From Miss to Misses

Yesterday I finally got my act together and hunted down the Iowa City social security office. I took with me my marriage license, social security card and driver's license. A nice lady sitting behind a counter looked the documents over, had me sign a few things and officially declared that my last name is no longer what it has been for the last 27 years.

So, now I am in this odd state of limbo. My new social security card with my updated name has not arrived yet, so I can't start the process of changing my bank accounts, credit cards, driver's license and other important documents over into my new name. But I'm also not technically named my old name anymore. Strange stuff.

In other news we are still house-hunting. We found one very likely candidate and got in to see it the day after it went on the market, only to have someone buy it right out from under our noses. We have seen this ultra-quick turn-around a dozen times or more in the last months since we started our hunt. It is frustrating, to say the least, because Brian and I can't help but feel we'd like more than a handful of hours to think about and discuss such a large decision as handing over our entire joint savings and tying ourselves to a particular spot on the map for the foreseeable future. Apparently others in Iowa City don't feel the same hesitation.

Anyway, having grown frustrated both with conventional ways of buying a home and the conventionality of the homes available for sale, Brian and I have started pipe-dreaming about building our own. I've been reading a lot about straw-bale building, and decided to draw up some plans.

downstairs

upstairs

After all, should we suddenly and miraculously acquire some land and a lot of straw, we want to be prepared.

Herbal Suppliments

So, here is some trivia for you. What do all these products, Colon xR, Acai Noni and Vital RezV, all have have in common?


Well, to be honest, we are not exactly sure - other than they are produced and relentlessly marketed by people who exploit those with low self-esteem and a fear of death to make money. Until recently, Brian and I remained blissfully unaware such products existed. When all of a sudden these little bottles of pills started showing up in our mail, their packaging and sales-pitches rapidly became all-too-familiar.

At first it was a losing battle. The pills would arrive. I would call the distributor and cancel the account I'd never opened, checking my credit card statement again and again for charges that did not appear - thinking perhaps some other poor soul was footing the bill for the bottles we received.

Finally, today, we solved the mystery. It turns out we are indeed the victims of strange form of credit-card fraud. Someone stole my name, our address, and Brian's phone and card numbers. This person did not indulge in a shopping spree at Walmart or Best Buy. He or she did not book a ticket to Europe, or sell the information off to their friends and family so others could do any of the above.

No, most diabolical of all diabolic schemes, this person simply signed us up to receive every type of herbal supplement with a "free trial, you pay shipping only" promotion out there on the internet. The three brands shown above have already come in the mail. We have reason to believe a few more are on the way.

Luckily, all these companies require a valid credit card before they ship the pills, so when the number fails the flood should cease. Until then, we are hoping to make up for all the irritation by selling the pills on ebay at a huge profit to people with low self-esteem and a fear of death. It's either that or take the pills and go on with clear digestive systems, slim figures, and lives that will last forever.

Wed

At the risk of seeming redundant, as I have already posted photos on facebook, and Brian has also done a wonderful wedding post, I am going to regale all my readers with the tale of our nuptials.

First, my parents outdid themselves getting the house ready for the grand event. This is just one of the many impressive features they added - a back deck and bridge leading over the warsh towards the horse corral.

At the front of the house, we had the ceremony. We don't have any pictures of that yet as the actual real wedding photos are still on their way to us from our photographer.


The ceremony went well. I didn't start crying until the very end, which I thought was pretty darn good, considering many people seated in front of me lost it before that. We then proceeded to mingle for a while and finally my uncle and the band forced us out onto the floor for a first dance,


I think we did all right. There was no falling over, no stepping on toes and after a while others joined in to rescue us from the horrid fate of being looked at too much.

Other highlights of the evening included the cakes,

seeing the Gutpluckers dressed in a pseudo-respectable fashion in honor of the occasion,


and much spirited dancing. Partly behind the enthusiasm, I think, was the fact that the night did turn fairly cold. People needed to kick up their heels to keep themselves warm.

After the festivities began to break up, Brian and I took ourselves (and several plastic cups tied to our bumper) off to Hacienda del Sol for some hardcore relaxation. Our room was beautiful, as were the grounds, the food, the weather, the mountains. We even hung my bouquet up and it stayed fresh for days.


Our suite had a little back patio of which we availed ourselves our last evening there, watching the sun set on the mountains and drinking port.

All in all, we could not have had a nicer time and to now return home so well rested is pretty great too. Married life, here we come.

Taking our Time

This morning we woke up in the darkness, our alarm theoretically going off the same time as usual, but in reality we had one less hour of sleep under our belts. Now we are yawning a lot, sipping our coffee and staring into the blackness out the window. Why? Because daylight savings time just turned off again. My mind doesn't object to the theory of this practice, but it hurts my body a little. My body is telling me it's not time to get up yet, silly.

Our house-hunt has continued with a great deal of earnestness and effort on our part and not a lot of cooperation from the Iowa City housing market. We have yet to find an adorable home in the handful of neighborhoods where we want to live that will both suit our needs and keep us out of a large, unrealistic mortgage. But that's really ok, because buying a house will be a much easier thing after we are officially married.

And the wedding in less than a week away. On Thursday we will touch down in Tucson. A couple days after that, we will tie the knot.