Blug

Went and had dinner at Palate with Em, talked wedding, had the cheese plate, had some cake. I'm not feeling too hot, though, and I think it was the wine tasting this afternoon. We had a few heavily tannic wines which always make me feel ill, but I didn't consider spitting them out. The Prosecco was good, though; a sparkling wine from northeastern Italy. Now food keeps showing up on tv and it's making me sick to my stomach... I hope I don't wind up with another fever... I've had more this week than I've had in five years!

Gabrr

Now, I know I shouldn't be complaining, when I spoke to Shelby last night it was -40 in Minneapolis and not looking to get any warmer, however... I live in Georgia. And while I remind people that it does get cold here, that doesn't mean I want it to get cold.

I ought to be making my way up to noodle for a lunch date with Laura, and yet... I don't really want to get out of bed. I'm hoping tomorrow warms up-- no way do I want to be out in subzero (ok, 15 degree) temperatures in a cocktail dress for semi-formal!!

Boredom strikes again...

The last week or so has been a little crazy and a little boring all at once. I had a fever for the first time in years, which was strange, and I didn't realize it for a few hours. Last night at work was a little slow, and we had the rudest most ill-behaved people in I've seen yet. They barely tipped me 10% because they were ticked that we didn't have more specials and I wouldn't let them take an open bottle of wine with them. I've been asked several times about whether we do cork and carry (meaning, if you start a bottle and don't finish it, you can take it with you) and the answer is no.

These two argued with me about it, they kept insisting City of Decatur had passed the law (where it frankly doesn't make sense to me that they would, we're not a "walk around with an open container of alcohol kind of place) and that they'd been doing it everywhere else, and got totally bent out of shape when I told them that it wasn't our policy and the City of Decatur hadn't notified us, I couldn't double check with anyone because there was nobody to double check with, we'd just had a staff meeting and we would have been notified, and no, we wouldn't make more money, because we have a retail license to sell bottles of wine to take home and they were welcome to do that if they liked.

Then, they left, finally. And left one of the hallway doors wide open, which made the hall even colder than it was before and forced up the heating. I was really ticked off. This was the same woman (the cheap Tara Reid knockoff) who ordered six bruschettas to go when they were on special, and who tried to order more of the specials to go another time over the phone and got irritated when we wouldn't let her take them out. I really hope they never come back again. They spent $50 and tipped me $6. Jerks.

One of the knitting clubs was back last night, though, and I always enjoy them-- one of them just found out she's about six weeks pregnant which is really exciting. Even the new one who came off a little rude warmed up and was really sweet by the end of the night. I think next Monday, Megan and her crew should be back-- they're the crazy fun ones.

Speaking of work, it's time to head out. I'm not expecting much from a Tuesday night, so if we don't have anyone in I'm going to start designing the surprise I'm making for my bridesmaids and Ana.

Want the puppy...

So I started looking at dachshunds lately, even though I can't afford to get one now, as an option for a pet when Jeremy and I settle down. They're fairly low maintenance, lots of fun, require no hair cleanup, and are generally speaking much cheaper to feed than my dream dog, the husky. I found a couple of them in the Texas adoption agency that I am totally in love with (there aren't many in the Southeast I couldn't properly care for-- several senior and "special needs" dogs who have back or hip injuries from abuse) and want to get sooo badly!

Meet Bryan and JW (John Wayne)




















Bryan looks like a mini-Rottie and JW just looks precocious as all get out. Want the puppy... I'm hoping that Jeremy will OK the idea, especially since they're good travelers and wouldn't give us much trouble if/when we decided to go somewhere, or any friend who might look after it.

I'm exhausted, or I'd bore you with my crafty obsessions, so beware... they're on their way ;)

It's all coming together

Heard back from Jeremy tonight that Valerie, Matt, and Ana will be able to make a Dec. 19th wedding, so we're all set!! I'm so excited that everyone can make it :)

I've decided to do it in the afternoon, as mentioned before, and I talked to one of my AAC cohorts about it yesterday and she said that even though they weren't excited about her brother having an afternoon wedding, it ended up being really great. I've already shifted my planning, and I'm going to do wine and beer instead of liquor (which will be cheaper) and cheese plates, light snacks, and desserts since we'll be after lunch through midafternoon. I'm especially excited since you can buy cases of Sweetwater-- I can local-ize this like nobody's business! Also, Jill's (my boss) landlord said that the Solarium could easily hold 300, so I don't have to worry as much about the guest list. I mean, I'm not inviting anywhere near 300, but it means I can invite my GSig girls to come and some other people whose faces I'd like to see.

Now that we have the date, all I have to do is order the postcards for our save-the-dates and get them all printed and addressed, so they'll probably be out early February which works fine, I think. Weights lifted from my shoulders!

Nothing else really interesting, I was just excited to hear that and wanted to share :)

Bride Wars?

My friend and sister Hollis stopped by my Facebook today and congratulated me on my engagement-- as she got engaged a couple months ago and I hadn't heard about a date, I asked her when they were planning to get hitched. Imagine my surprise when she came back with... the exact same date as mine! (Dec. 19, 2009) In Atlanta. Blargh. I don't mind doing an afternoon ceremony, which would mean the oodles of people we share on our guest lists wouldn't have to pick weddings, but I really wanted a night wedding. I wish we could do Friday, but I'm not sure it would be easy for Josh (Jeremy's brother/best man) and I'm sure we're pushing it for Val & Co. to get there which is the whole reason we're having it in December to begin with. I'm trying to stay more amused by it than anything-- I mean, what are the odds of us both having the same wedding date totally independent of one another?! Probably about the same as the odds that she would be best friends with a girl I grew up with. Which is the case, bee tee dubs.

On another note, I've found my dress and it's on sale! If I'd made any money at work tonight, or had any faith in tomorrow (tonight?) I would go ahead and buy it right now but I'm pretty sure since it's been bouncing back and forth from $200 to $99, I'll have a chance. I'm going to make an appointment for next week with a shop in Inman Park to try on some similar dresses (in sillhouette) to make sure it won't make my arse look like Texas. Le dress:

It even has the right color obi on it to match my bridesmaids dresses! I'm pleased that the basic stuff seems to be coming together. Shelby even said she'd come in a couple days early to help out just 'cause she rocks. Mom suggested the two buck chucks at Trader Joes (their house wine, couple bucks a bottle, major discount on cases) for the reception, which is perfect because I'd like to have some wine and not just liquor.

Even though it was a devastatingly slow night at work (our total sales were $4.19 and about $2.10 of that was me), I did get a chance to start on Lauren's (my Maid of Honor) Christmas gift to me, a book called Bridal Bargains by Denise and Alan Fields. It's actually a really great book, and if you know someone who's getting married or planning a wedding, I totally recommend it. They're basically consumer advocates for people planning weddings-- they outline the legalities of bridal salons and deposits, and include warning stories:

"In 1992, a couple who owned a chain of Detroit area bridal shops was indicated on 60 counts of fraud in a "bridal scam." Over 5000 brides were bilked out of $1 million in deposits when the shops failed to deliver dresses."

They're not trying to make people paranoid or anything, but they do a really good job of letting you know how to be a savvy shopper. They also include their address and everything so you can write in if you have tips or want to share pictures, etc. from your wedding that might be helpful to other people, so I might try and do that.

Well, I'm yawning and drowsing (golly, and it's only 220!) so I'm off to bed. Ciao for now, dear readers!

First of the Year

Happy New Year everyone! My favorite holiday next to Halloween, where we can spend our time with loved ones and celebrate a fresh start. Check out the links, they're pictures of and by me in Florida; the ones of the manatees at Blue Springs came out great!

Christmas Eve- flew down to Jacksonville where Jeremy picked me up. We took the long way back down to Daytona, stopped at a beach and took a stroll, and drove through St. Augustine before we got home. Relaxed for a little bit with the History Channel and ordered some Papa Johns for dinner. I'd brought down stuff for mulled wine so we cooked some of that up and had a glass (which helped with Jeremy's coughing nast) and wished everyone in Indiana a Merry Christmas on the phone.

Christmas Day- got up earlyish, put up the pictures I had printed for Jeremy and turned on the tree I bought. I started on a pot roast with onions and potatoes, which turned out fantastically. We ate on that for dinner, and watched a movie but I can't remember which one-- we watched about five or six the whole time.

Up Through New Years Eve- We also caught up with the Eiler's Christmas slideshow-- Analia just keeps getting more and more adorable! If they didn't live in Singapore I would offer long-term babysitting for free, she's got such a great personality for such a little girl. Went to the Bulow Sugar Mill and wandered around, it was a really cool place-- once the biggest Sugar Mill in the area that shipped out to St. Augustine, Jacksonville, and Savannah. On the way back we wandered around part of the loop and stopped to take pictures of the pretty bird. We went to lunch with Jeremy's classmate Ron and his wife Cathy the next day, really nice people and very funny. Ron and Jeremy have the same sense of humor-- no wonder they get on so well! Walked around the little shopping complex in front of Wyotech and then went for a ride around the loop. The next day we rode down to Waleka with them and went out to the dock and watched the water for a few minutes. It was so much fun to be back on the bike again, and now that I'm not stressing my joints at work it doesn't hurt to ride for more than half an hour! Stopped at a great little country restaurant called MeMa's where we had corn nuggets (which were amazing!) and I got a shrimp basket for $7 with 1/3lb of fresh shrimp in it! Yum!

We laid low over the next couple days, made a couple grocery store runs, talked wedding stuff, and planned for the next week. We went down to Blue Springs State Park where the manatees were to see what we could see and... there were manatees galore!! We got to see a mama and calf, and several others hanging out throughout the naturally warm springs. We're definitely going to go back this summer when the manatees are gone so that we can swim and maybe find a place to get tubes and tube up to the St. John's river. We got home to find that the USPS had put a "Vacant House" card in the mailbox because I'd put a letter for one of the old residents in marked "No Such Resident, Return to Sender" so even though they've been delivering mail for months for the people who DID live there, they decided they were just going to stop.

New Year's Eve- we just kind of hung out for most of the day, watched some silly TV and played some Wii (though I also just watched Jeremy get angry with the Wii tennis-- way amusing), drank our champagne and watched a movie on Netflix. At midnight, we cheered, kissed, and said, "Well, I guess we're getting married this year, huh?" Went to bed not too much later after that so I could get up the next day and cook!

New Year's Day- Cooked up a good ol' meal of collard greens, black eyed peas, and corned beef. I forgot to get cornmeal, so we didn't have cornbread, but the greens and peas were the important part. We ate plenty, so we ought to have plenty of luck and prosperity this year; I'm not usually superstitious, but I take my New Years seriously! Besides, we could both use a bit of each! Watched another movie, I think the one about Genghis Khan, and discussed how silly the USPS is. Jeremy did get it straightened out, so no worries on the mail.

Jan. 2nd- We decided to go up to St. Augustine because everyone said it was super cute and charming, and I wanted to see all the historical stuff... BIG mistake. Unless you're ready to fork out $25/person just for parking and historical stuff, not including food or even water, don't even step foot in St. Augustine. Drive through, ooh and aah at the cute buildings, and then drive right on out. The parking was hard to find and expensive, all the historical stuff charged, we couldn't find a coherent map to figure out where we were so we just wandered around for a couple hours, and since the whole city seemed out to pick our pockets, we didn't feel like stopping for food. Plus, the few historical items seemed crowded out by the kitschy tourist stuff. Totally awful. We left in a half-bad mood and didn't really feel like doing anything else-- we skipped Ft. Matanzas and came straight back to Daytona where we had leftovers for dinner.

We didn't do too much exciting over the last few days, attempted Outback and was overwhelmed by the number of people and lack of space (they never seem to have enough tables!) so we got takeout, leaving Jeremy with even more leftovers to eat on for the next week and a half! I got to meet one of his roommates, Jeff, who seemed like a really cool, laid-back guy and his girlfriend Natalie who reminded me of someone I used to work with. It was a nice, quiet, relaxing time and that's exactly the kind of time we like :)

Now, I'm working hard to save for the wedding-- we know what we want, or rather I do, so I'm pretty intent on paying for it myself and not having to depend on outside help for it. My mom said she might help with the deposit for the venue, but since we get that money back (and she likes my plan) it won't be a big deal. I'm really excited about the prospects, and I'll keep everyone updated as I get ideas. It's going to be really creative, really nice, and very classic. Yes, it's possible!

Anyway, off to bed-- I'm already ruining the fairly decent sleep habits Jeremy got me in to this week. No cold water, but he's not big on letting me sleep in; which, to be fair, I asked him to enforce. We're also moving soon, which is exciting, so I'm up early to try and start packing up!