Engagement pics, a wedding and Halloween delight!

The Man and I are extremely happy (and relieved) with our engagement pictures. I LOVE our engagement photographer. In fact, Jon and I said that if we hadn't already put down the deposit for our photographer in Hawaii, we would seriously consider having our engagement photographer travel for our wedding. He was so easy to work with, very patient with our questions and has comparable prices. It's really easy to tell that he loves his job and takes great pride in his work. Most importantly (and I believe this is just as important as taking good photos,) he provides great customer service. Didn't pressure us or rush us and helped us understand the difference between eight photographs when all of them looked the same to us! He had taken 85 pictures of us and (thanks be!) there were some photographs that we really really liked. Yes, I have fully embraced the weddingness and am glad we decided to take pictures to commemorate our engagement.
Make no mistake, though. We ended up dropping a butt load more money than we thought we would. I have no doubt that my bank is going to call me again to make sure my credit card wasn't stolen (they did this when I put down a deposit for the venues and bought my wedding sandals all in one weekend.) But we truly hope and believe that this will be our first and last marriage so we chose 1o different photos that we can treasure when we are old. Two are with the puppies.
We also attended Kim's wedding this weekend. It was beautiful. I felt like such a sap because I teared up when she came down the aisle. She had a gorgeous dress that made her looks like a princess and she was simply beautiful. Her wedding was at a vineyard in Livermore and the weather couldn't have been any better! The sun was out, we had a breathtaking view of the vineyard and a nice breeze to keep us cool. The bridesmaids wore pretty deep red gowns and all her guests looked so nice. I feel like I'm doing a review of her wedding. I don't have any pictures but I'm sure Kim will post some once she comes back from her honeymoon. I think she had the best reading I've ever heard at a wedding - "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Suess.
I'm very happy for Kim. It's hard to believe we've known each other since 1999 when we were college roommates for two years. She has always been driven. She was the editor-in-chief of our university paper and is an editor now. Kim is so smart yet humble, very funny and very sarcastic. I think she's such a talented individual and I'm really thankful we have been able to stay friends for eight years. I'm not that great at maintaining friendships (I suppose because it takes effort and I need to make that more of a priority) so I treasure our friendship. I'm so happy she has found someone that knows how great she is and can match her intelligence and wit. I think she likes being challenged :)
Last but not least, Halloween pics. Because we are "that couple" and have been "that couple" for quite some time, I will admit that we took them to a Doggie Halloween Party so we could show off their costumes. And here they are for your enjoyment (as well as mine:)

"We are in hell. Save us."

Wild Boar.

Miss Piggy!

Bumble Bee!

I'm sure that at this moment, they wished we had human children (as oppose to furry) so we wouldn't focus so much on them. Little do they know that life is really good right now and they will probably won't get nearly as much attention once the fur-less children come. Heaven help us all when that happens.

Drove to Sacramento and back ...

... and those five hours give a person a LOT of time to think.
I first thought of favorite childhood smells. (The word, smell, has a negative connotation doesn't it? Oh well.)
My dad's cologne and aftershave mixed together: what he would smell like when he would kiss me good bye before he left for work.
My mom's shampoo, perfume and alcohol (rubbing, not the drink): my mom worked - and still does - in a laboratory and that's what she would smell like when she came home. My mom was a very strong presence in my childhood and probably the person I spent the most time with in my family while growing up.
My parents were no joke. My dad willingly worked graveyard so someone would ALWAYS be home when I was home.
Strawberry Shortcake Doll: she always smelled like baked goods. Yum.
My Little Pony: I just liked the smell of the plastic. I know - odd.
Lunchbox: unlike some other kids, I didn't let my lunchbox get nasty. Mine always smelled like sandwiches, specifically Wonder Bread.
Puto (it's not a bad thing): my mom would bake these steamed rice cakes all the time when I was a little kid.
Freshly cut grass: Now that I think about it, my ghetto school probably had more crab grass than anything else but it smelled really nice when they mowed it.

Let's see, what else did I think about on my drive ...
Oh yes, it's a good thing I don't drive for long stretches on a regular basis. I drive A LOT for my job but there are lots of stops. What's the difference? I have a much bigger urge to snack when I'm driving for a long period of time. I tend to splurge on road trips. So I gave into an urge and bought an Oreo Cookie Shake at Jack in the Box.
Damn, it was good.
Yes, I regret it now but I was a happy driver for a good half hour.
OK, those are the only random thoughts I can remember from my five hour commute.

Clearly not a model

We took our engagement pictures yesterday. My sister found our photographer among four other choices (Thanks, Sister!), I narrowed it down to two and had Jon make the final decision - he feels included and I'm happy with either decision - Win/Win. We picked Santa Cruz for the location because it's always been a favorite place for us to visit and we're getting married on/near the beach so there's kind of a theme.
We wore what seems to be what every other couple in the universe wears when shooting on the beach - white collar shirts and jeans. I almost changed last minute because I'm not keen on white collar shirts but The Man really wanted us to wear the uniform ... so I did. I hate wearing crispy fabric.
We ended up having fun. The photographer was very nice and tried to make us at ease. He wanted us to be natural (ironic since we have never cuddled on wet sand nor make it a habit of being affectionate in front of a stranger but I get where he was going with it all) and The Man, a shy individual, even felt comfortable with him. Best of all, the photographer incorporated the puppies so we hope to have at least one good picture with the girls! I opted to wear my hair down which was pretty tricky considering the wind was whipping it all over the place. But I don't like how I look in photographs wearing a bun or ponytail. The one thing I was worried about is he never "fixed" us - never adjusting hair or clothing out of place so I'm really hoping that nothing was askew or funky because we will certainly have captured it.
Side note - while I was able to fit into the bridesmaid dress from six years ago, I did find out that I gained weight! Yes, I got cocky when I found out I had lost a good amount of weight at My JC meeting two weeks ago and am now paying the price. Anyway, I worried about looking chubby, especially in our seated poses. Bless the photographer for putting me in a lot of poses behind a sitting Jon and giving him a hug so I didn't have to worry about sucking in my tummy. I love those poses!!!!!
After we were done and headed home, The Man and I talked about how we hope we took nice pictures. We're a little worried because we seriously haven't ever taken a picture where we both felt like, "Hot damn, we look good!" but the photo shoot is done and it's up to the hands of our photographer. OK, I am more than a "little worried" because, whileI don't mind posing for pictures (that's all fine and good and even fun,) I get anxious thinking about what the pictures will look like. (I suppose that's why I like digital - "Oh that's a horrible picture!" DELETE. "Ahhh.") I'm not photogenic. And I'm not writing that hoping someone will argue with me and write back, "But you are!" because I know the truth. I throw away or delete all the pictures I hate and only show photos I like. Don't you? So it's a little more nerve wracking knowing you paid money for someone to take your photo and it's ugly. Oh well. At least it's one more thing crossed off of our To Do list! Hallelujah.

Quick updates then I'm out!

1. Got into a near shouting match with someone at work. Can't share the details (remember I like my job) but I was P-I-S-S-E-D. Dark alley + me + her = ass whoopin'. Ok, not really but I can visualize.

2. Taking engagement pictures this weekend (unless we're rained out this weekend) in Santa Cruz. We aren't known for taking great pictures together but maybe a professional can help :)

3. I can fit into a bridesmaid dress that, for the past year, has been too tight. This was a wedding from six years ago. I was putting clothes away in my closet and it fell off of the hanger so I thought, "What the heck?" and tried it on. I still have 10 lbs to go, I think (I didn't weigh myself at JC last week because I KNEW it was all sorts of bad.)

4. Jon has been WONDERFUL during this chaotic time for me. He cooks or gets his own dinner with minimal griping and doesn't bitch at all when I'm on the computer way late at night (as long as it's real work and not visiting blogs. Ah hmm.)

5. Just finished our wedding registry with two stores. We've been putting it off because we kind of didn't want to do it (our families are already spending so much on travel) but we were advised to do it anyway. I thought it would suck but who knew you can do it all online and not step foot into the stores? Awwwwesoooome.

6. Assembling invitations tomorrow night. I have a wonderful and talented friend who designed our invitations. Simple with a little tropical kick. Love her, love the invitations and love saving us $$!

Morbid outlook on things?

I don't know. I thought I didn't like cocky people because they were just too confident. Maybe I'm just jealous that they can be so cocky and I can't.
But they are pretty irritating.
I think a little humility or humbleness is good for the soul. Or, at least, the personality.
The problem is that I think that I could use a little something and I think it's beyond confidence.
Here's the thing, I've been doing pretty good at work for the past three weeks. I've been either #1 or #2 for recruitment of clients. And rather than feeling like, "Ah-yahhhhhhhhh" I'm more like, "Ohhhhh deeeeaaaar" because I feel like there is nowhere to go but down. That I'm going to have a big fat goose egg this week because I've tapped out all my resources.
This can't be healthy.
I remember my senior year in college. For the first time, it looked like I was going to get straight As in all my classes. Maybe it helped that I was no longer active in a sorority AND I didn't have a boyfriend (I guess they really are distracting! Who knew my parents were right.) Rather than feeling proud of myself, I actually freaked out, CRIED and called my mom because I felt like there was a greater chance to fail since the only place go was DOWN.
Thankfully I was talking to my mom over the phone rather than in person because I'm sure she was rolling her eyes and would have had to fought the urge to slap me. Because why couldn't I be effin' happy?!
Even writing this is uncomfortable for me because I know I'm tooting my own horn in order to illustrate how I may have a morbid outlook on things. At least, professionally (or academically.) There are other things I don't mind giving myself props for - having healthy relationships, a relatively clean house, good hair (if there's anything I may be vain about it's probably my hair because I really like my hair - thanks to my trusty flat iron and awesome hair stylist. OK, I take it back because now I'm getting nervous that my hair is going to fall out or break off. I suppose I think I can also get punished for being too cocky.) But everything else, I don't like to talk about UNLESS I feel like someone is attacking me and telling me I suck. Then I'm defensive.
So yah. I think that while I was doing well at work for the past few weeks, I'm going to plummet this week and be the one with the worst numbers. I can't help it.

It's like a month long period or something

I know myself enough to know that I get very emotional before my period. And I can go through all sorts of emotions in a short period of time. I can get angry (bitchy) on a dime. Or start crying when I see a Hallmark commercial. It sucks but I can usually check it. And if I can't check it, I can acknowledge when it's happenening so I don't take it too seriously. But I'm no where near my Power Week. Is it the lack of sleep? Stress? What the heck?
I damn near cried when I saw the video samples of a videographer that I was considering for our wedding. No really. These were complete strangers and the samples brought tears to my eyes because they looked SO HAPPY. And I suppose it was because I knew that they were giving really emotions because they weren't acting, they were in the moment, experiencing their wedding day.
For shit's sake, get it together, woman.
Needless to say, I booked the videographer.
I missed the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy. I had to choose between The Office and Grey's Anatomy and since Grey's was such a disappointment last season, it was an easy choice. So I decided to watch Grey's this morning on the internet. I cried a little bit. I don't even think it was that good!! But there was a scene with a man who was going through a life-or-death surgery (shocker) and his family was saying "goodbye" to him just in case he didn't make it (another shocker.) I didn't sob like when Denny died but, again, I had tears in my eyes.
I WANT TO KICK MYSELF IN THE HEAD.

Very tired. And grumpy.

I've been working 10-15 hours a day, depending upon the day. I've also been working on Sunday afternoons and evenings.
I love my job. I probably just don't sound as convincing.
I really still love my job. But I AM TIRED.
I also "volunteered" on Sunday, waking up at 3:30am ... and it is still affecting me four days later!
What is cool is that my hard work is paying off. I told my boss that the work has been taxing but as long as it's producing positive results, I don't mind as much. I was SERIOUSLY in a bad mood yesterday and was worried because I know myself enough to know that I probably shouldn't have been in public. I wasn't going to be spreadin' no sunshine.
But I ended up gaining three more clients yesterday. And it felt good!
But I'm tired. And grumpy. Poor Jon, he had to check me yesterday and asked me why I was in a bad mood and, more importantly, why was I taking it out on him?! I immediately gave him a big hug and a big apology. Oops - bad girl!
All right, that's all I got. I hope everyone is having a fantastic week and, Sister, I hope you are having a beautiful birth-week :)
PS: I have to "volunteer" again this Saturday. Thank goodness for small blessings - it's in the afternoon and for four hours only this time!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SISTER!!!!!

My sister is amazing. She is one of my best friends, a wonderful sister, lovely shopping partner, an even better knitting partner, fabulous coffee date, spectacular Matron-of-Honor, and a fantastic unofficial wedding planner. Sister is poised, charming, beautiful, silly, funny, sharp, adorable, and everything good rolled up in one. She loves all things that are pretty and has an eye to know when she can make something into pretty :) She is one of those people that can make beauty all around her. Sister almost always has a positive attitude (and she makes me laugh when she is in a stink mood) and I adore being around here because the day just seems better. I love her so much!!!!!!
Yes, she really is all that and a bag of chicharon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SISTER-GIRL!

(she hates "sister-girl":)

Seriously, who's screwing with me?

How long has my profile stated that I'm from:
Bay Area : California : Afghanistan
??????????????????????????????????????????

OK, OK, I hear you. I HEAR you.

I was hesitant to post pictures of my dress because I didn't want to hear that you didn't like it. I could pretend that I didn't care but let's be honest, I would be sad. Because I really like it. And I bought it sooo ... that's that.
Jon thinks it's pretty and I think it's comfortable. It's simple but has a little sparkle. And we all know I love some sparkle ;) The sandals will look nice with it, even though no one will see them. But I love them so it is oooo-kaaay. I also plan/hope/dream to have glamorous hair and make up.
Anyway, here it is:

Fabric : Belsoie Crepe
"Wide V-neckline accented with embroidery and beading, shirred empire waistline band, and A-line hem with a pick up train at the back. "

Isn't it a great beach wedding dress? Besides, white is so overrated. I mean, really - the jig is up. Just kidding. My dress is white but the only picture they had online was in "honeydew." Like how it gives me a butt? Bonus.
I bought the dress in my current size so it's guaranteed to fit. But I still need to work out because it's a formfitting. And I'll need to wear Spanx. Or something Spanx-like. Nothing like a unitard-bikershorts contraption with a vagina slit to make you feel sexy.

One-two combo

Needless to say, but I'm going to say it anyway, I got hit by the Crappy Week truck.
I worked 15 hours last Thursday. I woke up Friday morning with a crummy attitude.
Amazing how a "sentimental" mood can turn into "pissy" on a dime.
No, pissy isn't the right word. More like crummy.
I just wanted to hide from the world rather than go-get or charge it like I normally do.
Since it's my recruitment season, I still had to visit clients. Probably not the best time to visit clients. Or try to recruit them. (Although being in a pissy or bitchy mood would have been worse. But crummy isn't much better.)
I ended my day around 5:30pm. I poured a glass of wine, popped Stranger than Fiction into my DVD player and crawled into bed. I fell asleep around 7:00pm. The Man had a hard time understanding. I normally turn to him and ask him for a hug. But I wasn't depressed. I was feeling crummy and exhausted. If he had wanted to crawl into bed with me and hide from the world with me, I would have let him. But the couch where he sat wasn't good enough for that. I think he was a little hurt. I tried to explain it wasn't about him. But you know when you're in a crummy mood, explanations tend to be short. I gave up easily and retreated to bed. He came into the bedroom periodically to give me a kiss and make sure I hadn't imploded. He didn't have to worry, I was too tired to do that.
I am so tired. I have to work Sunday so I can get prepared for the week and tie up lose ends from Friday. I am tired. Yes, yes, yes, I still love my job but this is NOT the best part of it. Plus side? I recruited six clients this week. But I am exhausted!

PS: Please please please let my dress look good on me. I'm trying it on today. It would be a wonderful way to end a chaotic week. Oh please. (If it does not, expect a very ANGRY entry to come this afternoon.)

Oh PMS, why do you affect me so?

I've been sentimental these past few days. I actually missed The Man when I was working yesterday. WTF?? I was moved when I was writing my bulletin-thingee for MySpace that was dedicated to my #3, Cyn because it made me miss her. WTF? I couldn't watch anything that had to do with September 11th because within 30 seconds, I would have tears in my eyes (maybe that's normal.)
I think I may need to put a chick flick on and just have a wailing party. Isn't that horrible? I hate that there may actually be a NEED for me to just have a big fat cry fest. Why is that???
Dammit, I just want to bleed already and get this damn PMS over with!

Want to see my wedding sandals????

I had seen them online so I bought them. They came in today. I tried them on (along with two other pairs of sandals) and I loooooooooove these. I absolutely adore them. I sincerely hope that the dress works out because I think they will go well with potential wedding dress.

The sandals cost more than the dress. But I looooove them. Kim had said I would know when I had THE dress because I would love it. I was kind of worried because I didn't love it. The Man liked it a lot so I was sold. But I wasn't in love with the dress. Don't get me wrong, I like it a lot and am over the moon that he thought I looked beautiful in it (THAT was truly the selling point for me) but I wasn't going ga-ga over it.

But these sandals. I am ga-ga over them.
Yes, they are flip flops! But they are beautiful. And an added bonus? They don't make the "Flip flop" noise! You may not agree that they are worth the price. But I absolutely love them and my mom, a gal who loves herself a great deal, even said that I should keep them. They are just ME. MEANT for me. Especially since the reception is actually ON the beach and I'll have to walk in the sand.

I think they are perfect. *Sigh*

PS: Yes, I have a much more positive wedding planning outlook now that (1) the venues have been confirmed and (2) Sister has been alleviating a lot of the stress of finding and interviewing vendors. It's becoming more fun and less stressful. Of course, there are the shoes. They make me happy.

More wedding, work and pictures ... finally!

I should be better at posting but all my pictures are on my personal computer and I always use my work laptop. So I've been putting it off.

Wedding - my Sister has been awesome. She was worried she wasn't earning the title of bad ass MOH (OK, I add the "bad ass" and she just says "Matron of Honor") but she has been fantastic! Check it out:
- She negotiated with the photographer and I just put down the deposit. She loooooves his work and since her eye for photography is better than mine, I trust her. She was so enthusiastic that they had a rate I could work with that it was infectious and now I'm super happy too :)
- We pretty much have a videographer because the photographer has added that component to his business (unless the DVD sample they mail out to me is terrible so fingers crossed!)
- We also have the reverend that I wanted (didn't negotiate but that's OK. And Sister is the one who contact him first to make sure he was available and had a decent rate.)
- Sister has initiated contact with a musician recommended by J.A. so cross your toes for that. Oh, just cross everything and hope everything will all pan out.
- After that, she will be tackling hair and make up stylists!
Sister is even trying to help with stuff that stuff I didn't ask her to which is very sweet of her. I'm trying to figure out what I want as a head piece because I don't want a veil. I'm not sure if I want a haku (head lei) like I had for my graduation ceremony or a rhinestone head wreath (like a tiara but, well, a head wreath.)

I'm so ticked at myself. I was at my JC consultation two weeks ago (I"ll get to that in a minute) and I was flipping through O Magazine. I saw these crystal sandals that I thought were cute. "That might be cute for the wedding!" But I figured I would find something like it on the internet. My 'tarded self did not think to write down the maker or rip out the ad. Side note: No, I wouldn't have felt guilty because I pay good money for JC and yes, I feel like I am entitled to rip out an add from a magazine, if I choose. Call it wrong or right, but that's how I feel. Yet I didn't! And OF COURSE I haven't found them anywhere because I don't know the name! I bet you're thinking, "Well just go on Oprah's O Magazine website, silly." I did. But it was an AD not an article so it's not on there :( I just went on to Zappo's last night, though, and bought three sandals to see which I liked best because, just like Nordstrom, they have an outstanding return policy. Another side note: How scary is it that my credit card company just called me today about "suspicious activity" on my credit card and they're really not suspicious because they are all purchases from me! Ay-yi-yi. My poor pocket book. So hopefully one of those sandals will work out. I have a feeling I will probably fall in love with the one that costs twice as much as my dress because that's just how it works out, right?

Speaking of dress, the dress shop ordered a sample of the dress I think I want (remember, I tried on something similar by a different maker so there's no guarantee that this dress will fall on me the same way) and it should be in by next weekend. I'm so scared! I hope it looks good because the three Nordstrom dresses were HIDEOUS on me. I looked either pregnant or too busty. Ick.

One last bit of wedding news and then that's it. Wedding-ed out yet? Thanks to J.A., I FINALLY have an on site wedding coordinator! My ceremony site is the same place she had her wedding ceremony. She recommended her old on site coordinator when I told J.A. how I'm in limbo between the Sales and Catering people. I called the gal and she said that she would find my file and assign my event to her. Yippeee!! It was so frustrating not being able to move forward with room rates (because there are supposed to be special "wedding" rates for me and my guests) and not being able to discuss the details of my ceremony. Because, if you couldn't tell already, I just want to get all the planning over with as soon as possible so I don't have to think about it until April.

Jenny Craig - Not sure if it's the food or the work stress but I've lost a total of seven pounds between WW and JC and I have 11 more to get to my goal! I'm not making time to exercise so I'm really depending on the program. It's about nine months since I've been this weight (I'm not sure exactly when I got to my heaviest but I remember I finally got on the scale last April after months of avoiding it and saw that I had blown up since my last weigh in.) I'm certain that having a date to work towards also helps drive my desire to lose the weight.

Work - I thought I would want to write about it but I don't. Nothing much has changed since I last wrote. It's still stressful and I think about it a lot. I'm still working long hours and on the weekend but I love it 10x more than my old job so I suppose it's not that bad.

And finally! Here are some pictures on our day trip to Santa Cruz for The Man's 30th birthday -
I don't know why he always has to make a face. I told him that the odds were hard enough of us both looking good in one picture and that he was just making it slim-to-none with his funny faces. (I think he's still handsome in the picture but I can't tell him that because he would just get a big head:)
Aren't our kids cute? They really are our kids. I mean, we can't handle the human kind yet but Piko and Pili are prepping us. And it's sort of scary just how much we adore them. The Man just bought those sun shades that suction cup to the passenger side windows so the puppes won't get hot in the backseat. See, told you. The Man and I also talk about how our puppies make us temporarily forget about our stress from work. They really do!
I thought this was a really cute picture because, while the day was overcast, it was still humid. So Pili just collapsed right next to the water bottle. What you can't see is that she next rested her chin on the side and stuck her tongue out to drink the water. Oh, I just realized you can also see the poop bags. Ignore the poop bags.
I still think it was a beautiful day even though it was overcast. The beach, along with our puppies, help put Jon* and me in better moods. I think both are therapeutic. Yet free! :) So that's how we spent The Man's 30th birthday. I know Pookie is thinking right now, "Uh-uh! I know how Jon releases his stress - freakin' Kung Fu movies!" She's right. But the puppies and beaches are something I can actually enjoy.

All right, that's most of the stuff going on in my little ol' world right now. Hope all is good with you!!

*I'm with Kim - I can't get used to the Jun/Jon changed either! So I told Jon that it was going back to Jon and he said that it's not neccessarily wrong. Evidently his family writes Jon, Jun or John. Well damn. So it's back to Jon y'all!

Work ... wedding ... wedding ... work ...

I've been getting up at 5:30am every day. For no good reason, really. Haven't been going to the gym (I've been a bad bad girl since I sprained my ankle) or anything of the like. I just take a loooong time getting ready. I like to make coffee, watch the news, go online, prepare for work in case I forgot to do something the night before and THEN get ready. I'm out the door by 8:00am. I can't imagine having kids right now. For all the things I forget to do before I leave and then the multiple times I come back into the house because I forgot to bring something with me ... let's just say that if I brought a kid into the picture, I wouldn't leave the house 'til noon. Like I said, I get up at 5:30am for no good reason.
Tell me this - would you guys like me to STOP blogging about the wedding? I feel like it's getting old. Anyway, if it gets annoying, let me know (in a nice way, please.) But that's all I've been doing lately. If it's not working 12-14 hours, it's doing wedding stuff.
By the way, I got to give props to Sister. She has been a tremendous help in taking the recommendations I received from different sources, screening out the mediocre ones, making calls and negotiating in her sweet way. ("My sister works in non-profit, by the way. Oh yes, she's actually working right now. On Labor Day Weekend! So I'm helping her out with the planning. Did I tell you she works in non-profit?")
That just leaves me with the ceremony and reception venues. Easy right? Hell-mutha-effin-no. For pete's sake, I thought it would be easier and faster than this. I still need to receive final confirmation and information from both places and one is taking its sweet ol' time. I seriously hope that the wedding coordinator is better than the sales manager or I'm going to be sad. Or pissed. Probably both. I'm crossing my fingers for a kick ass wedding coordinator. Please cross your fingers, too.
As for work, I worked on Monday but still feel like I'm behind. I actually don't mind that much that I had to work but I do mind that I feel like I'm still behind. That part stinks. Yes, I still love my job but I will be extremely relieved when the next six weeks pass. Until then, I'm allowing myself not to have gym time (I really am prepping for work in the morning) and two cups of coffee a day. But after that, it's back to Power Yoga and just one cup a day!
So that's it. Oh, and the husband-to-be and the pups. Oh yes, the pups. We went out to Santa Cruz this past weekend to celebrate the Man's big 3-0!!!!! I will post those soon.
I hope you're all having a great week and THANK GOODNESS it's Wednesday tomorrow! :)

I know how to scare the hell out of The Man

I just get my hands wet, shake my hand a couple of times and the ring flies off.
Oops.
I'm not a size 4.5. Nor a 5. Evidently, I am an unavailable 4.75.
So we've established that I can't wear my ring in the water.
(No really, he almost shat bricks when he saw the ring come off and then yelled at me that we should have stuck to the size 4.5. OK, he didn't yell. But he wasn't pleased.)

Pooped again! But for a different reason

It is crazy busy at work now. We're visiting 10+ potential clients a day and having to do data entry and prep work for the following day. I worked about 13 hours yesterday!
And I have six more weeks of this!!!!!
To be fair, I visited 14 sites because I wanted to shorten my Friday. See, as long as we visit 40 potential customers a week, they don't care how we slice it. But I think I won't make 14 a daily habit.
Yes, I still love my job. But I am T-I-R-E-D. And I didn't do all the data entry I wanted to get done because I started making mistakes and I was getting PISSED. I told Jun that I may have to work one day this three-day weekend which happens to be his birthday weekend just so I can finish on the data entry and follow up. I think he's tired too, though, because his current job stinks so he isn't crying a river. Too bad because it would have been nice to enjoy three days of nothing. But I know I would get frustrated if I didn't devote more time to prevent my own personal chaos.
I am POOPED.

Mondays are tough days

Back to the daily grind, yah? Nooooo!!!!
This weekend was fun. Jun's best friend, Al-Dizzle, and his bomb diggity wife, Vero, visited us for the weekend. (You guys, I have been spelling The Man's nickname wrong this entire time! It sounds like "Jon" but it's spelled "Jun." Crazy ass Filipinos! Joke lang.) They are so much fun! I just laugh and laugh when they are here. And Jun (not to be confused with his non-existent alter ego, Jon) is so at ease and can really be himself around them. Vero commented how both Al-Dizzle and Jun comes off so serious when you first meet them, which is true, because they are shy. But they are actually quite funny. And dorky! :) In a good way. Plus they let us tease them! We're always giving them a hard time, pretending different scenarios that happened between them when they were going through puberty - they have known each other since they were 12 years old! Anyhow, this couple is so much fun. I have to confess, though. I was so worried that the house smelled like dogs (because that is NASTY) that I lit candles, plugged in air fresheners, toasted bread and popped popcorn before they arrived just to make sure!!! I know, I'm a dork, too.
Jun knew he wanted to ask Al-Dizzle to be his best man for our wedding. Since it's going to be a small one, we both only wanted one attendant. When he proposed, I asked him when he was going to pop Al-Dizzle the question and he said he was going to wait until they visited. But he tends to forget things so I asked him again when they were here. Jun replied, "Don't worry, I will." I figured he wanted to take Al-Dizzle aside from their crazy significant others and ask him in private.
We were eating breakfast at IHOP and Vero and I were talking about presentations and how they can be a pain in the ass. Vero said that was a big reason why Al-Dizzle doesn't want to go back to school. Jun asked, "Oh, you don't like giving presentations?" and he replied no. Jun then asked, "Well, do you want to be my best man?"
"Wow." Pause. "Do I have to give a speech?"
"Yup."
Men.
So we went home and Al-Dizzle tried on a few of Jun's different barongs to see what would fit best before we ordered it. Vero said that he was truly surprised and didn't expect to be asked to be the best man. Al-Dizzle is a great guy and I think Jun made an excellent choice.
In case you're wondering, Sister is my matron-of-honor (aka Bad Ass MOH.) And I didn't even ask her. I think I told her over the phone before I even got engaged. I believe it had been a while back and I just attended a very big wedding. I said something like, "Hey, if I ever tie the knot, I don't want any bridesmaids. I just want you to stand up for me." It wasn't even a question! Oops. But I think she knew it was a given. I hope!
Vero and Al-Dizzle, I'm so glad you were able to finally visit us. Please don't make it a one time deal! We hope to see you a little more. Xoxo!

I tend to look a gift horse in the mouth

What does that mean?! I mean, I think I know what it means which is why I used it but after I typed it I thought, "Who the hell came up with that when all they really meant was, "I don't just appreciate when good things happen, I want to know why it happened!"" Anyway, completely off the point but I just had to express my opinion.

Husband-to-be's best friend and PookiePie came to visit this weekend. Whooppeeee! They even came along to an appointment I made at a bridal boutique - just because. So did The Man (I know, an unconventional thing to do but I want be to pretty not just for me but for him, too. And when he just couldn't express what he had in mind when I asked what he would want me to wear on our big day, I thought I'd just bring his butt along!)
I never knew how ugly and bulky wedding dresses looked on a hanger until we went to this boutique. I cringed at the dresses the consultant was giving me. They looked like 80s prom dresses! Thank goodness that these type of dresses are just the ones that are ugly as sin on the rack but a whole lot different when put on. I think the tulle, satin and/or sequins (or sparkly crap) smacked of 80s to me so that's why I hesitated. "But I thought she liked sparkles?" I do. But if it looks beadazzled, I'm not a fan.
I tried on about 10 dresses and the very first one I put on is the one that Jon and Vero really liked (Vero's honey was a non voter.) We narrowed it down to two dresses and, still, they liked the very first one I put on but they liked the second one's material. Well what-do-you-know! The favorite could come in that material, too!
In less than an hour, I had my wedding dress. I'm still going to try on the three I ordered from Nordstrom (they have a great return policy so I ordered the top three to try them on and then decide) but it looks like Jon really liked the one we saw at the bridal shop. It will most likely be that one.
It just seemed too easy. I started to have doubts at the end of the day, wondering if I picked something to just get it over with. But Pookie said if I liked it, Jon liked it, and a third party (her) liked it, it's probably it.
So yah, I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth b/c it just felt too easy.
And no, I'm not posting a picture. I guess because I think it's a whole lot prettier on and not much to look at in a picture. And I don't want to be talked out of it!!!

So much to do, such little time

No, not THAT. Just everything that needs to be taken care of before the weekend. But guess what I get to look forward to this weekend?
PARTYING WITH THE POOKSTER!
Ahhhhh-yahhhhh.
It's like Christmas day for me and The Man. His best friend and wifey have never visited us before but they're a-comin' this weekend! We are going to celebrate Pookie and Jon's birthday by doing I-don't-know-what but I'm sure it will be fun. I even cleaned this past weekend (well, I put off cleaning an extra week because I didn't want to clean twice.) But there's still so much to do-
1. Go to the laundrymat to wash the comforter
2. Take Pili to the vet (her ear is icky)
3. Grocery shopping - although I doubt we'll be cooking so maybe I can skip that
4. work work work!!!!!!!
Jon is cleaning the kitchen so that's not on my list. Hehehe
Work is still great but it's about to get super busy. It requires me to do some prep work the day before every work day. I'm sure that it's not a big deal but it's a change in schedule. Maybe it's a blessing. I could really use a break from the wedding stuff. I also realize that I have to be better at follow up when it comes to work. I think I'm pretty good at it but when the volume increases, it's hard for me to keep up and keep it straight. Anyway, back to Pookie and her hubby.
Oh yes, I told her that Jon was looking forward to barbequing for her Hubby. We even talked about buying his birthday present early. (It's a grill. You are shocked.) But he's been working 12 hour days and I've been working really early days and that just makes for two lazy people when we get home. So we haven't bought the grill yet. I'm secretly (well, not anymore) glad because I hate washing his BBQ equipment and the dishes caked with BBQ crap. He said we can go out instead. Hurray!!!!
So I'm scrambling around trying to get stuff done before the weekend. But none of it really irritates me. Well, other than the fact that I've been having sleepless nights.
I love me some sleep. I miss it so much. This 5 hours of sleep deal is kicking my ass.
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Sweet Jeebus. I had to get up at 4:00am today to take my parents to the airport. Thanks, Sister. I'm kidding. It's not her fault. If my parents save $60 by taking a butt-crack-early-in-the-morning flight, by golly, their baby can certainly take them to the airport .
But I can't go back to sleep because I have a 9:00am meeting in San Francisco. Ai-yai-yai.
Oh and I have to add one more thing about the Pookie-Mama. I adore her because we BOTH were relieved after we met each other. Seriously, how much does it suck when you hate your boyfriend's/husband's best friend and/or his wife? Her hubby is a peach - he's very nice, you can tell he loves and respects his wife, he's attentive to his family, and quiet (like his best friend) which makes his humor that much more funny when he starts cracking jokes. Pookie likes to tease both of the guys, just like me, and is just a funny gal! And she even tried to rig her bouquet toss so I would get it. She knew me for two days, bless her heart! But I have an unreasonable fear of the bouquet toss so I stepped out of the way. That's beside the point.
They are our favorite couple to hang out with (not including family or couples that we haven't hung out with yet so I don't want any nasty comments!!!!) which is really sad because they have a ton of couples they hang out with in their hometown. And here we are, when The Man and I are feeling social, pining away for a couple that is nearly three hours away. But they are so much fun!
OK, I'm done. And now you know why I'm super happy they're coming, even when I'm pooped from no sleep :)
Oh, and ...
Happy Birthday, Pookie-baby! You saucy thing, you! ;)