"Independent George" vs. "Relationship George"

One of the funniest Seinfeld episodes had Costanza's world's colliding; a power struggle between independent George and relationship George....when his friends started interacting with his fiancee. I had one such "collision of world's" last night when six guys came over to my house for men's Bible study. At the end of the night, after most of them had visited the bathroom, one guy brought out the orange magazine that had been resting on the back of the toilet and questioned my reading material. He wondered how I'd hidden my affection for quilting and sewing so well. Now the secret was out...and they all died with laughter while reading the "Today I will..." statements aloud. Oh yes, I knew that Decorating Style magazine that Amanda Faye stratigically left behind was going to get me in trouble, but that's why I'd turned it face down, trying to balance my fiancee's effort to introduce culture into my carnivorous, grunting-to-communicate bachelor pad.

Yes, "Relationship Russ" has won the war, but it's ok...the ember of independence is impossible to extinguish! The bathroom magazine as of this morning is...

Costume Party '06

What a perfect, sunny, crisp, fall weekend; just right for a Halloween costume party at Mike's house. Mike just moved in a couple weeks ago, so we officially broke in his new place. Amanda Faye was (and is) an incredibly beautiful Southern belle and I went as her Confederate officer suitor. She knew of a great costume store in town that rents thousands of great outfits, practically anything you can think of.

Here's Mike taking his Sumo stance.
Paula wore her '50's "sock-hopp" outfit, made complete by the old glasses.

Lisa offered to fix our leaky pipes in her plumber outfit and tool belt.
"Can some-budy pleaz fetch mah shawl? It certainly is a tad draftea in heah."

Nobody ever said it was easy being pretty...and those hoop skirts can be so troublesome, it just wears a person out.

NYC Trip

Taylor, Amanda Faye, and I had a blast in chilly New York City last weekend. We really put our navigation skills and Taylor's endurance to the test as we drove into Manhattan and proceeded to walk about 10 miles or more. We accomplished as much in our day trip as possible, taking in the Empire State Building (from 86th floor observatory), the WTC site, Times Square, Statue of Liberty (from across the Hudson River), Trump Tower, FAO Swartz (see Tom Hanks' "Big" piano above), Rockefeller Center, Disney store, Cartier on Fifth Ave., rode the subway, drove through the Lincoln tunnel, and passed by Joe Torre on the sidewalk.

Taylor has a really generous heart and wanted to give money to every homeless person we passed, one of which was singing into the bottom of his crutch. By the end of the day, she was walking boldly through the mass of pedestrians, parting the way like she'd lived there all her life. I'm glad Taylor's seen the city and has experienced the expanse and chaos of it. The buildings weren't as tall as she'd expected, the pizza was only as good as what she gets locally, and the subway scared her so much she didn't think she'd be able to do it. Maybe now she'll be more inclined to attend ACU and live near her parents in the suburbs. If so, the trip to the city was well worth it!

Best Vacation Ever (sorry VH1)

What an incredible vacation! The weather didn't cooperate every day and I caught a cold mid-week, but having the whole family there made it the best. It's been almost 10 years since that last happened. Thank you, Kristy and Karen, for making the trip. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for maintaining the villa ownership. We've made a lot of great memories there over the years, and have more to make.

I'm glad my family was able to get to know Amanda Faye prior to the wedding and spend some time getting to know her. She enjoyed the week immensely, weathered the whole family, shared a full size bed with Taylor, and is still willing to marry me!

This years great memories include Paolo's, Shillington CoC, seeing our John St. and Sinking Spring houses again, Wes and Joelle, karaoke, Shutzenfest '06, canoeing, Cabela's, and multiple daily feasts. After months of anticipation, I can't believe it's over already.

Is it October '07 yet?