Real Quick GND recap

So the "finale" GND episode was in fact sad- but I promise I didn't weep. In fact I actually think that the episode just prior was a little bit sadder because all of the girls individually talked about how far their lives have come since the beginning and were actually making statements on this being the end for them. "transitions" was imo staged. Although the emotions felt real I think that they were going back and reinacting things to tie up loose ends for the fans. Although I think many ends are still blowing in the wind.

I mean Hef talks about Holly being unhappy...but shows her "leaving for a playboy shoot" - not moving out.

Bridget leaves to go on location for her new show but it clearly shows that she still has her room at the mansion, she even leaves Gizmo there. The only girl whose story came full circle is Kendra- and they definitely set her up nicely for the start of her spin-off, "Kendra" in June.

The other two are kind of "status unknown" unless you hear the gossip- which of course I do but if you don't your left to believe that Hef is still in fact "dating" Holly and Bridget...even though every tabloid will tell you differently.

But then I have to remind myself- The Girls Next Door series isn't over, nor has it ever been said that the original girls won't be returning in some way or another in season 6- will it be different absolutely- but there is still season 6 to tell us what's been going on.

I am ridiculously sleepy now and am headed for my bed but I felt that after all the hype I owed the internets my opinion on the season 5 finale.

So there it is. Oh! The Shannon twins....gag! I'm really not sure how I feel about them other than- they seem snotty and like they feel entitled- and though E! may have thought it seemed like a good idea at the time, the closing dialogue of the episode that was exchanged between Hef and the twins was like a slap in the face to GND fans:

Not-so-cute twin #1: Hi Hef- are these seats taken? (Gestures to couch in movie room where HBK always sat)
Hef: Not anymore...looks like I'm back in the game (chuckles and cuts to exterior shot of mansion)

Ugh!!!!!!

Goodnight!

Fast Forward

1. Last night was fun we spent a few hours celebrating Jen's hubby's bday then came back close to home and went to our local bar for a night cap where we unexpectedly ran into some of my friends and Ben's brother who was randomly in our neck of the woods (he lives 30 minutes away)
2. Closed down the bar and then a whole group of us went back to a friend's house
3. Ben's bro actually made me really happy when talking about our wedding- he's only two years older than us and a self proclaimed "black sheep" and the slightest bit of a love cynic so imagine my surprise when he seemed excited and really happy for us and also asked me to let him spend time with our children (when we have them) so that he can learn "all that stuff" coming from him I thought that was really sweet and the best "welcome to the Smith clan" he could have offered.
4. Didn't get home until after 5 in the am and am definitely hurting for it today.
5. Spent the evening pampering myself: hot oil treatment, hydrating face max, shower, shave, lavender baby oil rub --- the works.
6. Ate Chipotle for dinner and it gave me heartburn...tomorrow marks the start of my grown up, sophisticated, and looking smokin' in a wedding dress (and all the pictures) eating smart plan....I don't have a plan yet but I'll get there
7. Spent some time sitting on one of those big excercise balls yesterday and today my thighs are on fire (in a good way) ...Bennyboo is lovely and after me telling him I really want one he showed up back at home after running errands with an already inflated ball in hand!
8. My house is in major need of some spring cleaning. The only room I'm not ashamed of is "my room" and that's the one that nobody but me goes in. I need 12 extra hours in the day....or my laid off fiancee could get some shit done for me....but that's a whole new post...for a whole new day.
9. Gearing up for goodbye to my Girls Next Door plan to lie catatonic (dog-atonic anyone?) on the sofa in my cute new jammies and mope over the loss of my free ride to fantasy land at the Playboy Mansion....if I had the right body for it you bet your ass I'd pose...as is I'm already planning to have boudoir photos taken prior to the wedding for a gift/ I'm vain. Would I enjoy to be thinner- yes...but do I think I'm hot anyway...yes...how's that for self esteem!
10. Getting soooo sleepy
11. Blackberry chatting to Shawdee (aka Rachel) about life and makeup
12. Need to blow dry
13. Don't want to work tomorrow- need a vacation
14. Bennyboo mentioned Italy for our honeymoon- don't know if he's serious/we have the means but would be super geeked to go!
15. Have series beak down in communication with ma mere lately- we've been rubbing each othe the wrong way
16. Currently irritated that I always "Have" to be the planner amongs my mom and sisters...would love to have someone else take the lead and get things accomplished properly for once- I mean doesn't being the baby by 18 years entitle me to relaxation because everyone else planned it all?
17. Not looking forward to anything coming in the next week impaticular just getting through another long work week.
18. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ready for spring
19. Have more wedding magazines than I thought humanly possible
20. Wish our wedding was much sooner....16 months is a long time off until "I do"!

That's all....need to blow dry and position myself on the sofa- then bed- I'm pooped!

Goodnight!

Miss Amber Lane

Tonight I'm Feeling: Pampered, Relaxed, Sleepy

The Girls Are Back In Town!

The Girls Next Door that is!

Anyone who follows this blog KNOWS that I <3 me some Girls Next Door. They also know how sad I am that the show (as we know it anyway) is coming to an end now that all three girls are headed their separate ways. However..... There's still a bunch of GND left to be had in the next several months- even after the "finale" episode airs tomorrow. First of all the season 4 DVD will be released in just under two weeks!

Season 4 to be released on DVD Tuesday, March 10th

I LOOOOOVE to watch the DVDS while I'm getting ready for work in the morning or to go out for the evening. They're just the right length to keep my primping time to a minimum. Plus the commentary is great- I watch more frequently with commentary than without so I'm looking forward to a whole new season to dig in to!

Just a few days after that Bridget's new show premiers on the travel chanel!

Bridget's Sexiest Beaches
Premiers Thursday, March 12 @ 10PM!

Bridget is definitely my favorite- we have similar interests and personalities for sure- I've also been told I sound like her and my mannerisms are similar to hers. I 've also been told I resemble her -- I'm totally flattered by that but think its mostly the tan skin and the blonde hair that makes the resemblance- I WISH I had her figure!

Of course I've also been told I resemble this one as well:


Again..,wish it were a hot physique comparison but think its based on hair and tan as well.
I won't complain though I think they're both hot.
Oh and PS my hair is slowly but surely on its way back to Barbie blond again...next fall when I start whining about wanting red hair or low lights...remind me how much I LOVE my blond hair and how I want to be as much of a blond bombshell for my wedding as possible!

I digress ( and I'm clearly vain as well)...

Kendra's new show hits sometimes this summer...not sure when-





Of the three, Kendra is probably my least favorite- but I have to admit- I will still watch. I love my Girls Next Door---what can I say?

But what about Holly?


Hopefully she has something good coming up too...and to be perfectly honest...
I hope one of them writes a tell-all book...I would buy the hell out of that!

Although I have yet to buy the hell out of these two books:






Prolly because everytime I go to Borders I buy wedding books! Hee Hee I still get a little Zing! when I remember that I'm getting married! Yay!

So with the slew of new GND related materials plus the two books (that will be new to me) my heart break will be delayed - at least through the summer.

I'm not gonna lie though- I very well may cry tomorrow night when "Transitions" airs. Its the end of a fabulous fantast ride.

Le sigh.

Well that's enough of Miss Amber Lane's exclusive tour through Reality TV loser land (we all have something). I'm going to primp and prettify for an evening out on the town to celebrate my friend's hubby's b-day- evenings with them are always an "adventure" lets see how this plays out!

Much Love!

Miss Amber Lane

Tonight I'm Feeling: Playful, Pretty, and Positive

An Engagement Story

At long last the pictures from the night Ben and I got engaged! I think I already mentioned that I had the slightest inkling that the proposal was coming so I snapped as many photos prior to our dinner as I could so that someday I could show the pictures to our kids and tell them, "this was mommy getting ready to have dinner the night we got engaged!" etc, etc, etc. Unfortunately there aren't any good pictures of the dinner- but I snagged some pretty cute ones anyway I think!



The vanity in "my room" (aka the guest room) as I was getting ready. The candle is Morrocan Rose from Yankee and FYI the nail polish I used on my toes was "Goin' to the Chapel" from OPI... coincidence? I think not!

Me with my make up all done...minus lipstick...and yes, still in a towel.

Ok....perhaps TMI (too much imagery) but these were the panties I wore ... I only had them 9 months before feeling like the time was right to wear them! Haha. Sorry for the booty shot....this is for posterity after all!





Another shot of me in a semi-undressed state..yes I store my girly dvds (the ones I watch in "My room" while getting ready) in Vicky C's boxes.


All ready... where are we going?


Waiting for Ben to come upstairs and retreive me for our date.... I started taking random pictures. This is the decor in our upstairs hallway.


And then come the random shots of me...waiting.


After dinner Ben wanted to open his presents: One of the presents I got him was this game, the other was a Best Buy gift card.




In the war of who got whom the better present...he definitely won this time! He asked me to marry him and I said, "Yes!" and my happy face in this picture proves it.



Trying to get my bling into a picture Ben took of me....you can't really make it out. Yes, we're at The Backdoor- we wanted to share our good news with everyone and its hard to do from home!



A picture of my ring take on my cell phone. Let me tell you- taking clear pictures of an engagement ring is next to impossible.


So here's one from the Jared website. Yes ladies and gents: HE WENT TO JARED! Lol.

Well that's all I have for now, It's after 11 and definitely bed time. Thank God tomorrow is Friday....so glad its the weekend!

Have a good one everyone!

PS Not sure why some things are randomly underlined but I'm too sleepy to try to fix it tonight.

Loooove!
Miss Amber Lane

Tonight I'm Feeling: Sleepy, Excited (is it June 2010 yet?), Content

Its Amazing.......

How fast your day can fall to shit.

Perfectly good day today. I got a lot accomplished at the work place, it was a relatively calm and slow paced day. 

I pull into my neighborhood and happen to glance at my phone- two missed calls both from numbers near my work...great what in the eff do they want?

Listen to my first message- its one of the potential adopters of the work dog that we are returning to the SPCA because its too young for our community just wanting to know about it --- uhmmmm why do you think its ok to call my personal cell phone to ask that AFTER 5pm (and why the hell did our concierge think that it was ok to give my personal cell phone number to this person without my prior permission?)

The second message was said concierge calling to tell me that there was someone else interested in the D-O-G and wanting me to call and tell her if we had agreed to any one imparticular yet. Seriously? I'm an Activities Director for Senior Citizens not a puppy mill or vet or SPCA worker...why the eff am I getting calls on my personal time about a dog? Not to mention last Friday when I was off I was called about 6 times because they thought the dog needed to go to the vet....effing take it...don't call me!

So I call our concierge back to explain the D-O-G as I am walking through my front door with one arm weighted down with a tote bag full of wedding magazines, a wedding planner, and my everyday planner- the other arm has my purse on it thats almost as heavy as the tote bag- still trying to talk on the phone mind you... when Ben comes to the door and tries to hold it open for me to sit one of my bags down while I'm doing this I reach into the mail box on our front porch...which takes me all of 10 seconds to do in which time Ben shouts at me to, "Not leave the front door open!" to which I yell ," Shut up!" which came out all wrong because what I really wanted him to do was just not talk while I was on the phone with my work but I was tryingt o say it so urgently it came out nasty. So he gets mad at me and starts stomping around the ktichen making dinner. I clear everything up with work, get off the phone and head upstairs where I find a lovely present from our youngest kitty.

Now Rennie has had a problem since we brought her home back in October, with getting in the bathroom garbage...especially when it is being used during my time of the month (sorry if this is too graphic). Well I've adjusted accordingly, first I got a bag that was placed in the garbage and tied down when not in use...didn't work, then I moved the garbage can onto a shellf  across from the throne about boob high....didn't work....this time I put the garbage can in the guest room high up on a stack of shoe boxes (yes its high) and I get upstairs to find that she has destroyed the trash can...shreds and scraps all over the floor...and it wasn't pretty. I've cleaned up the mess and have some calls in to people to see if they want a new kitty....I can't go through this every month and I'm sick of it. 

I called my mom to see if she wants her and we just ended up fighting about something else...maybe just because I got myself into a shitty mood. 

But the good news is as I was typing this, Bennyboo finished dinner and brought my plate to the desk. he made cheeseburgers and the damn guy knows my sweet spots not only did he garnish my plate with two pickle spears he also dished out some cottage cheese for me, toasted my bun and the peice de resistance he poured ketchup and ranch dressing into little puddles on my plate for dipping....just like I would have done for myself. The man loves me....this is why I'm marrying him.

So maybe it is Amazing how fast a day can turn to shit but its pretty amazing how fast it can come back together too. 

For now!

Miss Amber Lane

Tonight I'm Feeling: Grumpy, Loved, Sardonic

The Recession Stole My Thunder!

The week that Ben and I announced our engagement will now always be synonymous with the week that Ben got laid off.

They had been laying people off for weeks at his place of employment but we were convinced that it wouldn't touch him.

Wrong.

We are of course super bummed- and I definitely had a bombshell tantrum where full on anger at the state of our economy and pure bad luck may or may not have caused the projectile of a drinking glass that spewed shards of glass all over "my room". I am now, for the most part anyhow composed.

I know it sounds selfish but right now I am just bummed. It sucks that in the same breath that we tell people we're engaged we also tell people that Ben got laid off.

His parents took us out to dinner to celebrate- total dinner time 2 hours, total wedding talk time 10 minutes....the rest laid off-ness.

Ugh. Its always something with me it seems like- true moments of un-interrupted happiness seem dreadfully fleeting.

Le Sigh.

This is not a pity party... so I better be off.

Miss Amber Lane

Tonight I'm Feeling: Bummed, melancholy, pessimistic

Bad Blogger Baby

Ben and Me Friday night at the Sweetheart's Dance I planned for my residents.


So here I am- back after not blogging for the longest again...I've really being naughty here but I do have a good excuse this time- I have been the slightest bit distracted by the fact that....

I'M ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's right ya'll, you read correctly, Miss Amber Lane who bitches and moans about her relationship not progressing and how he's never going to as- is getting married to her best friend and the love of her life!

Can you tell my feet still aren't touching the ground?

I had an inkling that it was going to happen soon sometime early last week. Ben and I had agreed that on Valentines Day we were going to go on one big date to celebrate Valentines and our five year anniversary (which is officially on the 23rd). Ben planned the date and wouldn't give me any information at all except for to tell me that it was going to be the best night of my life. This clue set the wheels a-spinning and I literally vibrated all the way to Saturday in anticipation.

Ben had told me that he made dinner plans but when he came upstairs to retrieve me for our date I realized that we weren't going anywhere- he had made dinner himself while I was upstairs primping and had set our dining room table with candles, wine, and crystal picture frames. We ate dinner together and then I gave him my gift a gift card to Best Buy and a game that he had been wanting.

After he opened his gifts he stood up and came to my chair and told me that he wanted to give me my gift. He pulled me to my feet and wrapped me in the biggest hug, telling me that I'm his best friend and that he loves me more than anything in the world, then told me wanted to ask me something. That's when he sat me back down in my chair then dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him!

I of course said, yes!

Surprisingly I didn't cry- at least not until a few minutes later when he hugged me and remarked that not too far from now I'll be Mrs Amber Smith! Then, tears.

Now that both our families have been told and all of the people that require first hand knowledge I can share with Blogger- even though I've been unfaithful recently. I am aiming to come back regularly now- especially since I plan to document our planning process here.

As of right now nothing is certain except that we love each other more than anything and are so excited to spend the rest of our lives together- we're tossing around dates but right now their all still up in the air- hopefully a confirmation is soon to come!

I'm so excited to start this next step in our lives and so excited to share this special time on blogger so that years from now we can look back and remember what our engagement was really like.

Pictures of our engagement night are soon to follow!

For now- I say goodnight!

Miss Amber Lane

Tonight I'm Feeling: Giddy, loved, excited