Friday Confession
I am hopelessly, madly in lust with Kiefer Sutherland. Has there ever been a hotter celebrity? I think there has not. Also, I think he would be the best drinking buddy ever. I think that if there is anyone who likes drinking more than me (which is not likely) it is probably Kiefer Sutherland. I'll even spring for our cab rides.
A Few Sea Scallops Were Injured In The Making Of This Post
Right, so number of things I have accomplished on my list of things to do this fall:
0 . I had a date to go shopping with Steph last night, after which she suggested we get sushi. So I went out for sushi AGAIN, making it 2 nights in a row. That might be a record, even for me. So I didn't get home until 9:30pm or so, so I didn't get anything done.
Here is proof that I really do cook (click for big size):
Yep, I'm a dork and like to take pictures of my yummy creations. It's seared sea scallops with roasted red pepper sauce. I actually roasted the red peppers and made the sauce. It was so delicious. I was going to crop the picture, but I like that you can see the base of a glass of wine and Chris' flannel. It's a pretty accurate picture of life at our house.
Last night was a really great night. I dropped Chris off at school and then went to The Apple Store with Melissa in an attempt to get our iPods diagnosed. There was a one and a half hour wait, so we didn't, but Melissa did score some cute new clothes at the Ann Taylor nearby.
By the time I got home I was starving, so I decided to go out and get some sushi. I grabbed the book I'm reading and headed out. It was super delicious, and the server game me a free glass of wine because she thought I was "badass". Um, okay. Whatever, free wine!
And then I came home and turned on the heat for the first time and it made me sappy. But now I'm done with the trip down memory lane. I'm all about the here and now, baby. So let's come up with a list of things I need to accomplish this fall:
1) Go through wedding pictures. Pick out the good ones and make albums for us and parents. Pick out 2 or 3 to print for frames.
2) Watch our wedding video. The one we've had for over 2 months and haven't watched. I am just not all about the wedding video.
3) Harvest garden and pull plants.
4) Shovel and wheelbarrow large pile of dirt in driveway over to the garden.
5) Get (lead) paint off the left side of the trim in dining room.
6) List all shit that we need out of our lives on Craigslist and Ebay.
There, I think that covers it. I will be happy if I can accomplish all of these things by December 21st.
For The Record
I would like to state for the record that today was the first day that it was chilly in our upstairs in the morning. It's also chilly (65 degrees inside) as I sit here at 9:15pm. I just turned our heat on for the first time.
The change of seasons is such a crazy, emotional thing. When summer turns to fall, when I step outside and feel brisk air for the first time, memories of every fall of my life come flooding back. It brings back memories of moving to the USA (October 1985), beginnings of school years, starting college, Steph moving to Utah, a midnight to 8am Greyhound bus ride from Kansas City to Iowa City, and birthdays. It means cute jackets and breaking out the stiletto boots. It means red wine is fun to drink again.
And it brings back memories of falling in love. (I'll wait until you're done gagging.) I first developed (and by developed I mean it hit me out of nowhere and I became instantly obsessed) a crush on Chris during the fall, and spent many days at work hoping that he would notice my cute jackets and boots. I remember telling my mom on the phone that I was in love with a boy, months before he and I went on a first date. Maybe one of these days I'll get around to posting the story of how he and I met. But for now I'm going to drink and glass of wine and reminisce.
Woo! Guess I Forgot To Update For A While!
So the update on the house next door is that it was sold to a developer. Word is that the developer wants to keep it a single family home and fix it up and resell it. My gut reaction is: suuuuure they do. I would love it if they did, but we'll see.
The weekend was a good one. Chris' parents came into town on Friday night. On Saturday we went to the farmer's market and bought bread, cheese, cucmbers, and poblano peppers. Chris and his dad drank coffee and his mom bought some cute little gift tag things for some friends back home (Wyoming). On Saturday night we ate a delicious dinner at Market Street Broiler, and then went to a play featuring Chris' cousin and a cousin-in-law. It was hilarious!
Chris' mom woke up with a migraine on Sunday morning, so we spent the day at the house. She really felt horrible and I felt so bad for her. Being sick sucks, and being sick somewhere other than your own home sucks even worse. We all watched some football and Chris and I made applesauce that was so very tasty. My in-laws left on Monday morning, and I'm happy to report that my mother-in-law is much better.
Monday was also the season premiere of The Bachelor, so I went to Melissa's house to watch it with the girls (Melissa, Jo, and Jo's dog Daisy). Drinking wine and watching The Bachelor on Monday nights is so much fun. I love excuses to be social. Joanna also gave me a belated birthday present, the game Catch Phrase! Fabulous.
New Neighbors
The big excitement at our house right now is that the house next door to us sold. Chris and I will have lived in this house for 2 years next month, and the house next door to us has always been vacant. It belongs to the people who also own the house on the other side of it, and their grandparents lived there from the 1950s until they moved to a care center a few years ago. I don't know why they let the house sit vacant for so long. Memories? Waiting for housing prices to rise? Too much work to clean it out? Maybe a combination of those things.
We actually went to look at the house while it was on the market, on Labor Day when my parents were here. They have looked at properties in Salt Lake City on previous visits, and had been curious about that house. It was a pretty great house and it has a decent sized lot, but it needs a lot of updating. Not just cosmetically, but bigger things like windows, also. Also, the house had a boiler instead of a furnace, which could be a problem if replacement parts for the boiler are no longer available.
I'm curious how much the house sold for and to whom it sold. A family? A landlord who will use it as a rental? A developer who will tear it down and built an apartment complex? We have an apartment complex on the other side of us, so it's not a far stretch, other than the fact that the owners probably wouldn't let that happen, seeing as how they own the house next door to it. Of course we're hoping cool people move in. We're crossing our fingers, but not holding our breath.
Oh, and here is the promised picture of my hair! Hopefully the hotness of the hair will distract you from the lack of a clever segue.
So I've had a little bit of a cold for the past few days. I was waking up so congested in the middle of the night that I would go back to sleep and have dreams about not being able to breathe. I haven't been sick in forever. I honestly can't remember the last time I was. I'm lucky in that it is just a wee cold, and not big enough to warrant staying at home. I hate staying home unless I'm REALLY sick because I get bored otherwise. It's not so much the mental aspect of work that I miss, it's the social aspect. Is that sad?
I don't have much to say today, because I didn't really do anything last night. Post-work errands: post office to mail my niece a birthday prezzie, costco, library, market. Dinner: Halibut. The rest of the night: going over some financial stuff with Chris, attempting to teach Chris how to juggle, Chris oh-so-helpfully looking up all of the celebrities that I have now outlived. Kurt Cobain? Man, I
am getting up there.
At one point Chris also told me that the kid that played Michael Banks in the Mary Poppins movie died at age 21 from pancreatitis. I was sad to hear that, because I love that movie, and also because I had pancreatitis in 2004 and it was horrible. Interestingly, the internets say that he got it after a trip to India. It was on the tail-end of a two-week trip to India when I got it. What a way to go. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
28 Years
Last Friday was my birthday! I was too busy having fun to update my website. I had a great day, involving getting a haircut (I now look like Katie Holmes), leaving work early to buy a fabulous piece of furniture (with the money we got for our wedding) and then going out drinking with friends. We went to the Bayou on State Street, and were joined by Steph and Tom, Jesse and Sharon, John (sans Monica), Jo, Melissa, and Jo's friend Jen. I had so much fun and drank many a Blue Moon. Yum.
I also got some great presents, including:
- A magic 8-ball (because I really do think they are magic and will use it to make important decisions)
- A chargers t-shirt
- An oil and vinegar dispenser
- The most beautiful stiletto boots ever
- A wine stopper that looks like a diamond (from Steph, even though Tom told her that it was a bad gift since I always polish off the whole bottle)
- A gift card to Brewvies (movies, beer, and pizza!)
- A bottle of Chivas
- Flowers in a lovely vase (you have to say VAHZ)
How lucky am I? Man, what a great day.
We slept in on Saturday, and ran about 2 errands before I decided I needed to take a nap. I slept while Chris met with his group from school. (I have a cold, I'm not just lazy.) The aforementioned fabulous piece of furniture was delivered that afternoon, which I actually got off the couch for. Chris took me out to dinner and we saw a play at the theater where we have season tickets. The dinner was great, the play was eh, but it was a good night regardless.
I made up for that lazy day on Sunday. I got up around 9am and was productive until nightfall. I cleaned a TON, did 3 loads of laundry, dishes, mowed the lawn, harvested garden veggies, took the trash out, did the cat litter, and made a great Indian dinner (with garden eggplant, potatoes and chilis). The harvest was pretty good. We got some tomatoes (roma and cherry), an eggplant, potatoes, green beans, and garlic.
And if the weekend wasn't great enough, Roxy brought me a belated birthday gift! (Click for full size)
OMFG!
In Every Job That Must Be Done There Is An Element Of Fun
First things first! I have comments again! Leave one, it will be so fun. I'm moderating them this time around. I promise I will post any and all unfavorable comments directed at me. I'm moderating so that no one can leave unfavorable comments directed at anyone else. Unless they brought it on themselves. When did the internet become so nasty?
Onward. Chris has school tonight and I'm staying home and doing laundry and other fun and exciting chores, like drinking wine. Let's talk housework. Chris and I have had the same division of chores since we moved in together. It started on day 1, when we traded dishes (oh, how I hate doing dishes) for laundry, straight up. Things just fell into place after that, and our system has always worked for us. There are no hard and fast rules. If I ask him for help with one of my chores, he obliges, and vice versa. Sometimes I'll do one of his chores just for fun, and vice versa. As it is, our responsibilities are like this:
Amimake dinner
laundry
mow lawn
plan weekly menu
maintain household shopping lists
pay bills and do finances
Chrismake/pack breakfasts and lunches
dishes
clean litterbox and take out garbage
feed cats
get mail
maintain drains and furnace
We have always shared the responsibility of cleaning the bathrooms and mopping. One of us will usually say "let's clean the bathroom", or "let's mop the floors!" and we both go to it. Gardening works the same way. When we need to rake leaves or weed the garden, one of us suggests it and we both do it.
Vacuuming, dusting, and sweeping work differently. Usually, whomever is disturbed by the level of dust or dirt will just bust out the necessary tool and go to town. Probably because these are the least time consuming and hateful of the chores, so they just get done as they need it.
It has worked for us, and neither of us feels like we do too much or too little. Now that Chris is in school I have tried to pick up some of his chores, like the dishes and the litter and garbage. He still does those things the majority of the time, but I'm trying to help as much as I can.
For some reason this topic fascinates me, and I'm always curious how other couples handle the division of labor.
Hair
Quick updates before I move on to more important things, like hair:
1) Snoop was incredible. Best show I've ever been to, hands down. I've seen Snoop before, but this was a small and intimate venue, so this show wins.
2) I did go to Jessica's yesterday, bearing sushi and wine, but we did not actually watch Dirty Dancing, because we are too chatty and before we knew it, it was after 9pm. Oops. We're going to watch it next week, I think.
3) I never went through our wedding pictures.
4) Yes, I am in a car in the drunk picture, but note that I am not driving the car. I am in the passenger seat. Because I get drunk and my husband chauffeurs me around.
Well there, that's better. Now, on to the more important things:
See all of that hair in the picture in the previous post? I'm cutting it off. On Friday. My hair is crazy long right now, and it sheds everywhere. I am worse than our cats. And I've had it. So off it will come, and I promise you lovely people a picture when it does. I know this haircut is a good decision, because it didn't come from me being in a state of unrest, like some haircut decisions. I have actually carefully studied shorter haircuts, chosen one, and weighed the pros and cons carefully. I might even have enough to donate to that charity that makes wigs for cancer patients.
Also of note is that my birthday is coming right up. Friday, in fact. Woo!! I intend to party, as this is likely my last birthday without a pregnancy or a real live child to get in the way of my good time. Also, I'm getting screwed out of a Saturday birthday next year because of leap year. WHATever.
Don't Say I Only Post Flattering Pictures
We had fun at Scott and Jessica's last night. Jessica and I made plans to watch Dirty Dancing on Tuesday night, because she's never seen it. I know, how can you not have seen Dirty Dancing? No matter, we'll remedy that right away.
Tonight is Snoop!!!!!! And then we have tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday off. Chris has school from 8am to 6pm on Saturday, but I am free, free, free! Maybe I'll actually get around to going through our wedding pictures.
And speaking of pictures, here is one to make up for a crappy post. I think this one should be titled "This Is What Drunk Looks Like". Click for frighteningly large sized version where you can see my pores. Or, you know, don't. Your call.
Back to Life
Wow, my best friend is married! It was such a great weekend. The wedding ceremony was absolutely beautiful, and Steph looked amazing. The reception was great, with drinking and drinking and more drinking and dancing. Chris and I spent Monday recovering while my parents laughed at our pathetic condition.
And just like that, it's back to reality. Luckily my reality is that I'm seeing Snoop Dogg tomorrow night!!!! Could I be more excited? Maybe only if the State Fair also started this weekend. Oh wait, it does!! Life could only get better if my birthday was next week. What's that? Oh yeah, it is! Hot damn.
The only thing I'm not excited about is that we're going to Bountiful tonight to say goodbye to our friend Scott, who is getting deployed on Sunday. That blows.
