Quite Possibly The Dumbest Thing I've Ever Done...

AKA: If I only had a brain....

Yesterday I flew home to Madison. I had been planning to drive, but at the last minute, driving 6 hours after work seemed like a bit much to do alone, so I booked a plane ticket (they are so reasonably priced right now...and I'm glad I did b/c I would have been driving in rain the whole way!). Apparently I was in a rush when I did it....because I spelled my own first name wrong. That's right - my first name!! I didn't realize till about 4 hours prior to take-off. I quickly called Orbitz because I was worried that somehow I wouldn't be allowed through security with a ticket that says "Emliy" when my driver's license says "Emily." After a 40 minute conversation (literally!), the issue was resolved, and I freaking had to pay $20 for them to change "Emliy" to "Emily." Ugh - and that was after I dropped SB off for an early morning flight at the wrong terminal. It was a rough start to the day - but it all ended well now that I'm here at home, and my whole family will be arriving soon so that all the kiddos can trick-or-treat together.

I am my father's daughter...

Do you ever have those moments when you find yourself doing something that you used to mock your parents for doing? For years, I couldn't believe that my dad kept delaying the switch from a wooden tennis racquet to the graphite/carbon fiber ones that we all use today. Any time we walked on a court (like 1987-1994), if the players who used it previously were still gathering their items, they would watch my dad pull out the famous wooden Jack Kramer in total disbelief (and often making comments like, "I haven't seen a racquet like that in years....does it really work??"). Keep in mind, my dad is a really good player, and now in his retirement he's playing like 3 days weekly. Well, fear not - he finally did switch when my mom and I gave him a new racquet for Christmas in 1995 or so. (and as a side note, I guess a racquet that's 6 years old is outdated these days. I've had a few people make comments about mine in the past year or so....so I may start testing out a few new ones...Christmas is coming ;)
Flash-forward to now, and here I am with this old digital camera that I've had for like 5 years. Last Christmas, SB's company gave him a flashy brand new red one, with a much better megabyte #....and yet I can't let the old one go to use this newer, better one! So strange! Well, I'm charging up the flashy new one, and will test it out this weekend!! I promise Halloween pics galore next week :)

Weekend Recap

• SB and I saw "Couples Retreat" on Friday night. I do not recommend it. I mean, there are a few funny parts - but on the whole, the story just wasn't that interesting.
• Saturday morning I went on a "Community Tour" to check out our various volunteering options with the Junior League. I've made 2 really good friends through JL already -- so I'm looking forward to getting together with them!
• Saturday evening, SB and I met up with friends who were visiting in town for dinner. We went to a German restaurant.....food = ok, conversation was lots of fun!
• On Sunday I went to the Rams game with our friends in town (SB was working, obvi). Alas, they did not win, and are now 0-7 this season (ouch!!!).
  
• Sunday evening we went out for dinner again with the friends in town. This time the food was delish, and we'll definitely revisit it in the future.
• Now back to the grind.....but this will be a fun week :)

(PS - just tried to purchase a pair of Citizens from RueLaLa this morning.....my size ran out in every pair almost immediately. I waited like 5 minutes to decide if I really wanted them, and it was too late. Shoot! I have $$ in my account from returning a purse a while ago -- it just was too big, not that cute in person. I don't think I'll buy from them again b/c they don't do refunds on returns - just credit. Not always ideal....)

Christmas Cards....Year #1!

Now that I'm married, I have a great spreadsheet filled with the addresses of all of our friends and family (a result of sending out wedding invitations). I'm excited to send out photo card Christmas cards this year for the first time. Photo cards aren't really things that single people or dating couples really send out -- so this is a real milestone! (am I the only one who gets excited about this???)

Once I actually have our cd of wedding pics (ahem, Mr. Photographer.....it's unbelievable, he was so eager and communicative when he wanted our business....and kind of MIA since then), I will place an order for these:I found them on this site: http://stores.doodlebugdezigns.com They have tons of really cute designs. Here are a few additional options that were front-runners:

Respecting the Institution of Marriage

David Letterman.
Gov. Mark Sanford from South Carolina.
John Edwards.
Gov. Eliot Spitzer from NY
Gov. David Patterson from NY
ESPN's Steve Phillips.

What is it with men in positions of authority thinking they can get away with affairs? It is disgusting to me that the aforementioned men have no respect for the institution of marriage. Most recently, I feel like there has been a rash of men in the public eye who have admitted to having affairs. I realize that it's not just an issue of men committing these acts -- that women participate too -- but it is incomprehensible to me that the men in positions of authority don't have the common decency to control themselves to protect their wives, their children, the companies/constituents that they represent. I feel incredibly lucky that I grew up in a home with parents who worked hard to maintain a solid marriage (and they just celebrated their 45th anniversary June 13 - yay!). My message to America: be true to your spouse and remember your vows!!! The world would be a much better place. I'm going to go hug my husband now, and thank him for being the best hubby ever :)

(PS - SB says that I shouldn't be an angry blogger about all this....but this topic really gets me all riled up! He says I should return to reporting on "puppy dogs and ice cream" -- so I will....once I can shake all this nonsense from my system :)

Daisy Disaster

Daisy will be 3 years old in January....and I've heard that labs only start to calm down a bit when they hit 5 years old. As is, she gets extraordinary amounts of exercise (runs 3-5 miles 4-5 times a week, she does tons of ball-throwing and retrieving (she's even trained our neighbors to throw the ball for her too)) -- but she is still so hyper! Yesterday we were in our front yard, and our neighbors came out with their extremely well-behaved, adorable golden retriever, Champ. Let's just say that Champ totally lives up to his name - he obeys, he is sweet, and he isn't mischievous like Miss Daisy. So there we are, throwing balls to Champ and Daisy, when all of a sudden Daisy takes off and runs into the neighbors' garage. Apparently she smelled the dog food they keep in there, managed to open up the bag, and just seconds later when I ran to get her - I found her with her face and front paws inside the bag, scarfing everything she could possibly fit in her mouth. Ugh! What a stinker! I spanked her and told her no! (and then was second-guessing if I should have spanked her in sight of the neighbors....what would they think, etc.....yikes - how will I react when I have kids, etc. etc.) She sure can be a handful - but I just love this cuddly pup to pieces!!!!

(as a puppy)(in March)

Fave Flats

I started wearing flats when I worked in DC. Trust me, it isn't worth walking from home to the metro to work, and everywhere in between in stilettos (that's not to say I didn't pack them to wear while at work...just not for the long treks). Thankfully my new interest in flats coincided with them becoming a big trend!! Even now that we've moved, I still like wearing them - especially since I'm working from home and things are a bit more casual :) I'm especially into the styles with lots of adornments - bows, pearls, ruffles galore! I'm sooo tempted to buy a pair of Revas, but I just can't justify the price when there are lots of other (cheaper) cute options out there. Here are some faves (all from nordstrom.com):

Crafty Pumpkins

On Sunday I purchased two pumpkins, a few thumb-tacks (I chose the "black leather" finish....75 tacks were about $3.50 total), and.....voila! I created these beauties:
I do have to give credit where credit is due -- I found the idea on Pink Cupcake's blog. Since SB and I won't actually be around to cut into the pumpkins and light them up as jack-o-lanterns, I think that this still shows the spirit of the season. Daisy was more interested in eating the stems than posing for the camera :)

First Tennis Match in STL

Yesterday marked the start of the USTA season in St. Louis for my new team. The 4.5 women's teams here have a "pre-season" that lasts from October till January - and allows us to play with 5.0 players. I was nervous going into our first match because I haven't been playing much since the move....probably a total of 3 times in 3 months (ugh!). So I was even more uneasy when they slotted me to play 1 doubles......but things went pretty well. My on-again off-again serve was on (yay)...and the only thing that didn't feel great was my return of serve. I played on the deuce side of the court (which isn't necessarily where I feel most comfortable) b/c I played with the team captain and she only plays the ad side. It was a great, close match (point-wise) - but we won 6-2, 6-2. Unfortunately our team didn't get the W, but I was happy with how things went!

Must read. Like now.

Yesterday was the perfect day to curl up under a really cozy throw and just read. It's cold here, and SB and I both have colds. I started the day on like page 400 of American Wife: A Novel.... it's such a page-turner that it was just calling my name to finish it. I highly recommend this book. It's purely fiction, but it's based (quite closely) on Laura Bush's life -- from high school to post-White House. The kicker for me is that it's based in Wisconsin - in Riley, Madison, Milwaukee and Door County (and then on to Washington DC, of course). I now feel the need to do a little research to see if certain parts really occurred in Laura Bush's life (ie: unfortunate accident, and the Chicago incident with Gladys Wycomb).
The main character, Alice Lindgren - grew up in Riley, and then moved to Madison to attend the University of Wisconsin. She stayed in Madison, and became an elementary school teacher, and later the school's librarian. The episodes in my hometown were so true to the city that I feel like Curtis Sittenfeld, the amazing author, clearly did her research to get to know Madison during that timeframe. The book follows her through various episodes of her love life, her friendships, and her family's trials and tribulations. It was during her Madison elementary school years that Alice met Charlie Blackwell, the son of the state's governor, and a very politically-active family. Charlie Blackwell (aka: Dubya) changed Alice's world as she knew it. They had a very passionate relationship, and Alice came to know the ins and outs of the state's most powerful family. The ending left a little to be desired, but everything up till DC was awesome. In short.....it's a "must read." Like now.


PS - do you guys use the site GoodReads? It's a site that allows friends to share their book reviews with each other, and keeps track of what you read and how much you like it. It's nice to be able to look at what I've read over the last 3 years (since I started using it), and see what I liked and what I didn't b/c it's so easy to forget!! Check it out.