theparkerfamily.org

  • Wedding: Required Reading

    We’ve been engaged one week and I have started to discover the vast quantities of wedding material that exists. First, thanks to Marja we have 435 pages of New and Improved Bridal Bargains — as seen on Oprah, of course! It’s filled with tons of obscure facts. For example you can look up the least popular months for weddings by state. Surprisingly, all of this information makes for some really good reading.

    Then this weekend, a huge package arrived from m.o.h. Christy with the latest wedding magazines. I am now the proud owner of about 15 pounds of wedding advice that I can haul around on the metro this week. The selection includes In Style Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Modern Bride.

    So that he isn’t left out, Evan and I picked up The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Being a Groom. He’s dutifully read it cover to cover already. It’s the third edition of the book so the advice has to be pretty good — right?

    Other friends have offered to give me their supply of wedding planning materials and books in the coming weeks. I think we will be the best-read couple in DC by the time we get married.

  • Wedding: One Ring to Rule Them All …

    After much debate about the tact of posting pictures of hypothetical engagement rings, the Spindler-Parker family has hereby (and forthwith) decided to post the “money shot” of the ring as provided through the ring’s proprietor’s web site.

    The Lady Sparkler would like (at my earliest convenience) to replace this picture with one of the ring on her actual hand. I, on the other hand, am advocating for this picture’s to remain indefinitely. Without a finger for perspective, the ring looks much bigger than its actual size (which is a little smaller than the head of a pin).

    P.S. Two words: BlueNile.com. It’s heaven for geeks-in-love who want to avoid being hard-sold by gemologists/used-car salesmen. The “build your own engagement ring” has cool little sliders that makes the whole thing vaguely less terrifying than it otherwise would be…

  • Photos: New York

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    See All the Photos on Flickr:
    Engagement Day

  • Engagement

    It happened some time around 3:30 on Saturday… I proposed to The Lady Sparkler while we were in New York City for a long weekend. The proposal itself took place in a part of Central Park overlooking the lake called the Ramble (see map).

    For the record, she did say yes… and part of the following day was spent purchasing a bridal planning book from Barnes and Noble, which I took to be a good, reinforcing sign.

    We are open to bets on when the wedding will be, and if the pool gets large enough, we promise to throw the pool and split the proceeds with the “winner.” Even money says that it won’t be in ANY spring (too miserably busy each and every year), so the smart gambler would be picking D.C. weekends in the autumn of 2007.

    Pictures coming soon from the trip to NYC, and maybe even the ring if we can find a way of doing it without looking completely superficial / gauche.

  • Travel: Fenway Park, Boston


    IMG_0187.CR2, Originally uploaded by evancparker.

    I was in Boston (well, Cambridge, actually) for a conference, and had an afternoon to kill. Being a good Red Sox fan, I walked over the Charles and down to the stadium. Even took the tour. Unfortunately, I found out that good Red Sox fan’s DON’T take the tour, because it is largely a waste of money. You spend $8 and get to sit in the bleachers, and hear someone talk about the Pesky pole for 45 minutes. Oh well.

    Fenway Park, Boston
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/unclevanya/sets/…7113/

  • Hike: Roosevelt Island

    Roosevelt Island is certainly a nice hike, but not one of the most photogenic places in Washington. A dog was doing some dead-waterfowl retrieval drills, but not much exciting beyond that.

    Roosevelt Island
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/unclevanya/sets/…0121/

  • Photos: Cherry Blossoms

    I rarely — if ever — venture into downtown D.C. when the Cherry Blossoms are in bloom, but something inspired me this year. Not only do you have to deal with city traffic, but tourists, and they seam to get stupider each year.

    Not to mention, I honestly don’t like the look of a cherry tree in bloom … at least not up close. They look like a floral pipe cleaner. I like my blossoms a little more random and well spaced. Maybe a dogwood, or magnolia.

    This time, I went down the day before peak … and did it at some obscene hour of the morning. The foot traffic around the tidal basin was predictably insane (and I hereby vow to never do it again, again) but the more remote groves — like this one, north of the monument — were just as stunning, and much less crowded.

    Cherry Blossoms
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/unclevanya/sets/…6218/

  • Photos: NCAA Tournament

    I got tickets to the Washington, DC regional of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament this year (“Oh, brother … where art thou?”) and watch George Mason rampage through the region from the nose-bleeds in the upper deck.

    This particular gem of a picture was taken at the tipoff for overtime, with the score tied at 74. By the time it was over, Mason had upset Connecticut 86-84. Going into the game, I was actually a little apathetic, until I read Uconn coach Jim Calhoun shoot his mouth off:

    “It’s going to be nice playing an away game,” Calhoun said. “I’m looking forward to that. I think that part of the system is really working out to protect the 1s.”

    Come on, Coach. Do number one seeded teams really need to be protected against number ELEVEN seeded teams? Oh wait. i guess they do …

    NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/unclevanya/sets/…8347/

  • Photos: Rosslyn Heights

    The first of the Washington DC in bloom pictures. It’s been a while since I have done the Cherry Blossoms, so I will probably do that when they bloom in a week and a half. These were just taken around our apartment building on the other side of the Potomac from D.C..

    Rosslyn Heights
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/unclevanya/sets/…4144/

  • Hike: Susquahenna State Park

    Something like my fourth trip back to this hike, located about 20 minutes north of Baltimore. Still far and away my favorite. First trip in cold weather, though … and I think it was my first trip where it didn’t rain.

    Susquahannah State Park
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/unclevanya/sets/…2099/