Curling Iron

One more quick thing. I have a new bee in my bonnet--a curling iron! While my four year old niece questioned (and probably others are thinking it) why I need a curling iron if I already have curly hair, my hair has a life of its own and very rarely acts like it is supposed to. I got it in my head that a curling iron will let me finally have non-frizzing curls that don't sprout up all over my head.

So on Sunday when Tim and I were at Target, I purchased a Revlon ceramic curling iron, on sale for less than 12 dollars. I had no clue that there were so many options--3/4, 1, 1 1/2 barrel? I have no idea what size curls i want or have--and I could sense that Tim was getting antsy so I just went with the 1--in case you are interested. I haven't used it yet since your hair needs to be dry and I'm always leaving the house with wetish hair, but for that price it got the bee out of my bonnet. Perhaps this weekend I will try it.

Oh, also, I had to get a new ipod because mine was stolen out of my car. Yes, I know I should have had the doors locked, but who knew there was crime in Chestnut Hill? I purchased an Apple Shuffle but this is a new one where apparently you can talk to it and tell it what song you want played. Talking to my ipod is the last thing I will want to do while I'm running and I don't know song names anyway but the guy at the store assured me that I can just keep it on shuffle and not have a conversation with it if I don't want. I am a bit nervous about figuring out how to import my songs to it from my laptop but I should try one of these days. If I do talk to my iPod the first thing I am going to ask is if the Danity Kane Show Stopper song is still there. I swear, I never hear it anymore. I think I may be the only person who likes that one....

So You Think You Can Prance (or wear nighttime underpants)

I discovered a marvelous (a word that my grandmother would use and that I'm trying to bring back into vogue) new show this summer--So You Think You Can Dance. Besides secretly wishing I was the host--Cat Deeley, the dancers are amazing, although I could do without the screeching of Mary Murphy.

What really is the most fun though is the dinner and tv-viewing parties. Stacey (of Clean, Green and Mean infamy), Lisa (of the yet to be published I Hate You and Other Thoughts) and Mel (no blog) and I have gotten together for the past few Wednesday nights to watch and critique the dancers. There is something to be said for mindless tv watching, gabbing with the gals (another word I like that I picked up from a midwestern gal I met in Tahiti) and bonding over food. I learned some interesting tidbits like how a certain someone keeps her cat's whiskers that have fallen out in a plastic baggie and that Piper is like the Ghost Whisperer. She is a bit like me in that she takes a while to warm up to people and show her true self, but last night, she was snuggling with Stacey and laying her head on Stacey's belly. She knew that a little baby (or maybe she thought a puppy) was on the way. so cute!

I hope we continue these Wednesday night dinners and here's to Evan and Melissa getting voted off tonight. While I find Evan homely and a bit pasty, I don't want terrible things to happen to him like some people...And, I'm looking forward to having an addition to our get togethers for the Fall season!

While I've been gone

I'm finally back to the blogging world. While I could blame it on being too busy with the wedding and being in Tahiti, that is only part of it. As my (few) faithful readers will attest, I stopped blogging way before the wedding. Well, I'm back and this time, I promise to post more regularly.

First things first, the wedding was great--best wedding I've ever been too if I can say so myself. While the weather didn't cooporate 100%, it all worked out fine and everyone seemed to have a great time. While the DJ was still missing a tooth, I think he did a great job. And, best of all, I'm married!

Tahiti was beautiful and despite a brief snafu where our luggage missed our flight from LA (we were reunited later that night), everything was great. A few things I discovered while I was away:

-Tim does not believe in sharing a toothbrush, even in an emergency situation. Note: while I'm not a toothbrush sharing proponent, I would do it if necessary. Run it under some water and it's clean in my book. Luckily, I was able to procure one from the hotel along with the smallest, cutest tube of Crest I have ever seen so crisis averted. Lesson learned: always pack your toothbrush and other essentials in your carry on bag.

-While snorkeling is fun, give me a pool and I'm all set. Maybe it's because I wear contacts and the mask is never 100 percent airtight, or the breathing thingy, but snorkeling takes a lot of work.

-I'm very good at doing nothing. Give me a beach chair, a pool and a good book, I can lounge for hours.

-Pigeons belong in the sky or on the ground, not on a dinner plate.

-If you are every in Tahiti in 20-30 years, you may find me as the proprieter of Mrs. Toot's Treats scooping up frozen yogurt--something that was lacking in all of Tahiti--or at one of my outposts of Mrs. Toot's Nails, bringing the beauty of manicures to the island. I will direct people to Mr. Toot's Trinkets, where Tim can sell you t-shirts and most importantly, snow globes, something else lacking on the island.

Splenda is Not Equal

I've been going to the same Dunkin Donuts in Newton for years on my way to work and really love that they know my order without even asking--medium French Vanilla, cream and sugar. The people who work behind the counter are always friendly and efficient and there is rarely a line since they get everyone's orders so quickly. And, the people who buy their coffee always seem pleasant too-until today.

Today, as I got into a brief line, I heard a man say, "I said Splenda, not Equal." As someone who worked in the food business as a waitress for years in college, I can understand getting an order wrong or making a mistake once in a while. When you are serving person after person, sometimes what they are saying blurs.

The woman behind the counter said, "Okay, was it two Splenda?" And the man said, "No, I said four." Not a big deal, right? Personally, I don't think I would be able to tell the difference between the two but if that's what the guy wanted, fine, and the woman could just change the order, right? Wrong. The man then said, "Forget it. I'm out of here" and he stormed off with some lady he was with, muttering about the "idiots behind the counter." Beyond rude and I would be totally embarrassed if I was the woman with that man.

I was very glad to see that the guy next in line said something nice to the woman who made the mistake and a few people chuckled at the man's rudeness. I just don't get sometimes how people can be so rude and don't they realize how they act and what they say affects others? And, to get so mad about something as silly as the blue vs. yellow packets of artificial sweetener is ridiculous.

Not in a million years

Not in a million years of dating horror stories would I have thought I'd be the guest of honor at a bridal shower. I know people say things like that but I really feel in my case it's true. I think I have blocked out some of the bad dates I've been on but as my friend Erin would say, I had some doozies that I could write about. A friend of mine told me recently about her friend who went on a few dates with a guy and then when she Googled him, she found out he had been convicted of raping someone. Mel and I joked that we could see this happening to me: "I finally meet someone and he turns out to be a rapist!"

Anyhoo (as mel says), there I was at my bridal shower last Saturday. The girls surprised me with a cake that had a picture of me in nursery school. I actually remember that day; I loved that Woodstock dress and my mom told me to make sure that both of my braid were in front of my shoulders so they would show. I loved it. And, Mel ordered boxes of Whitman Sampler candy for everyone. I embraced all the traditions I would scoff at as a single woman enduring the shower--notably the opening of the presents. Although, I did not do the bow thing which is just ridiculous. The food was great--highly recommend Baker's Best caterers, esp. the quiche--and I really liked seeing family and friends, especially those who I haven't seen in a long time like Aunt Edith.

So, I guess the point of this story besides saying that I had a great time at my shower is that I probably should have been more receptive and open minded at the previous showers I attended. Oh well.

Sister, Sister

Remember that show with Tia and Tamera and their mom Jackee? Did the parents ever get together? Anyway, I am writing today to say how lucky I am to have the best sisters in the world. While we sometimes have our frustrating moments with each other, these are few and we always bounce back hours, if not minutes later. They know me so well--my quirks, likes, dislikes--soft cantaloupe and peaches, icky people, grape jelly and countless other things that which i won't go through here--and often know what I'm thinking even before I say. When I have children, I can just hope that they are close like we are.

I was just so touched this week when Mel came up to my apartment to go to the gym in the morning and she gave me her gym reimbursement check to help pay for my car door "incident" which happened the night before. She knew I was really upset that it happened and wanted to help me pay for it. She likes to say that "she's not all bad" and that's definitely true.

And today, Tracy suprised me with a lipgloss that we had talked about. She had a gift card at Macy's and bought it for me. I love that she was thinking about me and purchased it bc she knew I would like it.

I don't want you to get the idea that I am touched bc they both spent money on me. These are just two examples of how they think about me and are really just so great. I am lucky to have them.

Weekend

What a great weekend. Friday night, I went to Dali with S and her friend who was visiting. I really think that the Garlic Shrimp is among my top 5 best foods if I had such a list. That and sangria just puts me in a good mood. On Saturday morning, Piper woke up at 6:45, meaning that I woke up at 6:45 and had to take her out. She can sleep forever during the week but come Saturday, she wakes up bright and early. She was in a great mood on Saturday, even playing fetch with bones and looking through her toy chest. In the afternoon, Tim and I took the train downtown to the jeweler and ordered wedding bands. That was fun and I really love mine. Then, we walked over to Houston's in Faneuil Hall and got this crazy artichoke thing and sushi. Very good. There was this really annoying duo of ladies--one of them from France--who kept saying, "In France..." The American lady kept asking the waitress for things and then pretending that she felt bad asking for all these things when you know darn well that she didn't. Then this man joined them, who I think worked at the restaurant as manager or something. He acted like he owned the place. He was complaining about the wait staff and was like, "these people are so ignorant, they don't know the correct way to do things...." Not that I listened to their entire conversation but I couldn't help hear some stuff.

Then, later on that night for dinner, we went to Vinny's at Night and met S. and her friend there. Looking back, I did a lot of eating this weekend! On Sunday, I went home and we cleaned the upstairs and then B and I went shopping. All in all, a great weekend!