Work time distractions

www.freerice.com

http://www.flashbynight.com/test/

10 Steps to Becoming a Better...

I found this article about 10 Steps to Becoming a Better Wife on MSN and I was immediately annoyed but then I saw the link that directed you to the Husband version and I was back to normal. I was worried that these 10 steps would annoy but they seem kind of basic. For the complete articles click on the following links: "Wife"; "Husband".

The basic steps are:
Wife should...
1) Take care of yourself
2) Say thank you, often
3) Keep the romance alive
4) Let him have "guy time"
5) Make your husband a priority
6) Don't try to change him
7) Don’t make him guess—tell him what you want [I need to work on this one.]
8) Cultivate friends and interests outside your marriage
9) Let free time be free
10) Believe in your husband, and let him know it

Husband should...
1) Take an interest in something your wife is really passionate about
2) Put the kids to bed [Doesn't apply]
3) Learn to apologize
4) Thank her for putting up with you
5) Clean up after yourself
6) Make time for just the two of you
7) Groom yourself
8) Get away from the family
9) Deal with your side of the family
10) Don't lose your dating manners

What I am Reading Now

We are looking at Maui and Kauai right now with a stop at Pearl Harbor and Volcano Park.

Honeymoon confirmed! I think.

I was giving the green light to buy a travel book on Hawaii for our honeymoon so I think the honeymoon is all set. Well, at least the destination is set.

Interesting way to fly...

This is not for B and me, but maybe it is something you want to do.

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN2955964420080130?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews&rpc=69

Love Languages

I have read about The 5 Love Languages on several Web sites and blog but recently found a link to a quiz that allows you to figure out your primary and secondary Love Languages (click here to take it).

We both scored high on Quality Time which is good because if one was not into Quality Time, it would be difficult. But our secondary languages diverged and I was not actually surprised by them. My secondary language is Acts of Service and seeing this actually made me chuckle since this is a major problem with me. When it comes to how we disagree on this subject - the quotes below from 2006's The Break-Up pretty much sum it up:

“I want you to want to wash the dishes.”- Brooke (Jennifer Aniston)
“Why would I want to wash the dishes?”- Gary (Vince Vaughn)

I have said this to him several times after I ask for help and he hasn't done what I asked (or doesn't do it on my time schedule but in my defense, I do give him more time and still nothing).

Bed Bath and Beyond Class Action Suit

I got an email from Bed Bath and Beyond (I think the email came from the Beyond section). I guess they misstated some thread counts on multi-ply bedding products over the past seven years. So if you bought any of these products and have proof of purchase, you can get some ol' green backs back. Visit this site for the form and the specific items that are involved: www.BBBThreadCountSettlement.com

Legal mumbo jumbo/info pulled from email: A lawsuit is pending in the Federal District Court for the District of New Jersey that may affect your rights. This lawsuit alleges that Bed Bath & Beyond, as well as Synergy, Inc., misrepresented the thread count in its two-ply bedding products sold in stores and on its website by stating the number of threads in the warp and filling directions in one square inch of fabric, rather than the number of yarns. Bed Bath & Beyond and Synergy deny any wrongdoing and believe the signage, labeling and product samples available to their customers at the time of purchase provided their customers with complete and accurate information. The parties have reached a proposed settlement of the lawsuit. The settlement and this Notice have been preliminarily approved by the Court. The purpose of this Notice is to explain the settlement and advise you of your legal rights

Celebrity Guests

I have heard of people inviting the president (hopefully a blue one and not red) or pope to their wedding and we are totally going to do that. I also hear that you can invite Mickey and Minnie Mouse. But then since we are getting married in New York, do we invite New York's Governor? I guess we could invite Massachusetts' as well, which is what I would prefer.

Addresses:
The President & Mrs. Obama or The President & Former President Clinton
The White House
Greetings Office, Room 39
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20502

Pope Benedict XVI
Prefettura della Casa Pontifica
00120 Citta del Vaticano, Italia

Governer Deval Patrick
Office of the Governor
State House
Boston, MA 02133
Attn: Scheduling Office

Governor Eliot Spitzer
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224

Mayor Tom "Mumbles" Menino
Boston City Hall
One City Hall Plaza
Boston, MA 02201

Mickey and Minnie Mouse
The Walt Disney Company
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, California 91521

I can see B wanted us to send it to some athletes. We will see.

Picture Pages

An ex-work colleague recently got married and shared his non-pro pics. They were amazing - and I was surprised that his friends/guests took them. So I wanted to figure out a way to get all the pictures that guests take at a wedding. Not only because they might be amazing but they also might contain moments that the photographer missed (hopefully because she was capturing another great moment). So I didn't know how I would go about collecting pictures from guests but then I read this blog post on Weddingbee.

B and I are going to set up an account and distribute the info (haven't figured that part out just yet). Guests can upload their pictures when they have a moment and we will have a copy of all the pictures. While this will mean even more photos for us to look through (and by us I mean me), we could find some great shots.

Feast on this...

I just got back from visiting Brooklyn (where I had some awesome grand-mama pizza) and the Hudson Valley (where we visited with our caterers - FEAST Catering). And the end result of the weekend is our menu.

As it stands you will be feasting on the following:
Cocktail Hour -
Crudite
Fruit
Cheese
Bruschetta
Hummus
Duck Burritos
Loin of Lamb on Crostini
Crab Cakes
Prosciutto Empanadas
Puffed Cheese Ravioli
Vegetarian Quesadilla
Spanikopita

Dinner -
Salad
Butternut Squash soup
Rolls
Chicken with Wild Mushrooms and a Light Cream and Madeira Wine Sauce
or Medallions of Beef with Cabernet Sauce
(Kids can get chicken nuggets and fries)

Dessert -
Cup cakes
Coffee/tea

Hopefully the food on the wedding is as good or better than what we have had (and that has been pretty amazing!)!

The Emperor's New Clothes

So my dress is currently in my apartment. While she is excited to be here it is slightly awkward since it has been awhile since we have last talked and stuff. SHe looks the same and while the Internet picture has her as brilliant white, she is the same raw silk white (which means at times she has an ivory tint to her since they do not die the fabric. It is au naturale.) I remembered and love her still.

Currently, I am giving her some space before I show her where she will be living for the next, 7 or so months.

Here she is hanging around the apartment:

She brought a little friend with her. And while I was not surprised, I was happy to see said friend in its own box and not attached to the dress as the picture on the Internet showed. The flower below will be given to Laura. Why - because she asked for it. It is also the only part of the dress B will see before the wedding day (well he will see the picture and know the dress is a Watters dress but he won't know which dress I bought).

Here is the little friend that came with the dress:

She is here!

My dress has arrived!!!! I have to figure out when to pick her up because I need a car and we are going away this weekend.

Oh - B is going to his company party tomorrow. I can take his car and get her then. YAY!

I hope I still like her.

Catering meeting

This weekend B and I will be traveling to the Hudson Valley area of NY to meet with the caterer (FEAST Caterers for those who may have forgotten). They are having "Bridal Day" for all those who are booked with them. We have asked to meet with our planner afterwards so we can discuss details and maybe even finalize the menu. We don't want to have to keep driving there and I doubt I will have second thoughts about the beef and chicken meal we decide on. Especially since I have an idea of what I want after I took a vote with Ann, Jackie, Billy and Aunt Carol. So if you don't like anything blame one of them.

I hope to have an update on what transpired and tasted like next week.

Unbelievable

Being stuck in Patriots nation is going to make the next two weeks REALLY tough. The NY Football Giants are on their way to the Superbowl against the New England Patriots. While I am excited, I still can't stand Eli and think he needs to bulk up a bit and then maybe he will hit puberty. The game depends on which Eli shows up - the one who can thread a needle with his pass or the one who looks like he needs his mommy after an interception.

(picture from nygiants.com)

Some football talk

Today are the AFC and NFC championship games and all I have to say is:

Go Giants!

Go Chargers!

How many days?

300 days until the wedding - in case you were wondering!

Cupcakes - not so kickass

I love cupcakes and have one everytime I go to Brooklyn and B brings them back to Boston when he goes to NY without me. So I was excited that a cupcake place had opened up in Davis Square (near where I live). It is called Kickass Cupcakes and I was expecting a lot - I mean, I was expecting some kickass cupcakes. And the cake part was good but I didn't like the icing. It had a weird taste and the biggest problem that the icing did not cover the whole top of the cupcake (take note Kristin). The best thing about cupcakes is the icing to cake ratio and Kickass has taken that away.

See for yourself below...

Kickass cupcake (from their web site):

Little Cupcake (from their web site):

Dial Directions

While we hope most people will take advantage of the free transportation we will be offering at the reception, I do fear people getting lost. A new service has decided to take on the events industry, Dial Directions. You can just dial "DIR-ECT-IONS" and say the name of the function and then directions will be sent to your cell phone via a text message. Even though I don't think we will use it, it is an interesting idea.

http://www.dialdirections.com/default.html

Winning an Argument

I was sent a few jokes by my cousin Karen and here is my favorite. It really speaks for itself.

DeBeers Diamond Class Action Suit

If you purchased a DeBeers Diamond (directly or indirectly) you could get a refund. I wonder what kind of diamond I am wearing? The diamond must have been bought between January 1, 1994 - March 31, 2006 (which it wasn't so I guess we are out the millions of settlement dollars).

Click here for the news article.
Click here for class action web site.

DeBeers have brainwashed the entire world into thinking that diamond is forever. Something that blends is not forever (click here for the Will It Blend? video of cubic zirconas - Will it blend? takes random items, places them in a blender do see if it will blend. The videos are addicting).

A little more info about how winter parking works

So I blogged about the shoveling out/save a parking spot situation in Boston. Here is a link to a Boston.com pictorial that shows you exactly what items people use to save spots. My favorite is bumber 15. Also note, look at how some of the spots are not even that snowy. This city is crazy sometimes.

Update on search terms

Someone googled "gobble stick" and was directed to my blog.

A few questions:

a) what is a gobble stick?
b) who is the person searching for this?
c) how did my blog come up?

Trash the dress

Another new trend is "Trash the Dress" sessions with a photographer. Basicially, instead of packing up the dress to be used again by a future generation or as material for something like a baptism dress, brides will go out and trash the dress. Some go to the beach and have "From Here to Eternity"-esque moments. Some just go about the city in the dress, not caring what happens to it. Whatever they do, it is the latest bridal trend and considered art. For more information and pictures, click here.

To me it is just further proof about how wasteful weddings can be. People are paying a lot of money for a dress and then they ruin it? Crazy wasteful. I don't care if some call it art. I will make those people a macaroni person on paper. That is art.

Search terms

I have a site meter on the blog and it what people searched to reach my blog (it shows other things but that is not important right now). And lately, I get two people a day coming to my site after searching martini glass centerpieces. I guess they are very popular right now. Who knew Amanda was way ahead of her time? Who are all these people using oversized martini glasses as centerpieces?

Other than the increase in hits for martini glass centerpieces, no one has searched anything bizarre and landed on my blog.

Yet.

Escort down the aisle...

And I didn't want to forget about the final male invited to the wedding party (kind of sort of) is older brother Richie (older than me and Billy but younger than Ann). He will be walking me down the aisle which is good because I am terrified to walk down the aisle. The only problem is, he may shun attention more than me (walking down the aisle scares me to death seriously, I do not like being the center of attention). But Richie could be the nicest, most sincere guy I know - not to mention am related to.

Also, I get to tell him to cut his hair which is good because he can wear too long most of the time and I don't like it.

Introducing the boys...

For the guys' side, we are doing some things differently as we have four guys (to three girls). Usually I need symmetry in everything but it worked out well this way. (If it was up to me, I would have one on each side but it is not all up to me. I also would have a fishbowl as you walked into the reception. Inside the bowl would be the table numbers and you would draw a number and sit at that table, even if your guest is sitting at another table. No one lets me have any fun.)

First asked was my brother Billy. He was first because I was asking everyone the first time I saw them after the engagement. We were in Ireland and little did we know that in about 30 minutes B and I would be screaming at him about politics (in our defense, a lot of beer was involved and he is wrong). When we were younger Billy was babysitting me and he wanted to watch Friday the 13th - so we did. Friday the 13th was not an appropriate movie for me to watch and I had nightmares for a week. When I woke my mom up because I was scared, she made Billy sleep in my room until the nightmares stopped since it was his fault I was having nightmares to begin with.

Actually, John may have been the first one asked but I don't know if he was even asked. He is B's roommate and co-owner of the condo. We used to watch cooking shows on Sundays but then he got a girlfriend. C'est la vie. Word on the street is that his voice can melt butter.

I do know that Gerard was asked third and he is the best man. He is the B's oldest brother and a NYC sargeant. He thinks I hate him and I plan on keeping it that way. Since i have only known him a few years, I don't have embarrassing stories. I do have a SBA card to get me out of trouble if in NYC so I should be nice.

B then asked his other brother Chris to be the final groomsman (or are they ushers? is there a difference? I don't know). [Also a side note, I am addicted to Jon and Kate Plus Eight even though I think Kate is mean to Jon a lot.] Chris is the second oldest sibling and works at MTV. I don't know how the asking went down. All I know is B and I were arguing about sharing paella, he left to answer a call, and he came back saying "I asked Chris to be in the wedding."

And those are the guys.

Introducing the girls...

My cousin mentioned that I should post about the wedding party and I was planning on doing that but I was waiting until B asked all of the guys first. B asked the last guy over Christmas. So I figure I would start with the girls side. Once I scan some pictures maybe I will post them but as of right now - no pictures for you!

So let's start with the only person who asked what his or her job would be - Ann aka MOH aka matron (I hate that word) of honor. I had planned on asking Ann when I was in Ireland two weeks later but she beat me to the punch. Ann is part older sister, part mom, and part friend and all around perfect person. If there was a stand in for mother of the bride, Ann is it. Ann thought she was going to do a reading since she does them in Ireland all the time. She is the best reader in all of Armagh - just ask her.

Next asked was Kim, best friend since first grade and we could embarrass the hell of each other so I won't share any stories of prank phone calls or anything like that. Kim was the one who found the dresses tht the girls will wear. I was seeing Kim a few weeks for a camping trip three weeks after getting engaged - I wanted to ask everyone in person (Ann ruined it though - maybe she is not so perfect after all).

Ellen was the last to be asked because B was putting off asking his family (I was done with a week of being engaged). FYI - Ellen is B's sister and that is why he asked her (I asked all members of my family and he asks his) While out to dinner, there was a lot of talk about the bridal party, so much so that it got awkward for us to keep avoiding that we had asked people but not everyone. So on the way home, B pulled Ellen aside and asked her. I am sure she remembers the spot on Third Avenue that she was bestowed this honor and goes there often to remember the glorious moment.

And that is the female side of the bridal party. Everyone, bridal party. Bridal party, everyone.

Twins Get Separated at Birth, Get Married, Get Annulled

This has been sent to me by several people and I am just sharing.

I have a few questions like didn't they think it was weird that they were both adopted, had the same birthday and were born in the same area (possible they knew it was the same city or hospital)?

And why did they decide to get DNA tests?

Here is the article.

I am pretty sure B and I are not twins separated at birth because we are three years apart. So it still means we could be siblings but I highly doubt that is possible according to most of our family. But they could be lying to us.

Talk talk talk

In line with what we have been talking about, B doubled check with Msgr. Massie that the BC certificate is all that is needed and while it would be, it seems our Pre-Cana does not end there.

Msgr. Massie wants to meet with us to discuss what we learned at Pre-Cana. So we will have one and a half Pre-Canas. But the problem is that we also may have to talk to a priest at St. Pat's and I hopeit is not about Pre-Cana. I mean I am excited to go to one and maybe another but THREE?

I hope that the talk with the St. Pat's priest is just a talk and more like what Msgr. Massie talked to us about: why are we getting married and stuff. He filled out the questionnaire with us so I don't think we have to do that again which is good since it was boring (no I have never been a nun, I am not being forced into this marriage, Yes I know B is crazy, no I have never been married).

I will keep you informed into how many times we have to talk to a priest about this. I hope with all this talking we don't talk ourselves out of it. :)

More priest talk

Msgr. Massie also speaks Hebrew (B used to make him flash cards and help him study when he worked at the Rectory) and I keep telling Debbie (one of the chosen people) that she will have to speak Hebrew to him. Oh how we laugh.

More Church Stuff

So my Aunt left me a comment about making sure St. Pat's accepts our Pre-Cana and don't worry they do. Unfortunately for us, the priest marrying us says we just need a certificate.

Which leads me to the priest marrying us... Msgr. Massie will be marrying us. This caused some confusion in the beginning when we were trying to book the church because Msgr. Massie used to be a priest at St. Pat's but has moved on to St. Andrew's (still in Bay Ridge) so we just wanted the church but no priest.

B worked at the church in high school while then Fr. Massie worked there and it was important to B that he marry us (starting to see a theme here? his church, his priest, his borough. I am beginnning to think B is high maintenance and demanding). So after we got engaged B called him up and Msgr. Massie agreed to marry us and wanted us to stop by next time we were in town.

A weekend where we have time to talk to the priest finally comes up and by Wednesday B still has not contacted Msgr. Massey to say we would be stopping by on Sunday. My thought was "Sunday is kind of THE day for priests. He may not be free." B arranged it and it all worked out. The following Sunday we went to mass at St. Andrew's which is a house that was converted in a church so it is kind of weird. Msgr. Massie is outside the church greeting parishoners and we are introduced. Within five minutes I know where he stands on the current administration (both secular and not) and former heads of the church in the Boston area. Needless to say my aunt was correct in stating he is "on the side of the angels" at least according to our family political stance.

The mass was your usual fare of God, miracles, and the like. However, a little bit into the homily I realize everything said about Msgr. Massie is true - he talks A LOT. And you also feel like he is talking to directly to you and they didn't hand out Bulletins before mass so I had nothing to read. I had to actually listen (I hate that!). While he does talk a lot, he gave a good homily. I just don't want his homily to ruin the timeline I have set up for the wedding day. I have thught about telling him we have to be somewhere for pictures at 3:30 so we can be done quicker but it seems wrong to purposely lie to a priest. And I also plan to go to confession right before the wedding so I would have that one sin hanging over me...which is probably not good. We will see.

Pre-Cana

So we booked our Pre-Cana (marriage preparation for all you heathens out there).

I was reading postings on the Knot (Boston area) and brides-to-be were talking about pre-cana and one mentioned about pre-cana at BC. So I started to look into it. Now some of you may know of my love/hate relationship with BC (date change, tournaments around my birthday, general sports malaise, the reunion fight) and may be shocked to hear that I was looking into BC but I was. I had a feeling it would be smaller, a bit more academic and geared towards more learning rather than just checking off a list item and calling it a day.

Another day I was looking at posts on pre-cana and BC came up again and one person was saying it fills up quickly and she can't go. So I went straight to panic mode and emailed the Office of Campus Ministry and inquired about pre-cana. So they have a class in April and she prefaced it by saying "but if you are interested please let us know right away because we fill up fast." So I filled out the form, B wrote a check, and we got our confirmation.

There is a 60/40 chance that I will be in "hate" mode at the time of the class which should make things very interesting. By April, we will have gone hockey, basketball, march madness, Mets baseball will have started and I bet you something comes up on my birthday that is BC related. The facilitators will probably wonder why we are even getting married.

Good times...

Conde Nast Bridesmaid Stats

According to Conde Nast Bridal Media's "American Wedding Study" 2006:

-- Brides have an average of 5 bridesmaids in their wedding.

-- Based on 2.2 million weddings per year, there are approximately 11 million bridesmaids each year.

-- There are 44,230 weddings every weekend, 23 million bridesmaids and groomsmen, and almost 380 million wedding guests.

-- 64% of brides have their bridesmaids dress identically.

-- Bridesmaid's dresses cost an average of $691 total, figuring to be $138 each with the average of 5 attendants.

Press release can be viewed here.

Geek Wedding

Thank God we are not having a wedding like these. Some make my fear of a BC or sports-themed wedding seem not to bad.

Though I didn't think the scottish wedding with kilts is really a geek wedding and the Super Mario cake looks cool.

View the video montage here.

What We Have Left to Do

While I will not list out all that is left to according to the Knot (see post below for number of remaining items), I will list out the major ones because it helps me. And this blog is really all about me.

Left to do:
Finsih web site
Transportation - for me (limo?) and guests (bus)
Pre-Cana (registered and more about that later)
Pick readings/ceremony music
Finalize guest list
Design invites
Print invites
Order tuxes for groom, best man/groomsmen, father of the groom and brother of the groom
Finalize all details with all vendors
Dress fitting
Buy shoes for bride and groom (no tux shoes for this groom)

Really not too bad except for the transportaion and tuxes, all the items are about details. Unfortunately it is my fear that the details will kill me. As they say "the devil is in the details".

What We (mostly Me) Have Done

So with the new year and all, I have been taking stock of what we have done for the wedding and what we have left to do. According to the knot checklist, we do not have anything outstanding for the next month (we have completed 49 and have 135 left - anyone want to help?). They will email me the next things in the beginning of February. I like checklists.

Things done:
Selection of date (did that twice) and time
Ceremony location
Reception location
Officiant
Caterer
Photographer
Videographer
DJ
Florist
Cupcake baker
Dress (both bride and bridesmaids)
Selection (and asking of) attendants
Registered
Groom's ring
Designed and printed save the dates (but we won't mail those out for awhile)

Not bad for being 312 days out.

Shout out: Happy Birthday to BM Ellen

Bird's Eye View

While B was surfing the World Wide Web, he came across these pictures of the Picnic House. I like the new take on it.

Here are pictures from http://newyorkbirds.free.fr/brooklyn/prospect%20park/index.php. I guess they were shooting pictures of the Park from the sky.

Front

Back

When not to do an engagement announcement

I was sent a forward about when you should not hyphenate your name. In trying to get a better picture for you readers, I found a web site that had a bevy of hilarious and inappropriate engagement announcements.

Here is the picture that inspired my Google search.

So for the complete list of newspaper clippings, please go here: Good joke: Weddings You Wish You Could Go To

FYI

It is flipping cold in Boston (and yes the heat is on).

Note to B: Don't hug me like that

OK! Weekly (a very reputable tabloid/gossip magazine) has the first pictures of Katherine Heigl's (Izzie for the Grey watchers out there) wedding. While the picture I have seen is not on OK! magazine's web site, it is on www.dlisted.com. So click here for the picture (and some snarky commentary).

Seriously - Josh (Mr. Izzie) is messing up the dress and seems to be crushing her. B - don't hug me like that during pictures or I will make the photographer touch and position your face. And you know I will do it.

Happy Birthday!

Cathleen Doyle (also known as Grandma to me) is 91 years your today.

Easing my stress is in everyone's best interest

According to a new study, a happy marriage eases the stress of work for women. Not surprisingly, the state of the marriage doesn't affect men, they leave their cares at the doorstep. Although I bet it is in their best interest to help decrease stress and keep their wife happy-otherwise they will be made unhappy by the stressedwife. :)

Here is the article.

Time passing...

I find time has been flying lately. When B and I got engaged in May the wedding didn't even have a date and we knew it was going to be a ways off. Then we set a date (about a 18 month engagement period) and it definitely was a ways off. Especially since on the message boards everyone seemed to be months/weeks away from their wedding. Then November came and the wedding stopped being a ways away and became one year away. And now the wedding is this year and while we are in a wedding planning lull (though B disagrees since he is working away on the website) it finally seems close. Though I bet I will be wishing for the days of little wedding planning come September.

It is 318 days away today incase anyone was counting.

Something old, something new

After reading the last couple of comments about offers of borrowing jewelry (thanks Kristin and Aunt Betty), I started to think about the old adage, "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue". Do the types of items (old, new, etc) mean anything. After a quick Google search, I found out yes they did mean something and that there is more to the saying according to Ask Yahoo!.

Something old, something new
Something borrowed, something blue
And a silver sixpence in her shoe.

Old is for the traditionals and memories of the bride's family.
New is hope and optimism for the future.
Borrowed is usually from a good friend to infuse their good fortune in the new marriage.
Blue is for love and fidelity.

Now the question beg to be asked, got a sixpence anyone?

I got my information here.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you!