Lest you think I have forgotten my first love, or blog, if you will, let me assure you I am not abandoning this ship. But you must understand that I’m still in the honeymoon stage with the OC blog...so I might possibly be dedicating a bit more time and energy over there at the moment.
This business of maintaining two blogs may look glamorous, but let me assure you, it has its dark side. It’s not just the physical demands of writing post after post after post, but there’s a good deal of mental and emotional strain to bear as well. If I write in one, I feel guilty for ignoring the other. I want to be devoted and loyal to both, but there’s only so much of me to go around. This is how I know I could never be a bigamist, or even one of those two-timing wives. The truth is, I can barely keep up with more than one Bingo card at our New Year’s Eve parties, so you can imagine how juggling two blogs is getting to me.
Nevertheless, I am pressing on. I have a rough outline of the Betsy/Thomas wedding posts nearly finished. I even have a working title. How does "NIECE BETSY TAKES A HUSBAND" sound to you? Maybe it’s a bit one-sided, but if Thomas wants more press, he might have to recruit a blogger from his side of the family. Unfortunately, I didn’t even MEET half of his groomsmen, so "that one guy" might be an oft-used phrase in the wedding posts.
But today, I just have a few family notes for you on everyone but Emily, who will of course be dealt with in that "other" blog.
So we’ll start here with Rachel, and I have BIG NEWS about her. She has finally found...and SECURED...her Prince Charming. If you recall, she is dancing the part of Cinderella in the ballet in December, and we were feeling somewhat desperate about her chances of finding a high school boy who was (a) prince-like, (b) willing to dance in a ballet, AND (c) able to bench-press quite a few pounds. But just when we were thinking such a boy did not exist, along came Christian. After the first practice, it was apparent he was our guy because as one of Rachel’s friends put it, "When he picked Rachel up, his face didn’t even turn red!"
In other Rachel news, she continues to act as my personal trainer on a somewhat sporadic basis...basically whenever the mood strikes her. She told me one day that I could burn 100 calories just by drinking a glass of ice water. I told her that couldn’t be true because I drink lots of ice water and don’t lose weight. She just gave me a contemptuous smile. And I use that word only because I recently read this book in which everyone and everything was contemptuous at one time or another. Even a lady’s SHOES are described as contemptuous in one passage. So I thought I’d try it out in my writing.
On to David. Earlier this week, he got his phone taken away by a teacher at school. He was outside the school building walking to his next class, but apparently he still wasn’t supposed to be texting. And I guess it’s no big deal, because when I went to the office to retrieve the phone, they didn’t set me down and tell me I was a bad parent or he was a bad kid or anything. What bothers me is that now there’s a "behavior incident" on his school record, and it’s coded as a CONTRABAND infraction. Last year when Emily forgot her ID badge at school, her behavior incident was recorded as a DRESS CODE infraction. So now the entire school system probably thinks my son is a druggie and my daughter is a skank. And I don’t know how to fight this kind of thing.
Dave is busy training for a triathlon...and stressing over the details. His biggest struggle was in deciding if he needed a wet suit and he kept going to the website and reading posts to me about water temperatures. I didn’t beg him to stop, but I wanted to. He finally ordered a new Speedo swimsuit and we are all hoping it won’t be too revealing.
As for me, I had an interesting dream several weeks ago, where someone (I don’t remember who) was showing me a live, white owl they kept in their freezer. I wanted to tell you about this dream when it happened, but I was in the middle of my wedding series, and didn’t know how to fit it in.
Even my mother would be sick of hearing this by now, because yes, I had tuna and Wheat Thins for lunch again today. Does it help that for dessert, I had some chocolate zucchini bread made by a lady in my office? I hope so.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
A NEW ACTION PLAN
I’m free. Free at last. Not that I would ever call my commitment to the wedding series anything like an ALBATROSS. No. I would never do that. But it did require some actual THINKING, and I must admit that I’m happy to go back to my rambling, stream-of-consciousness writing style.
But first, I do have one final post-script on the wedding. I received a lovely thank you note from the HC the other day, and while I found it slightly odd that no mention was made of the wedding series, I couldn’t fault the note in any other way. In fact, it was clearly a cut above your average run-of-the-mill thank you note, being not only extremely thoughtful but also rather lengthy. But while this was all BEYOND sweet, I was troubled by one simple fact. This note was obviously penned by Ben himself. Which started me thinking of course. I mean if he’s got enough time to write notes like this, then chances are he’s not dedicating himself to the study of the causes and treatment of hives. As such, I have decided I better not wait for him to finish med school, and have developed a new two-step action plan for my health care.
First, I am going to get on-line and offer my body to science. I’ve heard that you can volunteer for studies and since I find my case fascinating, I’m pretty sure research scientists will too. If possible, I will try to join a study where the subjects get paid. That way, if they don’t find out what my problem is and how to fix it, then at least it won’t be a complete waste of my time.
And second, I am going to break down and purchase one of those pill organizer things.
I will try to get a family update posted soon, but our biggest news is of course about the emigration of Emily to the far country of Oklahoma. As most of you know, we dropped her off at OC on August 21st and came home to a decidedly emptier house. I miss the little tyke, but she’s happy so I can’t wish her back. If you are a true glutton for punishment, you can read much more about the whole Emily-in-college thing on the parent blog I’m doing for OC. The address is www.blogs.oc.edu/shelley for the diehards among you.
I had two delicious homemade tamales for lunch today, which I bought from a lady who came by our office selling them.
But first, I do have one final post-script on the wedding. I received a lovely thank you note from the HC the other day, and while I found it slightly odd that no mention was made of the wedding series, I couldn’t fault the note in any other way. In fact, it was clearly a cut above your average run-of-the-mill thank you note, being not only extremely thoughtful but also rather lengthy. But while this was all BEYOND sweet, I was troubled by one simple fact. This note was obviously penned by Ben himself. Which started me thinking of course. I mean if he’s got enough time to write notes like this, then chances are he’s not dedicating himself to the study of the causes and treatment of hives. As such, I have decided I better not wait for him to finish med school, and have developed a new two-step action plan for my health care.
First, I am going to get on-line and offer my body to science. I’ve heard that you can volunteer for studies and since I find my case fascinating, I’m pretty sure research scientists will too. If possible, I will try to join a study where the subjects get paid. That way, if they don’t find out what my problem is and how to fix it, then at least it won’t be a complete waste of my time.
And second, I am going to break down and purchase one of those pill organizer things.
I will try to get a family update posted soon, but our biggest news is of course about the emigration of Emily to the far country of Oklahoma. As most of you know, we dropped her off at OC on August 21st and came home to a decidedly emptier house. I miss the little tyke, but she’s happy so I can’t wish her back. If you are a true glutton for punishment, you can read much more about the whole Emily-in-college thing on the parent blog I’m doing for OC. The address is www.blogs.oc.edu/shelley for the diehards among you.
I had two delicious homemade tamales for lunch today, which I bought from a lady who came by our office selling them.
Monday, September 6, 2010
ANATOMY OF A WEDDING - Part 12 of 12 (WHEW!)
The Dance and A Conclusion
WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY?: I believe there was some concern about whether or not anyone would actually USE the dance floor at the wedding...besides Ben and Courtney who were going to do a "first dance", and all those little kids who couldn’t seem to stop running around in circles on it. I don’t know Courtney’s family history with dancing, but I can and will tell you ours.
THE TEEN PREGNANCY ISSUE: My sisters and I did not attend high school dances. Mom didn’t tell us we couldn’t go, but we knew she frowned upon these heathen affairs and so we just said no. After all, everyone knew back then that teenage girls usually got pregnant immediately following a high school dance. Of course my parents were pretty much through with parenting by the time my brothers hit their high school years, so I think they went to as many dances as they wanted. And they didn’t get any girls pregnant so that was good. But they also didn’t bring dancing into vogue within our family. I believe we all still viewed "dancing" as a somewhat shady activity...and one that could possibly lead to all sorts of evil, including the chance of looking stupid in front of your friends. So we just didn’t go there.
DANCE FEVER: But years passed, and the next generation entered the picture. Next thing we knew, my sister Sally was almost forcing her son Zach to go to middle school dances because she thought he was so pathetic sitting at home alone. I think that was the excuse. And my sister Susan followed suit. Soon I had a gaggle of loose-living nephews and nieces attending dance after dance and obviously headed for trouble. But guess what? They all turned out pretty nice after all. Some of them even became...missionaries. True story. Not that they don’t have some bad habits, but I don’t think their tendencies to be bossy and bicker about athletic teams are a direct result of dancing in high school. Nevertheless, this was our first family wedding reception that included a dance floor. And at least one person was heard to say that without any alcohol being served, the dance floor would most likely not be filling up too fast.
DANCING KINGS AND QUEENS: But that person was wrong. True, the dancing started a bit slow but it built to just the right sort of frenzy for a family-oriented wedding reception. Everyone had a good time doing those line dance things where you "slide to the left" and "kick it" and "walk it by yourself" or something like that. And no one did anything even slightly shady...well, unless you count when Luke ACCIDENTALLY backed into someone he shouldn’t have. But these things happen on a crowded dance floor and maybe that’s what my mother was worried about. But the point is, it seemed like good clean fun at the time. And definitely no worse than that Hokey-Pokey number we did at the skating rink when we were kids...with our mom’s full blessing.
PARTING IS SUCH SWEET SORROW: All good things must come to an end...and so it goes with all wedding series blog posts. Ha ha. I’m just kidding. I meant that the actual wedding was the GOOD THING that had to come to an end. So the bouquet was tossed (to my Emily I might add) and the garter was slung (I didn’t register to whom), and the HC were sent off in a shower of sparks from a sparkler-wielding crowd. And I seem to recall even a fireworks display...unless I’m confusing the wedding with our 4th of July outing several weeks later. But I don’t think I am. Because I think my 14-year-old son was one of the lighters of the fireworks and I hope that wasn’t some kind of illegal activity, but it’s a little too late to worry about that now.
LOVE AND A LITTLE BIT MORE: According to the Beatles...or maybe Lynden David Hall...All you Need is Love. I think that song played at some point during the wedding which is why I’m mentioning it here. And while it’s a nice sentiment, it’s not really true of course. In the case of this wedding, in addition to a goodly amount of love, Ben and Courtney needed a truly gorgeous venue, an army of family and friends, and some tasty donuts and snow cones, among other things, to make their special day come together.
DREAM SEQUENCES IN GENERAL: Several winters ago, Luke and Amanda made a car trip to Kansas during which the following three things happened simultaneously:
1. A gentle snow was falling,
2. A Christmas song was playing on the radio, AND
3. They spotted some deer frolicking (their word, not mine) in a field by the side of the road.
Each of the individual elements of this moment was nice, but they called the combination a "dream sequence". Shortly thereafter, as we are wont to do, our family began to not only overuse that phrase, but we also tended to misapply it. I mean it’s nice to find a forgotten toothpick in your purse right after a chips and salsa binge at Ranchito, but I think we can all agree it doesn’t qualify as a Dream Sequence.
DREAM SEQUENCES, SPECIFICALLY: So I hope no one will accuse me of being trite when I say that this particular wedding weekend qualified as being the ultimate in Dream Sequences. Because all the elements certainly combined to make it one. Which is nice because the problem with weddings for people like Ben and Courtney is that there probably won’t be any do-overs. They needed to get it right the first time, and I think they succeeded. And now we just get to wait and see what the future holds for the HC. And which side of the family the future little Hawleys will resemble the most. My bet must be with the Hawley side because they seem to have some dominant features. Courtney probably didn’t think about that when she said yes to Ben. And I for one am glad she didn’t.
So that concludes my tale of one wedding. I truly hope that I am not another Harper Lee. You know she only published the one novel (To Kill a Mockingbird) and the success of it so overwhelmed her that she never wrote another. But I don’t think that will happen to me. No matter how popular my first wedding series happens to be (and I know for a fact that at least 5 people waited anxiously for each installment), I am still committed to giving you the story of the Betsy/Thomas nuptials.
But for now, I must take a short break from weddings in general and give you some family news. So looking ahead, here are the titles of some of my next few blog posts which have been preempted by the wedding series:
1. My Jumbo-Sized Summer Vacation
2. The Wreck of the Jeep Liberty
3. The Pumpkin-Whisperer (revisited)
4. A More Efficient Way to Read a Classic, like The Fountainhead
If those titles don’t bring you back for more, I don’t know what will.
We were invited to a fish fry for lunch today...and not only was the fish PERFECT in every way, but the side dishes brought by the other guests were scrumptious as well. I made that lovely sweet coleslaw with whipping cream, but first I had to call around to get the recipe because my Haven Cookbook has gone MISSING. I don’t cook much so I tend to misplace recipes now and again. But I think this might be the first time I’ve lost a whole cookbook. To make matters worse, after the fish fry I went to pick up my dish, and it had turned up missing too. I’m sure the missing cookbook has nothing to do with the missing coleslaw, but it’s disturbing all the same. Because I was looking forwarding to eating the leftover slaw.
WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY?: I believe there was some concern about whether or not anyone would actually USE the dance floor at the wedding...besides Ben and Courtney who were going to do a "first dance", and all those little kids who couldn’t seem to stop running around in circles on it. I don’t know Courtney’s family history with dancing, but I can and will tell you ours.
THE TEEN PREGNANCY ISSUE: My sisters and I did not attend high school dances. Mom didn’t tell us we couldn’t go, but we knew she frowned upon these heathen affairs and so we just said no. After all, everyone knew back then that teenage girls usually got pregnant immediately following a high school dance. Of course my parents were pretty much through with parenting by the time my brothers hit their high school years, so I think they went to as many dances as they wanted. And they didn’t get any girls pregnant so that was good. But they also didn’t bring dancing into vogue within our family. I believe we all still viewed "dancing" as a somewhat shady activity...and one that could possibly lead to all sorts of evil, including the chance of looking stupid in front of your friends. So we just didn’t go there.
DANCE FEVER: But years passed, and the next generation entered the picture. Next thing we knew, my sister Sally was almost forcing her son Zach to go to middle school dances because she thought he was so pathetic sitting at home alone. I think that was the excuse. And my sister Susan followed suit. Soon I had a gaggle of loose-living nephews and nieces attending dance after dance and obviously headed for trouble. But guess what? They all turned out pretty nice after all. Some of them even became...missionaries. True story. Not that they don’t have some bad habits, but I don’t think their tendencies to be bossy and bicker about athletic teams are a direct result of dancing in high school. Nevertheless, this was our first family wedding reception that included a dance floor. And at least one person was heard to say that without any alcohol being served, the dance floor would most likely not be filling up too fast.
DANCING KINGS AND QUEENS: But that person was wrong. True, the dancing started a bit slow but it built to just the right sort of frenzy for a family-oriented wedding reception. Everyone had a good time doing those line dance things where you "slide to the left" and "kick it" and "walk it by yourself" or something like that. And no one did anything even slightly shady...well, unless you count when Luke ACCIDENTALLY backed into someone he shouldn’t have. But these things happen on a crowded dance floor and maybe that’s what my mother was worried about. But the point is, it seemed like good clean fun at the time. And definitely no worse than that Hokey-Pokey number we did at the skating rink when we were kids...with our mom’s full blessing.
PARTING IS SUCH SWEET SORROW: All good things must come to an end...and so it goes with all wedding series blog posts. Ha ha. I’m just kidding. I meant that the actual wedding was the GOOD THING that had to come to an end. So the bouquet was tossed (to my Emily I might add) and the garter was slung (I didn’t register to whom), and the HC were sent off in a shower of sparks from a sparkler-wielding crowd. And I seem to recall even a fireworks display...unless I’m confusing the wedding with our 4th of July outing several weeks later. But I don’t think I am. Because I think my 14-year-old son was one of the lighters of the fireworks and I hope that wasn’t some kind of illegal activity, but it’s a little too late to worry about that now.
LOVE AND A LITTLE BIT MORE: According to the Beatles...or maybe Lynden David Hall...All you Need is Love. I think that song played at some point during the wedding which is why I’m mentioning it here. And while it’s a nice sentiment, it’s not really true of course. In the case of this wedding, in addition to a goodly amount of love, Ben and Courtney needed a truly gorgeous venue, an army of family and friends, and some tasty donuts and snow cones, among other things, to make their special day come together.
DREAM SEQUENCES IN GENERAL: Several winters ago, Luke and Amanda made a car trip to Kansas during which the following three things happened simultaneously:
1. A gentle snow was falling,
2. A Christmas song was playing on the radio, AND
3. They spotted some deer frolicking (their word, not mine) in a field by the side of the road.
Each of the individual elements of this moment was nice, but they called the combination a "dream sequence". Shortly thereafter, as we are wont to do, our family began to not only overuse that phrase, but we also tended to misapply it. I mean it’s nice to find a forgotten toothpick in your purse right after a chips and salsa binge at Ranchito, but I think we can all agree it doesn’t qualify as a Dream Sequence.
DREAM SEQUENCES, SPECIFICALLY: So I hope no one will accuse me of being trite when I say that this particular wedding weekend qualified as being the ultimate in Dream Sequences. Because all the elements certainly combined to make it one. Which is nice because the problem with weddings for people like Ben and Courtney is that there probably won’t be any do-overs. They needed to get it right the first time, and I think they succeeded. And now we just get to wait and see what the future holds for the HC. And which side of the family the future little Hawleys will resemble the most. My bet must be with the Hawley side because they seem to have some dominant features. Courtney probably didn’t think about that when she said yes to Ben. And I for one am glad she didn’t.
So that concludes my tale of one wedding. I truly hope that I am not another Harper Lee. You know she only published the one novel (To Kill a Mockingbird) and the success of it so overwhelmed her that she never wrote another. But I don’t think that will happen to me. No matter how popular my first wedding series happens to be (and I know for a fact that at least 5 people waited anxiously for each installment), I am still committed to giving you the story of the Betsy/Thomas nuptials.
But for now, I must take a short break from weddings in general and give you some family news. So looking ahead, here are the titles of some of my next few blog posts which have been preempted by the wedding series:
1. My Jumbo-Sized Summer Vacation
2. The Wreck of the Jeep Liberty
3. The Pumpkin-Whisperer (revisited)
4. A More Efficient Way to Read a Classic, like The Fountainhead
If those titles don’t bring you back for more, I don’t know what will.
We were invited to a fish fry for lunch today...and not only was the fish PERFECT in every way, but the side dishes brought by the other guests were scrumptious as well. I made that lovely sweet coleslaw with whipping cream, but first I had to call around to get the recipe because my Haven Cookbook has gone MISSING. I don’t cook much so I tend to misplace recipes now and again. But I think this might be the first time I’ve lost a whole cookbook. To make matters worse, after the fish fry I went to pick up my dish, and it had turned up missing too. I’m sure the missing cookbook has nothing to do with the missing coleslaw, but it’s disturbing all the same. Because I was looking forwarding to eating the leftover slaw.
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