some photos of the weekend

Some random shots from the bachelorette party and the wedding...will post more pictures later!

Woah - it's all done and over!

Wow - all that wedding planning and insanity...for 8 months...is now done and overwith. All I can say is that this past weekend was one of the most fun I've had in a long time...it may go down in history as one of the best times ever!

I headed down to Binghamton Wednesday afternoon so I could meet up with the girls for Nikki's bachelorette party. The limo was scheduled to pick us up at 5:30. I made it to Nikki's at 5:15. Just in time. We proceeded to drink 4 bottles of champaigne, along with beer on the ride up to Syracuse for Dinosaur BBQ. We ended up waiting 1.5 hours to get a table, after the dumb hostess girl decided to make faces at us, we spoke to the manager and was promptly seated. We didn't have any extra time to go out to the bars like we had planned since it took so long at dinner, but we still made the best of it. We drank more on the way back to Binghamton and stopped at a local bar to pee. The live "band" (one guy and his guitar) wanted to sing to the bride-to-be, so we dragged Nikki in there and she got serenaded to. We all passed out by 1am. One of the girl's husbands was kind enough to cook us all breakfast Thursday morning. It was awesome.

Thursday, after being up at 6:30am (thanks Nikki!) we just moped around the house for a few hours, stopped at the jewelry store, smoked, watched TV, played guitar hero, then around 7pm headed over to Nikki's mom's house to help with all the cookies and favors.

We went back to Nikki's house and hung out for the rest of the night. We were all passed out by 12:00am.

Friday morning came around and it was time to get manicures and pedicures. We met up with some of the girls at Wal-Mart (cheap salon!) and got our nails done. I've never had a pedicure, and it was awesome! My feet look pretty! So right after Wal-Mart, it was time to get back to Nikki's house to get ready for the rehearsal dinner. We walked through the rehearsal a few times before dinner, and it was much easier than I thought. The food was awesome, we had an open bar...good times definitely had by all. After the dinner, some people wanted to go out, but the smart, rational people decided that it'd be better to just hang out for the night and be well rested for the wedding the next day. The girls drove to the bus station to pick up one more girl, but then we found out that there was a terrible delay in NYC, a fire in Lincoln tunnel, traffic jams everywhere, so we ended up going back to Nikki's to wait for the phone call. It finally came around 11:30pm, so the girls went to pick up Leticia and I waited back at the house. After she got picked up, the girls went over to Nikki's parents to sleep and the boys stayed at Tom's house. Nerves were going crazy, even I was shaking a little!

The next morning (wedding day!) the girls got up early and headed to the salon to get our hair and makeup done. Nikki was a ball of nerves and I started the crying. I have to admit, I didn't think I'd cry as much as I did, but when I told Nikki that I thanked Tom for bringing her into my life, we both started sobbing. Even though I've only known her for maybe 3 years....she's one of my best friends. So we stopped the crying and got down to business with our hair. Nikki wanted all of us bridesmaids to wear our hair up, while Chelsea, her sister and maid of honor would have her hair down. By the time all of our hair was done, we quickly headed over to Nikki's mom's house while Nikki stayed behind to get her hair finalized. We got each other dressed rather quickly and wait for Nikki and her mom to get back. Wow, I must admit, we were all stunning! Nikki of course looked angelic - it took MY breath away!

It all happened so fast, by the time Nikki got her dress on, the photographer was here! We took a bunch of pictures, about an hour's worth and headed over to the golf course! It was insane.

When I saw the boys for the first time all dressed in their tuxes, it was so cute! I loved every second of it! I got to walk with Nick and Steve and it was fantastic! I can't wait til the pictures are developed. I'll be sure to post some when I get them!

We got there and waited for our turn to walk. Everything happened so smoothly, everyone had a great time...

What a great memory to have.

RANT!

So, as you (who've been reading up on me) know, the last couple of months have been out of control busy....engagement parties, bridal showers, babies birthday parties...almost every weekend has been nuts for me. On top of all of that, I've had Hudson's OB classes take up time too.

Work has also been absolutely insane and I can't keep up. I've cried at work I don't know how many times in the last two months....I can barely keep it together. I'm starting to get very frustrated, tired, worn out, burnt out and all those other things that come with a stressful job.

I leave tomorrow at 2pm to head to Binghamton. I REFUSE to leave later than 2pm - I've worked so hard here, that I feel entitled NOT to miss my friend's bachelorette party. I'll do what I can in the time I have allotted, but I'm turning off the computer at 2pm sharp.

So work, those of you who know me, know that I work at the headquarter office here in Rochester. We have an office in Minnesota that currently has 3 people. They are working on building that office up as well. My boss and account team member are both in Minnesota - to tend to our high maintenance clients who are out there. My problem is this: it seems as though I'm the ONLY one on the account, as EVERY department calls ONLY me and asks questions to ME ONLY, not including my counterparts. Why you ask? I DON'T FUCKING KNOW. Sometimes, but I don't always have the answer (shocking I know!) I don't always know what to say. So sometimes, I need help. Sometimes, I need others to jump in and save me before I jump out a window. I know this job is stressful and demanding, but c'mon, let's be real. One person can only handle so much.

So not only am I stressed beyond belief at work, but I am also like this at home. Life is pretty rough these days.

So tonight, after I leave work and take a breath - I have to:
- stop and get gas
- stop and get money
- pack my clothes
- pack the dogs' stuff
- finish the card box

So after all of this, I hope I can sit on the couch and smoke a huge bong.

Nikki's last weekend as a single girl

So Nikki came up for a visit while the boys were partying it up in NYC. She got to my house around 3pm on Saturday, just in time for us to go pick up my bridesmaid dress from the alteration lady's house.

We didn't make any real plans, we just wanted to hang out together, bitch and moan about our lives and people in general....it was a great time! Even though we didn't DO much, just having her around was awesome. We went and got the dress Saturday afternoon, then just went back to the house, ordered some yummy food from Mark's, then just hung out! We watched TV, smoked some serious bud, and we both fell asleep around 12:30am! We're such old people!

Then on Sunday, we went to the mall and found some really cute clothes for the rehearsal dinner and whatever, grabbed lunch, ran into Jami and Charli at the mall....and went back to the house. I sent her home with the T-shirts and bachelorette invites, but I haven't yet finished the card box - the last thing I need is red fabric, so that's on my list for tonight after work.

The boys made it home around 5:30 or so (I was sound asleep on the couch) so I barely noticed...thankfully they made it home without any troubles.

Phew - I just have to get through Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday AM before I can head down for the wedding! So much to do in so little time!

Peace!

Bachelor party

So this weekend is the bachelor party. Exactly one week before the wedding. The guys have planned to go to NYC and Atlantic City. This morning one friend was dropped off at 7:30 (because Steve didn't want to go pick him up) and they were getting ready. A few more guys are meeting up at our house arond 8:30 or 9am and they are planning on being on the road by 10am. I'm really excited for them a friend from out of town is coming in and it'll really be a fun reunion for everyone. Dan, Nick, Steve, Alex, Scuba, Kyle and Tom are all going to party like rockstars this weekend.

I'm not too sure what the game plan is, we (Nikki and I) have left it all up to them, so we really don't know much about what's going on. I know that Saturday night, the boys have planned a Lincoln Navigator limo for Tom (Shhh....he doesn't know!) that will take them to dinner, 5 bars, and the package includes dinner, drinks (except shots), and the ride around NYC. That sounds like a blast! They are all going to have so much fun!

I'm super excited that Nikki will be coming into town to hang out with me while the boys are away. It'll give us time to catch up, it'll give her time to relax before her wedding....no plans really, just hanging out, going to the mall to find a dress for the rehearsal dinner, maybe grabbing dinner somewhere, then of course we have to order Mark's pizza!

So tonight after work I'll be busy. I have to go to wegmans to get random stuff, drinks, snacks, you know....then I have to clean the damn house before she gets here! There is dog hair almost everywhere, I want to do some laundry too, so my Friday night will be a busy one!

And next week is the wedding.....wow....

Hmmm....what does this mean?

So on Monday, I had to work and Steve had off. I invited him to stop down during lunch time and I can finally take him to the pizza place down the street that has the most amazing NY style pizza....I mean I could eat this stuff daily. Alex met us down here too, so it was nice to enjoy lunch on a beautiful day with Steve and friend.

Before Steve got down here, he called about something and casually slid in "oh by the way, I stopped at my uncle's jewelry store and also Mann's Jeweler's - I think I can get a better deal at Mann's." I'm silent. I prefer not to talk when this subject comes up as it can be a not-so-fun conversation. He goes on to say "please write down all the details you want me to remember so I know to get the right thing." Again, I say nothing....a few minutes goes by and I say "how about you do your own research and figure it out on your own!?" so that ended that conversation.

Then, my friend Nikki sent me an email with "I have nothing to say on the subject" so that, to me, sounds totally fishy. Not that I want to know anything....but man...the suspense is KILLING ME! I'm so excited for her to come visit this weekend while the boys are in Atlantic City for Tom's bachelor party...we'll be able to have some real girl time that we haven't had in forever!!!

Ok, really, it's time to get back to work!

My box and the weekend

Phew! I got the box *almost* done!

Let's start from the beginning of my weekend. Steve works 3 out of 4 Saturdays a month. So that means I only get him one Saturday a month - which kind of stinks because I was used to him working Mon-Fri 8am-5pm. We were able to enjoy our weekends together running errands, taking the dogs to the park, random stuff. Now that he works on Saturdays, I have to cram all my Steve time into Friday night and Sunday. This past weekend I was all excited to have him to myself - until he told me that he had serious plans all day Saturday to move all of Grandpa's tools to our house. I was a little disappointed, but he could only do it that day because his one friend with the huge trailer was only available that day. So in the morning we took Hudson to class (don't ask - he was OK, but got aggressive with another dog), we swung by the house, picked up Shelby and headed to the vets. She needed all her shots, Hudson's ear was itching...you know...same BS...that costed us over $200! So right after that, we had a car appointment at Dick Ide so I could get a new key made for my truck. The original that came with the truck was all bent and looked like it was about to fall apart. The service people needed an entire HOUR to program a key! WTF? And it took LONGER than that! Anyway, Steve and I decided to grab lunch while the car was there, we took the dogs and walked down to Popeye's. We sat on the curb and ate our chicken while the dogs were tied up to a tree...it was nice. The weather was gorgeous, so it was kind of like a picnic.

After lunch we went back to Dick Ide and got the truck - Steve was a little antsy since he told his friend to meet us at our house at 12:30 - it was already 12:40 when we left the dealership. So we make it back and I settle in to enjoy my entire Saturday alone. Right before he leaves, Steve asked if I'd like to tag along - help move stuff etc. Of course I said OK, I'll help out for a couple of hours. Being Steve, this "couple of hours" turned into 7 hours. That's right. 7. He forgot this, he forgot that. He didn't bring directions, he wrote down the wrong directions, we drove out to bumblefuck to deliver grandpa's old car to one of Steve's co-workers, it was a mess.

We got home around 7:30 and I passed out until 9:30.

Sunday was Mother's Day. Steve and I got up and headed out the door around 10:30 to pick up the Edible Arrangements I got for his mom and my mom. We went to my mom's for lunch, ate some really good food and stayed for a couple of hours. Then we headed over to Steve's mom's house and stayed there for about an hour.

We got home and started on the card box. I wish I had pictures of it to post! It was easier than I thought, but took longer than I thought. It was good because it let Steve use some of grandpa's tools that we just brough home. We finished it in about 2 hours, maybe 2.5 hours. But it came together nicely and we didn't run into any problems whatsoever. Steve really liked it, maybe I'll make one for us when we get married....if we get married.

Anyways, I'll post pictures when I take some!

We made it through another busy weekend!

So as I mentioned in previous posts - this Spring is absolutely insane for Steve and I. This past Friday was Grandpa's funeral - which was awful. As soon as we arrived at Grandpa's house, the tears were flowing. We made it over to the church which was fine, but since I'm not Catholic and Steve's family is not religious, it was a lot of sitting and standing and sitting again. Right after the church service, we headed over to the cemetary where Grandpa and Grandma's headstone was. It was raining, as appropriate for the kind of day it was.

The military was there for the formal burial of vets and as soon as the trumpet started, everyone there lost it. Sobbing, bawling...it was horrible. The flag folding was beautiful as well...and Grandpa would have loved it. It was especially hard to see Uncle Joey accept the flag. *sigh*

After the cemetary, we all headed over to the school for a reception. Food was good, lots of people who fondly rememebered Grandpa Teenie (as he was mostly known as). It was good to see all of Grandpa's friends, it was good to hear their stories. A few people (I had NO clue who these little old ladies were) kept coming up to me and saying to one another "this is Teenie's grandson's wife" - a little awkward since they were clearly talking to each other and not to me. I corrected them and told them that Grandpa Teenie was waiting for us to get married...but that we were not....yet.

Steve and I kept it low key for the rest of the day/evening.

Saturday didn't start out that great either. I was up most of the night with Hudson, who kept whining all night. I thought he had to go outside to pee....so every time I got up to check on him, he'd be standing over Shelby, whining, so I knew he didn't have to pee, but he just wanted to sleep in her bed. She was sound asleep and Hudson desperately wanted to sleep in the bed that Shelby was sleeping in. You see, this is a bed we got for Shelby before Hudson joined our family. We spent way too much money on this micro-fiber ultra thick doggy bed. So after that, I bought two new beds, one for each, but since it's not like the other good bed, neither of them want to sleep on those. Of course. So until about 2am, I was trying to get Hudson to lay on his own bed. Finally, he fell asleep in OUR bed, between Steve and myself. Fine. Whatever, as long as you're freaking sleeping. I got a solid 4 hours of sleep when I wake up at 6am due to a handful of dog throw up. That's right, I hear licking at 6am and go to tap Hudson on the nose and scooped up a handful of dog puke. FUCKING GREAT - DOG PUKE IN OUR BED. So I throw the laundry downstairs, clean up the puke and try to go back to bed. Mind you, I have to be up at 7:30am so Hudson and I can get ready for class.

It's a hectic morning to say the least, but Hud and I made it to class on time. I put the prong on his this time since last time I barely had control. He was an angel most of the time during class! He kept looking at me intently, ignoring all the barking dogs and such....definitely an improvement since last class! I'm really going to try really hard this week to keep up with the training at home. It's been tough lately, being so busy and all, but really, I have to buck up! I spent $100 on this class!

So then after OB class, I dropped of Hudson at home, quickly grabbed my dress and headed over to the dress alteration lady's house. There I stripped and she measured and I was done and out of there in 30 minutes. Phew. At least that was easy! I then headed over to Target to grab a card and a gift for my friend who's engagement party was that afternoon. I got home around 1:25pm, popped 5 pizza rolls in my mouth for lunch, then headed right to Gretchen's house so we could be at the party by 2pm.

That party ended around 4:30, so I dropped G off at her house, and headed home. Finally. I called Steve to tell him I was on my way. Hudson puked again in his crate. Lucky for me, Steve was finally the one home to deal with it. I finally was able to sit on the couch and relax a little before heading back out for Rich's birthday party. I was not up for a late night, so we drove separate and I got home Saturday night around 11:30pm. I woke up again only to find I was sleeping in warm liquid. Hudson puked AGAIN. (Damn you Steve for bringing home those awful cow hooves!!!!) so I'm up again around 12:30 doing more laundry.

Then on Sunday, was Charli's 2nd birthday party. She's so damn cute I can barely take it. I can't believe she's TWO. I seriously remember going over there when she was like 3 months old....she's so big now and talking and everything. That was fun. We made it home around 3:30 and then we both fell asleep until 7pm!!! But let me tell you, I needed that nap! I still was able to fall asleep at my normal bed time, around 11pm....even with a 3 hour nap!

Thank god we don't have plans for this weekend.

Mom's home!

Every winter my mom heads off to Thailand, or China, somewhere overseas. She usually goes for about 4-6 weeks to get away from winter. This time though, she decided to stay for 10 weeks. 10 weeks is way too long for me to go without my mom! My dad took 3 weeks vacation and met her in China so they could take a tour together....but man...it's way too long for them to be gone.

She brought back lots of goodies as always, she got me a new LV purse for summer, the entire family (minus my sister) got new Northface jackets, (except for dad - he wanted a Columbia one) so aren't we so cute with our matching jackets! She also got me a Prada shoulder bag, a hair putter-upper and two pairs of sandals. We love when mom brings home gifts.

Anyways, we were able to catch up some yesterday, Steve and I went over there for dinner...since Steve was going to be a bit late, we had time to chat. Of course, being a mom (MY mom especially) her first question was "do you have a ring!?" - no. I don't. Let's not talk about that right now.

But, things are good, now that Mom is home...we missed her home cooking for sure....so we loaded up with enough to last a couple more meals.