I love twitter. I do. I find it highly entertaining. It is the major source of most of my news whether it is a major global event or a major celebrity break up and every time I need to find information it is where I go. That being said, I have noticed that people can be really mean to celebrities on twitter to a point where it can become comical. When I found this video of "Celebrities Read Mean Tweets" on Jimmy Kimmel it had me dying laughing because the thought of these things a) being read aloud and b) being read aloud by the actual celebrity is not only so incredibly simple but it is so incredibly funny.
It's a true lesson for me in not taking myself or criticism about me too seriously. Without further adieu I give you this amazing YouTube video:
Apparently this is a routine sketch on Jimmy Kimmel. News to me. I now need to go watch all of them.
Have you ever seen these before?
Did Mindy Kaling make you die laughing…I am kind of obsessed and want to be her BFF.
Since I am heading to see the three lovelies this weekend I figured it is only fitting that I recap our mid-May adventure in...wait for it…The Woodlands. There are few people in life that you will ever be like let's all go hang out in The Woodlands (and be ridiculously excited about it) but these are them.
We planned a quick weekend trip to celebrate Hayley's 30th birthday. After surviving major traffic from all directions, we finally arrived feeling very not-refreshed. We were in need of a day drink and we figured Tommy Bahama at Market Street was the perfect place to pretend we were somewhere tropical with a delicious drink in our hand. Problem solved.
We had plans to go to the pool, plans to lay out but somehow managed to spend all afternoon catching up at our "hotel" for the weekend and later headed straight back to Market Street for dinner and after dinner wine at Cru. We seriously did nothing but eat and drink at Market Street the entire weekend. I've gotta hand it to Market Street- way to provide a great weekend getaway for us.
The next day was Sunday so Anne left us and Hayley and I had "birthday eve" drinks since Hayley's birthday was Monday…and since kicking off Hayley's birthday involved a 5am airport drop-off, I didn't think pictures were a necessity that morning.
Happy 30th Hayley!
Every time we are together it is like we haven't missed a beat….still the same people just a little older…a few less boy problems, a few more real world problems but the same nonstop talking problem. Counting down to our next reunion!
Here is where we stand on my list of outstanding stories for those of you who care/who are keeping track/or who are like me and just like crossing things off lists:
Easter
Washington DC with LC and JC (not the JC in the sky)
Culture Thursdays with S
My 30th Birthday weekend with Kristina in town
Friends and Fundraisers
Virginia weekend wedding vacation
Baby Shower-ing
Mother's Day Snippets
Chloe discovers a ladder
College besties reunion weekend
Las Vegas
This brings us to a lovely afternoon of ridiculousness entitled Chloe discovers a ladder.
About a month ago we had about 4 things that needed to be fixed by maintenance in our apartment…. Sidenote: We have realized that in lieu of a house anytime in our near future, we are going to focus on this little gem that is the beauty of an apartment- they fix things for you.
Now these various requests did not all accumulate on the same date. It was a process….
first one light when out in the kitchen…
then two, then four out of six, then we were practically in the dark making cereal (because that is all we cook in that kitchen)…
then the cosmetic holder piece of the blinds fell down (not the actual blinds)…
then the shower needed to be drained and was getting much worse...
then the fire alarm started chirping….you get the picture. Typically a fire alarm chirping will send the maintenance request over the edge for us. We spent one too many nights almost resorting to this:
This is not a joke. Gregg had to get out the step ladder and take the fire alarm off the ceiling in the middle of the night to hit the button to reset it, which in fact sets it off loudly as if there is an actual fire. This leads to mass midnight chaos- Chloe flying off the bed; Me sprinting out that we are going to wake up the entire building; And then after pressing it enough times it stops. And so this goes on all weekend since this also always happens on a weekend when maintenance is not working….
The real reason it takes longer to submit these is because maintenance requests are now a bigger ordeal because we have to stick Chloe in our bedroom all day, and I feel like she is traumatized and going to hate me when I return home. Gregg on the other hand could care less since Chloe spends all day in our bedroom anyways. Someday I am going to be the worst mother because of this..I am already very aware.
So Thursday afternoon after calling in this laundry list of requests, I came home on my lunch hour to see if maintenance was done and I could let Chloe out. What did I find instead of anything fixed? I found a ladder in the middle of my kitchen and no maintenance worker in sight. Okay. So I called the leasing office and they told me they were at lunch and probably just brought the ladder up to fix everything after lunch. Okay that makes loads of sense. So now I have a cat locked in the bedroom and a ladder in the middle of the kitchen.
What did I do? What any other normal cat mother would do….I opened the door, let Chloe out and she proceeded to have the adventure of a lifetime…and I proceeded to document it….
Checking out this new giant contraption in the kitchen.
Having a paint splattered ladder in my kitchen is the most DIY I've ever been in my life
Hello.
I am never moving. Or I am not moving until you walk over here and carry me back into the bedroom because maintenance is coming back after lunch. Then I guess I am going to have to move.
And that my friends is fondly remembered as the day Chloe discovered a ladder. This is also why my Mom rolls her eyes at me and tells me I need a kid.
I love a good reality TV show but I am choosy and because of this I have every right to say I am not addicted to reality TV. I happen to have my own personal criteria and conveniently, all housewives-related and bachelor themed shows meet it. I suppose if you look at those shows you can figure out for yourself the specifics of my criteria…and if not then that is probably another post for another day.
Most recently I have fallen in love with Ladies of London. I am obsessed. I love it. A lot. Next to the Bachelorette, it is the first show I watch next off the DVR. That my friends is saying a lot.
Recently on the show there has been a lot of controversy between American and British characters and the root cause is the personality types and characteristics of the Americans. I have found this intriguing but didn't think much of it because hello it is a reality show and I do not know how much of this is just making up differences to make up drama.
Americans are in fact more outgoing with strangers, more passionate with their emotions (whether in a good or bad way) and more/less exclusive to making friends. You have to read the article and watch the show to completely understand the connection...but let's just say the most recent fight between Juliet and Annabelle kind of makes sense in real life. Granted most Americans probably don't scream on the sidewalk at their friends during 4th of July parties in other countries ending with one of them running into traffic to get in her private car; however, it would also not cause an additional fight analyzing the behavior. The behavior and the fight would be lumped together eliminating the need for two separate apologies.
Read the article. Watch the show. Thank me later.
Now you can say you are culturally diverse the next time someone judges your taste in TV which happens to me everyday of my life.
After my nice Saturday spent hosting a baby shower for my expectant friend C2, Kristina and I headed home to San Antonio to celebrate Mother's Day. Allow me to explain the polar opposite worlds- this is like switching the radio station from Enya to Pitbull. It's amazing how many ridiculous moments can occur in pretty much less than 24 hours.
What kind of ridiculous moments might you ask?
Moment 1 a few hours after we got home: Dad convinces Kristina to help him change the air filter. Allow me to explain the process that is Dad and Kristina changing an air filter together:
Step 1: Kristina attempts to get the air filter cover back on thinking she knows everything. <Insert Dad and Kristina having heated exchanges at 10,000 feet on how the filter cover attaches>
Step 2: Dad starts yelling more and Kristina has to respond. Please note that yes she is that high off the ground. But she is legit going to break the filter and Dad is having none of it. We may be 30 and 27 but we are still afraid of our Dad.
Step 3: Dad wins. Dad climbs up. Dad puts filter back on. Kristina pouts.
Step 4: Still screaming at each other and now the ladder has to somehow get out of the house and to the garage.
Step 5: Trying to work together as a team. Kristina is doing her 'pout walk'
Moment 2 Sunday morning: I head to the grocery story Mother's Day morning to buy food to feed us for Mother's Day. I know, it sounds so special. I am now vaguely remembering Dad had a work trip and had to leave early Sunday morning. I walked into HEB and had the genius idea of getting mom a balloon. What I did not fully think through was how I was going to have to walk throughout the entire store dealing with this balloon that was sitting in the cart constantly smacking me in the face:
Moment 3 Sunday afternoon: I am already late getting out of town and walking in to say good-bye to Mom and Kristina after loading my car. I walk into my parents bathroom to discover a panicked Kristina and pink nail polish spilled all over the ground. I momentarily flashed back to a 4 year old Kristina and Big Red spilled on the living room floor. So yes I was behind schedule, yes I needed to get out the door but I could not violate the Golden Rule of sisterhood: Leave no sister behind.
So I got down on my hands and knees and I started scrubbing. And together we cleaned it up before Mom knew anything different.
It is for these and a number of other reasons that I am scared for any and all family get-togethers. This was only Mother's Day, what should arguably be the most zen holiday of the year. You seriously do not know what awaits you during a visit to "The land where time stands still."
We lived in Austin for two years. Going into it, I knew it would be a strange two years. I would be working. Gregg would be going to school. I honestly felt like we were in a constant state of transition. Oddly enough though, it was under those circumstances that I met some amazing lifelong friends. God is funny that way I guess.
Meeting M:
For starters my friend M and I met seriously walking in and out of the parking garage at work. We were both always running late. We both always carried our gym bags. And one day we just struck up a conversation while waiting for the light to change…..and I guess you could say the conversation never stopped. She had a darling baby girl in December and will one day be one of those "can you explain this pregnancy stuff to me in real life terms" friends.
M & Me
Meeting C1 and C2:
My other two friends, C1 and C2, I met through bible study. I was in my 2nd year of bible study and had kind of shelved the idea of making friends there, yet God again had other plans. I was put into the same small group as C1 (I am calling her that because technically I did meet her first). After the first few weeks, I quickly decided C1 was so cute (plus I always wanted her wardrobe) and I needed to strike up a conversation with her. One day I did. Then she introduced me to her other friend C2. After some very fun dinners, meeting C2's spouse, late nights out and other events, they both became very close friends in a very short amount of time.
Posing with C1( on left) and C2 (in the middle)
Where does a baby shower come into all this?
C2 is expecting twin girls and I was thrilled to be able to to help C1 throw her a baby shower. This was exciting on a number of levels but most of all, I haven't really helped throw a shower in awhile. After planning all of it via email, the big day came Saturday of Mother's Day weekend…I know, the timing was pretty cute.
I drove to Austin Friday night and drove straight to meet M for margaritas and mexican food. Because the shower was the next day, I had volunteered to bring ingredients for "make your own yogurt parfaits" and they were stressing me out. I had seen the idea on pinterest and that is typically my problem- I can find and come up with an idea…then the execution gives me anxiety. Since M is also my foodie/chef extraordinaire friend, I forced asked her to go late night grocery shopping with me after dinner for supplies.
She's kind of the best.
Saturday we hosted the shower at C1's apartment party room which quite honestly I could live in and be just fine in life. The best part though is we had taken all these ideas of decorations, activities, food, etc from Pinterest and the guests thought we were absolute geniuses. I loved it. Who doesn't love people thinking you are a genius? And who doesn't love compliments?
'Decorate your own Onesie station.' I made Kristina decorate a sample the night before that said "I am cuter than my sister"
Food set up courtesy of one of the hostesses that can cook…i.e. not me
My infamous yogurt parfait. I may not be able to cook but I am now the official 'Make your own yogurt parfait' bringer to all future showers.
Cutest and most delicious baby shower cake in the world.
This may not be a new idea to anyone else but it was to me: create little ribbons and small tags for people to label their mimosa glass. I've labeled cups before but never thought of how you do it with a glass. How many times do you set it down and not know which is yours?
The beautiful Mommy-to-Be!
I also realized every time I have visited Austin since I moved has also meant Kristina is attending a baby shower with me.
Shower hostesses with the Mom to Be
As you can see it was a really fun Friday/Saturday spent with my very wonderful and very special friends. I may not be able to be there all the time in person but it is sure fun to still be part of all the fun from afar!
Interesting topic- Have you ever thought of how people name twins if they are having the same gender? Wait until you meet them? Have names pre-decided based on who arrives 1st and 2nd? We talked about it at the shower and it was something that had never crossed my mind.
Speaking of names, I cannot wait to meet the twin baby girls coming in just a few weeks and find out their names too!
Gregg was in a wedding the first weekend in May for his friend R who seriously looks like his brother from another mother. Please note the resemblance even though there is zero relation:
So Friday morning we woke up at 4am to get on our 7:30am direct flight to Washington Dulles. The kicker is that my dear husband got home at 3am from work and went to bed approximately 3:15am. So as soon as we had some breakfast at the airport and were at a sitting point, this happened while we waited to board our plane…
We bought those sleep pillows that morning on sale at the airport and I must say they were worth every penny.
We arrived in DC and drove two hours to Charlottesville, Virginia where the wedding was being held. I love that on the East Coast you can drive two hours and be in another state and here I drive two hours and I am only in Austin.
I must say though the two hour trip was lovely because Gregg had been working crazily and it was like a mini date for us. When we got to Charlottesville we had lunch at Panera Bread and we saw a Pet Smart across the strip mall where I wanted to buy a souvenir for Chloe. Gregg said no. He told me that the same toy we could buy at a Pet Smart in Virginia which was the same toy we could buy at a Pet Smart in Houston did not count as a souvenir for Chloe. Fine. But I still disagree.
The wedding was not only beautiful with the location, the food amazing from beginning to end, but it was also a small world reunion central. The best man married one of my best friends from dance team in high school. One of the Matron of Honor's was another member of dance team in high school and coincidentally in the same sorority as the bride. One of my good friends from Student Senate was there as a guest. The list went on and on….it was a fun weekend full of flashbacks with old friends.
Rehearsal Dinnering in downtown Charlottesville with husband on the left. And former Apache Silver Dancers on the right.
The next day while the husbands and boyfriends did wedding things, the girls ventured out to lunch and wandering around the quaint little town center.
Wish we had longer to explore this place!
It's kind of fun when you are the one not in the wedding because you can go do touristy things with other new non-wedding friends.
Gregg walking down the side aisle. I seriously for a half second thought the groom was Gregg. When Gregg walked down the girl next to me goes, that one is Gregg, he is your husband. Ridiculous.
The wedding was held at an outdoor vineyard and it was a horrible view as you can see.
Instead of a grooms cake you could go to the donut trailer and get a bag of warm sugary donuts. It had been a long time since I had a donut and that splurge was totally worth it. I still dream of those donuts.
Like I said we had a bit of a dance team reunion that evening too. Once a Silver Dancer, always a Silver Dancer.
And I reunited with one of my favorite Student Senate pals. Did you know I was a Student Senator? More importantly if you didn't, are you surprised???
Then came Sunday and our flight that departed at 12:30pm. I had been talking to LC about the fact that I was going to be in the same state as her for the weekend but not seeing her. We brainstormed all types of plans to see each other- some involved massive detours to DC, others involved using helicopters- in the end we decided LC and JC would meet us at the rental car place, we would all go for breakfast early and then they would drop us off at the airport.
The bottom line is we cannot be in the same state and not see each other. It is not humanly possible. This ranks up there with the infamous December 26 drive by in Dallas to drop off LC's shampoo and conditioner she had left during her visit here. Yes, we are that crazy and I love her that much.
Gregg and I decided to have a mini date on the plane since we knew he'd be returning to work quickly after we arrived back home. His schedule may be crazy but it has taught me to enjoy the small moments we have together and appreciate them when they are happening. I know so cheesy but just go with it.
Yes we are looking rough. This is the sign of a TOP wedding weekend.
Large bottled water for me (a running joke/issue between Gregg and me) . Wedding snacks. Goldfish. And Johnny Manziel. The gang's all here.
It was a fun weekend and it made me miss college. It made me appreciative of the time I got to spend with Gregg. It also made me realize how wise Disney was when he said "it's a small world after all."
