Woof! [hack! hack!] Woof!
I have been sick as a dog all week and already missed two full days of work. That normally isn't a problem, except that I have already used up my Paid Time Off (PTO to those of you 'in the know') for my vacation and only had an extra 5 hours... great!

And to top it all off, Ryan didn't get paid for his vacation time at all. Rent is due tomorrow, which takes the last of our money, save a few bucks for macaroni and cheese and gas... car insurance payment is also due and so you may just find me rolling pennies this weekend.

Don'cha love adulthood? It's not all the ice cream eating and running with scissors that I had imagined as a child... it kind of just sucks.

The Power of 'X'
Is that the new Nintendo slogan or something? It sounds familiar...

Anyway, I was driving to work yesterday and as I crossed the railroad tracks I recalled a conversation from many years ago... I was a little girl... ok, in all fairness I am still a little girl, but at the time I was a young girl, is that better?... and I was driving with my dad and noticed the "Pedestrian X-ing" sign at the intersection.

I inquired about why the letter "X" meant "cross" in abbreviations.

My dad explained to me that the letter "X" is a criss-cross, therefore it can be used for the "criss" or the "cross." You can substitute it in several places, like XMas or X-ing.

Interesting, no?

In Hindsight
While trying to sort through the madness that I cooly refer to as my "craft box" I found the box of stationery from my wedding, all the extra invites that I have lugged from apartment to apartment to condo then back to apartment over the past 2 years that I keep telling myself will become part of a beautiful scrapbook someday.... uh huh

Until then, here are my suggestions on wedding invitations.

1. Use your full name. My full name is Angela Mia ("my angel" for all you Italian-speakers out there) but just about everyone calls me Mia. Of course, on an invitation, you have to be a bit more formal and it's generally advised that you use your full name. Well, being the meddlers that we are, my mother and I hatched the idea of only using the first and middle names on the invites. I can just hear people reading it now... "The families of Angela Mia and Ryan Andrew invite you..." Yes, that's charming. People will love it.

While I have never actually heard that anyone didn't love it, we did run into some issues. Namely, the following :

a) Why does everyone call her by her last name? Does she play football or something?
b) Oh, Angela Andrew sounds just delightful!
c) To the Andrews on your special day...

D'oh!

2. Only include the name of the reception site, especially with something as changable as an outdoor venue or, in our case, a boat. After we made our list, checked it twice, pared it down, added in a few long lost relatives and old neighbors we had our mailing list ready. Even Weddings For Dummies says to expect that 15-20% of the invited guests will decline... so why would our ceremony be any different?

Not long after the invitations were sent, the RSVP cards came rolling in. All of them. Even the ones that we thought "he'll never come... not in a million years... but we should send him one, just in case your dad asks." And then some. People who were invited as couples RSVP'd for 4 or 5. A few came back without a name on it, just "yes, we'll be there." They just kept coming...

It became immediately apparent that the boat that we had reserved would no longer be adequate to host all of these guests. We were extremely fortunate that the boat company had not yet reserved its larger boat and allowed us to use that for minimal extra expense.

Even though both boats are moored at the same dock, and the ship's crew was there to direct people and explain that the party had been moved to the larger boat, there were plenty of confused old ladies saying "I'm sorry, but I am SURE that I am supposed to be on THAT boat. It says so right here" proudly displaying their invitation. It would have saved our grandmothers a lot of confusion if we would have just named the dock and not the specific vessel.

3. Never underestimate your popularity. You'd be amazed what an open bar and free dinner will do to your social value. We had people attend our wedding that had never met either of us and had heard of us from a friend of a friend... it was very awkward. All said and done, we ended up with 30 more people than had RSVP'd. Yes, 30. That meant that by the end of the buffet line, food was running out, the cakes were gone - every last white chocolate decoration eaten...

4. If you have friends that you think won't understand how an invitation works, it's best to call them up and explain. I'm not sure if it is because we run with a younger crowd or because we were the first of the group to get married, but it seems that some of our friends didn't quite understand that a wedding invitation is NOT like a party invitation. You shouldn't assume that it's ok to bring along extra people or to show up at the last minute unannounced. Of course, even a little basic party etiquette could have made this bad situation better - perhaps bringing a party snack or bottle of wine? - but no. We ended up with complete strangers hitting the dinner line for thirds and fourths... sigh.

Angry About The Fur Trade?
This is totally NOT funny, but it was reported today that a seal killed a scientist. You can find the complete story here.

Yes, I'm a cyclist... in a dress
[deep sigh of relief]

After years of feeling oh so alone on the subject, I finally found my peeps! Reading the comments to this morning's post over at Not Martha I found out that I am not the only full grown woman in America who still wears spandex bike shorts under dresses and skirts.

I know, you're thinking that we should all twirl off together some place and start a new freak show, but it isn't like that at all!

It seems that I am not alone in trying to avoid giving the public an ass-shot at any given moment when wearing a light weight skirt. Not to mention that lycra does wonders for a curvy babe like me. It smoothes, tucks, tightens... it's the best!

Cubicle Sweet Cubicle
Ah... there's nothing quite like returning to work after a nice, relaxing vacation.

Well, maybe a dentist's drill....

I will be posting my vacation journal in the next day or two... keep your eye out for it!

Fear of an Automated Planet
I am pretty technically savvy. When I have the option of doing something online or by using an automated telephone system, I do. I just like it that way.

However, today I was calling American Airlines which has gone to this totally automated system that is somehow creepy. This woman prompts you for commands to which you reply "July 13" or "yes" or whatever your answer is... it just feels so weird talking to no one. You feel exposed somehow.

St. Ned
One of my favorite daily blog confessionals is Going Jesus which is always so eloquently written by witty Ms. Sara, in which she refers to her parish as St. Neds (after Ned Flanders).

Apparently, she isn't alone. Many churchgoers are embracing Ned around the world.

Everybody's working for the weekend...
Ok, it's Tuesday and I am already desperate for the weekend.

I guess because my Sunday was basically robbed by my migraine and the many many many medications I had to take to combat it. I need that Sunday, I live for that Sunday! My laundry isn't done, my bathroom isn't cleaned, my fridge is empty. Sigh.

But Mia, can't you do laundry or grocery shop after work?

No. Well, technically, yes... It's just so hard to get inspired to do all of these things after a long day of work.

Random...
While writing my last post, I did a quick Google search for the word "tired" hoping to find a picture of just how awful I look/feel today.

I found this and it made me giggle.

Am I total jerk for laughing??