would you eat these?

I saw these snack-sized bags at CVS last week. I almost bought all three, but didn't. I tend to like weird flavored chips, I will admit, but I'm not too sure about these!  

Have you tried any of them? Were they good? What is the weirdest chip flavor you've ever had? What did you think? 

on the debates, and the election in general...

Yes, this about sums it up for me...

(found on facebook, and cannot find the original link on the site! if you know it, please let me know so that I can give proper credit!)

Oh and yes, I was indeed a political science major in college....

filed in, so ready for November 7 to get here. 

bachelorette party weirdness

This weekend, Steve has a friend from high school who will be in town for a bachelorette party. She lives in Chicago. She asked Steve if she could stay with him, and he said yes.

Does this seem odd to anyone? Would you travel with friends for a bachelorette party, but then not stay with the party? I suppose it could be seen as a cost-saving method, but really, when I've gone to bach parties, there has been several girls, so the cost of a hotel room (or two) was minimal.

It just seems really strange to me. I wouldn't fly to Chicago with the bride and then not stay with her! Isn't she the reason why I am there? Of course, if I had other friends there, I would try to make plans to meet them for lunch or something, but if my main point of being there is for the bride, then I'd spend the majority of my time with her. If I wanted to see friends, I'd see about the possibility of staying an extra night or something. She arrives Saturday morning, and then I assume leaves Monday (long weekend!), but I don't know for sure.

Am I the only one who thinks this is bizarre? Thoughts?

teach this

If you are a long-time reader, you'll know that I've struggled with the idea of teaching for quite some time now (there are several posts about it, but I won't link each one!) That post was more than a year ago, and it still feels like completely fresh thoughts that I could have had yesterday.

Today I came across a posting for a teacher's aide position at a nearby Catholic school and was intrigued. For the most part, you don't need to be certified at private schools, though they like experience. Clearly I don't have that, but perhaps, if I were an aide for a year, I'd find out if I like teaching enough to pursue it and could then get certified and go from there.

I'm now wondering though, because I am not sure if aide positions are hourly/no benefits or if they are salaried. It likely depends on the school. I'm sure many realize that Catholic schools aren't exactly the most high-paying places out there, which isn't a major issue, but still a concern. I'm far from wealthy and have a Bachelor and two Master's worth of loans to pay off!

Anyone who is a teacher and/or works in a school, please share your experiences...maybe someday I will make up my mind about this....

what is your alias?

As I've mentioned before, I want to write a book, and it is a goal of mine to have one done in the next few years. While I certainly don't think that my life has been remarkable enough for a memoir at this point, I really want to write about my experiences in Poland. It was one of the most amazing times in my life and it should be shared. I love reading travel writing, but I find that most books are written about England, France, Italy, etc. I've never once seen a book written about Poland! So sad!



Also, while I was there, I sent home email updates every few weeks. Of course, some people got frequent emails, but not everyone. My father saved every single email I sent him, from the time I was in Luxembourg (Jan-May 2001) all the way through when I was in Poland (Aug 2002-Feb 2004)! He saved them all onto a disc for me, and I have that at home. Every so often, I read through them, and they are so hilarious. I had some really amazing adventures while I was there.


Amazing, and somewhat scandalous, in some instances! Some stories should not be read by certain eyes (ie. my mother, among others!). So I was thinking that I should choose a nom de plume, or a pen name, to use for my book. Of course, this makes me sad, since most people won't know it is my book (though those closest to me will clearly know!). I was also thinking; if I mention specific people, do I need their permission to use their name? I would not use last names, and I'd never say anything incriminating! Maybe I should just change their names...


What would your nom de plume be?

my first wishful Wednesday!

Here is a fun new post post topic that I decided to participate in! Kelsey over at Seattle Smiths has a game called "Wishful Wednesday" and I thought I'd play along this week!

Question du jour-



What was one of the earliest jobs you worked when you were a teenage that you'll never forget for one reason or another!!

'I wish' .... I could go back and spend one day working at a job from my youth, and it would be ______!

The best job I ever had was the summer after my senior year of high school and freshman year of college. I worked at a golf course where I drove around in a golf cart and sold beer! Yup, little old 18 and 19 year old me was selling beer to 50+ year old men!

Best. Job. Ever.

Seriously.

Half of the time I would be working in the bar inside the clubhouse, where I'd make drinks, pour wine, get beers and also make sandwiches. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights, there were the leagues. I'd arrive at the golf course around 3:30pm (they'd begin at 4pm) and I would load up coolers full of ice and cans of beer and bungee cord them to my golf cart. I'd spend the next 3-4 hours driving around the course selling beer, along with candy bars and chips!

It was a nine-hole course at the time (they've since added a back nine), so I would just loop around the course, cutting between the greens. I was quite visible from most every angle, so I'd often hear someone yell "beer chick!" and I'd race over. The men played in teams of four, and the cans were $2 each. They'd take turns buying rounds, and would give me $10, and I got to keep the $2 tip every time! Most nights I'd walk away with around $100 in tips. They loved me.

The funniest story was one Thursday (Thursdays were the busiest, as it was the largest of the leagues). It had rained the night before, so the grass was still slightly slick in some spots. I was coming down a stretch between two greens when someone called me, so I turned to head that way. In doing so, I fishtailed a bit and somehow managed to flip the cart on its side! I flew out, the coolers flew out, the beer and ice flew everywhere.

Everywhere.

It was a bit of a disaster. I had a walkie-talkie that I used sometimes to call Mike, who was the guy who cleaned the carts when they were returned. Sometimes if I ran out of beer, he'd bring more. I called him on the walkie and told him that I needed his help. He drove up, took one look at me, sitting in a mud puddle, surrounded by ice and beer, and cracked up. Of course, I was wearing white shorts that day. He helped me clean up the mess and I drove back to the pro shop. The pro took one look at me, cracked up and told me to go home and take a shower.

Even with that, it was the best summer job I ever had! Since the course was in my hometown, I knew many of the people that came in to golf. If they were tourists (it wasn't a private club), we'd chat about the area and I would make suggestions of where to eat and such. One of my long-time crushes worked there too, which always made it fun. He'd come in for lunch and I'd try not to blush throughout our conversation. I'd known him for years, as we had gone to school together, and our sisters were good friends.

I loved being out in the sun those days. I actually had a tan, imagine that! Steve is always amazed that I never snuck a beer while I was driving! It would have been way too easy, but I never, ever did, not once! Too many people knew me and my parents, so I was terrified of being caught :) Even so, I really don't think I ever considered it, I was a good girl back then ;)

Maybe if I ever become a teacher and have summers off, I will get a job as the beer girl again.

Best job ever.

What was your best summer job?

run for your life!

Steve ran a 5K this weekend! It was for work, as there was a team of people who trekked to Columbia, MD at 7:30am. Yes, I went too. What a good, supportive girlfriend I am, eh? :)

Here's Steve, before-



Here's Steve, after-




He finished in about 35 minutes, which for his first ever 5K, wasn't bad! He came in well before many other runners, and met his goal of not being the last from his team to finish :)

I was so proud!

It was kind of cool being there, surrounded by all these runners. It was so early, but they had so much energy. Runners give off a cool vibe, and now I kind of want to be a runner too! It was rather inspiring, I thought.

My main reason for not running is my bad knee. I played field hockey in high school, and that did some damage to it, but it would be so good for me to run. Maybe I should get a good brace and take a jog around the park.

This may sound stupid, but I've never bought a pair of sneakers! Of course, I've always had them, but my aunt used to work for Nike, so she'd get them for us for free. It was great- we'd get cleats and sneakers, and shorts and tshirts, and whatever else we needed. Maybe I should have been sportier?! The sneakers I have now are way old, so old that I am embarrassed to say how long I've had them, so I think it is time to find a new pair!

Any suggestions for a new pair of sneaks?

too much travelling?

Is there such a thing as too much travelling? I never thought so, until today! I've been out of town the last two weekends. I worked three days last week and four days the week before. Last weekend I was on the west coast, in Seattle and Walla Walla, WA (and in Oregon for about an hour!), so I visited two new states. This past weekend, I went to Iowa for the first of six weddings this year.



I'm not sure why Steve is looking a bit goofy in this photo, but here is us at the wedding reception.





The wedding was at a lovely old historical church and the reception was held in a lodge at a local state park. It was low-key, like the other Iowan weddings we've gone to, where we were among the most dressed up. The wedding was on Friday, so Saturday we visited friends and then went down to the Amanas, one of my favorite places, as you know! It was a quick trip there, but I did go into my favorite quilt shop there and found some adorable fabrics, including some 1930's reproduction prints, which is my current favorite. They are too cute, so I am thinking up ideas of things to make from them!


My passport expires in October and I need to renew it now, as you aren't supposed to travel with it within six months of its expiration. This means that I've had it for nearly ten years, which means that I was in Luxembourg nine years ago right now. How is this possible?! I will admit that I was a little annoyed when I realized that its final trip was to Iowa. Lame! I should have planned a trip back to Luxembourg, so it could go back to its roots and travel full circle :) Yes, I use my passport travelling domestically too...it's just easier, I find.


How was your weekend? What did you do?







PS. My giveaway ends this Friday. Have you entered yet?

looking forward, not back

Last year, I made my 12 in 12 list for 2009. Looking at the list, it seems that I was a massive failure. I am nearly finished with the credit card debt- my last card will be paid off this month (then onward to student loans...oh boy). I did take a quilting class, but not a yoga class. I did play Wii fit yoga at a Wii Fit party though, does that count? I still cannot knit, was not hired directly (though didn't apply for any positions either), did not visit any new states or countries that I hadn't been to. My one trip outside the US was to Niagara Falls in September...hardly glamorous ;) I don't think I attempted the Sonoma Diet at all. I attended a few different churches on different occasions, though still have not been attending one regularly. Buy a condo, ha! I knew then that that wasn't going to happen....I have lofty goals sometimes! I do use my cookbooks often. I did meet the ex, and no longer refer to her with bad names, though I am still not wild about her. I can deal with her on the rare occasions that I need to, I suppose. After all, he's with me, not her (ps. I am totally cuter than she is).


This must be why I don't make resolutions. Still though, I think I need a few more realistic goals, some things that can and will actually happen. So, here we go---


1. Finish at least one quilting project a month. I find myself starting things all the time, but I don't always finish them, and I need to. Going along with that, post pictures of what I make, and maybe if I make enough, begin a separate blog for projects


2. Finally open the etsy shop I've been thinking about. I did create the shop, but that is all I've done so far. I need to get things made and listed, so that people can see them, and then buy them!


3. Attend mass regularly. As I said, I've gone to a few different churches, and liked them a lot, but I need to actually go, not just talk about it.


4. Do yoga once a week. Even if I just do it at home, that is okay, but once I am comfortable with it, take classes.There are a million yoga studios here.


5. Bring my lunch to work more often. I am lazy and buy it most (okay, every) day, and this is a waste and expensive. I could be doing so much better.

6. Save money. I'm not currently saving at all, and I really need to be. I need to set some saving goals, in order to motivate myself. Maybe a goal should be a trip to Albania...

7. Plan healthy weekly recipes. I don't, at all, which is why I eat hummus and pita for dinner at least twice a week. I should sit down on Sunday nights and plan dinners for the week. Along with that, I can grocery shop for the needed ingredients.


Okay. I am going to start with those for now. I will need to come back and revisit this list, to keep myself on track. These are much more attainable than last year's list....

friends to the end, not so much

Remember this post, where I talked about how I lost a friend? Since then, nothing has changed. She did one day reply to the facebook message I had sent, indicating that she removed me so that she wouldn't have to see photos of him in her news feed. This came after St. Patricks Day when a group of us went to a winery for an event there, an event that she was invited to as well. I told her that I understood, we exchanged a few messages and then they abruptly ended. We've had no contact since.

I decided to send her a Christmas card, just to let he know that I was thinking of her and hoping that she was doing well (I sent out a whopping four Christmas cards this year. Please don't hate me because you didn't get one! I'll be better next year, I promise).

While I was in NH and IA, I had the post office hold all of my mail and it was all delivered yesterday, most of it being Christmas cards. One of them was the card that I had sent her. It was unopened and on the front, she wrote "refused. return to sender."

Refused. My Christmas card was refused. Bah humbug indeed.

I couldn't believe it, and it made me a bit sad. Granted, I was not expecting a response from her, nor did I think we'd be friends again, but I certainly didn't think she would send it back. It just seemed a bit cold and harsh to me. I do understand that she's moved on and doesn't want to be reminded of him in any way, but regardless, I was still a bit hurt. If it were me, I would never refuse a card. I may not open it, I may hide it somewhere or just throw it away, but I would not refuse it.

Something like this happened to me once before, though I was on the other side. In college, I was good friends with a girl who shared the same name as me. We were good friends sophomore year and part of junior year and then something happened and we were no longer friends. I don't remember all of the details now, but it had to do with her lying to me and others, among other things. Just like that, we weren't friends. I went off to Luxembourg that spring and then I saw her sometimes during senior year, as we had the same major, so at least one class together. We didn't talk, but were cordial to one another. After graduation, I went off to Poland and when I came home for the holidays, I found that she had sent me a Christmas card. I remember being very surprised about it, but pleased, though I wasn't ready to reply to her at the time. I put it away somewhere with the intention of writing her later, but never did. I certainly didn't refuse the card. It just seems like extra effort to return it, instead of just letting it go.

Am I overreacting or taking this too personally? Have you ever been in a situation like this?

oh happy days!

The lovely lady behind Black Labs and Lilly tagged me with the Happy 101 Award a few days ago! Yay!

The Rules...

1. List 10 things that make you happy
2. Tag 10 Bloggers that brighten your day

My happy things-

1. Pita bread and garlic hummus....mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

2. Sangria! Coming to DC? I'll take you to one of my favorite spots for a pitcher or two!

3. My godson Jackson. He's too funny for words.

4. Puppies of all kind, especially corgis. My birthday is next month and I would love you forever if you wanted to give one to me.

5. Majlinda from Albania and Boikokobetso from South Africa, my World Vision babies. Seriously, getting a letter in the mail from one of them can put me in a good mood for the next three days. I'm really hoping to be able to go to Albania next year to see Majlinda, but we'll see if I can pull that off.

6. All things Poland. I lived in Krakow for two years, and miss it every day.

7. My family and friends, all of whom are pretty darn amazing

8. Steve, my boyfriend. though some days he makes me crazy, most days I am pretty glad to have him :)

9. Cupcakes. No explanation needed!

10. My sewing machine! Though I am still not very good, I am loving the little quilts and other things that I've been making! I need more practice, so if you want a pot holder, leave a note and I will make you one!

I'm going to break the rules, and not tag anyone, but play along if you wish, I'd love to see your list!

schedule this

What sort of planner/agenda do you use? I know that many use blackberries/iphones/outlook, but I am a bit old school, and I like a book that I can write in, and flip through the pages. For some reason, it makes me feel more organized. I like that I can see the calendar for the month and then each week gets a page of its own.

For the last few years, I have used a Vera Bradley agenda, which I really like a lot. I think I first found it in 2007 and it has improved each year since! It is the perfect size to fit into the bags that I use for work, and has great features inside. It has pockets for notes, and room to list addresses and whatnot. I color coordinate too- on the calendar page, I use a pink pen for birthdays, green for anniversaries, purple for another day of significance that isn't a birthday or anniversary (more so a reminder to myself). Then, for random events or whatever, I usually use blue.

Of course, since it is mid-December, I am finding that now I have events coming up in January that I can't write down, and it is driving me nuts! I've been writing them on post-it notes and sticking them on the last page, so that I can write them down in my new agenda, when I get it! It's making me feel disorganized, and I am hardly the most organized, though I try!

I put the new VB agenda on my Christmas list, so I am hoping that Santa puts it in my stocking! If he doesn't, I will buy it for myself.

Anyone else crazy about their agenda, or am I the only crazy? :)

she's an ex for a reason

I survived Friday night and meeting the ex.

(note that I didn't write MHE)

Yup, that's right. I didn't totally hate her.

I don't think that we are going to be holding hands and singing kumbayah anytime soon, but she wasn't completely awful and I was my usual sweet-as-pie self.

She hugged me and told me how nice it was to finally meet me. Hmmmm.

Since this is the first time in five years that I've met her, and in that time, Steve has only seen her a handful of times, I suppose I can be a big girl and be nice, right?

It may have also helped that she brought funfetti cupcakes with pink frosting.

one of those days

I am exhausted. I was up until after 2am last night because my upstairs neighbor was blaring her tv. I am so sick of this, I've complained about it and nothing seems to happen. I left a note on her mailbox this morning on my way out, but I was late to work in the process (mainly because it took so long to fall asleep, not because I was leaving the note!). Ugh, I despise rude people, and this girl sure isn't very considerate. The rain isn't helping my mood either.

Funny related story. Last week, I came home and found my Glamour magazine in my mailbox. I skimmed it that night. The next day, I came home to find another Glamour in my mailbox. I looked at the label, it was addressed to me. I looked at the label from the one that arrived the day before, and it belongs to my upstairs neighbor. Ooops. I was going to bring her mine with a note on it, apologizing, but since she's so loud and obnoxious, I don't think I will. No Michelle Obama as Woman of the Year for her. Ha! That's my attempt at revenge :)

Hope you had a nice day off yesterday. I called my favorite vet last night, my best friend. She spent a year in Kuwait and her husband in Iraq back in 2003 and 2004. Funny, because when she was in Kuwait, I was in Poland. I'd write her letters and used her military address, of course, whatever it was, APO AE, etc. I'd take these letters to the Polish post office and had the hardest time trying to mail them...since they didn't list a country destination, the postal clerk could never figure out where they went! In my terrible Polish, I tried to explain that it was a military address, but they never got it. I finally began writing USA at the bottom, and it worked. It always amused me that the letters would come back here to the States before crossing the Atlantic again!

The other night, I went to a volunteer info session for different opportunities here in DC. I was sent a calendar of possibilities, and it seems nearly endless. I was thrilled to see that there is a horse rescue league nearby, so I may try to volunteer there once a month. It's a bit far, so Steve would need to drive me. I used to ride, and have been really missing it lately, so I think this might be a great opportunity. I don't know if they'd let me work the horses, it might just be grooming them and such, but still, just being around them again would really be wonderful. There are many other volunteer needs, of course, such as working in food kitchens or reading to children, or playing with puppies at adoption fairs (!!!), so I really want to try a few different things, to see what I like best.

This Saturday, I am going to a sewing lounge, put on by DC Threads, which seems pretty neat. There will be people there to help with the projects that you are working on, which is great, because I need someone to show me how to bind my quilts! I've read tutorials and watched online, but I think I need to see it in real life, because my bindings aren't coming out too well! It is all free too, which is really nice. I am looking forward to it, and hopefully, will come home with a finished project!

In other exciting news, I discovered a Christmas Tree Shop not too far away, in Hagerstown, MD, which was thrilling. I love that store, and if you don't have one near you, you are missing out! I found pens with my name on it, which was so exciting. I rarely find things with my name on it, so I usually buy them when I do!

How are things with you?

assault on Maryland Ave

Yesterday morning, I left my apartment to head to the metro for work. It was cool and crisp, and I was just thinking how nice it was and reminded myself that it is now November, and how much I love November.

I was crossing the street and saw acorns falling all around me. I then thought how funny it would be to get hit in the head with a falling acorn. Next thing I knew,

BONK!

I got hit in the head with a falling acorn! I couldn't believe it, it was literally ten seconds after I had that thought! It really hurt too.

Clearly I jinxed myself, eh?

I had a headache the rest of the day...do you think it was related?

feeling like poo

Ughhh. I'm a sick Lexi. When I am sick, I get a bit whiny (ask Steve!), and I am a bit of a baby about it too. I don't mean to be, but I am. I stayed home today, as I was up all night, not feeling well. I'm a bit better now, though my head still hurts, a lot. I actually slept from 8am until almost 2pm and am still exhausted, but if I sleep more, I'll never fall asleep tonight. I hate that too, that is the worst, when you can't fall asleep at night. I have trouble sleeping enough as it is, so I don't want to make it worse.

This isn't good, as I have a lot going on this week. Last night I was supposed to go the the info session for the teaching fellows program that I mentioned, but I didn't go. I just didn't feel like metroing all the way to Hyattsville and then finding their library. There will be others, I will go to another one. I have dinner plans tomorrow night with some of my favorite girls and then an old friend from home is in DC on business, so I am supposed to see her later in the week. I haven't seen her in years, so it will be nice to catch up. Oh, and I decided not to go to Iowa this weekend for the pirate wedding. I'll be there for Thanksgiving, which will be fine, but this weekend, I really just need a quiet weekend to myself. I have several things to do, so I'll be busy.

This past weekend I went to the used book sale at the Arlington Library that I'm sure I've mentioned before. We went Sunday afternoon, and on Sunday, everything is half-price. I bought 19 books for a whopping $25. I found two great quilting books and several Christmas-y books about holiday recipes, crafts, etc, so those will be nice. I also found a few children's books and two different copies of A Christmas Carol by Dickens, which is something I collect, along with 'Twas The Night Before Christmas. They are both on my favorites list and of course, supporting the library is fun. Funny though, when I was packing up my books, I had brought along a canvas tote bag from my library at home in NH. The girl ringing me up saw it, and asked if I was from NH...I said yes, and turned out, she is from a town about five towns away! Small world, this city sure is.

I bought a super cute pair of shoe from Target too. I will have to post a picture, but I am waiting, because I may have ordered a pair of boots from there too, so I will post them all at once. I am really hard on shoes. I don't know why, but I end up destroying them, so I find myself often needing shoes. It's an actual legitimate need too; not just me saying how much I need a puppy (which I do too!) My mother even notices and tells me to go shoe shopping, haha.

I need to do some quilting over the weekend too. I have several quilt tops that are finished, but I need to finish them! I've still been finding some great fabrics from etsy and have been reading many quilting blogs for ideas. Several people post patterns and tutorials, which is nice, since most of the time, I don't know what I am doing :) When I finish some things, I will post pictures, though right now, I don't have too much to show for myself. I did organize my fabric last weekend, and I found a great basket in my closet that is perfect for scraps, so that was an excellent thing.

Oh yes, and I have a new World Vision baby! She's a two-year old from South Africa called Boikokobetso and she's just the sweetest thing you've ever seen. I know a bit about South Africa and their educational system. They have 11 national languages (!!!), so I wondered which one she speaks. I wrote to WV and they responded and said that she speaks Northern Sotho, so I will need to find some books written in N.S. to send to her! She lives with her single mother, three sisters and one brother. I don't know the ages of her siblings, I hope to find out. I'm excited to get to know my new family member! Does anyone have any insight about South Africa that they could share?

How was your weekend? What did you do? Are you doing anything for Halloween? Want to bring over some ginger ale and rye toast for me?

do you praxis?

Have you taken the praxis? I know some of you are teachers, and I'd like to hear more about the praxis, if you can offer any advice.

I just signed up to attend an info session for the PG County Teaching Fellows program and am reading the requirements. If I am reading it correctly, I may not have to take the first part of the praxis, because my SAT scores are high enough that I can opt out (ha, funny, since they weren't even that high, from how it appeared then!) (maybe that was because I had friends who scored a 1510 and a 1490...). Also, I have two Master's, and they may allow me to not have to do the GRE, which was the case before.

I'm not sure about the details, hence the reason to go to the info session. Still though...as I've said, teaching has always been in the back of my mind, so I am excited about learning more about this opportunity.

I lied

Apparently I was wrong. Wedding season is not over. I have one more to attend. In Iowa. On Halloween.

Sigh. Just when I thought I was done...

It's not a real wedding...it's a vow renewal ceremony. The kicker? It is Halloween themed and I am supposed to dress like a pirate. For a wedding.

Seriously.

I have no idea how I get myself into these things.

and it's over!

I'm sitting at my new desk, feeling a bit unsure of myself. No, I don't have a new job, just a new office in a new building. My department moved to a new building on the other side of town. I now have another 15 minutes on the metro. Booooo. I'm also now in a cubicle, where I wasn't before, so I am hearing a whole lot of background noise that I'm not used to. It takes some time to get settled, so I'm sure everything will be fine in a week or so!

The weekend went really well, but I am exhausted! We drove to NH on Friday, leaving about 2pm. We were making great time until NJ. I hate the dirty jerz and this was no exception! We ended up getting lost in New Brunswick and hit major traffic. It took us three hours from there to get through the Cross Bronx Expressway into CT. I like NY, I don't like NJ. We finally rolled into my parents driveway just before 2am. Ugh. I had breakfast plans Saturday morning with my best friend, her husband and son (my godson), and my Pepe, aunt and uncle, so that was really nice. My godson is as adorable as ever and is now talking up a storm. The best? He told me that he loves me and gave me several big kisses :)

Both weddings were really very nice. I will post pictures later, once they are uploaded from my camera. For the second wedding, where I was a bridesmaid, my hair was straight! It's naturally curly, as you've seen, and I did straighten it for a few years, but have kept it curly lately. The hair stylist straightened my hair, and it was long (for me!), hitting me a few inches past my shoulders! I was pleased. I was not pleased, however, with the dress. It was still too big. The alterations didn't come out too well, which is disappointing, since they were rather costly. I spent far too much time tugging at the dress, keeping it up. Grrr. We left CT around 6:30 yesterday and made amazing time back. Once we got into DC, we stopped at the grocery store to grab a few things, and I was in my apartment by 12:30pm. Also, I fell asleep and snoozed for a while, missing Jersey entirely :)

I was in bed by 9:30 last night and I am still exhausted. I am just so glad that wedding season is over for the year! Actually, I don't have any weddings on the agenda (so far!) for 2010 either, so this is a good thing. Of course, I wouldn't mind there being one wedding in 2010, mainly my wedding, but we'll see about that ;)

Steve's parents are in town this weekend and also this Saturday night is one of the Room to Read events, which I am very much looking forward to. How is it already halfway through October? I am so confused about that :)

weddingweddingweddings

This coming weekend should be interesting.

Two weddings, two states, one weekend. One Lexi as a bridesmaid.

Saturday is a wedding in NH, Sunday in CT. Roughly three hours between the two. The wedding on Sunday isn't until 5pm, which is nice!

I had figured we'd fly to Boston, rent a car, drive to NH, drive to CT, drive back to Boston to fly back here. Of course, because I am an idiot sometimes, I failed to look for flights until this past weekend and they were literally about $600 to fly from here to Boston! Looks like we'll be driving. Friday is a busy day at work, so I can't leave early, so we will be leaving DC Friday afternoon during rush hour on a holiday weekend. Awesome. It's a good nine hour drive to NH from DC too. At least Monday is the holiday, so we can drive back then, and since we'll be coming from CT, it will be shorter. Plus, Steve is excited because there are a few White Castles in NJ that we will stop at. His favorite, not mine...I think they are kinda gross!

I still don't know what to wear to the Saturday wedding. I am still totally and utterly in love with this dress and reallyreallyreally want it, but since the bridesmaid dress will cost at least $75 in alterations, that is a priority, right? I have several dresses I could wear, of course, but I feel like I wear the same three dresses to all the weddings I go to, and I want a pretty new one! Blargh.

Anyone want to buy me the dreamy dress for Saturday? I'll wear it to your wedding too :)

After this weekend, no more weddings. I think I am going to put a freeze on all things wedding until my own comes along. Am I wrong in feeling this way? :)