Brides-Don't forget THE boy.

The wedding is all about the bride, right? Wrong.  She usually gets to pick everything, but that means she is responsible for everyone else (get used to it ladies....that's what wives do). Bridesmaids get parties, gifts, and a new dress.  Groomsmen have parties, cool ties, and boutineers. Mother of the Bride, Father of the Bride, Mother of the Groom, Father of the Groom are all titles that divide your attention (the Bride).

 My dear Bride, you are overlooking the most significant part of the wedding....the diamond!  The flower girl's dress has more layers of tulle than the sky has stars...but all she does is throw pedals on the isle for you to walk on.  The true hero of the day is the Ring Bearer!  He is carrying the rock.  You are trusting him with symbols of love worth thousands of dollars.  Let's hear it for the boy!  Let's not neglect him.  He needs to look just as cute as the flower girl-ringlets and all.

This collection is dedicated to that young man.

nICE isn't it?

So guess what?  I don't live in Michigan anymore.  The hubs finished all of his law school learning and now we are back in the desert.  I'll admit that moving to Mesa, AZ in the middle of August is pretty bad planning.  We had to get the kids back in time for school and besides, the weather surpasses the 100's well into September.  And once it gets past 105 degrees, it's just hot.  So hot is hot and if you're gonna move when it's hot, you may as well move when it's convenient for you and not let the weather dictate scheduling.

There are so many differences between Michigan and AZ that I could write a book on them.  I doubt anyone would really be interested in them.  But, as an Arizonan (by transplant from Northern CA) there is one difference that has really stood out int he last month or so.  That difference effects me everyday. The difference is the ice and the value of it.

Michiganders take ice for granted.  Can you believe that at the soda fountain some people don't even put ice in their cup.  And if they do, it's maybe 1/3 full of ice.  Blech.  They may as well be drinking coffee.  I can understand where they are coming from.  I haven't always been an "ice" person.  But for the last 10 years I have  been observing and learning the value of the perfect beverage.  The perfect beverage is in a Styrofoam cup (sorry tree huggers), crushed ice filled to the very top, with a sturdy straw about 5 millimeters across.  The liquid placed inside has little to do with the quality of said beverage.  The major component is the ice, the rest is just filler.

In this heat, the local convenience store is the suburban watering hole.  It is here that one can usually determine the perfect ice for themselves.  Usually, the options are either "crushed" or "cubed".  The variations among each category compare to the variations of the word "snow" in the Eskimo languages.  The variations usually drive different folks to different watering holes in order to find the perfect genus of ice.  This picture of  "cubed" ice may demonstrate what I mean:

Yes, we desert dwellers care that much about our ice.  I am personally a fan of crushed ice (preferably Sonic) because it cools the drink quickly, and also melts at the perfect rate.  It waters down my drink just enough.