The love of Mockingbirds

Take a moment to head over to the Flickr Stream of one of my favorite ladies in the whole world, Angela at My Daily Struggle and check out the gorgeous new addition to their family, Harper Jane.

Gar and I spent a couple of hours at the hospital yesterday visiting with Angela and Tim and the new baby. She fell asleep in my arms and I held her for over an hour. I was nervous trying to figure out every move and every breath she took. I can't imagine having a newborn and ever taking my eyes off of him or her. No wonder new parents never sleep! Luckily, Harper is number 2 for Angela and Tim and they know just what they are doing.

Angela and Tim are the kind of parents I aspire to be. Their eldest child, Audrey, is incredible. And their new baby girl takes right after her. Both of them are beautiful reflections of their amazing parents.

Congratulations Angela, Tim and Audrey.

Show her some lovin' bloggie world

Yeah, you know you love my Ba-Baaaam Soul Sista April too. The woman is incredible. She's bloogging now as a way to process one of the biggest life-changing experiences of her life. I won't tell you more-- you will have to visit yourself.

Dear internets, I talked you up. I said you show the love. Don't let me down. Please share that love with Ms. Ba-baaam. Cause damn, she's worth it.

http://aprilsunshyne.blogspot.com/

Three and a half months... Holy Shit

I'm sitting on my couch with Gidge putting off cleaning out the linen closet (which has turned into a dumping zone for everything that is not linen) and my closet (I don't know where to begin except to say that I can't shut the doors) and procrastinating.

I'm so happy I did, cause Boodles penned a non-Chicago blog about getting ready for our hitching day! I laughed and got all excited and then...

My breath got caught.

Holy Shit! It's not too far away. Quickly, I logged onto the premier wedding site for help.

The lovely folks at The Knot have created some lovely planning tools to assist in creating your very own lovely wedding. It's all lovely and white and pink and chock full of etiquette.

Seriously though, I have been able to use quite a bit from that site, and I thank them for it. For example, they have a great guest tracker where you enter all the names, addresses and so on for your guests into this database and it keeps tracks of RSVPS, gifts, thank you notes and all that jazz. Very helpful, that guest tracker is.

They also have a To-Do list for every month leading up to the wedding including every conceivable detail that one may forget about. This list is incredibly helpful except for the fact that it freaking freaks me out. Why is it that every time I log in it says that I have accomplished 38 tasks and that I have 146 more to go? Oh that's right, that's about all I have done. Grrrrr......

All the amazing women in my life have made generous offers of helping with everything. I completely appreciate their sentiment. I'm a damn lucky grrrl. But I have no idea how to delegate this stuff. I'm thinking when it gets closer to the day, I may be able to do some of that.

I'm happy that my friends are having fun with getting dresses. Their wear consists of black dresses (they can wear one they already have or get a new one) and red shoes. Black fishnets (or other suitable rockin' leg wear) will complete the get-up. Ms. Woody, a grrrl after my own heart, bought the perfect red and black vintage pumps and will later find a dress to match them. I admire her prioritization.

The Face has her entire get-up completed. It's gorgeous, just as she is. Speaking of The Face; she is a professional harpist. After three of the grrrls sing a Sam Cooke song while everyone walks down the 'aisle,' she will play her harp while I walk down. the best part is, I get to pick the song and she will re-write it for the harp. The first three choices I have sent to her are:

Question-- Old 97s (a favorite indie-country, rock n' roll, pop band)
Last Date-- Floyd Kramer (A late 60s or early 70's instrumental by a country king)
Hold Me, Kiss Me, Thrill Me-- Mel Carter (one of the best doo-whop songs ever)

Thoughts?

At the end of the ceremony, when Gar and I kiss, a portion from a Tom Waits song will play. He belts "Oh Yeah" over and over again in a completely rockin' tune from the triple disc Orphans, Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards. Our first dance is also to Tom Waits--"Picture in a Frame." We chose that song because Gar made a film for my birthday that documents our times in the mountains and in Japan and set it to that song and to the sounds of Esoteric Buddhist Monks Chanting at 5:30 in the morning at the most holy site for Esoteric Buddhists in the world.

Thinking of that makes me smile. The night we stayed in the monastery in Japan and woke to meditate at 5:30 am was incredible. I really should blog more about Japan. I think it was during that trip that I realized Gar was the man I wanted to be with for a very long time. And I think it may be one of my favorite places in the world.

Now that I've gotten ridiculously stream-of-consciousness on this blog, I will close with two things.

One, Gar is sitting on his computer now playing the music from the movie Once. This movie is fabulous. I'm happy listening to it.

Two, this coming weekend is our one-year anniversary of being engaged. We are going back to the cabin in the mountains where it all went down. We have asked the owner to go a little lighter on the chlorine so that we don't get the same chemical burns from the hot tub. We are so excited. No phones, no TV, no music, no watches. Just us, the waterfall, the hot tub, the cabin, board games, food and sweet, sweet love.

Perfection!

The shower on Saturday was *the* best bridal shower ever thrown. It's true.

I showed up at Ms. Woody's house around 1:30 and began noticing all of the surprises. New lingerie and panties were hanging from the ceiling. Custom chocolate bars were all over the tables. Food was everywhere. Makings for martinis were back in the kitchen-- next to the martini glasses that she and her husband etched the shower motif onto by hand. The best part though had to be the poster they hung over the mantle. It's a 6 foot poster of Garrett doing a strip-tease.

I take that back. The best part was that Gar's mom wants a wallet-sized copy of the photo.

I had a damn BLAST!!!!

My girlfriends went all out. They had some fun shower games (bridal cranium and those quizzes where you find out who knows the most about me and Gar). And then a ten-ton of presents.

Seriously.

Spoiled rotten.

I was a bit nervous having Gar's family at a 'lingerie or pamper the bride' shower, but I shouldn't have been. His mom got me sexy lingerie. After I opened it, she said to the group, "I would have liked to spend that money on something a bit more sensible. Something that you would actually wear for longer than 10 minutes."

I about fell out of my chair.

I attempted to make a toast to all the women in my life after the gift-opening. I started to cry and I cut it too short. It deserved an hour. They are the most amazing women in the world. I am the luckiest woman in the world. I am so happy. I love them so much. It is such a gift to be surrounded by so many incredible women. I am so thankful.

After the folks left, the par-tay began. The men came over and we had one of the wildest parties I have experienced in a long time.

After midnight, it was time to go. I went over to Garrett who was on his knees singing karaoke to anyone who would listen and said, "It's time to go honey. We need to be at the airport in the morning."

I couldn't help but smile at him. Yes, he was shit-faced. But I couldn't have been happier about it. I knew then that he had recovered from his head injury.

I'm just so thankful.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow

.... you're only a day away.

Yay! Tomorrow is the wedding shower! Yahootie. Planned by amazing friends, some of whom blog (My Daily Struggle, Memoirs of a Tracy, and Chiblog-o), it should be a blast!

The theme on the invitation is "The Girly Show_er" complete with a picture of a lady taking a bath in a martini glass.

With the object of the day being to pamper and indulge me (via lingerie, make-up, creams, facial stuff, etc), I feel like I am anticipating a little bit of heaven.

The most exciting part of it all is all the amazing women in my life. My shower list was 27 women long-- and, sadly, that's without the women in my family as they can't make it here.

I am so incredibly lucky to have so many AMAZING women in my life.

To them-- I thank you. I love all of you and you inspire me every day.

Wicked Cool Town

I forgot how cold it gets up North. It gets cold. Winter hats, gloves, scarfs, down jackets-- you name it, I wore them all. But the cities of Providence and Boston were worth it.

I was able to go and visit my best friend The Face. She and I met on the bus to kindergarten. She is my soul sister.

Another best friend from my hometown of Kalamazoo is working on his doctorate at Harvard. I was lucky enough to hang with him in both Cambridge and at the Bell and Hand-- the oldest Tavern in the United States.

The Freedom Trail through Boston was fascinating. I was pretty excited when I saw the place where the Democratic Party decided to adopt the Donkey as its mascot, for lack of a better word. I still don't know why though. I must find this out. Anywho, as Al Sharpton said a couple of elections back, "I rode that donkey."

I missed my honey and my animals. I missed them so much. So much. Eight days away was too much. I thought that when Gar picked me up from the airport we would never make it back into the car. We just had to hug. And every time I saw a dog in Boston my heart hurt a bit. I was having a snuggle deficiency.

While in Boston, I wanted to show the Face and her new man pictures of my pets. So I pulled out my laptop and opened the folder in 'My Pictures' entitled "Pets." When I open the photos they take up my entire computer screen. Needless to say I was a bit surprised when this photo came up:

We all just about died from laughter. This is how Gar and I entertained ourselves before cable. We put panties on our head.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I *love* love

To my friends Kristi and Jason on your anniversary--

Today, Halloween, is Kristi and Jason's 5-year wedding anniversary. I absolutely love these two people. And they love each other.


I think they were dating around 3 years before their engagement. It was one of those instantaneous starts to a relationship. They met at a bar in Atlanta and from that moment on-- they were never apart.
The stories about the time they were dating are incredible to hear-- full of adventure, full of love. They supported each other through rough jobs, surgeries, sickness and health.

Kristi told me once that she wouldn't have been able to get through the hardest time in her life, when her mom passed away, without Jason. She told me that when her dad called her the first thing he asked her was, "Is Jason there?"

They just fit together.

When Jason proposed, Kristi was so surprised. They were at a restaurant and both of their families were there. I have heard both of them tell me that story separate from one another. The retellings are nearly identical. Both of them cried and cried from happiness. Both of them were completely in love.

I didn't meet this amazing couple until about 4 years ago-- so I wasn't at the wedding. And I hear it was a heck of a wedding at that. With chaos ensuing up until the big day because of work, they still worked together to pull it off. The dress rehearsal was a masked ball, the wedding was on Halloween night. After, they flew to the Dominican Republic for their Honeymoon.

Now, 5 years later, they are home-owners in an up and coming neighborhood, Civic League participants and, most amazingly, loving friends who literally stop at nothing to help others out. Between their new puppy, their 5 cats, and the crazy street they live on-- something is always happening. And they always do that 'something' together.

Throughout this blog I have mentioned (or I will) events like Weinerfest, 4th of July parties, trips to Florida, rafting in the mountains, New Year's Eve Extravaganzas, Drrrrrty Santa X-Mas parties-- they all happen because of these two folks.

They just work together.
You can feel the love and respect that these two have together. (And that goes beyond Jason holding the noodle so that Kristi can bong a beer in the kiddy pool at the best ever 4th of July party.)

They take good care of each other. If Kristi has a late grrrlz night, he will always pick her up. On UGA game days, she wears red and black and watches the game with Jason. She's always thinking to make his favorite carnie foods. He consistently asks, "Babe, do you need help with that?"

I have learned so much about relationships and marriage. Kristi told me the first year of marriage is hard, it's all about communication. I look to her for expertise. She tells me how her and Jason learned to communicate with one another-- and how it strengthened their bond. When it comes to the hard times she told me that sometimes, you just need to be able to get pissed, say f$%ck that, and then get over it. This couple does not hold a grudge. They are all about compromise and respect, and they respect each other not just as their partners but as two different people. And every once in while, like last Saturday's Halloween party, you can totally catch them making out in some shadow like they just met.

I'm so happy for them on their 5 year anniversary. I know there are so many more to come.

And, I'm so lucky to call them my friends. Tonight's Anniversary Party is going to be spectacular!

BaaaBaaaaam!

A huge congratulations to my super-fabulous, super-smart, super-BaaaBaaaam! Soul Sister for being accepted into the one of the top 5 programs in the world-- that's right--*the world* for her Executive MBA. Love you.

The Big, Big News!

I think the biggest news can be found here.

A HUGE Congratulations!

Dinner with the ladies

So I went to the doc this morning and they think I passed a kidney stone.

A kidney stone!!!

After several tests that made me burst into tears at a health care professional's office for the second morning in a row, it was suggested to me to buy a net so that I could use it to piss on and then find out if I am passing "sand granules" from my kidneys.

Through tears I was just oh so pleased by this suggestion. I picture a goldfish net hanging next to the towels. I'm not really down with that.

I also really liked the part of them questioning me several times about how many partners I had in the past two years.

"Are you sure it has only been one?"

"Are you positive?"

"Yes I'm positive. You can rule out the Clap. I promise. Can we now get to my incredible kidney pain?"

After all that, a quick looksey proved that I was telling the truth. It's frustrating to be in pain and know, with a sort of instinctual knowledge, what is hurtin' and what is not.

I called Gar and he met me for lunch and let me bitch about this for the second day in a row. The man is patient and loving. He sent me text messages and called me for the rest of the day to check on me.

But I slept through them. I got home from the doctor late in the afternoon and did not go into the office. I was supposed to go to a fundraiser for a member of our House of Representatives at the Democrat Bar at 5:00. I woke up at 6:00. I had slept through my alarm and through 4 phone calls. Apparently, my body needed sleep.

I jumped up. I called work. I threw on work clothes and bolted out the door and to the fundraiser. I felt frantic, as I always do when I oversleep.I am over healthcare. My friend with cancer made it, damnit, so would I. After the fundraiser, I went to a ladies night.

FABULOUS

My mentor, and amazing friend, has cancer. We used to go to out for martinis once or twice a month with the ladies. AMAZING ladies. But that has been on hold for a while.

Tonight we went to her house. I LOVED every second of it. She is doing so well. I could not admire someone more. I am so grateful to have her and all the amazing women I do in my life.

So, so grateful.

And now, I sit at home in bed with 3 dogs and a cat waiting for my honey to come home from a late-night meeting from his new project. Besides being incredibly creative, progressive, and thought-provoking, this project is his passion. I can't wait to hear how it has progressed.

I can't wait to see this man.

"I've got the ways and means, to New Orleans, I'm goin' down by the river where it's warm and green..."

Thursday night Gar and I joined some good friends at a club called 10 High in Atlanta. The venue is home to Metalsome Mondays-- a famed, weekly event where one can sing karaoke to all the metal classics while being backed by a live metal band.

I have always meant to go check it out but I had never made it.

Then I heard the good news. Thursday night a cacophony of performers would be taking the stage in a tribute to Concrete Blonde. I loved Concrete Blonde years ago and continue to do so today. Many musicians and many singers poured their hearts into the classics: Vampire Song, Tomorrow Wendy, Joey, Happy Birthday, Roses Grow.... you get my drift.

The night was great because the company of friends, to be sure, as they are amazing. I also sang and danced to all my favorites and Garrett just looked on with a grin. He doesn't even like Concrete Blonde yet he joined me front and center to dance while I screeched the lyrics with the women who actually sang them. And I have been really wanting to see some rock n' roll lately so it was just an added bonus that I got to see my favorite classics and get all giddy like I was 16.

But my favorite part of the evening was probably the most unexpected part.

Walking into the 10 High requires one to show ID to the heavily tattooed folks at the door before heading down the stairs to the basement where the venue actually resides. Once inside, the combination of concrete walls and the concrete floor is spruced up only by the minimal red lighting, the smoke, and the leaking ceiling. The patrons are of the rock n' roll sort-- the sort I like to be with. Long hair and leather, spikey hair and many visible piercings, eyeliner and corsets, tattoos and short skirts, bangs and 4 inch wide belts....

Furthermore, my experience, when I was cool enough to be a rock n' roller (because as of lately, I feel like I have lost my edge), is that said people tend to be a bit pretentious, a bit caught up in the image and the scene. And the musicians? Always very, very cool and very, very aloof.

So we walk up to the door and the little punk-rocker cheerfully says, "Hey guys! Can I check your IDs?" The other one says all spunky and smiley, "And it's 5 dollars, I take the money and he checks the IDs!" *Smile*Smile*Smile* I look at Garrett. "They certainly like their jobs," I think to myself recalling my year as a door-girl at a dingy, all-out dive blues club where the patrons were lucky if I said more to them than, "Five. ID."

We walk down the dark, metal stairs to the smokey basement. We get there right in time. There are about 6 musicians and a singer on the stage. The singer has pale skin and dark, nearly black lipstick on. Her hair is dyed black and it is messy. She has a black leather corset tied tight over her ankle length black skirt. The slit of her skirt reveals her thigh-high, platform, black leather boots. She is singing, "Mexican Moon." She is great.

She sings a few and I begin to get excited. I'm 5"11 flat-footed. With my boots on, I am easily 6 "1. Given that, I felt extra horrible when I step on and then kinda fall into a shorter, rock n' man. He has the piercings, the leather, the big chops, the whole nine rockin' yards. "Yikes" I thought as I turned to see who I had smooshed.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to get in your way!" He says sweetly with an apologetic smile.

"Oh no, it was me," I gush. "I'm so sorry." I put my hand on his shoulder, near the silver studs on his leather jacket. He grins to tell me it's all right.

I go up to the bar to get a beer and the singer steps down off the stage and a different singer steps up. She sets right into "Joey." She too is fabulous. I order my drink and I look to my left. The first singer is there.

I know it's not cool to talk to the singer.... but something came over me.

Me-- all cool-- "Hey, that was great." I casually begin to turn away.

"Really? You thought so?" the singer squealed in excitement. "It's so much fun to do. I love the band. It was hard to pick which song..."

She gabs away, her black lipsticked mouth smiling at me the whole time. Her excitement was contagious.

"I know, I love this!!!!" I exclaim. "I feel like I'm 16 seeing my favorite band!"

"Have a great night," she says smiling and walks off.

Where did these people come from?!?!?! I L-O-V-E friendly rock n' rollers. And I was in a whole club full of them.

The Drummer for the metal band? Yeah, he's a yoga instructor.

The bartender? Yeah, he smiles and says thanks for the tips.

The crowd of tough lookin' women? Yup, they smiled at me with appreciation while I mouthed my favorite lyrics from across the bar.

Heaven I tell you... I can't wait to go back. The nostalgia was fun too.

When I first met Garrett I had the bangs and long hair dyed nearly black (now I'm back to natural dirty blond and no bangs). I wore the fishnets and short skirts regularly (now I've turned seasonal). And the eyeliner, oh the eyeliner. Black, liquid purple, you name it and I would wear it as long as I could curl the tips of it up on the sides of my eyes (now eyeliner seems to irritate my eyelids).

I asked Garrett if he remembered when I was rock n' roll?

He just smiled at me.

"Remember when I wore that kind of eyeliner?

"Baby, you don't need make-up," he says.

"Thanks honey, but the eyeliner was a style thing not a beauty thing," I said and then realized something. "Honey, you are marrying a square."

"If you're a square then so am I."

"I'm so wearing fishnets tomorrow night," I said.

And I so did.

Another amazing woman is bloggin' away

I just found out that my good friend Sara has a blog!

http://www.ashesandglass.blogspot.com/

Sara is an amazing, progressive, feminist, Badass who I am honored to not only work with at our not progressive, not amazing, not feminist and certainly not Badass State Capitol--but to call my friend as well.

Stop by-- give some love. She posts about love and life as well as what is happening in the world in regards to both justice and injustice. She then takes it a step further and actually offers suggestions for what we can do about it.

She also has a penchant for all things hair-metal and rock n' roll.

Yahootie for Sara!

Back from Montana...

Coming back from Montana has been just plain cruel on this Midwestern grrrl. Seriously, who likes to come home to days and days of over 100 degree weather? I shouldn't complain too much though, we missed most of it while we were camping.

Montana is absolutely fabulous. The sky *is* big-- that slogan is completely accurate. We were there during a meteor shower and it was nearly impossible to look up into the night sky and not see a shooting star.

Between time with friends, sleeping under the stars, learning to fly fish, bathing in glacier water, and seeing all kinds of cute critters like these guys:
snuggling up with Garrett, dipping in hot springs, rafting down rivers, hiking, writing original mad-libs, exploring ghost towns, playing BANG!, eating red meat (Buffalo) for the first time in nearly 3 years, viewing unbelievably gorgeous scenery and drinking this fabulous beer:I was in a blissful state. There are more pictures, completely out of order, on my Flickr page (which I don't quite know how to use yet-- hence they are all out of order) http://www.flickr.com/photos/7692605@N07/

Now I must go catch up on some blogs.

A Huge Congrats!

Ms. Dawnie Dawn and Mr. Ougday are getting hitched!!!

Sunday night he proposed to her in a manner incredibly befitting to themselves and to their love. We were all there to witness and take pictures (and cry and cry like I did).

Congratulations to you both! I love you both and I can't wait to see what the near future will bring... (and yay-- someone else to talk wedding stuff with!!!)

Crabby McCrabberson

What a great weekend we had. Gar and I have seen Angela and Tim nearly everyday! It is so nice having them as neighbors. Welcome to the Hood my friends! On Saturday we helped them move. Moving my stuff always makes me crabby. Combine that with 97 degree heat-- and I would have been very crabby. But Tim and Angela? Not at all. I was completely impressed. They were chipper, giggly, and kind (as always) the entire time. Even when we were all 'done.' You two are the best!

Later that night, after the move and a lovely dinner with them, we all got talking politics. I don't like talking politics. (That's not true-- I have quite a few amazing fellow politico-nerds that I talk to daily about politics. But outside of that group, I don't like to talk about them-- at home, at other people's homes, etc.) Perhaps it's because I work in them and have to talk about them all day long? Perhaps because I spent a better part of my youth talking politics and got completely burnt out? Perhaps I have a degree of apathy that makes me think its pointless to talk about them outside of work (or my politico community) 'cause I'm gonna believe what I believe and the other person is going to believe what she or he believes? Perhaps I get too sad when I find out someone I think is great in so many other ways ends up being anti-choice, Libertarian, or otherwise crazy? Perhaps I'm just too darn overwhelmed with the state of the world and I find it difficult and depressing to have sweeping, global conversations? Perhaps I don't like mixing personal friendships and politics? Maybe I'm a bit tired of people knowing me for 5 seconds and somehow already realizing my seemingly overt political nature?

Whatever it is, I wasn't prepared for the delight that ensued. I had fun talking politics with the three of them-- and for the first time-- in a long time, I felt passion (outside of work). We talked about the upcoming presidential race. We talked about oppression, internalized oppression, women in politics and voting. We talked about changing the world. We didn't agree on everything, but it was OK. The guys probably think I'm crazy (but I get the sense that Angela didn't) because I felt the emotions to nearly the same degree that I did on election night when we found out that for the first time in American history a woman would have a top-position of power. They were unprepared for how I felt. Tears sprung to my eyes when I described what that means for young girls growing up everywhere. I immediately felt the societal pressure to apologize for getting 'emotional.'

But I didn't.

I need to learn to honor such emotions. I think that is one of my problems with politics at this time; it could be argued that the only emotion we see regularly is hate. Perhaps more love, admiration, passion, community, friendship, compassion, empathy, sympathy, empowerment, happiness (and did I say love) could change things.

The more I think about it, I think maybe that's why I don't like talking politics. I've become a cynic. It's expected... But I digress... I have written (read: rambled) and lost sight of the whole purpose of this post-- crabs.

Sunday night Gar, Ms. Dawnie, her roomie and I went to the All-You-Can-Eat Crab Legs Extravaganza at the James Joyce.

I love crab legs.

So very much.

Really, a lot.

Yum.

$19.99 and 4 plates later I was full. Full and filled with crab and happy.

I, myself, didn't get crabby again until Monday. Sometimes I just wish the weekends were longer.

Arigoto Gozaimas for Karaoke!

The first time I ever did Karaoke was in Japan ("I Love Rock n. Roll" was sung tabletop). Garrett and I had the time of our lives (Elvis' "In the Ghetto"-- a hardcore version). Now we sit on the couch together ("Day-O"), after a bad day ("Great Balls of Fire"), and sing a couple of albums ("These Boots Were Made for Walkin'"). It's better than therapy ("Runaround Sue"). Karaoke dissolves bad days ("Sealed with a Kiss"), bad moods one "La Bamba" at a time ("Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay"). I sang karaoke with Mr. T and Ms. A this weekend ("Wild Thing"). He loved it ("Love Potion #9). The following is my homage to Karaoke. Arigoto Gozaimas!

Boodles

If you think this is funny:
Or you love this movie:
Then you should check out this new blog: http://chiblog-o.blogspot.com/
Love you Tubesy

"Get out of my dreams! Get into my tummy Billy Ocean!"

This is a Billy Ocean.My Daily Struggle should really be in this photo too. She was here, giving love and support and as always-- taking amazing pics. The shot above was from wedding dress shopping day. I think it was one of the most amazing and memorable days that I have ever had.

-

The grrrlz had it all planned out. Lady A made me a rockin' CD. Ms. BaBaam and Ms. Woody both had their convertibles to drive us around town. They brought coolers of champagne to the wedding dress store. The women at Kelly's Closet drank champagne and played dress-up with me. Then we all headed over to Carol St. Cafe-- home of the Billy Ocean. We had champagne cosmopolitans, Billy Oceans, lunch. It must have been 85 degrees that day... and sunny. One of those first spring days where all you want to do is sit on a patio. Then we walked over to 97 Estoria and continued with cocktails and food and debauchery! From the women at Kelly's Closet doting all over me, to the Carol St. Cafe staff treating us like royalty, to the punk-rock server at Estoria that loved us so much she posed in our pictures, to the other tables commenting on what a group of women we were and how much fun it seemed we were having, we were on Cloud Nine. One of those perfect days. And the ending was perfect...

-

The grrrlz had hired a driver to drive us all home that night. He drove in from Athens in his Pope Mobile (as it is the same kind of SUV-thing that the Pope gets driven in). He arrived at Estoria, hung out for a bit and then we were ready to go home. We piled into the Pope Mobile and the dang thing died in the parking lot. So 5 drunk grrrrlz piled out of the Pope Mobile, laughing hysterically and wearing cute mini-skirts and heels and pushed the Pope Mobile to safety. The poor guy was mortified. I personally thought it a fitting way to end the night. I called Garrett and he rescued us. He's my hero.

-

Last night we celebrated Ms. Woody's 33rd birthday and Ms. BaBaaam's 30th birthday with an all Grrrlz, all Billy Ocean evening. We got to Carol St. Cafe and grabbed our same tables outside on the patio. Billy Ocean's for all. We were having a blast when one of the servers came up to us and said "Aren't you the ones that were here a few months ago after wedding dress shopping?" She remembered us, as did the bartender and they continued to dote on us all night last night. The bartender made us Billy Ocean's with the message that "There is extra love in these tonight" as he learned that all the amazing men in our lives had dropped us off and were picking us up later. The servers were kind, talkative, laughing and having fun with us. And the company of amazing grrrlfriends could not be beat!

This is all to say two things. One, Carol St. Cafe is an amazing place-- a neighborhood business that really is unlike any other. And two-- grrrlfriends are the best. I love all the women in my life and I am so thankful for them. I feel so lucky all the time. (Lady A-- you should be in this shot!)

And I love the feeling I get when Gar comes to pick me up. It's only been a few hours but I miss him-- in that good way-- where I can't wait to talk to him, laugh with him and hug him. It's the same sort of excitement that I still get when my phone rings and I see that it is him or my messenger pops up and it says that he has emailed me. And I love when I drive home from work and I see his truck in the driveway. I still get so excited-- I think those butterflies have found a home in my tummy. As far as I'm concerned, they can live there forever.

I had tried so hard to forget... But that damn 'Shakira Shakira' won't let me!

What began as a regular day at work this morning became a "Doh" moment. A slap myself on the side of the head moment. A crawl under my desk moment.

I had really tried to forget. But today my co-worker came into my office and said, "The pictures are here! You can look at all of them and save any of them you want... Wait until you see the pictures from the end of the night. You are gonna love those!"

The end of the night, the end of the night... I was hoping no one would remember the end of the night.

You see, I work for a political association. Every year we get a new president and the induction of him or her is a pretty big deal. In April (always on Gar's birthday week) they throw a huge black-tie ball. This year the ball was at the Ritz Carlton. It's fancy. Now mind you it a progressive organization-- one that I believe in fully, but it is full of very professional, very intelligent, very passionate folks who do wear suits everyday. I get to get a ballgown. They put us up in a fancy room for the night. We have a lovely dinner and the scotch flows like water.

That is my problem-- that the scotch flows like water.

It all started out great!

My favorite thing about this photo is Garrett's expression. My work just framed this photo and put it in our reception area.

After all the speeches and dinner the dancing started in the ballroom. I was informed that it was part of my job to get crazy-- therefore I did my best. The DJ's there passed around sunglasses, boas, and blow-up guitars. People kept drinking and kept dancing. Garrett and I each donned a pair of gold Elvis shades and attempted to cut a rug.

It was really hot on the dance floor and one needed to drink a lot of scotch to keep cool.

Closer to the witching hour the crowd began to thin. Folks went home. Folks went up to their rooms. But all the staff was still there. The new President was still there and the immediate past-president was still there. It became about an intimate crowd of 20 or so.

That is when Garrett did the unthinkable! He went to the DJ and told him that if they played "Hips Don't Lie" by Shakira that he would propose to me. (Please note that we are already engaged at this point. )

Garrett got down on one knee and proposed-- I was confused-- just as everyone else was. And then he let it slip. he told everyone that I would do a bellydance-- that was just a ploy to get the DJ to play the song!

It is true that I took a bellydance class to "Hips Don't Lie." It is true that Garrett loves to watch me do it. It is also true that it is a very fun dance to do while wearing a coin sash and coin bra and jingling all over our house.

But it is also true that I do not believe in doing a bellydance for my new president, the other lobbyists, my co-workers, their spouses, the past president, members of my organization, etc. Nor do I believe in doing a bellydance at the Ritz Carlton. I also do not believe in doing a bellydance in heels.

But I did.

Complete with Elvis shades on my head.

About the time that it was over, I realized that no one else was dancing. They were all "Whoot Whooting" me. Garrett had a huge grin on his face and I realized that I would forever be remembered as the woman who did a bellydance to Shakira at the Ritz Carlton for people she should never have bellydanced for.

As soon as the song ended, I bolted. I didn't even say goodnight. The next morning I decided I would forget that it ever happened. I did pretty good too... if any of my co-workers brought it up, I changed the subject. Generally, that worked.

Then there is this morning. The photos. The proof. My co-workers asking me if I remember.

I can't wait for the weekend.