parties

Yes! Score one for Ashley.  It’s official, my brother is engaged to the coolest chic, which now fulfills my life-long yearning for a sister.  Last night the families celebrated and told funny stories about the bride and groom to be (I should be tame, that could come back to bite me in the rear).

There’s an endless list of things I love about Valerie, but I’ll just highlight one that is the most painfully obvious to me: I no longer will be the only tall woman in the family.  We probably even have the same impossible-to-shop-for-inseam.  Yeah, I know it’s a shallow observation, but give the 6′ tall girl a break.

YEA!  Go Paul!  I’m so excited for them.

I had a housewarming party last year that turned into a friend appreciation party.  I told my guests that I brought them together to thank them for their support through my move and a rough life transition.  Then I gave them the chance to do the same thing for some of their friends via photo message.  I set up a tripod, camera, and lights in front of my favorite blue chair.  On the coffee table in front of the chair was a stack of blank paper and Sharpie markers.  They could write an “I’m-thinking-of-you-note” to anyone. That night I posted the photos to my flickr account and sent my guests the link so they could forward their message to the recipient.

I got a little carried away and sent the joking message above to residents I was an RA for my junior year of college (yeah, we’re still BFF).

I was expecting some sort of comical response, but not what I got: a care package showed up on my doorstep soon after the party.  The contents consisted of a box of brownie mix and the reply photo message above.  I later found out that the girlfriend of the guy on the right willing wrote my name on his ass.  That’s true love.

The bare-bottom-duo now grace my fridge’s collage-style wall of fame/shame.  It is a frequent source of smiles and spurts of laughter.

I spent most of my workday on Friday on the phone selling tickets to last night’s DinnerWorks Gala Dinner.  I did better than I expected; so well in fact, my boss told me to pick which of the 15 tables I wanted to sit at with my guests.  Of course I picked the table that came packaged with a creative activity.  My choice was a creation designed by a group of art students at St X high school.  The ceramic dishes by Neil Patterson inspired the students to make our table into an art studio: flatware doubled as paintbrushes, the place mats were painting palates, our chairs were drawing benches, and every place setting had a small easel in front of it.  The students left instructions for us to draw our table companions.  There was some resistance at first, but by the time the serving staff brought dinner, the newly budding artists were scrambling to find room on the table that didn’t interfer with their artmaking.

I had an absolute blast and was incredibly impressed that my friends came together at the last minute to support the exhibit and LVAA.  It was one of those times where I said to myself, “I can’t believe I’m getting paid for this.”

To begin with, today’s word of the day email put a huge smile on my face when I got up:

“audacious: 1 : daring, bold; 2 : insolent; 3 : marked by originality and verve”

The next highlight was the birthday love that found its way to my desk at the office, which was followed by the surprise of actually being able to leave the office early as planned.

Then mom and I were off to Z Spa for massages. It’s amazing how relaxing pushing and moving muscles around can be.

My evening consisted of girlfriends, carry out Vietnamese dinner, three Homemade Pie Kitchen cakes (with no plates), and watching “the Office” via Hulu.com and a projector. It.was.awesome!

One last highlight: Although I’m not a fan of horoscopes, I was super glad to get this one from a friend via Facebook:

“Happy birthday, Capricorn! You’re often seen as the Rock of Gibraltar by loved ones and close associates. Your words of wisdom have helped many a friend through rough times. Benevolent and selfless, you’ll form many strong friendships in your lifetime. The coming year is the payback …  Read Moreyear. A heavenly reward will transform an area of your life for the better. Get ready for good things to start happening.”

Hell yeah! ’twas a good day!

No other holiday can hold a candle to Halloween! It’s a shame we don’t dress in hysterical costumes, give treats away to strangers, and illuminate weird carved faces into root vegetables more often. I should also add to the activities list: dance to sassy pop songs choreographed by amateur dancers who took a dance class once in college. Hey look, I got the shimmy down! Thanks Erin for the lesson.

You can see all of the photos from last night’s festivities here.

I hate to point out the obvious, but did you notice “Visual Art, Ashley Cecil?” Woohoo!  Ticket information is here.

A few of my favorite things about this weekend: 1) A meeting of Obama shirts at a friend’s party. 2) Before seeing Otella, this sunset that would have taken your breath away as well. 3) A finished 4′ x 6′ commission for Oxfam America.

There’s nothing like a loved-one being in horrific car accident to make you appreciate life. My only sibling/older brother was hit by a drink driver several weeks ago, which is the second time he has walked away from an accident that could have easily killed him. The event of course shook up everyone, and Paul was lathered with love and attention for simply being alive.

My mom, Paul’s girlfriend and I decided to take it step further this past weekend and throw a party celebrating my bro’s superhero survival skills. Since my power was still out from the freak wind storm/hurricane in Kentucky, I had to borrow a friend’s kitchen to bake a cake for the event, which Paul greatly appreciated.

We had a great night appreciating my goofy brother and certainly acknowledged how fortunate we all are to have him. We also got to tell some funny stories about Paul (he’s an easy target). I’m so happy he’s alive and in one piece.

I kid you not, I’ve created a google doc titled “Return Path to Happiness.”  The doc contains a to-do list (as well as a check list of things not to do, such as “no listening to sad/sappy music for one month”).  The list includes having 2 parties in September since I’m painfully aware that I don’t spend enough time with my friends and family.

The first party is tonight, and leave it to me pick a laughable theme: “face-painting for grown ups.”  That’s right, my peeps are to show up bearing exposed skin that will be adorned with paint.  This is going to make for a great flickr set…