Another Wedding Reveal and Project 365

I finally got a decent picture of the ring. I love my ring! It’s so me and so David’s me too! I am a mix of unconventional and traditional. I don’t mean a blended portrait of the new Millennium Donna Reed, either. I am a mix, a mosaic if you will. David and I share a last name now, but I have a new middle name too. I wasn’t going to totally give up the last name I had for 42 years! To hyphenate is to blend, to either keep OR change my last name is one way or the other. I want it all.

The ring is that. For me, the ring needed to be a yellow-gold band with a single stone. That’s traditional me. This one is THE ring, there isn’t another ring for the marriage because, well, we really didn’t have an engagement. David gave me this ring the day after we got married! And it’s not strictly yellow gold either. It pays an elegant and subtle tribute to my “I want it all” status. The main band is yellow gold and the top and bottom flares are white gold. It’s like the Hershey’s Nuggets that I only got to enjoy for one Christmas season and then never saw them again. Those were half dark and half milk chocolate. I have never tasted a more heavenly combination and I‘ve never gazed upon a more exquisite setting for a gem stone on a ring. The white gold top and bottom go around and fade into the main gold band on the sides. David didn't like the size of the diamond on the one I saw and he upgraded it, so I have no idea what the monetary value is, which is appropriate for a gift, but also increases its already priceless value to me. It’s a symbol of not only his love and commitment, but his opinion that I’m special - I’m not just ‘off the rack.”

I am now, almost 2 weeks later, starting to spend less time just gazing at it. So, I may be able to settle into married life without a 12-step program. Now I just want one of those chocolates. For THAT, I think I’m beyond a 12-step program!


Another Reveal

So, I still owe anyone reading who’s been interested in them, 2 more reveal stories from the wedding week! The final reveal, which was just over a week after the wedding, will be the subject of tomorrow’s mug shot, per my husband’s suggestion.

My BORT Rail show for 2008

After our devilish phone calls on the day and the Christmas Eve surprise, we got ready for our “Honeymoon in Dayton.” I had spent Christmas Day while David was at work and most of Friday finishing up my show for BORT Rail. After David made the announcement to my family, I was going to be the one making the announcement at BORT Rail to David’s railfan friends who’d welcomed me into the fold in 2005. The first half of my show, called “Romance of the Rails,” was done to Josh Turner’s “Would You Go With Me” which is one of the songs on the current iPod list. It’s got a good beat and feel for train pictures, but it’s definitely, at the very least, an I WANT to marry you song! I showcased some of my best trains from 2008, a few pictures of David and me and a couple of him taking pictures of trains. Now for the woman to use that song, I’d either have to already be there or I have one heck of an ego! I do have the ego, but not in that way! That song ended with a shot of David and me kissing at Horseshoe Curve. Rina took that shot last summer when we were there for Railfest. Then I did the coal train shots I’d been collecting for 2 years to “Let’s Be Naughty and Save Santa The Trip.” Yeah, this year’s show definitely dropped the “couple” hint. Then in the final credit, I put my photographed and produced by” but used my new married name.

David predicted someone, likely one of the ladies, would ask, “Is there something you need to announce?” at the end of the show. I drew number 22, which meant I was actually show number 18 or so. Thankfully before dinner! I spent the time before the shows started and all the breaks with my hands, at least the left one, in my pocket or trying to avoid a lot of one on one time with anyone, especially the wives! It was mentioned later that the ladies surely would have immediately seen the ring had I not been so careful to hide it! So the last break before my show ended and I was first. After a few comments marveling at the menu screen on my DVD, which I completely confessed was a nice standard menu in iDVD, (the one for wedding videos!) the somewhat sappier than usual for me show started.

After that final credit, during the applause, Tina, a fellow as her husband calls her, railfanette, came to where I was sitting and asked, “Is there something you need to announce?” just like David predicted! Then the applause switched to surprised cheers, congratulations, and hugs. For us, the dinner break was questions about when we did it, how we hid the ring from the other wives and a dessert picture of David and me feeding each other cake. Even when you elope, some photos will be taken anyway, right?

For the final reveal on New Years Eve, come back tomorrow for the Mug Shot!


Project 365

Project 365 is basically a challenge to chronicle the year with one photo a day. There are tons of “project 365s” and they have been around for a long time. The popular one I’ve been seeing in the scrapping community is the photo one, and of course to use those photos in layouts makes it a complete presentation! I had been toying with the idea of documenting my first married year.

I saw a post on DST from Jaimie, who was promoting her first template freebie on her first blog, based around her work on the photo challenge. Her template is great! It has room for seven photos and a little journaling for each. Completing the challenge will give you a great 52-page journal of the year. That got my creative brain going! I’m going to combine Project 365 with my scrap pages and journaling pages to create “Patch 365,” our first married year.

This is what Jaimie’s template looks like:

Isn’t it great for the project? Taylor-made! Visit her blog, “life: by design” to see her photos so far and snag this awesome template for your “365 project” or just for a great scrapbooking page! When you leave a comment to say “thanks,” tell her Nani sent ya!