Lisa & Adam: The Wedding

Wedding Pics at last

2008-08-07T17:54:00.000-07:00

I've had these wedding pictures for a little while, but I was waiting on the 1st of August so my free Flickr account would reset.

Nevertheless...click here to see the wedding pictures from Melissa and Jonathan Wood, our photographers. We have ordered our own prints, but if anyone wants any specific ones of these (digitally of course), let me know and I will be happy to send you them.

This will probably be the last update, wedding wise, for a while, as now almost 6 weeks later...its allllll over. Woo. :D

Chicago chicago

2008-07-17T17:02:00.000-07:00

While I assemble all of the wedding photos, I have put our pictures from our honeymoon in Chicago online. Fair warning, there are 197 of them but there is a lot of stuff - in no particular order, you will find:

Our hotel room
Ringo Starr (who we saw outside on the street)
Lots of artwork
A big fountain with a digital face, spraying some kids
Ringo (our goldfish for the duration of the trip)
Dinosaurs
Pretty skyline views
The famous Billy Goat Tavern

And more...

Check them out here!

some pics

2008-07-12T05:54:00.000-07:00

Back from the honeymoon, we had a great time. I will post pictures from Chicago when I get a chance.
In the meantime, here are some photos that my mom's friend Tricia Mestre took of the event...they are quite good. Click here to see them.

In sadder news, this week has ben hard for my side of the family - my great uncle Paul passed away after a battle with cancer and in my more immediate family, our longtime "flying couch rat" miniature dachshund Dooley passed away as well. :(

We miss them both very much.

post wedding, week 1

2008-07-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

Ok, so not quite a week yet...

Lisa and I are busy unpacking everything for our new home (thank you to EVERYONE who gave us a wedding gift. If you have not received a thank you note yet, you will...Lisa is super efficient). We really appreciate the generosity from all of our friends and family.

We found an owner for the sunglasses, so no worries. I do have another request though: If you took any pictures at the wedding, please let me or Lisa know. I want to combine all the pictures from everyone into one massive DVD project and need to get them as soon as I can so I know what I am working with. We are waiting on the proofs from the photographer but I promise to add some things online as soon as I can.

That's all for now - Happy 4th!

Day One

2008-06-29T17:39:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

The wedding went amazingly well, and I have PLENTY of things to post about, including pictures, in the coming weeks or so.

BUT, an important announcement: We found a pair of Ralph Lauren women's sunglasses that were left on the gift table. If they were yours, PLEASE let me know!

More soon!

Just a few more hours to go

2008-06-27T19:25:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is it. Should be a great day - Lisa and I are looking forward to seeing everyone and having a blast as we start this new step in our lives. We hope everyone has a blast, takes lots of pictures and enjoys it like I know we will.

Now...let's go get married!

Under 48 Hours

2008-06-26T14:51:00.001-07:00

Less than 48 hours to go till "the big day". amily is starting to arrive now, last minute errands are being run (buying alcohol, getting my tux, etc). If anyone has problems or needs info on anything, please call me!

Directions to REO Center from the Church

2008-06-23T16:31:00.001-07:00

These will be published in the program at the event, but for those who are planning their trip accordingly:

Click here for a link from Google Maps or for those who prefer it, click here for a link from MapQuest. The address of the church is: 17512 Lakeshore Road, Lutz, FL 33558 and the REO Center is 405 N Reo Street, Tampa FL 33609. If anyone has questions, let me know!

1 Week To Go

2008-06-21T14:40:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe that if I was to write this one week from now, we would be married. It's getting really exciting!

Needless to say, lots of stuff is being done. We are finalizing the last little things, getting everything ready and coordinating times, etc. All and all, gotta say that it is coming together great.

Today we did a photo shoot with Jonathan and Melissa Wood, our photographers. This was to take a picture that we will use for display on the easel, at the wedding itself. They are awesome awesome AWESOME people, and if you need a photographer (for anything) in Tampa, I highly recommend them. Melissa took a bunch of pictures of us this morning, out at Lisa's parents house, and gave us a CD on the spot so we could choose the one we like.

So, I took some time to resize them and get them web ready, putting them online for everyone to check out, as just a preview before the big event. Click on the picture below to see the whole set of them.

Which one will we use for the display? You will just have to show up and find out!

More to come this week, I hope. It's getting there, that's for sure. Exciting exciting exciting...

last call for bachelors

2008-06-16T03:44:00.000-07:00

Back from my bachelor party weekend in Tallahassee...had a great time, seeing old friends and introducing new friends to Tallahassee. Thanks to Justin for helping me have a really great weekend.

Lisa met with the church yesterday to discuss music - apparently some secular music is ok, so we will probably end up having some classical music that people may actually recognize. We are going tomorrow to get the wedding license and also make the final menu with the caterer.

More news, as it happens...

The devil is in the details

2008-06-05T14:32:00.001-07:00

These last two days, Lisa has been busy. VERY busy, getting wedding things done. For those who wonder just what it is that is left to do, consider the list below of all the tiny little things that can lead to gigantic things if not completed. All of these were accomplished by the both of us this week, so we do feel very accomplished:

Finished making the flowers
Got bridal jewelry
Finished attendant gifts
Got makeup consultation
Made wedding day itinerary
Finalized guest list (down to just 4 couples!)
Paid balance of reception site
Paid balance at church
Got cake topper
Figured out our signature drink (the Varntini)
Made appointment with wedding coordinator
Made hair consultation
Scheduled wedding rehearsal
Wrote a few thank you notes
Got readings from the church (have to figure them out yet still though)
Researched marriage license

There is still more to do. I have to double check my size for my tux and Lisa needs to get her dress altered and more stuff as it comes up. Whew!

Showered with Goodies

2008-06-02T14:14:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Lisa had her wedding shower and, being the slow groom-to-be that I am, I did not have a chance to put the pictures from it online until now. It was a great time (so I hear) and I will put more pictures from others up when I get them. These are from my mom, click on the picture for more:

As far as goings on - we have our favors and our custom drink all picked out. The flowers are all made and set, we just have to get some info from the church and make decisions regarding the day of. Lisa needs to get her dress fitted and I need to get another tux measurement but really, the list is getting pretty short!

26 days to go...now the fun part starts! :)

Shaken, not stirred

2008-05-05T15:15:00.000-07:00

We went yesterday for the food tasting - it went very well, I think we will be having southwest chicken and sliced pork (for people who want something less spicy), a few starches and some veggies. It should be good. We also got to see what our table looks like - other than a few things with the napkins (its been resolved), it looks great and I am sure everyone will love the setup.

We received the martini glasses - hence the title of the post - at least in part today. The other 9 boxes (!) are coming tomorrow and will soon be taking up the majority of my guest room. That's all I will say about the favors, because we do need a few surprises!

I started getting RSVPs on Saturday, so I know the invitations are making it there. If you don't receive one this week and you know you are coming, please let me know so I can see what's up.

That's all for now, have a great week!

2008-04-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

Well, we have been busy as of late with other things going on in our lives - Lisa finished her Spring semester of grad school (with an A average of course), and we also happily attended a friends wedding a few weeks ago.

But that doesn't mean we didn't get stuff done!

First off, the invitations are in the mail. Please RSVP by the 28th of May so that we can give the caterers an accurate head count. I think they turned out great, I hope all of you think so too.

Also, we purchased our wedding rings this past weekend. Lisa has a channel set with some small stones in it, while mine is going to have a bit of a decorative edge to it...I don't know how to describe them much more, you all will get to see them eventually.

Now we just have to start doing the little things. This weekend we are meeting with the caterers one more time and will hopefully get to see what our table is going to look like, as well as pick out food. I'm sure everything will look great but again, all of you will get to see it soon!

That's about it, I'll post more now that we are less than two months out. Hard to believe it has come so fast but we are both getting excited about it now and want the day to be here!

- A

You can't hide your love away from me

2008-04-02T12:01:00.000-07:00

Lots has been going on lately, sorry about not keeping everyone updated. First off, I was laid off on the 14th of last month, so I've had lots of free time lately. Don't worry though, I have found a new job doing web development and start the 7th, so Lisa won't have to carry an unemployed fiance to the altar :) . We've been productive doing somewhat related wedding things - specifically, I have been working on getting my condo ready for her to move in. We repainted the room that will be our bedroom and I also reorganized the house to make it more open and spacious for her when she begins to move in. That involved gutting the closets and putting in new shelving which I think looks great. The house is still a work in progress, but we will be getting a washer and dryer put in soon, which will be really nice.

Also, we have gotten the guest book taken care of, as well as the rehearsal dinner, and I am in the process of getting a couple of small favors done for our guests like you. We also have both been dieting - neither of us really needed to lose a lot of weight or anything, but I dropped about 6 or 7 pounds just to make my clothes fit a bit better, so that has been nice.

I think that's about it. I'll try to get back into the swing of updating things when I get a chance to do so and as they come up!

- A

Mid week update

2008-03-13T16:32:00.001-07:00

Not much going on right now, wedding wise, but I did want to pass along some hotel information about where you might want to stay, since my mom was able to find a good hotel and a good rate. at Embassy Suites:

The rate per night is $109 which comes to $122.08 with tax. The guests need to tell the hotel they are with the Varn/Mendenhall wedding, and make their reservations by 5/27/08. They will need to guarantee the reservation with a credit card. We have 20 total room nights blocked. They can get either a one bedroom suite w/one king bed or a one bedroom suite w/ two queen beds. The hotel has a cooked to order breakfast every morning (complimentary) and a Manager's reception every night (beer, wine, & hors d'oeuvres) also complimenrtary. Check in time is 3:00 PM Check-out time is 12:00 noon. After 5/27/08, the hotel will release any unused rooms back into their inventory, and if any one calls after that, they will get the best available rate.

For directions on where it is at, check here.

Thanks Mom!

taking a breather

2008-03-01T08:01:00.000-08:00

Sorry, no wedding stuff this week. Lisa's working on some school stuff and is spending today with her mom and sister. Will keep you posted with the next happenings!

- A

REO Grande...

2008-02-26T11:34:00.000-08:00

It was a busy weekend, sorry for the delay in the update.

We met with the REO Center people this weekend, and more importantly the caterers as well. We came up with what we want the layout of tables and the arrangement of food, etc to be, which was a big step. I think we both feel a lot better about things now. One of the things they also informed us about was what kind and how much alcohol to buy for the reception, since we are doing this thing called a liquor liability license wherein essentially, we buy the liquor and give it to them and as long as no one else touches it but the caterers, we are good. So no grabbing liquor from behind the bar...even I am not allowed to do that. This makes it cheaper and we get more flexibility on what to drink. Right now though, we are looking at around $600 total for liquor, beer, wine and champagne and that I think is pretty good.

We also reserved the tuxes for the guys, and picked out some more flowers for the ladies. Gentlemen in the wedding, listen up: Go to Men's Warehouse (aka Tux) and give them the group # 1617192 to get sized. You need to get sized at latest a month before the wedding and then a second fitting 2 weeks before, with pick up 2 days before. If you aren't in Tampa, that's ok, just do it in your hometown. Ladies...well, Lisa will inform you later I suppose on what to do, if she hasn't already done it.

We are going to pay the photographer tonight and sign a contract. I'm working music for the wedding, and finding it is a tough balance in choosing music that I don't find to be hideous but also not so obscure that people are like "Huh?".

That's all for now. Below is a picture of the REO Center, since I had a chance to take more pics. Click the link to see a bunch of them.

- A

We had an Engaged Encounter

2008-02-18T10:55:00.000-08:00

Lisa and I are back from our Engaged Encounter weekend. It went really well, despite being away from home and such. We had a lot of talks about things Lisa and I had already agreed upon (finances, children, fighting) and also a few things we hadn't really touched on as much (our religious differences and how we can make them work fairly for both of us). The weekend was lead by two older couples who had been married 39 and 46 years, respectively and, for at least part of the weekend, a priest. I say part, because he said he was "sick" on Saturday morning and left for the rest of the weekend. He didn't seem sick to anybody else, and the fact that he said this was the last one he was doing, made us all a little suspicious. That's ok though, we still managed to get by without him. It certainly brought us closer together, as I was able to really address some questions I had, and Lisa was able to open up about her feelings, which is really hard for her. I certainly recommend the weekend.

The other big wedding related news, is that we picked out the cake! It will be 4 layers, all white with a few decorative flares on the side. The cake itself will be dulce de leche on the bottom part (the best flavor they offered by far) and then the top 2 layers above that are a chocolate mousse with a strawberry filling and bottom. The final layer, reserved for us, is also dulce de leche. It should be really really good, even for people who don't really like cake!

More to come, though this week we don't have as many plans I think. I'll keep you posted.

- A

Ready steady go

2008-02-10T12:54:00.000-08:00

Well, if you are reading this then the interwebs have caught up with you and you are seeing the newly designed site (sort of). Due to the way Blogger works, I had to seperate the blog (aka Recent News) section of the site, from the rest of the more static stuff. You can get to all of it from the navigation on the top, but if you want to bookmark the page that will still get updated a lot, please bookmark http://lisaandadam08.blogspot.com.

We have our cake tasting/appointment on Tuesday, but yesterday we looked into the actual logistics of doing the invitations (it will be really easy and not too pricy!), and we also went and picked out flowers for Lisa's bouquet and the bridesmaids as well. We are going to do fake flowers for the ladies, primarily because of the price and also because they look the exact same. And with Lisa not doing a bouquet toss, no one (except those reading this) will know the difference. The flowers of course match the rest of the wedding colors, but because I'm not sure that Lisa has decided what will go where, I will hold off on describing it for now. Needless to say, they look really pretty and we are sure that everyone will love them. It's amazing how so much of this is coming together, although it still doesn't feel like it, given the stress and push we both are feeling to get things done. Next weekend we have our wedding retreat, which will be...interesting I'm sure (Sorry, just not big on the idea of rooming with a total stranger). The actual topics I'm sure will be great.

Finally, we received our first wedding gift this week! Thank you to my Aunt Jean for the awesome pots and pans that we asked for...don't worry, we aren't planning on using it till after the wedding, but we were too nosy not to see what it was!

Have a great rest of the weekend, poke around the new look for the site and all that, I'm going to spend at least part of it coming up with songs to play at the reception. I guess it will be a fine line between what we like and what will be ok with the majority of people. Should still be fun though!

Redux

2008-02-09T06:02:00.000-08:00

I'm in the process of putting the new site up this weekend, so if you can't see it for some reason then please give it a few days till the DNS entry catches up!

And now for the good stuff

2008-02-03T07:26:00.000-08:00

Another productive Saturday, things are getting exciting:

Our registry shopping is complete. We had a lot of fun at Target last week, but even more fun at Bed Bath & Beyond yesterday. It was hard because a lot of the stuff out there, Lisa and I already have, but we took the advice of the woman who walked around with us, in that asking for something NEW isn't a bad idea...I mean, we are never getting married again, and this is a great time to add to that "fresh start" of our life together. So without further ado: the Lisa & Adam Target.com Wedding Registry and the Bed, Bath & Beyond Wedding Registry
Let's talk clothes - specifically, the bridal party. We went looking for tuxes yesterday, and that was by far the easiest thing that I think we have done. We were in agreement right away, and Lisa's dad liked them so now we just have to go back and reserve the rentals, which shouldn't take too long. Here's what the guys will likely look like, just no vest, which will give us more of a suit look to it. Also, I was able to locate online what the bridesmaids dresses will look like, which was agreed upon by Nicole and Andrea after some furious (kidding) email back and forth. The idea is to have flowers for the ladies that match the guys ties, and the guys to have lapels that match the ladies dresses. Color coordination, ain't it wonderful?
Lastly, the website is being worked on today by me while Lisa does her grad school stuff, but for those who want to see what our final, actual wedding colors are (they have changed), go to Behr.com, click on Color Smart, and enter the color names Berry Syrup for the purplish color and Tutti Frutti for the raspberry color.

That's it for this week. Next week.....cake!

- A

counting down

2008-01-28T17:26:00.000-08:00

Things went well with the photographer and the DJ. The DJ works for Brown's Trophies as a delivery man of all things, which just shows you how full circle things are: my dad worked for Brown's as a manager before leaving to move to Tallahassee to start his business and in a lot of ways has surpassed them, at least as far as being in a market the size of Tallahassee goes, yet I probably wouldn't be where I am today if he hadn't left and done that. Weird how things work.

The photographers were really great too - very very nice people who are going to be fine with what we want and couldn't stop raving about how wonderful Lisa's dad is, which is always a good thing.

The two bridesmaids - Nicole and Andrea - have decided on their dresses and they are going to be a raspberry sort of color. If I had a link, I would post a picture of them, but trust me they are nice. That means that for us men folk, Lisa and I discussed and figured that our tuxes should have purple ties to go with them. The bridesmaids will probably carry purple flowers, so naturally the guys will probably have pinkish flowers for our lapels. Ahh, color coordination...

Work on a redesign of the website continues, but I think everyone will like it when it's done. Keep checking back!

Finally, today marks a couple of things - it was 2 years ago today that Lisa and I had our first date. In honor of that, and as part of a little tradition we started, we went back to Jasmine Thai (the place of our first date) and had dinner. It was good as it always has been and just made me think about how wonderful these last two years have been. Of course, 5 months from today will be the actual WEDDING, which is of course, a big deal. Things are picking up speed and it's getting exciting, so stay tuned!

- A

For out of town guests

2008-01-23T17:38:00.001-08:00

To help make things easier for everyone who is traveling in to Tampa from out of town - which is at least 85% of our intended guests - I have compiled a list of nearby hotels, with phone numbers and addresses. They run the spectrum from the really inexpensive to full luxury. We discussed the idea of buying a block of rooms, but because we don't know everyone's budget, let alone the days that they are coming down and/or staying for we thought better of it.

The great thing about it is that there are at least a dozen hotels less than a mile from the REO Center, which should make it really easy, and is very close to the interstate and some of the main roads in Tampa (and close to the airport too). We didn't actually do this on purpose, but it is a nice, happy coincidence.

If you have any questions about a particular hotel or two, I would be happy to go in person and check it out. I've made all the hotels link to a Google map, as well as more info.

NEARBY HOTELS:

Embassy Suites Hotels Tampa Airport Westshore - 555 N. Westshore Blvd, Tampa, FL - (813) 875-1555

Wyndham-Westshore - 4860 W Kennedy Blvd, Tampa, FL - (813) 286-4400

Quorum Hotel - Tampa - 700 N. Westshore Blvd, Tampa, FL - (813) 289-8200

Springhill Suites - 4835 W Cypress St, Tampa, FL - (813) 639-9600

Marriott Hotels & Resorts: Tampa Marriott Westshore - 1001 N West Shore Blvd, Tampa, FL - (813) 287-2555

Best Western the Westshore Hotel - 1200 N West Shore Blvd, Tampa, FL - (813) 281-3500

Ameri Suites-Airport Westshore - 4811 W Main St, Tampa, FL - (813) 282-1037

Doubletree-Tampa Airport - 4500 West Cypress Street, Tampa, FL - (813) 879-4800

InterContinental Hotel Tampa - 4860 West Kennedy Boulevard, Tampa, FL - (866) 915-1557

For a list of even more than just these, click here.

- A

Happy New (Wedding) Year!

2008-01-23T17:20:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone! This is certainly going to be an important one, though I don't know why.... :). Things are starting to really kick into high gear lately and Lisa and I are committed to doing at least one wedding related thing per weekend or week. Last week we went to an open house the caterers were throwing, but I forgot to bring my camera. The food for the most part was surprisingly mediocre according to everyone who came, though in fairness for my part at least, I had a cold, felt miserable and couldn't taste much. I think we have to accept the fact that when you cook food for roughly 100 people, it mostly will turn out kind of bland. We did get a good idea on what we wanted as far as table settings, napkins and centerpieces go, which helps the process along. I will probably make an appointment with the caterers next week to go over what we saw and discuss and really get things going.

We are meeting with the DJ and photographer this week as well, to sign the DJs contract and have initial discussions with the photographer as to what we want. Don't worry, there won't be too many posed pictures. We are also trying to come up with a "signature drink" for the wedding, something to go along with our colors and theme and all of that fun stuff. What does finding a signature drink entail? Trying lots of booze of course, heh.

Still on the horizon is getting bridesmaids dresses and the tuxes for the guys, but that isn't until later in the process I think. We also have figured out, I think, how to go about doing the wedding invitations (very cute and creative but a secret of course) and the flowers (fake is the new real), which should work out good but again, is further down the road. One of the parts I'm looking forward to the most is probably going to be this weekend - registering for stuff. I've always wanted to carry around one of those scanners, zapping to my heart's content (hellooooo HD TV!). I'll be sure to post a link to the registry places online as soon as I get it.

Finally, I've uploaded some pictures of Lisa and I to the Flickr page. Some are goofy, some are more laid back but they are of us and, well, I like them. I will probably revamp this site more as we get closer, posting more useful information instead of just my bored writings at work, so check the site often!

- A

dress you up in my love

2007-11-21T15:00:00.000-08:00

Lisa found her dress last weekend. She refuses to show me or tell me anything about it, per keeping with tradition. All I know is that it is ivory, is going to have to be adjusted of course, and that she had to stand on a stool while she was trying it on because of how long it was, lol.

I'm sure if you ask her real nice though, she will probably show you a picture. That's all for now.

- A

2007-11-14T19:34:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

It's been a little while since I updated this site, so I wanted to give you a little update:

There hasn't been much going on for the wedding so far, but we do have a few things of note - Lisa is going to look for her dress this weekend. I won't know much about it, because she isn't going to tell me, but just know that progress is being made on that front. We also have hired a photographer and a DJ (tentatively), but both are going to be very very low key - we are talking playing an iPod with music folks, not much else (sorry, no DJ Justice!). Finally, Lisa has picked her colors for the wedding...they are in the purplish family, when I get a chance I will try to post what they look like here so everyone can see.

December will be picking invitations and/or save the date cards if we decide to go that route, and my favorite part, registering for gifts, heh. Stay tuned...

- A

Wedding Do-ings!

2007-08-10T07:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's been a bit of time since I kept everyone informed, so I figured I might as well give an update on things.

First off, we have a reception site. It's at the REO Center, kind of in downtown-ish Tampa. It's actually an office building, but they rent out the bottom atrium floor for receptions and events and it is really really nice, and very cool architecture (may have spelled that wrong...). Plus we will get a longer time at the place, for less money, than other places we looked at, and the people who run it are incredibly helpful. We kind of stumbled on it by accident, but we were glad we did. The way it is laid out, we don't have to do too much in the way of decorating, which is nice. I've put some more pics at the bottom of this post because their site doesn't have a lot on it.

Next, we have a caterer too. It's a company called Catering By Robert, and they seem like they are pretty on top of things, though I haven't met them as of yet. Lisa and her dad did though and they liked them a lot. The website isn't much to look at, but they have a very wide menu and they will do pretty much everything we need: decorations, linens, etc. We just have to get a cake and the alcohol, because we are probably going to use their liquor liability license. That is where we buy the alcohol and turn it over to the caterers (and get whatever is left over back), but the catch is that only THEY can handle the alcohol. If say I wanted to get a drink for myself, they could actually shut the wedding down because that would be illegal. So yeah, let's not go getting grabby handed with the booze, k?

Smooth sailing so far, and I will be sure to post more as the things happen. And since this is the first post since I made this blog "public", welcome to whoever is reading it.

- A

Set your calendars

2007-06-19T11:46:00.000-07:00

We met with Father Paddy today to get things started and the ball rolling for the wedding. Very simple stuff, mostly just introducing me to him and answering a few questions.

We also spoke to the secretary of the church and have tentatively set the date for the wedding as June 28th, 2008. I say tentative because we aren't on the calendar officially but don't see any problems as to why NOT to use this date. It works well for Lisa with her school schedule and gives us plenty of time to get things set. We will post when it is set in stone.

We are also going tonight to check out a possible venue for the reception, a place called Skipper's Smokehouse. Sounds odd I know, but Lisa's parents went to a reception there and said it was really nice, very laid back and has a few house bands which would be great to use for the reception. More info after we visit it and see what we think!

- A

All Systems Go!

2007-04-25T10:39:00.000-07:00

This is the first post, of what will be most likely many as Lisa and I get ready for the wedding. No date is set yet, but we will keep everyone posted here with pictures, dates, places, etc. I'm going to setup a domain to point here too so it is easier to remember (hopefully).

Right now we are trying to decide on a date, as well as a place for the reception. At first count, before any type of changes or anything we are probably around 100 people. I'm sure that will be less in just a few months though. Lisa is working on looking at dresses, deciding colors, etc and I'm...well, I made this site didn't I? Heh.

In the meantime, here is a link to pictures of the ring (the pics are too big to post here):

Picture 1
Picture 2

Much much more to come!

- A