Afternoon Nap Keeps Me Up All Night

So here are some random pictures. Enjoy:





Rammstein




Duck



Garter



Rings



Cupcakes!!


That is all.

Picnic!

I love my life! I'm marrying the love of my life in less than three weeks. We do awesome stuff like this:

Picnic basket courtesy of my soon-to-be mother-in-law.

Ready to eat!

A little windy...

Visitors

Hi ducky!

Mmm. Caviar and Brie

Nom!

No! Don't eat the camera!

Post Pre-Hipster

I think it's becoming very hipster to call everything hipster. Think about it. I recently watched a Kitchen Nightmares show about a restaurant in the LA area called The Capri. I went on Yelp to read the Post Gordon Ramsey reviews and a few of them were complaining that the restaurant decor had changed to look, "hipster, like everything else." If hipster is now mainstream, then mainstream is now hipster. The old look of The Capri is the post pre-hipster look.

Quite frankly, calling anything you don't like or don't agree with, whether it be band or decor, "hipster" is getting old. But now that pre-hipster is the new hipster, it's all just very confusing.

Something I've Learned

Real weakness means you have to tell people you are strong. It means throwing up "walls" that say more about you than you probably even know yourself. Real weakness is trying so hard to hide your flaws because you'd rather not face them and overcome them.



Some people go through life being perfectly okay with how they treat others, regardless of the consequences. Their lies get so convoluted, they can't even keep up with themselves. It's easier to blame the people that get caught in the crossfire than admit that they are scared, that they have some growing up to do, or that they could actually be responsible for their own actions.



It's sad and it's weak, but it's true. Over six billion people on the planet and it's teeming with people just like this. Will they learn in time? Most will not. Is there anything we can do to change them? No. We must simply look inside ourselves and decide that our own integrity and our own standards will be higher, that we can be responsible for how we treat others and how we treat ourselves. If not, we will all become weak and remain that way. The numerous examples I could give are too long for this short blog entry.



"This above all, to thine own self be true."

Did I Mention Leo's Tank Got an Upgrade?

21 Days

It's Never Easy

If I'm honest, the last couple of weeks have been rough for me. I can't say much about it because it has to do with the work that I do, but I lost someone that I worked very closely with and it was very unexpected and pretty devastating. If I could say more, I'd say that this person was my hero, never complaining about the hand he was dealt in life, even though he had a debilitating neurological disorder. If I could, I'd explain that this person didn't have a cognitive disability like the other people I work with, so he always knew what he was facing. If I could, I'd tell you that no matter how hard it got for this person to control his muscles or speak, he always had a smile on his face. I'd mention, if I could, how that smile lit up a room no matter who was in it. But it has to do with work, you know? So mum's the word.

Other than that, wedding planning is coming around. I got my paper goods with my step mom, Kathy and my new mom, Robin. The favors are ready to be put together and I have to finalize my flowers and get shoes and then I'm pretty much done. Chris has to get his ring the right size. I'll pick it up next week some time. Hair cut and colored and nails done and voila! We'll have a wedding. It's less than a month away now.

I've been spending some time with some really cool folks from Pville lately. I'm so glad we're keeping in touch as much as we are. I was so afraid moving would grow us all apart, but it turns out to be the opposite. A couple friends just moved closer, in fact, so that's exciting. Halfway is no longer Folsom, but Downtown Sacramento, so maybe it's time for Second Saturday or some other shenanigans.

Chris and I went to Rammstein last week. It was incredible. Not only was the fire, lights and show amazing, but they sounded great. The production was pretty much flawless. It is going to be very hard to top that at whatever concert I go to next. It was amazing. I can't even put it in words. "You had to be there." Seriously. There is nothing like it.

Life's good. Spring's here. We're doing alright. Had some Red 88 noodles tonight and I'm happy. Oh, and Leo got a new tank. I went and bought him a 5 gallon. Chris thinks I'm crazy, but I could tell he Leo was getting bored. Now he's swimming around like crazy. Things are looking up.

Bridal Shower and Awesomeness

I had the best bridal shower in the world. All my closest friends were there and my mom gave me a shower I never would have been able to afford on my own. We went to the Coffee Garden on Franklin Blvd, which was so decked out in iron garden sculptures, wicker things and big leafy plants that I thought they had created a coffee shop just for me.
We did games, I got some naughty things and nice things; I got something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue and all three of my moms were there (Robin, Chris's mom, my stepmom Kathy, and of course my mom). Even my Aunt Cam made it! Which was just so freakin' awesome and she looked so good!
After the bridal shower my little sister Michelle, friends Rin and friends Lindsay and Morgen all went to Whole Earth Festival. I bought two pretty hippy dresses because I really need more dresses in my life and I also got a peace chain necklace (peacechain.com).
It was one of the best weekends I've had and I had a blast. It's too bad I only get to do it once!

40

Days left before I become Mrs. Graham