we imagine she must lead a rather dull life

You got a good style.

2011-07-10T14:50:00.001-04:00

It's been a while since I had a chance to brag about my boy, so here are a few pictures of my beloved Guster... who is nine now!

Guster highly recommends taking your vitamins.

Guster loves control of the remote.

Guster loves the t-shirt quilt (but not sharing it with his sister).

Guster on his 9th birthday

Guster loves watching the Mavericks beat the Heat.

Guster clearly loves looking cute!

And she don't always say what she really means.

2011-04-17T21:18:00.000-04:00

Already up to #5 on my "song a day" quest. I'm amazed I've made it this far; what does that say about my ability to stick with things?

Today's prompt: day 05 - a song that reminds you of someone

Many songs remind me of many people, but I chose Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown" because it is the one song that, no matter when I hear it, I'm instantly reminded of my dad. I can picture myself, around 5 or 6-years-old, in the tiny backseat of his Porsche, as this song played on the radio while he drove. It wasn't until years later that I heard it somewhere that I even knew who sang it, nor did I quite grasp the song's true meaning as a child. Probably for the best.

Per the rules, a video. This one is from 1974! Impressive.

I am not feeling well today, so not much else to share. I started reading the book Swamplandia! in earnest today -- mostly because all I've been doing today is sitting on the couch, with one of the four cats in constant rotation on my legs, watching the NBA Playoffs and reading. The book was quite publicized for a while, so even though it didn't seem like my usual fare, I grabbed a library copy for my Nook -- I'm about halfway through, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's a little odd.Very mystical and frankly, a bit sad. I'll see it through to the end, though.

And I know I'll never be the same.

2011-04-16T22:38:00.000-04:00

Today's song meme subject: day 04 - a song that makes you sad

There are actually a lot more songs, I think, that made me sad versus happy. Catchy and upbeat songs, I guess, make me happy, but sad lyrics always seem to stick with me more. Call me Miss Melancholy.

I discovered (or perhaps re-discovered) Gary Allan's "I Just Got Back From Hell" after losing my very dear cousin to suicide. Gary Allan lost his wife to suicide, and his song details his life and emotions after her death. It was (and still is) a very powerful song for me after losing Treen. I relate to it very much. I used to drive around in my car, listen to this song on repeat, and sob. It made me sad, but it also provided an odd sort of "been there" comfort -- someone else detailing the guilt, the sadness I felt -- and, after a while, the same "I can keep going" emotion. I still can't hear it without feeling sad, though.

Per the rules, a video:

I'm also including the lyrics, because I can:

I just got back from Hell
and I'm standing here alive
I know it's really hard to tell
Don't know how I survived
But I can't say that I'm doin' great
But I think I'm doin' well
That Devil's gonna have to wait
'Cause I just got back from Hell

Well, I just got back from Hell
And I guess to tell the truth
Well, I've been mad at everyone, including God and you
When you can't find no one to blame you just blame yourself
And I know I'll never be the same
I just got back from Hell

Forgive me if I had any part
If ever broke your heart in two
Forgive me for what I didn't know
For what I didn't say or do
And, God, forgive me as well
'Cause I just got back from Hell

Well, I just got back from Hell
And I need to make some plans
It's the last thing that I wanna do
But I'll do the best I can
I'm gonna learn to live again
But I think I'll sit a spell
Tell the world that I'm alive
and I just got back from Hell

I can't say that I'm doin' great
But I think I'm gettin' well
Gonna let the world know I'm alive
And I just got back from Hell
And I just got back from Hell
I just got back from Hell
Got back from Hell

I actually thought of Treen today. Kate and I were supposed to walk in the Charlottesville MS Walk, but it was rained out. We had already picked up my friend's dog for the walk, so we felt bad just turning around and coming home. Instead, we picked up sandwiches and took Athena for a small walk, to a pavilion/small historic site near my office. We were in the middle of a crazy rainstorm, with tons of wind, but we ate our favorite sandwiches with Athena at the ruins of a historic site as the wind swirled around us. It was the sort of "let's make something fun and memorable out of a bad day" thing my Mom always did when I was a kid. My cousins were always in awe of the crazy things my Mom did with us. Trina would have enjoyed today. Sometimes you make your best memories out of the unexpected. Miss you, cuz.

I was a train wreck waiting to happen.

2011-04-15T22:36:00.000-04:00

As I continue on the music meme quest, today's request is: day 03 - a song that makes you happy

I love Chantal Kreviazuk's "Before You." It's catchy and the chorus is infectious, which always makes me happy, plus it reminds me of meeting Kate.

Per the rules, a video:

My other story for today: Today was the best food day of my life, I swear. I consumed far too much of said food, but yum. And everything I ate was from Charlottesville's Downtown Mall. First was the Downtown Hot Dog Company, where I consumed a delicious hot dog and tater tots. So good. Then we moved on to Cappellino's Crazy Cakes, which makes my most favorite cupcakes. Here, my friend and I did a "shot" -- of butter cream frosting. Oh lord - heaven. An oreo cupcake followed once I got back to the office.

Sadly, I'm not done. After the roller derby tonight, we ate pizza at Christian's, which has delicious pizza. This was followed by Sweetfrog, which lets you make your own frozen yogurt creation.

I'm pretty sure I've consumed nearly all my favorite foods today -- all I needed was some chicken fingers. Or a Krispy Kreme. Or... perhaps I should stop.

It's been a good day.

But I won’t follow you into the rabbit hole.

2011-04-14T16:21:00.000-04:00

Day 2 of the Music Quiz: your least favorite song

I don't really care for this one; if I don't like a song, I don't listen to it. So no "least favorite song" pops out at me. So, instead, you get my least favorite song from today. I am completely in love with a website called Rdio, which lets you stream what seems like a gazillion songs for only about $5 a month. I love it, and I've found so much new music via this site. I'm constantly adding new songs to my queue.

Anyway, I know it's sacrilege, because it seems like EVERYONE likes them, but I just can't get into The National. I tried again today, after seeing a friend's Facebook link. I just can't. It's not the sound for me.

So when I listened to "Terrible Love" today, I cringed a bit. I feel guilty even just saying it. But the quiz made me.

So there.

Here's the video, per quiz regulations:

In other news, I was at the doctor's this morning, and an older (very old) man was waiting for his wife. She came out with the doctor, who told him that they were going to have to take her to the hospital (not sure what was wrong -- seemed like an infection). This old man was so upset, and also so confused. It was heart-breaking to watch. He'd have to ask the doctor questions multiple times, because it seemed he'd forget the answer immediately. He clearly cared so much for his wife, though. It was so awful to think of them being apart as she entered the hospital. Made me think of my grandparents; my grandmother would always stay with my Grampa as long as she could when he was in the hospital. They were so rarely apart in their 60+ years of marriage. It was sad, but touching, moment today. I hope she recovers well.

She's always been real good at listening.

2011-04-13T15:46:00.001-04:00

I am attempting yet another gimmick in an effort to update these thing and get my writing juices again. We'll see how long I make it.

I saw this floating around Facebook, but have no desire to spam my Facebook "friends" (acquaintances?) with it, so I shall spam all my readers here instead (sense the sarcasm?).

day 01 - your favorite song

day 02 - your least favorite song

day 03 - a song that makes you happy

day 04 - a song that makes you sad

day 05 - a song that reminds you of someone

day 06 - a song that reminds you of somewhere

day 07 - a song that reminds you of a certain event

day 08 - a song that you know all the words to

day 09 - a song that you can dance to

day 10 - a song that makes you fall asleep

day 11 - a song from your favorite band

day 12 - a song from a band you hate

day 13 - a song that is a guilty pleasure

day 14 - a song that no one would expect you to love

day 15 - a song that describes you

day 16 - a song that you used to love but now hate

day 17 - a song that you hear often on the radio

day 18 - a song that you wish you heard on the radio

day 19 - a song from your favorite album

day 20 - a song that you listen to when you’re angry

day 21 - a song that you listen to when you’re happy

day 22 - a song that you listen to when you’re sad

day 23 - a song that you want to play at your wedding

day 24 - a song that you want to play at your funeral

day 25 - a song that makes you laugh

day 26 - a song that you can play on an instrument

day 27 - a song that you wish you could play

day 28 - a song that makes you feel guilty

Apparently, you are to include a video or such with each song.

So, today's request is my favorite song. Oh my! For a person obsessed with music (I have a good 13,500 songs on my iPod), this is tough. However, for the longest time, Mary Chapin Carpenter's "Middle Ground" was always my favorite. My last.fm profile backs me up. It's really hard to go wrong with this song -- it's classic MCC: deep but fun to listen to. As do many of her songs, it constantly leaves me wondering: Does Chapin know me, and I just don't know it? This song is about me, I swear! It is, of course, per my M.O. obscure enough that I cannot find a video of it on youtube. (Clearly I fail at this project already.) So, you'll have to read the lyrics and imagine. Or download it on iTunes. Or buy MCC's amazing album, Shooting Straight in the Dark. You won't be disappointed.

Lyrics to my favorite song:

For years she's lived on her own
In a corner of the city
Twice a year she gets back home
Playing catch-up with the family

She tells her folks what they need to know
Her mother says she's much too thin
Her sisters ask about her beau
Her dad inquires, how's business been

She's thirty-three this time around
She's always been real good at listening
Her sense of humor never lets her down
Except sometimes there's something missing

Hey, middle ground
A place between up and down
She could be safe and sound
Oh, to know middle ground

For years she's been on her guard
She's kind of tense around the shoulders
She wonders why she works so hard
She counts the days 'til they promote her

She'll take a weekend now and then
To stay in bed and watch the reruns
She'll turn the phone off when guilt sets in
But Sunday always kinda leaves her let down

Hey, middle ground; a place between up and down
She could be safe and sound; oh, to know middle ground

She gave her heart away one time, and says that she hasn't seen it since
Love's a puzzle in her mind; the pieces match, but don't quite fit; hey...
And these days run thick or thin
It never rains, or else it's pouring
All her single friends are men
She thinks married girls are so damn boring

Hey, middle ground; a place between up and down
She could be safe and sound; oh, to know middle ground
Hey, middle ground; a place between up and down
She could be safe and sound; oh, to know middle ground
Oh, to know middle ground; oh, to know middle ground

My head is still but my mind is turning.

2011-01-07T10:30:00.000-05:00

I have not written in here in ages, so I figured I need to start with something easy. And while this may be a bit boring, I like having a record of it. I read 75 books in 2010, surpassing my usual goal of 50. Below is my list, in the order I read the books, with my ratings (basically: 1 star - uck, 3 stars - liked it, 5 stars - awesome) included. Note: I don't rate as a critic. I read to relax, so I read what I like, and if I enjoyed the book, I rate it highly. I've also been known to up a rating for a happy ending. I'm a sap, what can I say?

How about you? Any book recommendations? I'm always on the lookout for good books!

For more information on what I'm reading (and what I've read), check out my Goodreads site.

1. Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater ***
2. U is for Undertow - Sue Grafton ****
3. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dance - Katherine Howe ***
4. Club Dead - Charlaine Harris ***
5. Dead to the World - Charlaine Harris ***
6. Wishin' and Hopin' - Wally Lamb ****
7. Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog - Lisa Scottoline ****
8. Perfect Life - Jessica Shattuck **
9. Dead as a Doornail - Charlaine Harris ***
10. Definitely Dead - Charlaine Harris ***
11. Starting Out in the Evening - Brian Morton **
12. Cleaving: A Story of Meat, Marriage and Obsession - Julie Powell **
13. All Together Dead - Charlaine Harris ***
14. Bloodroot - Amy Greene ****
15. Juliet, Naked - Nick Hornby ****
16. Her Fearful Symmetry - Audrey Niffeneger **
17. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stiegg Larsson ***
18. The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag - Alan Bradley ****
19. The Wrong Mother - Sophie Hannah ***
20. Blame - Michelle Huneven ***
21. Not My Daughter - Barabra Delinsky **
22. House Rules - Jodi Picoult ***
23. Little Face - Sophie Hannah **
24. A Reliable Wife - Robert Goolrick ****
25. The Help - Kathryn Stockett **
26. Losing Charlottle - Heather Clay
27. The Wild Zone - Joy Fielding *
28. So Much for That - Lionel Shriver ***
29. Secrets of Eden - Chris Bohjalian ***
30. The Irrestible Henry House - Lisa Grunwald ***
31. The Solitude of Prime Numbers - Paolo Giordano ***
32. The Hole We're In - Gabrielle Zevin ***
33. The Wife's Tale - Lori Larsens **
34. Nanny Returns - Emma McLaughlin **
35. Committed - Elizabeth Gilbert ***
36. From Dead to Worse - Charlaine Harris ****
37. Eat Pray Love - Elizabeth Gilbert ***
38. Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris ***
39. Hide - Lisa Gardner ***
40. What the Dead Know - Laura Lippman **
41. The Lake Shore Limited - Sue Miller **
42. Arcadia Falls - Carol Goodman ***
43. Seven Year Switch - Claire Cook ***
44. Everywhere That Mary Went - Lisa Scottoline **
45. Dead in the Family - Charlaine Harris ***
46. The Map of True Places - Brunonia Barry ***
47. The Last Time I Saw You - Elizabeth Berg ***
48. Triptych - Karin Slaughter ***
49. Linger - Maggie Stiefvater ****
50. The Sisters Antipodes - Jane Alison **
51. Faithful Place - Tana French ***
52. The Cookbook Collector - Allegra Goodman **
53. Fly Away Home - Jennifer Weiner ****
54. 1st to Die - James Patterson **
55. The Widower's Tale - Julia Glass ****
56. A Summer Affair - Eldin Hilderbrand **
57. Sworn to Silence - Linda Castillo ****
58. True Colors - Kristin Hannah ***
59. The Blessings of the Animals - Katrina Kittle ****
60. Red Hook Road - Ayelet Waldman ***
61. One Day - David Nicholls **
62. The Good Daughters - Joyce Maynard ***
63. The Confession - John Grisham ***
64. A Ship Made of Paper - Scott Spencer *
65. Pray for Silence - Linda Castillo ***
66. Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay ***
67. Great House - Nicole Krauss **
68. My Reading Life - Pat Conroy ***
69. The Stuff That Never Happened - Maddie Dawson ****
70. I'd Know You Anywhere - Laura Lippman ***
71. Freedom - Jonathan Franzen ***
72. The False Friend - Myla Goldberg **
73. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins ****
74. Room - Emma Donoghue ****
75. Ape House - Sara Gruen ****

Had enough of sad days, had enough of sleepless nights.

2010-04-28T11:51:00.000-04:00

Mary Chapin Carpenter's latest album came out yesterday, which meant I trekked down to our local Barnes and Noble (local being a term I use loosely in this case; I do miss having a B&N across the street) to purchase it... this is a ritual I've had since I discovered MCC when I was around ten; her albums are about the only ones I still insist on a) buying the day they are released and b) buying in a hard copy. I was baffled upon entering B&N to discover they don't have a DVD or CD section (is that a new thing, I wonder, or a Charlottesville thing) but I did finally find it on a small kiosk in the front. Since MCC lives perhaps a half hour from said B&N, I should hope they'd be selling said CD.

As always, it's a seminal moment to pick up her CD. I've listened to it obsessively since, both in CD form and via my iPod. There are about three or four songs that I particularly love, mostly because they speak to me. I feel as if they were written for me, or by me. I've always felt this way about MCC. I do think we could be best friends. You know, if I ever found the nerve to speak to her. Or, if she wasn't an amazing famous singer/songwriter.

When I was a kid, I only listened to the music of my parents. I heard a MCC song on the radio ("Passionate Kisses" was the first -- I've always felt guilty about that, since it was one of the few she didn't write) and fell in love. From there, I bought Come On, Come On and then... Shooting Straight In the Dark. I adored that album. I still adore that album. Those were the first tapes (tapes!) that didn't belong to my parents, the first music that was my own. MCC has always been mine. My parents like her, and my Dad took me to my first MCC concert and several to follow (including one at the Patriot Center. We got lost on the Toll Road. Shawn Colvin opened, and she was far too progressive for my country brain at the time. MCC sang "This Shirt," the only time I've heard that song live, and I can still remember that moment with crystal clarity). I listened to her tapes in my Audi once I could drive, with the windows down, barreling down back roads. I listened to her tapes on my Walkman (Walkman!). I bought her CDs and played them on my first CD player (it played one CD at a time and had a double tape deck function, so I could burn mix tapes. Many MCC songs went on those mix tapes). I wrote about her influence on my life for one of my college essays, including how she helped me through my parents' divorce and my anti-social high school years.

Whenever I think back, Mary Chapin Carpenter has always been there for me. I can't say that of many people. I may not have ever met her, but she's helped me through so much.

I was reading an interview from Ladies Home Journal (I do not stalk her or anything) where she says "I Have a Need for Solitude" off the latest album is one of her most autobiographical songs. I'd already fallen in love with this song based on a video I'd found on Amazon.com of her singing a demo-type version (again, no stalking involved). I'm pretty sure she's inside my head. Also pretty sure I have a new theme song.

It's been a rough couple of months for me. I have a lot on my mind, and I feel like I'm in a very dark place sometimes. MCC has always been there before when I've felt that way. And I know she'll be there now. The song is lovely, the album is beautiful, and Mary Chapin Carpenter is a wonderful artist. Check her out.

I have a need
For solitude
I'll never be
Safe in crowded rooms
I like the sound
Of silence coming on
I come around
When everyone has gone

I have a need
For cool, verdant spaces
Beneath the trees
Secret empty places
Nobody knows
So no one will intrude
I have a need
For solitude

But you can find me,
when the light is changing
At that time of the day when there's
Little day remaining
You can find me
where I've been waiting
Waiting here for you

I never was
The pretty the girl in school
I never was
Fast, tough, and cool
All I was
All my life it seems
Was hard to love
Harder now to keep

But you can find me,
when the light is changing
At that time of the day when there's
Little day remaining

I have a need
For solitude
I'll never be
Safe in crowded rooms
I like the sound
Of silence coming on
I come around
when all the rest have gone....

The end of an era. Or something.

2010-02-25T17:24:00.003-05:00

I have not written here lately, as I've been in mourning. Those who know me well know my devotion to the Washington Wizards... misguided as it may be. I've been a season ticket holder for three years, and I've followed the team for nearly 7 years.

For those not in the know, the following happened to the Wizards since Feb 13:

1. They traded three players to the Dallas Mavericks for about three pennies and a piece of rock candy. OK, the Wizards received Josh Howard in return, but, wait, what? Oh that's right, four games into to his tenure with the Wizards, he tore his ACL and is out for the season. The Curse of Les Boulez strikes again.

2. Of those three players, all were current or former starters. One of whom, Caron Butler, was my most-favorite player and #1 on our Baby Daddy List. This is wrong.

3. Traded current starter Antawn Jamison to the Cleveland Cavliers.

4. Let's note that Antawn was not only the team captain and nicest guy ever, but the Cavaliers are the Wizards bitter rival. In the hearts of any true Wizards, fan, anyway.

5. Traded Dominic "The Cleaner" McGuire for, um, nothing (OK, a draft pick, but still). Dom may not be a household name, but I'd argue he was the Shane Battier of the Wizards.

6. The Wizards then went on to win 3 out of their first 4 games in their "new-look" style, until Josh got hurt.

7. I am forced to spend my every waking moment on Twitter or refreshing ESPN.com, wondering which of my players will disappear next.

Other stressful happenings since Feb. 13th:

1. On February 17th, I lament that I wish I'd given the Wizards up for Lent. When the new-look Wizards then go on to play well (for them), much guilt is felt.

2. Am forced to watch a Cleveland Cavaliers (the team on which LeBron "Crybaby" James plays, for pete's sake) press conference in order to watch Antawn. Especially since he was traded right before he was to play his "last" game, leaving us Wizards fans with no closure besides an obscure quote as he hopped into his sports car.

3. Kate and I watch more Mavericks and Cavaliers games in the past two weeks than we have in the past two years. Which is saying a lot, since the powers-that-be in NBA television seem to conspire to show the Cavaliers in primetime every single possible moment.

4. The NBA bans Caron Butler from chewing on straws, which may be the most ridiculous rule in the world. These sorts of things don't happen when you play for the Washington Wizards and all anyone knows about you and your team is that you paid some guy a lot of money and then he threatened to shoot someone.

5. Every day I walk into my office, see my framed CB3 All-Star jersey, and feel a mix of sadness and hope. Sadness my boys are gone, hope they will succeed elsewhere. (Oh Antawn, must you have gone to the Cavaliers?)

As you can see, it's been a rough few weeks in our household. We are getting by on ice cream, American Idol, and the hope that Al Thornton will turn into a super-star.

Wish us luck.

And I drive and I think about my life.

2010-02-11T12:38:00.000-05:00

Well, this has been quite an interesting winter. Who would have thought I would move from Northern Virginia to Stanardsville and ensure that we missed the craziest winter ever in DC? Goodness.

Not that it's been a walk in the park here, either. We didn't get nearly as much as Washington DC/Northern Virginia, but we got perhaps 18 to 20 inches this past weekend, with another four inches or so on Wednesday, mixed in with sleet. Lovely.

Things where I used to live, however, are terrible -- what a mess. I cannot believe that the Federal Government has been closed for FOUR days. I keep getting emails from the condo complex (I have a condo up in Northern Virginia, where I used to live, that I now rent out) and it sounds crazy.

I actually had to drive up to Northern Virginia on Monday, which was probably a very stupid move, but work calls and well... The drive up was ridiculous -- I got stuck for about 20 minutes in my driveway. Then it was good until Culpeper and boom -- Route 29, a fairly large major thoroughfare, just dropped down to one (if that) lane -- lanes covered in snow and ice. My poor car. Interstate 66 was good, but the road in front of my Fairfax office was just three or four inches of pure snow and ice: not one drop of pavement. I have no idea how my car survived; he's a trooper.

I wound up staying the night with Kristen (my heroine). She sent her husband to get me, and I stayed at their house Monday night. Her neighborhood was a total mess -- they only got out because they have a SUV. Her husband took a look at my little Chevy Cavalier coupe in the parking garage at work and was shocked I'd made it up there. Thankfully, I'm somewhat used to driving in snow, on bad roads. It was an adventure, to say the least. Thankfully I got out of there before the Wednesday storm, or I'm sure I'd still be there. I love snow, but all of this has sucked a bit of the joy away. I miss true snow days.

Kate was supposed to fly to Memphis this week for work, but she hurt her back shoveling, so she's been housebound, too. We've been snowed in together for two weekends and a bunch of days in between. If you want to see if people are fit for marriage, just lock them up in a house and drop 40+ inches of snow on them in a week. (I think we've come through admirably, though we were both awfully excited to go to work today!)

The highlight of being snowbound is that we finally decided to figure out how to hook our laptop up to the TV. Seriously. There's not a lot to do around here, especially when snowed in. As I'm sure I've complained about in here, we don't get our local channels (ABC, NBC, etc.) via our satellite dish. They come in via an antenna that can have its issues, but even worse, really, is that we can't use the DVR to record most of our shows. So we've turned to getting them via the Web, but we've been watching them mostly on our iPods. Having the ability to play things on the large HDTV has been such a breakthrough. Perhaps not so grand if we weren't stuck inside 24/7, but seriously. We've since watched The Blind Side, The Invention of Lying, The Hurt Locker, Couples Retreat, and The Hangover via this setup, along with a bunch of TV shows. It's been great. Tina Fey is even funnier when she's not the size of a penny!

We also had a Super Bowl party for two, with lots of food we'd managed to nab during the insanity of pre-storm Thursday (aka An Evening Trip to Harris Teeter: Kate and Kristy Become Scarred for Life). Mini hot dogs wrapped in bagels; is there anything else one needs in life?

And just to prove that I do things besides eat and stare at the television, I've also finished a book about every other day -- ha. I'm reading a rather odd memoir (by the Julie & Julia girl) right now. Then I may steal the Sookie Stackhouse book (#7) from Kate. It's a little sad how addicted I've become to those books. I'm also going to start reading Anna Karenina so that I can attempt to keep my brain from rotting.

I do have some pictures from the weekend storm. I'll post a few here.

Oh and we finally received our big picture for over our couch, so that's hung up. Hurrah!

I forget how big it is, because I'm lame, but the giant space over the couch definitely looks reduced now

This is during some point of the weekend storm.

View up the street toward the main road

View down the street

View on Sunday once it was all over

We've come so far since that day.

2010-02-05T15:56:00.001-05:00

Alas, I have neglected this poor blog lately. I shall blame it on the snow. ;)

In our defense, we've been working on our house a lot, and I have the proof here: the pictures from our master bathroom renovation. The [nearly] final touches of caulking and hanging pictures were only done today. What else is there to do in the middle of yet another blizzard?

Kate is a dear and took pictures mirroring the original "before" shots she took, pretty much just to humor me. So I shall start with those, even though they are in a rather strange order.

Standing at the bathroom door, looking at the vanity and tub. The area around the tub is painted a darker/warmer color than the other walls. The lighter color is a bit hard to pick up in some of the pictures. The new rugs are a welcome addition... cold floor!

A shot of the new paint around the tub, along with some of the pictures. New hooks, too!

We'd love to replace that light, but it isn't happening yet. You can see my new shelf, though. Oh and new faucets.

The tub again, including two of the photos. One of those photos was contributed by my friend Jennifer, who is an amazing photographer. You can see more at her blog. I love it, and I really appreciate her letting us have a copy.

Shower... new towels, new towel racks.

Funky mirror shot.

New towel rack and hook. If you look closely, new outlet covers in chrome.

Tub again... no more oddly placed towel bar.

This gives you a decent idea of the new paint colors. They are a little dark and less rosy in real life.

Shot into the bathroom. I could not convince Boo to replicate her pose.

And other non-mirror pictures...

I love my new shelf -- I didn't have a place for my towel before. I want some chrome baskets to eventually store bubble bath and such.

Good shot of the new light-switch plate

Close-up of the pictures... that's my head, back when my hair was short.

I love this picture of Jennifer's. So much.

My toes!

So, that was probably boring for everyone but me; I apologize. But we're pretty excited! It's so much warmer and enjoyable in there. And the new towels... so nice.

In other news, it's snowing like crazy here. Supposedly we're getting 1 to 2 feet... again. Hooray! (OK, it's kind of exciting.) I will try to be a better blogger in February, I swear.

Take comfort where you can, you can.

2009-12-30T15:41:00.000-05:00

Christmas was very nice. We actually still have two Christmases left -- one with Kate's family -- our traditional Solstice celebration was snowed out, and one with my Dad and stepmom -- but our 25th and preceding days were lovely. Went by much too quickly, especially since I had to work (in Northern Virginia no less) on the 27th.

I will spare you all a long summary of everything. So my favorite moments in pictures.

Wrapped so many presents. Guster helped, of course. I love wrapping presents.

By the end... many presents! I also love the look of wrapped presents.

Opening stockings (and then some)... stockings are so much fun. Boy, did it take a while to wrap all those stocking gifts (the bags are a stocking extension).

Celebrated Christmas Day with my Grampa, Aunt Peg, Uncle Len, Andy, Katie, Larry, and Gabe. Christmas is so much fun with a kid around. Gabe is just a joy.

Gabe was fascinated with my camera and took over 250 pictures during the course of the day. Many were of his thumb, and the majority were of me, but many were pretty good.

I thought he did pretty good with this one!

I wish I could show you more of them; it's pretty awesome to see Christmas through his eyes. He was especially fascinated with the star on top of the Christmas tree, too. We'll work on the concept of self-portraits for next year.

The three of us opened our presents (from each other) once we got home that night. Christmas lasted past 11 PM (which I love).

This may be my most favorite shirt of all-time.

My Mom cried when she opened her laptop. It was pretty awesome.

Kate gave me this mailbox (which I was actually thrilled about by itself!) and as soon as I saw the "Hamilton" on the front, I cried a little bit (ssh, don't tell). She surprised me by changing her name for Christmas. That's our first official picture as the Hamiltons. Pretty amazing.

Merry belated Christmas, everyone.

There is no Christmas like a home Christmas.

2009-12-16T13:26:00.001-05:00

"Oh, Christmas isn't just a day, it's a frame of mind... " ~Kris Kringle, Miracle on 34th Street

For those who know me well, it's no secret that I love Christmas. I firmly believe in the quote above. When I was growing up, we didn't have a lot of money, but my Mom saved up all year to make Christmas special. But she also didn't just make it about the presents. We had traditions that we followed every year, and to this day, it's those traditions I cherish, not the gifts.

For instance, on Christmas Eve, we "feed the birds," which involves taking bird seed, bread crumbs, popcorn, peanuts, and other food and going around the woods of my Mom's house and leaving it for the birds, mice, squirrels, and other animals that live in the forest. We've been doing that since I was just a little kid and we lived in an even more wooded area. I love doing this. When you wake up on Christmas morning and look out the window, the woods are always alive with little animals munching on the goodies left out the afternoon before. On Christmas Eve, we also drive around and look at the Christmas lights up in nearby neighborhoods. Typically, we get lost in the same neighborhood every year, despite our best efforts! The evening is capped off with Christmas Eve on Sesame Street as we sort all our presents and prepare to put them under the tree or to take them where they need to go on Christmas Day. And there is always Christmas music playing, or a Christmas movie on. It's just not the holiday season without music and movies. My favorites range from the traditional (A Miracle on the 34th Street, George C Scott's A Christmas Carol), to the newer (Elf, A Santa Clause), to the lesser known (One Special Night).

One thing that I miss, but will always remember fondly, is that my grandparents would come over every Christmas morning for a special breakfast. This was a crazy tradition that made absolutely no sense -- we lived about a hour apart, and they'd leave, only for us to go over to their house a bit later, but it was our tradition. They'd come over, we'd open our stockings, and we would enjoy a large breakfast of homemade cinnamon rolls, pecan rolls, bacon, sausage, and eggs. Often, they would watch me open my presents from Santa. I can still remember standing in the windows of our living room at the crack of dawn (they would arrive early!) and watching their car come down the driveway. It was so exciting and meant Christmas had officially begun!

My Mom also did the Santa thing up right -- every year, Santa brought me five presents: the "big" presents. As a child, I fully believed in Santa far longer than most kids. But why wouldn't I? Santa was well-executed in our household. I vividly remember a conversation with Mia and Trina (my cousins) about Santa, in full seriousness, and we were convinced he must exist. How could he not? He had brought them bikes that year, I remember, and they absolutely knew their parents would never buy them bikes. At my house, Santa presents were always wrapped in different paper (featuring Santa in some form) that didn't exist anywhere else in our house. Santa had different handwriting on the tags. And, most crazy of all, he would leave a present on my bed while I slept on Christmas Eve. I was such a light sleeper and while I always resolved to wait up for him, I never once caught him. To this day, I fully believe in the magic of Christmas due to that. I wake up at any little noise...

In our house, Christmas is an all-day event. Our stockings are huge, and overflow into bags. Half the time, we wind up opening the bags upon returning home in the evening. As a kid, we would go to my grandparents for the day and open presents with my aunt, uncle, and two cousins. Now that my grandmother has passed away, we go to my aunt's house. But it's this crazy time, with presents everywhere, and lots of laughter. Every year, "???" makes an appearance and gives someone (or several someones) some crazy present that no one will take credit for. We each take our turn opening a present, so that the day lasts even longer, and you get to see everyone open their gifts from you, which I love. It isn't even until we get home in the evening that my Mom and I and now Kate open our presents from each other. I love making the day last as long as possible...

It's a magical time. Perhaps I'm just a big, goofy kid at heart, but I love Christmas. I hope I have some children with someday to share all these traditions. And the movies. And the music.

One thing I hope I will not do to them... make them wear scary Christmas sweatshirts. Ahh!

What about you? What are your favorite holiday traditions? How about films or albums?

Everyone dancing merrily.

2009-12-04T20:21:00.000-05:00

I'm attempting to keep up with a contest, of sorts, over at my other blogging site where you take a photo every day, based on a prompt, and post it. Today's prompt was kind of fun, and I thought I'd post the photo over here, too.

The prompt was messages.

I don't really have much jewelry, so my jewelry box is filled with ticket stubs, buttons, and other meaningful items, including little notes. They're mostly from Kate, though the pink one above is from my Mom. I saved it in particular because it reads, Couldn't sleep so got up + left early to trace my monkeys. Have a great day. Love, Mom. Ha. She cracks me up. (Can you tell she's a teacher?) There's also a note from Kate from the day after Obama's election, which makes me smile.

When the jewelry box gets full, I put all the notes in a bigger box, which is always fun to sort through every few years. It's amazing what sort of memories I stumble across.

Happy weekend, everyone.

Dream of softly falling snow.

2009-12-02T13:24:00.002-05:00

There's a line in the [original] Miracle on 34th Street where Mr. Gailey is questioning young Tommy, asking him if he knows the difference between a lie and the truth, and Tommy responds, "Everybody knows you shouldn't tell a lie... especially in court."

It's a pretty good rule to live by, I'd say.

I try to follow it as much as possible, but I found myself telling a white lie a bit ago -- only to have it come back and bite me. This is why I can never lie! It's a good lesson for the children, I tell you.

When we moved into the new house, it was inhabited by what was apparently a rather slovenly bachelor. Our realtor recommended a local couple, who run their own firm, to clean the place. They did a wonderful job, and while cleaning, discovered a huge burn mark in the kitchen island. They said it was something they could replace, if we desired, and we hired them to replace all our kitchen counter tops, do some painting, and some other miscellaneous work. They came by at other points to snake a drain in the master bath, etc. They are extremely friendly and even spent an entire day at the house with Kate's mom while she was visiting (they were painting). We've gotten to know them pretty well and there's basically nothing around the house they cannot do.

Well, as a housewarming gift, my Dad and stepmother offered to have our decks fixed up. Both the front and back decks were badly in need of power washing and a good coat of stain. Good gift. Very generous. My Dad wanted to use the guy who did his own deck work, so I said fine. We wished we could use our people, but we were excited to have the decks fixed up nonetheless.

Cut to the day that our new counter tops are being installed. Our local folks are over and they notice some of the work that's been done on the deck. They somehow come to think that Kate and I had done the work (I *did not* actually lie at the point, I swear!) and I didn't say anything to dissuade them... our deck guy had only been coming on the weekends, and it was a Tuesday and the counter top work would be done by the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Ha.

So I wake up that Wednesday because I hear something, look outside, and see deck guy's car. Of course. Shortly after, local contractors arrive. Deck guy is out back, so I figure perhaps our contractors won't see... nope. As they are installing the counter tops, I notice the guy peering around at the deck guy. If only I'd decided to go with blinds instead of curtains! So I have to tell a (somewhat true) version of the story that he's a friend of my Dad, who is helping us out today. Our contractors spend the entire time they're installing our counter tops looking out the kitchen window and back door at deck guy, commenting on the stain color and his progress. They also tell me an elaborate story about how they were out yesterday looking at a deck to bid on and how they do lots of deck work. Sigh. Dagger!

I'm sure the first thing they did when they got in their van was comment about how I'd lied to them about doing the work ourselves. I tell you -- what are the odds? It's sad, too, because we like them best, but I couldn't exactly turn my Dad's gift down. I'm not actually upset about it all, but you just had to laugh. When I woke up and saw deck guy's car... I was like, seriously? It was like an episode of a bad (rather boring) sitcom.

That's my life! (And proof of why I swear I was raised Catholic in another life -- the guilt, the guilt!)

However, the new kitchen counter tops look wonderful!

They were immediately put to use on Thanksgiving.

I don't have any before and after deck pictures (sad, I know), but here's the house around Thanksgiving. It's all decked out for Christmas, now. And the decks look great, too. A happy ending?

If these are life's lessons, she'll take this test.

2009-11-17T12:41:00.000-05:00

So I'm pretty sure I've officially become a crazy cat lady. It was always borderline, but I've crashed past that line in the sand now. At the young age of 28.

For a while, it was just me and Guster. That was OK. One person, one cat. Single with a cat wasn't the best, but I only had one. Besides, he was Guster. Everyone who met him adored him.

Then I met Kate, eventually she moved in, and suddenly there were three cats. This was borderline, but there were two of us and three cats, and besides, those were her cats who then became ours. We became a blended family. Much like the people who wind up with six children after a remarriage. They didn't choose to have that many children. They can't cast off their children upon remarrying (though I suppose some people do!).

During all of this time, there was Natasha. Sweet Natasha, the beautiful stray who had always hung around the condo complex where I lived. I was able to justify that Natasha did not count as cat # 4 (crossing me into the border of cat lady craziness) because she lived outside. If necessary, she could find her own food and shelter. She was, in some ways, responsible for her own welfare.

But, no longer.

It's true. When we went to the condo this weekend to clean it and prepare it for our rental tenant, we captured Natasha and brought her back to our house. I should clarify this. We brought her *in* our house.

That's right. I now have four cats. Inside of my house. For those of you keeping track at home, that's four cats to two adults. Twice as many cats as people. That's crazy-cat-lady-land.

It worked out like this. Natasha has been in my life, off and on, for a good five years now. She's beautiful, sweet, and loving. She also trusts no one besides me and, after time, Kate. She's scared of everyone at the condo complex, despite their attention to her. While she can, in theory, care for herself, she's become rather dependent on us for food, water, and a bit of shelter (a bed and blanket outside our door). I love her. The thought of leaving her behind broke my heart. When we returned to clean and our neighbor said she hadn't seen her all week, I was devastated. For us crazy cat people, the cats become a part of our family. Natasha, even though she wasn't inside with us, was a part of our family. And you don't leave family members behind. Well, the good ones anyway!

Getting her in the carrier was an episode worthy of America's Funniest Home Videos. Three times we tried. Three times we failed. After each try, it took a bit longer to coax her back up the steps to our door and the waiting carrier. By then, Kate and I were exhausted from a day of cleaning and breathing toxic Tilex fumes. We just wanted to go home. I was breaking down in true crazy fashion, sobbing, because I could not picture driving away without Natasha. Kate, in true amazing Kate fashion, finally did some awesome thing where she rubbed Natsha's neck, mesmerized her, and stuck her in the carrier feet first. I slammed the door shut -- and she was trapped. Her fate was sealed. As was ours.

As we drove home, fueled solely by adrenaline and the McDonald's we dared to stop for, the heat blasting on our feet, which were soaked since we'd cleaned the carpets in the condo (it will be a miracle if we both don't get pneumonia from this episode, spending hours in the cold coaxing a cat in a carrier), we realized that there was no way we could set Natasha up on our back porch as we'd originally planned. It was late, it would be pitch black out at our new house, and we'd have no idea where she would run off to in blind terror. She had, of course, spit out all attempts to feed her the tranquilizers the vet had prescribed for her -- leaving bits of chopped-up pink pill, wrapped in turkey and cheese, scattered desolately across the top of condo deck.

I was tempted to try a few of those pills myself by the end of the night.

So while we were exhausted, Natasha had full use of all her senses, including her voice, a fact she proved as she howled along the two-hour trip. As we made the journey along endless Route 29, we decided we'd have to keep her in the extra room at our house. We couldn't risk her running off in the yard/street at the new house, especially after how hard we'd worked to trap her.

And so that's how I've crossed the threshold to crazy cat ladydom.

Natasha, meanwhile, is doing well. She is still a bit skittish, but has used her litter box so far and is eating a bit. She is thrilled to see us and remains her loving self. Kate and I feel like new parents, discussing bowel movements and feeding times. She already wants out of her room... perhaps we'll tackle that obstacle next week.

In the meantime, maybe I should be out looking for a sequined sweater covered with cats, or the like. What is the current attire for crazy cat ladies these days?

Our Latest Addition -- Natasha

Everything is changing fast.

2009-11-13T16:18:00.002-05:00

There's never a dull moment in our household, I tell you.

I came home yesterday all flustered -- it's been storming here for a couple days with lots of wind and rain. Some of our boxes we'd been storing on the deck for trash day had blown around our yard and the yard next door, and as I was fetching those, the neighbor's cat was trying to get in my car and then in the house. (I think I'm a cat magnet. Girls? No. Boys? Ha. Cats? Sure.) Plus, Kate had called me when I was pulling in the driveway to say she was stuck on her way home because a tree had fallen across the road. (So much for me trying to tell her we haven't moved to the country, eh?)

Anyway, when I came in the front door, I heard this horrible, guttural meowing sound. At first, I thought it was the cat outside, but I realized it was Guster. I totally panicked. I thought he was locked in one of the rooms we've been keeping closed, but I quickly discovered he was in the study. Apparently he'd jumped behind the cabinet you see at the back of the room in this picture. (Disclaimer: this room is now much nicer! Do not judge. This was like one day after we moved in.)

It's a pretty big, heavy piece of furniture and almost as tall as I am. I guess once he jumped down there, he realized it was too high to jump directly straight back up. Poor kiddo. I have no idea how many hours he was back there. It was awful getting him out, too. That thing is heavy, and it's full now, too, since that room has changed greatly since I took the picture. I managed to move it a few inches from the wall and then hold it out enough that he inched by, giving me a woeful, dramatic look as he did so. He let me hold him for a minute, still with the woeful look, and then rushed to eat a ton of his food and drink for what felt like hours. Sheesh. What a way to start the evening! Who knows what else they'll find to get into -- they can disappear here, and I have no idea where they are. He seems no worse for the wear, thankfully. I'm honestly surprised he didn't choose to milk the incident for longer. I think it really traumatized us both.

I'm working from home today, which is nice. I was busy this morning with emails, conference calls, and setting up a SharePoint site, but I've also managed to catch up on my Days of Our Lives (hush! Sami now knows that Grace may still be alive -- you can't argue with this kind of stuff), do all of the laundry, and get a some light cleaning done. Hurrah. We're at the condo all day tomorrow to clean it (yuck), so getting a head start here will be much needed.

Now I'm just waiting for Kate to come home so we can pick up a pizza and relax. We've been going non-stop all week, so we're forcing ourselves to have a night off. No unpacking, no hanging pictures, no cleaning... just pizza, a movie, and chilling.

Speaking of chilling, I tried out our whirlpool/jet tub the other night. Oh.my.god. At our old place, not only was the tub tiny, but the hot water lasted long enough to cover my about the bottom of my legs and that was it. This thing is amazing -- the water is so warm, and when I turned on those jets, I thought I'd about died and gone to heaven. I read New Moon in there (yes, I'm re-reading the series AND I watch Days of Our Lives, sue me) and it was wonderful.

House is coming together quite nicely. We hung up a lot of artwork in the kitchen last night, and picked a few of our existing photos for the living room. There's a huge space behind the couch that we'll have to get new frames for and fill. I'm excited about the bonus room, as it's being turned into a "sports room" with my Bulls, Wizards, and University of Virginia posters, as well as our autographed basketball and Wizards flags. Sweet. I've also unpacked all our books and my CDs. I'm so excited to have my CDs again. Also, thanks to Kate's sister and husband, we have some unused bookshelves. YES! I shall be picking up some books at my Mom's soon to remedy that.

In (semi) non-house news, believe we'll be having my Mom and Kate's parents over here for Thanksgiving. We're farming dessert out to my Mom (good choice, since she is the type who makes her own pie crusts), giving her parents a few dishes to bring, and enlisting my Mom's support with the chicken we'll make. It will be good, I think. We'll celebrate at Brightwood on Saturday with some of my extended family, too. Because Brightwood is only THIRTY minutes away now. I love it.

This has been a weird week. I live and work here now. I can't quite wrap my head around it. Next week won't really help me adjust, either, as I'm back in Fairfax for two days and then have Friday off, when I must trek back to Northern Virginia yet again to shop with my mother at the Outlets. Alas.

Sunday is our 2-year anniversary. Must find a nice place to go out and celebrate. Crazy to think we were in Victoria two years ago. Sure do love that girl.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

I came through with flying colors.

2009-11-12T15:48:00.001-05:00

Just one of those silly surveys going around.

Essential Facts:

1. I'm 28 years old.

2. I've been married for almost 2 years to Kate.

3. I have a B.A. in English

4. I've worked as a Proposal Manager for 5 years for the same firm.

5. I just bought a house outside of Charlottesville, VA.

6. I still own my condo in Northern Virgina, which I bought about 4 years ago.

7. I drive a Chevy Cavalier (my second), which is 5 years old. His name is C.J. (Cal Jr.). The original was named... you guessed it, Cal.

8. I have three cats -- Guster, Eli, and Boo.

9. I'm an only child.

10. My parents are divorced and with my move, both live within a hour of me.

11. I was born in the area to which we just moved. Only lived there until I was five, however.

Fun Facts:

1. I am very choosy about what I spend my money on. I wear the same clothes, don't buy make-up, read things primarily from the library and paperbackswap, don't shop much, and really didn't spend much money on anything except Christmas gifts and going out to eat for the last six years (since I graduated from college and started working). Buying a house, which involved putting money down, paying for repairs, and purchasing other random things has been huge for me. It's amazing I'm still breathing.

2. I'm really not a fan of cooking. I think it's because I don't like to be bad at things, so I don't like the thought of other people judging my cooking. But also, because I just seem to lack the natural tendency to guess correctly when faced with a cooking challenge.

3. I'm an horribly impatient driver. I cannot stand to wait behind a slow car. I cannot do it. I am not a patient person in most aspects. Moving here, where things move more slowly in general, will take some getting used to.

4. I have strange organizational tendencies. Most of my books are organized by height, whereas my DVDs and CDs are arranged alphabetically.

5. I can get paralyzingly shy around people I don't know. You'd think this would improve as I get older, but it seems to be getting worse. There are few things I dread worse than a room full of strangers and small talk. One of my least favorite things about the holiday season? Holiday parties. Hate them.

6. I'm absolutely fine on my own 99.9% of the time, as long as there is some sort of noise to keep my company. Music, TV, etc. I don't mind being alone in the office or the house as long as there is background noise. One exception would be if I'm reading -- I tend to block out any noise then anyway.

7. Lately I cannot shake the idea of having a daughter. I suppose it's not lately -- it's always been my dream. I can just sort of picture her. She's there. I don't know if it's a product of growing up a daughter of a single mom, or what. Sometimes it's a good feeling, and sometimes it hurts a lot.

8. I'm obsessed with checking my Netflix queue. Even if there has been absolutely zero change to it during the week, and we have sent nothing back, I have to log in. My last disc of Gossip Girl, Season 2, has become a victim of the mail forwarding system, and it's driving me insane. Seriously. Other things have been forwarded, but not it. Dan, Serena, Lily, Rufus, why? Overall, I'm not sure why I have to check every day. Sometimes I shuffle things on the bottom just to make myself feel better. Or I mess with my Mom's queue, which I manage. It's a sad obsession.

9. I have weird routines. Guster and I sing a little song every morning to the tune of "You are my sunshine." I have to turn the handle of the front door x amount of times. I have to knock the front of my car for luck once I park at work. I feel off if I don't do these things. I know I've written about these things before, but I thought perhaps I'd break some of the habits at the new house. Not so.

10. I love writing letters. And sending cards for various occasions. Alas, I seem to be the last person in the entire world who feels this way. Is the art of letter writing dead? I need pen pal from some strange foreign country or something that lacks email. There's nothing better than opening your mailbox and seeing something other than bills. (Besides seeing my precious Netflix envelopes.)

11. I cannot sit like a normal person. Those who know me well will testify to this. Typically I sit cross-legged. My new desk has one of those pull-out keyboard trays, and I'm going to have to have Kate remove it, because it's hindering my ability to sit cross-legged in my chair. One of my co-workers once told me I'd get varicose veins for sitting like this, and I always hear her voice in the back of my head when I sit in my chair. However, I feel I will age regardless; might as well be comfortable now.

Just for fun... a cute picture of Guster

And this is home, where is I want to be.

2009-11-11T11:28:00.000-05:00

Moving is really bizarre. One day you live and work in one place. One day you live and work some place else. Whoa. I think moving to somewhere where you've worked and semi-lived (as a kid) previously is even more strange. It's all this odd sense of deja vu, coupled with a well, when am I heading back to Northern Virginia? It feels like I'm here working on a proposal again. Except I'm living in a large house with all my stuff.

Working in Charlottesville when not living in a hotel away from my wife, cats, and stuff, while simultaneously getting no sleep, is really nice. :)

So we're here. Moving was crazy. We'd hired movers on both ends -- the condo side and the new house side to pack and unpack the truck we'd rented, but we were driving the truck ourselves. It was easier, it seemed, than trying to find a company that would travel all the way down. Ha. The guys who came to the load the truck at the condo were wonderful. Professional movers who carefully loaded everything in -- they were on time, they planned everything out, they finished right in their 2-hour limit, they were friendly, etc. They finished so quickly we actually had time to eat a sandwich (gasp) before hitting the road ourselves -- me in the car with Guster, Kate driving the massive truck.

That's when it all went a bit crazy. Our other movers were scheduled to arrive at 4. Around 4, we see someone pull up in a pick-up truck. Someone else shows up a bit later in a truck, with a woman. The one person turns out to be a kid of maybe 15, the other an older man in his mid-50s or 60s. Yeah. Turns out they answered a Craiglist ad asking for moving help at our address, promising them $15/hour. Nevermind that we'd hired professional movers, for whom we'd already pre-paid. The kid's Mom had answered the ad for him and he was adamant about getting his hourly wage and assured us his goal was definitely to try to not damage anything, while the older man told Kate, between the cigarettes he kept lighting up a foot from our open truck full of furniture that he'd just gotten his flu shot that day and was feeling rather woozy.

Yeah. I don't think I would have trusted them to carry *anything* together, let alone an entire truck full of furniture into our freshly-painted home. We finally get in touch with the scheduler, who is profusely apologetic (jerk), claims his usual guys had become unavailable, etc., etc. He finally finds another company based in Manassas (about 90 minutes one-way from us) who can come Sunday morning. So we call them, make arrangements for them to come at 10 AM on Sunday, and (key point here) tell them our address is not in GPS and give them directions.

By now we're bummed because we're psycho and want all our furniture in the house immediately. My Mom comes by on her way home from my Grampa's, so we drive the one mile (yeah baby!) to Dairy Queen, get some dinner, and hang out with her a bit. Kate and I collapse because we're irritated and exhausted.

We're up the next morning to wait for these guys. 10:00 rolls around and then 10:30, we call them, and they assure us they're "close" -- 11:00, 11:30 -- yeah. We finally get in touch with them close to noon. Their GPS couldn't find the house. Seriously people. What did you do before GPS? Can you not read a map? Does no one use maps anymore? The house isn't exactly in the middle of nowhere. Kate gives them directions AGAIN, they get there after noon and it takes them about a hour to unload the truck because we're impatient and had already unloaded the half of it we could carry.

At the time, it was incredibly frustrating. When the two crazy Craigslist people showed up, I had to go upstairs and sit in the room with the cats for a minute, because I was done. I was going to bawl otherwise. Kate was awesome, and sent the redneck child and flu shot man away with aplomb. Waiting for the guys the next day was just agony because by then -- we just wanted our stuff in the house. We were ready. We had to return the truck in Charlottesville, go to the store and such, and where we live now, that takes a bit of time. It was 5:00 PM by the time we were home on Sunday opening boxes, and we felt like we'd lost nearly a day.

Looking back, when the blood-boiling feeling has passed a bit, it's a good story, and I can laugh. However, I'm glad it's over. I will not be moving again for a long, long, long time.

Now I'm getting settled into my new office, which is really nice, and we're busily unpacking the house in the evenings. The kitchen and living room are pretty much done, with the exception of little things and things such as artwork. Our bedroom and bathroom aren't painted, of course, but they are serviceable. Upstairs will need some work (and painting), but it's getting there. The guest room and study will take some time. The study will probably be my project for the rest of the week. Organization is key!! I have some pictures, but they are already woefully out of date; I unpacked a bunch of stuff in the study yesterday and it's already much-improved. The guest room too. Thank goodness for its giant closet.

It's a great house, and I love it. I wish we could have afforded to have had the entire house painted -- the living room, kitchen, and hallway/foyer/stairs look amazing. But Kate and I will do good on our own. We just have lots of decisions to make...

I have to go back up to my old office next week, and I'm already dreading it. Funny how I never really dreaded going to Charlottesville. This is home.

Packing up back at the condo...
Guster helping me pack.

Our condo study packed full of boxes.

At the new house...

Kate installing the cat door (well technically cleaning up after installing it).

We're getting new kitchen counter tops in a few weeks. There will be pictures, of course.

Curtains need hemming in all the rooms, you'll see. :) But living room is getting there...

This gray doesn't photograph well, but it looks lovely. You'll all just have to come visit, I guess!

Bedroom desperately needs new curtains (bought, just not up), paint (TBD), and artwork. It actually looks cleaner, though -- we were doing laundry. I need to get a shot that shows the dressers.

This is the study. All the books have been unpacked... it's getting there!

Bonus room. Treadmill has been moved to the right, which you can't see... I'll put up more pics, don't worry. ;)

Can you tell I'm slightly excited?

You march to the beat of a different drum.

2009-11-04T16:11:00.003-05:00

Kate's been in a raging battle with The Washington Post since we bought the new house. We only get the Sunday edition and while each week they promise her it will be on our new doorstep, it never is. I haven't missed the Post itself too much these past few weeks because our Sunday morning breakfast and paper-reading routine has been off due to moving, but I have missed... the coupons.

It's true. I'm a coupon clipper. I have a little organizer with labeled dividers and everything. I've even been known to snap at my wife when she's gone "off the list" at the grocery store and hence bought something for which I had a perfectly good coupon waiting at home.

So I've been a little twitchy these past few weeks. My coupon supply is drying up. Therefore, I was pretty excited yesterday when I stumbled upon coupon.com. I went through the site last night and printed six pages (about three coupons a page) of coupons! And not stretches (stuff I fudge so as to use a coupon -- a practice I no longer allow), but stuff we really use -- Steamfresh vegetables, Pillsbury crescent rolls, Bisquick, Weight Watchers cheese. They even had a coupon for Lactaid milk, which I'm pretty sure I've never found in the Post.

The site requires you to download a very small piece of software to print their coupons, but it worked easily enough. I'm curious to see how much their selection will vary from week to week. In the meantime, we'll see if Kate's battle with the WaPo will continue for Sunday #4. At least I have some coupons to keep me company.

Today's the day that all the world will see.

2009-11-03T13:49:00.001-05:00

With the move coming up on Saturday, I wanted to post for posterity some pictures taken of the condo taken right before I got a renter and then started packing it all up.

It's so hard to fathom that I've lived here for over six years -- some of them when it was an apartment, some of them when it was "the condo." I've ended a relationship here, started others, been engaged, and began my marriage. I ended one job and began another. Gabe was born and Trina passed away. So much has happened in this time. Much good -- some so sad it will always hurt. While I have in no way fully embraced Northern Virginia, I've come to love "bits and places" of it, and there are many people, places, and things I will miss.

It will be very strange to say goodbye on Saturday. This has been home for a long time. But I'm very excited about the next phase...

Study

Family Wall

Foyer

Living Room

Dining Area & Kitchen

Bedroom

I wonder how much I will have to bribe Kate to duplicate this closet organization in the new place... it's so nice...

All I ask is why be afraid of this world.

2009-11-02T10:16:00.000-05:00

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm so not in the mood for a Monday morning. It was rainy and dreary here all weekend and today, of course, while it's cool, it's lovely and sunny. It seems quite cruel and taunting.

The weekend flew by, soggy as it was. Kate arrived by 7 or so on Friday and we basically ate our way through the weekend -- not bad. We hit up three of our favorite places (Santini's Deli, Counter Burger, and Jackson's) over the course of the weekend. I will miss the food around here. She tackled her list I had for her -- mostly taking things off the walls and painting/spackling. Fun, fun.

Kate's trip up was basically an excuse for us to go to the Wizards home opener on Saturday night. Since we're going to miss most of the games with the move, we wanted to be at the first [home] game of the season. It was a bit of a bummer because two of our "big three" (and basically our two favorite players), Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison, were both hurt. (We have the worst luck in the world.) So that sucked, since who knows when we'll be back again for a game. But the rest of the guys played great! Gilbert had 32 points and Andray Blatche (miracle of miracles) had 30. It was a really fun game -- they gave away Gilbert masks and free candy -- and we had a blast. I was proud of the boys. We were there in person for about two wins all of last season, so this was great. The boys deserve a good year; I hope they get it. I will miss the games. As I told Kate, I love a venue for sanctioned yelling.

Besides, we got to see this shot in person, which was pretty awesome. He is amazing.

Now I just have one more week in the condo and at work. It is so surreal. The condo is basically a shell, and so is my office. I cannot wait until I do not live surrounded by boxes. I also cannot wait until I get to live in the same place as my wife and all my cats again. Holing up at night watching Gossip Girl is fun -- up to a point. I miss them. Having Kate back, only to have her leave again yesterday evening, was hard.

In a total turn of subject, I don't know if I have any Patricia Cornwell fans on my favs list, but I found this article from the Afterellen.com blog pretty interesting. It's not only a discussion of her latest Scarpetta book that's out (yay!), but a discussion of both her lesbianism and her character Lucy's, plus her own portrayal as a lesbian in the media. There's also a section where she talks about watching The L Word and QAF. I'm sorry, but the idea of Patricia Cornwell watching those shows is pretty awesome. Also, if you don't read Afterellen, you should.

I leave you all with this frightening Halloween photo. Us in our Gilbert masks. :)

Heaven's above, trouble behind.

2009-10-30T10:11:00.002-04:00

I have written this entry a lot over the years, but the little guy and I have been on our own all week, and I'm feeling nostalgic. Besides, I have a few new readers, and you can never have too many old Guster photos, right?

Anyway, hard to believe, but today marks Guster's Arrival Day -- his 7th!! Seven years ago, I was packing up my apartment in Fredericksburg, it was raining, and I heard this meowing -- I looked up and saw this tiny gray cat up on a trellis howling away. Later, as I was taking boxes to my car, he emerged from under another car, soaking wet, jumped in my trunk, still meowing that little high-pitched meow of his. He later jumped on top of my boxes as I went back and forth. What could I do? I was smitten. I get a little teary thinking about it to this day. He's been my best buddy ever since. I can't imagine my life without him. I'm so glad you picked me, Guster. I love you.

A few days after his arrival day

Baby Guster in his first Fredericksburg apartment

In the sink on his first trip to Gramma's

Getting bigger

November 2003

May 2004

June 2005

April 2006

May 2007

July 2008

September 2009

Lighten up while you still can.

2009-10-28T19:06:00.000-04:00

I am starting to feel a little teary about leaving... I always knew I'd reach this point, but sigh. I went to lunch yesterday with Deb, Kristen, and Karyn. I'll miss those guys. I think that's what I'm the most sad about -- I'll miss my friends. For the most part, I'm an independent person. I'm not really a "friend" person. I'm happy when I see my friends, but I'm fine if I'm not. But I will miss my work friends. I don't really have work friends where I'm going. There's some possibilities, but... There's no Deb, who's my cake and ice cream and talk for hours buddy, or Kristen, with whom I can IM and laugh with every day, or Meredith, who is my walking buddy. I will miss their work companionship and friendship a lot, and that's where I will feel the most lonely. Ever since I transferred to my new group, I feel like Kristen and I became even better friends, and I will miss her a lot. I'm selfishly really glad she'll stay my boss (not only because she's the best one I've ever had) but because it means we'll have to remain in contact. But *sniff* -- I'll miss my friends.

I thought last week before I went down to the new house that I'd reached a point where there wasn't much left to pack. Dude, there is never an end to packing. I think it's because I'd told myself to take it easy this week, because I'd been sick and just not feeling well, so I haven't been pushing it and working all day and packing all night, but sheesh. There is no end in sight. Kate's coming up this weekend and she is going to be tasked with packing up her paint and taking all the shelves off the walls and spackling/painting over the holes. Those are tasks I cannot handle.

Guster and I packed my big dresser up last night and some of the stuff under the bed. I think tonight we'll do most of the bathroom and my bedside table. After that, I swear, it isn't really too bad -- a few things in the hall closet, the box outside on the balcony (which is also Kate's domain) and most of the cleaning supplies in the laundry room, which will remain until after we've come back and cleaned the condo for the tenant. I am torn between not wanting to leave and just wanting to be done.

I am thankfully feeling much better -- I'd been feeling sick since the day after we closed (October 16th). Kate hasn't been feeling well either. I was really hoping to avoid a trip to the doctor for what I feel like was either a really bad cold or a mild sinus infection, because I felt I'd pick up something worse, like a strain of the flu, which I truly don't need. I've been downing Vitamin Water loaded with Vitamin C and taking Nyquil at night to sleep, and it's seemed to help. Of course, now I'm off the Nyquil and am not sleeping again, so we'll see. Sigh. This weekend is the Wizards game, where I will inevitably get sick after riding on a train packed full of people and sitting in a crowded stadium, but I will remain optimistic.

Speaking of the Wizards, we had our first game of the season last night, and we won! Seriously, after winning less than 20 games last year, this is a big deal for us, especially since we don't have Jamison yet. They looked good. I'm happy for them and excited about the game on Saturday. And not because there is a chance we could get Gilbert Arenas masks. Nope. I remembered not to pack my Caron jersey yet, too. Score.

Sadly, the other big excitement in my life is that I've transferred from a fairly local bank to Bank of America. Since I'll be receiving rent checks every month that need to be deposited on a regular basis, I needed a bank I could access easily. I am oddly excited by their "Keep the Change" feature. It's so sad what brings joy to my life. I'm also trying to figure out a good time to close out my other account -- I'd like to do it before I move from here, but right now it's the only account that has checks, and I am apparently the only person under 30 who still writes checks, so sigh. [Side note: I love writing checks. I don't know why. They bring me joy. And with the new house and all the repairs and such I've been commissioning, I've been writing more checks than ever. So there.]

Must stop rambling...

I'll leave off with a few random assorted pictures.

Our new stacking washer/dryer at the new house. A vast improvement over what was there before. Trust me.

This is at the condo. The pile of boxes has gotten much larger. Somehow Boo and Eli scaled that pile in like 2 seconds.

My hair = getting really long

Wearing out the soles of your traveling shoes.

2009-10-27T09:24:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a leftover food bonanza at work! I must say, this is one of the few things I will miss about my unfortunate second floor office location (one of two offices on an floor composed mainly of conference rooms and other odd spaces). Every Monday they host New Hire Orientation in one of the conference rooms and this pack must not have been hungry -- I scored an everything bagel at lunch (you're always one meal behind) and later, a chocolate muffin. Delicious! They recently started catering the Orientation from Corner Bakery, and I approve. Yum.

I have a whole bunch of small tasks at work that are in no way daunting, but are not fun, nor fulfilling, and so I'm putting them off until the "thrill of the deadline" is the only thing that makes them exciting. Sigh. There's only so many times one can spin the same past performance or take a security briefing. Plus, my computer has somehow decided not to search within documents today, even though I KNOW said search terms exist within documents on my hard drive, so whatever... I'm using it as an excuse to bore everyone with this entry instead.

Since I last wrote, I've actually had time to spend in my new house, which was (is) amazing. I'd never actually been in it alone, without a realtor, or a troop of family, or even Kate. But I came down Wednesday with the cats (an adventure in itself) and so got to spend two and a half days there while Kate was at work, plus the weekend. I truly love it. It will take some getting used to, of course, but it's lovely.

The ride with the cats really wasn't as bad as I expected. Eli walked right into his carrier, so it was just Boo who had to be stuffed in. (How can cats get every muscle in their body so stiff and rigid so quickly?) Guster rode up front with me, per usual, and he really seemed the most perturbed -- why were Boo and Eli in the car, where were we going, etc. His anxiety and my anxiety clearly fed off each other, because he barfed about halfway through, causing me to run off the road, which scared all of us -- it was quite traumatic. But other than that lovely moment, we made it there without incident, and minimal howling.

The cats were far more terrified of the house than I expected. Guster, actually, was fine. He ran around, sniffed everything, and settled down. He has more experience with traveling and big spaces, I guess. Boo and Eli were petrified -- they spent most of Wednesday behind the old stacking washer/dryer unit. They'd come out if I came right down and talked to them, but if I left, they went behind it. They came out a bit for Kate and Eli did come out to howl ALL NIGHT LONG Wednesday. They were better by Thursday, after dealing with the trauma of a repair guy coming to snake a drain and then the Lowe's guys taking away the old washer/dryer and delivering the new ones. Eli still howls -- we've discovered he's apparently afraid of the ceiling fans, crazy cat, but they're doing much better. Eli and Boo are still at the new place; Guster came back with me for two weeks while I finish packing up the condo and finish out my time at my Fairfax office.

I talk way too much about my cats. It's sad. Nicole and Katy came down to visit us for an evening at the new house -- I have no pictures of this event, but I have 30+ of the cats getting adjusted to the house. So sad. It was nice to see Nic and Katy, though -- we went to Red Robin and to downtown Charlottesville for ice cream. It will be nice when we have more actual furniture, including a way to sit on the back porch. The leaves are out, and it's just so gorgeous around. I really should take more (or any) pictures of the outdoors. Though there are people taking it to the extremes -- I got behind a car coming down the Skyline Drive (mountain / National Park) yesterday going about 10 mph because they were stopping to take pictures every few seconds while driving. Ugh.

Saturday we finally got our Direct TV installed (only to learn our DVR is basically worthless because we don't get local channels -- ah, living in the country) and then borrowed my Dad's Escape to go to Ikea. Spent a ton of money, but got a bunch of furniture for our new office, plus new curtains, a new comforter, and other miscellaneous stuff. I will refrain from linking to the furniture and will show pictures when it's all set up. I think it will look really nice. Kate sent me a picture of the cabinet she'd put together Sunday night (a cabinet on the bottom that pulls out for hanging files with a tall frosted glass cabinet on top) -- it looked great.

In a way, I'm glad to be back at the condo for these two weeks. I love being in the house, but being there without all my stuff drives me crazy. I'm very much a "everything in its place" kind of person and we're far from that there. While the condo is very much in pieces, it still has enough of a semblance of order because a) it's where I've lived for 6+ years and b) I still have all my clothes. Between traveling for work recently and then staying at the new house, I'm so tired of living out of a suitcase. I'd like my hairbrush, underwear, and shampoo to be in the same place for more than two days in a row, please.

Plus this way I can tease Kate that not only did I buy her a house, but then she made me pack up the entire old house for her while she lived in the new one. Who has it made?! ;)

Last night I pretended to cook by microwaving hot dogs, baking fries, and watching Gossip Girl on DVD. I must watch everything Kate doesn't like in this two-week span! That's a lot of bad TV. (I threw in a little DVR'd Melrose Place for good measure.)

Pics of the Cat Great Transition...

Guster and Boo before I let them explore the whole house.

Boo was really wary when she was let out.

Guster, however, was not.

Eli wouldn't even leave the closed room, so eventually I brought him down in his carrier.

Boo and Eli settled into their washer/dryer hiding area (that's Boo's ear in the back)

While Guster slept by me

Eventually I got Eli and Boo to explore

Guster says his siblings are silly, the new place is great.

You've been avoiding me, Lemon.

2009-10-20T09:28:00.001-04:00

Goodness, it's been a while. It's as if buying a house is time-consuming.

Here's an update:

Closing:
-We closed with minutes to spare. Our lender is located in California. They had an earthquake on Thursday, apparently, and lost power and were unable to send the final loan package. It arrived on Friday morning, so our lawyer had to pull everything together frantically. Closing was pushed back from 10 AM to 1:30, and we sat around waiting for the wire transfer of the money for what felt like ages. It arrived with about 10 minutes to spare for the lawyer to walk over to the Court House (yay for moving to a small town) to record the deed. We had to just guess on the cashier's check amount on Thursday, but it all worked out.
-Everyone at the lawyers office was so friendly -- the attorney goes to church with my grandfather. They really knocked themselves out to make sure we got in on Friday and while it was incredibly stressful at the time, it all worked out.

Funny Pre-Closing Story:
-So my car has been making a weird noise for weeks. It finally became too loud for me to drown it out with the radio. I couldn't figure out a time for me to take it in -- Thursday (day before closing) seemed the only time. Kate decided to just end her time at work a day earlier. She dropped me off at the dealership (yes, I go to a dealership, leave me alone) early. On the way there, I noticed her headlights weren't working on her car. So she dropped me off at the house and drove back to a mechanic to get her headlights repaired and her car inspected. While there, they discovered that all 4 of her tires and her brakes were going to fail inspection. So I'm at home, without a car, unable to fetch Kate, and she's unable to leave the mechanics to get me to go get my car... Meanwhile, we're waiting on the lender to call us with the numbers so we can go get a check. We wound up having to call her Dad to come down from Maryland to pick Kate up. It was a fun a little time.

Her headlights still don't work (she does have new tires and brakes).

Condo:
-Our tenant came over last Wednesday and signed the lease, so that's good news. She should move in in mid-December, which gives us plenty of time to move all our crap out and clean carpets, etc. She seemed great -- very nice. (And she liked the cats!)

Moving:
-We had movers meet us at Kate's sister's house in Maryland on Saturday morning to move a few heavy pieces of furniture. It was pouring rain and they were two hours late, which was really stressful, but it only took them about ten minutes to move everything, so we made the time back. Poor Kate had to drive the rental truck from Northern Virginia to Germantown to Silver Spring back to Reston and then down to our new house. She was a trooper. It poured the entire time we were driving on the beltway. We got a ton of furniture from Karen (her sister) and a bunch of stuff we'd been storing at her parents, then picked up our guest bed and Kate's dresser, so she has stuff while she lives at the house and starts her job.
-A bunch of my family met us at the new house: Aunt Peg, Uncle Len, Andy, Katie, Larry, Gabe, my Mom, my Dad, and my stepmom. How's that for a fun mix? ;) Kate's parents followed her down in the truck. It was really fun, though. It was great to show everyone the house. Andy, Larry, Dad, and Len unloaded the truck in record time (Gabe helped - it was adorable), and we got pizza for everyone. I'm so lucky to have such a loving family.

And so there you go. Kate started her new job yesterday -- she really liked the people and initial impression seems to be that it will be a steep learning curve, a lot of work, but all very much worth it -- why she went to law school, you know? I'm back up here at work for a few days. I will take the cats down to the new house on Wednesday and stay for a few days, but also need to be up here packing for a while. Whew. It's exhausting, but lots of fun, too.

I put these pictures on Facebook, but I'll put a few here, too:

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

Kitchen

Part of the living room

Bonus Room

That TV will actually go downstairs and our bigger TV will eventually go up here. :)

I've come home.

Guest room

Study/den

Another bedroom

They subdivided all of my fondest memories.

2009-10-02T11:00:00.000-04:00

I figure I can selectively respond to these [Dailies] prompts. I don't know why anything with dates and times makes me feel guilty! I should have been born Catholic.

At the beginning of each month, it is sometimes good to take time to look at what the month holds in store for you. Do you have a lot of meetings? Parties? Appointments? Are there quite a few birthdays being celebrated? Take time to organize your calendar and get your month in order or maybe you want to fill up your calendar a little more.

Take time to write about or creatively post about your month and reflect on your expectations for the month.

I wish I could take a snapshot of my Outlook calendar. I could, but I shouldn't. Last month it was packed with work things, but this month -- rather empty. My job is odd.

This should be an interesting month. Kate starts her new job on the 19th and will be commuting fairly far for about three weeks. I'm really hoping she'll like it and not get worn out from all the driving.

My friend Nicole and her fiancee (fun to say that!) are visiting near the end of October, so that will be fun. I wish we'd have the house by then, so we could show them. Sigh.

This month marks three years since my grandmother passed away. So hard to believe.

One thing on my calendar make me cringe -- Guster's vet appointment next Friday. Longtime readers will remember how Guster hates the vet and once escaped and climbed the blinds at his old vet, refusing to come down until I rescued him. Ever since then (shockingly) vet appointments have become a trial, even though we go to a horribly overpriced fancy schmancy cat-only vet hospital now. Sigh. I coddle him, but I worry.

This month, if things go to plan, will be our last "baby try" for a bit. Either we'll have good news, or we'll take a break to move and get settled in our new locale. I'm trying to stay pretty upbeat about it. If it works out, it was meant to be, but if not, I have lots of other good things going on in my life right now. I'm curious to see how my body reacts to the lower Clomid dose -- I think I'd be the most crushed if we were forbidden from trying again. I couldn't do that two times in a row. I'm also a little sad and scared because I'll probably be going to a lot of the appointments alone, since Kate will be starting a new job so far away. I hate to think of her not being there should our little one be conceived. But we shall see. It's all worth it in the end. I'm trying not to live by the calendar this time around -- being on the birth control and having no idea about my cycle helps a bit. I'm very OCD with dates and times.

I was bored with my iPod today, so I've been listening to Pandora via a last.fm tool that lets my profile still scrobble the songs. Pandora is fun sometimes.

I'll leave with some pictures of my dear Guster.

He was like the Goldilocks of chairs. Each chair had its turn.

As did the table.

My buddies eating breakfast.

Please can I go outside, Mama?

Finally getting to go outside! Much joy.

One of my favorites. Guster in his glory.

I call this his "timeout" picture.

You're my queen; it's a beautiful thing.

2009-09-30T13:56:00.000-04:00

My proposal is done. Hallelujah. I'm so relieved. That was a long one. Too many nights away from home. I'm now a Best Western "Elite" member thanks to this proposal.

I had Friday - Tuesday off thanks to the joy that is comp time. This was rather exciting, as it seems whenever I usually submit a proposal, it goes in right at the end of the pay period, but this one worked out perfectly. I only have to be here 5 hours today, too. And clearly I'm working so hard.

With the proposal in, my focus has turned to house stuff. Oh goodness, are we impatient to move. The biggest excitement of late is that KATE GOT A JOB!! I'm so excited for her to leave it and become a real lawyer. She'll be working as an associate at a pharmaceutical litigation firm. While it sounds like Greek to me, she really liked everyone at the interview and is really excited. We never, ever thought she'd be making more money after the move, either (pay grades are very different where we're moving), but she is. It's only about a 20 minute drive from our new house, too. No more horrible commute for Kate. She's earned it.

The only downside is that she starts in three weeks -- it means about three weeks of driving from our current place (about 90 minutes one way) and then another month or so of her living in the new house while I stay here in the condo. Bummer. We won't even get to live out our first month in the house together! But I'll visit a lot and hopefully be able to work from home (or my new office) once in a while, so we get to see each other.

I think things are progressing with the house. I hate getting my hopes up until I sign those closing papers, but how can I not? The loan came out of underwriting this week and the appraisal is done, so I feel like those are good signs. Our Seller sent us an itemized receipt to show he'd taken care of all of the inspection items -- also good. Now it's an agonizing wait until closing (early November). I have a few meetings here to talk about the shift in work location, so that will be interesting, too.

The other good news is that we learned that we should be eligible for the New Homeowner's Tax Credit after all. I'm the only one on the loan paperwork, so we thought we were out of luck. But Kate called the IRS (one of the million of reasons I love that woman) and since she'll be on the deed, she should be eligible. Pretty cool. Even better, if the U.S. considered us legally married, no dice on the tax credit (since Kate's "spouse" currently owns property). But since the wise U.S. Government does not consider us married, she gets the credit. We'll hope that all works out, because it makes us feel a bit triumphant.

We went to Kate's aunt's cottage by the Chincoteague Bay this past weekend, as I think I mentioned. We didn't stay too long (two nights), but it was nice. I finished a whole book, we watched a lot of movies and TV on DVD, and just relaxed. We brought Guster again, and he had a ball. I haven't put the pictures in Flickr yet, but I have a few from my phone, or videos, that I'll post.

Kate and I will probably go to Ikea this weekend. Her sister is giving us an Ikea sleeper sofa and a chair, but we need to get new covers for both. There's a desk and a few other things we covet for the new house, so we want to check them out and make sure they are what we really want. My Dad has offered us his Escape in November to buy all the big furniture there, so that's cool. I will miss our proximity to Ikea!

My Wizards tickets came on Monday. Well, actually I had to go fetch them from UPS after they temporarily "misplaced" them. Idiots. That was a set of tense conversations. It's all a bit bittersweet, though, because we will only be able to go to a handful of games. We were thinking we'd at least go to the November week games, but with Kate working so far away, that won't happen. I will go to a couple myself, especially Cleveland. Maybe the Wizards won't totally suck, and I can sell a lot of our other tickets this year. We shall see.

I'm bored, and I need to stop blabbering.

Two videos of Guster howling at the cottage. His meow is hilarious.

Picture taken with my new Alias 2 phone. I'm in love! This is crazy Guster sitting in his litter box. Not using, sitting. (For trips over 3 hours, he gets the box, even though he will not use it.)

Eli's nightly hug routine. Pretty funny.

This love that I feel for you always will be.

2009-09-13T15:37:00.000-04:00

Sept 13th: According to one of the calendars I looked at, it is Grandparent’s Day. Reflect on the special memories you have with your grandparents. If they are still with you, go visit them or call them just because. Ask them a question about something you never knew about them. Appreciate them or their memories in whatever way you feel suits you in order to celebrate this day.

Reading this prompt makes me feel incredibly guilty, because I didn't send my grandfather a note or anything and I *knew* about this holiday in time. It's not something we normally celebrate, but I know it would have made him happy. He loves mail. And it's amazing to think that I only have one surviving grandparent, and my time with him could very limited.

I'm not sure I can put into words the influence my grandparents had on my life. My grandparents (with the exception of my paternal grandfather who died when I was in third grade) have always been a big part of my life. My Mom's parents more than my "Gram Ham," but she was a big influence, too. My grandparents were my safe place. My Gram and Grampa [Mom's parents] were a tribute to all that I didn't have from my own parents: safety, unconditional love, a lasting marriage, laughter. As a small child, we lived close enough that my grandparents could pick me up at Eunice's (the lady who "kept" me while my Mom worked) and spend the day with me.

When we moved when I was 5, I would stay with my grandparents sometimes when my Mom had conferences and big school events. I was always such a Mama's girl that my grandparents were the only other place I could stay overnight without feeling scared. We might not do anything too special, but it was always fun to me. At my grandparents, I could actually watch TV (sure it was only Sesame Street and Mister Rogers, but it felt amazing). We'd load up into their van, dog Jenny in tow, and drive the 30 minutes to the Culpeper bakery we all loved. They'd get me a cupcake for the drive home and we'd stock up on cream puffs and eclairs for my visit. I was allowed to spread my dolls, Barbies, and Matchbox Cars all over their floor -- this awesome 70s/80s-style tile that was perfect for fake roads, houses, and doll rooms.

Gram would go to a special place in our closet and pull out a box of toy animals and fencing that had belonged to her brother -- a brother who had passed away when my Gram was rather small. Only I was allowed to play with them. I'd set up the fence and animals and the white box they came in would serve as a "plantation" -- I would play that game for hours, days.

My grandparents had the sort of marriage that I didn't know existed. My parents were either fighting, not speaking, or -- by the time I was 10 -- divorced and insulting each other from afar. My grandparents bickered, but there was always an undercurrent of love. They would still kiss and hug each other every day. Gram would put Grampa's eye drops in his eyes every day and they'd laugh and joke: "Time for my eyes, Mom!"

They'd taught Jenny tricks -- how to sit, say her prayers, etc. I would be allowed to do the evening routine with her on the hassock in the living room and give her her treats. My dog at home was an angry German Shepherd -- everything was better at Brightwood (my grandparents' home).

As I got older, and my parents split up, my Mom and I would visit nearly every weekend. We'd play Uno, eat a large meal, and spend the day laughing and talking. The house always smelled of freshly baking bread and was filled with the sound of my Gram whistling. My grandparents were always loving, always happy to see us. As a kid, I dreamed of leaving my parents behind and coming to live with them in the blue room -- the room with the trundle bed I always stayed in as a kid. I would be happier, I thought, safer.

My grandparents were always proud of everything I did. They oohed and ahhed over every report card, accomplishment, award. But if there wasn't one, they were still proud. They were just what I needed. After Gram passed, we found boxes of artwork, letters, and notes from her 5 grandchildren. She had painstakingly written the appropriate name and date on each one. She loved us dearly.

Gram died nearly three years ago in October. She was preceded in death by her granddaughter, Trina, my cousin, and her passing always seemed to be in Treen's shadow. It took me a while to realize how much I missed my cheery Gram -- the one who people she'd met only once sent Christmas cards to, because she was just so full of laughter and kind. She could make a friend for life in 5 minutes. She was the perfect complement to my far more reserved and "by the book" grandfather. I miss her.

I miss Gram Ham, too. While she lived in Illinois most of my life, she was always a loving influence. She is the one who bought me my dollhouses, who sent me boxes of art supplies each Christmas. I was her only grandchild, and she lavished her love and attention on me. She would play dolls for hours with me. She, too, was so kind -- a lover of each animal, each person she met. She disappeared piece by piece, her mind gone far before her body, at a nursing home -- moved out here from Illinois -- and it was a tragic and horrible process to watch.

Now there is just my grandfather -- he who will launch out into "in them ol Cotton Fields back home" if I ask him. He who remembers so much about everything. He is the patriarch of our family, and it makes my heart to think of the day when that isn't the case, the day when my family no longer has Brightwood to gather at...

I worry that my children will never meet their great-grandparents. I love that Gabriel has been able to know my Grampa for all four of his years. That pictures exist of Gram holding him as a baby. Those are amazing precious moments. And I know that even if they are no longer with us, my children will grow up well-versed in the memories of all of my grandparents. And I will aim to make their lives as filled with love, laughter, and eclairs as my grandparents did mine.

Gram with my Mom

Grampa & Gram at Brightwood

Gram & Grampa

Me & Gram

Christmas with Grampa & Gram

Gram and her 5 grandchildren

Trina's graduation

Gram with baby Gabriel

With Gram Ham and "Cheerbeer"

With Gram Ham at the Secret Rock

With Gram Ham and "Cecil"

Showing you power up front. *

2009-09-13T15:33:00.000-04:00

Sept 12: On Saturdays, take a moment to reflect on and sum up in a few words how your week went. Don’t feel you have to recap everything that happened, but maybe just find a way to summarize how this week was positive, negative, or just another week for you. If you feel creative, you can post pictures that capture how you feel about the week or even post a weekly collage of pictures you took during the week. One for each day. It is completely up to you how you choose to express your weekly reflection.

This has been quite a week. Quite a month, really. Last Monday we made the offer on the house, it was accepted on Tuesday, and we had our home inspection on Friday. Whew. In the meantime, I've been going to baby appointments and working on the tortuous proposal that is driving me insane.

Thankfully, the house stuff has kept me in a good enough mood that the proposal isn't getting to me. Just as I thought I was going to kill someone yesterday afternoon, my mortgage specialist wrote me that she'd just "gone ahead and locked down" 4.875% because the rates were going back up. "I figured you wouldn't mind," she said. Ha. As if.

---

Our inspection went well -- our realtor said it was the easiest one she's done. There are a few shingles that need replacing, some tubs and sinks that aren't draining, and something that needs to be fixed in the crawl space. Overall, not bad. Our realtor things he'll fix them, or get estimates and give us a reduction at closing -- I'm sure hoping it goes as smoothly as she thinks. I won't feel fully comfortable about this whole process until the home inspection stuff is over.

My stupid proposal was supposed to be due on Wednesday, and I was supposed to have those next two days off for baby-making appointments, but of course, it got extended, so now I have to work out some crazy schedule of driving up and down several times this week for appointments. I'm supposed to have some shot Wednesday evening, but that's our line-by-line review that lasts until 2 or 3 AM, so ugh. And I'll have to drive home either that night or the next morning... oh job, you never make things easy for me. Unfortunately, I'd already started the [ridiculously expensive] medicine cycle before the extension, so I can't really take a month off. I'm OK with it now -- perhaps that won't be the case when I fall apart (or asleep) this week amongst all the driving. I need a hired car. I'm kinda hoping work just takes my mind off baby stress, though.

We're waiting for our Northern Virginia realtor to call us today about renting out the condo. So many balls up in the air. I sit at night and think about money and panic like a crazy person, but I'm hanging in there overall. As she hyperventilates...

Did I mention there was a lot going on? :)

We took a ton of pictures at the inspection (the house is lived in by a divorced man and you can tell, ha). I'm too tired to pull too many out, but here's a few from that set:

Half of the living room

Most of the kitchen

My favorite room -- the "bonus room" -- it has those sloped ceilings on both sides

Mountain view from that room

I have to get back to work... sigh.

Ain't it fine and ain't life grand.

2009-09-13T15:31:00.000-04:00

I'm going to post a few of these "Dailies" that I've written over the past couple of days.

Today's [Dailies]

Sept 10: Do you read and absolutely love books and organizing books? Go and make an account on a book sharing site (I recommend Shelfari, but I know there are tons of others) and post your shelf or list of what you are reading right now on your blog. If you’re inclined, explain why you’re reading what you’re reading.

How can I pass up a prompt about reading? I love to read -- have ever since I was in kindergarten! My Mom tells the story of me sitting in my car seat at age 2 or 3, "reading" book after book and then tossing them aside for the next. I'm already a member of goodreads, so I'll post from there. I love that site and love having a way to keep track of the many books I want to read in the future. I tend to go into a bookstore and have to pull out my cell phone to text myself or grab a piece of paper to jot notes down, since I always see so many books I want to read.

I used to feel bad that I didn't read "better" books, but I've let that go (for the most part). I try to get in a memoir or non-fiction work to stimulate my brain now and then, but reading is totally my escape hatch... and I like it that way. I love a lot of contemporary fiction, but also mysteries and southern literature. Various factors dictate how I choose a book.

I confess I get a lot of my recommendations from Entertainment Weekly or People, but also the Washington Post. Wandering bookstores and libraries, or goodreads, too. Right now I'm reading The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells. I liked the Ya-Ya books well enough and decided to pick it up. It's certainly not my favorite. The writing makes me grimace at times and the plot is very straightforward and a bit forced. But it's interesting enough, and I rarely stop reading a book. I believe the new novel from Jonathan Tropper will be next on my list, as long as it comes in at the library this weekend. I can never be without a book for more than a few moments -- it makes me nervous. I also always tend to have a book with me -- in my office, my car, my purse. I hate going places without one!

So there.

And since I'm sure all of you just ignored that and went straight to the picture... well, I only have one picture of the new house. Our home inspection is tomorrow, so we hope to take some more then. We don't close for around 60 days, because we need time to rent our condo and the Seller needs to find another place to live. The house comes with a very interesting story (divorce! running from the law! embezzlement! prison!), but I'll share that story later.

I really like the house. It's not nearly as woodsy as I imagined, but we can plant a few trees and be fine. It's still nicely outside of the city, in a nice neighborhood, but still a 20 minute drive to Target (priorities!) and work (priority?). It has 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and a giant bonus room that we both fell in love with (overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains). It has a lot of space (two stories) -- I think we'll really like it. I had been pre-approved for the loan, so now we have to hope that everything goes smoothly with the lending process and the inspection. Fingers crossed!

If I can get more pictures tomorrow, I'll post them.

Somewhere to go when your world falls apart.

2009-09-09T17:45:00.002-04:00

Today's [Dailies]:

Sept 9: Mess. When you hear the word what comes to mind? Not that I want to tell anyone to make a mess, but maybe let yourself go a little bit today. Do the dishes tomorrow. That load of laundry can wait. Just keep thinking about what that word means to you.

Ha, mess. What comes to mind when I hear the word mess? Right now, a lot! Have I gotten myself into a mess by agreeing to own not one but two homes? My current proposal at work -- a total mess. My office? An even worse mess. The state of my condo? Let's not go there.

I feel oddly emboldened by all these messes in my life right now, however. I have faith the house mess will work itself out. The proposal mess? Eh, they're always a mess. It's my job, basically. Deal with messes on a daily basis. It will all come together in the end, even it means long work days. As for my desk? I think I'll take a moment and tidy it up before I leave today. The opposite of what is mentioned above, I know. I cannot function long with a cluttered desk, I must admit. I tend to write on post-it notes throughout the day and they accumulate everywhere. Typically I wind up sticking them in my Moleskine work notebook, but I only have three pages left, and I've been too cheap to buy another one. Which is sad. Because they're great and keep me sane. (Perhaps the lessen learned from this: stop being a cheapskate and buy a new Moleskine... tomorrow.) :)

Perhaps I'll also use this daily as an excuse to avoid the mess at home. The dishwasher needs to be emptied, and my laundry from the weekend still sits on the dress. (Geez, I hate laundry!) It would be quite convenient to let it all sit, as I head out of town on business tomorrow... :)

Mess. We always say, "you're a mess" in my family. That's true right now, but I'm OK with it...

[We put an offer on a house on Monday and it was accepted yesterday. AHHHH. I didn't want to write and jinx it, but we don't close for two months, so I cannot keep mum that long. More later, as I cross my fingers and toes.]

Happy 09/09/09 everyone! ;)

I want to run to you.

2009-09-06T18:37:00.004-04:00

I decided to combine my [Dailies] entries for the weekend, because I'm not at the computer nearly as much.

Saturday 5th: I think Saturdays will become a special Dailies day. A reflection day of sorts. I promise to try to think of a snazzy name to use as we go forward.

On Saturdays, take a moment to reflect on and sum up in a few words how your week went. Don’t feel you have to recap everything that happened, but maybe just find a way to summarize how this week was positive, negative, or just another week for you.

If you feel creative, you can post pictures that capture how you feel about the week or even post a weekly collage of pictures you took during the week. One for each day. It is completely up to you how you choose to express your weekly reflection.

I'm taking the short road on this one:

-Exhausting
-Busy
-Eventful
-Hopeful
-Sleepless
-Nomadic

Sunday 6th: Take a small walk. Maybe a stroll around your backyard or just around the block. Maybe there’s a nearby park. Just take some time for yourself to relax. Maybe take your portable music device with you.

Maybe take our camera and snap off a few to remember your little stroll. If you can’t go by yourself, make it an outing. Write about how the walk made you feel or whether it was really just a hindrance. Did you take time to look at the things around you?

Kate and I took an unique "walk" today -- we toured seven houses in Ruckersville, Barboursville, and Stanardsville (sounds long but they are about 10 miles apart). It took a little over two hours. We met our realtor, Tammi, for the first time, and got a feel for house "shopping." It was an interesting journey. Despite owning the condo, I've never shopped for homes before. It was fun finding seeing what was within our price range. I'm so fascinated by how different houses are, how people decorate, etc. It's amazing what a difference more than 800 square feet makes, too. Wow.

I am tired (we were up at 6:45 today -- I need to sleep soon, whew), but I wanted to remember today. Lots going on, lots to think about. More, later.

In the meantime, three-day weekends are really nice. We stopped by Brightwood and saw my Mom, Mare and Joh, and Grampa for a while. Ate some delicious hot dogs (and my Mom's apple pie). Yum. Brightwood is only about thirty minutes from where we're house shopping... not bad, eh? Yesterday was grocery shopping, relaxing, lunch at the Counter. We also finished Queer as Folk for good. While I've seen it its entirety before, it's still sad.

I've accumulated a few pictures of the cats, which I shall share here. They are the popular (and cute) ones of the family!

Eli and Guster

Fighting over all the stuff stacked in the dining room (during the painting phase).

Eli during painting

My cutie

Guster at Gramma's

[I apologize for the title. We're watching The Bodyguard on VHS. With Whitney's new album out, I've had a hankering for it. ;) This movie is from 1992. I feel old!]

There's got to be something more.

2009-09-04T15:35:00.002-04:00

Today's [Dailies] is fun, because it involves songs. You know my weakness for music.

September 4: Sometimes during the day, we hear a song that for whatever reason seems to speak to us at that very moment. Post the song you heard today that really meant a lot for you to hear today and reflect on it. If you don't hear a song, think of a song that you'd love to hear today that would just really make your day and post it.

Typically, if I can, I listen to music all day at work. I was driving back from Charlottesville today, and now I'm working from home (which means crappy daytime TV and/or sports more than music, I suck). But the drive is two hours, so there was plenty of iPod time. I figured a song would strike me today and one did:

Monday, hard to wake up
Fill my coffee cup, I'm out the door
Yeah, the freeway's standing still today
It's gonna make me late, and that's for sure
I'm running out of gas and out of time
Never gonna make it there by nine

There's gotta be something more
Gotta be more than this
I need a little less hard time
I need a little more bliss
I'm gonna take my chances
Taking a chance I might
Find what I'm looking for
There's gotta be something more

Five years and there's no doubt
That I'm burnt out, I've had enough
So now boss man, here's my two weeks
I'll make it short and sweet, so listen up
I could work my life away, but why?
I got things to do before die

There's gotta be something more
Gotta be more than this
I need a little less hard time
I need a little more bliss
I'm gonna take my chances
Taking a chance I might
Find what I'm looking for
There's gotta be something more

Some believe in destiny, and some believe in fate
I believe that happiness is something we create
You best believe that I'm not gonna wait
'Cause there's gotta be something more

I get home 7:30 the house is dirty, but it can wait
Yeah, 'cause right now I need some downtime
To drink some red wine and celebrate
Armageddon could be knocking at my door
but I ain't gonna answer that's for sure.
There's gotta be something more!

Oh, how I love this song [by Sugarland] and how it sums things up right now. I always think of this as my "Northern Virginia" song. When I moved here over six years ago, I always thought it would be temporary. There is a lot that I like about this area, but I hate the pace, the workaholic-ness that pervades this area. The traffic, the anger, the noise... it's not me.

Some believe in destiny, and some believe in fate
I believe that happiness is something we create
You best believe that I'm not gonna wait
'Cause there's gotta be something more

This summarizes my "buying a house in Charlottesville" mindset so well. I could stay up here in the condo, of course. It would probably be the practical thing to do. But I don't want to. I don't want to stay here another three years and have to (*knock on wood*) raise kids in an area I don't like, away from my family. I just don't. I've always been such a passive person. It took me forever to break away from my old boss and a situation that had so depressed me. I don't take the lead in relationships or personal situations. I let things come to me, because I'm afraid to rock the boat or make a bad decision.

But that's silly. I'm not gonna wait anymore -- I want to take a chance to make us happier. I feel like we deserve it. True, I might really regret it, but I also might not. And I do think there is "something more" waiting for Kate and I besides Northern Virginia and jobs that depress us. So there. I also think that surely it's time for some happiness. I have always been careful and responsible and done what I was told to do and look where it got me -- stuck in this underwater condo, spending all my money on mortgage as everyone else forecloses around me. I want to try for something more.

[In case you can't tell, I tend to read a lot into songs. Ha.]

I had dinner last night with my Dad. It's so nice to be able to see my family for short spurts of time. We went to Lil Dinos (twice in one week for me!), went shopping at Barracks Road, and enjoyed ice cream at Ben & Jerry's. It was so nice. We just enjoyed talking and catching up. My Dad also mentioned if we moved here, he thinks he could get two extra seats in his season ticket plan for UVa men's basketball. Ooooooooh. Be still my beating heart!

I'm home now, obviously, and it's wonderful. Seeing Guster -- I miss that boy so much while I'm gone. I must entertain myself now until Kate gets home. My stupid job will help out there, I suppose. But I also might break free from the laptop for 20 whole minutes to go to the library. SURELY NOT.

Our bedroom looks great... I'll include some pictures, but I'm too lazy to re-size them, so I'll know they'll look odd here. I need to change my journal layout.

All our furniture in the middle of the room...

Kate and her helpers

Green walls

Accent wall color. When Kate first put it on, we were afraid we made a horrible mistake. But it looks much better when dry.

See?

Contrast between the two. I don't actually think the accent wall looks that green.

Our cats are so helpful.

Bookshelf back together

Dresser and maps

Bed and shelves

And the sky is blue, but so are you.

2009-09-03T14:48:00.000-04:00

I like doing [Dailies] so far because it's getting me back into writing. And staving off boredom as I wait for the onslaught of work to come. ;)

Today's topic: Sept 3: Make a point of wearing your favorite shirt at some point during the day and enjoy how it makes you feel. Take a picture of the shirt or of you in the shirt or just write about the shirt and why it is your favorite. Take time to appreciate the small things that bring a little smile to your face.

Note: The shirt doesn't have to be a "favorite" shirt. It could be whatever shirt makes you feel the most fantastic in it. It's about comfort and making you feel good today. Sometimes throwing on that shirt in the evening after work can just really make all the stress of the day melt away.

This was a tad of a challenge because I've been away for work all week, so I have limited choice of clothes and no camera. It's all good. I persevered. I'm sure you're all relieved.

My white shirt is one my favorite shirts. It's all white (obviously), three quarter sleeves, with buttons and a collar. I bought this shirt ages ago at Kohl's and it's always made me feel a bit more professional when I wear it. This feeling has faded a bit as I've upgraded my wardrobe [edit: can you tell how I tired I am? Originally typed "wardroom" -- a combo of "war-room" and "wardrobe" I suppose], but I still have a place in my heart for it. I also love it because I can wear one my white camis (which I now wear almost exclusively instead of bras) instead of a bra. I hate bras because, well, I'm tiny and they are basically only a concession to social norms for me. ;) Anyway, this shirt is always a shirt I wear when I'm not sure what to wear or want to have a "good day." It goes with a lot of pants and it's simple. All good things in my book.

I'm wearing my headphones because I was too lazy to take them off. As you can see, when I work here, I'm in a "proposal room" with lots of computer stations. Let's hope if I move down here, I can eventually get my own office again. ;)

Today has been an extremely long day and it's only 1:30. How is that even possible? I had yet another horrible night's sleep (after taking 2 Tylenol PM -- how is that even possible) and am very ready to go home. Hopefully I can check out tomorrow morning and hit the road. I would head home tonight, but I'm meeting my Dad for dinner. There's also a concert at Nissan and if you're a local, you know that 29 and 66 come to a stop when there's a concert (it's Buffett, too). So tomorrow morning will be easier. I shall not set an alarm, so there.

I had a great time with Katie, Larry, and Gabe last night. I think if Kate and I move here, we could get to be really good friends with them. I'd already say we're good friends. Katie and Larry make me feel at ease -- I don't have to impress them or worry about what I say. They're just fun and approachable and they certainly are a bit more grounded in real life than many of the other couples we know. And Gabe, well, he's awesome, of course. We went to Maggie Moo's after dinner, and he had chocolate ice cream everywhere. Love that kid.

My evening in my hotel after dinner was a bit long as their Internet has been off and on for the past two days. I'm sorry, but if you give us the choice of only 20 TV channels, your Internet *needs* to work. I was trying to watch 30 Rock on Netflix, but it would cut off and re-buffer every 10 minutes. Sigh. I'm on the lower level and the cell signal is low there, too. I was quite cut off. Usually I find that a good thing, but on Day 3 of a hotel room, which you're not in because of vacation... it gets old. One more night.

I grabbed lunch with a co-worker here today and we went to this delicious bakery she's taken me to before. For reasons that cannot be explained besides "my willpower sucks," I got this little red velvet cake. It's so cute. But I do not need it. All I've done is eat out and gorge, and I have only been to the nearly abandoned gym in the hotel once this week. Sigh. I might as well include a picture since I'm taking one of my shirt, ha.

Doesn't it look tasty? Supposedly it's filled with buttercream icing. Kill me now.

Tomorrow I will be home! And I will not have to come to Charlottesville for a few days. Hurrah. Well, except for Brightwood on Sunday. But technically that's not Charlottesville. I can't wait to be home. I should have pictures of our newly painted bedroom, too. Kate is putting up the shelves tonight and it will be done. It looks so nice!

I better get back to work. [Aside, sometimes when I'm writing an entry at work I have this horrible sensation that I've been saying the words out loud as I typed them. I *know* I haven't, but it still makes me paranoid. I'm odd.]

Took a little time to get up to speed.

2009-09-03T13:15:00.001-04:00

OK, the topic from [Dailies] today [Sept 2nd, OK?] is to create your own South Park character.

Sept 2: I know not everyone enjoys South Park, but a popular internet thing to do is make your own South Park character. So I found the site. Customize till your heart’s content and then post it. Share the experience as you see fit. www.customsouthparks.com

OK, I have never watched more than two minutes of South Park in my life, but I refuse to fall behind on Day 2. This little person vaguely looks like me. Thankfully, most of the mullet part of my hair is gone. I hate my hair, I swear. It's growing out now and just looks mangy. Seriously. I hate how I look recently. That was not the point of this exercise, though. I'm wearing one of my Ann Taylor sweaters with a "shirt" underneath (really fake cuffs and a collar) and my khakis. Typical work uniform (though it's usually a button down and pants). I can't remember if I added anything else, cause I did it this morning, and I'm lame. [Edit: That's right, I added the tie. Not because I actually wear ties, but because I'd love to be that cool girl who could pull off wearing ties. Yup, that's my thought process.]

hello, you gotta look at this awesome page for building ur own south park cartoon
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In other news, Kate's office was broken into last night. She works at a law office in Maryland in an area that has had a lot of break-ins, but never their place (until now). They smashed in the doors and windows and apparently there was blood and glass everywhere. They took all their cash and a bunch of their laptops. Sheesh. Thankfully no one was hurt (except the intruders).

I'm hopefully seeing Katie, Larry, and Gabe tonight. I say "hopefully" because they have to drive about 45 minutes, and I worry about things falling through. But if they do come, it will be fun.

I also can't sleep in my hotel room, and I feel exhausted. Even more exhausted than yesterday because the days are accumulating. Sheesh.

My life is very boring. I will spare you my complaint about how I don't want to fill out Past Performance Questionnaires and beg people for information they won't send. Adios.

And I am a writer, a writer of fictions.

2009-09-01T16:41:00.005-04:00

Some of my friends at Open Diary, where I keep my more private blog, are doing this September "dailies" thing, and I thought I'd give it a try. Chances are I will fail miserably, but here you go.

September 1: At the beginning of each month, it is sometimes good to take time to look at what the month holds in store for you. Do you have a lot of meetings? Parties? Appointments? Are there quite a few birthdays being celebrated? Take time to organize your calendar and get your month in order or maybe you want to fill up your calendar a little more.

Take time to write about or creatively post about your month and reflect on your expectations for the month.

September will always remain a bittersweet month for me because Trina's birthday is September 20th. While the daily pain can subside slightly, birthdays, holidays, and other "markers" are impossible to ignore. I always think about how many years of life she's missed, what she would be doing now. I miss her.

On a far more mundane level, perhaps the most notable event on my calendar is my proposal due date. At 2:00 PM, no less. My entire life is basically structured around my work and whether I have an active proposal. It's been that way for nearly five years now. I can tell you the dates of my reviews, my production dates, etc. My work life is very calendar-based. My Outlook calendar will be peppered with Status Calls, Staffing Calls, Pricing Calls, and any other kind of call until September 23. The sad thing is that this leads to entire life being led based on my calendar. Vacations, weekend plans... even dinners out. The proposal schedule rules all.

On a more personal level, September brings the birthdays of a few other people I know and love, mainly my my friend Jen. Katie and Larry's 5th (!) wedding anniversary is this month.

Of great excitement to me is that we're going on a mini-vacation to Kate's aunt's cottage on Gwynn's Island at the end of September and in an ideal world, I'll be off from the 23rd until we get back. That's two to three days not at work! Guster is coming with us, and I'm thrilled. It's very peaceful there.

What else catches my eye? September 11th is this month, of course. And Labor Day. We're celebrating at Brightwood on the Sunday before -- I always enjoy time at Brightwood.

There are some things going on in the baby world this month, too. Perhaps those are what scare and excite me the most -- those days that I can't yet plug into my precious calendar because they all depend on that amazing combination of nature, drugs, and sheer emotion. Maybe this will be "the" month, I think. So many months, I've thought that, but I just can't stop...

The rest of us here are just knocking on wood.

2009-09-01T16:19:00.002-04:00

I wrote not too long ago, but it was such a depressive and personal entry that I just didn't have the guts to put it here. Things haven't been going well, lately, on a few fronts, and it's been so dejecting.

The good news is that we received some better news on the house front yesterday.
I'm working on a proposal in Charlottesville and Kate came down with me yesterday and we played hooky most of the day. We had a class at our fertility clinic in the morning and then drove down to Charlottesville (well the surrounding area) and looked at neighborhoods. Always fun. We had a meeting yesterday evening with a mortgage specialist, whom Kate found through one of the gay listservs in Charlottesville. She verified what amount we could borrow, based on my salary, if we wanted to buy a house down here and still rent the condo. It's not the ideal situation -- the amount is less than we would hope for, in an ideal world, and neither of us is thrilled at the thought of renting the condo for a loss for a few years, but if we could rent the condo for what our new mortgage would be, we could stay afloat. I have a co-worker who is selling her house, and we're also looking at a bunch of houses online via our mortgage person. It's a crazy step and one scares that me to death, but is also very exciting. I don't know. My thoughts are very complicated and revolve mainly around money and my job, which are perhaps the two most consistently stressful factors in my life. Being the sole owner of not one but two homes is a little scary, especially since so much of my savings will go toward 20% down on this next house. But it's a good move for us, will lead us toward a house with actual equity, as well as toward a less-stressful life, surrounded more closely by family. And by trees. Never underestimate the power of trees. Or, you know, having more than one.

There is so much going on in our lives, but it all boils down to: house; baby; money; job. I don't know whether to find that exciting or sad. To say there's a lot on our plate right now is an understatement. I don't talk much about the "baby stuff" here, because it's hard enough fielding off the questions from the few people who do know, but we start a much more in-depth infertility treatment soon, which directly impacts the money and job factors in a large way. I don't know... it's such a heart-wrenching process. I knew, but I didn't know.

I am taking advantage of being down in this area and having dinner tomorrow with Katie, Larry, and Gabriel and then dinner the following day with my father. I am hoping to see my other aunt and uncle soon and perhaps will contact my cousin, Mia. To imagine a life where this could occur regularly... I can't even imagine. Tonight, it will be me, the Best Western, and 30 Rock via Netflix's instant play feature. I've become addicted to that show since discovering it on Netflix. So funny.

What else? We finished painting our bedroom in the condo. It has three light green walls and one darker green accent wall. Sounds odd, but looks really nice. Kate has to hang a few more shelves and touch some things up and then there will be pictures to post. Thrilling, I know.

We actually went to the movies this past weekend -- saw The Time Traveler's Wife -- I enjoyed it, but it pales in comparison to the book, I must say. We've seen a decent number of movies lately -- Adventureland sticks out. And we're almost done watching Queer as Folk -- Kate for the first time, me for the second. Which means we'll have to make the important decision of what show comes next. We're leaning toward True Blood since we've both been reading the "Sookie Stackhouse" series lately.

OK, this entry was just getting me over the hump. I haven't uploaded pictures to flickr in forever, so you get stuck with this boring, picture-less entry. Alas.

I dare you to eat a dime.

2009-08-05T13:10:00.005-04:00

OK, OK, I confess that I like the Wii. Gosh darn it! My entire life I've so not been into video games... a stance I liked to maintain on principle (I had an *imagination* when I was a kid, darn it!), but really probably was more aligned with the fact that I do not possess the hand-eye coordination required to be a gamer. Add in the lack of coordination with the lack of experience, and visits to friends' houses were not the most joyous when I was a kid. "I'll just watch..."

I'm not actually good at the Wii, either, but at least it's in the privacy of my home, with only my wife to mock me. It's a novelty in our household at the moment, but I think it will stick around. I "did yoga" yesterday on it -- something I've also avoided due to the whole lack of coordination thing (and my distaste of being watched by others). Dear Wii, thank you for allowing me to continue to coddle and indulge my fears. Love, Me. If only it parked my car for me!

It's gray and stormy-looking outside, and I'm exhausted. Was supposed to walk with a co-worker, but she got called away, so sigh. I could walk on my own, I suppose, but the motivation really comes from us both. Don't even get me started on how much pizza I ate at our "Pizza Party" today at work instead.

It's been a quiet week for us. Kate had a GAYLAW meeting yesterday -- I was home and exhausted; I've been sleeping terribly lately. I did a little Wii-ing and watched all the bad TV I cannot watch in her presence. I'm also, for some unknown reason, re-reading Twilight, which is rather embarrassing. I tend not to re-read books unless they are my favorites, because there are just so many out there unread, but Kate was re-reading New Moon, and I succumbed. I gave myself three days to finish it, so I better complete it tonight! I recently finished The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson, a Swedish author, who passed away shortly after finishing this trilogy of books (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo being the first.) I find these books absolutely addictive and cannot wait until the third comes out in October. They're all published already in Sweden... I know I should have taken Swedish in high school! I have a huge list of books on my to-read list... Pat Conroy has a new book out next week. The Prince of Tides remains my favorite novel of all-time, so I'm looking forward to that one.

(I'm boring.)

For those who know my fanatical following and obsession with the TV show Dallas -- well, I discovered today via Facebook (yay for following "Dallas") that Patrick Duffy, who played Bobby Ewing (duh), has this series of silly videos he's made with a crab. It sounds ridiculous (and is), but I was laughing so hard. I shall post my favorite below. I've recently gotten Kate into Dallas -- a bit, anyway. She feigns indifference and then suddenly I'll hear her asking, "Oh what did he say?" "What's happening now?" "Who is that -- what's going to happen to them?" Alas, our Dallas time has been overtaken by the Wii. I knew that thing spelled trouble.

The NBA schedule came out yesterday -- a day of national significance in our household. Our first home game is on Halloween! I'm so excited. My dream is that we simply not suck this year. I feel this is an attainable goal... I should remember that for my review at work. Seriously, though, it feels like ages since basketball. I miss our seats, the bad food, the endless metro rides (OK so perhaps that's the nostalgia talking)... I love the way basketball makes me forget everything bad going on in my life. It may be just what the doctor ordered this year.

I think Kate and I are starting to re-do our closets this weekend. It will be a pain for a while (we have nowhere to store everything we take out of the closets temporarily and involves much sorting), but I am hoping it will pay off. She and her Dad will be installing the "stuff" next weekend, while I head to my Dad's. I'm toying with going to the firing range next weekend. We shall see. (My Dad's a cop.)

No pictures today... you'll have to survive with Bobby, erm Patrick. (Seriously, isn't that enough for anyone?)

I've got a chip on my shoulder and a halo on my head.

2009-08-03T16:13:00.002-04:00

We had a very nice weekend away at my Mom's. I'm pretty sure Guster was the happiest of us all, but everyone had fun. (Besides, Guster's opinion is the most important, correct?) :)

It's so lovely by my Mom's. While we only live two hours from her, the difference between the two areas is so striking. I cannot believe I've lived here for 6 years now. Six years of streetlights, traffic, a view of a parking lot... six years of missing trees, mountains, wildlife, quiet. Can you tell I'm ready to move?

My Mom recently re-did her screened-in-porch, and it's lovely. I could have spent the entire weekend out there with my book. We were pretty busy though -- a trip to Endless Caverns, a trip to the Skyline Drive, lots of eating... The Caverns were interesting, although the hike through them was LONG. Two hours of up and down, feeling convinced you were going to slip to your death on some slippery rock. Caverns fascinate me, though. The Drive (up in the mountains) was lovely. We saw lots of deer and my first bear! I cannot believe it's taken me 28 years to see a bear, especially since my parents (who live in separate locations) regularly report bear sightings/evidence. I was pretty excited. It doesn't take much for us country folk.

We also ate at my favorite ice cream place in Harrisonburg, Kline's, which is to-die-for and one of the highlights of my trip. Many of my life highlights involve food, I've discovered.

Back at home, Kate and I have a big list of to-do items at home, which I'm oddly looking forward to tackling. We also think we might treat ourselves to a Wii. Now, I'm not a video gamer AT ALL, but from what I've read and heard, the Wii is fairly idiot proof. It was really the release of that package with the ping pong that pushed me over the edge. There are so many evenings where we just wind up watching TV because we can think of nothing else to do. If this is something that can be fun and get us to move around a bit, it might be worth it. As you can tell, the thought of dropping that much money on something is making me gulp a little. I think it will be good, though. If not, hopefully we can sell it.

And that is all. For now.

There are a lot of pictures here -- sorry...

This is the entrance to the caverns. It's very dank and cold in this place. A little set of stairs leads down to the caverns.

My Mom with Kate. My Mom cracks me up.

My shirt is indeed intended to be ironic, although (as you all know) I'm a big fan of my state. :)

Every possible combination...

Something very cool whose name I forget inside the Caverns. Kate took this picture, of course...

Another cool Caverny thing.

I was pretty excited by the bat. Supposedly there are often hundreds, but alas, we only saw two. :(

They call this the Fairy Village. It's very awesome up close.

You know I couldn't go without posting a pic of Guster. He loves his Gramma's screened-in-porch. He also got to go in the yard without a leash (since there are no cars/road to scare him). He was in HEAVEN.

View from a scenic overlook along the Skyline Drive. In person, you could count 7 ridges out. I think this picture has four or five. You can see why they call them the Blue Ridge Mountains.

I hate how my hair looks in this picture (it needs to be cut) but Kate was proud of her artistic framing with the words on my shirt. :) A walking tourism ad!

Our bear! He was right on the side of the road-- we were a mere car-length away.

View from a higher overlook near Big Meadows.

I love this picture of Kate.

From

Slightly blurry picture taken by my Mom, who has both a fear of heights and digital cameras.

Sun setting at the overlook.

This is Big Meadows -- it is (crazy enough!) a big meadow where you can wander. Deer roam all around. This also may be one of my most favorite pictures I've ever taken. I don't know why, but I really like it.

If you look closely, you can see deer mixed in with people.

I also love this picture, but credit goes to Kate here.

The deer were on alert because some idiot woman was walking her dog right up to them. I should post a rather funny video where you can hear my Mom urging the deer to charge the lady. ;)

Evening sets.

I'm thinking about letting go.

2009-07-24T11:04:00.002-04:00

I'm restless today and so thought I'd write an entry. Finally!
Let's see...

*We went the beach before the 4th of July. We went with some of Kate's family -- her Mom and Dad, some aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was nice, though lots of people in one rather small house. The beach was beautiful, though, and I read four books in about three days. Lovely.

*We came home and spent the 4th of July at Brightwood with my family. My Gabriel is FOUR. Oh my.

*I can hear the fire alarm off vaguely in some part of our building. Supposedly they're doing tests today. I'll try not to be concerned, ha. It's very distracting though, because it's not loud, just a faint wailing sound.

*We turned in the proposal that had me trapped in a room full of people - it's been two weeks now, maybe? Or only one. It just feels longer! I'm glad to be back in my quiet office.

*Especially since they finally got me a new computer here. It's pretty and shiny, and I have a huge flat screen monitor to use when I'm at work. *pets* They also migrated my team over to Outlook (from Lotus Notes) this week. We still have Notes databases, but we finally have Outlook mail. Yay!

*We went to a BBQ a few weekends ago with our friends Jen and Sarah. It was so nice. We are not around other lesbians/gay people enough. It's so refreshing to hang out with people like us. We could talk about having babies, the "joys" of being alone and out at work, and just general life with people who understand. I wish we lived closer to them; we had a good time. And there was cookie cake! :)

*I only have one and a half, or so, proposals going now. Nothing big, except one that requires a lot of production. Sigh. I'm not feeling the work vibe lately, and it is making me feel lazy and blah.

[The fire alarm is still going off. Ugh.]

*Adding to the lovely combination of work malaise and guilt is that I've had a headache since... the evening of the 20th. Good grief. It's very migraine-like -- throbbing in one temple, sensitivity to light and noise, but it will jump into both temples, and my neck muscles are so sore. It got to the point where I crying not so much over the pain (which has been intense, even for me), but that it just wouldn't stop. It's been terrible. I've gone to both the doctor and acupuncture, with no relief. There's only so many pills (well one pill) I can take because of health stuff at the moment. The agony. I swear. I hate my body. I should follow through with the acupuncture, but it's expensive, with no insurance coverage. I will see. It would be worth it for a bit to feel better.

*Kate's been painting at home again. It's looking great. I think our next big home improvement steps will be installing some Closet Maid organizers (ourselves, not through a company) in our bedroom closet and maybe paint the bedroom. We each have one rod in the tiny closet; my clothes are constantly wrinkled and we have so much other stuff crammed in there. Some relief would be nice.

*Kate turned 29 on the 19th, so that was fun. We saw the new Harry Potter film and went out to diner at our favorite restaurant. Her parents are coming up tomorrow, and we'll go out somewhere else to celebrate.

*We were supposed to go on vacation with my Mom, but it didn't work out, so I think we're taking a mini-vacation in Harrisonburg next weekend. Mom has promised (we'll see) that she won't have any jobs for us. ;) I already want Kate to try Kline's, the best ice cream place ever, and we may go to Luray Caverns (like Michelle Obama and the girls! yay Shenandoah Valley) or Skyline Drive. Sometimes it's fun to be a tourist in your hometown.

I'm sure there's more, but that's enough, right? I only have 4 more hours to kill until my 3:00 meeting. Who schedules a meeting at 3 on a Friday? Sigh!

Picture samples of various events... more later.

Oak Island, NC

View from our deck. I could handle that view for a while... :)

Sweet moment of peace amongst Boo and Eli

Gabriel, looking grown up.

Seriously explaining car stuff to me

How cute is she?

Guster desperately wanted the balloon Jen and Sarah gave us.

Hair length a week ago. Not sure if I'm going longer at the moment.

A frog in a blender.

2009-06-23T20:52:00.003-04:00

I turned 28 yesterday. Very strange sensation. I had a very relaxing "birthday weekend" celebration, though sadly had to work on my actual birthday (it's as if I'm an adult or something!). We did have a nice dinner out, though.

I have a stressful week ahead, and I'm still trying to wrap my arms around it:

1. Work: Work has been quite a trial, lately. I have so much to do this week to meet a deadline, and the thought of it wearies me. I will also be out this week [see #2], which makes getting everything done even more difficult. I need a patience transfusion.

2. Appointments: I have a bunch of medical appointments this week for which I need to be stress-free. Just thinking about the fact that I need to be relaxed stresses me out! I'm not sure I know how to be stress free. This is a problem.

3. Parents: My parents are coming to visit this weekend. They are supposed to arrive this Friday -- which also happens to be the day I need to work until the end of time before we leave on vacation [see #4]. They are also spending the night, which means I have to clean the house like crazy before they arrive.

4. Vacation: We leave for vacation early Sunday morning. That part is great. The clean/do laundry/pack/prepare portion required before a vacation [especially when one's parents are around until Saturday afternoon] is not.

It will all be fine. I can only do as much as I can at work, which is what I really have to focus on. However, all the other things on the list are more important than work. Darn workaholic tendencies.

It all pales in comparison after the metro collision yesterday, anyway. Kate and I were at Sweetwater when we saw it up on the TV screens over the bar. I didn't see the "M" on the train in the shot, but I said to Kate, "That really looks like our train." And it was. Something like this is always scary, but when it hits so close to home -- it really shook us up. It's not a faraway plane crash or an Amtrak collision out west, it's our subway, the one we take all the time. The one we were on on Saturday. The trains were between the Takoma and Ft. Totten stations. Kate works in Takoma Park, within walking distance of the metro station, and takes that Red Line route all the time. If it had been basketball season, she would have been getting on that train around 5:00. It scares me so much; I feel so thankful she's OK and so sad for all the families of those who passed away. One of the women was a former client at Kate's office. I suppose it's not surprising, when you consider the location of the train, but still. Take nothing for granted in life, for sure.

Not really a bright spot to end on, but I'm too tired to write anything else. I'll include a few pictures for those of you not on Facebook.

Headed to the Mystics game on Saturday night.

With my Mom

Kristi Toliver of the Chicago Sky is from Harrisonburg, where I grew up.

CARON BUTLER WAS THERE! He sat within our line of sight the entire evening, and my mother and I stalked him from afar.

My delicious strawberry birthday cake. (Made by Mom, decorated by Kate.)

My in-laws had my signed Caron Butler jersey framed. Tres exciting!

Guster, of course.

But instead, the rain kept coming down.

2009-05-30T17:30:00.004-04:00

Hmmm...

It feels very strange to be in my office. I haven't been there in ages. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss Charlottesville. I like being *home* but it's just more fun there. Alas. I won't get to spend much of my time in my office, anyway, since the proposal being held in the war room hit yesterday. At least things are fairly busy right now, which is nice.

I so enjoyed my 5-day weekend (last Thursday through Monday). It was lovely and relaxing. Nicole was in town, so we went to the Cheesecake Factory on Friday (Nic is my only friend who will actually eat the food *and* the cheesecake with me). Hit up Target, took a nice long walk to Lake Anne and talked... it was very nice. I miss having my best friend around sometimes.

Saturday, Kate and I walked to Lake Anne again and went to the farmer's market they hold down there. I need Kate to bring her camera next time -- it's pretty cool. It was our first time walking down there, so we weren't sure what to expect. There were vendors of all kinds, not just food, which was fun. We bought some fresh bread and strawberries -- yum. Nicole came over later and she and Kate re-worked our cat tower. With the new furniture, there just wasn't room for it (it's huge), but Guster loves it so, so they took off the high tower part, and kept the smaller tower. The cats seem to enjoy it, but Eli is so big he keeps knocking it into the window or onto Guster's chair. Will have to look into some weights for the bottom of it. Oh, Eli.

I have no idea what we did that night. Probably watch basketball. Sometime over the weekend we watched both W and The Wrestler and finally cleaned out our entire Netflix stash at home. We'd had W since the beginning of February, sigh. I'm excited for some fresh blood.

Sunday was Memorial Day at Brightwood -- Katie, Larry, and Gabe didn't come, which was sad, but I saw my Aunt Mare & Uncle Joh (and cousin Mia and her boyfriend) for the first time in a while, so that was really nice. Mom, Andy, Kate, and I played some marathon games of "Extreme Ping Pong" in the basement [you play the ball off anything -- the table, the floor, the bookshelf, the ceiling, your partner, etc.]. I estimate I played about 90+ minute straight of ping pong. You wouldn't think of it as a workout, but I was exhausted!! I went out that night with Nicole and Beth (our friend from college), and we walked around the Reston Town Center and talked for hours, so I was beat by Monday. Thank goodness it was an extra day off. Kate grilled steak and baked potatoes that night, and we had corn on the cob, too. So delicious. Topped off with strawberry shortcake for dessert. I like food.

We just finished watching Zack and Miri Make a Porno today and we watched Bride Wars last night. An abundance of stupid movies! Our last one (from Netflix) is Taken. Hmmm. Oh well, I read a lot, or so I tell myself. (We shan't go into the quality of the books I read at the moment, ha.)

I've been feeling very restless lately, and I'm not sure why. Perhaps I'm not used to being home. I don't know how to keep myself busy. It doesn't help that Kate seems incapable of entertaining herself without turning on the TV, which means I get sucked into that and sometimes I just don't *need* the TV on, you know? She's not much of a reader and while I can read with the TV on (and do), it's not always my preferred mode. Oh well. At least we've been watching a lot of Queer as Folk on DVD.

I read a very interesting book this week -- Between Mom and Jo by Julie Anne Peters. It's a young adult book, but it was fascinating. It details the life of a boy (from childhood to adolescence) with lesbian parents and how he reacts when his parents have marital issues. It was a very hard book to read at times (him being teased, the discrimination the family faced, for example) but also interesting. It's a book I can see wanting my children to read. It also gave me some ideas of how I'd deal with such situations in my own life. I'm hoping I can get Kate to read it.

Today, we're having a lazy Saturday, which is nice. Had lunch at Logan's Roadhouse and went to Walmart. We lead the high life, can't you tell? I have some work I need to do, but am putting it off.

I'm way behind in pictures, so there's a lot here...

This is the cat tower pre-demolition. That tall piece and the trash can are gone, and it has a new base (with carpet) now.

Me with messy hair trying to get Natasha in the frame.

This picture cracks me up.

Me and the girl.

Yup, that's my friend.

With their finished product

It received the cat seal of approval.

Lots of cat pictures, too...

Silly boy. (Who was supervised with the bag by his neck.)

Guster in his chair. Which Kate has since fixed (I think you can see where it's ripping). He picked out the replacement fabric himself.

Boo on the new chair. (Boo is a girl by the way. I get a lot of notes about cute "he" is, so Boo wanted me to set things straight.) :D

Boo helping me pack for Charlottesville

Eli in one of his favorite places... the shower!

Natasha! Helping us with the cat tower demo

I'm liberal with a touch of reform and a smidgen of zippity-pow!

2009-05-21T17:47:00.004-04:00

I've been starting entries and then dumping them, because they are so boring, or I was too tired to write coherently. However, I realized today that I AM boring. Boring life begets boring journal. Oh well.

I also realized if I can't talk about work, I have nothing else to say, too. Hmm. Most of my work stories would be pretty boring, too. A conundrum!

Anyway, my proposal went in late Tuesday, one day early -- thank goodness. I think in one of the aforementioned entries, I wrote that it was extended by a couple of days, which only means more time for torture and people to harp on things and make ridiculous changes. It was a very long process that involved a lot of being away from home and a lot of fighting amongst people. Can we say exhausting? I'm not a fan of fighting or lots of "happy to glad" changes for the sake of changing things and people being "right."

I stayed at my Mom's this week -- mostly because I'm a dork, and I couldn't handle leaving Guster again. He and I went to "Gramma's" on Sunday night and he was beside himself with joy. So that was nice. I had dinner with her for a couple of nights, we watched basketball like the old times (and I introduced her to American Idol, ha)... I think my Mom was almost as happy as Guster. I also got to meet all her first graders and her co-workers, so she was thrilled. I was honestly a little sad to leave. My Mom is cute sometimes.

So now I'm back and taking today and tomorrow off, so that's nice. Nicole is in town for the weekend, so hopefully we'll grab lunch together. I've had my day of bumming around in my PJs (actually took a nap, wow) and will need to get out a bit tomorrow or I'll go into hermit-mode. I'd make a damn good hermit, I think. Well, a hermit who needs Internet access.

I'm going to miss working in C'ville, sigh. Everyone is so nice there. "Good morning, how are you?!" Even people who don't know me say hello. At my current office, I can go days without speaking to a soul. They go out to lunch, they hang out together... it's a family of sorts. I would like that, in many ways. If only we could just move there already, dangit.

However, we did get a bunch of new furniture, which is pretty awesome. I was depressed and went on a spending spree, ha. I *never* do that!! We got a new coffee table, end table, chair, and a cabinet thing. Pretty nice. I know Kate took pictures... must find. I'm sitting in a very comfy chair right now with the laptop watching Gilmore Girls. There has never once been a comfortable chair in this place. Love it.

I do have some pictures: The New Furniture...

The couch is not new. The pillows and coffee table are.

I like all the cubbies.

New cabinet. I forget what it's called.

New chair. Very cozy.

New end table

A shot of (most) of the living room

Thought I'd try to eat my weight in muffins today.

2009-05-09T11:29:00.003-04:00

Written on Friday, but I'm too lazy to update.

Oh my gosh, I am so tired. I was at work until 2 AM last night and was so energized by the meeting that I couldn't fall asleep until sometime around 4. I should have just turned on the computer and worked, because all this stuff kept going through my head, preventing me from sleeping, but I didn't *do* any of it and I always forget half of it by the real morning. Needless to say, 8:25 came far too soon this morning. The two-hour drive home didn't help! But I have so much to do...

My meeting last night was pretty awesome, though. Three of my co-workers and myself locked ourselves in the conference room -- put the proposal up on the big presentation screen -- and went through it line-by-line. At 1:55 AM, it was reading... well, not too bad.

We'll see. It's not great, but it's so much better... I have yet another review on Tuesday. I have to work on about a gazillion resumes this weekend, but the other sections are already into production for formatting and editing, so yay. (And can I just say here, even though none of you will understand, how much I love having production support? Not having to worry about things like page breaks has saved me so much time. I hate page breaks.)

I am now home for the weekend, thank goodness. I can sleep in my own bed for three whole nights. Although, actually, the bed at the Best Western is awesome -- gigantic, soft, and comfy. But I never sleep well. And it doesn't have my wife or cats. The worst part is having to eat out so much -- I feel like a giant, unhealthy, greaseball. I never thought I'd say it, but I don't like eating out that often! Everyone says the proposal "diet" is the worst. I agree.

We saw Lucy Kaplansky, with Meg Hutchinson, at the Barns last Friday. I do enjoy Lucy, and hearing her live again made me love her music anymore. She also talked a lot about her daughter, which was cute.

Not much else to report. My Mom is coming up this weekend and then we go to dinner with Kate's family, whew. Somewhere in there I need to find time to create and/or edit about 20 resumes. Good times! I'm actually really looking forward to seeing my Mom, but I get stressed with juggling her and my job. It's sad, because I love my job when it's busy. Love it.

Another random aside and then I'll stop blabbering. When I was at work this week, one of my co-workers had jury duty, and I guess her case involved someone who was bipolar? I'm not sure what the woman did -- embezzlement or something. Anyway, there was some debate about where she should go, I guess, a mental health facility or jail, and the jury couldn't decide on the sentence. This led to my ever-so-enlightened co-workers going on a tirade about being bipolar, about suicide, etc. I guess my co-worker who had the jury duty said people didn't want to send her to jail and have her commit suicide and then another was like, oh who cares, another person off the planet, etc. Ugh. I HATE HATE HATE conversations like that. I had to shut the door of the room I was in because I was so pissed off. Part of me wishes I had the nerve to tell them that they were being ignorant and offensive, but they're not really worth it. But seriously? I hate situations like that. Just like how I hate suicide jokes (which are all over TV and the movies, too), people who say "I'm going to kill myself" over any little thing, etc. I know it's a topic sensitive to my heart, but seriously. At least don't bellow your ignorant opinions up and down the hall.

/end rant Sorry, it just really bothered me.

And all of my friends who think that I'm blessed, they don't know my head is a mess.

2009-05-06T19:25:00.003-04:00

Since I last wrote I was so happy to be home and now I'm away again. Joy. My final RFQ hit yesterday evening, so hurrah. A week at the Best Western awaits. At least I got a decent room this time -- there's no one on one side of me, even. It's the little things.

I thought I was going to write a lot, but I can't think of anything. Seriously. So, bullets:

*Had a good weekend. Lots of milestones. Watched a lot of basketball. Finished my (rather annoying) book. Didn't work and will probably pay for it.

*Spent a lot of time with the cats. Guster has been by side since I got home. Needless to say, he wasn't very happy to see me pack this morning.

*Rainy and dreary both at home and here. Where's the spring sunshine?

*There is a Dunkin Donuts within walking distance of this hotel, which is just cruel. I can see its glowing sign shining like a beacon as I sit on the bed.

*Busy day at work on Monday and then the proposal hit. Joy of joys. Back to living out of my car.

*Got invited to dinner with a bunch of co-workers yesterday night but declined. Seem to enjoy myself more if I separate a bit from the co-workers. It's a little awkward, though, as they are eating at the restaurant right next to my hotel, and I can see their cars from my window. Good times in a small town!

*Watching stupid shows on Lifetime and attempting to relax. Have lots of work to do and am not in the mood to do it. Will watch Idol and basketball and read instead and gear up for a long week.

*DC took a big step toward gay marriage Tuesday. Pretty exciting. Closest place to where I live to have a chance... and then Maine today!

*I hate LeBron James.

*My people at work are driving me crazy. Fine, don't do your work -- see if I care!

I've had this up forever and haven't posted it. It's a worthless entry, and I apologize. I've also been reading but not noting. I suck at life!

I do have a picture of my new haircut. You can't really tell, but the mullet-ish part in the back is gone. Eventually it will get evened out, I dream.

Just for fun...

This is what we had to do to our tub faucets to prevent Eli from turning the water on. (Kate removed the end of each of them.) Every morning I'd use the soap and then attempt to adjust the water and fail miserably because it was such a short stub.

But now... pretty faucets that we're pretty sure Eli can't turn on (he used to just lean his weight on the others).

I'm easily amused, what can I say?

What do you get the series that's had everything? A Game 7.

2009-05-01T18:03:00.003-04:00

Oops, I wrote this yesterday.

I am home. I am so happy to be home. I have never felt so happy to be home. OK, that's a lie, but still. Pretty close. It was a good four days, but whew. I like my own bed and my own cats and my own wife (not that I have another of any these, besides a bed, where I was, but still. Whatever.).

I came home to a very, very clean house, too. My wife rocks. And my cat decided to actually lick me and be happy, instead of punishing me with a few hours of disdain, so that was nice. Especially since all my stuff smells like dog.

Lord am I tired. Partially the insomnia is just work-related and would happen wherever I am. My brain races every night with the million of things I have to do. I just keep writing to-do lists... I'm working on pure proposal adrenaline (and love it, ha). But whew. I didn't fall asleep until after 1 or 2 every night and was up around 6:30 each morning. That's not fun.

But the point is that I'm TIRED.

But let's not focus on that. Let's focus on good things...

*My [proposal] review actually went really well. I'm not happy with the document at all, but since the final RFQ isn't out yet, we are (she grudgingly admits) in pretty good shape. Hopefully they motivated my team a bit, too, in places where they've been irking me.

*I got really nice emails from Kristen and Len after the review, which made me happy.

*Saw my Dad yesterday, which was really nice. I had to leave work and run to let the dogs out and then race to meet him, but we had a good dinner at TGI Fridays. I like seeing him for short periods of time every few months. I really, really like being able to see my family when I'm down there. I do wish I lived there.

*Felt just happier in general with work this week. I love doing proposals, even though I get frustrated at some points. Had a horrible migraine for three days (and I'm off my meds, per doctor's orders, so that sucks). But still, I would rather be busy than not.

*I got to watch the Bulls/Celtics game, as well as the Caps Game 7, on a giant 70-some inch TV. Talk about being spoiled. I came home from the review, curled up on the giant leather couch/recliner with the dog, and watched great sports on a giant TV.

*I left work today around noon, stopped by my favorite deli in Madison and surprised my Grampa with lunch. I'd told him I'd stop by, but didn't mention food. I got there around 12:40 or so and said, "Hey, have you had lunch?" Of course, he hadn't. I showed him his roast beef and onions on pumpernickel and his eyes just lit up. He was so excited. It was adorable. He scarfed down half of his (huge) sandwich and was going to "save the rest for dinner." Too cute. We had a nice conversation and I left a little before 2. Not a long visit, at all, but I think he enjoyed it. I really need to do this more often.

*Stopped by my {real} office on my way home. Talked to Kristen and two of my good work friends. I love my friends. I like feeling like I have friends sometimes, if that makes any sense. Lorena said I look so much happier when I'm working. As I stated above: so true. I have a purpose!

*Even though I have an evil medical appointment tomorrow, I am working from home. MY OWN HOME. Hooray.

*PTI is on!

Pictures...

My sweet Guster on his blanket.

Helping me work this past weekend

Enjoying the sunshine

Looking perturbed!

Sweet Boo

I want you to know I've done our charts and it says we work as one.

2009-04-29T16:11:00.001-04:00

My favorite part of review teams is when someone goes through a document and simply circles everything I've already highlighted in yellow to update/change/add/put in once I find the information. Really? That's all you can do? They don't even *fill in* the missing information, just circle it. UGH.

Thanks. So helpful.

(I'm a bitter place right now. Can you tell?)

This town is a lot like me, sadder and wiser than it used to be.

2009-04-28T11:20:00.002-04:00

I have a vague lull before chaos descends here at work, and I thought I would write before things get too crazy. I'm in a war room with several other people in it, including Len, so I think I shall type this up in Lotus Notes. Forgive me if it looks funny when copied over.

I've been up far too long today, and I'm tired. I love my job and really don't mind working weekends when it necessitates, but whew, it wears you out not to get much of a break before things start back up again. I only charged about 8 hours of time over the two days, but I know I worked more. It was rather exhausting. I have a color team review today, which I never like. Mostly a bunch of people who haven't done any work on the proposal, but who think they know it all, give you a bunch of useless comments and advice. Things that usually you'd love to implement if you actually could (and therefore would have already done so) or stupid, inane comments that help no one. Sigh. Whew indeed.

Managed to have a nice weekend even with all the work. We watched a movie on Friday (The Tale of Desperaux, ha, we're 7). Saturday Kate began painting the accent wall in our living room, and it looks great! I'm sure most of you have seen pictures via Facebook or Flickr, but I'll stick a few at the end of this entry. I'm amazed by what a difference one small wall makes in the place. We're rejuvenated by painting and hoping to tackle the living room (rest of it) and dining room at some point. Nothing dearly as drastic in color -- cream is the best word I can think of to describe it (I forget what the paint chip said). Good times. However, it was 90+ degrees all weekend, so it was a sauna in our condo. We were home most of the time and could have windows open and the fans blowing, but it was hot! The cats have been laying around, looking hot and beaten. Such drama kings/queen.

I got my hair cut this weekend -- always a traumatic experience. I can never communicate properly with the stylist (typically a language barrier) and I hate that at Hair Cuttery, they have become this full-on marketing machine... do you want highlights, do you want an eyebrow wax, do you want it dried (charge more for that)... I just want a cheap haircut! That's why I come to Hair Cuttery. Sigh. Anyway, it looks better and less mullet-ish than it did. She still didn't quite even it up the way I'd hoped. I don't have my camera so pictures will have to wait. You're crushed, I know.

Sunday we also saw Catie Curtis in concert at the Barns (of Wolftrap). It's such a great place to go because it's small and less than 10 - 15 minutes from our house. If that. The Bittersweets opened for Catie -- they were cute. I'd downloaded a few of their albums off of emusic, so at least I knew most of their stuff. Catie was adorable and fun as always. She's very good with banter. Plus she incorporated "Luray" and "Warrenton" (two towns in Virginia) into a song. I mean, how cool is that? It was nice to get out, even briefly, and the Barns had A/C. Cold, cold A/C even.

Now I'm back in Charlottesville, hurrah. Spent last night at the lovely Best Western, but am going to housesit for at least tonight, so I'm spared the confines of one room. Sweet. There is more food there and I get to spend time with dogs and a very large 70-inch flatscreen (I can't wait to watch basketball on it).

I should really go focus on my job. Len is already here and several other of my Fairfax co-workers are coming down, which is both odd and cool. Usually this is my little space away from all of them, but I am excited to at least see Kristen (it's still so, so weird to like my boss as both a person and a manager). Hopefully the carnage from the review will be minimal and I can enjoy my evening. I need a break.

A few photos, of course. The before picture is in the previous entry. (Looking at these pictures makes me think -- how great have the playoffs been? Mainly the Bulls/Celtics series. Awesome.)

Early stages...

Primed...

The painting begins...

This is either after 2 coats or all three. Probably 2 based on the date taken.

Definitely after three coats... On the way to being put back together!

The final result.

And just for fun: Boo and Eli -- apparently after binging on prescription pills and Advil. (As soon as I moved my laptop for 2 seconds, they were up in my work area. Crazy cats.)

Never thought I'd ever wind up in a daze like this

2009-04-24T17:57:00.002-04:00

I've got to get back into work constantly mode. For, while I enjoy it, it is exhausting when one is out of practice. All the driving doesn't help either.

Things went fairly well on travel on Thursday. The team is a frustrating one -- a bunch of procrastinators -- so I hope they pull through for me. I feel like last time I was down at this office, I was so dejected and blah -- hoping that won't happen this time. A combination of more sleep and avoiding awkward social situations (I'm not really a fan of going out to lunch with people, I've learned) will help. We'll see if this is still true after a couple of nights at the good 'ol Best Western.

I still find myself bitter about the meeting with the financial adviser. The whole condo thing has been such an issue for me lately -- I guess since I got my personal property assessment a few months ago. And, overall, it's ridiculous. I didn't knowingly buy this property thinking it was an irresponsible decision (heck, I thought I was lucky). I have to get over this depression about being stuck in the condo and just live here. Yes, I'd like to move. Yes, I feel evil and jealous whenever I read about people talking about their houses or moving to a new house. But nothing is going to change anytime soon, and I can choose to be miserable or I can choose to enjoy what I have. I can take advantage of the walking paths, the nearness to so many things, my short commute to work, etc. I know myself and if I keep going down this "woe is me" path much longer, I'm not going to be able to get out of it. Bitterness does not serve anyone.

Along those lines, we are definitely painting this weekend. It will be the trial run for more in-depth painting though. Little things, little things.

I have a lot of work to do this weekend, and I suppose I have to drive over to my office, because I won't be back there for a bit. Heaven forbid I remember to take everything I need at once. I should have driven by there today, but I was exhausted after my appointment this morning and had plenty to do at home. Oh well.

Enough rambling. Though I've been meaning to mention that if you have a Twitter (and aren't already someone I follow), let me know. Both Guster and I have one.

A few pictures...

Guster reading the paper.

Eli & Boo hanging out.

From Blogger Pictures

Cute Boo

What's with Boo and the weird poses lately?

Perhaps one of my favorite pictures of the Round Mound of Ebound. In all his dusty, dandruffy, cute glory.

The tiny little wall we're painting this weekend. (You can see a few potential paint samples stuck up there.)

How do we know it isn't John Tesh?

2009-04-22T19:21:00.004-04:00

Oh my work. Oh job, how I have a love/hate relationship with you. Sigh.

Let's see. Just gonna do bullets because it's easier and I've been sending bulleted and numbered emails all day.

*The financial adviser was, in my opinion (and Kate's), a bust. Shit, I just remembered I have to pay her, too. She basically didn't tell us anything we didn't already know, told us we shouldn't have kids, and made us feel like crap. She acknowledged that we've been far more responsible than most people our age and that we really don't spend any money (therefore she couldn't find any areas to cut, gee thanks lady), but that we're still screwed because of the condo being "underwater" and Kate's student loans. Like I said, nothing we didn't know, and nothing we did DELIBERATELY. It's not like we have credit card debt (between us, our credit card is $0, I feel like that's something to be proud of). It was just a depressing, unhelpful experience and now I have to pay her a ton of money. FUN.

*Kate and I were allowed to eat out that afternoon - thank goodness, because we needed it. Fuddruckers never tasted so good, even if I'm trying to give up hot dogs for a while. FRIES I LOVE YOU!

*Missed Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day, but that was really a choice, because we walked by the store in Silver Spring a bunch of times. First time I haven't gone with Deb in years, though. :(

*Spent the rest of the day with my in-laws. An interesting experience. Have never had that much "alone time" with them (Kate went to work). They are sweet, and Kate's Mom pampered me.

*While I was at my in-laws, taking a *day off*, which I never do, my long awaited proposal hit. Joy! So I had to spend a couple of hours on my mother-in-law's computer, with my ear glued to my blackberry, figuring things out. Nothing like a 5:00 call held in the study of your in-laws' house. Kate's Dad walked by as I was in the middle of some tense conversation with this woman who drives me insane. I'm sure they saw another side of their "very quiet" daughter-in-law. Good times.

*So yes. Just when I was finally embracing work being quiet so I could focus on medical things and take my test, work blows up in my face. Thanks work. It's sad, because I've spent today being busy, and I love it. I love my job when I get to do it! But now I have to juggle all these appointments and try not to be stressed. I'll be on travel tomorrow and most of next week. My boss will be my backup at work, but it doesn't help on the stress end. You just have to laugh at the timing, I suppose. I've been waiting for this proposal for over three months and it comes now?

*We locked all three cats in the bedroom yesterday, with the litter box, of course, so maintenance could come look at the crack in the study wall, as well as the water damage. Kate left a giant post-it note with an arrow pointing out where it was, since they were *insistent* they come on Tuesday, even though we couldn't be there. Well, of course, the guy couldn't find the 3 or 4 ft. water stain. The cats were locked in the bedroom for 12 hours (by the time we got home from Silver Spring) and Guster threw up on my favorite t-shirt quilt. I should charge Rich-the-maintenance-man $35 for the drycleaning.

*In case you couldn't tell, I wasn't in a good mood yesterday.

*I've realized that when I'm busy at work, I don't eat well. In my defense, my pineapple tasted awful, but otherwise, all I ate today for lunch was my yogurt (which I should have had for breakfast) and 4 peanut butter & cheese crackers. Sigh. I gotta work on this work / life balance thing. I have no idea how I'm going to eat properly on travel. Nothing says healthy like hotel living. (Speaking of, I don't want to go back to the Best Western. Blah.)

*Kate's in a meeting tonight until late, so I'm on my own. I am dreading my medical appointment on Friday, but I suppose I hope I keep it, because at least it means I'll be home. I better be home in time for Grey's tomorrow, too. Priorities, people!

Gotta go... I'll end with pictures. I know that's all ya'll come for! :)

One of Guster's favorite positions.

My lunch when working at home one day. (Moo, I couldn't live without SK Propel, either!!)

This is probably after Guster bullied her off the top perch.

Stalking the bathroom...

A video of Guster chasing his tail... kind of. He knew I was filming and was rather lackadaisical about it.

Oh baby know what you're like? *

2009-04-20T18:20:00.003-04:00

I went to work today and then had to come home, because on Sunday, I discovered a crack in the wall in our study. Upon closer inspection, the crack was surrounded by a water stain/damage. Blah. The water damage is a few feet down from the top of the ceiling and runs all the way to the ground. We're not in the study as much as the rest of the house, so can't be sure when it first appeared. The condo people (amazingly) recognize its their issue, because while the stain/crack is on the inside, which means it is my problem, it can only be happening because of something outside, which is their issue. Hopefully they will continue to see it as their problem once they come to look at it, but it's such a hassle to get maintenance here. We are both out all day tomorrow for the financial adviser appointment, so that basically means Wednesday. Joy. Hopefully the wall won't collapse in the meantime. Have I mentioned lately that I dislike the condo?

Otherwise, it was a pretty nice weekend. We didn't eat out at all the entire weekend, which is amazing, for us. Sticking to this resolve is very difficult. It helps that we've been making rather good dinners (sounds funny, but typically during the week it's less elaborate meals, like tuna or mac & cheese, perhaps I should say "rather more elaborate") over the weekend -- Friday was a nice chicken dish, Saturday was steak and baked potatoes (all from the grill), and Sunday was stuffed shells. So a bit more complex, in our household, than the usual fare. Kate and I were joking, though, that we were hungry all weekend because the meals were the only thing we had to "do" and so we thought about food constantly. Kind of sad. But we even had lunches at home, so that's a plus. We'll see how long this lasts. Typically Friday night is date night and we can eat out, so that will help. I do miss my restaurants though. *sniff*

Took a nice long walk to Lake Anne this weekend, watched a lot of playoff basketball. This weekend was my favorite of all in NBA basketball each year -- that wonderful time when the playoffs first begin and there is basically basketball on *constantly* -- there were 4 games on each day, and I probably watched parts of 6 games over the weekend. Love it! I finished two books (both cheesy, but still enjoyable). I spent a good part of Sunday, which was a fairly warm but not entirely sunny day, curled up on the couch with basketball on in the background, the balcony door open, reading a silly, cheesy, and entirely addicting book -- that is a wonderful day, in my humble opinion. Also watched two movies -- Role Models and Bedtime Stories -- we go for the high class films in our household.

We did also go to Home Depot to look at paint samples and tub faucets/knobs. Didn't buy a thing, but walked out with two free light bulbs, as they were giving away the new "green" kind (whose name escapes me at the moment). Free is our friend. We got some good ideas for potential paint ideas and are hoping to paint the accent wall in the living room fairly soon -- a sort of trial run, so to speak. Kate also had to dismantle part of our faucets (the knobs) for our bathtub, so that Eli can no longer turn on the water. What a pain. Eventually we might replace them with "cat-friendly" knobs, but right now, our bathroom looks extremely ghetto. Thanks Eli - you're a real asset to the family.

Guster is chasing his tail. He's such a cutie. I can never catch him on film, though.

I feel as if a lot more occurred to me over the weekend to write, but I've lost it. Alas.

I'm sure anyone who actually cares has already seen this, but I find it highly amusing: The Nationals misspell their team name on their *own uniforms*. Yet another instance where I'm just so proud to be a DC sports fan, yup.

Some pictures of the felines...

Boo -- loving the sunshine and open windows

What a face.

The boy zonked in his chair.

The kids helping me make the bed.

Guster enjoys the finished product.

Fries are the devil's starchy fingers.

2009-04-16T14:51:00.004-04:00

Random snippets from things I've written and thought this week:

*I think my current irritation is exacerbated by the fact that I'm tired and just in a bad mood. It's gray and rainy outside and in the 40s -- where is the nice Virginia spring weather? [There are signs of it today... hooray.] I'm tired of this rain. We got home late the other night and as I was finally trying to go to sleep, Guster went into vomit mode, which always causes me to leap up from the bed and rush him to one of the few tiled surfaces in the house. It took a good thirty minutes or more for my heartbeat to return to normal after cleaning up his sickness. Then Boo was playing with some ball with a bell in it (I thought I had confiscated all of those). I feel like I'm woken up by those suckers a minimum of 5 times a night. Isn't this the time I'm supposed to be stocking up on my sleep, before the real sleepless nights begin? I swear, if Eli starts scratching at the mattress (from under the bed) or pawing at the blinds one more time in the middle of the night, I'm going to throw him out the front door!

*It didn't help that the Wizards blew their lead in the final seconds in their game Monday night, so we returned home weary after a loss. Really par for the season, I suppose, but still. I suppose it will be good to get this season off the books. Last game (away) on Wednesday and perhaps we can start over next year [where we blew a lead and lost of course]. Jamison got hurt last night, and I've avoided reading how badly. Cannot deal.

*At least it's lunchtime and even though we've yet to get to the grocery store for the week, I've managed to pull together a decent lunch for a few days in a row: the usual 4 crackers with cheese and peanut butter, plus a handful of cashews, these odd tasting (yet somehow enjoyable) Special K 90-calorie pack Italian Tomato & Herb crackers, and some grapes. Not as good as last week, which featured pineapple pushups, but not too bad. I also stuck in a small chocolate bunny from my Easter bag. The bunny will wait until 2:00 -- the best time of the day. I've discovered that by eating "breakfast" (currently a Special K breakfast bar and some Activia yogurt), I'm actually not completely starving at lunch and therefore this continues over for dinner, especially if I ration dessert (typically 3 Rolos or a mini Peppermint Pattie, the Easter bunny is a treat) until 2:00. Who knew?!

*My hair is driving me crazy. My weird bang-like things keep falling into my face if I lean down to read. I almost told Kate to shave it all off the other day (I don't even know if that's possible, considering how long it is now). I think it looks horrible and my self-esteem is in the toilet lately. It's all thin and straggly and I just don't know what to do with it. I keep looking back at old pictures when I grew it out and somehow it went from this into a fairly decent bob, but I don't remember how. I was, what 4 or 5 years younger, then, too. Now, I look and feel old and blah and too worried about money and job security and the ancient tires on my car. Oh adulthood, I spurn thee sometimes.

*It's amazing how more productive I can be when I work from home, especially if I force myself to just turn off the TV and do my work. I worked from home yesterday to avoid the noise of the office and partially because when I got up to pee after my alarm went off, I slipped on the bathroom floor and hurt my ankle. I slipped thanks to Eli, who has somehow learned how to turn on the water in the bathtub (only the cold side); yesterday morning, Eli had turned the water on and also got water all over the bathroom floor in some sort of H20 frenzy in the 20 minutes between her leaving, me snoozing my alarm, and me getting up. I'm about to the point where if I could sell him for a buck, I would. Damn cat. Anyway, I have been allocating a certain number of pages a day in studying for this test I have to take, and I can barely make it some days at work, but I flew past it yesterday. It's just quieter and nicer at work. Calming (except for Eli). Plus, I can reward myself with What I Like About You and Gilmore Girls. Sweet. One is terrible and the other is amazing, yet I am currently addicted to both in reruns. Damn you ABC Family.

*Kate and I have a meeting with a financial planner scheduled next week. I'm glad, because it's something we've been meaning to do for a while. Also nervous, because I'm sure carnage will ensue. I imagine a good portion of the weekend will be spent filling out the forms. I'm hoping that she will have some good insight for us -- with the market being so bad, the condo is basically unsellable, and I have no idea whether it makes sense to refinance or just keep my savings for when I do sell and need a down payment for another house. Sigh. I hate money sometimes.

I realized haven't been taking, and therefore posting, very many pictures of my aforementioned problem kiddos lately.

My cute little Boo helping me work at home.

The boys relaxing on the bed.

I have to flip over the t-shirt quilt now so that King Guster can sleep on the fleecy side. He leads a hard life.

They've become obsessed with this (broken) part of their tower lately.

Eli leads a hard life, too.

Sleeping on "his" bed.

Something about you pulls me in.

2009-04-13T16:14:00.001-04:00

My weekend was rather exhausting and traumatizing -- nothing large, just an accumulation of small slights. I had a doctor's appointment right in the middle of the day on Friday, so I used it as an excuse to work from home. When Kate came home, I think we took a walk (if we didn't we walked several times last week - go us). We are on yet another "eating at home" kick (this one has to stick, darnit), and we'd used our one eating out treat of the week on Thursday, unlike Friday as planned, after Kate's commute home took 2 hours or so (it's a 30-minute drive! I hate Northern Virginia!). ANYWAY, we made spaghetti with chicken, salad, and tasty bread with cheese. It was delicious and we felt like we'd won some sort of major battle. Watched Slumdog Millionaire which I really enjoyed -- more than I thought I would. I actually made myself just sit and watch the movie (especially since it had subtitles). Doing only one thing at once is hard for me.

On Saturday, we had to get up early and go to my Mom's for the weekend. It takes two hours to get there, and it was pouring rain for a good portion of the drive. The main highlight was a stop at Burger King for breakfast. We had to help her buy a new TV, which she'd been wanting for a while. This entailed a trip to Costco, then Walmart, and then Costco again. Kate set it up for her and it worked without incident, so that was good.

Meanwhile, I had to clean my old room. My Mom has decided to turn it into a playroom for her as yet unconceived grandkids. This provides no pressure at all, right? Because I live in a 700 square foot box, a lot of my stuff that I'd like to save for when I have a bigger house is in there, and so I'm now faced with the choice of throwing it out or trying to find a place for it in our place, which is impossible... Because I was a strange, special child, I did wind up throwing away tons and tons of old magazines that I'd saved, along with notebooks and clippings about my various obsessions, but that was about it. I gave my Mom a lot of stuffed animals to sell to her first graders in her version of a "let's learn about money unit." (Dear Earl the Bunny, I'll miss you, and I'm sorry you'll be sold for 3 fake cents.) It was all sort of depressing. I found a ton of letters, pictures, and other memorabilia from the Nicole era, which is always... odd. Nostalgic in both a good and a bad way. I still have to go through the dressers (who knows what is in those -- clearly not clothing I actually wear) and a lot of other stuff, but I did make headway, even as I threw away my life, sigh. At the end, we had to carry 15 trashbags of junk (aka magazines) to the dump. Kate and I were exhausted by the end of the day.

Then Sunday we drove over to Brightwood, along with my Mom in her own truck, and joined Peg, Len, Andy, Larry, and Gabe (and my Grampa of course) for Easter festivities. Right after we arrived, we went down to play ping pong in the basement and discovered a pipe must have burst sometime much earlier in the week in Grampa's basement. His workroom and a good portion of the pool / open area was flooded. So fun and games ended while we were all mopping up the floors and cleaning stuff (and watching Gabe), while Larry, who is thankfully a well-versed plumber and electrician, had to go fix the pipes. However, my Grampa lives a bit in the middle of nowhere, and Larry had to make three long trips to get various supplies, so we had no water all day (having turned it off to stop the flooding).

Shortly after my Gram died, we had a similar flood when the washing machine stopped up, so my Mom was in a tizzy "remembering that awful day." (Sigh.) Grampa was grumpy because he couldn't play pool (the pool table was sitting in tons of water even) or cards because everyone was busy cleaning, and he was back in his "I should just go in the [nursing] home" mode. Poor Larry had to spend his one day off fixing the pipes and dealing with Andy's incessant chatter. Peg had to make dinner with very little water. Kate and I ran away after dinner when they were playing hearts and Larry was leaving to get yet another part...

Oh weekend, I want you back.

Now it's back to work without work, sigh. Tonight is our last Wizards (home) game of the season, which is just amazing. Despite the horribleness of it all, it seems like it's gone by fairly quickly. Hopefully we have a new coach on the horizon and things will go better next year.

A few Easter pictures...

Gabriel... looking so big.

I'm pretty sure Kate lies in wait to catch me at my most "attractive." Yuck.

I can't quite recall the context of this picture. He's chasing bubbles and wanting me to step on him, I believe. It's amusing, nonetheless.

Gabe "playing" ping pong with me.

Then and now's the same.

2009-04-06T16:26:00.006-04:00

When I was a kid, I was a huge Chicago Bulls fan. In fact, I was a Chicago Bulls fan until I moved to Northern Virginia (ick) in 2003 and began following the Washington Wizards. My parents were born in the suburbs of Chicago, and I still root for the Cubs. There's still a little Bears and Blackhawks loyalty there, too, but when I was growing up, it was always the Cubs and Bulls. I still have a hard time rooting for the Bulls, unless they are playing against my Wizards (I'm finishing up my second year as a season ticket holder). The Bulls led me to love NBA basketball.

As any Chicagoan knows (or anyone with half an idea about sports), it was the Bulls, not the Cubs, who were the success in the 1990s. (Have the Cubs ever been a success, sigh.) I was in middle school and high school as they racked up their championships. My Mom and I used to watch all the games on WGN. We watched every playoff game on NBC. I had a lucky shirt I refused to take off during each playoff game. We'd sneak into a back room at my grandparents to catch the score if we absolutely had to miss a game. My Mom never blinked at letting me stay up late for playoff games. I studied for my AP exams in 1998 as MJ powered the Bulls past Stockton and Malone and the Jazz. (I still credit MJ for the 5 I received on my AP Bio exam; nothing else explains it: I was awful at biology). My Mom and I adored MJ, Pippen, Kerr, Harper. We tolerated Longley and Kukoc. But we LOVED Dennis Rodman. The posters in my room were of Dennis. I dreamed of saving Dennis, rescuing him from his demons. We saw him as a troubled, brilliant soul. Oh he was a genius.

We also loved Bob Costas, who called NBA basketball games for NBC at the time.

Which is why this moment, which occured in the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals, is so legendary between my Mom and me that the phrase it spawned, "I took a hit, buddy," is still in our lexicon today.

I stumbled across it on youtube today and burst out laughing. Somewhere on a shelf in our study still sits a dusty VHS tape, saved purely because it contains this moment.

I love you Dennis, I love you Bob (and I love you MJ). Miss you guys -- those were the days.

But I don't tend to worry about the things that other people say.

2009-04-03T11:30:00.002-04:00

Oh my gosh, so tired. So worth it though. What a great game. Beating Cleveland (twice this year, for those keeping track at home, tied with only Boston and LA) is our season. Our playoffs, yup. So so so sorry, LeBron.

Nights like last night are the reason I have my tickets. An arena full of people yelling and screaming. A fired up team (the majority of the starters actually starting!). There's just such a feeling at sporting events that I don't get anywhere else. Even if half the crowd is always pathetic bandwagon James' fans, by the end, it's all of us united against them. You forget everything else in your life: you're in the moment of rooting for your team and against another. For someone who is never, ever able to shut her brain off, that's one of the reasons I love sports. (And the reason my throat really hurts today. Lots of yelling.)

I also love being a Wizards fan because we create videos like this. (Credit to Dan at the Bog of course.)

That is all, really. They installed a baseboard heater in my office yesterday (since my office technically exists "outside the building"). It smells funny, and I'm trying to figure out where to turn the little knob (somewhere between LO, COMFORT ZONE, and HI) so that it's not incredibly hot and dry, but still not the usual freezing. Good times.

I'm ready for the weekend. We have a game, and I have neurology appointment (on Saturday morning, boo), but that's about it. I want to read my book and just escape from the world for a bit.

I've got nothing else.

Did I ever post these pictures? I have some good videos of this process I need to get off the Flip.

Kate and her dad installed a cat door a few weeks ago. The "gatos grandes" part cracked us up.

We will eventually paint the door.

The cats were initially appalled, but they have the hang of it now. We had to tape up the plastic swinging door part, however, because Guster got his paw slightly stuck the first time we put him through and had a fit. (He's just a tad sensitive, my kid.) But it's so much quieter now when we run the washer and dryer, and you can't see all the mess in there (including their boxes).

I'm not here for your entertainment.

2009-03-31T16:04:00.002-04:00

I wrote a lot of this yesterday, but oh well.

Work has been a bit dramatic, at times lately, and it's been wearing on me. Things are pretty much OK now, though. I won't get into it here, of course.

We had a nice weekend. It flew by. I worked from home on Friday, and my friend Kristin (from college) was in town from NYC, so we got together for lunch. That was a nice surprise. I'd somehow misplaced my phone Thursday night and didn't see her text about lunch until that morning, so I'm glad it worked out. I typically seem to misplace my phone the few times people actually want to reach me. I'm cool like that. It was really nice to catch up with Kristin, though.

I think Friday night we got Five Guys (so delicious) and watched basketball and did some other stuff. There's been a lot of basketball-watching going on in our house lately. Love it.

Saturday we were supposed to go to Georgetown, but I had a terrible migraine and the weather was awful. I slept forever, which was much-needed. When my headache finally dissipated a tiny bit, we went to the mall, just to get out of the house. Going to the mall when you have no money is always a Catch 22 -- Kate and I wind up ogling all the Wizards' stuff we'd love to have, etc. I did buy a new pair of jeans, but that was really our purpose for going to the mall. And smoothies. The Dulles Town Center Mall has the best smoothies. Yum.

Saturday night we went to the Wizards game and actually saw Gilbert Arenas PLAY. A big moment for any Wizards season ticket holder -- with only, you know, 7 or so games left in the season. It was pretty crazy -- the entire atmosphere was different. Gilbert started, assisted on the first four plays I believe... he looked good out there. We lost, but eh, we always lose, and at least we lost on a last second shot instead of by 20 points. We play Cleveland (at home) on Thursday and supposedly both he and Caron will play. I know we won't win but I'm so sick of hearing about LeBron James. If I could use the word hate on one person, it would be LeBaby. Ugh.

Sunday we cleaned and stuff. Took a nice walk, which was good. I attempted to calibrate my Nike+ thingy for my iPod, which I'm not sure really worked. Did mean I ran and walked multiple .25 distances to no avail, I believe. I'll have to see if that thing pans out for me. I'd really like it to... The sun actually came out a bit on Sunday and we even had the screened door open for a bit. I'm so ready for spring. I read somewhere (twitter, probably, that seems to be my main news source anymore) that Dominion Virginia Power, which is our local power company, is raising their rates yet again -- sheesh. May be using a lot of fans this summer.

Oh and we did watch Twilight last night. Ha! I know it was cheesy, but I sort of enjoyed it. Hey, the books are cheesy and horribly written, after all, but addictive. I suppose I look at the movie in the same vein. Besides, the girl who plays Bella? Kinda hot.

I'm already sort of tired thinking of this week ahead... Kate and I have an appointment at 7:00 tonight, I'm having dinner with my cousin Mia on Wednesday, and the Cleveland game is Thursday night (starting at 8:00, nationally televised no less, we'll never get home). Saturday night the metro broke down on our way home -- that's always fun! How will I get in my American Idol time, she says? I also can't believe I started a Jodi Picoult book a good week ago and am still only a 100 pages in. I don't think that's ever happened before. Craziness.

Now I must try to focus on work... hasn't been easy as of late! :)

You're in my heart; the only light that shines.

2009-03-26T12:56:00.002-04:00

Dominic McGuire being compared to Dennis Rodman. My life is now complete. Seriously.

Wizards forward Dominic McGuire hasn't scored since Friday

(Don't let that headline fool you, boys and girls, we love Dom. And Dennis.)

And it's as simple as something nobody knows.

2009-03-23T13:11:00.003-04:00

I realize I always start off my entries, it seems, saying that I have no motivation to do my work. I would like to say, as a disclaimer, that I actually do complete my tasks and work at my job... I swear.

I was so busy for a bit, and I really enjoyed it. Now I'm back to waiting for an RFP, and time drags. I am far more motivated, I've learned, when I had a lot to juggle. I wish I could create my own job: it would be a mix of my old job and my current job. (And it would be housed in Charlottesville.) :)

I have had a busy couple of days in the non-work world, and they've been really nice. Actually, Friday was crazy at work, too. I had a ton of meetings which all occurred at the same time -- always fun. I love being triple-booked. In addition, I had a last-minute doctor's appointment Friday. So that was stressful, as I had a bunch of random meetings, plus an all-day Red Team. I ran around like a crazy person on Friday, but did make it to my appointment with plenty of time to spare.

Friday night... oh we got food from our favorite local deli (seriously, we love this place -- it's a New York-style deli that opened not too long ago and they already have our order memorized. It's so good) and watched a movie. Happy Go-Lucky. A slightly odd, meandering film, but the lead actress was quite endearing.

Saturday we ran a bunch of errands... Walmart, Borders, etc. Bought the new Jodi Picoult book at Borders for 19 cents (yay gift cards) -- I'm looking forward to reading that one. We ate lunch at Logan's Roadhouse (one of favorite places as well and we had a coupon, sweet) and saw Duplicity in the theater. Duplicity wasn't what I was expecting, really. It was good, but not as good as I had hoped. Julia was cute, though. Saturday night I *finally* did my taxes with Kate's help -- yay! They aren't that hard to do (thank you Turbo Tax and ADP), but I'd been putting the chore off. Especially since because I transferred jobs this year and had two W-2s (yes, I transferred jobs at the SAME company and this means I got two W-2s. Love this place.) I feel much better now that they've been filed. We watched Body of Lies (upon which I can't really comment, as I only half paid attention - I was paying my bills) and a lot of basketball, too.

Sunday was exciting -- we drove up to College Park, Maryland to see the Maryland women's team play Dartmouth in the NCAA tournament. I'd never been to a NCCA tournament. Those who pay attention will know that I'm actually a UVa fan, but Kate's parents and sister went to Maryland, so we joined them (and her sister's future husband) for the game. I do follow the Lady Terps, especially since their star point guard is from my hometown, so it was fun (except for being stuck in an accident on the Beltway getting there -- yay for 90+ minutes to go 4 miles). Maryland won in resounding fashion (they are a #1 seed), so it was exciting. It was a very nice weekend -- we had plenty of time to relax (we were still home in plenty of time to take a nice walk and catch up on two episodes of Private Practice on the DVR), but we were busy enough that we felt we did *something* -- one of the best weekends we've had in a while. Very nice.

I had been telling myself after getting my tax refund, I would make a decision about renewing Wizards tickets. Of course, we are planning some things that could be expensive, and I realize it's silly to renew. Yet, it's so hard for me to contemplate not having my tickets. There have been rumors today that Gilbert Arenas could play a few games of this season -- he, of course, has yet to play a game since we gave him a $110M contract extension, and we currently have only one of our original starters either uninjured or still on the team (Gilbert, DeShawn, Caron, and Brendan are hurt, plus Etan - a former starter - is injured, and Antonio has been traded) -- I mean, seriously, it's amazing we've won ONE game. The optimist in me loves the thought of us getting a top pick in the draft, magically keeping our now healthy roster, and kicking butt next season... and I won't have tickets. If this happened (and I did have the tickets), I could probably sell most of the ones we didn't use for a decent profit. BLAH. I know the practical and prudent thing to do, and I know the Wizards a probably cursed and the good won't come away. However, I just wish I could still have my tickets. Magically.

And, really, why do I bother, because no one cares.

Before I forget, other things I want to do with my tax return: Buy tires for my car. I can't believe it will be 5 years old in May. It needs new tires.

Things that are good: I forced myself to eat lunch today. This is a good thing, because I've been skipping lunch at work lately, and that's not good.

Things that are bad: I have to ride the metro to the Wizards game tonight, and I forgot my book. It's a good book, too. Why do I not have a backup book somewhere? Ahh. I have learned nothing from life. Or Gilmore Girls.

Take you to another place in time.

2009-03-23T13:02:00.002-04:00

Written on 3/19.

What a day, and it's only 2:30 PM. Goodness.

First of all, as always, a sad day for me. For my family. Really, this is just a sad week for me. I dislike March 17 - 20 with a passion. I've been reading back in my journal and looking at the chain of events in late 2005 and early 2006. Kate and I meeting, getting together. Christmas 2005 - the last time I saw Treen in person. That horrible New Year's Party. Kate and I breaking up. Nicole and I going to San Diego alone. Nicole leaving and going to AmeriCorps. The cars catching on fire outside my condo. The 17th. All of it culminating with that awful phone call from Mare telling me Trina was dead. I have such a terrible memory and can't recall events that occurred last year (last week, really), yet I can recall that day with complete clarity -- Jack standing me behind me with the cookie he was bringing me; the exact proposal I was working on; me dazedly running into Deb coming back from the bathroom as I was walking to the elevator; calling Nicole from the car on my drive home. Sitting in the dungeons of Dulles airport with my cell phone plugged into the one outlet I could find, talking to Hannah, while I waited for Mia's flight. So odd. That one day, etched in my memory forever. I remember the memorial service, especially the first line (the Clint Black song), I remember the horror of cleaning out her apartment, but it is really March 20th, not today, that I remember the most. Three years ago, we were all unaware. Then everything changed. So much of what has happened in my life has been colored by Trina's death. I miss you, Treen. Always.

I still need to go to the doctor, I suppose, about my wrist. I received several notes of admonition, along with several, "don't your parents get after you?" notes, which amused me. Both of my parents, upon me mentioning my fall, immediately went into stories of their own about their own recent wrist injuries, which is pretty much par for the course for my parents. They are a little less of the "oh get to the doctor" sort and more of the "oh let me top your injury with my own." We are talking of the duo who pretty much avoided taking me to the doctor at all all costs... your five-year-old falls and cracks open their chin? Eh, it's OK, they'll be fine. (I figure the scar will help with identification at some point in my life.) Horrible flu strain that lasts a week and leaves your small child so weak and dehydrated they can't get out of bed? Eh, they'll get over it. (Hey, I did!) Child falls off bike, rips flesh off knee, tons of gravel gets inside it? It's all good. (I still have that gravel in my knee! It's kinda cool.) Of course, as a result, I've completely lost the ability to ever know when a person *should* go to the doctor. I remember Kate tweaking her knee early in our relationship and going to the doctor, and I was shocked. Literally shocked. No one did such a thing in my family. Heart attacks are about the only thing that get you passage to the hospital. I can't even really answer Kate if something hurts. I can't judge illness or injury.

I finished a very engaging book yesterday -- I read about 2/3 of it to finish it. It wasn't the "best book ever," but it was quite compelling: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. Stephen King recommended it in Entertainment Weekly, and he has surprisingly good taste.

I'm working from home this afternoon, and I have a little gray cat curled up on my right arm. He's a cutie. He was on my lap for half of this entry. Needy much?

OK, between work and the Internet and chatting on the phone with my boss for 30 minutes, it's now 4:00. This is long and boring but whatever, I'm just going to post it.

I keep on talkin' trash but I never say anything.

2009-03-16T14:40:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the catching up.

There were several things I realized I forgot to write about in my last entry. Pretty sure I promptly forgot most of them, but a few have stuck with me.

* We actually got some snow! Around 6 inches or so on March 2nd. We both got a "snow day" (aka work from home day). It was really lovely for a while, though.

Snow!

Driving to work would have been fun -- this is the road I take all the way to work. Our area is so ill-equipped to handle pathetic amounts of snow, I swear. Six inches is nothing, but they make it chaos.

The guy on skis amused me. He can't get to use these often.

Guster was excited by his snowball.

* We have some new (old) furniture... we bought a new TV stand (which is really Kate's sister's old TV stand, so we got it for free) and a new (aka from craigslist) dresser for Kate. Kate's old dresser was in pieces, so the dresser was a must. We only paid $75 for the dresser, so that was cool.

The old TV stand will be missed. He was with me for many years.

Kate putting together the new TV stand.

The cats helping...

I love this picture of Eli.

I have no "after" pictures -- will have to take those.

I KNOW there was something else, but I can't remember what it was right now.

*Oh, of course. I sprained my right wrist the same day as the snow. I had cleaned off my car in our icy parking lot, was coming back in, and fell. Broke my fall with both my hands 'cause I am way cool. It still hurts like crazy. I'm sure it'll stop hurting eventually. Typing and shifting my car are the worst. Those activities, you know, only make up half my day. It's ALL GOOD.

I need to work, but BLAH. I have little motivation on a rainy, dreary Monday. Off I go anyway.

I'll end with the promised Gabe bowling videos.

Gabe and his Daddy bowling. They didn't have bumpers that weekend, for some reason.

Me and Gabe bowling. Also known as the video where Kate zooms in on my butt. Thanks, Kate.

Sure ain't helping this mood that I've been in.

2009-03-16T14:37:00.002-04:00

From Friday the 13th. Mwahahaha.

I'm writing bullets so I can remember the last two weeks. This will have a lot of typos because I'm exhausted. I actually pulled up to the gas station on my way home today and realized I had pulled up on the wrong side. I have *never* done that. (Comforting fact: I then drove two hours home. I had to force myself to sing along to each song. It was 2:30 PM.)

*First of all, I hate March. I just hate the month of March. Bad things happen in March. I know I am simply attuned to look for bad things in March, but still. March = bad.

*Work is kicking my ass. Which, overall, is fine. I spent all of last week trapped in a room with people. Work part is fine, but having no privacy gets on my nerves after a while. I also was home in the evening for a total of about 6 hours the entire week. I worked most of Saturday. Sunday I packed and headed down to Charlottesville that night.

*Cut to this week: now trapped in a proposal room with people all week. Add that to not sleeping very well, and I just have not been in a good mood. The MCC lyric of "well I need a lot of sleep and a little bit of time on my own" has been playing on repeat in my head all week. Work itself = good. Time with other people = bad. I spent last night on my king size bed in my hotel room, my papers and laptop spread around me, watching basketball and Grey's, and it did restore some of my sanity. I'm tired of spending 7:30 AM to 8:30 PM in a room trapped with people, talking, talking, talking! And boy, is there chatter in C'ville. Hopefully, this week, I'll have my office to myself. Paradoxically, I'll probably have nothing to do. Can't win.

*Saw my Mom this week while I was in C'ville. That was nice. It is nice down there, overall. Especially if I have sleep. Hopefully I'll see my Dad next time, maybe some friends.

*Went bowling with Katie, Larry, and Gabe a few weekends ago. That was fun. Gabriel is a trip.

*I'm on the couch with two of my cats (the boys). Guster ignored me for about 10 minutes upon my arrival home, then played "chase" with me, culminating in me having to give him large amounts of loving. He hasn't left my side since. What a furball.

*I'm worn out but I might try to convince Kate to go to the Wizards game tonight. Again -- tired of spending my time cooped up in small spaces. I need to GET OUT! I actually feel like drinking. That's how long my weeks have been.

*Still managing to keep up with American Idol, overall, despite the work schedule. Whether this is admirable, or sad, I will not say.

*It's basketball tournament time. My heart fills with glee.

I've run out of steam. I have videos somewhere of Gabe bowling. I'll post those later.

Drives, shoots, and scores.

2009-02-27T20:07:00.005-05:00

I should be at the Wizards / Bulls game watching everyone watch President Obama, but I'm not, sigh. As much as we'd love to be there, Kate and I are so exhausted from this week. We're collapsed on the couch in our PJs -- a half of a Ledo's pizza already gone. JaVale just dunked and saluted the President. I love it. (Am watching on TV, of course.)

I forgot how tiring it is to work, really work... I love it and I've missed it, but whew. Working non-stop all day, tons of emails, working at night. I'm pretty sure I'll be working a good part of Sunday. I'm out of practice! Would much rather have it this way, though.

Saw my cousin Katie last weekend. We saw He's Just Not That Into You. Interesting movie. Feel like it spent its entire time portraying men as not that great and great romance as the fleeing exception to normal life, only to pretty much wrap up all the relationships happily at the end. Strange. It was funny and enjoyable enough, though. I never get out to the movies.

Tomorrow we're going bowling with Katie, Larry, and Gabriel. That should be interesting, since I can't bowl at all! Talked to Gabriel on the phone tonight as he was playing Wii with the fam. He's too cute.

Took Boo to the vet today to get her teeth cleaning. No doubt we were fleeced, but it seemed like her gingivitis was pretty bad. She looked so pathetic when I picked her up today, and staggered around a bit when I got her home. She's finally zonked out on the gaming chair.

Perhaps the most depressing aspect of late is that I received my property tax assessment in the mail this week. The assessed value of my home dropped around $95,000 since last year. Yes, that's right: $95k. I can't really even think about it, because I get a) totally freaked out and b) extremely depressed. Guess we won't be moving to Charlottesville any time soon.

Kate took the Maryland bar exam this week -- not fun at the time, but very good to have over. She's free! (And can go from the annoying "how's studying" question to the even-more-annoying, "so when do you find out" question.)

I'm too tired to think or write anything else... pictures.

My handsome boy

Guster loves lounging by the fire. Think he lives in style?

Such a mischief!

With my boys.

I finally paid off my car!

Nice job to stay in front of him.

2009-02-18T20:54:00.001-05:00

Life has kind of been "la la la" lately. Work is picking up, which is nice, but requires some adjustment as I'm out of practice. I hope it continues.

Random thoughts...

I went to a UVa [men's basketball] game with my Dad this past weekend. If you pay any attention to my journal, you'll know that UVa is terrible this year. We were playing #12 ranked Clemson... and we won! It was awesome. The crowd was rocking, they retired Sean Singletary's jersey at halftime... the game went into overtime, and we won. We were so happy. I think I was a little hoarse that night. That was also the night of the popcorn incident. I feel as if I've remained dehydrated ever since. Seriously. I ate so much popcorn and then got in the car to drive two hours home. And no, one can't stop the car --- there are mpg goals and "best times" to beat, after all. :)

I can't believe I watch American Idol now. It's all Kate's fault. (She's studying for the bar exam, leaving me to my own devices.)

The Wizards won last night, too. So much excitement. The trade deadline is tomorrow, and I'm just hoping that Antawn and Caron don't get traded. Especially to the Cleveland Cavaliers, as is the current rumor. That would just be the limit.

I've been reading the Patricia Cornwell Scarpetta series -- I have three more left to read. I also finished Silas Marner -- the book fascinated me, mostly because I'd read that Steve Martin based the movie A Simple Twist of Fate (which I adore) on the novel. I've been meaning to read it for ages. Sorry: these facts, for some unknown reason, are exciting to me. I read somewhere that Steve Martin just released a CD of banjo songs. That man fascinates me.

Boo and Eli went to the vet, as mentioned. We all survived. Vet is very expensive, as they scare us into paying for things on the off chance the cats are sick. Imagine if they were? Guilt sets in... Boo may be getting her teeth cleaned at the end of the month; she has very bad gingivitis, so we will see.

Oh and I listened to my 55,000th song on last.fm. (Brad Paisley's "Celebrity" for those who care.) I am not sure I could survive without last.fm...

This is the most boring entry of all time. I'll end with a few pictures of Guster, as an apology.

Guster watches Kurt Warner on Ellen's show.

How Guster and I spend our evenings while Kate studies.

Guster looking cute.

When I'm gone, I'm gonna come back as a blonde.

2009-02-11T15:13:00.003-05:00

Based on the current state of affairs, I think it's time for a happy list! In no particular order or chronological reasoning...

1. Dinner with my friend Beth on Monday at Logan's. Beth is awesome. Logan's is yummy. Our combined sense of direction is terrible, but we still survive.

2. The Pacers beating LeBron in the last .8 seconds... (if you're a sports fan and missed the series of fouls leading up to this, watch the replay -- not sure I've ever seen that particular sequence of events happen).

3. Caron Butler going all MJ in the 4th quarter of Sunday's game, scoring 15 straight points, including the buzzer beater. It was the like the Wizards of old! His teammates pretty much had to carry him off the court; great game, great moment. I love my Caron.

4. Nicole and Katy are coming to visit this weekend!

5. Going to the Virginia game on Sunday with my Dad. Virginia may be terrible (poor Wahoos), but they are retiring Singletary's jersey. This will be fun.

6. Guster. I came home all upset yesterday and he did his usual sweet routine, including licking my tears. I love that cat so much.

7. The Big Bang Theory. That show is hilarious.

8. Lunch on the company today.

9. It's warm out for the moment. Looks like it might storm (which I actually enjoy).

10. So enjoying catching up on Patricia Cornwell's books. Scarpetta, I missed thee.

Get Drunk and Be Somebody

2009-02-10T11:07:00.001-05:00

We all know I have a weakness for these.

1. Put Your iTunes or mp3 player on Shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write down the name of the song no matter how silly it sounds!
4. Put any comments in brackets after the song name.
5. Tag at least 10 friends

1. What do your friends think of you?
"Never Had It So Good" - Mary Chapin Carpenter (In actuality, an angry breakup song, but sounds good in theory.)

2. If someone says, “Are you okay?” You say?
"Monday Afternoon" - Lori McKenna (Let's see: "It's Monday afternoon and I'm drinking again" or "And I'm telling you, I wish I was a better person..." Love this song.)

3. How would you describe yourself?
"Save the Last Dance for Me" - The Drifters (I like it.)

4. What do you like in a significant other?
"Jane" - Catie Curtis (Hmm.)

5. How do you feel today?
"Bitch" - Meredith Brooks. (Ha. Love it. And yes, I have this song on my iPod. Hush.)

6. What is your life’s purpose?
"A Place In the World" - Mary Chapin Carpenter (Perfect.)

7. What is your motto?
"I Will Follow" - Kim Richey (Let's hope not.)

8. What do you think about very often?
"Don't Give Us a Reason" - Hank Williams, Jr. (OK, knocking Meredith Brooks off the most embarrassing perch. I do think of the war and politics often. Yes. Let's go with that.)

9. What is 2 + 2?
"Here I Am" - Mary Chapin Carpenter (No idea how to make this one work.)

10. What do you think of your best friend?
"The Story of My Old Man" - Good Charlotte (No.)

11. What do you think of the person you like?
"Working Girl" - Terri Clark (Not as sweet as what could come up...)

12. What is your life story?
"She'd Give Anything" - Boy Howdy (Better than a Hank Jr. song, I'll say that. "Practice What I Preach" excluded.)

13. What do you want to be when you grow up?
"I Know What I'm Looking For Now" - Tift Merritt (I need details, Tift, details!)

14. What will you dance to at your wedding?
"Rock My World (Little Country Girl)" - Brooks & Dunn (Totally should have put this on the wedding mix.)

15. What will they play at your funeral?
"All the Small Things" - Blink 182 ("Say it ain't so, I will not go, turn the lights off, carry me home...")

16. What is your hobby/interest?
"My World" - Avril Lavigne (Could we narrow it down a bit, Avril?)

17. What is your biggest fear?
"What Would You Say to Me" - Mary Chapin Carpenter (I could make this work.)

18. What is your biggest secret?
"Sex Without Love" - Ben Lee (Hmm. Catchiest song ever, btw.)

19. What do you think of your friends?
"Anywhere But Here" - Sammy Kershaw (Oh yes.)

20. What will you post this as?
"Get Drunk and Be Somebody" - Toby Keith

Wait it out, wait it out, so tired of hearing I got to slow down.

2009-02-09T14:15:00.003-05:00

I'm pretty sure my immune system is non-existent. I think I get sick every five or six times to Kate's one. While this may be a ridiculous way to measure it, it's frustrating (not that I want her to get sick, I do NOT, but we live in the same house -- what is wrong with me?).

This weekend it was/is a fever, sore throat, and general fatigue. Definitely nothing debilitating, but it's annoying nonetheless.

Still went out on Saturday -- we went to Forest Glen Seminary in Maryland, a place Kate frequented a lot in high school to take pictures. It's a historic site (once a giant boarding school and more recently, Army property, including an annex of Walter Reed Medical Center) that they are currently turning into condos now and she wanted to show me the place (and take more pictures) before the renovation got too intense. It was a very interesting place. She took a lot of pictures (good pictures, since it was Kate). I don't think they're in flickr, so I'll just post a few of them.

There was actually a castle at this place.

You can see where there was once a drawbridge attached. A drawbridge!! How cool is that, really?

I was born to trespass.

One of the crumbling buildings -- a former dormitory.

I was just happy to be climbing around in the woods (fever and all). Felt like home!

Contrast: a nearly fully-renovated building

So that was fun... and full of exercise, too. We had Fuddruckers in Silver Spring (and Cake Love, yum) and spent the night watching The Dark Knight (whew) and paying bills. Quite a day. I was so worn out I spent most of Sunday in bed. Which means I missed one of the best Wizards game all year (I know that isn't saying much, but it was pretty awesome, and I can't believe we weren't there). Separate post will follow on that no one will read.

Oh this is random, but I did create my own font this week based on my handwriting, and it's provided great entertainment for days (I don't get out much). I just wrote my Mom a letter and printed it out and it's uncanny... you can build your own font at Yourfonts. It's a lot of fun. My font looks like this:

I'm worn out... adios.

The world don't owe me nothing; I don't understand all that's gone wrong.

2009-02-03T14:24:00.010-05:00

For anyone who might care, I've added someone new to the baby daddy list. If only I KNEW FAMOUS PEOPLE.

It's too hot and dry in my office with the space heater on, too cold and shivery without it. I feel as if this is representative somehow of it all.

I had a dream last night that Len called me into a meeting and told me they'd created a job at our Charlottesville office that was basically being a Proposal Manager / point person for everything down there -- task orders, big proposals, etc. He was telling me, in his serious Len way, how crazy and busy I'd be all the time if I took it, and how I'd have my hand in a bunch of proposals all at once, all the time. When I woke up and realized it was a dream, I sort of cried. That would be, basically, my dream job. Stupid subconscious.

It was pretty and snowy this morning, but not enough for a snow day. My Mom (a first grade teacher who lives two hours south) is apparently off, so that's good for her, but I think she's into the days she'll have to make up. She was off a couple of days last week, so knowing her, she probably would have been OK with a delay today.

Went to the Wizards/Grizzlies game last night -- my ticket rep had called ahead and left 100-level tickets at will call (a perk of the team being awful, I suppose). The seats were pretty good -- I like sitting near where the players come onto the court (we were behind their bench). The team played awful in the second half, though -- just awful. That was depressing. Some random man sitting next to me gave me vouchers to Georgetown University's (men's) next two home games... they are printed on weird colored paper, so I'm intrigued if they are real. Probably. Might go to the Saturday game; I've never been to a Georgetown game. The other game is tonight, and Kate's out, so I don't think I'll venture down there alone. Wizards play New Jersey tomorrow and depending how bored I am, I might think about going down alone for that one (Kate needs to study). I, perhaps, need friends.

I feel as if there should be more... but no. I never did write about the weekend, but oh well. We won a game (yay Wizards! 10 - 37, briefly!) and had a very nice Super Bowl party with our friends Laura and Gloria. Those were the highlights, I believe...

This is me before heading to another Wizards game.

Kate

Both

I flopped down on the bed the other day, and Boo chose to lay on top of me.

Guster helping us make the t-shirt quilt. That's his happy face, I swear.

Not to be left out: Eli

We're only as strong as our hearts within.

2009-02-02T11:46:00.004-05:00

After reading 30 or 40 so pages of Patricia Cornwell's The Last Precinct yesterday and feeling convinced that I had read it already, I turned to my "Master Booklist" today -- I was too lazy yesterday to turn on the computer and seek an answer (there was a Super Bowl to attend to, after all). I used to have a ratty old blue notebook that chronicled nearly every book I'd read since seventh grade (overall, I refused to write down books I read in school), but, sadly, I can't find that notebook. It's really a shame (just watching the handwriting change is fun). Luckily, I only lost it after typing it up and saving the file on my computer. Whew. I also have a new paper list, started in 2004. I believe I wrote on one of those inane "25 things" surveys that I like lists, didn't I? Proof.

A quick search of the list today revealed, yes, of course, I had read The Last Precinct back in 2000. That's clearly when I stopped reading Cornwell; my goal is to catch up with her books (I want to read Scarpetta), so now it's on to Blow Fly. I'll probably read the last few pages of Precinct, but I have no patience for re-reading more than a few choice books. There are too many out there waiting to be read; that feeling of familiarity just grates on, rather than comforts, me.

As I was looking over the list today, though, I was amused by the list of books that I apparently read during the year I was in 8th grade. It's no wonder I have such diverse taste in books and music and such even now...

The note says I’m guessing this is around 8th grade:

16. Z for Zachariah – Robert C. O’Brien
17. The Day After Tomorrow – Allan Folsom
18. Along Came a Spider – James Patterson
19. Freshman Summer – Linda A. Cooney
20. The Queen of What Ifs – Norma Klein
21. Freshman Freedom – Linda A. Cooney
22. The Chamber – John Grisham
23. June Dreams – Katherine Applegate
24. The Rainmaker – John Grisham
25. Freshman Temptation – Linda A. Cooney
26. Disclosure – Michael Crichton
27. July’s Promise – Katherine Applegate
28. Nobody Lives Forever – Edna Buchanan
29. Let Me Call You Sweetheart – Mary Higgins Clark
30. McNally’s Caper – Lawrence Sanders
31. Promised Land – Robert B. Parker
32. Dead and Buried – Melissa Cleary
33. Looking for Rachel Wallace – Robert B. Parker
34. Kat’s Cradle – Karen Kijewski
35. Early Autumn – Robert B. Parker
36. After Dark – Phillip Margolin
37. Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business – Dolly Parton
38. Miami, It’s Murder – Edna Buchanan
39. The Lottery Winner – Mary Higgins Clark
40. Freshman Secrets – Linda A. Cooney
41. Summer: August Magic – Katherine Applegate
42. A Savage Place – Robert B. Parker
43. Death of An Expert Witness – P.D. James
44. Copy Cat – Karen Kijewski
45. Well-Schooled In Murder – Elizabeth George
46. Ceremony – Robert B. Parker
47. The Widening Gyre – Robert B. Parker
48. Katwalk – Karen Kijewski
49. Valediction – Robert B. Parker
50. Playing for the Ashes – Elizabeth George
51. Heaven – VC Andrews
52. From Potter’s Field – Patricia Cornwell
53. The Last Innocent Man – Phillip Margolin
54. A Great Deliverance – Elizabeth George
55. Dark Angel – VC Andrews
56. Fallen Hearts – VC Andrews
57. Five Were Missing – Lois Duncan

Nothing like mixing those teen books with a little Robert Parker, Grisham, and P.D. James. This would have been after I tore through all the Agatha Christie already... My favorite may be the Dolly autobiography thrown in. I was an odd child. (Guess some things don't change, huh?)

Sometimes the biggest change stays out of sight.

2009-01-30T15:05:00.005-05:00

Bored, so bored. Save me.

I'm thinking the numbered format is working for me lately, so we're going back to that. I'm also thinking that the numbered format is just going to turn into numbered paragraphs on this one. You've been forewarned.

1. I love my Bluetooth. I never realized how much my life was lacking until it charmed me with its sweet silver exterior, crystal clear reception, and easy hands free access. I can never go back.

2. How great is The Hallmark Channel? 7th Heaven, Walker, Texas Ranger, Murder She Wrote... I love it. (So sad, yet so enjoyable.)

3. In a related vein, we now have the DIY channel in our home. Man Caves! Sweat Equity! Last night, Kate and I were sucked into Cool Tools -- I do not paint, but I *must have* those paint triangles and fancy baseboard paint rollers.

4. I secretly enjoy those Progressive commercials with that annoyingly perky woman. I don't know why. I hate pretty much all commercials in the history of the world (unless they feature Peyton Manning or Charles Barkley), but they charm me somehow.

5. My cat is so amazing, and I fall for him more every day. I love watching him discover new things. His personality astounds me (anyone who says animals do not have distinct personalities is a fool). Watching him grow (he'll be seven in June) makes me want a child so much. This sounds creepy, I'm sure, but it's true. The amount of love I have that for little gray furball cannot even be described.

6. I had a thing here about my frustration with straight people and babies and such, but reading it over, it's probably not best for this blog. If you read my LJ, it's there. Let's just say, I feel sad about the whole baby thing, frustrated, and once again, I realize, I will never fully fit in with the people I work with. What's new?

My computer spontaneously freezes every fifth word or so. It's great fun.

I'm so glad it's the weekend... Kate and I both agree we've been in funks lately. I'm hoping a break will help. We have a basketball game to attend on Saturday (Go Wizards! Oh wait...) and some friends coming over for the Super Bowl on Sunday. Three new Netflix movies await. If nothing else, there will be a break in the mundane.

Some snowy day pictures/mini tour... (and yes, I know this is not an actual real amount of snow at all, but it's all we've gotten so far. Alas.)

Guster checks it out

And leaves his mark.

My car

This is basically the view out our dining room window (except, thankfully, we get one whole tree to block the view). A lot of cars slip and slide when making this turn. (I'm appalled how no one can drive in Northern Virginia.)

Standing outside my building and looking down the sidewalk. There's actually a golf course across that street there.

My building -- the top windows and balcony are mine.

My building again.

Behind the building. Natasha (the cat) hangs out there sometimes.

Moi

One of the few trees. I dream of moving somewhere where there are a lot more of these. :)

I don't know what the guy with the black car does -- he's always home. His TV is loud. The other car belongs to a lady who takes care of her granddaughter (So I keep a watchful eye on my neighbors, sue me.).

Some of it's magic, some of it's tragic, but I had a good life all the way.

2009-01-28T15:27:00.004-05:00

Our snow (such as it was) turned into ice (and now rain), so it's yet another day of working from home. This would hold more meaning if I didn't do this on a regular basis anyway, but whatever. I honestly feel a bit stir-crazy, but I think that's based on a combination of factors. I'd like to be on the open road, driving, windows down, music blaring. It always seems like such a good problem solver. If nothing else, a good avoidance tactic. A way to think.

I have very little news except work stuff that depresses me, so I'll tell you some random things:

1. I'm addicted to the song "The Wrestler" by Bruce Springsteen. I've probably never purposely listened to a Bruce Springsteen song in my life (don't dislike him, he just never really came up in my musical repertoire). I have a craving lately for Buffett and The Eagles, too (they are in my repertoire, not that you care). Not sure why. "The Wrestler" is a good song, though. Haven't seen the film yet.

2. Saw the movie American Teen today -- it's a documentary that follows five kids through their senior year of high school. It's a bit staged, but quite enjoyable and poignant. I was tearing up at one point. I did not play on the computer during the entire movie -- this serves as a huge recommendation from me.

3. I keep forgetting the SuperBowl is this weekend. I'm sad to have a Bowl without one of my Manning boys.

4. I'm beginning to think I'm a curse for any sports team I watch. I watched most of one college game last night and part of another -- both of the teams I was rooting for lost. The Wizards and UVa suck. It really depresses me. Sports are my happiness.

5. I feel like there are too many thoughts in my head for one person. I wish there was a way to describe this adequately (it sounds far too simple put that way), but I can't. I also wish I could fall asleep at night. Those two items, I believe, are related.

Because I feel as if I've been a bit too wordy and morose lately, I'm ending with a few fun pictures and videos. Who doesn't love fun pictures and videos?

The cats get a Cat House, courtesy of Crate & Barrel (thanks Ballard & Shannon!)

Cat House, Part II

Guster on Inauguration Day. If you watch, he does his George Bush impression (chases his tail). Notice he's dressed up for the big day in his tie -- Guster knows how to celebrate a momentous occasion!

For those who are not the video type...

The Cat House -

Guster in his Obama Finery

Since the top of the world came crashing down.

2009-01-27T09:01:00.004-05:00

It's snowing today, and it's lovely. One of the first times I can remember waking up and actually seeing the ground (pretty much) covered with snow. This is nothing to most people, but we've had no winter here whatsoever! We could actually get *gasp* two or three inches here. Insanity!

Alas, I feel a bit melancholy this morning as I woke up with tears just STREAMING down my cheeks. I was having this very odd dream about Brightwood (my grandparents' place) -- at one point, I was even standing by my grandfather's shed, showing my next-door neighbor from Harrisonburg my iPod touch. And then, I looked up, and Trina was standing by the lattice/old rose bushes down by the old stone garden/BBQ area. I just took off running down there, completely ignoring everyone else. She started to run up toward the house, and I followed her. I wound up tackling her near the house, and as we fell onto the ground, into the ground, I could smell her -- even her lip gloss -- and see her face. I was shouting at her, "Please come home! Please come home!" and I must have been sobbing. She didn't say anything: just looked at me. Then my alarm went off, and I woke up in tears. What a way to start the day...

--

We had a nice time at the basketball game yesterday. Larry, Andy, and Len went (my cousin-in-law, cousin, and uncle) too. We saw them getting food when we arrived, and later went over to sit with them at halftime. While we were there, a Wizards official came over to give us upgraded seats; we wound up getting pretty sweet tickets down in the 100-level section. The Wizards, of course, lost, but we got to see them lose close up (and see Shaq, Steve Nash, and crew up close and personal). I guess it's the ironic bonus of your team playing poorly - you often get upgraded seats! Andy and Larry are a trip, and Len, obviously, is just sweet. It was fun to see them. We walked back to the metro with them and rode with them until our stop. A late night, but we'd parked at Virginia Square, which is so much better than riding all the way out to Vienna.

In an attempt to be productive this morning, amongst my work, I've tried to gather all my tax documents. I think I've gotten everything together except for my Mortgage Interest Statement for the larger of my two mortgage payments. I can't seem to find a place to get it online or anything. Ugh. I really thought I had everything... I felt so productive, and now I'm a bit annoyed. I'm hoping it will come in the mail soon; otherwise I will have to call, sigh. It's the golden cash cow! ;) I also have two W-2s this year, which is just lovely, considering I've worked at the same company for FOUR years. But when I switched groups within my company this year, my company treats it practically as if you are a new employee (I changed "companies with my company" so to speak) and now I have two W-2s. Fun!

I'm really not in as bad of a mood as I sound. I am happy about the snow... may take Guster for a walk. I'm just upended by my dream. I know I will never get over Trina's death. It's just waking up feeling like your heart is being ripped in two -- you don't think it will get any easier, but somehow, you think... you think something. Or maybe, somehow, I really just think she will come home. I miss her.

Don't worry about what you don't know.

2009-01-26T15:21:00.001-05:00

I feel restless today. I think it is the snow. The potential of snow reduces me to the mental equivalent of a middle-schooler, I swear. We had a nice bit of flurries this morning, and I had to turn around at my desk about every 10 seconds to make sure it was still snowing (sadly it did not continue for very long). I just *love* snow. It complicates things, now that I have, you know, a job and responsibilities, but I just get so excited watching those fluffy flakes fall from the sky. I think I was the only person excited to be driving in snow this morning (it wasn't dangerous, just pretty).

Had a very nice weekend. I was stuck in a meeting until the end of time on Friday, but oh well. It was all to (hopefully) help out a good friend/co-worker of mine, so no worries. Kate picked up a Ledo Pizza for us and we watched Mamma Mia!. What a god awful film. I'm not always up for musicals (as films) to begin with and this one just seemed stilted and awkward. Meryl and Pierce really couldn't sing too well. Kate and I consumed several alcoholic beverages while watching and were laughing by the end at every little thing. It was an experience, to say the least. I think we ended the evening by watching a bit of the Wizards game. No doubt we were laughing then, too. Poor Wiz.

Saturday I wound up meeting my Mom in Winchester (a halfway point between our two houses). I was a little bummed because a co-worker/friend of mine was having a party and even though it was a Mary Kay affair (and I do not know anything about makeup!), I had wanted to go -- several of my friends from work were going. But my Mom seemed, as the week was going on, to be nearing the point of a breakdown, and I was worried about her. She was really glad to see me, and I'm glad I went. We saw Gran Torino (surprisingly good, I thought) and had dinner at TGI Fridays. Mom and I used to drive up to Winchester's Apple Blossom Mall a lot when I was a kid, but we hadn't been there in ages (and I'm not sure they've updated their cinema since then!). It was nostalgic for us and good to catchup. I think that will be a nice option when we need to see each other -- without one of us having to spend the night at the other's each time. I do love my Mom so much, and I feel bad she's alone so much. I take for granted the comforts of having someone to share my life with on a daily basis. Mom was, of course, talking up the grandchildren angle and how she hopes she'll be able to watch her grandkids at least three times a week!

It's funny, I joke all the time that "everyone but me" (which really is just Kate and Mom) is ready for kids, but I've been having baby fever in the worst way lately. Kate and I have been having serious baby discussions in our household. My whole life I've really only wanted one thing -- to be a mother. The fact that it's getting to be a real possibility is very exciting. I won't lie, it scares me, too, but I love the thought of having a baby, of being a mom, a family. I am praying that things work out and that Kate and I can have a family in the style we'd like. We shall see what the next six months or so may bring. There are lots of things to do, angles to explore... it could be an interesting year.

Sunday we went shopping at the Outlets in Leesburg. I had to buy suits, blah. Buying clothes for work sucks. We did have a wonderful expedition to the amazing Super Target in Leesburg -- a Target that includes a grocery store is a wonderful thing! We bought all of our toiletries, groceries, pet supplies in one place. A magical place -- I wish we had one closer to us. We had lunch at Costco (lunch for two for $4 man) and headed home exhausted. Watched Burn After Reading that night -- weird movie, but anything was better than Mamma Mia!. At least no one randomly burst into song.

And now it's back to work. Things are picking up, and I'm trying my best to not feel insecure and inadequate at all moments... it's an uphill battle on that front, I'm afraid. I'm looking forward to getting through my first "real" proposal with my new team so I can know their process and not feel quite so out of the loop. You wouldn't think there are so many differences between task orders and these proposals, but there are. Sigh. I hate not knowing what I'm doing!

I'm off to think snow... and to watch the Wizards. I haven't been to a Wizards game in two full weeks. Good grief. They play the Suns tonight -- at least we'll get to see Steve Nash (and perhaps Shaq, if he's playing a back-to-back) play.

Here it comes; a better version of me.

2009-01-22T13:13:00.004-05:00

Today I have eaten one Kelloggs Special K bar (chocolate drizzle), a handful of cashews, and one 100-calorie pack of Oreo Cakesters. It is 1:30 PM. And I wonder why I have a headache. Except that I have such a terrible headache that I just can't fathom eating anything. It's a terrible vicious cycle. I have peanut butter crackers and 100-calorie pack Doritos for lunch, too, but the thought of them makes me ill. This has been happening a lot lately (with different foods). Blah. The Special K bar was a struggle this morning, but I thought it would make me feel better. Yesterday I couldn't eat anything or keep anything down. I'm so tired of this. I take my daily medicine, I took a Relpax upon waking up... I just don't know what to do anymore. I can't get by in life eating based on my random whims and cravings. Half the time just the smell of certain food makes me ill.

At least the Caksters are still passing muster. Thank you Nabisco for inventing 100-calorie packs of those. Tasty. I'm hoping the peanut butter aversion passes. It's a staple in my lunch. I'm really hoping chicken nuggets come back in favor, too.

I'm going to be a mess when I'm pregnant if I'm like this while "normal." Maybe my body will do a 180 and I'll be able to eat anything and everything! :)

I have work to do and I don't want to, blah. Although I've crossed off everything off my list but one thing. That's pretty good. Tomorrow I have to be in a meeting all afternoon in Chantilly. I hope I feel better by then... Oh fluorescent lights, how I hate thee. Speaking of this meeting, I forgot in my last post to tell my best story of the past few weeks. I went to a meeting at this same place last week. A friend of mine at work invited me to be a reviewer on a proposal she's working on, and I had to go over to another company's facility to do the review. We're working with several companies on this and one is another state. We had conferenced one of the guys in this state in on the phone. He didn't seem very happy about it, and at one point, we heard him tell someone, "Yeah I'm still suck on this stupid conference call. I have no idea how long it's going to last." Clearly his use of the mute button wasn't the best.

That wasn't the best part though... as we're all sitting quietly in the conference room, reading and reviewing the proposal, we hear this weird noise on the phone. It sounds like water. We think, no, it can't be. We hear it again... The guy is PEEING. He is PEEING while not muting his phone -- there are six of us sitting in a conference room listening to him pee. We hear him pee (not all in one fluid motion, either, let me say), flush, and wash his hands. It was one of the most bizarre moments ever in my working career, must I say. The man leading the call even sort of said something to him, and he didn't seem to get it. I don't know if he thought he had muted it, or what. He really didn't seem to get the idea of a conference call in general (seriously?). It was strange. I think my face turned bright red. I hadn't even met half the people we were in the meeting with and now we're all together, listening to a man use the restroom. Gotta love it.

And that's my life. I cringe to think of what tomorrow's review will bring.

The best of intentions.

2009-01-21T09:32:00.004-05:00

I've been so awful about writing lately. I have no motivation.

I want to write about yesterday, but I really have no words. By the end of the day, Kate and I were exhausted from watching TV all day, but we were glued to it nonetheless. What a wonderful and monumental day for our country. And seriously, how adorable is our new First Family? More words will come later, perhaps, but I think it's all still sinking in right now. We cheered a bit when the helicopter flew away with the Bush family. I feel so blessed, too, to live in a country where we can transfer power so peacefully. There's pomp and circumstance, yes, but no bloody coup or horrible war. Things aren't good right now in America, but it could be so much worse. And it's exciting to have hope for the first time in quite some time.

Otherwise, sadly, there's very little for me to say. The Wizards continue to lose. We skipped the one game they did win (of course) because it was too cold and too crazy to get into the city. My father went with me to a game a while back and we got upgraded down to the "District of Caron" (100 level behind the basket), so our streak of being upgraded while attending games together is still alive.

We've watched a lot of movies lately -- embarrassing movies, good movies -- The Game Plan, Hancock, Pineapple Express, Swing Vote, Ghost Town, Iron Man... At least we're finally using the Netflix subscription again. We've basically been homebound these past couple of days for the long weekend, so movies helped. I think Ghost Town might have been my favorite of the bunch. Though I liked Swing Vote a lot, too. I'm sorry, I have a weak spot for corny films with a cute kid (and Kevin Costner).

I sort of had looked forward to going to work today after being cooped up in the house for so long (sad, I know), but I'm not feeling well and it's probably best I'm still here. Blah. Eli seems equally restless and is roaming about howling. He's already climbed on the TV this morning (thankfully the old set in the den, not the flat panel) and knocked a large variety of magnets off the fridge. Always fun to work with him around. We gave him a bath yesterday, which was quite the experience. I'm pretty sure we escaped with minimal wounds, and he is (temporarily) fluffy and clean.

Speaking of Eli, I'll end with a few pictures of me and the cats.

Guster beats me up while showing off my shaggy haircut.

Angry Guster is done with being photographed.

Boo refuses to play along.

Eli kept trying to love on me.

And not to exclude... a video of our stray (adopted) cat Natasha.

I need to get out more.