My New Life Out Here

What's Up With Me

2012-02-05T11:46:00.000-08:00

Well, lets see.

I'm getting over a cold. Todd's been sick for a couple of weeks, so of course, I caught it too. Mostly just sinus crap and a cough. Probably from the sinus crap.

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I've become addicted to Sons of Anarchy. I'd seen a couple of episodes a while back and thought, eh. It's okay. But then we started thinking about who could play Todd in "Green Light" and Todd thought of Ryan Hurst (below - yum) so, of course, we had to do research. See how Ryan's acting was. And it was during this research, I became officially addicted to this show.

Don't know about it? It's about a motorcycle club in Charming, California. They're a tight family and there's drama and there's killing and there's lots of boys with long hair who drive motorcycles. Love it. And while they seem to be all tough and mean, they really do love their family and protect each other.

We were in the Junction yesterday and I heard a motorcycle drive by and got a little excited. "It's the Sons!"

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Oh, I didn't drink for five days. That's worth noting.

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I'm on my last leg at work. I have one full week, then the 13th and 14th, then I'm done. And no I don't have another job lined up yet. Two possibilities, but nothing concrete. I am eligible for unemployment (since my position was eliminated) so we won't be destitute by any means. Oddly enough, I like the job better now that Super Boss and the 23 year old are gone. Damn.

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We have a date set for the table read of "Green Light". Don't know what a "table read" is? Lemme esplain.

Bunch of actors sit around a table (or, in this case, our living room) and read the script. We have about 15 actors and each actor has been assigned a part (or two). Someone will read the narrative (the setting "Dark apartment - nighttime") and then the actors will chime in and read their lines. I've learned that this is the first step in editing a script. You want to read it aloud, all the way through, to see how it flows. Do some lines seem out of place? Does the jump from one scene to the next make sense? Does that line even work?

Our friend Lisa is spearheading this. We sent her the script, she loved it, she emailed with "Time to schedule the read!!" She contacted most of the actors, she got it scheduled. She's running the show. And Todd and I are just fine with that. We'll listen in on the read (it will be weird to hear someone else saying things I've said) and we'll give our two cents, but this is Lisa's project. It's just easier that way. Todd and I are way too close - we'd be critiquing every little thing and the movie would never get made.

Anywho, I'm super excited. And super nervous. If you'll remember, faithful reader, this movie is (in part) about my horrible year of 2007 when I made The Ginormous Mistake, and then The Fiasco happened. We are telling this story to the public. Yes, my good friends know about that time, and they know that I'm not the same person, but people who don't know me are going to think "What a bitch!"

Hopefully we've written the story in a way that shows how broken I was and how I eventually redeemed myself. Hopefully.

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Speaking of movie making, we have a full week of that stuff! The night after the table read, I'm attending a dinner for women in film. I'm going alone. Without Todd. By myself! I KNOW!

Lisa, mentioned above, is hosting this dinner, so I emailed her and said "Tell me I'm going to know some people there!" She assures me I will and she's very excited that I'm coming. Makes me feel loved.

Might need to have Jamie do my hair. I need to look extra spiffy.

And then the night after that, we have a movie premiere, where Lisa will again be in attendance, as well as most of the women who will be at the dinner AND at the reading.

I believe the word you're looking for is "saturated".

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So, work, movies, social events, TV shows...what else is going on?

Health is okay. I'm going to start kickboxing class with Trish next week. The instructor assures me she will not have us sparring again. And Trish will be with me so I should be okay.

I am uncomfortably overweight now (but I'm happy, dammit!) so I'm a bit more motivated to try and slim down. I've had chocolate once in the past week. And I don't drink coffee during the week now. I drink green tea at work. Coffee is now a special treat on the weekend (I put lots of sugar in it). I'm walking a bit more because I'm taking the bus every day. It's the little things. I'm not going to fool myself into thinking I can quit eating processed foods and carbs and crap. Baby steps to being better.

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However, all of that is out the window today. Super Bowl Sunday! We're going over to some friends' where there will be lots of other good friends and food and alcohol, so I give myself a pass today. I'm gonna have fun. Enjoy the day!

I'll be better tomorrow.

Free At Last, Free At Last...

2012-01-27T22:10:00.000-08:00

So, most of you have seen my Facebook status - my job has been eliminated. Believe it or not, I'm happy about this.

Backstory, now that I can speak freely about it.

You remember that my review back in October was, ahem, less than positive. Things never really rebounded after that. My office manager and I had a follow up meeting in November, and he expressed his "concern" because the boys weren't coming around. Still weren't happy with me.

I actually went into Super Boss' office and asked him - "What's up? How am I doing? Still like me?" He laughed and said, "Yeah, I still like you, but..."

Uh. But?

"But I just don't think this is the right environment for you."

Ah. Because I'm not a 23 year old blond with a 20 inch waist? Honey, you knew that when you met me.

It could also be that I'm respectful (even to people I don't like), I don't act like I'm in high school and I think that answering the phone using the phrase "Hey, you retard! What the f**k, bro?"

Yes. I don't believe this environment is for me.

Regardless, that's not the reason my position has been eliminated.

I had an inkling back in November. Super Boss didn't really give me much work to do. Hell, he didn't really talk to me unless he had to. But he was very concerned about his commissions. What was outstanding? What do we need to bill for? "Why is this so hard for you to grasp?" (direct quote) He had private meetings on his Outlook calendar (but apparently forgot that I can just go into his office and look at his calendar because he never, ever logged out or shut down his computer). He wouldn't give me a gift list for Christmas. He was suddenly closing his door frequently.

December came, and with it came the holiday party. As I said, aside from Todd and the receptionist, no one really talked to me. Including Super Boss. I met his wife briefly - she actually gave me a big hug and said thank you for taking care of her husband. I responded with, "I'm trying."

But then, after months of talking to this woman daily, she started calling Super Boss' cell phone. Never called his office line. Huh.

Then Christmas vacation came. Friday, December 23rd. We had a pizza-and-wine lunch at the office, everyone was jolly, and I gave out little $5 gifts to my people. And at 1pm, we all left for the holiday.

And Super Boss didn't say "Merry Christmas" or "Have a good weekend!" or "Kiss my ass, ya bitch!" He actually left while I was in the bathroom. The receptionist told me.

And, oh, a gift? A card? Nope. Nada.

That was clincher. I was done.

Oh! But not so quickly! Our Branch Manager quit when we returned from the holiday. Jumping ship, they called it. One day notice. And he went to another firm. In the same building. Unbelievable.

I was surprised, but my office manager wasn't. He said it's what they do. Once these brokers make up their mind to leave, they don't really give "notice". And you really don't want them to - just get out.

Well, rumors started flying. Who else was leaving?

Super Boss, apparently. And he was taking a baby broker with him (you remember Chester and Spike from Looney Tunes? Super Boss is Spike and baby broker is Chester. Totally.)

Anywho, Super Boss was jumping ship. Therefore, big salary position was eliminated. That position was specifically for Super Boss. But if Super Boss ain't there, they don't need me. Know what that means?

SEVERANCE PACKAGE! WOOHOO!

Oh but wait. What this NEW rumor going around?

Super Boss is taking the 23 year old with him. The only other admin assistant in the office.

Freakin' crap.

So, they can't get rid of me. They'll have no one at all. But if I take the 23 year old's position, it's a severe pay cut. She's an Administrative Assistant. I'm a Senior Administrative Assistant. That's a few thousand dollars a year difference. What to do, what to do?

I'm resigning my position next Friday. My last day will be February 14. And that's only because I took the 15th, 16th and 17th off - my fantabulous sister-in-law is whisking away to me Palm Springs for five days. Gawd bless her.

Now to hit the pavement!
Again.
Crap.

Filming and Ice McGeddon

2012-01-20T14:19:00.001-08:00

First of all, I’m having a hard time balancing Facebook and this blog. FB is instantaneous so I tend to not rehash stuff on the blog. But that means I don’t blog very much. Hmm. What to do?

Anywho, lemme update you on our oh-so-exciting life out here in the Arctic.

Saturday was the first day of The Collectibles shoot. We were up bright and early at 5:30am (shoot me) and on set in Bothell at 7am. As always, once we’re there we have a great time. It’s just the getting there that sucks.

We actually got some coverage in our neighborhood paper, The West Seattle Herald.

That pic of me is even more incentive to lose weight.

We were home by about 7:30pm that evening, and had a lovely evening of vegging out.

Sunday, up again at 5:30am, on set at 7am. However, this was quite the exciting day. The snow had started to fall overnight, and while West Seattle didn’t get very much, boy howdy, Bothell did! So much so that one cast member couldn’t make it, and we had to send people down the hill to get a couple of others.

We cancelled the catering we had scheduled that day so we could just plow through and wrap up. This was our last day shooting at this particular location, which meant we also had to pack out – load up all of our gear, clean up, and put all of the offices back the way they were. That takes a good two hours.

So home at 9pm. And soaking feet until 10pm. Then bed.

Monday was much easier. And much snowier. We had a call time of 11am, to give everyone the chance to assess the situation. We didn’t have a problem getting to set, and I don’t think anyone else did either.

We shot at my friend Michael’s house, that has the bar, the same place we shot the On and On video last year. We’ve decided that The Mop and Bucket is the official superhero bar. Todd and I, along with Dan, Landon and Michael’s girlfriend Chris, were all extras in the bar scenes. You can spot me by my long, black wig. I believe this will give me another credit on IMDB. Hee hee.

If I knew how to make an arrow, I would have pointed me out for you.

I need to get a picture up on my profile.

We wrapped the shoot around 5pm, and thus began the Wrap Party. We plan the shoots this way – wrap at the bar. Instant wrap party.

But the weather threatening to turn at any moment, the wrap party wrapped up around 9pm and we headed home to our snowy cottage.

And because I’m not new, I took Tuesday off. I’ve done these shoots before. I am no good the day afterward. Luckily, the snow really hit Tuesday afternoon and come Wednesday morning, there was no way in hell I was leaving the house.

Same goes for Thursday.

The forecast said everything should have started melting around 1pm on Thursday, but instead, we got freezing rain all morning, which put a half an inch of ice over everything, then it started snowing around 2pm.

It did actually warm up overnight (a whopping 33 degrees when I woke up this morning) so the ice started to melt, which made the roads much better to drive on, which gave me no excuse to stay home. I did however, take the bus in.

So, a one day work week isn’t so bad, right? I was quite lazy (loaded word) on Tuesday and Wednesday, but I beat myself up enough Wednesday night that when I woke up Thursday, I was ready to organize! And organize I did! And of course, I didn’t take pictures. Because I suck.

Our office is now a clean, serene place to work on the computer, rather than a catch all for everything that doesn’t have a place. I am very proud.

And while I cleaned the office, Todd began the arduous task of putting all 600 and something DVDs into three ring binders. We now have a crap load of DVD cases that we can either give a way or donate, thus freeing up the two bookshelves in the living room for actual books. Much cleaner, less clutter, ahhhh.

We still need more binders, though.

So all in all a very productive, then lazy (loaded word) then productive week. And only one day of work.

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Speaking of, there are changes afoot (aren’t there always?) Of course, I’m not at liberty to discuss those changes yet (any day now!!!) but suffice it to say, my position is more than likely being eliminated.

Fantastic.

I’m not worried. Really. I got feelers out. I think the Universe will take of me. She knows what I need, and this position for Super Boss is not it. So this is a good change. Really.

More to come soon. I hope.

2012 - Week One

2012-01-09T14:49:00.001-08:00

So far, I’m not real impressed with 2010.

It started off pretty well – hanging with Dan and Trish and Gamy. Always fun. I made top hats* so we were festive. I didn’t drink too much, so I didn’t get a talkin’ to the next day (although, I’d had just enough to where I was uber mushy and cried to Todd for two hours about how much I loved him. He didn’t seem to mind so much).

But then Sunday, I was a little down. We didn’t get to bed until around 1:30am, so maybe I was just tired.

But then Monday, I was even farther down. And then Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday, in a pit. Not wanting to get out of bed. Not wanting to be social. Not even wanting to clean. Just…blah and clingy. I’ve started tracking these days on our Google calendar. They seem to be coming a little more frequently and that concerns me.

I’ll talk to my therapist about that.

We had a lovely, relaxing weekend of doing pretty much nothing. Well, except for the production meeting at 9:30 Saturday morning. That put a damper on my sleeping. But it was a reason to have brunch and visit with Trish and little Rosiland, so time well spent. Then Steve came over that afternoon for a visit and stayed for a few hours but he’s low key. I don’t have to host him.

And then that evening we joined our friend Darlene over at another friend’s house, (and my twin sister, I believe) Lisa. Todd has known Darlene for a very long time but he just met Lisa this past year. She’s an actor, writer, director, producer, all around movie gal. Just like Darlene. So we gathered to have a screening of some latest projects.

We meant to just stay for a couple of hours, but ended up getting home at 1:30am. It’s just so easy to get caught up in movie talk. And I learn so much.

Needless to say, Sunday was a wash. It’s actually very pathetic – if I’m up past 11pm or midnight, I am worthless the next day. Remember when I was a 20 something who could party all night and get up and do again the next day?

No?

You’re right. I wasn’t blogging then. Hell, there were no blogs then. But trust me, I was a party animal. Sometimes I miss it, most times I don’t.

Where was I?

Oh yes. Sunday. Lazy (loaded word). Since we’ve finished the second draft of the "Green Light"** script, we decided we needed to do some “research”. Which really meant watching movies all afternoon. Which was fine by me. Todd was a trooper and went to the grocery store that evening, and I cleaned the kitchen while he was gone, but that’s about the extent of our productivity.

Because NEXT weekend is The Collectibles shoot. With a 7am call time on Saturday and Sunday. So I thought I better save up my energy. I love these shoots when I’m actually there and laughing my ass off, but getting up at 6am just makes me mad. “I am not a morning person” is an understatement.

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*We had our mini tops hats for New Year’s Eve!!

Granted, I ended up spending maybe $30 less than I would have if I had just bought the damn $10 pre-made hats, but hey, I got my crafty on. And Kayleigh helped me decorate some, so we did some typical mother/daughter crafty stuff.

Now I’m done for a while.

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** Todd has mentioned the "Green Light" script in his blog, although he's not writing there too much anymore (because of said script, and the web series, and the movie pitch, and the comic strip, and taking out the cat poop) so you may have missed it.

For those of you who are lost, Todd and I started talking a couple of years ago about writing a screenplay that followed him through his horrible year and me through my horrible year and at the end of the screenplay we would finally meet - when I show up at his door to audition. BAM! Meant to be.

Kind of like Sleepless in Seattle, which is one of the movies we watched last night for research. The two characters go on their own journey for the majority of the movie, and don't really meet until the last scene.

Todd and I went through our own journey and look where it brought us.

Old Dog Haven

2011-12-30T09:13:00.000-08:00

I have found yet another reason to 1) oogle cute doggies, 2) pine for animals.

Old Dog Haven is a group that fosters and adopts out elderly dogs, so they can live their last days in a loving home.

And I want them all.

These dogs are blind, deaf, arthritic, sick. Poor babies. I just want to take them in and cuddle with them on the couch and love them until they pass away. They deserve that.

My heart hurts.

So, That Was Fun

2011-12-26T11:52:00.000-08:00

Ah, another Christmas has come and gone. One of my favorite lines in "Suddenly, It's Christmas" is:

"Christmas carols in December and November, too
It's no wonder we're depressed
When the whole thing is through"

It's over. It's all over. Time to take down the pretty lights and the pretty tree and the pretty village. No more excuses for eating cookies all day.

Sigh.

I think I'm exhausted. Maybe that's it.

Anywho, we did have a really good Christmas. We didn't open presents until 8:30am or so - teenagers. And after about two hours, Tyler had gone back out to his cottage, and we were curled up watching The Lion King. And then Stand By Me. And then Amadeus.

It was a lovely day.

Steve and Steph stopped by for a few minutes that evening to exchange gifts (fluffy robe!!) and then it was back to movies. Except The Tempest was horrible and Todd and I both fell asleep through it so we went to bed at 8:30.

It's gray and dreary today, so I'm not motivated to do much of anything. CB and I have talked about getting together, and I invited some friends over for dinner, but I still need to confirm with them. Eh. Whatever. We'll see what happens.

Merry Christmas!

Mid Christmas Eve Eve Eve Babbling

2011-12-22T11:52:00.000-08:00

Why did I have to come to work today? SuperBoss isn’t here, the phone isn’t ringing, hardly anyone else is here. I’ve already organized the three cubes used to for storage, packed up some files, and cleaned and organized the copy room. Guess I could Swiffer the offices?

Steph is coming in town for lunch so I’m counting down the minutes to that. Rumor has it our office is closing at 1pm tomorrow, after a pizza lunch. That’s something to look forward to.

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I haven’t had coffee since Sunday. My stomach was icky Monday morning so I had green tea instead. Actually, four cups of green tea. And I was more alert and energized that usual. So Tuesday, I stuck with the green tea. Only two cups that day. And yesterday, just one cup. And I was still awake.

I’m on my second cup today and doing pretty well for 11:14am. This is normally about the time I prop my elbow up on the desk, and rest my head in my hand and “rest my eyes” while moving my mouse around on a document.

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My shopping is 99.9% complete, yet I’m still a bit disappointed in myself. I started in September. My plan was to not have to go to a store after December 10^th.

Well, crap.

Christmas = 1 / Me = 0

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I am having to consciously bow out of events right now. I am beat. I was going to attend Kayleigh’s Rainbow Girls meeting tonight, but in thinking about everything I want to get done before Sunday, and realizing that I still have to freakin’ work tomorrow, we have a party Friday night, we’re going to Bellingham on Saturday…..

Gah!

When am I supposed to cuddle with Tom?! And wrap Todd’s presents!?

So Kayleigh allowed me to bow out of tonight’s meeting. I’ll go next month. Promise, sweetie.

(Maybe I can squeeze a soakie in there, too.)

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Speaking of wine (wha...?), you should see the number of bottles in my office. Holy Zinfandel! The receptionist and I like to play the game Guess How Much This Bottle Is. I end up finding every bottle on the internet and getting the price. I could make a pretty decent credit card payment with all this money sitting around.

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My therapist is not covered on my new medical insurance. Which means I may have to compensate with drinking more wine.

I think liver transplants are covered, though, so it’ll be okay.

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I have quite the vacuum discussion going on Facebook. My dad-in-law is very pro Kirby. I am not. Let the trash talk begin!!

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I think I’m already starting to get sad because Christmas is almost over. I am SO not a summer person. Summer does not make me happy. Yes, the sun is nice, but it’s boring. Christmas is festive and bright and colorful! What can we do during the summer that is festive and bright and colorful? Outdoor tiki decorations? Palm tree lights?

If money were no object (here’s where Todd chimes in and says “But it is…”) I would decorate the shit out of every season. I’d have different dishes and bedding for each. I’d put out bunnies and flowers for spring, tiki torches and grass skirts for summer (all three weeks), and orange and purple lights all over the house for fall.

And because I would have all of this crap, I would of course need bins for everything. Red and green bins for winter, purple bins for spring, black bins for summer and orange bins for fall.

What?

And then I’d need some place to store all of these bins. Which brings me to….

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Did you know you can buy attic stairs to install?

These houses up here just have a hatch. No ladder, like the pull down doors and ladders in Texas. So to get in the attic, we have to drag our ladder upstairs, Todd puts on his mask (loose insulation up there), Todd moves the little hatch panel out of the way, then I have to hand stuff up to him or he hands stuff down. Ridiculous. But now!!

My next semi-big purchase will be stairs. Once we have those, I can put boards across the beams up there and store stuff! Like you’re supposed to in an attic!

I’m so excited.

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What else is going on? You’re probably itching to get back to your wrapping and your baking and your cuddling. I should let you go. If I don’t get a chance before Sunday, have a very Merry Christmas.

Or Happy Christmas, as they used to say.

Or Merry Ho Ho. Which my mama always said.

Merry Happy Ho Ho!!

Happy Solstice!

2011-12-21T12:44:00.000-08:00

Most people love the Winter solstice because it means that, starting tomorrow, the days get longer. I don't much care for that. You know me, I love to sleep. And I feel guilty about sleeping when it's still light out.

Whatever. To each their own.

Now please enjoy this ecard I made at Some Ecards.

Gawd Help Me, I Have An Idea

2011-12-19T13:34:00.000-08:00

I love the mini top hat fad that’s happening right now. Very cute and festive. So in my surfing, I found a pic of one and sent it to Trish with a note that said:

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure we need these for our New Year’s party.”

Trish replied with:

“OMG YES”.

Except these hats are $10 at Party City. And we’ll probably have six or seven woman at Trish and Dan’s for New Year’s and you know that if Trish and I have cute party hats, EVERY WOMAN should have a cute party hat.

So I started looking around for cheaper ones, maybe some in bulk. Amazon has a bunch, but holy shit, they range from $2.99 to $750 (I kid you not).

While I could afford to buy seven of the cheaper ones (well, I would want Kayleigh to have one too, and she’s going to her friend’s for New Year’s so her friend should have one….) or ten but that’s $30 for a bunch of hats we may never wear again. And if I got the nicer ones, we’re looking at over $100.

So then I started thinking (say it with me) “How hard can it be?!” I could totally make a bunch of these!

Then came the search for the How To and I found this blog . She bought the little top hats in the doll section of a craft store. Brilliant! I could just get some ribbon, feathers, bling and hot clue the stuff on there. Then glue the hat to a headband or an alligator clip and WALA. Instant craftiness!

Oh, but what if I can’t find the top hats? NEW YEAR’S WILL BE RUINED!! I found some in bulk at a craft site, but that store is now closed until mid January. OH NO.

But then!

In trying to find that MomDot.com site, I came across a couple of other DYI site and oh my gawd, they actually make the top hats out of cardboard! EVEN CHEAPER (and I could make them at my office since the next two weeks will be absolutely dead around here).

Oh, the possibilities! And the option paralysis. But one way or another, we will have mini tops hats on New Year’s Eve. I mean it!

Round 2 of the Holiday Festivities!

2011-12-19T11:03:00.001-08:00

Can I just say how much I love Sunday mornings? Especially when I don’t have a damn thing to do. Todd had a shoot this morning at 9am, so I slept and cuddled with Tom until I decided I should maybe get up since the game started at 10am. I made coffee and had an English muffin and watched the Seahawks frickin’ whoop up on the Bears! You go boys!

Anywho, festivities.

I attended Rachelle’s party stag last night. It seems the last few nights finally caught up with Todd and the poor guy was just exhausted. So he stayed home to prepare for his shoot and work on our Christmas card picture (cards will be in the mail on Tuesday. I mean it!)

I had a lovely time (dressed in my swanky outfit) visiting with Rachelle, Shaun and Jamie (who happens to live in Rachelle’s building). They’re really the only people I visited with because I don’t have much in common with Rachelle’s other friends.

Shaun just bought his first hot tub (with a house attached) and Jamie is, once again, in school getting her MBA, so there was lots of catching up.

I was home early enough to catch Saturday Night Live, so Todd and I cuddled in bed and watched that, then drifted off to sweet sweet sleep.

And here we are. Our last festivity is this evening, when we trek over to Doug and Ann’s for our gift exchange with them. Ann got a ham and some sides, and Todd and I will take our new magical brie dish - brie, sliced in half, with Todd’s homemade cranberry sauce slathered in the middle and on top. Great for the holidays, and also for Halloween as it looks like someone slaughtered a pig on a plate. Just beautiful.

Until then, I will snooze on this couch in my jammies and watch Tombstone for the second time in two days. That movie never gets old.

Doc Holliday – “Nonsense! I have not yet begun to defile myself.”

Round 1 of the Holiday Festivities!

2011-12-17T11:26:00.000-08:00

Wednesday night, we had my holiday work party at Garage. Todd and I were uber festive in our Santa hats, and our receptionist was the life of the party. People bowled, ate, took photos, played pool and drank a lot.

While it was fun, I very much felt like I was in high school again. If it weren’t for Todd and the receptionist, I wouldn’t have had anyone to talk to. I was very much the newbie outsider.

But I’m 36 now, so it doesn’t hurt quite as bad as it used to.

On Thursday, we had our new friends Erin and Collin over for dinner. Erin and Collin are actors and movie makers, so the conversation revolved around movie talk for three hours. And I could actually keep up!

Last night was the Ugly Sweater party at Kristin and Kyle’s. We haven’t seen them since their wedding in September, so it was good to just hang and chit chat with them. It was a small group (even better) and I made a new friend. Coincidently, she writes NotMartha.com, a DYI and neat ideas blog. It’s pure porn for me. I suspect she is my long lost twin.

I also learned that her husband, Kirby Krackle’s bass player, was born in West Virginia. So we had much to chat about.

Today is all about catching up. On sleep, on cleaning, on water. Then we’re off to Rachelle’s holiday party tonight. I think I’ll go swanky. Black dress, faux fur pinkish coat. Super heels. Yes, it feels like a swanky night.

Random Thoughts and Other Crap

2011-12-13T13:09:00.000-08:00

While I am 150% into Christmas this year, I am obviously old and don’t care about my presents. We have a ton of gifts under the tree and I have yet to bend down there and look to see what I have.

It’s too hard to get back up.

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We went to KMTT’s Winter Warmth Concert last Thursday evening. I enjoyed Florence and The Head and the Heart and Mat Kearney, but the venue (WAMU Theater) was cavernous and sterile and cold. There was no “warmth” there whatsoever. And I was tired, so I was cranky and just not in the mood to deal with all the little 20 somethings who were drinking and dancing around all carefree because they got to nap after their shift at Starbucks and despite all of that alcohol, they would be probably be able to bounce back up at 5am the next morning feeling oh so perky and ready for life while I had to take Friday off because I knew there was no way in hell I’d be able to get up on time for work after going to bed at midnight.

Yes, maybe I’m a little bitter because I have to work a desk job in order to be an adult and pay my mortgage. Hmph.

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However, taking Friday off was just fine with me. I slept in until 9ish, and I had a leisurely breakfast and then finally got my butt in gear and went shopping all freakin’ day. It was wonderful.

I might have also had a happy meal for lunch. Oops.

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Friday night was pizza and movies. We watched Super 8. I didn’t care for it. While it’s JJ Abrams, it was just like every Spielberg movie ever made, all rolled into one.

Yawn.

The kids liked it, though.

Then we watched the new Green Lantern. It doesn’t matter what it was about. Ryan Reynolds is hawt.

**********

Saturday, we ran some errands, then delivered gift baskets/bags to our neighbors. That’s the best part of Christmas for me. Spoiling people.

We put in wine for the grown ups, fancy Christmas sodas for the kiddos, Todd's homemade banana bread, some chocolates, shortbread cookies and a little fun thing like a game or finger puppets.

I love our neighbors.

**********

Saturday night, we went to see Twelfth Night’s “It a Wonderful Life” at Kenyon Hall. Todd wasn’t in it this year. It was lovely, as always. We ended up hanging out with some of the cast at a local bar afterwards. Low key, easy evening.

**********

And Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update is totally worth mentioning. Alec Baldwin, despite being a prick sometimes, is freakin’ awesome.

**********

Todd got up early on Sunday to meet Ron for coffee, so I finally woke up at 11am. Kayleigh came into chat, so I just laid in bed until noon and talked with her and cuddled with Tom. Once I finally got up, we had breakfast, then K decided she wanted to make cookies. So, she baked and I cleaned while we listened to Christmas music. It was just like being a kid again, hanging out with mom on the weekends.

And it made me a little homesick.

**********

Once Todd finally returned, we chilled out on the couch for the afternoon and snoozed. Then we went to the store for dinner supplies and I cleaned up his kitchen so he could cook, and he made a wonderful dinner of fried rice (I swear to gawd I’d starve if he ever left me now) and then there was “Hell on Wheels” and “Grimm” and then taking Jamie’s neighbor basket to her and then finally, sweet sweet sleep.

I like sleeping way too much.

**********

And to prove that the holidays are in full swing, we have two evenings with no plans the seven days. We’ve got my winter soiree, dinner with new friends, an Ugly Sweater Christmas party, a responsible adult Christmas party and a gift exchange with Doug and Ann. Oh, and then a few days later, dinner with Doug and Ann.

I live for the busy times.

Now if I could just stay awake during the day…

By Popular Demand!

2011-12-13T11:41:00.000-08:00

It seems my veggie enchiladas are quite a hit. I've gotten two emails recently, asking for the recipe. I feel so special.

So, my post from 2006, on Life Out Here:

**********

Chef Raechelle

I made enchiladas tonight for dinner.
Difficult? you say.
No. Not at all.

Who's up for a recipe? A first for this blog....

Enchiladas de, uh, Me
Serves 2 (or 4 if everyone eats just one)

1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
1 white onion, sliced
4 medium mushrooms, sliced (optional, I like mushrooms)
4 taco size tortillas (whole wheat or flour)
1 small bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 cup (or so) of shredded cheese (pepper jack or cheddar)
Olive oil (use when needed)
1 can of Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce (or any other brand...I just haven't tried any others)

Saute the onion in the olive oil for a few minutes, then add the rest of the veggies. Keep on medium heat, covered, and occasionally stirring, until all is tender.

Meanwhile, pre-heat the over to 400 degrees. Once the veggies are tender, turn off the burner and heat the tortillas, separated by a paper towel (so they don't stick to each other*), in the microwave for 30 seconds (this makes them soft and they roll easier when they're soft).

Pour a little bit of the enchilada sauce in an 9 X 9 dish (or a bigger dish, if you're making more than 4) just enough to coat the bottom.

In a handy assembly line, fill the tortilla with some of the veggies (this works best if you put the tortilla down on a plate or something. With the veggies, they'll be too hot to hold, as I learned tonight), sprinkle some cilantro on the veggies, then roll the tortilla so that the opening is on the bottom. Place the enchilada in the dish, up against the side, so you have room to fit the remaining 3 in there. Repeat the assembly line with the remaining 3 tortillas. You may have veggies left over (I always do) so you can nibble on those while waiting for the enchiladas to bake.

Once all of the enchiladas are in the dish, pour the rest of the sauce over them coating them. Sprinkle the cheese and remaining cilantro over the top. Bake in the over for about 10 or 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and you think the sauce is hot. Take the dish out of the oven, and let it settle for 5 minutes or so. The sauce needs to thicken so everything doesn't slide off when you pick up the enchiladas to put them on the plate.

Serving tip: using 2 spatulas, one on each side of 2 enchiladas, works well to get the enchiladas out of the pan. Serve with refried or black beans.

I say wala. Enjoy!

*I have since learned that you can place the tortillas on top of each other and heat them IF you sprinkle some water between them first. That will steam them, and keep them from sticking.

Busy Busy PARTY Tired Busy!

2011-12-05T16:37:00.000-08:00

I actually had to go back and look at our Google calendar to remember what happened last week. How pathetic is that?

I had a sewing date with Stephanie because I got a wild hair to make Christmas pillows a couple of months ago. Unfortunately, but the time our sewing date rolled around, I didn’t give a shit about pillows anymore. But Steph did, so she persevered. Love that girl. It was good to have some female bonding time, as well.

On Thursday, my buddy Jenn from Tacoma came up and we went to lunch at, what she calls, The Fun Market. Which is actually Melrose Market on Capitol Hill http://melrosemarketseattle.com/ . It’s a very cute place – sandwich shop, wine bar, gift shop, flower shop. Very cozy. And the lemongrass potato soup was awesome. It was nice to have some social time in the middle of my day. And since Jenn and her husband Scott are moving to Hawaii for a year, due to Scott’s job, it was even more warranted. Much like a trip to Hawaii next year may be.

The Seahawks actually won their game on Thursday night. That’s two or three in a row. I’ve lost track. It’s hard to sit down and watch the games when they’re playing so badly. But Marshawn Lynch is healed and back in, so we’re in a winning streak. I’m not holding my breath that we’ll see a championship this year, though.

Friday was pasta (not pizza) movie night. We watched X-Men First Class (I’ve given up on reviewing every movie. Life is too busy right now) and I fell asleep a few times. Not because of the movie, just because I was wiped out. Guess the busy week caught up with me.

But, by golly, I was up at 9:30am on Saturday and ready to go!! It was party day! Todd and I ran to Costco (quickest Costco trip EVER), then hit Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, Pier One, Dress Barn, the liquor store, Marshall’s and QFC.

BAM.

Back home to clean and prep and shower and beautify. Steve and Steph were the first guests (out of about 40) to show up at 6:15pm and after that, it’s all a blur. Tons of friends, karaoke, Winter Wizards (vodka, peppermint schnapps and Irish cream), cookies, a surprise guest from the past, tacky shirts, pretty green and red fingernails, photo ops, an accidental shot of Jack Daniels (damn you, Raff!), the cutest freakin’ little girl EVER, singing “Sweet Caroline” at the top of our lungs, and finally, at 2:30am – bed.

And then on Sunday, taking a bottle of wine and truffles to our next door neighbors as an apology for being so loud and as a thank you for not calling the police.

At least we don’t do this every weekend, right?

And why don’t we do this every weekend? Because we’re getting’ too old for this shit. My legs still hurt from standing all night and I’m still sleep deprived from going to bed at 2:30am. I am proud to say, however, that I did not get a talking to the next morning, as Rae-rae behaved herself very well, despite inviting almost every single guest over for dinner and her famous Veggie Enchiladas. All for this week.

I wasn’t really hurting on Sunday, but the last thing I wanted to do was leave the house. Alas, it’s what we do for family. We had our annual Christmas lunch with Katherine, Todd’s stepmom, at Bamboo Garden. So yummy. So meat free.

After that, back home to tidy up a bit and snooze on the couch. A lazy Sunday indeed.

And this week is already proving to be a doozie. A fun doozie, but a doozie nonetheless.

A quiet evening tonight, dinner with film peeps tomorrow, KMTT’s Winter Warmth Concert on Thursday, the day off on Friday (WOOHOO!), finish up Christmas shopping and mail mom and dad’s package, Twelfth Night’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” on Saturday and…..oh. There’s nothing on the calendar for Sunday. Not even a Seahawks game. Huh.

I’m sure something will pop up. I’ve been meaning to clear out the crawl space. That sounds like a good project for a cold December Sunday.

Cause gawd forbid I should sit still for a day. No can do.

Not So Happy Post

2011-11-30T21:07:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was nice. Quiet, low key. Four days off was wonderful. Lots of sleeping. We got to have dinner with our Tacoma friends, Jenn and Scott. We decorated the house inside and out. We Christmas shopped. And Kayleigh and I went to see "Breaking Dawn" with Trish.

Laugh if you must. But I loved it.
So there.

Then came Sunday. I'm not sure what happened. I just woke up in a funk. And that funk would not let go. It is now Wednesday and I'm still in the funk. Usually, the holidays and the lights make me giddy. I'm bouncing off the walls!

But not right now.

What's even funnier is that a friend left this comment on my Facebook page today:

"I still follow what you're up to, have always loved your happy attitude on life. Hugs to you and your family this holiday season."

Happy attitude? Me?

I believe it was just last night I was telling Todd how it all seemed futile - waking up early, fighting traffic to sit in a cube for eight hours, fight traffic just to get home to eat, clean up and go to bed, day after day after day. I just don't wanna anymore. Sever case of the don't wannas. I like sleeping so much because when I'm unconscious, I have no responsibility or obligation. I'm "off".

I like being off. Being on is exhausting. Because I'm constantly thinking about how to be off. It's like the background programs that run on your computer. They're constantly whirring away, and it exhausts your computer. Same thing. There's a constant whirring in my head.

How can I turn off?

Sigh.

I fake it really well, don't I? My therapist is very impressed. She says "No wonder you're tired all the time!" She also tells me that thinking about being off all the time is not normal.

Really? Huh. I've never known any differently.

Regardless, I know this little funk is only temporary and I will soon be back to my perky, neurotic self. It's just really hard to muster through the day feeling like this.

On a happy note, how's about these lights?!

Weekend Update Full of CHRISTMAS!

2011-11-20T18:23:00.001-08:00

Well, the mister and I were uber productive this weekend. Yes, it's not even Thanksgiving, and yes, it's not even December, but you know what?

I am in the spirit, dammit. This is a happy season! I live for this season!

So, on Saturday, Todd and I put up the Christmas lights outside. We framed the house, the front windows, ran garland across the porch and down the banister and around the front door and put net lighting on the stinkin' holly bush. We WILL wait until after Turkey Day to put the red bows on the columns and the candy canes down the walkway. I don't want people egging our house.

And today, we got a crap load of Christmas shopping done. My goal is not have to hit a major store after December 10th. That's realistic, right?

So, that's my weekend. Cleaning after being sick for a week, and gettin' all Christmasy. Now I have a three day work week, a happy hour, a shopping trip with our receptionist to get decorations for the office, and then decorating the office Wednesday after work.

This week should just fly by.

Here We Go Again

2011-11-14T10:11:00.001-08:00

My faithful readers will remember my post fromThanksgiving week last year. We wereexpecting a slight “dusting” of snow that Monday, which turned into a two hourcommute home, via ice, and the city shutting down for three days.

Well, here we are at November 14, and our forecastfor this week is as follows, per KOMO4:

“…This cold snap will also give parts of WesternWashington its first chance of seeing some snow this fall. The snow levelwill likely drop to 300'-700' starting Friday, but as is often the case, thecold air arrives right when the moisture moves out. That said, therelikely will be enough moisture around for scattered showers to form. Those showers will likely fall as snow showers in the Cascadefoothills, the Hood Canal area, and higher hilltops along theI-5 corridor, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if some snow showers evenformed over Seattle, Tacoma, or Everett….”

An extra tidbit of information is that my housesits very close to the highest point in Seattle – 500ft. So while the forecast, of course, downplaysthe possibility of snow, we long time Seattleites know better.

I will be stocking up on groceries onThursday. Just in case.

Happy Second Anniversary to Us!

2011-11-08T21:26:00.000-08:00

I had big plans for our anniversary. I reserved a swanky hotel (it has a heated pool and a spa). We were going to have a lovely dinner. We were going to have an early check in and a late check out and I wasn't going to let Todd answer his phone for a full 24 hours. Just the two of us. No kids, no cats, no laundry, no dishes, no nothin'.

Dammit!

Todd got sick last Tuesday, the day after "War of the Worlds" ended. I had a touch of the sniffles and one of my bosses (not Super Boss - let's call him Master Chief (Todd's idea, from Halo) asked me twice if I needed to go home on Wednesday. His pa is in the hospital so he absolutely cannot get sick right now. I said I was okay and I'd just keep my distance and use a lot Purell. No biggie. I still met Rachelle for happy hour after work.

Unfortunately, I had the bright idea to take the bus home rather than drive (I'm so responsible!) and the bus broke eight blocks from my house, so rather than sit and wait (at 9pm) I decided to walk home. In the rain. Uphill.

Needless to say, I woke up Thursday morning sneezing and coughing and just in all kinds of pain. So I decided to just stay home and not risk it.

And since Thursday was spent sleeping, coughing, sleeping, watching TV and cuddling with Tom, I did the even more responsible thing and cancelled our weekend.

We thought maybe we could at least go out and have dinner on Saturday night, but neither one of us could even muster the energy to get dressed, so....no.

By Sunday, Todd and I were both stir crazy and sick of TV so we started brainstorming about Christmas decorations. This had been rolling around in our head since Halloween, what, with the neighbors pirate ship and giant spider and skeletons hanging off of their roof. Todd and I started thinking about how elaborate we could be (maybe rig Santa and the reindeer to fly over the neighbors' house?), so he drew the yard and highlighted where the lights would go. We penciled in the wreath, the garland, and other accessories (we're still in the planning phase) and started a shopping list.

I may have started a spreadsheet. I'm really not at liberty to say.

We really wanted to go shopping around, but we were still sick and just didn't have the energy. So we took a toodle down to the Junction and checked out the new Petco (love the aminals!) and picked up some cold meds and then dropped by A Terrible Beauty for a little more medicine (what? The hillbillies used whiskey before there was Nyquil, right?) and then on to True Value to oogle the Christmas decorations and price lights. By then we were exhausted, so we slowly wandered home, got back in our sweats, and crashed. Yippee.

I had to go back to work Monday (being new and all) so okay, Todd would take the bus in and we'd have a swanky dinner on Monday, our actual anniversary!

Uh. No. When Todd and I talked on the phone around noon, he was feeling even worse and his stomach was upset, so what's the point on spending a crap load of money on a fancy dinner if it was just going to make Todd sick?

Sigh. The stars just would not line up.

And here we are at Tuesday. Kayleigh has been home for two days now with a fever and a cough and no voice. Todd is tired, but starting to mend slowly and I'm still coughing up crap, but am loaded with energy. So we hit Target this evening (after dinner! I didn't even finish my wine!) and bought Christmas cards, and stationary and Christmas karaoke cds (A Very Karaoke Christmas!) and even little foil stickers to seal the envelopes!

I AM ON IT.
DAMMIT.

Hee. Can't wait!

End Scene!

2011-11-01T15:11:00.000-07:00

While I love that Todd is involved in theater, andI love every one of the Twelfth Night guys, I am so very glad “The War of theWorlds” is over. He was at rehearsalsevery Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening for the past month, and then lastweek was tech week, so he was gone before I’d even get home from work, and bythe time he got home, I was half asleep in bed.

I missed him a lot.

I know!! Me! Missing my husband!

So, for our anniversary this weekend, I booked aswanky hotel and told him that as soon as we check in, his phone gets turned off. No Collectibles stuff, no theater stuff, no nothing. He’s all mine. For 24 hours. Hee.

While Todd was in tech week, I kept myselfoccupied with happy hours and lots of TV. I got some good deep cleaningdone on Saturday, since there were two shows that day, after a brief outingwith Kayleigh, where I realized that everybody and their freakin’ brother wasan idiot and I couldn’t handle it anymore.

Sometimes I think I need to up my dosage.

I brought in some theater cigarettes, decanters oficed tea, and ashtrays (or, candleholders that resembled ashtrays) for the officeon Halloween. Mad Men theme. Super Boss was tickled. Sick and coughing and hacking, buttickled. I wore my pearls and littlecardigan with the flower. Sorry I didn’ttake any pictures. I just wasn’t asenthusiastic as I wanted to be.

But now that Halloween is over, we can startplanning for the holidays! A VeryKaraoke Christmas party, DYI Christmas gifts, decorating the shit out of thehouse. I wasn’t too gung ho last year,but I’m already feeling it this year. Look out!!

Well, I’ll be feeling it more after I get a good12 hour night sleep. I’m dragging today.

Oy.

Shake It Out

2011-10-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

This song has rolling around in my brain for days. The Mountain seems to always play it right as my alarm goes off. There's just something about it that hits home.

The beauty of music is that you can interpret any way that want when something resonates with you. And this song says to me, I've done some stupid and bad stuff, but if I'm going to move on, I have to let it go. "I'm always dragging that horse around...tonight I'm going to bury that horse in the ground.....And it's hard to dance, with the devil on your back so shake him off!"

And yes, I screwed up and I can't take it back, but shake it out.

**********
Shake It Out - Florence & The Machine

Regrets collect like old friends
Here to relive your darkest moments
I can see no way, I can see no way
And all of the ghouls come out to play

And every demon wants his pound of flesh
But I like to keep some things to myself
I like to keep my issues strong
It's always darkest before the dawn

And I've been a fool and I've been blind
I can never leave the past behind
I can see no way, I can see no way
I'm always dragging that horse around

And our love is pastured such a mournful sound
Tonight I'm gonna bury that horse in the ground
So I like to keep my issues strong
But it's always darkest before the dawn

Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah

And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back
So shake him off, oh woah

I am done with my graceless heart
So tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart
Cause I like to keep my issues strong
It's always darkest before the dawn
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah

And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back
So shake him off, oh woah

And given half the chance would I take any of it back
It's a final mess but it's left me so empty
It's always darkest before the dawn

Oh woah, oh woah...

And I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't
So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road
And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope
It's a shot in the dark and right at my throat
Cause looking for heaven, for the devil in me
Looking for heaven, for the devil in me
Well what the hell I'm gonna let it happen to me

Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah

And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back
So shake him off, oh woah

Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah

And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back
So shake him off, oh woah

Weekend Update….and Viadoom

2011-10-24T17:14:00.000-07:00

For those of you not from ‘round here, there’s bighappenings right now. One of our majornorth-south arteries, the Alaskan Way Viaduct, is being torn down. This is has been in the works for a while(don’t get me started on the tunnel they’re building….along the waterfront, inground that is landfill, in earthquake country) but over the weekend, we had amajor development.

They started Friday night.

Now you can take the West Seattle Bridge (our onemajor escape off of the West Seattle peninsula) to I5 and go north or south, but that’s justcrazy stupid. Way too many cars for justthat one route. So we West Seattlitesusually take the Alaska Way Viaduct. It’s like our local freeway.

And now it's closed.

The news leading up to this nine day closure camewith a few different nicknames – Via ConDios, Carmageddon, Viapocalypse. Iprefer Viadoom. Easier to say. We were being told to allow at least oneextra hour for our commute. One wholehour. There are survival guides. People took the week off from work to avoidthe commute all together.

I took the bus this morning. I might have still been stuck in traffic, but at least I didn’t have figure outwhich route to take.

All in all, I was 15 minutes late to work thismorning. And I would have been out thedoor much earlier if it hadn’t been for Tom puking under the bed as I wasgetting ready. That led to me and Toddpulling out the bed so I could get back there to clean it up, which led me tovacuuming back there because, oh my gawd, the dust and cat hair. So, I left the house a little later than Iintended. Which was okay because itseems that everyone else left an hour earlier, so the roads were pretty open at7:30am.

Rumor has it that the next few days will beworse. People overcompensated and leftreally early, or took the bus when they’d normally drive, or just took thefreakin’ day off. I’m curious to see howthings end up toward the end of the week.

So that’s the exciting news around here.

West Seattle hosted a few local, stay-on-thepeninsula events over the weekend (Viadeals), but Todd and I had no reason toleave anyway. It was our neighbor’s bigass Halloween party Saturday night.

Todd was a steam punk monster hunter, and I was aflapper.

And can I just say, holy shit, I ama big girl. I think I’m okay with mysize (even when I’m buying a size 16 dress) but then I see a picture and I don’teven recognize myself. Maybe my back was just uber arched?

But I’m happy! So you have to pick your battles, right?

Maybe pick your battles and skip dinneroccasionally.

(Don't even mention the wine. Just don't.)

Like that coat? That was an impulse buy that afternoon. It's chenille or crushed velvet. Very soft. Very sexy.

And my man with all his knives and guns and pointy sideburns. Such a cutie.

We hung out at our neighbor's until the bitter end (i.e. they kicked us out because they were tired and just wanted to go to bed, but if you were so tired, Mr. Neighbor, why did you keep refilling my wine glass? Enablers.) then crashed at home and watched some TV.

And Sunday was a ridiculous game of touch football. Just....ridiculous. Three to 6? Really? You couldn't score more than three points in two and half hours? Really? You make it really hard to support you, 'Hawks. Real.Hard.

After football, it was time for some therapy, so after Todd left for "War of the Worlds" load in, I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. And I taught Kayleigh to clean her bathroom. She did okay with the sink, but man, when it came time to get all up in the toilet, she was dry heaving. I told her to bow down to the porcelain goddess and scrub her real good.

Kayleigh asked, "Why do you keep calling it a "goddess"?! I said, "Because she takes a lot of shit from people. Now scrub."

Ha!

We had already made plans to go get pedicures that evening, so I reminder her that our reward was just a couple of hours away. She replied with, "It's not worth it!" So I ended up buying her ice cream, too. She did good.

After our pedicures and grocery shopping, we came home and made tuna melts for dinner. Which is really, really difficult when you gag at the sight of mayo. But I got through it, and the sandwiches were yummy, and we watched The Money Pit, which now reminds me of when we first moved into our house. One freakin' thing after another.

And then Todd got home and there was lots of cuddling and then bedtime.

And now, as I type this, I think I need to maybe make an eye doctor's appointment because I find myself leaning closer and closer to the screen because the letters are all running together. Crap.

Rough Week

2011-10-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

I'm having a hard time being incompetent. Todd will say I'm not "incompetent", just "new". But it sure feels incompetent.

It has been brought to my attention at work that I'm not all that and a bag of chips, like I thought I was. Apparently typos are frowned upon. Really? Oh, but who has crackers and granola bars and pretzels in their desk drawer when Super Boss comes out of his office at 3pm every day asking anyone and everyone, "Do you have any food? I'm hungry. Do you have anything to eat?"

Maybe I'm rushing. I think I want to produce material so quickly to show I'm "on it" that I haven't been proofreading my stuff very well. Three dollars per feet? Really? Come on, Rae-rae! You know better than that!

Sigh.

So, it's not just assumed anymore that I'm the shit. Go figure. I have to prove myself. It's been a long time since I've had to prove myself. I am good. Can't you just take my word for it?

No. Not when I type "300,00.0" That's just wicked stupid.

I feel like I'm starting alllll over again. Granted, I *am* starting over, in a new job with new people, but this is a whole new ballgame for me.

For example, I am no longer the young, cute, funny girl in the office that talks about dating and her soap opera life and clubbing on the weekends. No, that's another girl now. A 23 year old tall, skinny, blond whose actually really nice and was really great at teaching me InDesign. Crap.

I am now the 36 year old married woman with two teenagers who can't stay awake past 10pm. I wear blouses that hide my belly, I keep tissues with me at all times, I'm the one who has Tums, tweezers and band aids in her desk. I'm the mom. I'm the old lady.

It's true. I found out today that I am the oldest of the administrative team. Fantastic.

Not only am I in a completely new business, I'm in a completely new roll. I was not prepared for this new roll. It's weird.

Anywho, that's what's been up with me lately. I've been adjusting to my new place in the world. Sorry I've been out of touch.

Kisses.

Update

2011-10-04T20:57:00.000-07:00

I may have failed to mention that I haven't been on my pretty pink pills for the last month. Insurance crap. That's probably why I haven't been writing much. I've started a few posts, but they end up just bitching about I lost it and freaked out and well, who wants to read about that?

Actually, that was pretty much my weekend. I was irked Friday evening, but persevered and had a nice dinner with the family for Kayleigh's birthday. I slept in late Saturday morning, so that helped and my day started out okay. But then Kayleigh's birthday festivities got delayed and we finally got to Gameworks, which was hellaloud, and then I started drinking cosmos with Ann, and well, crap.

The highlight of the evening was after Gameworks. We took Kayleigh and Lydia to see Bob Schneider at the Triple Door. He was by himself, so it was a simple lovely show. And afterwards, he milled about and talked to people, so we pulled Kayleigh up to him and she got her pic with him. And she maybe hyperventilated a little.

It was a bit of a rough night, but Todd made it all better with cuddles, so it ended on a good note.

And Sunday, I spent the entire afternoon by myself, shopping. Who knew Kohl's had such cool stuff?! I came home with numerous bags and a couple pair of new shoes and, now my insurance crap is straightened out, my pretty pink pills.

Todd is very happy.

On a completely different note, I accidentally wandered into Express today.

Uh oh.

The majority of that store is red, black, white, silver and animal print. Gawd help me when I get more money.

Weddings, Comic Shows, Launch Parties and Mad Men

2011-09-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

Oh, and working out. Which I also did this week. Well, I walked the treadmill for 15 minutes, then did the stairstepper eliptical thing for 3 minutes, and thought I was going to die. Gotta start somewhere, right?

Lemme back up. Last Friday night was Kyle Steven's wedding (the same Kyle who handled the music at our wedding and also wrote and performed a song). To sum it up, I left a comment on Facebook that said "That was the best concert EVER!!" Kyle's band, with a different lead singer, performed all of best 80s hits, including Whole Lotta Love, by Led Zepplin, which Kyle sang to his new wife, Kristin.

Fan-freakin-tastic!

But we had to call it an early night because, come 7am, we had to get up to work the Jet City Comic Show. Todd had a table for Airship Daedalus with Brian, and I had a shirt that said "Crew". It wasn't half as crazy at ECCC last year, so I toodled around, asked if I could with anything, mingled. Most of the time, I hung out at Todd's table and hugged on my honey. Not a bad day at all.

But I was freakin' exhausted afterwards, so Todd made the executive decision to grab dinner at a pub, then go home and curl up for Mad Men. And that is why I love him.

So sleeping Saturday night was great, but up again (relatively) early on Sunday to shop for The Collectibles web series launch that was taking place at 2pm. Todd had been up until 5am working on the final presentation, and he continued to work on it right up until we had to leave. So getting to stand around with a glass of wine and chit chat at the launch was very welcomed. There was no more we could do. Except enjoy ourselves.

And we did! We had about 50 people at the launch, and everyone laughed where they were supposed to and they ate all the food and drank all of the wine and beer. I think they left happy.

Most of the cast and crew ended up a pub afterwards for some general decompression. Ah.

And then back home so Todd could crash, and Landon (who crashes at our place occasionally because he lives far away) could drink more and talk until 11pm.

I very wisely took Monday off so we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at Easy Street, and then Landon went home and Todd and I shopped a little, then back to the couch for more Mad Men. I gotta get caught up.

And then there's work, where I'm ACTUALLY working. I know!

Whew.

Summing Up Summer

2011-09-23T08:12:00.000-07:00

Happy First Day of Autumn (and happy wedding day to Kyle and Kristin!! But more about that later...)

It's actually been warm and muggy for the past few days, which just goes to show that Seattle has absolutely no idea what a "season" is. It doesn't care that in summer it's supposed to be warm and it winter it's supposed to be cold. No sir. Seattle is very defiant.

"Whateva! I do what I want!"

This attitude is summed up best by this song and video on KOMO4 news. Please watch. We couldn't have said it better ourselves. And our weather nerd, Scott, even counted the minutes of summer weather.

It's actually very depressing.

But enough with the past! It's now fall! Break out the gourds! Prepare your Halloween costumes (I am ON IT!)! Get ready to eat and drink and be merry for the holiday season!

Wait. I've pretty much been doing that all year, haven't I?

***********

As a side note, I googled "seattle autumn" to find that nice picture up there.
And funny thing, this photo was stuck right smack dab in the middle of all of the beautiful fall ones.

No idea. Go to the blog and learn about it.

One More Thing...

2011-09-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

Don't worry - it's fake.
But it's gorgeous.

A Brief Example Of My New Environment

2011-09-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

As I am walking to the receptionist desk, Walters, a young guy, is throwing a steel business card at the wall. It is loud.

Me: What the hell are you doing?!
Walters: Think I can make this stick to the wall?
Me: Uh, is it magnetic? Or do you mean "make it penetrate" the wall?
Walters: (continuing to throw it against the wall) I want it to stick IN the wall!
Me: I think if you keep at it, you can do it. But just be careful - it will come flying back at you and put yer eye out.

Me: (to the receptionist, as I'm walking away from Walters) It's like a daycare around here!

'Tis the Season!

2011-09-19T12:31:00.000-07:00

I've already had a peppermint mocha this year. I just couldn't wait until December. Todd and I also looked at Christmas lights at Fred Meyer. I want the big red 70's bulbs for the house, he says no. Hmph.

I'm also pondering gift ideas, as my mother is already hounding me. She's pretty much done with all of her shopping, but needs little last minute ideas. So I started surfing. And saving pictures. And hyperlinks. So I thought I'd share my (very short) list. Make it easier for everyone.

**********

I aspire to wear hats this year. I think I might get a new, black, wool winter coat, but one without a hood (like my current one) because then I can justify a cute hat. Like these.....

Red Hat:

Black Hat:

Since I'm narrowing my complete wardrobe down to red, black, white, gray and pink, I think I need a new purse. Red would go with my new wardrobe. And you know how I love patent leather.

The only pic I could find was from Dooney and Bourke, but gawd knows I would never spend $300 on a purse, nor would I ever accept a $300 purse. I could probably find one like this in TJ Maxx or Ross.

I love the whole Anne Taintor line of stuff. So bitchy, so passive aggressive. Love it. And there have been a few instances where I've wished I had a flask in my purse.

And this calendar would be awesome for my cube.

I also love, love, love the Knock Knock line of stuff. I think Super Boss would appreciate finding these stuck to his monitor.

And I realized the other day that I don't have a short strand of pearls. My daddy bought me some ivory pearls for Christmas years ago that I still wear, but I'd like some bright white ones that are a bit chunkier. And sometimes my long strand that I wind around my neck just doesn't work with the outfit.

I think I'm also finally finding my "look". I've always wanted a distinct look, something other than jeans and a hoody. Now that I'm downtown and dressing up, there's a few outfits that I've managed to piece together and I feel really comfortable and pretty in them.

Unfortunately, my look is not cheap. Of course. Mama used to say, "You've got champagne taste and a beer budget!" (She doesn't know that I can get champagne for a mere $10 these days....)

Betty, Joan and Peggy

Anywho, Banana Republic has a fabulous theme going on right now - Mad Men.

I love it.

My hips and boobs were MADE for this era. Joan? Oh yeah. I can totally pull off this look. And I love wearing dresses much more than pants - way more comfy. H&M also has some very 60s dresses and suits, and they're much cheaper.

So, this Christmas I will work on defining my look. Gift cards (to most anywhere) for clothes are always appreciated. I realize the hats above are not 60s really, but I can span the decades a little, right?

I should start working on my Christmas card list......

Because It Can't Be Ignored

2011-09-11T21:19:00.000-07:00

On September 11, 2001, I was living in my Market Street duplex with Kevin, a friend of my sister's. Steve had moved in the month before, taking the upstairs bedroom, while my bedroom was downstairs in the basement, with it's own bathroom. I had stayed the night in Steve's room, so we woke up together to his alarm clock, which was set to The Mountain. Except the DJ wasn't familiar and someone was talking about New York and a plane that had hit a building.

Steve and I looked at each other in a sleepy stupor and said in unison, "What?"

We sat up, and Steve turned on the TV that was in his room. And we watched the second plane crash into the building. We flipped channels, wondering if it was real. But every station showed the same image. We sat on the edge of the bed, at 6:00am, and cried.

I remember thinking over and over, "What does this mean? What is life like to going to be like now?" I think Steve left for work, but I sat on the soft in the living room watching the news for two hours. I didn't call in to work, I didn't shower, I just couldn't move.

At some point, I did get cleaned up and made it into work, but no one was working.

I didn't lose anyone that day. I didn't know anyone on the planes, or anyone in the buildings. But I can't watch footage of those planes crashing, or the buildings crumbling, without weeping. I was 3000 miles away, on an opposite coast, but it was so personal.

It still is, as I sit here and watch raw footage on TV. I'm ready for this day to be over.

'Night.

Random Thoughts

2011-09-09T13:06:00.000-07:00

Ah, happy Friday. Fridays in my office are very quiet. These guys work long days all week, so when Friday rolls around, the office is empty by about 1pm. Especially when it’s sunny and 80 degrees out.

*********

We've watched a crap load of movies in the past few weeks, but I’ve been slacking and not listing them on my movie tab. I’m working on updating that. Maybe today, perhaps….

[Update: apparently not.]

**********

Work is going really well. I told Super Boss yesterday he should take me to lunch for my one month anniversary. He was baffled that it had already been a month. Then he said, “Okay, sounds good. Put it on my calendar.” I said, “Already done! You’re taking me to Tulio.”

I think this is going to be a beautiful working relationship.

**********

Kayleigh started high school on Wednesday. I have a daughter in high school. I think I’m more excited than she is. She gets a locker! And Homecoming is in October! Wheeee!

**********

I’ve had a latte this morning, but I want another cup of coffee. There’s free coffee here.

A blessing or a curse?

**********

Speaking of a blessing or a curse, I arrive at work at 7:15am. I make the coffee as soon as I come in, then I go to my desk and log into my computer, by that time the coffee is done. I go get my first cup, then sit down and read the news. All before 7:30am.

Sounds impressive for me, huh? Yep. That just means that come 8pm, I am falling asleep on the couch.

**********

Also, I’m finding that I’m not as hungry during the day. I don’t need to snack through my morning. Todd says it’s because I’m not as depressed now. I’ll buy that.

Well, now that I’ve written about food, I’m hungry. Shit.

Off to lunch.

I Love Graphs and The Sun Sucks

2011-09-07T11:11:00.000-07:00

I'm really not cranky about this, but I love a reason to use graphs.

My cousin Tricia mentioned all of the rain they're having on the east coast and how can I stand living here in rainy Seattle? The rain is a funny thing up here. Technically, we don't accumulate that much precipitation. But we lead the masses in number of dreary days per year.

Which is why I like it here.

Take a look at these graphs I found on the innernets. Green is DC, red is Seattle.

Neat, huh?

While I do enjoy some sunshine, it's really getting on my nerves now. The traffic report talks about "sun spots" - places where the sun is directly in front of you and it literally slows down traffic. Maybe it's because we're the furthest city north but the sun is just huge and blinding and a major pain in the ass.

Which always makes me think of the Adam Sandler comic routine "Joining The Cult".
(Warning, it's Adam Sandler, so there is frequent use of the f-word. But it's still funny.)

[Sounds of Basketball being shot around]

[Sandler:] "Hey man, I'm joining a religious cult."
[Allen:] "Now, that's ridiculous."
[Sandler:] "Well, I'm joining it, so you gotta sign up too."
[Allen:] "What are you talking about?"
[Sandler:] "Hey, don't fuck me on this, man, just sign up."
[Allen:] "No, I'm not going to join a cult!"
[Sandler:] "I can't believe you're pulling this shit on me after Monday night --"
[Allen:] "What?
[Sandler:] "-- I wanted to watch Monday Night Football and you wanted to watch that other show and we watched your show -- I did that for you!"
[Allen:] "Yeah, well, you kept flippin' back to the game."
[Sandler:] "I WANTED TO SEE THE FUCKIN' SCORE! Whadda you gotta do that's so important you can't join the religious cult with me?"
[Allen:] "Well, I was gonna go sunbathing."
[Sandler:] "Oh, boy, no no, I don't think you should do that. Because this guy, Russell -- he's the leader-guy of the cult --"
[Allen:] "-- yeah --"
[Sandler:] "-- he was rambling on during one of the speeches about the sun being bad, like the beast can't come out because the sun's too bright and the sun hurts his eyes or something -- you show up all sunburned and that guy's gonna get pissed at you and me!"
[Allen:] "Well, I'm not in the cult, so I don't have to worry about pissing the leader guy off!"
[Sandler:] "Look, I'm -- starting to believe in some of the stuff the cult guy's been saying -- some of it makes a lot of sense!
[Allen:] "Well, good, but I don't want to join the cult. We can still hang out; I just won't be in it with you."
[Sandler:] "The point is, I'm not gonna have time to hang out with you because I'm gonna be fuckin' busy with this fuckin' cult!"
[Allen:] "So I'll visit on weekends -- we'll work it out."
[Sandler:] "No, the weekends are like the busiest time -- that's when we go to flea malls and fuckin' malls and talk people into joining, man!"
[Allen:] "Can I join for just a little while? I told my dad I'd go visit him in Florida in three weeks."
[Sandler:] "Well, just, we'll ask then, but we gotta join now."
[Allen:] "What's the hurry?"
[Sandler:] "THERE'S A GIRL I WANNA MEET THERE, what the fuck's your problem?!"
[Allen:] "Well, I mean I don't really have to believe in this stuff, do I?"
[Sandler:] "No, no, just tell everybody you believe in this shit -- when they say the sun sucks, go,
"Yeah, fuck the sun, I fuckin' hate it too, long live the beast."
(I say this aloud in my car, when I'm blinded by the sun. I crack myself up.)
[Allen:] "I don't know, man. This is crazy."
[Sandler:] "Look, they're gonna give you clothers, a free haircut, you're gonna get food --"
[Allen:] "-- it's not gonna be one of those weird haircuts, is it?"
[Sandler:] "It's gonna be a haircut, all right? You said you need a haircut, they're gonna fuckin' cut your hair.
You're going in, saving twelve bucks, just fuckin' do it!"
[Allen:] "Do you think the hot girl has a friend for me?"
[Sandler:] "Yeah, sure, and if she doesn't, she'll go out and recruit one for you!"
[Allen:] "Well, all right. But, hey, if I don't like it, I'm going to escape, man."
[Sandler:] "OK, that's up to you."

[Three weeks later!]

[Chanting repeatedly] "The night time is the right time! The night time is the right time!"
[Sandler:] "Hey buddy, are you glad you did this?"
[Allen:] "Oh, this is the best thing I ever did. Thank you."
[Sandler:] "You're not mad at them making you, uh, kill your father, are you?"
[Allen:] "You know, it's like they said. It was the only way to save him."
[Sandler:] "You're a good guy."
[Allen:] "You're a better one."

[Chanting resumes]

And Yet Another Foot!

2011-08-31T07:53:00.000-07:00

We've got another one!

Foot, in running shoe, found off the coast of BC.

What the hell? Someone has to know something! Where are the rest of the bodies? Are there a bunch of footless people running around in (ha - see what I did there?) in Canada? Is there a cannibal out there who just doesn't eat the feet?

I must know!

What's Up With Me

2011-08-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

The job is going very well. I'm feeling very stable. And Super Boss is a hoot.

Since that's not consuming my every emotion now, I've had some free brain power. And Todd and I have discovered some new music. The Civil Wars. They're amazing.

So amazing that it makes me sad. I wanna sing music like this.

The chemistry between them is almost uncomfortable, as they're both married to other people and they look so in love with each other. It just kills me.

And keeping with the powerful music theme......

Kayleigh asked me to sing with her last night. Now that she has her braces and torture device, there are some letters she can't pronounce. So singing is no fun. Since I was in a good mood and had no plans at all for the night and already had a glass of white wine in me, I said sure.

And she played Adele's "Someone Like You". On the guitar. By finger picking.

The kid is freakin' amazing.

Don't know the song? Here.

I've heard the song a few times, and I know the chorus pretty well, but I'd never heard the rest of the lyrics. So as I was reading them for the first time and singing them, my breath just caught.

Oh, the flashbacks. That moment where you hear that someone you used to be with is getting married, or has already gotten married, and while you're very happy for them because you weren't entirely satisfied in the relationship (if you can call it a relationship, which you can't because he literally hid the fact that you were spending five nights a week together and he would even leave the party early, then hide around the corner until all of your friends left so they wouldn't see that he was spending the night, even though he would hardly acknowledge you at the party because he didn't want people to think that he actually liked you), a little part of you wants to show them how sad you are. And you kind of hope that it makes them a little sad. Kind of. Maybe.

Could just be me.

Anywho, I'm happy it's over and we've moved on and I am very much in love with my wonderful husband, but dammit, why didn't he want to marry me?!

I can blog about this because Todd knows all of this and he understands and he knows that I love him (as do you, my faithful reader) and he knows I'm very happy where I am.

The song just struck a major chord.

So, that's what's been up with me. Music stuff. And planning the launch party for the web series. And gearing up for fall. And trying to find a red pencil skirt.

Life ain't too bad right now.

What A Difference A Week Can Make!

2011-08-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

The OMD (Office Manager Dude) asked me how I was doing yesterday. I genuinely beamed and said “Fantastic”.

This week has been so much more comfortable. I’m feeling very sturdy and competent and take charge. Like when I asked Super Boss how he liked the blinds on his windows. All the way up or down a little bit? Because there’s two windows, each with blinds, and the blinds didn’t match. They must match. He laughed and said, “I like them like that one.” Bam! Now they’re the same. A co-worker asked, “What do you do when the sun comes in?” I looked at Super Boss since he actually sits in the office. But Super Boss looked at me.

He said, “Well? He’s asking you, as you clearly run the office now.”

Perfect.

I’ve talked Archer and football with co-workers, I’ve rearranged my desk, and I’ve created my food drawer. I holler at Super Boss in his office, like everyone around here does. I gently reprimanded him Monday morning for leaving on Friday and not even telling me (I am your assistant. How can I assist you if you don’t tell me you’re leaving? Hmm?). And I moved the $70 bottle of wine that was sitting on his desk out of the sunshine so it would not get ruined.

I am full service, baby.

I’ve gotten some good feedback about my ideas and thought processes so I’m starting to feel like I’m in my element now.

Except for the whole bus thing.

I had a meeting at 8am in the UDistrict on Wednesday, so I drove and got validated for the day (I love validation. In every sense of the word). It was such a different experience. I got home and was relaxed and chipper and energetic. When I ride the bus, I’m in a constant ball of tension from the moment I get to the bus stop until I walk in the house. I thought I would be able to blog or read or sleep on the ride, but I’m overstimulated and can’t focus on anything except all of the freakin’ people around me and what they may or may not be doing and dear gawd, what is that smell? Todd says it’s my own personal hell – stuck in a moving vehicle with a crowd.

Wonderful.

So on Wednesday, I listened to my music, I waited patiently behind a car turning left and got home in half the time. Totally worth paying for parking, if you ask me.

Which you didn’t, but I’m telling you anyway because I can’t lie or withhold information very well.
So there.

Don't judge me.

Now This Is What I'm Talkin' About!

2011-08-19T14:20:00.000-07:00

It is a gorgeous day here in Seattle.
The bags under my eyes are gone, I'm in my black boots and a skirt, the sun is bright, and both of my bosses are apparently gone for the day.

Happy Friday, indeed.

New Job, Transitioning and My Mental Health

2011-08-18T21:37:00.000-07:00

The new job is fantastic.
Transitioning is a lot harder than I thought it would be.
And my mental health is shit.

So, I started the new job on Tuesday. Super Boss introduced me as his new assistant, his "new handler" and "the savior". No pressure at all. Everyone is super, the Office Manager Dude (OMD) took me to lunch at P.F. Chang's and I made it all the way home on the bus. BY MYSELF.

But then day two rolled around. My faithful readers know that I am not one to badmouth anyone on this blog, and I don't generally don't divulge details that may identify someone. I'm not that kind of blogger. So let's just say that the person who did this job before me, and now works in another office, spent all of day two "training" me and that stressed me out completely (not the work itself - that's pie), but because it was only my second day and I was downtown and out of my comfort zone and homesick and I didn't even have my car to sit in and I don't have any "buddies" yet and well, I cried on the phone to Todd on my lunch hour. And then I got home and I curled up with him and cried some more and started to wonder if I made a mistake, blah blah blah.

And then I had wine. And upon bedtime, I sobbed and cried and vented and wailed to Todd, who understood that I was freakin' the &*$# out.

Gawd bless him.

Despite this complete emotional breakdown, my ass was up at 5:50am this morning, and I made the bus and I got to work 10 minutes early. But then I couldn't do anything but cry. Super Boss came in, asked how I was, I said fine, and he said "Bullshit. What's wrong?"

I love Super Boss.

I told him I was just having a rough morning, no big thang. He said "So take off. Do what you gotta do. Take care of yourself." It's my third day! Are you kidding me?

However. I wasn't doing well, so I went in to talk to OMD. He was wonderful. He completely understood and said I needed to regroup so that I could give this job my best. So, I called Todd to come get me and I came home, got in my jammies and slept until 3:30pm.

After a lot of reflection and internal conversations, I've come to the conclusion that I really didn't do much "preparing" for this job. I thought I could just quit my comfy job of six years where I could wear jeans every day and magically become a high powered downtown Executive Assistant who suddenly commutes by bus and wears heels everyday.

HA!

Guess what? It's not really that easy.

But now that we know what the problem is, we can start to fix it.

Time to make this job my bitch!
And you know Rae-rae can do it.

The Shoot - Power Posse, Ho!

2011-08-14T23:18:00.000-07:00

Up at 5:30am. Two days in a row. Driving to Lynnwood. Lifting heavy stuff. Lots of standing. Hot, hot, hot. But lots of fans. Laughing until my stomach hurt. Love my friends.

Todd summed it up best in his post.

Good freakin' night.

A Week Off

2011-08-12T23:51:00.000-07:00

On the calendar, it's labeled "Raechelle's transitioning period". I had lunch with my new boss on Monday, and if I wasn't excited enough about this new job, I'm freakin' ecstatic now. It sounds like a great opportunity for me to run the show. You know how I love doing that.

On Tuesday, Todd and I went to a Seahawks training camp. It was only $5 a person, you park at a shopping center and take a school bus over to the field to watch the team practice for two hours. Easy, right?

Wrong.

Hellafreakin' long line of people (why aren't all of you at work?!) then once at the field, you threw down a blanket and kicked back and watched. Oh, and there were two speakers blaring gangster rap, heavy metal and other "pump up the team" music. After about 30 minutes, I asked one of the staff members if this shit plays for the entire two hours. He told me yes. The players make the playlist. They like it.

Well, call me old, but it totally killed the fun. I like hearing the players and coaches yell at each other and I could hardly hear Todd when he'd shout in my ear. Luckily, after an hour, they turned the music off by some stroke of luck, and it was much more enjoyable.

Note to self - been there, done that. Don't need to do it again.

On Wednesday, I found it hard to get out of bed and do anything. I think the reality of the situation sank in and I was just exhausted. I did manage to clean up the kitchen and do a couple of loads of laundry. All the while, in my jammies.

Thursday was better. I went to Steph's for some help hemming my pants, then accompanied Kayleigh and Todd to Kayleigh's dentist appointment where she got her first few braces and her pallet spreader. Good times. And then, it was time for the very first Seahawks pre-season game! Except it was on ESPN! Shit!

But Steve saved the day - one of the off channels was showing the game. The day was saved.

And today, I shopped. Kind of. A little bit. Kayleigh went off to camp with the Rainbow Girls (Masonic Girl Scouts), Todd and I went up to the set of The Collectibles to drop some stuff off for the shoot this weekend, then had dinner with Kyle, of Kirby Krackle, and his fiance, Kristin.

It was a bit much to squeeze in before we have to wake up at 5:30am tomorrow morning, but still worth it. It was a nice wrap up to a lovely week.

And now, we work our asses off.

Power posse, ho!

Did You Miss Me?

2011-08-06T22:37:00.000-07:00

It's Saturday night. Todd is working feverishly on an Airship Daedalus comic strip in his new office, Kayleigh is downstairs in her new bedroom, and Tyler is out in his cottage. I've got When Harry Met Sally... on the teevee, and a fresh glass of champagne on the table beside me.

And the carpet is freshly vacuumed.

Life just can't get much better right about now.

Well, it would be nice if I had all of my pictures, music and documents on my computer. It seems I got a virus a while back and it wiped out Windows. So Todd reloaded Windows and yay! I can work on my computer again! But now we have to find all my stuff that was backed up.

Fortunately, I have plenty of time this week to work on it. Because, oh did I tell you? I got a new job and my last day at my clinic was yesterday.

LAST DAY OF WORK.

I still can't believe I don't work there. I've been there six years.

I started packing up my stuff around 2pm. Come 3:30pm, CB was ready to drag me to my going away happy hour. People stopped by and said good luck, but only three people came to my happy hour. And that was just fine. They were my three true friends at work - CB, Mr. Cranky Non-Decorating Co-worker and HK, my dance partner. It was lovely. And a bit sad. I got a little choked when I hugged CB goodbye.

But Todd and I kept the party going when we got home. Neighbors came over, Steve and Steph came over, we played Rock Band and I sucked down Jack-n-Cokes (Todd said it was okay to play with Jack since I would be well supervised. At home.)

The impromptu party lasted until about 11pm, then it was time to retire. And what great pleasure I took in turning off my alarm.

I'm off all this week. And Monday of next week. Nuthin' but time, baby.

Well, okay, I do have a few things on the calendar. Tomorrow, I'm sanding and staining the new desk Todd and I found at Goodwill tonight. Woohoo!* Monday, I'm having lunch with my new boss, SuperBoss. Cause he's super. On Tuesday, Todd and I are going to watch a Seahawks training camp (which I have been dying to do for years!) and then on Thursday, the first pre-season game is on at 5pm!!

I kind of hope it's rainy that day.

And then that weekend, we shoot the first three episodes of The Collectibles.

Do you still not know about The Collectibles? Shame on you. Go Like them. I'm the Line Producer.

So we shoot three episodes on Saturday and Sunday, which means Rae-rae is going to be freakin' exhausted on Monday. Therefore, I start at the New Company on Tuesday.

I'll also have to squeeze some shopping in there at some point. Oh Darn.

**********

*The "woohoo" is three fold. One, this desk (picture soon, once I clean it up) is gorgeous and has loads of character. Two, this desk was a mere $25 (I freakin' love Goodwill!) and three, it fit in my car even though there was ANOTHER desk in there, still in it's box, that we'd picked up for Todd from a craigslister.

Hot damn!!

I actually hugged the car and told him he was wonderful. And then we named him.
Excalibur.

Exy, for short, I think. We'll see.

Too….Sore..to…Type….

2011-08-01T12:49:00.001-07:00

No sentences. Only bullet points.

Ow.

Last week

Pack office crap on Tuesday evening
Landon arrives to rewire the cottage (and live with us for three days) on Wednesday

The Collectibles photo shoot Wednesday and Thursday evening

Kayleigh gets spacers to prepare for braces

I get a haircut. Finally.

Friday

Salsa after work

Drive to Southcenter to meet family

Dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory

With Landon and Dallas. Love them.

Then Captain America

Awesome

Saturday

Cottage rewire done

Let’s start the moving!

Kayleigh and Lydia empty and clean her room

Everything ends up in the living and dining room

I clean the cottage

Lots of soot - everywhere

Todd and Landon have a two hour film shoot

Then a meeting in Northgate

Then drive down to Redondo Beach to drop Landon off

Flying solo – lifting, cleaning, moving boxes, delegating, managing

Hit my limit at 4pm

But Todd brings sandwiches!

And Steve shows up!

30 minutes to wrangle the sleeper sofa out of the cottage

After much deliberation, list the sleeper sofa

Finish cleaning cottage so Tyler can move in

6pm – done!

Shower and get pretty for Raff’s birthday party

Don my tiara

Arrive to “Raechelle’s here!!” (I love that)

Proceed to drink wine and socialize like a mad woman

Screw up. Eat the rum cake.

Correction – eat the cake that was baked, then soaked in rum

Who knew?!

Touch a 20 year old boy's pale naked chest for the first time in 12 years. It feels weird. There's no hair.

Todd escorts me home at midnight

Sunday

Ow.

Feet hurt, head hurts, back hurts, legs hurt, everything hurts

Hobble through the morning, much coffee

Drive to Marysville with Kayleigh to have lunch with Nancy and Omi and to pick up Zadra (aka More Child Labor)

Back home to boss the kids around some more

“If it’s trash, put it in the trashcan! If it’s Goodwill, put it in the Goodwill pile! Just get it out of my kitchen!”

Completely loose my shit when both cats get out and no one runs out to get them

(In Todd's defense, he was on the phone wishing his best bud a happy birthday)

“What the hell?! Did you expect ME to do it?! What, am I’m not doing ANYTHING?! I’m sick of it! I have worked my ass off this weekend! I’m not doing anything nice for you now! I’m getting NOTHING in return! I AM DONE.”

Tyler brings in both cats

Todd talks me down

Discover all the windows in the house were open during my ranting. Sorry neighbors….
Dash off to get paint for Kayleigh’s room

Back home to make dinner while the girls start painting

Food. Couch. Movie. James Bond.
Girls go back to painting, Tyler retires to his cottage

Fall asleep on the couch

Hobble to bed

And have I mentioned that I can’t boot up my computer? That’s just adding to the lack of posts and FB updates. Gotta sit on the phone with Dell tech support tonight. Ack.

On the bright side, Friday is my last day at work. Happy hour!

Then I get a whole week off and we shoot the web series next weekend (which is why I start my new job on August 16, Tuesday. Monday is for resting up.)

Actually, before then, Kayleigh still needs to move her furniture and belongings downstairs, once the paint dries. We need to order Todd's new desk for the office, I need a little table/desk for the office. Oh, and a chair. We have to unpack the office. We have a porch full of crap to take to Goodwill. There are numerous computers/laptops/drives that need to go to Staples for recycling. Todd has to get the couch to Dan and Trish (not one craigslist bite. Not one. So it's free to a good home). We have to bag up the rat poop infested insulation that is piled out in the backyard and make a dump run.

Yeah, you heard me. Dump run.

Oh, and the Neighborhood Night Out Block party is tomorrow!

Sigh.

When does mama get to take a soakie?

Helluva Weekend Update

2011-07-25T14:26:00.000-07:00

Our weekend was….um….busy. Let’s just say busy.

Friday, however, was wonderful. We hung out at Trish and Dan’s for Dan’s birthday, along with Gamy and Landon and Dallas (Lallas? Dandon?) There was lots of wine and pie and ice cream and laughter that hurts your stomach and your throat. I absolutely love hanging out with these people.

Saturday started with brunch across the street at Dave and Greg’s. They do a brunch every year on the day of the Hi Yu parade. And what a beautiful day for it. After weeks of mind numbing rain, the skies cleared and the sun came out and it was just beautiful.

We could only join brunch for an hour, then it was time to start the craziness. I dashed off to Target because I decided I needed a summery dress for the wedding we were attending on Orcas Island later that day. I had planned to wear my long sleeve black dress (fall like weather and all) but since the sun was actually shining, that dress seemed completely inappropriate. As luck would have it, I scored big at Target…for $10!

I was sure Todd would hate this dress. It’s very 60s to me. But he loved it! And thank goodness because I had already bought the shoes to go with it!

So, fly back home, pack an overnight bag, shower, foof up, then Todd, Kayleigh and I are out the door! We had an hour or more drive up to Anacortes to catch the ferry.

Finally arrive at Anacortes and park the car to walk on the ferry. First, we thought it would be cheaper (but it really wasn’t) and second, once we got to Orcas, the wedding was maybe 200 feet from the ferry dock.

But here’s where the weekend started to go downhill. Literally, we walked downhill, on a gravel path for about a half a mile to get from the car to the ferry. Then we wait for an hour for the ferry. The ferry ride is one hour and ten minutes. Then we wait for the wedding to start.

Now, the wedding was beautiful. So happy. Very joyful.

Then more waiting for the pictures to get taken, the dinner to happen, the reception to start. By 10pm, I was exhausted. We kept an eye out for our ferry (the last one was at 10:45pm) and when we saw one coming, we high tailed it down to the dock.

Did I mention that, even during the beautiful summer days here in Seattle, once the sun goes down, it’s just freakin’ cold? Like, teeth chattering cold?

It’s cold.

And when your ferry is late and you’re waiting outside for it at 10:30pm and you were completely fooled by the warm weather earlier in the day and forgot to bring a sweater, and you’re tired and cranky, well, life gets pretty miserable pretty quickly.

Oh, and then there’s the half a mile walk, up a dirt path, in summery wedges at midnight once the ferry actually arrives back in Anacortes.

Remember, it’s cold. And Rae-rae is already cranky.

By the time we actually got to the car, I had a blister on my toe and my muscles were sore from shivering so bad. Thank gawd for butt warmers.

And then there’s the 45 minute drive to the hotel we were staying at in Bellingham. Because we were celebrating May birthdays (two months late) with Todd’s family on Sunday, and ain’t no way we were driving back down to West Seattle Saturday night at midnight, only to turn around drive right back up to Bellingham (north of Anacortes) on Sunday morning.

So we stayed at the Hampton Inn. Which was just fine.

Except I was still exhausted and cranky when I woke up and since we were paying for a hotel room we might as well take advantage of the free continental breakfast they offer.

What the hell was I thinking? Tons of people, all with their heads up the ass, a crap load of kids, all of them in my way, no place to sit, cold french toast sticks, horrible coffee.

If you thought I was cranky Saturday night, you should have seen me Sunday morning.

Todd and I finally found a place to sit, and as we ate in silence and watched the people mill about, I told Todd “This is my hell.”

We ate quickly and went back to our room to wake Kayleigh and get cleaned up.

We check out at 11:30am and head to Omi’s, but first stopping for REAL coffee at Starbucks. We get to Omi’s, say hi, get back in the car, caravan to a park, have a potluck lunch with church folks, hang out in the sun for a bit, back to Omi’s for dessert and May birthday/Mother’s Day celebrations, then out the door at 4:30pm to head home. By this time I was just done.

Remind me not to book two full days, away from home, back to back. M’kay?

Thanks.

I would say I’m looking forward to some downtime this week, but HA! There is no downtime. Well, last night there was downtime – we watched a movie and I grabbed my laptop to write a blogpost but ended up emailing and scheduling for the web series.

Then it was 9pm. Ack.

See why I don’t blog as often anymore?

I Can Bring Home The Bacon…

2011-07-21T09:48:00.000-07:00

And not just that cheap shit anymore. We’re talkin’ the good stuff!

I’ve had a hard time blogging lately because I have a hard time keeping secrets. When something is going on that I can’t blog about, I can’t blog about anything. It’s all very intertwined.

Odd? Maybe.

Anywho, the big secret that I’ve been keeping is finally no longer a secret.

I have a new job, and I have given notice at my clinic. My last day is August 5.

I am now a Senior Brokerage Assistant at a Commercial Real Estate Firm right smack dab in the middle of downtown. Where fancy people work. I get to be fancy EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Which means Rae-rae gets to go shopping! Look out!

I Knew It!

2011-07-18T15:28:00.000-07:00

My JOB is making me fat! Not the wine!

Here's PROOF!

Not just *my* job, but this office life in general. The article doesn’t even mention the sweets that co-workers bring to the office to compensate for the complete lack of happiness. That adds even more weight!

I'm glad it's not just me....

I Am Not Above Labeling My Food

2011-07-12T15:57:00.000-07:00

I totally want one of these plates. As does my co-worker CB.

Cheesy? Maybe. But I bet I wouldn't eat as much if I was using this thing. I think about the pieces of chicken we eat, it's just chicken! Yeah, well, those pieces of chicken would not fit in the tiny little "Protein" area.

That's saying something.

Do Not Like

2011-06-30T19:49:00.000-07:00

The Target in Westwood Village has been revamped. They’ve included a grocery area (with dirt cheap peppers, by the way) and have moved all kinds of stuff around. They built new fitting rooms too, which I was very excited to try for the first time last night.

Oh.

Do not like the new fitting rooms.

The old Target fitting rooms had one mirror, on the wall. That’s it. That’s all you need to determine that you’re fat and that dress looks like shit on you. One quick glance, and okay! We’re done!

Apparently, the Target bigwigs weren’t happy with the level of depression wafting from the fitting rooms. Apparently, they thought the women were way too chipper after getting half naked in front of a mirror.

So the sadistic bastards installed TWO mirrors in these new dressing rooms.

TWO.

So now we have the luxury of seeing just how dimpled and pale and wide our asses really are. I was perfectly happy with my imaginary butt. I pictured it a bit tan (let me dream) and round with maybe a sexy, little freckle on the left cheek. The sides of my tush had those little dents that show “muscle tone” (whatever that is), and the curve of my lower back looked like a polished ramp. Woop! Onto the butt!

Todd let me believe in this dream. He never contradicted me.

But the mirrors at Target are not so kind. They don’t care if your feelings are hurt. Here’s your ass! Like it or not!

I came home a bit deflated. And immediately changed into my sweats. The sweats allow me to cling to my illusion of bootiful butt.

Consider yourself warned....

Weekend Update

2011-06-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

Where, oh where do these weekends go? It seems quite unfair that we only get two days off a week. Sheesh.

Friday night, Todd and I started off the weekend right – kidless. We ordered in Indian food, had some wine and brewskies, and watched Batman Forever (which I reviewed for you). Which wasn’t really a highlight at all – crappy, crappy, crappy.

We were going to go have dinner in Ballard with a gift card we’ve had since our wedding, and then see a friend’s band, and party it up like the young people. But we are not young people. We are constantly tired and when presented with the option of partying, or eating and loafing on the couch, we choose the couch now.

It’s very sad.

Well, no it’s not really. I think I’m supposed to act like it’s sad because it’s just another sign that I’m getting older and don’t have the same kind of fun that I used to. But I still have fun! I love curling up on the couch with my hubby and my cat and a big ol’ glass of wine, and watching a movie that I’ve never seen before. Despite whether the movie is good or not, I learn a lot.

Since I’m a Line Producer now.

So, I guess maybe I think it’s sad that my idea of fun is hanging out at home, rather than going out to bars and spending money. Spending money is definitely not fun. So I just have to teach myself – fun is fun. Regardless of what I’m doing. If I’m having a good time, then it’s all good.

Right? RIGHT.

Where was I?

Ah yes. Having fun at home, with Todd and Tom, watching Batman Forever. Mocking the movie was fun. It was horrible.

And then, sweet sweet sleep.

Saturday was supposed to be my Mommy’s Brunch, but that completely fell apart (and I was a-okay with that – see “sweet sweet sleep”). Instead, my neighbor Holly and I took a walk up to Starbucks for caffeine and munchies. And since we had reserved special “don’t need to be home” time, we took the very long way home and Holly introduced me to the neighborhood miniature horse. I kid you not.

(I think he probably gets the rap of “pony” because most kids can’t say “miniature”. Pony is just easier.)

He was sleeping when we came by. Pretty horsey.

And then slowly but surely we made it back to our street. It was a good walk, and it was nice to chat with a new friend (and I’m not just saying that because she reads my blog).

Saturday afternoon, Todd, Kayleigh and I walked to the Junction (totally earned my wine that night) to do a little shopping. My little bit of shopping was futile, but Todd scored completely by accident.

Kayleigh merely had a question about upgrading her phone. So we asked Todd for his expertise. He had none. So we asked the helpful guys at Radio Shack. How much is this phone if you’re due for an upgrade and having a standing contract?

An hour and a half later, Todd walked out with a brand new touch screen HTC phone and Kayleigh was giddy because she got his old phone. And I was a bit giddy because that meant I got HER old phone, which used to be my new phone, but we traded because I thought I hated it and wanted to go back to a flip phone.

HA! I like the qwerty keyboard.

I’m also eligible for an upgrade now, so I’m having option paralysis about the whole touch screen thing. Yes, they’re cool, but really only if you have a data plan. Which would be an additional $30 a month. Do I really need the internet on my phone? Really?

No.

But I want it.

Maybe I’ll reward myself when we get the credit cards paid off.

So that evening was pasta dinner, The Producers, and Todd and Kayleigh playing with their new phones. I didn’t need to play with mine – I’d already owned it. It was nothing new.

I finally hit my wall about midnight, and crashed. I think Todd came in shortly after.

And Sunday, Todd’s usual wife was replace with Uber Peppy Wife! I bolted out of bed at 8:30am and declared “I want to go to Target! And then I want to work out in the yard!” And then I had a bowl of cereal.

At which point Todd said, “What have you done with my wife?”

Rae-rae don’t eat cereal. Blech. But for some reason, I was in a mood.

So I ate and we cleaned up and off to Target we went. And then we had lunch, and then we went to True Value to get pretty flowers for the front yard and then we went to the grocery store to buy the ingredients for an organic, non-toxic weed killer and then back home to dig up a flower bed in the yard.

It appears we have three rose bushes this year.

Two separate rose bushes.

We had one that was trying to grow last year, but it got chopped in half with the weed whacker. I guess that motivated it and now we have TWO of those bushes, and one other type.

Rose bush? Yes?

So we cleared away the grass that was surrounding the plants, and just ended up creating a long flower bed along the top of the rock wall. Not bad for a couple of hours work.

I'm curious to see if the roses will actually bloom.

All the while, the kids were inside with friends (three extra teenagers) playing Todd's game, Arrowflight. How cool is that?

Pretty cool. For about three hours. Then I just wanted everyone to go home. I was making a sit down dinner for my family and I did not have enough chicken breasts for three extra mouths. So outcha go!

Mean? Maybe. I'm allowed to say "no" now and then. It's the beauty of being the adult.

And during our lovely sit down dinner, we talked about summer. As you know, Rae-rae hates summer. The kids get to sleep in and loaf around all day. I get a bit jealous. So Todd and I explained to them that by actually helping us out during the summer, we are much happier parents and will probably be nicer to them. We'll see how that works.

Then, since dinner wrapped up around 8:30pm, it was time to clean up and go to bed.

The highlight of this week is that I took Tuesday off. Got some stuff I gotta do. Ya know. Love having a break in the middle of the week. And then we have a three day weekend coming up!

It's the little things. Gotta look forward to the little things.

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas…

2011-06-24T12:26:00.000-07:00

It’s 53 degrees right now and raining. And oh, it’s JUNE 24th!!

I’m sick of it. Just freakin’ sick of it. I told Todd I’m just going to go ahead and put up the Christmas tree – at least the house will be festive. I’m sick of trying to dress for “summer” when it’s freakin’ cold out.

Why do we stay here? Why?

**********

Then add a busy week to shitty weather and suddenly you have one very cranky, tired, just-let-me-sleep-please Rae-rae. Coffee doesn’t help, pretty pills don’t help. Hell, sleeping doesn’t even help.

I thought that leaving work early for a web series meeting and social time yesterday would help but no. Got home at 8:30pm, washed my face, brushed my teeth, crawled into bed and fell asleep. Bam. I don’t care about the condition of the kitchen, I don’t care about the litter on the bathroom floor.

Screw it. I’m tired.

**********

However, I have to care about that crap tonight. I have mommies coming over for brunch tomorrow. Just a couple of ladies, but I have a reputation to uphold! I am a Cleaner!

Luckily, these women that are coming over read my blog (except for Kim, but she still knows me pretty well) so they’ll understand if the house is less than meticulous.

Right?

**********

While in West Virginia, mom inadvertently coerced me into a new phase of life.

Since my regular bras rubbed the boo boo on my torso, she loaned me one of her Barely There bras.

And I didn’t take it off the whole week. And she ended up just giving it to me.

It is now my jammie bra. After wearing wired, padded bras all day, when I get home that’s the first thing that goes. During winter, it’s all good. Sweatshirts hide any free-range jiggle there might be (especially with a 17 year old boy in the house). But as warmer weather comes along (not “warm”, mind you, just “warmer”) the sweatshirts are too freakin’ hot.

So, this thing is great. I’m wrangled, but not pinched and confined. Still supported, but uber comfortable.

And since I freeze in my office and wear hoodies and sweaters a lot, I can get away with be wrangled but not confined during the day too. Combine that with my gaucho pants* and my tank top and pink hoodie, and I feel like I’m in jammies today.

Which makes Rae-rae a much happier person.

*Found a pic for you at Target.com. They are the exact same pants I bought at Target five years ago, and I wear these things to work at least twice a week during the summer. Put them with red shoes, patent leather ballet flats, flip flops or, like today, my Converse rip-offs, and they go with anything.

Although they make me look even shorter and fatter. Oh well. At least I’m comfy.

**********

Because did I mention that Rae-rae is tired? Oy.

I’ve been coughing again at night. My therapist asked me if I was allergic to grass – that would be the allergy du jour right now. I guess I am, because right around 3am every morning, I wake up coughing. It’s almost like I have a hair in my throat (which is quite possible) and water and cough drops just don’t help. Eventually, I fall back asleep, but then my day is shot because waking up like that just screws up my REM sleep and I’m exhausted.

**********

In the span of writing this post, the Mommy’s Brunch has been cancelled. Sickness, forgotten plans, traffic hell, and vacations have totally screwed us up.

But that is a-okay. Given my mood and exhaustion right now, I was not looking forward to waking up early and trying to be perky for a group of perky women. I have one confirmed “Yes! I’ll bring muffins!” and luckily, it’s just my next door neighbor, Holly. So I’ve emailed her and said, if you still want to hang with just me, come on over!

I don’t have to clean too much for Holly. She gets it.

**********

And I leave you with Binky The Space Cat.

Isn't that just the most adorable thing? I saw this at The Comic Stop yesterday, right before our meeting with the Gore Sisters, and I fell in love. So Todd bought it for me. Binky is a cutie.

Of course.

There's actually one other book out, and one coming out in the fall.
I think I shall become a collector.

Yes, I'm Still Alive

2011-06-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

Last week was long. Period.

Todd had many Skype meetings, I had a block party planning with my neighbor Carrie, Kayleigh had her very last band concert and we finished up with week with Gamy (Gary & Amy) and drinks down at the Matador.

Saturday was wonderfully empty. Kayleigh had stayed Friday night with a friend, Tyler had taken the bus to meet Gavin for game night, so Todd and I shopped around and ran errands and had a lovely day together. And that night we watched Black Death. Which was gory, but awesome.

Kayleigh gave up halfway through, due to the hacking (of bodies) and retired to her room. So after Black Death, Todd and I watched Watchmen. Well, half of Watchmen. Then Sara and Zadra arrived to spend the night because they were flying out to their cousin's wedding on Sunday.

And so Todd started off Father's Day by getting up at 6:30, and driving them to the airport. He's a good man. He had also scheduled a brunch with Brian, so I made a dutch baby and Todd cooked up some bacon, and of course there was fruit, coffee and mimosas.

There was also Sam!

Brian's dog. He's a sweet puppy. We locked the cats up in our bedroom so Sam could come visit.

Steph dropped by for a bit as well, and we visited an open house. A beautiful two bedroom, one bath for $399,000.

Yeah, good luck with that.

Then there was a quick trip to Target with Kayleigh, shopping for dinner, and finally, a lovely evening with Bill Cosby Himself. Todd and I hadn't seen it in ages and we laughed our asses off. Bill never gets old. I think Kayleigh even enjoyed. And of course, after that, I just HAD to see the Cosby episode where Theo thinks he can be a model at 18 and have his own place, so the family poses as the landlord, bank owner, talent agent and the cafe owner and makes Theo buy all of his stuff back. That's just my favorite episode. When Cliff asks for references for the apartment, Kayeligh said, "They don't do that, do they? Can't you just buy an apartment?"

This is why I want to watch the Cosby show with them. It's educational.

And since it was Sunday night, we all retired early to prepare for a nonstop week of meetings, school stuff and more meetings.

I'm already tired.

Weekend Update

2011-06-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

Friday wasn't such a bad day at work, but by gawd I was pissed that evening. My nerves were raw and I found myself slamming the dishes down a little too loudly. Guess it was just a rough week. Or True Grit.

But I woke up Saturday feeling much better. Guess I just needed to sleep in.

I was up relatively early, and showered, so Todd and I could finally go get my oil changed and do a little running around. We came back home and lounged around until 4:30pm, and then it was time to get purty and head out to our benefit gig.

The Twelfth Night crew was putting on a show for one of their own, Hannah, to raise money so she could join The Reel Grrls in Korea. The informal show was held at Hannah's grandmother's retirement community and while we weren't really expecting the senior residents to be in the audience, it's a good thing they were. We had quite the crowd!

Todd, Kayleigh and I performed a couple of songs, and the others performed songs and skits. All very funny. And the old people loved us! I told Mary, the Twelfth Night head chick, we should do this once a month. Most of the residents are in walkers and can't get around very well, so how happy would they be if we brought a performance to them? The people with Twelfth Night are so funny and so talented - they really do put on a great show, even if they're just getting up and singing a silly song, or doing a quick 10 minute skit. I think that would be a ton of fun.

After the gig, we headed over to Steve and Steph's. At one time there was a party planned, but that party had been postponed, but we still wanted to hang out with them. Kayleigh ended up playing guitar and Steve got out his base, and I help Isa get ready for bed. Such a nice night.

Sunday, up again pretty early for me. At 8:30am. Ug. Todd made biscuits and gravy, then it was time to get on it! Laundry, dusting, vacuuming, cleaning the kitchen, more laundry, filing, purging. Whew! Todd ran some errands, Kayleigh was catching up on homework and Tyler was downstairs, so I cranked up the radio and had a good ol' time with myself.

When Todd got home, it was time for the dreaded grocery shopping trip. There's too many people, the food's too expensive, the bags are too heavy and then we have to put everything away, which means we end up cleaning out the fridge because we have tons of leftovers that never get eaten....

Sigh.

I don't like part of being a grown up. Well, there's a lot I don't like about being a grown up, but that's my current complaint right now.

And Sunday evening was a lovely dinner of penne pasta with meat sauce, a salad, and a beautiful Coppola Claret. We love our Coppola wines. Haven't had a bad one yet!

I'd actually thought about added yet ANOTHER tab up there entitled "Wines" so I could give my little review of new and exciting wines I come across. But 1) I don't know if I have the dedication to keep that up when I can't seem to get more than a couple posts up a week and 2) you might catch on to how much wine I consume.

The movie of the evening was Black Widow. I posted about it in the Movie tab.

And after the movie, sleep. Precious, precious sleep.

Which is what I'm going to do right now because Todd and I actually went for a walk this evening and my poor body is so used to the couch and the cold weather that it is now exhausted. It's very sad.

True Grit

2011-06-10T20:29:00.000-07:00

We watched True Grit.
I hated it.
But I love Jeff Bridges.

Check my Movies tab, at the top.

Surprise! Lemme Cut Ya!

2011-06-06T21:33:00.000-07:00

Remember my cute little bump that appeared last weekend? The one that I had to take antibiotics for while I was on vacation? And remember those antibiotics didn't do a damn bit of good?

Well, that's because my cute little bump was actually a cyst that had ruptured. (Maybe due to altitude?)

Anywho, the best course of action was to just get that thing out of there. Which is just what my doctor did at 8am today. He took one look and said, “Oh, yeah. That's not good…”

So, after flinging off my shirt (15 years of “well woman exams” and suddenly you have no qualms about stripping down in a doctor’s office), the doc sprayed some cold stuff, then poked me with a few needles of anesthesia, then went to town.

Gawd bless Todd who was there holding my hand and making awesome facial expressions each time doc showed him what he’d pulled out.

When the doc declared he’d gotten everything, he cleaned me up and put a big pad of gauze on my side and sent me on my way.

Uh.....what just happened?

I was still a bit baffled and in denial, but then at about 11am, the anesthesia wore off and holy shit. My whole right side was throbbing. I downed some Advil to take the edge off and thankfully, by 4pm, the pain was much better.

So I decided to celebrate with shopping and happy hour with Jamie.

I bounce back quickly like that.

Ending Vacation with a Bang

2011-06-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

Or, Why a Three Hour Layover in Atlanta is Disastrous

Originally, my flight home yesterday was supposed to be Pittsburgh to Milwaukee, with an hour layover, then on to Seattle. Easy. Pretty straight shot.

But three weeks ago, I got a notice that my flight had changed. It was now Pittsburgh to Atlanta, with a three hour layover, then over to Seattle.

Inefficient routes like that irk me.

So I upgraded to business class. Bigger seats and free wine can make that five hour plane ride much better.

Well. If you don’t drink a glass of wine and two Bloody Marys during the actual layover. Which I did. There’s a reason you’re not supposed to drink when you fly. Flying dehydrates you. Drinking dehydrates you. Flying + Drinking = Sahara Desert.

I knew this prior to my flight. I'm not new. But apparently my brain was broken because I was so focused on making that three hours fly by I didn’t stop to add everything up.

I blame Atlanta.
I never would have none that in Milwaukee. Never.

Sigh.

But now vacation is over, and I'm back in the real world, being good and responsible.

For a few days anyway.....

Country Bumpkin, The Final Day

2011-06-03T18:42:00.000-07:00

* Awake at 8am, and waiting until 8:30am so I can call Kayleigh and wish her fun on her Disneyland trip.

* I call, but Kayleigh is sick and has made the very adult decision to not go on the trip. I feel so bad for her.

* Bunnies! There are two rabbits out back, a male and female. And the male is feelin' frisky! The female is having none of it. She bitch slaps him a couple of times and hops away, but he is undeterred. Goober is crouched down in the grass, acting like he's going to pounce but he won't. Because he's a wussy.

* And then out of nowhere! A doe! The male rabbit leaps about 10 feet in the air and both bunnies hop back into the woods. Now we watch the deer eat. It's so stressful out here in the country.

* Time for coffee and breakfast. Biscuits and gravy. Yeah, baby.

* I'm a bit subdued this morning. I didn't fall asleep until 1am or so again, and I just don't feel very rested. I lay down on the couch in Dad's room, just to rest my eyes for a bit.

* An hour later, I wake up and Mom's ready to make a grocery store and Dollar General run. It's actually a tad cool out.

* But first, lets check the cute little bump. Oh, he is PISSED. More pissed than yesterday. So we call the Belington clinic and leave a message for the doc. Should we worry about this?

* Get the grocery shopping done and head back home to unload. The doc calls back, maybe the sulfa pills just aren't strong enough. Let's try a bigger, better antibiotic.

* I still need a little more rest, so I lay down on my bed. Just to rest my eyes.

* A half an hour later, mom wakes me and asks if I'd like some lunch. Well, sure.

* Have some lunch, get in some porch time, chit chat.

* Mom decides to take a quick drive and show me my cousin Laura's house. I haven't seen Laura in...oh....15 years?

* After 15 minutes of driving on a very curvy road, we find Laura's house. And it's just lovely. Laura is home, so we pop in (it's the way of the hillbillies) and I get to meet her two little kids.

* Back home to lay down. My stomach is queasy. I'm not used to these country roads.

* An hour later mom wakes me up to see what I'd like to do for dinner. I do not want to get in a car. I mean it.

* But I do. We go pick up a pizza for them, a salad for me, and my new antibiotic.

Side note: I'm nervous that this stronger version will tear up my stomach; I'm flying out tomorrow. And I do not want an upset stomach while I'm traveling. Did I mention Pittsburgh to Atlanta to Seattle? With a three hour layover in Atlanta? Rae-rae splurged for business class. Again. So I'll hold off on the new antibiotic until I see my doctor on Monday.

* I eat my salad, then paint my fingernails to match my toenails. Hussy red! Then love on the kitty for a bit. Goober has been a little weird the last couple of days, so we've been giving him extra attention.

* The deer arrive for their evening dinner.

* More porch time. Then evening TV and blogging.

Not an exciting last evening of vacation, but hey. It's relaxing. And that's the point, right?

**********

Pic(s) of the day:

Come with me.
You're walking into the outbuilding....

What's this? Plastic and PVC pipe?

Why, it's Daddy's manfort!

Complete with TV and heater. I do love my daddy.

Country Bumpkin, Day 6

2011-06-02T19:29:00.000-07:00

* Didn't fall asleep until 1:30am, but after putting in my earbuds and listening to The Head and the Heart, I finally pass out.

* I didn't cough all night, so I was awake and perky at 9am. Woohoo!

* Mom and I form a plan - clean up, go to Nestorville to visit Granny and the creek, then maybe go to the grocery store. Ready? Break!

* The plan is altered. Dad has been working on putting up the fence around the garden and is wearing down. I haven't showered yet, so I go down and help out.

Hanging pie pans on the garden fence

* Uncle Paul stops by, the neighbor and his kids stop by, we hang out and chit chat.

Country Kids

* Well, now it's almost noon so I foof my hair, throw on a t-shirt and we all head out for lunch. They have hot dogs, I opt for pepperoni rolls. Cause you just can't get those in Seattle.

* After lunch, mom and I head to Nestorville. We stop and say hi to my aunt and uncle, then toodle on down to the creek. So pretty. So quiet.

* Now up to visit Mabel. And have a good cry. Something about Granny's grave just makes me sob. It's always cathartic.

* And then back home to nap. For an hour. This heat is just killing me. Or maybe the crying.

* Time for dinner. A roast chicken, more macaroni salad and leftover beans. And the last of the malbec.

* Mom cleans up dinner while dad and I plant the garden. Yes, I planted. We have 18 tomato plants, four cucumber plants, three cantaloupe plants, green onions and lettuce. Whew!

* Finally, a shower. And some porch time.

* And then evening TV - My Cat from Hell. Mom and I are learning a lot. But some of these cat owners are just stupid. What? Your cat scratches you when you pick it up and it's squirming to get out of your arms? Honey, the cat ain't the problem. YOU are the problem.

* Cute little bump update - actually looking a little angrier. Still taking my sulfa pills.

**********

Pic of the day:

Mom and Emily

Country Bumpkin, Day 5

2011-06-01T19:05:00.000-07:00

* Awake at 7am, snooze until 8am.

* Cheerios for breakfast, half a cup of coffee. It's just not workin' for me this morning.

* Back to bed to snooze until 8:45am.

* Time to get cleaned up for my doctor's appointment. Yep. Doctor's appointment. I've had a little fatty cyst on my right side, right on my ribs, for about 9 months. One day, Todd said "Hey. What's that?" I don't know. Does it hurt? No. Does it itch? No. Alrighty.

Well, that little nodule is now very angry. And painful. I made an appointment with my West Seattle doctor for Monday morning, but the lady taking the appointment said, "Do you really want to wait until Monday to have that looked at?" Well, thanks for that. Now I'm worried.

The local doctor, who also happens to be mom's doctor, was very nice and thorough. When he asked about my medical history, mom said, "Just get my chart!" He tried to take some fluid from my cute little bump, but there wasn't any. Don't much like the sound of that....

Regardless, he put me on an antibiotic for the infection. Sulfa. Now I'm smelling that smell....sulfur? And it makes my wine taste funny.

* Back home and suddenly I'm exhausted. It's starting to thunder so that's my excuse for laying around all day. Actually, I think the high of being here has worn off and now I'm just lazy (loaded word).

* Actually I was semi-productive. I got mom set up on Skype. And I configured it so that when I video call her, the Skype window pops up and there's my face! I can't wait to scare the shit out of my dad when he's sitting at the computer one day.

* All that Skype stuff was taxing, so I rested my eyes for a bit. Then I did a little spackling. Then I rested a bit more.

* Dinner time! Salt cured ham, wilted lettuce, pinto beans, fried potatoes and cornbread. Yum.

* Then - you guessed it - some more lounging. With a little reading thrown in.

* And now, some surfing and blogging while watching nighttime TV with mom. Dad's already gone to bed and mom is rushing me so she can read this before she goes to bed.

Good gawd, the pressure!

**********

Pic of the day:

The yellow warning label? "Avoid the sun". Perfect.

Country Bumpkin, Day 4

2011-05-31T18:44:00.000-07:00

* Up at 9am.

* Started the curtain project. Got sidetracked with computer stuff. Back to the curtains. Which was a fiasco.

* Mom sewed the two panels together so that the panels would open and close together. We bought rings with clippies so they would slide on the rod easier. But once mom got the panels together, there was a 1.5 inch difference. What the hell? Mom tries to tack that extra 1.5 inch up, but the end doesn't lay right. If we're going to do this, let's just do it right. I sit down and rip the stitch out so mom can sew the other ends together, which actually line up. I shower while she sews. I come out and she is flabbergasted. The ends are 1.5 inches off. Are you kidding me? Screw it. We're putting them up!

* We throw the 100% polyester curtains in the dryer with this awesome steam ball to steam out the wrinkles. We failed to think about static cling.

* We pull the curtains out of the dryer and the sparks that come off of them could start a fire. Crap. Back in the dyer. This time, with a dryer sheet.

* We're finally ready to put the clippies on the curtains and hang them. But first, lets take down the vertical blinds.

* No problem. Because we are awesome!

* We are SO on the same page that we agree we should get a tape measure to space out the clippies perfectly. I love my mother.

* The curtains are up! But. We forgot about the curtain over the kitchen sink. Oh, and the rug on the floor in front of the sliding glass door. This will never do. We might have to go shopping again.

* After all that hard work, lunch.

* And after lunch, off to pick up prescriptions, spackle for the new holes above the sliding glass door, and the Wellness Center to do some water exercises. Mom has been working out here for the past three weeks. I'm so proud of her.

* The two older men seem to be very excited to have a young chicky to talk to.

* Back home, and since I'm already wet and sweaty, I put my bathing suit back on and laid out in the 90 degree weather. Must rid myself of this Seattle glow.

* I'm so done with this sun. In to clean up and help with dinner - pork chops, mom's homemade macaroni and broccoli. And malbec.

* After dinner, more show-n-tell with mom and dad. They now sing Dick in a Box under their breath. I'm very proud.

* I call Todd and catch up, then join mom in the living room for some HGTV while dad lays on the couch in the other room talking his fool head off while watching the baseball game.

* And now I blog early because I am exhausted. The sun and heat are killin' this Seattle chick.

**********

Pic(s) of the day:

Before - homemade valance and vertical blinds

After - sheerish 70's curtains

Country Bumpkin, Day 3

2011-05-30T21:18:00.000-07:00

* Slept in until 8:30am. I was completely unmotivated to get out of bed, but shopping (and mama) awaits.

* Quick breakfast and coffee, shower, off to the mall.

* Home Depot first for drapey curtain swaggy things. They don't have what mom wants. But they have unfinished wooden Adirondack chairs for a mere $29. OMG. I refrain. Because I don't think they'll fit in the overhead compartment.

* Onward to the mall. First stop...wig shop! Mom has been jonesing for a wig for years. She's always hated her hair. I told her to go for it, why not?! She's still not sure.

* On to the craft store and a home store. And they have couches! Mom and dad have been wanting new couches. And mom wants a new recliner. She can't reach the floor right now to rock. She needs a shorter one. But these are way too expensive. We both enjoy the break though. Those couches are soft....

* Lunch! I have a small walnut, cranberry and feta salad, and one of her slider burgers. And we skip dessert. See? I can balance!

* Back in the car, we drive around to Target and Old Navy. Mom tries on a lot of pretty sundresses at Old Navy, but she's not happy with any of them. Good effort, ma.

* Now at Target, we are uber productive. No, we didn't get the drapes we wanted, but we got a rug for the kitchen and curtains to replace the vertical blinds across the sliding glass door. I sense that will be tomorrow's project.

* We should go home now, as mom is hurting, but she really wants a couple of button down shirts to wear over her new tank tops. And we happen to notice that there's a Goodwill right beside Home Depot. So back over to Goodwill.

* Unfortunately, Goodwill is only open for 10 more minutes. Crap.

* But Walgreens is right here and mama needs fingernail polish.

* Okay, now we're going home. I mean it.

* Right after we stop at the grocery store real quick so I can run in and get tomatoes and a cucumber. We're making macaroni salad for dinner.

* Okay, NOW we're going home.

* Time to relax and paint my toenails. Cause mama bought me polish, too. Hussy red!

* And then time to make dinner. While we watch Ellen. Freakin' hysterical. I treat myself to a glass of sauvignon blanc. Ah...refreshing.

* Dad decides to get part of the yard mowed since it's cooling off (uh...wha..?). I show mom some skits from SNL with Justin Timberlake. She loves him. And she laughs her tushy off.

* Mom settles in for The Bachelorette. Kill me. I go call Todd. And pour myself another glass of wine.

* The Bachelorette is still on after my phone call, so what can I do? Um. Sweep the kitchen! I'm a bit parched so I pour another glass of wine.

* That was quick. It's a small kitchen/dining room combo. Is that a drip? Might as well scrub the floor! Dad says the mop is in the laundry room. Mop? Rae-rae don't need no stinkin' mop! Hands and knees baby!

* Mom and dad finally get to witness my manic side.

* While washing the kitchen floor, dad and I talk about the Bin Laden and the Cold War. Yes, I know they're not related. Mom, meanwhile, sushes us because she can't hear what the masked man is saying the bachelorette.

* The floor is gleaming. But my back hurts and I'm a bit tipsy so I plop down on the couch to mock the last 30 minutes of The Bachelorette. Very entertaining. To me. Not to mom. Might have to have one last glass of wine. Oy.

* After The Bachelorette, we get sucked into Extreme Makeover, Weight Loss Edition. This week is about Rachel. She ends up losing 161 lbs and looks freakin' amazing. I should be motivated, but instead I have two more cookies. I'll be motivated tomorrow.

* It's time for bed. And blogging. And water.

**********

Pic of the day:

The longer hair grows on you after a while.

See what I did there? Grow. Ha!

Country Bumpkin, Day 2

2011-05-29T19:24:00.000-07:00

* Up at 8am. What the hell? Mom's still sleeping in the recliner.

* Breakfast - bacon, eggs, toast, coffee. Love it.

* Lounging on the porch. A little computer work. Mom has Windows Live now AND we got her contacts imported!

* Shower, get pretty.

* Mark, the neighbor, and his three absolutely freakin' adorable kids come over. Ages 3, 4 and 5. Yes, I'm serious. I even get some hugs. As well as some funny looks. Maybe I had a booger.

* Over to Hippy's to transfer pictures from Mom's old hard drive to her external hard drive. But the external hard drive is much too fast for her old computer, so we have to use Hippy's older EHD to transfer everything. It took 3 hours.

* Meanwhile, cuddling with kitties and talking about marriage on the porch. Oh, and it's 90 degrees. My boobs sweat. I miss Seattle.

* Finally home. Grab dad and off to dinner in Elkins. Mexican food. We are the only people in the restaurant. Huh.

* Quick stop at Kroger for necessities - wine, chocolate cake, wine, potatoes and cinnamon rolls. And, oh yeah, another bottle of wine.

* Home and on the porch. Ah.

* I convince my parents to watch Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, which I bought them for Christmas and was still in it's original wrapping. I think Mom liked it - she laughed a couple times, but Dad wasn't sold. He kept looking at me at the corner of his eye like "What the hell is this?"

* Back on the porch to read until Dad comes out and we start chatting and singing old songs. "Just let your love flow, like a mountain stream...." Takes me back to 1977....

* Time for cake! A small piece. And maybe another glass of wine. And a little vanilla ice cream. WHAT? I'M ON VACATION.

* Time to blog, while Mom watches NASCAR. Kyle Busch keeps spinning out. Ah, poo.

* Dad goes to bed. Goober is crashed at my feet. Mom's dozing beside me. It's a good day.

**********

Pic of the day:

Could I BE any more pale? For the love of puppies!

This is Grey, Hippy's cat. Such a lover. And a drooler.

And are those dents in my legs?
Okay, no more cake.

(Mom says "Or wine!" Bwhahahahahaha. Funny woman.....)

Country Bumpkin, Day 1

2011-05-29T07:30:00.000-07:00

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that when I visit my parents, the visit is summed up in bullet points. Most of the time there's just too much crammed into a day, and by the end of that day when I finally have a chance to sit down and blog, I'm exhausted.

So, as not to break tradition, here ya go:

* Upgrade to business class on the Seattle to Milwaukee leg of the flight. Because I'm spoiled.

* Start the vacation off with a jack and coke, while the 29 year old mother next to me starts her vacation off with a Cabernet. We toast.

* Then sleep. Well, kind of. My back was tweaked which made my legs restless so I couldn’t get comfortable. But I did doze a little.

* Change flights in Milwaukee. Witness a complete asshole chew out the ticketing agent at the gate because the flight is over sold. Yeah, totally that guy's fault.

* Talk with a very nice man from Pittsburgh (thus, renewing my faith a bit about Pittsburgers - swear ta gawd, that's what they're called). He's a bass player in a very popular band in town. They play at Steelers' games. The hour went by quickly.

* Mom and dad pick me up, we head home. Stop for breakfast at Bob Evans. Cause I love me some Bob Evans.

* I fall asleep on the the second leg home, despite two cups of coffee. I am awesome.

* Finally home to sit on the porch for three hours and chat. Wonderful.

* Can't figure out what to do for dinner, so after 30 minutes of back and forth, decide on Subway. Don't really feel like I'm on vacation. Mom must make fried potatoes, pinto beans, corn bread and wilted lettuce at some point this week.

* Quick grocery store run for necessities (body wash, english muffins and Nutella - mom's curious) then home to eat and back on the porch. The deer come for dinner.

* Snoozing on the couch with Goober, while listening to the Gaither Brothers on TV. Mom loves them.

* Shower, then more snoozing. Dad wakes me to come look at the bunny in the yard. Cute little bunny. Goober stalks a bird.

* Show and tell with mom and YouTube, then my hubby calls. So nice to hear his voice. He's entertaining Steve, Steph and Isabella and while I am overwhelmed with jealousy, I remember that they live very close by and I can see them most anytime.

* Mom says goodnight (dad went to bed a while ago) and goes to bed, hubby says goodnight and I finish up this post. I am a loyal vacation blogger.

* Tomorrow there will be pictures. Promise.

**********

Best Airport Advertisement Ever:

If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing faster.

Um. I beg to differ…..

I'm on My Way...

2011-05-27T12:55:00.000-07:00

...I know there’s California, Oklahoma

And all of the places I ain’t ever been to but

Down in the valley with

Whiskey rivers

These are the places you will find me hidin’

These are the places I will always go

I am on my way

I am on my way back to where I started…..

Down in the Valley - by The Head and the Heart

Splurgin'

2011-05-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

Todd and I did a little shopping on Saturday. That's a rare thing these days. Nothing extravagant, just some books from Half Price Books and Barnes & Noble, but then. Ooh. Finally!

I found a laptop bag.

Well, Todd found the laptop bag for me.

I've been having the hardest time finding a case. All of the ones I liked (and could afford) on Amazon were too small. And my super duper secret trip to West Virginia is just around the corner so I was starting to panic a bit.

But Saturday, the stars aligned and BAM. Perfection.

Quilted, with patent leather trim

And hot pink inside!

It's totally me, right?

The CDC Is Prepared For Anything!

2011-05-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

It's nice to see that the CDC has a sense of humor. You'd think they're just all dry scientists and medical people. But no.

They're actively preparing for the zombie apocalypse.

Groovy.

Random Thoughts

2011-05-18T15:48:00.001-07:00

Our yard looks nice for a change.

Saturday was beautiful, so Todd mowed and weedeated, and I sat and pulled a few weeds, just to be outside. Tyler came out and took down the Christmas lights (I know...) and Kayleigh just soaked up some sunshine. The Todd and I went to Target, I coughed my head off and as soon as we got home, I crashed. Guess it was a little too much too soon.

**********

Kayleigh is still sick. Her poor eyes are red and runny and goopy. She has another doctor’s appointment today. I’m much better, except for, what feels like, a huge lump in my throat. It hurts when I cough and when I eat. And that pisses me off.

**********

Happy 17th birthday to Tyler! His birthday was yesterday so we walked down to the Elliott Bay Brewery for dinner (it was a beautiful day!), then watched Powder and had birthday pie. Tyler’s not a cake guy. He likes the pie. Marionberry.

**********

Speaking of beautiful days, we’ve had two of ‘em in a row! And as much as I hate to admit it, the weather really can make me or break me. After seven months of gray, rainy skies, you really are just ready to give up and die. Ack.

**********

And more speaking of beautiful days, I had a nice little impromptu neighbor gathering this evening. Todd was WOWing, Kayleigh was sleeping and Tyler was downstairs, so I walked down to Carrie and Joe's to see what was shakin' and if anyone could help me with some drinkin. Jen, Carrie's sister, was of course up for it, so she came back to the house with me and sat out by the unlit fire pit for a couple hours. Carrie joined us a little later when she got home from the store.

It was chilly, but so quiet and sunny out. I love surprise evenings like this. Makes me feel like I have a gang around me to call on when I'm lonely. It's a nice feeling.

**********

That's about it for this week so far. Pretty quiet. Petri dish, and all....

Notes From The Petri Dish

2011-05-13T22:24:00.000-07:00

Greetings all you healthy readers.

My third Mother's Day started off beautifully. Kayleigh brought me coffee in bed, while I was on the phone to Stephanie, hearing about how great of a mother I was. Todd, despite his coughing and hacking, fixed a gigungus breakfast, and we watched Looney Toons while we ate.

Then Todd got sleepy and needed a nap, and I got restless so I cleaned the kitchen. Yes, it was Mother's Day, but my sweet husband was sicker than sick, and really, every day is Mother's Day in my house. Todd is always cooking and shopping and doting on me. So I didn't mind cleaning up the kitchen.

Todd couldn't sleep so he came out and laid on the couch with me. We watched some SNL and some Twilight Zone, while I texted with Daniela about a dinner plan. At 6pm I got myself together and prepared to drive to Ballard for dinner.

And it was at this point, things started to slide.

While I was getting dressed and doing my hair, my head got all swimmy. And then I got flushed and thought I was going to throw up. I persevered and got in the car and took off.

About 10 minutes later, I got all sweaty, then got chills and was looking for a place to pull over. What the hell? I got to Chinooks, walked and the smell of fish just turned my stomach.

Daniela and Sergio got there, I said hi, we caught up for a few minutes, then I left. No way was I going to be able to sit at a table with them for two hours. Ack.

Back home, I immediately got into my jammies and curled up in a blanket on the couch. And got the chills.

Since I'd complained last week to CB about how I wish I'd get sick so I could stay home for a few days, there was no way I could call in on Monday. So I stumbled into work, plugged through the day and actually felt a little better that afternoon. But Monday night I started coughing and aching, so I called in sick on Tuesday. And Wednesday. And Thursday. But I rallied today and went in, while still coughing and tired. I made it until 2:30pm. Not bad.

Meanwhile, Kayleigh caught something and stayed home with us Wednesday, tried to go in yesterday and Todd made her go back to bed, and then we didn't even bother to wake her today.

Luckily, Todd rebounded Monday and was able to take the reins the rest of the week. In between coughing fits.

Oh, and both cats are sneezing, too.

Tyler? Well, he's just dandy. No coughing, no sneezing. He's taking out the garbage and recycling without being asked and giving us hugs. He's a good boy.

Mom tells me we need to move to a different climate. Like, West Virginia....

She's funny.

Silly Woman

2011-05-07T23:30:00.000-07:00

It was naive of me to think that I could just do whatever I wanted today. I’m a parent now. It doesn’t work like that.

Kayleigh came into the bedroom at 9am (luckily I was already awake) and declared that she would like to go shopping.

“Where would you like to go shopping?” I ask.
“Um. Southcenter!”
“No, try again.”

We were just at Southcenter last night to see Thor* for Todd’s birthday. They have half the roads closed, the parking lot is torn up, the traffic is unbelievable, and oh yeah! We were just there Friday night.

I try a better question.

“What would you like to go shopping for?”

She replies that she has a ton of gift cards she needs to spend. Build A Bear, Payless Shoes, Game Stop, Target. The list goes on and on. But Build A Bear is the goal. Need to go to Build A Bear.

Don’t know what that is? I’m getting to it.

So, where is there a Build A Bear? Northgate Mall! she says. Great. I could do Northgate. It’s been a while.

I get up and check in with Todd and Tyler. Tyler is joining his uncle for game and he’s told us he needs to be “in a different” city so Gavin can pick him up. Um. Which city? Can’t remember. We find out it’s Everett. Oy. I’m not driving to Everett. Start looking at the bus schedule.

But if Kayleigh and I are going to Northgate, I can drop Tyler off at a bus stop up there to make the trip a little easier for him.

Because I am good mom.

What time do you need to be in Everett, Tyler? He says 3:30pm. It is now 10:30am. I want to be nice, but I don’t want to wait until 3pm to go shopping. And I’m already up so might as well start the day sooner rather than later.

Okay, how early can Gavin pick you up? Tyler texts, Gavin replies. If Tyler can get to the Comic Stop in Lynnwood, Gavin can pick him up “earlier”.

Sigh. I don’t want to drive to Lynnwood. Northgate is far enough. But it’s silly to drive him to Northgate, make him get on a bus only to ride 15 minutes to Lynnwood.

Okay, is there a Build A Bear at Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood? Well, let’s check the internets.

Uh. Yes there is! And, look Kayleigh, there is no Build A Bear in Northgate Mall. So it’s a damn good thing we checked on that, huh?

So it looks like we’re all going to Alderwood Mall. Fantastic. While Todd lays on the couch, watching the Twilight Zone, and coughing up stuff. I think I’m getting the better deal.

The kids and I load into the car and hit the road. But first, we have to stop for breakfast at Starbucks. That’s another gift card Kayleigh has, so she buys for everyone. That’s a fine way to start off Mother’s Day weekend, don’t you think?

Back in the car, and really hitting the road this time.

As I approach the Lynnwood exit, it occurs to me that I’ve never actually driven to the Comic Stop before. But I think I know where it is.

Nope. It’s not there. Then it must be over there.

Yep. Thank goodness.

We visit at the Comic Stop for a while (because we know the owners) and Tyler texts Gavin to say he’s there and when can he expect Gavin.

Gavin replies with 3:00pm.
It is currently 1:00pm.

I suggest that Tyler hang out at the Comic Stop. It’s free comic day, he’s got $20, and there’s a game going on in the back. He states that would make him feel cheap to just hang out for two hours. I get it.

So, he joins us at the mall, and will walk back to the Comic Stop, right across the street, close to 3:00pm.

To recap thus far: It’s a beautiful Saturday and I am taking my two teenage kids to Alderwood Mall to shop. If you refer to Friday’s post, you’ll notice this was not one of the plans listed.

First things first: Build A Bear.

Oh my gawd. Sheer genius!

I was skeptical when told about this. You buy a bear, then get it stuffed. Woohoo. Big freakin’ deal. Especially since you don’t really MAKE the bear – you buy the shell of the already made bear (or cat or duck or frog or rabbit). And the beauty isn’t stuffing the bear or putting the heart in the bear or washing the bear.

The beauty is all of the shit you can buy for the bear!

Sunglasses, fashion glasses, sparkly shoes, golf clubs, high top Converse, skinny jeans, wide leg jeans, picnic baskets, Seahawks uniforms (complete with helmet), beds, surfboards, underwear, robes, hats, sashes, wedding dresses, tuxes, roller skates, etc etc etc.

I am apparently the prime demographic as I wanted everything in this store. Only I want the stuff for Elvis and Tom. They would love the Cruisin' Red Convertible and the sleeping bag and the camo tent!

I think it was as I was squealing over the bear carrier that Kayleigh and Tyler said I was an official a crazy cat lady.

But it has a little cut out in the back for the tail!!

Ahem..

Anywho, Build A Bear was more fun than I thought it'd be. Kayleigh picked a black bear, dressed it in jeans, a Save the Earth t-shirt and high tops and named him Tattapu, after Lofa Tatupu, our linebacker (whom I affectionately call Tattapu during the games). Tyler had had enough at this point, and headed back over to the Comic Stop.

After BAB, Kayleigh and I hit numerous other stores and bought shoes, games, and tank tops. I splurged and bought a pair of leggings for $8. And when I got home, I discovered they had a hole in them, so I have to take them back. Great.

We finally got home at 5pm, and found Todd still on the couch, still watching Twilight Zone, still coughing up junk. In between coughing fits, he told me that Dave, from across the street called and invited us over to share some wine. Todd wasn't up for it at all, but he insisted I go on over and relax for a bit while he ran to the grocery store for dinner fixins.

Ain't he a doll?

I joined Dave, Greg, Carol and Paul for some lovely sparkling and red wine. And during our tasting, I invited them over to watch The King's Speech later in the evening. So a very busy Saturday wound down with a wonderful movie, wonderful neighbors and more wonderful wine. I love days like this.

**********

*Now, about Thor.

Ron, Steve and Andrew joined the four of us at the theater and this was Todd's birthday celebration. Well, that and the carrot cake that I'd picked up earlier.

I don't care if you know about the character or not, the movie is worth seeing. It's fantastic. It's funny. It's dramatic. Oh, it's really loud, too, so if you go to the theater, take ear plugs for the explosions. Ow.

I won't gush about Chris Hemsworth. Everyone gushes about him. I will say that he was very passionate about his role, and almost brought tears to my eyes when he realized he'd lost his power. So very intense.

Cranky McCrankerson

2011-05-06T14:00:00.000-07:00

It’s a rough day here in Raechelle-land. The weather absolutely sucks, Todd is sick again, Kayleigh is getting sick and my house is a cluttered disaster. There is no amount of Prozac or wine that can fix this right now.

Well. Okay. Maybe there's enough wine....

Todd was getting better, but then Sunday, the coughing and hacking flared back up and now he’s just beaten back down. And Kayleigh says her chest feels tight and like she can’t get a breath, so they both have doctor’s appointments this afternoon.

Oh, and Tyler is back to eating normal foods again.

And me? Oh, I’m fine. Having a small issue that’s not appropriate to blog about, and it’s just adding to my crankiness, but other than that, I’ll live.

And! This weather is freakin’ horrible. Rarely do I ever flat out bitch about the weather up here, but people, it’s the beginning of May and we can’t even hit 60 degrees. We’ve had 2 sunny, dry days in the last 20. I am sick of being cold and wet.

However, I’m torn between the two upsides of this weather. If it continues to rain all weekend, and Kayleigh and Todd are down with the crud all weekend, Rae-rae gets to either go nuts and declutter her house, or lay on the couch and do absolutely nothing. Both are very appealing to me right now.

Oh! I just remembered that I haven’t shared this with you! Daniela and Sergio will be in town this weekend! We haven’t made a plan, but Daniela did touch base and say she wanted to get together. Yay!

So maybe I’ll declutter tomorrow, and then have D&S over Sunday evening. Or maybe just sleep until noon tomorrow, then declutter on Sunday before we have D&S over. Or maybe just screw the decluttering and I’ll cuddle with Tom all weekend.

Who knows what my mood will be tomorrow. That’s the beauty of being manic – each day is a surprise!

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Update:

The evil uterus has awakened from her four week slumber, and she is pissed.

"What?! NO BABY?! DAAAAAAMMMNNNN YOOOOOOU!"

So I predict that Plan C will be in full effect this weekend.

Somebody get my jammies ready.

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Another Update:

Kayleigh and Todd are back from their doctors’ appointments. Todd’s left over sinus ick has become infected in his chest, so now he’s on antibiotics and an expectorant. Kayleigh’s chest lining is inflamed and just needs to rest and take some ibuprofen for the inflammation. Good to know they’re both on the mend.

I’ve Got a Theory

2011-05-04T16:13:00.000-07:00

It could be bunnies…..

Kidding.

In talking with my co-worker, Kermit (formerly known as Matabulor), I’ve come up with a theory.

Kermit tends to come over with all kinds of sweets and candy and cookies and chocolate. He’s one of those “keep your co-workers happy” kind of guys. I’ve been doing really well refusing his dark chocolate and gummy bears, but then yesterday, after a couple of weeks of nothing, he brought me a Dove dark chocolate bar.

“I know you’re on a diet, but dark chocolate is good for you.”

True dat, Kermie.

So, I have a little dark chocolate bar in my drawer now to keep me happy in the afternoons.

But then this morning, Kermit magically appeared in my cube with a plate full of chocolate brownies.

“I know I’m evil, but you want one?”

I debated for a good five seconds before I reached out and grabbed on. And it was like the Universe was fighting me – I could not get the brownie off of the plate. It was that gooey and moist. It was just stuck to the plate. Yum.

I took it down in two bites, then wiped the gooey chocolate off of my fingers with a tissue. As I did this, and while finishing my brownie, I declared to Kermit and Mr. Cranky Non-Decorating Co-Worker that screw the diet, I’ve just accepted the fact that I am big boned.

That got a good laugh.

I said, at least I’m happy right? I could be a 100 pounds and a stark, raving bitch. You wouldn’t want that would you?

Kermit laughed, then sobered up and said, “You know. Sometimes, there is a correlation there. Why do you think that is?”

I said, “Because women who are not naturally that thin are starving themselves to be skinny and they have no social life because they’re spending all of their free time working out.”

But look at me! Yes, I’ve got an extra 20lbs on me, but I’m happy! I eat and I drink and I be merry! If I denied myself wine and chocolate and pasta, I would not be pleasant to be around. I would be cranky, and sober, and exhausted.

And come on. Who really wants that?

Wouldn’t you rather have a happy Rae-rae?

Then how about sending Rae-rae some money so she can buy slightly bigger capris?

We’re Gonna Party Like It’s 1963

2011-05-02T21:11:00.000-07:00

The Downing Joint Birthday Party was Saturday night, and boy howdy, was it a swingin’ good time. Thank goodness we asked to borrow our friends’ house and bar because there’s no way that many people would have fit into our place.

We started the day off right with a surprise visit from CB. She and her hubby and baby stopped by, and I knew as soon as I saw them come up the walkway they would not be attending the party that night. CB had a balloon and a gift bag, and another bag of goodies. Sure enough, the baby had been sick the night before, so they were leery about leaving him with the sitter. So they made up for it by bring us twice baked almond croissants and makings for mimosas. If you’re going to miss my party, at least get me liquored up before you tell me.

After their visit, Todd and Kayleigh were off to pick up some last minute items, and I (finally) cleaned the bathroom and kitchen. No, the party wasn’t at our house, but I wanted to be able to lay around in my jammies all day on Sunday and not feel like I needed to be domestic.

Come 3pm, it was time to get bouffanted.

Tangent – Last year, CB recommended the lovely salon around the corner from house when my gal Carly left for New York. I started to visit Jamie, and she does wonderful things to my hair. I’m very, very glad I found her. And that she’s walking distance from my house.

Anywho, when I went to get my haircut last week, I told Jamie about the 60s party and how I wanted to get my hair all bouffanted up, so I asked what she’d charge. We chatted about that and then I, very professionally, asked if she’d be willing to do it for trade.

You’re thinking I offered to clean her salon, aren’t you? Well, I didn’t. But it crossed my mind.

I’d found the salon’s blog earlier in the day, and (to be polite) I immediately realized that Jamie’s talent and effort were not really going toward the blog. So I offered to revamp her blog site, in exchange for a bouffant. She loved the idea and said, “Hell, I’d give you free haircuts for that!” Since her blog is with Blogger, like mine, I should have no problem getting in there and beautifying it. And I do love beautifying the blogs. So many colors and fonts and templates. And Blogger makes it so easy for someone like me who has absolutely no clue how to code.

So, I have a contract design gig. Hee.

Where was I?

Ah, yes. Getting bouffanted.

Jamie spent an hour teasing and spraying and teasing and spraying, and finally, I was coiffed.

Back home to get our outfits and accessories together, then Todd, Kayleigh and I headed north to Michael’s. Tyler (who turns 17 next month, by the way) opted to be a typical teenage boy and stay home to play videogames and watch the cats. He’s becoming quite the independent fella.

We arrived with a mere two hours to set up, prepare the food, dress, get made up and start drinking. Don’t wanna be just picking our noses when the guests start arriving, now do we?

The first guests (Walter and Anne win the prize!) arrived around 7:15, and it was all a blur after that. As most of our parties are. Thankfully, Michael’s girlfriend Chris acted as the official hostess (or maid, whichever you prefer), so she was quick to take coats and food when people arrived. That’s the stuff that normally stresses me out. And I had on my three inch heels, so I would have broken my neck running up and down the stairs in that split level house.

And Michael tended bar all night.

His assistant showed up a little later, unbeknownst to me. When I saw him, I didn’t recognize him so I asked “Hi! Who are you with?” He said no one. He’s crashing my party. Then he hugged me and told me happy birthday.

I was okay with that.

Because this was a split level house, and the bar was downstairs and the food was upstairs, I felt like I had even less time than normal to chat with people. I’d be upstairs touching base, and when I’d get back downstairs, I’d notice some guests had left. At least in our little ol’ house you can see when people leave and at least say goodbye to them.

By about 11pm, the majority of the guests had left (after being badgered by me – “You’re leaving?! What do you have to go home to?! Your wife is working tonight!”) and the few remaining settled in the bar for some salsa dancing and Mad Libs. HK, my salsa partner was there, so we got a lot of practice. I even showed Kayleigh some salsa and swing moves. Yeah. Her stepmom is cool.

Finally, the last of the guests retreated around 1am, and by 2am our car was packed up with leftover food, wine, and other party accoutrements. We all finally got to bed around 3am.

And Sunday was a complete waste.

Which is a shame because it was absolutely beautiful outside. But Todd and I could do nothing but snooze off and on all day. We decided that it’s not the drinking that hurts us these days. Well, it does if you over do it, which we did not, and I was especially good because of those three inch heels – there was no way I could walk around AND carry my drink (I think I have a new plan).

It’s the going to bed at 3am. I always thought that the older you get, the less sleep you need, but I slept until 11am Sunday (not a big surprise, I know) and then took a couple of two hour naps in the afternoon. I think your body just gets into the habit of going to bed at a certain time (10pm – shoot me) and getting up at a certain time, and by gawd, if you mess with that, your body says “Screw you” and refuses to cooperate for a day.

But now it's Monday and we're back on track.

So what to plan next?

The Original Mad Men

Feel the love....

Not real sure...but look at that passion!

Walter & Anne. Too hip for words.

The Mister & Travis

Dancin' Queens!

Love it (the cigarette is fake)

How I Accidently Watched The Royal Wedding

2011-04-29T13:51:00.001-07:00

I had no intention of staying up until 2am to watch William and Kate get married. Kayleigh even asked about it before we went to bed and I said, “Uh, hell no.” Yes, I had it on our Google calendar, but I knew there’d be recaps all weekend, and I was fine with that.

But then came 1:47am, and I woke up coughing and no amount of albuterol or cough drops would calm it. Of course, I was pissed off immediately because my precious sleep had been interrupted, but then it hit me.

The royal wedding was starting.

It was fate.

So, I snuck out of the bedroom with my blanket and my pillow and curled up on the couch with Tom. We kept the TV turned down low, so as not to awaken the rest of the household (and thus, be mocked).

I was full of anticipation. Where was William? Ah! There comes William and Harry in a swanky car. Nice. He’s so cute. And Harry looks like a wild frat boy.

And now they walk inside Westminster Abby and take off their gloves and hat and…hand them to some guy? Wait, they didn’t get a ticket back! How will the guy know which hat is William’s?! All the men are taking off their hats and handing them over! No one is getting a claim ticket!

Oh, this is going to be a disaster. Did no one think to plan this part better? I know we only had a few months to throw this together, but people! Maybe they’re using sticky notes off to the side. One sticky says “Will”, one sticky says “Harry”, one sticky says “Dad”.

Well, as long as the stickies are out of sight, then I guess it’s okay. We’ve got a reputation to uphold here. This is a royal wedding! Not a slapstick hillbilly wedding!

Okay, moving on. Yeah, yeah, the boys mingle. William tells a few women they look “fabulous”. Only the English can get away with saying “fabulous” seriously. Harry is figiting. Must be hungover and needing some hair of the dog. You party animal, Harry.

And, now we have parents (well, “parent” and Camilla. I’m still bitter that she’s there and Diana’s not), and oh, the Queen. She looks bored. She’s probably sick of weddings. All the hubbub and the horns and the little choir boys singing so high you think the stain glass is going to shatter. I bet she’s thinking, “I just want some tea. When can I have my tea?” Poor Queen.

And there’s Kate getting into her swanky car! Wow, that’s a lot of train! Poor Dad doesn’t know what to do with all that material. Lacy. Of course. Veil and tiara. Of course. Just classic.

Such a long drive to the Abbey.

Oh, Kate's getting out of the car! So much train! Well, not as much train as Diana, but a nice modest train. So pretty....

Williams back is to her, he won't look. He's being coy. Ah, but Harry looked! Yeah, Kate's looking hot, he says to William.

Now the traditional blah blah blah, marriage, have and hold. But man, that one guy is scary - the Archbishop of Canterbury says to Prince William and Catherine:

"I require and charge you both, as ye will answer at the dreadful day of judgement when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed, that if either of you know any impediment, why ye may not be lawfully joined together in Matrimony, ye do now confess it. For be ye well assured, that so many as are coupled together otherwise than God’s word doth allow are not joined together by God; neither is their Matrimony lawful."

I would be terrified.

So no one opposes the marriage, William and Kate have nothing to hide, and William isn't wearing a wedding band. Huh? That seems suspicious.....

What? No kiss?! Come on!

Ah, glory be to God, the choir is singing, Elton John doesn't know the words to that particular hymn or he just isn't in the mood to sing. Could be that big speech about marriage being between a man and a woman. I'm sure Elton didn't appreciate that too much.

Now they're in the carriage, and they're riding off and Kate is waving like a good little dutchess. They're so pretty. So many horses! Goodness!

They arrive at Buckingham Palace and all file inside while the crowd follows on foot. The appearance of the crowd alone makes me want to throw up. Too.Many.People. And that poor line of police officiers, keeping them at bay. Not a fun job.

So where are they going to appear on the balacony? Oh, NBC has a little count down clock in the corner of the screen. Thank goodness! And there they all are! Wave, wave, wave. Just kiss for gawd's sake!

Really? That's it? A peck?

I know you don't like PDA, Will, but you are rumored to be a man of the people and the people want some passion! At least hug her!

Another kiss? Well, thanks. But you still didn't hug her.

Now it's 5:30am and it's too late to try and get some sleep, and Todd is now sitting with me and educating me on the British Empire, so I might as well just make some coffee and plow though this day.

We should be able to drink champagne at work today.
It's a holiday. Kind of.

Wisdom teeth, Concussions and Ulcers, Oh My!

2011-04-26T16:02:00.000-07:00

What a weekend. Again, Rae-rae prevails when the crap that wollups her family.

Tyler had his lower wisdom teeth removed last Thursday. Surprisingly, he wasn’t in too much pain, and pretty much just spent Thursday and Friday sleeping on and off. He kept ice packs on his cheeks, but only took the Vicodin a couple of times. He didn’t like the way it messed with his head.

Kayleigh was on spring break (and Todd was gone Friday afternoon) so she was Tyler’s caretaker. And she did a wonderful job. She made sure he was taking his antibiotics, and she would switch out the ice packs for him, and bring him clean gauze.

And that is why she went into the kitchen, to get clean gauze, when her head got all swimmy and her knees buckled and the girl went down.

And the girl’s forehead hit the island butcher block in the center of the kitchen.
And then the girl fell backwards and hit the back of her head on the hardwood floor.

She called Todd and told him, but the little stoic one downplayed the damage. Until Todd got home and saw her. She had a nice yellow and green lump on her head with a pretty little dent through it. And that’s when she lost it.

She spent the rest of the weekend snoozing on the couch. Don’t worry, we took all the concussion cautions. Including calling Habe and debating on the emergency room and asking her what to do.

Kayleigh’s doing much better now.

And Tyler’s tooth holes are closing up, so he’s feeling pretty much back to normal.

But Todd’s gut is still giving him a hassle. We’ve discovered he feels okay if he doesn’t eat red meat or drink wine. Bummer.

The worse I’ve been dealing with is a freakin’ nose hair that’s gone wonky and I can’t yank out and it’s making me sneeze more than normal.

Whew.

Friday Funnies

2011-04-22T21:42:00.000-07:00

I was cleaning up my folders at work and ran across some of pictures that, when I first found them, I fully intended to post them for your amusement. And then I forgot.

But I had some really good laughs this afternoon.

First up, yes, this is the exact same car I drive, and it just so happens that my car is also silver.

However, I do not have cat pictures in my back window. I have not gone that far over the edge.

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Because we've all had at least one pet that was certifiably batshit.

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I've already determined I have a Corgi problem. I love the little stubby legs and big ears.

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Just so.....beautiful.

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Love the German Shepherds. Even if they can destroy your house.

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I can so hear the song in my head. With some grunting. Because it looks like this doggie is workin' it hard!

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I don't know. I just laughed my ass off at this.

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And my own personal nightmare, that caused coffee to shoot of of my nose when I read it:

Happy Friday!

CRUISE SHIP!

2011-04-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

It’s cruise ship season here in Seattle. Every morning on my drive to work, I see the big ships sitting at the dock along Aurora. So pretty. And when Todd and I are in the car together and we pass by one, I always yell “CRUISE SHIP!”

(Well. Sometimes I still yell it even when Todd’s not in the car.)

I’ve never been on a cruise. I wanna go on a cruise. I want to float on the water, swim in a pool, eat until I can’t eat anymore and have a foo foo drink in my hand at all times.

Just….relax.

Actually, this is pretty much what I anticipate doing at mom and dad’s. They have a blow up pool. Maybe I can throw a floatie in there, close my eyes and use my imagination. I can make my own drinks. I’m not above that. But mom will need to cook for me. I’m sure she won’t mind.

I’ll need a show, too. Because on a cruise ship, you get shows. Comedy acts. Dad’s pretty damn funny. I could see him standing up in front of the fireplace, no shirt, short and slippers, telling me crude jokes. That would be fun.

And much cheaper than a cruise.

Back to Our Regular Ol’ Boring Life

2011-04-18T12:45:00.001-07:00

Sigh.

Raechelle’s Birthday Week is over. Now we’re back to the same ol’, same ol’. Well, we’ll celebrate Todd’s birthday in three weeks, so that will be fun for him.

I finished up the birthday week with taking Friday off from work. Granted, Todd and I sat in a doctor’s office for two hours and he was so tired and sick he could hardly keep his eyes opened, and when we got home, he immediately crashed on the couch, so I did laundry and cleaned the bedroom and organized the closet, and then had to leave to pick Kayleigh up from school, but hey. It’s better than sitting in a cube.

We didn’t really do a Friday night movie pizza night. Everyone was doing their own thing, so Todd and I watched the vampire movie, Daybreakers. Which was surprisingly good.

My only beef about this movie was the consistency. Ethan Hawk gets repeatedly burned by the sun, but there is damage whatsoever. I call bullshit. Especially when a vampire got burned early in the movie and he was all blistery. And also, we see the vicious ripping apart of someone (fantastically gory) but when we have the sad, goodbye I can’t believe you’re dead scene, the guy’s hardly even bloodied. Um, I’m sorry. I’m pretty sure I saw his large intestine pulled out of his torso. Why isn’t his shirt ripped?

But other than that, good movie.

Saturday, I was up early to get ready for my girl date with Trish. We walked down to the Junction and had brunch at The Tuscan Tea Room.

Oh.My.Gawd.

So good. So beautiful. I felt like I was in a foreign country back in yesteryear. Just lovely. The Tuscan Tea Room has a very elaborate Afternoon Tea, but I’m not a real tea drinker (but I met Ms. Traveler would love this place) so Trish and I had mimosas and breakfast – crepes and french toast.

After brunch, we toodled around the Junction and looked at books, clothes, and doggies. So many doggies. My favorite was the 10 month old Saint Bernard that weighed 90 lbs and knocked me over when he sat on my feet and laid up against me. Such a pretty puppy!

We finished off our date with coffee and a cupcake (still my birthday!) then headed back home. I ended up turning around and walking right back down to the Junction with Kayleigh. I’d seen a sweater there that I thought she’d like (she needs one for a dress she has), so we went to look at it. But the sweater was already gone. Poo. Luckily we a shawl that will work just as well. Productive.

Then back home to eat a quick dinner, then freshen up for the Springer’s joint birthday party at Kenyon Hall. What fun! Those theater people keep me laughing. I love the Twelfth Night gatherings.

We were home before midnight, and crashed pretty much immediately.

And on the last day of RBW, I celebrated in style by sleeping in until 11am. OH YEAH. Then I just laid in bed for a half an hour and snuggled with Tom. I love my Tom.

But the day was actually sunny, so I got motivated and took Kayleigh to her friend’s house, then came back and started on the yard. I mowed the front, back and the area between the sidewalk and the street, I weedeated (weedate?), I raked all the twigs that had fallen from that freakin’ pine tree that I wish would just fall over but not on any houses, and I quickly swept the front and back stairs. In the last hour, the dark clouds started to move in, so I lost my motivation to be a perfectionist. I just wanted it all done.

Todd felt guilty because he was still hacking up junk and pretty weak, so he balanced out the day by going to the grocery store and making dinner. And keeping my wine glass full all evening.

And apparently I overdid it because my left arm and shoulder hurt so bad that I couldn’t lay on my left side to sleep. And I have to lay on my left side. If I lay on my right side, or on my back, my sinuses clog up. Weird, no? So I breathed through my mouth all night, which means I never really slept well.

I downed some ibuprofen this morning and will take it regularly throughout the day, so that I can be assured a pain free sleep tonight. Hopefully.

But damn, the yard looks good!

RBW – The Big Day!

2011-04-14T16:31:00.000-07:00

1979, maybe

Sadly, Raechelle’s Birthday Week has not been quite the party I was hoping it would be. But shit (and life) happens, and I’m now 36 so I shouldn’t be so disappointed about a stupid ol’ birthday.

But I am. Because I am selfish and still 14 at heart.

Tuesday afternoon was spent in the doctor’s office with Todd. My hubby has been having some tummy trouble and our doc is thinking either ulcer or gallstones. They took some blood, but those results have since come back normal, which is a huge sigh of relief. All levels/enzymes/sugars are normal.

They also scheduled an ultrasound at 8:30am today. Fun. Even funnier was the blaring phone call at 6:30am today, cancelling the appointment because the US tech was sick. Um…you don’t have a back up? Really?

So we rescheduled for next week.

And to add insult to injury, Todd either has a bad cold or a sinus infection so I don’t think he’s up for spoiling me today, and neither is Kayleigh as she’s been down for two days with a major case of the blahs. Poor baby. So, we’ll just have to postpone the spoiling.

Pre-voluptuous. And already a wild woman.

I kinda got the party started last night, however. My neighbor had some gals over for her Jockey Person to Person launch party (sounds dirty, doesn’t it?). It’s like a Tupperware party, but with Jockey clothes (and no undies). They actually have some really lovely pieces of clothing. Their Modal line is soft and flowy. Perfect for us…ahem…voluptuous women who hate it when clothes cling to their…voluptuousness.

I knew half the women there, so it was a nice, social evening for me. With wine.

And because Jane made the mistake of telling me that my Frumpy Friday sweater that I wore was “darling”, I’m wearing it to work today! Frumpy be dammed!

I’m also calling this the Brazen Braless Birthday because the tank I’m wearing under the frumpy sweater doesn’t warrant a bra. Look out!! Stand too close, and you may indeed get some 3D.

CB took me out to lunch, so that was the big celebration today. Well, that and the two boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts she brought in yesterday because, she said, she just couldn’t wait for my birthday. And I’m not proud, but I had three donuts, one banana, one glass of water and three glasses of wine yesterday. Oh, and two pieces of cheese.

I may not live to see 37, huh?

Ice "skating" on the frozen creek

As far as a birthday vacation goes, I’m not 100% sure I get the day off tomorrow, since Mr. Cranky Non-Decorating Coworker had to go home this week for a family emergency. It just depends on how things go today.

Sigh.....All in all, let’s just say this week is shot, and save all that birthday energy for the par-tay. As long as I get to party at some point, I’m happy.

Taking after my mama with a pixie

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Update! It's been a slow day so I get tomorrow off! Well, off work anyway, since Todd's ultrasound was rescheduled, yet again, for tomorrow at 9am. Oh well. I'll just sleep in on Sunday!

My punk rocker costume, 19..8..4?

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Yet Another Update!

What a lovely evening. Todd made dinner (roast chicken, pasta and salad) and bought me one of our very favorite bottles of wine (Coppola Rosso) and even got a chocolate strawberry cake that was DELICIOUS. And we watched Paul Blart, Mall Cop, which was just stupid, but so funny. I love Kevin James.

First thing Monday, back on the wagon! Until then, let's party!!