In the past 24 hours, I have wished at some point:

• that I could fit in one size smaller pants
• that certain members of my family weren't disabled
• that I was a hermit
• that I could live in another country and not tell anyone where I was
• for a large pizza with chicken and pepperoni and onions
• to suddenly come into a large LARGE sum of money
• to move into a new apartment
• to know what the hell I'm doing with my life
• that I could say fuck and not feel like I have to say I'm sorry

One Step Closer...

We bought our wedding bands today. It felt so nice to take that first step. (This was the first big purchase toward the wedding). I'm so excited.

There are so many weddings taking place this year and I'm feeling so in the mood to plan.

Why

are my links so far down the right side of the page? Does anyone know how to fix that?

Anyone got a four leaf clover I can borrow?

My cousin, H. ... the one who was just married, came back from her short honeymoon yesterday. They were going to stay an extra day but decided not to.

Of course, they received truckloads of gifts -- so they spent yesterday putting things away. Last night, while H. was reaching into the kitchen cupboard, something fell out and hit her on the head. She said that there was no pain, at first - but then she turned to face M. and he noticed that blood was just pouring from her head. He had to call 911. The thing that fell out of the cupboard was a knife. A KNIFE!!! She could have been seriously seriously hurt or killed. Luckily all she needed was a few stitches.

And there seems to be a string of bad luck happening to everyone else I know. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that nothing else bad happens.

A Wedding and a Funeral...

I just made it home from a very draining weekend. I went back to WV this weekend for two reasons -- one very sad: my uncle Butchie passed away Thursday and his funeral was this weekend.

I don't want to sound overly optimistic, but there was a silver halo around that dark cloud. One of my closest cousins, H. was married this weekend to a wonderful man, M. The wedding went off without a hitch (or maybe it went off with a hitch, if I dare be so puntastic). Everything was beautiful... and I've decided to document some of it in a brief picture blog...

So, what were the wedding colors you ask? Why, lilac and powder blue! The bridesmaids wore lilac dresses while the maid of honor wore blue. The maid of honor was none other than my closest cousin Angie, who by the way will also be a bridesmaid in my wedding. (And she looked so beautiful... that hair was amazing)















The bride's gown was beautiful, and even moreso since the bride herself was beautiful in it. The reception was nicely planned with various foodstuffs and punch.

They say if the couple smashes the cake into each others' mouths that it is a bad sign for the marriage - that there is some hidden animosity - but there is no need to worry! Neither the bride nor groom barbarically shoved cake into the other's nostrils.















As far as dancing goes... my family is not a dancing family to put it mildly. In fact... I hesitate to say we dance at all. But the bride sucked it up and danced the first dance with the groom. Other than the hokey pokey, the twist and maybe one other participation song... this was the only action that dancefloor saw all night.















My mother looked stunning as well carrying Angie's baby, D.















And what about me? Well... let's just say anyone who's anyone is sporting big hair at weddings these days... :) This is a picture Nick snapped of me while I was putting on make-up in preparation for the wedding.

More on the 360...

Because Gerald asked for it and because lately my world seems to revolve around it...

--The system itself is pretty sweet. It looks like a computer and is really, physically heavy... but it is slim and attractive.

--I haven't noticed any problems with overheating or any other type of system problems yet... and Nick and I basically take turns playing for hours and hours at a time, so if it were going to overheat, it has certainly had the opportunity.

--It is a very expensive toy, but if you enjoy gaming and spend a lot of time doing it... the graphics alone are worth it. Sometimes it feels like you are looking at a snapshot.

--In terms of games, there aren't a whole lot out right now... but there are a ton coming out soon (ie. Halo 3 comes out next year and I'm really excited about that) But really... it's so easy to get immersed in one game for such a long time that by the time you are tired of one, the others will be being released.

--Oblivion is probably the best game in the world. Okay, so some of it is a little "mature" for lack of a better term... It is really enjoyable and there is so much to do in the game that you won't soon tire of it.

--Oblivion is a first person game... but there is a way to view the character in third person and play that way if you are more comfortable playing in that mode. You can switch in and out of those two during play as well.

And for my own pleasure -- I will leave you with another image from the game (I mean... really folks... doesn't it almost look like a real photograph?):

We got an X-Box 360

and my life is being sucked away by the game Oblivion and it's fantastic graphics...













I will be posting more soon... for now... I'm going to go play some more.

Sleepy Kitsch in a basket

makes me happy.

Roar.

Darkness Sphynx

Woo Hoo!

Good news from The Madison Review today. :)

Why do I love spring???

Because little fuzzballs like this take up residence in my yard. I saw this cute little rabbit with his wife earlier today... and how do I know it was his "wife"... lets just say they will probably be mommy and daddy to some little lintbubbles in the near future. I was able to snap a quick picture of him this afternoon, just relaxing by the hedges.

















I wish I could be snugged up right next to him.

The Ohio Valley is literally making me sick...

Well, I went to the doctor today to get the results of my PET scan.

The good news: The nodule in my lung is not malignant according to the scan.

The bad news: I have a benign granuloma in my left lung that was probably caused by a fungal infection that is common in the Ohio Valley. :( The other thing that causes these granulomas is tuberculosis... Yep... that's right... tuberculosis.

Anyway -- I have to have another CT scan in about a year to make sure the nodule has not grown. The doctor says if it stays the same size after that long, I can forget about it. Otherwise, they will have to do something else.