Nay & Nar are joining lives!

Registry

2009-02-16T15:27:00.000-08:00

Click here for our registry..

Grandma's Buttons

2009-02-10T11:09:00.000-08:00

Grandma Minnie was 93 when she passed away on December 1st of 2006. She was an amazing woman who had lived by herself for more than 50 years on an 80 acre plot (in the middle of the Chippewa National Forest) in Northern Minnesota. For most of her working life she was employed at the local sawmill cutting timber, and picked wild rice for extra money. She befriended and named many forest animals like Deer and Humming Birds, and was visited often by Bears and Timber Wolves. She was one of 18 children and by herself raised five of her own. She lived life each day by breathing in the north air, rocking in her porch chair and telling stories about her past. She was a tough, loving, wise woman and she was all of my inspiration!

I am her Granddaughter! The Granddaughter that she helped raise.. The Granddaughter that was not afraid to ask questions, that took tub baths outside and got to use her outhouse. I saw firsthand what being all by yourself meant, with not a moment of fear! In time I’d learn it was the most precious gift that anyone could ever have given to me in my life.

The day of her funeral was the hardest day ever for me. I had not yet had a person leave my life through death, and there she was lifeless in front of my very eyes, not moving and just still. I expected her to jump up and be the loud laughing soul that she was. Instead there was silence. I turned that silence into what was real, which was me taking all she had ever shared with me and to share the story of her with anyone that would listen.

It was also this very day that I found the biggest bucket of buttons... I thought I had found GOLD! 100’s and 100’s of antique buttons... Where had they come from ? What was their past and what coat or shirt were they once attached to? With most strings still intact, some rusted and dusty, it seemed these buttons held an enormous amount of history.

So any buttons you see attached to the unique items that we share on our special day, consider them a gift from Grandma Minnie sharing with all, everything that was ever simple...
Mwuaaaaaaaaaaah ~!

How Did We Meet?

2009-02-09T22:08:00.000-08:00

Johnny and I met at a dinner through a friend about 5 years ago. At the time we were both in a committed relationship and all it seemed we would talk about is our thyroid. Odd to most, but true.. So happens we both have a thyroid disease. About a year later, Friday May 13^th to be exact with both of us newly single, we ran into one another at the Saloon in Encinitas. Being from Minnesota I didn’t see to may familiar faces and when I saw him I literally said, "Oh my god, do you remember me ??" Well, of course he did. Ever since that night and after many conversations we started hanging out regularly, and arranged our lives so we could spend all our time getting to know one another. I don’t think there’s been a moment since that hasn’t felt right. They say when you know you know! We found that so called puzzle piece in life.. Easy. Soon we would learn that what we had found was indeed very special.

Who would have ever imagined that a Girl from Shakopee, Minnesota and a Guy from Cape Town, South Africa would meet in San Diego to share all of their past, present and future ?? I guess it proves the world itself is small and no matter your facts your path will lead you to many things you could never imagine ~!!

How Did You Meet Us?

2009-02-08T09:39:00.001-08:00

We would love to hear how you met us. Post a comment here!

Accommodations

2009-02-08T09:28:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of affordable places we recommend in our area

The Cardiff-By-The-Sea Lodge

View Larger Map

Days Inn in Encinitas

View Larger Map

Holiday Inn Express (used to be Comfort Inn)

View Larger Map

Inn at Moonlight Beach

View Larger Map

Best Western (More Roomy)

View Larger Map

R.S.V.P

2009-02-01T15:17:00.000-08:00

To let us know whether you're coming!

Leave an RSVP

Tell us your name
Tell us how many people are coming

* Scroll down to the comment area at the bottom of this page *

In the "Comment As" drop down menu, either login using a preferred account (Google etc.) or post using Anonymous. Give us 24 hours to post any response :)

Directions to our Celebration

2009-01-29T19:31:00.000-08:00

After our ceremony you're invited up to our place for a champagne toast and to hang out in our converted Lounge by the Sea Disco Nightclub ~! Parking will be challenging but it will be worth it!

We can't wait to have everyone over ! We will have an open bar tended till 11pm and music through Midnight. Serving cake and La Papagayo appetizers till they are all gone ! This is our celebration and we want to share it with everyone.
View Larger Map

Directions to the Ceremony

2009-01-29T19:12:00.000-08:00

Our ceremony is planned for 3pm on May 2nd, 2009 at Moonlight Park in Encinitas. We are planning a simple ceremony (we can't wait to say our vows overlooking the Ocean).

View Larger Map

Our South Africa Trip

2009-01-28T16:14:00.000-08:00

Our Honeymoon travels will be an adventure for both of us. Although I have spent a lot of time in the area we'll be traveling to, I haven't seen the majority of it for 20 years or more. Corena is leaving US soil for the first time in her life and I'm so excited to show her my homeland. We are arriving in Cape Town on May 7th which is my birthplace and which I consider home. We will spend the first week or so doing some local sightseeing, see my relatives and hang out with friends whom I haven't seen for a long time.Then off to my parents up in Hermanus where we will be staying on and off for the entire duration of our stay. Coincidentally my niece is getting married in Israel the same month as I am so my parents will be shooting off to Israel for 10 days in between our visits.

	Hermanus is a magical place and it's always great to hang with my Mom and Dad. My Mom does the flowers design for the Birkenhead House Hotel which is absolutely gorgeous and on the water in Hermanus.

A pic of Cape Town

On the 14th we're going to grab our little cozy RV rental which is a go anywhere vehicle and head up the coast from Cape Town going North East up the East Coast of Africa. The total drive will end up being 1200 miles or so over the course of 3 weeks.

Some pics of our RV Rental - It's cute

The first part of our drive will be on the famous Garden Route. We'll be stopping at places of interest and for a surf here and there - and sleeping overnights in the South African version of the Campground or "Caravan Park". They are popular and very well maintained as most Africans like rustic travel and stay away from large resorts leaving those to the tourists.The Garden Route is a popular and scenic stretch of the southern coast of South Africa. It stretches from Mossel Bay in the Western Cape to the Storms River which is crossed along the N2 coastal highway. The name comes from the shrubbery near the coast. It has a maritime climate, with moderately hot summers, and mild to chilly winters. And seeing as though we'll be there in the winter It is one of the nicest all-year-round rainfall areas in South Africa, most rain falling in the winter months, brought by the humid sea-winds from the Indian Ocean rising and releasing their precipitation along the high mountain ranges just inland of the coast. The Route is sandwiched between the Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma mountains and the Indian Ocean. The Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma indigenous forests are a unique mixture of Cape Fynbos and temperate forest and offer hiking trails and eco-tourism activities. Nearly 300 species of birdlife are to be found in a variety of habitats ranging from fynbos to forest to wetlands. Ten nature reserves and various bays along the Garden Route are nurseries to the endangered Southern Right Whale which come there to calve in the winter and spring which is super cool. Jeffries Bay is one of our stops along this stretch of coast - of course!

The next step of our Journey will be an area of South Africa called the Wild Coast or The Transkei. which means "the area beyond the Kei River"—is a region situated in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. It is also the name of an Apartheid-era Bantustan (1959–94) corresponding to this territory. The Transkei is bordered by the Umtamvuna River in the north and the Great Kei River in the south, while the Indian Ocean and the Drakensberg mountain range of the landlocked kingdom of Lesotho serve as the Transkei's respective eastern and western frontiers. . The Transkei has not been invaded by large hotel chains or any of the Westernized luxuries found elsewhere in South Africa and is very much out of the way.

This site has some great pics of the Transkei or or More

Next up is Durban, the third most populated city in South Africa and it has a enormous amount of history. I live here for 6 years from 1970 - 76 and it made a big impression on me. It is the home of the Zulu Nation and is a typically chaotic African city. It has beautiful beaches and epic surf and is home to New Pier which is arguably the best beach break on the planet.