busy little beaver

3 posts counts as busy, right? Especially when you haven't really posted in forever.

I suppose a meme (what does that mean anyway?) isn't really a post, but I was tagged (albeit a long time ago) and that means somebody likes me (yes, I would jump off the bridge). Hooray!

here goes.

Name one person who made you laugh last night? Freddie impersonating the singer at Church doing a wonderful baritone rendition of jesus loves me...good stuff.


2. What were you doing at 0800? sleeping :)



3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? trying to salvage the christmas cards



4. What happened to you in 2006? got engaged, got my first new car, first time being a maid of honor (again, someone likes me...good stuff)


5. What was the last thing you said out loud? freddie, someone's breaking in our house (they weren't)

6. How many beverages did you have today? one, sweet tea (well, two glasses, but just one beverage)


7. What color is your hairbrush? I don't use a hairbrush...curly hair + brush=not good. I use a green comb when it's wet then I LEAVE IT ALONE.


8. What was the last thing you paid for? Groceries


9. Where were you last night? at the christmas party that didn't really happen, then make up for it cocktails at Proximity hotel


10. What color is your front door? the door is actually cream, but the disgusting slatted thing in front of it that is on the do do list is brown.


11. Where do you keep your change? in my dresser drawer


12. What’s the weather like today? chilly and super windy



13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor? i like cappuccino oreo(it's been so long that I can't remember if that's really the name, but that's the taste, so the name should really be Awesome.) at bev's in richmond


14. What excites you? puppies, vacations, babies, surprises, mashed potatoes, tulips, mail, blog comments, free time



15. Do you want to cut your hair? Yes, would you like to pay for it?

16. Are you over the age of 25? si


17. Do you talk a lot? pretty much



18. Do you watch the O.C.? not anymore because it was cancelled, but I did watch it.



19. Do you know anyone named Steven? yes, but the ones I know right now are actually named stephen


20. Do you make up your own words? yup


21. Are you a jealous person? i can be a little green


22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’. Amanda


23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’. Kellie


24. Who’s the first person on your received call list? I'm going to guess my mom because I don't feel like looking for the phone.


25. What does the last text message you received say? okay



26. Do you chew on your straw? I used to all the time, not so much anymore. (me too, joy)



27. Do you have curly hair? when it's behaving other times I'd be more inclined to call it electrocuted than curly



28. Where’s the next place you’re going to? the den to watch tv


29. Who’s the rudest person in your life? SC



30. What was the last thing you ate? crab cake benedict


31. Will you get married in the future? probably not since I already got married in the past



32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? Enchanted!

33. Is there anyone you like right now? not today



34. When was the last time you did the dishes? thank god for the dishwasher


35. Are you currently depressed? right now, I'm good.


36. Did you cry today? No.


37. Why did you answer and post this? See the beginning of this post.

dirty santa

Perhaps because I'm a little embarassed about goign to someone's house last night for a party that had already ocurred or because I have no impulse control, for your holiday entertainment, I thought I would share a fun story at our friend's expense. Our friend Ashley has notoriously bad taste in men. (though Freddie assures me that her latest boyfriend is awesome. Good for you Ash!) Last year she was dating someone sketchtastic and invited him to a Christmas gathering with a dirty Santa gift exchange. Ash was a little confused about the concept and thought she was supposed to bring something naughty, so she picked up a pair of furry handcuffs and went on her way. When she arrived and the game began she was set straight about the true spirit of Dirty Santa (you may also call it white elephant or Yankee Christmas). So, Ash was a little embarrassed about her gift choice in the presence of her friends and also her friend's parents and their friends who were invited to the party too. Her handcuffs weren't really all that bad though, they were kind of silly and everyone could appreciate the humor in the situation, until sketchtastic whipped out his choice for "dirty" Santa, ANAL BEADS. Merry Christmas, Grandma.

holly jolly christmas

I'm crazy.

We went to a Christmas party last weekend. It was pretty fun. I actually thought we would have to do a bit of juggling because our neighborhood party was the same day. I was wrong. I thought it was last Saturday, but it was actually this weekend.

So, tonight we got all dolled up and stopped by one of our neighbor's houses across the street who was having an open house before the party. We were on the tail end of the open house. We arrived about nine and it went from 6-10, but we thought we'd just stop in for a quick second before heading to the neighborhood party where the open bar would be. We took a little longer getting ready that I thought because I tried to make a little dessert to take a long (some oreo drop cookies), but Freddie convinced me to leave them until I could find some white chocolate to dip them in since they looked like little baby turds.

So, we rolled up the across the street neighbors' house around 9:00. They've actually been the nicest too them, but they're a little...different...they homeschool their kids and served as missionaries for a few years...very nice though. Freddie spotted Ellen, wearing a slightly casual christmas sweatshirt, looking oddly at him before she let us in, so he said, sorry we're so late. Did we miss visiting hours? Ellen smiled and said, oh, the party was last night! Boy, were we embarassed! But, they kindly invited us in and we chatted for a bit. Sorry, we told her. Freddie thought he remembered her saying they were sorry their party was the same night as the neighborhood party, so that's why we thought it was tonight. Ellen kindly got out her newsletter and pointed out to us that the neighborhood party was also last night and then we all had a good laugh at our expense.

So, we fools decided to head out and have a little fun while we looked all spiffy. We toured the town scoping out lights and stopped at a cool new hotel for drinks. I had a ymmy fruity martini and rounded out the night with a chocolate martini and we met a nice couple and chatted for an hour. So, the neighbors think we're fools, but we made it work. You win some you lose some.

Did I mention we had already paid for our tickets to the neighborhood party?

bah humbug!

I love Christmas. I love the lights, I love the music, I love the decorations, I love the gifts, I love the whole thing. But, this year Christmas is proving to be a bit difficult. (Should I be surprised? That seems to be the theme of our first year of marriage.)

We finally got our tree up last week. We tried 3 times before we succeeded. First, they didn't have any lights. Then, no stands. Then, no actual trees. We finally settled on one, but it's actually too skinny. Bummer. We had an ornament shower last Christmas and got tons of cute ornaments that I saved until this year when we did our tree together, but they won't fit! I like my tree stuffed, but there really isn't any room. The tree is in the corner, so I'm not decorating it all of the way around. It's the first time I've seen a lot of them on a tree, so I don't want to hide any. Solution? Two trees. Yes, friends, we'll be putting up two trees this year. The other is sitting on our porch waiting for hubly to come home from Baltimore. Our main tree has white lights and much to Freddie's delight, the second tree will feature colored lights. everyone's happy.

Second problem, (well, not really number two, but I'm not going to explain the whole dilemma of deciding where to celebrate, so I'll just move on) Christmas Cards. I am way behind on this project. I actually bought a few last year, but now I want something better. I wanted to use a photo card with our wedding photo, but I don't like any of them. Actually, I like plenty from the photographer, but she wants to charge me $50 just for one image and that seems really high because I still have to print a million of them (and because the engagement pic was only $25). I won't go into more details, but she's driving me a little nuts. (I liked her a lot before the wedding, now I'm having second thoughts...good timing, right?)

I also purchased Christmas stamps early because last year I couldn't get my hands on any of the snowflakes, and had to settle for the ornaments that looked like Santa and Frosty in a casket. Anyway, am I the only one who CAN'T STAND the new Christmas stamps?







Holiday knits? Seriously, USPS, this is the best you could do? They're awful...especially the bear, I can't stand the bear! I'm thinking I'm going to have to put these in my Old Lady Christmas Box (that's not really want it's called, I think maybe Santa for Seniors, and my poor old lady wanted food, stationery and stamps). I may have to go religious this year, or maybe I'll really mix it up and get the Kwanzaa stamp.

somebody's watchin' me

Hey, Kimba, if you're still reading, can I join the party?

granny

I babysat tonight. Yes, today is Friday. I'm over 16 years old and I spent the evening babysitting. As I was driving home at 10:45, I decided to call some friends. Problem. I realized I don't have any friends I can call at 10:45pm on Friday and be certain they are awake. Then, I realized I'm old.

I finally did think of someone. My sister lives in Oregon, so she's a safe bet considering the time change and all, but she was out. She was probably doing all of the cool things college girls who are turning 21 on Monday will do (Happy Birthday, Rachael!). So, I listened to my Enchanted soundtrack instead of chatting. And, I sang along. Correction, I repeated the Happy Little Working Song over and over and over again until I could perform it perfectly, then I worked on my princess face...yes, while I was driving. I am quite the multitasker.

I guess I'm not that old because it's now 12:48 and I'm still awake, but I'm playing on the internet. So, I'm just a little less old and a lot more lame. Oh well. I'm okay with it.

ewww

You know what I can't stand? Hot fruit. I really don't like it. I don't much care for many sweet things when they're hot. I prefer cakes and pies to be cool. Warm Krispy Kremes, no thank you. I just feel like the hot and the sweet are more than I can handle.

This can be a problem sometimes. I don't like cobbler until it's cold. I'm not interested in hot apple pie and this time of year, I'm bummed out about cider. It always sounds like a good idea. Oooh, it's Christmas, I should have some apple cider, but then the hot and the sweet fruit flavor hit me all at once and it's gross sensory overload. The other day I went to a craft fair and they had free wassail. I was all about it. I've always wanted to come a-wassailing among the leaves of green, but then I read that it's some kind of hot berry drink and I had to pass. I know I'm missing out on the seasonal splendor but what can you do? I'm learning to embrace my inner weirdo and just say no on the hot fruit.

it's beginning to look a lot like lazy

I am feeling very inspired these days. I am so excited to put our tree up that I can't stand it. I have grand ideas about how to decorate our new house. I'm plannign to make candy for all of the neighbors. I want to have all of my Christmas presents bought and shipped by the 15th. But, did I go out and purchase a tree stand so that we could put our tree up tomorrow when Freddie gets home? Have I gone to the attic to get the decorations down and inventory them? Have I even begun to clean out the front room so that we have a place to put the tree and decorations? Do I have a clue how to make candy or have I begun to figure that out? Have I purchased even a small portion of my Christmas gifts? The answers, no, no, no, no, etc. Instead, I have been sitting on my butt.

I really enjoy reading blogs. But, I'd been out of the loop for a while. So out of the loop that I really couldn't even motivate to catch up even though I wanted to. I'm good about giving myself certain expectations that are pretty much ridiculous. I only began to realize this when I was telling a friend about all of the magazines I had to catch up on---WHILE I WAS IN GRAD SCHOOl! I actually let the pile of 2nd hand magazines my mom gave me stress me out. So, I am allowing myself to no read every single post I missed and just enjoy reading what I can.

Of course, that is also allowing me to breed a whole new form of lazy. I really should go check on my dog. I can hear him rummaging through all sorts of things in the other room, and considering the fact that I removed a large nail from his mouth this morning, it's really not wise to leave him unattended. But, he's still excited enough about me that I can call him every 7 minutes or so and distract him from his mayhem. You may call it lazy. I call it efficient parenting.

full discosure

I've always wanted to be a princess. I'm not too particular about what kind of princess I want to be any kind of princess will do. I think this has always been true, but I only came to realize it after seeing The Princess Diaries. After watching the movie, as my husband says, I felt all Disney inside, but there was something much larger stirring in me. I felt a need to be a princess. I began to explore possibilities to make this dream come true. Perhaps I could enter some kind of pageant, of course, I have no real talent, or beauty for that matter, to speak of, but maybe being crowned miss something would settle my soul. I also began to pay a lot more attention when Oprah would feature the single princes of the world, but I'm not exactly sure that I was looking for the responsibility of being a real princess. I think what I really wanted was that sense that there was something much greater about me than the world, or even I, could see. I'm still trying to find that little piece of princess within myself, but as I begin to come more into my own, not just by growing up, but by learning more about myself and growing just a bit more comfortable in my own skin, the need to be a real princess becomes less pressing....until I see a movie like this...







I had anxiously awaiting the arrival of Enchanted in the movie theater. It looked so cute in the trailers that I feared it would be another Hollywood let down, but let me down it did not. If you have a little girl, you must take her, if you don't have a little girl, get over yourself and go. You'll be glad you did. Even my husband taps his hands on the steering wheel when we listen to the soundtrack. I may go again this weekend. :)

What's been keeping me so busy

I'm sure I've alienated all of the people who used to read this blog, but I'll keep trying.

If it's any help, I have been really busy. Here's the main thing that's been occupying my time...





Meet Jack. He's our 5 month old mutt. Freddie brought him home one day and we've been buds ever since. It's pretty amazing how one small little guy can really make you feel like a family. Suddenly, we really have a common goal. I love it. Of course, I was begging for a dog and hoping that we could pick one up on the way home from the honeymoon, but Freddie was more resistant. After the leg and all, he wasn't really looking to find anymore responsibility.

Jack is a firecracker. He's currently running around with a piece of tupperware, but he's been so much fun.

We've also been to two weddings and to Wilmington to see our new little niece, who is actually our first cousin once removed, but I like for her to call me Aunt Amanda and it's much less confusing that way.

I'll post some more snaps as soon as I get them on the computer. You're gonna love this girl's hair!

i've missed you like a child misses their blanket

For the last several years, I've been plagued by dreams where one day I suddenly realize I haven't been to math class in a very long time. Panic sets in. For me the panic is two fold, How will I possibly pass when I haven't EVER been to class? I'm sure I had to have missed an assignment or two or fifty. The other stress is walking into the class the first time when everyone realizes I haven't ever been there. In the dreams, I'm always trying to figure out a way to slip back in without anyone noticing. I don't like to be noticed and especially not when it involves something negative. (By the way, try blending in when your brand new husband has been walking around on a walker/crutches/a cane for the last 3 months.)

Not writing in my blog has been a little bit like that dream. Every day I've thought about how long it's been since I've written, there's been a little bit of anxiety. There are a variety of reasons why I haven't written. First, our computer was in an awful spot and it was a horrible place to be for more than 45 seconds. Then, I moved the whole thing and now I have to share it with someone else. I've also recently started a new job that is a little overwhelming at the moment. And then there's the depression, which isn't anything new, but just seems to have been raring it's ugly head recently. It's not like I haven't had anything to write about-the new Fall season just started, didn't it? I even have a little list of things I wanted to say (NERD ALERT!). I just haven't been able to do it. The difference between this and the dream is that this time I'm actually a little anxious that no one will know that I've returned. I've come to realize that this silly little blog is one place where I actually like the attention. It's a cool spot to be me, and whatever one of my multiple personalities seems to be tagging along, and share a little bit of myself without feeling like I'm trying out for the 9th grade cheer leading squad all vulnerable and desperate for approval.

So, I hope you're still hanging around somewhere because I really am going to try to come back this time.

really

For the first time in my life I have high speed internet in my house and yet I still haven't been posting. Why? Because our computer is on a little table intended to be an end table faced by a chair from our card table which is accompanied by a footrest from our patio furniture. This lovely seating arrangement was intended to help my poor broken husband be more comfortable at the computer. It's not working for either of us though, so I'm going to have to do some rearranging. And, by the end of this week, I will post three new things. seriously.

and they say women play games

But have you seen Newport Beach? Because Chase is so skeezy!

absent

I have not been a good blogger lately. Mostly because blogger wouldn't work and because my husband is broken and because my contract ended with my job and I don't have a replacement just yet, so I haven't been feeling very blogtastic lately. But, we do have cable now and road runner, so I should be in elated just because of that.

I just realized that now that I don't work at the hospital anymore, I don't have a wealth of crazy hospital things to tell you anymore. That was the original purpose of my blog, but then I got off task and here you go. So, if you indulge me, from time to time as I reminisce in the midst of my unemployment, I will share some hospital memories.

Here is the first thing that really befuddled me. Doctors walking around the hospital with their paper surgery caps on. Um, I'm sorry Dr. Genius, but isn't that thing supposed to sterile? AND, wasn't it just in the operating room with all of the surgical tools and germs and blood maybe you don't want to wear that into the cafeteria and then lean over the salad bar. And while you're in the process of stripping down post slice, maybe you could consider taking off that paper mask you've got hanging around your neck. They've got more...I saw them and they're cheap. I'm pretty sure the 18,000 you just charged that guy to fix his leg (that's how much it costs, trust me, I know this.) will cover a new mask. You might also think about taking those paper booties off your feet too, 'cause buddy, they're not shoes they're supposed to cover your shoes to keep them clean and when you wear them around the hospital and then to the PARKING DECK they probably got a little dirty.

sad, but true

We moved into our new house in June. With everything that's been going on, and the uncertainty of it all, we haven't had a chance to figure out our budget yet, so we haven't added any unnecessary expenses. My husband seems to think that cable is unnecessary, although I swear that is an overstatement, so our television capabilities have been relatively limited. The bunny ears only get about 6 channels and they're all fuzzy. To tell you the truth, we've been so busy, that I haven't really cared much.

Since Fred got in his little accident and broke his leg, he's been a little more aware of lack of fishing programming available to him as well as his lack of connection to the outside world, so I finally called and got us an appointment to get cable and road runner on Tuesday...AND...because I am a grown up now and get to make all of my own decisions I also got DVR!

I think Fred thinks that his injury and confinement to the couch is what motivated me, but the truth it, the season of The Hills started on the 13th and I'M MISSING OUT ON EVERYTHING!

the romance is not dead yet

Another fun text message today.


We need to buy our fire extinguishers.
Have a great day!


We have not discussed this since the day we registered for our wedding gifts, yes, we did register for a fire extinguisher, safety first, we did not get one though. I guess being trapped on the couch has given him lots of time to think about his undying love for me, and his fear of burning to death.

By the way, I picked up the stool softener. Things are moving along nicely.

lovey dovey

my new husband sent me the sweetest text message yesterday.



I need stool softener so bad.
I am ripping a tear down there.
Love you.

74+27=101

So, this is my 102nd post. I had thought about having a little contest when I wrote my 100th post, but I missed it, and I'm broke, and my husband is broken, so oh well. Perhaps another day. It was really just going to be for the purpose of shameless self promotion anyway.

HOORAY FOR ME...WRITING A BLOG!

Every Good Boy Does Fine

I have a good memory. Seriously. I can remember a lot of things. Granted, they're mostly totally useless for everyday life, but they're great for trivia challenges. I know just about every 80's sitcom theme song and almost every commercial jingle I've ever heard. (call 588-2300 empire..when the world never seems to be livin' up to your dreams...I'm chiquita banana and I'm here to say, bananas have to ripen' in a certain way and when they're flecked with brown and have a golden hue, bananas taste the best and are the best for you-I could go on forever...) Anywho, I know a lot of random things.

In college, when I was working on remembering specific characteristics of bugs for a zoology test, I made up elaborate songs and tunes to describe them-I won't write the lyrics here because the tunes are of my own creation and you really need to hear them for yourself. On long car rides, Freddie and I enjoy rewriting songs to fit our ocassion. While these tunes only stick with him in the moment, they pop back into my life at random all of the time. That's when my memory is most special, when I'm walking down the hall and suddenly think of something like pemdas, which is what happened to me yesterday. (But it doesn't mean anything! So, we put in words, one word for every note! (anyone recognize the reference?)

I thought for a minute and suddenly remembered please excuse my dear aunt sally. huh? where did that come from? Is it all coming back to you now? Order of operations. 7th grade pre-algebra. Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction! Hooray! Now, if I could just remember where I'd put my keys, I'd be set.

welcome to my life

I've been absent for a bit as my newlywed life has been keeping me quite busy. I did finally get my kitchen aid mixer, and honey let me tel you, it's beeyooteeful. I haven't mixed anything though because once again, my husband is up to his shenanigans.

While I was out shopping for his birthday present a little over a week ago, I got a call from Guilford County EMS telling me that he'd broken his leg while wake boarding and that they were taking him to the hospital. 12 hours, no sleep, and a rod in the femur later, we made it back to our room and my boy began to mend-translate whine. Seriously though, he's been quite a sport about everything, unlike his blushing bride. I have been worrying because worrying is what I do best. Just call me eeyore. I've also been angry, which is actually good because I don't do anger so well...I'm much better at eating and avoiding. While I've never asked Freddie not to wakeboard and it's actually something we used to do together quite a bit, I would be a little less pissed if he'd hurt himself falling down the stairs or better yet, at work!

A life full of donut butt pillows, walkers, canes, crutches, ice packs, helplessness, and emptying urinals were not mentioned in my membership on theknot.com and I'm less than thrilled about beginning my marriage this way. Before any of this happened, I found out that a job that I was pretty well assured was mine, was suddenly not so certain, (the verdict is still out on that one-I should find out a week before this position ends, hopefully Friday or Monday) and I was already feeling anxious about work, insurance, and money, and pretty much like a loser, so I wasn't in the best shape going in. We've had lots of help-tons of great meals and lots of great "nurses", but it is so overwhelming. As much as the help is appreciated and necessary, it also means that there is someone in my house 24/7, I'm an introvert at heart, so it's difficult enough, but I cannot stand that so many people are seeing our new place when we haven't done ANYTHING to get it ready for actual human living.

To top it all off, on Friday, we found out that Freddie's mom has breast cancer and will have to have a mastectomy asap. When it rains it pours.

So, that is my bummer post. I have a few more lighthearted things to share, but really didn't feel like I could go there without going here. And, I didn't feel quite like I should give you all the full extent of my emotions about all of this when I hadn't actually shared them with my husband. That is done now, and we're pretty good, I'm free to express my annoyance about having to dump his urine, and so I'll spare you the rest, but if you're the prayin' kind, feel free to give a shout out for us. I'm about to lose my religion.

ignoraymoose

I was listening to NPR the other day and they were interviewing people who had witnessed the Mississippi bridge wreckage. A guy called in to share his story and said that he had heard about the bridge collapse and knew that he had to be there. He grabbed his eight year old son and rushed to the wreckage, telling his son, "This is something we have to see and we have to see if we can help."

Does that strike you funny? It blew me away. First, I don't have my own children, but I have spent a lot of time with a variety of eight year olds and I have to tell you that the first word I think of when I think of them in connection with a large deadly disaster is not helpful. Secondly, I cannot believe that this man thought that something so potentially fatal and gruesome could be a good thing for his child to see.

The reporter kept her cool much more than I would have. After another question or two she said, "so you thought it was important for your son to see this first hand rather than shield him from it?" The man emphatically answered, "Yes, of course. This is an important event in history. I felt like it was a lesson in human fallibility..." My response? Perhaps you are correct sir, and yet so were the Holocaust, the Iraq war, and the World Trade Center bombing and I doubt you'd find anyone dragging their children along to such violent scenes.

I hate that I'm going to say this, but I can't help but think that a woman would not do this and I don't make that judgement based on premises that women are smarter than men or that they have more common sense, but rather on contemporary culture and the way society thinks we should raise our little boys. I am amazed with the number of video games available that teach children war simulation. We are spending hundreds of dollars buying video games for our children that encourage them to shoot other people. I can't help but think this is wrong. Whatever your stance on war is, you must believe that it is not easy or joyful for those soldiers to hurt or even kill other human beings, no matter what it is they are defending. It makes me sad to see the ways we silence little boys' tears and encourage them to stifle their own feelings in the name of being brave. By doing so, we invite them to release their emotions through physical, often violent, behavior.

I can only imagine the nightmares that child must have had after seeing the blood and wreckage and hearing the screams of fear and pain and anguish. I hate to think that he went to sleep that night thinking that his dad thought that was an important experience for him to have.

mrs. robinson

I went rafting on Saturday at the US National Whitewater Center, or something like that. The place is a simulated whitewater environment and big time in Charlotte. I went with the hubby and a friend in Charlotte. Another friend of ours was there with some other folks we knew and we met up and waved at one another from time to time. I feel like it's important to say that the one friend with us and the other friend who was there have been buds of mine since middle school and in some ways our relationship hasn't moved on since then. We enjoy laughing about very chilish things and hubby fits right in on these convos. In the real world, we're quite successful and mature people, but when we're together, it's trouble.

The friend on the other boat began her morning in a state of panic. When I talked to her to check the weather as we drove down from Greensboro, she'd told me that she had been short of breath and bordering on diarrhea all morning, but that she was generally very excited. I hadn't rafted before, so I didn't know what to fear. I quickly learned as we sat in our information session and learned what exactly we should do if we found ourselves faced with a foot entrapment or in a low oxygen environment or trapped beneath the boat and suddenly I felt my own stomach rumbling. I didn't have much time to panic as we were quickly shuffled from the training room to be fitted with a paddle (ALWAYS KEEP YOUR T BAR COVERED!), a helmet, and a PFD (you novices may still be calling this a life jacket). The whole process was quite efficient and before we knew it we heard a call for Damax party of 3 and there we spotted our boat and one of the most beautiful creatures alive captaining it. Since there were three of us we had to split up a bit. Freddie and I sat on the second to last row and our friend E sat in the back row next to Gorgeous. It worked out perfectly because although Freddie and I were side by side, while paddling and facing the side of the boat, E and I were free to gossip about our hunky guide. He had kind of shaggy hair, from what I could see under the helmet, which was surprisingly hot on him, and had insanely tan muscles that were perfect...seriously they weren't those beef cake muscles, which I am not a fan of, but more like those of a life guard or a hunky construction worker-they were built from use, not from creotine shakes and pumping iron. Poor E fell off her seat and got wedged in the bottom of the boat stuck right on Gorgeous' foot, but otherwise the trip went pretty well. And, sweet hubby got to practice not being jealous as he kindly told us at the end of our adventure that he looked over at me at one point and saw me staring at Gorgeous with a goofy grin on my face while my wide eyes literally scanned up and down his leg. What can I say? I've always been a leg girl.

house of wax

I have been asked for some updates on the waxing adventure. One month post wedding, I will say that I highly recommend waxing. The benefits far outweigh the pain and suffering, which really is quite minimal and brief. I LOVED not having to shave once on my honeymoon and I would especially suggest waxing before any big vacation or event. I get crazy goosebumps all of the time. It was the weirdest sensation to have the goosebumps and then not have insane stubble. That was definitely the best part. That and having a complete stranger all up in my business for 2 hours. ;)

They say that the waxing will last you about 4 weeks. I found this to be a bit of an exaggeration. I think that's probably because there is no way to get all of the hair unless you waited a really long time to wax in the first place. But, it was much easier to control a little at a time and when I kept on top of it-read, plucked about 15 hairs every few days for the 2nd and 3rd week it was no biggie. (And this was not like plucking eyebrows; it was really painless and fast.) Okay, here comes the disgusting part. I should have shaved my pits a long time ago. I didn't though because I did not miss the stubble and the regrowth was no where near as annoying. I knew I wanted to wax again-despite the discomfort-the armpits definitely hurt the most.

That leads me to my next story. I decided that before I coughed up another hundred bucks for the whole shebang, I'd try to wax at home. Now, I had actually tried this once before and it was a disaster. I purchased prewaxed strips and applied them all to my bikini line so I couldn't give up after one strip. That. was. a. mistake! Let's just say it was a very unpleasant bit of time as I tried to figure out how to remove them without ripping the hair out. So, I knew this time, I would not be using prewaxed strips. I decided to stick as close to the aveda process as possible.

I picked up a Sally Hansen at home waxing kit at Target on the way home on Thursday. Friday night was fairly uneventful. I started to read Harry Potter, much to Freddie's dismay. He was obviously bored, so he decided to go out and look at new cars-which I'm sure will be a story for another day. Shortly after he left, I got a notion to break out the wax. I stripped down to my bra and panties and washed everything with alcohol. I was prepped and ready to go, when I remembered we don't actually own a microwave yet, so I had to improvise. I remembered our new tea kettle and decided to heat the water then put the wax jar in a bowl and pour the water around it. So, I had to move the whole process to the kitchen (now remember, I'm wearing my underwear, and we don't have any blinds yet, fortunately, our kitchen is in the back of the house.) My genius plan really only heated the outside, which made stirring and applying quite difficult. In about 35 seconds, I had wax all over me. There was a bit on the strip, which I applied, and then drips, spots, splashes, and smears just about every where else. The papers stuck to my hands, the sticks stuck to the papers, my legs stuck to each other, and then my husband walked in.

Needless to say, he was a bit surprised, but fortunately not repulsed, because at this point, I had no choice, but to ask for his help. Removing the wax strips myself really wasn't too bad. I braced myself for the first one and was pleasantly surprised and the hair did come out. I used the strips to remove other spots of wax that fell where I didn't want them and picked up the last bits with the oily stuff they give you in the box, and fortunately, I was able to salvage one of our new plates.

I waxed as much as I could, including my pits-that was a bit uncomfortable again, but so gratifying (I retreated to the bathroom with my waxed strips for that-I could not let my husband see them in that condition-so once again we avoided divorce for a bit longer.) I did have to use the oil to get the remaining wax off, though some spots were tricky, especially a huge flaky patch on my leg....

Fast forward to Saturday morning, when I realized the flaky patch on my leg was actually skin and that I had removed the top layer of skin from the side of my leg. Some of the other spots where wax had accidentally dropped looked the same way-red and shiny, like after a sunburn peel-but definitely just from peeling skin, not burning, we never got the wax quite hot enough. I also noticed tons of places where I missed hair.

In conclusion, I may try it at home one more time. This time I'm going to try the prewaxed again. I will never do my own bikini line. I will do my own pits. And, I'm pretty sure that I should leave the legs up to the professionals too. They really do a good job and it's SO worth it. However, I'm beginning to think of moving on to bigger and better things. It seems like the price of a monthly waxing would quickly pay for laser hair removal... I'll let you know.

PS-My hubby did get a few happy snaps of the whole catastrophe, but unfortunately, the memory card is at home.

so white

My morning alarm clock radio station is this local station that plays a little bit of everything called Simon. This morning they were doing shout outs. They gave a shout out to Britney and Kevin because of the divorce and to John Edwards and his wife because they always celebrate their anniversary at Wendy's where they celebrated their first when they were broke, etc. At then end of each person's name and story they gave the shout out, which went like this.

Shout, Shout, Shout it out
ShoutShoutShout, Shout it out.
Yay!

pissed

I am slowly reading the new Harry Potter. Since it's the last book, I really want to enjoy it. I meant to re-read all of the previous books, or at least watch the movies and read 6 again, but I didn't. We're saving movie 5 for the big screen at the Omnimax this weekend and my books are all packed. So, I just dove in this weekend. I'm ony 150 pages in, but I am starting to realize I need a refresher on a few things. Today I looked up book 6 on Wikipedia to remember what happened. I also decided to click the link to Severus Snape because I couldn't quite remember a crucial plot detail and in the very first paragraph I'm pretty sure I read a spoiler! There was no warning. No update about the date that post was last edited. I tried to pretend that the writing was just poor and made it sound like something happened that really happened to someone else, but I don't think that's true. I scrolled down a bit further to check the headlines and saw that, in fact, it did contain an updated description of the character in the newest book and above that headline was a warning that it contained spoilers about a current work of fiction. Why didn't they put that at the top?!?!

her baby's daddy

Way back when my dear husband was just a young college guy he had a roommate named Josh.



Freddie and Josh lived together in a house with about 4 other guys and their stories from that time together are kind of crazy. There was the time a girl peed in Freddie's laundry basket at one of their parties because she thought it was the toilet and there was the rat that they had that one night carried and entire loaf of bread from the kitchen counter to the other end of the house. From time to time the boys, and their rats entertained houseguests. Josh's two younger brothers, Joel and Benji, stayed with the guys for about a month or two. They had big dreams of one day making it big with their band. The guys laughed about their aspirations and their poppy punk music, but still suppported the little guy's dreams and ocassionally Freddie would play their music for me on his car tape player, until one day he didn't have to because they were already on the radio. Maybe you've heard of them. They call themselves Good Charlotte






. Joel has really hit the big time since the days he spent sleeping on Freddie's couch. He had a long relationship with sweet Hillary Duff then moved on to Nicole Richie and now they're having a baby.



What does this have to do with me? I'm glad you asked. No, I don't think we'll be invited to the wedding, but I do think it means that when we have our very own little "ballerina girl" we'll be calling in a favor. Hey, Joel, you better go ahead and let Lionel know to get his ink pen ready, you didn't think you'd get to stay on that couch for free did you? Thanks!

PS-If you're interested in finding out just how he got her pregnant, I found this lovely shot while I was hunting for the others. Oh goodness.

here comes the bride!

put your mittens on your kittens and away we go!!!

The day of the wedding was fairly calm. After my bridemaids and other attendants left to get ready for the day, I took a shower and waited for Yildiz, my make up girl to come and pimp my face. I am not good at doing make up, in fact, I hardly ever wear it, so Yildiz was a necessity. We really got to know each other over the 2 day bridal portrait ordeal, so I was excited to see her.



Yildiz is my friend from Mac and she's quite nice. She thinks I look European, but she's not quite sure where in Europe. She also has a very intricate tat around her boobs. (When she does your make up, that's pretty much the only place to look.) She is elegantly funky.

The hour before we had to leave for the service was a little crazy. We rushed to the reception site to put our candles out, we collected TONS of candles for these huge window spaces, and my mom made runners for the tables to add a splash of color, but since they weren't through a floral designer or rented through the site we had to do them ourselves, which was fine because it gave us a chance to see everything before everyone got there. My sister and my step mom helped us out a ton, because we forgot to unwrap all of the candles before the big day! I also put out photos of our deceased loved ones and realized at the last minute that I had neglected an important uncle, so in the 20 minutes before the trolley picked us up at the hotel, I had to frantically search through all of my mom's old photos for a shot of him...did I mention that I also accidentally dropped the entire box on the floor and mixed up the first 13 years of my life. Sorry, mom.




We used a trolley to transport the bridal party to the church and then to the reception. The trolley picked my mom and I up at the hotel (a few minutes that seemed like a lifetime late because of a broken water main in downtown charlotte. This is me riding to get the girls at Byron's posing with my dress, my veil, and my mom's dress



and once the girls joined us the nice trolley man took a happy snap



The boys rode the trolley too!




At the church, I sat around for about one second, we had a few lovely snacks there too, it's a wonder I fit in my dress, and then the hair guy arrived to tame my locks. Here is a shot of my hair. It's actually from the bridal portrait day (hence the sleepy face), but it gives you a closer look with and without the veil. There were also little pearl and crystal pins in the back to spice it up after I removed the the veils.






You can see my sweet friend Beth, but you can't tell that she's painting my toes. She loves to paint toes and she used to always do mine in grad school. I had mine done at a salon with my mom on Thursday, but Beth added a few white flowers.



While I did that, the bridesmaids scuffed their shoes-this is a posed shot, my sister missed them in action down on their hands and knees-



and another sewed the cameo I mentioned getting at my bridesmaid luncheon onto the sash of my bouquet. Here are the rest of my old new borrowed and blue too.



Then it was time to get dressed and put on the garter, by the way, I think this is a silly tradition, I like the tossing, but not so much the wearing and i actually kept the toss garter, I didn't see any need to keep the frilly one for myself.



I took a few photos with my flower girls



and we got rushed upstairs to get ready to enter. I didn't get a shot with my cute ring bearers, and they were a little cranky after the wedding, but my cousin did get one of three of the kids, these three are my cousins



.

Next came the wedding, I don't have any photos of that without my photographer, but I actually remember the service. It was really important to me that we be able to remember the actual wedding and not rush in and out in fifteen minutes. Our service was an hour, and no we aren't Catholic. We served communion, which we loved because we got to see everyone come up one by one--that was really special. I also had time to calm down before we actually got married, so that was nice. The reception was a blur, but I remember the wedding in great detail and I'm so thankful.

We had an exit from the church after the wedding. I've been at a few weddings where they seemed to drag on and on, but I always want to stay for the exit, so I decided to have two--one from the church and one from the reception. The trolley came back to pick us up and our sweet friends had decorated it. Fred and I waited in the chapel for everyone to exit while the carillon bells rang and we really got to take in the moment. (We also practiced our first dance!) We rushed out to a huge crowd blowing bubbles.








Here are a few shots from around our reception including our cake, our centerpieces, my portrait, our candles, the bridesmaids flowers-I didn't want them to have to hold them all night, so we found a space for them by the bar-etc.









































When we arrived at the reception site and gathered to enter, we realized Fred and I had both forgotten the cd to give to the dj! We decided to go ahead and enter, make a little twirl for the crowd on the dance floor-so they could take a pic, and then wait on the cd. Fortunately, a bridesmaid's father ran to get it out of my car player for me. I only wore my short veil at the reception. I was surprised that I actually chose a cathedral length veil, which I loved, and I wore the blusher-my mom flipped it at the end of the aisle as a way of giving her blessing-I walked down the aisle by myself. After the wedding, I flipped the blusher and wore it for all of the "big picture" events-cake, toast, dance, etc. then took it off. Here is our big entrance. I love this shot of my sister and Freddie's dad because she's so tall (and I made all of the girls wear the same shoes (I know, BRIDEZILLA, but I paid for them), which weren't exactly short) and he is so, well, not tall.







and here are the newlyweds on the dance floor (it looks like I'm whispering sweet nothings, but I think I just got embarrassed, so I pretended to say something!)



A few minutes, and a brief snack and cocktail later, our song had arrived and we were ready to dance. We actually took one dance lesson, so we had a few moves. We danced the foxtrot and learned a few turns and a dip. I think we did pretty well, though Fred had a bit of stage fright. Our first dance was to a song called "I'll Be Loving You Always" and it was my grandparents' song. My grandfather was listening to it on the radio when he wrote the letter to propose to her while he was in the Korean war. We dedicated it to her. She and my grandpa would have had their 62nd anniversary two days after our wedding.



Here are a few shots from around the reception, including the bouquet and garter, and the happy couple with the mother of the bride. We were so thankful to have so many friends and family there with us on our special day.













All of my close friends from highschool came, I look especially short in this shot-I think the shoes had definitely come off at this point. At the end of the night, we danced our final dance to At Last, a song we've always loved, and I got teary. I looked at my grandma, so thankful that she was able to come, the last year has been a rough one for her, and I wished the moment could go on forever. I was really grateful to have the Sunday brunch to look forward to. We ran out under a stream of bubbles, rose petals, and silver streamers, surprised at the large crowd that had hung around. I don't have any good shots because it was so dark and apparently we ran fast-aren't you suppposed to run?! After a fake out exit, Freddie had forgotten about getting us a ride back, we snuck around to the side entrance and got a caterer to get my mom, so she could grab my bag and my grandma so I could say goodbye, and we called a friend to take us home. It was a great night, but it went by so quickly-I'm sure you're reading this post and wondering how that could be possible!

in case your husband is a liar like mine.

and he told you that the only thing on Monday night was a show about a cooking challenge and another about a guy's journey from prowrestling to becoming the ultimate fighting champion and so he made you watch the show about becoming the ultimate fighting champion and you missed out on the ever so funny and ever so posh special about Victoria Beckham coming to America, here is some good news.

You can stream it...
http://www.nbc.com/Video/rewind/full_episodes/index.shtml?show=victoriabeckham

Or, you can watch it again on live tv NBC Thursday night at 10:00-with all new commentary by Posh herself!

Looks like we may make it to our first anniversary afterall....

tickling and pillow fights

The night before the wedding all of my favorite girls gathered at the Marriot downtown to spend my last single night with me. We had TONS of food, lots of great snacks provided by some friends of my mom, and lots of great breakfast treats the next morning provided by the matron of honor's mom. It was such a treat to spend my last night with my favorite ladies (and my mom also snuck in one sweet little brown boy-can you spot him?)and wake up to surrounded by so many faces that have meant so much to me through the years.






Wait! Mom has to be in one too!

liar liar pants on fire.

Sorry. I didn't post the wedding or the detail pictures. Don't blame me. Blame Sarah. I know she has lots of good pictures and she said she'd send them a while ago, so I'll give her one more day. In the meantime. Here are the detail shots I promised.

The big picture was easy, but what I was really interested in were little details. I made my own ring bearer pillows using old family handkerchiefs and instead of putting dummy rings on them, I attached my grandfather's wedding band and a ring my great aunt had that had a collection of stones from many family rings. We had two ring bearers, so I used one for my family and one for Freddie's. Their pillow had his grandmother's wedding band. It was really important to me to make some connections to family members who were only there in spirit. I don't think I have a picture, but I'll post one if I can locate one.

We also featured a memory table at our reception where we included pictures of deceased friends and family. It was really great to pass by and see all of the smiling faces of loved ones we miss so much. (thanks to cbm for the extra inspiration on this one)




We also made welcome bags that our guests received when they arrived at their hotels. We were a bit sneaky on this one as we'd found the cutest printed bags online. They had an illustrated Charlotte skyline printed on them in pink and green. Just as we were about to splurge, we decided to copy them instead. We printed off our own welcome notes on card stock and tied them with different pink and green ribbons and filled them with local favorites. Southern delicacies like cheerwine, sundrop, grits and moon pies added some regional flare and we added a taste of home with Nascar Pez and Lance crackers.













I debated about bridesmaid gifts forever and was going to use my aunt's retail connection to get some Vera Bradley bags, but alas, Vera is not accepting any new retailers. So, we went with the bean instead. I collected goodies to put inside for over a year (seriously, I bought these silk purses and pink and green polka dot jewelry rolls (too cute-I just realized I never got a picture!) at the furniture market in April of 06). I included flip flops for tired feet, initial key chains, note pads and water bottles, and cute little hair ties and kleenexes. The bags greeted the girls at the bridesmaid lunch, later that evening they got the jewelry rolls with their big day jewelry at the rehearsal dinner along with the other attendant gifts.











Coming from the land of Krispy Kreme, we wanted to send our guests off with a sweet treat. So, thanks to my lovely girlfriends, we stuffed 30 dozen cellophane bags with donuts and sealed them with a monogram sticker printed up for me by Karen Smallbone.



We had a few to spare, but they seemed to be a hit!