Sophie

I pretty much landed in London, unpacked, and hopped on a train to Essex to pick up a very important package. The newest member of our family, Sophie!

She had fun riding on the train to her new home but was very anxious to check out the scene, and I started to get more than a little nervous about how Casper would react to the new situation. He spends a lot of his time sleeping and eating and not doing much else, so I thought it'd be a good idea to get another cat to keep him company. He just seemed so damn bored all the time, so I thought I would liven things up.

Yup, definitely livened things up! At first, Casper didn't even realise there was anything hiding out in his carrier, but he figured it out pretty quick.

Then he got PISSED OFF. I probably went about it the wrong way, but it became pretty clear that Casper was pretty happy being an only child.

I couldn't help second-guessing my decision to bring Sophie home for the first week or so. We had to keep them separated whenever we weren't there to closely supervise, but Sophie didn't like that one bit since she likes staying close to the humans.

Casper would constantly be on the attack, but nothing fazed Sophie and she just kept on doing her thing even though she was being stalked by a cat that is more than three times her size. The girl has got some moxie!

Things finally started to click between the two of them when Sophie allowed Casper to groom her just a little bit. I think Casper was really frustrated that she wouldn't let him groom her, and he'd try to put her in a kitty headlock to force clean her.

Now that she's clean, they're definitely friends and hang out together!

They've also joined forces to beg for food together. I'm sorry to admit that I fold like paper under their combined cuteness.

Once Casper got comfortable with Sophie, we finally got a chance to see her personality, and she is infinitely more awesome than we could've hoped. First, she's a major cuddlebug and likes to start each morning and end each night with a cuddle while she sucks her thumb. Yup, you read that right. And I wake up most mornings to find her perched on top of my stomach, snoozing away.

She likes playing in dirty laundry and trying on my clothes.

She also gets very anxious about getting to her food fast enough, which means she gets it everywhere!

She's still teeny but growing apace and is really long right now, kind of like a ferret.

She's scrappy, independent, and loves going outside.

Basically, we love her.

Last Family Wedding

It took a while (too long, in my mother's opinion), but all three of us kids are now happily married! My older brother married his beautiful bride at Calamigos Ranch in Malibu, and I was lucky enough to be part of it all as a bridesmaid.

I had started with the cake days before, so I was pretty near finished when it was time to head to the venue for rehearsal on Friday. It was my first time seeing the venue in person, and the place was absolutely gorgeous! We spent an hour or so going through our paces in the blazing hot sun, so we were pretty excited to head into some glorious air conditioning for lunch afterward at Dukes.

The food was pretty good, and our server was a total bro, but the view was absolutely bonkers.

I headed back to my parents' house afterward, with plans to meet up with the other girls early the next day for hair and makeup. I'm not such a fan of getting pampered and stuff since I really dislike people touching me. I know it's strange, but it's the reason why I haven't had a massage or manicure ever. But I meekly submitted to the ministerings of the middle aged Korean lady and left the salon with a full face of makeup and false eyelashes. Luckily, I'm still rocking the pixie, so they couldn't really do much with my hair.

I got to escape the salon early since I had to pack up the cake and transport it to the venue, along with a pile of important stuff such as all the outfits for the bridal party, including the groom and the bride. We rented the largest SUV possible, which was a Chevy Tahoe, and it smelled suspiciously of weed. My younger brother and I loaded up the car and kept the air conditioning blasting to keep the cake as cool as possible. I just prayed that the wedding dress and cake wouldn't smell like marijuana by the time we arrived at the venue!

We got to the venue in one piece and on time, and I set up the cake and then we waited around until the rest of the bridal party showed up. The boys showed up with Big Macs for everyone (our heroes!), and then the girls finally arrived. Everyone got dressed, and the photographer was pretty stoked to get things started.

I couldn't help spying on the first look.

I wasn't the only spy... That's my dad, looking gangsta.

There wasn't much for me to do at that point since we had already posed for squillions of photos, so I cruised around while the venue put on the final decorating touches. It went from this...

To this, startlingly quickly!

It wasn't long before the guests started trickling in, and my sister in law pitched in to help with the reception table.

Then it was show time! I don't have many pictures after this point since I was pretty busy with my bridesmaid duties, but it was a beautiful wedding! I got a to snap a few moments during the reception.

My parents being introduced to the guests.

The happy newlyweds!

The cake cutting! Thank god it survived, and it didn't end up killing anyone. Go, me!

The bouquet toss. I wish I could've participated - there was a $100 in it for the winner! But being happily married is pretty good, too. 

Getting the garter. I didn't know my brother even had those kinds of dance skills!

All in all, it was a pretty bitching wedding, and I was way too pooped to make it to the after party.

But I was recovered enough for a small family brunch at dim sum the next day to hear all about it.

Then lunch with my other brother and his wife.

Then dinner with the whole family!

It was basically a day of eating with people I'm related to. Did I mention how awesome it is to have two sisters now?

First (and Probably Last) Wedding Cake

One of the reasons I took summer off from school is because my older brother was getting married in mid July, and I wanted to take the week off to help them out. J had originally planned on going with me, but work obligations made it impossible. It turned out to be just as well, as we found out that plane tickets, which aren't cheap to begin with, are more than double the usual price during July!

I volunteered to make the wedding cake, and IT WAS HELL. I ordered the groceries to arrive the night I got home with my suitcase full of cake pans, and I got started first thing in the morning. I kept at it for three days, and I couldn't help fearing that something would go awry no matter how much I had practiced and planned. And of course it did.

First, my mom failed to tell me that the oven was broken. I knew nothing about it, and I managed to bake most of the layers before the oven just crapped out on me. I freaked, and my dad called the repairman who basically told us that it was a no go and that a brand new oven would be necessary. My dad asked if I could just use the still-functioning stove. Um, no.

Luckily, my aunt, who doesn't live too far from my parents, let me pop over with the tins of cake batter in hand to finish the job. Whew, crisis averted. 

I was pretty upset on the ride back home with the baked cakes safely stowed in the backseat. I told my mom I had rotten luck, and this confirmed it added to the fact that I had seen a funeral that morning while walking the dog. My mom blithely informed me that seeing a funeral was actually good luck! Explanation, please. That's when she told me that the oven has actually been broken for months, and she was surprised to see it fire up at all that morning. See, funeral =  good luck!

I think that's probably the moment my head exploded. How did she think I was going to make the wedding cake?! She shrugged, and said what does she know about wedding cakes. More mental explosions ensued, accompanied by hysterical laughter. I guess I could've just bbq'd the cake, if necessary. OMG.

Second, my mom had cleared out the main fridge so I could store the cake in there, but my dad kept sneaking smelly things in there. I didn't want the chocolate cake to have a hint of fresh jalapeño, so I kept having to check to see if he hid anything else he shouldn't have in the fridge. I got to play "Wheres Waldo?" in the refrigerator for a week.

Third, my mom kept opening the fridge to stare at the cake. So much so that I was scared that the buttercream would melt and the cake would come apart in the intense LA heat. I kept having to holler at her to shut the damn door. As if she would listen. Then she would wander over to my workspace and tell me how I could improve the cake. This, coming from the woman who didn't know I'd need the oven to make the wedding cake. I finally ended up banishing her from the kitchen while I was working just so I wouldn't be tempted to cover her in fondant.

Despite that oven meltdown and my parents' best attempts at driving me batshit insane, the cake actually turned out okay!

I nearly crapped myself driving the unassembled cake to Malibu, and putting it together at the venue near about did my head in. Especially when my brother mentioned that he thought it was teetering. Luckily, he was wrong, but I was stressed the whole time, wondering if it was going to survive until the cake cutting.

Home free! My relief was palpable when they cut the cake, and the servers began to cut slices for the crowd without incident.

Thank goodness my other brother is already married, as I won't have to do this ever again!