one month down

its been a month and some days and we already forget so much of what has happened... but we will always have this....





thanks again to all involved. this blog may change names in the future, but for now, its locked in that we are married, in case you didnt know.

now for the real work.

fyi to all:
if you were there, thanks.
if you werent, you missed out. it was really magical.

now we are married.
and have to clean up.

more updates later,
gotta go celebrate jerry and betsy traubs 40th anniversary.
good for them!

brb! k, thnks, bye!

and zack! it's magical!

All of a sudden THE weekend is here. And it got here with a boom...
So, where do I start? Maybe with last night when Shemika told me that I wouldn't have to come into work, because she was covering my Friday morning shift. Not having to get up at 6 is always magical, but today it was especially nice. The rest of the night was also fabulous considering that Project Runway is back with all its fierceness. One of the two shows (sharing its place with Top Chef) during which there is no unnecessary talking allowed in our house. For the last two years, Ben and I have been glued to the TV to follow the drama and what better advise is there when it comes to relationships than "MAKE it work!"?

However, in more personal and way more exciting news, Felix got here about a week ago and has been very understanding and especially supportive of us and all the stress that comes along with planning a wedding. He has been crafting his fingers bloody making pretty pretty paper flowers. He did get a day off, though, and went up to Chicago, which made me feel less guilty about being busy and tired.
Anyway, this morning we set up the reception space, which now looks really nice and makes it feel a little more real. We are actually getting married and all tomorrow.
There is not much left to do, other than finishing the programs, putting up some lights and figuring out where everybody is going to sit. I hope I didn't forget something big that is going to stress me out tomorrow.
So, quick recap: Felix here, not having to work, room set up.
Then the bigger part of the day started. We had our rehearsal and it still feels strange to me to be the center of attention. Especially in the way it is going to be like tomorrow. I will do my best not to laugh or cry hysterically walking down the aisle. I hope it will be okay and I won't mess up too much.
After the rehearsal we went to Betsy and Jerry's and had a great garden party BBQ. I enjoyed myself, having too many frozen strawberry daiquiris, and apparently missed a huge drama/nervousness/secret/whatchamacallit. Around 9, my mom came to me and said "I need your help" in a way too serious tone...I was worried that they got into an argument with someone or something to that degree...After going to a more quiet area she said "We had a huge surprise planned for you...Your brother was supposed to be here, but he is at least 2 hours late". And she said that with a look on her face as if his plane had just crashed. Which of course, it hadn't. But he was not where he was supposed to be. Apparently everybody knew about it and I was just oblivious to Ben stealing my phone looking for Peter's number, people calling the airline and who knows what else...everybody knew, but I was just drinking my frozen deliciousness. Since the drive from the airport is about half an hour and he was supposed to be there by 7 at the latest, 9 was somewhat worrisome.
I freaked out somewhat (overprotective and overbearing as I am) and went home to get his number, check email, yell at people, check flight plans and all the good stuff. Jerry had already found out that another plane from Cincinnati would get in around 10, so I called his phone until I finally reached him. About 30 minutes later everything was fine, his cab driver managed to find the house (well, at least the street) and I was too stunned to really grasp that he is here. I haven't seen him in something around 19 months, so it is a pretty damn great surprise, but needs some time to fully sink in. We will have breakfast tomorrow, I want to try to get him all to myself for at least an hour and then he is going to walk me down the aisle together with my mom and fly back home Sunday morning. I am ridiculously lucky to have a family like that, a brother who flies for 15 hours for one day in America, a mother and stepfather to help make it happen and friends and a soon-to-be husband who can keep a secret. And now I am adding on to this with Ben's family that has been beyond supportive and welcoming and loving. Lucky girl. Oh, yeah, let's mention Ben once more. He has been my best friend for the last five years, he has stuck with me through ups and downs, makes me laugh, and I get to wake up to him every day. Say it again: LUCKY GIRL!
What else is there to say about a once in a lifetime weekend.
Ben is out with the boys, bachelor party and stuff, and I am going to go to bed now and wake up and have breakfast with most of my family. I wish my dad and Marion could be here. I am looking forward to a phone call tomorrow.
Good times...

where to go, where to go...

for those unfamiliar with the fine city of Naptown (indianapolis), here are some addresses to the locations of the happenings this week!


Christ the King Church
1827 Kessler Boulevard East Dr
Indpls, IN 46220

heres a map to the church via Google!


WITT Community Radio Community Center (for the community)
911 Massachusetts Ave,
Indianapolis, IN 46202

and here is another helpful map that is indeed correct.
thank my brother for the fact checking on that one.


couple update!!! - we are still together!

see, the thing is....

most of us use mid-western speak in our daily language (well, at least cool people do) and one of my favorite-est sayings is "see, thing is...."
when i hung out with Canadians, they would always bust out laughing at that phrase no matter if it was for a night out for sushi or sitting in a club. my ole buddy Paul Fox would often start his mid-set story/ramblings with the phrase when my old band Letters in English would play shows. and scarily, ive heard andrea use the phrase from time to time.
why am i writing about a phrase? a specific phrase? in a few days andrea and i will be saying another phrase. not used as much in daily vernacular, or really when its not appropriate, but the simple words, "I do." are getting ready to resonate from our mouths and change the universe on a sub-atomic level. well, depending on who you ask, many things change on a sub-atomic level, but this one is important.

daily we go down the check list of things to make sure are done. our families are wonderful units of helpfulness and inspiration that we know will not let up come this saturday. calling folks to rsvp is done and thank you cards have already been written, signed, and mailed. schedules are set and keys have been passed into possession. no more deposits, its final payment time. and yes, we are still working at our jobs. i dont know how younger people could do this. it really takes some time and patience, and if theres one thing i know about kids today, its that they have no patience. regardless, after five years of courtship and two and a half years of cohabiting, we are ready for the rest of our lives. and guess what? as much as we dont know whats going to happen tomorrow, we hope you are at least ready for the rest of your life. its going to be long (or relatively short in the larger scheme of history) so be ready. anything could happen and you know it.

comfort is a luxury. but partying? its required.

if you dont hear from us before friday or saturday, know that our blessed union is true, that we wish you could celebrate it with us, and that we are thinking of all of you no matter how much this is supposed to be "our day."

ok?

bridal shower, packages and frivolous gifts...

Last Saturday I had the pleasure to go my second ever and own bridal shower. It was awesome. The three Jennys did an amazing job organizing an afternoon that I could enjoy and hopefully everyone else did as well.
All of this is beyond overwhelming, as I am sure everybody who has been in this position knows, but lots of fun, once you get over the stress of it.
We played some fun little games, ate lots and lots of food and I got tons and tons of presents. There are pictures too, but I don't have the time to post them right now. Later.
My mom and my stepdad are here, which is really nice, I just wish I didn't have to yell at 65 kids all day and had stronger nerves. I am not the most sociable person during the week anymore.
Anyway, it's great to have them here and to be able to give hugs and talk face-to-face. Tomorrow morning we are leaving for a weekend in Chicago and I couldn't be happier to get out of the city for a few days.
We have been getting presents in the mail constantly, and that's a very nice change in mail away from just bills and advertisements. However, our living room is looking smaller and smaller by the day. That's why people buy houses after they get married. All the new stuff.
Our dear friend Maggie send us a package today that made me laugh so hard...we know have M&Ms with our picture on it. They are fabulous. Way to pretty to eat...
We are going out to dinner now, but I will try my best to keep this updated.

the government wants to know...

how you have heard about our relationship, the first time you heard, what you thought, if we are really a couple....all that fun stuff.
if you are willing to vouch for us in form of a letter, please let us know. We also need pictures of us together. Please check if at some point you took one and have it on your computer. First of all, it would be nice to have a picture or two of Ben and I (we really don't have too many) and second of all, immigration wants proof that we actually are a couple.
We would appreciate every help we can get.
For more information, write us an email, or call us.
I am still trying to figure out this whole process, but I thought I'd ask now, before it gets to hectic.

My mom is coming in two days, and I couldn't be more excited (even though I would like it to be cleaner here) and Saturday is my awesome bridal shower thanks to Jenny and Jennifer. It's a good week.

it's real!

after a wonderful night out at the Christ the King Summer Social, we received a wonderful rsvp from our friend Kirsten, who we KNEW would be attending, but none the less, she gave us some info that go me thinking....


i could have sworn that as a child, watching too much TV, that once, on some silly televised circus that as the finale they showed a REAL UNICORN. supposedly not a real unicorn but a mix of goat and mule that some italian family had bred for having one horn and "kinda" looking like a horse-like creature. then a few years later Art School happened, but i am still pretty sure i saw what i saw.

until....Kirsten....sent......

this:




yea, a freak of nature. but not that much unlike our marriage. just kidding. its exactly like it.

T-Minus

one month away.
if you have not, please rsvp. we have to make sure we have a chair for you to sit in.

andrea and i went to the county office and swore that the information we filled out on an OFFICIAL marriage license was true. the clerk was looking RIGHT at andrea when we both said "yes." i dont know if it was because he didnt quite believe her or because shes so pretty.

i think its because shes pretty.

really people, rsvp if you havent.

invite only...we are very exclusive...

So most of the invites are on their way. Finally. My printer, unfortunately, decided to ruin the last 5 sheets of mailing labels I had, so about 30 invitations are still sitting here waiting to be mailed. I'll take care of that tomorrow. Brian did an amazing job on the design and as soon as I get the German announcements they will be send as well.
Yesterday we went decoration-shopping, which wasn't even half as painful as I thought it would be...well, the humidity was a big minus, but other than that it was fine.
If the final result will be anything like I imagine, it will be nice and simple and pretty.
It was also our 5th anniversary this weekend, so we went to the Spaghetti Factory, did some extreme sweating, ate what we could eat and went to see Iron Man, which was awesome. If you like Marvel, you should see it.
Today I did some more dress fitting (It fits, yay) and planning with Betsy and it looks like everything is going to work somehow. Enough wedding talk now.

So as Ben mentioned, we got a little emotional during Obama's speech. While it is always historical when the nominees are finally chosen, it is still a completely different kind of history being written right now. It was about time, and as sad as it is that for me it came down to siding with the male candidate, I do believe that it is amazing that the kids I work with have now seen that it doesn't always have to be an old white guy. I hope it will make a difference in the long run and not just momentarily.
Besides his politics, what I (as a foreigner) like about Obama is his international background, his apparent understanding of world affairs, and that he keeps saying that he does not want to surround himself with yes-men.
It can only get better, and I am hoping for substantial change and more accountability for the administration.

That being said, now back to the important stuff:
UNICORNS

who wants a tasty treat?

whats in that box?


andrea and i got up early (for us) today in order to go do the one thing that most couples either leave up to someone else, take too seriously, or think too little about. thats right, we went to look at wedding cakes. but if you know either andrea or myself well enough you know that we do indeed LOVE cake, but a "wedding cake" is something for other couples. so, since we are young(ish) and hip(ish), we decided early on to try something a little different for our attendees. we hope you all will enjoy our desert selection since the reception wont have much in the way of a dinner.

SIDE NOTE: we also woke up tuesday morning to go to Sahm's where a nice lady name Ellen was nice enough to feed us pork kabobs and cheese at 9:30 in the morning. yes, you will be gnoshing on some good eats come july 19th.

ok, back to the yummy yum - our fantastic friend Kirsten Eamon-Shine was nice enough to purchase a box of what can be safely said was some of the best baked goods that have ever entered my stomach that didnt come our of a wrapper. just the look of these tasty little cakes, just by the halo of not-quite-healthy-but-its-good-for-your-soulness, it was decided.

the flying cupcake bakery is a super cute little shop in indy. its within stone skipping distance of the canal and rife with second handness - when you pay for your cupcakes youre standing in front of an OLD coke cooler, probably from the 50's or 60's based on the size of it. the owner and head baker, Gigi Powell (no relation to Dick's family at CTK) was super energetic and very helpful in all ways. i know how hard it is to be an enthusiastic seller in the morning, but really, her product sells itself. yea its a little pricey, but its hella good, kids. really, theyre great!


behold!

clockwise from top left; razmatazz, not-a-ho-ho, red velevet (my fave), koo koo coconut.


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in other news andrea and i shared a tearful moment tuesday night as Obama clenched the delegate count to claim the title of "presumptive nominee" for the Democratic Party. andrea cant vote, and i know that voting as a citizen is really nothing more than nudging some other citizen with more political power to vote the way you want. that persons ribs must hurt after a while, ya know? anyway, as the two of us share this magical time, let us also recognize that in the USA, in 2008, there is an amazing candidate that has both broken the mold and played the game within the rules. i have no ill-will towards Clinton, but Obama is really something else....that something else being the direction i think this country needs towards.

hey, what did you expect from this blog? just pictures of cupcakes and magical knights riding unicorns?
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well, here you go!


thanks travis!

two pictues

had a great weekend with family and friends alike. received some great input on planning and got to spend some QT with some super cute kids. we are tired.

the cool kids! (2008)


the Krider Family

happy RACE weekend & the SPOT!

so its one of the best weekends in the city of indianapolis! not because i have four days off from work or that i got to spend a friday night drankin' brews with my dudes..... no no no..... its INDY and that means THE RACE!!!

family from all over this great country come back to lil ole indianapolis for the greatest spectacle in racing. i dont go to the actual race because being around a couple million other people kinda freaks me out. well that and i cant afford a ticket PLUS the cold fried chicken and beer that i would consume en mass. but its a great time to hang with family, tell stories, eat overnight salad and brats with great people. awesome....

speaking of awesome: here are a few pictures of the reception spot!

911 mass. ave!

big room!

as stated before, this is the future home of WITT community radio. theres still some clean up to be done and the bike store that used to be there has some stuff laying around, but trust me you, come july 19th the place will look even more amazing.

oh, where will the magic happen?

Ben already said that we found a location, and yes, it's going to be the WITT room. To be more specific, it's on Mass Ave, right across the street from the video store. And it's awesome. I couldn't be happier with how it looks and feels.
We don't know about the curfew yet, but we are hoping for something like midnight+, considering the ceremony is going to be at 7pm.
Now, if anyone knows a place that rents out tables and chairs and linens for a reasonable price, please share.
So far we've managed to stay within our means (well, kinda), which is good, but we want to make sure that everybody will be well fed and won't have to be thirsty, and if we could only manage to get an appointment at Sahm's...Maybe this weekend.
In other news, my thesis is going to the bindery tomorrow and after that all I need is some signatures and I'll be donedonedone...As much as I am proud of what I did, I just don't want to think about it anymore.
Summer camp starts in a week and I won't have to get up at 5am anymore which will be amazing...I might even be able to stay up until 10 then...good times!!
To get back to wedding fabulousness, the rings we found are really nice and while Ben thinks mine looks like it has pixie-dust on it, I like it. Who doesn't like pixies anyway?
But all of the materialism aside, the most exiting thing is that my friend Felix from Germany is going to be here for two weeks and he's going to be one of my bridesmaids...Don't worry about traditions, he looks real nice in a little black dress. He's been one of my best friends for 18 years now, and while most of my dear Germans are not able to make it (thanks to horrendous ticket prices), he will be there, so it's okay.

direct registry links and reception news!

by request:

CrateUndBarrel

Target


i guess i was a little too slick with the previous links and this way you dont even have to know how to spell my legal name.


our friend Brooke has helped us nudge closer to a location for the reception; it looks to be the future home of WITT, the first community radio station in indianapolis since ive been alive. the space is awesome, its close-ish, and i think everyone will like it. Viola!

Also, my cousin Cindy Traub is getting married next weekend. i havent seen her since my little brother got married and im pretty excited to see what kind of awesome stuff she has planned for her future.

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so many weddings are happening lately. it makes me think about when i would find out someone was getting hitched and respond, "man, theyre droppin' like flies!" now im just happy for people and hope it all works out. dont get me started on my "suckers' game' opinion, that could take some time to explain. in the meantime, just stay away from malls and think twice before getting in your car to run errands.

rings

yea. they fit.

with all that magic happening it's hard to get enough sleep.

Many things have been going on here as Ben already reported.
Saturday we went to register and, as Jen noted, you kind of start feeling greedy, but we did our best not to go completely overboard. I REALLYREALLYREALLY do need an apple corer. At least I want one, because they're awesome and as we all know we need our 5 servings of fruit a day.
Who would have thunk that scanning fun things for 5 hours could be so exhausting?
So Sunday then I got the girls together to go on a dress shopping trip that I was dreading. Turns out, it's not so bad to try on dresses and it doesn't even look all that funny.
Anyway, we started out at several department stores, because I did NOT want to go into a bridal store. After being unsuccessful there, we passed by the Bridal SUPERstore, which looks more like a family dollar from the outside, and went in.
I saw the dresses and thought, Oh, No!, saw the sales lady and thought, This is not going to be pleasant!, but eventually I started looking more carefully and it wasn't bad at all.
Tried on 5 dresses, really liked the 5th, payed and took it over to Betsy's to keep Ben from being to nosy.
Big relief that that's taken care of.
Now, if we could only find a place for the reception...
We do have a trial design for the invitations now, and they are gonna look nice, thanks to Brian, who really wants us to party on unicorn moon.
It's going...Unicorns.

design and registration

those two words make me think about lithography and screen printing, but really they have nothing to do with andrea and i right now - well.... i think a monotype printing press would be a pretty awesome wedding gift, but those are like $2,000. wedding or printing press? hmmmm....

i am still compiling images for the invites. still want it to look cool but provide all of the information you will need to be at the right place at the right time (i WILL be sending one to myself, just to make sure i make it).

if you so choose, you can take a look-see at what andrea and i have chosen as objects to register for at two stores. this is a very odd situation, due mainly to our political beliefs on labor and spending practices. these are things that will bring us joy together, even more than the two of us just watching some dumb or amazing movie with one another. maybe justification for our choices should be said like this: at least we didnt ask for a couch from Crate & Barrel or a Dyson Vacuum Cleaner form Target. crazy expense for furniture and things that suck are not our forte.

check it out anywho:
Target has this thing called Club Wedd. i think its a play on words because there isnt any secret oath to join.


C & B is like the rich white persons version of Ikea, only for REALLY rich white people.


my name is ben traub and my lovely wife to be is andrea freund. click away.


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Andrea bought a wedding dress today. i would love to say its beautiful and amazing, and i guess i should since its important. so yea, its beautiful and amazing. i dont get to see it until 7.19.08, but im pretty sure its dress shaped and doesnt have any weird hat that goes with it. i hope it didnt come with a hat.

and as much as i loved the idea of looking like james bond at my wedding when i was 13, i dont think a tux is in the cards for me. black suit. tie. white shirt. i want to wear my all black chucks, but andrea says 'heck no.' whatever....


and thanks to all of you out there reading up on this magical time we are having. it is surreal and strange and makes us laugh a lot. the stories i have heard about other weddings make me think we are doing something very wrong, but it feels like we are doing it right. i guess we will see in a about thirty-three years.


hmmmmm......wedding.......hmmmm......or a press........hmmmmmm. do i have a choice? of course not!

the Sacred Promise

andrea and i have been together (in hearts and minds) for almost five years now. the actual time spent in physical proximity to one another is more like three years. regardless, we have decided to take the step so many people that love each other take; we are going into business for ourselves selling replica american classic cars and bald eagle statuettes. of course we will be able to get any and all unicorn schnick-schnacks your heart can dream of, so dont worry.

but really, we are getting married. and it is very, very, really exciting.

we hope to update this blog with information for our friends and relatives so that they can, in our words, enjoy what happens when two 'corns become one. yes, we are a UNIcorn. yes, its silly, and maybe even a little ironically dated, but we are having fun with each other. we only hope you can have some fun with us too.

what we have ready for ya'll so far is this:


the DATE & PLACE - July 19th, 7 pm (short Catholic service, no kneeling, i think) @ Christ the King Church (thats my parish!)

the RECEPTION (or what we like to call, the party after the storm) - right now we are weighing options of where to do this. we want to make it fun for all but want to be able to keep the celebration going past 11pm, which since i grew up in Indiana, is hard to do since everyone wants to go home and watch the news. my choice is near northside downtown, but andrea has a lead on another spot just south of downtown. it doesnt really matter, because it will be fun and the food will be yummy (no dinner folks, its too late for dinner, ok?) and the drinks will be cold and free. this portion of the equation MUST be decided before we send out invites.

INVITATIONS!!!! - ug. you would think my awesome ideas would just come to exist, but they dont. we are playing around with images and wording and want to make them unique but not break the bank. just look in your mailbox in a week or two, if you still use that thing. trust me, it wont look like another bill, i promise.

REGISTRATION - target, c&b, amazon.com - links will be provided later. and trust me, we took it easy on you.


are you ready for next semester? oh right! ANDREA GRADUATED!!! she now has a Master's in Sociology from IU Indianapolis (that means iupui, but lets just keep the rivalry going) and is working a LOT for AYS. i am keeping the money rolling in at WFYI and doing some painting,cussing, and writing on my own blog. we are two busy young people with two adorable cats. this is a big step we are very excited about and want to thank everyone involved NOW before this monster gets out of control. so thanks.

young people in love!