I pack my case, I check my face

Well, what's been going on?

I had this exchange with Jeff earlier today.

Me: "I'm at stress level nine."

(5 minutes go by)

Me: "I'm at stress level six."

Jeff: "That's good, before you were at stress level nine."

Me: "I don't remember saying that."

I think I'm having a little bit of a mental meltdown. Four hours of seating charts and crunching budgets on top of, you know, MY JOB and I'm starting to do that whole thing where you start sentences and you don't finish them. Then you forget you started them. Wedding dementia anyone?

No one wants to hear me stress about wedding planning, although I know my bride buddies can totally relate. It's really something you have to experience to "get it." I'm 32 days away and I can't believe it. 

That being said, I'm trying to fill my weekends with as much de-stress activity as possible, so I planned a surprise for Jeff last Saturday where I took him up to Manchester, New Hampshire for a New Hampshire Fisher Cats game. The cool thing about the Fisher Cat stadium is the Hilton has a patio restaurant that backs right back on to center field. So Jeff and I were able to eat a really relaxed dinner (I even treated myself to a glass of wine) and watch baseball without buying a ticket. I knew it was Jeff's ideal Saturday and I think I was right!

The obligatory Emily and Jeff shot.

Our view.

This last picture is two people who sauntered out onto the RESTAURANT PATIO in their bathrobes. I'm assuming they had come from the pool and not, you know, the shower, but we'll never know.

Sunday we went down to what I deemed 'Rhode Island's Most Overrated Restaurant" (Twin Oaks) for Father's Day lunch. Well, I ate my words because I ordered the biggest lobster roll I've ever seen (seriously, twice as big as I've ever gotten anywhere else) and it was only $13. Best. Deal. Ever.

Coming this weekend: My bachelorette. I got an invite in the mail where Katie said there would be "south of the border vertical fun." I can only imagine what that means. 

I'll try to keep it together until...

Weekend in Review: Trail of tears

It seems like I'm running out of weekends. I have seven left before the wedding, and it's starting to feel like they're all spoken for. This weekend was pretty lazy, but soon enough the wedding will be over and I'll sort of get my life back!

Friday night Jeff and I went to see UP.

***At the movies with Emily and Jeff: UP***

I'm not really into seeing these cartoon Pixar movies. Jeff did a little survey of the best Pixar movies, and I haven't seen most of them. I liked Wall-E last year though, so I was ready to give this one a try, based on the cute commercials. I didn't read a lot of reviews because it seemed pretty straightforward from the previews.

Before the movie started, Jeff turned to me and said. "This is a Disney movie. It's made for kids. If you cry, you're walking home." What did he know that I didn't?

Well, I cried. I cried within the first five minutes, for most of the movie and the car ride home. There's not much I can say about it where I'm not ruining it for people, and I know that it doesn't seem sad from the commercials. 

Don't get me wrong, it's really funny and cute. It's a buddy movie with ups and downs and is sweet and heartwarming. And sad.

It doesn't have the political message Wall-E has, it's more the regular social messages Disney movies have had for years. Appreciate the things you have and the people around you, always make time for your dreams and it's never too late to achieve them, don't be a deadbeat dad...

It was great.

Final Ranking: Four Werschaibles.

Saturday I bought my shower dress (see below post) and Jeff and I rented Taken. I've never seen such a B-plus action movie devolved into an F-minus ending so quickly. Boooo.

On Sunday, Jeff and I went down to Rhode Island to have belated birthday hangs with my BFF Justin. We don't really need to have a plan to laugh, so I always feel relaxed when I'm with them. Some pics for pics sake (you think differently about taking pictures in relatively mundane situations when you blog.)

Pat and Andrew.

Justin and Jeff.

OH, and guess who I saw in Rhode Island at Whole Foods... Sabrina (yee of Rhodey Girl). Haven't seen this girl in forever. She looks great! We're getting married on the same day, in quite a coincidence, so we've been keeping touch (I know her since she dated BFF Andrew in HS). Nice seeing you Sabrina!

Next weekend will be busy busy: Dress fitting, hanging with Jeff's parents and possibly meeting up with the other three in my high school girl foursome (two of whom I haven't seen in YEARS). Stay tuned.

Weekend in Review: Killers, burgers, surprises, Star Trek, and more!

Another full-weekend. I don't want to be one of "those" bloggers, who only blogs what's happening in their days (or in my case, on their weekends.) I have stuff to say about stuff, and eloquently, I might add, but my mind is so preoccupied lately, it's hard to sort through it. More thoughtful posts to come after the wedding, I think.

The weekend started on Thursday when Jeff and I decided to hit up Five Guys and see the new Star Trek movie. Five Guys is a burger joint I was introduced to by my coworkers, thank God/damn them for that! The burgers there are insanely good and being on a diet, if you're going to splurge on a burger, it better be good!

Then we were off to see Star Trek. Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Woa there, nerdso. Star Trek on opening night?" Well, while I am a proud nerdso, I can say I'm not a Star Trek fanatic... this was more of a 'Why not see it tonight' situation than a 'OMG STAR TREK FTW!!' situation.

The theater was surprisingly uncrowded and un-costumed for opening night.

**At the Movies with Emily and Jeff: Star Trek**

Woa, those features just sneak up on you, don't they? I did enjoy the Star Trek movie. I was surprised how much I remembered from watching the show/movies growing up. My brother was a huge Star Trek: TNG fan, and most of the time, he won the remote battle. He even had a speak Klingon tape (yes, I remember!!)

I think these "revive franchise" movies really work when they go back to the beginning. See: the second most recent Batman and this movie (and to a lesser extent, last week's Wolverine movie). In movie form, we hadn't really seen the origins of the character, so it's fun to create a backstory, without really disrupting the common knowledge of the franchise. 

So you get to see the background of James T. Kirk (even how he was named), the little Spock, Scotty, McCoy and the rest of the gang. You feel part of the movie when you're seeing it come together, until they're all above the Enterprise together. The acting was fab (loved Simon Pegg as Scotty) and the Leonard Nemoy cameo rocked my world. 

A final ranking both Werschaibles approve: Three-and-a-half Werschaibles.

But the weekend was not over! We'll skip over Friday night's disappointing Celtic's game and fast-forward to Saturday and the Killers at Mohegan Sun!

Jeff and I saw the Killers in San Diego, and I have to say, it was the best concert I have ever been to. Sometimes the crowd makes the concert, and people were going nuts. It was one of those you-can-dance-like-a-moron situations and no one judges you.

Before I get to the performance on Saturday, I have to tell you about the strange coinkydink that happened beforehand! Jeff and I were wandering the outside ring of Mohegan, when, lo and behold, I see my two cousins Sarah (my bridesmaid) and Katie! I had no idea Sarah was a Killers fan, but she was there for the show too -- and sitting just two rows away. 

There we are!

Onto the concert... it was great! I was dancing like the fool I am, singing at the top of my lungs to all the songs. What I like about the Killers is there isn't a lot of faffing between songs -- they don't blab a lot, they don't jam (side note to bands: no one wants to watch you jam, unless you're Eric Clapton or something). They just play the songs, which allows them to get a lot of songs in. Twas a great night, here's a pic...

Why do people post pictures like this on their blogs? Concert pics are always terrible. I guess it's to prove they were there. Clearly, you cannot see the real reason I like the Killers so much...

Mmmmm. So all in all a great weekend (Big Baby... got it!). Yours?

aka the weekend I gained four pounds

Why is it on weekend's I have the most fun, there ends up being more of me to love? I think I've been able to pinpoint it: it's not exactly lack of exercise or eating badly, though that doesn't help. It's two things: alcohol and dessert. Consider me on rehab from these two items for the next two and a half months ok? (And no, I don't think I actually gained four pounds, but the scale sure hurt my ego this morning...)

Anyways... the weekend! After a scheduling quirk where I worked seven straight days last week, my boss was nice enough to spring me for a three-day weekend. Friday, Jeff and I had date night -- Chilis and Wolverine. (Bonus! It was all for "free" because I had saved up gift cards and movie ticket passes -- always a great gift for the Werschaibles). I had roughly a gallon of margarita, two pounds of chicken tacos and a pint of ice cream. I'll do my movie review in abbreviated form right here:

**At the movies with Emily and Jeff: Wolverine**

Disclaimer up front: I love X-men. It was my favorite cartoon growing up, and I've enjoyed the movies up to this point (you mean there can be female superheroes who kick ass?! Thanks Marvel!)

That being said, there was nothing particularly special about this X-Men movie. The plot and acting were OK, the action scenes were pretty good, there weren't enough females but WHATEVER (I can't win every round I guess). I liked Liev Schrieber as Sabretooth as well as Ryan Renolyds as Deadpool, though I wish we got to see more of the latter in the movie.

Now I present to you a short survey. Answer as me.

This movie needed more ... what?

A. Tim Riggins.

B. Remy LeBeau.

C. Taylor Kitsch.

D. Gambit.

E. All of the above.

Here's hoping they appease me in the next movie.

Final Ranking: Three Werschaibles. 

Jeff has been complaining that these rankings do not involve his opinion at all. Well, it's my blog. But in the interest of fairness, he absolutely hated this movie. Go figure.

Moving on....

Late Friday night Jeff got a phone call. This is what I heard coming from him in the other room after he answered the phone.

Jeff: "If you are joking, I will drive down there and punch you in the face."

Charmer, right? Jeff had been offered a ticket to the Celtics game (Game 7) from our friend Grimey. Which left me in the lurch for game-watching plans. Fortunately, Andrew invited me to tag along to his plans (see: I invited myself). We ended up watching the game at his house. Before the game, Andrew took me to the liquor for a 45 minute session to pick out one six-pack, a mix and match that cost like $40. On beer! He kindly let me sample them all. Verdict: I don't like beer. 

Sunday was a full day in Rhode Island. We went down early to watch my cousin/bridesmaid Sarah participate in a half-marathon. Unfortunately, we missed the end of that but showed up right as she began the 5K (yes she did both, and enlisted most of her family to do the 5K as well). As we walked up she insisted we join them, and we did. It was a nice time spent catch up with family, seeing the new baby (yes, 1-month old McKenna made the "walk" too!), and getting a little exercise in on a day where I hadn't planned any.

We then killed a few hours in Cranston (not easy) before heading over to Andrew's for a belated seder/birthday dinner. Every year Andrew's parents host a seder, but this year since the band was in Cali recording their new album (side note: Awesome!) they had to postpone the dinner, which turned into sort of a regular dinner with seder food.

The company was amazing and there were a lot of laughs. I took some pics... First one, band and band girlfriends. 

The only reason I'm posting this pic is it has to go in my Hall of Shame for one of the worst photos I've ever taken. No one is looking at the camera and 50 percent of them have their eyes closed.

Mrs. B, our gracious host, took this better one for me.

Such good times. How was your weekend?

Ham Time.

Eight days since my last post. Blech.

I feel a little bit boring lately. I haven't talked to some of my friends in a while and when I call them I feel like I have nothing. to. say. 

Jeff and I went to New York for Easter weekend to stay with the fam. We got there late Friday night and checked out pretty early. Saturday morning Jeff and his dad went golfing, practice for the morning of the wedding. I helped make dinner with Jeff's mom, and while I joked about gender stereotypes in my facebook status, it really was nice. Jeff's mom spends 75% of the time I'm ever at her house cooking or cleaning, so it was nice to help. 

Of course, Jeff's father does his part and has started working on our wedding arch. The story behind this grows and grows. The venue that we're getting married at has an arch they provide, but it's a super-cliche white latticed arch that just wasn't us. So originally I went to the florist, showed them what I did want, and they said "Sure, we can do that. It will cost $500." And that's $500 to RENT. When we were all together over Christmas, Jeff's dad said he thought he could make something similar, and I trust him and roughly 5,000 phone calls and e-mails have occurred since then :)

Jeff's mom has done all the research and they ordered bamboo from California, and got all the wrong sizes. So they re-sent it... and then never charged them for it. Both Jeff's mom and dad have called but apparently the woman at the front desk told them "I know how expensive it is to get married" and isn't making any efforts to correct the mistakes. So we might not be charged, which would be great!

The top bar isn't connected, I just had Jeff hold it up as a reference point, so it's a little crooked.

Jeff's mom will wrap the edges in twine, and they'll stick it in buckets of cement to make sure it doesn't fall over. My mom will sew up some fabric to drape over it and the florist will add some flowers to the joints. A collaborative effort... hours of work for 25 minutes of time! And here, hopefully, is what the finished product will resemble.

I was trying to convince the fam to sell it (as I'm sure there are other brides who don't want to pay $500 to rent something), but Jeff's mom thinks we should put it in our garden so it will be a memory for us. One problem: we don't have a garden. File under: More reasons to buy a house.

Easter lunch was very nice and Jeff and I headed off around 3 p.m. to get home. That sprung a marathon of Friday Night Lights that wrapped up the first season and started us into the second. Some additional thoughts to add to my last post:

1. I can't help but thinking I liked this show better when it was called "Dawson's Creek." Think: Dawson = Half Jason Street/Half Matt Cerasen, Joey = Lyla, Pacey = Tim Riggins, Jen = Tyra. It's all there, minus the football story line.

2. I was a little disappointed they had them win state in the first season. This was probably because they didn't know if they were going to be picked up for another, but I would have liked them to cause some additional drama there.

3. Re: Season 2: I also liked this show better when it was called "I Know What You Did Last Summer." Really?

4. I like the Lyla Garrity "I found Jesus" story line in Season 2. Really in line with her character and an interesting twist I think.

5. Jeff and I have bet a dinner on whether Matt hooks up with the in-home nurse. I say no, Jeff says yes. 

I was thinking where I'd rank this show in line with other series that we've watched on DVD. There are five categories of shows we've watched on DVD.

• Series we watched entirely on DVD and really liked. (Meaning, shows that were already over by the time we got to them): Six Feet Under, Arrested Development, The Office (British). Probably my three faves. 
• Series we watched entirely on DVD and was crap: Oz. I still can't believe we rented this entire series. It was garbage.
• Shows we started on DVD and liked them enough to catch up on the live versions: The Office (American), Extras, 30 Rock, LOST (yeah, we missed season 1 and caught back up in Season 2), Mad Men. Friday Night Lights will go here.
• Shows we started on DVD and didn't like them enough to catch up on the live version: 24 (sorry steve, couldn't make it past season 5), Nip/Tuck (OK, but not great).
• Shows where I didn't make it past the first DVD: The Wire, The Sopranos. Save your outrage for another place. These shows just didn't draw me in.

I also have to share one other tidbit from my time at the Schaibles. So often I find it interesting how another family interacts. They have different humor, different traditions, different roles than my family. Of course, Jeff's family will be my family soon, and I feel part of it already. So I feel OK showing you this picture I found in Jeff's room that cracked me up.

I'm sure you won't find this as funny as I did, but the randomness of this picture and the fact that someone actually purchased it at some point cracks me up. This has to be the poor-man's version of Dogs Playing Poker right? 'Dog standing in front of pool table with hat on.' I inquired about it, and no one remembered where it came from... in fact none of them even recognized it and it was suggested it be thrown away. Tragedy right? :)

Now Cinderella don't you go to sleep.

Well, it's Thursday, so it seems about time to blog the weekend.

Jeff and I had a whirlwind four-day mini-vacation last week. On Friday we were off to D.C. for my boss' wedding. I had been looking forward to this for a while for a lot of reasons.

1. I love weddings. I'm ALWAYS looking forward to them.

2. Seeing Evan and Courtney, our friends from San Diego, now residing at UVA Law school.

3. Seeing my coworkers who, despite the fact that I talk to them for nine hours a day, have only seen them once or twice.

4. Going to a city I've never been to before and seeing the sights.

5. Excessive drinking and eating.

OK, well maybe I hadn't intended to include that last part. Nevertheless, it happened.

The drive down to D.C. seemed surprisingly easy. I drove down to South Carolina last Christmas, and 16 hours in a car like that is just BRUTAL. In comparison to that, eight hours seems like a breeze. The hotel was nice, considering it was in D.C. limits and was just over $200 for three nights (combined). Nothing can set a trip off on a bad foot like a bad hotel room. Later that night, Courtney and Evan drove up to meet us and get dinner. 

The next day we headed down to DC to see as much as possible in the few hours we had. The plan was to see the Smithsonian museums Air and Space and Natural History, and hit up the National Gallery. Now here's my theory: I'd rather sort of skip through quickly and try and see everything, then go through slowly and miss half the museum. However, I was the only one who felt this way and spent most of the day by myself. My favorite was the National Gallery -- saw a real DaVinci! Can't beat that! It far exceeded other art museums I've been to in my life. By the time we got to the Natural History museum, I was pooped. We saw the Hope diamond but I was ready for a nap by then. I'll have to go back!

Courtney and Evan, our excellent and patient tour guides, departed from us around 5 as Jeff and I headed to my coworker Jon's house for dinner and chat. It was the first time the "wives" had met each other after much lead-up. I was so happy everyone got along. I spend a lot of time gabbing about Jeff to my coworkers (I can't help it!). Jeff and I dominated conversation (nervousness?) to the point where we felt bad about it later. Dinner was great, and we went to get dessert afterwards before heading home.

Sunday morning was Matt's wedding and the ceremony was filled with beautiful flowers that made you forget its was supposed to be outside. It was a short and sweet ceremony before the drinking contest, I mean fun, began. Look, when they're passing around mimosas, what am I supposed to do? I know the answer to that: drink as many as possible. I'm pretty sure I revealed some embarassing facts about myself, and that was before I even started dancing. Sigh. Dinner was great and I broke Lent to participate in dessert. (I regretted how much I ate and drank when I came home and found out I gained more than two pounds!! :(

Some neat things about the wedding:

1. The flowers. They were plentiful and beautiful and they made the room smell great! The bouquets also had white feathers on the bottom, which was a neat look.

2. My boss is Chinese and there was a Chinese tea ceremony in the middle of the reception. Basically, the bride and groom serve tea to the grandparents and parents and they give the bride and groom gifts (jewelry). It was highlighted by one of Matt's relatives explaining the ceremony ("And now comes the appraisal.") She was funny.

3. The dessert. Ha! Berries and cream in a chocolate shell. It was tough to break apart, but I managed.

The best pic I got of the bride and groom. My camera skills were sub-par.

The centerpieces.

My coworkers (from L-R): Jon, Steve, Me, Brett and Matt (the groom). Not pictured: The heel of Jon's shoe.

Jeff looked so handsome in his suit and new shirt and tie :)

When we got back to the hotel, I totally crashed on the bed and slept it off for an hour. Got up around seven to have dinner with my coworker Brett and his wife Kim (a total doll). Jeff spent the rest of the night head-first into a pillow. The next morning we drove back and it felt like it all ended too soon. 

I can't wait to see all these folks at our wedding in... holy crap... 114 days!

Packin' it in.

I know what you're thinking.

"Emily, you live in Central Mass. Isn't that where all the action is?"

You'd be surprised. There isn't much going on here. Well, unless you count two large cheese pizzas for $16.99 excitement -- and some Friday nights, believe me I do. 

In a welcome change, my social schedule was quite packed this weekend. Take a stroll through the last 24 hours with me...

Friday night: 8 p.m. Jeff and I drove down to little Rhodey to catch my favorite local band, Monty Are I. MAI is a fabulous little outfit, keyboarded/mixed/background vocaled by my best pal, Andrew. And here's a fun fact! Did you know my blog title name "But until then" was inspired by the boys? Well, it was. Save that for your trivia nights!

We met Justin outside a rainy Club Hell. (Yes, Club Hell. No comment.) Moment I know I'm getting old #264: I hate clubs. I do. I hate walking into a place and having to yell to talk to people. I love seeing MAI, but I hate the opening acts because it's just more noise stifling my convos (no offense to the specific bands that night). Also, don't enjoy awkward conversations with people I haven't seen in years. Look, you don't really want to talk to me. So let's just pretend we don't see each other and call it a night. 

But, these are the things I do because I love my friends.

The band went on around 9:45... and look at these awesome pics I snapped!

Sweet huh?

How about this one?

Well, at least I got Steve in that one.

I guess being friends with a band member can get you a ticket and even get you a free drink, but it can't get you a decent view. Ah well. The music was great, and it was nice to bop around to songs I hadn't heard in a while. The new stuff sounded great, etc etc. Can't wait for the CD to finally come out, even though I have a nice sneak preview on my computer now.

We couldn't hang out for too long because we had to get up in the morning....

Saturday: 1 p.m. Our wedding tasting! Oh. My. Gosh. The food was really good. I had high expectations, but the food met them, if not exceeded them. Plus the service was excellent, really high class.

Here's a rundown of the appetizers we tried: Apple Chutney Cheesecake, Mini Beef Wellington, Crab Cakes, Shrimp Shots, Quail wrapped in bacon, buffalo chicken shots, rare duck fritters, mini lamb chops, Gorgonzola purses and goat cheese rounds.

The mini chops, buffalo chicken shots and the duck fritters.... (those will also be our linens)

So we have to pick five and the definites are the Wellington (the best of all), the crab cakes and the Gorgonzola. Then it's between the fritters, the shrimp and the chops. So hard to choose!

Moving onto the entrees. We are having two stations. One is a gourmet pizza station where we'll have Mexican Pizza (so good), Athenian Pizza (even better?) and Buffalo chicken pizza (that's right). But it's all very classy looking. Well, tell me what you think...

We were both pretty over the moon with the pizza, and I think it will be a big hit with people. Then we tasted our second station: Tuscan Grill.

That's shrimp skewers with a tomato caper sauce and asagio polenta on the left side. On the right side is marinated bistro steak with a mushroom sauce over wilted spinich with grilled vegetables. Yum, yum, yum!!! 

I love that we are giving people plenty of choices and that none of it is really typical "wedding food." I mean, I've never even had polenta before. I hope people like it!

Then the dessert. Oh the dessert. I know what you're thinking, didn't you give up dessert for Lent? Yes, I did. However, I did so with the caveat that I would get to try my darn wedding cakes! And they were so good. We're going with a buttercream frosted yellow cake with chocolate mousse. Oh, and the Coldstone Creamery bar! Which we didn't try but I know will be great! Overall, I am so so so happy with everything, which makes me even more excited for the wedding!

Saturday: 4 p.m. I had arranged a little coffee date for the late afternoon with my blogging buddy Jessica. I worked it out so Jeff could cover a story for the Globe and I could meet her for an hour or two at the same time!

I haven't seen this girl in years, and it's sort of surreal when you meet someone where all your interactions are purely Internet-induced. You hear your own voice when you read what they write, so when you hear their real voice it's like, "Huh. How bout that?"

Well, Jessica is just as cute/nice/sweet/quirky in person as she is on her blog. We chatted girl talk: Weddings, TV, Music and eating toilet paper. You know, the usual. Oh, and her ring is amazing, props to her "fianz." Hope to do it again soon!

Quite a weekend right? Just got off the Mario Kart course and am hitting the sack in a few. Lazy Sunday tomorrow....

Party of Five.

Oh man, I just giggled at that title. :P

A few weeks back (maybe just one week, I don't remember, it's running together), Meggie suggested a holiday dinner party to be held at her and her husband's beautiful downtown Boston condo. Well with Friday also being Katie's birthday it was a perfect time to kill two birds with one stone.

I got switched to a Friday shift at the last minute, but got an 8-5, which normally would be my ideal shift, but I was a little tired in the morning... quickly solved with an iced coffee. The e-mail system wasn't working and blah blah, it was a bad shift with good company. I was rushing around the apartment to get ready because I was sure we'd be slammed with traffic going into Boston (about a 45 minute drive with no stops) and I didn't want to make everyone wait for us. I got off at about 4:45, went to pick Jeff up at work (side note: HE FINALLY GOT A HAIRCUT. And we have that 100 square feet of our apartment back!).

Well, there was no traffic. Who knew?

Usually when I go into Boston I park by my old apartment on Mission Hill because it's easy parking, even though it's sort of a longish trek to Meg's downtown apartment from there (about 35 minutes with walking and T). Well, Meg suggested I park at her apartment building instead -- I'm not sure how much it cost, only that Meg and Troy took care of it for me and that it was a VERY nice change of pace. In the morning the valet guy delivered the car ... high class. Thanks guys!!!!

Ok enough of the boring how we got there stuff. Since we hit no traffic we were a little early (45 minutes -- oops!) Meg and Troy were still hard at work in the kitchen. They are so cute. They had a lot of friendly banter about the cooking times of the meals (Meg wants to keep the food IN the oven, Troy wants to take it out). In the end, everything was perfect!

Right before dinner, Jeff and I gave the group their presents (a food dehydrator for Katie, which she wanted, and some DVDs for the married couple.) Jeff also made everyone cards, it's his new favorite thing. They were so cute. He also burned three Christmas CDs, and made a cover for them. It read: "A Werschaible Christmas" and he superimposed a picture of us onto an ornament, and put Christmas hats on our heads. I wish I had taken a pic! It was pretty funny.

So what did we have...

Along with some cheese, hummus and crackers, we had these cheese and ham puffs and some spankinopia (OK, I don't feel like looking up the spelling, but you know the spinach pastry things). I think I was on my third glass of wine before dinner...

Cornish hen with stuffing. Squash and bacon risotto. Snow peas. Yum!!! I especially loved the risotto which I was skeptical of, but it turned out sooooooo good!

I've never had a small hen like that before, so I didn't really know the best way to attack it. Well, by the end, as Jeff put it "it looked like a cherry bomb went off in mine." Meanwhile, Katie was absolutely surgeon-like, it was amazing. (I took pictures of this, but decided it was sort of unappetizing to look at, so you can just imagine my poultry carcass in your head.)

After dinner we talked and laughed etc etc ...

... Jeff and I taking a lovely photo (this one for the Christmas card maybe? :P)

... and an artsy photo from Katie ...

...Katie and her finger tambourines. Don't ask....

... and I showed Katie some of my yoga moves, and then she showed me some of hers ( did I mention there was wine?)...

... and then dessert!!! Mini-chocolate trifles. Yum! I was so full!

We chatted a little more then went to bed. In the morning, (seriously Bressette's, 6:45 a.m. is not awake time on a Saturday ;) Meg made bacon and eggs and apparently is single handedly trying to ruin my diet. 

Jeff and I planned to go see a movie but we stopped at TWO movie theaters and nothing good was playing! We were bummed. But it gave me a chance to take Jeff to Whole Foods. We sampled for lunch, bough a lot of expensive food (everything there is so tempting), including sushi which I hadn't had in forever. I love it, but I wish it wasn't so pricey!!

We came home, I napped. I woke up and Jeff and I are just enjoying the night together... we watched Elf and he just went to get some more Mad Men DVDs. Two perfect nights :)

It's just what I've always wanted!

Jeff and I spent the long weekend at Jeff's parents' house in Albany>Schenectady>Rotterdam, New York. It basically went something like this from Thursday night on: eat, work, eat, mall, eat, mall, eat, mall, eat. Yeah, it was pretty pathetic. It was nice to see Jeff's parents, his sister and his niece though. They are always good for a good meal and a funny story or two. My favorites from this weekend.

1. Jeff, his 10-year old niece Angel, and I are all driving home from the mall. In my head I'm marveling on how great Jeff is with his niece, seeing hearts and day dreaming about what a great dad he'll be. Then this exchange occurred:

Jeff: "Are you nervous about starting middle school next year?"

Angel: "Yeah, a little."

Jeff: "Well, it won't be much different. You'll just have periods."

Me: shoots Jeff a wide-eyed 'what did you just say to your 10-year old niece?' look.

Jeff: "Class periods! I mean class periods!!!"

He'll be mad I shared that story but oh well.

2. Jeff's mom ordering a take out salad without the lettuce. 

As you can see, it was an entertaining weekend. Saturday afternoon, Jeff volunteered to take his niece to a movie and I took the time to do quite a bit of shopping. Along the way I snapped these photos for you still looking for ideas.

How about stylish kimonos for your entire family? I laugh at this display every time I see it in the mall. And I'm not saying you have to be Asian to wear a kimono, but come on, you would laugh at these people in public for trying wayyyy to hard. Or maybe the Beckham's will rock this look in a few months and it will be all the rage. Here's your chance to be ahead of the curve.

What about a ceramic spikey tooth like thingy for your wall? Mantle? Hang off your rear view mirror? Carry in your purse to ward off attackers? Seriously, Pottery Barn, what is this thing?

And of course, mermen village people. If this isn't a WTF Christmas present, I don't know what is. 

What's my all time WTF Christmas present you ask? Well, I say this with all the love in the world, but one X-mas morning I woke up and unwrapped a present from my brother: "Grumpier Old Men." That's right, the sequel. No, my brother and I didn't share any fond memories of the first or second GOM movie. His response: "It's funny!" Oh, Mike.

I was on my way to meet Jeff and Angel after the movie, Gingerbread latte (for Jeff) and snowman cookie (for Angel) in hand, when out of the corner of my eye.... a blue dress at the Limited! In the color I want for my bridesmaids! Well... it's no harm to try it on right?

Well, I did. And I bought it. It was $62 and I checked online and it's only $59 with free shipping. I'm going to meet up with the girls and have them try it on. Hopefully they like it! Here it is on the mannequin: 

Is it the world's most amazing dress? No. Do I like it as much as the one that didn't fit? No. But it's under $60 and it's the color I want, so.... yeah! Let's see how it looks.

Thoughts? Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving!

Backtracking

It hasn't been the best couple of days (clearly) and I've neglected to keep you updated of my life so you can zone out at work.

Thursday night I went out for my brothers' birthday, taking me to my unexplainable chain restaurant obsession: Chilis. I love Chilis and I'm not ashamed to say it. Their chicken tacos make me feel warm and fuzzy. 

After dinner we went to go see the new James Bond movie, which wasn't nearly as bad as some of my favorite critics made it out to be. I spent most of the movie trying to figure out if I find Daniel Craig attractive, and if so, is he more attractive than the Bond girl (the brunette, not the redhead). Verdict: Push. Sometimes he's squinting and sticking his lips out and I think that he looks like the male Renee Zellweger. And then other times, I'm thinking, yeah, he's handsome. Oh,  what about the movie you ask? It was fine. It was a Bond movie, Bourne movie, action movie, etc etc. It was like the McDonald's dollar menu sundae I had after it -- good enough.

Friday afternoon....

Friday night. Jeff and I cuddled on the bed and watched all the Thursday night TV we missed: Office, 30 Rock and Kitchen Nightmares. Some of the best episodes of the season, I thought.

We had to get up relatively early on Saturday morning and brave the absolutely FRIGID temperatures to go cover two HS soccer games (I covered the first, he covered the second.) I loaded up on the layers in preparation that there might not be a press box, to the point that I looked like the Stay-Puft marshmallow woman dipped in various shades of green (lime green jacket, dark green winter cap). I looked... ridiculous. Thankfully, there was a press box with a small space heater that made it much more bearable than being outside. When I had to go down to the field for interviews, my hand froze up while taking quotes. It's been a while since I've been that cold. I have to give it up to the girls and the people who sat in the metal stands. I had it easy -- but damn, it was cold.

Jeff and I went to the nearest Panera to write our stories. My computer was being frustratingly and unusually slow, so I tried a reboot while I went to get a broccoli cheddar soup and bread bowl (yummmmm....) When I got back my computer still hadn't started up, so I knew something was wrong. Now, my MacBook is only six months old. I shouldn't have any problems. I couldn't get it to start past the original screen. So I started to panic a bit, seeing as I had to start work by 6.

I got home at about 5:55 and immediately got on the phone with Apple Care. After an hour and several different tests, it was recommended that I bring my computer in to get it looked at. Well, great, it's 7 p.m. (I'm already an hour late on my shift).. when exactly am I going to bring it in? I check the online appointment times for the Apple store 50 minutes away, and they aren't early enough for me to get there before my shift on Sunday. So my knight in shining Schaible volunteers to bring in my computer for me on Sunday ... after the Pats game.

Sunday afternoon we go out for lunch at our new favorite Sunday spot, where, even though we've only been there twice before, our waitress already knows what we want (Two buffalo chicken sandwiches). We watch the first half of the game there and the second half at home. (Go Pats! Wildcat, mildcat.) Jeff takes my computer around 5 and I wait anxiously to hear from him. If they can't fix it Sunday (they couldn't), it means I have to go back into the city on Monday and the store doesn't  open until 10 ... and my shift starts at 11 ... yikes. 

So I wasn't going to wait for them to call me, I got into the city at the opening of the store. And ... it wasn't ready. Wasn't going to be ready until 1-3. I had to scramble, asking the Apple store guy where the biggest library nearby was, and found the Newton public library. I ended up there for over six hours, on the world's slowest computer with the world's ickiest keyboard. I didn't want to leave less I lose the computer, so I never got anything to eat. Most people who know me know how much of a stressful situation that would be :)

FINALLY, at 4:15 they called me and said it was ready. I rushed back to the mall, grabbed a roast beef sandwich and got back home in minimal traffic at 6ish. 

Monday night ....

This morning I woke up with all intentions of going to the gym before my shift. It didn't happen. Most people have gotten my save the dates by now! so I can unveil them here....

Cheesy, I know. But isn't all wedding stuff by nature?

Speaking of cheesy, tonight I tried my hand at buffalo chicken calzones as a thank you to Jeff for being so great the past few days. I first got the idea off Sabrina's blog ... and it seemed pretty idiot proof, until I realized I had no rolling pin to flatten the dough. How could I forget -- one of Jeff's special talents is working up a pizza dough from his high school days as a pie slinger at Papa John's. So he worked out the dough for me and I prepared the filling, and we made the two biggest calzones I've ever seen. (I only ate half). I would make a few tweaks the second time around but for the most part it was a success!!

Now Jeff and I are watching SVU. Only two days until Thanksgiving!

What's the deal?

It's 11 days into November and I only have three blog posts. Although it's fun to get comments and know other people are reading, I mostly do this blog to keep my writing skills sharp -- even if they don't seem so at times.

It's not like nothing has been going on in my life, or I'm amazingly busy, but I just can't seem to find the time/motivation to write! I'm required to be at the the computer at all times for work and with a packed google reader, and the TV on, writing in my blog serves as one too many distractions to get the job done. It can be so hard sometimes to work from home!

(I should say right now I am in flannel pajama pants under my blanket, so ... it could be worse.)

So I thought, since I don't have any major blog topics on the horizon, I'd touch on a few things going on in my life, based off my tags.

• Work: For some reason, my work weeks seem to fly by, but at the same time, I feel like I don't get much time off. Is that weird? Maybe it's because, by traditional work week standards, I'm already at "Wednesday" by Monday. So today is already Thursday for me. The weekends don't really feel like weekends because ... well, they aren't. Fortunately, we're more than halfway through the college football and NFL seasons, so relief is on the horizon!
• Wedding: While last week was good because I booked the florist, videographer and super secret vendor, it took a step back when my bridesmaids got their dresses and they didn't fit! Two of them are busting (literally) out of the tops. This Thursday I am taking them to Sueno, a bridal shop in RI that's supposed to be the best at these things ... and also very pricey. I've offered to pay for the alterations, but I'm wondering how much I'm willing to pay -- where it's worth it over returning the dress and starting over. UGH!!!!

         I've also been majorly procrastinating on the STDs. I want to send them out so I can show them to you all!

         How could I forget: WE BOOKED THE HONEYMOON!!!!! Six days in England, two in Scotland. Will give you more details as time goes on, for now we just got the flights.

• Jeff: He's good. :)
• Sports: How bout them 6-3 Patriots?! This Sunday Jeff and I got a chance to go out to watch the game for a bit, which I usually can't do because I work. (I had the most OMG delish Buffalo Chicken Sandwich, that now I can't wait to have again. I'm so sad.) I'm optimistic about New England's chances to win the AFC East, but when did this become such a solid division? Jeff and I were seriously discussing the Dolphins chances of going 10-6. 10-6?!?! They won 1 game last year! A win over the Jets on Sunday should go far towards the push for the title, but losing Adalius Thomas didn't help. It feels like we are injury doomed this year. (Also: Whhyyyyyyy Ty Law on the Jets? Come on!)
• Weekend in Review: Friday night, Jeff and I went to the Celtics-Bucs game in Boston, using tickets Jeff's parents had gotten me for my birthday. It was dually entertaining because the Celts won, and these dudes in our row started a fight with each other. Entertaining stuff which led to the quote of the night: "I spent $175 on that jacket!!" Yeah, they were idiots. Saturday I covered a game for the Globe in the afternoon. I'll be covering a few things this month, as part of a series I'm calling 'Stories to Finance My Wedding.' It's high school playoff stuff, but I think it has broader appeal. As soon as my game was finished I had to drive to Bristol, getting lost finding my hotel, and ended up 10 minutes late for work. I got off around 2:45 a.m., decided I was awake enough to just drive back, checked out of my hotel and ended up home around 4:45 a.m. Sometimes, I just like being ... home. 
• Weight loss: Well Lord knows I'm trying, but I Lord knows I could try harder. I can't seem to hit this one GOAL I've had for months now. There's been weight loss, but not as much as I've hoped. Now that we're coming up on the holidays, my best hope is to lose 1-2 more pounds or at least try and maintain, then hit it HARD after New Year's. I *think* my gym offers a few classes at 9 a.m. each day for free, which I hadn't realized before. Part of that will be trying to push myself to go to bed earlier so I will have enough energy to participate in the morning. I'll keep you updated.

 

Weekend in Review: One minute you're up, the next minute...

Well. This "weekend" started off well on Thursday night. One of Jeff's coworkers came in from London for just one week. She had never been in the states before and I couldn't bear the thought of her flying all the way to America, being excited about it, and spending the whole week in Central Mass.

So we volunteered to take her out Thursday night, before I realized it was the night the Sox were on the brink. Ah well, I figured there'd be a TV in wherever we went in Boston. 

I called up my two friendliest girlies, Katie and Meg, to round out the group and we decided to go to the North End for dinner. Jeff and I used to have a "place" there, which served huge portions of the best Italian for really reasonable prices ... of course it closed.

So every time I've been back there I've wandered around, trying to find another good place. Thursday was no different and we wandered down Hanover, checking out menus and prices (When did it get SO expensive there?) and we settled on a place called Lucia. There was a 15-20 minute wait, so we went down to the bar in enough time to watch B.J. Upton put the Sox in an early hole. Whatever, I drowned my sorrows in a tasty Cape Cod. (Side note: I rarely order drinks when I go out, mostly because of money reasons. I'll know I'm comfortable financially when I don't feel guilty about getting a glass of wine with dinner. Not there yet.)

Finally we were seated, menus in hand and STARVING. I ordered something they called Amazzafame (Sp?) which was basically penne, sausage, sun dried tomatoes, shitake mushrooms, capers, broccoli. All  I have to say is: I found my new North End place. OMG, I can't stop thinking about how good it was! Oh, and the chat with my friends was fun as well.

Of course, you can't go to the North End and not stop off at Mike's, where I got a German chocolate brownie which we brought back to Meg's condo to eat and watch the Sox fall further into elimination... At about 10:30 we left to go back and the Sox were down 7-0 when I got in my car. But as I pulled out of the spot... all of a sudden it was 7-4 and I spent the rest of the drive home screaming at the radio and pounding on the steering wheel. I'm pretty sure Emma, Jeff's coworker from England, thought I was a maniac. Anyways, just as I was dropping her off at the hotel, JD Drew bounced one over the wall and the Sox were back from the brink. Almost more fun to listen to it on the radio.

Friday night we went back into Boston for a preseason Celtics game which Jeff's mom got me tickets for! She got me regular season tickets for my birthday and I'm definitely looking forward to going back for that!

Saturday morning, bright and early, we headed off to Rhode Island to meet with a new florist. They came in at under what our last florist who dropped out was and I think we'll go with them. Honestly, at this point, flowers are flowers! I'm sure they'll look beautiful.

After that appointment we swung over to Newport to watch my cousin, and beautiful bridesmaid Sarah, run in the Breakers Marathon. We made great time and got there just in time to watch her finish the marathon in a personal best time of 4 hours and 37 minutes. She's amazing! I could never do that, obvs.

Saturday night was work until late and Sunday was more of the same. Sunday night ... well, let's not talk about that.

I have some exciting things going on this week, including an announcement I hope to make on the blog about something I've been working hard on... but not yet. I have to make SURE. Stay tuned :)

I'm a good person

Title being a joke Jeff and I made a few times on Sunday (kidding of course.) It was the Making Strides for Breast Cancer Walk! I was able to raise $225, which was short of my $300 goal but still good! As a team, (team being a loose term as it was just me, Jeff and one of his coworkers) Thermo Fisher Scientific raised $1360! (With a lot of donations from Jeff's coworkers.) I want to shout out to those who donated to me: Mom, Jeff, Andrew, Katie, Beverly, Steve, Uncle Frank and Aunt Carol, Aunt Sue and Uncle David and Paul K!

I wasn't sure if Team Werschaible was going to make it to the walk: the night before Jeff got a migrane headache, and was physically sick all night. Poor guy :)

But he was up bright and early (7 a.m. -- did you know there was a 7 a.m. on Sundays???!?!) Sunday morning for the drive into Boston. The walk started at the Hatch Shell where we met up with Jeff's coworker, who had already completed the walk with his wife. 

Team Thermo Fisher.

Team Werschaible.

After a quick "team pic" Jeff and I headed off to the walk. Immediately, I was struck down with an epic case of the itchy leg. Now for those who aren't familiar with this debilitating medical condition, it occurs when I'm out walking in cold weather. My legs turn bright red and they itch like it's no one's business. Now, as far as I can find out, the itchy leg had no cure. The only way to pacify it is to keep walking and hope your legs warm up, or rip your pants off in front of a crowd and violently itch your legs. I used to think I was the only one with itchy legs, but if you google it, I have found I'm not alone. This doesn't stop Jeff from making fun of me.

So because of my ailment, I decided not to walk the 5-mile course, but instead the 3-mile course (no bearing on the donations, don't worry.) Still, it was a long three miles!! It was fun though, and we got a little snack bag at the end. After a quick stop at our old stomping grounds (NU) for lunch, and a stop at Jeff's old work (the New England Soup Factory -- yumm!!!) we headed back home, driving through the Brookline/Chestnut Hill area of Boston. As soon as Jeff said, "Yeah ok, we could live here," it was on, the apartment search is on. I really want to move back to Boston before we don't have that chance again. :) (PS -- Just have to wait ummm ... seven months til our lease is up).

Back home, we chilled out until I started work and we watched the Pats together. Before the game I was sure we'd blow em out. The Cassel INT to start the game didn't really help that, but glad to see us come away with the W. Three-and-one without Brady is nothing to sneeze at.

The Sox then disrupted my sleep as I desperately tried to stay awake while the game was on. They could have rewarded my persistence with a win, but I think we'll get that victory tonight!

Amazing weekend

I have had wayyyy too much fun lately, and with no more 'special friend events' (that sounds weird) on the docket, I feel sad the summer has come to a close. But let's relive this past weekend!

I'm going to skip over the engagement pics and give them their own post (duh) and fast forward to a rainy Friday night where I met up with my favorite girls, Meg and Katie with Jeff for dinner and drinks in downtown Beantown. Had a good time catching up, as always, then I suggested we head back to Meg's to watch the debates, because apparently, I'm a nerd and wanted to put everyone to sleep!

Thoughts on the debate: McCain came through in the clutch at the end while Obama started being an apologist and an agreer (what?). Still, on style, Obama was clearly king. McCain looked old and grumpy, while Obama was smooth. With the feedback they've no doubt been getting in the past few days, I can't wait to watch the next one.  Side note: I appreciate McCain's emphasis on veteran care, which clearly lacks in this country, but how about keeping those veterans heathy and cared for BEFORE they become seriously injured or mentally ill? Like Obama said, it's not about waiting until something bad happens, it's preventing it as well. Side note #2: Enough about Main street. This country lives on more then two streets.

Anyway, everyone was tired after the debate (mentally exhausted?) so we went to bed. Well, I went to couch and per usual, I couldn't sleep. Plus the newly married Bressettes wake at 7 a.m. (there's a 7 a.m. on Saturdays?) -- just because. Oh well, we had nice chats about their wedding and our wedding and such. 

About 1 oclock we headed out to the Cape for Steph and Adam's wedding! Poor guys, it was raining AGAIN, why must my friends have such bad luck? We got to the hotel and checked in, and I picked a winner with the nicest Holiday Inn I had ever seen. Reasonably priced and within walking distance to the venue! Things like this make me happy. Oh, but they lost or misplaced our welcome bag, so that was disappointing.

We headed over to the reception way early because after Meg's wedding, I wanted a good seat so I could see/hear! Well, I got three rows back on the aisle. Take that. 

Finally it was wedding time, and the processional is one of my favorite parts. Saw a few old Northeastern journalism buddies I hadn't seen in forever (in fact all of Stephanie's bridesmaids, except her sisters, and two of her groomsman were NU journalism students). 

Then Steph came round the bend and took my breath away. I haven't seen her since we graduated, and I know she had been on Weight Watchers, but WOW. She looked AMAZING. She had tears in her eyes coming down the aisle and I wasn't sure she'd make it through the ceremony. There was a quick intro, a poem read by her friends about 'How marriage is like owning a dog' (they have one) and then it was time for the vows which they wrote themselves. I had warned Steph to speak up, and fortunately she got the memo, but not Adam. I couldn't hear him! He said something about how he thinks she's so caring that she always gets up at 7 a.m. to take care of the dog, ha. Steph on the other hand projected, and my favorite part was when she said "I love how you respect me."

A quick ring ceremony where all they said was "I will always love you" and the kiss... and then they broke the glass and Mazel Tov and it was over!

We went up the stairs to cocktail hour where they had these amazing specialty martinis which they called "Smartinis" (a play on their last name). They were: coconut rum, banana liquore, pineapple juice, splash of cranberry, splash of sprite and dangerously good.

We sat at a table with a few more old NU friends and ate a delicious dinner of corn chowder, salad, chicken with stuffing and cake. We listened to the best maid of honor and best man speeches I had ever heard, from their YOUNGER brothers and sisters. Good for them.

After cake cutting it was time to dance, and although the DJ was not the best (he was still using CDs? Why?) it was still a lot of fun, kicked off by the Hava Nagiila, which is a sure party starter. I'm thinking of doing it at my wedding just to piss of my mother. Kidding mom!

All in all a fabulous wedding with a beautiful bride and a great crowd!