...and yeah, we most certainly emailed it to the Providence newspapers.

 

 

Here's the link to my Vegas Baby recap from last year...to give her some ideas.

 

 

And yes, I have to say Baby after saying Vegas Baby - I think it's leftover from a Friends show or something.

 

 

 

Good morning fabulous people!

 

It's a gray Monday in Boston. Blah. But I have a short week. Yeah! I'm working today, tomorrow, and 1/2 of Wed., then the Man and I are taking off for Providence RI for a couple of nights. Our goal? Two concerts, KC and the Sunshine Band and REO Speedwagon - woohoo!! It's all about your disco style and your ballad-lighter.

 

We saw KC on our second date, five years ago this August, they rocked then and I have no doubt they will rock this week. If you haven't guessed the Man and I are HUGE fans of live music.

 

For all parties interested my Mini Cooper, who (whom?) I've name Bridget, is a fabulous ride and I LOVE LOVE LOVE her ! I am planning to show her off to blog world, but she's not through being pimped out yet, she goes in tomorrow for a few more things, and then she'll be ready for her close-up. While I'm on the subject of my cah, Herb Chambers MINI of Boston can !SUCK IT! for their crappy customer service and lazy attitudes. Both the Man and I have ripped them new ones, and for our effort they are picking her up tomorrow at our front door (and leaving us a rental) to take her all the way into Boston to finish pimping her out with the parts they said were ordered (which never were), and they're not charging us for anything. It's also taking great willpower on my part not to call Chrissy who balls out lied to us about the paperwork being sent to the bank. We signed for the car on 6/15, and no paybook yet. Of course I'm not sweating that part, but as someone who has worked in customer service for 10 years it's insane to see people just drop the ball when their part of the deal is done. Once Bridget is safe in my arms again I'm firing letters off to everyone associated with her sale.

 

 

Other newsworthy tidbits in my life include the following:

 

- Red bird laid an egg! It was unfertilized, and unfortunately the Man was holding her at the time, so we lost the egg when it connected with the hardwood floor, but it was still a wacky sight. They say a happy hen will lay, so that makes me happy that she's happy. Of course she probably would have preferred it not smash in front of her, but that's life. Usually you let them sit on it for a couple of weeks until they lose interest, I'm wondering if she will lay another to replace it.

 

- We took the Man's nephew out for our first outing yesterday. He's 3; we bribed him with Wendy's and Toys R Us and it was pretty fun! We took him bowling which he really enjoyed, got ice cream at DQ, and sent him home with a complicated (but wicked cool) dinorsaur world thing for his dad to put together. The kid's a wicked cutie pie!

 

- We saw Transformers and the new Die Hard recently. BIG praise for Transformers, the movie rocked pure and simple. Die Hard was what you expect it to be, would-never-happen stunts and Willis panting through another action flick. I am a big Bruce fan though.

 

- I'm on the Harry Potter train and I'm about halfway through the last book. To think that this craze came out of the mind of one woman is unbelievable. I don't think we'll ever see it again.

 

That's all I gots for ya at the moment, enjoy your week~

 

 

 

Finally, a reception recap :)

 

Simply put our reception was fanfuckintastic. We had a BLAST. It was ridiculous how much of a high it put me on in all the weeks following (once I got over the immediate depression that followed the end of my wedding nonsense).

 

So here goes.

 

The plan: Held in a permanent tent structure on the beach with a bar on the dance floor and also one upstairs in an enclosed area. Start time 6pm, end time Midnight. Steel drum band for cocktails and finger food. Bar band Dick n Jane (80's tunes and bar favorites) and professional wedding band World Premier (disco, a little soca, Earth/Wind/Fire and good time oldies) for dancing. Ti leaves topped with pineapples and loose orchids as centerpieces. Island drink mixes as favors. 20-something disposable cameras scattered about. Lobster, steak, and chicken for meals, with crab cake appetizers. Followed by mud pie and pastries for dessert. A caricature artist (idea 'stolen' with permission from my girl Marcie). A tv playing a loop of our ceremony pictures to the long line of people waiting for their caricature.

 

The attendees: 105 happy people in flip flops, cute kitten-heeled shoes, light summer dresses, shorts and floral man-shirts.

 

The Man and I pretty much cut out All Things Formal. We had no bride & groom entrance, no first dances, no photographer, no cake, no bridal party, no bouquet/garter toss, no official toast (although I believe we were roasted...), and of course the ceremony was held prior. What we wanted was to gather our closest and just party it out. 

 

We got there about 5:30 with a few early birds and checked everything out. The weather - which had been forecasting rain - was perfect. It was sunny and warm enough to forego a light sweater. The sun was shining bright and the tables looked fantastic. The bands were finishing their set up as we got there and for a panicked moment they thought the power was going to crap out. Which pretty much freaked me out. The coordinator who works all the weddings at this club calmed me down and the bands sorted out the power issue. Relief.

 

The steel drum band started playing at 6 as the staff appeared with the appetizers to greet our guests. The night before a big group of us (mainly out-of-towners) all went out to a bar and had a great time with some beers and conversation. However there were still a large group of people I was dying to see that we hadn't seen for awhile. I pretty much ended up at the entrance as the minute I greeted someone other people showed up right behind them. One of the waitresses kept asking if I wanted anything to drink but I had decided not to start drinking until dinner, so I nursed a diet coke. The Man was further inside greeting people as they found him. As I had figured we spent little time with each other and more time just having fun with people.

 

Once everyone had filed in I slowly made my way through the area stopping to talk to people. I hooked up with the Man and introduced him to a couple of my work friends, and he and I mingled together until the dinner call came. As some people sat and others stood around one of the band leaders grabbed a microphone and introduced my uncle, who appeared dressed as a minister or rather a Vicar as he explained to all of us. He started the speech by telling us all 'I'm english, and have an accent, and will speak slowly to make sure you Americans understand me'.

 

Small sidebar on my uncle. As a resident in England he is well schooled in all things dry and witty. He approached me a week before the reception to ask if I minded him saying a few things, and I gave him an open green light - knowing full well that I could never predict what would come out of his mouth. 

 

He stood in the middle of the room and for the next 10-15mins he proceeded to make jokes about the Man's name and business, he laughed about the good times he had getting sauced off of scorpion bowls down in St. Thomas, he fit in jokes about parrots, goats, and a million other random things that I forgot immediately after. He was funny as hell and anyone who knew him were cracking up. The rest of our guests? Let me put it this way, they were laughing for one of two reasons: either they got the humor, or they were laughing at the sheer wackiness of it all. I thought he was a huge hit, he managed to deliver his RoastToast without offending anyone, and people who didn't realize he was family were asking us where we hired the 'comedian' from.

 

The steel drum band was through for the night and World Premier started playing as dinner was served. Our timing was a bit off as we planned to have them play to open the dance floor. I could have really cared less though, and as they started playing people abandoned their salads to jump up for a few songs. This band is tight, and it felt good to get moving. After the third song people found their seats again and the band fell into background instrumental as we chowed down. At this point I accepted my first of many Coronas and just sort of took it all in. We had a sweetheart table and a perfect view of everyone. People were eating and chatting, the tables we put together were all getting along, and we were having a great time. We put up with the many clinks of silverware against glass and obliged with kiss after kiss. Each time we smooched I heard the snaps of 20-something disposable cameras capturing the moment.

 

Eventually dinner was over and people settled into the rest of the evening. Between the fantastic bands, the various levels and rooms of the place where pods of people were hanging out, the popular caricature artist, and the busy dance floor I think it's safe to say that everyone had a really good time. I absolutely LOVE to dance, and I was a fixture on the floor. Each band played a 30-40 minute set, and the minute one stopped to break the other band kicked in. The Man and I had specifically requested that neither band play any slow songs, and the result was a hot and exuberant dance party. As the evening progressed I remember looking up at the second level where people were just leaning against the barrier watching the night play out. The guitarist in Dick n Jane does a spot on rendition of Fight for Your Right by the Beastie Boys, it's one of my favorite songs by this band, and they ended the night with it. By that time anyone left on the dance floor was deaf and screaming the words while my parents and their friends had enclosed themselves in the upper bar area to escape the noise ;)

 

Highlights:

-Two weeks prior my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. We surprised them by having World Premier call them up to the floor and acknowledge it in front of everyone. They made my dad get down on one knee and proclaim his love for mom, which really was too sweet.

-The Man ended up singing with Dick n Jane for the last hour of the night. I'm not sure it qualifies as a highlight *snort* but it was completely memorable to hear him tell the floor to 'Get Fucked Get Laid' during Mony Mony.

-During my uncle's RoastToast the Man's step-father was audibly laughing himself silly, at one point exclaiming 'He's killing me!!', which pretty much cracked the rest of the room up

-We had no drunk fights, falldowns, or anything else that would be deemed embarassing happen. Everyone kept a solid and heavy buzz.

-During the limbo I cleared one low height with an amazing back arch that would score high in any competition. We only had a few girls do the limbo with me, but I clearly came out the winner. And yeah, I'm damn proud of it.

 

The music ended around midnight, and we got out of there around 1. Our St. Thomas buds hosted a small afterparty at their rental house and we hung out there until 3 or so at which time we headed back to our bed and breakfast. We were completely exhausted and ready to pass out.

 

We had brunch the next day at 10. We showed up, had some food, and made our way around to rehash the night with everyone. It was nice to have that extra time to talk with people and say goodbye on their way out. We stayed one more day before going home that Monday, a very gray and rainy Monday, with a quiet house and work looming on Tuesday. The highlight of that day was opening our gifts, but the moment that was over I pouted and moped for the rest of the day as I was tired, and already wishing I could do it all over again.

 

But doesn't every Bride wish that?

 

Last thoughts: As I figured I ate very little and got my energy from pure enjoyment. The Man and I enjoyed our quick dinner together, but between dancing, chatting, and walking around we lost sight of each other for large portions of the evening. In the days that followed I was absorbed with thoughts of 'did I talk to that person? did I spend enough time with that person? did people enjoy themselves? did people think that idea was cool?' It's exhausting to rehash things in your personal mind.

 

I still have the 20-something disposable cameras sitting in a bag on the dining room floor, and yes - I am taking them in this week! My mom is all over me to get them done, and believe me, I want to see what's on there as much as anyone else. Although I clearly remember the evening I'm sure I'm forgetting a million little things - and I hope the cameras captured the moments that escape me. Once they're developed I'll post more.

 

Enjoy your week!

 

 

 

We're watching the men's Wimbledon final as I write this. If you're any sort of tennis fan you would appreciate this match. Currently they're in the 5th set, and the play is fantastic.

 

We went to the Cape Friday, drove back this morning to beat the horrendous traffic. Today I have some domestic duties before me: laundry, clean the bird cages, tidy up the clutter, that sort of nonsense. My co-worker and I have a wicked early flight to Philadelphia tomorrow morning for training. We're being picked up at my place around 5am (!) so I have to get packed up for that tonight. I've never been to Philly, I'm hoping to find some time to seek out and run the 'Rocky' stairs. We'll see.

 

I'll be back Wednesday, and I'm making a beeline for the drugstore to get all the disposable reception cameras developed. I'm dying to see them, I've only had a little taste from what friends have emailed, but I'm sure those cameras hold some charming nonsense. I'll also snap some pictures of my new ride (which I'm IN LOVE with) and post everything for you. I had my first highway experience today, it was okay, I'm still a little shaky but only because I find myself thinking of every move so much. I'm sure that will fade.

 

I've also sworn to myself that I Will Start Working Out this week.

 

We'll see how that goes.

 

Enjoy your week!