One more thing....

Big, huge congrats to Sundry and JB!! It's official. The entire internet is pregnant! In any case, they are going to be great parents, and I'm sure that Dog and Cat will welcome the new family member with open paws. Hands. Something like that. Woo!

Ya take the good, ya take the bad, ya take them both....

Well. I have been on death's doorstep all week, and it is only today that I'm able to walk to the bathroom from the couch without feeling like I had just run a marathon. I have bronchitis and the flu....who gets both at the same time? Me, apparently. I've basically spent the week swigging from my bottle of cough syrup with codeine (Mmmm. Codeine.), popping my anti-biotics and taking shots from the inhaler. While my family doctor kind of sucks and can never, ever fit me in for an appointment when I'm sick, the kind people at my local Urgent Care were quite fabulous, and I'm definitely feeling better. They even wrote me a note for my stupid office so that they could stop thinking that I was faking it. Ahem. Anyway. The Peanut has spent the better part of the week avoiding me, as he is super germ phobic. While he will gladly go to the store for me for popsicles and the like, he will not touch me, sleep in the same bed with me, or allow me to touch anything that he may in the future touch. I'm thinking of getting one of those plastic bubbles made popular in the seventies so as not to frighten him with the threat of my germs.
Luckily, I didn't get sick until I got on the plane to fly back home on Monday. I had the most amazing time in DC. Everything went as it was supposed to with the bachelorette, and my girls and I had a great time all around. Friday was a marathon shopping day, with the full bridal party. Friday night Shari and I headed back to the hotel after hanging out at Lesly and Jole's, and hit up a great little restaurant near our hotel. It was a chilly night, and we knew we'd found the place for dinner (at 10:30!) when we walked in and there was a fire in the fireplace and some blues playing and everyone seemed warm and happy. We had a nice meal, and sat at the bar with a glass of port and a smoke, chatting up the folks next to us. After we got back to the hotel we stayed up for hours, talking, talking, talking. Shari is my girl from college, and although we don't see each other often, we pick up right where we left off and don't miss a beat. There is always so much to catch up on, so much to say. The next day we slept late, went for sushi and sake in Dupont, then headed to Georgetown for a little more shopping. Can I tell you all how happy I was to see that there is now a shuttle from Dupont to Georgetown? Finally! I fell in love at Blue Mercury, and a little more in love at Lush. I found a pair of Kangaroos (Do you all remember 'Roos? The sneakers with the little zipper pocket on the side?) for my sister, for which she has been searching for years, literally. That was probably my best purchase all weekend. Saturday night was the big blowout, and it went so well. Dinner was great, with about 15 of us in attendance. We went to the lounge at Helix after that, and then on to the 18th Street Lounge, which was one of my old haunts when I lived in DC. My girl Alicia came down from NYC, and it was such a blast to hang out with her again after six years of not seeing her. Six years! Ugh. We ended up at a diner in Dupont at about 4am, and I'll tell you this for free: if Lesly didn't get enough bridal attention with her veil and entourage throughout the evening? She more than made up for it with 100 drunken gay men eating breakfast at 4 in the morning. Good times. We didn't get to bed until almost 7, but it was all so worth it. Sunday, Shari and I hit up the Front Page for brunch, and then she had to head to the airport. Lesly, Jole and I hung out on Sunday, ordered in some pizza and watched lots of bad tv. The perfect end to the perfect weekend. I think the best part is that I'll get to see all of these people again in a month for the wedding. That is awesome.

We're not talking about it

Because I cannot write about That Which Plagues Me, I will write about everything else, but know this, dear friends, That Which Plagues Me is likely to creep its way into most of my thoughts, so look sharp for those little nasty beads of negativity.
I'm leaving for DC tonight, and am so very excited. I'm all packed and organized and prepared for what I hope will be a restful night of sleep on the plane. I finally caved in and bought one of those snazzy little squishy neck pillows that seem to be all the rage with frequent fliers these days. I've procured a little pill to pop before we take off. I'll grab some sushi with the Peanut before I go to the airport so I won't be hungry. I will do all of these things because I need to hit the ground running once in DC, as there is much to do. There is so much to do that I can't imagine squeezing it into three days, but I'm sure it will be fun to try. Tomorrow there is lunch followed by shopping followed by happy hour followed by dinner followed by a bar or two. Saturday there will be visits to some of my old haunts, and then the bachelorette goodness kicks in. Dinner and clubs, with 19 of us in tow. It will be grand. Sunday there is a throwback to my college days with brunch at The Front Page (how many Sundays did we spend there, our little group, drinking champs until 3 and then going back to someone's house to watch movies and nap?). I'm checking out of the hotel on Sunday and spending Sunday night at Lesly's, and then it's back on the plane Monday morning. And then there will be work the following day, that bitch.

I've managed to fix the bridesmaid dress issue, by just going and buying an entire new dress in the same color as the old one. I will sell the old one on Ebay or something. I actually really like the new dress...it's strapless, tea length, empire waist, A-line...it's really quite adorable. And while Jillian and Shari and I will all be wearing different dresses, they are the same color and the same material. So it all worked out in the end, you see? We're going to the counters at Neiman's on Saturday to decide on make-up and hair, and we still have to get earrings, but other than that, everything is taken care of.

I seem to be developing some sort of weird eye infection, which sucks. I recently started wearing contacts again because I was just getting sick of wearing my glasses, cute as they are. I don't know if this eye thing is related to the contacts or what, but my eye, it hurts. I'm trying to get in to see my eye doctor this afternoon, hoping that they can wave a magic wand and make it go away.

Have a fabulous weekend, all of you. I'll be sure to catch you up on all of the DC gossip when I return.

Silenced by the MAN

My entries have been a bit disjointed recently. This is due to the fact that the one thing I want to write about, that I need to write about, I cannot. I'm way too paranoid right now to write about said thing, and also? The Man is cracking down on internet usage at Office, and it sucks (I apparently spent 41 minutes on the internet the other day. Thanks, IT guy!). In any case, I'm hoping that one day soon I'll be able to tell you all about it. Or perhaps? Once it's over I'll never speak of it again. Ugh, I don't mean to be cryptic, but I don't want to get Dooced, you know?

Let's move on to something a bit more positive, shall we? I'm heading to DC next Thursday, and I couldn't be more excited about it. Not only do I get to see my two very best friends from college, but I'll get to do it in a city that I love, where I haven't been back since I moved away six years ago. Yah! We have lots planned, including dinner at the best Ethiopian place ever, loads of shopping for the upcoming wedding, and probably? Drinking. It will be great. I'll also get to see a ton of other old friends that I haven't seen in years, and I'll get to meet both of Lesly's cats, which will be awesome. My one concern is the whole being cold factor. I've become the biggest puss over the years about cold weather. I tried to buy a winter coat this week, but strangely enough, I wasn't able to find anything (it's been about 70 degrees here all week). I bought a little something at Ann Taylor that could perhaps pass as a winter coat if I do a lot of layering. And I should probably buy a scarf. And gloves. Ugh.

The Great Mental Health Day, '05

I woke up this morning, thought to myself, Crap, it's only Monday, and promptly decided that this would be a perfect day to just not go to work. And it was so. I very, very rarely slack off and just not go in to the office without a really good excuse, but I'm a firm believer in the occasional mental health day, so that's what we're calling this. The Great Mental Health Day, '05. What do you think? Catchy, no?
It amazes me how staying at home during the work week lends itself to wanting to eat every single last thing in the house. So far I've had two veggie dogs, a protein shake and almost an entire box of reduced fat Wheat Thins, and I've only been awake, like, two hours. Alas, I should perhaps never eat anything again, as I went to the tailor this morning with my bridesmaid dress, and it did not go well. I don't know if I've gone into the saga that is my bridesmaid dress, but suffice it to say, the wedding is in six weeks and I don't think I can wear the dress. Basically, the dress was made for a porn star, and a porn star I'm not. The boob area is giant. Giant. And I am not lacking so much in the boob department, so I'm talking about a girl with a healthy size EEE would look fucking fabulous in this dress. Also? The waist is about 26 inches. Yeah. Ahem. Not so much a 26. With triple E boobage. So my tailor, whom I love, took one look at it and said that I need to return this dress immediately because it is, in his words, mishapen. Unfortunately the company where we purchased our dresses doesn't do exchanges or refunds, so I'm totally, totally fucked. I have no idea what to do, but I've decided that since this is The Great Mental Health Day, '05, I'm not going to think on it.
The Peanut and I went to our friend's house for a Superbowl party (um, who played? who won? who cares.) yesterday, and it was a good time. There was way, way too much food, and JR made this fantastic chili dip thing with cream cheese that is to die for. I made my famous jello pretzel crack (shut up. It's totally good) which was very well received. My friend April announced to all of us that she just got a job at Rutgers and is moving to New Jersey in three weeks (she just wrapped up her PhD). This is amazing, amazing news for her, but she is going to be missed, not least of all by her boyfriend, who has to finish up his PhD before following her to NJ. So it was a bittersweet day.
OK then. All of my DVR'd stuff is calling my name, not to mention three new Netflix movies. There is much to do!

I'm tired, so do so enjoy the lamest entry ever

Can I just say how I am so looking forward to it being Friday? I'm actually toying with the idea of being "sick" on Friday, just because it's been that kind of week (although, with all of the sneezing and coughing and blowing of noses happening in my office right now, I'm convinced I'll probably really be sick , and won't that suck?). I've been quite cranky this week, and I'm really just so over my job right now. I'm having that paranoid feeling where I don't want to write too much about said job, but suffice it to say, I'm not happy, and I'm looking elsewhere. There. I can't get fired for saying that, right? Right?
I've also been incredibly sore this week, as I've gone back to strength training twice a week. It's been months since I've worked out with weights or the exercise ball thingy or anything like that, so I'm kind of having trouble lifting my arms. However? I'm going to Hawaii in eight months, so my ass, sore or not, needs to be at the gym every day. Except Saturdays, because Saturdays are for delicious food and wine and not an ounce of exercise. Well, this week there will be all of those things on Sunday, as well, since we're going to JR and Big D's house for their annual Superbowl party. The Peanut and I don't watch football, but we like the munchies and beer and company, so why not?
Hmm, this is a bit of a lame entry, but it's late, I'm tired and my lovely down comforter is calling my name. But big, big shout out to Amalah on her fabulous news! She and Jason are going to be amazing parents, and will probably have the world's most well dressed baby, no?

Join it.....

Sooo, you know you want to join my notify list, right? Cause I loves you, baby. Also? All of the cool kids are totally doing it. You should, too!

Wedded Bliss

I don't know if I've mentioned here before that I have a plethora of weddings to attend this year. Next month my best friend from college is getting married, and I'm a bridesmaid in that one. I'm heading to DC in a few weeks for the bachelorette goodness, and I'm up to my ears in planning. We've reserved a room at DC Coast for about 30 girls, but now it's looking like only about half are actually going to attend. This is kind of a bummer, because there is a minimum of $1200 for the room, so the other bridesmaids and I are totally going to eat it. I'm trying to not let it stress me out, because my girl Les would do the same for me. Then one of the girls that I grew up with is getting married this summer, in Pennsylvania, and in September, my girl JR is getting married in Hawaii. The Peanut and I bought our plane tickets this morning for that, and scored such an incredible deal, and we're staying in my officemate's dad's condo (uh, that was convoluted) for next to nothing. This means that there will be plenty of Hawaii money for the important things, like shopping and liquor. Woo.
In any case, all of this wedding mumbo jumbo has me, well, jealous. The Peanut and I have been together for almost five years. We know we're going to get married. Hell, we're damn close to being married now, with the paying of the bills and domestic trials and tribulations and the like. There is just the small issue of the actual, you know, wedding. I'm living vicariously through my girlfriends, all of them. You know sometimes when you have a friend that's getting married and that's all she wants to talk about and you just want to say, Oh my god, there's more to life than your wedding? Yeah, it's not like that at all. It's more like, let me help you. Let me tell you about my opinions on flowers and wine and food and etiquette. Let me live through you, cause it ain't happenin' for me this very moment. I know it will happen soon, and I want to be surprised, but at the same time, just do it, for the love of all that is sweet and holy.
I don't know when I turned into this person. Little known fact, here, people: I was previously engaged. It was a ghetto engagement, sans ring, but honestly? I didn't care. I didn't buy a single bridal magazine. I forgot to tell people. When my then-fiancee would start talking about places and dates and all that, I would zone out. I simply didn't care. When I fled DC for California, thus fleeing the then-fiancee, I didn't mourn the loss of the engagement. Again, I totally didn't care. When the Peanut and I met shortly thereafter, I knew very early on that this was the person I intended to be with the rest of my life. We have a lot of weird circumstances regarding our meeting and subsequent relationship (example: When I moved to CA, with only a suitcase, I stayed with a friend of my sister's near La Jolla for a few months. When I moved into my own place and started working, I met the Peanut and found out that he had grown up next door to where I was staying, and had moved out right before I moved in. Weird, no?). But I still didn't start really thinking about marriage until about three years into our relationship. Where it hit me like a ton of proverbial bricks. And then suddenly, all of our friends were getting married, and I wanted to, too. Badly. I don't want to be that girl who becomes obsessed. I really don't. But it's a hard line to walk. I'm trying, though, Peanut. For real, tho.