Moving all Suzanne's stuff!

I've accumulated lots of stuff and am getting it all into boxes. I'm determining categories.

• stuff I need in the condo with Ty
• stuff I need at the condo in the basement
• stuff to be stored for when we have a house

Right now, we are not making a "garage sale" pile. That will come after we move into a house.

My moving day is September 27. I'm dreading it, but it is a fact of life. I'm looking forward to the pizza and beer that will follow.

Please vote in this week's poll. I'm considering having movers help to load and unload.

Sisters

The women in my life are amazing and wonderful. I'm currently "hormonally challenged" and crabby, yet they greet me with warmth and care and love. You ladies are helping me and giving of yourself beyond what I should expect.

You

• smile and get excited even though you go through cancer treatment
• lend out your homes for and host parties with guests you don't know
• give up your time to discuss flowers or stuff envelopes
• put up with me in stress-mode as though you didn't have a care in the world

You are truly my sisters!

Thank you

Men in silver

Hey, Bridesmaids,

Your groomsmen will be wearing black tuxes with silver vest and ties. They should show you off nicely!

100 hits!

We've reached 100 hits! Hurray!

Tell all your fellow wedding guests about the site. Let's see if we can bang out another hundred in one week!

It's really lovely watching your responses to our weekly polls as our wedding is taking shape. We've learned that you think a prayer vigil is the best choice of bachelor party, my name should be George Gonsalves, and that some respiratory systems might be challenged by the incense.

Thanks, we'll take this under advisement.

We're noticing that a few little personal touches can make a huge difference in the feel of a wedding. Here's a question for you. PLEASE COMMENT!

What was the best personal touch that you added to your wedding?

Mom is doing much better

Thank you for all your prayers and good wishes. Suzanne's mother had surgery today to remove a tumor which has been causing her great pain. Her mom is recovering well and is perky enough to be doing laundry and fussing about the wedding the same day!

Your prayers are very powerful. Thanks again.

Engaged Encounter

We (Tyrone and Suzanne) spent this past weekend at the Marist House in Framingham where we were participants of Catholic Engaged Encounter.

It was such a relief to devote 3 days to our marriage and not mention wedding plans. We sat and spoke quietly about our upcoming life together, our values, dreams, and styles of communication.

It wasn't a touchy-feely group-sharing experience, though it was moving at times. The general structure is that a presentation is made on a topic by two married couples and a priest (ours serves on the annulment committee for the diocese and has seen what can go wrong in marriage.) The presentation takes about 10-20 minutes and it is timed. Then, men and women are separated to answer questions (in writing) for 10-15 minutes on that topic. When the timer sounds, the parties reconnect, read the others' answers and discuss (again, it's timed).

WE NEVER SHARED OUR ANSWERS WITH THE PRESENTERS OR OTHER COUPLES. Because of this, our answers were deeply personal and intimate. We grew closer to one another and more focussed on our upcoming marriage.

As wedding plans faded to their actual importance, we smiled and hugged more. We laughed and joked. It was so wonderful.

Tragedy struck late Saturday night, when one of our new friend's mother was in a head-on collision with a drunk driver. Not knowing if she would survive, our friend and her fiance departed for the hospital. We prayed for her and were earnestly reminded of the need for our love to be strong. "Life can turn on a dime," said Father Steve, "we need to be ready to greet whatever may come, together."

This was such a blessing.

Our new friends returned on Sunday morning with much relief. The mother is alive and stable and in the hospital.

Hotels for You

I just secured a block of hotel rooms at the Marriot Residence Inn in Worcester. The hotel is less than a mile from the cathedral and reception site. It offers many cool amenities.

• continental breakfast
• pool table right next to the bar right next to the door outside (where you can smoke, I can see Jim smiling)
• laundry facilities
• full kitchen with utensils and dishes
• extra comfy beds and linens
• spacious rooms with luxurious seating
• a low, negotiated price of $135/night for our wedding guests (a link will be posted on the right side bar. You will be able to click it and make your reservations)

The room depicted here is the studio suite. The one bedroom suite is the same size but it has a wall and door to separate the bedroom from the sitting room.

Ladies, if your husband is a groomsman, consider coming to Worcester on Friday night to hang out with the girls (informal, no gifts or official anything). You could then get pampered at the spa on Saturday morning while your husband is driving with Ty and the gang.

The Money Talk

Tyrone and I had our first official "Money Talk" today. We laid bare our debts and our dreams. It was serious and sobering. Our frankness and our trust of each other in this conversation illuminated the rightness of our decision to marry.

Any advice about money and marriage?

Please take this week's poll.

Building a House?

We have been looking at houses since January. Recently we thought that perhaps it might be best to build our own house.

What are your experiences?

• Did you build a house?
• Where?
• How much per square foot?
• Are you glad you did it?
• What's the best way to find a contractor?
• Do you recommend it in this economy?
• What tips do you have?

Updates

Audrey: Came home from the hospital after 3 days. She had extreme fatigue and dizziness for almost a week. Audrey's sister, Sonja, and her friends Judy and me, took turns staying with her until she was out of the woods. She went into work last week and told them that she needed to go on short-term disability.

Special thanks to Maria Isaak for coming down from New Hampshire to help with invitations. She brought her son, Ted, our ring bearer. After invitations Tyrone went with them to the Higgins Armory Museum.

Special thanks also to Claudia, Judy, and Diane for helping with invitations. They will be going out on Saturday. If you don't get yours by Tuesday, bug Ty, his list is still not complete with addresses.

Registering

Tyrone and I have visited several stores in the hope of building a registry. Thus far we've had little luck with brick and morter stores. We decided to register at Lowes and Amazon.

Amazon is an all-purpose, get-anything type of registry. The problem with it is that prices are generally cheaper at physical stores. This has troubled us. Here's an alternate route.

1. see what we want on Amazon
2. find it at Sears for a lot less
3. email me and tell me you got it and I'll take it off my registry

Lowes is great! We found awesome appliances. We wanted to register for a stove cooktop, dishwasher, fridge, lighting fixtures, and other things, but our house will determine what we'll need.

The house we were eyeing in Lakeville was snatched up. Drat! We have our eye on a few others.