the life of the party....

The tale of the ring set by Mrs. Paula

2012-01-07T21:55:00.000-06:00

I think Erin and Gus were meant to enter my life! They found my Somewhere In Time Antiques shop in Cape Girardeau, MO and we became instant friends!

I'm sure all of you know that Erin loves bling! Well, I happen to have lots in my shop and I have a special area that I call the "Romance Section". In this special spot are what we in the antiques business call "new old jewelry store stock" which means these items are found in some dark area of a jewelry store that were never sold and the inventory was forgotten.

Now this isn't exactly the story of THIS wedding set. My very good friends, Kent and Vicki Zickfield, own Zickfield's Jewelry down the street from my shop. Kent's parents started Zickfield's Jewelry in the 1930's and closed in 1951. They placed all the diamonds, etc. that hadn't sold in a safe and were soon forgotten. When I opened my own shop, Kent asked me if I would like to consign some vintage wedding sets and I jumped at the chance! Now you know how Erin and Gus found the perfect set! They stood over the rings and it was obvious that Erin had fallen in love with this one! She isn't shy about saying what she thinks about a piece of jewelry and her love of this wedding set was obvious! She knew perfection when she saw it! It's a 1930-1940's wedding set with hand-cut diamonds that had just been waiting in that safe to be placed on Erin's finger by Gus!!

Now, Gus did a little sneaking to get this set held! Then he came back in and handed me a down-payment and what was to be Erin's engagement ring came out of the "Romance Hold Section" and went straight into a secret layaway!!

After Gus picked it up, I have been after him and after him to know when he was going to propose! He just grinned and said something like "I'm just waiting for the perfect time". Little did I know he hid it in his sock drawer! I love this couple and I'm glad they walked in my store that first time!

Mrs. Paula Noiseworthy-Haas, Owner

Somewhere In Time Antiques

He liked it so he put a ring on it :)

2012-01-07T12:47:00.000-06:00

So guess what I am engaged to be married! Eeek. Holy crap. Wow. Married!

If you are wondering if I am flitting around my house playing Barbara Streisand's iconic "Sadie, Sadie married lady" on repeat then wonder no more because indeed I am. In the midst of all of our holiday insanity Herman contrived the perfect rouse to propose. Now let me begin by saying that I did not want to make the trek back home to Virginia for Christmas in the first place. The way it was billed to me was basically I would be spending a massive amount of time in the Saturn and very little quality time with anyone, while managing to see everyone. I am after all fundamentally lazy and really relished the idea of sleeping in and waking up in my own bed in cozy jammies, making myself a mimosa and watching Rudolph on repeat. Tell me that does not sound like a fabulous (albeit both selfish and self indulgent) Christmas.

However Gus begged, wheedled and eventually guilted me into acquiescing and I agreed to the holiday quest. We set off East and nailed it. Short of a few tense moments, a natural result of too much gas station food and mileage it was the perfect journey. We saw everyone, all our family and managed to fit in some awesome food and company as well. Amazing presents and tons of hugs and love were the cream cheese frosting on our gingerbread holiday. So a big shout out to all of you who were so understanding and accommodating of our crazy schedule (cough, cough mom and dad) and made it so doable.

Now let me also clarify that I was almost certain I would be proposed to on this holiday quest. The reason being more practical than anything else. Call me unromantic but Gus and I had already picked out my ring together. We had not set out with the intention of going ring shopping but on a summer date day in Cape Girardeau we stumbled upon the perfect ring. In Ms. Paula's "lovers lane" cabinet sitting unassumingly was my perfect ring* (* I am going to have her guest blog about the ring itself as it has a really awesome history and only she can really tell its tale in a way that does it justice).

It was the first engagement ring that I had ever tried on and we made a payment on it then and there. Because when it is right you just know, you know ? Gus went on to pay off the set and left it buried in his sock drawer for months and sometimes when I was really good he would let me take it out and try it on, a grown up version of dress up that I always looked forward to. As with most things in my life the ring was a size too small and had to be sized and true to his procrastinating nature Gus waited until days before we left to do it. So I knew it was sized, and paid off and no longer in the sock drawer. A proposal was eminent, there are some people who can feel storms coming in their bones, well I can feel jewelry coming in mine and the time had come.

But then nothing, nada. Christmas came and went. I bought an all new outfit for mass and dinner and we went to visit Jon at the gorgeous fancy French restaurant he works at, all perfectly magical and romantic settings. No ring.

Christmas morning at the Diggs in the midst of chaos and boisterous enthusiasm. No ring.

Christmas night surrounded by my entire extended family in the Greene compound with generations looking on in a red wine educed euphoria. No ring.

Our family Christmas with awesome spanikopita at Stellas and a chauffeur with a giant blue van ready and waiting to escort the newly engaged couple home to open gifts. No ring.

At this point I am extremely perplexed not to mention entirely out of outfits. Eva Peron would have been jealous of my "Rainbow *Christmas* Tour" ensembles. I had gone all out so that at the crucial moment I would be perfectly coiffed and photo ready, lip gloss applied hair done. I even bought new tights so mine wouldn't have the semi noticeable holes I have become so accustomed to. But nothing, no ring.

So I relaxed and let my guard down figuring, meh he will probably wait until the moment right before he abandons me for a month. Typical Herms, down to the wire. On our last day at home I made plans to visit with my girlfriend Stephanie who just had a beautiful baby boy who I wanted to meet and give another girlfriend Mirna her Christmas gift as I had gotten her in our secret Santa pool. We gossiped and caught up but then Gus insisted we go to lunch at Plaza Azteca which was perfectly acceptable to me as I love Plaza and there was one right down the street. But no he did not want to go to that one instead preferring the classic one. On Warwick Avenue. In Newport News. Two hours away.

What the what I thought. We have been in a car for like a billion hours, why the voluntary long drive? But it was a lovely day and I wanted to be with him when he saw how bananas our alma mater Christopher Newport University has become. Seriously guys that place blew up you should google it, out of control.

So back down 64 we went, hah as if we ever really left :) We had a kings reception at Plaza, I usually do as I helped with the down payments of most of their servers houses over my four year undergrad stint. Awesome food then we went to play on campus admiring how crazy and different and gorgeous everything looked in the News. Next Gus sprung my Christmas present - I was going to be able to go back to my Williamsburg Ross and buy all the dresses I wanted. This day could not have been more perfect. Plaza, Tecate, Dresses - oh my!

I entered Ross with a gleam in my eye and a plan in my heart. Dresses to be conquered. I had dozens to try on completely oblivious to what I would later learn was a time crunch. At one point as Gus tried to hurry my browsing along I recall actually snapping at him that its " not really a gift if you are going to rush me". Ahh that was before I knew why :)

After literally pushing me through check out he began changing in the parking lot saying he did not want to look skeazy to go have a pint at the Green Leafe. Wait what? Why are we going to the Green Leafe? Gus quit drinking months ago and I needed to get home to spend a little bit of time with my family before we left. Six am was going to come super early and we needed to be getting on home. He insisted we should just stop by for old time sake.

Now let me clarify that The Green Leafe (a pub/college bar) is super special to Gus and I because it is where we would do date nights during our hazy summer courtship. You could flail too and from the Leafe from my little cottage and Tuesday night "pint night" had amazing drink specials not to mention the best chicken tenders and ranch dressing in the entire Commonwealth. Many a Tuesday night during the summer of 2008 was spent giggling in a dark booth at the Leafe and it still holds a very special place in our hearts.

Now I was not protesting the place itself I loved it but I needed to get home it was getting dark and it was our last night at home so I am yelling at Gus at a literal crossroads where you either turn left to go to the bar or right to go home and he goes left. He went left! I start fussing and at this point he gets fed up and just yells "your parents came to the Green Leafe to have dinner with us they are waiting for us there, chill". Crap I thought I look like crap. My hair had gotten all static-y because of all the dress trying on and my makeup was all runny and what not. So I try to make myself presentable with nary tools but bright lip gloss and a hair tie and there was nothing to be done because it was what it was.

We parked at the Manor where I used to live and began walking the oh so familiar path to Williamsburg's hottest "night life" anyone who has ever partied in Colonial Williamsburg will understand the quotes. Half way down in front of a hotel affectionately nicknamed the "Ho House" by locals he began to drop to one knee. In the middle of Richmond Rd. In front of the Ho House. No siree Bob. I only get one proposal and it will not be on the side of a road. No matter how much I love the road.

No! I shouted not here and hustled him to the steps of the Green Leafe there he got down on one knee pulled out my gorgeous (fitted) ring and asked me to marry him. He did not have anything prepared but what I remember most was him saying that he loved me despite of all our craziness which he then amended to say he loved me because of all the craziness we have been through together. We kissed hugged and then a mini El Salvadorian popped out of the darkness insisting that we "do it again!".

Wait what was Mirna doing here in Williamsburg and why was she wielding a camera and yelling? Gus then walked me into the pub where Mom, Dad, Jon, all the menage-a and my loving Williamsburg people were all sitting in wait to celebrate with us. A big party had been planned completely under my nose. Everyone was there and ready to celebrate and congratulate us. Those who had known us since we were young crazy kids at CNU, who had watched our relationship develop from friendship to love in the Burg and those who love us the most were there to toast our exciting announcement. It was perfect and well planned and executed and of course I had tried to fight it every step of the way. Typical Erin.

We ate and drank and hugged and told stories and took pictures and it was wonderful. It meant so much that everyone would go out of their way to travel so far on a random Wednesday, a work night no less to celebrate with us. Truly the perfect way to be engaged I think. So now I am going to get married. Woohoo. That loves is the story of our engagement as for the tale of my abandonment I will let Gus tell you about that in my next post....

December 28, 2011 the anniversary of our engagement :)

Lots of things I am thankful for....

2011-12-01T17:24:00.001-06:00

I am thankful for Herman

2011-12-01T17:22:00.008-06:00

I am thankful that I am in love with a man who understands and accepts that

A. I am always going to want to go see the Disney Princesses live and

B. I am always going to want to dress up like afore mentioned princesses to see the show.

While watching television one night an ad for the Disney show came on showing fantastic musical renditions of 3 of my favorite princess stories and of course in true Erin fashion I just blurt out "ohhhh I want to go see that". Now we all remember how burned I was about the 1 ring circus so it would be understandable that Gus would back away from taking me to another performance at the SIU arena but instead defying all obstacles he literally ran (and the boy runs like a little Ethiopian fleeting from cheetahs) to the box office to buy me surprise tickets for the next night.

He came home beaming tickets in hand and I immediately began trying on my tiaras trying to think of the perfect one to wear :) Anyway this is just a little example but I have found someone who really does understand and love my crazy even if sometimes he is forced to pretend like he does not know me i.e. when I do my patriotic rendition of "God Bless America" at my local watering hole. I think the patrons call of encore are really just an excuse for more mockery.

Anyways, he is amazing and I love that not only is he brilliant but he never acts like he is too cool to take his favorite 9 year old trapped in a 27 year olds body to the show and while he rolls his eyes a little he still helped me pick out a ball gown to wear and I think he was a little proud that I was the best dressed princess of them all. Granted the rest were three and wearing their Halloween costumes but still :)

Um yes and in case any of you are wondering this is my Homecoming dress from my SOPHOMORE year of high school which means this dress is almost 13 years old and I could still make it zip up. Barely but it did which means either I am destined to be essentially the same size my entire life or I was a really big high school sophomore...yikes.

I am thankful for banana

2011-12-01T17:20:00.002-06:00

I am thankful for the unconditional love of a crazy puppy who wants nothing more than to be right on top of me cuddled at all times. Yes she is a little trollup and her affection is often doled out excessively and indiscriminately but I really love my little hoochie momma chiweenie.

I am thankful for my familia

2011-12-01T17:16:00.002-06:00

I am thankful for an incredibly close, loving and crazy family and I am not just saying that. I am lucky in that my parents still love each other and all of my relatives are in good health and spirits with the exception of a little arthritis and general aging malaise, and really what’s a big aching toe in the scheme of things. We as a clan have been extremely blessed in the lack of tragedy, chaos and general ickyness that I feel is such a part of so many people’s daily lives and it is important to me to give thanks for that.

I am thankful for my crazy betches

2011-12-01T17:14:00.002-06:00

I am thankful that even though I have moved far away and am not the best at staying in touch I have a close knit and fabulous group of friends who love me and think that I am fun. It is easy to feel alone out here when you have to beg people to play with you but a quick look at my facebook photo albums assures me that my kindred spirits are indeed out there in the universe and that I am just an obnoxiously long and daunting drive away from being reunited with my gorgeous, classy, bananas group of broads.

I am thankful for gainful employement

2011-12-01T17:12:00.001-06:00

I am thankful for being employed. Even though I oft grumble to Herman about the monotony and sometimes downright annoyance at screening substance abusers all day I am making a small contribution I feel to the betterment of society and if I am able to help one person quit smoking because they saw a flyer and called me than maybe I saved a life. I sound so noble don’t I? Also out here there are a lot of people who don’t have jobs and I was one of them for too long so I am very grateful to count myself among those gainfully employed.

I am thankful for 2011 Elm St.

2011-12-01T17:09:00.004-06:00

I am very thankful that there is a roof over my head and that it does not leak. Granted sometime the basement might leak a little but much less now after Herman dug the moat around the house:)

Sometimes when I am being grouchy about having to dust constantly or the fact that my BLUE (yes blue) counter tops show literally everything that ever touches them it becomes easy for me to lose sight of the fact that I have a lovely home to live in. It is warm in the winter and cool in the summer and through some trickery even has a big enough space to hang all my dresses. Yes it is in the middle of the Midwest and yes the floors creak and I am in a constant battle with spider crickets but it is a home that Gus and I have made together and I am very blessed to be so fortunate as to be able to call it our own.

I am thankful for being thankful

2011-12-01T17:07:00.001-06:00

I am thankful for still retaining a sense of wonder. Now this is a strange one keep with me. Gus and I were driving home from Cleveland and had no audiobooks to listen to so we were forced to talk to each other for 20 hours roundtrip. Luckily he is kind of interesting so it was not that bad. Gus however works in an industry of sorrow if you will. He deals with the darker side of life, drug abuse, neglect, poverty really sad stories of people really down on their luck and he is essentially their last line of defense. Now that is a lot of pressure and he copes with it by playing fantasy football and watching way too many zombie shows.

I however have a really hard time listening to these stories and it is easy for me to become very deflated and sad as I begin thinking about the tragedy of life on a global scale. Deep huh? What I am thankful for is that I am able to get out of that and twist it into positive things. I am glad that I have retained a reserve of optimism even in the face of what seems like overwhelming gloom. Sometime you just gotta Pollyanna that shit up. I still believe that everyone fundamentally has some good in them. It might not be a lot but it is there and I don’t care if that makes me seem naive or idealistic because I think those traits are positive ones.

I am always going to cry at Folgers and Visa commercials. I am never going to enjoy watching someone lose or have their dreams dashed. I am always going to get excited about the Muppets, and the Disney Princesses and I will continue to sing along to musicals and wish my life was more like one. That is not going to change, in fact having Gus provide some perspective to my life I think has made me a better person. As they say you can’t have light without the shadows, it just makes you appreciate the sparkle more.

I am thankful for bunny life

2011-12-01T17:01:00.001-06:00

I am thankful that Gus has not killed our bunny and made her into dinner.

I am thankful for Bruce

2011-12-01T16:57:00.001-06:00

I am thankful that Bruce Springsteen is making a new album and embarking on what I am sure will be an incredibly spectacular world tour.

thankful for Mexican ...

2011-12-01T16:52:00.002-06:00

I am thankful that I have a fabulous Mexican restaurant nearby and that everyone there treats me like family and the queso flows as abundantly as the margaritas :)

I am thankful for you...

2011-12-01T16:45:00.003-06:00

I am thankful for you all, my fearless readers who call me out on month long hiatuses and lack of insights. Your quiet support radiates through my computer monitor and forces me to be more insightful about the everyday occurrences of my life. You have given me the gift of reflection and an outlet for all of my nonsensical ramblings and observations. Thanks loves J

So much to be thankful for!

2011-11-21T17:11:00.003-06:00

I just wanted to wish you all the best Thanksgiving ever. I for one have lots to be thankful for and need to do a better job of appreciating how amazing my life truly is instead of just focusing on whats wrong with me and what I don't have.

I got lots of love and that is good enough for me :)
Herms and I will be going to Cleveburg for Thanksgiving to eat lots of pie with my fabulous Cassidy crew. Can't wait to see everyone and I will update you with lots of pics from our Northern adventures!

State of the Erin Address

2011-11-08T16:28:00.004-06:00

Hello lovas!

I returned from a fabulous trip home a week ago and while abroad in the old Commonwealth I was widely chastised for my failure to write on my blog more. The accusations are true as evidently my last entry was mid-July. My bad. It was actually really touching how many of you guys told me that you missed reading the old blog, and that you felt like you did not know what was going on in my life because I never updated anymore. All fair and valid points made by you my dear friends/family. I think my favorite request for more updates came from my Grandpa Greene who told me that after reading my last entry he came to the conclusion that "if I was not offending someone, then I was doing something wrong". Love it, so with the full force and backing of my awesome Grandfathers approval I will commence with my 'State of the Erin' address.

I recently returned home from an awesome trip home where I was able to literally accomplish every single one of my goals, and see everyone I needed to see and do everything I needed to do. I went to CNU's homecoming where I celebrated my 5 year class reunion (yeesh), I attended a baby shower for my personal hero, the crazy Stephanie Anderson who is going to pop in December, I toured my alma mater Trinity and saw all the insanely fancy upgrades they made to the place (thanks Hilary for being a fabulous and patient tour guide), I saw my high school best friends, my Williamsburg best friends, my college best friends, my parents best friends, I got to go to Ernies and celebrate my grandparents birthdays with oreo pudding and the chasing of fake turkeys named Templeton, I got to have lunch and dinners with dear friends who I never get to see, I went shopping and attended happy hours and the cherry on top was I got to spend tons of time with my parents doing silly things like making salads and watching inappropriate movies. Really fantastic vacation. Could not have asked for anything better and it was positively affirming in that I am still loved and people think I am cool and will invest time in having conversations with me :)

I have likened the difference in So. Ill Erin and Commonwealth Erin to the differences between Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus. For those who don't know I am obsessed with Hannah, the wigs and the sparkles etc. really speak to me. However, in all actuality in my current life I am much more like Miley, simple hometown girl from Tennessee. Shes the same person with lots of different aspects. I feel like sometimes I fit into both places perfectly, and then other times I feel like I don't fit into either place at all. When I am at home I enjoy my friends, family, great restaurants and activities and being in demand with people who actually want to see me, but at the same time I miss my house, and my boyfriend and being a little calmer. When I am here I just want to be there, but when I am there I just want to be here. It is all very confusing really. I hope that someday I will be able to consolidate both sides and live closer to home and not have it be such an epic adventure everytime I want to see the people that I love. *fingers crossed*

So that's something I have been mulling over for a few weeks. On the less philosophical home front Gus and I have blatantly ripped off a tradition that my parents and their "peeps" started of making big fires and sitting around them gossiping and drinking. While I was gone Gus made a little brick patio and bought an adorable fire pit and I went out and picked out 5 pink plastic Adirondack chairs and we are hoping that this fall/winter sitting around outside a fire outside will catch on and we will entertain with lots of smores and hot dogs and such. We had a few friends over Sunday night and for its inaugural run the fire went super well. Gus is still working out the dynamics of making the 'perfect fire' at one point he lit himself on fire with lighter fluid and he is currently missing much of the arm hair on his right arm :) Its cute though watching boys around a fire they all turn into cub scouts looking for twigs and criticizing the embers or what not . Hopefully there will be much bonding and ghost stories around our new toy. We have been trying to think of a good name for the fire pit experience. Since it has stars and moons on the sides of it my girlfriend Allison decided to name the firepit "Uranus" so that when I text her to come over she can reply "hurray we are going to set Uranus on fire!!!". Tragically I think the name might stick if left unchecked so I have to stop the madness soon.

Also, as you all know since I have not stopped talking about it I am currently addicted to Pinterest. If you are not on Pinterest you need to be RIGHT NOW. Seriously do it, it will change your life for the better. www.pinterest.com. Go. Make it happen. I will wait.....

Great you are signed up for Pinterest. Awesome.

Now let me tell you how it has changed my life. It is a board full of amazing inspiration, ideas, recipes, creativity, joy, beauty, brilliance, craftiness. I cannot emphasis this enough, my girlfriends told me about it and I scoffed and then joined and then became addicted. I will not lie to you, it is an addiction. Also I have found myself saying this alot "found it on Pinterest!" and then Gus rolls his eyes but he loves everything I make from it. I don't know how the world has lived so long without this site but thank the sweet baby Jesus that we no longer have to live without its aspirational perfection. I hope to see all of your boards very soon pleaseandthankyou.

Now if you are one of the naysayers that I have encountered let me just say this, the most common argument against Pinterst is that you just don't have time for it, but I say as a rebuttal you just don't have time not to Pin. There are so many great tips and ideas that you wander around thinking "why didn't I think of that???" It really is a literal lifesaver and has awakened a very long dormant creativity within myself. The glue gun is back out, I am playing with fabric and acrylic paints again. It is like a time warp back to 2005, I feel like a kid again :) Do it, you will thank me later I promise.

There is more stuff going on I am sure. I will write to you more as I remember. My grandpa asked if I needed a voice recorder to take dictation of all of my 'blog thoughts' honestly I probably do but I think that the extreme stream of conscious randomness that goes through my head daily might be too much for a shiny little machine to handle. I will try make notes on post its or some such thing. Maybe I can make a Pinterest board of blog ideas :)

Love you guys <3

The great weight debate

2011-07-12T13:51:00.003-05:00

I have not written a honest to goodness heartfelt blog in a minute I realize, but that is because I have gotten in a bit of a social pickle with my honesty in past blog entries and rather than censor myself I just declined to write at all. They say that the pen is mightier than the sword, and that words hurt etc. and apparently that is true. My friend Allison and I have this joke that every time I send out an email or an invite here in So. Ill I manage to offend someone. Either I have a strange sense of humor that no one else gets or I am just outright offensive. For example I asked that my guests not bring Wal-Mart potato salad to Easter because it was a nice meal which was evidently offensive. I don’t get that one at all, its offensive to me that anyone would even entertain that thought of doing that. I also declined an invite to go berry picking on a 96 degree day because and I quote " I don’t like to play day laborer on the weekends”. Ok now I can see how that might be a little offensive.

Meh, that's just me though.

I started this blog as a forum to express what I was going through, and to share my experiences with my peeps back home. The trouble arose when I relayed frustrations about situations out here that were then read by people who took offense, and now they don’t talk to me or invite me to things. To be fair though I never said anything in blog form that I would not have said in real life, I don’t know if that is really a good justification for inadvertently hurting people’s feelings though.So long story short that is why I have not been as forthright with you as I have been in the past.

To fill you in on what I am currently pondering I have been thinking much about the subject of weight. In particular mine obviously and really trying to go back to the roots of my issues with food/happiness/love and how they all play into my life. A few summer ago I went on this big great health kick and lost tons of weight I was working out everyday and followed my Weight Watchers guidelines like they were biblical decrees. That super healthy period of my life though was motivated by loneliness and boredom, My life was basically work out and cook painstakingly healthy meals because I had nothing better to do. The same can be said when I came back from Ireland thinner, I walked everywhere and was so homesick that I made myself physically sick and food just did not seem that appealing. The thinnest I have been in the past decade was a direct result of mono and you should read some of the stuff I wrote in that period, holy melodramatic batman. Which leads me to beg the question what about misery makes me healthier, or at least thinner?

Why is it that when I am super happy I gain all this weight, which in turn makes me less happy?
What a truly vicious cycle.

I don't think it is an uncommon plight at all. You see and hear about people who suffer tragedies all the time who lose dramatic amounts of weight, and of course the dreaded 'boyfriend weight' where you finally feel comfortable and loved so you eat more cheese and drink more beer. What is the balance?

I have never been, nor will I ever be a 'thin girl'. This is not self-pitying or self deprecating and I don't feel bad thinking or saying that. I have never wanted to be 'thin', all of my role models throughout my entire life have been curvy if not downright plump and I think they are beautiful. That being said I hate arm fat and muffin tops and not having my clothes fit properly, so there is definitely a balance to strike between being healthy and feeling good about yourself. I have been on some form of Weight Watchers since I was 8 years old as I have always been a big girl, who needed special shoes and could not fit into Mudd jeans in middle school. Thats fine, and I am glad that I was taught how to eat properly from a young age.

However, there is a distinct difference between knowing what to do to be healthy and actually living it. It is one thing to know that Taco Bell is not a healthy choice and it is another to not crave nachos Belle Grande at 3pm on an idle Tuesday. I did not grow up around food that was bad for me. There were never chips, or cookies or junk in the house. I remember alot of stir fry's and eating Boca burgers before they were mainstream. Mom bought some junk for scrawny Jonny which I hoarded and ate with shame in dark closets while shunning my well intentioned Snack Wells supply (I bet I could compete in a contest involving shoving a Jelly Roll into your mouth in record time), but there was never overt bad for you food at my disposal. One cannot remain sheltered forever though and there will always be birthday parties, and sleepovers and as you get older it turns into birthday parties with wine and pasta instead of pop and pizza. Both are fabulously fun and dangerously detrimental to a diet.

I think of it like being a zombie. You never realized how good something tasted that was bad for you until you try it. Blissful ignorance if you will. Then after that first time someone told you that pizza taste better dipped in ranch dressing all you can do is walk around crying "brains". As my Aunt Marcy would say it is a slippery slope and it does not take a giant leap in circumstance to go from putting too much bacon on your salad at a salad bar to putting to many egg rolls on your plate at a Chinese buffet. In fact I am going to go ahead and compare bacon to any other gateway drug, it leads to nothing good except perhaps delicious B.L.T's, carbonara's and the perfect thing to dip in syrup at breakfast time.

SEE!

See how easy it is to go from being a health nut to a fantasizing fat kid?!? Is this just me or does everyone have this problem. It is clear that I have food issues, which I think is comparable to other girls who have "bad boy" complexes. Instead of liking the guy in the leather jacket and mussed hair, I fall in love with the Sergio's boys who bring me chimichangas.

*Just as a momentary point of clarification does recognizing and acknowledging that I do this make it more or less disturbing? *

So here I am now at the realization that I am not treating my body very well and need to get back on track. It is not to look good in a bikini because that ship sailed for me when I was five years old, it is more about just being more confident in my appearance. Ultimately I think I would like to be able to wear my prom dress again, because it is vintage and pretty. Gus and I have (re) joined Weight Watchers and I am doing it online because the nearest meeting is in, you guessed it KENTUCKY. Bananas.

I am going to keep you updated on my progress but I don't want this to be a talking point when I see you. I don't want you to look me up and down and say to yourself "gee she looks the same", or "did she always have that many chins?". I don't want this revelation to be a point of contention. If I see you and I am dipping curly fries in ranch then so be it. I do not give you the right to judge or criticize because at the time I clearly thought it was a good idea, and I am the only one responsible for making sure my zipper goes all the way to the top without needing some form of hardware to assist. I hate when people express the desire to change themselves and then their actions are nit picked and derided, it really is a lifestyle and nothing happens overnight. Not saying you guys would do that to me, but I think the second you tell yourself you can't have something (Chick-Fil-A cookies and cream milk shake) then all you do is want that thing even more.

I am telling you about my past and present and hopes for the future so that I can know in the back of my mind that I am accountable for my decisions and there are people out there who wish me success. It is more than a little ironic though that Hermie is out here studying the affects of marijuana on the brain and all this research was just done linking fatty foods to the same pleasure responses that drug addicts get. Interesting indeed. I will try to keep you better posted, while maintaining the honesty and integrity of my thoughts and real time responses. For now I think it would be fun if you guys wrote in the comment box what your food addictions are, your comfort foods if you will. It would make me feel better to know that as the former ousted leader of the Fat Kids Club (I have since been overthrown by my super skinny brother) that there are other recovering addicts out there just like me.

Puff, puff, pass y'all :)

April 31st

2011-05-09T17:35:00.002-05:00

Thanks for sticking with me guys I have now (technically) done a blog post every day in the month of April. Booya. I will try to keep up the good work :)

April 30th

2011-05-09T17:32:00.002-05:00

I just love that whenever my boyfriend sees any redneck game that involves a gun and a 'big buck' he just has to play, and let me just add that the girls in these games were not as slutty when Jon Greene was playing these things, yeesh. No woman in her right mind would wear than on a safari for crying out loud!

April 29th

2011-05-09T17:28:00.003-05:00

Sooooo this is not normally underwater. This is an ampitheater in our local park on the banks of the Big Muddy River. Needless to say the river, much like the mighty Mississippi has gone way above and beyond its normal flood levels and it has been pretty wet around here. But while levees are being blown up a matter of miles away we just sustained some basement flooding so we are lucky. I do not want to float away down the Big Muddy what a gross way to go out.

April 28th

2011-05-09T17:23:00.002-05:00

Marcella T McGee came to visit us in So. Ill and it was wonderful! She instantly bonded with Anna, we ate toasted raviolli in the restaurant where they were invented and we watch the royal wedding of the season! It was a fabulous visit and I can only hope that she has returned to Cleveburg and tell the tale about how while small and midwestern Murphysboro and Elm St in particular are still a fun visit :)

April 27th

2011-04-27T21:36:00.002-05:00

So this is Grace Egan Hutton! She is my friend Laurens baby and she has finally made her big debut into the world! Hurray! Lauren has informed me that Egan is a family name but also means 'fiery one' which she said was appropriate because little Grace gave her so much heartburn. They decided to wait and find out the whether baby precious cargo would be a boy or girl so I had to buy all unisex stuff for shower presents but the Huttons better watch out because I really know how to do pink and sparkly wayyyy better than yellow and sexually ambiguous :)

Congrats you two I am so happy for you and cannot wait to meet Princess Grace!

April 26th

2011-04-27T21:28:00.004-05:00

Thanks for all your concern guys but we have not blown away yet. Our basement however is very wet and gross indeed. Gus has been waging a war with our sump (?) pump but so far it is to little avail because it won't friggin stop raining no matter how whiny or pouty I am. Stupid rain. I need it to stop asap because I am super tired of being damp and having to share a bathroom with Hermie again. Boys are super gross. Anyway if you want to see our riveting newscast from my county it can be viewed here.....

http://www.thesouthern.com/app/videos/#vmix_media_id=84289871

April 25th

2011-04-27T21:20:00.003-05:00

Mumsy requested that I post pictures of the bunny cakes.

These are funfetti cupcake style cakes with cream cheese and regular frosting

decorated with glitter gels, sprinkles, m&ms, skittles and mini Cadbury eggs

nom.nom.nom

April 24th

2011-04-25T19:32:00.004-05:00

Now THAT is a bomb ass table setting if I do say so myself :)

Carlos from HOP! Which I hope you have all seen he is so cute and funny looking. I put a Carlos lollipop in our Easter basket that we exchanged. Loooove his face!

Our lovely 10 pound Smithfield ham which came out perfectly... and to think I was so worried about making it!

Everyone opening their Easter baskets!

All the lovely Easter ladies.

My gorgeous table setting with seating for 10... take that formal dining rooms! ha!

April 23rd

2011-04-25T19:02:00.005-05:00

Easter egg dyeing time!!! I went a little crazy we wound up coloring almost 36 eggs yikes! Totally fun though, I forgot how fun it was to write silly things on the eggs....

He made lots of Jesus eggs, don't worry ;)

My first succesful batch of bunny cakes, made with funfetti and love a Greene tradition continues!

Super fun egg coloring party!

April 22

2011-04-22T09:04:00.002-05:00

Good Friday is upon us and thus my preparations for Easter weekend kick into full gear. Last year I spent my Easter sobbing at a very nice brunch because I missed being at home so much. This year in order to fight off the homesickness I have been proactive and planned my own Easter events.

Tomorrow we will be decorating bunny cakes (a Greene family tradition) and dying Easter eggs and then on Sunday I will be hosting my first Easter dinner. I even got a Smithfield ham and everything so I could rep my VA roots. With a little luck nothing will go terribly awry and if I does we have also stocked up on lots of wine.

So now I shall spend the day cleaning and puttering and preparing and hopefully everything will be lovely. Wish me luck!

April 21st

2011-04-21T19:33:00.002-05:00

Dontcha just love this pic. This is my oldest friend (literally like since kindergarten) and I on one of her birthday trips to DC. Why would I post such an embarrassing picture of myself for you all to see? Well its kind of as a tribute to an ohmyhowfarwehavecome moment.

See Dani blogs as well here - http://martinisandmakeup.blogspot.com/
and it is super great, and I am not just saying that because I love her madly which I do :)
She now lives in DC and has a fabulous and glamorous life that the rest of us aspire to but she is always willing to share her tips and tricks. Some of my happiest memories are of playing dress up with Dani and now we get to do it as grownups with checking accounts and cosmopolitans, fabulous!

Anyways you should check out her blog because it and she are awesome. True story.

April 20th

2011-04-20T11:50:00.002-05:00

In honor of 420 i.e. the day that potheads smoke (more?) and act like it is some kind of spiritual holiday I have posted this gem of a tanning poster. Since boyfriend specializes in mj research everybody around here is all a twitter for the next big pot study. Hurray, the means that I will be talking to stoned boys on the phone all day. *Sigh* Happy holiday though to you who partake ;)

April 19th

2011-04-20T11:46:00.003-05:00

As some of you may or may not know we have had crazy storms going through our area the last few days. Lasts night the weather was absolutely crazy and I felt like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and not in a good way. Of course my freakish boyfriend insisted upon sitting outside on the front porch and 'watching the weather' so if some morning you wake up, turn on the Weather Channel and hear that a Quaker blew away in the storm don't be surprised to find out that its Herman. Anyway we survived with no damage or water in the basement. Saints be praised, so since he is in love with the rain I made him into a sunshine lover instead.

<3

April 18th

2011-04-20T11:44:00.003-05:00

Mumsy requested that I post a picture from my proms so that everyone could take a trip down memory lane together. Awwww. How young and cute and innocent we were back then.

Thats it I am crashing the Murphysboro High School prom. Forever young I say!

April 17th

2011-04-18T13:23:00.002-05:00

So I know that I keep posting pictures from the place where I am tanning but it is just a hilariously surreal place. I was put in room 7 today and this is what the sign on the door said and I could not stop cracking up. Knowing me I would be worried about incurring the judgment of the posse of 18 and 19 year old girls who work at "Tan Yours Buns" so I was of course super grateful that they went ahead and put my mind at ease....

I will be able to sleep a little better tonight knowing that in room 7 at least, there is no judgment :)

April 16th

2011-04-18T13:14:00.002-05:00

I really am a massive creeper with my camera phone but this is a blurry pic I snapped of a super cute prom couple who I just fell in love with. Gus and I went to Cape on Saturday because Ms. Paula was having a big warehouse sale and I thought there would be jewelry deals involved, which there weren't and it was tragic.

The upside though was that we got to try this delicious Italian restaurant called 'Bella' that we had never been too before and we were there at the perfect time to get dinner and a show. The place was full of prom couples with a line of limos and mini-vans waiting outside. It was like a fashion show that I could watch while drinking wine and eating pasta. Truly the best of both worlds.

It made me really nostalgic about my own prom and made me want to go back a decade (yes, eww a decade) and do it all over again. Gus did not share my sentiments his prom date had the flu and threw up in his Chevy Nova thus eternally scarring him. You win some you lose some but I am thrilled that prom season is upon us!

April 15th

2011-04-18T13:05:00.002-05:00

Friday I was super excited because it was circus day and I looooooooooove the circus. I have to admit that I was a little taken aback when it was announced that Ringling Bros. was coming to the SIU Arena because it is a super small venue but then I just figured that the circus is magical and they would make it work.

I was wrong. Well technically I was right. I was suspicious when I checked the website and noticed the show coming to Carbondale was on a different circuit as the big city shows and now I know why. Ladies and gentlemen the circus I attended Friday night was a ONE RING CIRCUS. I did not even know that that concept existed but now I do.

There were no tigers, three elephants and way too much emphasis on the THREE (yes three) clowns. Now having just taken my entire family to the circus a few years ago with almost front row seats I know what a circus can be and this guys was not it. Plus to add insult to my disbelief was that everyone kept falling. Seriously there were like eight falls and mishaps in the show. The best part of the circus is knowing that the acts have it under control and are going to make that double back flip onto the back of a moving horse. These guys missed the memo, and the horses back repeatedly.

Towards the end I could no longer watch the show because I was so anxious that I had inadvertently paid to see a Romanian acrobat fall to her death. So in true So. Ill style an event that I love and cherish was turned into a night of terror and disappointment.

The highlight though was I got that super sweet wand that I am holding in the photo. It is pink and sparkly and whirls around really fast and all the cool girls at the circus (granted they were 8) had them, so obvi I had to have one too. Gus was a super good sport and I stopped pouting once I had my magic pink wand. No more understudy circuses for me though, I guess I will have to man up and go to the Lou for the real thing next time :)

April 14th

2011-04-14T10:29:00.001-05:00

I choose to post a funny pic of Anna Banana today because today is her first time going to the vet since she has lived on Elm St so it is her day of reckoning as it were. We took her last year to get flea medicine and what not but this is going to be her big check up visit to make sure she is all up to date on shots and such and super healthy.

I think that I am more nervous than she is although to be fair she is the one hiding under Teddy :)

April 13th

2011-04-14T10:25:00.002-05:00

So yesterday while trying to pick a fancy beer to have with dinner we can across this little gem. How funny is this?!? My favorite part is the tempered over burning witches....

No we did not buy any because while it is hilarious 12 dollars for a six pack seemed a tad bit exorbitant to me. After choosing another option we proceeded to our local family video rental where lo and behold they were playing Monty Pythons The Meaning of Life on all the tv's. Coincidence? I think not!

April 12th

2011-04-12T11:40:00.002-05:00

This mornings super fun and completely undoctored picture of the day is brought to you by 17th St. BBQ. Gus and I love going there for super casual dinners as it is delicious and crazy close to our house (we can walk there, and let me just add it is neat being able to walk to restaurants/bars from your house I am a big fan). Last night it was sunny and rainy at the same time so we went and sat outside and that is when I observed this little gem.

Also last night marked a milestone in our 17th St. history because last night I grew a pair and worked up the courage to introduce myself to Mike himself. Mike is the Mike of 17th St. BBQ fame, he has been on tv and traveled all around the world doing BBQ -ish related things. You can learn all about his super epic feat here.

Anyways so after a pint or two I worked up the courage to go introduce myself and tell him all about how much I love my cute local little bbq joint (ironically I do not really care for their bbq but it does not really hinder my experience that much). He was completely gracious even after I told him that I was the Mayor of 17th St (on FourSquare of course) he seemed very impressed by my loyalty and love of his little meat empire and it was super awesome getting to finally talk to the legend himself. When you guys come to visit I will take you to meet Mike, promise!

April 11th

2011-04-11T11:29:00.003-05:00

What we do for fun in Murphysboro. No lie.

This was taken on a trip to our local Rural King which specializes in everything you would need to live the country lifestyle. BUT while it smells funny and is filled with camo overalls it does have some perks.

The biggest being they sell 50 pound bags of rabbit food for like 5 bucks. Others being that they sell baby bunnies and chicks which are super cute to look at, and the piece de resistance they sell unshelled peanuts by the pound. Since peanuts weight almost nothing you can get a crap ton of peanuts for well for peanuts :)

So from time to time we go to play at the Rural King, while I have given into their salty and cute temptations I will never stray down the dark and evil Carhart aisle, don't worry.

April 10th

2011-04-11T11:23:00.002-05:00

It would appear on this Sunday two weeks until Easter that the employees at the Murphysboro WalMart might have had a little too much time on their hands.....

I can just picture a few guys sitting around Saturday night saying we are really bored and Coke sent us this diagram of what we can do with the cans so lets go, and here was the end result.

At first I could not even see the bunny but at I walked further away it all started to make sense. Gus thought it was a shark so at least I am not the only one :)

April 9th

2011-04-11T11:06:00.003-05:00

In honor of this past Saturday I found this super great bumper sticker :) Needless to say it really makes me want to investigate Handlebars in Silverton, CO. Saturday was actually pretty low key for us this weekend though and involved much relaxing, however we did get a chance to go and listen to my new favorite music obsession - The Swamp Tigers.

I discovered them Friday at SIU's 'Spring Fling' cookout where I was handing out anti-smoking propaganda to people who really love smoking. Thankless work that is. Anyway this group was playing and I danced around like I was at a Honky Tonk for their entire hour long set. It was magical!

Now I am obsessed. I emailed them and asked them to play my birthday party. I don't think they will play for wine and sheer adoration but a girl can always try right?

April 8th

2011-04-08T14:36:00.004-05:00

This is a clock in my building in Life Science 2 that consistently is two hours fast making you feel like the day is almost over when it is nowhere near to being true. So someone put a sad face over it and I could not stop laughing.

Its a truly hateful clock that now reflexs its true inner spirit. Luckily though my time in the lab is done for the week and I am out to enjoy the lovely day. Hope you guys have a great weekend!

Muah!

April 7th

2011-04-07T12:48:00.002-05:00

Teehee so this is a large poster hanging up in the tanning bed I go to. I also posted this to my Facebook but it is just so cheesy that I could not resist blogging about this guy. I realize that this is supposed to be a sexy male but I cannot stop giggling at the absurdity of him.

The feathered hair, the tight jeans, why is his poster hung up so prominently? All these questions have yet to be answered but he does crack me up so I am going to embrace it :)

April 6th

2011-04-07T12:46:00.001-05:00

I snapped this pic on the dl trying to be really shady about it because the image just cracked me up. These two big biker guys in leather having a genteel wine tasting at Pomona winery which does not make any grape based wines....

So these two are sitting here sipping on a strawberry and a blueberry wine respectively. I love it!

April 5th

2011-04-07T12:42:00.003-05:00

Here is Gus out playing catch with a super huge, super old black lab named Miles. We met Miles on one of our random winery tour days. We stumbled upon a winery near us called Hickory Ridge that is owned and operated by a bunch of super eclectic world traveling hippies. They live on the property is a small cottage that does not have indoor plumbing. Yea. Hippies.

Anyways they make what I think is the best wine on the Shawnee Wine Trail, and they have fun puppies to play with. Herman and I played a few rounds of riveting croquet before I dominated him in a to the wire wicket victory and we carried on down the merry little wine trail.

April 4th

2011-04-07T12:34:00.004-05:00

This is me doing my best 12 year old girl on MySpace impression. Just kidding :) I got really bored and was playing with my hair. I was going for a Jennifer Aniston circa de la 1997 friends look but instead I feel like I just look like a cracked out girl with straight red hair.

Next time I am going to try super big teased disco curly hair. I will post pics!

April 3rd

2011-04-07T12:31:00.002-05:00

This is also from last weekend. My lady friends Allison and Laura and I went to Cape Girardeau to play and shop and pretend as if we were ladies who lunch for the day. This is a shot of the girls posing with Mrs. Paula who is my vintage jewelry enabler/hookup in the Heartland. She has an incredible shop and is super warm and loving to EVERYONE it is kind of crazy.

I of course wound up spending too much money on beautiful things like I always do but at least I will be sparkly for Spring!

April 2nd

2011-04-07T12:19:00.005-05:00

Our super delightful Homeboys invited us last weekend to participate in a trivia night fundraiser at the VFW to help support arthritis research. It is a super random night because all these teams get together some with themes, some with really young teams others with much more elderly teams. While I really love trivia games their questions are often totally obscure and Gus and I just scoff at how little we know about 1932.

Anyways it is a really fun night with our friends. This is Randy who has lately taken to wearing two pairs of glasses around his neck. One pair of sunglasses and the other bifocals. It produces a hilarious affect which I had to capture. I almost got in trouble though because you are not allowed to have smart phones out during the trivia rounds because you could cheat.

VFW fund raising trivia is taken super seriously after all :)

April 1st

2011-04-07T12:11:00.003-05:00

This is just hateful how dare someone have the audacity to make a vanity plate with my favorite destination beach and have a Marion plate holder surrounding it! I don't know if I have told you guys this but I consider Marion to be the vortex of where hope goes to die. Literally. The people who live there have some strange genetic disorder that causes them all the walk like lumbering zombies in light denim which has caused me to bestow them with the moniker "the Marion Mutants". They are terrifying.

Anyways so I was excited upon recongnizing the Outer Banks and then dismayed that a Marion Mutant had invaded my happy place. So many emotions at once!

Wanderlusty

2011-03-25T18:14:00.000-05:00

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804 hoedown throwdown!!!

2011-03-09T20:36:00.003-06:00

Hello lovely blog followers whom I have completely forsaken. Sorry about that by the way.
I am coming home next week for Spring Break so let me know if you want to play.
I shall be visiting with parentals, grandparentals and hopefully best friends :)
Holla atcha girl!

Evidently blondes have more fun ;)

2011-02-23T22:00:00.003-06:00

Bought a new blonde wig a few weeks ago, what do you think?

Best Friends from Afar

2010-12-15T17:50:00.003-06:00

I wanted to take a moment to highlight and mention an exceedingly random but yet super important person in my life. Many of my close friends and family have never met him, Gus certainly has not, the Menage-A has not, I don't even think Jonny has. But luckily Mumsy, Popsicle and Marcella T. can vouch for his existence. His name is Rob Harbic but I affectionately refer to him as Canadian Roomie Rob.

Now the story of Rob is an odd one. He is a fellow whom I met in Ireland and similar to most of my Ireland adventures he was both unplanned for but very well timed. Mother and I had fantasized prior to my big move that I would meet and fall madly in love with an Irishman named Seamus and we would have a whirlwind courtship, there would be leprechauns and marriage and we would live happily ever after. Now we all know that didn't go down that way at all. Thank goodness because then I would not have made it out here to Murphysboro..... wait. Damn you fake Seamus.

Anyways there were no sexy Irishmen with loads of land in my future but there was one especially amiable, very tall Canadian put in my path to save the day. I had just decided randomly that I was going to move to Galway on a rainy Dublin afternoon because I had come to the conclusion that I needed to be nearer my God to the sea! So I hopped on a bus and moved (the beauty of literally having everything you need in one average sized suitcase). I got off and shockingly it was still raining in both Galway and in my heart. I was ready to get back on the bus, go back to Dublin and fly home that instant.

Now clearly I am taking some dramatic license here but give me a break it was four years ago and I am going to choose to recount this story that way I remember it. I retrieved my suitcase full of my life and dredged down the street to the hostel I would be calling home for the next four days. Four days seems like a random amount of time I know but I was using the last of my funds to afford just those four day. Hostels aren't cheap and I needed to find a job and a place to live asap (it has never really struck me how utterly alone and homeless I really was until now).

Thank goodness or I probably would have been freaking out more than I already was. I got to the hostel and checked in. It was warm and comforting, one of the nicer ones in the area and it was filled with Canadians. Like to the brim. They were everywhere, and they had all come over with the same visa I had. After warming up and trying my best to erase the last traces of sniffles and sorrow I decided to visit the common room to see what there was to see.

While there I struck up a conversation with two Canadian ladies (shocking) who were also looking for flats and jobs and we all scanned the papers together. We wound up hanging out basically all night watching the Shining (random) and getting to know each other. One of the girls who for the life of mes name I cannot remember had a friend named Rob who was also looking for jobs and flats but he was staying at another hostel and was coming over for dinner with us. Anyways long story short I responded to an add in the paper and asked him if he would go out there and look at it with me so that I was not murdered and days later we were roommates, or I should say flatmates.

Now Rob is awesome. He is incredibly laid back and easy to get along with in a hockey loving, outdoorsy Canadian sort of way. He had some odd issues with food and on our first grocery shopping trip as roommates I could not help but mercilessly mock his seeming lack of taste buds. Homeboys diet literally consisted of white bread sandwiches with butter and plain spaghetti with tomato sauce. Sufficed to say he was not a great dinner date. He was comforting though. He made me feel like I had a big brother, someone looking out for me. He had a really upbeat attitude about what he hoped to gain from his time in Ireland too. His dad is a lawyer in Canada and he was going to law school but he did not want to do it right away. He wanted to have some adventures, and flings and just play for awhile and he knew that meant holding down a crummy job and living in a crappy flat but he didn't mind and was actually looking forward to it.

A side note for the story is that I never dated, crushed on or randomly made out with Rob. When I say he was like a big brother I really mean it. So don't go getting any funny business ideas there. After a matter of weeks Rob moved out of our little flat because it was too far away from the heart of Galway and he wanted to be where the action was right in the heart of the Eyre Square. I can't say that I blamed him at all and it was fun having a friend in the city as it were. Now the Canadian girls both moved back home after the Christmas holidays not being able to cope in the new land and then Rob and I were the only ones left. He was currently the social king of Galway and a great uniter of many of us ex-pats, always happy and smiling and encouraging he was my go to when I needed to get out of Belmont and go see a movie, or get a pint or vent about being miserable.

To be quite honest with you I have no idea why he decided to be a friend to me. I secretly think he took me on as his own little charity case. Lost crazy American red-head suffering from a feeling of isolation and the lack of Ranch dressing, I was essentially a walking cry for help. Now my extended family on my mothers side is all Canadian and I grew up visiting all sorts of different provenances, so I had extensively traveled his motherland and could relate to the Tim Horton and Molson references. However, there is ingrained I believe in every American a slight feeling of superiority over our Northern neighbors (or America light as the saying goes), and Jonny and I had grown up mocking the "eh" of our Canadian cousins. He tolerated about two "my country is better than your country" references before he whapped me with his Boston Red Sox hat and walked away.

Like I said, big brothers put you in your place. Rob was a saving grace. When my parents came to visit the Isles I insisted Rob come out to dinner with us because I wanted them to meet my one Galway friend. On Valentines day when I just wanted to get drunk Roomie Rob insisted upon flailing about town with me so I would not be alone (the fact that he was sleeping with not one but two of his roommates at the time might have also spawned his desire to flee his flat). It was there sitting on the Galway Bay with a big bag of fish fry up and a bottle of Dunnes cheapest Merlot that I realized that we might just be friends forever.

I as you all know returned back to the states, thinner, better dressed and happy to be home. Rob decided to keep the travels going and moved to Australia to go to law school. Over the years we have still kept in touch. On random dark winters days I will get a lovely sunny postcard of some exotic destination from Rob and he gets one sent back from me of Williamsburg, or the Outer Banks and my happy places. We send facebook messages and comment on each others pictures.

We don't call each other on the phone and we don't email each other ever.

I have not actually talked to Rob in person for over four years now. But I don't find it strange that I still consider him a close friend. He was there for such an important time in my life when I was working so hard to figure out who I was, and so was he. Remember in my 'how rude' post when I said that it comforts me to know that there are people in the universe who love me and care about me just as I am. He is one of them, he saw me at probably my literal worst and helped me work my way up to leaving Ireland on a somewhat high note.

Before I left for Ireland mom bought me this black velvet purse from Target that looks just like Mary Poppins magic suitcase. It served me well abroad as you could literally fit everything you would need for an overnight trip (and a full stand up lamp) in it. Sometimes I still use the purse and tucked up in the front pocket is a neon green post it note that says " Hi-ya red! It's Canadian Rob interested in a flat together, call me". I have never taken it out of my Ireland purse and I never will because every time I randomly stumble upon that little post it I smile and am immediately transferred back to a little hostel on a cold Irish eve.

The other day I received an invitation in the mail from Rob inviting Gus and I to his wedding. He met an Aussie and fell madly in love abroad and is getting married in February and invited me. Now I have close friends who I talked to everyday for years, who I lived with cried with and loved madly who have not invited me to their weddings. This guy halfway around the world still thinks of me and considers me a friend and someone who he wants to include in his special day and that is just mind blowing. Of course we can't go since neither Herman or I have an extra 4 grand lying around but if we did I would be there is a heartbeat. As it is now we are going to try to make their Canadian reception because I for one want to be there to celebrate the wedding of the person the Universe has deemed my seemingly long-lost but yet miraculously ever present big Canadian brother.

It makes me smile just thinking about how funny and wondrous the seemingly small and insignificant meetings in our lives really are. Ultimately there is no way of telling who will make the biggest impacts on your life, and I for one love the randomness of the heavens choices.

Dinner with the parentals and Marcella!

Happy Valentines to us :)

Happy Birthday Momma

2010-12-13T18:57:00.002-06:00

So just as last week when I wished my father Happy Birthday with bitter sweet emotions because I could not be there to celebrate today I do it again with my mommy.

Bogey thank you so much for coming out to see me and for being so freaking awesome. I love you very much and hope that you had an incredible day and we will celebrate like crazy when I return home to you!

You rock my socks, true story!

How Rude!

2010-12-13T14:21:00.005-06:00

I have not indulged myself in a good old fashioned rant in a while and so I feel at liberty to whine and moan about what I feel is a new epidemic in my life and more importantly the world in a much broader sense. Now I know that I don't often fill you in on the negative aspects of my time spent out here in So. Ill because quite frankly I really try to use my blogging as an exercise in positivity. If I am able to search the events that are happening in my life and come up with some positive and uplifting things then I feel more hopeful and less woe-is me, It is not always easy to be positive, and being negative is practically effortless so I strive to work that little bit harder and play the glad game Pollyanna style.

Before I launch into my bitter diatribe I will disclose what I am glad about. First of all I take comfort in knowing that I have incredible friends and family who love me all over the world. Whenever I am in the dregs and completely depressed about my social situation out here I pull up mental images of smiling, hugging, laughing happiness and am immediately soothed. Secondly I have an incredible boyfriend who indulges my need for socializing and is in himself that best company that I could ever ask for. These things give me a constant source of strength and confidence and help taper out my frustrations with the rest of the commoners.

Here is the problem. I love to entertain, that is what I enjoy doing. I love going out to dinner and throwing and attending parties. I love planning for events, and stressing over menu options and what I am going to wear. I really enjoy the process and the actual occasion itself. That is why my job in Williamsburg was perfect for me. It was nothing but a non stop array of parties, weddings and social networking. It was glorious. In that similar spirit I have thrown several large parties at our Elm St. house and countless more little intimate occasions like game nights. At all of these parties I always make sure that there is an abundance of delicious food (often themed around the event) and plenty for everyone to drink taking into consideration allergies and personal preferences. There is also entertainment, a clean warm place to hang out, and we always offer to let people stay the night ( on a comfy well appointed queen sized bed no less!) if they feel like they can't drive. Literally all that I ask of guests at my house is that they show up and entertain me. Not to make them sound like dancing monkey's or anything but I really don't ask very much of people. But apparently these simple little nuances of polite society and proper etiquette are just too much for these brilliant twenty somethings to comprehend or appreciate.

Case in point. I know I shared all of my fun housewarming pictures with you but I don't know if I informed you of the dark side of the housewarming soiree. The invites I sent out specified cocktail attire and in a tongue in cheek way I jokingly wrote "denim need not apply". Not only did I have people arrive in jeans, but I had someone wear a trash bag. An honest to goodness hefty bag pinned up to look like a strapless dress with tights. This guest then went on to use large amounts of profanity among my other guests (some of whom were her professors) and then got drunk (on our top shelf liquor selection) and stuffed cheesecake down my bathtub drain. If you are shaking your head in disgust and asking yourself "really who does that?" then you are not alone.

The second caveat to this party was that we called it a "stock our bar" party understanding full well that the concept of bringing a gift to a housewarming party would be completely lost on the majority of our guests. Of course we did not rely on anyone else to provide the alcohol for the occasion, we had a keg (of a wonderful micro brew, not Natty Light) a festive Sangria, and several bottles of premium liquor to make mixed drinks. It was classy. To help us stock our bar we had guests bring us and I am not making this up bottles of Arbor Mist, Boones Farm, B & J Wine Coolers, and the equivalent of a handle of Aristocrat vodka. Now I am not trying to sound snobby or elitist but this was a cocktail party. Gus wore a tuxedo for crying out loud, wine coolers ?!? What year is this? As if that were not bad enough we had guests then proceed to drink too much, get sick all over our guest room and then had the audacity to blame it on us for having too many options to drink. These people are in their thirties by the by.

I am sure that I come off as obnoxious but I was blown away. Never had I ever seen people act like this anywhere, and I was in a sorority for goodness sakes. I went to my share of crazy parties, and have been a hot mess at times. But I have never blamed the host for my behavior, or purposefully trashed their house out of spite. The question that continues to run through the theme of this entire blog entry will be "who does that?", and the answer my friends is I have no idea.

The reason why I bring up these past indiscretions of my local acquaintances is that these annoyances with these people have not disappeared but have only compounded as the months have gone by. For our housewarming we invited everyone from all of Gus's numerous programs, professors, neighbors, everyone. We threw out a huge net and as a result a wide array of very different groups attended the party. Which is great there is something to be said for having variety at your first big house party. The other thing was that we were able to see who we enjoyed spending time with, and who was just a massive waste of space. Well at least I did. Gus gets along basically with everyone and does not take peoples actions personally the same way I do. It is both an endearing and completely annoying trait. So over the next few months we choose small selective groups to spend time with, over the summer we hosted croquet parties, had cookouts, and got groups together to watch the World Cup matches. All organized by yours truly.

There were lingering frustrations though. First of all I think I resent the fact that I have not gotten to choose our group of friends ( who are really just circumstantial acquaintances). These are people who are in Gus's classes and work in the lab and who he sees on a daily basis. These are not people who were it not for finding ourselves out here in this situation we would normally choose to spend time with, or at least who I would choose to spend time with. These are not people who will be invited (or who would come) to our wedding, or who I would call if my car broke down and I needed someone to come pick me up off the side of the road. These are not people who are interested when I have good news to celebrate, and they have generally written me off as a high maintenance and dramatic member of their super smart and obnoxiously excluding circle. Which is why I think I work that much harder to win them over. It comes from that natural compulsion I have to make everyone like me and think I am great, and really you can't do that all the time because quite frankly it is exhausting.

So I started my own little rebellions, I refuse to go to their little hang out hole in the wall bar because I have always hated it and somehow always leave in tears. Plus it smells super bad. I have worked to become closer to the handful of people whose company I really enjoy and who I would like to be better friends with, at the exclusion perhaps of the "old guard". I have alienated people by becoming more vocal about my disappointments and refusing to be the completely vapid, easy going girlfriend they think I should be. I stirred the pot, and it made me feel good.

A beloved Aunt of mine has a saying that sometimes in life you have to go along to get along, and to a certain point I agree. You can't always be fighting because it gets frustrating and wears you down but you do have to pick your battles and some things are worth getting your feathers fluffed for. To me my happiness out here cannot be completely reliant upon Gus. It just can't be because he is super busy and only one man and yes I can be slightly demanding and high maintenance. Originally much of my unhappiness stemmed from my unemployment and lack of direction. I now have a good job that I enjoy that I don't have to be ashamed to put on a resume and will help me later on in life so now my focus has shifted. I am in the best relationship ever, and I have a great job why can't I just be happy with the blessings I am given I constantly ask myself. But the flip side of that is that I am lonely. I live very far from my support group, Gus works 70 hour weeks and I am left with lots of time just by myself. That is when you need friends. You need to be able to call someone to see a movie, or go to the mall or just to come over and sit in pajamas and watch bad reality television. I need that, I am not an island of one for crying out loud!

The problem is that you can't go trolling bars for girlfriends, a suggestion that Gus has repeatedly offered up as the solution to my conundrum to which he gets an eye roll and a prolonged deep sigh. I joined something online called "Meet - Up" which has been fun and I have gone to a few of their events, but they are much older than I am and most are at very different points in their lives with babies and husbands and gross grown up responsibilities. I have been trying to strengthen some friendships with girls in Gus's clinical program but they are super uber busy just like him and you have to plan things weeks in advance if you want to see them. Plus ironically the counseling kids are super dramatic to the point where my mother upon hearing of their latest scandal referred to it as 'middle school-ish". Well said Momma Greene. It is hard to get to invested in the mindless squabbling of people you don't really care about. I might as well spend that time watching the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, it is the same level of inane but the women are at least better dressed.

I told you this was going to be a catty, whiny post. But I am being brutally honest.

The straw that finally broke the camels back was this weekend. We had a small get together for an "Ugly Sweater Christmas Party" I offered to host the party after the original hostess got too overwhelmed trying to cater to all the drama of her group. Instead of having an awkward, estranged party we just opted to have it on Elm St. where the guest list would be up to my discretion and no drama would be allowed. Last Monday I sent an email out to 13 carefully selected people who I enjoy spending time with and who have proved themselves fun and entertaining in the past. As of Saturday at 5 I had received an R.S.V.P. from two of those guests, or 15% of the party. Now of course I am always going to have enough food and alcohol for everyone regardless, but had I gone by my last count of people who said they were coming I would have had a five person party. When it was all said and done that night we had twelve other people show up. Two who were not invited and no one even thought to text me and see if it was alright if they brought a friend. I realize I sound like I am really splitting hairs (holy cliche Batman) but it is rude. No one apologized, my hostess gift was a half eaten bakery Red Velvet cake (who does that?) and the party went on with me constantly in the kitchen mixing drinks and cleaning up.

It wound up being a fun night and I am glad we did it but every time I entertain I grow a little bit more wary, and a great deal more disappointed. It is not funny to joke about domestic violence but the only thing I can compare it to is being in an abusive relationship with yourself essentially. Every time I put my heart and soul in to a party or occasion only to be upset with the glaring reality of my current situation. Yet I keep coming back from more refusing to learn my lessons..The exception to this I must add was our recent home tour which had virtually no friend interaction, and had the awesome overarching glow of my mothers amazingness so that event could not be tainted.

Isn't the very definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over expecting different results? Do I ever learn? To me becoming a hermit and sitting in the basement alone with my puppy and my glue gun is not an option. I need people and excitement. I need to be out in the world living life and learning from the people and experiences I encounter. I loved the idea of the Renaissance round tables with artists, and musician and philosophers all gathering around and eating and mingling together. I want to be exposed to exotic and interesting people! I need to be in a dark and warm pub with a pint by a fire hearing funny tales (a benefit of living in Ireland), or hosting a supper club with brilliant and engaging minds who love to debate and share my affection for wine and delicious cheese. But I digress with my idle fantasy's.

It would be easy to say, "just don't hang out with them anymore" but that would not be fair to Gus. I think he benefits sometimes from spending time with these people. They are all going through the same experiences he is, they can complain about classes and professors and papers and be on the same page. He has a niche group and while they might not be as socially adept as I would hope for they are brilliant and they do really appreciate and respect my Herman. Plus if I really reach my limit I just wont organize or scheme, because no one ever plans anything without my social meddling behind it. If not for my constant need for entertainment and excitement I am pretty sure many of these guys would rarely leave the house.

The reality of the situation is you can't mold people into who you want them to be. They remain who they are despite your theme parties (which they claim to be too busy to dress up for) or your dinner invitations (at times which are too late for them to eat). No matter how many texts or emails you send, or how many crazy, fun party schemes you can concoct at the end of the day you are basically left with the go to crew sitting around playing cards. Sometimes Magic cards, because apparently you can be too old for a theme but you are never too old for a 20 sided die and some monster mana. It is enough to make me wail in desperation and self pity just thinking about it.

I know I am going to get lots of suggestions from you guys about things I can do or become involved in to make friends, volunteering, taking a class, etc. (all avenues that I have pursued I can assure you) but as I get older and am constantly dealing with these set backs it hardens me to the new and with every little blow to my esteem I become just a tad more introverted. Not totally I can assure you like I said I can still Pollyanna it with the best of them, but my social situation out here leaves me feeling both inadequate and sad.

I am reassured by the fact that I have a group of ride or die friends dispersed all over who have been there forever through moves, and boys and jobs, and drama and they love me very much and would come to my parties dressed to the nines and ready for anything. They wouldn't bring me wine coolers or blame me for their indiscretions but they would cackle and smile and take pictures without complaining. The knowledge that people like that do exist in the world gives me hope. Seeing the way my mom and dad and their friends interact gives me hope. Knowing that you guys like me just the way I am and that I don't have to wear frumpy clothes, or talk about boring things for hours to make you want to spend time with me gives me confidence that there are circles where people like me are appreciated and revered.

If I change myself, and who I am and how I see things then the negative Nancie's and the boring Bob's of the world win and I simply cannot allow that to happen on my watch. I don't know what the solution to this problem is just yet to be honest with you. I can't stay in this cycle of abuse forever, yet my options are seemingly limited. Hopefully being home for break will give me some of the perspective and confidence back that I so badly need right now. I am looking forward to celebrating the holidays with people who understand the concept of celebration, who want to get up and do crazy dances and tell funny stories and laugh..... alot. Those are my kind of people, and they make the rest of this stuff seem much less important in the long run. Sorry for the rant I told you I won't do it often, but I feel much better getting that out there. Whew.

*deep cleansing breath*

Happy Birthday daddy!!!!

2010-12-07T17:05:00.000-06:00

Happy birthday today to my wonderful father Thomas Karl Greene!!!! This is what I miss most about not being at home is that I can't just drive over after work and wish dad a massively awesome birthday and go out to Angelo's and stick candles in the tiramisu and sing way loudly and embarrass him. But I shall fear not because I will be home in a matter of weeks and will be able to sing to him just as loudly as my little heart desires.

But for now poppa dear I wish you the truly best of birthdays, and when I return back to the 804 there shall be much cake and merry making I can assure you. I love you like crazy you are the best dad in the whole wide world and I hope that you have had an incredible day.

Cheers to the next half a century :)

Tour This!

2010-12-07T16:47:00.002-06:00

Me, mommy and my magic apron!

Banana waiting for the guests to arrive.

As you all know because I have blogged about it extensively my mother was just out visiting for the Murphysboro Holiday Hometour (details to follow), while she was out she mentioned to me that there are grumblings among my dedicated followers that I am not 'writing' enough on my entries but am instead rather trying to appease you with pretty pictures and slightly informative captions. I of course became indigent at her implication that I am not living up to my writing potential but then I took a closer look at my recent posts and realized that they were short and sweet, not really detailed and slightly detached.

My dearest followers thank you for bringing this to my attention and I promise to you that I will try to tell the whole story in the future. There is just so much going on all the time and not to blame Gus but with only one computer in the house my rambling blog posts don't really have a chance to compete with his need to write big important papers and grants. He has promised me my own pink baby netbook in the future specifically for my blogging/celebrity gossip/picture addiction but I am not really going to hold my breath for that little gem to materialize. In the meantime will do my best to give my readers more of what they want which is the whole truth and nothing but the truth of this crazy So. Ill life. So here it goes....

The hometour was a unmitigated success. Plain and simple. It could not have gone any better if I had hired a group of magical elves off of Craigslist to make sure that they whole weekend ran like clockwork. The universe saw fit to make it happen even without any magical helpers. There was tons of work involved most of it in preparation for moms arrival but when I left to pick her up from the airport in St. Louis everything was spotless and ready for showtime. Her plane was on time, I made what some might consider miraculous time getting to the airport ( my gps tomtom estimated 2 hours and 38 minutes I made it in 1 hour and 45 minutes, take that global positioning system!) which gave me enough time to throw on my Christmas vest and unravel my special handmade sign which proclaimed "Mommy, welcome to So.Ill!!!". Needless to say I was quite a spectacle at the Gate A arrivals area but who cares. There were no flight delays, mom arrived safe and happy and ready to dominate the weekend.

Now this might seem superstitious but on our way back home we stopped and gave a homeless man under the MLK bridge some money and I think that that little slice of karmic goodwill skewed the entire balance of the whole weekend. Seriously, we discussed it in jest but I really believe in my heart that the small act of kindness turned the tables on moms visit. Nothing went wrong at all, it was like out of a movie where you wish things to be and then they are. The road trip back home was quick and we stopped and got lunch at Gus and my favorite dinner outside the Lou. Timing was perfect we pulled in and Gus had just finished the remaining yard work everyone had a cocktail and then we headed out to join the caravan and tour all the other homes on the tour.

Friday night was committee caravan night, basically it was a chance for everyone who was on the tour to see everyone elses homes. Now we were the last stop on the caravan because I decided that I wanted to do a little cocktail hour/ appetizer thingy to kick off the tour right. Shocking I know. So Gus, mom and I got all bundled up hopped in the Saturn and followed the line of cars to the first house on the tour. Which was massive, and beautiful. Now I don't have any pictures of the house because to do that would have been one of those rude social faux pas things that I try to avoid whenever possible but I wish I had been able to take pictures. This woman's house was so over the top and beautiful that it almost looked fake. Like no one really lived there and it was just a closed set for some sitcom set during a holiday episode. It was that beautiful and crazy. As I walked through the house feeling many emotions primarily jealousy and fear that these people would later be touring my house I committed a deadly sin and began to covet my neighbors goods.

It is a pretty bad sign to start off the holiday season by committing mortal sins, but there I was walking room to room and feeling my heart drop with every step. The house was three floors of total and utter perfection, and I wanted it all. Except the fake food, people who decorate with fake food are just hateful and should be shot at dawn by a pair of life sized evil gingerbread men. I left the house asking my homeboy Dale why on earth I was ever asked to be on a tour with a house like that and thinking that we should maybe just take our house off the list. My stomach hurt and I felt anxious and like a massive yuletide failure. Mom and Gus were of course reassuring in the ways that supportive loved ones are meant to be but nothing they could say could shake the lingering doubt and nervousness I had over the committee and the other homeowners coming to Elm St.

The tour progressed and we saw two other lovely homes, and I began to calm down as I toured houses that were lovely but in no way the holiday juggernaut that the first home was. We did not get to see the fourth house that night because we bolted home to get all the candles lit and everything ready for people to come to our house. We all ran quickly into the local liquor mart to get more wine (everything is better with more wine) and then bolted home to grab our lighters and go to town. It is at this point in the story that I need to give crazy props to mom and Gus for being better than cracked out craigslist elves. They were my absolute dream team, we all moved in perfect harmony lighting decorative candles, setting out plates, napkins, opening wine, grabbing glasses, to the point where we were done early and had nothing to do but anxiously await the arrival of the caravan. Then they arrived and we knew with no uncertainty that Elm St. was the best house on the tour bar none.

Why do you ask do I say that my home is the best? Am I biased? Well of course I am!
But my house was actually warm, and welcoming. We pulled out all the stops and people lingered, they had a drink and made a little sandwich to nosh on and then our guests relaxed. The home tour committee members made toasts and everyone clinked my mismatched wine glasses together and celebrated the kick off of the tour. I did not have fancy china but that did not stop people from going back for seconds of barbecue. No one was worried about sitting on my furniture and since I refused to lock my dog away like the other owners did Anna was able to mix and mingle and be a great welcoming ambassador for Elm St.

People stayed and chatted and opened up and got to know their neighbors. We had the smallest house on the tour but we filled ours with the most love and warmth and I think that people really felt at home. Now I am being kinda full of myself I realize but you don't understand how nervous I felt after seeing that first house and watching everyone chat and mingle really reassured me that we were asked to be on the tour for a reason and that we did belong in the same league as all the other people with bigger, fancier houses.

When our guests finally began to trickle out the three of us sat back in awe at what an incredible night it had been. The next morning we were up early to make sure everything was tip top perfect. Now the thing about entertaining that anyone will tell you is that when you are having people over night time is the right time. This is because candles and dimmer switches help mask those nicks in your paint and the dust around the corners of the baseboards that you can never quite get rid of. Similar to dating an ugly girl you want to take her to the candle lit restaurant to make things easier on the both of you. Oh and it is more acceptable to drink in the evenings. Unfortunately for me the tour began at 10 am on what was turning out to be a bright beautiful morning. Cursing the fates I began anxiously running around the house with a paper towel and my can of Pledge multi surface going over everything in sight. Try as hard as I could though it was too bright, all the little imperfections were popping out at me and I was helpless to fix them. I was on the brink of tears praying for ominous cloud cover with Gus and Mom assuring me that everything would be fine and the house looked great (I come off like a basket case during this part of the tale but it really was too bright!).

Ten am rolled around an no one was lining up outside the door, then another fifteen minutes, and then half an hour past. We did not get our first visitor until almost 11 Saturday morning and by then I was just a big ball of nerves. She was a lovely older lady who came in and looked around and chatted for a bit but did not seem that impressed by either us or Elm St. I was helpless to entertain I had no food or beverage to offer her there were no little goodies out anywhere and I was going against every natural inclination I had in my hostessing soul. She left and shut the door and I immediately shrieked that we needed treats! Mom and Gus always quick to mobilize and at this point very eager to get away from me generously offered to go to the store for some cider and cookies. Away they went and I threw on an apron and began to bake the worst gingerbread cupcakes in the history of baked goods.

Something happened when I put on that apron though, a calming change came over me and I began to feel more in control. Just like that the clouds began to gather. The sky darkened and I smiled and began to light my candles. By the time the troops returned with refreshments the house glowed with warmth in the darkening December day, the fates had heard my plea and had thought it appropriate to grant me my proper blustery winters day.

For the remainder of the day we warmed hot apple cider served out of a gorgeous crystal punch bowl I found at a second hand shop. Instead of cheap plastic cups we used decorative glass tea cups. The house was filled with the scent of gingerbread and joy and little decorative peppermint bark and yogurt covered pretzels were placed out for visitors. It was on. The Elm St. team hosted our little brains out. We had about 50 people throughout the day in spurts and groups and they all wanted to know all about us and the house.

We had decided to close the basement off but everyone wanted to see the coal room that had become a walk in closet, so we gave tours of the basement. Never have we ever had so many glowing reviews or wonderful compliments. People told us that ours was their favorite house on the tour and it was certainly the warmest and most welcoming (thank you apple cider). Not to indulge too much in the heaps of praise but it felt great to have that kind of validation from our neighbors and people in our community. They loved us, they really loved us! We even had a woman so taken with the house that she offered to buy it right then and there at 40 g's more than we bought it for. We were a success! Our candles flickered, we smiled and graciously offered cookies, Anna greeted all and then laid down to welcome the next group... we rocked it.

I think my highlight of the day was a group of three little girls who were touring with their moms. They were all in sparkly shoes and pink or purple coats and were just so cute. I myself was also wearing my sparkly shoes and asked them if they wanted to see my closet, once inside while admiring all the stuff everywhere they proclaimed in no uncertain terms that they wanted my closet and that my house was their favorite on the tour. From the mouths of babes I find validation and acceptance, don't judge me it was a lovely moment. Gus also basked in praise from visiting husbands who were impressed at all the steps he had taken to ensure our basement remained dry, mom basked in the glow of other mothers who were impressed that she had made such a long trip to support her daughter. All of our egos were boosted and by the end of the day we felt like legitimate rockstars. And the hits just kept on coming!

That evening we went out on the town to celebrate and see the Carbondale Christmas lights parade which was super fun. We were all on such a goofy high from such a successful day and we were just running around like kids all giggly and crazy, it would have been perfect if it had not been so crazy freezing! Later we treated mom to dinner with some local peeps at our mexican restaurant Sergios where they welcomed her back with open arms and lavished us with bowls of yummy cheese dip on the house. I told you things just went our way this weekend. It was awesome. We could'nt go too crazy though because the next day we had a few more hours of hosting. Sunday was also blissfully overcast and we hosted about another 50 people all in the span of 3 hours. We had lots of cute groups of little old ladies who were so sweet and complimentary come through. Luckily we had restocked our cider and cookies and on Sunday I actually made a rather successful pumpkin loaf with a lovely tin that Marcy lent me so we were able to give our second round of guests and equally awesome experience.

Sunday night we went out to a beautiful new winery on the outskirts of town and sat beside a fire pit and toasted our successful weekend. Mom being there was so incredible, everything ran smoothly and she kept me calm and happy all weekend. I feel like if it had just been Gus and I this weekend one of us would have ended up jumping into the Big Muddy River ( hint: it would not have been me because I hate freezing cold water). Luckily mom was there to be amazing and save the day. Everyone said that they really enjoyed the tour, we had a great weekend, we sold our house and we will always be able to tell the tale of the year that Elm St was on the hometour. Thanks mumsy for to the Boro and for Gus for agreeing to give up a weekend and indulge in a crazy holiday tradition, I love you both like crazy and I could not have done it without you!

So thankful!

2010-11-30T17:13:00.004-06:00

What a truly thankful Thanksgiving it was indeed!

Thank you to Marcella T. and the Cassidy clan who made is such a wonderful vacay. Also thank you to Herman for somehow managing to drive my anxious butt through 8 hours of pouring rain and gale force winds to make sure that I got to Cleveland safely. This year was truly miraculous in that both Aunt Barb and Uncle Pat were able to come and wonders of all wonders Jonny made it too! It was like something out of a movie where somehow through a crazy twist of unanticipated fate everyone needs to make it to where they need to be and they live happily ever after :)

We brought our Wii with us this year so there was much competitive playtime and I also discovered out of complete left field that I am rather good at bocce, who knew? Thanks to mom and dad for purchasing and serving such a delicious meal.

Truly these Thanksgivings just keep getting better and better and I am very blessed indeed that I am never at a loss to come up with all the things, people and places that I am super thankful for.

Aunt Barb and Cousin Catharine united again!

Pints at the Great Lakes, their favorite place to be!

Cutting up some super delicious pie!

Getting competitive with some Wii games, who knew if I was so good at bocce?

So glad to see Jonny again! love my brojo

My boys :)

The girls :)

Momma to the RESCUE!

2010-11-18T15:56:00.004-06:00

I just got the BEST news in the whole wide world today. My super incredible and amazingly creative mother is going to fly out to the sticks to help me with the holiday hometour!

Hurrah!

Now I know it is going to be the best weekend ever. For those of you who think that I have been blessed with the gift of creative vision you have no idea, because everything I do is just a watered down version of what my super crafty mother pioneered. She is the consummate hostess, everything is always beautiful decorated, elegant, delicious and most importantly sparkling clean. She never met a decorative cheese spreader she did not like and the woman's collection of clever cocktail napkins is starting to overflow out of her massive and well stocked dining room buffet.

She was the original Martha Stewart back when Martha was making potholders out of popsicle sticks. With her by my side I am sure to have the most gloriously glowing and lovely home on the entire tour.

Our creativity combined we will be unstoppable, look out So. Ill because shit just got real :)

Photo Call !!!!!

2010-11-16T17:57:00.004-06:00

Attention lovely friends and family who are as obsessed with pictures as me. I have decided I want to do holiday pics on my fridge for the open house so if you have any cute pictures of Jonny or I, any fun old family pics of mom or dad, or pics from friends party's of the holiday season I would love to have them so I can put them up. You can email or send them to me and I will make them a lovely focal point on my hometour.

Apparently for some reason I have really been slacking on my holiday picture taking in the last few years. This year I vow to not suck at it. Paparazzi is back!!!!

Funny local sign

2010-11-16T17:32:00.001-06:00

Gus and I were walking around Paducah, KY on a random Sunday afternoon and came across this sign and I could not stop giggling.... gee I wonder why?

Murphysboro Hometown Christmas... booooyah!

2010-11-16T17:11:00.003-06:00

Apparently Herman and I are cool kids here in the 'boro as we have been asked by the Chamber of Commerce to be included in the Murphysboro Hometown Christmas tour. Apparently they are fans of 2011 Elm St. :)

So come December 4 and 5th we shall be opening our 'elegantly decorated' home to those who purchase their tickets in advance and people shall oohhh and ahhh over our bunny bitten baseboards and marvel at how clean and organized everything is (because a benefit of the tour is I can throw all our junk in the basement and shut the door). If any of you want to stop by and tour the Chamber has graciously given us several complimentary tickets and right now flights out of Richmond are crazy cheap, its true!

Seriously though I have to get cracking on some decorating. I have decided my inspiration will be cranberries. Let me know if you guys have any ideas for how I can wow my community and make my house stand out on a grad student and recruitment coordinator budget...

I have never had my house featured on a hometour before, probably because I used to live in a shed, sigh I miss the cottage so!

Christmas starts...... now :)

Its Peanut Butter Jelly Time!!!

2010-11-10T20:18:00.007-06:00

Sorry that it has taken me so long to post these but our epic Halloween on Elm St. party was a blast and a huge success. It was a super fun party, everyone went all out with their costumes and there was much Monster Mashing indeed! Enjoy the pics of our crazy sweet costumes that took loads of time and creativity to create :)

We had a big pumpkin carving evening the Friday before to get everyone in the mood for the next nights festivities. Everyone's pumpkins looked waayyyy better than ours. All I kept thinking was I wish my dad was there to rescue my pumpkin from its inevitable mediocrity as he had been oh so many times before :(

Picking through the pumpkin guts so we could toast the seeds. Pumpkins are kind of smelly actually.

Herman's little brother JoJo flew in for the weekend to participate in the festivities. The don't look alike at all do they ;)

All of our guests posing with their way creative pumpkins, so jealous!

Anna's best costume ever, we always call her Anna Banana so she went as a banana split.

Posing with the homeboys who were our costume judges for the evening, Gus and I graciously took ourselves out of the running because we would have totally dominated the competition :)

My friend Amanda as Alice.

The girls before the party

My spooky, awesome table.

Hot red heads who are not me. We are taking over :)

JoJo and Caitlin as Nixon and Alice... totally makes sense

The best costume winners. They were crazy authentic!

Now I realize everyone is going to get all huffy because I never post scandalous pictures on my blog (yes mom I realize my grandparents read it) but the image of Gus doing a kegstand in his JIF suit was just too classic. Poor thing had the biggest bruises from that costume.

My little banana split hearts the mad hatter. Don't worry Alice was not jealous

Happy Birthday Grandpa!!!!

2010-10-21T19:45:00.001-05:00

Today is my Grandpa Greene's 80th birthday! Seriously 80 years....at some point you stop thinking about the massive amount of candles on that cake and just marvel at the thought of all the things that he has seen, lived and experienced. Many of you have never met my Grandfather but he is the second coolest man in the whole wide world (second only to my father mind you... the apple did not fall far from that tree).

Grandpa Greene is brilliant, and has lived a crazy adventurous life filled with outdoor adventures, a diverse trio of daughters, a mini-me son, a lovingly devoted and equally brilliant wife and of course tons of elaborate train sets. He can play you several jaunty piano tunes, tie a few flies, and prepare a years worth of complicated taxes all before he sits down to his steaming bowl of split pea soup and a mind boggling array of cheese and assorted crackers. In short he is a rockstar.

This weekend all my daddy's family will be gathering at the Greene compound in good old Winston-Salem for what I am sure will be an epic birthday party and I am devastated that I will not be able to attend. Stupid Priceline and their unwillingness to sell me a fifty dollar plane tickets....worst negotiators ever.

However, even though I will not be able to be there in person I am currently delighting in the mental picture that I am painting in my head of the whole crew gathered around the dining room table Norman Rockwell style and Grandpa holding my month old cousin while blowing out all 80 candles amidst his crazy, loving, wonderful legacy.

Happy Birthday Grandpa I love you madly, cheers to the next 80 years :)

I LOVE FALL

2010-10-18T15:25:00.006-05:00

Ugh! This is my favorite time of the year.... you know besides Christmas and Spring. Gus recently spent a week in Portland for a big super important conference leaving me stranded in So. Ill alone for an entire week. Blegh. It was rather rude. BUT when he returned we got to go out for a fabulous trip to the Beggs Family Pumpkin Patch right outside of Cape Girardeau.

It was the most incredible date day ever we had loads of fun pumpkin adventures, got to play outside, and then I was treated to Mrs. Paulas and the best Mexican in Missouri. *Sigh* if only all Sundays could be as wonderful, clearly the Cowboys were on a bye week ;)

Big wheel time, who knew grown ups could ride these too?

So it was kind of like a swing but this crazy messed up swing that I did not understand and almost fell off alot.

See what I mean? It was super hard!

Searching for the absolutely perfect pumpkin. I already found mine :)

Heart my pumpkin!

He keeps telling people he is 6 feet tall... the all knowing pumpkin says otherwise

The chair is so big, we look like little people!

Smooches to the giant pumpkin!

He's trapped!

Wandering around in the corn maze, this little escapade did not last for long as I am afraid of snakes and getting lost. I have seen the Shining I know how it ends.

He did not appreciate the all knowing grin of the pumpkin king

Pig races, oh my yes real pig races !

Funny Murphysboro Pic of the Week

2010-10-18T15:21:00.004-05:00

So I think that I am going to start doing a series of funny and true pictures that I take around town during my random adventures. This one I have had for a few weeks and forgot about.

If you ask me this is a lunch that I will be skipping, my parents invested waaaaay too much money into my teeth!

Loves it!

2010-10-18T15:04:00.005-05:00

So we are having a big Halloween party right here on Elm St. on October 30th and since I was super bored during the tragically awful Dallas vs. Vikings game yesterday I made this super funny video. Enjoy :)

To watch my super funny video click here !

Lets recap shall we?

2010-10-07T16:09:00.004-05:00

First of all I want to apologize again for putting nothing but that awfully written smoking article up for months. That was rude of me on my part. The reason I was so MIA was that I took the entire month of August to take my little dog on holiday back to VA. Herman was in the throws of finishing and completing his masters thesis so I opted instead of feeling alone and miserable for four weeks to just go home and impose on my parents generosity and unconditional love for a month :)

And what a month it was! I made a 'bucket list' and my awesome parentals made sure that I was able to do everything at home that I wanted to do. I got to go to Cleveland to see Marcy, eat at my fav. Italian restaurant, go to the beach (thank you Fitzsimmons!), go catch up with my NC clan at Ernie's, shop, sleep and be just overly spoiled. It was an absolutely stunningly flawless trip full of cocktails, carbs and an all around sense of bliss.

Big thanks to my parentals, Marcy, the Reeves and the Fitzsimmons for making my escape from So. Ill the best trip ever. I am so thankful that I still have so many people who still love me despite my absence and failure to be a very consistent communicator. Anyways I am posting some of my favorite moments from my travels.

I can't wait until I get to return at Christmas!

Bridesmaid gifts! Tiffanys at that... wow. I still have not figured out a place to properly store these treasures yet.

Pancho Villa with my Williamsburg crew one of whom just had a baby girl and another who is expecting in April... there must be something in the water there. Glad I did'nt stay too long!

The super incredible Kroger wine bar with dad. This was the coolest thing ever it was like fountain beverages with wine! The best of both worlds!

My super awesome dad and my favorite city skyline :)

Visiting with super great Cleveland cousins!

Bachelorette party dress up time. It started so innocently....

I love this picture this is at Danielle's bridal shower. So cute!

Daddy and I at the beach, where I left my heart. *tear

Bonding on the dock, it was so cool we saw an orange moon that night!

My BroJo and my beach, who could ask for anything more?

Go shorty it's your birthday!

2010-10-07T15:56:00.004-05:00

I wanted to do a birthday shout out for some of my all time classic ride or dies, my Wifey and my Spartan! I hope that you guys have an amazing day and I hope that at some point I will live closer and we can celebrate these occasions the right way, at a Plaza perhaps?

In honor of you guys getting older I am going to post some of my all time favorite pictures from when we were all young and stupid. *sigh* oh the glory days!

Love you both so much.... Happy Birthday!

Shark attack! A Jeffrey classic :)

My bestests at our MUN convention in Vancouver, they are always on my list

bestests :)

oh Molson and champagne.... *tear

Happy Anniversary?

2010-10-05T18:16:00.007-05:00

So tomorrow marks a year since I have lived out here in the Wild Wild West.

Wow. Isn't that crazy? I cannot believe that I have survived a whole year! (therebythegraceofgod)

I should probably be reflecting on what I have learned, how I have grown etc, etc. I have learned and grown alot. I have a much stronger relationship with my Herman, and I am more confident and self reliant but.... I would by no stretch of the imagination say that I was blissfully happy here or that I was completely satisfied with myself.

Thats the point though right to keep growing. Always.

A whole freaking year. That is madness. Thanks for sticking with me guys. Tomorrow I am going to go to my pizza place and drink beer and eat yummy pizza and reminisce about driving halfway across the country in a U-Haul with my dad and my bunny full of optimisim and ready to start the next chapter. Once I awake from my cheese induced coma I will try to analyze what if any revelations I have had. There might be some good ones buried deep down in there, we shall see.

Cheers guys, to more introspective years to come :)

Show yourself!

2010-10-04T17:45:00.002-05:00

So I have a confession to make. I have received so much flack about not updating my blog enough which completely takes me by surprise because I forget that I actually have followers. Which I do.

I have six followers.

Whom I love.

But now is the time for you in the shadows to come forward and proclaim your love for me and my rambling tales and zany pictures. All you have to do it click the 'follow' link under the title 'Airheads groupies'. That way I know you care. It will inspire me to be better for you.

Holy goodness gracious how corny. In all honesty I just want accolades and recognition :)

Follow me you know you want to.....

Baby fever!

2010-10-04T16:22:00.004-05:00

Theres a little pumpkin on the way!

The proud parents to be :)

While I am on the blogging subject of babies I wanted to take this chance to congratulate some of my favorite Williamsburg peeps Lauren and Andrew on their new bundle of joy that they are expecting. They don't know yet if it is a boy or a girl (oh the element of surprise) but the baby is due in April. This was their announcement picture which I think is absolutely adorable and totally creative.

I am so happy for you guys ;)

Welcome Lily Faith Brooks!

2010-10-04T16:14:00.004-05:00

Congratulations to Aunt Kelly and Uncle Rick and of course Joseph on your newest addition! I cannot wait to meet my newest baby cousin Lily!

Although it is crazy to think that when she is my age I will be 50.... yikes!

Time to start picking out lots of fun pink sparkly things :) Love it.

I am so happy for you Greene-Brooks family start sending lots of baby pics please and thank you !

My sincere total and complete apologies!

2010-09-22T18:41:00.002-05:00

I will not make you stare at this awful smoking picture anymore. I promise it was not some kind of strange torture to make you confused and bewildered. It was just me fliting all over the place and never being in front of the computer for extended periods of time. Which I will tell you all about soon but for now here is a much prettier picture for you to look at until I have a moment to dish all about my fabulous (and not so fun at all) exploits.

keepyoupostedpinkypromise !

Brilliant Herman :)

2010-07-21T14:13:00.002-05:00

I know I have emailed this like crazy but I want to link to the article that was published today in the SIUC newspaper The Daily Egyptian all about Gus and the research he is doing this summer.

HERE IS THE ARTICLE

It is really cool that people are starting to pay attention to the work he is doing and this will help him hopefully in recruiting the last few participants he needs for his study. It is not the most well written article and the last line of "no snacks will be provided" makes me giggle but for around here it is basically Pulitzer Prize winning journalism and I am super proud that he and all his hard work are getting the attention and interest that he deserves.

GAGA!!!!!

2010-07-20T11:38:00.006-05:00

As I had mentioned in an earlier blog entry my super awesome boyfriend got me Lady GaGa tickets for my birthday and this last weekend was the big event and she was absolutely freaking amazing!!!! First of all I love GaGa because she is batshit crazy, dresses like she is a piece of art and her music is super fun. I worked out to GaGa all last summer and she constantly motivated me and made me dance and smile. I just love her. The thing about GaGa though is that her show was like its own culture. Everyone was dressed up in their own costumes and outfits that you could just tell they had spent loads of time designing. Everywhere was glitter, crazy makeup, feathers and heels (on the girls and the boys), it was like being in a super glam fantasy land and I was in heaven.

For the first time in my life I felt under dressed and I wish that I had just been braver and worn the crazy outfit that I had put together but chickened out of wearing. I also wish that I had invested in a blond wig but that is neither here not there. Her whole deal though is being brave and being yourself even if that is against what everyone else is doing and she has really motivated me to start trying to do that more in my everyday life. I really used to love getting ready and taking lots of time designing outfits and style but since moving out here I have kind of lost the motivation since everyone is so dull and boring and provincial. But if GaGa has taught me anything its that being around mediocrity is no excuse to be boring yourself so I am choosing the embrace the GaGa lifestyle :) Not so much walking around in my underwear but more like being myself.

We found a really fun place to stay in St. Louis and got to the Scottrade center in time to see all the great outfits and people. There was totally a show before the show with everyone taking pictures with each other and admiring the others handiwork. There were also protesters from the crazy Westboro Baptist Church but we did not really see them because all you could see were head dresses, hair bows, wigs and magic. We got our $10 beers, checked out the t-shirts (I picked the one that says "I can't pay my rent but I'm Fucking Gorgeous!" love it) and then we went to watch the opening band Semi Precious Weapons who were fun and crazy. Their hit song is called "sticky with champagne",yea it was that kind of band. Then at exactly 8:30 GaGa appeared and it was on!

She played for over two hours and did tons of costume changes but you are never bored because there are tons of visuals and videos and dance numbers. She was just insane. She played all the songs that Gus and I wanted her too and Herman and I are totally destined to be because he stood the whole concert and danced right along with me. Despite most of his friends and family mocking him for going we had a blast. The vibe was full of love and dancing and everyone was fun and friendly and singing and dancing. It was great. Totally different category than Bruce but she is an insanely amazing entertainer and I would highly recommend going to her show. I found a great review from a S.t Louis blog that has her set list and loads of fun pics so if you want to read about what I lived through and see it first hand click here (it is a really awesome review, and epitomizes exactly how I felt when I was there).

Thank you so much Gus for such a perfectly fantastic birthday presents... you know she is touring until next May we could totally see her again :)

Rocking our super fun pink GaGa glasses in preparation for the big concert!

Practicing his "Poker Face". Fail :)

Our b & b that we found at the very last minute, sooo beautiful and perfect!

The Forget Me Not bed and breakfast where we prepped for the big show!

Getting ready for the show!

Herman and I playing our love game :)

Super fans with great outfits!

He reminded me of David Bowie... I really wish I were that thin and tan. Sigh.

Fireworks and magic and GAGA!

This is a dark GaGa throwing up on the white GaGa.... trippy but it was really visual and cool

Boys, boys, boys! All of her dancers were gorgeous!

GaGa looking alot like Glenda, reminded me of Wicked a little .

His Poker Face in action! I can read it though :)

Great concert, so flipping amazing little monsters for life!

Make new friends....

2010-06-21T15:37:00.002-05:00

but keep the old!

This entry might be a little rambling but I have been doing alot of thinking lately about relationships and how they change, grow or sometime simply fade away. This weekend I went to visit my oldest friend Dani (we have literally been friends since we were 6) in Missouri where she was staying on a business trip. Friday was her 26th birthday so we were able to celebrate together and catch up. Now I have not seen Dani in over a year and a half despite the fact that I used to lived just three hours away but life, jobs and obligations came up and we never were able to get our schedules aligned to visit. Excuses, excuses right?

So anyways we were able to get together and it was like no time has passed at all... huge things have happened in our lives but she is still Dani we are still best friends and it did not matter that I don't talk to her every week on the phone or email her constantly, time has not changed the fundamental bond of our relationship.

In contrast I have realized that there are other relationships that have not stood up to that same test of time and it has recently begun to make me crazy sad. There are big things happening in my friends lives which they are not including me in or sharing with me, and it is very difficult to not feel left out, or left behind. But I suppose that it just part of the growing up process. I think some of it stems from me moving away, maybe they don't care for my choice of boyfriend or believe in some of the decisions I have made and instead of trying to understand I have been written off. Which is painful especially since I already feel very alone and isolated out here being so far away from my friends and family.

Last week I was having quite a pity party for myself feeling like I had no friends and no joy. Poor dear Gus. That is why this weekend with Dani could not have come at a better time. She understood and reassured me that there were still relationships out there that I could rely on. I keep longing for my past relationships with my friends and that is unrealistic. I am never going to be able to go back to my college days and have those same relationships. My friends have grown up, gotten married, moved away and started different lives and those lives do not necessarily include me anymore. Yes that hurts, sometimes alot but it happens to everyone. It just makes me want to keep those that I love close and make sure that they feel special and understand how much they mean to me.

It also makes me realize that there are people who I no longer need to put the energy towards because they have long since written me off. Instead of feeling rejected I am going to try to put that energy into being constructive.... emailing more, blogging more... putting more effort into making loved ones feel valued and important. A few months ago I went on a huge snail mail campaign and sent presents, letters, etc. to friends who I had not really talked to in a while. I did it because it made me feel good, it was a way for me to feel connected and it gave me a project that was fun. Dani told me this weekend that the package I had sent came at the perfect time, she had been having a terrible day and she said getting that mail reminded her that she had people who loved her in the universe. That was the point :)

You would be surprised though at the amount of people who did not even acknowledge to me that they had received their packages......

Part of this nasty aging process is prioritizing and focusing on the things that make you the happiest. Cutting out the negativity and the hurt feelings and going back to the people and things that have always given you lovely fuzzy feelings. This visit with Dani was a Godsend, and these revelations could not have come at a better time. Wish me luck on the next step of the journey :)

Happy Fathers Day!

2010-06-21T11:31:00.008-05:00

So i realize that once again I am a little late (just a day!) but I wanted to wish my daddy the best fathers day ever. I have the best dad who is brilliant and loving and has always been a super supportive, level headed constant in what is often my zany life. I feel very fortunate that I have such an amazing father and I have dug up some pics of some of our 'greatest moments' if you will. It makes me happy to look back and get all misty and nostalgic so enjoy my little jaunt down memory lane :)

I love you v.v. much daddy, Happy Fathers Day!

I have the best dad ever. Its a true story.

The people who made my dad so awesome :)

Great parents produce great parents, such is life :)

My heroes :)
He loves me even though I am a goober.

Cheers with the best mommy ever :)

Real whipping cream you say? Why the heck not!

Right before our uber posh spa date at the G nothing better than being comfy and fancy at the same time.

Bahahahaha, everyone can be their true selves around daddy :)

My favorite Bruce Springsteen date of all time :)

Awww... true love at the beach.

I could not do a post about my dad without featuring the new love of his life, the Shaggin Wagon!

Cuddling in big comfy beds is my absolute favorite thing to do.

Real men embrace cosmos!

Playing in the water, doing what he does best.

Fishing dates with grandpa, just like the good old days :)

Judging me for my luggage you would have thought he would have gotten the 'Erin can't pack for shit' memo. Apparently not so much.

Guinness is good for you, its true I say!

He is just so random and funny I love it!

The boat says it all. These guys are the epitome of hard rollers:)

The Greene clan out and about. We are cute kids.

On the beach with my dad, I can't think of anything better.

You really can't take him anywhere, shenanigans have been known to ensue.

Daddy in his natural habitat.
My dad actually is the king of the castle... its true.

Tough guys wear pink. I love my boys!

Hoping to absorb some of his brilliance at Trinity college.

Teehee grand babies are fun to play with when they are somebody elses right daddy? I just love this picture.

Happy Aniversary!!!!

2010-06-18T09:08:00.002-05:00

Happy Anniversary to my amazing parents who are still madly in love after 27 years :) Thank you guys for deciding to man up and tie the knot and then pop out two super awesome babies in rapid succession. You rock. Love you guys so much and I am so grateful that I have parents who are blissfully happy and prove that in these crazy times true love really does overcome all obstacles. Enjoy the *Few* pictures of this epic wedding. If I had one request though ever it would be that you had invested in a photographer, I mean really. Thank you to Aunt Nancy for taking the time to scan her POLAROIDS (for goodness sake!) so that Jonny and I will have these memories to treasure.
Yummy, looks delicious now did you freeze the top tier or eat it for breakfast the next day? I think I know the answer to that question:)
The newlyweds so flippin cute!
Poor grandpa has a tree in his face, I think that photographer might have gotten into the schnapps a little early.
So beautiful, love the flowers.

Happy Birthday BroJo!!!!

2010-06-05T15:03:00.007-05:00

Today is my wonderful baby brothers birthday and so this blog is in honor of him and his awesomeness:) 25 years ago today my parents introduced me to a little red bundle of insanity who has always been the love of my life and my partner in crime. My brother is the bestest, coolest guy in the whole wide world. Not only is he a brilliant artist but he is funny, goofy, imaginative and surprisingly penguin-esque. Jonny Angel I hope that you have the absolute best birthday ever and the rest of you enjoy my photo montage. After all even Rocky had a montage :)

Love you Jonny happy birthday!

Green as a green house driving the Pinto for his first (and maybe his last) time. It is a rite of passage.

Aww look at teeny tiny baby Jonny. He is oh so very small. Loves.

Just look at those baby blues, or as he would like to believe - the ladykillers :)

Thugs 4 Life!

Posing with the crazy chained up racist statue in Marcy's neighborhood, before he bit it into a nearby ditch. These are the Jonny memories that make me smile so.

Mocking the Malleys boy, he is always able to find mirth in everything.

He is my favorite. its true.

Never too cool for a Disney princess fishing pole. Best bro.

Life father like... well you know the rest.

All the ladies love Jonny :) especially Cassidy cousins.

So many similarities, so many stripes...

Jonny makes everybody smile super big. Its just a gift I guess.

I wanted this to be our Christmas card but noooooooooo.

Jonny would be a vengeful crab God if not for me and my divine intervention.

Special cupcakes for the birthday boy!

Moonbeams and rainbows wherever he wanders, even Ireland!

The license plate says it all :)

Pale and goofy, its how we do.

The bestest brother in the whole wide entire world.

Welcoming me back to the states with a stellar sign.

Cliff of Mohr. Would love a return here someday.... just saying

The other cool thing about Jonny is he can do things I can't like leap high and get a perfect picture. so jealous.

BroJo has always been the epitome of a gentleman and a perfectly charming escort to any special occasions.
Look how tiny Jonny and Bert are! and those Jorts, oooohwee!

My goodness my Guinness having a pint with my favorite drinking buddy.

Happy birthday dear Jonny, happy birthday to you!
Love you mean it :)

New Blog Addiction

2010-05-27T09:37:00.003-05:00

So this guy is my new favorite blog.....

My Ex Wife's Wedding Dress

It has been all over the news everywhere but since the news makes me sad I missed it and found it on a random search. He is working through how he feels about his divorce by finding different ways to use his ex-wife's dress. It is funny and thought provoking and heart wrenching honest. I kind of want to take him out for a beer and give him a hug. Plus it is interesting to see the way that blogging is becoming a viable option to bring people together to vent and work through problems.

Of course not everyone is going to agree with what he is doing and as a dress lover some of his scenarios make me cringe a little (even though that is a crazy ugly dress, yikes) but it is interesting how many people around the world can identify with this mans mission. I hope that in doing this he is getting some closure and I am sure that he is giving some comfort to others out there going through or suffering from the effects of a divorce.

Just goes to show you, blogging freaking rocks :)

Happy Birthday to Me!

2010-05-17T11:49:00.005-05:00

So it is official I am now 26 years of age. Which I thought would suck alot more. I thought I would feel all old and sad and such but I did not one bit I had a truly wonderful birthday. Gus woke me up with a 2 pound bag of sour patch kids and the day just got better from there. We had bagels at Panera, went jewelry shopping for lovely bling at Macy's and then I was taken to my favorite winery to play croquet with my friends. Fabulous.

Also I got wonderful presents, in addition to my new patio furniture mom and dad sent a big box of goodies, Hermie got me LADY GAGA tickets and we are going to go have a fabulous weekend in the Lou and rock out to some Bad Romance. He ordered me a Trivial Pursuit board game which I have been searching for months for, did you know that Trivial Pursuit is no longer made? Its impossible to find it now, but thanks to Ebay we now have a set -hurray! You are all welcome to try your luck against me anytime but to date Tom Greene has been the only person able to beat me and it was a close race :)

It was an absolutely perfect day thank you all for all the birthday wishes and presents and love and good karma vibes being sent west. I am thinking that 26 is going to be a pretty bomb ass year. Bring it!
Anna was not very excited by my birthday activities... clearly.

Bagels at Panera, not quite Einsteins but still absolutely delicious.

Cheers to carbohydrates!

My super fun punk rock princess sun glasses that went with my birthday theme perfectly - hot pink and diamonds:)

Wine toasts in the Walkers Bluff pavilion, my favorite place to play croquet.

I heart croquet! It was on like Donkey Kong!
goof troops in pastels, love it.

My birthday cake!
Beautiful and yummy thank you Hermie!

It was a little windy so the candles were not trying to light but they got them all a flame.

nom.nom.nom. I love cake.

Happy birthday to me!
croquet victors!

Nothing is better after a long day of croquet then some mexican and some sombreros!

Birthday presents! Thank you everyone for my awesome gifts!

Big packages from home are really super fun.

Must. get. in. box.

What a wonderful card! thanks bogeys

What every girl needs, cheese spreaders! Thanks mom :)

Birthday time?

2010-05-13T14:15:00.003-05:00

So in case you have forgotten (ahem) my 26th birthday will take place this Saturday the 15th of May. Now normally at this time I would be busily preparing for a party or event. Picking out my special birthday outfit, anxiously awaiting Aunt Marcy coming in and spending my evenings making plans with my parents but this year I am doing none of that :( and I am pouty about it.

To be fair it is not my fault. I fully blame my parents and by blame I mean THANK YOU SO MUCH parents. My brother and I as you all know are approximately a year apart in age and so as we were growing up we switched birthday parties every year. One year he would get a Pro Park birthday, the next year I would get a Windy Hill birthday. There were trips to the Strawberry Patch, CiCi's pizza, scavenger hunts in Hugenot Park, water gun parties all complete with cake, friends and way too much sugar. These parties were glorious. Jonny and I were completely spoiled. It was not even annoying that during your 'off'' year you had to have a scaled down birthday because those were still amazing. On your birthday you were taken out for early morning bagels before school, got a new outfit (or tiara) to wear to class, and were treated to presents cake and your favorite meal for dinner.

Birthdays in our house were very special. They always have been. Even special for my parents who would go away one weekend a year leaving us with a sitter to celebrate their own birthdays. I don't know what it stems from or what the psychological root of it might be but my mom does several things in grand style and those include Christmas and birthdays. Jon and I were by no means spoiled or indulged children but we were loved and my parents made sure that important occasions were marked and celebrated. As we got older our birthdays evolved into trips, and experiences. Going to the Marriott Waterfront in Norfolk to shop at Nordstroms (which was not right down the street back in the day) and sipping Diet Coke with dad and mom and Jon while basking in a rooftop jacuzzi tub looking out on the water. Sigh. Birthdays were when you felt like a princess.

As I have gotten older birthdays have evolved and taken on different forms but there have always been constants and anyone who knows me will tell you that I am a stickler for tradition. You always get to sleep in for your birthday and are awoken by the sounds of a familiar tune wafting out of your tape player, or when that technology failed mom and dad just had to sing it themselves... it is a custom birthday song that my parents had made for both Jon and I about an alien from Mars who tried to find us the perfect gift but couldn't so he wrote us a song instead and singing it in my head right now I am getting misty because no one is going to sing it to me this year for the first time ever.

For my birthday breakfast I always go to Einsteins Brothers at Stony Point and sit outside and eat my bagel and sip my fountain bev. Then mom and I get manicures and pedicures and go shopping for jewelry to match whatever outfits we are going to wear to my party. The world goes crazy and keeps on turning but these things have stayed constant. Then everyone naps and gathers later to celebrate even if it is just Jonny and Mumsy and Popsicle. Candles and plastic things from birthday cakes in the past come out the song is sung and life is beautiful.

Plus there are always pretty banging presents :) Even if it is your 'on' birthday year the gifts were always exactly what you wanted and super special. Bikes, barbies, legos, dollhouse furniture, clothes and jewelry as you get older. Now that I am really old I get patio furniture, is it awkward that I still kinda wish it were Barbies?

Anyways I am being very nostalgic and reminiscing right now because it is therapeutic for me. This will be the first year that I won't see my family at all for my birthday and I feel awful for Gus because all I have done when I think about it that way is start to cry :( I understand that you have to grow up and things have to change but I think that some things should stay constant and untouchable. He is desperately trying to come up with a new birthday tradition and all I really want is the Birthday Zoom song and a Ukrops cupcake.

Instead of feeling super sorry for myself I have taken this chance to go back and find my favorite pictures from my last five years of truly amazing birthdays. The ones on this post are from when I turned 18, yikes! Can you believe how baby tiny I look? I can't seem to find any from my 19th birthday but enjoy the posts from years 20-25 :)

Twenty six will mark a new era and I am not sure if I have embraced it yet. I don't feel like I am ready to wake up without my birthday song yet. I hate growing up. But at least according to these pictures I have looked pretty damn good doing it. Enjoy and send me happy wishes on Saturday, or maybe send them to Herman.... he might need them more.

The Big 20 !

2010-05-13T14:03:00.003-05:00

My 20th birthday was truly effortless, simple and wonderful. My parents took my favorite elements, dinner at home, friends and cake and combined them all together. We had a great meal followed by conversations in the back yard by the outside fireplace. This is before booze and wild antics invade these kind of festivities and everyone was clean cut, young and beautiful. Do I seem a tad nostalgic? These were really such simple times. Plus I really love my birthday dress from this year.... so Marilyn no?
Instead of champagne or white wine there was a big old bottle of diet coke chillin in cooler.
Getting ready to enjoy the fruits of their labor
Everyone gathered together enjoying their meal :)
Good times with fun friends.
Jonny always has loved fire. True story.

My 21st Year!

2010-05-13T13:40:00.005-05:00

People here joke with me alot and say that I use the word bananas too often as an expression for something that is crazy but my 21st birthday really was bananas. My parents went all out. I had a brand new dress, new jewelry, even a tan for goodness sakes! They reserved me a table at the swanky Tobacco Company for appetizers and cocktails and then retired while the rest of us flailed in a very dignified way down to cobble stoned streets of Shockoe Bottom. It was glorious. My id worked in all new ways, I felt and looked like a princess. While neither of my parents really understood or bought into the significance of a 21st birthday they knew it was important to me and they made it extra special. There was nothing tawdry or tacky about the night it was just an evening of celebrating one of lifes little mile markers and ushering in a new age of maturity (and poverty and obesity :) I will forever look back on 21 as one of my best birthdays ever. Oh the glory days.....
Group pic in the uber lovely front parlor of the Tobacco Company
Super, super happy because I got Roberts Rules of Order as a birthday present. Yes, I am a massive nerd it is true.
All my boys wore pink ties in what I felt was a very fitting tribute. teehee
My first legal drink ever, a frozen margarita at Carrabbas, random indeed.
Double fisting?Hey its my birthday why not :)
My awesome family treating me like royalty on my special day.
Great friends and great wine, who could ask for anything more?
A birthday cheers for me, slaijante!
My bestest blondes forever :)

My 22nd Year

2010-05-13T13:34:00.002-05:00

My 22nd birthday followed literally a week after I graduated from college. People were pretty much celebrated out so we just had a low key night at my residence hall. The legendary 304 Monroe. My girlfriends made me funfetti cupcakes and I am pretty sure the night ended after some kind of game of charades or some such game. It was fun and simple and after all the insanity of graduation a welcome respite.
Herman wayyyyy before he was my bf. I have no idea why he is all wet.... odd.
Celebrating with my ladies :)

My 23rd Year

2010-05-13T13:27:00.002-05:00

I had to edit this picture all crazy an artistically because that is truly what my 23rd year was all about. I was fresh off the boat (plane) returned from Ireland and all I wanted to do was spend as much time as humanly possible with my family and friends. My parents took me to a delicious dinner at Angelos and then Jonny threw me a small dance party at his flat in downtown Richmond which of course turned into debauchery and the whole day was exactly what I had been craving when I was living on the Emerald Isle. Fun, friends, family, dancing.... these are the things that bring me joy :)
Presents at Angelos, don't worry nothing too scandalous if I can remember correctly it was perfumes.
Great girlfriends came out to celebrate with me.
Jonny throws good shindigs :)

My 24th Year

2010-05-13T13:08:00.004-05:00

My 24th party was quite an affair. My parents agreed to let my peeps invade Roxshire for a balls to the wall game of croquet. What is funny is that I had never played before the party and now Gus and I play a few times a week and bring our set to party's to push it on other people :) This was such a wonderful evening. Everyone dressed in theme (except Gus, we were not dating then because that would not fly now) and my parents made a delicious dinner topped off with mint juleps and gin and tonics. Everything is just better in argyle I think. It was classy and elegant and a perfect way to celebrate a birthday. I think we are going to need a 2nd annual tournament here pretty soon, eh?

Enjoying a celebratory cocktail after the tournament.

Everything is classier when you are wearing hats!
My lovely and perfectly attired familia mint julep and all :)
Every year for my birthday my mom takes me to get my nails done but this year she could not go with me so I took Jonny instead, and hilarity ensued.
Meanwhile back in the Burg those who could not make it to the tournament took me to a delicious supper, complete once more with sombreros.
Jolly good times indeed!
This poor girl had a hard enough time with his nails, thank goodness he did not get a pedicure!
My super delicious triffle that Mommy made, apparently she was too exhausted after all the baking to invest in a legit candle though :)

My 25th Year

2010-05-13T12:52:00.003-05:00

25 was a tricky birthday for me because while I was trying to have a quarter life crisis my brother was achieving his dreams and graduating from art school. So I actually had like a two week birthday celebration. My big huge massive present though was mom taking me to NYC to see WICKED!!!! The best musical of all time ever. We had a blast in the big apple, shopping and eating and of course playing dress up. Gus also threw me a surprise birthday party at my local Williamsburg Mexican restaurant Pancho Villa where they made my chocolate covered strawberries and everyone got to wear sombreros which was fab. Plus on my actual birthday all my family came into town and Marcy took us out to a fabulous lunch with lots of Margaritas making 25 a super fun birthday year!
Were at Wicked!
Sombreros for all at Pancho!
Frolicking around Time Square on a WICKED high :)
Family linner complete with sombreros!
Cheers to birthdays and graduations!
Same outfit, different party :)
I am almost 35 pounds thinner since this was taken so please do not judge my size... it was a super incredible trip though!
Reading all about the New York trip that my mother has painstakingly planned out for me.... which was the trip of a lifetime that I will never forget, thanks parentals!

New Chairs!

2010-05-10T20:19:00.004-05:00

I got an early birthday present on Mother's Day from my very own parents! They covertly purchased Gus and I our very own set of Adirondack chairs which I have wanted for soooo long for our front porch. Before it was bare and unwelcoming but now we can sit for hours watching the world go by from our very own vantage point. Thank you so much mom and dad for such a phenominal gift, how did you know it was exactly what I wanted :) All our welcome to come sit in our lovely chairs and celebrate with us!
Thinking deep thoughts on his lovely new chair.
Two thumbs up for our awesome patio furniture!
Even Anna loves it!

In honor of Mummy Dearest :)

2010-05-10T12:20:00.009-05:00

A day late and a buck short but I wanted to take some time to honor how truly amazing and awesome and wonderful my mom is. She is crazy and full of love and spirit and sometimes more than just a little madness, and she is the best and I am grateful for her and my fabulous upbringing everyday. Seriously. Everday so enjoy my pictorial tribute to my mater, because she is really hot and pictures of her are fun. Trust me, you'll see :)

All eyes on them in the center of the ring just like a circus. Smooches for the cutest ginger on earth :)

Cheers, mom taught Gus all about the beauty of a Jack Daniels and ginger ale.... a lesson which time and time again he has aced.

The original rebel crew going back as far as elementary school.... get them together and you are asking for craziness/hilarity to ensue.

OMG WE LOVE KELLY AND REBA!!!!

I wish that I could say that this was part of an impromptu musical sing along but I would be lying to you. and I don't like to be called a lier.

Aaaargh, surrender the booty!

Someday I will learn to keep my mouth shut, maybe. I am not going to make any promises.

Trying on J. Crew wedding dresses because playing dress up is fun. Try it you'll see.

My friend Caitlin said we look like the Berenstein bears in this picture. I tend to agree.

Winner of the most beautiful mom alive pageant. Cue smarmy theme song in three, two, one.

We finally tried the Blue Crab on our last Outer Banks hurrah and we were all glad that we did because where else are you going to meet a puppy named Budweiser?

Just like a scene out of Baywatch. Sorta :)

Great friends and good times at the Boat House our favorite place to be!

Were not much into health food we are into champagne!

Mumsy and popsicle always made a point to attend my awards thingys I think this one was for Student Government which is why I am dressed like such a hoochie. Nothing says student senator like a backless evening gown. Sigh.

Mother knows best, knucka knucka.

Evening when it was freezing and rainy outside my mom always made sure that we had a holiday.

So this one time we saw this guy dressed like a slurpee at 7-11 so we pulled over and had our picture taken with him and now we have this priceless picture to remember the randomness by.

Ladies in our Easter finest. I think mom should embrace hats, she vehmenently disagrees.

Watching the world go by in much the same way they approach life.

Bestest friends forever.

My funny Valentine :)

They like it when I bring them cake, just look at dads face :)

Party at our place, mother dearest is a consumate hostess, just check out those ham biscuits!

No words. I mean really.

She works hard to keep her grandbunny in the hottest styles

Life is good :)

2010-05-07T10:26:00.003-05:00

Don't you just love my Cinco De Mayo cupcakes? I made them for the boys at my local Mexican restaurant Sergios and they were a huge hit. A whole lot of food coloring and funfetti goes a long way :) So this has been an awesome week for me. Last week as many of you probably don't know was pretty awful. I was training for the census bureau job as an enumerator which made me question my station and life and I came home everyday in tears yelling at Gus for tricking me into moving to a God forsaken wasteland. Yea. Bad week.

But in a awesome twist on the last day of training my terrible crew leader was fired and was replaced by an amazing young woman who is easy going and effortless to get along with. That same day I was informed that due to summer cut backs my hours at the gymnasium of horrors were being reduced by about 80% and I would essentially be working every birthday party this summer. Yeah no. So I quit. Well sort of I basically told them that with the census bureau job I would not be able to work Saturdays.... so I am done. I have some guilt because I am not one to just leave things but I feel so flippin incredible. It is like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I am free free free as a bird!!!! Be very happy for me because life is good.

So this week has been my first real week as an enumerator and it has been truly incredible. I am absolutely loving it. Mom does not want me to write about it but it has been so much fun. I make my own hours and so far my assignments have been in these crazy posh burrows of Carbondale that I did not even know existed. I have interviewed really interesting people (who knew Carbondale has such a big Iranian population?) and I am getting paid crazy well and make fifty cents for every mile driven. Everyday is kind of an adventure and I am still able to work out and shop and go on fun road trips with Hermie. The best part of it all, no more birthday parties or tennis reservations or batting cages. Hallelujah praise Jesus!

It is only an eight week assignment so I will have to get back to job hunting but I am looking forward to being able to travel this summer and do fun things with my new found wealth and freedom. Thank you Federal Government and constitutional decrees :)

Puppy Pics!

2010-05-04T10:01:00.004-05:00

Spooky green eyeballs, she kind of photographs like a demon.

Staring out into the world, her favorite spot in the whole house. That poor chair never knew what hit it.

Kisses for dad!

Watching the world go by.....

So there are some readers who may or may not want to know what is actually going on in my life so in order to not cause them undo strife or stomach problems I am merely going to post puppy pics. Enjoy!

I want my mommy!

2010-04-24T07:50:00.002-05:00

There are certain instances in your life where you find yourself desperately reaching out for the comfort and stability of your parents. For me it is usually around the holidays (any and all holidays because they were always observed and celebrated at our house), when I am in a fight with friends, boyfriends, employers etc, or when you are deathly ill (like I am now).

Yes loyal readers I have gotten my first good taste of what I am going to name the So. Ill plague (black lung seemed inappropriate because lots of people around here legitimately have that, yeesh). I have been the epitome of perfect health up until this point and then out of the blue something came up from behind and just whacked me with a big old stick of sick. Eww. So now I am ill and desperately longing for the comforts of being sick at home. Now granted the Greene children were very rarely ill but when you were no expense was spared for your comfort or healthy recovery. There was loads of sleep, homemade chicken noodle soup, movie rentals and Daddy would make you a hot toddy that was spiked to the point that it caused an almost immediate honey/whiskey pass out. Those were the days.

Now that I am sick I am beginning to realize just how good I had it back on Planters Row. I realize that society widely mocks those who live with their parents past a certain acceptable age and there is an amazing amount of freedom and fun that comes with living on your own ( i.e. the ability to flail home at 3 am with no judgment and if you slip up and decide to order a Nacho Bell Grande the only one there to raise an eyebrow and subtly mention swim suit season is Henry) but is it worth it I ask?

Don't get me wrong Gus tries his hardest but he did not necessarily have the most warm and cuddly upbringing. When he was sick his Mamaw used to let him eat whatever he wanted because that is what she believed made you feel better. So when Gus is sick I just bring him tons of junk and he says it helps. I am entirely convinced that is psychosomatic and that if I was lying in a dark room hacking to death and someone brought me some cheesecake and potato wedges I would probably begin to vomit all over them. But not my boy, oh no he handles the junk and then rallies enough to watch Sport Center. It really is bizarre.

I don't know how I got sick, I pride myself in a diet rich in tons of essential vitamins and minerals and have an immune system I often brag about, but I think something got me that I was not prepared for - Allergies. Ugh. Now before you snicker like I would do if I were reading this and was you hear me out. I have never once before been affected by allergies, ever. I never needed any special shots or medicines and I always rolled my eyes and silently judged those who were so afflicted by the stupid little green pollen things all over the place. I don't have allergies. That is at least to Virginia pollen. But this Illinois pollen is a whole different breed. Literally an entirely different strain of tree sperm, and maybe my immune system missed the memo. Who could blame it? We scoff at allergies and the mamsy-pamsy symptoms associated with them, so why cave now? I am going to maintain that I just have a cold, and average run of the mill everyday cold that has nothing to do with seasons or trees or any of that crap. Deal?

Now what is that old rhyme mom used to tell me ... starve a fever and beer bong a cold? Just kidding except kind of not really I have a feeling that today I am going to pop an alavert, sit down with a glass of red wine and hopefully get drugged enough to make watching the NFL draft with Herman endurable, and if for some reason that does not do the trick I always have my handy bottle of NyQuil :)

Wish me a safe and speedy recovery loyal readers, me and my immune system shall try our hardest to divide and conquer!

My hero!

2010-04-22T19:32:00.002-05:00

I realize that you all read my blog because you love me and want updates and insights into my crazy ginger brain which I feel as if I usually fail to provide... and that is my bad but I would like to let you guys in on one of my favorite blogs (aside from my girlfriend/family blogs that I stalk for updates) .

This blog is like my internet porn, I find myself shadily googling her late at night and always wind up feeling refreshed and exhilarated afterward. I brim with ideas and plans and she allows me to daydream and pretend like the world is my oyster. The Vixen Vintage lives the life that I want to live. She finds great clothes, manages to rock hats in real life and take absolutely beautiful pictures of herself in fun and artistic ways.

Also I love her mentality of the past as the present and future. I always thought that I had been born in the wrong decade and she takes it one step further and lives the vintage lifestyle. Anyway I have decided to stop being so selfish and share this jewel of a blog with you I hope that you enjoy it and that it changes your life the way that it has mine :)

Enjoy!

Vixen Vintage (i.e. my hero)

Oh for the love of Prom!

2010-04-22T16:34:00.007-05:00

So there are these mentally challenged teens that clean the Sports Blast as part of a developing world skills program and yesterday they were talking about their prom that is coming up this weekend which got me thinking about proms and prom season in general. I was joking to Gus that I really wanted to go to one and that we should volunteer to which he rationally replied

"I think you have to be affiliated with a high school to do that" Jerk.

Merely a technicality as far as I am concerned. Ask my parents I am not above crashing proms :) Anyways I was feeling nostalgic for my high school formal days and decided to play with some pictures which I am posting now for your viewing enjoyment. Note that most of them include my high school boyfriend Jack who I went to both junior and senior prom with and while we no longer are really friends I will always remember him as the best high school boyfriend ever :)

Enjoy the pics!

Jonny's (senior?) prom where he went with literally the girl next door Caitlin. The were totally cute together.

I absolutely loved everything about my senior prom outfit, the vintage Montaldo gown from 1963, vintage costume jewelry and of course my hair do which BroJo likened to a mullet. He is such a boy.

Best friend forever Dani who is still the love of my life and a total rockstar.

All the pretty ladies, it is funny looking back and thinking about how much stress and drama and planning went into all the prom festivities.

My junior prom rocking the Jessica McClintook gown that costs under $25 at Hechts. Mommy and I are some bomb ass bargain hunters.

Jonny and his junior (?) year prom date Lacey who is also crazy artistic, she made her own prom ensemble. Jonny on the other hand did not design that tie. Where did he even get that tie?Yikes!

I love how prom season coincided with the azaleas. Making for lovely photo opportunities.

This was the Governor's school prom that I went to my senior year with my neighbor Allen who is gay and happily committed living in San Francisco.... time flies :)

Must.not.stab.

Apparently the parentals did not have to dress up for the photo ops:) Tee-hee just kidding this is one of my favorite pictures.
Bahahaha I think I need more white tuxedos in my life.
My best Trinity girlfriends, it was such a crazy transition for public to private school and these chicks really helped.
Playing dress up, my absolute favorite thing to do!
Posing at the Jefferson and pretending like we were in a Bond movie oh the glory days!

Think good thoughts!

2010-04-16T11:41:00.000-05:00

Gus Diggs is prospecting his thesis today at 1 o'clock (central) so everyone send awesome thoughts this way so that he can rock their socks and we can get out of here faster ;)

Good luck pumpkin!

Blog this!

2010-04-15T13:29:00.002-05:00

So right now I have this song stuck in my head and it is funny and I want to sing it to you. Its based off of a crazy faux Irish band called Flogging Molly and the lyrics go....

"We will drink and drink and drink and drink and FIGHT!"

I have obviously modified it because that is drunken and violent but my song right now goes

" I will blog and blog and blog and blog and POST!"

I really do love blogging I am just sad that I don't get to do it more and then when I get the computer all to myself and get a chance to sit down and write I completely forget what I was going to tell you about. Boo! I need to start taking notes or something....

There is much going on in life right now, well sorta basically revolving around job (dis)satisfaction. I have been offered a job working for the Census bureau as an 'enumerator' which is one of those people that goes door to door to the places that did not send their census info back. I am not entirely sold on the idea but it is good money and it would be an adventure and I would not have to work at the Sports Blast anymore because I am essentially at a boiling point right now where my day to day at work is so miserable it is affecting all other aspects of my life.

So there is that.

Also we have a puppy who is wonderful. We are trying to eat healthy and avoid pollen and keep the house clean and get lots done. I am basically rambling aren't I? I am going to start taking notes for real. I promise I will be deeper next time :)

The past few weeks in pics....

2010-04-07T18:00:00.003-05:00

Gus setting up our Croquet tournament at Walkers Bluff right before he got decidedly rocked by moi :)
Celebrating Easter at Walkers Bluff playing croquet and pretending I was at the beach with the fam.
Anna Banana on her first trip out with us to a sunny dinner at a local bar outside of Jacob. She hearts road trips.
I love being able to eat outside it is fabulous.
Posing with crazy monster robot, gorilla things. For real
Me and Ms. Alex Del Monaco at her booth. Where I spent way too much time.
Me and the robot chicken guy. I heart Robot Chicken!
I spent my weekend sitting behind these girls and taking pictures of them. Makes you really hate life.
Celebrating spring with margaritas at Sergios!

I am still alive. Promise

2010-04-07T17:37:00.002-05:00

This time the reason I have been missing in action is entirely out of my control. Boyfriend is in crunch stages of prospecting his thesis and has completely monopolized any and all of my available computer time and being as though I work at the place where fun, joy and free time go to die I have not even had a chance to blog on the sly.

I really need my own laptop. Like really badly. I miss my celebrity blogs, my Facebook and my planning fantasy vacations. Now the routine has gotten even more monotonous because I am doing it all by myself with Herman squirreled away in the office or down in his basement on the computer that I never get to play on.

Whine whine... I know but right now as it turns into spring I have been hit with a fresh twinge of homesickness and I am nearly ready to pack up my little puppy and just go home. Like right now. This second. Anna is totally down.

Thats another thing I have not been on here in weeks but Anna is officially ours. We got her papers and everything and she has fit in so perfectly naturally that it is almost as if she was always here. Perfection. Also for those wondering about how the horror convention turned out I am never ever going to do anything like that ever again. It was the most awful, surreal and random experience of my life and unless I am making just a crap ton of money there is no way in hell that I will ever go back to one of those things ever. Seriously. I might just have to post some pictures to show you what I mean but I feel like that will just end legitimacy to the event which it does not deserve.

Sorry to be such a slacker. I guarantee that I am missing you all and every remnant of my formerly happy and blissful life very, very much :(

Anna is back!

2010-03-25T14:20:00.006-05:00

Yesterday was a special occasion for Hermie and myself because we still celebrate our month anniversaries and we are coming up on two years so we try to do little cute things and celebrate every month on the 24th.

Gus came home with a beautiful bouquet of wild flowers and while we were 'arranging' them in various vases a brown blur ran across our back yard. Gus went out to investigate and came back in with an excited and wiggly Anna Banana.

We called her mom and told her we would bring her by and she said not to bother she was over Anna and did not want to worry about her anymore.

Yeah, yeah I had heard that one before and was unwilling to fall in love with Anna all over again only to have my heart crushed. This time might be different though because when we came home from dinner last night there were bags of dog food, bones, puppy shampoo and vaccination papers waiting for us.

This time might be for real folks. Gus and I are most likely parents to the cutest, sweetest puppy in the whole wide entire world. She is currently cuddled in a ball next to the computer as I am typing giving me dirty looks for making so much noise, and while I am not going to be obnoxious about it I think she knows that she is finally home :)

Since I am going to Indy this weekend with Ms. Del Monaco she is going to have to keep Gus company while he gets some work done on his thesis but when I return we are going big. This is going to be the pinkest, sparkliest most spoiled dog in the tri-state area. But she totally deserves it.

The universe works in crazy ass ways but I think our little Southern Illinois might finally be complete, Henry is less then impressed :)