Goodbyes Are Never Easy

After tomorrow afternoon I will have attended two memorial services this summer. One was for a boy at the young age of 17 who died tragically in a car wreck after falling asleep at the wheel. Tomorrow's service will be to remember a coworker I had only had the pleasure of knowing for less than eight months.

Both tragedies.

Caleb Koke was the middle child of my pastors, Rob and Laura Koke of Shoreline Christian Center in Austin, Texas. I became one of the Koke's babysitters when I moved to Austin in 1997. Their kiddos have grown so much as all children do and Caleb was an amazing young man. His death was one of the saddest that I can recall over my lifetime. Watching my dear friends question the loss of their son and also Rob's own father just two weeks prior is hard to wrap my mind around. People who I've admired from a distance and close up were suffering and there was nothing that any of their friends could do for them. It will take time to heal such broken hearts.

David Barney, my coworker at Kershner Trading, was a software developer and as mischevious as they come. He often came into our HR office asking some of the most perplexing of questions and always walked away telling some sort of joke usually about himself. Even the week prior to his death he was helping a coworker and myself as we worked on a prank for another friend at work. You could just tell that he loved the idea of a good practical joke.

And as this week has gone by we've learned more about David, his life beyond our work walls and his life with friends from his work before working with us. You can just tell he was a man of few, but close and dear friends that will truly miss him.

It's hard to know just how to react when you lose a coworker. His desk is no longer occupied. His work no longer touched.

I can only hope that our memorial service we've planned for him tomorrow will honor his memory and will help to remind us how short life can truly be.

Julie Powell, author of Julie and Julia Sits Down for an Informal Conversation

This summer's long awaited movie, Julie & Julia is based on Julie Powell's book, Julie and Julia, 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen.

Julie Powell began blogging way before blogging and social media was cool. She set out to blog about her experiences of cooking from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1, but had no idea about the journey to which she was about to embark. From blog to a huge readership to a book deal and finally to movie, this Borders Book Club candid interview offers a great glimpse into the whole process and allows new fans of Julie Powell a way to get to know her up close and personal.

Borders Book Club Interviews Julie Powell

No Health Benefits Tax

No Health Benefits Tax

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We Said, "I Do"

Last Wednesday, Charles and I decided it was finally time to get married. We've been talking about it for sometime now, but we admitted there simply wasn't going to be that perfect time when we looked the way we wanted to look, to have saved the money we would have liked to have saved, etc., etc.

For those of you that don't know our story, Charles and I aren't really sure when we first met, but we were in the same schools from 7th grade through high school graduation. Charles grew up in Brazoria, Texas and I grew up in West Columbia, Texas. Our two towns and a small little village, Wild Peach, combined at the 7th grade to form our secondary and high school years. We knew each other back then mostly because it was a small school and everyone knew everyone. We went through high school together, but were never really friends or ever close associates. I don't think we even had a single class together, but looking through old yearbooks we find that we were involved in drama together at some point.

At our 15 year high school reunion we caught each other's attention, but never pursued anything.

Then at our 20 year reunion we found ourselves single and still eager to see one another. That was August 19, 2006. A few weeks later Charles left Baton Rouge for one of his first visits to Austin. By the end of September 2006 Charles and I were living together.

Not exactly on my agenda or on his. It was a huge surprise to my family, friends and coworkers and honestly I wasn't sure if it was a good idea at all.

The following May we purchased our home in Round Rock.

I couldn't have planned our relationship better if I had tried. It had to be a God thing.

Every day that we are together we laugh more and more and appreciate each other's goofy humor. We balance each other out and make up for each other's shortcomings. We appreciate the differences that we bring to each other's lives.

We had been talking about getting married for some time and expected that it would take place this spring. When conversing last week about it we questioned what exactly are we waiting for?

Early Thursday morning Charles had already researched what we needed to do in order to make this union official. That afternoon we went to the courthouse in Georgetown to obtain our marriage license. Then on Friday after work we shopped and found a wedding ring for me. On Saturday I drove around for hours to find Charles' outfit and my dress. On Sunday we finalized the pieces for Charles outfit and purchased his ring.

On Friday, we also called my parents to let them know our big news. And it just so happens that they were planning on being in Austin today. The bonus is that my parents are pastors. My father mentioned that they were staying at a hotel on Ladybird Lake and he thought it would be a beautiful spot for a wedding.

With that we had all the elements that we needed.

• License? Check.
• Rings? Check.
• Wedding attire? Check.
• Wedding location? Check.
• Pastor? Check.
• Bride? Check.
• Groom? Check.

My mom and I stopped by Central Market and the guy in the floral area whipped up a lovely bouquet. I called my friend Alice and she joined the four of us down at Ladybird Lake for the 7 pm ceremony.

It was precious. Simple and sweet.

Afterwards we went to Bess Bistro on 6th street in Austin and then decided it would be fun to pop by Whole Foods on Lamar and pick out our individual pieces of "wedding cake."

As we began making plans for our big day, Charles said he'd like it to be something simple like in the movie Runaway Bride with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. At the end of the movie it was just the two of them and an officiant standing on a hill.

Tonight our wedding was very close to that movie perfection and we are looking forward to many years together.

Thanks to those of you who reached out to us on Facebook and Twitter to send us your well wishes. We love you all!