Her Train Was Long

Okay, okay, very punny, right? There were no trains on a wedding gown or at the ball park on Saturday night, but day two of partying saw MANY trains and the type of trains that I like too!

After the fireworks and packing things up at the ball park Saturday night, David and I went home and set the alarm clock for a 5AM wake up. We were meeting other railfans and anyone interested at the McDonalds in Galletea, a half hour drive away, at 6:30.

It was supposed to be clear n Sunday, but we saw many clouds as the sun was rising. We met Herb, Dale, Mike and Heather at McDonalds as planned. Heather had been wanting to spend a day railfanning with us for a while. She’s a photography hobbyist (with a better camera than I have!) and has been wanting to give photographing moving trains a shot. We all went in and ordered from the the standard railfan breakfast menu. Once the eating part was done the clouds looked lie they’d break up, so we ventured out in the direction of Fostoria.

Our first train of the day

It turned out to be a good morning, with a few good trains and better light than we feared we might get at sunrise. David remarked that he liked the opportunity to see what a non-railfan chose to focus er shooting on. Heather was anxious to get his thoughts on her shots. We all headed to North Baltimore and the Whistle Stop Inn for lunch.

The Sunday luncheon was scheduled for 12:30, with our non-railfan or interested in the train chasing meeting us there. When we got there Rich and Jackie were already in front of the restaurant. While we waited for the others to show up we saw a track car go down the tracks. Track inspecting would mean less traffic on the tracks that run in front of the large windows at lunch.


As everybody filtered in from home or the hotel, we were seated. Our party took up the upper level. David and I were still wearing or bride and groom hats from Saturday, just in case anyone still wasn’t sure who the hosts of the party were. We had a menu planned, with a choice of prime rib, grilled chicken or vegetable lasagna. They were doing the Sunday buffet and out waitress let me know that the buffet had both prime rib and chicken on it for a comparable price and asked if she could also offer our guests that option. David and I agreed that was a great idea.

I went to each of the tables greeting everyone, talking a little and bragging. You see, David and I discovered this restaurant after a day of railfanning. When we sat down, he excused himself and came back to the table after looking at framed article on the wall. It was from the paper he writes for and one he’d written. I was anxious to point it out to our guests and brag about my celebrity hubby! When I stopped at the table where Ben and his family were seated, our niece, JP, asked me when she was going to see a train. I had to tell her that a car had gone down the tracks to do some inspecting and we might not get to see a train.

I got pulled back to my own table because I was the only one who hadn’t ordered. I yelled back, “vegetable lasagna,” but there were other choices. The sides were broccoli, which was in the lasagna, and potatoes three ways and a choice of soup or salad. Well, one of the soups was lobster bisque, a favorite of mine, so, I asked if I could get soup and salad instead of the side. I loved the reply!

“Honey, you’re the bride. You can have anything you want.”

So now, I’m going to go out wearing that hat at least once a month...

After we ordered a train came by. I felt a short, but powerful presence next to me staring. I looked to my right and there was JP looking at me with a teasing expression of betrayal. I may get anything I want as the bride, but I don’t get to always be right! (Maybe that comes after the first anniversary?)

I smiled and told her “I said MAYBE we wouldn’t see a train!”

Then she smiled back with a giggle.

The Patches

The Lividinis

After lunch, some family photos and lots of hugs, kisses and good byes, we went to the railfan park in Deshler with Dale and Herb.

Dale, David and Herb at the park in Deshler.

There were quite a few people there on what turned out to be a really nice afternoon. It still amazes me how many people know David at the very least by his Train Orders name. We were teased, as a bride and groom, that we could use the trailers if we wanted to!

As it turned it, the hat I really liked did have
a long enough veil on it to give the groom an
opportunity to lift the veil for a kiss!

As it started to near sundown, Dale and Herb left to go towards home, the other railfans left and it was just us. David commented that it was crazy planning and an exhausting weekend, but it was kind of sad that it was over.

We were parked near the tracks waiting for that last train of the day in the warm brilliant angled light of sundown, sitting on the open truck gate. He commented that it would be awesome to have a photo of it, but someone to photo it would ruin the romance of that moment. It was a perfect romantic ending to a fun and loving weekend with friends and relatives, our family.

You Got Style, Momma!

If you are expecting a bundle of joy or if you know someone who is, you really should check this site out! Kiki’s Fashions has a darling line of maternity clothes.

The main page of the site boasts about dresses with nothing over $30 and truth is, I didn’t see anything on the site over $30. The dresses were feminine, sassy and elegant and I loved the tank tops! They have a selection of just darling baby doll tops that are cool, comfortable and very feminine.

I remember my nieces Mom in her final months of carrying twins. There were times that she felt so hot and uncomfortable let alone not feeling so beautiful near the end. She had a favorite maternity top that was cool and made her feel pretty. It changed he whole disposition when she was wearing it! If you can find that one or two item for your maternity wardrobe that puts a bigger smile on your face, it’s worth the money spent and more. Kiki’s fashions gives you the worth without the price tag! There’s even an under $10 section!

Their stock rotates often, so there is always something new and something perfect for whatever season you are glowing in!


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ATTENTION COCA COLA COLLECTORS

That’s what the sign said.

I just got a call, that familiar Kenny Chesney tune that says hubby is calling. David was chasing a couple of trains before work, on his way to a meeting in Wauseon, when he saw that sign. He said if it said M&Ms collectibles he’d have stopped to look for me. (I LOVE that man!) But thought he’d give me a call to see if I had any friends or regulars at this coffee hop who were near the area and might be interested.

The sign said “Attention Coca Cola Collectors, Garage Sale, Over 500 items.” David wasn’t sure if that meant 500 Coke items or 500 items including Coke collectibles. The Garage Sale is running through Saturday at 222 East Legget Street in Wauseon, Ohio. If you are a collector and in the area, it might be worth a look!

If you find any treasures, drop me an email!

Here Comes The Cake

Tah-Dah!

This was the part of the wedding celebration I was really looking forward to. After David and I met with Mary, the designer form Haas Bakery here in Toledo and share her idea for the cake with us, I was just plain excited to see it! We’d tasted the samples and KNEW it was going to be an awesome dessert for our guests, but you only have this picture in your head for the presentation, ya know? It was a cake never done before, so there were no pictures to show us, just a portrait to paint in our minds. But we were excited to see it!

Haas bakery does the cakes for the Mud Hens’ catering, so they know baseball. They also do wedding cakes, so they know weddings. Mary heard my original thoughts on a cake and let her art shine!

When I first ordered the cake, I figured we were probably taking a sheet cake, but I’d see if maybe they could do layers to make it wedding-ish. I said I wanted something that was baseball but still wedding in decoration. I was thinking maybe a sheet cake with a baseball diamond and wedding bells, r the layer cake with a smaller layer on top with flowers and baseballs. Paige, who was orchestrating the catering for our picnic called with May’s initial idea. She suggested a dome top layer decorated like a baseball. How cool!

Paige suggested that it would be a good idea to stop in and talk to Mary ourselves. Besides getting the details right, we could order the cake direct and save the middleman money of ordering the cake through catering. Did I say how awesome the Mud Hens were in doing so much to make the evening great and in budget? When we met with Mary, I suggested the idea of really wedding-caking it up by using the Pedestal. Mary suggested the baseball on the top tier and do the bottom as a wedding cake. We had the bottom layer in chocolate with decadently chocolate frosting, which met David’s desire no NOT have white frosting. The top layer was cappuccino cake with necessarily white frosting building up the shape of the baseball, meeting my desire for butter cream frosting. Don’t get me wrong, I love their chocolate frosting and the cake was so moist and rich, but good butter cream frosting I could grab a big spoon and indulge like it’s Ben and Jerry’s! This was good, VERY good, butter cream frosting! The chocolate bottom was decorated in traditional white wedding style with accents in Reds and Red Sox red to match the stitching on the top layer. Perfect for our baseball reception!


When our awesome cake came out after dinner, the camera flash lit up the picnic area. I instructed Tori, the manager of my camera for the evening, to make sure there were lots of photos of the cake! It really hadn’t occurred to me that we’d do the bride and groom stuff with the cake. I was actually thinking everyone would get a little bit to “ooh and aah” over it and they cut it and serve it. Well, Vicki, our attendant, came out with the knife and presented it to us. A cake that wonderful really did deserve the pomp and circumstance of the royal bridal treatment! So, David and I cut the first slice together, fed each other the first bite and kissed by the cake for photos.


One of the requirements I had about our cake was that it was to be big. I would rather have half a cake in our freezer than for anyone to be turned down if they wanted a second slice. We ended up with three chunks of the chocolate and two of the cappuccino in the freezer that we can share when those who couldn’t make it come to visit. It was just perfect.

After dinner, a group of our guests went down to the seating area with David to watch the rest of game two and I stayed in the picnic area with the rest of the guests, talking and looking over to the field when it got noisy because something was happening. Yeah, we were SO not the ordinary bride and groom, but we were a spoiled bride and groom just the same!

After game two was a break while they set up for the fireworks. There is just no better end to wa wedding reception than fireworks! Then it was home and realizing that as the day caught up with us, we were TIRED! And we needed to be in Galletea at 6:30 to meet railfans for the Sunday festivities!

Coming Soon - Sunday Trains!

Everyday Chic

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