Holla!

Nothing makes me happier than hearing Tim Gunn say, "Holla at ya boy!"

Awesome. Simply awesome.

Tim? Timmy? Can I call you Timmy? I think I love you.

Pet Peeve Du Jour

It drives me absolutely insane when I am trying to drive through the parking lot at work to get to my office only to have to crawl at -10 mph because people decide they are going to walk 5 across at a snail's pace, in the middle of the road and not get out of the way. Um... do you not hear the car right behind you? Do you not care? Do you have a death wish and want me to run you over?? WHAT?!

Now, the funny thing is, this doesn't bother me as much if I'm at the mall or something. But the fact that I work in an office complex makes it no secret that I actually HAVE to be somewhere like, oh, I don't know - my JOB? You taking your sweet ass time strolling through the parking lot is not only preventing me from getting there, but you're also pissing me off and making me want to find out what it would be like to run over your foot.

I now pronounce you...

Husband and Wife!!

A huge congrats to a couple of our best friends, Derek and Michele! They tied the knot this past weekend in a beautiful wedding in Cincinnati, Ohio. The ceremony was held at Holy Cross Immaculata Church and the reception was at the Hyde Park Country Club. Michele totally outdid herself and impressed us all with her cross-country planning. Everything went off without a hitch and she looked absolutely stunning. Seriously. Like a Barbie doll. :) The best moment was at the end of the night when Michele looked at me with a look of quasi-terror on her face and said, "We're going to be an old married couple now!" Don't worry, Michele, it's really not that bad. ;)

Another plus from the weekend was meeting more of their family and friends. Everyone couldn't have been nicer, more welcoming and more fun. I can honestly say I think we made some connections this weekend that will last longer than just the few days we were there.

Not only were we thrilled to be there as guests, but we felt honored to be a part of the wedding. Rusty stood up with Derek as a groomsman and I helped out in my official role as Program Distributor. It's a skill, people. I'm amazing. Really.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend...

Rehearsal dinner...

The ceremony... (didn't take many pictures. I was too busy being a sap and crying!)

Rusty escorting our new friend, Karen :)

Time to party!

Rusty and the best man, Jason

He cleans up pretty good, eh?

I love the look on Michele's face in this picture. Too cute!

Thanks for everything guys, we had a blast! Best wishes to you both and welcome to the club!! :)

Odds & Ends

It's the little things that make me happy...

- Since I won't be going to get my eyebrows waxed anytime soon, I thought it was a good time to invest in a really good pair of tweezers and upgrade from my dull Revlon ones. Off to Sephora I went where I found a cute (and sharp) pair that were right up my alley. I hate plucking my eyebrows, so I might as well do it with something a little more fun and functional.

- While we were making dinner Friday night, my phone drowned on the counter where a bag of ice had been sitting. (Yes, I charge my phone on the kitchen counter. I kind of asked for it.) Lucky for me, I was getting close to having to renew my 2-year contract with Sprint anyway so it was perfect timing. Not only did I upgrade my old flip phone to the new Samsung Instinct, I also signed up for a more comprehensive, cheaper service plan, AND worked out a special deal where I got a $70 credit to my account! Hurray!

- We saw The Dark Night today. Wow. I loved it. I'm not sure if any of you braved the crowds for its opening weekend, but I'll ya. Totally. Worth it. It was a little weird seeing Heath Ledger in that role, especially in the beginning. But he does such a great job as the Joker and you're so focused on the character that you completely forget about the actor. Definitely a must-see movie.

- Feeling an unfamiliar urge to be domestic. I know... weird. In response, I decided to try a new recipe and bake "Blueberry Breakfast Cornbread" while I was still half asleep this morning. Surprisingly enough, it was really good! :)

- I got a new phone. Oh. I guess I said that already... But all I've been doing since yesterday afternoon is play with it. It is so cool! So shiny and fancy. And I can check my email or go to the navigation feature by tapping one button. That's it! Very similar to the iPhone, but for a whole lot less. Who doesn't love that? One more thing and then I'll stop with the phone stuff, I promise. If I haven't already asked you, please email or text me your phone numbers! The damage was too severe to transfer my phone book. Thanks!

- And probably the finest moment of the weekend... some peace!

Bloody hell

What better way to end a really stressful, yet productive day at work than to drive into a stationary object?

I worked late in order to (successfully) work out a deal for tickets to an event we want to take a potential client to. Working late meant that I kept Rusty waiting when he had to get back to work. So when I finally walked to my car, I get a call from the Hubster and he tells me that I need to boogie and get home to the dogs so he can leave. The combination of being pumped up after I did something awesome at work and being in a rush to get home, I didn't pay attention to how my steering wheel was turned or the fact that I was parked right next to a giant post. I started to pull out of my spot and BOOM! Right into the post. Followed by some colorful language that I'll leave out since this blog should be at least semi-family friendly. I quickly look out my window to see if anyone saw or heard me and there were two guys about 7 cars away staring at me. Sweeeet. Embarrassing? Sure. But whatever, they don't know me. And then I saw my boss pulling out about four cars down. Double sweeeet.

Oh, and I almost did it a second time because I was so flustered.

Luckily, damage was barely noticeable and my car is totally driveable. Thank god. Because while a ding here and there doesn't really bother me, the last thing I wanted was to pay a $500 deductible to get it fixed.

Seriously... I hate when stuff like this happens. I am such a moron.

Mandy & Nathan

Sometimes I get really sad that I'm so far away from home - that is, the home where I spent the majority of my "growing up" years. It means I have lost touch with some good friends I made back in Jersey and I usually miss big events because I'm on the other side of the country. So when my one of my oldest and dearest friends, Mandy, told me she was getting married, I was thrilled! But so sad at the same time because I wasn't sure if I would be able to travel to North Carolina for her wedding.

Lucky for me, as a result of a variety of reasons, Mandy and her new husband, Nathan, decided the best locale for their wedding would be Saratoga! Woo! This meant that I didn't have to travel AND I got to stand up with her as a bridesmaid. Their wedding was at the picturesque Hakone Gardens and despite the 100+ degree heat, it was a beautiful ceremony. The scenery was outshone only by the love Mandy and Nathan clearly have for one another. Thankfully, after we got through taking pictures, we were able to escape the dreadful heat to go to the reception at Trevese in Los Gatos. This place was incredible. The food, the wine, the decor... just awesome. I can't wait to go back.

Since I was in the wedding, I wasn't able to take many pictures. Hopefully I'll be able to come back with more pictures later, but for now here are a couple pictures to document the past 2 days.

Mandy and I at the Cielo Terrace - the top of the Hotel Valencia. This is the first time in about seven years we've seen each other in person!

The gorgeous bride! Can you believe she altered the top of her dress from a weird halter to this amazing sweetheart neckline? By herself? Yea. I'm impressed!

Finally! Air conditioning! Us after the ceremony.

The newlyweds cut the cake... and then smash it in each other's faces. :)

Mandy made the programs, seating cards and everything (except the Sensu fan) by hand. This girl is awesome. She kept with the Japanese theme very well and even gave all the girls a card explaining the significance of the Sensu fans in Japanese culture and weddings. Our seating cards all had a different movie quote about love that she picked especially for each of us. Mine was a quote from Moulin Rouge, "Love is a many splendid thing. Love fills us up where we belong. All you need is love!" I love it! :)

Congratulations, Mandy and Nathan!!! I know you've waited a long time for this and I'm so happy you are finally husband and wife! I love you both and wish you all the best. We can't wait to come visit you in Charlotte!

If it wasn't so funny, I'd cry.

For those who get their eyebrows waxed: Have you ever laid there with your eyes closed while the aesthetician goes to town, worrying about what you're going to look like when she's done? I have. Most of the time it's completely unnecessary because I come out looking normal, like myself - just with pretty eyebrows.

Today? Not so much.

I went into my trusty neighborhood salon to get my unruly brows tamed, but my regular lady wasn't there. I stupidly let someone else work on me for what seemed like a half hour. The entire time I'm lying there thinking "this is taking way too long..." But being someone who hates confrontation, I didn't say anything. I then convinced myself that it was taking so long because she's "just that good!" Oh, how wrong I was.

I now have a tan line where most of my eyebrows used to be. A TAN LINE, people!!! What the hell was this woman thinking?? And to top it all off, do you want to know what she said to me right before I closed my eyes and she got to work?

"Not too thin, right?"

Riiiiiight. Did I mention that I'm in a wedding on Thursday? Good times...

Just because

There is one thing that sets Brodie and Harley apart (aside from their vast difference in size) and that is their affection, or lack thereof, for the sun. Brodie will find the smallest sliver of sunlight to bask under, whereas Harley will do anything to stay in the shade. So it came as no surprise when we noticed that Harley chose to lay in the dirt with the flowers on Friday to stay cool.


A Place in the Shade from meghan johnson on Vimeo.

Happy 4th of July!

Dan & Sandi

I can't believe I've let it go for so long before putting up a post to congratulate our friends, Dan and Sandi, on their nuptials! They got married at Bass Lake near Yosemite almost a month ago and it was beautiful. Everything from the weather to the scenery to the gorgeous bride. It was a great day and night!

Here are some of the girls hitching a ride to the ceremony from our cabins.

The view of the lake from where Rusty and I sat.
Beautiful bride...Smooch!

Centerpieces

Yummy cake

Us in front of the lake

Congrats and Best Wishes to the happy couple!

Mas, por favor!

What's that? You want more? Okay, okay. Twist my arm... ;)

We've been to Epcot and the Magic Kingdom so far. We went to both parks a second time later in the week because we didn't get to see and do everything on our list the first time around. However, there is way too much to document here, so I'm going to try and only hit the highlights. Alright! Next stop? Animal Kingdom where, among other things, we went on a jungle cruise, a safari ride to see some beautiful, exotic animals and a petting zoo for your run-of-the-mill sheep and goats.

Kylah wanted to brush every single one of them. She was so sweet and gentle with them.

Brothers!

The family in front of the Tree of Life. It's hard to see in this picture, but there are different wild animals carved out and sort of blend together. It is pretty amazing.

Next it was back to Epcot! This time, we focused on wandering through the countries and I tried to get some good pictures.

This is my favorite from the whole trip... I love the reflection of the clouds in the glass.

Me and my love in..."France." Can I just take a moment to comment on the fact that I HATE humidity. Every day I had to wear my hair back. Its making for some boring pictures...

We ended the night by staying at the park to watch the Epcot fireworks. We had great seats, right on the lake. Very cool.... particularly because they came with an ice cold margarita. :)

Lets just round this out with some of my favorite pictures to sum up the rest of the week...

Kylah loved her Crush doll we gave her.

::Sigh::

That was fun... So uh, when are we getting together again??! :)