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Saturday, November 21, 2009

Questions about Mankind

I need something explained to me. Why do some people feel that waitresses and bartenders are a lower level of people. I'm working at Stag's Head Pub and I had two things that happened at my shift last night that I just don't understand. First was at a table of two older gentlemen. Really we're talking about over 60 and they sat down and ordered a pitcher of beer. They started talking to me and asked me what I really do. I didn't understand at first and I asked them what they meant. They said "you know, besides this?" Basically they wanted to know what else I do besides waiting tables because heaven forbid this is what I do for a living. Now I know that I do have something else besides this that I do but still, it would be an insulting question and I think that it's wrong to ask.
The second thing was something that really pissed me off and made me really feel that a majority of people in this world really have no sense of what's right and what's wrong. So I worked a party last night at the bar that was a charity poker tournament. 36 or more guests all with separate checks, all arriving at the same time. I took credit cards to open tabs with most of the guests but there were a few that I didn't get in the rush of things going on. At the end of the night the hosts of the event were sitting at one of my tables having drinks and eating some dinner. I approached them to find one of their guests that I couldn't find that had opened a tab with me and ordered two pitchers of beer. This guest was one of their friends and they tried to call him. They asked me what he had and how much the tab was for. I explained how much the tab was for and that if he didn't pay it I would have to pay for it out of my tips for the evening. Well they asked for their tabs and paid and left. Technically I can't force them to pay for the tab since it was not theirs and I didn't get the credit card in the insanity of last night. Still though, if it was one of my friends I would pay for it and make my friend pay me back, especially if the waitress told me that she would have to pay for it if my friend walked. It's just wrong. I don't understand why they were so apologetic about the situation but still didn't take care of it. So in the end, I bought this guy 2 pitchers of beer. What jerks they all were!!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Thanks Best Buy Warranty

So the Best Buy warranty has finally done me right. After numerous repairs and weeks at a time without my computer they have finally junked it out. That means - they gave me a credit for the purchase price on my computer and I've got a new one. The best part is that the prices have changed since my last purchase so I got a new MacBook Pro for only $21 more than the credit / junk out price! It's a beautiful computer and I'm so in love with it! Now I've spent pretty much most of the day loading in software and updating the operating system. Next step...loading in all of my 29 gigs of files, music, movies and photos. That's going to take forever! Can you guess what my Sunday is going to consist of??

Friday, November 13, 2009

Great News

Hi Everyone! Great news! I booked another bride. I actually booked her a few weeks ago but this is the first that I can get to writing about it. My dear friend Jill recommended me to one of her coworkers who is getting married and she hired me to be her planner. She booked my partial planning package which is my second biggest package! I'm really excited about the plans for this wedding and it's going to be a big challenge. They are getting married on July 10th, 2010 in El Campo, Texas which is about 1 1/2 hours away from my house. They are inviting 600 guests (no that's not a typo) and are expecting about 400 so this is really going to be a huge project for me but that's a great thing. They had already booked a venue which is the El Campo civic center which is basically an old Kmart that has been renovated. They did do a good job on the renovations but the space all tile (linoleum) floors and big white walls. We're gonna need lots of fabric to keep it from echoing and lots of color. I can't wait to make it happen though. Wish me luck!

PS - all of my friends are on notice - I'll be needing 2 to 3 assistants free for the weekend but you'll be paid and I'll take care of the hotel rooms and expenses while there. Any volunteers???

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Chicago Trip

So I never posted anything about my amazing trip to Chicago to see the girls! It was a blast and just what I needed. I can't put into words how great it felt to see Melina and Doni. We spent the weekend hanging out. We cooked, we went to the Chicago Air Show which was awesome, hung out at a block party Chicago style, went to Busia's Pub and surprise, surprise...I pierced my nose. It was so much fun. I've wanted to get this piercing for a long time but have always worked corporate so it hasn't been an option but now I can. The girls paid for it as a very early birthday present and I love them for it. Below are some pics from the weekend.









Friday, September 25, 2009

New Job

I started a new job today! I am gainfully employed!! I started working at the Stag's Head Pub here in Houston. I'll be working as a waitress and eventually bartender. The atmosphere is really relaxed and casual. I get to wear jeans and tee-shirts or tank tops with gym shoes to work. Total turn around from wearing suits every day to the ICON. It's so nice. Since it's a pub we serve some fun English specials like Guinness steak pie, bangers and mash and more. I haven't gotten to try anything yet but I can tell you it looks and smells really good. My biggest worry - the beer. Lots and lots of different types of beer on tap and by the bottle. I have some studying to do. Can anyone tell me the difference between an ale and a lauger? Why don't I drink more beer??? Check out the website below...
http://www.stagsheadpub.com/

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

So it's been along time since I've blogged. Guess I've been lazy. I have lots of things to talk about but I think I'll focus on the things people have been doing for my friend Misty. Misty has breast and kidney cancer and is fighting a hard battle. She's just about to finish her first round of chemo but then has 2 more rounds after that and they are going to be rough. After that is radiation treatment. I can't believe that this is happening to a friend of mine. She's only 31 and it's just not fair to see it happen at such a young age. She strong and a fighter though so I know she's going to beat this. Two weeks ago some of her friends threw a tailgate fundraiser at the Texan's home opener game. They raised a bunch of money and we had a blast with the beer and bbq!


Friday, August 14, 2009

Chi-City!

I'm in Chicago!!  Can't believe that it's finally here.  I'm flying a bit under the radar and visiting friends in the city.  We've got all kinds of fun plans for the weekend starting today with getting Doni and Melina's tattoos redone to look more like mine.  After that it's a block party tomorrow and then a party Sunday at a friend's apartment overlooking Lake Michigan for the air show.  The planes apparently fly right between the buildings!  I'm actually listening to them do what I'm guessing is practicing and it's amazing and loud.  It's gonna be a great weekend.  I'll post pictures when I get home and my liver recovers from what is sure to be an all out assault on it this weekend!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Home Alone

So to start this off I should mention that I normally live in a house with my boyfriend Dillon and our house has a bungalow behind it where his brother Evan and their dad lives. Once you through little Hula in the mix we have quite the bustling household, always someone to talk to. Well this summer Mr. Dubay (Dillon's Dad) has been in Georgia and now the boys are off visiting him there and I have the house all to myself. It's weird and quite. I'm not use to being by myself like this. On the one hand it's kind of nice, just me and Hula but I can't imagine if I had to live alone again. It's only for a few days so it's going to be good but I know that I'll be happy to see Dillon when he gets home to me.
On another note, they're in Georgia doing their final testing to become and air traffic controller! We'll know tomorrow if he gets his offer letter and where we'll be placed. Can't wait!! I'll update as soon as I know something!

Monday, July 27, 2009

What's in a Name

Well I have an announcement to make...I'm officially opening my own business! I've decided to open a event planning business of my own in Houston. The reason for the title of my blog...I don't have a name yet. As I'm finding out this is hard! Not only does it need to be something creative but it also can't already have been used or have an email address that's been used yet. Everything that I've thought of so far has either been used or already has a website so those are out. Once I figure this out I can get an accountant, file my paperwork, create a website and all of the other things that go along with opening a business. It's alot of work but exciting! Hopefully I can figure out a name soon so I can get started. In the mean time if any of you have any ideas for a name (all three followers I have) please send them my way! Keep in mind I don't want to use the word weddings in my name because I don't want to limit myself to just weddings. Cheers!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Time for a Trip

Well back in February I was in Florida for Doni's bachelorette party and it was a blast. On the way home the airline was overbooked and looking for volunteers to take another flight and giving a $300 flight credit as compensation. I've always thought about doing this and seeing as I wasn't too hung over from the craziness that are my friends I did it. I'm happy to say I finally decided to use it (well not too "finally" but I only had 1 year to use it)! On August 13th I head up to Chicago to see my girls again! I can't wait! I haven't seen Melina and Doni since I lost my job and I really have been dying to. They've been bugging me about using the credit to come up and visit them so they can see me and take care of me so after some nudging from my Mom and Dillon I decided to go. It's the weekend of the airshow which will be a blast. So now I know I will have 3 wonderful days in a city I love with my best ladies and I know that it will be not only therapeutic but fun. Below are pics of my ladies!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Office Space

It's date night tonight.  Free date night that is.  Dillon and I are going to the River Oaks Theatre to see Office Space and to top it off we have free passes to get into the movie.  Gotta love free.  I can't wait to see this movie on the big screen.  I don't think that I saw it on the big screen when it first came out and this theatre will be fun because they it's an old one that's been in Houston ages and they show these kind of movies at midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.  An even bigger bonus...they have a bar!  Something I like to partake in but not tonight.  Gotta save the money and it would take away the definition of "free date night."  In addition to the movie we also spent some time in the backyard today spraying Hula with the hose (also waters the grass at the same time) and then I turned the hose on Dillon.  This, as it turns out, was not the best idea.  I forgot that Dillon is much stronger than me and I would have no chance to try and keep the hose from him when he decided it was his turn to attack me.  Therefore I ended up soaked from head to
 toe.  It was fun though and Hula thought it was the most fun thing ever.  Anyway, off to get ready for the movie!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Interview Past

Well today was interview day and in some ways it was good and in some ways it wasn't.  It started out fine with the manager asking me why I was interviewing for this position and basically telling me that he was going to skip the basic interview questions he usually give to people who are applying for "bookseller" since from my resume it didn't seem that I was someone he needed to make sure would show up for work.  We talked about why I was applying for this position because he wanted to talk with me about the cafe manager position that was open.  It was flattering and he said that with my experience he could see hiring me for the position and developing me into more management with the company.  This seems great but really right now I need to focus on wedding planning.  So from here I'm waiting for the other manager to call me to interview for a bookseller position.  I guess for now this means that I don't have a part time job but hopefully I'll be hearing from them soon.  In the mean time - Starbucks.  According to their website you get a free pound of coffee every week!  Oh and they offer health benefits.  Details.

Interview Day!

Well today I have a job interview.  I applied last week to work at Barnes & Nobles and after not hearing anything by yesterday I stopped and an spoke with the manager.  Next thing I know I have an interview today with them at 3:00.  As Dillon predicted after looking at my resume they asked me to interview for the Cafe Manager position.  This would be fun and it's nice to hear that they want me to talk with them for more that a book seller or a barista position but I don't want that kind of responsibility right now while I'm trying to make this wedding planning thing work.  We’ll have to see how it goes but hopefully they don’t run me through too many interviews and soon I’ll be the newest B&N employee.  A great thing too…they offer health insurance to their part time employees!!!  I’ll update when I know more.

  

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July!  Today has been a relaxing day just chillin' at my parents house in the pool and cooking on the grill.  Now it's time to watch the USA soccer game - we're up 2-0 at half time!  Then maybe some Texas hold'em poker if everyone feels up for it.  My niece Emily has been having a fun day and got to get into the pool to splash around in once the sun wasn't shining directly on it.  It was great to see her.  She loved the pool and giggled away!  Anyway, I hope everyone has a great 4th of July!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Back Home

Back home from Cancun!  It was a blast and a bit crazy.  Lot's of work mixed in with some play.  We got in on Wednesday and went off to Cosco in Cancun and let's just say that it looks exactly like the Coscos here in Houston.  The only difference is the difficulty trying to remember words like juice in Spanish and the crazy prices since everything is in Pesos so generally take everything and multiply it by 10 or 13 depending on which store you are at.  We worked lots but had some free time Friday late morning to enjoy the beach and the waves.  It was so nice.  Our suite looked over the pool and the ocean and when you walk down to the beach an attendant follows you to a beach chair which he covers with a towel, then put's one down for your head as a pillow and another at the foot of the chair to use to dry off.  Then there is a little flag you raise any time you want them to come by to get you a drink or something to eat!  That would be how I managed to somehow order a margarita that costed $23 american dollars.  Didn't realize that until later but in hindsight it was an amazing margarita and goes with the great memory of sitting in front of this amazing blue water at the Ritz Carlton in Cancun.  
   After this wonderful hour and a half we were off to the rehearsal dinner and the wedding the next day.  It all went great and in the end we had an amazingly happy bride and groom.  It was a long and busy 5 days with not a lot of down time but a great experience.  Now I'm dying to go back someday when I'm on vacation.  Can't wait!  Good to be back home though, I missed my Dillon.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Off to Cancun

Tomorrow I'm off to Cancun.  We've got a great wedding at the Ritz Carlton, Cancun and I'm excited to see it.  It's gonna be a really busy but hopefully we'll be able to find some time to spend on the beach and sip a few frosty frozen cocktails.  We'll be there until Sunday so I'm sure that we will!  Attached is a photo - it's hard work but I guess someone has to do it and I have to learn about destination weddings somewhere.  If it's the Ritz then it's the Ritz!


Thursday, June 11, 2009

Wish Me Luck

Tomorrow is my first official client meeting as a wedding planner!  I've booked my first wedding and we have a meeting tomorrow to sign the contract, put down the deposit and go over all of the details.  I can't wait!  Hopefully things will go great and I'll be set and ready to go.  Everyone send me good vibes!!!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Hula and Me

So I'm finally reading Marley & Me even though my Mom gave it to me long before the movie came out.  It's  great book and it's already made me cry once!  Now I'm constantly comparing Hula to Marley and it's making reading the book even more entertaining.  Hula's much smarted that Marley though.  Recently we got a doggy door in the laundry room of our house for her since she seems to get some kind of joy from continuously making us get up and down from the couch to let her in and out so she can wander.  Well our laundry room is conveniently located right next to our kitchen.  By putting this dog door in the laundry room Hula now has figured out she can come in her door, take something from trash can she wants and then sneak right back out of her door.  She's pretty smart.  We've been finding all sorts of things she sees as delicious mo
rsels of trash out in the backyard devoured by her and we can't catch her doing it.  Guess it's time to invest in a trash can with a lid!  Here's another picture of our crazy girl!  This was when she was younger and I think it adorable with my baby Dillon!

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Wedding Weekend Craziness

Wow, what a busy weekend. Yesterday was the Ruiz wedding at the Crystal ballroom and it was beautiful.  The lighting in the room made it so warm and nice inside and I just have always loved the look of the Crystal Ballroom.  What's funny is it brought back tons of memories of when I did the Houston's Best Martini Competition there when I was in college.  Definitely fun memories!!  Today I'm off to the Aquarium for the Robert's wedding.  This wedding has crazy decor and lots of details.  It's going to be right on that borderline between gaudy and unique.  I'm hoping that Sam kept her at unique with her peacock feather themed wedding.  Sam's got great taste and style so as long as things go as planned no worries.  After today I'm going to be exhausted and ready to crash.  I'll updated later as to how everything goes.  Everyone pray for no bridezilla today!!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

How is it stood for??

If insurance companies ruled the world and operated it like they do their companies would anything ever get done?  Would everyone hate each other?  Would you just spend all day, every day on endless phone calls and automated systems??  After the last two days I think so.  I was rear ended a week ago and am now lost in the system of insurance adjustors, heathcare companies, doctors visits and automated phone systems.  I think that if I was asked for my claim number or date of birth one more time I might have screamed!  Why also do they want you to say it to a machine rather than enter it into the phone?  That never works!!  I don't think I have much of an accent and it doesn't understand me.  How does it understand people from another country or with a deep south accent? It just doesn't make any sense.  
After all of this craziness it seems that since my car had no damage from being rear ended the insurance company doesn't seem to want to think that I could have been injured.  It seems as though they would believe me that I was injured if their had been car damage and then had to pay more money out to fix me and my car!  Apparently they think that my neck hurting could have been the cause of something else I did between getting hit and going to the doctor.  They operate under the assumption  that I'm lying!!  I can commit a crime and be presumed innocent until proven guilty but I can't be assured payment for medical treatment from someone's insurance company until I can prove it was from them.  I'm assumed guilty!!  Well, off my soapbox for now!  Time for some valium, ibprophen and drift away into a drug induced sleep.  Sounds like my kind of night!  I leave with the question I started with - how is it stood for??

Friday, May 29, 2009

Time to Relax

It's a beautiful day and Dillon and I are in Galveston!  We're here for Dimi's restaurant opening at Pier 21.  It's called Olympia at Pier 21.  I'm so proud of her and can't wait to see her and what she's done tonight.  I was down in Galveston for a day with my Mom a few weeks ago and it looked amazing so I can't wait to see what it's like now.  Dillon and I spent the day walking around on the beach and playing in the water.  Tonight's the party and then more beach time tomorrow. We're gonna check out this neat looking bar on the seawall called Float that has a bar with live music and a pool you can hang out in to cool off.  Sounds like fun to me.  Great Galveston weekend!!!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Schooling

So time flies when you're unemployed!  It's been just over a month since I lost my job and believe it or not I've been crazy busy.  I've been working with a friend and her wedding planning business and learning alot. It's been fun though and  I'm really looking forward to booking my first wedding that's mine!  We've got some leads so hopefully that will happen sometime soon.  Until then I've really enjoying working with Sam and I'm learning everything I can from here.  Well I'm off to change for a lunch meeting and then projects, projects, projects!!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Sadness


Well bad news came in today about my friend Misty.  She was diagnosed with breast cancer today.  It's scary for me so I can't imagine what she's feeling like right now.  Misty is one of the nicest, most genuine people that I know and I just don't understand why this is happening to her and don't think it's fair. Tomorrow she has surgery and then will start radiation treatment.  Really that's all I know as of yet but I know that she is such a strong person and if anyone can fight through something like this she can.  Attached is a photo from Jenny's bridal shower.  Misty is on the far left side.  

Sunday, April 26, 2009

A Moment in the Workforce

Well yesterday I found myself feeling more like a human.  I've realized that working and having things to do make me feel like a person.  My friend Samantha owns her own company as  a wedding planner and I went and helped her with a wedding yesterday.  It was nice to see that I think I could be good at that and enjoy it.  The day was long, 12 hours, but that's never something that's bothered me.  It would be nice to be in charge of my own future and run my own life instead of having to listen to another corporate company.  I just really realized from this last job that I don't want to have to do what someone else says all the time and play the corporate game.  I guess I have to decide if I want to take the risk from here.  I also still need to look at what is out there and see what the world has to offer.  We'll see though, here's to weddings!!!  Anyone know someone who wants to get married!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Pain

Dillon and I have decided that we want to do an intense workout system and after scouring the infomercials we found P90X.  We ordered it off ebay and it finally arrived all the way from China today.  (Gotta save a buck without a job so I'm sure it's an illegal copy)  This system is made up of 90 days worth of hour long workouts. The first day today was chest and back workout.  After Dillon and I doing it today I think that we will either be ripped in 90 days or dead.  Can't believe that I could be in this much pain when it's only been a few hours since I worked out!  I don't even want to think about tomorrow morning!!  At the moment Dillon is passed out on the couch from it!  So anyway, we didn't take any official pics or anything for before and after but hopefully our afters are going to be great and not just us in pain and laying their!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Long Time No Post

So it's been a long time since I've blogged on here.  Part of that was due to my computer being in the shop getting fixed twice and part because I just got lazy about it.  Well now I guess I have plenty of time to do this.  Monday afternoon I was called into my HR department at the hotel and laid off.  Even though we knew there was a lot of this going on in the hotel I still was surprised since I was closing sales and doubled the number of weddings we were doing this year over the last year.  So now I'm at home and pretty bitter about it but in the end I'm hoping everything is going to turn out all right.  Until then, anyone who lives nearby give me a call and we can get together, I've got nothing but time!  We're drinking at home though cause it's way cheaper!
Besides all of this craziness it was a fun last month with my friend Doni's wedding and my friend Chris' wedding.  Below is a picture from the wedding.  She was a beautiful bride and it was fun being her bridesmaid because we got to pick our own black cocktail dresses. Unfortunately no pics from Chris' wedding because my camera was not working.  
Well I'm off for now.  If anyone hears about any jobs give me a call!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Layoffs

Today I experienced the economy and layoffs for the first time.  My job is safe, for now anyway, but my coworker Scott is not as lucky.  Today, after lunch, I was sitting in the office when he came in and shut the door.  He said he has something to tell us (all of the sales managers are in one office with cubicles) they had just laid him off.  The silence in the office truly made it feel like someone had died.  It was a lot of surprise and apologies, no one knowing quite what to say, after all, does this mean that our jobs are safe since his isn't?  
Scott was really the first major layoff we've had in the hotel.  Now I know that there are these massive companies laying off thousands upon thousands of people but we are a small hotel with only 135 rooms.  Our salaried management staff is not huge and we had really resisted any sort of downsizing.  They had also really been preaching for a long time that their were not going to be any layoffs anytime soon and that we were really going to make it work.  Well as it turns out, we're hurting worse than I think they are letting us know.  I think that I feel the worst about how Scott and I had resorted to joking about layoffs.  He and I had decided not too long ago that if they did end up having to cut someone it was going to be one of us and we would claim things off of each others desks that we wanted when the other one left, the biggest for me being his whole desk itself, so much nicer than mine.  Well in the end I guess I might get the opportunity now to have that desk but I'd rather have Scott there.  

Monday, February 2, 2009

Productivness

So I've decided that it's sad that I just can't relax like I'd like to.  I'm home sick today and all I can think about is what I should be getting done at work.  I've always been the type of person who wakes up in the morning and thinks about the things I need to do during the day and what I need to accomplish.  Today I woke up and took a shower thinking about what I needed to do today and it just wasn't going to happen.  Even though I've been sick I still can't stand that I haven't gotten anything accomplished or been productive today.  I'm hoping that by doing some things on the computer, such as this, I'll feel better.  I guess we'll see.  
PS - Happy Birthday Melina!!  

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Mothers of Brides, Mothers of Grooms

I know it's a cliche but I really never understand why some Mothers try and make weddings about them.  Now the bride that I had this weekend was a completely unorganized mess and don't get me started on her "day of" wedding planner that was non-existent, but their is helpful and their is overbearing.  The Mother of the Bride kept changing everything that the bride would do and setup because she didn't like the way it looked.  This meant the Bride kept getting more stressed out and frustrated, not to mention the fact that it made things take forever and I was moving tables and thing around which I do not normally do.  That's what my houseman does and he wasn't scheduled in until later.  Now once the reception started usually things should run pretty smoothly, especially if you've planned things correctly but the mother continued to pull their respective children aside to complain to them about the other mother and what she was doing.  Mainly the fight was over the DJ and what type of music he was playing.  One mother wanted slow and jazzy while the other mother wanted more upbeat and modern.  This was all different from what the bride and groom had given to the DJ in their list of what to play.  In the end I know that this is as I said before a cliche, mother taking over the wedding story but this was really the most evident I have seen it.  I can't imagine pulling my child away from their reception and party to complain to them and cause problems.  The mother of the groom and the groom missed the bouquet toss!  I know that my Mom reads this so please remember this story when it comes to my wedding, not that you would ever act like that.  In the end...you have class.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Ladies Night


I love being able to take a night out with a good girlfriend.  Their is really nothing like it.  Last night Jenny and I met up after I got off work and went out for a nice dinner.  It was great, we went to The Grove which is downtown at the new Discovery Green Park, part of Houston's green initiative.  It has beautiful tall windows along 3 of the 4 walls overlooking the park and I have to say that the bartender makes a good martini.  We had to wait an hour for a table (rockets game across the street and Houston Marathon weekend) but the time flew by.  It's just nice to know that no matter what's happening in my life or those few certain close friends lives that you can still treat yourself to a nice night out and a nice meal.  It made for a really nice weekend even though I spent half of my Sunday shampooing our couches.  The photo attached is from Jenny's wedding and is one of my favorite pics of her and I and it really shows our personality!  Anyway, check out the link below to the restaurant...The Grove Restaurant.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Must Love Dogs



So I went and saw Marley and Me today.  Oh my gosh!  Can you say sobfest!!  My friend Emily and I ventured out in the cold to the movies yesterday and saw it.  The beginning of the movie was hilarious and I kept finding myself laughing out loud thinking of Hula.  Hula is Dillon's brother Evan's dog that lives with us and she is the most adorable catahula hound dog in the world.  She's not quite as destructive as Marley but she definitely has the energy and craziness sometimes.  She makes us laugh constantly.  At the end of the movie though all I could think about was Jaffe our wonderful cocker spaniel who died a few years ago.  I just couldn't contain myself and sobbed once I started thinking about him.  Anyway, I love dogs and hopefully someday I'll have another one that's all mine!  For the time being here is photo of our little Hula!

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Brides, Brides, Brides...

Back to life as usual.  Holiday season is over and it's back to normal days at the office and thankfully no more holiday parties.  What I am crawling with is BRIDES.  It's not a bad thing though.  We're actually really starting to fill up for 2009 and working on 2010.  It's exciting and exhausting at the same time.  Really it's some of my currently schedules brides that are driving me crazy and are exhausting.  I have this one wedding coming up that is really "country comes to town."  I don't mean to make fun of them but the bride is 20 years old and her bridesmaids are her sisters who are 16 and 13.  I finally got the bride to pick food she wanted to taste for the meal and she brought her sisters with her.  They tasted all of the food and then her sisters asked if their was a kids meal we would be serving (chicken tenders and french fries) and if they could have that instead because this food was too much for them.  We are a 4 diamond property with an award winning chef so it's a bit weird for people above the age of 8 to be asking for chicken tenders.  Then this bride informed me that she had put within her invitation a choice for her guests of chicken, beef or fish.  This is NOT something we allow.  If we are going to allow a choice of entree that is preselected ahead of time we might do it for less than 100 guests and we would only allow 2 choices, not 3!  What I have enjoyed a bit of (an I do feel just a bit bad that I'm enjoying) is that she's now stressed out because of all of the work that it takes when you offer your guests a choice of entree.  To do this you have to make sure all of your guests actually respond with their choice filled out and then create a seating chart for then and then create place cards that somehow show our waitstaff which of these entrees your guests are having.  As of right now she only has about 50 guests who have actually RSVPed and her guest count is due in 2 weeks.  She's estimated to have around 120 guests. This could become interesting!  I'll keep this updated!!!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!  Can't believe it's 2009 but it was fun ringing it in.  I actually had to work all night at the hotel, we had a huge party in the lobby and then a wedding in the ballroom.  A really cute couple getting married and a lot of drunk people downstairs.  It's really amazing what people will do out on a night like that.  I know I've had some crazy nights of drinking and partying but I really don't think that I've ever been all that bad.  Really there was just a lot of stumbling around and falling down.  My coworkers and I really enjoyed laughing a lot at them.  It was nice though because even though we were working we were joking, laughing, dancing and even had a glass of champagne at midnight.  We did have to kick some people out for smoking pot in our Den which amazed my bosses but really, come on, how can that surprise you on NYE!  
The amazing part for me was in the wedding.  We had all of the guests in the ballroom, seated and waiting for the announcement of the bride and groom and they ended up having to sit and wait.  This being at 9PM at night when the guests have yet to have dinner.  Turns out the Mother of the Groom decided to stop on the way from the church to get pizza.  She held things up for almost 45 minutes!  She also got up immediately after being announced and the couple starting there first dance to go out of the ballroom to the bathroom.  How can a mother not want to see her son's first dance at his wedding with his new wife??  I just really don't get it!  My banquet manager thinks that it was because the couple were from different races and maybe she didn't approve.  I hope that this wasn't it because that is so sad; but something was definitely going on.
Well at least after getting done around 130AM I made it out of the hotel and to the bar where Dillon and some of our friends were just in time to have 1 drink before they closed.  It was definitely a needed drink after a very long night!