Paula, or Paul?

Today Melissa and I went to Jared: The Galleria of Jewelry to purchase our wedding rings. The experience began most pleasantly with a courteous offering of something to drink, but then I spotted something. From a distance I saw a woman standing behind one of the counters who had the obvious figure of a woman, but had a very noticeable mustache and beard fuzz. I turned to Melissa to comment about this odd circumstance, and as I did that, she started walking over to help us. I thought, "oh great, I'm not going to be able to keep a straight face." However, the plot thickened (literally, as in the hair on her arms) when she started talking. Her/his voice was rather low for a woman and sounded distinctly mannish. Then I noticed the arms. Oh the arms! They were almost as hairy as mine, and if you know me you know my arms are pretty hairy. And then the hands. Definitely the thick, meaty hands you frequently see on a man. As you can probably tell, our sales associate, Paula was her name, was very likely formerly Paul or maybe just Paul on the weekends, although there was no apparent attempt to hide the facial hair that would rival an 8th grade boy. Needless to say I was glad she/he did not try to touch my hands to fit the ring, but the whole experience made for an interesting evening and a funny blog story.

April showers bring May....returns?

The gauntlet of March has finally passed over. March is always the month of crappy, unpredictable weather and time seems to drag on like nothing else (especially when you're getting married in less than two months). But April is finally here, the grass is getting green and the showers are starting to fall. That is bridal showers, of course. I have officially dubbed the month of April as shower month because there are three showers within four weeks, beginning tomorrow. Now, as a guy, I am not really all that interested in attending a get-together with other women from church, family, etc. so I can sit and listen to people talk about babies and play "shower" games. Now I am not at all opposed to showers based on the sole fact that we will be receiving many gifts of which I'm sure many will have to be returned or exchanged. Call me greedy, but the prospect of getting lots of stuff that is necessary for comfortable living is quite a promising idea. Fortunately, the only shower I have to attend is the one at my church this weekend, and even at that one I only have to come for the end to "receive advice from the ladies of my church about marriage." That's a whole nother ballgame. Part of me will be amused by the things we are told I'm sure, and the other part of me worries that some of the things people say may make the entire situation instantly awkward. Oh well, I will keep you informed on the progress of these showers. So, let's bring on the rain!