The engagement - resolution?

And after all that drama...the Golf Course is completely booked anyways.
Go Figure.

The Engagement - Do whatever you want...

I'm exasperated.

Everyone keeps telling me to "do whatever I want", yet when I tell them what I want they make me feel bad as if I am just the other parties puppet to do with what they will.

ARGH!

It's so frustrating. What do I want? I want everyone to be happy - or at least pretend to be happy so that I can relax.

I'm not good at being selfish, at ignoring everyone close to me's feelings, wants and desires. Those things play a huge roll in my decision-making process, and for some reason no one's willing to give in and make me feel better, only give in and make me feel f*k*n guilty.

"Guilt is primarily an emotion experienced by people who believe they have done something wrong."
-Wikipedia

Seriously, I don't think I've done anything wrong and yet I'm so concerned for all of your feelings that I'm the one crying, racked with guilt because there is no possible way for me to make you all happy.

Shame on you!

The Engagement - The Family Argument

A good friend of mine is getting married this weekend and as such she has been planning her wedding for the past few months.  As I chatted away about my annoyances with wedding planning she told me that her experience and those of everyone she had talked to led to to one important piece of insight.

You will have at least one major fight with the family. 
It will happen.

It is inevitable.

You will figure it out & it will pass.

As I mentioned previously, one could say that my dad is mildly disappointed that I will not be having a large "do" for my wedding.  In fact I nixed the idea of having the wedding at his golf course before he had a chance to argue his point.  We don't even golf and we just aren't interested.

 

About a week after the initial discussion my mom approached me about possibly having lunch out rather than having it catered to the house...Now I'm sure you can see where this is leading.  They almost had me completely convinced that it would be no hassle to get everyone loaded up and to the golf course for pictures and food and that miraculously J and I would still have time for some serious mid-day relaxation.

 

After some chatting with J, friends and the like, I am not entirely convinced things will be so easy.  Nor am I convinced that I want the hassle.  The golf course is definitely beautiful &  I want my dad to have his glory, pride and excitement and of course the opportunity to show-off for his friends - but he pretty much has free reign with the Open House.

 

What to do...What to do?!
I guess it's probably time to head back over to Mom's for another chat...Wish me Luck - I know Dad's been on her back.

The Engagement - dress shopping

Now that we are officially getting married in just over 2 months, it is suddenly time to get a move on making it all happen. Of course one of the most important issues is the wedding dress. I wasn't particularly interested in getting a big poufy dress, but rather was hoping for something a little bit more hippy-casual. I was hoping for separates rather than a dress and just in general I just wanted to find something that suited my style.

So today, my mom, my sister-in-law and I headed out to wedding dress lane and proceeded to browse and peruse. We arrived at 10am, but it turns out that wedding dress shopping starts at 11am. No need to worry however, we didn't seem to have any trouble passing the time; we found some stationary to make the wedding invitations, and some great materials to make thank you cards. We found fabulous purses for my mom, and once she picks her outfit I'm fairly certain we will be back to buy her a matching purse.

We were back home by 1:30 and in that time, we accomplished A LOT. The first thing we found were the shoes (if you click the picture in the link you can see all different views) and as soon as I slipped them on my feet, I was an owner. They are beautiful, comfortable and will match anything.

We also found a dress, it's more traditional than I expected, but it suits my personality and style. Oh yes and did I mention it makes me look DAMN THIN!

I can't say too much more as J reads this too, and I don't want to spoil the surprise. Email me if you want more details, or maybe even a picture if your lucky.

Tags:/wedding dress shopping/

Spartina anglica

Work is great. I love my job.

Last week I spent three days roaming the local mudflats in search of Spartina anglica (English Cordgrass) an invasive, perennial, salt grass. Spartina is a threat to the biodiversity and productivity of our local estuary, due to their aggressive and opportunistic characteristics. Without any natural predators or disease, these plants quickly out-compete native mudflat species and can convert and entire area into a monotypic stand. Unfortunately, once this occurs it becomes nearly impossible to eradicate from an area.


Spartina
Originally uploaded by Dovekie.

Fortunately, Spartina was first found locally in 2003 and since then local groups (including the one I work for) have been working together to "nip it in the bud" so to speak.

Last week we walked the flats with handheld GPS units and mapped the location of Spartina clones, and in the coming months we will take to the flats and manually remove these weeds. The clumps larger than 3m will be removed using an excavator and buried far beneath the surface.

It's satisfying to know that the areas where these efforts were concentrated last year, showed very little re-growth.

It is possible - we CAN beat Spartina and I'm proud to be a part of it.

Tags: /Spartina/Spartina Busters/Invasive Species/Invasive/Stewardship/work/

The Engagement - admire my ring

Doesn't it just look perfect on my hand?!



This was less than half an hour after he put it there!

Lazy Food

Although close to comfort food, LAZY FOOD is not exactly the same thing in my books. You know when you get home and you are sooo tired that you consider not eating as a perfectly valid alternative to cooking? If you choose cooking, you probably pick lazy food.

Today was one of those days - I just couldn't get my ass in gear. Generally in these situations I will eat one of the following meals. I can't really say that any of them are my favourite, although I do tend to binge on one for a while and then switch to another and eat that on consecutive lazy days until it no longer feels like the enjoyment I get from the food outweighs the efforts of making it. At which point, there are always other alternatives.

• Ramen noodles with an egg-If you have never eaten this, I know it sounds a little gross, but MMMmmm it is DAMN good. Boil your water, throw in your noodles and sauce packet and when the water starts to boil again, crack an egg into the pot and stir it all up. Cook for a couple more minutes - throw in any leftover meat or veggies you may have on hand and enjoy. Delicious!


• Perogies and Cheese-Even if you don't have sour cream (although it is preferable) the enjoyment of the meal far outweighs the effort of boiling water and grating cheese. Once boiled, I always put a little butter atop those yummy potato morsels before smothering them with grated cheddar and sprinkling a bit of salt and pepper on top. Mmmm, perogies...*drool*


• Mac & Cheese-Seriously is it really possible not to love mac & cheese? Especially KD! I like it straight up plain with a bit of salt and pepper.

I bring this up because today I couldn't resist having a meal of mac & cheese at work (since fridge was grocery free I couldn't make a lunch) and then I returned home to a meal of ramen with an egg.

Two lazy foods in one day, I'm not sure whether to celebrate or hang my head...Nah, seriously it was a good day for food!

Tags:/lazy food/

The Engagement - Let the planning begin

So we have decided on a date:
Saturday September 2nd, 2006
That's right, THIS September. My dad is in shock, I think he was dreaming about a big golf club kind of wedding, but I have a sister and we often call her Princess, so he will get his chance. But other than that the families are happy for us and supportive of our ideas.

So here's what we are envisioning. A beautiful backyard wedding at my parents home with only our immediate family members present. It's not that we don't like our friends, but rather we refuse to invite some, but not all of you, and well if we invite all of you then we're no longer talking about a small wedding are we?

Following the short civil service, we will take some pictures and enjoy a catered lunch with those very important guests before escaping the excitement for a few hours.

After which we will re-convene in the backyard to have a fabulously relaxed and fun open house with lots of food, relaxing music and no obligation to come, go, or stay for any defined period of time. We're low key people and we want the celebration of our love to reflect who we are rather than follow someone else's traditions.

Although our backyard wedding will have much less to plan than a traditional big wedding, we have to cram all of our preparations into the next two and a half months...Something tells me it is going to be a very busy summer.

Tags: /wedding/engagement/backyard wedding/wedding planning/

The Proposal

The proposal, the engagement, marriage: some girls spend countless hours giggling, dreaming and fantasizing, but not me. I always knew that I would get married, that I would find "him" but I was no more interested in pursuing the elusive "him" than I was in studying math. I always cited a lack of imagination when asked questions about the future, but I now see that was never the problem it hand. In fact it wasn't a problem at all.

I've refused to create possibilities in my mind, I've refused to chase perfection, but instead have appreciated the offerings that my life has brought forth. In each moment there is inherent beauty, if only we embrace it, and my efforts have been fruitful.

The Proposal - Sheer Perfection

He's holding me so tight, he's whispering his love in my ear, the sun shines warm and bright overhead and all I see before me is an abundance of trees and nature. We often joke that J is 10 steps ahead of me, and this is no exception, as I process the beauty before me yet another beautiful moment is unfolding.

As we stand together at the edge of the ridge, he turns me slowly as he sinks to his knee and proposes, presenting me with a ring that catches in the sunlight and takes my breath away.

As I had never imagined and created my proposal in my mind, my response also lacked the energy and foresight of childhood dreams. Instead the simple "yes" that slipped from my lips was the purest form of love that we could possibly have hope for. And from the moment he proposed I have found myself reveling in the absolute perfection and beauty that I have found in our engagement - a sure sign of our future together.

Pictures & more to follow - I promise.

Tags:/proposal/engaged/romantic/

Bogey-man

I remember Bogey as a puppy; he had this teddy bear, with a purple bow around its neck, and he took him everywhere. He carried him gently in his mouth as he followed my mom around the house, he placed him in his bed when he went to sleep. And oh, how he cried when my mom put him in the wash. Bogey and his bear were absolutely adorable.

I remember Katie trying to get rid of Bogey - hoping she could make the little puppy everyone loved disappear. She snuck out of the house with Bogey in tow and then left him a few blocks away, while she ran home to her spot beside the ditch and acted like she knew nothing. She was always tricking Bogey; running into the back yard so that he would follow her, and then sneaking back in the house just as you shut the door. But still, she loved him, she kissed and cuddled him a lot in his last days - she will miss him dearly too.

I remember Ad trying to get him to act like a dog, trying to make him go for a run. But he was having none of that, two blocks and he was panting and ready to walk - you know how it is with dogs, if they want to walk, you walk.

Bogey is the first large pet that I remember from the day he came home, until the day he passed on. He's the first pet I've been old enough to remember through and through, and I promise I will never forget him. His loving nature and kind eyes, his soft-albeit oily-coat and the way the only thing in the world he wanted was to be touched and loved and paid attention to.

He was well loved and he had a happy life. He touched all our hearts, and will be with us forever. Here are just a few pictures of Bogey, mostly from just the other day, they make me sad, but it's ok, because it makes me realize how much I loved him.

May he rest in peace.


Bogey.ppt
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Tags:/loss/pet/dog/golden retriever/R.I.P./bogey/

1997 - 2006