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.