But they won't be. I'm sure of it.
We Moved!!!
15 years ago
Monday, November 24, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
The tradition continues
So tomorrow the cuz (see blog link to the right!) is hosting this year's annual quasi-thanksgiving pig out. It will be our fourth year, unbelievably. And every year has been completely eventful due to the ever present beverage, Paralyzing Punch. The first year James was still a visitor and after his first quasi decided he indeed wanted to be a permanent resident. He also told me he loved me for the first time. It was three weeks in. YIKES! :) Quasi stirs up quite the emotions! Second year we experienced Janet Larsen's blow torch techniques and ended up tearing up the Pentagon City bars well into the evening. Last year, J & I hosted quasi and although it being scheduled on a Sunday evening tempered the drinking a tad, it was still a ton of fun and I once and for all proved that I was the champion of Trivial Pursuit. Although everyone else still claims I just memorized all the cards. So this year, Jake is hosting and I am SOOO excited. He'll be pulling out the bread maker for all kinds of uses, including stuffing, yah!! And Nancy of course has volunteered for like 8 different casseroles. Lin is trying to show everyone up with her mini pumpkin cheesecake bites. But it should be fun. It'll be great to see everyone again, although Janet and Sarah can't make it this year. You'll be missed! Can't wait to see what craziness this year creates!!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Where Winter Coats Never Come Out to Play
I promised some photos of my recent trip to San Diego...Why does paradise have to be soooo far away?
but of course, this was my most favorite view of all!
Strawberry cilantro margaritas..life doesn't get much better than this!
but of course, this was my most favorite view of all!
Strawberry cilantro margaritas..life doesn't get much better than this!
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!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
