Never a Bride’s Maid…

Over the weekend, a friend of mine got married in Las Vegas.  I found out through the internet, which is sort of funny, because when my best friend* since age 8 got married, I found out when she sent me a set of pictures from the ceremony which took place that morning.**
My first friend to get married (at age 22, right out of college, and someone I’m not close to at all any more) also got married in Vegas.  Anyone who wanted to go could go, but really only her family coughed up for the plane ticket.  I think we had like a week’s notice.
One of my good friends from college got married and at the time she and I were on the outs (a fact I sorely regret).  The irony is she’s not that close to any of her bridesmaids anymore anyway.  Another friend from college got married on our college campus and I couldn’t afford the trip at the time.  We weren’t that close, and I went in on a gift.
I can count on one hand the number of weddings I’ve actually attended, only 1 of which was family (I’m an only child and it seems like the cousins are tending toward marrying late), and I’ve never, EVER been IN a wedding.  The closest I came was being the date of an usher at the wedding of two people I’d never met in my life.
I don’t really have a point here except that it’s funny that my wedding involvement has been so distant and non traditional.  It’s saved me a ton of money and hassle, but it still feels odd that at 33, I’ve never actually been in a wedding.  Admittedly a small part of me worries that people don’t like me as much as I like to think they do, but in reality most of my inner circle is still unwed.  I think I’m more struck by how weddings happen and people get married and how the news travels nowadays.
If there’s no real “wedding” in the sense of the fuss and the ceremony and the guests, are you still expected to send a gift?
What if there’s a 50% chance you wouldn’t have even known about the wedding if you didn’t have access to the internet?

*Relative term now since I only talk to her maybe twice a year, but for a long time we were very, very close.

**Because they got married in Egypt, where she was teaching, and due to the extensive papework involving an American citizen marrying a fellow with British citizenship in another country, they didn’t want to announce it until they were 100% sure they could even GET married that day.  Also, the pictures were only of the bride, groom, and token male witness that Egyptian culture requires.

Totally Normal

Miss Britt had a cool post up that’s a twist on that damn “6 quirky things about me” meme that’s been going around the internet for far too long. Instead, she put up 6 things about her that are COMPLETELY NORMAL. I like it. I’m stealing it.

1. I couldn’t tell you the last time I used my iron. It wouldn’t matter, when I iron things come out more wrinkled half the time anyway.

2. My best friend’s parents taught me the “proper” way to set a table. I don’t remember how to do it. If you come to my house for dinner, you get the tools that are necessary for the meal at hand and probably a paper towel if I remember in lieu of a napkin.

3. Big fluffy cinnamon rolls with lots of goopy frosting are one of my favorite things in the world.

4. I love birthdays. And I love to be spoiled and spoil others. Birthdays MUST include a minimum of cake, good friends, and some ridiculous party favor.

5. I don’t wash my hair quite as often as I should. It’s so much work!

6. I dress my age and usually pretty casually at that. It seems working at home has caused me to slip into dressing primarily for practicality and comfort. Lately I am almost always seen in capri pants and tee shirts.

I’m also tagging La Guth, Speedy, Kim, Kapgar, and Kyra. Pbbbbbbbllll!

Bullets, Snippets, Whatevers

• At my doctor’s request, I’ve been keeping a headache journal while I spend a month on migraine medication.  Today has been (knock wood) headache-free so far.  But yesterday I learned that two things may potentially be triggering my new-found migraines:  1) dark chocolate and 2) compensation analysis worksheets.




• Last night Heather and I watched Death at a Funeral, which I had from Netflix. OMG, we belly-laughed from beginning to end!  If you like British and/or dark comedy, please don’t miss this one.




• I’ve not mentioned this here, and there is probably some deep rooted psychological reason, but last week my 90 year old grandmother moved into a nursing home.  My grandpa is still at home.  I guess I braced myself for this awhile ago, and quite honestly she is doing soooooo much better and while my dad tried his best to care for her regularly, he just couldn’t be there 24/7 (and shouldn’t have been expected to).  It’s weird, and she’s not exactly thrilled, but it’s a good thing overall.  Plus like my mom said, nowadays nursing homes aren’t those weird, depressing, antiseptic-smelling places they used to be.  She has little activities and dinner with the other residents and sometimes it sounds frankly kind of nice to go to a retirement home.  I’ll have to remember this blog entry when I am 90 myself.




• There’s this work thing that I still can’t talk about.  Don’t worry, I’m neither getting fired nor promoted (as far as I can tell).  Sorry to be vague–I promise to reveal all when the time is right.




• That aside, I’ve had a really good week at work except for that one offer I talked about last week that ended up falling through.  I’ve had about four others come through which, if all goes well, will more than make up for that one glitch.




• Damn, I want to go to the gym.  But I don’t feel like going tonight, so I am going to aim for Saturday.   I never thought I’d say this, but I am tired of resting (despite my dreams of relaxing life in the retirement home).

Movie Meme

Here were my options for posting today:
Write about some really personal stuff, including things that may come to pass or maybe not in the fall; write about my health some more (which I am sure we’re all sick of); or find a meme to fill the space.
This is a new meme based on an article in EW listing the top 100 movies of the last 25 years.  I took it from Kapgar.  According to the rules, you must bold the titles of the movies you’ve seen and asterisk the ones you liked.  Then when you’re done, you can do what I did and update your Netflix queue.  Heh.

1. Pulp Fiction (1994) *
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03) *
3. Titanic (1997)
4. Blue Velvet (1986)
5. Toy Story (1995) *
6. Saving Private Ryan (1998 )
7. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) *
9. Die Hard (1988 ) *
10. Moulin Rouge (2001)
11. This Is Spinal Tap (1984) *
12. The Matrix (1999) *
13. GoodFellas (1990)
14. Crumb (1995)
15. Edward Scissorhands (1990) *
16. Boogie Nights (1997)
17. Jerry Maguire (1996)
18. Do the Right Thing (1989)
19. Casino Royale (2006) *
20. The Lion King (1994) *
21. Schindler’s List (1993) (nope, still haven’t seen it!!)
22. Rushmore (1998 ) *
23. Memento (2001)
24. A Room With a View (1986)
25. Shrek (2001) *
26. Hoop Dreams (1994)
27. Aliens (1986) 
28. Wings of Desire (1988 )
29. The Bourne Supremacy (2004) *
30. When Harry Met Sally… (1989)  (no, I don’t like this movie, so sue me!!)
31. Brokeback Mountain (2005) *
32. Fight Club (1999) * (finally saw it this year!) 
33. The Breakfast Club (1985) *
34. Fargo (1996) *
35. The Incredibles (2004) *
36. Spider-Man 2 (2004) *
37. Pretty Woman (1990) 
38. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) *
39. The Sixth Sense (1999) *
40. Speed (1994) *
41. Dazed and Confused (1993) 
42. Clueless (1995) *
43. Gladiator (2000) 
44. The Player (1992)
45. Rain Man (1988 ) *
46. Children of Men (2006) 
47. Men in Black (1997) *
48. Scarface (1983)
49. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
50. The Piano (1993)
51. There Will Be Blood (2007)
52. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad (1988 ) *
53. The Truman Show (1998 ) *
54. Fatal Attraction (1987) *
55. Risky Business (1983) 
56. The Lives of Others (2006)
57. There’s Something About Mary (1998 )
58. Ghostbusters (1984) *
59. L.A. Confidential (1997)
60. Scream (1996)
61. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
62. sex, lies and videotape (1989)
63. Big (1988 ) *
64. No Country For Old Men (2007)
65. Dirty Dancing (1987)
66. Natural Born Killers (1994)
67. Donnie Brasco (1997)
68. Witness (1985) *
69. All About My Mother (1999)
70. Broadcast News (1987)
71. Unforgiven (1992) *
72. Thelma & Louise (1991) *
73. Office Space (1999) *
74. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
75. Out of Africa (1985)
76. The Departed (2006) *
77. Sid and Nancy (1986)
78. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) *
79. Waiting for Guffman (1996) *
80. Michael Clayton (2007)
81. Moonstruck (1987) *
82. Lost in Translation (2003) *
83. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)
84. Sideways (2004) *
85. The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005) *
86. Y Tu Mamá También (2002)
87. Swingers (1996) *
88. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) *
89. Breaking the Waves (1996)
90. Napoleon Dynamite (2004) *
91. Back to the Future (1985) *
92. Menace II Society (1993)
93. Ed Wood (1994) *
94. Full Metal Jacket (1987) 
95. In the Mood for Love (2001)
96. Far From Heaven (2002) 
97. Glory (1989)
98. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) 
99. The Blair Witch Project (1999) *
100. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999) *

Migraines – Yay!

Okay, not a common cause for celebration, but compared to the alternatives, I say, YAY!
I am having migraines caused by the irritation of a nerve from the shingles virus.  But this is a big yay because migraines are quite treatable and I was able to start on a medication for them today.
My doc says otherwise the shingles seems to be much better, and in three days or so I should feel back to normal.
Apparently, my doctor always gives me three days to feel better.  This was my mother’s observation. Soo…kinda funny, huh?
Anyway, no spinal tap, not even an MRI.  Just a once over, prescription, and pat on the head.  Which many of you probably predicted.
Hey, this is a pretty drama-free blog–let me have my moments, okay?!

T-Minus 1 Hour…

I have a follow up appointment with my doctor today.  I called yesterday because I was getting awful headaches & nausea late in the day for the past week.  He though that seemed, “Weird” and wanted me to come in.
It is never reassuring when your doctor says something is weird.
I’m trying not to fret and I am sure everything will be fine, but after doing some reading on the internet (note: NEVER DO THIS ABOUT YOUR HEALTH AS YOU WILL ONLY SCARE THE CRAP OUT OF YOURSELF!!) I am absolutely irrationally freaked out about potentially having to get a spinal tap.
I can’t even link to anything because the mere thought makes me want to vomit.  Just ask Hilly, who in fact had one recently.
An MRI or CT scan would be a very expensive annoyance, but preferred any day of the year.
Actually, I will probably just get a once over and a new prescription and be patted on the head and sent on my merry way.
I hope.
In other news, to take my mind off my own health troubles by supporting those who are far worse off than I, I’ve signed up again (at last!) to be a Chemo Angel.  My patient assignment came yesterday.  I love, love, LOVE this program.  Please, if you can, think about volunteering yourself.  It really is the most wonderful volunteer program I’ve ever participated in.  And if you don’t have a lot of money or time, sign up to be a Card Angel.  That’s what I opted for this time around, and I’m just as excited as ever.

You Take the Good, You Take the Bad…

Good:
The yardsale was a success!! I made $40 and got rid of some stuff.  Not bad, considering I made a pretty half-assed attempt to prepare for said yardsale.  It rained briefly, but we were under a couple big trees and stayed pretty dry. I was more worried about losing customers due to weather than anything!

Also, I bought a planter from H. to put out on the back steps.  This is something I’ve been thinking about doing, and since she was ready to sell hers with dirt included, I couldn’t pass it up. Now I am trying to decide what to plant and where to buy it.  A couple people have pointed out to me at this point in the year I probably will need to plant a plant, and not seeds.  And I want something edible.  It’s going on the back steps, so pretty flowers wouldn’t really serve much of a purpose.  I’m thinking about peppers.  Where can I get peppers to plant in the city? Anyone?

Last night E. and I went to the Davis Street Fishmarket–my treat for him since he took me to the ER last weekend.  It turned out we happened to be there on $19.99 lobster night.  As in, a whole Maine lobster for $19.99.  Most of the other dinners were close in price if not more, so lobster all around made the most sense.  Yay!

Yesterday E. and I did a whole lot of nothing, and Saturday night we went out with some new friends of his.  All of which was really enjoyable.  I hit an early bedtime Saturday b/c I was not feeling well in the later part of the evening.  I still have to pace myself pretty carefully.  But overall it was a tremendously enjoyable weekend!

Bad:
RIP George Carlin.  Man, I can’t believe that.

Clusterfook’s situation.  E. and I were having a conversation about how irritated I’m getting with people asking for favors and/or money on their blogs, but this is one situation where I would step up and do what I could to help someone out.  And try to raise awareness of her condition. I mean geez, a rare form of cancer is a lot different from…well, I don’t want to get into specifics but it’s different from some of the other things people ask for help with on the web these days.   

Little Miss Jinx-it-All

Good grief, I think I better stick to writing about meaningless fluff like lipstick and body scrub for awhile. 
Yesterday?  The whole thing with that one offer being accepted was a misunderstanding.  The guy did NOT verballly accept, we sent the offer letter for him to consider over the weekend.  There was a miscommunication that I was not a part of, and then the wrong message was passed on to me.  Eesh.  I’m not going to worry about it all weekend though.  I’m over that.  Monday will bring what it will bring.  And I think I am not going to mention it again at this point because even if I wait until he sends the signed offer letter back there will probably be some weird counteroffer situation or the letters will get mixed up in the mail or the guy will mysteriously go on the lam never to be heard from again.
Also, I had a rough night health-wise.   Bad headache, exhaustion, nausea.  I think I just overdid it this week.  We’re not going to talk about this either–it will be like my agreement with E. that you can gauge how I’m feeling by how I sound and how I’m acting and otherwise we must not speak of it at all!!
Tomorrow the girls and I are supposed to have a yard sale but I think I better shut up about that too or else the yard that’s hosting it will catch on fire or the police will shut us down or we’ll get a freak June snowstorm (I actually did dream that last night). 

This & That

I am in a GREAT mood today.  A couple reasons.
1.  I made it to the gym last night!! It was hard, and I only did 2 sets, but I did it.  And I was able to use the same amount of weight I was using before I got sick.  Which is awesome.  Most of all, it felt SO GOOD.  I am not sure I will tackle running for a couple days yet, but it’s a start, fa sure.
2.  Today I closed a job that has been giving me headaches & ulcers all week. I can’t get into specifics, but I really was convinced this guy was not going to accept.  And yet he accepted on the spot.  So somebody did something right.

I’m looking over the notes I wrote up for what I want to blog about (yes, I jot down little notes as things come to me sometimes, and then write it all up when I get a moment to do so) and one of my notes says, “Shingles Face.” Ha!  Okay, seriously, that’s not my new nickname.  I wanted to post an addendum to my entry about my face peeling off, assumingly from a benzoyl peroxide reaction.  Well, no, it was the shingles starting.  Just so you know.  You can zap your zits without fear again.

As a follow up to yesterday’s post, and on the subject of my face, I did a little online research and placed an order with Sephora today (I needed some other things from there anyway).  Sephora is not reasonable distance from my house & I don’t have a car, so this was just easier all around.  Plus, free shipping!  Anyway, for you my gentle readers (and for you only–ha, right!), I am trying Stila’s Cherry Crush Lip & Cheek stain & Smashbox’s Photo Finish Lipstick.  Both are farily expensive but if they have the staying power they promise, I won’t use as much of it anyway.  I will report back with full details.  Maybe even a photo or two if you are lucky! (no, I still have not installed the software for my new camera on my computer, but I haven’t yet tried the camera function on my Blackberry!)
I wonder if I could get free stuff if I turned this into a beauty blog. (I’ve thought about it before, but there is already a pretty full market of beauty blogs out there)

Did anyone watch the Daily Show last night?  Jon Stewart made Steve Carrell shoot water out his nose.  They didn’t talk about much, but that moment alone made it the BEST. EPISODE. EVER.

Hey, don’t I seem like I’m feeling a lot better? (shhhhhhhh, don’t jinx it!)

Okay, Now for Something Fluffy

This blog has been too heavy and boring and blue lately. 
I am in the market for some new lipstick.  For whatever reason, I’m using up a bunch of mine at once.  Also the pretty summer colors I bought last year just aren’t working with the pasty pale I’m rocking this summer. 
So…
I like long lasting. I like shiny, but not sparkly.  I like glossy.  But I’d be happy to gloss up a matte.  A lot of what I own is sheer–I need less sheer.  Last night I bought the Maybelline Volume Seduction liquid lipcolor, and it’s pretty, but really needs to be worn over something else.  I’m also a little worried now that I actually looked at the ingredients that it’s going to dry and possibly irritate my lips.
I won’t buy Cover Girl, so don’t ask me.
Anyway, ladies (and some men), what is your bestest lipstick of choice? 
And sorry in advance to Dave, but I think Manic Panic’s line of makeup…just…isn’t me.