*WHEW!* ... :O ... November was simply a whirl-wind of events... ups and downs, and ins and outs.
I have not had a whole lotta' time to write much lately...nor even the inclination...(odd for me, 'eh?)
Just been in a busy spiral...and the weather turning so blah has me rather in a funk, I suppose...I dunno.
Also, so much has been going on, that it is rather overwhelming...so I will just give you the Reader's Digest version... (Although, you should know by now, that even my abridged version still manages to ramble incessantly here and there! ;) ...
My parent's 50th Anniversary party was PHENOMENAL!!! It went off without a hitch, was a huge evening, and completely perfect in every way...OMG...it was fabulous...great memories.
Everyone attended...100 people...Boomer acted as DJ (I burned awesome CDs for the evening)...had 14 large posters erected about the room, on which I had arranged old pics... they turned out beautifully. The cake was gorgeous...the room was too...and it was just such a great time. I wish we could do that every month! (Could not afford it, though...it cost a bloody fortune!)
Of course, I am a technological idiot, and have to get Boomer to load the pix onto the computer for me...and the pix from my Mom's 50th HS reunion, as well. And, yes...I DID wear the same dress to both events...*GASP!* :O
...I know...totally unheard of from me...however, I only got about 2 or 3 hours of preening out of that dress at her reunion, and it was just too awesome of a party dress not to wear again.
Plus, when I heard from Mom how much Dad liked the dress, and that he actually was telling people how pretty it was (SHOCKING!!!)...then I had to wear it again. My Dad does not dole out the compliments haphazardly, lemme' tell 'ya!
So...pix coming soon...I hope!
Another great moment that night was when my Mom's sister (Aunt Kim) from Atlanta made a surprise appearance...my sister and I were the only ones who knew she was coming...Mom was THRILLED!
And, the big moment was when I managed to get MY OLDER BROTHER TO SHOW UP!
Yes, that's right...not my older brother "Bo", but my older brother "Tommy"...whom I have NEVER MET.
My dad was married twice before Mom. (Busy man...since he was only 24 when he married Mom.)
The first marriage lasted about 1 year...and the second about 4 months.
The first was to a lady named Joanne...whom he met thru his sister (they were best friends...went to school together.) Dad went to her prom with her...married her, and had a child..."Thomas Smith, III" ...my dad is a "Junior".
Anyway...they divorced shortly thereafter...he joined the Navy...and she remarried rather quickly. My Dad was dirt poor, and an agreement was struck between all parties involved for my dad to sign adoption papers to have her new husband legally adopt Tommy.
Tommy came back into our life when he was 16, and I was about 4. (He is about 5 years older than my brother, Bo.) Tommy stayed around for about 2 or 3 years...working for my Dad at his tool-and-die/engineering business. (Dad taught him the trade...and he is still in the business today.)
They had some type of falling-out at that point, and "that" was apparently "that". Dad is a major "grudge-holder", and he really does not know how to set things "right" which have gone askew...so decades went by, and Tommy was just "gone".
Dad saw Tommy twice since 1974...once at the race track when we were racing in the 80s, and another time at the casino about 5 years ago...but it was always a big "thing" each time my Mom and Dad saw Tommy...a very GOOD thing...which is why I wondered at the fact that it was never pursued...hmmm...
Joanne (his mother) is still Dad's sister's best friend...and Joanne is even a patient of my sister's. (Toni is a chiropractor.)
So, my mom and I discussed inviting Tommy to the party...Mom is totally good with all of it. I had my sister get me his phone number from Joanne...and when I called him up, I said, "Hello, is this Tom?...This is your baby sister!"
He WAS shocked, I've got to say...LOL. We had a great conversation...for about an hour...and I had to convince him how much we all wanted him to come. (A total surprise for Dad.)
It was not easy to accomplish, but he DID show up...with his wife. Dad was SPEECHLESS...then he gave him a hug and started crying...then *I* started crying!
I cannot believe we all let so many decades go by without fixing that situation! I chalk it up to MY own naivety...but once I finally grew up and thought about it, I am saddened and ashamed that so many years have been lost.
I was amazing to see Tommy...he looks SO much like the "Smiths"! While it is clear that Bo, Toni, and I all completely favor my mom's side...the Native American side of the family. However, there are slight family resemblances between Tommy and the rest of us. (Tommy looks a lot like Dad...it was weird to see.)
We DID get a family photo with all of us in it. When I told Dad that we all needed to line up for a family pix (and I had already included Tommy), Dad looked at me and said, "Tommy too." I assured him that he would definitely be in it.
My poor dad, I know he has so many regrets...and my heart breaks for both of them, that so much time has been wasted. I plan to try and include Tommy in our lives from now on, in whatever way I can...(and, hopefully, he will be amenable to the situation)...he is really a nice, quiet, shy man...NOTHING like the rest of us boisterous idiots! LOL... ;)
(BTW...the party lasted until 11:30pm...and then my parents and I went to the casino! They stayed until 3am...Dad plays craps...is a whiz at it!...and Mom is totally lucky on the slots. I left after about 20 minutes of just hanging out with them...and later found out that they won over $1000 between the two of them! I was POOPED! I have no idea how they go-go-go like that...LOL. Mom is 68 and Dad is 74! ...Well, Dad just turned 74 on November 20th. =)
Okay, so THEN, the day after the party, November 10th...Dad had to do a "cleanse", because he had to go into the hospital for a colonoscopy on Wednesday. (His yearly exam, since he had colon cancer and almost died last January.)
They found 3 polyps, which are being tested. However, when he returned home, he became violently ill...throwing up everything! He finally went to the ER on the following Friday morning (November 14th) ...they found out thru a cat-scan that he had intestinal blockage...apparently the camera from the colonoscopy knocked loose some scar-tissue in his small intestine, and impacted it in there.
They could not perform surgery...he cannot go thru that again. They wanted to put a little tube down his nose, and into his intestine, to pump liquid out of there, and then gently force air in, acting as kind of a plunger, to wiggle the blockage loose.
Well, Dad was having no part of that...he was hoping it would pass on its own. So, he was in the hospital all weekend...(AND I WAS A FREAKING NERVOUS WRECK!)...
He finally came home the following Tuesday (the 18th)...and he has been able to pass enough of SOMETHING, to let them know that he is at least partially unblocked. He has also been able to eat without being ill...so that is a great thing.
I had made reservations for the family (14 of us)...at Dad's favorite steak house for his birthday (November 20th)...and we managed to keep that reservation...although Dad is still feeling kinda queasy.
Still, it was a great evening. =)
Oh yeah! I almost forgot! When I went to visit him in the hospital, I leaned over the bed when I left and gave him a hug and said, "I love you, Dad." (Something we really do not do in our family...I dunno why...)
Anyway, he hugged me back and said, "I love you, too."
HOLY CRAP! Mom was shocked too! I have started telling my parents I love them since Dad almost died last year. It was awkward at first...but is now natural for my Mom and I. However, Dad has NEVER said it back to me! I almost fell over. =)
So, okay...that leads us up to the lay-offs at my job...Ameristar Casino.
I went in to work Friday nite (November 14th) after leaving the hospital, still floating on my "Dad loves me high", and was pulled in to the Food and Beverage Director's office, to be told that Ameristar was undergoing some major cutbacks, and over 200 employees were being laid off.
Well, since *I* was one of the "low men on the totem pole", I was slated to "go". However, my department heads, and those in management in the other venues in which I had been picking up shifts, all thought highly enough of me and my skills, that they lobbied to save my hide.
JEEPERS! How close the guillotine was to my neck!
That was a harrowing experience in the "Principal's office"...I had just gotten to work, was all glittered-up and ready to rock, when I was suddenly looking down the barrel of the gun...and I was all like, "Don't you dare make me cry...my Daddy is in the hospital...I am THISCLOSE to coming unglued...and it took too damn long to do my make-up!"
So...I continue to suck-up, kiss-ass, and work like a fiend these days...I KNOW how easily the winds can shift...and I am not about to get caught in the tempest again...if I can help it.
On the homefront...
The pups and kitties are perfect-in-every-way...and the absolute loves of my life! :o} ...
Skittle had to have a minor surgery on her neck, to remove a small lump...which was sent out to be tested, and came back "clean"...*whew!* ...That made me nuts, though...like all things...lol... ;)
And...I remain ever-vigilant in my litter-box-patrol...ughhh...
I have not had a whole lotta' time to write much lately...nor even the inclination...(odd for me, 'eh?)
Just been in a busy spiral...and the weather turning so blah has me rather in a funk, I suppose...I dunno.
Also, so much has been going on, that it is rather overwhelming...so I will just give you the Reader's Digest version... (Although, you should know by now, that even my abridged version still manages to ramble incessantly here and there! ;) ...
My parent's 50th Anniversary party was PHENOMENAL!!! It went off without a hitch, was a huge evening, and completely perfect in every way...OMG...it was fabulous...great memories.
Everyone attended...100 people...Boomer acted as DJ (I burned awesome CDs for the evening)...had 14 large posters erected about the room, on which I had arranged old pics... they turned out beautifully. The cake was gorgeous...the room was too...and it was just such a great time. I wish we could do that every month! (Could not afford it, though...it cost a bloody fortune!)
Of course, I am a technological idiot, and have to get Boomer to load the pix onto the computer for me...and the pix from my Mom's 50th HS reunion, as well. And, yes...I DID wear the same dress to both events...*GASP!* :O
...I know...totally unheard of from me...however, I only got about 2 or 3 hours of preening out of that dress at her reunion, and it was just too awesome of a party dress not to wear again.
Plus, when I heard from Mom how much Dad liked the dress, and that he actually was telling people how pretty it was (SHOCKING!!!)...then I had to wear it again. My Dad does not dole out the compliments haphazardly, lemme' tell 'ya!
So...pix coming soon...I hope!
Another great moment that night was when my Mom's sister (Aunt Kim) from Atlanta made a surprise appearance...my sister and I were the only ones who knew she was coming...Mom was THRILLED!
And, the big moment was when I managed to get MY OLDER BROTHER TO SHOW UP!
Yes, that's right...not my older brother "Bo", but my older brother "Tommy"...whom I have NEVER MET.
My dad was married twice before Mom. (Busy man...since he was only 24 when he married Mom.)
The first marriage lasted about 1 year...and the second about 4 months.
The first was to a lady named Joanne...whom he met thru his sister (they were best friends...went to school together.) Dad went to her prom with her...married her, and had a child..."Thomas Smith, III" ...my dad is a "Junior".
Anyway...they divorced shortly thereafter...he joined the Navy...and she remarried rather quickly. My Dad was dirt poor, and an agreement was struck between all parties involved for my dad to sign adoption papers to have her new husband legally adopt Tommy.
Tommy came back into our life when he was 16, and I was about 4. (He is about 5 years older than my brother, Bo.) Tommy stayed around for about 2 or 3 years...working for my Dad at his tool-and-die/engineering business. (Dad taught him the trade...and he is still in the business today.)
They had some type of falling-out at that point, and "that" was apparently "that". Dad is a major "grudge-holder", and he really does not know how to set things "right" which have gone askew...so decades went by, and Tommy was just "gone".
Dad saw Tommy twice since 1974...once at the race track when we were racing in the 80s, and another time at the casino about 5 years ago...but it was always a big "thing" each time my Mom and Dad saw Tommy...a very GOOD thing...which is why I wondered at the fact that it was never pursued...hmmm...
Joanne (his mother) is still Dad's sister's best friend...and Joanne is even a patient of my sister's. (Toni is a chiropractor.)
So, my mom and I discussed inviting Tommy to the party...Mom is totally good with all of it. I had my sister get me his phone number from Joanne...and when I called him up, I said, "Hello, is this Tom?...This is your baby sister!"
He WAS shocked, I've got to say...LOL. We had a great conversation...for about an hour...and I had to convince him how much we all wanted him to come. (A total surprise for Dad.)
It was not easy to accomplish, but he DID show up...with his wife. Dad was SPEECHLESS...then he gave him a hug and started crying...then *I* started crying!
I cannot believe we all let so many decades go by without fixing that situation! I chalk it up to MY own naivety...but once I finally grew up and thought about it, I am saddened and ashamed that so many years have been lost.
I was amazing to see Tommy...he looks SO much like the "Smiths"! While it is clear that Bo, Toni, and I all completely favor my mom's side...the Native American side of the family. However, there are slight family resemblances between Tommy and the rest of us. (Tommy looks a lot like Dad...it was weird to see.)
We DID get a family photo with all of us in it. When I told Dad that we all needed to line up for a family pix (and I had already included Tommy), Dad looked at me and said, "Tommy too." I assured him that he would definitely be in it.
My poor dad, I know he has so many regrets...and my heart breaks for both of them, that so much time has been wasted. I plan to try and include Tommy in our lives from now on, in whatever way I can...(and, hopefully, he will be amenable to the situation)...he is really a nice, quiet, shy man...NOTHING like the rest of us boisterous idiots! LOL... ;)
(BTW...the party lasted until 11:30pm...and then my parents and I went to the casino! They stayed until 3am...Dad plays craps...is a whiz at it!...and Mom is totally lucky on the slots. I left after about 20 minutes of just hanging out with them...and later found out that they won over $1000 between the two of them! I was POOPED! I have no idea how they go-go-go like that...LOL. Mom is 68 and Dad is 74! ...Well, Dad just turned 74 on November 20th. =)
Okay, so THEN, the day after the party, November 10th...Dad had to do a "cleanse", because he had to go into the hospital for a colonoscopy on Wednesday. (His yearly exam, since he had colon cancer and almost died last January.)
They found 3 polyps, which are being tested. However, when he returned home, he became violently ill...throwing up everything! He finally went to the ER on the following Friday morning (November 14th) ...they found out thru a cat-scan that he had intestinal blockage...apparently the camera from the colonoscopy knocked loose some scar-tissue in his small intestine, and impacted it in there.
They could not perform surgery...he cannot go thru that again. They wanted to put a little tube down his nose, and into his intestine, to pump liquid out of there, and then gently force air in, acting as kind of a plunger, to wiggle the blockage loose.
Well, Dad was having no part of that...he was hoping it would pass on its own. So, he was in the hospital all weekend...(AND I WAS A FREAKING NERVOUS WRECK!)...
He finally came home the following Tuesday (the 18th)...and he has been able to pass enough of SOMETHING, to let them know that he is at least partially unblocked. He has also been able to eat without being ill...so that is a great thing.
I had made reservations for the family (14 of us)...at Dad's favorite steak house for his birthday (November 20th)...and we managed to keep that reservation...although Dad is still feeling kinda queasy.
Still, it was a great evening. =)
Oh yeah! I almost forgot! When I went to visit him in the hospital, I leaned over the bed when I left and gave him a hug and said, "I love you, Dad." (Something we really do not do in our family...I dunno why...)
Anyway, he hugged me back and said, "I love you, too."
HOLY CRAP! Mom was shocked too! I have started telling my parents I love them since Dad almost died last year. It was awkward at first...but is now natural for my Mom and I. However, Dad has NEVER said it back to me! I almost fell over. =)
So, okay...that leads us up to the lay-offs at my job...Ameristar Casino.
I went in to work Friday nite (November 14th) after leaving the hospital, still floating on my "Dad loves me high", and was pulled in to the Food and Beverage Director's office, to be told that Ameristar was undergoing some major cutbacks, and over 200 employees were being laid off.
Well, since *I* was one of the "low men on the totem pole", I was slated to "go". However, my department heads, and those in management in the other venues in which I had been picking up shifts, all thought highly enough of me and my skills, that they lobbied to save my hide.
JEEPERS! How close the guillotine was to my neck!
That was a harrowing experience in the "Principal's office"...I had just gotten to work, was all glittered-up and ready to rock, when I was suddenly looking down the barrel of the gun...and I was all like, "Don't you dare make me cry...my Daddy is in the hospital...I am THISCLOSE to coming unglued...and it took too damn long to do my make-up!"
So...I continue to suck-up, kiss-ass, and work like a fiend these days...I KNOW how easily the winds can shift...and I am not about to get caught in the tempest again...if I can help it.
On the homefront...
The pups and kitties are perfect-in-every-way...and the absolute loves of my life! :o} ...
Skittle had to have a minor surgery on her neck, to remove a small lump...which was sent out to be tested, and came back "clean"...*whew!* ...That made me nuts, though...like all things...lol... ;)
And...I remain ever-vigilant in my litter-box-patrol...ughhh...
.
We have been hella-slammed at work lately..."Hell Month"...the month of holidays...which is exhausting...but killer cash...and a major rush, as well. (Reminds me why I got into this crappy business...LOL ;)
My good friend Lisa got married last week...she is Jewish...he is not...and it was a gorgeous ceremony...plenty of pomp-and-circumstance. A totally cool, long-haired, hippie-type Rabbi...funny and insightful...plus a Deacon, performed the ceremony. Her Rabbi was so good that I joked to Boom, that *if* he and I ever actually get married, that we should use HIM!
It was actually the first wedding that I had ever attended as a "guest'...I have been a bride's-maid and maid-of-honor too many times to count...and I thanked my lucky stars that Lisa and I reconnected in the friendship from our youth, only AFTER she had already made her wedding preparations...woo-hoo! LOL...
And, it was also the first wedding at which the minister had actually "moved" me with his words...(including MY OWN wedding...LOL)...and it was by the Rabbi! ...Who knew...??? =)
Last week I went to luncheon with my mom, sister, and all of the ladies which my mom used to "run around with" when she was in high school...50 years ago.
And, I use the term "run around with", because THAT is what "they" all say...apparently that was "the phrase" back-in-the-day...(who knew?... ;)
Anyway...there were about 5 other ladies there, and a couple husbands, as well as another daughter...and it was ENLIGHTENING, to be sure!...OMG!
My mom had not kept in-touch with any of her cohorts over the past 50 years...(Dad effectively squelched THAT...no-way/no-how was SHE "allowed" to have those kinds of freedoms... =( ...
However, when we all attended her 50th High School reunion in October, it rather lit the match which fired them all to reconnect...which was a very cool thing.
And, apparently, I learned at this little tete-a-tete, that my mommy was the RING-LEADER of this particular bunch of Catholic school rabble-rousers from the '50s! And there were pictures to prove it!
Holy crap! My mom was hot! ...and funny, bright, enchanting...and wonderful. I wish I would have known her then...known the type of girl she was before she met my dad and she lost herself...before he broke her spirit, her will, her "self".
Now...my dad is a wonderful man...I love him dearly...but that was the 1950s...and men treated women differently back then...there were not a whole lot of avenues open to women (as far as careers went...or their futures.)
So...that was that...Mom conformed to the vision which Dad had for her...was basically "assimilated"...and she completely lost her sense of self. That is why it is rather surprising when I catch a glimpse of the girl she used to be (back in the day...when she used to "run around") ...and wonder over the woman she was SUPPOSED to have become.
Still, she is totally AMAZING, and I am in awe over the things both she and my father have gone thru over the course of their 50 years together.
It was SO BIZARRE to walk into that luncheon, and see a "sea" of fluffy, white-haired "old" ladies...and then there was my mom...tons of hair--as black as pitch...and with her body tone and fit...and skinny as hell...from a lifetime of softball, bowling, yard-work, and work on the farm.
She SO did not fit in with that table of ladies! LOL...She looked AMAZING!...I hope I have inherited her good genes...yikes!
Mom wants me to host a dinner party for her long-lost friends (and their spouses) at my house between Christmas and New Year's...should be interesting...one more thing to plan for. At least the house should be all spic-and-span, and all a-glitter with Christmas trappings...there is that.
Now, on to the "Main Event"!... LOL... ;) ...
The Bartender's Ball was this past Monday...December 1st...(always the first Monday in December.)
This year I was once again on the quest to out-do myself and my gown from the previous years...a nerve-wracking quest...but I am such a "prom queen dork" that I get totally swept away in all the preparations...what can I say? I LOVE IT! =)
There has been a gown that I have ALWAYS coveted...and really did not think that there would be anyway on God's-Green-Earth that I could ever actually HAVE...
But wait...stop the presses!...Where there is a "will", there is a "way"! ... (Major "light-bulb moment! ;)...
The lady who made my wedding gown, altered my Wonder Woman* outfit, created numerous Halloween costumes, and has sewn oodles of amazing things for me...as well as my family and friends for YEARS...came to my rescue.
"Yes, Virginia...there IS a Santa Claus!" ;)...or rather...
..."Yes, little Snowy*...Virginia IS Santa Claus!"...or rather, my Fairy Godmother ...LOL... =)
'Ya see..."Virginia" is the name of my seamstress...and she is PHENOMENAL!!!...OMG.
So...I had ALWAYS totally drooled over the RED BALL GOWN from "PRETTY WOMAN"...you know...that amazing red gown which Julia's character wore to the opera?...Yeah...THAT one. ;)
Well...I conducted diligent research on the Internet about that gown...and...NOTHING!...There are no patterns...no dresses...no clues...nothing. There ARE a lot of chat-rooms and forums discussing the topic of that gown...and many people wanting one...or wanting to know how to make one like it...but no clues and no answers.
So, I bought the DVD, went to Virginia's house (60 miles away), and we studied that scene over and over again...
To put it briefly...the fabric was impossible to find...but we did...the perfect color red...and pristine quality silk and sheer.
...we had to dig thru zillions of Virginia's old patterns to come up with pieces and parts of the dress that we could alter enough to contrive to work together (sleeves, bodice, skirt, shawl, etc., etc...)...and we managed.
I bought an obscenely expensive long-lined bra from Victoria's Secret...which we then had to partially deconstruct...to then rebuild to fit our specs...and hide within the bodice...an engineering feat of massive proportions! (Uh...the "engineering feat" was of "mass proportions"...NOT my boobs!...LOL ;)
I logged zillions of hours on the road to Virginia's house...just about every damn day for 2 weeks...because she and I only had so many hours each day available to work on it. (Thank God gas prices were down to the miraculous low of $1.49/gal! That $4.00/gal crap would have been disastrous.)
We continually replayed that scene of the movie...getting the dress PERFECT...and then I spent days on eBay searching for the perfect jewelry...shoes...red pantyhose...purse...high-quality opera gloves (totally different than regular 'ole, run-of-the-mill "stripper gloves", lemme' tell 'ya!...LOL ;)...
THEN, I agonized during the wait to actually RECEIVE the items in the mail...since the jewelry was all from different sellers in China...Hong Kong and Beijing...the shoes from London...the purse from Australia...
Man-oh-man, did I sweat those shipping dates...but, in the end...it all arrived safe and sound...*Whew!*
I bought a killer red Jerry Garcia tie for Boom...Virginia made him a matching pocket-square from my dress fabric...and he looked smashing in his suit! (I joked with Virginia that it took us weeks to get that damn dress made, and about 90 seconds to whip-out his pocket-square! LMAO)
I also had purchased a copy of that DVD for my hair dresser...(I know, I know...my insanity knows no bounds...I have WAY too much time on my hands!...Well...not really...I just eliminated sleep from my schedule for a while there...Hey, I have my priorities! ;)
Anyway...my poor hair dresser had to study that scene as well...I then came armed-and-ready to my appointment yesterday (after my pedicure and facial)...with 2 cans of the best freaking hair spray on the planet (which is now discontinued, much to my consternation...however, I have a veritable stockpile squirreled-away in my closet...God, I LOVE eBay! ;)...
Plus, I had purchased 2 large decorative hair combs, bejeweled with Swarovski crystals, for her to insert in the back of my French Twist...and it turned out totally killer...(although, on the drive back home, and then to the Ball, I had to hold onto those combs...every bounce of the car made them try to wiggle out just a bit.)
So...after weeks of tread-milling, rowing, sit-ups, free-weights, and Pilate's...plus several trips to the tanning salon (just to get that ghastly white glow off of my hide!)...I then primped, prepped, exfoliated, shaved, slathered, lathered, spritzed, spackled, troweled, finely-tuned, exactingly executed, and then shimmied my ass into that gown...which Boomer then had to zip and hook, (a zillion hooks on the back of that bra alone!)...until I was all trussed-up like a Christmas present!
(Lordy...now I see why it took a freaking FLEET of Ladies-in-Waiting to dress those broads in the old days...Cripes!...I could have used a few of those myself! As it was, I pretty much DID have my own "team" at my beck-and-call there for a few days.)
Oh...and...LMAO!...did I mention that we had to use industrial-strength, super-sticky velco pieces to stick to my upper arm, and then to the insides of the sleeves of the dress, to have the sleeves stay up "just so"...?!?!
LOL...no kidding...and I had back-up little squares of the stuff pre-cut and tucked-away in my evening purse, just in case I had to make repairs...which Boom only had to help me with once...Hee-hee... ;)
SO!...That leads us to THE BALL!!!...The BIG NITE! This is the night I wait an entire year for...and make plans for months every year! God...I love it. =) (I am SUCH a dork. ;)
Anyway...getting into and out of his very-high-off-the-ground truck was laughable...uh...quite the OPPOSITE of "lady-like", if you will. (Envision Boom hoisting my silk-swathed ass up into the truck like a beached whale...lol...there was not a whole lotta' manuevering room in that tight-ass dress...and definitely no way to step my leg up into the truck, or even bend at the waist to sit properly...I was desperately trying not to wrinkle! ;)
It is also the freaking most bitterly cold night of the year every year when the ball is held...amazing how it works out that way...and this year certainly did not disappoint... *Brrrr!*
It was held at the "Hyatt Regency" this year in downtown St. Louis. (Rather apropos...since the hotel in which the characters from Pretty Woman were staying was the "Regent Beverly Wilshire"...well, it's KINDA "close"...)
And...OMG...what a FABULOUS night!!! From the moment we entered the Ball, people were commenting on my dress. (And, I am sorry...but this kinda stuff is what I "live" for at times, okay? So, cut me some slack here...;)
So...yeah...it was amazing...I loved when total strangers would walk up to me and say, "Ohmigod! You look JUST LIKE her!" ...and then snap my picture... lol ... :O
Okay...yeah...I know...I am NOWHERE NEAR Julia Roberts' caliber...believe me...I am aware of my short-comings. However...Virginia did such a spectacular job with the gown...and I also think that people were sufficiently blinded by all that red lipstick to give off a reasonable illusion...and that is all I can ask for...
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
Besides...I FELT like Pretty Woman...if only for 5 hours...and it was FABULOUS.
(No more hooking on Hollywood Boulevard for me, baby! ...LOL! ;)
It is also tradition for Boom and I to listen to the Christmas stations on the way to and from the Ball (like that is all I listen to from Halloween till New Year's, anyway)...and on the way home I am always sufficiently giddy on glass after glass of champagne (my drink of choice), that I am bubbly-Christmas-caroler-girl!
Oy-vey...Lol...
"Hark!...The Herald Angels Sing!"... =)
I slept way too late today...totally missed my vet appointment to have 3 of the cats groomed (shorne-down), and get their shots this morning...YIKES! Ugh...how much of a moron am I, that I made that 7am appointment for the morning AFTER the Ball???
Yee-Gads, were they ever peeved up at the vet's office...however, I DID manage to reschedule that for next week. (Like you were worried, huh?)
I still have to wade-thru and clean up the fall-out created by my process of getting ready FOR the Ball...as well as the rubble which lies in the wake of getting undressed AFTER the Ball...
(Another tradition of mine...whenever I have a big event to attend...there is always crap strewn hither-and-yon about me.)
The center-pieces which I snaked off of a couple Ballroom tables (tradition again...hee-hee)... are still scattered about on the backseat of Boom's truck...glittery flowers, berries, and glass bowls littering the back of his very masculine truck...LMAO...
And the master-bath and closet look as if a bomb of red silk, pantyhose, white satin gloves, and glittery red heart jewels has exploded in there...plus, it took me FOREVER (hindered just a tad by my slightly inebriated state) to fish about 50 little black bobby pins out of that curly rat's nest atop my head! Lol...
So, there is life in my fishbowl these days...now it is time to get the Christmas trappings dug out of the basement and start it all over again! ... (Boom already has the lights up on the house. =)
God, I love the Christmas season! :o}
XOXO...
We have been hella-slammed at work lately..."Hell Month"...the month of holidays...which is exhausting...but killer cash...and a major rush, as well. (Reminds me why I got into this crappy business...LOL ;)
My good friend Lisa got married last week...she is Jewish...he is not...and it was a gorgeous ceremony...plenty of pomp-and-circumstance. A totally cool, long-haired, hippie-type Rabbi...funny and insightful...plus a Deacon, performed the ceremony. Her Rabbi was so good that I joked to Boom, that *if* he and I ever actually get married, that we should use HIM!
It was actually the first wedding that I had ever attended as a "guest'...I have been a bride's-maid and maid-of-honor too many times to count...and I thanked my lucky stars that Lisa and I reconnected in the friendship from our youth, only AFTER she had already made her wedding preparations...woo-hoo! LOL...
And, it was also the first wedding at which the minister had actually "moved" me with his words...(including MY OWN wedding...LOL)...and it was by the Rabbi! ...Who knew...??? =)
Last week I went to luncheon with my mom, sister, and all of the ladies which my mom used to "run around with" when she was in high school...50 years ago.
And, I use the term "run around with", because THAT is what "they" all say...apparently that was "the phrase" back-in-the-day...(who knew?... ;)
Anyway...there were about 5 other ladies there, and a couple husbands, as well as another daughter...and it was ENLIGHTENING, to be sure!...OMG!
My mom had not kept in-touch with any of her cohorts over the past 50 years...(Dad effectively squelched THAT...no-way/no-how was SHE "allowed" to have those kinds of freedoms... =( ...
However, when we all attended her 50th High School reunion in October, it rather lit the match which fired them all to reconnect...which was a very cool thing.
And, apparently, I learned at this little tete-a-tete, that my mommy was the RING-LEADER of this particular bunch of Catholic school rabble-rousers from the '50s! And there were pictures to prove it!
Holy crap! My mom was hot! ...and funny, bright, enchanting...and wonderful. I wish I would have known her then...known the type of girl she was before she met my dad and she lost herself...before he broke her spirit, her will, her "self".
Now...my dad is a wonderful man...I love him dearly...but that was the 1950s...and men treated women differently back then...there were not a whole lot of avenues open to women (as far as careers went...or their futures.)
So...that was that...Mom conformed to the vision which Dad had for her...was basically "assimilated"...and she completely lost her sense of self. That is why it is rather surprising when I catch a glimpse of the girl she used to be (back in the day...when she used to "run around") ...and wonder over the woman she was SUPPOSED to have become.
Still, she is totally AMAZING, and I am in awe over the things both she and my father have gone thru over the course of their 50 years together.
It was SO BIZARRE to walk into that luncheon, and see a "sea" of fluffy, white-haired "old" ladies...and then there was my mom...tons of hair--as black as pitch...and with her body tone and fit...and skinny as hell...from a lifetime of softball, bowling, yard-work, and work on the farm.
She SO did not fit in with that table of ladies! LOL...She looked AMAZING!...I hope I have inherited her good genes...yikes!
Mom wants me to host a dinner party for her long-lost friends (and their spouses) at my house between Christmas and New Year's...should be interesting...one more thing to plan for. At least the house should be all spic-and-span, and all a-glitter with Christmas trappings...there is that.
Now, on to the "Main Event"!... LOL... ;) ...
The Bartender's Ball was this past Monday...December 1st...(always the first Monday in December.)
This year I was once again on the quest to out-do myself and my gown from the previous years...a nerve-wracking quest...but I am such a "prom queen dork" that I get totally swept away in all the preparations...what can I say? I LOVE IT! =)
There has been a gown that I have ALWAYS coveted...and really did not think that there would be anyway on God's-Green-Earth that I could ever actually HAVE...
But wait...stop the presses!...Where there is a "will", there is a "way"! ... (Major "light-bulb moment! ;)...
The lady who made my wedding gown, altered my Wonder Woman* outfit, created numerous Halloween costumes, and has sewn oodles of amazing things for me...as well as my family and friends for YEARS...came to my rescue.
"Yes, Virginia...there IS a Santa Claus!" ;)...or rather...
..."Yes, little Snowy*...Virginia IS Santa Claus!"...or rather, my Fairy Godmother ...LOL... =)
'Ya see..."Virginia" is the name of my seamstress...and she is PHENOMENAL!!!...OMG.
So...I had ALWAYS totally drooled over the RED BALL GOWN from "PRETTY WOMAN"...you know...that amazing red gown which Julia's character wore to the opera?...Yeah...THAT one. ;)
Well...I conducted diligent research on the Internet about that gown...and...NOTHING!...There are no patterns...no dresses...no clues...nothing. There ARE a lot of chat-rooms and forums discussing the topic of that gown...and many people wanting one...or wanting to know how to make one like it...but no clues and no answers.
So, I bought the DVD, went to Virginia's house (60 miles away), and we studied that scene over and over again...
To put it briefly...the fabric was impossible to find...but we did...the perfect color red...and pristine quality silk and sheer.
...we had to dig thru zillions of Virginia's old patterns to come up with pieces and parts of the dress that we could alter enough to contrive to work together (sleeves, bodice, skirt, shawl, etc., etc...)...and we managed.
I bought an obscenely expensive long-lined bra from Victoria's Secret...which we then had to partially deconstruct...to then rebuild to fit our specs...and hide within the bodice...an engineering feat of massive proportions! (Uh...the "engineering feat" was of "mass proportions"...NOT my boobs!...LOL ;)
I logged zillions of hours on the road to Virginia's house...just about every damn day for 2 weeks...because she and I only had so many hours each day available to work on it. (Thank God gas prices were down to the miraculous low of $1.49/gal! That $4.00/gal crap would have been disastrous.)
We continually replayed that scene of the movie...getting the dress PERFECT...and then I spent days on eBay searching for the perfect jewelry...shoes...red pantyhose...purse...high-quality opera gloves (totally different than regular 'ole, run-of-the-mill "stripper gloves", lemme' tell 'ya!...LOL ;)...
THEN, I agonized during the wait to actually RECEIVE the items in the mail...since the jewelry was all from different sellers in China...Hong Kong and Beijing...the shoes from London...the purse from Australia...
Man-oh-man, did I sweat those shipping dates...but, in the end...it all arrived safe and sound...*Whew!*
I bought a killer red Jerry Garcia tie for Boom...Virginia made him a matching pocket-square from my dress fabric...and he looked smashing in his suit! (I joked with Virginia that it took us weeks to get that damn dress made, and about 90 seconds to whip-out his pocket-square! LMAO)
I also had purchased a copy of that DVD for my hair dresser...(I know, I know...my insanity knows no bounds...I have WAY too much time on my hands!...Well...not really...I just eliminated sleep from my schedule for a while there...Hey, I have my priorities! ;)
Anyway...my poor hair dresser had to study that scene as well...I then came armed-and-ready to my appointment yesterday (after my pedicure and facial)...with 2 cans of the best freaking hair spray on the planet (which is now discontinued, much to my consternation...however, I have a veritable stockpile squirreled-away in my closet...God, I LOVE eBay! ;)...
Plus, I had purchased 2 large decorative hair combs, bejeweled with Swarovski crystals, for her to insert in the back of my French Twist...and it turned out totally killer...(although, on the drive back home, and then to the Ball, I had to hold onto those combs...every bounce of the car made them try to wiggle out just a bit.)
So...after weeks of tread-milling, rowing, sit-ups, free-weights, and Pilate's...plus several trips to the tanning salon (just to get that ghastly white glow off of my hide!)...I then primped, prepped, exfoliated, shaved, slathered, lathered, spritzed, spackled, troweled, finely-tuned, exactingly executed, and then shimmied my ass into that gown...which Boomer then had to zip and hook, (a zillion hooks on the back of that bra alone!)...until I was all trussed-up like a Christmas present!
(Lordy...now I see why it took a freaking FLEET of Ladies-in-Waiting to dress those broads in the old days...Cripes!...I could have used a few of those myself! As it was, I pretty much DID have my own "team" at my beck-and-call there for a few days.)
Oh...and...LMAO!...did I mention that we had to use industrial-strength, super-sticky velco pieces to stick to my upper arm, and then to the insides of the sleeves of the dress, to have the sleeves stay up "just so"...?!?!
LOL...no kidding...and I had back-up little squares of the stuff pre-cut and tucked-away in my evening purse, just in case I had to make repairs...which Boom only had to help me with once...Hee-hee... ;)
SO!...That leads us to THE BALL!!!...The BIG NITE! This is the night I wait an entire year for...and make plans for months every year! God...I love it. =) (I am SUCH a dork. ;)
Anyway...getting into and out of his very-high-off-the-ground truck was laughable...uh...quite the OPPOSITE of "lady-like", if you will. (Envision Boom hoisting my silk-swathed ass up into the truck like a beached whale...lol...there was not a whole lotta' manuevering room in that tight-ass dress...and definitely no way to step my leg up into the truck, or even bend at the waist to sit properly...I was desperately trying not to wrinkle! ;)
It is also the freaking most bitterly cold night of the year every year when the ball is held...amazing how it works out that way...and this year certainly did not disappoint... *Brrrr!*
It was held at the "Hyatt Regency" this year in downtown St. Louis. (Rather apropos...since the hotel in which the characters from Pretty Woman were staying was the "Regent Beverly Wilshire"...well, it's KINDA "close"...)
And...OMG...what a FABULOUS night!!! From the moment we entered the Ball, people were commenting on my dress. (And, I am sorry...but this kinda stuff is what I "live" for at times, okay? So, cut me some slack here...;)
So...yeah...it was amazing...I loved when total strangers would walk up to me and say, "Ohmigod! You look JUST LIKE her!" ...and then snap my picture... lol ... :O
Okay...yeah...I know...I am NOWHERE NEAR Julia Roberts' caliber...believe me...I am aware of my short-comings. However...Virginia did such a spectacular job with the gown...and I also think that people were sufficiently blinded by all that red lipstick to give off a reasonable illusion...and that is all I can ask for...
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
Besides...I FELT like Pretty Woman...if only for 5 hours...and it was FABULOUS.
(No more hooking on Hollywood Boulevard for me, baby! ...LOL! ;)
It is also tradition for Boom and I to listen to the Christmas stations on the way to and from the Ball (like that is all I listen to from Halloween till New Year's, anyway)...and on the way home I am always sufficiently giddy on glass after glass of champagne (my drink of choice), that I am bubbly-Christmas-caroler-girl!
Oy-vey...Lol...
"Hark!...The Herald Angels Sing!"... =)
I slept way too late today...totally missed my vet appointment to have 3 of the cats groomed (shorne-down), and get their shots this morning...YIKES! Ugh...how much of a moron am I, that I made that 7am appointment for the morning AFTER the Ball???
Yee-Gads, were they ever peeved up at the vet's office...however, I DID manage to reschedule that for next week. (Like you were worried, huh?)
I still have to wade-thru and clean up the fall-out created by my process of getting ready FOR the Ball...as well as the rubble which lies in the wake of getting undressed AFTER the Ball...
(Another tradition of mine...whenever I have a big event to attend...there is always crap strewn hither-and-yon about me.)
The center-pieces which I snaked off of a couple Ballroom tables (tradition again...hee-hee)... are still scattered about on the backseat of Boom's truck...glittery flowers, berries, and glass bowls littering the back of his very masculine truck...LMAO...
And the master-bath and closet look as if a bomb of red silk, pantyhose, white satin gloves, and glittery red heart jewels has exploded in there...plus, it took me FOREVER (hindered just a tad by my slightly inebriated state) to fish about 50 little black bobby pins out of that curly rat's nest atop my head! Lol...
So, there is life in my fishbowl these days...now it is time to get the Christmas trappings dug out of the basement and start it all over again! ... (Boom already has the lights up on the house. =)
God, I love the Christmas season! :o}
XOXO...
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