Ode to DVR

Those of you that know me well, know that I watch a lot of television. I always have. I am a bit of a tv junkie. In college, I could never have the tv on while studying – way too much of a distraction. And, I didn’t have dvr back then – so if I missed a show, I just accepted it.

Sidebar: This entry is not meant to be about my unhealthy obsession with the dvr – but it is worth noting that it is the best invention ever. The dvr has changed my life – and I think everyone should reap the benefits of this awesome machine.

On the other hand, Dan is a bit of an “internet” junkie. (Not in the way some of you may be thinking!) He loves scanning CNN.com and checks his email compulsively. We are both totally glued to the screen at night! Yeah...I know, we sound like a pretty lame couple. But, I like to think there's a balance. Did I mention that the DVR still allows me to have a life now?!

I've mentioned this before - Dan and I are big American Idol fans. For the next few weeks, it's on 3 nights a week - narrowing down the field to the top 12! If it weren't for the dvr - it would consume more of our evenings, thank goodness for that machine. I think I introduced Dan to the show back in season 3, and he's come around to it in a big way. Like most other people that watch, we critique and judge all the contestants. Then after it's over, we check out our favorite online Idol commentary - The Seer's American Idol blog.

www.idolseer.blogspot.com

My coworker, Ed Greenberger (a.k.a. The Seer) is a big idol fan as well. And, this is his blog. It is hilarious, and he's usually right on - at least in my opinion. Anyone who is an Idol fan should check it out, it'll make you laugh out loud!

The True #1

I've got to tell you...Dan is so bummed right now. Actually, he's just beside himself...unconsolable. Why, you ask? Because the Badgers lost to Ohio State tonight. He thinks the Badgers played a better game and that Ohio State is way overrated. In fact, he told me that since it was only one point - it almost shouldn't count as loss for UW.

Ok Leopolds, calm down. I'm kidding. Dan didn't say that...but I did, and I believe it! Although -that really is Dan sporting a Wisconsin shirt. I'd say that's proof alone that he is a true Badgers fan.

Dan is out of town right now, and actually didn't even get to watch the game today. He is in Ottawa, Canada this week on one of his homeland security missions. Although - he's having a heck of a time getting there. DC got a snowstorm of their own today, and he was stuck at the airport all day. I'm just having a little fun at his expense. My final words on this topic are: wait until the tournament, then we'll see who the better team is. (That, and doesn't Greg Oden look like a 42 year old man? What's he doing playing college basketball??!)

We took it easy this weekend on the wedding planning, seeing as the weekend got cut short for Dan. I'm hoping to finalize some the big three this week - although we may hold on a bit with the dj. I'd like my sisters to be wedding "crashers" and see ourpotential dj's in action! This decision is proving to be difficult. Entertainment is key at the reception, we want everyone to have fun - and a great dj can make that happen. For some reason, this is one of the more stressful decisions. I think because we are pretty close to finalizing a photograper and florist and this is the one that we haven't narrowed down yet. I will be very glad when these decisions are finally made and the contracts are signed!

I'm off to watch the red carpet...Oscar night! See, the stuff I can do when Dan is gone. I love checking out what the stars are wearing and critique them! There are some horrendous gowns out there - Kirsten Dunst - what the heck were you thinking? Nicole Kidman, on the other hand, looks amazing! Now, that is a fabulous red dress. A few shades brighter than what my matrons and bridesmaids will be wearing at the wedding - but I love it!

Flowers, Photos and Tunes!

I'm back! I was in Kenosha for the long weekend (President's Day). My mission was to take care of "the big three" - florist, photographer and a dj. The "big two" - church and hall - are already taken of:) I made some progress, met with some vendors and now it's decision time for us!

While we haven't made any final decisions about a dj or a photographer, I think I've found our florist. I met with the florist that my sister Tricia used when she got married in 1998 - Summer's Garden. They're located in downtown Kenosha, and I'm very excited to work with them. They were so laid back and really seemed to understand what I wanted.

I had some idea of what I wanted for bouquets. I like the handheld bouquets, that just have some ribbon holding the stems together. Something smaller, not so overwhelming. I suppose I like more spring flowers - peonies, hydrangeas and lillies. But, since we're getting married in the fall, I don't want an "Easter" theme!

But, lillies are very versatile, so they are worked into the mix. Our colors are red and pale pink, so our flowers are a mix of red, pink and white roses and lillies. The ladies are wearing red dresses and the flower girls are wearing pale pink dresses, so the flowers will really tie it all together! And the flower girls can toss red and pink petals (silk, of course!).

This has been my favorite part of the planning so far. I'm not an expert on flowers or what goes together - but I know what I like! More to come on the remaining two decisions to be made - dj and photography!

Birthday Girl!

In addition to being Valentine's Day, today is my niece Emma's birthday - she's five years old! She's our Valentine's Day girl! Emma is the youngest of three, so she can hold her own with the big kids. Everyone of my nieces and nephews has a unique personality, and Emma has a lot of spunk! She is very matter of fact when she talks, and has very strong opinions! I think that means she is a true Murphy girl.

Whenever I call her house, Emma loves to talk. Usually, she's the first to answer the phone! She's actually been doing this since she was about three years old - and once she has me on the phone she always asks, "Is Dan there? Can I talk to him?" Emma is going to be a flower girl in our wedding, along with her cousin Maya. We can't wait to see the girls all dressed up and dancing around at the reception!

I'll be heading back to Wisconsin this weekend, so I'll be attending Emma's birthday party. This year, we're going bowling!

Aloha Honeymoon!

This whole blog is about one day this year, September 8. It's going to be a pretty important day, obviously - we're getting married...but September 10 will be equally special! That's when we leave for our honeymoon! Of all the things we've planned so far, this has been the most fun.

I've been saying for awhile that I would love to go to Hawaii. I've never been, and neither has Dan. We wanted to go somewhere warm and exotic. Mexico was on the table, Florida's certainly warm - although September is hurricane season - and there's always Southern California. But, none of those really sounded like Hawaii. So, guess where we're going? HAWAII!!



We're flying to Honolulu, so we'll be staying on the island of Oahu. We booked our flights last week, and the grand total was $15.00! Yep, fifteen! We redeemed mileage points on United that we'd accumulated with all those trips back to Wisconsin:) I'm sure we won't be as lucky with the deals when we book a hotel, but we'll take the free flights.

This will actually be our first real vacation together. We've gone to the Eastern Shore in Maryland and we went to Boston last summer to visit Dan's sister Abby - but no real tropical, just the two of us, vacation. To say the least - we can't wait!

Valentine's Day Memories

Valentine's Day is this week! We celebrate it each year, usually something low-key. We've had some fun V-day's over the years though, that's for sure. If you asked Dan what we did for our first Valentine's Day together (and the subsequent ones!), he would probably shrug his shoulders. My memory serves me a little better though...

We went to The Angelic in Madison for our very first Valentine's holiday together. I remember, we'd waited until that day to make a dinner reservation. This was back in the day where I didn't really know how to cook a proper meal, so out to dinner it was:) Dan brought me a dozen pink roses that were very beautiful. However, the roses didn't quite make it through the night. I forgot to cut the stems at an angle, and I woke up to wilted roses!! I have since learned how to care for flowers.

This next story is the best! In February 2004, Dan and I celebrated long distance. He was in DC and I was still in Madison. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was getting ready to go to work (at the Nitty Gritty), and my doorbell rang. There was a flower delivery guy with an enornous bouqet for me! There were a ton of different flowers in there - it was absolutely gorgeous. I was feeling pretty special, and I brought it inside to show it off! To my surprise, when I looked at the card it said, "Love, Dad."

So, I called my Dad to express my thanks (and surprise!) For those of you who know my Dad, he isn't really the "flowers" kind of guy. When I called him to tell him about the gorgeous bouquet, something seemed off. He said "you're welcome" and all of that - but something didn't seem right. Can you see where I'm going with this??!

Later that day, after talking to Dan, my Mom and my Dad (again) - the truth comes out! The flowers were from Dan all along, the florist just messed up and wrote "Dad" instead of "Dan." The best part of it is, my Dad totally took credit!! In his defense, he thought my Mom had sent something on his behalf.


(Valentine's Day '05 at our friend Ericka's)

This year, we'll probably lay low. I think we're going to pick out the readings for our wedding ceremony!

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Bam-Style Wedding

Wow....

Having just found my wedding gown last weekend - what I just saw tonight has new meaning! I was sitting on the couch tonight, updating my ipod (Katharine McPhee's cd is amazing!!) and I happened to catch some of that show on MTV, Bam's Unholy Union. Now, I don't normally watch this show (I know, what a surprise, a show I don't watch!), but I know Bam is one of the guys from Jackass. So given that, and the name of the show, this really shouldn't have come as such a surprise. (For those wondering who and what Bam and Jackass are, here's some info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackass)

So, Bam's bride-to-be goes dress shopping one day. Next we see Bam and his friends pull a wedding dress out of Bam's closet labeled 'bridal,' and it is one of the dresses that we saw his fiance try on. Bam can't believe how ugly it is and they start trying it on and mocking the dress. Then, they go paintballing with the dress and absolutely destroy it. Finally, they nailed it to the door and went outside to drink around the fireplace.

(Bam and Missy)

So, we see Missy (the fiance) come home and flip out at Bam and his friends, she actually throws the dress in the fire pit. At this point, I'm really feeling for the girl - they continue to argue for a few minutes and it's really uncomfortable to watch! And, the whole time Bam is defending his actions because he really felt the dress was hideous. I'm questioning why they feel they should get married, because destroying the dress is really disrespectful.

Then, she starts laughing and said, "You really think I'd wear that?" She totally tricked him! It was a sick, cruel joke and the fact that he destroyed the dress was way out there - but it seems that he really knew her all along because he sensed that she would never wear that dress. There's someone out there for everyone - even the most foul pranksters out there!

The Dress

Dan and I just returned from a weekend in Kenosha...brrrrr. Despite the weather, it was a great weekend! On Saturday, my Mom, sisters Tricia and Tammy, and my niece Alyssa went dress shopping. We started out at a local shop in Kenosha - La Sposa. Seeing as it was the first place we looked, I wasn't sure what to expect. I didn't know exactly what I wanted, but I had an idea of what I didn't want. (Don't most women?!) I tried on several dresses, but the very first dress I tried on was stunning - I really loved it. The other dresses I tried on thereafter didn't quite do it for me the way the first one did. But, I wanted to make sure I surveyed the dress scene before making a decision. So we ventured off to check out another place....

I'd heard from many people that David's Bridal (DB) had a nice selection and reasonable prices. Many people have gotten very pretty dresses there. For me though, the experience was not so great. At DB they prefer you to look at the catalog and then they'll bring you dresses - you're not allowed to scan the rack yourself. Ok....I let that slide. Then, they tell you to put on these undergarments, which includes a "bulletproof" bra that adds inches of girth to you. It was so thick! Not to mention that it cut off my circulation totally. Allright. I knew I wouldn't wear that, so I was going to wait until the consultant came back (she was off finding dresses) to break the news. She returns with a dress - and it was so bad! I cringed a bit, but I would humor her and try it on - hey, you never know till you try it on, right?

The dress was a disaster, and I was starting to itch a little bit...and was feeling a bit anxious. Hmm....ok. I figured, it must be the "bulletproof" bra that is cutting off my circulation. At this point, I wasn't feeling like a bride-to-be. So, I immediately sought help from my Mom to get out of the dress because I was starting to break out in hives! The body armor (a.k.a. bra) really seemed to irritate my skin! We left DB just as soon as I could get dressed. On the way out, a fellow bride shopping for a dress (who just happened to not have any front teeth), muttered something to me about "leaving already." Tammy caught that one better than I did!

So, as it turns out, I'm going with the first dress I tried on! I won't go into too much detail about it- I don't want to give anything away to Dan - but it is more perfect than I could have ever imagined. My Mom told me that both of my sisters went with the first dress they tried on also. Is that the case with anyone else? Did anyone choose the very first gown they tried on?

I wonder if there are statistics out there on that. A quick google search on bridal gown statistics didn't turn up much....but I did see that DB accounts for 20% of all bridal gown sales. Not for this bride!