The Winner (for now)

 

 The winner (for now). Due to unexpected sales (and therefore, the selling out of my top two choices), I had to go for another selection. I ordered it a little large, recalling that dresses in the wedding world are sized differently. However, I am holding out hope that since I still have over five weeks and am in the gym nearly 12 hours a week, I won't have to have much done to it. I am not sure what exactly it is about the one shoulder that I love, but I did read somewhere that men love it too and a single gal can't go wrong with that!

ISO - LBD for MOH

     In less than seven weeks, I will be participating in my first wedding, other than my own and the search is on for a knee length, minimal cleavage revealing black dress. The bride decided to let her bridesmaids choose their own dresses, with the two previously mentioned requirements. Being chesty, that second requirement definitely makes things a little more difficult for me. And though this day will most definitely not be about me, I do want to look my best. So the search is on. And so is massive amounts of working out and hitting the WW with religious-like dedication.

So far, these are my favorites (in my price range):
London Times Dress from Macy's
Maggie London Sleeveless from Nordstrom

Both, as you can see if you check the links are slim fitting. Which means absolutely no mercy at the gym. I actually want to look better for this wedding than I did at my own and I think this time, I have the willpower to achieve it.

Oh, did I mention I'm the Maid of Honor in this wedding?

New

 

Sparky 

Just a quick hello before I head downstairs to fix dinner for "The Boy". Been casually seeing someone for the last month or so and its been going very well. Our work schedules don't always match up, but we have been trying to keep Wednesdays as our standard "date night". Kind of strange to be back in the world of dates and such.

I know its been a few months since I last updated and I miserably failed the Love List. I am going to try to stay more on top of things here. Been busy with work, working out (I am hitting the gym 5 days a week now), reading and occasionally spending time with "The Boy". But also, I picked up a fun new toy for my birthday in April- a Nikon D40.  Above is one of the many shots I have taken with it, of our family dog, Sparky.  It is part of a birthday present I am making for my mom. 

 

I am so excited that Blogger finally came out with easy to adjust and manipulate layouts. I tweaked this yesterday to mimick a layout I have loved from years but was never made for Blogger.  

So. . . how are you? 

Inevitable

The packing/moving is pretty damn stagnant as we wait on all that paperwork and three day waiting period "required by law". We have a majority of our household in boxes, scattered (or rather, tightly packed into corners) as we attempt to survive in these albeit even smaller quarters now. I don't even want to mention the newest day that we are "supposed" to have the keys, because any time I say it out loud, its as if I jinx the damn thing and it gets bumped back. Again.

All I know is that we have to be out of our apartment on June 30th. It has to be spick and span clean when we leave. And I just completed day 1 of an eight day work stretch. I am already exhausted. My only saving grace is the fact that I by sheer, dumb luck have next weekend off. The salon is closed for the 4th of July and I have the 5th off anyway. 

In all truth, the entire house has come together in the finding, bidding and purchasing in a relatively short period of time. Its been less than a month since it even came into the picture, so while I bitch about how long this is taking and how slow things are moving, I know that I am fortunate. It is looking like we will not have to move into my parent's garage for even one night.

(knock on wood)

Death, divorce and moving house are said to be the three most stressful situations in life. I don't know how much more my fingernails can take!

Where to even begin

  The upcoming weekend is a big one because not only is it Father's day, but also, it is my mother's birthday. And while last year, my dad and I successfully pulled off a wonderful surprise party for my mother (complete with out of town guests), this year feels like it should be even bigger for us. Because this house we're moving into - my parents are buying for us. 

    It was kindly brought to my attention that I may be making it seem like Mike and I are purchasing the house ourselves and God, I wish we were in the financial situation where we could be buying a house right now. But the economy is shit (didn't know you???) and we are no closer to buying a house than I was ten years ago. Haha. Sad but true. However, my parents are the kind of people who have the foresight to see what kind of an investment another rental house would be for them (they own several all ready) and having their daughter  living there will increase the value in the long run too. Because I am itching for a house of my own and by the time we leave,  it will be even in better condition than when we move in. Light fixture improvements, color . . . etc. 

    So I have no idea what to do for either of them on their respective holidays, but I do (finally) have a couple of days coming up beforehand and will find something then (hopefully).

    Mom and I have been looking for some great upholstery fabric to recover the dining room table chairs with. The table is in great condition, as are the seats, but the current fabric has to go. It's pretty, but so not my style. This, however, is:

You're thoughts?

Also, been wondering what color to do my scrap/sew/write/knit/office room in. I want something inspiring . . . probably something purple. I cannot help but love things in purple. 

Non-Fiction

Oh hello. Remember when I actually used to post things on this site other than that damn book I'm writing? I kind of do. For those of you who are not reading the book (because reading novels online doesn't interest you, this particular novel does not interest you or you are not a Myspace friend of mine and therefore are not able to read the magic* my brain is spewing out), I apologize for the lack of posts! Interesting posts! Posts with my typical ramblings and random tangents that are only entertaining to me and my mother and . . . well that probably covers it.

I did have a blog writing set back a few months ago - one which I have not talked about with pretty much anyone because it most likely was a mixture of my own personal ishes and paranoia, and I am still standing firm on that. Where once, having a mediocre, somewhat popular blog would have been excellent and what I wanted, now I am trying to focus my time, energy and creativity elsewhere. Namely: the book and hair.

The job has gone from being "eh" to "okay" to fantastic. I love it. Even on my days off, I find myself going by to say hello to my co-workers because I live like five minutes away and I miss them. Had you told me two months ago that it would be this way, I wouldn't have believed you. But it is and I am and yea! Who knew a job could be like this?

Certainly not me.

I still hate waking up in the morning. That will never change. But then, I was the girl who hit the snooze button on her own wedding day, so I doubt anything will ever change that.

What is super exciting is that I am finally reaching a point where clients I serviced in the first month are coming back to me and friends and clients from when I was in school are calling up to make an appointment. I know building a clientele that will actually keep me busy and making more than my hourly wage and meager tips is still a ways away, but that time is getting closer. I can feel it.

Mike's bugging me to go work on the book. For those who are curious, while I have posted just shy of half the book, know that I have about 2/3rds of it written, the rest of it plotted out and am already kicking ideas around for the sequel. And I really want to thank my friends and family who are taking the time to read it. I can't tell if it's any good because it's all so close to me. But keep commenting on things you like, don't like, don't understand or want more of. And remember I am posting the first completed draft. Changes can still always be made.

* When I say magic, imagine that with a sarcastic tone. I have faith in myself and my writing skills but in no way do I believe I am the second coming of any renowned author worth mentioning.

Doors and Windows

Things are always changing in life. It is an inevitable truth that I have come to grips with. We humans, by nature, do not like change, but have to accept that it is like gravity and taxes. Unavoidable. Whether it be the dynamics of a relationship, the participants in a game or the color of a person's hair, things are going to change. I am not all that sure why there even is the term "static" because there are so few things out there that in fact are.

But with change comes promise of hope, growth and the exhilarating sense of newness.

Growling doesn't get words on the page

For the most part in writing this novel, I haven't hit much writer's block. Even when I couldn't find the inspiration to piece together a chapter, I'd work on backstory or even write a journal entry as the character, to better flesh out who they are and what they are thinking/feeling/wanting. Since starting this book in October, there hasn't been much writer's block and I am eternally grateful for that.

Slowly and after revision and editing, I have been posting the chapters for friends to read. (So far, the feedback has been kind, but if anyone wants to throw some criticism my way too, I can take it. As long as it's constructive, of course.) And for the most part, I have been spacing them out just so I didn't find myself literally writing the following chapter in order to get it up on the blog. That was how I used to write fac fiction and while having a deadline can be helpful, I have felt that this time around, I have to write this entirely for me.

The next chapter to be posted has been agonized and scrutinized over. I have written it FIVE different ways now, not sure how to go about the semi-pivotal scene. Each way had elements that I liked and elements that I didn't care so much for. None of them felt perfect. I have to wonder if there are chapters in books of other authors that they are never entirely pleased with. There has to be, right?

Version one was written awhile ago. Version two was written about a month later. Version three is really just a combination of one and two, but I still wasn't happy with it. Version four I wrote out last night and this morning but still felt it was missing something. So in the end, I have taken all the parts of the four preceding versions to make one ginormous chapter that hopefully captures what I am trying to create.

You get attached to these characters as you write them. You want to do justice by them, to show them in the correct light and give them all the respect they deserve. It's crazy, really. I haven't started talking about them to other people as if they are really in my life, but I think about them just as much as real people.

So after spending nearly the last eight hours on ONE CHAPTER, I am taking a break and going to have dinner with a friend. I'll probably post it later tonight.

Much love to all of you who are patiently waiting for the posting of each chapter and not laughing at me for even attempting this. It doesn't feel as ridiculous to say "I'm writing a novel." as I worried it would feel, but maybe that is because I am not sitting at a Starbucks all day and banking on this novel to actually get published. There are so many steps leading to even attempting to get published and right now, I just want to see the end of the novel.

And, you know, start the next one.

Slow Down

A couple of years ago, I discovered a Scottish singer named Ben Jelen on a 'Judging Amy' episode, of all things. They played this song at the end of the episode and I was immediatelly on a mission to find out what the song was and who it was. That was where tv.com came in VERY handy.

I ended up buying the entire album on iTunes and have come to love it, but my favorite is still the song the drew me to him.

Slow Down


All of my answers, and all my reasons

And all my excuses they never rest

'Cause all of my answers they keep on changing

I spend my life waiting for the next



And oh, I just keep on moving

And oh, I just keep on pushing forward

And oh, I forgot what I was looking for



And all their illusions, I won't believe them

I'll always believe what I can't forget

'Cause all of their reasons, they keep on changing

I spend my life waiting for the next



And oh, I just keep on moving

And oh, I just keep on pushing forward

And oh, I forgot what I was looking for



Well, I'd trade wisdom back in for innocence to get away from all my lies

I'd trade wisdom back in for innocence to get away from getting by

I'd trade wisdom back in for innocence for just one look through those eyes

I got nothin'

I am having one of those surging internal struggles right now, where I know I need to blog and I am dying to blog (because it's been too long) and yet . . . creative juices are not flowing. In the words of a lesser man - "I got nothing."

Today was a fantastic day. Truly. Just an all around great day. What happened? Nothing, really. Nothing exciting to anyone other than me. I slept in, had some amusing dreams ( my purse stolen from me in prison ((I was a prisoner - yet they let me keep my purse)), sexually heated moments with Chris Noth ((this is a new celebrity crush. He's like 54, right?))), got our new laptop power adapter cord from China, chatted with Sarah on the phone, organized my closet, received both book one and two of the Twilight series, had the emissions tested on my car and renewed my tabs and voted for our next President. See? Nothing special. But just a great day. I've been on the internet a limited amount of time in the last week due to a faulty power cord and we had to replace it (again).

Agggghh! I hate this. I sometimes feel like I am running out of ideas. I am going to take the NaBloPoMo again this year - but do it in only photo form this year. Maybe portraits . . . maybe objects . . . maybe lightening will strike with something soon.

Maybe I'll get pregnant just to have something new to discuss.

Kidding.

Off to meet Bella and Edward.

All kinds of awesome

Leave it to me to extend an offer to a favorite blogger of mine and have her, in turn, mention/link me on her page the very day after I post an entry with pictures of me in my underwear. Sweet. I am all different shades of red right now.

It took a lot of guts to post those pictures, partially because I am not done and therefore, not entirely satisfied with the current results and partially because I know there are certain avid blog readers/stalkers out there who are looking for every detail they can tear me down with. Schadenfreude, folks. I've been more careful what rolls off my tongue these days for reasons like that.

But I am proud of what I've taken off so far and look forward to seeing how much further I can go by the holiday season.

As for school, I have 7 weeks left until I have completed my hours and take my boards and become a licensed cosmetologist. Last week, I did my mom's hair and gave her a new hair cut as well as my best friend Kate coming in last Saturday and I weaved highlights in for her. It was no different than any of our other customers who have come in, but it feels so different. For one, these are my dear loved ones. If I manage to royally screw up their hair, I'll know how unhappy they are with it and it would be a long time before I forgave myself or they let me touch it again. For two, if they love their hair, they are going to be more likely to spread my name and this is how I build my business post-graduation.

Tonight . . . we tipped Mike's hair. He asked for it himself.

Make it or Break it

They say it takes 21 days to break an old or form a new habit and I always have a small list of a handful of habits that I would like to break/make. They are bad habits that I have continually done since I was probably a child, such as discarding the day's outfit on the floor as I got ready for bed and waited to rehang them until the pile was too large and annoyed me too much ( aka I was sick of stepping on them).

Also, picking out the following day's outfit the night before, instead of standing in front of my closet for far too long in the mornings, trying to decide what to wear that day. I have gone as far as to hang a hook outside my closet, so that the designated outfit would have a place to readily hang.

I am awful about getting my hair and makeup done before I leave the house and while I do go to school in a huge beauty salon, it is frowned upon to do your hair and makeup there and so many days, I just go without. Let me tell you, I look better with makeup on. Perhaps that is why I like it so much . . . it really does enhance my features.

Ideally, I would take ten extra minutes to put my lunch together the night before, just as I do Mike's. I think I would be less prone to just grab a frozen SmartOne's and actually prepare something homemade, like a salad.

Throwing out junk mail when I receive it instead of just laying it down and then picking it up in a feng shui attack once a week or so. The junk has been greatly reduced since I got on the list to stop all the damn credit card offers.

Being less of a pack rat when it comes to my closet and throwing out (donating, giving away) clothes I don't wear anymore. I hate to admit it, but I have things in my closet that I have worn since high school. I take good care of my clothing (despite the pile in the bedroom), so these articles don't look like things I have worn since 1998, but when I sport a sweater I rocked in my senior portraits, I know it is time to discard some things and update my wardrobe.

Get up when my alarm goes off and make better use of the morning instead of sleeping in until that last possible moment and then rushing out the door.

See? Primarily, these are silly little habits that I have harbored since at least 1991 and they are ones that I always think to attempt to change. It's not a good idea to try to take them all on at the same time, but to focus on one or two and be mindful of the others until I have successfully changed one and am able to move on.

What habits would you like to change, quit or initiate?

Flowin' Freely, Warm and Quiet

A wise woman once told me that for however long you loved a person, it will take you that long to heal from them. Since I was desperately trying to get over my ex, I didn't want to believe it at the time. Looking back now, I would have to admit she was right. The emotions definitely faded and "healed" with time, but it probably took about four years after our splitting for my heart to finally say "Enough time looking back. Let's focus on forward."

The past year and a half since then have been far more harmonious when it comes to looking at, talking about and understanding that chapter of my life. I choose now to refer to my closing that chapter as "when I left California" and not when I broke up with the ex. Mike doesn't care to ever really discuss the ex or that portion of my past because it is just that - behind us. He's moved on, I've moved on and more than anything, time has moved on.

There is the occasional thing that takes me back, because I am cursed with this fantastic memory but it feels more like I am recalling then reliving these days. And those occasional things are growing to be fewer and further between.

I came across this song recently and I have to say it is as if someone opened up my heart, read everything I was feeling that last week we were "together" (breaking up/still living together) and then poetically set it to music.

Keep You
By Jennifer Nettles, Kristian Bush and Bobby Pinson

We said, goodbye, tried a hand at magic
But we couldn't make us disappear
Not a day goes by I don't wish I had you
So in a way, I'm glad you're still here
It's a bittersweet victory
Lovin' the ghost in front of me

Now I can't laugh, can't cry
And I can't run, can't hide
What do I gotta do
What do I gotta do to keep you
What do I gotta do to keep you from
doing this to me?

I wrote a couple of notes, one in love
one in anger
They're lying there dying in the dresser
drawer
Lived louder than my voice
Struggled through a stranger
He loved me 'til I loved you even more
It' a bittersweet victory
Knowin' someone else wanted me

Now I can't laugh, can't cry
And I can't run, can't hide
You get used to the pain
And numb to the sting
Til you can't feel anything

You tried to explain
But I couldn't hear it
As if your words
were my tears
Flowin' freely
Warm and quiet
From the edges of my eyes
in my ears
Then all that disappears

Now I can't laugh, can't cry
And I can't run, can't hide
Now I can't laugh, can't cry
And I can't run, can't hide

What do I gotta do
What do I gotta do to keep
What do I gotta do to keep you from
doing this to me



I suppose this just goes to show that no one can fully and truly say "No one knows how I am feeling." Emotions are varied and vast, but there is that chance that someone is going through the very same experience as you and they could know the very beats of your heart.

It's recalling things like this that make me snuggle a little bit closer into Mike's embrace.

I'll be your rock, you be my anchor

Oh hi!

I'm around. No, I have not been sucked dry from the heat or beaten down by the multitude of pedicures people have been requesting this week or been entirely and utterly drawn into the Olympics (though they are probably the most riveting thing on television this week and has been primarily what we've been watching here in the Frey household.). I have been pretty preoccupied with staying on track with the diet this week, since like any race, the further you get from the starting line, the more likely you are to lose stamina and wander off course. I could blog about it on here as much as I am writing about it in my paper journal, but I would like to keep you, my beloved readers. I don't want to bore you with how completely OC (obsessive-compulsive) I can be when I really get into all of this.

I have been thinking quite a bit about what kind of a 'look' I want to carry once I am to a point that I need to buy new, smaller clothes and will have this stylish career to dress as well. There are several stores at the top of my list that I want to frequent once I am in a size I feel is worthy of shopping there (because currently, I don't love myself enough to even try on anything in them) and I eagerly look forward to the day I can comfortably shop there.

Tomorrow will be my splurge night, when I will drink up some Sarahbear time and some delicious wine as well, both of which I feel I have earned this week. Sarah is such an amazing, awesome person. There are few people I have ever met that get ME as well as she does, as quickly as she has and she is definitely an anchor who keeps me tethered to who I am when I feel like I am losing myself a bit at school. Being stuck at school every day from 9 am to 8 pm can make you feel a bit isolated from the life you used to know and her text messages throughout the day keep me centered.

All right . . . off to a cool shower and bed. I have school in the morning and the only thing about that which I am looking forward to is the crappy AC they have there. Personally, I'd rather be slathered up in sunblock and hanging out at the pool. But that's just me.

Up in Smoke

Okay . . . so I understand that July 4th is our nation's biggest holiday because it is the anniversary of our independence. I get the fanatical colors and parades and bbqs and all the other festivities that take place, because we are just expressing our joy for no longer being a part of jolly ol' England. But what I don't fully understand is the massive amounts of money that people dump into fireworks each year.

Especially when you live somewhere like here in Vancouver, where we annually have the largest fireworks show West of the Mississippi River. 40-ish minutes of choreographed fireworks, set to patriotic music after an entire day of festivial activities. It is something I look forward to in one part or another each year, whether I watch the fireworks at home on tv or on the riverfront or on a blanket in the park. We have this amazing display that is put on for us each year, and yet for the two weeks leading up to the 4th, nearly every single open corner of a parking lot in Vancouver has a makeshift tent peddling out thousands of dollars of fireworks.

I don't want to knock it too much, because there definitely was summer in high school where the cheerleading squad earned money for our new uniforms by working one of those stands and it was a lot of fun. My brother used to work for one of the tent companies, setting up and keeping those stands stocked, sometimes putting in 16 to 18 hour days, but also making enough money in those two and a half to three weeks that he did not have to work his entire schoolyear and was still able to keep up on his car insurance and gas and other necessities.

But why do people spend so much money on fireworks? They literally are just burning money for a few seconds of pretty lights. My parents would occasionally buy a few, but I guarantee you they have never spent over $100 dollars collectively on all the little firecrackers and sparklers they got us as kids. My brother-in-law and his family buy one of those huge packs each year and while it was a bit of fun last year to just set off fireworks with them, I still kind of shake my head in disbelief.

I know that people have the right to spend their money however they choose - whether it be on fireworks or expensive accessories or concert tickets or drugs or exotic vacations. I just kind of cringe every time I hear a neighbor set off a pre-holiday firework.

Especially at 5:45 am. Seriously . . . I know we should let freedom ring, but before 7 am??? Come on!

The best way to spend a Sunday

I had the most wonderful day with my mom today. Seriously, it was so definitely needed after the last month and a half of having to avoid her to a certain degree and go behind her back in order to flawlessly execute her surprise party. My mom and I are pretty close and it's pretty easy to say that I have missed her.

I love that we have cultivated this friendship together as adults. I really find it refreshing that not only do I have her support as my mother, but also as a best friend, because I read too many blogs out there of women who have so much less with their mothers, whether it is by their choice, their mother's choice or situational circumstances. We have this connection that just makes hanging out with her so unique and fun.

Needless to say, today was a blast. Totally evened out the humidity and made me glad, yet again, that I no longer live in California. Four years of missing out on days like this makes me sad.

We stopped at IKEA this morning to pick up a couple of things that she'd been wanting and then headed down to Washington Square for some high class shopping. Mom bought her first Brighton handbag and though I personally don't care for most Brighton things (I find a lot of them a bit too much) but the bag she wanted was so stinkin' cute and perfect for a summer handbag.



We then swung by Nordstroms where I got a spray of my favorite Nordstrom exclusive perfume. We priced it out (way too much for how little you get) so I suppose I will just have to resort to only smelling like that whenever I'm at the mall. Oh .  . I love it so. (Just not enough to spend 125 dollars for 1.7 ounces. Woo.)

We enjoyed lunch together before having our wedding rings cleaned and inspected at the jeweler I got my wedding band from and looked at men's rings for Mike. Then we got down to business. Bathing suit shopping for New York.

I suppose I should explain to y'all where it is I am going, because the typical idea when someone says New York is the big Apple. But we are headed to upstate New York, to Seneca Lake, where my aunt and uncle have a home literally 100 feet from the lake. They have spent the better part of the last year and a half getting this reunion planned, including asking neighbors to be willing to take in some of the family members that are coming (like my family and I) for the stay of the trip. So seeing as how I am going to be a lake in the middle of July for a week . . . I need to have some type of swimsuit to wear that looks like I didn't buy it in high school. And I think I found the one:



(It's really cute on, I promise.)


I don't think I know anyone who enjoys bathing suit shopping and I have to go tomorrow or Tuesday to get some massive sunscreen, especially since before shopping today, my father showed me his new hat to protect his ears and the new pre-cancerous spots the doctor burned off this week. Got to love having pale, Irish skin.

I'm off this week from school, which couldn't work out more perfectly, because it allows me to get really ready for the trip, both packing and cleaning the apartment-wise, but also I can spend some quality time with friends that I have been missing out on. And Liz will be in town for the weekend, so there will be some mass Harper time. After I get this place scrubbed and get the pantry stocked for while I am gone.

Did I mention that Mike isn't going?

Crappy entry . . . don't even bother reading

And now, dear friends, begins the OC side of me that needs to start making a packing list for the upcoming family reunion. It won't be the last list I make either, because I do have the occasional oc tendencies and I won't remember to keep the first list with me.

The beauty of attending a huge gathering with family members you never see is that they don't know your wardrobe, so there is little chance of everyone being so tired of seeing you in the same old things. Still doesn't change the fact that people like to wear new things from time to time.

I am flying United and they won't be changing to their $15 dollars for the first checked bag policy until long after I have returned home from New York, but I still need to figure out how to maximize the outfits I will be taking for more space.

I will need to make room for my super new, super fantastic flat iron that I am getting this week. I cannot wait to posess and wield this tool of hairstyling perfection. It's a splurge, for now, but once I am in the salon and making my own money, it will pay for itself in no time.

Long Overdue

This has been one incredible and exhausting weekend, but probably the best weekend of my life for a long time. My top secret project was finally complete and ready to be revealed, which it was Saturday night.

Back at the end of April, my father came to me with an idea and asked for my help in excuting it. It instantly got my creative juices flowing (hehehe juices) and I was off and planning before we were even done with our lunch. See, my mother's birthday was coming up and it was a big one. Dad had decided he wanted to throw her a surprise party with about a 60 person guest list and a four plate dinner option. The party planner in me had four different invitation and RSVP card templates ready by the end of the week and the stationery ordered little over a week later. We carefully planned when to get the invitations out, since we knew the party would be smack in the middle of wedding season.

So the date was set, the guest list made and invited and one night while my mother was on a work trip, Dad and I poured through photo album after photo album, boxes upon boxes of photos of my parents, my childhood, my family in its entirety and we tried to pick out a good collection of shots for a collage of her life. We marked the photos that were in albums and I scanned those and had them back to my father before my mom got back so she wouldn't miss them and suspect anything.

Being the kind of girl I am, who doesn't halfass anything, I wanted there to be centerpieces at each table, tying into the theme of the invitation that my father had picked out - butterflies. So my shopping list quickly began to grow from tag board for the collage to cardstock for coloring, letters, stamps and ink, flower pots, flowers, picture forks, ribbon, possibly confetti . . . and I had to squeeze it all in around school hours and still have enough time for Mike, my friends and of course, my mom so she wouldn't wonder what was going on.

It ended up being a huge hit, completely a surprise and so much fun. . . .

We decided the "lure" to get her there was that Mike and I wanted to take her and Dad to dinner on a gift certificate Mike had earned at work. It seemed plausible, because of Mike's recent birthday, Father's day and of course, Mom's birthday. So there wasn't much issue with that. But then she started asking about carpooling to save gas. I needed to get there far earlier than 6:30 to get set up and greet all the guests, so that wouldn't work. I had to tell her that we had plans to see a scary movie after dinner so she wouldn't want to join us and we'd have a reason not to carpool. I left school around 3pm and got ready and got to the restaurant about 5:15 to get things set up and the guests were to show up about 6 pm. Once Mom and dad were leaving for the restaurant, Dad secretly called me and I headed up to the front of the restaurant to "lead" her to the party. I decided to tell her they were setting up for a party in the banquet room and she HAD to see the centerpieces we'd seen them bringing in.

Hook. Line. Sinker.



They dimmed the lights even more so she wouldn't see immediately, so the "Surprise" pictures are kind of dark. I am hoping someone with a better camera got brighter shot than Mike did on mine. (I love my Dad's glowing red eyes). Mom and Dad included, we had about 45 people there to help her celebrate such a big year and it was a hit.



About a week before the party, I got a call from Mom's best friend from when she lived in California (pre-Dad) and Bonnie and her mom, Rosemary, were coming up for the party. A surprise on top of a surprise! When Mom got the to the party, people started coming over to wish her hello and happy birthday and Bon and Rosemary held back, kind of avoiding being seen until she was nearly through the entire group. But when they locked eyes on one another . . . I wish I could have recorded the scream they both let out. Sheer joy and excitement.



The collage . . . the product of 60 years, lots of film and a few late-ass nights for me getting things printed, cropped, matted and posted on the board. Click on the photo to see all the notes that I have added to the picture.



It was a lot of work and was over in about five hours, but it was so worth it. She is so worth it. I want to thank everyone for coming out and helping us celebrate the amazing woman that is my mom. She is a major part of the reason why I am the woman I am today.

The rest of Saturday night was spent at the Thirsty Lion in Portland with Kate and Joe and Aja and Brian. I haven't been in a bar like that, in PDX, in a long time. In fact, I didn't even know that Bar 71 was now the Thirsty Lion.





It's strange, going to a meat market like that, as a married woman. I felt more confident, more at peace. Actually, when I first got there, I felt a little self-conscious because I wasn't in short shorts and I wasn't a size 2. I debated going into the bathroom to take off the brown tank top I'd worn under my empire waist shirt to kind of "hide" the cleaveage at my mom's party. But then I stopped and realized that if I was going to let two and a half inches of fabric bother me that much, than I hadn't grown or matured at all since I first started going to bars and when "bar top shopping" for more busty shirts. After that, I just had a great time and realized that I wanted to still go out and do this more with my girls. Just because I am married doesn't mean I can't go dancing with my girls.



We pretty much shut down the bar and I got home about 2:30 to Mike on the sofa, sleeping, waiting for me. I utilized my awake status and wrapped my presents for the next birthday party I had to go to (did I mention that we were out at Thirsty Lion to celebrate Brian's 29th birthday?? We were.) and I got to bed about 3 am.

I awoke with a start at 9:53 Sunday morning, because we'd made plans to do brunch at Tommy O's at 9:30 (Kate, Aja, Joe and I) before I headed up to Felida for Sarah's daughters Larkin and Ruby's 1st birthday party. I'd been asleep when I got a text from Aja saying that brunch had been scraped, so I wasn't late and I hadn't overslept. Small blessing.

I got to Felida park shortly after 11 am and immediately saw the balloons. And the cake. And the dual highchairs. And friends like Nicolle who I do not see often enough. It was all so colorful and festive and everything a first birthday party should be.









After the party, I joined my parents and Bonnie and Rosemary and we went to Saturday Market in downtown PDX before having an early dinner at McMenamins on the Waterfront, where we got great burgers, tasty hard cider, a killer view of the river and I got a bit of  (needed) sun.






We finished up the night with some wine at home, watching the DVD of all our wedding photos (Bonnie and Rosemary were invited but since both Bonnie's daughters got married last year as well, there wasn't much time for traveling.), playing some Apples to Apples and wrapping up the night with more wine around my parent's firepit.

Perfect weekend. Now I am ready for one last week of school before our "Summer Break" and then the family reunion in upstate New York. I have do decide what to wear/pack (which is easier since most of the people who will be there, I haven't seen since I was 10, 14 or 17 years old, so all my clothes will be new to them) and the dreaded bathing suit shopping I have been putting off. Blah. Hate it. But Sam's in town and there will be girl time with our favorite Canadian this week.

Baby Steps

It's a few minutes shy of midnight and I cannot think of anything specific to write about. My day was typical, but boring, because Kristie wasn't there and Halley didn't arrive until nearly 2 pm. I did well on staying within my points today and came home to my husband eager and ready for me to cut his hair. And then I made him some grilled cheese sandwiches and watched "Beerfest" with him. Action packed day!

Earlier this week, while grocery shopping at Winco, I purchased a couple of their reusable "Green Bags" to ease my conscious about having such green friends and not being as eco-friendly myself. We do our best to separate our recycling from the garbage and I reuse the paper and plastic bags I have taken in the past from grocery stores as lunch bags and garbage bags too, but I knew it was time to step it up a bit. I really like the bags from Trader Joe's, but seeing as how I shop at Winco so much more frequently, it only makes sense to purchase a couple of their's. Rumor has it that the store will knock ten cents off your total for each of their Green bags you use, but I haven't noticed it in my receipt yet. Of course, that is not the reason I purchased them. I actually like filling them with my purchases; they seem to hold a lot more than the paper or plastic bags.

Also, my friend Ava at school is trying her best to turn me on to more tofu and gluten dishes, as she is a strict vegetarian herself. She had a dish today that I couldn't resist and she offered me a bite of the gluten. The texture was a little odd but it was tasty. I wouldn't mind having it again.

I am trying to make myself try more new things whenever I can. Natile (another beauty school classmate) got me to try sushi a while back and while it wasn't my favorite, it is something I would try again too. My brother loves sushi, so I only felt it fair that I should text him and let him know that a California roll had passed my lips.

Baby steps, folks, baby steps.

Hypersensative

I really hate that I read into things entirely too much. I do it all the time and I stress and I worry and in the end, it nearly always ends up being something silly, stupid or pointless. Sometimes an oversight, sometimes just someone cleaning house, condensing or changing their mind for reasons that have nothing to do with me. I don't even usually address the issues because I know they are so minute and generally have nothing to do with me, but still. Gut reactions are typically there to be trusted, right?

On that note, I am going to try to ignore the newest stupid flair-up and try to get to bed. Let's hope I am not awake until three dwelling on it.