The Wedding Post

Someone asked me yesterday, "So, have you blogged about your wedding yet?" I hadn't really thought about it, but here it is. My wedding post.

I got married on October 17th and it was absolutely perfect and most definitely the happiest day of my life. I heard so many horror stories about wedding-day drama, but everything went swimmingly. Now, a while back, I told you about my beloved wedding-planning site, WeddingWire.com, and while I hold true that this site was my absolute life saver... when it got down to the wire, I didn't have time checking my online to-do list and filling in the digital budget. All that stuff kind of went out the window, and I really only used a good old fashioned pen and paper to stay on top of things. Here are a couple of family photos from the wedding. I'll share more when I get the real photos back from the photographer.

An Oldie But A Goodie

I actually had to check and make sure I hadn't written about this site before because it's actually one of my all time favorites. So much so... I actually did a news story about the site and interviewed the site's founder Frank Warren when I was reporting for WTOP in Washington, D.C.

Post Secret is a wonderful guilty pleasure. It works like this: people mail Frank their deepest darkest secrets and he posts them on his web site every week. It's all anonymous, so Frank's contributors are never revealed. The site is the basis for countless books and even made an appearance in the All American Rejects music video for "Dirty Little Secret."

I don't know what it is about it... but the site is really intriguing. There's something about reading other people's confessions that makes you feel better about whatevers harboring inside your own heart.

I've always wanted to send a secret in to Frank, but I've never had a secret that compelled me to actually releasing something to the public through the site. Maybe some day.

Here are some of this week's secrets. Just like all secrets.... the cards can get a little racey... but I'll keep it PG here.

Determined To Predict The Weather

With my wedding day now only 12 days away... I have become absolutely OBSESSED with checking the weather forecast for Columbus, Ohio. Even though I know no respectable weatherman (weather person for those of us who want to be politically correct) will forecast farther than 10 days... I keep looking for trends and signs that there won't be rain. But, instead what I'm finding is that not a single weather site can agree on what the conditions will be the week before my wedding. See for yourself...

The National Weather Service doesn't forecast further than a week...







Neither does Weatherbug...









Here's where I get really confused... The Weather Channel says there will be clear skies before my wedding... but MSN Weather says I can expect rain...


























I realize those two are hard to see... but trust me... one says Wednesday October 14th will be sunny... another says there's going to be storms.

I don't really have any specific weather website recommendation. Rather, it's just an observation of how sites, claiming to have the same information, can be different.

Yes, I just wrote a blog on weather forecasts... and if I've managed to bore you to death, I apologize. But, really... these are the sites I've been spending most of my time on lately. I guess that's what happens when you have "bride brain."

UPDATE
Yet another weather forecast site, AccuWeather.com claims to have a 15-day forecast. Don't know how reliable THAT is... but it's predicting a mix of sun and clouds, high of 54 for the big day!

The Best Worst Place To Ask Questions

The best worst place to get information isn't Wikipedia... it's Yahoo Answers. I use this site all the time, but always with a grain of salt. Most recently, I've been using the site to bounce off ideas for my upcoming wedding. Whether it's centerpieces, invitations or gifts for the groomsmen and bridesmaids... I've used Yahoo Answers to get an unbiased point of view. And for that, I generally give Yahoo Answers a thumbs up. However! Yahoo Answers can be a dangerous little beast!

When you use this site, you have to remember that any "yahoo" can pass off their opinion as factual or justifiable knowledge.

A couple months ago, I put up a post asking what the general consensus was on serving "pigs in a blanket" at my wedding reception. The caterer's only option my fiance Tim thought his family would enjoy. I'd never heard of anyone serving such a thing at a wedding reception and was a little hesitant. So I thought, "What the hell? Lets see what Yahoo Answers thinks!" I threw the question out to the world wide web, and waited for the responses to pore in. It didn't take long, and the answers I received were completely unexpected. Instead of actually ANSWERING my question, the general consensus on my post was that I was a snob for questioning my fiance family's tastes. I was cussed at and personally insulted like never before! I immediately reported the other users for their language and offensive content. I showed it to Tim, thinking he too would be just as appalled. But after he read through the post, he started laughing hysterically. But, not at the responses I received (while he thought those were funny too). He was laughing at me for taking something so seriously.

And he's right. Yahoo Answers is absolutely ridiculous. Browsing the questions its amazing to see how many people are searching out answers about their pets, spouses and hell... appliances!

And, while I've cut back on asking, I've instead started answering questions! I've found adding my two cents on what dress I think is cuter or what recipe to try is extremely addicting.

More for Less

Everyone knows my wedding is coming up. (33 days, but who's counting?) Now, like every bride I'm doing what I can to look my best on the big day. And of course that means eating less and lots of cardio. I've been doing 30 minutes of cardio, five times a week. And after two weeks of my new regime, I decided it was time to step on the scale and celebrate the fruits of my labor. But, I was disappointed to find that I had not lost a single pound. I couldn't believe it! I thought, "Surely... there must be something wrong with the scale! There must be something wrong with me..." Then I decided to do some research. After hoping online, I learned my problem wasn't that I wasn't working out enough or eating too much... Actually, I wasn't eating enough! The recommendation for my little dilemma was to actually eat MORE! Apparently, my body was holding on to my fat cells because it was in starvation mode! Faced with the reality that I may not be able to shed any weight unless I ate more, I've started counting calories for the first time in my life! My saving grace in all of this is the Calorie Counter Database. It has a database of 1000s of foods and tracks how many calories you consume each day! I've yet to find a food not listed on the site! It also has a lot of great diet and nutrition tools to help you figure out your BMI, your calorie burn profile and your diet profile. Since I've started using this site and eating MORE, I've lost two pounds! I always thought loosing weight was about working out more and eating less, but I guess that's not always the case!

People of Walmart

I rarely go grocery shopping alone. And, while I hate shopping at Walmart, I'm forced to do so because of my wonderful wages as a reporter. But, going to Walmart alone opens up so many people watching possibilities. I do it every time I go, and now there's a website that is based solely on that. People of Walmart is a collection of all the great characters you can only find at Walmart. Here are some recent featured customers.

The site has also received a lot of media attention lately, with features on CNN and Time websites. Apparently, that's flooded People of Walmart with more visitors it can handle and isn't working regularly. Still worth a visit if you have a chance to check it out. I'm anxious to see it up and running again, so I plan on checking it regularly.

Live Hope Love

It's been a while since I've felt truly moved by a web site. But, LiveHopeLove is more than just a web site. It's a testament to the lives of those living in Jamaica with AIDS.

The site shares the experiences of poet and writer, Kwame Dawes. It illustrates his experiences and conversations with people affected by AIDS, both those suffering from the disease and those supporting that struggle.

I think LiveHopeLove is the purest example of a web site. It uses video, audio and text to bring the resilience of these people from across the globe into your own home. And, I would have never experienced these individual battles had it not been for the efforts of its creators.
It's no wonder the site is the 2009 People's Voice Webby Award Winner in the Art Category and an Emmy nominee.

The LiveHopeLove website is just a piece of a larger multi-media reporting project. There is also an extended essay in The Virginia Quarterly Review (Spring 2008), two short public television documentaries and a collection of poems documenting Dawes' experiences. The Pulitzer Center of Crisis Reporting funded the project.

Now, I don't normally include information like this, but I really wanted to throw out accolades to the individuals who had a hand in putting this site together.

Poetry/Special Correspondent: Kwame Dawes
Executive Producer: Jon Sawyer
Co-Producers/Videographers: Nathalie Applewhite and Steve Sapienza
Videographer: Doug Gritzmacher
Photographer: Josh Cogan
Interactive Website: bluecadet