The Countdown Begins ... Sort Of

For any self respecting countdown to begin, one must first have something to count down to.

Wedding. Check.

Blog#1 was supposed to be quick. Something simple like: 372 DAYS AND COUNTING... STAY TUNED, COMPADRES!

I was really excited about the font highlight, and maybe finding a ticker to embed that automatically keeps track of the countdown. But before I could even type that big, bold and exciting number I realized, in my zeal, I had overlooked a fundamental flaw -

The Date.

Crap. Foiled already.

Yes, apparently you actually need a date to count back from to use 372 DAYS AND COUNTING... STAY TUNED, COMPADRES! Otherwise it's just ? DAYS AND COUNTING... and that just doesn't hold the same muster.

Let me tell you my friends, choosing a date is no easy task.

JANUARY: OUT. I like to get fat over the holidays. Dieting from Thanksgiving through Christmas is not a viable option.

FEBRUARY: OUT. It's the best month for powder in Tahoe. Since we are getting married in Tahoe, that just won't work. I know my friends - they would skip our wedding for a powder day. I know my brother - he would skip our wedding for a powder day. I know my future brother and sister in law - they would skip our wedding for a powder day. I know myself - and I would definitely show up to our wedding - in my ski boots. Probably late. Maybe bleeding. And I know my future wife...

MARCH: OUT. No need to compete with the most important holiday of the year - St Patrick's Day.

APRIL: OUT. Due to my genes, I don't know much about tanning. All I know is that Michelle would like to have one on our wedding day. Even in LA it's tough to be tan by April. Well, the natural way that is.

MAY: OUT. My Birthday. As I creep into my thirties I can really only handle one celebration a month.

JUNE: LIKELY. So far, no strikes against June.

JULY: OUT. Michelle's Birthday. We usually spend the entire month celebrating it.

AUGUST: OUT. I usually spend the entire month recovering from celebrating all of July. And apparently it's booked through 2012.

SEPTEMBER: POSSIBLE. Late September might be chilly in Tahoe. But otherwise, no strikes against it.

OCTOBER: OUT. The idea of a Halloween themed wedding is more frightening than the costumes that our LA friends* would likely show up in.

NOVEMBER: OUT. I spend the first three weeks of November thinking about all the food I'm going to eat on Thanksgiving, and the last week regretting/digesting all the food I ate on Thanksgiving. So does my brother, only worse. We would be useless.

DECEMBER: OUT. I can't say I'm religious, but I still don't want to compete with Jesus.

It has taken Michelle and I approximately one month to get this far. I'm not sure if we should pat ourselves on the back or slap ourselves in the face.

In either case, wish us luck.

*For some reason Halloween lives on well into your thirties and forties here in Los Angeles. I don't know why. Really, I just don't.