A busy busy day.

Today was jampacked insane. It started when I had to be up way too early in order to see my parents off (they're headed back to the homeland), and just continued from there. I got my work out in (How pathetic is this: I had to Google "How to execute bicycle crunches".) and then sat around drinking coffee and working on my French paper until it was time to go to the movies. (Read: Sat around crushing on AJ Daulerio)

A note on the French Paper: I have hit the halfway mark (ten pages) and am beginning to think that this is actually the easiest paper I've ever written. I say this, not because the length isn't daunting, but because I don't have to do anything except recount my experiences.

So today we (me and the little brother) saw Cyrus. It was certainly one epic fuck ton of a lot better than The Last Airbender which I was forced to see yesterday (Brosephat had to write a review for his class). The odd thing about Cyrus though, was that it was all over the place. It went from being hilariously slap-stick funny (and witty!) to being kind of poignant and indie. And the cinematography was pseudo-documentary-ish.

We left the theatre shouting "We are so fucking scene."

After returning to the domicile, I set about planning my day. First, I painted my toe-nails a suitably summery color.Let me be the first to say (without being endorsed by Maybelline in any way, shape or form), that express finish in 50 seconds isn't kidding around. It rocked and was dry in no time at all. (In real life, though, it's more teal than blue.)

After that, I set out (between loads of laundry) to do a little light shopping: things bought today include two new beads for my Pandora bracelet (That shit is expensive, yo) and some things from Gap. For myself, a new office-appropriate skirt, a pair of jeans, and this adorable navy and white striped boat-neck shirt. Plus, I picked up a cardigan from the men's department for weekend knock-arounds. For my brother, (why yes, I do do my brother's back to school shopping for him...do you have a problem with that?) I found some polo shirts on clearance and a new hoodie.

...we'll make a fashion plate out of him yet.

Later: pulled pork, packing and a lady mag take-down.

Working it out.

Last night, for the first time in forever, I got my daily dose of cardio...indoors. Typically, I'm a walker; this, combined with working in a highly physical environment means that I almost never see the need to hit up the gym. But there's one in the building so I cleaned and strapped on my trusty gym shoes. And got in some elliptical action.

I'm not going to lie, working out at night was a little weird, and I'm not sure how to feel about pounding the low-impact pavement after eating a full meal. But I did my cardio and worked on my shoulders and arms and then went to bed, fully intending to get up and try a morning work out.

That didn't exactly happen. My shoulders were sore and I had a bunch of cleaning to do. So, taking a page from NPR, I decided to turn my cleaning into a workout. The story "Hotel Maids Challenge the Placebo Effect" tells the tale of two groups of maids -- one who was informed of their caloric output on any given shift, and one who wasn't. Surprisingly to researchers, the group that was told of their physical activity actually lost weight, had a drop in blood pressure, BMI and waist-to-hip ratio.

With that in mind, I hit the cleaning like I hit the elliptical last night. While not as taxing, I definitely felt like I was getting more exercise than I would just cleaning mindlessly. But all cleaning aside (still have laundry and a bathroom to do), I also set up my beautification station for all the pre-wedding prep you could ever want.That's right, Walgreen's sells 5-blade disposable razors - perfect for getting yourself swimsuit ready. Which is absolutely terrifying. Let me tell you: I prefer to keep it au natural downstairs (one part laziness, one part pathological fear of ingrowns, infection and hot dripping wax), but when you're headed out to be surrounded by a bunch of judgey people in swimsuits, its best to make some effort to keep up appearances. And if you're going to do it, you may as well practice a little blade overkill.

Anyways, so I'm currently in the process of beautifying my (terrifying) feet. This entails sanding them down with that there belt sander on a pink handle (oh so feminine), soaking them in a tub full of hot water and Old Spice body wash (because my brother is the man your man could smell like), slathering on that foot creme (guaranteed to hydrate your feet to a room temperature melting point), and putting on socks. The socks have been on for a few hours now...but they're going to have to come off when I bathe.

Yes, Ma, I already "fixed" my eyebrows, don't worry.

I will then paint my little tootsies a tasteful, yet sufficiently young, bronze-y neutral. I haven't yet decided if I'm going to actually paint my nails, or if I'd rather just use that fancy nail rubix cube to burnish them to a classy shine.

Either way, I'll keep you posted.

On cousins and packing for weddings and fun.

As I've mentioned before, this weekend we are headed to a wedding. It's going to be a little three day adventure filled with food, fun, family and (most hopefully) free booze. To say that I'm "pumped" is a bit of an understatement, so I started packing today -- a full two days before departure.

At right, you can see all of my clothes laid out on the (teeny, tiny twin) bed. There's my bathing suit (which will be paired with a pair of denim cut-off capris), a floaty top and denim pencil skirt (for Sunday brunch), my wedding/reception ensemble and a sundress/cardigan combo for a family barbeque/stand-up show/bar crawl on Friday.

The best part is that it all looks fabulous paired with that gray quilted leather bag at bottom right, and the brown/brass sandals at bottom left. (Actually, I'm really very lucky to have stumbled upon a few very classy/timeless/made-to-last pieces in my 21 years on this planet. It means that I always have a decent fall-back in the "looking good" department.)

But let's take a minute to talk about those beautiful shoes sitting front and cent in the bottom. Those, my internet friends, are Tod's and they are gorgeous. Let's get a close-up:They are navy blue patent t-strap sandals with a low-ish heel. (I'd guestimate about 3 inches.) The best part is, they were on clearance at Nordstrom's -- and I didn't pay for them. No, for that, we have AnonymousMama to thank: I am also going to be in a wedding come October and she didn't want me to break the bank purchasing shoes to match the bridesmaid dress. (I promise, my experiences as a bridesmaid will be covered extensively at a later date.)

The best part about the weekend ensemble? It all fits in a the Nordstrom's shopping bag I got when I purchased the shoes, except the dress (which will be hung in a garment bag in the car) and my various toiletries (which will be thrown, along with my computer and calendar, into a tote that I affectionately call "big brown").

In short, I'm really excited for this weekend, especially to hang out with my cousins. Which is funny, because when I was younger I did not relish the experience. It seemed awkward and forced to pretend to care about these people once a year -- these people who share a (dead) set of grandparents with me, but no common interests or experiences.

I gritted my teeth and prayed for a quick and merciful end to Thanksgiving, when we lived too far away to show up for Christmas, I silently rejoiced and when summer vacations meant forced "fun" by the pool, I silently begged for a reason to take the car and go have a cigarette.

And then something funny happened: we started being friends. It began with Facebook chat, graduated to texting and email and before you knew it, we (the "old" cousins) began making plans to see each other without the prompting of our parents.

There's just so much to talk about.

We can commiserate about the (rather archaic) rules about segregating sleeping arrangements, make fun of our more right-wing aunts and uncles, and enjoy the fact that we're old enough to drink and call a taxi. This also marks the first time that I won't be relying on my parents for transportation (or rather, be obligated to serve as their DD).

I'll be doing my own thing...and that hopefully includes drunk swimming.

Adult Milestone: Going to a wedding.

There are certain things that define being an adult: going to a wedding where you can make the best of the open bar is one of them. This is also a milestone because it will be the first time my boyfriend of more than three years is meeting (dunh dunh dunh) my father's side of the family. Why it has taken this long is a mystery to me, but it is going to happen this weekend and it feels like a big. fucking. deal.

Bring on the interrogation, skepticism and general tomfoolery!
You will respect my adult relationship, damnit!

Actually, that's probably not true at all: we will get interrogated, they will question us about our sex life, offer unsolicited advice and (more than likely) some level of criticism. But if all goes well, he won't dump me, and we'll both be invited back.

But on to the fun stuff!It's a summer wedding, and its expected to be hot-as-balls. At the same time, it could be cold inside where its air conditioned. So this here is a relative approximation of what I'll be wearing this weekend. To go underneath it, I have a very supportive strapless bra.

Should be a very interesting weekend.