I performed my first wedding!

You may already know this, but I became an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church in 2000. I did it as kind of a joke - a friend of mine had the idea that he wanted to "marry rock & roll" and I told him I'd get ordained & perform the ceremony - I held up my end of the bargain. He, however, chickened out. (I thought it was a brilliant idea, and I still think somebody should do this!)

I sort of forgot that I had "the power" to perform marriage ceremonies, and then my friend Doug told me that he & his girlfriend Danielle were going to get married. I mentioned to him that I was an ordained minister, and lo & behold, suddenly I was committed to performing my first marriage ceremony.

I was pretty nervous about this - afterall you don't want to do anything wrong when you're performing a legal life-changing ceremony. Surprisingly, the rules in Washington state are pretty simple regarding getting married - the couple needs to get a license within 60 days of the actual marriage, and they don't require that the officiant even provide their credentials. (I did give the couple a copy of my credentials, just to be on the safe side...)

Doug & Danielle put together their vows, and we got together a couple of weeks prior to the ceremony to go through them. Much to my horror, I kept on calling her Diane, because I'm friends with another couple named Doug & Diane. So I revised the vows & put Danielle's name in all caps, just to remind myself not to say the wrong name. That was my greatest fear, that I would flub her name - that would've been horrible.

Anyhow, yesterday (April 7th) was the date of the ceremony, and we had the rehearsal the afternoon of April 6th. The weather on Friday (April 6th) was gorgeous - it was sunny all day and the temperature even reached 80 degrees, a rarity for April in Seattle. Everyone was so optomistic that Saturday would also be gorgeous - no such luck!

I didn't have to be at the venue until 12:30 (the start time was 1:00 p.m.), and my morning was pretty hectic - I went to a spin class from hell at 8:15 a.m. (the slowest time in the world is the time you spend in a spin cycle class), and then I had a deep tissue massage scheduled for 10:00 a.m. I got in & out of my class (and the shower - thought that might be a good idea prior to a massage) and to my massage therapist's office by 10:00, but she was running late. Aargh - I had precious little time in between all of my comittments, and I had to be dressed, made up & out of my home by 12:00 p.m. or so. She wanted to extend my appointment (and I could've used it, my upper back was a mess, and it still is) but I had to get out of there.

I made it home quickly (which anyone familiar with Seattle traffic knows can be a minor miracle on any day of the week) and got dressed & ready by noon. My boyfriend showed up a few minutes later, and we made it to the venue by 12:30.

The weather looked pretty iffy when I got up - it was gray, but was not raining & the temperature was fairly warm. But by the time we got to the Lakeside (which is where the ceremony was being held), what had been a sporadic amount of drizzle had turned into a downpour. The chairs & flower arch were all set up outside, and nobody was sure whether or not we were going to try & move the ceremony under a tent, or just go for it. The couple decided to delay for a few minutes, and that turned out to be a good move because the rain finally started to let up.

Thankfully the ceremony was fairly short, and it turned out to be pretty appropriate for the situation. I walked down the aisle with Doug, and I got all teary eyed when Danielle started walking down the aisle to Etta James' "At Last." We opted to use a microphone because there is a lot of ambient noise on Lake Union, so I had to hold the microphone, and the binder that held the vows, which we hadn't practiced, so I felt a little akward about that. We made a last minute decision to have the best man, Danny, hold the rings until they were ready to exchange them. Originally I was going to hold them during the ring vows, but it would've been kind of hard to hold all of these items & not fumble them. I was fairly nervous throughout the whole thing, at one point I noticed that my knees were clenching & unclenching, and weird little things like that. But I kept on having to remind myself that I was merely a facilitator, nobody was really looking at me, etc. Somehow I made it through the ceremony - and I never called Danielle Diane!

Here are the vows that Doug & Danielle created, and they're very nice. I can take no credit for this:

Helen: Ladies and Gentlemen,
Welcome to the wedding of Douglas and Danielle.
Doug and Danielle have chosen this spot to announce their love and commitment for each other,
And to the world.
Marriage is a solemn commitment made by two people that holds the hope
And promise of a lifetime of togetherness.
Their lifetime will hold many trials and tribulations.
Just as the waves of the ocean pass over,
So hard times will pass over this couple.
Be strong, and like the mountains of our region you will last.
Stand together and you can face any storm that comes your way.
Support each other, and soon you will have a smooth path to walk again.
We who are witnessing your marriage,
Hope that your love and respect,
Your trust and understanding,
Will shine through any adversities,
And sing out with the true love and joy that is in your hearts.

Helen: Do you Doug,
Take Danielle to be your wife?
Will you stand together during rough seas,
Mountain storms,
Torrential down pours,
And desert winds?
Will you also stand together during the sunrises,
Sunsets,
And the many blessings and beauty
That the world may bring to you?

Doug: I will.

Helen: Do you Danielle,
Take Doug to be your husband?
Will you stand together during rough seas,
Mountain storms,
Torrential down pours,
And desert winds?
Will you also stand together during the sunrises,
Sunsets,
And the many blessings and beauty
That the world may bring to you?

Danielle: I will.

Helen: The wedding ring is a symbolic icon.
Alone the ring is just a piece of metal
Heated and formed without love.
But today,
We will transform these cold pieces of metal
Into beautiful symbols
Of everlasting love.
They will be placed on your fingers
And shine forth like a beacon in the storm
Shouting out that you are not alone in this world,
That you have someone to share your life with.
When you are apart from each other
Let this symbol shine in your heart
As well as on your hand.
This symbol that says you have chosen each other
Above all others.

Doug: Danielle,
I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows,
And with all that I am
And all that I have,
I honor you.
Please receive this ring
As a symbol of my love
And as a constant reminder
That I have chosen you
Above all others
To be the one to share my life.

Danielle: Doug,
I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows,
And with all that I am
And all that I have,
I honor you.
Please receive this ring
As a symbol of my love
And as a constant reminder
That I have chosen you
Above all others
To be the one to share my life.

Helen: I would like to read
An Apache blessing for this marriage:
Now you will feel no rain,
For each of you will be shelter for the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
For each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there will be no loneliness,
For each of you will be companion to the other.
Now you are two persons,
But there is only one life before you.
May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead
And through all the years.
May happiness be your companion
And your days together be good and long upon the earth.

Helen: You all have been given the pleasure
Of witnessing this very special occasion
That formally announces
The marriage of Doug and Danielle.
Now they have spoken their vows to each other
And given their promises.
They have declared that they are in love
And they will live together in holy matrimony.
They now wear the rings of love on their hands
And in their hearts.
So, by the authority vested in me,
I now pronounce them to be Husband and Wife. Doug, you may kiss your bride

Helen: Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to present to you
For the first time as husband and wife
Doug and Danielle

***********************
Whew! We all made it through without any major catastrophies, the rain didn't ruin things for anyone, and even provided some comic relief as the vows mention "torrential down pours." It was very meaningful for me to have been able to perform a marriage ceremony for Doug & Danielle, they are wonderful people. I don't think I'll be starting a wedding officiant business anytime soon, but it is pretty special to be able to do this for people who are your friends.

If I get any photos of the ceremony, I will post them later to this blog, and possibly on my web site.

The coolest thing I've seen this week!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN51VU-Zf5M

Laziness...

So I was going to get so much done on my days off in between jobs - ha! So far I've gotten absolutely nothing done. Unless you count 2 loads of laundry which I haven't even hung up yet. Yipe! I had envisioned getting all sorts of productive things done - cleaning & organizing my place, organizing & purging my paperwork & files, doing touch-up painting that needs to be done, purging the extra things I have & downsizing my belongings... why oh why can't I find the motivation to do these things? I think I need to have activities on my calendar in order to get myself to accomplish things. Otherwise, there's no pressing reason for me to tackle certain tasks, so I don't do that. Ay yi yi. Okay, I'll post this blog entry, and then try to get something accomplished here. Or else get a maid! :)

St. Patty's Day Dash Report

I participated in the St. Patty's Day Dash this past Sunday, in pouring rain that made for a miserable final mile. I had registered to do this event with my friend Naomi last year, but hurt myself snowboarding the night before and couldn't do it. (I had hurt my tailbone pretty badly and was on pain pills.) This year I was bound & determined to do it, and had even talked my sister into doing it as well. Naomi was also on board - she ended up doing it herself last year.

So the first drawback to this year's event is that it was the first day of daylight savings time, my least favorite day of the year. Thank you Congress for moving that day up three weeks for no apparant reason. My sister spent the night at my place to be closer to the event, but upon awakening at 6:30 a.m. (which was really 5:30 a.m., bleh!) she informed me that she hadn't slept all night, so it didn't appear that she was in any shape to do the race. Oh well. I went ahead & got ready anyway. She had purchased some lovely green feather boas for us to wear, along with armbands, green leis, and some lovely leprechaun earrings. I also donned my green wig for the occassion (photo is of me in the wig from last summer), not really thinking that perhaps my baseball running hat might be more appropriate for the weather (more on that later.)

I had called Naomi around 7:00 a.m. to make sure she woke up with the time change, and it's a good thing I did because she had remembered to change her clocks, but not to set the alarm. Amazingly, she made it to my place by 7:25 a.m. We were able to get a great parking space, and jump on a shuttle bus to the start at Seattle Center. Of course, we had a bunch of time to kill as the race wasn't scheduled to start until 9:00 a.m. We headed over to Uptown Espresso for some coffee & pastries (mmmm.... morning glory muffins!) and so had a few other race participants. Luckily we scored a table, so we were able to hang out there for a while.

I was signed up for the "yellow" walk/crawl wave, and Naomi had signed up for the "red" timed wave, but since we were there together she convinced me to start with her, since I wasn't being timed anyway. The race was delayed by 10 minutes, so our wave didn't start until 9:20. The weather was sort of holding out, and I was hoping we could make it to the finish line before the skies began to dump on us.

The race route starts on Mercer, then turns right and loops back around & dumps us onto Highway 99 (northbound lanes) and into the Battery Street tunnel. 15,000+ people were registered for this run, and it did feel like rush hour on the highway. There were several people wearing amusing outfits - one woman was in a lobster costume - I couldn't quite figure out how that related to St. Patrick's Day. Lots of green boas, a few green wigs, and lots of green hats. My favorite was a group of guys I saw run by who had rigged this headgear that hung a can of Guiness in front of thier faces as they ran. One guy kept on waving his arms like he was trying to grab the can - pretty funny!

All was well until we came out of the Battery Street tunnel, then we were on the top level of the viaduct. Now it was raining pretty hard, and here I was wearing my glasses, wearing green eye makeup and my lovely green wig. With no baseball hat to keep the water off of my face, my glasses were covered with water. The rain was getting into my eyes as well, and making them sting. I seriously could not see out of both eyes for the last mile of the run. I was in fear of being ran over by the numerous baby strollers that were being pushed on the course (why do they allow that?) and contemplated just grabbing someone's arm & having them lead me in. (Not really, but man was I miserable.) I couldn't wait to get to the finish line.

Naomi was waiting for me when I crawled in, and we headed over to the now mostly empty swag area. It seems that many of the people who came in earlier had grabbed numerous bottles of water & bags of chips leaving precious little for the rest of us. Hmmm... We finally found some water, and opted to head back to my place to dry off, and then go to Hale's for breakfast. I was in no mood to hang out at the beer garden that was at the finish line. Besides, the line to get into it was horrendously long.

Things I learned - don't wear a wig in the rain. If it's raining, always wear a hat with a bill, and don't wear eye makeup or glasses. And try not to get ran over by rogue baby strollers!

Cheers!

Info on how to donate to Tour de Cure - a benefit for diabetes

Dear Friends and Family,

I recently accepted the challenge of cycling in the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure fund-raising event. I am taking part in this event because I believe in and support the Association's mission: to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.

You, too, can help by supporting my fund-raising efforts with a generous contribution. Your tax-deductible gift will make a difference to more than 20 million Americans who are affected by diabetes and another 40 million who are at risk for developing diabetes. It is faster and easier than ever to support this great cause - you can make your donation online by simply clicking the link at the bottom of this message. If you would prefer, you can also send your tax-deductible contribution to me at the address listed below.

More information on the American Diabetes Association, its programs, and diabetes in general can be found at the Association's Web site, www.diabetes.org. To find out more information on our Tour de Cure, please visit tour.diabetes.org.

Sincerely,

Helen

To donate online, click here.

If this link does not send you directly to my personal fund-raising page, please cut and paste the entire link, from beginning to end, into your Web browser and hit return.

The coolest thing I've seen all day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C50F-qRQKqw

Welcome to my blog!

Oh boy, I've finally joined the brave new world of blogging! One more way to waste time on the computer when I should be doing something productive, like say, working out. Or cleaning my home. And here I am creating my blog page while I watch a show on "E" about "the dangers of the internet." Oooh, spooky....

Anyhow, we'll see how often I end up posting here. I'm currently pretty busy, with a lot of changes happening in my life which I'll elaborate on soon. I'm hoping to start working out more regularly starting this week, as I hope to do a few triathlons this summer. I also am planning on doing the St. Patty's Day Dash, and the Tour de Cure bike ride. More details to be posted as I register & start fundraising.