The Good Rehearsal and the Bad Rehearsal

Weddings require a lot of rehearsals.

The festivities kicked off on Friday with a trip to the nail salon, lunch, the Ceremony Rehearsal, and the Rehearsal Dinner.  The nails and the lunch were went off without a hitch, and I think their efficiency lulled me into a false sense of security when it came to the Ceremony Rehearsal.  Let me be clear, everyone in the wedding party and all of the accompanying family members were WONDERFUL!  Kind, supportive, encouraging, a really great group of people.  However, I can't say the same for Pat, the wedding coordinator  (tyrannical wedding overlord?) from the church where Ryan and Jessica had their ceremony.

I think Pat was displeased right from the start, as the actual start of the rehearsal was delayed due to a combination of traffic, large trucks, and out-of-towners.  She kept giving us all disapproving glares from behind her very official clipboard, and she spoke in hushed and judgmental tones.
"Make sure you keep six to eight pew lengths between you and the others!"  She hissed at us as we practiced walking down the aisle.  All we could do was nod our heads and avert our eyes in agreement, not wanting to anger her and risk receiving more dirty looks.  We filed into the church, linked arms, bowed to the cross, and followed the steps with expert precision. 

It was Mr. Ryan Burns, the bravest of the group, it would seem, who dared to cross her.  He decided that the Bestmen and the Maids of Honor would not stand opposite each other at the altar for various aesthetic reasons (These reasons, as it turns out, are just one: I'm a lot taller than the Bestman).  Well, Pat COULD NOT handle this change in the program.  She went toe to toe with Ryan right on the altar, explaining to him that the bestman ALWAYS stands on one side, and he NEVER stands in a different spot.  The conversation ended with Ryan refusing to budge and Pat shooting everyone a dirty look as she spat out, "Well, we'll see if it works."  Yikes.

I spent the remainder of the rehearsal with my eyes forward, not wanting to risk the wrath of Pat.  Also, there were no pictures of all of this because I was so paralyzed with fear I didn't feel confident in operating a point and shoot camera.

*Note* The change in position concerning the Bestmen did not, in fact, ruin the entire wedding.
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We went from the church to the Rehearsal Dinner.  We ate at Home, this great restaurant in the Castro right up the street from Ryan and Jessica's (and my old) house.  There were lots of introductions, lots of food, and an open bar.  A GREAT success. I took three pictures, which was a better turn out than at the Ceremony Rehearsal.

 Katie and Danny

 Liz and Darren

Lee and Robin

And Saturday, was Game Day

(For the Giants too!)

Friday Afternoon

Friday was so crazy!  I was in San Francisco for my friend Jessica's wedding (more on that later), and Friday turned out to be a whirlwind of manicures and lunches and relatives and friends and hugs and babies.
My friends Rebecca and Bill were so nice enough to let us stay with them, even though they have a two month old baby! He is super tiny and super cute.  Here's how my time with them went:

 I had oatmeal and banana milkshakes with her

 Then we went home and ate lemon blackberry treats

and I snuggled this super cute baby.

His name is James.

Sometimes he looks like ET, but not so much in this picture.

Also, I managed to make it over to my old school, Paul Revere, where I worked for three years.  Wowza, what a homecoming!

If you ever want to feel like a celebrity you need to do only these few things:

1. Become a teacher.

2. Work at the same school for three years

3. Go work at a new school

4. Return for a visit to your old school, and prepare for the onslaught of screaming.

It was wonderful to see my old coworkers and students.  The kids were darling, jumping up and down, hugging me, hugging each other, and (of course) I got filled in on some very important gossip.  (This blog is not privy to such gossip).  And I even got a tamale from a parent, free of charge. 

We Went to Halloween

Yes, so Pumpkin Farm, Round Two.

Explaining to a group of students that don't understand a word you say that we are going on a field trip to the pumpkin patch is HILARIOUS.  One kid shouted out, "We're going to Halloween?!!?!" Which was close enough, so I told him yes.

The day really was so so great!  All of the kids were incredibly well behaved, the bus was on time, the Pumpkin Farm is really well organized, and I had some awesome adults (including Lee's mom!) helping me out.

 Christi was great at making sure no one fell out of the hayride. 

 The ride was so beautiful.

 Near the end of our trip I told the students it was time to pick out pumpkins.   When I was little (yesterday) I used to spend a ridiculous amount of time looking over every pumpkin in order to locate the most perfect one.  The Pumpkin Farm is equipped with about a million pumpkins, and I wanted to make sure we made it back to school before dark so I set a time limit.  I told them they had exactly six minutes to choose a pumpkin.  I thought I was so clever, making sure those kids didn't spend hours scouring the patch, and, just like always, they made all my plans for not.  When I said, "You have six minutes...go!" They all bent over and grabbed the nearest pumpkin, then swarmed towards me like sharks to raw meat because I was the one holding the sharpie that would write their names on the pumpkins, making them theirs forever.

 Christi caught some of the swarm on camera.

 Yeah, I like to wear my backpacks in the front.

Way to go guys.  

Now it's time for juice.

Garden!

Before Lee and I moved into our house we asked the property manager to remove this really ugly bush out front.  Well, Lee suggested we create an elephant topiary, but I suggested that it get the axe.  It got the axe.  So, we've been living here for two months with this gross dirt plot right next to our front door.  This weekend we FINALLY got around to putting some plants in the area, and I couldn't be happier with the results!

Tra La!

I know it doesn't look like much on the blog, but, trust me, it's breathtaking in person.  Or, maybe it's just better than a dirt plot.  In any case, that Irish moss is supposed to grow together, which may (or may not) look great.  Also, those pots were 50% off.  Win!

Frightful Family Fun

 I wanted to visit The Pumpkin Farm before I took my class there on a field trip, so Lee and I loaded up all of our...well, Starbucks, and headed out to the farm.

I LOOOVED The Pumpkin Farm!

There were pumpkins, there were animals, there were strange, strange scarecrows, there was a band of old men playing "We're From the Country" (sort of Nevada County's anthem).

I mean, they had a few pumpkins.

 Also, there was corn.

 And a fatty pumpkin

 Look at these monsters at school.  

I know what you must be thinking:

 Why is that pig studying Investments?

 Like I said, lots of pumpkins

 Francis?

 So, more of these

 These scrap people were cute.

 This one was a little slutty.

 I diligently searched for the perfect pumpkin

 Found!

 Also, Lee had great success.

 We will take seven of your over-priced pumpkins, Thank you.

 I'm like the Bob Ross of pumpkins.

 Eh, maybe not

 Success!

 I love the Pumpkin Patch.  

I think I'll go again tomorrow.

*Note* I did not come up with this post title all on my own.  This is actually a genre of movies available on OnDemand right now.  I cannot watch Halloween movies under the "Halloween Moviethon" collection because I am a huge baby and refuse to watch anything scarier than The Addams Family.  I'm still working up the courage for Corpse Bride.

Sheena's Fall Wedding

On Saturday, my friend Sheena Zweigle got married. :)

I would say 90% of basketball games I ever played were with Sheena.  We were Gilmore Bombers together, we participated on an ill-fated AAU team together (we lost one game 98-11.  Eesh), and we were Lady Miners together.


Also, our Friend Megan (Curtis) Jackson came!  Sheena, Megan, and I were the "tall girls" on our high school basketball team.  They were well known for being aggressive and determined, while I could always be counted on to have a perfectly tied ribbon in my hair (we all have our talents). 

Here is the photo recap:

If you look beyond the embarrassing amount of drinks we nabbed, you can see the lovely center pieces that Sheena's students helped make.  (Sheena teaches Ag, not Kindergarten).

 Good ol' Chico beer

 Francis McFadden, folks

 The fruit kabobs were delicious!

 Sheena's parents are my favorite.

 Nothing's finer than a Lady Miner.  

(Sorry about the awkward hand on the stomach, Sheena)

Practicing our follow through.

(Looks like Megan is a little rusty).

This is my dad.

This is what he said at my friend's wedding reception, "You know, when I was younger, Maury and I always wanted to open up a salon where all we did was shave women's legs.  Of course, that would never work now; I'm too old."

Yes.  

Also, my mother told me that zombies have a code of conduct.

The wedding was just lovely.

The Best Part of My Day...

was getting THIS picture in my e-mail:

This is my friend Jessica and me at Kristy and Eric Norrell's wedding.  Their party favors were fake mustaches and dinosaur tatoos.  While Jessica went with the standard handle bar, I decided to pull a Frida Kahlo and go with the unibrow.

Now, three years later, Jessica is getting married (in a week and a half!).  She has been my friend since were were in 7th grade, and it only seems right that I honor that many years of friendship with a poster-size copy of this presented to her at her wedding reception.