Just a few acquisitions...

A few items made it past the spending moratorium in recent weeks.

First of all, we got new dishes--and they're great. I've always owned light-colored dishes, so it never occurred to me that food might appear more attractive on darker dishes--but it does! Our new dishes have a dark blue, almost navy, interior, and when you have a mix of other bright colors on the plate, the food pops (figuratively speaking, of course). New dishes were a sound purchase.

Second, we bought new luggage. The set consists of three rolling suitcases (which nest inside each other for convenient storage) and a smallish bag that can be used as a carry-on or for cosmetic-type items within a larger bag. The set is forest green with taupe accents--not very exciting, but B will be able to use the set for work travel, and it will stand out more than every other black suitcase.

Finally, we bought new shoes for our honeymoon. I suspect "shoes" does not top the list of honeymoon must-buys for most people, but they were a necessary purchase (that's my story, anyway). Here's why: We don't want to look like Americans in Europe.

Granted, this situation will be unavoidable due to our height, teeth, and language skills, but we don't want to be identifiable in a crowd, and shoes and clothing are a good place to start if you want to fit in. We bought sporty shoes that are sneaker-like in their comfort but are a bit dressier looking--I wouldn't wear mine to a fine restaurant, but I feel a little dressier than I do in my Nikes. And I think they'll blend better than glowing white sneakers.

Oh, and it was necessary for me to get 2 pairs of the same shoe, one in brown and one in black. After all, you want to be prepared for every situation.

I'm trying to put the brakes on any other purchases--from here on out, only wedding-oriented buying! But these acquisitions were such good ideas that it's hard to hold back.

So you think you can dance?

In fitting with the Extreme Wedding culture in which we are now living, every aspect of the wedding and wedding day must be supersized in order to show how much you love each other. And now announcing the bride and groom's first dance as a married couple.

Queue the music, and dim the lights.

The two of you are finally together (and somewhat alone) for perhaps the first time that day. It's the perfect time to reflect on the wedding ceremony and the fact that you made it to the I Dos unscathed--except you're both counting steps because you're trying to remember your carefully choreographed dance that was designed to prevent your first dance as a married couple from looking like it were straight out of a junior high dance.

It's making me wonder--are dance lessons for the couple, or are they for the guests?

I think it's a combination--both the couple and the guests benefit. In theory, if the couple feels comfortable and confidant, then they can provide an entertaining show for their guests. Plus there is always the show-off factor--hey, it's your big day--what better time to show off your moves? In addition, the guests enjoy the show and feed off the energy that the couple projects.

Taking dance lessons is obviously the way to go, assuming you have enough time to get to the "comfortable and confident" stage and aren't counting every step while on the dance floor.

B and I took dance lessons last summer (way before the engagement--just because we had a lot of weddings to go to, and we didn't want to look like donkeys on the dance floor), but aren't quite at the level we want to reach, and lack of practice has put us practically back to the starting line.

But the dance dance revolution will rise up again this weekend! We've booked our first dance lesson, and we're hoping the process won't be too difficult. After all, we just need to learn one dance for one song.

The only question that remains is, which song will it be...

Ring engravings

When we picked out our wedding rings, the woman helping us told us that we should think about what we wanted to have engraved in each other's rings, opening up a new can of decisions that needed to be made.

We always planned to get our wedding date engraved in our rings, a lesson learned from B's brother (no chance of forgetting your anniversary then!). But the idea that we needed meaningful words in addition to numbers added a new element of complexity and pressure. We decided to go online to see what the rest of the world has done.

The online community offered some...interesting options. "You wore me down" didn't capture the theme we were going for, and "Not for pawning" seemed too foreboding about our financial future. "The toys are LEGALLY mine" was just vindictive, and "wuv woo wots ~ sweeties" made me want to gag. Clearly, we were on our own for this one.

We each thought about it for a few weeks, and we talked about it a few days ago, and shockingly (or not shockingly--we are getting married, so perhaps we are starting to think alike), we had the same idea. So that's what we're going with. We're heading to the jeweler tomorrow to try on the rings we ordered and to tell them them what we want.

Another item to check off the list... :)

Nice day for a soft rock wedding

B and I have basic cable, which means we have the networks, 5 Spanish-language channels, 4 home-shopping channels, 3 local access channels, 2 public television stations, and VH1. I don't know why we get VH1, but I suspect it's because there is a cable god, and he recognizes how difficult life can be without cable. (And if you're wondering why we don't have cable, there are 2 reason: (a) we don't want to watch enough television to justify a $60 cable bill, and (b) we are cheap.)

Last night, when all other viewing options were exhausted, we turned to VH1 for some mindless entertainment in the form of a special about the top 40 soft rock hits of all time. From Toto to Chicago to Chris de Burgh and Rupert Holmes, I was ready to name-that-tune after hearing only a few notes of synthesizer magic.

As I was rocking out to Michael Bolton (anyone who thinks you can't rock out to Michael Bolton isn't trying hard enough), I realized that I knew--and loved!--every single song on the countdown. And it was then that I realized that my musical tastes tend toward the cheesy.

In the past, when people asked me what type of music I like, I usually replied, "I like everything!" and then qualified the response with a list of exceptions (the presence of foul language or implied violence or misogyny will land a song on the Unacceptable list). Now I know that the response has to be modified to, "I like anything that is played on the Delilah show best." (Delilah happens to be my radio show of choice for my evening showers and likely would be a top choice for my morning showers, if the show were played during the morning.)

Now I need to go through the list of songs we'd like the DJ to play at our wedding to make sure that all of my suggestions are not of the soft rock genre because I suspect not all of our guests are looking forward to rocking out to Mr. Bolton with me.

The best $20 I ever spent

Our BBQ Pro grill has a 14" grill, 8" legs, and might be the best $20 I've ever spent.

We got it at the Allston K-Mart back when I lived in Brighton, back when B and I were learning how to cook together in a kitchen that was smaller than most bathrooms and in a time when kitchen fires happened so frequently we had a routine to handle them. My jobs were to open the windows in the living room and the door to the apartment, and B's jobs were to extinguish the flames, close the bedroom door (to prevent the smoke from reaching a very sensitive smoke detector), and to detach the electric smoke detector from the ceiling.

A grill--and the opportunity for outdoor cooking--was an attractive item, to say the least.

My third-floor walk-up (more like a fourth-floor walk-up when you consider the steps outside) wasn't the ideal home for a grill--no balcony, no easy way to get down to your grill, and no place to sit while your food is grilling. The fear that a neighbor would sniff our dinner and decide to walk off with our food (and grill) inspired us to get the cheapest model we could find--even if we used it only a few times (and if it happened to walk away one night), we wouldn't be too disappointed. Luckily, disappointment has never been an issue.

The cooking B has done in that grill--that is the true story of the grill. For most commodities, when you can buy a $20 option or a $1,000+ option, chances are good that the $20 option is going to provide a significantly lower experience, but that was not the case with our BBQ Pro. The BBQ Pro helped us realize that home-cooked food is often better than restaurant food. B has cooked everything from pork tenderloin to steaks to chicken to smoked peach salsa and grilled pineapples and peaches--and it's all been wonderful. He's experimented with different charcoals, rubs, sauces, and smoking chips, all to rave reviews from the peanut gallery (that would be me).

Sadly, it's time to say good-bye, BBQ Pro (where the dogs of society howl...? Please forgive my almost-daily need to for a literary or musical allusion--life doesn't feel complete without in-jokes).

While the 14" grill is adequate for cooking for a few, it's too small to use to cook for a group. We need to move on to something bigger. The grill we bought last night is great--it's another charcoal grill, and it's big enough to cook for an army. We both love it already--but it will never take the place of the BBQ Pro.

Dog days of spring

Our "Be responsible for another living thing" weekend will come to a close today when we return Oliver to B's sister. It's been an eventful weekend--we've met lots of neighbors with dogs and discovered that owning a dog offers admission into a sort of Dog Secret Society in which you are automatically friends with other people with dogs. There is something to be said for the social aspect of walking your dog and introducing your dog to other dogs (and therefore introducing yourself to other dog owners). There is also an implied social caste based on the behavior of your dog--the more well-behaved your dog is, the more highly respected you are as an owner (and human being).

It's a complex doggie world out there, and I'm just beginning to understand it as I return to my regularly scheduled programming. B and I have each taken away a key lesson from a weekend of life with a dog:

• B learned that watching the TV show The Dog Whisperer does not make you a dog whisperer, and that such a vocation requires a level of patience that he might not necessarily have all of the time.
• I learned that owning a dog is a little like visiting a dude ranch. A dude ranch might be fun to visit for a few days or a week so you can see what that kind of life is like. However, I don't see myself wanting to be a full-time cowboy anytime soon.

The challenges of home ownership

B and I haven't followed the most traditional path to marriage. Back in the day, there was an engagement (usually preceded by a hope chest, according to my mother), a marriage, and then a house purchase. B and I got the house purchase out of the way long before the engagement, and thank goodness we did--although the wedding plans have not been overwhelming, I wouldn't want to be in the midst of wedding and honeymoon planning and have to skip out to open houses every weekend.

We've got the purchasing out of the way, but the maintenance lives on.

This weekend, I tried my hand at a little gardening light because having flowers seemed like a nice idea (and the neighbors have done such a lovely job with landscaping their little plot of mulch, whereas ours looks as if we've been living in drought for years). I think I had a romanticized idea of what "gardening" entails--I wasn't expecting to emerge with arms covered in dirt (hepful tip--dirt sticks to skin that has had sunscreen applied...) and a sore back, wondering if my lily bulbs will grow or if my usual plant track record will prevail. Only time will tell.

Another home ownership challenge--when nature comes too close to home. Like gardening, nature experiences also fall into the "This is not nearly as exciting as I hoped it would be" category. Our experience has been something like this:

Day 1: "Oh, isn't that a cute chipmunk in the back yard! B, look at the chipmunk!"
Day 2: "Aww, the chipmunk is back! I think he's eating the birdseed!"
Day 3: "Maybe we should give the chipmunk a name!"
Day 4: "This chipmunk seems to be around a lot, doesn't he..."
Day 5: "I wonder what's been eating the neighbor's plants..."
Day 6: "Is that a rodent hole leading under the porch?"
Day 7: "How bad would your afterlife punishment be if you were to (hypothetically, of course) kill a family of chipmunks?"
Day 8: "The chipmunk almost ran across my foot! Where is the rat poison?! Die, chipmunk, die!"

We've blocked the entrances to their "home" under our deck and tried to create a lovely basement swimming pool for them--let's hope they get the message before we have to resort to more drastic measures.