Beloved: We are Gathered Together Today....

So here it is. One of the long awaited posts.
No, not Jenni and Lance's wedding. Not quite, although that one is nearing completion.
Nor is it the second most longly awaited blog about house renovations, although decorations are nearing their completion as well.
This is Stephanie and John's wedding blog- hence the weddingish title (don't you like the word hence.... it's right up there with mayhaps and skaplooshing).
div>I have a few more pictures that I'm going to put up on facebook after I send the CD to the Aardsma family.... so yet another thing for you to wait impatiently for. (P.S. Aardsma's it should be in the mail by Monday or so)

At first I had only filled this blog with pictures.... and then I got to thinking about how that doesn't really tell the whole story of the wedding. And then I got to thinking about what the whole story of the wedding was exactly. And so I decided to kinda break down every day I was in South Carolina for you. Don't worry, there are still pictures mixed in and more at the end.

Let's see if I can even remember this....

Wednesday-
You pretty much heard all about my Wednesday with my previous post about flying. Yep, that's pretty much all I did Wednesday. One thing that wasn't mentioned was that I flew out with the Senn's, but neither of us were properly introduced at that point so we hadn't the foggiest we were traveling together. We could have had lunch together at Atlanta. We also went out to eat with family, after touring Brittany and Kenny's new house, and of course, goofing off with masks.Thursday-
Today was spent decorating the church, playing with flame throwers- I mean lighters, cutting ribbon, tying string, and me bruising myself up royally... you know. General, clumsy things like running myself over with a cart, falling through a chair, almost falling off ladders, and sticking my finger with push pins. The church isn't finished yet, but is very close.Friday-
Woken up by Anj and pretty soon the whole family is in the room on the bed, just chatting. Then it's back to the church we go. More decorating to be done. Katie and I head off to the clubhouse to check on decorating in there. We set up all the tables and chairs and find out the table cloths we have don't work at all... they are a strange combination of too short and too long. We head back to the church and then pretty much directly back out to Walmart to get plastic table cloths. After a needful stop at Chick-fil-a we head in, only to find they don't have enough of the gold design ones so we combine it with the silver. And then it's back to the clubhouse to put them on...... and guess what? The gold design is only on the side of the cloth, barely visible.... that's not very nice. Then it's off to get our nails painted and some down time with the bride (who is looking a bit stressed). Then it's off to change for the rehearsal. The bride is looking less stressed now. A few bridesmaids decided to bring their shoes to practice with......... we all decided that we will throw our shoes at the preacher if he goes over 10 minutes. And now we head off the the rehearsal dinner, hoping not to get lost in the dark. And then home to bed.....

Saturday-
Strangely I don't think the dogs were the ones to wake any of us up this morning. Steph gets ready for her hairdresser to come at 9ish. I attempt to get ready while also playing photographer for Steph. We all head to the church to finish getting ready while I again try to combine curling my hair with photography...... (does it smell like burnt hair in here to you??) And then I take pictures of Steph getting in her dress with her mom and sisters. How many Aardsma's does it take to put on a wedding dress? Then we send the bride off for a first look. Now I can concentrate on getting ready......(this church is sadly lacking in plug ins). And then we head off to join the couple in a park for pictures. Just a hint for you all: don't try to rock climb with 5 inch heels. Doesn't work so hot... neither does walking in mud. But I'm a Colorado girl who normally rock climbs barefoot anywho. Then it's back to the church to wait...... and then the dreadful, awful, terrible, horrible moment comes. We must all put our shoes back on and walk down an aisle and stand for 45 minutes. Oh, and it's time for the wedding. After a few tears from the bridesmaids (from the shoes, of course), Stephanie is now a married woman. Then some more pictures with family and the reception. But the day isn't over yet. After we send the couple off (with Mr. A hiding in the back seat....lol) we all head to meet the couple at the clubhouse. And more pictures of family, then good food and another goodbye to the couple. This one's for real. Some of us head back to the church to get some things that were left there. We of course had forgotten the church key and so we stalked around banging on windows and doors, shivering in thin dresses. What about clean up? you ask. This was the most awesome wedding I've been too. Stephanie had a couple families in the church volunteer clean up for us. It was amazing. And then it's home to change into sweats and then to the video store to drown our sorrows in an action/adventure movie, in which we all promptly fall asleep.

Sunday-
Well- the important part of my story is over and so after sleeping in, finishing our movie, and a lovely, filling dinner, I head to the airport and home. In which travel, I lose a most valuable piece of jewelry. No, this isn't Barbie speaking. This is sentimental and teary eyed Ti-Ti, the one you don't see too much. Between the Greenville airport and getting on the plane in Atlanta I seem to have lost my graduation bracelet. This is the one that everyone in my family had given me a charm for and present to me at my highschool graduation..... and yes, I'm very teary eyed about it, even now- 25 days later. And so on the plane to Denver I drew a picture of what was on it. Maybe some day for my birthday or some other event I will rebuild it..... And if you are ever in Greenville or Atlanta and come across something shinny that happens to look very similar... well, you know where to send it.
And that's my trip. Now you get more pictures....

I took a couple of ring pics of which I'm rather proud of.....Stephanie getting into her wedding dress..... You know, standing on chairs and crouching on the ground is my kind of thing. ;)
awww....
The loverly couple...The most beautiful Aardsma girls- except now they are the Lavertu, Senn, and Aardsma girls...
Looking for photography assistant jobs,

Ti-Ti

Brilliant Thinking....

30 ideas on how to make money:

1. Find where I put my motivation and go out and get a job.
2. Learn the cello really fast and play on street corners.
3. Find a very rich man and convince him to marry me.
4. Search my family tree for a distant rich relation and wiggle my way into their will.
5. Become a professional photographer in high demand.
6. Become a movie star.
7. Sell all my barbie accessories on craigslist.
8. Go crawling back to my old job and ask for it back.
9. Reply to...ummm... "questionable" ads in the newspaper. (if ya know what I mean...)
10. Become a professional answering machine- "Thank you for calling High plains Baptist Church, this is Tiffany, how may I direct your call?"
11. Go back to school and get a degree in something else more marketable.
12. Get paid to write blogs all day.
13. Invent something really cool.
14. Steal something of great value and ask an absurd amount for ransom.
15. Become a model.
16. Write a best selling novel.
17. Sell my photography to the highest bidder.
18. Become a companion to a rich and privileged young lady.
19. Get a job as a psychiatrist to someone famous.
20. Reveal my super hero identity.
21. Sell my siblings into slavery.
22. Become a hit man- or woman.
23. Find some buried treasure.
24. Take Naomi's suggestion and become a doctor or nurse.
25. Drive a fire truck.
26. Become a self motivation coach.
27. Join the circus.
28. Get paid to cook.
29. Write a chart topping song.
30. Some how get paid to use my avid imagination.


Hmmmmm.....Guess I'm gonna have to go with number #1. Drats.

Searching for motivation,

Ti-Ti

Babbling

So when I first got to the airport to head to South Carolina for Stephanie's wedding- I thought this would be the flying trip that wouldn't get blogged. I only got 3 hours of sleep and was exhausted. When I got to my gate, I decided to be unsociable. I picked a seat facing the window with no one close by- not a hard thing to do on a Wednesday morning at 8a.m. Even when I'm tired, I'm impatient and ADD, but even in my occasional wanderings, I didn't find anything blog worthy.

Then I got to Georgia (starts humming a song about Georgia- finds she doesn't know it and stops mid hum)
You all know me and my love of accents. Well, I think the people on the plane like them too. Seemed half of the plane that was speaking normally an hour ago suddenly all have southern accents. So after a long wait (that was made a bit more unbearable by the lady in 30A complaining about it taking so long. She even took it out on a poor elderly man. Sheesh. And she didn't even have a connecting flight. Someone was bold enough to ask.)
I find out where my next gate is and get slightly worried. I mean, who wouldn't when you come out at gate T23 and you need to get to gate D14. Fortunately, they don't have the entire alphabet.
I find my gate, and then wander around to find some cheap food- yeah, right. I probably looked really lost.
Maybe because I walked by 3 times.
Maybe because I had a blank look on my face.
Maybe because I was.
So finally I find a bagel and chocolate milk for 5 bucks. And then I people watch. And that's when things start getting interesting.
-There's a guy behind me chatting up a storm with a fellow traveler. I'm trying to hear what it's all about, but I think he's on to me. Every time I lean, he gets quieter.
-There's a lady beside me that is very protective of her suitcases. Don't get me wrong. It's perfectly fine to watch your stuff, but leaning forward every time someone walks by might be a little overkill. I think she's jealous of my bagel too.
-Now, this guy is intriguing. Fairly normal looking, probably late twenties or so. He sits and plugs in his phone. Nothing unusual- but then pulls out the ginormous-all-books-in-one-complete-Narnia. In case you were wondering- no he doesn't look like that type at all. And folks, it just got better. He had what looks like a passport but I wasn't sure. And when we boarded he had to show it to the attendant, who then proceeded to check it for a good 5 minutes at her computer.... hmmm very curious, no?
-Speaking of accents, there is a couple in the row ahead of me, speaking another language. But I can't quite put my finger on it. I think it's maybe Dutch or Swedish. I've ruled out German and Spanish. I wish I knew what it was. Man, but her glasses are cool.
-And there was another guy on the train thingy with an unusual accent too. I think this one was Russian or Ukrainian or maybe I'm just making them up now. Sometimes I think we should learn from people with accents or someone learning our language. They take time and pause before, while, and after speaking. "I...'zink....we 'zouldn't be... 'zo..hmmm....doubtful..."
-And yet another southern accent- there is a guy three rows back. He's very southern polite. Apparently his wife wanted him to call and let this person know which couch they wanted and (*southern accent*) "Unfoortunately, we cain't do both, but would luv the sleeper sofaaa."
-Wow- that's a first. Our (male) flight attendant is in a suit- like with red tie and red hanky, buttoned and everything. That's got to be nice and comfy. He looks happy about it too. It's okay. If I saw what people did during safety demonstration and how few were actually paying attention, I would wear a Charlie Brown look too. -Apparently I'm not used to big airports either. As we're taxying (is that a word? If not, I claim it and every time someone uses it I think I should get a nickel... hey, I gotta make money somehow) to the runway, we turn a corner and it looks like ducks in a row. There has to be at least 7 planes in front of us. Wowsiers- this could take a while.
-Oh, that looks promising. There's this chalky like substance on the side of the runway and they are majorly fixing the road there- You know- like there was a plane fire.... I have an avid imagination, what can I say?
-I have a hard time when people have books beside me. I try really, really hard to keep my eyes to myself. It doesn't usually work very well.
-FYI, it's windy and overcast in Georgia today.
-Did you know there is writing on the wing. And apparently I'm not the only one with grammar issues.... "No step"... Drats- way to foil my plans.
(return flights)
-Oh, and remember that lady in seat 30A who was complaining on the way to Georgia? She was waiting to board my flight back to Denver in Atlanta.... in the same clothes, shoes, jewelry, hairstyle, etc. ..... hmmm.
-And yet another note from my return flight to Denver. I normally am not into the whole Bachelor and Bachelorette thing but well.... I saw half of one episode and watched one episode of Dancing with the Stars with that one guy, Jake. Well, there is a guy on this flight that looks exactly the way he does. And I think he knows it too by the look he gave me when he saw me watching him.
And so- I sign off. My cold is catching up with me....


Blaring cello music,
Ti-Ti

Back to the Basic Baking

APPLE CRISP
So this one is another one of those easy recipes. Good, but most people already know how to do this anywho.

But I'm gonna do it anywho cause I want to. So there. And I'm trying to relax today and get rid of a nasty cold.

This is one of the minimal ingredient recipes. You basically need apples, water, flour, cinnamon, sugar and salt.... oh, and butter.Older apples work great for this. One-they are easier to cut, two-they take less to cook, and three-'cause my momma told me so.

I find I like just a bit of apple peeling left on the apple. Maybe it gives it more texture, maybe cause it looks cooler, maybe cause I'm lazy and don't get it all off. Sprinkle this with 1/4 cup of water.
Dust this with cinnamon. And a bit of salt. Both of these have a specific measurement but I just do it to what looks right.
In a separate bowl combine 3/4 cup flour1 cup sugarand 1/3 cup soft butter. Mix this together- I mainly used a fork for this one- not my hands. This is a finer mix than the struesel.Spread evenly over apples.Add left over struesel from previous recipe. (http://trbrockmann.blogspot.com/2011/09/breather-from-life.html ) I normally double the crumble crust but didn't have to this time. Bake in a 350* oven for 40 minutes or until golden. The leftover struesel was a bit dark to start with so it kinda was always golden. We kinda just judged it ourselves.

And there you have it. The world-famous-original-recipe-of-Auntie-Sharon-Pastor-Thad-favorite-smells-like-fall-when-you-bake-it apple crisp.

Feeling fallish,

Ti-Ti

Breather from life

COFFEE CAKE MUFFINS
So I have a lot of free time on my hands right now. I'm still out looking for a job every day but there is only so much that you can do in a day, and so with the rest of my time, I've been baking yet some more.
This one is actually one that isn't your normal, every day recipe like puppy chow or no bake cookies.
I've never made cake by scratch or coffee cake by scratch either, so this was a new experience. They turned out pretty well, if I say so myself. Enjoy.
(don't judge...but these are from marthastewart.com)
Ingredients:
For the Muffins
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup sour cream
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
For the Streusel Topping
1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
(FYI- I doubled the recipe and it turned out just fine)

I started with the streusel topping. Maybe I like doing things backwards. Maybe that's the way the recipe told me to. Maybe that's just the way I roll.

Add brown sugarand floursalt
and cinnamon
First dice up the butter into cubes Then add it to your brown sugar, flour, salt, and cinnamon mix I found it easier to get the texture I wanted if I mix this up with my hands..... They're clean... well, now they're not.... Put this in the fridge until read to use.
Then you mix the cake part.

Start with sour cream.... I've always wanted to try something made with sour cream or some other strange ingredient.Add yet more butter. I really tried to wipe out our supply of stick butter with doubling this recipe. Unfortunately, I failed and I had to make an Apple Crisp, too. (food blog coming soon) And even that didn't work.Add sugar.... Stir these together on medium speed. While it's mixing add vanilla and eggs (man, I wish I could crack an egg with one hand- sure would come in handy with taking pics while I cook. I tried to do it for this and ended up fishing out a few egg shells.... no worries, I got them all....)Then mix together the dry ingredients for the cake.

More flour baking powder

and baking soda
Slowly combine dry mixture with wet ingredients while on medium speed
Drop by spoonful into muffin pan, using only half of the batter. Fill about 1/3 or so full.Sprinkle half of struesel over the top.Put last of cake mix over the streusel.
Use the rest of the streusel over the top.Bake in a 350* oven for about 25 minutes. This depends on what kind of pan you use. As you can see I used a jumbo, regular and a mini pan. Each one was slightly different times. The mini used about 20 minutes and the regular was about 28 to 30 minutes. The jumbo pan took quite a while. Somewhere around 40 minutes I think. Test them by inserting a toothpick. If it's done, it will come out clean. I forgot about this method and took them out because they looked done and about 5 minutes latter remembered to test them and found them not done so I stuck them back in and back in and back in. (I'm a bit impatient) Don't be like me- it works better. (And yes, I have messy pans when I make muffins. Then you get to lick your fingers off when you clean it.)

And there you have it. Coffee Cake Muffins.
You try naming this blog something starting with a "B",

Ti-Ti