The weekend has come and gone, and into the world there goes a new married couple. Yes, my beloved roommate from college has finally married her high school sweetheart. A relationship that has gone through many bumps throughout the last 15 years has started a wonderful new chapter - and everyone couldn't be happier for this well deserving couple.
I met E in my second year of college. She came to live with me and another friend from the dorms in our first apartment together. In the next four years of being roommates together, a strong bond formed between us - and I know a lifetime of friendship continues to grow, even though she lives in Oxnard and I live in SF. We will always be there for each other - there's no need to ask.
My hubby and I flew down to Burbank on Friday - and then drove up to Ventura County. The smoke clouds that my husband casually pointed out from the plane ended up being a huge fire that burned up over 4000 acres. As we turned off the freeway into Ventura, we could see the charred remains of the hills on one side, and the red flames (RED!) peeking through the black smoke. I don't know if the houses on that hill survived, but the fire right there next to them. It was a very unnerving sight.
We checked into the hotel - and I called E. Turns out there was still some running around to do before the big day - so we spend the afternoon running some errands for her. By 4:45p we got to the church for the wedding rehearsal. Yes, I had the huge lump in my throat when I saw E walking down the aisle. After the rehearsal, we had one more quick errand to run and then we joined up with everyone at the Hong Kong Inn for dinner.
After the dinner, we headed back to the hotel. E came back with us, while R and his buddies would be staying at her house. They wouldn't be seeing each other again until that wonderful moment at the church the next afternoon. At the hotel, the matron of honor, my hubby, and I went over the entire itinerary with E. Still a lot of details to settle - so many phone calls and lists later, we finally called it a night. Turns out E and T would stay up a little longer to iron out more details. No surprise. That my roomie.
The next morning, I got up at 7:30a to meet up with the other bridesmaids and headed out to the salon to get our hair and makeup done. Would you believe that took over 2 hours? And we each had our own stylist working with us too. Wow! Anyway, we headed back to the hotel, got dressed and then headed out to E's parent's house. The photographer was there, helping to capture all those important moments. We helped E get dressed - and was that an adventure. Let's just say, the back of her gown had to be laced up by hand. After maybe 20 minutes of tying up her dress, we stepped back and there she was - the radiant bride. E was just simply breathtaking. Perfection.
After more photos, we all climbed into the stretch limo and headed to the church. As we turned the corner and came to a stop in front of the massive church doors, that's when the laughter in the limo slowly quieted down, and reality of what was about to begin in a few minutes sank in. This was it, E and R were finally going to get married. As the music began, I thought back to the times my roomie and I shared throughout our 14 year friendship - and I was just ecstatic to be able to be a part of what will be one of the happiest days of her life.
E was absolutely radiant as she walked down the aisle, arm in arm with both of her parents. The look on R's face can't be described - it was as if he was seeing her for the first time and falling in love with her all over again. It was a beautiful ceremony - and Father John did a fantastic job. His sermon was very upbeat and lively. He wasn't preaching to the congregation, but more of sharing a story that you wanted to hear. A very special moment was when he presented E and R with a framed blessing of the marriage from Pope Benedict himself! Father John said that in 22 years, he has never seen anyone receive a blessing from the Pope.
After the ceremony, there were the pictures (many, many pictures), then the celebration of the bridal party with the new Mr and Mrs in the limo, and then finally the reception. They're first dance was to "Come What May" from the Moulin Rouge Soundtrack. I've always loved that song, but now it has a much different meaning to me. I will always think of them whenever I hear it. E and R had actually practiced a very simple waltz routine to it. It was so beautiful.
To briefly go through the long evening, there was dinner, the heartfelt speeches, a fabulous slideshow of the bride and groom, and then lots of dancing. Oh how my feet hurt - but I kept going! Then there was the garter and bouquet tosses, and the cake. Yummy cake. E and R said some wonderful 'thank yous' to everyone, especially to their parents. There was a lot of love in the room.
After the required conga line, the celebration came to a quiet end. Those who were left trickled out of the ballroom, and the four of us, me and my hubby, E and R, made our way to the elevators. We rode up with them, and as we got off on our floor, we said our farewells and wished them a wonderful honeymoon. I always hate saying goodbye to E. I always miss her so much. She's just very special to me and I miss the days of seeing her every day. Sharing everything. I was lucky enough to have had a roommate I bonded with. There's no question we love each other very much.
Congratulations E and R! I love you both.
Can't believe the holidays are almost upon us! This year has flown by so fast, but every year seems too short when you know Thanksgiving and Christmas are around the corner. Best part right now? Gingerbread Latte's from Starbucks! I had my first of many to come yesterday morning. Just waiting until I can take a break to go get my coffee to today. They used to have a wonderful Cinnamon Spice Latte, but they haven't offered it in a few years. But the Gingerbread Latte - Mmmm... So many events to look forward to. My college roommate's wedding is THIS weekend! WHOO HOO! I've got my bridesmaid gown altered, my shoes are broken in, I've picked out a hairstyle too. Just need to pack it all for Friday's trip. Yea! Got the plane tickets, hotel and car reservations. Have to remember to put new batteries in my camera. Hubby will be the photographer this event.Thanksgiving is next weekend. Can't believe it! Our tradition, since we've been married, is that my family and his family gathers for a huge feast and game night. My in-law's like the traditional, eat at home, holiday gatherings. My family prefers dining out. So, we compromise. Thanksgiving at my in-laws. Christmas, we all go out. I must admit, I do I have a wonderful recipe for lemon meringue pie - I've actually changed it to be served as individual tarts - homemade crust and everything. Work has been so busy, I really don't feel like making them this year. I admit, I'm worn out. And these tarts are not that easy to make. I should have just stuck to the big pie format - but everyone seems to like having their own individual one. It's a prettier presentation too. The crust has to be just right, the meringue has to be just right. The only part that's easy to make out of the whole process is the lemon part. Oh well, we'll see how I feel next week. I never make them until the night before they're needed. I need to concentrate on my Christmas projects too. I completed two - and haven't gone back. No time! I need to put together a little 'Bridal Emergency kit' tonight (safety pins, Shout wipes, white thread and needle, etc) and then I can concentrate on the sewing for a few hours.Oops! Time for my break! Gingerbread Latte - here I come!
Friday night, my hubby and I took a little walk around our neighborhood after dinner at 21st Amendment. If you haven't been there - go and try it. It's very good. Pizza seems like the 'it' thing to order there - but I went for the Buffalo Chicken Cobb Salad instead. Warm and tangy Buffalo Chicken chunks over a green salad, complete with bacon pieces, avocado, and hard boiled egg - all with a delicious bleu cheese dressing. I loved it. In fact, last night, I made my own version of it at home. YUM! Also, their calamari is one of the best I've had. The batter is light and crispy - not heavy like most places. It's a very simple restaurant/brewery. There are big screen TVs blasting the latest basketball game. It's loud. The bar area is crowded. It's a nice local joint that not too expensive and serves good food.
Anyway, back to my story. We went for a walk after dinner and then went around SBC Park. There was some big commotion going on. All the lights were on, people all over the place. We went around to the 'free viewing' areas at McCovey Cove - and saw that the the entire field was covered with white planks/boards - and a massive stage being constructed. Then it clicked. The Rolling Stones were coming to town! We didn't have tickets, but we knew, from when GreenDay was here, we could just walk on over and catch a "free show" from the outside of the stadium.
So, last night, my hubby and I walked over to SBC Park again, but this time, over to the bridge area and we could see the giant screens built over the awesome stage. From that angle, we found that you don't get any echo. It was pure music. It was loud. It was awesome. I only knew a couple of songs, but it was interesting to people watch. There were fans in their 50's and there were the little fans who couldn't be more than 8 or 10. At one point, fire shot out from the two towers that surrounded the stage, and at the very end - beautiful fireworks. Very cool. Fabulous entertainment for the evening. Not a bad way to end a long weekend.
My hubby is turning 40 in January! Yep, the BIG 4-0! As usual, I'm more excited for his birthday than he is, but this year, we're going to celebrate in style! Problem is that he doesn't want me to do a surprise party - and he really means it - so that's out. I know if I went ahead and did a party anyway, he'd be upset. We'll still do a big dinner, but he'll know about it.He knows I want to take him somewhere, and I was going to surprise him with a fabulous 4 day vacation at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas... but then he said he doesn't want to travel too far for a long weekend. MAN! He's not making this easy. I told him he can take me there for one of my birthdays. ;)So, last option for a long weekend, our favorite destination... Las Vegas. He hasn't been there since last December, and I purposely didn't go see the Wynn Resort during my last visit in October, so that we could experience it together. I don't know if he still looks at my blog or not (last time he looked it crashed his computer), so I won't go into details of what I'm planning. I wish it were January already. I love Vegas - and if all goes to according to my plan, I think this will be a trip my hubby will never forget!
Oh my God, I'm dying. This past weekend was the be-all of parties . My college roommate's bachelorette party in Las Vegas. Woo hoo!We stayed the Mandalay Bay Resort - my first time. It's a very nice hotel. The casino was a little confusing to me - I couldn't quite figure out the layout. The room was very nice - nice because I was lucky to stay in the two bedroom suite that the matron-of-honor booked for the bride to be. Four of us stayed in the suite, and then two other sets of 5 girls in regular rooms. I'll write more about the trip later - I'm not thinking with a full brain today. Let's just say when you're with a group of girls in Vegas, hang around the VIP areas. There are always groups of guys who book those areas and then invite the girls to join them for drinks. I only bought myself one drink during two nights out. The VIP areas give the good stuff too.
I left work around 5:30p today. Purse in one hand, my lunch sack, and for lack of a better term, my briefcase/bag thing for papers. In other words, a bag full of work I was bringing home to do.Anyway, I walked out of my office building and this beautiful warm air hit my face. There was a slight breeze that just made it so comfortable to walk through - yeah, for the half block it takes to get me from the door of the building to the underground MUNI station. I brought my lunch to work today - which I rarely do. My friends tell me it's good to bring my lunch because then I can save a lot of money. Which is true. The average lunch in San Francisco runs around $5 - $6. On the occasions I meet up with friends, lunch can go up to $10. Because I brought my lunch today, I ended up only spending $1.50 for my ride home. But the drawback, I never went outside. I heated up my rice and chicken, and worked through the hour and beyond. No packed lunch tomorrow. I'm going out into the world. Hopefully, the weather will hold up and I'll get to enjoy a little sunshine.Tomorrow night, my friend and I are going to try Paragon Restaurant. We're doing a very late celebration for her birthday. Not that I forgot. Lucky her - she got to go to NY for her birthday weekend, and our schedules didn't mesh until tomorrow night. I've never been there before - but the menu looks pretty tasty. I hope it's good!
Yesterday was my mom's birthday. Happy Birthday Mom!!!We celebrated with dinner at Momo's. The food was very good. I highly recommend their Coconut Rock Shrimp appetizer. The prices are typical San Francisco 'trendy' restaurant price, but the portions are good (4 out of 5 of us brought leftovers home) and the atmosphere is enjoyable.After dinner, everyone came back to our place and we had delicious Tiramisu cake. My mom opened her presents and we chatted for a little while. It was a very nice evening.
After a few days of being miserable whenever my husband talked about the Europe trip, I've finally come to the conclusion that - we're going. I am going to see Paris and London - no matter how long or short. I should just accept it and move on. It's always going to be there - we can always go back. Start planning what to do in the short time we're there. I'm very lucky that we get to go at all.Since my last entry, the plans have changed so many times that I've lost count - and it's only been a few days! Paris was cut down to 4 full days, and 1 full day in London. After a tantrum on my part - and at that point, I didn't care if I was being selfish anymore. If my hubby was going to be silly about the whole thing and didn't realize that I didn't wait 10 years just to spend 4 days in Paris and 1 day in London - he definitely heard about it. As he said, we have to sacrifice sometimes. True - but in this case I thought about it and couldn't understand WHY? Why do I have to sacrifice my dream trip? He's been to Paris, I have not. He doesn't really care if we go to London. Well, hello? His wife cares. I was about to book a trip for myself and go for two weeks on my own - one week in Paris, one week in London. The trip we were 'supposed' to take this year. I would take the portion that would have been his ticket and do some shopping.Anyway, after a lot of bitching, he got back on the phone - and at this point, the best he could do is 3 days in Belgrade, on the fourth day we fly to London (get there around 3pm), spend one night. Then we take the train to Paris and spend 6 nights there. On the 7th day, we take the train back to London - so if we leave earlier in the morning, I can probably manage almost 2 full days. On the 3rd day in London, we fly home. It's better than nothing. It just frustrated me that I had to get mad before he really 'heard' me. He didn't understand how unhappy I was the way 'our' trip was being planned and he didn't realize how important this trip was to me. It's not like I haven't talked to him about it for the past 10 years. Every anniversary is like a countdown to this trip. I bring it up all the time anyone mentions Europe. All my friends know that is my plan. Anyway... it's booked, finalized. This is it.In other news, I finally submitted my resume for another position at my company. I've been over my resume over and over and over - and just can't think of anything more I can do to polish it up - so it will have to do. Hopefully, I'll get an interview and be better able to 'sell' myself that way. Wish me luck!
Unfortunately, the title refers to yours truly. To explain a little...Next year marks a milestone for my hubby and I. We will have been married for five years, but we'll have been together for 10! For the past 10 years, we've been planning to celebrate the occasion with a big trip to Europe. The trip of my dreams - Paris and London. Two years ago, while on vacation on Oahu, we bought a Marriott timeshare. Part of the deal was that because our tower wouldn't be actually finished until the year 2006, we would get a bunch of bonus points, 2 free tickets to anywhere in the world, plus a bonus week to use anywhere. We couldn't believe it when they told us the 'extras'. That was our Europe trip right there. 'Free' plane tickets and hotel for a week.So, 2006 is around the corner. An old family friend of my husband's suddenly brings up that in March, he is going to Belgrade to visit relatives. My father-in-law's only brother lives there. So, he decided he's going too... My hubby has not seen his uncle in many, many years, so suddenly he wants to go too. So here's where my selfishness comes into play. Instead of this being OUR big European trip, the one that I've been planning for the past 10 years. The one where I thought we'd decide on when we'd like to go and how long we'll stay for... The trip is now the Belgrade trip - and we fly to Paris and stop by London for a day or two afterwards. I mean, I can't complain. It all works out to us actually going to Paris and London. I get to go where I've wanted to go for over 30 years of my life. But man - it's just not the same. I've built up this trip for 10 years in my mind. It was supposed to be like our second honeymoon. We were supposed to plan it for US, not someone else's trip to Belgrade. So, because we're now going to be staying in Belgrade for three nights, that cuts into the Paris and London part. The Marriott is still covering our plane tickets - and one week's worth of stay in Paris, but London is now more of a stopover because of our Belgrade transfer. We have to pay for that ourselves.So, no 1 week in Paris and 1 week in London, like I've been dreaming about. It's more like 5 full days in Paris and 1 full day in London before we have to come home.Am I being too selfish? I mean really? I've dreamed about this trip for so long - and now everything is being dictated by someone else's plan and unfortunately, our financial situation (that prevents us from making this two separate trips). It's just irking me how everything turned out. I feel like I can't say anything because I don't want to be the wife who won't allow her husband to see his uncle (maybe for the last time? He's 80+), but it's so hard to get excited about this trip.My husband says we all have to make sacrifices and unfortunately, we're not in a position that finances are not an issue and we can do what we want. And then he told me that his grandfather and his uncle are his favorite relatives. I wasn't able to meet his grandfather, but he wants me to meet his uncle. I want to meet his uncle too, but when he put it to me that way - what the heck could I say?I know I'm rambling and ranting, but I know that without the Belgrade part, nothing was an issue before. I'm not going to say anything because my hubby was on the phone for hours last night, trying to make a trip that worked so that I would get my time in Paris and London - and I felt guilty that we was doing all that for me (for us). But damnit - this was our trip first!!! We started planning it first!Wah, wah, wah... Yeah, I can't say anything to my husband, but I'm going to whine about it on my blog. I need an outlet somewhere.
Time to change my header again. I'm not crazy about fall - so I couldn't find any pictures I wanted to use - so I skipped straight to winter. I'm not a huge fan of winter either, but Christmas is my favorite holiday - go figure. So, I'm trying to get myself into the Christmas spirit early. Besides, I need the motivation...My sweater is slowly coming along. Managed to join in my beige yarn, and now I'm working on 4-1/2" of the light blue yarn. I should be at a point to put in another three rows of beige and then back to the darker blue soon. I left several inches of extra yarn from where each color joins the next. I hope I didn't screw it up.
My other project, the 'secret' Christmas gift is coming along. I have all the pieces ready, now I just have to sew them together. Can't reveal what it is yet, but here's a small portion of it.
Now I have to make, let me see... GASP! Five more!!!
The stupid thread came out a little gray in very small spots, but it's noticable on the light pink fabric. I think after this 'eh em' is finished, I'll wash it to see if the gray comes out. I'm guessing it's oil from some parts of the machine - so it should come out.
Poor hubby has been trying to watch TV while I'm in the background sewing away and trying to watch too. Every once in a while I stop and ask him, "So, what happened? What did they say?" Yeah, he just gives me 'the look'. Hee hee...
I'm going to be hating life in about 5 hours - when I have to get up for work. It's 1:30am and I just finally stopped playing my new Sims 2 Nightlife expansion pack. It's fabulous. As with all my other Sims game packs - it's an obsession. Unfortunately, as each expansion pack comes out, the slower my computer gets. I need to add more RAM or pretty soon this machine is going to be crawling along. Another expansion pack is coming out in 2006. My goodness! I can't NOT get it! It's almost like you need a new computer to keep up with each expansion.Oh man, my hubby is going to have fun trying to wake me up in the morning.Good night...
Amidst all the drama of work, and bringing work home, and getting frustrated with my new sewing machine that is still turning my pink thread a light gray color - I totally forgot another gift item I'm supposed to be making for my friend Joe!!! I am supposed to crochet a cap for him. I have the yarn already and everything. DAMN!!! I can't believe I forgot. I've actually been working on my hoodie sweater the past few nights. Just something to keep my hands busy while we're catching up on some TV shows I've taped. I've gotten past adding one color for three rows, and now I'm in the middle of adding on 4" of the third color. I should have been working on the cap this whole time. So, guess what I'm doing tonight? Hmmm, maybe I took on too much with this homecrafted gift idea. Can't give up yet though. I've still got two months. If I pull this off... I'll just have to reward myself at Christmas with something already made by someone else. :)Totally off the subject. Guess who I saw a few weeks ago at Macy's? One of my idols! Sarah Jessica Parker! I was meeting a friend for lunch - and she was telling me how she was waiting for the elevator downstairs in the watch section, when out comes this petite woman, surrounded by these massive bodyguards. Well, she didn't realize who this woman was until she had already walked away. Turns out SJP was there to promote her new perfume, Lovely. I totally missed the commotion, because I went straight from the Geary St. entrance and up the elevator to the restaurant. After lunch, I decided to take a chance and see if SJP was still there. I've never seen a line that long at Macy's. They had set up a queue between all the makeup counters on the main level. Through the crowd, I got close enough to get a good look at the lovely Ms. Parker. She is gorgeous. And she's soooo petite! I was so tempted to call work and tell them I would be very late. She was signing autographs if you bought her perfume. Well, I decided, I don't wear perfume, so it would be a waste of money - and I already saw her. Stupid me though - I didn't get a picture. Unfortunately, it was after the fact that it dawned on me that I have a camera phone. :P 
I finally setup my sewing machine last night. It's on the dining table right now because the desk that I had originally planned as my sewing area is boxed in. Yes, my excuse is still, "I just moved!"So, I managed to wind the thread onto the bobbin, and then loaded it into the bobbin case. Then I threaded my machine. That took me about 15 minutes. Then for the next hour, after I threaded my needle, I tried to get the stupid thread from the bobbin to come up through the bottom. I just couldn't figure it out. I finally got it - but I have no idea what I did. Wasted a lot of thread in the processes.Anyway, I did some test stitches - and after some adjusting, finally got the machine to work properly. I guess with new machines, the metal is dirty or something, because my pretty pink thread came out dark gray. Ew! I ran the machine some more, and the bottom thread is now pink, as it should be, but the upper thread is still sewing on gray. It's a little lighter than when I started, but still gray. I don't know how to clean it. ARGH!!! Two hours later from when I started, and my enthusiasm deflated with frustration, I gave up for the night. I have my fabric all pinned and cut out from the pattern already. It's in a neatly folded pile on the table next to the sewing machine. I just need clean thread!!!I guess it's good I'm getting prepared for my Christmas gifts now, because at this rate - I feel like I should have started in January.
Well, we got the pictures back from the photographer from our Reunion last August. I'm not happy at all. Because of our location, the backlight for the photos was way to bright. As a professional wedding photographer, the guy should have known that it was a poorly lighted location. My dad, who is a professional photographer as well, suggested that a special flash be used to counter the brightness of the background. He was told it wasn't necessary - so, professional to professional, my dad let the guy do his thing his way. Got the CD of the photos last week. They are terrible. Odd angles and too bright - almost white back lighting, and tourists in the background. First of all, I don't think that Ghiradelli Square was the best choice for the reunion itself. In the middle of the summer tourist season? Come on. But I wasn't in charge of that decision, so whatever. But I was in charge of booking the photographer. How was I supposed to know? The guy has a website of his wedding shots and they're beautiful. And then he goes and ruins the shots from our event. My hubby has the CD now. He has a printing and design business, so he's going to ask his partner to help edit the shots a bit. It's not just frustration about the flawed shots - it's embarassing. The photographer was my responsibility. How am I supposed to present these pictures to my family? This sucks! And there I was, just a few months ago, reassuring my cousins that this guy was good and that we wouldn't be disappointed.
Here we go! I finally got a picture of my little God-puppy, Mochi, posted. Isn't he the cutest thing?
He was only 10 weeks old when my friend got him as a present for her birthday. So, he's about five months now. He's about 8 pounds. He's still tiny, but back then, he was just a big puff of cotton shuffling along on his little legs.
Haven't felt like writing anything in a while. It's been very stressful at work and usually I just want to go home, watch TV, and not think about anything for a few hours. My insomnia was in full swing this week. I've be running on about 4 hours of sleep every night. I'm sure I'll probably wake up around noon tomorrow - my body's effort to catch up.So many things going on at work. I'm not going to get into it, but I am actively looking for work in a different department now. If that doesn't work out, then I'll be looking in the outside world. I haven't touched my resume for so many years, at least three. I don't even know how to even begin summarizing what I do, what I've done... It's depressing getting up in the mornings to head into a place where I dread the next 9 hours. Not that it's ever been a party, but I've always been able to enjoy my work, if not all the people. But now, I hate coming in every day. I count the minutes and seconds until I can go to lunch or better yet, home.
My hubby had bought me The Sims 2 University expansion for my birthday last month - unfortunately, I already had that one (of course!) So, yesterday, we finally had the time to head over to Target, and he bought me an awesome gift. A sewing machine!!! Yea! Now I can get to work on my Christmas gifts. Well, I have to go get the fabric now. Doesn't quite work without the fabric.
I really don't know much about sewing machines themselves - so it was hard to do any kind of research on them. We only used one basic stitch in my sewing class. I hope this one is good.
It's not pink, but there's a little purple on it (hee hee...) NO, I didn't pick this one because of the color. I'm not THAT pink obsessed.
Baby #2 has arrived! Welcome Isabelle! She was born on September 12th. She is the daughter of my childhood friend, whom I reconnected with again earlier this year. It's so weird to think - my friend is a mother now! I'm so happy for K and A. Congratulations!
Baby #1 has arrived! Down in sunny San Diego, one of my college buddies has given birth to her first son, Kyle. Can't believe one of us is a mommy now!
Congrats to L and B! Welcome Kyle!
