High School Besties

This weekend I'm getting together with my high school besties (many of whom were in my wedding party).  I am so excited to see them - I haven't seen most of them since our wedding, and the others I haven't seen since a year ago!  Wow!  Friday night the plan is to go to the Hotel Hershey for jazz on the veranda.  Then on Saturday we're having a big brunch with all our moms and kids (except, unfortunately, for my mom, who is away for a work conference - boo!).

We've all been friends since high school, which means that our moms have watched us all grow up, go to college, get jobs, get married, have kids...all that good stuff.  They've supported us and loved us and laughed with us and cried with us.  But - how do I put this delicatly - some of them have done that better than others. 

6 years ago, when our friend Abriel got married, my parents and our friend Tina's parents were invited to her wedding.  Our friend Mel's parents weren't.  It caused a little bit of tension, but everyone kind of got over it.  There's a lot of history there, that I don't really want to get into.  Nonetheless, for our wedding, we invited Abriel's mom and stepdad and Tina's parents.  Mel's parents were not invited.

So imagine my surprise when we were dismissing our guests after the wedding ceremony, and I was suddenly face-to-face with Mel's mom.  I didn't even know what to say to her.  I almost couldn't even face her.  I mean, I get it - technically, a wedding is a church service and open to the public.  Any stranger off the street could walk in and attend.  That's not the point.  The point is, she knew she wasn't invited, she probably knew that at least Abriel's were, and yet she showed up anyway.  I had to hug her and say thanks for coming.  It was awkward.  At the moment, I was too distracted and busy to really bother with feeling anything about it, but afterwards, I was pissed.  Who does that?  She had to know it would make me feel bad.

Anyway, she will obviously be there on Saturday and I'm a little anxious about it.  The best thing, I know, is to just ignore it and pretend it never happened.  But I have never liked this woman, and this makes me like her less.  I know it's awful to say that, but, like I said, there's a lot of history there, both in the way she's treated Mel and the way she's treated me.  It's hard for me to blow this off.  Thoughts?

Man-Candy Monday

Hope you all had a lovely weekend.  I don't know about you, but for the most part, it was beautiful here.  I was on-call for work, so I couldn't do much, but I did manage to get outside and weed my gardens.  I also finished my book and enjoyed a glass of yummy white wine on our back patio.  Matt was away, so I was enjoying a little bit of girl time. 

But you're not here to hear about my weekend, are you? 

Josh Holloway, where have you been all my life?  [Love you, Matt!]

Oh my God.  The long hair.  The dimples.  The body.  There were times when I was watching LOST that I seriously wished I could jump through my tv screen and into his arms.  Duh-ream-ee. 

Link up and join in the yummy goodness!

Book Challenge

Found this over on Meme Addict and thought it was kinda fun.  But rather than drag it out over 30 days or weeks or whatever, I'm just gonna do it all at once.  Cuz I'm impatient like that.

1. Favorite book -The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (I love her description of heaven)
2. Least favorite book - Then We Came to the End, Joshua Ferris
3. Book that makes you laugh out loud -Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, David Sedaris
4. Book that makes you cry - lucky, Alice Sebold
5. Book you wish you could live in - Harry.  Any of them
6. Favorite young adult book - Number the Stars, Lois Lowry
7. Book that you can quote/recite - Love Story, Erich Segal
8. Book that scares you - A Child Called It, Dave Pelzer (it scares me that there are parents like this)
9. Book that makes you sick - same (it also makes me sick)
10. Book that changed your life - A Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl
11. Book from your favorite author - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling
12. Book that is most like your life - Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, Chuck Klosterman (a randon stringing-together of funny anecdotes.  Totally like my life)
13. Book whose main character is most like you - Jenny, from Love Story.  (Minus the whole death thing)
14. Book whose main character you want to marry- Noah, from The Notebook (loyal, funny, hard-working)
15. First "chapter book" you remember reading as a child - Charlotte's Web, E.B. White (isn't this everyone's?)
16. Longest book you've read - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling (870 pages)
17. Shortest book you've read - CDB!
18. Book you're most embarassed to say you like - Turn Me On, Cherie Jeffrey (a totally ridiculous book, but I liked the silliness of it)
19. Book that turned you on - Ummm?
20. Book you've read the most number of times - Love Story
21. Favorite picture book from childhood - Goodnight Moon (I now buy Goodnight Philadelphia for all my pregnant friends)
22. Book you plan to read next - A Reliable Wife, Robert Goolrich
23. Book you tell people you've read, but haven't (or haven't actually finished) - Pride and Prejudice (just cannot get into it)
24. Book that contains your favorite scene - Probably Love Story
25. Favorite book you read in school - Man's Search for Meaning
26. Favorite nonfiction book - Man's Search for Meaning
27. Favorite fiction book - The Lovely Bones
28. Last book you read - Those Who Save Us, Jenna Blum
29. Book you're currently reading - The Help, Kathryn Sockett
30. Favorite coffee table book - Ultimate Beer, Michael Jackson

A lot of repeats.  But that's ok.  What are your favorite books?

Weathering the...Weather

Alright, so it's about 175 million degrees out.  Seriously.  It is so hot, it literally punches you in the face as soon as you step outside.  Ok, well not literally.  The air can't literally punch you in the face.  That would be crazy!

Kind of fortunately, I'm stuck inside at work.  And my work is very much air conditioned.  Not that being at work is my favorite way to escape the heat and stay cool, but - hey - it works.  In an ideal world, I'd be doing any of these things.  

(source)

Riding a lazy river.  I love lazy rivers.  The summer I lived in Pittsburgh, for grad school, I had the most kickass summer job on the planet.  I was a counselor for the travel day camp at the Jewish Community Center.  Basically, I got paid to hang out with my best friends, keep an eye on some kids, and go to water parks, amusement parks, pools, and mini-golf.  Water park days were my favorite, because my friends and I would spend our time just riding around the lazy river.  So relaxing.  So fun. 

(source)

Or my ass would be parked at a swim-up bar.  Whoever had the genius idea to put seats in a pool in front of a bar was, well, a genius.  I'd like to shake his hand.  Maybe I'd even kiss him.  Swim-up bars are the greatest thing in the world.  You stay cool.  You get a nice tan.  And you drink.  Win-win-win.



(source)

Or sitting on a swing on a big porch, with ceiling fans going, sipping a tall glass of ice-cold sweet tea.  What is it about sweet tea that just instantly cools you down?  My friend Abriel lives in Georgia, and this is what I picture her doing every day of her life.  It makes me want to move down there with her.

Instead, I'm at work.  Slaving away in the air conditioning.  Kids are getting out of school early today.  Um, we never got out of school for hot weather.  Ridiculous.  Buck up, kiddos! 

What are your favorite ways to beat the heat?

Man-Candy Monday

It's that time of the week again!  For this week's man-candy, I chose a guy who can do it all, it seems.  Singer.  Actor.  Comedian.  Dancer.  Golfer.  Philanthropist.  Seriously, this guy's got it goin on!

What a stud.  Seriously, what's not to love about him?  He seems like a giant goofball.  He can dance the pants off of pretty much anyone out there.  He has a pretty great voice.  His golf game is so good that you can play him on the Tiger Woods videogames.  Every time he's on Saturday Night Live, you know you're gonna laugh.  And, every year he hosts the Justin Timberlake Golf Tournament to benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children.  Be still my beating heart. 

Link on up and check out the other man-candy on the list!  Have fun!

Fun Fact Friday

Today is the Opening Tap for Philly Beer Week 2011! 

PBW is a huge deal in Philadelphia and the surrounding area.  There are literally hundreds of events that occur throughout the city and the suburbs featuring all forms of beer - brewing lessons, meet the brewer sessions, food pairings...  You name it, you can find it in Philly during PBW.  It's one of my favorite times of the year! 

So, in honor of Philly Beer Week, here are some fun facts about beer!

~ In 1962, Iron City was the first brewery to try serving beer in pop-top aluminum cans.  8 years later, 90% of beer was served in self-opening cans!

~ President Teddy Roosevelt took 500 gallons of beer with him on an African safari trip. 

~ Prohibition began on January 16, 1920.  It lasted until December 5, 1933.  13+ years, you guys.  I'd have left the country.

~ Pabst Beer is now called Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR, a staple in hipster bars everywhere!) because it was first beer ever to win a blue ribbon at the Chicago Worlds Fair in 1893.

~ The oldest known written recipe is a beer recipe.

~ The Pilgrims were supposed to sail the Mayflower further south, to the mouth of the Hudson.  But they were starting to run low on their beer supply, so they sailed into Plymouth Rock instead.

~ Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected partially because of his promise to end prohibition.  Boy, those Roosevelt boys sure loved their booze!

~ Cenosillacaphobia.  The fear of an empty glass.  May you never suffer from that awful phobia!

*facts from here, here, and here.

80s reborn

Ok, um...what's up with the resurgence of 1980s fashion?  Seriously?  I went to the mall today, and I saw 80s all over!  The bright colors.  Wayfarers?  There have been celebrities spotted wearing acid wash!  And the crossbody bag?  I wish I'd known they'd come back in style - I had 4 of them back in 1988.  I mean, seriously, all of this was readily available on polyvore:

80s revisted by emma5w featuring two tone sunglasses

I'm pretty sure I owned that outfit at some point. 

This upsets me.  I can't deal with the 80s coming back.  I hated the 80s.  And the early 90s.  It was all so...bright.  Loud.  It worked for a bunch of assholes running around snorting coke?  But c'mon.  Today's winos and beer snobs (myself included) just shouldn't have to wear things so bright!

What do you think?  Are you on board with the 80s revival?  Or do you prefer the soft muted colors from the past couple of years (which, really, was a bit of a late 60s/early 70s revival).  Give me my blacks, tans, and flared jeans any day of the week, thank you!