shorts and fun socks party

it's been a while since our rad. crew got together for all the laughs and all the fun. we decided to have a verrrry late holiday party just for the sake of ease in scheduling. last years theme was ugly sweaters and this year's theme was shorts and fun socks. we did a secret santa exchange but along with that was lots of drinking, enough food to feed an army, forced heavy lifting to get my area rug in place before i allowed festivities to begin, clown faces, photo shoots, two positives and one negative, all of the wrapping paper launched at me with instructions to "aim between the eyes," calling a white dog a 'black' name but really it's a Game of Thrones name, drunken tears shed after the most deserving person announced a pregnancy, and endless giggles. if i don't say it enough, i have the greatest coworker-friends ever!!

funnnn!!

tell me why this sassy bitch looks a little like a pedophile peeking up over those glasses.

this was an awesome dual pair of socks!!  his actual legs are just as hairy as the socks he's used to cover them up.

grub time! the only person to spill on my new area rug was....ME. whoops!

while everybody posed for this pic i was in my own little world. hello there, creepy eye...

 if "turnt up" were in my vocabulary, this would be the threshold moment for when things were about to get "turnt up" aka when Tracy, my version of Beyonce's Sasha Fierce, came out. except Tracy is less fierce and more ghetto. i mean i grew up in the Bay so that's my excuse.

we had a little visitor who was probably upset that with all the people around, she didn't get a morsel of food. meet, Khaleesi, whom i wish to be mine.

SF radiology has a good lookin' crew! hawt!

oh, i mean the women in radiology are hawt...haha!! we made the boys do the same pose...twas a riot!

making good use of those stairs

i'm not really sure what's happening here (which is funny considering i'm right there with her...) but i'm hoping that she was dropping it low. 

getting our lighting right

gift exchange time!!! to be quite honest, i don't remember most of this. good thing i took a ton of pictures to piece it all together eventually. 

lindsay got her work hubby, adrian! 

ron hates clowns so naturally, when he opened his gift and this clown mask was the first thing he saw, it was fun for everybody else. 

ron got his faaaavvvvvorite tech, Donna.

glasses cleaner? i have no idea.

the cutest wrap job!

i got nattypants! like my gift wrapping skills? 

she asked for a hair teasing brush, eye liner and gloves for working out so i put them all together on one awesome version of her. i also got her a rose gold flat plate necklace that says "love" because she loves anything that says love. i know, i know..... i kick ass at gift presentation, huh?

love that pic in the book. nick looks so annoyed

maple got a scratcher for her cats that looked like a dj scratch deck 

one of my favorites! 

happy birthday Natty!!

a blast as always!

my boyfriend kicks so much ass!!!

surprise belated b-day dinner at Ragazza with all my favorites! Marjie made the printouts of the many faces of Reg and everybody held them up while i walked into the gazebo where dinner was held. 

my kick ass friends and the most amazing boyfriend!

so like....i don't mean to get all mushy all up on the internets because sometimes when people are overly gushy about their significant others it sort of induces a slight regurgitating motion in my throat, which is never a pleasant thing. don't get me started on people's make out pictures or sunset silhouette photos of their two hands forming a heart. i get it, you're happy but must i know precisely how happy you are? well to be nothing but absolutely hypocritical, i'm making an exception here for myself because i have just been overwhelmed by all the awesomeness that my boyfriend is. 

y'know i could never have imagined meeting someone more suited for me than him. sure, he geekishly loves all things outer space and has quite an obvious giant noggin but he is unapologetic about his interests and is humbly self deprecating about his head size, which both add to his long list of endearing qualities. as the most fair and legitimately nonjudgmental person i know, he can't be described as less than nice. but he ranks at the utmost top tier of niceness without being boring. see, he's funny too(!) but unlike myself, his humor doesn't come from pointing the finger at others and his words are never crass. he is my match in punctuality, intrigue with travel,  organizational skills, money management, deep love and appreciation for those he holds dear (deep rooted friendships as well as awesome family), energy for exploration and adventures, and effortless commitment to our relationship. his consideration and thoughtfulness for others and for myself are absolutely more than i bring to the table. i think of myself as a considerate person when it comes to those i really care about but don't always extend my consideration and thoughtfulness outside of my bubble of VIPs. his concerns span the stranger he opens the door for to me, whom he spoils with consideration and small acts of thoughtfulness on a daily basis. he is seamlessly a better person than i could ever be and as awesome as i think i am, sometimes i wonder if i even deserve someone this amazing. thank The Universe i'm funny, masking all that is lacking underneath or he might realize that there are better people out there. beyond all of the awesomeness already mentioned, he never ceases to surprise and amaze me. last friday was one of those times...

see, my birthday is on december 27th, meaning jesus' birthday and celebrations for the new year sort of steal all of the thunder. this is no big deal though because every year for most years of my life i've just chalked my time on earth as being less important than jesus as well as less than rebooting time with the drop of a ball. hell, i can't argue with that right? this year my boyfriend graced me with dinner at a nice restaurant that i haven't been to (a mighty difficult task as i am a food whore), a thai massage, some gift certificated money to my favorite bakery and the Cirque Du Soleil show Kurios. more than i could ask for, right? but it gets so much better! somehow with tons of planning and scheming with my friends, this past friday he was able to gather up the majority of my most valued friends for a surprise dinner at my favorite artisanal pizza restaurant. like, forreal? on top of already being amazing and awesome you surprised the person who is hardest to surprise? and i was genuinely 110% surprised! i truly didn't see that coming at all. and he even treated allllllll of my friends to dinner that night. is that not the finest icing on the most decadent cake? he's a keeper for sure!

he is all the things. every single one. everything to me. plus all the dimples. 

                                 

kim picked up a couple of cakes from Craftsman & Wolves, one of my favorite bakeries! 31 is shaping out to be pretty good! 

Martin & Nina's wedding

 

i can't believe i'm writing a post on Martin and Nina's wedding more than half a month after the most grande day of their lives. please pardon the tardiness but my life currently lacks a laptop so that's my excuse. 

Martin ohhh Martin. throughout high school and college years my friends awaited the day that he bring a girl around that we would genuinely like and respect. see, Martin is a sweetheart. that's to say he will do anything (i repeat...ANYTHING)  for the people he cares about. once he decides he likes someone he puts his all into it. whether it's family, friends or potential girlfriends. but the problem with this is that just because he saw the world in someone else doesn't mean that they deserved to be a part of his world. i wanted to see him with someone worthy of his thoughtfulness, kindness and caring ways. true, he says some asshole things sometimes and can be inappropriate at other times but if you know him well you know he's joking and would never hurt a fly (so to speak). ultimately he's a big bundle of jokes and warmth. i just wanted to see him with someone who looked at him with the same admiration as he had for them. enter Nina. one thanksgiving gathering years ago Martin brought Nina over to my house and almost immediately i could tell that they were a kickass pairing. they made each other laugh and seemed so comfortable with each other (something i never felt with any other girls i'd met prior). it didn't hurt that she was also super cute, goofy and easy to talk to. all of our friends instantly liked her and were hoping that one day they'd get married. 

wellllllll it looks like our dreams have come true! on August 2nd they were married at St. Vincent's Boys School in San Rafael among a huge gathering of 350 friends and family. she looked beautiful and he looked stressed. but that's okay because it's in his nature to give a damn about everybody else's experience. while i wish he were able to just take a step back and relax to enjoy himself, he wanted to make sure everybody else was having a good time. this is what i love about Martin. when people stood to give speeches and the audience gave less attention than the speaker deserved, Martin made sure that the audience knew he wanted their undivided attention towards the speaker to give them the respect they deserved for getting up in front of hundreds of people to talk. luckily with a little liquor and a lot of love, he was able to end his night dancing with some of his best friends along with his blushing bride. the wedding as a whole was relaxed and full of heart. people enjoyed themselves as they shared in a moment everybody was genuinely happy to witness.

Nina and Martin, as you already know, i am so so very happy for you guys. i couldn't think of either of your lives without the other. Nina, welcome to our friend-family (even though you were fully welcomed years ago already)!

the quick glimpse i got of Nina at the beginning of her trek down the verrrry long aisle of people waiting to witness their love day.

 

from a far, zoomed in as much as my iphone would allow

my favorite lady friends! 

jenny, trina, kris, kim, jax, steph, bryli and meiche

my awesome date for the night

my date and my Special Friend's date. they have to hang together because Kris and i are like this [crosses fingers over one another].

Brylersons lookin' cool in her shades

hey pretty lady! i see you!

adorable, you two!

this is how i like them the most, always making each other laugh

cute and simple

kris said "she never drinks with us! she drinks with other people but never invites us to drink with her!" so here it is! and for the record that's not true. our early-mid 20's were full of liver destruction.

Martin's mom has always been like our own mother. she looked radiant that day and full of so much happiness. not only did her son get married and she gained a daughter, but she also became a grandmother just two weeks prior. what an awesome year for her!

1) props 2) dinosaur faces (because Bryli was saying something about dino faces) 3) regularis 4) the "EAE" symbol (our high school clique name. i will not break down the acronym due to embarrassment though) which i obviously was not well versed in.

me and mine

the CUTEST vietnamese outfits! you can't really tell but Nina's was made of red lace for a more modern version and it was just perfect!

dancing with mama

what a great grooms cake. it's SO them. actually, it literally is them.

git it!

Eric caught the garter, which is fitting considering we've all been waiting ever so patiently for him to propose to Kim. i'm waiting for that text or call, dude. can you just do it already?

physical therapy school is supposed to make you super knowledgeable about the human body and it's muscular system but judging by this picture it obviously doesn't teach you how to use those muscles for dancing purposes, huh Dr. Toy? also, let it be known that i will NEVER call you Dr. Toy unless it's in mockery. you're still Pattoy to me.

line dances aren't a chinese thing....jenny looks like she's having fun. pattoy looks confused and fearful.

our boys being awesome as always!

jax is not loving this moment.or is she?

open your eyeeeees Tedison!

dancing with the lady of the night!

wisp her away

 all love, smiles and happiness for Martin on his big day! i'm oh so very happy for you, BD!