Two Charity Events Weekend

This weekend was pretty busy.

I hosted a Charity Event to benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society on Friday night. It was a lot of work to plan but in the end it was a great time and successful. The attendance rate wasn't looking too great the week before and I had to seriously consider whether it was worth running or not, but by the end of the week with some last minute replies there ended up being over 20 people to RSVP and show up so that was good. We had our own private room and bar, the food was pretty good, and later in the night there were some fun raffle prizes, including the much desired Red Sox tickets, which Rohit won! The crowd was very diverse with coworkers, college friends, friends from home, and new friends I've met along the way. It was great to see everyone and meet the nice guests people brought. I'd like to again give thanks to the generous sponsors who donated many prizes valued over $50:

-Chiara Bistro, a fine dining restaurant in Westwood. Thanks Dan!
-West Newton Liquor Mart, an excellent little wine shop run by a husband and wife. They only have the best tasting wine and actually introduced me to one of my favorite, yet hard to find, bottles of red wine. Thanks Joann! (and I can't spell her Italian husband's name)
-Dellaria Salon in Needham. Thanks Amy!
-Donahue's Bar and Grill in Watertown, where we held the event. Thanks John!


-Two of our lucky winners (right), who drove the farthest to attend!

All the proceeds for this event are going toward the MS Walk which I'm doing in Boston, April 13th along with some dear family and friends. I'm really excited about the money we've all raised so far and hope the weather is good that day! It should be fun!

The other Charity Event I attended was on Saturday to benefit the Avon Walk against Breast Cancer. My friend and coworker Cheryl is participating in that walk, which is pretty intense and you have to raise at least $1,800 or pay the difference.
If you'd like to sponsor either of these great causes most of you have a link to my personal page and Cheryl's can be found here. If you do want to donate to Cheryl's team she requests that you donate to one of her team members since she already reached her goal, and the extra that she raises doesn't count toward her teammates required $1,800. Just click on "Walking 4 2nd Base team page."

I just checked the Boston MS Walk site and my name is listed as one of the top individual fund raisers! That's only going to increase once I add the more than $600 raised from the benefit! This is very exciting--thanks to all who have supported me so far in this endeavor!

To Everything, There is a Season

And a time for every purpose, under Heaven.

Despite the cold long winters of New England, I like living here because of the changing seasons. It is officially spring even though it doesn't feel like it. On the bright side It's already staying light later and I'm hopeful the blooming flowers arrive early this year. I can't help but feel that the real spring is almost here; especially since baseball season is upon us. If you're an early bird you can catch them play against Oakland in Japan at 6am tomorrow morning! I wish I were a morning person, but I love to sleep! There's a quiet about the morning that I love, and people tend to be nicer then. My friend at the Law School once told me it's because no one has ruined their day yet. I dunno. Ha, I guess it makes sense.

I can't wait for the Gardens to be in full bloom. This is definitely my favorite season; I even took this little test to find out, and yup, it's confirmed!

You Belong in Spring

Optimistic, lively, and almost always happy with the world... You can truly appreciate the blooming nature of spring. Whether you're planting flowers or dyeing Easter eggs, spring is definitely your season!

What Season Are You?

The Hub is a fan of Autumn which the quiz also confirmed. Try for yourself and let me know which season you like th best!

You Belong in Fall

Intelligent, introspective, and quite expressive at times... You appreciate the changes in color, climate, and mood that fall brings Whether you're carving wacky pumpkins or taking long drives, autumn is a favorite time of year for you

What Season Are You?

Engagement News

Getting married is the thing to do!

I have some more friends who recently got engaged! I'm so happy for them, and absolutely love weddings!

I am a bridesmaid in my friend Jen's June wedding, and went to a bridal shop last weekend to get my measurements. I have to admit being surrounded by beautiful wedding dresses again made me a little nostalgic and a couple gowns in particular caught my eye! Seeing as I have no intent of divorcing my husband just so I can have another wedding day, I will have to be content with what I already had, which I would easily describe as the best day of my life; not solely b/c I married the best guy I know, but more b/c of how special it was to have so many beloved family and friends together to celebrate our day. It was the people in attendance that really made it so stand-out-special for me.

My college friend and sophomore year roomie, Elizabeth, got engaged last month and her engagement story is literally THE BEST I've ever heard!! Props to Dan for an incredible plan. My friend thought they were going to Cali for their anniversary and instead he whisked her away to Paris! That's not even the best part (though good enough taking your girlfriend to the most romantic city on earth!), then he wined and dined her at a fancy Parisian restaurant only to time his proposal just perfect that right after he proposed and she said yes the Eiffel Tower lit up for Paris par nuit! I LOVE her story and am so excited for her wedding this Labor Day weekend (a very good time indeed to get married! Not that I'm biased or anything ;-) I will be celebrating my 3 year anniversary in Chicago since we'll make a little trip out of it.

My high school friend Catherine is getting married in 2 weeks! I'm really looking fwd to it. Her bridal shower was very nicely done, and Jen and I helped her with the gift opening and recording. It was a lot of fun. We can be pretty embarrassing together, but we evoked a few laughs, and most importantly made the bride-to-be feel like a queen! The best part beforehand was shopping together for the gifts. We printed out her registry and late as we always are there wasn't much left (good for her, bad for us). Jen thought it would hilarious to buy a 5 foot shower rod among something else she had in mind, and it was already assembled so the shape alone made it a must buy. We cracked up to the point of tears just thinking of her showing up at the shower with big oddly shaped gift in hand! And it was pretty funny. We got some guesses before Cathy opened it: tennis rackets, a guitar, an ironing board, golf clubs...even she was in suspense until Jen said it was something on her registry. I also ran into my childhood best friend, Danielle at Bed, Bath and Beyond. It was great to see her.

The next new engagement I will keep somewhat quiet b/c it is pretty new. Since I know some of you who read this blog know this person....
I got an email with 2 different rings asking which one looked better. I'm kind of biased to platinum so chose that one in one of 2 settings. Then I got another email asking which 2 scenarios would be more romantic as far as proposing. I'll just say it was sweet and involved a skating rink surprise. That Sunday I got a text message, "She said yes!" and called later to congratulate said friend and hear how it went. The reason why I'm not giving the identity away is b/c of the following conversation and even tho I wasn't specifically told not to say anything, I just want to err on the safe side.
Me: Congratulations--so are you looking at dates or time of year?
Friend: Yeah, next weekend!
Me: Shut up, when really?
Friend: Next week!
Me: Oh my gosh!

So congrats to them on becoming engaged and getting married!

Lastly, this article caught my eye of a poor engagement story (Mike and Tara keep on the look out!):

Fri Mar 14, 10:48 AM
LONDON (Reuters) - It is the one moment every man wants to get right -- and which London floor-fitter Lefkos Hajji could hardly have got more wrong.

The luckless 28 year-old's dreams of giving his sweetheart, Leanne, 26, the ultimate proposal have literally vanished into thin air.Hajji, of Hackney, east London, had concealed a $12,000 engagement ring inside a helium balloon. The idea was that she would pop the balloon as he popped the question.But as he left the shop, a gust of wind pulled the balloon from his hand and he watched the ring -- and quite possibly the affections of his girlfriend -- sailing away over the rooftops.
"I couldn't believe it," he told The Sun newspaper.
"I just watched as it went further and further into the air.
"I felt like such a plonker. It cost a fortune and I knew my girlfriend would kill me."
Hajji spent two hours in his car trying to chase and find the balloon, without success.

"I thought I would give Leanne a pin so I could literally pop the question," he said.
"But I had to tell her the story -- she went absolutely mad. Now she is refusing to speak to me until I get her a new ring."
He is hoping the ring will still turn up.
"It would be amazing if someone found it," he added.

So What Do You Think?

Who should be voted out tonight?

I think Kristy Lee Cook because of the following reasons:


1) She's not that good
2) She sold her best horse (see earlier AI post). That's crap.
3) She had a cute shirt, but horrible hole infested pants--yes, image matters in this contest.
4) She didn't choose a good song--wait, every Beatles song is good. Oh, that's right she sang it in a horrible country white trash twang that seemed ingenuine.

I thought about 5 or 6 of the 12 were actually good.

If Kristy doesn't get the boot, it will probably be David (stripper at a gay establishment) Hernandez.

Chikezie was my ABSOLUTE favorite last night. Followed by David Cook and Brooke White. I like Jason dredlocks too.
Two of my usual favorites David A. and Ramiel were not up to par, which was too bad since I really like them.

What's your opinion? (and I know my problem is I post right before for the show! So maybe next week I'll be better and post Tuesday night).

Expect the Worst When You're Expecting

So I've had this article in my drafts since Dec 06 and was just too lazy to post it, but after talking with P.S. as she goes through this "special" journey for a 2nd time, I figured I would share. I love it when people just tell it as it is, so props to this lady for not pretending it's always rainbows and butterflies. Just be honest. The only problem with honesty that I've found is some insecure people don't appreciate it and think you're trying to be mean. Being honest 100% of the time is not always feasible (nor recommended) but little white lies never hurt anyone. Also, it's all about linguistics and the way you might phrase something to be nice, this is where my Philosophy and Psychology degree pays for itself tenfold.

Example:
Friend with poor fashion sense: Hi C, do you like my new shirt?
What C thinks in head: Wow that's such a hideous shirt I wouldn't put it on my cat.
What C says: Well it's certainly different.

Anywho, enjoy the article, but if you're trying to get preggers maybe you should stop reading right here. It's a little hard to handle.

Don't let the perky pictures lie -- there's no sugarcoating the gruesome nine-month battle of pregnancy.
By Heather Havrilesky who is a television critic for Salon.
October 12, 2006

I'VE NEVER KNOWN a thing about pregnancy, so once I got pregnant, I quizzed every mother I knew about what Mother Nature had in store for me. Instead of taking time out from their busy mothering lives to relive the biological roller coaster of creating another human being, every single one advised me to purchase "What to Expect When You're Expecting," a hideous descent into the hell of gestation that outlines every possible malady and gruesome side effect ever experienced by any pregnant woman anywhere.

The grotesqueries listed therein, from heartburn to hemorrhoids to chronic dependence on adult diapers, are divided into monthly sections so that future mothers can savor a little dose of suspense-horror thrills and chills before bed each night.

But the most unnerving thing about "What to Expect When You're Expecting" is the cover. Perhaps in an effort to offset the bewildering and unpleasant-sounding ailments inside, the book is pink and yellow and covered in some kind of flocked, flowery wallpaper or quilt pattern clearly meant to evoke the sort of stuffy, overheated, split-level homes in the Midwest that have "country" decorations everywhere, from porcelain milkmaid statuettes to framed pictures of white ducks with blue ribbons around their necks. A mere glance at that cover is clinically proven to give pregnant women hot flashes, cramping and suicidal ideation.

And that's before their eyes rest on the main illustration. There, perched amid all those tiny yellow and pink flowers, is the expectant mother of every woman's nightmares. On my copy, she has a perky bob haircut, the sort of molded, unmoving mom-hair that only a woman who stayed up all night baking brownies for the PTA sale would have the audacity to wear out of the house. Not only that, she's clad in a yellow, Mr. Rogers-style cardigan and red polyester slacks that call to mind your fourth-grade Social Studies teacher, the one who gave an entire class of 9-year-olds night sweats by telling them that the Iran hostage crisis was sure to develop into World War III.

But that's not all. The woman also has on terrible geriatric penny loafers, and she's perched primly in a rocking chair, with this filthy, chipper smile on her face, like all she's done for months is sit there, rocking back and forth, only occasionally stopping to peruse the "Debilitating Symptom of the Month" or to order more whimsical milkmaid statuettes for the dining room. You could pass out copies of this image at local high schools and instantly cut the teenage pregnancy rate in half.

You see, it's not just the woman's style that offends, it's that peaceful, calm look on her face. This is clearly not a person who's been suffering through bouts of heartburn and dizzy spells. This smug mutant is not waking up five times a night to use the bathroom, nor is she suffering from flatulence or heart palpitations or pre-eclampsia. This woman is living a lie. Most important — and take this from someone who's been told that she could give birth any second, which is a little like being told that you have a bomb strapped to your chest and only Mother Nature, that bitch, has access to the trigger — this woman is not in her last month of pregnancy, because she bears no evidence of having random and unpredictable bouts of hormonal rage (listed merely as "mood swings" in this otherwise ruthless book).

You see, extremely pregnant women don't sit primly in rocking chairs, looking satisfied and happy with their bad hair. No, they drive too fast on the freeway, screeching at passing cars, or they bellow "Helloooo?!" into their phone at the Home Depot worker who put them on hold for 20 minutes instead of explaining why the rug for the baby room hasn't arrived yet and isn't likely to until the kid's third birthday.

A million new-mom manuals will never prepare most women for the fact that, in the last months of pregnancy, they're not going to be smiling bucolically while folding onesies in the baby room. They're going to be obsessively pulling weeds out of the frontyard while loudly berating their husbands for leaving the back door unlocked and forgetting to get the dog vitamins even though they were clearly on the list. The last month of pregnancy doesn't just prepare a woman to squeeze out a child, it prepares her to wage jihad.

Recently, after bursting into tears over a yogurt lid that refused to pull off, I actually had to stop and tell my husband: OK, you probably haven't been more of a snippy jerk than usual lately. Considering that my face is beet red and I'm sweating and weeping inconsolably over a cup of yogurt, the more likely explanation is that my nuclear reactor of a body, in its preparations for squeezing out our first child, is also preparing me to build bombs and wage hand-to-hand combat, if necessary.

So who belongs on the cover of "What to Expect When You're Expecting?" Maybe Archie Bunker, his face flushed with rage, wearing a big, ugly maternity tunic made out of camouflage. Anything less is false advertising.

How Was Your Day?

Mine ended quite fittingly by just being dead tired and wanting to get home, but who pulls out in front of me but Brookline Driving School. Doh.

All hail the poor student driver...yes, we've all been there but Boston drivers are fast and furious, so it's DRIVE or get off the road Granny! No joke!

I felt like I was in a parade through Newton at 20mph tops. I tried my best not to tail, and actually had to keep my foot off the accelerator. Luckily when I hit Comm Ave. they took a right and I regained the liberty of going 30mph!!!

Woo hoo speed racer!
Anything interesting about your day?

The Red Sox Meet President Bush

In case you missed it last week. I was actually taking a sick day last Wednesday and stayed home and vegged, so I got to see it live. He was actually pretty funny with his Dice-K comment that poked fun at his own poor use of the English language. However, his attempt on making a joke about Manny was inappropriate and not funny (I thought) at all. See for yourself.

Can't wait for another exciting season! I'm so sick of the cold I'm about to fly down to Florida and visit Fort Meyers and my boys.