Learning to tie the Eastland knot again...

I happened to catch the fashion segment on the “Today” show the other day and learned to my horror that leggings are back in style! One of the anchors was actually wearing black leggings under her suit (and to think SJ gave me a hard time for wearing black nylons!)
I’m still recovering from the idea that leggings are cool, but it got me thinking about all the other fashions we had in middle school and high school.
First of all, the leggings on “Today” were plain– no lace at the bottom. Remember the lace? I always borrowed my sister’s leggings because she had them in hot pink, black and some other color. I had the boring white ones, but I remember all of them always having the coordinating lace at the bottom (to those faceless people who determine what’s “in style,” all I have to say is, you’re not fooling anyone. You can take the lace off the bottom, but we all realize you’re just bringing back something from 15 years ago).
When it wasn’t leggings, it was those tiers of socks under “pegged” jeans. An older girl I knew showed me how to peg my pants and had me convinced that she invented the style… until I went to college years later and discovered that my friends from different parts of the country were doing the same thing at the same time. I doubt Laura Johnson’s influence reached that far! But remember the scrunched socks? It was cool to get two different colors and layer them… under a pair of white Keds, of course.
And no memory of growing up is complete without talking about the bangs. I can’t imagine there are many girls who missed out on the hairsprayed roll of hair over the bangs that hung down over the forehead. That style probably did more to ruin the ozone layer than all the big factories combined!
I’m still shocked at the realization that leggings are back “in.” And I’m just praying that those bangs don’t come back… but just in case, I’m buying stock in hairspray companies.

Memorial Day Musings...

*Memorial Day weekend… the unofficial start of summer, as radio DJs everywhere (including myself) have announced this week. It’s so cliché, but it feels true, especially with the warm weather FINALLY arriving in the Northeast (complaining about weather in New England is also cliché. It’s amazing how many people live here their entire lives, yet still seem shocked by the heat, the snow, the amount of rainfall, etc.)
*Remember that old rule about only being able to wear white between Memorial Day and Labor Day? I have a feeling that rule has gone by the wayside (otherwise, you’d never be able to wear “winter white,” right?)
*I read somewhere that Memorial Day is the holiday with the largest amount of beef consumption. I gave up red meat more than 10 years ago (want to join the list of the hundreds of people who demand to know why I did it? Make sure you’re eating a burger or steak while I explain in graphic detail how it seems more like human flesh to me than chicken does). Therefore, I don’t understand the appeal of a grilled burger, but I can get behind mustard being the favored condiment on hot dogs (actually, turkey dogs).
*Speaking of turkey dogs, I went to buy some brand name ones last night in the grocery store. They were $3.59 for 10 of them. But then I found some chicken dogs by a brand I had never heard of– eight for 99 cents! Being my father’s daughter, I went for the cheaper option. Then the PH left them out on the table all night. I may try one anyway (luckily, I didn’t inherit my dad’s penchant for food poisoning, so I should be OK).
*SJ is in Vermont this weekend fishing with her family. Understandably (at least if you’re a regular reader of this blog), it’s the most physically demanding activity her husband allows her to participate in! I’m keeping my fingers crossed for no snagged body parts, no hypothermia from falling out of the boat or any other creative ways SJ manages to find to injure herself!
I wish you all a long weekend of fun, relaxation, time with friends and family (which may nullify the relaxation) sunshine, burgers (don’t get me started…) and room temperature, cut-price chicken dogs. Have a great holiday!

shower the people.

in keeping with the bridal theme, i thought i'd blog my adventures in bridal showers this weekend.

it was a bridal shower for -- okay, now follow the dots, because this is tricky -- my husband's sister's husband's brother's fiance. or, if you prefer, the fiance of my husband's brother-in-law's brother.

the slightly wacky thing about this is that my husband's in-laws have their own gravitational pull. they expect us to celebrate holidays with them (like- not even necessarily the major ones, but things like Father's Day), which is kind of odd because that would mean that we'd be spending it with neither of our families. but anyway, it's nice to be that loved.

so yeah- bridal shower. lots of oohing and aahing over towels and a bride that clearly didn't want to be the center of attention.

i understand that showers, many times, are beyond the control of the bride. they are much more about the family. so i have a lot of sympathy for those brides that sit there, red-faced over the nighties and the implications of the honeymoon.

but man. they may be the most boring, most time-wasting activities ever.

Love is in the air… proposing is in the water

Five days ago, my focus was on the trip I had planned with the PH. We had booked a flight to Fort Lauderdale and were looking forward to four days of sun, sleeping late and romantic dinners.
The night before the trip, my friend Amy called to report that her boyfriend Andrew (they go together as well as their names do!) had popped the question. The two have been together for nine months and as much as Amy knew he was “the one,” I was surprised by how quickly the proposal came. I’m incredibly happy for them and know they will have a wonderful life together… but I was still shocked.
Nonetheless, we packed up and headed off to Florida on Saturday. There were a few jokes made about a surprise proposal on the beach (by me) and some threats to never propose (by the PH) but, other than that, it was a normal vacation… until 8:30 on Sunday morning.
That’s when my phone rang and my younger sister shared the news that her boyfriend, Mat, had proposed just a few minutes before! The engagement wasn’t entirely unexpected– they’ve been talking about marriage for most of the eight months they’ve been dating– but the timing was ironic. It was a rough way for the PH to greet the day and his congratulations to the happy couple sounded a lot like, “Gee, thanks, Mat.”
Seeing how pale the PH had gotten with the news, I assured him that I didn’t know anyone else who was expected to get engaged and told him the rest of the vacation would be spent not talking about engagements or weddings or anything similar.
Well, God had the last laugh when my phone rang while we were at breakfast on Monday morning. My best friend from high school, Lisa, was calling to announce her engagement to her boyfriend of more than three years, Jeremy. He had popped the question on their vacation in Mexico.
I couldn’t stop laughing at the irony. I haven’t had a friend announce an engagement in more than a year and suddenly, I got three calls in one weekend. Two of the weddings may actually take place this fall (for those keeping track, that makes five weddings for the PH and I this year) and Lisa will probably do the honors in Las Vegas in the spring (how fun is that wedding going to be?!?)
The PH, for his part, was able to get the rest of his breakfast down, but he did look a little green around the gills, as they say. I figured the best approach was to just ignore all the news for the rest of the day and have a good time on our vacation. Which is why I was shocked half an hour later as we walked toward CVS to buy suntan lotion and the PH pointed out the jewelry store next door and asked if I wanted to check out engagement rings! So that’s how we spent our morning… trying on diamond rings.
While the PH and I have had plenty of discussions about getting married, and we know we have found the person to spend the rest of our lives with, we both feel it’s too soon in our relationship to get hitched. He has always joked about having a year (until our lease is up) to propose and even said he thinks he’ll be ready in “two or three years.” But he gave himself away by suggesting the ring shopping.
Don’t get too excited… we agreed to put the issue on the back burner for awhile. We’ll let the excitement from the eight bajillion engagements from this past weekend die down before anything happens. Besides, who can afford a ring with all the wedding presents we have to buy?!?

you've got to be kidding me.

i work for a small company. let me just put that out there. a small "firm" like company. and oh my lanta do i have days that make me laugh.

(of course, my previous entries also show you that i have days that make me want to quit, but i digress...)

in the course of my small company becoming a bigger company, i've somehow become the number one hr person. this is in no way reflected in my title, job description or day to day operations. but yeah. i do the interviews and resume searching.

so the other day when during the first five minutes of the interview, the interviewee used the word "shitty." i'm not even kidding. and today, i encountered a hand bruiser. i'm not exactly a strong and burly looking woman, so when this former college football player shook my hand, you'd think he'd be a little more gentle.

but no.

he actually bruised my fingers as one of my fingers was crushed against the ring i was wearing. and he proceeded to do this THREE TIMES. first when he was introduced. second when i rejoined him in the conference room to interview him on my own and a third time when i said goodbye.

maybe he thought my tears were somehow unrelated to the vice grip he held me hostage with.

i'm not a fan of the limp fish handshake, but surely we all agree that there is a line. the two handed grip of death should NOT be used during an interview. or at least, not in an interview with a pale reddishhead who looks like a kindergarten teacher.