R&B Mix 2001
Despite the events nationally and at work, which have left us all feeling a bit more vulnerable, it's been a good year for Randy and Bethany. We can't help but feel fortunate for all the wonderful people and things in our lives (and this is where we proceed to entertain/annoy our loved ones and friends with the fulsome details)
The big news is that Bethany agreed to make an honest man of Randy and we were engaged on Mardi Gras (both totally sober too!). The happy day was set for the autumnal equinox on September 22nd, 2001. Since we're both the obsessive, organizing type we decided to do nearly everything ourselves in a homemade/Martha Stewart fashion. We made the beer (i.e. Union Amber Ale); crafted the invitations; wrote our vows; decorated and made CDs for the reception, planned the ceremony; and attempted to handle much of the catering chores too (We feel we should point out that "control freaks" is an over-used phrase. We prefer to think of ourselves as "auteurs", in this case "wedding auteurs").
We have since settled in for the long haul and like Jane Goodall we are daily fascinated by the quirks of the primate we've chosen to live amongst (i.e. Bethany's affection for 80's music and Drew Barrymore movies and Randy's "early to bed/early to rise" routine and eating cold leftovers for breakfast).
Besides the wedding, the highlights of the year feature our travels. Together on vacation, we slept in 7 states and three Canadian provinces and drove through another 10 states. In February, we were in the Pacific Northeast, hitting such hot-spots as Seattle, Victoria and Vancouver BC, and taking a "cruise" through the San Juan Islands (a.k.a. catching the ferry). In April we made a trip to the French Quarter of New Orleans with Randy's sister Rhonda and Bethany got to visit with old co-workers in Baton Rouge. We joined the Sunday Dinner group for a nice camping weekend in May at Onondaga, Elephant Rocks and Taum Sauk Mtn. State Parks. And who can forget the Sage Clan gatherings in Indianapolis for SageBowl IV and the 1st B-day of the best/cutest niece in the whole world (Katie Sage).
But the major trip was our Honeymoon: we saw Niagara Falls (complete with Maid of the Mist tour and cheesy hotel avec heart shape Jacuzzi); lunched on Queen St. in Toronto; had a carriage ride through old Montreal; enjoyed the beautiful fall colors of NH, VT and ME; hiked in Bar Harbor/Acadia NP (Bethany uses the term "death march" but in only the most loving respect); stayed in Portland, ME; visited the JFK library and Cheers bar in Boston; toured a couple mansions in Newport, RI; explored TR's home at Sagamore Hill and attended a wedding on Long Island; and took the train into Manhattan to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Empire State Building.
Bethany still sees to protecting the indemnity needs of corporate America in the insurance brokerage/risk management world. However, she left AON in February to become an Account Manager with a competitor (Lockton). The commute to Olive and 270 isn't as nice as hopping up to Clayton, but they made her an offer she couldn't refuse.
We repainted a few rooms on the ground floor as Bethany is (slowly) adding a touch of class to the joint. This summer we added a brick patio to the back of the house. It required removing a tree and large amounts of dirt moving, but with more than a little help from friends and a couple siblings, it turned out great! We plan on building an elevated stone planter next spring (with all the attention that went to the wedding, it got postponed).
On the Christmas tree front… In the past Randy has hung a small tree from the ceiling so that the cats couldn't climb it. But this year, Bethany wanted to have a full sized tree, on the ground. So she place balloons around the base and in the lower limbs, the idea being that if the cats get too close, the noise of a balloon popping will frighten the cats and they'd learn to leave it alone. So far it's working. Funny how our separate methods truly reflect our different educational backgrounds: the Psych. major chooses behavior modification while the engineer designs a whole new "tree concept".
Well that's probably more than you wanted to know. We look forward to reading your news!
Love and Marriage
Sure, there were moments when we were in over our heads, but when something needed attending many friends and family members happily(?) stepped in to make it work out. While it was a relatively small affair, it was a truly lovely day for us and we know (i.e. hope) our friends who weren't with us understand about keeping it small.
Recreation and Vacation
Work
Randy continues investigating military bases for environmental concerns, particularly explosive hazards. The history aspects of it are terrific and he gets to travel to lots of cool places. He returned to San Francisco, Washington, DC, Las Vegas and Sundance again this year and got to make a solo weekend camping trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. His site visits also took him to the Redwood Forests and the northern Californian coastline, and a quickie side trip to see Yosemite. At the risk of jinxing it, Alaska's Aleutian Islands are in store for Randy in 2002. Arguably the home to the worst weather in the world, it should be an adventure .
Homework
Short Takes:
Wedding Thank You notes
- although Bethany handwrote them, Randy wants credit for drafting out the wording for more than half of them.
Devil Dog Volleyball
- Bethany is the newest "Bitch from Hell" teammate, joining the usual suspects with the usual results.
Sunday Dinner Group
- we're now in our 7th year, which was marked by 3 weddings for 5 current and past members.
Web Page
- In a fit of nerdy, openness and vanity, we created this web site last spring. We apologize that our skills didn't make it too friendly to non-Microsoft applications, but we're working on fixing the problems and keeping it up to date but it's a bit time consuming.
Movies
- Most of you know that we met at a film discussion group, so is there any surprise we saw lots of movies this year (nearly 80 for each of us as of now). Ask and we'll be happy to critique them.
Kayak
- Last spring we bought a kayak (actually half of a pair with our neighbors). They're wide bottomed (non-tipping!) recreational ones with lots of room for refreshments, camping gear and small dogs. They're great fun and a wonderful wy to explore Missouri.
Parties
- Most of our social energy was directed toward our nuptials but at other times during the year we hosted an impromptu St. Pats party, Bethany's Annual Oscar Party, and a Bachelor Party for a friend where the evening's highlights included fire walking (not to say the whole night was PG however). We've attended a few gatherings hosted by others, most notably for quantity the Sage Family Pizza Gatherings t (sure, everyone likes pizza but in Sage-land its dogma).
Pets
- Maddie, Bert and Brazil are all getting along very well though we could do with less "sibling rivalry" about sleeping positions with us (either that or get a king-sized bed). We're not always loved by everyone but we are by these three (except during baths and vet visits).
Happy Holidays!
