They did plan this

Today was supposed to be the fourth installment of my Friday feature "We didn't plan this". But nobody at work was wearing purple and gray. So my co-worker Suzanne, who inspired this whole who's-matching-me-at-work-on-Fridays thing, challenged me to hit the streets to find a stranger matching me. Problem is I didn't leave work for lunch and I went straight home from work to help Brian prepare for a little dinner party we were having.

And so, I am forced to offer this as a substitute:

Thankfully, our friends Tony & Nicole (NiTony) arrived to dinner wearing T-shirts with flip-flops on them. And they did plan it.

Engagement at a work engagement

At work today, we had a Name That Tune game show-like fundraiser for United Way. Before it started, the DJ played "My Girl" and a man walked in with a bouquet of red roses and balloons, including one heart-shaped Mylar balloon that said "Together Forever" and proposed to one of my co-workers, Danna. The whole experience drew a big crowd and left many women swooning and crying and complementing Lamont for his surprise. (She said yes, by the way!)

I love witnessing wedding proposals. The first public proposal I ever saw was on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City. Very romantic.

Peekaboo

Good morning, Meow Meow!

New toys for pups

Brian was feeling guilty last night because he forgot to buy more of the dogs' favorite food (Science Diet Large Breed Light). PetsMart was closed, so he had to run to Wal-Mart to buy some Purina to make due. He came home with some new toys for Dakota and Lilly as a peace offering. (Noooooo. Our dogs aren't spoiled!) Brian actually found the plush animals in the kids toy section. It's a little lamb (definitely the favorite) and a dog that baa and bark when you squeeze them. Before they could play, the pups had to sit, lie down and wait:

"OK, pups, take it! Uh-oh. No, Dakota. Don't chew off Laughing Lamb's ear!"

Things were getting a little too crazy. And Brian and I thought the toys were in peril. So he took them away for a bit while he read "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows".

After the brief cooling-off period, it was time for more fun.

And on the count of three ...

After taking summer off, Aldersgate choir members got back together tonight for our first rehearsal of the fall. During introductions, I informed the new members that I am, indeed, married to this cute tenor. (Last year, a soprano who joined late didn't realize that we were married. After she'd been in the choir for about a month, she informed me that Brian seemed to be flirting with me throughout rehearsals. She was wondering if I'd picked up on it. "Yep," I told her. "I've known for at least a decade.")

After all, he is so incredibly charming:

The choir loft was crowded: We had 40 people tonight! I hope we stay with a full choir throughout the year. We always can get such a richer sound that way. Our choir is fortunate to have a lot of male voices, too. We had an ice cream reception afterward to catch up and chat with new members. (Linda showed me a new low-cal tasty treat: a float with raspberry sherbet and diet Sprite. Mmm!) Meet a few of the choir chicks:

From left: Irene, who's new to Wichita and Aldersgate; Lyn, whose husband has worked with my dad for years and whose daughter went to my high school; Andrea, who is from Kentucky and has a lovely Southern Belle accent; and Jennifer, who announced tonight that she's pregnant with Baby No. 2. (Congrats, Jen!)

Meet NiTony ...

... aka our friends Nicole and Tony (aka Roxy and Nanook's parents). Here they are at Colorado's Royal Gorge during their recent vacation.

Many months ago, I was asking Brian whether he wanted to invite Nicole and Tony over for dinner. But I accidentally slurred the two names together, and we've nicknamed the cute couple NiTony ever since. (This was at the height of merged celeb names, including Brangelina, Bennifer and TomKat. So NiTony seemed trendy-cool. And it has stuck.)

I've been secretly jealous about their cute merged name, because I just can't come up with one for Brian and me. Consider the options:

Lori + Brian =

• Lian: Sounds either strangely safari-like or just dishonest.
• Bori: Too yawn-inducing.
• Loan: Reminds me of interest rates (not so romantic).
• Lobri: Wha-huh?
• BriLo: Too much like JLo. Or a kind of scouring pad.

Any other suggestions?

Now here's an apron with attitude!

My quilting bee, the Bee-Attitudes, had our monthly meeting tonight. We celebrated our group's one-year anniversary and had a "make-and-take" project: aprons using cute kitchen towels. But before we got started, one of our members, Lesa, shared with us some aprons from her personal collection, including one that got our group of ladies quite riled up. (Seriously: I've never seen some of the women laugh so hard!) It's a sweet pink gingham apron featuring a lovely lady. Lesa explained that her mother received the homemade gift at her wedding shower in 1960 ...

... but this little desperate housewife is more than meets the eye:

Woo! Can you image the reaction this number must have drawn at that shower 47 years ago?! A good laugh and an hour later, I had this apron to add to my own collection:


The project was inexpensive, cute, quick -- and G-rated!