Get Thee to the Airport!

UPDATE: Dallas is now attempting to launch itself into the 19th century with rail transit (otherwise known as TRAINS). I have zero experience of the service myself, and can offer no opinion or recommendations. Check the website, and see if it looks like your sort of thing. It is an option, at least. Keeping in mind, they don't operate on Sundays. Because, apparently, people don't travel on Sundays.

For those of you flying in for the weekend and not planning to rent a car, a cab will run about $40 between DFW & the Adolphus, and about $20 between Love Field & the Adolphus. There are also the SuperShuttles - at about $40 for two people.

This may not help you get FROM the airport to the hotel, but the Adolphus does offer hotel shuttles TO both DFW & Love Field airports. The cost is $17.00 per person one way, and they depart at 5 minutes to the hour and 25 after the hour. No reservations needed - just show up! Certainly a better deal than a cab!

For those of you brave enough to rent a car and take on Dallas traffic:

Map from DFW

Map from Love Field

Meet the Attendants

Oh, all right... that's not them. If you want to see our REAL attendants, just click here.

Maid of Honor
Heidi Paskoski: Kelly and Heidi are friends and accomplices from New College days. Heidi is currently doing interior design for custom yachts in Ft. Lauderdale. She likes boats and chocolate labs. And that sunshine song? Yeah – they wrote that about her!

Bridesmaids (Bridesmatrons?)
Jill Braxtan: Kelly and Jill (Doran) are former housemates from New College days. Jill is a Database Queen in Seattle. She likes sushi and dogs no one else can manage. She LOVES her iPhone!

Bethany Iraci-McBane: Kelly and Bethany worked together at B&N, for more years than either of them would like to admit. Bethany and her husband own the hottest new pub in Rochester, the Tap & Mallet. She likes good wine and grown-up conversation, but not so much the finger-painting!

Best Man
Matt Fortier: Adam and Matt were childhood friends and neighbors. Matt is a freelance photographer in Montreal. He and his wife, Karen, are the proud new parents of Jack Cameron Fortier, born May 6, 2008.

Groomsmen
Tenea Johnson: Adam and Tenea were housemates from New College days. Tenea is a writer, poet and musician, living in St. Petersburg. Check out her website to learn more about her. We owe Tenea a lot.

Danny Berke: Danny and Adam were roommates at New College. Danny teaches English as a Second Language to adults in Atlanta. He is a percussionist and (apparently) a Spam™ enthusiast. He is marrying the lovely Shelley this November.

Bridal Shower-ette Party Weekend (Are YOU in the Mood?)

This past weekend, a group of lovely ladies from across the country (and one from Canada) convened here in the Finger Lakes to do the girly thing, and celebrate my upcoming nuptials with a weekend of overindulgence (also known as the Women & Wine package). Due to the scattered nature of my social circle, there were a number of ladies who were unable to join us... and we missed you! As you look through the pictures, you will see my Maid of Honor (the famous Heidi P.), Bridesmaid Bethany (always unexpected!), my Mom, her good friend Susan (who hostessed the BBQ for us last August) and Adam's Mom, Prue.

Everyone met up here in Rochester, and drove on down to lovely Cohocton, NY, to spend a couple of days being pampered by the amazing Fran of Villa Serendip. If you ever end up doing the B&B thing in the Finger Lakes (highly recommended, by the way) - check her place out. And if she makes a restaurant recommendation, just do it. We had an endless supply of of fabulous food, some of it supplied by Fran herself.

Oh yeah, and there was a cat. Who enjoys cards. Which reminds me, we owe Fran a fresh pack of playing cards...



Things we learned over the weekend include:

1- How to tell which bread plate and water glass are yours when seated at a round table.
2- How to get rust off a cast iron skillet (this is still under debate, but salt and cooking oil seem to figure consistently).
3- Keep your silver in a plastic bag to slow the tarnishing process.
4- The easy way to open a bottle of wine with a synthetic cork (down one side of the cork).
5- How to care for your pearls (wipe with a soft cloth after wearing, and store in a soft bag).


KUDOS and many thanks to Heidi P for taking charge of the planning, and to my many loving friends and family members who contributed to the experience! It was a blast!

Ta-DAAAH!

Well - the fence is back in place, or rather finally in the RIGHT place. And freshly painted to boot! I've been waiting all week for the sun to come out so I could get a picture, but no luck. I don't think we've had a sunny day since we took the fence down! Poor Carol, our neighbor on that side, was downright giddy with delight the day it went back up. To say nothing of three weeks may just be a record for project completion in this house! Of course, one of Adam's colleagues asked him if he'd been in a fight because his knuckles were so busted up. Ah the price we pay! I say "we" as if I actually expended some effort after the first day...

Drumroll Please....

And the winner is...

Team Guido of Mt Morris, NY, with a record breaking time of 72 hours! Go Team (Palermo no hyphen) Guido!

Start Your Engines (the Race is ON)!!!

The invites have been posted and we can hear the squealing of postal van tires bearing the first response cards already... OK, so really it's just the phone ringing and people babbling excitedly about the invites and how they've already posted their response card. Really - you people are too sweet for words!

So which of you will be the first to get their RSVP back to us? Obviously, the Rochester crowd have the tactical advantage of proximity, but will they get cocky (like unto the proverbial hare...) and allow procrastination to slow them down?

Stay tuned to discover who will be first to the finish - and believe me when I say that we are as excited about you coming to Dallas as you are TO BE coming to Dallas!

Product Placement

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