Skip to main content

The First to Fly the Coop

I have failed to mention that I am the proud and giddy older sister of a recently engaged sibling.

My first little sis C got popped the question atop of the Navy Pier ferris wheel on the 27th of December. Her dreamy boy K was quite good at keeping it a surprise (NOT doing it on Christmas Day) while also making her the happiest little event planner in the whole wide world!

I can say that I could see her smile across the miles when she told me after we got back from our holiday in Tunisia. A holiday that almost cost me hearing it straight from her!

It was only by chance that I called my dad on New Year's Day from Africa (at a VERY EXPENSIVE AMOUNT) just to say hello and let my family know where I was staying.

(yes, I realize that since I knew where we were staying 4 months ago, it would have been wise to email them then to avoid panic and worry while I was away but procrastination is definitely a friend of mine)

The only thing my dad said in our 2 minute conversation besides "Happy New Year" and "No, everything is fine" was "Have you talked to your sister?"

My suspicions were aroused and all I could do as the time ticked on was shout out "Get her to call me! I'm at the Sahara Beach hotel in Tunisia. Love you." Click. Bye bye.

Little did I know there are about 50 Sarhara Beach hotels in Tunisia. Well, if you know what to do if you ever want to disappear...

The first thing I did was call her when we finally got back to Belfast. Lucky thing as I already had a couple of congrats emails in my inbox so checking email at the airport would have been disasterous.

What was so sweet about the whole thing (besides the fact I was so excited beaming ear to ear) was that she contained herself for OVER A WEEK! to tell the world, just to make sure that I WOULDN'T find out.

There are many words I want to say and write to her and the world about this whole event but I think they are best saved for the likes of hen nights and wedding speeches.

What I can say is that this is bringing our tight knit family to a whole new level. It's so wonderful to be able to get excited about an event, like we would when we would go on family holidays to Disney World.

Considering it's over a year away, looks like we'll have lots of time to get giddy about it!

Parent Planning

That was just the preamble to what I really wanted to post today. In this Meet-the-Parents/Meet-the-Fockers world, I thought you could all appreciate the email that my mom sent my sister in regards to her opinions on the venue short list.

(The names of the venues have been removed but I have placed descriptions that should explain well enough)

(Old-movie-theatre-turned-event-venue) is really neat. Mom says "I LOVE the Art Deco look and this would be a really cool place for the wedding and the reception". Dad says, "very nice dear" Mom's first choice. Dad doesn't care.

(Fancy-golf-course-venue) is pretty. Dad loves golf courses. Dad's first choice. Mom doesn't care.

(Formal-classic-venue) is very...grand that is. Mom says " I love the classic look... very elegant" Dad says "very nice dear." Mom's 2nd choice. Dad doesn't care.

(Fancy-hotel-on-the-water-venue) Dad says "great to have hotel at reception". Mom says boring. Dad's 2nd choice. Mom's last choice.

(Castle-princess-wedding-venue). Mom says "lah dee dah. Will there be tourists in the pictures? Dad says "very nice dear" Mom's 3rd choice. Dad doesn't care.

(Waterside-corporate-event-type-venue)Atlantis. Mom says "there's a lot of water". Dad says "very nice dear". Mom's 5th choice. Dad doesn't care.

Dad goes for convenience and services. Mom goes for unique and elegant. Either way, you can't go wrong with any of the above.

Hope this helps. We'll be there even if it's at (Main-train-station-venue)!....hey did you look into that one?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

They Started a Heat Wave

(sing) a tropical heat wave.... (White Christmas fans? anyone? c'mon..) Yes, there is a heat wave, with warm sun and highs of 30 but NOT HERE IN KOREA. Yes, it is warm and humid but there is no sun. Do you want to know where the sun has ended up? BELFAST!! Lucky bastards....I wanted a tan by August gosh darnit - I should have stayed with the Guinness. And, it wouldn't have been a day on this blog without some reference to the weather. The weekend was a nice long relaxing one but super panic hit on Monday night and I was ready to get out of the house. I was freaking out yet again about the garbage (what the hell is wrong with me?) and didn't have a great sleep. There is something to be said for cooping yourself up in your house to watch English speaking DVDs for a day. But I think this only stops you from experiencing the culture. I did venture out on Saturday by bus (whoa, crazy bus drivers) to Pusan where the open markets you can barter and get cheap shirts - thanks to my...

I'm baaaack!

Hard to believe that last entry was almost three years ago! Many moons ago, I set this blog up to chronicle our journeys. Once we were grounded a bit more, it kind of lost its way. I spent some time working on my writing offline, taking on different projects and working full time as a technical writer. It was difficult to keep this blog up. Not for any real reason I can articulate. Just had my words redirected to other avenues for awhile. But, I'm pleased to say, after over a decade away, we are back in the UK, living and re-experiencing a place we enjoyed in the mid-2000s. Social media has certainly changed the way we look at blogs. I'm excited to navigate this new world, explore just what people post, what people read. What's better on one of the many new platforms and what's still appropriate for good old fashioned blogosphere. For now, here's a peek at where we're staying -- in a pretty little village just outside of Oxford. A temporary home ...

Korean Drivers Manual

1 - First and foremost, you are the only car on the road. Please drive this way. 2 - Be sure to keep a tally of the number of pedestrians you hit. 10 points for old ladies, 20 for young children (they can run faster you see). You can also add 5 points for each near miss and pat yourself on the back for trying. 3 - Red lights can tend to get in the way of your driving. Simply proceed through them if you need to. Honk your horn to make sure the cars that actually have the right of way know you'll be sailing through the intersection. 4 - Signalling is recommended but your car does not have blind spots. Just go ahead an change lanes. 5 - It works best if you keep one foot on the gas and one foot on the brakes at all times. This will allow you to continually pump the breaks all the way down the street avoiding 'other cars' while still revving your engine and going at the speed of light during those intervals when you are not slamming on your brakes. (By 'other cars' I ...