We Moved!!!
14 years ago
Thursday, November 6, 2008
My Life as a Celebrity
Each time one of my two best friends has gotten married, the three of us get together to have a special girls-only engagement weekend. For Em, we went on a wine tour (and crashed Katy's work party). For Katy, we went for a weekend to her Dad's house in Rancho Mirage. I don't know if they felt sorry that I was the last, or it was because we get better each time, but my weekend was absolutely the most indulgent time ever. I had no idea what they had planned for me when I arrived in San Diego. I got in late on Friday and Saturday morning we woke early and started driving. About 45 minutes into our ride, the cd we were listening to announced my surprise--a night out in LA! Katy works in radio and had gotten one of her producers to make me a promo. I'll have to figure out how to upload it. It's like the MovieFone guy was talking directly to me!
To say the least, I was stunned. We had an incredible time in LA. We stayed at the Peninsula Beverly Hills where we were greeted with gold dusted chocolate strawberries, champagne and ridiculous service. The hotel even put Evian bottles in our car when we left. We had lunch at the Ivy and dinner at Mr. Chow's and got picked up in a Rolls Royce. I've never been much of a car person but OH MY GOD. That is a beautiful car! It was just an amazing time. So I thought that would be my surprise, yes? Seems pretty friggin big to me. Well that wasn't the end of it.
We hiked the most beautiful trail, got our nails done and had a bit too much bourbon in our mint juleps. But the biggest surprise was on Tuesday night when again, another radio spot told me we were going to see Madonna. From the 17th row on the floor!! It was amazing. We had SUCH great seats and she played all my favorites. Plus her incredible physique was JUST the inspiration I needed to come home and start my wedding diet. It was definitely a week to remember! I am so grateful for having the most amazing friends in the world. My candidate may not have won the presidential election, but I think Katy and Em helped ease the pain. :) THANK YOU TO MY HEARTS!! More pics of my trip to come.....
To say the least, I was stunned. We had an incredible time in LA. We stayed at the Peninsula Beverly Hills where we were greeted with gold dusted chocolate strawberries, champagne and ridiculous service. The hotel even put Evian bottles in our car when we left. We had lunch at the Ivy and dinner at Mr. Chow's and got picked up in a Rolls Royce. I've never been much of a car person but OH MY GOD. That is a beautiful car! It was just an amazing time. So I thought that would be my surprise, yes? Seems pretty friggin big to me. Well that wasn't the end of it.
We hiked the most beautiful trail, got our nails done and had a bit too much bourbon in our mint juleps. But the biggest surprise was on Tuesday night when again, another radio spot told me we were going to see Madonna. From the 17th row on the floor!! It was amazing. We had SUCH great seats and she played all my favorites. Plus her incredible physique was JUST the inspiration I needed to come home and start my wedding diet. It was definitely a week to remember! I am so grateful for having the most amazing friends in the world. My candidate may not have won the presidential election, but I think Katy and Em helped ease the pain. :) THANK YOU TO MY HEARTS!! More pics of my trip to come.....
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
How My Life Changed 3 Years Ago Today!
Three years ago exactly, I woke up at a friend of a friend's house with a slight hangover. The house I was at was the site of the Halloween party I had attended the night before. Fun night, but nothing super eventful. "You will meet your future husband tonight" was definitely not what I was thinking.
I wasn't really in the mood to attend another party that night, but my parent's neighbors were having a Halloween party and they had asked me to every event they had had for like 3 months running, so I figured it was time to make good on my promise to come one of these days. I roped my friend Sally into going with me. The party was lovely, but we were definitely out of place, and the only ones who didn't own a home in Old Town or at least 3 kids dressed up in Disney costumes. So after an appropriate amount of time, we said our goodbyes and decided to make the most of the rest of the night by grabbing a beer at Murphy's down the street.
We picked a spot in a far corner so we wouldn't have to make small talk with any meat heads and hadn't been there for 5 minutes when two guys make their way over to our table. One of them was James. He had three weeks left to a 3 month job and then he was moving back to Indianapolis. Obviously, my charm and my inability to determine a fifth of bourbon from a handle convinced him otherwise and the rest is history.
Three years later, I wake up with more blessings that I could have ever imagined back on October 29, 2005. Along the way, we have some incredible ups (our first Christmas with Emily, meeting his family for the first time, Nags Head, Italy, candle making and more than I could ever fit into a single blog posting). We've also made it through some pretty intense arguments about money, family, politics, religion, and domestic capabilities. It's been quite a ride. And I'm excited for the next leg of the journey.
When I met him that night at Murphy's, I was wearing a tiara and a boa. (The only "costume" items that my Mom had). He told me he had always wanted to marry a princess. He may think now that I'm more of a Royal Pain than anything, but I think we both did pretty well.
I wasn't really in the mood to attend another party that night, but my parent's neighbors were having a Halloween party and they had asked me to every event they had had for like 3 months running, so I figured it was time to make good on my promise to come one of these days. I roped my friend Sally into going with me. The party was lovely, but we were definitely out of place, and the only ones who didn't own a home in Old Town or at least 3 kids dressed up in Disney costumes. So after an appropriate amount of time, we said our goodbyes and decided to make the most of the rest of the night by grabbing a beer at Murphy's down the street.
We picked a spot in a far corner so we wouldn't have to make small talk with any meat heads and hadn't been there for 5 minutes when two guys make their way over to our table. One of them was James. He had three weeks left to a 3 month job and then he was moving back to Indianapolis. Obviously, my charm and my inability to determine a fifth of bourbon from a handle convinced him otherwise and the rest is history.
Three years later, I wake up with more blessings that I could have ever imagined back on October 29, 2005. Along the way, we have some incredible ups (our first Christmas with Emily, meeting his family for the first time, Nags Head, Italy, candle making and more than I could ever fit into a single blog posting). We've also made it through some pretty intense arguments about money, family, politics, religion, and domestic capabilities. It's been quite a ride. And I'm excited for the next leg of the journey.
When I met him that night at Murphy's, I was wearing a tiara and a boa. (The only "costume" items that my Mom had). He told me he had always wanted to marry a princess. He may think now that I'm more of a Royal Pain than anything, but I think we both did pretty well.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Serenity Now!
Okay, so my last post I listed my blessings to try and get some sort of peace among the chaos that is my life. I've been thinking pretty intensely about this stuff as it seems that the past month has just spiraled out of control. And it's not just that way for me, everyone I know is having a crappy time lately.
Lucky for me, I have two dear, dear, dear friends (see left) who have planned some sort of crazy surprise for me this weekend. I never really LOVED Dallas, the way some people do, when I went there for college. It never seemed to fit quite right. But I did meet the two most incredible friends a person could ever dream up, and whenever one of us has gotten married the other 2 plan a little engagement weekend for them. Mine is this weekend, but there's a catch. I have absolutely no idea what we're doing. This is the email I got from Katy regarding what I needed to bring:
Subject: Niki's Engagement Weekend
From: Katy Bennett
To: Niki Clark, Emily Johnston
Niki -
As we get closer to the big Engagement weekend, we're hoping you STILL have no idea what we have planned for this weekend!!!
We're not telling you anything, but we do know you will want to bring the following:
1.) Camera
2.) Bathing Suit(s)
3.) Allergy meds (my house used to always make you congested… an insult to my housekeeping…)
4.) Comfortable Walking Shoes
5.) Spare Liver
6.) 3-4 nice outfits for going out on the town
7.) One Blue Star Tattoo, preferably on one's ass
Xoxo,
Katy B
Sounds pretty cool to me! I can't wait. So this is obviously a bright spot. Lin and I also shot a really amazing wedding this weekend. It was the first Jewish wedding we've done and it was just a really touching experience. Lin and I were both crying throughout the ceremony. They have such a great sense of heritage and tradition. And I think we both did a really terrific job with the images, so that was highly satisfying.
So although sometimes all seems gloom and doom (including the weather), I've got a fantastic (and hopefully sunny) weekend ahead, somebody paid me good money to be part of one of the most important days of their lives, and THANKS BE TO GOD the election is next Tuesday. I think that alone will be a big source of relief.
In the meantime, I have been saying the following A LOT lately (Thanks Lin, for the advice!)
God, grant me the serenity to accept what I cannot change
The courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Another one that works pretty well:
TOWANDA!!
Lucky for me, I have two dear, dear, dear friends (see left) who have planned some sort of crazy surprise for me this weekend. I never really LOVED Dallas, the way some people do, when I went there for college. It never seemed to fit quite right. But I did meet the two most incredible friends a person could ever dream up, and whenever one of us has gotten married the other 2 plan a little engagement weekend for them. Mine is this weekend, but there's a catch. I have absolutely no idea what we're doing. This is the email I got from Katy regarding what I needed to bring:Subject: Niki's Engagement Weekend
From: Katy Bennett
To: Niki Clark, Emily Johnston
Niki -
As we get closer to the big Engagement weekend, we're hoping you STILL have no idea what we have planned for this weekend!!!
We're not telling you anything, but we do know you will want to bring the following:
1.) Camera
2.) Bathing Suit(s)
3.) Allergy meds (my house used to always make you congested… an insult to my housekeeping…)
4.) Comfortable Walking Shoes
5.) Spare Liver
6.) 3-4 nice outfits for going out on the town
7.) One Blue Star Tattoo, preferably on one's ass
Xoxo,
Katy B
Sounds pretty cool to me! I can't wait. So this is obviously a bright spot. Lin and I also shot a really amazing wedding this weekend. It was the first Jewish wedding we've done and it was just a really touching experience. Lin and I were both crying throughout the ceremony. They have such a great sense of heritage and tradition. And I think we both did a really terrific job with the images, so that was highly satisfying.
So although sometimes all seems gloom and doom (including the weather), I've got a fantastic (and hopefully sunny) weekend ahead, somebody paid me good money to be part of one of the most important days of their lives, and THANKS BE TO GOD the election is next Tuesday. I think that alone will be a big source of relief.
In the meantime, I have been saying the following A LOT lately (Thanks Lin, for the advice!)
God, grant me the serenity to accept what I cannot change
The courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Another one that works pretty well:
TOWANDA!!
Friday, October 24, 2008
my blessings
okay so it seems the world is going to hell in a handbasket. james woke me up this AM with the glorious news that the stock market was closed today because the global stock markets all crashed last night. YAH. In light of the fact that my other option is take up some serious vice-ridden habits to deal with this ever increasing mountain of stresses, i've decided instead to focus on the ways in which i'm blessed. Somebody told me once that if you keep smiling when you want to frown, then eventually you become happier. It was probably someone on Xanax, but I'm going to give it a try.
1. I have a roof over my head. It is a nice roof and has hot water. There is nothing in our refridgerator but I do have 30 boxes of nutri-system meals Mom gave me because they were too nasty for her to eat. I will not starve.
2. I have family and friends who love me very dearly. And do wonderful things for me. If i am not somewhere where others are, they always tell me they missed me. They may be lying, but it's a nice lie.
3. Somebody who is fully aware of the fact that I press snooze 23 times before getting up every morning, cannot load a dishwasher correctly and listens only once every 15 times he speaks wants to marry me and put up with my crap for a long, long time.
4. I live 8 miles from my mother, father and favorite cousin, 10 miles from my sister and less than a mile to the closest Trader Joes. Lovely and convenient.
5. I get a daily dose of delightful doggie kisses.
6. I have a job, for the time being. I get paid pretty well for having enough time to blog mid-day.
7. I have a car, and live in a city with excellent public transportation. The reason I am cold in October is because I am too lazy to change out my wardrobe, not because I don't have a coat to keep me warm.
8. I believe in a God that says even if I am a major turd and don't go to Church nearly enough he'll still give me a chance for eternal bliss. Phish wrote the song Bliss, which makes me happy and I'm blessed to have heard it live before.
9. People, more often than not, give me the benefit of the doubt and I am blessed to work in an place where I have been called an "expert." They have no idea what they are talking about, but that's okay.
I was going to go to ten but I just called my grandma as my mom is down there visiting. She informed me they were going to go today and pay for her funeral because she wants to take care of business before she dies. And then follow it up with a trip to Walmart. This obviously upset me and now I'm just boo hooing so I can't think of anything else. I am blessed to stil have a living--albeit crazy--grandmother. That's number 10. But my god, these Sablich woman are going to be the death of me!
When it rains, it pours, Momma just told me. Yah. Pours pee and crazy grandmas.
1. I have a roof over my head. It is a nice roof and has hot water. There is nothing in our refridgerator but I do have 30 boxes of nutri-system meals Mom gave me because they were too nasty for her to eat. I will not starve.
2. I have family and friends who love me very dearly. And do wonderful things for me. If i am not somewhere where others are, they always tell me they missed me. They may be lying, but it's a nice lie.
3. Somebody who is fully aware of the fact that I press snooze 23 times before getting up every morning, cannot load a dishwasher correctly and listens only once every 15 times he speaks wants to marry me and put up with my crap for a long, long time.
4. I live 8 miles from my mother, father and favorite cousin, 10 miles from my sister and less than a mile to the closest Trader Joes. Lovely and convenient.
5. I get a daily dose of delightful doggie kisses.
6. I have a job, for the time being. I get paid pretty well for having enough time to blog mid-day.
7. I have a car, and live in a city with excellent public transportation. The reason I am cold in October is because I am too lazy to change out my wardrobe, not because I don't have a coat to keep me warm.
8. I believe in a God that says even if I am a major turd and don't go to Church nearly enough he'll still give me a chance for eternal bliss. Phish wrote the song Bliss, which makes me happy and I'm blessed to have heard it live before.
9. People, more often than not, give me the benefit of the doubt and I am blessed to work in an place where I have been called an "expert." They have no idea what they are talking about, but that's okay.
I was going to go to ten but I just called my grandma as my mom is down there visiting. She informed me they were going to go today and pay for her funeral because she wants to take care of business before she dies. And then follow it up with a trip to Walmart. This obviously upset me and now I'm just boo hooing so I can't think of anything else. I am blessed to stil have a living--albeit crazy--grandmother. That's number 10. But my god, these Sablich woman are going to be the death of me!
When it rains, it pours, Momma just told me. Yah. Pours pee and crazy grandmas.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Here we are, once again
So again, I am not sleeping. I am writing a blog entry at 6 am. I've been up since four. Lindsey, my dear sole reader, is probably asking, "Why?" Because Hurley peed on my head. Yes, my dog woke me up at 4 am by pissing on my head. Lots. So I got up immediately, after being convinced he hadn't just heavily spit on me, and got in the tub. Then I bathed Hurley since he also covered himself in pee. At least he didn't leave me dripping by myself, I guess. Since I can't go back to sleep in my bed, as I had to pull up half the sheets (James is still passed out, only waking to proclaim, "I guess I'm not going to get any sleep," UM HELLO I WAS THE ONE THAT WAS PEED ON!! and then promptly going back to sleep) I had to sleep on the couch. As soon as I turned off the lights, Ick decided it was a better time as any to throw up on me and all over my blanket. Get up, add to the laundry that was already being washed from pee, lay back on the couch. Lights out. Ick repeat. Try not to get ill yourself. Do this like 4 times. In between, have Ick jump off the couch to puke behind Hurley's cage, meaning I had to pull out half the things in the closet to clean THAT up. So long story short, I am facing another long day with little sleep. Yah! And yet as I type this, both my dogs are laying next to me with their big doggie eyes saying "What? You still adore us more than anything. Get over it." So I guess I will.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
happy birthday yellow belt!
i'm at an all-day economic conference (i'm almost in tears, it's so depressing!) but wanted to send a shout out to my dear, crazy, breadmaking cousin. (i ate like half that pumpkin loaf last night, by the way J--it was phenomenous!). Here's some of my favorite photos of the birthday boy:
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