So, the husband's first cousin is getting married on the 14th.
well...let us backtrack a bit.
my mother in law comes from a unique family.
she had three brothers and one sister.
two of her brothers are very, very religious rabbis. one lives in Israel and one lives in Toronto. her other brother and her sister are gay (not that there's anything wrong with that) and live in England. Makes for very interesting family get togethers...wouldn't you say?

so, the religious ones in Toronto are marrying off their oldest daughter Chana. to another relative. an even more religious second cousin from England. seriously, the girl doesn't even have to change her last name.

last night we went out to dinner...a quasi-bachelorette party, if you will. we - my mother in law, my sister in law sharon, chana (the bride to be), masha (her mother), Chavi (her sister) and a cousin (i'm afraid to say i don't even know her name) - went out to dinner.

now, when it comes to food. i'm NOT a sharer. i don't like to share my food with others for two reasons. a) germs. cross contamination of forks when eating off the same plates. it's a no no in my books. and b) i'm VERY picky and there are only a handful of things i'm willing to eat on any given menu. i don't like it at chinese restaurants. i can't do "family style". it just doesn't work for me.

so, last night, sharon asked if i wanted to share a pizza. perfect. carmelized onions, roasted peppers, chili peppers...mmmm...then, out of the corner of my ears, i hear the rest of the table making plans to "share" everything. that's when the panic set in. but, hey, i figured, i had my half a pizza. all was good in the world.

so, mind you, there were 7 of us. they ordered two tuna appetizers. one pasta with salmon in it. and one salad. for 5 people, since sharon and i were having pizza. i thought it wasn't enough food...

but, you know women, they don't eat in public. funny that. it's amazing to me how there are so many fat women in the world, considering how little they all eat when they are around me. every time i go out for a meal, i end up looking like the pig. it's almost like women are afraid to eat in front of other women. one time i went out with my mother in law for sushi. i ordered two rolls of spicy veggie and she ordered one roll. and was stuffed after eating 3 pieces. me? i ate my two rolls. i'm a big believer in going out and ENJOYING myself. if i want to eat like a bird, i'll do it at home. if i'm going out, i'm going to indulge.

anyway, out comes my pizza. it looked amazing, by the way. and since it was 8 o'clock and i was starving, i was looking forward to having my 3 slices. but, then, something funny happened. since everyone was SHARING, apparently, our pizza was up for grabs too...and people started eating it! ah! so...i came away from the meal HUNGRY. how sad is that? i was treated to a nice meal at a nice restaurant, and i went home hungry. i've now learned the trick to staying thin. go out for meals with other women. i swear, i'll be a stick in no time.

aside from the food, the night was interesting. we got there just after 7 and just after 8 i was ready to go home and watch American Idol. but, yet, somehow, i didn't get home until 10:30. we were there FOREVER. i did enjoy hearing about the wedding plans and where everyone was staying and yada yada yada. but there was only so much a woman could take. i started getting super antsy and needed to leave.

my most favorite part of the evening was watching Chana turn a super bright shade of valentine red when Sharon pulled out a box from La Senza. i assure you, the gift was tasteful. Sharon knew better than to scare the shit out of this poor girl by giving her something with rhinestones or fur.

so, all in all, i'm glad the night is over, and i'm still looking forward to watching American Idol, but i think Chana had a really nice time. and at the end of the day...that's really all that matters, isn't it?