I Need One of These...Seriously

I really do need one of these. I am completely and totally serious. I know you have heard me talk about my great love my for hair dryer (and I promise that I am not forsaking said dryer), but as my hair just takes so long to blow dry, I am looking for some alternative means of drying the hair.

As I was surfing the net (yes, I googled "how do you blow dry your hair?"), I stumbled across this lovely contraption. I know these helmet style hair dryers have been around for many, many decades, but I think they have been vastly underappreciated and underutilized.

I mean just think about it. You could get up, take a shower and wash your hair, put it in the puffy hair dryer bonnet, strategically position the blower hose so that you would not accidentally strangle yourself, and then lay back down and get a good 30-45 minutes more sleep. Total REM cycle jackpot! Or, what if you need to wash the dishes and get your hair dry, but you just don't have much time. Set that baby on the kitchen counter next to your sink, and start awashin'. Yes, there is the possibility of electrocution, but on the bright side, your hair will look lovely when the ambulance comes to take you away.

All in all, I think the hosed hair dryer offers endless possibilities. I'm thinking of starting a campaign to bring back the hosed hair dryer. Is anybody with me?

4 Weeks of PB&J

Can I get away with eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for four weeks in a row, and it not seem odd? What about if I made sure and ate my PB&J on a nice hearty whole wheat bread? Would that make it any better?

The husband has to work late for the next four weeks (starting with last night), and PB&J (which really is a favorite of mine) was all I could muster up for dinner. So, I am thinking that since he won't be home for dinner, can I just get away with this for the next four weeks?

Think about how much my grocery bill will be slashed. A jar of peanut butter and squeeze bottle of jelly will easily last 3 weeks, and a loaf of bread for 2. Of course, I will probably end up spending the money I save in groceries at the doctor's office because my nose will have turned a funny shade of "peanut brown" and the inside of my mouth will be stuck together as my internal organs slowly start to shut down from all of the gooey-ness, but can that really be all that bad?

Hmm...what to do for dinner.

Crestfallen...Utterly Crestfallen

I am crestfallen...utterly crestfallen. I went to visit the Social Security Office to have my name changed on my social security card (one of the many "name change" tasks) only to find out that my name ISN'T really my name.

Some of you may know that Jennifer is actually my middle name and not my first name. Yet, my parents have called me by this name since I was born. When I entered school, it started to become a little bit of a problem because the computers would instantly spit out "Rebecca" on the roll sheet, and each year (with each new class), I would have to raise my hand and politely explain to the teacher that I go by "Jennifer".

By the time I reached college, it began to get a little tiresome, and so in certain classes (the classes of 300 students taught by a graduate student), I wouldn't bother to correct the teachers (which also caused confusion, but that is a story for another post).

When I began to work as a public school teacher, I would grow frustrated because my school district email address would always read "Rebecca.Reinsch" at certain school district dot org. And I would explain to the computer tech who set up the email accounts that I go by Jennifer and couldn't we possibly make my email address read Jennifer.Reinsch? To which I was told in no uncertain terms that that was completely impossible to do. So, I would have to explain to all of the parents of my students my whole Rebecca/Jennifer issue.

Needless to say, after years of this, I have grown quite weary. (Although, I do have to admit that there is a plus side. When my phone rings and the person on the other end asks for "Rebecca", I know they are most likely a telemarketer, and I tell them she is not home and ask to take a message.) Therefore, when the realization that I was going to get to change my name hit me, I was E.C.S.T.A.T.I.C. Finally, I was going to be able to simplify my name situation.

**Let me pause right here in the story to explain that my parents really didn't realize that it would be such an issue when they named me and called me by my middle name. They really had the best of intentions.**

Anyway, fast forward to the Social Security Office, where I sit down in front of the lady and hand her my paperwork. She tells me that my submission (Jennifer Reinsch Schroeder) cannot possibly be done because Jennifer is not my legal name. I explain (probably with a little hysteria in my voice) that Jennifer is indeed my name. It is on my birth certificate. It is what I am called. She says that she doesn't care what I am called, it is not my name. To which I pull out my birth certificate and insist that IT IS my name, because it is on my birth certificate.

She was not sympathetic or understanding. She tells me I can drop Jennifer or Reinsch, but Rebecca is my legal name and so I must keep it. (Apparently, your middle name is a throwaway name that NOBODY cares about even if you have been called by this name for your entire life.)

In the end, I had to drop Reinsch, and I spent the rest of the day crestfallen. Plus, I had to explain to the husband that he had indeed NOT married "Jennifer" since she does not exist according to the U.S. government, and I wasn't really sure who he was married to.

Happily Ever After

Roxanne here guest blogging for The Bride. I am pleased to report that the Happy Countdown Couple atop the blog did, indeed, make it across the daisy-strewn field to each other and kissed in public and EVERYTHING!!! They are holed up somewhere in Houston, so I have been asked to fill you in on ALL THE DETAILS. . .(don't tell Jennifer I said that--she'd kill me. . .I'm only supposed to fill you in on the details that SHE would tell you, but seeing as how I've been here since BEFORE the beginning of this grand, romantic adventure, then I've got the REAL scoop.)

Okay, Jennifer, I KID. Sort of. . .

Let me say first of all that the sun shone on our lovely bride--the groom too, but we WANT the sun to shine on a bride on her wedding day. Spring pulled out all the stops here in Houston--the grass greened up, the temperature rose to a number where Jennifer did not freeze in her dress, nor did the rest of us swelter at the outside ceremony. In a word: GORGEOUS. AND despite the unexpected road construction throwing a kink in her invitation inserted map (sort of an oxymoron as you should ALWAYS expect road construction in Houston), the guests arrived, made it across the swinging suspension bridge(s) and were serenaded by the call of peacocks before, during, and at the conclusion of the ceremony.

The minister where Jennifer works did the honors(I say all OH-fficial as if I don't know him--Hi, David), and the ceremony went off without a hitch. Except for when Jennifer sort of dropped Greg's ring. I didn't actually SEE this happen as I was trying to take photos, but I can imagine that is sort of rolled around like a quarter. It did, however, behave itself and stay on the steps of the gazebo for easy retrieval. It also provided a wonderful injection of humor AND some great photo ops.

Below are the pictures Jennifer sent me today. I took them. . .and it was nearly 200. But seeing as how I handed the memory card over to her, she left MANY out that I would have included (like a close-up of the back of her hair with all the lovely organza flowers--LOVELY), HOWEVER, this will give you a little taste of the day.

After the hair-do, we ran to Sonic for some of that cheap water of which Jennifer is so fond. (Me too.) Here is she is relaxing pre-dress. . .
















. . .'cause post-dress, there is really no sitting allowed, you know. Doesn't she look GORGEOUS????? The dress she chose (as well as the accessories) suited her PERFECTLY. Just loved it all!!!!























Bouquet of multi-pink gerbera daisies. She and I both HIGHLY recommend Central Market for all your flower needs. They were VERY nice to her when some of the flowers weren't so great and brought some over post-haste PLUS there were only THREE out of about 185 that I wasn't able to use for SOMETHING.



The Man. Very handsome and coordinated--with her chosen color of pink I mean--though I do not doubt Greg's dexterity AT ALL. *HE* didn't drop Jennifer's ring.


Jennifer and Dad--he gave a great, little "hand-over" speech--very, very touching and funny.


No words to describe this one. . .if you've been there, then you don't need an explanation.


This is the part where David said, "Jennifer, do you have a ring to DROP for Greg?" and Jennifer said, "Why, yes. Yes I DO!!!" Then she dropped it. I know--I'm giving her a hard time. To be fair, his ring is actually bigger than any of Jennifer's fingers including her thumb, SO it was kind of hard to keep it put. She had it in her bouquet hand so as to clutch it with the flowers, but once she handed her bouquet to her niece, there was no clutching of the ring anymore. It really was a GREAT moment. . .and no one laughed harder than the bride.

Mr. & Mrs.

Emma, the daughter of David-the-Minister, made the groom's cake, and let me TELL YOU, it was a sight to behold and a delicacy to taste. Her ganache was TO DIE FOR, and the girl is only 11 1/2. Really, really pretty and delish! Way to go, Emma!!!! Cute dress too.

Jen's cake. . .bedecked with flowers and topped with some Vegan cupcakes.

Table arrangements and favors. . .

The Carriage--TASTEFULLY decorated, though I hear tell it was a different story on the inside of the car. There WERE children present, so we truly appreciated the restraint of the decorator's. Thanks, guys.

It was a beautiful, beautiful day. Once Jennifer is out of that daisy-strewn field, she will I'm sure, have more comments AND more photos. There were two REAL photographers there as well, and I believe you can view their photos online at the end of March--details from the bride.

Congratulations, you two. Everyone who loves you--and even all those ladies at the salon who don't know you from Adam--are thrilled that God brought you together.

Now. Go get busy living happily ever after.

Do You Know How I Can Tell???

Well, the wedding is almost here. Do you know how I can tell? The boy and girl at the top of my blog header who have been running AT each other for awhile now are now almost touching. That means the wedding will happen any day now. To which I say, "Woohoo!"

There have been wedding preparation bumps, but nothing major.

My "to do" list has grown exponentially in the past 4 days.

I am still not certain of the "coldness" factor on Saturday morning, so I have a plan and a back-up plan.

I have finally purchased renter's insurance (I never had nice things that needed "insuring" before my wedding showers).

All in all, things are falling into place.

Last Saturday, one of my friends took the fiance and my picture for our church website and directory, and it kind of acted as an "engagement" picture. Here are a couple of those (I need to pre-apologize to all you facebook readers of my blog who have already seen these pictures posted on FB). The first one is a candid shot that we didn't realize she was taking, and it has become my favorite picture. The second one is the "official" photo since I am not allowed to keep the photo of me in the parrot costume as my "family" photo anymore.

Where Is Spring???

Where is spring? Hello, Mr. Weatherman. It is March in Houston, Texas. It should have been in the upper 70s/lower 80s for the past 2 weeks. Instead, we have hovered through the 50s and slightly into the 60s.

While some may love this weather, I am not currently a fan. You see, I planned a springtime in Houston OUTDOOR wedding, and right now, the outdoors are not seeming so appealing. Forget the fact that the flowers aren't blooming because of the cold, and Mother Nature was supposed to be my main source of wedding decor. I have gotten over that. What I am struggling with, however, is that I am an incredibly cold-natured person in general, and the thought of traipsing around the a garden in a springy organza dress (sans sleeves) already has me shivering.

Therefore, I have decided to take matters into my own hands and start devising a back-up plan for the cold. After searching our wonderdul world wide web, I have come up with some options.

Option 1: The Mid Length Cape. Yes, it looks a little more winter wonderland rather than March wedding, but I would be warm, and if I was having a bad hair day, I could cover up the hairdo with the hoodie.


Option #2: The Fur Muff. My hands get cold faster than anything, and usually if my hands are warm, I am feeling fairly okay. So, rather than bring out the fur cape as suggested in option 1, I could go for the smaller fur muff and insure nice, toasty hands. The one problem with this option is the question of where would my flowers go since my hands would be inside the muff.

Option #3: The Fur-Trimmed Anorak. Now, I think this is actually a good option because first off, it is trimmed with fur, and so that automatically gives it a "fancy" look. Secondly (and you can't see this very well), it has a cool pattern on it, and so I think I could pull of the "hip bride" vibe if I chose to wore it. Thirdly, fur is EXPENSIVE, and puffy anoraks are not. So, it would be a nice cheap option, and since I was giddy over my marriage coupon, I would probably be giddy over this bargain.

Option #4: The Denim Jacket. Okay, so you knew that had to be an option. After yesterday's ode, one can never count out the versatility of the denim jacket. However, if that seems a little understated for most, then I have one more option for you.

Option #5: The WHITE Denim Jacket. It is the best of both worlds (sorry for the Hannah Montana reference). I get to wear a coveted denim jacket, and it at least kind of looks "weddingy" because it is white.

I am not completely sure what I am going to do even though these are all pretty good options. Maybe I'll just have someone follow me around with a battery operated space heater.

O Denim Jacket, How I Love Thee

Yes, you read that correctly. This is a quasi "ode" to the denim jacket. Anyone who has seen me every Sunday for the past 3 years has probably realized by now that I'm a little "denim jacket obsessed". I wear one every single Sunday with whatever outfit I have on. Now, lest you think I just throw on my denim all willy-nilly, let me assure you that I do not buy a Sunday outfit unless it coordinates with my jeaned jacket.

I had a shower this past Sunday at the fiance's church. Guess what I wore...a darling new dress and my denim jacket. (pictured below--the friend who introduced us, me, and the fiance)


I had a shower a few weeks ago at my congregation. Guess what I wore...a black skirt, a cute top, and the denim jacket.


The fiance and I are having to have our picture made for the church website and directory. Guess what I am wearing...you guessed it...some sort of clothing topped off with a denim jacket. It has become my staple, my security blanket, and to those who think it might be too hot to wear it in the summer, I simply assure them that that is what air conditioning is for.

In less than 2 weeks at the wedding--the outside wedding--it is looking as if the temperatures are going to be in the mid 60's. I had someone ask me yesterday if I would wear the denim jacket with my wedding dress to stay warm. I just might. It's classic and goes with EVERYTHING.