Sunday 10/16, We woke up around 8:30 and Dad had already been up for a while. We all got ready and went to breakfast at the Sawmill. Dad had to go to the hardware store and I sat outside in the sun and called Eric. We went back and hung upstairs and packed while Dad took care of some things. We finally headed out and it was a little after 1:00. We made great time home, stopping in Monroe for a bathroom break and at home all went in to hang out for a little bit. Kristel took off and we decided to watch the rest of Pirates then we went to see Eric at work. We went to the airport, I dropped them off, went to the store and home. I hung out until Eric got home and he made dinner though we didn’t eat until almost 9. Oh well. I had received an app for Lucia on Friday and was just getting to it Sunday night so I felt really bad but everyone had already pretty much nixed it. The applicants were in Alaska, 3 young kids, another dog, no fenced yard and the last rat terrier they had was hit by a car because it got out of the garage while no one was home (let’s hope it was a heated garage at least). It was an instant no for me. I’m not sure they read her bio at all. I went to bed not long after because I knew I had to get up early.

Saturday 10/15, We woke up around 8. We all got dressed and Dad started working while the three of us left and headed into Plain for morning coffee then into Wenatchee. We had a nice drive and about halfway there the sun came out and it was beautiful. Our first stop was Walmart for oil and I got some candy for a buck. Next to Home Depot where a guy in the parking lot slowed down and said to us, “Congratulations, you are the first beautiful women I have seen in Wenatchee”; this doesn’t say much for the women of Wenatchee, or hopefully he’d just gotten into town. We picked up all the stuff we needed from HD and were glad we were done with Dad’s errands. We went to lunch at the Public House and ate way too much. K and I shared the macaroni appetizer and each got a salad, mine was the spinach and strawberry with sesame seeds and avo, yum! I ate it all. The bread was delicious too (beer bread or something). We went and moved the car and went to Gilded Lily where I got Kass the cheese plate we had liked earlier in the summer, and also some coffee for Eric called “Three Peckered Goat” and one chocolate treat for me. We continued to walk and stop in the little stores. I didn’t buy anything else. We stopped in a little art gallery, and though none of it was my taste I’m glad such a gallery exists in Wenatchee. We wandered a little longer then headed back to the car figuring Dad probably needed the stuff we had to finish his projects. We drove home and when we got there Dad was hauling firewood in the tractor. He got all the stuff put away under the shed cover and cut up the rest of the fallen tree, among other winterizing things. He was hungry so we all got ready for dinner and decided to go to the country club. It was their last Saturday night of the summer being open. Our waitress was really nice and called the 59er Diner to tell them to give us a milkshake on her. For dinner I had soup and a salad and Dad’s zucchini. We went over to the 59er Diner and had milkshakes for dessert. We headed home and put in Pirates of the Caribbean and made it about half way through before I was too tired to watch anymore and turned it off. Kristel and Mom were asleep already. It was 9:45. Yeah. Went to sleep and slept really well.

Friday 10/14, I got off work, headed home and met Kristel and started packing. Eric got home and I kissed him goodbye and we headed out with me snacking on the cookie Kristel got me. We had a good drive except for the traffic between Snohomish and Monroe. We made it to Headwaters at the same time as Mom and Dad. We were there for hours and our pizza took forever. We had a good time but I was starving by the time we were eating and we were all cranky. They forgot about us, or had out pizza in the “pick up” pile, so it was severely delayed. We headed home and put on Lost Boys. I was the only one who was still awake by the time it was over. It was like midnight.

Thursday 10/13, I got home before Eric and got changed and did a little more cleaning up before Eric got home from class. We hopped in the car and headed to the airport, picked up Mom and Dad and headed into Bellevue. We tried to go to the Pumphouse but it was packed so we went to Red Robin instead and that was fun. We talked the whole time then went to DQ for some dessert. Dad and I are the only ones who got something and Eric and Mom went back to RR to get Mom’s gloves. Dad and I talked about work and the wedding. We went home and sat in the living room and talked about the dogs and did the touch stick with Lucia and Mom and Dad. We went to bed by 10.

Wednesday 10/12, I did my workout. After work we cleaned the house and got ready for Mom and Dad’s visit. Made up the bed and all that. Watched the Wednesday shows together and maybe read before bed.

Tuesday 10/11, I set my alarm but didn't turn it on so I didn't do my workout. Oh well. At home Eric was getting ready for his 15-mile run. I hung with the dogs and did a few things around the house while waiting for Eric to come back and make dinner. He made some pasta and I ate quite a bit before we got into bed and went to bed.

Monday 10/10, I woke up early and did my work out again and was pretty sore. I stopped at the dry cleaners and QFC on the way home for some candy. At home I took the dogs out and all that. I was tired and just wanted to lie down but that wasn't really an option. I got 3 out of four dogs bathed after their dinner. I made myself some dinner as well and watched WoF before taking off at 7:30 for the theater. I wanted to get us good seats so I got there a half hour early. It was in one of the huge theaters and I got us back row, in the middle seats which were perfect. I was alone in the theater for a while with one other couple who were making out and the guy would randomly make pig noises. Weird. Kristel arrived with popcorn and we chatted through the previews. Luckily the theater wasn't packed at all and we didn't have anyone within 4 rows of us. The movie (Ides of March) was good and we continued to talk all the way back down to our cars. I went home and Eric had just arrived home and showered after having ridden his bike from work. I sat on the couch for a while and talked with him while we played with Lucia. I got ready for bed and read one of my mags before falling asleep.

Sunday 10/9, I didn't wake up until 8:30, got up, ate breakfast and pressed Eric to find out what time he was working, not until 1:00, yay! We got right down to tasking. We rehung the mirror in the back bedroom, hung my Kandinsky print, moved the ac out of there and stripped the bed. I vacuumed and puttied a few holes. Eric made me a delicious breakfast sandwich. I was tired so I laid down and eventually fell asleep and woke up after Eric left. I went outside and moved the excess dirt from the courtyard to the back of the house, threw away some stuff and decided to go grocery shopping and also pick up some clippers since the other pair have disappeared. I went to FM, got what I needed and back at home started on the roses and cleaning out the front bed by the gate. That took me a while but it looked a lot better. Back inside I hung with the dogs and decided to work on my bills while watching Wedding Crashers. I got everything done and Eric came home, made me another sandwich for dinner and got into bed. I cleaned up and got in bed too. We talked for a long time about our relationship and sex and all that. Finally lights out.

Saturday 10/8, We were up early and Eric took off to go into work to see about getting the day off. He came back with good news. We went down to Mutual Materials and picked up our pavers and borders and I seriously thought the front of the truck was going to come off the ground because there was so much weight back there. All the guys around watching were like "Ohhh man!" Luckily we got the tailgate to drop. We slowly headed home and off loaded them. We were both sweating and exhausted. Thank god there were only 34 of them. We hand carted them 2 at a time to the patio. After that I was on a rampage getting the side of the house cleaned up, took apart the frame of the old wall in the master bedroom and got all the nails and staples out and moved other stuff into the garage while Eric mowed and raked the beds. The yard looked good. Back inside I had lunch and Eric took off not much later for Sky's. I talked to Court for a long time and caught up with her. Can’t wait to see her next month. I was fairly useless for the rest of the day and ended up watching Blue Valentine and forgot how graphic it is and also how depressing it is. Oh well, he's still hot. I watched an Amanda Knox special in bed and then SNL. Eric got home right as it started. I made it through about half of it then fell asleep.

Friday 10/7, Did my video again. I was excited to get going on the patio again so I went asked what we were going to do and Eric was being short with me so I got frustrated and told him I’d hire someone to do it because I was sick of fighting about projects. I started vacuuming and doing other cleaning and Eric worked on the patio by himself, which was fine with me. He came in and showered then went to the store to get stuff for dinner and I found a card from him, which he apologized in and said he’d do the patio. When he got home he made dinner and we spent the night relaxing. I was exhausted and starting to get sore. I was in bed by 9.

Thursday 10/6, First day of my workout-in-the-morning-routine. Tired, felt ok but more energized for the day. We did some raking and filled up the yard waste. Eric went and got gravel so we spent the rest of the evening unloading it from the truck and dumping over by the patio. We went inside afterward and had some dinner and watched our Thursday night shows. Off to bed somewhat early because I was going to do my workout the next morning.

Wednesday 10/5, At home Eric and I worked on our calendar and had some curry chicken then he took off to take the dogs on a walk. I left to get some fleece, deposit some checks and pick up a new router from Best Buy. Back at home I ate some candy and wrote some emails then Eric came home and we worked with Lucia and Clancy as a distraction. I uploaded a video to fb, took a shower and watched Modern Family.

Tuesday 10/4, I thought Eric was going to be home when I got home but he took the bus to school so I beat him home and decided to do the dog walks myself since we had to be to Mom’s for dinner by 6:15. I took Nyx and Clancy and Eric was home when I got there. He fed the dogs while I did something else and we took off. Dinner was really good, some kind of baked pasta with tons of veggies and cheese. We talked a lot and laughed and I ate a bunch of cheesecake for dessert. We stayed until 10 then took off. We got into an argument / discussion on the way home about money and didn’t really come to any conclusions. At home I worked with Lucia and the touch stick and she’s totally caught on and now the goal will be to expose her to some new things and get her to touch them. I half-watched some tv and did some emails and turned in to bed.

Monday 10/3, I came home and walked Nyx and Clancy then took Lucia out in the backyard to throw the ball around. I cleaned up dog crap too then inside to clean up after Brizo and feed the dogs. Kristel texted to tell me she was already down at Lincoln Square at Paddy Coyne’s having a beer. I packed up and headed out to meet her. She was talking to a cute guy when I showed up and he was an out-of-towner on business. We talked for a little bit then headed upstairs to get our tickets for Crazy, Sexy, Love. Kristel got popcorn and we went in and got great seats. We both “ooh”-d and “ahh”-d throughout and Kristel is now an official convert. The movie was over right around 11 and we floated out of the theater and talked about Ryan Gosling’s abs all the way to the parking garage. I drove home and Eric was still up. I got ready for bed and went to sleep.

Sunday 10/2, Dad called and I talked to him for a while until Kristel arrived. We were hungry so we went to Papa Murphy’s and ordered a couple pizzas then over to QFC to get some snacks and ended up with potato chips and four bags of candy. We picked up the pizzas and went home where we popped the pizzas in the ovens and put on All Good Things. Kristel thought it was as disturbing as I did when I first saw it. She was unsettled and we decided to follow it up with Vicki Christina Barcelona to cleanse our palette. She left right after it was over and I asked Eric if he wanted to go to the store but he didn’t so I did other stuff around the house instead. I worked with Lucia on her touch stick and she did really well and actually got it this time. In bed I went on a Ryan Gosling extravaganza and went on ebay and ordered a bunch of back issues of magazines with him on the cover. I’ve got it bad and I think it’s only going to get worse before it gets better. I went to bed kind of late I think.

Saturday 10/1, I was up early and Eric went off to work not much later. I did some things around the house and with the dogs but then I was feeling kind of down and just ended up staying in bed for pretty much the rest of the day. I think I watched a movie but I don’t really remember. I think Eric ran to Ballard (from MI) and hung out with S&C. Watched some SNL and went to bed.

Friday 9/30, I was so excited for Friday to get here because Kristel and I were going to see Drive and had a whole night planned for it. I talked to Kristel on the way home and she was going to come over to the house and we’d go from there. I went in the backyard to run Lucia a bit before going inside to take a shower while I talked to Eric. She arrived just as I was getting out and I quickly got ready. We decided to get pho for dinner so we could guiltlessly get popcorn at the theater. We decided to try a new place and took off because we were hungry. We both had a ton of stories to tell so we took turns while we ate dinner. It was Kristel’s last day at work so she was a little nervous about her situation going forward. We checked theaters showing Drive and wanted to find an AMC because I could get us free popcorn and pop upgrades, but no dice, so we went to Bella Bottega and I got us in with my Costco tickets. We got ok seats and were both very excited about the movie and RG. The music was good but I wanted more 80s than was in it. The movie was good but I wanted a happy ending and that didn’t happen, plus there was so much blood and death - that was depressing. We walked out with a lot of questions and gripes that RG didn’t even take his shirt off. He still looked good though, no complaints in that department. We drove home and Sky and Austin were there playing music with Eric. Kristel didn’t stick around and took off quickly. I got into bed and hung in the bedroom with the dogs while they played. Went to bed after they left and Eric came to bed.

Thursday 9/29, I stopped at Costco on the way home and picked up a few things before heading home. Eric was home and on the phone so I said hi to all the dogs. We took Clancy and Nyx around the neighborhood on a walk then at home we took Lucia out in the backyard and played ball with her and talked to Cherry. We went back inside and Eric left for his run and I sat on the couch and watched tv. He made dinner when he got home and we ate after 8:30 and watched our Thursday night shows. I took the dogs out again and we all got into our beds and I listed to music while updating this before going to sleep.

Wednesday 9/28, When I got home Eric told me Blair was coming over to help us with Lucia, which was fine but I wasn’t expecting her until the next day. Stef called to ask if we wanted their Mariner’s tickets but we couldn’t take them. I told her about the wedding and the poem and how well it went over. Blair showed up and we got right down to business and went out in the backyard to work and eventually moved inside to continue working and chat. It was after 8 before she left and she gave us some great ideas and structure for Lucia. Eric left to go on his run and I tried to forage for food since Eric wouldn’t be making dinner. I scrambled some eggs and watched tv until Eric got home then we watched Modern Family together and he still loves Sophia Vergara. I updated this and maybe posted finally? Day before probably.

Tuesday 9/27, I took my car to the mechanic in the morning to have the belts looked at and Eric took me to work. He picked me up at lunch time and took me to get it and back to work. I was off a little early and went to PCC to get Bill and Sandy a little hostess gift (fig balsamic). Two crazy bitches were acting nuts trying to get out of the parking lot. I went home and was a little jittery but Eric calmed me down. I wasn’t home for too long before leaving to go to Bill and Sandy’s for dinner. I got a little turned around but found it after a minute of confusion. Sandy came out and couldn’t believe my hair was so short, then Bill called for us to come inside and that it was his dream to have dinner with two beautiful blondes. It was so great to see them. We sat down and talked and talked and talked. We ate dinner and talked all the way through. They’re doing some very interesting things, socially, and I told them about what we’re doing with the dogs. I made some jokes and Bill loved it. He signed one of his books for us and Sandy gave me plums to take home. I left at 8:45 and when I got home I told Eric how much he would love them and that we should have them over for dinner next. I gave him the book and he read the first chapter that evening. He was watching Fahrenheit 9/11 and told me he’d give me a foot rub if I’d come out and watch this one part, so I did and it was funny, but then it was back in bed. I was tired and got into bed and updated this then to bed.

Monday 9/26, When I got home I took Lucia around the block and brought the clicker and worked on leash walking a bit. I took the other dogs next and that went ok then home and the dogs were very bark-y which irritated me to no end. I fed them then laid down and worked on emails. I made dinner and had a brownie and ice cream and watched Project Runway on my computer with the dogs in the living room. Eric got home and went on his run and I climbed into bed. We chatted in bed for a while before going to sleep.

Sunday 9/25, I slept in way late, like 8:45 so I was surprised that Eric was still milling about when I got up. He left a half hour later. Chrystol texted me asking if I wanted to meet them at the bathhouse at Greenlake to walk around the lake for Sky’s birthday then have some cake. I got ready quickly and headed out. I thought it was just going to be the three of us but before I knew it there was a whole group, including Brandon. I was like “ohhh, shit”. Everything went fine but I was not looking as fantastic as I would have hoped to when seeing an ex that dumped my ass. We walked as a group (Austin, Jason, Jen, B, C, S and me) but eventually us girls set out in front and had quite a lead. Great people watching, especially the lady with huge tits, no bra, in a white t-shirt. We talked about the wedding and soccer. When we got back we got the food out of the van and had fruit salad, apple crumble cake, mimosas (just oj for me) and coffee. It was a lot of fun and I forgot how funny Brandon is. It was fun hanging out with everyone. We sang happy birthday and took off, with me inviting C&S over for dinner that night even though Eric wasn’t feeling great. The traffic was horrendous on I-5 so it took me almost an hour to make it to the NR All the Best adoption event. Janell and Julee were there with Tofu and Huck. I ended up staying for pretty much the whole thing and even met “Pupper” who has a terribly sad story but a very happy ending and his own facebook page! I had fun with the girls and I asked a lot of questions about personalities and situations within NR. I took off and headed home, and put on Closer since I haven’t seen that one in a long time either. Eric came home in the middle of it and said he hadn’t seen it (nor Cold Mountain the night before, what the hell?). I went to the store to get some wine for Sky’s bday and some dinner provisions. At home I continued watching the movie for a while then helped Eric with setting up waited for C&S. They arrived and we chatted in the kitchen and ate some apps then the soup was ready (matzo ball) so we went out to the living room to eat. I showed pictures from the wedding and we watched tv. They took off before 10 and I went in the bedroom to finish my movie. When it was over I crashed out.

Saturday 9/24, Eric woke up and was being real lovey with lots of cuddling and pillow talk, which eventually led to some other less PG activity. After we got up we took the dogs for a walk, all of them together, but by the corner of the block we split up with me taking Lucia and Clancy to the blueberry farm and Eric taking the little dogs around the block. When I got home I figured he’d have breakfast ready, but I wasn’t so lucky. I went outside and watered the plants and when I eventually came back inside I had some cereal. I changed the sheets on the bed and finally put stuff away from the trip and clutter from the week. Eric went to work and I vacuumed the house which took an hour or so. I went to look at lighting, Best Buy for a dvd player and lastly Fred Meyer for groceries. Later that evening I wanted to watch a movie and since I haven’t watched it in a really long time I decided on Cold Mountain, which I knew would make me sad but, actually made me bawl. I texted with Kristel and we made plans to maybe hang the next day. Finished the movie and put on the “making of” which Eric watched part of before going in the other room. We watched Cheaters in bed but he fell asleep and I attempted to stay awake to see the end. Couldn’t make it to SNL.

Friday 9/23, Duran Duran with Susan! When I got home I took the dogs outside to hang out and let everyone go to the bathroom and eat pears. Brizo ate a whole one and she waddled back up to the door and burped in my face when I picked her up and asked her if she was mama’s little piggy-poo. Eric left for Sky and Chrystol’s not long after he got home. I left for Susan’s to pick her up and made it there in pretty good time. We took off with a stop at 7-11 for water and a lotto ticket then took off for good ole Everett. We made great time and I showed her around downtown, including EHS. It blew her mind! Then we went to Taco Bell so I could get some mexi nuggets but they didn’t have any – bummer. We went to McDonalds next and I got some fries then to Long John Silver’s for some hush puppies. We drove around the corner and parked right outside the arena for the show. We went in, went to the bathroom and to our seats. They were pretty good and the guy next to us confirmed the opener had already played. They went on and played Hungry Like the Wolf third. The old stuff was excellent and the new stuff was ok too, but I was bummed they didn’t play Rio! Simon is a real horndog and was so sassy with his dancing and banter. At one point he asked “Who’s your daddy” and I pointed at him and yelled “You are!”. Then he said something about wanting us all to have an orgasm or something. He was hilarious. We stayed until the end and danced to the last couple songs. We headed out to the car and pulled away in record time. We drove back to Seattle, I dropped Susan off and thanked her for the fun night, called Eric and headed home. I took the dogs out and got ready for bed and when Eric got home I told him about the concert and that it was a lot of fun. I went to bed not much later.

Thursday 9/22, I was excited for our date, went outside and opened my mail on the outside stoop and thought of Castor. I was sad about him and it’s almost been a year that he’s been gone. Cherry gave me some more tomatoes and we chatted over the fence. Eric and I got ready and headed out for our night on the town. We went to the mall first and returned some shorts, then to the dumpling place for dinner which was good but I could have eaten more then back through the mall and got a cookie from Specialties. We went home and into the bedroom to watch the Thursday shows and relax. I did more updating and went to bed by 11.

Wednesday 9/21, I was starving when I got home so Eric made me a grilled cheese and I talked to Kassie off and on about the wedding and being sick. LT, Alissa, Marc, Matt, Kass, Sky and others got sick too. LT thought it was the schmegma in the hot tub. I ate, we did some nail clipping on Clancy and Lucia, though we only got one foot done on her. We watched tv, including the new Modern Family, which Eric fell asleep watching. I updated this and went to bed a little after 10. I was exhausted.

Tuesday 9/20, I still didn’t feel good but went to work anyway and struggled through the day. At home we were in the backyard and talked to Cherry and gave her the present and chatted over the fence. We went to the store to get some soup and other groceries. We also got some cold meds and each took some when we got home. We watched tv and ate our soup then had some bread with our new olive oil and Cherry’s tomatoes. I watched BL and only half watched because I talked to Dad. Eric came to bed and of course wasn’t feeling good which made me feel bad.

Monday 9/19, I woke up feeling like garbage and was so glad I had the day off. Eric got up with the dogs at 8:30 and let me sleep which I ended up doing until 10:15. He brought me breakfast in bed (pancakes) and I laid back down and did computer stuff and watched The Price is Right. It reminded me of Grandma Lou. He watched with me and eventually asked me to set my alarm so he could go back to sleep. Eventually he left to go to work and I was on my own for the day. I stayed in bed, talked to P for a little while, snacked and kept myself busy on my computer. I kept almost falling asleep but didn’t let myself so I would sleep that night. I talked to Mom for a couple minutes then Susan who informed me she won Duran Duran tickets so we’re going to that on Friday. Hilarious. Eric got home late and we talked a little and he refilled my water and all that. I updated this a little and went to bed shortly after 10.

Sunday 9/18, There was a knock on the door that woke me out of a dead sleep, but I wasn’t clothed so I asked Eric if he heard it but he didn’t respond so I got up and answered it and hid behind the door, naked. I thought it was Kass telling me she was leaving but it was actually Alix and it took me a minute to realize it since I wasn’t wearing my glasses. It was 9:15. I knew we had to check out by 11 so we got up, dressed and started packing. We went down to breakfast and there was a buffet which was my favorite of all the breakfasts and I got to try one of the mini cinnamon rolls, which was the best I’ve ever had. We went up and finished packing and went down to check on Dad who was dicking around with the bill. They were already getting on the road late so I told him I would wait until it was all handled and fixed then signed off on it. Watched AL do a hula, said final goodbyes and headed to Chauvet to try and catch the last of the Penks. Clint, Derek and the Klauers were still there with Keith. They left after about 10 minutes for San Fran, minus Keith, and we went across the street to the little market. We decided to go up to the farmer’s market and went back to ask Keith if he wanted to go and he did so we all headed over. He told us how he met Ginny (he was a pilot and they started talking in the terminal and she liked his copilot, not him) and we told him how we started dating. We found our olive oil from the Olive Press which is also where the wedding was. We dropped Keith, told him we hoped we’d see him next year and took off toward Santa Rosa. We drove for a while, aimlessly but eventually stopped at a market to get dinner and relax. Back on the road we found a Best Buy to get some movies for the plane then Costco for gas. We hit the road to the airport, parked the car, checked it in, got checked in and went into the bar to hang out until our flight. Alan, Mom and Julie joined us and we hung in there for a while but our flight was delayed an hour. Nuts. Eventually went through security and more waiting, flight continued to be delayed, on the plane, more delays, talked to Aubs about swat team incident, then had to deplane because some gauge wouldn’t register there was fuel in the plane. All in all our flight was 3 hours delayed until we got to Portland. By the time we left PDX it was 3.5 hours delayed. Sat next to each other on the second portion. I texted P that I wasn’t feeling good and wouldn’t be to work in the morning due to delayed flight and feeling really sick. We didn’t get home until after 1 and we were supposed to land at 8. I showered and climbed into bed not feeling good at all.

Saturday 9/17, Eric was up early again to go on his 12 mile run with Clint and Jodi and he made Clint work for it and Jodi was surprised he didn’t die. I went down to breakfast and chatted with some of the ladies for a few minutes then over to the makeup room to see what the deal was with getting ready for the day. I was sent to go get people going so off I went, then stopped to get some food for breakfast. I sat with AL and Eric who had just returned, then showered and down to get my hair done. I really liked the hair gal, Kendra, and she did a cute braid after some input from Kass and Aubs. Kass and I went up to her room and she gave me my MoH gift, a Jamie Joseph ring and it’s very pretty. I love it. I gave her the necklace then we went back down and I had my makeup done by a very charming Italian man whose name I don’t remember but who has worked with YSL and Oprah and various fashion shows in Milan, which is where he met his ex-wife who was a model. It didn’t work out. I got a lot of compliments afterward which was nice but unnecessary. I ate some lunch and eventually got my dress and shoes on and saw Sean and told him he could shower in our room but he wanted Kass’ shower and a hipstamatic shot standing as Leonardo’s Vitruvian man. We took some pictures then while we were waiting for our limo a yellow jacket bit the inside of my lip and I was terrified it would blow up the whole side of my face. Luckily after some ice and water with baking soda I didn’t have any problems. It probably helps that it was just a bite or pinch or whatever. Soon we loaded into the limo and rode over, all the bridesmaids and parents and grandparents of the bride. I was nervous. When we got there we waited in the limo for a few minutes, then disembarked and waited for our turn to walk down the aisle. I didn’t want to cry so kept picturing things that really pissed me off or made me laugh: Aubs peeing like a man with her bathing suit pulled over from our river rafting trip ~10 years back. It totally worked and I only got misty once when I know it would have been a lot more. The ceremony went well and I poured the wine without spilling though it dribbled down the bottom. After the ceremony JJ kept me steady because all the rose petals were really slippery since there were two hamper’s worth of rose petals in the aisle. A different Eric and I signed the marriage certificate then we did pictures. Family pics then finally into the courtyard to hang with everyone and get a drink. Socialized with the Penks, took some pictures and mingled around. Soon we were into the barrel room and it was gorgeous, really pretty. I was surprised by how beautiful it was. Took my spot at the head table and said hi to more people as they came up to chat. We had our salads and dinner then it was time for my and JJ’s speeches. His was long, mine was shortish and well received. Kass cried, even though that wasn’t my intent. There was dancing, the hallah, Daniel roller skating around the dance floor in a Tina Turner wig and dress with bedazzled marijuana leaves on it (Eric told people, “Don’t worry he’s a doctor”), Scooter and Skeeter getting down, photo booth pics with Eric then Eric and Kelly, Eric dancing to MJ songs and grabbing his crotch at Kelly’s request, cake, loading Grandma and Papa up to leave. Daniel totally bit it in his roller skates and Lesley said “Thank god he’s wearing underwear” because you could see everything when that dress went up. We closed the place down and the bus ride back to Kenwood was hilarious with an over crowded bus (65 in a 60 capacity bus), strobe light, loud dirty rap, laughing, falling, men kicking feet like babies and Uncle Brad yelling “This is like Hangover 4!”. It was hilarious, but by the time we were back we were exhausted. As everyone unloaded Lesley was mortified to see Mom and Dad get off the bus because of all the nasty rap she was playing. Even the bus driver, a 6’8” black man, said “damn, girl” each time she put on an especially filthy ditty. A group of the Penks had come back to Kenwood but we were all so exhausted they decided to call a cab and we waited with them until it came. The majority of the rest of the people went and got in the hot tub. We said bye to Tom, Jaime, Kelly, Keith and Kasey. We went up to our room and relaxed in bed together for the first time during our trip then we finally spent some quality time together which was very nice. We were up until after 2 and could still hear people in the hot tub as we went to sleep. Went to bed with a sore throat, but figured it was from all the yelling, talking, singing, etc.

Friday 9/16, Eric was up at 6 to go running with Clint and Jodi. I couldn’t fall back asleep so I laid there for a while then watched Project Runway on my computer. I finally got up and ready and went to find people. I found Grandma and Papa having breakfast in the restaurant, then Eric who just returned from his run and got ready for breakfast, then Aubs and Kass and we all sat down to enjoy some complimentary breakfast. Shortly after we were ready and headed to Jacuzzi for the rehearsal (apparently it is old Jacuzzi money). That went well, and the only incident was Kate and LT getting wine when they were supposed to be in line. Michael L. was three steps ahead of Kass with saucer eyes trying to go warn the girls. We were there for a while then headed back with Aubs and Christian into Sonoma so we could get Aubrie some nip covers. A very friendly mailman helped us find the right shop while the boys checked out the fort. We had lunch at a little café and I had a delicious salad with chicken – need to fit into that dress. We wrapped it up and headed back to Kenwood. Everyone was down by the pool so we got on our suits and went down to hang. Kasey helped me with my ipod and we got it set up but the volume was so low no one could hear my awesome playlist. AL showed up with Daniel, who proceeded to wear a variety of colorful, giant wigs for almost the entire weekend. We lounged and hung out all day then needed to go up and start getting ready for the pool party. We went down and I hung out mostly with MN fam and ate a lot of cheese because I wasn’t interested in the fruit and veggies. The desserts were delicious as well, though I certainly didn’t need to eat as many as I did. The video was good but you couldn’t hear the music. It was a nice night with dancing and talking and fun. Jaime thanked us again and said she was embarrassed that Tom hadn’t been wearing cuter underwear, while he told Eric that he needs more support. Toward the end I went upstairs to work on my MoH speech and spent about 45 minutes on it and almost had it right. Kasey and Aubrie came up to warm up and helped me with the last line. After the party was over everyone ended up in the hot tub again, except the Penks all went back to their place. I got my suit on and into the tub and there were a bunch of people and the Andersons came down as well. I talked with Billy for a long time and he was nice and guessed I was the younger sister. The only drama was Alishia and Jake and they were acting really weird so Kass had a sister intervention. We hung in there for a long time and Eric did some shuttling back and forth taking the Penks home. Finally we went upstairs to go to bed because it was 1 am or something. We turned on the fireplace and went to sleep.

Thursday 9/15, Eric woke me up a little after 6 because I had set my alarm incorrectly. He was already ready and got the dogs situated. I finished getting dressed and had some cereal and we were on the road by 7. The skin on my cheeks and around my mouth and was really tight and getting red from the Differin. Great. Forehead looked good though. We made it to the airport, parked the car, shuttled over, got our bags checked, through security (35 minutes), got snacks and found our gate. Mom, Dad, Jake, Julie B and Lynn G were already there. We got some water then onto the plane. Our flight stopped in PDX to pick up and drop people then continued to Santa Rosa. The flight felt a little long but at least we were sitting next to each other and I had stuff to read. Santa Rosa was the cutest little airport and I went right up to the car counter to secure our rental. That was quick, got our luggage and told the rest of the crew we’d see them later. We took off and stopped on the way at a cute little café and I got a veggie sandwich and Eric had a muffin. Continued on our way and finally made it to Kenwood and got checked in but couldn’t get into our room yet. We found Aubs and Christian and she showed us which room we were in but when Eric went in there and a woman was asleep on the bed, oops. The place was gorgeous and very idyllic. It’s won all sorts of awards and it’s easy to see why. Everyone gathered out front for the wine tour so we took the chance to say hi to everyone and there were a ton of familiar faces, but also many unfamiliar. Sky’s side I guess. They all took off and we checked on our room and it was ready. It was beautiful and so cozy. We showered and got dressed, unpacked and called Rosemary to arrange the pickup for dinner. We headed south to go into Sonoma and parked in the square and walked around the park and perused the shops. We headed back to make sure we wouldn’t be late, grabbed stuff out of the room and headed over to the Chauvet to get Rosemary. We were a little early and than goodness because we didn’t realize it was going to take us an hour to get to Gott’s, shitttt. By the time we arrived one of the buses was already leaving. Bummer. After saying hi to everyone we went and ordered. Pretty soon the next bus was leaving and everyone was loading. We said we’d see them back at Kenwood. Aubs and Christian stayed behind to ride with us. We had a fun drive back and talked about certain familial dynamics and personalities. We made good time back and beat the bus even though it left 20 minutes before we did. The party was just getting started and a bunch of the Penks all ended up in Mom and Dad’s room (location of the bar). There was lots of talking and laughing and Roxy and Kelly plotting to get me and Eric to get married. Eventually some of us ended up by the hot tub with the rest of the party (very large hot tub – like 25 people) and Kelly got in and was being very sassy and eventually ended up in her bra and hot pink thong. It was hilarious. Tom ended up in his underwear too after going all the way in in his jeans. Kelly was like “Tom, take off your shoes and your pants and get in here!” We were all dying. I went up and updated the aunts and uncles and everyone was laughing. Eventually, after a lot of partying and hot tubbing, the Penks were ready to go back to their place so Eric and I drove them over. I took Tom and Jaime in their car and J kept saying how embarrassed she was (about having to be driven) and kept snapping at TK about her lighter, purse, etc. I dropped them off but Eric was already gone so I called him to tell him to come back because I needed a ride. He turned around, picked me up and when we got home we went up to bed. We climbed into bed, Eric turned on the fireplace and we went to sleep.

Wednesday 9/14, Got off work an hour early since I had a ton to do before we were going to leave the next morning. I ran around the house packing, cleaning, doing dog stuff and making sure I wasn’t forgetting anything. I made myself dinner while Eric ran out to get some last minute things. We went to bed at 10ish but both slept like shit. Eric was up at 3:45 and it took me forever to fall back asleep after he woke up.

Tuesday 9/13, Went to an employee benefits seminar at work and ran some errands so didn’t get into work until noon. Home a little bit early and found Eric working in the yard. He’d cleaned the kitchen, typed out all the instructions for the dogs for Stefanie and had done a ton of laundry including the sheets for the back bedroom. We got going on the gate and ran into a couple minor snags but got it figured out. It’s going to need some tweaking but for now it looks good and will serve its purpose in the short term. Eric continued to work on it while I went in and made dinner for the dogs and edited his instructions. I wrote to all the NR ladies asking if I could give Stef their contact info while we were gone in case anything came up. They’re all so great and I’m so relieved to have them as backup. We went to Goodwill to drop a bunch of stuff off then to Ace to pick up bee spray since we have some kind of nest in the shed and Clancy can’t help himself and keeps getting stung or bit or whatever. At home I made some veggies and Eric went on a run. I started packing, put laundry away and took the dogs out. Updated this, ripping cds for Kass’ rehearsal party playlist. Trying to get a lot done before leaving. Deep breath!

Monday 9/12, Excited to have a short week. Eric was working late so I was on my own for the night. JR wrote an email and agreed to the fee. When I got home I took the dogs out then took C & L on a walk / run then it was B & N’s turn to go around the block. Eric called while I was making the dogs’ dinner and I told him I’d probably come in to see him with Lucia. I worked on stuff in the bedroom for a while and finally took off for MI to see Eric. She took some treats from people which was good but did some submissive peeing which I’ve never seen. Need to put the thunder shirt on her next time. She was so excited to see him, it was really cute. We left after not too long and headed home. I was tired but still had more to do. Laundry, cleaning, packing. Eric came home and I showered and got into bed. It was after 11.

Sunday 9/11, I got up early again and we were poised to get a jump on the day. We were outside ready to work after having breakfast and taking care of the dogs, all before 8. We started building the frame then went to line it up but it was off. We didn’t take into account the tops and tried a lot of different things to remedy the problem but at the end of it the solution was disassembling the frame and cutting the extra length off, even though Eric didn’t want to. It worked and looked great. The time to go get the chairs had come and gone so I mentally kissed them goodbye. We ran into a few more problems but ironed them out. We started creating the design but ran out of nails so we did as much as we could with what we had. We went inside and I talked to Mom and told her about the estate sale and decided to go to the sale anyway and check just to be sure. Told Eric I’d pick up the missing supplies while he was at work, kissed him good bye and took off. The chairs were gone and most everything else had sold. Oh well. I went to the mall to return a shirt to BR then to HD where I picked up what we needed and down to the Rack to return a bra. At home I relaxed for a little bit, played with the dogs outside and set up the new printer while waiting for JR to pick Dora up. I thought he would pay me but didn’t and told me to send him an email. Eric was furious but I sent him an email and held my breath. I talked to Dad for a long time about teamwork, the wedding, projects, etc. I decided to take Lucia to Mud Bay to start her desensitization with strangers and new places. We weren’t there very long, just enough time for her to meet two workers who gave her treats, buy some treats, then headed back into the car and home. I let her run around when we got home and put her in the bedroom. I sent Janell an update. Eric came home and we started on the gate and finished the second panel then tried to get it up but it was too dark so we put it off until Tuesday. Back inside to relax for the rest of the night and went to bed late.

Saturday 9/10, I got up early and took the dogs around the park twice on a run and felt good about that. At home I had breakfast and we got to work on the gate. We went to HD for supplies and at home set up the post. I thought we were going to build the gates too but Eric wanted to do it the next day. We went inside and ate some lunch and relaxed then Eric asked if I wanted to go do anything. I suggested some estate sales and found two in Bellevue. We took off and the first one was a ton of stuff but nothing I needed. The second I found some great artwork and furniture but only bought one collage / painting that looks like a Horiuchi. 50% off the next day which had me excited for going and being first to pluck up those modern chairs. I thought about them for the rest of the day. Chrystol called to see what we were doing but when we called back she didn’t answer. Eric went and got a pizza while I hung with the dogs and put laundry away. Chrystol called back a while later and said she’d never heard her phone ring and that maybe she’d call the next day about the estate sale. We had dinner and turned in early; we were both tired.

Friday 9/9, I went to the derm to have my face looked at and she gave me some samples of Differin and said that should take care of it and that my moisturizer was probably just too heavy. I was out of there in like 6 minutes. Yay! After work I got home and was ready to go to Home Depot to pick up concrete and supplies but Eric wanted to wait until the next day. Eric took off to go try and find a suit and Kristel arrived. We went in the bedroom and talked on the bed and looked at people on fb and gossiped (LPC, SU’s hot improv friend, Nikki 2 ks. We were getting hungry so we put our order in for Chinese food and left after I fed and took out the dogs. We waited at the place for a while and I told her about my dream, then home. Kristel was in charge of picking the movie since she was still feeling down about her breakup and ended up choosing “He’s Just Not that into You” because everyone is bitter in the beginning and that’s how she felt. We ate and throughout the movie K started falling asleep. She left at 10:30 before the end of the movie and I finished the movie and went to bed.

Thursday 9/8, I know I walked the dogs but I don’t remember what else. Eric had the day off. Maybe we worked outside on a project.

Wednesday 9/7, I had a dream about Ryan Gosling where he liked me and I didn’t even have to use one of my planned opening lines and we made out but just when it got to the good stuff my dream cut off and suddenly it was the next day, like a PG-13 movie. Apparently some friend of mine, who I don’t know in real life, had videotaped it through a window from like 30 feet away through some fog, and apparently we’d had sex and she had it on tape. I couldn’t believe that I’d had sex with him and that I didn’t even remember! Son of a bit…Then we were sitting with George Clooney in some theater and he asked us if we’d used protection but I couldn’t remember any of it, but Ryan confirmed no, we hadn’t. George gave us a talking to about the importance of safe sex. This got me super revved up for the rest of the week. Hot for teacher. When I got home Eric was showing me some things then asked if I wanted to run to the school again and I needed to so we went. It took longer than the prior time, oops. I didn’t stick around while he did his drills and ran home. I played with the dogs and made their dinner. Eric came home and probably made a late dinner. Watched tv and relaxed.

Tuesday 9/6, We had a client meeting and P let me leave early, but not that early because I only had half a lunch, so really I left pretty much when I was supposed to. When I got home Eric was cleaning and we discussed dinner and went to FM to pick up supplies. Back home and I cleaned up my room, went outside in the backyard to play with Lucia. The second set of shoes arrived in the mail but neither is going to work. I put some clothes away and waited for Stef and Peter to show up with Palko (Paul), Peter’s cousin. When they arrived we introduced the dogs, including Dora, and Stef tried to remember them all. I put them away and we sat down for dinner. We talked at dinner and everyone seemed to enjoy it: seasoned chicken, quinoa and peas with mint and lemon. Stef suggested a poem for the maid of honor speech and I thought that was a good idea, nothing too serious or sappy; it could be cute but meaningful. I had my work cut out. I went over all the dog stuff with Stefanie and they left not much later, like 9:30. I cleaned up the kitchen, we got ready for bed, updated this and watched tv.

Monday 9/5, Eric went on his run and I took the dogs on a run as well, though I beat him home since mine was much shorter. We got ready and went to Lil Jon’s for breakfast. While we were waiting the hostess was going down the names to see who was there and when she got to Eric’s name he called out in this unintentionally hilarious voice that made us both laugh and made him clear his throat. We had our breakfast and took off since I was going to need to leave pretty soon to go to Kristel’s. She had news and was feeling down so we were spending the day shopping. I took off shortly after we got home and made it to K’s right on time. I went up and she changed because it was supposed to be hot then took off talking about guys and meeting good ones. We stopped at H&M first and I got one shirt after trying on a whole bunch of stuff. I was looking for work-y clothes but came up empty there. Next we went to Banana Republic and tried on a ton of stuff in a really big dressing room. We both got discount cards for 30% off, plus I opened a BR card and got another 15% off so I basically got my whole purchase for almost 50% off. We stopped at Chipotle so K could get lunch and I got chips and guac. She finished her story and that her and B had broken up and all the other stuff that goes along with that. We went to the Rack and we both got Bagley Mischka heels (for the wedding for me) as well as some bras and underwear. I was glad to have finally found some shoes. We started the walk back to K’s place but quickly stopped in Nordstrom where we each tried on more shoes but didn’t buy anything else. Stopped in H&M again to look for a particular dress but came up empty. We made it back to her place and laid on the floor eating chocolate covered caramel and wafers. We talked for a long time then I took off. Eric was supposed to be at work until late, but was home when I got there. He had made dinner but I was feeling a little sick and had no appetite. He made linguisa and some pasta stuff but I didn’t have any. I booked our rental car then talked to dad and mom before turning in.

Sunday 9/4, I wanted to do the doors but Eric wasn’t interested so we relaxed instead. I fell back asleep after Eric brought me breakfast in bed for about two hours. Yikes. I was so out of it when I woke up but forced myself up and to take the dogs out and play with Lucia. I called Susan and made plans to head out and meet her. I went over and saw her place and all the changes they’ve made. We decided to go into Ballard to walk around. First stop was Harvest Bread where I got half a sandwich, next to Sonic Boom perusing cds but didn’t get anything then down to the farmer’s market. I got some donuts and we walked through but didn’t get anything. It was a beautiful day and there were tons of people there, of course. We walked through a furniture shop picking out things we liked and a couple other shops before stopping in the pizza place where RH Eric used to work. We talked and I admired the cute guy who came in, but really, where was he going dressed like that? Too hip for Sunday afternoon in Ballard. We returned to the car and headed back to Susan’s where I dropped her off and headed home. I relaxed and Eric was there. I watched Return to Me which Eric declined to watch. We went to bed afterward and it felt really good to not have to go to work the next day.