LittleSpoon

I Finally Did It...

2007-10-15T13:22:00.000-04:00

I've moved!

Please bookmark this new site...

http://Lspoon.wordpress.com

See you on the other side.

Whoever Said Orange is the New Pink is Seriously Deranged.

2007-10-15T08:53:00.000-04:00

MTV did possibly the coolest thing ever this weekend. They showed "Legally Blonde: The Musical" this weekend. The Broadway show...the whole thing.

I DVR'd it.

I also watched it 3 times.

And downloaded the soundtrack.

And now I know all of the songs by heart.

I am a huge dork. But it was totally worth it.

I swear to you that it's not a bad show. I'm a total theatre snob. And only watched it (the first time) to say that I've seen it. But then I got hooked.

The music is totally catchy and Laura Bell Bundy is my new hero.

Here's the Bend and Snap! Enjoy!

*kisses*

Arg!

2007-10-11T15:52:00.000-04:00

Why is it that sometimes it feels like technology was invented to rule the world?

I swear some technological items are smarter than us...well maybe not smarter, but they are definitely intelligent.

Case and Point:

In my job I have to perform some remedial tasks. One of these "tasks" is to input addresses and names into a stock cover letter and print a corresponding envelope. It's easy to do but time consuming because you have to change all references in the stock cover letter and if you're like me, you know human, you make mistakes from time to time. So then you waste the "good paper" having to reprint it correctly.

The only Godsend in all of this is that Microsoft Word has that handy envelopes and labels tool that will pull the address from the letter so that you don't have to retype it. It's wonderful.

Until it stopped pulling it from the letter. After a few choice words I finally figured out that if I highlighted the text I want to put on the envelope the envelopes and labels tool would work like it's supposed to.

Except that's not working like it's supposed to. It's almost like Microsoft Word recognized that I wasn't doing just a few of these, I was doing more like 50. So it said to itself "How can I mess with her mind and spirit?"

NOT COOL Microsoft Word. It's already mind numbing enough. you really didn't have to add that extra little step. But thanks. It's awesome.

Alright, enough bitching, back to it.

*kisses*

You guys...

2007-10-11T09:03:00.000-04:00

I'm still feeling the effects of this

2 for 1

2007-10-10T14:05:00.000-04:00

I know, shocking.

La has been blogging about candy corn recently and I decided that I must have some for myself so during lunch my sister and I headed to Kroger for some candy corn and Starbucks. MMM pumpkin spice frapp...yummy.

Cut to 2 hours later...

THIS:

VERY QUICKLY TURNS INTO THIS:

*kisses*

Chaps my ass...

2007-10-10T08:56:00.000-04:00

Today is the first day we begin accepting applications for our 2008 programs. I am going to be one busy lady today, I hope.

Yesterday I alerted my blog friend Molly to a trivia contest that popsugar holds every Tuesday at 3 (eastern time). It's always a pop culture trivia game and this week it was to be Friends trivia. Knowing that Molly is a whiz kid when it comes to Friends trivia I let her know and then joined the game to watch and see the carnage.

Unfortunately there was no carnage because this week's game, and maybe it's like this every week (I've only participated in a few games and haven't done so lately)but this week it felt like the chat room where they send you to play the game was filled with 13 year olds. Maybe it was or maybe it was filled with annoying assholes.

I hate people that talk just to hear themselves talk, so I guess I would likewise hate people who chat to see themselves chat. There were petty fights breaking out. There were people asking questions and confusing other players in the chatroom (basically the moderator counts down to a question so that everyone has a chance to prepare. But there were some dillholes who were knowingly confusing newcomers, and that's not cool). There was even some idiot who kept typing the same thing over and over again.

I'm just done with all of the immaturity out there nowadays. Grow up people. You people are the same people who ride my ass aren't you? The people that are so far up my ass on the highway that I can taste your bumper. Why is it that these people will continually endanger themselves when it's impossible for me to get over? When I have a semi to my right, the shoulder to my left, and some idiot in front of me going 50 in a 65 zone...let me just say it's impossible for me to get over.

So I'm annoyed today...what annoys you?

*kisses*

Um yeah...

2007-10-08T22:41:00.001-04:00

First things first...

To my wonderful friend Margarita...

Glitter Graphics & Comments

That's right folks, it's her birthday so go leave her some birthday love. Just try to ignore her shoe fetish :) I keed, I keed.

In other news. Have I ever let you guys in on how Husband and I got together?

I mean besides working customer service for the same company...

When we met (over hot wings and Batman Spagettios in the break room) I told him some very important, seal the deal information.

I love Journey (I totally own Steve Perry's greatest hits, Oh Sherrie? come on, best 80's song ever and I totally fell in love with it when it was on pop up video)

Come on.. that's awesome!

Also, I LOVE BASEBALL. All baseball, except f**k the Yankees!

And um, the freaking Cleveland Indians beat their asses last night.

Ok techinically I'm a Reds fan but at this point I can root for any Ohio team in the Post Season.

Although sadly this means they will be up against the Red Sox and we all know what that means...2006 World Series ending all over again. Which is totally cool with me since it means the Yankees don't win again. I mean seriously why is it expected that the effing Yankees should win every season. Especially since...

JETER SUCKS!

*kisses*

Good Morning

2007-10-08T08:07:00.000-04:00

You guys, I actually woke up and got out of bed when my alarm clock went off this morning. Meaning my snooze button was not utilized for the first time in weeks. Trust me, I'm as shocked as you are.

I actually had quite the relaxing weekend. Aside from the splitting headache I woke up with Sunday morning. Boo headaches.

Husband had to work Saturday morning and his getting ready woke me up around 8 and I of course couldn't fall back asleep. So I got up, showered, and headed to my grandmother's to pick up her laundry. I chatted with her for a while, she's doing so well. Her mood has changed. She's much happier and perkier. I'm really happy about it. I don't know what changed but I'm glad it did.

So I got back and started her wash (or "warsh" as she says.) and headed over to our friend's house with Ozzy b/c he really needed a bath. 2 hours later, both of us soaking wet, smelling like wet dog and my leg adorned with a new bruised from the lead Ozzy was chained to, we headed home.

Then I got to go furniture shopping with Casey. Then I just had to go to Old Navy since some lip gloss was left in one of my pockets and ruined some of husband's shirts.

Husband got off of work and we had a very nice, relaxing evening made complete by the best episode of SNL in years.

Sadly, like I said, I woke up with a splitting headache Sunday morning. So husband and I lounged around for a while. Then we braved it enough to take Grandma's laundry back. Even husband noticed the change in her. Which is just awesome.

I love relaxing weekends. Weekends that provide what weekends are supposed to.

What did you do this weekend?

*kisses*

What's in a Name?

2007-10-05T08:56:00.000-04:00

Since the creation of Google, I'm sure everyone has used it for the same thing at least once.

You've totally Googled yourself haven't you? Don't lie. We can all admit it. I have even Googled my new married name. (like anything would come up!)

So when I Google my full name I get some pretty normal hits and my name shows up a couple of times on that first page. I'm not the first hit mind you, but I'm still there.

Well in my many hours of boredom lately (when I'm at home pining away for my husband who always has to work nights) I decided "I should just Google my nickname and see how many pages I have to click through to find me!

So I Googled "Mim" and in 0.24 seconds Google had found 46,700,000 sites that had the word "Mim" somewhere on them.

I click through the first page taking the time to notice that the very first hit (and therefore most important website featuring "Mim" is the "Maoist Internationalist Movement." Super!

I click through some more pages and get to page 14 (still nothing that actually references me). On page 14 you will find "Madame Mim, Drag Queen." I actually only clicked on this link b/c the header only said "Mim". And to be technical, I'm not sure if this is a drag queen but she (he?) certainly looks like it.

Scrolling through some more pages I get to page 35 and a person on blogger named "Mim". That's got to be me, right?

Nope, it's a woman in her 50's. That's ok, I'm bound to be here somewhere...

Page 37--"Sharing Him with Mim". A story about getting someone's mean spirited Mother in Law to find God.

Page 61--A personal favorite..."Gay Travel by Mim"

Page 69--Musical Instruments Museum in Brussels.

Page 75--The Mim Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey

Page 100--You can't search anymore. I guess Google thinks that most people who have given up by then...I still want more...so...

I Google "Miriam"

Page 1-Hit 1--Miriam, Moses' sister. It's a Wikipedia site.

Hit 2--Merriam Webster Dictionary. I'm sorry didn't I clearly type in "Miriam"? Why then would you give me a hit for Merriam? (This has been a pet peeve of mine for years)

Page 2--A hit for a UK TV show "There's Something About Miriam" A dating show with a twist! the beautiful Miriam is actually a man! And none of the male contestants know...isn't that hysterical? They're bringing this show to the US...can't wait for those jokes to start.

Page 43--Miriam Christine vocal downloads. Now this one really caught my attention because Christine used to be my middle name...weird. And no I didn't listen to any of her music. She's a name stealer :)

Page 54--Miriam Restaurant 79 5th Ave Brooklyn New York. Hey! I have a restaurant! Ooh and it's Greek food. i must go the next time I'm up there.

After page 90 I had to stop looking b/c it starts getting dirty...really dirty.

So, sadly after two night of perusing Google for any sign of me, my websites, my accomplishments...I find nothing. I guess I should stick to using my full name from now on.

Although, I will check again next week to see if this post is in there. I think I used the names enough!

*kisses*

Married Life Volume 3

2007-10-04T09:17:00.001-04:00

I need to stop eating tacos.

Every time I make tacos for dinner I say strange things to my husband.

Last night he tried to hold me as he fell asleep and apparently gave him a mean look and told him "No! You can't." He kept trying to find out why he couldn't and I just kept saying "You just can't" until I told him I need to stop eating tacos before bed.

Also I was being attacked by a spiderweb.

Other than that I've got some random things for you this morning...

You know how commercials seem like they're really long when you're sitting on the couch? Well it turns out they're 20 times as long when you decide to do crunches on your exercise ball during them.
Yep! I worked out last night!
Pushing Daisies ROCKED! It had a Big Fish feel to it. I think it's wonderful and will continue to watch.
The Bionic Woman was a little better last night. But it's weird that this week the acting was better than the story line. I'm giving it one more week to sync up before I call it quits on that show.
I GOT MY WEDDING RING BACK! YAY! And they connected them for me so hopefully it won't break again.
Husband has today and tomorrow off, works a day shift on Saturday and is off Sunday and Monday! I'm very excited. Since we've been married we haven't been able to spend so many evenings together. Tonight I'm making Chicken Teryaki along with homemade white sauce. For the white sauce recipe please visit here.

*kisses*

Blah

2007-10-03T08:12:00.000-04:00

I feel so...blah.

For some reason lately, I have trouble caring. All I want to do is come home and curl up on the couch. Which I do and quite honestly, enjoy very much.

But I hate feeling blah. There's no point and things suffer because of it.

#1 thing that suffers from my blah-ness? My weight. Every Tuesday night I sit in front of my TV, drinking, watching the Biggest Loser and crying. I cry because these people really want to make a difference in their lives. They want to live longer, see their children grow up, shop at a normal store, whatever. But every season one of the contestants says something that strikes me..."it was just easier to be fat"

Damn. They're right. It is so much easier to not care. To be lazy. To stop at the drive thru instead of making something healthy.

I always have healthy things in the house. This doesn't mean I make a beeline for them when I'm bored and want to munch. That's my biggest weakness. Boredom. When I'm bored I eat. When I'm upset, I eat. When I'm blah, I eat.

So I'm done with that. Starting tonight, I'm doing it. I won't say "I'm too tired, I'll do it later."

I have 8 million workouts DVD's and an exercise ball. I'm going to start using them.

I guess I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.

The only problem is...besides Husband...who is going to hold me accountable?

*kisses*

I wonder...

2007-10-02T08:24:00.000-04:00

Why you can't hear your phone ring but you can always hear the annoying beep, that indicates you've missed a call? Is it set to a different volume?
Why it is legal to not use your turn signal in the state of North Carolina? That's right, in good ol' NC you don't have to use your turn signal if you don't want to. This explains why people don't use them. Husband and I always joke that you have to pay more for turn signals in your car. Kind of like how you have to pay more for an automatic versus a standard car. If you ride with us you'll alway hear us remark that apparently that car doesn't come with turn signals. I also honk at them. They are there for a reason...be safe!
(Also, speaking of cars and annoying drivers) Why do some people come to complete stop to turn right? There is no need other than wanting to cause an accident.
What if the crock pot dinner I'm making doesn't come out right and I've wasted two whole chicken breasts? (NOTE TO HUSBAND: please turn on the crock pot to the low setting. I love you.) (also, this is my first time making a crock pot dinner so it wouldn't be that bad if I messed it up. We could chalk it up to trial and error)
Why is Fall such a wonderful time of year? Really, it's beautiful here. Husband can we take a drive through the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway? If we can, I'll take you to the zoo. :)

That's all. I'm just curious. If you have some answers or insights, I'd love to hear them.

*kisses*

I love it

2007-10-01T09:48:00.001-04:00

So I'm a couple of days into tracking people with site meter and Google analytics (thanks ADW). I must say, it's pretty awesome.

Thanks for your comments. It's nice to know that the people whose blogs I stalk, also stalk mine.

Sadly, I have a retort to one of them...this one:

Anonymous said...: secretly stalking you from PA... because i find you interesting and slightly annoying at the same time because you dont refer to your husbands name-- you just call him husband.

Well thank you for secretly stalking me, Anonymous from PA. It's nice to not meet you. And thank you for thinking me interesting. On that note, I'm glad you find it "slightly annoying" that I don't refer to husband by his real name. I'm glad because I find you really annoying for being annoyed that I want to stay somewhat anonymous, where as it's totally ok for you to comment on my blog anonymously. Long sentence short, why are you calling me out for being anonymous when you yourself remain anonymous?

Also, I'm sick and I get really cranky when I'm sick. Especially since I was just sick. When I'm sick, husband spends half his time catering to me and the other half telling me I'm cranky when I'm sick. Which he only does b/c I bite his head off about once every 30 seconds. The other half a minute I spend whining about how I don't feel good.

(PS husband, you were really sweet to me last and I appreciate it. I'm sorry I can be so mean. It's the congestion talking, not me)

*kisses*

Are You Stalking Me? Because That Would Be Super!

2007-09-28T09:11:00.000-04:00

I set up a site meter. It's pretty cool. Except I just have the standard one so I don't think (or even better, am too stupid to figure out how) I can see how people are getting here from search engines. I may have to upgrade because my blog friends are continuously posting the strange search results for how people got to their blogs. Like go read ADW's post today, you'll spit out whatever you're drinking, I'm fairly certain.

All technology aside, site meter is awesome because I can see who's stalking my blog. And I say, if you're stalking me, at least leave me a damn comment. It's common courtesy people.

So I ask you, if you're stalking my blog...leave me a comment. Tell me who you are, who brought you here, and if you actually read my blog and enjoy it...let me know what you enjoy :)

Also, please help me figure out where the wackos are coming from. Do I need to upgrade? Because boo, they make you pay for that.

*kisses*

I'm so confused...

2007-09-27T08:27:00.001-04:00

First, I spoke with Husband after he read yesterday's post and even he admits that it is likely that one of two things would happen:

1) You'd think I'm weird and stop reading my posts
2) You'd be offended and stop reading my posts

So in lieu of having people stop reading my posts, I will only indulge you, my loyal readers, with a couple of tidbits of information...

A couple of days ago, I was bored. (Husband has had to close pretty much every night since we've been married.) With such boredom comes strange ideas. So I did something that most people would be worried about. I, on the other hand proceeded to clean the kitchen, take Ozzy out, and clean the cats litter box before remembering the very strange and random thing I just did out of sheer boredom.

And that's all you get. :)

Margarita commented that she doesn't know how I got my blog name, Little Spoon. So here we go. Brace yourself b/c it is such a riveting story...

You know how when you're spooning with a significant other, one person is on the outside and one person is on the inside? Well I call that Big Spoon and Little Spoon respectively. Back before husband was fiance, he was just boyfriend and he would always ask me to come be his Little Spoon. And the nickname stuck. :)

I told you it was riveting.

But on to why I titled my post "I'm so confused"...

I watched The Bionic Woman last night. And it had a good story line but very bad acting. I'll watch it next week but if the actors don't get over their nervousness of being in a remake of a shitty 70's tv show, then I'm done.

I don't know how many of you saw the teaser they ran for the pilot about every 45 seconds on NBC this summer, but part of the premise is that there are 2 bionic women. A "good" one and a "bad" one.

Well the show opens, three years ago with the "bad" bionic woman killing about half of the staff at the medical facility where she was made/trained. So they have to kill her. And by kill her I mean, they shoot her, twice.

So I'm confused...you made her bionic...what makes you think that if you shoot her twice it will kill her? Obviously she's going to come back and be super pissed.

Hasn't anyone ever thought about, I don't know, maybe cutting the head off of something that can regenerate? I mean, they can regenerate from a cut or a broken arm, but I'm pretty sure that if you cut their head off, they die.

So my point is, (and I said this to my mother on the way to work this morning) if I ever come across a Bionic Woman or for an even better example, a vampire, and they have beef with me, I'd cut off their head.

That makes sense to me.

And my mother is very proud of me for knowing how to handle Bionic Women and Vampires.

*kisses*

2007-09-26T08:46:00.000-04:00

Husband wanted me to tell you a specific story about myself.

But I can't. And there are several reasons but there's really only one main reason...

It would let you in on how extremely weird I am.

And you know what? I like my blog friends. I don't want them scared off because I sometimes do weird things.

But this was a really weird thing for me to do.

And funny.

Oh well.

*kisses*

The latest fiasco...with some great news at the end!

2007-09-25T08:26:00.001-04:00

So my wedding ring broke.

Yes, broke. I know, it is difficult to comprehend. I'm still in shock.

I woke up the day after my wedding and did the typical; I held my hand up to admire my new bling. Aaaaaand noticed that my baguettes were separating. I don't think I need to state how incredibly annoying this is.

But since this was the day after my wedding I decided that short of a diamond falling out of my wedding band, I could deal with it until it's bi-annual cleaning in January.

Then Sunday night, precisely 3 weeks after my nuptials, I was playing with my rings and felt some resistance. I held my ring up under a light and was shocked to discover that the band had split. Like a cheap, chintzy ring you purchased 3 for $5 at Claires.

I was furious for several reasons. The first being the obvious...it was Sunday night and there wasn't anything I could do about this. The second being, I was there when we purchased my wedding band. It's not cheap. Good thing we purchased all the insurance and warranty we could. Because, let's face it...I'm a klutz.

So after I sorted through my anger and sadness, I finally made peace with the fact that I had to part with my wedding ring. I did this by pouting to husband.

(Have I ever explained to you how freaking awesome my husband is? He says I'm spoiled rotten but if he's the spoiler, does he really have any right to judge?)

Husband added me as an authorized user on his jewelry store account so that I could get my ring shipped off to be repaired AND purchase a placeholder ring.

My sister finds it weird that I now have two wedding bands. But as my friends pointed out last night, since I purchased a plain white gold band (that once my real wedding ring is back will take up occupancy on my right hand) I will be able to wear a wedding ring to any event.

For example:

Fancy dinner party? Engagement and Wedding Ring
Camping (HAHAHA like I would go camping)? Plain band
Planning on running into a Psychotic ex? Bling Bling
Going to the Beach? Plain band.

Making up excuses for having two wedding bands is awesome!

Congratulations Molly!

*kisses*

Married Life: Volume 2

2007-09-22T22:48:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure why all of my "Married Life" posts so far have revovled around my sleep habits. But apparently I'm a wacky sleeper. What follows is a re-telling of a conversation husband and I had Friday night. Bear in mind, I had already been alseep for a couple of hours...

Scene: I sit straight up in bed and start to frantically search around.

Husband: "What's wrong baby?"
Me: "I can't find it"
H: "What?"
M: "I can't find it. You know that thing."
H: (holding up remote) "You mean the remote? It's right here."
M: "No, the other thing. You know, its white?"
H: "What?"
M: (very exasperated) "THAT WHITE THING! You know, it closes bags and it's magnetic and hangs on the refridgerator."
H: (finally catching on that I'm sleeping) "The Euro-Sealer?"
M: "YES! Where is it?"
H: "I imagine it's on the refridgerator."
M: "Will you go check?"
H: "Sure." (5 seconds later, he didn't even bother getting out of bed) "Yes, it's still there."
M: "Good! Thank you. I love you. Goodnight."
H: "Good night baby."

Apparently, it's really cute when I do this. I'm glad he thinks so.

Also, don't ask. I have no idea what I was dreaming about that would involve the Euro-Sealer.

*kisses.

I'm...

2007-09-19T20:32:00.000-04:00

***

That's right folks. I'm actually in the middle of my busy season. (who knew I had a busy season?) Such bad timing too. I have so many wonderful pictures still waiting to be shown to you all. And I know you're all chomping at the bit to see them too.

I promise that one of these days I'll get around to regular posting again. And, I might even throw a new weekly post your way. But I need to make sure I can get enough info first.

I love you all.

*kisses*

***psst....that's a picture of a swamp. For those of you who are lucky enough to not know what one looks like.

So Sorry...

2007-09-18T16:54:00.000-04:00

I apologize for the lateness in posting today. I worked from home today and yes, husband I actually worked. Hence the 5pm posting.

I adore working from home. It means I don't have to come home and worry about chores. It means Mr. Ozzy can go to the bathroom more frequently. It also means I can do all the monotonous work that should have been done last week in front of reruns of Project Runway and reminiscing through the first season of Heroes. September 24 cannot come quickly enough. And yes, I'm totally aware that's only 6 days away. I have waited forever for the second season of Heroes, b/c in my book that show only has one direction to go towards...and that's up. (FRWYING MAN!)

What was the monotonous work that I did today you ask? Well we recently printed around 3000 postcards for work. We're in the middle of recruiting for next year. It wasn't until we received the 3000 postcards that we noticed instead of saying September 21st, they said September 21th. (The twenty firth is now a running joke between my friends.) So I spent the majority of my day taking a sharpie and marking out the TH.

But Mim, why did you have to do that from home...it seems like carrying a box full of 3000 postcards home and then back to work is more work than necessary.

Ah, correct you are. This morning was the morning I...CHANGED MY NAME! Unfortch, I can't get a new license until Thursday b/c apparently the Social Security Office and the DMV are in cahoots to make me take more vacation time.

But now, my name is (almost) officially changed. All the remains is changing it at work and getting a new license.

I do have a question though...why is it that the women have to do all of this work? Why do we have to get to the Social Security Office at the buttcrack of dawn to take on a new name? Ah well, it was worth it.

Things I learned while changing my name:

Even if you're the first car in the parking lot, it doesn't mean you're first in line.
Lines don't exist at the Social Security Office.
When getting a Social Security card for your newborn you can't just give them a birth certificate, you also need to present some other form of ID. I will keep this in mind when I have children and bring a stack of pictures of my newborns accompanied by a label maker.
I now have to spell my name using the Trucker alphabet for customer service representatives. (V as in Victory...)

Tomorrow, I will be back in the office and near my wedding picture cd, promise!

*kisses*

The Cermony

2007-09-17T08:42:00.001-04:00

I warn you now that some of these pictures will be a little dark. This is because a million an one people were taking pictures. These are pictures taken by my brother in law.

Here are the boys lined up waiting for us to walk down the aisle. You will notice that they are not on the traditional side. This is b/c I didn't want my cyst scar in the majority of my wedding pictures. And yes, I realize there is a thing called tradition and yes I realize there is also a marvelous computer program called Photoshop. But, since our hired photographer took over 1000 pictures I thought I'd save his assistant from having to touch up every single photo.

But, I digress. Aren't the boys handsome?

Then comes the processional of my girls. They walked down to The Vienna Boys Choir singing Pachalbel. It made me tear up. It was beautiful. The order is as follows:

SB:

Kogan:

Sissy:

My Sister:
Then my little elf and cherub. Notice the elf's faux-hawk!

Then me and my father. Some friends said they heard this weird sound and couldn't tell if I was laughing or crying. My sister thought I was crying. Our friend Perry thought it was hysterical laughter. I don't remember much...

Although, apparently when I saw husband I yelled "Hi Honey!" and then started giggling the rest of the way...see...

Cherub played with my veil the entire service...

I know that most of you are ready to kill me for wearing Crocs in my wedding. But we also walked down the aisle to the Batman theme song. It's how we roll.

Tomorrow: Family Pictures

*kisses*

Married Life Vol. 1

2007-09-14T08:29:00.001-04:00

I know I promised to post pictures of the ceremony but if you remember I went off on a tangent last Friday as well...

Anywho...Since I got married almost 2 weeks ago people won't stop with asking me the same question over and over again..."How's married life?"

My answer? Also, always the same, "I'll let you know when it hits me."

That's right folks...it hasn't hit me yet that I'm married. I mean, sure it's nice to not have to say the dreaded "Baby, it's time to take me home" sentence anymore. It's nice to fall asleep on the couch and have husband wake me up and carry (!) me to bed. It's nice waking up in the morning next to the man I love...it's also nice to yell at my husband about Taco People.

Confused? Here's some insight into my brain. Sometimes I wake up from dreaming but think I'm still in the dream. I'll carry on conversations with no one and its only when my eyes fall on the alarm clock or another familiar object, that my brain registers the fact that I was still dreaming and that I need to go back to sleep. This phenomenon usually occurs when I'm excited about something. Like when I was in NYC the week before my wedding I had a dream and I remember sitting up in my bed talking on my cell phone to one of my friends about the wedding. We were planning her arrival, I believe. I finished my conversation and turned my phone off. A couple of seconds later I was becoming really frustrated b/c my phone wouldn't turn off and it was then I realized that the phone I was talking on? Turns out I had my comforter up to my ear. And turning that comforter phone off? I was hitting the comforter in my lap in an exasperated 'why won't this stupid phone turn off?'

Now these kinds of dreams have occurred all of my life. I'm quite used to them. Husband, though I have high hopes for the future,is not so used to them. Two nights ago he got home from work about the time I was going to bed. I told him not to stay up too late and to come to bed early since he had to work early the next morning. He swears that I was not in bed more than 45 minutes ahead of him but I was apparently already into my dream cycle...b/c when he came in I started talking to him about Taco People*. That my Taco People needed to meet his Taco People and so on and so forth. He was really confused and kept asking me what I meant and after clearly explaining to him that "MY Taco people needed to meet HIS Taco people" I realized what I was doing, yelled "I'm dreaming" into his face and rolled over and went back to sleep.

Welcome to married life y'all.

*kisses*

*To be fair to my subconscious...we had tacos for dinner that evening. I'm just saying*

Why didn't anyone tell me my dress was so large?

2007-09-13T08:58:00.000-04:00

In the many fittings of my dress I never realized what a pain it would turn out to be. Don't get me wrong...it was beautiful and I felt like the princess that husband thinks I am while in it...but damn if that dress wasn't poofy.

Exhibit A: Trying to walk over to the church with dignity, grace and a serious need to not get my dress dirty...

Exhibit B: It took forever to get me into this position:

And it's funny too b/c you can see where the petticoat ends and the dress keeps going. Standing up was even harder.

Also, the petticoat...was the middle sized one. I don't even want to know how girls get around in the biggest sized one.

I don't even want to get into me getting up and sitting down over and over again at the reception.

Tomorrow: The Ceremony! Accompanied by yet another funny story.

*kisses*

I feel pretty...

2007-09-12T08:30:00.000-04:00

I'm super duper perky today, which I know is only a result of my cup of coffee this morning and will wear off before 10 o'clock. But at least I'm perky now! Always look on the bright side of life!

Ok...here we go with some pictures of my actually in my dress...

Mom's making sure I'm fastened in correctly. We were running way behind and she hadn't even had a chance to put on her pretty party dress.

Sometimes she'd tie it just a little too tight!

Runyon helping me attach my veil. I think Mom was actually just jabbing the bobby pin into my head. Bride's wench to the rescue!

This is one of my favorite pictures. Have I ever mentioned how much I loved my veil? We made it. If you look closely you can see the beading around the bottom.

Showing off my comfy wedding shoes

And a close up...just so I can hear Margarita's groans all the way from NYC. You may think they're ugly but girl are they comfy.

Just in case you're wondering...that's a penny in my shoe. The saying goes...

Something Old, Something New
Something Borrowed, Something Blue
And a Penny in Your Shoe.

Remember that all you brides to be.

Tomorrow: trying to maneuver myself over to the church for the ceremony!

*kisses*

The moment (most of) you have been waiting for...

2007-09-11T08:47:00.000-04:00

There it is...my wedding dress.

Tomorrow: Putting me into it!

I'm sorry, I was late for work this morning b/c I had to get a parking pass. So, unfortunately I have to get some work done. And today's post suffers for it :)

Also, please say a prayer today for the families, friends, and loved ones of those taken from us 6 years ago today. 9/11, never forget.

*kisses*

Wedding Prep Part 1: Hair and Makeup

2007-09-10T08:17:00.000-04:00

Thank you for allowing me to vent.

Now on to more enjoyable things...prepping for my wedding. I do have several pictures of me dancing around in my bra but husband would be kind of mad if I posted them here. Although, on a fun side note, I wonder how many hits I'll get today from people who google the word 'bra'.

Here I am waiting to get me hair done. And before my hairstylist told me she had wine for me!

My hair is getting seriously long. I think it is time for a trim!

Runyon doing Kogan's hair...Runyon was such a lifesaver. We nicknamed her "Bride's Wench" during the wedding b/c she ran around and did everything my brain wasn't allowing me to do. She even anticipated my needs several times...I guess it is true what they say about good stage managers (it's how we met)

My sister's pretty hair, which took about 10 minutes to do. My hair stylist rocks!

Spraying my hair to keep it in place...notice I now have my wine...

My hair stylist and I decided we should make a hair clip that looks like my wedding hair and market it as the "The Mim". In fact...I really need to send a picture of it into The Knot.

And here are all my girls (minus my sister in law) before leaving the hair salon...

Runyon doing my makeup for the wedding...I told you she was my wench!

Tomorrow: Long awaited photos of my dress!

*kisses*

Excuse Me...

2007-09-07T08:21:00.000-04:00

...While I Bitch!

I know you were expecting Wedding prep pictures today but I just can't do it. I'm upset, let me tell you why, b/c I need to get it out of my system.

I feel really bad for husband. Before the wedding he worked 9 days straight. And even when he was on 'vacation' he wasn't on vacation. Weddings are stressful and even though I've been back to work for three days now, I still don't feel 100% up to par.

Before I get into what is really irking me let me give you some background on husband...

He works in retail. Not the most glamorous of occupations but husband could sell water to a fish, a dead horse to a cowboy, really anything to anybody. He's just a natural born seller. He's really good with people.

He started working at his current job back in March (I think) and it was abundantly clear that he would be moving up in the company. Now he's already an Assistant Manager (walked into the job with that title) and in November will be taking over his store as manager.

Now the current manager of his store is none of the above things. In fact I've heard him yell at customers before. And not just yell, criticize, humiliate, basically everything you're not supposed to do to your customers, this guy does. I know what you're thinking I'm going to say next...that this guy is getting fired, and husband is taking his job...this is not the case. Bad Manager or BM (haha, BM) is getting transfered to a store that is closer to where he lives.

Ever since husband came into this very small store (in comparison to it's other stores in the area) he's managed to turn this store around. Sales are up, Loss Prevention is down, Morale is up. Husband's been in the top 5 since he started...which is why he's going to be a manager soon.

Ok...I promise I'm back on track...almost...

So, BM has to train Husband to be a manager...shouldn't be too hard. Husband's a quick learner. Except BM thinks training means making Husband do everything while BM does nothing. NOT COOL WITH ME. Seriously, BM is about to have one very angry redhead on his hands.

BM makes husband close most every night. The managers get two days off a week. When Husband asked for two days off in a row BM gave him Sunday and Monday off and then made him work 9 days straight before the wedding!

Now, husband went back to work yesterday. Oh, did I mention his work is 40 minutes away from where we live? And the air conditioning went out in his car again? And it's September in North Carolina? Well you can imagine his annoyance at just driving to work, let alone getting there and finding his new schedule along with a note that read:

"Yes, you're working 9 days straight.
No, you can't change the schedule*."

Meanwhile, all the managers are getting ready for their annual convention which is being held in Vegas this year. They all leave Saturday. So what does BM do? He schedules himself to be off Thursday and Friday. Leaving the only other person, besides husband, who has a key (3rd key) to the store to work 11 days straight!

By the way I really like 3rd key. I also feel really bad for him b/c this is not the first time BM has done this to him. You may remember my beach trip? Well Husband being the Assistant Manager got the 4th of July as paid vacation. Which works out well since when Husband got hired he said "I need this week off". Well BM decided he wanted the 4th off too, b/c being manager he could but was told he could use it as a floating holiday. But he decided to use it on the 4th and then take the next two days off, giving him 3 days off in a row. (EVEN THOUGH HE JUST GOT BACK FROM A WEEK"S VACATION) So he made 3rd key work open to close on the 4th of July. Husband and I felt terrible about this and even offered to come back from vacation early to help.

I'm so mad I cannot even see straight. I could understand (understand not condone) this behavior if Husband was taking BM's job therefore leaving BM without a job (and in a perfect world this would be the case) but he's not.

So I have a question for you BM:

"Were you picked on as a little kid?"

Because that's the only thing I can think of. You were picked on so now that you're older you feel like you can be the bully. Grow up, be a man. Middle School was (for you) decades ago. Let it go man.

I'm sorry for the rambling but it makes me so mad. I just got married. I don't need my husband deflated like this. Husband and I don't fight...we never have...but if we ever argue it's b/c of his crazy work schedule. It makes him cranky and tired...which in turn makes me shut down.

Luckily, like I said, Husband will be manager soon and he'll get to make the schedules. Everybody loves it when Husband makes the schedule. Because he doesn't make a schedule for just himself. He makes it for his entire team. He will not be a dictator like BM.

I love you husband.

Monday...I promise...Wedding Prep!

*kisses*

*Husband had to change the schedule b/c it had him working open to 5:15 on Sunday and the store closes at 6. BM basically looks at the computer generated schedule, fixes it to give himself the best schedule but then doesn't pay attention to the rest of it. IDIOT.

Something Quick

2007-09-06T16:43:00.001-04:00

Just a quick little shout out to a new blog I found while bored at work today.

These Little Moments has kept me entertained and a slight bit scared this afternoon.

Go and read through some of her archives and I swear some of you will think I started a new, fake blog. (If not for the girl in the pictures who, of course, doesn't look a thing like me:))

It's quite scary. And wonderful. Enjoy

*kisses*

The Rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner

2007-09-06T08:32:00.000-04:00

Let me just say we had a blast. Everybody was really happy to see each other. We were all there and we were way to giggly.

At the rehearsal we did a 'talk through' and a 'walk through'. We talked it through once and then we walked it through once. Everybody hit their mark. I was so proud.

Now before I get a million comments about how the girls are on the wrong side let me explain it to you. Remember my cyst? Well after paying a lot of money to have it removed, it came back. I'm self conscious about it and if we were to stand the way we're "supposed" to it would have been in all my wedding photos. And we can't have that, now can we?

I wish that I had pictures about what happened after our walk through. Because it is incredibly priceless. During our walk through we practiced our kiss and once husband and I got back down the aisle, the ring bearer who followed us and is all of 7 years old asked us "So are you guys going to go have sex now?" DIRECT QUOTE. We all lost it making us seem immature and not ready for marriage apparently but it was cute and unexpected that you can't help but bust a gut because of it.

After the rehearsal came our rehearsal dinner which was a pig pickin'. There was so much food, I wouldn't be surprised if we're eating pork for the rest of our lives.

Husband's groom's cake looked like this:

Isn't it fun? We also have a lot of this cake left over.

Because my wedding was so close to Labor Day I decided a great party favor for the rehearsal dinner would be sparklers. and it turns out they're a great way of getting people's attention...even if you look like the Statue of Liberty in the process...

But I had to get everyone's attention to give my Maid's their presents that I bought for them while in NYC...

I think this next picture is funny because it represents husband now and husband in 20 years...

Also, could husband pimp it up anymore? Geez :)

You can find all of the Rehearsal/Rehearsal Dinner pictures here.

Tomorrow: Wedding Prep!

*kisses*

The Bachelorette Party...

2007-09-05T08:44:00.000-04:00

Starting off the night at Kachi, Japanese Steakhouse:

Note, that while I am giggling like a fool, I'm sober.

After dinner before the bar, I received my "task" for the evening. Sell each sucker for a buck. Or...'Suck for a Buck'

I only ended up with 9 left after the night was over but I think that was because I kept giving them away. :)

Getting progressively drunker and dancing with my cue stick:

All my girls at the Raven:

I leaned against the bar and got some nasty on my shirt...Mego's Tide Stick to the rescue!

Everybody...FOOTLOOSE!

I did a really good job of selling my suckers:

And in the meantime, somehow got drunker...

And then the band called me up on stage! Woohoo!

I had a super fun night...Thanks to all my girls for making it so special!

You can see all the pictures here.

Stay tuned for Rehearsal Dinner pictures and a super awesome story!

*kisses*

Sisters

2007-09-04T10:57:00.000-04:00

So my sister has posted all of my wedding pics on flickr and gave me a CD full of pics as well. Unfortch I cannot pull the pics from flickr b/c they save as gifs and I forgot the cd at my parents house last night so here's a teaser pic.

This is me and my sister after the wedding:

I promise more pics to come...

Also my Shia post was written like a month ago and I scheduled it to post yesterday.

*kisses*

Honestly?

2007-09-03T00:00:00.000-04:00

I swear I will post some pictures soon. But first...my first non wedding related post in quite some time...

When did this:

Turn into this?:

Meow. And I can say that even though I'm married(!). (I love you baby!) I'll say it again. Meow.

2 DAYS TO GO!

2007-08-30T00:19:00.000-04:00

Forgive me if I'm not able to comment over the next couple of days. What with the NYC trip and the upcoming nuptials, my life is apparently not my own. I haven't even been able to catch up yet with all of the postings that happened while I was in NYC.

Stress is kicking in full time. I made my first of four trips to the airport (before the wedding) this evening. Tomorrow I make two trips and Friday I make another. 2 of these trips are in the morning. This should be good times all around.

Hopefully I will get a chance to relax in the near future. I spent the whole day packing up my room. Fiance was impressed that I actually accomplished what I told him I would.

Needless to say...I might be MIA for a while. I'll try to keep everyone posted. Especially with bachelorette party pics! Stay Tuned!

I love you all. You're wonderful. Think of me in this time of ultimate stress!

*kisses*

3 DAYS TO GO!

2007-08-29T09:32:00.000-04:00

Can you guess who this is?

We had so much fun. I had a true NYC experience. I hailed my first cab! I didn't use a map the entire time I was there. And I pushed past people on the street with the air of "Get outta my way!" It was awesome.

We went to The Natural History Museum where I got us all in for free. We saw the big blue whale! Yay for the big blue whale!

She took me to some swanky NYC bars. And by swanky I mean $12 cocktails. But they bar had this really neat backdrop.

Then we went to this crazy Russian bar. Everything was red and there was this crazy mafia guy who never took his sunglasses off. But the stained glass windows on the bar were cool! I also enjoy the random Russian dictator statue.

The rest of my day today will be spent packing up my room at my parents house. Should be awesome!

The best man comes in tonight! Yay! Everyone is starting to arrive!

*kisses*

4 DAYS TO GO!

2007-08-28T14:03:00.000-04:00

Holy Crap. No, seriously, Holy Crap.

I'm back from NYC and will post pictures later. I left my camera cord at home. So you will all have to be patient.

The good news is that Margarita is not a 40 year old creepy man. I didn't get lost. And most importantly I made it back safely for my wedding in 4 freaking days.

I can't get over it. It really hasn't sunk in yet.

*kisses*

8 DAYS TO GO!

2007-08-24T08:45:00.000-04:00

And I'm off to NYC. Keep me in your prayers. :)

Fiance...I'll miss you and I'll call you as much as humanly possible. Also, I really will bring you a present this time! I love you.

*kisses*

9 DAYS TO GO!

2007-08-23T09:11:00.001-04:00

Yes, ladies and gents...we've hit single digits!

I'd be frightened, but my mother finally admitted this morning that we're in a good place. That she feels comfortable with me leaving for NYC. (Thank goodness b/c I'm going regardless!) Also she poked her finger with a pin and so we can safely say now that her blood, sweat, and tears have gone into planning my wedding.

In other fun news...

I GET TO MEET MARGARITA TOMORROW! I am so excited. We've been planning our fun adventures and she knows of fun things to do since you know she lives there and I have an old work badge that gets me into museums for free. So we're going to have a rocking good time. And of course we'll be having margaritas. B/c you can't visit Margarita and not have a margarita. That would be crazy!

(By the by in the above paragraph I used the words 'fun' and 'margarita' way too many times. I'm sorry but that's how excited I am. I'm so excited I have no synonyms)

On another fun note...Catchy finally posted a new blog. And it only took her 2 months.

*kisses*

10 DAYS TO GO!

2007-08-22T08:22:00.000-04:00

Wow, we're almost down to single digits. I feel like this blog is my electronic version of those paper rings you would make in kindergarten that would count down the days until Christmas. Mental note: make 10 paper rings...the satisfaction of ripping them off would feel pretty good I imagine.

So I apologize again for yesterday. Apparently the whole blogosphere was in a funk. Every blog I read had some combination of "I'm exhausted and all I want to do is crawl into PJs with a cup of cocoa and a book"

Today is a horse of a different color. (Incidentally, did you know that they put different colored jello crystals on the horse in The Wizard of Oz to make him change colors? That it was not some neat techni-color trick? The producers also learned that horses like jello crystals. The horse kept licking it off. Somewhere the descendants of that horse are cursing MGM for their jello crystal addiction)

Digression is fun, isn't it? I woke up this morning so awake and bright. I sprang out of bed to turn off my alarm clock and promptly crumpled to the floor. It took me a good 5 minutes to crawl the 5 feet to my alarm clock to shut it off. I kept cursing it and yelling at it to quiet down, I was coming.

Why did I crumple, you ask? Remember when I said I'm tensing my muscles in my sleep? Apparently I'm doing it more. My ankles were locked. When I put even the slightest bit of pressure on them, a sharp pain would shoot up my leg. Causing the aforementioned crumple.

I made my way to the shower after another grueling 5 minutes and by the time I got out of the shower I had little more than limited mobility in my ankles. Which is better than locked, I suppose.

When I told my dad about this he told me that it's genetic. That he and my aunt also have these issues. Fantastic. Genetics are fun. He did tell me that it usually goes away within 30 minutes. And for the most part he's right. I still have a dull throb but at least I can walk without looking like I'm 80.

I'm going to have really bad arthritis when I'm older aren't I?

I'm still hoping that this is all wedding stress related and that the morning after the wedding I'll wake up with the body of a 24 year old. The body I'm supposed to have. The body without all the aches and pains.

Doubtful :(

*kisses*

11 DAYS TO GO!

2007-08-21T10:02:00.000-04:00

You guys, I'm exhausted.

I'm really looking forward to my NYC trip this weekend. I know that I'll be there for work and not play but I also know that I can sleep on the plane. Not that my sleep won't be filled with dreams of party favors and wedding dresses.

I came in a little late this morning b/c I just needed to sleep some more. My whole body aches from tensing it in my sleep. I have mega cups of coffee to keep me going through the day but it's rough.

I just want to curl up in a little ball under my desk and take a nap.

Would anyone care to join me?

*kisses*

(I apologize for the whine)

12 DAYS TO GO!

2007-08-20T08:53:00.000-04:00

Holy crap it was a long weekend. My mother realized on Thursday (when I told her) that this past weekend was the last before the wedding. Now I know what you're thinking, 'Mim you still have this weekend coming up.' No, no I don't. I'm off to NYC this Friday afternoon for work (and also for happy hour with Margarita, girl are you back yet?) So, that would make last weekend, just that...the last weekend.

My sister came to town to help. And thank goodness for her. I think I might have gone crazy without her. My sister and I both speak our Mom's language...we just speak different dialects. My sister speaks "crazed, stressed out, the world is coming to an end' (aka 'planning') mom, so she is therefore able to respond to her in a way that won't make her fly off the handle. I speak 'mellow' mom. So since Mom was in hyper speed planning mode this weekend, my sister was a Godsend.

So Friday night my sister and I worked on the flowers and party favors while my mom worked on my dress. (have I mentioned that I think my dress is gorgeous) So we're working steadily and the time is ticking by. Fiance gets off work right around the time my sister and I are peeling the price tags off of all the party favors. He's been at work all day and he's tired and just wants to hang out. He doesn't want to have to wait around for us...understandably. Luckily about 10 minutes after his arrival we finished for the night.

After some coaxing we were able to convince my very tired sister to come back to the apartment for a little relaxation ala gin and board games. I let her pick out the game and she went for exactly what I thought she would "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego" the board game. So we loaded up on Cheerwine and Tanqueray (the poor man's Sloe Gin Fizz) and cheese nips and started playing. Fiance noticed something we didn't and ran to get the camera. I think Miss Harley Quinn wanted to get in on the crime solving action...take a look...

And Ozzy? Well Ozzy just wanted some cheese nips...

My animals are freaking adorable, aren't they?

So we finished our game and went home to rest up for the long day we were to have on Saturday...

We started our day by visiting the reception hall/hotel. We needed to get all of our wedding guests squared away in the correct rooms under our reception name. (you'd think this would be easy) Then we discussed the menu and then I watched my mother write a really large check. Have you ever seen that? I mean this check was for thousands of dollars. I wish I had that kind of money. Insane.

Then we went to the bakery and ordered the larger cake (since we're banking on more people) and my mother wrote a check for that as well.

Then we went back to the house and wrote out a list of the things we needed to go shopping for. This list was quite long. We left around 12:30 and got back around 4:30. We rested for about 20 minutes and the got to work on my party favors. I have three different sized party favors and they all needed to be washed before we could decorate them.

Around 9 my sister left and I was able to head over to the apartment where I promptly passed out, didn't regain consciousness until 3am and then went back to my parents house to finish out that night's rest.

On Sunday, Mom and I finished the rest of the party favors and mom worked on the flower girl's dress. Now speaking of the flower girl, I have to tell you this tidbit and then I'll let you all get on with your lives today, this is an exceedingly long post isn't it?

The cherub came over to try on her dress. And I've told her what it is going to look like when it's finished, key word: finished. Cherub's mother was telling me that Cherub has to be in another wedding in about a month and they've picked up her dress for that and when they put it on her, Cherub was visibly upset...b/c it didn't have the flower petals on it. Cherub is 3 and she constantly asks her mom when she gets the pretty dress with the flowers. Well when she was over yesterday we didn't have that part of the dress finished, just the top and skirt. So when Cherub went to look at herself in the mirror and realized that the flower petals weren't on it, she was close to tears. It was so cute.

When I got home last night, the finished dress was hanging outside my room and I spent 5 minutes oohing and aahing and holding the dress up in front of the mirror. Cherub will not be disappointed.

*kisses*

15 DAYS TO GO!

2007-08-16T20:23:00.000-04:00

I had my trial run for my wedding hairdo last night. And if I do say so myself, it looks pretty damn awesome. From the front it looks very elegant and simple. Not like the big hair you see nowadays. Just simple. See for yourself...

Now here's a side view...

Pretty?

It's when you view it from the back that it gets funky and interesting...

Neat huh?

Now here it is with a veil like apparatus...

And then, my favorite but only b/c it reminds me of a donut...

Now be honest...What do y'all think? I like it but I could maybe have it a little tighter. Also I don't like the random curl/flip thing at the top (in the donut picture)

Also, look closely in the donut pic...you can see my cyst scar...boo.

*kisses*

16 DAYS TO GO!

2007-08-16T08:20:00.000-04:00

Tonight I'm getting my hair done. A trial run so basically we can realize that what I want won't work and I'll have to settle for something less than perfect. Story of my life.

I got four more wedding presents yesterday. Two of them were monetary. One was the gift of an hour long massage the day before the wedding! The other was a guest book with pen and cake serving utensils from my grandfather. He and his wife are unable to make it to the wedding. Which is sad. But I'm happy they got me these particular presents. These are presents that are useful. Useful in the wedding planning process. These presents mean I don't have to run around at the last minute to try and find these items. Like I told fiance who was a bit underwhelmed by this gift "This is a very good gift."

I'm not going to lie guys, I'm not feeling the wedding planning today. The past 18 hours have a been a little rough. The stress is starting to set in. And not only with me, it seems the stress is starting to effect everyone's brains. Everyone's gone a little crazy.

*kisses*

17 DAYS TO GO!

2007-08-15T08:38:00.000-04:00

It just keeps getting closer and closer doesn't it?

My mother started on my dress. Of course there will be no pictures of my dress until after I have said my vows, but I can tell you a couple of things.

Things like:

IT IS FREAKING GORGEOUS
We're realizing we need to get another petticoat to accentuate the fullness of the skirt
Did I mention it's GORGEOUS?
It's a retro pattern and the fabric I picked out for it makes it look like it's vintage
oh yeah...it's GORGEOUS.

I'm sure everyone feels the same about their wedding dress. But seriously you guys, it's so pretty.

What's funny is that this dress was not my original wedding dress...

Originally I wanted Maria's dress from the Sound of Music. But that is quite impractical since it involves long sleeves, I live in North Carolina and am having a summer wedding. Yeah it's over 100 degrees right now.

Then I decided on Satine's red dress from Moulin Rouge. Of course it would have been made in ivory not red...

We actually found a pattern for this dress. I was sold. When we went to get the fabric for my dress I needed to look up the pattern number and while flipping through the book looking for the dress above, I flipped to my dress.

I stopped and stared at the picture of my dress. My mouth agape, I turned to my mother and sister and said "That's my wedding dress."

You know it's funny how wedding dresses are like spouses. You just know when you find the perfect one.

*kisses*

18 DAYS TO GO!

2007-08-14T08:16:00.000-04:00

Ok it's starting. The stress, that is.

I've suddenly become tired all the time. My body aches and my face is beginning to look like I'm 13 again.

I don't want to be stressed. I want to enjoy this time. I've never wanted to be a bridezilla, so I'm not going to stress myself out more by suddenly morphing into one. (quick glance into my brain...while I was typing the word "morphing" all I could think of was The Might Morphin Power Rangers, and the yellow Power Ranger screaming "Saber Tooth Tiger!" with that weird ass lisp she has. Yes, people this is my brain)

My future MIL let it slip on Sunday that my future SIL was thinking about dying her hair purple. As my head started the slow Exorcist spin, I could hear this deep voice say "DON'T DYE YOUR HAIR" only to realize that this demonic voice was coming out of me. If my future SIL does one more thing to her hair, I'm pulling a Britney and shaving it for her and giving her a wig to wear. And that's the extent of my Bridezilla-ness. (hopefully)

I really want to be a good and humble bride. While, yes this day will be all about me (ok, mostly about me and a little bit about fiance :)) I don't want to be one of those women who constantly remind people "THIS IS MY DAY" Don't you just want to slap those people?

I just don't want to be stressed. Does anyone out their have any helpful tips for me? I'm getting a massage tomorrow so that should take care of the knot between my shoulders. But other tips would be greatly appreciated.

*kisses*

19 DAYS TO GO!

2007-08-13T08:48:00.000-04:00

I had my wedding shower yesterday. And let me just say, I know I registered for all these things, but I was still excited and surprised when I opened them.

Since this was as interested in opening presents as fiance got yesterday... (fiance's on the left)

I had to get another little helper...he knew the drill, hand the card to the chick (who's actually going to read it) and then tear into the package.

My mother got a kick out of this...as we all did...

Then I got myself another helper. This is my flower girl. My little cherub...

They did a pretty good job of sharing their duties as "official shower gift openers" at first...

Then things started getting a little rough...

What's funny is that the little boy opened every present thinking it was his to take home, so he'd open each present and exclaim "OOH, YAY!" and then go hand the present to his mom. But my little cherub knew that you had to pass the presents around for everyone to see. And that I was ultimately going to take them home. So this above picture is representative of that struggle.

But finally they were content...TO PLAY!

So I had a pretty great shower. Margarita will be jealous...I received all three kinds of stemless wine glasses. And I broke in all three last night!

But it was a great shower for another reason...I think I'm actually starting to get along with my future Mother in Law!

*kisses*

22 DAYS TO GO!

2007-08-10T08:42:00.001-04:00

*Update to recipe*

I finally figured that I could put my countdown in the title box. 8am is really early you guys.

I'm starting to feel like a housewife...in the sense that last night I cooked dinner, cleaned, took Ozzy out, cleaned some more, and then sat on the couch and watched reruns of Friends.

In no way does Faince encourage this. Well, ok he likes it. I'd go as far to say he loves that I take care of him like I do. But he doesn't ask me to do it. I just don't want y'all to think that Fiance is some sort of slave driver who sits around on his ass all day and does nothing. He does a lot around the house. For instance last night, he moved everything out of the master bedroom and into his game room. This was a good idea, albeit a little premature seeing as my furniture, that will be residing at my parents house for the next 22 days will be our master bedroom furniture and the other furniture is for the guest, I mean game room.

Fiance also went to the store, gave me a massage, and let me take a nap. He's a sweetheart. I love him.

I guess I'm just trying to say that I never thought I would be this domestic. I always figured that one day I'd be the lunch maker and the backpack packer and the homework checker (although fiance will be doing the math homework). But I never thought I'd start this early.

Last night I made fiance one of his favorite dinners. This is what goes into it if you'd ever like to make it for yourself:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Thoroughly cook one large boneless chicken breast. Shred or cut into tiny pieces.*

Combine:
chicken breast, shredded
1 cup sour cream
1 cup salsa or Rotel

1) Take a flour tortilla and place on a cookie sheet. Spread on a layer of your chicken/sour cream/salsa mixture, cover with shredded cheese.

2) Place another tortilla on top and spread on a layer of refried beans.

3) Repeat step 1.

4) Place another tortilla on top and cover with shredded cheese and if you desire, (fiance does) jalepeno slices.

5) Place in oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut into quarters and you have yourself a wonderful little Mexican dinner.

Note: I don't have a cookie sheet big enough to make two at a time, so I always make fiance's first.

I also only use fat free sour cream and fat free refried beans. Same great taste, not as many calories.

(*updated per Margarita's request for clarity)

Enjoy!

*kisses*

23 DAYS TO GO!

2007-08-09T08:46:00.000-04:00

This is my 100th post...wow.

I have been asked to tell the story of how Fiance and I met. Just to be clear before I begin, this story is in no way riveting.

I graduated from college in 2005 and went to work for an Outdoor Drama. After three grueling months of "special" trees, gay men singing to socks on their thumbs, theme parties, amusement parks, days on the lake, and more bottles of booze than you could count, I moved back home and back in with my parents.

I had a job interview lined up for the Dance Program, here at the University where I now work. So I basically went in, aced the interview and then waited around for the offer phone call. I never got that phone call. I got the "congratulations, you're the runner up" phone call. Great. (For the record that was the only job I have ever applied for and not gotten.)

So I still had some money left over from the Outdoor Drama, so I basically bummed around for the next month. I did not care about anything. I laid in my bed and watched bad TV all day. It was so blissful.

I was completely ignoring the 'subtle' hints my parents were sending my way. Until one day when 'subtle' hints turned into bursting into my room at 9am and demanding that I get up and find a job. So I did.

Literally, I went out and got a job within the hour. I decided that waitressing was my ticket! I figured everyone in the theatre waits tables at some point in their career, I guess it's my turn. So I got a job as a waitress at a Mexican restaurant. (Just a word to the wise, if you can't speak Spanish, don't work at a Mexican restaurant in the South.) I didn't know what half of the things on the menu were and I'm pretty sure I agreed to some things that are shady. But can you blame me? Whenever I don't understand something/someone, I smile and nod. Lord only knows what I agreed to working there.

Within my first shift I managed to spill an entire soda on a customer, burn myself, and mess up orders but still charge people the full price. Obviously I am not cut out to be a waitress.

So I began looking for other employment. Lo and behold, there was a Customer Service site that had a "We're Hiring" banner out. My lucky day! Long story short, I got the Customer Service job and quit my waitressing job.

I was stoked. My shift was 12:30pm to 11pm W/TH/F/S. I got a 3 day weekend! I was working what is commonly referred to as a 4 x 10. At first, it was awesome. Sleep till 11 everyday, stay out late, that kind of thing.

Then I realized that I was lonely. My schedule was great for someone who has a boyfriend or friends to hang out with. I didn't have any of that. I had just moved back from college. While I was in college my parents moved away from our home town. My sister lived 45 minutes away. I was lonely.

So I began to make friends with some of my co workers. We started hanging out after work. The only problem with that was that most of them lived even further away than my sister did. So making friends with my co workers really only meant that I was hanging out with them once every two weeks or so.

So again I'm lonely. I'd go out for a cigarette break and see all of the clusters of people and get sad. I didn't have that. I didn't have anybody.

One lunchtime I was eating in the break room and watching TV. (Now at this particular Customer Service establishment they showed one of two things on the TV...CNN or a PowerPoint presentation with a grand total of 3 slides in it.) On this day, I was eating chicken wings and watching CNN all by my lonesome in the break room. Enthralled, I heard the break room door open and someone walk in. Without turning around I said "don't you just love it how they only show CNN on these TVs?" the response was, "it's better than the stupid PowerPoint presentations."

I laughed and turned around. And there he was...fiance (though of course he wasn't fiance at that point, that would have been awkward.) Now fiance has the prettiest blue eyes you'll ever see and that's the very first thing that struck me. In fact I'm pretty sure that we didn't find out each other's names for the next week...probably b/c I liked staring at his eyes so much that I didn't bother with trivial things like names.

Fiance came to sit down and eat lunch with me. There we were, two unsuspecting kids meeting over a lunch of hot wings and Batman spagettios.

Who knew at that point that we would now be 23 days away from our wedding? It's weird to think that if I had gotten the job in the Dance department I would never have met the love of my life.

I actually ran into the administrator for the Dance department a couple of weeks ago and I thanked her for not giving me that job.

I am a firm believer is "everything happens for a reason"

*kisses*

24 DAYS TO GO!

2007-08-08T08:39:00.000-04:00

So, I had to give up my ring last night. It had to go out for Rhodium Plating. Which is basically a fancy term for coating. I won't get it back until August 16th.

I pouted all the way home. I even asked fiance if he'd buy me another ring just to wear for the next week and a half. He said no, and for the first time in a year and a half, I knew he meant it. Usually he says no at first, but after some baiting he eventually says yes. This time, I knew to not even push it. You should have heard the "OMG deal with it" tone in his voice.

Let me put this in terms most people will understand...I've had this ring on my finger since November 15 2006. That's 9 1/2 months. 9 1/2 months where that ring has only left my finger when I take a shower. And even then it goes in it's pretty little box for safe keeping. I'm naked people, naked.

Anywho, remember back in the day (and by back in the day I mean June) when I complained about my office not having any air conditioning? Remember how much I whined about being hot and sweaty? Well at my new job I won't have air conditioning until after I'm married and it's supposed to reach 103 degrees today (and that's before the heat index, so that means that's real temperature). And I'm on the 3rd floor. And I'm in NC where it's so humid I feel like I'm swimming. So remember all that complaining I did 2 months ago? Forget about all of that, take that and throw it out the window, b/c my whining is about to reach unforgivable annoyance levels soon.

*kisses*

25 DAYS TO GO!

2007-08-07T09:28:00.000-04:00

Oh my goodness. Seriously where does time go?

On the best note ever, all four bridesmaid's dresses are completed! Yippee.

I had the flower girl over on Saturday. Now my flower girl is literally a cherub. She has curly golden hair and the kind of voice that just makes you crumble, it's so cute. I was showing her the pieces that will become her dress. Basically her top will be made out of the same fabric as my dress but the bottom will be tulle with flower petals inside. Kind of like this:

Needless to say my little cherub of a flower girl was WAY too excited about the prospect of this dress. She kept asking me, "Do you have anymore stuff for my dress?"

Luckily this dress will be made in no time b/c as my mother says, "It's a lot easier to make a dress for a little girl than a grown woman." Seeing as the only problems mom has had with the bridesmaid dresses have all stemmed from their boobs, I'd have to say she's correct.

I also got together with my ring bearer's family. Originally I thought it would be easiest for them if we sent him down in slacks and a dress shirt since they're moving the very next day. (Seriously, they're moving to New York the day after my wedding.) But since I'm a capable adult, I can take the tux back for them. So we met up to get him measured for his tux.

Now if I liken my flower girl to a cherub I must liken my ring bearer to an elf. This kid is so cute and I'm going to miss him so much. He literally latches onto me whenever I'm around. Fiance's convinced it's b/c the little elf is now at the perfect height (if you know what I mean) but I think he's too young for that and he just does it b/c he loves me.

So I had a nice weekend of wedding planning. I feel halfway accomplished. Plus tonight, Fiance and I are ordering my shoes. And we have to send my ring off to get it's yearly coating. I'm super sad about this. I'm going to be without my engagement ring for a week and a half. Even when I have my ring off while taking a shower, I feel weird.

Boo.

*kisses*

2007-08-06T11:07:00.000-04:00

My sister is never without a camera. This is completely understandable as she was an art major with a concentration in photography major in college. I am completely awed by her camera's constant presence. It's always there when you need it and sometimes when you don't. She finds little things amusing and snaps a picture. And she never has to worry about missing an important shot. It's pretty cool.

This weekend she was in town to have her bridesmaid (ahem, maid of honor, my bad) dress made. (side note: ALL 4 ARE DONE!) While mom was sewing we ran over to my new apartment so that I could take Ozzy out and do some tidying up errands.

Now my sister loves animals like I love animals. With one small exception...she's a cat person whereas I'm a dog person. She makes a beeline for my cats whenever she comes over. This is not to say that she ignores Ozzy, it's just that she prefers the quietness of cats.

So she snapped a few undisturbed pictures of the kitties.

(Harley Quinn)

(Joker)

And then Ozzy in all his fury, returned from his walk.

I told you she always has a camera ready! Isn't this fantastic? It represents all that is Oswald Cobblepot.

*kisses*

2007-08-03T11:48:00.000-04:00

My list of things to accomplish before September 2nd:

Dresses still waiting to be made:
My dress
My sister's dress
My mom's dress
My flower girl's dress

(Have I ever mentioned that my mother is a SAINT for making all of these dresses? I don't think I have, mom YOU ROCK)

On a similarity note, I need to string beads that will be attached to my veil. That should be fun and tedious.

Flowers:
Bouquets are made they just need fabric wrapped around the stems.
Boutonnières and corsages need to be made

Shoes:
Ballerina Crocs for me
Skater shoes for him

Reception Table decorations:
Need colorful rocks
Candles
More glass chimneys to hold the items above

My party favors need to be cleaned and have their price stickers removed.

I have a lot of things to do. Probably twice as much as the already long list above. And it's all Margarita's fault. She got me thinking about this and I knew that if I didn't write it down, I'd forget half of it. We've got 30 days to go here people!

Margarita told me to chant this to myself when I'm feeling stressed:

Mim is SuperWoman
Mim is SuperWoman
Mim is SuperWoman
Mim is SuperWoman
Mim is SuperWoman

Wow, I feel better already!

*kisses*

Separated at Birth?

2007-08-02T08:37:00.000-04:00

Take a look at this picture and then at my profile picture.

Do you see a resemblance?

I get stopped all the time by people who think I look familiar. This is how that convo goes down:

Them: "Wow, you look really familiar."

Me:"Do I by any chance remind you of Emma Watson?"

T:"Who?"

M: *sigh* "Hermione Granger"

T: "YES! Are you related?"

Fiance doesn't see the resemblance. Frankly, I find it kind of flattering, but how flattered can you be when someone thinks you look like a 16 year old witch? And really isn't she the one who looks like me? I am older after all.

I'm on this rant b/c my very good friend Chinn called last night. This was our Convo:

Chinn: "MIM! I just saw Harry Potter 3!"

Me: "Do you mean Harry Potter 5?"

C: "Geez there are five of them now? Yes, I saw the latest one and gave my muggle money to that really rich british lady." (I kid you not he actually said 'muggle money') "Anyway I'm sitting there watching and do you know what I kept thinking?"

M: "That I look like Hermione Granger?"

C: "YES! She's hot!"

M: "Thank you, at least I assume thank you, since you think the 16 year old who looks like me is hot you must therefore think I'm hot too."

C: "Um yeah"

This happens all the time people. I seriously hope that one day someone who knows me bumps into Emma Watson. B/c then this could be their convo:

Them: "OMG you look so familiar"

EW: "Oh, that's b/c I play Hermione Granger in those very popular Harry Potter movies. My name is actually Emma Watson, would you like my autograph?"

T: No, that's not it, you look just like my friend Mim!"

*kisses*

New Job!

2007-08-01T09:21:00.000-04:00

This is the week for new things.

I've refrained from telling most people about this because I wanted to be in my new office with all of the proper forms signed before I went shouting from the mountaintops "I've got a new job!"

I am now only one person's assistant, instead of twenty. I have an office that has walls and a door, instead of being out in the open for every one to attack on sight. I'm in heaven. The only thing I need is more surface space on which to work. I like to spread out.

So now that I have what appears to be a less stressful job I can also tell you that this job requires me to travel to NYC twice a year. The first of which is the weekend before my wedding. Hopefully we can work it out so that fiance can go as well. This way we'll both get a (possibly much needed) break from the wedding details. I have always wanted a job that requires me to travel.

And possibly the best part of all? I get to have margaritas with Margarita!

*kisses*

New Apartment!

2007-07-31T18:02:00.000-04:00

Finally, finally we're done moving fiance's things over from his old one-bedroom apartment. Finally. Now we just have to gradually move my stuff over during the next month. Should be fun. But at least with my stuff I don't have to carry it down 3 flights of stairs just to carry it back up 3 more flights of stairs.

I feel bad b/c SB was in town to get her dress done and she spent most of her time here helping us move. It wouldn't have been so bad and we could have had everything moved in one day had it not been for one of our friends that promised they would help us move. We asked him to help us Saturday starting at 11am and he said 'no problem'. We didn't hear from him until 4:30 and didn't see him until 6, about 20 minutes after we finally got the washer, dryer and two couches into the apartment. We had a load and a half left. Something that with four people would take us about an hour and a half. But it started raining. So we then asked our friend if he could help the next day around 2:30. Again he said 'no problem'. We didn't hear from him unitl 6 (again!) and when we did hear from him the first words out of his mouth were "Oh, you guys aren't finished yet?" Now let me make one thing clear, b/c this friend happens to read this blog on occasion, if you were moving I would be up at the butt crack of dawn to help you. I wouldn't whine or complain all day. I would help when I said I would help. Actually, I'd be early and I'd bring the coffee and donuts.

But I promised pics so here we go!

The view when you walk in our front door. We have cathedral ceilings. It's wonderful.

Fiance's messy, messy gameroom. Yes, he gets his own game room. Trust me with all of his toys he needs one. Plus I don't want those things prominently displayed in the apartment. When we move my bedroom suit in, then we'll put the other bed in this room so it will serve as a guest room as well.

The very messy master bedroom. You know what? At least we've got everything in the apartment! Who cares if its messy right now...It could take me years to recover from this move. We're getting movers next time.

The only room that's semi clean right now, the kitchen. I'm just excited about the counter space. And the fact that I don't have to put my plates in drawers anymore.

Joker, enjoying his new surroundings. He has now found the highest place in the apartment. This is very useful when Ozzy is chasing him.

So that's the new apartment. We also have two bathrooms but I've always found it weird when people want to show others their bathrooms.

*kisses*

2007-07-27T11:42:00.000-04:00

Holy geez this is frightening.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

*kisses*

2007-07-26T08:27:00.000-04:00

I'm a little sad that no one cares about Pirate Master being canceled. Boo, to all of you!

I feel like I had a million things to write about and now I can't remember anything.

Fiance and I are still packing for the move this weekend. Oy, let me tell you. We were going to pack a lot last night. He actually opened so he got off at 6 and I of course was already home from work. Long story short, we didn't pack a thing last night. We're unsure of what we ate but we either got a 24 hour bug or food poisoning. We couldn't move off the couch last night. Our bodies were drained.

On a cute note...we have two couches. (that's not the cute note) The standard size couch is his and the loveseat is mine. I decided I needed to be comforted so I joined fiance on his couch which is not big enough for two people. I realized that it wasn't big enough for two people after about 10 minutes, when my arm was so asleep, I was convinced I didn't even have one anymore. Once I moved back to my couch he said "Good, you were here long enough for the pillows to smell like you." (tear, sniff)

It's the little things like that comment, that make me realize I am marrying the right person. (Not that I ever had any doubt, I knew within weeks of meeting fiance that we were going to spend the rest of our lives together.)

I'm just saying, fiance melts my heart. And I love him for being able to put a smile on my face when I feel like crap.*

*kisses*

*Fiance complains sometimes that I never write any posts about him. If you search my blog for the word fiance it comes up in more than half of my 90 or so posts. But to his defense I believe this is the first post that is solely about him and my love for him.

WTF?!

2007-07-24T22:23:00.000-04:00

They've cancelled Pirate Master? When? Freaking jerks.

They're showing the final episodes on CBS.com but this is bullshit.

I call shenanigans.

What is it with this season and networks cancelling shows? The good shows too. It's unfair.

Balou, are you on the verge of tears too?

And I was going to send in a videotape audition for Pirate Master season 2.

Damnit.

I'm going to go sulk now.

Boo :(

*kisses*

2007-07-24T08:20:00.001-04:00

1 month and 8 days to go! Man, where is time going?

The official count of guests so far is 64. We've only received about half of the reply cards. But no worries, my guests have until August 17th to return them. I hope they realize that if I receive any reply cards after this date, they will not be attending the reception. Wedding yes, reception no. I have to be a bridezilla and draw the line somewhere right?

Mom and I are sporadically making the bouquets and boutonnière's. (I promise you'll get to see them in all their loveliness after the wedding. I've been struggling on whether or not I should post pics and I finally decided on not.) Let's just say my bouquet is GORGEOUS. and very large. It consists of roses, stephonotis, and dahlias. The dahlias are what makes my bouquet ginormous.

But I can share one picture with you. I ordered my rehearsal dinner dress. I will officially match the table mats. (I like green, any kind of green. I know that my rehearsal dinner green is much brighter than my wedding green but lets remember that my rehearsal dinner is also a pig pickin'.)

I'm going to look pretty...I hope. If it doesn't look right on me, it will be returned.

*kisses*

Long Story Short

2007-07-23T09:09:00.001-04:00

This is the best book I have ever read.

And that's how I spent my weekend.

*kisses*

TGIF

2007-07-20T08:19:00.000-04:00

Seriously, this week was long.

I went home sick yesterday. Probably a combination of lack of sleep and stress. I woke up with a sore throat and if you know anything about me you know that I take sore throats seriously. If you don't, let me just say, my tonsils are as big as rocks.

So I went home, I slept for a ridiculous amount of hours and I feel so much better. I woke up feeling so refreshed. So pretty and witty and bright!

So now it's Friday, and thank goodness for it! It's also payday which is always nice. Hopefully after work I can get my eyebrows waxed (I'm beginning to look a little too much like Peter Gallagher. Eek.) Also I'd like to go ahead and get my grocery shopping done. Then I'd like to just relax. Relaxation is nice.

Next weekend fiance is moving to the 2 bedroom apartment we will share in 1 month and 12 days. So next weekend should be a hoot and a holler.

Shortest post in a while huh? Well I'll just leave you with a little treat:
Man, those eyebrows are awesome.

*kisses*

2007-07-18T08:29:00.000-04:00

I've decided to give up on posting my feelings about reality TV. No one seemed to care, except for maybe Balou b/c she loves Pirate Master just as much as I do. Last night was a really good episode, one of those where you want to go inside the screen and hit a contestant for being so ridiculously stupid. Those episodes are the best episodes.

However, I would like to stick to a TV theme post at least once a week. What better way to start than by homaging one of the best game shows ever made, "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?"

This was a fantastic show, I hope everyone remembers it but if you don't you can click on the link above and it will take you to a site where you can watch about 5 episodes of this classic PBS gameshow.

Lets start with the obvious shall we? Rockapella rocks my socks. I watched an episode of this yesterday and I couldn't believe I remembered all of their shtick-y songs. I must find a video for you...

So dorky yet loveable.

WITWICS was the best game show b/c when I was a kid watching it I used to think it was really hard. They always asked you questions about geography. But after watching an episode yesterday I found that when I thought they gave you clues to the answer they were actually giving you the answer.

Also at the end when one kid is left they assign them a continent and they have to place these markers on each country as they're yelled out. I used to say that if I was on this show I would want to get South America b/c it only has like 13 countries. Instead of say Africa that has like 75 countries. I never realized that when the chief assigned you the continent she would point out different countries 'of note' within the continent. I never freaking realized that all you had to do was pay attention to what the chief was saying.

So I watched an incredibly educational game shows as a child but I didn't pay attention to any of the mechanics of the show...typical.

But my favorite part about this show was the prizes. The 2nd runner up got a Carmen Sandiego gift bag that included a shirt, a world atlas, a globe basketball and other fun/dorky prizes. The first runner up usually got a tape recorder. (for the record I never wanted to come in 2nd...It was either first or last for me, mainly b/c the second place prize usually sucked). But the winner got to pick anywhere they wanted to go in North America and they got an upgraded sleuth jacket.

I wanted to be on this show so badly.

*kisses*

2007-07-17T12:28:00.000-04:00

We got fiance's wedding ring last night. It's his very first piece of jewelry and it will probably be the only jewelry he will ever own. What really matters is that he looks really cute with it on. He says it feels strange.

What's really going to be strange is about 3 weeks before my wedding I have to send my engagement ring off to be coated. Because I have the crazy insurance I can have my ring coated with fresh white gold once a year. So I'm having it done 3 weeks before the wedding. But that means I have to go without my ring for 2 weeks. I feel weird without it when I shower how am I going to manage 2 weeks? I mean don't get me wrong, I enjoy the fact that I get this treatment but its my ring :(

So I was able to download some pictures of my bridesmaid's dresses.

This is my future sister in law getting fitted in her first dress. Mom always makes a mock up dress before she cuts the expensive fabric. She's a smart lady.

This is Kogan in an almost finished dress. All that was left at this point was her hem. And now that's done. Kogan is the proud recipient of the very first, all the way finished bridesmaid dress! Doesn't she look pretty?

*kisses*

Finally

2007-07-16T08:47:00.001-04:00

I found the cord for my camera so I've been able to get all of my pictures onto a computer. It's about damn time.

I think that b/c I've had some interesting times with my animals lately, I would like to share with you their cuteness...even if some of them are evil kitties who enjoy locking me out of my house...brats.

Here is Ms. Harley Quinn. She enjoys getting into little nooks and crannies...

This adorable cat just happens to be the one who hissed in my face as if I were a burglar.

Then there's Pax. For those who know nothing of Pax, he is a 25 pound Maine Coon cat...Basically he looks like a mini bobcat. Maine Coon cats are rather expensive, but this one literally followed my parents home one day. Lucky us, we love Pax, he always makes us laugh. He also tried to kill me on a regular basis.

Pax enjoys boxes...
This was the box that held my very first wedding present. I count Pax as my second!

Pax, even though he is rather large can get himself into very comfortable positions. He has one (that has yet to be documented) that I refer to as his Yoga position, 'the beached whale'. He lies flat on his back with all four legs stretched out as far as they can go.

But my favorite Pax position to date is his Jabba the Hut:

Imagine coming home late at night and this is the very first thing you see. I love it.

*kisses*

Friday the 13th

2007-07-13T09:22:00.000-04:00

Geez-My last Friday the Thirteenth didn't go so well. I'm hoping this one will be a little better.

Fun things happened yesterday...

I got my first wedding present! Yay! It's a fondue set...so exciting! Maybe I should have fondue at our new apartment housewarming party. (In all honesty I don't think that we'll have a housewarming party, but it's fun to think that I may in the future have a party where we can have fondue...you know b/c now I have a fondue set.) And later I found out I had another present. Pax had crawled into the box.

Also this weekend we're having an 85th birthday party for my Grandmother so my aunts are coming in today. yay! But it also meant I had to clean my house. I hate cleaning. I'm not good at it and it gives me a headache.

But here's the really fun part of my evening last night. After cleaning I needed to go to fiance's apartment to let Ozzy out. Ozzy of course was being crazy and after I found him snacking on cat poop, I put him back in his kennel for time out. This turned out to be a very good idea. SB one of my bridesmaid's called and I stepped out on the front porch for a cigarette. While outside I heard the cats messing with the door, then I heard a sound like the door opening. The cats have gotten out before, i wouldn't put it past them to have figured out how to turn the handle.

Anywho, I kept talking to SB. She's planning on coming in next weekend and wanted me to look at train tickets for her. (She doesn't have internet or a license.) So I went to go inside...except I couldn't...yes that's right folks...that sound like the door was opening was in fact my cats locking me out of the apartment. Wonderful. Fiance was just leaving work and there is a lot of construction going on right now, so it would be another 45 minutes before he'd be getting home.

Luckily I'm an expert at breaking in entering. Ok not really but I really wanted to get back inside. So I took out the screen and opened the window (I got skills). What I didn't realize is that either I have some pretty awesome attack/guard cats or they just don't recognize me when I'm trying to crawl in a window and over our love seat. I got hissed at. Like scary hissed at. So, since both of my cats still have all their claws, I decided to put the window back down and replace the screen. And wait until fiance got home.

I did not have a good Friday the 13th Eve.

*kisses*

2007-07-10T19:39:00.000-04:00

And so I've been really busy today, hence the 8 pm post. Not like it matters since Margarita is in Aruba (I think) and Catchy never seems to be online anymore. And since that's like half of my readers, I guess it doesn't really matter what time I post!

Wedding plans are going rather smoothly...I'm shocked.

We re-reserved our tuxes last night. We were able to get exactly what we had reserved before but cheaper! Yay! So exciting. Our tuxedo helper's name is, I swear, TammyJo...no space, I have her business card to prove it. Don't you just love the South? Anywho, she actually rang us up correctly. I.E at this tux shop, like the last, gives you a free tux for every 5 tuxes you rent. Instead of making us pay a deposit on Fiance's tux (the free one) she rings it up then rings in the coupon to make it free. So instead of paying $60 for a deposit on Fiance's tux and Best Man's tux we only had to pay the deposit for Best Man's tux. Sweet! (We're paying for the Best Man's tux for some odd reason, but whatever) Also, they promised us they wouldn't abandon their store...at least before our wedding...thank God!

We've also (cue trumpets) sent out our invitations! Yippee! We've received about a dozen replies, only three of which were no's! But the best part of it all, I mean aside from seeing friends and family that I haven't seen in ages, is that people now know about our registry...the registry that was set up in...hold on let me find the link (I think my registry was like my third post ever) Ah yes here it is...Check the date people...JANUARY 20th! Wow! But it gets better...people know about my registry and someone has purchased something already! I LOVE ONLINE REGISTRIES...it's so stalker-esque.

But I think the best thing that has happened wedding-wise in the past week is that we have a finished bridesmaid's dress! Kogan came in this weekend for her dress fitting/birthday. I have pictures but I think I may have left my camera case at the beach and it had the camera cord in it...yes I'm an idiot. So we have to wait until Kogan posts her pictures from this past weekend for you to see the beauty of my bridesmaid's dresses!

*kisses*

Things I Learned This Weekend

2007-07-09T08:27:00.000-04:00

I had one of those whirlwind weekends. You know, one of those weekends that flies by even faster than a normal weekend? Probably had something to do with Kogan being here. I haven't seen her in over 2 years and she came in for her dress fitting and birthday extravaganza! So here are some of my observations and learnings from this weekend.

I am no longer able to function on bar time. When I was in college I could close down the bar at 2am, get home by 3am (after parties are super), be in bed and asleep by 4am, then wake up for my 10:20am class will a smile on my face. Seems I can't do that anymore. We were out until 3am Saturday night and I had to wake up at 9am to teach Sunday School. Luckily, I'm a trooper and pulled through, but the fact remains, I no longer function on bar time.

I apparently switch my southern accent on and off depending on who I'm talking to.

My town has a Japanese restaurant. One of the ones where they cook the food right in front of you. Who knew?

Saki is awesome.

It is possible to transform a childhood classic into a good movie. Haha, transform...get it?

Shia LaBeouf is trying to take over the world. And seemingly succeeding.

Popcorn makes me gassy. Uncomfortable gassy. Painful gassy. Thinking about skunking my neighbor gassy. (I didn't)

And last but not least:

People only call me when I'm trying to sleep. Seriously. I was trying to be a good girl last night and go to bed at a reasonable time and my phone rang four times:
1) Fiance, calling to say he was home 2) Fiance, calling again to tell me that Megan Fox is engaged to Brian Austin Green 3) Kogan to let me know she had made it home and 4) Meg-o my grand-little to tell me she had gotten my wedding invite and to talk for a while. I am super duper close to shutting off my phone at night.

*kisses*

2007-07-06T10:27:00.001-04:00

So now that I have 'borrowed' some beach trips from my sister I can update you on my wonderful trip.

We got to the beach and it was raining and storming and quite honestly, pretty awesome. I love stormy days on the beach. But I was really glad that it was only stormy on the first day. So this is what it looked like from our back porch when we got there:

Nice huh? Everything looks like it's clearing up but it was still pretty dark above our house. It made me feel like Daffy Duck, always having a rain cloud overhead.

So, everyday is stayed kind of cool. The water was way colder than it was last year. The wind was blowing pretty hard. So we didn't hang out on the beach for that long everyday b/c we'd all freeze in just our bathing suits.

One afternoon Fiance and I felt it pretty ridiculous holing ourselves up in the house all day so we decided to get to work on a sand castle. And not just any sand castle, fiance's first sand castle.

Awesome, isn't it? My legs are still sore from digging out that moat...that never filled up...boo.

Since we came home the morning of the 4th we decided that the night before we should act a little patriotic and fire up some sparklers. Dan and Matt thought it would extra fun to light a whole pack at one time...

Genius. I'm glad they still have hair.

So nothing too thrilling happened at the beach. It was just a much needed vacation. Lots of rest...finally.

Now I guess it's time to really get cracking on the wedding!

*kisses*

I'm back!

2007-07-05T13:33:00.000-04:00

And I was totally going to post about my beach trip but I of course, as per usual, took my camera and it sat in my room all week. I'm awesome. So I'm waiting for my sister to put her pics up on Flickr, so's that I can steal them! :)

So instead I will post about my new love...

I discovered this wonderful new musical/rock opera while watching this years Tony Awards. This new musical is based on the 1900's play that was banned from the stage for nearly 100 years due to it's content (rape, masturbation, abortion, homosexuality and suicide). All in all pretty daring for a 1900's German playwright. Since it is the most talked about show on Broadway at the moment, the wonderful people at the Tony's saved their performance for the last 5 minutes of the broadcast...about 3 minutes before they won the highly coveted Best New Musical Tony. (one of the 8 Tony's it won during that broadcast)

No I must admit for the other 2 hours and 55 minutes all I heard about this show is that it was the new RENT.

Now I know some of you don't know me that well and wouldn't think twice about this but most of you do know me and you should know by now that you do not relate anything, anything to RENT. RENT has always been and will always be my forever love. I bought the cd behind my parents back at age 13, after I had begged them for the better part of a year to buy it for me. I listened to it in secret for 2 years before my mother found it. My mother probably thinks I'm still too young to listen to it, but she did buy me second row seats for the traveling production during my sophomore year of college. Mom...it is still the 2nd best present you've ever given me...the first, of course, being life. B/c let me tell there is no other feeling in the world like the one I got when during 'Seasons of Love' every single cast member made eye contact with me. It was wonderful. And very similar to the feeling I got every time I saw the preview for the movie, and the feeling I got throughout the entire movie when I went to see it opening night. That feeling? Goosebumps all over my body. I am a RENT junkie and nothing will ever change that.

So imagine my annoyance when all I heard was that this Spring Awakening was the new RENT.

And then I saw this:

I got the RENT feeling. I still get the RENT feeling when I see this clip. I FELL IN LOVE. Now please don't get me wrong, b/c I DO NOT agree with their comparison. This show is completely different and completely wonderful in it's own way. And I think it's kind of wrong to want to compare it. Why can't they both be wonderful in their own rights?

Well the next day my friend Kogan (who's coming for a visit tomorrow, yay!) asked me is I had watched the Tony's b/c she had seen this fantastic new musical and I just had to know about it. We have since spent the last 3 weeks finding YouTube clips and drooling over the play.

So for her birthday I got her the soundtrack. Since it happened to get here before she will, I have already opened it and put the music on my ipod. (Fiance was rather upset that I opened her birthday present, but rest assured we made a deal that if I got it before she got here that I was planning on doing this.)

My ipod has not left my side all day. These songs are wonderful. They are provocative, thought provoking, eerie, dainty, and beautiful all wrapped into one neat little story.

So now let me leave you with the Original Broadway cast performing my favorite song, Totally F***** at the Virgin Megastore the day the soundtrack came out. (please don't play this in front of your children or people who get offended by naughty words.)

I love people with camera phones, don't you?

*kisses*

Mood Ring

2007-06-28T08:23:00.001-04:00

So I was tagged, like ages ago by my friend Perry on Myspace. One of those name 10 weird, random, yet interesting things about yourself. One where you have to tag other people to do the same thing. I don't agree with naming other people in this, since this is for my own amusement but if you want to leave one weird, random, yet interesting fact about yourself in my comments, I challenge you to do so.

Let me just say that I started writing this post on June 8th, 2007 and will update you (and post this) as soon I finish it. My problem is, I can't come up with 10 right off the top off my head so...one at a time it is...

1) When I was 5 I thought that one of the walls in my bedroom was an audience. I think this may have been what fueled my theatre dreams. I used to play to this wall when I would go about my normal business. I would even turn around after I had bathed so as not to let the 'audience' see me naked 5 year old body...imaginary perverts.

2) Up until I was a senior in college I thought America had won every war we had been in. Yes, laugh, but I have two items with which to plead my ignorant case. 1) I was born in the 80's and 2) in High School the mandatory US History course never got past the Civil War. So sorry people but up until my senior year of college when I took US History 1865 to present (never got past the Vietnam war ps) I thought we had won everything! Sue me.

3) When I fall asleep I drift off lying on my right side, but just as I am about to conk out for the night I have to switch to my left.

4) The most common question I am asked about my nose ring is if snot flies out of it when I sneeze. (yeah, the answer is no)

5) I have dreams about Michael Meyers chasing me. If I see a Michael Meyers mask I freak out. Seriously, if you had dreams about someone with a spray painted William Shatner mask on, you'd freak out too.

6) Some of my best memories in college were during senior year when my friend Amelia and I would hang out in my room, play Monopoly and sing along to Wicked at the top of our lungs. We'd always try to be certain characters but we'd always get really excited and sing together regardless of who we were supposed to be that day. Usually I was Glinda and she was Elphaba, but we'd always try to out sing each other on 'Popular" and 'Defying Gravity'. For those who would like an awesome insight to all things Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West's name is Elphaba, made up by the author of Wicked (Gregory Maguire) by combining L. Frank Baum's initials and then pronouncing them phonetically...El-fa-ba...get it?

7) I have no 'dar' of any kind. No 'gaydar', no 'danger-dar', nothing. I once was in NYC with my aunts and made eye contact with a homeless person. My aunt saw and jerked me back into her protective clutches but it didn't stop the homeless woman from sticking a dead rat in our faces. "Wanna see my rat?" People make fun of me constantly for having no 'dar' but I honestly cannot help it, I was born this way people!

8) I smoke, yes I know, disgusting habit. But when I smoke, if I don't have someone to talk to, I can't smoke a whole cigarette. This to me means that I am not addicted to cigarettes...maybe. Also, if I know fiance isn't able to talk while I'm on a break, I'll call my friend Kogan. She hates it when I do this. Well maybe not hates, just dislikes that I always seem to call her when she can't talk. :) She does always answer the phone with: "You're smoking aren't you?"

(I'm still 2 away from finishing this post and I've been at it for almost 20 days) On that note...

9) A friend asked me today (June 26) if I was planning on auditioning for the next season of American Idol since they are once again holding auditions near where I live. My very first post describes how I feel about the past couple seasons of American Idol, but I still let my mind wonder...what if I made it?

10) My favorite president of all time is Nixon. I know a lot of people will find this strange. But Watergate has outshone the good that Nixon did. He was the one that finally got us out of the Vietnam War. And he established a friendship with China. Thank you Nixon. I shudder to think of what our world would be like if we weren't friends with the Chinese.

So there are my ten. And it only took my 20 says to complete this! Like I said, please feel free to leave something random about yourself in my comments. I look forward to reading them.

I will be on Vacay until Thursday of next week. I'll be sure to post some Beach Pics when I return!

*kisses*

2007-06-27T09:15:00.001-04:00

I have been tagged again. This time by Sally T. THANKS! I feel so special and loved. I have to restate that I love the blog world and the friends I've made b/c of starting this blog. It may sound strange but I'd really like to arrange a meeting with all of my new blog friends. Let's all go out for Margaritas!

So here are 5 more of my female blogger friends that I think are rockin'!

Sally T: Sally's Site (Her dog Brac is the cutest and you should all head over there and read her 'Egg in My Face' post,)

Bekah: Bek's Lab (she doesn't post as often as she should but she has some great insights on current events)

Dangyr: Dangyrous Discourse (daily thoughts, very cool)

Subservient No More: Wide Lawns (this used to be a site structured around SNM's crazy job, but she couldn't take it anymore and now it is a site dedicated to memories. SNM is a beautiful writer)

Jessica and Heather: Go Fug Yourself (a more mainstream website I know, but these chicks never fail to crack me up)

Now if you'd like you can create your own post with your 5 favorite Rockin' Girl Bloggers. Please don't feel obligated to include me, but since I totally rule, you're more than welcome to! :)

Also don't forget to copy the badge from the top of this post.

*kisses*

This Week in the Universe...

2007-06-27T08:41:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure what to think of the universe this week. Everything seemed so tragic. And I'm not just referring to Paris' release from jail...

Jessie Davis' body was found. Her baby daddy/probable killer/freaking COP is being held and questioned and a trial is being set up. Oh and to bail him out you better hope someone has $5,000,000. Yes, 5 million. (Quick note, if your bail is that high...you're guilty.)

But really, I'd like to delve into this Chris Benoit situation. For those who are unfamiliar, Chris Benoit was a wrestler for the WWE. He was supposed to do a show in NC this past weekend, and when he didn't show, authorities were sent to his house where they found Benoit, his wife Nancy, and son Daniel, dead.

This is an extremely sad situation. They canceled Monday's RAW event to hold a special tribute for Benoit and his family. Then on Tuesday a press conference was held where they released the nature of the deaths and that Benoit is now to blame. The police have labeled it a double murder/suicide. I don't want to get into how they were found but if you're curious you can read about it here.

Just like my Jessie Davis post I don't want to get into 'what ifs'. Instead I want to wait to hear the solid facts instead of making assumptions the way some people are. All I know is that this is a very sad occurrence and Benoit's extended family and his other son (who was not in the house) should be kept in your prayers.

I promise that the next installment of This Week in the Universe will be happier. I wish that they all could be, but sometimes, Shit Happens.

*kisses*

Going to the Chapel...

2007-06-25T19:35:00.001-04:00

First things first...my future sister-in-law (FSIL) is a genius! She just got her ACT scores back and she got a 34 out of 36. Ridiculous! FSIL is now basically garunteed entrance and scholarship to any school she wants to go to. Seeing as she one day wants to work for NASA, this is a very good thing. She's planning on going to Florida Tech for astro-freaking-physics. Congrats FSIL.

Now on to wedding details. It's getting closer. 2 months and 5 days. Ah!

Mom and I went wedding shopping on Saturday. We got the rest of the wedding favors. Our unity candle is this really neat floating candle set and we were able to find 75 single floating candles to use as favors. I think we all know by now that I'm going to have more than 75 guests so we had to find something for everyone else. So we got some squatty votives and candles to put in each votive. So every table will have an arrangement of favors. A pick and choose, if you will.

We also found flowers, yay! Dahlia's and blush roses. Unfortunately the store we found them in only has about half of what we need. You should have seen mom and I trying to figure out how many people needed boutonnières and corsages. The owner tried calling the manufacturer yesterday and got their voice mail. Hopefully they will call back with the great news that they can get the rest to us. I'd really like to get these flowers from this establishment b/c it's smaller and I'd prefer helping out the little guys.

We also got stuff for the rehearsal dinner. Green gingham place mats on white tablecloths with a plant in the middle that will also have an assortment of sparklers planted in them. I figured that since my wedding is so close to Labor Day, we should have sparklers. And better to have them outside at the rehearsal dinner than inside at the hotel reception room...I shudder to think what some of our friends would try to do :)

So everything is right on schedule. My dad is planning on printing up the invitations this afternoon, so maybe we'll be able to put them in the mail on our way out of town to the beach (!) on Saturday.

ALSO: Today fiance and I have been together for 17 months. Happy month-a-versary sweetie!

*kisses*

Puppy Monster

2007-06-25T10:43:00.000-04:00

I know I'm posting more than usual today but this one is super important.

Fellow blogger Watchdog lost his son 'Puppy Monster' in a terrible accident. He was only five. Please show your support by visiting Avitable's page and donate as little as $5 to help Watchdog and his family out in this time of need.

Please keep them in your prayers.

*kisses*

Aw, I'm a "Rockin' Girl Blogger"

2007-06-25T10:16:00.001-04:00

I feel special! Balou thinks I'm a rockin' girl blogger! I love my blogosphere friends. And I love it when they love me back. Basically I need to tag 5 of my female blog friends who I think rock. And all they have to do is their own post about their own favorite female blog friends. They also get the nifty badge that accompanies this post...so here goes...

MY 5 ROCKIN' GIRL BLOGGERS ARE:

Cristin: Blog of Eternal Stench
ADW: Hooters and Other Tales of Woe
Margarita: S'mores and Margaritas
Catchy: Something Catchier (even if she hasn't really blogged in a month...what's up with that Catchy? I know you're computer is alive again)
Balou: Searching for Normalcy (Technically the rules say that you don't need to tag the person who tagged you, but I love her blog and I think she rocks!)

Keep the love going, Rockin' Girl Bloggers. I love you all!

*kisses*

My Wonderful Weekend with my New Doggy!

2007-06-25T09:03:00.000-04:00

Can I make it through 5 more days of work? I'm really not sure. This week has the potential to either fly by or creep by. I have a class tomorrow all day and another class on Thursday during the last half of the day. That's why my week could fly by. My week could drag by b/c on Saturday I'm going to the beach! Yay! I need a vacation so badly. I may end up sleeping the entire vacation away!

Right now I'm contemplating taking off Friday, mainly b/c I have a lot of things that need to get done before we head to the beach...

I need to clean the upstairs of my parents house since I inhabit this area and b/c my aunts are coming in Friday night. I guess it would a nice thing for them to visit a clean house.

Also my car needs to be cleaned, desperately. There is stuff in my trunk that just needs to be thrown away. Also there are pots and pans that are trying to stay in my trunk until we move into the new apartment but they're going to need to suck it up and get out of the trunk so my suitcase can take their place. (I love that I'm referring to my inanimate pots and pans as if they're living beings)

Of course I need to pack...duh

Ozzy needs a flea/tick bath and he needs the preventative ointment applied. This should be tons of fun...especially since I have to leave the flea/tick shampoo on him for five minutes in order for it to take effect. Also the flea/tick preventative ointment can get yucky. But we're leaving Ozzy with friends who have a big fenced-in backyard so he needs all of this to stay healthy while we're away relaxing at the beach.

Speaking of Ozzy...my weekend was filled with bonding with my new furry child...

He's getting so much better! I had to take him to the vet on Friday b/c he's been messing with his neutering incision. Well I also found out he has hookworms...awesome. So Ozzy has to take a lot of medicine right now and he's not happy about that, except he's a little happy that he gets peanut butter so often!

He's become a lot livelier! Yesterday I was in the kitchen and I thought he was running around the apartment looking for me, until I noticed a black blur. He was definitely having fun with the cats! I'm so glad they get along!

Also, we're down to only one or two accidents a day. He's starting to get used to all the scents and sounds at the apartment. He's also starting to understand that maybe mommy doesn't want to stand around in the hot sun while you sniff every blade of grass. Unfortch he still needs to sleep in his kennel at night and when we're not around. Like today, I feel for him, he has to be in his kennel until I get home from work...poor guy.

Also unfortch, I'm beginning to think that he ran away and was not in fact abandoned. I think he had been abused. Poor little guy sometimes jerks away when you go to pet him. He also freaks out quite often, usually frightened by his collar.

But in spite of all of the unfortunate things that are going on with Ozzy right now he is the perfect addition to our family. We went to PetSmart on Friday and he got a new collar and id tag. He also got a stuffed squirrel that he loves and sleeps with. He also has started trusting me enough to sleep with is head in my lap. The big snores that come out of his little body warms my heart :)

*kisses*

Reality Check

2007-06-21T19:59:00.000-04:00

Previously on Pirate Master: 16 wannabe pirates put on crazy costumes and adopt strange accents...blah blah blah fake pirate treasure...find it...split it up unfairly. In the end only one pirate will scheme hard enough and screw enough people over to win the ultimate title of PIRATE MASTER! (seriously this has to be the longest recap ever. First they recap the premise of the show and then they recap last week's show...at 8:04 the show actually begins.)

Cheryl, former officer, figures the show out...it's a popularity contest. NO! Really? You're smart. And you might just be going home. Anyone who figures the game out this early, goes home.

I have a theory about these reality shows. Whoever they focus in on for the first three minutes (after the recap of course) will go home. So it's down to three people tonight. Cheryl, Sean and Jay. You already know my theory on Cheryl but my money is on Sean but only if the Black Team wins and Jay remains an officer. (quick recap, yes, more recap. Last week Jay made a pact with Sean to vote for Cheryl in Pirate's Court. Jay paid Sean $1000 and Sean didn't vote for Cheryl. This to me means that Sean will go home this week. But I could of course be wrong...it all depends on who wins the treasure hunt, red team or black team)

What I love most about this show is that they really have to act like pirates. They have to clean the deck, steer the ship, eat pirate meals, and drink rum out of tin mugs.

Ok I take back my Sean vote b/c now there is a girl pirate (Nessa) seriously flirting with the boys and getting them to soak her with water. It's a pirate wet t-shirt contest. She's "using flirting to her advantage" Now all the girls hate her. Bye Bye Nessa.

Oh Holy Crap they're having crab races. They must seriously be bored.

I love this pirate Azmyth (who is the current captain)and this is why; he's from Seattle and now that he's captain he has the craziest accent. It's British, Australian, and a wee bit Southern. All in all...pretty awesome. Way to get in character Azmyth!

Oh they dropped anchor! It's time for a new treasure hunt! My question is...do they make the host go on his own treasure hunt to find the next key that unlocks the chest of treasure maps? B/c that would be awesome...where's that footage?

There's no real method to Pirate Master's madness. They put the captain and his officers on the black team and then make everyone else pick black or red balls out of a cup. I feel like there should be more conformity. Give me dodge ball rules for picking teams. I'd love to see who would be picked last. Joe Don anyone?

This may be the most physical reality show on tv b/c they always have to row ashore and then run through the forest. It's like Survivor on crack. I'm starting to think all the treasure hunts are on the same island. I don't really think they go anywhere...even if they try to make you think they do. My friend SB thinks it's all on a sound stage.

Haha, the black team sabotaged the red team by showering coconuts on them...hidden meaning? Possibly.

You know what I miss? Treasure Hunters. At least you learned some history while watching ridiculous teams try to win. Did you ever watch Treasure Hunters? I hope they bring it back b/c it was awesome. I mean who doesn't want to see three Miss America contestants battling it our with three nerds?

(Why can't these women keep their clothes on in these challenges? One week a girl's boobs were hanging out the entire time and now Joy's pants are falling down. Now Nessa's booty is hanging out. awesome. Why is it never the men?)

Oh no, Azmyth's team messed up and ran away from the treasure. Azmyth was the only one who saw the clue and told them to run back to the beach, when they got there they didn't immediately see the treasure so they figured they were wrong...so they ran all the way back to get the clue again. Now the teams are neck and neck digging in the beach. (Which is what the black team should have done in the first place. B/c why would the treasure be visible? idiots.) And...Red Team Wins! This means a new captain and new officers. Who will it be? My money...on Sean. Louie is also on the red team and he has had it in for the first captain Joe Don from the beginning...so maybe all of my predictions have been wrong. Maybe Joe Don will finally go home.

Now it's time to choose a new captain and new officers and unfairly split up the treasure. Then its time to bribe everyone else to get the vote the way the 'popular' ones want it to be. You're totally right Cheryl, this is a popularity contest.

Uh oh, there is a secret compartment in the treasure chest. The treasure chest that only holds $5000. These chests usually hold upwards of $35,000. The secret compartment holds a royal pardon. This means that pirates can bid on the pardon and before the next pirate's court someone will pay for a chance not to get cut adrift. Which by the way...why the hell don't they make them walk the plank? Stupid.

Louie is the new captain! Bye Bye Joe Don! Sean and Nessa are the new officers which mean all of my predictions thus far have been completely wrong. Maybe I should go back to Cheryl?

Louie decides to split up the measly $5000 treasure. Go, Louie, Go! But now Louie and Joe Don are fighting. Basically Louie has won every challenge but hasn't got squat (he probably has about $5000) b/c he wasn't the captain or an officer. (Captain gets half the treasure, officers split a quarter of the treasure, then the rest of the team splits what is left.) So basically b/c he was the captain first and won two challenges, Joe Don is sitting on over $40,000. Pretty much everyone else has about $5000. And they only have that much b/c they have had pretty awesome captains like Azmyth and Louie who split the treasure with them. Joe Don is a selfish prick and he's totally going to get the pardon.

And the lucky black spot winners are: Azmyth, Cheryl, and Joe Don. 2 formers captains and a former officer. B/c Joe Don has a hell of a lot of money he'll easily be able to buy the pardon. Because Azmyth was a really good captain (accent and all) he won't be cut adrift. This means Cheryl will go home. Who, if you scroll back up was one of the pirates featured in the first three minutes of the show. I'm a genius. Yes, I know I originally went with Sean and my original hunch was Cheryl, but since I never go with my first hunch I chose Sean based on his shady performance last week. I'm still figuring this game out. Trust me, this show is so backwards, it's really hard.

Azmyth, since he's lost the captain role, has now lost his accent. Azmyth is such a good guy. It would be a shame to lose him. Yes he's an idiot who messed up during the challenge but he's still pretty awesome.

Cheryls' angry that she's on the chopping block, yet again. She's running her mouth. The whole team is frustrated with her. Clearly, she's going home. But wait there's still a twist...she could still win the pardon. Remember she was an officer who won 2 treasures...so she's sitting on at least $10,000.

Joe Don, is also running his mouth. But he's now proclaiming his love for Captain Louie to hopefully save his ass. Piss ant.

After the ballot, the host will reveal who gets the pardon. By the way the ballot consists of four cards. One for each pirate on the chopping block and one for mutiny against the captain. They all take one ballot and jam it on a dagger. This part is actually pretty awesome. Although I'm always afraid that they'll cut themselves.

Joe Don wins the pardon by bidding $7000. Really Joe Don? Only $7000...you're cheap and stingy.

No ballots for mutiny...yay! Good b/c I like Captain Louie.

HAHA Joe Don wasted $7000 on the pardon he didn't need...loser. Now he has to sell it before the next pirate's court. I'm pretty sure he'll be going home next week due to this new pardon rule. But only if Louie is still captain of course.

CHERYL GOES HOME! Lesson learned from this week's Pirate Master...don't run your mouth and don't figure out that this is all a popularity contest. B/c if you figure it out it means you aren't popular and yes, that's right...no one likes you, you're going home.

Next Week on Pirate Master: The new officers Sean and Nessa butt heads. And it looks like Joe Don is actually bribing people with all his hard earned money in order to remain on the ship...we'll see if that works. My money is on NO!

*kisses*

Mood Ring

2007-06-21T07:13:00.001-04:00

There were many things I was planning on posting today.

One was I had been tagged like 2 months ago to do one of those posts where you list 10 weird, random, yet interesting things about yourself. But as of right now I only have 6 things. I don't want them to be forced and boring so I edit that post when something weird, random, yet interesting about myself pops into my head.

I was going to do another post about my love of all things Crocs. Like the fact that I plan to wear some in my wedding. But that post will have to wait until a later time as well. A time when I can surely convince everyone in the world (or at least everyone who reads my blog) that Crocs are the most wonderful invention in the world. Even if they make your feet sweaty.

But these things will have to wait.

Why, you ask? Well I'll tell you and show you...First I'll show you...

This is the newest addition to our (rather large) family. This is Oswald Cobblepot or 'Ozzy' for short.

Ozzy is a 2 year old beagle that fiance and I rescued from the animal shelter yesterday. Fiance has always wanted a beagle and I have been perusing animal shelter websites for one and earlier this week came upon this wonderfully cute little doggy.

As you can probably tell from the pictures he's very tired. He had been at the shelter for about a month and the poor thing was traumatized by the experience. Evidently he had been a stray that someone found on the side of the rode and brought in to the shelter.

Which raises the question...how could anyone get rid of this dog? I mean, thank you, b/c if you hadn't we wouldn't be proud new parents...but still. He's very quiet (he's only barked twice) and he's very relaxed. This certainly is a big switch from previous pets. Plus he gets along with our cats.

So now we have 3 Batman villains for pets...the Joker, Harley Quinn, and the Penguin. Maybe one day we'll have Poison Ivy and Catwoman and all the other villains, but at the moment I am very content with our three wonderful animals.

In case you're wondering, one of the first things we did when we got Ozzy home was introduce him to Angus. We told him all about his little (technically) brother and that both of them have very special places in our hearts.

I believe in treating animals like family and this includes talking to them like they can understand you, b/c really, who knows if they can or not...you know?

*kisses*

This Week in the Universe...

2007-06-20T09:04:00.000-04:00

I've actually been following a news story this week. Yes, a news story and not a drunken celebritard story. This story caught my attention while watching Good Morning America. This is the story I've been following:

Newborn found after pregnant woman vanishes

Go...read it...I'll wait.

Isn't that the most ridiculously sad thing you've ever heard? Let me recap for all you lazy people who weren't intrigued by the headline.

A woman who is 2 weeks away from giving birth disappears.
She apparently didn't run away as she left her (count them) keys, wallet, car, and child behind at her apartment.
A bedspread is missing from her home which wouldn't have been noticed had her 2 year old not said "mommy's in the rug"
There is a pool of bleach on the floor of her home (I've watched enough CSI's to know that someone was trying to get rid of blood)
In the first article I read about this they wouldn't disclose the nature of the woman's relationship with a police officer who is the father of both her children. Not only that but he also has a wife and legitimate child as well.
A newborn baby (we're talking cord still attached) was found on a couple's doorstep yesterday, about 40 miles from where the woman disappeared.

I am so livid right now I can't see straight. It is obvious that there has been foul play here. No one who is 9 months pregnant would leave their other child alone in a house that is ransacked and has pools of bleach in places. At least I hope people aren't like that. Although it is true that I live in a dream world complete with rose colored glasses.

I just can't stand this. If this newborn doesn't turn out to be hers, then this will be a truly sad story. Because that then opens up the door again on both mother and baby being dead. Just like poor Laci Peterson.

WHY are there such sickos in this world? I wish so badly that the world wasn't like this.

I'll be praying for this family. I hope everyone else who knows about this will do the same.

*kisses*

Oy, the wedding...UPDATE

2007-06-19T13:16:00.000-04:00

The new dress fit! All bridesmaid dresses are now a go!

*kisses*

Oy, the wedding...

2007-06-19T08:19:00.001-04:00

We are 2 months and 12 days away from my nuptials...woohoo!

My dad is crazily working away on the invitations, maybe we'll have them done this week. But of course I still need to get addresses from fiance's mother.

Speaking of which she came to visit this weekend. We're still working on my future sister-in-law's dress so they came in for a few hours on Saturday. My future M-I-L took a look at the guest list and wants to add at least twenty more people. Joy.

So my future S-I-L's dress is just not working. My mother had to futz with the pattern and add more fabric and a new seam and we think it might work now. I'll know in a couple of hours, I'll update you.

But here's the biggest problem that happened since my last wedding post:

We purposely went to lunch at a restaurant near our Tux shop b/c we needed to drop off the deposit for the Best Man's tux. After a perfectly nice lunch we walked over to pay them only to discover that the store had been cleaned out. THEY ABANDONED THE STORE. This is a chain store so we're pretty sure that they just weren't getting the kind of traffic they needed so they decided to close. But the worst part is that we ordered the tuxes and put down a deposit for fiance's on June 8th and the store was abandoned on June 9th.

Now, this is very curious for several reasons:

1) They were training a new employee...Vinny (cute kid)
2) People were coming in and picking up their tuxes for a wedding presumably the next day (the day the store was abandoned) Where exactly were they planning on having these people return said tuxes?
3) Why would you take people's money when you have to know you're closing the store the next day?

We chose this store b/c we didn't want to use the other local tux rental shop b/c when we went to their shop they didn't acknowledge us and b/c it's within 5 minutes of where we live. Since most of the groomsmen are from out of town we figured this would be the quickest way.

Well after some fuming, (this is pretty much the only detail of the wedding that fiance has a big part in (besides marrying me of course)) I did some calling around, starting with the corporate number. Silly me, their offices were closed until Monday. So I called one of the other stores in our State, that's right State, not vicinity, State. They were helpful in telling me the store was closed...you think? Then they told me that I needed to call the other store b/c our order had been switched to that location. (How in the world was I supposed to know that?)

So I called the other store and promptly canceled our rentals, b/c I'm not driving all over God's green earth to pick up and return tuxes. But I was not able to get my deposit back b/c I needed to call the corporate office (on Monday) and talk with them about that detail. So I did, first thing Monday morning. The very snotty associate informed me that I would have to deal with the store regarding this matter. To which I responded that's funny b/c the manager of the store told me to call you. So she conceded and had me fax my receipt over to her. I'm still waiting to hear how this will turn out. (Side note: I hate it when people hate that you actually know what you're talking about. That they make you jump through hoops b/c they screwed up. Like it's my fault. I just hate that people have to be snotty in general. I just hate it.)

So, it hasn't been a great wedding week. But it's all good. Everything could work itself out. Besides it would suck more if the wedding were next week, you know?

*kisses*

My Weekend

2007-06-18T08:19:00.000-04:00

Recently fiance and I got an envelope full of coupons in the mail. We get these from time to time and it is always a pleasure to peruse the envelope for those great coupons. (like the $5 pitcher of margarita's, mmm yummy) In this last envelope we got a coupon for a free game of Putt Putt.

Fiance had to work Friday night and in the midst of watching the very last Bob Barker hosted episode of The Price is Right that was conveniently replayed at 8pm and snoozing b/c I had a long week, I received a text from my friends Perry and Cullen. It's funny how I'll get a coupon and then have an opportunity to use it sooner than later b/c my friends wanted to go play Putt Putt! Yay Putt Putt!

So I drag my happy ass off the couch, put on some warmer clothes (I was dressed for 80's and it was in the low 70's) and waited for my friends to pick me up.

When we get to Putt Putt some other friends are there to meet us and we end up having 7 people in our Putt Putt Party. (sheesh) I decide to go last...you've got to size up your competition, you know? The thing that I've always noticed about Putt Putt is that you basically know from the first hole how your game is going to end up. If you exceed five shots, you're irritated and take it out on the course instead of focusing. So everyone is putting and they're all pretty much getting the ball in the hole in 3 putts. I step up and get it in 2! I proceed to do this up until the 4th hole where I then proceed to get 3 hole-in-ones, in a row. My final score was a 39 (which is about 2 putts a hole) and the closest person behind me was a 48.

The point of this story is not to brag about my ridiculous Putt Putting skills, b/c I'm typically terrible at the game, but rather to once again praise the wondrous Nintendo Wii and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007. Every time I'd make a hole-in-one my friends would all yell "We need to get a Wii!"

*kisses*

New Line Up

2007-06-15T09:59:00.001-04:00

Everyone who reads this blog should know by now that Tuesdays are wedding post days. I'll be keeping that format of course but would like to add a little more structure to my blog. So from here on out my blog schedule will be as follows:

Monday: Weekend Update
Tuesday: Wedding Day
Wednesday: Current Events
Thursday: Mood Ring (i.e., whatever I feel the need to write about)
Friday: Reality Check

As today is Friday we will be checking in with some of this week's highlights in the reality world.

Monday's reality schedule is kind of crappy at the moment. Besides the reruns of CelebReality on VH1 no other reality shows air. Boo.

Tuesday really begins our week of the crazy on TV. Starting with the current season of the Real World/Road Rules challenge, The Inferno 3, which airs on MTV at 10 pm.

This season once again pits the Good Guys against the Bad Asses. To me it's a lame concept because whenever there is $400,000 on the line everyone is a vicious, vindictive ass. Even though there is a team concept everyone is in it to win as much money as possible and to screw over as many people as possible. This week's 'team challenge' forced two of the skinniest girls into electric chairs where they were electrocuted when their teammates answered bogus trivia questions incorrectly. The original concept was to see which skinny chick would give up first but it ultimately came down to which team had the most correct answers. Again I say, Lame. This show (and its counterparts) continues to go downhill but I will continue to watch it b/c lets face it, I'm a reality junkie.

Continuing on Tuesday evenings with Kathy Griffin: Life on the D List, airing on Bravo from 10pm to 11pm.

This show never fails to amuse me. Kathy Griffin may be in your face but some of the things she comes up with are pure gold. For instance this week the teasers pointed towards the show being about Kathy's "date" with Backstreet Boy Nick Carter. In actuality this bit kind of sunk and was only twenty minutes of the show. The rest of the show was genius. Kathy was doing a show in Michigan and sadly had only sold 40% of the seats for the show. So she proceeds to give tickets away for free to random people, including her waitress at brunch. But unfortunately her waitress had to work that night so instead of letting it go, Kathy convinces her boss to let one of Kathy's minions, Tom, stand in for her. Hilarity ensues when after the show Kathy goes to this restaurant to sit in Tom's section and give him the hardest time imaginable. If you haven't seen this show, please devote at least on hour next Tuesday night to give it a shot. If you don't find yourself giggling then, well, you have no sense of humor.

Wednesday evening one of my all time favorite reality shows had its season premier. Top Chef, airing from 10pm to 11pm on Bravo.

I swear Bravo is trying to create one uber reality show. They have clothing designers, chefs, hair stylists, and decorators all competing for top prize and the chance for no one to ever hear from them again. Seriously, name one of the winners from any of these shows and tell me what they're doing. And don't cheat, b/c I know all of the fan sites and will know if you knew b/c you're a genuine fan or if you saw my challenge and decided to do a search just to prove me wrong.

So Top Chef makes me hungry. Granted this week's episode made me the least hungry b/c they had to create a surf and turf entree out of strange proteins like eel and rattlesnake but the energy and creativity that these chefs put into their creations is amazing and always makes me wish I had some sort of talent so that I could one day be on a Bravo reality show. Fiance even said that once we get married we should start taking culinary classes. My jaw hit the ground when he said this. Once I reeled it back in, I jumped on board with that idea. Hit me up in a year and maybe you'll get a dinner party invite. I'll even have my super sweet stemless wine glasses by then so it will be ultra chic!

And finally the week ends with Thursday and the finest new reality show on TV at the moment...Pirate Master, CBS 8pm-9pm.

I cannot even begin to describe to you how ultra cheesy and fantastic this show is. It's premise is basically Survivor on a pirate ship. And I'm not a Survivor fan, but I could not pass up the opportunity to jump on the latest pirate bandwagon.

The producer's made up some bogus pirate and told the crew (all bedecked in pirate garb) that his treasure is split up and hidden in various places around this Caribbean vicinity. They have to find keys in snake pits, and alligator territory and even in skulls, that will unlock different treasure chests with varying amounts of gold doubloons...yes, doubloons that they then have to count out. They elect a captain from the winning team who then gets half the money. And each chest so far has contained between $35,000 and $45,000. And everyone knows going in to each challenge that whoever they elect captain will get half of what the team found. It is shocking and stupid but also really fun and piratey!

For the first two shows they had an incredibly greedy captain who took the money and ran...but he'd give everyone a couple hundred to keep his name good. Yeah, that just pissed people off. Well this week a new team won and elected a new captain...who not only split up all the money between his team, he also adopted a fake British accent while doing so. This new captain has accomplished what every captain from now on should...a loyal crew who will laugh at you behind your back. I'm not saying this is the best way this show should continue, since it could end up becoming pretty boring, fairly quick, but last night's episode was genius.

I know not all of you are die hard reality fans like me but all of the shows are enjoyable and oh so much fun to watch. I apologize for the length of this post but you need background above anything else, right? Next week's reality check will not be nearly as long...promise!

*kisses*

Catch up on all of these shows online.

www.mtv.com
www.bravotv.com
www.cbs.com

2007-06-13T08:54:00.000-04:00

I got my very first massage yesterday. Yay!

I was late to it. Of course. I was so excited all week and I forgot about it when it was time. I'm a weirdo.

So my masseuse called me and told me that if I could get there in the next 10 minutes she could still see me. I made it there in three.

If you've never had a massage you totally should. It's so very relaxing. The room smells all yummy, there's pretty music playing and someone has to rub the aches and pains out of you. It's so wonderful.

However, I woke up this morning with bruises...totally worth it!

*kisses*

2007-06-12T08:05:00.000-04:00

According to the tracker on my Myspace page, my wedding is 2 months and 19 days away. WOW!

Things are beginning to move along. Here's a list of the things which are in progress:

1) Invitations. I have the wording for the five things that will be included in all of my invitation. (invitation, rehearsal dinner invitation, reception card, reply card, and accommodations card. Not to mention the two different registry cards that Target and Bed, Bath and Beyond provided me, which need my registry number written on them (project!)) So yes, I have the wording and now I need the card stock. Lucky for me, a quarter mile from my office is a paper supply store. I will be heading there after work to do some browsing.

2) DJ list. Fiance and I know the songs we'd like to first dance to and walk into our reception to. We have all of the traditional 'game' songs like the 'Cha Cha slide' and the 'Electric slide'. We also have a long list of Rat Pack songs. And that's about it. Any song suggestions would be greatly appreciated so that I can get this DJ list finished and catch up with the DJ in about 2 weeks. Hopefully 2 months is plenty of time to find all of the strange request songs. Fiance and I believe that if we can find it on limewire, then our DJ should be able to track it down.

3) Bridesmaid dresses. My future sister in law is returning this Saturday so that my mom can finalize her dress. I'm uber excited about these dresses. I have a picture of what the mock up dress looks like but my stupid computer won't recognize my camera, yet again. ( By the way, I'm so glad my mom does mock up dresses, b/c otherwise I would never have figured out that even on a size zero, an empire waist makes you look pregnant. So no empire waists for my bridesmaids!)

4) Tux rentals. Now I just need to get in contact with the groomsmen so that they can send in their deposits.

That's about it for now. But hopefully soon I'll have more to report!

*kisses*

Summer O' Torture

2007-06-08T08:59:00.001-04:00

This is inhumane. It's only 9 am and I can't make it much longer. I was in my office for 5 minutes, 5 MINUTES and my whole body was covered in sweat.. My upper lip could be a swimming pool. I know this is completely gross but I have to vent.

WHY would they do this in the dead of summer? I mean, ok it's not July or August which are way too hot but it's still 9am and 80 degrees. I don't think the weather has changed since yesterday at 8pm when the sun went down. Literally I walked out of fiance's apartment last night at 11pm and it had to have been 80 degrees if not more. So, WHY didn't they replace the damn chiller in the Spring when we don't need it? or God forbid...the winter? I swear this place churns out stupidity.

And of course, my car. My very old Honda Accord with great mileage. (seriously 13 years old and not even 100 thousand miles yet) Great mileage is one thing but Honda's AC goes out insanely quick. I got my car 3 or 4 years ago and the AC didn't work, and hadn't for a while. But I'm a tough chick. I thought I could handle it. Yeah, turns out not so much. So we started getting the freon charged every summer. You know when it got too hot to just roll around town with your windows down. We'd get the freon charged and BAM! we were good for about 2 months, until it went out again.

One catch...I've never actually paid for this service. So I called my mechanic this morning for an estimate and was figuring it would be $75. Steep but do-able. But of course, b/c this is the summer o' torture, it will run me $100-$120. This infuriates me. I am unwilling to pay that amount of money for something that only lasts 2 months. But it will ultimately come down to fiance b/c he drives the car most often. So I guess later today I'll be shelling out $120 (b/c I never get lucky and get the cheaper end of the estimate)

I guess what's really annoying me is:

a) the insane heat
b) the sweat
AND
c) it's payday, I'm getting married in 3 months (sorry, less than) and there are things I have to start getting. Like tux rentals. and saving for my bridesmaid's to get their nails done, on me. I'm ok that it's payday and I have to pay bills. I'm used to that, it's these extra pieces of SHENANIGANS that drive me bonkers.

Sorry, but the heat makes me whiney. I promise more upbeat posts next week, when it's cooler. Also next week I get my first massage! I'm hoping she can massage the whiney right out of me!

*kisses*

Ugh

2007-06-07T10:35:00.000-04:00

So since Monday the air conditioning has been off in my building. This especially sucks due to the fact that I live in the South and our humidity levels are off the freaking charts. It is honestly going to reach 100 degrees tomorrow if you include the heat index and I'm not sure I can take it. I feel like I'm swimming. The air is so thick I could bathe in it. Literally, hand me some soap and let me get to work.

So until next week I get to spend 5 hours a day in this sweltering office and then depending on my mother's schedule I either get to work from home or from my sister's very nicely air conditioned office. To be honest it's not a bad deal. Especially since I'm the kind of person who can actually work from home. The way I see it, if I can lug the damn laptop home I can at least open and process a word document.

On a different subject I love it when people comment on my weight loss. In the past several days I have gotten several 'wow, you're so skinny now'. Now it is also true that those people have been my family and fiance but the fact rings true...I have lost a hell of a lot of weight. Almost 25 pounds to be exact...and that, my friends, is the size of my cat...

Thanks to sissypooh for shooting this fabulous footage last Christmas.

It's Flower Time

2007-06-06T10:32:00.000-04:00

So I'm doing the flowers for my wedding. Why pay exorbitant fees for a florist when you can just run down to Hobby Lobby and buy some silk flowers and do it yourself?

So mom and I have started a search for only the best in silk flowers. Unfortch we're having some problems. I have never understood why they add 'waterdrops' to flower petals. It looks like someone dripped a hot glue gun on it and thought...'ooh that looks cool'. Or why they make blue velvet roses...seriously are people that tacky? Oh yeah...yes they are. Just some irritants...sorry.

So originally I was planning on doing a magnolia arrangement for my bridesmaids but decided against it in favor of blush roses in a tight cluster. Haven't found those yet, but hopefully it will be pretty.

I originally wanted a ball of stephanotis for my bouquet but even fake stephanotis is expensive and only comes in tiny clusters. B/c stephanotis is good luck at weddings you will see it in my bouquet just not a whole lot of it.

So I've been changing my mind a lot, but have found these very pretty flowers. Plus now I'm also thinking about sunflowers. But I can't have any foliage b/c my bridesmaid dresses are a strange shade of green...so yeah. What to do, what to do?

For now enjoy these pretty flowers:
The first are just pretty and go along with my accent color. But Daisies are hard to cluster so we probably won't use them.

The second would be foliage used for boutonnières and corsages. (the flowery part obviously)

The third is an idea for my bouquet but I'm not sure if I like it. But gardenia would look nice in a ball shaped bouquet like this:

Any ideas? I'm up for anything.

*kisses*

2007-06-05T16:35:00.000-04:00

So my computer is being a jackass. I have pictures for a wedding update and well this wedding update isn't complete without the pictures. So I'll try again tomorrow.

*kisses*

Oh and I totally got a hole in one playing Tiger Challenge last night...woot!

Let's talk honestly...

2007-06-04T13:27:00.001-04:00

This game rocks my socks!

I literally played this game for 6 hours yesterday. Who knew golf could be so much fun? I'm thinking real golf sucks but Wii golf? Wii golf rocks!

So I put a lot of time and energy into creating my own golfer. She's got some sweet hot pink plaid shorts and she used to wear chucks but then she got sponsored so now she has dorky Nike's.

So basically you just golf. You hold your controller like a golf club and swing. It's that easy. You have a calendar of events and if you wear your sponsor's clothing items or use their clubs then they give you endorsement money. (I've made a lot of money)

But you can also do the 'Tiger Challenge' where you are paired up with someone and you have to beat them at 9-hole or one ball (you have to hit the ball over a yellow line or you're in 'betrayal', I have no idea what betrayal is but I do know it makes you lose a turn) or you have to hit the ball through colored rings to earn a certain number of points to advance to the next level.

Right now I'm stuck in a game of one-ball with Hammish McGregor who is seriously the scariest looking, Scottish video game character ever. (I wish I had a picture of this guy) And he's kicking my ass. It's painful. Honestly, I have tried to beat him 3 times already and finally had to give up.

Anyways, the Wii is the best buy ever. It's a workout and it's entertaining. I am not an athletic person but I could play this game all day and not get bored...or tired.

Find someone with a Wii and play this game. You will not be disappointed!

*kisses*

2007-05-31T10:29:00.000-04:00

So I just have to say...I'm in a really good place right now.

I don't know why...I'm just chipper. So chipper in fact that I actually cleaned my room and my bathroom last night. I was in the mood.

Those kind of moods scare me. I've never been one to be...clean. I'm a slob, through and through. I find things easier when the place is messed as opposed to when its clean. And truth be told that's only b/c I am notorious for cleaning by throwing things in boxes, bags, any kind of container really and just stuffing it under my bed or in a closet. It's, as fiance would put it, how I roll.

But now I have to think about moving. I have to go through those bags, boxes, and various containers and I have to consciously decide what stays, goes, or gets thrown away. I'm terrible at this b/c I think everything will be needed in the future.

Case and point: yesterday I threw away a McDonald's Happy Meal toy. Sacrelig...I know. But it was one of those American Idol toys, a headpiece microphone. Pure junk. This thing was too small for my head and it also doesn't amplify my voice...it just plays some crappy techno tune. So it must be thrown out. And as the toy left my fingertips, before it hit the garbage, all I could think was...'maybe I'll have a little girl someday who would want to play with this. A little girl who would think this is really cool.' I thought this in the span of two seconds and literally fought the urge to pull it back out of the trash, drive to Wal-Mart, buy a storage bin and mark it "Things possible offspring might play with"

But who am I kidding? When I have children American Idol will be in it's 15th season and Happy Meal toy technology will be so awesome that their new headpiece microphones will actually project your voice instead of some crappy techno tune.

And all of this crossed my mind b/c I'm in a good mood...a mood that makes me clean.

*kisses*

2007-05-30T08:52:00.001-04:00

So one of four bridesmaids is coming in this weekend for the first bridesmaid dress fitting. This bridesmaid just happens to be the youngest, skinniest, and fiance's little sister, Sissy.

I'm not sure if making her dress first will be easier or harder for my mom because Sissy is a size zero. (the first time we met I took her shopping at Old Navy and we headed straight to clearance. I'm thinking this chick is awesome, she's not taking advantage of my generosity. So we found a couple of things (I swear she's a better bargain shopper than me) and she said 'ok, let me hit up the kids section.' Let me hit up the kids section? I swear my head started doing the exorcist spin-thingey. But, yes, sadly Sissy can wear little kid clothes...that is how freaking skinny she is.) (also, so I can use more parenthesis, she signed up to give blood but said if she hit the weight minimum allowed to donate, then she would feel fat...yeah, the weight minimum is 110 pounds...gag me) But I digress, I love Sissy and do not fault her for her skinny genes...or the fact that she can get away with wearing skinny jeans. (ha)

So the pattern that we got for the bridesmaid's dresses comes in 6 handy dandy sizes...6,8,10,18,20, and 22. Are we seeing the problem here? Because I am not a seamstress my brain automatically thinks...oh this will be a piece of cake...just use less fabric. My mom on the other hand has got to be freaking out.

But I think it will all go ok. The dress itself is simple. All the bridesmaid's have the same dress. I think once mom gets the hang of it, it will all be a piece of cake. Plus once she's done with the hardest one the rest will be a breeze...right?

Right?

*kisses*

2007-05-29T08:46:00.000-04:00

Well ladies and gents...I WON!

Not like it was at all difficult seeing as I was the only female to show up. Seriously...if you pay five dollars to enter something why don't you show up to either semi-finals or finals? Wast of money, wast of money. I know the bar sucks and all but come on! WASTE OF MONEY!

So I won perfume and lotion (and a new inside joke! (velocity!)), a beer cozy and wait for it...$60! Woot! That's right...do the math, if you subtract my $5 entry fee and divide the remainder by 5 you get 11. I took money from 11 people...BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO SHOW UP!

Sorry for the ridiculous amount of CAPS in this post but I am flabbergasted.

Also b/c of the 3 day weekend (woot) I'm treating today like Monday so expect a wedding post tomorrow.

*kisses*

Yippee!

2007-05-25T10:08:00.000-04:00

I'm finally feeling better, Yay! I'm telling you, Mucinex is amazing! And I only know about Mucinex b/c I went to the doctor about a year ago with the same symptoms I was experiencing this time and they wrote me a prescription. When I went to the Pharmacy, I waited in line for 10 minutes only to be told that my prescription was for Mucinex. Yeah, I evidently didn't have the smartest of doctors. This is where teaching hospitals suck! So yeah, I'm feeling better, just a slight sniffle.

This is good b/c tonight is the finals of my karaoke contest. Fiance couldn't be happier about that. He's not excited that I stand a very good chance of walking away with the monetary prize or even the gym membership...oh no...he's happy b/c it means that we don't have to go to the bar every Friday night now! I can't really blame him though, the bar sucks. No liquor b/c we live in a small town that sees liquor as the devil's drink. And since we live in the South it seems that the only music people sing at Karaoke is country. I'm sorry, not just country...bad country. But at least it gives me the chance every week to perform, which I miss. It also gives me a chance to hone my pool sharking skills.

I like to play a game really badly and then beat the crap out of them the next round. Truth be told, it's not like I'm planning it to go that way...I just have weird pool skills. Sometimes I'll hit three balls in a row, sometimes my cue stick has a mind of its own.

So wish me luck, I'll let you know how it goes!

*kisses*

2007-05-24T09:03:00.000-04:00

I'm still sick and am having happy dreams about leaving work early with a laptop and working from the comforts of my couch...such lovely dreams.

Speaking of dreams...

I had a dream about Angus last night. In it I loved on him as much as possible. I hugged him, petted him, smooched on him. All things I've been wanting to do since his death. It was like a final meeting to really say goodbye.

I think I'm finally starting to let go.

2007-05-23T11:41:00.000-04:00

Just so I don't fall into Catchy territory...

I'm sick. I have no energy. Hopefully I will be better tomorrow and I can post something fun.

Oh, and Catchy...post something...it's been a while.

The Guest List

2007-05-22T10:18:00.000-04:00

So the wedding is basically three months away. (scary)

We had wanted to send Save the Dates since the wedding is on a holiday weekend, but that never came to fruition.

Wedding etiquette says that invitations should be sent two months preceding the nuptials but since we never sent the save the dates, I'd like to get them out two and half to three months before the date. SO...this means I need to get cracking since, May is basically over (yeah when did that happen).

I have my sister's guest list and my mother's Christmas card list and I've combined them. I've highlighted names of people I don't recognize. But the list remains at about 160 invites. Now, 160 invites isn't bad but when you sit down to consider that basically almost every invite includes 2 or more people, the list gets longer and scarier.

I want my wedding to be big, but not that big. I want to have fun but I don't want my parents to go broke. So the question is...who gets cut?

I want as many people as possible to come. I know a lot of people care about me and a lot care about fiance. I'm at such a loss. Is it crazy for me to believe that most of those 160 invites won't show? I mean there are a lot of out of town invitees so maybe they'll not want to give up their holiday weekend. But I know that if I count on that, they'll make plans to come.

So, yeah, frustrations have started. I promised myself I wouldn't get overwhelmed but it may be inevitable.

Oh yeah, I got an e-mail from my father about a family friend that may be able to play harp at the wedding. If she can swing it she may be able to get two other people and we could have a trio. We'll see...

Good Lord Why?

2007-05-21T15:46:00.000-04:00

I know, I know, I don't normally post twice in a day but I came across this and had to...and it is also completely appropriate that I made a comment about feeling like Jack Napier earlier...

Ok so I posted a while back on the 'new' look for the joker in the upcoming Batman sequel, The Dark Knight.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I totally liked that one better than this...

I totally screamed when I saw this. I'm seriously hoping that Warner Bros is just screwing with us and will continue to release different pictures of what the joker will look like, b/c this, this I cannot deal with.

Fiance doesn't know about this yet...I'm frightened by the thought of his reaction...of course it could be 'awesome' and I'm just overreacting. I'll let you know...or he will if he comments (hint, freaking, hint, honey)

*kisses*

2007-05-21T10:37:00.001-04:00

Fear not...I have survived my surgery. I have no clue what the finished product looks like since they put some strange dissolvo bandage on my face but I'm hoping it won't be a Jack Napier moment.."give me the mirror!"

So yay, I am now only slightly disfigured. The doctor kept worrying me about the fact that there will be a scar. SERIOUSLY? For the one millionth time, I can freaking cover a scar!

Thanks to everyone who kept me in their thoughts and prayers.

Sorry for the shortness of this post but I've got a buttload of work to do since I took a day off for the surgery.

*kisses*

Tomorrow: Wedding Post...Guest List fiasco!

I Call Shenanigans

2007-05-17T13:50:00.000-04:00

Pronunciation: (shu-nan'i-gun)
-n. Informal
1. Usually, shenanigans.
a. mischief; prankishness:
b. deceit; trickery

2. a mischievous or deceitful trick, practice, etc

3. Deception or tomfoolery on the part of carnival stand operators.

"Officer Barbrady, I call Shenanigans!"

4. A restaurant preferred by Officer Rodney Farva. It is known for serving mozzarella sticks and having goofy shit on the walls.

Captain O'Hagan: I swear to God I'm going to pistol whip the next guy who says 'Shenanigans'.
Mac: Hey Farva, what's the name of that restaurant you like with all the goofy shit on the walls and the mozzarella sticks?
Farva (from other room): You mean Shenanigans?
Rabbit:OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Mac: (hands O'Hagan the butt of his pistol)

5. An interjection used to falsify another's statement...pretty much the trump card of conversation

I Call Shenanigans!

So this is what is written on our Shenanigans cards. Basically we're all huge dorks. You should already know that fiance and I love to play board games... and well... so do our friends. (hey if you're friends don't like doing the same stuff you do, what's the fun?)

The point of Shenanigans is such:
When we're playing a game we each get to call Shenanigans once on a stupid question. (We've always done this based on the fact that fiance plays Princess rules, meaning that I can always have a redo...yes, I know I'm incredibly spoiled. When we play with friends we play by shenanigans rules...less fighting this way...we're all slightly competitive) Shenanigans means you can choose to get another question if your Shenanigans question is something you don't know because of the category, (ie I know nothing about sports unless its ice skating, but fiance is helping me with football, baseball, and wrestling) or if its just such a dumb question that everyone knows the answer to (ie, the quote below definition 4, what movie is this from...b/c if you don't know that, I'm not sure we can be friends) or NO ONE knows the answer b/c, simply it is the dumbest, hardest, why would anyone know that kind of question (sadly, I can't think of an example)

We also call shenanigans in general conversation. We're all big braggers and it is our way of politely calling 'bullshit'.

I take full credit for shenanigans becoming part of our friend vocab. I only take full credit b/c I call shenanigans the most...and b/c Perry will always slip up and say bullshit...I love that girl...she doesn't hold back.

So now we have cards to call shenanigans with. Now we call shenanigans on inanimate objects as well as people. I can't tell you how many times fiance called shenanigans on the bowling alley on my birthday.

Thanks to Blythe who found the definitions and printed up the cards. They are on the most putrid shade of green card stock you will ever encounter.

*kisses*

PS:there is so much more to Shenanigans but it is so very difficult to write about seeing as this is mostly an inside joke.

My Proposition for Beefing up Celebrity Reality

2007-05-16T10:36:00.000-04:00

Seriously...who cares if another athlete or boy band member wins DWTS? It's not fair that they have such an advantage. We know boy banders can dance, its in the job description. We know that professional athletes can withstand the routine of rehearsals. It's just not entertaining anymore.

If there is another season of DWTS, I think it should be fair for us, as the public viewing audience who wastes precious phone minutes and text messages to vote for "stars". It is so blatantly obvious that these 'viewer's choice' reality shows are rigged...it hurts. So here's my proposal...Next season, don't include professional athletes or former boy band members. Include people that are actually stars and not 'professional charity organizers'. I want to see people that I've been wondering about where they've gone...

People like:

Charlotte Rae because who doesn't want to see Mrs. G cutting a rug? Plus she's like 82 and that just makes good TV.

Mr. T...'I pity the foo who thinks he can tango better than me'...can you hear it?

Winny from The Wonder Years, I know that she is like some math genius and what not, but I think she'd look fantastic in the costumes the give you.

Rowan Atkinson the guy's a comedy genius...do you think they'll let him partner with his teddy bear?

Molly Ringwald...what? She's freaking awesome and needs to get back into the spotlight.

Bronson Pinchot the guy's hilarious...and nowhere to be found.

The Robot Girl from Small Wonder...as the Robot Woman...hey we already had a woman with a prosthetic leg...let's do it Emeril style and kick it up a notch.

And last but not least...the ringer ladies and gentleman...

Captain Planet because if Celine Dion can sing duets with Frank Sinatra (postmortem) and Elvis then who's to say you can't superimpose our favorite pollution fighting hero. Plus you can draw him anyway you like...you can make him super good and totally untouchable or like super bad...who cares anyway? The show is totally rigged.

And that folks is the perfect lineup for DWTS Season 5.

(This rant brought to you by the anger and turmoil DWTS has caused me. That's right folks...last night Steve Sanders was kicked off leaving two professional athletes and a boy bander to fend for the title. Also the letters F and U and the number 4)