3. Always as a Bridesmaid…

This weekend I’m heading to Florida for a few days for my cousin’s wedding. True, I haven’t actually talked to this cousin face-to-face or on the phone, well, in 15 years or so, but his mom is a loyal reader of this blog (Hi Aunt Sandy!) and one of my favorite people so off Darling and I go for a few days of family, fun and sun. A mini family reunion of sorts.

It’s also a rarity that I’m not somehow involved in this wedding in a way other than attending since I’m pretty much a perma-bridesmaid. Or if not a bridesmaid I tend to be the executive bride’s helper as was the case with the last few weddings Irish & I attended.

I thought that just for fun I’d take you through the last few weddings I’ve been in.

My college roommate’s wedding, circa 2005 (worst tan line known to man…):

My childhood friend’s wedding, circa 2007, in St. Thomas (most beautiful setting ever):

My (other) college roommate’s wedding, circa New Year’s Eve 2007 (complete with chipmunk cheeks):

My best friend from high school’s wedding, April 2008 (I’m on the far left, in case you couldn’t tell):

and most recently, my best college friend’s wedding in September 2008* (probably my favorite dress out of all of them and I have seven dresses total as we had two dresses for the one above!):

(I was in my cousin’s wedding in 2000 but that was pre-digital camera and I can’t readily find a photo to post so you’ll have to do without.)

If you know of anyone who needs a professional bridesmaid feel free to pass my name along. It’s been a whole year since I’ve been in a wedding and I’m actually itching to be in one which is rather shocking!

1. October 2009 Recap

Current Book(s):
Work in Progress: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles, Haruki Murakami; 
Finished: Dead as a Doornail, Charlain Harris
(I’m in a bit of a reading slump still! I blame work.)

Current Music:
Bon Jovi
Journey
Pretty much anything from the 80s

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure:
Homemade chocolate chip & oatmeal cookies

Current Colors:
Purple

Current Obsessions:
Rediscovering my Domestic Diva
Raking leaves; odd, I know but the green of the grass is much prettier than the dead, brown leaves all over the lawn

Current Drink:
Water
Peppermint Tea

Current Songs:
I honestly can’t think of a single song right now that’s my favorie or that I’m listening to over and over again. Unusual for me!

Current Movie:
The Last Kiss
Casablanca

Current TV Show:
Color Splash, HGTV
Dawson’s Creek (I’m rewatching them because, well, I feel like it)

Current Wish-List:
Less pain and suffering amongst my friends; there’s been too much of it lately

Current Needs:
Clarity

Current Triumph(s):
Well it hasn’t happened yet but I’m taking a whole week off of work this month and will be disconnecting my work email from Blackberry. First time in three years I’ve done NO work on a vacation so if I can pull it off, it will be huge for me.

Current Bane(s) of my Existence:
I signed up for NaBloPoMo but no idea if I’ll make it
House Hunters on HGTV because the demographic of people on that show bothers me. First homes that cost $350,000? Seriously? And don’t get me started on House Hunters International; I wish I could have a second home in Italy!

Current Goal(s):
Three more pounds to go to reach my weight loss goal
Pull off NaBloPoMo this month so I can improve my writing

Current Indulgence:
Target shopping trips
Afternoon naps on the weekends

Current Blessing:
Each day is a blessing. I know, corny, but lately, it’s so very true.  

Current Slang or Saying:
I’ve been dropping the F-Bomb a lot as of late. Terrible, I know.

Current (Fav) Outfit:
Comfort is what I’m going for lately, at work, at home, at the gym

Current Excitement:
Trip to Florida this month for my cousin’s wedding
Thanksgiving & lots of family time

Current Mood:
Contemplative

What was the highlight of your October?

The 26th Year

I admit I wasn’t organized enough to find a photo of myself as a young girl for today’s post so a photo of me from my 21st birthday will have to do:

I’m 26 today (and the end to the birthday-blogging theme)! The last year has been one of the best years in my twenties and I’ve enjoyed every moment, new opportunity, my new and old friendships, my fantastic family, my amazing dog (who I’m convinced is a Border Collie mix after much discussion this past weekend), Irish, this blog, my readers, and the many new experiences I enjoyed.

A quick, down n’ dirty list of things I’ve learned over the years:

* You can’t go wrong with hugs.
* Baking is therapeutic.
* Sex & The City relates to my life more than I would have thought (or cared to admit).
* Sleeping in until noon is rejuvenating.
* Love is worth the fall.
* Getting a Blackberry will change your life, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse.
* After a long day there’s nothing like a hug from your man and smooch from your dog.
* It’s true: if you pluck one white hair, at least three more grow in its place.
* Sweatpants are fabulous.

Birthday request time! If you’re a reader but rarely comment, please, let me know who you are. If you’re a regular reader/commenter please share your words to live by or favorite life advice for me to add to my arsenal.

The Evolution of Birthdays

When you’re little birthdays are all about toys, streamers, balloons, party favors, junk food and really amazing cake with fabulous icing; staying up past your bedtime; having your name read over the loudspeaker at school; your favorite dinner cooked by your mom; the thrill of presents from your friends, and themed birthday parties.

When you’re a teenager  (13-17) birthdays are all about wondering if your outfit looks ok at school; how many balloons will your friends buy you and stuff into your locker?; will today be the day the high school football start finally tells you he loves you?; your friends and parents trying to surprise you and surprise you they did with limo rides (13th birthday) and a DJ (16th) birthday; hoping against hope that some boy you liked liked you back; and that you have a decent showing  with no drama at your birthday party which will be supplied with tunes from Cake and the Empire Records lots of junk food and copious amounts of soda.

When you’re a young adult (18-23) your birthdays are about freedom; the ability to vote and drink (legally); celebrating a birthday away from home; planning your own party which often doesn’t sound so fun so you don’t do it; taking so many shots that the entire night is a blur; waking up to find out that you danced on a bar, kissed a stranger and proclaimed your love to every single one of your friends; it’s about going through your digital camera to see what pictures were taken and then daring to check facebook to see what embarassing shots of you may have surfaced; it’s about relishing in the here and now because you’re in your early twenties and this is how you do it!

When you’re in your mid-twenties (24-26) *birthdays are about quiet celebrations; not letting your friends buy you shot after shot because you know too well that hangover feeling; being thankful for everything that you have in your life; not asking for presents because you do have everything; being pleasantly surprised by the presents your friends and family do give you because you really didn’t need/want anything; reflecting on where you are and where you want to be; thankful for the lack of wrinkles on your face; recalling the days of yesteryear and smiling on all memories fondly; resolving to be a better person; reminding yourself to live in the now; ignoring your dad’s comments about how your more than halfway to fifty even if he says it with a smile on his face; indulging in birthday cake; going to sleep at a decent hour because you’re working the next day; hugging all your friends and family at least twice- not because your drunk- but because you love them.

What are your birthdays about?

** I consider mid-twenties to be through 27 or 28 but I’m not there yet, so I’ll let you know how it goes in the next two years! **

A Look Back: Nora’s High School Journals

Since I’ve been back at my parents place, I’ve been doing a lot of cleaning up/cleaning out of things and stumbled upon a huge box of my journals from high school.

First of all, my handwriting? Apalling. It’s so messy, big and just ick. I can’t believe I used to write that way and that in high school I had the prettiest handwriting among my friends! I do give myself a bonus because I managed to use legible ink, not pink like a lot of my friends did.

Secondly, the words I used for things is hilarious. Examples:

Life Juice = Coca Cola
Rat, Ring, Parrot= Rat, the nickname for a person I didn’t like; Ring nickname for a guy I had a crush on with a tongue ring; Parrot, the nickname for a friend who talked way too much
CLAA= a group I “created” to help me get over a guy I had a Crush on. I don’t even remember what the letters stand for nor could I find them in my journal!

I love that I included random facts about my day or reminders for myself, like “Don’t forget to watch the American President this Friday at 8pm,” or “My doctor says I’m 10 lbs under weight for my height/age,” (That was freshman year in high school and boy do I wish that was true now!) I also found emails that I printed out from guys I had crushes on or AOL Instant Messenger conversations and tucked into the pages, “Drawings of the day,” and an insane amount of teenage insecurities over friends. Ah, teenage insecurities. Can’t say that I miss those.  

Looking back, it’s funny what I found to be important to me on a daily basis: grades, clothes, band practice and then yearbook gossip, boys, and an insane amount of concern for what others thought about me. Even funnier is that if someone had asked me to “journal,” my life online I would have laughed at them in their face. I can only imagine how much more intense high school would have been with social media. Maybe something like Mean Girls + Varsity Blues + American Pie + Weird Science/other geeky teenage movie aka way too much drama for a normal person.

A few tidbits from my sophomore year journal mostly because they made me laugh out loud…

July 21st, 1998

MM wrote K an email about his sex life. He’s such a freak.

(MM happens to own a record label now and lives somewhere in ChiTown. Also I’m glad to know I thought people who talked a lot about sex were freaks.)

******

July 26, 1998

Today my brother told my dad that I cursed in an email. He’s being a huge buttface.

********

Date Unknown.
NO MORE SWIMMING IN GYM CLASS!!!!!!

*******

Date Unknown.

Crushes of the day: Ethan Embry. Seth Green.

*********
Your turn! Did you keep a journal pre-blogland? Best secret? Best code name for a crush? Something you thought was a big deal then which is not of concern at all now?

(Also, I think “A Look Back:…:” will become a weekly feature on my blog. Taking suggestions for topics to “Look Back,” on!)

A Look Back: Eight Years Ago

Besides the insane amount of emotion I experienced on Wednesday while we moved my brother into his new place, I had a lot of flashbacks to my first time I set foot on the very same college campus and the months following…

* Sunday morning ritual. Fortunate to live in a small dorm my freshman year, the girls on our floor routinely hung out in the hallway every Sunday morning to recap the weekend’s event. Pajamas were welcome, we’d pass snacks around and eventually get our acts together to go to a dining hall en masse. (Side Note: I’m still friends with two of the girls today.)

* Public Transportation. I didn’t have my car with me for the first semester which was really no big deal since you don’t really need to leave campus for anything (at a school of 25,000 there are convenience stores, tanning beds, hair salons, food courts/dining halls galore and much much more) but occasionally my roomie and I felt the need to shop like any normal 18 year old girl. So we bravely tried our hand at the public transportation. We thought we had it mastered when one night, bags in hand, we found ourselves riding the through the “less safe,” part of town, the only two girls on the bus with a handful of very angry, disgruntled men staring at us. NO one was talking on the bus. It was pitch black out. We had no idea where we were. Finally we are dropped off at the bus depot which isn’t even close to campus. Bags in hand, we had to walk two miles home. We collapsed into laughter when our dorm room was finally in sight.

* Sorority Rush. I wound up pledging for only a short period of time due to some issues I had with the sorority president, their views on grades vs. being a sorority girl and a few other things but Rush isn’t an experience I would change for the world. I had a lot of laughs (as well as nerves, tears, and laughter) over Bid Day.

* Football Tailgating. I admit, I didn’t understand the attraction. Standing outside in the cold fall weather to eat and drink? Didn’t make sense. Something about the football game/stadium grew on me and before I knew it I was tailgating almost every home game possible unless of course there was a test to study for.

* Wearing flip-flops in the shower on a regular basis. So glad I don’t have to do that anymore.

* My first taste of beer. My first frat party. My first Homecoming (my college does it up right. Huge parades. Floats. Candy. Beer. Food. It’s an entire town event. Hotels & football game tickets sell out one year in advance!)

What’s one thing that stands out in your mind from your freshman year of college/first excursion away from home?

The Surprise Weekend

Ever have a weekend so perfect (and exhausting) that you know despite your best efforts you won’t be able to turn it into a swoon-worthy, do-it-justice kind of a post?

That was my weekend.

I’ll give it a whirl, anyway.

Fabulous. What’s a better way to spend a weekend than with family you haven’t seen in two years? My Aunt & Uncle (on Darling’s side) are some of the most down-to-earth, amazing people I know. I’d think that even if they weren’t my family. They are always up for anything, smiling, and ready to go. Their purpose of coming in town was to surprise my gram and boy did it work. We had her crying (unintentionally, of course) at breakfast when she saw them walk into the restaurant.

Exhausting. I didn’t want to spend much time away from the family since I only see them every few years. (My parents see them more often as they frequent the Florida area.) This mean that I was up super early on Saturday, stayed up well past the point of exhaustion and then repeated the cycle on Sunday. Throw in some manual labor at Gram’s apartment yesterday (willingly, of course) and you get a very tired Nora & Irish.

Nostalgic.  My Gram moved to the StL in November; we helped her move in, unpack, organize and etc yet my dear Gram still has an insane amount of stuff after moving countless times. Yesterday, while helping her sort through piles of things, I found several photos of my Poppy, various decor items that reminded me of their old house in Upstate New York, our trip to London, England five years ago and more. There were moments I wanted to sit down and cry as I was overwhelmed with missing Poppy and the realization that while Gram is really an independent woman she has never been the same without him. (I am resolving to go to her place at least once a month to help her with whatever she may need. I also took the liberty to put various pictures of Poppy up around her place.)

Organizing. My Gram is active with crafty projects (in fact, she even has some projects she sells and donates which is totally awesome) so she has many boxes of yarn, lots of family photos, really great gnome statues (collectibles!) in addition to the various books, artwork, photos, frames, clothing and etc that are important to her. She has a great one bedroom apartment but with very little storage. Irish suggested reorganizing her closets to maximize her space. So we did. Darling and I rearranged some furniture, the Grandfather clock, the crystal hutch and other things to help her out. When we left her place yesterday evening she said she feels like she’s finally moved in and organized! (Disclaimer: Darling and I see Gram once a week but the outings/visits are usually filled with menial things such as grocery shopping, dealing with odds and ends like prescriptions, blah blah blah. We help her as much and as often as we can, wtih Darling putting in a lot of the legwork but  sometimes takes an army of five people to get things in shape and so we did!)

Hilarious. Some things are just funny. Like giving a bunch of Senior Citizen Women “Dream Big,” inspirational placards. Or the fact that every where I looked in Gram’s place yesterday there were lots of silk flowers laying around. Or when Jack was hanging out under the table yesterday morning at my parents and decided to fart, twice. LOUDLY. Or the antique lamp that Darling salvaged from my Gram’s that turned out to be rather phallic looking when it’s plugged in. Add in everyone else’s laughter and it usually winds up being rather humorous.

Surprising. Gram didn’t see her surprise party coming at her apartment community so we pulled that one off well. Throw in there Irish coming to my Gram’s birthday party after his kickball games, how incredibly awesome my brother was all weekend and Irish being a HUGE help all day on Sunday with the heavy-lifiting and organizational ideas at Gram’s and the overall theme of the weekend was indeed surprising. (Side Note: I think I fell in love with Irish all over again this weekend. He was so incredibly awesome with my family on Saturday night and all Sunday, with no complaining, lots of smiles, hugs, willingness to help out. I was and am in awe of how great he is! Words really can’t describe how amazing he was/is.)
 
Romantic. See “Side Note,” above. Irish’s willingness to be so in the moment with my family & I was incredibly romantic to me. Not to mention he brought me a change of clothes when I requested them, took care of Jack all day on Saturday since I was tied up, and hugged me when he could tell I was frustrated/sad.

Loving. With a family as awesome as mine, it’s hard not to have a loving weekend. I couldn’t get enough of the hugs, kisses, close moments for the last few days. I also realized that even though my Gram can drive me up the wall sometimes she’s a pretty together lady with a lot of stories to share. Which reminded me how great a mother I have… which resulted in us making pacts about how we’ll handle things when my parents get older. And Irish. Fantastic, wonderful, thoughtful, caring, compassionate boyfriend. I am so lucky to have him. I’m so lucky to have all of this joy in my life.

And now, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to brainstorm on how I can move to Florida to be closer to my Aunt/Uncle, come up with some really sweet things to do for Irish and send my mom a sweet note letting her know how much I love her.

Mayday, Mayday

I’m feeling the bullet concept so here we go….

* SURPRISE! My Aunt & Uncle are flying in today to give my Gram an (early) birthday surprise. I’m looking forward to the weekend of wine, beer, BBQ and nostalgia with my family. Also? I am excited for Irish to meet them. (I met all of his main friends & family within the first four months of us dating. Since my family is spread out he gets to meet them in pieces.)

* May has been an insane month and it’s not even half over. Over 11 birthdays (some are friends/family of Irish, others are mine), some of which snuck up on me so I have some back-pedaling, cards to send and presents to wrap. And of course the ones that are in-town require birthday parties, baking, presents, family time and parties. I don’t remember the last time I was at home, in my sweatpants, lounging around. As of right now all signs point to Nora Relaxation time taking place after Vegas. Exciting to be busy and seeing my friends, yes but also exhausting. Which brings me to…

* I’m tired. I’m tired of: saying yes to everything and feeling guilty if I say no; of overextending myself; people who don’t call me back; friends who complain we don’t talk or hang out yet NEVER call me; rude people; arrogance; the desire to eat chocolate; 10-hour work days; poor Irish having to work late; not getting enough time with Jack; my work clothes ; my hair hair; corporate America.

*  Plants vs Zombies. Sounds crazy, right? Courtesy of Irish I’m now hooked on a completely silly puzzle game. I plant flowers that have powers to kill zombies. Zombies try to get through the flowers and etc while shouting “BRAINS!” in a very eerie voice.  But did you know that there are zombies who ride dolphins, are on bobsled teams and impersonate Michael Jackson? The game has some very awesome comedic qualities and as Irish says “like a zombie bite I have infected you.”  He’s also excited becuase he’s slowly turning me into a nerd. Awesome.

* School, glorious school. Two weeks from Monday I’m diving back into graduate school classes. In the next 27 weeks I’m taking five classes and will graduate in December with my MBA. I’m dreading the return a little bit but I need to forge on, push through and finish it up! (At least that’s what I keep telling myself.)

* In Livin’ Color. (Anyone remember that show? I wasn’t really allowed to watch it as a kid but I saw glimpses on occasion.) It looks like I’ll be leaving my lovely apartment in August to move home/continue the faux-cohabitation with Irish. The debate over the living situation is enough material for another post but suffice to say Irish and I want to live together but there are some things that are kind of standing in our way. We’re trying to place nice and not piss anyone off so I’ll move home, save up mad money, and continue to more or less live with Irish a few days a week. Should be a win/win.

Reasons

(To see my inspiration for this post, check out Just Tabitha’s co-blog with her fiance! They are getting married in a few short months and Tabitha recently posted about their one year anniversary/everything happens for a reason/how they met story.)

Some time after my first big heartbreak/break-up I convinced myself/accepted/decided that yes, everything does happen for a reason. Along with this philosophy obviously we don’t know how each decision we make is going to change our lives but perhaps they are all intertwined on some higher level that will manifest itself to us when the time is right!?

(I’m not saying I think everything is pre-determined for us, though I do believe in fate. I’m also not saying that whether we decide to have Coke or Pepsi at lunch is going to determine if we become millionaires or not. However, those big life decisions? I like to compare it to a choose-your-own-ending book. You’re never sure you chose the “right,” path until you are on it. Luckily many of us are fortunate and motivated to get ourselves on a new, different path if need be.)

So, back to the “everything happens for a reason,” conversation. I’ve noticed that when I go back through the blog archives I don’t mention much about how I met Irish which was due to the fact that I was kind of over dating at the time and then subsequently didn’t want to jinx it. Here’s the rundown.

If I….

…. hadn’t been on a ridiculous dating rollercoaster which only led to me meeting loser after loser for over three years

…. I wouldn’t have decided that I was totally and completely fed up, thus deciding to focus only on myself (no matter how selfish that sounds!)

…. I wouldn’t have decided that exercising like a crazy person six or seven days a week was necessary

…. and I wouldn’t have injured my shoulder while lifting weights at the gym which also caused issues with my back

…. which means I wouldn’t have gone to the chiropractor to visit my chiropractor friend

…. and she wouldn’t have asked me how the dating world was which ultimately led to me making light of all the terrible, horrible no-good very bad dates I had been on

…. and she wouldn’t have suggested that I meet her then-fiance-now-husband’s good friend

…. and two weeks later she wouldn’t have called me to say that “this guy,” asked for my number after he heard about me and to expect a phone call

…. and then Irish wouldn’t have called me that very night (!)

…. and we certainly wouldn’t have talked on three separate occasions for no less than two hours at a time before our actual first date

…. and we wouldn’t be dating for almost 11 months (which as far as I’m concerned is pretty awesome)

In case you didn’t follow that, Irish and I were set-up by a friend; our first date was (mostly) blind. Confession: I found him on Facebook the night before our first date. The picture threw me off because he didn’t have any facial hair in the profile picture. We were Facebook friends before our first date. Within the first week we went on four dates. After our fourth date Irish traveled to Minnesota where he had NO cell phone service, NO internet and basically NO connection to me. And while he was returning from Minnesota I traveled to Houston, TX for a work conference for a week. The texts and cute notes were bouncing around cell phone satellites and towers, though. Three days after I was back from Houston (and three more dates later), he introduced me as his girlfriend to his very best friends.

And so here we are.

So tell me, how did you meet your current husband/fiance/boyfriend/crush OR what is the worst/best blind date you have ever been on?

April 2009 Recap

Current Book(s):
The Sicilian, Mario Puzo (halfway through)
Next up on the list: The Secret Life of Bees; Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament

Current Music:
The Killers, in preparation for the concert on May 4th
Metallica
Matt White

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure:
Mini Kit-Kat Bars
Kedem Tea Biscuits

Current Colors:
Bright Blue

Current Obsessions:
Comfortable Clothes after work
Vegas trip that’s right around the corner
Reading
My new Blackberry Curve

Current Drink:
Water, water and more water

Current Songs:
Love, by Matt White
Funny the Way It Is, Dave Matthews Band new single. Album comes out on June 2 and I’m super pumped!

Current Movie:
I don’t think watching endless amounts of 30 Rock, Felicity & Lie to Me count as movies, but I’m digging them anyway

Current TV Show:
Rescue Me! It’s back on FX and I’m incredibly behind

Current Fave Photo:
(With my man at the Repeal Prohibition Beer Festival a few weekends ago. My necklace is crooked and my hair’s a mess but I like it anyway!)

Current Wish-List:
A beachside vacation
The desire to attend my grad classes this summer; I’m signed up but not excited about it
More summer clothes!
Get my gym mo-jo back. Yeah, baby!

Current Needs:
Lots of tissues for my stinkin’ allergies
To get my oil changed in my car
Another pedicure. I’m really hard on my feet.

Current Triumph(s):
NOT adopting a dog, as much as I want to
Pre-determining birthday presents and desserts for each of the six birthdays I am a part of in May

Current Bane(s) of my Existence:
Chocolate.
My willpower is lacking and therefore I am not so great at avoiding said chocolate
I do not like going to the gym as of late

Current Goal(s):
Drag my butt to the gym at least four times a week. Five -six would be ideal
Find a cute new outfit for Vegas in June
Continue to disconnect from technology on the weekends

Current Indulgence:
SLEEP

Current Blessing:
My awesome support network
My ability to see the happy, light and positive in almost any situation; it may take me awhile but I get there

Current Slang or Saying:
Oh really?

Current (Fav) Outfit:
Hmmm… probably my black pencil skirt with white blouse or my floor length black/white halter dress

Current Excitement:
Florida friends visiting over Memorial Day weekend
May is concert month: The Killers, The Decemberists
I’m reconnecting with several of my BFF’s and it’s great
VEGAS
Upcoming one year anniversary with Irsh
New Orleans trip

Current Mood:
Slap-happy from lack of sleep