Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Do you like my ring?
I hear that question quite often from my girl as she extends her arm and sprawls her the fingers of her left hand tilting it side to side to catch the light. "Of course I do honey," I reply, giving the twinkling gems a glance.
I proposed to her on February 23rd, 2005; that's more than seven months ago and still she'll gaze at the ring for long periods of time as though mesmerized. I take that as a sign that I did a good job choosing the ring. I must give Missy credit though, she did drop a hint about her taste.
When we first started dating, back at ISU, she was taking a jewelry class. They had a speaker come in and lecture about precious stones. The speaker stated that the diamond is one of the most abundant gems on the planet. She came back from that class vowing that her wedding ring will not have a diamond center stone. She's not a common woman and it wouldn't be fitting to give her a ring with a common center stone.
So, in December of 2004 when I set out to hunt down a wedding ring befitting of such a unique woman, I kept in mind her decision. But, knowing how women may want to be unique, but not necessarily separated from tradition, I wanted to include diamonds in the design of the ring.
At the jewelry store I showed the salesman a drawing of what I had in mind. He studied it and within 10 minutes came back to me with a ring quite similar to what I envisioned, however the stones were all wrong. He assured me that stones are interchangeable. So I scheduled another visit when the stones would match my liking, and when I saw the finished product I knew that it was the one for Missy.
I purchased the ring in mid December, but I wanted to wait until February to propose, not because of cold feet but rather to make a certain date even more special between us.
At first she didn't believe it was real. Then she thought it was regal. Then she fell in love with it. All those emotions transpired within a minute. That night she stayed up all night gazing at the ring and asking me questions. I fell asleep around 2:00 AM, but when I awoke for work the next morning, there she was sitting up in bed watching the early morning sun dance about the sapphires and diamonds. I think she was hypnotized.
"Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?" she asked me. I decided to take the corniness opportunity and told her I've been seeing a greater beauty every day since we started dating. She smiled, kissed me, and went back to gazing at the ring.
I proposed to her on February 23rd, 2005; that's more than seven months ago and still she'll gaze at the ring for long periods of time as though mesmerized. I take that as a sign that I did a good job choosing the ring. I must give Missy credit though, she did drop a hint about her taste.
When we first started dating, back at ISU, she was taking a jewelry class. They had a speaker come in and lecture about precious stones. The speaker stated that the diamond is one of the most abundant gems on the planet. She came back from that class vowing that her wedding ring will not have a diamond center stone. She's not a common woman and it wouldn't be fitting to give her a ring with a common center stone.
So, in December of 2004 when I set out to hunt down a wedding ring befitting of such a unique woman, I kept in mind her decision. But, knowing how women may want to be unique, but not necessarily separated from tradition, I wanted to include diamonds in the design of the ring.
At the jewelry store I showed the salesman a drawing of what I had in mind. He studied it and within 10 minutes came back to me with a ring quite similar to what I envisioned, however the stones were all wrong. He assured me that stones are interchangeable. So I scheduled another visit when the stones would match my liking, and when I saw the finished product I knew that it was the one for Missy.
I purchased the ring in mid December, but I wanted to wait until February to propose, not because of cold feet but rather to make a certain date even more special between us.
At first she didn't believe it was real. Then she thought it was regal. Then she fell in love with it. All those emotions transpired within a minute. That night she stayed up all night gazing at the ring and asking me questions. I fell asleep around 2:00 AM, but when I awoke for work the next morning, there she was sitting up in bed watching the early morning sun dance about the sapphires and diamonds. I think she was hypnotized.
"Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?" she asked me. I decided to take the corniness opportunity and told her I've been seeing a greater beauty every day since we started dating. She smiled, kissed me, and went back to gazing at the ring.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Catering to the Caterers...
Cruising for caterers is by far the most frustrating of all the tasks to planning a wedding. Not only does one have to sift through all the thousands of caterers offering service to your venue, but then when you choose the handful that propose, seemingly reasonable pricing, you have to filter through the bull to find out all the additional charges they toss in to up the bill in the end. This really is an industry in desperate need of an overhaul.
Many of these businesses take advantage of not telling the client of the charges that the client assumes are included. For instance, a waiting service charge in not the same as a serving service charge. The waiting service charge is included if you want a wait staff on site. The serving service charge is included if you want the wait staff to actually do something. There is a charge for opening bottles, pouring beverages, the use of the cups, an upgrade from cup to glass, the use of utensils, an upgrade from utensil to silverware, the use of linen, an upgrade from standard linen to colored linen, appetizers, drinks, main course, champagne toast, wine toast, desserts, coffee, and bar rental. So many details!
And to top it off I need to know what services and equipment the venue provides and match that with what the caterer is willing to accept as not included in their pricing. Many caterers will have a "policy" whereas they have to charge for table rentals even if the venue provides the tables free of charge.
All this is giving me a headache. I may have an aneurism before I ever even get a chance to see Missy walk down the aisle in her mystery dress. But seriously, I now understand how a bride goes bridezilla!
Many of these businesses take advantage of not telling the client of the charges that the client assumes are included. For instance, a waiting service charge in not the same as a serving service charge. The waiting service charge is included if you want a wait staff on site. The serving service charge is included if you want the wait staff to actually do something. There is a charge for opening bottles, pouring beverages, the use of the cups, an upgrade from cup to glass, the use of utensils, an upgrade from utensil to silverware, the use of linen, an upgrade from standard linen to colored linen, appetizers, drinks, main course, champagne toast, wine toast, desserts, coffee, and bar rental. So many details!
And to top it off I need to know what services and equipment the venue provides and match that with what the caterer is willing to accept as not included in their pricing. Many caterers will have a "policy" whereas they have to charge for table rentals even if the venue provides the tables free of charge.
All this is giving me a headache. I may have an aneurism before I ever even get a chance to see Missy walk down the aisle in her mystery dress. But seriously, I now understand how a bride goes bridezilla!
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Tony & Missy - The Good Lovin'
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Baby Pressure....
Missy, her Dad and my family all went to a ball game last night. Before the game we were all tail-gating in the parking lot. We had brats, beer, burgers and potato salad. It was a real nice time.
While tail-gating, Vince gave his new born, Vinny, to Mike (Missy's Dad). Mike was all grins while he walked Vinny around the area. My brother comes up to me and says, "You better get down to baby business right after the wedding." I smiled and laughed, but I knew it was an apt thing to say.
Missy was the last baby in her immediate family. So Mike hasn't had a baby around for 24 years. And you can readily see that he's ready for one, his wife too. Nancy, Missy's mom, regularly watches a show called "Baby Story", and guess what the show is about...
I've expressed that I would wait until Missy and I are more financially ready for a child before we'd consider having one. I also would like to see Missy's older married sibling have a child first. Kathy and Jim are getting their affairs in order to have a child, so I don't want to try to beat them to the punch.
But I still feel that pressure. Missy wants to have children soon as well, but she respects my position too. I see her point though. Why bother waiting when no matter how prepared you try to be, you'll most likely end up worrying. I guess I could argue that under certain circumstances I would worry less, but that's not true. The honest reason is that children are a lot of responsibility. Sure they are a great reward in themselves, but the dedication I would put forth would prohibit me from other tasks I want to accomplish. That dream of writing a book, learning to paint with oils or my growing hobby of publishing political cartoons... Would I have any time for those things?
Sure that's selfish, maybe I haven't gotten that trait out of my system yet, maybe there is some residue left over from my teenage years, but I know I'm not ready for my own children just yet. I'm not saying that I don't like kids. Ask anyone, I love the hell out of them. It's just that I want to give them the best Tony I can, and I don't think I can do that if I could or ever would be harboring any animosity towards them for "taking away my youth". I hate it when I hear adults speak of that around their children. Those kids didn't ask to be born. I want my kids to know that I knew I'd love them so much that they had to be born.
While tail-gating, Vince gave his new born, Vinny, to Mike (Missy's Dad). Mike was all grins while he walked Vinny around the area. My brother comes up to me and says, "You better get down to baby business right after the wedding." I smiled and laughed, but I knew it was an apt thing to say.
Missy was the last baby in her immediate family. So Mike hasn't had a baby around for 24 years. And you can readily see that he's ready for one, his wife too. Nancy, Missy's mom, regularly watches a show called "Baby Story", and guess what the show is about...
I've expressed that I would wait until Missy and I are more financially ready for a child before we'd consider having one. I also would like to see Missy's older married sibling have a child first. Kathy and Jim are getting their affairs in order to have a child, so I don't want to try to beat them to the punch.
But I still feel that pressure. Missy wants to have children soon as well, but she respects my position too. I see her point though. Why bother waiting when no matter how prepared you try to be, you'll most likely end up worrying. I guess I could argue that under certain circumstances I would worry less, but that's not true. The honest reason is that children are a lot of responsibility. Sure they are a great reward in themselves, but the dedication I would put forth would prohibit me from other tasks I want to accomplish. That dream of writing a book, learning to paint with oils or my growing hobby of publishing political cartoons... Would I have any time for those things?
Sure that's selfish, maybe I haven't gotten that trait out of my system yet, maybe there is some residue left over from my teenage years, but I know I'm not ready for my own children just yet. I'm not saying that I don't like kids. Ask anyone, I love the hell out of them. It's just that I want to give them the best Tony I can, and I don't think I can do that if I could or ever would be harboring any animosity towards them for "taking away my youth". I hate it when I hear adults speak of that around their children. Those kids didn't ask to be born. I want my kids to know that I knew I'd love them so much that they had to be born.
Friday, September 16, 2005
Addressing the Dress...
Missy has picked up her dress today. She went with her mother to the store to retrieve it. They took the van... Could it be that this dress has a train to require such space as only a van could provide??? I'm assuming so.
She brought the dress over to my brother and sister in-law's house for storage until the wedding date next year. I have no doubt that Missy will try her best to find more and more reasons to go to their house, just so that she could take another peek at the dress. I wouldn't mind that. I don't get to visit their house often and it would be nice to increase the frequency of our visits, if not to see my brother and his wife, then to see their recently arrived bundle of joy.
I'm in good spirits today. I told Missy last night that I haven't been in the mood to write as of late. I said I've grown somewhat content with my surroundings and find no reason to complain or comment. She took a great concern to this. She went on to tell me that I should write, and that my content was just complacency, and that I'm just not looking hard enough for a subject to write about.
Her motivation for concern was my own sense of fulfillment. I make no money from my writing, nor do I ever plan to; all it does for me is help me soak up this rushing river called life a little at a time. She doesn't want me to regret, and for that I loved her even more.
In those situations I need to be pushed. I'll be the first to admit that I have my ups and downs (almost to a polar degree), so when I'm low I need a tactful push in the right direction, otherwise I could fall into a funk, although sometimes the greatest inspiration is derived from the depths. Anyway, I enjoy being productive along with being creative, and last night she proved to me that with her, I can maximize that enjoyment.
She brought the dress over to my brother and sister in-law's house for storage until the wedding date next year. I have no doubt that Missy will try her best to find more and more reasons to go to their house, just so that she could take another peek at the dress. I wouldn't mind that. I don't get to visit their house often and it would be nice to increase the frequency of our visits, if not to see my brother and his wife, then to see their recently arrived bundle of joy.
I'm in good spirits today. I told Missy last night that I haven't been in the mood to write as of late. I said I've grown somewhat content with my surroundings and find no reason to complain or comment. She took a great concern to this. She went on to tell me that I should write, and that my content was just complacency, and that I'm just not looking hard enough for a subject to write about.
Her motivation for concern was my own sense of fulfillment. I make no money from my writing, nor do I ever plan to; all it does for me is help me soak up this rushing river called life a little at a time. She doesn't want me to regret, and for that I loved her even more.
In those situations I need to be pushed. I'll be the first to admit that I have my ups and downs (almost to a polar degree), so when I'm low I need a tactful push in the right direction, otherwise I could fall into a funk, although sometimes the greatest inspiration is derived from the depths. Anyway, I enjoy being productive along with being creative, and last night she proved to me that with her, I can maximize that enjoyment.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Breakfast at Missy's...
This morning I was rousing from a dream, mentally singing, as I occasionally do in such situations, the song "Just What I Needed" from the Cars. During this delirium, I somehow and for some reason, asked Missy for breakfast. She immediately awoke and casually, with sleepy eyes, went to the kitchen and made me cereal and brought it back to the bedroom.
She laid back down as I ate. I was still intoxicated with sleep. I watched her laying there, breathing deeply and rhythmically with her eyes closed.
She didn't need me to say "thank you", she didn't need me to appreciate the gesture, she just did it because she loved me. And at that moment I couldn't have been more in love with her. Unconditional love tends to illicit that effect. I wanted to return the favor, I wanted to please her, I wanted for her to realize that I reciprocate that gift of true love she so genuinely bestows upon me.
But, I finished the cereal. She must have heard me slurp up the last of the milk, because she opened her eyes, sat up and took the bowl and spoon from me and before I could even protest she was out the door.
I thought to myself as she was away, "this is why I love her, this is why I am marrying her." She came back into the room and delicately laid back down and snuggled under the covers. I wanted to tell her how I felt, I wanted to be so close to her that I would lose that sense of self replaced by us. But I couldn't bring myself to disrupt the moment. It was as though I wanted to hold onto that feeling for as long as I could, and that with her resting beside me the moment could contain that feeling.
But time makes one restless and withers away any will power in the presence of growing impulse. So I laid down beside her, ran my fingers through her calico blonde hair drawing it over her shoulder, exposing her neck so that I could nuzzle my nose and take in her gentle fragrance.
She stirred, and rolled over. Her eyes, mere slivers, in response to the light pouring in from the window. I got up on an elbow to better take in her beauty. She murmured a sleepy "hey baby" and stretched, arching her back and extending her legs.
I couldn't resist any longer. The moment was not going to last much longer, and if I missed it then any words wouldn't be as true. I brought her into my arms, she was warm to the touch. I lightly kissed her forehead and looked into her eyes. They were usually a dark brown, but the sun coaxed all the hues of orange and green to the surface. She noticed me studying her face and whispered a soft "hmm". I rested my forehead upon hers and responded, "I love you".
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She laid back down as I ate. I was still intoxicated with sleep. I watched her laying there, breathing deeply and rhythmically with her eyes closed.
She didn't need me to say "thank you", she didn't need me to appreciate the gesture, she just did it because she loved me. And at that moment I couldn't have been more in love with her. Unconditional love tends to illicit that effect. I wanted to return the favor, I wanted to please her, I wanted for her to realize that I reciprocate that gift of true love she so genuinely bestows upon me.
But, I finished the cereal. She must have heard me slurp up the last of the milk, because she opened her eyes, sat up and took the bowl and spoon from me and before I could even protest she was out the door.
I thought to myself as she was away, "this is why I love her, this is why I am marrying her." She came back into the room and delicately laid back down and snuggled under the covers. I wanted to tell her how I felt, I wanted to be so close to her that I would lose that sense of self replaced by us. But I couldn't bring myself to disrupt the moment. It was as though I wanted to hold onto that feeling for as long as I could, and that with her resting beside me the moment could contain that feeling.
But time makes one restless and withers away any will power in the presence of growing impulse. So I laid down beside her, ran my fingers through her calico blonde hair drawing it over her shoulder, exposing her neck so that I could nuzzle my nose and take in her gentle fragrance.
She stirred, and rolled over. Her eyes, mere slivers, in response to the light pouring in from the window. I got up on an elbow to better take in her beauty. She murmured a sleepy "hey baby" and stretched, arching her back and extending her legs.
I couldn't resist any longer. The moment was not going to last much longer, and if I missed it then any words wouldn't be as true. I brought her into my arms, she was warm to the touch. I lightly kissed her forehead and looked into her eyes. They were usually a dark brown, but the sun coaxed all the hues of orange and green to the surface. She noticed me studying her face and whispered a soft "hmm". I rested my forehead upon hers and responded, "I love you".
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