Brian's wedding ...

My cousin, Brian O'Connell, and Marcy Mugg got married on Saturday July 12, 2008. I've had issues with both my camera and my computer (it wouldn't let me upload anything!).

My cousin Brian (left) looked kind of nervous.

















I really expected that Denny (right) and him would be joking while waiting for the ceremony to start.







The location was beautiful. The Log Cabin in Holyoke, MA. It was overlooking Mount Tom. (This is the point in time when my friend Tom would say "if you insist!")


The ceremony site was fantastic. It was simple and gorgeous.




My cousins, Bridget (left) and Lizzie (below right) were two of Marcy's bridesmaid.

Her colors were a dark green (almost black), light green and pink.

They had a bagpiper who played Lord of the Dance as Marcy walked down the aisle. It was beautiful. Very magical and childlike. Both adjectives I would easily use when speaking of Marcy and Brian. They will forever be like children to me. (I in no way mean this in a derogatory term. I think it's beautiful and special to have that magical glimpse of a relationship like that).

After the ceremony, we had appetizers and drinks on the patio over looking Mount Tom on one side and the whole of Holyoke on the other.

After the sun started going down, it was all illuminated and beautiful in blueish light.

Lizzie and Denny walking around our table as dinner began.

Bridget and Billy, her boyfriend of a long time. She's studying to be a vet and is very smart. When she's got her degree, I know I'll be her first customer.

Lilly, Lizzie's daughter, was fascinated by the lemon sorbet we got between the first courses and the main.

The cake was pretty. There was blindingly white scroll work across it and green ribbon around it.

It tasted of nuts (I couldn't tell you if they were hazelnut or almond) and some liquer. Very sweet but very good.

Ah, Uncle Bart doing the chicken dance. Is there anything better?

Disgusting ...

Like the great daughter I am, I've been helping my mother clean the house.

She and I attacked the laundry room (where the washing machine, dryer, and freezer is). It was disgustingly dirty with dust bunnies and other nasties from the dryer's lint trap. The room was filled with forgotten socks, shirts that were too small (or too big), and childrens' boardgames I hadn't seen since I was twelve.

Then, my mom started to clean the kitchen, throwing away all-star baseball roosters from 1997 with teammate's phone numbers on it, boxing up creamed corn for the foodbank, and brushing away inches (yes inches) of dust off the top of the fridge. She's planning on completely remodeling the kitchen. She wants to add more cabinetry and a "breakfast nook." I think she should paint the walls in "Rosedust."

Sherwin-Williams's "Rosedust"

I think the color is fantastic and if she doesn't use ... hell, even if she does use it ... I plan to use it for myself. Maybe in a bedroom or a living room. I think it would be grand in a bedroom, even though all my bedroom colors are purples (lilacs really) and yellows.

Anyways, I cleaned the living room. I decided that it was time to clean out the heaters. The only word that comes to mind is DISGUSTING! I washed the wall paper with a vingear and water solution (because it's better than using hazardous household cleaners). It was nasty. I pulled out the metal pieces in the baseboard heaters and washed them in the solution. Then, I had to vaccum out the heating element.

I don't know if my mother or father had ever done this before. It was disgusting!

The bare heating element in the living room before I vaccumed

I almost threw up when I got down on the floor. It was filled with dust, dirty, old dog food that Ruggy (my mother's old cairn terrier that we had to put down in 2004) had thrown around and gotten caught in there, and dog hair. It was NARSTY (that's nasty times two).

about when I almost puked

It took me almost all afternoon to completely clean out the heater and the rest of the living room. By the end, I was exhausted and my arms hurt from all the scrubbing I had to do.

much cleaner if you ask me

I'm not a maid. I've decided this. I think I should get paid for cleaning things. No one ever pays me. It's sad.

Sunglasses ... my kingdom for some sunglasses ...

So ....

after getting my hair cut, I went to CVS in search of a few items such as coke ...

and Durcell Digital Pix batteries (since my camera is dead again) ...

While there ... I decided it would be a good idea to finally buy a "lense repair kit" in hopes to fix my most favorite pair of sunglasses (and by most favorite I mean the only pair I own - I love those sun glasses ... they are pink and I bought them for $13.95 in a reststop on the New Jersey Thruway (or whatever that thing is called) when I drove down to Virginia Beach to pick up Pat from AIT (army stuff).) They've been broken (one screw fell out of the nose piece back in August when I dislocated my shoulder - I feel down and they went FLYING out of my bag and I lost the screw). This made me sad ... so I bought a repair kit ...

turns out the screws don't fit because there is a washer that is missing ... and I hate my life again ...

so I went online to look for a new pair of sunglasses I might like ... taking me to the Sunglass Hut online. I used to hate that store in the mall. The clerks always looked so lonely (cause no one went in there) but surly at the same time ... so I really couldn't feel bad for them. But upon going to said website ... I found a beautiful pair of sunglasses that I really would like to purchase

They are the Versace VE2021 in Shiny gunmetal/grey. They are beautiful. (see picture - bring a napkin to wipe up drool which will follow inevitably!)

Now as some of you may have noticed ... the price tag is a little steep. But, anyone who knows me ... knows that there are two things I have no problem paying A LOT of money for: Purses are #1 ... #2 is sunglasses. I would give up my first born for a nice purse and pair of sunglases (that is if I had kids).

That's where I'm hoping my tax refund will come into play ... and a nice little pop over to ebay and I've got myself some stylin' glasses.

Saxy (that's sexy times two!) glasses won't you come live with me?

I am so tired ...

How tired are you?

I'm so tired ... I think I might die.

OK ... maybe not die, but pass out nonetheless.

I haven't been sleeping well lately. I thought it was because of the cat hair all over the house. BUT after a very good scrub (yeah I had a Katie Perry moment - I was ironing the sheet that I put over one of my plush arm chairs to stop the cats from clawing the hell out of them and I was like ... damn Britta, this is just for a chair ... STOP), it seems there is still cat hair everywhere.

So, I think I'm going to send the cats to the groomers ... well maybe. I'm not sure if I can afford it. And we all know what happens when I try to do it myself ... Ruby looks like she got hit with a weed wacker!

(A note of clarification: When I was in high school, I worked at a kennel and began a grooming training program. I was never licensed for dogs and, especially, not cats who require very VERY stingent requirements for licensure. I just remember how to do it and tried it on the cats ... they hate me, now, btw.)

This is how they look before (Yeah, they were getting ready to fight - heck this might have been mid-fight). See how fluffy both of their coats are?:



And, this is how my cats look when they have been groomed. You will notice that they are not so fluffy anymore!:

They get what is called a lion cut (see Ruby in the foreground of the above picture). They shave the body and leave tufts at the feet (so they can clean their face), a mane of fur around their heads, and the most adorable pom pom on their tails.

This is one of their infamous Face Offs ... a lot of posturing ... a lot of staring ... not much action!

I think I'm coming down with something ... it's either that or the sheer amount of allergens in my house are killing me. Nevertheless, I'm going back to sleep for a while since I've been up since 6 a.m. hoping I'd get called today. (No such lucky, obviously).

Night!

Oh Baby ...

Sooo ...

Mindy had her baby. Blake William Burr was born at 8 something or other a.m. on Tuesday January 8, 2008 (the day after Mindy's 27th birthday).

He was 4 lb. 12 oz. and 16 1/4 inches long (if I remember right).

Mindy had a C-Section. I'm not sure if it was technically an emergency C-section only because ... well here's the story. Mindy has been having problems with the pregnancy since 23 weeks or so. There were a few scary spots in there. But as soon as Christmas hit, they were sure she was going to go to full term.

Then, her blood pressure started to go up and they noticed that the little guy really didn't seem to be growing inside. So, as Mindy put it, "if he's not growing in there, why not see if he'll grow out here."

They scheduled a C-section for January 22, 2008, but then her blood pressure went up further. So ... at her last OBGYN appointment, they told her to come back the next day because she was going to be going home with a baby.

He's such a little guy ... and while he's still cute and little ... I still don't want one of my own just yet ... Katie on the other hand, well I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't expecting by at least sometime this summer.

Mindy and Chad are doing well. Mindy says still doesn't think he's hers. I offered to take him but Mindy's mom wasn't having that. (Clearly, I was joking as I can't imagine myself with children).

To Knit or not to Knit ... that is the question ...

So,

... in a fit of boredom. I've started knitting again. As Courtney can attest to ... I'm not that good of a knitter. (Well Courts is the person who once tried to knit a "pot holder" and ended up finishing it by pulling the needle out of the last row ... folding it over and using athletic tape to tape the end shut). She's a freak.

I can knit a scarf ... mostly because it's straight across and then straight up from there. I knit this for my mom for Christmas ... cause I'm pooooooooor.



















Yeah ... it's the state of Massachusetts on a potholder. If you want the pattern ... I can direct you to the site ... if not ... meh.

I, also, knitted these two bidbs. For babies and stuff ... I ain't got a baby but I figured I could give one to Ashley who just had her little boy (Lennen Ewald) and Mindy's baby (who isn't here yet).



















Do you like the button? I got it at Michaels. I know it's not very practical for a baby's bib ... being all buttony and stuff but I wasn't really thinking about that when I bought it. I was thinking ... man, I like daisies ... and this will go perfect with the BRIGHT YELLOW bib I just knit!


















Then there is this monstrosity which took me about three hours to do ... it's so soft but it's tiny too ... like a newborn bib right?

Yeah ... I've got no life ...

So, I decided to do a fashion show with an old Strawberry Shortcake doll I had ...


















Ain't she pretty?

Chula was not amused ...


so she decided to clean herself ... she's just damn lucky I didn't decide to make her try it on!



Notice the chair behind Chula ... see all those notebooks and papers and other books? Yeah that's all my writing notes. Notice there is no cushion on said chair ...





I think I threw it under my bed ... but now I can't remember why! This is why I will never be a published author ... no will power to organize!




And Strawberry in the mostrosity.











Then ... after all that ... I decided to bake ... I'm so Suzie Homemaker (not Homewretcher like some of you all think!)




I made Trader Joe's Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Bean Cake Batter Cupcakes.

And so it begins ...

So ...

I've been technically unemployed for 2 months and 22 days.

My life is boring but enough about me ... recently my brother became unemployed also. Following in his big sister's footsteps, he decided that he was going to sign up to be a sub in town too.

Poor kids.

I love being a sub. I just wish it was steadier work ... or paid better. I might not have liked Tufts all that much but the pay was fantastic ... compared to what I am getting now ...

So, why start a blog about my boring existant as an Un-/Under- Employed Subsistute Teacher in a small town in Massachusetts. 'Cause! My life really isn't as boring as you would think.

Just today, I walked out into the kitchen to find my brother poking something in the microwave. I couldn't figure out what was going on ... now I wished I'd never asked.

Turns out he left the door to the microwave open when he went to the freezer in the basement and the cat climbed in. (Note: No cats (even slow and unintelligent cats) were hurt during the photography of these events). He saw the cat, Ruby, the minute he came into the kitchen and she started harassing him from inside the microwave (Note: the door was never closed on her in there and he never turned the microwave on - cause that would have resulted in baked cat for dinner).

Now, you need to keep in mind that Patrick and Ruby don't ... what we like to call ... get along ... so when he tried to remove her from said microwave, Ruby spazed. Hissing, spitting and cry ensued. Ruby got mad too ;) poor Pat. This is the point where he called me into the kitchen to help him. He threatened to turn the microwave on if I didn't get her out. (He really wanted his mac and cheese).

This is when Pat decided he was going to try to eat her for lunch since he hadn't started his mac and cheese yet. (Notice the plate and silverware.)

Ruby was pretty nonplused, to say the least but finally I was able to extricate her from the damn microwave.

Pat decided that he was going to eat her for lunch. Ruby had other ideas.

When she finally turned on her ... he threatened a good stabbing.

It should be noted that Ruby is ... how do I put this ... slow. She was the runt of her litter. She's got too many toes and not enough brains. She's got some kind of heart murmur that causes her to gasp for air when she and her sister, Chula, get fighting. She has one all ranging emotion (there is no happy ... there is fear ... there is no anger ... there is just emotion and it is all expressed the same way: hissing and snarling and spiting. So you truly never know when she is going to attack you and when she is just being nice.) Oh, and she hates men. All men. Especially, Pat.

Chula (left) and Ruby (right) ... they are Norwegian Forest Cats.

A picture of Ruby post - microwave incident to prove she's alright ... well as alright as Ruby can be!