Cruisin'

...on a Sunday afternoon....

I'm not sure, but I think Smokey Robinson sings that. Starting this Sunday afternoon, Chulo and I will be singing it too. I am SO excited about this VACATION.

Seriously... Americans do NOT get enough vacation. It's so unfair. Those damn Europeans get like 142 days off (and no, I am not including weekends). Bank holiday this, Boxing Day that. And we get a measly 10 days.

Well, technically I get 15 days, but that's not the point. Poor Chulo only gets 5.

Anyway, we are heading out for 7 fun days in the sun (at least I hope it will be sunny), with snorkeling and beach baking and mini golf and feeding stingrays and dress-up nights with dancing and exploring jungle caves and all sorts of other neato stuff. I will miss you guys.... but um, yeah. Don't expect to hear from me for a week. Or so.

Have a wonderful week and I hope your March comes in like a lamb, not like a lion!

Oh Geez

So, you might have read... I'm getting married!

Which is awesome. I've waited 32 years for a man this wonderful, and he is so very worth the wait. He is gorgeous, kind, respectful, generous, loving, sexy, funny, and uber-huggable. The quintessential "keeper." So I'm pretty sure that somewhere during those 32 years, I had the typical little-girl dream wedding planned down to the last detail, with the big pouffy dress and the rose petals and the decorated church pews, and all of my friends lined up alongside me, wearing matching gowns.

But at some point, while I was waiting... I stopped wanting that. I'm almost certain that my [ex] best friend's wedding was the turning point. We were young (too young to be getting married, in my opinion), she lived in New Hampshire and I in NY, and I was a bridesmaid. That wedding cost me easily $2000, between travel, bridesmaid junk, and gifts. $2000 is a nice chunk of change when you're 21 and not living at home. She was my first experience with Bridezilla and she freaked me the hell out. Where was my sweet, funny friend? Gone. She actually asked me, during one of the MANY dress fittings, what I could possibly be thinking by taking on such a busy schedule (working full-time and taking 9 credits at night towards my Bachelor's) when I knew she was getting married??

Um, ok.

But I digress. The point is, three days ago I was eloping.

Somewhere along the line, the pouffy-dress-in-a--packed-church fantasy became a flowing-gauze-dress-under-a-trellis-of-wild-roses-on-a-beach-in-the-Greek-Isles fantasy. I'm not even talking about a "destination wedding" where you make people spend inordinate amounts of money just to attend. I'm talking about a peaceful, simple ceremony somewhere away from it all. Where guests are welcome, but unlikely. Where I don't have to spend painstaking hours poring over invitation embossings or seating arrangements. Where the exchange of vows would be witnessed by ....pretty much no one. After all, it's our wedding and we're the only ones that matter when you come right down to it, right?

Yeah, not so much.

Aside from general displeasure at this notion from both sides of the family, once Chulo told me that, regardless of all that, he would do anything I wanted -- thereby making it an available option -- I realised I didn't want it. I don't want to exchange vows with this beautiful man in front of some random officiant and no one else, in Vegas or Jamaica or even Greece. Finding someone this fantastic has taken me too long, and after watching my parents bring him into our family fold (he has been warned, and yet he wants this!), knowing how my friends feel about him ...I can't imagine not having those people with us to share that moment.

So I'm having a wedding. In November. At some undetermined location, with a guest list that grows every time I take a breath. In case I'm being unclear on this point, trust me when I say that I have no earthly idea what I'm doing.

Fuck. Me. Running.

Haiku holiday

Flowers and candy
silly Hallmark holiday
Still, I love presents!

Into work early
roses at my office door
what a good Chulo

Forgot to tell you…
we’re cruising the Caribbean
starting next Sunday!

Wishing all bloggers
love and happiness, today
and throughout the year

****UPDATED TO ADD****

He knows his four "Cs"

full of surprises, that boy!

YES I'll marry you!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Teabag Tunes Tuesday

new iPod. check
904-song library (and I'm just getting started!). check
cute pink Coach leather iPod case. check
stolen memes from Nat and Terry. check

Let's go!

Basically these all work the same way. You use your iPod as a musical Magic 8 Ball. Put your iPod on shuffle, ask it a bunch of questions, and for each new question, hit the next button for the next song. Since I just recently joined the Apple generation and I needed to start loading music onto my handydandy little pink-outfitted musical database, I had to put off doing these memes. But I thought they were so cool when I saw them on the above-referenced blogs, so I'm excited that I finally have enough music on my iPod to make these memes work!

On with the show!

"What do you think of me, iTunes?"
Fire Coming out of the Monkey’s Head -- Gorillaz
(Um. Well, we're off to a great start, aren't we?)

"Will I have a happy life?"
Stronger – Britney Spears
(So I guess I'm stronger. And strong people have happy lives? Not sure what the correlation is. But no sniggering about the fact that this song is on my iPod. I mean it, Dzer! You hush up!)

"What do my friends really think of me?"
Waterloo -- ABBA
Waterloo, couldn't escape if I wanted to/ Waterloo, knowing my fate is to be with you/ Waterloo, finally facing my Waterloo
(Great, I'm a bastion of defeat and desperation that my friends can't escape from. Faaabulous.)

"Do people secretly lust after me?"
Concienca – Gilberto Santa Rosa
La conciencia me dice que no la debo querer/ Y el corazon me grita que si debo/ La conciencia me frena cuando la voy a querer/ Y el corazon me empuja hasta el infierno, al abismo, dulce y tierno, de sus besos
Translation: My conscience tells me that I shouldn't love her, but my heart says I must. My conscience restrains me when I start to love her, but my heart pushes me towards the inferno, the sweet and tender abyss of her kisses
(yeah, you know you want me)

"How can I make myself happy?"
Ex-Girlfriend – No Doubt
(well, I have made myself VERY happy by making myself an ex-girlfriend of quite a few of my jerk-off exes. So I guess that works.)

"What should I do with my life?"
Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard – Paul Simon
I'm on my way, I don't know where I'm going/ I'm on my way, I'm taking my time, but I don't know where/ Goodbye Rosie, the Queen of Corona/ See me and Julio down by the schoolyard
(Well, I already left Queens... and I don't know anyone named Julio. But it's a cool song)

"Why must life be so full of pain?”
Posters – Jack Johnson
Looking at herself but wishing she was someone else/ Because the body of the doll it don't look like hers at all/ So she straps it on, she sucks it in, she throws it up, and gives a grin/ Laughing at herself because she knows she ain't that at all
(Well... it sure sounds painful to me, but I don't hear any answers to this most profound question. You're slipping, iPod!)

"How can I maximize my pleasure during sex?"
Right to be Wrong – Joss Stone
I've got a mind of my own/ I'm flesh and blood to the bone/ I'm not made of stone/ Got a right to be wrong/ So just leave me alone
(I don't think it will maximize my pleasure if I tell Chulo to leave me alone. I think iPod's a little off again on this one)

"Will I ever have children?"
This Time of Year – Better than Ezra
(hmmmm...this is a song that references autumn... meaning I will be pregnant around then? Something to hope for!)

"Will I die happy?"
Little House – the Fray
(This song is so depressing, I don't even want to talk about it. Suffice it to say that I WILL NOT die happy, if this song is iPod's answer to that question. Stupid iPod.)

"Can you give me some advice?"
I heard it through the grapevine – Marvin Gaye
(Are you telling me that I should stop gossipping?? Well I never!)

"What do I think happiness is?"
Tres Gotas de Agua Bendita (3 drops of holy water) – Gloria Estefan w/ Celia Cruz
(Not sure I think holy water=happiness, but I do love this song, and it makes me happy to hear it. It's so upbeat, and I loooove Celia Cruz)

"What's my favorite fetish?"
It’s My Life – No Doubt
(Apparently, iPod thinks that is NONE of your business!)

"How will I be remembered?"
Tangled – Maroon 5
Would you ever turn your head and look – see if I’m gone/ Cause I fear there is nothing left to say to you that you wanna hear, that you wanna know/ I think I should go; the things I’ve done are way too shameful
(Wow, I feel so guilty now and I'm not even sure what I've done)

Okay well all that font formatting took a lot more time than I thought it would. So there is another iPod meme, but I'll do that one later. I LOVE these, so feel free to steal it and blog it too!