Thursday, May 28, 2009
After months and months and months of waiting and planning and preparing, May 24th finally arrived. Our wedding day was amazing and I could never write an entry that would do justice to it, but I'll try to give an idea of what went on ... (And while we haven't gotten the professional photos yet, thanks to friends and family we have tons of photos to put up on Flickr already, and I'll include a few here.)
I woke up around 6:00 and couldn't get back to sleep. I was jittery all morning, sometimes almost nauseous with nervousness. I knew that the important parts of the day would work out, that in the end we would be married and surrounded by friends and family, but there were enough small details to worry about that I couldn't seem to relax. At 9:00 the day finally began in earnest when we met the girls at the JCPenney hair salon. After dozens of bobby pins, hair sprays, and magazine pages, we emerged with fantastic hair. I was still nervous but being surrounded by people helped. We headed to the church and milled around for a while, drinking enough coffee to wake up but not so much that we'd need to rush out in the middle of the ceremony. We did our makeup in an upstairs bathroom that might as well have been a sauna and then got dressed in one of the preschool rooms. My gown was a group project, but we managed to get it on, laced up, and buttoned.
My mother started crying as she put on the beautiful necklace she had just bought for me, and I started to wonder whether I would be able to keep from crying myself. (I never did cry, by the way, though I had some close calls.)
The girls looked great in their dresses and silver accessories and I adored the dress that our flower girl Rachel's mother had made for her in white satin trimmed with the teal fabric from the bridesmaid dresses. We also got our gorgeous bouquets: the girls had pink roses (I know, so cliche, but they really worked with the dresses) wrapped in ribbon fastened with buttons, and I carried calla lilies with ruched white ribbon. After bridal party photos in the side chapel and more nervewracking waiting we finally heard Pachelbel's Canon struck up in the sanctuary, the signal for Andrew and Ryan to escort our mothers down the aisle. The bridal party lined up and we walked down the aisle...to the Theme of Jurassic Park. Thanks in part to xkcd, Kyle and I have had a thing for (or sometimes against) raptors for a long time, and while it may not be traditional that piece is breathtaking on organ. With tears in his eyes my father walked me down the aisle and joined my hand to Kyle's. We were ready to get married.
Many of our guests complemented our "short and sweet" ceremony; I don't know how long it lasted or, for that matter, how long weddings usually last, but I know our ceremony had everything I wanted. It was presided over expertly by Pastor Jeff Rill, whose calmness, warmth, and joy have never failed to make me smile. My Uncle Jerry recited Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 beautifully and performed a rendition of The Wedding Song that brought him and many others close to tears. Our frisbee teammate and future jazz star Pie had the same effect when she sang "Come What May" and my maid of honor Sabrina fittingly read a wonderful passage from Madelaine L'Engle:
"Ultimately there comes a time when a decision must be made. Ultimately two people who love each other must ask themselves how much they hope for as their love grows and deepens, and how much risk they are willing to take. It is indeed a fearful gamble. Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created. To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take. If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession, but participation."
During the rehearsal Kyle and I both chuckled at the promise to be together "in sickness and in health," something that Kyle has already proven time and time again, but during the ceremony our vows and the exchange of rings were perfectly smooth. We were husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt, and neither of us could stop grinning as we walked down the aisle together.
Even when Dave punched me in the face I kept smiling. (He got a little overenthusiastic while hugging Kyle in the back of the sanctuary.)
We did the requisite receiving line and walk-through-tons-of-bubbles, both of which were pretty enjoyable actually.
Then we went back inside for what I promised would be "a few quick family photos." I had forgotten how big Kyle's family was, but we made it through even though my back and smile muscles were starting to kill me by the end. Then we headed outside for -- what else? -- a frisbee game! Actually we just tossed a bit and played a walking point (won by a huck from Kyle to me, as was only fitting), but it was a ton of fun, especially since I had been banned from playing frisbee for the month before the wedding so that I wouldn't be walking down the aisle with a black eye or on crutches. Sabrina followed me around holding up my train, and I think we made an excellent team.
When frisbee was over Kyle and I got into Dave's giant car, prompting many "I'm on a boat!" references, and headed to the reception at the Hamilton Ballroom at Wheatland Place, the former Research & Development building for a clock and watch factory that has since been converted into an art deco ballroom. It looked fantastic with our black, white, and dark teal table settings, lit calla lily centerpieces, and a stage full of candles. Our friend and professor Kris gave the blessing and my father, my matron of honor Steph, my maid of honor Sabrina, and Kyle's best man Dave all gave wonderful toasts. Someone had neglected to fill the bride and groom toasting flutes, however, so we toasted with invisible champagne, which I like better than real champagne anyway. The food from the Olde Greenfield Inn was delicious, though the dress didn't let me eat as much as I wanted to. I was also a little nervous about our first dance, which came next. We danced to Billy Joel's "The Longest Time," which has been our song since the beginning. A minute or two into the song, however, we were interrupted by the beats and deep voice of Rick Astley. That's right, we
Rickrolled our first dance. We even broke out into a choreographed dance number, which, since we had only had a few hours the day before to create and practice it, was primarily made up of of old dance standards from the waltz to the macarena.
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Other than sliding on my train a bit during the swing dance moves, the dance worked perfectly and got a ton of laughs. Near the end of the song we broke into the shopping cart move and grabbed friends to join us. The first few looked absolutely terrified, but soon they got the idea and we had a hopping dance floor by the end.
I then danced with my father to "Put Me in Coach," which made him laugh and cry at the same time, and Kyle danced with his mother to "Just the Way You Are." Then we opened up the dance floor and had a ton of fun; I would have danced every minute of every song if I hadn't occasionally needed to leave the floor to talk to guests, fix my failing bustle, pose for photographs, or finally get a piece of cake. (It was ice cream cake, which was delicious and inexpensive and allowed us to play "Melt with You" during the cake cutting.)
We weren't content with a traditional bouquet and garter toss either; we pretended to get them but pulled out frisbees instead.
Even though they were pretty cool discs (with a teal glow-in-the-dark yin yang design) no one wanted to catch them...except maybe Jester, who at least looked poised to leap. My disc went straight to Pie; she yelled at me later but believe me, there is no way to aim a backwards overhead throw that you hadn't even practiced. Her frisbee instincts couldn't allow her to drop it, though she tried to toss it into the crowd after she caught it. Kyle's disc went to, well, no one. Or maybe to the owner of the wine glass that he knocked down. It seems the man doesn't know his own strength, since he threw it far over everyone's head...twice. Apparently he doesn't want any of his friends to get married soon. I still say frisbees were a good idea though.
Two of our Gettysburg friends pulled out a surprise of their own: Blaza Blaze and Lil' Pie, alter egos developed for hilarious youtube videos in college, took the stage and performed a rap celebrating our wedding. Blaze even snuck in a baseball cap and bling. It was fantastic.
Another surprise: at the end of the night Kyle wanted to dance more and stay up later, two things that never happen. It made me so happy to see him so happy and energetic and loving every moment. We both wanted the evening to last forever, which I figure is the best marker of a great wedding. We decided to have friends back to my parents' house to hang out, which turned into touring my dad's basement of baseball collectibles and then playing a rousing game of Dutch Blitz, the best card game ever ever ever. I also had to start saying goodbyes, some to close friends that I wouldn't see for a long time. It made me so happy to have everyone together and it was hard to let them go again. I did, however, get to see a number of Gettysburg friends the next day, when we ate leftovers, let people ride the bike around the block, and went to the park to play frisbee, of course. It felt so liberating to play after so long and great to do so with so many old friends.
Thank you so much to everyone who made our wedding day so fantastic, especially my mom who did so much work to make it happen. I really can't describe how happy the day made me. What a wonderful (and kooky and hilarious) way to start the marriage that we've wanted for so long.
| posted at: 05:24 |
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Saturday, May 23, 2009
Newsflash: Planning a wedding takes a lot of work. Even with my mom doing so much, I often felt overwhelmed by all of the decisions, plans, emails, and phone calls that I had to make in the midst of school, and when I finally came home after graduation a week before the wedding there was still a great deal of work and running around to do. We had to cut the ribbon for the tables, buy and wrap the wedding party gifts, design and print the programs, have a bustle and optional straps added to the gown, and set up the deck for the rehearsal dinner. We also had a few self-imposed arts and crafts projects. Instead of a traditional guestbook which would sit around in a closet we wanted something that we could display, so my mom broke out the elementary school teacher skills and made a map of the United States for guests to decorate and sign. We (my mother, her friend Bonnie and I) also made the placecards using folded posterboard and maps from AAA; each table was a different state. I think it all turned out quite well.
Meanwhile back in Frederick Kyle and Dave had a project of their own: baking and icing tons and tons of bicycle-shaped cookies for wedding favors. They were total champs and the cookies were delicious -- someone asked my mom what specialty bakery we used!
On Saturday we prepared for the ceremony itself. The rehearsal went well and as an added bonus didn't take very long. There was a bit of giggling but we should be able to control ourselves for the big event. I only caught snatches of the music rehearsal but what I did hear sounded great. I'm ridiculously excited, and at the same time I can't believe this is really, finally happening.
For the rehearsal dinner we had a catered party on my parents' deck. The food was delicious and I appreciated the relaxed atmosphere. The highlight was definitely our bicycle, and when Kyle started giving rides we gathered quite a crowd.
Afterwards a bunch of us headed down the street to Scoops for miniature golf and icecream. Our group hearkened back to frisbee trips and played challenge golf, meaning a humorous punishment awaited the loser of each hole: speak in an accent, ride your club like a pony, do a jig, be a sports announcer, etc. It was a good time all around.
Annnnndddd...The next time I post I'll be married!!!!
(Ok, actually I'm already married -- spoiler alert: we both said "I do" -- but I was way too busy to post this entry at the time, as you might expect. Anyway the wedding entry comes next so yay!)
| posted at: 05:18 |
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Friday, May 15, 2009
My old sunglasses served me well. They originally belonged to my brother, who bought them at K-Mart for a mission trip to Mexico. They survived all the dust, dirt, and hazards of construction work but when my brother got home he promptly abandoned them for his Oakleys, so I claimed them because I had lost or broken yet another pair of sunglasses (which is why I never buy Oakleys). I may have looked a little strange in men's sunglasses, but not as strange as I would have looked in any of the women's sunglasses that I saw in stores, since this was the era of giant bug-eyed shades. (I guess it's still that era, but I'm hoping the trend will pass soon.) They served me well for several years, even after my friend borrowed them for a frisbee game and promptly got hit in the face. They didn't break though, and the blood wiped right off. Eventually one of the ear pieces snapped - I'm still not sure how - so I was forced to replace them with a pair of slightly giant, slightly bug-eyed lady sunglasses (I did the best I could). When I needed new cycling sunglasses, however, I dug out the old shades - yes, I'm a packrat - and put them back together with electrical tape. You can barely tell with the helmet - or that's what I tell myself - and I've worn them for cycling ever since.
Now that we are heading across the country, however, Kyle convinced me to buy new sunglasses that had peripheral cover, earpieces that stayed together on their own, and interchangeable lenses so that I could shield my eyes as the sky darkened and still be able to see. Hopefully Corey Hart wasn't a cyclist...
Comfort is also key, so I wanted to try them on instead of shopping online. I went to the Performance Bike store in Charlottesville because they send us coupons and because I always like the people working there. After some advice from the guy behind the counter and a lot of deliberation at the sunglasses wall, I went with the Performance Quatro.
They have 4, count'em 4 interchangeable lenses: clear, grey, yellow, and brown, which cover all possible lighting conditions that we'll encounter. I was incredibly happy with them...until I wore them outside the next day. The holes right under the top frame, which I suppose are meant to let air through, also of course let sun through, and that created a small problem. They create bright spots at the upper edge of my vision that don't affect what I see but are certainly annoying. I almost returned them but I didn't have much time before my next planned ride, so I convinced myself that I would get used to them. And so far they haven't been bad. My helmet straps tend to push sunglasses up higher on my face and against my forehead, and in that position I can barely see any sun dots. I don't think I'll be bothered after all.
I've encounter another problem, however: the difficulty of popping the lenses in and out. Instructions are included and theoretically easy to follow, but squeezing and moving the nosepiece was a massive struggle each time and I think I may have bent it. I hope I get better with practice or these multi-lens shades are much less convenient than they seem. I should have bought a pair like Kyle's that have two separate lenses - much easier to move in and out. The fit and the comfort level are great, however, and I'm not going to buy another pair without giving these sunglasses a thorough trial run. We'll see how they do.
| posted at: 09:01 |
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Thursday, May 14, 2009
I honestly thought I would be burned out by my fourth wedding shower, but those who know me best - my family and my matron of honor Steph - know how to throw a relaxing and fitting shower: no tiaras or awkwardness allowed. The fete was in Lancaster at my parents' house. It was wonderful to see everyone, and I was also impressed by how many people dressed in teal, sometimes unintentionally. Wedding ESP was apparently high.
We kicked things off with wedding versions of trivia and Scattegories games with potted plants as prizes and spent the rest of the time eating, drinking, talking, and opening presents. The food was absolutely scrumptious, especially the crab quiche, which had initially made me nervous. (My prior experience with quiche was a very painful one: in my last year of highschool French we were asked to judge a quiche contest, which involved tasting a dozen mostly cold quiches made by the freshmen. It was even more disgusting than it sounds.)
All of the gifts were fantastic - and also clever, since every guest had been assigned a letter of the alphabet and asked to buy a gift that somehow reflected the letter. My Aunt Louise, for example, used M for Movie Night: JiffyPop, a bicycle themed bottle of wine, and two dvds.
It seemed like everyone had a good time...I certainly did at least. Yay Showers! And teal...
| posted at: 08:07 |
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Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Kyle's coworkers wanted to throw the two of us a shower, so on Thursday morning I drove to his school - several hours after Kyle had made the trip, of course. I was supposed to get to see Kyle's 3rd period class, but apparently after four years Kyle still doesn't know the bell schedule, because he told me the wrong time to arrive. One of his students was so upset that she didn't get to meet me that we hunted her down in the hallway a few periods later. Her reaction made it more than worth it: gasping, hugging me, and telling Kyle "you really do like me Mr. Schmidt! I knew it!" I also got to see Kyle, I mean Mr. Schmidt, in action a few periods later in a beginning programming class. He's quite good at his job, as I suspected, but throw thirty kids - mostly young boys obsessed with video games, youtube, and the like - into a computer lab and the best you can hope for is controlled chaos. It pretty much convinced me that I should only teach at an all-girls school where everything is done on paper. It was certainly entertaining, however, and I got to put faces to a few of the names that show up in Kyle's stories. The crowning moment was when one of the students compared Kyle to Dr. Cox on Scrubs - this has been our goal for years and only one other student has ever made the connection. I actually threw my hands in the air in celebration and may even have cackled. I was half convinced that Kyle had paid the kid.
Kyle has two periods off for lunch so we were able to grab sandwiches with his mentor and coworker Nikki before heading over to one of the technology rooms for the shower. It was all decorated with ballons and sparkly things - which had apparently caused a bit of a struggle amongst the party planning committee, but it certainly looked nice - and the coolest cake (which Kyle apparently failed to center in the photo, but you get the idea).
For gifts the teachers gave us what we needed most: money, which they creatively folded and taped together into a long string and put in a film container. We were very impressed and grateful. 
They also gifted us with marital advice, both silly and serious. The biggest fight triggers they warned us about were wedding planning and money. We're almost finished with the former, and while there has been a lot of stress and exasperated sighing no major fights have erupted because of it. Managing money matters will of course be difficult, especially in the current financial climate, but it should help that we're highly aware of the issue.
Besides, we keep saying that if we make it through the epic cross-country trip we should be able to make it through anything, right? And so far we're both infinitely more excited than nervous about the wedding, the trip, and married life in general. We can't wait for the adventure to begin and we're so grateful to have such a wonderful and widespread support system behind us.
| posted at: 12:26 |
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Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Kyle hadn't yet uploaded the photos from the Tour de Scranton when I wanted to post an entry about it, and we also had a few random shots from test rides sitting around. I decided just to make a seperate entry, since there haven't been many photos on my side of the blog lately. Enjoy!
The Start:
Welcome to Scranton:
Kyle's father (you can see that there were a few nice neighborhoods):
For a long portion of the trip all we only saw brush, sun, cars, potholes, and a slight but eventually torturous uphill:
Kyle takes his cousin for a spin on the Pino in the parking lot:
Uncle Bob gets a ride too:
Fixing the bike on a ride around Frederick. This became a common sight (though Kyle doesn't always match everything this perfectly):
I probably should have been helping at this point but I took shadow photos instead:
The End
| posted at: 11:22 |
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Friday, May 01, 2009
Kyle and I were incredibly excited to take our Pino on its first charity bike race...even if it was in Scranton. I know it's the home of The Office and the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Barons and Penguins but let's be honest, Scranton is a rather depressing city. You'll notice I haven't included any scenery photos of our 50 mile trip because, well, there wasn't much to see. The only great photo I missed was a man dressed in a leprechaun and/or pirate costume sitting beside a mannequin on his storefront. Come to think of it there were also mannequins at one of the car shops... maybe it's a main street theme. We also rode through the birthplace of First Aid; I'm not sure exactly what that means, but it sounds like a good place for me. Mostly, though, we just saw nondescript buildings, a lot of sprawling brush, and the worst pavement that I've ever ridden over - good to see that PennDOT has only gotten more useless since I've left the state.
We also saw something I didn't expect, given what I've been warned about nearby Binghamton: the sun. A lot of it. It got miserably hot at times and the salt build-up on my helmet straps and sunglasses was disgusting. Remind me why we're taking our trip in the summer again?
We ran into mechanical trouble almost right away - problems with the long chain again. We (mostly Kyle) did maintenance on the side of the road for the first of four or five times that day, and Kyle's father was nice enough to wait for us down the road each time. The worst problem, however, was pain. As usual the saddle was rough on Kyle, especially his back. The ride took more of a toll than usual on his arms and shoulders because his body was tense from the stress. The traffic (which was troublingly busy for a bike race) and the potholes made him very anxious, and he's still adjusting to steering such a long and heavy bicycle. Meanwhile my feet were apparently on fire. For long stretches of time I had searing pain on the balls of my feet and my middle toes. Sometimes it would go away on its own and sometimes I had to wait until the next rest area, as it disappeared whenever I unclipped. At first I wondered if the scorching sun could have heated the metal clips enough to burn through the sole and my socks, but a quick check proved that wasn't the case. My best guess so far is pinched nerves, since pain would occasionally shoot up my shin. I knew my feet would cause problems on the trip, but I was expecting blisters or arch pain, not invisible flames. It's definitely a problem I'll have to examine further and hopefully solve before we set off across the country.
Thanks to the pain and the sun and the fact that neither of us has had much training time recently our performance wasn't amazing. We haven't rigged up the special cyclocomputer yet, but based on Kyle's father's stats we traveled around 12 mph. Once we add a loaded trailer and meal breaks that won't give us enough miles per day. Still, given the pain and the sun and the insufficient training we decided to be content. Oh, and I almost forgot the hills. One of the hills, mercifully just before a rest stop, was probably the steepest thing I've ever climbed, and judging by the grumbling it was the steepest thing many of the cyclists had ever climbed. The funny thing is, I liked that hill - impossibly steep but relatively short - a lot better than the gradual but sun-baked and forever-long incline earlier in the ride. No one seemed to agree with me though, so maybe I'm just crazy.
So far this post sounds overwhelmingly negative, I know, but there were also positives to the Tour de Scranton (which, by the by, benefits a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Program). Though the route they chose could have been better, I was impressed with the friendly people running the event. It was well-organized and well-supported and they gave out good food and drinks before and after. The best part, however, was the community... and the instant celebrity. It was fantastic to talk to so many cyclists, and I'll admit we loved all of the calls of "Wow!" "Nice bike!" and "Look at that!" from cyclists, volunteers, and spectators alike. We saw some impressive things too, like the video camera mounted on a guy's helmet. I don't think we'll be that cool, but we do want to mount Kyle's camera on the bike to use its time lapse setting one of these days. What we didn't see was a single other tandem bicycle, which I thought was strange. As all of the attention we received proved, you rarely if ever see a Hase Pino, but regular tandems aren't that unusual. We definitely felt the difference between our long, heavy bike and the rest of the field; we made a killing on the downhills but had to really push everywhere else. I now understand why there are rides and races just for tandem bikes; it really is a different ride in some respects.
We learn more about the bike and each other each time we ride, and even though Kyle was really stressed we managed to cooperate well... most of the time. I also took the first step towards dealing with my dog problem. To resist my paralysis instinct I'm training myself to sprint whenever I hear a dog barking. I imagine the sudden speed is just as jarring to Kyle as my stopping was, but he agrees that it's a much better response. We didn't encounter any dogs close up during the ride - which is good since we forgot the Halt - but we did hear a lot of barking, and each time I kicked my pedalling into high gear instead of letting fear slow me down. Definite progress.
And of course the best part of the ride is the reason we chose Scranton in the first place - family. We rode with Kyle's father, hung out with his uncle and cousin afterwards (they rode a shorter route together), and enjoyed dinner and all the comforts of home at his parent's house the night before. It was a good visit and something that I really needed at the time.
So while the Tour de Scranton wasn't the most enjoyable ride, it had its good moments and was unquestionably a beneficial experience. We're hoping to participate in a number of charity races after the wedding, which I will of course be sure to share here.
| posted at: 05:10 |
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