Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thanksgiving

I am watching Dan saute my Brussels sprouts, and this year, for the first time ever, I think, I am giving thanks for the man in my life. He treats me like a queen, and I love him to pieces.

We're having ham - it's just the two of us today, so a turkey seemed like overkill. Oh, and pie. Lots of pie. I made a scratch chocolate cream pie for Dan - my first, so I can't wait to try it - and pumpkin for me. Because, you know, we each need a whole pie.

I hope you and yours have a great day!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Ha! I do love this.

As I get ready to embark on our website re-design....
It's no wonder I don't fit in.

Monday, November 24, 2008

NaBloPoMo = FAIL

Well, as you can plainly see, I failed NaBloPoMo this year - which is a bummer, because I completed it the past two years. I just totally forgot to post on Day 9 - then after I blew it, I just gave up entirely.

Fact is, my job just wears me out - more mentally than anything else. The work itself has been hectic, but certainly not beyond me. But the mental and emotional stress involved - somedays, that IS beyond me. By the time I get home, all I want to do is turn off my brain and watch TV.

And, also, I am still not free to truly be myself in blogland - I have found out, several times over, that being myself is completely antithetical to my professional life. Sigh.

Anyway, that's that for NaBloPoMo. Oh, well.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Saturday

Dan and I did a whole lot of nothing today. I sat down several times to get "stuff done" on the computer, but just ended up getting sucked into the whirling vortex of Wikipedia for hours on end.

We did manage to go out for breakfast, and on a trip to the local shoe store - which was a huge mistake. Why was this a mistake, you ask? Well, it's this hole-in-the-wall looking place, and I hadn't bothered to go in because, frankly, it looked like one of those outlets with ugly shoes inside. But today we were on a mission to find Dan some "cheap" day-hikers, so we decided to stop in. And oh, my, God, it was a veritable gold mine of Keens and Merrells, my two favorite shoe brands! Naturally this meant that the prices weren't "cheap," but we managed to find Dan a nice pair of boots. I restrained myself and left empty-handed, but I'm sure I will leave a good chunk of my next paycheck there.

Dan spent the afternoon watching tv, we ate left-over Chinese food from last night, and watched one of my favorite movies, Beautiful Girls.

Ain't life grand?

Friday, November 7, 2008

Holy Crap!

I almost blew it! I completely forgot to blog!

OK, I did. Whew - that was close.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

The Impending Holiday

I could easily do without the holidays - especially Thanksgiving. The best thing about Thanksgiving? Pie. The worst thing - figuring out where the hell I am going to have to eat said pie. After years of angst surrounding who's-cooking-do-I-have-to-go-there-OMG-just-give-me-some-pie, I had it down to a science - I make dinner, and pie, and if you'd like to eat something, stop on by. It was usually just Mom and I, and that suited me just fine.

But this year, I am a married woman, and my Mom doesn't live close by, and she doesn't host dinner because she lives in a tiny studio, and she's been invited someplace else, and, and, and. Dan is scheduled to see the kids that weekend, so I don't know that it makes sense to drive up on Thursday morning to eat with his family, drive home Thursday night, only to have to return on Saturday. Are you seeing through that crap? Are you? Yeah, I just simply don't want to. Yes, I meant to end my sentence there.

Later that night...

Talked to Dan, and he's fine with staying home. We'll go up over the weekend to see family, and for Thanksgiving we'll make dinner and pie(s) at our new home. We've both recently re-connected with old friends via Facebook, so I think we might send out an invite to those whose families are far away - that would be cool. If you're in the area and want pie, let me know!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Well, Good on Us

Thankfully, I don't have to move to Canada. As much as I love it there, I don't think Dan could make that move.

Naturally, as a bleeding heart liberal, I am thrilled. As someone who has moved to a place that I have found to be, thus far, disconcertingly racist, sexist, and classist, I am hopeful. As a feminist, I am relieved. The man has a huge job ahead of him, and I pray that he is up to the task.

Congratulations, President-Elect Obama!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

We Voted



Here's a picture of Dan's shirt with his sticker - I was so very proud of him, as this was the first time in 15 years that he's voted. When we first met and he said he didn't vote because his vote didn't matter (and in RI he's actually sort of right), I tried to argue but then decided that this one one of these "deal breaker issues" for me that had lead to, um, nothing good. Meaning, I would never date a guy who didn't vote because that meant he wasn't very bright and blah blah blah - you get the picture. None of these so-called smart guys ever treated me very well, and if I have learned one thing in my life, it's that there's a million kinds of smart. And Dan is plenty smart.

Anyway, when we moved, I registered to vote - and much to my surprise, so did Dan. I did not nag - in fact, I never said anything other than that I was registering. When I asked about his change of heart he said, "Yeah, this shit has to stop. I don't know if I will help stop it, but I don't want that old cranky bastard as the President. And I like Obabma's voice - I could listen to him all day."

Like I said - smart.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Tired

In typical me fashion, I went for a four mile tromp through the woods this morning after doing nothing overly physical for the past year or so. I am so out of shape, it's unbelievable. So, I am going to watch tv and rest up for the big day tomorrow - if Obama doesn't win, I have to get busy looking for a job in Canada.


For your amusement, here's a picture of the boys sleeping in a tray:

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Nostalgia Attack - The Girlfriends

After an extremely stressful month, I spent the weekend alone to decompress, sleep, read, watch "girl movies," and, inevitably, be attacked by a giant case of nostalgia.

Perhaps it was getting in touch with a college friend (via Facebook) who I haven't seen in years and have missed more than I realized. Maybe it was actually talking with her, hearing how her voice hasn't changed, and, for the most part, neither has she. It could be that I spent a crazy summer visiting her "cottage" on the beach, going to a bar that is literally just a few miles down the road from where I now live.

Or maybe it's that I am lonely, and when I am lonely, I miss the 80s something fierce. Which makes no sense at all.

First of all, I am happier with my husband than I have ever been with any man. He's a talker and a listener, and spending time with him is simply easy - we're happy with silence, we're happy with noise, we're just happy with happy. Secondly, there were parts of the 80s that, quite frankly, were not all that great. The broken hearts, the not fitting in, the high school jerks - I could go on.

But. But.
I miss having girlfriends.

My college years especially were filled with girlfriends - girlfriends from high school, new girlfriends at college, girlfriends that I would take into adulthood, and girlfriends that wouldn't make it to the next semester. They were there, they were everywhere. We listened to songs and discussed their "true meaning." We squealed over this guy or that, and shared every intimate detail - a fact that still leaves guys shaking their heads, thinking, wrongly, that girls "don't talk like that." Ha, if they only knew.... We sweat through exams and cried over break-ups, and often provided an anonymous get-away car when on "drive-by" missions with a jilted - or smitten - friend.

Yes, I know - I should be over all that as I march into middle age - good God! But, I'm not. Not by a long shot. And I suppose it's been made worse by not following "the script" - I didn't get married and have babies like I was supposed to, so when my girlfriends did, I was left behind. And now I've moved to a place where I, yet again, don't fit in, and I wonder if I will ever have coffee and a good cry with another woman again.

Naturally this is all helped along by this damn internet, and the fact that I, within seconds, can access the entire music library of the 80s, the soundtrack to my life from 12 to 22. Yeah, it's not good. And it is so good.

For you, my 80s friends:








Saturday, November 1, 2008

Happy NABLOPOMO


Welcome to my new blog - just in time for NaBloPoMo!

I don't know if I will be successful this year with NaBloPoMo, as I have barely blogged since embarking on my "new life." But now that I am settled, for the most part, this is the perfect opportunity for a fresh start. I've missed blogging, and I have definitely missed my readers, but I think I've needed this time to re-group - this new job and new surroundings and new marriage thing has taken it out of me!

Not sure what's going to happen here, but I guess I'll figure it out as I go along. I do know, however, that I would love to do some groovy/green/outdoorsy/fun product testing, so if you have ideas about that, fill me in.

I have a new feed (yay!), so check that out - but don't forget to look at the page from time-to-time, as my sidebar content will be changing quite a bit as I get rolling again.