I'm so proud of my guy.

C2 is so cool. He is finally being recognized as an important artist. 2 different galleries are showing his work in NYC, he's getting book interest, and he is a finalist for a substantial grant. It seems that the happier we become with our lives, the more we are blessed with good things.
And this is why I haven't done any work getting ready for the wedding. I'm too busy plotting his takeover of the art world.

photos

I've added a link to the links bar for a few photos from our trip out East for JoAnn and Justin's wedding. The images are on Flikr, so I think you can download and print them.

The Ugliest Dress!

JoAnn said...
Now that I've recently taken the plunge and lived to talk about it, I have three pieces of advice for your wedding: 1) Wear the most comfortable shoes you can find. 2) Ignore wedding magazines. They are glorified catalogs and only serve to sell you things. 3) Try on the ugliest dress in the store. It's the one you will end up buying. And make sure that store is not David's Bridal - they smell. Oh, and a fourth piece of advice: Have lots and lots of fun!

This is some great advice from JoAnn. Very savvy insights and I'm truly impressed. I agree wholeheartedly that David's Bridal smells and that wedding magazines are crap.
I might need a couple pairs of shoes to get me through that day and, as far as the dress goes, I just don't want to talk about it. I just can't even see it in my brain yet.

Traveling partners

Having just spent five days on the road (under a variety of conditions) with Cindy, I'm happy to report that we travel well together. The major tension on the trip was from my inability to read road signs as they whizzed by. I was so glad that she was there to help and comfort me in my hours of need, as my body dealt with the effects of a contaminated swordfish. It was all the little things that she did that let her love shine through. I am one lucky guy.

The wedding itself was great! We both loved the ceremony, which kept a nice balance between the formality of the ceremony and the spontanaity and looseness you have when with family and friends. The rabbi is a very close family friend of the bride and groom and that made the ceremony much more personal and intimate. So, however Cindy and I are going to work it out, it is important that the person who will marry us will be more than a passing aquaintance. We toyed with the idea of my sister's boyfriend doing the ceremony for us. He is a captain of a Staten Island ferry. The deal killer with that was that he would have to take the ferry 12 miles out to sea to make it official. It was a nice idea at the start, at least....

We are taking a good look this month at locations for the wedding, with the intent of having something picked out by July (call us naive). Part of doing that is going to be getting a handle on how many guests there will be at the ceremony. So we will have our hands full this month in trying to meet that objective. Then comes figuring out the reception location...

This weekend...

Poor C2 spent about 36 hours face down during our trip to JoAnn and Justin's wedding. We don't know if it was food poisoning from the dinner Saturday night but I'm betting against it because he was still feeling bad today and is on his way to the doctor this afternoon. Let's keep all our fingers crossed that he recovers.
And the wedding in MA was a beautiful mix of traditional and modern. And the part I liked the best was that the wedding cake was orange! Way to go, you crazy kids!

We're going on a trip!

I think this is the first time we will have 5 solid days together without a break. This should be interesting. We've gone up north but we've never traveled across state lines before together.
Stay tuned.

AARRGGHH

Okay, I know. I have a general idea about the wedding. Can't it just fall into place? Can't it just plan itself? When I think of being married to C2, it feels like a no-brainer. But an actual ceremony? Something that's supposed to sum up how I feel about that guy? Is that even possible?
Two things I know from the start:
1. I hate all those ugly wedding dresses.
2. I just want everyone to be happy.
Isn't that enough? Isn't there some wedding planning fairie that descends upon us and puts it all into place?

Mr. Best

This was an easy one. I could think of only one person who's been there for me through thick and thin for most of my adult life. He's been there when my previous marriage turned into bucket of rust and helped me and gave me the support to get through all of that. He was there in the good times, as we raised our young families and helped the kids understand the meaning of the word family. We brewed more than a couple batches of kick ass beer together. He was always there when it was time to move and do some heavy lifting. He helped me understand jazz, and I helped him with the history of rock and blues. So I was more than honored when he accepted my invitation to be my Best Man. A toast to Nick Zwack!

work to do.....

Time does slip away if you're not watching. As we get closer to our rendevoux with destiny, it becomes more and more apparent how much Stuff we gotta do. Each of us having full, busy lives does not make it any easier to put our priorities in order and act on them. The time Cindy and I do have together is spent on catching up and catching our breathes from work, kids, artwork, and all the daily this n that. And then we're apart again for days on end.
Some of the things we have to put in order: Preparation to sell 2 pieces of real estate in the spring (that's the really big as far as time commitment), deciding on a wedding date and place, deciding on reception venue, guest lists, ATTIRE, and probably a few more that escape me at the moment.
It is going to be very exciting to put this all together. As Cindy and I have grown together, the one thing that we have found is that we are an awesome team. It is such a joy to be with someone who shares the same goals, outlook and work ethic. We truely know how much stronger we are when we are together.

Hey! Where's your thoughtful posts, C2?

(foot tapping) I'm waiting!