The Kiss

 20 years ago we kissed in The Husband's backyard, 

in front of family and friends.

20 years later we kiss where ever the mood strikes us!

19 Years Ago Today

Road Trip #2 - 2012 - Day 10

Saturday, August 25 - Pioneertown, CA

Beginning odometer: 44,215

The family was up at 7:30 a.m. to go for breakfast, but I skipped the party and went treasure hunting at a local swap meet. I picked up some pieces of Hull's Autumn Leaf to re-sell, so I was quite happy.

I phoned The Sister from town to wish her happy birthday and picked up some donuts for The Husband's breakfast.

At 9:00 a.m., family and friends gathered to organize the wedding reception area for the evening's festivities. The bride's 2nd cousin (and good friend) works as an art director for television shows filmed in Los Angeles. She had a site plan for the area and put everyone to work.

Hanging lights:

Moving tables:

Cutting burlap and linen to use as table coverings:

At this point, we took a little break for a trip to town to stock up on bottled water, diet coke and tonic. We returned to the room and took a short nap, before showering and dressing for the wedding.

We returned for final prep work at reception site.

Napkins, silverware and flowers on the tables. Unfortunately, the flowers were a bit top heavy and there was a steady breeze, which kept knocking the jars over. We just poured the water out of the jars and laid them on the tables!

Pictures of the bride and groom were displayed:

The band set up:

Before we knew it, it was time to walk down the street to the small church for the wedding. The church was not air conditioned, nor did all the ceiling fans work, so we were thankful for the provided fans!

The ceremony was short and sweet and, yes, there were tears and laughter!

We hustled back to the reception area ahead of most of the guests.  We needed to direct folks on where to pick up their table assignment cards, which were vintage postcards.

Guests enjoying the cocktail hour:

The bride and groom arrive. Isn't she lovely? (He's handsome!)

The Bride and Groom with her parents, siblings and spouses.

Dinner was scrumptious and then we had CAKE!

Here's a close up of the detail on the cake. Isn't it pretty?

The Bride and Groom live in Los Angeles and many of their friends are professional muscians, just like the Groom. There was never a question of who was going to provide the music for the reception. Everyone provided music for the reception! I would imagine there were at least 30 people who participated in the evening's musical entertainment. So. Much. Fun!

The reception ended at 10:00 p.m. and as guests began to leave, family and friends scurried around to remove photos, flowers, table coverings, gifts, etc. from the reception area. It is always amazing how long it takes to decorate for a party and how quickly it all disappears when the party is over!

We retired to the desert side of the motel and enjoyed adult beverages with the family and re-lived the perfect day.

We were in bed by 12:30 p.m. and glad of it!

Ending odometer: 44,235
Miles driven: 20

A Birthday & A Wedding

Saturday was The Husband's birthday. We don't celebrate birthdays by throwing parties, we usually celebrate by going out for a nice dinner or taking a nice trip. For this particular birthday, we attended a wedding!

We are now the old folks that attend weddings at the invitation of the bride or groom's parents. In this case, the bride was the daughter of a former co-worker.

The wedding was held at the wonderful, historic The Mayo Hotel. The ceremony was conducted in the lobby of the hotel and the reception was in the Crystal Ballroom on the 16th floor. Everything was lovely.

Here's a picture of me and the birthday boy. Isn't he handsome?

The Sister and The Brother-in-Law.

The Sister and The Brother-in-Law, plus our good friends D & K.

I'm the nice sister.

Because it was The Husband's birthday and because we'd never stayed at The Mayo Hotel, we booked a room. Actually, it was a suite. No, really it was one of their residences that has not been rented. There are 70 residences in the hotel. We decided we could totally live there.

The living room.

The dining area and kitchen, with a view into the bedroom.

A view of the kitchen from the bedroom door.

The bedroom was very spacious. This photo doesn't do it justice.

The bathroom is accessible from the kitchen or the bedroom. There is a pocket door that can be used to separate the shower/sink area from the toilet and a second sink. Hook-ups for a full size stacking washer/dryer are in a closet.

I think it would be cool to live in a historic place like The Mayo Hotel.

Maybe they would rename the restaurant from Trula to Cindy and hang my portrait in a place of honor?

Wedding Invitation

I'm sure I'll be receiving our invitation to Prince William and Katherine Middleton's wedding in the mail this week.

I guess I should start searching for the perfect dress to wear. The wedding is on April 29th, so I don't have much time.

What? You think I'm crazy? I'm not.

I'm just positive I'll get an invitation.

How about you?

Prince William and Catherine's Royal Wedding

Yes, I'm a Royal Geek.

I've added a Royal Wedding countdown widget to my home page.

I can't help it.

I watched his mother and father get married. I'm for sure going to watch him get married.

Save the Date - April 29, 2011

Go ahead. Admit it.

You're looking forward to the royal wedding, just like I am.

Everyone loves a good wedding. And this one will be good. Oh so good.

I watched his momma get married and I'll watch the Prince get married. I'm especially glad he's marrying a commoner.

A fairy tale wedding of which little girls dream.

I'll watch, will you?

Photo Booth Fun At The Niece's Wedding

The Husband and I sat in the "photo booth" at Mary's wedding. The first photo of me is not flattering. However, it's all in good fun, yes?

Scenes From The Wedding Weekend

Bride Mary and Aunt Cindy at the beginning of the wedding shower:

Groom Joel and his mother, Pam, at the rehersal dinner:

Bride Mary watching the photographer work:Bride Mary waiting for her cue:Our niece Tosha took the official wedding photos. I'll post one or two of those in the near future.

The shower was fun. The wedding was beautiful. The reception was lovely.

Congratulations, Mary and Joel!

Wedding Brunch Planning

So, what did I do Monday?

• Sorted and started laundry
• Went to breakfast at my favorite bagel shop
• Purchased wedding brunch paper goods (plates, napkins, cups, utensils) at Party America
• Grocery shopped at Reasor's Grocery Store
• Wrote a Saturday wedding brunch e-mail manifesto
• Created the wedding brunch grocery shopping list
• Planned my wedding brunch activities for remainder of the week

Heh heh.

I'm reviewing my manifesto and related Tuesday "things to do" list.

Finishing laundry is high on that list!

Family Wedding Drama

Our youngest niece in Oklahoma City has been planning her August, 2010 wedding for some time.

For a variety of reasons, during the long planning process there have been several changes. In the last couple of months, the plans have come together and the vision of the wedding and reception were becoming reality.

Reality has suddenly had to change.

Her fiance's father received notice that he is being deployed to Afghanistan.

As of this writing, they do not know the exact deployment date, but it will be soon. Her sweet fiance does not want to get married without his father present, and who could blame him?

So, guess what? We are having a wedding on March 6th!

It will be beautiful and happy.

We are so proud of our niece. She has seen her planned dream wedding turned upside down and she is being the absolute opposite of a Bridezilla. She is focused on what her fiance needs to make their wedding day happy.

We could not be more proud.

August 27, 1994

What were you doing on August 27, 1994?

The Husband and I stood before our immediate family and closest friends and pledged to love one another.

Here's to the next 15 years!

P.S. I just yesterday threw away my wedding planning files.

Oh. Yes. I. Did.

Fifteen years after the fact. Seriously?

I also threw away files from our niece's wedding in our backyard in 1996. I will say, to my credit, both sets of files were neatly organized!

In the future, I vow to quit keeping stuff like this for so long.

Baby Shower

A year ago today, The Husband and I were in Midland, Texas for the wedding of my husband's brother's, wife's, sister's son (got that?) to a lovely girl.

Yesterday, I was in Okemah, OK for a shower to make sure Katherine Elizabeth has everything she needs waiting for her at her debut in August.

Below, left to right, Margaret (Matt's mom), Callie, and Lisa (Callie's mom).

Erica, cousin-in-law and shower co-hostess, made the cutest diaper cake for the shower.  

The party was at a restaurant named the Hen House, which is just adorable.

I met some lovely women at this function and will share a profound quote from one of them in a future post.

Why Did I Name this Blog Cindy's Clipboard?

Many years ago, in a previous work assignment, I occasionally carried a clipboard to keep track of various papers that contained important information.  Also, many years ago, The Husband and I were asked to host our oldest niece's wedding at our house.   Of course, I had to keep various important papers together for that event. On the day of the wedding, my clipboard caused great amusement to a cousin-in-law.  From that event until today, she has never let me forget it.  And, to tell you the truth, even though I would be considered an early adopter of new technology, I still firmly believe nothing does the trick better than my good, old, trusty clipboard for some jobs.  Check back before Thanksgiving, 2009 and I'll tell you about the annual trip to the grocery store.

So, here's a "shout out" to Cousin Char for helping me (even though she doesn't know it yet) name my blog.