Monday, July 20, 2009

Cheeks Not So Extra Large

Earlier today I had an 'aww' moment with my little sister. Well, perhaps not so much with as because of her. I don't think she even realized it'd been a tender moment. But that's not really the case. I was about to jump into the shower when I realized I'd forgotten to bring in my hairbursh. No, I don't shower with my hairbrush but I do brush my hair pre-shower. It helps with the tangles. Try it; you'll thank me.

Anyway, Small Fry brings me the brush and as I'm grabbing it through the crack of the door I say 'thanks a bunch kid!' Small Fry (who is actually 20 and quite a young lady) does her cute 'wink-side head nod thing. It sounds awkward but it's this really cute thing she's been doing since she was 4. Or 5. She was young. So her little wink-nod thing is adorable. She'll wink gracefully with her left eye, simultaneously tilts her head to the left and smile all along. It's actually a very swift motion; lasts about a second. She's been doing this for years but less and less as she gets older. It made me a say an internal 'aww' because it reminds me so much of her days of accomplishing 'big girl' things or saying she was feeling better (even though she had tubes coming out of her nose and was laying on her hospital bed) or collaborating with me on a small white lie to my mom. Always the same cute face with extra-large cheeks and poofy, frizzy, ridiculously curly hair.

When she did it today I saw how different her face is and how much she's really grown up. I know, I know growing up is what's supposed to happen but this was a quick, in-your-face reminder. She was still cute and her little gesture was still precocious but her cheeks aren't extra-large anymore and her hair isn't so poofy or frizzy anymore. It's been straightened and has side-swept bangs. I've seen all of these changes happen and I've seen her grow up (sometimes painfully; more so for me, my mom and other sister) and it's still floors me. Is this what having kids is like? No wonder mom's cry at the smallest, sometimes stupidest, things!

Friday, July 3, 2009

A soiree for me!

Last night I was lucky enough to celebrate my 28th birthday with a rather large and eclectic (trust me on this one) group of friends. One of the things that made this group interesting was that it consisted of friends from pretty much every phase of my life. All I needed to complete every phase was Claudia, Brigette and the girls from the station. Either way I was quite a fun time. Initially we were at the YardHouse which is a fun place with over 100 beers on tap (I know! That's what I said!) but when we were told it was a THREE hour wait for dinner (it was 8 p.m. at that point) we realized that was not going to work. But as we waited for everyone to get there it felt like a Greek/College reunion. I saw people I had not seen in years, no exaggeration. A majority of the run-ins were great because I was genuinely happy to see them (aka Nicole :)) and others were just odd (we'll leave this one nameless). And I'd like to give a shout-out to the pomegranate mojito: you were delish!

So we walked over to MamaJuana's Cafe (used to be Chispa) and were seated immediately. We all fit on one table and were assisted almost immediately. Too bad our server was suffering from a major case of PMS. He took forever with the drinks, forgot to take the order of half of the table, and rolled his eyes (I'm not even kidding) when we asked if splitting the checks was possible. The food, when it finally got to the table, was so yummy! Their white sangria and MamaJuana house drink were very good too. I personally preferred the white sangria; it was subtle and fresh. The night was pretty funny and I was very relieved that there were no awkward silent moments or pettiness with anyone. I should probably mention that I loathe awkward silent moments and that's one of the reasons why I'm not a fan of mixing friends from different social groups (work friends v. college friends v. childhood friends, etc.). Why I thought inviting a lifetime's worth of friends to my soiree last night was a good idea I don't know. But I'm SO glad that it all worked out. I think everyone was pretty happy with the night and I'm going to push the envelope on this one and say that some people walked away happy that they met or had a chance to get to know each other a bit better.

I'm forgetting the swimsuit fashion show that took place at the end of dinner! Oh wait, it kinda sucked (the models, not the suits. Those were pre-tee cute!); nevermind. To close this off on a good note, here is one of my fave pictures from the night. Mazel tov!