Hobbit-Love
Finally saw Lord of the Rings this weekend with Kevin. I think it would have been more meaningful if I hadn?t had been a little buzzed. Two glasses of wine and all of a sudden the dialogue was laugh-out-loud cheesy. It was definitely engaging, though. At one point I was standing on my knees in the chair, remote in one hand, glass of pinot in the other, shouting at Sam. ?Stab it, Sam! Right up from the bottom! Get your knife in there and just jab it up!!? (Bonus points to the person who can tell me what scene was playing while I yelled this). I was out of hand. But in a good way.

Kevin commented on this, too, but I feel that it?s worth repeating. What is up with the hobbit-love? No wonder there are a million and one fanfics out there dealing with hobbit-on-hobbit action. The numerous meaningful looks filled with longing and desire all happened between the four hobbits. Peter Jackson is there something you want to tell us?

I've said it before and I'll say it again,
if this joker is elected to the the White House in November, it will be for the first time.

Weekend Rant
This was a good weekend. We ran errands on Saturday, did laundry, started packing for the trip out to MN and in general took care of stuff. Unfortunately, we had to go to the mall on Saturday afternoon and that was enough to make me want to physically hurt people.

The masses were just everywhere. One guy was wearing a tank top with an open plaid shirt on top. The tank top was very loose and as he walked he gradually exposed his entire nipple to anyone unfortunate enough to look at him. This is just wrong. When I go to the mall I don?t want to see nipples. Malls should be nipple-less. Period.

On top of this some sort of pop group was have a mini-concert and I was immediately conflicted. Memories of Tiffany and her mall tours floated to mind and it brought me right back to eighth grade. But, the unbelievable noise, the crush of bodies, the smell of people and the overpowering worry that if I didn?t get out of there I?d become one of them resulted in a mini-panic attack. I hate people.

On Sunday we had a very nice dinner with Kevin?s parents for Fathers Day. They?re talking about selling the house this time next year and moving to North Carolina. If he can just make it through one more year of work they?ll be able to get his health insurance and that?s a pretty big deal considering the constant cuts to veterans benefits (Kevin?s dad was in Vietnam) and senior care.

The ridiculous part of the whole thing is that he?s almost made it to 30 years so he should be able to leave with his pension intact. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer about seven years ago and the resulting surgeries, chemotherapy, prescriptions, doctor visits and time off work combined with his already poor health, bad back and bad knees have led to the problem he now faces.

Everyday he goes in to work and his manager treats him like crap. He is completely beaten down by his bosses regarding how much time he?s missed. They?ve basically threatened him with losing a portion of his pension because he may not have worked exactly 30 years when you take into account the time he?s missed due to illness.

Of course, if he were to quit before the 30 years he would lose part of his pension and that?s exactly what they?re trying to do. The owner of Shop Rite could afford to buy out Kevin?s dad?s contract, but he would rather force him into quitting because that?s the kind of soulless prick he is. ?Eff the workingman, I need to buy another house!?

It?s such a depressing situation, especially when someone you care about is the victim of it all.

His thirty years is up in August ? less than a month and a half away! But, in order to make sure that they don?t get screwed over he has to keep working there for another freaking year.

The whole thing makes me sick. Join me and boycott Shot Rite. They don?t deserve our money.

"No one could deny that Iraq had a relationship with al Qaeda."
Relationship, yes. Collaborative relationship? Not so much.

Whopper!
Wait. Wait, you mean he LIED?!

From CNN.com
?Commission reports 'no credible evidence' that al Qaeda and Iraq cooperated in 9/11 attacks on United States.?

Oh, my God, really?! But Bush said they did! There were speeches made! Really convincing speeches! I just don?t get it.

Coco?
And yet another celebrity has joined the ranks in giving their child a ridiculous name. I mean, it?s almost like a contest. Gwyneth: Ha! Top Apple, Corty. Courteney: How ?bout Coco you freaking toothpick?

I wish celebrities would take into consideration the fact that a kid is going to have to live with this name for the rest of their life. If they choose to avoid the spotlight and attempt normalcy they will forever be haunted with the name?Apple. Coco. Lourdes. Rumor. Moon Unit. Do you see where I?m going?

They haven?t even given the kid a fighting chance. Sure the Osbournes are way messed up but at least they had names like Amy, Kelly and Jack. If they?d wanted to they could have lived normally, without the knowledge that once introduced to someone their parentage would become obvious.

Is it really so horrible to give your kid a name that isn?t weird? I mean, really. Somebody find Diana Ross? kid, CHUDNEY, and see how happy they are.

Pictures
We finally have the first round of pics from the wedding.

To see what I had under my skirt, click here. It's a little blurry, so let me explain it a bit. At the top of my right thigh is a black splotchy thing. It's a button that says "Yes" and was borrowed from my friend Eliza. There are two garters (one to throw and one to keep) at each knee. They stayed up better there than up higher. On my right ankel is a blue plastic bracelet (also from my friend Eliza) and on my feet are my beautiful and comfy pink, low-top converse. Life was good that day clothes-wise.

And to see me livin' it up on the dance floor, click here.
This one's pretty self-explanatory, I think.

We also have Eliza to thank for these pics. She took them on her handy-dandy camera-phone. The technology is way beyond me and I so covet her ability to do things like this, but at least I can partake in her wisdom, right?

It's sort of hard to believe the wedding was a week ago today. The whole day just seems like a blur. It doesn't help that I had cried earlier that day and as a result a permanent film had settled on my contacts thereby creating a bit of cloud that I tried desperately to see through. Seeing the pictures has brought an entirely new perspective. My hair was really high. The dress was really big. The people were really awesome.

I had a fantastic time.

Ick
Can someone tell me what the deal is with old people and their tendency to not finish chewing before opening their mouths to take in another bite?

My grandma used to do it and I can remember staring in horror at her mouth as she opened it to add something to whatever was still in there. Tonight I had to go to a dinner and there happened to be a lot of senior citizens there and they were ALL doing it.

Does it have something to do with the Depression? Are there even still old people around who were part of the Depression? I really don't get it. And it's disturbing to me. Seniors everywhere please stop! It's grossing the rest of us out!

Deep Breath
Okay, now that all the wedding nonsense is over I have to deal with the repercussions. The main repercussion is the name-change. I?m getting a new last name and that means my business cards have to change, my work email, my personal email, my social security card, my driver?s license, my insurance paperwork, my bank information, and all the other legal representations of my person. God, it?s a drag.

In other news we are now gearing up for the trip out to MN. My parents want to have a party for us so at the end of the month we?re driving out to spend a few days there and participate in the celebration on their end. Also, to the delight of both sets of parents, we?ll be getting our marriage recognized by the Church. Woo hoo!

On the work front things couldn?t be busier. I can?t believe how fast the days go by. I have a dinner tonight and things to coordinate for next week, meetings up the wazoo (yes, I said wazoo), and in general, places to go, people to see. It?s been really fun up to this point and I hope it continues to be fun. I put on a suit every morning and for the first time in my life pay attention to my make-up, hair and nails. Probably at some point the novelty will wear off but until then it?s like playing dress up but only in real life.

And in the body arena my gym membership is up in 18 days. I hate going and I would absolutely not go at all if I could find a running partner but until then I use it mainly for two classes a week. Well, three if you count the Yoga on Mondays that I always miss due to work-related events. It?s ridiculously expensive and I think it?s probably more cost-effective to just drop out but if I drop will I stop working out altogether? Probably. Ugh.

See, this is what happens when I commit to daily entries without really having anything to say.