The Devil is in the details...

Before I got side-tracked by my Post Office stories, I was going to update folks from out-of-town about the hotel accomodations. The update is that I am still working on it. I will probably choose a hotel this weekend after I have a chance to call back to one hotel that is in the running. So, stay tuned!

Save the Date cards are in the mail!

I'm a little late with this update, but Save the Date cards for the wedding went out on Tuesday! I wonder how long it will take all of them to get where they are going? I don't mean to be a naysayer of the great United States Postal Service, but I remember receiving mail that had been sent three months previously. By the time I got the thing, it had cancellation stamps from twenty-three different Post Offices on it. Okay, I pay our bills online. Obviously I am a Postal Service naysayer because I have more faith in the internet security versus cybertheives than I have in the good ole USPS.

That's not to say that there aren't great people working for the Post Office. The folks at the Inverness office are always wonderful. They are perky and the service is quick. I have some doubts about a couple of people at the Dunnellon Post Office, though. When we moved in to our house, we didn't get any mail at all for almost two full weeks. Come to find out, they had been returning it to sender because there was no known address. Apparently, the brand new house on the street with 8490 on the front of it with four inch numbers, the brand new mailbox and we that are directly across the street from 8489 was not obvious enough for anyone to realize that the address existed. However, when you go into the Dunnellon Post Office, they aren't quite as perky as the folks in Inverness, but they are insanely rapid quick. Everytime I go in there, I have to race to get everything together before I get called to the counter. In Tampa, there was no rush. When I went to the Post Office, I knew I would be a nice long while.

Chaos Theory and The Toe

So, you've heard of Chaos Theory, right? It's something to the effect of if a guy in Bangladesh sneezes then a piano will fall on a guy in Jersey. I'll be honest. My toe hurts. While I was getting ready for work yesterday morning, I got my toe caught in the drain in the bathroom sink. No, not my big toe, it was the toe next to it. I'm not sure what went wrong but I think Chaos Theory is the only reasonable explaination.

Hmm...

Planning a wedding is really expensive.

The Marion Hotel

Our wedding will be held in the ballroom of this delightful vintage hotel. The Ocala community financed the $500,000 first-class Marion Hotel which opened its doors in early 1927. Today, the former hotel is known as the Sovereign Building and is primarily used as office space. However, Salon 209 controls the ballroom space and rents it for various functions.

The ballroom itself is old and possesses an unique character that is woefully lacking in modern construction. Today, it seems that the preference is for cookie-cutter design and washed-out neutral color schemes specifically constructed to feed the modern obsession with creating spaces void of character so that a space can be all things to all people. Most people I know would pass on this venue, but I love it because it is an oddity. I am really happy that we found a place that is distinct in its own right.

Thanksgiving Week Review

Wow!! It hardly seems like I had a whole week off of work... Lots of things happened this week including a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner with my parents and some serious wedding planning.

Thanksgiving started a little crazy. I made a 25 pound turkey for the family and it fought back. The story is this... turkey makers lie to you when they print on the label how long it takes to defrost a frozen turkey. They lie and that is all there is to it. So, I had to wrestle with the turkey to run water through it in an attempt to defrost it a little quicker. Yeah. Needless to say, there was a lot of water and a few curse words flying around the kitchen. Seven hours later, we ate a fabulous meal with all of the trimmings. For anyone who has never had it, I highly recommend pumpkin cheesecake!

I am extremely excited to report that we have located a wedding venue in Ocala that will suit our needs perfectly. I am in love with it and Michael thinks it's pretty cool. Step one: check! I also spent a good deal of time calling hotels to reserve a block of rooms for those of you coming from out of town. I will have more to report after I make a few more calls early this week. And finally, I finished the Save the Date cards which will go out in a day or two. Michael had a great time licking the envelopes. The fabulous flavor reminded him of how George killed his fiance with envelopes on Seinfeld...

How time flies...

It seems like just yesterday that we were packing to move. It is now six months later and we have finally started wedding planning again. Yea!!


A summary of the last six months in our world:

• We will never do business with AAction Property Management or Forrest Atlantic Builders. 1.) No one had bothered to run electic to our house and we found out the day we were moving in and everything we owned was in a moving truck on the front lawn of the house. We ended up having to move into a different house after arguing with AAction's rental agent for 3 1/2 hours. No one ever took responsiblity; no one ever apologized. 2.) Six months later, there are still outstanding work requests for things never completed in the home. 3.) A pipe burst in the bedroom of our BRAND NEW home and we had to live in the living room for two weeks while AAction got around to fixing the problem. 4.) The list goes on, but we'll stop here...
• Jamie got a job teaching Geography and World History at Citrus High School a week after we moved. This was extra fantastic because it was the only Social Science position in Citrus County and there were more than fifty applicants for the position.
• Michael got a position at Twisted Oaks and then started the Law Enforcement academy at CFCC in September. Between the two, his only free time is Sunday. There was no Crossover academy available in our area to enroll in for classes, so he has to complete a full academy including all of the coursework he had already completed for Corrections. However, after he graduates in June, he will be able to work as a road deputy instead of having to baby-sit 72 inmates all day long.

Our biggest problem is that we do not have enough time. Jamie spends all of her time preparing lesson plans for two classes she has never taught and Michael spends all of his time working or in class. But, we're making do until next summer when Michael graduates and goes back to working one regular job!