Alison's BlahBlahBlog

Flea Factor

2008-11-26T22:50:00.001-08:00

I was the star this week of a hit reality show called Flea Factor. Ya know, the one where your biggest fears are tested and you either survive or cripple in a moment's worth of willies. My fear: fleas.

My dog is perfect. I mean, duh. Besides the chewed up window blinds, sporadic carpet soilings, neurotic door scratching, and obsessive licking, there is absolutely nothing wrong with my dog. So, imagine my surprise when on this perfect tuft of fur, I found a fucking flea.

Princeton gets a bath, oh, ya know, every three days. The dog is as clean as Danny Tanner's countertops. I mean, sometimes I don't even want to take him for a walk because I want to maintain his pristinely bathed coat as long as possible. I'm tellin' ya: the little man could perform open heart surgery. Dr. Princeton. I like it.

Anyway, I noticed he'd been scratching this spot in his groin area. No big deal. He's a self-scratcher, OCD-style. Around the same time, Bryan and I noticed we had identical clusters of small blemishes that itched on our arms. We figured some hungry bugs got to us outside on a walk.

So when my mom and I found a sick, slick, quick-moving critter on Princeton's tummy the size of a tip of a flathead screw driver, I jumped! And so did Princeton when we pulled his fur out to catch the intruder. And so did the flea when we tried to kidnap him from his canine blood buffet. Those guys jump. Apparently, 3 to 6 feet. On the third try, we (my mom) finally nipped the flea from P's skin and watched him go bye-bye down the sink drain. Awesomeness. But common sense tells us that when there's one, there are many more, so my already-heavy neuroses increased greatly and I suddenly had to know everything about fleas and clean-up and prevention.

There's really no way to describe my horror and panic upon learning that Princeton is a flea bus. That means, then, that there's absolutely no way in any dimension to describe my horror upon finding out that Princeton's flea bus hosted stowaway passengers: Tapeworm!

Quick research told me that fleas carry tapeworm and if they get swallowed by a relief-seeking dog, the tapeworm lives in the dog's intestines. Tapeworm can be 1 to 3 feet long and resemble an ongoing spaghetti. Gross. Seriously, GROSS. As the tapeworm sheds itself from the pup's rear, it releases little tiny granules of what looks like uncooked rice. Hmm. Okay. Funny. Just 2 days before the Great Flea Debacle of 2008, I was making my bed and thought to myself, "That's weird. I haven't cooked rice in the bedroom. Okay. Whatever!" I picked it up and flicked it toward the trash. So, back to present time... ohmyfuckinggosh. PRINCETONHASTAPEWORMANDINOTONLYTOUCHEDITBUTIIGNOREDITANDNOWHEISGOINGTODIE.

That's it. I was bouncing off the walls. I was hysterical. The dog mom in me was panicked for her innocent furbaby and the germ freak in me was having a fit about the larvae and the pupae and all the other disgusting vocabulary I was learning in my Fleasearch.

At home, I immediately washed my sheets, vacuumed the carpets and obsessively checked Princeton for more. I didn't sleep a wink and I woke up the next morning to call the vet. They normally don't see you if you just need to solve a flea problem, but the tapeworm warranted a sit-down with the doc, so Princeton strutted into the vet's office, completely unaware of his creepy subletters and what it would take to evict them.

We discussed flea treatment and decided on Comfortis. It's a monthly pill that is supposed to kill fleas on contact. Hell yeah! And then the doctor explained that one squirt of an injection in Princeton's shoulderblade area would kill the tapeworm inside of him. Injection? Uh oh. The vet instructed me to hold Princeton's collar and scratchy-scratch behind his ears while warning me that it's one of the most painful shots he has to give, which will make Princeton cry for a minute or two from the sting. Oh.

Lemme tell ya, Doc didn't get his license from being stupid. Brother was right on. Poor Princeton wailed and wailed with little whimpers and cries sprinkled between. He was in so much pain and had had no idea what happened to him. Poor guy. Poor mother. I was just as much a wreck. I feigned a pretty bad smile of understanding, but really, I wanted to hide under the chair in the corner just like Princeton did after the shot. I felt awful. I've never seen the baby in so much pain and it broke my heart.

$199 later, we scurried back to the car, anxious to get home and get the pill to work. Poor boy is still itching a little, but I haven't spotted any other fleas. Whatever was left on him should have died within an hour of Princeton taking the pill, so hopefully it remains a miracle drug that all the message board reviews claim it is because I just cannot handle one more minute of my poor pooch in pain and my OCD on overdrive.

Kids, spay, neuter and flea-prevent your pets!

Or this

will be home to this:

Ugh. Nightmares.

Must end blog with pretty picture:

A Wonderful Opening

2008-11-16T22:10:00.001-08:00

After six long weeks of rehearsals that included tons of conflicts, varied venues, and difficult music to learn, our cast enjoyed a great opening weekend of A Wonderful Life: The Musical.

I haven't talked about it very directly in my blog. I mean, it IS the reason why I haven't blogged much in the past month and a half because it's taken up a lot of my hours that I normally devote to blogging. But now that the show has opened and I've given it my own little stamp of approval, I thought I'd share my pride and excitement for this musical take on a holiday classic.

To be perfectly honest, the source musical material is not spectacular. With the music and lyrics team behind the piece (Harnick and Raposo), I expected more. There is a handful of catchy, toe-tappin' songs, but a lot of them don't gel with my preference in musical theater numbers. Thankfully, everyone knows the story and has related to Jimmy Stewart's George Bailey throughout life, so the mediocre music doesn't affect the wonderful show. Our cast sealed the deal with a stellar leading man who acts the part perfectly and has gained my respect as a fellow actor, and the performance for his wife, Mary Hatch Bailey, is extremely likeable and I'm glad to call her my off-stage friend.

I always adore seeing my husband up on stage. It's just so much fun to what you love with the one you love. Bryan plays Ernie, the cab driver and is an important part of the show. Plus, he's dead sexy in a cabbie hat.

I have a bit part as Ruth Bailey (as well as featured ensemble roles) and I'm having a terrific time bringing Ruth and other wacky characters of Bedford Falls to life. Over opening weekend, I received some great compliments about my work on stage and I'm glad that my efforts have been recognized. I always put a great deal of thought into my characters so I can represent the material with truth and reality in the pretend world on stage. I've never received the same compliments with such sincerity in previous productions, so I finally feel like I've leapt into a new category of capabilities. It feels like a million bucks and I look forward to future hurdles and challenges that my passion for theatre brings.

Overall, I think the next five weeks of shows will be super fun. Best Man Extraordinaire Brian is also in the show and he actually plays my husband! We have a great time on stage together and it's so clear why my Ruth loves his Harry Bailey! He's a fantastic dancer and looks resplendent in his military getup!

I think this holiday season will be just a little sweeter with this show catapulting us into the end of December. It is heartwarming and fun and really, who can resist that little pile of adorableness, Little Zuzu, when she says "Listen Daddy! Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings!" ?? Only a Scrooge. But that's a totally different show altogether!

Dress rehearsal photo of my "husband" Harry Bailey toasting his newly rich brother George (I'm right next to him, not yet wigged!)

What a trick-or-TREAT!

2008-11-01T09:03:00.001-07:00

Ever since I started planning my wedding, I started looking at photographers' blogs to catch up on the current trends in photography and weddings. I learned so much about styles of photos and reception decor, yes, but I also learned about the publishing of a blog.

I'd be lying if I said the wedding photography blogs I read didn't inspire me to create my own blog almost a year ago. And while I have no intentions to be a professional photographer or work in the wedding business, I've always wanted to blog like a wedding photographer. Their blog entries are so personal -- not about themselves -- but about their subjects. They really write beautifully AND showcase their gorgeous photos and by the end of the post, you feel like the featured person or couple are your best friend.

Some of my favorite photographers categorize their blog entries:

Day After: Marge and Homer, Anytime: Wilma and Barney, Wedding: Lucy and Fred... and then follow with a series of photos from that shoot.

Well, for one day, I present to you :::cue: magical fairy dust and bell chime flourish music:::

AliGoesPHOTOBlogWild.

Halloween: Princeton

Princeton is a sweet dog with a great personality. He's such a loving creature and enjoys the company of his human friends and family. His good looks and expressive face make him a wonderful photography subject, so on Halloween we conducted his very first photoshoot with many poses and candid moments. Princeton, all dolled up in his PetSmart pumpkin costume, worked the camera and was totally feroche. I love when my clients feel comfortable in front of the camera so I can really capture creative poses. Princeton was so cool; he pretty much did anything I told him and was open to my ideas. Thanks, Princeton, for letting me a part of your special first Halloween! And now, without further ado, Princeton as the Great Pumpkin.

Friend Pride

2008-10-21T09:31:00.001-07:00

I love my friends. Really, I do. I have great little circles of friends in recent years and I enjoy the time I spend with them. That means, when something great happens for them, I get all squealy and excited for their success.

It's especially inspiring when one of your friends goes after her dream and builds it to a reality. This dream has completed several little benchmarks along the way over the past almost-year, but she's hit a big one: official -- and official-looking -- Internet real estate!

My friend Jordana is a photographer and she is really talented. I mean, beyond talented. I want to create special events out of thin air so I can have some fun with her in front of the camera. She was a beautiful bride herself, so she knows a thing or two about what and how to capture the perfect moments.

Not only does she rock the snapper, she has a beautiful way with words. She paints them into her blog and they complement her photos ever so gracefully. It's a union of two really great and sentimental artistic devices. I'm a word nerd myself, so I get extra giddy when I read Jordana's blog entries.

And I am proud to show off Hazelnut Photography -- a little play on words with her name: Go see some eye candy and read word dessert -- and then book her for your event. Girl's gotta quit The Man job and devote all the time to love -- her's and your's!

www.hazelnutphotography.com/blog

Analyzing the Dog Park Culture

2008-10-06T20:01:00.001-07:00

With the help of veteran dog owner friends, we've discovered the wonders of the local dog park and have enjoyed taking Princeton there for his socialization and exercise.

Wait, who am I kidding? It is pure entertainment for us. It's not always in the form of dogs either. Some of these owners are interesting.

But the big belly laughs and coos and "Aaawww"s come from watching the dogs play together. Or, in some cases, try to play together.

You see, the dog park is like high school. There are always a couple of dogs who are the leaders. The cool kids. This would be equivalent to the varsity quarterback or the student body president. This dog runs around wherever he or she pleases and a swarm of dogs buzzes around him or her, wanting to follow its every move.

That brings me to the followers. There are a bunch of loyal subjects who bow-wow down to the popular dog. These dogs are always a few steps behind and compete with other peer-level dogs for the popular dog's attention (which usually means mounting).

Then there are the dorks. It's probably easier to be a dog dork than a human dork as dogs don't really judge as harshly as humans do, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. The dog dorks run around with the playing dogs on the outskirts of their cluster. They keep trying to get "in" with a series of hops and tumbles, but they never quite make it. No one chases them and they can't break through the mold. You can usually see the owners sulking in disappointment that their dogs aren't accepted into the group. You know they're just saying things like "oh, Puggy, if only you didn't waddle so much and you could run a little faster, you could be in the cool crowd." The culture kills me; it's just too funny.

The dog park is like a microcosm of the real world in an ideal place.

For example, humans are not as friendly as dogs are. When passing by, we don't greet each other with a "hello" or a "how do you do?" In fact, we're considered overly friendly and invasive if we manage to make eye contact and half a smile. Dogs, however, just run up and sniff. Either they like what they sniff and continue the salutation or it doesn't knock their paws off and they move on. No hard feelings. Here, Princeton and a fellow pal sniff-hello.

When other dogs see two dogs socializing, they're more apt to join in. This doesn't happen in people world either. Most people are intimidated by what looks like an already-formed group. But for dogs, hey, the more the merrier.

But then, just like people, there are dogs out there who are all alone. They don't have anyone who loves them or anyone to love back. It warms my heart to see humans who come through and help the lonely dogs find homes. We do more for lonely dogs than we do for lonely people. Fortunately, the lonely dog always can find friends at the dog park. I'd like to think that my Princeton and our friend Scotty are giving him a pup pep talk and feeding him some encouragement.

As we humans do, and as I've done in this blog, we personify dogs. It's easier to relate to them that way, I suppose. So when we see dogs try to show dominance, we giggle because it looks like sex. And sometimes it actually is, but in so many ways, it's the dog version of a buff and confident human man flexing his muscles or a pretty and available woman who walks hip to hip in killer heels. But deep down, I am a child and I still think this is hysterical. Looks like he's not so lonely after all.

For the record, Scotty constantly does this to Princeton, too. In fact, I think Princeton is walking away on the right side of the picture because he feels a little betrayed. See? There we go with the personifying again.

But really, at the end of the day, especially a dirty, funny, and doggone happy time at the dog park, it's all about family in any combination. We love our dogs and we want the best for them, so we constantly try to provide them with the best lives they can have.

So we run with them in flip flops through the doggy yard:

We pet them and tell them "good boy!" and "good girl!"

We collect our favorites and help find them specialized homes:

We document family time together:

We also make discoveries! It wasn't until the dog park outings that we realized Princeton is quite an athlete. He certainly didn't get his track and field genes from his parents! The Twelve Pound Turbo really turns it on and goes nuts around the grass. Take a look!

Princeton at the Dog Park from AliGoesBlogWild on Vimeo.

A Batch of Photos of the Bachelorette!

2008-10-06T00:19:00.001-07:00

The only bachelorette party I'd ever been to was my own so my first night out as a pal of the bride was super fun! The girl of honor was Janice and we had a night full of penis cakes, sushi, sex trivia and baseball fans!

Keren and I met Janice's friends at her house where we toasted her and watched her don her condom crown and must-wear bachelorette sash.

We waited and waited for the surprise stripper, "Billy the airline pilot" to show up, but it turns out, he was stuck in traffic. Probably better that way -- we got to Sushi Roku in Santa Monica sooner where we could order more drinks and enjoy some yummy food. Plus, who needs a stripper that's moronic enough to not leave enough time to drive from Orange County to Glendale on a Saturday night? Next time, we'll order strippers who also serve on the board of the Harvard Alumni Association.

Even though the stripper didn't show up, looks like Janice will have to take some stripping into her own hands! Look at the gifts she got! Ay ay ay!

Uh oh, gotta return it. It's defected - they left out some fabric on top...

She wore an itsy bitsy teeny weenie little purple string bikini...

Dinner was yummy! Always heard of Sushi Roku and booked many o' power lunches there for my old bosses at Fox. Very swanky inside. Expected to see Ari Gold burst through the doors.

The MOH and bride pose with their dinners

Wendy, the domestic (and phallic) diva baked us dessert. She endearingly differentiated the flavors as Vanilla McCain and Chocolate Obama. Way to keep the cakes current!

Janice gets ready to, um, blow out the candle.

We finally found ourselves on cute-and-trendy Main Street to enjoy the low-key surroundings of O'Brien's Pub. We had a table reserved for us and the drinking began. Unfortunately, the "Irish Band" wasn't very Irish so we stayed in our corner and enjoyed our own private Girl Talk and, of, course, penis lollipops. What's a bachelorette party without a bevy of below-the-belt props?

Keren and I with our penis pops. Mine was Chocolate Chubby flavored.

Playin' to the camera, Janice and Wendy enjoyed their Penis Colada pops and Debra picked Chocolate Chubby like me.

This got us thinking: do boys play with boob things at bachelor parties? Yes? No? Discuss.

The bar started filling up, notably with the Dodger Stadium crowd who had just returned either to drink sorrows away -- if Cubs fans -- or to celebrate hardcore -- if Dodger fans. After all, Janice's Bachelorette Party night shall share the same historical date with the Dodgers, who swept the Chicago Cubs, clinching the NLDS title for the first time since 1988. This is a big deal. October Fourth Two Thousand Eight: Janice's bachelorette party AND the Dodgers beat the Cubs to move ahead closer to the World Series.

This brings us to The Boys. A pair of cute boys (fittingly, the Dodger fan remarkably cuter) joined our table later in the night and conducted themselves appropriately around the bachelorette: The Cub fan, um, flirted:

And the Dodger fan bought our bride a drink.

And. He. Was. Hot.

We all gushed like little girls. It was funny. (Aside: He's a fellow Wildcat. We talked about UofA and exchanged stories. He's also from Alaska. Cue the handful of Sarah Palin and moose hunting questions).

Before we left, we played with the camera and exchanged shots to document our fun night out.

HAPPY BACHELORETTE JANICE! We can't wait for your wedding next weekend! If this is any indication of what a hot bride you'll be, we can't wait for the real thing!

A PUPlic Service Announcement

2008-09-12T12:15:00.001-07:00

Don't get your tail between your legs. I am happy to report some news that is really something to woof home about.

While on an Olympics of errands with my mom and Princeton last week, we had to choreograph a shopping-with-dog routine: I run inside and get what I need; Mom stands outside with Princeton on a leash while passersby fall in love with his sweet adorableness (that last part may or may not be true, but, psssh, how could they not?). Good thing I was quick, I knew what I had to buy, and I chose good lines. This is what we decided to do when my mom and I spent the day together and we both wanted to hang with the P-man. It's that whole "have your milkbone and eat it too" scenario.

The final stop of the day was Bed, Bath and Beyond. We got out of the car and I promised I'd be quick while my mom waited outside with her granddog.

Only a pawful of minutes later, and I heard my name while browsing through the pillow section. Much to my surprise, the person calling it was my mom and before I could panic about where my dog was, I saw that he was in her arms. In the store. In the pillow section.

Was I dreaming? Was I in Europe? I've been so conditioned to thinking that here in our country where dog is man's best friend, we can't bring our pets into public, commercial spaces. It's always been ruff on me.

Turns out, a super nice BB&B employee saw my mom outside and told her dogs are allowed in the store. Company allows it. In fact, it's encouraged. So, into the store they came!

Say what?! Dogs are allowed in BB&B? Oh hell yes, BB&B is now my new favorite store.

So we had fun showing Princeton the ways of corporate retail America.

For example:

Had to document Princeton's first time in a shopping cart.

"Mom, what in dog's name am I doing in here and why is this so exciting for you?"

(and yes, apparently I am that dogmom who talks for her dog... at least in blog).

We even shot real, live video courtesy of mediocre-quality video camera-phone. My mom and I laugh at ourselves for having too much fun with this novel experience:

I'm so excited to take Princeton shopping with me again. Being productive while enjoying the company of the cutest little man in the world really makes you feel like you're getting so much more bang for your bark. Um, buck.

Adventures in Cooking

2008-09-04T01:05:00.001-07:00

Bryan and I are trying to be more cost and health conscious of what we eat. We constantly find ourselves going out to dinner and it turns into a habit that's not good for either our bellies or our wallets. So, with some inspiration from some cookbooks, we went to Costco, bought, bought, bought, and planned our meals. As they say, it's all about planning.

I bought a behemoth bag of sweet onions. I figured I'd find something to do with them. A brisket. Some stir fry. Eh, sure, why not. Plopped 'em in the cart. But I really didn't realize HOW MANY onions were in the bag until I came back to reality and entered our tiny kitchen. The area of half the kitchen was taken up by onions! (By the way, just relearned that area = width times height. Very exciting).

So I had to get crafty. I sifted through our other purchases. A gazillion pounds of tri-tip. A trillion slices of turkey. An infinity of multigrain slices of bread. Neither of these would do. It sure is easy to get caught up in the dreamy world of buying in bulk. You think "so what if I don't finish 452 onions? It only cost this much for this many!" Somehow, that logic trumps "we are only one male and one female of average size." This family of 2 bought for a small country and I had no idea what to make.

Then I found it! We had also bought some pre-made pulled pork that you just heat up and voila! instant sandwich a la our many lunches poolside in Hawaii. So, in order to recreate our honeymoon, we decided to make onion rings, pulled pork sandwiches topped with sweet BBQ sauce and pineapple. Done and done!

Not so fast.

I assumed onion rings would be easy. And in hindsight, they actually are, but when I see 5 inches of column space devoted to a recipe in the world famous "The Joy of Cooking" with 3 different page references to other ingredients' sub-recipes, I get a little intimidated. So when Bryan heard the non-G-rated words coming out of my mouth, he came to the rescue. My attempt to be Betty Crocker turned into my husband saving the dinner and shall thus be named Bobby Crocker when working in the kitchen.

Bryan's Best Friend and Best Man, Brian, was joining us for dinner so I was hoping to treat him to something delicious. My frustration wasn't helping and "treating" wasn't the right word anymore since I wasn't such a treat myself. Thankfully, Bryan helped me create the batter (made out of beer, flour, eggs, pepper, and paprika) and then I proceeded to get into a rhythm of dredging, dipping, and placing the onions onto a rack. It was kind of fun! Nevermind that the house stunk for days after; we were pretty proud to say we could fry stuff.

Dredging the onions in the batter before placing them in the 360-degree pot of oil (this required a last-minute trip to the market upon realization that we had no frying thermometer).

Sizzle sizzle. No calories. Nope. None. Yup.

Alton Brown, our kitchen idol from Food Network says to place fried-anything on a cooling rack with paper towels underneath for less grease AND easy cleanup. That's my man.

Side by side: before and after!

Finally! The plated onion rings. They tasted pretty good! All in all, they took about only 20 minutes to make from dredging to plating. Not bad.

The boys enjoy their manly meal. Notice the room is smoky. It smelled just as thick as it looks. Ugh. But whatever, tasted good.

With each successful meal we miraculously throw together, I am inspired to cook the next. So far, our experiment of eating in and eating healthy has been working great! We are satisfied and feel in control of what we put in our bodies and that's a great feeling! Plus, more time at home means more time with Princeton! Can't have a post without a shout out to the little man!

Let's play: Get To Know Your Chain Store or Restaurant

2008-08-25T11:20:00.001-07:00

Okay, I've had it. I can't stand listening to established, cultured human beings constantly refer to pop culture places of business by a name that they are just... not!

Read the name on the building, people. It's something different than what you're saying.

This rant stems from my reading and hearing gross misnomers of popular places. For example, Nordstroms.

Nordstroms? Really? Go read it. What does it say?

No "S." Perhaps if you are planing on shopping at more than 2 Nordstrom department stores, you'd say "I need more expensive, fancy underwear so I'll be going to 42 Nordstroms today." But that's probably not the case 99.999999% of the time. Therefore, if you plan on shopping to the tune of the baby grand piano, just simply say "The half yearly sale at Nordstrom is tomorrow. Yay!" and call it a day. Perhaps this gross mispronunciation of an additional "S" comes from other stores that DO have an "S" (usually possessive) in their names, such as Macy's or Mervyn's. That shouldn't matter though. It's a simple task of reading and repeating.

This above phenomenon goes for deliciously-famous-for-gigantic-portions Claim Jumper. I constantly hear Claim Jumpers. And it's wrong. Nope. One. Just one claim jumper. Only one little mean miner guy who violates another man's land claim. One. See? I'm not even lying:

Get ready, because this one really irks me. Not only does it change the spelling, but changes the meaning! Ready? Ok, here it is. The violation: Victoria Secrets.

WHAT?! Really?

I'm cutting to the chase. It's Victoria's Secret. See here:

I mean, the running joke for years and years and years has been "Wonder what's Victoria's Secret even IS?" If the name was actually <shudder> Victoria Secrets, than that little wink-wink-nudge-nudge of a joke wouldn't even make sense! I guess I just don't understand why it's so difficult to make the proper noun possessive and keep the 2nd noun singular. It's a story, an enticing name of a lingerie store. It's something to discover: "If you come in here and try on these ridiculously small panties, you shall discover .... Victoria's Secret." Oooooo. It's stupid and dramatic, but it's a multi-gazillion dollar business with a published, branded name. Use it.

The rules of English just make sense to me the same way the rules of math make sense to other people (NOT me! I wish!). While I have my frustrations with gross misprintings of words -- commonly seen are possessive vs. plural issues -- I think this (Nordstroms, Claim Jumpers, Victoria Secrets) bites at me more because, well, they're all proper names. The work's been done for us. We don't have to think. We just have to read it and pronounce it (or write it). It's a simple game of copy-cat. And yet, it's still a problem. If we can't even just mimic an already-created and branded name, then society will never get the actual rules of English that need real, actual attention.

Princeton's first...

2008-08-16T11:54:00.001-07:00

real haircut happened this week!!

The day after we got him, he was all raggedy so we had him groomed and they trimmed some of his fur to clean him up.

It's grown a lot since and to help keep him cool for the rest of the summer (and, selfishly, to help keep our house a little cleaner...) he got groomed again on Tuesday and now has the most handsome haircut. He's very dapper and looks like he should be on the cover of a puppy version of GQ. What can I say? I like my men clean cut.

Ugh, moooOOOooom. this is SO embarrassing.

Well if you MUST, at least capture my good angle. I do have an exquisite jawline.

Ok, you can take one more after this. I want to go play now!

I'm wagging my tail and ready to go. Haircut shmaircut. I look great, yada yada, now let's play!!

Doggone days of summer

2008-08-13T00:39:00.001-07:00

My Granny got her doggy companion, Sweetie, about a year ago and that's when my dogological clock started ticking. I fell in love with that cute little pooch and realized I really needed to have a pup of my own one day with the hubs.

Now we have our furry bundle of love, and Granny and I finally made a date to introduce Sweetie and Princeton to each other. Technically, Sweetie is Princeton's Great Aunt (okay, so I got a little carried away with the family tree, but if Sweetie is her child and Princeton is mine...), but the 6-ish year-old maltese/yorkie mix acted like a puppy, full of spritely energy and loving every second of attention. Meanwhile, Princeton was a very calm guest and preferred to chill out and watch his new canine family member spend all her energy. You'd think Princeton was the old fart of the family (and why not, with his Andy Rooney eyebrows?!), but he's only about a year and still getting used to his new home with us.

We started the morning with playtime on Granny's enclosed patio:

Then, I drove all of us to lunch where we ate outside and enjoyed some sub sandwiches. You'd never know we were there to eat -- it seems like all I did was snap photos of the dogs on the sidewalk. Every person that walked by during the busy lunch hour stopped to pet the dogs and ask about them. They ARE pretty cute and only someone without a soul could resist a smile.

After lunch, we headed over to the park. Since Granny is 80-something, Sweetie doesn't really get to run around and frolick through the park, so I grabbed the leash and ran her around. She loved playing and definitely appreciated the exercise. At one point, I ran Princeton AND Sweetie together and I got all tangled up in the leash!

I took a cute pic of Granny with her sweet Sweetie:

And then she really felt the puppy love!

This older woman was walking by us and stopped to say hello to the doggies. She began to tell us about the joy and heartache she went through with her own dog. We all agreed that dogs are wonderful creatures who bring us so much joy, but when they are gone, the pain is indescribable. I think we made her day by letting her talk about her deceased loved one. She was so grateful to have the opportunity to let her feelings out and told us she felt she could now move on with the healing process. We all agreed that dogs do so much for us, and when they are no longer here to chase rabbits and chew treats, they've got to find themselves in a doggie heaven full of grass and toys. It must be hard to be at the end of your life, without your human friends and suddenly without your furry friend. Granny sounded so relieved to have Sweetie in her life, as they'll both be able to grow older together. While this exchange seems very sad and depressing on the surface, it makes me happy to know that dogs are like family members and have provided such necessary love and companionship to those in need of it. Why pay for therapy when you've got dog kisses?

5 Friends in Vegas

2008-08-12T23:23:00.001-07:00

What do you get when you have a friend who has a hook up for a free timeshare for a weekend in Vegas and he invites 4 of his favorite friends? You get Friegel, Stacobs and Kevin Do Vegas! (I love word/name fusion and Bryan and I are Friegel based on our last names; Stacey and DJ are Stacobs based on Stacey's first name and D's last name: big thrill).

The timeshare was off the strip. No big deal; we took the monorail!

We ate yummy gourmet burgers and other delicacies at the Mirage at 2am on our first night:

fried pickles = Bryan's idea of Heaven.

The next day, we woke up and brunched at Mon Ami Gabi (The Friegel's personal favorite) at Paris. We all shared lots of yumminess like:

baguettes!

Seasoned grilled salmon over citrus and spinach!

Steak sandwich with caramelized onions on ciabatta!

Eggs Benedict!

Perfectly crisp frites!

Waffles with chocolate Nutella -- by the way, OH. MAW. GAWSH.

We rolled out of Mon Ami Gabi after we were all round and satisfied and snuck into the Paris pool after a series of comical events, i.e., D and I going up to people in the registration area of the hotel asking if they have an extra key so we could "join our friends who are already at the pool and won't pick up their cell phones to come get us." We were turned down by the following: rules-obeying old men, flirtatious 40-something women on a menopause vacation who had JUST turned in their keys upon check out, a German who didn't understand the situation in question, a threesome of hicks who said they didn't have keys yet but heard you can just walk right in anyway. ding ding ding! Up we went to the 3rd floor and lo and behold, we walked with a purpose onto the pool plaza, scored some chairs, grabbed some towels, and within minutes, we had our cocktails in hand. Fantastic-ness.

Our lava flows didn't come close to our favorite Hawaiian honeymoon drink, but what the hell, it's Vegas.

Stace double fists a margarita and an iced coffee. Only in Vegas.

After we roasted out by the pool for a couple hours, we sluggishly made it back to the other end of town where we played some games at the Hilton. I played blackjack for about an hour and didn't win. But I didn't lose. Lots of fun for free. The boys and Stacey learned craps. I was way too confused. They did well! Believe it or not, that is the only gambling I did the whole weekend, though we found ourselves in the casinos a lot... usually pulling D away from every single blackjack table he got magnetized to.

We cleaned up nicely and headed out to Bobby Flay's restaurant at Caesar's, Mesa Grill. Very yummy food. Good atmosphere. Interesting waiter. Nice wine spillage.

Notice D's nice clean shirt. It will not stay that way.

Looks gross, but I swear this tiger shrimp and husk-wrapped corn salsa was delicious.

Bryan's rubbed pork chops were the best thing I ate there.

Kevin's T-bone steak with 2 kinds of sauces made with Bobby Flay's famous and favorite flavors: chiles!

These are the faces of two very full men, exhausted from an eating experience like no other.

An oops with the red wine and there goes Geoffrey Beane. Snappy waiter had a Tide Stick on him, but it was still questionable if the shirt would survive.

After dinner, we hoofed our bellies over to Bellagio where our evening would continue. We started at Caramel for some two-for-ones.

And once we had our fill of two for ones, we moved on over to The Bank (which has replaced Light), where Stacey's friend hooked us up with no-line/no-cover. It sure felt nice to be escorted in while lots of thirsty guys and gals waited behind the ropes. It was super crowded inside and was a trek to get drinks or go onto the dancefloor. The hubs and Nivek and I got too sober to tolerate it and after about 2 hours, we cashed out of The Bank. But what does a girl with a camera do while she's sobering up in a dance club? She shoots!

We did learn a thing or two while spending time in The Bank:

1. Men in uniform can basically have sex on the dancefloor and it's completely acceptable. No big deal.

2. Asians LOVE the club. And they get DOOOOWN.

3. Bottle service with a table is THE way to do it... as we longingly stared at those lucky bitches.

We hobbled on over to the Bellagio cafe for some 2 a.m. grub. We ordered desserts and fried food. Does the phrase "whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" apply to calories?

my husband, the narcoleptic.

The business partners get sleepy. (I still think it's cool that my husband and my college best friend are business partners).

And, just like that, there ends my photo recap of our Vegas trip. Food, games, food, dancing, food, alcohol, food, pool: a quintessential, low-key weekend in The Veg with good friends and lots of laughter.

Time flies!

2008-08-12T21:16:00.001-07:00

My oh my, it's been weeks since I've blogged!! Lots of catching up to do.

I survived my sales meeting in Ft. Lauderdale. Meetings turned out to be tolerable. They ran them much more smoothly this year, so it wasn't as painful as it has been in the past. Only excitement of the trip was my terrible food poisoning on the 2nd to last night. I can't imagine I will ever dine at a Benihana ever again. Not sure how I'm the only one out of 55 people who got so sick (maybe my utensil was contaminated?!), but I definitely got a visit from some H-O-T paramedics out of the deal, so THAT'S good. Also, I definitely learned a whole new meaning for the word "projectile." Awesomeness.

Since the Florida trip, I spent a weekend in Vegas with the hubster, BFF Nivek and Stacobs (name fusion for Stacey and D. Jacobs). SO MUCH FUN! Details to come.

the gang at Caramel at Bellagio.

Princeton has turned into Superdog. He is adorably peppy and loving. He is doing so much better. I find myself just staring at him for long periods of time, lost in his cuteness and silly personality. Sometimes I just crack up in the middle of his crazy antics. He makes me laugh and I love him. I definitely think he is the best thing to happen to Bryan and me during this blissful time in our lives.

he is quite the contortionist -- he plops down and relaxes in the funniest positions.

He loved the spiral bone that his grandma and grandPAW bought for him during their PetSmart outing!

Time to start sorting through pictures for my next blog all about VEGAS!

Boo

2008-07-27T21:04:00.000-07:00

I am currently in Ft. Lauderdale for a big rah-rah company sales meeting. I am unhappy about this.

I miss my dog.
I miss my husband.
I miss my unfrizzy hair.

I get to come home Thursday and it feels like lightyears away.

And yes, I sound like a homesick 12-year-old at camp andIdon'tevencare.

Playtime for Princeton!

2008-07-22T22:50:00.001-07:00

P-dog has made huge strides in his progress with feeling comfortable at home and behaving more like a normal pup. Such a relief!! Our amazing trainer Heather told us that the little man has low self esteem (obviously he didn't get that gene from us) and if we played tug with him and let him win, he'd start to feel a little more confident. Swell, makes sense. However, until recently, the pooch didn't have any interest in toys whatsoever!

He went to cousin Penny's house and while they had a fun time chasing bugs and sniffing butts, he couldn't seem to get into the toys Penny shared.

Bryan and Cousin Laura's hands rub down Princeton and Penny

Cousin Laura cuddles with her daughter Penny and cousin Princeton.

Then, Princeton played with Kahlua, the mutt next door and she even tried to show him what to do with the rubber spike toy and the Ole Ole ball (Kahlua is a dog genius and knows all 30 of her toys by name!). He looked at Kahlua and the toys like they were from outer space.

Neighbor Deanna tries to get Princeton interested in Rubber Spike toy. No dice.

Kahlua chews on the rubber ball o' fun and Princeton doesn't even blink.

"Ya know guys, I think I'll bow-wow out of the toys and just chill out here in the shade sheltered under the patio table. Yeah, thanks."

So, as you can see, just PLAYING with Princeton was going to be the work before the work.

But, as is the theme in all of my Princeton entries, I just wasn't going to give up. I mean, we wanted a dog. We were gonna HAVE a dog gosh darn it!

So, I figured out that Princeton would need to be annoyed by a toy first before he could love it. After playing a round of "gotchyur feets!" where I grab his tootsies and get him all excited to the point of finger gnaws, I realized that why should a squeaky toy or a rope toy be any different than my flesh toy?!

Enter: The dangle. I took toy that Cousin Penny gave her new cousin when they met a couple weeks ago and dangled it around his nose and muzzle area. After a while, it annoyed him so he mouthed the toy (a squeaky bone that says "Kosher" on it -- Princeton is all ready for his Bark Mitzvah) and realized it was fun to tug on it while I resisted. In between tugs, I threw it across the room and he ran (read: skidded) to plop ontop of it and chew it. Holy moly, my dog was chewing! He was playing! He was doing doggy things!!!

Yup! That's my DOG! We love our little man!

So, we're happy to say that he's playing, eating well, sleeping well, and pottying well (WELL, most of the time...).

Meryl + 3 handsome men + ABBA = FUN!

2008-07-18T03:50:00.001-07:00

It should come as no surprise that my sister-in-law and I went to the midnight showing of "Mamma Mia!" and thoroughly enjoyed it. While the crowd at the movie theater was really there for the new Batman flick, leave it to us to saunter into the half-empty (half-full?) "Mamma Mia!" auditorium. As IF we'd have any business joining the crowds to see Heath and Christian. Who needs Gotham when you can have Greece?

I'll detail it later but I'd just like to say that YES, it was cheesy. YES, it was over the top. But YES, it was so damn entertaining because it gave us just what we wanted: over the top cheesiness portrayed by a great cast, super-fun music, and a familiar stage story that makes us both squeal.

I'd pay whatever, kill however and do whoever it takes to play Sophie one day. Dream role? YES.

I'm sure I'll see it again. It's really a mother-daughter flick after all so I gotta go with the momster (yes, I'm inviting you via blog). I'd be lying if I said I didn't cry during Sophie and Donna's montage scene of "Slipping Through My Fingers." I don't know, maybe it's the recent bride in me, but SIL was crying too, so whatever!

Anyhoo, go see it! It's cute!!

Reunited and it Feels So Good

2008-07-17T08:55:00.001-07:00

Someone please pinch me. I am still coming off of the high that was Girls' Weekend in Palm Desert. All of us are the "other half" of a big group of girls from high school. Some of us hadn't seen each other since our freshman year of college and some see each other on a regular basis, but either way, it had been way too long since we'd all been together, spending time laughing, philosophizing, catching up and reminiscing.

Annie and I drove to the desert on Friday afternoon and finally met up with Gretchen, Jenna (coming from Arizona), and Christina (coming from San Diego) outside the Marriott villas. I can't remember the last time I jumped so high. Girls, I'm still sorry if I knocked the wind out of you! I was so excited to see them and they were just as sweet and beautiful as ever.

We got settled into our gigantic 2 bedroom/2 bathroom/living room/kitchen suite and decided to enjoy a late dinner where Megan (coming from Huntington Beach) met us, just having arrived home from a business trip in San Francisco.

We enjoyed good wine ($21 bottle, yes!) and yummy food while playing the best game ever: each person got five minutes to bring us all up to date, covering the last, oh, ya know, SEVEN years. Well, of course five minutes wasn't enough and our catch-up conversation went until midnight when we closed down the restaurant.

On Saturday, we suffered through the heat and laid out by the pool. Snacks, magazines and girl talk made the heat seem a little less painful, but a few of us trickled away and enjoyed appointments at a local massage therapy center. Christina and I shared appointment times and agreed it was the best massage ever! It had been so long since I chatted with Christina and I know I'm not alone when I say how wonderful it is to listen to her positive and wise words. She's smart, nice AND gorgeous and not a wee bit cocky. More people should be like her.

What's a girls' weekend without a shopping extravaganza? After the group got cleaned up from massages and pooltime, we all walked up and down the steamy streets of the famous El Paseo Drive, the Rodeo of Palm Desert. Unfortunately, the city was dead and so were the shops because, really, who goes to Palm Desert in the middle of July?!? But we did relish in the fantastic sales at JCrew, Saks and other fine establishments.

After our sweaty afternoon, we got showered and beautified for our night out. I finally whipped out the camera and took some getting-ready shots.

Gretchen and Megan in the mirror

Annie doing her makeup thing

And then I just went all out camera-happy in the room.

Jenna and Christina ready to go

Me with Jenna

Megan, with her magical Monster in hand and Christina.

Me with Megan. We've been friends since elementary school!

Megan, Jenna, me, Christina and Gretchen getting ready to leave. Annie is playing the all-important role of photographer!

We finally got on our shuttle to get to the far other side of the property. The shuttle was constantly slow getting to us all weekend and I'd be lying if I said it didn't annoy me! We were late for our reservation at Mikado's, at teppan yaki restaurant, so instead, we were treated to waiting in the "your table isn't ready" section with a handful of other groups. All of them girls. Apparently, Palm Desert is a chick magnet of a location! Seriously, the ratio of girl groups to guy groups was like 4:1. Crazy. The place was full of bachelorette parties and we watched as this cocky threesome of guys hopped from group to group. They finally reached us and made it very clear that they were a-holes. There's always the spokesperson of the group who is usually a giant jackass. This was no exception. Mr. Jackass decided not only to insult married people (the nerve!) but make the incorrect observation that we all have the same hair. Christina told him we were from University of Wisconsin Law School. He was pretty floored by that false fact. He was also quite confused when Jenna flipped him off as we walked away when our table was called. Clearly, he's never listened to himself talk. We got a good laugh from their pathetic attempts to woo us. Whoop-de-doo!

All of us girls, "all with the same hair." What?! If anything, we all have complementing outfits -- we SO didn't plan these colors!!

Christina and Annie - seriously, how pretty are my friends?!

Jenna, Megan, me and Gretchen just before we finally got our table.

Finally at the big fiery table, about to order.

Jenna and Christina with an itty bitty bottle of something delicious.

The chef threw shrimp and gave everyone a chance to catch it in their mouths. I sucked at it and unfortunately saw many potentially delicious shrimp go wasted, meeting the dirty, slippery floor for their final resting place.

Jenna, however, was a champ.

After dinner, the plan was to head on over to Costa's and dance... but we ate too much and our tummies were too full by the time our dinner ended at 11:30 so we headed back to the hotel instead. I guess we went from High School Girls Gone Wild to High School Girls Gone MILD. But, as it always does, everything worked out and we spent the rest of the night in our PJs in the living room, dishing about boys, high school and jobs. By 2:30, we conked out and checked off another successful day all together.

Annie winds down with a magazine.

Christina gets "in touch."

Jenna and I veg out on the couch.

The next morning, we packed up, talked about how awesome our weekend had been and headed out to brunch. But before we left... a picture!

Annie gives thumbs up to a fantastic 2 days.

We got to the main JW property and Jenna found herself enchanted with the tropics birds on the way to the restaurant.

This guy was chatty! He kept saying "waaaaaaater." Thirsty AND chatty!

Jenna IS the Bird Whisperer.

We made it to brunch! We had a pretty table that overlooked one of the lakes. We could see black swans and ducks! A duck even joined us at our feet:

Some of us opted for the big breakfast buffet and others ordered off the lunch menu. I think we were all pretty stuffed!! Here we are after enjoying our meals, realizing we didn't have too many more opportunities for photos!! Panic set in and we got camera-happy again!

We got back to our cars, traded lots of hugs, and made big promises about meeting more often for girl getaway weekends. We all drove off and that was that.

WRONG.

Annie and I decided to check out the killer sale at JCrew on El Paseo one more time. We shopped for about 45 minutes and when we got back into the car at about 2pm to leave for good, we noticed we both had messages from Christina. Poor girl left a bracelet in the hotel room AND on her way back to reclaim it, noticed her car was overheating. Ugh.

We met our pal at a Mobil station off the freeway. Good thing she hadn't gotten very far when she turned around to go back to the hotel. And even better that Annie and I were still in Palm Desert! We arrived at the gas station to see the hood of her Jetta up and a swarm of men of all ages helping out our damsel in distress. This is when it pays off to be cute when having car trouble. Tons of nice people helped, but there wasn't much anyone could do after many attempts to cool down the car. So, AAA towed the car to a mechanic place -- the only one open at 3pm on a Sunday! -- and we waited there for a while.

But "a while," I mean 5 hours. At 6pm, the really nice mechanic guys, who stayed an hour and a half after the shop closed and official store hours were over, they determined they couldn't fix it and the problem was more complicated than tweaking a couple parts here and there. We had waited for 3 hours and kept each other semi-sane by thinking about dream cars and warding off a gigantic cockroach that scurried around the floor (ew gross!), but even by the end, we'd lost our minds and just decided that the car would be towed to the dealer the next morning. After flip flopping on decisions about where Christina goes -- back with us or stay overnight, stranded in the hot desert with no car and no for-sure knowledge of when she'd have one again -- Christina chose to drive back with us.

First we stopped back at the hotel and were able to get into our room. As we searched for the bracelet, I found my bra that I had apparently left on the floor! I never do that kind of stuff! And then Annie looked up on the TV and there was the bracelet. Yay! The car may be a failure, but at least we had success back in the hotel room. And total bonus that I found something I didn't even realize I'd lost!

Finally, our journey back to 80 degree weather began. We made pretty good time -- about 2.5 hours. We were beat!

It all worked out okay and Christina has some car woes ahead of her, but Annie and I were just so glad we could be there to help her. But whoa, what a way to end a fantastic weekend!

And it WAS a fantastic weekend! We had such a great time and we're SO getting together again in the next few months. This weekend made me realize how lucky I am to have these girls in my life - some back in again, after a long geographic-separation. And while we don't all live in the same town, or even state, we're not THAT far away from each other that we can't have quarterly gatherings! Here's to many more girls weekends! If that were a toast, Annie would definitely hook it up much better. ;)

I hate the Blogger template!

2008-07-08T00:03:00.001-07:00

I don't understand why the Blogger template messes up my formatting (font, sizing, paragraphs) -- do any of you experience that too?!

I normally write my Blogs in Microsoft LiveWriter (which is SO cool -- I highly recommend this application for writing blogs; it's the best for formatting and inserting photos) but my personal laptop is DEAD because the power cord went hairy and now my computer is unable to turn on! So, blogs will temporarily be written on my work lap top via the actual Blogger template. Boo to annoying formatting out of my control!

Princeton: Not your average Ivy League dog

2008-07-07T23:30:00.001-07:00

He may be cute and he may be very loving, but Princeton isn't exactly adjusting to his new home with flying colors. Unfortunately, the little dude is suffering from severe separation anxiety. It breaks my heart that he's so tortured, especially when we've done everything possible that professionals say to do.

This is what I've learned about separation anxiety (I copy and pasted this from an informational website and left in tact the parts that apply to our particular situation):

Dogs with separation anxiety exhibit behavior problems when they're left alone. Typically, they'll have a dramatic anxiety response within a short time (20–45 minutes) after their owners leave them. The most common of these behaviors are:
*Digging, chewing, and scratching at doors or windows in an attempt to escape and reunite with their owners.
*Howling, barking, and crying in an attempt to get their owner to return.

Why Do Dogs Suffer from Separation Anxiety?
*When a dog accustomed to constant human companionship is left alone for the first time.
*Following a long interval, such as a vacation, during which the owner and dog are constantly together.
*After a traumatic event (from the dog's point of view), such as a period of time spent at a shelter or boarding kennel.

How Do I Know If My Dog Has Separation Anxiety?
Because there are many reasons for the behaviors associated with separation anxiety, it's essential to correctly diagnose the reason for the behavior before proceeding with treatment. If most, or all, of the following statements are true about your dog, he may have a separation anxiety problem:
*The behavior occurs exclusively or primarily when he's left alone.
*He follows you from room to room whenever you're home.
*He displays effusive, frantic greeting behaviors.
*The behavior always occurs when he's left alone, whether for a short or long period of time.

What to Do If Your Dog Has Separation Anxiety
For a minor separation anxiety problem, the following techniques may be helpful by themselves. For more severe problems, these techniques should be used along with the desensitization process described in the next section.
*Keep arrivals and departures low-key. For example, when you arrive home, ignore your dog for the first few minutes, then calmly pet him. This may be hard for you to do, but it's important!
*Leave your dog with an article of clothing that smells like you—such as an old t-shirt that you've slept in recently.
*Establish a "safety cue"—a word or action that you use every time you leave that tells your dog you'll be back. Dogs usually learn to associate certain cues with short absences by their owners. For example, when you take out the garbage, your dog knows you come right back and doesn't become anxious. Therefore, it's helpful to associate a safety cue with your short-duration absences.
*Some examples of safety cues are a playing radio, a playing television, or a toy (one that doesn't have dangerous fillings and can't be torn into pieces). Use your safety cue during practice sessions with your dog. Be sure to avoid presenting your dog with the safety cue when you leave for a period of time longer than he can tolerate; if you do, the value of the safety cue will be lost. Leaving a radio on to provide company for your dog isn't particularly useful by itself, but a playing radio may work if you've used it consistently as a safety cue in your practice sessions. If your dog engages in destructive chewing as part of his separation distress, offering him a chewing item as a safety cue is a good idea. Very hard rubber toys that can be stuffed with treats and Nylabone®-like products are good choices.

Interim Solutions
Because the treatments described above can take a while, and because a dog with separation anxiety can do serious damage to himself and/or your home in the interim, consider these suggestions to help you and your dog cope in the short term:
*Consult your veterinarian about the possibility of drug therapy. A good anti-anxiety drug should not sedate your dog, but simply reduce his anxiety while you're gone. Such medication is a temporary measure and should be used in conjunction with behavior modification techniques.

Interesting stuff, but also very sad. It's exactly what Princeton is going through. He has improved SO much in the week he's been with us! He is now a great leash-walker, he's learned to sit on command, he's potty trained to go outside and we've had no in-house accidents (!!!!!!), he knows his name and we all adore each other. However, we just can't leave the house -- or the room, for that matter -- or he goes into a tizzy and turns into a totally different dog.

We aimed the video camera into his crate to see what happened when we left for 5 hours the other day and he was hysterical. It was kind of scary, actually, and I'm concerned more than anything that he might hurt himself. I'm sure anyone who walks by our houses thinks someone's being murdered inside... nope, it's just my damaged dog freaking out over our absence. It's so bad, I can't even go shower upstairs while he's roaming the downstairs area without him howling and wailing about our separation. It makes me sad and I don't know what else to do! We've done everything like put toys and chews into his crate to distract him and keep him happy, but the weirdo doesn't even LIKE toys or chews. I spent over $50 on treats and toys today at PETsMART and when I brought them home, he sniffed them for a second and then looked up at me like I was crazy. He's just not interested. Therefore, filling his crate with these so-called happy things don't do anything to help his S.A. Thanks goodness for the store's return policy!!

Leaving the TV on for him didn't seem to make a difference and we are very diligent about not making a fuss over our departures and arrivals so that he realizes it's totally okay to be alone. We even put a framed photo of us in front of his crate so he could look at us while we are gone. I know that's a stretch, but we're reachin' here!! Anything! We'll do anything! We just want our little boy to be HAPPY and HEALTHY.

We visited the vet on Saturday and he prescribed Princeton with antidepressants that should kick in in about two to three weeks. The medication is in the Prozac family so it's an appetite supressant... which means the skinny dog who already ate like a bird hasn't touched his doggy food in days. Even spiking it with chicken soup and cheese hasn't whet his appetite at all. Yes, it's true; I have a special-needs dog. If Princeton went to school, he would ride the short yellow bus there and back. Oy. I'm at a loss and B and I can only cross our fingers that the meds will do wonders to correct this chemical imbalance in his brain. We feel good knowing that we're doing everything we can as doggy parents, but it's very stressful and I wish he would just be a normal pup ALL the time! We're very committed to him, though, so we're not giving up anytime soon!

If any of you have dealt with dogs suffering from separation anxiety and have tips or success stories or even brutal truth, please share.

Announcing Princeton

2008-07-02T10:16:00.001-07:00

DOR (Date of Rescue): June 29, 2008

10 pounds

About 18 inches long

The parents are proud and happy, though a little sleepless.

Yes, that's right, we have a new baby in the house and it's our 8 to 12-month-old bundle of furry joy. We'd been looking for a dog pretty much since the wedding. Well, scratch that, I'VE been looking for a dog pretty much since my first dog passed away 10 years ago, but the time was never right; my parents didn't want a new one, I went off to college, I moved into my friend's house where she already had a dog and then I moved into my fiancee's house and he hates dogs. Hated dogs.

B knew how much a little doggie in my life would warm my heart but vowed never to assist in the parenting. He never grew up with a dog and didn't understand why they are wonderful additions to an already-happy life. This had been a point of contention for us during our courtship and engagement time and I finally realized, reluctantly, that he could never be a changed man and if I ever had a dog, it would be mine and not ours. That made me sad, but a girl's gotta chase her dreams like a dog chases his tail.

Fast forward to the wedding day. It came time for our Best of Honor to deliver the bride and groom gifts to the bride and groom. When the best man brought me a black velvet necklace box that appeared to have housed the pearl necklace I so wanted to wear on the wedding day, I was in for a bigger surprise.

The best man handed me the box.

And I quickly opened it expecting to put on the pearls my dress was screaming to be friends with.

But instead, strewn along the inside of the box, was a silver choke chain that would complement a motorcycle bride much better than a country club bride. Was I supposed to WEAR this?! On the silver chain was a silver bone. Seriously? A BONE? My almost-husband thinks I'm a dog? Oh wait, the bone has an engraving... "Our First Puppy" What? We don't HAVE a puppy, smarty!

Oh, but look! The lid of the box says something! There's a note!

It says: Alison, my love. Will you get a dog with me? I'm ready when you are.

The waterworks started! I cried like a baby. My almost-husband, the love of my life, the stubborn, stubborn man who convinced himself he'd never be a pet owner, the handsome loving man who thought I was crazy for adoring 4-legged fur balls, MY almost-husband had changed. He thought deep down inside of himself and did some soul searching to realize that we could create a very special home together with a dog's company.

I melted.

During our honeymoon, we frolicked along the beaches of Hawaii, brainstorming names for our pooch. No, we hadn't gotten him yet, but we wanted to fantasize about all the joy he'd bring. We decided we would definitely rescue a dog (no pet stores or breeders for us!) and it would not shed or drool, so that ruled out really big dogs. A small, lap dog that just wants to walk and be held would be perfect for us.

We started the search when we got back to the mainland and found a lot of promising pups online, but the websites hadn't been updated so they'd already been adopted - GREAT! (no really, that makes me so happy for them!!!) We found Beethoven online who was 7 weeks old a a terrier-lhasapoo mix. We met him and he was absolutely adorable. I could have taken him home that very night. We both enjoyed him so much but we had an appointment with another dog named Kiko who was 7 or 8 months old. We decided to meet Kiko first and then decide. Plus, we weren't totally confident about raising something so fresh like Beethoven.

We met the foster mom in Cerritos since she was coming from Anaheim and we were coming from Venice. Kiko was shy at first but he was really cute and seemed to have a nice personality. We spent three hours with him and basically grilled the foster mom about all the details of his temperament and lifestyle. I could see that B was bonding with him and seemed to be more excited about Kiko than he was when he met Beethoven. We ultimately decided that raising a 7-week old would not be as easy as raising an 8-month old so I took out the checkbook and Kiko nervously trotted to our car, unsure about what his new life would be.

Here's our first family photo:

According to the rescue organization, Kiko was picked up by the animal shelter and was there for a while until the rescue organization saved him. He was in foster care for about 3 months until the day we met him.

We renamed Kiko after the lead puppet character from one of our favorite musicals, Avenue Q!

Princeton learned his name very quickly and has been responding quite well to it!

We gave him a bath when we got home and while he didn't really love it, he didn't fight me and he just kind of let me do it. He smelled so much better after!

Princeton is very sweet and really enjoys following us around the house and playing with us. He's kind of a mama's boy and follows my every move, which is cute, but I want him to be able to be independently happy since I won't be here 24/7 with him.

He rides well in the car but doesn't walk so great. He loves to sniff every blade of grass and is very curious about every element on the sidewalk. The terrier in him is so obvious on our walks. Apparently, his foster mom didn't walk him much so he's not used to being on a leash. Thankfully, I've gotten into watching the genius, Cesar Millan on the Dog Whisperer and I'm trying to train him that I'm the pack leader and he needs to not walk ahead of me. It's tough, but sometimes he does a good job and nothing makes me happier than praising him for being a good boy!

Only problem is that Princeton isn't eating and that worries me a little, but the vet said that it's normal for a dog in a new environment to ignore his food. I wonder how long we should wait until it becomes a serious issue. Not to mention, it limits our opportunities to praise him for going potty outside (he's done it 3 times and I'm surprised none of you readers could hear the potty party we threw on the spot!) since obviously he's not producing, um, the "goods" for which to go potty since he's not eating. Anyway, that's our current challenge. That, and the fact that he keeps waking up at 6:30 a.m. and I immediately and groggily take him out for fear of him peeing and pooping in the house. Of course, he doesn't actually GO on the way-too-early in the morning walk so ... that's that.

Life with Princeton is fun. B and I enjoy parenting him despite the challenges and hope that he grows into a good and mature doggie.

Oh, and p.s., my knight-in-shining armor almost-husband came through and also gifted me the pearls! After the dog excitement, the best man handed me another identical box and said quite casually in his witty way "oh, and you may want this, too." I opened the box and sure enough, glistening in their glory, a stunning 16'' strand of perfect pearls.

I love all the men in my life: Princeton, B - my now-husband, and even our best man because he obviously carries valuable and memorable items with him. :)

Me Fat...

2008-06-30T01:36:00.001-07:00

...So we got Wii Fit!

I have to say, I was a Wii Fit doubter. Then B hooked it up and I played guinea pig and realized it's fun!! It certainly beats just sitting on the couch and doing NOTHING. I'm not banking on either of us going to Muscle Man contests after some time with this thing, but it's movement that we normally don't get that we could use. And it's fun!

We can do yoga!

We can do strength exercises!

We can play balance games (like "head butting" soccer balls from all sides) !!

I think Wii Fit will really help a lot of otherwise sedentary Americans get active and moving. It doesn't feel like dreaded exercise but I did find it to be a workout! After about 20 minutes of Wii Fit, I felt a little winded and I definitely broke a sweat. The more games I do, the more advanced levels I unlock. And best of all, if I skip a few days, it scolds me and tracks my stats (weight and BMI) so I know that it's working and I don't want to get nagged even by a game console, so I'd prefer to just work out and see progress.

Maybe this is the trick to keeping off newlywed weight!

We WOOD do it again, too!

2008-06-27T23:05:00.001-07:00

B and I made our very first big purchase as husband and wife: we ripped out the carpet and put in wood floors. Well, kind of.

The same beige carpet had been in B's condo since he moved in but before I came in and womanized the place, B and his old roommate didn't exactly take THE best care of the carpet that covered the whole downstairs (except for the entryway, powder room and kitchen) and it was pretty unappealing by the time I moved in. For the past year, I've done everything I could to diminish the eyesore that the carpet was in some areas. Rugs covered stains that wouldn't come out. Furniture stylized the otherwise monocolored room. Still, though, the place screamed 1980s.

I'd wanted to rip it out and put in flooring for a while and was constantly told "after the wedding, dear. After the wedding." Well, guess what, the wedding is over and I wanted that damn carpet OUT!

So last Friday, workers came to install our new laminate flooring and at the end of the day, our downstairs got such a nice facelift. And, rumor has it, the sound of little (fur)baby feet pitter-pattering on the floor will be music to my ears.

We're both super happy with the result and I think you'd agree it makes such a difference! Yay for new flooring to make a home less homely and more homey!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

A&B-Fest

2008-06-27T11:39:00.001-07:00

So, one of the 2 videos that was shown at the rehearsal dinner was a slideshow that my mom and BFF Nivek put together. From what I understand, the surprise presentation was a labor of love. My mom tore my computer apart searching for photos and Kevin arranged the photos to the music. Some of the pics land on specific lyrics perfectly -- it's very clever! Everyone enjoyed it and B and I were touched.

We finally got it online, but because it's such a gigantic file, we had to take the quality way down. Oh well, it gets the point across even if we A&B-Fest is more like a Pixel-Fest.

Now you can see it too!

Rehearsing for the Big Show

2008-06-20T13:21:00.001-07:00

Earlier in the day, before dinner at Cisco's, the whole "cast" gathered for rehearsal where the big event would have its "opening night," and, consequently, its "closing night" the next day.

We all met with Bridget, the "director" who assembled us into our "places." She lined up the "supporting players" and told them when to do their routine (walk) and how to hold their prop (bouquet).

There was a serious discussion between the producers, the leading man and the director about what to happen if the theater ghost (fucking RAIN) made an appearance on opening night. The team worked out a plan that entailed moving the cocktail hour inside so that if the ceremony needed to be moved, it would be one less problem. As the leading lady, I was so nervous to even KNOW about this discussion and possibility. I prayed to theater gods for good weather, begging them to please let the show take place outside on the terrace steps.

It was difficult to carry on with the rehearsal and the rest of the day knowing that there could be a possibility of an indoor show, but with the help of my cast and director, I managed to smile and let loose. Kinda.

All in all, the rehearsal was fun and it gave us a chance to work out any kinks, ask questions and have a good feel for what the big show would feel like.

The show's associate producer and the leading lady's mother

The cast, lined up and ready to go.

The leading lady hopes she doesn't mess up her routine or forget her places.

Director Bridget counts out 5, 6, 7, 8 while the leading lady and her parents/associate producers take her to her 2nd mark.

Associate producer "dad" makes smart-ass remarks to keep himself from crying and associate producer "mom" fights back tears already. This is method acting at its finest.

The leading lady giggles offstage as she stands next to her co-star who dutifully pays attention.

After the rehearsal, the female cast enjoyed some pampering! After some manicures and pedicures, we were ready for opening night the next day!

Mawwaige

2008-06-16T00:12:00.001-07:00

"Mawwaige. Mawwaige is what bwings us togetwer today.
Mawwaige, that bwessed awangment, that dweam within a dweam."

No, I didn't marry Wesley, but it wouldn't be inconthievable to say that I am more in love today than I've ever been. And that's because I married B!

On May 25, we finally got hitched and it was truly the happiest day of my life.

But let me back up. There was a lot that happened before.

First, our amazing friends Jordana and Chris produced, edited, and created magic for our last minute "casting package"-type video that we played at our rehearsal dinner for about 45 of our family and friends.

Here it is!

It was a hit! So was the whole rehearsal dinner! Our parents created - along with the help of BFF Nivek - this fantastic slideshow that categorized all of the photos B and I have taken over the years together. We learned that we do a lot of eating, a lot of theater, a lot of traveling and a lot of things with family and friends. It was super cool and I think that all of our guests enjoyed the self-promoting entertainment.

It was just so nice to have all of our out-of-town guests and bridal party in one place to party and kick off the wedding weekend.

When we arrived at Cisco's and I started to see all of our people gathering together, the wedding finally started to feel so real and I got this rush of excitement and energy that I hadn't felt before. I'd been so consumed with details, that I never really took the time to think about US; to think about WHY all of these people chose to spend their weekends in Ventura County. And I melted. It was the start of many happy tears to come.

Not to mention, we all looked pretty hot!

The groom with his bride!

With Annie, the best maid of honor/makeup artist/friend ev-er.

Brian, the best Best Man ev-er!

My fabulous 17-year-old cousin Rachel sang one of my favorite songs, "Overjoyed" by Stevie Wonder - it was beautiful!

And Alison, my new sister-in-law sang "L-O-V-E" accompanied by her and Bryan's dad on the guitar! Sounded cool!!

My bridesmaids are totally cute with their personalized bags and overall good looks. We had so much fun all weekend!!

B had a pretty good lookin' bunch of guys, too. We loved how well everyone got along!

The Bride and Groom with their almost-in-laws!

The music, the pictures, the videos, the yummy food: our rehearsal dinner couldn't have been more perfect! The only thing that could possibly go wrong the rest of the weekend would be rain... and since we moved the rehearsal dinner inside from the patio at the last minute, we were hoping that that would be our only change for the whole weekend, and fortunately it was. We left Cisco's around 10 p.m. right after B and I said our goodnights and kissed for the last time as single people in love. Eeeeeeeeeek!

More recap to come...

Starting Over

2008-06-07T03:15:00.001-07:00

Hello, Blog! How are you? Things are a little different. Allow me to introduce myself:

My name is Ali and since the last time we were in each other's company, I was single, pasty white and 24. Now, I am married, tan -- Hawaiian-style, and 25.

The married thing happened on May 25th. I will elaborate on that more later.

The tan progressed over 10 days after during our spectacular honeymoon adventure. I will recap sometime in the near future.

And the quarter-life event is, well, today. I will report on the big ol' birthday soon.

Just wanted to say hello, dust you off and let you know that these are happy days.

Birthday Dodger Game

2008-05-24T08:38:00.001-07:00

Earlier this week was Mom's birthday and we celebrated at the Dodger game. It wasn't just any Dodger game, no no. We weren't in our own regular box seats. We got to sit in my uncles seats in the Dugout Club. He treats us to his Dugout Club tickets a few times a year and it's always a real special night. The celebs, the view.... THE FOOD.

My dad always insists on being the first in the gate at Chavez Ravine and it's no different on Dugout Club nights. He wants to maximize our time in the dining room so we can grab a good table and space out our rounds and rounds of very delicious grub.

There are always specialty dishes in the club. On Wednesday night, it was lamb and cous cous and pastas. But the old tried and true dishes, the ones they always serve, are our favorite. I don't know what kind of bird they're seasoning, but the turkey at the carving station just melts in your mouth. It's really phenomenal. There are always grilled vegetables that taste like candy -- a medley of all my favorites: bell pepper, onions, asparagus and carrots! Mmmmm!!! I love the salad bar, too -- a variety of freshly tossed, crisp salads that I wouldn't mind munching on forever.

This whole smorgasbord sprinkled with celebrity sightings (the guy who played Arliss and Pete Rose were there that night. Larry King, Mary Hart, Jane Seymour, Ian Ziering and Pat Sajak usually make appearances too) makes for a very satisfying pre-game show of its own kind. However, on Wednesday night's game against the Reds, we didn't see too many "people" so we took silly pictures in the club and enjoyed each other's company instead!

After we indulged, we made it outside to the seats which are, for lack of a better word, phenomenal: First row, right behind home plate = always on TV. That means, we have to be very selective about what we eat and how we eat it! The whole world can see us pigging out and boy is it easy to pig out. There are waiters in the dugout club seats who come to you, take your order, and bring it to you. You just tip the guy at the end of the night since the price of food is already included in the tickets (which aren't exactly cheap, the way I understand it). These waiters in the dugout club are constantly serving celebrities and must make out pretty good each night in tips. Remind me to see if they are hiring!

It was a little tricky to eat and enjoy, though, since it was SO WINDY!! Things were flying around in the seats and on the field. Dust was zooming around in my eyes and in my mouth. It was pretty gross, actually, and VERY annoying. As you can see, I was not impressed:

The camera obviously can't capture how windy it was, but I found myself eating my hair a lot, until I put it up in a ponytail! It was crazy, though! People's napkins and sauce packets were getting some big air and slapping fellow patrons in the faces.

But then Blake DeWitt would come up to bat and everything would be okay. Sigh. I like him.

He joins the collection of Dodger crushes I've had in year's past. The list has been compiled with names like Brett Butler, Eric Karros, Shawn Green, Greg Maddux, Bill Mueller, and most recently Andre Ethier (who I still kind of love and am two-timing with Blake DeWitt).

Post game, Andre:

But I digress. Baseball isn't all about food and boys in tight pants (okay, yes it is). We had a lot of fun and saw some plays. Happiness:

After lots of details I am too girly to effectively explicate play-by-play, I'm happy to say that the Dodgers won and beat the Reds. Yay!

And the end of the game means more pictures! We always snap away to take advantage of how close we are to real Dodger Dirt.

After the game, we hung around and watched the stadium clear out. Then, we stood in the hallway where the players come out of the clubhouse and pass the entrance of the dugout club. We joined the crowd and waited and waited. It was the baseball version of what I do after the theater and meet my favorite actors at the stage door!

Brad Penny came out and people hollered and hollered for some love, but he pretended to be on his cell phone and gave no love. Figures.

Then, Matt Kemp came out and was so friendly and nice. He spent a good amount of time signing autographs, chatting and snapping pictures -- including....

I think I've decided that Andre and Blake have good company. I like Matt Kemp close up too.

James Loney came out next. He was really sweet, but shy, and didn't hang around very long for pictures but we played paparazzi and I got a shot of him between the 2 girls in front of me.

Last to come out was Jeff Kent, who, as usual, was a big a-hole. People called his name and he waved his arm like "bah! go away!" and didn't really seem to have the whole "America's Favorite Pasttime" vibe. Disappointing. This helped to confirm my dad and B's decision that LaRoche should replace Kent.

We had a really fun night and even though it wasn't a very conventional birthday for Mom, we all had a good time by stuffing our faces, seeing a good game, meeting some Dodgers and hanging out with family!

Happy birthday, mom!!

Hey Girlfriend, Hey Girlfriend, Hey

2008-05-24T08:03:00.001-07:00

Last week I had dinner with some of my favorite friends! Jordana, Jenny, Keren and Wendy shelpped to meet me at Moz Buddha Lounge in Agoura where we enjoyed yummy drinks and grub. Keren and Wendy were there first, so the three of us enjoyed yummy (free!) appetizers in the bar and nursed some martinis. I enjoyed the key lime martini that had the perfect ratio of bad stuff (the alcohol -- I'm a wimp!) and the good stuff (the key lime). I liked the graham cracker dusting -- nice touch.

Just when we thought we were having a grand ol' time and things couldn't get better, Jenny showed up and the laughs and conversation continued. We moved on over to our table, chowed down on some edamame and french fries (hold the blue cheese for Keren and me!) and finally, Jordana joined our table and we were a complete group of wonderful ladies!!

It's amazing to me that we've all only known each other for not too much more than a year, and only a handful of in-person months, and how much I adore their company. We talked about the good, the bad and the ugly (and even the sexy!) and we laughed liked old friends. I love that!!

We were all entertained by how shy and nervous the young waiter was. Ya can't blame him -- he was new AND he had to serve a table of h-o-t young women!

But he took our picture and documented what a wonderful evening we had and that, Mr. Young Waiter, is all that counts!

(stolen photo courtesy of Jordana's blog)

We missed a few of our other close friends who couldn't make it, but we know there will be many more good times together and that makes me all giddy inside!

Um, yeah.

2008-05-21T10:45:00.001-07:00

I'm getting married in 4 days.

Countdown really begins

2008-05-17T11:16:00.001-07:00

A week from today, I am a busy girl. This loves-to-sleep-in lady will be up at dawn on Saturday the 24th as she starts her busy day with a waxing appointment (gooooooood morning bikini line!) followed by shlepping around honeymoon luggage to the wedding night hotel. Then, BFF/MOH picks me up, and we meet the girls at our night-before-wedding hotel to ride over to the venue for our rehearsal. After we do our thing there, we'll get manicures and pedicures as the last step in the pre-beautification process. We'll head back to the hotel, get ready for the rehearsal dinner (can't wait to wear my dress!) and zip over to Cisco's for a Mexican fiesta -- Ole! I can't wait for the rehearsal dinner. I hear they are very fun and relaxed and I can't wait to see everyone together as we kick off the next 24 hours. Plus, surprises are coming our way, we have surprises to give -- it's all very much one big fat surprise party. We'll TRY to get some beauty sleep back at the hotel before waking up the next morning for the wedding day!

It's all so close and I can't stop playing it through my head. I just can't wait to marry my love!

Mix it. Mix it real good.

2008-05-16T23:40:00.001-07:00

I had hinted about an exciting wedding gift from the in-laws in an earlier post. B and I had a photo shoot with our new kitchen baby and so now I can brag about all the yumminess that is to come (i.e., the pounds, rolls and cellulite to come - ha!).

Brought to us by the kitchen storks on Sunday, May 11th at about 4:05 in the afternoon, she weighs 15 pounds and stands at about 12 inches tall and has beaming white and chrome skin:

There she is! There's my baby KitchenAid! I better open up the books next to her -- they're cook books and I need all the help I can get. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I really want to learn how to use the KitchenAid and create some special yummies. I think I will spend my summer getting to know all of her tricks and figuring out what kind of treats I can make. My goal is to trash the Betty Crocker can of frosting in the pantry and make my own for some equally gourmet cupcakes! I figured I may as well begin with cupcakes so I can be trendy, right?

Like mother, like daughter:

Wedding Progress

2008-05-13T18:21:00.001-07:00

We've made wedding progress! Well, we better have, being twelve days out and all.

Menus are all done!

Programs are ALMOST all done (I never want to tie another pink ribbon ever again)!

Final payments are going to our vendors (fun!)

Had my hair trial yesterday -- I like Wes O'Neil and he'll be great the day of, too.

Going to my dress fitting on Thursday and BFF/MOH will do my makeup trial. Ooooo pretty!

We got all of our RSVPs!

We placed all of our guests at their tables -- it was so easy! Took us about 10 minutes to do. Seriously, all that stress about where to seat people was silly. It fell right into place.

The only thing left to do, really, is to buy the apple favors and bag them with our sticker logo. And we can't really do that until 2 days before the wedding anyway.

Holy crap, this is all happening so soon! We are so very excited and can't wait to enjoy the day!

Mamma Mania

2008-05-13T18:14:00.001-07:00

Mother's Day was a huge hit for B and me. We coordinated a full day, catering to our moms and making sure we spent good quality time with them.

We took his mom out to brunch and walked around the Ventura Harbor Village and went on a boat ride. The weather was kinda icky in the marina, but we still managed to have a bright, cheery time. She really enjoyed the morning and we ended it with some more chatting back at her house. Mother's Day turned into Presents Dad when both in-laws-to-be gave us a whole slew of wedding gifts! There's another post coming soon. Let's just say, we gave birth to our new favorite kitchen baby.

After the day with B's parents, we came home, took a break and got ready for Mother's Day Round II which was supposed to consist of a nice dinner to start, but my parents were both in no mood to eat after being at the Dodger game all day, so after visiting in our living room for a bit we went straight to our second activity: bowling!

We had a lot of fun. I haven't bowled with my parents in a long time and I hate to admit it, but my mom is pretty good. She looks totally silly DOING it:

but she got the most strikes and spares out of all of us!

See her victory dance?

We all took our turns during the course of 3 games:

and then I learned a very important lesson on Mother's Day: When it comes to looking cool during a bowling game, Like Mother, Like Daughter

(apparently, I am a pigeon-toed bowler).

Oh yeah, and I suck.

A Toast to This Toast!

2008-05-02T15:00:00.001-07:00

No, not this:

THIS!

Papeete posted this on The Knot and I'm obsessed, clearly.

What adorable friends (and all of them so good looking -- not that it's a surprise, given the musical theater nature of these people!). I smiled and cried at the same time as I watched this. They hardly said anything about the groom, though. That kind of made me a little sad. For a wedding, it's more appropriate to toast the couple, right? What do I know, I've never been married or given a toast. But either way, the presentation was brilliant. Gosh I'm a sap!

May 2008

2008-05-02T14:55:00.001-07:00

For the longest time -- 14 months to be exact -- people would ask us, "Oh, so when's the big day?" and we'd shrug our shoulders, grin, wave our hand down in the air and reply "not til May 2008."

Well guess what party people? It IS May 2008. Holy mother of MAY. I'm not going to lie and say the whole time flew (it definitely did not) but 2008 has happened quickly and it seems like only a bit ago that I started this blog when 2007 ended, moments after we clinked glasses, wished Happy New Years all around, and B declared "this is SO our year." Well, B, it is SO our MONTH.

Now when people ask about the time until our wedding, I respond with "in about 3 weeks" and people gasp and ooo and ahhh. It's all about the waiting game for the rest of the time. All the major details are handled (my fiance rocks my world for arranging the riser for the band this week. Big future husband points there!) and now we can just look forward to the wedding day. I feel GREAT about things in my little corner of the world, too, which is a relief because it wasn't always that way. So now, only good things.

Happy May everyone! To my fellow May brides, have an amazing month of going bridal!

Impatience

2008-04-28T11:11:00.001-07:00

We're at less than a month until the wedding and it's all going to happen very quickly, so they say. I'm actually quite conflicted. While want time to hurry up so we can get married and enjoy the day and escape on the honeymoon, I also want to be mellow, relax, and enjoy the next 26 days to relish this experience and hold onto the "fiancee" title and the joys of being a bride.

But then, I realize I have some fun surprises in store for B and he has some for me (so he says! eek!) and I think "screw the experience! Bring on May 25th NOW!"

I feel rather schizzophrenic about the whole thing, actually.

You know what I'd like to do? A very fast, high-pitched fast forward to the wedding weekend and then, at its highest moment, when I'm at the point of marital bliss on the wedding day and I take a look around and see all of our people with us and fun surprises and an extremely handsome groom, I want to be able to do this:

The Force was With Me

2008-04-28T00:27:00.001-07:00

Today, I was a couch potato. B and I spent our Sunday sharing our living room with 4 of our friends, experiencing a monumental moment: My first STAR WARS viewing.

Yep, you heard me. In all my almost-25 years of living, I've managed to get away without seeing any of the STAR WARS movies. B knew this early on in our relationship, but I think he had a panic attack when he realized that he's about to marry a girl who's not too privy to the ways of the Jedi. Apparently, that's unacceptable.

So, we made a date with fellow friends who wanted to witness this event and brought in a bunch of food and watched all three original episodes (so IV, V, and VI which is kind of stupid to me that it's all out of order) from about noon til 7:00 p.m. with food breaks and um, explanation breaks included.

Yes, explanation breaks. The rules were very clear. I was only allowed to ask two questions that needed pausing to further explicate per film. If I exceeded this amount, I was not allowed to eat the rest of the food (and boy did we have a lot of yumminess strewn about the coffee table). I did a pretty good job of keeping to my limit! I got made fun of a lot for the questions I did ask, but it's okay. I'm used to it!

So what did I think? Eh. Yeah. If I'd never seen any of these movies, I wouldn't be missing the key to life or anything. I guess it was entertaining. Its just hard for me to get on board with aliens and lasers and ships with endless amounts of room to run around and have fights. The movies were pretty choppy and left a lot of details to be figured out, but I'm also a much more specific movie-lover. I pretty much only like "realistic" movies that cover real life issues and people. LIFE AS A HOUSE, SIDEWAYS, GARDEN STATE, SPANGLISH, THE UPSIDE OF ANGER... these are the flicks that really "wow" me. But, STAR WARS is an experience and a rite of passage and I'm glad I now know what all the hubbub is about. It's such a huge part of pop culture, I can finally feel like I'm part of the joke. And the Star Tours ride at Disneyland is no longer a fun, jolty movie-ride. I guess I get it. Now it's time to pop in SPACEBALLS for a whole new understanding of Mel Brooks's world. All in all, it was a fun day and I enjoyed hanging out with our friends.

I'm prepared for the next movie intervention. I'm sure it will be for BACK TO THE FUTURE and the 80s Brat Pack flicks. Yup, that's right. You heard me. What can I say? I guess I'm a traitor to my generation.

Ok, that last line-- can you name what THAT tidbit is from? It's a '90s flick which means a) I've seen it and b) I LOVE it! I guess being a child of the '80s doesn't mean being a movie-lover of the '80s. Ouch, that was way harsh Tai.

We're Good Luck Charms!

2008-04-24T00:37:00.001-07:00

Tonight was my first Dodger game of the season and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the new developments on the field level.

I picked up the tickets at my parents' house yesterday and today we headed out to Chavez Ravine in enough time to scarf down some food in the new Baseline Box Club before the game. I've been to the Dugout Club several times and heard it would be a junior version of that. They weren't kidding! It was like the Dugout Club had a baby and its name is Baseline Box Club! Good food, very "El Ay" atmosphere, and a VIP feeling.

Tonight, the club served grilled veggies (delish!), mashed potatoes (ya know, just mashed potatoes) and rosemary chicken (wasn't that good and it's pretty hard to mess up chicken for me). I always love the Caesar salad down in the Dugout Club so I was glad to see that the Baseline Club includes that in their salad soiree. I managed to eat pretty healthy tonight, just biting off a taste of B's spicy Louisiana sausage dog and savoring a chocolate fro yo from the softserve machine.

The best part is the endless sodas and bottled water on top of all this food -- all for free! (well, not "FREE." I mean, I guess it's all paid for up front with the ridiculous ticket price, but you end up not handling cash during the game and that feels pretty cool). THANKS DAD!!!!

We made it down to our seats to see the Team USA Softball team being honored. Normally I'd shrug in a whoop-de-do way, but Jennie Finch and Alicia Hallowell were there, and they are Wildcat Softball players so I had to give them a few GO CATS cheers. I used to work out with Jennie in the NCAA fitness center (she glowed and looked refreshed and healthy while I was drenched and splotchy like a beast) and knew she'd go on to be famous -- and now she's an Olympian. That's pretty cool. And then there's me, the splotchy beast -- an ex college mascot who sells textbooks for a living.

This post is supposed to be about the Dodgers, not the UofA Wildcats -- sorry!

Anyway, back in the box, we sat and chowed down on peanuts that we brought with us from the Club. I kinda felt sorry for the vendors selling bags of $6 peanuts in the baseline box area -- are people really going to buy items from them anymore now that they have the all-you-can-eat "free" food in the Club??

We watched some of the players give autographs. And by watched, I mean DROOLED because Andre Ethier was directly in front of us and I think he's just a dreamboat.

And then it was gametime! This is us, excited to be at our first game of the season together:

We hadn't exactly been performing well in the past few weeks (I say "we" like B and I are out on the field striking out and dropping balls, but we're such Dodger fans, we have to refer to ourselves like we're wearing numbers in the dugout) so I was there for the food and the possibility of making it on the Kiss Cam (sponsored by Smashbox). I had little to no expectations that anything good would happen.

That's a good thing; I was pleasantly surprised. We all were! The first inning saw some action for us and we were in a great mood by the 7th as we (again, with the "we") leading a sizeable lead over the D-Backs (who I hate very much).

We were in such a good mood, I decided to document our 7th Inning Stretch. I must say, B and I usually are rockstars and harmonize and everything, but it's been months since our last go at The Stretch that we were -- okay, I was -- a little shaky. In fact, I effed up the end. But here you go, for your listening (un)enjoyment:

Needless to say, it was an exciting game as the Dodgers continued to steal, get on and run the bases and the D-Backs continued to drop stupid balls in centerfield. Beautiful. We even got to witness Saito's very first at-bat in the major leagues ... EVER. He didn't swing and he looked like he'd never seen a bat before. I swear he was trying to read a manual, tap tap, and ask "is this thing on?" Okay, so he didn't produce anything, but he did save the game and we walked out of there with a 8 to 3 win!

Good game Dodgers and I'd like to think that B and I were your good luck charms, taking you to a win that's hopefully the start of many more.

My First Tag on the Blog Playground!

2008-04-20T18:48:00.001-07:00

My pretty, Southern, newlywed friend Jordana tagged me in a Quirky Survey and now I get to answer! I love these things. I don't know if it's the idea of self promotion or finding a new way to discover my own personality, but I definitely don't shy up at the opportunity to complete these. Apparently I'm supposed to tag others, but we have all the same Blog BFFs so the only one I can think to tag is my soon-to-be Mister! B, be a good almost-husband and go do this on your blog!

1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules in your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

So, quirks and all, here's ME

1. I'm obsessed with washing my hands and that continuous clean feeling. Like clockwork, I will get up from my chair at a restaurant after flipping through a menu and go wash my hands. If I'm running errands all day, I'll stop to wash my hands in the middle because I can't stand when they are warm and swollen with that dirty feeling. You should see me do my Bathroom Ballet. I manage to do my thing, wash my hands and exit without touching a single thing.

2. I can't stand certain noises. Whistling, tapping on things (but not tap dancing), other nose or mouth sounds all drive me up a wall. Especially when I'm concentrating, I will go nuts. When I took the PSAT in 10th grade, this strange kid sat behind me and he had a nose whistle that sounded like a fog horn compared to the silent room full of concentrating brains. I blame him for my poor results. Also, people at the theater kill me. Just because you have a program in your hand doesn't mean you have to flip the pages or slap it on your lap in rhythm with the music. People can hear you. I can hear you.

3. I don't like air blasting in my car unless I just got in and it's really hot. This usually only happens in the summertime. This is because the air blast will dry up my contact lenses and well, that's just not good while I'm driving. So, I prefer a stuffier/still air car, especially when I'm at the helm. This causes quite an exchange between B and me.

4. I haven't seen a lot of movies. I mean, I have. But, all these "classic" movies that makes everyone gawk at me for having gone all these years without seeing remain absent from my film experience. For example, B is strapping me down next week to make me watch the original Star Wars trilogy. I'm also a traitor to my generation as I typically don't have any desire to see any Molly Ringwald movies or any other '80s must-sees. And when it comes to fantasy/sci-fi/ridiculous adventure types (no LOTR for me and flicks like Independence Day, and most Harrison Ford films, including all Indianas), I have zero desire to see them. I guess I like real-life, smart, very possible movies. For example, I'd much rather watch The Upside of Anger or Spanglish or Sideways than sit through a bunch of aliens fighting with lava lamps or whatever. It's fine. I'll report back next week after I get acquainted with Chewbacca and the other guys from Star Tours.

5. I can do princess voices. I have this fantasy dream of being a voiceover artist. I mean, I can do more than princess voices, but it's my favorite one. I love doing vocal imitations of people -- celebrity or common -- and nothing would please me more than to be in a recording booth and creating a character. I remember I used to watch Disney's Cinderella as a kid all the time and walk around talking like her. I would even respond to my mom looking down and saying "yes, Stepmother." Yeah, my parents aren't divorced.

6. My iPod is pretty lame. I mean, it's pink and cute and engraved with a quote from Wicked courtesy of B, but that says it all. I have like 3 mainstream albums in there. The rest is all showtunes. My iPod is not the one we grab when we get in the car on our way for a night out of partying. No one wants to get in the mood for some adult beverages to the tune of "There's No Business Like Show Business." Oh well!

So, like I said, I tag B!

Really In Depth Movie Review

2008-04-19T00:56:00.001-07:00

Just came back from seeing Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I liked it. Entertaining. Celebrity cheat.

No joke. If Paul Rudd shows up under the chuppah on the wedding day, I MAY have to reconsider. It's really true love between us.

He just doesn't know it yet.

Anyway, he had a (not big enough) role in Marshall and made the movie for me. I mean, the speakers on the theater could have gone on the fritz and the rest of the film could have sizzled, and I could've seen Jason Segal's penis 24.5 more times, but as long as I could look at that face....

Oh that face.

Love Knots

2008-04-17T20:19:00.001-07:00

I joined the Knot when I got engaged because I heard about it through a friend. I figured I'd dive right in and learn everything wedding! I imagined I'd participate on the message boards that are about dresses, etiquette, honeymoons and all the other national boards that are themed to certain topics.

And then I met the L.A. Board.

And I never even clicked on a national board again.

These L.A. girls get it. They are fun and sassy and they have produced some very inspirational weddings. What became a resource became an addiction and what became an addiction became a cluster of friendships that seem too pure and sincere to have been derived from ... THE INTERNET! <gasp!>

I've never left the L.A. Board since. Nothing feels better than to get confirmation about a vendor's practices via reviews from REAL PEOPLE. It's so reassuring to see other planning brides thinking about some of the same concepts and ideas. I am happy knowing that I am accepted and I completely enjoy helping out a fella bride in need.

I never really understood how a message board could ever be such a rock during a time of need. I do now and I am so happy to have discovered it 13 months ago.

MOH-Mania

2008-04-08T01:10:00.001-07:00

I just feel like publicly declaring that MOH Annie is the kindest, funniest, most generous and fabulous maid of honor and friend a gal could ever ask for. I could not be more obsessed with another female human being! How did I get so lucky to finally find a girlfriend like her?!

Look how much fun we have!

Every woman should have a friend like Annie! To all you Annie-types out there: Thank you for keeping your friends on track and making sure their dreams and wishes come true.

Computer Crash and Burn

2008-04-08T01:00:00.001-07:00

I tapped the touch pad. I frantically pressed the ENTER button. I glided my fingers along random keys. Nothing. Blank. Black.

This is when I would be freaking out, screaming a potpourri of swear words and considering throwing my computer out the window. That is, that's what I would do if this was MY computer; my PERSONAL computer.

Fortunately, my POS work laptop (in this case, POS is the brand name for Piece Of Shit) is the one that's PMSing, so the only form of grieving I can muster up is to shrug my shoulders and mutter a pathetic "well, that sucks" under my breath, and then go about all the other zillion things on my mind.

Alas, the help desk at my company's east coast headquarters declared that my most prized sales tool, my Toshiba tablet, must be shipped across country for further inspection leaving me without a work computer. Can't do much selling when you don't have your most prized sales tool, eh? So I called my boss, sounded really "sad," and he said "Well! I guess that means you're off the hook for a few days. Enjoy your time off." SA-WEEEEEET!

Free vacation/guilt-free hooky days are my favorite. I sincerely hope I didn't lose everything on my hard drive, though, because that really would suck.

Hmm... what should I do on Day 2 of Free Hooky?

La di da da da

2008-04-07T00:31:00.001-07:00

It's 12:30 am on Monday morning. B and I JUST got home from Newport Beach where we made like Vince and Owen and crashed a wedding! We didn't eat the food, we didn't pick up the bride and groom... we watched our band play! And let me declare: they rule!!

All 7 members (and the sound guy) were in tip-top shape and it was fun to watch them interact and play a million different instruments. The song selection was awesome and everyone looked to be having a wonderful time. We froze our tushies off as we stood outside on the beach behind the "bandstand" and took it all in, but we didn't care because we "danced" (read: we knee bounced) and smiled. The lead singer, Mark, has quite a personality and will definitely make the event entertaining.

B and I are so, so, so excited to hear Word of Mouth play at OUR wedding in, oh, 47 days!

I'm Here to Please the People

2008-04-06T12:23:00.001-07:00

By popular (i.e., 2 people's) demand...

My Top 20 Musicals:

20. The Apple Tree

19. Oklahoma!

18. Mamma Mia

17. The Producers

16. Into the Woods

15. A Little Night Music

14. Jersey Boys

13. Ragtime

12. Phantom of the Opera

11. 42nd Street

10. West Side Story

9. Little Shop of Horrors

8. Hairspray

7. Miss Saigon

6. The Drowsy Chaperone

5. Thoroughly Modern Millie

4. Rent

3. Les Miserables

2. Wicked

1. Avenue Q

THIS WAS THE HARDEST THING I'VE EVER HAD TO DO.

Here's the scoop on this list. Believe it or not, this is the first time I've ever put a list like this together. I've never really wanted to for fear of hurting a particular musical's feelings (yes, they have FEELINGS). I'm still not sure this is 100% correct either. However, this list is based on

a) musicals I've SEEN (because there are slew of shows I love whose cast recordings I only know).

b) the sentimentality behind each show. For example, I'm sure you thought it would be a slam dunk that Wicked would be #1 huh? Well, yes, I'm obsessed with it and I've seen it 8 times, but Avenue Q has so much personal background to it and it's THE show that bonded B and me together. It's just special and cute and fun and clever and has a phenomenal message and score).

c) the "genius" of the show's lyrics/music. In the case of Into the Woods (16), I'm praising Stephen Sondheim's freakish ability to make words work against an anti-melodic sound with a story that's absurd. Not surprisingly, this is what gets A Little Night Music (15) into my top 20. While the story is sweet with a fun and witty love triangle as its twist, the whole show is set in 3/4 time and waltzes its way from beginning to end, only repeating musical themes for characterization and story continuity. Otherwise, it's pure genius the way that Sondheim (again) weaves humor, music and the entire thesaurus into one very entertaining 2-hour side-splitting, sophisticated piece. I respect "genius." This happens in the case of Ragtime (13) and Little Shop of Horrors (9), too. I must also add that that's how The Producers (17) made it onto my list. I wasn't necessarily blown away by the show like the critics were (I did not see the original cast, but a touring cast in Phoenix during college). I mean, it was entertaining and I enjoyed it, but what gets me is that Mel Brooks wrote his own lyrics to the hums that he created in his head. Mel Brook is a smart man and he's only just a little bit funny (sarcasm! He's super funny!). All you have to do is write shit like "Don't be stupid/Be a smarty/Come and join the Nazi party" and you get a spot in a Jew's Top 20. It's just too good.

d) spectacle. Big, monumental shows that have broken the mold for theatrical process also have spots on here. Consequently, they may not be known for their Sondheim-like genius or Ahrens & Flaherty-like variety (a la Ragtime (13), which has a multitude of songs and sounds, mostly because they're supposed to represent different kinds of people and their cultures during after the turn of the 20th century), but these shows have paved the way for bigger, flashier and, well, $$$-er shows to come. And, at the same time, it WORKS! There are shows that are big and flashy and expensive that are also bad. So, in the case of 12, 7 and 3, Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon and Les Miserables have their gimmicks that wowed critics and audiences (the falling chandelier, boat and big elaborate sets; the helicopter; the revolving turn-table stage), and have also influenced the way that theater is presented on stages world wide. This is respectable for sure.

Okay, so this is my list. It's an ongoing list that can be revised and I'm probably even missing some obvious stuff. It's also hard not to include shows that I've been in that are near and dear to my heart just for those purposes (Barnum, Joseph...Dreamcoat), but in the cruel, cruel world of musical theater, thousands are vying for spots and only handfuls get them and my list is no different.

Curtain.

Todd you so!

2008-04-05T08:28:00.001-07:00

So, it turns out, I CAN be surprised! I actually liked SWEENEY TODD. I stand by my assumptions that it would be dark and insane, but it was an enjoyable evening. I still don't think the overall show is in my Top 20 (yes, I have a Top 20. Shush.), but the John Doyle-directed production was a fascinating concept. The actors on stage did a phenomenal job acting their parts, playing their musical instruments as IF they were extensions of their bodies (therefore, the way, form and vigor with which the music was played reflected the character's current position), and conveying all parts of London on a very minimal set. The use of the coffin as a restaurant bar, window sill, judge's chamber, barber station and the very symbol itself was absolutely brilliant. The colors on the stage and on the actors were black and white with obvious hints of red, while the lighting designer did the rest of the work to portray moods, times and places. It was just really, really good.

It also didn't make it less entertaining that on our way to our seats, B and I literally ran into our theater company's producer and her director boyfriend. We had a nice time chatting with them and ended up sitting with them. They are very entertaining people with a lot to say, so we enjoy soaking it up and getting to know them better. They adore B because, well, he's a good looking tenor who makes the perfect love hero in pretty much every musical. Me, I'm a dime a dozen ensemble girl, but they like me anyway (probably cuz I'm attached to that good looking tenor). Either way, they definitely add some, shall we say, pizzazz to any experience.

The next show we see is MY FAIR LADY in a couple weeks as the next part of the Ahmanson season. It's funny how we don't go for months and then we go twice in one month. I'll tell ya what we won't be doing next time: eating at Pinot Grill in the courtyard of the Music Center. The food was mediocre. That's okay, we were hungry and were close to eating our own feet. However, dear restaurateurs, you can't make mediocre food, serve it on plastic plates, not even serve tap water, and still charge $27 for the average meal. You just can't. Oh, wait, yes you can. You are the only restaurant conveniently placed anywhere near the theater. Damn gougers. We totally fell for it, but no more! We can't be swept off our feet by your pretty twinkle lights and romantic outdoor setting! No no, we shall resist you! Plus, our food got cold instantly which is what happens with alfresco dining. Oh well, you live you learn.

When in doubt, bullet it out

2008-04-03T17:43:00.001-07:00

Meaning, I am doubtful I have time to write much, so bullet points are my friends...

Weighed envelopes, bought stamps and applied postage on wedding invitations today! They are 108 licks away from mailbox time! Message to mail carriers around the world: You screw up my invitations, you die.
MOH Annie cleaned out her closet. MOH Annie has lots of really nice clothes that I've drooled over (ew, not physically). MOH Annie gave me first dibs. Ali has all new wardrobe. "Hi, Ted Baker, nice to see you in my closet. Oh, Mr. Perse, I LOVE your soft T-shirts. Why, hello there Billy Blues! You make my bum look decent!"
B just got home and we're about to drive down to the Ahmanson to go see SWEENEY TODD. Never seen the show OR the movie (I know. Alert the presses). But it's Sondheim, so that means a) it will be brilliant and b) my head will hurt at the end of the night because he's insane in the membrane (insane in the brain!). Also, the idea of a barber who cuts up people to put into meat pies... ya know, not my thing, but it's part of the season subscription and apparently, this production on Broadway was fantastic, so I'm going in with an open mind.
Oh, it's almost FRIDAY! Woo hoo! Got some fun things going on this weekend. More to report later!

Invitations are stuffed!

2008-04-01T23:45:00.001-07:00

We are one step closer to wedding official-ness here at Bride & Groom Home Base! B and I spent the night stuffing our envelopes (after stuffing our faces; holy moly, have you tried the Bertoli bags of pasta dishes found in your frozen food section of your grocery store? Do not walk - RUN - and buy these mothas. Yes, I just said mothas. That's how content I am with this food purchase, that I am using urban slang. About an Italian dish. They have gangs in Italy.) and completing the whole invitation suite, which is now ready to be mailed out! Woo hoo!

The only thing left to do is a) notify that the calligrapher that one name is spelled incorrectly -- I can't really blame the lady; a name like Alioto became Alloto so she just misread the dot on the "i" and took it for an "l" and b) go to the post office and have these bad boys weighed so I don't end up with inconsistent weights and the invitations have to all be restamped. Happened to this chick on The Knot and it reaffirms my hatred for the USPS. I swear, when I become a zillionaire, I am going to FedEx everything and avoid the PO like the plague. They eff up so much stuff, it's scary!! I swear, one invite gets lost or torn and heads are gonna roll. AliGoesPOSTAL. That'll be my new name.

Oh, and while we're on the subject of venting about the USPS, can I just say THANK YOU for changing the rates of stamps like 3 days after my RSVP deadline. This really isn't too much of a big deal on paper, but from what I understand, there is such thing as stragglers and I have to put these ugly things on my reply card envelopes JUST IN CASE some lazy mofo (what is with my vocabulary tonight?!) doesn't get the SASE out by May 12th and it never arrives because the USPS won't just throw me a bone and deliver the mail anyway and the RSPV goes unrecognized. So, no pretty flowers or cute stamps for my RSVP cards. Nope. Got a stupid ugly doody-brown cracked bell on the sticky stamp. B called me unpatriotic when I complained about this earlier. So, for the record, I love my country very much. I just do not appreciate the aesthetics of the Forever Stamps as part of my wedding invitation suite. Pretty Crane letterpressed paper and doody-brown Liberty Bells are not friends. Hey, if this is my one Bridezilla moment, I am doing a-okay!

When the Fiance's Away...

2008-03-30T01:58:00.001-07:00

The Fiancee plays.

What do I play? I play "productivity."

B is in Vegas partying it up his not-for-much-longer bachelorhood. He's never been a huge partier to begin with, so I can't wait to hear stories of survival. That is, if he'll tell me! When THE Best Man told me all about it, it sounded like it would be an awesome weekend full of everything B loves. And that's why he's THE BEST Man. An old Seinfeld joke would question why the bride doesn't just marry the best man. After all, he is the BEST man. But ours really is. He's just so cool and he "gets it." He's a wonderful friend to B and through their friendship, I feel close to him, too. He's been a fabulous support system to BOTH of us during the wedding process and has bent over backwards not only fulfilling his "duties," but making us feel at ease and pumped about the big day. So, I have no doubt that he threw together a kick ass bachelor weekend. I'm so jealous! Not in a crazed-jealous-overprotective-untrusting way; in a I-wanna-hang-with-the-guys-and-go-drinking-and-do-Vegas-things jealous.

Meanwhile, I've been at home, basically mute, for the past day and a half. Aside from spending a few hours with My Favorite Pregnant Lady and her husband on Friday night (where we had our usual deep 5 hour talks that speed up time like crazy ; it was nice: we talked about their wedding and relived some of their favorite memories. They're both so talented with media -film and photography- that they are the best at documenting amazing moments in their relationship. Makes me wish I had paparazzi following me around all the time to capture important times in my life!), I've been all by my lonesome at home trying to organize, do wedding things and catch up on some worky-work. I really only heard my voice when I was dealing with the Kinko's people.

And why was I at Kinko's? Well! This is where the productivity comes in. I'd been dreading printing and cutting some of the necessary paper items for the upcoming nuptials, so I finally bit the bullet today and Kinko's was actually wonderful for producing my materials for me and not even charging me full price! B and I designed the directions cards that go inside the wedding invitations and the rehearsal dinner invitations that will be mailed separately, but I thought it would be a super-duper headache to actually make them come alive on paper. 'Twas a cinch! So, 2 big PITA things checked off the list.

Tonight, I designed our menus. Still not sure if I'm totally done, but I got it on the right path. I'm no BFF Nivek or Anne, but I get the job done. Maybe I'll have a designer friend tweak it, but it's basically laid out, so yay!

B comes home Sunday night and I can't wait to see him. I miss him so much and have been thinking about him non stop since he left. I'm just so excited for him and happy that he has such awesome friends. During a big time in our lives (like, oh, ya know, a wedding), we learn who our real friends are, and I'm pretty sure he has a nice, fun batch!

NoCal? YESCal!

2008-03-28T16:35:00.001-07:00

Don't worry, I'm not packing my bags and introducing "hella" into my vocabulary but I'd just like to state right here, right now, that I'm having a mini love affair with Northern California. B, BFF Nivek and I spend 36 hours in the woodsy part of our state and we had a fantastic time!!

We woke up bright and early on a Saturday morning and drove straight to San Luis Obispo to grub in B's college town. Firestone Grill is known for their yummy burgers, tri-tip sandwiches, and basket of fries. I'm sure if it wasn't 11 a.m. and we didn't have wine in our future, we would have enjoyed some beer (who am I kidding? like I drink beer? ew!)

We drove around campus and BFF Nivek and I made parallel comparisons about our alma mater. It pretty much entailed how college girls are all the same; the only thing that changes from one school to another is the name of the college embroidered onto their butt shorts.

We stopped for a little bit about 45 minutes north of SLO in Templeton. There's nothing in Templeton but this brand new little wine bar that is delicious and owned by the daughter of one of my professors I do business with. Thankfully we were craving wine (and I'm craving some new business), so we stopped in and introduced ourselves. We were treated to a lovely cheese plate and tasting flight. We even bought the pinot grigio from Argentina that was included in our flight -- it was delish! I totally recommend this place if you're, uh, ya know, ever in TEMPLETON! It's called 15Degrees.

A couple hours later, we finally made it up to Los Altos, changed real quick in a restaurant bathroom, and breezed into Tim and Rachel's party. It was great to see them and even though they were so busy and couldn't give us all of their attention, we could see how happy they are as an official married couple (they'd been ACTING married for years! This was a long time coming!). A few other college friends were there so B got to meet a few new people, too. B fitting right in with the UofA AEPi guys, Jody, Tim, BFF Nivek and Dave.

Kevin with his 2 AEPi sweethearts

Two of my favorite fraternity guys, Timmy and BFF Nivek!

After the party, we crashed at our hotel room and relaxed for a little bit after a long day of driving. We hadn't really planned what to do in the evening and decided to play everything by ear. This is a first for an OCD girl like me who usually has everything set to a schedule. For once, I went with the flow and it was actually fun (and B appreciated my low-key/whatever attitude!). So, around 7pm, B realized we could meet up with his now-married friends from college who live in The City (NorCal people call San Francisco The City a la New Yorkers calling Manhattan The City. Oh so very cosmopolitan). So, before we knew it, we were in the car en route to SF to meet up with Brian and Anna for some yummy margaritas and Mexan food. BFF Nivek and I don't even like margaritas but these were some of the best I've ever had. And our tacos were gigantic. If you're ever up north and want some comida deliciosa, I recommend Tres Agaves with much enthusiasm! Ole! Brian and Anna are so much fun! Brian and B were in the computer science program together at Cal Poly and became friends through the honors program. Early on in college, Brian fell in love with Anna and after a lot of chasing and waiting, she finally realized how great he is and they got married shortly after college. They are adorable together and have a lovely condo right next to AT&T Park where the Giants play (booo Giants but it IS a nice park...). They'll be at our wedding and we can't wait to party with them! After dinner, they hopped in our car and narrated a tour of the city for BFF Nivek (who'd never been to San Francisco before) while I drove around. The city is beautiful at night and it was fun, but nerve wracking to drive down squiggly, windy Lombard Street.

We said our goodbyes and got back to the hotel safe and sound around midnight where we realized we were a little delirious from our extremely LONG day. The evidence:

Crazy boys.

Anyway, the next morning we lazily got up and drove to San Jose to see the Winchester Mystery House. I'd been there as a kid and wanted B and BFF Nivek to see this crazy place so we took the tour and confirmed that Sara Winchester was indeed insane. I mean, she built a door to NOWHERE:

What? Yeah, this woman built because there was crazy talk in her head that if she kept building and building, it would confuse the ghosts of dead people killed by Winchester rifles. Bryan had a good time feeling up statues in the garden. A good time had by all at the Mystery House! "OOooooohhh!!!!!!!!"

After we left San Jose, we went to Santa Cruz. I'd always heard that it was a cute, fun town with good wine tasting so for some more vino, we headed to hippie town and met some cool winemakers and enjoyed free tastings!! Unlike Napa, you don't pay a gazillion dollars to taste and you also get more than 3 or 4 wines to taste. After our first winery, we were already wasted. Very yummy stuff. We ended up going to 2 more wineries before sobering up and heading home. It was late afternoon already (times flies when you're drinking wine) and one of the winemakers told us about this yummy seafood place in Moss Landing about 20 minutes south of Santa Cruz so we stopped there and it was yummy indeed. I did my best to forget all about that little wedding dress I have to fit into in 2 months and devoured some delicious fish 'n' chips! Next time you're in Moss Landing (?!?!?) and you have a hankering for seafood, give Phil's Fish Market a try. We bought a round of sourdough bread to eat in the car. It was also delicious! Wish we had something closer to us just like it!

And then, off into the sunset, we drove south and only stopping for a quick pee break in SLO, we arrived home a little after 10 and we said goodbye to our fun weekend of adventures! I love road trips and hope to do more of them up and down the coast of our great state. We have lots of friends and food along the way to make it special!

Just peeking into my own Blog

2008-03-26T15:33:00.001-07:00

I have some updates stored up that I'll post soon, but for now, I just want to say hello.

Hello!

Scootin' Up North

2008-03-15T00:52:00.001-07:00

Just thought I'd write a lil diddy here before getting some shut eye. Early morning Saturday wake-ups are usually unacceptable to me, but we're early risers for a good reason! B, BFF Nivek and I are driving up to the Bay Area to celebrate Tim and Rachel's recent nuptials. They got engaged about a year after B and me, and were planning for a September '08 wedding day, but decided they'd waited long enough (six years!) so they thought a wedding with Aloha Spirit would do the trick. Instead, in December '07, they tied the knot! So, an at-home reception is being thrown for them and since we couldn't skidaddle to Hawaii a few months ago, we're excited to go toast them in Los Altos for a night!

During our quick jaunt through NorCal, we'll chug a little vino, visit the Sarah Winchester Mystery House (I went as a kid and it was super cool!) and eat some grub in B's college town of San Luis Obispo. It's exciting to take a little road trip -- especially when it's in your free company car!

So, a hearty mazel tov to Tim and Rachel, with whom BFF Nivek and I have shared many fun times at UofA. I'm glad Tim and B will finally meet! And I always adore hanging out with Rachel.

With Rachel at Graduation May 2005

Tim and Rachel graduate together as college sweethearts!

Rachel and I when I visited her in San Diego last winter

Keep a Kippah

2008-03-13T10:53:00.001-07:00

I just made yet another wedding purchase. I never in my life thought that I would ever own 75 kippot! I was wrong. I am now the proud owner of a whole slew of black suede Jewish head coverings that say "Wedding of Bryan and Alison May 25, 2008" centered inside the dome. Just ANOTHER batch of items to bring to Spanish Hills on the wedding day that will be contained in basket with a pretty pink and orange ribbon tied on.

I had a nice chat with one of my New Testament friends yesterday (she calls me her Old Testament friend. Who said that Jews and Gentiles can't be friends? Ya hear that Middle East?!?! It WORKS if you quit bombin' each other!) and she was wondering if her boyfriend should wear a yarmulke at the wedding. Neither have been to a Jewish wedding before and I've ONLY been to Jewish weddings so it was kind of a question for both of us. After a little time with my favorite friend, Google, I had some ideas. I imagine there are different hardcore rules for the Orthodox Jews, but I learned that, in general, wearing a kippah has become more of a cultural custom than a religious custom and that anyone is allowed to wear one. Also, at Jewish events like weddings and Bar Mitzvot -especially when inside a synagogue- it is a sign of respect to sport one while there is a service. Now, our wedding will be outside at a country club and, while it's officiated by a Rabbi, it's not a religious setting. However, it's still a sign of respect to wear one.

It's funny because my NT Friend also asked if the Jewish men who already own their own kippot will bring them to the wedding. I thought about it for a second and that brings an interesting point. No, I don't believe Jewish men bring their own kippot to a wedding. The only time I see that is when they are going to temple for a religious service or day. However, if kippot are provided FOR them at a wedding, then they will pick them up and wear them, because, well, that's just what ya do. So, the wedding ceremony is Jewishly important enough to wear a kippah if it's provided, but not Jewishly important enough to bring one from home. Interesting.

I figure all the Jewish men in attendance will pick one up, but I think that the non-Jewish guests will wear one, too either because they think they absolutely have to and don't want to be the odd man out, or they will understand that it's a sign of respect and that it's part of the custom. Either way, I think it's nice that a group of different people can come together and still participate and enjoy a tradition and a beautiful Jewish wedding ceremony.

At any rate, I have 75 kippot just aching to rest on a man's head, and I have a feeling I'll have quite a few leftovers since not everyone keeps them. Looks like I'll be hosting a lot of Shabbat and Passover dinners in order to get some wear out of 'em!

Sushi Fest and Wedding Talk!

2008-03-13T10:22:00.001-07:00

Last night, I tried some veddddy interesting pieces of sushi. I knew I could trust my Sushi Mentors with different rolls and species of fish. After all, we speak the same language: Wedding Talk.

Even though I try my best to be a very levelheaded bride, I'm still paranoid that my fiance and friends see me as a Bridezilla because, well, they just don't understand this experience firsthand.

There's a lot that goes into planning the perfect wedding day and even some of the closest people to me just can't comprehend. Hanging out with a special group of fellow Knotties at Katsu-Ya in Studio City and talking about our recent/upcoming weddings could not have been more perfect! It'd been a while since I'd had a girls night and it was so refreshing to all be on the same wedding wavelength! These girls just GET IT. My fabulous Date Twin patiently explained the ways of sushi to me (I am a mere beginner) while we all discussed rude wedding guests who don't bring presents, ceremony music, bachelorette parties and the, um, colorful personalities we encounter online. Yes, I said online. It's true -- these faces used to be just black-and-white text but after meeting in real life a couple times now, I can honestly say that they are super fun, smart, witty and, well, BRIDEY! While we all come from different backgrounds and interests, we have a common bond that not even our fiances/husbands understand, and that's what makes hanging out so fun!

This is where I'd post a picture... but we didn't take one. Ironic, since we're all photo-obsessed!

Thanks for a great night!! Can't wait to do it again.

TOLD ya I'd Blog! :)

WITCH Show is My Favorite Show???

2008-03-13T10:07:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday night, I saw WICKED with Mom and it was, well, amazing of course! It was my 8th time seeing this show (5th time seeing the L.A. installment) and my first time seeing some new cast members in L.A. I hadn't seen the show since Eden Espinosa (original L.A. Elphaba and original Elphaba standby for Idina Menzel on Broadway. She pretty much owns the part!) left and I figured it would start to get messy upon her departure. Eden is the best Elphaba I've ever seen (yes, better than original Idina) because her voice is so mind-blowingly powerful and her character arc is just perfect. Plus, we had a special moment when we met last summer at the Stephen Schwartz Cabaret. She was so, so nice and I was so speechless around her. But we did get to snap a photo together and that made me giggly! So when I heard she left the show and Caissie Levy would be replacing her, I thought it would be tough to accept a new Elphaba. BUT, I didn't even get to see Caissie on Tuesday night so I saw the standby, Teal Wicks, and she was great. Lacked a little bit of power and soul, but she had wonderful presence. Fresh out of Broadway's THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, Joanne Worley as Morrible (instead of the awful Carol Kane) worked for me. She kind of played Madame Morrible like she'd had way too many martinis, so a drunk villainess was kind of entertaining! Kristoffer Kusick was out as Fiyero so we saw Ensemble member and Fiyero understudy, Adam Lambert. I was actually glad to see him since I know him from a completely different show (a bad one). He was Joshua in THE TEN COMMANDMENTS which had a very short stint at the Kodak a couple years ago. I never got to see it, but I did help him get to press junkets and other market-y things. He was very nice and talented and totally best-friend-material (i.e., I would have had a naive crush on him if I knew him in high school, given my track record with boys I liked that liked other boys instead). Anyway, Adam was good and stands out as being more of a dancer than lead-role material, but with enough opportunities, maybe he'll get more polished and will own the role himself someday. Megan Hilty still remains my favorite G(a)linda ever. She is just so flippin' funny and cute that I think I have a theatre crush on her!

Funny thing is, I didn't even really PLAN on seeing WICKED again for a while (I saw it in January with BFF Kevin), but when Mom called me a few weeks ago and said "hey, do you want to see Wicked with me?" (stupid question) I had the tickets checked out on Ticketmaster before I even answered with a hearty "YES!" I guess she'd been on a WICKED kick with the cast recording in her car and the power of the whole enterprise caught her at a weak moment. We are alike in many ways, but she is not the type to see a show she likes over and over and over again like moi. However, I should note, to her credit, our little evening together was her 4th time seeing this masterpiece so she's on her way to my status. :)

It's a special show to see with a best friend or a mom. I'm not sure why, but that seems to be the trend and I whole heartily support it anyway. Neither of us are very mushy gushy, but it's nice to share it together. We had a nice evening out talking and talking (mostly about things that I don't think a lot of mothers and daughters talk about, so it's special) and taking in a great show in good seats. It was a really nice night and I'm so glad we went! Thanks, Mom!!!

Work tears us apart!

2008-03-02T12:36:00.001-08:00

I'm no good on my own. The following 6 days will be horrible!

I imagine there might be a reenactment of Bridget Jones singing "All By Myself"

B is leaving for a work trip in Seattle and will be gone for 5 days. The day he's due to come home, I have to drive down to Costa Mesa for 2 nights for a regional sales meeting. I won't be home to see my man until Saturday NIGHT! I'm a little irate that the company would schedule a meeting for us through a whole day of my weekend!

LAME!

Ah, the sweet smell of being right

2008-02-21T23:48:00.001-08:00

Sniff sniff. What's that? Can you smell it? Get a whiff of this:

Me. Getting it right.

I AM AN AMERICAN IDOL NOSTRADAMUS.

We're practically twins... no? Okay.

Anyway, it wasn't exactly brain surgery, but I love that out of the 2 possible male (again, male?) bye-byes tonight on Idol, both were part of yesterday's deep analysis. I mean, DUH!

Good job, America.

My TV screen will be a little easier to look at.

American iDOLL

2008-02-20T14:39:00.001-08:00

As many of you know, I am a huge fan of American Idol. Unless you live under a rock, you know about American Idol, too, and are aware of what a huge phenomenon it is (you may not AGREE with its brilliance, ahemmyfianceahem, but you have to agree it's a part of pop culture).

What I love about this current part of the competition is that there are 24 singers who are all pretty good. I mean, none of them sound like cats in heat. Some have performance issues or some don't always hit every note perfectly, but bottomline, sure, they can carry a tune. In this batch of pretty good singers is THE soon-to-be-in-May-during-ratings-sweeps American Idol. I should I say iDOLL?

Let's face it. A huge part of the competition is how the contestants LOOK. If they couldn't sing at all, they wouldn't be there, but part of the pop star image is conveying a current and, well, GOOD, look. Last night the men/boys (I mention both because it is QUITE a combination of ages and appearances) sang music from the 60s in the first live studio audience performance of the seventh season. I love to take notice of how the contestants will undoubtedly change over the course of their brush with fame.

Now, some already "get it." They look the part and could easily drop in on the pages of Star and US Weekly and look like they belong.

For example, Michael Johns has a terrific look and is definitely easy on the eyes. He sang "Light My Fire" extremely well but that is neither here nor there. It doesn't matter that the judges were even into it. Bottomline, the dude can dress and perfect his hair and the show's stylists won't have to do too much work for him:

Easy on the eyes, eh?

There are, however, a few men that not only don't "get it," but left me scratching my head as to their being male at all. What is with this androgynous group of Y chromosomes in this year's American Idol?! Even handsome Michael Johns is a little pretty, but he's the most macho guy of the lot!

Good singer Danny Noriega is a great example of this Dorian Gray epidemic. It's not exactly hidden that Noriega plays on the team whose members also were probably my high school show choir dance partners and such. I mean, really, he's so flaming, he should have sung Michael John's song (it's noted above). Between his perfectly plump lips and princess eyelashes, he is a female waiting to happen! And what's with the Carol Brady haircut? Thanks to his brunette pixie cut, they could play each other in the movie yet to be made: "The American Brady iDOLL Bunch."

Again, committing haircut-icide, is Colton Berry who did not get a unanimous vote to proceed to the top 24; as usual, Simon is right and obviously saw something that made him unlikable. Well, Mr. Cowell, I'm with you sir, and I can't get over the haircuts these kids are sporting. He said it himself in the obviously-sponsored Coca Cola room before he performed: he looks like Ellen Degeneres. Now, don't call me an Ellen hater. I was a fan before she was ever famous (um, you put Ellen and Jeremy Piven on a TV show together in the 90s and I am a very happy young girl). But an 18-year-old guy with white eyelashes should really do something about his Ellen Everything.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

I mean, c'mon, I don't blame the guy for trying to use Ellen's looks to pick up Portia de Rossi, but a) the lady is spoken for by Ms. Degeneres and b) go get your own chicks! And cut your hair! It looks bad.

Lastly, I'd like to point out the biggest fright of the evening. Well, I really don't have to as a picture is worth a thousand words, but I will leave you with these final thoughts. I truly thought that the producers had made a mistake and mixed up the night or that there was an overanxious female contestant who couldn't wait for her turn on Wednesday, because I'm not shitting you, I totally thought Garrett Haley was a girl. With a peach fuzz mustache. There. I said it. Throw tomatoes at me. But. Oh. Mah. Gawsh.

Simon said it in the best way he could without actually telling him that he looks scary and effeminate because of his albino face, toothpick arms, and Meg-Ryan-In-"When-Harry-Met-Sally" coiffure."It was boring, your voice sounded a bit whiny, you look terrified, and it looks like you've been shut up in your bedroom for about a month — you look verging on haunted. You need some fresh air."

And so proves my point that season 7 of this world famous competition features a bunch of guys who are more like delicate porcelain dolls than believable pop stars soon to grace your iTunes homepage. No biggie. As long as Michael Johns doesn't go cosmo on us, I don't care one bit if Danny,Colton and Garrett aren't Maxim Models.

Oh, and for what it's worth: I'm thinkin' Meg Ryan hair gets the boot.

Communication is

2008-02-19T10:19:00.001-08:00

If there is one thing that gets my blood boiling, it's bad communication. As a kid, strangers, friends family member - whoever! - would come up to talk to me and ask me the typical "kid" questions: "what's your favorite subject in school?", "what do you like most about piano lessons and tap class?", "what did you do on your vacation to London?" My mom, who was usually by my side, never once opened up her mouth to answer for me, but instead, I answered the question... and then some! The Asker would be astounded that the little voice that came out of the curly top head of a kid could produce so much detail and expression. As a little girl, I was quite articulate and enjoyed carrying conversations with all types of people.

This skill grew with me through school (the teachers were wowed) and into my social life (my friends appreciate my detailed updates) and I must say, I am pretty proud of how I express myself through conversation and written word. I am not a perfect person, though. My math skills are non existent and my interest in the sciences lacks. The expressions I share in my communication can sometimes seem a little emotional or dramatic. But at the end of the day, I am glad I can communicate needs, love, disappointment, happiness and all sorts of expressions because without good communication, I believe people would find it very hard to know the real me.

Being a good communicator with all types of people doesn't necessarily mean, though, that the points and expressions get recognized. I've learned that no matter how good I am at communicating, it's up to the recipient to absorb the message. And, as good as I am at communicating, I've learned that I'm not so good at comprehending how people can not absorb the message.

I believe that communication is a two-way street and that there must be a desire for all parties involved to form a partnership to understand each other. They must both take the time and make the effort to do that understanding or the communication is only as strong as the weakest party member. One skill set does not trump what lacks. In fact, it's the other way around.

This discovery is extremely frustrating for someone like me who goes the extra mile to make sure that those I communicate with are on board and understanding. This shouldn't be confused with agreement. My goal is not to ensure that those with which I exchange words drink from my Kool-Aid. I am not looking to change minds and sway people to my side of an opinion. It is just my hope that people listen, consider, and form a response. No response from the other party is the sign of a communication-relationship that is just not meant to live happily ever after.

What do you call smashed tomatoes?

2008-02-17T10:53:00.001-08:00

That's right. I'm here to ketchup, er, I mean, catch up.

It's been a while (bad, Alison, bad!) and every day that goes by without blogging something new, I tisk tisk myself and think "Oh well, ONE more day can't hurt." Well, it does hurt. So, here I am with an e-band aid, trying to cover up the boo boo I've made!

But at least I come with good news! Since the last time I've blogged, B and I picked out our baker for our wedding! We will be using Skiff's in Simi Valley who has a great relationship with our Spanish Hills so that's always a plus. I'm thinking the 3-tiered sugary goodness will look like this, BUT, all white with pink and orange ribbon and pearlized trim. Plus, the florist will plop some of our flowers on random sides of the cake. At the top will stand a whimsical "F" - my new last initial!

Also, since I last blogged, I had my first dress fitting! I never felt prettier than when Stacy at Bridal Elegance slipped the dress on -- and that was without my bling, hair, makeup and my groom at my side! I can't even imagine what it will feel like to wear the whole getup on the official day. I'd post pictures of my fitting, but... one of my loyal readers (out of the 2 that read this I'm sure) is B himself, so my other reader(s) will have to wait for the final product after the wedding! But let me just tell you: it's purrrrrrrrrty!

There is a small list of items to check off our list that will happen over the next three months. Otherwise, all the really big stuff is out of the way!

B and I aren't obsessed with Valentine's Day, but it was kind of nice to celebrate our last VDay as betrothed boyfriend and girlfriend. It was special for its own reason. Remember in elementary school, you'd celebrate 100 Day and make Fruit Loop necklaces with 100 rings on it, you'd do art projects with 100 pinto beans, or you'd make a list of your 100 favorite things? Well, Valentine's Day marked our 100th Day... until our wedding! Made the day of love a little lovelier! We didn't play with cereal or get crafty with pennies to make a dollar (good math, Alison!), but we got excited as we knew the rest of our countdown would be mostly double digits! Woo hoo!

Took A Week-long Bite Out Of The Big Apple

2008-02-01T21:22:00.000-08:00

It is so hard to come back to reality after six days of vacation! It's not like we even lounged around and relaxed. B and I were on the go for four days straight in Manhattan and two days in Rochester. Ah, I love Manhattan. Whenever I'm walking up and down the tree-lined streets peppered with Carrie Bradshaw-style walk up apartment buildings, I picture myself frolicking home. Even when I navigate and weave through crowds in Times Square (this is because I refuse to look like a tourist), I exude this confidence that makes me feel like I own the city, let alone the theater district. I don't know what it is, but I find Manhattan to be romantic, exciting, comfortable and fast all at the same time. With each neighborhood claiming its own identity, it's difficult for me to pick my favorite. When I'm walking through the Upper West Side to do some buying and eating at Zabar's, I tell myself "this is where I would live." But when I'm browsing the shop windows in The Village and I see trendy, delicious restaurants and beautiful people everywhere, I think, "no no, I want to live here." What can I say? I have NYC ADD. A summary of our trip:

Four Shows! All seats purchased through TKTS. How I heart the Theater Development Foundation! We saw: Spamalot (with Clay Aiken! He was good, too!), Mary Poppins (Disneyfied, saccharine-sweet fun), Is He Dead? (knee-slapping funny comedy play starring Norbert Leo Butz and a slew of other talents), and Forbidden Broadway: Rude Awakening (spoofed some of my favorite current and old time Broadway shows and the best of all, Rude Awakening spoofed my least favorite, Spring Awakening)
Pizza!! Yumminess was had at Ben's Pizzeria on McDougal in The Village, Famous Ray's on 8th and 51st and ANOTHER Ray's that also claims to be famous, Famous Rays of Greenwich Village. I don't know what it is about New York pizza but it beats any pizza anywhere.
Museums!! We took a the ferry to Ellis Island, and even though we'd both been there before, having just come out of Ragtime a few months ago, we could appreciate it even more. Mad props to our great grandparents. We also went to the Jewish Museum on 5th and 92nd. Some neat culture and pieces. Didn't learn anything too new, but it was a nice museum and I would go back if they had an interesting exhibit. I brought B to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and it rocked for many reasons. It was free -- yes yes, 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday nights, Target sponsors free admission. I heart Target. Also, I got to see Van Gogh's Starry Night and it moved me to tears the first time I saw it. This time, I felt similar emotions but it was crowded and I couldn't get as close as I would have liked. Monet's huge Water Lillies was also on display and all I can ever think about when I see Monets is the line from "Clueless"

Cher: Oh, she's a full on Monet.
Tai: What's that?
Cher: You see, it's like the painting. See, from far away it's okay, but up close it's a big ol' mess.

Various food!! Pizza gets its own bullet point because it's just that near and dear to my heart. However, we actually did eat other items. A good, cheap post-show meal was at The Galaxy Diner on 8th and 47th. We also finally tried Serendipity after not making it there on our last trip. Ya know, the place was cute and I definitely tried to breathe any leftover John Cusack carbon dioxide into my system, but the food was ya know, food. Serendipity has a huge menu and everything is described deliciously, but their real money maker is their desserts. Our entrees were fine, but nothing glorious (given the price and the name). Bryan had challah French toast with fruit and I had fried-then-baked chicken and fries. We both enjoyed, but couldn't finish, the Forbidden Broadway dessert -- blackout cake with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and hot fudge. It was amazing, but huge and virtually impossible to finish after lunch. I had a fleeting thought about becoming a bulimic after I left Serendipity. And of course we had to eat deli, so we went to the usual, Carnegie Deli, and we were both very disappointed. The matzoh ball soup was nothing with nothing and the pastrami lacked flavor. Our server was this young Asian guy, probably making extra cash to put himself through NYU med school or something, which is awesome. But when I go to eat deli in NY, I went an ancient, cranky, purple-haired, wretched, food-throwing, little old Jewish lady. I do. It's part of the experience for me. So, all in all, this Carnegie experience was not my favorite of all my Carnegie experiences. Perhaps we'll find a new deli next time (not to be confused with New Delhi, the metropolis of India. We have no plans of going there in the near future).
The weather!! It could not have been better. I came back with my ass fully in tact. It did not freeze off. Sure, it was cold, but we walked briskly and were indoors a lot so it didn't feel any colder in The City than it normally does when I'm there in the winter. A few times I carried my jacket because I was warm enough in a sweater and bottom layer!! We heard it rained and rained and rained in L.A. the whole time we were gone. Glad we missed it so we could enjoy the gorgeous New York climate!

Our time in Manhattan came to a close on Saturday afternoon and we flew up to Rochester to visit Same Name. We saw a rehearsal for the show she'll be covering for a short time and we also saw a show that she might get to be in over the next few months. We also took a little day trip to Niagara Falls and saw the amazing natural phenomenon from the Canadian side (which I hear is better) and it was truly breathtaking.
I now I understand why people leave awestruck and inspired. It is very cool. Literally and figuratively. The falls mist like crazy, so we got drenched when we stood in its central location and the temperature -- a measly 27 degrees -- made it quite uncomfortable for a short time after. I'm surprised I didn't leave with icicles in my hair.

We drove around to try to find a lunch place that wasn't touristy, so we went into the little town and everything was closed on Sundays except for Bassel's Diner and Tavern. I love these local, hole-in-the-wall type places. The woman who served us at the counter looked at me like I was a movie star when I told her I was from Los Angeles. I think she almost asked for my autograph. The SPECIAL of the day on the menu was chicken fingers and fries for $9.99. B and Same Name ordered them and they were pretty good. A level above the Costco DinoNuggets for sure. I found it funny that chicken fingers is considered a special. On the Sides section, three out of the six options were various types of gravy. I tell ya, this place was great in a funny way. Totally beat eating at a tourist trip like Rainforest Cafe across the street from the Falls where it looks like a little Citywalk or Downtown Disney.

So, after a quick two days of hanging out with Same Name and meeting all her new (and very nice) friends, we jetted back to JFK and got on a standby flight back to LA.

And now, almost a week after returning to the homeland, I am already salivating over the next vacation we take. This one, though, will only require flip flops and bathing suits. We already have the aloha spirit for our Hawaiian honeymoon that begins May 26th! Woo hoo!!

In A New York State of Mind

2008-01-21T01:00:00.001-08:00

We're leaving for New York on Tuesday for a few nights in the city and a couple nights in Rochester! I may come back with no ass because it will probably freeze off. This impromptu trip that was ticketed just a week before the departure date is exciting to me in so many ways.

1. We will be visiting B's sister, Same Name, who normally lives in the city, but who just temporarily moved to Rochester for a theater gig. So, it'll be cool to hang out with her and during her birthday weekend, too!

2. We will be seeing some shows in the city -- I checked the TKTS boards for shows that were sold at discounted prices last week and there seems to be a great selection if the trend continues this week. There may be some Spamalot or Mary Poppins in our near future which would really slap a smile on my face and make me forget that my ass fell off due to the freeze. How I will sit on a seat in the theater is yet to be determined due to the lack of ass. And crystal ball.

3. We will be eating pizza and will be taking advantage of The No Diet On Vacation rule. If New York Pizza and Chicago Pizza were on American Idol, I would be voting for New York Pizza because, as Simon might say about a moron who can't sing, Chicago Pizza is absolutely dreadful. I am the Paula Abdul for New York Pizza -- I love it and think it's great and it should continue to do what it's doing: feeding my frozen-off and diet-forgetting, vacationing ass.

Dear Ray's on 8th and 51st, I love you and can't wait to get saucy with you soon. Keep your oil fresh and your cheese gooey for me just the way I like it. You are my doughmate. Love, Alison

4. We're going to some museums! I really want to go to MOMA again because seeing famous shit makes me all sappy. Seriously, when I saw Van Gogh's Starry Night a few years ago, I cried. It's kind of embarrassing. I think I also want to head over to the Jewish museum. I always dig learning about our people, and I think NYC will have a pretty good representation of all the shlimazel (good fortune) and tsores (troubles) that paint our history.

5. Free room and board. This is seriously a treat. Since Same Name will be in Rochester, her studio on the Upper East Side is vacant and it would be a crime for her awesome Ikea furniture to go unused while her brother and future sister pay for a hotel out of their, may they rest in peace, frozen asses. So, the doorman (eeeeek! A doorman!) will give us her key upon arrival and we will studio-sit Same Name's pad. Score!

6. I love going on vacation with B! We've traveled to Europe on a cruise and we celebrated our engagement with a drive up the coast to Napa Valley. We've done sightseeing in San Francisco and partied in Vegas. A few weeks before B proposed last winter, we experienced our first New York together as a couple and it was so much fun! I hope we can make this an annual thing.

My Super Sweet Weekend

2008-01-19T23:48:00.001-08:00

So much for the Wedding Diet that consists of no saturated fats and "bad" carbs. I suppose, though, that I am all too happy to throw my diet plans to the wind for cake. And I don't mean any cake. I mean free cake. Free wedding cake. Free wedding cake that makes you feel special for 30 minutes of Bride and Groom Attention.

Bride and Groom Attention (BGA) is a term I have internally coined (so, it only exists in my head until right this minute when all 2 of my readers now know BGA) that describes the exclusive attention Brides and/or Grooms receive upon any wedding related event or conversation. This means, for example, that it could be as obvious as a vendor meeting where the sole purpose is to talk about us and our wedding and how nothing else matters since it is, after all, the most important day of our lives. BGA can also happen out of the blue in a totally non-wedding-related setting such as a conversation with strangers:

Stranger in line at the pharmacy with me: Have you been waiting long?
Me: No, but I need to get home because my fiance is waiting for me.
Stranger: FIANCE?! Oh you're getting married! Where? When? What are your colors? Have you bought your dress? When did you start dating? How did you meet? Did you know he'd be the one right away? When do you plan to have children? Wow, you look so young to be getting married!
Me: Uh. They just called your name.

AND SCENE.

Ok, I should be a flippin' screenwriter. Strike not! I seriously made that whole thing up off the top of my head. That was like some holy Holden Caulfield action. And while I seriously, truly haven't had this conversation with a stranger in line at the drugstore pharmacy, I have had extremely similar chats with extremely similar strangers who are extremely and strangely interested in my upcoming nuptials. That, my friends, is some hard core BGA.

I guess there is just something about being a Bride or a Groom (yes, I know they're not proper nouns, but I feel they deserve capitalization since they relate to the acronym of BGA as derivatives) that solicits all kinds of obvious attention from those involved in the wedding (such as vendors) and not-so-obvious attention from people who get turned on about anything having to do with a wedding.

But I digress.

Cake tasting is high up there with the ultimate BGA. For some reason, this dessert, this frilly confection that gets displayed and then viciously cut into, is supposed to create a whole sub-universe that is a direct reflection of our style, our relationship, and our future.

Oy. Freakin. Vey.

Me? Hey, I just like carbs and calories and that's what wedding cake, okay, any cake, is to me. I just want the thing to taste good and look good and with my basic taste for sweets and my appreciation for simple design, it's not going to take Cynthia Weinstock and all of her cronies to produce this concept. My ambivalence about this sugary focal point of our reception doesn't prevent me from being enthusiastic about these tastings we get to savor, however. After all, cake tastings are privileges that Brides and Grooms get to enjoy in which no one else in the human population can participate (that is, ethically. I suppose any old Jane and Joe could walk into a bakery with a pipecleaner ring on a finger and feel that they are entitled to free cake). I'm all about the bridal experience, and you better believe that my cheap ass is going to enjoy some complimentary cock (that's Frahnk speak for "cake" as spoken in the remake of "Father of the Bride").

Well, the search for our cake began on Friday night at the world renowned Breadbasket (and by world, I mean Ventura County). I'm no cake critic and I'm not really intending to be one, so I'm not going to go into detail. All I can is, "Yeah. Okay. It's cake." I don't know, maybe it was hyped up too much for me. Nothing I tasted was phenomenal and I was kind of disappointed in the way the four slices were presented in that they didn't correspond with any of the options I would pick from the menu they gave us. Plus, they didn't have marble cake and they weren't really willing to accommodate our wants. I'd say "needs," but really, who needs marble sprinkled with chocolate chips, laced with chocolate ganache? We're not a third world country. We're a Bride and Groom and we're not getting the kind of BGA we'd expect from Breadbasket, but I'm not about to use the word "needs." If I'm needing anything about this wedding, I have some seriously effed up priorities in life. Wedding perks and enjoyments are gravy on in the grand scheme of things. Okay, so I just had a Ghandi moment, but all I'm trying to say is that Breadbasket didn't really jive with our simple taste, so... thanks for the half-assed BGA and we're moving on.

Saturday morning took us to TC Bakery in Newbury Park. I walked up thinking I wouldn't be impressed. Their website was shady. They get no press. They're located in an industrial park near Amgen. But by golly, this cake was delish! No photos at this one, but it wouldn't have mattered unless I would be able to capture the happy faces on each and every one of our taste buds. And my camera isn't that cool. So anyway, big thumbs up for taste, service, flexibility and the ultimate "as you wish" BGA treatment. I think we had our WOW moment. Don't judge a book by its cover, kids.

We rested our tummies with a bathroom break and a browse-through at Borders in Thousand Oaks before heading off to the adorably decorated For Heaven's Cakes on Thousand Oaks Blvd. Walking into For Heaven's Cakes is like walking into every little girl's dream Barbie mansion. Perfect little pink benches with perfect little pink walls and perfect little pink framed artwork. Above us hangs a dainty chandelier that makes any bride decked out in a Swarovski drizzled gown melt into a puddle (I am not such a bride, but I still think that itty bitty light fixtures that dangle crystals are cute). Ok, so clearly, this place is all about presentation and connecting with the brides.

And ya know what? The cake was pretty good too. Not as tasty as TC Bakery, but ya know, good. Here's where I tisk tisk tisk. No quote. All the other bakeries are giving me a price at the end and ya know, that kinda matters. At For Heaven's Cakes, they go to the designer, tell them what I want, and then call me in a week with a number. Okay, fine, but I am not asking for the Wrigely Building to be replicated on my cake. I want a couple dots. Some squiggles. Ya know? Basic. Don't tell me you don't know a ballpark number for a 3 tiered stacked cake with a sheet cake in the back (shhhh) for a 170 people. Seriously, don't. Ah, but you did. That annoys me. Based on the presentation and the 5-paragraph essays that preceded each forkful, I know this dessert isn't going to compete with the price point of a McDonald's apple pie. So, I can pretty much assume that we won't be going with this joint, but hey, it was "part of the bridal experience."

So with three bakeries down and about three more to go, we're definitely getting to know the cake tasting process and learning what we want and don't want in and on our tower of buttercream goodness. Price is a #1 factor, then the ability to execute my design, followed by whatever B wants to stick in it. I figured letting him choose what the cake tastes like would be a good strategy to ensure our marriage lasts a lifetime.

After all, I believe in the C word.

Compromise.

B, on the other hand, is passionate about the other C word.

Cake.

Let 'er rip!

2008-01-17T22:00:00.000-08:00

I would just like to say that no diet or exercise regimen makes me feel as light and clean as this:

Seriously, I feel like I lose ten pounds every time I go get a good eyebrow wax. All the hairy clutter off my face is gone and it's such a relief.

I'd been so busy with work and traveling and the holidays that I totally neglected my beauty duties. I can always give myself a homemade manicure and during the winter, I don't care toooo much about my feet (yes, I still exfoliate and paint at home), and I try to keep up with my hair roots, but when my brows grow out, they really grow out. So, after almost 2 months of being able to basically french braid my arches (ok, that's hyperbole, but I love it!), I finally got in today to see my personal God of Beauty and had the strays rrrrrrrrripped out. Now I have two eyebrows again!

I wonder if we're related:

2008-01-14T19:34:00.001-08:00

Specify "Cutie"

2008-01-14T19:34:00.000-08:00

Tis the season. Not for New Year's resolutions or for the start up of American Idol. No no. Tis the season for Cuties. Ya know, those little Clementine oranges that are genetically manufactured to perfection so that they contain no seeds and have an easy peel. Yes, Cuties are a household staple in the Friegel residence (no, that's not our last name, but it's the equivalent to what our last names would be if we were a celebrity couple talked about in gossip mags a la TomKitten or Brangelina, etc.).

We watch these little boxes of goodness at the Ralphs across the street like a stalker reads my blog (or not. I don't think anyone really reads this). We watch them for price first -- we can't bear to pay $10 a box. And then we watch them for quality. Must not be too hard, but must not be too lumpy and soft. There is a juuuuust right for which Cuties aficionados have a knack. Yeah, we got it.

Nothing is more fun that couching it in front of the TV and peeling those little mounds of juicy citrus flavor ever so perfectly, stringing away the white stuff and making sure all outside parts are strategically removed so as not to puncture the fragile fruit. B and I are never happier than the times we are accompanied by a box of Cuties.

As I was doing my nightly routine of catching up on Knot posts, B came running in the room and said with his hands high to gesture a list, "Here's what I love most in life: You , Cuties ...big pause... andeverythingelse!"

It was very cutie of him. I mean, cute.

I didn't really leave my heart in San Francisco

2008-01-12T23:54:00.001-08:00

I am back! My body may be alive but as a human, I am braindead. My company's national sales meeting in San Francisco didn't totally kill me, thanks to the multiple glasses of wine I drank nightly (my liver on the other hand...).

The days: long and slightly boring as my region of sales reps rotated from room to room to learn about all the new products. Thankfully, there are a few of us smartasses who sit next to each other to make the sessions more entertaining. There's something about sales meetings that make a bunch of twenty and thirty-somethings retract to middle school.

The nights: fun and slightly wild as my colleagues (all 1000 of them) got dolled up for dinners and dances, awards ceremonies (nada for yours truly thankyouverymuch!) and speeches. Some people drank and danced and forgot all about their fidelities while others, like me, enjoyed free entertainment: drunk people.

The next days: the same as the other days but with hangovers (thankfully, I learned my lesson last time -- went a little something like this: "never again" -- and I did not achieve hangover status during this sales meeting). Wash, rinse, repeat for 6 days and there's your winter national sales meeting.

I could not have been happier to walk in my door where B greeted me with open arms. While I made the most of my sales meeting and being gone for so. freaking. long., it was wonderful to be back in a familiar place. Since I was couped up in the hotel for 6 days (except for one day off that I got to spend with Red Weenie, a good friend since junior high who moved to SF about 2 years ago) I felt like I had traveled to a whole other world and when I got home, I had to re-orient myself with our house. I went around touching things and smelling things; it was a very weird feeling to regain my freedom and take ownership of my space. But after a few hours, I got back in the groove and felt at ease as B and I cuddled on the couch, catching up on some Tivo and enjoying some ice cream.

Just like old times.

I'm leaving on a jet plane...

2008-01-02T20:14:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd take some time to Blog before I finish packing and prepping. What am I packing and prepping for, you ask? I am flying to San Francisco tomorrow for my company's national sales meeting where 600 sales reps who are all clones of each other (it's seriously a small nation of beautiful and energetic ex-sorority presidents and ex-minor league baseball players with cutthroat, competitive personalities who've decided they can coerce stressed our professors into adopting our textbooks) will be immersed in products, products, products for 6 days straight. And, according to the weather report I just checked, it will be 6 rainy days straight. I, the once-in-a-blue-moon beautiful, lethargic, ex-sorority just-a-member with a lazy and whatever-happens-happens personality who's decided it'd be cool to get a professor to change books if he feels like it, am not all that excited. It's like publishing boot camp where every activity and session are so regimented that a control freak like me has a hard time relinquishing her control. Plus, I'm a homebody and I don't like being away from home unless I'm away with my fiance or my family -- preferably in a tropical locale.

But, in the effort to find some sort of silver lining, at least this NSM is in San Francisco, a mere up-and-down plane ride away. The summer NSM was in Orlando, Florida and that was, well, rough. August. Orlando. I resembled Monica Gellar in Barbados. Yeah, try looking professional and on top of your game with a Brillo pad coif like that! Thank goodness San Francisco isn't humid in the wintertime, and even though it's supposed to pour, I'll be couped up in meeting rooms all day that no one will have to make room for my Jew fro that's usually disguised as sleek straight hair (thank you Chi!).

So, if I can, I will try to write from my meeting. Who knows, it might be fun. I was in Boston three weeks ago for a training that I was equally dreading and ended up making some pretty cool friends and enjoying a very fun night out that lacked quite a bit of sobriety (the next day, however, not as enjoyable). While I will not be a party girl this time around (seriously, that showing was like some freak Uranus eclipse or something that only happens once every 3,542 years) because, please, my boss will be there and I have to "perform," maybe I'll consider removing that very large stick from my ass and try to make the best of it. That's what B keeps telling me anyway: "just go and make the best of it." Yes sir, mister man!

In Wedding World, I am happy to report that we have the following vendors taken care of:
photographers (how I heart eight20photography!)
videographer
florist
invitations
officiants
dress
tux
bridesmaid dresses

this means, then, that I still need to handle cake, linens, and small items like the ketubah and similar Jewishy things. The only crafty thing I intend to do are paper related projects -- table numbers, escort cards, menus and programs. I feel like I am pretty much on my way to frolicking down the aisle. That's just cool.

Well, I suppose I will finish packing and spend some time with B. My head is playing a little Eagle Eye Cherry circa 1998 -- some "Save Tonight" action. I loved that song back in the day and it's super relevant to right now: I don't want the night to be over because then that means I have to leave!

Oh wait, I'm supposed to make the best of it. Ooooooookay.

The first on the 1st

2008-01-01T21:50:00.000-08:00

I find it fitting to be posting my first blog entry in my BlahBlahBlog on the first day of what's supposed to be "our year." That's what Bryan and I professed to each other about four hours after midnight as we finished cleaning up the mini streamers and champagne flutes (that actually housed Martinelli's sparkling cider) that we enjoyed with another couple, known as ActressFriend and ActressFriend'sHusband. Just as we were about to flip off the lights and head up to bed, Bryan and I rekissed in the kitchen and when I snuggled into his t-shirt, he said, "2008. This is so our year." He's not wrong. We're getting married. Sure, the wedding is only one day in the year, but the first five months of 2008 will be filled with last minute planning and the remainder of 2008 post-wedding will be about thank you notes, and wedding albums, and first holidays as husband and wife. And for that, we are so excited for this year!

I'm sure this blog will be pretty wedding heavy. After all, I decided to create one after the inspiration I got from my fellow wedding-planning partners in crime I've "met" on the Knot's L.A. message boards. It will be fun to go back and read about this planning process. I also look forward to posting movie critiques, food reviews and my never ending opinions about my experiences at the theatre.

A fun blog and a fun year awaits, and I'm feeling as bubbly as last night's Martinelli's!