Bridesmaids, Bridesmaids, Bridesmaids…

The high cost of being a bridesmaid

“It’s not polite to ask directly, so Smith advises brides to give a spreadsheet with an estimated cost of expenses to their bridesmaids.”

Um. Wow. Maybe I’m crazy, but isn’t this EXTREMELY TACKY?

When you are in a wedding you know what to expect for the most part! C’mon you can figure it out—dress/shoes/hair/makeup/shower/showergift/bachelorette/weddinggift/travelexpenses.

God…when I write it like that it looks so, so, so expensive. But I think of it as a great honor to be involved and a gift to the people I love.

He Who Makes Me Smile and I have been talking about getting married and planning a wedding weekend etc…etc…etc…and when the subject of Bridesmaids/Groomsmen comes up—well I just can’t even begin to imagine where I would begin!

I’ve been blessed and honored to be the Maid of Honor for my Brother/Sister-in-Law, My Mary and Rob and my Cousins Brenda/Lori. I was the “wedding hostess” for Erin’s big day and well, in a few other weddings as a bridesmaid/and or she who plans fun parties and does readings.

I just can’t imagine asking the 12-(27) people closest to me to stand around in matching $200 dresses. And how could I choose just a few? I’m not sure what I will end up doing someday, although I have a good idea…but I know one thing, I will NEVER ask someone to be in a wedding and give them a spreadsheet of what I want them to spend. Holy good grief!

Friends, be thankful—I’ll be saving you HUNDREDS of dollars someday! (I sound like a car insurance commercial!)

Randomments

My friend Bobby sent along this link my first instinct was that I didn’t really want to know, but then I clicked and realized it was about what I expected it to be.

ShanShan I love you! Let’s make these (add cheese instead of gravy) when you come to visit in August!

“A coroner never forgets the first time he examines the body of someone who died from roast-traumatic stress.”

But how many degrees is she away from Kevin Bacon? (Also, I love both of them! Yay!)

To think I have one of these in my backyard (in the city, not the country) and I haven’t USED IT YET!

One in five divorces are blamed on Facebook? You mean the PEOPLE who USE Facebook.

If one of my favorite books is The Giving Tree I guess I might want to look into becoming a tree after I die, eh?

God bless all the caretakers out there.

Next step:  Confession App and really c’mon you know it’s an intern doing the Tweeting, right?

Social Media Revolution: 3

Wow. Some of these stats are mind-blowing at least for me…what do you think?

VICTORY!

These words just made me cry…I’m so proud of NY State! Great post John!

Sports and Politics in Buffalo: More Than a Game

I couldn’t help but notice a tweet from someone I have known to be quite a sports fanatic. “Gay marriage is so much more important than the new Bills uniform!” He tweeted. He is also straight, by the way. And most of my tweeps are straight. A majority of them are probably under 40, many even under 30, and that is significant. They are fanatical, passionate Buffalo sports fans, Buffalo fans period. But they are also fans of the underdog, of justice, of equality—and have their priorities in the right place.

Riding to victory on my senator’s back, I think I may have just lived through the biggest victory of any kind to come to Buffalo in my lifetime and it feels really good. I have a feeling it feels at least a tiny bit better than even a Stanley Cup would feel, though I’m hoping to have the opportunity to compare those feelings sooner rather than later.

Middle Aged Miss Matched!

Happy Wednesday!

You’ve heard of Little Miss Matched right?

Well…take a look at me.

You can’t really tell from a wee distance, right?

But close up…

Very niiiiiiice, eh?

A day in the life of a depressive extrovert.

Disclaimer: I HATE THE HEAT. MY FEET HAVE BLISTERS. AND I’M DIRT BROKE UNTIL PAYDAY ON THURSDAY. AND I’M FAT.

You know, just in case you are brand new to the blog.

After blogging about the Chicken Finger Incident I decided to kick ass this last week of June. For some reason unknown to me, I actually made it out of bed early Monday morning to walk to work. Which didn’t go very well since I’m a dumbass. Because I enjoy the self-punishment and beating myself up I ended up walking home last night, with raw blisters because, um…because? Because I’m a dumbass. And when I don’t like myself, I treat myself with blatant disregard. I could have EASILY asked for a ride home from a co-worker friend OR taken the bus, but nope. I crawled home slowly in pain miserable…with the sun shiny summer like weather laughing at me the entire way home.

I soaked my feet. And went to bed.

This morning, I took the bus into work and wore comfy shoes with two pairs of socks. By the end of the workday I realized it was already 5:30 and I was still doing work, so I turned off the computer and decided to walk home. My feet weren’t too bad…and the sun wasn’t horrible, and I had been really good with eating today so I wanted to get a walk in too…but by the time I walked in the door to grab my name tag for work I realized I had NO DESIRE TO SEE PEOPLE and I wanted to soak my feet instead.

So I sat at home, soaking my feet realizing that if I did go to work I would be my normal, happy, smiley, fun, loving, social, chatty off-the-chart extroverted self and I would have had a great time. Of course! This includes talking to not just one or two people I might see here or there, but by the looks of my Twitter/Facebook feed AND realizing this was in my neighborhood I would have easily talked to 50 people I knew. EASILY. And that’s not including my co-workers.

However, comma…this is the joy of being a depressive. Surprise! I wanna be social  and I love seeing people but I HATE MYSELF AND WOULD RATHER SIT HOME MISERABLE AND HIDE FROM PEOPLE. On the walk home, with every additional inch from my blistered feet I started to get more and more depressed over life, the universe and everything.

Today I am telling myself, no, FEELING that everything I do is wrong. Hence this status update on Facebook: It depresses me greatly to realize there is a generation of people under me working in the same general professional circle making oh…EASILY $10-$20K more than I do a year. What am I doing wrong?

Hello Big D how’ya doin?

On a NORMAL day I realize I chose to go to a private college I chose to go to law school. I chose to go to law school here and there part-time and drop classes while working full-time. I chose to take classes towards my MSW before law school. I chose the student loan debt for my education. I chose to quit my first non-profit job after 5 years because I was assaulted. Ok, I didn’t choose to be unemployed at that time and struggle greatly while trying to figure where life was going to take me next, but I did choose ME over an unsafe work environment. I also chose to stay in Buffalo and not take the NYC Teaching Fellowship (although who am I kidding, I could barely afford Buffalo—-NYC was never going to happen.) I chose to work at the United Way as a PT temp worker and move my way into a FT position in non-profit human services development–which I loved. I didn’t choose for this position to switch to PT but because it did I found a new home I loved in the non-profit performing arts development world…which has led me where I am today working as a Media & Community Relations Manager and I couldn’t love the work I do more.

(I also chose to make that a run-on paragraph.)

But boy when I starting realizing there are people working in my field that are 10-15 years YOUNGER than me making MORE MONEY, it makes my blistered, no wheels, student-loan debt filled heart cry. And I don’t just mean in the private sector either. I might FEEL and act like a 25-27 year old, but I’m not. I’m dangerously close to 40 and still living a life paycheck-to-paycheck. And I don’t see this really changing anytime soon. I just don’t know what to do…

At the same time. PINCH ME! I’m blessed with a paying job that is something I LOVE. I have benefits and a roof over my head. And friends and family who love me.

Even though when I get in these moods, the last thing I want are friends and family who love me. I just want to wallow alone.

Life is good right now, I know this. But I also know I suffer from depression and as crazy as it sounds it does seem to be seasonally affected, even if my seasons are reversed...there’s just something about being sticky and hot and in the sun over 80 degrees that makes me MISERABLE as a human being.

I should remember this and never commit to being anywhere for anything, cause chances are great when I’m in this kind of mood, I will end up choosing me–the me that is exhausted by the idea of being extroverted and around people.

Lunch

Holy colorful!

Canoe explain this piece of art please?

Nancy Rubins’ New Sculpture in Front of the Albright-Knox

Engage your imagination and decide

Ok. After countless times of engaging my imagination I have decided…

Really?

I LOVE THE ALBRIGHT-KNOX. And modern art. But this?

Yuck. (My opinion.)

Perhaps if this piece had a title I might think differently? (Unless Yet-Untitled is the title?) Perhaps if the artist knew exactly how many ugly grey-silverish colored canoes she used in this piece? (How do you plan a piece of art and not know how many canoes you have used?)

I dunno. I think it is a huge eyesore. And I do mean HUGE it takes up that whole side lawn!

My favorite area of Buffalo is the Marcy Casino-Hoyt Lake-Albright-Knox-Shakespeare Hill-Rose Garden area. And for me this giant canoe fest makes me…well cringe. Of course I’m certain that many people cringe at the art I like too…however…

What are your thoughts?

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Ride 2011 Raises $3 Million!

Thank you to the 7,500 riders, 1,500 volunteers and countless donors, partners and supporters who made The Ride For Roswell 2011 another success in support of cancer research and patient programs. This year’s Ride raised over $3 million, making it our best year yet. This is due to the enthusiasm and advocacy of thousands of supporters from Western New York and far beyond.

I was honored to be a part of team Denton Cottier and Daniels which raised over $3,000 for this amazing cause so dear to my heart!

Thank you for your support!

AND see you next year!!!

Saturday, June 23, 2012—-362 DAYS TO GO!

Happy Monday: These shoes are NOT made for walking.

Ow.

Here I am thinking I would have an exceptional start to the morning and new week by getting up early and WALKING TO WORK.

I’m making excellent time…life is good but 15 minutes into the walk, I realize I have blisters from hell forming on the bottom of my feet. These shoes are comfortable to walk in but not for WALKING FAST ON THE WAY INTO WORK ON HARD PAVEMENT.

Ow. Ow. OW.

I mean ow. Considering I was walking really fast I should have been to work early. Instead I HARDLY made it on time. I actually had to take my shoes OFF to make it the last few minutes because I felt like my feet were made of cinder blocks. And every time the cinder block landed on the ground a piercing pain would shoot up my foot.

Good times. Now I’m not only hardly walking in the office, but I probably won’t be able to get too far the rest of the week until these horrid open blister wounds on the bottom of my feet heal.

Grrrrrr.