Chicken: still what's for dinner

Thanks, guys, for the overwhelming response to the burning question of 2009: what in the hell is Chicken Jean Marie? 

We were inclined from the start to just put "chicken" on the response cards, but we just couldn't figure out if Chicken Jean Marie was a real, known dish or not.  It's all over the caterer's menu, but that could just be because it's a signature dish.  We did Google it, of course, but the results less than conclusive.  There was no clear result #1 saying "HEY ASSHOLE, THIS IS WHAT CHICKEN JEAN MARIE IS."  But there were several mentions of people saying things like "Chicken Jean Marie will always remind me of being a newlywed" (on the NYTimes food blog, no less!), so... yes.  We were confused.  We wondered if maybe it was some kind of wedding thing (like Italian Wedding Soup!).  And then I asked the internet, and the internet answered and we decided once and for all to put "Chicken with Penne Pasta" on the response cards. 

(And thankfully so, because this curse-happy, semi-secret blog is now the #6 Google result for "Chicken Jean Marie" and... yeah.  I do not NOT want everyone invited to the wedding to find this website.  Hi Grandma!  HI COWORKERS!) 

BUT! Then the invitation shop called to say that "Chicken with Penne Pasta" was overlapping the flowers in the corner of the response cards and, hey, maybe we could just say "Chicken" instead?

So!  "CHICKEN" IT IS.  

God, enough talk about poultry; I have far more pressing topics to discuss: HAIR! 

Internet, I thought I was so on top of my shit when I called a few places last week to see about having someone come out to the wedding venue to do our hair.   I don't even have a purple exclamation point next to this on my knot.com checklist yet!  (Speaking of knot.com checklists, my absolute favorite to-do item for this month has got to be this gem: start taking better care of yourself (eat right, exercise) so you look and feel great on your wedding day.)  Imagine my surprise when the first, oh, TEN people I contacted were already booked.  And by "surprise", I mean "despair".  There was fretting involved.  I'd been prepared to shell out for a big-name company just to avoid the hassle of having to  worry about whether the person who showed up on the wedding day would be a total loon, but apparently every other bride in the mid-atlantic beat me to the punch.  The big-name place happily recommended me to another big-name place, which was also booked.  That place was quick to give me several other names to contact.  All booked.  This went on for a few days, until I was on a first-name basis in my head with Mindy and Jessica and Alyssa and Brandi... WHO WERE ALL BOOKED.  More fretting ensued. 

Finally, I gave up on the idea of having a possibly loony, definitely overpriced bridal hair consultant come out to the hotel and started looking at salons instead.  And lo, the first place I called had an actual wedding consultant on staff who assured me that they had plenty of space on July 25th and that he'd be personally handling all of my correspondence and scheduling.  He sent me an email less than an hour later confirming everything.  And get this - he didn't use any crazy-ass fonts and he used punctuation correctly.  Yes, I think that Chris the wedding consultant and I are going to get along just fine.  CHECKMARK!

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I saw a robin on my way home from work yesterday, and unless I'm mistaken that is Nature-speak for HALLE-FREAKIN-LUJIAH SPRING HAS SPRUNG.   The whole "April showers" bit is already getting old (just an FYI for ole' Mama Nature), but hot damn am I ever ready for spring. 

I dragged out my camera for the first time in months this weekend.  I shot some pictures of Joel's race on Saturday, which is officially the last race I'll ever see at his home boathouse.

It was an appropriately gloomy day for the occasion.

Rowing is about the furthest thing from my kind of sport.  I like solitary, low-maintenance activities: running, hiking, yoga.  I like to be responsible for my own performance and no one else's; I love to be able to lace up my shoes or roll out my mat at a moment's notice.  And then there's the whole practice before dawn thing. 

  

Yes, it's safe to say that rowing is not for me (and Joel's let me know many a-time that he'd cut my complaining, yawning ass from his team anyway, SO THERE'S THAT.)

 

But I have so much respect for these kids who do drag themselves out of bed at 5am, who spend their weekends loading shells on an off of trailers, rigging oars and and rowing in the pouring rain.

It's been a great experience to serve as Joel's team's unofficial photographer for the past four years.  I think I've mentioned that his team's been cut due to the economy and budget issues, but I don't know if I've said how much I'm going to miss it, even though I am just That Weird Girl With The Camera. 

 

I will.  I'll miss it, rain, mud, Saturday morning alarm clocks and all.

Comments

[heidikins]

I am so glad Chris worked out for you!! And I love your photos, kudos to Joel and boo on budget cuts.

xox

[heidikins]

Um, that last comment kind of makes it sound like I suggested Chris in the first place. Which is so not true. I am just happy you found someone who can punctuate and do fabulous hair!

xox

[nancypearlwannabe]

Maybe now that Joel's team has more free time they can learn to do bridal hair? Just a thought.

[NGS]

There was a wedding consultant at our salon and she coordinated ALL the appointments for me and the bridal party including hair, make-up, and nails. One phone call and I was done with it all! It was great!! I'm glad you found an accommodating salon!