So it turns out I "Exceed Expectations"

Well, I could have told you that! Just had my anal review (yes, spelled correctly. It's a funnier word than annual). So, my boss loves me and I'm awesome and all that, but seriously, if I want to do something more than be an "administrative assistant" forever, this probably isn't the place to do it. My boss offered a few opportunities for me to pursue here but is also encouraging me to "spread my wings" and all that because she wants me to be successful. Sounds great and everything and if I wasn't planning on leaving Portland in a year and half I'd probably start looking for other stuff now. Probably a project manager or program coordinator position at another non-profit. I've definitely decided (especially with crap economy) that I want to stay in non-profit. I hate money so much. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to have and all because it buys you stuff...like happiness, but overall, it makes you crazy. I'd rather feel like I'm contributing something. Plus, i don't want to have to wear suits. I hate the corporate look. But i wonder if that's going to limit me when i move. I'll have an awesome resume at that point but who knows what the job market will be like then. So, anyway, that's my day. I decided after being told what am an awesome employee I am that I should goof off and blog to you guys. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, do you?
So, in other news - Matt and I are meeting with the reception people this Friday after work. We're trying some wines that we selected and also some cake samples. They have this stuff called Beerimisu that sounds awesome (don't worry Strawberry, we'll get something else for Meggie). I think we may have decided to go with beer and wine only for the 3-hour open bar. With the exception of 2, maybe 3 people, I think everyone will be OK with beer or wine. I feel a little cheap doing it but Mommy said it was OK, so there :) If you guys have strong feelings the other way, let me know so we can maybe reconsider. Ummm...we're also starting to work on the playlist for our wedding. It's gonna be such an awesome soundtrack. I'm really glad we decided to do it that way. We're also going to be meeting the ceremony musicians soon to select music. I think I'll leave that final decision to Matt since the accordionist was his idea. I think that's the latest wedding stuff i have right now.
I really miss you guys and look forward, more and more, to moving back. Just keep thinking good thoughts that the economy will be back on track by then.
Oh yeah - and I think I'm going to be Mary Falls-Staley. Don't worry...the kids (if we have any) will be just Staley. I just couldn't get on board with losing the Falls in my name. Oh yeah - and I really think Matt believes that there is a wedding leprechaun to do all the planning and organizing. He really doesn't understand why I'm working on stuff now when the wedding isn't until August. I love him dearly but sometime he drives me nutso!

I'm back bitches!!!

Actually, it's convenient because I just finished an On Demand fitness cardio/sculpt workout and now I can't move. Seriously, my legs are like jelly - I'm about to make some toast. Wow, gross, huh? Anyway, I'm home celebrating our Presidents, past and present, except George Bush, and I'm taking advantage of the home computer. I'm really sorry I don't blog more, but I'm on the computer all day and when I get home it's the last thing I want to do. I'd blog at work, obviously I'm not one for a strong work ethic, but seriously, if i don't work at work, shit doesn't get done. It's pretty outta control lately but I like it. I'm good at what I do, and everything I do now, will make me that much more bankable when we move back east. I'm praying that our plan can still happen. Even if the economy's a little out of the crapper, I want to move. Right now I'll just focus on getting through the wedding and then I'll freak out about moving :) Speaking of wedding stuff, things are moving along. We have most everything under control. Chris, I think you're the only one who I didn't tell, but Sandra has offered us her house for a rehersal dinner the night before the wedding. That was the last thing I was stressin about...I was nervous you wouldn't all have been able to meet before the wedding but it looks like it'll work out. I think we found our wedding musicians so that's awesome. We'll only need them for an hour or so, so not too expensive. We'll get to work on our IPOD wedding playlist soon - we're probably gonna go a couple rounds on that one. Keep the suggestions coming if you have any more. I think that's mostly it for now. I'd say in another month, we'll ramping back up and I'll start being super anal again, preparing itineraries and whatnot. Matt thinks I'm nuts but if it was up to him we'd wait until July to do all this and then we'd break-up because that is just not possible.
Speaking of Matt - we had a nice week with his birthday and Valentine's Day. Went to a nice restaurant Friday night to celebrate both days. Funny thing - instead of flowers, he bought me a 12-pack of these 22oz new "hop harvest" beers that are delicious. And why you ask? Because hops are flowers. How sweet is that?? Needless to say we had a delicious seafood dinner Saturday accompanied with yummy, hoppy beer.
I guess that's about it. I've seen all the Best Picture nominees and cried at all but one of them. I hope The Reader wins. Mostly because of Kate Winslet's awesome rack. We're going to have an Oscar party here. People can vote on who they think will win each category. The person with the most will get some lame prize at the end of the night. Maybe a hug from me.
Ok -I'll sign off now - I'll try to do this more often...Love you gals. You're all awesome women.

3 years, almost to the day

So, it was 3 years ago today, and ironically enough during a snowstorm that Matt and I realized our undying love for each other. Ok, maybe not, but we sure we did make out a lot that night and decided it was enough to mark the beginning of the end and made it our anniversary. Our original plan was to go to our favorite burger place but it's across town so we decided it wouldn't be a good idea with the weather. Instead we are going to a fancy schmancy Indian restaurant down the street. We've been looking for an opportunity to go, so it works out nicely. We can also get a little schnockered on vino without having to worry about driving home.
In other news, I've been checking the weather for Portland, Chicago and Philly like once an hour, making myself even more paranoid that one of our flights will be delayed or cancelled and I will spend the holidays depressed and in a gross airport. Matt is being very pragmatic about whole thing and keeps saying, "If that happens, there's nothing we can do about it. Don't worry so much." Bastard. How can he be so calm when the higher powers of the universe are shitting ice, snow and rain all over the places I'm supposed to be traveling??!?!?

It's gonna be an arctic blast, man!

So, yeah. We've been hearing it...Portland is full of a bunch of pussies that can't handle 2" of snow. Normally, I'd agree but in this case let me tell you something, world. (1)I saw a kid (a neighbor) take a spill yesterday that landed him on his head, knocked him out cold and essentially stopped traffic for about 5 minutes. Then, just today, I found out that this guy I work with also fell and broke his goddamn neck. He's alive but having surgery as I write this. Because it doesn't happen very often, Portland isn't equipped to handle all the mess/cleanup, hence the city "shutting down."
It all started on Sunday. The weather was in the 20s and it was snowing when we arose around 9:30. We thought it'd be fun to go for a walk to the grocery store, approximately 1 mile from our apartment. The best intentions, eh? It was messy outside but we got the stuff we needed including the rather large bottle of wine that I knew would carry be through the night as well the now Sci-fi classic, Sharks in Venice. Matt made a delicious butternut squash soup for dinner. When the movie was over and the wine gone, I somehow agreed with Matt when he suggested that a walk around the block was a good idea. Have I mentioned it was midnight? The snow had stopped but the temperature had dropped into the teens and the ice was gleaming at us in such a way, that we were all but promised a stumble or 2. The 2 stumbles came easily, though we managed to avoid any downfalls. And I was really counting on a Darwin award too:( Once we finished the beer we brought along for the walk, we were back at the apartment. A gentle slumber awaited me then...
Monday was a snow day for me and by the grace of God herself, did not see fit to bestow a hangover on me. Matt was not so lucky and by noon and 2 bus rides later did he make it to his vile place of employment to sit on his ass all day, for all other reasonable minded businesses were closed. Fuckers. We both made it in today albeit a little late. Waiting for the bus was pretty cold but the lovely sun so rarely seen during Portland winters was out in full force and kept the fierce chill at bay.
My boss decided to have a little party at her house today for our "Policy Team" and it included pizza, salad, soup and a variety of desserts I was sure were made by Satan himself (seriously...Andes candies chocolate cookies?!??!?!). So, an easy workday to be sure and I'm watching the news right now to see if I will have off tomorrow as they are calling for another storm.
Tonight we're off to a Christmas party and I'm a little anxious. We haven't tried to get out of the driveway yet so wish us luck. The main roads don't seem bad the side streets are in bad shape.
I can't believe that I'm leaving sunny, freezing Portland for rainy, warmer Philadelphia. There's something strange about that. Hopefully, all will go well with our travels on Saturday. We'll be flying between storms. It's pretty cold in Chicago right now, but for them I think it's mild. It'll be interesting hanging with Matt's family. I'm sure you've noticed he'd not the chattiest of fellas and I'm counting on his sisters to stave off the awkward silences that came so easily with his dad and stepmom.
I guess that's it. I love you all and can't wait to see 2 of the 3 of you next week and Chrissy, I'll be seeing you and Little Mattie soon enough.
Here it is...your moment of Zen.
Big Matt said something funny last night. Since we call Pat's dad Big Pat, does that mean Terry's Pat is little Pat? And if so, had you had a boy, would he have been Tiny Pat?

Cheers

Matt and I googled mucus plugs this morning

And we saw pictures. Matt ran out of the room screaming something about nightmares for the rest of his life. Anyway, I'm blogging. Yay!!!! I thought it was time and I've just had 2 cups of coffee so get ready for an explosion of random thought fragments from my brain. So, first things first. The house is pretty much ours for the taking. Matt and I are going to take a look at it maybe today. One small hiccup is that it's a little further than I originally thought. About 25 minutes. So, some pros and cons are: (Pros)Cheap, beautiful, big enough for all to sleep comfortably (including me). (Cons)Distance. So, here's how I'm thinking about it. I could keep looking to see if I can find something closer OR we can look at the distance issue as something we're not going to have to worry about too much since we probably won't be driving a lot except the day of the wedding and occasional trips to town. I'm sure I can find some bars in that area for the bachelorette party, as well as a grocery store close by. So, i guess, let me know what you think. I'll look at it, regardless, but want to know how you gays feel about the distance.
Ok, on to less boring topics. We got our officiant. She's an actual minister(not like Pat or me) and she's been doing weddings long enough to have a portfolio and seems very knowledgable. Her name is Rev. Leah Light (not kidding but it's "pen" name). Daddy's first words were, "A woman? Really?" It's why I love him. So, she's going to send us a script based on what we told her we wanted. Also, we're not doing a rehearsal. What'll happen is that we'll all get there (I'm thinking the guys can drive seperately with the babies(?)) and someone will escort Mom down the aisle, then the 3 of you will walk down and then Daddy and I after that. Not really to warrant a rehearsal. No partners for you or anything, either. In fact, Matt and I will be the only ones recessing at the end of the ceremony. You all can just find your beaus and kids and we'll do pictures, immediately aftewards. We'll meet and greet people at the reception. Also, Sandra offered to put together the bouquets. I know that probably sounds weird to you guys but I'd rather spend a lot of money on food and booze than flowers. I'll have a florist do my bouquet (but only because i need the professional flower for my hairdo) but otherwise, I'll leave the arranging of the flowers to Sandra and Carrie and we'll get them when we show up at the Gardens. Don't worry, I'll have the whole itinerary down :) So, I was thinking about something for wedding that's a little out of the ordinary (ordinary for the Falls family, not for other weddings I've been to). I was thinking about asking each of you do give a speech. Obviously, this is all optional, but I wanted to throw it out there. I was also going to see if mommy wanted to (probably not but just an idea). I'd like to have a larger portion of the reception devoted to the people closest to us, giving toasts. Again, don't feel obligated but I wanted to throw it out there. Ok, there's more but my coffee just kicked in so I gotta go. Look forward to the litany of comments to come.

Music

Hi ladies - Wow - I feel like it's been awhile since I talked to you. Hope you're all doin well...recovering from vacations and glucose tests and whatnot :) Things here are going well. I'm so into this election right now - watching CNN more than I ever have. A big part of me wants it all to be over but I'm loving the drama. There's always something outrageous to talk about. Anyone watch SNL?
Anywho - so, Matt and I bought an IPOD this past weekend. Can you believe it?!?! I'm so excited. I have no idea how to use it or how to download music but it'll fun to learn (yes, I am way behind the times). I think you all know by now that the whole reason behind buying the IPOD is to use it at the wedding in lieu of a DJ. So, I'm writing to ask your help in putting together our wedding soundtrack. It'll be broken up into segments, i.e. cocktail hour, dinner, and dancing (including my dance with Matt and with Dad). I need your help mostly with the dancing segment. Gimme some songs.
Other things we're figuring out is booking an officiant and figuring out if we want to write our own vows. I want to but I think Matt would crap his pants...so I might not make him. His job right now is to find us some music for the ceremony. We have some ideas but I hesitate in telling you, for fear of incessant mockery.
I'm also putting together my Halloween costume which is Ripley from Aliens. I'm basically imitiating her in the scene at the end when she goes after Newt and she's all badass. I've been looking into renting a flame thrower and pulse gun but the salespeople always give me weird looks when I ask. Stupid liberal pansies. Matt wanted to do something easy this year, so he's going to go as someone with an alien busting out of his chest. I'll send pictures.
Ok - I guess that's it. Love you all.
PS - So, Beth, you're going to Chincoteague this weekend? Have fun. Oh wait - that post is dated August 8th. Huh.

Question for y'all...

I'm running into some issues looking for a house. So, my question is: Would you all be willing to stay in a place that sleeps 6? I can get you all at least 2 air matresses if need be. What do you think? Too squished...
Feeling a little overwhelmed right now...money, timing, blech. Gotta get off the computer now before i go nuts. I have a few inquiries into a few places so I'll keep you posted but let me know about the preferences. 'Night 'night.