Here Comes The Bride

What? Yes, that's right, I have some exciting news to share...B and I are getting married! In September, in Hawaii. Yes, I know that isn't far from now. You don't need to remind me- I am in full on planning mode as we speak. And no, I am not PG. ;) The timing just worked out, since B's family was already planning to be in Hawaii for a vacation and most of my family lives there, we thought it would be a good time and place. For only deciding this very recently, much of the plans are falling into place quite nicely. We're keeping it small and as simple as possible, and my sister Ash (who lives in Hawaii) is acting as our wedding coordinator extraordinaire, so I'm not too worried. Of course, I think I may still be in a bit of a shock...But I am so happy and really excited.

I couldn't have concocted a more perfect partner if I tried. Thanks, Mom, I know you had something to do with this! Without getting too crazy on you, before my mom passed away (it was 5 years ago in March) I was out of another dead-end relationship, she told me she would be looking after me. So I said, "Oh good, can you please send me someone good?" And she said, "Yes, I'll work on that!" And just a few months later, I met B! Just sayin'... ;)

Marnie requested a "how we met" story, so for her and anyone else who may be interested, read on. Besides the motherly intervention from afar, the short version is that we met through mutual friends in San Diego. The long version is... One day I went out to lunch with a good friend from work and his good friend from high school. When my friend and I dropped his friend back at work, I recognized a car in the parking lot as one that I had noticed parked outside my apartment building. He said it was his girlfriend's car. After some talking, we discovered not only did his girlfriend and I live in the same little 12-unit building- we lived literally next door to each other, as in we shared a wall! Small world! We all started to hang out in a group and one of the guys in the group was B. Although he had just recently moved to LA for work, he was coming down to SD on the weekends to visit. After many group outings over a few months, he asked me on a date, "just the two of us." We went to the always fabulous Red Fox Room for a late dinner one Friday night and really have been together ever since. For the first year we dated, I lived in SD and he lived in LA, so we took turns driving back and forth. It wasn't too bad, but eventually several reasons compelled me to move back to LA. We decided to get a place together, a year later we adopted the doogles, and a couple years later here we are and I couldn't be happier!

Along those lines, albeit on a tangent, we are so happy for our Nasus, who graduated from law school this past Saturday. She is one of the most amazing people we know and we are so very proud of her achievement. Way to go, Nasus!

Happy Birthday, B!

We celebrated B's birthday (which is today), B's mom's birthday (which was last week) and Mother's Day today in San Diego. We had barbeque chicken and ribs (yum!) and I was in charge of dessert. I baked a flourless chocolate cake for the occasion(s).

Mmm...

Happy Mom's Day to all you moms and moms-to-be out there! Enjoy your day!

FO: Diana's Shawl

I don't know about you, but every once in a while I just really have no idea how a project will turn out. I do my best to plan wisely in order to best anticipate the outcome, so I usually know what you're gonna get, but sometimes you just don't know. That's how this shawl was for me. I substituted yarn and really wasn't sure how it would work with this pattern. Bulky lace. I mean, I had never attempted this before, nor had I used anything like fleece. Suffice it to say, there were a lot of question marks, and I almost scrapped the project at least a few occasions. But I decided to keep going, hoping it would be good in the end, and I'm so glad I did. Diana's Shawl is finished.

Pattern: Leafy Lace Shawl from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms by Louisa Harding
Yarn: Knit One Crochet Too Fleece in 261 (Mulberry) - 3 skeins
Needles: US 13

Yup, I think this will make a mighty fine nursing shawl. (Kudos to Dis for the idea!) The recipient is a first-time mom and a good friend, who also happens to be one of our bosses. I will also be knitting something for the baby, but thought it would be nice to make something special for mom, too. I think she will appreciate the smushy-soft, comfy-cozy nature of this shawl.

It was okay as is, but I wanted to straighten things out a bit and bring out the lace details a little more. I wasn't sure how this yarn would take to a bath, so I did a test and it worked well, so I dunked the whole thing. Granted, it tends to smush back up when hung (stretched out) like this, but when it's flat or on a body, it stretches out nicely width-wise, resulting in a nice drape. All in all, a success, I'd say. I do hope she likes it!

On a totally unrelated, shamelessly dating myself note, I feel compelled to share how I was able to fulfill the dream of the 13 year old me, when I was FINALLY able to see Duran Duran in concert Sunday night. O!M!G! 25 years late and past the hysteria of an innocent teenager's obsession, but still, better late than never! I must say, the guys still looked good, sounded good, and put on a great show. They really seemed like they were having fun too, still, after all these years, which was nice to see. During the 2+ hours on stage, they played a lot of songs from their latest CD, but sprinkled enough of the classics in there to please the old fans. ('Old' can be interpreted in a couple different ways here.) My sis LA and I had so much fun, reliving our teenhood, singing along with all the other thirtysomethings and beyond at the Nokia Theatre. I was actually amazed at how I still remember the lyrics to some of those songs...not to mention, how truly strange some of those lyrics are. It was the best time. The only thing that could have made it better was if Dee could have been there with us- even though she was definitely there in spirit! Excuse me now, while I travel back in time 25 years. Good times... "Only came outside to watch the night fall with the rain..."