this week i am thankful for:
1. a healthy baby who seemed pretty happy to see us, too.
2. perversely, that we are having a tiny thanksgiving at my house this year. generally this would depress me, but on the flip side, it means i don't have to do super cleaning to impress anyone who doesn't come to our house on any sort of a regular basis.
3. this girl, christmas cookies, mulled cider, and old-timey christmas carols. tentatively, but i am keeping my fingers and toes extra-crossed. should be fun times.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
rehearsing
unfortunately i don't have a lot of good photos from our rehearsal dinner, and the best ones are in my scrapbook already and therefore unable to be scanned. or at least, i don't know how. these few were taken by alice's mother and sent to us on along with a bunch of other photos. the neat thing about weddings is that you get copies of pictures from all different people, with all different points of view. i saw things in some of our photos that i didn't realize because i was so preoccupied with the ceremony/reception/whatever else. it was like a surprise every time someone sent new photos. i loved it.
that friday was a little crazy. we had the actual rehearsal down at the golf course where we were getting married and then all skedaddled on over to the dinner. kerry and i were running a little late because we had to stop in san carlos to pick up orchids for corsages. brian was so relieved to see me when we got there. i think it was just starting to hit him that he was actually getting married.
soon-to-be mil hosted the rehearsal at the beautiful reception room at the oyster point yacht club in south san francisco. we "themed" it in red, white, and blue - what we thought would be fun originally for our wedding colors (we ended up doing something else) - to go with the nautical feeling at the yacht club. the reception room was right on the water overlooking san francisco bay and candlestick point and was gorgeous. we filled plastic clamshells with red, white, and blue m&m's as treats for our guests.
a rare photo of mom, myself, and my dad all together. my parents divorced when i was 16. it was nice to have everyone together with no hard feelings.
for some reason i felt like such a queen when my fiancé made a short speech thanking everyone. it seemed like such a "husband" thing to do, and he's good at talking.
i don't remember much about our rehearsal (except that brian could not spit out "steadfastness" for the life of him) or the dinner except that the food was excellent. my uncle took a lot of photos too for which i was grateful. it was nice to have those remembrances.
we gave our attendants their thank-you gifts at the dinner. i am not sure what i am doing in this photo. it's not like i didn't know what we did for the girls (individual, handmade jewelry). kirsten is seated in the pink, then me standing next to her. jackie has her back to us and my sister is in the beautiful blue dress. what did i tell you about the fashion sense?
my fiancé with his boys. who is brian looking at? (me, i hope!) we really had the best people stand up for us. because of brian's love for baseball and since we were trying to incorporate it into our wedding, we gave the boys engraved baseballs thanking them. they sweetly asked us to autograph them. dave, paul, jimmy, and ed are standing; my honey is seated.
after the fun we all went our separate ways, because we had bachelor and bachelorette parties to get to!
that friday was a little crazy. we had the actual rehearsal down at the golf course where we were getting married and then all skedaddled on over to the dinner. kerry and i were running a little late because we had to stop in san carlos to pick up orchids for corsages. brian was so relieved to see me when we got there. i think it was just starting to hit him that he was actually getting married.
soon-to-be mil hosted the rehearsal at the beautiful reception room at the oyster point yacht club in south san francisco. we "themed" it in red, white, and blue - what we thought would be fun originally for our wedding colors (we ended up doing something else) - to go with the nautical feeling at the yacht club. the reception room was right on the water overlooking san francisco bay and candlestick point and was gorgeous. we filled plastic clamshells with red, white, and blue m&m's as treats for our guests.
a rare photo of mom, myself, and my dad all together. my parents divorced when i was 16. it was nice to have everyone together with no hard feelings.
for some reason i felt like such a queen when my fiancé made a short speech thanking everyone. it seemed like such a "husband" thing to do, and he's good at talking.
i don't remember much about our rehearsal (except that brian could not spit out "steadfastness" for the life of him) or the dinner except that the food was excellent. my uncle took a lot of photos too for which i was grateful. it was nice to have those remembrances.
we gave our attendants their thank-you gifts at the dinner. i am not sure what i am doing in this photo. it's not like i didn't know what we did for the girls (individual, handmade jewelry). kirsten is seated in the pink, then me standing next to her. jackie has her back to us and my sister is in the beautiful blue dress. what did i tell you about the fashion sense?
my fiancé with his boys. who is brian looking at? (me, i hope!) we really had the best people stand up for us. because of brian's love for baseball and since we were trying to incorporate it into our wedding, we gave the boys engraved baseballs thanking them. they sweetly asked us to autograph them. dave, paul, jimmy, and ed are standing; my honey is seated.
after the fun we all went our separate ways, because we had bachelor and bachelorette parties to get to!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
we left up $65
we spent this weekend in reno, nevada, on a weekend getaway sponsored by my company as a reward for our excellent results during our recent life promotion. brian did not originally really want to go. he said reno was boring and there was nothing to do there but gamble and we were too short on funds to be spending money frivolously like that. fortunately, i talked him into it. our room at the peppermill resort, dinner saturday night, and breakfast sunday morning were taken care of for us, so it was a really inexpensive getaway. we paid for gas and anything incidental up there and since we were feeling frugal, there were no incidentals.
it was really nice to get away and get a change of scenery. it's also nice that the reno/tahoe area is only about 1½-2 hours away from us now up on interstate 80. we drove up early saturday afternoon and it was a gorgeous day in the sierras, cool and clear and sunny. the leaves were turning on the trees and it was so pretty though i'm sure nothing like what happens back east. well, we take what we can get here.
truckee is about a half hour outside of reno. we stopped at this vista point over donner lake, just outside of truckee. you can see the snow up on the tops of the mountains in the distance. there were tiny patches of snow in the shady spots along the highway too.
i was playing with the exposure (or something?) on my camera because it was really sunny and i was afraid the picture would get all washed out. i guess the opposite happened. i'll have to learn more about that.
i really like stopping at vista points because you often get to see pretty views that you would otherwise miss. plus, it's a nice chance to stretch your legs and get some fresh air.
brian does not like stopping as much as i do. i think he usually just wants to get there, but he is a good sport about letting me take my pictures.
the hotel was really nice. apparently it's been recently remodeled and brian said it looked a lot better than it did before. i had never been to reno or the peppermill before so i didn't know the difference. brian really liked that there was a 45" flat-screen tv in our room. all the better to watch espn, i guess.
saturday night we had a really nice dinner with work. there was so much food and man was it ever delicious. what were they thinking offering up an 18 oz. steak? who can eat that much? i made a pretty good dent in it though and ate all my vegetables. brian could not decide what he wanted for dessert so the waiter brought him two, one on the house. i had a cherry blintz and it was so delicious. how do i get that served at my house?
the breakfast buffet was an island theme with all kinds of plants and trees and even a waterfall. it really felt like we were eating outdoors in an island paradise.
brian could not believe all the food that they had. if you can handle the smoke (though it was not smoky in this one), i think they are a really good deal for the money.
we didn't spend too much time in the casino. brian wanted to keep me out of the smoke, and either way it was really bothering both our eyes. he did stop to play some quarter slots and ended up winning a little over $100. with the money we had paid to play that meant we were up about $65. we left before we could spend it on something else, but we didn't get too terribly far. we stopped in at the kids' arcade.
i love skee-ball, so we tried to play a couple rounds but the machine was broken. so we played some other arcade games. i think that's way more fun than gambling. brian beat me at the football throwing game. what can i say, i'm kind of a girly girl. that was our last stop before heading home and was a nice way to wrap up our mini-vacation.
it was really nice to get away and get a change of scenery. it's also nice that the reno/tahoe area is only about 1½-2 hours away from us now up on interstate 80. we drove up early saturday afternoon and it was a gorgeous day in the sierras, cool and clear and sunny. the leaves were turning on the trees and it was so pretty though i'm sure nothing like what happens back east. well, we take what we can get here.
truckee is about a half hour outside of reno. we stopped at this vista point over donner lake, just outside of truckee. you can see the snow up on the tops of the mountains in the distance. there were tiny patches of snow in the shady spots along the highway too.
i was playing with the exposure (or something?) on my camera because it was really sunny and i was afraid the picture would get all washed out. i guess the opposite happened. i'll have to learn more about that.
i really like stopping at vista points because you often get to see pretty views that you would otherwise miss. plus, it's a nice chance to stretch your legs and get some fresh air.
brian does not like stopping as much as i do. i think he usually just wants to get there, but he is a good sport about letting me take my pictures.
the hotel was really nice. apparently it's been recently remodeled and brian said it looked a lot better than it did before. i had never been to reno or the peppermill before so i didn't know the difference. brian really liked that there was a 45" flat-screen tv in our room. all the better to watch espn, i guess.
saturday night we had a really nice dinner with work. there was so much food and man was it ever delicious. what were they thinking offering up an 18 oz. steak? who can eat that much? i made a pretty good dent in it though and ate all my vegetables. brian could not decide what he wanted for dessert so the waiter brought him two, one on the house. i had a cherry blintz and it was so delicious. how do i get that served at my house?
the breakfast buffet was an island theme with all kinds of plants and trees and even a waterfall. it really felt like we were eating outdoors in an island paradise.
brian could not believe all the food that they had. if you can handle the smoke (though it was not smoky in this one), i think they are a really good deal for the money.
we didn't spend too much time in the casino. brian wanted to keep me out of the smoke, and either way it was really bothering both our eyes. he did stop to play some quarter slots and ended up winning a little over $100. with the money we had paid to play that meant we were up about $65. we left before we could spend it on something else, but we didn't get too terribly far. we stopped in at the kids' arcade.
i love skee-ball, so we tried to play a couple rounds but the machine was broken. so we played some other arcade games. i think that's way more fun than gambling. brian beat me at the football throwing game. what can i say, i'm kind of a girly girl. that was our last stop before heading home and was a nice way to wrap up our mini-vacation.
Friday, November 14, 2008
belly dancer
this is my mil:
she took up belly dancing a couple years ago as a lark and absolutely loves it. she's pretty darn good, too. she is part of a troupe of about 12 women and performs at functions and events. it used to drive brian nuts that his mother was out there swinging her hips and baring her tummy, but now he is okay with it. i love that she dances, i think it is awesome and empowering and i would like to do it also, if only to teach me a little rhythm!
she took up belly dancing a couple years ago as a lark and absolutely loves it. she's pretty darn good, too. she is part of a troupe of about 12 women and performs at functions and events. it used to drive brian nuts that his mother was out there swinging her hips and baring her tummy, but now he is okay with it. i love that she dances, i think it is awesome and empowering and i would like to do it also, if only to teach me a little rhythm!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
automotive contentment
this week i am thankful for:
1. our cars. brian and i are fortunate enough to not just have one vehicle that runs well, but two, one for each of us. lots of families have to make do on only one car. we don't, and while a two-car family is pretty common, i still consider us lucky.
2. my car's (relative) health. it had an oil change last month and passed smog yesterday, and the registration is taken care of. today it got two new tires put on and all four realigned. it still needs a transmission flush and the rear wheels could stand to have camber arms installed, but at the moment i'm counting my blessings. the engine won't seize, i won't get a ticket for expired registration, and i won't slide off a wet or snowy road.
3. that we are not making more money than we do right now. we went to the car show this weekend (it was so not as great as when it comes to the moscone center in san francisco, just so you know, but they did have a cool antique motorcycle exhibit) and saw lots of things to lust after. we also saw lots of things that would be very real possibilities if we traded in one of our perfectly good cars and took out an additional loan. we're not poor and we're certainly not rich. we manage, but if we had more disposable income those possibilities could well become realities. i love my husband and want him to be happy but i don't see why we would need to trade in our 2-year-old car just because he is tired of it and wants an suv again. at least i can play the "no money!" card and guilt him away from those thoughts right now.
1. our cars. brian and i are fortunate enough to not just have one vehicle that runs well, but two, one for each of us. lots of families have to make do on only one car. we don't, and while a two-car family is pretty common, i still consider us lucky.
2. my car's (relative) health. it had an oil change last month and passed smog yesterday, and the registration is taken care of. today it got two new tires put on and all four realigned. it still needs a transmission flush and the rear wheels could stand to have camber arms installed, but at the moment i'm counting my blessings. the engine won't seize, i won't get a ticket for expired registration, and i won't slide off a wet or snowy road.
3. that we are not making more money than we do right now. we went to the car show this weekend (it was so not as great as when it comes to the moscone center in san francisco, just so you know, but they did have a cool antique motorcycle exhibit) and saw lots of things to lust after. we also saw lots of things that would be very real possibilities if we traded in one of our perfectly good cars and took out an additional loan. we're not poor and we're certainly not rich. we manage, but if we had more disposable income those possibilities could well become realities. i love my husband and want him to be happy but i don't see why we would need to trade in our 2-year-old car just because he is tired of it and wants an suv again. at least i can play the "no money!" card and guilt him away from those thoughts right now.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
showers
somehow it seems weddings are all around me, everywhere i turn. my policyholders are all getting married. the tv shows i watch and the blogs i read are all featuring wedding events. my best friend is in the throes of planning her nuptials for next summer (finding the dress is the big issue of the moment). all of that combined with my slowly expanding belly has turned my thoughts naturally to my husband, our family, and our wedding. we had a fabulous time so i thought i'd share some photos and remembrances.
we had a bit of a crazy week planned before the wedding: much of our family and many friends were arriving from out of the area so most of the festivities were happening right before the wedding. it ended up being a bit of a whirlwind but i had taken the week off of work and it was fun. two of my four bridesmaids stayed with me at my soon-to-be-mil's house and helped finish up those last-minute wedding things: making favors, programs, that kind of thing. my mom was also nearby at a hotel with my grandparents and aunt and uncle, and my sister was going to stay with her since we had a full house and a cat (she's allergic) at mil's.
we got married on a sunday, so we did my bridal shower on a thursday, at mil's house. my lovely, 9-months-pregnant bridesmaid kirsten came over early to help set things up and i zipped off to the airport to pick up my sister. she was flying in from kazakhstan where she had been the previous four weeks, on a missions trip. it was so good to see her, and she cleaned up pretty nicely in record time. i was amazed at how she held up, considering she had been travelling (or at least, awake) for the past 22 hours and was on a completely opposite time zone from california.
the food was delicious and the girls set everything up so beautifully. i wish i had a picture of the decorations.
me, my grandmother, and my future mil bonnie. i have been blessed with a truly amazing family, not only the ones i'm "stuck" with (my blood relatives) but also the ones i chose (my in-laws).
then the games began. wow, get a bunch of ladies together in a room and we sure do get silly. first kirsten had us make wedding-themed "sculptures" out of pink and blue play-doh. kerry won that game with her husband-and-wife bobblehead cake-toppers. (brian eats, sleeps, and breathes baseball and i had originally looked for actual bobbleheads for our cake topper. i found them, but with a price tag of about $350. we ended up nestling an actual baseball in a bed of flowers.)
next up was identifying the mysterious white powders (no, not anthrax!). some of them were easy, but the entire game was harder than it looked initially.
that's all three generations of girls in my immediate family: my sister, my grandmother, myself, and my mother, all stumped on those powders. don't worry, i didn't hog it! we all got our turns to peer closely at the powders.
then kirsten had everyone draw my "wedding photo" - on their heads, without looking! it was silly to watch everyone trying to draw with pencils poking through the papers into their hair. there was lots of moaning and giggling.
this is mil and kirsten. i'm pretty sure kirsten's drawing won.
lastly was the one game i had specifically requested, toilet-paper bride. i just love toilet paper bride. it is such a nutty game. bonnie had a bunch of colored toilet paper so that made the game a lot of fun.
much good-natured moaning and groaning from my mother ("how am i supposed to do this?!") as she made my grandmother into a beautiful bride. it has been a lot of years since grandma has been a bride, but i think grandpa would think she was just as beautiful as a toilet-paper bride as she was on her wedding day.
kerry and alice really concentrated on making alice a great dress! my sister is the fashionista in the family and alice has super style sense also so they made a great team. they won, by the way.
all those beautiful ladies really decked me out in some scandalous "nighties." is that stuff really for me or is it for the husband-to-be? no photos of those!
it was such a lovely day - very emblematic of our entire wedding events. i did not feel so much like a princess (center of attention) as i just felt loved. here was all my family and friends who loved me and my fiancé so much and just wanted to share our special commitment and help make it special and memorable to us. i think that's what a wedding (and a life!) ought to be about, really.
we had a bit of a crazy week planned before the wedding: much of our family and many friends were arriving from out of the area so most of the festivities were happening right before the wedding. it ended up being a bit of a whirlwind but i had taken the week off of work and it was fun. two of my four bridesmaids stayed with me at my soon-to-be-mil's house and helped finish up those last-minute wedding things: making favors, programs, that kind of thing. my mom was also nearby at a hotel with my grandparents and aunt and uncle, and my sister was going to stay with her since we had a full house and a cat (she's allergic) at mil's.
we got married on a sunday, so we did my bridal shower on a thursday, at mil's house. my lovely, 9-months-pregnant bridesmaid kirsten came over early to help set things up and i zipped off to the airport to pick up my sister. she was flying in from kazakhstan where she had been the previous four weeks, on a missions trip. it was so good to see her, and she cleaned up pretty nicely in record time. i was amazed at how she held up, considering she had been travelling (or at least, awake) for the past 22 hours and was on a completely opposite time zone from california.
the food was delicious and the girls set everything up so beautifully. i wish i had a picture of the decorations.
me, my grandmother, and my future mil bonnie. i have been blessed with a truly amazing family, not only the ones i'm "stuck" with (my blood relatives) but also the ones i chose (my in-laws).
then the games began. wow, get a bunch of ladies together in a room and we sure do get silly. first kirsten had us make wedding-themed "sculptures" out of pink and blue play-doh. kerry won that game with her husband-and-wife bobblehead cake-toppers. (brian eats, sleeps, and breathes baseball and i had originally looked for actual bobbleheads for our cake topper. i found them, but with a price tag of about $350. we ended up nestling an actual baseball in a bed of flowers.)
next up was identifying the mysterious white powders (no, not anthrax!). some of them were easy, but the entire game was harder than it looked initially.
that's all three generations of girls in my immediate family: my sister, my grandmother, myself, and my mother, all stumped on those powders. don't worry, i didn't hog it! we all got our turns to peer closely at the powders.
then kirsten had everyone draw my "wedding photo" - on their heads, without looking! it was silly to watch everyone trying to draw with pencils poking through the papers into their hair. there was lots of moaning and giggling.
this is mil and kirsten. i'm pretty sure kirsten's drawing won.
lastly was the one game i had specifically requested, toilet-paper bride. i just love toilet paper bride. it is such a nutty game. bonnie had a bunch of colored toilet paper so that made the game a lot of fun.
much good-natured moaning and groaning from my mother ("how am i supposed to do this?!") as she made my grandmother into a beautiful bride. it has been a lot of years since grandma has been a bride, but i think grandpa would think she was just as beautiful as a toilet-paper bride as she was on her wedding day.
kerry and alice really concentrated on making alice a great dress! my sister is the fashionista in the family and alice has super style sense also so they made a great team. they won, by the way.
all those beautiful ladies really decked me out in some scandalous "nighties." is that stuff really for me or is it for the husband-to-be? no photos of those!
it was such a lovely day - very emblematic of our entire wedding events. i did not feel so much like a princess (center of attention) as i just felt loved. here was all my family and friends who loved me and my fiancé so much and just wanted to share our special commitment and help make it special and memorable to us. i think that's what a wedding (and a life!) ought to be about, really.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
a top and a skirt
this top is simpliciy # 3075 and was pretty easy to make. i worked on it mornings before work. i'm not sure if i'm in love with the purple ribbon, it was a bit out-of-the-box as far as a color choice. usually i would have chosen something more neutral and earth-toned. in the future i would make the longer tunic version, and i would also add an inch or so to the upper bodice/yoke/bust portion. the seam line seems to ride a bit higher under the bust than i would like.
it's not a maternity blouse and i fit it right now though i won't in a couple months. i wanted to make something for "me" instead of "me and baby and growing belly."
this skirt was insanely easy. i adapted the tummy panel from burda # 8097 onto the straight skirt from simplicity # 3834. the skirt is two pieces, the front and back, and the walking slit is just a portion of one side seam left open. normally the pattern would have darts, a waistband, and a side zip, but of course i eliminated those with the tummy panel. i still need to get buttonhole elastic to finish off the waist. the tummy panel was smaller than the skirt so i stretched it a little, which i think worked just fine since there now seems to be a bit of "ease" built into the top of the skirt.
this skirt was so easy i almost cried and i bet i'll be making more of these. i think i used about 3/4 yard of 60" denim but i think i could squeeze it out of the same from 45". i adapted the pattern yesterday morning before work and then churned out the skirt last night in about an hour.
both of these were relatively easy on the wallet also, as i had most of the fabric on hand. the gold print cotton i had purchased years ago for a quilt and then never made it. i get pretty bored with quilting. the denim my mom sent up last year or so. i just had to buy the ribbing which i had to get anyways to adapt a (future) pair of old jeans to accomodate the belly. i think i only used about 3/8 yard of ribbing to make the tummy panel so i have a lot left over. i think the skirt in particular would be uber-cheap to make since it takes so little material and zero notions.
it's not a maternity blouse and i fit it right now though i won't in a couple months. i wanted to make something for "me" instead of "me and baby and growing belly."
this skirt was insanely easy. i adapted the tummy panel from burda # 8097 onto the straight skirt from simplicity # 3834. the skirt is two pieces, the front and back, and the walking slit is just a portion of one side seam left open. normally the pattern would have darts, a waistband, and a side zip, but of course i eliminated those with the tummy panel. i still need to get buttonhole elastic to finish off the waist. the tummy panel was smaller than the skirt so i stretched it a little, which i think worked just fine since there now seems to be a bit of "ease" built into the top of the skirt.
this skirt was so easy i almost cried and i bet i'll be making more of these. i think i used about 3/4 yard of 60" denim but i think i could squeeze it out of the same from 45". i adapted the pattern yesterday morning before work and then churned out the skirt last night in about an hour.
both of these were relatively easy on the wallet also, as i had most of the fabric on hand. the gold print cotton i had purchased years ago for a quilt and then never made it. i get pretty bored with quilting. the denim my mom sent up last year or so. i just had to buy the ribbing which i had to get anyways to adapt a (future) pair of old jeans to accomodate the belly. i think i only used about 3/8 yard of ribbing to make the tummy panel so i have a lot left over. i think the skirt in particular would be uber-cheap to make since it takes so little material and zero notions.
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