Sunday, August 28, 2005

It's Wedding Day!

Today my lovely friend Lynne is getting married! Last night we had the rehearsal dinner at the Hotel Los Gatos and Spa, thrown by the Yusters (Jeremy's family). It was an evening of toasts, roasts, and some vaudeville acts! Fun was had by all. They closed the evening with the engagement video, which was sweet to watch as I had not seen it before. I spent last night with Lynne at the Toll House Hotel. This place rocks because they have wireless internet service and serve fresh chocolate chip cookies in the foyer at 5:00 p.m. everyday! Stay tuned for the wedding ceremony report.

Monday, August 22, 2005

Whatup Kaysar?

Big Brother is my summer tv crack. Every year I get sucked into the show. I try to convince myself that I won't, but after a few weeks I am glued to my computer reading the live feed updates to see what is going on in the house. Big Brother is shown all over the world, but what sets the US version apart is the fact that house guests vote people out- not the public. This leads to lots of strategy, backstabbing, and alliances. In other words, drama and great tv!

This season the house has been deeply divided between two groups: the evil "Friendship" cult and the Sovereign 6, who were led by my favorite player, Kaysar. Kaysar turned the house upside down in Week 3, but unfortunately got voted out in Week 4. However, it is the "Summer of Secrets" on Big Brother, and America was allowed to vote back in an evicted house guest. Kaysar was saved with 82% of the vote and triumphantly reentered the house. After 14 hours of holding down a button in the Head of Household competition, and promises that he would be safe, Kaysar let go and allowed Jennifer to become HOH. This turned out to be his undoing, as Jennifer is in the "Friendship" cult, and she lied and went back on every promise she made to Kaysar. As a result, Kaysar got voted out again this past Thursday. I was not a happy camper.

Revenge is sweet though. Janelle won HOH and since it was a double eviction week, Jennifer was voted out of the house less than 48 hours later. While she thinks America loves her, she will be very suprised to see that her famewhore dreams have been shattered due to her unethical game play. The power keeps shifting back and forth between the two groups, and who knows who will end up the winner of Big Brother 6? As long as it isn't one of the cult, I will be satisfied. Check out all the action on CBS.com.

Sunday, August 21, 2005

Redneck Fabulous

On August 13th I attended the wedding of Tena and Pete. Tena is my best friend Angie's sister, and I wasn't going to miss this wedding for the world. Oliver and I were "baby wranglers" for the event since Angie and Andy were in the wedding party and needed someone to watch Katie. When we arrived at Tena's house for pictures at 10:00 am, the bridesmaids were still getting ready and already drinking hard liquor. Soon the photos were completed, and Oliver and I headed out to the wedding site.

You would think that we drove Angie's car because we had the baby, but the real reason was that we needed a 4-wheel drive to get to the wedding site. The wedding took place on a ranch, and we had to drive over a couple hills on a nonexistent dirt road to get there. Another first for me was seeing people tailgating before the wedding started. I had never thought to do that before! Oliver and I carried Katie's stroller over to the hay bales and took our seats.

The ceremony started with a skit. Pete rode up on an ATV and gave a monologue about women, sarsaparilla, a baby being born, not getting trapped into marriage, and that there would be no wedding. He then took off over the hill. In the distance we saw a man on a horse (the best man) chasing after Pete. Unfortunately, he fell off the horse, which wasn't planned. However, Pete didn't get away because he was forced back to the aisle by the gun toting groomsmen and Tena's dad, who came down the hill to the sound of the dueling banjos from "Deliverance." I'm totally serious.

Next the bridesmaids entered on the back of a pick-up truck to Gretchen Wilson's "Redneck Woman." As they walked up the aisle, they handed off a Coors Light to the groomsmen and got their bouquets. The start of the ceremony was typical of most weddings. Before the vows, Pete took out a flask and had a drink, then Tena grabbed it out of his hands and took a drink herself. Claiming they were ready, the bridesmaid spoke up that they were not, and each of them grabbed a small bottle of liquor that they hid in their tops and took a drink! The handwritten vows were heartfelt and sincere. Then the ring bearer brought up the rings... well, was led up the aisle with the rings. Why? The ring bearer was a cow.


Angie, Katie, and Andy


At the end of the wedding everyone posed for pictures. Then we headed off to the reception at Kodiak Jack's- a honky tonk bar that most of the guests frequent. There was a buffet afternoon lunch, dancing, and cake. Unfortunately, the groomsmen thought it would be a good fashion statement to walk around in their vests with garter belts on their arms. The evening really kicked into gear when Kodiak's opened to the general public at 6:00 p.m. You see, Saturday is karaoke night, and the regulars were out in force. They were joined by a very drunk party guest who was doing interpretive dance to various numbers, much to our amusement. The "daisy dress lady" had been busy propositioning couples and trying to lure them back to her hotel room earlier. She was eventually removed from the premises. All in all, it was an entertaining and certainly original wedding day.


Non-Rednecks Nicole, Oliver, and Tenaya

Friday, August 19, 2005

The start of the end

After much pressure from my blogging friends, I have finally decided to start a blog of my own. Why now, you might ask? Well, life will soon be taking a major turn. After months of waiting, I received word in August that my permanent residence visa to Australia had finally come through. At the end of September I will be leaving the USA and migrating to Melbourne. It is an exciting and stressful time as I try to figure out how to move my life half way around the world. This blog is here to capture the adventures and keep all my family and friends updated on current events in my life. Let the journey begin.
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