Amore e formaggio: The September Archives

The September Archives

September 30, 2003:

Today was a day that could have been much more productive than it actually was if not for the cursed DMV. We started off the day with several things that we wanted to get done, and the first was to get our new Georgia drivers licenses. Our plan was hampered, however, when the DMV said that Chris couldn't get his license without either his birth certificate or passport. So we waited for about 45 minutes for Renée to get her license and then left.
Then, on the way home, we were stopped at a red light when the van in front of us inexplicably began to go in reverse. Before you could say, "Why are you backing up, you moron?", the van hit Renée's Camry. The front bumper was cracked, but the drivers of the other car claimed that they didn't even hit us. Sheesh.
Later in the day, Chris returned to the DMV with his birth certificate. This time, he waited for over an hour, and then they didn't even look at the birth certificate.
The day was not a total waste, though. We did make a quick swing by Chris's family's house where we had some tasty chicken pot pies and got to see Twinkie. Twinkie seemed pretty happy to see us, but much more pleased with herself for "stealing" Munchkin's bone.
Due to the fact that this page with all of its pictures is becoming a pretty huge file, tomorrow we will archive all of the September entries to another page. You'll still be able to see them, but they won't be clogging up the main page.

September 29, 2003:

Today was a fairly uneventful day. We moved a few things to the new house and tidied up a bit so that we can start living there. We have the borrowed Aerobed to sleep on in the time being, though the one time we slept on it we forgot to bring pillows.
Our inactivity, however, means that we can fill you in on all of the fun of the past week! Hooray! Our honeymoon was spent at Breezes Runaway Bay in Jamaica, and it was an all-inclusive resort, meaning everything you could possibly want was all taken care of for you -- unless, as we discovered, you wanted cash for the casino. In that case, you had to wander out of the complex to an ATM in the nearby town, which dispensed money in Jamaican dollars. Then, because the front desk only exchanged money if you wanted Jamaican dollars, we had to convert all of the cash into casino tokens, which could then be redeemed for good old fashioned American dollars. Fortunately, a streak of good luck at the Moolah! slot machine meant that we left with more money than we started with, and we didn't even have to pay a departure tax that we were told was required.
Perhaps the most "romantic" of the activities was the horse and buggy ride. As we started out, our tour guide brought out a bottle of wine on ice and two glasses for us to enjoy the tour in style. She neglected to mention the incredibly bumpy roads, though, so the majority of the wine ended up on our bodies rather than in them. And then, it rained. On us. The ride was still enjoyable as we saw lots of pretty houses and somewhat angry-looking dogs.
There are many more stories to tell, but those will have to wait for another day. Trading Spaces "I Hated It!" is coming on.

September 28, 2003:

We have returned from our luxurious honeymoon in Jamaica, where we spent five days and nights lounging on the beach, eating lots of tasty food, and frolicking with very friendly fish. The sergeant major fish, pictured here, is apparently a very curious fish, because every time we went in the water, a whole school of them came to visit. Renée thinks they were attracted to Chris's yellow and black striped bathing suit and mistook him for a giant fish.
This will not be a long entry tonight because frankly, we're pooped. Plus we'll still have to wait a few days before we can have any pictures from our honeymoon, so there's not too much we can post about it tonight. Be content, though, in the knowledge that now that things have settled down relatively, you will soon have the quality web content that you've come to expect from this webpage (guestbook notwithstanding).

September 22, 2003:

After a 22-month engagement and an awful lot of planning and stress, it finally happened: Chris and Renée got married! The wedding was a great success -- though there were a few close calls, nobody vomited, tripped and fell, or was abducted by a jealous Best Man. This is not to say that all went perfectly, though -- here's a picture of Chris getting nailed in the eye by a wayward bubble.
The official wedding pictures are still a little while away, but due to the magic of digital photography, we have a number of photos already. Some of which we can't show you (for some reason, the pictures won't reduce to a manageable size) and some we won't show you (there's a particularly cheesy staged picture of Chris pretending to make a run for it). But for those of you with time to kill downloading huge pictures, here's a nice picture of Renee and her dad, a picture of Chris doing a Batman impression, and a closeup of the cake topper. There's also a reasonably sized picture of the Caruso kids for those of you with slower connections.
Next on the agenda: the honeymoon! We're leaving bright and early tomorrow morning for a trip to Jamaica for five nights, during which (we're sad to say) the website will not be updated. Stay tuned afterwards, though, for a plethora of new stuff!
We have noticed that our new guestbook has apparently crapped out on us. We regret the inconvenience and are getting rather upset with the evil guestbook people. More on this later.

September 17, 2003:

A busy day of doing necessary things. We got some supplies for the house, such as light bulbs, a mop, and paper towels. Then we went to the mall to try to get some clothes that might make Chris look presentable. The jury is still out on those. Then we split up for the day to do other tasks that needed doing.
David, the Best Man, has arrived in Atlanta, and fortunately, After Hours has finally discovered his measurements for the tuxedo. Now he will be spared the embarassment of having to wear a newspaper hat and short shorts.
Try as we might, we could not find a copy of the new Playstation game The Simpsons Hit and Run anywhere. Even Wal-Mart, where you can always count on some underpaid worker placing an item out for sale two weeks early, was a bust. It is quite sad.

September 16, 2003:

Today was a productive day, but boring for website purposes. We were both exhausted from a late night of trying to write thank you notes and slept in until noon. We then went to the ALFA Insurance office to get Georgia auto insurance. After some tasty hoagies at the Mellow Mushroom, we returned home to make various wedding-related phone calls.
Chris watched most of the Braves game, and as soon as he left to see what Renée was doing, they lost. That's why Renée should always be within seeing distance of Chris. Or why Chris should not come bother Renée when she is chatting with Sandi.
Speaking of Sandi, our graphic of the day is the cookie that she requested in her guestbook entry. Are you happy yet, woman?
In an unplanned coincidence (it wouldn't be much of a coincidence if it was planned, would it?), we also ate Oreos tonight -- chocolate creme Oreos. Creepy, huh?

Yeah, big deal, you got a wife, I got a rash -- who cares?

September 15, 2003:

Tonight we had dinner at Moe's and got our promotional Simpsons cups, which will now be very useful for when we want to be silly and drink out of matching cups at dinner. And don't laugh, because we really do it.
We've now finished hanging all of the curtains in the house. Yay for us. The refrigerator has also been moved back to its place of honor in the corner of the kitchen, proving that yes, we do have a kitchen floor.
Chris called theknot.com's customer service people who swear that we will have a new set of toasting glasses by Wednesday. Hopefully if one breaks this time around, it will be the Chris one.
There's a new page on the website -- the Etc. page, where we put stuff that doesn't seem to go anywhere else. Check it out if you're bored or just really interested in the minutiae of our lives.

September 14, 2003:

Bridal shower today! Renée received many nice gifts for our new home, including lots of fun kitchen stuff and a handmade picture frame from Hannah, complete with a picture that says "Happy Livin". Chris's favorite gift, however, is the new Simpsons Jeopardy board game.
There was some sad news today, though. Our personalized toasting glasses arrived today. Chris's was fine; Renée's, however, was shattered. Now Chris has to call the people at theknot.com and yell at them and tell them that they've ruined our wedding so that they will rush us a new one :-)
The Carusos have finally seen the new house in all of its painted splendor. The colors were approved by all, and Hannah seems to like the den a lot, turning it into her own personal stage.
As promised, the Page About Kate has been updated with some new information and pictures. Go check it out, especially if you're Kate.
Finally, we had our second counseling session with Curtis and also met with Wendy, who is our acting wedding coordinator. We are very glad to say that she seems to know what she's doing much more than we do.

For $20, you too could be The Rug Doctor

September 13, 2003:

Today, Chris and Renée embarked on different home improvement paths. Chris and Renée's dad spent the day Rug Doctoring the carpet, trying to get the stains out. They had some success, but will it be enough? Stay tuned to the next exciting chapter of "The Great Home Fix-up Fandango of 2003!"
Meanwhile, Renée and her mom went shopping for a great many things, including curtains, vertical blinds, wrapping paper, earrings, greeting cards, and other wedding related paraphernalia. The search for a bride-appropriate purse was fruitless, though.
We both had tasty lunches: Renée had Steak and Shake complete with a banana shake, and Chris had Philly Connection with a birch beer. Is there no end to the excitement?
Tomorrow: Renée's bridal shower. Keep checking the page for all of the juicy details. Chris, sadly, was not invited. He was told that bridal showers are "girly things." Being a girly thing himself, Chris is still befuddled by his exclusion.

September 12, 2003:

More work on the house today. We're down to the kitchen, and it's already received one coat in most areas, so painting should be done very shortly. Tomorrow Renée will hunt for curtains while Chris finishes painting.
Next step: attempting to salvage the carpet, which has some very peculiar stains, including what looks like nail polish and motor oil.
Today, Chris fought an epic battle against an unending legion of hornets hellbent on wreaking havoc. (Renée says, "Chris, you whacked one hornet in the den." This is true, but what she doesn't say is that Chris used a broom!)
We also had an enlightening evening of TLC (the network, not the snuggling) including two episodes of While You Were Out and one episode of What Not To Wear. We were promised a way to replace bad carpet for $55, but then they cheated and had a "friend" install hardwood floors. It's just not fair.
Excitement of the day: we have discovered Buy One, Get One Free tickets to Six Flags at Burger King, so now all of you lobbyrats have no excuse for not joining in the amusement park amusement the day after the wedding. You know who you are.

September 11, 2003:

Rather uneventful day today. Chris went looking at cars this morning and may have found a pretty good one. More on that as it develops.
We have added directions to the wedding page so that people can find all of the important sites in Athens. If anyone is confused, please email us and we will clarify as best we can.
There's a new adorable picture of Twinkie on the Twinkie page -- it's one of the very first pictures we have of her when she was absolutely tiny. You must see it. We tried to scan in a bunch of Twinkie pictures, only to have the computer freak out after the last one so that none of them saved. Technology is bad.
The evening was rounded out by a tasty meal of lasagna and a viewing of Grease on TV (with no commercials!). Chris attempted to dance like John Travolta for Renée but ended up looking more like Homer Simpson.

September 10, 2003:

Another Athens trip today, this time for the purpose of trying out a makeup artist for the wedding. However, what trip to Athens is complete without having a meal at Hunan? We met Courtney, her friend Jennifer, Caitlyn, and Kevin there for a delightful lunch. Then, as if we had not eaten well enough, we had Sonic for dinner. We highly recommend their Cream Pie milkshakes (Renée likes the banana, Chris the chocolate).
On a sadder note, Chris got a bad haircut.
We've begun writing our vows. It's difficult straddling that line between sincere and schmaltz, between heartfelt and vomit-inducing. Hopefully we've managed to strike a good balance. Here's a taste for you: "I promise to give you at least 30 seconds notice before farting." Is that love or what?
Kevin paid a dollar today to receive a three-minute-long shiatsu massage from a chair. In his words, he felt like he was caught in the mandibles of some large creature. Kevin, you may not have enjoyed your massage, but the looks on your face made it well worth it for the rest of us.

You are interested in public service and would make a good statesman.

September 9, 2003:

Congratulations to Kate for winning the "Match the Color to the Room!" contest! As a prize, she will receive a set of color chips showing all of the colors used in the house! She will also have her very own A Page About Kate page added to this very webpage. As a beginning, here is a picture of Kate on a visit to Tallahassee. She is playing Dance Dance Revolution with Chris while being watched by Hannah and a random Indian woman. You go, Kate!
We have begun work on our wedding programs, including the difficult task of making sure that the bride in the "Happy Couple" clip art has dark hair, like Renée. Accuracy is a virtue.
We have both applied for various jobs, but nobody yet has replied, because we are unloved by the Atlanta job industry.
Painting of the house is drawing to a close, and we can now announce the colors of each room.
- Master Bedroom: Honeytone
- Un-baby Room: Adriatic Mist
- Guest Bedroom: Pinery
- Living Room: Celestial Sun
- Hallway: Honeymoon
- Den: Tinderbox
- Kitchen: Teacup
We hope to have pictures of the house in all of its painted glory posted on the website soon. Keep checking in.
We've changed the guestbook that this page uses. This won't affect most of you, since most of you haven't signed the guestbook (sob sob). But for those of you who have signed, it won't affect you either, because we've already moved your entries. The wonder of technology.
Finally, a few very cute pictures of Twinkie have been added to the Twinkie page. Go look at her...she's utterly adorable.

September 7, 2003:

Not much to report today. We spent a good portion of the day working on the house, painting a variety of baseboards. We also learned that the blue painter's tape that says "Ideal for painted surfaces" does not actually work so well on painted surfaces. In fact, you could say that it strips the paint off of the wall, though what color paint and on what wall, I cannot say :-)
Also of note: at Home Depot, you can get venetian blinds in prices ranging from $5 a set (which we bought) to $425 a set (which we did not buy). Why anyone would pay $425 for a single set of venetian blinds is a mystery, unless they only had one window in their entire house and wanted it to look really nice.
Mike came by to see the house and we all went out to dinner, where we learned that small plates do not go well with messy sandwiches. The mess tends to end up in your lap. We also learned that real Falcons fans wear wings.

September 6, 2003:

Sorry for the lack of an update yesterday. Computer problems.
Yesterday was a fun day. We went to Conyers to meet the Caruso clan for an evening at Chuck E. Cheese, where we took several goofy pictures which we will hopefully scan soon. You'd like them -- they're really goofy. This was followed by ice cream at Bruster's, then a late night romp at Petsmart, where we bought Twinkie a gigantic, two-foot-long bone. She was most pleased.
Today we had our first session of marriage counseling with Curtis and then proceeded to the house to continue painting. Only one room to go, and you know what that means -- only two more days to enter the contest!
Speaking of the contest, here's the current leaderboard: Kate is in the lead with 4 correct answers, followed by a two-way tie: Hannah and Courtney, each with 1 correct answer. Mom Caruso, I regret to say, missed every one.
We also met our first neighbor today, a....shall we say, charming fellow named Chris, who came over to warn us that his un-neutered male pit bull has a tendency to jump out of his fence and might wander over to our yard. In his words, "The dog is fine with people...doesn't get along too well with other animals, though." We'll be sure to keep Twinkie far, far away from this marauding beast.
In wedding news, we are now the proud owners of engraved rings. They say "09-20-03" so that there can be no controversy over what day we are getting married.

September 4, 2003:

Today we have been all secretive, working on surprise presents for other people. But don't ask us to go into detail -- it's all very hush-hush.
More painting today -- work began on the Guest Bedroom, in a lovely shade of -- aha, you thought I was going to give it away. Well, I'm not that stupid.
Another endeavor that was begun today was the arduous task of writing thank you notes to those who have already given us wedding presents. It's definitely not as easy as one might imagine, and we haven't even gotten some of the difficult presents yet. I mean, how do you express your undying gratitude for receiving a set of vacuum cleaner bags? (That's just an example -- please do not send us vacuum cleaner bags. We are fortunate enough to have a bagless vacuum. I like typing the word vacuum because it has two u's in a row. Mmmm....vacuum.)
There has been some small amount of content added to the wedding page, the jobs page, and the house page, including (insert fanfare) a hint for the color contest! Go RIGHT NOW!

September 3, 2003:

Today we made a trip up to Athens in order to get the marriage license so that we can be officially wed. Before this could occur, though, Chris was searched by security at the Clarke County Courthouse. To Renée's utter mortification, Chris's pocketfuls of garbage were exposed for all to see. (Chris says in his defense, "The garbage came from a bottle of water that I was sweet enough to buy for Renée, and I didn't want to leave that garbage in her car. So there.") (Renée's response: "That doesn't explain the empty package of Nutter Butters.") (Chris is conspicuously silent.)
At the courthouse, we were given a Newlywed Kit which promised to be full of useful stuff for the married-couple-to-be. However, it mostly contained things like samples of soap and deodorant. Apparently, if personal hygiene wasn't important before, it certainly must be after you get married.
Also included in the Athens trip was a visit with our Lobbyrat pal Courtney, who is currently mired in the Business Law portion of law school. We send her our condolences.
Courtney was also the very first person to officially enter our "Match the Color to the Room!" Contest, which only has 5 more days! Don't wait -- your chance to be immortalized on the Internet is fading fast!
The house now has power and a working phone line. These are good things.

September 2, 2003:

Work on the house was limited today as we had to perform various other errands around town, such as getting our power set up and dropping our wedding bands off to be engraved. We were supposed to have our phones hooked up today, but that didn't turn out too well, so don't try to call us yet.
Speaking of phones, we received one of our first wedding presents today: a brand new cordless phone. Yay! No more being tethered to the wall for us!
Phrase of the Day: "Grits Carter!" [Definition: an interjection used to register deep disappointment, named after the Atlanta filmmaker who failed to contact Chris about a job that he had hoped to get.] As in: "When we heard that a Mack truck had driven off the road and crashed into our local Taco Bell, sending it sweeping down a river and into the Gulf of Mexico, we could only shake our heads and exclaim, 'Grits Carter! I was really craving a Grilled Stuft Burrito!'"
It has come to our attention that our guestbook sucks. It seems to cut off people's entries after a set number of characters. Not wanting to limit the endless creativity of our esteemed visitors, we will be looking into replacement guestbooks. That is all.

September 1, 2003:

Hello and welcome to Amore e formaggio: The Weblog of Chris and Renée! This is our official launch of the official website of Chris Caruso and Renée (for 19 more days)Tingle. On this page, you will be able to keep up with our life in all of its splendor and glory.
Today, for instance, was Day 3 of the Great Home Fix-Up Fandango of 2003! Our new house, which we just bought, is quickly taking shape. We've already painted the master bedroom, the "un-baby" room (un-baby referring to the fact that someday when we have a baby, that will be his or her room; for now, it will house Chris's Simpsons figures and Renée's Pez collection), and the living room. The den is soon to follow.
Here's a fun game for you: try to match the room with the paint color! The rooms: Master Bedroom, Guest Bedroom, Un-baby Room, Living Room, Den, Kitchen, Hallway. The colors: Pinery, Teacup, Tinderbox, Honeytone, Celestial Sun, Adriatic Mist, Honeymoon. First one with all correct answers wins a special mention on this page! Email your entries to [email protected]. Entries must be received by September 8, 2003, at 5pm. Enter NOW!

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