Cutting the Rug

I just ran across a video from my wedding. Ange and I had left by this point but our coffee friends namely Reed, Sam and Dillon were tearing it up on the dance floor. Thanks Kristen for the video.

Local on the TV !

I just want to give a shout out to a friend and fellow Minnesotan, Chris Morrissey, who happens to be playing bass on letterman this week!

Twitter = Information Overload

I've heard Twitter being mentioned a lot and I didn't know anything about it. It sounds like a caffeine overdose or maybe one of those actual instance's where a child is left alone at a coffee shop and actually gets a shot of espresso and a puppy! Whoa, that'd be chaos... and awesome! In looking up what this strange condition is I found that Twitter is not a condition, but a website. Honestly I didn't find it very interesting, but I did find the informational video creative and clearly worded. Which led me to their site commoncraft. So, needless to say, you won't find me on Twitter any time soon.

Ruby

Angela and I have had a house guest for a few days. She's visiting from Geoff's house, her name is Ruby. Some times Geoff calls her Tubby, as she can roll off of things by mistake. She's been a very good house guest, she talks a lot though, and this morning as she snuggled with Ange suddenly realized she wasn't alone and had a scratching fit. So other than that she's been great.

Home Made Goodness

Look at what my beautiful wife made! I was surprised to wake today to the wonderful smell of cooking granola. Ange found a recipe for granola in the Joy of Cooking and she made some for breakfast. Such a delightful breakfast - granola, yogurt and blue berries.

What's a Marriage Really Mean? To You.

Angela and I went to Kopplin's today and continued to read our marriage book, Saving Your Marriage Before it Starts, where I got some funny/uncomfortable looks from a few folks about what we were reading.
"Is this weird? That we're reading a marriage book? I don't feel like it's weird but is it just not the norm for couples to read marriage books together?" I asked Angela, I felt a little confused not really knowing how to interpret the selected looks I just got.
"Sadly, it kind've is. I mean really, a woman will suggest it and get grief from her husband."
Hrmph, this is a sad thing indeed.

There were a couple of things that our marriage counselor's (Mark and Kirsty) told us, as suggested good things to do:

1. Always be reading a marriage book. It's a great way to start conversation and spur eachother on to a better marriage. Plus, you can always be improving yourselves and the marriage.
2. Fight for your marriage. The enemy wants to destroy marriages, they are/can be a fantastic image of God to his people and that's the last thing that the enemy wants. Mark and Kirsty reminded us that our fight is not against flesh and blood but against the powers in the spirit (Ephesians 6:12). It was suggested that one of the best ways to battle for your own marriage is "to have sex as much as possible" - direct quote.
   

Happy Anniversary

Today is the one month anniversary for Angela and I and our marriage. It has been a great month, doesn't seem real at times and sometimes a little too real, if that makes any sense. We've enjoyed this time and I think the biggest thing that we've learned in this month, and probably the rest of our lives, is how to effectively communicate - and listen. So critical are those moments when we expect something and our partner doesn't even know that we're expecting it; when we're hurt and we're not sure why or when talking is painful but beautiful at the same time. I love my Angela so much.

Snow, snow

Sie nennen es Wahnsinn, aber ich nenne es Liebe.

Wedding Online

I finally got the video of the wedding ceremony online on the YouTube. It's cut up into two videos, so don't worry when it cuts out about nine minutes in. There's also a video of my mom and me dancing, you'll have to tip your head for it though, I couldn't figure out how to tip it myself.

The Bachelor Party

I should have done this a long time ago but here is the picture from my bachelor party that Paul threw for me. It was a great night. Paul got us a room at the Golden Leaf on 7th st in St. Paul. These are the men accounted for: (from left to right) Chris, Paul, Geoff, Don, Me, Noah and Reed.

Otter and Mrs Otter on the YouTube

I did something for the wedding that I've never done before, I created a video blog, as best I could I suppose. It's a playlist on the YouTube. I've made a link for it - the way it works is you click the playlist on my channel page and it starts to play a series of videos. These videos are of me and Geoff up to and after the wedding. I thought it was kinda fun, hope you like it. Wedding Countdown.

Meet the Mrs

Hello everyone, it's been a little while since I've blogged last, I've been a little busy. I got married to a wonderful Angela!! The wedding was real fun, the honeymoon was real fun and now we're back to life. I've been learning a lot about this new life style, and am reminded that I am no longer a bachelor, and the kinds of things I should be mindful of is a little different than before. I think the greatest thing that I've learned in these three weeks is that God is faithful and provides. I already know this but the reinforcement of it is sometimes necessary and appreciated, cause I forget sometimes. I love that we both are seeking God and can see Him in each other.
People ask "how's married life?" and I have to respond "Good!" cause really this is such an adventure in uncharted territory everything is good, even when we fight, those times have turned out to be such wonderful times that we can learn about each other and connect in a more intimate way.
The wedding wouldn't be what it was without God's help and the help of a few other awesome people, my shout out's go to: Noah and Wendy, Sam and the amazing helper Dillon, the family that let the Johnson family stay with them in Winona, aunt Mary-Anne and Harrow for letting people stay at their house, Kira's mom for letting us have some pictures taken with her horse and letting us change into our kilts in their room and last but not least Libby - for all her hard work on the Kilts and my hair (giving me a cut right before the wedding). I love you tons Lib.

My Wedding