Unity Candle

I did have visions of making our own Unity Candle but when you can find so many things on Etsy made my people who have WAY more time and talent than you do... you should go with it. Here is the Pic.

This was done by Fanci Flamegirl (http://www.etsy.com/people/FanciFlamegirl). She did a wonderful job and the best part is it only took me about 15 minutes to order it! :)

Wedding Dreams

"Wedding Dreams" sounds like such a nice title doesn't it? It conjures up images of white clouds and beautifully dressed people floating through the air, sipping on champagne and smiling and laughing. Basically having the time of their lives. I know you can envision this, everyone is floating around in in slow motion because they are so relaxed and happy.

For those of you former brides, you know good and well that my wedding dreams have been anything BUT the above described scene. They are more like wedding nightmares... In my most mild "dream" I thought that all of the guests were going to have to sleep in one ski lodge with many couples in each room. Basically my "dream" had people sleeping on every available surface in this place. And, somehow Mr. E and I had to share with the loudest snoring couple there. I was in a panic! Both in my dream and immediately following my dream when I sat straight up in bed, sweating at 2:30 a.m.

It doesn't take a dream interpreter to tell me that this is my mind's way of manifesting worry and the fact that we need to get moving on a few things! So, this week, for the sake of my sleeping and sanity, we will accomplish the following:
1) Unity Candle- yes or no, if yes, I'm making it and I'll post photos/process of that craft project
2) Tuxedos for the men- just pick them out and order them!
3) Invitations- We are thisclose to being done with these
4) Come on Mr. DJ put a record on I want to dance with my baby...

Stay Tuned!

Bridal Showers Bring Bridal Flowers

I had my first bridal shower last weekend. My Maid of Honor flew in from Chicago and my mom's friends, the G.A.L.S., did a really nice job organizing, calling a few audibles due to flooding and avoiding cheesy shower games. (That last one was an order, really.) I think everyone enjoyed themselves and I did too... even though I might have been sweating through my new dress while they all watched me open gifts.

One of the nice things that the ladies did was ask all of the guests to bring a flower that reminded them of me. Then, as they introduced themselves to everyone else, they told why their flower reminded them of me. One cousin brought a sunflower and said it reminded her of me because it was Hawkeye colors. Huge score! Other friends and family members brought roses, daisies and lilies. They all said very nice and really wonderful things about me. I knew that we had a mutual admiration for each other, however when they put their thoughts and feelings into words, it was very touching and sweet. And beautiful. Both figuratively and literally.

How I Love the 4th of July!

I love fireworks! I mean, I love fireworks the same way little kids love fireworks. I stare in awe like the little kids and I cheer like the little kids. Sometimes, I even get a tear in my eye... for some reason fireworks bring out the emotion in me. For the past several years, Mr. E and I have gone to my hometown for the 4th of July. We spend Easter with Mr. E's family in Michigan and the 4th of July with Ms. D's family in I-A. (That's Iowa for those of you who aren't hip to my other love of nicknaming and abbreviations) I must say, I like the arrangement. Unfortunately, this year we can't do the 4th in I-A because we have so much going on, financially. As it is, the flooding in I-A, may have put a kibosh on the fireworks anyway. (Flood Pictures.) I decided to get over my initial disappointment and look forward to the fireworks here. I mean sitting on a pier overlooking the ocean, watching fireworks and eating ice cream... kind of an awesome replacement. Exceeeeept, those got cancelled TOO! Darn these economic times. So, I made cupcakes instead. Of course I made yellow cake with chocolate frosting for me! I used the vanilla frosting for those who like pretty holiday arrangements. I'm bummed I won't be seeing any fireworks this year but cupcakes are a close second. They definitely taste better (well, who knows what fireworks actually taste like) and if you squint the sprinkles kind of look like fireworks... Happy 4th of July!

Little Old Lady From Pasadena

Last week, I made a 45 minute trek to Pasadena to check fabric. Yep, you read that correctly. It took me longer to get there and back than I actually spent in the store (10 minutes.) I went to Pasadena to see the fabric that some potential bridesmaid dresses were in. Silk Shantung or Satin? Oh man... the dilemma!? I'll figure that part out soon enough... now for the really cool part of the trip...

I figured that if I had come this far, I may as well stop at THE football landmark of all time. A landmark that I definitely hope to be at on New Years Day 2012, wearing black and gold, of course... THE ROSE BOWL! I have pictures of me, my brother and my dad all wearing Hawkeye gear and crammed into one chair watching the Hawks in many a Rose Bowl... Those pictures are very old though so hopefully we can get some new pictures involving the Rose Bowl and the Hawkeyes... Until then, feast your eyes on this and Let's Go HAWKS!

Versus- The Game, Round 2

This one will be short:


Most of you know that I allow several little things bother me. And I know that I am persnickety and I have a lot of rules and whatever. I am trying to relax but it is hard... just ask my friend Stephanie. She knows. But NOT scooping poop is not a little thing! And, it is in my top 3 pet-peeves of all time.

That being said:
LA: 0, Chicago: 0

Doesn't anyone, anywhere SCOOP their dog's poop!? Come on people? No one wins when you don't scoop your poop! Especially in the game of Versus! Total Score: Same.

Virgin Airlines Rocks

I don't need to go on and on about Virgin Airlines the way I did about Spirit because Virgin totally and completely rocks... allow me to explain:

We walk into LAX, the crappiest of crowded airports in my opinion, and into the Virgin Airlines Check-in area. We are greeted by friendly, upbeat but not too loud music and a white monitor and white acrylic desk. Everything is very modern, very Apple-like and most importantly in my book, VERY CLEAN. We get our little mini boarding passes printed which are square and have only the essential information on them, i.e., flight, name, city and seat. Very small, very efficient. Ooh... I love that word, efficient. Then we wait in the really awful security line at LAX. (Have I mentioned I dislike LAX and I think they could most certainly engineer a better way to get people in and out of there faster, yet?) Once we get to our gate it is clean and our plane is on time. We start boarding and when you walk into the plane it is like walking into the mind of Itunes. The lighting is low and purple-ish-blue, the music is hip but again, not too loud. The plane is clean and we find our seats swiftly. There is a TV on the back of every seat with a touch screen that allows you to pick what you want to watch and the coolest function of all. A MAP, a GPS enabled MAP (I love maps). Seriously. You can see where you are in the air, how fast you are going per hour and how many miles you have left. Genius. I can't stop looking at it... you would think this would make the flight last longer as if I were saying, "Are we there, yet.... are we there, yet.... how about now?" But nope. Not a chance. This made my flight go FASTER. I was obsessed with it and could not get enough. Pretty soon it was smooth landing into Seattle at 345 mph with 2 miles to go.

I won't bore you by repeating my story again because seriously the flight back was a repeat of the flight out there. It was just as on-time, awesome and fabulous with all the same wonderful sensory experiences. I loved having the knowledge that we were traveling at a ground speed equivalent to 545 mph and if I were you, I would fly Virgin airlines all the way out here to LA, immediately.

Catching Up

Who knew that moving would take so much physical effort and leave one so mentally drained? I learned something during this moving business, when you are physically worn out, you cannot be creative. So here are a few things I've been doing in the past few weeks for you to catch up on:

Disneyland: I had my first Disney experience (ever) last week. Wow was I impressed. I bet you didn't think I, of all people, was going to say that, did you? The attention this place pays to detail is unreal and they don't have to go that extra mile but they do. One of my companions, who was about 8, went to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. This is behind Sleeping Beauty's Castle and is the place where little girls can be a princess for a day. They offered to do my hair and make-up too but I forgot my princess dress at home. Fastpass is the best idea ever and my favorite rides were Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and Indiana Jones' Adventure. Now, I went to Disney with Mr. E's cousins and they happen to know almost everything about Disney which definitely helped my experience.

Unpacking the Pods: Our moving pods arrived on Monday of last week with all of our stuff in them. There were two and wow do we have a lot of stuff. So I spent two hours unloading the first pod, one. box. at. a. time. This is how it went: get box, walk into house, put box in respective room, walk out of house, get next box, repeat. I literally went in and out of the house 50 times. Mr. E helped me with the heavy stuff in the second pod. Suffice to say that my body had some aches. I went to Salvation Army at least 3 times before moving and I will be sending at least 5 more boxes their way after we are all done unpacking. Speaking of unpacking...I still cannot find my aprons...Or anything else, really.

Playing Softball: Let's be very clear about this softball league. It is for FUN and I am FUNNY to watch. I have a pink glove and I wear a running skirt to play softball. I am NOT good at softball and I don't care. I went 0 for 3, missed a grounder, got a nasty purple bruise on my wrist (OK, I admit it- it's kind of cool to show people) and somehow had the Ump calling me pee-pee girl because I asked to go to the restroom before the game started. I was nervous! And, I actually (gasp) had fun!

Went to Seattle: We went to Seattle this wknd for an event for Mr. E's work. We had a wonderful flight experience on Virgin (this will get its own post) both ways! Once we were there I got a (long-overdue) massage and took a nap. I know, not the best way to spend time in Seattle but having been there before a few times and nary a box in sight, well, I was tired. We also had a great dinner at the Four Seasons and participated in a talent show with about 5 minutes warning. I was Sandy and Mr. E was Danny... let's just leave it at, we didn't win. On Saturday, we took a ferry to Bainbridge Island and had the best Clam Chowdah ever! It was light, citrusy, buttery and full of flavor. We also took in the Seattle Sounders MLS game. Sunday was a lazy day of brunch and beautiful views from our friends' rooftop. Good weekend!

Grind: This week, back to the grind... job searching, wedding planning and unpacking. More details to come! And hopefully some pictures, too. I wish I could have captured that Kodak moment with Mickey and everything else I did last week, actually. I guess I learned two lessons last week; one, see above, and two, bring camera more often!

Versus- The Game

Now that I've been in LA for one full week, I'd like to play a little game I made up called Versus. The rules are, there ain't no rules... except my rules!

Here are my comparisons between LA and Chicago.

Weather- LA:1, Chicago: 0
What can I say, I'm a sucker for 70 and sunny every day!

Outdoor Activities- LA: 3, Chicago: 1
In LA, I can go to the beach, go on a hike and make my way to a mountain all in the same day. Chicago has the lakefront (which I still love).

Public Transportation- LA: -1, Chicago: 4
This is really going to hurt LA's score in the long run but because LA is so completely sucky in the public transportation realm, they deserve this huge point differential in my "Versus" game. LA gets a negative because it has a train system that no one takes. Anywhere. Because it doesn't go Anywhere. In Chicago you can take the Metra, a bus or the El. You can also easily go outside and get a taxi from Anywhere to Anywhere.

Drivers- LA: 0, Chicago: 1
Chicago drivers aren't that great. But LA drivers are worse. Muuuch worse.

Score so far:
LA: 3, Chicago: 6

This is my game so the scoring doesn't have to make sense to anyone else... Including Mr. E who is trying to make me change my scores. Stay tuned for round 2 sometime in the near future of Versus, "the Game Ms. D made up."

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Mr. E and I have been throwing around some ideas about starting a garden... we don't really have a ton of dirt so our first stab at gardening will have to be a container garden. What we do have plenty of is sun and a garden hose- why else do they call it a garden hose if not to water gardens?

We definitely want a tomato plant because those red, round balls they sell at the local grocery stores and call tomatoes, are not cutting it. They taste like mush. I think I can grow this no problem.

Now, about an Herb Garden: I did some good research on the Internet (as usual) and I found an awesome website that told me everything I need to know. I think.

They suggest growing several plants of all types of herbs. Instead, I think I'll be putting my own spin on this one. We are going to start with basil, cilantro and mint. I mean who needs Tarragon? Let's stick with the basics people. I can make pesto from the basil, I can use the cilantro in shrimp ceviche and you know where I'm going with this... I can make a mean mojito with the mint! Pictures and progression notes, to come!

Circle of Life

I just want to take a moment to remember a dear friend who passed away a year ago, today. Emily. What a beautiful woman. We miss you dearly and know you are watching over us from your position in the sky. All of us are blessed to have known you.




I also wanted to take a moment to recognize and welcome Beckett Jeffrey Hanneman to this world. Born on 5-26-11, I think he is a wonderful addition to the Hanneman family and I am so excited to meet him.













These two people aren't super related to each other, except that Emily and Lisa (Beckett's mom) were both sorority sisters with me. I just thought that it would be nice to celebrate life in remembering death.

I wish I had something sarcastic to say because I know Emily and the Hannemans would really appreciate it but unfortunately, I don't.

Thank you, Emily for teaching us what you did and welcome Beckett to this wonderful world!

Discoveries

I needed to go to the bank today and since the car isn't here yet, I walked. I looked up the route on the Internet and walked there and back. Side note- seriously, what would we do without the Internet?! I didn't even get lost and it was a very nice walk. Along the way, I made a few discoveries.

I found the essentials, CVS, Chase (of course), Von's (same as Dominicks), a few nail salons, 4 doughnut shops, and 4 businesses that all start with "Anza." Anza Hardware, Anza Salon, Anza Inn, Anza Healthcare. What is Anza, you ask. No idea- I'll look later. I also found two coffee shops and a STARBUCKS. Whew... I was starting to get nervous because I hadn't seen one, yet! The coffee shop nearest our house has a blended coffee, chocolate and peanut butter drink. In finding that place, I found my new best friend.

I found that most Californian's have really packed garages with lots of things in them, except cars.

I found that I think we live in a neighborhood where the average age is well, old. But that's OK. After 9.5 years of having the action in your backyard (Wrigleyville), your attic (Wicker Park) and your front yard (Cabrini) I'm ready for a little peace and quiet. I will get my action elsewhere...

I also found that what California lacks in architectural beauty, everything is in the same brown strip mall, they more than make up for with natural beauty. Every single brown strip mall is lined with beautiful and colorful flowers of all varieties as well as palm trees blowing in the wind. Nice trade off.

Finally, I found hills. For those of you who live in Illinois, you may not remember what those are. To help jog your memory, they are bigger than a mound of dirt but not quite a mountain. And, I'm hoping if I walk enough of them, I'll get my posterior in better shape!

Aside from what I did find, I also hope to find a job in the near future. I'll keep you posted on that find, soon enough!

Chandeliers of Torrance

I'm getting used to our new house. One thing about the owners is that they love chandeliers. We have four of them - which one is your favorite?

Don't fly Spirit...Ever.

For those of you who know me, you know I love me some lists. I know it's a little early to be Snarky but I couldn't help myself... It took us a total of 10 hours to get from Chicago to LA. Most of that can be blamed on the airline that we took, Spirit Airlines. And, because of our awesome experience with Spirit, here are my top 10 reasons why I will never fly Spirit airlines again.

10. No Automated Check-In: You have to go all the way down to the end of the terminal by Siberia, I mean Iberian airlines... to wait in a very long line that is being manned by TWO people.

9. Graduated Bag Fees: Of course we all know that if costs money to check a bag but when you are moving ACROSS the country, you have to. And, Spirit has the fabulous idea that your bag should only weigh 40 el-bees (pounds). If you are over the mandated 40 el-bees, they raise the fee by how many pounds are in your bag, 50 pounds and you could be paying 50 bucks. Because of this, all of us in line had to get manually charged a fee by said TWO attendants.

8. Flower Pens: They attach silky, fake flowers to the end of their pens so people won't steal them. Do I have to elaborate?

7. Receipt Boarding Pass: The Spirit boarding pass caused some confusion for the TSA agent checking us in. She said we made our boarding passes up... um yes, I understand you TSA Lady... that's because the boarding pass looks like a grocery receipt from Jewel.

6. Three Hour Delay: Maintenance or weather related? According to the desk, the plane needed maintenance. According to the flight attendant there was bad weather in NY.. but our flight was from Florida to Chicago... Hmmm.... you do the math... Regardless it was 10:30 before we took-off for our 7:30 flight.

5. Weird Engine Noises: See number 6.

4. Loud Flight Attendants: Talky-talky-slam-slam-talky-slam-talky-talky-talky. Stop talking! I can hear you over my noise cancelling headphones and my Enya. I'm trying to sleep ladies and you're jacking your jaws and slamming things around.

3. Rude Flight Attendants: OK, seriously, do not yell over the loud speaker at the woman waiting at the front of the plane for the lavatory, she is obviously oblivious. GO TALK TO HER QUIETLY. And bring me some water!

2. In flight Advertisements: I don't know if Spirit know about target markets but they sell ad space on the tray tables and the overhead storage compartments CTA-style. My ad was for Looney Tunes and I stared at Bugs Bunny's Face for 4.5 hours while listening to my Enya.

1. First Class: OK, what?! The fact that Spirit even offers first class seating blows my mind b/c they are not in any way shape or form even close to a first class operation.

Now, I know that Spirit is an economy airline but come on... step it up just a little and your consumers wouldn't spend an hour posting about why they will never use your airline again.

Ms. D Re-Welcomes You!

On the plan ride here, I thought, "Why not continue that blog and update it on moving to a new city, starting a new career and getting married...if nothing else for my friends who are far away."

And so, what started as a school project during my student teaching to encourage all of our students to blog will now become (drum roll please...) a chronicle about: Ms. D learning about her new surroundings and getting used to the urban sprawl that is LA, Ms. D embarking on her new career as Ms. D (teacher- for those of you who weren't aware) and all of the foils that go with finding and starting a new job, and last but certainly not least, Ms. D becoming Mrs. E.

The beginning of 2011 has already been excitement packed and I can assure you that the remainder will be nothing to shake a stick at so please feel free to drop in every now and then to catch up on the happenings of Ms. D and her plucky sidekick, Mr. E. He's real cute- I think you'll like him ;)

I can't promise to always be relevant, witty, funny or even have great writings. I also can't promise to write every day (sheesh, people, did you see the list of things I have to do for the rest of this year!?). But, I can promise to be genuine and heart-felt as I welcome you to my "new" blog!

Book Commentary: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

I recently finished reading Bill Bryson’s, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. I don’t often read memoirs, and I especially didn’t see what would be so interesting about a white guy who grew up in Des Moines, IA. But…since Bill Bryson grew up down the street from a friend of mine (although he is our parents’ age) and since he mentions said friend’s Aunt in this story, I thought I would give it a try. Boy was I wrong! I haven’t read something this funny in years. I was reading it on a plane, stuck between two men and I was laughing so hard about one scene where Bill’s mom makes him wear his sister’s pants, that I thought I was going to pee mine. I was trying to be quiet, which caused me to laugh even harder. When they asked me what was wrong, my body started convulsing in laughter. I had tears running down my face and if I had been drinking milk, it would have shot through my nose. –That Funny- So funny, that I couldn’t even explain it to them. I could only point at the book and laugh harder, which caused me to cry more and shake more which caused me to laugh more… you get the drift. This cycle of hilarity caused them to laugh and proclaim that they too would now begin reading, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. Like Bryson, I am also from Iowa and I have to say that even though it was written by an older man, through the laughter-induced tears, I was able to identify with and pick up on his poignant message about Midwestern values, treating people with kindness and respect and learning how to survive in chartreuse Capri pants when you really wanted to wear jeans and kicks.

(Bryson, Bill. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. New York: Broadway, 2006. Print.)

Welcome!

When’s the last time you wrote for fun, to express your emotions or simply to try and create something? As a graduate student and student teacher I can tell you that it has been a long time since I’ve written creatively. Now, its lesson plans and reflections. But first it was research, evidence, research and more evidence. And even before that, I wrote memos, training documents and emails. Writing to express creativity or to release emotions be they happy or sad hasn’t been on my radar in some time. And, fun… writing for fun!? I have a new perspective on writing for fun... Let’s just say I have never written for fun…until now. And, I can thank Ms. Shimon’s 7^th period English class for making writing fun.

Through my student teaching with this class, we have been asked to create a blog… So, I can’t promise you that this the best writing you have ever seen but I can promise you that I enjoyed writing it. And, I hope you enjoy reading it.