We’re Such Groupies

Last weekend, when I wasn’t busy proposing to my girlfriend or chatting with rock stars,* I was buying peanuts from WinCo. A handful of peanuts makes a perfect mid-morning snack, and eating an ounce a day, in fact, can cut your risk of heart disease in half, and decrease your diabetes risk by 25%. At least according to the Peanut Institute, and they wouldn’t lie, right? So peanuts are my new obsession. They can get expensive, though, so I decided to buy them in bulk. The only problem was, when I got home, I discovered there were an awful lot of empty shells mixed in. Which meant I was essentially paying for a whole lot of nothing, and that bugged me. Short of sifting through the bag every time, I’m just going to have to accept the fact that some empty shells are inevitable. This is why I hate paying for food by weight, unless you’re going to eat every single bit of said food. When you buy an ear of corn, it’s usually “2 for $1.00” or something like that, which is fair since the husks are discarded. But what about shiitake mushrooms, where the stems are inedible? Or bananas, for that matter. Is it fair to pay for the peels? How about oranges? Or apples, with their damn cores? Grapes, when you have to spit the seeds out? I’m paying for those seeds, and a whole lot of good they’re doing me!

Where does the madness end, people?!

* In the excitement of talking about Tara and I getting hitched, I forgot to mention the encounters we had with Built To Spill on Friday night. Yes, that’s plural. When we first arrived at the hotel, we were searching for parking in the underground garage. A van pulled up, bearing Idaho plates. Well, the band is based in Boise, so we jokingly said that was them. Only, it really was them! Doug Martsch, the lead singer, was sitting in the passenger seat with the window rolled down, and we waved to each other when we passed. So cool. And then later, after the show – it was approaching 1 AM by this point – we were walking to our room, and passed the stairs to the garage. “The band is probably down there,” Tara said, so we decided to check it out. Sure enough, four of them were milling around, talking. I tried to play it cool and pretend like I was returning to the car for something (even though our car wasn’t even parked down there), but my fiancee (!) threw me under the bus. “He’s just pretending to get something,” she told them. “We were really just hoping to catch you down here.” God, we’re such groupies. We ended up chatting with the guys for a few minutes. Real cool bunch of people, very down to earth and mellow. Very Idaho, if you will.

Anyhoo.

Now that we’re engaged, we’re calling each other “fiancee” and “future husband” and “bride-to-be” all the time. Hey, it’s a novelty (and still feels surreal). I wonder if all newly-engaged couples act this way? We picked a date, too. September 14, as you can see on my countdown timer over there to the left. That’s our second anniversary, and pays homage to our lucky number, 14. It’s too perfect not to get married on that day! We’re looking at a small ceremony on the Oregon coast, immediate family only (parents, siblings, and kids). When I say on the coast, I literally mean, ON THE BEACH. Maybe we’ll fly kites while reciting our vows. Hey, we were going to elope, but both our moms were all “don’t you dare elope,” so that put the kibosh on those plans. This wedding planning stuff is a lot of work, even when it’s a simple little ceremony! This weekend we’re shopping for rings. Wow! (Still surreal. But in the best way possible).

That’s all I’ve got for now. Here are a few pics from Friday night.

Marilyn Monroe, Jupiter Hotel
Marilyn watched over us as we slept.
champagne
Chilled prosecco for the happy occasion!
Our first photo ever as an engaged couple.
Our first photo ever as an engaged couple.
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22 thoughts on “We’re Such Groupies”

  2. I am SO envious of you guys!! And of course extremely happy for you as well. For the first time I’m with someone I love so much it’s crazy and I actually have all of these great ideas for a wedding floating around….just can’t quite get to the engaged part yet…however we are working on something probably equally as big. That hotel you stayed at looks amazing! Someday I am taking a vacation out to Washington and Oregon and hitting up all these places I’m adding on my “to do” list. Also, very cool encounters with the band.

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    1. Sounds like it’ll happen for you guys soon…which makes sense, since our relationship has pretty much paralleled yours. Can’t wait to read your “We’re Getting Married!” post.

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  4. I said nothing about eloping.

    I think a small ceremony with a huge reception later is just the ticket.

    Yay for chatting with Idahoans…they are pretty cool for the most part.

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  5. I don’t know if I would be able to sleep with a huge wall of Marilyn looming over me! I think she was a great woman, but watching me while I sleep? Not so much! Looks like a great room though.

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  6. Mark, I am so lovin’ the Marilyn Monroe theme to your hotel room. That is sooooooooo cool! In fact, the whole room looks faaaaabulous!

    ” We’re looking at a small ceremony on the Oregon coast, immediate family only (parents, siblings, and kids). When I say on the coast, I literally mean, ON THE BEACH. ”

    That sounds AWESOME! And I love the date you selected because it’s like the perfect time of the year, right after summer and just before fall!

    I am sooooooo happy for you two!

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    1. Plus, September is widely acknowledged as being the best month on the Oregon coast, weather-wise. The summer gloom is over and the fall storms haven’t gotten started yet. There’s a better chance of sunshine then, than at any other time of the year.

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