Moving

After a long blogging hiatus, I finally decided to start using the nifty website that DH setup for us. www.elizaanddanny.com. You'll actually be redirected to www.dannyandeliza.com but I wanted to put out the URL with my name first. ;-)

almost one month

It's been almost a month since the new hubby and I made our relationship "right" in the eyes of God and our families. Most were polite about this little detail by asking us if it felt different being married. Danny's most audacious uncle (who was the scary disciplinarian back in his taekwondo teaching days) didn't make that effort. Of course I laughed because it was hilarious in an unexpected sort of way but there was definitely a twinge of discomfort. There's just something unsettling about the older generation referring to that topic.

Instead of dwelling on the odd comment or two (or three...), it's been soothing to remember our time in Hawaii. The north shore of Kauai was perfect for a low key destination wedding. Neither of us had been there before so our choice was purely based on what we've heard and read about the island. A bit risky but Kauai exceeded our expectations. Beautiful beaches, great snorkeling, challenging hiking trails, and just enough good shopping and restaurants to give us options but not ruin the down-to-earth island setting.

Snorkeling at Tunnels is fantastic if swimming alongside tropical fishes is your thing. The coral isn't as healthy as it should be but there were enough fish who didn't mind that minor fact. I wish I could have seen it back in the day but it's still amazing. And I could snorkel there every weekend despite the fact that there are sharks in them waters. The hubby and I hovered in the water when we saw a white tipped reef shark swim past us.

I don't know about you but a shark within 25 feet of me with no aquarium glass separating us is a terrifying thing. I tried to think of everything you're supposed to do when attacked by a shark. Don't look like a seal. Don't splash water. Hit the snout if it gets a hold of you. The first two don't matter once you see the darn thing since these are what attracts them in the first place. And for what it was worth, I also tried to not reak of fear so it was probably a good thing that I couldn't pee in my swimsuit. It didn't help that I knew this beach is where that surfer girl lost her arm in a shark attack. Thankfully, our new friend wasn't interested in us (and is supposedly quite shy) and swam back towards the deep blue sea. Although my hands were shaking incontrollably when we immediately got out of the water, I did manage to snap a couple pictures. Unfortunately, it's hard to gauge the size of Mr. Shark. I'm pretty sure it was a good 5-6 feet long but hubby thinks it was a tiny 3 feet.

It's still in progress but there's an online photo album at www.dannyandeliza.com/Gallery. The two pictures of Bruce are also online.

17

Just 17 more days before the W-day. I couldn't sleep on day 19. Something about breaking into the teens, I suppose.

furball

When people come over and see my cat, Lily, they usually comment on her size. Sure, she's a bit overweight but she's longer than the average cat, too.

After seeing the below picture, no one can tell me how fat my cat is...

Mailing Lists

It's amazing how many catalogs I've gotten ever since moving into a house. Today's unnecessary one - www.rightstart.com.

Misconceptions

They say that women start planning their dream wedding as little girls. When I was 8 or so, I remember designing my dream garden on graph paper. They have sophisticated computer programs for that now.

When I said "I do", I thought that a ceremony on a cruise boat en route to Alaska would be perfect. Minimal planning and I could cross Alaska off of my travel wishlist. My parents didn't agree because cruises are too expensive (and their friends had begun planning an Alaskan road trip).

They say that you're only supposed to make a few decisions if your destination wedding is at a resort. Mine apparently assumes that we're all bridezillas.

I thought that I could ignore the millions of details. Tropical bouquet. Chocolate cake. But that went out the window when I saw my options. I'd like you to express mail tastings of your three popular flavors - Pave d'Amore, Lilikoi Chiffon cake, and Almond Haupia with a Mango Sauternes Compote. And don't ask how many hours I've been online researching flights, accommodations, etc. in addition to updating the wedding website.

Brides-to-be can spend hours at work planning their wedding. I moved into another department this year and I'm barely keeping my head above water. I could complain about not having the time to plan my wedding but I'm just thankful that the other onerous project I was supposed to pick up was pushed onto another team.

People who say that wedding planning is a joyous process are the same ones who call aggravating situations "opportunities". Don't get me wrong. There are cheerful/positive moments but unexpected sources of stress keep popping up (in addition to the expected ones). At least I can easily justify getting a massage to work out the knots...

silly words

I've picked up some annoying work tactics...

Repeat yourself using different, dramatic adjectives each time until the other party sees an opportunity for change.

Call something an "opportunity" instead of what it really is.

Use euphemisms without a healthy dose of sarcasm. Sincerity and euphemisms don't mix! A jerk is not a "squeaky wheel."

Take responsibility for someone else's mess. Profuse apologies included. I'm in danger of chronic insincerity.

i feel like a kid again

I called with a little hope buried in the certainty that there wouldn't be a voicemail. When the woman's voice told me that I did have a message, my heart skipped a beat. Nope, it was just a message about the phone network. But, wait, there's a second message. Hooray! The office is closed today!

Hold on. What am I going to eat for lunch?

good intentions

Invitations for a destination wedding are a difficult matter. Who gets an invite? Just family? Plus our closest friends who'll probably be able to make it? Or to everyone we would've invited if it were a local affair? Would we look like we're fishing for gifts? I thought the solution to the latter would be opting out of a wedding registry but enough people have given me grief for not providing "direction" that it's inevitable I'll be in Macy's zapping away at UPC symbols.

And then there's the wedding website. Who do you tell? Just the invitees? Or everyone? (Un)fortunately, this question has been answered since people have been stumbling upon our website on their own. I feel guilty for not sharing it sooner. Darn Google's effective search bots and whoever is searching on my name!

www.ElizaAndDanny.com

Seriously, I appreciate the interest. And, if you're wondering, the invitation list still isn't final. I don't even have the parents' list of friends yet. I'm seriously considering giving each of them 10 unaddressed invitations so that they can sort that part out on their own. I can hear the complaints already for more invitations.

a diamond is forever... but this refund ain't

Marshall Fields had a policy where you could upgrade diamond earrings by returning the pair you bought and paying the difference. Of course, you need your receipt. And, although I have this obsessive tendency to hold onto my receipts, I misplaced this one and have regretted it for over five years now. Lucky me, I have another reason to rue that moment of absentmindedness.

https://diamondsclassaction.com/

I hope that others can cash in on this...

starfish, ribbons, and lots of paper

If I win the lottery tomorrow, these are the invitations I'd be torn between...

(click on pictures for details)

but at $13-15 each (including a box for each invite / excluding postage), this is as close as I'll get to them.

mad world

I saw a middle-aged woman dart in front of an oncoming car in a parking lot. I cheered the grandmotherly driver for giving a short instructive honk. I was appalled when the nitwit transformed into a thug and threw her arms up in a challenge.

My lined gloves were helpless against this morning's cold. I crossed an intersection as the crosswalk timer flashed a red zero. The driver in his warm SUV whom I thought was letting me cross was actually waiting to honk at my back as he whipped around the corner. I'd like eye contact if you're going to honk at me. The better for you to see my disdain.

I find myself frantically busy at work. I ran away from the worst manager ever only to find myself become a lone account manager of sorts. This isn't quite what I had in mind. I'm tired of trying to be charming.

Last week, I met this month's quota for conversations, discussions, and anything involving verbal communication. How do those politicians do it?

the process of elimination

I ordered two dresses from jcrew.com back in November. Once we settled on Kaua'i, I knew it had to be down-to-earth. But I like the contrast of a formal dress for a beach wedding. But there's a certain charm to a beachy dress on an occasion like a wedding.

When I tried them on, I knew which one to keep.


You didn't think that I'd post an advance peek at the dress, did you? I kept the other one.

the blackhole

I thought it'd be fun and rewarding to dress up the house with Christmas lights. So I scooted down to Home Depot for LED lights. They're the environmentally responsible choice, you know.

I looked at my options for outlining the windows but my vision changed to lighting up the bushes in front of the house. Covering organic shapes should be easier than 4 rectangles, right?

So I decided on white nets for the short bushes and multi-colored strands for the tree-shaped bush. I knew I'd underestimate how many lights I'd need so I padded my initial estimate. I was still off.

Note to other newbies to outdoor lights. The nets are a pain to untangle. It really didn't help that it's 25 degrees. On the bright side, I figured out that you can twist the wire around an unsuspecting branch to spread the stubborn net out. I'm going to need 3-4 more nets. And I'm wearing gloves the next time. My wrists are itchy.

My mini Christmas tree looks a bit wanting with 2 strands. That bush is a lot bigger than I thought. I'll need 2 more strands. And maybe those oversized globes.

Tomorrow will be a better night. The bushes will be fully clothed. All in all, my first attempt at outdoor Christmas lights wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. I hope the super bright LEDs grow on me.

Do I look too pink?

$1,650 for 299 Swarovski crystals. Oh, and it's on Windows Vista with a 100-gigabyte hard disk drive and 1 gigabyte of memory.

Is it wrong for a thirty-something year old to be in love with something so pink and sparkly? Especially one that claims to despise pink?