjoying their cupcakes
(this was towards the end of the party)

My littlest love, cheesin' for Auntie

Uncle Justin tossing Thing 1 into the ether

Thing 1's not sure he wants to share his castle,
even with his buddy J. (my friend's son)

This little monkey has monkey arms. That is all.

My sister took some great photos, as well. I'd lie again and say I'll post them, but we all know what will actually happen . . .

Thursday, February 04, 2010

They're Boys Not Books :)

Sorry I haven't posted pics of the boys' birthday party just yet. We've been having some money troubles this month and I've been stressed about that all week.

However, I'm trying to focus on the good things and this picture my sister sent me tonight helped! Promise to post the other pics tomorrow.