when i live my dream

We returned late Friday from our honeymoon in Jamaica. It was a lot of fun, and 10 days was long enough to where you really felt away from everything and could let loose and enjoy yourself. It is the longest vacation I’ve ever taken, and I could get used to doing that more often.

So to use a very cliché saying, tomorrow feels like it is going to be the beginning of the rest of our lives. This weekend flew by, trying to get caught up, unpacked and ready to go back to work. So tomorrow it begins, the routine, going back to work, doing what we do like before, except married. I don’t really feel different (besides this ring on my finger which I cannot stop fidgeting with), but tomorrow is really the start of our life together now that things are getting back to normal.

I will try to post soon about how much fun Jamaica was, along with more pictures from the honeymoon. We ended up being without internet access the last few days of the trip, which was actually sort of a good thing, because I didn’t need to spend time doing the same thing I can do at home. I have posted a few more wedding pictures today, though I still need to get up ones from the reception. Also, in the mail we received a DVD from our photographer, Rob, with a slideshow of our wedding pictures, which I have posted as a video below:

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1723803&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1
Kristy & Brad wedding from Brad L on Vimeo.

another 48 hours

Time is drawing near for the wedding, and the last two days have been very busy. My parents arrived in town Tuesday evening, so I’ve spent most of my time with them since their arrival. Yesterday, my Dad and I spent the entire day doing small projects around the house that I had not dared to attempt on my own since I moved in. Unfortunately, one of the projects, to tie up the drain line from the dishwasher, resulted in us causing a leak in one of the lines under the kitchen sink which ended up eating up most of our day and involving multiple trips to the local hardware store. But it was all fixed by the end of the day, and I’m feeling more comfortable with my role of homeowner after working side-by-side with an expert.

This morning, my Dad and I went and picked up our tuxedos and everything worked out except his jacket was a little small, but we should get a replacement by this afternoon. So far, everything is falling into place with the actual wedding. We are a little nervous about the tropical storms down in the Atlantic, but now that Gustav is moving towards the US, it looks like Jamaica might be safe for now. Fingers crossed.

Besides that, there are a couple of newish albums that I’m really enjoying as of late, the Fleet Foxes album & ‘Sun Giant’ EP, and the newest No Age album ‘Nouns’. I’m also enjoying the Portishead album a lot as of late, which has taken a while to grow on me, probably because it is so different from what I had been expecting.

summer here kids

The wedding is now a week from today. I will skip over the subject today except to note happily (for now) that the weather forecast looks good so far, though we all know forecasting weather is a pretty weak science that usually isn’t reliable except for a few hours in advance. But for what it’s worth, here is what the Weather Channel is saying for Sunday:

Just got back from lunch with Will & Tricia before their flight back to Portland. Very nice of them to make time for little old me. Fortunately last night’s mini dinner party (I suppose it’s not technically a dinner party when it’s just one other couple) went off well, and while there were a couple bottles of wine consumed over the course of the evening, there was no pain to be felt this morning, at least for me. One very positive benefit of this whole wedding experience has been reconnecting with a lot of old friends who we’ve sort of lost touch with over time. We are both really looking forward to the reception next week where we get to hang out and celebrate with a bunch of people that are important to us. And given the small-ish size of it, we will hopefully be able to spend time with everyone.

Now I must leave to go make an attempt at a rain dance as my dying grass does not seem to respond as well to my sprinkler as it does to the sky opening up, and today is our only chance for rain over the next few days. While it has been a relatively mild summer here in NE Ohio, it’s also been very dry, as evidenced by the brown yards all across my neighborhood.

my backwards walk

This past week, I decided that I am going to skip running in this year’s Akron Marathon. Instead, I am going to just be a spectator, cheering on Kristy as she runs her very first half-marathon. While I was doing pretty well with keeping up with my training plan, I just wasn’t feeling it. Over the past year, my running has kind of plateaued, and I’ve really been struggling to break through and get to the next level. I’m not there yet, so I think it’s better for me to just keep my race registration fee in my pocket this time around, and keep on pushing. I am not stopping my running though, and plan to continue going out Sunday mornings with Kristy to do long runs. But come September 27th, I’ll be lacing up my shoes for the purpose of running around Akron with my camera to hopefully capture some pictures of Kristy.

Speaking of running around, the wedding is now 8 days away, and things are starting to get slightly hectic. There have been a few unexpected snags and things that have arisen over the past week to add to the already inevitable stress. We’ve definitely learned that no matter how small the wedding, there is still plenty to worry about. But we’re trying to not let it get to us and enjoy this time in our lives. We’re having another couple over tonight, which I believe will mark the first time I’ve cooked dinner for other people. Hopefully they enjoy my cooking as much as Kristy claims to. I’ll be making one of my favorite dishes, Rigatoni with Sausage, Peppers and Onions from Giada De Laurentiis’ “Everyday Italian”.

things behind the sun

T-minus 10 days and counting until my wedding next Sunday. Fortunately we have most everything squared away, so there is very little last minute rushing around to this point. A low freakout factor is a very good thing at this point. I had my quasi-bachelor party this past Thursday which amounted to a group of guys from work taking me out for drinks afterwork and then a few of us headed out to admire some shoe models. It was fun and pretty low key, which is good with me. Kristy had her party on Saturday, with dinner at Johnny Mangos followed by drinks at various bars in Ohio City.

I’m really looking forward to my parents coming next week to stay with us for a few days. It’s been over two years since they moved away from here, and this will be their first time back, and the first time they will be seeing our new house. My Dad, the original handyman, will be helping me out with a few small projects around the house. Maybe he can help me erect a wall between me and my neighbor’s house so I don’t have to see them sitting out in their driveway barbecuing every night with a couple of the other hillbilly neighbors from up the street while their little children run around, screaming.

Meanwhile, I recently saw that Cleveland was named on Forbes’ list of America’s Fastest-Dying Cities. What a great distinction. As much as I enjoy living here, it’s hard to read something like that and deny everything it says, especially when it comes to the hard economic facts. Despite the economic realities that our country has started facing over the past 20 years, which have hit this area particularly hard, I feel that Cleveland is a better place than it has ever been in the 29 years that I’ve been here. And now that I’ve started laying down some roots, I’m looking forward to being here to continue to see it change and improve.