Posts Tagged ‘birthday’
Our Anniversary/Wendy’s Birthday
You’re going to have to bear with me on this post, because it’s not a whole lot more than bragging. You see, I’m married to the most awesome woman on the face of the planet. Please don’t get me wrong–there are many awesome women on this planet–I just happen to be married to the most awesome of them all.
This past week, I got to celebrate this amazing woman and our marriage to one another. See, our anniversary was on Wednesday and Wendy’s birthday was on Thursday, meaning that, should I ever forget these dates, I am totally and completely doomed. No, I’m kidding, I have an amazingly patient and forgiving wife but I plan to never test her forgiveness that hard.
Anyway, we started out our anniversary in full wedding mode, with a bridal shoot with the lovely Joie (who you’ll meet next week) at the historic Seibels House and Garden. It’s a gorgeous site, which you can see from this quick snap I took of Wendy while testing light.
After our shoot, we were trying to decide on a place to eat our anniversary dinner. Unfortunately, we were both pretty stuffed up (pollen, anyone?) and didn’t really want to splurge on a fancy meal that we might or might not be able to taste. What to do? Eat at Blue Cactus, of course! Let me be clear–we chose Blue Cactus not because they’re not delicious, but because the way they cook, we knew we’d be able to taste it.
So yeah, in short, there were photos, there were gifts, there was food. It was a good day.
Thursday was set aside for us to celebrate, so there were…more gifts, more photos, and more food. This is Wendy in her new camera t-shirt:
In the photo we’re on our way to the McCutchen House for lunch. If you’ve never eaten there, you must remedy that soon. The food is delicious and the restaurant is staffed by USC students from the School of Hotel, Restaurant & Tourism Management who must be getting graded on their performance because the service is excellent. The McCutchen House is also where Wendy and I had our wedding reception. This visit wasn’t quite as exciting as that one, but we did actually get to eat this time.
There is no explanation for these next photos except that my wife is beautiful and we were messing around:
(I wish Wendy had told me how flat my hair was.)
(Did I mention that the McCutchen House has some great light?)
“Ooh! A brick wall!”
So, after eating and playing around USC, we went shopping so that Wendy could spend a little of her birthday money. I know you’re dying to know what she bought, but hang on!
Finally, we wrapped up our celebration of our anniversary and Wendy’s birthday by treating ourselves to…another photoshoot! This one was at The Inn at Claussen’s–the place we spent our wedding night–and Wendy busted our her birthday purchases:
And if you think blondes have more fun, you haven’t seen anything yet:
So yeah, that’s my wife.
I am more grateful than I can express to have had the joy of spending the last three years of my life with her. She is my constant inspiration and the love of my life. Thank you for three amazing years, Baby, and happy birthday!
Our Anniversary/Wendy’s Birthday
You’re going to have to bear with me on this post, because it’s not a whole lot more than bragging. You see, I’m married to the most awesome woman on the face of the planet. Please don’t get me wrong–there are many awesome women on this planet–I just happen to be married to the most awesome of them all.
This past week, I got to celebrate this amazing woman and our marriage to one another. See, our anniversary was on Wednesday and Wendy’s birthday was on Thursday, meaning that, should I ever forget these dates, I am totally and completely doomed. No, I’m kidding, I have an amazingly patient and forgiving wife but I plan to never test her forgiveness that hard.
Anyway, we started out our anniversary in full wedding mode, with a bridal shoot with the lovely Joie (who you’ll meet next week) at the historic Seibels House and Garden. It’s a gorgeous site, which you can see from this quick snap I took of Wendy while testing light.
After our shoot, we were trying to decide on a place to eat our anniversary dinner. Unfortunately, we were both pretty stuffed up (pollen, anyone?) and didn’t really want to splurge on a fancy meal that we might or might not be able to taste. What to do? Eat at Blue Cactus, of course! Let me be clear–we chose Blue Cactus not because they’re not delicious, but because the way they cook, we knew we’d be able to taste it.
So yeah, in short, there were photos, there were gifts, there was food. It was a good day.
Thursday was set aside for us to celebrate, so there were…more gifts, more photos, and more food. This is Wendy in her new camera t-shirt:
In the photo we’re on our way to the McCutchen House for lunch. If you’ve never eaten there, you must remedy that soon. The food is delicious and the restaurant is staffed by USC students from the School of Hotel, Restaurant & Tourism Management who must be getting graded on their performance because the service is excellent. The McCutchen House is also where Wendy and I had our wedding reception. This visit wasn’t quite as exciting as that one, but we did actually get to eat this time.
There is no explanation for these next photos except that my wife is beautiful and we were messing around:
(I wish Wendy had told me how flat my hair was.)
(Did I mention that the McCutchen House has some great light?)
“Ooh! A brick wall!”
So, after eating and playing around USC, we went shopping so that Wendy could spend a little of her birthday money. I know you’re dying to know what she bought, but hang on!
Finally, we wrapped up our celebration of our anniversary and Wendy’s birthday by treating ourselves to…another photoshoot! This one was at The Inn at Claussen’s–the place we spent our wedding night–and Wendy busted our her birthday purchases:
And if you think blondes have more fun, you haven’t seen anything yet:
So yeah, that’s my wife.
I am more grateful than I can express to have had the joy of spending the last three years of my life with her. She is my constant inspiration and the love of my life. Thank you for three amazing years, Baby, and happy birthday!
Snuggie: The Blanket With Sleeves (That Solves All Life’s Problems)
This post comes with a story, so please bear with me.
Among other things I do, I (J.P.) teach Rhetoric. Rhetoric, simply, is the art of persuasive speech. In my class, the students primarily study Aristotle’s aptly-named Rhetoric, but sometimes I want to share with them something a little more contemporary, something that truly speaks to their generation. I think that infomercials are one of the best modern examples of persuasive communication and it’s for this reason I introduced them to the Snuggieâ„¢: the blanket with sleeves.
The students seemed to appreciate the simple structure of the commercial:
1) Present a problem: “You want to stay warm without raising your heating bill and you are incapable of performing mundane tasks like answering the phone while entombed in the shroud-like confines of a blanket. Also, for some reason, everything is in black and white.”
2) Offer a solution while footage switches to color and peppy music begins: “Now, you can own a Snuggie! You’ll be able to stay warm while enjoying a wide range of activities!”
3) Show how the benefits of the solution makes life amazing!
Little did I know how much they had appreciated it…
Two days after my birthday, just as I was getting ready to begin Rhetoric, our headmaster called me down to his office to help him with a computer problem. I asked a student to tell the rest of the class what the day’s assignment was and to have them begin on it, and followed the headmaster. After talking with me for a few minutes, the headmaster walked with me back to my classroom so I could retrieve a USB drive that contained some diagnostic utilities. When I got back to the room, the lights were off, the kids had their heads down on their desks and I was led by the headmaster to the far side of the room.
What followed was nothing less than amazing. My students has remixed and personalized the Snuggie commercial for me: “Mr. Stephens, do you find it miserable teaching in a freezing cold classroom? Do you find it difficult to write on the board when your hands have frostbite on them?” After presenting the problem, the lights came on, the music started (“Wannabe” by the Spice Girls), and the dancing and singing began. Oh yeah, and one student burst from the closet skating on a scooter while wearing a leopard-print Snuggie.
They didn’t skimp on the benefits of the solution, either. “Mr. Stephens, with your new Snuggie, you’ll be healthier, taller, stronger, more athletic, smarter…your hands will be nice and warm and you’ll be able to give us all A’s!” “You could even make it the official costume of Lunch Money!” At this point the students all dropped to their knees (approximating Lunch Money fan height) and waved their hands in the air while screaming “I love Lunch Money!”
In the end, I was presented with an awesome card, my new Snuggie…
…a DVD copy of The Iron Giant (they may have felt sorry for me after I showed them my copy on VHS)…
…a handmade Snuggie user’s guide…
(Note the chart.)
…and a cookie as big as my head!
At this point, it’s probably gratuitous to say that I have the greatest Rhetoric class ever. That’s one thing about Rhetoric, if the suck up this well, then they’re obviously getting the idea! As a small thank you to them, I will now conclude with a photo that I hope captures the magnificence of my birthday celebration, my students, and of course, my Snuggie.
P.S.- If any potential clients are reading this and you’re interested in a Snuggie-themed engagement shoot please contact us–we are definitely the photographers for you!
P.P.S.- After lecturing my students about copyright, I should probably mention that the first, second, and fourth pictures were taken by students and they retain all rights to them.
