So this picture is where I spent my Thanksgiving. Yes, it is small. Yes, it is in the middle of nowhere. Yes, it was interesting. Jim and I left here Wednesday night to get to my parents' house. The weather was fine until we got off the Thruway in Rochester. We stopped to buy some more windshield washer fluid, because cruddy, snowy weather means you run out faster, and when we got back on the road it was a whiteout. It wasn't so bad when we were in town, but once we got out where there were no streetlights, it was awful. We couldn't see anything. Jim pulled over three times. The worst part was, we were only a few minutes from my parents' house, so we wanted to just get there and get off the road! Finally, we made it. We hung out and watched TV with my mom and dad, and ordered pizza subs from the best pizza place in the world, Pizza Land. Mmm, pizza subs. Jim had never had a pizza sub before. What is he, some kind of Communist?
This is my mom and dad. Don't I look just like my dad? With the big pumpkin head? Anyway, Thursday was obviously Thanksgiving. We got up fairly early (by my standards, that means "before noon") and drove down to the Southern Tier of NY, near the Pennsylvania border. We stopped in at my grandparents' house first (these are my mom's parents). I don't get to see them that often, and in fact hadn't seen them in over a year! We helped my grandmother finish her cooking. She was cracking me up by showing me her pumpkin pies and how one of them was so terrible she was almost too embarassed to take it to dinner. Meanwhile, I thought they both looked pretty much the same. She insisted that one of them looked like a mouse had run over it. She's funny. It still tasted good. My mom took Jim and I down to the basement to show us this contraption my grandfather built. You know on TV, where they sell those inversion things so that you can lay on it and then tilt so you are upside down, and it's supposed to help your joints because it takes the weight off them? Well, my grandfather built one! It kind of looked like something that Frankenstein's monster would lie on, and then tilt up with arms outstretched and say, "Raaarrrgh!" I made that joke to my grandfather and he looked at me like I'm crazy. I thought it was amusing. My mom said that my grandfather should have been an inventor, and it's true. He comes up with the craziest things. My mom is the same way. She's so crafty. I don't think I inherited that talent.
This is about the most unflattering picture of me, ever. But it's the only picture I have of me with my grandmother, so I'm sucking it up. After about an hour, we headed up to the cabin with all the food. There was a lot of family in attendance, but not as much as we had planned for -- one family (six people) had many sick members and didn't come. So it was much less crowded than the last time I went -- look how tiny that place is. Last time I went, we had something like 25 people in there. This year, there were 17 or so, and 4 of those were little kids. There was actually room to move about the place. Jim and I had a great time talking to my aunt's dog, whose name is Moses. He's a good dog, and he really took a shine to Jim. All though dinner, he kept putting his head on Jim's knee. Jim swears he wasn't even feeding him table scraps. Dinner was great, as usual. After dinner, we chatted with my relatives. My uncle just became a realtor this year, after retiring from Kodak, and we were talking about the possibility of me making him a website. One of my cousins has been researching the family genealogy, and he brought all the charts and stuff, so that was interesting too. He has one branch researched all the way back to the 1600s! Now, he's in the process of looking into when and how they came over to this country, and where they came from. Well, we know it's England, but I don't think we know where in England.
This picture is my grandfather petting Moses, my aunt's dog. Anyway, after a few hours of chitchat, Jim and I headed out. We had a three-hour drive ahead of us and wanted to get home before it got too dark. We came home through the Finger Lakes and it was weird to drive through there not in the summer. It looks so different! It's still beautiful, but in a much more stark, desolate way. As we drove through small town after small town, I kept saying to Jim, "Can you imagine living out here?" I'm not a city girl by any means, but I also like living within about half an hour of an actual city with malls and restaurants and such. Oh, I suppose I should have said with museums and theaters and such. But come on, I'm just being honest. Anyway, we got home and checked on the cats, and then headed over to Jim's parents' house and I'll have to tell that story on a later date, because this is too long already.
This is a picture of me and my grandmother a.k.a. Nan. I love my Nan. It was her birthday Saturday and she turned 79 I think. She's the bee's knees. We look a little bit alike, don't you think? So when last we spoke, I had attended a wedding. One of the things I forgot to mention about the wedding itself was that I saw two of my friends and former classmates who did not attend the reunion. Remember how I was kind of mad that they weren't going? Yeah, those guys. I walked up to one of them and said hello. We'll call him "Rob" because that's his name. Rob said hello back, and then told me he had been afraid to talk to me because he thought I would yell at him about not going to the reunion. Yell at him! I don't yell at people. Much. Anyway, I assured him that it was all water under the bridge, and that I had only wanted them to go because I wanted to see them. And now I was seeing them. Then, I was talking to my other friend and classmate, Steve, about the same issue. Anyway, the point is that everything seems to be cleared up between us all, and Steve has even e-mailed me since then, so I think the friendships have been repaired, if they were ever even broken. So that's good news.
This picture is of Jim and me, at Nan's house. Nan has this photo collection featuring each of her kids, and then pictures of their kids next to them. So there's my dad's high school graduation picture, and then my brother's picture to the left, and my picture to the right. Then, in the corner of each picture, she stuck a little picture of the significant other. And the picture she had of Jim was really old and funny. So she wanted a new one, and here it is. Although I think I look terrible, Nan wants a picture and a picture she shall get. That sweater makes my eyes look really blue, doesn't it?
So, if you couldn't figure it out, on Sunday Jim and I went out to visit Nan for a bit. Then we had lunch at my mom's house and headed out. On the way back, we stopped at Target, because we don't have one in Sryacuse, which is a crime. I had bought these postcards of my hometown from the early 1900s on Ebay, and there were four in total. I wanted a picture frame with four openings, and I knew they had nice ones at Target. So that was the purpose of the trip, and mission accomplished. Then we headed back to Syracuse.
Last week is kind of a blur. It all happened so fast. I had a lot of recapping to do, plus I did the website for Brenda's wedding. Then Mary saw how I did the one for Brenda's wedding and she wanted hers done the same way, so I've been working on that. Also, I've been fielding questions from my future students about textbooks and the like, and trying to get my syllabus together. It's all pretty freaky. I'm like the expert, and I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing. Oh well, I'll just make it up as I go along as usual. I figure after the first time, it'll all be much easier. If I do a decent job, and they want me to teach the same class again, it will be cake.
Plus, we got our first snow this weekend (and thus the picture). It didn't stay around long, but we're supposed to get more this week. I hope it doesn't ruin everyone's Thanksgiving travel plans! We are going to my parents' house on Wednesday night, and then going to this little cabin in the woods for Thanksgiving with my mom's family. It should be crowded, but with lots of good food. I love me some turkey and mashed potatoes.
This final picture is Mia, looking stunned as usual. Saturday, Jim and I went on a marathon cleaning spree of our apartment. I even scrubbed the ceiling in the bathroom which, due to poor ventilation, gets mold or mildew on it over time. Our apartment has never been so clean, at least not since we moved in. Jim was a godsend. I'm like the scrubber and scourer, and he's the neaten and straighten guy. I hate finding places to put things away, so I really appreciated his pitching in.
Why all the cleaning? Because Wing Chun and Glark were stopping in on Sunday! They are headed down to NYC for the week, and this is about halfway. They got here on Sunday, bearing Canadian candy. We hung out for a while, then went out to dinner. After our meal, we came back to our place and watched The Simpsons and Malcolm and then Jim and Glark played PS2 games while Wing and I chatted. This morning, Jim had to go to work, but Wing and Glark treated me to breakfast at IHOP. They have glazed pancakes that are a little slice of sugary heaven. Then they continued on their way. I hope they have a great week in NYC. What a great time to visit.
Ah, the first dance. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The morning of the wedding, I got up and drove up to Brenda's parents' house, where she was getting ready. She had asked me to come up for a while, and I was glad to be included in her day. I took lots of pictures and ran around getting safety pins and such. It was a bit crazy because Brenda is one of six kids and they were all home for the wedding, plus they're kind of a loud family to start out with. Her two sisters were her maid and matron of honor, and then Gretchen was the other bridesmaid. Everyone was fighting for the shower and such. We used to hang out at Brenda's house a lot when we were teenagers, so it was really nostalgic for me. Finally it came time for Brenda to get into her dress, and between me and the three attendants, we managed it. I loved Brenda's dress -- it was very simple, but very beautiful. While her mom and her sisters were trying to figure out the best way to fold up the train so it didn't get dirty while she walked into the church, the photographer arrived. I figured I would just be in the way, so I made my exit. Plus, I had to get ready too!
When I got back to my parents' house, Jim was already there. He drove in that morning, because he had to work on Friday. I showered and then got into my outfit. I had bought this short skirt to wear, but once I put it on, I wasn't really comfortable in it. I felt like it was kind of inappropriate since I was part of the ceremony. Plus, I was self-conscious about my thighs. Hey, I'm just being honest. It was much shorter than I'm used to wearing. So I debated and debated over whether to switch to the long skirt I had brought, and eventually did. I'm glad I did because I was much more comfortable throughout the evening. Jim and I headed up to the church and I got my aisle seat because of the reading I had to do. The church was packed! The ceremony was beautiful. During the vows, Brenda started crying and had to stop to compose herself, and Matt reached over and wiped the tears off her face. It was so sweet. Not a dry eye in the house, I bet. When I went up to do my reading, I couldn't decide whether to genuflect or bow in front of the altar, so I kind of did both. Gretchen, who was sitting in the front row, burst out laughing at me. Thanks, Gretch. When I went up to the lectern, Molly's dad was videotaping and was set up right there! I think I made a face at the camera.
This picture is me, Brenda, Gretchen and Molly. The four of us have been the best of friends forever, and I don't see them all often enough. Soon enough the ceremony was over, and Jim and I hung out at my parents' house for a bit before it was time to head to the reception. We were seated with Molly and Andy, my friend Bola and her husband Jon, and Brenda's college roommate Leah. Leah had lived in Ann Arbor for a while, so Jim and I had a lot to talk about with her! There were so many people there. It was amazing. I saw a lot of people I knew from high school who I haven't seen in a long time. It was more of a "hang out and talk" kind of crowd than a "dance your ass off" kind of crowd. Not that I didn't dance -- it's just that the dance floor wasn't packed throughout the night. I did get the chance to dance with my dad, which was nice. And Jim, too. I mean, Jim danced with me, not Jim danced with my dad. Ha! That would have been funny. The funniest part was near the end of the night when most of the older people had left -- the DJ started playing '80s hard rock type songs: AC/DC, Judas Priest and such. We were all joking that it felt like a roller skating party in the fifth grade. The DJ got the best response to those songs, even though it was mostly a bunch of people standing in a circle on the dance floor singing along, and the boys playing air guitar. It was memorable, anyway. When the mosh pit started, I knew it was time for me to go. Brenda was out on the dance floor telling them all to cut it out when I caught up to her to say goodbye. They are going to Aruba this week, and I hope they have a great time! Tomorrow: catching you up to now.
You can tell it's been a while since I updated by the Halloween pictures I haven't put up yet. Anyway, the pumpkin on the left is Jim's and the one on the right is mine. I didn't think it turned out too bad considering I did it in about ten minutes while hoping no kids would show up at our door. I needn't have worried -- we had a total of four trick or treaters. Jim was mad because I gave them all the "good candy".
Do you ever feel like all I do is go to weddings? Yeah, me too sometimes. Anyway, I had another one this past weekend. My good friend Brenda got married. Molly and I headed home on Thursday for the bachelorette party. Our friend Gretchen was flying in from Atlanta as she was a bridesmaid. That's Gretchen in the picture. You kind of have to know her to know why that picture is so funny. Gretchen is always grouchy and bitchy -- we used to call her Groucho. But we all love her anyway. In that picture, I can tell she's pissed about something. I wish I knew who she was looking at.
Anyway, we all met up at one girl's house and Brenda got dressed for the night. Since I'm from out of town, I wasn't privy to all the preparations, but they had made Brenda a T-shirt and they pinned candy all over it. She had a belt with suckers hanging off it. She had a giant phallic hat. It was crazy. The limo bus arrived and we all piled on to go out to some bars in the city.
I soon found out the point of all the candy. The other girls charged strange men for the opportunity to eat candy. It was something like $2 to eat a piece pinned to the shirt and $3 for a sucker. She had a candy necklace on too, but I don't know how much that cost. Anyway, it wasn't really my bag, but the other girls had all done it when they got married, and Brenda ended up making something like $130, so more power to her. I think I would be too embarrassed to do such a thing, but everyone had fun harassing the strange men.
Everything went well, and many drinks were had by almost all. The trouble began when we made it to one of the final bars. We had just come from a really crowded dance club and were looking for a less-crowded bar with a dance floor and maybe some '80s music. We stopped at one place and sent in a runner to see what was doing. She reported back that the place was dead. The doorman came out and begged us to come in. He told us there was no one downstairs, and we could have the whole place to ourselves, and they would play any music we wanted. Sounded good to us! We all piled in and walked down this precarious spiral staircase to the basement. There was no music. There was a full bar but no one behind it. So we took matters into our own hands and grabbed a few beers. Hey, we would have paid for them if they asked us to! The doorman came downstairs and told us that we would have to go to the bar upstairs if we wanted drinks. At this point, there were about twice as many of us downstairs as there were upstairs. I don't know why they couldn't have opened a register downstairs -- we would have given them a lot of money! Just when things seemed to be settled, one of our party went behind the bar on a dare to grab a bottle of vodka -- and the owner walked in. Oops. He kicked us all out. We were there a total of about ten minutes. I didn't even get to finish my free beer!
Other than that, things were pretty tame. No one threw up, even. I guess we're all getting old. It was fun but we didn't really have enough time in the limo -- the best part is hanging out in the limo and listening to music and singing along, and drinking and eating! I didn't care if we went in the bars at all, but Brenda had to in order to make money! Tomorrow: the rehearsal dinner.