I took this picture last night on my way home.  I can see why people imagine Heaven this way. . . so peaceful. . .

On All Saints Day, my priest talked a lot about Heaven.  He talked about an analogy one writer used describing Heaven or Hell as one giant banquet. . . depending on who you were sitting by, it could be your Heaven. . . or your Hell!  The concept was that you should make peace with everyone in this life because you may be sitting next to them for eternity in the banquet.

He said that we may not picture our deceased relatives as saints because we know all their flaws. . . we probably can’t picture them in Hell (although he said we might have told them to go there now and then!). . .

I am certain my relatives are at the fun table.  I’m picturing all of my awesome people around the table. . . It’s a nice thought.  I hope I can join them someday!

Oh, if you thought the dorky pictures were over. . . oh, HECK NO.

You may notice that I don’t have any pictures of the bride and groom. . . you may actually notice this at nearly EVERY wedding I go to.  I usually have to borrow pics of the bride and groom from someone from facebook for my blog because I like to stay out of the way.  I don’t like flashing my camera in churches.  I don’t wanna flash and somehow mess up THE PERFECT SHOT of the photographer.  I don’t know. . . I’m weird like that.

So just imagine them. . . they look great!

So instead of getting great pictures of the wedding group, we got dorky pics of illini_girl and sis.

This cake topper was the hit of the wedding (other than the bride and groom). . . I think everyone took a pic of this.  Super cute.  :)  (J is a baseball player.)

cutest cake topper ever

The hotel was the new “Chancellor”. . . I am an idiot and thought they tore the whole thing down and rebuilt it exactly the same. . . but it’s just refurbished in the convention area though. . . aaaaah, it took me back to the days of the good ol’ KDASC Conventions!  :)

Next are pictures are of Sar and I cleansing our palettes with sorbet.  I was amazed that Sarah loved it so much that she cleansed her palette TWICE.  :)  (Our table rocked and shared food and drinks.)

Stupid weird hair part!

So. . . the hotel convention center has all the conference rooms named after the Big Ten mascots. . . this was too good of an opportunity to miss for picture taking.  I only picked the teams I disliked the most (or had the most co-workers to send the pictures to). . . Clearly not entirely SOBER.  I look like hell. . .

Suck it, Buckeyes!

I look scary. . . like a wolverine!

Hello to all my friends at Purdue! Love ya!

Awww. . . this is more like it. Little Chief.

And this one. . . I approve of.

Sister approves, too. Blurry b/c I took the picture too fast!

When you drink a lot of Budweiser + champagne, this is where you spend a lot of time! Luckily, Sarah liked our table, too b/c I was MIA half the night!

My favorite picture! Posing by the sign when we were taking the picture. . . and she was so apologetic about ruining our shot! Um, lady. . . clearly not an important picture!!!

Shew. . . this one is good!

Yes, yes. . . DORKS!

My only regret is not getting to talk to the groom and bride more. . . but that is the breaks of taking your tired sister as your date.  :)

CONGRATS!!!  What a great feeling it is when your good friends find people they love to spend the rest of their lives with!

This has actually been a somewhat slow wedding year. . . I think I’ve only been invited to four. . . and have only been able to go to two.  I love a good wedding and always enjoy seeing old friends and meeting new people, but it is nice to slow down a bit. . . as I’ve done so much other travel this year.  I cannot go to eight weddings/year  every year without killing my finances and vacation!

I only have one next year in Colorado in January (yay Jamie!), but I know there will be more!  It’s difficult (if not impossible) to go a year without someone in my family getting married. . .

The trip home started with my parents picking me up and taking me to The Beef House.  I had ROCKIN’ scallops there.  Seriously, I was impressed.  I NEVER eat scallops anymore because I was so spoiled in New England.

This is sadly the only roll I ate there. . . but it was a dream come true. . .

We were all zonked on Friday so we headed home and went to bed. . . what a long week/day!

My mom, sis, and I went shopping on Saturday.  Fun times.  While I love shopping in any form, it’s always more fun to go with Mom and Sarah.  We manage to make it to the mall every time I go home.  :)  Luckily, I don’t get home very often or we’d all be broke.  ;)

Okay, so I told you all about how I didn’t know what to wear to the wedding. . . well, I started playing dress-up on Wednesday.  As it turns out, I had four lovely dresses that I realized I hadn’t even worn before.  The thing is. . . I looked so WHITE in all of them so I didn’t want to wear them out of the house.  I settled on two to take home and wanted to try them on Saturday morning so my sister and Mom could let me know if I looked hideous and should buy a new one.

Sarah did not like dress #1. . . so I tried on dress #2, which they liked better.  We picked out jewelry, and all was right with the world.

We arrived home from shopping and had approximately 20 minutes to get ready before the wedding.  I ran and threw on the dress, and got in my heels.  This made Sar realize how short the dress is.  Literally, walking downstairs to leave. . . she was saying, “Whoa!  You can’t wear that slutty dress to a wedding!!!”  Um, hello!  I tried it on for her before. . . but she said the heels made her realize how short it was.  Crap!  I am so not a slut so this is not a befitting look for me.  I seriously bought the dress to wear to CHURCH.  Good thing Sarah made me realize I looked like a hooker before I made that mistake in H-town at church.  EEK.

Mom has been complaining that she doesn’t have a picture of me on her desk, and wants one. . . but I don’t want a picture by myself. . . so I posed with Sarah.  Most of our pictures were hideous, but t his may be a winner:

Yes, I have a stupid double-chin, per usual.

Sarah was kind enough to come with me to the wedding. . . as I didn’t really know anyone there. . . and any of my friends who know Jason are not in town (or are flakey). . . and I couldn’t think of any single guys in town to ask (or that I would WANT to ask!).

We came to Mom and Dad’s between the wedding and reception. . . played a little Wii bowling and took some dumb pictures. . . Mom, you want pictures. . . you GOT ‘EM!  :)

I actually kinda like this one. . .

Whoa

This would be good if my hair wasn't parting weird Sat. night. . . Hmmm.

There are even MORE, but I will spare you. . .

Then we started being goofy and thought of some other poses that Mom might enjoy in her house (neither of us had ANYTHING to drink at this point, either). . .

Mom, there's a cat on your kitchen counter!!!

and someone is in your plant?

and someone is wearing a piece of your Fall centerpiece as a fashion accessory?

She's so outdoorsy. . . couldn't keep her out of the plants!

Normal picture. . . but I can't decide if I like it. . . anyways. . . show's my hairdo (although not looking the best).

Okay, I have a ton more dumb pictures from the reception, so I’m breaking this bad boy up into two posts. . .

Yep, they came while I was at work on Friday to do phase one so I got to see it for the first time tonight.  :)

A happy girl is typing this caption! It appears all they have to do it paint, which I could do, but I'm SO HAPPY I'm paying them to do it. I don't have time for this stuff!

In an apartment
Spills a box of spaghetti
Only wanted a pretzel.

Out on the town once
Saw a mostly naked girl
Prostitute, perhaps?

Village idiot
We will never forget you
Or your strange patrons.

Happy birthday queenlizzle!  :D  Love you lots!

That’s a pretty crappy title, illini_girl?  Why the heck would anyone want to read this entry?

Because I am mysterious and intriguing. . . and who wouldn’t want to know why I’m frustrated?

Um, I’m asking the questions here.  Just stick to the answers, okay?

Wow. . . cranky pants.

Shut it.  Do you still have a hole in your wall?

YES.  This is partially because of how much I’ve been out of town.  This week FINALLY worked.  .  . and the guy coming over had a family emergency and had to cancel.  Oh well.  The owner of the company came and got my keys so they can just come and go as they please so I won’t have to let them in and out.

How do you feel about traffic?

Ugh, I HATE it!!!  Let me just tell you that in the almost three years I’ve lived here this time around, it is RARE that I encounter traffic going to or leaving work.  This is rare in Houston, but I just live in a good place where this is not an issue. . . . HOWEVER. . . they are doing construction on another main freeway. . . and I think it’s going to be a YEAR or more. . . and all the traffic has come to MY interstate. . . boo!!!  Luckily, I don’t have to suffer too long, as I have a way to sneak out of *part* of the traffic. . . but I am not pleased that my 15-20 minute ride home is taking 35-40 minutes.  One of my friends started doing books on tape and said that makes him more zen in traffic.

Would you try a book on tape?

I am thinking about it.  Have any of you ever listened to those?  It just seems weird to me. . .

Okay, we are FINISHED with your Debbie Downer attitude.  Enough of this frustration crap.  Cari asked about book recommendations the other day. . . what do you recommend?

I liked both of my last two book club books. .  ”The God of Small Things” (difficult to read and stomach, but good). . . and “The Time Traveler’s Wife” (good, but flipping sad). . . I spent half the night talking about books at the Halloween party on Saturday.  One of the guys I was talking to loved, loved, loved both of Michael J. Fox’s books (and recommended to read them sequentially). . . I think I might try this after I’m finished with “Breaking Dawn”.  We have a holiday hiatus for book club so it’s the perfect opportunity to read other things.  The only other problem is that I have ~3 books on my bookshelf to read already.

Tell me something GOOD that has happened so far this week, please?

My high school German teacher (affectionately known as “Frau”) found me on facebook this week.  How fun!  I miss Frau!  She was such a good teacher and had such great rapport with us. . .

What the heck are you going to wear to your wedding in IL this weekend?

No.  Friggin’.  Clue.  It’s actually going to be WARM in IL this weekend, which is supa-exciting. . . Thank you, Lord.  I have several options to wear, but nothing is screaming at me.  I got a friends and family discount passed on from a friend for The Limited, so I’m going to shop there while I’m home as well.  (If anyone would like me to forward the coupon to you, let me know!  I think it’s 30% off.)

Okay, must read about Bella for a minute and go to bed.  :)

Despite being EXHAUSTED on Friday night (and not having slept much AT ALL the two nights prior), I went to bed late and did not sleep in (mostly because of my hair appointment).

On Saturday, I might have had a tiny nap. . . but if I had one, it was definitely tiny because I don’t remember it and am certain I didn’t have much time.

On Saturday night, I went to bed late again, and couldn’t sleep in again.  If I wanna be extremely lazy on Sundays, I can sleep in until 9:30 because I don’t have to leave for church until 10:30. . . yet I was up at 8:00 a.m.  I blame this on falling back.

After church, I took a nap.  Then I did some stuff, and took ANOTHER *small* nap.

Sunday night, I accidently took my sleep helpers at 7:00 p.m. because I forgot to set the clock back an our on the stove.  :\  (I blame this on falling back AND stupidity).

I was extremely tired, but got hooked on the movie “Knocked Up” (which sadly, I had never seen!).  I still slept ~7 hours last night, which is incredible. . . yet, I was DYING OF TIRED TODAY!!!  I was busy at work so I didn’t have much time to feel tired. . . but I was so tired that my eyes felt like they were on fire, I could barely articulate ANYTHING, and was terrible about composing emails that made no sense. . .

Is this really supposed to happen when you are falling back???????????

I am also still a bottomless pit (week 2).

No.  I’m not pregnant. . .

. . . unless you can get pregnant by two-stepping.

If so, then yes. . . it’s possible.

I was looking for a new perfume. . . and almost posted a status update on facebook to ask people for recommendations this weekend. . . but I was looking at Lucky magazine when I was under the dryer at the hair salon, and they plugged a bunch of perfumes. . . One being Ed Hardy’s Love and Luck.  I marched my butt to Macy’s later to try it and bought it.  Not only do I love the smell, but I also love the funky cool bottle!

http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P230529&categoryId=B23

Liz M. got me a giftcard to Fossil for my birthday. . . which was so thoughtful and amazing because I basically am banning myself from entering the store for a while. . . but with a gift card in hand, I didn’t feel guilty making a purchase!

They have SO MANY COOL NEW WATCHES OUT!  The thing is, I decided that I needed one with gold.  I rarely used to wear gold. . . but now that I have my favorite necklace from Italy. . . I wear it a few times a week.  I love this watch because it’s so tiny and delicate. . .

dime in the picture to attempt to show you how small it is.

This is my favorite necklace I bought in Florence.  . it’s actually two-toned so the watch is perfect.  :)

I didn’t do much shopping after this.  Yeah, sad.  I put down a ton of money on my car (probably went overboard). . . it’s nice to have so much down and a lower payment, but I miss having the extra spending cushion to by clothes whenever I fancy!!!  I love my car, but I don’t love having a car payment again!  :\

When I was in 3rd, my teacher Mrs. Prater introduced an interesting concept to us. . . at Christmas, she taught us the song “Some Children See Him”. . . See the lyrics here because I don’t know how copyrights work with this stuff.

The concept of course is that we all have a picture in our mind of what Jesus looks like. . . but it’s not the same to everyone.

I also thought about this at Christmas time a few years ago when my manager at the time, who is black, said that Santa is black at their house.  I guess in my lily white world, I didn’t think about this stuff much. . . but I’m not going to be too hard on myself about living inside a box. . . because we ALL really picture people we can’t see in different ways.

At dinner last week, we were talking about Twilight.  I do not want to see the movie. . . definitely not before I finish the last book and probably never.  Why?  Because I like the images of the characters in my head, and I don’t want them to become the movie version. . . and R. Pattinson does not at all match up in my mind with what *my* Edward is like.  When we were discussing this at dinner, my friend Sue was feeling the same way.  Sue is Indian, and one of my other friends said. . . “Sue, is your Edward Indian?”  She said, “Yes.”. . . I don’t know why, but I thought that was really cool.

R. Pattinson is NEVER going to fit that bill. . .

What a great day. . .

I would like to state for the record that I’m not the biggest fan of Halloween.  I’m kinda like “meh” about it.

When I was trying to sleep this morning, I thought of an idea for a Halloween costume. . . yes, ON HALLOWEEN.  This is somewhat typical to be doing this at the last minute.  I hate most costumes you can buy. . . and I’m not a big fan of being “slutty” anything. . . and especially when the past four years I’ve been to work parties for Halloween!

Okay, so I had an idea. . . Han nah Montana. . . but I didn’t know if I would pull it off on the day of. . . and I had a hair appointment.

I took my camera out of my purse because I tried to fit my giant vampire book in my purse. . . DOUBLE FAIL because my book didn’t fit, AND I forgot to put my camera back in!

My colorist and two of the girls standing next to her were “Girls Ne xt Door”. . . and the other girl in their area was Hef.  They looked great!

Then. . . there was my hair stylist, Ricky. . . He is HILARIOUS!

He had to deflate his costume a bit to do hair. . .

(Yes, I have a separate person for color and cuts. . . that’s how my salon does it.  .  . and YES, I have bangs and dark hair. . . I’ll post pictures soon!)

Okay, so after my appointment, I first walked by Wet Seal. . . and was like. . . HELLO, Han nah Montana pink, sparkly clothes!  I picked up a few things. . . and laughed in my head when the sales clerk asked me if I wanted to join the frequent shoppers club.  Ummmm. . . no thanks.  I didn’t tell her I was merely there for a Halloween costume and would not be caught dead in over 90% of the clothes there.  ;)  I will say though. . . that I have kinda grown to love the skirt. . . and the top I got there.  I have no idea for what occasion I could wear them, but they are kinda fun!

I wanted something to wear that actually said “Han nah Montana” on it though so people would *know* who I was. . . AND a wig.  I ended up getting a Hannah box set for six year olds at Target. . . and got the LAST Han nah Montana wig!

Okay. . . As it turns out, I’m not six years old. . . so this wasn’t going to work. . . I don’t think Hannah is slutty.  Billy Ray would probably not allow this.

I was excited that it actually velcroed shut in the back. . . but I do not have a torso to support this kid top!

This had to be modified. . . luckily, it worked with what I bought at the mall. . .

Woo hoo!

Lessons learned:

1. Don’t wait to get an idea until the day of Halloween.
2. Don’t get a wig for a kid. . . because you will get a horrible headache from the elastic squeezing your brain out. . . and will have a giant crease in your forehead an hour after you’ve taken the wig off.

Happy Sunday!  :)