Showered With Gifts... And Attention

Last night was my very first bridal shower. Three of my very best friends threw this party for me. I call it a party because we laughed the whole time and ate lots and lots of delicious sweets! I have always dreaded any kind of shower (except the kind that keeps you clean and covers the bathroom mirrors with steam)... even my own bridal showers. But this was SO FUN!

I have to admit, though, that I think this cultural tradition of ours is very, very odd. First of all, after mingling a bit and eating some goodies, everyone sat down in a circle and stared at me. I felt a little like a circus monkey or at the very least a winter window display at Macy's. I had an almost completely captive audience of good friends who suddenly acted as though they were hearing me speak for the very first time. I like attention as much as the next gal, but not of this magnitude. Then my cute friends who threw the shower shared a funny video of my fiancé answering questions... which lightened the mood and made us all laugh really hard. (Don't tell him, it'll go right to his head.)

THEN the strangest thing happened... everyone started handing me gifts, for no reason other than my pending nuptials! I felt so silly. I should have accomplished something or won an award to merit that kind of attention and those kinds of gifts. Even today, I feel a little silly and spoiled. Perhaps I'll go do something big and noble today, so I feel like I've earned all the doting. Then again, I'm sick, AND pretty busy today... so maybe tomorrow... or the next day....

I forgot to take pictures until almost all the guests were gone. Luckily, I got some of my BFFs. The others are just going to have to recreate the night so we can get proof that they were there.

Some of my best friends...

Oh, the memories we share!

When you're as cool as Michelle, you carry a film camera at all times.

This little stud had all the guest eating out of the palm of his hand...

or was it the other way around?

And our little night owl stayed up later than she has in years...

that's how much she loves me! ;)

Thanks for the wonderful evening, friend-Os!

Bow- WOW

One of my best friends in the whole world is disgustingly talented. She makes and sells hair bows and head bands for little girls. You can check out the goods on her blog. I tell ya, it's good to know talented people; my future daughters will have something feminine to adorn their possibly over-sized, bald heads.

Here is a sneak peak of what she makes:

SO CUTE, I KNOW!

Frankles?!

A friend recently decided to award me with the nick name frankles, for obvious reasons; I came home from Europe with Cankles and freckles. Clever, right? Well, I thought it was a nick name that was funny for a one-time conversation. Turns out it's sticking, and catching on with others. Thanks a lot, friend-who-I-cannot-come-up-with-a-mean-nickname- for!

I guess this is a step up from Megs'n Bacon.

[sigh]

Boys...

[sigh]

This Girl Knows How to Throw a Party!

It was my friend Michelle's 25th birthday yesterday. She threw a great party. But not just any party... a MUSTACHE-themed party! Why the heck not?

May you always be able to grow a mustache 

when the need arises!

Carl Malone's Gotta Do What Carl Malone's Gotta Do

Memories of Christmas Last Year

Ill Intentions & An Identity Crisis

So I have had every intention of blogging over the course of the last month-ish. But life got crazy somehow. I attribute the craziness to the following factors:

1. Break up

2. Bad hair month 

3. Crazy women who refuse to retire and make all our lives easier

4. The curse of living or possibly working on land that was once an ancient Indian burial ground

5. Beets. Bears. Battlestar Gallactica.

6. Communicable diseases

7. October 31st and the squares on the calendar that precede it.

1-Break up? Yeah, I did that. Turns out I'm getting better and better at them. I'm actually thinking of possibly writing a book, creating a support group, or becoming a professional trainer on break up how-tos. I can break up in my sleep ... with one had tied behind my back. Man, this one was different though. It was definitely not cut and dry; something that is still on my mind. Sometimes I hate thinking.

2- Bad hair month. I wonder if there's any correlation between break ups, stress at work, and the amount of hair that falls out of my head each time I wash my hair. I think the only solution is to stop washing my hair.  Think of all the time and money I'll save!

3- Crazy woman who won't retire... referenced above in "stress at work." Bless her heart...

4- Ancient Indian burial ground. I don't make the rules, I just deal with them. Everyone around me is sick and afflicted in some way lately. I can ONLY attribute this to the fact that we are either living or working on ground that was once an ancient Indian burial ground. Just ask Michael, he knows what I'm talking about.

5- Which bear is best?

6- Communicable diseases. Today is Wednesday, almost Thursday. One week ago today I came from work with a fever and aches which I fought viciously for the next 3 days. They were followed by dizziness and cold-like symptoms on Sunday and a sinus infection, pink eyes (yes, both eyes), and a bronchial infection on Monday. Needless to say I'm rather behind at work and can't stand the sight of the ceiling in my room.

7- October 31st. Halloween is my most favorite of holidays. Not that I don't love Christmas. I mean, I have a heart so I enjoy the holiday. But you certainly don't get to wear a costume and dance around to loud music while eating sugar-based sweets. Think about it.

It is actually item #7 on my list of factors that lead to my identity crisis this Halloween season. See photos below:

Princess Lea sewn by my sister, Hollie. 

Reused from a previous Halloween.

The Friday before Halloween.

Matching flappers sewn by my mom (maybe Hollie). 

Used from the old high school dance days (Remember Marcie?)

The Saturday before Halloween.

The Cowardly Lion. Sweats purchased at Target. 

Idea from a previous year. 

Hair curled by Marcie.

The Monday before Halloween.

And presenting my actual 2008 Halloween costume....

Sewn by my very talented sister, Hollie! 

This was by far my favorite costume yet! 

She did such a great job. I was complimented on the dress countless times.

Young Again

So I was starting to feel old today. Well, not just today, but lately.  For some reason I felt especially old today. I came home fairly early last night; early enough that my mom knew I didn't go to any fireworks for the 24th of July. She said, "You're sure acting like an old fart for being so young." I'm just not as young as I used to be, it happens. 

So tonight I went with the boys to dinner and to see Batman (Which, by the way, scared me to death! But that's another post for another day.)  Jordo and I left the theater before the show started to get treats and we were outraged at the price of a bag of M & Ms at the theater! I'd have to mortgage my house (if I had one) to buy the treats I wanted. So we ran over to Target, bought four LARGE bags of M & Ms (one for each of us, of course) and some beef jerky and headed back to the theater. The movie ended and the night was fairly young so the boys came over to my house for our usual game of "Sit Around and Make Fun of Each Other." It's really a game, the rules aren't very complicated if you'd like to learn sometime. When I was sufficiently pissed off by the boys, I kicked them out. After they walked out the door I realized they'd each left their LARGE bags of M & Ms... on purpose! I picked them up and ran out the door after them. They ran to their car yelling "Get inside with your M & Ms before the Joker gets you!" I immediately turned around with my arms full of delicious chocolate goodness, ran back across the lawn and attempted to run up the steps, only to feel myself falling down hard on the concrete. I somehow managed to scrape up each and every side of my leg... which I'm sure is nothing short of a miracle if you look at the physics of the fall. The boys tore off in the car and I crawled into the house, grasping at the M & Ms and trying hard not to pee my pants. It was, after all, almost 2 am. 

I share this story because of the feeling I have now, after the fall. Do you remember that scraped knee, constant stinging feeling that you had ALL summer as a child? Well, I have that. At first it hurt and felt more like a pain, but now it's a constant reminder that I'm not as old as I feel sometimes. I can still have the same experiences I had as a kid, just in a bigger body :)

So Much for Rest & Relaxation....

One thing that students may not realize is that their teachers are just as excited for the summer break as their students... if not more! Miss Stewart is a good friend of mine who taught third grade last year down the hall from me. One day near the end of the school year our students had all been particularly evil and we met in my classroom after school to eat chocolate and vent about the naughty little darlings. On a whim we decided that the cure to our teaching woes would be to book a trip to sunny San Diego with a couple of friends. So we did. Scheduled departure date: last day of school as soon as all the cute little stinkers are out the door. (Let me pause to give a shout out to Marcie for driving us to the airport!)

However, this trip that was meant to rest and relax me was more of a nightmare than any other I've experienced. I woke up the last day of school with a throat so sore I could barely swallow and a pounding headache that made me feel like hurting someone everytime they talked to me. My poor friends spent the better part of the trip babying me, going to the store for medicine, taking turns giving me back massages, and offering up compliments to brighten my mood.:) Finally, the last day of the trip arrived! I couldn't wait to get home to a doctor and then to my bed to stay indefinitely... or at least until I felt better. We dropped the rental car off, took the shuttle to the airport and headed to Delta's desk to check our bags. When we arrived, we were surprised to see that NO ONE was at the desk. We waited for a few minutes only to be greeted by a robotic, cold-hearted Delta employee. "You're too late," she told us. We argued that we were there in plenty of time to check our bags according to the many posted signs indicating arrival time. She refused to let us check our bags despite the sky cap who was standing near, ready and willing to take our bags to the plane. We sent the boys on ahead to the plane because their bags were small enough to be carried on. Apparently men don't have the genetic defects that cause you to involuntarily over-pack despite your better judgement. Miss Stewart and I were left behind rebooking our flight for 6:00 the next morning. The heartless employee began to explain the hundred dollar fee that my friend and I would each be charged for changing our flights until.... I pulled out all the stops.... I burst into tears! Anyone who knows me knows I'm not much of a crier, especially in public. But if there was ever a situation worthy of tears, this was it. Once the Delta robot saw how upset I was she retracted the fee from our accounts.

After that was taken care of, my friend and I began our hunt for a non-scarey, nearby hotel to sleep at. But our search was in vain. The only hotel with an opening that was nearby was some hostile style building which we'd have to take the city bus to get to. I've never been on a city bus and I never plan to.... yes, I'm a transportation snob. So we spent the night in a corner of the 24 hour Mc Donald's huddled up on the only bench in the airport that didn't have arm rests, right next to the dumpsters and tables with gum from 1973 stuck underneath them. Longest night of my life! But now I'm home in my bed and awaiting for the moment when enough time has passed that I can look back and laugh at that experience. Maybe next year....