My beautiful sister is getting married. That's right, her moment in time has come. Greg couldn't be a better fit for our family if he tried and I am beyond happy for them - but before they get to the them, we had to celebrate her. Sarah as a bachelorette. What better way to do so than with a bachelorette party!
Andrea and I had been keeping Sarah out of the loop for a good month about the party - everything was a total surprise to her. When she arrived at the house she was visibly anxious, awaiting the days activities. She would ask questions like "Where we're going will I need . . ." and "Will we be coming back here?" Everybody knows I absolutely love surprises, even when they're not for me, so I was giddy with secrets.
Of course, when you get 7 women together someone is bound to blurt something out and when Andrea did, thank God Sarah didn't hear. The second time, however, we didn't get so lucky and one of the girls exclaimed, while standing right next to Sarah, "So are we all getting pedis??" and Sarah shot us a look and grinned. Said person felt horrible but Sarah was excited, and we all laughed because she had just spent the morning painting her fingers and toes - making her late. So it was off to Tootsies Nails in Denver, where you can drink champagne and bring appetizers if you please, our choice was watermelon. Being the MOH I got to sit next to Sarah which made me more excited than I bet she realizes. I often do not force myself next to someone but I wanted to be right by her, so when she asked me to go with her I beamed ha!
Once nails were complete we headed back to the house to wait for our next surprise. An hour and a half of games and mingling, appetizer eating and wine drinking, went by before the people arrived for Bottle and Bottega. This time it was a complete surprise and when they arrived at the door Sarah looked worried, she thought we had gotten a noise complaint haha! Once they began bringing in there paint supplies she looked confused and then when the canvases and easels popped up she got excited. So excited in fact that later she drank her paint water. Don't worry, they warned us before hand that it wasn't toxic and happened quite frequently. We all swarmed around our creations and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I would HIGHLY recommend doing this at any kind of party.
After bottle and bottega it was time for dinner - as we were boarding the light rail Andrea let it slip that we were going to Osteria Marco for dinner - Sarah's eyes lit up because she had never been there. We arrived and gorged ourselves on olives, salads, pizza, and chocolate torte. We also feasted our eyes on the Magic Mike waiter when Andrea tried to take his shirt off - no big deal! Once we were finished stripping the waiter and eating our fair share we went out to celebrate on the town.
We went from bar to bar playing trivia games and completing punishments for those who got their trivia wrong. My favorite was when Sarah had to sing and act out "I'm a little teapot" while standing on a chair! She owned it! She also had to take pictures with random men who fit her "Scavenger Hunk" throughout the night. We never completed it but Sarah was determined to find the exact guys not just ones who looked like them.
The night ended with a final lightrail ride home, complete with a drunken dumb guy who tried to sit with Andrea and Sarah - causing Sarah to chew him out and give him a lesson in manners. He told us he wasn't getting married because he wanted to travel and she said "Oh THATS not why you're not married" hahaha!! I love her.
The next morning I woke up early to drink coffee before making delicious french toast and bacon for the bachelorette brunch. We added strawberries and whipped cream and viola! It was delicious. I would call the bachelorette party and brunch a huge success! Now I look forward to celebrating their marriage in Cape Cod this coming week!
Friday morning I woke up early to get ready to depart to Colorado. While packing I loaded my computer and signed in to Yahoo. Of course the first this I saw is the news of the movie theater shootings that took place just hours ago, while I slept. I instantly began crying. The emotion that ripples through ones soul after reading of such a senseless tragedy is breath taking. To imagine being in the moment, in that space, while something so horrendous falls around you in slow motion is heart wrenching and unimaginable. I cannot imagine the pain of those who lost someone on that day in Colorado. I cannot imagine the grieving process of not only those with lost loved ones but of those there to witness the movie-turned-war-zone. My heart and prayers go out to them a hundred times over and I can only hope that solice is coming as the days pass by.
I continued to think of Aurora, Colorado as I loaded my car and found my way to a cracker barrel for breakfast and as I drove the 11 hour trip to Denver. I passed gorgeous landscapes, and boring ones [buck up Kansas]. I heard beautiful songs and listened to testimonies of those at the movie theater and who had lost loves ones flooding through my speakers. At one point as I entered a new highway my GPS registered how many miles till my next turn - my next turn wasn't until Aurora. Each time I looked at the screen I winced. And even so I wondered how something so far removed could effect me so.
In all reality I don't know if its the deaths or the realization of the unexpected. Although I find the deaths to be unmistakably and unshakably tragic I also find the simplicity of it all the scariest. I think what ripped through me more than anything was the thought of enjoying something so simple - a movie with family or friends - only to have the moment and your life ripped from you so easily in a matter of minutes. Death is sad, but death is normal - eventually we will all die and the way it happens may not be as we pictured, but when you are robbed of that life in the middle of a moment - it is exponentially more sad, more grave. So, although I has no connections and no loss - I ache when I think of the smiling faces, waiting for a new scene in the movie, only to awaken to a new life.
The sadness continued as I arrived in Denver and met my sister. While a happy moment commenced with cooking and preparing for the bachelorette party, we could help bringing up the topic over and over throughout the day and evening. I am so blessed to have my family still in my life - and to know that everything will be okay. I can only pray that those effected by what happened in that Aurora movie theater will also know that it will be alright, someday.
Thursday I woke up and hour past my alarm - at 8:30! That day I was going horseback riding with my friend Gus.
I met Gus on a cruise five years ago. I was with Kassie and her family and one day - I don't remember when or where - we met these guys Gus and Anthony. Since Kassie and I each had boyfriends our relationships with them stayed plutonic and we all had a blast hanging out the whole week on the boat. At the time Gus and Kassie paired up, and Anthony and I paired up; funny how no matter what people seem to gravitate toward twos. Obviously Kassie was not on my road trip and Anthony was busy with life - so Gus and I decided we would have our own little reunion!
Gus warned me before I arrived that I was in for some serious a serious redneck rodeo - he figured I may need to prepare myself. Little did he know that we have plenty of rednecks running around Minnesota. When I got to his house we hugged and mused at how shocked we were to meet again, five years later! I got to see the chickens Gus raises and his puppies, which were adorable beyond all means and I would totally have taken if I could. After we finished touring his little piece of heaven he took me out to lunch at the finest little gas station chicken place the worlds ever seen - Champs Chicken! Specializing in fried chicken and - choke - livers and gizzards [so gross]. We then found our way to his friends house - where we ate our food and talked about all sorts of the most redneck stuff - chickens, bars, airsoft guns, and other unmentionable things! ;) Later we went to another mans house to grab Gus' saddle before heading off to go horseback riding.
Back at his parents place we took time to chill out from the 104 degree weather. I convinced him and horseback riding was a grand idea despite the heat and we went out in the pasture to wrangle some horses. After saddling up and drinking plenty of water we went out and rode around in the pecan trees. It was ungodly hot. Like the ridiculous kind of heat where realize heat stroke is a real possibility. After only 30 minutes my legs began to shake and I started to get dizzy, and not from blood sugar issues. We returned as quickly as possible and went inside before I passed out. Gus took the most ridiculous picture of me I have ever seen - and probably the most dangerous. I was so red and so sweaty that my head was throbbing and no amount of water - the entire day - made my headache go away.
After our little break Gus, his father, and I went to pick up his mom from work. His parents are hilarious. They're so full of life and hilarious jokes - the family dynamic is comical. Gus is a typical child, even at 22, out to agonize his parents until they're on the edge of beating him, while he slyly laughs as if he's gotten away with something. Their accents are also priceless - I love how they formed their sentences and the phrases they came up with that I had to ask them to repeat on several occasions.
Needless to say I had a fantastic time hangin in a tiny town east of Tulsa, mingling with the rednecks and having heat stroke :)
Can I just say - Oklahoma is gorgeous. Driving through this state has startled me and brought on a whole new appreciation for this little chunk of the country. I'd always imagined it to be like Nebraska or Kansas - little did I know that rolling hills and lush green trees would greet me as I drove head first into cattle country. My appreciation grew even more yesterday, while Alex and I drove to Turner Falls.
Turner Falls is a water-park-esque area with swimming holes and water slides, and of course, water falls all naturally made. Well - not the water slides - but if not for the dams the whole place was carved out of the Earth by erosion decades ago - leaving perfect summer time fun in it's path. We arrived and made our way to the water slides and diving board. I braced myself for the plunge of around 30 feet and watched as Alex went first - letting out a minor scream before careening into the water butt first. I am so happy I brought a water camera because I got to take pictures of us the whole time we entertained ourselves in the water.
We found our way over to the little water falls and swam under them, all the while I anticipated when we would go to the larger one. Finally, after about an hour, we decided to pick up our things and walk the half mile up the road to the larger water fall. Sadly, when we got there, we found that you are no longer allowed to swim in the waterfalls - apparently there have been deaths related to swimming in the falls and jumping from the rocks. No matter, we made our own fun swimming and laughing as Alex pushed the limits more and more. Eventually we made our way up the side of the hill, barefoot, to climb the side of this little cliff into a cave that sat to the right and above the waterfalls. Getting there was not scary for me, but terrified Alex - climbing up the rock face into the cave was a breeze for her and I was shaking and imagined myself slipping and falling over the falls several times - terrified I asked Alex to help me into the cave. The view was magnificent and well worth the near death experiences we both shared.
Later on, after we had gorged ourselves on fruit cups we watched as three or four people began swimming past the no swimming signs and climb onto the rocks. Slowly we made our way past the no swimming signs and frolicked beneath the waterfalls as we took pictures and tried doing rock-waterfall-yoga haha!
After an hour of this water hole we made our way back down the hill and took two more slips down the slide before succumbing to exhaustion and loading up the car. During the hour long car ride back I fell asleep, leaving Alex to sing to herself while I checked out - sorry!! We made it back just in time to shower and for Alex to make salmon - YUM! At this point it was time for me to go so we picked up our now developed pictures and I was on my way to Tulsa.
Well, I was supposed to make it to Tulsa by 7 for church and as I got on the highway I realized that it takes 2.5 hours to get there, not 1 as my blonde self had previously calculated. So needless to say, I missed church and made it into Tulsa around 9pm. Maggie greeted me with a smile and a hug and I remembered why I liked this girl so much!! After talking for a good two hours we called it quits and went to sleep!
I had such a wonderful time catching up with such a dear friend to me - Thank you for having me stay with you Alex and I cannot wait to see you again! I will post pictures once I have the CD with me :)
Tuesday Linnzie and I had breakfast to bid me farewell. I was on my way to Oklahoma to see my friend Alex. Alex and I became best friends in 1st grade, when I approached her and asked if she wanted to be my friend. We remained friends until I moved away in 4th grade. We kept in touch until we were ten and then lost each others numbers. Somehow, 5 years later, Alex contacted me and we both lived in Virginia again! So we met up, only once, before I moved back to Minnesota.
Now, 7 years later I am visiting Alex again - but this time I found her, on facebook - only two months ago! When I got here I laughed at how Alex now is so much like Alex then - she even has the same laugh! We talked for a good two hours before dinner - she made bay scallop spaghetti, it was so delicious! Afterward we decided on ice skating, which is really just hilarious because she knows what shes doing and shes from Oklahoma and I was so ridiculous, that only being my fifth time on the ice [yes yes I know i'm from Minnesota ha!].
We made our way to Brick Town OKC and sat at a little bar, laughing at all the crazies. I must say, though, Oklahoma has it's share of attractive men! Non of which I would talk to of course, because I am only 4 days into my year long commitment - way to be strong!!
We found that we couldn't last long because we were both exhausted and went home around 10:30.
Today we are going to Turner Falls to swim among the water falls! I am beyond ecstatic!!!
Monday came and Linnzie and I decided a walk would be a good idea. After lunch of course. We went out for lunch at this nice restaurant that I don't know the name of. I got fish and chips but got my fish grilled instead of battered - I wish more people knew you could order it that way because it is beyond amazing!!! After lunch we decided to walk into the shops and such before heading to Home Depot for some home improvement shenanigans.
Once at Home Depot we quickly realized that we would not get our needs met and left. Linnzie had wanted more life size models depicting the options for her new home but they just couldn't cut it. We stopped at this famous barbecue place and picked up dinner before heading to marble slab to celebrate National Ice Cream day - a day late. I got coconut ice cream with almonds and chocolate - it was beyond amazing. I left it in Houston when I left so I hope Linnzie enjoyed the rest of it!!
We made it home just in the nick of time, it began violently thunder storming and raining within five minutes of us getting in the door. This was our opportunity for a movie! After perusing the listings we decided on Mirror Mirror.
Neither of us realized how hilarious this movie was! Filled with banter and odd twists of comedy we laughed our way all the way to the end. I would highly recommend seeing this to anyone - and I would also like to get a taste for the Huntsman [no pun intended!], but have yet to see it.
Linnzie and I then moved on the Extreme Makeover: Weightloss Edition and watched as Nyla shed the pounds - then hankered down for The Bachelorette!!! Ahhh reality TV ridiculousness. I loved seeing Sean on the reunion show - being so sure and ready to start life, lets just say I would love to watch him as the bachelor!!
We finished our reality TV madness with Hells Kitchen before going to sleep. I would say we had a successful visit :) I always love seeing Linnzie and I look forward to seeing Kyle, her, and baby peanut next time i'm in town!! I'm so happy for the marriage Linnzie and Kyle have found - and the new blessing brought into their life!!
Sunday brought church and lunch with my favorite teacher from high school. She was my Spanish teacher and had a way to get through to us as high-schoolers that other teachers lacked. Now i'm not saying we all got straight A's but I am saying that I distinctly remember her having a talk with us about the work it takes to learn a language. Most of us scoffed and thought "I do not want to spend everyday on one subject" but non the less I have taken that with me into other classes during college.
Church service was about marriage [ Is there some theme going on here God??] and what marriage is. Marriage is meant to represent the relationship between God and the Church [ the Church being the body, not the location and the bricks, that make up a congregation]. Marriage is meant to represent how God loves and sacrifices himself for the Church the same way that the Church should sacrifice themselves. The pastor said an interesting thing - he stated that marriage is not for us, marriage is not meant to provide something in our lives. He kept saying "What does this person do for me? How do they do this or that in my life?" - he said that we have it all wrong. Marriage is supposed to be the outward expression of God and his relationship with the Church. When he got into the vows part of a wedding he stressed the fact that for better or for worse meant for better or for worse. I laughed when he said "Well, you might say, I didn't realize it would be this much worser" ha! Stating once again that marriage is not for us, it's not to make our lives better or to make them easier - it's again a union for God. He also says that there are reasons for divorce, reasons in the Bible that are justifiable for divorce - however, he asks if we need to end it just because it isn't going well, just because "we're not us" anymore or "it's not making me happy." One couple he used as an example are on the edge of divorce but the woman says she isn't sure what to do - because although her husband did something worth them divorcing over she wants to make sure she's doing right by God - stating that she'd rather be unhappy in her marriage than disobey God. Now - I must admit this whole sermon is a little hard for me, because I don't understand why God would want us unhappy, but I found some of the message very meaningful and worth taking into a marriage. Amen. out
After Church we took her [adorable beyond all reason] kids to Chuys for lunch. After talking for the first fifteen minutes and never opening our menus I decided to concentrate. Apparently she gets the same thing every time so after a few minutes I told her what I was getting and it was the same thing!! After an hour or so of talking and eating, well I was eating - Poor Jaclyn could hardly get a bite in because her children were dominating her existence, we went back to her house and I set out on my way to Linnzie's. I loved catching up with Jaclyn and meeting her newest little man. It feels good knowing that I have kept in touch with someone who I loved going to class with every day in high school - and it feels even better being able to tell my story and be proud of where I'm at in life, because God knows my teachers in high school prayed for me.
It's off to see Linnzie, the wonderful Linnzie of love! Linnzie, as most of you know, was my roommate in Colorado. When we all moved in together Sarah was worried that we wouldn't get along. She could not have been more wrong. Through laughter and morning dance parties we each found a special place in our hearts and she is definitely one of my best friends. Once I got to her house we decided to go shopping for a while. We made it to the Galleria just fine and found ourselves in the maternity store, where Linnzie picked out clothes and I strapped a fake baby belly on to see what it would be like. It was so funny, that we decided a picture was in order! Soon enough Linnzie and I were walking around the mall like 70 year old women, complaining of aches and pains, sitting down - and even both letting out a sigh at the same time when we got on the escalator! My pain was due to my back and a lack of medical care - hers of course was 7 months of pregnancy. We called it quits and drove home, exhausted but laughing our butts off about being the youngest old people there. Kyle greeted us with a delicious Chicken Alfredo [ I was forced to capitilize that?? ] dinner, yum! Sleep came quickly after that!!
My beautiful sister is getting married. That's right, her moment in time has come. Greg couldn't be a better fit for our family if he tried and I am beyond happy for them - but before they get to the them, we had to celebrate her. Sarah as a bachelorette. What better way to do so than with a bachelorette party! 
Of course, when you get 7 women together someone is bound to blurt something out and when Andrea did, thank God Sarah didn't hear. The second time, however, we didn't get so lucky and one of the girls exclaimed, while standing right next to Sarah, "So are we all getting pedis??" and Sarah shot us a look and grinned. Said person felt horrible but Sarah was excited, and we all laughed because she had just spent the morning painting her fingers and toes - making her late. So it was off to Tootsies Nails in Denver, where you can drink champagne and bring appetizers if you please, our choice was watermelon. Being the MOH I got to sit next to Sarah which made me more excited than I bet she realizes. I often do not force myself next to someone but I wanted to be right by her, so when she asked me to go with her I beamed ha! 
Once nails were complete we headed back to the house to wait for our next surprise. An hour and a half of games and mingling, appetizer eating and wine drinking, went by before the people arrived for Bottle and Bottega. This time it was a complete surprise and when they arrived at the door Sarah looked worried, she thought we had gotten a noise complaint haha! Once they began bringing in there paint supplies she looked confused and then when the canvases and easels popped up she got excited. So excited in fact that later she drank her paint water. Don't worry, they warned us before hand that it wasn't toxic and happened quite frequently. We all swarmed around our creations and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I would HIGHLY recommend doing this at any kind of party. 
After bottle and bottega it was time for dinner - as we were boarding the light rail Andrea let it slip that we were going to Osteria Marco for dinner - Sarah's eyes lit up because she had never been there. We arrived and gorged ourselves on olives, salads, pizza, and chocolate torte. We also feasted our eyes on the Magic Mike waiter when Andrea tried to take his shirt off - no big deal! Once we were finished stripping the waiter and eating our fair share we went out to celebrate on the town. 
We went from bar to bar playing trivia games and completing punishments for those who got their trivia wrong. My favorite was when Sarah had to sing and act out "I'm a little teapot" while standing on a chair! She owned it! She also had to take pictures with random men who fit her "Scavenger Hunk" throughout the night. We never completed it but Sarah was determined to find the exact guys not just ones who looked like them. 
