Black Friday Weekend o' craziness
This weekend (Thanksgiving and after) has been rather busy.
On Thursday (Thanksgiving proper) we had at least 3-4 invitations. We decided to keep it simple and attend the two events that were geographically near one another: Brent's Aunt Candy in Wellington and my grandparents in Loveland. Candy's meal was planned for 1PM and the other was at 2, so we really could only eat at one or the other. We decided it made the most sense to eat the earlier dinner and then stop by and say hi at the other one, and maybe score some dessert. As it turned out this worked out nicely. We even got the chance to announce our engagement to the grandparents (Sallie kept prodding us till one of us got the gumption to say it). Brent's family had practically all known already, as he had given his mother permission to spread the word when we first told her the news. My parents did not take this liberty, so it was nice to have a comfortable setting to tell my grandparents. I plan to tell the rest of my family in our first official Christmas letter this year.
Thursday night we relaxed with a bath and video games, respectively, and then did a post-feast workout to ease our consciences. We'll have to make sure to keep up a good routine of this if we are to stay in shape through the winter. It's a good motivation to think that we'll probably be climbing a mountain or two next year, so we need to be prepared.
Friday we did some shopping, but not in the sense that most people did that day. Since we had just about all of our Christmas presents purchased already, we had no need for mall shopping (which was just as well, as neither of us care for crowded malls anyway). Our destination was the South Broadway antique district to find an engagement/wedding ring for me. We had a quick but tasty lunch at the Spicy Pickle, then headed down a block or two in search of antique rings. The first few stores mainly dealt in furniture, but eventually we came to a place that had a few rings on hand, and they suggested another place to try. The store they referred carried a better (and more expensive) selection, and we managed to find at least one other dealer that specialized in jewelry, as well as several that carried a limited selection alongside fine silver dishes and the like. At the last store we visited, we found a great deal on a necklace and brooch, so Brent made a small indulgence on these for my Christmas present. Friday night we were quite worn out from shopping, so Brent played video games and I started putting up Christmas decorations and watched Brokeback Mountain, which I'd rented.
Saturday we headed down to Larimer Square in search of another antique jeweler we'd been referred to: Victoriana. This one definitely carried some of the prettiest items I'd seen so far, but it was also a bit pricey, so we had to think on it. While downtown I picked up some stationary from Office Depot to print Christmas letters, and we picked up groceries. In the evening Brent had plans to game with friends, so I had him drop me off at Jenn's apartment, where we spent the evening concocting white chocolate fondue, watching Indiana Jones, and poring over ice cream recipes. It was a fun time with my Jenn, who I don't get to see too often these days.
Sunday we had plans to visit Brent's grandma Daphin. We joined her for brunch, then looked at old pictures of Brent and his family and watched a recording of a ventriloquist she had seen in Vegas. We also helped move some items out of her closet so shelves could be added. On the way home I talked Brent into stopping at Cherry Creek Mall, which we regretted a little once we realized how crowded it would be. I had hoped to find inexpensive rings (cubic zirconia or gems) at the department stores, but when Macy's failed to deliver, we peeked into a few jewelry stores and then gave up (frankly, the designs were the same as the antiques we'd found, at twice the price or more!) In the evening we had planned to spend time with Matt and Liisa, but they were just as exhausted as we were, so it was a night at home for all of us. I managed to get in a second short workout (one in the morning, one in the evening) to make up for missing Friday and Saturday. It wasn't too bad, but after dinner I was quite ready for bed.
This week I've compiled a whole list of things to do in addition to applying for jobs, so I'll be quite busy for a while.
Gimme gimme
I want the purple one to get married in. Too bad this is Saks 5th Ave
More scary makeup
They liked to switch it up a little at the haunt.
Snow Man
We made him today in the front yard! I love Sundays.
Brent's Engagement Sword
I tried to get a picture of him holding it, too, but my camera crapped out.
My Award
One thing I don't think I mentioned in my last post is that I won actor of the year at City of the Dead. Well, I did. And here is what I won. One-of-a-kind, custom severed head on a stick. Awesome. Too bad it would be bad taste to display it in the living room, over the mantle, where it rightfully belongs.
stuff I took pictures of, and never shared.
So here are a couple of things I meant to share, but never got around to:
World's Tiniest Salad!
With the small amount of produce I harvested from my meager garden this summer (lettuce, spinach, Juliet/Sweet 100 tomatoes) I put together a cute little salad on a saucer. The tomatoes were the only thing that was plentiful--in fact, they continued to overproduce until the frost made them all mushy and inedible. Such an unfortunate waste. Don't think I'll even bother with the "Big Beefs" next year, since I only got about 3 good ones off the vine.
First Snow of the Fall
It snowed so lightly and it had been so warm, the roses remained intact, which made for some gorgeous pictures...at least I tried.
AHH! Scary Haunted House!
Since we had a semi-professional makeup artist (maybe fully professional, not sure) working at City of the Dead, Brent and I figured we'd better get at least one good photo of our scary gory faces. Granted, they changed just about every night, depending on time constraints and how creative the makeup team was feeling, but you get the general idea. Hopefully I will soon have more pictures to share from the haunt. We even had a professional photographer in training take pics one night, so they should be pretty good.
Halloween Decorations, Year One
I could not forgo Halloween decor, even if we weren't going to be home for Trick or Treaters this year due to the haunt. So I spent a couple bucks at Dollar Tree on fall foliage and combined it with the cheap/free stuff from last year. Next year we'll probably do it up a little better. I want a costume for that goose, too. He's year-round, and anyone kind enough to visit is afforded the privilege of signing him.
And of course, as always THE KITTIES OF MY HEART.
They almost ever sit next to one another. i had to get a picture to prove this actually happened. I think they must have been cold.
The Proposal
So I promised to explain the engagement thing. Basically it came down to a couple of factors: as joint homeowners and domestic partners, it made sense to have some legal and official "stuff" in place, such as power of attorney, or documents stating our relationship for hospital visitation, health insurance, etc. Since Colorado is a common-law state, claiming such a relationship would potentially make us legally married, unless we drew up ANOTHER legal document stating otherwise. So frankly, it was easier to get married. Also, I had promised myself I would wait till Kristin and Jenn's weddings were out of the way to decide my own plans on the matter, so that I was sure I wasn't just caught up in the frenzie of wedding planning. With the last wedding out of the way for about a month, I felt comfortable to make an impartial decision.
Mainly, though, the final decision to go ahead and propose came when I found what I thought would be the perfect location. I spotted it in a Haunt outing on Monday the 12th, and by Wednesday I was comfortable enough with the idea to purchase Brent an engagement gift. I planned the proposal for the following Tuesday or Wednesday, since Thursday would begin an 11-day stretch at City of the Dead with no days off, and by the time that ended my proposal location would be closed for the season. As far as how things actually went, I will quote my explanation from an email to Jenn and Adam:
"Yes, Hell has frozen over and Brent and I are engaged. Naturally, I had to do the honor of proposing, since I was the one who was hesitant about the whole idea in the first place, and had thus confused Brent to the point he wouldn't have been sure of my answer otherwise.
It was actually a surprise. I wanted to do it before the end of October so I could take him to a haunted house, one of our favorite common activities. We'd agreed to do something fun
Tuesday night, since he'd had a bad day Monday. I took him to Primitive Fear and 13th Street Manor. My original plan was to propose in the VIP tent, but it was raining and cold and we didn't feel like hanging out there, plus I hadn't finished writing out what I wanted to say. So we stopped to get some pasta and wine for dinner. I cooked while Brent showered, then we watched Dance of the Dead (cheesy zombie prom movie) and had a nice dinner. After the movie ended I put on Rockie Horror Picture Show and fast-forwarded to the scene when Brad proposes to Janet. While the scene was playing, Brent read the card I'd written out my proposal on, and when he got to the end he asked "are you serious?" at which point I pulled out the ring I'd bought him. I admitted that it wasn't much, but then I pulled out the matching dagger to go with it, and knelt down to offer it to him. He was tickled and told me "yes!" and of course there was much rejoicing. So even though it didn't go exactly as planned it worked out to be more romantic that way."
So there you have it.
We haven't set a date yet, though Brent finds the idea of getting married on the 13th fun. March and November are two potentials, since the 13th falls on a Saturday. However, one idea we have is to do a private civil ceremony and then a separate reception for friends and family, in which case our actual wedding could take place just about whenever we want. We plan to sit down with our parents on Saturday and figure out details like who we need to invite, who is willing to contribute financially or otherwise, and what our options are time- and location-wise. After we get some basic details out of the way we can start some real planning for a change...although I have to admit I've already been doing a great deal of research.
I also bought myself a copy of
this book in the hopes it would keep me sane during this process, and remind me that a great wedding doesn't require a $1000 dress or bridesmaids. I really enjoy the author's
website, and highly recommend it for any bride, but particularly those looking to do something different.
