Good Day Sunshine!

Mar13
2008 Kristi Written by Kristi

I love the spring time.  Especially after a dreary day yesterday and this morning.  The flowers in the yard are blooming.  The new roses are sprouting leaves.  I hope the poppy and bluebell seeds I planted will sprout soon.  There isn’t a better time of the year, except for the last day of school.  As any kid will tell you, that’s the best day of the entire year!

 

Samson got a power walk yesterday while I was off getting my hair cut.  I came home from work with a migraine, AGAIN and when money permits, I’m going to see an accupuncturist.  One of my students has a doctor she likes so I got his card from her.  I’m not a huge fan of the idea but if it works, it’ll be worth it. Im tired of having screaming head pain once a month or so.  Even with the meds I take, I’m still having problems.  I don’t know what else is next, short of seeing a headache specialist or going on seizure medication.  Fun stuff. 

 

School is almost over.  We’re in the downhill slide now.  I have a lot of curriculum to cover still but that’s the story of my life.  I’m hoping not to teach freshmen next year but I have no control over that.  I’ve put in my request, which will most likely be ignored.  Such is the life of a high school teacher in public school. 

 

I’ve finally kicked the last of the lingering cough.  It took almost a month to get over that nasty flu.  Rob is back to his normal self and other than adjusting to the time change, I feel like a human being again.  It’s nice not to have a perpetual frog in my throat and have some energy to do things around the house. 

Posted in Everyday Life

Springing Forward

Mar12
2008 Rob Written by Rob

I’m having a really good day. The weather here is gorgeous, the sky is a clear blue, cool breezes running via open windows throughout the house. Slept like a rock, got up early as usual to see that Kristi got on the road with breakfast and a packed lunch, and then crashed out for a few more hours. When I woke up at 9am I felt better than I have since before we got sick. Factoring stress into the equation, probably the best I have since the plane landed in December.

16 years ago – God, has it been that long? – I remember driving into work down Kirkman Avenue in Orlando, about this time of morning and this time of the year. I was 19 and worked in an A/P department at Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin). With the recession and massive post-Cold War defense cutbacks, 1991 had been a bloodbath year in aerospace. Bad, bad year. By March ’92, I was burnt out. I’d go to the local water park every day after work just to unwind before the painful drive home down I-4. I spent most of my time fantasizing about being anywhere and doing anything other than staring at phone bills for a company that specialized in blowing people up.

So that day, the day I driving on Kirkman, I’d told people that I had a dental appointment. Truth was, I was putting a job application in at Universal. Kirkman ran right alongside the park back then. The money wouldn’t be nearly as good, and I wouldn’t be getting a steady 40 per week, but it’d be fun. And I desperately needed fun at the time. I’d already decided to quit Martin and already had a resignation letter written and in the car. It was just a matter of having somewhere else to go when I left.

I was driving down Kirkman with the windows open and it was early spring just like today and the weather was perfect and I just realized that I couldn’t bear going back to that big grey building full of overweight grey people doing boring grey work where every hallway was decorated with Orwellian security posters. The place full of people who in the fall of ’91 were hoping, praying, desperately dreaming that the Gulf War would turn into a full-region bloodbath – so that they’d keep their jobs. The place where everything was a number and everything was locked behind a security card swipe and everyone pretty much accepted their lots in life and accepted grey as the natural color of the world.

In short, everything that a blue-sky spring morning in Florida – or California, for that matter – isn’t.

I went back to the office, handed in my letter and that was it. I didn’t get the job at Universal; I went back to temping for a while, drove across the country a couple times, ended up working at a Winter Park health food store a few years later. It wasn’t an easy road from there to here, but I never regretted leaving Martin. It was just one of those defining moments that not only set my life in a new direction, but made a big difference in the man I became as well.

The first really stunning morning in spring always makes me think of that morning. It makes me take notice of the colors and the fresh air and everything good in life. And there’s an awful lot of good in life right now. You could say I’m a happy guy; it’s a good day.

Posted in Everyday Life, Work

Whew

Mar08
2008 Kristi Written by Kristi

The quarter ended yesterday and I had so much to get graded this weekend. I’ve been a horrible slacker about getting anything done for school so today was my day to buckle down. Rob is always helpful of me when I’m behind the 8 ball and is gracious enough to help me tabulate scores and record keep. I’d be lost without him.

We went out for dinner to get a break and when we returned home, we popped in a movie for a few hours so I could at least focus. But then, after the movie was over? I turned on the TV and my favorite movie EVER was on. Even better? It’s on BACK TO BACK. I can totally die a happy woman. I’ve seen it a million times but today, I just enjoyed seeing it again, even with commercial interruption. The only down side is it makes me so homesick for London, for the English countryside.

We selected the menu for the wedding on Thursday and I’m quite happy with how things are coming together. We’ve had to rearrange when our rehearsal is though because the country club is having a huge golf tournament on the 4th. So we’re bumped back a day but it seems like everyone’s going to be able to make it. All we need now is my dress to arrive and I can breathe a bit easier.

Posted in Diversions, Wedding, Work

Wedding Update

Mar05
2008 Rob Written by Rob

[ Ed. – Our wedding registries can be found at Williams Sonoma and Macy’s. Just search for either of our names – Robert Warren, Kristi Jepson – in California, wedding date 7/5/08. ]

Back in September (when Kristi and I already knew that a marriage was coming), we both knew that the first half of this year would be a roller coaster ride, but that it’d go fast. It’s hard to believe that it’s already March and that the wedding is only four months away.

Here’s where things are at, since several people recently have asked:

* Kristi’s wedding dress has been selected and purchased. No, I haven’t seen it (though I have seen the veil and shoes).

* Tuxes have been sorted out and are registered at Men’s Wearhouse. Bridesmaid dresses are likewise sorted.

* The general color scheme of the wedding is ivory with navy and cornflower blues.

* We got my ring sorted out in the right size this week. It arrived yesterday and fits perfectly; we’re both very happy now with both our wedding rings. They’re both 14K white gold, mine a brushed comfort fit band. For hers, we chose to buy a pair of diamond anniversary bands, to be soldered above and below her 2 carat diamond engagement band.

* Kristi and Kathy (aka Kristi’s mom) met with the florist yesterday afternoon and worked out our arrangements. We’re going with a general ivory-rose-and-blue motif to match the tuxes and bridesmaid dresses. Kristi says Em will really be the standout, and not only because she’s going to be standing on my side of the aisle. The blue and rose against her black dress will be stunning.

* Kristi, Kathy and I will be going out to the country club tomorrow to talk food and work out venue issues – all the core points of the event. Right now it looks like we’re doing rosemary chicken for the wedding dinner.

* We’ve hired a string quartet to play for the ceremony, and Kristi’s friend Olivia Richardson will sing.

* We haven’t yet settled on a cake design or type.

* After a great deal of back-and-forth between us, we’ve gotten our reception soundtrack together. About four hours of music, starting first with contemporary songs and then moving into romantic standards (Sinatra, Ella, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, etc.) for dinner. We still need to get a CD deck that will plug into the club’s sound system. Em’s husband Jason has graciously agreed to run the music for that evening.

* The hotel rooms have been reserved at the Courtyard Marriott in Modesto and both Chris (my brother and Best Man) and Em Varan (Groomsgirl) have confirmed with us that their plane tickets from Florida have been purchased and their cars reserved. Disa (Maid of Honor) and Janelle (Kristi’s sister and Bridesmaid) are likewise confirmed.

* Disa will be staying in the guest room here at the house. I will be spending the night before the wedding at the hotel with Chris and probably Em and Jason.

* The Jepsons’ bible study group have very graciously volunteered to do the rehearsal dinner, to be held at the Jepsons’ house the night before the wedding. They seriously have no idea how much we really appreciate it, or how much that means to us. Thanks so much, guys.

* The bridesmaid/groomgirl gifts have been selected and purchased, but we haven’t yet worked out gifts for the boys.

* As we’re both concerned about the heat in July (possibly up to 105F and very dry), we think we’re going to go with small paper fans and iced bottled water as table favors. (Our first thought was chocolate truffles, and then we thought, chocolate.. desert summer heat.. fancy dress.. umm.. maybe not.)

* Invitations are being custom designed by Jennifer Duarte of Jennifer Duarte Design, who with some luck will hopefully also be attending the wedding with her husband Matias. (She’s due to give birth to their new daughter just a few weeks before.)

* We plan to drive down to San Diego during Spring Break later this month to meet and visit with Kristi’s cousin Andy, the Lutheran minister who will be conducting the ceremony.

* Honeymoon discussions continue, with a plan not yet firmly nailed down. Originally we talked about honeymooning back in my home state of Florida, but cost issues got us looking elsewhere in California. Our latest idea is to take an Alaskan cruise. I’m sure the plan will change another dozen times between now and July.

* While we plan to spend our wedding night at the Westin in Modesto, we will not be leaving on our honeymoon until a day or two after the wedding in order to see everyone safely on their way home.

I think that about covers it right now.

For those R&K readers still considering attending from out of state, please let us know and we’ll be happy to help you find the most cost effective way to get out here and back. Last night Kristi (who’s a flippin’ genius at this) was looking up ticket prices from Florida; apparently they can still be had right now for about $350-450 round trip per seat, by far the least expensive way to make the 6000-mile round trip. Call and we’ll hook you up. We still sincerely would like you to attend. The only thing that we ask is that you provide a trustworthy RSVP as early as possible, as we still have a ton of decisions to make about the event.

For those out of state R&K readers who wish they could make it but simply can’t, we appreciate the good intentions and love you for it. We wish you could be here. We are still registered at Williams Sonoma and Macy’s, but are happy to receive whatever gift or acknowledgement you wish to offer. We know that many of those closest in our lives cannot conveniently make this trip and we understand their absence.

Halfway there, folks. Halfway there.

Posted in Family and Friends, Gift Ideas, Travel, Wedding
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