Goin' to the Chapel

OK, well we're Goin' to the Field anyway. We made it through yesterday, somehow, and went to bed at 1:15am. So now it's time to finish packing, get the house and kitties in order and hit the road to relaxation.

I'll be back around these parts on Thursday, July 3rd. Adios!

Seriously, who do I think I am?

As of yesterday at 2pm, I am now the owner of a Blackberry. I just figured that now that I'm jobless it's really important for me to have constant access to my email and my swollen calendar. Of course, I can barely turn the thing on and answer calls, so it'll take a lot of tutorials before I can even find the calendar, but once I do, I'm gonna be all about setting up tasks and audible reminders that it's time to do the next load of laundry. Or start B's meatloaf dinner while standing in my proverbial bare feet.

Between this and my iPod nano and it's new car converter, I'm seriously pimp. Pimp tech goddess. Of course, it's "goddess" in that way where I am the complete opposite of a goddess - I have no idea how to use technology without putting on my old lady hat and reading the manual for six hours on my couch. But once I do that, I'll be all set. Right now I can't even figure out how to change or silence the ringer. So yesterday when we went downtown to meet an old friend I was standing outside the tapas restaurant going "uh... volume down? nooooo.... options? nooooo.... uh.... I'll just turn it off!" I'm a complete poser.

Inching towards Green

It's been well documented how crazy this past year of our lives has been. As a result, we've done extremely little in becoming a greener household. We did manage to buy some beautiful green reusable grocery bags that have yet to make it into our trunk and therefore have been used exactly twice. We've also managed - recently - to switch to cloth napkins during dinner. This alone makes me feel like such a huge green superhero that I clearly must be saving the entire planet with our 6 cloth napkins. Seriously, I may have single handedly ended the battle.

I have THOUGHT a lot about future steps we can take towards greening our household once life isn't in permanent transition and operating in overdrive. I'm one hell of a green-thinker. Of course, I delude myself into believing that and then the green-goddess known as Ouiser writes about how irresponsible it is to be taking handfuls of napkins and ketchup packets when you're at a fast food restaurant and I think to myself... Ouiser? Was that you behind the counter last weekend at the Taco Bell we stopped at?? I'm sorry!! We have allergies!! It's my natural instinct to clean out the napkin dispenser lest our snot-family have an attack. Damn it.... I'm back to killing the planet and have negated all that progress I made with the 6 cloth napkins.

So... it's a process. And really, if y'all knew Ouiser you would know that she's like a prettier, funnier, and more ethical Martha Stewart, so no green-comparisons should ever be made. You'll lose. But she IS a great source of inspiration. OR - in B's mind - a source of total stunned amazement. Let's have a flashback. Cue the music and fog...

We're down in Nashville in the quaint little town of Dickson (see how I'm keeping up the Dickson PR by calling it "quaint" and not "frighteningly rural"??? Hehehe.... just joking Dickson folks!), and we are standing in the Ouiser kitchen about to digest some extremely yummy brownies she's just made. B takes a scan of the kitchen, the pace of his eyes quicken, and then Ouiser hands him his brownie on a cloth napkin. This prompts him to look at me with the same expression I imagine he would have had had Ouiser marched into the kitchen naked and says in a whispered intensity "Baby, I don't think they even OWN paper towels. Do you see any?? How do they DO that!!???"

Clearly, he wasn't aware that it's really the Ouiser family that is saving the planet and NOT the AnderBerry's and their 6 cloth napkins. So I look back at him like he's crazy and say "I don't know, they probably don't own paper towels. What's the big deal?" "My god, how much laundry do you think she does??" "Jesus, I don't know - they're not that messy of a family!"

And this is the story that has been making me laugh out loud for months now. So, yes, this little family still has quite a ways to go when it comes to greening up our lifestyle, but I swear to god, we're totally thinking about it in the meantime. If you want to make yourself feel a little more green-educated, here are two links about plastic for the day.

Junkraft - These people built a boat from plastic bottles and are sailing across the Pacific. Along the way they're blogging about the experience and filming it for an upcoming documentary.

Scrubbing Out Sea Life - This is an article from Slate about how all of those wonderful exfoliating scrubs we use in the shower are exfoliating us with tiny plastic beads that are clogging the oceans.

Exhale

Horray for Dads

Happy Father's Day!

I wasn't able to find a pic of B and his dad to put on here as well. Neither are big on photos, so it's really no surprise that I don't have a picture of them together. But here's one of me and my very loving pop. "The whitest guy in the world" as B calls him :) He can rock a tucked in plaid shirt like nobody's business, meditates twice a day, likes to eat half and half on his cereal, introduced me to the Beatles, and yet still know who Suge Knight is. What a guy!

B and I are running away from the world today to go have a picnic, sit in nature, and let the huge realities of next weekend sink in. The last minute push to get everything finished and delivered to the resort kicked our ass yesterday, so we're going to spend the day recuperating.

A Terrible Void

Yesterday I got in the car and turned on the Randi Rhodes show as I do every day after work and she was talking about Tim Russert. But as I got closer and closer to B's work I got confused - she and her guest were speaking in the past tense. So I immediately called my brother and asked if he was near a computer because they were talking about him in a strange way. "He didn't DIE, did he??"

And then he said that yes, he had died - a few hours ago. We chatted, he said he wasn't able to get ahold of our dad, so I said that I would try. I did get ahold of him and he was as heartbroken as I was.

I'm sure that if you don't follow politics and aren't a political junkie like we are, this isn't a big deal and doesn't resonate in your heart the way it does in mine. But this is a terrible loss, trust me. Tim Russert was not only the moderator of Meet the Press, but the director of NBC News and was the most influential voice in politics in regards to his fellow reporters. They all looked so lost and bleary eyed yesterday during the non-stop tributes to him.

Of course, it's also upsetting because he was so young, only 58. He was the same age as our parents and that will also give anyone pause.

Goodbye little Mini-Cubicle

So today is my last day at the museum. I'm thankful that I have the wedding to distract me so the full scale of being without a job doesn't hit me right away. Every time I've left a job I've felt a great sadness about leaving and the museum has so many wonderful people working for wonderful causes, at very little pay, so it's even more heart wrenching.

As difficult as non-profit work can be, when you can step back and look at it from more of a distance, it's incredible what people get up and do everyday just to make the world a better place. And believe me, what we've been doing at the museum doesn't even hold a candle to what some non-profit workers face everyday, but they're all still making a difference on some very important issues.

So we'll see what life holds when we return from the honeymoon and how I'll fill the days (packing!), but until then I'm going to attempt to finish up the wedding to-do list so that the excitement and reality of next weekend has a chance to settle in to my bones.

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Update...

Look at the beautiful cake Dino Girl made for me and my co-worker to celebrate our last day at the museum! Every flower on there is handmade. Clearly Dino Girl made it further through the cake classes than I did :)

So darn pretty I could squeal!

I've been attempting to show a little restraint and not post a picture of every single wedding detail so that you all don't get to the wedding and feel bored by the fun stuff because you've seen it all already, but clearly it's not working that well. I just spent over an hour putting place cards into these beautiful cork holders that my cousin made for us. You should see how great they look all lined up!

Tip of the Day

Want to know how to gain endless amusement from my fiancée? Speak in unnecessary abbreviations like all of the twenty-somethings in my office.

“Are we going to Wegmans after work today?”
“Yeah…Whatev.”

Deep glare, followed by “BABY!”
Then continue to taunt him by saying…

“I mean, really, what kind of a question is that ‘Are we going to Wegmans?’ Obvi!”

Fiancée’s eyes bulge out and start to bleed

Seriously, it’s a great game; I encourage you to try it.

Croc Convert

Since things around the AnderBerry household are a little too nutty to write about, I'm resorting to just recycling the events from last week. Here is a picture of a wonderful good-bye party my co-workers had for me and another girl who's leaving. I'm the one standing in her new red MaryJane Crocs.



I was pretty neutral on the whole Croc thing before. I totally understand the "they're so ugly they hurt my eyes and I'm embarrassed to be seen with you" camp, but I also get the "there is beauty in the comfort" camp. Here's the thing with me - if you turn anything into a MaryJane I will immediately fall in love and buy it.

Life as a cat....

"Weeeee'rrrrreeee hooooooooooottttt......"

"And the thunder is scary... I'll hide behind the tool box, you take shelter in the dish cabinet."

Hi and Bye

Just a quick hello. It's the last weekend to do wedding tasks as we have to deliver everything to the resort next Saturday. Yesterday's hair and makeup trial went well - there was a long funny story that I hoped to have time to write up, but I don't right now. More to do! Here are some random pictures to ply you with since I'm a negligent poster lately.

Bridesmaid's gift bags. Oooooo.... what could be in there!???!

Playing with the fun and random settings on the new camera. This was "Color Swap" where I turned everything red to yellow.

Again... more settings.

"Yes... can I help you?"

50 Envelopes

While B was out of town I sat on the couch with my colored Sharpies - the four that are left, anyway - and decorated 50 envelopes, each with a Hershey's chocolate bar and a thank you note inside. (Feather Nester - does this remind you of those damn Peer Counseling bags junior year? All 300 of them?!?!)

Anyway, I've learned from people smarter than me that if something really matters and you want it done right, and you want people to go out of their way for you, you have to make them feel appreciated. I think it's the nature of life that everyone feels underpaid and underappreciated, but no where is that more true than the service industry.

So I made 50 thank you notes for our wedding coordinator to distribute to all of the staff that will be working from Thursday - Saturday to help with our wedding. That's all I have to show you for now... I doubt the pictures of my completed thank you notes would be quite as riveting.

The Favors

Thank god for mothers. Last night we spent aaaalll night steaming on the silver foils, putting on the labels, and cutting and tying the ribbon. 138 bottles with 30 more that are in the mail.

Now a tip for the wedding guests, and feel free to pass this around - this wine is good! DRINK IT! If you want to keep it as a memento, consider drinking the wine with a friend and then keeping the bottle.

And here's a picture of B with Miles... not for any reason, just because they're cute and B is out of town until Wednesday.

What else... wedding stuff

A little lunchtime blogging for your cubicle-reading pleasure. We went to Albany this weekend for my second bridal shower, final dress fitting, and all around family visiting. The weekend absolutely flew, but it was wonderful. As was to be expected, those Italian women pulled out all the stops and gave me a great shower filled with lots of very yummy food... amazing food!

I normally don't do full names on here, just for general security purposes, but since you'll be seeing all of these people in three weeks, I'll begin the introductions...

All the ladies from B's mom's side: Robin (Uncle Tom's girlfriend), B's sister Megan, me, B's cousin Heather, and the three look-alike sisters... Aunt Diane, B's mom Carol, and Aunt Lynne.

This is the watermelon basket that Megan carved with the wedding date on the front.
 Creative gal that Meggy!

Just some of the food... did I mention it was amazing? They were all Pampered Chef recipes.

Later that night we sat outside and listened to the rain while eating food from the grill and having a few drinks. Again, I have to say that being outside with food and friends/family is just the best activity there is!

Damn cute siblings! This bodes well for our future children... look how attractive those genes are.

Megan and her hubby Matt. Matt convinced B and I to forgo our 9pm bedtime, down some Red Bulls and act like normal 30 year olds :) I'm so glad he did because we had a blast.

Smooch!