Three years

Today, we've been married for three years.

Last weekend Harry and I went out to sushi. While we waited for our food to arrive, we started reflecting on the random memories of our wedding day. I'm sad to say a lot of it is a blur, but I do have some memory nuggets stashed in my brain. Thank goodness for the wedding pictures or I would have forgotten a few things entirely.

A few random memory nuggets:

• The night before, Elizabeth gave me a lightning quick manicure and pedicure while I was still in my dress from the wedding dinner as we sat on the floor in the family room.
• I went for a 3 mile bike ride with my Dad first thing the morning of the wedding, and vaguely remember my Mom saying, "Are you sure you want to do that right now?! What if you fall and break your arm??!" Thankfully, no injuries were sustained, and I'm convinced that little bike ride gave me a shot of energy since I slept for (literally) 3 hours the night before from all the excitement.
• My Mom literally whipped up my hair-do that morning.  I had an idea of what I wanted and was trying to do it on myself, but it wasn't looking so great, so she pulled up a chair and went to work on my hair and that is what came out.  I don't know how she read my mind.
• Before I left the house to go to the temple with my parents, my sisters dog piled me and gave me huge hugs.
• During the wedding ceremony, I remember a few things really clearly: one was looking behind Harry and seeing family and friends beaming these enormous smiles. I kept thinking maybe they'd stop smiling so big after a minute, but they were just smiling so wide at me the whole time. Then I'd look at Harry and he just looked really happy and as cool as a cucumber.
• I remember after we took pictures on the temple grounds and said we'd meet our photographer on Balboa Island for some more pictures, we got into Harry's car, and before he started the car, we just looked at each other for a second and were like, "So, we're married now!" It was a mixture of shock and glee.
• Walking around Balboa Island with Harry taking pictures and feeling so so lucky that I married him. The weather was warm but breezy and it was nice to just hang out with him, just the two of us, since we had only seen each other once every two weeks the summer we were engaged.
• Dancing with Harry at the reception, and then cutting a rug with Becca and the rest of the cousins, and then Dan getting on the microphone and saying, "We're gonna slow it down now.  This next song is for all you lovebirds out there."  I wish I could remember the song that came next.
• My Dad playing the bagpipes.  I'm told that after Harry and I left, he broke out his steel guitar too and he and cousin James entertained everyone with some blues songs.
• Tiffany going out to my car to get my clothes so I could change out of my wedding dress at the end of the night, and leaving a huge gift basket of food and drinks and some other goodies for us from all our friends. That basket saved my life since I didn't get a chance to eat more than a few bites that night.

I feel terrible that Harry is on day 2 of the 3-day Bar exam right now.  From what I can tell, this whole Bar experience can be likened to running a marathon while giving a piggy back ride to a mid-size sedan and reciting the periodic table of elements.  Oh, and the marathon takes place somewhere along the equator.   And it's monsoon season.

He's been a real trouper, and there's just one more day of all of this until he can have his life back.

So tonight it's filet mignon and smashed potatoes and steamed broccoli and a strawberry-celery smoothie and a chocolate croissant for dessert.  And I will swallow all my misgivings about shows having to do with extra-terrestrials and say, "Hey, I'd love it if we could watch some X-Files reruns tonight."

A little ditty, for all you lovebirds out there.

My best friend's wedding, and "Oh no, I've become one of those people."

She did it!

Meet Arturo and Rebecca, married couple extraordinaire!

I love this girl.  We are two weeks apart, cousins, former roommates, and partners in crime. Harry and I flew up to Salt Lake for her wedding this past weekend, and it was sublime. Family everywhere, babies everywhere, and the euphoria of a newly minted married couple in all kinds of love. And I realized, as I wiped tears away at the ceremony, after the ceremony, at the beginning of the reception, and at the end of the reception, I have turned into one of those people-- the type of person who, you know, cries uncontrollably at weddings.

Being in Utah reminds me of all of our hijinks, and all the fun we had doing them, and reminded me that we're both now bonafide adults, and now there are officially bigger responsibilities in both of our lives that must come before weekends of silliness with bridge mix and BBC.

Maybe that explains why I felt so compelled to hold her hand.

She married one of the coolest guys I've ever met (seriously), and they make a super snazzy duo.

Throw into the mix a wild dance party in Sundance, including the stylings of Justin Bieber and Bruce Springstein, and cutting a rug with all the McOmber clan, and it made for an unforgettable party. My bro played the bag pipes and my even Dad jumped in when someone awesome randomly started the Electric Slide.

The next morning, bright and early, Harry and I groggily made our way to our gate at the SLC airport.  We were settling in to wait to board our flight, when I heard a loud, "WHAT?"  I look up, and there stood Rebecca!  They were flying out ten minutes after us.

Harry, almost on cue, started snapping pictures of the random reunion with my phone.

Cheesy alert: This was such a nice tender mercy for me.  I really really love this gal.  Getting to see her one last time before we flew home made my day.  For five minutes we got to visit, revel in how wonderful the wedding day was, and just laugh like old times.  Thank goodness families are forever, or I would have a serious bone to pick in the afterlife.

Loved this weekend.  LOVED it.

P.S. And also, cousin Margaret, just knowing that you read this blog, and that you're probably one of the 4 people who actually do, makes me so happy. And also, thank you for all those times you invited me and Merzy over to watch LOST and eat sugar cookies when I was 18. I really loved that.

Two.

It blows my mind that it's been two years since this happened.





He's my favorite thing.

If you had told me four years ago I would soon date, then marry, a man who



will get on a horse and feel comfortable taking off at top speed within two minutes,



understands the necessity of beating "Beatles: Rockband" in one evening,



can (almost) make faces as dumb as I can,



can read my very thoughts when I'm craving a dark chocolate bordeaux,



and can look like Eminem simply by putting on some camo and a hoodie,

I simply wouldn't have believed you, would have slapped you right across the face, and said, "Don't tell me things that are too good to be true!"

But you would have been right, and I would have had to apologize for the slap, and hope that you didn't want to press charges.

Happy two years to us.

If only

Weekend of love

This last weekend, Hal's brother Dan got hitched!



Dan and Aja (Danja, for those of you who are prone to abbreviation) had one of the most beautiful wedding ceremonies I've ever attended. I wanted to take video of the whole weekend and edit it together later. But then I remembered that when you're hanging out with family and catching up with people you rarely get to see, taking video falls by the wayside.

The wedding was beautiful. Aja is an incredible woman. I love it when you meet a couple and know that they were made for each other. My amazing SIL snapped some shots of the beautiful couple. She snaps a lot of amazing photos. For a few shots of the beautiful wedding day, go here. To see more of her amazing photos, mosey on over here.

Mazel tov to the happy couple!

I even made myself a skirt for the occasion! With the help of my Mom, I put together this little diddy two days before. It was a quick and simple design, and was done without a pattern! Here's a photo booth shot of my outfit- sent to my mom for her omnicient-seamstress-approval.



Not nearly the most amazing skirt I've ever worn, but I really enjoyed it! I'm getting the itch all over again to sew more clothing.

Lastly, the day after the wedding I snuck away to my sister E's house to see her newest addition to the family. Baby I is so adorable! He's sweet and quiet and little, and let me hold him from the minute I walked in the door.



All in all, I recommend a weekend like this.

Published!

Not me, my good friend Kylie Nixon.

Kylie was our amazing wedding photographer. A low maintenance, creative, inventive, and genius girl.

She recently emailed me to tell me that one of the pictures she took from our wedding has landed a spot in a book that was just put out by theknot.com. The picture is on the right- me and 3 bridesmaids in yellow holding our flowers.



Love this girl.

In other interesting news, the moment Harry woke up this morning, he looked at me and said, "Is it too late to move to the suburbs and start a musical group with five kids known as the Jacksons?"

This was followed by a lengthy pause.

I love that man.

Oranges and (f)unemployment

Nothing makes my day quite like a cold, juicy, tart orange.

I needed a really quick energy boost at work today, and there were no 5-hour Energy drinks around (or as Jerry Seinfeld calls them, "meth lab hawaiian punch jello shots"***), and realized I had a plump, pulpy orange sitting patiently in my lunch bag in the fridge.

So I tore into it and ate it in probably less than five minutes (necessary peeling time inclusive).

And then I realized that this is one of the last times I will be doing this, this being chomping an orange in my desk chair, because very very soon, I will be not-so-gainfully-unemployed, or as I like to call it, “(f)unemployed.” Yep, the start-up I have been working for since we moved here about 1.5 years ago is calling it quits.

It’s sad to see everyone go their separate ways, especially when we had such a good thing going here. Gripes about obligations to retrieve food/coffee daily aside, I’m very lucky and happy that I had this job, the people I worked with were a lot of fun, and I learned some important things.

I have an odd mixture of emotions, but mostly I’m just excited to dive into something new. I’m already doing my best to get back into the work force, but I have a secret volcano of happiness erupting in my wee heart at the prospect of not setting an alarm next week.

Sidenote: Dare I say it? I still wish I were in graduate school, with a little more direction/inspiration. Especially since, you know, I live on a campus, surrounded by people with tuition bills and, yes, direction/inspiration. But as Harry says when he’s in a lovingly snarky mood, “Patience, my pet, patience.”


*** I don’t actually drink 5 Hour Energy, though I am regularly irritated by their remarkably mediocre commercials when I’m trying to watch “Parks and Recreation” on Hulu.


PS Today I've been married for 1.5 years. It's been good to me. Probably because Hal has been so good to me.

Nice day for a white wedding

A little over a week ago, the loverly wedding nuptials of my cousin James and his magnificent bride Adrienne took place. It's so nice when weddings happen in your neighborhood, and you don't have to fly anywhere. Especially when the neighborhood you happen to live in can boast some very beautiful and scenic places in which to have a wedding.

I tried (REALLY tried) to get pictures on my own. When I forgot my camera (typical), I took a few with Harry's iPhone.


Adrienne is what I like to call a bombshell. James, too.


(Dad and Uncle Robert pontificating on Hiroshima, or something while we wait for the couple)

Friends of my mother came up to us at the wedding reception and told me how my mother and I could be twins ("I mean really, just put your long hair on your mother and I can't tell you two apart!"). I'm always happy to hear that. She's a classy broad.

This past weekend, we saw the fulfillment of my birthday present come to pass in the form of a concert. We drove to Berkeley (aaaaaaand boy am I glad that we live in Palo Alto. I'm just SAYING) and saw Ray LaMontagne and David Gray in concert.



See them if you ever get a chance, that is unless you don't like getting your MIND BLOWN.

Ray LaMontagne and his band were tighter than a band of newsies (I realize the heresy of this statement). I couldn't take my eyes off them all, especially the drummer who not only looked like his arms were actually snappy sticks of rubber, but looked a good deal like James Lipton from "Inside the Actor's Studio."

Ray was smoky and husky (he doesn't come in any other flavor) and dare I admit that I became a little emotional during "Let it Be Me?"



And then there was David. He brings new meaning to the word "jig." He bounced around and rattled his head in between lyrics and punched the air and his voice was entirely inexhaustible, and from a distance looked like a younger Phil Collins. And what, my friends, is not to love about that?







I breathed a sigh of relief when he finally played "Shine" as an encore. Really, sometimes I have a beef with encores... we all know when David Gray walks off the stage that the crowd will put up a stink for at least one more song until he comes back out. Yet we will have to wait and scream for it. I heard that Guster once said in concert, "Well, that was our set, but we have a feeling when we walk offstage, we'll be prompted to come back for an encore, so how about we play three more songs right now?" THAT is my style of encore. Just give me what I want and don't make me wait.

Can you imagine how I handled waiting for Christmas as a child?

And for the 100th post,

I will blog about something that is neither groundbreaking nor scintillating, but something about which I can finally breathe easy.

At long last, these bad boys



ARE FINALLY DONE.

Technically our thank you notes were done minutes before our 1 year anniversary which was my goal, though a much more worthy goal would have been to send them out some time in 2009. Thankfully, now they are all at last safely tucked away in our mailbox, in the mailman's truck, or in your mailbox. If you didn't/don't get yours, it can only mean one of the USPS workers between your house and ours has failed us, and we can blame the post office, and thereby blame the government, which is easy to do for lots of things these days.

In other news, Las Vegas has been hot, dry, and wonderful. While it's still debatable as to where we will spend the remainder of our earthly days, I do love a good extended jaunt in Vegas, especially over our anniversary. On said anniversary, we ate at Grimaldi's Pizza and toodled on down to Town Square to see "Knight and Day." I snuck in some Yogurtland and shared it with Harry, who was a most sexy and romantic date even though he caught a ferocious (ahem, MAC'S) cold.



Sweet red peppers, ham, and fresh tomatoes.



At the movie theater.

And, that's all.

And, it's 11:30 in the morning and I'm still in my pajamas. Please excuse me while I go put on real adult clothes like a real adult.

But don't ask me to eat real adult food, because I am sooo having Captain Crunch for breakfast.

Can you smell it?

Love is in the air.

Two days ago my sister and her main squeeze tied the proverbial knot. Want to see how glorious it was? If you don’t, now is your last chance to look away. But you wouldn’t look away because if you did I’d have to say, hey, you have a beef with happiness? Then go read another blog, yo.

It had been raining all kinds of canines and felines for days on end, but Saturday dawned without a descending droplet to be found.

Perks to being a bridesmaid: Maximum merrymaking, minimum responsibility.

This is the first wedding I’ve attended since my wedding day. And while that day is still the reigning best day of my life, this day was a touch more relaxing. Harry and I were amazed at how nice it was to eat food and occasionally sit down and be available to run errands and wrap caramels in black and white paper. We got to eat fish tacos and drink unlimited Fanta at Rubio’s and we swung by Rite Aid for some Chocolate Malted Krunch. It was, in a word, groovy.

That said, the best part of the day was seeing my sister as happy as I’ve ever seen her. And she’s already a rather plucky and giggly pixie doodle. Were it possible, I would have Elvis Costello’s “She” playing in the background while you peruse the pictures above to capture how fabulously glam and genuinely stunning the bride really was/is.

Another best part: getting to party and cut a rug with these babes.

And these babes.

(and other babes that aren't yet pictured-- I can only steal pictures from so many other people at a time!)

I am so grateful for my delicious family. We’re all hardwired to adore/admire/get a big kick out of each other without having to do much else than be within earshot of one another, which I think is a good thing to be hardwired to do.

And now. On a slightly more narcissistic note (well, this blog is 50% about ME, isn’t it?):

Six months ago today I got married to

and ever since I can’t help but feel like I got the better end of the deal.

I was already pretty pleased with life before I hitched my wagon to his. I'm still pleased, with a heaping helping of thrilled mixed in.

I’m not someone who adjusts very quickly to small life changes, let alone gargantuan ones. I battled with nostalgia for weeks when “The Wonder Years” ended. I cried for days in 4^th grade when my parents decided to get wood floors and adios the carpet. And I had a nuclear meltdown at age 6 when my parents had the tree in our front yard removed because the roots were destroying the pavement (“Mom! That tree was my LIFE!”).

Thus, it’s more than extremely fortunate for me that the man I spend all my free time with is someone I’ve felt completely at home with since we started this whole shenanigan in September 2007.

I love my Harry. And I think we’re in for more rip roaring good time for the next ∞.

Some Status Quos

Our apartment is currently lemony fresh because we:

We are jumping up and down because in one week we are getting on one of these
And going to one of THESE!!
Until then we are often found doing this
and watching what Harry got me hooked on
as well as what I'm pretty sure I got him hooked on (and yes, I am ashamed of myself)
I loved/teared up/couldn't put down/finally finished
And now want to, with reckless abandon, dive into
Harry just made one of these and it's making me drool like a Pavlovian pup
And last but not least, one of these is not growing inside of Sarah.

Next time I may post actual pictures of us.