Teedle Has Arrived!!

So, I must first apologize.  I was expecting to use this blog to share with everyone how the wedding plans were going.  But, every time I wanted to share something, I was reminded that it was a surprise.  Everything about this wedding was a surprise.  It was hard to get anyone to help with anything because if they did help, a surprise would be lost.  It all went very well though.  I'll share pictures another time, if you haven't already seen them.

But, I have something new to blog about.  Have you heard of an "Elf on a Shelf"??  You have?!?  Why were you keeping this from me?  I thought we were friends! 

For those that don't know, "Elf on the Shelf" is, as the name implies, an elf that sits on a shelf and is the eyes and ears of the jolly fat man himself, Santa!  I got our elf on Saturday and E found him Sunday afternoon, sitting atop the breakfront in the dining room.  He also found the elf's book, aka, directions on what to do and not to do with the elf.  First, you have to name him.  E named his elf Teedle. 

Teedle in the living room

Teedle's directions:

You can talk to Teedle.  He will listen but he won't talk to you.  Don't expect a two way conversation.
Don't touch Teedle.
Every night, Teedle will go back to the North Pole to give Santa an update of how good or bad you are.
Teedle arrives right after Thanksgiving and will stay until Christmas Eve. 
Each morning, you will find him in a different spot in the house. 

It's only been 24 hours and its been amazing.  E started talking to Teedle immediately.  He tells Teedle when he's been good.  Last night, as he was brushing his teeth, he remembered that he did not say goodnight to Teedle so he ran back downstairs before Teedle headed back to Santa and said goodnight.  He woke up this morning and ran downstairs to find Teedle moved.  He was now on the mantle in the living room.  E said goodbye before we left and asked Teedle to make sure Snoopy (our dog) stayed off the couch.  Interestingly enough, Snoopy actually stayed off the couch, which NEVER happens!!  hmmm...

When we came home from work/school, E ran up to Teedle and told him how good of a boy he was.  Throughout the evening, Andy and I have been telling Teedle when E does something bad but also let him know when E's doing something good!  Now, E is doing the same thing.  He's actually tattling on us to Teedle.  Hilarous. 

So, I have a feeling this is going to be a lot of fun!  I'll keep you posted on how its going!  This doesn't get you off the hook though.  I still can't believe you didn't tell me about this before!

PS...Andy asked E to ask Teedle for Santa to bring Snoopy a big bone.  Love it.

But where is the bride?

So, I wanted to share with you all an interesting thing I've learned as you plan a wedding.  Everyone expects a bride!  I'm sure some of you laugh, some nod in understanding and others have a questioning look on your faces.

Not that this example is wedding related but I wanted to share it with you as its related to my topic.  A few weeks ago, Andy and I took E to the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City to see Cirque Dreams.  It was amazing.  I highly suggest it.  The acrobatics are amazing and the set was so colorful and we ...right, sorry, back to the subject.  We walked into the Taj from the boardwalk and Andy is immediately held up by a Marriott Timeshare "pusher".  You know the kind..."do you have a minute?  If you give us a few minutes we'll show you our timeshare and then give you tickets to a show".  yada yada yada.  E and I didn't notice he's been held up and we keep walking into the gawdy, over the top lobby (which means I love it and that is why I didn't notice he was side tracked").

The timeshare pusher sets her eyes on Andy and starts to stalk her prey.  She notices that Andy is looking around and starts her "casual" conversation by saying "Did you lose someone?"  "Yes, my husband", he answers.  She responds..."you mean your wife".  He shoots back, "No, I mean my husband."  So, she says again, "You mean your wife?"  Andy catches my eye and says to her a bit more strongly as he points to me, "No, I mean my HUSBAND".  I walk over and she does one of those "oh...uh...OHHH!"  Then, she figures it out and goes right into her spiel.  She obviously could care less that we're a same-sex couple.  She just wasn't immediately expecting it and I find it humorous that she automatically processes that she's got a missing husband looking for his wife...so lost that he forgets to call her "wife"...duh.

I find that many wedding companies out there have the same mentality.  There has to be a bride.  We've been working with David's Bridals for the dresses for our groom's maids.  (Like that?  I just made it up...feel free to use it...maybe it will go viral).  When we initially went in to David's Bridals to start looking at what colors we'd like to see on our groom's maids, the fact that they were working with two men was a non-issue.  I like that.  We've been to the David's Bridals in Deptford and Orlando and had the same great experience.  (Actually, I felt like they saw us as a happy diversion to those crazy bridezillas we see in there every time we stop by). 

The funny thing about David's Bridals though and most wedding focused companies is the way they find your information in their system.  It's through the bride's name and wedding date.  When Andy calls about something, the first question David's Bridals asks him is "What's the bride's last name?"  He has to say "there is no bride".  This is when he finds out how "quick" the person on the other side of the call is.  Last week, he volleyed this question back and forth a few times before she figured it out.  It took her forever to find us because she kept looking for Andrea Cohen.   

Hey all, I want to make it clear that I am in no way saying David's Bridals is some homophobic company.  As I mentioned, they've been SO helpful.  I know this is something new for them and I'm not expecting them to be WAY ahead of the ball but I look forward to the day when they update the system to show that the bride/groom wedding is not the only wedding out there anymore.  I'm sure our lesbian counterparts have the same challenge when they have to help their "bride's men" pick out tuxes at Men's Wearhouse.

My Big Gay Wedding

Hello world.  I have started this blog because I want to start a global diary about my life.  I don't know who will follow this but hey, surprise me!  Some topics you can look forward to are, in no specific order, my son E, the fact that I feel I have to just call him E so as to protect him against the crazy people of the world, the adoption of E and how important I feel adoption is, various family stuff, my aging greyhound, the australian cattledog we adopted, and friends, making sure to keep names out to protect the usually guilty. 

The first topic to share with all of you will be my thoughts, ideas, and aspirations of my upcoming wedding to the love of my life, Andy.  This will take up most of the blog space in the next few months because its taking up a large portion of my personal life.  I hope, in turn, you share your thoughts and ideas too! 

So, a few minutes to catch you up on our story...Andy and I have been together for almost 13 years now.  We have a 4 year old son, 2 dogs, 1 cat, 3 fish and a mortgage.  So, we're doing it backwards!  Why, you ask?  Well, because Andy is Andrew...and 13 years ago, gay marriage wasn't exactly main stream yet.  Not that it is main stream now but its further along and I'm ready to help make it more main stream than ever. 

That didn't stop Andy from asking me to marry him a few months after we met but to me, that was a bit early so I turned him down.  (Wow, I hear all the boos from here...chill out people!).  He said he understood, but the next time, it was my turn.  On October 9, 2009 (his birthday) in the VIP entrance to the Haunted Mansion in Walt Disney World (where we first met on Nov 25, 1997), I got down on my knee, produced a ring and asked him to marry me.  I can't believe how NERVOUS I was but there was nothing to be nervous about.  He said yes!!

So, since that day, Andy and I (must give Andy much deserved credit...mostly he)...have been planning our big day, Saturday Oct 23, 2010.  There are two reasons I'm sharing this info with the world.  One, to share with other same-sex couples the challenges we've faced as we plan this big event.  We haven't faced as much as I originally expected but I hope that in a few years, I will look back on this blog and see how far we've all come in how people see same sex marriage.  And, two, I want to share some interesting ideas, thoughts, unexpected obstacles, etc. that we've had over the past year planning this wedding.  My hope is that you, in turn, share your thoughts with me.  I'd love to hear what you, collective world, have to say.