HOME RUN Wedding (part 2)

Our son has been married for four days.   His new title is "husband."

Our daughter-in-law's new title is Chrystalle Ball.

No kidding. 

Here's the moment the new titles became effective.

Lovely.

Our son and his groomsmen wore compfy shoes for the event.  

Awesome and amusing choice.  Perfectly color-coordinated.  

And hour later, the newlyweds were doing this....

(which I suspect was more enjoyable in compfy shoes)...and playing with these....

Zany fun.

We're eagerly awaiting the professional photographer's photos, pictures that I'm sure will make me well up more than these do.  A new family has begun.

Another Ballpark has been established.

To the newlyweds:  May the road rise up to meet you, and may the home runs be many. 

 

 

HOME RUN Wedding (part 1)

I've been emotional this week.

Our first-born was married in Arizona on Saturday, and my heart is still swooning, flip-flopping, aching (a bit.)  Weddings are just so monumental.

Here's my thinking: even though your first-born is 34, he's still your baby until he marries.  Then, he's a grown-up.   This makes sense only to a mother's heart.

The photographer at the wedding was wonderful, and I'm sure her pictures will be beautiful.  But we don't have them yet.  So, I'm posting some of our non-professional, grab-the-camera-fast, from-a-distance photos because:

1.  I just keep looking at them.
2.  Any wedding photos are better than no wedding photos.
3.  I just keep looking at them.

From our first batch of photos, I think this is my favorite.

Happy, happy faces.  I'm so glad you're mine.  I'm so glad the bride's maid dresses got in on time.  I'm so glad it's over. 

Our son and new daughter-in-law are baseball fans like nobody's business.  The creative touches at their wedding/reception were remarkable/adorable/perfect.  Pick a word.

Like the baseball "roses" in the flowers made from real baseball leather and lacing.

My corsage

Bride's bouquet (Redskins colors)

The flowers will wilt away, but the leather roses will stand the test of time.

New baseballs also graced each table at the reception (regrettably, we didn't get a picture of those), along with a thin, black Sharpie.  Guests passed the ball and wrote their messages of love and good wishes.   A wonderful memento for avid baseball fans like the bride and groom.

When disagreements arise, they can grab a ball and play a game of catch while they hash it out.  And remember that marriage takes teamwork; nobody gets to hide in the dugout.

The bride performs in musical theater and seemed not one whit nervous being on stage all weekend.  From what we witnessed, she was composed and beautiful.

Our son was equally relaxed.   He seemed more than tickled with his new jewelry. 

The cake was spice and red velvet layers adorned with the most original, imaginative fondant. 

The topper was tops.  Such beautiful detail.  Truly, the cutest cake I've ever laid eyes on.   And baseball cupcakes to boot!

Guests crowded around this creation for ten minutes, snapping pictures. Absolutely delightful. 

So many blessings over the weekend.

So much laughter.

So little sleep.

It was wonderful. 

More ramblings to come.  In the meantime, look at these smiles....

 

The BEST of MEN

At church yesterday, the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks was commemorated with uniforms and steel.

Local First Responders were invited to be honored and prayed for.

 

The men in light blue are firemen/paramedics who work at the fire station a block away from my parents' assisted living facility.  The man on the right has been to Mom and Dad's room twice when 911 was called to take Dad to the hospital.

Active military were encouraged to come in uniform.  This Air Force officer was working the door, handing out programs. 

Off duty, but still serving. 

Bagpipers had been invited to play hymns as parishioners entered the church. 

They were majestic and riveting.

The Knights of Columbus had arranged this commemorative Mass.  They, too, came in full regalia.

Everywhere I turned, there were strong men (and a few women) who were protectors and helpers and healers.

I was so proud of them and so grateful for their commitment to service.   So grateful for all First Responders everywhere, especially the brave souls who tried so hard to save the injured and dying on September 11, 2001.

During the procession, a 10-inch cross fashioned from World Trade Center steel was carried to the altar.  It was displayed in the church hall after Mass.  

It was heavy and solid.  Cold rubble transformed into a symbol of forgiveness and reconciliation and new life.   

The 9/11 attacks weren't the first to be visited upon America.  And, sadly, they won't be the last.   In the meantime, let's do what we can to get along in our own little circle of influence.

Like share the remote control, and let the other driver have the closest parking space.

And let's be grateful for the days of peace we do enjoy. 

I made cupcakes for our local fire station yesterday. 

I'm going to do that more often.

BECOMING SNIPPY

I've taken on a new identity this past month.   I've seen it coming for awhile, but I've finally embraced it.

I've become a couponer.  (Or dough stretcher.)

I've intermittently used coupons in the past, but now I'm serious.  I created a 3-ring binder with baseball card sheets and homemade dividers.  

I take it with me on every outing, like a fashion accessory.

I got the couponing bug from my friend Jessica, who is a coupon whiz.  She created a program that lays out the best strategies for saving, and once I tried it, I felt like a bozo for not seriously using coupons earlier in my adult life. (CLICK HERE to check out Jessica's program) 
It's appalling the money I've unconsciously doled out over the years.

Coupons are FREE money.   I simply didn't give them much attention.   

Until the housing market went down the toilet.  And then, gas prices rose.  And then, our grocery bill began to climb.  And all we eat are vegetables and peanut butter.  (Not really, but it feels like it.)

Then, our home insurance sky-rocketed.  It rose 63%!!!  Can you believe it?  I get irritated just typing that.

I'm not complaining.  We are blessed in many ways, and certainly have more than we need.   But we can do better.

So I did some research, enlisted my daughter's help, and now we have fun every Sunday snipping the morning paper to shreds in search of deals. 

Compared to seasoned couponers, we're rookies.   But I've now seen the light.  And the wisdom of buying things only when you get a discounted price.   It really is possible.

My hubby cleared out the guest room closet yesterday, so we can begin to stockpile.  'Stockpile' is a word I never thought much about either (or maybe even used) until I began couponing.  But couponers do need a place to store the excess.  Stuff they won't need this week, but will need next month, or for months to come.

Here are five things I've learned about couponing so far:

1. You don't have to "drive all over town to save two dollars." 
Most non-couponers think you do.  It's simply not true.  I regularly shop at two grocery stores and two drug stores, and I'm only taking advantage of deals/sales/coupons at those stores.  You can drive all over tarnation if you want to (and you'd save more than two dollars, by the way), but you can still save by shopping at the stores you normally frequent.

2.  "Stacking" (one store coupon and one manufacturer's coupon on the same item) is the ultimate savings.  Especially if the item is on sale to begin with.  Whoo-eeee!  I love stacking.  It makes me feel like I'm smarter than the average bear.  

3.  In your Sunday paper, regarding the "deals of the week" flyers - you need to visit those stores on Monday.
Because by Tuesday or Wednesday, the road-runners have cleared the shelves.  The slugs who saunter in on  Thursday or Friday are going to miss out.   It's not important how I know this.  

4.  Couponing encourages and promotes long-term thinking.
This is my favorite part.  Because, I love long-term thinking.  For example, I always choose maintenance over "wait 'til it falls apart, then toss it, and buy a new one" thinking.  I'm a plan-ahead person.  Which can frustrate my husband at times, because he prefers to live in the here and now.   I guess you could say we're a good balance, but mostly it makes us just disagree on where to put extra money.

Did I just say "extra" money?  I must have had too much wine at lunch.

5.  On-going couponing enables you to donate extra goods to those less fortunate.  
This is the feel-good part.  To date (I've only been doing this for six weeks, and it takes some time to build a stockpile), I've been able to share some items with a friend who struggled this year, but I'm excited to do more.  Extreme couponing can turn into hoarding, and then you have to go to 12-step meetings to learn to let go of your surplus of Cheerios.  I want to avoid that. 

I'll touch on couponing now and then, as I become more savvy.   It's really quite the adventure. 

Here is our dough stretcher of the week:

Regularly 98 cents.   We got it for 23 cents!    HA!!!  You can't even buy a huge gum ball for 23 cents.  Costs you at least a quarter. 

I don't know why I get a kick out of this, but I do.

Summer LEFTOVERS

Okay, it's the end of the month photo wrap-up.

Did summer fly by, or what?  Suddenly, school buses are everywhere.

Time to download the interesting, but unrelated, photos in my camera.

Category 1:  Devouring mini-cupcakes.  

This was at the "everybody-who-has-a-birthday-in-July" party at Southland.  They had beautiful, deliciously fat-filled cupcakes for all the residents.

Dad had three. 

I was only quick enough with the camera to capture two scarf-downs.

I think the third disappeared when I blinked.   The guy can inhale desserts in record time. 

Then, he's not busy eating when birthday parrots come to visit.

Category 2:  T-shirt competition.

My brother, the ex-clown, is a University of Maryland graduate.  The school with a turtle for a mascot.  Which is really kind of sad, because turtles are slow and lumber-y.   Not something you generally look for in a point guard.

But those Terp fans, they defend that turtle like nothing you've ever seen.  Which is good, I guess, because the turtle is clearly too lumber-y and slow to defend himself.  Maybe fans simply feel sorry for the poor thing.

Anyhoo.  I'm a Barry University graduate.   I didn't attend the main campus, so I never attended a Buccaneers game.  But I certainly know that a swarthy buccaneer could squash a lowly turtle.

My loyalty lies more in the direction of our county baseball team.  The Manatees.  Technically, sea cows.

I know I'm talking apples (basketball) and oranges (baseball) here, but I really couldn't care less about the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat.

I'm talking about what looks cute on a t-shirt.   

Hands down, the sea cow shirt.  (In battle, though, I still win.  A sea cow could eat a turtle.  Or just flip him on his back and swim away.)

Category 3:  Missing product.

My grocery store stopped carrying a major ingredient in my FAVORITE homemade pasta sauce.  I can't find it anywhere.

Does your local grocer have Bellino Sun-dried tomatoes?   If it does, let me know.  I'll contact it and see about getting some shipped to sea cow territory. 

I'm going to go hide now, because Terp fans are going to let me have it.