Hanging out with so many old friends and family makes me think about myself.  Oh wait, I already do that all the time.  What I really mean is, it makes me more introspective.  I think about where I come from, especially how my personality has been shaped by my family, particularly my brother and sisters, and how their personalities have been shaped by me. 

I have three siblings.  Many people are surprised by this.  I have an older brother, Jesse, who is a college professor and two younger sisters.  Leslie is the one who just got married, and then Carrie is quite a bit younger and is still in college.  Most of my childhood and into adolescence I was a middle child, and then when Carrie was born I still continued that role but also took on the more important role of second oldest, and oldest girl.  I know my sisters look up to me for examples whether they like to admit it (or whether I do either) or not, and that my opinion is probably more important to them than it should be.  Though I am the oldest girl in the family, I don’t actually know everything.

When you live far away from your siblings, it’s easy to forget the role they play in your life.  But pretty much all of my interactions with people today have a basis with how I learned to interact with my siblings (and parents) growing up.  I shared a room with Leslie for many years growing up, and then we lived together in Cleveland for several years as well, so we are closer than the others.  Jesse used to live fairly near me in Ohio so for a year or so we saw each other more often, but now we tend to run into each other at family weddings and funerals only.  I know he reads this blog though, and my Mom likes to keep us all up to date on each other.  Carrie is your typical 20 year old and doesn’t have much time or desire to chat with annoying "old people" so she just sighs and rolls her eyes a lot.  (I’m half kidding).

Luckily we got a picture of the four of us at Leslie’s wedding (well, this is the rehearsal dinner.)  Who knows when we’ll all be together again?  Carrie, Leslie, me, and Jesse, in order from left to right, youngest to oldest, and oddly, shortest to tallest as well.  How many families have the kids in exact height order like that?  (Leslie is wearing flats and slouching a bit, otherwise she’d be more obviously taller than Carrie). 

I know I could write tons more on sibling interaction, but I won’t.  I should read more on it I think—does anybody have any good book recommendations about siblings and birth order and the impact on people’s lives?  Do you have siblings?  Are you close?

We are having a great time in Phoenix! Lots of family, friends, food and fun.

I’ve been tired all week.  I wonder why 😉

I promise I won’t use that picture again.  Well, I plomise.

We are heading (back) to Phoenix tomorrow afternoon.  I’m doing something revolutionary (for me) and not packing until tomorrow.  I have a packing list, and I think it will just be easier and faster to wait.  I do have some piles of "stuff to bring" like my shoes, purse, "emergency bridesmaid kit" and stuff like that.  I am so excited!  I can’t believe my sister is getting married!! (Is this how she felt in January?) 

(A knife for Hannah.  This is a family joke, involving a time when Carrie got angry at me and drew a tiny picture of a knife, labeled it "A knife for Hannah" and left it on my desk.  I think she was about five or younger at the time.)

I feel like I’ve just been on high alert/high excitement since last week.  Even being here, in between, I feel like I’m still in celebration mode and nothing else matters. 

(The girls)

I did have a good workout yesterday.  I didn’t think it was at the time because Mike kept fussing at me about my lunges needing to be lower and how I should be more focused (how can I be focused this week??) and how my hip shouldn’t be hurting anymore and that a week is plenty long to recover from a half and I should either go to the doctor or just run through the pain.  (Yes, okay, I didn’t go to the doctor for what may have been a slight rotator cuff tear and was something integral to my career, I’m totally going to the doctor for approximately two weeks of hip pain that is improving!).  Anyway, my attitude was crabby afterwards but I woke up super sore this morning—my quads and shoulders and ribs are sore and I feel like I must have done a good workout after all.

Honestly, I’ve been in such a crabby mood other than my excitement for Leslie.  There’s a memorial service for our friend Jim after we get back, I’m angry at the political bs going on, I’m angry at baseball…(don’t get me started because I will go on forever and there is no appeasing me).  GAH.  So much annoyance at the world.

Let’s get these crazy kids married then!  I am ready to spend the next few days away from the annoyances of day to day life and away from St Louis and ignoring as much political talk as possible, and ready to spend it with friends and family.

We’re doing hashtag #pesliewedding for the weekend.  Unless we come up with something better.  (Unlikely, yet also nearly impossible to come up with something worse.)

I get to see all these lovely ladies again! (What, are you surprised I posted a picture from my wedding?)

Oh, and I’ll have to give a toast.  I’m a little terrified of this:  as much as I love attention, I don’t like everybody looking at me.

When Leslie came out of the dressing room wearing her wedding dress the other day, it occurred to me that some people might get teary and emotional.  I hadn’t seen her dress before.  The seamstress asked if I had seen a picture and I said no.  But I expected her to look beautiful in her dress and of course she did.  So it wasn’t a surprise.

And that’s as much sentiment you’re getting out of me tonight :) 

(Oh, and writing this blog post and looking through pictures has put me in an excellent mood and I’ve almost forgotten all about what was making me angry—baseball—earlier tonight.  Yay for old pictures!)

It’s been a crazy weekend so far!

"You’ll sleep when you’re dead." –Leslie

This was in reference to tomorrow and the subsequent days:  I have a 7:30 flight to Phoenix, arrive there around 9 am, then we have a party starting at 3 pm and going…until.  Sunday and Monday are also busy ("busy" in wedding planning and celebrating terms, to be clear, not actual busy, but things like "final dress fitting," "do bikram yoga," "visit the venue to plan out decorations," and "drop off bridesmaid dress at dry cleaners" are on the list.  It adds up.)  Oh, then I get home Monday night around midnight, and leave again on Thursday afternoon.  Plan:  sleep on plane.

For the party—who doesn’t love Mad Libs.  Some of these are already done since somebody else got married recently.  (This is Leslie’s something borrowed?)

Got my haircut and my brows waxed for the festivities.  I’ll need extra undereye concealer by the time this is done.

We have created an abomination against nature.  Or this is just a really unflattering pose.

I had purchased some pumpkin spice kisses at Target the other week.  It occurred to me that they would make excellent cookie toppers.  Last night I made snickerdoodle cookies and put a kiss on top of each one.  DELICIOUS!

When Chris saw me with the "ingredients" for snickerdoodle cookies–(I’m not going to lie: I bought a box of snickerdoodle "cookie mix."  Probably I have all the ingredients for actual snickerdoodle cookies on hand, because I imagine they include, you know, sugar, flour, eggs, cinnamon, baking soda, butter…but I was just that lazy, and I didn’t feel like looking up a recipe nor verifying that I had all the ingredients, NOR, dare I say, pulling out the kitchenaid which I ended up having to do anyway…but I digress)—when Chris saw me with the box of mix, he said "I don’t care for snickerdoodle cookies."  I told him I was putting the kisses on them and his ears perked up.  After I made them I think he ate a half dozen.

Basically I’m telling you that these cookies really compliment the kisses, if you are looking for a good pairing.

I packed my running shoes.  I thought about going for a run this morning, but I decided that I should stick with my original plan of not running for at least a week, plus there is no need for me to be a hero.  We did deadlifts yesterday to work on my hamstrings and they felt really good at the time, but naturally I’m sore today.  I am blogging, then foam rolling.  Another couple days off will only help really, not hurt.

What are you up to this weekend?  Any suggestions on places to hit up in Old Town Scottsdale on a Saturday night?