Sonny's Sunday: The Honeymooners Deck

***Sonny is an old friend of mine. We went to elementary, middle, and high school together. He's also my friend who's doing the super-adult thing. He and his new fiancee Cher just bought a house. They're working on planning a life together as well as a wedding next April. Even with all that stability, their love life is still interesting.***

Quick Recap [My last post about Sonny was back in the middle of June. In that post I talked about their Save the Date for the wedding next April. I took crappy photos with my BB. I also speculated about a possible double date so Easy could get to know them better. Lastly, I made plans to book our cruise so we'd meet the deadline in the STD.] Read Sonny's Sunday posts.

Since that time, it took me forever to actually book our cruise. I literally just did it Wednesday. But Sonny told me they put that date there to give people urgency, but there really wasn't a big rush. The rooms they set aside for our group were okay rooms. But the last time I went on a Carnival cruise, my parents were in one of the really nice rooms on the top deck.

I wanted to be in one of those rooms, so I paid the extra money and we'll be up there! The best part is Sonny and Cher also booked the nicer room. We joked that it would be the honeymoon floor. Now that the cruise is booked, I'm very excited for this event.

Things have been sailing smoother for Sonny and Cher since he switched jobs. He's finally in a job that uses his degree in finance. Cher helped him apply for jobs and he landed one as an investment banker. We live in Chicago, so he's no Wall Street fat cat who will be instrumental in our next recession.

Now that he's switched to a new job, he keeps more regular hours. That means he gets to spend more time with Cher. I'm hoping that means we can spend more time with them. He was finishing up at his old job just a few weeks ago so they missed Easy's and my engagement party. I'm dying for them to meet since Easy has hit it off so well with all the rest of my friends.

For my next post, I'll try to pry some wedding planning details out of Sonny.

Sonny's Sunday: Orange You Glad They're Getting Married Too?

***Sonny is an old friend of mine. We went to elementary, middle, and high school together. He's also my friend who's doing the super-adult thing. He and his new fiancee Cher just bought a house. They're working on planning a life together as well as a wedding next April. Even with all that stability, their love life is still interesting.*** Read Sonny's Sunday posts.

Last week, I talked about looking forward to Sonny and Cher's STDs. Haha, I mean save the dates. I promise I'll only have 22 more immature moments. I also spoke of our (my fiance Easy and I) plans to try and go on a double date with them to do come couple-bonding.

Well, the double date didn't happen. With Sonny's new job, he hasn't had much free time. Hopefully that will change in the next few weeks as things settle down. Also, Easy and I had such a busy day last Sunday, it would've been very difficult to break away to even use the tickets his mother gave us.

But, the Save-the-Date did come in the mail. And I love it! I didn't know orange was going to be their wedding color. I'm so super jealous! Orange is my favorite color. Actually I'm not even a little bit jealous. There's a part of me that didn't want that color in my wedding. I never even asked.

But now I can live vicariously through them and enjoy (and scrapbook) every wonderful bit of orange-y wedding-ness that comes my way from them. And of course, I have pictures to show you. Like most of the pics I take that end up on this particular blog, I was only able to take the pics on my BlackBerry, so I apologize for the poor quality. But here they are!

I told you the quality was terrible. Those random boxes are me covering up personal info you probably can't read because the pixel count is so low. I'm sorry! But you can see how cute they are.

The font is amazing, the envelopes were a great color. And I loved loved loved the ribbon they have tied at the top of the card. Super sweet right? Right.

Okay, I'm done gushing for now. Hopefully next week, I'll have made my reservations with the booking agent for the cruise. I'm so excited to be going on this cruise (especially with Easy cause he'll be my new hubby then!)!

Sonny's Sunday: Coupledom (Or Maybe Wedding-Planning-dom)

***Sonny is an old friend of mine. We went to elementary, middle, and high school together. He's also my friend who's doing the super-adult thing. He and his new fiancee Cher just bought a house. They're working on planning a life together as well as a wedding next April. Even with all that stability, their love life is still interesting.***

Quick Recap [Two weeks ago, I posted about my interest in pulling Sonny and Cher out of their couple shell, and I added the details I knew about wedding plans.] Read Sonny's Sunday posts.

Sonny texted me the other day to get my address because he and Cher are sending out their Save the Dates this week. I told him my address would be changing soon. But I can't wait to see their STDs  (tee-hee, sorry immature moment). I'm sure they'll be lovely. And maybe inspirational for my own STDs.

Also, Easy, my fiance, came up with a wonderful opportunity for us to spend time with Sonny and Cher. He knows how much it means to me that I get closer to the girls of all my close guy friends. He has four tickets to Ravinia today and we have invited Sonny and Cher to join us.

We don't know if they're able to come just yet, but if they do, we'll look forward to an evening of great live music, maybe a bottle of wine and a picnic dinner. I'm really looking forward to this and a chance to get them to unwind and spend some time making new friends. \

Having couple friends is a good idea? Right? Yeah, I think so.

Sonny's Sunday: Settling Into The Mid-20s

***Sonny is an old friend of mine. We went to elementary, middle, and high school together. He's also my friend who's doing the super-adult thing. He and his new fiancee Cher just bought a house. They're working on planning a life together, as well as a wedding next April. Even with all that stability, their love life is still interesting.*** Read Sonny's Sunday posts.

Last week, I talked about Sonny and Cher moving their wedding to April. I have a few more details about the wedding. They've set a date! April 26th. That's in the middle of the week, so I doubt they'll have many wedding day twins, except of course anniversary-celebrators. And they've settled on the Carnival Cruise Lines. That wasn't their first choice, but it is preferrable for the price. More details as they arise.

Right now, they're settling into life with both of them working full time jobs, This is the first time this has happened since they moved in together. Now that I think about it, I'm wondering how they are adjusting to all the time they are spending apart now. I will ask that the next time I speak to Sonny.

I'm also working on seeing if Sonny and Cher will go on a double date with Easy and I. I like spending time with Sonny and Cher and I'm hoping Easy will too.

Spending time with them without feeling a bit like a third wheel will be nice. Plus, they've never met Easy. In a weird way, I think spending time with us will help them feel more normal. I don't know that normal is what they want to feel, but most couples I know in their mid-20s (not that the people I know are good examples of normal) are friends with other couples and they enjoy spending time with those couples because there's no pressure to curb the couple-type behavior you engage in alone.

As far as I know, the only couples Sonny and Cher spend time with are Cher's sisters and their men. They seem to have a lot of fun together, but they aren't the same age. Her sisters are older and it's more of a family dynamic.

It's really interesting to watch these two build a life together. I'm pretty sure this is both of their first attempt at a real adult relationship, at least one that's relatively healthy and happy. So perhaps all these components I think they need will come with time and without my interference.

Well, maybe we'll invite them for just one dinner party after move in together to see how it goes.

Sonny's Sunday: Planning On A Life Together

***Sonny is an old friend of mine. We went to elementary, middle, and high school together. He's also my friend who's doing the super-adult thing. He and his new fiancee Cher just bought a house. They're working on planning a life together. Even with all that stability, their love life is still interesting.***

Quick Recap [The last post I wrote about Sonny was near the end of March. I think I've mentioned, ahem, several times now that my computer was having issues. So I apologize for the lack of updates. That post discussed my concern that they never spend time apart unless they are at work. That's pretty much the gist of it.] Read Sonny's Sunday posts.

All I have to say about that subject is that I've discussed it with Sonny and he has noticed it and is trying to figure out a way to address it that won't bring up every insecurity Cher could possibly have. As one of his best friends, I've encouraged him to give it time and to do my best to make her feel welcome and a real part of his whole life.

I think my boyfriend Easy will be helpful with this plan. Once he moves to Chicago, he's just so gregarious and friendly that he'll draw her in and before we know it, she'll be happy including all his people in their activities and then after that, she'll feel comfortable if they have experiences that don't always include each other. For the record, I do realize I'm being wildly optimistic.

Moving on to something more exciting: their wedding! They moved the date of the wedding up. Sonny did some research on the prices for weddings on cruise ships. Having the wedding in April versus June is like half the cost.

So now they intend to have a wedding in April on a cruise ship. I still don't know the destination of the cruise ship. But I have learned the wedding itself will take place in Miami. Apparently, the wedding ceremony has to be at a port, and they want people not coming on the cruise to be able to attend the ceremony. So really, they're bringing 50 people along on their honeymoon. Sonny says it's a 4 day reception, not a group-activity honeymoon, ha ha.

Easy and I plan on attending and I'm really looking forward to how great this wedding is going to be. So far, their planning seems pretty stress free because so many of the details are taken care of. I look forward to posting more updates as they are developed. Next week, I'll talk about what I know about their wedding party.

Sonny's Sunday: Going Out? Not Without My Fiancee

***Sonny is an old friend of mine. We went to elementary, middle, and high school together. He's also my friend who's doing the super-adult thing. He and his new fiancee Cher just bought a house. They're working on planning a life together. Even with all that stability, their love life is still interesting.***
Read Sonny's Sunday posts.


Last week, I was giving props to Sonny and Cher for appearing to not have succumb to a problem that plagues some most engaged people. They know that their life doesn't revolve around planning their wedding. They are allowing their life to develop together. I think they know that at the end of the day, their time as engaged couple will only be a drop in the bucket compared the the length of a life that they plan to share. And Cher is a vegan. That chick isn't going anywhere anytime soon.


This week, I want to talk about something that I've mentioned before on this blog that troubles me. Last Thursday, Easy had this idea that his friends and mine could all go out for St. Patrick's Day. That type of celebration isn't likely to happen again in  years to come as we progress through out 20s. I certainly don't know too many black folks in their thirties going out for a night on the town with their friends for St. Patty's Day. Gloria would have come out without Gregory. And Jordan. They didn't Thursday night, but that was a whole fiasco that I'll explain in a post on my main blog.


So we had these plans, and we invite several friends. Sonny and Cher are two of the friends that I invited out with us. Sonny said he thought it would be great fun to go hang with the drunken people on the north side and he would check with Cher when she got home from work.


I told him that she might want to come out, but even if she didn't because of work the next morning, he could still come out. And of course, that didn't happen. I didn't see either of them that night. I know for a fact that Sonny had nothing to do that night. It sucks that he wasn't able to come out because Cher wasn't able also.


I probably shouldn't make comparisons, but


I don't know if I even want to encourage that they get more comfortable spending time apart. It seems unrealistic in this global world structure to demand that you, as a couple, spend all your free time together. But there are still people who do it. They can be attached enough to each other to truly desire to never be apart. I guess if they both end up with local careers and family close by, there wouldn't be a need to get used to one person being out of the country, like Bad and Jordan or Easy and me. And because they don't have a ton of friends outside of each other, I guess they don't really fall into the Gloria and Gregory box either.


This is not the first time I've mentioned this, definitely not in this blog. I'm still trying to figure out if it's something I should get involved with. I just miss Sonny. I miss the time we used to spend together. When he's with Cher, he's still him completely, there just doesn't seem to be the usual flow of information. Catching up like friends do is a much more arduous process. And my attempts to be friends with Cher outside of Sonny haven't gone well.


Maybe that's what I'll do. I'll try again to be friends with her outside of him. If she and I can connect and she starts to think it's a good idea that she has girl time outside of him, then maybe it won't be this terrible thing if he spends time without her too. I don't know if it will work, but I should try. Because I don't ever want him to feel stifled and plus, she and I had a lot of fun together that one time we went out dancing with Bad.

Sonny's Sunday: Engaged, But Also Real People With Real Feelings

***Sonny is an old friend of mine. We went to elementary, middle, and high school together. He's also my friend who's doing the super-adult thing. He and his new fiancee Cher just bought a house. They're working on planning a life together. Even with all that stability, their love life is still interesting.***

Read Sonny's Sunday posts.

Last week, I wrote a post about Sonny and Cher's upcoming wedding. I mentioned that the details can't really be sorted until they make their cruise reservations in June. That led to me to link to a website that helps plan destination weddings. It was a cute and interesting website, and it made me excited to think about Sonny and Cher's upcoming wedding.


Their wedding is still more than a year away, which made me think of yesterday's post for Noni's Stargazing Saturday, in which I talked about long ass engagements. I don't think that really applies to Sonny and Cher though, because they have both a ring and a tentative date set.


There's really nothing to update in terms of their relationship or progress as a couple that I know of. So I'll be linking to something from the Internet. I think I'm going to Google the term "surviving being engaged" to see where that leads me.


I found an amazing new blog to read called Wedding Bee. The post I read is called "On Surviving "The Happiest" Time Of Your Life. You can read it and check out the rest of her website here. This takes an interesting view of engagement. It takes off the rose colored sunglasses to remind the world that life doesn't stop because you're engaged.


Sure, you're living out one of the major life goals of most human beings, but it doesn't make you immediately and permanently impervious to things like sadness, stress, and arguments. I don't think Sonny and Cher argue all the time, but they do argument. I think they do a good job of not feeling like their relationship is going to fall apart every time they do argue. And they don't seem to be letting their wedding planning interfere with being on top of the other details of their life. This article is really a good read for any couple that's engaged but also have full lives outside of wedding planning.


I never thought I'd suggest more people should be like Sonny and Cher (they are their own unique people), but in this respect, hop on the not-solely-living-to-plan-your wedding bandwagon. Embrace the other parts of life, and don't freak out if you and your beloved fiance(e) have an argument. Be happy, but don't feel even worse if that's not your permanent engaged state.

Sonny's Sunday: Destination Wedding, Anyone?

***Sonny is an old friend of mine. We went to elementary, middle, and high school together. He's also my friend who's doing the super-adult thing. He and his new fiancee Cher just bought a house. They're working on planning a life together. Even with all that stability, their love life is still interesting.***

As far as I know, there's nothing new to report about Sonny and Cher from the last week. Just more of the same. Sonny is preparing for the GRE and searching for a job. Cher is working and waiting to plan the details of their wedding.


I began perusing wedding planning sites looking for something interesting to link to for this week's post. Here is what I found. It's a website called TheWeddingExperience.com. It's all about destination weddings. Since Sonny and Cher intend on getting married on a cruise ship, they fall under the destination wedding umbrella.


It's a website dedicated to helping you plan your destination wedding. They have partnerships with a number of cruise lines. Unfortunately, they don't partner with the line Sonny and Cher plan to use, but they did have a lot of interesting information about all the different planning tools one might need to make a destination wedding happened. What do I mean? Think sand-on-a-beach themed place cards for the reception.


I had a lot of fun poking around the website to see what they have to offer. I hope Cher is looking around for all the information she can gather about the type of wedding they want to have so when it's time to settle on details, she'll already have an idea of what she wants and what's possible. For instance, having doves released from your wedding aboard a cruise ship isn't the best idea.


If you're getting married on a boat, check out all the option. I love the holiday themed stuff. I can't imagine getting married on New Year's Eve on a cruise ship, but there must be a market for it. Some of the stuff (specifically those blue lanterns) were simply lovely, I wonder if I could get them at my plain old on-dry-land wedding I intend to have one day. They're the exact colors I've always imagined I'd have at my wedding.


Is it weird that the thing I want to know most about Sonny and Cher's upcoming nuptials is their colors? The wedding color palette is always important. If you check out the website have fun exploring. If not, hopefully I can have real stuff to report next week.

Sonny's Sunday: A Slice of Life As An Engaged Couple

***Sonny is an old friend of mine. We went to elementary, middle, and high school together. He's also my friend who's doing the super-adult thing. He and his new fiancee Cher just bought a house. They're working on planning a life together. Even with all that stability, their love life is still interesting.***

Quick Recap [My last post about Sonny was two weeks ago. In that post, I was relaying what I knew about their wedding plans. There was not much to report. They really haven't been able to nail down the details of their upcoming nuptials. But they have been having other life changes which I didn't post about, but I will now.] Read Sonny's Sunday posts.

Sonny quit his job. He just gathered his shit and left because he couldn't take it anymore. He's currently studying for the GRE and choosing which grad schools to apply to. And he's also searching for a new job. What possessed him to quit his job? Well, Cher recently got a job that paid twice what his job did. So they went from one income and surviving to one income that is double what they used to have. Their mortgage and financial obligations are being handled.


That being said, the dynamic in the house has shifted because now Cher is the breadwinner. It's made for some interesting new developments in their arguments. I'm not going to get into specifics, but let's just say things end worse for Sonny than they have in previous arguments. I hope he gets a job soon so his joblessness doesn't get tosses at him like an insult meant to bring him down.


Here's the most interesting thing: two weeks ago, I posted about upcoming wedding plans, but right around that time, they called the wedding off. Literally two days after he's sharing with me the plans, he was saying they weren't getting married. I felt like there was no way they could not get married. No one else wants either of them. Plus, they have a mortgage. Those aren't good reasons to stay, but they're certainly good reasons not to walk away hastily.


After the fight was sorted out, they were back on track. But I do wonder what Cher thinks Sonny tells me about their relationship. I'm all for presenting a united front in public, but not a bullshitty one. They picked me up from the train the last time I came back from St. Louis. I thought it was going to be just Sonny. We were supposed to go for coffee and he was gonna talk (vent) out his issues. Kind of pressing reset on his wound up emotions. But that didn't happen. Cher was, for whatever reason, not at work and out with him for the day.


They talked of their upcoming wedding, the Chicago elections that day, and his plans for grad school. I didn't mention that they had recently called things off and neither did they. I guess it's something we'll keep pretending doesn't happen. In public, Sonny and Cher do not have huge fights that lead to weddings being called off, phones needing to be replaced, and holes in the wall.


Moving on. The reason they have so many wedding details not yet figured out is because Disney only takes reservations one year in advance. They are going to pick some tentative dates in June and at the first available date (one year in advance), they will make their reservations and get things underway.


There will be a lot to do. They have to figure out pricing for their wedding guests, they have to finalize their wedding party, pick food, flowers, etc. It will be a lot of work. But they really can't sort anything else out until they've made their reservations and picked a wedding package. Like I said, I'm really looking forward to a Disney cruise boat wedding. I just recently saw a commercial for the Disney Cruise Line. I'm going to have so much fun on that cruise!

Sonny's Sunday: Some Wedding Details

***Sonny is an old friend of mine. We went to elementary, middle, and high school together. He's also my friend who's doing the super-adult thing. He and his new fiancee Cher just bought a house. They're working on planning a life together. Even with all that stability, their love life is still interesting.***

Quick Recap [The last post I wrote about Sonny was back at the beginning of January. I spoke about him and Cher spending the holidays together. I have them pegged as one of those couples that just don't like spending time apart. And that works for them. I also started having some questions about their wedding plans. When they were talking about getting married in 2012, it seemed pretty far away back in March 2010. But now almost a year later, it seems pretty close.] Read Sonny's Sunday posts.

I have asked some questions of Sonny regarding their upcoming nuptials.

They have picked a cruise line. They're doing a Disney cruise.

I love the idea of a Disney cruise. If anyone can do a romantic and fun event, it would be Disney. I can already see the cruise staff bending over backwards to make their wedding special.

They haven't settled all the big details though. Things like an exact date.

Or a wedding party.

But a lot of things come with doing the wedding on a cruise that they won't have to worry about. Venue, food, flowers, drinks, music. All that will be part of the wedding package. Since it's on a boat, that dictates certain things. That should make life easier for them.

I'm pretty excited for Sonny since he's the only close friend I have getting married soon.

Sonny's Sunday: The Holidays Were Fun And Simple

***Sonny is an old friend of mine. We went to elementary, middle, and high school together. He's also my friend who's doing the super-adult thing. He and his new fiancee Cher just bought a house. They're working on planning a life together. Even with all that stability, their love life is still interesting.***

Quick Recap [My last post about Sonny and Cher was back in November around his birthday. It was a good time all around for everyone there and I noticed that they seemed better than the last time I hung out at their house. I figured their new level of happiness had to do with making that adjustment to living together. There are always growing pains when that happens. I still want to spend time with either of them without the other, but that hadn't happened at that point.] Read Sonny's Sunday posts.

Since that time, I still haven't spent time with either of them alone.

I guess some couples just don't like being without each other.

It's a little weird that only a tiny part of their lives (when they're at work) don't include each other.

I wonder what they talk about because they're always together. There are no stories to tell.

But whatever, moving on to their holidays.

Christmas was nice for them. Good fun, family time, and all that.

They got Cher's mother a dog for Christmas.

The dog was surprise, so they had to keep it at their house for about a week and a half before Christmas.

It was an interesting time for them to have two dogs in the house, especially one who was only a temporary guest, but her mother loved the gift.

That made it worth it.

For New Year's Eve, they spent the time with Cher's family. She's got two or three sisters.

They all went over Sonny and Cher's house. They had a dinner and some drinks and brought in the new year as a family.

Sonny said he had a great time on New Year's.

I know his family is still warming up to Cher, so I'm really happy that her family likes hanging out at their house with them.

I'm going to ask some questions about their wedding plans for next week's post.

They are supposed to get married next year, so they should be making some pretty concrete plans at this point.

I can't wait to hear what they are. For instance, I want to know if they still intend on getting married on a cruise.

And I wonder who they have picked as their wedding party, or if they've even sorted that out yet.

I guess we'll see soon how all that is going.

Gloria's Romantic Monday: Bringing In The New Year Family Style

***Gloria is a friend of mine I know from church. She is a single mother. She has a boyfriend, Gregory, who we all love and her son's father, Rufus, who we all hate. She is fun-loving and hilarious. Gloria is the type of friend who'd be there for you at a party, when things get tough, or even if you need help applying for school.***

Quick Recap [The last post I wrote about Gloria was forever ago. I wasn't trying to neglect my girl, but I have rarely had time to write a full post on a Monday. But that last post was about Gregory, her boyfriend. I just did a quick background of how they started dating and the particulars of their basic history. They each have a little boy and the other parent of their sons each has another son. And they are ready to move on to the next phase of their life.] Read Romantic Monday posts.

Gregory and Gloria have spent the last month or so discussing the serious possibilities of how they are going to make the rest of their lives work just the way they want.

They intend on getting married in the near future.

I thought they might beat Sonny and Cher down the aisle, but now I'm thinking they might not.

Gloria wants to have a traditional engagement even if they don't have a big fancy wedding.

That pushes things back because Gregory has to get her a ring, and he wants to get her a nice ring.

They are also discussing things like where they will live and how they will combine their families.

Gloria wants to move away from Chicago.

Gregory is okay with that plan, but he can't leave the Chicago area for at least another fifteen months.

So, it looks like they are at least on a fifteen month plan before they can start the life they've agreed they want.

But, they are still living in today's time and working on building their relationship and being happy together.

They spent a nice New Year's Eve together, at home, together. Well, they were at Gloria's home.

But Gloria, Gregory, and her son brought in the New Year together. It's actually the exact way I'd expect someone with a small child to celebrate the holiday.

Gloria and Gregory aren't as drama free as Bad and Jordan are, but their drama doesn't suggest that they may break up any day.

Their drama is more about regular life and how it may negatively impact their love life. But they are a strong couple and can handle it together.

Big Bad Thursday: Drama Free Is Their Signature Style

***Big Bad Thursday is all about Bad. He's one of my best friends and was a charming, if commitment-phobic bachelor. He finally realized a woman was worth giving up complete and total bachelor-hood. So now Bad and Jordan are in love and working towards building a life together. They live in a wonderful apartment in Chicago and they are quite a fabulous couple.***

Quick Recap [My last post about Bad was at the beginning of last month. It was mostly just a status update because things are going well for them. They have a happily drama-free relationship] Read Big Bad Thursday posts

Since my last post, not much has changed. I love that Bad and Jordan are my drama free friends. No crazy fights, no suspicion of breaking up around every turn. They are an inspiration.

But being drama free doesn't make them boring. They go out and they definitely are fun to be around.

Something else I love about them is that they can be separate from each other. Unlike Sonny and Cher, I see Bad without Jordan. They are still their own people.

Bad has finished his school semester or quarter rather. Jordan's semester will be done soon. So now they are working on holiday plans. She's going back to St. Louis to spend Christmas with her family. I believe he's staying here in the Chicago area with his family.

But New Year's Eve, they will be together. Hopefully, they'll be with me and my friends, but I guess we'll see.

Gloria's Romantic Monday: A More Appropriate Man To Date

***Gloria is a friend of mine I know from church. She is a single mother. She has a boyfriend, Gregory, who we all love and her son's father, Rufus, who we all hate. She is fun-loving and hilarious. Gloria is the type of friend who'd be there for you at a party, when things get tough, or even if you need help applying for school.***

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Quick Recap [My last post about Gloria was back at the beginning of the month. I've only written two posts about her, so I suggest you re-read them to get more familiar with her again. I haven't written in three weeks because of a number of reasons, but certainly not because things haven't been happening with her. Unfortunately she only has one day a week, but I should be able to catch up in the next couple of weeks. So back to this last post. I wrote a brief history of Gloria and Rufus. Long story short, he sucks, but he is her son's father and that means she does what she needs to in order to make that work.] Read Romantic Monday posts.
Now I get to do something fun and explain her history with Gregory. Gloria and Gregory work together at a job they both are not fans of.

Originally, it didn't seem as if either were interested in the other. But a hilarious incident at work (Gloria is good at laughing at herself while everyone else is too) led him to want to get to know her better.

There was some instant messaging back and forth. I remember when Gloria first mentioned Gregory. She didn't describe him as "my future husband". It was more like "he's cool so far".

But over time, their romance really blossomed. She started speaking of him with little twinkle lights in his eyes.

When she shared stories, the super single ones in our group were like, "ugh," so I know the stories were sweet and possibly romantic.

Some details about Gregory: he's sort of a quiet person, he also has a son, he has a great sense of humor.

He has these moments where he doesn't say much, especially when around new people or when upset. But when he does open his mouth, things worth listening to come out.

Gregory's son is older than Gloria's son. They spent the majority of their relationship not mixing their families. The sons spending time around each other is a very new phenomenon.

Like a lot of one-parent homes, Gloria has her son with her most of the time. Gregory only has his son with him part of the time. So Gregory got very familiar with Gloria's son, but she wasn't so familiar with his.

But to fast forward a bit, they are totally happy with each other and planning their future together. Gloria and Gregory are discussing marriage and having more children.

That child will be a part of the most blended family ever. It would have two half brothers who each have a half brother. Gregory's son's mother has another son too. Birthday parties will be quite interesting once they're older.

So, in future posts, I will get more into what's going on currently in Gloria's love life. I'm pretty sure she will be the first one down the aisle of everyone I write about in The Medley.

Yes, she'll even beat already-engaged Sonny and Cher. They aren't tying the not until 2012 I think.

Sonny's Sunday: Happy Happy Happy Birthday To You!

***Sonny is an old friend of mine. We went to elementary, middle, and high school together. He's also my friend who's doing the super-adult thing. He and his new fiancee Cher just bought a house. They're working on planning a life together. Even with all that stability, their love life is still interesting.***

Quick Recap [The last post I wrote about Sonny was two weeks ago. I was excited for his upcoming birthday celebration. Sonny and Cher have celebrated my birthday with me a couple of times over the years, but I haven't done anything with them yet. I also said how I was a bit concerned about how the family portion of that celebration would go because I've heard that Sonny's family isn't really a fan of Cher's family.] Read Sonny's Sunday posts.

One worry was alleviated. I didn't go to Sonny's family dinner thing on Friday. I didn't want to miss bowling twice in two weeks.

And it ended up not mattering because it wasn't a whole family thing. It ended up being just Sonny and Cher having a nice dinner at Maggiano's.

Michelle went with me, so that was fun. After the get together, we headed up north to see a friend of hers play in his band. I'll tell that story on my other blog.

There was one moment when literally everyone in the room was chatting with someone. All except Cher. But there was an odd number of people and all the convos were two people.

But it was still a good get together. There was even less tension than last time. I think Sonny has a very good grasp on living with Cher and vice versa.

I really feel like they've acclimated to each other and gotten past the basic living-with-someone adjustment period.

They had a lot of fun on their cruise. They've got great pictures, good food stories, and a big bottle of Mexican tequila with a worm in the bottom.

We had a toast/took a shot with the tequila which led to a lot of laughs. It had a weird after taste though. Kind of like canned meat.

I for one am feeling more optimistic about their future though. I was really very happy to see that tension fade.

I do still want to see them apart from each other. Bad joined Michelle and me for drinks later that night without Jordan. It's not a crazy notion to go places without your SO, it really isn't.

Sonny's Sunday: Cruising Into A Birthday Celebration

***Sonny is an old friend of mine. We went to elementary, middle, and high school together. He's also my friend who's doing the super-adult thing. He and his new fiancee Cher just bought a house. They're working on planning a life together. Even with all that stability, their love life is still interesting.***

Quick Recap [It's been quite a while since I wrote about Sonny. My last post was in late September. In that post, I wrote about attending a game night he and Cher threw at their house. I talked about them settling into a home life and how I was pleased that they didn't seem to have the tension I noticed the last time I saw them before that. I did express concern that Cher was a bit controlling, but that if any guy could work with that situation it would be Sonny.] Read Sonny's Sunday posts.

 
Since that post, I haven't really had much to update simply because Sonny has been so busy. But from what I can gather, he and Cher are doing well.

They are going on a cruise next week. I was supposed to take them to the airport, but now they're just going to park at the airport. I really hope they don't change their minds at the last minute, cause that would suck since I've decided to go down to St. Louis next week to visit Easy.

But I will see them soon. Sonny's birthday is November 19th. His family is doing a dinner thing that day. And he and Cher and doing a little get together at their house the night after. I'm invited to both, which is awesome. I love his family, and I haven't spent time with his sisters in forever.

The only concern I have about that family dinner is how my interactions with them will compare with Cher's. I've been around for 22 years, she's only been around for like 2.5 years. They like me, and from what I hear, they don't like her. I haven't seen proof of this, I've only heard.

But it would be horrible if Sonny's sisters were super nice to me (like they usually are) and kind of rude to Cher (like I've heard they can be). This is not an issue I've had to deal with because Bad's family loves Jordan. And Lion's family loves Rudy.

Maybe it'll be a great night for all since it will be his birthday. But I guess we will see in two weeks.

Sonny's Sunday: Settling Into Home Life

***Sonny is an old friend of mine. We went to elementary, middle, and high school together. He's also my friend who's doing the super-adult thing. He and his new fiancee Cher just bought a house. They're working on planning a life together. Even with all that stability, their love life is still interesting.***

Quick Recap [It's been five weeks since I've written about Sonny. The last post was talking about trouble in paradise. They were fighting a lot and most of the fights were about her not feeling secure in their relationship. I expressed concern over the fighting and also hope that it would soon resolve itself] Read Sonny's Sunday posts.

In the time that has passed since the last post, I haven't heard a lot from Sonny about his arguments with Cher. I was hoping that was attributed to either a lack of fighting or a desire to work it out just between the two of them. I think it may be more of the second one. It would have worked better for me to a be a person to talk to about their fights if I were just his friend or definitely both their friends. But I'm in a weird position of being definitely his friend and sort of her friend. I've reached out to her a couple of times to try and see if we could be friends outside of him, but it hasn't netted much yet.

You can imagine how glad I was when Sonny invited me to his house for a game night this weekend. I was going to get to see the two of them together in their home environment for the first time since the last game night of theirs I went to, which was only two weeks or so after they bought the house. He hadn't even proposed yet back then.

I arrived at their house and was super glad to see they didn't have a lot of tension. The day they helped me move from Rockford, there was obvious tension. Today, there was just the usual tension I see between them because they seem to automatically choose opposite ways of accomplishing any and every task. Literally, everything. There was a disagreement about how to order a pan of fried chicken, about whether or not to turn off the music when we played games, about how to pick the teams for games, about where people sat, about getting the coasters from the kitchen. Like I said, everything.

I don't want to make it seem like they were arguing a lot because they weren't. It was mostly him suggesting something, her shooting it down, him protesting, and then them doing what she suggested. I felt like I was the only one who noticed it though. Of course, everyone else at the game night was her sisters and their men, so maybe they're so used to it, they don't notice. There was one other person at the game night, I invited a guy to come. It's a bit weird to bring a date to a friend's game night, but what can I say, I wanted to spend time with this guy and I figured it wouldn't hurt to show the new fiance of one of my best friends that I have guys that are not her man that I'm interested in. Never dated Sonny, never wanted to date Sonny. But I can't assume she knows that to be true. Every little bit helps me keep my affianced (to a controlling person) friend in my life.

But he seemed happier. He didn't shoot me any looks that suggested he needed a hug or a talk or anything like that. And they seem to work. When they weren't disagreeing about stuff, they were smiling and enjoying each other's company. I don't know that they've ever been the type of couple to call each other baby and engage in PDA, so I can't expect that. But I feel a bit better that they've settled into a routine or a home life that works for them. In fact, Cher made part of dinner from the garden they planted. We have fried green tomatoes and collard greens. If planting and harvesting a garden doesn't speak of domestic life, I don't know what does.

So if Sonny doesn't bring up Cher's controlling nature, I certainly won't say anything about it. It's not like she's trying to control just him, she seems to try to control everything. And I don't think it's a personality trait he's unaware of. I'm even willing to bet the controlling nature is more bearable than the insecurity because he's such an easy-going and accomodating guy. I don't think he'll mind doing things her way if it gives her an added sense of security and helps them avoid arguments.

Sonny's Sunday: How Do I Put This..? Trouble In Paradise

***Sonny is an old friend of mine. We went to elementary, middle, and high school together. He's also my friend who's doing the super-adult thing. He and his new fiancee Cher just bought a house. They're working on planning a life together. Even with all that stability, their love life is still interesting.***

Quick Recap[The last time I wrote about Sonny, it was to tell the story of how he proposed and it ended with the two of them heading off on a romantic cruise. I was looking forward to having another adult couple as friends (in addition to Bad and Jordan) I could hang out with and pretend I was fully grown by living vicariously through their adult relationship.] Read Sonny's Posts.

The last time I saw Sonny and Cher was when they helped me move from Rockford back to Chicago. That was incredibly awesome of them to help, and it gave us a chance to catch up. Sonny told me that he had convinced Cher to have the wedding on a cruise. That will be totally exciting for them and I think it will really fit who they are as a couple.

But, he also told me something else. Cue dramatic soap opera music. She's been driving him pretty crazy with her insecurities about their relationship. He figured she's calm down a bit after he proposed. He reasoned that a sane person would feel more secure in a relationship in which you were literally planning the details of the wedding ceremony. But the opposite has happened with her.

Their fights have been pretty bad, but they're still together. I'm hoping they can find a way to work through it. I tried to explain to him that he knows his girl and he knows that she can be this way, and he just needs to talk her down from the crazy ledge so they can be happy. I didn't exactly phrase it that way, but that was the point I was making. I wish he had more time to spend with me without her. He really needs to be able to vent to someone who will listen without judging Cher. That's what most of his friends do. They hear how things are rough right now and question why the two of them are still together. I see this as more of a rough patch and I try to encourage him to find root of the problem. Cher tends to argue around a problem instead of tackling it head on.

I think it will turn out okay in the end. They are still planning the wedding. But I'm hoping it gets worked out soon because Sonny expressed to me a growing disappointment in the state of their relationship. I know long term relationships have ups and downs, it just sucks that this down is coming so soon after they just got engaged.

Big Bad Thursday: Settling In Chicago Is Becoming A More Solid Reality

***Big Bad Thursday is all about Bad. He's one of my best friends and was supposed to be a charming, if commitment-phobic bachelor. He finally realized that a wonderful woman he already had in his life was worth giving up bachelor-hood. So now Bad and Jordan are in love and working towards building a life together.***

Quick Recap: Last time I actually had time to post on a Thursday, I was talking about Bad nesting in his new apartment and Jordan waiting to hear from grad schools. They had basically decided that wherever she went for grad school, he would try and go to grad school in the same place.

So, the school in Chicago that caught Jordan's eye has accepted her! There's an interview for the specific program she wants. I believe that is next week. She'll be here this weekend. She was here a couple of weeks ago for a tour of the campus and the three of us went out for drinks. I was so glad to hear that it seemed pretty definite that she would be here.

Bad sees the interview as a mere formality. What emphasizes this even more is the fact that he put in his application for grad school too! In about a month and a half, these two should know for sure that they're starting grad school in the fall. As excited as I am, they are super excited too. I can't wait to help Jordan move up to Chicago.

What's even better is Bad hasn't had a real freak out moment in a while. Every so often, he's all like, "oh man, what am I doing? I'm letting go of my bachelorhood!?" Then I imagine him running around in a circle like a distraught cartoon character. I'm just kidding, it's never that bad. It's just amusing to see him succumbing to his love for this woman and to see him accepting this new life he's making for himself.

Depending on how long Sonny & Cher stay engaged, Bad may beat them down the aisle, lol. Probably not.

Sonny's Sunday: The Story of the Proposal

***Sonny is an old friend of mine. We went to elementary, middle, and high school together. He's also my friend who's doing the super-adult thing. He and his new fiancee just bought a house. They're working on planning a life together. Even with all that stability, their love life is still interesting.***

Quick Recap: I mentioned that I went with Sonny to help pick out Cher's engagement ring. It was such a gorgeous ring. I took a photo of it on my phone that I can finally put up. The diamond isn't huge, but it's gorgeous. It's dam near flawless and definitely sparkles better than every other diamond we saw in the store that day.

Okay, on to the story of the engagement. Sonny had a really good plan for the engagement. He left with some friends to go to a graduation and left Cher behind. It was literally the first time they had been apart for more than 24 hours in the last year. I took her out dancing to the Wild Hare with Bad so she wouldn't be too bored without him. It was an enjoyable time for all, I think.

But when she got back home, she picked a fight with Sonny (via text). I think it was a combination of not knowing where they were headed as a couple. You know, they just bought a house and now she's like, now what?

He talked her down from the ledge and came back from the graduation trip and tried to reassure her without giving up that he was about to propose. They packed and headed to airport to leave for the cruise. The plan was for him to propose the night before the cruise at dinner since they were heading down a day early.

He got so excited though that he couldn't wait until dinner. He ended up proposing that afternoon, and of course she said yes! The had a lovely celebration dinner and then headed off to the cruise ship the next morning.

He wanted to take her on the cruise to convince her that they should have their wedding ceremony on a cruise. I don't think that worked very well, but you never know. So we'll see how things go as they set a date and begin to make plans. I'm pretty excited and so happy for them!