For Auld Lang Syne

On New Year's Eve 2004, we were living in Galesburg.  I waited tables and Walker showed up at the back door at closing with a plate of cookies he'd baked as I left work.  I think we went to a bar then.  Crappy's, maybe?  I was so happy to have made it out of work in time to spend that minute with Walker. 

On New Year's Eve 2005, we were living at Mom's.  I'd just enlisted in Americorps and been hired by a nonprofit.  It was time for us to find our own place.  Mom drove of Walker and I up and down the streets of Lincoln Square looking for an apartment.  It was freezing.  She and Amy listened to Wicked on audiobook.  When we saw a sign in a window, we'd hope out of the van.  We eventually drove by a building with a red door, a rainbow in the window, and a sign with the words "huge yard.  dogs welcome".  It was perfect.  I asked the guy how much at least three times, I wanted to be SURE it was really in our range.  We went back to mom's and ate pizza and played Nintendo with Amy's friend.  I bemoaned our lack of New Year's Eve plans.  Why don't we have plans, cool one, I asked Walker.  You're supposed to be the cool one, he said. 

On New Year's Eve 2006 we were in Amsterdam, walking for hours and hours on end.  Surprised by the volume of fireworks, the children in the street, and the lack of countdown at midnight.  We almost missed the ringing in of the new year, locked in the bathroom from the outside at the place where we were renting a room.  We asked and asked, but couldn't figure out how to get a phone card, so eventually broke down and called Mom and Amy collect.  Later, Dad would scold us for the cost of the call.  Mom would whisper to me "It was worth it!  It was like we were there!"

2007, we were in Bangalore, staying at the apartment of a friend from high school.  We took an auto-rickshaw to MG Drive.  When we arrived, people told us I shouldn't be there, too many bad boys, but it sounded like more selling.  Then we realized there were no women there.  By then it was too late and I was mobbed.  Then I was screaming and cursing.  We paid twice as much to another auto-rickshaw to flee a very bad situation, and ended up buying bread and sambar from a random open door down the street from where we were staying. The sambar came in a plastic bag, tied with string, like a goldfish.  We watched fireworks from the balcony, eating our food, while I wept and cursed over the very unexpected happening we had fled.

2008, we'd planned to amtrak to Bismark to visit Annie.  On December 23rd, our trouble-maker VW died for the last time, in the parking lot of the Jewel grocery store, blocks from Mom's house, with Christmas food, presents, and a cat inside.  The next morning, I looked up used cars on consumer reports, then found just the right car for way below blue book.  Mom lent us the cash so we could make the transaction happen.  We drove home with our new car, then mom and I headed out to file the papers at a money exchange.  We cancelled our train tickets the next day, and drove to Bismark to see our Annie, and spent New Years at Gypsy Foot show with way too much champagne, then spent the wee hours of the morning in a stranger's basement.

(I have gorgeous photos that belong here, and between the following paragraphs, but blogger is being a turd right now, so no dice.)

2009 we spent at Claire Springs Farm in Monroe.  We'd just announced we were getting married.  We spent the night dancing and acting silly with our closest friends.  I love being at the farm.  The next day I sat with my laptop googling farms for rent, and realized there was a very nice farm outside Galesburg -- the site of our wedding seven months later.


2010 we spent in Castara, Tobago at the Boatview, on our honeymoon.  We'd been slow on scheduling our honeymoon, but with the loss of Biggie, we decided to pull the trigger and make it happen.  It would mean that in I didn't see my mom from December 22nd to mid-January, the last Christmas of my mother's life.  Tobago was so laid back we amost couldn't make sense of it -- for instance, they prefer if you buy booze from them, or you can bring your own in.  Whatever.  We met a man named who claimed to be Keith Richards who was most definitely not.  Walker eyed the candles in paper bags on each table suspiciously until finally, at about one a.m., a bag caught on fire, much to our amusement, and relief, since now, at least, we could stop waiting for it to happen.

Tomorrow we are headed back to Claire Springs Farm to ring in the new year with some of our closest friend in the world.  It is with tears in my eyes the last time I rang in the new year there, it was with a much different picture of the future in mind. 

As kids we rang in most our New Years with our parents; if they had plans, we pleading with them to be home at midnight. 1998, I got home from a trip to New York at 11 pm on New Year's Eve.  My mom and dad had just come home from somewhere; we rang int he new year in the kitchen eating snacks.

The day my mom drove us up and down the streets of Chicago, and later like a child I moaned about my lack of new year's plans -- that was my last new years with my mom.  

This year looked nothing like I expected, and I am glad to see it go.

Good riddance, 2011.  I have nothing sweet or sappy to say about you. Yes, you've shown me that my friends and family and husband are amazing, loving, supportive people, but I already knew that.  I didn't need proof.  2011, you took my mother and abused my sister.

2012, please be kind.

Wedding Leftovers

For our wedding we bought strands and strands of custom papel picado, in red, orange, yellow, and white from Casa Bonampak.  It wasn't cheap, but I was in love with the delicate paper banners.

On our wedding day, after days of prep in the sweltering sun, we woke up to clouds and rain, with forecasts of much more rain to come.  The banners  didn't make it up, save for a few in the barn and a few in our room to surprise us after the reception.   

I was sad I'd bought this expensive thing, and felt silly that I HAD to have it, and then didn't use it, but I truly love them, and we can hang them as we celebrate our anniversary for years to come.

I've been rallying against my pain and sadness, trying to show it whose boss, which mainly means DOING THINGS.  I finally framed a flag of each red, orange, and yellow, so we can enjoy them every day.  This is the largest size of float frame, available at Micheal's or Jo-Ann Fabrics (and often for half off with a coupon or sale).

I was just planning to post our rad and finally framed papel picado, but then I realized I'm SURROUNDED by stuff from our wedding, and how happy it makes me.

This one is Walker's favorite.  We supplied chalkboards made from thrifted picture frames and blackboard pain for use in the photobooth. This one, presumably written by one of the cousins pictured here, is a play on Walker's last name, spelled h-a-e-u-s.


It somehow survived till the next day despite the extensive partying and constant rain. Now it's sealed with hairspray and behind glass, hanging above our dining room/kitchen pass through

Turkish evil eyes, favors at our wedding, are strung in the window.

Our cake toppers from Leslie, friend of main man's mom and mom of main man's high school friend.  They live in the curiosity cabinet and still make me happy every time I see them. 

Milk glass planters with succulents used as centerpieces,  and old movie theatre marquee letters, decorations at the wedding.  The ampersand came in the mail on our wedding day -- how fitting!  Only twelve of the wedding succulents remain, but not bad considering I had no idea what I was doing when I split the originally. 

Day of the Dead bride and groom shadow box, from my mom.  Sort of.  I loved it, and my mom said, as she did many times,"buy it for yourself from me, and I'll pay you back!"  It hangs above a portrait that main man's aunt did of Mom from the photo on her memorial cards. 

Party flags made for our pre-wedding pizza party, larger versions of what I made to deck out our wedding cupcakes, are perfect for cheering on our mucking good times.

 

And of course, DISHES.  Lots and lot and lots of dishes.  We kept about 1/3 of the place settings, and they've been used at five events since our wedding -- a funeral, two yard parties, a brunch, and a Canadian Thanksgiving.  The jars and mugs have also made many part appearances.

A very big year.

A year and a day ago, I married my man man, my best friend, and then danced the night away.

At 3 a.m. after the last guests had boarded the school bus back to the hotel, we pulled the plug on the lights, and wandered back to our cottage to find that good friends and cousins had cleared our bed of the getting ready debris, hung papel picado through the house, and decorated the mirror.  We collapsed into bed, husband and wife.

We woke up at six a.m. and lay in bed reading the guest book note cards.  Then we left breakfast bars and juice at the tent door of our campers, and headed to the wedding tent to straighten up and gather up some flowers, before heading to the bowling alley for one last wedding hoorah.

As we about to leave the bowling alley, we got word that our family van,  Big Red, which had been incorrectly parked at the wedding and thus made it into the wedding photos, broke down.  Exploded, some say.  Eventually, another van would be borrowed and it would break down too.  Then Amy and Dad would ride home in that van on the back of a truck.    My mom fretted, and I laughed. 

Annie, Walker, and I started the longest wedding cleanup ever, while Mom spent another night at the inn with Amy who awaited Dad with the second doomed van.  Three people took down what had taken many more to put up.

At some point we realized we'd forgotten to have our officiant, Xavier, our dean from undergrad, sign the marriage certificate, and we headed to his house to remedy that.  Annie headed back to Springfield, and Mom saw off Amy and joined us in in the last of the cleanup.

When we returned to the farm, the big white tent was gone, the tables and chairs were loaded on a truck bed.  Our uhaul of plants and furniture and plates and vases and jars was packed.  The delicate items were in the car.  We were beat, and it was time to go.
 

First, we posed for final sentimental photos of the farm (love the timer).  When we left, I wept that our wedding was over.

Mom, Walker, and I arrived home exhausted, and basked in the air conditioning to a dinner of PB&J and potato chips, the food stash we'd bought from Aldi's as a just-in-case for our guest and campers, and beers in awesome steins (A&W 2010) from some of our favorite people in the world.

In the year that followed, we went on Amy's Make-a-Wish trip to Florida.  I started a new job.  Walker got a fellowship.  Walker started a new job.  We ran our first 5k with my sis.  We celebrated my birthday with my mom and sisters, and our most favorite Indian food from Chicago, picked up by Mom and brought downstate.  We celebrated Halloween with my sister.  We got a new niece.  We lost Biggie, my step-brother, and a week later, my amazing friend lost her brother.  We and Annie, accompanied by Mom and Amy, ran a race on Thanksgiving morning, wearing tshirts honoring Biggie and swearing we'd make running on Thanksgiving a tradition.  We spent our first Christmas with Walker's family and away from mine.  We went on our honeymoon to Trindad and Tobago.  We flew through Houston on our way home and saw four beautiful faces, two who we hadn't seen in years.   We visited Walker's grandparents in Palm Springs.  We celebrated Easter and decorated eggs as a family, for the first time in years.  We ran the Illinois marathon relay.  We lost my mom.  We celebrated my mom.  We took in my mom's dog.  We started our new life without here.  We finished grad school.  We had a Luau for Amy's 24th birthday.  We visited Tacoma, celebrated Papa, spent time with our marine, and met a new cousin with the best name ever -- Annie.  We moved Annie to Chicago to start her new job and new life.  I didn't get the job I wanted.

And, on the day before our first anniversary, we followed through on what we said we'd do to celebrate.  We competed in the Mudathlon -- 3.3 miles, 44 obstacles, and a LOT of mud.

We are still standing.  Here's to the next year and the next.

Engagement Photos of Married People

Our two biggest expenditures for our wedding were the music and our photographer.  We want great music to surround us and feed our fun, and we wanted great photos to take away from the day.  

We were going to skip engagement photos, but read it's a great way to get familiar with your photographer and get comfortable having your photo taken, and what the heck -- we've never had photos taken of us before.  

Kari Beford rules.  I'll post about our AMAZING wedding photos soon, but today, engagement photos.  We had fun, and she made us look good.  This is such an understatement.  I hate having my photo taken, and was a nervous wreck.  One of us may have been wearing dirty un-ironed clothes.  She put us at ease, and we felt like we were hanging out with a friend.  And she drove mud-covered us around in her van.

Our Reception Video!

Allison + Walker from Josh Hester on Vimeo.

DIY Photobooth

Details of construction and all our troubleshooting woes will follow in a future post. For now, feast your eyes on awesome. More photos here.

New photos, from Elliott

These are wonderful, and exactly what I needed to see, sent to Walker by his cousin, shot by her rad boyfriend.  My own mental images of the wedding are so close up that I find myself to unable to remember it.  It was an incredibly long day of vivid moments that now are a blur.