Wedding in Vermont

This weekend I went to Vermont for a joyous reason: the wedding of a dear friend! It was my first trip to Vermont and it was a very quick turnaround but I had a really good time.

Friday I flew into Boston and picked up my rental car. Getting out of Boston was a traffic-ridden nightmare but, once I escaped, it was smooth sailing through New Hampshire all the way to East Burke, Vermont.

Although Boston traffic delayed my arrival, I still made it in time for the rehearsal dinner - and thank goodness for that! The Fijian side of the bride's family guided guests through a kava ceremony, in which we ground up kava root, mixed it with water, and drank it from coconut shells. I was exhausted from a day of travel but the kava - supposedly a sedative - actually perked me right up!

At the rehearsal dinner I also met Oliver, the fiancé of another dear friend of mine. They were both intending to come to the wedding but she, now seven months pregnant, was unable to make the trip all the way from Germany. As Oliver and I were both alone, I adopted him as my "wingman" for the
weekend. :-)

Saturday morning I went out seeking a trail run. Nearby Lake Willoughby is known as the Lake Lucerne of North America so I had to see it. Lake Willoughby sits at the foot of Mt. Pisgah, so I decided to do a quick trail run before taking a dip in the lake. The trail to Mt. Pisgah's south lookout (where there should be a gorgeous view of the entire lake) was less than two miles long so I figured it would be a half hour out and back.

Oh, how wrong I was! Vermont's mountains, it turns out, are quite a bit steeper than the gentle foothills to which I am accustomed so very quickly my trail run turned into a hike. Some parts became quite technical too such that I was actually scrabbling on all fours.

45 minutes later I finally reached the south lookout - which was completely enveloped in fog so there was no view at all! It was a great workout, though, and coming down was just about as hard as going up. After an hour and a half I made it back to my car - and no time for a dip in the lake as I needed to meet Oliver back at my hotel!

The entire time on the trail I kept passing people who were speaking French, which instigated two reactions from me: 1. why on Earth are so many French people in Vermont?? 2. My French must be getting really bad because I can barely understand them! It wasn't until I paused at the top (possibly causing bloodflow to return to my brain) that I realized that, duh, they weren't French; they were Canadian! We were only a half hour drive from the Canadian border.

My hotel, the Burke Mountain Resort, sits at the foot of a network of ski slopes. In recent years, however, there hasn't been much snow, so the area has pivoted to become a haven for mountain biking. Oliver met me at the hotel to hike up the slopes for some spectacular views. After my unexpectedly strenuous morning hike, though, I needed to refuel a bit first so we stopped by the hotel pub. Motivated by proximity to Canada, I tried poutine for the first time. I ordered a Vermont cheese board to boot, keeping the entire meal local[ish].

With full bellies we we set out onto the slopes. With no real plan we simply worked our way up. Sometimes we were on road, sometimes on forested single track trail, and sometimes out on grassy slopes; it was beautiful! An Ironman was being held that same day and my hat is off to the competitors; a normal Ironman is already impressive but running up and down those steep slopes (after so much swimming and biking) was positively insane!

Oliver and I stumbled our ways back down the slopes and hurriedly got ready for the wedding. I wore a bowtie for the first time in a non-formal setting, which was fun. The wedding was outdoors at the groom's family farm. It threatened to rain but never quite did so; accordingly, the weather was truly pleasant while we celebrated my dear friend and her new husband.

The ceremony was lovely, really "them," and the reception was amazing. Fresh, local oysters, mac n' cheese, a melt in your mouth beef rib, and excellent wines made for the perfect catalyst to have fun with many people I was meeting for the first time. Oliver and I were "old friends" by this point and
I bumped into a former colleague there too, but I spent most of my time meeting friends and family of the bride and groom. Everyone was really lovely (There was even a golden retriever named Max!) and I'm sorry I had to leave early.

Leave early I did, though, as I had an early wakeup call to drive back to Boston and catch the first flight back to RDU. As much fun as I was having in Vermont, I was quite keen to return to Katie and our baby.

My first experience in Vermont was a very positive one. It certainly lived up to its reputation as the Green Mountain State and I can't wait to return and enjoy more of its nature and hospitality!

A Family Wedding

Last weekend I had the honor of officiating my sister-in-law's wedding in Tahoe. While the details of the wedding itself are private to the family, I'm glad to retell the story of the weekend, which was a grand affair.

We flew into Reno Wednesday and made our way to Fjeldheim, a Norwegian family lodge up in the mountains of the southeastern shore that had been rented out for the entire weekend. After stockup trips to Costco and Trader Joe's, we arrived at Fjeldheim and were thrilled with what we found. It's a huge multistory, multiacre estate with enough room to sleep 30+ people. Gorgeous lake views, an outdoor hot tub, a massive kitchen, the closest family of the bride and groom - we were ready for an epic weekend!

Thursday morning we woke up early and went hiking up to the summit of Maggies Peak. The high altitude immediately made itself apparent to me, as did the steep inclines of the hike! Huffing and puffing as I was, though, we were all rewarded with gorgeous views of Emerald Bay. After taking some time (and food!) to recover, we then spent the afternoon wine tasting on the California side of the lake.

Friday morning I took the opportunity to do something I can't do very well in Houston: hill sprints! The bride, who is a yogi, then helped me warm down with some light yoga. Friday afternoon then we all headed to the beach for the groom's dinner. Under cloudless skies we grilled out, played on the sand, and engaged in [freezing] water sports. The best part, though, came when the bride and sister of the groom busted out a guitar and began to serenade the groom. The guitar stayed out all night and it turned into hours and hours of sing-a-long - what fun!

The day of the wedding couldn't have been more perfect. We were blessed with our third straight day of awesome weather. The bride started the day by leading us in the full Ashtanga Yoga primary series. I then joined the groom for a trail run along the Lake Tahoe Rim Trail. All this led up to the main event: the wedding itself.

The ceremony was short and sweet and I was privileged to have a front row seat. After the bride and groom were pronounced husband and wife we spent a glorious afternoon sipping on champagne, playing yard games, and dining outside. This, of course, was followed by hours and hours of dancing until the wee hours of the morning - I couldn't have imagined anything better for the happy couple.

Sunday we lazily breakfasted and said sad, fond goodbyes. It had been a wonderful, joyous celebration in an amazing location but eventually it was time to return to reality. For Katie and me, however, reality was delayed by another day. Our flight back to Houston wasn't until Monday so we had to spend the night at a hotel/casino in Reno. Let me tell you, that was one classy place! After an evening of smoky gaming tables, poolside dancers, and comped all-you-can-eat buffets, we finally returned to Houston.

What a weekend! We are so, so happy for Kelly and Mike and we were thrilled to be party of their new union! We were especially thrilled that the way they wanted to celebrate happened to be a LOT of fun!

My Brother's Wedding

Last weekend Katie and I went to St. Petersburg, Florida for my brother's wedding. It was hot and humid but somehow we didn't mind at all. Katie set us up in a B&B near all the action. It was cute, quaint, and very energy- and water-efficient, which we obviously appreciated. If anyone else is traveling to St. Petersburg, we would recommend La Veranda as a nice alternative to staying in a big hotel. The proprietor was extremely adaptable to Katie's and my nutritional requests for breakfast.

Friday we met my mom, brother, and another groomsman for lunch at The Moon Under Water. Although it offered mostly Britsh pub food (Yuck!), it also offered superb Indian cuisine (Yum!) - combined with a British pub beer list (Yumyumyum!)! Such a great pairing enjoyed al fresco on a sunny afternoon was just the way to kick off the weekend's festivities.

After the rehearsal, we had rehearsal dinner at Bella Brava, an Italian restaurant that Nick has been raving about for years. They kind of screwed up our reservation so I was less impressed with them than I had hoped to be - but it still turned out to be a fine venue for eating, drinking, and roasting on the eve of the wedding.

Saturday Katie and my mom spent the day bouncing around between St. P's surprising number of good museums (surprising given the town's small size). Meanwhile I joined the other groomsmen at Nick's house for a day of outdoor workouts and great food. Once we felt that Nick had been sent off from bachelorhood in appropriate style, we changed and got ready for the big event.

The wedding itself was Hawaiian themed and very informal. With the sun beating down on us, we all appreciated the informality! It was also very meaningful, from the written vows to the sentimental rings to the participation of the flower dog.

As we transitioned to the reception we also added a Top Gun theme. We groomsmen donned aviators as we entered the reception to the Top Gun theme song and later on there was a You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling homage. The Hawaiian theme continued as well as we were treated to a show by dancers from the Pacific Islands. It was an interactive show so attendees were treated (?) to more than they could ever want of me hula dancing!

We danced into the night and then continued the party in downtown St. P. It was a lot of fun: sweaty, sweaty fun!

The next day Katie, Mom, and I spent the morning in the Salvador Dali Museum - what a trip! And then we wrapped up with tapas at Ceviche before heading home. All in all it was a fun weekend and a great way to send Nick and Jess off on their new adventure. I won't try to recount my toasts here as they are private, intended just for the bride, groom, and other wedding attendees. I did quote one poem by Rumi, though, in honor of Nick's and Jess's strong attachment to the sea:


The religion of Love 
is a sea without 
a shore,where the 
Lovers drown 
without a sigh, 
without a cry.

To Nick and Jess, bon voyage on your new life together!

Finnish Wedding Part 3

Saturday also began with a very late start (after briefly waking up for the amazing breakfast buffet). It was raining a bit so we didn't venture too far but we did walk around and see the Church in the rock, which was very cool. Again we bumped into our classmates while we were walking around town and, while we were having lunch, we witnessed a SlutWalk protest - hundreds of Finnish women (and some men) dressed outlandishly made for a "unique" cultural experience!

Saturday evening was the wedding itself, a positively lovely affair. After a short civil ceremony we were treated to more excellent Finnish cuisine for dinner: lots of raw meat and fish, but also delicious vegetarian options. The wine was very well paired with the food too. As we ate there were some toasts, mostly in English but also in Finnish. They were clever and poignant and paid great tribute to the happy couple. When Tuomas delivered his toast in Finnish to Emilia, it reinforced something we all learned at IMD - that only a very small part of communication comes from the actual meaning of words. Even though we couldn't understand his words, the heartfelt homage to his life partner was clearly evident.

Before we transitioned completely from sitting to dancing there was a brief bit of drama. It seems that someone kidnapped the bride! In order to earn her back, Tuomas had to answer trivia questions about her and then dance a traditional Texas line dance! At first his performance was not deemed enthusiastic enough so he gave it another try, pulling out all the stops, and won her back - what a great tradition!

Then the dancing started and it was a LOT of fun! The DJ played everything from 80s staples to contemporary Finnish music, to everything in between - including Finnish covers of classic songs. Despite the cool weather outside, it got very, VERY warm inside so I had to alternate between dancing and cooling off outside. Eventually the best man made an announcement that it was time to stop drinking . . . and start getting wasted - what a great sentiment!

As Katie and I were dancing with one of my Chinese classmates, having a blast, it reminded me of a failure of mine from the IMD year. I was so focused on academic achievement that I missed many opportunities to bond with my classmates, foregoing parties to work, for example. It is so evident to me now, though, that my classmates were IMD's greatest assets, and relationships with them are the greatest benefits that I took from the program. This is now the top piece of advice I give to incoming students: to take time to get to know their peers. In my case I am now finally doing it at, for example, weddings like this one - better late than never!

At 1 AM we had to relinquish our venue so we all hopped on a bus to The Tiger, the self-described classiest club in Helsinki. There we had some tables reserved and kept the dance party going until 4 AM. As the club closed, Katie and I walked back to our hotel under the early sunrise and relished in the denouement of what had been an incredibly fun night.

Sunday began with brunch at an island mansion. Our party was noticeably diminished in size, partially because some people had already departed, but also because many people were still suffering from the previous night. Those of us who made it out were treated to excellent recovery food and a great view of the bay. Afterward Katie and I ferried over to Suomenlinna, the world's largest sea fortress, for some touring and sight seeing.

Sunday evening featured a final, casual dinner with the wedding couple and then Monday morning we were up eaaaaarly to catch our flight to Switzerland. Somehow it is easier to get up at 4 AM, though, when the sun is already rising. As we waited for our airport ride, I breathed in and took one last look at the gray, early lit skies above the train station and savored my most "canonical" view of Finland. It was a short trip but a fantastic introduction to a great country and great people! Many congratulations to Tuomas and Emilia!

Finnish Wedding Part 1

Katie and I went to Finland for the first time in our lives for the wedding of two IMD friends and we absolutely loved the place! A cynical MBA friend of mine once advised me that the best benefit of business school was that it provided many travel opportunities for weddings of classmates. As international as IMD is, it really takes that benefit to the extreme! This was our third wedding outside of the US in the last 10 months but the first in a place that was totally new to us.

We arrived Thursday in Helsinki, where we were immediately impressed by the architecture. Many buildings were designed by famous artists and were both unique and beautiful. We were also astounded by how many and how well people spoke English. In fact, not only did they speak English better than many Americans, they were incredibly hospitable, nice, and gracious - which was a good thing, because everything was very expensive there! Still, given the quality of the people, buildings, and open spaces (many parks, plazas, sea views, and tree-lined promenades), you clearly get what you pay for!

Thursday evening we met up with other IMD couples for dinner and it was great to see people from Finland, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, India, China, Hong Kong, Romania, New Zealand, and France. In all there were  eight alumni from the IMD MBA Class of 2008 - nearly 10% of our class - and amazingly I had only worked closely in a group with one of them. Accordingly, in addition to celebrating the wedding of our classmate, Tuomas, and his awesome bride, Emilia, this weekend turned out to be a great chance to bond with other classmates as well. Dinner Thursday evening was a great way to kick that off!

While we were at dinner, we bumped into an older gentleman who had noticed us talking about IMD. It turns out that he was an MBA graduate from 1988. Small world! Or rather, global network!

Wedding Part 6 - Final Reflections

A great deal happened on and around our wedding day. William and Kate were married a week before. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver split up. Our dear friends gave birth to their first child. Animal Kingdom, a horse with ties to Hot Springs, Arkansas, won the Kentucky Derby. Rice baseball swept UH to continue its annual tradition of winning the Silver Glove. For us, though, all the magic in the world was at Castello di Montalto with us and our friends and family.

At the end of the day, the location was amazing and it certainly added the "fairytale" dimension to our wedding celebration. However, I think if we had gathered that group of people together anywhere in the world it would have been just as special. It really wasn't the castle or lush green hills or the incredible food and wine that made our wedding so special; it was the people. We are truly, truly blessed to have the people in our lives that we do and not a day goes by that we are not thankful for them.

It seems too that we are not the only ones to benefit from the great people with whom we celebrated in Italy. Since returning to the world of Internet connectivity it has been a joy to see all the facebook notifications of them connecting with each other. As we catch up with each of them it is also a thrill to hear of many of their adventures and stories from the week that were totally unrelated to us or our wedding. These stories bring broad smiles to our faces.

Now we're back at home and we're both still just beaming. My cheeks still hurt; not just from all the picture taking but from all the smiling and laughing. As I wrote at the beginning of my wedding blogging, it was the greatest week - and May 7th the greatest DAY - of my life thus far. But, as I look over at Katie sleeping in the seat next to me, I know that the best is yet to come! Thanks to everyone for the good wishes as we begin our next chapter together!

Wedding Part 5 - The Aftermath

Sunday morning we woke up for the first time as husband and wife. Practically speaking, nothing had changed. Emotionally speaking, everything was different. We had taken a big step and everything just seemed to shine. At breakfast the honey was a litte sweeter, the smiles a little broader, and the laughter a little louder - life a little better.

Sunday morning we went to Siena and walked around a bit. I've always preferred the "Renaissance" of Florence to the "Medieval" of Siena, but, as we were at the cusp of tourist season, it was nice being in a place that was a little less mobbed. In line with Katie's and my travel philosophy, we spent most of our time in Siena eating!

Lunch was at a restaurant called Antica Osteria da Divo, a little place near the Duomo built into Etruscan caves. They set up tables for our group in one of the caves and we dined all afternoon. After that we moved onto San Gimignano for towers, gelato, and vino. We capped it all off with home cooking back at the Castello - what more can you really want in a day?

Monday we went wine tasting again - this time in the Chianti Classico region. First we traveled North to Greve, where we tasted at Villa Calcinaia, owned by the Capponi family, including my former professor. The other brother, Sebastiano, runs the wine business and honored us with some storytelling while we tasted his organic olive oil, sangiovese, Chianti Classico, and Chianti Classico Riserva.

We arrived at Calcinaia more than one hour late (Consistency!) but tarried there even longer than anticipated because everyone wanted to buy their wine afterward. As a consequence, we didn't reach our next appointment, Castello di Brolio, until three hours after our appointment time. We were scheduled to have lunch there followed by a tour and wine tasting. However, by the time we arrived, their osteria was already closed. They were kind enough to provide lots of food with our wine tasting - which was fortunate since we were starving by then!

The tour of the castle, where Chianti was "invented" was interesting and further fueled my desire to have a castle someday. The tasting reinforced my opinion that the Chiantis of Barone Ricasoli are really outstanding and can go head-to-head even with some Brunelli. Another night of dining "in" at the castello was a great finish to the day.

Tuesday was our last full day at the Castello so Katie and I decided just to hang out. Once again the weather was gorgeous so we walked the grounds a bit, spent time with those who were leaving, and had a long lunch with plenty of wine - which was, of course, followed by a similarly long nap!

Tuesday night we went into town for dinner in Castelnuovo Berardenga. We found a very nice little enoteca/trattoria where we dined on local specialties for hours. To accompany the typical Tuscan fare, we drank 2006  Dievole Chianti Classico Riserva Novecento, which was fantastic - one of the best wines we drank the entire trip, which is saying something!

Wednesday came and at last it was time to depart. It had been an incredible stay at Castello di Montalto and we would strongly recommend it to anyone looking for home base in Tuscany - tell them we sent you! On our way down to Rome we stopped in Orvieto for lunch. Orvieto was really charming and next time we are around it will merit more time than we gave it on this brief stop.

We spent Wednesday night in Rome, which was like an entirely different world. Driving in traffic was stressful, menus were in English, and the fantastic surreality was gone. Still, Katie and I were grinning from ear to ear recounting the amazing week we had had.

Wedding Part 4 - The Big Day

Saturday morning Katie and I arose; the sun was shining, birds were chirping, and excitement was in the air. After breakfast many of us set about making final preparations. Many of the women decorated the granaio, which would be the scene of dinner and dancing, while others picked local wild flowers from the countryside. We used empty wine bottles from the previous 48 hours (And there were many!) to hold flowers as table decorations. Some of the other men and I set up chairs, tables, and the sound system.

Many people had their own excellent ideas for little touches that we would never have thought of, such as tying a ribbon (tied by Lee, who has been tying beautiful ribbons around my presents since I was 10) around the linden tree under which we would be married. This was exactly what we had in mind as it eliminated our stress and made the entire event a shared experience. I kept trying to find things about which to stress or worry but I really couldn't - everything was just . . . perfect.

Finally it was time to get ready for the ceremony. The common themes in Katie's and my outfits were "vintage," "castle," and "meaningful." Several months ago I found a midnight blue dinner jacket from the 40's and, with a little tailoring, it fit me very well. The formal shirt I wore under it was handmade with a bib design known as "Swiss pleats," a nod to the place where Katie and I were engaged. My studs were given to me by my mother, a set of four handmade silver dragons; they paired very well with my cuff links, also handmade silver dragons! Apparently the special ladies in my life know how strongly I believe that castles should have dragons! Instead of dress shoes I wore a pair of black ostrich boots given to me by Sam, my mentor in all things Texas. In my front breast pocket I had a white linen pocket square with a hand monogrammed "KJBGH" (Katie's initials joined with mine). Finally, I of course wore my Rice ring.

Adorned as such, I was ready - or I thought I was. Still nothing could prepare me for seeing Katie in her wedding outfit! We had planned a small, intimate ceremony with no "aisle" down which to walk so I showed up early, milled about, took pictures, etc. while we waited for the bride and her sister to show. When they did, WOW, what a sight to behold! Katie was wearing a long, flowing ivory dress (new) with a low back and plunging neckline. Her crystal earrings and aquamarine (blue) ring were gifts from my mother. An art deco bracelet (borrowed) graced her wrist while strappy silver/gold wedges clad her feet (Castles are not great places for stiletto heels!). She also had a special sixpence piece in her shoe to bring a little tradition to our most nontraditional wedding.

Most meaningful to me, though, were the vintage 30's crown tiara and 40's crystal rhinestone necklace (old). They were both wedding gifts from me and I was pleased to see how perfectly they adorned her head and her heart, her two most important parts! While I tried to remain poised, all I could think was, "OMGOMGOMGOMG I'm going to marry her!!!!" She was truly the vision of a "princess bride," the references to which continued throughout the entire day.

On a related note, I gave Katie a second vintage tiara as well because I didn't know much about her dress, how she would wear her hair, etc. and I wanted her to have options. The other tiara turned out to be a perfect match for Kelly's dress and so I was thrilled almost to tears to see my sister-to-be also wearing something from me. "Keep it together, Hassin; the ceremony hasn't even started yet!"

Once we were all together under the linden tree, in a courtyard between the castle's two major towers, it was time to get the show on the road. At this point it was no longer about the wedding-to-come but the wedding-in-the-here-and-now. Much of my IMD subconscious-oriented training was directed at experiencing the "here and now" so, surreal as the experience was becoming, I resolved to savor it. Every word that was spoken, every movement of someone's hand, even every breeze on my neck . . . I soaked up every ounce of it!

We were honored to have Sam as our "Captain of Ceremonies." As this was a secular ceremony and as we had already been civilly wed, our qualifications for this role were for someone meaningful (Sam had been like a father to me and in recent years he came to know Katie as well.), checklist-oriented (Sam is a career pilot - check!), and well spoken (Double check, especially since Sam's oratory skills come with the incredible "bonus" of Lee's co-authorship!) - Sam was a shoe-in, and we were just so glad that he undertook it even with many, many, many other important things going on in both his and Lee's lives right now.

The specific details of what was said and undertaken during the wedding ceremony belongs to the "here and now" of "there and then" so will not be included in this blog post. Suffice to say, though, that our parents and siblings played major roles (Even Katie's brother/sister-in-law and their family, who were unable to attend in person, joined us via Skype!), our IMD friends/spouses contributed international perspectives on marriage, and we publicly committed ourselves to each other before the people we hold most dear.

Speaking our vows to each other was the most surreal, positive moment of my life to date. It felt like something out of a movie, when the rest of the scene fades out and all that is left is sunlight and music and love. For months, ever since I began writing my vows, this was exactly how I had envisioned it, even down to the bridal wreath petals blowing in the breeze and landing softly in our hair and on our shoulders. I had practiced my vows in the shower, in the car, and in the mirror, but this time I spoke them into the beautiful blue eyes of my life partner. Incomparable, amazing, perfect.

Once we finished bawling, being pronounced husband and wife, and kissing (Finally!), we kicked off post-ceremony festivities by sabering the first bottle of La Marca Conegliano Prosecco di Valdobbiadene. Instead of using a sword, though (tough to carry on a plane!), we used the best we could find in the castle's kitchen: a huge meat cleaver!!! We sabered that bottle without cutting anyone, took a billion pictures, and began partying.

There in the courtyard we played mostly classical music, including pieces by Beethoven, Bach, Schumann, and even Mark Knopfler and John Williams. We also made the first of what would eventually be many, many, many toasts. We toasted those who were there with us, those who couldn't make it, and those who were no longer with us, all of whom were celebrating with us whether in person or in spirit.

Once every possible of combination of bride, groom, and guests had been photographed under the linden tree, we processed to the granaio to begin a very, very long wedding lunch/dinner. With such a small gathering we were able to seat everyone at the same long table, with Katie and me and immediate family at the center. For antipasti we had three kinds of bruschetta: muscroom, tomato, and spinach aioli. With this we also opened the next wine, La Cala Vermentino di Sardegna, a fabulous little white wine very near and dear to Katie's and my hearts.

I had intended to use the meal as an opportunity to toast everyone there at least once (I love making toasts at the weddings of other people so I was going to make as many as possible at my own!) and, using the Swiss cowbell we received as a gift, we started a protocol of ringing the cowbell to garner attention for a toast. Very shortly after my first few toasts, though, the cowbell made its way down to both ends of the table and we were surprised, HONored, flattered, thrilled, excited, grateful, blessed, and many, many other joyous words as our guests outdid me in both toast quantity and quality. Toasts ranged from hilarious to tear-jerking, from rehearsed to improvised, from advisory to congratulatory - but they were all incredibly heartfelt. I thought that our crying had finished with the ceremony but many of the toasts started the water works right back up again.

For our primo piatto we had risotto with asparagus and fagioli, which was followed by our secondo, herb-roasted pork and roasted potatoes. With this main course we served the '99 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio all'Oro. If I hadn't already been in a "savor" mindset, this would have put me there immediately. Oh wow, what a wine! Classic sangiovese with crushed cherries and tobacco, beautifully integrated, and a round finish that went on and on and on and on. Mmmmmmm!

Dessert was panna cotta with fresh local berries, served alongside 2000 Chateau Guiraud Sauternes, which we discovered during our 2008 Bordeaux trip. It was an excellent pairing.

As we progressed through the meal, some of the toasts turned creative, including a Godfather reenactment, calling of the Hogs, singing of a traditional Sicilian wedding song (including audience participation!), and an a capella rendition of Can't Help Falling in Love by Katie's aunt, mother, and sister. Not only was that moving in and of its own right, but Katie's brilliant suggestion that we get up and dance to it made for a "first dance" much more spontaneous and memorable than anything we could have planned. Once again: perfect.

As the sun set we moved from dining to dancing. Katie and I had put together a small selection of good dance songs - both fast and slow - from the 50's through today and played them off my laptop through some big speakers. We started with the older stuff to be a little more accessible to our guests who would probably retire earlier and then made our way into more contemporary dance fare. It's tough to have something for everyone and I worried at times that our music was too "American" for our European guests, too loud for our older guests, etc. Utimately, though, Katie seemed to be having a blast, which was what really mattered. We hit on a lot of our favorites, including raucous singalongs to Friends In Low Places and Bohemian Rhapsody. In hommage to Top Gun the men even serenaded Katie with You've Lost That Loving Feeling. Good times!

After 11 or so hours of lunch/dinner and dancing, we finally wound down, cleaned up a bit, and called it a night. For Katie and me, it had been the absolutely perfect day. There was no stress, only unabounding joy, amplified a thousand fold by our loved ones who shared in the celebration with us. Words, poetry, music - nothing can express how incredible our wedding was for us. It was everything we had hoped it would be - and more, through the contributions of those who shared it with us. It was perfect. May 7, 2011: Best. Day. EVER!

Wedding Part 3 - Our Last Day as Singles

Friday many of our guests went out exploring on their own. Some went to Florence, some to Lake Trasimeno, some to Cortona, and some just drove around. Katie and I stayed at the castle to enjoy the estate a bit and make any final preparations for the big day.

Castello di Montalto is on 700 hectares (~1600 acres) of contiguous land so we spent a lot of time just walking around the fields and forests, where we saw horses, deer, pheasants, wild boar, porcupines, and innumerable birds, lizards, bugs, and the like. Some of us went for runs some mornings along the gravel road which, despite the rocks, was fine in my Vibrams.

Friday afternoon was devoted to sport. My "groomsmen" (We didn't actually have a wedding party but, if we had, these were certainly guys who would have been part of it!) and I played grass volleyball, tennis, and football - a perfect way to spend my waning hours as a bachelor!

Friday evening, once nearly everyone, including my Italian cousins, had arrived, we held an outdoor BBQ to foster more "connectivity" between and among our various "constituencies." This dinner might usually be termed a "rehearsal dinner," but that was not the case for us - as there was no rehearsal! Katie and I really wanted the festivities to play out organically with minimal planning/controlling/stressing and that is exactly what happened - mission accomplished!

Toward the end of dinner, a good friend of the family, David, took over and delivered a scathing, hilarious roast. David has known me since I was 1 so he had accumulated plenty of roast material! Throughout dinner, though, he and some accomplices had also enticed people to write down wishes for Katie and me on little slips of paper. As he finished his roast, all the wishes were loaded onto little flying lanterns that were lit and then set free to carry the wishes up to the heavens. The effect was magical: an ascending "staircase" of balls of light in the night sky. As they floated upward some people called out the wishes they had made for us - some common themes were laughter and adventure, wishes that I am certain will come true! Some other wishes, such as fielding an entire football team with our children, well . . . we'll just have to see about that! Finally, by late Friday night, all 43 of us had arrived, ready for the big day.

Wedding Part 2 - Brunello di Montalcino

Thursday's focus was on my favorite aspect of Tuscany: the WINE! After breakfast together (featuring exclusively food grown/prepared there at the castle or baked/prepared in the nearby village), we lined up an eight-car caravan to travel to the wine region of Brunello di Montalcino. The Garmin GPS that came with our rental car led us the wrong way down one-way streets a couple of times so we abandoned it in favor of Google Maps on my phone, which was much more effective--until we neared our destination! Then Google tried to send us to basically the right location but just a little ways up the hill, which wasn't very useful! So then we went back to the Garmin GPS, which didn't fail us this time. Finally, more than an hour late (which would be a theme in our wine tasting all week!), we arrived at Fattoria dei Barbi.

For wine tasting in and around Montalcino, I am used to being just 2-4 people, which, it turns out, is very different than being a group of 30! Many of the smaller Brunello houses simply aren't equipped to handle larger groups, rendering them ineligible for visits. Similarly, many of them don't have anyone on hand who speaks English, which is fine for a small group in which I can act as translator, but which is impractical for a larger tour. This means that our choices of wineries to visit were somewhat limited.

Also, there is generally no fee to tour/taste at wineries in Italy, but, for large groups, they do charge a per person tasting fee. Finally, leading a long caravan of cars (for many of whom it is their first time driving in Italy, Europe, or even outside the US) is simply a pretty slow affair. This - combined with our ongoing navigation antics - had me very ready for some wine by the time we arrived!

Barbi was very gracious, though, and still gave us an abbreviated tour (skipping over some of the finer vinification points) followed by a very unabbreviated tasting. At the tasting we sample their three Brunelli: 2006 Brunello di Montalcino, 2005 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna di Fiore (single vineyard), and 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. The first was a pretty basic Brunello; the second offered a little more flavor depth, and the riserva had a bit more tannic structure - all very good to taste and good to whet our appetites.

Lunch took place at Boccon di Vino, where I had eaten before with both Katie and Cox on separate occasions. There we were treated to delicious pasta dishes, a fantastic selection of Brunello wines (We had Silvio Nardi, Argiano, and Valdicava), and possibly the best panoramic view outside of San Gimignano in all of Tuscany. Usually we follow up lunch at Boccon di Vino with a nap in the parking lot but, given how far behind we were, we simply couldn't afford it this time. Fortunately the chocolate mousse we were served for dessert had plenty of coffee bean in it, so that helped.

Our afternoon tasting was at Castello Banfi. American-owned and the largest (by far) producer of Brunello di Montalcino, Banfi is about as commercial and "un-charming-Italian" as it comes, but their wine is just so damn good that I can't help but love them. We tasted their 2009 Rosso di Montalcino, 2006 Brunello di Montalcino, and 2005 Brunello di Montalcino Poggio alle Mura (single vineyard), which went from good to very good to very very good but still too young. We did not taste their riserva Brunello (Poggio all'Oro) because the '99 vintage of that wine would be served Saturday night at the wedding dinner. As we milled about, Banfi offered us another tasting of their sweet white Muscadello and, as I picked up the case of '99 Poggio all'Oro (their very last 12 bottles of it - good thing I reserved them a few months ago!) they threw in a magnum of Rosa Regale, their sparkling red wine, as a congratulatory gift.

Spoils in hand we returned in the evening to the Castello. After a late, heavy lunch and lots of wine consumption, several guests called it an early night. Some stayed around the castle to continue wine tasting. We went out to dinner at Il Corte di Bacco with some of our guests who just arrived Thursday afternoon. By the time we finally made it back to our villa, we crashed hard! Driving around a beautiful place tasting incredible wines with wonderful people - what a perfect way to kick off our wedding festivities!

Wedding Part 1 - Arrival

The best week of my life - including the best day of my life - has just ended. I have had some really tremendous previous best weeks and days of my life, but this wedding really blew them all away. Everything was just so . . . so . . . perfect.

Katie and I departed for Italy Tuesday, May 3, arriving Wednesday morning. I had contacted Continental customer service months ago to see if they would do anything special for a couple on its way to be married, hoping to surprise Katie with a shout-out or something similar. The generic "no" response I received was disappointing but wasn't a big deal. However, when the flight attendant saw Katie's hanging bag, she guessed at our impending nuptials and did make an announcement, which was a surprise and a lot of fun. She even called us Mr. and Mrs. Barrett, which may be closer to the mark than she intended! As always, Continental's good people came through, even when their systems and processes didn't.

We arrived in Rome, picked up Chris, Kelly, and Mike (Katie's father, sister, and sister's boyfriend - I usually try to anonymize other people in my blog entries but it just won't be possible in the ones about the wedding!), and set off for Castello di Montalto. Instead of heading straight to Castelnuovo Berardenga, though, we detoured through Montepulciano for some sightseeing and a late lunch. The weather was overcast but it already felt great to be re-immersed in the rolling green hills of bella Toscana!

Katie - now my co-author-for-life - insists that I elaborate a bit more on the food. At lunch many of us had Pici, the local handmade pasta (kind of like very fat spaghetti noodles) in various forms (mine with extra garlic naturally). To cleanse our palettes afterward, we walked back to our car with some fig and ricotta gelato that was out of this world!

When we arrived at the Castello late Wednesday afternoon, some of our guests had already checked in and the weather was already clearing up. For the rest of our stay, the weather remained perfect for castle life: sunny with highs in the low 20s C (low 70s F) and lows around 10 C (~50 F). We were greeted upon arrival by the Count and Countess (who reside in the main building of the castle) and by Leo, their noble German Shepherd, who demanded tummy rubs as hommage.

One of the villas in the hamlet - the one with a large balcony and a gorgeous view, naturally - quickly emerged as the "party suite." Most of our guests arrived Wednesday evening so we picked up 30 pizzas from a local pizzeria and served them up (along with plenty of vino!) in the party suite. This was a fantastic event as people from our various worlds began connecting. Family met coworkers, coworkers met friends, friends of one side met friends of the other side, etc. We only had ~40 guests all-in-all but all of the chapters of both of our lives were represented. We made merry until pretty late and then called it a night to deal with jet lag.

The energy brought by all of our guests was palpable and Katie and I knew that this was the beginning of a very special experience!

Schaefer Wedding

This weekend Katie and I had the pleasure and honor of celebrating someone ELSE'S wedding just a week before our own! The wedding was in Key West, Florida so we were excited to relax a little in the sun for the weekend.

We flew down on Friday and immediately removed our watches to enforce that we were now on "island time." We settled into our little B&B on Truman Avenue and spent the afternoon just walking around Duval Street. We found a little hole in the wall called The Conch Shack where we had some excellent conch fritters. Friday night was rehearsal dinner at El Meson de Pepe (Cuban cuisine) and then we spent the rest of the night lounging around the pool and catching up with friends from Rice.

Saturday morning Katie and I woke up early to combine exercise with scenery. Katie walked around and explored some of the local parks while I went for a jog along the southern coast of the island. Lots of other people were out walking, running, biking, and roller blading around the island and everyone was very friendly.

We met up with our friends for brunch at Sarabeth's, where we also began daydrinking with a carafe of mimosas. After that some of our party went kayaking but Katie and I and RT decided to take the daydrinking to the next level by playing a few holes of Pub Golf.

Pub Golf is a drinking sport that goes along with a Pub Crawl. Each bar/pub stop on the crawl is considered a hole of golf. Participants are scored based on their consumption: drinking a beer is Par (0), a shot is Birdie (-1), a beer and a shot is Eagle (-2), and two beers or two shots is Albatross (-3). Sounds pretty straight forward, right? There is some strategy involved too, though, because each time you go to the bathroom you are penalized with an additional stroke (+1). If you vomit you are penalized with +2 - but if you "puke and rally" it's only +1.

This game was new to Katie and me but we were excited to play. We were both a bit nervous as our days of heavy drinking are pretty much behind us but it would be fun to see if we could stil hang. As the undefeated champion of the R7 Solutions "Shut Up And Drink" Challenge, I had a bit of pride at stake, but I also had more concern for my health and being in good shape for the wedding several hours later, so I would tap out if need be.

Our first hole was Fat Tuesday, a bar known for mixed frozen drinks. Katie started strong with their strongest drink, the 44 Magnum, for which she was awarded -2. She was also assigned a -2 handicap for her lower bodyweight. As with most competitions, my strategy was to come out swinging, so I ordered two shots (-3). Because I was in the islands, I chose two rums: Barcadi 8-year and Bacardi Reserva. The 8-year was OK but the Reserva was rich and complex with a refined finish - hardly appropriate for a debaucherous competition such as ours! RT decided to keep pace and took two shots of Goldschlager (-3). At the end of this hole, Katie had the lead with -4, followed closely by RT and me with -3 each.

Hole two took us to Irish Kevin's, RT's favorite bar on Duval St - and I can see why! It had many things to recommend it: Guinness on tap, a bartender who taunted patrons and drank along with them, a standing Guinness CHUGGING contest, and an awesome live singer/guitarist who sang Skynyrd, CCR, and Johnny Cash. Katie had a Smithwick's (0) and RT and I opted to slow our scoring pace a bit to stick with the Irish theme; we each ordered a Guinness and a Jameson's (-2).

We had an awesome time at this place, singing along at the tops of our lungs. A couple walked in wearing Redskins shirts too, so it was fun to chat/commisserate with them. Katie was already seriously feeling the effects of the first hole, though, so she neglected her beer and bogeyed. Not one to let a perfectly good beer go to waste, I finished it off to drop another stroke (-3). At the end of this hole, I had the lead with -6, RT was right behind me with -5, and Katie was a little further back at -3. Long story short: I never relinquished the lead so I'll stop updating our scores from here on.

Our third hole was The Lazy Gecko, which happened to have an Irish bartender. As such, we continued the Guinness + Jameson's combination. They also had a Nintendo Wii so we exercised something other than our livers with Wii Bowling and Homerun Derby. Re-energized by the Wii, Katie was back in the game.

The fourth and final hole was the Hog's Breath, where we sat at the bar and just drank liquor. Katie had a sapphire martini, RT went back to Goldschlager, and I tried some other exotic rums plus vodka distilled from local oranges.

By the end of Hole Four it was clear that we needed something in our systems that was not alcohol. We found a restaurant that was creatively named "Cheeseburger." RT ordered the eponymous menu item while Katie and I shared a fish sandwich, conch fritters, and sweet potato fries. By the time we left it was 2 PM and it was clearly time for all of us to nap. RT yak'ed on the way back (+2) but I had a pretty insurmountable lead by then anyway. All in all it was a very good time and I'm glad we gave it a try!

After a refreshing nap and shower we attended the actual wedding of our friends, which took place at the Key West Lighthouse, a really pretty location. The ceremony was officiated by another friend of ours who did a really good job of combining meaningful words with humor. It was a very nice little ceremony and we were pleased to share in the joy of our two newlywed friends.

Afterward the reception was upstairs at 915 Duval, which was a nice venue with good food and very friendly staff. There we ate, drank, chatted, caught up, and generally had a good time for several hours. When it came time to send off the bride and groom, though, we called it a night too. After all, we had had a pretty intense day and we're not as young as we used to be!

Sunday we hopped on our plane back to Houston, very excited for the couple and we were honored to be included in the weekend's festivities. Now the countdown has begun to our OWN nuptials, for which we depart on Tuesday!

Legally Married!

Last Saturday Katie and I took a major step by formalizing our civil union with some of our best friends in Houston. Because our "real" wedding will take place in Italy and because it's kind of a pain to be legally wed there, we decided to be legally wed in Houston first.

We originally intended for it not to be an event but really just an official procedure of filling out some documents. However, as it became clear that some of our best friends would not be able to join us in Italy, we decided to use the occasion for a little "pre-wedding" celebration.

Our moms and Katie's sister flew in for the affair and it was officiated by one of our best friends from the Rice community - who also happens to be an ordained minister! We held the event on April 16th, the 10-year anniversary of our first date, which also happened to be Jimmy Buffett Day this year! We held it at Antica Osteria, a restaurant that has been a special part of our relationship since the very beginning.

We had lovely weather all weekend and the star jasmine was in full bloom, providing an incredible scent everywhere we went. The night of our dinner the sky was clear and the full moon was shining brightly. There were 17 of us all-in-all in a private area, which proved to be a great size, allowing everyone to meet everyone else and for us to visit with everyone.

We had picked out our favorite dishes for the meal: pepperoni arrostiti with anchovies and garlic and burratta pugliese to start, the "Memari" salad dell'osteria, and a choice of fresh Gulf snapper, eggplant parmigiana, or Maine lobster fra diavola. We knew everyone would be stuffed by dessert time so we went for a lighter option: fresh mixed berries and cream.

To drink we served an Angelo Sassetti Brunello di Montalcino 2004. Katie and I had been to visit Angelo's brother / next-door neighbor, Livio, in 2009 and absolutely loved the wine so we gambled that Angelo's would be good too. Our gamble paid off and we had a very nice, mellow brunello that got better as the evening progressed.

The food was delicious, the company was great, and we couldn't have asked for a better way to kick off our wedding festivities. We closed down the restaurant and ended the night feeling incredibly positive about our future together and the great people in our lives. Now we are looking forward to more time with family and friends during the coming weekends and finally the wedding itself in May. Life is good!

Wedding in Italy

No, not my wedding! Last week Katie and I attended an IMD friend's wedding in Italy, which was absolutely marvelous.

The day before we departed we attended the Rice-UT football game at Reliant Stadium. There was just a splotch of Rice blue in the very UT burnt orange crowd but we cheered disproportionately loudly. The Owls gave us something to cheer for too, scoring first and outscoring UT in both the first and fourth quarters. A few key mistakes led to a 34-17 loss but overall we felt pretty good about our performance against one of the top teams in the nation--this should bode well for the season to come!

Sunday we departed for Bari in Puglia (the "heel" of Italy's "boot") via Milan via Newark. Both our Houston-Newark and Newark-Milan flights were on older Boeing 767 planes with two significant disadvantages: 1. Their entertainment systems are fixed, offering just a few movies at regular times and 2. They have special power ports that require a special adapter to use. I had become so spoiled by the 777s flying back and forth to Geneva (offering hundreds of on-demand movies and normal power outlets) that I was already in a sour mood when I realized that I would only have a few hours of laptop time and that I wasn't interested in any of the movies. Shame on me for not checking on this in advance, though.

On the international leg, Continental forgot my vegetarian meal request (At least they remembered Katie's.) so that left me with an even worse impression from the flight. Then Milan Malpensa airport lost Katie's luggage so that she arrived in Bari without any toiletries or changes of clothes. All-in-all, not one of our best flight experiences.

No matter, though, we were determined not to let it affect our trip. We swung by a clothing store outlet near Bari and picked her up some essentials then drove North to Lucera, where the Italian side of my family lives. We spent two days with my Italian cousins and it was a grand time. Touring around Lucera (which is older than Rome and has tremendous ruins of a castle and anamphitheater), eating, clothes shopping for Katie, eating some more, and just catching up with family. Oh, and eating even more! No matter how short it is, it is always a special experience to spend time with this distant family. These are my humble roots and it is important to stay connected.

Wednesday we drove further North to Tuscany to check out a venue we are considering for our own wedding. It was everything we hoped it would be and it had a few surprises for us--like a ping pong table and volleyball net on the premises! We spent the night there just to be sure but it is clearly the right choice.

Thursday we turned back around and drove South to Fermo, where we met up with dear friends from IMD. They weren't going to be able to make it to the IMD wedding so we were very excited to be able to see them regardless. We spent the night with them and their family and, once again, ate very, very well. It was our first time in that region (Le Marche) and we were very impressed. Mountains on one side, the Adriatic Sea on the other, rolling green hills in between . . . Le Marche has it all!

Friday we returned to Bari, where we were informed that Katie's bag had finally arrived--better late than never! We settled into a villa we were sharing with other IMD friends, including GIVEWATTS founder Jesper Hornberg. Friday night there was a dinner hosted by the bride's family but we turned in early, knowing that we would need our rest for the late, late festa the next night.

Saturday was unfortunately rainy. The wedding was supposed to be on the beach so the bride and groom audibled to a nearby indoor venue which was quite lovely. The ceremony was nontraditional and featured two IMD friends as officiants. After the ceremony we relocated to a beach club for the reception. This place was awesome! Course after course after course of food was served and the music had all been requested in advance by the bride, groom, and guests. Nourished by great food and buoyed by great music, we danced well into the morning.

I had been asked to be the Master of Ceremonies so my job was to ensure that the program of the reception was followed ontime (at least within the bounds of Italian standards of punctuality!) and to make announcements in English and Italian throughout event. It was a real honor to be asked to serve and I hope my performance was sufficient for their special day!

Finally, after a resounding chorus of Bohemian Rhapsody (a promise I had made to the groom), Katie and I departed around 4 AM. We heard that many people stayed until 6 but we needed to be up for a flight relatively early. Our return flight wasn't much better (again a forgotten meal request and we were passed over for upgrades for some reason that Continental still can't explain) but at least both of our bags arrived. All-in-all it was a really, really excellent trip!

Engaged!

Nearly 9.5 years ago, Katie and I took our first steps down the long (and not always straight or clear!) path that has brought us to where we are today. Where the path is ultimately leading we still don't know, but last Wednesday we took a major step and committed to continuing the journey together.

Several people have asked for details about the proposal and I must disappoint; there really wasn't anything clever or creative or exciting about it per se. That's something I love about being with Katie, though. When we are together I don't feel the need to be "on" or performing; everything is just very natural and easy. Accordingly, so was the proposal. Perhaps I can make the story a little more exciting, though, by filling in some of the history leading up to the proposal:

March 21, 2009: after more than a year of living on separate continents, Katie was visiting me in Lausanne again. Because her flight left before my actual birthday, we did an early birthday dinner at La Suite, which we chose explicitly for their very underpriced 2003 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino. We were a bit chagrined to learn upon our arrival that they were actually out of that bottle--and then we were elated when the waiter returned to our table having found their last bottle of it hidden away somewhere. It was way too young, of course, but we took our time and it really opened up. The evening blossomed into wonderful discussion about wine, food, nutrition, healthcare, careers, the future, and everything else. I blogged about that evening shortly thereafter. At some point I distinctly remember looking over at Katie and thinking to myself, "Who am I kidding; my future is sitting across the table from me," if she would have me ,of course!

April 14, 2009: While on the Amalfi Coast with my mom, we broke away from the group and spent a day on our own in Capri. The weather was gorgeous and we found a little hillside restaurant along the sea to have some local wine, insalata caprese, and seafood (which I blogged about shortly thereafter). During that meal I first announced my intentions to propose to Katie, which thrilled my mom.

June 1, 2009: On another visit to Lausanne, Katie capitalized on a gorgeous summer day by taking me out for a picnic in the park of the Palais de Justice, which offers amazing views of the lake and mountains (also blogged about). Perfect weather, wonderful food, champagne, a lazy afternoon . . . I was sorely tempted to propose to her then and there but I wanted the chance to talk with her parents about it first.

July 12, 2009: On a visit to spend some time with Katie's family in Minnesota I faked a conference call to weasel out of a lunch obligation that Katie had planned. Instead I spent time with her parents talking with them about my intentions over Swedish pancakes with fresh berries out on their deck. Again the weather was gorgeous and we were accompanied by an awesome golden retriever. After initially giving me a hard time, they offered their blessing and encouragement. The next day I submitted my resignation to Poken (blogged about) and began planning for a life with Katie, not thousands of miles away from her.

So finally I had lined up all the right elements; now I just had to find the right place and time! I wanted it to be somewhere special for both of us and somewhere really nice that we would remember (and to which we could return) indefinitely. While we were wine touring in Tuscany, there were many opportunities, but I lived in Tuscany for half a year before I ever even met Katie so it wasn't as much "our" place.

There were some other opportunities in London, Sedona, San Francisco, and even in Houston, but nothing that ever felt just right. After nine years of dating I figured waiting until it just felt right would be OK.

Despite the fact that Katie didn't live with me in Lausanne, I still very much consider it "our" place as our relationship grew much stronger while I was here. My favorite memories of Lausanne by far are when Katie was here with me and it certainly has its share of picturesque locations! So when Katie came out to join me in Lausanne for this trip, I had an eye toward making the move.

Unfortunately she brought lots of rain with her! July 23 would have been a good date for a proposal as it is Katie's half birthday, but the weather gods had other plans. Finally last Wednesday, July 28, there was a break in the clouds and I suggested that we celebrate with a picnic back at the park of the Palais de Justice. Again we packed a picnic lunch and again we brought some champagne--Dom Perignon 2000 this time. I thought that might have tipped her off but she claims that it didn't raise any flags for her. Fair enough; it's not the first time I've gone a bit overboard with wine!

Again we spent the afternoon lounging on the grass, talking about the future, and agreeing that life was not so bad--especially not when we are together. At around 2:23 PM, I got on one knee and asked her to marry me. After some initial shock she enthusiastically said yes and we spent the rest of the day, week, month (and it's still ongoing) in a sort of euphoric bliss.

People ask how it is being engaged and I jokingly respond that, "Oh wow, it's so different!" as if it has somehow radically changed our 9.5-year relationship. It actually is different, though. In the business world we would call this a "credible threat." We've made a move that says this is where we're going and we are no longer considering other options. We no longer hedge discussion about the future with, "If we got married..." or "If we stay together..." or other conditionals. Now we are officially committed to that vision and that feels really, really . . . right.

I'm not sure how exactly I managed to persuade someone like Katie to spend her life with a scoundrel like me, but I'm definitely not complaining! Many thanks to everyone for the tremendous outpouring of support we have received since announcing our engagement. It really means the world to us and we love you all!