monday's memory: the one with the bachelorette party

have i mentioned that i have amazing friends?
and they throw a pretty kick-awesome party.

my maid of honor asked if i wanted to know what she was planning or if i wanted to be surprised.  i told her i trusted her completely, that they could use our house if need be, and the dates i was free.

that was IT.

since she was temporarily living a few states away, she recruited the other girls to help with the planning and execution.  to this date, i don't know whose idea was what, so just know...my girls ROCK.

on the day of the party, i was asked to be out of the house for the majority of the afternoon, and to stay in communication with the girls on my way home.  they literally came and met me in the driveway with a homemade iced coffee, and blindfolded me.

i was led upstairs (i'll spare you all the butt shots of this part) where i was able to change clothes and get ready (they also brought me some champagne...the beverages kept flowing so i was entertained and happy!) plus, the girls had to change and get ready too, so i was soon joined upstairs

at one point there were four girls in my master bathroom putting on makeup together.  and one pissed-off kitty hiding from the mayhem!

the girls then disappeared down the stairs, and eventually i was led out of my bedroom.

i walked down the stairs and immediately was told to remove my boots

and given bracelets to put on

oh, and i had a "veil" to wear the entire evening.

the downstairs area of the house had been transformed

all furniture was covered in colorful fabric, and extra seating had been created along the window with huge throw pillows.

i even had a "throne" complete with canopy.

there was an amazing food table spread with all sorts of yummy looking things.

they had even incorporated anthony's glass animals into the decor, including this very hungry hippo!

people started gathering in, and once most people were there we were invited to dig in to the buffet.  it was then i realized that these girls who know me so well had brought nearly all the food at my favorite grocery -- trader joe's.  unfortunately, i discovered a couple of new favorite foods that night that are now staples!

we milled around, snacked and chatted for awhile and then i began opening gifts.  i'll leave out the details there, but you can imagine...

gift time was interrupted by the arrival of "someone"...which was my only moment of slight panic.

but the person walked in and immediately started handing out scarves.  she was a belly dance instructor, and that's what we spent the next bit of the party doing -- learning a few belly dance basics!

 and took time for some group shots.  fun group of awesome ladies!

she was amazing, and fun.  now that laura (my maid of honor) is back in town we have mad plans to start taking her classes a couple of times a month.  a fitness class that anthony supports fully, haha!

three of the girls stayed overnight, so there was much more fun (and other crazy late-night photos) to be had even after most of the guests left.

all in all my bachelorette party was exactly what i wanted -- time spent with amazing girls, and lots of laughter.  the gifts were amazing (and all fit!), but the time spent with these girls who i dearly love was the best part of the night.

it's a great day to learn to dance

or, at least learn how to dance better ;-)

our friend brittany is coming for lunch and to show us a few moves other than swaying and shuffling our feet.  which is good.  maybe we'll actually retain some of the knowledge for a week.

(holycrapaweek)

besides that both anthony and i are logging in extra hours at our respective offices, i'm babysitting for sweet finn, and hopefully i'll have time to do a bit of cleaning and straightening up around the house.

hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

what i'm loving wednesday .2

i'm loving that the people i nanny and babysit for often watch the same shows that i do...yay for cleaning out my dvr without even being at my house!
i'm loving snuggles with sweet children, and the fact that so many people trust me with their most prized possessions.  so.blessed.
i'm loving the WEATHER these days. (ok, except for all the crazy tornado things.)
i'm loving a couple of new (to-me) wedding websites that friends have recommended to me: greenweddingshoes.com and offbeatbride.com
i'm loving chances to get active by pushing a stoller, jumping around with a kinect, doing wiifit, or just hiking up a small mountain.
i'm loving cozy blankets and couches.
i'm loving naps in the hammock on a sunny spring afternoon.  just because i've only done it once so far doesn't mean i won't be doing it a whole lot more!
i'm loving that my fiancé made plans for us to go dancing this friday.  not necessarily his favorite thing to do, but he wants to dance with me and that makes me smile.  a lot. (of course, i'm loving him a lot too!)

monday's memory: the one with the sweet couple rerun

i originally posted this back in july of '08. anthony and i went to the same swing dancing thing a couple of weeks ago, and i told him about this couple that i saw way back then...it made me want to share it with all you as well :) and yes, the picture at the end is of the couple i wrote about.

This is an excerpt from a journal entry I wrote after swing dancing this weekend. Enjoy :0)

In the corner near us and the band was a beautiful young girl, her flowing brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her partner was a tall and dashing man with thick wavy hair. They were so obviously in love--they never once seemed to notice the swirling dancers around them or the fact that I can't stop watching them. I took note of their simple matching rings. I envied them--their obvious deep love, their lives just beginning...and then I blinked. Sunddenly I saw his snow white hair, her gently wrinkled face. Instead of living on the brink of a life together they are closer to the end of their time. I can imagine that the days they have lived have brought many sorrows as well as joys, pain as well as promise. Yet, they are so full of love and hope that I simply cannot take my eyes away.

She smiles coyly as he spins her out and back, and they sway together in the way that only those that truly know their partners can, looking deeply into each other's eyes. This is their story, their beautiful legacy, and I find myself wanting to continue it.

I'll probably never know their names. But I hope one day, when I have hair streaked with gray and I am nearing the end of my journey, that someone will see me dancing with my soulmate and be as inspired by our story as I have been tonight.