That's what she said...

I haven't talked about the Bare Naked Ladies concert yet, which is an agregious oversight on my behalf. Akbar & I drove up to Madison & met up with Lisa & Tony, Wes & Anne, Peter, & Johnny Mac at this BBQ place there. It wasn't as good as it normally is that night, but it was still good times. Then we went to the concert, naturally laughing our asses off all the way there. The pre-show was the (correct me if I get his name wrong guys!) Mike Doddy Band. They were pretty enjoyable. Then came BNL...in all their glory! I must confess that Akbar was originally not as excited as I was, but he was almost immediately won over. They put on such a spectacular show, it was amazing. The lighting was good, the sound rocked the house & I nearly lost my shit when they played "One Week". Loooove that song! There are fun pics on facebook. It was also awesome because we met up with Becky & Connie Redmond pretty randomly too. They saw me in my tangerine shirt & we chatted before the show. After the show we all went over by a local bar & hung out for a while. After that bar we dropped Lisa off & we were all sad she had to go. We went to another bar after that where Anne & I got dominated 2 x in pool (PS- Adam, you need to move back to Milwaukee. I need to practice pool hella! Megan, please take me out honey!). Akbar, Johnny Mac, Pete & I went back to Pete's place & pretty much crashed. Pete's spare bed was amazingly comfortable & we slept like babies.

The next morning we went to breakfast with Akbar's sister & the niece "Valerie". We at the most scrumptous breakfast ever & then toured the capital building. It was Akbar's first time in there & it was very cute. "Valerie" took him around while sis-in-law & I admired the view. We'd both been there before a few times. There are cute pictures of that as well, but you'll have to talk to me to see the cute ones of the niece. We walked around State St. a little after that. We found a painting that we really want in a gallery. Akbar got a really nice scarf & I got some delicious pop-corn! It was a great weekend!

We celebrated Jennifer's 20th birthday with she & Dave @ home on the 22nd. My Mom made a cake & I put it together & frosted it. After singing & giving her her gifts, we went over by Sis-in-law's & Akbar got to enjoy brandy-slushes. I enjoyed delightful diet coke & I bet they were jealous!

Thanksgiving we woke up & helped out some with the dinner prep & then went over by my Grandma's for lunch. It was delicious & I loved seeing my family. After that we drove back by Sis-in-law's for dinner. It was really fun to socialize with the family & enjoyed everyone's company. Sis-in-law is also an AMAZING chef & everything she makes tastes wonderful. She & Akbar slaved over the turkey. I slaved over the store-bought buns...yeah. Actually, on a side-note, I do pick out really good wine. If you need a wine for any occassion, see me. I know, it's very funny as I've never tasted wine & think they smell vile, but I have a knack for sensing good wines. Every wine I've ever picked have been some of Akbar's favorites. Anyway, we had a delightful dinner. It was something out of a "Good Housekeeping" magazine. Beautiful & tasty everything was had.

That night we also celebrated Akbar, niece "Gina", and bro-in-law's mother's birthdays. Now, some wives are the 'cutesy card' or fru-fru type of birthday-present-buying spouses. NOT ME! I got Akbar the gift that keeps on giving....explosives!! That's right, he got fireworks for his birthday. Big ones! I know he loves it & that makes me happy.
We had another enjoyable Thanksgiving celebration @ Adrian's apartment the next day too! Reg made a kickin turkey & it owned! I brought stuffing & more rolls. Dan's gravy was also delicious. It was an amazing spread & I was quite thankful for it. We got to meet some more of Adrian & Adam's Wisco friends (which was delightful) & watched Mean Girls. Again, very fun-tastic time.

I made my presentation about my 1st graders on Wednesday (the 29th). It went very well & I was so pleased with the work I'd done. Those kids are some of the most amazing & inspiring people I've ever interacted with. I learn things from them almost hourly when I'm there. I was a little upset because some of the barbie-bitches in the back of class were chatting during the beginning of my presention, but they eventually stopped. My friend in that class, Angie said she didn't even notice & she was just focusing on me. Obviously, I LOVE her. She's one of my new favorite people. Not for that reason, but that just made me love her more.

The 30th was Akbar's birthday & I skipped class that night so I could miss the crazy blizzard & be with him. I had a really nice night with him & we went to the Webber Grill restaurant.

I'm so sorry that I've been neglecting my LJ. I will atone by posting this that is a compilation of what's been going on lately, with the exception of this past weekend. The fact is that my current semester is kicking the ever-loving-fudge out of me. For those that aren't hip to what's happening with me right now, I'll lay it out there. Do keep in mind while reading this that I'm running on approximately 25 minutes of sleep. Really.

I'm student teaching at an inner-city Muslim school. I have a first grade class & I love them all. They're such good kids & I'm hella lucky. My co-teacher also rocks the monkey's ass. She is amazing & I'm learning so much from her.

I have 6 classes total this year, including my student teaching & a field work class. I also have a 4.0 going for the first time....in college...ever. I just took a geology exam though that I don't think I very well on. I just have to say that I will shank some bitches if I don't actually retain my 4.0. I studied so flipping hard & actually only got about 25 minutes of sleep last night, or this morning, or whatever. I've been studying like a mad-women since Tuesday & freaking out. Like, hours per night since then; not exaggerating.

The other thing that has been occupying my life has been a parent-relationship project that I've tried to get set up with my first-grader's parents. We've been making books & the gimmick to get the parents in to meet us (co-teacher & I) was that they'd finish the last page of the book with the child & there'd be snacks. This was this past Wednesday & of the 19 kids, 4 parents showed. I was still really happy. I had the understanding that most of them would probably be working. I got hugs from one of them & one of the other ones asked me a few questions, which was the goal of the day. It was a really good experience. The whole experience has been sooooo great.

I inavertently got to substitute one day too. My co-teacher got sick & I showed up & the secretary said, "Oh, good! You can take them!" Now, keep in mind I had only been alone with them previous to this for no more than 45 minutes. This was 4 1/2 hours. It was an organized chaos, but nobody got hurt & at the end of the day they were still smiling & I still got hugs.

We went to Comedy Sportz for the eldest nephew's b-day. It was super fun! If you think of it, ask me to tell you the "Pinball machine powered by 'EVIL'!" story, it's much better in person. I can't believe the boy is as old as he is. It's frickin amazing. He's up to my nose...this is bad. I've got over a decade on the Boy, I should be taller. Craziness.

Went to Anna's bridal shower at Auntie Tina's house & it was super fun. I got her this huge, plastic ring & it was a lot of fun. It was also nice to see a bunch of my friends from Target & I got to see my family as well!

On October 29th Akbar & I went to Fright Fest with some friends. It was hella good times. Megan & I dressed up as Boo-beez (It's an inside joke, but still funny!). We both made our bee costumes & wore nametags that said "Hello, my name is: BOO!" So we were "BOO!"-Bees!! Eh? Eh??? It was fun & cute. There are pics in my profile & on facebook. We were the prettiest Boo-beez ever!

After trick-or-treating with some of the neices & nephew on Halloween (where we froze our various parts off!), we went to RC's with Adam, Tyler, Emily, & Josh. It was a lot of fun & I won at bar-bowling! Adam dressed up at "Biff" & looked kick-ass! You'll have to check out his costume pics too! He took the time to make an Almanac & an "Ooh, La La!" mag! Frickin sweet! Akbar & Josh had time to catch up & Adam & Tyler had Emilly & I in stiches the whole time.

On Nov. 1st I got to go to the Hope House & it was such a rewarding experience. I really loved it. My partner from that particular class & I drove out & learned about their programs that they offer to children & the community. It is such a noble cause & place. I was truly struck by the friendly & tight-knit environment. The kids are really in need & it's a place that I've volunteered time for before, but it was good to actually spend time talking to a coordinator of one of the programs. If anyone is looking for a worth-while opportunity to feel like you can make a difference in your community, I highly recommend volunteering time there. We were there in the evening too & it is a place that I would go back & spend time volunteering myself (if I wasn't already going crazy from lack of time). Perhaps when Akbar & I finally move back to Milwaukee I'll be able to start up again.

Last Friday Akbar & I joined some of his Chicago friends @ Irish Eyes to see Whitey O' Day. He's a performer that has been at it for decades & still going strong. He's such a good time & we were in such good company that it would have been hard to top the time that we had. Akbar's friend Brian is a navy guy & he's in town from Hawaii (where he's stationed). We haven't seen him since last year & it was so wonderful to see him. It did require some coaxing on my part to get Akbar up & getting there, but we had such a kick-ass time. I know many of the very dirty lyrics to the songs that Whitey sings & really enjoy shouting & chanting along with the rest of the bar. It was also nice to see one of Akbar's best friends, Johnny & his friend Adam. They're both sweethearts & make me laugh hysterically. There are pictures of that on facebook too (and in my profile pics). We actually got to get some pictures with Whitey & that was so amazing. It's a night to remember, fo' sho'.

That's the big stuff that I can remember right now. Akbar & I have some fun stuff coming up in the future weeks as well, so I'll try to write about that as it happens.

OOOHHHH!!!! I almost forgot!! I got my cap & gown!!!!!! That's right....Graduate me bitches!!! I almost cried when I put it on. All of my friends my age have their degrees already and some of them are nearly done with their masters. It's been really hard not to get disheartened. I'm finally here. It's finally going to happen. I will be able to say, "Fuck ya'll & suck my hypothetical-balls...I'm going home!"
So, yet again, I freaked out over nothing. Let me explain.

I had a huge-ass day today (or yesterday rather).

I woke up & went to some of my geology class (half) from 9a - 9:25.

Then I had to leave so that I could make it to St. John's Day Care in Cudahy to observe for a class from approx 9:45 - 11:15a. It was super fun & I had such a good time. Specifically I really enjoyed spending time with the kids in the class. 4-5 year olds are so fun. They're really starting to get the world around them & they feel that they're invincible, so they'll give you a million+2 heart-attacks, but it's so worth it. I like working with kids in the K4 - approx 3rd grade range. I had a few of the kids that couldn't stop starring at me and kept trying to ask me questions. They were super fun & enjoyed showing me around they're room. Another fun fact, I went to St. John's Day Care & some of the teachers/ care-takers still remembered me & Dave. It was really fun.

By 11:40a I was back on the East side @ Clara (by my first graders) and was getting ready to be observed myself. It was my first time being observed and I'd prepped the kids & let them know that my teacher would be coming to class. This is how sweet my kids are...one of them had actually made a card for my advisor that said, "I love you" and had hearts and some of the words that they had learned on it. Many of the other students followed her lead & said that the papers they were drawing on were for her as well. I know, I know, these are such sweet kids. I should mention that previous to my arrival, they'd had an unexpected fire-drill & my co-teacher (who is the bomb!) was watching the K-4 class along with the 1st grade. Needless to say, she was a little rattled (though you'd never have known it. She's an amazing teacher). Another thing I should say is that it's quite commical that I was intimidated by my pending observation. My observer was my advisor/ teacher that I have for 3 classes (including my field work one). Now, this women to look at her, I guarantee you, "intimidating" wouldn't be the word that comes to mind. She's in her 60's or 70's and very tiny. We're talking maybe, MAYBE 90 lbs. That would be soaking wet with clothes on mind you. She's very VERY intelligent and still has red hair (she's hella Irish) and I hold her in the highest respect. She's who I turn to with teacher questions (other than my Mom & Auntie who, my Mom's been a teacher for 29 years and my Aunt has been one for 16). Anyway, she thought it was very funny that I was so nervous about her coming. She got there & all the kids were milling around, neatening up, and Stephanie (my co-teacher) says, "She's here; quick, get in your seats!!" The kids made more noise doing that than anything else. It was so funny watching them run to their seats & say, "Be quiet, Be quiet!" while doing the exact opposite. By the time my advisor finally stepped foot in the room, there were just a few kids scooting into their seats. So, my advisor gets in the room and I introduce her. She's instantly likable to children I've found because she's close to their height and very approachable. My kids all said "hi" and introduced themselves in sign language. It was exceptionally cute because she fingerspelled her name back to them and they loved it. I taught them a few other phrases and they were all VERY good. I as so impressed with their behavior and so was my advisor. I won't bore you all with the minute details of how fabulous it went, but there was quite a bit of fabulous-ness happening. After we were done with the Sign lesson, we took the kids down to the bathrooms for a group trip & usually they're a little rowdy during that time. Not this time!! They were good as gold (obviously with a few exceptions, but hey, they're kids!) and then my advisor and I went out into the hall to talk. There isn't a teacher's lounge there & they had removed the table that's usually sitting in the common area, so my advisor suggested we just sit on the floor & proceeded to sit criss-cross-apple-sauce on the ground. I was a little floored by that (floored.,,get it...I was surprised she just sat on the floor.....no? sorry, I'm really tired). Anyway, I sat down too and we had a really great discussion. She asked me what my strengths were & we had a great discussion about that. She pretty much had nothing negative to say. She was really impressed with me & how I seemed very confident & it can take beginning teachers years to get that. I was so excited & very happy. I actually asked her for some critisism & she didn't have any. That's RIGHT! That's how I roll!!! I don't care if that doesn't make sense! Sorry, anyway, she even pointed me in a good direction to find a teaching job in IL. Long story-short....I love that women & she's amazing.

BTW, I do have to quickly mention that I've been typing this whole thing from MY BRAND SPANKING NEW LAPTOP!!!! Yes my friends, the LONG AWAITED day is finally here! I love it. I have brand new toys. I'm sooooooooo pleased. Akbar did a hella good job picking this out for me.
So, I had a frickin fabulous weekend the weekend before thanksgiving. It was fun filled and fantabulous.

Anyway, I had a great weekend, which I will totally blog about later. I saw the Bare Naked Ladies Concert & it rocked my world. I was actually shaking in an orgasmic aftershock for hours afterwords.
Loved it, loved it, loved it!!!! Got to see Pete, John, Wes, Anne, Lisa, & Tony too! Hella fun!

Anyway, I'm closing up shop and I love you all! I miss my Akbar and the picture above is making me sad...I'm going to bed.

Peace

This was on July 21st, Thursday, but I had such a good time.

I got done with my class at a usual time (approx 7:30 p.m.) and decide to drop by my friend Megan's birthday party. She's hostessing it at "Jazz in the Park" in Milwaukee and I've never been, so I was really "jazzed" for it (ok, I know I should be flogged for using such a corny reference! My frickin blog & I'm tired!). I get there & meet her elder sister, Lisa, & her neighbor, Mah. Mah is a terribly interesting man and I was very delighted to hear his story. He's a very traveled man & I enjoyed hearing his experiences & hope to hear more. Then Megan's sister, Joclyn (Please forgive me for probably mis-spelling that!!) arrived with a whole troop of people. I met 3 of her friends from Poland (Olga, Andrew, & [can't remember his name!]) and their friend Chris. They're super nice & I really enjoyed chatting with Olga & Chris for a bit. While chatting with Chris, I spied Alex Bustamonte, a very good friend of Akbar & now of mine. I adore Busta & I made a complete ass out of myself by shouting "BUSTA!!" at the top of my lungs & running over to give him a huge hug. I met another one of Akbar's Fraternity brothers, Nate (whom I've probably met before, but there are very many!), Nate's girlfriend Jillian & her brother (also can't remember his name, but again, lovely guy). I start chatting with Nate & Busta when someone needed a corkscrew & I returned to Megan's side to loan out mine (Let's face it, if you need it, I probably have it in my purse). Busta came over & I introduced Busta to Megan & everyone. Busta, Mah, & I were having a conversation when I was introduced to Jillian & we started discussing the Fraternity.

Jillian had come to realize that there are not many, if any at all, Phi Sig - Marian College Chapter - jokes that don't involve "penis" or end in "penis"-something. Virtually all of them involve drinking or getting drunk or being drunk. Not to say that that chapter isn't one of the most productive/ community involved/ good chapters there are, but these are just the facts of life in a all-male Fraternity. I'm one of the wives & knew what I was getting myself into & actually think most of them are pretty hilarious! I related some of them to the best of my ability (I can't compare to Johnny or Akbar actually telling them, it's an experience!) and a good laugh was had by all.

Then I noticed that one of Megan's sister's guests was just standing all by himself & invited him to join our discussion. His name is "Tahni" (that's how it sounds) and he's from Cameron originally & has been living in Milwaukee for around 7 years now. He was such an interesting man. I learned a little about his country and his family. We talked about jazz & I hope to keep contact with him and learn more from him. We talked for over half an hour and I really had an enjoyable talk with him.

I met a few of Megan's friends as well. I met her sister's best friend Eric, who was charming. I also met some very delightful friends of hers who I hope to see in the future as well because they were fun!

I almost forgot the best part too! I gave Megan a card that was fricking hilarious & involved "Boobies". As a wise and awesome friend of mine remarked, "You just don't hear that word any more these days; you know...boobies."

Lovely night.

Great experiences.

Great memories.

3 cheers for Megan!

Peace!

This was from the week of September 11th
Officially, this week blew.

I'm so fucking tired right now, it's not even funny.

I watched the adorable nieces & nephew, which was fine; however, several bees were in my bonnet....literally.

Sunday I get there to discover that one of their cats is dying and has lost control of his bodily functions. Not good or pleasant. After further entrance into the house I find out that there's a wasp nest somewhere above the girls' rooms & one has stung my niece "Veronica". I make my nephew clean up after the *explative* cat the first time (he's old enough & it's not my f-ing cat) & tend to "Veronica". After she was thoroughly child-benedril & child-ibuprofin'd up I decided to wash said cat & stick him in the downstairs bathroom. After that I found out one of their other cats is confined down there because of a bladder infection, I proceed to lose my sanity. I had no idea what was to come.

So the next day I wake up at fricking quarter-to-Jesus o' clock to get nephew, "Alan" off to school. Then I get the girls up & out & go to my class. I come back (their grandma was watching the baby) to find that the little gray kitty had escaped (peeing kitty) and I had to chase her around the house for a good 10 minutes before finally cornering her & catching her. I try to feed dying kitty, but to no avail. I go in the girls room & more wasps are found. I call their grandpa (wonderful man & jack-of-all-trades type) & he thinks he has a handle on it & solves our problem. Kids get home. I with the help of the wonderful Jen (their cousin & one of my favorite people) comes & helps get them fed & off to bed while I also take care of dying kitty. At this point, I'm thinking, 'not terrible; I can do this'.


Tuesday I get up at fricking quarter-to-Jesus again & decide that I should shank the person responsible for inventing 5am in its entirety. I get the kids up & running & notice that dying kitty is in need of bathing again & that he's not eating at all anymore. I get the kids off to school & myself & then come back after class. Now, to that point, my niece "Lola" (the baby) had been super good tempered & very happy. When I left that morning it was torture because she was yelling "AHNTIE MAWY!!" and "'LOLA' COME TOO!!" Almost cried. Really. It pained me quite a bit. This is also hard because then I get looks from the grandma because she doesn't want to stay with her. I come back & she's super happy again & get her down for a nap. Meanwhile, gray kitty (peeing cat) has found a crack in the ceiling tiles that she can get out of & is exploring the scenic parts of the house via support beams. Finally I catch her (don't ask me how) and get her back in there. I fixed the patch & order was semi-restored. The kids get home, Jen gets there & she is the angel that she is & takes care of them while I take care of dying kitty. Now, dying kitty has been bad for a while, but truely just got suddenly worse the day that sis & bro in-law left on their trip. I had to call them & tell them that their kitty, the one bro in-law gave to sis in-law as a wedding present 15 years ago is dying & in so much pain. I could actually see his bones & the combination of that & the smell nearly made me ill. I tell them he can't wait till they come back in 2 days & they make arrangements. In the mean time, Jen is taking care of the kids & we get them ready for bed. I brought the kids into the bathroom where I'd washed & blow-dried the cat & let them know that this was probably one of his last nights with us & that they should say positive things & pray for him & tell him how much they love him & show him love. Now, my niece "Gina" is exceptionally smart & wonderful little girl. She was so eloquent that she brought me to tears. She said "We love you [dying cat] and you were the best cat we ever could have had. No kitty can ever take your place in our hearts and you leave this world knowing that you were very loved & appreciated. May God accept you into heaven & know that we're thinking of you back here." That's a direct quote folks. I'm tearing up while writing this & she's only 11. I comfort the other two & get them situated for bed. "Veronica" is scared because more wasps were in her room (btw, I'm very proficient at killing those little bastards now) & asks to sleep in her parents room with me. That worked out, but as I tucked her in & was walking down the stairs (it was dark) I got stung in the hand. This was too close for comfort to "Gina"'s room, so I had to wake her up & make her sleep downstairs away from that area. I call Akbar crying because I'm terrified that there might be one in the baby's room or that this cat was going to die on me & I didn't know what to do about the damn bees & my hand was killing me (I killed that wasp but good!). I had lost it & he helped get me through the night, but I didn't sleep very well at all.

I have to go to class, but I'll post more about the last 2 days later.


Peace & love to ya'll!

I'll just finish up the last few dates that I hadn't blogged about yet first.

8/28-8/31: I had jury duty. It fucking blew. I didn't mind it that much, but it pretty much ruined the last week I had to spend at home with Akbar. And the schmuck was HELLA guilty...met some interesting people though.

9/2: Akbar & I went around our various 2 states like the crazy people we are. We went up by his sister & spent some time at a local flea market (fun). Found out my Grandma was in the hospital. Went over by Angie's to purchase Mary Kay stuff. I love her & we had a nice time chatting. I drove over by my Grandma & dropped off some flowers by her & visited her in the hospital. Picked up Akbar & then we drove down to Josh's parents' place for a really fun gathering. There were bands there & great food & we had a really nice time hanging with him & some of his friends. Met his new friend Amy & she's super nice. Got to help Sean & Naomi pitch a tent (all I really did was hold their pillow off the ground, but I did it really well!) We had missed seeing Josh & we absolutely love Josh's parents. They're so cool & fun. It's really a nice get-a-way to visit his parents' place. Very relaxed & chill.

9/3: We get up uber early & make tracks from our apt. in Chi-town up to Fondy. That was a trip & a half. It was all worth it though. We absolutely adore our friends Anne & Wes. They're some of the best people ever & we don't get to spend nearly as much time with them as we'd like. They host a yearly Labor Day celebration & we made it last year, albeit we were over-dressed. Last year, Akbar had forgotten to tell me (and naturally he forgot himself) that it was a swimming party & we had to wade out to the boat in our clothes. This year I got all the directions & we were very properly attired in swim gear. We had a great time on the boat & my Dad & Dave were up fishing so they stopped by. There are some fun pics on facebook of all that. I got to go on a boat ride with Anne & Akbar went tubing. I got to hang out & talk with one of Anne's friends & get to know her better too. She was a sweetie. I also LOVED seeing Anne & Wes's kids. They're such fun & very cool. We all went back to Anne's parents' place & had delicious food. Then we got to pet some horses! Her parents have 3 horses & I got to feed them hay! I felt like a frickin 10 year old, but I didn't care! Then a bunch of us sat around the camp fire & told stories. Of course Akbar's were the funniest. Then he & Wes set off some fireworks. That was lots of fun, till we realized it had scared the horses off & we had to find them. That was a fun night though. I love those people!

9/5: First day of classes. I got all the classes I need for once. I also get to graduate in December. That's right bitches...DECEMBER...of THIS year!!!!

9/6: Terice & I go to Denny's with Matt Mierow in the evening. It was a nice evening & good times were had by all (and she looked FABULOUS in her spiffy coat!)

9/8-9/10: SCRAPMANIA!!!! OMG...so fun. Lots of stuff went down. Firstly, Friday...Cari, Sara (her roommate), and I drove up to the Min/St. Paul airport & pick up Laura. Trip took approx 6 hours. We got to the hotel & unloaded our stuff & went directly to the Mall of America. I should mention as a quick side note that Akbar did try his same tactic again with trying to get me not to go by claiming there were bears there. His theory is that "Mall" is spelled wrong & that it's actully the "MAUL of America" because there are bears there that will maul you. I wasn't frightened off, just as any good scrapbooker would still try to make the pilgrimage to her Mecca! Anyway, we then went to IKEA to check things out & Laura found a couple cute little things there. I should also quickly mention that our car was stupid-packed. There wasn't a lot of extra room for things like legs, or feet, or other trivial space wasters like that. We were to "take only what we needed to survive!" We went back to the hotel & tried out their in-house TGIF. It blew. Not happy with the service. I've never had good luck there, so maybe it's just me. We went back to the room & tried to figure out what some of the cheap crap they gave us was supposed to be used for. I said a hat, Cari said a muzzle, and Sara said a serving dish. I say we're all winners.

Saturday we woke up bright & early & got another kick ass parking spot (the previous day we'd gotten literally front row spot) and jumped in line for one of the "Make 'N Takes". That was to be a trend for the rest of the day. Out of the around 8 hours we were there approx 6 of those were spent waiting in lines. We made a lot of cool shit though & I got my picture with the Land Shark!!! Then we went to a different Archivers (The scrapbooking store that was hosting it). On the way one of the freeways we needed was closed & I successfully navigated us back to the next one we needed. We had an amazing time at that Archivers (except for when Laura was sick). Our hostess, Callie, was awesome, the food was pretty good, the host company, Deja Views, was great (& gave us some free stuff, except I didn't get one of their cool t-shirts). I was really please with the whole event & I won a really cool scrapbooker carry-on. Cari had the best night though. She got a lot done in her scrapbook & she won the grand prize!! She won a scrapbooking case worth about $250 and it was HUGE!!!!! We had quite the time trying to fit it into the car, but it was sooo worth it! We drove back fit to be tied & with a feeling of satisfaction.

Sunday was another big day. We woke up at the butt-crack of dawn & got going back home. We saw a plethora of wild life feeding on the side of the road. We also stopped at a favorite place of ours, The Norske Nook. It's one of the best pie places in the state & we had great food there (and of course, delicious pie!). Sara said that her apple pie was better than the one that Cari had, so I can't wait to taste-test it! I went back to Madison & Laura & I drove back to Milwaukee. I dropped her off & went by my sis-in-law's. That's where my "Not for the faint of heart" blog picks up.

9/14: Sis & Brother-in-law came home & lavished me with wonderful gifts for taking care of their kids & dying cat while they were gone. I got a really cool Hershey's mug (with complimentary chocolate, naturally) and I got a really cool crystal cow (the kids & I have a "moo" joke). Technically I was supposed to share the chocolate & mug with Akbar, but no pain, no gain! Jen was also lavished with gifts as she was WONDERFUL and AWESOME & I would have gone INSANE without her!

That's about as current as I want to get right now, but I'll be posting more in the future of course!

Lots of Love.

Peace

Hello dear fellow Table Folk!
I'm trying to get a little gathering together on Saturday @ 10am @ the Starbucks on Brady (& I believe Prospect?? It's the one across from Walgreens & right next to the Dog Haus). I hope to see lots of Table people there & I'm sorry for the lack of advanced notice...it's kind of a spur the moment thing!
Adam has also made me aware that that's the same day as the AIDS walk. He's going to be walking & of course anyone that wants to can join in on the walk around noon-or-so.
Thanks all & hope to see everyone there!
(Jeremy-Hunnie, I'm soo sorry again!!)
Take care & see you soon I hope!
Mary

I'm going to do a little more recapping & hopefully finish up through the start of school (now) so that I can regale you all with scrapbooking tales of this coming weekend.

My last recapping ended on 7/31, so this is all that I can remember since then.

8/6: Akbar & I joined his sister & family @ State Fair for fun times. We had very tasty food from some place thats name started with a "R" (anyone?) and then walked around & saw really cute animals. There are some pics on facebook of that. I got to pet a baby bunny a little & all was happy in my world. We went to the midway & I DIDN'T get ill this year (as opposed to last year when I let the "Come on Auntie!" pleas persuade me to get on every spinny ride they wanted & got stupid sick). We went on the Tilt-a-whirl 2x, or as the kids like to call it, the "Twirl-&-hurl". Akbar likes to call it the "vominator". I even went down the slide this year & it was fun! I'd never done that before. I also had 2 different kinds of cream puff this year; strawberry & chocolate. They were both great & my mouth is currently salivating just thinking of them.

8/12: We had Akbar's lovely cousin, Erika's graduation party. She & her boyfriend, Santo had just graduated HS & are going to college presently. They had a kickin party & we had a super nice time....of course it was made even better by all the cute little people that were running about (including her little sister & brother whom I also adore!). That night (unless I have my dates wrong & someone please feel free to correct me!!) we went over by our friend Josh's place to hang out with Dave & Jennifer too. We met up with Terice & her delightful man @ Von Trier's later & good times were had by all (I invented good times!)

8/13: Another busy day, but also hella fun. Akbar & I went to support Cari & Celtic Keep @ State Fair and they were rockin! We had a great time! Akbar was being very sassy that day though. I was signing naturally with my hands without even knowing it & he said, "We (he & Cari's Mom) don't understand Sign! Stop doing that!" I looked at him & said, "Understand THIS," and I made the "Fuck you" sign in Sign Language. I turned my attention back to Celtic Keep, but the guy in front of me got my attention & I read on the napkin he had wrote on, "Did you just say, 'F.U.'?" I signed back "Yes" and that Akbar was "my husband & he had needed that". We had a really nice conversation from there & his name is Garrett & he lives in NY. I really enjoyed my conversation with him & enjoyed the Celtic Keep performance. After that, I dropped Akbar off & went to Heido's bridal shower. It was tons of fun & I really had a good time. I even won a picture frame & a candle, so I made out like a bandit on the bingo game we were playing. I loved seeing Lisa & Heido & a few old friends from HS (Becky Redmond & Marie "Friedli" now).

8/19: I think this might have been the day that Akbar, Terice & Jim, & I went to go see Fish play with "Big O & the Shakers". If it wasn't this day, either way I like writing about it because it was super fun. Fish is one of the most talented (if not THE) guitar players I've ever known. He & Big O & the Shakers rocked the house @ Caroline's. He's playing there again on Oct. 7th & I highly recommend anyone & everyone check it out!

8/20: IRISH FEST!!! Akbar & I went to go see Cari & Celtic Keep perform @ Irish Fest & celebrate her birthday. Of course Marissa & Megan were there too (we're her Celtic Keep Irish Fest followers!). We had such a fun time (as always!) and I was decked out in green & gold (supporting the Packers & Irish Fest at once...I know, I'm good!). I had a great time hanging out with Cari & her family & Marissa & Megan are always good times! That was also when I presented Cari with her birthday present, which was a scrapbook comprised of pictures of our 10 years of friendship that I'd been working tirelessly on for around a year. I thought that that was one of Celtic Keep's best performances & Akbar agreed. I got to see Magellan, Jenny, Heido, RACHEL #1!!, Cameron, and a lot of other people that I haven't seen in a while. I can't wait for next year!!

For right now I'm going to stop, but I only have a 3 more days left. Yay! The end is near!

Love ya'll & peace!

I got a kick out of this.
See ya'll in the coming weeks!

You Are Wonder Woman

A true goddess, you have the strength and skills to rule the world. You're one sexy amazon... all of the superhero guys are fighting over you!

Your Aura is Blue

Spiritual and calm, you tend to live a quiet but enriching life. You are very giving of yourself. And it's hard for you to let go of relationships. The purpose of your life: showing love to other people Famous blues include: Angelina Jolie, the Dali Lama, Oprah Careers for you to try: Psychic, Peace Corps Volunteer, Counselor

I am sitting back & enjoying a very good feeling right now. I decided to puruse my music selection & I found a Dave Mathew's cd & decided to put it in. I heard the song "Crash" and I immediately had a rush of emotions come over me. It's a wonderful & beautiful thing. I love those times & just letting myself getting momentarily enveloped in a sense of familiarity.
It reminds me of my first serious boyfriend & the butterflies & innocense that was 16 for me.
It reminds me of driving around with my best friend Cari & thinking we were invincible.
It reminds me of freshmen year with Mikey & Adam. I learned a lot about music through them & really got a better appreciation of Dave Mathew's mellow & sensuous style.

It reminds me of meeting Theresa in the Spring of freshmen year. It reminds me of walking from our class together in the early spring before everything had started to bloom & us chatting away like we'd known each other forever.
It reminds me of walking around UWM and having this song playing in my head & feeling like I belonged there...even when I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I felt like I belonged there in that "big" place.
It reminds me of the first time I fell in love & thinking I knew what 'love' was.

It reminds me of the drive down to see Dave graduating from his army training & bursting into tears at the sight of my brother because I'd missed him & hadn't seen him in 3 months.

It reminds me of scrapbooking with Laura & Cari. This song had come on when we were in Archivers & we all said that we liked this song & smiled.

It reminds me of Akbar & I dancing to this song at the first wedding we went to and realizing that I knew nothing about the magnitude of the word 'love'. All I knew is that I wanted to explore its definition with that man.

It's amazing how truly blessed I feel.
Lucky to have had these experiences.
Lucky to have had these memories.

I think that means I owe Dave Mathews a coke.
Peace.

Now, it should be known that I'm not the most 'tech-savy' person in the world, despite the fact that I married a closet nerd (I say that lovingly as he definitely comes in handy with his techy knowledge). I don't play many video games that were created post 1990-ish. Guitar Hero is nearly the only one & has completely taken over my world. After mastering level medium, I've just made it to "Pro" status on the HARD level. This is rather big for me as I have next-to-no video game playing skillz. I'm very much so inept in that dept. So, being able to SCHOOL Akbar is something of life's little pleasures for me!
I'm done now & should say that I'm greatly looking forward to this weekend as it holds many fun things in store.
Saturday we're going to an Uncle's b-day party and then watching the Lounge Lizards play at a jazz bar (I HIGHLY recommend everyone check it out!! They're one of my myspace top friends!).
Sunday we're going to State Fair with our nieces & nephews (who really are the center of my world right now).
Peace!

That's right, I said it...If I had nuts, they'd be gone because I'd have sweated them off today. Akbar & I went to go help a friend of his move in & the friend said that he had "movers" doing most of the work & we'd be sitting around. Well, there were movers, but they were officially the laziest sons-of-bitches I've ever seen. They showed up drunk & actually finished off their beers in front of us, smoked cigarettes WHILE MOVING our friend's stuff & took a break to drink some more later. Highly pissed. They took some of the furniture up the THREE FUCKING FLIGHTS OF STAIRS, but we had to take everything else up. And...his Dad tipped them...what the hell???? He should have given all of the money he tipped them to my husband, who was the one carrying all the really heavy boxes up the stairs. I've never sweat so much in my life & I'm so glad to have showered. Oh, and of course there was no air conditioning. Grrr.....
I had a really nice weekend though. Helped best friend Cari move on Friday & then dropped Akbar off for fishing with my Dad. Went out to George Webbs with Jeremy & had a delightful time talking & showing wedding pics. Delicious rootbeer floats & vanilla shakes were had by all. :o)
Saturday we had a nice time by his brother's with the kids & having fun family time.
Today was nice until the whole sweating my imaginary balls off. Although, it was terribly nice to get to know our friend's girlfriend a little better. Didn't know what to think of her at first, but over the last year we've really gotten a chance to talk more & my opinion of her has significantly raised.
Well, I hope everyone had a fun weekend; Go Brewers!!
Peace

Hello folks! I have the pics from Wed. posted in case anyone hadn't seen them yet on facebook. Hope everyone is doing well!
I'm meeting J-Fizz possibly & hopefully tonight! We're probably going for coffee or something.
I was very glad to see everybody that came on Wed & hope to see everyone again soon!
Peace!

Ok....It's finally here. The long awaited (ok, let me flatter myself) blog about the wedding.
That Saturday was the most surreal experience of my life thus far. I really only remember bits & chunks of it.
I woke up @ 5am after a surprisingly very restful 7 hours of sleep. I forgot to decorate the program-baskets. Got out the glue-gun & the ribbon & put those together. My Mom was good enough to bring juice & donuts to the hairdresser's house so that the girls that got there @ 5am could eat & be nourished for the day.
I finished the baskets, showered & took care of other things & run to the bank & made it to the hairdresser's house by 8am.
Nearly all the girls were done with hair by that point. I was the calmest among the lot of them, including the hairdresser (who is a dear family friend & I love her to death!). I had my coffee in hand & I was "as cool as a cucumber". All of my ladies looked lovely & then they all got their make up done by my Mary Kay lady (also a very dear friend, Angie Samman, who I love very much too). My hair got done beautifully by my hairdresser's crafty & skilled hands & I have some pretty scary/ entertaining pictures of the process that I'm going to eventually post & so will my ladies on facebook (one of the pics is being affectionately referred to as "Ghost lips").
The fucking Bridal Bitches screwed up my veil & gave me a defective one. Fortunately, my hairdresser is a miracle worker & she cut it from the defective part & used over 40 bobby-pins to attach that sucker to my head. Again, I was the calmest person in the room, due mostly in part to the fact that I was very used to their screw ups & was just happy the veil itself wasn't made of defective materials.
Drove to the church with Laura & Cari followed with all my gals.
FOR THE RECORD!!! I was the 1st one at the church. Now, this might seem like a meaningless detail, HOWEVER, I am perpetually late & this is nothing less than a miracle. My own brother, father, future-husband, amongst other people that know me well were all betting how late I'd be.
When I arrived at the church, I stood in front of it & shouted, "I'M THE FIRST ONE HERE!!! HA HA, BITCHES!!!!" Now, perhaps that wasn't the best thing to be doing in front of the church on my wedding day, but it felt really good.
Before the wedding was a blur of people coming in & out of the room that I was changing in & me hyperventilating starting @ about 30 min before the wedding. I wasn't in danger, but I started freaking out. Not about Akbar, just in general...I WAS GOING TO BE MARRIED...MY NAME WAS GOING TO CHANGE...I WASN'T GOING TO BE A GERASCH ANYMORE....OOOOOMMMMMGGGGG!!!!!!!!!
Stuff like that.
My friends were awesome though. Terice kept the men in line & did everything I needed. Lisa made sure all the flowers were taken care of. Akbar's sister made sure all the kids got into the right order along with our sister-in-law. Jill helped where-ever she was needed. Cari made sure no one came in so that I could actually get dressed & Laura was my rock and was right at my side the whole time.
All of a sudden "Ave Maria" started playing & they had to get ready to walk down the isle.
Then "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" and the cute flower girls & ring bearer were down the isle! Up till the last second before she had to walk down, Laura was telling me "This is what you've dreamed about" & "You look so lovely Sweetie!" and "I'm so happy for you & proud of you!" Having been best friends for the last nearly 20 years, she knew what I needed to hear.
Then the doors to the church closed & I was standing in front of them with my Dad at my side.
I was absolutely in a blur & saw our ushers & good friends, Josh & Pete. I took a deep breath & said, "Pete, I'm going to fucking kill you for that tie!" and then started laughing as my Dad scolded me. All the guys were supposed to wear black suits with black ties & his had polka-dots on it.
I knew I was ok then & the day was here.
They flung open the doors & for a split second all I could do was smile.
Then came the tears.
Aparently I had dignified tears happening, but I felt like they weren't very dignified. I was so happy that I couldn't contain myself, but at least I was smiling. I couldn't help but smile. It was the happiest moment of my life thus far. I barely remember seeing a few faces as I came down the isle. I know they were surrounding me, but I can't remember anything but the emotions.
Aparently Akbar leaned over to his best man as soon as the doors opened & said "And.....Niagara Falls!" What a butt.
The ceremony was great & my favorite thing was the fact that our priest, Father Alfredo, was HILARIOUS! He took great joy in breaking Akbar's balls throughout the ceremony. My favorite part was when he told the groomsmen, "You guys make sure to bend the knees so you don't pass out. I don't want to be doing the 'mouth-to-mouth'!" Then he looked at the bridesmaids & said, "You ladies are ok." OMG...love him! We call him 'Father Noodles'. He's a full-blooded Italian man actually from Italy. He has a thick head of curly, black hair & a matching thick, full mustache. He's pretty much a real life 'Father Guido Sarducci'.
I made it through the ceremony without breaking down & Akbar was seen shedding a tear or two by several witnesses, though he denies it!
I've never been more proud in my entire life. In that time, it didn't matter all the shit that the Blushing Bridal Bitches put me through, it didn't matter who wasn't there or what I'd forgotten, or what we'd spent; nothing mattered except I got to marry Akbar.
Finally & at last.
We walked out to "Joyful, Joyful" and we were truly joyful; in every sense of the word.
We got to shake hands & greet wonderful people.
We took a million 2 pictures in the church.
We went to 7 Bridges in Grant Park by the lake & got the most vividly beautiful pictures.
We went to the lakeshore & got some of the most beautiful pictures ever possible.
We went back to my parents' place to try & figure out the fucking bustly on the back of my dress, which took over 10 minutes!!
We got to the reception & the hilarity ensued with the DJ (who was the best & most wonderful man EVER! His name is Tommy Jewel & he owns Sound & Light DJ's & was EXCELLENT! I highly recommend him!!) and all got to sit down.
Akbar & I cut the cake & did a tasteful putting the cake into each other's mouth. Although, a crumb did fall into my cleavage & he was all too willing to dive after it. We do have photos of that....
We ate good food & tasty-most-wonderful-cake-ever.
We danced to a duet of Frank Sinatra & Bono singing, "I've Got You Under My Skin", which was wonderful.
I got to take pictures with wonderful family & fantastic friends.
I got to see & take pictures with fabulous Table people & everyone finally got to see & sort-of meet Akbar.
More tasty cake was had.
I danced with my Dad (he cried) & Akbar danced with my Mom.
Grand March happened at some point...I think...or that actually might have been when we orignially walked in...who knows, but everyone walked into the hall to "It's a Beautiful Day" by U2.
Akbar's friends, 3 members of The Lounge Lizards from Hell (Fish, Mick, & Kato), performed a live version of "Rooftop" which was actually inspired by Akbar's graduation party. They also played "Jonsie". I was in HEAVEN!!!
I danced & visited all night & didn't stop dancing till the very last song.
We went to my parents' house & got to our car & Akbar had to cut off all the cas before we took off because it was almost 4am by the time we left for the hotel. We tossed the cans into the back of the car.
Drove to a random hotel I knew of.
I pulled WAY over 60 bobby-pins out of my hair.
Everyone was wonderful
Everyone was beautiful.
Everything was great.
I had the perfect day.
I got to marry my Akbar.
I'm so freakin' lucky.
Peace!

Hello Fair Table Friends!
I would like to extend an invitation to all of you to come to the George Webbs that's on Brady Street at 8:00p.m. for general merriment and good times. I miss you all terribly & would really like to see you all. If 8:00 p.m. doesn't work for everyone, we can change the time around. Hope to see everyone there!!!
peace!

I did have a righteous, however short-lived time at summerfest with Aids, Casey, & J-Fizz. Though I could only make it for 2 hours, I applaud their efforts for withstanding whatever the weather brought!
Many congrats to you my strong willed friends!
Peace!

OK...hopefully I'll be able to bring it on home today!
So, Thursday Jill & I start out the day by going out to the nail & spa place that I go to. We picked up Laura on the way. We had a really nice morning & as soon as I find my cable for my camera I'll post pics of the fabulousness! I got a pedicure & had my nails "filled" on my hands & got a "full set" put on my toes (for protection against those who might step on my fabulously nail-polished toes). Laura got a manicure & Terice got one as well & her toes polished. Both their nails were gorgeous & Terice actually bought me a cute little friendship plate that was very adorable.
After we left there, we went to go pick up the programs & thankfullly they were great!
We went over to Pick 'N Save & got Bridget Jones Diary 2. It was sappy good times & we made the party favors while watching them. What we did for the party favors is we had picked up butter mints from pick 'n save & put them into the circular tooling & bound it with a little silver ribbon that I had gotten from JoAnn's. That was fun & we chatted & watched the movie & it was nice because it reminded me of when we used to do those types of things before Jill moved in HS. Akbar was quite the hinderance during this time though. He wanted to help, but he's not very tolerant of chick-flicks. He said, "I think I can feel my balls turn into ovaries". After that comment (amongst many more) he was thrown out of the room. He & my brother went for a swim in the pool. We finished the party favors & then Jill's husband Jesse arrived. They went to check into their hotel & then go out with a fabulous friend of ours, Laura.
I stayed around the house & picked up some things. Laura & I went out for Q-Doba & saw an old buddy of my brother's, Danny. We chatted with him & then Laura & I went over to Kohl's to look for jewelery that would match my Grandmother's necklace. We found the perfect match & Laura got me 2 of the bracelets as a gift & I love them!
I dropped her off after that & went to bed after writing out a few more cards to my bridesmaids & wedding party members.
Friday...day before the wedding....crazy day! Akbar, my Dad, my brother Dave, Jill, Jesse, & I went for the Sprecher Brewery tour & it was super bitchin!! We got to go thru their whole plant & try the honey that goes into their beer (now, I'm not a honey-facier, but that was like tasting the food of the gods. It was AMAZING!). At the end of the tour we got to try a bunch of different beers & sodas in my case. They let us mix stuff & it was really awesome. They had a type of beer that everyone said was the best they'd ever had. I still refrained. We picked up the 1/2 barrel of diet rootbeer for me & the kegs of beer for the rehearsal dinner, wedding, & "day after party".
We went back to my parent's place & took a quick nap & then I finished the cards for all the ladies in the wedding.
I finished in perfect timing & we had to be off to the wedding. Akbar's friends Kato & Jen (he was one of our groomsmen & Jen is his wife) drove with us.
The rehearsal started only about 10 minutes late. It was very nice tho. My nieces & nephews were in their typical cute form! Throughout the rehearsal, my niece "Lola" (one of the 2 yr olds) kept running over by me & hugging my leg & saying "Ahnty Mawy!" It was FREAKING ADORABLE!! All went well & we all got the general idea of the chaos to happen the following day.
We went back to my parents' house & started the rehearsal dinner festivities. That was a VERY fun evening. BEST DIET ROOTBEER EVER, by the way!! I ate like a queen & my sisters-in-law outdid themselves with all the tasty goodness that was dessert! Everyone raved about that & the pizza & chicken was delicious. Everyone just had a really nice time & I got to give out my gifts to my bridesmaids & attendant & flower girls & readers. Akbar gave out his groomsmen, ushers, ring bearer, etc. gifts too. We also gave something to my parents. We went to bed fairly early that night; at around 10:30 p.m. or so.
Wonderful Saturday!! I'll continue that at another time!! I was unsuccessful in my attempts to finish, but I'll make it only a 4-part-er...I swear!!!
Peace!

I have to wish a be-lated, but still very heart-felt "Happy Birthday" to J-Fizz as I love him dearly & I was a little busy that weekend...
Happy Birthday Honey!! :o)

So, I think I left off at Wednesday morning. Jill & I drove back to Milwaukee & stopped off by my Mom, who helped frustrate & calm me down at the same time.
Jill & I continued on our quests for the day & went out to Brookfield. We stopped into JoAnn's & Michael's for the party favor toole-circle things to put mints in (BTW, for the little dinner butter mints, JoAnn's is trying to charge $17.99 for a 3lb bag. REDICULOUS!!) We also got baskets & cute ribbon & a glue gun to make the program baskets.
Then we went over by my sister-in-law's. Jill got to visit & meet her & my cute nieces & nephew. Of course the little one jumped into my arms as soon as she saw me saying, "Auntie Mawy pway?" Heart-breakingly cute!
She and I hung around there for a while & then went to Mayfair & looked for other jewelery since I was going to borrow my Grandma's necklace from my late Grandfather for the wedding. We had a nice time shopping & talking. Jill had been in Costa Rica for the last 2 months & I hadn't actually seen her since her wedding 4 years ago. It was really nice to re-connect with her. We talked about everything & it was so nice to get back to that kind of friendship that reminded me why I asked her to be one of my bridesmaids.
After that we went to the dry-cleaners to pick up my dress & Akbar's suit. They're so nice there & if you ever need a place, call me for a referral because they did such an amazing job & I was very happy.
We then drove back to the south-side to pick up the necklace from my Grandmother.
After that we drove back home and dropped stuff off & hid my dress in my brother's room & threatened him NOT to touch it.
We went for some Q-Doba & then drove out by my friend Adam. Adam had "a procedure" the next day & couldn't attend the wedding, but he wanted to make sure we got his gift, which was very thoughtful of him. We visited a bit & I gave him a hug. I was glad Jill got to meet him too.
We went to get the programs printed @ Kinko's next & were going to pic up Laura, but the computer was broken @ kinkos & the guy who helped us was kind of a moron (replace "kind of" with "a huge"). It took us around an hour & a half when we should have been in&out in 15 minutes...tops! Finally, Jill & I figured out what the dude was doing wrong & fixed things & we got to leave, but it was too late to get Laura, so we just went back to my folks place. Akbar was there & Jill & Dave & Akbar & I stayed up talking for a bit before we all went to sleep.
That's it for now. More later!
Peace!

"That's what I'm here for Pumpkin Tits" -Randy Quaid from NOT ANOTHER TEEN MOVIE
Sorry, I just had to quote that as Akbar & I are watching that & that's one of my favorite quotes of any movie ever.
OK...So on to one of the biggest days of my entire life. I should probably start when the whole week started.
First, let me say NEVER GO TO THE BLUSHING BRIDAL SHOPPE!!! !!!!!! For anything...ever!!!!! Not even to LOOK! They've been such fucking liars and bullshitters. I've dubbed them the "Blushing Bridal Bitches". More on that later...
Tuesday Akbar & I picked up one of my bridesmaids that had flown into O'Hare from Costa Rica (she was there for a medical school project). It was great to see her again as the last time I saw her was her wedding 4 years ago. It was great because she finally met Akbar & I had missed her more than I realized. We had a lot of fun & took her to our favorite pizza place in Chicago. After that we went home & I made up the programs & schedule for Friday, Saturday, & Sunday. Wednesday Jill & I drove up to WI and I still hadn't received my headpiece or shoes for the wedding, so naturally I was concerned. I called the blushing bridal bitches & they said they wouldn't be there till Thursday when they had promised me it would be there the week before. I talked to the owner & she had the audacity to lecture me & implied it was all my fault. I told her that she ran a shady business & I'd be reporting her to the Better Business Bureau (which I did).
I have to go help Akbar build some shelves, so I'll continue more about things later.
Peace!