wedding ettitude

One thing that I have noticed about planning a wedding reception is that there is a distinct wedding attitude and etiquette that people tend to follow. I like to call it the wedding ettitude.

The wedding industry tends to put on an ever-joyous disposition along an oh so gentle demeanor. They also have an up-charge for wedding services. This is a possible reason for their ever-joyous ettitude and kid/ white satin glove treatment.

Then I thought about it some more. It could also be out of fear of what may happen if the bride is mistreated. You might be singing a different tune. Instead of 'Here comes the bride,' it could be Talking Heads, 'Psycho Killer.' For those out of the reality show loop. Bridezilla is similar to the comic hero, David Banner, when things spiral out of control, her face turns colors and busts out of her normal self and into a Hulkified, tattered state of emotions. Not a pretty sight, but it is pretty entertaining on reality tv.

Maybe that is just the way the industry has evolved and what we come to expect. After all, it would be odd if a used car sales man treated you like a wedding consultant. Likewise, it would be odd if a wedding consultant treated you like a used car sales man.

Architecting for kids

The budding architects of the Sycamore trails 6th grade gained some hands on experience with basic model building and designed new training facilities for alternative Olympic sports. Being green designers, each design incorporated a renewable energy source and a recycled or reclaimed material. Take a look at their designs . . .

Kangaroo Boxing in Australia. The kangaroos are inside the big box. The fenced in yard has barbed wire to keep the kangaroos in, but allows for the delivery truck to move circulate in and out of the property. If you are in Australia, you can sit in the bleachers and watch the kangaroos train.

Gazelle Track & field in the Sahara Desert. The food and training buildings, which are made of sand, use both solar and wind power. The gazelles use block training to strengthen their legs located at the far end of the facility.

Bulldog Shot Put and Power Lifting in Stonehenge. This solar powered building reclaimed the existing rocks at Stonehenge to form it's new wall. The facility includes a weight lifting area to strengthen the bulldog's jaw muscles and shot put area for the dog to practice.

Elephant Rollerblading in Timbuktu. This facility used solar powered elevator, and a mixture of wind and biomass energy to power the facility. The pygmy elephants use the elevator to get to the second and third levels. Can you find the emergency pole from the tower?

Alligator Wrestling in the Everglades. This facility used the tattered remains from the hurricane disasters to build a new facility. The outdoor wrestling arena has high fence to keep the alligators in and people out. Can you see the solar panels on the roof of the building?

memorial day weekend means bbq

Certain holidays trigger certain things. For example, think about Christmas. At Christmas, you can count on decorated pine trees, cranky shoppers and a present or two. On the country's birthday, you can usually find various patriotic things in red, white and blue along with a decent fireworks show somewhere nearby. On Sweetest day, well, you can count me out. However, I am all for Memorial day because that usually means a nice b&b - beer and bbq.

To support my holiday theory, we went to a bbq hosted by Toni and Henry. This was not just any bbq. It was a birthday / gaming / memorial day bbq for all ages. It was all ages because she had both the younger Wii and the more mature PS3 set up for gaming.

Since maturity was irrevelant in this case, the apartment was divided up between the two clicks - PS3 rockers in the front and the Wii jocks in the back. That's what happens when you have a decent paying job, no kids and credit - lots of toys.

It's a lot of work being a tree hugger

It's spring and that means it is time to plant. This year we're planting trees and bulbs.


Step One. Buy a tree. What type of tree should I buy . . . deciduous, coniferous, ornamental - oh my. Simply put - deciduous have shade in the summer and leaves to rake in the fall. Coniferous are ever green. Ornamental trees are pretty and typically smaller deciduous trees that are colorful or flowering. Check out Chicago Botanic Garden for trees that grow best in the Midwest.

The cost of tree is typically priced by the tree's caliper - or diameter of the trunk. Similar to people, the older the tree, the larger the diameter. The larger trees are also more expensive the tree.

Step Two. Save the receipt. Most places will give you a one-year warranty to replace the tree. This is a good thing. If our steps are a little off the the tree doesn't survive the winter, we get to do it all over again, but the nursery's dime. Don't get too excited, it is still your sweat equity to return & replace the tree.

Step Three. Dig a hole. The hole is typically twice as big as the b&b, or ball and burlap. This the part that contains the tree's root ball. In my case, have Chris dig the hole and Zoe watch.

Step Four. Plant & water. Prep the hole with good planting soil and time-release fertilizer at the bottom of the hole. Remove the burlap and roll the tree gently into the hole and fill with planting soil. Cover with mulch to hold in moisture. Water generously.

Step Five. Wait to see what happens.

sit-down for dinner

Being urban adventurers, we decided to try out a new restaurant. The outside looked interesting. The facade was some sort of peculiar, yet creative, mesh of a castle and an irish pub. The inside was just as the facade represented - kind of castle-like and kind of odd. In this case, you could judge a book by its cover.

The host showed us to a table in the middle of the entry. We were at the table, so naturally, we went to sit down. The unnatural part is that neither of us were able to pull the chair out to sit down. I was very confused, but very determined to be smarter than the chair. This was not the little Parisian bistro table that you pull out to sit down. It was a big, wooden table with equally big, wooden chairs. When you pulled out the chair, it either got entangled with the table leg or hit the other people seated at the next table over. In order to sit, you had to perform the dukes of hazard slide through the window maneuver. It was the weirdest thing. At that very moment, I came up with a new rule. If you can't sit down at the table, you probably shouldn't eat there. An odd rule for an odd place.

Shortly after that, we ended up at another place, Red Star and sat in a booth. The food was decent and the beers were large.

Friday Night, Pitbull Fight Night

The search for a venue goes on

Originally we were thinking an outdoor reception would be fun. There were a few places that we looked into, but they just weren't the right fit.

One of the first places we found was on the lakefront. It was beautiful and serene. Unfortunately, there weren't any tables or chairs and it had limited amenities. It seemed better suited for a picnic than a reception. I realize we could have rented tables and chairs and the lot, but that seemed like a lot of work, and I am just not that kind of bride.

The second place we looked at had a gorgeous outdoor garden enclosed by vine covered brick arcade and planters overflowing with flowers scattered about the courtyard. The venue was stacked with amenities including a newly built, indoor, air-conditioned vestibule as part of the package. You might ask, how could you go wrong? Well, I'll tell you. They had very specific hours of operation and outdoor rules. In specific, two too many rules. Not only did the music have to be pre-approved, but the outdoor area had to be closed earlier than minor's curfew on a school night. As I said earlier, too many rules. So the search goes on.

Urban Farmer

Just like the crop farmers, I sowed seeds in the spring on my small plot of land, or rather, small, potted lands. Next time I will have to be sure to keep a closer eye on the spacing of seeds. The packet recommended a 6" spacing, but I planted slightly closer than the recommended spacing. Partly because I was trying to make the most of my land. Mostly because that's how they poured out of the packet and into the soil. I need to work on my technique for next season. This season, I am just hoping for a harvest.

In search of a venue

I wondered what to expect or how to go about looking for a venue. Instinctively, I turned on my computer and found a few websites that talk about wedding planning. The sites implied that this should be a fun time and eluded to visions from the movie, Father of the Bride . . . gallivanting around with friends, sipping champagne, nibbling on tasty treats and being pampered by caterers and wedding coordinators.

This was not my reality.

I was invited to an open house to see a venue and meet a caterer. Sounded easy enough. Shortly after I arrived at the open house, I realized that this was not my scene. It was a small house bustling with engaged couples, mothers of the brides, fathers of the brides and miscellaneous wedding entities. The bizarre part isn't that they were happily mingling, but that they were happily mingling about one thing - wedding stuff. I felt out of place. It was pleasantly nice, but something was just a little off. It felt like another movie, the Stepford wives - the wedding sequel . . . Maybe I just felt out of place because I went solo. Next time Chris will join in the mingling. He is a good mingler.

Willy Wonka and the 6th Grade

The 6th graders at Sycamore Trails Elementary put on a production of Willy Wonka II. The screen play was purchased from Disney and was re-written for the stage. Most of the story line was the same as the book / movies. The part that caught me off guard was the music. Not that it was bad by any means, but because there wasn't a piano or musical instrument in sight waiting to be played.

As I mentioned earlier, it was a purchased play from Disney, so it came with all the extras, including music on cd. You simply paused the cd between songs or sound effects. Genius. I might add that the actors were also wearing wireless mics and had an impressive sound system. This was not your father's run-of-the-mill production . . .

Since we had connections, we were able to sit in the front row and see it on opening day / mid-morning. Well, I should clarify. Along with the first graders, we were seated in the first row of seats. The kindergarten classes sat front row. They were on the floor in front of us. Here are a few pictures from the play. How many of the characters do you recognize? (Notice the magnificent squirrel costumes. They were hand-made by my mom.)

Willy Wonka, Charlie and Grandpa Joe.

The 4 grandparents sitting on the bed celebrating Charlie's birthday.

The squirrels at the factory.