Update Installment 1

July, 2003

I married Craig and we had a lovely and very large wedding. It was the wedding my mother had always dreamed of. (I can't even dream that big). Even though we had a fantastic time, I was completely overwhelmed. Not in a bad way, but in a "I didn't know that we knew so many people and they are all watching us" kind of way. I have to admit, the very best parts were the actual ceremony (like the "as long as we both shall live" part), and the few moments I could steal alone with Craig. However, I have to send a HUGE "Thank you, you are the best, most wonderful people" hug to everyone who helped, drove in from out of state, flew in from foreign countries, planned, arranged, wore awful dresses, had their hair mangled and put up with me (at my worst). I never knew how well loved we were until we got married. Thank you. I can never say it enough.

I do not understand how people get married twice. One wedding was lovely, and more than enough for me.

Craig and I moved into a little townhouse near the university. We paid a very low rent while he finished school and I continued to teach at Interlachen High School. We (and Kim, Virginia, Henry????) painted khaki, pink and magenta stripes on the dining room wall. (Actually, I just chose the colors.) I painted solid walls and later was chastised for for my sloppy work. Craig will never let me paint again. (Who won THAT one??????) The entry way was painted magenta. I loved it, but Craig never brought people over for the first 4 months that we lived together. (I tried to bake cookies for him everytime he did bring someone over, to show that there are compensations for being married to a crazy decorator).

We finally got a little dog... well, we got Junie. She is a chihuahua, so she is neither dog nor cat. She is a pet. I didn't want a dog (read: hair, slobber, tail that knocks things over), and I really wanted a puppy. Chihuahuas are actually perpetually puppies- or at least they look that way. Because it wasn't a good idea to have a baby 5 months into marriage, we got a pet instead and she has been babied and spoiled- but not by me alone!!!!!! (ask ANYONE.) I know we'll regret this, but in her defense, she doesn't bite or act aggressively, like some chihuahuas. She's just a barking spaz ball, but we can't have everything in life.

Craig graduated with his mechanical engineering job in April, and was hired the day he walked by Terra- Com, and environmental engineering company run by Mormons. For the sake of being PC, I won't say anything else. I left Interlachen to work as the manager of My Favorite Quilt Shop, a job I literally walked into. It was my dream job, and I was VERY happy. I liked Interlachen, I liked teaching reading, but I didn't like the paperwork involved and I couldn't stand the drive.

We started loking for a house just before Craig graduated, and fate brought us to a little house in a nice neighborhood that my boss's friend was selling. I was shocked when he accepted our offer. Plus, we got to choose the paint color, so I picked minty-light green with white trim and a hot pink front door. (My neighbors hated me before we moved in!) I have recently dubbed our home "Flamingo Cottage". Plastic yard flamingos are on my Christmas list. I'm not kidding.

Okay- I have given in to my husband's dream date idea, and am headed off to Hungry Howie's All You Can Eat Pizza Buffet. I can't believe I just admitted that.