What to make for dinner?

I just got home from work and there's nothing to eat. What shall I make for dinner? The age old question. I am endeavoring to keep our meat consumption down to two meals a week. It's less impact environmentally to eat meat and vegetarian has the bonus of being less expensive... usually. We had black and blue burgers two nights ago, so we've had one meat dish maybe we should have the other tonight. Eggs sound good though, maybe I'll make a quiche. That does sound good. How about Spinach Quiche? Think I can find fresh spinach in the grocery store yet? Probably not. I think I'll go with the vegetarian or maybe leek and goat cheese.

Alright, I am off to the grocery!

*Update* I bought all the groceries then remembered it was Wednesday. On Wednesday we eat dinner with my parents. Tonight was Mandarin food, which is more exciting than me making food. I guess we'll have quiche tomorrow night.

Congratulations Huck

Congratulations Huck! You have great parents.

The Steve and Marigold plus fetus link is officially updated to Steve and Marigold plus baby.

Homes have more TVs than People

This is ridiculous. The average American house hold has 2.5 people and 2.7 TVs.

David and Teresa Leon of Schenectady, New York and their four-year-old twins have seven sets, plus an eighth they haven't set up yet. They include TVs in both the parents' and kids' bedrooms, the family and living rooms and one in the kitchen that is usually turned to a news station.

I am dumb struck. My children will not have a TV in their bedroom. Here's a great quote:

"No one ever sits down for more than a few seconds in this house," said Teresa, a stenographer. "This way you can watch TV while you're moving from room to room, folding laundry or taking care of the kids."

You might as well just install big panel TVs put in the wall a la Fahrenheit 451 and have "the cousins" constantly talking to you. It's not that I think all TV should be eliminated, but if you watch the average 4 hours and 30 minutes, like most Americans, do you really remember what you watched? Do you have anything to show for that time spent? I mean other than a desire for all the products advertised?

All right, I am done now.

Crack Frost

Frost, I scraped it off my car windows yesterday. This is the first time my car has been through freezing temperatures since the hooligans broke out the back window. Mysteriously after they broke out my side window, a crack appeared on the right side of my windshield. For a while I watched it eek its way up the window, until it got about 8 inches long. It'd been that way for eight months, but now it is growing again. I blame the freezing temperatures. In one direction it now touches the edge of the window, but the other end still has at least another foot or two to get to before it can dead end. Should I be worried about it? Right now it is just kind of fascinating. I wouldn't put the money in to fix the windshield anyways.

Yet another reason to eat locally produced food.

The E Coli laced spinach has now been reported in 19 states. And I am glad. Not because people got nasty cases of food poisoning, but because it brings the issue of buying locally produced food into the spot light. I am a big fan of organic food. It is usually produced in a more sustainable manner than other stuff on the grocery store shelves. I am an even bigger fan of local produce. Given the choice (and the budget) I buy local. Local products don't travel as far which equals less gasoline used. Shorter transport also means less packaging and processing is required. Not to mention the food usually tastes better, and has less preservatives. Buying local means we put money back into our local economy. According to LocalHarvest.org 82 cents of every dollar we spend at grocery store goes to the middlemen and only 18 cents goes to the farmer. Plus buying local means you are a lot less likely to get E Coli because some gigantic corporation decided to cut corners on their food production and distribution.

For more information on where to buy local go to LocalHarvest.org and put in your zip code in the upper left corner.

Flower Convention

On Sunday I went to the Iowa Florists Association convention in Des Moines. I learned a couple of tricks of the trade as well as witnessed Mary Kay and Allen get life time achievement awards. That was pretty neat. I also sat in on two of the demonstrations and got some good inspiration. There were all these edgy, modern, creations. Half the customers here would demand their money back if we sent them something like those, but I might be able to upgrade some of our designs into something a little more modern and fun.

The best part was at the end of the convention they gave away a bunch of the flowers they didn't use. I probably took home a retail value of $250 worth of flowers. I made my mom a nice big center piece and I made this for myself out of some left over foliages:

American English

Your Linguistic Profile:

65% General American English

15% Upper Midwestern

10% Yankee

5% Dixie

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

I find it interesting that I don't speak any Midwestern, it's probably because I don't say pop anymore, unless of course it is reference to a vending machine. Those are still pop machines. However, I drink cans of soda. Click here for an interesting break down of soda names across america, displayed in map form.

One of the questions was, "Do you use the word cruller?" I don't know what that word is. I just looked it up in The Urban Dictionary, apparently it is a fried twisted piece of bread in the shape of a horse shoe. So basically a funny shaped donut. The only pictures I can find, however, are donut shaped. I think I have seen those before. I would have just referred to it as a donut.

RIP Crocodile Hunter, John and Katie

Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter, died over the weekend, so did this couple. I didn't know John and Katie at all, but apparently they both went to my high school and she was a grade ahead of me. Katie was a lawyer and John was a doctor, they hydroplaned while driving to Okoboji for Labor Day (also their one year wedding anniversary). Katie and their dog died instantly, and John died hours later in an emergency room.

Steve Irwin, and John and Katie all died in an unexpected accidents well before their time. However, I feel more for Steve Irwin, the TV personality, than I do for the local couple. I felt like I knew the Crocodile Hunter. I knew his passions and saw him cry over the loss of his crocodile. It's making me feel guilty. I should care more about the promising young couple from Iowa. Why does the Crocodile Hunter, getting a stingray barb through his heart, seem more haunting?

Ode to My Food Processor

I got two days off in a row! This is very exciting and doesn't happen with the current set-up of my work schedule. I used it to it's full advantage by staying home. I sat at home and played Heroes of Might and Magic Sunday.

Monday I decided I should actually be productive, so I made lots of food. I biked to the garden and collected five pounds of tomatoes, then I came home and blanched them. Using my lovely food processor, I made the tomatoes into a chunky puree. It is possible to have a chunky puree? Maybe I should just say chunky slop of tomato, but that doesn't sound near as appetizing. The food processor is one of the things that Target gave us for a wedding gift. (See note at end of post.) This is the first time I have used my food processor to make something other than hummus. While it does a wonderful job of making my wonderful hummus, quickly and smoothly, it was really gratifying to watch it process whole tomatoes into a chunky tomato slop in four seconds. As long as I was processing things, I shredded zucchini to make zucchini bread, and shredded roasted eggplant for bahagian bharta (eggplant curry). Then I baked and cooked to my heart's content. I have something partially made for dinner every day this week.

I also did laundry and washed the kitchen floor. It was a very productive day.

Note: Target gave us a nice wedding gift, did I tell you? When combining our many gift cards and returns into one gift card the customer service girl somehow doubled the value of our card. So when we bought all our new purchases with the gift card, thinking we had about used up the whole value, lo and behold there was slightly more money left on the card then what we should have started with. Thank you Target for that very nice gift. We used it to buy my food processor and bookshelves.

Spanish Class

We've had our first week of Spanish. It's not so bad. We don't appear to be too far behind. Well, I am not too far behind, Jeff appears to be well ahead of what we are working on. Our instructor is young with an quirky sense of humor that promises to keep class interesting. The packet of required reading material which included, text books, lab manual, work book, and answer key was $200 at the bookstore. That's almost as much as it costs to take the class. So I just spent some time hunting down the pieces and we have the all the books coming separately to us from various places around the US for a total of $52.33 and that's with shipping. It makes me wonder how many student buy at full price. I guess there must be suckers out there.

Waking Up Cold

Last night we slept with the windows open per-usual. We haven't been running the air conditioner to help save with energy costs and acclimate us to doing with out. This morning it was cold. I normally cuddle up to Jeff when I fall a sleep, but shift to sleeping on my back some time during the night. This morning I woke up completely wrapped around him. He makes a great heater. According to weather.com the over night low was only 60. Maybe I'm getting soft to cold weather. I haven't been through an Iowa winter in two years. Although, it's pretty sad if 60 feels cold.

I have been working on botanically correct embroidered pillow cases recently, but they may get put on hold so I can start a nice warm quilt. I planned to use the miss-matched napkins from our wedding to make the quilt. I've never tried to make one before. I'm sure it is one of those things that will take a lot longer than I think it should. If I am lucky I might get it done before we go on Peace Corps.

Writing of which, we start our Spanish class tonight. It should be interesting. I hope we aren't too far behind.

Making Wild Grape Jelly

My mom and I are making wild grape jelly today. Last weekend they went canoeing for wild grapes on the Skunk River. They picked two five gallon buckets almost full of grapes. My industrious mother boiled the grapes and hung them up in cheese cloth to drip out their juices.

Now we are boiling the juice with lots of sugar and some pectin. There are seven cups of sugar to the five cups of juice. Wild grapes are sour. Then we will pour the hot jelly into jars and give them a hot water bath to seal shut and that's how you make wild grape jelly. For a full recipe on how to make cooked wild grape jelly click here.

No one else I know of makes grape jelly. Mom says she doesn't know anyone else other than her mother who canned grape jelly from wild grapes.

I looked up wild grape jelly online and a place out of Montana sells it for $1 an once. That is the only place I can find that uses Vitis raparia to make their jelly. The other "wild grapes" used are concord or some other more or less domesticated grape. They are calling any grape with seeds wild. My definition is grapes you didn't plant that are growing wild.

If we could sell all this jelly for a dollar and once, we'd make over $400. Anyone want to buy some wild grape jelly?

According to my internet sources, the wild grapes around Iowa are known as the fox, skunk, or riverbank grapes. Apparently they are called fox or skunk because the skin of the fruit smells like wet fur. Interesting, I never noticed that.

Wild Grape Jelly

This recipe yields 7 cups of jelly.

• 5 pounds wild grapes on stems
• 3 1/2 cups water
• 7 cups white sugar
• 1 packet Sure-Jell
• 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil (optional)
• Jelly jars for 7 cups of jelly

1. In the Midwest wild grapes usually ripen in August. Take a canoe trip down the river or walk the banks and fill your old 2-gallon ice-cream bucket with grapes. Use a produce sale to weigh the grapes stems and all. A full two gallon bucket should be about five pounds.
2. Wash the grapes gently in cool water. Remove any damaged grapes and leaves. Don't worry about taking the grapes off their stems; it's a lot of work and it doesn't affect the recipe.
3. Put the grapes in a big pot and add 3 1/2 cups water. Simmer covered for 20 minutes. After boiling pour through a cheese cloth or a strainer to remove the stems and grape skins. Do not press or force the grapes through this will give you cloudy juice.  Just let it sit a couple hours or over night even and you will be left with a clear juice.
4. Measure how much juice you have made. You should be close to 5 cups juice. It is important to be exact. If it is over 5 cups discard the extra. If it is not enough add water to reach five cups. It is key not to dilute your juice. If you are more than a half cup under, boil more grapes or reduce the recipe accordingly. At this point you can save your juice and make jelly another day or you can keep going.
5. Get out your canning jars, lids and the canner. Start by filling the canner half full with water and bringing the water to a simmer. Keep the water simmering while you make the jelly.
6. Sterilize your jelly jars and their lids by either running them through a hot dishwasher, or washing them in soapy water and then carefully pouring boiling water over them. Keep the jars clean by placing them upside down on a clean towel. Avoid contaminating them, do not put your fingers, or tongs inside the jars.
7. In a 6 or 8 quart sauce pan add the 5 cups juice and the packet of pectin. At this point you can add the vegetable oil if you want. It will help reduce foaming so the jelly has a nice smooth surface as it cools and make it more manageable in the sauce pan. Measure out the white sugar and have it standing ready.
8. Over high heat bring the juice and pectin to a full boil, stir constantly with a metal spoon. Pour the sugar in and continue stirring. When the jelly returns to a rolling boil, time exactly one minute, then remove the pan from the burner. Use the metal spoon to skim any foam off the top.
9. Working quickly pour the hot jelly into the jelly jars. Leave at least a quarter inch between the jelly and the rim of the jar. If needed with a clean towel wipe the lip and rim of the jar clean. Then cover the jar with the lid and screw on the band tightly.
10. Carefully remove the jar rack from the canner and place the hot jars into the jar rack. Lower the rack into the canner. The water should be 1 to 2 inches above the tops of the jars. Add more hot water if needed. Cover and bring to a boil. Allow to boil for 5 minutes.
11. Using tongs and hot pads, remove the jelly jars from the canner and place upside down on towels to cool. 
12. When the jars are completely cool check the seals my pressing on the lid. You should not be able to depress the lid. If one of the jars doesn't seal put it in the refrigerator and use it first. Store your jelly in a dark, temperature controlled place. The jelly will be good for years, but I doubt it will last that long.

Couch

Today was drive everybody's car around and move furniture day. From this we benefited an ivy quilted, polyester, extra-long sofa. Sounds interesting, doesn't it? It's now in our living room. I'll have to post pictures of it soon. It is better than our two twin beds stacked on top of each other sitting area. Now I just need to get that coat rack from Clarissa. (She might think I have forgotten about it, but I haven't. I am just waiting until she moves to her new place, then I'll get it.)

Fair Time

Wednesday Jeff and I ventured down to the Iowa State Fair. We did all the things we like to do at The Fair. (By we, I mean what I like to do.) We started by going through the 4-H Building, then the horses, biggest bull, and biggest boar. Of course we had to go through the Agriculture Building and see the Butter Cow and all the open class produce. Our last stop was the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. I think their quality is getting much worse. I know I have seen better stuff there in the past. Maybe it was just a bad year.

While walking through the 4-H Building I saw a project that was two of these Church Lady Aprons. They were so cute. Much cuter in person than the pattern shows and they look really easy to make. I love the tulip pocket on the upper one. I think I will have to look and see if Jo-Ann's has this pattern, otherwise I'll order it. Just what I need another unfinished sewing project!

Picnic Weather

Today is beautiful and it is August. Now I am not saying it was a beautiful day for August. I am saying that no matter what month it is, today was beautiful. What is more amazing is it took place in one of the hottest, highest humidity months Iowa has. In fact it’s during the notoriously bad Iowa State Fair time. I took advantage of the perfect temperate and sunny sky by eating lunch outside. Then I came home and made Jeff put pants on, so we could picnic in the park. I guess he wouldn't have to put pants on, but when eating hot food it is generally advisable.

More, more Pictures

Finally after posting scads of friends' photos, and our photos, the professional photos of our wedding have arrived.

http://web.sendtoprint.net/proofbook/login.asp

event ID: ledges

Mark Kegan did an excellent job. He got a lot of the pictures we didn't have yet. There are some that are so picture perfect they look posed. But they're not; the only posed ones are the group family shots and a couple of us showing our rings or flower bouquets. The best part is we own all the rights to the photos he took and we have them in gigantic format on a dvd plus 4x6 proofs as well. I would highly recommend Mark.

Lost and Found

It happened today. I looked down and there was no ring on my finger. I had moved my wedding band to my middle finger earlier in the day because it was loose. Of course, right when I was helping a customer, I noticed it was gone. So I couldn't just drop to the floor and search for it. Once the customer was gone, Mel helped me and we searched all over. It didn't take more than 15 minutes to find it in the bottom of a crate of arrangements I had just packed up.

I had a couple of momentary flashes of what if my ring is gone forever? It made me really sad. I like my ring, I like the fact Jeff cast in out of the same batch of metal with his ring. I like they are a match set out of an unusual metal. Getting a new ring just wouldn't be the same. Not to mention kind of expensive.

Now that I have it back, I think my ring might need to be resized. I don't want to go through that again.

Over the Hedge not a bad movie

Jeff and I have been taking advantage of the dollar theater. Boy did I miss that. I think I saw two or three movies in as many years while in Savannah and Pennsylvania. We could buy the movie for the price of admittance in Georgia.
However, the dollar theater is only a dollar on Wednesdays. So on Wednesday we went to see Over the Hedge. We chose that movie mainly because the other options were crappy. Although for some reason I kind of wanted to see The Fast and The Furious Four or what ever number they are on. Don't tell anyone though, someone might get the idea I like bad movies about cars.

Over the Hedge was cute. It had a surprisingly poignant plot about how suburban growth is destroying wild habitat and how consumerism can be well consuming; while at the same time being funny. There was some cheap humor for the kiddies, but there was enough intelligent references to video games, Futurama and literature to make it engaging. For being something I expected not to care about, it was decent.

More Pictures

We could have hired Kathleen to be our wedding photographer. Check out the really nice pictures she took at our wedding:

http://www.fief.org/kathleen/gallery/Jeff-and-Foy

Junk Mail

I normally just throw junk mail in the recycling bin, but recently we received a West Elm catalog to current resident. I always like sleek modern furniture, and this company has some really well designed furniture. I really liked this: Not only is it pretty and functional, but it would be wonderful for moving around and fitting into new spaces. I love the square pull details. The only thing I would change is I would make it of a natural maple wood. Perhaps I can convince my dad to help me make it. It doesn't look too complicated.

Basil

I asked Jeff to get basil when he went to the grocery store. It cost $4 for 2 onces. I miss my basil plants. I hope someone in Georgia is enjoying them or at least watering them.

Tonight I stopped by my parents' house and got a couple pots, potting soil and herb seeds. Hopefully we'll have some plants before it freezes.

Jeff just updated our wedding website with pictures from the wedding and honeymoon. So if you haven't seen enough of them... FoyandJeff.com

Summer Tomatoes

The best part of summer is home grown tomatoes. Luckily for me, my mother planted some this spring. They are so flavorful and juicy. Last night Jeff and I had a delicious meal of White Bean Tuna Salad with cherry tomatoes on toasted rye bread topped off with fresh grated parmesan.

First Day of Work

This is the first day I have worked a full eight hours since May. I had a nice two months off, but now it is high time I started replenishing the bank account. I remember most things about working at the flower shop.

I seem to have almost a root memory for a lot of the computer tasks. If I get started right, I can get through to the end; but if I start wrong or get interrupted I have no idea what I am doing.

My design skills do not appear to have suffered during the hiatus. I turned out several quality arrangements in a timely manner. There are only three full time florists including myself and we won't get any part-time help until ISU starts. I should have no problem getting 40 hours a week.

We are back again

We are back, again. This time from Adam and Emily's wedding. We drove to PA on the 26 and 27 of July. Then we had one nice relaxing day in the Amish Stay Vacation House before the masses arrived. The house Adam had rented was really nice. We had a completely furnished kitchen, nine beds and three full baths. However, even a five bedroom house feels crowded when you get 17-19 people in it. Most of our friends car pooled or flew or took the train in. So for all these people we had four cars. Mine was one of those cars. My car was picking people up at the train/bus station or taking people to rehearsals and dinners on what felt like an hourly basis. Luckily other people drove it, some of the time. It was just a matter of keeping track of the keys.

I'll let you in on a little secret. I forgot to put on deodorant when I was getting ready for the wedding. What’s a girl to do? With the limited bathroom space, I tried to be speedy in my toiletries, but why is it always the deodorant that I forget? Of course, it was hot and humid. I spent the whole wedding with my arms slightly out to better increase circulation. Luckily one of Emily's friends came to the rescue and snuck in some antiperspirant from her car.

Despite my armpit faux pas, I enjoyed the wedding. I tried to take a picture and my camera just wouldn’t cooperate so I am sponging this picture from Lisa’s blog.

The ceremony was really nice and there was one point, right after the vows, where the entire congregation was a chorus of sniffles. The reception was very romantic. I met more of Jeff’s family. I can’t keep track of them all. My feet were very tired by the end of the night. After a little clean up, it felt really good to go back to the house and take a shower.

Monday morning we all packed up, dropped off people at the train station and drove back across the country. Back at the ranch, we are recovering from our travels and tomorrow I will start work at Mary Kay’s Flowers.

We're Back

The honeymoon was lovely. We went to gardens, restaurants, fishing, snorkling, waterfall climbing and shopping. We have lots of pictures up on snapfish.

Unfortunately on the flights back to Iowa, Jeff got sick. He got some form of food poisoning. After a rough night, he's doing better now. He's not 100% yet, but he's getting better. Hopefully he'll be feeling good so we can leave on time for Adam's wedding.

A link from Paul's website

I stole this video link from Paul's blog, because I think it is just so damn interesting. You should watch the whole thing. It's a really well done slide show showing the trends in World Health and Wealth. It's way more interesting than it sounds.

World Health and Income Stats

Honeymoon!

Five days until we leave for the honeymoon. Here's the link to the Victorian House. This is where we'll be staying. I don't think we'll have a suit with a hottub, but even the "superior" rooms (the lowest level or room) look nice.

Friends

I can't tell you all how nice it is to be in Iowa again with Sarah and Sara. It has been a long time since the three of us were in the same town. I missed having a common past with friends. Friends who have grown with me, known my family, known all my ups and downs and been their for me consistantly.

The other day I was trying to explain how both Sara and Sarah can spend a little bit of time with me and then manage to say just the right things to make me smile. The right compliment in the right place and suddenly all my confidence is restored. In the last week I have gotten ice-cream, soda and water up my nose from laughing so hard and having such a good time with them.

I couldn't ask for better friends. This is my ode to Sara and Sarah, the best friends a girl could have!

Last Typhoid pill, first malaria pill

I am so snotty and gross today. The day you take the typhoid pill is always the worst. The "rest day" in between is a lot better. However, this is the last typhoid pill. We can take our first malaria pill today, but it has to be with food (the typhoid pill has to be taken on an empty stomach). So probably tonight with dinner. The only side effect of the malaria pill is lucid dreams. That's way more fun than a snotty nose and sore throat.

Jeff did some checking around with our resort yesterday. (I spent the entire time reading the most recent Wheel of Time, which I still am not finished with.) He learned there is a shuttle that will pick us up from the airport for $15 and take us right to the resort. That is awesome! I thought we might have to take a cab or figure out the bus schedule or something.

We also rediscovered, we have a 17 hour lay over in New York on the way there. So we started emailing friends we know in New York. The only sad part is our layover is from 6 pm to 11 am, so there won't be that much we can do. Maybe we'll find a Hostel or something and just sleep.

It's exciting our honeymoon is just over a week away! I have started to think about packing, as in setting things aside that will be packed. What we really should do is laundry and take out the stuff we want to bring so it will be clean. We are eating with my parents tonight, so we should bring the laundry. Yeah, that sounds like a plan!

Coming out of the wedding haze

Two weeks is about the time needed to recover from your own wedding. We are beginning to settle in here. Jeff hung the pictures on the walls and there are just a couple things sitting by the door that need to be returned to people.

We went to the travel clinic the other day. You know, since we are honeymooning in the Dominican Republic in a couple weeks. After a lecture on not drinking the water, we were treated to a sampling of vaccines and pills. We both got hepatitis A, typhiod pills, and malaria pills. I got a bonus tetanus shot.

The only real knowledge of typhoid I have is that in The Oregon Trail you could die from it. Then it will say "Here Lies John; he died of Typhoid Fever". The typhoid pills are live vaccine that is taken every other day. Since it is typhoid, there is the possibility you will feel a little sick. Jeff and I both have had sore throats and sniffling. Still it is way better than actually getting typhoid.

Virtual Wedding Ceremony

For those of you who didn't make it to the wedding. Here is a virtual wedding ceremony.

Arrival at Ledges State Park
Everyone gathered at the Carl Fritz Henning Shelter.

Processional
Laurence plays the song he wrote called "ain't she pretty" on his cello.

Foy comes in with her dad.

Father Terry Welcomes Everyone
On behalf of Foy, Jeff, I welcome all of you, and am elated that you could join us for this marriage celebration. We are here today to encourage, celebrate and support the covenant these two people, beloved to us, now make. The marriage they are creating here has roots in themselves, and the love, friendship, and guidance each of us has offered them. They have asked us to be with them here today, because we are a community of loved ones. We rejoice in the ways life has led them to each other and brought them to the place where they now stand.

The charming groomsmen.

The beautiful bridesmaids

Intentions
Father Terry: Jeff, the woman who stands by your side is about to become your wife. She will look to you for comfort, for support, for understanding, for encouragement, and for protection. You must never take her for granted, and always consider her along with yourself.

Jeff: Foy, as freely as God has given me life,I bind my life with yours.Wherever you go, I will go.Whatever you face, I will face.For good or ill, in happiness or sadness,Come riches or poverty, I choose you as my wife.

Same thing to Foy.

Reading 1 by Lynette Spicer

Colossians 3:12-16
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Colossians
[12] You are the elect of God, holy and beloved, be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience.
[13] Forbearing one another; forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. As God forgave you; now you must do the same.
[14] Above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness.
[15] And let the peace of God reign in your hearts, it is for this that you were called together as parts of one body. Always be thankful.
[16] Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Teach each other, and advise each other, in all wisdom. With grace in your hearts sing praise to God.
This is the word of the Lord.

Reading 2 by Tom Batkiewicz

Adapted from "Union" by Robert FulghumFoy and Jeff, you have known each other for ten years, through the first glance of acquaintance to this moment of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes to this moment of Yes, indeed, you have been making promises and agreements in an informal way. All those conversations that were held riding in a car or over a meal or during long walks - all those sentences that began with “When we’re married” and continued with “I will and you will and we will”- those late night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe”- and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding.

The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “ You know all those things we’ve promised and hoped and dreamed- well, I meant it all, every word.” Look at one another – remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another- acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, and even teacher, for you have learned much from one another during these years. Now you shall say a few words that take you across a threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you shall say to the world, this- is my husband, this- is my wife.

Moment of Silence
Father Terry: Please spend a few moments in silence, to listen to yourself, to nature, and to appreciate your own blessings of love and family.

Marriage Vows
Father Terry: Since it is your intention to marry, join your right hands and declare your consent.

Do you Jeffrey Michael Diesburg take Foy to be your lawful wedded wife to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live.

Jeff: I Do.

Do you Foy Elizabeth Spicer take Jeff to be your lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live.

Foy: I Do.

Exchange of Rings

Song Simple Gifts

Closing
Father Terry: Foy and Jeff, as a collection of words, this ceremony would count for little, were it not for the love and commitment you here pledge to one another. Your vows may have been spoken in minutes, but your promises to each other will last a lifetime.Those who are joined by this sacred covenant, let no one put asunder. As Foy and Jeff have pledged themselves to meet sorrow and joy as one family before this community of friends, I now pronounce them husband and wife.

You may kiss your bride.

Recessional
Written and played by Laurence entitled "okay we are done now, you can go".

Yeah, we're married!

More Wedding Photos

Sarah has put up more wedding photos on her site.

We're married

*photo courtesy of Lisa

Two Days

I finally feel like things have been set in motion. For the longest time I have felt like I have been pushing to get things done for the wedding. Now I feel like they will continue of their own momentum. There are just some finial flower things and the food prep left to do.

Our refrigerator, which was previously empty, is now full of organic dairy products for making scrambled eggs and pancakes. My trunk is full of linens and glasses and vases and syrup and signs and so much stuff.

All I have left to do tonight is a trial run of my wedding make-up and then sleep. lots and lots of sleep.

Wedding Accessories

Last night Sara and Sarah came over and finished the signs for me. They are such great friends.

It was also the first night I tried on all my wedding attire together. Here is my beautiful necklace. Marigold made it for me out of beads from family necklaces, some of her own beads, and some she bought. Last night Sara added a couple more beads. Both my family and Jeff's are represented on this necklace. It is probably my favorite wedding touch so far. Marigold also made little dangles for the pearl studs Jeff gave me. Then for my something borrowed, I have Aunt Kris's pearl bracelet. And just because I really liked it, my beaded clutch.

I love the way it all came together with all my jewelry and shoes and no panty-line undergarmets. My dress still fits like a glove. I looked so pretty. It was also hot, in like I was sweating, kind of hot. I hope there is a stiff breeze all day.

From the looks of the weather if it doesn't rain, it will at least be windy. There is no back up location if it rains, so bring an umbrella. However, the weather looks really nice for Friday, which is more important, because the rehearsal dinner will last a lot longer than our wedding.

Projects up the wazoo

I have been busy!

Today I made signage. There are little tags for the family wedding portraits, and guest book. I also painted some big pieces of plywood Jeff had stored at home. So if you are driving to the wedding or rehearsal dinner, be on the look out for these. They will be random assorted shapes.

Then I went to HyVee and Wheatsfield Grocery and compared their prices on organic stuff. HyVee is coming out on top so far. Wheatfield only wins in the bulk department, and all I need in that department is flour. I also called the Berry Patch and tried to convince them to keep their strawberry plants producing for one more week. They have promised that I shall get what ever they have available Friday. I still need to call the organic eggs lady and tell her I need 10 dozen eggs.

I haven't completed my official cost estimate, but I think it will be about $100 higher than my original non-organic cost estimate. It's a lot more work to go organic, but it has been interesting to see how things compare.

I have also been testing different types of local flowers for their ability to hold up out of water. Here are some test runs I did for bridesmaid bouquets. This is right after I made them. I really like the look of the Queen Ann's Lace with peony leave on the left right.

However, you can see that after 11 hours, they are a bit weepy. However, I think they will hold up for the wedding, I could even make a second set as back-up if they get to wilted. I think each bridesmaid will have a slightly different bouquet.

Jeff has also been busy. He cast our wedding rings today. Yeah!

One Week

So it's a week until our wedding. There is still a lot to do, but it is manageable.

We still haven’t figured out what to do with ourselves after the wedding. It’s kind of an odd thing we have the wedding and then reception and then it is 2:00. So I guess we’ll have to do something. I am thinking we load up and take all the presents back to our apartment and gleefully rip into them! Then we should get together with everyone from out of town for dinner. The question is what restaurant could hold a bunch of people like that? We might be able to get one of the balcony type areas at Olde Main or Olde Chicago. I don’t know, I guess we’ll play it by ear. So, if you are coming in for the wedding, stay posted we’ll probably be available for dinner.

You know what?

You know what I think is creepy? Long finger nails.

You know what I am doing? Updating my website.

You know what I should be doing? Stuff for the wedding.

Bed Karma

We had to leave our bed in Savannah. It just wouldn't fit in either of our cars and we weren't renting a u-haul for it. So we sold it for $50 on Craig's List. When we got to Ames we slept on an airmatress, and then my parents gave us two twins that we pushed together and pretended were a king. Then I put a want ad up on Craig's List for a king or queen bed. A couple days later, I was contacted. This person wanted to sell her queen for $100. However, I didn't check my email regularly, so I didn't see the email. So she emailed again offering it for $50. We arranged for pick up in Des Moines.

Jeff strapped the boxsprings to the roof of my dad's van, crammed the mattress inside, and with the help of friends moved it into our apartment. Now we have a queen bed. It's actually really nice. It's a two year old Sealy. It sits really high. When our pillows fall off the bed, we actually have to reach down for them and fish them off the floor.

In light of our new bed, I added some queen size bedding stuff to our registries (Bed Bath and Beyond and Target). The old twin comforter doesn't quite cover the whole bed.

The wedding plans march forward

You'd think that since neither Jeff, nor I have jobs, we'd have lots of spare time to unpack our stuff. Instead we have been slowly, but steadily working our way through a monsterous To Do List. Lots has gotten done like ironing all the napkins, changing rentals, meeting with the church ladies, getting groomsman shirts, finding table center pieces, and bringing in furniture to our apartment. I keep thinking, "when this wedding is over, then I'll work on _____." Suprisingly similar to how I used to think, "when I get back to Ames, then I'll work on _____." Although things keep getting checked off, I am having a hard time seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

However, an exciting thought is, that tomorrow the ten day forcast will show our wedding date. Everyone keep their fingers crossed for good weather. Already it looks like we will have good weather for the rehearsal dinner!

Also, I stopped in at Mary Kay's Flowers and gifts to talk about my wedding flowers and they had an interesting orchid I might use for my hair, it is green with a purple throat. The colors are not quite as intense as this, but similar. Do you think I should go with the green and purple (which are the colors we basically wound up with for the wedding) or should I go will a basic white/cream? or basic green? Or all three? or I could just cover my head with all different kinds of orchids and avoid having to "do my hair" in the morning.

The Best Bachelorette Party Ever

Last weekend my lovely friends threw me a bacheloretty party. It was awesome. We started off the morning by having a small group "photo shoot". An ode to the times we used to play dress up when we were little, and when we were not so little. As you can see Sarah and I are all class. I think I recall that look on Sarah's face from when we used to get excited about the pool opening for the summer.

Here is Lisa being cute.

You push up!

After a morning of frollicing in the park we had breakfast at Bella's Cafe. Then we went on a hunt for the best PMS food ever Chocolate Turtle Chex Mix.

After completing our mission, we went to Finesse Spa and recieved treatments while sipping cappuccino and reading Cosmo Confessions. I think I figured out how my hair will be for the wedding! I also have the loveliest toes. I keep looking down and thinking, "wow, my toes look really good." I think Sarah has this nail color I may have to barrow it to do touch-ups before the wedding.

After our spa time we went back to Sarah's and watched Elizabeth Town, which I have to say was a nice romantic comedy with a really good sound track.

After our movie more friends arrived and I got some gifts. Some, really fun gifts. So fun that I can't tell you what they are, but let's just say they will be coming on the honeymoon with us! Then we sat arround and talked about girly things into the wee hours. The next morning we all got up and had a really tasty breakfast of egg scramble, pineapple and oatmeal blueberry muffins.

I have awesome friends. If you would like to see more pictures from the "photo shoot" check out Lisa's page.

One can dream!

A goodly portion of our belongings are half unpacked sitting on the living room floor and I am already considering our next move. I want to live on the West Coast before I settle down.

I can't bring myself to want to move in another month. We'd have to find a new location, find college level Spanish classes. No, I don't think we'll move right away.

I've been looking at the master's fellowship programs the PC offers and where they are located. The most appealing program is at University of Wisconson (Stevens Point). They have a Masters of Science in environmental education/interpretation or youth programming. The University of Arizona has a Teaching Certificate, and/or Education Masters, which sounds promising. There is also a Fast Track Teaching program offered at Xavier University of Louisiana. The only programs offered on the West Coast are not in things I am interested in, or I don't think I will qualify. That's unfortunate. Although most of the programs are less than two years old, so maybe in another couple of years when we get back there will be new opprotunities.

I think we'll stay here for the coming year. Maybe we'll come back from the PC and I'll want to stay in Ames for the rest of my life. I won't want to move ever.

Somehow I don't think so.

One day left to RSVP

These people have said they are coming to our wedding:

FoyandJeff.com

We have arrived

We rolled into Ames at about two Wednesday morning. The drive was fine, relatively uneventful and mind numbingly long. I did get through 1.5 books on tape.

Our apartment is huge! Especially when compared to our place is Savannah. You could fit our entire Savannah apartment in the living room of this place. It feels almost vulgar to have this much room. There is a huge closet in the bedroom and two additional ones in the hallway. I wish I could convey just how little space we had in Savannah. Imagine if you made an apartment in the style of a dorm room, and didn't loft any of the furniture. Now put big shutters over the windows, so it is kind of dark and gloomy, that was our apartment. This apartment only has three windows, but they actually let in light! At some point I decided the cheapness of a kitchen could be decided by the number of drawers a kitchen has. The place in Savannah had two. This kitchen has six.

Really it isn't that this apartment is so wonderful, just in comparison. The trim is this ugly stained to look like dark oak, and all the wall are boring off-white, it has that feeling of late 70's early 80's. The refrigerator is so old, it has a metal interior.

I guess we'll be here for at least two months, maybe we'll extend the lease for the next year, but who knows?

The Graduate and what all our worldly Possessions look like

This is The Graduate



This is all our stuff in the court yard.



We are almost all packed and ready to go. It is 5:30 or so here. We are just about to make the longest drive I have ever done solo. I think I get to count it as solo, since I am driving all of it, even though Jeff will be close by in his own car.

While at the beach yesterday, Jeff went swimming, with his cell phone. He does have phone insurance, however, they couldn't get a phone here until tomorrow, so we are driving with just my phone. We were really counting on our phones as a way to communicate. To fix this problem, Jeff suggested Walkie Talkies. I went to Home Depot and bought them. We both needed to brush up on our Rogers, and Over and Outs, so here's the perfect opprotunity.

We'll see all you Ames People in about two days. You're all going to help us move in right?

Master Jeff

Jeff is officially a master. After a five hour cerimony and being bored to tears, it is all over. Jeff's mother, father and step mother were all in town for the occasion. They brought a whorl wind of activity with them. I think I am ready to go back to the slow pace of The South.

Neither of us has slept well the last couple days and we've been scheduled to the hilt, so we decided to take today and sleep in and relax. We might get some packing done, but we might go to the beach too.

I think we are ready to move on. Although, I still haven't braced myself for the drive across country. We are not the only ones on the move. I think Marigold and Steve should be starting across Texas right now on their treck to California. Phil and Heather should be some where in North Carolina as they take all their worldly belongings to Maryland. Soon we shall join them in the college student migration across country. I would like to think this will be the last time we make this journey. The one where all our worldly belongs are stuffed into our cars and we move them to some place we have never seen before. I know better. We aren't quite ready to settle down yet. Maybe in another five years or so and another two or three migrations.

SOLD II

We just sold the bed for $50. Thank you Craig's List! I guess we'll be sleeping on an airmatress the next couple of nights.

The Right of the Dragon

So Jeff has completed the whole passages thing. It was actually quite nice. Jeff made the bases of the flowers, and skinned the middle section of the dragon. I want to write more about it, but I'm tired and I should go to bed. Here are some pictures.

This is the flowers in staging at the public docks:

Here is the lovely she-dragon:

And here is the dragon swimming with the flowers:

So Tired

Yesterday was my last day of work. It was fine, I wound up doing inventory for a good chunk of it, which threw off my watering schedule. I had a nice little system worked out where I would water on the west side of the building in the morning when it was shady, then hang out inside from 11-1 or so to miss the worst of the heat of the day, then water the east side, when it started to get shady. This meant I didn't get burnt, but with my schedule all off from inventory, I was in the sun all day and I got burnt.

There was one exciting thing. A customer spotted a baby raccoon behind some of our plants. He was just a little guy, about the size of a kitten. He probably came up for the cat food we leave out back. So we kept an eye on him and called the vet next door, they called this lovely women who came with big black leather gloves and caught him. He did put up a little bit of a fight making angry growling noises and such. It reminded me of the when Simba is a cub in the Lion King and trying to growl. The entire time he was growling, she was talking so him like a baby, "look at how cute you are, where's your mama?, I bet she doesn't know your here, you're going to come with me and live in a big pen until your ready to be released in a place you won't get in trouble, come here sweety." Just this constant nice talk as the little raccoon tried its best to fight his way out. Once she had him, he continued to try and bite her glove and wriggle. Then he would forget himself and just look at us wonderingly, then he's remember he was being fierse and try growling and biting again. He looked a lot like this: Then she put him in a cat carrier and off they went to a place that rehabilitates raccoons and then relocates them to less human populated areas.

There have been other exciting things going on, but I must convince Jeff to get up so we can pick up his car from its oil change.

SOLD

I put the bed, chair and vanity set up on Craigs List yesterday. Today I sold the vanity set for $30. This is 100% profit, because we got it for free. It was kind of sad to see it go. Mostly because now my computer has to live on the floor and all my clothes that were in the drawers are on the floor.

I hope we can get the bed sold. That would be really nice, we could always just leave it here, but it would be nice to get $50 for it. I doubt anyone will want the chair even though it is only up for $10. There is so much stuff on Craigs List right now. I do have hope because we will be here after June 1 and maybe people will be moving done moving out and starting to move back in.

I don't look forward to moving, but I do look forward to being back in Ames.

This next week is going to be crazy!

I hope we survive this next week. There is so much to do. Jeff has this Passages thing that is eating up all his free time, plus on the 2nd his family shows up. Since they did come all this way, they will want to see him, since we are moving all our friends want to see us, since we are moving three days later I want to see him packing! Jeff's going to be pulled really thin, and by extension I am going to be pulled really thin.

I have been trying to think of ways to make this run smoothly. I am still trying to get things done earlier that can be done earlier.

What I am going to do today,

• pack up all the books and dvd and things that we don't use very often
• do laundry
• return library books
• list the bed, side dresser, chair and vanity on Craigs List - every little bit of money helps

Happy Birthday Clarissa

It is my little sister's birthday, but she isn't that little. She's actually close to my size and she's 22 now! I remember when she was just a little girl in a sun dress and absolutely terrified of spiders. I tried to find a good picture of her, but I don't have any on my computer and the rest are in my photo albums at home. So here's a little drawing of her, although her hair is short right now, so it isn't even an accurate stick figure.

Happy Birthday, Clarissa!

Jeff Doesn't Even Know This Yet

I just got home and checked my email. We got emails from the Peace Corps. There are good things and bad and eh things. The bad, we are nominated for a program that doesn't leave until next May, that's a full year from now. The good news? It is in Latin America! The eh thing is that we are both required to take some Spanish classes before we go.

I have to take three semesters and Jeff has to take two. Why do I have to take more? I'm not sure. I had two years of high school Spanish, Jeff might have had three, I don't recall. Incidentally, can I take three semesters before next May? Maybe if there were some summer courses. Where would we take them? ISU? DMAC? These things must be explored.

But the language issue asside, I'll be working with Applied Agricultural Science. Jeff will be with Agriculture and Forestry Extension. They sound kind of like the same thing.

Well, I guess we have new things to look into. Exciting! Maybe I can start work towards my Masters now and be a full time student come fall.

One Month

Not only is it 12 days until we move out, but it is one month until we get married!

I am not sure how that makes me feel. I guess, I'm not really worried about the wedding, all the major stuff is done.

But wow, just one month.

12 Days until we move out

Today, I got more things checked off my list.

1. Donate old magazines to the Library magazine exchange *check*
2. Vacuumed out car *check* I actually did this while working with the work
   vacuume. So I got paid to vacuume out my car, nice.
3. While I was cleaning out my car I found more stuff to take to Good Will, so I took it to Good Will. *check*
4. Called and got an appointment for an oil change tomorrow *half check* I’ll get the full check, once I actually have it done.
5. Use up more random food stuffs. *check* Tonight’s enchiladas use up the frozen black beans, ground turkey, roasted red peppers, cheddar and monetary jack cheese, olives, and tortillas.

Tonight and tomorrow I will, mail the rehearsal dinner invitations, call around to find somewhere in Ames to alter Jeff’s suit, start packing the trunk of my car, and do laundry.

Check that off the list

I have been productive, I have been working to get things done as if we have to be out of the apartment on May 31. (We have to be out June 5.) So far I have:

1. Recycled everything under the sink and in my car trunk. *Check* All our cans/plastics/paper for the next week will have to go to land fill aka the site of Savannah's next public school.
2. Go through my closest and make piles of things to throw out and things to go to Good Will. Take those things to Good Will. *Check*
3. Go through the food stuffs and try and use up what's in the cupboard. *Check* We are having some sort of pasta dish tonight concocted from organic tomato sauce, onions, olives and vegeburgers and 1/2 a box of left over ziti.
4. Decide to fix my car's A/C or not. *Check* Definitely not, after analyzing our finances we should be $400 in the hole after Adam and Emily's wedding in July, and I didn't even factor in the cost of going to the wedding.
5. Finish listing eBay stuff. *Check* I have been listing the wedding dresses and swimsuits I acquired while in Savannah, so far I have earned $80 over what I spent, hopefully I'll earn another $80 or so before we leave.

I still need to do things like, get oil changed, buy Ying-Ling Beer, clean out the car, find someone to take my plants, and take old magazines to the Library magazine exchange. Oh and we need to do the whole pack and clean the apartment thing. Not to mention our apartment is being shown again tomorrow, so I need to clear away some of the clutter that is starting to brew.

My last full week of work

Yeah, that's right, it is my last full week of work. I only work through next Wednesday. I can't believe we are so close to moving and I have so much stuff to do. I made a big old list of everything I should do hopefully before Jeff graduates. I better get busy. Let's see how much I can get done tonight!

Why do they call it "Hostel"?

We had another lovely weekend at Hostel in the Forest. We went with Diana and Nate, whom we met at a coffee shop in Savannah (even though they live in Statesboro).

We stayed in the Screen Hut this time. All four walls are screens, with a roof on top. There was no ceiling fan in this hut. However, once it cooled down at night it was a very pleasant place to sleep. Also, we were farther from the chickens so the rooster crowing didn't wake me up. The hostel had just gotten baby chicks in the mail and they had a little incubator set up for them. They were just fluffy little yellow puffs with feet. I want to have chickens when I grow up.

Dinner was once again delicious. There was a Mexican casserole, tortilla soup, fresh salsa, homemade tortilla chips and corn bread. The meal alone is worth the $20 per day charge.

We did a lot of swimming in the lake. I wore lots of sun screen, but I think I am making head way on not having a farmer's tan for the wedding/honeymoon. In fact, I don't think I'll have any tan lines, if you catch my drift. Saturday night, we went for a late night swim. Some one had come up with the brilliant idea to attach rocks to glow sticks and dive for them. The pond is about 16 feet deep and the glow sticks were tossed and retrieved many times.

I will definitely have to go back again.

Coming home to a clean house

Is there anything more wonderful than coming home to a nice clean apartment? How about having made dinner the night before so you don't have to cook either?

Today, was absolutely beautiful. I had to work, but when I came home the apartment was nice and clean. Ray was showing our apartment, and several people were walking through, so I scrubbed the floors, did all the laundry, cleaned the toilet, and put stuff away. It looks so nice right now!

Plus, I didn't have to make dinner because, one of the girls at work and I are doing a dinner swap tomorrow (she's cooking for us and I'm cooking for her and her husband, and then we'll swap). Last night, I made enough for them and us and we are eating what I made tonight and then we are eating what she makes tomorrow. I made sundried tomato and goatcheese stuffed chicken breasts. So tasty! I wonder what she's making.

Hostel in the Forest

We are going to Hostel in the Forest for the weekend. You know how I said, "Florida was vetoed [for the wedding location] because it just sounded sleezy." Well if we had visited Hostel in the Forest before we made that decision, I just might have tried to get Jeff to have the wedding there. *Although technically it is in Georgia*

There is this great glass house back in the woods that has a Japanese-style wooden bridge you have to walk over before you reach it. It is a beautiful space with water on three sides and a beautiful porch on the third. It would make a great wedding location. Then everyone could have had an organic dinner in the main domes and spend the night in tree houses. The glitch would be there are only composting toilets. If you have to pee you go "water the trees." Some how I don't think this would go over well with everyone who would come to the wedding. Maybe I'll talk Clarissa into getting married there, that is if she ever wants to get married. Or maybe we'll do an aniversary party there. The only problem is lots of people will go out of their way to go to a wedding, but for an aniversary party, not so much. Although I don't think the hostel can have more than 20 guests, so it couldn't be a very big party anyway.

Wedding Guests

As long as we are on the topic of guests,

We have 32 confirmed people coming to our wedding. For a complete list vist http://foyandjeff.com and then click on "Guests".

Marigold has requested a new post

Marigold wants that picture of Jeff and the giant hamburger to go away, so I will post something.

What's on my mind right now? The wedding. It has gone through a lot of changes from what we wanted into what was expected. People always say they want their wedding to be a reflection of them and be unique to them, but what really happens, is your wedding is a reflection of you, your family, friends, and community. Here is the evolution of our wedding plans as far as size and location go.

Tropical Destination Wedding Faze
Originally we were going to do this destination wedding in some cool tropical location, and to hell will those who couldn't make it. We'd choose a small core of people that we had to have at the wedding and then invite everyone we knew and who ever showed up, would be great. Then, we realized that the people who would come are the ones who could afford to come and not necessarily those who we'd really want there. And some of the people we really wanted wouldn't be able to come. Also, it would be really expensive for us.

Local Destination Wedding Faze
Perhaps we should have a cool destination wedding State side? We looked into Boundary Waters outfitter type establishments, Jeff’s Family's Minnesota Cabin, and Florida Resorts. Jeff decides that if it was going to be destination, it should be tropical. Florida gets vetoed, because it just sounds sleazy.

Small Iowa Wedding Faze
It would make our grandparents happy, not to mention the many people who didn't have the time or money to travel happy, if the wedding was local. So we thought maybe a around 80 people at the wedding, would be nice.

Medium Iowa Wedding Faze
Well, if we were going local, we might as well invite all those obligatory cousins and people that you only see at Christmas for a couple hours. The wedding climbs to 120 or so people.

Large Iowa Wedding Faze
Well, if you invite so-and-so you have to invite so-and-so, snow balls. People start talking about whether or not they'll be able to attend, and we didn't even plan on inviting them, so they have to be added. people only one of us has met once when he was nine, become required invitees. However, we are assured that they will, "give a good gift." The final count sits right around 175 people invited.

Amazing, I never intended to have a big wedding, but that's just what I mean when I say, "your wedding isn't yours alone". We (but mostly I) had to learn to let other people make some decisions. If it makes the most people happy and keeps the peace, then that's the right way to do it. I guess that is why there's a honeymoon, so at least something is yours to plan and do the way you want to.

How's that for a post? At least that gigantic burger isn't staring at you anymore.

Bring it on Challenge

Thank you to Marigold for posting about this, so I didn't have to.