Out with the old in with the new

www.amy-tidbits.blogspot.com

MEMORIAL DAY, MARATHONS, AND MEAT

Memorial Day weekend couldn't come soon enough! This year has been super stressful at work and everyone needed a break. We were planning on laying low and thats what I did on Saturday...to be honest...if I didn't feel as good as I did I would have thought I was sick. I didn't move until 3 when Abbie came down with some lunch leftover because she figured I had been to lazy to eat. HAHA. This brings me to my next point...I didn't know Memorial Day weekend is a popular weekend for TV show marathons...there was a NCIS one which was the main reason for my lethargy, a Jon and Kate Plus 8 Marathon which made me despise the mother (Kate), among others. I was in heaven! The only thing that got me off the couch was the idea to make cupcakes. Nick's birthday was the perfect excuse. Abbie and I got birthday wrappers an candles and our favorite find of mix...I completely forgot Nick hates cake. They were delicious! We enjoyed Oregon's perfect summer weather with 3 cook outs. I ate more meat this past weekend than I usually eat in a week. Hotdogs, sausages, chicken, more hotdogs, sandwiches, bacon...it is was from a mammal we ate it. It was amazing! We bought some outdoor toys and the three of us played volleyball, and wiffle ball. It was a perfect 3-day weekend!

Invitation Time

The wedding is quickly approaching and after a little glitch with the color of the invitations...They are complete. Nick and I split the task and got them done in about 3 hours! Since you only do this once (hopefully), I think that is pretty good. Although, I have no other experience to compare it with. We had a few mistakes but nothing too stressful and they will be coming to a mailbox near you in about 5 days!

NOTE: Please send back the RSVPS... that's what I am looking forward to most!

DIY Reception Accessories

Trying to keep the costs of the wedding down and getting to show off my creative side, I have done multiple projects for the wedding...from the invitations to the centerpieces. I stumbled onto a "demask" themed reception and loved the way it looked. I began my research for items I could use and was disappointed when I saw the price being charged to some reception accessories. Etsy is one of my favorite sites and even they were on the "Demask" bandwagon and wanted to charge $9 for a table square. This just seems pointless to me. Determined to not take no for an answer I decided to make my own votive wraps and used printshop to create my own template.

Waxing of the Woo-Woo's--Disclaimer: For Women's Eyes Only- -

Note: Names have been changed to protect the identity of those involved.

There comes a time in life where you want to live a little. Some people get tattoos, others get piercings...My friend we will call her,"Abeeb" and I decided to get our woo-woos waxed. She is going on a trip and I wanted to do a wedding trial run. We did some research and with the horror stories (ripping of skin, wax that burns your skin off, and bruising) fresh in our minds we made our appointment at the Wax on Spa in Portland. They have had articles written about them in several magazines and we were willing to pay extra for people who know what they are doing. We decided to wax it all...our reasoning? "When in Rome"...For three weeks we gave ourselves nervous belly thinking about what lies ahead. My personal goal was to make sure I didn't cry. I wasn't going to let myself underestimate the pain involved...it is a form of torture in Africa for god sake! (granted they rip it out by hand...but still).

Finally the day had arrived. We took the recommended dose of Advil, and headed to our appointment early in the hopes of hitting up a bar for an additional layer of courage. We found a small half coffee shop half bar in N. Portland (A rougher area of town). We enjoyed a couple PBR tall boys, while sitting outside on two tin chairs. It had that senile old man vibe to it. We finished our drinks and feeling a little more confident walked the 5 blocks to our fate.

Abeeb went back first...no screams were heard so when they called my name a minute later I felt pretty good about it. They give you a couple pointers to lessen the pain, give ya a "trial" strip and them it begins. Besides the incessant sweating that comes out of nowhere and the feeling of large band aids being yanked off, it wasn't as bad as I had thought...A couple of strips in and I hear it-Abeeb's waxing must not have started yet because i could hear her in the next room now. You could hear the rip followed by a scream and clapping, followed by nervous laughing. This made me laugh. By now I was chatting with the technician and making sure that the rumor we heard (having to get on all fours so they can wax your bum) was fiction. Thank God it was! Note: Reputable salons do not use this practice. (This would have made me feel so violated that a rape kit may have been needed). The waxing of the bum was the easiest part and didn't hurt at all. As Abeeb told her technician when that part was complete..."child's play"..."All finished," said the technician about 30 minutes after the ordeal had started. (They give you some lotion and a hot towel to clean the wax off(the best part), leave you with some care instructions and that's all there is to it). We are going to do it again, but may not go all out, because the pre-pubescent feeling you get afterword is kinda creepy.

All in all it was a fun day. Waxing gives you an excuse to pop some pills, drink some beers, scream, laugh and be lazy for an entire day! Well worth the 30 minutes of discomfort. We think everyone should get something waxed...Live a little.

Now if we could only get Nick to wax his "yahoo" with us next time...

The Long Arm of the Law...

Yesterday evening I was heading home, talking with Aubrey and going the speed limit. I noticed a cop behind me but got into the "slow" lane and let him pass me. As the two lanes merged he slammed on his brakes forcing me to get in front of him and proceeded to pull me over. The reason?...I have a suspended license! Yes you read correctly...a suspended license! You are mistaken I told him. He continued to ask me where my Oregon license was..."I don't have one." I replied (yes- I should have one by now, but living here is a temporary situation, and a license will only make the "situation" more permanent). I have a license on file for you he continues..."So you have never gone to the DMV, taken a test, and had your picture taken?"..."Nope" (I can't have a suspended Oregon license...i have never gotten one). "Can I ask why it is suspended?"..."That is the weird part I have never seen the reason listed before. It says "random sampling"."

At this point I don't know what to do. He gives me a ticket for $643 dollars and sends me on my way telling me to go the DMV and get it taken care of. Then I will need to go to court on my assigned date and find out what the judge decides. "OHH GREAT!" This stuff only happens to us!

This a.m. I get up at 6 because I am nervous about the whole thing and call the DMV they inform me that since we didn't change our address with them when we moved, we didn't receive a letter they mailed out asking residents for proof of insurance. Since we didn't respond to the letter...they suspended not only my license, but Nick's as well. So I gave the clerk our policy number proving we had insurance for the month of December and we were cleared.

Move on to this evening...Cop is now in my driveway...yep... once again only happens to us. "ohhh nooo now what?"
"I did some research on my own because the situation was so odd. The state of Oregon made a HUGE mistake and I am here to void your ticket."

"YAY!!"...(insert awkward conversation here)

However, the state of Oregon still has an Oregon ID number on file that can't be removed and I have to keep a letter of clearance on me at all times because if any other cop decides to run my plates I will continue to come up as a suspended driver...so the story continues...

PS...Lent is clearly over-note picture above.

Poor Man's Pasta

There are those times when you do NOT want to go the grocery store, or you know you shouldn't go out for dinner and are forced to use things from your cupboard to make up a meal. This was the situation Nick and I were faced with when I created tonight's new dinner. Nick was in the mood for "chicken enchilada casserole", or "cheesy chicken"...both of which we have never had. "I will see what I can do," I replied.

First things first...I had to defrost some chicken breasts. Next find some pasta. We have had an overabundance of pasta for months...so I haven't bought any for a while...a mistake that would add character to the pasta...Our options for pasta were: Orzo (rice-like noodles)...probably not the best choice. Classic spaghetti...better than the orzo yet not quite right...Classic Kraft Macaroni Noodles and the Special Pokemon(TM)edition in the cupboard...PERRRFECT! Next I had to make it cheesy and casserole-like....

Select the sauce ingredients: A jar of alfredo sauce, milk, butter, parm, salt, pepper...(A good start) ,"need more cheese"...select the unopened, unused Macaroni cheese packet- add to mixture. (Maybe it needs some flavor?) Add some French Onion mix to the "sauce". Now what? Add some green onions, and fresh garlic. (Looks good)...Cook chicken and add cooked pasta and chicken to "sauce". Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Top with fresh diced tomatoes and enjoy.

Enjoy we did... it turned out great. Nick said it tasted like Macaroni Grill. I agree that it tasted like meals I have paid good money for. We joked about having our own Food Network show featuring truly cheap dishes.

Special K and Brussel Sprouts

Are what I ate for dinner tonight...it all started when I wasn't sure what I wanted for dinner...Leftover stuffed peppers? Possibly...Brussel Sprouts? Definitely. So I started cooking them. Next I decided to eat cereal instead and came upon the Blueberry Special K. I didn't want to waste the brussel sprouts so after enjoying a bowl of cereal I topped off my meal with the steamed brussel sprouts. My stomach is not agreeing with my choice...perhaps I will try a hard boiled egg that just finished cooking...

Fire Alarms Make Him Wacky

After living with Missy for so many years I am used to dogs that have their quirks...Ditka on the other hand doesn't have too many. Recently it has come to our attention that fire alarms are the exception to this rule...and ours goes off A LOT! If we are cooking and happen to set it off he disappears and is usually found hiding in his cage hunched over with sad/scared puppy eyes...kind of heartbreaking really. Tonight with the bedroom door shut it led to some crazy events. He went down into the laundry a sort of half basement if you will and just stood there...now he is hunkered down on my feet as close to me as possible and isn't really resonding to us at all...Fire Alarms make him Wacky.

Lonely Housewife

Abbie had a good giggle at me last week when I told her I was wasting away alone in our house. "I don't know what to eat." I told her. "Nick works late so I don't want to cook, and we don't have any "quick" meals because of the wedding diet. She showed pity and replied,"welcome to my world"

Nick has gone back to work and I am very excited for him. It gives him things to do instead of sitting at home all day. However, I like when he is here. Ditty and I don't know what to do. I am not good at being alone... All I can think of are the positives of when he was at home for example:

The house was clean, the laundry was done, the car had gas, I had a tennis partner, and he would make me coffee in the a.m and sometimes drive me to work.

Now it's:

I help with the housework, the car gets low on gas, I don't play tennis during the week, and I make the coffee. I am not liking this new routine. Although with the long hours the money is nice which I guess trumps all.

PS- I tried to find a picture to add to this post however, I felt like a pervert when I typed in Lonely Housewife and porn came up...dirty...that's so not what I MEANT!

Mr. Palm

Mr. Palm is my only explanation for what happened to us this past weekend in Seattle...We were overjoyed to hear the news that Van Camp would be coming to Seattle for work and we could go up and visit. We had no idea what was in store for us but would soon come to find out.

We got to Seattle at 9:30 on Friday night and got right on a ferry to take us into Seattle. That's when we met him...Mr. Palm. He is a co-worker of Van Camp's. We went to an Irish bar and had a few drinks. Things were going well. We were well on our way by the time we hit the streets to find our next destination which would be another Irish bar. A few more shots and a couple drinks were had by all and it was time to catch the ferry home. The night ended with a goole search for nugget porn, trying to register our air pump as a penis pump with the front desk, and Abbie impersonating a call girl during a phone call to another co-worker of Van Camp's. It was a great night, but a lot more was yet to come.

We woke up feeling rough and all of the showers and antacids in the world didn't make us feel any better. We decided to leave Bainbridge Island and head into the city on Saturday night.

We reserved 2 rooms at the Crown "Royal" Plaza and received an upgrade from Van Camp's previous stays with the Holiday Inn. This upgrade put us on the Executive level of the hotel where we enjoyed access to the Executive lounge and free breakfast. Still not feeling the best we wanted to take a nap and prepare for the night ahead. Van Camp, Mr. Palm, and Dolf headed to the liquor store to get some booze and about 20 minutes later we got a knock on the door. A waiter enters bearing gin and tonics courtesy of "Mr. Daniel"..."Mr. Palm". These were just what we needed to make our comeback. We drank our gifts and headed to the executive lounge to meet Mr. Palm and Van Camp.

After several drinks we decided to head out for dinner. We wanted to go to the Crab Pot. A restaurant featured on the Man v Food. We were in quite the predicament. We definitely did not want to walk the "6" blocks to the restaurant and the cab company told us that there weren't any van cabs available. The next thing we know Mr. Palm is on the phone ordering limos for the night. We went downstairs to wait for our ride and were greeted by the concierge who was looking for Mr. Palm. We were expecting an SUV limo but were surprised when an A-team van arrived. It was decked out with lights on the ceiling and a U-shaped leather bench. Perfect for the 6 of us. The creepy van dropped us off at the restaurant where we had an hour and a half wait at the bar. Being that Mr. Palm had been drinking since 9 a.m.he was well on his way by the time we sat down. He proceeded to fall out of his chair, lure Van Camp into hitting his hand with the crab mallet, and scare the host and hostess so bad I thought they messed themselves....A complete success.

We called for the limo, but had two town cars and the van show up. Apparently there was a mistake and too many limos were ordered. Abbie, Dolf and I rode in one and the other boys rode in the other. Abbie and I had the luxury of enjoying Rhianna videos that went to the music that was playing over the speakers in the town car.The driver told us to sit back, relax, and enjoy Seattle.

The next day, we had to get up at 6 and get going so the guys could catch their plane. Abbie and Nick were still intoxicated. We got into an elevator and joined another gentleman "going down" on the elevator. The man was dressed in trendy clothes with 90s sunglasses. The man was short and looked familiar. We told him to avoid touching the used condom in the corner of the elevator. This elevator was "used" last night Nick states. "Used and abused...buh buh bud uh"the man replies. We arrive at the breakfast floor and get out. At that moment Nick and Abbie yurn to eachother..."Was that Kanye?" they say at the same time. None of us are sure...but the facts speak for themselves. The man was coming down. Being that we were on the executive level the only other floor would have to be the penthouse. he resembled Kanye in every way even the height matched. The sunglasses were the same...the little song he added to his statement, and the icing on the cake...Kanye's your kicked off in Seattle that week!! Yep pretty sure we met him. The perfect random ending to a perfect random weekend with Mr. Palm. For those who yearn to meet Mr. Palm for yourselves...he may make an appearance at the wedding of the year in July!

Side Note on "Appropriate"

President Barack Obama appeared on the Tonight Show and made me proud to be an American. He compared his bowling score to that of a Special Olympian! Slowly but surely, people are becoming less and less PC. I LOVE IT!

What's Mine Is...Nick's?

I consider myself a pretty good sharer. There have been times when I have been called selfish (eating all of the corner pieces of a Harris pizza before technically reaching the corners) is the example that comes to mind. Nick and I are great at sharing money, razors, and our undying love...Trying to make healthier choices we purchased organic sodas(eight of them to be exact). I drank one the first day and a few days later decided I wanted another. Nick grabbed one out of the fridge and I went to grab one as well. Nick informs me at this moment that they are gone. At first I didn't believe him. He has been known to tell me things like this, make me angry, and then pull whatever it was that was "gone" out from the place he hid it. I figured this time was no different. To my astonishment, he wasn't kidding. He had drank all 7 sodas!! I felt so cheated! The audacity! The only pleasure I got out of this was the opportunity to call Nick selfish for once. However, I don't think it made a difference. He got to enjoy every last drop.

Appropriate

This year for Lent I decided to give up being inappropriate at work for Lent. I decided on this after a meeting was called and we were asked what we thought "professional" meant. They asked everyone to come...but they could have just asked me to go. I am pretty sure I was the reason this meeting was called in the first place. To sum it up basically we came to the following conclusions: Don't talk loud, eat in your own cube or at the lunch table, no swearing, no pet stories, and no bashing the new system. I do ALL of these things ALL of the time. So instead of saying I chose to give up being inappropriate, what I really should have said is that I was indirectly asked to stop. Lent was just the answer!

To kick things off I wore pearls which showed I was in this for the long hall. The first day I was so appropriate that some said they didn't know I was there while others came in just to check on me. That's right...when something went wrong I held my tongue. No Hellen Keller comparisons, baby jokes, or mention of AIDS for this girl I was 100% committed. I smile politely, sip some coffee and move on.

Now it is constant complaints on how boring I am. "Come on Amy say something," is just one of the comments made daily. Even the IT guy noticed and he doesn't even work with me. He said it has been a let down. Others are trying to take my place with the swearing, inappropriate jokes and constant yelling. IT IS AWESOME! I didn't think they had it in them. I guess the moral to this story is, "You never know what you've got until it's gone."

33 days and counting...

Tiddles and Tips

During the delicious dinner Nick made tonight, the subject of my weird food phobias came up in conversation. I do not believe I have a problem. There are just some things that I do NOT eat. Here is the list:
Ends of bananas
Ends of hot dogs
Ends of brats
Tips of pickles
Tips of carrots(baby carrots included)
Chaza (the white squiggly thing on raw eggs)
The tips of square cheese that hangs over the edge of anything (McDonalds egg and cheese bisquit is my example)
Tiddly tips on Chicken
Anything pokey
Octupus tiddlers
I don't really like touching ketchup unless sealed in packet form

I think it is a pretty short list and it doesn't put anyone out so I don't see anything wrong with this. Nick said it is "ok" that I do this (although he does want me to see someone about it) as long as our future children don't have the same habits. Everyone has their food quirks and mine happen to be tips and tiddlers.

KIVU ME ASAP

Sticking with the wedding diet I have cut out my a.m. Dutch Bros coffee and try to drink tea during the week. There are just those days when I NEED COFFEE. I believe it makes me a more productive employee. I type faster, talk faster, and do office work faster when I am hyped up on the "good stuff". Nick and I found our new favorite. KIVU Caramel Drizzle. It doesn't require a thing! I am now back on coffee 3 days a week and loving every minute of it! To keep it healthy I drink it black.

Sunday Morning Play Dates

This week Nick found a new off-leash park to take Ditka to in McMinnville. We had to try it out since we drive 25 minutes to take him to the other one. He made such a great impression he was invited to Sunday Morning Play Dates there with 15 other dogs. We took him today, and it was a huge success. No attacks to speak of or dominant dog issues for him here... just a nice group of dogs with friendly owners. There are fields for them to run in and we all walk around a nice size trail that takes a little over an hour to get around. There was one dog who took off and ran into a soccer game, popped a ball and got spanked. It was funny until the spanking part. It is one of those things where you thank God it wasn't your dog! Ditka is D-O-N-E by the time we get back to the car and sleeps the rest of the day. I LOVE DOG PARKS! The only problem we have now is fitting church into this routine since it is one of our Lenten promises. I think we will try out the church in McMinnville and see how that goes.

Self Control

Keeper of the Noodles

First Batch of Noodles Ever!

Noodle Night

We decided to put our culinary skills to the test this weekend and try our hand at Jonna's Chicken and Noodles. We had all of the ingredients and nothing else to do. The noodles were more difficult make than we expected, but after a few phone calls to the master and a few tablespoons of water we were on our way. Nick rolled out the dough and I sliced them up. We left them to sit overnight and this afternoon we enjoyed the fruits of our labor. I think I would like some insider tips on the noodles when we are at home for the wedding.

Snappy Snapper

Sticking to the Wedding Diet gets old after a while. To keep it appealing I try to find new recipes that will tantalize our taste buds. Tonight I went to the store and decided on Red Snapper. Nick and I have never eaten it and I thought it sounded good. I found a recipe and the simplicity is astounding!!

1 pound Red Snapper
1 Onion
A Drizzle of Worcestershire
Salt
Pepper
3 T Butter
1T Shredded Parm

Slice the onion season with pepper. Place onions in a baking dish. Lay fish on top season with salt and drizzle with Worcestershire. Top with pieces of butter and bake for 12 minutes. Baste with sauce add cheese and broil for 2 minutes. Thats it!

The fish is amazing!! It even tastes a little like steak meets french onion soup. One pound is enough for two meals for both of us.

"Don't Leave Me Here"

The implementation of a new computer system at my work has increased the desire to drink lately. Nick and I were invited to join a few co-workers for drinks on Fat Tuesday to help them cope with the stress of the day. They decided to go to a local dive bar across the highway from out house in Dundee....

Lumpy's is not the type of place my co-workers are used to. We met them there and two of them had ordered drinks. The look of fear said it all...It was their first time at a 'dive bar'. They were talking about how hungry they were but had no idea how to get food. Since these types of places are the kind of bars Nick and I frequent when we go home, we went to the bar got them menus and told them the ways of the dive bar.

The people watching was prime...After a trip to the bathroom Brian came out with a look of disgust on his face. Apparently a man had "Burped and Spit in there!"
"It's a BATHROOM!" Nick replied.

We informed Javier that playing Beyonce would get him shanked, and talked about the pool sharks at the pool tables. We ate traditional bar food and they finished their beers.

After dinner we got up to pay and Ashley whispers..."Don't leave me here." Nick and I had a pretty good laugh. All in all it was a successful Fat Tuesday and first dive bar experience.

The Group Movement

There is one holiday a year that causes anxiety for some, and complete rebellion by others...Valentines Day can automatically depress anyone who is not part of a couple. Nick and I do not understand why this holiday causes couples to "schmoop up" and alienate their friends in the name of a holiday.
To change things up... we decided to cook a great meal and have friends over for dinner. We aren't against doing nice things for each other during the day, but it doesn't require an entire day. We cooked an herb encrusted pork loin roast with mashed potatoes and asparagus. It was incredible! I even had a glass of wine. We bashed on the couples who schmoop and ended the dinner with the idea of having a group honeymoon. It was quite a fun evening. As Nick put it...what would we do with each other for an entire week alone? Abbie answered "fight"

We decided to make the dinner a Valentines Day tradition.

Wedding Checklist

So- I have heard about people who get wedding nightmares...but never thought I would be one of the people who do. I like to think I have been easygoing about this whole wedding thing. Lately my wedding nightmares are OUT OF CONTROL! I have them 5-6 nights per week. They seem to involve my hair not being done and running around in my wedding dress. I have even had dreams where I am still mad at Nick when I wake up for showing up to the rehearsal drunk! Saturday was the pivotal turning point. I woke up at 7am on a Sunday and couldn't go back to sleep. My mind was racing and I realized...maybe I don't have enough done. So I decided to get back in wedding mode and do some planning. This week's list includes:

Planning wedding classes
Choosing songs for the slide show
Planning songs for the ceremony
Making some decisions about the invitations

I am proud to say I get to cross these things off of my list! Most importantly...I haven't had a wedding nightmare yet.

BloodBeard and Super Bowls

For our second annual SuperBowl in Oregon, Nick, Abbie and I went to a friend's house in Portland. Nick and I decided to make Stuffed Mushrooms, and Mouse Knuckles (Family Recipe for Bacon wrapped water chesnuts). They were quite the hit. We had enough food there for 12 people. Needless to say it was our "bad day" for the week. The game was exciting and we got to give Jessica some life lessons. My favorite is "Bloodbeard" which is the newest cousin to the Steamy Dishwasher, but probably isn't Blog appropriate. I will save that tale for another time. All in all I would say this years SuperBowl was a success.

There is another part to this story: We have been weaning Ditka from his cage when we leave during the day. (The night time weaning didn't work out and his crate won't be going anywhere in that dept. anytime soon). We started leaving him for short periods of time and he has done perfectly, so I talked Nick into leaving him for the 8hrs we would be gone yesterday. We hid some treats and turned on Animal Planet's 5th Annual Puppy Bowl. We left and returned to find...our house was just as we had left it! We were so proud of our baby.

THE WEDDING DIET

After gaining 6 pounds from our three week binge in Iowa, it was clear...time to implement "THE WEDDING DIET". It isn't a published diet just healthier choices Nick and I decided would be better for our health. So far it consists of...NO pop, booze, red meat, white bread, potatoes, candy, fast food, pizza, white anything really, creamer, sugar (except the kinds in fruit, etc), mayo, ranch,etc...We try to keep meals at 300 calories or less. Surprisingly it has been successful, and no that hard to do. We do get one "Bad" day per week where you can have whatever it is that you fancy...(still no fast food though). Nick even checks labels now...we also try to eat organic if we know the ingredients we can eat it. I have lost 10 pounds to date, and Nick has lost his vacation weight plus two pounds. We are phasing in the gym so that we don't do too much too fast. The healthy change couldn't have come at a better time because I found out I am full of cholesterol...YEP...FULL. I will keep ya posted on that later...I have a follow up appointment in 3 months. FISH OIL...here we come!

Velociraptor

Nick and I decided to stick with a wedding diet dinner last night and visit our favorite Sushi restaurant Fuji Sushi. We ordered 3 rolls and were thrilled when we received a free roll. The sushi was delicious as usual and in the spirit of getting outside the box once and a while we decided to order a few pieces of Octopus sashimi. (The sucky disks intrigued me). Nick went first and said it did not have much flavor and that it was just "alright". I went next. I didn't like it at all it didn't have much flavor, and was as muscly as one would think a tentacle would be. The worst part is that unknown to us at the time...octopus skin is covered with the skin of a velociraptor. Yes I liked a dinosaur! It even came complete with a tiddler (hangy piece of skin that came to a point). I dared Nick to stroke it from the end to the tiddler. He took that dare, and dared me to Lick it the same way...not being one to pass up a dare I did it...and it was so horrible it made me shiver. I will not be trying it again anytime soon. I do feel some satisfaction knowing it isn't everyday that the opportunity comes along to lick a dinosaurs back.

Motherlode

We went to a new restaurant with some co-workers tonight call Claim Jumper (Clam Juniper as Nick likes to call it). We decided tonight would be our one bad day for the week... We get one day to eat whatever we want per week for our wedding diet. We enjoyed the small plates of appetizers for the Happy hour and then decided to get some desert. The menu read...

"Chocolate Motherlode Cake...Super Moist Slice of our Six-Layer Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Chips, Fresh Walnuts and Chocolate Fudge Frosting" There was also a part about how it was on the food network for nations most decadent cake. We can get a slice to go we thought and split it. A few bites each and that would be the end of it. BOY were we wrong. I don't know how we missed the word MOTHERLODE. It was plainly written at the top of the menu. The cake was the size of a baby's torso. It was the largest slice of cake we had ever seen and equally delicious. We have 4 layers left and another week before we get a bad day. Clam Juniper is definitely not on the wedding diet.

I am an Addict

I thought for sure I would be one of those brides who takes control over every detail, who loses sleep over the color of the napkins, and who schemes up ways to get everything she wants for "her big day". However, something funny happened, I am not that way about this at all. I could care less and find myself saying, "eh...it's only ONE day", or ,"as long as there's beer. " But something happened. I find myself addicted to Weddingbook. It is like the gossip and drama I never had. I silently judge, or sometimes verbally attack girls who post their drama on wedding boards. It started as something I would occasionally look at, but lately I can't stop. "Her dress is ugly"..."Who dwells on that?"..."What a sap"...are thoughts that frequently cross my mind. There are others like me. Some of the girls have gotten married and still frequent the site. I hope I can break this bad habit before I turn into one of those "pathetic" girls. Only time will tell.

New Year Fresh Start

Well...I tried to start a blog about a year ago...and as you can see from past posts...it did not go well. I think that this time could be different. Nick and I have a lot going on in our lives right now. Hopefully it gives me some inspiration and some good stories. I will try to give updates about the wedding, our diet, and any other Diddy stories that come along. We will have to wait and see what 2009 brings.