Summer Hours

Everyone's been noticing a dearth of blogging this summer, and I'm no exception. I'm trying to keep up on everyone's lives and leaving comments so you know I'm around, but life has been extremely hectic this summer. Nearly every weekend is booked up for the rest of the summer; it's kind of overwhelming. Some nights there are three or four things happening. I don't want to miss any of it; yet sometimes I feel myself missing some free time, some me time, some putter-around-the-house time. I'm trying to combat it by being organized--lists, calendars, planning ahead (gasp! not that!)

Unfortunately, blogging falls off the list when we finally tumble home. We've both been working a lot and then there are the social funnesses to attend to. But we have no intention of leaving you. Or our laundry. (Which, incidentally, sadly, may be worse off than this blog.) So, with everything swirling around, this blog has been on a bit of summer hours.

This weekend was near-perfect, though. Friday night was the celebration of a very dear friend's impending BABIES. That's right, two'ems, two girls! In the merriment of finding out, she hosted a cookout and we had a good time, eating crispy-skinned brats with sweet relish and pasta salads...all the good things cookouts entail. To cap off the night, we sat around the bonfire, laughing and trading stories.

Saturday proved to be a planning day, errands, organization, cleaning. Then, my bathroom was converted into Salon Kat as I dyed Cindy's hair. It turned out really well. I can at least indulge my inner beauty geek sometimes!

Saturday night led to seeing The Hangover. I'm always leery when people tell me something is SOOOOO funny. . . but this lived up to its expectations. Lots of people laughing in the theater is always fun, too. Then we headed to fireworks for a local city celebration (tuned to, funny enough, God Bless America, Thriller, and Sweet Caroline) and carnie-watching. Finally, drinks at a nearby watering hole. Bomb pop shots and pizza... and two mischevious girls manning the juke box. There was lots of dancing by two of us, and lots more laughing.

Sunday dawned beautiful (at least...the morning was pretty when I finally opened my eyes around 10:30, ahem), so we headed out to the Farmers' Market, one of my favorite, favorite, favorite activities. I just absolutely love wandering around, smelling all the smells, taste-testing local farmers' wares, and coming home with far too much fresh produce and an armload of flowers. Since we were latecomers to the party, flowers were steeply on sale...I got tons of lemon-yellow dragonsnaps, blue salvia, purple gladiolus, and broad-faced sunflowers for like $10. William and Molly waited for me at the kitty-corner coffee shop while I bought veggies to my heart's delight. It was so beautiful outside that we sat and enjoyed the sun at the coffee shop a little longer. Molly loved ice cubes from our frosty Thai coffees, and we met lots of interesting dog-parents and artisans, and watched throngs of people ant-marching to the Cirque du Soleil show that afternoon. (Mom, we must have missed you!)

After our slow stroll home, we ran some more errands (soon some photos of a new furniture project we're embarking upon), then friends called with good news: they were only a couple of miles away, with their month-old baby in hand--and they wanted to stop and visit. Oh baby! We were excited they were feeling up to going out and about and hanging out with us and, truth be told, I wanted to hold the baby. :) They ended up staying for dinner, and I made BBQ ribs, baby bok choy with ginger and garlic, cornbread with honey butter, and caprese salad. YUM. Then we watched the Twins game on the teevee, and called it a night.

Belly laughing with friends, eating good food, good conversation and happiness with William, sitting in the sun, holding a new baby. It's one of the best weekends I've had in a while. Sometimes, summer is just so good.

Photos and more fun to come.

Because I am tired and wishing for another weekend and have been working so I am not too interesting

Here's a quick list of what I've been up to:
Working late
Working some more
Trying to keep up with staying neat and tidy
Tackling my year-long to-do list
feeling like I'm on the verge of a cold
Dying my hair red (photos to come)
Hoping Molly's cousin, Maggie, pulls through her weird, unexplainable episodes
Watching Milk with my husband Friday night at the theater, then the documentary about him on Hulu today
Cheering on the Gophers' hockey team at Mariucci with Wm, Fatty, and Cindy--we got to chant a lot! They won!
Had dinner at Big 10, thanks to Fatty, revisiting my college days.
Sleeping later today
Taking a nap
Dance class
Grocery shopping (mmmm, more Molokai coffee, people I am ADDICTED, it is so good)

It's a lot of daily grind, but this week had some fun little activities this week. Feeling like I need a couple more days to myself to get life straightened out. I'm tired.

Whirlwind weeks like that just don't allow for much time to be blogging, and I miss it. Hopefully things get calmer soon.

Bullitt

*It's been a very busy week. It will be busy into the weekend.
*I hope I get some sleep and relaxation soon.
*We had a meeting of the moms for the wedding. It went well, despite my bad directions. (Sorry again Mom.)
*Dessert and good conversation goes a long way for mental well-being.
*Babies are great.
*I'm glad I don't have one right now.
*We are getting married in less than 90 days. Say what-what?
*I hate money.
*Also, cramps suck.
*William and I both had terrible. horrible, no-good, very bad days this week.
*Please, please let it stop snowing.
*The sun is sort of out when I get out of the shower int he morning now. And sometimes the sun is still out for a few seconds when I leave work. I count every second as important.
*There are a lot of details to be wrapping up. I hope to be blogging regularly, but As you can already see, it's been spotty.
*Looking at photos of Hawaii makes me happy.
*Molly's sweet darling personality melts my heart afer a long day, her little stumpy tail and butt wagging.
*I feel really lucky that the person I am marrying is someone that I can argue with and in the same sentence laugh. I can cry and make jokes. We can stay up late into the night talking. That security is such an amazing feeling. I am so lucky.

three wild and crazy mutts

i am currently the stand-in mother for three wild and crazy mutts. they are attention hogs, food hogs, joy hogs, bed hogs. in general, they live the most hedonistic lifestyle of any dogs i know. and one's still a pup, so he's extra wild. come to think of it, he really does kind of remind me of a young steve martin...shaking his head, jumping all over, flirty, and brown-eyed. the second night we were here, we didn't sleep a wink with his antics, but things have calmed down now, which is good. so needless to say, i've had my hands full, and have not had time for blogging.
my ring is in at the jeweler! i am having my engagement diamond re-set, and got my wedding band. now we just have to work on william's, and we need to get GOING on that.
invites are ordered. i may have said that already.
it's freaking freezing again. again. i can't take it anymore!
a pretty famous beauty guy here in town called me pretty today. yay! that's always nice to hear. and he likes my nose, which i hate.
also, i like the buena vista social club cd.
as you can see, i have been rather boring lately despite really feeling overloaded. and i haven't been doing any good writing/blogging for y'all which might account for my sad comments sections.
sorry. i will try to be back with something better later.
96 days to go.....

monday, monday

yesterday, we ordered invitations (and paid for them, boo hoo). but they will be done! the act has been put in motion! one more huge thing crossed off the list! one step closer! approximately 567842567 more things to go! 99 days to go! shall i make up a bridal song, 99 days til the aisle we have, 99 days til aisle, .... ok, this is not working as i planned. mostly it makes me feel slightly akin to jessie spano. . . "There's never any time!" and i can really now see how it consumes people as they plan. because everything takes FOREVER.
hey, if anyone has ideas for dance music for the reception , please contribute in the comments section. i have a special request page on my wedding website, but not too many people have chimed in. i have lots of ideas, but i just want to keep people dancing.... let me know what was a hit for you or what has been a hit when you've gone to wedding dances.
also, william and i boxed each other on the wii (I am housesitting for my sister right now, we do not have a wii) and my right arm still hurts! it's been like two days! good lord. if that isn't the height of exercise shame, i don't know what is. however, i bowled a better game on the wii than i ever have in real life. nice. i managed to get through a few songs on guitar hero too.
also i have cleaned kennels and bathed dogs and gotten very little sleep. i had today off work, which was awesome, and i got to have lunch with a friend who i haven't seen in a while, also with her lovely, lovely little munchkin child who i wanted to keep for myself just thismuch. not that i don't already have enough on my plate, what with four dogs, one of whom is a lab puppy. you hate to quash their enthusiasm, but when it's 3:30 in the god-forsaken morning....it's time to sleep, buckaroo. also i am covered in dog hair.
and that has been my day. now i will lounge on the couch.

theoretical to practical: three months to go

hello internetty friends. sorry i have been MIA this week. there has been something going on practically every night. but now it's sunday, and all i REALLY have to do today is go meet with our invitation lady to have our invites done.
i'm staying at my sister and brother-in-law's house this week since they are in costa rica. my sleep schedule is all screwy. i took them to the airport at 4 am yesterday, and their three dogs are ready to eat at 6:30 am and be let out....going back to sleep is kinda hard. yawwwnn....ok, i'm kinda tired again.
valentine's day was such a comedy of errors. william intended to bring me flowers and lunch, but he forgot his wallet and then got a flat tire, so that was a no-go. we did however get some thai takeout and open presents. i got him ugg boots; he got me this dress and another dress i can't find online. also from j. crew, and it's strapless, and you can wear it at two lengths or as a skirt. he also got me a darling orange-and-white zebra print umbrella. unfortunately, the wrap dress looked all wrong on me. so i ended up trading it in for this skirt and a blue-and-white striped t-shirt. i still have some money left to spend too. :) sorry about lack of pictures, i'm too lazy today.
thanks, babe! great ideas!
otherwise, it's been a flurry of appointments and run-here run-there. talked to a college class about getting a job in journalism. present buying. catching up. it's a good thing i have monday off. and tuesday i'm working from home. sweet.
right now i'm reading stiff: the curious lives of human cadavers, and it's fascinating stuff, although a little dark. she infuses it with enough humor to make it through. i should have probably skipped the section about crashing airplanes, but oh well. that's what xanax is for.
today is EXACTLY 100 days to go until the wedding ceremony. 100 DAYS. 100 days! wowww. it's getting so close. i'm starting to get a little nervous about getting everything done and on time and the actual idea of it is starting to become very, very real. it's weird because i have had nearly a year and a half to prepare for it, but it hasn't really hit me until now. it's gone from theoretical to practical. i'm going to be a bride in three months. three months.
three months.

monkey business

i want a chimp. i really do. i'm watching this animal planet show. and i want a chimp. i should not be allowed to watch animal planet. i cry almost every time. how can people do this to animals? i will never understand. if there's one thing that really, really gets my blood boiling, it's the mistreatment of animals. i mean... i know there are a lot of other things, a lto of things for humans, too. but there is something about a furry face...and their ultimate helplessness against crappy humans...i just want to rescue them all.
maybe i have mentioned this here before, but have you seen the commercial where sarah mclachlan's asking you to adopt a pet through the aspca? and after showing photos of one-eyed dogs and three legged cats or whatever...she's like "will you be an angel..." and before she can even ask the question fully, i jump off the couch every time, teary eyed, and yell "yes!"
ay.
william is turning into a softie for furries, too. he told me that yesterday while out shopping for my v-day present, he stopped by the humane society... what?? we are technically not allowed to have another pet.... but it's funny to me that he felt the pull!
maybe he got me a chimp.

also. we got stuck in a super scary whiteout this weekend. we were supposed to go to see william's family in sioux falls, but two hours into our drive, we had to turn around and come back. in the same craptacular weather that we went in. it was so bad. i really thought something bad might happen. in parts we couldn't see beyond the hood of our car. no lie. it made for a long, stressful day, ending in headaches. but at least we got home. so since i didn't die, i might need a chimp. it might be my calling.

tee gee eye eff

ok, so:
i have less than four months to get everything done for the wedding. that's nothing to freak out about, right?
also, bill clinton did a q & a in body+soul mag. do you know how much i love the clintons? for all their goodness and all their foibles? as a pop culture matter as much as politicians? well,i do. i think obama's great and all, but there is just something...i think i feel about the clintons the way some non-creepy people feel about the royal family...there's just something kinda captivating about them.
gonna be cold and crappy this weekend...oh wait, that's not news!
also, a couple of busy weeks coming up. can y'all just think some "you can do it!" thoughts for me?
also, i love thai food, old photos, my flufferton molly, william, my ugg slippers, sleep, and a good book.
can you tell i'm trying to focus on the positive? like, really hard?
it's friday!

quick one

yays:
1. i don't know what it is about grilled cheese and tomato soup, but it always hits the spot. i like to eat it with spicy pickles and tomatoes.
2. i hate waking up to the perfect temperature bed. i mean, i love the perfectly-perfect feel of it, but i hate having to get out of it.
3. to wannabe: yes, molly has been doing the butt-scoot. it cracks me up every time, even though i know i'm supposed to not allow her to do it.
4. i have to say that subscribing to daily puppy's daily updates does make me smile, every time.
5. i love getting new magazines in the mail. i just got a sub to body + soul, and i'm loving it.
6. i made orange and lemon bars from the latest rachel ray magazine and they turned out, despite my craptacular hand mixer that only goes at one speed: bat out of hell. there was a flour floof-cloud.
7. dog show!
8. today, i took three separate times to take a deep breath. it worked!

boos:
chapped lips
templates in word
the feeling that time is flying
wanting to be prepared on many fronts
lots of details
...but really... there were more yays than boos!

all the small things

Hm, let's see.
There are a lot of changes afoot that I kinda choose not to talk about here. And that's kinda consuming at the moment. I don't mean to be coy or keep anything from y'all. Just, a better idea not to.
I'm feeling better, thanks for the well wishes. I haven't checked out the hive register but it was fading as of this morning. if I think about it, I let it drive me nuts.
Molly, however, got into the trash big time last night while we were off caucusing. Normally she doesn't do stuff like this, so that sucked to come home to coffee grounds and various and sundry other things we'd consumed over the week. The really bad part was that I could tell she ate a LOT. So there was a lot of puking that happened. Poor thing, she kept walking around with her ears down, and breathing loudly (nearly whining), and shifting around on the floor uncomfortably. I felt so bad for her! I kept telling William we should do something, but there was nothing to really be done but let it run its course. She did puke and have an accident today with my parents, but luckily they weren't toooo mad (Thanks, dad!). It helps that she looks like a walking teddy bear. And she got groomed this weekend and looks especially adorable (I can't bring myself to take the bows out of her ears). Tonight she was snuggled up with her bunny toy on the couch, using her sad cocker eyes to her full advantage.
We are registered the three places we are supposed to be registered! Hooray! My wedding bands are bought! Double hooray! William's cooking on some ideas for his.
I'm reading a super interesting book called The Chemistry of Joy. This doctor has married Western biochemistry and medicine with Ayurvedic and Buddhist practices to make a diet (no, it's not really a diet fad book)that helps your brain and serotonin function optimally. There's a lot of personality analysis, and it's especially geared toward people with depression, but I think there are a lot of interesting tips and tools, and I also think it increases understanding of mental illness, thus releasing the stigma, and that's a good, good thing. If you are interested in wellness at all, it's a great read.
My adorable yellow coat came in the mail today. I got it on a super awesome deal (even better than what's currently posted.) Check it out.

Also, I ate the best grapefruit in the world tonight. I just sat and read my magazine and savored every little juicy, red, pulpy bite. And as you may know, grapefruit is one of those superfoods that's so great in every way, so the fact that it tastes like candy is just a huge bonus. And that was a nice little moment in my day.
Also nice moments: William carrying my dirty laundry up to the laundry room to help me out, pulling warm laundry out of the dryer. Leaving work while the sun was still out. Giggling at William's jokes on the way home. watching American Idol and Project Runway.
Today was a rough day, but I'm trying to look on the bright side. Not bad, right?

when will we fall down?

yes, i have already fallen behind on the blogging. truth be told, i've been super occupied. and yes, sometimes that's with a mind-blowingly long session of america's next top model. which doesn't make for much interesting talk on the blog.
i realized i hadn't blogged about one wedding development: the tasting! we're hiring a woman-owned, independent caterer in minneapolis called chowgirls. they are extremely nice people and we had some way tasty food. now we have to just narrow down the menu.
here's what we tasted:
tandoori chicken with yogurt sauce (we're switching to lamb if we have it, sorry PETA and people who can't stand the thought)
chicken satay with peanut sauce
tuna tartare on crackers
mango curry chicken salad on endive
fig tapenade and goat cheese on crackers
grilled veggies (bok choy, roasted red pepper, snow peapods, zucchini, etc.) with citrus vinaigrette
then maybe egg rolls or spring rolls, a cheese plate, more raw veggies, etc. that we'd put together. we're still working on it. then, instead of cake, we're having cupcakes i think. there's a place here, aptly named cupcake, that has specialty, kick-butt ones.
in any case, we've reserved them for our reception, so now it's just a matter of working out the details.

stupid fall allergies have kicked in. my sister, who's a nurse, informed me it's ragweed. so apparently, i'm allergic to that now, too. i just keep adding to the list as i get older. lame. my ears itch and my eyes burn, and you wanna talk about sneezing? ugh.

i am such a sucker for fall fashion and beauty magazines. i do so love fall clothing.

i am so disappointed in the vma's this year. britney opened, and i was really hoping for her that she wouldn't looked drugged out and boring. she looked like she was in slo-mo. she was definitely NOT singing. she looked sad, tired, and completely out of her element. i never thought britney had much talent in the singing department, but i did think she was a great dancer. i feel bad for her in a lot of ways. major case of arrested development, no one seemingly helping her, a possibel case of mental illness. . . anyway, the performances were weird mostly, except for maybe alicia keys, the rest were cut off, and shown from hotel rooms. at least rihanna actually sang. anyway. it's nothing like the days when you could count on axl and slash getting sloppy and picking fights and swearing onstage. and it was always a huge leadup what madonna would do this time.

i was so tired on friday i went to bed by 10 pm.

i'm still waiting for another artist to come along that makes me superly, classically happy, like someone that will be my new favorite. for now, i have avril lavigne's girlfriend to keep me happy. i hear though, from my friend fatty, that the new rilo kiley's gonna rock my world.

ok. nighty night. this is going to be a crazy week again.

loves!

shortness of breath

unfortch, this is going to be a little short entry again tonight. i stayed up too late last night, and now i have to write these letters for my dad (long story) and i'm tired from staying up late and i was crazy busy all day and i stopped and had dinner with my parents and they invited me since i was without "my beloved" as my mom calls william (well they invite him too, but i think they felt sorry for me), so we had dinner and i chatted with my mom about various things in my life since we barely get to see each other for more than like five minutes....yes that was one sentence because that's how i feel like my life is going lately. constantly running on top speed during the week, multitasking, freaking out, running out of time, ahhhh!
but good things today: my new planner is working out quite nicely at work, i had a very nice lunch at a new restaurant (i had a kobe beef cheeseburger and hand-cut fries, not very adventurous but it tasted awesome, plus it had sun-dried tomatoes on it), i had good corn on the cob and tomatoes for dinner, it was ridiculously sunny out (although too hot!), molly was excited to see me. william is with a friend, so i'm sure he's enjoying himself too.
sad: i rented some documentaries (gimme shelter, the weather underground) but i can't watch them in time before the return date.
man, it's just been a busy couple of days. and tomorrow i'm attending a bris. never done one of those before. i assume i bring a gift, right? any help out there?
anyhoo, i know this is a disappointing entry but i must be on my way. if i finish up these letters, i'll post the videos i was promising. and a better blog.
but i'm still on my goal! posts most days!

all for now

i ate a red velvet cupcake with homemade vanilla buttercream frosting (made by my lovely sister sooz). it was awesome, as was her homemade spaghetti (recipe borrowed from mom). i watched the twins lose. my back hurts and i have my dad's lidocaine packets back on it. booooo. william had a good fantasy football draft. hooray!
it was 91 today. that is not fall. not at all. but that's ok! i didn't want fall anyway! hang on summer! make it happen, global warming! just kidding, i'm not in favor of global warming.
i have two funny video links i'll have to do tomorrow. i'm real tired, i just wanted to post a little something here....as i'm trying to do almost every day.
that's about all for now.