Oh Yeah ... I Got Married

Iowa

- Home of Iowa State University

- Birthplace of the Rice Krispy Treat

- Home of RAGBRAI (the Registers Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa)

- A State that allows same-sex marriage.

After close to 15 years together, on July 17th, Matt and I legally tied the knot in front of 175 of our closest family and friends.

I can truly say that it was one of the most wonderful days of my life. We are still awaiting the photos from our photographer (come on already!), so hopefully I'll be able to post a couple when they do come in. We had both the ceremony and reception at a local hall in Ames that's owned by the best barbecue restaurant in the state. Suffice it to say we had an amazing buffet for dinner. :-)

I have to say that I am continually amazed to live in a state that allows Matt and I to legally seal our commitment. In April of 2004, the State Supreme Court of Iowa ruled that a law outlawing same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. It is very difficult to amend the Iowa Constitution, but we are not complacent. On Sunday we are attending a rally in support of same-sex marriage to counter the National Organization for Marriage rally.

I've been in love with Matt since the day we met (November 27, 1995). I honestly never thought I would be able to stand and declare my love for him legally. I am so proud to be a resident of the great state of Iowa.

Weighty Issues

I'm overweight. I'm 5'7" and weight 225 pounds. That gives me a BMI of 35.2 putting me in the Obese category. I'm 38 years old and just am not happy with the way I look or feel.

I bring this up because I've really been down on myself lately about the way I look. Matt and I went to Minneapolis this weekend to have a mini-honeymoon. While Matt spent some time at Cheapo Records, I wandered over to Lake Calhoun. It was a beautiful sunny day, so there were plenty of guys out jogging - shirtless. Admiring the scenery, I couldn't help but get a little sad that I was not in any shape to do the same thing. In addition, knowing my genetics, even if I worked my ass off to get in shape, that I wouldn't be able to approach those guys that I was ogling.

As I approach 40, I'm really regretting not making fitness a priority, but that's something that I can work to correct. But I have to admit, I wish I had been born with a different set of physical genetics.

Kids In Restaurants

Alright, this is my #1 beef. I have a real problem with parents who bring kids to restaurants and allow them to behave like wild animals.

Don't get me wrong, I know that families eat out all the time and the majority of them are well behaved. But for the life of me, it drives me up the wall when kids are screaming at the top of their lungs, throwing a tantrum, running around, etc., while the parents are seemingly oblivious to it or give that "awwww, aren't they cute" look. Ugh. Nothing gets under my skin more than to hear a toddler screech at the top of their lungs. It's my "nails on a chalkboard" noise. And it seems like in EVERY restaurant that Matt and I go to, there's "THAT" kid.

I seriously want to go up to these parents and ask them, "do you not realize that there are other people who would like to eat without having to hear YOUR kid?"

I've always respected my brother for the way he has raised my two nephews. When either of the boys began to build to a "melt down" he took them out of the restaurant for them to calm down. He and my sister-in-law taught the boys how to behave themselves while in a restaurant. The kids could still be kids, but they weren't a bother to other tables around them.

If I were a braver man I would go up and say something but knowing my luck, I'd get punched in the face.

Evening News

By popular demand (okay, 1 reader), I'm gonna start posting again.

So every once in a while there is a story on the evening news about someone who was killed in a car accident, house fire, shooting victim, etc. In the story there are always interviews with people who knew the victim. These people always seem to use the same descriptive terms - "funny", "always put a smile on your face", "caring", "kind", etc. BORING!

I just once want to see an interview where the person says something along the lines of, "yeah they got what they deserved. What a jackass! He was the most selfish, mean person I have ever met."

I gotta be honest, I think I would fall out of my chair in laughter.

Food

I have a couple of confessions to make.

1. I'm a secret eater.

2. I don't enjoy food.

I eat when others are around. It's a control issue and something that I need to be honest about. When I'm alone I will eat things that aren't the best choices for me. In addition, I don't enjoy food. I eat without thinking and I don't take my time. By eating so quickly I often overeat and end up feeling bloated and uncomfortable. I'm working to think more before I eat and to take my time.

Fun with recipes....

So we had some friends over last night and I wanted to share a couple of great recipes for you to try at home...

Chicken Bacon Poppers

4 boneless chicken breasts cut into 1/2 in cubes

1 pound of sliced bacon (hickory smoked or applewood ... go crazy) Cut each slice into thirds.

2 Tablespoons of barbecue seasoning

1/2 cup brown sugar

toothpicks

After cutting up the chicken and bacon, wrap one piece of chicken in a piece of bacon, using a toothpick to secure the bacon to the chicken. In a separate bowl, mix the barbecue seasoning and brown sugar. Coat each piece of bacon-wrapped chicken in the barbecue/brown sugar mixture and place on a boiler pan or elevated baking rack (this is so the bacon fat can drip down). I usually take the remaining mixture and sprinkle it on the poppers before I put them in the oven.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Makes about 48 poppers. They are AWESOME!!!!!

Candy Bar Crescent Rolls

1 roll of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

1 Snickers Bar

1 Milky Way

Cut each candy bar into 4 pieces. Unspool the crescent rolls from the tube. Wrap one piece of the candy bar in a piece of crescent roll dough. Once all 8 rolls have candy bars in them, place them on a non-stick cookie sheet. Bake them according to the directions on the crescent roll tube (12 minutes at 425 degreees I think).

One of the best and easiest desserts EVER!!!!!

Personal Training

I met with Ben this afternoon to discuss hiring him as a personal trainer. With 191 days until the wedding, I have a lot of work to do and I'm quickly running out of time to do it. Currently I'm about 235 pounds and my goal is to be 210 by July. My dream would be to be at 200, but I think that 210 is a more reasonable goal.

The thing that impressed me about Ben was that he wants to try different things to find out what will work for me. When I have worked with a personal trainer in the past, it's pretty much been the same workout week after week. Ben appears to be more focused on my goals and finding things that will not only work for me in the gym, but also at home as well.

I hate the fact that I am so out of shape. I hate that my gut sticks out so far that I can feel the skin stretching. I hate the fact that I don't feel attractive. I hate the fact that I have tried so many times in the past to get into shape only to fail - again and again and again.

We should have a snow day (yet again). It'll be a chance for me to get caught up on paperwork and emailing. I'm just so ready for winter to be over.