sonya ina

Surgery on my right leg went well. It's still a little sore, but looking good. It looks like I got a bunch of snake bites. Compression stockings rule!

This Friday my left leg goes under the knife. Good times. Hopefully the Xanax actually kicks in when it's supposed to this time, as opposed to 2 hours AFTER surgery.

Ben has food poisoning. He got it from the catering at the Muse/MCR show he worked on Saturday night. Oh man, he's a wreck. Hopefully he's better by tonight/tomorrow. If not, to the doctor he goes!

I'm pretty much getting this set (see left) for free. Yeah, I'm stoked. Ben and I will be eating asian often! ; P

My beetle is fixed. It only cost half as much as it was supposed to thanks to my amazing Mom. :]

Wedding
I finally found shoes for my bridesmaids, thank God.
Michelle and I ordered invitation paper etc. woohooo!
Ben and my wedding rings will be ready today or tomorrow.
There is still much to be done.

Goodness, this week has been insane. I can't wait for it to be over. Work has been crazy because my boss is out of town due to a death in the family. Therefore, all his work is coming to me, and it's been a bit overwhelming because it's hard to get in touch with him if I have any questions. However, it's a good learning experience.

Lunch today was a lot of fun though. It's Administrative Professionals Day so the office took our 3 admin staff out to lunch at a Thai restaurant called Bangkok Garden. So yummy! We got there at noon, and didn't leave until 2:30. Mostly because there was only 1 waiter working, and our table had at least 18 people at it. Pretty crazy. It was a good time though. :]

My plan for tonight? Relaxing. I'm in no mood to do anything fancy. A movie, and an uncomfortable red love seat are calling my name.

Look at my shnazzy rental car, hahaha!

Picking out wedding registry stuff is amazing. However, it's hard not to feel a little greedy. Whatever, it's AWEEOMSSSSEEEE! ; P

Pampered Chef
Bed Beth and Beyond
Target

Look at that fantastic robot ketchup bottle! He's on display at the event Ben is working this week. Apparently he's remote controlled, and has a speaker that the person running it can talk thru, ha! So cute!

I'm obsessed with one of the new Wii games Alex bought. It's called Cooking Mama and it's absolutely amazing. Basically, all you do is cook, and cook, and cook, with the handy dandy Wii controller. It's addicting because each time you cook something, a new recipe is unlocked. All the while "Mama" scolds you or congratulates you... "Excellent! Better than Mama!" The deserts are my favorite.

I feel like my life is a complete mess right now. However, at the same time I feel like I know exactly where it's going. Which concerns and comforts me all the same.

Yesterday, Charity and I hosted a Pampered Chef Party for Lauren. A good number of people showed up, and they bought a bunch, so Charity and I are getting some free/half off items. Then, Lauren told me that Aunt Jan is throwing me a Pampered Chef Bridal Shower in June. So, we picked a date, and I picked out all the stuff I want. Wohooo!

If you're into cooking, then you'll love Pampered Chef.

Ben and I had to cancel our wedding ring appointment that was scheduled for today because Ben is working until super late. Hopefully we'll be able to reschedule for later this week sometime. I feel like this week is going to be retarded.

I can't wait to spend time with my parents this weekend, even if I am drugged up from my leg surgery.

Sweet Aston Martin at the event Ben is working tonight... wowzah! Although, I am partial to the vintage models. ;]

It's a beautiful sunny day for pale swollen legs, that are getting operated on next week! ;]

The Flaming Lips show last night was a load of fun, as always! Although, in comparison to when I saw them last (over a year ago in NYC), their live show has changed only minutely (ity bity tiny winey), which was a little disappointing. They had the same exact stage setup, complete with the Wayne cam and gigantor screen, Santas and aliens dancing on the side of the stage, and tons of confetti. The only new things they had were a gong, green lasers, and loads of red laser pointers that they gave out to the audience. Other than that, same ol' same ol'. However, I suppose if you've perfected something, and you know everyone loves it, why change? Overall, amazingly entertaining show. You don't go to a Flaming Lips show soley for the music, it's much more than that, it's an experience! A-

A great show, as always!

Yesterday, Ben and I picked out our wedding rings! They have been ordered, so we have to go back next week to try them on and make our final decision. Wohooo! We also met with our Pastor and had our first wedding meeting. We talked about family, relationships, and what our life together will be like once we're married, and some potential problems we may come across. Overall, I thought it was really helpful and fun. We have to go back at least 2 more times, and I'm definitely looking forward to it! :]

Is it an artistic photograph?

"Attention is the most basic form of love; through it we bless and are blessed." - John Tarrant

"Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing." - Goethe

"Love is friendship set on fire." - unknown

"Love stretches your heart and makes you big inside." - Margaret Walker

"Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence." - Erich Fromm

"Love is like war: Easy to begin but hard to end." - Anonymous

"Love is like a violin. The music may stop now and then, but the strings remain forever." - unknown

Maybe all of these things are love. Or maybe it's really all up to you.

Ben and I went to see Vedera last night. They were great! Kristen's voice is amazing. The last time Ben went out on tour, they were one of the support bands, so he's pretty good friends with them. Last night, they all found out we are engaged, so Kristen dedicated "Moments Rewound" to us, which was super sweet. I was surprised she remembered that that's my favorite song, hehe!

I've been so moody lately, ugh. And I know why, but at the same time I don't. Sometimes I just get really frustrated with myself, because I don't want to be upset, I don't want to feel overwhelmed, I don't know why I let certain things bother me, they just do. I miss my family, my friends, and my home. I want a home, I want a home here, but Ben and I have to wait, which is understandable, but, AGH! I want my own life here, and it isn't happening fast enough. Maybe I'm too impatient and hard on myself. Maybe my mind is my own problem.

I'm switched to the off position, and I want to be turned back on.

Once upon a time, Ben and I won the lottery, and bought this.

(Hey, we got one number the other night. Awesome!)

Then, life was grand(er), and also moving at 253.2 mph. Woah!

The end.

I finished Prey! It was highly entertaining. B+

This weekend was reasonably quiet. I didn't feel like doing much, so Ben and I did some little things here and there, but mostly watched TV/movies and cuddled. I made a yummy dinner on Saturday night, consisting of salmon, asparagus, and brown rice. Ben made some great cucumber salad. We bought a few bottles of wine, had them with dinner, and figured out which one we want to serve at our wedding (see below). It's quite tasty and will go perfect with our menu (fish & chicken)!

We also drove passed a few houses that are in our price range in Norfolk, and decided we want to live in Chesapeake or Virginia Beach. Norfolk is still a bit questionable in parts. Meh!

I felt bad eating him.

Also,

1. go to www.google.com
2. click on "maps"
3. click on "get directions"
4. type "New York" in the first box (the "from" box)
5. type "London" in the second box (the "to" box)
6. click on "get directions"
7. scroll down to step #23
8. chuckle

Benjamin got me a ticket to see The Flaming Lips next Thursday night at the Norva. He obviously wanted to go with me, but found out that he has a big job that day, so that won't be possible. Poop. Regardless...SUPER sweet of him! What a nice surprise! :]

I'm trying to be optimistic, really I am. However, lately things just haven't been working out the way I had hoped. That's life I guess. Things will get better, they've got to.

Donald Miller has a wonderful way with works...

"The whole point of intimacy is that you want to know things, random facts; you are driven to them because this woman has taken you captive, not that you would willfully write them down as a matter of discipline. Imagine calling your wife to tell her you love her and then hanging up the phone to check off the action on your to-do list. I don't think she would be pleased in the slightest."

"What I mean by this is I feel my life is a story, more than a list; I feel this blood slipping through my veins and those chemicals in my brain telling me I am hungry or lonely, sad or angry, in love or despondent. And I don't fee that a list could ever explain the completexity of all this beauty, all this sun and moon, this smell of coming rain, the beautiful mysteries of a women, or the truck-like complexity of men."

"There can be no doubting, no mistrust; one must have complete faith in the other that nothing is being held back. In our spirituality, we see nothing different. No less than two hundred times Scripture speaks of the importance of belief. "I take thee and thy word." Romeo says, meaning he believes Juliet's invitation, that she will do what she says she will do. Anything less than pure trust would be a kind of careful negotiation. And careful negotiation isn't love. A person must be willing to be dashed on the rocks or made the fool in exchange for a relationship in order for pure love to take place. And in our spirituality, anything less indicated a question of God's character."

He just gets it.

Read his books, they are all amazing. He's so candid and real it's ridiculous. These particular quotes are from, Searching For God Knows What. Learn more here.

Sometimes you give up a lot for love.

Sometimes you give up seeing your family every day.

Sometimes you give up seeing your best friends all the time.

Sometimes you give up the comfort of your own home.

Sometimes you give up your "hip" music industry job in NYC.

Sometimes you give up your dream.

But

Sometimes that dream changes.

Sometimes you grow up.

Sometimes you gain an amazing best friend to spend your life with.

And

Sometimes the person you love makes it all worthwhile.

I came across a pretty sweet clothing company today called, Heroine Clothing. Inspired by an artistic lifestyle, their designs are creative, fun, and need I say hip. Their products are both male and female friendly, and they also have various accessories.

According to the website, "Heroine Clothing is an independent clothing company based in Northern New Jersey. The brand's direction, designs and products are driven by art, tattoos and music."

Overall their prices are reasonable ($41.95 for a hoodie, and $21.95 for a basic tee)... printed on nothing but the best, American Apparel.

I miss his face.

... with power-c! (Or you can call Ashley Zap., haha!)

Man, I love this stuff. And, their website is awesome... see if you can find the naked old woman!

That is what I am, yup yup.

Super dooper crazy stoked to see my family in NJ tomorrow! YAYAYAYAY!

Just another 2 hours of work, then I'm done until Tuesday, wohoo!

Things to do in NJ:
- Hug my family until they can't breathe
- Eat my Mom's amazing home cooking
- Spend time with my wonderful friends
- Be overly affectionate toward my 3 dogs and (fat) cat
- Sleep in my massive almost empty room and amazing comfy bed

Game on!

Ben recently finished reading this book, so he let me borrow it. Thanks to Ben, I am a sucker for Michael Crichton novels.

Like many of Crichton's books, this particular one, entitled Prey, is a super fast read. So far, the storyline is decently compelling. However, it's somewhat irritating at the same time. Mainly because a few of the characters need to be punched in the face, haha! As with all Crichton's novels, the subject consists of a technological advance and it's chock full of characterization. So far, so good.

In the mean time, I've stopped reading Jitterbug Perfume. I had a hard time getting into it. Perhaps I'll try again after I'm done with this one.

"Blades of Glory" is a hilarious movie. Stupid, but hilarious. Jon Heder and Will Ferrell are amazing together. Or should I say Jimmy MacElroy and Chazz Michael Michaels, hahaha!

Wow. I'm getting really excited to see my family and friends in NJ this weekend. Oh, and my dogs too! It'll be nice to spend time with them. My parents also decided to come down to VA for my first leg surgery, yay! Ben's parents and my parents will finally meet, sheeesh! ;]

I bought the Indian Jones box set last week, so Ben and I have been having an Indiana Jones marathon for the past 2 nights. I'm assuming we'll watch the 3rd one tonight, and then the bonus features in the next few days as well. Man, I've always loved those movies. I noticed last night in The Temple of Doom, the night club where Willie Scott is performing in the beginning of the film is called "Club Obi Wan"... Ben told me George Lucas is notorious for doing things like that. Sweet!

Also, if you haven't already heard, they're making a 4th Indiana Jones, which I'm obviously VERY excited about. For more information on when, who, and how go here.

Yes, Harrison Ford is playing Indiana Jones. Yes, he's 64 years old. Yes, he's totally awesome.

Ben and I saw Shooter last night. It was an edge of your seat action flick, and a pretty good one at that. Acting wise, Mark Wahlberg seems to be getting better with age, perhaps a bit like a fine wine, haha!

The story line was a bit far fetched (maybe not, who really knows), and there seemed to be a few holes in the plot (as usual) , but over all it was extremely entertaining. It definitely was never boring, all the dead people made sure of that.

What I found most interesting was, I read an article in the paper last week about Mark Wahlberg, and he said that his role in Shooter was one of the hardest he's ever taken. Namely because all of his other roles have been as a punk kid, with a Boston accent, exactly how he grew up. However, in this movie he's a gun shooting ex military marksman, who gets framed. A bit of a throw off for good ol' Mark.

B+