Women Words

Haha. Hahahahaha. I hate that this is so me...but it is SO me.

• Fine - This is the word women use to end an argument when they feel they are right and you need to shut up. Never use “fine” to describe how a woman looks - this will cause you to have one of those arguments.

• Five Minutes - This is half an hour. It is equivalent to the five minutes that your football game is going to last before you take out the rubbish, so it’s an even trade.

• Nothing - This means “something”, and you should be on your toes. “Nothing” is usually used to describe the feeling a woman has of wanting to turn you inside out, upside down, and backwards. “Nothing” usually signifies an argument that will last “Five Minutes” and end with “Fine”.

• Go Ahead - At some point in the near future, you are going to be in some mighty big trouble.

• Go Ahead (With Raised Eyebrows) - This is a dare. One that will result in a woman getting upset over “Nothing” and will end with the word “Fine”.

• Go Ahead (Neutral Expression) - This means “I give up” or “do what you want because I don’t care” You will get a “Raised Eyebrow Go Ahead” in just a few minutes, followed by “Nothing” and “Fine” and she will talk to you in about “Five Minutes” when she cools off.

• Loud Sigh - This is not actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A “Loud Sigh” means she thinks you are an idiot at that moment, and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you over “Nothing”.

• Soft Sigh - Again, not a word, but a non-verbal statement. “Soft Sighs” mean that she is content. Your best bet is to not move or breathe, and she will stay content.

• That’s Okay - This is one of the most dangerous statements that a woman can make to a man. “That’s Okay” means that she wants to think long and hard before paying you back for whatever it is that you have done. “That’s Okay” is often used with the word “Fine” and in conjunction with a “Raised Eyebrow”.

• Please Do - This is not a statement, it is an offer. A woman is giving you the chance to come up with whatever excuse or reason you have for doing whatever it is that you have done. You have a fair chance with the truth, so be careful and you shouldn’t get a “That’s Okay”.

• Thanks - A woman is thanking you. Do not faint. Just say you’re welcome.

• Thanks A Lot - This is much different from “Thanks.” A woman will say, “Thanks A Lot” when she is really ticked off at you. It signifies that you have offended her in some callous way, and will be followed by the “Loud Sigh.” Be careful not to ask what is wrong after the “Loud Sigh,” as she will only tell you “Nothing”.

Okay - it's not 100% me (ha. backpacks, Megan). The five minutes thing - well, I really do try to only take five minutes. I don't have problems with being ready on time. But when I'm reading, crafting, doing Sudoku...that's when the five minutes problem kicks in.

The loud sigh and soft sigh aren't entirely me, either. However, when I do loudly sigh, and Pete is around, it's usually because I'm looking at something cute/romantic/dreamy online and then get sad/upset/irrationally angry that we don't have that thing/place/whatever. For example - I look at pictures of Paris and I sigh heavily. Or I look at pictures of cute dogs and I sigh heavily. Or short wedding dresses or a pretty hat or or or or...

Mark the Mailman

I haven't yet shared the wonderful-ness that is my mailman. I should say now that I'm talking about my mailman at my house, in Soulard, and not at my apartment, in Tower Grove South.

Mark the mailman first came into my family's lives when I was in 7th grade. He was sweet, handsome, and always willing to stop and chat, for a few minutes or even longer. He always has this AMAZING smile that just lights up the block (I say block because I've encountered him more times outside than inside) and makes everything better.

He brought me my high school acceptance letter. It was Mardi Gras in Soulard, which falls on a Saturday, and the neighborhood was jam-packed, especially because the parade used to go down 12th street (my street). But he showed up to our house (later than usual) with that special R-K logo-ed envelope. Mom and I had been sitting on the front steps of our house all day, watching the parade and waiting for the mail. My other girlfriends had called - "did you get in?!" and it was KILLING me, knowing that they had and I was still waiting to find out. Mark waited until I opened the letter and then jumped up and down with me and mom and gave me a huge hug and said congratulations.

A couple of months later, I was graduating from grade school. The day of my big graduation bash, I was sitting outside, on the same front porch, waiting for the guests to arrive. My grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins were coming down from Chicago and mom had planted me outside to be the first the greet them. Mark came up with our mail, noticed the giant party tent that was pitched in our backyard, and said, "what's all that for?" I explained that I was graduating the next day and today was the party. He smiled and said that he remembered his eighth grade graduation and how fun it was, but how long ago it seemed. Then, after putting our mail in the mailbox, he reached into his wallet and gave me $40. "Remember to always be how you are, right now," he said. "You're a great kid. Don't change." Then he gave me a hug, said congratulations again, and continued on his route. I was in awe. I couldn't believe that our mailman had just given me $40.

We have a huge Christmas party at my house every year for needy families. We receive our families through Midtown Catholic Charities, which is a fabulous organization in St. Louis that some parishioners from our church run. We get two families consisting of 12 or 14 people, and then send out invitations to, like, EVERYONE my parents know in Soulard with the wish lists from the family. Come to the party, bring a gift for them. My sister and I and our friends sort the presents out (one family in the play room, the other in the guest room) and then have piles for each designated family member. My dad has a very sophisticated listing system for which neighbor gets which family member, so we never have too many for one person.

Anyway. Mark began to come to our parties every December. He delivers mail all over Soulard, and since the majority of the people coming to the party were from Soulard, well - he started coming! Everyone loved seeing him out of his work environment. We could have entire conversations with him. He brought his gorgeous wife, Faith, to the parties too. And if he couldn't come that evening, he brought a huge stack of presents for the families during the day on his mail route.

When I was in high school, he saved one of my neighbor's lives when he walked up to the front door to put the mail in the slot, and saw him (Clark) lying unconscious on the floor. He broke into the house and called 911 and if he hadn't been there to do that, well...

He helped paint another neighbor's house. He's dog-sat for some people around, too. He lives up in North City, near Crown Candy, and he ran for alderman a couple of years ago. He didn't get the vote, but he had a huge party to drum up support and a ton of people from Soulard went. Apparently it was tons of fun. I wasn't 21 yet so I couldn't.

The reason Mark has been in my head lately is because I ran into him last week. I usually go home on Sundays to visit with mom, dad, and Louie, and since mail isn't delivered on Sundays, I don't see him. But last week there was a gas leak in our alley and the Laclede Gas guys had to be let into our house to look at something and I was the only one available to unlock the doors for them. I found myself at home for a few hours and as I was about to jump in my car and speed off to work, Mark's mail truck pulled up.

"Girl, I heard you are getting MARRIED!" he said, giving me a big hug. "That's crazy! I'm so happy for you!" We talked about marriage and having kids and my ring and his sons (who are now 11 and 8?! WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN? I REMEMBER BOTH OF THEM BEING BORN!) and Faith. It was really great catching up with him.

"So - you just make sure you invite me to that graduation party of yours, okay?" he said, as he started heading up towards John and Steve's house, the first on our block.

"Oh, you know you're getting invited to the wedding, right?" I asked.

"I can't wait," he said, as we bumped fists. "Good luck with school!" he continued, wandering off.

Only Eight Months to Go!

Yikes! Only eight months left until the big day :)

I know that it seems really far away, but it seemed far-er away in June and wow, June doesn't feel like it was so long ago.

So, here is what we have figured out so far:

1. Church booked
2. Officiant booked
3. Reception site booked
4. DJs/DJ equipment booked
5. Wedding dress purchased
6. Bridesmaids dresses picked out/some are purchased
7. Wedding Invitation designer :)
8. 90% finished with picking out a photographer (I am SO excited about this!!!)
9. Everything ordered to make save-the-dates
10. Some church readings picked out

...I think that's it. I have a couple of hair accessories I like that I can't decide between. I'll post those later this week and ya'll can tell me what you think.

One thing that I have gotten excited about as the months have passed, surprisingly, is the flowers. At first I was convinced that we would carry fake flowers, or something creative, like button flowers or balloon flowers or fabric flowers but as time passes, I really, really want beautiful, real flowers. Weird. Guess I'm more of a girl than I thought.

So, how are you? Tell me about your life these past few weeks. I've missed you all!

[photo by Ryan Gladstone]

Gone.

Hey everybody. I am so sorry that I've been MIA lately. Things have kicked up lately with crafting, homework, and wedding planning and I haven't been spending a lot of time online.

Not only that, but I got an iPhone (yay!) and I've been checking my email/twitter on that and spending less time online, which is weird. I haven't been clicking around as much and following links, which is something that usually inspires me to blog.

Anyway - there's really no excuse. I'm sorry. But St. Louis has had beautiful weather since the end of October (we had something like 17 out of 31 rainy days here) and I've been taking advantage of that, too!







Pete and I aren't Halloween people, so we took a walk at dusk and had a little photoshoot. Then we went home, watched Shaun of the Dead, and ordered Thai food. It was a good day.

Paris Je T'aime - Tour Eiffel

I saw Paris je t'aime in theatres with Pete a long time ago. It's really good, although I'm happy I own it so that I can skip over the scenes I don't really care for as much.

However - there are some really, really great scenes. Like this one. It's so cute - especially at the end, so hang in there for the 5 minutes!



The movie is a collaboration of 21 mini-films, all by different directors and with different actors. Some of the actors are French (Juliette Binoche), others are American (Steve Buscemi, Natalie Portman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Willem Dafoe, Nick Nolte, Elijah Wood). The 21 films are representative of the 21 arrondissements (neighborhoods) of Paris.

In other news, there is another one of these movies coming out - called New York I Love You.

Ten on Tuesday: 10 Favorite Movie Moments

This one is hard.

1. Almost Famous - when Russell shows up at William's house for an interview.
2. Amelie - when the guy (I forget his name) shows up at Amelie's place
3. Ever After - when Leonardo da Vinci gives Drew Barrymore those gorgeous gauzy wings
4. Garden State - the yelling scene.
5. Mary Poppins - when Mary Poppins sings "Stay Awake"
6. Dead Poets Society - all of it, but especially the scene where Robin Williams is pushing Ethan Hawke's character to create a story in front of the class
7. I Heart Huckabees - the scene where Jason Schwartzman sees Jude Law in his photograph and it all comes together
8. Life Aquatic - when they are all in the submarine at the end of the movie. Also, the end of the movie.
9. Roman Holiday - the entire day that Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn are together
10. Lost in Translation - all the time that Scarlett Johanssen spends at the Japanese Buddhist garden

And there are so many more.

Chick Flicks

Okay, ladies - let's hear them.

I want to know your favorite chick flicks. I want you to comment in the comment section and tell me what they are, because next week, I will be without Pete. He's going on a retreat and he's super stoked about it, which is great. However, it's going to be weird not seeing him everyday. So he suggested that I put a bunch of movies I want on Netflix, and am doing so now.

So, because I want YOUR recommendations, I'll exchange you - here are my favorite chick flicks. Also, these are in NO particular order. I don't discriminate about chick flicks.

1. Serendipity
2. Pretty in Pink
3. Sleepless in Seattle
4. When Harry Met Sally
5. 13 Going on 30
6. Roman Holiday
7. Ever After
8. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
9. Now and Then
10. Love Actually

Okay, now tell me yours!

Love Letter Murals

Came across these and was instantly smitten. They make me want to grab a couple of gallons of paint and go all kinds of crazy. However, mine wouldn't be as good.

Wedding Dress.

Well, I got one. AMAZING!

I don't have pictures yet. And when I do, I won't be posting them here (Pete isn't going to see it until I walk down the aisle).

But I'm having a mini-fashion show tonight for my dad, who wasn't there when I bought it, and the bridesmaids that live in St. Louis. Luckily, my little sister, Emme, was with me when I bought it, so she's seen in. That just leaves the Maid of Honor - Megan - who lives in Philadelphia.

So, if you want to see, let me know! I love showing it off - and I've only worn it once. Leave your email address in the comments. I feel like we're all such good friends and I want you to see it, but I feel weird telling you that you have to tell me FIRST if you want to see it.

Yikes. That was a mouthful.

IMAGE: this is not it. this is a pretty dress i found on flickr.

Cupcake Tub

How adorable is this little bathtub? I want it. You think I could fit into it? Probably not.

Learn Something New

Last post for the day.

A twitter friend, Sanita (I would feel bad saying we're friends in real life, because I rarely talk to her/see her) tweeted this link and I just spent the last 30 minutes reading through all these facts.

Vintage Underwater Photography

How cool are these pictures? I've always wanted an underwater camera. I may have to do that next time I know I'll be in a pool...

Far Foods

This is genius. Did I see it on kirtsy? Maybe. Regardless, you need to check it out.





The receipt shows the products you've bought, where they are from, and how many miles they have been shipped. Kind of puts things into perspective, huh?

Rooftop Cinema

Okay, how much fun does this sound? My roof (my home roof, not my apartment roof) is perfect for it. Somehow I'll have to figure out how to get a sheet hanging up...to project the movie on...but really, it's perfect.


Also, To Sir With Love is one of the best movies/books ever.

They serve made-to-order crepes and cocktails, recline in comfy beach chairs, and watch movies.

Um, I'm doing this next summer.

Kate Spade

So yummy.


[black eiffel]


[curbly]


[black eiffel]

I love the stripes. I want to do that to my whole apartment. But for some reason, I feel like the landlord wouldn't love it... I LOVE LOVE LOVE that the stripes come out onto the sidewalk! How awesome is that?!

And speaking of Kate Spade - I think I may get a pair of her shoes for my wedding shoes. Like I've mentioned before, I want a short wedding dress (also, thank you all for your input and advice on this post!!!), so shoes are vital. As in - they will actually be seen. So they gotta be cute.

And while I am miserable at walking in heels, I would totally make an effort to practice walking. With them on.

Anyway - here are some of my favorite Kate Spade shoes, as of now. PS: If you see something you like, there's a coupon on her site for 20% off any full-priced item in her store, until sometime in January! Yay!


Harper -$275 (at 20% off = $220)


Carly - $375 (at 20% off = $300)


Guest - $325 (at 20% off = $260)


Genny - $325 (at 20% off = $260)