What's your Jeopardy story?

I hated Jeopardy growing up. Something that was a nightly routine for my dad was sheer torture for me, as I was forced to watch too.  Thirty minutes of geekiness and boredom and useless knowledge.  Aside from the hours and hours of the History Channel, Jeopardy ranked right up there on the "Kill-Me-Now" scale. 

Now?  I watch Jeopardy.  There.  I admit it.  And other than Kevin, who pretty much has an entire head full of useless knowledge and somehow knows the answer to almost every question (leading me to ask the common question "Why do you know that?"), I am not half bad at it.  But that's not what this is about.

This is about those insane stories that each contestant tells when they are introduced to the TV audience.  Have you watched these? 

Alex:  "This is Carol from Wisconsin.  Carol, as I understand it you had an interesting experience with a bird one time.  Tell us about it."

Carol:  "Absolutely.  I was walking through downtown one day on my way to a doctor's appointment, and when I checked in at the desk, I realized that a bird had relieved itself on my shoulder.  It was very embarrassing."

Alex:  "That does sound embarrassing.  Welcome, Carol."

What???

Alex:  "Next we have Troy from Washington, DC.  Troy, it says here you once had aspirations to climb Mount Everest."

Troy:  "Yes, Alex.  I watched a documentary one time about mountain climbing, and so I tried climbing a small mountain in my hometown, but broke my leg on the way up, so that's it for mountain climbing."

Alex:  "Ahhh, that's too bad.  Well, anyways, we're glad to have you."

Huh?

Alex:  "Lastly is Harold from Palo Alto, California, whose nickname with his friends is Hopalong Hal.  Can you tell us why?"

Harold:  "That's right.  Well, it started back in high school when my OCD was out of control, and I couldn't step on cracks in the sidewalk, so I would hop over them.  I guess the name just stuck."

Alex:  "How interesting, Hopalong Hal." (audience laughs)

What are these things?  I swear, my absolute favorite part of the show is listening to these asinine stories from the contestants during their introductions.  I literally laugh every episode, when I know in my heart they had no intention of being funny.  Tonight, after an actual story about some guy getting his wallet stolen and all the credit cards being used, I wondered to myself, what would my story be? 

Talk about your life flashing before your eyes.  Now I'm going back over my entire 35 years of existence to find the cute and quirky stories that could be told in a quick little diatribe with Alex Trebek.  Carol's story above was actually inspired by a story of mine.  When I moved to DC and decided to tour the Mall my first day there, a bird pooped on my hot dog cart hot dog, completely ruining my first day in a new city.  But do I really want the whole world to know I almost ate that hot dog?  No.

There was the time I drove all the way through Kansas without stopping.  Have YOU driven through Kansas from one side to the other?  That deserves some sort of medal or something.  Medals also to all the people who live in Kansas, although I barely saw any people during that drive.  So if you live there, where?  All I saw were flatlands of nothingness.  And a 100+ car train from engine to caboose in a single view.  Yes, Kansas is flat.

Or there was the time I cut my bangs too short in high school, and they stuck straight out from my head.  I tried to glue them to my forehead with gel and mousse, but when they would dry they would just stick right back out again.  That one's a favorite of all my sweet friends who witnessed it, and like to relive the story every time we get together. (Love you, my girls!)

But ultimately, I know there's a lot of my life to live.  Lots of stories yet to be written.  And Jeopardy will just have to wait.

So that being said, what would your story be?

And a wedding makes two.

Yes. There have been many changes since I last posted. My best friend asked me to be his wife in September. We were vacationing with his family in Destin, FL. One night he took me out to the beach, and on a blanket under the stars, as we listened to the waves lap against the shore, he got down on his knee and proposed. It was beautiful and intimate. Just the two of us in this perfect moment.

Three months later, we were married on a gorgeous, very un-January evening in January. It was sunny and 60 degrees, making outdoor pictures much easier than they would have been had we been dealing with snow, sleet, rain, or other typical January weather in Kentucky. We were surrounded by our friends and family where we laughed, cried, and were filled with joy as we became husband and wife. It was all that we wanted, and I have to credit all of our vendors who did an amazing job and meeting our vision.
Our flower arrangements, both for the ceremony and reception, were created by Ivory Rose Floral in Lexington, KY. Beth really listened to my ideas and created arrangements that perfectly suited my needs.

Music for both the ceremony and reception was provided by Jason Eustice. I chose acoustic guitar music for the processional, and he also sang "Amazing Grace" during the ceremony. During the reception, he switched to DJ extraordinaire as he played our favorite songs, sang and played a few of his own songs, and generally got the crowd going for the reception.

I highly recommend him.

Our cake was made by Tinker's Cake Shop in Lexington (the loose flowers on the cake were supplied by Ivory Rose to match the rest of the arrangements.. Tinker's used to have a storefront location in Nicholasville, but moved to a location downtown and they are available by appointment only for special ceremony cakes. The BEST part about Tinker's is that if you purchase your wedding cake from them, they give you a gift certificate for a complimentary 6" cake of your choice on your one year anniversary. As such, you don't have to worry about saving the top tier of your cake and trying to choke down freezerburnt and soggy year-old cake on your anniversary. You get a fresh, flavor-of-your-choice cake. The cake topper was purchased from Milan Creations on Etsy. I love the way it looked atop our cake and it worked so well with the ivory, black, cranberry and pink color scheme of our wedding.

Our reception took place at the Round Barn at the Red Mile. There were many reasons why I chose this location. It was rustic, it allowed everyone to be in one room rather than having to split people up over several rooms, and it allowed for us to do some unique things with the decorations. But most of all, it allowed me to pay tribute to my grandfather, who was once the Director of Security for the Kentucky Harness Racing Commission, and who took me there so often when I was growing up. So even though he passed before he could see me get married, I know he was there in spirit.

We were also blessed with a GREAT caterer. Bayou Bluegrass Catering, who is commissioned for all catering at the Red Mile, did an unbelievable job. We are still getting compliments on the food at the wedding, with most saying it was the best "wedding food" they've ever had. It doesn't get much better than that!

Lastly, I must pay a huge tribute to our photographer, Heather Ransdell Photography. Here are just a few of the images that we LOVED! The fabulous vintage Bentley came courtesy of Gold Shield Transportation.


All in all, it was a spectacular day filled with love. And I can't wait to see what the future holds!