K and I head out this afternoon to glorious Tejas. As I was packing for the trip last night, I kept reaching for dressier shirts and fun necklaces and bracelets and bangles.
I never wear fun necklaces and bangles. Pretty much just when I'm really going out, which hardly happens.
And then I realized what I was doing. See, girls in the VA Beach area just don't dress up. I miss getting to go out with the girls in OK & TX. It meant wearing really cute (or really hot) dresses, heels and dangly earrings. It meant getting dolled up and fixing your hair and having one of the girls do fun eye shadow for everyone. It meant freezing your ass off on the way to wherever we were going, but feeling so good about looking damn good that you really don't care about the cold (in short increments).
It meant laughing over drinks and having so much fun just being silly and being girls.
The last time I did that -- a really good girls' night -- was July 2010. At ER's bachelorette party. Pathetic.
But this weekend? We're staying with Heather & B, and I am SO excited! Just to get to hang out with one of my closest girlfriends and be silly girls.
I may find myself a bit over-accessorized for the majority of the weekend, but -- wait, who are we kidding?! I'll be in Dallas.
Where there's no such thing as over-accessorized or too girly.
I!! can't!! wait!!!!
Showing posts with label Girl time. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Girl time. Show all posts
Friday, January 28, 2011
Monday, March 01, 2010
I'm on a roll!
I hung out with the MeetUp girl again tonight. This time, we were at her house with two of her friends watching the finale of The Bachelor. Thank goodness the company was so much better than the show!
Her friends were great. They were nice and funny, and they were really friendly. I could definitely hang out with all of them again!
The four of us laughed at how awful Vienna's hair is (the roots, the extensions, the fact she always wears her hair in that weird twisted-half-back style), how she does her eye makeup so that it looks like she has permanent black eyes, and how her entire wardrobe (including her swimsuit) seems to be teal. We laughed and rolled our eyes at the bachelor's comments. We cringed and cried out in disbelief as he kept pushing the classy girl away.
In commercial breaks, we talked about other things. Good restaurants. Boys and relationships. Pets.
It was laid-back. It was relaxed. It was catty at times (but seriously, Vienna?!). It was 100% girlie.
And it was awesome.
Friday, February 26, 2010
I made a friend!!!
Today was my big lunch date with the girl from MeetUp.com. It went really well!
We had a lot to talk about, and we seem to have quite a bit in common! We were at lunch for over 2 hours, and it flew by. As if that wasn't enough to feel good about, she's already friended me on Facebook! That's right, it's an Official Friendship.
She has a small group of girls meeting at her place on Monday to watch the finale of The Bachelor, and she invited me along. I haven't watched this season (I swore off the show after that whole Jason Mesn!ck mess), but I did catch part of the Women Tell All show last week.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to go. I'm excited about it! I'm definitely due for a good girls' night!
Monday, August 25, 2008
My birthday weekend (only a week late!)
Man, have I been busy lately! And there have been a lot of pictures to post, which always seems to delay my blogging. But things are finally slowing down (for a few days), so hopefully I can catch you up. Here's what happened the weekend before last -- with pictures!
Friday, Aug. 15:
I left work at 2, then went home to clean my apartment from top to bottom. I realized I was starting to sort of nest, but I can't really call it that since I'm not pregnant (it's literally scientifically impossible). I told K about it later, and he called it either QCing (Quality Control) or Preparing for Inspection. Both are so, so appropriate.
Either way, I found myself doing major, obvious things like vacuuming and scrubbing sinks. I did productive but less obvious things like vacuuming my couch. And then I did ridiculous things like shred papers and vacuum walls (stupid dust bunnies form in the texture from the paint).
That night, I went to an early birthday dinner with Brit, then came home to finish cleaning.
Saturday, Aug. 16:
I got up at 5:15 to go to my last training ride for the Ho.tter'N Hell Hundr.ed. We rode 84 miles. I got home a little after 3 (we rode in the middle of nowhere), showered, ate lunch, and then took a 45-minute nap.
I woke up when Rachel and Addy (two of my three college roomies) got here from OK to celebrate my birthday. We talked for a bit, then got cleaned up and headed out to dinner. I wore a comfy green dress with the hot 4-inch heels I got a few months ago but hadn't worn yet (I never wear heels that tall!).
Heather, Elle, AJ and Shel (my coworker) met Rachel, Addy and me for a girls' night. One of AJ's friends joined us, and it worked out well because everyone had at least one person there that they knew well. We were able to see Michael Phel.ps get his 8th gold medal just before we left the restaurant. Everyone was cheering and shouting as we watched. It was fun.
My yummy birthday cookie. We all enjoyed this thing!
I enjoyed it so much that, in a desperate attempt to not leave any in the dish, I managed to get cookie AND ice cream on my dress. On my 25th birthday. (Hey, you're never too old to get that excited over chocolate!)
Then, it was on to my favorite bar, the piano bar! Shel wasn't able to join us, which was a bummer, but we all had a great, hilarious time.
Addy, me and Rachel
Blogger buddies! Heather, me and Elle
Elle bought me my choice for a birthday shot ...
... and THEN told me she doesn't like tequila!
We all started getting silly by the end of the night ...
... which is how it should be!
We left the bar around 1:30, and when we got home, I was so exhausted I just crashed on my floor. I have this thing about letting guests sleep in my bed, and I'll take the couch, floor or air mattress (I've done that since I was little). Since I was smoky from the bar, I wouldn't get on my couch, and since I was too tired to care about showering first, I was plenty happy with the floor. And I slept great.
Sunday, Aug. 17: (my 25th birthday)
Despite the late night, I woke up early that morning. Rachel or Addy had put a blanket on me in the night, and I put it under my head to use as a pillow. I was able to doze off again for just a little bit and woke up a little after 9. I knew I was awake for good, so I just laid in my floor running through the previous night again. After about 20 minutes, I thought it was late enough to get up and make some breakfast for the three of us. I baked some cinnamon rolls and took Piper outside.
The girls were still out cold, so I hopped in the shower. Just as I was finished, K called to wish me a happy birthday. We were only able to talk for a few minutes, since it was the middle of the day in Iraq and he had work to do.
Rachel and Addy finally woke up, so we ate cinnamon rolls, hung out for a bit, and then headed out for greasy cheeseburgers and fried goodness (cheese fries, beer-battered onion rings and sweet potato fries).
After that, we went shopping. I bought a new pair of polarized sunglasses and some workout gear from an outlet mall. Great deal on the workout gear; not so much on the sunglasses, but oh well. It was my birthday. And they're my eyes. They need to be protected!
Soon after shopping, the girls had to head back to OK. As soon as they left, I got in my car and headed to AJ's so we could go downtown and watch some friends of ours whose band was playing. I really just wanted to hang out and go to bed early, but we'd already told the guys we'd be there. Their band was really good, so I'll probably go see them again sometime when I've got a little more energy.
When I got home, I was so exhausted. I needed to shower and wash my sheets, but since I didn't feel like waiting for them to wash and dry, I just set my alarm for a little earlier than usual so I could shower Monday morning.
K called me at about 1:30 that night. I was so out of it in our conversation that the next morning, I wasn't even sure how long we'd talked or that I remembered everything we talked about. Oops!
Rather than give them to me late once he gets here for R&R, K sent me my birthday presents in the mail. He got me the OU bag I wanted and a Son!care toothbrush. He just got a new Son!care himself a few months ago, and he loved it so much he had joked about getting me one for my birthday. I told him I didn't care, that I'd use it and probably like it, so I wasn't really surprised that he sent it. And for the record, that thing is AWESOME! I love it!
He also sent me the best birthday card ever. The card itself was nice, but nothing groundbreaking as far as cards go. K took the liberty of personalizing it, though, which was cute. But then he wrote me a note that took up the whole left side of the card. It was the sweetest thing I've ever read. It made me miss him even more, but it made me really excited that we'll get to see each other soon.
Nothing like a great birthday to make you feel like the luckiest girl on earth.
Tomorrow, I'll blog about another birthday surprise, which was definitely not a welcome one. I bet some of you can guess what it is ...
Friday, Aug. 15:
I left work at 2, then went home to clean my apartment from top to bottom. I realized I was starting to sort of nest, but I can't really call it that since I'm not pregnant (it's literally scientifically impossible). I told K about it later, and he called it either QCing (Quality Control) or Preparing for Inspection. Both are so, so appropriate.
Either way, I found myself doing major, obvious things like vacuuming and scrubbing sinks. I did productive but less obvious things like vacuuming my couch. And then I did ridiculous things like shred papers and vacuum walls (stupid dust bunnies form in the texture from the paint).
That night, I went to an early birthday dinner with Brit, then came home to finish cleaning.
Saturday, Aug. 16:
I got up at 5:15 to go to my last training ride for the Ho.tter'N Hell Hundr.ed. We rode 84 miles. I got home a little after 3 (we rode in the middle of nowhere), showered, ate lunch, and then took a 45-minute nap.
I woke up when Rachel and Addy (two of my three college roomies) got here from OK to celebrate my birthday. We talked for a bit, then got cleaned up and headed out to dinner. I wore a comfy green dress with the hot 4-inch heels I got a few months ago but hadn't worn yet (I never wear heels that tall!).
Heather, Elle, AJ and Shel (my coworker) met Rachel, Addy and me for a girls' night. One of AJ's friends joined us, and it worked out well because everyone had at least one person there that they knew well. We were able to see Michael Phel.ps get his 8th gold medal just before we left the restaurant. Everyone was cheering and shouting as we watched. It was fun.
My yummy birthday cookie. We all enjoyed this thing!
I enjoyed it so much that, in a desperate attempt to not leave any in the dish, I managed to get cookie AND ice cream on my dress. On my 25th birthday. (Hey, you're never too old to get that excited over chocolate!)
Then, it was on to my favorite bar, the piano bar! Shel wasn't able to join us, which was a bummer, but we all had a great, hilarious time.
Addy, me and Rachel
Blogger buddies! Heather, me and Elle
Elle bought me my choice for a birthday shot ...
... and THEN told me she doesn't like tequila!
We all started getting silly by the end of the night ...
... which is how it should be!
We left the bar around 1:30, and when we got home, I was so exhausted I just crashed on my floor. I have this thing about letting guests sleep in my bed, and I'll take the couch, floor or air mattress (I've done that since I was little). Since I was smoky from the bar, I wouldn't get on my couch, and since I was too tired to care about showering first, I was plenty happy with the floor. And I slept great.
Sunday, Aug. 17: (my 25th birthday)
Despite the late night, I woke up early that morning. Rachel or Addy had put a blanket on me in the night, and I put it under my head to use as a pillow. I was able to doze off again for just a little bit and woke up a little after 9. I knew I was awake for good, so I just laid in my floor running through the previous night again. After about 20 minutes, I thought it was late enough to get up and make some breakfast for the three of us. I baked some cinnamon rolls and took Piper outside.
The girls were still out cold, so I hopped in the shower. Just as I was finished, K called to wish me a happy birthday. We were only able to talk for a few minutes, since it was the middle of the day in Iraq and he had work to do.
Rachel and Addy finally woke up, so we ate cinnamon rolls, hung out for a bit, and then headed out for greasy cheeseburgers and fried goodness (cheese fries, beer-battered onion rings and sweet potato fries).
After that, we went shopping. I bought a new pair of polarized sunglasses and some workout gear from an outlet mall. Great deal on the workout gear; not so much on the sunglasses, but oh well. It was my birthday. And they're my eyes. They need to be protected!
Soon after shopping, the girls had to head back to OK. As soon as they left, I got in my car and headed to AJ's so we could go downtown and watch some friends of ours whose band was playing. I really just wanted to hang out and go to bed early, but we'd already told the guys we'd be there. Their band was really good, so I'll probably go see them again sometime when I've got a little more energy.
When I got home, I was so exhausted. I needed to shower and wash my sheets, but since I didn't feel like waiting for them to wash and dry, I just set my alarm for a little earlier than usual so I could shower Monday morning.
K called me at about 1:30 that night. I was so out of it in our conversation that the next morning, I wasn't even sure how long we'd talked or that I remembered everything we talked about. Oops!
Rather than give them to me late once he gets here for R&R, K sent me my birthday presents in the mail. He got me the OU bag I wanted and a Son!care toothbrush. He just got a new Son!care himself a few months ago, and he loved it so much he had joked about getting me one for my birthday. I told him I didn't care, that I'd use it and probably like it, so I wasn't really surprised that he sent it. And for the record, that thing is AWESOME! I love it!
He also sent me the best birthday card ever. The card itself was nice, but nothing groundbreaking as far as cards go. K took the liberty of personalizing it, though, which was cute. But then he wrote me a note that took up the whole left side of the card. It was the sweetest thing I've ever read. It made me miss him even more, but it made me really excited that we'll get to see each other soon.
Nothing like a great birthday to make you feel like the luckiest girl on earth.
Tomorrow, I'll blog about another birthday surprise, which was definitely not a welcome one. I bet some of you can guess what it is ...
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
There really are pictures, and they really are coming
I got back from Florida on Monday morning. I now owe you even more pictures than I did before. But because my computer freakin' sucks (dude, don't get a D.ell), you'll have to wait a little bit longer to get them. But they really are coming. I promise. And you know I'm good for it.
Since I last posted, Memorial Day came and went. I worked a bit on the weekend, but I also managed to find plenty of time for BBQs and time around the pool. Someone stole my sunglasses, which sucked. I didn't realize how much I loved them until they were gone. I bought them with K in October while he was on his R&R before the deployment. So whoever stole them? I'm pretty sure it'll bite you in the butt. Stealing sunglasses with pre-deployment sentimental value from an Army wife on Memorial Day weekend while her husband is deployed? Oh, karma will surely be bad.
Sunday, my boss had a pool party at her house. I hadn't been there 5 minutes when K called -- go figure. I was able to talk to him for a few minutes. The news about his cousin had hit him pretty hard, but he was doing well, considering. We only talked for a few minutes since the call was kind of at a bad time.
Last week itself was kind of a blur. Every night was busy! Tuesday night, I did my standard workout, followed by a 4-mile run in 90 degree weather (that's the temp, not the heat index). Wednesday night, I hosted an Arbo.nne party for Miss Elle at my apartment. It was kind of funny to have so many worlds collide like that. Heather and Elle were there from Blogland; ER came; and Topeka, Brit, and AJ were there too. Many of them hadn't met before, so that was fun. Elle did such a great job!
On Thursday, I went to the movies with ER at 12:02 a.m. (so I guess it was technically Friday morning) to see Sex and the City. I had planned on waiting, but when ER's friend she was originally supposed to go with cancelled, I told ER I'd go. It meant that I only got a little over 3 hours of sleep since I had so much to do that night, but I'm glad I went. It was good to catch up with ER, and it was a good movie!
Friday, I got a small promotion. It came with a very welcome 6-plus percent raise. Sweet!
That afternoon, I flew to Orlando to meet two Army wife friends. Ry is from NYC, and she's married to one of K's former lieutenants. Katy is actually an Army fiance. She lives in Daytona. Her fiance came home on his R&R in March. He's getting out of the Army when they get back from Iraq, so he and Katy went house hunting while he was home. They found and bought a gorgeous house, so Ry and I had to go check it out!
Ry's flight arrived earlier than mine, so she and Katy met me at the baggage claim, and we immediately headed to see SATC, since they hadn't seen it yet. Saturday was spent lying around the pool for the first part of the day. Then, we headed to the beach to play in the water and see the shuttle launch. That night, we went out for dinner and then to a gay bar (my first time). The bar was OK, but there weren't many people there. There were also many more straight people than I'd expected. I'll have to give it another shot in Dallas, I guess.
After we got home, we got in the pool for a little bit. Ry was ready to call it a night at about 3:00 a.m. Katy got this crazy idea to stay up and watch the sun rise on the beach, so after some convincing, Ry and I climbed into the car and headed to the beach with her. We took a couple blankets so we could lie on one and use the other for cover. Ry and I definitely napped for a while! I woke up about 20 minutes before sunrise. I talked to Katy for awhile until it was time to wake Ry. The sunrise was gorgeous. Since I had gone all the way out there to watch it, I made sure it was very well documented.
We stopped off for some breakfast and then headed back to Katy's, where we promptly went to sleep. We spent the afternoon in the pool again. That night, we ordered Chinese takeout and watched cheesy TV shows and movies. It was crazy to see how quickly the weekend had gone. It was relaxing, though. I needed the getaway!
Monday was back to work and my regular schedule. I heard from K that night, so I got to tell him all about our trip.
The week isn't quite back to normal yet, though. I'm going to dinner with ER tomorrow night, and then I have to pack for the weekend. I leave Friday for Heather's wedding. Obviously since it's a wedding, it's not quite a vacation and I won't quite be by myself, but this will be the closest to a vacation that I've ever taken by myself. We'll see how it goes.
I'm looking forward to it, though. I'm excited for Heather and B, and I know the wedding will be gorgeous. I'm renting a car, so I plan on doing plenty of sight seeing -- and taking plenty of pictures.
I swear, when I finally get around to it, this is gonna be one hell of a picture post!
Since I last posted, Memorial Day came and went. I worked a bit on the weekend, but I also managed to find plenty of time for BBQs and time around the pool. Someone stole my sunglasses, which sucked. I didn't realize how much I loved them until they were gone. I bought them with K in October while he was on his R&R before the deployment. So whoever stole them? I'm pretty sure it'll bite you in the butt. Stealing sunglasses with pre-deployment sentimental value from an Army wife on Memorial Day weekend while her husband is deployed? Oh, karma will surely be bad.
Sunday, my boss had a pool party at her house. I hadn't been there 5 minutes when K called -- go figure. I was able to talk to him for a few minutes. The news about his cousin had hit him pretty hard, but he was doing well, considering. We only talked for a few minutes since the call was kind of at a bad time.
Last week itself was kind of a blur. Every night was busy! Tuesday night, I did my standard workout, followed by a 4-mile run in 90 degree weather (that's the temp, not the heat index). Wednesday night, I hosted an Arbo.nne party for Miss Elle at my apartment. It was kind of funny to have so many worlds collide like that. Heather and Elle were there from Blogland; ER came; and Topeka, Brit, and AJ were there too. Many of them hadn't met before, so that was fun. Elle did such a great job!
On Thursday, I went to the movies with ER at 12:02 a.m. (so I guess it was technically Friday morning) to see Sex and the City. I had planned on waiting, but when ER's friend she was originally supposed to go with cancelled, I told ER I'd go. It meant that I only got a little over 3 hours of sleep since I had so much to do that night, but I'm glad I went. It was good to catch up with ER, and it was a good movie!
Friday, I got a small promotion. It came with a very welcome 6-plus percent raise. Sweet!
That afternoon, I flew to Orlando to meet two Army wife friends. Ry is from NYC, and she's married to one of K's former lieutenants. Katy is actually an Army fiance. She lives in Daytona. Her fiance came home on his R&R in March. He's getting out of the Army when they get back from Iraq, so he and Katy went house hunting while he was home. They found and bought a gorgeous house, so Ry and I had to go check it out!
Ry's flight arrived earlier than mine, so she and Katy met me at the baggage claim, and we immediately headed to see SATC, since they hadn't seen it yet. Saturday was spent lying around the pool for the first part of the day. Then, we headed to the beach to play in the water and see the shuttle launch. That night, we went out for dinner and then to a gay bar (my first time). The bar was OK, but there weren't many people there. There were also many more straight people than I'd expected. I'll have to give it another shot in Dallas, I guess.
After we got home, we got in the pool for a little bit. Ry was ready to call it a night at about 3:00 a.m. Katy got this crazy idea to stay up and watch the sun rise on the beach, so after some convincing, Ry and I climbed into the car and headed to the beach with her. We took a couple blankets so we could lie on one and use the other for cover. Ry and I definitely napped for a while! I woke up about 20 minutes before sunrise. I talked to Katy for awhile until it was time to wake Ry. The sunrise was gorgeous. Since I had gone all the way out there to watch it, I made sure it was very well documented.
We stopped off for some breakfast and then headed back to Katy's, where we promptly went to sleep. We spent the afternoon in the pool again. That night, we ordered Chinese takeout and watched cheesy TV shows and movies. It was crazy to see how quickly the weekend had gone. It was relaxing, though. I needed the getaway!
Monday was back to work and my regular schedule. I heard from K that night, so I got to tell him all about our trip.
The week isn't quite back to normal yet, though. I'm going to dinner with ER tomorrow night, and then I have to pack for the weekend. I leave Friday for Heather's wedding. Obviously since it's a wedding, it's not quite a vacation and I won't quite be by myself, but this will be the closest to a vacation that I've ever taken by myself. We'll see how it goes.
I'm looking forward to it, though. I'm excited for Heather and B, and I know the wedding will be gorgeous. I'm renting a car, so I plan on doing plenty of sight seeing -- and taking plenty of pictures.
I swear, when I finally get around to it, this is gonna be one hell of a picture post!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Probably not the answer he was expecting
One of my old roommates from my senior year in college graduated last weekend, so I went to Oklahoma City to celebrate with her and our other two former roomies. The graduate's boyfriend, Daniel, was there, and I hadn't seen him in about 2 1/2 years.
"So how's married life?" he asked me.
I gave a little laugh, thinking he was joking since not much besides my last name and the presence of another ring on my finger has changed since the wedding. So I answered, "There's less talking and a lot less sex."
I guess Daniel forgot that K is deployed, because he gave me this odd, worried look. All my old roommates were laughing, and they reminded Daniel that K is in Iraq.
You could instantly see the relief on his face.
"So how's married life?" he asked me.
I gave a little laugh, thinking he was joking since not much besides my last name and the presence of another ring on my finger has changed since the wedding. So I answered, "There's less talking and a lot less sex."
I guess Daniel forgot that K is deployed, because he gave me this odd, worried look. All my old roommates were laughing, and they reminded Daniel that K is in Iraq.
You could instantly see the relief on his face.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Pictures I meant to post days (and weeks) ago
Remember that 5k I did in March?
My brother's first time in a race car in almost two years
Pictures from the storm last Wednesday night (this was all from my neighborhood)
Meeting up with one of my old roomies last weekend
My impromptu photo shoot with Piper
It was tough at first -- she kept eating the flowers and looking everywhere but toward me -- and then I got these.
My brother's first time in a race car in almost two years
Pictures from the storm last Wednesday night (this was all from my neighborhood)
Meeting up with one of my old roomies last weekend
My impromptu photo shoot with Piper
It was tough at first -- she kept eating the flowers and looking everywhere but toward me -- and then I got these.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Busy busy busy
This past weekend was a pretty hectic one. Friday night, I went out to a bar with Jeremy and couple other friends. Most of them were some of his friends from work, but a college friend I know through Jeremy was there with her fiance. We had a good time talking and hanging out until this awful band started playing at the bar, and we wound up text messaging each other for a while in an effort to keep communicating, since it required screaming to even be heard by the person next to you. That got old pretty quickly, so we wound up leaving, but I was glad for the early night.
I had planned on getting up early Saturday morning to go bike riding. When I woke up, though, I just wasn't feeling it. I wanted to sleep some more, and it looked like it had rained the night before. I could feel myself starting to get the first signs of a cold anyway (because I'm a genius and slept with my window open and two fans on one night last week), so I opted to skip out on riding and sleep instead.
I had plans to meet up with a co-worker friend to go wedding dress shopping anyway, so I think I made a good move. The dress shop we went to was great. I absolutely loved it and the people there. I found a couple dresses that I really liked. I don't know if either was necessarily "the" dress, but we'll see. They're definite possibilities.
After dress shopping, we had lunch and hung out a bit. We haven't hung out much outside of work, so it was fun to catch up -- especially since work has had the two of us going in different directions lately anyway.
I ran a couple errands -- including getting my fourth massage, which was really nice, but would have been much more enjoyable had I been able to breathe through my nose. I ran a couple more errands after the massage, then came home and collapsed for a 30-minute nap. I woke up an hour later (oops!) and hurried to change for Miss Heather's bachelorette party. We met up in a very exclusive spot for dinner, which was quite an experience. I immediately felt my small-town roots showing when the waiter got to our table and asked what kind of water we wanted. I know there's bottled or tap, and there's some crazy expensive kind that some people drink (Perignon?) and I was forced into trying once but found it utterly disgusting. But I had no idea how to answer that question. At this restaurant, I figured the "type of water" could have been cucumber water, spring water or even water with some kind of flower floating in it. I figured there was no telling. Luckily someone else answered for the whole table: "Tap is fine." (Easy enough!)
The menu was just as intimidating. I knew part of most everything on the menu, but then there would be something else thrown in that would make me a little unsure about that particular item, like throwing fig on a salad or something. I don't get too adventurous or exotic with my food, so I went with crab cakes (I had had them once before in my life, and they were good, and I knew this place wouldn't mess them up) and a Caesar salad. I figured the two probably weren't the best combo, but I didn't care. I chose the two items I could understand on the menu!
The food was delicious, and we had a really good time gabbing over dinner, yummy fresh bread and drinks. After dinner, we went to a hotspot bar for a bit. I was pretty tired from a full day, so I only stayed until about midnight or so, but it was really a good time. I'll have to post the pictures I got later. I'm sure Heather will post plenty herself.
I went to church the next day and then out to lunch with ER. It was good to catch up with her, since we've both been going crazy with our hectic lives lately. The afternoon was full of errands and straightening up around my apartment. That night, I went to see Brit in her new house. She and her boyfriend just bought a house together that's really just a couple miles from my place. I went to go check it out. It’s gorgeous – and big! I was really impressed -- and jealous. I can’t wait until K and I can have a house together! I'm happy for Brit, though. I like her boyfriend a lot.
I stayed at their place for a couple hours hanging out and then eating dinner, and when I left there, I immediately rushed home and changed into crappy clothes, then went straight to Jeremy's to help him paint his room. I helped out for a couple hours, and before I knew it, it was 10:30.
I came home and put a care package together for K so I could get it sent out this morning, since Friday night and Saturday morning had left me no time to get one made. I needed to give Piper a bath, but I decided to put it off until tonight.
Surprise of all surprises, when I woke up this morning, my cold was much worse. I felt awful. I guess I have just been running myself ragged. I decided to work from home today so I could get some rest and hopefully get to bed early. I've been ready for bed for a while, but I'm still getting things done around my apartment. It's about that time, though, and the Nyquil I took is kicking in. I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow. It's been a long time since I've done that!
I had planned on getting up early Saturday morning to go bike riding. When I woke up, though, I just wasn't feeling it. I wanted to sleep some more, and it looked like it had rained the night before. I could feel myself starting to get the first signs of a cold anyway (because I'm a genius and slept with my window open and two fans on one night last week), so I opted to skip out on riding and sleep instead.
I had plans to meet up with a co-worker friend to go wedding dress shopping anyway, so I think I made a good move. The dress shop we went to was great. I absolutely loved it and the people there. I found a couple dresses that I really liked. I don't know if either was necessarily "the" dress, but we'll see. They're definite possibilities.
After dress shopping, we had lunch and hung out a bit. We haven't hung out much outside of work, so it was fun to catch up -- especially since work has had the two of us going in different directions lately anyway.
I ran a couple errands -- including getting my fourth massage, which was really nice, but would have been much more enjoyable had I been able to breathe through my nose. I ran a couple more errands after the massage, then came home and collapsed for a 30-minute nap. I woke up an hour later (oops!) and hurried to change for Miss Heather's bachelorette party. We met up in a very exclusive spot for dinner, which was quite an experience. I immediately felt my small-town roots showing when the waiter got to our table and asked what kind of water we wanted. I know there's bottled or tap, and there's some crazy expensive kind that some people drink (Perignon?) and I was forced into trying once but found it utterly disgusting. But I had no idea how to answer that question. At this restaurant, I figured the "type of water" could have been cucumber water, spring water or even water with some kind of flower floating in it. I figured there was no telling. Luckily someone else answered for the whole table: "Tap is fine." (Easy enough!)
The menu was just as intimidating. I knew part of most everything on the menu, but then there would be something else thrown in that would make me a little unsure about that particular item, like throwing fig on a salad or something. I don't get too adventurous or exotic with my food, so I went with crab cakes (I had had them once before in my life, and they were good, and I knew this place wouldn't mess them up) and a Caesar salad. I figured the two probably weren't the best combo, but I didn't care. I chose the two items I could understand on the menu!
The food was delicious, and we had a really good time gabbing over dinner, yummy fresh bread and drinks. After dinner, we went to a hotspot bar for a bit. I was pretty tired from a full day, so I only stayed until about midnight or so, but it was really a good time. I'll have to post the pictures I got later. I'm sure Heather will post plenty herself.
I went to church the next day and then out to lunch with ER. It was good to catch up with her, since we've both been going crazy with our hectic lives lately. The afternoon was full of errands and straightening up around my apartment. That night, I went to see Brit in her new house. She and her boyfriend just bought a house together that's really just a couple miles from my place. I went to go check it out. It’s gorgeous – and big! I was really impressed -- and jealous. I can’t wait until K and I can have a house together! I'm happy for Brit, though. I like her boyfriend a lot.
I stayed at their place for a couple hours hanging out and then eating dinner, and when I left there, I immediately rushed home and changed into crappy clothes, then went straight to Jeremy's to help him paint his room. I helped out for a couple hours, and before I knew it, it was 10:30.
I came home and put a care package together for K so I could get it sent out this morning, since Friday night and Saturday morning had left me no time to get one made. I needed to give Piper a bath, but I decided to put it off until tonight.
Surprise of all surprises, when I woke up this morning, my cold was much worse. I felt awful. I guess I have just been running myself ragged. I decided to work from home today so I could get some rest and hopefully get to bed early. I've been ready for bed for a while, but I'm still getting things done around my apartment. It's about that time, though, and the Nyquil I took is kicking in. I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow. It's been a long time since I've done that!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Feeling much better
When I woke up this morning, the first thing I realized was that K had not called me last night. Just in case I had managed to sleep through my phone ringing or had mistaken it for an alarm and shut it off, I checked my recent calls list. K hadn't called. I knew that already -- I had woken up at least twice in the middle of the night in anticipation of his call. The fact he hadn't called meant his morning meeting had run late, something had come up or the phone lines were down. Whatever the case, all I could do was hope it wasn't long before he'd really be able to call me.
When I got to work, I felt the familiar stress and negative attitude hit me as soon as I got to my desk. I was very glad my boss and I had lunch plans so hopefully I could ease some of my frustration.
The lunch plans wound up being thrown up in the air, but luckily, we wound up going as scheduled. I had made a little outline of the work issues I wanted to talk about. As we drove to lunch together, my boss asked me how I've been. "Stressed," I said. She asked me about K, so I told her about the family group issue and how little I've been able to talk to K lately. I told her about the base attack (only a few of my co-workers knew about it) and how I found out through email.
"No wonder you've been so stressed," she said. She asked me if I'd talked to my mom. I told her it's been almost a year and that I haven't seen my mom since Christmas of 2006.
My boss filled me in on some things with her, and then she asked me about work. We talked for the rest of the time about the things on the list I'd made. My boss said she was really glad to hear all the feedback and that all of it was very good. A lot of it was things that are beyond her control, but it felt better to express my opinion to a supervisor, who might then be able to share that feedback with her supervisor. The things my boss is able to have an effect on seem promising. I felt so much better just getting all of that out.
Later tonight, K even called me. We were able to talk for about 45 minutes or so. It was really nice. We talked about a ton of things I'd meant to tell him or had asked him about in an email, but he hadn't had a chance to respond yet. We talked more about vacation plans. We talked about his new role and how he feels about it. He misses what he did before because now he's spending much more time in an office, and he's away from the soldiers for the most part. The job he's doing now will be great on his resume, but he really loves being out there working with the soldiers. He's doing some great, important work, and I hope he's just in an adjustment period still.
I didn't say anything to K about my slump lately because I don't want him to worry about me. I know it's just a temporary thing, so I'll be fine on my own soon enough.
I went running tonight with Topeka (my new friend who I ran the 5k with). We ran 4 miles, and it felt great. I really needed it after all the (yummy!) junk I ate in OK last weekend. Plus, it was just the two of us, so it was good to get some girl time in while I was doing something good for my body and my mind.
All in all, I'm feeling much better about things tonight. I'm still not feeling as chipper as usual, but I can definitely tell things are improving. And it feels good to have taken control of what I can to improve the things that were bothering me.
When I got to work, I felt the familiar stress and negative attitude hit me as soon as I got to my desk. I was very glad my boss and I had lunch plans so hopefully I could ease some of my frustration.
The lunch plans wound up being thrown up in the air, but luckily, we wound up going as scheduled. I had made a little outline of the work issues I wanted to talk about. As we drove to lunch together, my boss asked me how I've been. "Stressed," I said. She asked me about K, so I told her about the family group issue and how little I've been able to talk to K lately. I told her about the base attack (only a few of my co-workers knew about it) and how I found out through email.
"No wonder you've been so stressed," she said. She asked me if I'd talked to my mom. I told her it's been almost a year and that I haven't seen my mom since Christmas of 2006.
My boss filled me in on some things with her, and then she asked me about work. We talked for the rest of the time about the things on the list I'd made. My boss said she was really glad to hear all the feedback and that all of it was very good. A lot of it was things that are beyond her control, but it felt better to express my opinion to a supervisor, who might then be able to share that feedback with her supervisor. The things my boss is able to have an effect on seem promising. I felt so much better just getting all of that out.
Later tonight, K even called me. We were able to talk for about 45 minutes or so. It was really nice. We talked about a ton of things I'd meant to tell him or had asked him about in an email, but he hadn't had a chance to respond yet. We talked more about vacation plans. We talked about his new role and how he feels about it. He misses what he did before because now he's spending much more time in an office, and he's away from the soldiers for the most part. The job he's doing now will be great on his resume, but he really loves being out there working with the soldiers. He's doing some great, important work, and I hope he's just in an adjustment period still.
I didn't say anything to K about my slump lately because I don't want him to worry about me. I know it's just a temporary thing, so I'll be fine on my own soon enough.
I went running tonight with Topeka (my new friend who I ran the 5k with). We ran 4 miles, and it felt great. I really needed it after all the (yummy!) junk I ate in OK last weekend. Plus, it was just the two of us, so it was good to get some girl time in while I was doing something good for my body and my mind.
All in all, I'm feeling much better about things tonight. I'm still not feeling as chipper as usual, but I can definitely tell things are improving. And it feels good to have taken control of what I can to improve the things that were bothering me.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Going, going, going
I can't believe it's been almost a week since I blogged. I've been pretty busy, but I just haven't felt like getting on the computer after work.
Last week seemed to go by more slowly than usual, so I was glad to see it end. After several nights of trying, I finally made it to bed early last Wednesday night -- at 11 p.m. I really needed it.
I realized Thursday afternoon that I hadn't felt like myself in over a week. In fact, I felt like I'd been a bit of a bitch, and it was frustrating. I was rushing to run some errands that afternoon, and it was in the middle of them that I realized the reason I'd felt so off: I was insanely stressed. I realized I was pretty much on the verge of a breakdown, one of those times I'd just need to stop and cry my eyes out for a few hours, only I didn't have time. I decided I'd give myself Sunday after church through the rest of the day to relax, rest and cry if I needed to.
Since it was still just Thursday, I needed to vent somehow. I started to write a blog about my light bulb moment, and I thought about rattling off the list of things I was stressed about -- everything from the fact my washing machine decided to stop working properly to the fact I hadn't heard from K all week (and had only talked to him once a week the previous two weeks as well). Go figure, though, there was no time to write it.
Then, that afternoon, K called. I immediately felt so much better just to hear from him. We were able to talk for about 45 minutes, and the conversation actually overlapped the time I was supposed to join some friends for a workout. I wound up skipping so I could talk to K longer. It wound up being an additional blessing because it meant I wasn't rushing to the workout. I was able to run a couple errands I hadn't had time to do, and I got to relax a little bit. I met up with Jeremy and a friend at 9 that night, and we ran 4 miles, so I still even got my workout in.
I was able to put an Easter care package together for K that night after the run. It meant I was up late, but I didn't mind.
Friday was a standard day, but that night after work, I met Heather for Mexican food and margaritas. It was so much fun! We talked about work, the guys, bloggers, wedding planning and a billion other things. I really needed that.
We called it a night at a little after 9, since I had to get up before 6 a.m. on Saturday. I ran a 5k that morning. It was my first running event. I started off in the run more quickly than I meant to because I was just trying to get past the people who were walking or had strollers and dogs with them. There was no staggered start, and the people who weren't in it to run didn't worry about sticking to one side of the road. I weaved through them and tried to find a spot where there was more space to just run. After a while of that optimistic attempt, I realized it wasn't going to happen.
And then I realized I'd worn myself out. And then I came to a hill I'd forgotten that I'd been warned about. (Oops.) After the hill, I slowed quite a bit. I'm pretty sure I was at less than a 10-minute mile pace. I really wanted to stop running and just start walking, but at the same time, it was just 3 miles. I had run 4 miles TWICE that week. I could tough it out a bit longer. I did, and I wound up finishing in just over 27 minutes. Without the hill (and the smaller one at the very end of the route), I know I'd have done a lot better (along with everyone else in the run). I was still pretty proud of myself, though -- especially considering I couldn't even run a block in December.
Sunday, I went to church and then pretty much took the rest of the day easy, like I'd planned. K called me, so I was able to talk to him for a little bit. Hopefully we're back on our twice-a-week schedule now.
Things today have been pretty uneventful. I feel like I'm in a bit of a funk again, but I'm hoping it's just because I haven't been to the gym since Wednesday night. I did run on Thursday and Saturday, but running just doesn't give me the boost I get from the gym. I'm supposed to head that way in about 30 minutes, so hopefully that helps. Guess I've gotten used to those endorphins!
Last week seemed to go by more slowly than usual, so I was glad to see it end. After several nights of trying, I finally made it to bed early last Wednesday night -- at 11 p.m. I really needed it.
I realized Thursday afternoon that I hadn't felt like myself in over a week. In fact, I felt like I'd been a bit of a bitch, and it was frustrating. I was rushing to run some errands that afternoon, and it was in the middle of them that I realized the reason I'd felt so off: I was insanely stressed. I realized I was pretty much on the verge of a breakdown, one of those times I'd just need to stop and cry my eyes out for a few hours, only I didn't have time. I decided I'd give myself Sunday after church through the rest of the day to relax, rest and cry if I needed to.
Since it was still just Thursday, I needed to vent somehow. I started to write a blog about my light bulb moment, and I thought about rattling off the list of things I was stressed about -- everything from the fact my washing machine decided to stop working properly to the fact I hadn't heard from K all week (and had only talked to him once a week the previous two weeks as well). Go figure, though, there was no time to write it.
Then, that afternoon, K called. I immediately felt so much better just to hear from him. We were able to talk for about 45 minutes, and the conversation actually overlapped the time I was supposed to join some friends for a workout. I wound up skipping so I could talk to K longer. It wound up being an additional blessing because it meant I wasn't rushing to the workout. I was able to run a couple errands I hadn't had time to do, and I got to relax a little bit. I met up with Jeremy and a friend at 9 that night, and we ran 4 miles, so I still even got my workout in.
I was able to put an Easter care package together for K that night after the run. It meant I was up late, but I didn't mind.
Friday was a standard day, but that night after work, I met Heather for Mexican food and margaritas. It was so much fun! We talked about work, the guys, bloggers, wedding planning and a billion other things. I really needed that.
We called it a night at a little after 9, since I had to get up before 6 a.m. on Saturday. I ran a 5k that morning. It was my first running event. I started off in the run more quickly than I meant to because I was just trying to get past the people who were walking or had strollers and dogs with them. There was no staggered start, and the people who weren't in it to run didn't worry about sticking to one side of the road. I weaved through them and tried to find a spot where there was more space to just run. After a while of that optimistic attempt, I realized it wasn't going to happen.
And then I realized I'd worn myself out. And then I came to a hill I'd forgotten that I'd been warned about. (Oops.) After the hill, I slowed quite a bit. I'm pretty sure I was at less than a 10-minute mile pace. I really wanted to stop running and just start walking, but at the same time, it was just 3 miles. I had run 4 miles TWICE that week. I could tough it out a bit longer. I did, and I wound up finishing in just over 27 minutes. Without the hill (and the smaller one at the very end of the route), I know I'd have done a lot better (along with everyone else in the run). I was still pretty proud of myself, though -- especially considering I couldn't even run a block in December.
Sunday, I went to church and then pretty much took the rest of the day easy, like I'd planned. K called me, so I was able to talk to him for a little bit. Hopefully we're back on our twice-a-week schedule now.
Things today have been pretty uneventful. I feel like I'm in a bit of a funk again, but I'm hoping it's just because I haven't been to the gym since Wednesday night. I did run on Thursday and Saturday, but running just doesn't give me the boost I get from the gym. I'm supposed to head that way in about 30 minutes, so hopefully that helps. Guess I've gotten used to those endorphins!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
I don't get it either, and I was there!
Sorry to keep you all waiting on my post about this weekend. When I got home Sunday, I was exhausted and didn't want to do anything but unpack and sleep. I started writing the post last night, but honestly, I'm kind of confused about the events of Saturday night. I was there, and I remember everything, but really, none of it makes sense.
Friday was great: I rushed to Norman after work and made it in just enough time to throw on my hot red dress, touch up my makeup and head to dinner. Our original dinner choice had an hour wait, so we headed next door to the same place we ate at last year for the girls' birthday. It wound up being just the four of us old roomies, which was awesome. We had a great dinner, caught up and took a few pictures before heading to a couple bars on Campus Corner.
We had a great time there. Rachel and I managed to see a few guys we went to high school with, and I met several of the guy friends of hers I've heard about for so long but hadn't met. It was a good, silly night, but nothing crazy.
The next day, we slept in a bit and then started getting ready to go out for lunch. Most of my close girl friends are very low maintenance, so I usually am the last one to be ready. Not with these girls. I waited for over an hour before they were completely dressed and ready to head to lunch (and I think I'm the only one who showered, since the bars from the night before were smoke-free and I was the only one who hadn't showered before going out Friday night, since I had so little time)!
Lunch was nice and calm, until about halfway through, when I looked up and saw a familiar face -- S@m Br@dford, OU's awesome quarterback who will totally win the Heisman before he graduates -- entering the restaurant. I was really excited the rest of our meal, and the girls laughed at me for being such a dork. Of course I had to get a picture with him!
After lunch, we had decided we were going to go ahead and get ready for dinner and then head to the movies to see Jumper. When we got back to Rachel's apartment, though, the cold, rainy weather made us feel more like staying in. We watched Hairspray at her place before having to stop before the movie was over so we could get ready to go to OKC for the night. The other three girls started getting ready 30 minutes before I did, yet I still managed (once again) to find myself dressed and ready to go about 30 minutes before them.
The Asian bistro we went to for dinner was a really neat place. It was very hip, and the food was really good. I ordered the sweet & sour chicken, which would have been completely awesome if it wasn't drowned in sauce. (I'm not a huge fan of sweet & sour sauce to begin with, but even Rachel, who says she loves sauce of any kind, thought it was overpowering.) The two birthday girls shared their green tea ice cream with us. It was yummy!
After dinner, L.indsay had to leave us to head to another friend's birthday celebration, but the rest of us headed to the trashy dance club I was dreading. A friend of Rachel & Jess!ca's had told us at dinner that she'd drive us that night, so Rachel, Jess!ca & I headed to the bar for drinks as soon as we got to the club. I knew I needed to get started on the liquid courage necessary for me to get through the night at that club and also decrease my judgment enough to make myself think I look good when I dance.
Our DD had a few friends at the club who were visiting from Tulsa, and I started talking to a really awesome married couple in the group. I'd been talking to them for a while when the other girls (Rachel, Jess!ca & our DD) came up to let me know we were leaving to go to some hot new bar they'd been hearing about. Someone had put us on the list there, so we were going to check it out, but we'd come back to the trashy club after.
And this is where the night started to go downhill
We walked the block and a half to the new "it" bar, which wound up absolutely sucking.
The music was bad, the place was so crowded you could hardly move, and the bartenders sucked. In fact, the bartender had skipped over Jess!ca and me and helped these other two people -- a girl Rachel called my attention to, who I realized was a sleazy girl we went to school with who was a few years younger than us, and some greasy older guy she was with.
Jess!ca got the bartender's attention, and when she looked up at me, I gave her our drink order. She was just starting to make the second line-jumper's drinks at that point, so I added after telling the order, "Just after you're finished with those drinks. I think those other people jumped ahead of us."
The bartender looked up at me. "That girl had been waiting in line for several minutes."
"Oh, no, I wasn't talking about her. The guy."
The bartender looked at me again. She said in a snotty voice: "He's paying for her drinks. Don't tell me how to do my job." I was frozen in shock, since I had been polite and hadn't intended to step on any toes, and I certainly hadn't told her how to do her job. I could understand her frustration about being busy, but I hadn't said, "You helped them first." I had said, "They jumped ahead of us." I wasn't accusing her of anything.
Since I wasn't positive the two people had jumped ahead of us (maybe I just hadn't seen them?), I didn't say anything else. After I paid for our drinks, though, I asked Rachel if the two had actually cut. Rachel told me she watched them walk up to the bar after Jess!ca and I had been standing there a couple minutes. The bartender was a liar!
Since nothing about the bar seemed to be good (a few others with us had their own list of complaints), I was ready to leave. Jess!ca and I decided together that we would walk back to the trashy club. Only when I talked to another couple there with us who was wanting to go back as well, Jess!ca decided to stay, since someone had come up to her and was buying her drinks.
I headed back to the first club with the couple, and I hung out with them and the Tulsa people. By the time the club was closing, Rachel and the group who'd gone to the crappy bar had returned, so we headed outside to get to the car.
When the night gets confusing
It was raining and cold out, so Jess!ca and some random guy headed toward her car so the rest of us could stay dry. Rachel and I stood under an awning talking to two guy friends of hers. When Jess!ca and Random Guy came back, we all realized that none of us could drive, and our DD seemed to have left with her boyfriend.
Luckily, Rachel's guy friends were OK to drive us. We climbed in Jess!ca's car, where we all came up with a plan. The guys would drive us to their house, which was on our way home to begin with, and we'd sober up there. I'd drink a ton of water and drive us back to Norman safely (and soberly).
We got to the guys' house, and all of us went inside except for Jess!ca and Random Guy. After 20 minutes or so, she was at the door asking why we'd left her in the car. Rachel explained she thought Jess!ca had wanted some alone time with Random Guy or something. They knew very well how to get out of her car and come inside the house with the rest of us. Jess!ca started going on and on about how she didn't trust the guys whose house we were at, and she didn't want us in there any longer. Rachel and I tried explaining that these were friends of Rachel's, and she'd known them for years. Jess!ca was still uncomfortable and insisted that she drive us home, so we left the house.
As we headed the less than 20 miles back to Norman, Jess!ca and Rachel were each still trying to figure out where there was a miscommunication. Jess!ca was trying to explain to Rachel why she didn't trust the two guys we were with, and Rachel was trying to figure out why Jess!ca was upset about a plan she had originally agreed upon. Soon, they were yelling at each other in frustration.
Random Boy was still in the car, and instead of being smart and quiet, he spoke up from time to time, and he wasn't helping the situation.
I realized quickly that he had a bad habit of calling girls "honey," "dear" or other such obnoxious pet names. I tried telling him that girls don't typically appreciate that, and I asked him to stop. I asked him three times. He started calling me "Mizz" instead. I reminded him of my first name many times.
Random Boy still insisted on speaking up, even though Rachel and Jess!ca were really yelling by that time. When Random Boy called me a pet name again, I screamed at him. I yelled at him and cussed at him, and I told him he wasn't helping the situation and needed to hush. Except I told him really, really loudly.
And he hushed.
For a while.
Then, the rest of the night, he kept saying stupid things about how one of us was going to stab him, which came completely out of nowhere.
So there the four of us were -- Jess!ca, Rachel, me and Random Guy -- heading back to Norman. It became clear that Jess!ca had just completely forgotten a portion of the night, which happened to be when we had all decided on our plan to sober up at the guys' house. She had also completely forgotten that the guys were friends of Rachel's. After we finally got all that cleared up and the argument was over, we all three became very annoyed with Random Guy, who was still whining about how one of us harmless, tiny girls was going to stab him.
I tried carrying on a conversation with Random Guy in the hopes he would wake up and realize that we were all absolutely harmless and really nice girls. I even apologized for screaming at him, despite the fact it was completely warranted because he hadn't listened to my numerous polite requests to stop using demeaning pet names with strangers. He was stupid, though, and didn't get any better.
Honestly, the events of Saturday night probably make as much sense to you as they do to me. I didn't realize how confused I was about the night until I tried explaining it to L!ndsay the next day on my way back to Dallas.
I know there's more to the story than I initially realized, but I still don't understand why Jess!ca was so upset. Random Guy probably doesn't sound like a jerk from what I said above, but he absolutely was. Plus, the guy is 26 years old and still lives with his rich mommy and daddy. In Oklahoma (The cost of living is very low in OK. Pretty sure he can afford to move out by now. Especially the way he was throwing around money).
Jess!ca, Rachel and I went to lunch together on Sunday, and we talked more about the previous night. Things were better between all of us, and we had to laugh at the chain of events of the night and the fact that some wimpy guy was afraid of us and somehow convinced we were going to stab him.
Friday night and Saturday afternoon were so great that it was sad to leave with such a confusing, random night like Saturday night.
I was actually happy to make it back home to Dallas, where I could catch up on the sleep I didn't get Saturday night.
I think it's going to be a little while before I head back to Norman!
Friday was great: I rushed to Norman after work and made it in just enough time to throw on my hot red dress, touch up my makeup and head to dinner. Our original dinner choice had an hour wait, so we headed next door to the same place we ate at last year for the girls' birthday. It wound up being just the four of us old roomies, which was awesome. We had a great dinner, caught up and took a few pictures before heading to a couple bars on Campus Corner.
We had a great time there. Rachel and I managed to see a few guys we went to high school with, and I met several of the guy friends of hers I've heard about for so long but hadn't met. It was a good, silly night, but nothing crazy.
The next day, we slept in a bit and then started getting ready to go out for lunch. Most of my close girl friends are very low maintenance, so I usually am the last one to be ready. Not with these girls. I waited for over an hour before they were completely dressed and ready to head to lunch (and I think I'm the only one who showered, since the bars from the night before were smoke-free and I was the only one who hadn't showered before going out Friday night, since I had so little time)!
Lunch was nice and calm, until about halfway through, when I looked up and saw a familiar face -- S@m Br@dford, OU's awesome quarterback who will totally win the Heisman before he graduates -- entering the restaurant. I was really excited the rest of our meal, and the girls laughed at me for being such a dork. Of course I had to get a picture with him!
After lunch, we had decided we were going to go ahead and get ready for dinner and then head to the movies to see Jumper. When we got back to Rachel's apartment, though, the cold, rainy weather made us feel more like staying in. We watched Hairspray at her place before having to stop before the movie was over so we could get ready to go to OKC for the night. The other three girls started getting ready 30 minutes before I did, yet I still managed (once again) to find myself dressed and ready to go about 30 minutes before them.
The Asian bistro we went to for dinner was a really neat place. It was very hip, and the food was really good. I ordered the sweet & sour chicken, which would have been completely awesome if it wasn't drowned in sauce. (I'm not a huge fan of sweet & sour sauce to begin with, but even Rachel, who says she loves sauce of any kind, thought it was overpowering.) The two birthday girls shared their green tea ice cream with us. It was yummy!
After dinner, L.indsay had to leave us to head to another friend's birthday celebration, but the rest of us headed to the trashy dance club I was dreading. A friend of Rachel & Jess!ca's had told us at dinner that she'd drive us that night, so Rachel, Jess!ca & I headed to the bar for drinks as soon as we got to the club. I knew I needed to get started on the liquid courage necessary for me to get through the night at that club and also decrease my judgment enough to make myself think I look good when I dance.
Our DD had a few friends at the club who were visiting from Tulsa, and I started talking to a really awesome married couple in the group. I'd been talking to them for a while when the other girls (Rachel, Jess!ca & our DD) came up to let me know we were leaving to go to some hot new bar they'd been hearing about. Someone had put us on the list there, so we were going to check it out, but we'd come back to the trashy club after.
And this is where the night started to go downhill
We walked the block and a half to the new "it" bar, which wound up absolutely sucking.
The music was bad, the place was so crowded you could hardly move, and the bartenders sucked. In fact, the bartender had skipped over Jess!ca and me and helped these other two people -- a girl Rachel called my attention to, who I realized was a sleazy girl we went to school with who was a few years younger than us, and some greasy older guy she was with.
Jess!ca got the bartender's attention, and when she looked up at me, I gave her our drink order. She was just starting to make the second line-jumper's drinks at that point, so I added after telling the order, "Just after you're finished with those drinks. I think those other people jumped ahead of us."
The bartender looked up at me. "That girl had been waiting in line for several minutes."
"Oh, no, I wasn't talking about her. The guy."
The bartender looked at me again. She said in a snotty voice: "He's paying for her drinks. Don't tell me how to do my job." I was frozen in shock, since I had been polite and hadn't intended to step on any toes, and I certainly hadn't told her how to do her job. I could understand her frustration about being busy, but I hadn't said, "You helped them first." I had said, "They jumped ahead of us." I wasn't accusing her of anything.
Since I wasn't positive the two people had jumped ahead of us (maybe I just hadn't seen them?), I didn't say anything else. After I paid for our drinks, though, I asked Rachel if the two had actually cut. Rachel told me she watched them walk up to the bar after Jess!ca and I had been standing there a couple minutes. The bartender was a liar!
Since nothing about the bar seemed to be good (a few others with us had their own list of complaints), I was ready to leave. Jess!ca and I decided together that we would walk back to the trashy club. Only when I talked to another couple there with us who was wanting to go back as well, Jess!ca decided to stay, since someone had come up to her and was buying her drinks.
I headed back to the first club with the couple, and I hung out with them and the Tulsa people. By the time the club was closing, Rachel and the group who'd gone to the crappy bar had returned, so we headed outside to get to the car.
When the night gets confusing
It was raining and cold out, so Jess!ca and some random guy headed toward her car so the rest of us could stay dry. Rachel and I stood under an awning talking to two guy friends of hers. When Jess!ca and Random Guy came back, we all realized that none of us could drive, and our DD seemed to have left with her boyfriend.
Luckily, Rachel's guy friends were OK to drive us. We climbed in Jess!ca's car, where we all came up with a plan. The guys would drive us to their house, which was on our way home to begin with, and we'd sober up there. I'd drink a ton of water and drive us back to Norman safely (and soberly).
We got to the guys' house, and all of us went inside except for Jess!ca and Random Guy. After 20 minutes or so, she was at the door asking why we'd left her in the car. Rachel explained she thought Jess!ca had wanted some alone time with Random Guy or something. They knew very well how to get out of her car and come inside the house with the rest of us. Jess!ca started going on and on about how she didn't trust the guys whose house we were at, and she didn't want us in there any longer. Rachel and I tried explaining that these were friends of Rachel's, and she'd known them for years. Jess!ca was still uncomfortable and insisted that she drive us home, so we left the house.
As we headed the less than 20 miles back to Norman, Jess!ca and Rachel were each still trying to figure out where there was a miscommunication. Jess!ca was trying to explain to Rachel why she didn't trust the two guys we were with, and Rachel was trying to figure out why Jess!ca was upset about a plan she had originally agreed upon. Soon, they were yelling at each other in frustration.
Random Boy was still in the car, and instead of being smart and quiet, he spoke up from time to time, and he wasn't helping the situation.
I realized quickly that he had a bad habit of calling girls "honey," "dear" or other such obnoxious pet names. I tried telling him that girls don't typically appreciate that, and I asked him to stop. I asked him three times. He started calling me "Mizz" instead. I reminded him of my first name many times.
Random Boy still insisted on speaking up, even though Rachel and Jess!ca were really yelling by that time. When Random Boy called me a pet name again, I screamed at him. I yelled at him and cussed at him, and I told him he wasn't helping the situation and needed to hush. Except I told him really, really loudly.
And he hushed.
For a while.
Then, the rest of the night, he kept saying stupid things about how one of us was going to stab him, which came completely out of nowhere.
So there the four of us were -- Jess!ca, Rachel, me and Random Guy -- heading back to Norman. It became clear that Jess!ca had just completely forgotten a portion of the night, which happened to be when we had all decided on our plan to sober up at the guys' house. She had also completely forgotten that the guys were friends of Rachel's. After we finally got all that cleared up and the argument was over, we all three became very annoyed with Random Guy, who was still whining about how one of us harmless, tiny girls was going to stab him.
I tried carrying on a conversation with Random Guy in the hopes he would wake up and realize that we were all absolutely harmless and really nice girls. I even apologized for screaming at him, despite the fact it was completely warranted because he hadn't listened to my numerous polite requests to stop using demeaning pet names with strangers. He was stupid, though, and didn't get any better.
Honestly, the events of Saturday night probably make as much sense to you as they do to me. I didn't realize how confused I was about the night until I tried explaining it to L!ndsay the next day on my way back to Dallas.
I know there's more to the story than I initially realized, but I still don't understand why Jess!ca was so upset. Random Guy probably doesn't sound like a jerk from what I said above, but he absolutely was. Plus, the guy is 26 years old and still lives with his rich mommy and daddy. In Oklahoma (The cost of living is very low in OK. Pretty sure he can afford to move out by now. Especially the way he was throwing around money).
Jess!ca, Rachel and I went to lunch together on Sunday, and we talked more about the previous night. Things were better between all of us, and we had to laugh at the chain of events of the night and the fact that some wimpy guy was afraid of us and somehow convinced we were going to stab him.
Friday night and Saturday afternoon were so great that it was sad to leave with such a confusing, random night like Saturday night.
I was actually happy to make it back home to Dallas, where I could catch up on the sleep I didn't get Saturday night.
I think it's going to be a little while before I head back to Norman!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Because it's not my birthday
I'm heading to OK this weekend to help two of my roomies from my senior year celebrate birthdays. One of the girls' is today; the other's is Sunday. We're supposed to go out for dinner tonihgt and then head to a bar that I love in Norman afterward. I'm excited.
The birthday girl wants to feel pretty, so she's going all out. She was supposed to get her hair done this morning, and she's getting her makeup done this afternoon. She's wearing a dress out. To a sports bar in a college town.
The other birthday girl is getting a new haircut today too. She's also wearing a dress out tonight.
And so is the 4th roomie. Which means I will wear a dress as well so I don't screw up cute pictures by being the only one not in a cute dress. Even thought it's about 30 degrees in OK today. And I'm recovering from the flu.
Tonight should be fun, though. Cold, but fun.
It's tomorrow night I'm definitely not looking forward to. We're going to eat sushi for dinner (hate it) and head to a dance club (yuck) after -- a trashy hip-hop dance club!
Although I've managed to list mostly negatives here, I think it'll be a good weekend, all in all. The four of us old roomies always have a blast when we get together. I just have to get my complaints out before I get to OK so I can put on a happy face even if I can't breathe through my nose.
Things that are definitely awesome about this weekend, no matter what:
The birthday girl wants to feel pretty, so she's going all out. She was supposed to get her hair done this morning, and she's getting her makeup done this afternoon. She's wearing a dress out. To a sports bar in a college town.
The other birthday girl is getting a new haircut today too. She's also wearing a dress out tonight.
And so is the 4th roomie. Which means I will wear a dress as well so I don't screw up cute pictures by being the only one not in a cute dress. Even thought it's about 30 degrees in OK today. And I'm recovering from the flu.
Tonight should be fun, though. Cold, but fun.
It's tomorrow night I'm definitely not looking forward to. We're going to eat sushi for dinner (hate it) and head to a dance club (yuck) after -- a trashy hip-hop dance club!
Although I've managed to list mostly negatives here, I think it'll be a good weekend, all in all. The four of us old roomies always have a blast when we get together. I just have to get my complaints out before I get to OK so I can put on a happy face even if I can't breathe through my nose.
Things that are definitely awesome about this weekend, no matter what:
- I am getting off work early to make it to OK in time for dinner. In fact, I'm leaving work in 7 minutes!
- I am leaving Piper here to be taken care of in Dallas. She's adorable, but I'm looking forward to a break since I'm the little pup 24/7.
- Guaranteed fun with the girls.
- I'm going to Oklahoma!!!
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Hard Sunday
Yesterday, it was about 80 degrees in Dallas. Today, it was around 40. It was raining or drizzling through much of the morning. When I left for church, I was in the mood to hear some slower songs. The radio wasn't quite fitting my mood, so I turned to my CDs to listen to Ca.rrie Und.erwood. Instead of either of her albums, though, it was How.ie Da.y who came up on my CD changer. I love that album, and I hadn't listened to it in a long time, so I didn't change the music.
That album, though, is one that makes me think of K. It's pretty much our CD, really. The first time he came to visit me in Dallas, he showed up at my doorstep with three yellow roses (since yellow's my favorite color) and three CDs, one of which was How.ie Da.y. It actually turned out to be my favorite CD. Since that day in July 2005, we've listened to it many times together.
So hearing it this morning was a little sad. It made me miss K, but I was doing OK. I was a little teary-eyed a couple times, but not enough to make me switch to another CD.
I got to church, ready to be uplifted by a great Christmas-y sermon. Instead, I listened to a choir singing slow songs in minor keys, and the sermon was about darkness: how dark the world is today (the Om@ha shootings were brought up, as were a few others from the past), how it's the darkest time of the year and how we're even approaching the shortest day of the year. Honestly, I can't even remember the point of the whole sermon. I was too busy trying not to cry during it because instead of being uplifted, I was being reminded of more sad things. Awesome.
When the sermon finished, the choir sang another slow, minor-key song. At that point, I cried out, "Gah!" in frustration and dropped my little church program on the pew in frustration. ER, who was sitting beside me, asked me what was wrong. I told her how I had been sad to begin with, and how the depressing music and sermon about darkness had not helped the situation. As I explained those things to her, I started crying.
"Great, now my eyes are going to be red."
I had successfully fought off the tears earlier in church, so I tried to get them to stop again. This time, though, no luck. I was more frustrated by the fact that I hadn't been able to get my hair to cooperate that morning, so I'd had to pull it back. And I was wearing heels. Which meant I was towering above everyone, and I couldn't hide behind my hair.
ER got up to take Communion, and I stayed in the pew like I always do. While she was up, I looked at my phone, which had been on vibrate. I had three missed calls and a new voice message. I could tell by the weird number that it was K. The fact he had left a voice message probably meant he was telling me he'd just give me a call the next day. Obviously that didn't help me stop crying.
By the time ER joined me again at the pew, I wiped my eyes and realized my fingers were turning black. "Great, my mascara is running now," I said to ER. It's hard enough to mask the fact you're crying when your eyes are red and your face looks like a punching bag without adding the black streaks all over your face.
"Do you want to leave?" ER asked. I admitted I did, and we got up and quickly left the church. Luckily, our exit was timed perfectly with the people getting up for Communion at the back rows of the church. All we missed was singing the last hymn as the pastors and readers left the room.
We went straight to ER's car, and I checked my voice message from K. He said, "I just realized you're probably in church, so I'll call you in about a half-hour. Don't be upset." That part made me smile. ER had pointed out that it was neat that at the point I had started crying was the same time as he had called. "At the same time you were really thinking about him, he was thinking about you," she said.
We headed to the mall for a nice little distraction. I was able to cross another present off my list of Christmas gifts after a quick trip to Bath & Body Works. ER and I spent the rest of the time just looking around and chatting. It was nice and relaxing.
K called me back while we were still there, and I was able to talk to him for more than 20 minutes. He's doing well. He's finally in the area where he is supposed to spend the deployment. He said it's really nice. There's no St@rbucks like at the last base he was at, but K's not a big St@rbucks guy anyway. They do have a nice little coffee shop and a mall with some local stores in it.
K has his own room with a twin-sized bed, a couch, a computer desk and a locker for a closet. He says it's a lot like a dorm room setup. He's going to send my pictures of it. The commander of the battery whose place K's battery is taking gave K his TV, so he'll have that too. It makes me happy to know he'll be as comfortable as possible in the place he'll be living for the next 15 months.
After mall time with ER and especially after the phone call from K, my day got much better. I know there will be rough times through this deployment. Today was my first one, really (You can't count the day they leave. It's impossible for that one to be easy.). I'm happy to say this one only lasted for a couple hours. I know there will be more, but it's good to know that not only do they not have to ruin my entire day, but I don't have to go through them alone, either.
That album, though, is one that makes me think of K. It's pretty much our CD, really. The first time he came to visit me in Dallas, he showed up at my doorstep with three yellow roses (since yellow's my favorite color) and three CDs, one of which was How.ie Da.y. It actually turned out to be my favorite CD. Since that day in July 2005, we've listened to it many times together.
So hearing it this morning was a little sad. It made me miss K, but I was doing OK. I was a little teary-eyed a couple times, but not enough to make me switch to another CD.
I got to church, ready to be uplifted by a great Christmas-y sermon. Instead, I listened to a choir singing slow songs in minor keys, and the sermon was about darkness: how dark the world is today (the Om@ha shootings were brought up, as were a few others from the past), how it's the darkest time of the year and how we're even approaching the shortest day of the year. Honestly, I can't even remember the point of the whole sermon. I was too busy trying not to cry during it because instead of being uplifted, I was being reminded of more sad things. Awesome.
When the sermon finished, the choir sang another slow, minor-key song. At that point, I cried out, "Gah!" in frustration and dropped my little church program on the pew in frustration. ER, who was sitting beside me, asked me what was wrong. I told her how I had been sad to begin with, and how the depressing music and sermon about darkness had not helped the situation. As I explained those things to her, I started crying.
"Great, now my eyes are going to be red."
I had successfully fought off the tears earlier in church, so I tried to get them to stop again. This time, though, no luck. I was more frustrated by the fact that I hadn't been able to get my hair to cooperate that morning, so I'd had to pull it back. And I was wearing heels. Which meant I was towering above everyone, and I couldn't hide behind my hair.
ER got up to take Communion, and I stayed in the pew like I always do. While she was up, I looked at my phone, which had been on vibrate. I had three missed calls and a new voice message. I could tell by the weird number that it was K. The fact he had left a voice message probably meant he was telling me he'd just give me a call the next day. Obviously that didn't help me stop crying.
By the time ER joined me again at the pew, I wiped my eyes and realized my fingers were turning black. "Great, my mascara is running now," I said to ER. It's hard enough to mask the fact you're crying when your eyes are red and your face looks like a punching bag without adding the black streaks all over your face.
"Do you want to leave?" ER asked. I admitted I did, and we got up and quickly left the church. Luckily, our exit was timed perfectly with the people getting up for Communion at the back rows of the church. All we missed was singing the last hymn as the pastors and readers left the room.
We went straight to ER's car, and I checked my voice message from K. He said, "I just realized you're probably in church, so I'll call you in about a half-hour. Don't be upset." That part made me smile. ER had pointed out that it was neat that at the point I had started crying was the same time as he had called. "At the same time you were really thinking about him, he was thinking about you," she said.
We headed to the mall for a nice little distraction. I was able to cross another present off my list of Christmas gifts after a quick trip to Bath & Body Works. ER and I spent the rest of the time just looking around and chatting. It was nice and relaxing.
K called me back while we were still there, and I was able to talk to him for more than 20 minutes. He's doing well. He's finally in the area where he is supposed to spend the deployment. He said it's really nice. There's no St@rbucks like at the last base he was at, but K's not a big St@rbucks guy anyway. They do have a nice little coffee shop and a mall with some local stores in it.
K has his own room with a twin-sized bed, a couch, a computer desk and a locker for a closet. He says it's a lot like a dorm room setup. He's going to send my pictures of it. The commander of the battery whose place K's battery is taking gave K his TV, so he'll have that too. It makes me happy to know he'll be as comfortable as possible in the place he'll be living for the next 15 months.
After mall time with ER and especially after the phone call from K, my day got much better. I know there will be rough times through this deployment. Today was my first one, really (You can't count the day they leave. It's impossible for that one to be easy.). I'm happy to say this one only lasted for a couple hours. I know there will be more, but it's good to know that not only do they not have to ruin my entire day, but I don't have to go through them alone, either.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Two calls in one day!
I promise the post about yesterday is coming, but not tonight. I'm still getting settled in from my week with K in Louisiana.
I got back to my apartment a little before 7:30 last night. I immediately started unpacking, and ER was here soon with some taco soup and extra arms to help me unload while our dinner heated up. I told her about my week and especially the events of the day. I cried through a lot of it. She even teared up as I told her about when K left. I was really glad to have her there with me to have someone to talk to. I can't imagine how it would've been to have the whole evening to myself.
I unpacked my things as I'd planned, and I even managed to find places for several of the things K has me storing while he's gone. By the time I'd showered, changed my sheets and climbed into bed, it was 1:30 a.m. I'm pretty sure I was asleep by 1:32.
I was awakened at 6 a.m. by my cellphone. K had told me before he left that he was going to call me, so I went from being dead asleep to completely excited and awake the second I heard my phone ring. He was in Germany after an eight-hour flight from Atlanta. He was about to fly another six hours to Kuwait.
We only talked about 10 or 15 minutes, but it was just great to hear his voice. Knowing it'll be months and months before I see him again makes me miss him even more than I usually would.
Once I got to work, I noticed I was being really quiet. Honestly, for most of the morning, I just didn't feel like talking to anyone. I found myself avoiding people by focusing my attention on Piper as I walked through the halls at work. I wasn't trying to be rude, I was just afraid if I talked to people, they'd ask me about my week or about K. Part of the week's events would come up, and I was worried I'd start crying. Even though I'd packed makeup for touchups just in case, I didn't really want to spend my day crying.
All of that made me feel a little like a zombie during a few parts of the day, since I was left to think about the next 15 months and the deployment in those times to myself. When people did ask me about the week or about K being gone, I surprised myself when I was able to tell the stories without crying. I teared up, but I didn't cry. Sometimes, the people asking me about it did. I noticed they seemed to choose their words carefully, and a lot of my co-workers had cautious looks on their faces when they asked me about it, as though if they weren't careful, I'd break. Maybe that's part of the reason I felt like avoiding people.
I realized that even though it's just a year ago tomorrow that K got back from Afghanistan, it feels like I'm dealing with this for the first time. I find myself thinking, "How does/did [insert m!litary w!fe friend here] do this?" But I've been through this once before. It was just four months, but still -- that's four months! That's longer than most "civilian" (I put that in quotes because I think it's a military word rather than one I use, but it's the best word for what I need) couples ever have to go without seeing each other.
Tonight, I was pleasantly surprised when my phone rang a bit before 9. It was K again. This time, he was calling from Kuwait. It was early tomorrow morning there, and he'd only been there for about three hours. We got to talk a little longer than this morning, but the phone signal wasn't always steady. He thought it might have been just a heavy call center time, since so many soldiers were using the phone then.
I should hear from him again tomorrow, he said. I know this is just the early stages, since more guys are traveling there through the week. I won't get to talk to him this often the entire time, obviously. But I'm definitely enjoying it now.
I got back to my apartment a little before 7:30 last night. I immediately started unpacking, and ER was here soon with some taco soup and extra arms to help me unload while our dinner heated up. I told her about my week and especially the events of the day. I cried through a lot of it. She even teared up as I told her about when K left. I was really glad to have her there with me to have someone to talk to. I can't imagine how it would've been to have the whole evening to myself.
I unpacked my things as I'd planned, and I even managed to find places for several of the things K has me storing while he's gone. By the time I'd showered, changed my sheets and climbed into bed, it was 1:30 a.m. I'm pretty sure I was asleep by 1:32.
I was awakened at 6 a.m. by my cellphone. K had told me before he left that he was going to call me, so I went from being dead asleep to completely excited and awake the second I heard my phone ring. He was in Germany after an eight-hour flight from Atlanta. He was about to fly another six hours to Kuwait.
We only talked about 10 or 15 minutes, but it was just great to hear his voice. Knowing it'll be months and months before I see him again makes me miss him even more than I usually would.
Once I got to work, I noticed I was being really quiet. Honestly, for most of the morning, I just didn't feel like talking to anyone. I found myself avoiding people by focusing my attention on Piper as I walked through the halls at work. I wasn't trying to be rude, I was just afraid if I talked to people, they'd ask me about my week or about K. Part of the week's events would come up, and I was worried I'd start crying. Even though I'd packed makeup for touchups just in case, I didn't really want to spend my day crying.
All of that made me feel a little like a zombie during a few parts of the day, since I was left to think about the next 15 months and the deployment in those times to myself. When people did ask me about the week or about K being gone, I surprised myself when I was able to tell the stories without crying. I teared up, but I didn't cry. Sometimes, the people asking me about it did. I noticed they seemed to choose their words carefully, and a lot of my co-workers had cautious looks on their faces when they asked me about it, as though if they weren't careful, I'd break. Maybe that's part of the reason I felt like avoiding people.
I realized that even though it's just a year ago tomorrow that K got back from Afghanistan, it feels like I'm dealing with this for the first time. I find myself thinking, "How does/did [insert m!litary w!fe friend here] do this?" But I've been through this once before. It was just four months, but still -- that's four months! That's longer than most "civilian" (I put that in quotes because I think it's a military word rather than one I use, but it's the best word for what I need) couples ever have to go without seeing each other.
Tonight, I was pleasantly surprised when my phone rang a bit before 9. It was K again. This time, he was calling from Kuwait. It was early tomorrow morning there, and he'd only been there for about three hours. We got to talk a little longer than this morning, but the phone signal wasn't always steady. He thought it might have been just a heavy call center time, since so many soldiers were using the phone then.
I should hear from him again tomorrow, he said. I know this is just the early stages, since more guys are traveling there through the week. I won't get to talk to him this often the entire time, obviously. But I'm definitely enjoying it now.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Wedding weekend, part 2
I’ve already said that Saturday and Sunday went perfect. I blogged right after I woke up on Saturday while CG was in the shower. It was really windy outside, and the weather looked like it could go either way, but Mother Nature looked to be leaning more toward the rainy side.
I got in the shower after CG, and as soon as I got out, she told me to look out the window. When I pulled back our curtains, I saw something pretty unexpected: sunshine! I knew, though, that since the weather had changed from cloudy to sunny in less than an hour, the two and a half hours left before the ceremony would be plenty of time for it to get cloudy and gross again. I held out hope for the best, but I tried not to get too set on the idea that we’d definitely get to have our wedding on the beach instead of our backup location on a covered patio.
At 9:30, though, which was when K was to make the call on where to set things up for our chair delivery crew, it was still sunny. Now, if it rained, we’d have 42 guests moving their chairs to the patio. We took that chance.
I got ready with all of my best girl friends who were there – ER, CG, Rachel and Lindsay. It was a lot of fun. One of our friends brought my flowers to us, and we couldn’t believe how gorgeous they were. They were perfect.
The minister got to our room at about 10, just an hour before the ceremony, and she couldn’t believe how calm we were. I wasn’t nervous at all. We’d just been hanging out having bagels and mimosas (mmm!). I was showered, and my makeup was mostly on. I was about to marry the guy I’d wanted to marry for more than two years. As far as I was concerned, there was nothing to be nervous about.
I put on my dress and then brushed my teeth (my friends said I was the only girl they know who’d brush her teeth in her dress, but you’ve gotta have fresh breath for your wedding!). I finished putting on my makeup, and then the girls helped me fix my hair. My dad came in during that time, and I got teary eyed. That's the closest I came to crying all day.
We finished getting ready, and we all headed outside toward the beach. We met up with the photographer, who again went on and on about how calm I was -- "You're more calm than the guys!" The girls headed to the beach to sprinkly the rose petals in the aisle, and my dad and I hung back waiting for our cue to go.
Our walk to the minister and K was really long. We walk across this small wooden bridge over the sand, and then several yards to the right before walking through the rows of chairs to where K and the minister waited for us. Our hotel had a private beach, so it wasn't really crowded, but there were people out there enjoying the beach. They were all watching us, and a few even congratulated me as I walked toward the setup with my dad.
It was still a bit windy, and the wind picked up through the ceremony. K and I laughed as our minister talked louder and louder over the wind. I was worried the arch might blow over, but it didn't. The minister had a poem about marriage that she was going to read, but since the weather looked a little iffy, she decided to cut it. Thank goodness, because I kid you not, the second the ceremony was over, K and I walked down to the end of the aisle, and the photographer got a couple pictures of us. As soon as we headed back to the arch to take pictures there, it started raining. The drops were cold and huge! Our friends had started popping the champagne bottles, and they hurried to get the cups passed out so we could toast and get everyone inside. Just about a minute after it had began, though, the rain stopped. K and I used our new Tiffany glasses that our friends had sent us as a gift.
After the toast, we all took about 10 million pictures. My friends all know how I am about taking pictures of everything, so thye made sure they took plenty. ER said it had to have been the most-photographed wedding per person. I think she's right. Almost everyone there took more than 100 pictures!
We all walked along the beach to the restaurant where we had lunch reservations. It was only two doors down from the hotel. We had half the outdoor patio reserved. It was covered, which turned out to be a really good thing. The rain came in again as we ate. The people seated at tables close to the "windows" (plastic coverings that were pulled down when the rain started) had to move to new tables the staff brought in because the wind was blowing so much and it was raining so hard that they were still getting wet.
Our lunch was good, though, and we had our cake there too. It was delicious, with buttercream icing. The rain stopped about the time we were all finished eating. We all took the afternoon to ourselves.
We met up again at 6 to head to dinner in Destin at McGuire's. K and I had eaten there in Pensacola last August, and as soon as we found out there was one in Destin, we knew we had to go there! The restaurant just has such a cool atmosphere, and it's so much fun. Everyone absolutely loved it.
After dinner, we went out to Howl at the Moon, which happened to be right next to our hotel. K's roommate's girlfriend had made us "Bride" and "Groom" sashes for the night, and those turned out to be the best idea ever. Not only did we not have to pay cover, but people bought us drinks all night. Lots of drinks. We had a blast!
It was just a fun, silly night. It was so cool to have all our worlds collide like that, and everyone hit it off so well. We couldn't have asked for a better day.
On Sunday, K and I woke up around 9:30 and had breakfast with a few of our friends. We were able to slowly say bye to everyone as they left. It just worked out that the time everyone was leaving was staggered throughout the morning. We'd say bye to one friend, and then another would appear. We were able to spend some time talking to everyone that morning before they left. Everyone couldn't say enough how much fun they'd had, how perfect the weekend had been for them, and how pleasantly surprised they were at how much time we'd all gotten to spend together.
That afternoon, K and I headed to the beach. We were sitting in two chairs relaxing and watching the waves when K said, "What's that?" We looked out into the ocean about 50 yards out, and we saw dolphins diving out of the water! They were flipping and jumping out over and over again. It was the coolest thing ever. We went out into the water for a bit, but the waves were so wild that we were tired after only a few minutes. I even managed to get knocked under by one wave.
We spent about three hours on the beach, and then we took Rachel and her boyfriend to the airport. We headed back to Destin to eat at Mellow Mushroom (yum!), and then we played miniature golf. We had fun spotting all the lizards that were running around all over the course. Then, we got some frozen custard and headed back to the hotel.
K and I couldn't believe how well everything turned out. I had been worried about how things would go, since I planned the whole weekend through the Internet and tons of phone calls. Neither of us had ever been to Fort Walton Beach or Destin, but we were so glad we'd chosen that place for our wedding. We decided we'd have to come back for vacation and that it would even be the perfect place for family vacations in the (far!) future. I told K that even if I'd gone to the Destin/Fort Walton Beach area to plan everything, I'd have chosen exactly the same hotel, the same restaurant for lunch, the same minister and the same place to get our cake and flowers. It was just perfect!
***pictures coming later today***
See Part 1 of this post here. See photos here and here.
I got in the shower after CG, and as soon as I got out, she told me to look out the window. When I pulled back our curtains, I saw something pretty unexpected: sunshine! I knew, though, that since the weather had changed from cloudy to sunny in less than an hour, the two and a half hours left before the ceremony would be plenty of time for it to get cloudy and gross again. I held out hope for the best, but I tried not to get too set on the idea that we’d definitely get to have our wedding on the beach instead of our backup location on a covered patio.
At 9:30, though, which was when K was to make the call on where to set things up for our chair delivery crew, it was still sunny. Now, if it rained, we’d have 42 guests moving their chairs to the patio. We took that chance.
I got ready with all of my best girl friends who were there – ER, CG, Rachel and Lindsay. It was a lot of fun. One of our friends brought my flowers to us, and we couldn’t believe how gorgeous they were. They were perfect.
The minister got to our room at about 10, just an hour before the ceremony, and she couldn’t believe how calm we were. I wasn’t nervous at all. We’d just been hanging out having bagels and mimosas (mmm!). I was showered, and my makeup was mostly on. I was about to marry the guy I’d wanted to marry for more than two years. As far as I was concerned, there was nothing to be nervous about.
I put on my dress and then brushed my teeth (my friends said I was the only girl they know who’d brush her teeth in her dress, but you’ve gotta have fresh breath for your wedding!). I finished putting on my makeup, and then the girls helped me fix my hair. My dad came in during that time, and I got teary eyed. That's the closest I came to crying all day.
We finished getting ready, and we all headed outside toward the beach. We met up with the photographer, who again went on and on about how calm I was -- "You're more calm than the guys!" The girls headed to the beach to sprinkly the rose petals in the aisle, and my dad and I hung back waiting for our cue to go.
Our walk to the minister and K was really long. We walk across this small wooden bridge over the sand, and then several yards to the right before walking through the rows of chairs to where K and the minister waited for us. Our hotel had a private beach, so it wasn't really crowded, but there were people out there enjoying the beach. They were all watching us, and a few even congratulated me as I walked toward the setup with my dad.
It was still a bit windy, and the wind picked up through the ceremony. K and I laughed as our minister talked louder and louder over the wind. I was worried the arch might blow over, but it didn't. The minister had a poem about marriage that she was going to read, but since the weather looked a little iffy, she decided to cut it. Thank goodness, because I kid you not, the second the ceremony was over, K and I walked down to the end of the aisle, and the photographer got a couple pictures of us. As soon as we headed back to the arch to take pictures there, it started raining. The drops were cold and huge! Our friends had started popping the champagne bottles, and they hurried to get the cups passed out so we could toast and get everyone inside. Just about a minute after it had began, though, the rain stopped. K and I used our new Tiffany glasses that our friends had sent us as a gift.
After the toast, we all took about 10 million pictures. My friends all know how I am about taking pictures of everything, so thye made sure they took plenty. ER said it had to have been the most-photographed wedding per person. I think she's right. Almost everyone there took more than 100 pictures!
We all walked along the beach to the restaurant where we had lunch reservations. It was only two doors down from the hotel. We had half the outdoor patio reserved. It was covered, which turned out to be a really good thing. The rain came in again as we ate. The people seated at tables close to the "windows" (plastic coverings that were pulled down when the rain started) had to move to new tables the staff brought in because the wind was blowing so much and it was raining so hard that they were still getting wet.
Our lunch was good, though, and we had our cake there too. It was delicious, with buttercream icing. The rain stopped about the time we were all finished eating. We all took the afternoon to ourselves.
We met up again at 6 to head to dinner in Destin at McGuire's. K and I had eaten there in Pensacola last August, and as soon as we found out there was one in Destin, we knew we had to go there! The restaurant just has such a cool atmosphere, and it's so much fun. Everyone absolutely loved it.
After dinner, we went out to Howl at the Moon, which happened to be right next to our hotel. K's roommate's girlfriend had made us "Bride" and "Groom" sashes for the night, and those turned out to be the best idea ever. Not only did we not have to pay cover, but people bought us drinks all night. Lots of drinks. We had a blast!
It was just a fun, silly night. It was so cool to have all our worlds collide like that, and everyone hit it off so well. We couldn't have asked for a better day.
On Sunday, K and I woke up around 9:30 and had breakfast with a few of our friends. We were able to slowly say bye to everyone as they left. It just worked out that the time everyone was leaving was staggered throughout the morning. We'd say bye to one friend, and then another would appear. We were able to spend some time talking to everyone that morning before they left. Everyone couldn't say enough how much fun they'd had, how perfect the weekend had been for them, and how pleasantly surprised they were at how much time we'd all gotten to spend together.
That afternoon, K and I headed to the beach. We were sitting in two chairs relaxing and watching the waves when K said, "What's that?" We looked out into the ocean about 50 yards out, and we saw dolphins diving out of the water! They were flipping and jumping out over and over again. It was the coolest thing ever. We went out into the water for a bit, but the waves were so wild that we were tired after only a few minutes. I even managed to get knocked under by one wave.
We spent about three hours on the beach, and then we took Rachel and her boyfriend to the airport. We headed back to Destin to eat at Mellow Mushroom (yum!), and then we played miniature golf. We had fun spotting all the lizards that were running around all over the course. Then, we got some frozen custard and headed back to the hotel.
K and I couldn't believe how well everything turned out. I had been worried about how things would go, since I planned the whole weekend through the Internet and tons of phone calls. Neither of us had ever been to Fort Walton Beach or Destin, but we were so glad we'd chosen that place for our wedding. We decided we'd have to come back for vacation and that it would even be the perfect place for family vacations in the (far!) future. I told K that even if I'd gone to the Destin/Fort Walton Beach area to plan everything, I'd have chosen exactly the same hotel, the same restaurant for lunch, the same minister and the same place to get our cake and flowers. It was just perfect!
***pictures coming later today***
See Part 1 of this post here. See photos here and here.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
My 24th, in pictures
The pretty flowers my co-workers got me.
Mimosas at work! I love my job!
The yummy birthday cake from Humperd!nk's.
ER and me at the beginning of the night.
Tequila!
Sooner girls, reunited! We had some awesome girls' nights out in college!
Some friends from work
My friends know all too well how much I love "Bohemian Rhapsody" -- especially when I've had drinks. They requested it especially for me. You know I sang along (and did my little motions)!
WK and me trying to recreate a really bad picture we took once. (Yes, WK came. And she was the only one there who didn't know I'm getting married in just over a month. She got mad when she found out. Oops.)
I got called up on stage since it was my birthday. I decided it was the perfect opportunity for a spontaneous OU pep rally. The poor girl next to me is a longhorn fan. That's why I'm giving her the look of pity. Someone has to tell her where it's at.
"Y-M-C-A!"
The pianists had the guy celebrating his 21st birthday come to the middle of the stage. They had us do whatever he did. Good times.
End of the night! A group of exhausted, danced-out girls.
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