We made it to Nicole and Jimmie's wedding venue roughly 45 minutes early. We went over how they wanted the ceremony and then they left to take photos. Dustin and I sat down and waited with some of the other guests. We played around on our phones to kill time. With each passing minute, my nerves grew and grew. And then it was finally time. I stood up at the top of the room with Jimmie. Nicole walked down the aisle to the Game of Thrones theme song (fucking awesome, right?!) with her dad. Her dad shook Jimmie's hand and that was my cue. I read verbatim what Nicole had typed up for me to say. I fumbled on the word "cherish" which Dustin playfully reminded me of for the rest of the night. But it went smooth. Before we knew it, the bride and groom were kissing and everyone was cheering them on.
Everyone got up to eat and while I was in line, both Nicole and Jimmie's dad's told me what a good job I had done. I was so relieved to hear that. I mean, Dustin told me I did a good job but I think he might be a little biased. I'm so happy I could do that for them. I've only married (aka stamped a marriage license with my notary stamp) one other couple (What up Matt & Rachelle!). I have never ever done a ceremony. I never thought I ever would. It was nerve-wracking. It scared me. I have always had a fear of public speaking. But I'm so glad I did it. It felt good to overcome a fear and to help friends in the process.
It was a fun night getting to see Nicole as a bride. Talking with her friends and family. Taking photos. Rocking out to Britney and Katy. Eating Yum Yum Cupcakes. And stamping this marriage legal!
Congratulations again guys! Married life rules.
SATURDAY: I got up super early in anticipation for a springs trip. Erin had been wanting to go all summer so when she mentioned it last week, I suggested we just go for it Saturday. I invited Dustin to come along since I know he's been dying to swim around in the cold water ever since our photoshoot. Erin arrived at 8AM on the dot. Dustin however, did not want to get out of bed which I kind of figured would happen, so Erin and I went by ourselves.
We decided to go canoeing first before it got too crowded. Erin was really nervous because she had never been before. I was nervous because I had never been in a canoe with anyone other than Dustin. But we were both excited. Here's to new adventures!
The "canoe guy" told us the more experienced canoer should sit in the back. So I climbed to the back while the canoe rocked back and forth. Erin got in. "Canoe guy" handed us each an oar and said "You guys are going to be fine!" and then pushed us out. The problem was we started going in the wrong direction. The canoe was facing the swimming area - NOT the canoe area. Erin and I were both laughing, screaming and a little frantic for about 30 seconds until we finally made it out into the open water. It took me a few minutes but I finally got the hang of rowing and steering us. Erin tried her hand at rowing and getting used to the feel of it. I couldn't hep but laugh because she would barely graze the top of the water. I told her to go deeper with the strokes. She was doing great except we had a communication problem. I would yell "Row on my side now" and she was all "Which side is YOUR side?!" and then we would just crack up. So I told her I'd continue by myself to help with the confusion. After only being out in the water for 10 minutes, I saw a turtle poke his head out of the water right next to us. So I yelled to Erin "Look! Did you see the turtle?!" in which she replied, "Yeah, but did you see that alligator behind the turtle?!". Yeah I definitely missed that! He was one of the biggest gators I had seen while canoeing there. Whoa!
I knew Erin was nervous. And the gator sunbathing on the tree near the shore was not helping her nerves. But the further down stream we got the more we both loosened up. We sat quiet and listened to the sounds of all of the birds and insects and the leaves in the wind. We talked. We pointed at things we wanted the other to see. We managed to bypass all the fallen trees in the water and didn't get stuck once. We also maneuvered around other canoers. We canoed to Wekiva Island and turned around. We just sat there for a minute watching a lab jump in the water after a ball. And then he'd jump again and again. It was really cool to watch especially from our point of view.
We made our way back. I put Erin on camera duty while I continued to row. I'm not a fan of being in the back of the canoe with all that responsibility. I give Dustin so much credit! Shit is hard! Also, if you can canoe with your spouse/friend/etc. without killing each other then you can get through just about anything together. I was proud of Erin and I. We worked together and although we weren't always the most graceful, we got the job done.
We reached land! Hurray! Victory! But we were worn the hell out. While waiting in line to get my ID back (for returning their canoe) we talked to a Canadian family about all of the alligators we had seen. Their eyes widened and Erin and I just laughed.
Then we went to my car to get our floatation devices. We sat on a bench and blew those suckers up. We were close to passing out when finally they were ready to float. As we were trying to get into the water via the steps, this lady was blocking us. She was just standing there because the water was so cold. So I squeezed around and just dove forward with my float and all. Erin followed suit. Yes, the water is cold but we didn't have all day to ease into the water. We had just canoed our hearts out and we needed some cold water for our sore muscles. We wanted to just relax. Move it or lost it!
The water felt amazing. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! We migrated to the middle where the least amount of people were and floated around. Swam. Took photos with my snazzy 1990s underwater disposable camera. And after it got way too crowded, we left.
We stopped by Five Guys for lunch. There's nothing like the best burger and fries after a water filled morning. As we were waiting for our food to be cooked, I rubbed my eye, and then noticed my vision was blurry. Did my contact fall out? Is it stuck in my eye again?! So I took my contact case and my glasses to the bathroom. I took out the left side. Then I went fishing for the right side, except I couldn't find anything. I rubbed my eye a few more times and BAM I could see out of my right eye. The contact was back! I removed it and put my glasses on. I just didn't have time for my contacts games! I sat down and Erin started laughing at me. Then she took a picture so I smiled. I thought she was just laughing at my poor contact wearing skills. Then she showed me the picture. I was wearing my regular glasses on my face and my sunglasses were still on top of my head. I felt like such an idiot! Ha!
Erin went home and I took a nice hot shower. I then proceeded to run some errands. Winn Dixie was up first so I could get rid of a bag of coins I have had in my closet for years. It was worth $10. Better to have cash than coins! When I left it started to rain. Everyone was crowded outside of the building just staring at it. I wanted to scream "It's just water!" but I just walked to my car instead. Yeah, I got a little wet but who cares. It's just water. As I drove out of the parking lot I really started to think about rain just being water. It dries in time and doesn't leave any kind of residue. It doesn't stain. It doesn't hurt your skin. Water doesn't do much except get you wet.
I then made my way over to the car wash to vacuum out my car. I did this while it was raining because I'm too stubborn to wait or come back later. I wanted it done right that second and by golly it was going to get done right that second even if I had to get soaked in the process. Which I kind of did. Whatever.
Then I swung by Walgreens to drop off my disposable waterproof camera and to pick up my prints from our photoshoot.
Problem #1: It would take TWO weeks for my underwater photos to get developed because they have to send it out. They suggested I go to a different Walgreens down the street so I could get it done faster. Ugh. Fine. So I get to the other Walgreens and they say they have to send out my camera too! WTF. I drove all that way for nothing. I told the photo lady that was fine and to call me when they came in.
Problem #2: My photoshoot photos were of the shittiest quality. I downloaded them at the highest of quality so I know it wasn't my fault. It was Walgreens fault. They seemed to be printed really cheaply on this shitty paper. Of course I didn't realize until AFTER I had already paid for them and left. (I ended up going back and they gave me a complete refund). I will now be sending my photos to CVS only.
Do we not live in 2013? Because sometimes I feel as if we're going backwards. Why would it take a stupid disposable camera a week to get developed? It used to be same day back in the 90s! And why are my photos that are far better quality than my phone or Canon camera on shitty paper leaving our faces all pixelated? Come on! Quality and quality service are still important!
On my way back from the photo nightmare of 2013 I got stuck in train traffic. OY VEY.
I seriously was just so annoyed that I came home and crawled into bed. I took a nap for a couple of hours until Dustin woke me up. I felt better.
SUNDAY: Netflix. Netflix. TV. Sims 3. Debated taking a nap. Ended up watching more netflix. Actually I have more to say about Sunday but I just don't feel like typing anymore because this is already a super long post.
It was a fun night getting to see Nicole as a bride. Talking with her friends and family. Taking photos. Rocking out to Britney and Katy. Eating Yum Yum Cupcakes. And stamping this marriage legal!
Congratulations again guys! Married life rules.
SATURDAY: I got up super early in anticipation for a springs trip. Erin had been wanting to go all summer so when she mentioned it last week, I suggested we just go for it Saturday. I invited Dustin to come along since I know he's been dying to swim around in the cold water ever since our photoshoot. Erin arrived at 8AM on the dot. Dustin however, did not want to get out of bed which I kind of figured would happen, so Erin and I went by ourselves.
We decided to go canoeing first before it got too crowded. Erin was really nervous because she had never been before. I was nervous because I had never been in a canoe with anyone other than Dustin. But we were both excited. Here's to new adventures!
I knew Erin was nervous. And the gator sunbathing on the tree near the shore was not helping her nerves. But the further down stream we got the more we both loosened up. We sat quiet and listened to the sounds of all of the birds and insects and the leaves in the wind. We talked. We pointed at things we wanted the other to see. We managed to bypass all the fallen trees in the water and didn't get stuck once. We also maneuvered around other canoers. We canoed to Wekiva Island and turned around. We just sat there for a minute watching a lab jump in the water after a ball. And then he'd jump again and again. It was really cool to watch especially from our point of view.
We made our way back. I put Erin on camera duty while I continued to row. I'm not a fan of being in the back of the canoe with all that responsibility. I give Dustin so much credit! Shit is hard! Also, if you can canoe with your spouse/friend/etc. without killing each other then you can get through just about anything together. I was proud of Erin and I. We worked together and although we weren't always the most graceful, we got the job done.
The water felt amazing. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! We migrated to the middle where the least amount of people were and floated around. Swam. Took photos with my snazzy 1990s underwater disposable camera. And after it got way too crowded, we left.
We stopped by Five Guys for lunch. There's nothing like the best burger and fries after a water filled morning. As we were waiting for our food to be cooked, I rubbed my eye, and then noticed my vision was blurry. Did my contact fall out? Is it stuck in my eye again?! So I took my contact case and my glasses to the bathroom. I took out the left side. Then I went fishing for the right side, except I couldn't find anything. I rubbed my eye a few more times and BAM I could see out of my right eye. The contact was back! I removed it and put my glasses on. I just didn't have time for my contacts games! I sat down and Erin started laughing at me. Then she took a picture so I smiled. I thought she was just laughing at my poor contact wearing skills. Then she showed me the picture. I was wearing my regular glasses on my face and my sunglasses were still on top of my head. I felt like such an idiot! Ha!
I then made my way over to the car wash to vacuum out my car. I did this while it was raining because I'm too stubborn to wait or come back later. I wanted it done right that second and by golly it was going to get done right that second even if I had to get soaked in the process. Which I kind of did. Whatever.
Then I swung by Walgreens to drop off my disposable waterproof camera and to pick up my prints from our photoshoot.
Problem #1: It would take TWO weeks for my underwater photos to get developed because they have to send it out. They suggested I go to a different Walgreens down the street so I could get it done faster. Ugh. Fine. So I get to the other Walgreens and they say they have to send out my camera too! WTF. I drove all that way for nothing. I told the photo lady that was fine and to call me when they came in.
Problem #2: My photoshoot photos were of the shittiest quality. I downloaded them at the highest of quality so I know it wasn't my fault. It was Walgreens fault. They seemed to be printed really cheaply on this shitty paper. Of course I didn't realize until AFTER I had already paid for them and left. (I ended up going back and they gave me a complete refund). I will now be sending my photos to CVS only.
Do we not live in 2013? Because sometimes I feel as if we're going backwards. Why would it take a stupid disposable camera a week to get developed? It used to be same day back in the 90s! And why are my photos that are far better quality than my phone or Canon camera on shitty paper leaving our faces all pixelated? Come on! Quality and quality service are still important!
On my way back from the photo nightmare of 2013 I got stuck in train traffic. OY VEY.
I seriously was just so annoyed that I came home and crawled into bed. I took a nap for a couple of hours until Dustin woke me up. I felt better.
SUNDAY: Netflix. Netflix. TV. Sims 3. Debated taking a nap. Ended up watching more netflix. Actually I have more to say about Sunday but I just don't feel like typing anymore because this is already a super long post.
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