Cerby's taking over the world!

Back when I took Mandy and Paul's engagement pictures, I also took pictures of their dog Cerby for their table numbers at their wedding. I finally got around to editing them this evening. I had to do some creative cropping, but I still think the finished product is really cute. Here are some of my favorites:

Uncle Chuckleberry

My uncle Charles (affectionately known as Uncle Chuckles/Chuckleberry) was in the hospital for about a week and a half. He had a pretty nasty staph infection, and while in the hospital, he hurt his back as well. He's had a rough time of it, but he was finally allowed to go home yesterday. Still, it sucks that he's all the way in San Antonio and that I haven't been able to go visit him.

Uncle Chuckles is 70 years old, but I've never thought of him as old. He's still incredibly active and in good health, which will help him immensely as he recovers from this major setback. Still, he's going to have to use a walker for awhile and won't be able to get to the upstairs portion of his house. All this makes me very sad, although I know that he will recover.

Uncle Chuckles is the closest thing I've ever had to a father figure and is the only one of my extended family who flew out for my wedding. He's an architect and lives in a turn-of-the-century house in downtown San Antonio. He collects cool pieces of art and is the reason why I have a very nice collection of colorfully carved wooden boxes. I love him very much and think of him often. I'm wishing him lots of good healing and patience. I know that his recovery will be long and hard, but I also know that he will make it through this.

This hits a little too close to home.

Thanks again, Black Eiffel.

smells like teen spirit

Today I am wearing my new shoes, blue jeans, a black long-sleeved shirt, a grey hoodie, a spoon ring, and minimal makeup. My hair is long and straight. I listened to this on the way to work.

I am a dead ringer for myself when I was 14 and a freshman in high school - almost 15 years later.

I hate commercials and avoid them at all costs.

Except when they're pretty, like this one.



Thanks, Black Eiffel!

Adventures of a HOH, Part Three: Mandy in Wonderland

Wow, I really lost track of time! It's time to conclude the story of Mandy's shower. Click here for part one and here for part two.

The morning of Mandy's shower (March 29) dawned cloudy and chilly. I woke up at 7 AM and immediately went to work making CDs and finishing up last-minute details. I dragged Roy out of bed around 8:30 so he could walk down to his mom's house and get her ice chest. He was intercepted by our crackhead (but cool) neighbor (I'm using the term "crackhead" loosely), who wanted to borrow Roy's keyboard since the "k" key on his keyboard wasn't working for something he absolutely had to do online right that instant. Once Roy returned, we packed everything up and drove over to Melinda's house. We got there around 10:30 or so. Roy left me there to work on my projects and left to get us some ice and breakfast.

When he got back, Roy and I began setting up the backyard while Melinda made scones. We put different types of tea and playing cards on each table. We hung up the ghetto-fabulous signs that Melinda, Angelina, Kim, and I had made. I cursed continuously at the fabric I was using to cover the tables, because it kept blowing away. I got a little stressed out because time got away from us, and I didn't feel like we would ever have everything ready. Before I knew it, it was 1:00 PM, and the shower was ready to begin. I was also a sweaty pig and ran to the bathroom to change my shirt just as people began arriving. Mostly everyone was right on time (which shocked me), no doubt aided by this, which was hanging in a tree in Melinda's front yard:



Before long, all of the guests (much less than I anticipated) had arrived, and they were exclaiming over the setup, the food, and the details.

















Everyone loved the teapot fountain in particular. Thanks for letting me borrow it, Angelina!



When Mandy arrived, she was averting her eyes because she knew I wanted her to be surprised about the shower theme. So of course I just had to blindfold her!



I think she was pretty happy with the way it turned out. In all honesty, the backyard looked really cute, and I think Mandy thought so too. I loved how all the chairs and teapots didn't match. It totally gave it a Mad Hatter feel.

Adding to that feel were the guests' hats! On the invitation I had requested for each person to wear her silliest hat, and to my surprise, almost everyone did.



I bought Mandy a special hat and a special tea cup. Seriously, what's not to love about a shamrock hat and a rooster mug?





Melinda and I let everyone mingle for a bit, and before everyone started eating, we began the first game. I pinned the names of literary characters to each guest's hat or shirt, and they had to guess who they were based on the answers to any "yes" or "no" questions they asked other guests.



I expected this to go on for quite some time, but Cherie, my other California mommy, guessed hers (Huckleberry Finn) rather quickly, she was awarded her prize, and everyone settled down to eat. I took that opportunity to pose for the camera, in true attention whore fashion.





(Please excuse the cell phone pocket bulge and tummy roll.)

And then it was time for our next game: Pass the Cucumber! I had never heard of this game until Angelina mentioned it the night before. It sounded like a riot, so I added it in. Plus, it was a great way to use the extra cucumber.



In case you've never heard of it, Pass the Cucumber is kind of like musical chairs. You turn on some music, and the participants have to pass a cucumber to the person nearest them. The catch? You have to hold the cucumber between your legs and pass it on that way. Whoever is holding the cucumber between their legs when the music stops is out. And it continues on until everyone but the winner is eliminated.

I was right. It was a total riot. I totally owe Angelina my firstborn for making the suggestion.





Next we did musical chairs (or in Wonderland-speak, a caucus race). It's a game that is fun and nonsensical, and I loved watching people trying to sneak around to make sure that they were in front of a chair at all times.





Once the game was over, Melinda and I began a short-lived impromptu dance game. Merlin (my nephew) had discovered (while helping Melinda with the music for musical chairs) that he loved turning the music off and on. So as Melinda and I began dancing, he would turn it off suddenly and we would freeze. We would stay frozen until he turned the music back on, and then we would begin dancing again. Merlin got a big kick out of it. So did Melinda and I.



Finally, it was time for the last game. I blindfolded Mandy and made her sit in front of everyone. Each guest had brought an item of funky clothing, so I put all these in a box and had Mandy get dressed blindfolded.







Needless to say, the end result was hilarious.

I made Mandy sit in front of everyone for the last bit. This game was called "Who Stole the Heart?', and in it, I acted the part of the judge putting Mandy on trial for stealing the heart of Paul. Each of the guests acted as a witness by revealing something they'd seen or heard Mandy and Paul doing together as a couple. (The list of things they'd experienced as a couple was made by Mandy herself, and I used that for each witness.) I gave it my best bastardized British accent, found Mandy guilty of stealing Paul's heart, and sentenced her to a lifetime of marriage. Towards the end of my sentencing, I got a little weepy, but I don't think anyone noticed. (Damn hormones!)





And then it was time for dessert! The cupcakes were so yummy (and we got to take a whole box of them home with us).





And gifts! I love how Mandy is laughing like a maniac while wielding a sharp knife, with an "Off with their heads!" sign in the background.



And favors! I loved the way the cookie favors turned out. There were a ton left over. My co-workers loved me for bringing in said leftovers.



And then the shower ended. We had a crapload of leftovers but managed to pawn a lot of them off on departing guests. Roy came back and helped us clean up. Even Mandy stayed and helped clean up - what an awesome bride she is! We packed up everything into the car and drove home. I immediately crawled into bed and laid on the heating pad for the rest of the night. I was totally exhausted but totally happy with the way the shower went.

Our living room looked like a bridal shower threw up in it.



But for Mandy, it was totally worth it.

A huge thank you to my girls for all your help! Thank you, Melinda, Kim, and Angelina!

The Road

I love books that are unflinchingly honest. I love it when a writer stares at the disturbing (albeit subjective) truth and doesn't back down. Such is the case in Cormac McCarthy's The Road. I have read several books by McCarthy, and he never disappoints me. His writing is phenomenal, his vision compelling.

This particular book is a postapocalyptic glimpse into the lives of a man and his son traveling by foot (along a road, obviously) towards the ocean. Their story is a quiet one, but it's also fraught with conflict and tension. In a world where almost everyone else is dead, these two continue to push on. While reading it, I asked myself lots of existential questions, one of them being "Why go on when the rest of the world has died? What, really, is the point?"

The Road really emphasizes the survival instinct that we all possess - and our desire to be just a little bit heroic. In typical McCarthy fashion, it offers no morals or rationalization. It just drops you into this dying world and leaves you to decide whether or not you would follow the road or abandon it.

Look what I bought today!

They make me so happy!

Here is Roy's birthday picture.

Maybe a little overprocessed, but I'm experimenting in Photoshop. Plus, I like it. Doesn't he look really broody?

Happy Birthday, Roy!

Today is my husband's 29th birthday!

I took a picture of him yesterday and everything just for this post, but I forgot to upload the picture before I left for work. So here's an older picture of us; I believe it was taken in June 2007, shortly before we got married.

Anyway, 29 years ago, Roy was born! What an awesome day that was. I myself was still in the womb and wouldn't be making my appearance for another two months and five days. I wonder if I sensed then that my future husband had just been born...

Happy birthday, Roy! You are truly my hero and the most important person in my life. You've taught me how to love and why it's important to live life. I am so honored to share your life with you. Here's to many more birthdays and much happiness!

"April is the cruellest month."

So said T.S. Eliot in his masterpiece of modernity The Waste Land. I personally like April. It's a month where good things happen. In particular, it is National Poetry Month. A few years back, I used to celebrate each year by reading nothing but poetry the entire month of April. This is something that I've slacked off on in recent years.

But I'm ready to celebrate National Poetry Month again! This year I've decided to write a poem a day and post it (along with a photo) on my flickr page. (I can't vouch for the quality of the poetry, however, as I will be posting the first draft.) I am pretty excited about this, as it gives me permission to focus on two things I love dearly: poetry and photography. I have thought about starting another blog devoted to this, but I'm going to see how it works with flickr first.

In addition to making this decision today, I also had my first day back at school. In particular, it was the first day of my internship in the Advanced Poetry Writing class. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was how young the undergrads looked. I think they will be a good group though, and I am excited about working with them and participating in their assignments.

So this post has proved me to be the nerd I truly am, which I am totally okay with, because I am feeling super inspired at the moment. Here's a list of things that have touched/inspired me today:

a lavender rose
a very dirty and emaciated homeless man walking down the street
the music of Tori Amos
a new notebook and set of pens
a trip to the drugstore
a poem about a rock

I hope to finish Part 3 of my HOH saga sometime soon.

Adventures of a HOH, Part Two: Of Sandwiches and Margaritas and Gossip and Laughter

See part one of my HOH saga here.

Thursday night (March 27) was when the real preparation for Mandy's bridal shower began. After work, I met Roy and Jake at my mother-in-law's house, where they were loading up all the tables and chairs that we had borrowed from various people around the neighborhood. As Mandy's man-maids, I figured it was only fair that they have a job of their own. I rode with them to Melinda's house, where they quickly unloaded. We then left and went to Roy's grandparents' house for some of their tables and chairs, took the stuff back to Melinda's, and then went home.

Originally, I took a half day off from work on Friday, the day before the shower. But in light of my scary mole, I took the entire day off to go see the dermatologist in the morning and continue with shower prep in the afternoon. Right after my dermatologist appointment, I dropped Roy off at home so he could go to work. (I truly have the best husband ever. He went with me to my dermatologist appointment because he just rocks.)

From there, I went to Michael's for ribbon, Big Lots for a gag gift for Mandy, Bed, Bath, & Beyond for Mandy's real shower gift, the bank to withdraw some cash, home to load up my car with shower crap, and my mother-in-law's (Patty) house. From her house, Patty and I went to Baja Fresh for lunch and then to Costco for shower food.

In no time at all, we had a shopping cart full of food. It was so heavy that I had a hard time steering it. We were buying with 32 people in mind, and I came out $100 under budget. We drove over to Melinda's house and unloaded everything. And then the real fun began.

Kim showed up right as Patty left. We soon decided that we needed margarita stuff, so we drove to the nearest Stater Bros. and got some, in addition to some other things (like potato salad, which Kim insisted we needed. Pushy biatch!). We went back to Melinda's and began working on the sandwiches.




I had decided to keep the sandwiches really simple. I picked four recipes: cucumber and cream cheese, turkey and cheese, peanut butter and banana, and chicken salad and apple. We made a crapload of sandwiches. Later on in the evening, Angelina showed up with her husband in tow, with the cutest little teapot fountain that she let us borrow. With us four homies in the same room, hilarity ensued as we continued with our sandwich-making, began our sign-making, and gossipped.




Roy showed up a bit later and immediately stuck to the living room with the other guys. Meanwhile, back in Wonderland Prep World, Kim revealed her secret obsession by taking a bazillion pictures of me.



Don't I look just like the princess from The Neverending Story? I mean, the resemblance is uncanny, down to the bejeweled forehead and alabaster skin.

Check it:



Some of the signs that we made were hilarious. If Kim's attempt (on the green sheet of paper) at drawing the Cheshire Cat's smile wasn't enough to make us die laughing, then Melinda's (on the orange sheet) totally sent us over the edge.



I tried to draw a mushroom but was immediately told that it looked like a penis. So I drew my version of a penis to show them the difference between mushrooms and penises. They found the lesson very insightful.



Despite all the goofing off we did, we were very productive. We made a ton of sandwiches, so many that Melinda's fridge was bursting. In hindsight, we made way too many sandwiches. I blame Kim, just because she's a good scapegoat.



We called it a night and left. Roy and I went to Wal-Mart for address labels. I hate Wal-Mart and usually avoid it like the plague, but our options were rather limited since it was past 10 PM. On the way home, I realized that I hadn't prepared any of the games for the shower, so I stayed up even later taking care of that. I crawled into bed around 1:00 AM, completely exhausted.

Stay tuned for the actual shower recap (with pictures galore)!