Wedding Planning

I'd forgotten how much fun it is to plan a wedding. As I've mentioned before, Melissa is finally engaged, so she and I have spent some time recently doing wedding "stuff." Last week, we went to a dress shop and she found the perfect dress. Simple, elegant, truly the perfect dress for her!

Then over the weekend, there was a "wedding expo" of sorts in Snohomish where various venues were staged and featuring several wedding vendors from Snohomish.

Now Ryan would be content with a reception in the gymnasium of one of our church buildings. BUT, Missi is a princess (shouldn't he know this by now?) so having a reception in a gym with basketball hoops overhead and court lines on the floor is not her style. Convenient, large enough, kitchen access, and the right price, yes - but a gym is no place for a reception for this princess!

So, the hunt is still on for the perfect place for the reception. Of course the wedding location is not an issue - that will happen at the Seattle LDS Temple. It's just a matter of figuring out where to send people after the wedding! :) Luckily, they have an appointment at another place this week and we're all keeping our fingers crossed that that price, resources, size, and availability will be right!

Dress - check!
Photographer - check!
Wedding favors - check (well, in theory)!
Caterer - check!
Venue - almost there...
Wedding cake - pretty darn close...

Now there are just the small matters of registering, bridal showers, invitations, tuxes, flowers, food decisions, bridesmaid dresses, and the list goes on and on! Wow, so many things to do...so little time! The timer is set and ticking away on the preparation for this September wedding!!

Vancouver, B.C. Temple

Eddie and I took a day off a couple of weeks ago and headed up to Vancouver, B.C. to attend the open house for the new temple. We couldn't have asked for a better day! Not only was the sun shining, but the lines to get across the border were short and there was no line at the temple. We'd heard from others that lines on the weekends were horrific, so Thursday was a good day to go.

The temple is beautiful! With every temple, they try to weave some of the local culture into the temple. In this case, the dogwood is the B.C. provincial flower so many of the carvings and etchings and even the landscaping contained bits of the dogwood flower influence.

As we were walking up to the temple, they asked us to put on these white shoe covers to protect the carpeting inside the temple. We did so and headed inside where our tour began. Now being temple worker ourselves in the Seattle Temple, we were very interested to see and hear the reactions and comments from those in our group who were not members of the Church. They had some great questions. Everything from what goes on inside the temple to wondering if members get to come back over and over again. Since we consider the temple a sacred place, there are those who tend to think that we are being secretive. Not true - we just hold those covenants so sacred that to speak carelessly about them would be irreverent and disrespectful.
After the tour, we were invited to walk over to the church building across the parking lot where they had big displays set up to help answer questions and offer more information to visitors. What a great reason to take a day off and head up to Canada!

Before we left, we took lots of pictures of the temple,

the temple grounds,

and even a picture of us in front of the temple...

Of course, after we took the picture, we remembered why it's just better to ask others for help (thank goodness for digital cameras!).

Before we could cross the border though, we had to stop in at a drug store. While neither Eddie nor myself can take them, we have a friend who was in such dire need of a "Canada run" that we stopped in to pick up some Tylenol w/Codeine (because we can't get that here in the U.S.). So, I asked the pharmacist how many I'm allowed to take back across the border and purchased what I could.

Now, I have another friend who loves Kinder Eggs, something else you can't get in the U.S. So after stopping at the pharmacy counter I went to the candy section to find Kinder Eggs and ended up with 5 Kinder Eggs, and other "Canadian candy" - a Bueno bar, Aero bar, Wunderbar, and a puffy Kit Kat (puffy because it didn't look like the kind of Kit Kat I'm used to, and it had some cream filling at the top that tasted like hazelnuts).

Ok, so I walked up to the check out counter with my Tylenol in one hand (already paid for that) and 9 pieces of candy in the other hand. The checker gave me a somewhat strange look given what I was buying, until I explained that I needed to buy all of this candy because we can't get it in the U.S. That seemed ok and the raised eyebrow look I initially got from her disappeared and she was very friendly - even gave me a reusable shopping bag for free! :)

Now, with my treasures in tote, got back to the car, got that same raised eyebrow look from Ed when he saw how much candy I bought (until I explained to him that it's not all for us), and we were headed home. The line at the border moved pretty quickly, only waited about 15 minutes, but I was nervous. I sat there the whole time thinking, "Do I tell them I even bought the Tylenol? What do I say?" We got up to the border booth, she took our passports, asked why we were there - Temple open house, asked how long we were there - 3 hours, asked if we brought anything back with us - candy and Tylenol. Yup, just candy and Tylenol. Nothing - no reaction, no startled look, no eyebrows raised, no desire to search the car - huh, that was easy.

What a beautiful day!

(By the way, Sarah, the Kinder Eggs are on their way! ;)

MISSI IS ENGAGED...

...FINALLY!!!!

(ok, it's an older picture, but a good one!)

NATS

Every year I get the opportunity to participate in a vocal adjudication. This is an opportunity to receive feedback from other vocal instructors/coaches and even has a competitive element to it. Why is it called NATS, you ask? Well, it's an acronym that stands for National Association of Teachers of Singing. My voice teacher is a member of the Puget Sound Chapter, thus I get to participate.

This year, I was in a brand new category, again with my sister. Last year, I needed to learn three pieces but this year was a bit tougher - four pieces. One had to be an aria (Italian - check), the others were to be art songs, only one could be in English, and the others had to be different languages (French, German, English - check, check, check).

Now last year, I met with my accompanist several times. We had our timing down! We practiced, we cut interludes, we sped up songs - anything we could do to get my three songs introduced and performed in 10 minutes or less. This year? Well, new category = 15 minutes for the four songs. Piece of cake, right? Ha ha ha - here's where the major praise of my accompanist comes into the equation. I think we practiced twice prior to the day of the adjudication and one of those practices was during my voice lesson where my voice teacher grew very visibly more and more nervous with each piece we rehearsed for her. Why? Well, I didn't know the words to my songs yet (no biggie, when in doubt, make up new words - it's always worked before... :), I had just changed the key on one of my songs and just barely given the music to my accompanist (whoops) AND, since we can only use original music for the adjudication (they do check the music), I hadn't yet given my accompanist the book for one of my pieces, just a copy. She'd need to read from the book during the actual performance (yikes). Hmmm...things weren't looking good!

Have I mentioned yet that my accompanist is so fantastic? Yeah - she's phenomenal! If I were in her shoes, I'd have thrown a book at me by this time! (Thanks, Chari!!)

Ok, so the day of the adjudication arrives, it was a Saturday so I had worked at the Seattle Temple that morning (at the way-too-early-for-a-weekend-to-start time of 5am). Needless to say, I was a bit tired when it came time to sing. By all rights, I should have flopped this adjudication. Yes, I had practiced at home, but I was still so painfully far away from polishing these pieces, in my opinion, there's no way I should have been able to pull this off. You know though, I'm absolutely confident in the power of prayer because that was the calm that allowed me to be able to recall those words. Were there some minor mistakes, sure, but in the end things went great!

Take a listen if you want - if you hear mistakes, I blame the camera! :)

Remember how I said there was a competitive element to this? Well, I was awarded 1st Place in my category again this year (YAY!!) and Missi was awarded 2nd Place (yay Missi!!!)!!

Isn't singing fun?!

One Crazy March

Here we are, it's March 18th, and this has to be one of the craziest months for our family! Why, you ask? Well, here's a taste of our month:

• 
  
  I got REALLY sick with the flu - sick enough that we contemplated the ER but settled for the walk-in clinic.
• 
  
  The temple opened back up after its two-week closure. This is a good thing, but means we're back to early mornings on Saturdays (you know, 3:30AM early...).
• 
  
  Eddie and I went to the 3A High School Basketball Championships in Tacoma for 4 days. Eddie was there more than I was because he needed to take photos. I was there for a few games and helped in uploading pictures and writing some of the stories. Check it out at http://www.nwsnews.com/.
• 
  
  This last Sunday was our friend, Kylie's birthday. After racking our brains on what to get her, we decided on pre-ordering New Moon for her. I helped Kylie's mom in getting her cake ready and was able to help just a bit in the dinner prep.
• 
  
  I've gotten back into Family History work building her family tree on Ancestry.com and even e-mailing a distant cousin on my dad's side who lives in OLYMPIA! That's huge! My dad was an only child so most of his family now consists of cousins I've never met because they live in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and North Carolina. Next step, mini-family reunion to meet this cousin!
• 
  
  Seminary - I love teaching, so when I was asked to substtute for a week, I jumped at the chance. However, it's only when the time actually arrives that I remember how early Seminary actually is...I have been dragging this whole week but again, I love teaching. Even took them some cinnamon rolls with green icing for St. Patrick's Day yesterday!
• 
  
  Speaking of yesterday - it was my birthday!!! Yup, I'm not to the point of hating/fearing my birthday (if age is all in the mind, I turned 40 YEARS ago) but I'm past the point of being giddy about it. Started the day with Seminary, went to work for a bit, then decided, "it's my birthday, I'm taking the afternoon off!!!" When I got home, the Relief Society President dropped by with a card and we visited for a while - she is so great! Then Eddie came home and brought me some beautiful flowers and presents! We went to a family dinner at The Cheesecake Factory - so happy, my aunt Lois came to dinner too! I ordered my favorite - the Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps. They're technically an appetizer, but what the heck, they're so good. For appetizers though we did have pot stickers and corn fritters. Can you believe they don't serve honey-butter there? I had to ask for some honey, butter, and a little dish and just made my own. YUMMY!! My mom suggested that we each get a piece of cheesecake for my birthday dessert - a great idea. I got the Key Lime Cheesecake, but was so full from dinner that the cheesecake is still in my fridge...mmmm! I think I need to learn to make Key Lime Cheesecake. Ok, then we went to my mom's and I opened some presents from my family and headed home because again, Seminary comes pretty darn early in the morning!
• 
  
  This weekend, working in the temple and we get to attend a family sealing of some friends in our ward!
• 
  
  Immediately following the temple, I have Stamp Camp. Now, I'm sure to some people that sounds dorky. Not so - I love crafty things. The hardest part for me is coming up with the ideas, not the actual crafting process so to go somewhere, spend time with my sister and with friends, be able to create something so cute - that's a great day!
• 
  
  After Stamp Camp it's off to Kylie's birthday party. This will be so fun, we are going to the IMAX theatre in Seattle to see "Alice in Wonderland." What will Eddie do without me all day?
• 
  
  Sunday - hmmm, Mia Maid Presidency Meeting, BYC, Church (playing the organ AND teaching YW), choir, Girls Camp Meeting, YW Presidency Meeting - I thought this was supposed to be a day of rest?
• 
  
  Next week - I have a vocal adjudication. AGHHHH!! I don't have my pieces memorized yet! One is a huge aria from La Cenerentola, then there's a German piece (why do I have such a difficult time memorizing this language? Pronouncing it - not the issue), there's a French piece (opposite problem here; no worries memorizing but pronouncing the French? Ugh!), and an English piece - not my favorite.
• 
  
  Since Eddie and I are a photographer/reviewer team for high school drama performances, we get to attend the local high school performances for free with our press passes. Those pics and reviews get posted to http://www.nwtnews.org/ and the next show for us will be, "The Wedding Singer," at Lynnwood High School sometime next week :)
• 
  
  Then we get to go to General Conference at the end of the month - very exciting!
• 
  
  Did I mention how much follow up is required every time Eddie goes to a high school event to photograph? He spends hours touching up and posting photos! Add his job hunting and church calling to that and he's a busy guy!!

March - in like a lion, out like a lamb? I don't think so - it's like a big ferocious jungle in here!!! Can March be over yet? Sleep? Who needs sleep?

Just imagine our schedule/life when we have kids - yup, still trying to adopt! We welcome any/all prayers on our behalf for miracles! :)

The Seven Year Itch

Today is mine and Eddie's 7-year Anniversary!!! As we've told people this, they kind of smile and mutter something about a "seven-year itch." What that heck is that? Ok, so I did some looking online, and while I don't consider Wikipedia the best source, it was somewhat informational. I guess the phrase originally came truly from an infection that caused skin irritation (itching) and lasted for seven years. The phrase evolved over time and is most notable from a 1955 movie titled, "The Seven Year Itch," in which the main character works for a company about to publish a book that suggests that many men have extra-marital affairs after seven years of marriage.

Voila! This supposed urge for infidelity after seven years of marriage is the meaning now commonly understood from the phrase. Of course, as I'm reading, it seems that the phrase has evolved to refer to the desire to move on from any situation.

Here's a piece of trivia for you; the movie, "The Seven Year Itch," is where we get the most famous image of Marilyn Monroe standing on the subway grate as it blows her dress upward.

Now that I understand the origin of the phrase, I'm a little put off by it as it pertains to marriage. Enough talk of twisted phrase origins...

Happy Anniversary to us! Seven years - wow, that's so exciting!! No "seven-year itch" here, still as in love as ever!