THE Football World Championship Game

...otherwise know as the Super Bowl.

This year, the Super Bowl coincided with Simon's birthday, and weeks before the Seattle Seahawks even made it into the playoffs, we decided to host a Super Bowl Birthday Extravaganza (cue echo..).

Well, as luck would have it (though really, we all know it was skill!), not only did the Seahawks make it to the Super Bowl, but it was a crushing victory.

Simon was granted a birthday wish that probably any 12 year old birthday boy in Seattle would want-and had a grand time while doing it.  He's seen a Super Bowl before (even if it meant having to stay awake until 3am in London...), but whether you're an expat (of either the local or national sense), or a Seattle native...Sunday was pretty special.  And not just because he looked better in the wig than I did!

Keep Calm and Cheer on Wilson

Showing our 12th Man Pride

Crisis Averted

As incredibly knowledgeable as Simon is about American culture/pop culture/history/politics, I often forget that he is not 'of' this country.  There are subtleties that can be lost on him-and I usually don't recognize this until said subtlety is indeed lost.

Take the below photo.  After 18 months, we finally got around to uploading the first photos from our road trip that started in July 2012.  Anyhoo...after uploading this picture, Simon decided to post the picture on Facebook, and simply comment about where the photo was taken (Faith, NC...yes: Faith), and the occasion (July 4).

July 4th

Hours later, when I was pottering on FB, I noticed this photo was posted on his timeline without any commentary (namely...something about the irony of us posing in front of a Rebel flag on July 4th, it being the wrong flag, oh-look how odd...something.  anything).  And, I had a minor meltdown.  Perhaps I was being a bit too sensitive, but I freaked out realizing that my friends (of many different races) would see this posting of us in front of this flag-and think the worst.  What I observed (mid-meltdown) was that Simon really didn't understand my reaction.  And...this was a learning moment for me.  So, I had to explain the origin of my freak, and ask him to either comment on the photo to provide some context, or untag me.  He gamely did this (phew. crisis averted), but I could tell that there was a bit of surprise (confusion?  something else?) from him in the conversation.

Note to self:  no more pictures in front of Rebel flags....

Aloha, Hey Y'all, and Ainngai

That's 'hello' in Hawaii, the South, and Alaska (Inuit).

I often forget how diverse this country is-which is really sad, when I consider that I drove from North Carolina to Washington State not even 18 months ago.  But...I do.

Simon and I have done a fair amount of travel in the US this year-and explicitly tried to tick off a few states he hasn't been to-Alaska and Hawaii-both of which are fairly convenient to reach from Seattle.  Throw in a trip to the South to go visit family...and we've covered a fair amount of geographic and cultural diversity in this country this year.

I've been to Alaska numerous times, and Hawaii once previously-so I knew what to expect in terms of the topography, people, food, weather...everything. But, I couldn't help but be struck by Simon's reaction as we got stuck into these places this past year (most recently, just last month)-and observe the wonder with which he looks at the US sometimes.  By hopping on a flight for a few hours to go to a different state-it can very much be like travelling to a different country.

Sometimes I think that being married to Simon must be what it's like to have a child-and constantly be forced to look at something thru the the eyes of never seeing or experiencing it before-and I am infinitely thankful for the forcing function.  The list of these firsts hasn't gone down in the past 18 months, only evolved.  I'm sure it will continue to evolve in 2014, and I really look forward to seeing something I've already seen before thru a fresh pair of eyes.

(kicks self for taking US for granted)

Back to the Homeland

After 1 year and (what will be...) 29 days, Simon will return to the mother ship for the first time since departure.

I am incredibly excited for him to be able to go home and see friends and family-and experience the sense of familiar that he will surely feel by being back in London.

I wonder if he's truly prepared however, for what has changed-both in London, and him.  I recall that there was a tipping point for me that made me feel less familiar with the US and more familiar with London-almost a comfort level.  I don't know if this will be the trip for Simon-it is just the first year after all, but it has been a year, so he's probably quite settled in the 'American-ness' of his life already.

This should be interesting.

Happy American Birthday

Happy American Birthday, to my incredible husband. 

One year ago today, you landed in the US, and started a new chapter in your life. I hope you've had as much fun the past year as I have.  It's been a continuous series of firsts, and there are plenty more to be had!

A Season of Firsts

It's safe to say, I now know what it must be like to be the parent of a small child...Since our time back in the US, and presuming it isn't permanent, I am keen to chase as many First Time Experiences as possible-for both Simon & I, though mainly for Simon.

To wit:  This year alone, in no particular order, Simon has:

• Filed his first US tax return
• Attended opening night for the Seattle Mariners (a first for me as well)
• Joined a softball league, and played two games.  Which led to...
• Visiting the emergency room-just this week..Simon fractured a bone in his arm after falling at said Softball game on Sunday.  OK. That one we didn't 'chase.'
• Played a game of kickball.  Only one game, unfortunately-due to the aforementioned arm, he will be playing no more.
• Purchased a house
• Observed just *how many* prescription drug commercials are on TV (it's not legal to do so in the UK)
• Started to  just a *little bit*) enjoy drinking an IPA

...and that's just the big stuff.  We do however, still have a few boxes to tick.  Like:

• Learning how to drive
• ..and with that knowledge, getting a drivers license.  Just in case.
• Visiting Alaska and Hawaii (we'll tick these boxes before the end of the year.  woo!)

What else?   What other first time experiences (parents?  Expats?...) should we be chasing for Simon?

My First Date in London-Update

Five years later...I'd still say that first date was pretty darned good.

Through The Eyes of Others

I think I've mentioned a few of the observations (drivers, portions, etc) Simon has made past few months in the US.

His latest observation-well, flat out surprise, is over the H&R Block TV Adverts that are now playing in full rotation in prime-time.  As someone who has only ever lived in a country where the concept of actively completing a return is reserved only for those who have the most complicated of taxes, it is blowing his mind that everyone-including the most average of households are expected to submit a paper return to the IRS. Hee..

On the flip side of the coin, I've an acquaintance who just landed in London a few days ago for an expat assignment, and I have just seen some of her first Facebook posts about her experiences.  It's bringing back a flood of memories for me, and I can't help but feel a little envious of her new & exciting experience.  

London-life is especially fresh on my mind as I'll be heading there in a few weeks for work-and I'm so
excited (oh, the irony...)-and also a little sad to know that my experience will be temporary (oh, the irony).  I couldn't be happier in Seattle, but I have pangs for London every now and then.

I guess that is what the norm is for me now...

Cross Country Trip Pictures

Better late than never, right? Two months and countless nagging requests to Simon after we finished our trip, and all of the photos have now been uploaded and tagged.  Phew.

I was just having a flip thru, because I thought it would be a good idea to post one trip from each state we visited-then I realized that would be difficult for the last half of the trip where we were in 3,4,5...cities per state.  Then I thought I'd post one picture per stop.  And realize that sometimes we didn't take many pictures-and some times we took a hundred (hello, Grand Canyon!).  So...I give up. I'm just going to post the good ones-and try to keep it to under 50 pictures.  Kidding...No, I probably should try to keep it under 50. :)

Feels like this trip was years ago-not months ago.  Especially as I look at the warm climates, sun, tans, and short sleeves that seem to be the constant in each picture.  Sigh.  Oh well. Summer in Seattle is only a mere 9 months away (it rarely gets 'summery' here before July 4...).

Anyhoo, hope y'all  enjoy looking at the pictures as much as I just did.  Blogger isn't being very friendly to the picture upload, so the first pictures are actually the middle of the trip.  When you get to the Gold Cost, OR picture, the photos flip to the first part of the trip starting in Charleston, SC...Sorry for the confusion.  Grr.

Going local in Austin, TX

MEAT-Salt Lick (Austin, TX)

Roswell, NM..in case it isn't obvious

Central square-Santa Fe, NM

Mud bath at Ojo Caliente, NM

Tinkertown -Sandia Park, NM

Albequerque Isotopes

Painted Dessert-Petrified Forrest National Park

The very Grand Canyon

Gazing out over the Grand Canyon 

On the road to Sedona, AZ

Sunset in Sedona, AZ 

Proof that the Monster Chicken lives...

Santa Cruz, CA

How Wine Tasting should be-CA

Chandler Tree-Leggett, CA

Redwood National Forest-Humboldt, CA

Gold Coast, OR

Charleston, SC

Savannah, GA-Birthplace of  Girl Scouts

With old friends (and new) in Hilton Head, SC

Atlanta, GA

Rockin' on the front porch at Jack's house: Lynchburg, TN

Walking in Memphis..Beale Street

I'm going to Graceland!

Stax Recording Studio-Memphis, TN

Lobby of Shack Up Inn-Clarksdale, MS

Back 'yard' at Shack Up Inn

Bonnie C, Simon, Mr. Crawford-Oxford, MS

Cemetary behind Faulkner's 'marriage church'

Walking the tracks in Clarksdale, MS

Nawleans

St Louis Cemetery 1-NOLA

St Louis Cemetery 1-NOLA

The First Three Weeks

I’m not really even sure where to begin on this post.  There’s the ‘returning to the US’ part of the post, and the ‘road trip’ part of the post-and both parts almost have nothing to do with each other, but at the same time my observations from each part are most definitely intertwined.  Well, when in doubt, be organized. J

Returning to the US

That’s really what the first 2 weeks of ‘The First Three Weeks’ are about; returning home.  Home.  Wherever that really is.  Some part of the US?  London?  I’m not really sure at this moment, but that’s OK.

Our first week was spent quite literally buying a car.  I sold my car when I moved to London 4 years ago, and as you kind of need a car to do a cross country road trip, that was first on our agenda when we arrived.  The original plan was to buy a Manual transmission, but, one spin around the local mall parking lot with Simon behind the wheel (for the first time in close to 17 years…), and it became pretty apparent that we’d be getting an Automatic transmission!  I’ve never felt such stress in a car in my life, as I sat in the passenger seat as Simon jerkily made a few circles around the lot-and it really stressed him out as well.  There’s so much for him to have to get used to now-different side of the road (if just mentally, as he never really drove in the UK), the logic of the road signage-never mind the actual driving of the car.  Whew.  We’ll get there eventually.  And though, the original plan was that Simon would be doing some of the driving on the trip (er, the long, straight stretches of the road…), the reality is that it’s really not a good idea until he gets more comfortable.  So I’ll do all of the driving, and Simon will navigate.  Then, once we get to Seattle, we’ll get Simon some professional driving lessons.

In the due course of the first week of being back in the US, I took Simon to Faith, North Carolina for his first July 4^th celebration.  

This little town of ~300 people will swell to 30k during the week of July 4^th, and one of my dearest friends has grandparents who live there, so I’ve been to the July 4^th celebrations before-and knew it was the only proper experience Simon could have for his 1^st July 4^th.   Faith did not disappoint, and Simon really seemed to love the small-town experience (complete with BBQ sandwich from the fairgrounds).  Good times.

The Rough Life in Myrtle Beach, SC

Week two of the trip was spent with my Dad and his GF in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Myrtle was the summer location of my childhood vacations, and I thought it would be a hoot to go there with Simon & my Dad.  It was good fun, and it was nice to be in an ocean that was as warm as bathwater-even at 10am!  Simon never understood why I had problems getting in chilly water (ocean or pool), until that trip, but now he gets it.

Other than that, most of our first two weeks was taken up with ‘life admin’ from the move-trying to pay final bills, Simon chasing some probate things for his father’s estate, and planning details for the trip.  My father doesn’t have intertwebs, so it seems like we spent a good 10-15 hours over those two weeks in the local Starbucks on their WiFi!

All of the above aside, I would say there has been a bit of the reverse culture shock that so many people said I’d experience when I returned.  Not much, but I think that’s because what we’re doing now isn’t ‘normal life,’ so I anticipate that once we settle in in Seattle, there will be more observations.  Simon has made quite a few (which I hope he will guest blog about in short order), but for me the biggest thing I’ve noticed-and it’s somewhat tied to the ‘haven’t had a car in 4 years’ bit from above:  Must we be on our mobile phones when driving?!?!?  More times than I can count, the near misses on the roads have been from people on their mobiles.  What gives?  Must common sense be legislated?  Sigh.

Road Trip

6 days.  2600 miles.  5 States.  Cities visited thusfar: Charleston, SC; Savannah, GA; Hilton Head, SC; Atlanta, GA; Bridgeport, AL (just so Simon could tick another State off the list…), and we just arrived in Nasheville, TN.

Our lovely room in the 17hundred 90 Inn

Highlights:  Savannah, GA.  I’m supremely embarrassed that I’ve never been to Savannah before, given how close it is to where I spent most of my life, but the two days in Savannah were perfection.  Loved it.  Simon too.  As in, ‘I’d like to retire here’ kind of loved it.  Great everything.   We stayed in this incredible place called the 17hundred90 Inn, and were so happy to be there, I think we walked around with stupid looks on our faces for 2 straight days!

Rockin' on Jack's front porch

Also, cliche though it may seem...we took the Jack Daniels Distillery tour in Lynchburg, TN, and it was incredible!  Great story, great organization, and the information was enough to be educational and entertaining without belabouring the point.  A Plus.

Lowlights:  Navigation.  I’m not patient enough with Simon/the GPS, and need to get better about this, or we’re going to fight every day-and I don’t want to be that way.  As mentioned earlier, Simon doesn’t yet understand the logic of the road signage, so for him to tell me what he sees on GPS (as we’re not able to dashboard mount the thingy…), is frequently misleading/incorrect, and causes immense frustration for me.  Must. Get. More. Patient.

Final Thoughts....Frustrations with my fellow Americans aside, I'm stunned at how quickly I've slipped back into the US.  When we flew out of London, I quite genuinely thought I'd be bawling my eyes out on the air plane at the prospect of leaving London.  Nope.  Instead, it was more like:  "Come on, come on, come on...can't this plane go any faster!"  I'm really not sure where that came from to be honest.  

The Riverwalk in Savannah, GA

Olympic Park in Atlanta, GA

And Similarly for Simon, the stress of the last 2 months in London with his father's death/estate were really taking it's toll.  We were fortunate enough to find a solicitor to take over probate just weeks before we departed, and now that they're in full action mode, there isn't much that Simon has to worry about (er...other than selling the house).  Nevertheless, the move here-and the trip in particular- was the perfect opportunity to 'draw a line' (Simon's words) from that stress.  I think we both still need another week or so to really come down, and then I think we'll be really ready to embrace this new adventure to the fullest.

It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times...

I'm sitting at work today-it's a Sunday-to get some work done, and some life admin done, as the past two weeks have been absolutely crazy.  I know people (myself included) overuse that phrase to describe their life, but in this case, the past two weeks are a real reflection of that sentiment.

It Was the Best of Times...
Sunday, April 29th, Simon and I took a big step in the direction of getting ourselves back to the US.  I've been really quiet about this topic the past few months, and it's time to let the cat out of the bag on everything related to this, as I have a feeling this will become a large topic of focus in our lives for the next several months.
On that Sunday, we booked our one-way tickets from London to the US (Charlotte, NC to be specific) for a July 2 departure-just 2 days before July 4; Independence Day.  Seems fitting. :)
We'll fly in to Charlotte, and spend a week or so visiting my father, catching up with friends, *buying a car* (oh, that little detail), and then head to the beach-the NC/SC beaches are just some of the best in the US in my humble opinion, and I've talked to Simon about them for ages-it's time he gets to experience it first hand.  From there, we'll take ~4-5 weeks and drive cross country and up to Seattle for our final destination.  I still have my condo in Seattle, so we'll stay there until we either get jobs in Seattle-or up sticks and move to San Francisco (plan B).  I'll bore everyone with the details on the job search later, and our travel plans-once we know what they are...but, that's the gist.

Then, Monday, April 30th was our First Anniversary as a married couple.  I can't believe it's been a year already!  It's been an incredible year, and if it's anything to go by, I look forward to the next 50 years with Simon as well.  We splurged with a 7-course tasting menu (wine with each course) at Le Gavroche, and oh what an experience that was!  We ate and drank so well (the best was the cheese souffle), and it is now surely a top-3 meal for me in London.  I will remember that night-and the hangover the next day-for some time to come.  It was a truly special experience.


It Was the Worst of Times...
Wednesday, May 2nd however is where life decided it was time to remind you how fickle it can be: Simon's Dad passed away.  He had not been a well man the entire time I've known him (3 heart attacks, numerous angina attacks, and more trips to the hospital than I can genuinely remember), and he was in the hospital when he passed away, but it was-and still is-a shock to the system.  I was in Dublin when Simon phoned my mobile at ~11am.  As soon as I saw the call, I knew exactly why he was calling: it's just one of those things you know.
We spent last weekend at Simon's Dad's house taking care of 'admin' along with Simon's brother & sister.  Simon heads back up today to have a meeting with the church vicar on Monday, and then the funeral is planned for May 18.
Simon is the executor of the will, so the past week has also been intense in beginning the paper chase to settle the estate.  I've tried to help where I can with phone calls to various companies to request paperwork to wrap up this account or that account, but there still seems to be a fair bit to do-and I think we're both feeling overwhelmed at the admin-both for his father's estate, and as we try to wrap up our lives here.

The silver lining to all of this (I am trying to stay positive...), is that it has meant he's been able to spend some good time with his brother & sister-and, Simon doesn't leave the country with the burden of his father's health hanging on him.  It sounds horrible to say-but it is the hard truth. Simon even recognizes that when he was to last see his dad in June before we leave could quite possibly have been the last time he saw him alive.   And, once we land in the US, Simon can't leave the country for 6 months (part of the conditional visa/green card process).  I couldn't bear the thought of Simon arriving in the US, and then not being able to return if he had to for his Dad.

What has been incredibly surprising to me (I disclose this in trying to keep with the true spirit of this blog), is the lack of difference in general approach/admin/details that seem to exist between the US and the UK on the topic of death and funerals.  It all seems incredibly familiar to me-the process-and I'm very surprised, given how different other common things (renting a flat, for example) have been.

Where the US and UK do diverge on this concept however is in price.  Before Simon spoke to the funeral director about the pricing for everything, I told him that I recall my mother's funeral expenses (all in) ran about $10k-and that was a fairly standard price.  Given how typically expensive everything in the UK is, we were bracing our selves for a £10k price tag (or ~$15k).  Surprisingly, the entire cost for the funeral will barely run £2k.  Everything (coffin, flowers, funeral home...everything) is so much less than what it is in the US.  Go figure.

Well, that's it for now.  There's so much to do in the next week-and subsequent weeks-that I actually need to get moving.  I will try to update a bit more regularly over the next few weeks about well, everything.  It's been a crazy few weeks, and it isn't stopping any time soon!

Smooth Move, Laxative!

No, no.  This post isn't what you think it is...

For all of the British-isms I've picked up over the 3.5 (almost!) years I've been in London, I do often forget about the American/Southern-American lingo I continue to spew forth-and many time to my poor husband, who is still learning 'the language.'
Last nite was no exception, and the result was so funny, I have to make note of it.

We were tossing a rubber ball back and forth in the hallway-as us hip, married couples do on a Friday nite-and at one point, Simon fumbled the ball so terribly, I couldn't help but revert to one of my favourite childhood taunts:  Smooth move, Exlax!

The look on Simon's face was one of utter confusion.  So, it dawned on me that Exlax must not be a product that was ever sold here in the UK.  So, I quickly proceeded to explain to him that it was a popular chocolate-flavoured laxitive sold in the US, so the phrase, 'smooth move, Exlax' was meant to imply, well..a sarcasm in someone not being so smooth or fluid in their movements.

He took it onboard like he does many of these things, and we proceeded to keep tossing the ball.  Well, after a few more throws, I too fumbled the ball.

Simon's taunt?  Smooth move, laxitive!

I proceeded to double over in laugher as I dropped the ball.

April 30, 2011: A Perfect Day

In the mania that has been since returning from getting married-and wanting to leave the Dorothy posts up high for a while (more on this in another post), I'm just now getting round to recording my thoughts about the wedding.  Whew.

What can I say? Not that we were striving for a perfect day-god knows that would have been incredibly unrealistic-but, in hindsight, and without trying to sound too mushy...it was a perfect day. 

As per the usual, I was up and awake before Simon.  Between jetlag and just general 'ok, time to get up', I was up at 8am.  It was nice to have a bit of peace and quite to myself; I thought the next 90 minutes would be all I'd get to myself all day long, and that thought was not incorrect!  The next moment to myself would come 18 hours later around 2am when we both went to bed (god only knows how poor Kate Middleton must have felt: up at 6am, and Fireworks at 3am to celebrate the marriage).

I pottered downstairs to the lobby to grab a cup of free (but yummy) coffee, and then came back upstairs and sat outside in the hallway reading the newspaper, enjoying my coffee and poking around on the internet.  I know it must sound odd to say I sat in the hallway, but between the lighting, benches and relative quiet at 8am on a Saturday, it was actually a great place to sit-plus, the wifi is better in the hall than in our room.  I will confess, as I wrote the blog post about our wedding on that day, I did find myself getting a little teary eyed.  Ok.  A lot teary eyed.

Off to breakfast at 9.30am with Simon, his best man, my man of honour-and his wife and another friend. [This trio of people are my oldest and dearest friends and would effectively be my salvation for the day.]  A big breakfast, and back up to the room at 10.30 to shower up before heading off to hair & makeup at 11am.  It's the only time in my life I've ever splurged for professional hair & makeup.  It was soooo worth it.  Not just because my hair & makeup still looked pretty darned good 14 hours later, but it was nice to just sit there and not have to worry about it!

Even though I told him he didn't have to come, I should have known better:  my man of honor, Scott came up at 11.30a and sat with me for the duration.  What can I say?  He's a champ.  And, he probably has no idea how much I appreciated having him there.  If I would have sat there by myself, I'm pretty sure I would have hit freak-out mode in no time flat.  Best friends you've known for close to 30 years are incredibly rare.  If you find yourself fortunate enough to have one, you should consider yourself the luckiest person in the world.  I do.

After hair & makeup, we had just enough time to grab a quick bite of lunch before I had to hustle off and finish getting ready, and the same for Scott.  It's a good thing we took the time for lunch.  As I've heard more times than I can recount from friends who have wed, I really didn't get much more to eat for the rest of the day:  my plate of food at the reception was only half eaten before I had to abandon it, and neither of us even had a wedding cupcake (well, I finally ate mine the next day, but Simon never got one).

Little did I know that while this was all going on, Scott's wife and our other friend were working pretty hard behind the scenes on the last minute details that NEVER even occured to me.  Having never been married before, it never occured to me (for example...) how to get the boutineres from the florist to the men.  Or, my bouquet up to my room for when I was getting ready.  Or, any other dozen little things that just never even crossed my mind.  I consider myself to be an organized person-and on the things that I thought about, I was organzied (I swear!).  As for the things I didn't think about?  Again, all I can say is thank god for friends!

Back in the room at 10 minutes to 2pm-with t-minus 40 minutes, I still need to get dressed.  It was a warm day (finally-after 6 days of crap weather), and after Simon's shower, between the heat from the sun and the heat from the shower, it was swealtering in the room when I arrived.  Within moments, sweat was trickling down my face and I begin to hit panic mode:  a)my makeup is going to be ruined b)my hair is going to be ruined and c)I'm concerned that once I get my dress on, between the heat and the nerves, I'm going to pass out!  Oh, and at that moment, the photographer shows up to take a few 'getting ready' shots.  Good grief.

We bust open the windows, pull the box fan out from the closet and crank it on high.  It starts to cool off, but I'm still too warm to get in my dress.  So, I try to stall:  I lay everything out to make final assembly fast.  Put on my jewellery, go to the potty one more time....anything to stall for time so I cool off.

Finally, I do-and at that moment my girlfriends arrive to help me in my dress.  Scott, bless him, probably would have stepped up if I had asked him, but it was probably better he didn't! :)  I've lost close to 14 pounds over the past 3 months-with most lost the last 6 weeks before the wedding-so I didn't have the dress altered to fit; it would have been a wasted effort.  Luckily, I bought some lingerie tape-the doublesided stuff-and after I put the dress on, my friends procede to tape me in the dress.  The dress had a sash tie, so I could sinch the waist myself for auto-correct on the sizing, but the bust was in great need of help, so we spent 15 minutes taping me in.  I wasn't going anywhere any time soon!

All the while, we're keeping up a good patter of banter, which is helping to keep calm.  But, again, like clock work, as we get the dress sorted, there's another knock on the door.  It's 2:20pm, and my father has arrived to take me to the ceremony.  He looked so handsome-and a bit shellshocked at seeing me-that I almost burst into tears when I opened the door.  I had to have my friend Kirsten punch me in the arm to keep me from crying.   (Kirsten is very good at punching people-and has been for 20+ years, so I knew she would be the right person for the job.)  Scott shows up a moment later, and then there's a flurry of getting boutineres on him & my dad before we all catch our breath before heading out the door.

I think Kirsten can now see the nerves on my face, so she starts rambling on about her oldest son (who's 5) finally loosing his baby teeth.  She keeps this up for the 2-3 minutes it takes us to to walk to the ceremony site (the theatre on the property).  She probably doesn't realize this, but I'm pretty sure her talking is what kept me calm those last few minutes.  

The next thing I know, I'm standing at the end of the aisle next to Simon who *really* does look like he's going to pass out-and feels it too.  His hand, when I touch it is cold and clammy.  To the point that the first few minutes of the ceremony, I'm not really listening.  Instead, I'm plotting as to whether or not I try to catch Simon when he falls, try to tip him in the direction of his best man who is much larger and could probably catch him without injury, or just let him hit the ground.  Bless his heart.  It was a bit warm in the room-and the pressure he was probably feeling didn't help.  Ironically, as a result of thinking he's the one that's struggling, I find that any nerves I had were gone. I had always presumed that I would be the one that would be mush and Simon would have to be the strong one at the alter.  But, one look at Simon made me snap to.  I was surprised at how calm I sounded when we were reciting our vows, and even more surprisingly, didn't shed a single tear at the cermony.

Fortunately, he didn't pass out, and after 15 minutes, we say I Will (it's an Episcopal thing).  We're married!

From there, it seems that all of the nerves are gone for both of us.  I feel the weight lift from my shoulders, and I'm suddenly quite aware of how excited I am about spending the next 8-10 hours with my friends-just hanging out, drinking and dancing.  Is it weird that the ceremony was almost like the work/chore we had to get thru to get to the fun part?  Hm.  I'd never really thought of the ceremony in that way before, but given that was where the pressure was greatest, it does make me wonder...

After the ceremony, we all herd to the front of the hotel where the steps and the entrance are quite grand, for group and wedding party photos, and then we head off with the photographer for more photos-and send people on their way to the pub with drink vouchers in hand.  It's just gone 3.30pm at this point, and the 'English' part of the wedding is about to hit full stride:  in the pub, drink in hand, and let's get pissed!  Personally, I think it's the way to go-what a pity we didn't get to join for another hour. :)

As it was a surprisingly nice day, we were able to take a good number of photos both inside &outside.  I haven't seen the pics yet, but am super excited for their arrival!  McMenamins (the place we got married) is just so freaking photogenic, that I know the pics are going to look great.  My favorite part of all of this, is at one point, we're standing on the 2nd floor balcony of the hotel.  The photographer is on the ground and taking photos looking up at us.  It dawns on both of us at that point that it's all very 'Royal Wedding', so we jokingly start waving to the masses-in that bizarre Royal way.  Mind you, there are no 'masses'-just a few friends and other random folks wandering down below with drinks in hand, but it does make the strangers pause and look at us with a very puzzled look on their faces!

From there, the next 8 hours are again, a blur.  Food (only a bit..), drinks (again, just a bit-I don't think I had 3 drinks total in the reception), dancing, talking, laughing.  The reception was a perfect way to spend the evening.  The locale was simply perfect, the decorations my friends added couldn't have been better, the music was fantastic, and it all seemed to go off without a hitch.  I remember snippets of the evening, but it seems like every time I'd look at my watch, I'd lost another 2 hour chunk-though it felt like 5 minutes!  Fortunately, the photographer was at the reception for a few hours, there were a lot of pictures taken from friends, and we hired a photo booth (like at the beach), so there's plenty of documentary evidence even if I can't remember much.  I have seen several photos since-many even with me posted and smiling.  I can't remeber the picture to save my life.

We had to be out of the reception by midnight, and from there, we pass out more drink vouchers and folks head out to the bar on premise that is open the latest-the distillery.  We nip back to the room to change clothes:  12 hours in a suit for Simon and 10 hours in my dress=two people who really want to put on some jeans!  Don't get me wrong, my dress was super comfy-perhaps the most comfortable dress of any kind I've ever worn.  But, 10 hours in any one clothing article starts to bug me. :)

We head out to the distillery, but after half a drink for both of us, we decide to say good night.  It's beginning to push 1am, we're pooped, and have to be up by 9am the next day (hosted brunch at 10.30am).  Plus, it's starting to get boozy-and, not that I'm not a fan of a drunken evening, but I'm so tired, that I can't even be bothered.  Who knew:  leading up to the wedding, I presumed I'd drink more than what I did on our wedding day.  But, as we both kept getting drinks and then being pulled off for something, neither of us actually drank that much when it was all over.

Favorite memories of the day:  seeing my dad for the first time,  the minister's ceremony (Colin, the man who married is a B-school classmate of mine; he was an ordained Episcopal minister before B-school.  It was a such gift to have someone who knew us to perform the ceremony), getting to spend more than 3 hours in a year with my old friends from home, having homemeade Cherry Lemon Vanilla Sundrop shipped in from North Carolina (don't ask.  it's a long story...), watching one of Simon's friends-who tends to be the calm one of the group-go completely *bonkers* on the dance floor, seeing everyone have so much fun with the photo booth, being serenaded by Chris (Pat Benetar's "Hearbreaker"; she used to sing in a Pat Benetar cover band...) on the dance floor, the group dance at the end to New York, New York (an English tradition. go figure), and simply getting to spend a proper weekend surrounded by family and friends.

I'm leaving out so much, but I should stop.  I could write a book on this-the errands the week leading up to the ceremony, the exhaustion we both felt the next morning (after being woken up at 8am.  grr...),  the irony of both the news of Osama Bin Laden and my friend Dorothy going missing all on the same weekend, the surprise (and delight) at finding out that people actually you cash in envelopes on your wedding day, the beauty of the flowers-and sadness to know that I'm probably the only one who noticed them, the fun of having Eric stand up and tell the story about 'On the Road,'  and on and on.

OK.  I really am stopping now.

My final $.02:  I will NEVER do this again! ;)

I'll post a few pro shots once we receive, but in the interim, here are a few that were taken from my camera:

My Handsome Father

Man of Honour after hair & Makeup

Scott, moi, Kirsten, Scott's wife, Susan-my oldest and dearest friends

Lisbon, Portugal

OK.  Time for a proper travel catch-up.  From the previous post, it's obvious that I went to Lisbon 2 weeks ago, but aside from the engagement part, I didn't actually comment on Lisbon, so I'll do so now..

Having been to Porto two years ago, I had at least that mental standard of what to expect, but actually expected more from Lisbon-as both a larger, and the capital city.  On some level, Lisbon didn't disappoint (*massive* protests in the main part of twon we were in on the Saturday we were there), but at the same time, I can't actaully say I liked Lisbon as much as Porto.

We got there on Friday evening, and basically dropped our stuff off at the hotel & headed out for dinner and drinks.   Lisbon is surprisingly hilly-shockingly so, in certain parts of town.  And, the area we wanted to get to required either a 15 minute walk *straight up* a hill.  Or, a cute 3 minute trolley ride.  We opted for trolley. :)  We then wandered around the Barrio Alto area looking for a place to eat, and I was struck by how much it reminded me of  'Restaurant Row' in Brussels-restaurant after restaurant for several blocks in any direction, and hosts were outside trying to get you 'come sit down. try. you willl like.' 

Instead, we headed a few more blocks off the main path and ended up at a place called Artis.  WOW.  Our first meal pretty much set the standard for the rest of the weekend-how could it not, when one of the tapas dishes was "aguardente flambeed sausage"?  We were barely the 3rd table in the house when we got there at 9p, but by 9.30p, the place was packed, and every table-including ours-had ordered this visually stunning, and very tasty dish.  Yum.  We also ordered a bottle of Vinho Verde-the white wine that Portugal is known for.  Double yum.  We'd go on to consume a fair number of bottles of this wine over the course of the next 3 days.

After dinner, we went and found the Solar du Vino do Porto.  Effectiely a port-wine bar.  After my trip to Porto, I've really come to appreciate port, and to go to a place and be presented with a 20-page menu with nothing but port wine is pretty exciting.   Some for as cheap as 1.80 EUR for a glass, up to 30 EUR.  Simon & I had a few ranging from 1.80-7 EUR, and they were all simply delicious.  By now, it's pushing midnight, and as Friday was a regular work-day for us, I was getting tired.  So, we headed back to the hotel for the evening.

Saturday started out with a quick trip to the pastry shop across the street of the hotel for breakfast.  Two croissants, two coffees, and a bottled water for 5.40 EUR (about $5) .  And it was also delicious.  THIS is why I love Portugal!  I will say...our food all weekend long was really good, and every meal made us marvel at how cheap-but fantastic-the food is.  It's very similar to the food we've had in Barcelona (also amazing), but about half the price.

Since our time was limited in Lisbon to just a few days, and we wanted to cover as much ground as possible-but knowing that walking from one part of town to the other could a)take ages and b)kill us because of the hills..we opted to go on one of those hop-on/hop-off buses.  I'm not ashamed to admit that we've done these buses now in Paris, Barcelona, and Lisbon.  And though it screams 'unimaginative tourist', if the weather is good it is the easiest and best way to see a city.

We got off at one of the waterfront stops to go have a wander around a few of the touristy things.  Ship Rock (I think that's what it's called?) and a castle.  After a few hours, we hopped back on another tour bus and passed by the Monestario do Jeronamo and then headed back into the main part of town, where we got off and went to grab a bite to eat for lunch.  After lunch, we were planning to have a walk back to the hotel for  a lie-down and freshen up before heading back out for the evening (it was pushing 4p...), but on our way back to the hotel, that's when we encountered the protesters.  It was peaceful and well organized-I'd say well over 10k people turned out.  From what we could eke out on the signs-and later when we were talking to our server at the beer garden we went to, I think they were mostly Labor/Trade Unions protesting Capitalism. 

Well, since we couldn't easily get back to the hotel because of the protest, we turned around and headed back down to the heart of the city (and back downhill!) to a beer garden in an area that reminded me of Las Ramblas in Barcelona-but without the scary street people.  We thought we'd gone far enough to get away from the protest, but instead...for the next 2 hours, we had a front row view on the street, as every Union group in the protest came by us!  From time to time, some of the protesters would come to the beer garden, have a seat-and a beer-and take a break.  Then, they'd grab their signs, drums, whatever they were carrying & join the protest again.  It was all good family-fun. :)

Anyhoo, after dinner that nite, we went back to the port-wine bar for a few more tastes before calling it a night.

We decided that Sunday would be a more relaxed day.  After breakfast we headed in to town to go to the Contemporary Art Museum (free before 2p on Sundays), and then caught a trolley over to the Monestary. 

We'd only passed by the day before & I really wanted to go in.  But, man, the queues were enormous-as were the crowds-and neither Simon or I had the patience for it!  So, instead, we went around the corner to a pastry shop that's well known for selling "Postres do Belem" (Belem is the part of town we were in...), and we bought one and grabbed a spot on the steps at the Monestary for a quick snack.  By now, it's pushing 1p-and it's blazing hot outside.  Not wanting to get fried to a crisp, we decide to head back to the main part of town & eat an early lunch under the shade.

Another lovely meal-and another lovely bottle of Vinho Verde, and the plan to again go back to the hotel for a lie down gets tossed aside when we walk by the beer garden.  A few pints (well, technically, Litres-as each glass was one Litre) and 3 hours later, and we decide to go up to the Barrio Alto area for a little tapas and a drink before having full-blown dinner.

The rest they say, is history.  Little did I know, but Simon had been walking around all day with his faux-ring in his pocket to propose to me at some point in the day, and after arriving at the tapas bar, and getting settled with our order, down on one knee he goes.  Sneaky bunny.