Chad and I are getting a lot of our wedding planning done now. A few people keep telling us "It's too early." Or, "You have plenty of time, why now?" The truth is... we don't have plenty of time. First off... 10-10-10 is proving to be a very popular wedding date. Like Chad and I, many couples like the sound and feeling of 10-10-10. We are already aware of two other Jewish weddings (one is a commitment ceremony like ours) in the Twin Cities on 10-10-10. Thus, we already sent out our "save the dates" so that we are on everyone's calendars first. Second, if you want the best of the best, you need to book now.
Last week we met with our photographer. Not only is his work amazing, and his personality the perfect fit for us, but he he already has two weddings booked in October of 2010, and has a booking out as far as August of 2011. Too early? I think not. We also found out that someone else wanted Temple of Aaron on 10-10-10 as well. Had we waited, we would not have been able to have our ceremony at Temple on the day we wanted.
We have a tasting set-up with our caterer for July 7. This is the next one to nail down soon. All Jewish weddings in synagogues have to be catered by Kosher caterers. The options are very limited, and with two other weddings that day, we want to make sure we get who we want.
We have had conversations with a videographer, and just today contacted four different florists. We also want to get get our DJ squared away as well.
We are finding that we are not the only people who are booking so far out, and so, if we want this to be an event to remember, and have the best of the best, the time to book is now. So, for all of you who think it is too early, you are wrong. Because while we will have an amazing event, those who wait are going to wind up with a ceremony at the VFW, with dandelions picked outside, catered by White Castle, with pictures from Uncle Larry's Polaroid camera, and cousin Eddie playing records on his turntable!
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Herzl Memories
A few months back, I posted all of the things I missed about Herzl Camp. Well, not all of them, because, let's be honest, there are WAY more that fit here. But I am re-printing my list, with a few more additions, in hopes it will inspire people to sign up for Herzl's Alumni Camp this year from August 7-9. See the link below my list for information...
1. The Shabbat caravan.
2. Singing in the chadar (the old chadar, not the air conditioned palace).
3. Playing "what are they thinking" in the mo with my homies.
4. The first day of camp.
5. Candlesharing.
6. The ozo mo.
7. Grilled cheese.
8. Days off.
9. The Pour House... let me be clear... the OLD Pour House.
10. Hanging at the schmear sites.
11. Lifeguarding on the floating dock.
12. Cabin 17.
13. Services at the Mercaz.
14. The N'Divim program.
15. The old school t-shirts that had the same design, but changed colors every year. They were last done in 1991... appropriately, they were black.
16. Thinking nothing of playing games with other naked guys in the shower (see... you all made me gay).
17. Raids.
18. Flag songs... specifically the one I wrote to Joseph's Coat for B'Yachad 1996.
19. My ozo's when I was papa, despite them being complete a-holes a good 98% of the time.
20. The anticipation of the first drive up for the summer.
21. Singing the song as you pull in.
22. Singing the old songs on Fridays after lunch.
23. Cooks parade (they don't seem to want to do that an an assisted living home... weird).
24. Chanut.
25. 12 Gates and Tommy's "I gotta pee" song to the tune of "Under the sea."
26. Ozo plays.
27. Final banquet.
28. ComedySportz... always best when done for staff oneg.
29. Cabin plaques.
30. Signing your name on the walls.
31. Watching ultimate (I would NEVER play... I still don't understand the rules).
32. Get your elbows off the table.
33. Minucha (I could go for some of that right now).
34. Escape to Israel.
35. Running to your cabin the first day to make sure you got a good bed.
36. Bed boards (who would have thought sleeping on a wooden board would be more comfortable than springs).
37. Taking watches away on overnights.
38. Sneaking food into the cabin and keeping it after visitor's day.
39. Making friends to last a lifetime.
40. Im Tirzu, Ein Zo Agada
Now if you miss all of those things and more... treat yourself to another Herzl Shabbat and sign up for Alumni Camp. Here's how: http://www.herzlcamp.org/alumni.htm
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
1. The Shabbat caravan.
2. Singing in the chadar (the old chadar, not the air conditioned palace).
3. Playing "what are they thinking" in the mo with my homies.
4. The first day of camp.
5. Candlesharing.
6. The ozo mo.
7. Grilled cheese.
8. Days off.
9. The Pour House... let me be clear... the OLD Pour House.
10. Hanging at the schmear sites.
11. Lifeguarding on the floating dock.
12. Cabin 17.
13. Services at the Mercaz.
14. The N'Divim program.
15. The old school t-shirts that had the same design, but changed colors every year. They were last done in 1991... appropriately, they were black.
16. Thinking nothing of playing games with other naked guys in the shower (see... you all made me gay).
17. Raids.
18. Flag songs... specifically the one I wrote to Joseph's Coat for B'Yachad 1996.
19. My ozo's when I was papa, despite them being complete a-holes a good 98% of the time.
20. The anticipation of the first drive up for the summer.
21. Singing the song as you pull in.
22. Singing the old songs on Fridays after lunch.
23. Cooks parade (they don't seem to want to do that an an assisted living home... weird).
24. Chanut.
25. 12 Gates and Tommy's "I gotta pee" song to the tune of "Under the sea."
26. Ozo plays.
27. Final banquet.
28. ComedySportz... always best when done for staff oneg.
29. Cabin plaques.
30. Signing your name on the walls.
31. Watching ultimate (I would NEVER play... I still don't understand the rules).
32. Get your elbows off the table.
33. Minucha (I could go for some of that right now).
34. Escape to Israel.
35. Running to your cabin the first day to make sure you got a good bed.
36. Bed boards (who would have thought sleeping on a wooden board would be more comfortable than springs).
37. Taking watches away on overnights.
38. Sneaking food into the cabin and keeping it after visitor's day.
39. Making friends to last a lifetime.
40. Im Tirzu, Ein Zo Agada
Now if you miss all of those things and more... treat yourself to another Herzl Shabbat and sign up for Alumni Camp. Here's how: http://www.herzlcamp.org/alumni.htm
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Too Hot
Today is way too hot... already. To quote Matthew Broderick from Biloxi Blues, "It's like Africa hot." It really is gross out. From 10:00am until 10:00pm we have a heat advisory... heat indices are expected to be at 105!!! These are the days that you wake up, shower, and begin to sweat. I am so thankful today that I no longer work at camp. It is just miserable. You are miserable, the staff is miserable, and then the kids, in turn, are miserable. How un-fun is that?!?! For both day camps I was the director of, today is only their 2nd day of camp. Yuck... what a way to spend it. Here now... some ideas of ways to cool off...
1. Stay in and enjoy your air conditioner
2. Go to Dairy Queen or any other ice cream place and enjoy a frozen treat
3. Go to a wave pool or water slide type of place
4. Kick it old school and run through the sprinkler
5. Have a water fight
6. Buy a slip and slide and go to town
7. Drink lots of water
8. Buy a fan and keep it on your desk at work (my current personal tactic)
9. Be naked
10. Lay on a beach with one hunky guy fanning you with a big fig leaf, one hunky guy feeding you fruit, and another hunky guy offering you lemonade.
WAKE UP... this is a reality list of things to do, not fantasy! Stay cool and be well.
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
1. Stay in and enjoy your air conditioner
2. Go to Dairy Queen or any other ice cream place and enjoy a frozen treat
3. Go to a wave pool or water slide type of place
4. Kick it old school and run through the sprinkler
5. Have a water fight
6. Buy a slip and slide and go to town
7. Drink lots of water
8. Buy a fan and keep it on your desk at work (my current personal tactic)
9. Be naked
10. Lay on a beach with one hunky guy fanning you with a big fig leaf, one hunky guy feeding you fruit, and another hunky guy offering you lemonade.
WAKE UP... this is a reality list of things to do, not fantasy! Stay cool and be well.
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Amazing Day
Wow! That is all I can say... wow! For a day that had such scary potential... it turned out to be one of the best days ever. Below is a re-cap...
First and foremost, tonight the Temple of Aaron Board of Directors voted overwhelmingly in favor of same-sex commitment ceremonies at the Temple! No one voted against it, and only two people abstained. Chad and I want to thank everyone so much for their support. I truly believe all the e-mails and phone calls lead to this victory. I would also like to give a VERY special thank you to Rabbi Shavit-Lonstein who has not only been 100% supportive of us from the beginning, but truly believes this is something our synagogue should allow! I am not sure all of this would have happened without him.... thank you!!
In addition to now knowing where we are having the ceremony, I also believe we have found our caterer, our photographer, and our videographer. We have to meet with everyone but we are pretty sure we know who we are using. Very fun!!!
Chad's company is in the process of laying off 600 people here in the Twin Cities. His department got hit yesterday, with everything completed today. Some people who have worked there for 15+ years got laid off. I am happy to report, Chad is safe!!
As many people know, our niece Rylee (Chad's brother Jason and sister-in-law Kerry's daughter) was up for Penny Princess in White Cloud. This campaign has been going on for over a month. Tonight, Ms. Thang was crowned Penny Princess. She gets to ride in a parade and wear her little tiara. So fun!!
Aunt Peggy went back into the hospital a week ago today with blood clots in her lungs. She has been making slow, but steady progress. We previously thought she might come home this Sunday, but today one of the doctors told her she might be able to come home Saturday!!
Chad's best friend Sara had her gall bladder removed today, and thankfully, all went well with her surgery. She is already home and resting comfortably.
What an incredible day. I am so thankful to have all of these people in my life to celebrate such wonderful things. Thank you everyone... you know who you are.
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
First and foremost, tonight the Temple of Aaron Board of Directors voted overwhelmingly in favor of same-sex commitment ceremonies at the Temple! No one voted against it, and only two people abstained. Chad and I want to thank everyone so much for their support. I truly believe all the e-mails and phone calls lead to this victory. I would also like to give a VERY special thank you to Rabbi Shavit-Lonstein who has not only been 100% supportive of us from the beginning, but truly believes this is something our synagogue should allow! I am not sure all of this would have happened without him.... thank you!!
In addition to now knowing where we are having the ceremony, I also believe we have found our caterer, our photographer, and our videographer. We have to meet with everyone but we are pretty sure we know who we are using. Very fun!!!
Chad's company is in the process of laying off 600 people here in the Twin Cities. His department got hit yesterday, with everything completed today. Some people who have worked there for 15+ years got laid off. I am happy to report, Chad is safe!!
As many people know, our niece Rylee (Chad's brother Jason and sister-in-law Kerry's daughter) was up for Penny Princess in White Cloud. This campaign has been going on for over a month. Tonight, Ms. Thang was crowned Penny Princess. She gets to ride in a parade and wear her little tiara. So fun!!
Aunt Peggy went back into the hospital a week ago today with blood clots in her lungs. She has been making slow, but steady progress. We previously thought she might come home this Sunday, but today one of the doctors told her she might be able to come home Saturday!!
Chad's best friend Sara had her gall bladder removed today, and thankfully, all went well with her surgery. She is already home and resting comfortably.
What an incredible day. I am so thankful to have all of these people in my life to celebrate such wonderful things. Thank you everyone... you know who you are.
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
Monday, June 15, 2009
I Wish I Could Help
Sometimes I wish I could do something to help, but I know I cannot. AP is back in the hospital after her surgery with blood clots. She is getting depressed and I do not blame her. I wish there was something I could do, but I cannot.
Thursday, Temple of Aaron is voting on whether Chad and I can have our ceremony at the synagogue. A lot of people are writing and calling on our behalf. But again, I wish I could do something, but I cannot.
Right now, our company's computers are down. We have access to the Internet (obviously), but no e-mail, no calendars, no documents, nothing. I wish I had the skills and the understanding to help fix the problem, but I do not.
It is just frustrating... so often we want to help or fix things, but we know we cannot for 100 different reasons. So... we wait. We sit and get frustrated and we just wait. Arghhhh!!!
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
Thursday, Temple of Aaron is voting on whether Chad and I can have our ceremony at the synagogue. A lot of people are writing and calling on our behalf. But again, I wish I could do something, but I cannot.
Right now, our company's computers are down. We have access to the Internet (obviously), but no e-mail, no calendars, no documents, nothing. I wish I had the skills and the understanding to help fix the problem, but I do not.
It is just frustrating... so often we want to help or fix things, but we know we cannot for 100 different reasons. So... we wait. We sit and get frustrated and we just wait. Arghhhh!!!
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Money Needed
Okay... I knew weddings were expensive, but seriously... how do people do it? I just do not understand. If caterers, photographers, videographers, DJs, flower shops, bakeries, and all the other people you have to pay accepted monthly payments, it would make sense. But who has cash to pay these people? Or, who doesn't mind putting that much on a credit card? I just do not get it.
I understand... a lot of people have wealthy parents who either do well or have been socking it away for awhile. But not everyone does. So how do you afford a wedding? I am thinking of selling sponsorship opportunities at our wedding. Oh yeah, and on top of that, we need to sell Chad's townhouse, and hopefully buy a new home of our own. Money sucks. And it is not just in this economy, it just sucks in general. I know I will never be rich, but I sure wish I could win the lottery to pay for some of this. I guess I better start buying Powerball tickets... can't win the lottery if I don't play it.
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
I understand... a lot of people have wealthy parents who either do well or have been socking it away for awhile. But not everyone does. So how do you afford a wedding? I am thinking of selling sponsorship opportunities at our wedding. Oh yeah, and on top of that, we need to sell Chad's townhouse, and hopefully buy a new home of our own. Money sucks. And it is not just in this economy, it just sucks in general. I know I will never be rich, but I sure wish I could win the lottery to pay for some of this. I guess I better start buying Powerball tickets... can't win the lottery if I don't play it.
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
Friday, June 5, 2009
To Cut Or Not To Cut
Everyone knows planning a wedding is not only fun, but also very stressful. Well, we are about to enter one of the more stressful parts of the process... cutting people from the list. I wish I were rich. I wish I could invite everyone I have ever come into contact with (and liked) to my wedding. Unfortunately, money plays a big factor into this, or more correctly... lack of money.
So, this weekend, Chad and I will be merging all of the lists, seeing where are numbers are, and then beginning the process of cutting. It is really no fun, but it has to be done. Ultimately, I will hurt people's feelings and I would NEVER want to do that. People who invited me to their wedding, will not make my list because I never even talk to them anymore. Work people will see I have invited some, but not all. The truth is... you see these people every day, and have fun together, but if you left that job, how many would you see again. And that is where I have to make more cuts. Still others are friends of friends or they are friends of family and are expecting to be invited, but they too will be disappointed. For some reason, every gay person seems to think they are going to be invited. Just because we are all gay, does not mean I can afford to have you to the wedding. Could you imagine that many homos under one roof? This ain't the Gay 90's!
As I said before... I wish I could invite everyone, but I cannot. I know I will hurt people's feelings, but there is nothing I can do. If I win the lottery, I promise to invite those with hurt feelings. Or if those with hurt feelings wish to pay for themselves, they are welcome to attend. It sucks, but it is, what it is.
On a side note... this wedding is going to be one to remember. So all those invited, lift your glass, and let's party!!!
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
So, this weekend, Chad and I will be merging all of the lists, seeing where are numbers are, and then beginning the process of cutting. It is really no fun, but it has to be done. Ultimately, I will hurt people's feelings and I would NEVER want to do that. People who invited me to their wedding, will not make my list because I never even talk to them anymore. Work people will see I have invited some, but not all. The truth is... you see these people every day, and have fun together, but if you left that job, how many would you see again. And that is where I have to make more cuts. Still others are friends of friends or they are friends of family and are expecting to be invited, but they too will be disappointed. For some reason, every gay person seems to think they are going to be invited. Just because we are all gay, does not mean I can afford to have you to the wedding. Could you imagine that many homos under one roof? This ain't the Gay 90's!
As I said before... I wish I could invite everyone, but I cannot. I know I will hurt people's feelings, but there is nothing I can do. If I win the lottery, I promise to invite those with hurt feelings. Or if those with hurt feelings wish to pay for themselves, they are welcome to attend. It sucks, but it is, what it is.
On a side note... this wedding is going to be one to remember. So all those invited, lift your glass, and let's party!!!
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Patience Is A Virtue
Patience is a virtue, and unfortunately, I have NONE!!! We have been waiting for a couple weeks now to find out what cuts our company is making. Supposedly we are going to hear this afternoon or tomorrow morning... but I cannot take the waiting anymore. Brace yourself... I am about to Ramble.
I really do not have much patience. Like when I am second in line at a stop light. As soon as that light turns green, I expect the person in front of me to go. But do they? NO, of course not. They dick around, adjust the radio, look in their rear view mirror, and then, "Oh, the light is green." So, they look both ways, slowly lift their foot off the break, recite a verse or two of some dumb church hymn, and then finally they slowly but surely glide into the intersection. I hate waiting.
It's like going on vacation. I get so excited to go, and the months DRAG on before it is finally time. I want to go now!!!
Or what about when you are boiling water for Mac 'N Cheese? I know, I know, a watched pot never boils. But guess what.... it does! I just hate waiting for it to happen.
In any case... I am losing my mind. I just want to know, and my small amount of patience is on empty.
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
I really do not have much patience. Like when I am second in line at a stop light. As soon as that light turns green, I expect the person in front of me to go. But do they? NO, of course not. They dick around, adjust the radio, look in their rear view mirror, and then, "Oh, the light is green." So, they look both ways, slowly lift their foot off the break, recite a verse or two of some dumb church hymn, and then finally they slowly but surely glide into the intersection. I hate waiting.
It's like going on vacation. I get so excited to go, and the months DRAG on before it is finally time. I want to go now!!!
Or what about when you are boiling water for Mac 'N Cheese? I know, I know, a watched pot never boils. But guess what.... it does! I just hate waiting for it to happen.
In any case... I am losing my mind. I just want to know, and my small amount of patience is on empty.
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
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