Wedding Shower!

My wedding party threw me a loverly bridal shower last Sunday so I simply must update you all on it! Even though you were probably already there. Or I've already told you about it. But whatever. :o) Fridays are definitely the worst days for me time-wise at work so I'm totally going to cheat and copy-and-paste an e-mail I sent to my sister, Michelle, about the shower. I'm sorry to be so tacky but it's either this or no post at all! Suck it up, people.

Okay, here we go:

"The shower was really great. I must admit I was a wee bit nauseous going into it because I just do NOT like being the center of attention. And events where different groups of people in your life have to mingle always stress me out. Never goes well. But on the flip side, I probably would have felt a little gypped had I not had a shower-y shower so I think, all things considered, everything went quite well. [My sister,] Melanie, of course, had everything decorated for the occasion - she had a big wall sign made for me, teal streamers and lanterns everywhere, flowers, photos (even my original birth announcement!), diamond ring napkin rings, little candy engagement rings and star confetti sprinkled everywhere. But nothing super over-the-top; it all looked very nice. Nora and Maria came early to help decorate and they also chipped in and made a lot of the food [imagine boring rundown of the specific kinds of food offered here].

All my aunts came, as well as Robert's mom and aunt, Cindy, Emily and my friend Gladys from work. There was little-to-no mingling, as was to be expected, and I actually spent most of my time visiting with Nora and Cindy. I talked to everyone, of course, but I hadn't seen my girlfriends in a while and sort of wound up chatting with them most often. I very much hope no one was offended or felt ignored or excluded. I was so glad everyone made a point of coming! I hope everyone had a good time. Social interactions are almost the most stressful element of functions like these but I'd give the shower a solid 7 or 8 out of 10.

We played a few games and those actually went over pretty well, too, I think. (It wasn't really a game-y kind of crowd...) There was a quiz on 'how well do you know the bride?' (answer: not well apparently! Boo.) and it was fun because Mel got Robert's answers, too. My favorite Q&A was this: When asked to answer which section of the bookstore I head to first, I said "But I don't go to bookstores! I shop online!! And if I ever do have to buy something in a real store, I usually make Robert go for me. Or with me." And Robert's answer was "Hmm, this is a tough one because Lauren doesn't really like to shop in stores. She usually shops online. If she does need to buy something at the bookstore, she usually has me go for her." We are SO meant to be!!! :o) Then there was a little word game and a Hershey kisses hunt but that was all. Then it was on to presents and then dessert! I HATE opening presents in front of people but I survived. I got some very nice gifts and the cards were all really sweet, too. [Insert play-by-play of gift unwrapping here].

Oh! Cindy made the most gorgeous cupcakes - she baked red velvet cupcakes and decorated them with cream cheese frosting and chocolate butterflies that she made herself... freehand!!! They had blue and orange wings and they were so frickin' cute!!!! And, naturally, absolutely delicious. Everyone loved them."

How's that for a summary? Pretty okay, right? On to the photos!

Favors


Nora attempting to pin on my corsage...

Cindy and her fabulous cupcakes!

Emily, me, Cindy

You can't see it, but this is a shot of the diamond napkin ring

Me & Maria

Carmen & Rosemary

Ruby, Lill, my mom, Candi

Taking - and failing - the quiz...!

Maria did a fantastic job with the ribbon bouquet

And last but not least, the lovely hostess & me

Thanks again, ladies!!! You all did a terrific job! I had a great time. :o)

Body Swaps Revealed

I'm sorry my posts have been lacking of late... Work has just been C-R-A-Z-Y lately (I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate the start of summer quarter!!!) and I've just been swamped both at work and at home. I should have some wedding shower photos soon, though, so I promise to try and get the blog updated when I do. Until then, here are the answer's to Monday's puzzle:

1. The Hot Chick
2. 13 Going on 30
3. Freaky Friday
4. 17 Again
5. All of Me
6. Being John Malkovich
7. 18 Again
8. Big
9. Prelude to a Kiss
10. Skeleton Key

I should've known #7! The cigar totally should've tipped me off that it was George Burns - dang! Stupid work, distracting me from what's really important. Boo.

Movie Morsels 53 - Time Traveler's Wife

I absolutely LOVED The Time Traveler's Wife but it's definitely a book that people I talk to either love or hate. For me, it was one of those rare books I couldn't wait to read to see what happened next. And the book was indeed a bestseller which, of course, means a movie has been made. It's coming out this August and it stars Eric Bana (yum) and Rachel McAdams. I've heard that the movie is not so hot. It's been in the works for a while and was supposed to come out last year but was instead rewickered and is coming out in a month not known for great film debuts. This usually does not bode well. I don't care - my ass is seeing it! As is the rest of me. :o) And Robert.

The trailer came out a couple days ago - check it out:

Ayyyy! Puzzle 28: Body Switch Movies

I haven't done a puzzle for a while because, well, frankly I've just forgotten about them. But I stumbled across Ayyyy! this morning in my page history and caught a glimpse of this week's puzzle. And since it looks like one I can do, I thought I'd post it. :o) This week's puzzle is all about “Body Swap Movies” - you only have to ID the movie in question, not the actors in the image. As usual, answers will be posted on Wednesday and my guesses are in the comments.

Cisco Adler's Car

Ho. Ly. Crap. This is the hugest set of TruckNutz I've ever seen!


Now I know what to get you for Christmas... !

(Just a note: This isn't really Cisco Adler's car. I was making a joke about this. (Caution!!! Veeeery NSFW!))

Violated by the Wedding Dress Industry

Yesterday I had to make the trek to Cupertino after work to have my first fitting in my wedding dress. First of all, let me just say it reminded me how much I don't miss commuting! It took me an hour and 10 minutes to get from Hayward to Cupertino. Crapola! But the dictators over at Bay Area Bridal absolutely insisted that I make the appointment on a weekday, since weekends are so busy I would not be allotted the time and attention needed. What a crock. I went in on a Saturday a few weeks back to pick up my sister's bridesmaid dress and there was no one there! And my other sister went in two weekends ago to get her dress and same deal. But the woman on the phone simply refused to make me a weekend appointment. So Wednesday it was.

Now, I expected the alterations to cost a fair amount. We who cannot sew are a captive audience and I understand this. And every vendor in the wedding industry will rip you off simply because they can. I understand this as well. But the total charge for my alterations came out to $285!!!!! Holy bejesus!!!! Are they sewing my dress back together with gold thread or WHAT?! They are charging me $150 for the hem alone! I realize I'm short but it's not like they're reinventing the wheel here! Lop off some fabric and fold it under! How is that worth $150?!!!! Were I the kind of person that stands up for myself in such situations I would've stormed out with my dress in tow and gotten an estimate elsewhere. As it was I just sat there and said "Okay!" and handed over my credit card. Ridiculous. The alterations will cost almost half as much as the dress itself! My brain is melting. I should've taken Robert's original advice and bought something from J. Crew...

Robert Story #146

One of my favorite Robert stories occurred several years ago while we were shopping at Target. The Target store here in Fremont has automatic doors and, as you would assume, this is the store at which we usually shop. One day, however, Robert and I were shopping at a different location (I can't really remember which one) and Robert was pushing the cart. He pushed it all the way up to the door and... nothing happened. So, he inched a little bit closer. Bupkus. He got right up to the door and still it refused to open! Why?! Well, because it wasn't an automatic door. Hello. I knew this, of course, but I so enjoyed watching Robert try to coax the door into opening by pushing the cart further and further toward the door. :o) And, of course, I tease him about it just about every time we go to Target. It makes me happy.

Fast forward to this morning. Robert toothpasted his Sonicare. Turned it on. Nothing happened. Oh, well, I take that back - it did make a 'bzzzzzz'ing noise. But the brush head didn't actually move. So, Robert turned it off... and tried it again. Still nothing. So he pushed the brush head into his teeth because, in his mind, THAT was clearly going to make the head start vibrating like it was supposed to. Surprisingly enough it didn't. Then Robert says to me "Dang. I dropped it yesterday." But did you push it into your teeth yesterday? 'Cause that might've fixed it. Maybe you waited too long. Maybe your gigantochompers have magical powers in the evening that they just don't have in the morning.

Colbert Report: Headin' to the Gulf!

As Robert knows (because he's heard me sing the song for many weeks now) I lurv the theme song to Stephen Colbert's segment 'Where in the World and When in Time is Stephen Colbert Going to Be in the Persian Gulf?' It's so darn catchy! Seriously. Check it out:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Where and When Is Stephen Going to the Persian Gulf? - Saudi Arabia
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Keyboard Cat

(The best part about posting this on the blog? Now I can hear the song whenever I want! Forever!!! I just wish I could make it a ring tone...)

Well, it was revealed last night that Stephen will be going to Iraq and broadcasting from Baghdad all next week. The New York Times has the extended AP story:

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stephen Colbert will broadcast four shows next week from Baghdad, where he says he'll be ''Bob Hoping'' it for the troops.

Colbert arrived at the former Al Faw Palace at Camp Victory on Friday. For weeks, he's promoted the trip on Comedy Central's ''The Colbert Report,'' but because the military urged caution, he has only trumpeted a vague trip to ''the Persian Gulf.''

The series of shows, each to be taped in front of an audience of about 450 troops, have been dubbed ''Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando.'' It's the first time anyone has broadcast from Iraq for a USO tour.

Though Colbert has often infused his mock pundit character into real events -- the 2008 election, the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association dinner -- his Iraq trip isn't a parody.

Both the character Colbert (silent ''t'') and the real Colbert (pronounced ''t''), a Catholic family man, are ardent supporters of the troops. He has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Yellow Ribbon Fund (a charity that assists injured service members and their families), and he's a board member of DonorsChoose.org, which benefits the schools of military kids.

''Sometimes my character and I agree,'' Colbert said in an interview at his Manhattan office before leaving for Baghdad. ''My character and I both know the Apostles' Creed and my character and I both think it's a shame that we're not talking about the troops anymore.''

The trip came about when former Assistant Secretary of Defense Bing West suggested it after an interview last July on ''The Colbert Report.''

''He gave me this big ol' manly handshake and said, `If Gen. Petraeus invited you to do your show from Iraq, would you do it?''' recalled Colbert. ''And I thought, `Oh, an improviser would say yes without thinking.'''

Colbert was in the midst of the hectic presidential campaign coverage, but once the election passed, he checked back on the invitation -- this time with Gen. Raymond Odierno, the current commander of the forces in Iraq.

After months of planning, ''The Colbert Report'' is sending about 30 production staff (a third of the show's regular staff) to Iraq. The production restraints are steep, but Colbert is planning to do four shows, which will air Monday through Thursday next week at 11:30 p.m. EDT.

Colbert prepared for the trip by visiting Fort Jackson, S.C., for a very abbreviated basic training. He also drew on help from Tom Hanks to gather care packages for the troops. Guests on the shows will include Odierno and Barham Saleh, the deputy prime minister of Iraq.

Does he expect a tough crowd?

''I don't know,'' said Colbert. ''It's got both things going for it. One is, they're hungry for entertainment. But also, they have a whole vocabulary of existence that I haven't experienced yet.''

The shows' theme will be the declining attention paid to the war in Iraq. Colbert says he was spurred to make the trip when he noticed economic news coverage eclipsing reports from Baghdad.

Colbert said he feels a ''special guilt'' and responsibility to keep the soldiers' story alive because of the political nature of his program. The comedian is also guest editing next week's issue of Newsweek magazine. (A mock-up sits on his desk with the question ''Remember Iraq?'' splashed across the cover.)

''I don't want to forget that people are struggling through the things that I sometimes make jokes about,'' he said.

The 45-year-old comedian says he's not afraid of the danger of visiting Iraq (''I'm not a high value target''). Instead, he said he's only nervous about doing a good show for the troops.

''The show is always about me, it's always about the character,'' said Colbert. ''What's different about this is, it's really about them. If they laugh, I'll be completely satisfied.''

Should be awesome! But it makes me sad... Now that Stephen has revealed where in the world and when in time he's going to be in the Persian Gulf, there will be no more WITWAWITISCGTBITPG segments. BOO!!!! :o( That really stinks.

007 Popsicle

Hee! I just found this on EW.com and I think it's fantastic:

In honor of National Ice Cream Week in the UK, Del Monte Superfruit Smoothies has sculpted a limited edition popsicle in the shape of Daniel Craig's nude torso. The frozen treat -- said to come in blueberry, pomegranate, and cranberry flavors and be under 100 calories each -- is the result of a poll of more than 1,000 women, the majority of whom wanted the image of Craig, emerging from the water in Casino Royale, immortalized.

Yummers! And I mean that in ALL senses of the word. :o) A pomegranate-flavored replica of Daniel Craig's chiseled bod in my very own hands?!! Delectable! Delicious! A fabulous idea! (I'd probably be too embarrassed to eat such a confection anywhere outside the privacy of my own home but still... ) Stupid America. We never have any fun ice cream treats.

P.S. For a, ahem, naughtier take on the 007 'sicle, click here.

Movie Morsels 52 - Public Enemies

A new 'trailer' for Public Enemies debuted during the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday so, of course, I must fulfill my Hot Men oath and pass it along. Great googlymoogly - Johnny Depp looks FOIN in this movie!!! Ha cha cha!