Discombobulated

Every time I look at the calendar, I’m shocked at how quickly time is passing.  I know that it’s only passing so quickly because Chris and I have done a great job of keeping our social calendar packed, but every time I’m reminded that it’s already freaking summer, I’m inclined to pack more into the year because I want to see and do as much as possible!  It’s a conundrum.  So, here’s what we’ve been up to for the past, oh, five months or so.

Obviously, we’ve spent months planning our wedding!  Pfft.  Not.  You know that’s not how I roll.  In total, I probably spent about five or six hours on it, and it’s all already planned and paid for.  Remember that rockin’ cruise we took last year to Mexico with all the hard rock and metal bands?  Well, we had pre-booked for this year’s cruise before Chris proposed.  In February, we found out that this year, ShipRocked will be sailing to Key West, FL, and the Bahamas!  As you all know, Key West is my absolute favorite place on earth, so it was a no-brainer for us to decide to get married while in port there.

At noon on November 29th, 2012, on Smathers Beach, I will marry my best friend.  My brother, Rob, Evelyn and Christy will be on the cruise with us, and Rob is giving me away.  Tammy and Jeremy are celebrating their 10 year anniversary that week, so they’re flying down to Key West, as well, for both a vacation and to be there for our wedding.  It just wouldn’t be right for Tammy to not be there for my wedding.  I mean, hell, it’s not like we thought I would ever actually have one!  In addition, Chris’s parents are driving down from Jacksonville, and my mom and step-dad will likely being in attendance, as it’s right around their yearly vacation in Key West, as well.
 

This is the option I chose for our wedding.

And the best part… I bought our wedding via an online shopping cart.  Oh!  And I do have a dress!  I would love to post a picture of me in it, but my first fitting isn’t until late July, so a photo from the web will have to do.
 

I was so hesitant to even try this dress on.  I was planning on something much more simple and flow-y, but as soon as I slipped into it, I knew it was the one.  It looks like a waterfall down the back, and you can bet your ass I’m gonna bustle that thing up and dance all night on the boat!
 

And these are my shoes!  Custom made for me by a girl I found on Etsy.  The blue ribbon matches my dress perfectly.

I have to admit, I’m almost just as excited about the few days just before the cruise.  We decided that since this is our wedding and honeymoon all in one, we’re just gonna go all out.  We’re flying to Orlando the Friday before, hitting Epcot Center on Saturday and Universal’s Islands of Adventure on Sunday.  Then we’re driving to Tampa to go back to Busch Gardens on Monday.  I must ride Sheikra at least three more times.  It’s imperative.  Then we’ll drive down to Ft. Lauderdale on Tuesday morning, and sail that evening.  We’ll disembark the following Saturday at 8am, spend the entire day on the beach in Miami, then fly home on Sunday.  It’s a crazy, ridiculous itinerary, and I fully intend to need a vacation from our vacation by the time we get back.

Okay, enough about wedding stuff.

This morning, I counted up how many bands we’ve seen live so far in 2012.  99.  That’s right.  Ninety-nine.

One of those concerts was in NYC.  Chris, Christy and I took a bus up to Manhattan at the end of January to attend Gigantour headlined by Megadeth at Madison Square Gardens.  We ended up spending the entire weekend at a hotel in Times Square, and I think the highlight of the weekend wasn’t the concert, but the night we celebrated my birthday at Ninja followed by Times Scare.  If you’re ever in the city and you heart haunted houses as much as I do, I highly recommend Times Scare.  It’s a dedicated thrill factory, open year round, that ends at the Kill Room, a geniusly designed bar reminiscent of a Dexter episode.
 

Getting ready to head to Ninja for dinner.  Love how we trashed our hotel room in just a couple of hours.

Hi-yah!

Yes, this behavior is totally acceptable at Ninja.

<img width="448" height="600" alt="NYC Condoms" src="https://fbcdn_sphotos_f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4

/421693_10150569301709074_470370683_n.jpg” />
I do so love NYC.

Chris and Christy in the Kill Room.  Yes, the walls are fixed with morgue drawers.  Some of them are actually pulled out to serve as tables.  I told you.  Genius.

The NYC subway is so much dirtier and creepier than our metro here in DC.

Chris was overly excited about his selection of mac & cheeses at S’MAC.

January Concert Tally: 3 concerts, 10 bands.

In March, we attended the first annual Reason Rally at the National Mall in DC.  It was very exciting to be a part of such an event, to be surrounded by such a large group of like-minded free-thinkers.  I have become increasingly interested in politics over the last year, especially given the fact that I am a women in a time when it seems half of the country is waging war against us.  But if I get started talking about politics and religion and the state of the economy and the war on women, I’ll never finish my overview of the last five months. Maybe one day I’ll write an entry about my feelings on this election year, though.
 

In good we trust.

March Concert Tally: 2 concerts, 12 bands.

In April, I completed my first 5k with obstacles, the Primal Mud Run Mid-Atlantic.  It was hard.  It was scary.  I honestly thought I might die a couple of times.  Yet I’m signed up to do it again in November.
 

Me pre-mud.

Chris pre-mud.

Enjoying our complimentary beer post-mud run.

The damage.  Most of the bruises were on my arms, but my legs were in pretty bad shape, too.  I literally had to roll out of bed the next morning because I was so sore.

But we finished!  And for that, I was super proud of myself.

I also knocked a new country out of my vacation bucket list in April… Ireland!  Back in February, Rob, Evelyn, Chris and I bought a LivingSocial Escapes deal for a three night stay in a castle in Waterford, Ireland, and we flew out the last week of April.  It. Was. Beautiful.  I have no words to describe how green and lush everything was, even though April is still cold and wintry.  The rolling hills, the country-side dotted with abandoned castles and abbeys…  It was amazing.  We flew into Dublin, rented a car, and basically spent four days just touring the southeastern countryside.  After our stay in Waterford, we actually extended our trip, and spent two additional nights in Dublin.  Of course, I had oohgobs of photos to share and more stories to recount, but I’ll save those for a separate entry (or two).

And just last month, we took a couple of extra days off before Memorial Day for Maryland Deathfest, a four day extreme music festival, the largest of its kind, in Baltimore.  There was lots of beer, lots of BO, and lots of moshing.  And we came home with an ungodly amount of swag.
 

Me, Rob and Chris on the car ride up.  And it begins!

Me and Evelyn catching Godflesh.

Saw this gem in the mirror in one of the bathrooms at Sonar.  I dug it.

Rob and Evelyn in between shows.

Yeah, we were really excited to be there.

How to eat "blackened burgers."  It’s officially my most favoritest picture ever.

It made sense in the context of the music playing at that moment.

I told Chris that it wasn’t hundred dollar bills, but

he wanted to roll around in it anyway.

This was my swag.

That’s right.  We’re eating SNOW CONES OF DEATH.  Damn it.

After four days of metal, yeah, we looked pretty dirty.

The collection of wrist bands after four days.

May Concert Tally: 2 concerts, 1 four day music festival, 74 bands.

Just Monday night, we saw MonstrO, Kyng, and Danzig with Doyle from Misfits.  Let me just say that after seeing Doyle in person, I might have a new celebrity crush.  Anywho, we’ve got concerts tickets already purchased for dates through the end of the year, including System of a Down, Deftones, and Dethklok, so I’m trying to keep a running tally of everyone we see.  Should make for an impressive list come New Years!

June Concert Tally (so far): 1 concert, 3 bands.

In addition to concerts and vacations and wedding planning, I’ve worked on mastering and adding to my hobbies.  Earlier in the year, Tammy was asked to be a bridesmaid in a wedding, but she wasn’t all too happy with the dressmaker that the bride chose.  Instead, she ordered and sent me the fabric, and I hand-crafted a bridesmaid dress for her from scratch.  I can’t believe she put that much faith in me considering the only other sewing I’ve ever done was my Halloween costume last year, but it turned out amazing if I do say so myself.  And let’s face it, she made it all the more stunning.
 

I wish I had taken pictures of it in better light, but alas, I did not.

I can’t include any of the pictures of Tammy in the dress cause, well, I don’t own them, but here’s a link to one on the photographer’s site.

Thanks to my newfound obsession with Pinterest, I started following a blog dedicated to the art of cookie decorating, and I now have a pantry full of icing bags and tips and cookie cutters and food coloring.  I’ve only made two batches of cookies so far, but it’s official.  I’m going to quit my job as a software engineer, move to San Francisco, and create pornographic goodies.  I kid, kid.  But I did tell my boss, Todd, that, and we’ve decided that he’ll join me and Chris on the west coast.  Between the three of us, we can write all the software we’ll need to take orders and balance the books.  I’ll bake the cookies, Chris will control the finances, and Todd will help me manage the business.  I think it might actually be a good backup plan should I get tired of this military contracting business!
 

My very first batch of cookies!

And science cookies that I made just last weekend for a picnic with the Capital Beltway Atheists group.  They were a hit!  Still only my second batch of cookies ever made!

Wow, this entry came out a lot more disorganized, dare I say discombobulated, than I had originally planned.  Ah, well, it’s a result of life being full and good, and for that, I am eternally thankful.  I’ll try to get the photos from Ireland up soon.
 

And here’s a picture of me and Bruce chillin’ just for the hell of it.

Cheers,
Felina