Archive: Friends and Family

For the third anniversary week in a row, JG and I attended a wedding. We got married on the last Saturday of June, and it has always been a treat to go to someone else’s wedding around the same time. We dress up, dance, and have fun with our friends in exchange for a gift. Not bad, eh? This year, we drove about an hour to go to Jess and Jay’s wedding last Saturday, which was to be held completely outdoors. I did not relish the prospect of not having a retreat from the ninety-degree heat, but the 6pm ceremony was short, and cocktail hour was climate-controlled. Jess is a fellow math teacher with JG, so we chatted with the regular group of game-night teachers while intermittently stalking down the more desirable passed appetizers, namely the coconut shrimp, miniature burgers, and bite-sized crab cakes.

Once the sun went down, the reception in the outdoor tent was really lovely. To my surprise, the DJ had “More Today than Yesterday” in his files, which is my favorite song to request at weddings, and JG and I had a fun trot around the dance floor. Against my better judgment, I joined in on a few girls-only numbers, like “Like a Prayer,” and ended up being accosted by one particularly intoxicated bridesmaid. As this girl — with whom I was not acquainted, thank you very much — got all, uh, up in my face, I threw a panicked look over at JG, who merely laughed at me. Oh, my! That was my cue to sit back down at the teacher table. At the end of the night, my feet were aching, we were all at various degrees of sweaty, but it was such a good time.

The next day, at 5:30 in the morning, JG and I headed out to the annual family vacation in Ocean City, New Jersey. If it had not been for the wedding, we would have been there on Saturday, but leaving before the crack of dawn the next day was the next best thing. Unlike last year, we had gorgeous weather for our entire time, so JG enjoyed four good beach days for playing quoits and body surfing. Despite myself, I went into the ocean once, albeit with JG and on piggyback, but it counts! Mostly, I sat in my beach chair, read, and napped. I did manage to get up early, twice, to do my C25K workout, which I figured would justify my two-donut breakfast. Ahem. I didn’t take nearly as many pictures as I have in other years, but when you see the same lifeguard stand and rescue boat and eat at the same places, I didn’t see the point in replicating shots I already had. It was rather nice to simply be at the beach rather than trying to document it.

I came away from the vacation with a slight sunburn on my lips and a strange rash on my thighs (they call it “Ocean City crud” — lovely), and I am now, as my former co-worker worded it, “as brown as a Brazil nut.” Being away from home and work was a much-deserved lapse in the routine, but I don’t particularly enjoy the beach itself. However, JG loves it, and I’m glad that he can get his fix. I most looked forward to seeing Mimi and having a break from the routine, but I’m glad to be home again. Tonight, we’ll spend the 4th of July at home, watching the Wimbledon coverage and then grilling up some dinner. It should be a quiet night, that is, until the inevitable pops and bangs from neighborhood fireworks ring out. It’s the sound of freedom, I suppose.

Saturday

• We hit the road at 8:30am in the direction of the Garden State. JG is determined not to stop on the way, so I refrain from drinking anything to accompany my yogurt breakfast. The rain and the traffic are both light, but constant.
• Three hours later, we arrive at JG’s parents’ house and say our hellos to them, JG’s brother and sister, a friend who’s living at the house temporarily, her boyfriend, friends from Williamsburg, and their parents. We’ve all made hours-long trips to invade New Jersey so that we can make a quick trip into New York the next day to see JG’s childhood friend play at a piano recital at Carnegie Hall. It is a rare treat, a huge privilege, and a fun excuse to catch up with friends.
• After I make my way through the receiving line, I head straight for the Brita pitcher because, man, I am parched.
• My mother-in-law leads the singing of “Happy Birthday” for me before I blow out candles stuck into lemon bars. She gives me a first edition of a Madeleine L’Engle book I don’t have yet, and the illustrations are really lovely.
• At dinner that night, I inadvertently order the most enormous martini I’ve ever had. The glass is almost too large for me to hold with one hand, and I come close to spilling it more times that I’d like to admit. Thank goodness for correspondingly giant plates of rigatoni.
• I fall asleep while JG and his brother talk smack during the UNC/Duke basketball game. At the end of it, I am too bleary to rub Duke’s loss in my brother-in-law’s face. A shame, really.

Sunday

• Six adults pile into a Highlander to drive into Manhattan, and I scream silently as two buses almost mow us down.
• After a brief wait outside, we shuffle into the Carnegie Deli for lunch. The walls are lined with framed photos of celebrities emblazoned with Sharpie autographs, and oversized baked goods beckon from the case. The scent of slow-cooked meat hangs in the air, and shouts from the kitchen ring out. All I need for a complete deli experience is — yes! — the plate of appetizer pickles! I nosh at a half-sour and nod absent-mindedly at JG’s suggestion to split a roast beef sandwich.
• We plow through our stacks of meat with plenty of grainy mustard and then head back out into the chilly air. There’s time to kill, so we stroll around the block, past Central Park and 5th Avenue. I wonder fleetingly if we’ll run into Laurel, even though I doubt she’d be in this touristy part of town on a Sunday. I realize that, with my sunglasses on, my only recognizable feature is my green bag. I wave off the possibility, trying not to think about having to explain the concept of a “blog friend” to my in-laws and their friends.
• We wait outside Carnegie Hall for the doors to open, and I thrill softly to have a ticket with that venue on it. I realize that we’re going to the recital hall and not the main performance space, but it’s still Carnegie Hall. I spy our friend’s name on a sign out front, and try to get a good shot of the outside since photography is forbidden once we enter those hallowed halls.
• The recital is a real treat. Our friend gets so much applause that she returns to the stage for a second bow. One of the performers plays a piece that echoed through my house as a child; memories of my dad’s playing comes sharply to mind.
• Our train back to New Jersey is delayed not once, but twice. JG and I don’t leave his parents’ house until after 9pm, which is definitely not the plan. We prop our eyelids open with toothpicks to get through the ride home. I am incredibly grateful that JG could take the next day off from work, leaving me to sleep in just slightly and skiv off the morning Ted walk.
• We collapse into bed just after midnight, and I realize that in 40 hours, we have gone to and from New Jersey with a side trip to New York City. Definitely worth it. Definitely exhausted.

Birthday 2009 will have some big shoes to fill, because yesterday was one of the best birthdays I have ever had. Now, that’s a pretty bold statement, considering that when I turned seven, we got a huge blizzard, so I got to sledding and open presents instead of going to school. But, really, this year was a milestone birthday, made only sweeter by the lovely Internet wishes. Thanks so much, everyone!

As soon as I got home from work, I opened up my presents from JG, starting with two new games! And then, there it was, The Mystery Gift of Awesomeness, just waiting to have the paper ripped off. One good tug with each hand revealed —

A fleece blanket? Um…

I flipped it over, and I still did not quite understand: What the heck is a Slanket?

A Slanket, you see, is a giant fleece throw with built-in sleeves, which is perfect for someone who is constantly cold and always reading, namely, ME! I did not fully grasp the awesomeness until I tried out this newfangled blanket, whose voluminous folds of softness completely enveloped me. Oh, sweet warmth! Now, my arms won’t get chilly when I’m working through my book club selection or making my fourteenth volleyball scarf. And, hey, if I happen to fall asleep in it, we will consider that a side benefit. Ted was unexpectedly hostile toward the new living room addition, which does not bode well for his future snuggle quotient with me. Although I was initially puzzled when I unwrapped the present, I admit that none of JG’s clues were misleading: the Slanket is big, light, the single product of a company, unknown to me before this point, a great gift candidate for his mother, and — yes — it is truly awesome. Good job, Husband!

JG had to wrest me out of the arms of the Slanket before I realized that I only had twenty minutes before our cupcake-eating guests were supposed to arrive, so I hustled to set up the table with unfrosted Funfetti cupcakes (both regular size and mini), frosting, sprinkles, and flowers. Our friends came bearing birthday cards, an amazing floral arrangement, and a cheerful, potted gerbera daisy that I brought in to the office today. JG and I had a really wonderful time with our friends, and having dessert together was a great way to spend a school-night birthday.

I resisted the urge to document people’s “sample platters” of mini cupcakes, the cute cupcake creations that our friends’ kids made, and Ted’s overflowing joy of having new playmates because I just wanted to sit back and enjoy everyone’s company. The journalistic need to get everything on the record didn’t exactly jive with a laid-back party, and I was okay with that. It was good to simply be there without trying to take photographic notes the whole time. After everyone headed home, I packed up the remaining cupcakes for JG to take to school. I’ll be surprised if any of those come back to the house; hungry teachers swoop down on baked goods like vultures.

Tonight, JG and I are going out to dinner at our beloved Half Moon, and then we’re spending the weekend at his parents’ house. We all know what that means — let the birthday festivities continue!

What, it’s not normal to celebrate Christmas in mid-January? Although we’ve retired the CD case of yuletide tunes, we celebrated one last spurt of Christmas spirit over the weekend when JG’s parents and sister came to visit us. Since JG and I spent our Christmas away from his side of the family, they swung by for a couple of days en route to moving his sister back in for college.

Speaking of JG’s sister, she spent the fall semester studying abroad in Sydney, Australia, so our contact with her has been limited to receiving breathless e-mails rife with exclamation points that made us wonder if she was actually doing any studying between cliff-diving and shopping. Sure, seeing her brother and sister-in-law was nice, and she even got a bonus Christmas present out of the weekend, but all of that was peripheral compared to the fact that SHE FINALLY GOT TO SEE TED! If she didn’t live in on-campus housing, we would have had to search her car before she left to make sure there were no Westie-type stowaways. As consolation for leaving “the cutest dog ever,” we promised her that she could drive down and dog-sit any time she wanted, as if it were a favor to her.

Lately, I have been feeling the drain of not having any time off, so I wasn’t overly enthused about spending the weekend entertaining, but it was surprisingly relaxing. Once we set out the coffee maker and towels, JG’s parents were essentially self-sufficient in our house. We spent our Saturday exchanging Christmas gifts (I scored new cake plates, additions to my Madeleine L’Engle collection, and a handmade quilt made out of beloved t-shirts; meanwhile, JG has been driving me crazy with his efforts to play his authentic Australian didgeridoo.), going out for lunch, and walking around downtown in the balmy 50-degree weather. I always get a little thrill when people say that they love our town; it really shows up well on the weekends.

Cashing in on the excuse that JG’s family had never been to The Melting Pot, all five of us went there for dinner. I hope going three times in ten months doesn’t constitute overkill. JG and I have a great time on our own, but we’ve kept our routine pretty safe since we found combinations we liked. The magic of going for fondue with five people is that we could justify ordering double of everything! The four-course meal that included two cheese selections (cheddar-lager and spinach-artichoke) and two chocolate choices (chocolate-raspberry and s’more flambé) was more than enough for five people, and we practically rolled out of the place before we crammed into a Civic for the ride home.

I declare Christmas celebrated.