Leesha and I saved a frog's life today. We named him Ferdinand.

I got my internet access!

London

I didn't see any news untill I came in to work. Thats when I heard about the London Bombing. The first thing about it was how familiar it seemed to me. I thought I had just seen this or read this somewhere or something.

Actually, what it was, was this was almost exactly how the Queen & Country novel started which I finished two days ago. Kind of freaked me out.

got a speeding ticket

watched Superfly at work for work

dropped my new mom and dad off at airport.
Leesha was unbelievably difficult- tired and emotional.
met Leesha's dad at BestBuy in Bloomington to drop her off.
Got home and napped.
Got up, went to church.
Went to Batman Begins
Went to Big V's to see BJ
went home. to bed

Howl's Moving Castle

I hadn't seen Jutton for almost a year other than at our wedding. He's been on and of the boards, but hanging out with him wasn't happening. I guess the last time we saw each other was last fall when I'd be at the MOA working on Vikings Game Day and he'd be working at there as well.

Well, the latest film from one of our mutual favorite anime film makers, Hayao Miyazaki, is out in theaters and what a perfect way for us to reconnect- Ruby Tuesday's and anime.

We went to see Howl's Moving Castle. Very cool movie, we both agreed. However, we felt the ending was a bit too cliche. Still worthy of a purchase, perhaps. Miyazaki's other films include: Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Nausicaa- of the Valley of Wind, etc.

Back Home (for the first time)

Today we came home from our honeymoon. But this is the very first time its home for me. Since 2003, I've moved every year and it looks like it won't end in the near future.

I have boxes full of stuff everywhere still.

Our honeymoon was so relaxing. We stayed at Cara's (and I guess mine, too, now) Uncle and Aunt's cabin in Wisconsin. The idea was to stay somewhere where we wouldn't feel like we'd want to do all the touristy things instead of spend time with each other. Mission accomplished! There is absolutly nothing touristy about Grantsburg, Weber, or Siren WI!

Leesha and the Mackys (Cara's sister's family- Caryn, Cameron, Caspian and Calyn) came up to join us Thursday and Today. It was nice to have time with just them.

music - Alison Krauss and the Union Station

Married!

All my life I've been worried that I wouldn't sleep at all the night before my wedding. I got more sleep than I usually do! I snuck out to get some Burgerking breakfast and ate it before Bobo came home. There was nothing left in my room except for the clothes I was to be married in and my bed.

First thing that happens after I get ready to go is Greg and Mandy pick me up with Mom and Dad in tow in the their car. We then head down to Como Park and meet Chloe for photos. Once there it is discovered that we were supposed to pick Cara up! She got a ride with her folks (and that made for some really nice and more real photos- the ones where I first see my bride that day).

We took all sorts of combos with different family members. Chloe was great. She took color photos and her assistant took black and white. Overcast lighting was perfect. We took some photos down at the docks when it started to rain. We made our way to the church while it rained pretty hard.

Bobo and Eric were setting up tables in the church basement when we arrived. I told them not set up too much because I had faith that we were going to be at the park for the reception. They'd be glad to stop, but the wedding coordinator cracked her whip at them.

Before we knew it, we were in the middle of the ceremony. For the last few weeks I was in a lets-get-this-over-with mode, but I realized somewhere in the middle of the ceremony that this was really fun, and everyone there seemed to be having a good time as well. I didn't expect that the wedding would be fun. Don't know why not, just thought it was a major hassle.

And then the ceremony was over! My dad had the idea that we should give everyone some time to arrive at the reception. So Greg and Mandy took us to Maplewood to let Eddie and Cogswell out for a bit. My aunt Cele went with us (because she is a dog lover- Cogs and Eddie are Boston Terriers, btw).

When we finally did arrive, everyone was very suspicious of where we went. Nasty rumors had spread. Oh well. The reception was a lot of fun. Its strange having co-workers in line for pot-luck along side with family I haven't seen for quite some time. Worlds were colliding.
Eric and others convinced us we should dance. We finished off the already playing Promise from When in Rome immediately followed by Depeche Mode's Somebody (which I've always thought would be a good song at a wedding). We were quite aware that everyone was watching us dance. Just like at the FOCUS Gala. Then my mom and I danced to Forever Young by Alphaville (which goes way back for us Willis'. My mom has burned copies of Alphaville disks. Probably not many moms in the US with those, huh).

Things wrapped up rather quickly. We got to our hotel before sundown and checked in as Mr. and Mrs. Willis.



music - Pachebel's Canon in D, The Promise by When in Rome, Somebody by Depeche Mode, Forever Young by Alphaville pretty much sums up the wedding festivities.

Wedding Rehearsal

We had to move our rehearsal to the morning because the pastor that was marrying us had his daughter's graduation party that evening. Everyone gathered for a late breakfast first at IHOP. Thank God they had a separated room, because our clan was quite loud.

From there and it was pretty strait forward. Everyone made their way to the church. We met Kevin, the pastor, and went through the ceremony. Tweaked out some of the music details. This was the first time I met our musician in person- tangent:

We had two people commit to doing the music for our wedding and then back out. I was ready to make a mix CD and go with that. But then I felt we really should have a live person playing. So Cara gave me a woman's name from her old church. I contacted her a week and a half ago and have been contacting through email ever since. Awesome lady.

After the rehearsal, I went home and packed the last of my stuff and ran it over to Cara's house and it was torrential rain. Once that was finished, me and a keg of rootbeer went to the park where we where having our family and out-of-town people pizza gathering. We had a good evening of getting to know all these new people. At one point, Aaron, who is just over two years old, was playing with the keg just as a police officer rolls into the parking lot to check things out. I'm sure he was wondering what that was all about. His dad went down to explain that it was just rootbeer.

Not long after dark everyone went their own way and I took Cara home. We took a walk down to the lake and sat on the dock. These were our last moments together not wed to each other.

Stag Party!

here's how it went down:

• 1pm Uptown Bar & Cafe for gyro omelets

We all met at the Uptown. Bobo and I arrived to see Schneidy waiting outside. Schepp and Greg and Eric arrived not long after that. I think we all ordered gyro omelets.

• 2:30 Bobo's house for Settlers of Catan

Curtis Mayrand was going to join us at Bobo's so as we waited, we went through the entire catalog of GI Joe PSAs from FenslerFilms. Its definitely better to watch those in a group. They seem to never get old. As soon as Curtis arrived, we watched a fan made Star Wars movie.

We then started up a game of Settlers of Catan. 6 player game at max and we had 7, so Bobo bowed out and did email things while we played. After he got bored he started to help Schepp and in the end they won.

• 9:pm Jutton's house

We stopped at the gas station for food and headed off to Jutton's house. Greg and I played Halo with a bunch of people online, which was fun. We sat around and shot the shyte.

Curtis and I got into a debate about why the new Star Wars movies were so bad and how Lucas ruined the whole thing. Somewhere in the middle of it, Curtis, in his drunken logic, was arguing that Lando Calrissian wasn't a black guy, but a Hispanic!

We finished the night with the Chappell show DVD. I wasn't all that impressed, but I did enjoy the Charlie Murphy stories. "Darkness!"

• 3am back home

We got back to Bobo's and everyone left dispersed in their respective cars. I wasn't comfortable letting Curtis drive home. So I offered to drive him home and have Bobo follow in his truck. So, thats what we did.

Renade was still up when we got there. We got a small tour of the house and even looked at the back yard. Curtis felt bad for us giving him a ride and wanted to make it up to us by offering us a beer or a piece of cake. We settled for juice boxes. As we were saying goodbye near the front door I felt something on my neck. Picked it off and flung it down in front of the fish tank. It was an inch worm! Curtis instantly picked it up and dropped it into the tank and all four of us gathered around to see the fate of this worm. The worm was freaking out and the fish were circling the worm. It looked like the fish were about to strike when all of a sudden the fishtank lights went out because of a set timer! It was perfect and hilarious!

music - Where is My Mind? - Pixies on the way to Curtis's house just after 3am, reminiscent of our Comicbook convention trip.

Glorybound

Tonight, Cara and I went to a concert. The music was from our friend, Greg Wollan. He is one of the cornerstones to our church's worship team and an amazing musician, at that. The show was at the Roseville Northwestern book store, kind of jammed in around one of the entrances. We snuck in not long after they started playing and eventually he noticed us, because he dedicated a song to Cara and I being married next month. The song he dedicated to us is called Glorybound and its the song that kind of initiated Greg and I talking as friends.

I first heard the song at a small group leadership retreat, last year. After the service that he played it in I went up to him to tell him how much I liked that song. We kind of started talking after that. Found out he is a 10cc fan! He has a show at the Church of the Open Door on June 17th and Cara and I will probably be going to that one.

music - obviously its Greg Wollan, but, I've found another song of his that I just love- Why So Downcast? Awesome song!

Covenant Relationships

I became a member of Woodland Hills today. Probably about a year ago, I took a class at church called Discovering Woodland Hills with the intention of becoming a member of the church. That class was designed for people who were new to the church (which I wasn't then). The next step was to take a class called Discovering Covenant Relationships. Very cool class, btw.

Tonight, there was a membership meeting (my first) where we got to hear about the annual finances of the church. The meeting was done with videos, mainly, which were very very well done.

After the meeting, Cara, Eric and I went to Applebees for dinner. Good times.

After four years of attending Woodland Hills, I'm finally a member.

Called in sick today

I've fallen into a strange pattern. I think that Monday nights often are restless for me. This one in particular was bad. Robert took me out for dinner, but we went too late and I ordered a greasy breakfast. So, after going to bed, I actually just laid in bed and worried about wedding plans and the Bible study till about 5am when the breakfast finally decided to come up and out. I called in sick and slept most of the day.

The Family Invasion

Cara's parents are in town. Her dad arrived today and her mom has been here since Wednesday. Before her mom arrived, Cara had been busy moving her stuff downstairs, making what was the guest bedroom into her room. And moving Leesha's stuff into what was her bedroom so that she can transform what was Leesha's room back into her parents master bedroom. Leesha was very excited about getting a new room and she moved in fast. Meanwhile, I've been bringing my stuff over from my current house. I imagine Cara is feeling like her living space is being invaded.

What... The... Heck!!??!

Ran into Natalie today!

Cara and I were moving furniture from room to room and going into the evening. We finally went to get groceries at Target down the street. On the way, at a stop light, a truck next to us honks and lurches forward to parallel with us- it was Natalie and her family! They happened to be going to Target as well. So we all met up in the toy section (Leesha wanted to spend her $4.20 in dimes) and introduced and got caught up.

The strange thing is Natalie and Todd and family don't live anywhere near this area and were just killing time after going to a skate park down the street. If we had left any later or earlier, we would've totally missed them!

Makes you wonder how many other times and places we just missed each other like that...

music - LUSH

I'm Your DJ Now, Princey!!!

Last night I woke up from a nightmare. This is the first time in many many years that a dream so freaky actually woke me up. Trying to describe it now certainly doesn't do it justice, but it had something to do with a serial killer setting up their victims to be found as they die- holding their own throats. The dream was left unresolved and I woke up in shivers. As unpleasant as that was, it was kind of a thrill.

music - various mix cds

Dog Walk

I tried organizing people for this Walk for Animals event, but no one wanted to go, except for Cara. So we went by ourselves. Screw them. We had a great time. This is an annual event where people walk their pet to raise money. I've been to this once before- like 6 years ago and loved it. This happened to be the next year I was able to go. We asked a lot of people about their dogs. Sat and let some of them come up to us for a quick petting-stop. Dog-people are really friendly. There are so many different breeds out there. And the breeds are so very different from one another. We even saw some very nervous cats.

I saw one person I knew- Kathy, one of the people I went to this the first time with, but that time there was about 12 of us. And Cara recognized a couple who was in the same pre-engagement class we were in. I have no idea how she recognized them, but it was pretty cool. They didn't have a pet, like us, and were glad to see they weren't the only ones.

I think I got my dog fix for a while.

music - The Cure (because it was a wonderfully overcast day)

The Longest Day

I passed out last night shortly after getting home. This lighting project is exhausting. Woke up around 11pm and went back to bed around 2am.

4:20AM Perry calls me at home- "Trish called in sick! Can you come in early?"

So I roll into work around 5:30AM.

Around 8:15 Jason from 45 comes down and asks if I'm ready to go! So I tell him why I really can't go with him on the 45 shoot and he sort of freaks out. (I was scheduled for promo shoot. but lighting wasn't finished. Monica and I decided that I needed to stay and work on lighting.) I felt bad. Hoped he wasn't really pissed at me.

Burned out on Monday- already!

passed out at home, woke up around 11:30 pm.

there was poop on the operations table, though.

Chutes and Ladders... only without the Chutes, but lots of lights instead!

I haven't had a day off since one week ago and I won't until this Saturday! This weekend was the annual lighting weekend with our lighting consultant, Dan. So Seth (the new guy) and I were scheduled to do the lights with Dan.

The begining of our lighting project looked bleak.

• Our brand new board was shipped without a power supply and Dan (who was already on the phone, trying to find one in town for us) said one wouldn't be here until Monday afternoon.
• Months ago, Monica had me do a tally on the amount of fluoresent bulbs we had on hand for this task. She told me to find out how many we needed total and then figure out how many we had on hand and she would order the difference. Turns out Dan wanted the whole amount ordered.
• We were also going to adjust all the lights in the studio. Its amazing how many lights burn out just before Dan gets here every few months. We were desperatly short on the bulbs we needed. The order had gone out but the shipment hadn't arrived yet. So we were short several bulbs. Monica has scheduled me to be out on a shoot for 45 on Monday. It became clear Sunday evening that we weren't going to be finished, that we would need to do more on Monday, so I called Monica and she agreed that I should be at the station.
• A guy from Engineering (who is very difficult to work with) set up the prompter area how he interpreted the instruction- not how one would set it up logically. Its probably going to be left that way until he has settled down and isn't so mad about the project before its fixed.

One really cool thing did happen, however. We started later today so Dan and I could go to church. Since Dan is from D.C. and just wanted to go to any church, I invited him to mine! And he went!

All this work means not much Cara :(

music - The Long Walk Home - Peter Gabriel (soundtrack to Rabbit Proof Fence)

Where there's a Willis... There Will Be More Willis'

This morning Greg and I met with our uncle Mike and aunt Mary. They stayed the night in the Twin Cities on their way up to a retreat in Alexandria. Last they knew of either of our whereabouts was Brooklyn Center, where Greg moved in with Mandy when they were married. Just so happens that they stayed the night almost directly half way between Greg and I. I guess it took them an hour and a half to find our phone numbers with their old hotel directory (they had us listed in Bloomington- hah! that was ages ago). And finally called us. Great timing, too. I wasn't home too many nights this week and the happen to call when I was- and not long after I got up from a nap.
It was nice to visit with them.

music - Ayreon ( I think I need to give this album a break)

Settlers and Testimonies

Cara and I visited Greg and Mandy tonight. We meeting at sports bar for a nice dinner (I have to say, though I don't agree with it, I do enjoy the smoking ban). While Cara and I were waiting outside with our pager, I held one of the doors open with the host. She gave me greeting tips as we discussed the good and bad about the ban. Greg and Mandy arrived shortly after the paged us in. We had a nice dinner and when we ordered dessert, the staff gave it to us because of all the help I gave them hosting at the door.

After getting in the house and greeting the nice guys we fired up the VCR (which hadn't been used for quite some time) and popped in a video tape my dad sent us to view. The tape was of my dad's testimony he shared in front of their church (it might have something to do with his nomination for church-elder). We watched and it was very nice. My dad is a public speaker. The strange thing is, I've had very few opportunities to see him doing what he is so good at. Seeing him with his speaking mannerisms, I wonder if those of us who know him so well benefit from our relationship with him when subconsciously receiving the body language. With all that mixed with the topic of his talk and the fact that it was just nice to see him- I'm still not sure how I feel about the tape. It was a much higher emotional experience than I expected.

After we finished the tape and talked about it we set up for a Settlers of Catan game. The game went really long, maybe the longest Catan game I've played yet. Mandy was leading everyone and the rest of us kind of plotted against her which bought Greg and I time to be competitive. Poor Cara fell behind because she was the main force competing with Mandy. In the end Greg won- he went before me in the turn and if he hadn't won, I had enough points to win. BLAST! But it was fun.