3.30.2011

How did I forget about these??

The back of our table numbers at the wedding each had a quote from a child. These quotes were how children view love and marriage. As I was cleaning out my bookmarks, I found these:

http://www.rinkworks.com/said/kidlove.shtml

Love and Marriage:

* "If falling in love is anything like learning how to spell, I don't want to do it. It takes too long." -- Glenn, age 7

* "Love is like an avalanche where you have to run for your life." -- John, age 9

* "I think you're supposed to get shot with an arrow or something, but the rest of it isn't supposed to be so painful." -- Manuel, age 8

* "No one is sure why it happens, but I heard it has something to do with how you smell. That's why perfume and deodorant are so popular." -- Mae, age 9

* "Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too." -- Greg, age 8

* "Once I'm done with kindergarten, I'm going to find me a wife." -- Tom, age 5

* "On the first date, they just tell each other lies, and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date." -- Mike, 10

* "I'm in favor of love as long as it doesn't happen when Dinosaurs is on television." -- Jill, age 6

* "One of the people has freckles, and so he finds somebody else who has freckles too." -- Andrew, age 6

* "My mother says to look for a man who is kind. That's what I'll do. I'll find somebody who's kinda tall and handsome." -- Carolyn, age 8

* "It gives me a headache to think about that stuff. I'm just a kid. I don't need that kind of trouble." -- Kenny, age 7

* "One of you should know how to write a check. Because, even if you have tons of love, there is still going to be a lot of bills." -- Ava, age 8

* "When somebody's been dating for a while, the boy might propose to the girl. He says to her, 'I'll take you for a whole life, or at least until we have kids and get divorced.'" -- Anita, 9

* "I'm not rushing into being in love. I'm finding fourth grade hard enough." -- Regina, age 10

* "Most men are brainless, so you might have to try more than once to find a live one." -- Angie, age 10

* "A man and a woman promise to go through sickness and illness and diseases together." -- Marlon, age 10

* "[Being] single is better . . . for the simple reason that I wouldn't want to change no diapers. Of course, if I did get married, I'd figure something out. I'd just phone my mother and have her come over for some coffee and diaper-changing." -- Kirsten, age 10

* "Love is foolish...but I still might try it sometime." -- Floyd, age 9

* "Love will find you, even if you are trying to hide from it. I been trying to hide from it since I was five, but the girls keep finding me." -- Dave, age 8

Kissing:

* "When a person gets kissed for the first time, they fall down, and they don't get up for at least an hour." -- Wendy, age 8

* "You should never kiss a girl unless you have enough bucks to buy her a big ring and her own VCR, 'cause she'll want to have videos of the wedding." -- Jim, age 10

* "Never kiss in front of other people. It's a big embarrassing thing if anybody sees you. But if nobody sees you, I might be willing to try it with a handsome boy, but just for a few hours." -- Kally, age 9

* "You learn [how to kiss] right on the spot when the gooshy feelings get the best of you." -- Doug, age 7

* "If it's your mother, you can kiss her anytime. But if it's a new person, you have to ask permission." -- Roger, age 6

* "It's never okay to kiss a boy. They always slobber all over you. That's why I stopped doing it." -- Tammy, age 10

* "I know one reason kissing was created. It makes you feel warm all over, and they didn't always have electric heat or fireplaces or even stoves in their houses." -- Gina, age 8

* "The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that." -- Curt, age 7

* "The rules goes like this: if you kiss someone, then you should marry her and have kids with her. It's the right thing to do." -- Howard, age 8

* (on seeing a couple kissing) "He is trying to steal her chewing gum!" -- Boy, age 6

Beauty:

* "If you want to be loved by somebody who isn't already in your family, it doesn't hurt to be beautiful." -- Anita, age 8

* "Beauty is skin deep. But how rich you are can last a long time." -- Christine, age 9

* "It isn't always how you look. Look at me. I'm handsome like anything, and I haven't got anybody to marry me yet." -- Brian, age 7

How People In Love Act:

* "Lovers will just be staring at each other and their food will get cold. Other people care more about the food." -- Brad, age 8

* "They act mooshy. Like puppy dogs, except puppy dogs don't wag their tails nearly as much." -- Arnold, age 10

* "All of a sudden, the people get movies fever so they can sit together in the dark." -- Sherm, age 8

* "Romantic adults usually are all dressed up, so if they are just wearing jeans it might mean they used to go out or they just broke up." -- Sarah, age 9

* "It's love if they order one of those desserts that are on fire. They like to order those because it's just like how their hearts are -- on fire." -- Christine, age 9

* "See if the man picks up the check. That's how you can tell if he's in love." -- John, age 9

* "Many daters just eat pork chops and french fries and talk about love." -- Craig, age 9

What Mom and Dad Have In Common:

* "Both don't want no more kids." -- Lori, age 8

How To Tell If Two People Are Married:

* "Married people usually look happy to talk to other people." -- Eddie, age 6

* "You might have to guess based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids." -- Derrick, age 8

Deciding Who To Marry:

* "You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming." -- Allan, age 10

* "No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with." -- Kirsten, age 10

Strategies For Making People Fall In Love With You:

* "Tell them that you own a whole bunch of candy stores." -- Del, age 6

* "Shake your hips and hope for the best." -- Camille, age 9

* "Yell out that you love them at the top of your lungs...and don't worry if their parents are right there." -- Manuel, age 8

* "Don't do things like have smelly, green sneakers. You might get attention, but attention ain't the same thing as love." -- Alonzo, age 9

* "One way is to take the girl out to eat. Make sure it's something she likes to eat. French fries usually works for me." -- Bart, age 9

The Best Age To Get Married:

* "Twenty three is the best age because you know the person forever by then." -- Cam, age 10

* "No age is good to get married at. You got to be a fool to get married!" -- Freddie, age 6

Good Advice About Love:

* "Spend most of your time loving instead of going to work." -- Dick, age 7

* "Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough." -- Lynnette, age 8

* "Tell your wife that she looks pretty even if she looks like a truck!" -- Ricky, age 7

* "Don't forget your wife's name. That will mess up the love." -- Erin, age 8

* "Sensitivity don't hurt." -- Robbie, age 8

* "Be a good kisser. It might make your wife forget that you never take out the trash." -- Erin, age 8

* "Don't say you love somebody and then change your mind. Love isn't like picking what movie you want to watch." -- Natalie, age 9

What To Do When a First Date Turns Sour:

* "I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns." -- Craig, age 9

What Most People Are Thinking When They Say "I Love You":

* "The person is thinking: 'Yeah, I really do love him. But I hope he showers at least once a day.'" -- Michelle, age 9

* "Some lovers might be real nervous, so they are glad that they finally got it out and said it, and now they can go eat." -- Dick, age 7

Why People In Love Often Hold Hands:

* "They want to make sure their rings don't fall off, because they paid good money for them." -- Gavin, age 8

* "They are just practicing for when they might have to walk down the aisle someday and do the holy matchimony thing." -- John, age 9

Titles of Love Ballads You Can Sing To Your Loved One:

* "'I Love Hamburgers, I Like You!'" -- Eddie, age 6

* "'You Are My Darling Even Though You Also Know My Sister.'" -- Larry, age 8

* "'I Am In Love With You Most of the Time, But Don't Bother Me When I'm With My Friends.'" -- Bob, age 9

* "'How Do I Love Thee When You're Always Picking Your Nose?'" -- Arnold, age 10

* "'Honey, I Got Your Curly Hair and Your Nintendo On My Mind.'" -- Sharon, age 9

* "'Hey, Baby, I Don't Like Girls, But I'm Willing To Forget You Are One!'" -- Will, age 7

Love you out loud!

It's official. I am now Vanessa Wiest. It's been a looooooong time coming and it's finally here. I had such a fabulous week before the wedding with Gary here in Minneapolis and then a WONDERFUL few days in Decorah FOR the wedding. I can't believe it's now almost a week later and that I've been back at work for two days already. And that Gary is already back in Decorah. I feel like I'm holding back tears literally every second but I cannot be more happy at the same time.

When I first met Gary, I knew that he was special and from there, I thought about him quite a bit. From 2005 to 2008 before we started dating, I always had him in the back of my mind. I know now that I always loved him but didn't let myself believe it until we began dating in July 2008. It only took a couple of weeks for me to even say I loved him. It felt so real and natural. We knew very early on in our relationship that we wanted to marry each other. It's amazing how we felt so strongly for each other. I remember the butterflies I felt and my wanting to hug and kiss him all the time. I don't feel those butterflies anymore but that is just fine with me. Now that we're married, I feel truly connected to him in such a deeper way than before. This by far surpasses butterflies. I'm going to make myself cry just thinking about it :)

Though I had fun thinking about our wedding, it wasn't nearly as much fun as actually seeing it all come to life. I had for so long dreamed about the colorful candles, fruit displays, the coloring pages for the kids....I just didn't realize it would all look so AWESOME! Everything came together so nicely and honestly, went perfectly. Though we stayed up really late both nights before our wedding, I knew without a doubt it would be perfect because of this:


Yes, I knew our wedding day would be perfect because I woke up BEFORE my alarm. I LOVE waking up before my alarm. There's nothing better. Wait, there is :) It was perfectly beautiful outside (with the exception of the degree...) I wasn't so sure of being outside when it was so cold but my word, the sun was out to play. I LOVE sunshine and cannot wait to see all the photos we took. We were out on location for 99% of our photos :) We'll get the rights to all our photos so I will post those as soon as we get them.

As far as the ceremony/reception go, I couldn't quite escape my Hotel Winn persona but I thought it was a blast. We had a lovely, simple ceremony that was filled with fun stories, some happy tears and our FIRST KISS as a married couple. I really can't wait to see photos of that :) Below are some of the only photos I took at our wedding.

6 out of 8 children at our wedding. SO CUTE!!!!!

Making it official :)

After the reception died down, we opened gifts. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised at how awesome our gifts have been. I was completely prepared to receive lots of mismatched towels, off the wall items we'll never use, and those silly typical wedding gifts. Did we receive many of these items? NOPE. Here are some of the most memorable gifts:



I love you, Gary, but hurry up. I can't wait to be able to hug and kiss you whenever I want :)

3.29.2011

The ONLY negative from our wedding weekend :)

Disclaimer: This isn't the nicest post I've written. It's me getting some frustration out on "paper" and honestly, I may end up deleting it down the road. Read with caution and know that I have forgotten all about this unfortunate situation.

I want to get this out of the way because really, our wedding was perfect. I loved every second of it. I loved spending the week prior with Gary, working our buns off to make everything happen, even taking pictures in below freezing weather at 9am. The one part I didn't like? That would definitely be the part where our musician flaked. She has yet to tell me she wouldn't make it or even to apologize. I'm a little bit frustrated because I really want to take the high road but as the days go by I actually become a bit more upset by it. ( a blog about how much fun Gary & I had with all our friends and family and PICTURES will soon follow :)! Stay tuned)

This particular person was a friend of mine. She's a fun, flamboyant, sassy girl that can always brighten the room. She was very nice to me while I was without my friends in Decorah post-college. I found myself hoping she'd be working when Gary & I would go to Tbocks. That is actually where she and I first talked about her playing for Gary & my wedding. She happily accepted. From there, it was on both of our back burners. I must admit, I wasn't too concerned about the music at our wedding because I knew how She played and what she could do. About a month before, I decided to start nailing some details down. This friend and I decided to meet at Rubaiyat for drinks & dinner to discuss what I was looking for and what she was capable of. This is where I started wondering about her reliability. I saw on her facebook that she would be heading to Florida for spring training. Yes, she's a HUGE Twins fan. I was okay with that up until I noticed that she'd be going to the Friday (March 25) game. I wrote a note on her status asking if she could still play. Did she respond? No. Instead she deleted my comment. SOOOOOOO when she finally showed up for dinner, I asked her point blank if she could still play at the wedding on the 26th. Her response? Oh of course, I'll be back by then. I guess I should have called her on her lie but instead she said she'd put together a list of songs for me to choose from. We left that meeting still on good footing. Unfortunately I never heard from her again. I wrote her a couple of times, sent her a text message, but nothing. (Calling would have been worthless because she is actually a busy girl) At that point she was definitely ignoring me because she was constantly updating her facebook statuses.

Though I wanted to believe she would make it, it wasn't until March 23, three days before the wedding, where I was convinced she wasn't going to be at our wedding. She posted a picture of all the tickets she had for her time in Florida. There was one for March 25th and also one for March 27th.




I was really pissed off as you can imagine but kept my composure because I was always intrigued about making our own playlist for songs we'd walk out to and what not (I'd even put it on my to-do list to make a backup cd). Luckily I had also taken her name off the ceremony programs awhile back AND did not include any music other than the processional and recessional.

I really wish this person would have stepped up and let me know sooner that she wouldn't be playing. Though Gary & I made it work, we spent a LOT of time & money making it all happen. We spent precious moments the days leading up to the wedding working on this that I would have much rather spent with family or even just Gary & myself. We spent a good 5 hours Thursday evening (until 1:30am) picking out the music). I spent 2 hours Friday morning (8am-10am) downloading and then realizing that my computer can't burn cds AND then somehow sharing my itunes with Gary's itunes to burn the music on the wrong cds. Of course I didn't know they were the wrong cds until Gary & I were busy decorating Friday afternoon. Because we had the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, Gary wasn't able to buy the correct cds until 9:30-10p. I spent a good hour or two the night before our wedding without Gary by my side. Luckily, we figured out the right cds to use and it went off without a hitch, but I'm still upset about how much precious time was wasted in the last minutes. This is me taking it off my chest so that I don't have to think about it anymore. I loved every other minute of our wedding so that will trump this.

The last annoyance with this person? All her damn status updates on facebook. It's like she's been flaunting the fact she wasn't here. I'm sorry but how rude.

PS: Thank you for NOT playing at our wedding. Gary & I made our wedding that much more special to us by having chosen our own fun songs to play. Thank you for allowing us to have only those most important at our wedding that actually care. Have a good life but I sure hope you grow up to be a more mature human being that can still be the fun, sassy girl I used to know and appreciate.

3.23.2011

Broccoli with Hot Sauce Recipe - Delish.com

Broccoli with Hot Sauce Recipe - Delish.com

Try this one too!

Tricolor Penne Recipe - Delish.com

Tricolor Penne Recipe - Delish.com

I promise to return to the blog world after I get hitched! It's been crazy busy and I'm pretty sure my brain didn't make it into my suitcase when I moved up to the cities. I'll try to retrieve it when I'm back in D-town :)

But until then, go make this recipe and tell me if it's good. It sure looks amazing!