My favorite boy

You'll have to forgive me...I'm feeling a wee bit sentimental for my boy today. Last night was spent talking to one of J's friend/groomsmen Grant and his girlfriend about how they want to get a dog together. Earlier they'd come to pick J up at our house while I was still at work so they had just seen Leo and Mary. I shared my emotional tale about how Leo (originally named Nate Dogg) came to live with me. And now I just want to give that dingo a hug. In fact, he's curled up next to me in his signature pose, so I think I'll go hug him now.

PS if you didn't already know it, I'm an advocate for adoption. You can't breed this kind of perfection.

Think, "Warm."

It all came out this weekend.

I didn't know we were keeping it a secret from our parents, but apparently so. During a phone conversation with my dad on Saturday, I mentioned my pact with J. "What pact is that?" Oh just how we haven't turned on our heat yet this year, and how we're holding out for January. "WHAT!?!" asked my dad. The next question was why.

It started in October, when we'd have one week of coldish fall weather, and then a week of 70s. And then in November, where yes, the temps dropped lower yet, but there was always a week of sunshine around the bend. So we layered up, under blankets, stole body heat from dogs. As I write this, it is currently 33 outside and 57 inside. Not the worst we've had.

So after my dad somewhat laughed at us/commended us for our frugality, (my answer to "WHY!?!" was, "It's a matter of principle for us.") I had to get ready for J's mom's choir concert with the symphony orchestra. It was a lovely Christmas concert, made even more special because as I ran downstairs to meet my date (J's dad) it was snowing -- hard! Well, for southeast Virginia at least. Of course by the time the concert ended -- with a carol sing-a-long! -- the snow had only covered about 1/3 inch on cars and that was all. Boo. But it did bring me to mention how chilly it would be at home.

"Why?" J's mom asked. I asked her, hadn't J told her about our wintry weather pact? After she too ridiculed us and laughed, she offered up something that we've been meaning to buy, but have not (which should tell you just how not miserable we have been) -- a space heater. Glorious plentiful instant heat coming out of a tiny box! We picked it up last night after helping them decorate their Christmas tree. I think I've mentioned that his family shares our same tradition of John Denver & the Muppets around Christmas, so there was no better way to warm our hearts with Kermit and Miss Piggy singing songs from my childhood. And then of course to go home and warm our hands and feet by the fire hazard.*

*If I haven't stressed this enough, J is just as paranoid as I am. The space heater is called "Family Safety Space Heater." It has a timer on it. But no, we will use it and then turn it off manually. Golly, I love that man. :)

A glass of Chablis

One day last week, my dear fiance called me and said "9:00 on Wednesday, it's a date."

In our 2 years + together, I can't recall such a phone call. We're planners, this is true, but the excitement in his voice...if we weren't already engaged I would've suspected something.

Given that this phone call occurred the same day as my previous post, I was able to talk J into telling me what his surprise was. (Side note, oh have I not told you that we can't keep secrets? We are physically incapable. It's actually more fun this way. When we'll get the other to crack is more of a surprise anyway). Picture this if you can -- and my only friend who can just gave birth to precious baby Madeleine Jayne yesterday evening -- I'm standing in front of my office, stressed to the max. I was probably standing there, eyes closed, pinching the bridge of my nose like a cartoon of a stressed out person. J tells me that he's just purchased tickets to see The Lady Chablis perform at The Garage. Translation: (and this is a technical translation) a pre-op drag queen--who lives full time as a woman--performing a show at a local gay bar. J's excitement was infectious and after I stopped giggling, I got so stinking excited.

You might have also fallen in love with Chablis, as I did, watching Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. If you have not seen it, holy moly, what are you waiting for? Go rent it right now. I'm so excited. Thank you, J, for knowing exactly what I needed right now.

Car Woes: Part Three Million: A Family Affair

Firstly, you'll noticed I changed the title to exclude "PT." Because I traded that heaping pile in on Monday. It had a tire pressure alert light come on, and given my highway commute I was terrified of the thought of a tire blowing and possibly dying in a PT Cruiser. I now drive the smallest vehicle I've ever seen.

So now. Friends, you're tired of hearing about it. And believe me when I tell you I'm tired of living it. After twenty minutes on the phone with Enterprise followed by an hour and a half on the phone with my insurance company last night, I was done. Exhausted. Tired of spending countless hours on the phone with random numb skulls (who happens to be a random numb skull I've never spoken to about my claim, hence having to spend 15 minutes bringing them up to speed on "the case") -- every week.

When the wreck-causer told me they were canceling my rental coverage due to an unreasonably long repair time, I called my insurance company to straighten it out...this was Friday. They said, "As soon as we get off the phone here, I'll call the body shop for an update and then Statefarm to tell them they are obligated to pay for your car for the duration of repairs." I felt better. They assured me they'd call should anything go wrong. Friday. Yesterday was Wednesday and I got a call from Enterprise saying that since Statefarm stopped paying for the rental car on Friday, umm, someone's gotta come pay this balance. Of over $100. PS I still don't have the Jetta (I'm going to forego using the word "mine" to describe it -- that implies ownership of some kind).

So after almost 2 hours of nothing-new chatter, I resigned to the fact that I'm out $100. I'm just done, I'd rather be over it than in it. And then. J, amazing fiance, calls and says that no, it's not over because while he was at work last night, he'd made a few calls of his own. One, to his dad...returning in this sordid story as Father-at-Law, starring as himself. New to this episode however, is Uncle Paul, whose specific job escapes me, but I know he's in the insurance field. Father-at-Law and Uncle Paul are on the case. And lots of other interesting factors that will make today sporty.

In summation, for today at least, let me leave you with this thought. You can be driving home from work on a beautiful Friday afternoon, actually having thoughts of how lucky you are to be healthy again, etc. When out of the blue, a nice and polite college girl rams into the back of your car. Your insurance company initiates the claim and pays for the first 30 days of your rental car under your policy. Although it takes a month and a lot of phone calls, her insurance accepts liability for the accident, and transfers payment of your rental. And then when they feel the repairs have extended a reasonable amount of time, instead of calling the body shop to talk, they just cancel your rental coverage, calling to tell you this at noon on a Friday, leaving you, the victim, to pay the overages out of pocket. That's the short of it. That's three months of my tears in one paragraph. So while my friends and family might be tired of hearing about it, I'm tired of living it.

Turkeys

I mentioned how on Thanksgiving that Berkley decided to confess her undying love for me, which I fully support. After getting there about 2 hours earlier, J and I popped a squat on the stairs. Not a minute after, B ran over and climbed up into my lap (which as a gal without a baby knows, that's the fastest way for a kid to claim your heart...)

No heat until January

J and I sometimes like to challenge ourselves. As in, "Hey, let's not turn our heat on until January!" "Sounds perfect!"

I would just like to say that I've been working the last hour and a half on wedding invitations in my office wearing sweatpants, wool socks and slippers, a turtleneck sweater, a hoodie sweatshirt, a wool hat, a blanket across my lap, and a pair of gloves that I had to remove to type this.

My computer says it's 68 outside, which I'm not sure I believe, but it's frickin' freezing in our house. Why? Someone please explain how that's possible.

On giving thanks

If you were wondering if I cried through the "what you're thankful for" portion of Thanksgiving dinner, your answer is yes. For the second year in a row. At J's folks' dinner table.

I truly think it's one of the best traditions there is, one that my family never adopted. Last year I was so nervous as it got closer to my turn. Partly because I get nervous speaking in crowds larger than 3. But also due to J's parents' home renovations and the fact that the cold temps in the house made cooking longer than normal and we didn't sit down to dinner until 9pm...even though wine had been flowing since 11am. So as soon as J's aunt Bryn starts to say what she was thankful for, she started to tear up, and then we locked eyes and shared a small sob. Because we're saps. I ended up botching my somewhat prepared statement about being so thankful to be accepted into such a wonderful loving family, and it ended up coming out like, "I'm thankful for this table!" Seriously. And J went on to profess how he was thankful that we'd started to build a wonderful life together and we don't need anything else since we have each other. But his girlfriend was thankful for the table!

This year I was determined to ace it. I mean, it's been a great year! I'm engaged! My mom was sitting there with me! I replaced my job (sort of)! We have an amazing place to live and don't have to move anytime soon! I've got a (future) niece who is amazing and wonderful and asks for me by name! And wouldn't you know, Aunt Bryn starts sharing her thanks for her family and its new members, and she named the babies that were born this year. And then she says my name. And I looked over at her and we both started crying. Again. Flash forward through the next 15 family members (including Grandaddy who was thankful for all of God's creatures, big and small...so sweet!) and then it was my turn. I know I managed to say I was thankful my mom was able to come out and visit and I was even more thankful for the reason she was visiting -- "Wedding dress shopping!" Yes, that's what came out of my mouth. What I intended on saying was how thankful I am to be planning a marriage to my best friend, the most amazing person I've ever known. Tables and wedding dress shopping, that's what I'm thankful for! Sigh...

Luckily, I'd managed to give my mom about two minutes' prior notice so she aced her profession of thankfulness. And of course so did J, who made me cry even harder. And Miss Berkley, 20-month-old leap day baby extraordinaire, what was she thankful for? "BOATS!" I kid you not. She apparently also prays for them at night. Smart girl.

PT Woes: Part Seventy-Four

When my mom and I were getting in the PT Cruiser to go on a random errand the other day when I noticed some rust. A scratch. A few dents. As if something large and heavy had fallen on it. Perhaps a tree branch. Perhaps a tree branch during a recent Nor'easter. I didn't let it bother me. I went about my business, mentioned I'd call my best friend* soon and talk to them about it, especially since I haven't spoken to them in a few days. Put it right back out of my mind.

That is, until I called them today. And reported the "damage

" like a good samaritan. Guess how much it's gonna cost me? Oh, just my $500 deductible. When I originally got the Cruiser I was only supposed to have it for two weeks so I didn't accept any of their supplemental coverage. I'm still waiting for the silver lining in this PT Cruiser experience to show itself.

*USAA

(This is not "my" Cruiser, this is the Cruiser we took to Tennessee last year.

Have I mentioned I've rented 4 of them in my life?)

Whoa

I bought a wedding dress on Saturday.

Reality has not completely set in yet.

Inspire Me

Big news friends! Last night I opened a fresh new InDesign document and named it "J&S_weddinginvite_v1"!!! And I worked on it for twenty minutes before bed. And I'm pretty sure I found a font I want to use -- Lauren, you can appreciate the hugeness of that statement given how we've flip-flopped over fonts together!

Perhaps I owe it to the inspiration board I pulled together last week at the suggestion of the previously mentioned bride. If you've looked at any wedding blogs you know the importance of a inspiration board -- a place to pull together all those images you've been bookmarking or squirreling away, and take them with you to vendor meetings as well as email them to mothers who don't see why you don't want red roses? And in the wedding blog world you always site your sources...so umm yeah I'm thankful for my small readership here. You guys won't be offended. Besides, five of them are my own pictures.

Some of them are obviously just that--inspiration, a starting point. Some of these are things I'd pluck right off of here and wear down the aisle if I could. So I'll be taking this in my hot little hands when my mom and I go meet with our caterer to discuss table settings on Friday. Our caterer sets up everything with the rental company...which is awesome if you're having a (half) tent wedding like us.

And for my sanity, here's a list of things we've already accomplished:

- Ceremony venue

- Reception venue

- Caterer -- menu at 95% completion

- Rentals

- Bridesmaids dresses (hey, I'm claiming it!)

- Some crafting (guest book, lanterns)

And hopefully by this time next week I'll be able to add:

- Wedding dress

- Table setting design

Whew, off to work...

Thanks, Mom

On a recent walk with the dogs, I realized I needed to call my mom and thank her for being so wise. Although I hated the rule as a child, she was right for not letting me play in piles of leaves.

Dogs do pee on them. On every single pile that they pass, as a matter of fact.

Here and there

- Yesterday Mary tripped whilst jumping out of an ivy bed. And skinned her chin on the pavement. And it started bleeding. And J started feeling his first paternal instincts kick in. She's ok, i just can't get over how strange it is that our dog face-planted on the sidewalk.

- When I was getting ready to blow dry my hair yesterday morning, I somehow managed to gouge a strip of skin out of my forehead with my thumbnail. Quite possibly the most randomly attained self-inflicted injury of my life. It looks like I accidently drew on myself with a red pen. Great.

- My car is going to be ready: apparently never. I get daily email updates from the "collision specialist" and I think they're trying to figure out how many times they can tell me the vapor canister doesn't fit before I freak out.

- After finally deciding what to take to Thanksgiving next week at J's folks' house, I did a test run last night of Cheesecake-Filled Pumpkin Cupcakes. I don't even like pumpkin desserts, and holy crap these are amazing. And beautiful! I did follow reviews and omit the crazy frosting recipe and used a simpler cream cheese frosting. I'm taking a bunch of them in to work today to disperse of them, which means I'm going to have to actually speak to people today. And you know how I hate that.

- My mother gets here in 5 days! We have appts at bridal boutiques and meetings with caterer to look forward to! While I am upset my dad isn't coming this time, I'm excited because it means we can just sit around and talk and do the down-time things we gals like to do together.

- My back is getting itchy from my sunburn. Yes, we made it to Florida last week. I haven't quite figured out what to say about our whirlwind trip other than: I have the coolest in-laws in the world and I love Ft. Myers Beach.

- It did become apparent to us though that after more than 2 years together, our dogs don't like to be apart. They may not play together or really pay any attention to each other, but both of them had some issues with not eating and umm, other stuff, while we were away. From now on we're going to use an in-home pet service so we don't have to split up these two knuckleheads. Jamie, interested in some travel? :)

The Mighty Nor'easter

When I moved to Virginia five years ago, I knew that I was trading the Midwest's tornados for the East's hurricanes. I didn't know I was also in the market for Nor'Easters. I don't even think I'd ever heard that word before.

I arrived here the year after Hurricane Isabel, the most severe hurricane these parts have seen. My friends have told me horror stories about being without power for weeks (weeks!) and how the tunnel I drive through twice a day for work was closed for months (months!). There is a special clause in our contract with our wedding venue that if a hurricane comes through and wipes out the entire museum before our wedding date we will be refunded for 100% of our deposit. Just a crazy way of life that I never had to think about before moving here. And since I've been here, I haven't seen a real hurricane, thankfully. But I've seen the Nor'easters. I can't tell you the difference between a hurricane and a Nor'easter, but I know that the latter of the two are not named storms. Other than that? Umm, no difference? The local news sources are comparing this storm to Isabel, with massive power outages, higher than normal tides and severe coastal flooding.

I woke up at 6:30 this morning in a true attempt to go to work. I still have my awful cough and rough voice (as can be confirmed by Laura, who got a good chuckle out of it last night), but I'm getting better. At the same time that my alarm went off, J was driving through our neighborhood, dodging downed trees and lakes of flood waters. Stuck. After 24 hours of heavy rain, the whole region is stuck. J couldn't make it out of our neighborhood. And even if he had, the tunnel that he was headed for was closed. Marooned. He came back home, defeated...and promptly went back to bed. With the rain pounding rhythmically against even window in our house, I don't blame him.

My boss is flooded in on the island she lives on. We chatted this morning as I sipped my cup of tea sweetened with the cinnamon/lemon honey she steeped for me as a gift -- as she looked out her back window, commenting how the water has now swallowed the pilings of her dock. She doesn't have any power. She's staying home today. She doesn't have a choice.

As we nestle in for another day of gray heavy rain, the toughest decision on my plate is how to get the dogs to their weekend destinations today. At some point we're going to have to decide, come hell and high water, if we're going to be able to make it on this trip.

Willing myself well

About two weeks ago J's mama invited us to join her at their timeshare in Florida this weekend. I jumped for joy. Especially when we both got clearance from our jobs to go. True it may be a short trip, but I prefer to think of it as a long weekend instead.

Two days ago I woke up with the worst pain in my ears and that familiar rawness in my throat. I dealt with it, made it through the day. Yesterday was much much worse. I suddenly had a cough that made me sound like a 30-year career smoker with a rough and tough voice to match. I snuck in a quick trip to the doc who gave me some antibiotics, and the "Well it's not the flu!" verdict that I needed. I've been pushing the OJ like it's going out of style. You could set your watch by how religiously I've been gargling with this crazy witch-doctor antiseptic mouthwash. True, I've been coughing up things that make me a little sick to my stomach to see, but dang it, this will pass.

I just got a picture message from my future mother-in-law -- she arrived at the condo today. It's a picture of the balcony overlooking the ocean with the message, "Come on down!" We leave for Ft. Myers at 6AM on Friday morning. I will be well. Oh yes.

Howl-o-ween

I don't do Halloween costumes anymore. It's not that I don't love a good game of dress-up, because I do. Back in college, I had a long line of great costumes. Audrey Hepburn, Samantha the year we were the girls from SATC, Tina Turner (yes, really). I loved dressing up. I appreciate a well thought-out costume. A creative costume.

In 2006, the creative costume bug hit me, coincidentally the same year I decided to dabble with lighter colored hair. I was Monica Lewinsky. Complete with beret, cigar, blue dress with an, ahem, "stain" my mother of all people helped me concoct. And a badge I cooked up that said, "Special access: Oval Office."

A bunch of my friends went out (sexy cowgirl, sexy fairy...sigh...) that night to da clubs, where of course you ran into the scantily clad firefighter, the naughty naughty devil, a barely-there-nighty-wearing angel, etc. I looked like an old school marm next to all of that -- I was wearing a knee-length dress for crying out loud! The most horrific part of it all was the lack of recognition. I had people my own age who had never even heard of this Monica character. Is she a spy? One guy asked me my name and I answered, "Monica Lewinksy." He asked me where I worked...he was really making it way too easy. I told him I was a white house intern. "That's cool! But, well, Monica, you should be careful not to lose your badge." The worst part, he was serious. I walked away. Shoulders slumped. Spirit broken.

The next year I toyed around with being Tonya Harding. You know, french braid, ice skates, an old Olympics sweatshirt, crowbar...but no. I knew that in these days of sexy mermaid, sexy teacher, sexy cop, I was setting myself up for heartbreak once more.

So until I can top Monica, *no pun intended* in a world where creative and thought-out costumes are appreciated, consider me in early costume retirement.

Designer's Block

Listen, I know it's a bad time to be complaining about a job, not to mention a job you love. That's why I'm not complaining. However, I am blaming my job for causing my designer's block when it comes to actually starting my wedding invitations. I liken it to a chef who cooks all day at a restaurant and then comes home to find out they've got to cook dinner for their family. A craft you love, suddenly turned into a chore.

I place 100% of the blame on the fact that on any given weekday, I spend between 8-10 hours hunched over my computer at work...ruining my eyesight. Threatening my wrists with carpel tunnel. Severely impeding my posture. I blame my job as the reason why I'm delaying starting the task I thought I'd most enjoy about wedding planning. This should be so fun for me -- no boss to approve my design concept! No customer to insist I make a logo bigger (or, let's be honest here, add 14 more logos!)! No "helpful insights" from anyone other than myself and J.

I've already completed several crafts for the wedding, oh yes, so that's not the problem. But, it's totally the government's fault if--come a few months from now--you receive a folded 8.5 x 11 piece of white typing paper, hand-scrawled in black ink, with "Will you please come to my wedding? You know who I'm marrying and you know where it is. Check yes or no."

Aaggghh! Why can't I start? Maybe next week...

There is an important lesson here. When you spend all day doing your laundry and decide to toss all of your clean clothes on the guest bed to sort through later, a mid-sized Frito-smelling dog might come make a nest in it.

J, you listening?

Out with the old

I got up this morning to start the process of swapping my summer/winter wardrobes, and in the process, filling up a load headed for the thrift store. Once I got my closet all nice and cleaned up, and a donation bag completely filled (seriously need to do this more often), I decided to tackle a more sensitive area in my closet: shoes and purses. Oh what a trip to the past...mostly to one place specifically -- Springfield, Missouri.

Here's what I found when cleaning out the 8 purses I'm donating:

- $30 in change. Seriously.

- Approximately 62 bobby pins, all of them the black variety as I had much darker hair in college -- J will be so excited there are more in the house! :)

- Not one, but TWO Harrah's rewards cards. Strange, I don't have any memories of ever being at a Harrah's...girls am I missing something?

- A one-inch by one-inch square picture of LEMonade's face -- I have no idea what this was about?

- A ticket stub from when we went to see Seinfeld.

- The ticket stub from going to see "The Notebook" at Campbell 16 Cine. Ahh I remember that night well. And for the record, it was June 25, 2004, in case you wanted to know.

- An ID card for blood donation -- that was before they decided I can't give blood anymore because I lived in Germany in a certain span of years.

- A punch card for Rock-n-Roll...no surprise there.

- About 10 half-used packs of gum.

- And possibly my favorite: a receipt Trolley's on May 11, 2004, for one Pineappletini and one Sunshine Wheat. I bet that was a fun night. :)

No mint on this pillow

Over the past few days I've noticed something a bit strange going on in my office. My home office. My "office" AKA my spare bedroom-sized closet. Every day when I've come home from work, I noticed that the duvet on the guest bed has been quite literally turned down, like it was a bed in a high-end hotel awaiting a pair of newlyweds. Seeing how we haven't had a guest for a month or two, and how we're anything but high-end, it got me wondering what was going on. Perhaps dear sweet J decided to crash there after an all-nighter at work? But I should've known. Last night I passed by her in the hallway as she trotted out of my office in the dark. She gave me her best "Who me? I was simply looking for my misplaced tussy mussy!" waggle, waggle, pet-me-and-forget-all-your-troubles face.

But this morning, oh I was too fast for her. Caught in the act. Behold the culprit. Miss Mary. Such a lady. She doesn't sleep on beds. She sleeps in beds.

Fallin'

Oh man, I know I'm going to regret it later -- say, in a month -- but I couldn't be happier that fall is finally here! Low: 55, High: 60. And while this year has had its share of challenges, a quick look back in my pictures folder reminds me that this weekend last year I had just found our condo. And ohhh to know that this winter will not involve moving! In all likelihood, next year might. Into a house. Where J can plant our dream garden.

Until then, I'll continue to enjoy the fall things I love the most. Walk the dogs around the 'hood in my favorite royal blue trench. Unearth my fall wardrobe and start wearing turtleneck sweaters again. Read more. Drink coffee on the porch before bed -- decaf of course. Just spending more time at home. Carve the pumpkins that we got on this amazing trip a few weeks back (when fall was masquerading as summer). That's when B revealed she could SAY MY NAME. Best day ever.

Future mom-in-law, future niece, future husband, future uncle

New to the fall lineup: My parents are coming to visit for Thanksgiving! Well, my mom for sure, hopefully my dad. We'll be joining J's fam, throwing two more people into last year's already huge event. I'm so excited for my parents to meet the aunts, uncles, NIECE, cousins, and grandparents I've been telling them about for two years. Oh...and there's a plan that involves wedding dress shopping...

A Lesson in Law -- from a graphic designer

In five more days, it'll be a month since the car wreck I was in. Apparently I downplayed the severity, and people are still shocked to find I'm still tooling around in a rental car. Which means in five more days, that's right, my car will have also been gone for a month...and then some more. So in light of distracting myself from the pain and agony of driving a PT Cruiser, I'll share with you some new words I've learned through the accident/insurance/car repair process.

Subjugate: I don't know what this means other than something having to do with who pays for what. Anytime they say it to me I black out.

Diminution: As in "Diminution of Value" claim. More easily called "depreciation" because I cannot, for the life of me, pronounce "diminution." Say you have two Jettas. Same graphite blue, same lovely interior, same price, same everything. You find out one has been in an accident and had serious body repairs. Which one do you buy? The difference between the offer you pay for the unwrecked Jetta and what someone appraises my Jetta to be worth, that's the diminished value. Yes, I shall be filing a claim.

Tort: This is a refresher, guys, you remember this one from high school. Since future "father-at-law" had been giving me legal advice following the accident, it really inspired me to do some research on my own. Diminished Value claims fall under Tort Law. Or something.

Third Party: This is the ticket. When filing a DV claim, it's most assuredly tossed out when it's your own insurance company (AKA first party). But in my case, since I was hit by another person who was obviously breaking the law, her insurance company has accepted liability. Which means that when I file with her insurance company, it falls under a third party claim -- which they usually always pay. Because they just spent nearly $4,000 fixing your car. How can they tell you that didn't affect the value of your poor car that you officially bought a year ago last week?

I also fear I won't be able to drive a manual when Ludwig comes back.

Get in my collection!

Oh Etsy, you might really be the end of my savings account...but I can't wait for these tiny beauties to come live with me!

P.S. Those last ones are telephone pole insulators. I have distinct memories of my mother telling me how she used to collect them, but I've never seen one in our house. She did however pass down the passion. They'll definitely fit into my collection of "pretty glass things."

Oh, and on this day one year from now, I'll be getting ready to ditch my Five Cents. :)

Black Cloud

It's been a rough couple of months in our house. I try not to linger on this stuff but I feel like I need to get some of it "out there" in order to get it off my chest.

In order:
-A horrible sinus infection / ear infection
-An awful reaction to my antibiotic
-A trip to the ER
-3 trips to the doctor over a 2-week time span
-A week without J & Mary (they went on vacation)
-A car wreck -- not my fault, but it's no consolation because it's turning into a bigger headache than the one I had for the 4 days after the accident.


So instead of lingering too long on the negative, I'm going to try to accentuate the positive:
-A two-year anniversary, that allowed me to give J the "big secret" surprise I'd been waiting to give him for MONTHS...officially the first surprise I've ever pulled off with him. Painting with Cita the elephant at the zoo. I think this picture will always make me smile. Mostly because you can see that he's grinning like a 6-year-old. (It's worth mentioning that Cita is a movie star. She was in PeeWee's Big Adventure and The Color Purple. That's a pretty diverse resume.)


-I missed out on most of beach week this year because I was so sick. But J was a trooper and took both dogs the night the fam just hung around on the sand to relax and watch fireworks. He brought me back this picture, which makes me smile equally as hard. Pictured in the green (guess J and his pops both enjoy green tees?) is my future father in law and his future granddog in law watching fireworks on the beach together. Love it.


-As mentioned earlier, our household was split in two for a week, as J and Mary headed back to Tennessee for a week of outdoorsiness. Because I changed jobs in August, I couldn't take that much time off to go (which turned out to be ironic because I was home sick that whole week???). He came back with a beard, a smile, and one stinky dog. But no ticks, oh, and this picture. I call it "Mary of the Valley" and this is where her heart lives.


-And my prides and joys. My ready-made collection of antique Mason jars. I have had them for a few months now, but here's a picture before I washed them. You can kind of see it on one of them, but a few of them have remnants of old jam labels on them. From the kitchen of Ruth. Blackberry jam. Boysenberry jam. My favorite says "Grape jelly -- ???" That's the kind of mystery I think would've been worth solving. These will be front and center (literally) at the wedding...centerpieces. Some holding zinnias. Some holding mums. But all of them holding a little piece of the past. I love that.

Exhaustitated

Exhausted + Irritated

I went to bed "early" last night in hopes of kicking the blues that followed me around all day yesterday. Not to mention a not very relaxing weekend...which was my one goal since I've been feeling sickly. But oh no. Mother nature thought a nice extremely loud thunderstorm + scared little doggie toenails + J's sinus sniffles + early alarm = I think I looked at the clock at least once every hour. I better start pumping the coffee now.

It's gonna be one of those days.

Suck it up

I've had it.  I'm sick and tired of my vacuum.  Living with wood-floors with two hairy beasts gets hard on a girl.  I swear, two days after a hard clean I will see hair-bunnies tumbling down the hallway and it's all I can do to not fly into a fit of rage.  I hate the hair tumbleweeds.

Last night while as I was in the middle of vacuuming the place, I shut off our crappo two-year old lost all its suction power dirt-pushing Bissell and proclaimed to J, "If I get a new job, I'm buying a new VACUUM!"  Not a new pair of shoes, not a cute new purse, not some more delicious antique mason jars...a cleaning device.  By golly, if there is a way to make housework enjoyable, or even worth its while (considering our current piece of junk usually hurls dog hair everywhere instead of taking car of the problem) then I want one.

So.  I'm open to suggestions.  I want this one, albeit its ridiculous pricetag.  Partly because it's called the Dyson Animal, and I think only a wild thing can tame this pet hair situation.  And I can imagine myself running down the hallway chasing after those pesky tumbleweeds, with an evil glimmer in my eye, screaming, "Buhuhahahaaa!"

[And it's purple.]

On the eve of my birth...

It's interesting.  There's only one thing I want this year for my birthday:

PLEASE SOMEONE OFFER ME A JOB.

Preferably tomorrow.

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Update: I was offered a position yesterday.  Official title: 'Nanny to the most adorable baby boy ever.'  The one and only Ryan James, who just turned one on Saturday, which makes me think about the weekend I met him.  Turns out I suck at salary negotiations and I offered to pay his mama for letting me hang out with him.  Darn you, useless miles between us!  I'd be there first thing Monday morning, Winsteads.

Dorks

In case anyone needs a cute picture of our dogs laying feet-together to make them smile, here you go.

My first wedding post

I have said at least three times this week that if I didn't have a wedding to be planning right now I would've lost my mind. I'm not going to air my work business right now but let's just say things are rocky to say the least. Hence, all the planning and crafting I've been busying myself with as I avoid reality and refuse to let myself think of awful things like paycuts, layoffs and unemployment.

Without further ado, I would love to share a few things with you.

First, behold my new best friends. Small brown birds. They are votive holders. For the next year of my life, all but maybe two of the 23 I bought will be living in what is becoming my wedding-craft-closet as I start pack-ratting away small trinkets intended to make a cameo at our nuptials. Two, yes, I think two will live somewhere I can see them. Perhaps on our baker's rack.

So there they are. Posing so sweetly next to J's passion flower on the balcony. I envision them sitting sweetly at the base of the centerpiece on each table at the reception. I also wonder how darling they'd look with a nice full bloom in the holder instead of a votive, especially since we'd be on the water. Windy, windy water.

Oh, did I mention they came from the DOLLAR STORE? Yes. Sometimes it pays to look past the Hannah Montana toothpaste and Shasta. But my love for browsing the aisles of the DS is another story entirely.

Next up, my first wedding craft job. The guest book. Behold.

Thanks to a hardback sketchbook from Michael's, a billion baby envelopes from Paper Source, some delicious fabric that no doubt is going to pop up in other projects, it is now complete. Well, not entirely. We left a few blank spots on some pages to paste in pictures of us. I have to say that this was a super fun craft, and not only was it cost effective, but I was very pleased with the outcome. And now it and its 180 ribbon-tied hang tag friends get to go into the abovementioned wedding-craft-closet. Our dining room can now return to it's normal function. Once I clean up "Craft Central Station" as I've been calling it the past week.

PS, If I haven't said it before, our palette is marigold, eggplant, sage and chocolate...in that order. It should be noted that the eggplant was J's suggestion. He picked the purple, y'all, not me. How did I get this lucky?

Worst question ever

"Please list the places you have lived in the last 10 years."

How many places is that for me? 9.

Smooth Operator

I was so naive.  I thought I knew everything there was to know about my fiance.  So wrong.

As I was making my work snack of celery + peanut butter, I came across something that caught me so off guard I felt woozy inside.  Something that reminded me of my childhood, when my mother staged a similar coup, and it caused a similar rift.  Something that in our nearly two years together has never been an issue.  But then again, why would it, until it shows its ugly face.

CRUNCHY peanut butter, J?  Really?

Reception Venue: Check

Behold. A few beauties we snapped on Thursday. We've got a wedding date and everything!

Golden Shower

Last night J took pity on his little stressed out gal and took me out to dinner.  I was in the bathroom reapplying some makeup and he decided to run the doggies down to the "pee tree" before we left.  We call it that because, well, it's a little tree in a patch of grass and it's an irresistible spot for them, as well as most of the other dogs in our 'hood.  There's a few seconds of sniffing, and then the business conducting and then we're done.  Plain and simple.

All was fine when they left.  But when they returned, I could hear J grumbling in the hallway and I'm not going to lie, there were a few curse words involved.  Next thing I know, the trio of man and beasts is in the bathroom with me.  The grumbling continues.  "Is everything ok?" I ask, putting my mascara away.

J threw the shower curtain open with such force that I knew everything was definitely not ok.  A split second later, Mary is in the tub.  Water is on.  And the face-washing begins.  "J, is everything ok?"  I ask again.

J turns around to look at me.  "NO!" he shouts, pointing a demeaning finger at Leo, who all the while has been standing sheepishly beside me with his leash still attached, watching the madness.  "HE PEED ON HER FACE!!!"

Anticipation of the 4th

I kicked bum at work last week and now I get the holiday weekend to actually relax.  Since J and I are still in serious budget mode we're taking things a little lower key than originally planned.

Original plans: 

- Going to Busch Gardens on Friday ($$)

- Going to check out wedding ring options ($$$$)

Scaled back budget plans:

- going to see a few of our venue choices tomorrow.  Hooray!  Hopefully we'll rule out a few or at least one will stand out to us as a winner.  Also, I have a tentative wedding date in mind...not going to share until I know more...for now it'll suffice to say it's the feast day of the patron saint of aviators, test takers and weak students.  Seriously, wikipedia?

- heading up to Moon, VA on Friday to see Granddaddy.  We're taking the dogs so you can expect hilarious pictures and stories.  Also hoping to get some canoe time in.

- a birthday party for a girlfriend with an 8 week old baby.  What's more fun than that?

- Finally spending some time together after almost 5 days and 4 nights apart.  Which believe me, seemed MUCH longer.  Side note: my mother now reads my blog.  She called me to tell me, "Stacy, you should not be writing about when you're at home all alone.  It's just not safe.  People can figure out where you live, and ..."  People, this is the reason why I get up in the middle of the night to check if my doors are locked!  My paranoid parents!

The best voicemail ever

"Hey Stacy, I know you're busy and I know it's only 8am, but I wanted to see what you and J are up to tonight.  As you know, we had our tasting appointment with the wedding cake lady yesterday and instead of just making cupcakes for us to try, she made like huge rolled cakes with frosting on the inside.  There's tons of flavors.  Banana chocolate chip, pineapple, red velvet, chocolate...I can't remember the rest but there are tons, and we have way too much cake.  So hopefully you guys can come over tonight and help us decide on some flavors.  Call me."

Seriously, Bob?  You had me at "Banana chocolate chip."

Laugh, Smile or Frown

Things that made me laugh in the last 24 hours:

- We bought a new grill this weekend.  The old one belongs to our landlord.  I asked her if we could throw it away since it crapped out.  She said yes.  But she also reminded us not to throw away the propane tank.  What??? You mean those things are disposable?

- There is a serious "sidler" at work.  He normally sidles right up to my desk and scares the crap out of me.  Today, he sidled up to my cubemate and gave someone else a heart attack for once.

Things that made me smile in the last 24 hours:

- At father's day dinner, J's Granddaddy asking me if I wouldn't mind splitting some of my potatoes with him -- he only wanted a small taste.  So sweet, I'd give that man ALL of my potatoes if he wanted.

- Having J tell me that I'd invented his "New favorite chicken recipe EVER!"

- Opening my eyes this morning to see Leo's face about two inches from mine.

Things that made me frown in the last 24 hours:

-  Being told, "At this point people, it's best to go ahead and cancel your 4th of July weekend plans.  You'll be working."

Goin' to the Chapel

It is both a pleasure and an honor to say that Mrs. Wald's wedding was a huge success! As you probably know, the bff over at LEMonade got married last weekend in KC, and I served as her maid of honor. For the past year and a half, I've been privy to a few of her wedding planning details and have been a part of a few different projects. But what I saw when I walked into the Hobbs Building just blew me away.

This girl has been working her bum off, squeezing in meetings with vendors over the phone, traveling to KC from San Carlos for dress fittings, and yet still she managed to throw a wedding that came off with the air of effortless glam. Every detail was addressed. From the fabtastic welcome boxes in the hotel rooms (that contained very cute "Do Not Disturb" doorhangers aptly alerting passersby that we'd been dancing the night away at the M-W wedding -- so true!) to the cards on the bar with after-party locations and cab information. As a graphic designer, I truly appreciated the flawless execution, the consistent presence of her theme.

4 out of 5 BMs -- present!

I got to go with the bride and groom after the ceremony while they were taking pictures with the photog (to be the dress train stylist and bouquet holder) and I already know what amazing proofs they're looking forward to. Since I got to see a few of the shots "in the raw" I know their photog really captured the happiness and excitement of their day. Not to mention that the bride was drop-dead gorgeous, the epitome of a modern bride.

All the hard work and decisions the bride made were flawless. The above-pictured cake -- delicious, and beautiful. Her mother made quite a few of the tablecloths that were featured on the highlighted tables, like the cake table and the outdoor cocktail tables. I can't say enough about how wonderful everything looked, and that this mother/daughter team really raises the bar on DIY quality. It truly is an inspiration to a bride-to-be that all of Lauren's dedication and organization really shined through. Guests felt special to be in attendance.

It must be mentioned that all pictures were taken by my amazing photog-fiance J. I was pleasantly surpised to find the "detail shots" he took.

The weekend went off without a hitch. We had so much fun the night before at the rehearsal dinner...and even more afterwards when it was just us gals. Lauren had the biggest reveal of all when she handed out our monogrammed totes, filled with goodies like eyemasks, slippers, our day-of jewelry, stationary and pen. She knows us all so well, and it was a very heart-felt thank you from our girl.



We, Lauren and I, are obviously the emotional ones of the group, which made it hard for us to communicate with each other without tearing up. This made for a fun game which I call, "Bride is not accepting compliments at this time." The first round was played in the limo on the way to the pre-wedding photo shoot. The reality of what was coming really hit her (and me) hard and any direct eye contact or compliment threatened to send her eye makeup heading for her hemline. So we'd look away, change the subject, move on, all the while looking up...so the tears would retreat. Later when the excitement took over, it was fine, and everyone could feel free to compliment "bride" (as we called her). It was the only organized way to keep our wussy emotions in check. Thanks to the other BMs for playing along. We were well aware that the only danger was ourselves. :)

The day of the actual wedding was fast-paced, but always under control. Hands down, the most hilarious moment (which will no doubt become a tradition, so get ready Joanna!) was when just a few minutes before the ceremony started and we were all feeling the jitters, some clever bridesmaid (I think it was either Jamie or Emily -- seriously genius) started the line, "Innn West Philadelphia, born and raised..." and all of a sudden, like it was scripted in a movie, we all joined in and basically rapped the theme song to Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Why, you ask? I think it was because it was fresh in our minds from the Napa trip, in which the song had a brief cameo there as well. But singing it together at an increasing volume, just 5 minutes before her wedding started, helped to ease the nerves of all ladies involved. When it was over, I looked around to flushed cheeks, smiles and laughter and thought, "Brilliant."

Lauren and Brian shared their vows (yes, I was weepy, and was informed by a groomsman afterwards that I was "too emotional") that made me choke up and the beauty of their words. Since I was standing so close to them, I was able to see the way Brian looked at her the moment she became his wife, and anybody in the audience could see how ecstatic he was. From his "I'm not a ring guy, this is new to me!" nervous banter after holding out the wrong hand for his ring, to her quiet, sincerely honest "I will," it was a ceremony that truly captured their love. Their style. Their desire to share such a special day with all of us. And I can say to you, it was an honor to be a part of it. I guess you could say I was maid-of honored.

Lauren and Brian, congratulations.

eHarmonization

Last night one of J's friends (who shall remain nameless) came over to hang out.  He recently went through a breakup that frankly was for the best; this girl did not deserve his sweetness, his cuteness and his generosity.  Since the breakup, he's been coming over more often, and as J puts it, "It's our duty to help make sure the breakup sticks."

So it came as no surprise when J told me that his buddy had signed up for eHarmony.  He wanted to see what was out there, and he wanted to see what was out there NOW.  And had been going out on dates with girls.  Normal girls.  And last night, he wanted to tell us about it.  He pulled up his account and explained to us the process of the rounds of communication, like sending each other questions and answers.

I shouted, "Oh I LOVE surveys!  And questionnaires with lots and lots of answer choices!"

Since he'd arrived at our house, a girl had completed the next round of communication and so he pulled it up and let us read it.

I shouted, "She loves her dog, eating at new restaurants, and compassionate people -- me too!  Oh she hates angry, lazy, rude, close-minded people!  So do I!  We like her already!"

He answered her back with his list of "must haves" and "can't stands."  Like, must have compassion, can't stand a victim-mentality.  Must be open to his religious beliefs, can't stand someone who puts others down all the time.  It was all very enlightening, and not just because I could see his ex-girlfriend woven into all of his "can't stand" answers.  And perhaps just a little too interesting to me because I had just watched "He's Just Not That Into You."  I couldn't stifle a giggle when he said, "I can't send this back to her right away...she's gonna think I'm desperate!" and J's response to him was, "Dude, it's a Monday night, not a Saturday night...go for it."  Haha, it's too much fun being on the other side of the playing field and seeing their thoughts on dating.  

As I excused myself to go to bed early last night, I wished him luck on his date tonight with another girl, but told him to tell me how it goes with the girl from tonight.  

"Let us know how we do."

Pictures from my phone

Over the years I've lost so many pictures from my phone due to sheer stupidity.  I never ever email pictures to myself *I just recently inherited J's BlackBerry, and before now it's always been too hard.*  So very much in need of some decompression time, I present to you my collection.  I call it, "Pictures from my phone: In random chronological order because I don't understand why you store them in random order, BlackBerry." 

Llamas in Napa.  Namely, Tina and Tina.  We were so captivated by these Llamas.

Two of my favorite guys.  My daddy and Ryan James Winstead.  Ryan was our youngest houseguest ever and stole the hearts of many.

A family of geese and...umm...baby geese (gooselings?) that live in the compound at work.  They do not have security badges, but don't think this lack of respect for security would work for you, because they won't even let some employees in the gates (Ha, Team Weymouth?).  The geese babies are bigger now, but I always love seeing them on my way into work.  Starts my day with a smile.

Finley Wald.  LEMonade and I had just picked her up from her pack's house upon our return to San Carlos from Napa.  Finley was exhausted and super sweet, and unbeknownst to us, had a pop-up-car-trunk-like wound on her pad.  Sick.

Mary.  Princess of the Seat of Power.  Mary trembles like a leaf during storms and the short stint of thunder yesterday was no exception.  I invited her into the "seat of power" (AKA what J called the middle seat in our "L-sofa" please-do-not-call-it-a-sectional), made her a fort of pillows and tied a long-sleeved tee shirt around her like a cape.  I've seen infomercials where you can buy a cape for your dog that is supposed to rid them of their fear of storms.  Turns out a 5 year old pink J. Crew tee has the same effect -- it worked!

My belt for LEMonade's wedding.  I finished the flowers yesterday and received approval; both from Bride and my fabric flower-making mentor Va Va Va Bloom. :)

Ahh these two.  I'm so angry at them right now.  Remember the need for decompression I mentioned earlier?  Wonder what that was about?  I'll give you a guess...it was because of these two.  If you need a refresher, I invite you to reread one of my previous posts entitled Houdini Soup, because they are full of hi-jinx.  None quite as disgusting as what I came home to today though.  

I'm warning you.  GROSSNESS ahead.  VERY NASTY THINGS in the scrolldown.

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Seriously, you should stop now if one of the following applies to you:

1) I'm eating oatmeal

2) I just finished eating oatmeal

3) I'm thinking about eating something in the near future

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Ok, sicko, proceed with caution...

Behold.  Dog puke.  Heaps and heaps of it.  Yeah.  It's basically just their breakfast and nothing more.  You can file this one under "reasons I hate being the first one home." I of course yelled "WHO DID THIS!?!?!" at them three or four times halfway expecting one of them to point sheepishly at the other.  No luck.  This must be like Fight Club with these two.  Only it's Puke Club.  I'm just thankful it wasn't Poop Club.  It was disgusting and it was everywhere.  And you can see how the perpetrator skillfully took special care NOT to get it on the easily cleanable wood floor.  Thank goodness for you, Spot Shot.  And my very stretched-thin p a t i e n c e.  

What?  I warned you it was nasty.  You still looked.

Just a quick word

I am procrastinating getting my bum ready for work this morning, I have no energy.  And I have so much to say.  In random order.

- NAPA WAS AWESOME.  I have great pics and memories alike.  I also found a bottle of BV Sauvignon Blanc last night and I'm going to have some this weekend and pretend I'm at BV, swaying slightly, whispering to Emily and Lauren, "hehe, I'm drrruuunk!"

- My afternoon commute yesterday was exactly 2 hours long.  120 minutes.  Normally, it is 7.  I was unhappy.

- Lauren's wedding is in a handful of days.  I am so excited for her wedding!  And the days leading up to it, I know she did a wonderful job planning.  

- Speaking of weddings, another bff got engaged: Miss Joanna!  Since my heart has been full most of this year, it just stretches to cram in extra bits of happiness.  I cannot wait to meet her mister at abovementioned wedding.  I already like him a whole lot on Facebook and I think that really means something.  He proposed with a gorgeous ring that compliments her hand wonderfully.  The happiness continues. :)

- I've been wrestled into working nights again at work.  I'm not happy about that.  I feel like everyday at work I'm forced to remind people that I'm 26 and still "living" my life.  Someone said yesterday, "Oh yeah, you're going to your friends' wedding soon."  I gasped and said, "It's my BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING!?!" and expected him to understand the importance of the event.  These are my coworkers, folks.

- When I returned from Napa, J had purchased new dog beds for the babies.  They're so cute.  The first night we had them, I fell asleep smiling about how his new pre-bed ritual involves telling the dogs that "You're SO adorable!"  I love him.  And them.

- Yesterday after my 2 hour commute from hell, I just wanted to relax and not think about anything stressful and how much laundry is piling up and how much stuff needs to be done before leaving for Texas bright and early Friday morning (one week) and so we decided to explore one area of our wedding spreadsheet that so far was blank: honeymoons.  Who knew how expensive they are?  Not I.  We looked at one that really got us excited.  Found the info on the plane in a second-hand bridal magazine from a friend.  I'm gonna owe her a glass of my BV wine for that one.

- Work.  Again.

27 dresses (minus a few)

Yesterday, with Lex of Team Weymouth in tow, we descended on Nordy's to alter two of my upcoming wedding-function dresses.  Luckily one of my closest VA gal pals works there so we stopped in her department to wait for the alterations guru.

The first is long azure grecian style gown for the black-tie at the end of this month in Texas.  One I've been unsure about.  "Is it too bulky on top?"  "Do I need more structure?"  "Can I wear this color to a black-tie event?"  And when I stepped out out my fitting room I heard a soft but collective "ooooh" and was met with smiles from two ladies I sincerely trust.  And it made all the difference in the world.  I have a feeling the next time I put it on, since it won't float two inches away from my body in all directions, I'll love it that much more.

The second one is the lovely number I'll be wearing at Lauren's wedding in one month and 4 days.  It only needs a little bringing-in around the bodice.  I noticed I couldn't stop giddily prancing around, twirling, putting my hands in my pockets (who doesn't love a dress with pockets?).  I can't wait to wear that one.  

And since J and I are in the wedding party for both of the aforementioned weddings, that includes more festivities.  Which means more dresses.  I feel like I've never spent so much time thinking and talking about and shopping for dresses.  It's been such a girly experience and I've really enjoyed it.  Since my girls know I normally hate to shop (really, I do) but recently I've been looking forward to the conquest of finding the right dress for a "dressy casual" rehearsal dinner at the Four Seasons in Austin.  The right "summery fun" dress for a rehearsal dinner in June in Kansas City.  The perfect "I'm engaged but that's all we're celebrating for now" dress for a dinner with J and my entire family in Kansas City the Thursday of Lauren's wedding week. 

This weekend I'm planning on taking on some minor alterations of my own.  The straps on my perfect "winery touring" sundress for next weekend's Napa trip need to be shortened.  I also need to rid the heavy/dark/tweed/wool winter clothes from my closet and either banish them to their bins for storage or donate them.  All these fun new dresses means things are more crowded than ever in there and it is obvious that summery weather is here to stay!

Reasons to love you

I love you for calling my alma mater "SMS Text Message University."

I love that sometimes you sneak a few treats out of the jar without the dogs hearing (an incredible fete) just so you can surprise them with treats later when they are in bed.

I love that you'd give a stranger the shirt off your back.

I love that sometimes you give me the shirt off your back. :)

I love that you planted me an herb garden.

I love that you always say, "Thank you, sweetie."

I love that you have about 1,000 nicknames for Leo + Mary and they all make me crack up.

I love you for kissing me very softly before you leave on mornings when you have to get up earlier than I do.

I love that we speak in code most of the time.

I love you for making a 4-tabbed Excel spreadsheet of details about the wedding we've "not started planning yet."

I love you for reaching over to pat my leg when I've made you laugh.

I love that you love me enough to propose with a family ring.

I love your eyes when you laugh; they smile.

I love that when I tell you I've seen a spider, you'll go hunt it down. Even if it's on the ceiling. Above the bed.

I love you for always bringing me water.

I love that you let me cry.

I love that you're strong enough to let me see you cry.

I love that you get excited to show me the things you've purchased at the store.

I love that we are both equally paranoid about making sure all doors are locked before bedtime, and I love that you'll humor me by getting out of bed to check.

I love that you hid pearls in the fridge for me to find.

I love the way you say "hello" to me when you call me.  It's more like, "hah-low," and I can always tell you're smiling when you say it.

I love that you come tuck me in on nights when you stay up later than I do.

I love that when we watch TV together, sometimes  you'll hold out your hand just so, and I know it means you want me to put my hand in yours.

I love that in a recent conversation about what I would want to name a future son, I said, "I just hope we get to name him that," and you said, "I just hope we have a baby."

I love that if you were given the choice between tickets to an NFL game or tickets to a zoo, I would know exactly where to find you: the monkey exhibit.

I love coming home to find you listening to the CD I made for you right after we started dating.

I love coming home to find you.

Scammed!

Upon the arrival of the new monstrous TV, and due to the fact that J gets Netflix on his XBox 360, I figured shoot, it's time to cancel my Blockbuster online account.

I have loved it, it has served me well.  Mostly back in the "single days" when I preferred to go home on Friday and not emerge from my apartment until Monday mornings but still.  I never felt bad about paying the $11.99 a month.

That is, until I tried to cancel.

Once i confirmed that yes, I would indeed like to cancel my subscription, an email from BBV pops up in my email.  They're trying to entice me with their nice words.  And...what's this?  They're trying to entice me to accept a deal with them!  They're trying to bribe me!  $9.99 a month?  $3.99 a month!??!

Bottom line, I still said no.  I was offended at their last-ditch effort to woo me.  Does loyalty mean nothing to them after 3 years?  Well, that, and Netflix is cheaper.  I'll miss your "We've received 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch' DVD and 'Flight of the Navigator' is on its way'" emails.  But if anyone out there is paying $11.99 a month with Blockbuster online, perhaps you should try to cancel your account and have them offer you a lower rate.

These are tough times.

Dress for Success

At work today I ate lunch with a crowd I don't normally run with.  I didn't have a choice; they invited me to lunch and I didn't have an excuse to say no since it was actually at the office.

During the awkward phase at the beginning of lunch, someone mentions my engagement ring.  This sparks a frenzy and they start asking tons of questions.  How'd he do it--at the beach--When did this happen?--Easter--Did you help pick out the ring?--No, it's a family heirloom--What's your dress going to look like?--

And that's the one that stopped me short.  My dress?  You mean I have to pick out a dress to wear at my wedding?  I said, "I honestly have no idea!"  I've never claimed to be a girl who had the whole wedding planned and just needed to snag a man; I've never envisioned a single detail about my future wedding until this past week or so.  J knows this, he's comfortable with it; he knows the thought of getting into nitty gritty details right now would make me break out into a sweat.  We're taking it slooooow with the planning.  Why is that so hard for people?

Apparently my "no idea" about my future dress compelled one of the ladies I was sitting with to offer me her wedding dress...to borrow...if I got "in a pinch."  Mind you, I believe we've spoken twice before today.  I was both flattered and mortified.

So I now have a goal.  The next X amount of months of my life will be dedicated to not ever having to entertain the thought of borrowing a dress from a 45 year old woman who is about 5 inches shorter than me and about 50 pounds heavier. 

For Joanna: How Mary Saved Us From a Rattler

About ten or fifteen minutes before J proposed on Easter, we came across quite a shock.  

Seashore is a very heavily wooded area, even though I only seem to take pictures of the beaches.  The part that we were walking on was a fairly narrow path (one person + one dog wide).  Since it's so close to our beach, Mary was running freely off her leash.  She'd go splash off to the side of the path in an unseen body of water...and then she'd come ZOOOOOMing past us...it's what she does every single time we go.   Nothing new.

But this past week, We come around a bend (why do all good stories involve coming around a bend?) in the path and there she is, just frozen.  She was staring very intently at a patch of brush.  Not.moving.a.muscle. It was so odd to me to see her like that, but J knew the look immediately.  She was alerting.  "What's she looking at?" he wondered aloud as he pushed past Leo and me.  As we start to near the bush in question, something...jumps...and scurries off the path.  I figured it was a frog.  Why?  Self preservation.

When we are standing directly beside Mary, we follow her gaze to a small brush clearing, about 4 feet away from us, and I see, no joke, a rattlesnake slowly raise it's tail.  If it weren't absolutely terrifying it would have been comical because it was exactly like a movie, like a nightmare...seeing and hearing that tail rattling like that was dead on what I would've expected.  I remember thinking, "Huh...they really do that!"  But luckily for me, I was having that strange thought as I was running away from the snake...Leo in a chokehold (hey, he's a city boy).  Only when we were far enough away did I start ranting about how we almost died and Mary had saved us.  What a good Tennessee girl she was!  (NOTE: the rattlesnake picture from above is from Wikipedia.  We didn't get any pictures, naturally!)

If Mary hadn't been so dang country, there's a good chance that I could've stepped on it, or Leo could have, or one, both, or all four of us could've gotten bitten repeatedly and immediately poisoned to death...and while we lay dying from rattlesnake venom gotten attacked by tarantulas and rabid bats simultaneously.  So let's just say Mary got loads of treats that night.  But since we treat the babies equally, Leo got some to match.

Oh...and we ran into this gem too.  Apparently the snakes were loving the weather.