Inside the music: Such Great Heights

Joe writes:

This song is a relatively new one to Paula and me. Maybe you’ve heard it:

Hear that cool keyboard music in the background? It’s actually the opening to one of the greatest love songs we’ve heard in a while. Shame on UPS for distorting it. It’s almost as awful as a cruise liner using a song about heroin addiction to sell vacations.

Here’s the real song, “Such Great Heights,” by The Postal Service.

What else can I say? Of course it’s on our wedding CD, because the lyrics are perfect. “I am thinking it’s a sign / that the freckles in our eyes / are mirror images and when we kiss they’re perfectly aligned.” That’s the first line. Are you kidding me? That line alone makes me wanna make out. And I’m a dude. It’s a perfect little song that talks about how great it is to be in love, and how others can’t bring us down.

Right price takes the cake

We got a cake ordered! Woot!

Yeah, it’s, like, two weeks to the wedding. But we didn’t want to overpay. A while ago, my mom said she would take care of the cake. All we had to do was order it. But, as you’ve probably gathered from reading this blog, the wedding industry is highway robbery. And the cost of a cake just seemed like a way for bakers to take advantage of well-to-do fathers meeting the demands of spoiled daughters.

Seriously. It’s not like Proust had his madeleine moment with wedding cake. Sure, they look pretty, what with all the fancy icing, multiple layers, crazy themes, lighted pillars, escaping-groom toppers and such, but is all that really necessary? And whose idea was it to freeze a portion and eat it on the first anniversary? Paula and I have this crazy notion: For our first anniversary, we were thinking fresh cake might taste better. Wedding cake is one of the most overpriced things imaginable, and any baker that charges more than $100 for one should be tarred and feathered with fondant and Twinkies.

I didn’t want Mom paying a king’s ransom for a sugary delicacy that will look pretty. We found exactly what we were looking for at Dillon’s in Joplin. It’s a sheet cake with an 8-inch roundcake on top of it. White with silver leaves. Looks awesome, and the price is right: About $60.

Inside the music: Island in the Sun

Hip, hip.

In retrospect, it was probably mean of me to introduce this song to Paula. At the time, she was just getting used to living in Joplin, missing the awesome people she used to work with in Springfield, experiencing bad customer service and mistreatment from Joplin-area vendors. And making it worse: I was headed to Florida for some beachtime without her.

But this song has become a favorite of mine. It makes me think about her, because it makes me want to think about the future with her. It’s always fun planning a getaway with a special person, and — no offense to our Joplin friends — there’s plenty in this town from which to get away. I love dreaming about the future with her. This song reminds me of all the places I want to take her, all the things I want to show her, because I know she’ll find each place magical.

Here’s the lyrics:

Hip hip
Hip hip
Hip hip
Hip hip

When you’re on a holiday
You can’t find the words to say
All the things that come to you
And I wanna feel it too

On an island in the sun
We’ll be playing and having fun
And it makes me feel so fine
I can’t control my brain

Hip hip
Hip hip

When you’re on a golden sea
You don’t need no memory
Just a place to call your own
As we drift into the zone

On an island in the sun
We’ll be playing and having fun
And it makes me feel so fine
I can’t control my brain

We’ll run away together
We’ll spend some time forever
We’ll never feel bad anymore

Hip hip
Hip hip
Hip hip

On an island in the sun
We’ll be playing and having fun
And it makes me feel so fine
I can’t control my brain

We’ll run away together
We’ll spend some time forever
We’ll never feel bad anymore

Surgery day

Joe writes:

In a few hours, Paula and I will be driving to Springfield, so she can undergo wrist fusion surgery. This is necessary to address the Kienbock’s disease in her left wrist. The pain she has suffered has been massive, but she is also worried about the surgery and the results of it. I’m hoping it takes away the pain for good… the pain has been so bad for her lately, that she chose to wear a cast on her wrist during the wedding.

Whether you hope, pray or wish really hard for things, I would appreciate you doing that for Paula, so she can have a successful surgery and a speedy, pain-free recovery. That would be the best wedding present of all.

Inside the Music: Feels Like Home

Paula writes:

This one is called “Feels Like Home” and it is by Chantal Kreviazuk.

This is one of the songs we chose(ok, ok, so I chose this one) for our wedding soundtrack that actually is a mushy love song. I am woman enough to admit that it makes me cry like a little girl.

Somethin’ in your eyes, makes me wanna lose myself
Makes me wanna lose myself, in your arms
There’s somethin’ in your voice, makes my heart beat fast
Hope this feeling lasts, the rest of my life

If you knew how lonely my life has been
And how long I’ve been so alone
And if you knew how I wanted someone to come along
And change my life the way you’ve done

It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me
It feels like I’m all the way back where I come from
It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me
It feels like I’m all the way back where I belong

A window breaks, down a long, dark street
And a siren wails in the night
But I’m alright, ’cause I have you here with me
And I can almost see, through the dark there is light

Well, if you knew how much this moment means to me
And how long I’ve waited for your touch
And if you knew how happy you are making me
I never thought that I’d love anyone so much

It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me
It feels like I’m all the way the back where I come from
It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me
It feels like I’m all the way back where I belong
It feels like I’m all the way back where I belong

I can’t really say anything about this one that the lyrics don’t already say.

Where Joe is, that is my home.

Another punch in the purse; man status fully achieved

Joe writes:

It’s probably just the way of the world. But our wedding savings took yet another hit this weekend. That sucks, especially when everything was starting to look up.

A little background: Paula and I are paying for the wedding ourselves. We both think the wedding industry involves legal highway robbery, so we’ve been doing what we can to keep things on the cheapies. But that has been tough, because other stuff that sucks away our savings keeps popping up.

We thought that we were going to have to use our economic stimulus checks for Paula’s wrist surgery. No problem: I’d pay for that in a heartbeat. Anything to get her wrist to feel normal, so she can get back on the j’ai alai court. She has mad skills with a sesta. I have the scars to prove it. ANYWAY… when she was able to pay for the up-front costs of the surgery without dipping into that, we were (as the kids say) like, SCORE! We have extra cash, thanks to the lame-brained attempt of our government to spur the economy! Thanks for the wedding gift, George Bush and Nancy Pelosi!

Whoa, got off track there.

ANYWAY… things are looking up. Money in the bank to handle wedding costs. We go shopping for stuff on Friday night. As we were leaving Ruby Tuesday to go get reception stuff, the little battery light on the dashboard comes on. While driving.

Expletive deleted, because my mom reads this.

It’s the alternator. How do I know? Paula is creepy psychic with cars, and she said it was the alternator. She’s not ASE certified, but she oughtta be. The truck sits in the driveway until Sunday morning, when we have to jump it. We go to O’Reilly’s, thinking it’s either the battery or the alternator. We get there, and O’Reilly dude tests it. Battery is bad. Score again, because that’s cheaper to fix! Paula and I install the new battery, and I have O’Reilly dude test it again, just in case. The test shows the alternator is bad, too.

Another expletive deleted.

Long story short, but too late in the post to mean anything: We spent nearly $300 on a new battery and alternator, when we could have been buying reception silverware, margarita makings and a bolt of tulle. (Side note: Did you know tulle has nothing to do with the band Tool? I was bummed, too.)

But the weekend wasn’t a total loss: I became more of a man. In the interest of saving money, I installed the new alternator. Yep. Did it myself, and with the help of two guys at O’Reilly who walked me through it. I am more of a man now. The truck still works, and the “Check Engine” light is off.

Paula channels Modest Mouse:
Battery and alternator got fried on the exactly the same day
Well we’ll float on good news is on the way

And I am not psychic about cars. I have just had more than my share of car trouble. Ok…more than about ten people’s share of car trouble. I learn from experience. Now…if only I could fix the problems myself I’d be in business.

The other day I says to my doctor,”Doc,after my surgery will I be able to play J’ai Alai?”
And he says to me “Not to worry, you’ll be playing in no time!”
So I says “That’s awesome, Doc, because I couldn’t play it before!”

ba dum bum!

Inside the music: Lucky

Paula writes:

The song “Lucky” is by a band called Hoobastank. Goofy name, good song.

I knew
How it felt to be
Another one in need
Of someone to show the way
Until
You saw a part of me
That nobody else could see
And my life hasn’t been the same

You make me feel
Lucky as I can be
You make me feel
Lucky as I can be

Before
I couldn’t get a break
(Couldn’t get a break)
Never had a chance to make
The impressions I want to
But now
It falls right into place
(Falls right into place)
When I get to see your face
Then there’s nothing that I can’t do

You make me feel
Lucky as I can be
You make me feel
Lucky as I can be

No more dark days
Only sun rays
No more hard ways
With you today

You make me feel…

You make me feel
Lucky as I can be
Lucky as I can be
Lucky as I can be

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Even when things are going wrong all around me, being with Joe reminds me of just how lucky I am.

Inside the Music: Float On

Paula writes:

“Float On” is a quirky upbeat song by Modest Mouse.

I backed my car into a cop car the other day
Well he just drove off sometimes life’s ok
I ran my mouth off a bit too much oh what can i say
Well you just laughed it off it was all ok

And we’ll all float on ok
And we’ll all float on ok
And we’ll all float on ok
And we’ll all float on any way well

Well, a fake Jamaican took every last dime with that scam
It was worth it just to learn from sleight-of-hand
Bad news comes don’t you worry even when it lands
Good news will work its way to all them plans
We both got fired on the exactly the same day
Well we’ll float on good news is on the way

And we’ll all float on ok
And we’ll all float on ok
And we’ll all float on ok
And we’ll all float on alright
Already we’ll all float on
Now don’t worry we’ll all float on
Alright already we’ll all float on
Alright don’t worry we’ll all float on

And we’ll all float on alright
Already we’ll all float on
Alright don’t worry even if things end up a bit to heavy
We’ll all float on alright
Already we’ll all float on
Alright already we’ll all float on
Ok don’t worry we’ll all float on
Even if things get heavy we’ll all float on
Alright already we’ll all float on
Don’t you worry we’ll all float on
All float on

I know this doesn’t sound like your typical love song. That’s because it isn’t. This song just reminds me so much of Joe that I just had to include it on our soundtrack.

One of the many amazing things about Joe is his unfailing optimism. He has an incredibly positive attitude. It’s almost as if it never even dawns on him that things might not go his way. He seems to make good things happen by the sheer force of his attitude.

Joe is forever telling me (the worrier in this almost family) that things are going to be ok. And they usually are. He is teaching me that you just have to keep going and good things come along.

That is why this song reminds me so much of Joe.

Inside the Music: Take it From Me

Paula Writes:

This song is by a group called The Weepies. Their music is kind of folk-inspired, and is known for it’s beautiful imagery.

I couldn’t find an actual video for this song, but I did find a fan video that meshes this song with scenes from “Lost”. (Joe and I are big Lost fans, btw.) Normally I would just go without the video for this post, but the song is so beautiful, I like to play it any chance I get.

What can I compare you to, a favorite pair of shoes?
Maybe my bright red boots if they had wings
Funny how we animate colorful objects saved
Funny how it’s hard to take a love with no sting.

But come on take it, come on take it, take it from me
But come on take it, come on take it, take it from me (we`ve got a good life).

What can I compare you to, a window the sun shines through?
Maybe the silver moon, a smile rising
The magic of the fading day, satellites on parade
A toast to the plans we’ve made to live like kings.

I lose my breath despite the air
When the rain falls down I give in to despair
Pink magnolia in winter she doesn’t care
if you don’t show up to have another cup.

What can I compare you to, when everything looks like you?
I get a bit confused with every Spring
Flowers that bloom your eyes, hummingbirds side by side
My heart won’t stay entirely in this rib caging

A sweet story about this song:

One night we were eating dinner outside and talking about music, and I told him about this song making me want to dance with him. Joe excused himself and a couple of minutes later I hear the opening notes of this song come drifting out the window. Joe came back outside and took my hand and we danced to this song by candle light and twinkly party lights. It was beautiful.

Is it any wonder I want to marry this man?

5/22/2008 We Just Set A Surgery Date!

Paula Writes:

Ok, so I scheduled it last week, but that’s neither here nor there.

I going in to have surgery done on my wrist to alleviate the pain I have been having. I have been putting it off, but I have had all I can stands and I can’t stands no more.

Why does this belong on our wedding blog? Well thank you for asking! Having the surgery done means I will be in a cast for the wedding. And considering my experience with the last cast I had on my wrist I will be opting for a black cast if it is offered. I got a pink one last time and man did it look nasty after a few days.

It ought to be interesting trying to get ready for the wedding in a cast, but luckily I have a lot of supportive friends and family who are willing to help out.

Oh…and speaking of supportive friends and family, have I mentioned that my friend Ann, who is also my Matron of Honor, is the best friend EVER? She is so cool.

Uh…back to the cast thing. I wonder how the wedding pictures are going to look? Maybe I can wrap the cast in tulle, or cover it in rhinestones or something…hmmmm…