Sorry

So I've been really sporadic with this whole blogging thing lately. And I have no good excuse for you. I guess I'm just not feeling it.

I don't do anything interesting on a daily basis. There's times here we do fun stuff. Like if Tad is here, or if I have baking to do. But that doesn't actually occur that frequently.

And I have things to write about, just not many, and I kind of don't feel like writing about them. Partly because I'm afraid some of them will turn out too long and almost boring (I don't want to bore y'all!). And partly because some of it is serious stuff and I like to try and keep it fun and interesting around here. Not question why people are the way they are and make you think, "I totally know someone like that! Why DO they do that?" Because then you'll get in a funk, and I don't want to do that to you guys. I love you guys!

So sorry, not much to say around here. Although I did have to create a new Myspace last night. A.... friendlier one for children. Why?

Because I got home from my sister's surprise party to find a friend request from one of my former students.

I'm simultaneously feeling old for being on the same social networking site as a sixth grader, and flattered that my kids liked me enough to search for me.

American Idol - Top 5

Oops, I totally tuned in ten minutes late. It's Rat Pack night. And Jamie Foxx (WTF?!) is the mentor.

Kris Allen - The Way You Look Tonight - LOVE this song. And I'm likin' Kris. If he keeps making the female viewers swoon and vote for him, he could make it to the final night. Randy called it his best performance to date. Kara talked too much and liked him. I hate her need to use "industry" words. Paula just loves him, I'm surprised she isn't wiping drool. Simon thought it was good, but wasn't as "enthusiastic" as everyone else.

Allison Iraheta - Someone to Watch Over Me - She didn't rock it out at all, which was different. But it was a GOOD different. I liked her. But I always like her. Randy liked her and compared her to Brittany Murphy and Pink in the process of saying so. Kara liked her. Paula liked her (I have no clue what she was saying though). Simon thought it was a great performance, but had a feeling she may leave this week.

Matt Giraud - My Funny Valentine - This is so the perfect week for him. He sounded GREAT. Randy didn't love it. Kara didn't feel he was "emotionally connected." Paula loved it. Simon actually liked it, which shocked me. He thought it was "believable and authentic." Then he threw in a "brilliant" for good measure.

Danny Gokey - Come Rain or Come Shine - He sounded really good tonight. Heather, I am totally with you on loving him tonight. He sounded great, he looked great, and he NAILED his song. Randy said he's the "only one so far who could have an album of songs like that and win." Kara said he had "swag" and I'm assuming she meant "swagger." She screws up like that a lot. Paula called him "stellar." Simon said they're the best vocals he's heard from him in weeks.

Adam Lambert - Feelin' Good - How does Adam pick a song I LOVE week after week. I love this song in every way possible. And HOLY CRAP he killed it. Just from the beginning he had my attention. So perfect for him. Hubby probably got sick of me saying how great it was during the performance. He may be totally flaming* but HE IS AMAZING!!! Randy loved him. Kara said her jaw drops every time he performs. Paula said he makes her feel "better than good." Simon also liked it. He didn't even have anything bad to say!

Okay, so bottom tomorrow... I'm going to go with Matt and Allison. Not my choices, just what I think will happen.

*Okay, refrain from calling me names or anything. Because look at him, he's more than a little flamboyant.

San Diego - Day 4

Okay, I'm FINALLY getting around to our last day of vacation. And I still owe you a cupcake blog. Which will hopefully be coming tomorrow.

So on our last day we woke up to this on our door.

Really Holiday Inn? Who paints the door frames WHILE SOMEONE IS STAYING IN THE ROOMS?! Just capped off our stay in the hotel that shall not be stayed in again.

Once we were all packed up and checked out we got some lunch. The Monday before our trip we just happened to catch an episode of Diners, Drive Ins and Dives (ya know, my favorite show ever) that featured a place in San Diego. It's a fish market and grill so of course (being San Diego) everything is fresh. So we headed there and split a sandwich and got a fish taco each. Okay, the tacos were huge. I should have taken a picture. But OH LORD this place was so good. I will totally convince hubby to go back when we take Tad to Sea World.

And on the ground outside the place making the BEST FISH TACOS EVER was this little art project...

I'm guessing he does that at every place he hits for the show? Oh, and if you can't read that, it says "Guy ate here."

Then we got our cupcakes for the day, this time at Heavenly Cupcakes downtown. From there, we decided to go look at the ships in the harbor. But having enough money left to gas up on the way home, we didn't tour any. Maybe next time. So here's the Star of India. And yes, it's that huge that I couldn't fit the whole thing in my camera without annoying people walking in front of my camera.

Then we continued down to the USS Midway. There were some cool statues and memorials along the way, but I didn't want to bore you with every single picture I took.

But I had to post the picture of this one. I should have made Tim dip me like that for a totally cheesy picture. But it was hot, and somehow there was no one around to help me out with that.

So you get one of the classic self-taken ones. Sorry about the glare on the car behind us.

And then we headed home. When we hit Burbank there was an issue with traffic. And Arthur (my car) wanted to start overheating. But we were fine. A little bit burnt, a lot tired, but we had fun.

Dancing Week 8

So tonight there's a dance for each couple, plus a team dance. Which I think they tried for the first time last season, but don't quote me on that.

Here's hoping Lil Kim goes home this week...

Oh, Melissa isn't here this week. Apparently she got hurt or aggravated something that was already there. They'll explain further later. I wish they would just get that stuff out of the way at the beginning.

Gilles and Cheryl - lindy hop - Okay, so the hair department succeeded in making him un-hot. But the dance looked good. He gets serious air on his jumps. And the lifts were fun. Judges' score: 27

Lil Kim and Derek - paso doble - I really don't understand how people can cheer so wildly for her. Apparently I'm the only one who just can't get past her previous... um... we'll call them bad choices. But the dance was good. She stayed serious for it and the whole thing looked good. Judges' score: 28

Chuck and Julianne - cha cha cha - Chuck looks totally confident again, good sign! And they look really good again! I so hope he continues to get better. I'd love for them to stick around. Judges' score: 26

Shawn and Mark - samba - She looked like she started about a half beat later than she was supposed to, but she caught up quick. Hubby said it looked like she was too conscious of her arms during the dance. Then he questioned his sexuality for noticing such a thing. I thought they looked good, but it wasn't their best. Judges' score: 27

*So I guess Melissa hurt her ribs last week and then made it worse this week during practice. She rehearsed, but the pain got worse and she couldn't perform. So now we get to watch her rehearsal. Two things that have nothing to do with the dance: 1) yeah, she totally has a tramp stamp 2) her pants are OBSCENELY low. I don't wanna know how much waxing is involved in wearing those pants. The judges scored the dance with 21.

Ty and Chelsie - salsa - Poor Ty. The cowboy is expected to salsa? Wow, his hips are actually moving! He's a little hunched though. But he still looks a thousand times better than he did at the beginning. Hubby is actually really enjoying him I think. And Ty looks like he's having fun, he doesn't have the nervous look that's usually there. Judges' score: 24

So the first team dance is mambo. Team Mambo is Chuck, Melissa, Shawn and their partners. Lacey is stepping in for Melissa. Of course Lacey and Tony looked good, they're both pros. Shawn and Mark were good, but Shawn didn't look like she was totally into it at some points. Chuck and Julianne were cute. The whole dance was pretty good. Team score: 25

The second team was Team Tango. This team is Gilles, Lil Kim, Ty and their partners. The choreography is really good. It helps that I'm totally partial to the tango. Ty didn't look quite as good to me as he did in his salsa. But of course Gilles killed it. He's just awesome. I think I liked it better than the mambo, but like I said, I love a good tango. Team score: 28

Tomorrow, I think Ty will be in the bottom and possibly go home. With him? I'm gonna hope against hope and say Lil Kim.

San Diego - Day 3

Sunday was our anniversary. And I told hubby we aren't spending anniversaries at crowded theme parks anymore.

Not that it wasn't fun, but I think I would have been happier wandering around on that particular day. We got a little burnt, got ran into, hit with strollers... ya know, theme park hazards.

But it's Sea World! And there's cute animals! So we still had fun. And I had to post this particular picture because it reminded me of Finding Nemo... "Look I'm a flippy little dolphin!" Haha...

And this picture reminds you that you do NOT want to sit in the first six rows or so at the shows. I had to laugh at the parents carrying screaming children up the stairs. Really mom and dad? You thought your children would LIKE being doused with seriously cold salt water? Good call.


We also saw the sea lion show. They try to entertain you while you're waiting, and I'm such a dork I actually enjoyed this guy. He was doing different theme songs from television and movies. So of course when he did High School Musical (he totally knew the choreography) I was singing while hubby looked at me like I was nuts.

Then we went to the tide pools where I had the highlight of my afternoon... they're tide pools so you can touch the things in there. But they ask you to leave the things UNDER the water, seeing as how that's how they breathe and all. Well I spotted two little turds picking them up and throwing them across the pool. They were maybe seven and thought they were totally sneaky. So after they did it and were laughing I did the most obnoxious fake laugh I could muster then shot the good glare I was blessed with (thanks mom!) and said, "Yeah, NOT funny." They froze and I swear I thought they were going to wet their pants. Hubby almost wet his just laughing at their expressions. Good times...

Oh, and at the sea lion show they brought out a walrus at the end who was still in the process of training. She decided she wanted to get out of the tank and say hello to everyone. They cleared the first couple rows, but everyone was pretty much laughing about it. I guess nobody really thinks about the training process and the fact that you have to teach them the CAN'T go out and visit the people.

And you can pet the dolphins! Well, you're guaranteed some quality time with them for the bargain price of $40! Excuse me while I scoff... but if you wait a bit you can go in the same little area (for no extra charge) and wait for them to come by and let you pet them. This guy just got a nose bump.

Oh, and they have a depressed-looking polar bear. He looked bored out of his mind.

So we didn't stay until closing because it's kind of ridiculously expensive to eat there, and there was a big gap before the last show and we had seen the other exhibits. So we left and thought we'd go have an anniversary dinner. Thanks to a weirdly placed half-wall in the hotel I was able to use the timer on my camera. Just ignore the ugly hotel curtains and such.

We totally didn't go anywhere fancy, we went to a barbecue place. But it was SO AWESOME. I could eat there a few times a week if we had one here.

Then we went back to the hotel and had our cupcakes (which I'll show you a picture of this time). We tried to get flavors that would be close to the same as our wedding cake. So we got vanilla, mocha, and lemon.

And if you didn't know it by now, I'm a fan of champagne. So we got the same stuff we had at our wedding (it's my absolute favorite). And drank it out of classy Holiday Inn plastic.

And that was Sunday. We were kinda burnt, and super tired from the amount of sun. But it did end up being a fun day.

San Diego - Day 2

I totally skipped blogging yesterday. Oops. I don't even have a good excuse for you. I'm lame. Sorry.

So Saturday we totally slept in. As well as we could anyway. Because the people in the room above us were not people. They were elephants. Very active elephants. It was actually quite annoying... but back to our day...

So since we slept in we decided to just have a slightly early lunch. We ended up at a place called The Boat House. And this was our view there...

The food was pretty good. The service not so much. But oh well. From there we headed to Balboa Park. We didn't hit the zoo (sadly funds did not allow), but if you've been to San Diego you know how much stuff there is to do in Balboa Park.

I took pictures of lots of random things. The cool buildings, the random gardens...

And I glared at hubby (or tried to) when he made smart remarks about taking our picture.

We also hit up the Museum of Man at the park. Mostly because I saw that they had an exhibit on Mayans. Why do I care about the Mayans? Because my mom thinks that's what my dad's side (I'm only half-Mexican) is. Because we're short. And I had some birthmark that Mayan babies were born with. But back to the museum... here's part of the exhibit taken from upstairs.

The museum actually killed some time. We left and wandered over to the Spanish Art Village. It was way cute. And I just wanted a mojito so I could sit at this cute red table...

Do you love it? I want one just like this. It's adorable. Oh, and the ground is like that all through the little village. Way cute.

On our way back to the car we just kind of wandered. And happened to find this cactus garden-thing. It was pretty cool. There were some seriously weird plants.

And once we left there we passed a rose garden. Which I also loved. There was just about every color imaginable.

There was a wedding party taking pictures, which made me all reminiscent. So I snuck a picture of them. They were super fabulous and her bridesmaids looked amazing.

And I got a picture taken by someone else. Yay! A non-self-portrait! What was cute was that the lady took like, five or six of us. Portrait and landscape layout (or hot dog and hamburger for my fellow teachers). Zoomed in, zoomed out. She was so cute.

And from there we went to bakery number two of the trip: Babycakes in downtown. And downtown was an adventure in itself. I didn't know that every single street is one way down there. Add to that the fact that downtown San Diego is THE LAND OF NO LEFT-HAND TURNS and we had to make some extra turns before we found the place. But it was well worth it. They were tasty. But Cupcakes Squared still wins. You'll have to wait for those cupcake pics still... they so deserve their own blog.

And that was Saturday. We got pizza for dinner and vegged. And tomorrow, if I don't get busy or lazy, you'll see what was up Sunday.

Oh Yeah

So American Idol last night...

By now everyone who cares know who left. And if you don't care, why are you even reading this??? Lil and Anoop are out.

I'm not happy Anoop left, but he is weaker than the other people left. They can't all win. I did laugh at the random comments on the internet today about how America is racist for voting out the two people "of color" left in the competition. I really hope they're joking. Because it's scary if people think racism really drives everything. Those are the same people who cry "I'm offended" at everything. But I'm going on a tangent...

The group number... well, let's say that it was the MOST OBVIOUS CASE of lip synching we've seen thus far. It was pretty bad. Hubby and I laughed. And the Ford commercial this week was way weak. It wasn't even fun!

So, Idol, why don't we try a little harder next week? I already don't watch your results show on the grounds of all the filler and whoring of the judges. It's getting to the point where I don't even need to DVR it. Step it up Idol!

San Diego

So I'm still not feeling totally motivated to write, but I need to just do it already. Since I was gone for four days I'm going to milk it and get several blog posts out of it. So here's Friday!

Note: I'm really bad at getting pictures of hubby and me. Most of them end up being a quick one taken by us. So sorry there aren't more of us. If I had my own personal photographer to follow me around, I totally would.

So we actually left on time (shock surprise!) and were on the road by six that morning. The drive was pretty uneventful. Until we stopped for gas.

We had to go to San Marcos first to take care of something and we stopped at some random gas station before we got there. We're sitting there and I totally smelled pot. It was STRONG. I almost said something to hubby but then I looked over at the guy who had just pulled up next to us and it was obvious it was him. I didn't want the guy to freak out if I shouted something about the smell, so I shut up. Then the guy asks hubby for a buck because he left his wallet at home and his change in the car won't be enough for a decent amount of gas. I'm laughing because he even talks like your cliched stoner. Hubby gave him a dollar and the guy thanks him forever. Then asks, "Do you blaze?" I died. Hubby said no of course, but I just laughed while the guy said he would totally give him some for helping him out. Pot for a buck, what a deal. So we got a good laugh out of that for the rest of the day. Hubby also laughed and said, "He forgot his wallet, but he remembered the important stuff."

So we go to San Marcos, take care of what needs to get done, and headed to San Diego. Got to our hotel, checked in, and tried to figure out what we wanted to do. Part of my plan for the trip was to hit some cupcake bakeries, so we figured we could do that first. We went to a place called Cupcakes Squared, and all I'll say is that I was in HEAVEN. I'll review the cupcakes in a totally separate blog.

We took our cupcakes to our hotel, ate two of them, and then decided to go visit the Whaley House. If you have no clue what that is, it's apparently the most haunted house in the state. Go look it up if you want some history. Hubby and I expected it to be bigger so we were surprised when we got there. I took lots of pictures, but we didn't see anything. Bummer. After that we decided we would just bum around.

Sign outside the Whaley House

We stopped for dinner at this Mexican place (where they had homemade tortillas!). Ate too much and laughed at the size of their tequila menu. And uttered a word at the price of the shot at the bottom. I took a picture for my dad (the tequila guy around here).

After dinner we decided to keep walking around. And here's the first self-taken picture of the trip... in Old Town.

Old Town was nice. It wasn't crazy busy, there are some fun shops, lots of stuff to take pictures of. We walked off dinner and just enjoyed the slowness of it all.

Of course I had to take a picture of the first public schoolhouse in San Diego.

From there we just headed back to the hotel and ate our last two cupcakes. (Yes, we're cows and bought FOUR that day). And planned the next day, which you'll hear about tomorrow.

American Idol - Top 7 (Again)

Since Matt was saved last week we have a Top Seven, Part 2. And since the judges used their save, that means that two will go home tomorrow. Even worse? This week is disco week. I don't see much good coming from this one...

Lil Rounds - I'm Every Woman - I could probably call this predictable and people would agree with me. She was good, but I wouldn't call her great. It was good karaoke. It's exactly what you would hear from a girl at a karaoke bar who is good, but not quite great. Randy didn't think it showed what she can really do. Kara was also disappointed. Paula tried to defend her by saying she had no voice yesterday (hello, sympathy vote), then said it wasn't "hot." Simon said he thinks it will be her last week. I have to agree with him. Not great. Let's lose her.

Why on earth do they let Ryan give the singers the "opportunity" to respond to the judges? It's lame and a time-waster.

Kris Allen - She Works Hard For the Money - I'm SO glad he changed the arrangement. When he said he was singing this song I got worried. But he did his own thing, which seems to work in his favor. I really liked it. And tonight I think I'm seeing a resemblance to Orlando Bloom. Damn. I need to quit seeing guys that I have crushes on in Kris. I don't want to be all gaga over him. Kara said he took a "real risk and it paid off BIG time." Paula said it had a "classy, Santana feel." Simon mocked Paula for being stupid (again) and then called it a fantastic performance. Randy said he proved that he's "ready for the big time."

Danny Gokey - September - Okay I actually liked him tonight. I didn't love him, but I don't love the song so that made it a bit hard. I do wish someone would teach him some non-awkward dance moves for the stage. I think that's how hubby might look if he were forced to do something like this (sorry honey, but it's true). Randy liked it. Kara confessed she was worried about the genre tonight, but called him "an incredible vocalist." Paula liked it (and I just realized her lip gloss is a weird color on her) and said he has "one of the sexiest voices ever." Simon liked the singing, but didn't get any "star power" from the performance.

Allison Iraheta - Hot Stuff - Holy cow her intro was sweet. And of course it's more rock and roll than it used to be. I love this girl. Can she be my little sister? She kills every note and looks cute doing it. I loved it. Randy didn't love the arrangement (whatev), but called her "one of the best singers in the competition." Kara didn't like the arrangement either, but told her that she picked the right song. She then agreed about the best singer comment from Randy. Paula rambled a bit, then finally spit out that she liked her. Simon called it "a brilliant performance." Wow, he totally busted out with the word "brilliant."

Adam Lambert - If I Can't Have You - We have Adam in a suit. This should be interesting. He does tend to be better when he slows it down though. Less distractions and phallic microphone action. His arrangement was definitely different, but he was way good. It's nice to see him toned down and he obviously knows it. I wouldn't buy it, but I'll admit he was good. Randy said he's "ready right now" and "has it majorly going on." Kara called him brilliant. Paula spoke too many words (with looks and eye rolls from Simon) to say she loved it. Simon said he thought Adam would do Donna Summer, then said the vocals were "immaculate."

For real, is Paula on something? I know people joke about it and her publicists deny it, but the woman is crazy weird. I have a hard time believing she's not on something.

Matt Giraud - Stayin' Alive - He busted out the Justin Timberlake hat again tonight. Wonder if it's good luck? It was good, close to the original but still different enough to be good. He does have some excellent vocals. Randy didn't love the choice or arrangement, but said he "can reeeally sing." Kara said he "brought disco back" to the night. She called it a "solid performance." Paula is on my last nerve this season with her rambling and her analogies. She said he "bowled a strike." Simon didn't like it.

Anoop Desai - Dim All the Lights - Anoop is rockin' the scruff tonight. He still looks like any other college boy. I totally do not know this song, so I'm not feeling any particular love for it. His vocals are good, like always. But it doesn't seem outstanding to me. Randy talked too much, but said Anoop can sing. Kara said it sounded like "it could be on the radio." Paula loved him and talked forever to spit that out. Simon thought it was "mediocre at best."

So who's in the bottom tomorrow? I think Lil will be again. Possibly Matt again. And likely Anoop.

Dancing Results

Thank you interwebz, for giving me the info I want without having to watch the shows.

LT is out. Let's all cross our fingers for Lil Kim making an exit soon...

See you later with my Idol recap.

Names

I asked a friend to remind me to blog about this. And I feel slightly motivated, so here we go.

Who gives fruit names? Particularly grapes. We drove by a vineyard on our way out of town last week and they had big fancy paintings on the wall of the different types of grapes they grow. The name that sticks out in my mind is "Midnight Beauty."

What kind of a name is that for a piece of FRUIT?

So I of course decided to let hubby know that I find this ridiculous. If I were to name grapes they would have simpler names. Green. Light Green. Purpley Almost Black.

Hubby was amused by this and started describing the wines we would make. "Oh this one is mainly Purpley Almost Black with just a touch of Reddish Purple in it."

We're retarded. And I am lame for even feeling the need to share the story. But the naming of grapes is weird and I had to share.

Dancing - Quickie Version

Because you all watched it last night I'll keep it short. But I am still posting because you all know you want to know what I think...

Melissa and Tony - Argentine tango - They looked good. No surprise there. Her hair was a bit weird for me. Judges' score: 29

Lawrence and Edyta - waltz - I'm pretty amused that LT totally covered her up this week. He said he would last week, it's just funny to see. And they used JOURNEY! Automatic favorite dance of the night. Don't ask me about my weirdness for Journey, just go with it. Oh, and she got rid of the jacket. And hubby is singing to me. Badly. We're twisted. Oh, but you're here for dancing... they're good. LT is actually pulling off the graceful aspect. Judges' score: 21

Lil Kim and Derek - rumba - Hubby brought up a valid point. "Why don't they call her 'ex-con Lil Kim? I haven't heard her rap in... a few years now.'" Time for my weekly rant about how gross she is. *sigh* If she wins I'm going to have serious issues here. And the drapeyness on that dress is NOT doing her rear end any favors... AND WHY CAN'T SHE CLOSE HER MOUTH?!! The choreography is good, props to Derek. It was alright, but I didn't love it. That could totally be my distaste for Lil Kim, Queen of Nip Slips. Judges' score: 26

Chuck and Julianne - samba - Ahhhh Chad Hicks. I heart him. I do NOT heart the head-to-toe red this week. HOLY COW! He looks DAMN GOOD this week! LOVED it! Len totally called it his best dance too!!! I'm very excited about this... Judges' score: 27 Just gotta throw in a quick WOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!

Ty and Chelsie - waltz - Chelsie looks cute, like she's going to prom or something. They were good, but not quite great. But they were cute anyway. Judges' score: 24

Shawn and Mark - cha cha cha - Mark is the cutest. MP, if you're reading this, I want you to find him and marry him! Okay, and this dance is seriously cute/fun/great. Loved it. They're great. Judges' score: 28

Gilles and Cheryl - Viennese waltz - I have to say it: Gilles looks gooood in his swim shorts. He's just great. He has a pretty frame, his movements look good, and I'm sure women everywhere are wishing he could be the next James Bond. If he was, I'd go see it in a second. And I don't even like James Bond! But yeah, the dancing was great. Judges' score: 27

And then there was the group dance. No scores, just for fun.

• Julianne and Chelsie are totally cute
• Lil Kim should have an easy time on her go-go podium, familiar territory much?
• Poor Chuck, that wig is tragic
• Ty and Chelsie really went through with the bull-riding move!
• Tony and Mark are so into it and adorable

The choreography was fun. I don't know if anyone totally stood out to me. But it was good.

The bottom two tonight: I say Ty and LT. I don't know if either of them stood out enough. Although Lil Kim definitely didn't stand out either, so maybe she finally has a shot as GOING AWAY. We'll find out.

Wiped. Out.

Hubby and I are back. And a little burnt. But we had a nice trip.

Posts will resume tomorrow. I'll start with Dancing. But that will probably be short, depending on how much effort I'm feeling. And at some point I'll get around to posts about the trip. It might be a series of posts.

Good night.

Wedding Shout Out!

Yesterday I talked about my wedding day. And mentioned that there were a lot of people I couldn't have functioned without. So why not throw in a couple quick shout-outs...

mom (and dad): This needs no explanation. And I really can't say anything that makes more sense than THANK YOU.

grandma Karen: I don't know if there's anything that makes sense here either! THANK YOU! I had the most amazing flowers and rockin' crinoline ever!

Mariano: You are amazing and so not just my photographer. I totally consider you a friend and one of the coolest people EVER!

my girls (Bon, Beth, Kristen, Kayla, Micah, Lis, Jules): Holy cow you were all gorgeous! I have some excellent taste in bridesmaids (haha)! Every single one of you are so important to me and there's no way it would have been the same without you!

Alyssa: I owe the amazing hair that I still get compliments on to you! And I owe some sanity-saving to you! What would I have done if you hadn't told Beth to say something funny while we were waiting to walk out?? *

Nicole B.: Thankyouthankyouthankyou for taking care of the church for us! I'm so glad I didn't have to do without my mommy while getting ready! And of course you made it look fabulous!

And of course there are an impossible amount of other people to thank, but I'll stop there. Or we could be here all night... Just know that all of you who were there for me in any way, shape, or form get a big thank you hug from me!

And I promise I'll quit the wedding and anniversary talk tomorrow...

*Children leave! I'm about to demonstrate the foul mouth on sissy Beth! While we waited in the back to walk down, we lost track of one of my grandmothers. She was in the bathroom, and when she came out, it was obvious she had been crying already. Kayla and Micah (my cousins) looked at me with tears in their eyes when they realized that Grandma was already tearing up. Grandma came back to hug me before she was escorted out, and I started to lose it. Tears were welling up, my breath was getting short, and I was trying not to look at Kayla and Micah or we would ALL lose it completely. So Alyssa told Beth, "Quick, say something funny so they don't cry!" (This is knowing full well that Beth has a twisted sense of humor and will likely say something unpredictable.) Beth turns quickly and says, "What? Like 'cock?'" And the crying stopped. Our makeup was saved. And Beth was the hero of the day for saying "cock" in the back of a church.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Hubby and I have been married a year. Last year on this very day I was in the back of the church trying not to cry, throw up, or pass out. Let's be clear though: I wasn't nervous. I think I was just overwhelmed at it all. To be nervous would imply that I was unsure of what I was doing. And I was never unsure of marrying Tim.

I don't even know what to say about the day. It was absolutely gorgeous for one thing. If I had been able to know that it would be that perfect of a day I would have had the wedding outside. I was calm until it was my turn to get down the aisle at which point I gripped my dad's arm. I didn't cry until my grandma cried. And everything FLEW by. I owe so many people thanks for helping that day happen the way it did. You all know who you are.

Since it's so hard for me to relate the whole day to you, I thought I'd gift you with a picture post! When you have as many FABULOUS pictures as I do (thanks again Mariano) it's impossible to pick only a few favorites. But I managed to keep the number semi-low. So here we go!!

And the day began with hot rollers and makeup.

There was plenty of laughing, no tears at this stage.



See? Mom was laughing too.



There's my fabulous Alyssa doing the cutest wedding hair ever!


There's my handsome hubby, helping best man Adrian with his tux.

And there's my hubby gettin' all handsome for me!



Look how hot he is!


The boys got ice cream.

And mom got her "grandson" ready.

See? My hot mom and my little man!



The boys' cool shot.



Here's hubby lookin' all nervous.


And here's me cursing the sporadic breeze.





I love this one of us.



And this one.



And me with my fabulous girls!



And the cutest picture ever of my little Tad!



The now famous crinoline pic.


I love this one too.



This one makes me happy too.




Our beautiful cake!



Laughing with my father-in-law. I seriously love this picture.




And dad singing to me.




My matron-of-honor did some serious partying.

And I did some obnoxious singing with Beth and Nikki.

**I just realized there are no ceremony pics. Oh well, most of you have seen all the pics anyway. And like I said, I tried to keep the number small here.**