busygirl

wordless wednesday: my bestest.

Had an email this morning from my best friend who lives in Cleveland.  I can't tell you how excited I am to be back near her.  She rocks so I thought I'd tribute today's (not so) wordless wednesday to her. 

Cause let's be honest, between packing and selling the house, I have NO time to even think about picking up my camera.  Get ready for some awesome repeats over the next month.

monday woes.

I'm starting to freak out.  As in, the reality of everything going on in our lives at this moment is setting in.

We have to sell the house.

We have to move.

We have to plan a wedding.

I have to start a new job in TWO weeks.

And worst of all, I have to say goodbye to my current job within two weeks.

Sigh.

It's harder than I thought.  I told some of the higher-ups last week and the reactions were hard to deal with.  Comforting to the fact that they would miss me and it's not like they were at all happy to see me leave.  But sad to the fact that I left each meeting feeling like I was disappointing them.  And I was. 
I wasn't supposed to be leaving this job so soon.  This is a company where people put up roots and just stay forever and ever.  But I'm one of those.  That just packs up and moves on.

It's hard.

I'm just hoping the next couple weeks speed up because this part of getting a new job is the PITS.  The phrase 'this is the last time I will ______' keeps going through my head with each report, each project.

Sigh.  It's just work, why is this so hard?  I just need this chapter to close and the next to open.  And soon.

just playin' some halo.

 

it's official!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The long awaited moment has arrived.  Oh yes, the one that everyone has hoped for.

I'd love to tell you that months and months of planning led up to this, but to tell you the truth, we're just plain lucky.  It all fell into our laps and we're super excited to share the news.

You ready for this?

We're coming home.

To CLEVELAND.

And I couldn't be happier.

What?  How did this happen?  You need details?  I'll give you details.

It all started when a little birdie (one of our groomsmen no less) whispered that there might be a position opening up at his place of employment that may or may not be the exact same position I have now but WAY cooler and conveniently located near Adam's place of employment and everyone we love and hold dearly.  A resume submission, a couple phone interviews, a real looooong inperson interview and much nail biting later...I got it.  I GOT THE JOB. I still cannot believe it.

We're going.  We're really going.

I can't stop smiling.

I'm so ready to be back.  Where my family and friends are.  Where I can spoil my nephew like crazy.  Where the puppy can be spoiled like he should be.  Where Adam and I can live.  In the same city.  As in, coming home and seeing each other every day.  Not every few days like we do now.

Can't. Stop. Smiling.

To quote Adam, 'we're going to be like REAL married people now.'  (uh huh...)

We're also like REAL crazy people now.  Like those people who have to change jobs, sell their house, move and plan a wedding all in THREE months.  Red Bull's stock is going to go up on account of me the next few months.

So yeah, we're crazy.  Real crazy.  Crazy happy and I don't care if we don't get any sleep for the next 3 months.

Cause we're going home and that's all that matters.

cinderella needs her shoes.

I found THE shoes.

Although shoe finding doesn't seem momentous enough to blog about, I'm still going to.  I was finally able to try on my dress...but needed to find shoes before I could do so.  I scoured a lot of internet sites, cause let's face it, real shoe stores don't sell white satin shoes.  There's not a huge market for them unless you're flouncing down the aisle.  Not to mention they pretty much just collect dust after you've been hitched.

But, I finally found THESE shoes at David's Bridal.

They're not only super-comfortable, but I feel secure in them (as in, they won't fall off my feet).  And being a little on the clumsy side has the potential to provide some interesting entertainment on my  wedding day, particularly since I cannot see my feet when I walk.  So I was looking for a reasonable heel - again a feat because apparently all brides wear at least a 3" heel according to the meager selection available.  So this 2" heeled shoe was the perfect fit, not to mention cute, flirty, summery, just perfect for a July wedding!  Did I mention they are ONLY $49?  Talk about a budget no-brainer.

Pardon my ugly feet but here they are, my cinderella shoes:

And the BEST part?  After I wear them they can be dyed to whatever color I want.  White satin shoes have a second life after all!

try this: spinach lasagna

My favorite future sister-in-law is a vegetarian and since cooking meat can be time consuming, I've been trying more vegetarian dishes lately.  This one is actually an oldie but a goodie that is a hit on a cold winter night.  Not to mention the next day when everyone's grabbing leftovers out of the fridge.

Ingredients

3 cups shredded mozzarella

1 (15oz) container of ricotta cheese

1/4 cup of fresh parsley

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

5 cups of your favorite sauce (I usually use Prego Mushroom flavored for this recipe)

1 package of frozen spinach, thawed and drained

No-boil lasagna noodles

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 pan with Pam. 

In a small bowl combine ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, garlic, parsley, oregano, basil, black pepper and red pepper flakes.  Stir in spinach.

Spread 3/4 cup of sauce along the bottom of the pan.  Layer with three pieces of noodle, then a layer of sauce, topped with a layer of cheese/spinach mixture.  Keep repeating.

Cover with foil and bake for 50-60 minutes.  Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes until cheese on top is golden.  Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving so lasagna can set.

cinderella has competition.

Okay, I totally make fun of those girls.  The ones who cannot wear mascara, even the water-proof kind to their dress fittings because it's just so emotional.

But I got to try my wedding dress on for the first time on Saturday with my mom, sister and Wren providing emotional (laughing) support as I struggled to climb into the dress.  But it was MY dress.  In my size.  Note, that's about ten sizes smaller than the sample I flounced around in a few months ago.  And it was considerably whiter looking without the endless trail of colorful clips holding it together in the back.

But I love it!  After months of wondering what it would look like in my size, how it would fit, would I still be absolutely certain it is THE dress, it was such a rush of relief to know that if everything else falls apart that day, at least I'll look damn good dealing with things.

So I admit it, it was a bit emotional but I still stand my ground that those were tears of relief.  And laughter, because apparently when I take my dress off it retains its form.  No bride needed, the dress can stand on its own.

and then they threw in the tow rope.

I found myself heading out to the slopes for the last time this season on Friday since my little sister decided to splurge and get herself a new ride.  And by ride I mean snowboard.  Which came last Wednesday so there was no way she wasn't going to try it out before the snow melted for good.

So off we went to Brandywine with Adam and Chris, to face a mountain full of snow ice resembling snow.  Amy strapped on her new boots -  which I will admit, are cooler looking than mine.  Seriously, if Michael Jackson needed some moon boots for his moon walking, these would be it.  Minus the fact that you can't actually move any part of your foot in snowboarding boots.  Which explains why we all walk around looking like we have a major wedgie or something - and off we went.

We headed straight to the ski lift to the top of the...err, hill, to try out her new board.  The icy conditions weren't very accommodating, but we managed to snake down to the beginners hill while making a couple craters in the snow along the way.  There wasn't much we could do on the slopes, so we figured we'd head down to the smaller less-crowded slopes to work on some moves.  I was doing pretty well.  Until we got to the bottom of the hill.

And realized we had to go back to the top.

You see, the beginners hill doesn't have a ski lift.  No no, it doesn't even have a ski carpet.

It has a TOW ROPE.  Which basically consists of a steel string with handles attached, churning up the hill at about 5 mph. 

So here I am, standing at the bottom.  Just waiting for a little handle to come along.  Of course I've never been on one of these before so I just grabbed it with my hands and this little piece of plastic drags me up the hill.  None of the eight-year-olds surrounding me thought to let me know that you're supposed to put the handle behind your back and let it push you up the hill.  Sigh...so I'm attempting to hand onto this plastic for dear life while balancing on my board which is running into tiny mountains of ice and flailing everywhere instead of following a neat little path.  One thing led to another and I was suddenly on my butt in the snow, tangled up in the line and trying to stand back up on ice.

Fun fact: tow ropes don't stop.  The people keep coming.

I ended up knocking over my brother who in turn pretty much side-tackles one of those pesky eight-year-olds.  It was a domino effect which resulted in about six of us piled in a heap at the bottom of the hill.

Let's just say I had to take some tips from the snotty eight-year-old next time up.  Although I swear the lift attendant was snickering as I went for my second attempt.

I think I'll retire from the tow lift till next season.  Sorry snowboard, I love ya, but I'm ready for spring.

thought.

One should not go snowboarding the night before a wedding dress fitting appointment.  I am pretty sure my bruised 'behind' is not going to fit in this dress today.

sunbathing beauty.

This dog will sleep ANYWHERE.

Sigh...always sacrificing comfort for a good suntan.