In Sickness And In Health

I'm official. I think. I registered with the American Marriage Ministries meaning I sent them my e-mail address, date-of-birth and zip code and they zipped back with this oh-so-cool-and-official-looking certificate verifying that I am now legally entitled to marry people. (And, I'm assuming, to perform exorcisms, but I'll charge extra for that.)

Maybe I can use my new-found ministry powers to heal myself. For the first time in probably seven years, I'm sick. Had a scratchy throat on Wednesday and came down with a full-fledged summer cold on Thursday that has dug its heels in and won't let go. I've skipped three workouts this week and only ran 10 of my 17 scheduled miles yesterday. I walked three miles and appreciate all my runner friends checking in on me as they passed. ("You're walking, are you okay?" "Do you feel alright?" "There's an unusual sight. Are you okay?") 

I've put off seeing a doctor because I keep thinking I'm getting better and then I keep back sliding. I'll give it another two days and then bite the bullet if it's still with me. As it stands, I've been in a NyQuil haze for the past five days and have little memory of where I've been or what I've said. As one friend put it, the original green bottle of death states, "May cause drowsiness" but should really read, "Don't make any f'ing plans." 

I'm off to cough up phlegm, 'cause that's how I roll. 

Cheers,

Dena

"Mawwage. Mawwage is what bwings us together today.”

Good news. It appears I will soon add "minister" to my list of credentials. The already impressive dossier contains notable items such as "able to sleep with my eyes open," and "most likely to sacrifice a small child for the opportunity to pen a best seller." Naturally, you see why my friends chose me to head the ceremony for what will be one of the most important and memorable days of their lives. 

Who are these people and what have they been drinking? "Craft beers" is the answer to the second part of that question and "Katie and Nathan" is the answer to the first. Blair and I met with them today over brunch at 1618 Seafood Grille to discuss ceremony details. 

I decided to bring my freelance skills to the table. Often when meeting with new clients, I ask them to throw out a few words that describe the feel they want for their website. It's useful because the super-serious CPA who I would have thought was all buttoned-up is suddenly tossing out words like, "family-friendly," "sincere," and "light hearted." So I wanted to know from Katie and Nathan, what words did they hope people would use to describe their ceremony? 

"Magical," Nathan responded promptly. 

Katie nodded. "Magical is the word he's been using," she said. 

I could feel Blair's "You are so screwed" smirk boring into me. I punched him under the table. 

"So, um, magical," I said. "Great. Absolutely. Any other words come to mind?"

They looked at each other they way only two people insanely in love can and gave a mutual shrug before turning back to me. "No, magical is pretty much it," they said. Then they both stared at me with big trusting Bambi eyes. 

Oh. My. GOD. 

So listen up, peeps. You are all on assignment. Text, e-mail or post on this blog your favorite moment from any wedding you've been to. What made you laugh, cry, smile? What words or moment stood out for you? What do you wish you had done differently in your wedding? 

Send me all the answers then tap your ruby slippers together three times, clap quickly if you believe in fairies and throw a penny down a well, making the wish each time that I give this adorable oh-so-in-love couple the magical wedding of their dreams. 

Cheers,

Dena

Daily Writing

For those who follow me on Facebook you've been privy to a barrage of recent posts that go like this: "Day 5 of writing complete," "Day 6 writing complete," "Still writing -- Day 7." It's a fascinating and revealing read into my daily life. I highly recommend it.  

Some of you have been kind enough to ask what it is I'm writing. The answer is everything. Literally. I have 5 or 6 novel ideas I've been half-heartedly toying with for years now, unable (or unwilling) to commit to just one. I've spent years feeling guilty over this. I'm a writer, right? So pick a book topic! Sit down! Write! 

And yet, nothing. 

Last September on our trip to Italy, I was talking to one of our guides about my seeming lack of ability to commit to writing a novel. "I'm afraid of picking the wrong novel to work on," I said. "The idea of putting all that time and effort into writing a book and then realizing late in the process that either the book won't work or isn't marketable..."

"Why choose?" he asked me.

His thought--which is brilliant-- was for me to write ALL the books. Work on whichever book I felt like tackling on a particular day. At some point, natural selection would take hold and I'd realize I had a stronger interest or  pull toward one project over another. But until then, everything was fair game.

So that's what I've been doing. Each day, sometimes for as little as 5 or 10 minutes but more often for 30 minutes or more, I've been randomly opening a novel file and hammering out a few paragraphs or plot points. I love it. All pressure to write THE NOVEL is removed because I still don't know which story I'll go with long-term. I look forward to my writing time because I'm just playing. And the thing is, what I'm writing is good. I'm seeing lots of gems when I go back and re-read it. 

At some point I'll organize all my random writings and pick a book (or two) to focus on but for now, I'm just happy to be writing. Daily. 

Cheers,

Dena