Wednesday Hodgepodge - 10/19

1. How do you typically react in a sudden, extreme, pressure-filled crisis? Would we want you nearby in an emergency?

I am actually pretty good in an emergency as long as I don't think too much about what is happening.  My first year of teaching I walked out of my classroom door and into a fight between two large 8th graders.  One kid got his chin split open, and I was fine until after the situation was dealt with and then I was pretty freaked out. 

2. Caramel apple-caramel sundae-caramel corn-caramel macchiato...of the four, which carmel treat would you choose?

Caramel apple or caramel corn.  I can totally leave the other two.

3. Is there such a thing as destiny? Explain.

Such a tricky little question.  I believe that God has a plan for our lives.  Some people might call that destiny, but I don't really know that it's the same thing.  Opinions?  Thoughts?

4. What's your favorite piece of furniture? I'm referring to something currently in your possession as opposed to something on your wish list.

I love my big couches.  I also have a bookshelf that belong to my maternal great-grandmother and while it needs a little TLC before I use it, it's neat to have something with some family history.

5. Wednesday night marks the start of the 2011 Baseball World Series. Did you know? Do you care? Will you be watching? Ever been to a professional baseball game? If you're not an American do you find the title 'World Series' annoying or amusing?

I definitely know and care about the World Series because my family members are huge St. Louis Cardinals fans.  I have been to several games, all at the old Busch Stadium, and there's just nothing like the energy of St. Louis baseball.  I will probably be watching, but even if I don't, I'm sure that my news feed will be burning up with updates from all my Cardinal-loving friends!

6. A sound that takes me back to my childhood is___the sound of waves on the beach_________.

We took a lot of family vacations to the beach.  My mom always said it's the place where she's the happiest and I totally get that because I am the same way.

7. On average, once you've linked your hodgepodge post to mine how many other participant blogs do you visit? Do you ever come back to the Hodgepodge later in the day or even the day after to read posts?

I usually don't have a chance to read the posts when I link up in the morning, but I do try to come back and visit and comment on at least a few others who have linked up.  I also try to visit people who comment on my blog posts.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Tomorrow night I am going to see Miranda Lambert live and in concert and I can hardly wait!!  She's one of my favorite performers and I've never gotten to see her until now!  And I get to go with my mama and sister!

The Details, The Set Up, and The Rehearsal Dinner

The Wedding Story:  Volume I:  On Thursday night, we met up to decorate the church.  Because there were already gorgeous fall decorations out, we didn't have to do much.  The guys did have to put together the canopy thing, which I promise was even though it doesn't look like it in the following picture. 

We added a few leave and some paper flowers and we were good to go.  As a bonus, we got to have one last trip to DQ together after leaving the church, which was always kind of a family tradition.

On Friday, we decorated the reception venue.  Aunt Sandy had put together some of the most beautiful flower arrangements for the tables (28 of them in all, including cornucopeias, plate arrangements, and wicker pumpkins.)  It didn't very long to set the tables and get everything ready for the big day.

No real signifcance, just pretty

Looking down the head table.

This also seems like a good place to talk about Sheena's bouquet.  She's shown it on her blog too, but even though I had my doubts about how it would turn out, Aunt Sandy knew best!  I loved all the brooches, the flower base, and the feathers.  It was one of the most beautiful bouquets I've seen, and I've been to a lot of weddings.

Here's Sheena and Crys at the reception hall.  Don't they look fabulous for having no makeup on?  This is one of my favorite pictures from the weekend.

 I was a little busy during the actual rehearsal, so mu pictures weren't all that great.  But I did take a few at the rehearsal dinner.  We ate at one of our favorite local places, BHG, and it was spectacular as usual.  Debbie, mother of the groom, gave a toast that made us all tear up (sort of a weekend theme) and then gave us all buckeyes, saying that every time we saw it, we should say a little prayer for the newlyweds in Ohio. 

Here's part of the room enjoying the fabulous food and even better company.  It was such a warm and happy night!

Here's to the happy couple!

The bride (with a photo bomb from the groom) with the world's cutest flower girl and ring bearer (twins)!  Just wait until you see them all dressed up tomorrow!

Two on Tuesday: My Favorite Restaurants

This week, Andrea asked about our two favorite restaurants, and instead of chains I wanted to pick a couple of local places that I really love. 

My first is a place called Flamingo Row.  It started as a bakery, then moved to a bigger place and added a restaurant, and then moved again to their very own building.  It's a bit of a trek to get over there for me, but it is totally worth the drive!  They have island-inspired food, and the best homemade bread.  My very favorite dish there is the Bamboo Stick.  It's bread stuffed with carmelized onions and cheese, with marinara and garlic buter dipping sauce.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it. 

The second is BG's Olde Tyme Deli.  This place and I go back to when I was little, maybe four or five.  Going there was a treat for when I had been good at the doctor or during my short-lived stint in gymnastics.  I can clearly remember watching Footloose (the original) there on the in-house TVs (they were probably one of the first places I remember having TV, now almost everyone does).  They still play great movies there and it makes me smile.  My favorite dish there are the potato skins.  I've never had any quite the way they do theirs!  Oh, the cheese!

I like chains just as much as the next girl, but there's something special about making the trip to a one-of-a-kind restaurant!

Movie Review Double Feature: 50/50 and Courageous

Weekend before last, I spent most of my time at the movies, except I kind of forgot to write about it.  So, indulge me for a minute. 

On Friday, Amber and I went to see 50/50.  Now, I will be the first to admit that I wasn't initially excited about this movie.  The trailer looked too depressing, and I can remember looking at Amber in whatever summer movie it aired during and saying as much.  However, I happened to catch the writer, Will Reiser, and the cast on Anderson Cooper one afternoon.  Turns out, I was wrong.  The story was actually pretty funny for a movie about cancer, and I felt a lot better after watching the interviews because Reiser wrote it about his real struggle and he was still alive to tell about it.  I'm not usually a huge Seth Rogen fan, but since he was essentially playing himself (Reiser is his real-life friend), I didn't mind.  And Joseph Gordon-Levitt remains one of my favorites.  It was definitely worth seeing!  (And Anna Kendrick's character is basically how I would imagine Amber as a therapist.  We laughed about that as much as the movie itself!)  I give it three out of four completely arbitrary stars.

On Sunday, Mom, Lulu and I went to see Courageous.  I'm going to say something here that not everyone will agree with (and that's okay), but I really was not excited about seeing this movie.  I went because I wanted to spend time with my family, not because I was just dying to see this film in the theaters.  Generally, I feel that Christian movies are often not very good, quality-wise.  This one was better, I will admit, but it still felt a little openly manipulative at times.  These movies, because they tend to have a much smaller budget, also sometimes have the feel of it being a film student's final project and not a major motion picture.  Amber would probably be able to give a name for the technical issues, but I don't have much experience on that side, sort of having watched a lot of movies.  This felt like a great step the right direction though, as far as quality goes.  I want there to movies with Christian themes, however, I would also like them to be really great movies.  Overall, Courageous was very good, if a little scattered.  The plot meandered some, and it felt long at points, but I also have a pretty short attention span.  The message, however, was incredible.  We need more men to be godly men of honor, especially when it comes to fatherhood.  I see the need for it every single day. 

I have several movie or entertainment related posts planned whenever I am not talking wedding this week and next.  Ideas have been popping up everywhere, and I can't wait to share them with you all!

A Sneak Peek

I haven't had a chance to put my thoughts together from this weekend yet.  It was as perfect as it was bittersweet.   But, I can give you a little sneak peek of the bride...

More details to follow this week.  I promise.  Meanwhile, you can click here to hear from the bride herself.

Happy Wedding Day!

In just a few short hours, these two crazy kids will finally be husband and wife!  (Only took almost 10 years!)  Wishing you a lifetime of happiness!

Look for plenty more to come this week!  It will be filled with all the fun and some of the gorgeous little details!

To Sheena, On The Day Before Your Wedding:

Dear Friend,

It's really here.  All this time spent waiting, not just through your engagement but those years before that, and your day has finally come.  It will be perfect and beautiful, even if not a single thing goes as planned, because you are marrying the man you are supposed to be with.  (But here's hoping that it's those things because everything goes right, okay?)

Try to imagine a dress and veil here...

Up until this point it hasn't seemed real.  That's how I've kept it together through the fittings and the shopping and the showers, because this day was still a long way off.  It's easier to deal with things when it's some date in the future and not tomorrow.  It's not your wedding that has me all messed up, of course.  It's what happens after, when the prince comes and sweeps you off to the magical land of Ohio.  That I have a problem with.  I'm on board with how it's where God is clearly showing you're supposed to be.  My issue is that it's entirely too far away from me.  Who will go to get cookies with me in the middle of a summer afternoon?  Who will sing all the Broadway songbook with me in the car on the way there?  How in the world do I begin to fill that kind of a void?  That's the part I find so unfair. 

Oh, the DM photo shoots...the ultimate one being tomorrow.

To say that I will miss you seems like the understatement of the year.  You are a sister of the heart, one of the big sisters that God didn't give me through biology but through His Grace and perfect timing.  And while I know that you will still be a huge part of my life (thank you, Al Gore for the internets!), I also know that it won't ever be quite the same.  Life moves on at what I am finding to be an alarming rate, and that means changes, like it or not.  (Let me go on the record as being in the not camp on this one.)  But what I am finding is that these changes make all the times we have had that much sweeter. 

If ever a photo was to describe the real us...

Who could forget some of the crazy things our 'cord of three' have gotten ourselves into?  We've sang together in some unbelievable circumstance, some for their hilarity and some for the bigness of the God that brought us together.  There are stories I can't wait to share with the next generation, and a few that we should probably keep to ourselves.  But, at the heart of the matter, is how much I love you and how happy I am for you and how much I am going to miss you.  I can't wait for the events of the next three days and at the same time, I hope they go by so slowly. 

With all my heart,

Kate