Thursday, November 29, 2007

And the winners...

...all three of ya from the bloggiversary post. No...not twice Traci...slow your roll lol. I got a bunch of email posts too but I think it only fair to separate out the winners since I didn't make it totally clear how to respond via email or here. So Email winners, you should have an email from me if you're the quiz winner (ahem...Beckster--going back to high school old school days lol) or if you're the random winner (Mr. Close but not quite rhymes with Cigar superstar #2 in my life...sorry...someone else claimed the official title first), ya'll have emails so just be sure to respond.

But here on the blog...Christina you win the quiz part, Traci you won the random pull and Tara I'd love to send ya something just because. Blog winners, shoot me an email at henderso@seattleu.edu with your mailing addys (you too Traci just in case) and between Traci and Christina let me know your preferences between the Target card or the scrap stash. Remember, if you both want Target, you'll split it; if you both want scrap, first one to claim it gets the book in it. But I've got more than plenty scrap stuff to share.

Thanks for playing!

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

A few decisions...

...in list format because well you know why (smile).

10. Brooklyn - get a life lol. Girl you know what I'm talking 'bout. lol
9. Ms. Jourdan. I got the spinach, I got the pine nuts, I got the penne. Where are YOU at?
8. Customer service is still very alive and very well at Canlis.
7. I didn't want to, but I had to DQ Palace. That they don't know their own minimums, that they can't send you a general price list, that they want to charge you HOW MUCH per person and not throw in some complimentary service? Does, hell go with no? I thought so.
6. Two days on, five days off. I might manage.
5. On really being grown. Don't know about the sexy part, but definitely growed up.
4. Dummies are great! I've finished the most major one (of the invite).
3. Photographers are better. Especially when they shoot with the same goods you do.
2. Holy Trinity. Get back to me already. I know I know, but it eases my slowly developing ulcer.
1. WTC on hold. Officially. Making progress, making progress.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Its our Bloggiversary

***UPDATE*** Yes of course you can still answer the quiz. Just because someone has a response for every question doesn't mean they have the CORRECT response for every question. Hence why it is so long (smile). The first person to get them ALL right is one winner. Then I'll do a random pull of all the responses for the other winner. So do play along! ***UPDATE OVER***

Well...yesterday was. And I like to celebrate for long bouts of time so...

So let's have fun and go down memory lane shall we? Prizes are involved of course. And you'll even get a choice! Since most of the folks I know in my life are all about the scrappiness or about Target love, the choices are as follows:

If you are one of two winners (one for the fastest most correctest person on the quiz, the other from a random pull of commentors for the week), you can have either a big old box of scrap goodies (new stuff...I need to purge in a big way to pack up the scrap room already--even throw in an autographed copy of the "infamous HOF Volume 9" for you) OR you can have a $50 gift certificate to Target (hey...a dollar per question...that seems fair...or for just being really lucky).



The fine print:
If you both choose the Target gc, it will be split ($25 each) and I only have one copy of the HOF book left so first to claim that one once I declare the winners (I'll post winners at the same time) will get that.




So let the fun begin!
50. What was the name of the Seattle-based race I was the sore 3rd place loser in?
49. The highlight of any Portland trip is a journey over to what bookstore?
48. By what mode of transportation did my mom and my nephew return to El Paso after their summer visit to Seattle?
47. Where did Robert and I get our first Christmas tree from?
46. Where did I go on my "trip of a lifetime"?
45. What are the names of my other two public blogs?
44. What high school milestone did I reach and help plan out in 2006?
43. When I'm too lazy/busy/tired to blog, but HAVE to write, what do I do?
42. According to the other recruiters in Mississippi, how many MPH should you go on the Trace?
41. When is my birthday?
40. My boyfriend knows how to make me click. What camera did he get me for my 29th bday?
39. Who is Double Stuffed Oreo (no…not me!)
38. What kind of bed do I have (hint: think Hotels...)
37. On the camping trip with Robert and the ex-roommate we forgot an ax and something else. To haze the roommate, we stopped at McDonald’s and each picked up some what?
36. What is my favorite lunch meat?
35. Crisis management solidified my belief that money is to be spent not _____? [fill in the blank]
34. Running red lights is bad. On what date did I get krashed into?
33. You’ve never seen a sunset until you’ve seen an ______ _______ (two words) sunset.
32. What is the exact name of the wedding color combo that won out on my first ever blog poll? 31. Excluding Tibet, name three of the top 10 places I want to visit before I die
30. Which one of my family members is "far less likely to read my blog"?
29. What does a “vegetarian” such as myself eat at Daniel’s Broiler? (one of the four items noted in that post is fine)
28. What beach did I get proposed to on?
27. When I am on the road travelling for work, what collection of Robert's do I add to?
26. Why was I looking to move out of my apartment in 2005?
25. Am I an essential worker at my job?
24. I asked "Does Hell go with No?" when my car dealer quoted me $350 to fix what on my car?
23. What is the name of the restaurant (two words) that I call over to almost every day to order the exact same thing for lunch from David?
22. I once had a Christmas tree up until April fools day. List one of the dates in 2007 that I blogged about my neighbor’s tree that was still up.
21. After a dinner in Portland at Harrisons, what is the name of the place we listened to live jazz and wrote crayon incrypted love messages to each other playing hangman at?
20. What did we almost do all because we didn’t go to a puppy show?
19. In what airport (airport, not the city) could I not find a "mail slot" in?
18. The theme of my Tibet trip was: “OH my goodness!! There’s a ____ _____ and _____ _____!!” (two words for each).
17. On April 11, 2007, I went off the grid to do what?
16. If Janet Jackson had to do American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance or America’s Top Model…which one of the three did she tell Tyra she would do?
15. What is my favorite drink?
14. I told R if he loved “it” so much, he should just marry “it.” What is “it”?
13. At Bumbershoot who was the performer who had been my fave concert of the year up until that post?
12. How many other public blogs do I have?
11. During the August 24 crisis of hope, I was absolutely, most of all too ________.
10. What is Robert’s first choice for a reception venue for our wedding?
9. My first husband thought it was necessary to ______ and to get ______ to create art.
8. On what date did I get engaged? (be careful on this one…)
7. In the battle of Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts, do I prefer Starbucks croissants or Dunkin Donuts croissant sandwiches?
6. What do I love abou the three hour time difference on the east coast while I'm there?
5. What are the two cities we are deciding between for New Year’s Eve (NYE) 2007?
4. My blog byline is “Just some color in some ________”
3. What shoes do I wear with my orange wooly jumper to the fancy ball?
2. What is my Chinese zodiac year?
1. Name one of my two fave authors (listed by name, not inferred from a book) or two of my favorite movies

You have until next Sunday to play. Even if you just answer one of the questions, you'll be entered for the random drawing. I'd suggest you copy and paste the questions into like a word document, get all your answers that you're going to attempt together and then post in one posting so that:
a. other's won't poach your answers
b. I can see that you did more than one or two questions.

Regardless, be sure to leave in your post your full first name and last initial and to come back and check next Sunday evening to see if you won just in case I can't track you down via blogger.

Good luck! Have fun. Learn something new!

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Seriously...

...they finally turned off the water. Out my back window, there's the UFO (aka water tower). There's this long long LONG stretch of hose they have rung up out there that had water pouring from it for the past half of forever. I looked out today and finally it is off. Hmmm.

But I digress.

Sad to say it but it is looking like one of my fave options is going to be a no go. I mean, I don't understand why it is so hard to do the simple things (ie, a price list so that I can even figure out if you are in my budget) so I'm quickly warming to some other ideas.

Today, I go on a scavenger hunt for the oh so ellusive bit of something for my invites. Yesterday, we got two breaths away from locking in a date. Talk about exciting!

No more recruiting for me for the year, lots of time to be home and get stuff done. In Mike's the other day I found the CUTEST centerpiece dealio. I'm so going to rock that...you just wait after Christmas sales...I know where all the Mike's are. But speaking of post holiday sales--I just scored a bunch of stuff (for all of $12) on the after fall sale. Brown and blue...brown and blue. Just have to wait for the after spring sales for the blue part.

Back to cleaning. This room is a hot mess.

Monday, November 12, 2007

You know...

...it is probably not a good idea to think about taking your iPod anywhere NEAR your reception if you can't even figure out how to turn up the !(#*#) volume on the thing. Or it takes you half an hour to figure out how to hook it up to your speakers at home.

I'm just saying.

So...we went and looked at places to do the reception. You know...to narrow it down from fourhundredtwentyseven choices to like two? Well. I think we pretty much accomplished that.

While this would be a great place to get married on the water (literally!)



It really is not an option because of the stairs.







Alas...accessibility not as huge an issue for them since they are technically a vessel, not a building. Sigh

While I kind of liked the intimacy and set up of this place:






The location and the view were pretty attrocious for being so close to the water:




Maybe if we have to find an off site cater. But even then, they didn't have any more space for Thanksgiving seatings so I don't even know if the food would be worth it.
This one was his favorite:



and I'm warming to it because they actually do have a blue option as well




That and the fact that the connections and the price are just so right. Just about enough space to have a dance floor if necessary (I'm thinking not). Bar would be pricey but hey...and he loves it because it is totally Seattle. View, location, etc. Very convenient for folks coming in to stay at the Marriott right next door.
So far my fave has been:







Which of course could have been because they were already setting up in my colors. But really, I loved the location (westin for guests...or King's Inn or even the Ramada for those on a bit more of a budget). AND it is right by the monorail (not the train) AND it is right up the way from the Space Needle AND there are so many urban photography options for wedding photos and...okay. Clearly you know my fave. But it would be, I'm starting to think, about TWICE the cost of his fave space. Sigh.
One last option is Canlis:




But that is some serious budget sacrificing. Which means I need to go and look at the guest list again...small wedding, small wedding...small wedding.

Lots of great interior set up shots with no appointments cause I am attached at the hip to that guy who is all about "Just tell them you're thinking of doing a wedding here and they'll let you in while they're setting up." And of course they did.

Good looking out.








Saturday, November 10, 2007

Well then...

...that was easy. Painful, but easy. Dropped two places off definitely--one he wasn't feeling, the other not accessible (though a really REALLY cool wedding on the water option...sigh).

There are 2-3 that could be backups...didn't go into one and didn't really feel it on first glance anyhow, another was still under renovation and the last he's convinced I won't like, but location wise, I think it has potential.

But then there were two. One is the one he told me about. Like it. It's small. It is very Seattle. The other is one I found. LOVE it. So much potential. Intimate, but with enough space to invite everyone I know and really hope they show up.

So...the list will determine the space. Fun times there...pictures to come soon. Then we get to do it all over again with the Phoenix potential locations. Yeah. Not.

Three Whole Days

I've no idea what I'll do with myself. I know what some of ya'll WANT me to do with myself and I'm getting there, I'm getting there. Really I am. But more pressing matters are at hand. Like...giving myself a sense of accomplishment by narrowing down some reception sites. But first...last night.

So he and I both got off at a decent time. We were potentially going to go back to the scene of the crime--where we first met--for dinner but I was really REALLY feeling for some mac and cheese. So of course that meant Kingfish Cafe.

You know a restaurant is the shiznit (smile), when it won't take reservations and there is a line of folks waiting at the door to get in. Never mind that they have a whole second room that I have close to never seen anyone dining in. I told him that we should have our rehearsal dinner there and that would get his friend's talking about "Oh he done done it now." and he was all "Dear, you think they don't already say that?" Touche.

So.

Today.

Hope to dearness that a package is still at the post office. Deposit a check that was a bit of a surprise but who am I to question good money? And then lots of driving.

In no particular order:

Stone Manor
Lake Washington Rowing
Lake Union Crew
World Trade Center Seattle
Palace Ballroom
Artic Club
Kaspars
Fauntleroy

One of my faves (well, actually, as is becoming usual, both of my faves) are not up on that list. One has open houses that we just need to find the time to make (and it is turning out to be a bit farther out than I thought) and the other I just have to seriously get serious about and then have my heart broken over. But it would be a perfect little non-traditional spot. Very worth it. Very "us" but in the same breath "not us."

We shall see.

Photos to come so that you can help with interactive wedding planning #2. In the meantime, be sure to cast your vote to the left for interactive wedding planning #1.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Color Me What?

Oh that oh so fun time has come. Time to choose wedding colors. No. Still don't have a date. Or a theme. Or a place really yet. But I feel like I might have a bit of a sense of accomplishment (and be able to narrow down the bagillion choices out there) if I had some direction. Without further ado...some swatches. Played around on colorlovers and here are a few combos I was feeling:


Deep chocolate brown & sky blue



Brightly bold red & caramel brown


Pure black & carribean blue



Wheat & Sailor Blue



Deep blue sky blue & grass green



Pure Black and Scarlet Red:


For the moment. And my favoritest color isn't anywhere in sight. Nor is my fave color combo. We shall see. What's your pick so far? Take the poll to the left and be counted!

It really isn't an ode to UPS

Yeppers. Still here. Still there (smile). Need proof?



So it really isn't an ode to UPS so much as I just really love the color.

Brown and orange as wedding colors?

For a non-fall wedding?

No?

Oh but why not?

Brown is NOT the color of death or dying.

Nor is black for that matter.

Sigh.

Happy birthday big time NYC woman Rachel! What are you...21?

Oh to be young again...

Monday, November 05, 2007

Really?

Is it really an update if you don't really write much more than enough to call it an update so that you can check off blogging from your to do list? I think not. So I'll give you a list (since it is all about lists today):

In no particular order:

10. I LOVE to scrapbook
9. I love when my bills are paid and I still got money in the bank
8. I love being home. More specifically, in my Westin bed.
7. Window Live Beta. I LoVe it. But I'm not using it this moment.
6. Wedding planning is swell. Uh huh.
5. Philly or NYC. For NYE. Guess that one turned out to be a no-brainer after all.
4. I still have LOTS of clothes to fold.
3. But I finally dropped my suits off at the drycleaners
2. Just a tiny bit more real work to do tonight.
1. I get to be part of the "voice" of america. Better hope I'm shopping right.

Friday, November 02, 2007

And How it went down (real life)

I know...so long ago I said I'd tell ya how it went down. And to that, here we go!

So...I was out in upstate NY and he had planned to come out to the Bay Area last weekend so that we could see each other sometime between August 31 and November 5. Of course, I get to the Syracuse airport on Friday morning at o' dark 30 and they tell me my flight is delayed and bordering on canceled. I'm weeping cause that means less time with Robert, but I finally get on a plane and get to SFO in time to still fulfill his Friday night plans.

He's there to meet me and in hindsight, totally freaking out. I mean he's in touch with his emotions and all, but he's more the logical, have fun, don't get all mushy type. He was all loving up on me, huggin' me, staring at me in the car...to the point that I actually say "WHY are you looking at me??" and he's like "Dude, cause I miss you."

San Francisco lunch alternativeSo we try to go to lunch at his fave place downtown, they're closed won't open again until dinner, I suggest we come back, he says not an option. Okay Mr. Flexible is being really rigid...clueless, I think nothing of it. We stop into this other Chinese food joint and my shiny forehead makes an appearance.

We finally find some food and then we do the whole "this is where I lived/worked tour" and finally we get all set and head over to Baker Beach to take sunset shots of the Golden Gate Bridge before going out to take some photos of the city on Friday night before most of the lights go out in the office buildings for the weekend.

At the Bridge

We're snapping away, working our way towards the bridge--him doing his thing, me doing mine. Finally, he puts down his camera, comes over, hugs me and is all "I so totally love you and you have to promise not to laugh". which of course, every time he says that, I get a huge grin on my face cause I know that means he made me something. I promise, he sits me down and it goes like this:


Him: You know, travel season has been hard on us this year and I just really wanted you to know how much I love and appreciate you so...please don't be mad but I went into your scrap room.

Me: You must TOTALLY love me if you dared to venture into that place.

Him: I know huh? Anyhow, I made you this scrapbook. [totally all shy about giving it to me]

Me: [totally and utterly SHOCKED, tear probably glistening in my eye] WOW! [opens up the book] WOW! You are just too adorable and I can't believe you made me a whole scrapbook!

Him: I know it is nothing like your scrap skills, but I hope you like it. Why don't you read it out loud to me.

Me: [still psyched that he friggin got out the actual scrap supplies and made me a scrapbook] Okay...starts reading...

Him: [probably a bit agitated that the sun is totally going down and I'm taking like 4 hours to reminisce over every picture in the book...]

Me: Get to the last page. It reads "Will you marry me" [think to self, I must love this boy to not even care that he just used up my last Thickers to make this page...oh this must be a hypothetical question...I mean, we've kinda talked about this before...oblivious to the fact that the guy is actually in FRONT OF ME, with this gorgeous ring in front of him] Finally look up, see him. See the ring. He says I threw the book at that point. I contend that I gently placed it down beside me so that I wouldn't get tears and snot all over it cause I freaked out when I realized this was "for real."

Him: "Will you Marry me?"

Me: "Are you serious?!"

Him: "Uh yeah, I'm serious"

Me: Crying like a big old baby (I'm totally NOT the emotional type, no idea WHAT came over me)

Him: [wondering if those are tears of joy, tears of despair...what is going ON here?!]


Me: [finally] Yes, of course I will. Babbled something else that I don't recall at all.

No, we got no pics of this (he got a pic of me before, I got a pic of him the day after telling his mom...but no during although there were a bagillion photographers on the beach).

Picture 075Yes I still have the scrapbook. Nope, I promised not to share it for less than 20 million dollars. Or something like that.

That's how it went down. I still smile ear to ear just THINKING about that Friday night in October at sunset. See...I told you I loved October Afternoons (wink)!

He's a keeper. Totally. I'm so lucky to be in love with such an amazing person. And to be loved in return. Man even almost a month later I still can't believe we're actually going to be married. Really!