One of Those Days

Yesterday was not the best of days. Oh, it started out well enough but by the end of it I had a headache and just wanted to sleep. Michael went with me to my last class cause we planned to spend the day together not doing anything serious. Just us bonding time. Class went well and we stopped home afterward so I could look for some things to take shopping with us. We planned to mainly window shop but I had some coupons for "just in case" and everything. Well, he felt blech so he ended up falling asleep. That was ok cause a thunderstorm had moved in and my brain was feeling fuzzy too.

When he woke up, we decided to grab a pizza at the local Greek restaurant because I think it's better than any of the chains. It was only 3:30p so the place was deserted. Well, that and because of the Kenny Chesney concert. People had been lined up for the 8p show at 9a!! Anyway, "dinner" was nice and we went to Lowe's to get a steam washer. Not for carpet (as we have only one rug in the living room), but for cleaning in general. Michael thinks that will be a good way for me to get all the nooks and crannies that drive me nuts. Plus be able to avoid getting sick every time I clean the bathroom because of the cleaning fumes. Even with the fan on, I sneeze forever and get congestion. It's a good idea and the thing works well (Michael had to test it out of course).

So, this is all decent, right? Yup. At least until Blockbuster. We decided on movies easily enough but he got grumpy at me for wanting to rent some episodes of "Bridezillas". I'd watched clips online but no full episodes and was just in the mood for something amusing. Michael just sees it as irritating. Well, hell, it was a free rental so whatever. But that wasn't the main problem. Nope. . .we get back outside to his truck and realize that it won't start. Oh, something is spinning inside but no ignition. Michael says that the engine isn't getting any fuel. His truck has been making noises for a while but, of course, he's ignored it. (sigh) Well, the clincher is that he'd left his cell phone at home to charge and I'd left my bag at home so we were phone less. Jonathan would have been getting off work at that time (and, in fact, ironically enough was calling the house at the time we realized all this) but we couldn't remember his number.

What to do? Not call a tow truck because Michael wants to see what his work wants to do about it (he's due for a new vehicle soon). And not leave it right in front of the store. Nope, let's back up the truck into the space behind us. Sounded simple enough. You would think. No, apparently I can't drive. The parking lot was slanted just enough that Michael could push the truck backwards. Problem #1: I was worried he would hurt himself. Problem #2: I was worried I would hit one of the cars behind us. Problem #3: I am not used to his truck. Granted, his truck isn't much longer than my car and I have driven it, but the feel is different to me. Combine all of these things with difficulty steering because the tires don't move as well as when the engine is running and you have a recipe for fubar'dness. (sigh) Needless to say, we get backed up but I end up putting us to where we were taking up two spaces. So forward we go. A car pulls in and instead of speaking to the guy, Michael lets him go into Blockbuster. So, now we have someone directly behind us and I have to try and angle his truck between two cars. Yup, almost hit one. Didn't though.

So, Michael has an alpha male blow up (which is rare for him) and I get yelled out. Yup, he finally sounds like one of the men in my family. Took him over two years but he succeeded admirably. It was a good rant about how I don't know how to drive and he's going to have to teach me blah blah. Granted, he was frustrated and pushing the truck was hard but, yeah, that really helped the situation. Short end was it took two more tries for me to be able to get the truck into a space in a way that satisfied Michael. After that? We walked the 2.1 miles to our house. Not that bad a walk and the weather was nice but halfway is very busy road with nothing to call a sidewalk. Fun.

Michael apologized and tried to be chipper going home. Me? I just wanted to get my car, get back to pick up stuff, and stay home. By the time we got home, I had a splitting headache. I came into my office and saw Jon had called so I talked with him while Michael tried out the washer. Then Michael comes in while I was setting up the hairstyle poll and slideshow on the wedding blog and gets frustrated at me because I wanted to read directions on how to do it rather than let him walk me through the steps via google. I gave in and it went well but then he was "helping" me by reading over my shoulder and correcting my phrasing as I wrote the entry (I originally didn't have an and between girlie and frivolous) which only set my teeth on edge so I closed out the browser and tossed my keyboard aside. Mature of me, I know. But I write on here like I speak/think instead of going for "proper" phrasing. I'm not writing an academic analysis here! Sheesh He went off to his office and I read some articles and played some games. By 10p I was tired and wanted to watch a "Bridezilla" episode but the DVD won't work in my computer for some reason. So, I just gave up, took my shower, and went to bed by 10:45p. Michael joined me at some point and snuggled up (which was nice) but he kept twitching and then woke me up for snoring. Plus, I was hot from it being too warm in the house. So, I took my pillow and went to the couch cause I could tell it would be one of those nights (of waking up a gazillion time) if I didn't.

I slept pretty well, hence me being up this early to write. I'm feeling tired again so I may go back to sleep. Hopefully today will be a better day throughout. (sigh)

To Be or Not to Be a Bridezilla

(photo courtesy of brideorama.com)

Last night, Michael and I got into a conversation about what it means to be a bridezilla. I mean, after all, everyone keeps saying, "It's your day, you should have things like you want them." This is usually said after I've worried about hurting someone's feelings, etc. So, I asked Michael where the line is on when someone is just being a "normal" (and are any ever really that way?) bride and a bridezilla since both want things the way they want them. Michael thinks every woman is pretty much a bridezilla because there is no black and white in the definition due to perception. Great. So no matter how much you may not want to be seen as such, someone will think that's what you are. (sigh)

So, today during my office hours, I have been looking up the term. There is actually a bridezilla website. It's been interesting to look at and some things seem extreme but there is also some really good advice mixed in too. Well, on there they have the following for the definition:

Bridezilla Defined

"Webster's Definition: Bridezilla\ bride-zil-a n 1 Horrific, bulging-eyed bride prone to screaming spells and spontaneous fits of hysterical rage. Bridezillas are known to drop blows over seating charts, get bug-eyed at the mere mention of carnations and view hurling champagne at their wedding planners as a form of hazing.

Bridezilla.com's Definition: Bridezilla\bride-zil-a n 1 Exceptionally attractive, confident women who know what they want and can't be bothered to sugar coat because they are obviously on 100 calorie- a- day microbiotic diets and can't even sneak a pack of Splenda if their life depends on it. Bridezillas are both blessed and cursed with a higher vision of perfection than most mediocre, David's Bridal wearing, Gerber daisy carrying mortals and have no choice but to impart this vision exactly to the masses. It is this motive that drives them to demand nothing less than excellence from their staff-err, wedding party.

In short, some people say bridezillas are bat-crazy man-hating Stepford brides. We say potato, potahto."

KFOR.com defines says "Bridezillas is a name coined in 1995. It's slang, but there's an official definition. It’s a bride to be who focuses so much on the event that she becomes difficult and obnoxious."

Then there is the publisher's explanation of the book, "Bridezilla: True Tales From Etiquette Hell": "A wedding can bring out the best in a person but often brings out the worst. A bride, in particular, seems most susceptible to mutating into a beast no family member or friend can recognize because a magical ring was placed on the third finger of her left hand. By definition, a Bridezilla describes a subspecies of a bride-to-be who believes her wedding day is "her day," that she is princess for the day, that the world owes her, and that her every desire and whim for the "perfect wedding" is to be catered to instantly and subserviently by friends, family, and vendors under threat of thermonuclear meltdown."

From all of this, I guess we can say that being a bridezilla is when a woman has an extreme reaction to either being the bride or a minor event. Even then we could argue over what that means cause some stress is justifiable. Actually, there are variations on the zilla part for everyone involved. So, let's just say that if you're making someone miserable for no good reason (and is there ever a good reason to make someone that way?) at this event, you're being a zilla.

I took a quiz on iVillage and this is what it said that I was a "Low-Key Bride". Flare.com's test says that I am "The Peacemaker". WE tv says I'm an "Average Bride". Well, I'm trying to be, that's for sure. Yeah, I have the blog for us but that keeps things easy and fun (hope). Hard not to when everyone is scattered to the four winds. Hopefully it will stay easy. (snort) Stop laughing all of you NOW. The Bridezilla moment has now passed, you may conrinue about your day. Oh wait, that was one too, wasn't it? ;o)

Sheesh

Ignore the registries post from this blog. It was supposed to be under the wedding one. Why it ended up here. . .I must have hit the wrong one. Sorry for the double send of it. Sheesh

Grumpy

Ok, so I've been a little moody lately. All right, a lot moody. Not sure what it is. Maybe my allergies. Maybe the gazillion things I should do that I seem not to have the energy to get done. . .whatever.

Michael heard something the other day on the radio about how we only have a limited amount of will power. That there may be a genetic predisposition for a certain amount. No matter how you look at it though, they say that because we have a limit, splitting it between too many things can mean that none of them get done to their full potential if at all.

That's all I needed to hear.

(sigh) Lord knows I'm good enough at making excuses for myself without throwing that into the mix. lol

But whatever. Only two weeks left to classes (I'm trying to wrap my head around that). After that I teach one course through July. But mostly I'll be working on the dissertation (yes, really, I gave my director something last week), the house, and the wedding. Oh, and losing weight -- we've started going to the gym. I'm doing a half hour on the elliptical and half hour on the treadmill for starters plus a few weights. Gee? Think I have enough? lol However, I may have to temp this summer as my taxes were less than I feared but more than I hoped. But I really need a break cause the fall is gonna be insane! So, we'll see.

Gonna keep plugging cause that's what I have to do. Hugs.

A Worthy Cause

Hi. Sorry for the lapse again. The last couple of weeks have been hectic with a gazillion things to do. Between teaching, plotting dissertation and wedding, and cleaning, my plate is pretty full. I've actually managed to finally revise my diss intro. I think my next step is to dive into the theory because that is the hardest part and my reward for that will be analyzing the plays I'm doing. Some "reward," huh? lol

Also, my allergies have been kicking my butt. My car looks like a tree ejaculated it's entire supply onto it. Sheesh At least the color is green even if it is a different shade from the car's.

Our new cats have settled in well. Hydona has accepted Solaris and they get along great. They have no problems sharing. It's kind of nice to know that when the attacks happen it's because they are playing. They already have various nicknames and know them. Oh, and it's also nice to have cats who listen most of the time. Solaris is slower (just because he's a big pile of goo and hates to move) but Hydona is very smart. She can be stubborn at times (gee, who does that sound like?) but she usually listens. She actually leaves rooms with me and doesn't make me chase her. lol But I still miss Shaman even though I love these two to death.

Anyway, today I got up right after Michael left so I could redo the diss intro. So now I at least have something for my director next week. (sigh)

Just wanted to update you all. Life is pretty much routine right now. However, occasionally something will inevitably pop up and I'll write about it but there may be long gaps.

One thing I did want to tell you all about is a group called Kick For Nick. One of my students gave a speech on it last night. Tom is/was Nick's best friend. Both were in the military. You'll notice the past tense because Nick was killed in Iraq two years ago. He'd only had a month on his tour to go. Very sad. It seems he was a very nice young man who loved children and had come up with this idea to share his childhood love of soccer with the children over there. He'd taken some balls back with him on his last trip home and handed them out. Well, after his death, his dad started up a campaign to try and continue that thought. It's a lovely gesture and I just wanted to share it with you. Tom is setting up a collection's station here in Columbia since he is now stationed at Fort Jackson and attending USC. So, if any of you know of any unused soccer balls or what not, pass 'em along to me and I'll see that he gets them. It was an awesome speech that brought one girl to tears.