tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35391374221563475442024-03-14T00:20:52.972-04:00My Inner MonoblogAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.comBlogger253125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-89400724145929328252012-06-19T13:41:00.001-04:002012-06-19T13:41:36.375-04:00Posy PaletteI have decided rather than just start all of a sudden start doing product reviews on this blog, which kind of makes no sense, I should instead start a new blog. So I did. Come and join me over at the new blog, Posy Palette. Follow me on Twitter @PosyPalette. So far, I have product reviews for Wen Hair Care, and the Urban Decay Naked Palettes.<br />
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I also have plans for some product tests (with before & after photos). One of the products I have plans for is the nail strengther gel polish, Perfect Formula, and also the exercise DVD system, Brazil Butt Lift.<br />
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New blog is here: <a href=http://www.posypalette.blogspot.com>Posy Palette</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-18266585497175398482012-06-14T18:28:00.001-04:002012-06-14T18:39:02.357-04:00All good things must come to a reboot.As I started using my twitter account a bit more, I realized that I hadn't blogged since before I got married. And now that I'm almost at my one year anniversary... I felt that it was time to fix that.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgNRfOL5mYyeWzeOAj4xIeVpdxRti4qtstdgegd6TfW7tV6M9iFVKPoLtqLQRPZW7pcduJquZEdRyKa35_giimVhIgRQno2gRqgHKJ3JpGeG-Orgtv1W-7L8pKroeajjY-gsJ7nczyBWk/s1600/wedding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgNRfOL5mYyeWzeOAj4xIeVpdxRti4qtstdgegd6TfW7tV6M9iFVKPoLtqLQRPZW7pcduJquZEdRyKa35_giimVhIgRQno2gRqgHKJ3JpGeG-Orgtv1W-7L8pKroeajjY-gsJ7nczyBWk/s320/wedding.jpg" /></a>
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It's been a very long time since I've sat at this screen. So long, in fact, that Blogger has made some significant changes! Yikes. I think that this blog needs a bit of a face lift, a voice, etc. When I first started blogging, it was because I missed theatre desperately and needed some kind of creative output. I still miss theatre desperately, but I've come to terms that that part of my life is over. Then I started blogging as an outlet for wedding planning frustrations.
I feel that my blog has never really had its own purpose, which is probably why I stopped blogging. I realized today that I do have my own voice. A very opinionated voice. I've said before that I work in radio, but that I also work in the beauty industry. And lately, my heart as been in the beauty industry. Sure, it could be because I'm a makeup junkie, but whatever. I love makeup, I love trying new techniques, and I'll try just about any product at least once. So expect actual updates from me shortly.
However, since I've last blogged... a few things have changed. I have a new last name now. Everyone in my life is having babies (except for me, and that's okay for now). At this moment, I know 7 people who are due in November or December. Seven. That's a lot of babies. For now, we are enjoying just being married. No plans to start TTC in the very near future.
My wedding went great... there were no big hiccups, no epic drama (some walk of shame drama from my guests, but at least they had fun, right!?), and no one got arrested! Gzilla and I went to Aruba on our honeymoon and had the most amazing time.
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But enough about wedding and honeymoon crap. I'm back, blogosphere!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-90203941048944514942011-01-11T21:22:00.002-05:002011-01-11T21:40:08.800-05:00The slackiest of slackersWow. One post in December? I lose at blogging. <br /><br />AS you can probably gather... things have been fairly busy if I haven't blogged AT ALL since December 1st. That would be an understatement. Work has been increasingly busy (which is good) and wedding planning has gotten a touch more stressful. I'm officially under 6 months away from the wedding, and it's creeping closer and closer to 5 months. I still have a lot of details to work out! <br /><br />But it's okay. I'm not stressing out. I'm not. I'm going to make it through these 5 months and a few weeks without turning into a crazy person, and without having one or many panic attacks. I'm going to be just. fine. <br /><br />Instead I'm going to focus on the more important things in life: my desk at work. We're renovating at work currently. For two whole days (during the first bout of snow we had in the middle of December) I had no windows. Sure, there was plastic over the window. You know how insulated a plastic tarp is? Not very. I had three damn shirts on at work! Now that I have new windows, they tell me that I'm moving. <br /><br />My desk is turning into a closed lockable office. I am moving on the other side of the cubicle wall... which means I'm on the same side as Gzilla. We'll have to stare at each other all day. They had to sit us down and ask us permission. It was kind of hilarious. But now I have construction guys building walls next to me... and building a door in my way... and it's slightly distracting. I'm kind of looking foward to my new desk, despite the fact that I'm going to have much less space in my new work area, but that's all right. I'll be on the side of the cubicle wall with all the people I like. <br /><br />Now I just have to figure out how to not have any snags in this wedding planning business so that I dont have some kind of epic meltdown.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-18450099556774932142010-12-01T15:02:00.003-05:002010-12-01T15:25:46.367-05:00It just keeps getting longer and longer...I feel like every list I'm keeping right now has been doused with Miracle Grow and it's going to turn into the world's largest cucumber soon. For example... wedding stuffs. When we figured out the budget (read: when my dad said I have this much money to give you) we crunched the numbers and figured out that the magic number was 180. 180 total guests. That's it. Right now? My number is 192. <br /><br />It was 186... which is okay because we're anticipating a few people declining (like my aunts who already booked their July 4th beach house in Florida... my cousin who lives in Texas... and a few of Gzilla's relatives who are across the country) but then my dad had a few additions. I forgot my two aunts who divorced my dad's family(these two are very smart women--just as my mom). At first, Daddy Dearest was unsure about inviting them, and since he's paying... if he's uncomfortable, I feel awkward saying "No, they are my aunts whether or not they have my last name anymore or no" but he finally caved on that one. And then he adds that he wants me to invite my uncle's new wife's two adult children (did you follow that?) <br /><br />Now, I have no problem with these two people... but if we're trying to limit the numbers, especially since the ONLY friends that I'm inviting are in my wedding party, I don't exactly feel comfortable not inviting the women that I lived with for years in college, but I can invite these two people who are practically strangers that I've met all of twice. But, again, my dad is the one paying for the reception... and he already mentioned it to his brother... so they're on the list. And he's right, it IS a nice gesture. But these are the side of my family that I'm trying to distance myself from, so it's hard. <br /><br />The other list that's growing is the things I need to pay for. Trying to fit Christmas in the midst of all the wedding payments is a bit difficult this year to say the least. But, Gzilla and I decided to set a limit on our gifts, and then we'll save up to go to a fancy dinner in Philly. We'll probably go back to 10Arts and have Jen Carroll from Top Chef make us dinner again. That place was amazing...<br /><br />Anyone have lists that keep growing and growing?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-26651577640391924592010-11-15T10:21:00.003-05:002010-11-15T16:18:14.291-05:00PC Prison RecapWell, Gzilla and I survived. Actually... we had FUN. I know. Inconceivable! But we did. We even made <em>friends </em>with another couple. I was really worried about the whole roommate situation, but it ended up being fine. There were 11 couples on the retreat. All the women stayed in one house and the men stayed in another, and each house had 8 bedrooms... so only a few people had to share a room, and I wasn't one of them! <br /><br />The one thing I will say is that I'm TIRED. We were on retreat from Friday night at 7 until Sunday afternoon at noon. We didn't actually get home until 1:30 or so because we hung around for a bit and then stopped for groceries on the way home. We were very ambitious in our cooking that evening. I made NY strip steaks with carrots and parsnips for dinner (by the way... parsnips are flipping awesome) and a pot roast for the next night. I was going to put it together this morning and we could eat it tonight. Except I didn't know that I have to work tonight. So I made it last night... we put it away this morning, and we're going to eat it on Tuesday. My house smelled amazing this morning. However I was up cooking until around midnight, after an emotionally draining weekend. To say that I'm tired is a huge understatement. <br /><br />I feel a bit silly because I was so worried about the retreat, but there ended up being nothing to get worked up about. We liked it so much, and think that we got a lot out of it, that we're considering being 'team couples' for future retreats and leading some of the discussions.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-87832342931923285662010-11-11T10:22:00.002-05:002010-11-11T11:11:32.473-05:00I'm gonna do it this time; I swear!!I mentioned that Gzilla and I joined the Y last month... well, it took us a month to get there. We went for the first time on Monday for a personal training type meeting, and then we went a second time separately to learn the different machines.<br /><br />I've been trying very hard to be supportive without pushing Gzilla into doing anything. He's unhappy with his weight, and it's gotten to the point where he's having back problems because of it. I think that finally got him motivated to actually try. Before he's complained that he needed to change his eating habits, but what that really means is that I have to change his eating habits for him. And whenever I try saying "Hey, let's get a salad for lunch today" I get shot down because that doesn't sound like a very good lunch (i.e. it's not Wendy's). <br /><br />I'm letting him set the times when we go to the Y and exercise... but the one thing that I'm highly suggesting that he do is keep track of his calories. I found a really good calorie tracker at <a href=http://www.livestrong.com target=_blank>www.livestrong.com</a> and has the nutrional value of a lot of brand name things already in there. And! you can create your own recipes so that you don't have to enter "tomatoes, 2... steak, 6 oz" every time. It's fancy! <br /><br />He told me that his goal is to lose a pound a month. Which would mean by the wedding, he would have lost 8 pounds. When I set up his livestrong account... I set it at a bit more than that, because my options were "1 pound per week, 1.5 pounds per week, 2 pounds per week, or maintain current weight." So I set it at 1 pound per week. <br /><br />I have some goals for myself, too. I just want to strengthen and tone what I already have. Every single person at the Y so far has brought up the pilates classes, so I think I'm going to do that... and I think I might do a Zumba class, too. When I go in the mornings with Gzilla 3x per week (I think that's good to start off) I'll concentrate on cardio and some weight training... and then I'll add on a few classes here and there. I think that since we have each other to keep motivated, we'll keep up with it... but we'll see. It's one of those things where if I blog about it...then y'all will hold me accountable. So please, feel free to yell at me if I slack off. Because it's not just me slacking off, it's Gzilla now, too... and if this extra weight is doing a number on his back, I don't want to think about what it's doing to his heart.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-16670722474605837112010-11-10T09:49:00.007-05:002010-11-10T10:04:09.047-05:00For a moment... I'm going to be a girl.Not just a girl. THAT girl. That girl who is obsessed with shoes. <br /><br />I bought my wedding shoes the other day. From this website <a href=http://www.ruelala.com/invite/rpoletti target=_blank>Rue La La</a> where you can designer stuff discounted. Sometimes it's last season stuff... sometimes it's sample sale. I belong to another one called Gilt Group, but I'm starting to like Rue La La a bit more. <br /><br />Anyway, a few days ago... they had my favorite designer. kate spade. I <strong>LOVE </strong>kate spade. I actually have a bag of hers that I bought at a charity store for $39 (because I'm awesome and know how to shop). Lately I haven't been looking at the Gilt Group or Rue La La pages because I'm saving for the wedding and all that jazz, but this time I thought "Well... let me just SEE if they have any shoes..."<br /><br />THANK GOD I DID. I found my wedding shoes. And I bought them. They were sold out of every size except mine and a few others... and I thought about it. I even asked Gzilla, but he was of no help. So I texted <a href=http://www.howthebeck.blogspot.com target=_blank>becklette</a> and she convinced me that HELLO I should buy them. And I did. Now I'm $129 poorer, BUT I HAVE KATE SPADE SHOES FOR $129. I'm going to wear my favorite designer's shoes on my wedding. And they're THE PERFECT shoe. Perfect.<br /><br />See? Perfect wedding shoes. I can't wait until they get here.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nbcXutRpQgk/TNq0MMkX_kI/AAAAAAAAAdI/t92hR1gPKYo/s1600/8521-632969-p.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nbcXutRpQgk/TNq0MMkX_kI/AAAAAAAAAdI/t92hR1gPKYo/s320/8521-632969-p.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537936813430668866" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-88472811028302743512010-11-09T10:58:00.002-05:002010-11-09T11:08:56.385-05:00All my m's sound like b's.Well... you know how I'm supposed to be going to "Pre Cana Prison" this weekend... sharing a room with a stranger... sharing my relationship with 9 other couples... and all that fun stuff?<br /><br />GUESS WHO HAS A NASTY COLD? this guy.<br /><br />I currently can't breathe through one side of my nose... I sound like I have a clothespin over said nose... and my throat hurts. Luckily, I haven't lost my voice or anything yet. It's just sore. <br /><br />I'm doing all of those things you're supposed to do when you're sick. Drink lots of water... drink lots of tea with honey... take cold medicine... use an entire box of tissues per day... surround myself with hand sanitizer... use my neti pot a whole lot... but I'm really worried that it isn't going to do anything! I have to stay in a room with a stranger this weekend... and I'm totally going to get her sick. I'm going to be that person that everyone thinks in their head, "I hope I'm not rooming with THAT GIRL." <br /><br />Any other cold remedies I should partake in to try and bust this cold before Friday?? Staying home and sleeping is not an option.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-50418734484227113972010-11-04T10:06:00.002-04:002010-11-04T10:13:27.781-04:00Nervous AmbitionsI have all these grandious ideas of what I want in life. Yes, I love working in radio... but do I see myself in radio for the rest of my life? I don't know. I really have no idea. I wanted to be an actor for so long that I never bothered to see if I was good at anything else. But there IS something else that I was always good at... I'm just terrified to do it. <br /><br />I can tell a good story. And I can tell a good story with a lot of words. I've been talking about writing a novel for the past 5 or 6 years? But I've never actually DONE it. I've talked about it. Thought about it. Even outlined a novel! But I'm so critical of myself that I don't actually DO anything. I have 2 great ideas for a novel that are both grounded in things that have happened either to me or to people around me, and Gzilla pointed out that maybe that's why I'm having such a hard time. I need to start with something that's entirely fiction before I start borrowing. <br /><br />Then I remembered that November is NaNoWriMo. Only problem? I haven't written a single word. If I started on November 1st, I would have had to write 1667 words a day to get to 50,000 by November 30th. Since now it's November 4th...that gives me 26 days instead of 30 days, so that means I have to write 1924 words every day to get to 50,000 words. It's not going to happen. Especially since I lose two whole days because of "Pre Cana Prison" next weekend (that's what I'm calling it. You better believe I'll have a full report after next weekend!!!). <br /><br />Anyone else doing/did do NaNoWriMo? I can do this, right?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-29039343879433144872010-11-02T10:37:00.002-04:002010-11-02T10:56:43.226-04:00Oh Happy Day!I know a lot of people are excited about election day... and I'm excited about it for an entirely different reason. I finally get my life back. I don't have to stay at work until 9 at night because someone wanted to change their advertising and we're waiting for the commercial. I don't have to wear makeup to work every day in case I have to record a politicians commercial. (The one day I DIDN'T wear makeup to work last week... I had to record a guy. He was nice though. And worked REAL HARD for my vote!) <br /><br />I hate election day. I used to love it. I used to feel like my vote made a difference, and maybe it does. But I hate it now because I have to deal with these people...and they affect my every day life. And I don't like it. I really think that every single person in America should work in the media for one election season...and see what these people are like. It's a real eye opener. <br /><br />Some of them are really nice and considerate people. Those are the people I vote for. The people who change their advertising 6 times in one week... who keep changing from :30 second commercials to :60 second commercials in the middle of the day, and the change HAS to be made before the next commercial airs in 13 minutes? I don't vote for those people. Those people make me cry. <br /><br />I'm just really happy today. Because now these people will leave me alone for two years. No more phone calls on my cell phone... no more TEXT MESSAGES telling me who to vote for (please tell me someone else got text messages...I got THREE of them!). No more annoying politician jingles. I just have to get through the rest of the day. And cross my fingers.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-22855475253949287662010-10-25T10:20:00.003-04:002010-10-25T10:59:32.849-04:00Give up the FUNKI'm in a bit of a funk right now... and I have no idea why. I have no desire to knit ANYTHING, but I want to make things. I don't know if that makes any sense. I keep looking at projects like "oooh, I really want to make that!" but when it comes to actually MAKING it... I have no desire to do so.<br /><br />I still haven't finished the sweater I "gave" to Gzilla last year for Christmas. I really want to make myself a hat and a cowl for the winter, because I have nothing like that. I also am supposed to be making a sweater for my sister with the yarn I bought for the baby blanket. I started winding the yarn over the weekend, and the one skein is SO TANGLED that it took be four hours to untangle 3/4 of it. It's still tangled. <br /><br />Maybe I'm in a funk in other ways as well. I haven't done ANYTHING in the way of wedding planning. I still have no cake place. I haven't called any florists. Nothing. Maybe it's because work is really busy right now. Maybe it's because everyone keeps asking me how the wedding planning is going. And I just want to scream "LEAVE ME ALONE OR ELSE I'M NOT DOING <strong>ANY </strong>WEDDING PLANNING! ARGH!!!"<br /><br />Am I the only one who's in a funk right now? How do you get rid of your funks?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-18306508836884343762010-10-12T14:21:00.002-04:002010-10-12T14:31:50.702-04:00Operation: Fitness Guru(she says, while eating Doritos...)<br /><br />Okay, not so much fitness guru... BUT! I took step one today, and I actually activated my YMCA membership. The card is in my purse. AND! I took the tour. That means serious business. Serious. Gzilla dosen't have his card yet, because he did not come with me to activate said Y membership, but that's okay. Because when we do go, we're going to TAKE CLASSES! GO TO THE GYM! USE THE EQUIPMENT! BE HEALTHY!<br /><br />This all started about a year ago, when Gzilla discovered that he was the same weight as his other friend who is considerably taller than he, so that motivated Gzilla to figure out how to lose weight. What did he do? He asked me to count his weight watchers points for him. Um, no. Hence, Y membership.<br /><br />I mentioned to the woman giving the tour that I used to dance for about 8 years. Now, I am by no means a "dancer" but I can fake it REALLY well, and I was a cheerleader for 6 years (shut up) so movement and I are actually pretty good friends. Everyone's doing the Zumba thing, right? Apparently... they're always looking for Zumba instructors! If I end up loving Zumba... and getting really good at it... I could be TEACHING a Zumba class! How cool is that? <br /><br />But first I have to actually go...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-38053431930371071612010-10-04T12:03:00.002-04:002010-10-04T12:11:43.328-04:00It's official. I'm dumb.You know how people talk about "pregnancy brain?" Well, I officially have "wedding brain." My brain has just completely stopped working altogether, and it won't start back up again until July 3rd. <br /><br />At work, we frequently have meetings in the mornings. They're always ass-early on the weekends, and they're always annoying. Sometimes it's watch training videos on random skincare/makeup lines. Sometimes it's going over policies and whatnot, but the BIG MEETING every year involves the entire store (not just my department) and it's mandatory. I believe the exact words my manager used were "you better be dying or have a dying relative if you aren't there."<br /><br />Well, I looked at the date of the meeting and went: CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP!!! THAT'S MY PRE-CANA WEEKEND!!! As in...mandatory retreat by the Catholic church in order to get married there... I have two choices. Six three-hour classes on Sunday afternoons (which means I miss 6 weeks of work since I mostly only work on Sundays) or do it all in one weekend. The weekend of the all important meeting. I spoke with my manager, and she totally had a gasket. <br /><br />Now, this is the Christmas meeting. It's important because Christmas is a very very busy time for us, and there's a lot of new blood. But this is my 4th Christmas season with the company. I know how it works. Unless there's something drastically different, I can go over the info with a manager after the fact. But she was having NONE of it. I was seriously trying to figure out how I was going to quit and find another job within the next 2 weeks. <br /><br />So Saturday, I'm doing some cleaning and throwing away of papers that have accumulated underneath the coffee table, and I find my paperwork for the Pre-Cana retreat...which is the week AFTER the big all important mandatory meeting. Whoops. So I got my manager all mad at me for no reason whatsoever. <br /><br />My brain needs to start functioning again soon... I can't take all this forgetfulness I'm having!! I think I need a nap.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-51900750002834600992010-09-20T10:43:00.002-04:002010-09-20T10:51:20.100-04:00Bella Senora and other vocal warmupsIn order to appease the Evil Nun at the church Gzilla and I are getting married at... and to hopefully make this whole "getting married in the Catholic church" thing as easy as humanly possible, I agreed to cantor at Mass. For you non church goers (which to be fair, was be up until two months ago--ha!) that means I stand in front of the church at the little pulpit and lead all the songs. All of them. <br /><br />This past Sunday was my first time singing in front of people in over five years. Needless to say, I was slightly terrified. Especially because I did everything to prepare. I got my music ahead of time... didn't know ANY of the songs... taught them to myself via virtualpiano.net and learned that I actually DID know three of the songs, just with different lyrics. I met with the organist a week ago to rehearse, and I borrowed a digital recorder from the radio station (that my boss said he would never forgive me if I lost or broke it, so I guarded the damn thing with my life). We didn't check the battery beforehand... and because the battery was so low, it didn't record ANYTHING. So the processional/entrance hymn that I didn't know, I couldn't rehearse. The mass parts that I wasn't terribly familiar with, I couldn't rehearse. I did all my homework! This was supposed to work!<br /><br />Plus, when I went to rehearse, I warmed up my voice and everything was fine. Right as I go into church...I get some weird allergy attack and I totally lose any note that's above a C. Now I'm worried that I'm going to suck, get thrown out as a cantor, and get on the Evil Nun's bad side again. But yesterday, I woke up 2 hours before Mass. Drank more water than was probably necessary, and warmed up my voice a whole heck of a lot. And I didn't suck. <br /><br />I might not be acting anymore... but at least I can still keep up with my singing at Mass. They have a choir, but they rehearse on Monday nights (I have knitting group!) and they perform on Sundays (I have work!) so I'm not joining that choir. I'm hoping that by cantoring at Mass, some of the other newly engaged couples will ask me to cantor their wedding. That'd be awesome.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-27981903210910612572010-09-16T09:48:00.002-04:002010-09-16T12:27:16.175-04:00This is either going to be a great idea... or an epic fail.I'm going to this "event" tonight that a local magazine is throwing... it's a "Beauty Bash" and I can't help but picturing a bunch of nicely dressed ladies beating up other nicely dressed ladies with hair dryers, make up bags, and other beauty paraphanalia. <br /><br />The website for the magazine has little to no information about what to expect (just where it is, how much tickets are, and a very short list of the goings on of tonight... no details) so I'm a bit nervous. I have little expectations, because I have no clue! I know QVC does a Beauty Bash every year, and I KNOW what they have in store (most of the time, women who go walk away with close to $1000 in gifts from the QVC retailers. I want to go so. bad. but I can never get tickets...they sell out in SECONDS.)<br /><br />I'm hoping to do a bit of bridal espionage tonight... check out salons, see what they have for bridal parties and whatnot. I haven't decided if I'm going to just have everyone do whatever they want with their hair, or if I'm going to pay to have their hair done. I don't know if I'll have a budget for that, that's the problem. By then, my sister will have her cosmotology license, but she's in the wedding, and it would be a lot to ask for her to do everyone's hair. Even though she's already offered (to do either everyone's hair or everyone's makeup). We'll see. <br /><br />My biggest problem right now... when I look at pictures of last year's Beauty Bash, everyone is all dressed up! Like LBDs... heels... updos... CRAZY. I don't have time for that! I also don't have anything to wear! At the moment, I'm wearing my fancy jeggings (leggings that look like jeans) and a gray tunic sweater. But the sweater is very casual looking, and I'm afraid I will look frumpy. Ack! Do I completely change and put on a dress? Do I run over to the mall and pick up a fancier tunic to go with my awesome jeggings? I'm leaning towards the latter...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-26410530823348908052010-09-09T10:17:00.004-04:002010-09-09T10:34:53.840-04:00Great. Now I'm going to get lost ALL the time.Gzilla's car was broken into last night. But they didn't smash the windows. In fact, we can't figure out HOW they got into the car. The alarm on the car is very sensitive, and that didn't go off. He's pretty sure he locked the car, but it's possible that he didn't.<br /><br />Last night as I'm sleeping in a Benadryl-induced coma (or trying to) Gzilla wakes me up and asks me if the GPS was in the car. It was. Then he says "well it isn't anymore." Sometime between 10pm and 11:30 someone got into his car, took our GPS, and left. Didn't take the Sirius radio. Didn't take the briefcase (which had school papers in it, so it wasn't of use to anyone, but still). Didn't take anything...except our GPS. Which, honestly, was kind of a piece of shit anyway. I'm just glad they didn't break the windows of the car, because THAT'S a pain in the butt. <br /><br />Luckily, I was able to get back to sleep just fine. But this morning... when I got into MY car, I noticed that there was an X (written on the inside of the windshield with a finger) on the drivers side. I noticed it yesterday... but didn't think anything of it. Didn't think "Gee, I didn't draw an X on my windshield... how did that get there?" That is... until after someone was in Gzilla's car. My car doesn't have anything of value in it. There's an X on my windshield because there isn't a GPS in it. But I always lock my car door! How the crap are these people getting into my car without breaking a window or triggering the alarm?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-11650900403365509382010-08-30T11:14:00.002-04:002010-08-30T11:36:26.510-04:00How To Survive Wedding Dress ShoppingI picked out my wedding dress, y'all. I went shopping with my entourage. My sister was there through blackberry pictures that my mother was sending her. And, she hates the dress I picked out. That's how I know it's the right one. HA!<br /><br />Things I wish I had figured out before I left:<br /><br />1. Eat something. I ended up having a meeting at work before meeting everyone, and then I was running around trying to get changed, so I forgot to eat. Whoops. Luckily, my MOH had a granola bar in her purse, so I had that.<br /><br />2. If someone is going to be taking pictures of you, put on some makeup for christsake. I look washed out in all the pictures my mom took. I had mascara on, but that was it. <br /><br />3. Have a specific idea, but be open. I actually did have this figured out. I knew what I wanted: non-strapless, mermaid dress. Not a ton of crazy beading. What did I get? Strapless, mermaid dress...crapton of beading. And the dress I picked was by "Private Collection" so they don't have pictures of their dresses on websites or in magazines. <br /><br />4. Know your sign when it's "the one." For some, it's when they cry. For me, it was when my MOH cried. And when I said "Ooh, get a picture of this one for becklette."<br /><br />5. It's okay to say no. I tried on a couple of dresses that the person at the store pulled for me. Some of them I liked, some I tried on because she wanted me to, and I felt bad saying I didn't like it. Also the one woman (not my person) kept trying to pressure me to put something in my hair. I don't like veils. I don't want a headpiece that is $141 when I can make that from Claire's for $20. <br /><br />And while I'm confident that I found "the dress" and it's amazing and gorgeous and I love it... it was more than I planned on spending. Not by a lot! And it's still under $1000, so I think that's totally a win! But there was a dress that I tried on that was the silouette I wanted (mermaid) but was the sample gown, so it was $99. It's a discontinued style. Alfred Angelo. Gorgeous. And it fit pretty well! And that was the #1 dress, until I tried the one on that was ten times that price and fell in love with it. Stupid, me. I should have stopped after the $99 one! I am incredibly happy with the dress I have. And no, I'm not posting a picture... you'll have to wait until next year. Okay...one picture. This is some of the detail on the front of the dress.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/39233083@N03/4941612210/" title="DSCN0636 by adleisia, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4102/4941612210_bbe8a5ae99.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="DSCN0636" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-81520586473005416012010-08-18T09:26:00.002-04:002010-08-18T09:39:16.841-04:00Just a minor setback....I no longer have a wedding dress. <br /><br />I'm kind of a little upset about it, but it's going to be okay. My friend Heather is an amazing fashion designer, and she asked to see the pattern I picked out for my wedding dress. Naturally, I wanted her opinion because I trust it a lot. Immediately she says "Oh... this is cut on the bias..."<br /><br />Basically, fabric has grain. For most garments, the grain goes up and down or side to side. On bias cut fabric, the pieces are cut out so that the grain line is diagonal. What this does is it makes the fabric less stretchy. More form fitting. Less forgiving. Altering a dress that is cut on the bias drastically changes the shape of the dress. You make one half in tuck on two seams... and all of the sudden the top is buckling, the side has a weird bulge, and you want to shoot the dress with a bazooka. Gzilla's mother and I played this game with a ball gown that I needed for a fundraiser last year. It didn't go well. I looked fat. Really. I looked about 30 pounds heavier than I am. And unless I stood PERFECTLY STRAIGHT, the dress would fall down. <br /><br />So now I have to go dress shopping. I made my appointment at a local bridal salon, and now I'm waiting for the terror to set in. I thought this was going to be so easy... I found a dress pattern I liked. I was just supposed to go fabric shopping and be done! Now I have to try on a bajillion dresses in front of the half dozen people I have to bring with me because I can't make a decision for myself, and I need to find the dress that makes me cry when I put it on (cry in a good way, not in a bad way). So I'm forcing my mother, Gzilla's mother, my maid of honor, one of my other bridesmaids, my flower girl, and <a href=http://www.howthebeck.blogspot.com target=_blank>becklette</a> to accompany me in my quest for the perfect dress. <br /><br />Kill me.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-40601778098796937552010-08-17T09:59:00.002-04:002010-08-17T10:24:09.429-04:00yarn dyeing: an experimentShort story: my hands are pink.<br /><br />Long story: I decided to overdye some yarn that I bought. I got this really beautiful peach yarn from <a href=http://www.theloopyewe.com target=_blank>The Loopy Ewe</a> for a baby blanket. Well, I'm no longer making the baby blanket, but I wanted to make something for my sister with it, but no one wants a peach garment. So instead of returning it and getting other yarn with it, I decide that I'm going to overdye it RED. <br /><br />I go over to my friend's house and start playing around with acid based dyes. You basically fill the biggest pot known to man with water, heat the water up. Put the yarn in and make sure it's soaking in there. Mix some of the powder dye and pour it in the pot. Stir things around. Mix together some citric acid. Dump citric in the big pot. Stir things around. Repeat last 4 steps until its the color you want. <br /><br />Sounds easy, right? Well, it mostly is. Except I had A LOT of yarn in there. And the spoon we were using to stir the pot kept getting tangled in my yarn, so I started just using my hand. My left hand. Well, guess what. Now my hand is pink... AND SO IS MY ENGAGEMENT RING. Don't tell Gzilla...<br /><br />I'm pretty sure that if I just cleaned the ring really well, it wouldn't be pink anymore. I can't imagine that the diamond itself has been dyed, just some soap scum or dirt or something on the surface of the diamond has been dyed pink. <br /><br />I don't know how the yarn turned out yet. It hasn't finished drying. It should be dry tonight. Right now it's hanging out on the clothes line in my basement. It's not completely solid, which is what I wanted. Some parts are a bit more saturated than others, and I really like that look. So hopefully my sister will like a red cardigan... because that's what she's getting!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-57864944382617419342010-08-16T16:21:00.002-04:002010-08-16T16:36:53.466-04:00My little town blues are melting awayOther than that week in Ireland... I've had zero vacation this year. No beach. No mental health days. Mostly because the volcano that took me hostage ate up the rest of my vacation. But I can take a few days here and there. <br /><br />I spent my weekend in New York City visiting friends and galavanting about town. I got to see a baseball park before Gzilla, which I think is a big achievement. Now I've only seen two ballparks other than home-of-the-Philles... Nationals Park in Washington D.C. and Citi Field in New York, home of the Mets. <br /><br />It was really nice to get away and be in the city... but dear god my legs still hurt. I wasted all my good subway luck on Friday. Every time I walked to a subway station, the train was just approaching. Every. Time. I took it for granted. On Saturday, my friend and I went downtown by Canal Street to try to find a yarn store that we love, Purl Soho. After getting turned around (because there are two different Broadways in that part of town...) and then walking around for another 20 minutes trying to find someplace to eat, we decide to nyx going to this other store we like Pylones which we THOUGHT was in that part of town but was ACTUALLY in Greenwich Village, aka nowhere near where we were or where we needed to be later. We need to get to the 6 train to go back to the apartment we stayed in, so we walk about 10 blocks up to Bleecker St. The station is blocked for contruction. So we walk another 6 blocks to the next station. Also under construction. Well, we needed to go to Union Square (which guess what, is where the next station was) to get back to the apartment, so we had to walk another 15 blocks to the apartment. It ended up being around 28 blocks when it was all said and done. We went from Soho to Gramercy. Took about an hour walking. <br /><br />But, see... this was GOOD because we were pre-emptively working off the delicious delicious food we were having for dinner! We went to this FABULOUS restaurant called Butter. And it's as delicious as the name of the restaurant suggests. I wish I had taken pictures of my food, but it was really dark, and I felt weird, so I didn't. I had lamb chops, my friend had lobster, and we split an order of DUCK CONFIT POTATOES. POTATOES COOKED IN DUCK FAT. Holy. Crap. It was the best meal I've ever had... and I had dinner at Jen Carroll's restaurant in Philly, so... that's saying a lot. <br /><br />Oh, and if you're keeping up with "what's wrong with your face..." I got my biopsy results back. Negative. Not cancer. Not pre-cancerous. Just a pimple. Seriously. I had a freaking PIMPLE biopsied.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-33977450167182853512010-08-09T11:07:00.003-04:002010-08-09T11:19:55.091-04:00hope is a thing with feathersOkay, so I don't dole out hope in feathers. Maybe yarn. <br /><br />In the midst of all my knitting projects (Gzilla's 2009 Christmas sweater... still about 60% done... my "Ireland Cardigan" isn't finished... and I'm making a comfort shawl for my sister out of the yarn I purchased for her baby blanket. I'm dying it first, since I don't think she wants a PEACH shawl) I am taking on another one that needs to be finished SOON. <br /><br />I'm making another Ysolda project...her Snapdragon Tam. I purchased her two books (Whimsical Little Knits and Whimsical Little Knits 2) back in February for a Haiti fundraiser that ravelry had. I've always loved pretty much everything that Ysolda does (and she's a total sweetie! I met her at my LYS a few years back). So when I found out that my high school drama director has breast cancer, I knew I was going to make her a hat. And I knew it would be a Ysolda pattern. <br /><br />My drama director, aka "The V-ster" was a very influential person in my life. She's the reason I went on to study acting in college. I spent many a holiday and summer at her house. I'm very close with her daughter. When she called me to tell me that her mom had breast cancer, I think she expected me to have a mini breakdown (like I did the previous year when she called to tell me that her dog had cancer. Her dog was my Toto in high school, and she was the sweetest little girl in the world) but I didn't. I was very "Okay, well, your mom is a fighter, and we'll get through this. Call me when she has her surgery, and I'll come spend time with you. It's going to be fine." <br /><br />And so far it has been fine. Except that I FORGOT to make the hat!! She started chemo in July, so she probably hasn't really started losing her hair yet... but I wanted her to have it beforehand. So now I'm RACING to get this hat finished and sent to The V-ster before she starts losing her hair. I was thinking about making one for my friend, also... because once her mom starts losing her hair, she's shaving her head. I like my hair too much (and Gzilla would kill me...haha) so instead I'm showing my support by making hats. <br /><br />Anything I can do to inspire hope.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-78245414131631063452010-08-02T10:50:00.003-04:002010-08-02T11:09:25.251-04:00I'm just resting my eyes.I think I'm getting to that point when I wear myself out and then get REALLY sick. No sneezing or coughing (that isn't allergy related) yet, but I think it's coming. <br /><br />Saturday night, Gzilla and I drove about 2 hours to see a bunch of friends in The Crucible. I kind of hate The Crucible, but they did a great job. But because we went out afterwards, we got home around 4:30 am. And we had to wake up at 8:00 to go to church. Because we have to pretend to like church now... because WE GOT THE CHURCH! The one with the evil nun, even! She has backed off a bit. And now she likes me because I may or may not have signed up to be a cantor...<br /><br />Sunday afternoon, I had a family party... and experienced my first people-butting-into-my-plans. My uncle's partner expressed his "concerns" about us having the wedding on July 4th weekend. Well, it's a year in advance. And I'm not planning my wedding about my aunt's vacation schedules. I don't know that they go away every July 4th weekend. And at this point, we're locked into that date from the Church and the reception site, so tough cookies! And I like having it July 4th weekend. I get free fireworks! <br /><br />That wasn't pleasant. But I tried not to let it ruin my time with my family. Everything else was going great. Until I had to go to work. I worked overnight from 6 until midnight... because we had to move entire sections around. Um. We were nowhere near done at midnight. We probably could have stayed until 5am and continued working. But of course I still had to work this morning! And my back hurt so badly last night that I had to take the big guns. I could barely sit. So two days of no sleep, plus walking around like a zombie today.. means that by the end of the week, I'm going to have a MONSTER cold. Awesome.<br /><br />Any tips to ward off my inpending monster? Besides sleep... because we all know that isn't happening.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-58442771164428894182010-07-28T11:19:00.005-04:002010-07-28T13:59:08.571-04:00Because I need aide in enabling my reading habitI like to consider myself an avid reader. Sure, I read a lot of fluff books and chick-lit. Yes, I love Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire Mysteries and her Harper Connolly Series. I don't read enough "classic" literature, but that's okay! <br /><br />For my birthday... Gzilla was awesome and got me a nook<br /><br /><a href="http://theandroidsite.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/nook_1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 400px;" src="http://theandroidsite.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/nook_1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />I decided to go with the nook rather than the kindle for a few reasons. One, if something happens, if there's a problem, if I'm confused... i can take it into a store and say "fix it." Every day, I can go into any B&N store and read any book I want for an hour. There's expandable memory for the nook (granted, downloading 1500 books is going to take a while, but still). I like the interface of the nook better. <br /><br />I do highly recommend getting a cover for the nook or the kindle. It makes it feel more like a book. I got <a href=http://gifts.barnesandnoble.com/Jonathan-Adler-Quote-Case/e/9781615609642/?itm=3 target=_blank>this one</a> because it says "I am Oz, the great and terrible" on the front and "curiouser and curiouser" on the back. What can I say, I'm a sucker for <i>The Wizard of Oz</i> and <i>Alice in Wonderland</i>.<br /><br />Now I just have one small problem. Before, when I was finished a book... I had to make a trip to the book store. Now when I'm finished a book? I push the "shop" button and download a new one, and I have it in 60 seconds! Great, right? I think Gzilla created a monster...<br /><br /><b>Quick update on my face: the spot that they scraped (which is dangerously close to my eye, by the way) ITCHES LIKE THE DICKENS! But I think it's looking better. I should know what's going on in about 2 weeks.</b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-61861974364922522010-07-26T10:44:00.002-04:002010-07-26T10:55:17.908-04:00...I look like Quasimodo.I had this little pimple-like growth on the skin just under my eye. I thought it was a pimple, so I (very carefully) put pimple stuff on it. Nothing. Then I put some neosporin on it. Nothing. I had estheticians look at it... they had no idea. So then I called a dermatologist.<br /><br />My dermatologist is not bad to look at (which is nice) but it took me almost a month to see him. By the time my first appointment came around (2 weeks ago) the hard, tender bump had shrunk considerably and was no longer tender (but still hard). He gave me this gel stuff to put on it... a steroid cream for eczema and flakiness... but if this was something inflammatory and not a growth, it would have gotten rid of it. I put it on twice a day (and developed a little stutter, but he says it wasn't caused by that. I disagree) and there was no change.<br /><br />Today, Hot Doctor in the Phillies scrubs gave me two choices. He could freeze it and hope that it goes away and keep an eye on it forever. Or he can biopsy it. If he freezes it, and it doesn't go away, then he has to biopsy it anyway. I picked biopsy because I hate not knowing things. So now I look like Quasimodo.<br /><br />My eye is all swollen. I can see out of it okay, but it feels very strange to blink. It's almost like I have a black eye without the broken blood vessels under the skin. Now he thinks it's one of two things: either an infected hair follicle or the C word. I hate the C word. I don't like thinking about it, and whenever the C word comes up around me (twice my gen prac thought I had breast cancer. Both times that I had to have a mammogram and an ultra sound, the technician laughed at my doctor's silliness.) it's the only thing I can think about. What happens if it is the C word. It's totally going to screw up my wedding pictures (I know. It's dumb to think that way, but would YOU want to be bald in your wedding photos? No. You wouldn't). <br /><br />Right now I'm just focusing on the fact that I look like I lost a bar fight and go on with my day not thinking about the C word. But just in case, can you send good thoughts that it's NOT the C word anyway?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3539137422156347544.post-33132445895477676652010-07-21T09:18:00.002-04:002010-07-21T09:39:35.122-04:00Happy AccidentsAnyone who has known me for a while can tell you that I'm arguably the pickiest eater ever. I used to never try new foods... I'd eat the same 4 or 5 things for dinner every night (especially in college when I was responsible for my own cooking). Absolutely no seafood. And then I told my mother that I loved calamari and I think she just about peed her pants. <br /><br />I'm still wary of trying new things, but I'll try it. I tried the Ethiopian food, didn't I!?? Last night, my mom and sister and I went out for my birthday (it's next week) and we were trying to decide between two restaurants: Rock Bottom Brewery and Bahama Breeze. Ultimately we decided on Bahama Breeze because it looked more fun. Except there was a 45 minute wait. It was already 6:45. I was hungry. I wasn't waiting 45 minutes so that I can wait another 20 minutes for my meal. Rock Bottom Brewery won by default. <br /><br />AND THANK GOD. Because seriously? This might be my new favorite restaurant. There's a local chain around here called Iron Hill Brewery. They make pretty good beer and pretty shitty food. Rock Bottom Brewery is Iron Hill with good food and better beer. I tried their seasonal wheat, and it was really nice. Didn't order it because it would have been a lot, but it was nice. <br /><br />One night out in Chicago, Gzilla went to this place out there (I knew it sounded familiar when I was looking at the restaurants yesterday...) and called me immediately to tell me how great it was. When I told him that I was going there for dinner, I swear it was like I just told him that I won the Powerball. <i>Wait... There's one at home? WHERE?</i><br /><br />So what about you, any happy accidents lately?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285015379949522672noreply@blogger.com3