Tell it when you talk.

Another great weekend for the books!

On Friday night, Jesse and I met up with Jaime and Andrew to see the Mets vs. Reds game. I'm not a huge fan of either team, but as I live in New York, and the fact that I absolutely hate the Yankees, the Mets are my go-to team. Plus, I really like Citi Field. Anyway, to my surprise, ex-Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo was pitching for the Reds! That was pretty cool, but it was sad to see no Mets make it to second base. [I'm pulling at my collar and making the "eeellll" noise if you catch my drift - but. I know you probably don't.] Anyway, Arroyo pitched all nine innings and it was a 3-0 shut out against the Mets. Ah well. Going to baseball games are in my top five activities, so no matter what happens or who's playing, it's always fun - and we saw three homeruns!

Andrew & Jaime!
OH ALSO: we're in the record books. The whole stadium opened a bag of chips and ate them at the same time, in the middle of the second inning, and apparently we were the largest crowd to do that EVER and some crowd rep' was handed a Guiness Book of World Records plaque. Go us.

On Saturday I headed to Rhode Island because my Tia Kim and family wanted to throw another bridal shower for me since they couldn't make it to the one last month! It was so lovely and nice and the best part was seeing all my family! Plus, my bestest friend from first grade, Colleen, was in attendance and I haven't seen her in five years. What's funny is that after spending the first three grades of elementary school together, and then me moving all over the country with sporadic visits, we've ended up in similar places in life, with both of us engaged and planning a wedding and, as we found out, similar thoughts on the whole deal. Great fun!

The whole gang!

My Tia Kim! The organizer!

Katie & Sammi!

My Tia Kim really pulled off a great event full of pomegranate mimosas and delicious food! Plus, a cake whipped up by Mrs. Louise Martone (my Tia Kim's mother-in-law, which, I don't know what that makes her to me, but I consider her family!) that I devoured with a side of ice cream. I also got a few things off our registry, which Jesse was excited about, and probably the best present was a pitcher that used to belong to my grandmother before she passed away. I was very touched by all the gifts and it just got me all revved up for the wedding again!

It can be real easy to get overwhelmed and stressed out by the planning, which hasn't occurred in full-out rage, but there are times where I make my checklists and think "ughhhh no time for fun!" - but that's a lie - as I think we all know, because I have tons of fun every week and sometimes wedding planning can be just that, too. Sometimes.

Anyway, it was great fun to see everyone including my kinda-cousins (like, cousins in law twice removed or something? My Uncle-by-marriage's neices) Sammi, Sarah, and Katie, and my Aunts-in-law Linda and Cheryl and my mom's neighbor Zoe, and also my actual Uncle Arthur and actual cousin James who picked me up at the train station. Saturday reminded me what a great family I have!

The rest of the weekend I spent hanging out with my family in Massachusetts, and taking in the great weather. We went out to dinner and watched the Red Sox games, and did some wedding planning. A lot of my family from Panama is coming in a couple of weeks, so there's a lot of housing preparations my parents are doing! They're coming in for the wedding, which, believe it or not is less than a month away (?!(@$)(G)W(#R*) and I'm so excited to see my Panamanian relatives, who I last saw in January of last year!

Anyway, this week will continue to be a blend of work, wedding planning (aka work), and some fun hangs. How was your weekend?!

Roll over and whisper some goodness.

Every day for the past couple of weeks, the morning weather report declares rain. And it's true - it's been raining nearly non-stop whether I happen to be here in New York or in Massachussetts. Usually the rain dampens not only the soles of my shoes, but also my spirits. Usually, the rain invites me to stay in bed a little longer: no need to go out and play. Usually, I obey.

However, the past two weekends have been some of the best in my history. Of course, I've recounted the tales of last weekend from the bridal shower to the bachelorette party to the hangover. And this weekend held just as much fun and excitement!

On Saturday morning, Erica and I woke up entirely too early (but necessary). We made it to Grand Central in time to meet up with Katie and Perry to head to Massachusetts. Because that night we were seeing NO DOUBT!!!

No Doubt = my favourite band on this planet. Yeah, I said it. I grew up listening to them, and they still blow my mind. We drove the hour to the Comcast Center and Perry got us our tickets at the band guestlist window (yeah, I know) and with a bit of help from her father, we were seated in the second row center for the show. YEAH.

Before we sat down, however, we had to collect our merch - I got a tote with the retro Spiderwebs poster on it, the limited edition tour poster, and the official tour program (which is filled with achingly amazing photos of the tour).

Why yes, I took this picture with my iPhone...

After going through layers of security to our seat, we settled in for an amazing set from Paramore. Since the seats were empty next to us we all kind of spread out and rocked out. And next...

Came No Doubt. They played all their hits and the four of us began a good two hours of jumping, fist-pumping, skanking, and singing. I would like to call it a legitimate workout. Also, they played a full version of "Tragic Kingdom," "Different People," and "Rock Steady," - all which made me oh-so-happy! I've seen No Doubt live several times, including almost a month and a half ago at Bamboozle - and this was the best I've seen them! They're one of THE BEST live bands I've ever seen, with all their energy, and they completely upped themselves on Saturday night. Watching them surrounded by my besties, all of us fangirls, was a great feeling.

The video backdrop for their show had some amazing montages and great new stuff from the band. I hope they make a live DVD of this tour and it includes some of those montages - they were quite mesmerizing!

After spending an hour getting out of the parking lot and another hour trying to get home in a rainy haze, we finally made it at 130am. I was up at 6am, because guess who needed to get picked up at the airport?! JESSE!!

Of course, his plane arrived half an hour early and so I was speeding a bit on the way there. I got pulled over for the first time ever. But the cop only gave me a verbal warning for going 80mph in a 65mph zone. Phew.

Then I got Jesse, who flew in on the red-eye from LA, so we were both in a sleepy haze. We had a few appointments on Sunday, and I dropped off the girls at the train station. When I returned, for Father's Day (!!!!) my dad, mom, brother, Jesse, and I went to the best local pizza joint called Zorba's. We gorged and then went to see Up which is adorable and we all loved it. I had a really great time relaxing with my family and especially my dad!

On Monday, Jesse and I took care of a few more things, and it looks like we're all set to make this "marriage" thing legal in August!

Can I get a "YAY!!!!" ?!?!?!

My weekend home!

My brother and I!

My lovely mother and father!

Things I learned:

My mom now has a direct line to Panama, which required a special phone. This phone does not have a headset jack, and therefore, she makes do with a rubber band in order to keep her hands free for cooking and other general things she needs to do around the house. For instance, in this picture, she's sitting on the couch.

For Christmas, my mom, brother and I pitched in to buy my father a motorized snowblower/remover thingamajig for the constant snowing that occurs in the New England winters. I'm happy to know that he loves it very much, and when even a sprinkling of dust has settled on the asphalt, he's out there ready to banish it!

I also got to hang out with Emily over some coffee and it was as awesome as I knew it would be! We met as we're both friends with those Monty boys, and we're also both getting wed this year! I don't think we stopped talking for two straight hours. Her blog's amazing, hilarious, and she's totally right about the voice thing when reading!! Emily - can't wait to hang again!

And now I'm back home and the weather today was so horrendous there's nothing more I want to do then curl up on the couch with the kittens. And my computer - of course.

"More sass than Pete Wentz has eyeliner."

First and foremost, I'd like to recommend a book. It's called Hot Mess: Summer in the City by Julie Kraut and Shallon Lester. It's a teen novel, but I haven't really outgrown sleepovers and wanting to be more mature, so why should I begrudge reading something intended for teenagers? I mean, I've definitely read all the Traveling Pants books, so whatever. Moving on.

This book is brilliant summer reading because it's about two Connecticut teens spending the summer before their senior year in Manhattan. They're smart girls, but clueless when it comes to the big city - which is part of the book's hilariousness. They get internships, though the only thing they know about internships came by way of LC on The Hills. Basically, the way that Dawson's Creek's teen characters dropped three- and four-syllable words, is the way Kraut & Lester's characters drop pop culture references (except way more believable, obvs). I'm only halfway through the book but there was a Panic at the Disco reference.

So couple emo with wit, and you have me sold. I would probably not recommend this to any dudes, just saying. This isn't like me recommending Watchmen. Ha. And it is actually a great follow-up, as it has banished any apocalyptic Watchmen-induced afterthoughts from my brain. In short: FUN READ. Buy it at Amazon.

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Memorial Day weekend! I have a half day of work tomorrow, and then my girls Kelly and Erica will join me for fun in Massachusetts for my brother's college graduation party. We have other things to plan over the weekend, so Kells did the whole "itinerary" thing - I'm not kidding, she e-mailed it to me today. Anyway, I'm really stoked for being out of the city and at home with my parents and my brother. We have the best backyard fun ever. It usually consists of whiffle ball, barbeque, and flip cup (which my mom and dad learned to play at my brother's 21st birthday party a couple of years ago, and is still slighty scarring to watch - but amazing). I'm just hoping the weather is better than all the rain we've been getting this week...oh, who cares, it's three and a half days of not working. Woo!