Talented in the Bubble Letter department

Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting my Dolphin Sister‘s 3rd grade class. Not gonna lie, when I received the invite, I wasn’t too thrilled. “Ew. A classroom full of other people’s bratty kids?! No thanks!” I thought to myself. This is probably really terrible to admit out loud, but I really don’t think third graders are that cute. Five year olds, yes. How can you resist little squishy faces like this. But third graders, not so much for me. I agree to go out of sheer support for one of my best friends – as a friend, I feel that you’re supposed to do stuff like visit the place they spend eight hours a day.

Surprisingly, I had more fun than I ever thought I would. My Dolphin Sister set up an art project that we were able to help out with – glitter glue, markers and hot-gluing feathers, seashells, pipe cleaners, yarn and more. This was right up my alley – I don’t think I’ve ever told you that I used to want to be an art teacher. Yep. If you look in my high school yearbook, it’s the career I have underneath my name. I abandoned that idea when I realized in NO WAY did I want to teach angsty junior high and high school students, and you couldn’t really teach art to kindergartners full time. Anyway, I have a SERIOUS crush on art supplies. When I was in the art department in college, I’d go to the student store and just browse the art supply aisles to see what I could blow money on. I don’t think there’s a person alive who doesn’t love a good box of smudgy, bright-colored pastels!

Apparently bubble letters are all the rage these days – thank God I’m still with the times. Word got out I could do bubble letters, and I had every kid in the class, lining up for their name in bubble letters. I felt so popular!

Art supplies and bubble letters aside – what I enjoyed the most about the day was watching each individual child, their talent, their differences and the way their minds worked. I loved all the different ideas each one had for decorating their little book.

I loved the individuality – the kid who loved bike riding and wanted me to make a bike out of pipe cleaners for him (um, what?!), the little boy who was super excited because his teacher allowed him to rap and dance for 30 seconds, in which he played the air guitar and did a break dance (rap star in the making!), the smart little girl who pulled out a notebook of stories for us to read that she writes FOR FUN (that was totally me in elementary school).

These children have their whole lives ahead of them. They can choose a million different paths. They can go to college, travel, paint, dance – they can BE anything they WANT.

The whole day was just a huge breath of fresh air. And dammit, they were cute. I hate it when I’m wrong.

Currently Feeling: Excited for some of the job opportunities that have been sent my way – online brand manager for a famous beer company? Yes please.
Currently Anticipating: Getting my hair did today. I broke down! Good thing my Bestie is a hair stylist.
Currently Wanting: To ditch the book I’m reading right now and move onto Firefly Lane. I’ve heard too many good things about it!

Take one friend down, pass her around the bride circle

Back in July, I wrote about the engagement of one of my nearest and dearest friends, a Dolphin Sister. (Regular readers might remember it as the post I was ridiculed and shamed for using “OG Gangsta” incorrectly. Oh the agony. Oh the defeat.)

Flash forward four months and the lovely couple have now set a date for (ACK!) five months away in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Therefore, a few of the bridesmaids gathered this past weekend to do a little dress shopping (and wine guzzling, of course) since the time is a ticking to select a dress, have it altered, etc.

The evening consisted of a lovely sushi dinner at a hip little place in Wallingford, a lovely little wedding boutique that gave me sticker shock but made up for it with a lovely little glass of champagne, which helped to mask my “another one bites the dust” sentiment with “OH! Yippee! You’re getting mahwied!”

Four of the lovely (HOT!) bridesmaids – all high school and junior high besties.

FREE champagne! Whoop!

I made her try this one on as a joke. Always up to my devious ways.

Albeit expensive, the dress really were spectacular.

Oh, I can’t wait for you to get MAHWIED, Dolphin!

On the agenda for this weekend

• A quiet night tonight of bowling with my boyfriend after my busy week. Oh don’t you worry, I still plan to knock a couple brewskies back at the ole alley.
• Happy hour and wedding dress shopping with my Dolphin Sisters tomorrow. Yikes. This is really fun, but also super weird to me that one of my Dolphins is getting married. I’ll probably get all weird, teary and soggy on her and say, “Remember when we had teenage acne and used to eat nothing but fat free bean burritos because clearly we were FAT. Although that didn’t stop us from smoking doobies 24-7 and eating Fruit Loops! Weren’t those the days?!!”

Those are the only two things on the agenda right now, which is good since hopefully I can lock myself in a closet for the rest of the weekend and not spend any money. Since all it really takes for me to blow my whole bank account and all chances to not live in a cardboard box if I lost my job, is two drinks or a “sale.”

TGIF!
–
Sent from my T-Mobile Sidekick®

The First OG Gangsta to Go

One of my Dolphin Sisters got engaged over the weekend.

Because of this, I’m a little sentimental today.

You spend your whole life, growing and changing with friends. Or, at least I’ve been very lucky to have a select number of girl friends who’ve been by my side since junior high. They’ve walked next to me during days I was too embarrassed to go to school, too heartbroken to get out of bed, too young to make the right decision, too in love to see straight, too sassy for my own good, too stubborn to say sorry, too self conscious to be myself in a crowd…

My point being—you spend 10 plus years with childhood friends, dreaming of college, boyfriends, careers and families. College came and went. Boys have come and gone. Careers are there and growing. But the day a best friend meets the very right person and commits to a lifetime is always a little surreal. It’s like the 13 single years you’ve spent together—when you’re number one to each other and no one else—flash before your eyes.

And do you know how many memories 13 years hold?

The very foundation of my being—years that formed my personality—are years spent with Larisa. We met in 7th grade. I was a lost girl who knew two people in a sea of converging elementary schools. When popularity and “being cool” start to count, two people don’t get you very far. But eventually familiar faces and the possibility of friendship begin to emerge from a crowd. And there was Larisa.

We played softball together every day after school during softball season; I snuck home illegally on her bus to rollerblade the Burke Gilman in the sunshine; we went every winter to Snoqualmie, where we learned how to snowboard while listening to “Tool,” eventually teaching classes together. We shared the exact same sense of humor and disregard for rules that got us in trouble. A lot. (Voted Biggest Rebel 2000 ) Ha ha. We have so many inside jokes, I couldn’t even being to explain or list them.

In high school, we went to countless dances together. We’d skip school to gamble and get cinnamon bread from Great Harvest Bread Company during second period break. We started our careers at McDonalds, where eventually we were banned from working together cause we got in trouble for having a fight with all-purpose cleaner water bottles in the lobby. We went to Korn concerts (weird), Limp Bizkit (funny), Pearl Jam, The Gorge, Dave Mathews and countless more shows. We’d play Doctor Mario after school for no less than four hours, an unhealthy amount of days in a row. We drove around in my 1973 Volkswagen Beetle that was painted to look like a root beer float, yelling, “PERVERT!” to people walking out of Taboo Video every time we drove by, and stopped to smoke raspberry ciggies on the docks in Kenmore. I lived in her room for a month during senior year, where we’d share clothes and sneak out to bowl at Kenmore Lanes.

Come college, we went to separate schools, but I’d come home to spend the night in her sorority, and we backpacked through Europe. I’d bring her pineapple and tomato pizzas the summer I came home to deliver pizzas for Papa Johns, and she lived in a fraternity at the U.W. We’ve been to Mexico together, twice, drinking far too much tequila and dancing in our Mexican sundresses. We’ve been Captain Hook and Smee, his first mate–and Jem and Pizazz, one of The Holograms.

We’ve had terrible arguments, circumstances or relationships that have sometimes put distance between us, but we’ve always come back eventually, always rollerblading together every summer just like the days we were 13.

And then, she became my Dolphin Sister. After drinking a little too much one night, she sent me an e-mail that she didn’t remember until I called her the next day. Something about how she’s glad we’ve been friends for so long, and made it through all our ups and downs. “I think we must have been sisters in our past lives?! I kinda think I was a dolphin, so maybe we were dolphin sisters?,” she wrote. It has been a joke forever since. We buy each other cheap dolphin trinkets and wear dolphin rings on our fingers. (Both on our ring fingers because it’s the only one it fits). As cheesy and silly as it might be, I believe it is our way of reiterating how important our friendship is to one another, and that we really do love each other as a sister.

So, yesterday her Dolphin Sister ring was replaced with a platinum diamond.

But it’s not a replacement for our friendship.

You get to pick your friends. And you get to pick ONE person, to spend the rest of your life with, who becomes a part of the life you’ve shared with all your friends.

I picked Larisa, and she chose me.

And Larisa picked Dave, and he chose her.

And that makes Dave, my Dolphin Brother to-be.

I couldn’t be happier for them. And I can’t wait for another 13 years of friendship with Larisa—AND Dave.

Congratulations!

Currently Feeling: Mucho happy it’s supposed to be in the 70s all week.
Currently Anticipating: Picnicking and rollerblading in Alki tonight with the BF.
Currently Loving: Work dresses! I can’t buy enough!

We’re gonna blade like it’s 1996

For years, I have said to my friends:

“I will marry the first man who will rollerblade with me.”

For the most part, I’m joking. It’s just been my way to express how much I love rollerblading, and it’s “Perfect Man” criteria I’ve kidded about.

I have been an avid rollerblader since 9th grade. (Yes, I know. Feel free to laugh out loud.) I would “sneak” on my Dolphin Sister, Larisa’s, bus home from school. Remember the days where you couldn’t take another bus home unless you had a written permission slip? There actually is a story of me running and hiding in bushes from the bus driver who was questioning my stop at Larisa’s house instead of my own. I was that determined to rollerblade with her after school. The two of us would spend nearly every sunny day, rollerblading the Burke Gilman trail. On super hot days, we’d skate to docks on Lake Washington, take off our blades, and swim and sunbathe before skating back home. Since then, I’ve spent numerous days rollerblading during springs and summers in Seattle. I wore down those original rollerblades until the wheels were lopsided from wear and tear, and the brake had been missing for years. I finally replaced them last year—eight years later—with a brand new pair I found on Craigslist for $25. Now, I often rollerblade by myself around Greenlake or Larisa and I still go off on two- to three-hour rollerblade excursions. Rollerblading has become a lifeline for me.

In somewhat of a scheme between Larisa and myself, we convinced Baby Daddy that he needs to purchase rollerblades so the two of us could go with Larisa and her boyfriend. (I’ve been insanely jealous that she found a man who will blade with her.) He agreed, (!!) and yesterday we scowered Seattle, up and down, for a place that would sell men’s rollerblades. (They’re a bit obsolete. Strange.) After approximately six phone calls and four destinations, we found a pair he liked. As the cashier rang them up and the $175.79 price popped up on the screen, I saw Baby Daddy’s face reflect slight buyer’s remorse.

“This just means that I owe you $175 in rock climbing equipment for myself, right?”

After all, dating is about learning new things and trying hobbies that your significant other enjoys, right?

As for the marriage stuff, meh. But he had no idea how many points he scored by just being willing to buy blades and go with me because I love it.

I can’t wait for our first rotation around Greenlake tonight.

Currently Feeling: Up and down.
Currently Anticipating: Getting everything squared away at work.
Currently Listening To: Pandora.com; it’s genius!

Things I’ve Learned This Past Week

• I can be really good at sticking to goals I set, if I really want to be. And crossing things off a list of goals feels really, really amazing. This past week, I focused on my list of goals for the next two months. I have feng shuied my bedroom into a clean and organized living space that I surprisingly want to hang out in. I get a little smile on my face every time I open my makeup drawers and see everything arranged in neat little organized rows.

• A made bed with crisp and cold sheets is so much nicer to crawl into than a wrinkled, unmade mess.
• In life, there are some people that you love so much, you just want to fold them in a protective layer of love and hope nothing ever happens to them. But, there are some things that can’t be helped and can’t be changed. When these things happen to someone you love, it’s really painful and opens a floodgate of hurt and anger. All you can do it hope that in the end everyone will be okay.
• I am, and always will be, a lover of books. When I’m not engrossed in a really good book, I feel like a little part of me is not quite right. I rediscovered my reading bliss this weekend and finished “My Sister’s Keeper,” which made me ball like a little baby at the end. And oh, it felt so damn good.
• Even if pounds are not immediately shedding, I feel 100 times better when I’m eating healthy, wholesome foods. I started phase one of South Beach again last Wednesday, and avoided carbs, sugars and drinking for the majority of the last five days. I did fall off the no drinking wagon last night, however. Big time.
• When you don’t eat carbs and you drink vodka in large amounts with a belly full of cheese fondue, it’s a bad combination. This combination, in fact, might lead one to tell everyone she’s with how bad she wants to have phone sex with her boyfriend. Phone sex? Since when have I ever been into phone sex?! It also might lead to disclosing other embarrassing tidbits of information that no one needs to know, a phone call to the boyfriend that one might not remember, and a 3:30 a.m. puking mess on the bathroom floor. Please take my advice and don’t ever ingest the following recipe: One Sparks at the movie theatre, one chocolate martini, glass of white wine, two pots of cheese with cauliflower and a Brie platter at happy hour, one single tall vodka diet that was too weak with three double tall vodka diets, some hot cashews and a few bites of fries at the bowling alley, finished off with beef bites, another glass of white wine and another double tall vodka diet at Peso’s. BAD combo.
• Sundays with really good girlfriends, a cheesy romantic comedy at the theatre and girl talk at happy hour are THE BEST. I would not survive without days like these. Oh, and “27 Dresses” is a really, really great chick flick.
• My Dolphin Sisters are absofuckinglutely fabulous. I already knew that. But, when your friends do things for a guy you like just because you like him, it reminds me how important my happiness is to them, which takes my breath away. To have Larisa have her 5th grade class write letters to Baby Daddy and Vanessa make Valentine’s cookies to put in the box of stuff I’m sending him, well, just because he’s my boyfriend. Now, that’s friendship.
• Sometimes, even when you’re as popular as me (!LOL!LOL!), it feels really amazing to be a nerd. I did absolutely nothing more than sitting home, reading and watching “My So Called Life” this weekend. By choice. And I was absolutely okay being home alone on Friday and Saturday night. I don’t know if I’ve ever been able to say that.
• Finally, I want to know who the hell Tino is in “My So Called Life.” You never see him, but everyone talks about him, and he pretty much solves everyone’s problems. He knows all the great parties and has all the answers. I want my own personal Tino.

Currently Feeling: A little sheepish.
Currently Anticipating: Talking to Mike tonight.
Currently Reading: “What is the What” by Dave Eggers.

Coping with Fashion

I feel pretty today.

I gave myself a manicure and pedicure last night in a pretty coral pink. I put a sexy, flouncy black pencil skirt on this morning, a silky flower top and my favorite tall black Guess boots. To top it off, I added my favorite butterfly earrings and the best berry shade of lip-gloss that I own.

I needed to feel pretty—personal relationships and friendships are melting to the ground around me. A couple of my friendships are hurting in deep, personal ways; a Dolphin Sister just broke up with the man she thought she was going to marry; my roommate is hurting from another friend’s betrayal; a girl friend of mine just found out her best friend slept with the guy my friend’s been on and off dating for months; and my sister is being ousted from her social circle by a group of Mean Girls.

So in the middle of all this emotional turmoil that I’ve found myself to be at the hub of lately, I’m just going to stand here and feel pretty.

Cause it’s the only thing making me feel good right now.

Currently Feeling: Like I need a good vacation.
Currently Anticipating: Seeing American Gangster at the Big Picture tonight.
Currently Loving: Vanessa. My heart goes out to her.

Happy Halloween 2007!!

Halloween is my ALL TIME favorite holiday. Seriously. I’m usually planning my costume for next Halloween on Halloween, and perfecting my plan months before October 31st actually rolls around. But, it’s not just dressing in costume that I love. It’s the scary movies, the decorations, the candy (damn fun-sized candy bars!), all the events and especially the Halloween spirit. I really brought my Halloween obsession to new levels this year.

Sarah and I decorated our apartment to be SUPER SPOOKY. I’m somewhat regretting having to now take down all the SUPER SPOOKY spiderwebs that are on every surface of our house, but whatever. We threw a really fun girly pumpkin carving party with a champagne Witch’s Brew, treats for our guests and lots of laughs with some of my closest girlfriends. Sarah and I carved PARTY CREEPY pumpkins, basically because we like to party creepy. Totally classic. Thanks for all who came:

In the meantime, I’ve been working hard on my Jem costume. The Dolphin Sisters and I decided that I’d be Jem and they’d be The Misfits—Jem’s rival rock band from the 80s cartoon. My mom and I printed out pictures of Jem’s original costume, and then we spent hours at the fabric store, picking out the fabric and patterns to make it exact. My mom couldn’t have done a better job. While she sewed it, I looked at approximately 50 different Web sites, trying to find the perfect wig. I finally found one in white, then had to look-up directions to dye it the perfect light pink. This, of course, ended up in a huge mess and pink spots all over me and Sarah’s white bathroom rug and accessories. Sorry roomie! It’s a tough price to pay to be the perfect Jem for Halloween:

Jem and The Misfits—Pizazz and Stormer—at Damon’s 30th Surprise Party

Jem and her Pirate Wench at Kelly’s Oktoberfest/Halloween party

Pirate Wench stole my microphone—that bitch! She is not truly outrageous!

Jem and Eve and Eve’s Halloween party

Glamour and glitter and fashion and fame…Jem, Jem is my name!

So, friends, it’s been a TRULY OUTRAGEOUS Halloween. I’ve got one more stop tonight at the Underdog Seattle Halloween party, where I’ll try to hide my sniffles and illness in an attempt for one last night in my best costume to date. The only thing that worries me is how I’m ever going to top it next year…

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Currently Feeling: Sick and icky. Blech.
Currently Anticipating: Possibly seeing the Incredibly Sexy Man in Great Jeans during my one last hurrah as Jem.
Currently Hating: Paper and boxes.

I get by with a little help from my friends

Sometimes, when life seems a little mundane (weather or need for a change, not sure), I stop and remind myself that it could be a lot worse. At least I have a great job, and both my legs, and a family that loves me, and a roof over my head, and all those other quintessential things that your mom likes to remind you about. But what really makes my world go round, what really makes me who I am and breaths life force into my lungs everyday are my friends. The plans. The inside jokes. The trips. The love. The laughs.

I spent a particularly friend-packed last four or five days that make me look back and reflect, why me? Why do I feel like my life is overflowing with people who care about me? (Well, besides the fact that I’m ridiculously, ridiculously funny and good-looking.) Other than that, sometimes I feel like I’m too lucky.

Lucky to know all my Queen Anne friends—just because I stumbled across them in a bar one night a couple years ago and haven’t lost touch since. So lucky to know all their beautiful girlfriends. So lucky to be able to call them anytime and meet up somewhere in the neighborhood. I spent last Thursday with all of them for Caitlin’s going away party. We enjoyed a great dinner at The Pink Door where I sipped wine, devoured halibut and stared out onto Elliot Bay. We then traveled over to Kell’s and ended the night with a silly dance party.

I’m so lucky to know all of you.

I’m so lucky to have solid friends from college. I’ll never forget all our memories—before and after the shit show of Western. I love that we’ve worked hard to cultivate friendships even though life after Western has taken each of us in different directions. Friday night, Sarah and I stuck around town to attempt to catch Pearl Jam at Pike Place Market’s Centennial Celebration. (Didn’t happen. Too disappointed to function.) Adam met up at my place where we took the bus (oh the agony! the pain!) to meet Stewart and Sarah for happy hour at Tia Lou’s. A couple double margaritas and some chicken tacos later and I was ready to PAARTÉ! After a couple more drinks at Kell’s, we went to stake out spots to watch the show. The concert venue set up for The Market celebration was fantastic. The stage was facing up the street, with the water as a backdrop, and everyone was standing in the streets and sitting on the hill. It was like a mini Gorge. Unfortunately, Pearl Jam didn’t show up, but we did get to hear a little Heart, Jimi Hendrix and two major Pearl Jam players—uncensored! For the rest of the night, Adam and I bebopped around town—The Frontier Room, See Sound Lounge, Peso’s. It was a fantastic, liquor-filled night, which of course ended up in me having a hard time walking home in those damn heels! They’re so tricky when you add a little bit of vodka!

I’m so lucky to know all of you.

Lucky to have a core group of girlfriends from high school. To know that I can call and count on most of you, and I’ll always be part of our traditions—Christmas parties, cabin trips, Bunko parties, weddings, etc. Saturday morning, Sarah and I left town for Vanessa’s cabin for a weekend getaway with my closest high school girlfriends plus a few college and boyfriend additions. We arrived at the cabin and spent a hilarious evening with Shannon and her husband Phil, Vanessa and her boyfriend Mike, Larisa and her boyfriend Dave, Abe, Sarah, Erin and her boyfriend Adam, Tara and Kendra. We enjoyed fantastic meals together, went through two bottles of vodka, and 2.5 half-gallons of Crown Royal, plus a Pyramid keg. Sarah and I spent a combined four hours in the hot tub, where we watched Adam fall from the hot tub to the cement, and Tara attempt to get out of the hot tub at least four times. Larisa and Adam tried to jump in the lake, but it was too shallow and Larisa—accident-prone central—was left with a scabbed over leg. Vanessa was babbling and Mike passed out on his computer in the middle of his online Poker tournament. Adam and Tara were wrestling on the ground. Larisa and Vanessa were tried to carry 250-pound Phil in their arms, but dropped him on the floor. And Erin passed out on the couch in her dress, only to have everyone stick cigarettes in her mouth among other random items, and take her picture. It was a crazy silly night, which just confirmed my love for my Dolphin Sisters even more (I got a new promise ring.)

I’m so lucky to know all of you.

It’s moments and friends like these that will always be the memories of my 20s. Things happen, friends come and go, but I will always look back at this time in my life and have years, days and months of love for those who’ve touched my life during my crazy, single, unruly and undetermined 20s!

I’m so lucky to know all of you!

Currently Feeling: Slightly annoyed. Slightly confused. Slightly nervous. Slightly silly.
Currently Anticipating: The effin weather to stop pouring!!
Currently Freaked Out About: The World Clock.