Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Shopping up a Storm

Well, we've had a lot of fun in the past couple of weeks spending our wedding money! A lot of our friends and family gave us cash in lieu of difficult-to-transport gifts, so we decided that we would use it to buy many of the things on our Crate and Barrel Registry. So, we've got a pretty decently equipped kitchen now, and we got to replace a lot of our gathered-piecemeal-for-cheap-or-secondhand things.

Actually, I think that this was probably the single biggest shopping trip I have ever participated in. We took a look around the store, decided on the things we were going to get, and then just went up to the counter with our marked-up list and asked for everything. We ended up with five huge stuffed-to-the-brim shopping bags, and one large box of cookware. Needless to say it's been fun unpacking, organizing, and putting away everything. And I've been having a great time using all the supersharp knives, real mixing bowls, copper pots and pans, and nice dishes, flatware serving utensils, and cloth napkins. I'm also glad to have the correct tools to do things that I haven't been able to do in a while, like baking and so forth.

As for how we fared with Hurricane Katrina: we were on the northern edge of the hurricane-force winds and storm. Fortunately, unlike the usual scenario where the wost weather of a hurricane is concentrated in the north, Katrina's main force was on the south side. So while we ended up with lots of downed trees and no power for 55 hours, we had no flooding or structural damage and fared much better than those in Miami and parts south. And of course our experiences here don't begin to match those in Louisiana and the rest of the Gulf. So overall we are feeling pretty lucky right now!

Friday, August 19, 2005

We did it!

Well, as the timer at the top of the page says, we did it! We are officially married. I think things still haven't fully sunk in yet--sometimes I feel different, sometimes I don't.

Overall I don't think we could have asked for things to possibly go better than they did. The day was hot and sunny, and the backyard was lovely. The flowers that Hole's Greenhouses did for us were absolutely gorgeous, and the staff even included a complimentarly copy of Lois' book for me! The extra flowers we bought to decorate the outside tables, and the pots that my mom planted this year, looked great too.

We took photos with our families and attendants before the wedding. Our ceremony went off pretty much without at hitch. A lot of people have asked us about it and complimented us on it, so I'll put a link to it, as well as to photos and other items of interest, on the sidebar as soon as they're available. Our officiant was great, and in a nice stroke of luck a friend offered to lend her green robes and a wreath for her hair which were just perfect. I had been "vibrating", in my mom's words, for the entire day and night before as we made the last minute preparations, and I was very nervous as we walked down the aisle and began the ceremony. But, as Pam began to speak and call the directions, I took a deep breath or two, and everything felt right and fine.

It's interesting the things you don't notice when you are absorbed in the moment. Afterwards, people told me that just as the ceremony was beginning, one of our particularly noisy neighbors came outside just for a moment, shouted something, and then went back inside. I had no idea that it had happened at all--I just didn't hear it! Likewise, my mom mentioned later that Michael's father had been quite choked up during the ceremony, and though I was standing pretty much right in front of him I didn't notice!

Right after the ceremony, Farahnaz, our bellydancer, performed for about half an hour. She was wonderful, and everyone, even people who had been a bit...unsure about what it would be like beforehand enjoyed her dancing immensely. She got just about everyone at the party up to dance with her at some point, and some people (ahem...CRAIG...) performed quite enthusiastically!

Much of the reception after that is a blur for me, as I was busy with last minute food preparation, serving, and so forth. Sounds strange perhaps but it is what I wanted and expected to do, so it was all good for me. We had a variety of appetizers and finger foods, fruit and vegetables, and of course dessert! Mom and I had baked shortbread heart cookies, I made Mocha Layer Cake, and Mom made Cheesecake with Strawberries for Michael. We must have planned all right because we had plenty of leftovers.

All told it was over all too soon, even though the party went a little longer than originally planned. Strange to spend so much time thinking about, planning, and preparing for one day and then have it pass in such a flash. Everyone did seem to have a good time, and a couple of people said that it was the best wedding that they had ever been to, which was nice.

We arrived at the Union Bank Inn about 8 pm. The site doesn't have a picture of the bridal suite we chose, but we went for the one that was "rustic in décor, and offers warm earth tones, pine and slate accents, with a pair of pine rocking chairs to bundle up in." It was nice and cozy, with a gas fireplace, a jetted bathtub with a prop to hold books to read, and Aveda products for bath and body. We ate at the hotel's restaurant, Madison's Grill; I had the Black Cod and Michael had chicken. Breakfast the next morning was included with the room--the citrus french toast and smoked salmon eggs benedict was heavenly!

We left for Jasper about 11 that morning. We loved the cabin we stayed in, and spent our days hiking the trails and seeing the sights, and the evenings in front of our wood burning fireplace. I took a lot of photos with the digital camera Michael's mother and stepfather gave us for our wedding gift; a link to the album is on the sidebar. Naturally, the vacation also felt way too short and it was very hard for us to leave. It's the first chance we've had to have a vacation longer than a day or two to really recharge and pamper ourselves in a long, long time.

So, after a night at my parents' place and a night at Michael's mom's, we're back in Florida and trying to readjust to real life. We actually had a bit of a scare at Immigration--even though the agents I had talked to before we left Florida said that there would be no problems renewing my temporary work visa while being married to a dual national, the agents at the airport said that there was a problem with me applying for a status that did not allow dual intent when I had a claim to permanent residency through Michael's US citizenship. Fortunately, after making us sweat a few minutes, they did decide to grant me the TN status and let us enter. I think the fact that Michael was born and raised in Canada and had only been in the US for a relatively short time was a factor, as well as the fact that while we didn't have hard documentation, we could truly say that we had given notice to work, family and friends that were were planning to leave next year. This has always been my problem with the TN status--the rules and the laws around it are so "fuzzy" that each agent can interpret them differently and still be within bounds. Thankfully this is the last year we will have to do this!

Saturday, August 06, 2005

Wedding Day!

Today is the Big Day!! Even though the wedding blog timeline says *Just Married* we still have about five hours until the ceremony. We've been quite busy since arriving in Edmonton July 29. Wedding plans have gone fairly smoothly. Yesterday was the day of setting up the rental equipment and buying refreshments. I was worried that the 20x20 foot tent was not going to fit in the backyard comfortably. But it did! The delivery van came by at 8:45 am and Darcy's brother, her friend/maitron of honor Mike, and Darcy's brother helped me set up the tent. It looks great! We did more cleaning and preparing the yard and had the rehearsal and dinner last night. I've surprisingly not been too nervous until today. I've slept fairly well every night but just haven't got enough sleep. Poor Darcy has not slept well as has her mother. I slept five hours last night and did some yoga stretches this morning and walked just over a mile on the treadmill this morning.

Craig and I need to go to Hole's Greenhouse in St. Albert this morning to pick up flowers. Then we'll do a few errands en route to the Sharman's house and be there by 11 am to help out with things. The weather has been beautiful (25 celcius or 77 farenheit) and a light breeze. So this is our last entry before the wedding. Unfortunately today will go by much too quickly. We'll try to focus on the moment and remember this special day for the rest of our lives....