I heart my friends

I had a wonderful Labor Day weekend because I had minimal plans ... including doing whatever I wanted whenever I felt like it. Sound rough? It sure was. I was out by my pool four days in a row. I hung out with some cool peeps. I began and finished a book. (Sookie Stackhouse series anyone? LOVE IT.) I went on two beautiful morning runs. I watched some Dexter (great show). I went to the mall and bought some more cute clothes. And most importantly, I relaxed and caught up on some much-needed shuteye. Yessss! Great weekend.

As long as I’m rambling about what I’ve done lately, let’s zip back to one month ago today. Two of my best friends got hitched! Happy One-Month Anniversary, Liz and Cody!!! I was Liz’s personal attendant, so basically I was just there for whatever she needed … like picking up the cake, bringing an extra razor and hair dryer, helping to maintain a bit of sanity, stuff like that.

Here’s Rachel (bridesmaid), Liz (bridezilla),
Anna (maid of honor) and Me during the rehearsal.

It’s not the best picture of any of us, but I just wanted to show off how pretty we are :) Oh, and I realized that I never got a picture alone with the bride the day before, day of, or day after the wedding! How does that happen? The wedding ceremony and reception were in a small Wisconsin town at an even smaller hotel. It was beautiful. Everything was outside where we could see the river and the bluffs and the wonderfulness. It did happen to be more than 90 degrees and incredibly humid, but it was all worth it because the whole shebang was splendid.

I sang the Beatles’ “In My Life” during the ceremony.

Yea, I was the Wedding Singer :) I was totally nervous, though, because I lost my voice less than a week before the big weekend, but I made sure to keep hydrated and drink tea. Worked like a charm because I sounded like an angel! Well, except for the part when I giggled in the middle. Oops! Not kidding.

My parents were there, too!

Here’s me and my daddio during the reception.

And here’s me and my mom. Cute :)

Here's the thing: I have this pose-arm problem. I do it in nearly EVERY picture I’m in. I need an intervention. But I thought it was the CUTEST THING EVER when my mom threw out the pose arm in this pic with me. Apparently she won’t be leading the intervention.

Here I am with the happy groom!

I am sooooo happy for Cody and Liz! I’ve known Liz since kindergarten, we lived together two years in college, and we STILL like each other. That doesn’t happen with every friendship. Cody and Liz complement each other perfectly, and I would know because I basically lived with both of them those two years in college. They both know probably too much about me, and neither of them are afraid to keep me in check. We all need that in our friends. I never stop laughing when I’m with them. Love these two :)

(Here’s a diet and workout tip for you: Attend a 90+-degree wedding reception with 1 billion percent humidity and dance your little heart out. I was a sweatmonster! I woke up 3 pounds lighter than I was the morning before! Obviously it was due to dehydration and whatnot, but it was crazy to see the number on the scale … until I drank tons of water and ate. Then I was back to normal.)

Alright, now fast forward from one month ago to two days ago — Liz and Cody’s Housewarming Party! We grilled things, people brought dishes to share, and we had a few drinkies. It was great to enjoy the weather and hang outside, but it was bittersweet because we were reminded of how summer is almost over. Here’s some of my eats for the evening:

I ate a few bites of spinach artichoke dip with pita chips. I had about 500 chips with salsa and about 500 chips with guacamole. The guac isn’t pictured but should be. I made it and it rocked! Liz made the salsa with stuff from her CSA and it was soooo good. You can’t buy salsa like that. Fresh and homemade is best.

For my main meal (as if I was still hungry after the 1000 chips and dip), I had a veggie burger with mustard and onions, oven-baked asparagus, and a yummy little rice salad with black beans and broccoli. I’ll need to get that recipe from Liz’s cousin.

And then of course, dessert. Sarah made a chocolate cake with zucchini (also from the CSA). Sarah and I figured it’s good for us because there’s zucchini in it. A “chocolately salad,” she called it. I only had one piece even though it was still warm and soooo yummy.

My beverage of choice for the night was Corona Light with a lime. Also good for me because of the lime, right? I’m pushin’ it, I know. Check out the bonfire in the background. Yay for summer nights :)

Happy housewarming, Liz!

(So can you tell I'd been frequenting the pool? Yikes.)

And now fast forward to the present. Wait! I don’t want to! It might look like I’m doing work at my desk, but I’m really thinking about lounging by my pool again.

Peace, lovelies! And thanks a ton for the sideache advice, those of you who commented on my last post. I'll keeps all those tips in mind during my next run :)