Odds 'n Ends

Some quick thoughts...

I saw Sam Adam's Octoberfest on shelves in Trader Joe's yesterday. This made me incredibly happy because I know autumn is right around the corner. This morning's cool air further confirmed this...

There has been much construction going on in our little office building as they're renovating for new tenants upstairs. I'm sure it'll be lovely when they're done, but a lot of the hammering has gone on directly overhead and I'll be happy when it's complete...

I had my yearly performance review. It went well, and I'll be training in the next 6 weeks for some added responsibilities in marketing and sales. This is an interesting new avenue for me, and it will keep me very busy in coming months. Oh, and I get to move my office in October to right across from the kitchen. You know what this means....closer proximity to the coffee maker. Hello, caffeine addiction!

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Big Papi blast a game winning homerun last night against the Chi-town White Sox. Keep it up, Pap. We love you.

I was sad to hear first thing yesterday morning that Ted Kennedy lost his battle to brain cancer. Of 4 brothers, he was the only one to die of natural causes. He was a great senator, an iconic family patriarch of our time, and he will be greatly missed. His funeral will be Saturday and I'm sure it will be an emotional day for many. May he rest in peace, and may his loved ones find comfort in this time of grief.

This is a reminder to myself that I have some blogging to do tonight or tomorrow about the remainder of my vacation (where I seemed to drop off the face of the interwebs for 4 days) and my first round of mocking up wedding invitations (disaster!). Also, I am going to try to condense all wedding blogging into one weekly wedding update so those who do not wish to sift through boring details every other day are not forced to do so.

The Importance of Flow Charts

Every now and then I see something pass through the interwebs that does not blow my mind, but just makes me smile. Here, it's as if the universe was reaching out to me. To aid you in understanding the complex song-structure of one of my favorite 80s delights, I present to you, the Total Eclipse of the Heart Flow Chart:

And bonus points for a "literal version" of the music video:

Just for fun!

I promise I won't allow every entry to be wedding related, but here's one that has nothing to do with me, and has everything to do with tacky weddings. In planning, you see some pretty wild stuff, including brides wanting to charge a cover fee for people to come into the reception, frightening cakes, dresses that belong in the 80s on MTV, and "you may kiss the bride" kisses that might make Ron Jeremy blush. Here are some of my favorites.

If any of these pictures happen to be yours, please don't hurt me. I just found them on Google under "tacky weddings"...Blame Google!

Let's kick it off with bridal party. You pick your very best friends and/or relatives to stand up with you on the biggest day of your life. Sure, every bride has her moments when she thinks "Gosh, I hope none of the girls look prettier or sexier than me on my big day!" But most brides are still nice enough to pick a dress that will look nice on her favorite ladies. Surely, this bride was not that nice.

Just look at that little girl, posing like she's a hot mama. Dear, dear...

Next...No wedding day would be complete without The Dress. Every girl grows up dreaming of the day, the groom, and sometimes above all things, the dress. Many brides say that "the one" they end up with is not nearly what they pictured themselves in. So I have to ask...what did this bride picture herself in at age 9?

I am certain that when whatever bridal salon told her "If you've got it, flaunt it!" that this was not what they meant.

And just as a bonus, because it made me laugh out loud...note the bridesmaid grabbing the bride's bewbie. Wicked classy.

One of the things I am most looking forward to is the wedding cake tasting, which happens to be this coming weekend. I have hemmed and hawed...butter-cream roses? Ribbon around the base of each layer? What style piping and do I want something more classic or more daring and modern?

I have heard of brides having the cake decorator use details of her dress, such as lace or distinct beading detail, to mimic on the cake. Never in my days did I think a bride would say "You know, I want a cake that's really me. No, literally, I want the cake to be me. In my dress. Kthxbye."

The funniest part about this is if you Google it, there's a picture of the groom cutting into the cake. He looks terrified.

Look for another installment of "Tacky Weddings" soon!

It's that time in our lives...

...when it seems people are getting engaged and married at a much higher frequency. It makes sense, of course. We are in our mid-20s. College sweethearts are perhaps deciding if they will spend the rest of their lives together or part ways. We're (maybe) beyond the random weekly hookup stage in our lives (or maybe not, to each their own). And it seems that recently the pendulum has swung back from the "I will establish my career and then worry about a family" to wanting to get married younger and atart a family younger. I am not naive, I know this is not true for everyone by a long shot, but I think the current state of the world is forcing people to take a closer look at what they really want in life and what will make them happy. I can think of at least 5 friends off the top of my head getting married in the next year or so. Some friends are already married, and a couple have even started families. It's all a little overwhelming, but mostly exciting, to have reached this time in my life.

As an engaged person, I feel very blessed to have found the man of my dreams, and all cheesiness aside, my soulmate. I do believe in soulmates. I also believe that even when you find your soulmate, it's not all happiness, ponies and rainbows. You still have to work at any relationship. I have found this week while on a "staycation" (stay-at-home vacation) that Sean and I are very used to having our own space during the day, working such different schedules. If I ever decided to work at home, I would absolutely have to have a separate office as my own little world. Especially on 90+ degree days when we feel lazy and miserable.

In this world of wedding madness, I just had to laugh when I clicked on my link to idosugar.com and saw this:

Big News! Archie Proposes to Veronica!

Did you ever read these comics? My great-grandpa had a stack of them at his farmhouse in Maine, and my siblings and I used to lie on the floor at night when visiting and read through them. I can't say I remember back enough to say I have an opinion as to whether Archie should have chosen Betty or Veronica (maybe my 7 year old self would have), but this just made me step back and laugh. Seriously - anyone can get married these days! It took Archie and Veronica nearly 60 years (and the blogpost warns that there will be a 6-issue special edition covering the wedding in which anything could happen (note: Betty sobbing in the background). *cue suspenseful music*

Now my train of thought derailed and I am contemplating all the famous fiction marriages that have occurred through a series of books, tv, comic books...What are some of your favorites? Or the most memorable ones that stand out in your mind?

Here are some of mine...

Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy (The Muppets Take Manhattan 1984)




Luke & Laura (General Hospital 1981)
I was not alive (don't hate me) but my mom was all about this one...

























Ron & Hermione (Harry Potter)

What others? Throw them out there!

Never Trust a GPS

I'll be the first to admit, a GPS can be a fantastic device to assist you in getting from point A to point B. There are times, however, when it can be, well, a big ol' pain in the butt.

I need to prelude this story with the days leading up to this adventure, because it was quite a week! Sean was going on his great adventure to climb Mt. Washington, so I decided to take a couple days up in New Hampshire with family and friends in various places. I probably put about 1K miles on my car in 4 days, and I am now exhausted. I started off Friday morning, drove up to Massachusetts to meet my mom for lunch. I had to stop at Ikea to pick up the card box (which was $1.99 instead of $9.99 - yay!) and hit major Cape traffic in Braintree. So I hopped off the highway, plugged the pizza shop's address into the GPS and away I went. It took me all sorts of interesting back roads, but got me where I needed to be in much shorter time than it would've taken on the highway. Oh, I should also add that Sean has the GPS programmed to Homer Simpson's voice, which I can't stand.

After a lovely lunch I went to meet a girl in Somerville for coffee before heading up to Lake Winnipesaukee. I thought it would be a quick stop and to my dismay, did not have any quarters for the parking meter. So 20 minutes later when I returned to my car, I had a nice orange-colored parking violation on my windshield. But it was a delightful $30 cup of coffee.

It took me no less than 4 hours to drive from Somerville to Concord New Hampshire, which should have been 1.5 hours tops. I did not reach the speed limit for more than a mile at a time, and I reached ***camp at 8:05, just in time for Mass. I got to see my little niece, who is now pulling herself up and standing, and it was fantastic to see so many old friends. The reason for my being there was to act as security patrol, so I strapped on my sneakers and prepared to walk camp from 11 pm to 7 am. Duringt his partol, I experienced no less than 9 skunk sightings, heard something that sounded like a wild cat fight, and a bat flew into my face at dawn as I was walking down to the beach to see the sunrise over the lake.

Here's the sunrise...taken on my camera phone.



After pulling an all-nighter, I decided to stay awake the rest of the day and join my brother, sister-in-law and niece with some friends up in Waterville Valley instead of attempting to drive to my parents' house. We stayed at the Black Bear Lodge in this adorable tourist village and I texted Sean to call me so we could meet up Sunday morning at the base of Mt. Washington. We drank beer and wine (and margaritas, oh my!) and hung out in the hot tub until I felt my eyelids drooping. I slept like a rock, had a yummy breakfast, and Sean called me to assure me that he was alive and inform me that they had gotten to the base and were now in North Conway. I told him I'd meet him at the Yankee Smokehouse in West Ossipee for lunch. Here's where the adventure begins...

I inputed Yankee Smokehouse into the GPS, and Homer informed me that it was 26 miles away and the trip would take an hour. Interesting. I took a right out of the resort, which is surrounded by glorious White Mountains, and drove about a mile down the road, where it instructed me to take a left onto Sandwich Notch Road. A little wooden sign told me that Sandwich Notch Road was established in 1801. I should have known, not even 1/4 miles into the road, that something was up. The road quickly turned to dirt, chock full of potholes, and before I knew it, I was in Backcountry USA. The road kept climbing through the woods, barely a single lane, with potholes the size of my bathtub. I'm pretty sure that this road has not been maintained since 1802. The GPS said I would be on this road for 5.5 miles. Ok, I could handle that. But no, after 5.5 miles, it intersected with another dirt road (probably also established in 1801) and I now had another 5 miles to go. Just for fun, here's a map of where I drove, terrain-view:


View Larger Map

As you can see, I drove through 3 mountains. By myself. It got to a point where Homer would direct me and I would just laugh and start talking to myself. I might have heard dueling banjos in the distance...Never again will I trust a GPS.

I made it to the smokehouse around noon and Sean and friends arrived shortly after. We had a feast and then Sean joined me en route to my parents' house for the evening. We got there and became completely useless humans piled on the couch soaking up air conditioning. We didn't even have the energy to get into the pool, which might have helped us at that point. And this morning we got on the road at 10:30, made a few stops, and got home to Connecticut around 5.

It was a fun weekend, but very exhausting. I am so grateful to be on vacation this week so I can hopefully get to the beach and do some serious relaxing. I hope you're all somewhere air conditioned, or Northern Canada, because this week will be a roaster!

Cheers!

Photos: Sleeping Giant Hike

On Sunday morning, Sean and I got up and went for a 5 mile hike with three of our friends (his fellow Mt. Washington journeymen). It was a cloudy morning with a chance of scattered thunderstorms, but we were determined and prepared for whatever the day brought us. It only took about 3 hours to complete the trail, and I was pleased that the first leg of the hike, which involved heavy duty climbing and scrambling up an old rock quarry, did not leave me completely red-faced and breathless as it did when we did this trail in May (we only did about 1.5 miles in May).

Here are some of my favorites from the day...

The view from halfway up the quarry, looking North.

About halfway along the trail at one of the "peaks" there is an old tower with a picnic table, and this is just a portion of the table. It should be noted that this park/trail is located across the street from a university, so as you can imagine, this is a well-visited table.

Looking out from the tower to the woods.

The mountain men, pointing North towards their NH destination.

My personal favorite picture from the day! They're so pumped for their trip, I know it'll be a great adventure for them. And in case you had any doubt, Sean's the goober making a face second from the right. Love him.

PSA: Cards and Pockets

I get excited over little things, especially if those little things mean me saving money.

I have kept a watchful eye on cardsandpockets.com for the past few months, and my vigilance has paid off. Envelopes are on sale! So if you are making your own invitations or for some reason need lots of envelopes, go now! A7 square flap envelopes as low as $0.13 each and RSVP envelopes as low as $0.11. That's down from $0.25 and $0.20. You could save as much as $20 before shipping for 100 of each!

I am at the point where I am all for saving money over something looking rich and fabulous, so on a related note, Ikea has magazine boxes, the perfect size for a card box, for $9.99. So I am ditching my lobster trap idea, dressing it up with a little champagne ribbon, and calling it a day.

T-Minus 4 Days

As of Thursday at 5, I will be on vacation through Sunday the 23rd, and I cannot wait! I don't know how it happens, but I get so into work that I forget to take vacation. Or there's never a "convenient" time for me to be out of the office (my honeymoon, for instance, will be during one of my busiest weeks of the year). I do not lie - I did not take a full week's vacation for 2 1/2 years on this job. I took nearly 2 weeks last Christmas, and it saved my sanity big time. I swore to never again let more than a year pass without taking vacation.

So here it is, the near end of summer, and I am more than ready for a week of lounging, going to the beach, doing some of my own artwork, and getting some wedding details ironed out. I am heading to New Hampshire and then my parents' house this weekend, and back to my parents' house the following weekend. The week in between will be spent with Sean when he's not at work. I have plenty of things I can do to keep me busy and books I want to read at the beach. I hesitate to "schedule" anything because that would defeat the purpose of having a vacation and the delight of a spontaneous excursion or visit.

I have no doubt that the next four days will drag and seem excruciating, but then I am free for a full 10 days to frolick, relax, and enjoy.

Cheers!

The Many Ways to Re-Use a Lobster Trap

This image is credited to http://www.trapworks.com/

About two weeks ago, I was brainstorming different ways to incorporate where Sean and I are from into the wedding in a way that is tasteful and thoughtful. In my wedding idea browsing, I have seen many innovative ideas that brides come up with, along with some incredibly...well, there's no nice way to put it, incredibly tacky ideas. There's a very fine line in the wedding world between doing something that makes guest go "Ooooh!" and something that makes people go "Ugh!". Note: tulle. I hate tulle. Tulle belongs in ballerina skirts and that's it!

So where Sean and I are from is the South Shore of Massachusetts. His town is very much a fisherman's town (my family owned a fishing store there for 18 years), and my town is historically know for shipbuilding. Coastal, beachy, nautical. How do you incorporate these things for a romantic January wedding?

For starters, the paper. Not the newspaper. The many forms of paper that are involved in the wedding day. Invitations, programs, placecards, menus, table numbers. I have designed all of these things myself incorporating either a scallop shell illustration or a lighthouse illustration I created as an accent.

This image is credited to http://konditormeister.com

For a while I contemplated incorporating chocolate seashells as the accents for our cake, because I personally despise buttercream flowers and I don't really picture fresh flowers on our cake. This will be pending how much of an additional cost it would be from our bakery, since a custom design cake is already included in our reception package. This picture is not what our cake will look like, but the style of shells, arranged in little clusters on different layers of the cake, is what I would envision.

My final detail of incorporating the seaside is pictured above, in the form of a lobster trap card box. I actually ordered a wooden, old-fashioned lobster trap from a store in Maine off eBay, but it was about 3/4 oz the size I thought it would be. I couldn't imagine a card fitting in it. So I am still on the lookout, and I will look into this trapworks.com, since they are local to Massachusetts, to see how much their "card box" traps are. I was amazed by this person's website and how many different uses they have for a lobster trap. From a wine rack to a coffee table to a chair...I'm a nautical whore, I'll admit it. The coffee table kind of had me drooling.

All these little details that are coming into play are very fun! The past few months have been tame in that there hasn't been much to do, so I'm excited to get going with all the do-it-yourself projects. I have to get going though, because I know the next 5 months are going to fly by!

Cheers!

10-Day Challenge: Day 2 & 3

Yesterday and today were very challenging for me, but I guess that's why they call it a challenge! I find myself desiring nothing but burgers and beer and cake and everything that is at the opposite end of the spectrum of health. I don't know how I will do this for the next 7 days, and I swear, if I don't lose a pound, I am going to drink a freaking huge margarita.

Yesterday I had a get together after work so I didn't get home until about 8. I knew I wouldn't want to cook, so I stopped by Trader Joe's and picked up a chicken and veggie burrito (pack of 2). I ate one for dinner last night, since Sean was working, and had one tonight, since Sean's going to a midnight showing of GI Joe and then starts his work shift at 4:30 am. Yes, life is interesting this week!

I'm finding that I'm not really hungry, I am doing surprisingly well in the way of portions and not snacking, but I just want to eat something that's wickedly BAD for me! We were talking about restaurants today at lunch, and desserts, and I remembered this fried banana and ice cream burrito I got from our favorite hole in the wall...the day after I started Weight Watchers.

I have to try to focus better. I am not going to beat myself up if I slip, but the point is to try to eat clean foods and incorporate activity into your daily routine, which I feel like I am doing successfully. I have been drinking water like it's made of gold, and despite the soreness and aches and cramps and desires to eat something with 20g of fat per serving, I am feeling pretty good. I have a day hike on the menu for Sunday, and hopefully a run around the lake tomorrow if it's not too humid out.

And here's a gem straight from my mouth today at lunch, discussing how this challenge has made me a grump: "I'd rather be fat and happy than skinny and miserable."

Ha! I'll have to come back to that one.

Beachbody 10-Day Challenge: Day 1

My coworker/girlfriend told me yesterday that she was doing this 10 day challenge, starting tomorrow (today). Me, being the self-torturing type, decided to join her.

Today marked day 1. I actually took the time this morning to make an egg white omelette with broccoli. Anyone who knows me knows I am not a morning person who eats anything that she can't grab on the way out the door and eat in the car. For lunch I made a salad at the grocery store salad bar with lots of lettuce, spinach, onions, sprouts, chopped egg white and tuna fish. Not the tastiest thing I ever ate, but it was filling. I snacked on cottage cheese mid-afternoon, did a 40 minute cardio blast, and came home and made salmon with brown rice and mixed veggies.

This diet does not allow for coffee, soda, juice, or alcohol. I am going to be one cranky lady for the next 9 days. But- I got through Day 1. Tune in tomorrow when I regale you of tales of not being able to bend my legs or turn my neck.

Little Checks

Every once in a while I am granted with a weekend day where I have absolutely nothing planned. These are the very best days. I wake up, with the whole day ahead of me, able to come and go as I please, and do whatever I want, eat whatever I want, and wear whatever I want.

Today is one of those days.

Sean set out early this morning for Hartford for ConnectiCon, a small comic convention, so I was able to peacefully sleep until 10:30. I pondered what I could do today, and vowed to not slave the day away cleaning and doing housework, which I all too often do.

I showered and got dressed, had some Koala Krispies for breakfast (the gluten-free version of cocoa crispies), and started my day. After showering and throwing all the dirty laundry from our bedroom floor into the washer (I swear, the only housework I did today), I stepped outside. Hot and muggy. A good beach day, perhaps. Definitely not a day for mowing the lawn or going for a walk around the lake. While I suppose it would be nice to just sit at the beach all day, I am planning plenty of that for my vacation in a couple weeks, so I decided to try to be mildly productive. I decided to do what any good, American girl should do on a hot day. Go to the air conditioned mall and try on pretty dresses!

Why would I need to try on pretty dresses? Well, as much as the angel on my shoulder tells me I could find perfectly nice ensembles that already exist in my wardrobe, life events just tug at that little devil on the other shoulder saying "When will you ever again have a bridal shower? Wear something new and cute!" or "That wedding next month is on a cruise around Manhattan, surely you need something jewel-toned and fabulous to wear!". So off I went, to Target and Ann Taylor, to try on some pretty dresses and see if anything struck my fancy. First up was Target.

Any 20-something girl on a budget knows you can find something perfectly respectable to wear at Target, if you're a savvy shopper. Discussing with my friend Mollie last week, she told me she only buys tank tops from Target, because they're cheap and she beats the heck out of them all summer. Why pay over $10 for something you're going to wear to the beach and get sweaty, sandy and wet, or to a party or baseball game where beer could get spilled on it or an impromptu wrestling match could occur (yes, that happened last weekend).

I wasn't all too impressed with the latest styles they had, but I decided to check out the clearance section (as any 20-something on a budget should always do) and found 2 dresses that I deemed worthy of trying on. One was an ivory sleeveless dress, knee-length, the top lace coming down to just below the bust and the skirt is khaki material, pencil skirt shaped. Very sleek and cute while still summer. On sale for $22. I tried it on, it fit like a glove AND made me look slim (not an easy feat as a size 12 in ivory). Sold. Dress 2 is a long, light cotton in the style that many summer dresses are in, minus the tiered, cupcake look. The pattern is subtle is light tones, very sophisticated, very casual. Perfect for say, throwing over your bathing suit to go to lunch on the beach for your honeymoon? The only thing is it's about 4 inches too long. However, for the sale price of $14, I can hem it. Sold.

So I bought my bridal shower dress and my very first honeymoon outfit. I was on a roll. Why not look at thank you notes? Knowing the shower is coming up, I wanted to be prepared to send my gratitude to anyone who is coming. I hemmed and hawed over getting the simple, boring 50-pack for $7.99 (white card, thin navy blue line for trim, very plain, boring font on front that says "Thank You") versus spending a wee bit more for something nicer. I found a box of 24 cards for $5.99, with a nice ivory metallic on ivory matte damask design that says "Many Thanks" in silver script across the top. Perfect. I bought 2 packs for $12 total.

I went on to try on a few dresses at Ann Taylor and thankfully confirmed that I did not like or really look all that great in the dresses I spotted online earlier this week. My frugality is winning this weekend, so I decided to hold off for another month to go dress shopping for the wedding in September. And when I do go shopping, it will probably be to Marshalls.

On The Knot message boards, whenever a girl accomplishes something, she posts her "Checks". Not all too exciting, but it's great to encourage each other and get excited over the little thing, because not everyone else in the world gets excited over finding your thank you notes! So feeling accomplished with my "little checks", I have the rest of the day ahead of me. The "plan" is to do some Photoshop design for myself that I've been wanting to do, do a little painting, make myself a burger and a skinny girl margarita for dinner, and watch some True Blood till Sean gets home. Not a bad "plan" if I say so myself.

Enjoy your weekend, loves!

Something Blue

I confess that since I got engaged, I have looked at other people's wedding pictures nearly every day, whether it's to look for ideas or to just see the different styles that people go for these days. There are some pretty interesting weddings happening, ya'll!

To give some publicity though, I have to give Jess at Until It Shines a nod for creating a blog for Boston area brides. She just started but she's doing a fabulous job giving Boston etsy sellers exposure (fact: brides LOVE Etsy) and I'm sure she'll become a great go-to for local gals.

I want to direct your attention to her most recent post, because I'm pretty sure if I could plan a wedding all over again for the summertime, this is something I'd like to do. You have to love all the brilliant pops of blue and green this couple put together. And now I am craving Chinese food.

Killer Workout

If you are looking for a workout that will quite literally kick your ass, I've got one for you.

Sean told me about this "ladder" that his buddies make him do when they do their training (t-minus 3 weeks till they climb Mt. Washington!), and I finally tried it tonight. I decided to try the ladder and throw in some of the cardio bursts from Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred (Day 1).

If you want to try this, I recommend being in somewhat good physical shape already. I know it beat the crap out of me!

The Ladder:

Round 1
5 situps
5 crunches
3 pushups
5 squats (I use 2 lb weights and do squat presses)
5 lunges (on each side)

Round 2

10 situps

10 crunches

7 pushups

10 squat-presses

10 lunges

Round 3

15 situps

15 crunches

12 pushups

15 squat-presses

15 lunges

Round 4

10 situps

10 crunches

7 pushups

10 squat-presses

10 lunges

Round 5

5 situps

5 crunches

3 pushups

5 squat-presses

5 lunges

If you are more advanced, keeping going up to reps of 20 and then 25 and work your way back down.

Add bursts of cardio after any of the rounds for an added butt-kicking factor.

Cardio:

30 seconds of each, totaling 2 minutes.

Jumping Jacks

Butt Kicks (jog in place, kicking your feet back)

Stationary Punches (stand with feet hip width apart, squat slightly and punch alternating fists)

Jump Rope (jump rope in place - you don't need an actual jumprope to do this)

I guarantee you will be dripping sweat and ready to punch me in the face if you complete this workout. Have fun!

Why SYTYCD Is Tops

I have come to accept that my love for So You Think You Can Dance is far superior to that of American Idol. AI is fun and I always enjoy watching it, but dance does something completely different that singing just can't.

It's nearly a week old, but when I saw this piece last week, danced by Melissa and Ade, I was moved to tears, like most people who watched it. It was so beautiful, so touching, and I don't know anyone who wouldn't be moved by watching it.

Choreographed by Tyce Diorio, A Tribute to Breast Cancer...