"_____"

Just thought I'd pop in and say "hey." That's all. Off to take At-At to get her shots.

p.s. Keep on the lookout for a small red envelope in your mailbox this week. It contains something very special just for you!

"Rain, rain, go away"

Apparently there's a storm on it's way. What does this have to do with a wedding blog? Nothing, really. Just thought I'd let you know. The weatherman on T.V. says we're getting winds blowing up to 60 mph in-city, thunderstorms, and a deluge of rain. What we've gotten so far is a flooded basement, with water trying to creep into my bedroom. For those who've always wanted to know why I cuff my jeans: it's not because I wish I was a rocker, it's not because I'm short and too lazy to hem...no....it's for situations like this when everything is flooding.

Just kidding.

I'm supposed to be at a friend's lecture downtown, but have decided to stay-in. So, here I sit with my cup of hot cocoa, a fluffy blanket, and wedding stuff surrounding me. To my left is the makings for our wedding invitations, a book Paul found for me called "Anti-Bride Guide", a Pink Lady apple (my favorite), and my journal. To my right is my wedding veil (I just picked it up), my dress (I was going to try it on with the veil before we got flooded), and some fabric for making a shawl for my gown. Plans for The Big Day are coming along. Rumor has it there'll be firebreathers and a clown. Or not. It just might be a very quiet affair.

Ha-ha, kidding again!

In addition to putting together the wedding, we've started transforming Paul's super-bachelor pad into our home. Last week we created The List Of What Should Be Done, taped it to the wall, and have been slowly working our way through the list. If you click on the picture, you can see what grand plans we've created. Last night, we took a load of things to Value Village and picked up a new bed. We also unpacked some of my things and added my albums to Paul's collection. The next two months are looking like one big camping trip for me, as I'm living out of boxes at a friend's home while most of my things are at Paul's. The perks: I get to sleep in a cozy basement hobbit hole, my friend Dana Jill lives across the hall and her dog, Rugby - an oversized Yorkshire Terrier with attitude - and I spend alot of time on the couch together. The not-so-perks: there's no sunlight, Paul gets to bond with AT-AT and sleep in our new bed before I do, and I miss my things.

I know...rough.

Anyway, Christmas is almost here and we're excited to spend it together, with our families, and with our friends. Next friday marks one year of Team Us being, well, a team. One year. Wow. And now we're about to be married!

Gotta go. Looks like it's my turn to mop up the basement.

xo
Claudine

p.s. 64 days to The Big Day! Not that anyone's counting or anything (wink-wink)!

All Hands on Deck!

If you have found your way to this blog, we'll assume you are a friend. And if you are reading the things we have to say, you're probably a good one! Well, many of our pals from both sides of the aisle have been asking if we need anything, and as Claudine and I discuss this wedding of ours, we are seeing that we need a lot! No pressure - what is most important to us is that you come and have a good time - but if you can, there are a couple things specifically we could use some bodies for.

a) Ceremony/Reception set-up and tear down: We are having both in our church, which we love, but which also has to be ready for Sunday morning services the next day. Saturday weddings aren't even allowed - we had to use the secret handshake and promise we would get a crew to make it nice. If we get 20 people, it should take an hour after the reception ends. Yes - the keg will still be there! MH dudes - I'm looking at you!!! We will also need people to help set the thing up before the ceremony. Details on that are forthcoming, but we'd like to see if we can get some people to commit to helping now.

b) Rehearsal Dinner prep and pack: We also need help setting up and taking down the decorations for the rehearsal dinner. We'll be there too, but we would love to get a person/group to take this on as their "thing". We'll get the take down done fast so we can get everyone over to the Shanty for pool etc..

c) ?: Have a secret skill you think we can use? Wanna volunteer to be plugged in wherever we need you? Great. It takes a village, indeed!

We value and adore each and every one of you, and are looking so forward to getting you all into one room together! Talk about worlds colliding! We don't want to put anyone on the spot, so please don't feel obligated - especially those of you with kids etc.. If you would like to help us out, leave a comment below, or email us at paulmjhs@yahoo.com or claudine.atencio@gmail.com .

Paw in the Family...

Say hi to the newest member of Team Miller - AT-AT the cat! Yes, AT-AT, as in, "Where's AT-AT the cat at?" One of my students has a slut for a kitty an always has amazing kittens, and we were looking for a pet and lack a fence, so here we are.

She's great - thinks she's a dog and that's fine by me. No discipline. but how much trouble can a cat get into? Don't answer that!

And yes, she is named after the All Terrain Armored Transports in Star Wars. Wanna make something of it?!?!?!

"Clink!"

Dudes, It's a Good Time to be a Dude, Dude...

I like the jokes about how people get married for the gifts, because it distracts from the fact that some men do it just for the bachelor party. Not me, of course, I'm just making an observation...

If I were to make another one, I would say that west-coasters take a more casual approach to the BP - hanging out with buddies on a weeknight et cetera, and while that isn't bad per se, I've always appreciated the gusto with which my east coast and mid-west friends celebrate the long-term leasing of their ring fingers. Planes are boarded, budgets blown, and time is lost - until the pictures are developed, of course.

My dream has been to rip off my buddy Dan Sage and to get the fellas out for some deep sea fishing, but the February weather is bigger than me, so I've gone to plan B. Mini-road trip!

To where? Centralia, WA, an hour and a half south of Seattle, to the Olympic Hotel, which is run by the good folks at McMenamin's Brewing, and which features good beer, billiards, live music, and a space for cards, etc. later that night. Prices are reasonable too - they have a package for $45-60 a person which covers free pool, dinner, breakfast, and the room if we share. Here's the website if you'd like to look around...

http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=58&id=479

The details - our prelim plan is to leave Seattle around noon on the 10th of Feb., find some nature to hang in on the way (weather not being a pain-in-the-ass), getting to Centralia around 5, and going from there. We'll be back the next day.

Who's going/invited? If you are a dude and you've found your way to this here blog, I'd love to see you there. That said, the hotel only has 27 rooms, so we may have to get going on it pretty quick. I will be calling to see what we can do about group rates in the next couple of days. In the meantime, email me at paulmjhs@yahoo.com if you know for sure if you can or can't join us.

The girls are sooooo sad right now...

Rocktober? Rock-OVER!

Well, almost.

Claudine and I are about to catch our breaths after a very fun and very busy October, which culminates this weekend with the 3rd Annual Paul-o-Ween party at my place, which has always suffered a bit in Claudine's absense. She'll be there with bells on this time as we do our first party ever together!

It's amazing how fast time is flying, and we are well aware we have some catch-up planning to do in November, so expect a bunch more activity on this blog as well as some stuff in the mail soon. We look forward to seeing all of you!

It's the small things...

I have no idea who is interested in reading what - if this is going to end up being something we look at years down the road for kicks and giggles or what, but while I have it, maybe I'll use the space to share a little somethin-somthin with those about to go down this road...

a) Never go through the rigamarole (sp?) of signing up, joining, logging into, account opening, etc. ANY blogs/webhosting services until your tech-savvy fiance finds the one she really wants. Ignore the first 8 on-line invitations to join anything! I'm pretty sure this post is going to end up out in the ether too! Sweet freedom!!!!

b) Encourage your fiance to know what you do, so that he/she can do his/her best to keep that in mind when making design choices! I once knew this wonderful woman who in the interest of being cool and hep started a blog for her and her fiance without any capitalization - and he taught adavnced English at a high school! Stranger than fiction, let me tell you!!!!

Anyhoo, welcome to the blog of Team Us. A daily reminder of why Al Gore invented the Internets- free ramblings for all!!!

Team Us

on february 17, 2007 paul miller and i (claudine atencio) will stand before our friends and family, where we will exchange vows (i'll probably cry a bit), place rings on our fingers and become husband and wife. in other words, we're getting married!


as we plan The Big Day, we thought it'd be cool to put together a site where people could get info (like the date/time/location of the wedding, where to find a hotel if you're coming from out-of-town, etc). but, being the social nutcases that we are, we thought it'd also be cool to have a place to share the experience of Team Us (we call our coupleship "Team Us"). you know, the good times, the crazy times, the "this doesn't make sense" times, "this is just too cool" times, blah blah blah. so, with that said...


go team!