*Yawn*

Saturday morning. Big sigh! It's been insanely busy . . . at work, at home . . . barely enough time to breathe. Work is so busy that I get there, work through the day w/o a break and then run out to get home and do all the things (house work, paying bills, making phone calls, running errands) that I also have trouble keeping up with right now! But, I got a lot done this past week. A LOT.

Last weekend was the hottest weekend yet. It was so f'ing hot I thought I would pass out at one point. I heard it was *only* 111 degrees last Sunday, but it felt hotter . . . and like it wasn't going to stop! I had to go out on both days last weekend and I was not a happy camper over it.

On the bright side, my best friend had her first fitting in her bridal gown and we got that started. The bustier she bought to wear under the dress didn't work because it was visible and the dress could not be modified enough to make it work. So we knew we were going to have to find something else. We left the dress with the seamstress to let them do the hem and bustle and went back to her place to talk about her wedding shower set for the following Friday.

On Sunday we met up and went shopping for a bustier. We went to a bridal shop that was a madhouse and found nothing. Then we went to the mall across the street and realized after walking around Macy's for 10 minutes that we were sweating. Turns out their A/C was malfunctioning. Bad timing! Anyway, we found nothing but a few towels (I have these Hotel Collection) towels at home and I wanted to add a few to our stock). They were on sale and they are the best towels EVER! If you have a Macy's near you, I highly recommend the Hotel Collection towels. You'll never go back to regular towels.

We made our way down the mall, but it was pretty crowded -- probably all the people who either don't have A/C, or whose A/C was broken, or who just needed to get out of the house and it was too hot to do anything else. I had hoped that it was so damned hot that a lot more people would have stayed home. Oh, well.

I forgot to mention we were also looking for a dress for me to wear in the wedding. On the hottest day of the year so far. So yeah, I was really in the mood to try on dresses. Well, we never saw anything of interest so I got out of that. We made our way to Nordstrom to check out their lingerie and I was starting to lose hope until we found these bustiers by Felina. I think we found the perfect one. It held everything up, but was cut low in front and lower in the back. Totally smooth, and much more comfortable than the one she bought originally -- and it was much easier to get her into! So we found "the one." Unfortunately, it was black (she tried it on for size & style). They didn't have the beige one in stock. We asked them to get one from another location, but of course it turned out they couldn't find one. I say of course because why should this be that easy?! What a pain.

We came home and I found a web site that had the right size, style & color of the Felina bustier and my friend ordered it on Thursday. Hoping it shows up by mid next week, as she has her second fitting (and this is the one where they will determine the alterations for the bust of the dress) next Saturday. We can always move the fitting if we need to, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll show up. We never did find a suitable dress to try on, so I still have that mission ahead of me.

Then it was back to work -- interviews left and right, meetings left and right, e-mails left, right, up and down, phone calls, running around -- busy! I still love the job. But man, I don't remember when I've been so busy.

And I still had to get things ready for the wedding shower. I sent invites out 3 weeks in advance, and asked for RSVP's w/in 2 weeks of having sent out the invites. Out of 28 invites, I received a grand total of THREE RSVPs. I was pissed! Not surprised, but pissed all the same. This group of people irritates me. I had the same issue with them at the engagement party, and though most of the people did not RSVP, most of them (and about thirty people who were not invited) showed up. I was afraid the same thing would happen for the shower -- and since I was footing half the bill for this at a nice restaurant, I was losing my patience.

I got numbers from my friend and called her future MIL and had her call all of her relatives who did not RSVP (who made up most of the guest list). Of course, they all came. So why the hell not make a phone call or send an e-mail, you lazy sons of bitches?! Pissed.

Then I called my friend's other friends (not really mutual friends, but I know them). I left them all messages letting them know I was going to put them down as a "no" for the engagement party if I didn't hear back from them that night or the following morning. Surprise, surprise, surprise -- my phone started ringing off the hook. Oh, yeah, we'll totally be there. Was I supposed to respond by today? Oops! Sons of bitches!

I was still stressed about the thought that some of the invited guests would again invite additional guests. I stressed all the way until last night when the party started, until I decided to order a drink and say "fuck it." Then I felt better. On Wednesday I ordered this chocolate truffle cake from Ettore's a local European bakery/restaurant well-known for its confections. Here is how the cake is described:

"When served at room temperature this chocolate treat absolutely melts in your mouth. Made with three layers of dense sour cream chocolate cake filled with chocolate ganache and topped with a decadent chocolate truffle."

The bride wanted ganache, so I got her ganache. And this cake was GOOD. We got a 1/4 sheet and about 1/4 of that is left over from last night and is now in my fridge. The husband will be so pleased. If you like chocolate, and there is an Ettore's near you, BUY THIS CAKE! And be sure to eat it at room temp. They ain't kidding. It makes a difference.

So Thursday I did some shopping for some minimal decorations, and found the cutest thick ocean blue glass short squared vases that were 70% off. I'd have paid the normal $12.99 for one of these anyway, but paying $3 something made it that much sweeter. I bought four of 'em and was gonna get fresh flowers to decorate the tables at the restaurant. Unfortunately, I did not have enough time to get flowers so I did something else. More on that later. I also had gone out at lunch time to get the shower gift and I had it gift wrapped. What a time saver! Totally worth it.

In the midst of all this, the husband was getting ready to go to the races -- his annual pilgrimage to Sonoma for the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Fram Autolite Nationals. Three days of camping on the side of a mountain and running back and forth to a track. He always wants me to go with him, and I never do. I went once five years ago and it was good enough for me. I just wouldn't get enough out of that to make it worth spending the money for both of us -- plus, I'm totally happy for him to go have his boy's weekend and I get to stay home and sleep in the middle of my bed instead of fighting for the little sliver I usually get between the husband and the cat! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

On Friday morning I got up at 4 with the husband and a friend of his who stayed over and helped them get their stuff together and out the door. Then I couldn't fall back asleep so I knew it was gonna be a loooong day. I went to work and got started on everything I needed to get done. By midday it was hitting me that I got up at 4 a.m. after going to bed sometime between 11 and 12. I put together my stuff and made a flier encouraging guests to write on these cute little note cards I got to offer unsolicited marital advice -- funny, serious, whatever. Then I had them put in their little envelopes and put 'em in a little Tuscan style lidded box for the bride & groom to keep. That worked out well. I also made a flier to keep track of gifts and the bride and groom's reaction to each. I was going to read them off (you know, the whole "things that can be heard on the wedding night" kind of thing) but I didn't want to be the game nazi and never did it. I think they'll still get a kick out of it when I give it to them. So I left work at 4 to pick up the cake at 4:30, then got home to change, freshen up and load up all my stuff. It was almost 6 and the party was starting at 7 so I was in a bit of a panic about what to put in the blue vases. Well, I looked around and I have some dried floral arrangements in the house, so -- I took one apart, cut them down and made them out of what I already had. And you know what? They came out cute! But I made a huge mess on my bed where I cut everything up, plus, I hacked apart one of my own arrangements so now I need to replace that. Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures!

I got to the restaurant at 6:25 and, thank God, no one was there early. I brought all my stuff in and the room was fantastic. The table set up, the place itself, just awesome. I put out my blue vases and scattered some cute tropical confetti around the base of each. That was the extent of my decorating. That, the cake, which had its own table, and gift, which had its own table (of course, the start of the gift table), and the buffet set up for the appetizers. Oh, the appetizers! Here's what we had:

Wood Grilled Mushrooms - stuffed with savory-mascarpone & topped with a tomato chutney.

Bite Size Roman Meatballs with egg and parmesan

Bruschetta - Grilled sourdough with green olive, soft italian cheese,
pepperoncinis, parsley, lemon zest

Bruschetta with tomato & basil salsa

Pizza Platter (Margherita)

WOW! The mushrooms . . . heavenly. The meatballs . . . to die for. The bruschetta w/tomato & basil salsa . . . yum! The pizza was good, too. I didn't try the bruschetta w/green olives & pepperoncinis -- I hate pepperoncinis. That was my friend's choice and it turned out that neither she, nor anyone else, liked it. But thas was only one misstep from all our choices. The appetizers were SO good. If you have a Piatti near you, I highly recommend these things. Again, wow! Very, very good. And the service was impeccable. Our waiter, Ignacio, was so attentive and all I had to do was catch his eye to get whatever we needed. He took care of everything. I think I'm gonna have to write the restaurant a letter about him. And their food. So, the event went very well, and the bride and groom and everyone else seemed to have a good time. It was expensive, though, and hurt just a little. But my friend deserves it -- and now it's done. Done! Check it off the list! Yay!

After the party, me and the bride & groom went over to one of her friend's and husband's new house not far from the restaurant. 5400 square feet of opulence . . . I never saw so much travertine and granite. And they have one of those fixtures over their giant stove that allows you to fill pasta pots w/water. Celebrity style. Double ovens, multiple sinks, a granite slab that you could seat 15 people at easily. It was huge. Not all of it was of a style that would appeal to me, but there were a lot of Tuscan elements down to some very interesting plaster walls. And the showers were all so huge that shower doors were not necessary. Imagine a bedroom that makes a king sized bed look like a twin sized bed. Yeah, it was big.

So we hung out there and enjoyed the fact that it was probably 75 degrees at 11-12-1 at night/in the morning. The bride was completely sauced, though. Those $10 glasses of wine had finally hit her and she was in another world. Wonder how she's feeling today?! I'll call her later. I got home around 2:00 a.m. -- oh, and there were two more interesting things about last night. When I got off the freeway at my exit, I saw a shooting star! That was cool. Then, as I was driving down my street I was nearly home when I saw something in the street and came to a stop. There was a POSSUM right there in the street! He waddled the rest of the way across and onto someone's lawn. ON SOMEONE'S LAWN! I stopped the car, and sat there and watched th is POSSUM sitting on someone's LAWN. And I thought, AAHHH! What if this thing makes its way down to MY house?! Oh. My. GOD! A possum. A POSSUM! Scary. So I got home, went into the house, cleaned all the dried floral crap off my bed and passed out. Right in the MIDDLE of the bed, as planned. Slept 'til 10 a.m.

I have no idea if this little synopsis even makes any sense, as this was all stream of consciousness, but this is the gist of what my life has been like lately. Add to that one Wednesday evening meeting with the bride (a week ago Wednesday) where each of us drank 5 Cadillac margaritas (oh, man, they went down so easy . . . too easy) and talked about wedding & shower stuff -- and was approached by a guy who kept looking our way and turned out to be one of my closest childhood friend's older brother! I had noticed previously that he had been looking our way off and on, and then he made his way over and when he got closer I realized I recognized him. He starts to say, you probably don't know who I am, but . . . and then I say his name. Surprised the hell out of him! He was there with his THIRTEEN year old son. We chatted a bit and I learned that his sister, whom I haven't seen since probably junior high school, has four kids, I think he said. Wow! I didn't bother trying to exchange numbers as I thought it might turn out to be one of those "oh yeah, I'll totally call your sister," etc. situations. I just asked him to tell her I said hello and sent my best. That was cool.

Also, this past Wednesday (apparently Wednesday is my social day) my friend Missy was in town and came by the house. I was going to make dinner, but I was so busy I wimped out and we took her out for pizza & beer instead. It was good, as was our visit. So I managed to squeeze that stuff in the midst of all this other stuff we have going on.

No wonder I don't have time to blog! Then when I finally do, I don't feel like typing all about it. But this one is long, I know. I'm sure I will totally cringe when I go back and read it and realize what a mess it is!

Now, it's 12:41 and all I've done besides this blogging is a little bit of picking up around the house. TLC's "What Not to Wear" is on but the people they've featured so far have bored me. I think I'm gonna go grab something to eat, maybe do some stuff around the house and MAYBE go shopping. Get the wedding gift out of the way. But otherwise, I have no big plans. Just enjoying having the whole house to myself!

Happy Saturday!