Masterpiece

It's finally done!! Ryan's masterpiece!! The wedding video of the century!!

Rather than hiring a professional videographer for the wedding, we had our friends and family members document the special day. Given two flip videos and a schedule for when to pass off the camera, they were given free reign over what to film. Yes that meant we ended up with a lot of "interesting" photage (ahem Brian filming people's dancing feet for a good 15 minutes) but it was so much fun to see what people came up with.

Ryan did an amazing job going through all the hours of video and piecing together this 8 minute overview of the wedding. It's awesome (the ending is priceless) and really captured all the best memories. I guess it pays to marry a film major.



Ryan will soon be working on a bloopers video to accompany this one. Can't wait! On a side note, 5 days of consecutive yoga has not been kind to my wrists. Thank god I have a day off tomorrow. Time to scrounge for some food.

Aftermath: Part III - LA reception

From Mexico, we flew into LA to spend Christmas and to prepare for the LA wedding reception. During the week, Alice and I sweatshopped for several projects. The first was to wrap these cute teddy bears that my Uncle Jamie's company makes, to be used as favors. My mom asked for them to be made with our names "Ryan" and "Jessica" on the front paws, and "Gordon" and "12-14-08" (date of wedding) on the back paws. We cut up cellophane, wrapped them, and tied with gold wire ribbon.


The second project was to make TJ's truffle brownies, package them in cellophane, and top with a little confetti cut out that I had leftover from the wedding. My mom insisted that I hand these out personally to each guest as they leave the reception so we stacked them in a basket that I could carry. These turned out especially cute.


The last project was to wrap potted poinsettia plants that we got from Home Depot (half off!) and add a gold ribbon.


The reception turned out to be a hit. My mom had invited our relatives and a lot of her church friends (many of whom I had never met). Everyone was super nice and generous with big smiles on their faces. I did feel like a behemoth with my heels on, towering over the masses, but that was to be expected. Here's a pic of my mom giving a little speech before dinner. She's too cute.


And the happy couple - I was wearing jewelry that my cousin in Taiwan made for me as a wedding gift.


Here's a pic of me that looks terrible but Alice and Kara look super cute so I'm posting it...*sigh* the sacrifices I make...


And finally I wrap up the Aftermath series with pictures of a random pasta meal we made and our Christmas meal that my sis and I made - rib roast, buttermilk rolls, sauteed zucchini with veggies and feta cheese, garlic mashed potatoes, and a RIDICULOUSLY delicious double layer chocolate cake, of which I know I ate about half of it.

Aftermath: Part I - Wedding

As expected, I have so much to write about, it makes me not want to write anything at all. But of course that just won't do, so here goes. The Aftermath posts will be a series in 3 parts: wedding, honeymoon, and LA reception.

Friday: Ryan and I took the day off work to prepare for the wedding. In the morning, I had a mild panic attack because the flowers had not arrived by noon (scheduled for morning delivery) and the vendor was not picking up the phone. Luckily, they called shortly after noon to let me know they were on their way. WHEW. I planned to make a snarky remark when they arrived but the flowers looked so nice (and they gave us extra buds) that all I could do was thank them repeatedly and clap my hands like a ten year old. From there, I cleaned and organized the flowers while family members popped in and out of the house to say hi. In the afternoon, we met up with out-of-towners who were in-town for a late lunch and then it was back to the house for more prepping. That night, Ryan went out downtown with his friends while I met my friends for late night burritos.


Saturday: In the morning, Uttara (who stayed with us on Friday) and I dropped off the flowers and vases at Sophie's and then went to my final yoga class as a single woman. Afterwards, my mom, sis, and Uncle Jamie arrived in San Diego and we all puttered around before heading to Estancia for the rehearsal. It was freezing cold but we ran through the ceremony a few times on the Olive Lawn before making the executive decision to move the ceremony indoors. The back up indoor space was still quite lovely so it worked out for the best. My mom and I were quite relieved to know that weather would not be an issue. That night we dined in the Garden Suite where I had lobster bisque, egg noodle pasta, creme brulee tart, and of course plenty of wine. Ryan remained at the hotel while my family and I drove back to the house. My mom, Alice, and I giggled and gossiped until the wee hours before falling asleep. Strangely, my mom leapt out of bed at 1AM claiming it was too hot (we had the electric blanket on and she was wedged in the middle) and escaped to the guest room. After that, I remained wide eyed for the next hour - possibly because I was nervous or possibly because I was hungry. Finally, I went downstairs to eat some leftover burrito before going back to bed ~3am. Pic of Ryan (now dubbed Mr. Bunny by Monkey) with nephew Riley below.


Sunday: We woke up early and headed to the Estancia at 9:45AM. As scheduled, the hair and makeup lady came at 10 and began prepping my hair first (lots of hot curlers and hairspraying) before moving on to Alice's and my mom's make up. During this time, Uttara and Maya brought over leftover and subsequently saved us from starvation. The hotel did provide plenty of beverages including champagne but we needed solids! While my mom got her makeup done, the girls and I ran out to set up candles and programs, etc. Then Sophie arrived with the gorgeous flowers. Unfortunately I had to return for makeup but luckily Uttara and Maya lent a hand setting up.


Around this time, the photographers arrived and everything was a whirlwind from there. We took lots of pictures getting ready and then met up with Mr. Bunny for bride-groom pictures and immediate family pics. It was pretty cold without a jacket but the scenery was gorgeous so I was definitely excited to get lots of shots (hope they turn out good!). Finally, it was time for the ceremony. Ron did such an amazing job as the officiant. He was so funny and relaxed and everything was so touching. Mr. Bunny and I exchanged our vows, rings, kissed, and broke the glass without a hitch. After the recessional, we barely had a moment to hug our family before a wedding coordinator popped up with a plate of hor'dourves and two glasses of champagne. From there we chowed down before running outside for more chaotic picture taking. At long last, we were allowed to spend the remaining moments of cocktail hour chatting before everyone moved to reception dinner and we were announced as Mr. and Mrs. Gordon.


Dinner was delicious and dancing was so much fun. Alice and Dave's speeches were also hilarious. Everything looked beautiful and turned out so well - the flowers, favors, menus, lighting. The only slight hiccup was that we left a bucket of orange roses for the cake lady to decorate with but the hotel accidentally threw them away. So the cake table wasn't as nicely decorated as I had imagined but whatever, it still looked nice and TASTED HEAVENLY. In all honesty, the entire wedding was more than we could have hoped for. It was intimate and casual (but not too casual) and just a whole lot of fun with people we love. We've got hours of hilarious footage which Mr. Bunny will work his editing magic on (coming to a theater near you). We wrapped everything up around 10:30 and went to our complimentary bridal suite to pass out. But first, holy moly, we got a lot of presents! Mr. Bunny claims that in my drunken state I kept exclaiming how wonderful everyone is after we opened each gift. Finally we went to bed.

In morning, I discovered I had actually fallen asleep on the white petals that had been romantically sprinkled on the bed, causing them to turn crusty and yellow (gross). Ryan had left the sound soother clock on Rain and was mightily confused when he still heard rain after turning it off. Looking outside, we realized just how lucky we were the day before. It looked like a hurricane! Bundled, we rushed over the hotel restaurant for some breakfast with friends before heading to the spa for some much needed relaxing. Feeling rejuvenated, the Bunnies drove home with the Prius packed full of presents, flowers, and leftover beer. That night we drove to LA and in the morning took off on our honeymoon to Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Multiple pic albums can be found at our wedding blog. Professional pics will be posted as soon as we receive them. Can't wait to see them!

ITS BEGUN

SAVE YOURSELVES!! Yes wedding weekend has begun. That's all I have time to write right now haha. Wish us luck!

Final Stretch

Alright, four more days and counting. Couple misc updates and then I gotta get back to running around like a chicken with no head.

- Table name cards and ceremony programs completed
- Fudge made, first batch cut up, second batch cooling.
- Placecard holders made
- Vendor details finalized
- Many checklists drafted
- Vows written but still memorizing

Every day I've been checking the weather forecast, which has been a complete tease. One minute it's suppose to rain, the next minute it's party cloudy. Whatever the outcome, it looks like the high will be low 60's (chilly!) but so long as there's no rain, I'll be happy.

After running 10 miles on Sunday, I've run ZERO miles this week. Understandable since I haven't been able to focus on anything except wedding details, but wouldn't you think I'd be extra motivated to work out? Strangely, I've managed to drop a few pounds down to 122 which is what I wanted to be in time for the wedding. Hm, do nothing and lose weight? Is my body trying to tell me something?

Tomorrow is the last day of work (thank god). I will try to do my 6 mile tempo at lunch time and then meet the gang at Rock Bottom for a quick drink for Trish's bday. Then it's back to sweatshopping. Can't wait to see everyone this weekend!

Where To Begin...

This post is rather daunting. So much happened this weekend that I'm not sure where to begin!


So on Friday night, I went out with the ladies for my bachelorette party!! Sophie graciously drove myself, Kim B, and Trish downtown where we met Kim G, Jen, Jen's sis Arlene, and Ida at La Puerta for some mexican food. The girls sprung some surprising - and in some cases super embarrassing - things on me such as 1) a scavenger hunt book requiring me to find various men's signatures and other funny items 2) a veil 3) a necklace made out of condoms 4) a large phallic water bottle that I was forced to carry around 5) funny cat "on the prowl" tattoos for everyone 6) big blinky diamond ring and 7) small phallic straws for the ladies. At that point we proceeded to take tequila shots, drink margaritas, eat tasty food, and be routy.


As soon as we left the restaurant, we bumped into a group of guys that went to high school with Trish and Jen. Several signatures were obtained including 1) guy with chinese tattoo 2) guy with $100 and 3) guy with girlfriend named Jessica. From there we wandered over to Whiskey Girl where the night continued with more drinks and fun dancing. I never thought a crazy bachelorette party (complete with tiara and boa which was given to me at the bar) was for me, but I'm sold! The night was super fun (sans sleazy men which Sophie might have mentioned already in her post). I feel so lucky to have met such a great group of girls who put so much thought into making me feel special...and getting me wasted. You guys are the best!


As expected, I woke up on Saturday with a throbbing hangover and a strange recollection of having jumped in the shower for no reason and passed out in my bed wrapped in a wet towel. Luckily phallic water bottle was nearby for the rescue. Around noon, Ryan came home from his trip to NYC and found me still in bed surrounded by an explosion of clothes. I sent him immediately on a Subway run - one of my hangover foods of choice. Italian BMT...so tasty. That afternoon was spent horizontal, trying to replenish my fluids and dozing intermittently. I would have loved to continue that trend into the night but we had a Rancid concert to go to.

Ryan had bought tickets to see Rancid several months back but the show was postponed because the bassist broke his hand. I was skeptical about going so shortly before the wedding (fearing that a punk rocker would give Ryan a black eye in the mosh pit) but we had no choice. Tickets were paid for, what can you do? So we drove down to Point Loma, stopping first at Chick Fila to eat unspeakable amounts of chicken nuggets and chicken sandwiches. Once at Soma, we realized we were way too early as there were two opening acts and the first hadn't even started yet. So we milled around and people watched, panic slowly creeping up as we realized it was an all ages show and they weren't serving any ALCHOL. Eep! On top of that, the first act Danny Diablo turned out to be a ridiculously terrible band/rap/rock group. We had to escape back out until the next act Buck-o-Nine. They were good although I can't say I was ever really into the ska scene. Once they were off, people started packing in in anticipation of the main act. Ryan and I quickly found ourselves sandwiched behind three large mohawks. And finally, Rancid came on. From there it was a blur. People immediately started jumping and pushing, a big mosh pit opening up in the middle. About half way through I gave Ryan the go ahead to mosh and off he went into the crowd. All I could do was continue jumping next to a tall sweaty bearded man praying that Ryan's face would be unharmed for the wedding photos (bruises on the body are ok). A while later I got a text from Ryan telling me to meet him by the sound check in the middle. Easier said then done. I managed to squeeze a path through the crowd, getting many dirty looks, before finally reuniting with my incredibly sweaty fiance. At that point, the set was winding down so we left to beat the crowd. I had a great time, although I couldn't help but experience a bit of mosh envy. Ryan at this point declared the thought of me moshing left a bad taste in his mouth. That night we slept very soundly.

On Sunday, I finally cleaned the house while Ryan was at soccer. Mentally unprepared for my 10 mile long run, I almost called it off when Sophie came to the rescue. She had just completed her 10 miles which was motivation enough to get my butt in gear. Unfortunately I managed to find a route with many a hills. By mile 6 I was toast but I plodded along finishing at 10.22 miles with a 10:38 min/mile pace. When I got home, I hoped in the shower and then we were off to Elijah's to have dinner with the parents and to talk shop about the wedding (Ron is going to be our officiant). At dinner, I consumed chicken noodle soup, pastrami sandwich, pasta salad, and a cheese blintz. I feel like I could have eaten a cow at that point. Afterwards, we went to Whole Foods for some grocery shopping and once we got home Ryan planted the four wheatgrass planters for the wedding. It's official! 7 days and counting!

Bridezilla

I think it's official. As we near the one week mark, I have become everyone's worst nightmare - a bridezilla. After furiously working to complete the ceremony programs and place cards this week, I rushed home today and created mockups of the dinner table, guestbook table, placecard table, laptop table, and cake table. I won't post any pictures so as to not ruin the surprise but I was quite pleased and definitely feel more at ease now that I've done a trial run. I still have to make some reserved signs for the front row ceremony chairs and create signs for the dinner tables but that shouldn't take too much effort. I swear this whole wedding thing is really bringing out my OCD side.

Sadly, yoga has taken a backseat to my obsessive wedding plotting but at least I've been sticking to my running schedule. Yesterday, I went to the gym and ran 3 one mile intervals at 6.5 for a total of 5 miles. Tomorrow, Sophie and I will do a 5 mile tempo run at 6.3 pace. Hopefully, we'll start out at a more reasonable pace then the last time we ran tempo. If I stick to my guns and run 10 miles on Sunday then I'll have done 20 miles this week. I'll definitely hit the gym on Friday to do some yoga on my own though. Must stay limber...



In other news (yes I suppose there is other news than wedding news), we took Jon out to sushi lunch for his birthday. Somehow it was decided that we would all dress in black to mourn the passing of another year for Jon (I think that was the reason...). Luckily, Trish and Jen had their cameras on hand to document the event - and yes that is Jon with a bunch of ladies, as always...Anyway it was fun to catch up with everyone and we were even treated to some birthday brownies that Kim baked mmmm (oops wasn't I on a wedding diet?). So on Friday, the ladies and I are getting together for a celebratory last hoorah for single-dom. We'll meet downtown at La Puerta for some Mexican food and then hit the bars, possibly finding a place for some drunk dancing (aka silly or stupid dancing). I can't wait as I haven't really gone out in soooo long. And by gone out, I mean gone out with the single purpose of getting drunk. Should be super fun, although it now presents the dilemma of transportation. Time to brainstorm...

So Much Grass

Goodness, our wheatgrass is running amok. It's grown a couple inches in the last two days and is continuing strong. I think in another week it'll be the perfect length for harvesting, which means we should start growing the other four trays during the last week of November to get them ready for the wedding. Yay, looks great! To prove how crazy I've become with wedding decor, I mocked up a place setting with the menu I designed and the favor box. I was tempted to lay out several more settings and to light some candles but Ryan came home in time to snap me out of it.



This morning we drove to Rancho Santa Fe to meet my hair/makeup lady for a trial session. I had to reel her in a bit on the eye makeup. She started doing some strange contouring that made me look like a psycho china doll. After I politely complained, she scaled back and I was much happier with the result...until she tried on the false lashes. Totally not for me. I looked like a cross dressing stripper. The hair came out great though. She curled it in loose waves and made a messy bun. Exactly what I imagined. I took some pictures but won't post them because where's the surprise in that??

After that we drove to LA to visit my mom (stopping at South Coast Plaza to get a necktie for the wedding). Unfortunately, orange county is currently being hit with some massive forest fires so the sky was complete ash. Very sad to imagine all those people losing their homes. Because of the air quality I've decided to postpone my six mile run until tomorrow when we get back to SD. Tonight, I plan to relax with my mom and show her all the fun projects I've been working on. We're having a separate Chinese reception in LA after Christmas so we'll have to plan some simple decor for that too. MORE PROJECTS!! Sometimes I fear my brain will explode. Let's hope not until after the wedding.

Sprouts!

After four days, we finally have some sprouts! Sure enough, our little seedlings are spreading their wings and leaving the nest. We've brought them inside where it's warmer so hopefully they'll start growing faster.


Here's a look at the tissue pom I made with tissue paper I already had on hand. It wasn't too difficult to assemble but the size is enormous. I think it might look strange to have such a bulbous ornament hanging from the tree but I dunno. I think once the ivory paper comes in, I'll experiment with smaller sizes. I like mini things so maybe I'll make lots of small ones and dangle more. Must consult with Sophie, my design advisor...



Tomorrow Ryan and I plan to go shopping for an electric bicycle at lunchtime. We've decided to sell my car since I never drive it much and put the proceeds to good use, i.e. house. We live close enough to my company that I could easily ride a normal bike but there's a hill and lord knows I need to get off and walk my bike at the first sign of an incline. So pathetic.

DIY Mania

I've been a slacker about posting, primarily because I've been too busy meticulously glueing layers of ribbon on favor boxes. At long last, I have finished all 59 boxes; there's suppose to be 60 but one of the tops is missing and I suspect a cat has swatted somewhere where it won't be discovered for another year. Here is the fruit of my labor. Inside, I plan to wrap two pieces of fudge in tissue paper and topping it with a little sticker that says "Thank You".


Ryan has undertaken the task of growing the wheatgrass. He's going to experiment with one out of the five boxes that came with the kit and if all goes well in the first week, we'll try growing them all. The first step is to soak the seeds for 8 hours and then spread them out on the soil. Now we're suppose to wait for them to sprout (under a layer of wet newspaper to keep them moist). Hopefully, the temperature out on the patio is ok. It's been rather cold out at night and strangely warm during the day. Cross your fingers!



As for my other projects, I've ordered the papers I need to print and assemble the ceremony programs and dinner menus. They should be delivered next week. In the meantime, I've also ordered a bunch of recycled tissue paper in hopes that I'll be able to create my own tissue poms to decorate the olive trees where the ceremony will be. That should be delivered tomorrow so I can start experimenting. I also had to order a bunch of ivory tulle (there was a minimum order requirement) so now I have to figure out what to use it for. So many ideas...can't focus...brain exploding...

Sweatshop

On the wedding front, I picked up my dress and veil from Neiman after my departmental event on Thurs. As soon as Ryan left that night for his soccer game, I obsessively tried on the dress, the veil, my earrings, and shoes. I'm sure if anyone saw me from the window, they'd think I was some psycho. Everything was perfect and I'm so excited to wear it on my wedding day.

As for the decorations, I've been glueing ribbons on the favor boxes and have finished almost 20. Ryan thinks I'm crazy to be doing so much work but I love the look and think it will add a nice personalized touch. I did change the ribbon to a cheaper one but the colors are more or less the same as my original design. Also, I ordered the paper I need for making ceremony programs and menus and should begin that next week. We ordered a wheatgrass kit and will start growing a test batch tomorrow - I just love the look of using wheatgrass to display place cards. Lastly, I've given Sophie the floral supplies for her to go wild with. Hopefully we'll be able to order flowers next week and then I think we'll be all set for decor!

Stupid Hills

On Sunday, I ran the Komen 5K Race for the Cure. As I mentioned in a previous post, I sprained a toe the day before and while it was quite painful pivoting on my foot, it was actually ok when moving forward in a straight line. Having been warned of a large hill at the end, I was none too excited to compete. However, once the gun went off and the adrenaline started pumping, I took off at a pretty good speed and managed to maintain it past mile 2. Then the hill came. Um, this was no gentle hill. This was a beast almost as steep as the torrey pines hill! Bleh. I ended up walking part of it but once it flattened out, I sprinted to the finish line. My overall pace turned out to be 9:34 min/mile which I'm pretty happy with. Now I'm considering running the 10K thanksgiving day race downtown with Sophie. It looked like a pretty flat course which would be a god send.

Afterwards we met up with Kevin (who won his age division) and the parents (who came to watch) and went downtown for bunch. But first, we had a show down between Ryan and his dad for who squeezed into the tighter parking spot. The first is Ron's parking spot. Very respectable. The second is Ryan's parking spot. WTF?? We were all dumbfounded. We're convinced he hired some circus strongmen to lift his car into that spot. Especially ridiculous considering he had to do a 10 point turn coming outta that.



Here's the latest status on the toe. It's a nice shade of purple with a bit of blue. I went to a yoga class earlier today and everything seemed ok so long as I tried to be gentle with it. Whew. Nothing would be worse than injuring myself beyond yoga or running.


On Sunday afternoon, I did some shopping for wedding decorations and then went to town designing a ceremony program and a dinner menu. Once I've finalized my designs, it'll be a sweatshop in my house as I crank out goods. Also, tonight I tried out a fudge recipe which was pretty easy to make and is currently setting up in the fridge. I can't wait to take a bite in the morning and see how it turned out. For presentation, I'm going to order some small favor boxes and decorate them with ribbon, similar to how I decorated the plain white box below.



Now onto cooking dash...

Shaping Up

This weekend I hussled around trying to collect all the different flowers that will be used in the wedding. I wasn't able to find them all but I did gather green and white spider mums, orange circus roses, green button poms, white mini calla lilies, and a bunch of greenery. On Sunday, I brought a big bucket of flowers over to Sophie's where we had our last design session. We came up with a beautiful centerpiece arrangement, pictured here, and hashed out some cool ideas for the ceremony. I'm really getting excited now because everything seems to be coming together and I know the wedding decor will be gorgeous. Until then here's a pic of a bouquet Sophie made for me to take home (above), a small bouquet i made for myself with the gerbera daisies we didn't use (below), and some orange and greem poms (last).

Chipmunk Cheeks

Ryan and I are a collective mess. In addition to my own problems, which I've already complained about extensively, Ryan was elbowed on the side of the head during an intense soccer game on Sunday and his whole temple and left cheek is ridiculously swollen. He looks like a mutant chipmunk. It would be quite cute if it wasn't so sad watching him struggle to chew.

News from the cake bakery is that they can do the first design, hooray! I think we'll copy it exactly but have dark green stripes and use fresh orange flowers. Perhaps ranunculus? I think I'll stop by that wholesale flower shop on Friday and check out the goods. If possible, I'd rather buy locally to avoid the headache of having flowers shipped from out of town. I feel like too many things could go wrong in the second scenario.

For dinner tonight, I concocted a teriyaki sauce out of some soy sauce, water, honey, sugar, ginger powder, garlic powder, and cornstarch. I baked salmon and stir fried some bok choy, garlic, red onion, and mushrooms as a side. So easy and so tasty.



So I've secretly been watching The Rachel Zoe Project on Bravo. It's such a guilty pleasure. The personalities are obnoxiously endearing and the fashions leave me drooling for more. Yes, I force poor Ryan to sit through an hour of frivolous consumerism but I figure it's the least he can do for making me watch hours of soccer. Speaking of frivolity, I felt so sorry for myself after my allergic attacks that I bought a Marc by Marc Jacobs bag that I've been eyeing. Ridiculous right? It's as if I haven't notice my stock portfolio tanking these last few days. Damn you AAPL!!! I promise this is my last shopping purchase before the wedding...



Ok I know I'm jumping topics a lot but on to the debates...I thought Obama came out the winner on this one. He was clear and detailed in his answers and countered his opponent's attacks in a direct and effective manner. McCain however, almost never addressed Obama's attacks, preferring instead to launch into irrelevant stories from the past (possibly to emphasize his experience) and to market himself by using tired buzz words like "maverick". I found McCain's indirectness very aggravating and his tendency to begin responses with "what Senator Obama doesn't understand is..." to be very patronizing and passive aggressive. Since this debate was considered to be Obama's achilles heel, I can only hope Obama will pull out ahead by a landslide in the next two debates. I can't wait until the VP debates this Thurs where I anticipate Palin to tank like my stocks. Hopefully, Biden will know when to zip it and won't ruin his huge advantage - that advantage being he's not a vapid shell of a politician like Palin.

Tomorrow I'm going to try to get back into running. Must build up my base mileage before I can start training!

Happenings

In addition to burning myself on Mon, I broke out in a strange allergic reaction on both Thurs and Fri night. There I was, merrily eating my Pizza Hut dinner on Thurs night, when my top lip started painfully itching and swelling. After an hour or so my top lip and left cheek had ballooned to epic proportions, making me look like I was either recovering from severe reconstructive surgery or like I had been beaten repeatedly in the mouth with a bat. Absolutely puzzled by the cause, all I could do was take two Benadryl and go to bed feeling quite sorry for myself. The next morning, my mouth was still pretty swollen so I worked from home in the morning. As the day wore on, I started looking more normal so I went to work in the afternoon and by the time I got home at 5:30pm, I was happily back to normal. Unfortunately, after eating dinner and watching the presidential debate (more to come on that) on Friday night, I noticed an itching sensation on my bottom lip this time. Uh oh. The whole thing happened again on my bottom lip!! Again, I took two Benadryl and moped to bed.

After some research online and a lot of speculation, I think I had angioedema. Sadly, I suspect it was from kissing the cats. In the past, I have broken out in mild hives around my mouth after some affectionate cat kissing so it's possible my reaction is getting worse? I vaguely remember kissing Henry on Thurs and then kissing Fred on Fri. I'm determined not to kiss any cats tonight to see if that was the cause. More to come on this experiment later.

In addition to my immune system running amok, my teeth have been rebelling as well - although that is to be expected given my track record. I had two cavities filled on Wed, one of which was very deep and close to the nerve. The dentist, who is accustomed to my squeals of pain, gave me a lot of anesthetic and I thankfully didn't feel a thing. However, he warned that if I feel pain afterwards, I might need a root canal. Like hell! I refuse to have two root canals in one year. I will just chew on the other side.

On the wedding front, I had my second dress fitting on Thurs. The tailor took in the waist and created a bustle. I brought in the shoes I plan to wear so we could finalize the hem length, but other than that everything fit perfectly. The lady at the bridal salon even directed me to the Orlane counter where they signed me up for a free facial. Whoo hoo!

Earlier this afternon, Ryan and I went to Cake, a little bakery in Mission Hills, for our cake tasting. We tried four different cakes - an almond cake with berries, a macademia cake with berries, a chocolate mousse cake and a banana truffle cake. After tasting all the different components, we came up with our own combo - dark chocolate cake with a bittersweet chocolate mousse and dark chocolate truffle layer and a raspberry fruit layer, frosted with vanilla buttercream. Mmmm can't wait! Now we need to look at some design ideas. Here are a few I like.

Wedding Update

I mailed out the invitations today! I even got some cute sunflower stamps from the post office and some cute fern seals from Michael's. Slowly but surely, we're checking things off our to-do list...

Next week:
- Dress fitting #2
- Cake tasting

Ok that's not much of an update, but I guess if you're not privy to my numerous spreadsheets, then I don't care to go into more detail. A couple random thoughts: I am thinking of making my own edible wedding favors. Truffles immediately came to mind but were quickly replaced by fudge as the top contender for delicious and easy to make treats. I'll probably test out a recipe in the next couple of weeks.

I'm also sad to report that I've been having wedding nightmares of late. The nightmares typically follow the same plot line. It's my wedding day. I'm in my dress ready to walk down the aisle, but wait where's the photographer? Oh yes, I never told her what time to show up. What about the vows? Oh right, I forgot to write them. It slowly dawns on me that I've forgotten key components of my wedding. With sad sinking disappointment, I walk down the aisle hoping to wing it once I'm up at the top. Then I wake up. This scene typically varies but that's the general gist. What's wrong with me?

In less stressful news, Ann got us a Kitchen Aid mixer! Yaaaaaaaay. I've wanted one for forever. Can't wait to use it. I think I'll break it in by baking some bread this weekend. Mmmmm carbs...

City of Brotherly Mug

At the moment, I'm parked on Monkey's couch basking in the A/C after returning from an indugent sushi dinner. Philly has proved to be as muggy as I expected for early fall. We've been trying to limit our trips to must-do errands and must-eat meals, and boy has there been plenty of both.

I arrived after midnight on Thurs and was thankfully picked up in style via Philly Ride Share, chauffered by Ferret and navigated (maybe) by Monkey. As promised, Monkey had some Indian food from Minar Palace waiting at home so I gorged myself on lamb vindaloo and some paneer dish before going to bed.

On Friday, we were on a mission to find Monkey a bridesmaid dress! Unfortunately, our online research revealed the sad truth that inner city Philly is home to little respectable shopping. The only department store was Macy's and we knew of few boutiques to try. Laughably, Monkey suggested Daffy's, saying she'd heard it was similar to Century 21 and might be worth checking out. Well, it wasn't. I've never seen such a ghetto department store. Within minutes, I knew we would be walking away empty handed. We escaped quickly to jcrew and banana republic to see if they had any long dresses, but the stops yielded nothing. Our last hope rested with Nicole Miller which thankfully had a store in the city. JACKPOT. We found a beautiful long chiffon dress with spaghetti straps in a pleasing fern color that looked perfect on Monkey. I'm confident it'll match my wedding dress well.



Basking in the euphoria of a successful find (ok I was doing the basking, not Monkey), we stopped by a Dick Blick store that recently opened and brainstormed some ideas for making menus and place cards. It's a bit early to actually make anything but it was fun to look around. By that time, we were pretty hungry so we ate at one of Monkey's favorite restaurants, a Malaysian restaurant called Banana Leaf. We ordered a peanut satay appetizer, a seafood fried noodle, and a beef curry with rice. Delicious. The rest of the day was spent chatting, eating leftovers, and wedding planning. We managed to address all the invitations and Monkey made a burnt sugar cake.

Today, we woke up late and trekked over to Trader Joe's for some groceries. Having been so productive yesterday, we took it easy today, putzing around the house. In the late afternoon, I did a bit of yoga while Monkey took a nap. And finally for dinner we went to a local sushi joint to celebrate Monkey's 28th birthday. That pretty much puts us at present with my sister enthusiastically kneading bread dough (where does she get the energy?), Tony the Cat wandering aimlessly, and myself blogging while watching Pretty Woman on TBS. I hear the plan later is to go over to Ferret's place and play Settlers of Catan.

I love doing nothing with my sister. I wish she lived next door to me, or at least in the same city, or I'll even take the same state at this point. Hopefully she'll find a good post-doc in CA when she graduates.

Quote of the weekend:
"If someone's gonna give me a hogie, I'll eat it." -Monkey

In other news, the wedding planning has been progressing well. I had a design meeting with Sophie where we gathered a bunch of different flowers and hashed out bouquet and centerpiece ideas. I'm confident we can come up with beautiful floral arrangements and decorations. The question is, can we do it within budget? I did find a wholesale flower place in San Diego and will try to visit them next weekend to scope out the quality. Here's a sample bouquet Sophie made that I think is beautiful. I'm trying to convince her to eventually become a florist.



Aside from decor planning, Ryan and I did some cake research last weekend by stopping by Extraordinary Desserts and sampling the Viking and some other white chocolate cake. The Viking was ridiculously rich and to die for. However, the consultation is $100 bucks so I think we're going to try one other place first before we give ED a try. The catering manager at Estancia recommended a bakery in Mission Hills called Cake, which apparently has free tasting! We're scheduled to sample some tasty treats on the 27th. I'm also scheduled for my second dress fitting on the 25th. I guess with everything moving like clockwork, it's time Ryan and I sit down and actually plan the different components of the ceremony, i.e. readings, vows, etc. I'm sure I'm missing some stuff but that's the latest and greatest I can think of.

Worst Week Ever

I just could not catch a break this week. Perhaps it's because Ryan was out of town (he could be my lucky charm, I dunno), but I had day after day of issues and frustrations.

In the beginning of the week, I dealt with irritating personalities at work. There are far too many people at my company with Napolean complex who are constantly trying establish dominance or territory. It's like working with children.

On Wednesday, I went to lunchtime yoga desperately needing a break from the general populice. Unfortunately, drama was lurking at every corner. Long story short, the room I had reserved for yoga was not set up correctly and we had to delay class for thirty minutes while we tried to track down Facilities. Imagine 20 people dressed for yoga waiting in the hallway, getting increasingly impatient. I ended up having an argument with the Facilities manager who was irrationally upset that we interrupted his lunch to ask for help. God forbid he be asked to do his job! Anyway, it was all rather upsetting. Since I had already considered stopping work yoga (not worth it since it's too easy and I have a montly unlimited pass to a studio), I decided this was the last straw and I'd be giving up my duties as yoga coordinator. Many have tried to guilt trip me out of my decision but I shall remain firm.

On Thursday, I was feeling more optimistic after a good night's sleep and came hopping downstairs in a chipper mood. To my shock, there was a fat trail of ants snaking from our front door, through the living room, through the dining room, all over the cat food, and out the patio door. This was as grotesque an infestation as I had seen in a while. Unfortunately, we had no chemical warfare so I grabbed some soapy Lysol wipes, got down on my hands and knees, and reigned havoc on the intruders. I even hosed down the patio and garden, hoping to drown the colony. After about forty minutes of meticulously and obsessively killing every ant I could find, I thought I was in the clear. Unfortunately, the buggers continued to stream in from the front door so I knew it was time to get down to business. Racing over to Longs and arming myself with Raid, I was able to gas every last one of them, including the ones outside. Poor Henry and Fred had to be locked in the bedroom in the meantime. Finally satisfied that the job was complete, I had to wait around for the Raid to dry, then mop the floor so the cats didn't get sick, then wait for the mopped floors to dry before I could let them out. What a way to start the day.

On Friday, I had a dentist appointment where it was discovered that I have two more cavities. I was also fitted for a night guard since my dentist was suspicious of night time grinding. Unfortunately, no one bothered to mention that it costs almost $400 and that insurance covered nada. Great. As if I didn't have a wedding to budget for.

Luckily the week was redeemed by our tasting on Friday afternoon at Estancia. Overall, the food was delicious and Ryan and I put together what we think is a great menu. I've very excited to eat it at our wedding. Additionally, I went to Neiman this afternoon for my first dress fitting! It was lots of fun and the dress looks more beautiful than I remember. I also found a pair of gold shoes at Bloomingdale's that are the perfect height and style. Not too formal and definitely rewearable in the future. And finally, Ryan and I went back to Ashoka the Great tonight with Ryan's parents for yet another delicious Indian feast.

I guess the weekend is doing a prety good job making up for the week.

Latest and Greatest

I know I know, it's been a while since I last posted. Don't hate me.

After the vacation, my mom and Uncle Jaime drove down to visit for a weekend, bearing misc edible gifts such as a bag of tomatoes, a bag of plums, and a bag of nectarines - all of which were hand plucked from the fruit trees of friends and acquaintances. We hung around the house during the day while I cut my mom's hair (gave her a cute stylish bob) and while Ryan and Uncle Jaime enthusiastically discussed whether or not we can install satellite tv. That night, we went out to dinner with Ryan's parents at a Thai restaurant downtown named Rama. The first time we went to Rama was about a year and a half ago when I first moved out to San Diego. I remember thinking the food was bland and unmemorable, so I wasn't sure if my mom would enjoy it. However on this trip, it was very tasty indeed and I was glad to have plenty of leftovers to bring home. Afterwards, we walked to Ghiradelli's and ate sundaes.




The next day we took the parentals to Estancia to show them the wedding venue. Everyone thought it was absolutely beautiful - which it is - and it made me excited to think of the big day.

Since then, it's just been work and yoga for me. Yoga has been going well. I really feel my practice getting better. I even had a major breakthrough with inversions and am now able to kick up to handstand on my own whoo hoo. Work has been meh. I've found myself becoming more unenthusiastic and disastisfied with my job but I'm going to suck it up and finish out my main project before I reassess the situation. Unfortunately, Ryan has been out of town last week which of course makes the situation more grim because I don't have someone to comfort me when I'm feeling blue :). But he's back and I'm looking at things with more perspective.

On the wedding front, Ryan and I have made some progress. We picked a lovely photographer named Kristy to document our special day. Her portfolio stood out from the different options we looked at because she is a photojournalist and seemed to really capture the feeling of the moment. Nothing seemed too staged or unnatural. I've also been investigating "green" weddings. I'd definitely like to make our invitations eco-friendly and try to find flowers from local farms and that are in season during our wedding. Might as well do my small part in making the world a better place.

Hooray!

So You Think You Can Dance is finally back on!!! I love this show. The people who make it on are really amazing dancers and you see such beautiful choreographer every week. The judges aren't cracked out like the ones on American Idol and overall it seems less like popularity competition and more like a skill competition. It's on on Thursdays. Watch it.

I do have to say that my faith in American Idol is restored a bit since David Cook won. Yay for the first alternative rock singer to win (I think)! Maybe he'll actually put out a good album.

My posts have been short and sweet because there's not much going on. On the wedding front, I've decided to enlist the help of my coworker friend Sophie and do our own floral decorations. I tried to enlist Maya's services as a violinist during the ceremony, but sadly she lost her violin (somehow) when she moved to San Francisco. I'd ask her to play the cello but she stopped taking lessons once she found out her teacher had the hots for her. Creepy. Sadly, the rest of our friends play instruments that are inappropriate for a wedding. We plan to send out a Save-The-Date email sometime this weekend.

Lastly, I've renewed my interest in yoga, which of course means my running suffers. I haven't run more than 4 miles since the half marathon. After all that running, I've suddenly gotten bored with it. My A.D.D. strikes again! Tonight I went to an ashtanga class at Four Seasons Yoga and it was great. I was sweating like a maniac and can definitely feel my yoga strength slowly coming back. Quite motivating. I swear, one day I will do a scorpion...