Autumn things

Eli decided to surprise me today.
Something that starts like S he said. "SS."
I couldn't figure it out.
Part of it was melted-work brain, but most of it was this weird lingering sickness I have that I probably spread to him (or maybe he spread to me? Maybe it has to do with being on a chairlift in a rainstorm??) that makes me tired and foggy and nauseous and headached.
I literally fell asleep at my desk for 2 solid minutes yesterday and when I came to I had been typing (of just leaned on the keyboard) and it was this whole string of loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooojjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjkjasdddddddddddd and thank god I didn't accidentally send that email.
Evidence of this:

yes, I meant "repeat." See? I can't type or function.

So I couldn't figure it out and finally he exclaimed "SHOPPING SPREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" gleefully.
Woop de la de da woop woop!
He told me to get started on a list.
Good thing I already began creating said list like 2 months ago.
I'm an autumn girl. I can't help it.

And how about those wedge sneakers?

MAKE IT STOP

source

My co-worker has coined the whole motor-boating into a woman's ass that Miley performed last night:
"MILEY-BOATING."

We have to make this crap stop.  Not just because it is disturbing and shouldn't be broadcast (way to go MTV, censoring her drug reference of "dancing with molly" and then allowing this instead), but because it impacts culture and people on an individual basis in a ways we might not even recognize.

This is not talent.
It's a nationally broadcast train wreck and what's with the tongue, Miley????

“Sexualized portrayals of women have been found to legitimize or exacerbate violence against women and girls, as well as sexual harassment and anti-women attitudes among men and boys.  Such images also have been shown to increase rates of body dissatisfaction and/or eating disorders among men, women and girls; and they have even been shown to decrease sexual satisfaction among both men and women.” -via

"Beyond the internal effects, sexually objectified women are dehumanized by others and seen as lesscompetent and less worthy of empathy by both men and women.  Furthermore, exposure to images of sexually objectified women causes male viewers to be more tolerant of sexual harassment and rape myths."  -via 

WORST ADDICTION

Please do yourself a favor and read this article on The Worst Addiction of Them All (it is an excerpt) from the illustrious Kurt Vonnegut's new work.

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I JUST WANTED BLUE

Guess what we are up to around these parts...

You have the perfect shade in mind and then you go to the pain sample section and WHAM.

It is like being in a Skittles factory and learning there are 600 flavors instead of the 10 you knew about.  And they are all up in your face, making your head spin.

And who is responsible for coming up with these paint names?

What the ridiculous?
Just because a shade is in the blue-ish family does not mean it can only be named after ocean-related things.
Same goes for green and plants, and yellow and sunshine.
There are only so many things that can be named after sunshine.

My names for these colors would be:

Blue Raspberry Lollipop
2 Day Old Bruise

Undiscovered Planet
1982 Eyeshadow
Bathwater Surprise
Bobby Kennedy's Eyes

I think we can all agree I would ROCK that job.

The Virtues of Key Largo

So the City Library downtown has started this Science Movie Night series and I went to my first one last night.  Brilliant.  They happen on the 2nd Tuesday of each month and apparently this was the 3rd installment, and hopefully not that last (why aren't more listed on the website, City Library??).
They show a film relating to something scientific and then have a lecture/Q+A session following, or show a Hollywood classic and then give a tie-in lecture.  The one we attended was the latter; we watched one of my favorites, Key Largo, and then talked about hurricanes!!

Have you seen Key Largo? Have you been to the Florida Keys or experienced a hurricane?

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I saw the film when I was younger.  I wonder if that is where my crushes on older (often dead) silver screen legends originated...? [the list includes Bogey, Gregory Peck, Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable...]  Anyhow, I loved those black and white dramatic movies, and they are wonderful because children can watch them (I devoured them like cotton candy), and shortly thereafter we visited the Florida Keys in real life !! And I absolutely loved Key Largo.  I remember the bewildering and thrilling sensation of taking that concrete stretch of road out there, with ocean on either side.  What a unique archipelago it is, and a striking setting for the post-WWII gangster oriented Key Largo.

Released in 1948, Bogart plays a character that is the shadow of Rick in Casablanca--the disillusioned yet moral individual.  There is even a line in Largo that is the same as Rick's infamous "I stick my neck out for nobody!"  He got a bit typecast I'd say, but it is glorious nonetheless.  Though I would argue that Edward Robinson's Johnny Rocco steals the show, tediously bullying everyone else through the windy, wet night.
Lionel Barrymore's old man Temple, the crippled but scrappy geezer, seems like a hackneyed role but I absolutely adore him in it and I think he helped established that character mold.

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This was the last film of 4 made between married luminaries Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.
John Huston, oh my beloved John Huston who directed several of Bogey's films and starred in many others, took a loosely sketched play and turned it into this wonder.
It put the archipelago of Key Largo on the map and basically created the tourist industry there, ex nihilo.
This is film noir at its best--black and white tension, WWII context, guns and whispers, men being men and women appreciating them for it. 






Claire Trevor's abused lush gangster's moll role is sensational. It is no wonder she claimed the Oscar for it!  

These people are just so fun to watch.  And I love that it feels somewhat like a stage production. I was so engrossed I forgot to take some fun photos of my first time seeing this flick on the actual big screen, and ended up gnawing on my fingernails in anxiety instead, munching on pumpkin seeds.It is taut and suspenseful, and the sweaty restlessness reminds me of another favorite, Twelve Angry Men.

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The sultry heat that is palpable through the screen, constant background murmur of pouring rain, and shadows that make you squint in apprehension.  All with the backdrop of a howling wind and threatening hurricane to heighten tensions and emphasize the confinement of this unique house (hotel?) arrest.

And the hotel is exactly what a spic-and-span but off-the-beaten-path 1940s deep sea fishing hotel on the coast should be.  That decor!! It made me want to decorate my entire house like that (inspiration post to come!!).

Eli had never seen it before and he absolutely loved it.  As he put it, it is one of the few old movies that he could follow all the way through, whereas others are such low quality/confusing dialogue/slow pacing that he loses interest or doesn't grasp the significance.  I get it.  A lot of old movies can be dull, especially when we're accustomed to random explosions in our modern theaters.

Afterward a severe storm expert from the University of Utah spoke about that true and false representations of hurricanes in the movie and taught us a few things about hurricanes in general.

Then we were bustled out of the library because it was closed.

I love this library.  Especially the glass ceiling.  It feels like a modern version of Alexandria or ancient Rome or something, with those proud stone arcades.  It feels almost open to the elements.  This is the second time I'd been there at night after closing (the first time I dind't take any pictures). I love being in the library after closing.  It feels like that episode of Arthur  where they are locked in the library, and reminds me of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil Frankweiler (remember that book, when that brother and sister are living in the Met??).
Sorry for the low-quality pics, it was dark (obviously) and I had to lighten these.
The hanging sculpture in the center is a human head created out of butterfly-like open texts.

weird and embarrassing moment of the day

my computer screen at work just froze up.  froze up for a solid 4 minutes with my internet open to a page about Raleigh.

you know, Sir Walter Raleigh, just chillin there on my desktop with everyone walking by and staring and laughing and asking pointed questions. just chillin there in all his lacy ruff-necked glory.

source

#historynerdproblems

what i did at work today / start wearing purple

i had some strawberry oatmeal first of all and is it just me or has it always had those neon red chunks in it? i know it had the chunks but they never looked that artificially vibrant until this morning when i was leaning against the concrete wall, hiding in the stairwell, so i could just enjoy a peaceful monday-morning moment and i went "holy crap, batman, my oatmeal looks like a dog chewed up a baby's plastic toy and threw it up in this bowl.'  icky i know. and yet somehow i finished it.

then it was up to the first floor for my morning cup.
well, the kaffeeklatsch has been a bit too preoccupied with stupid stuff (mostly work) to fit my coffe-brewing needs. remember we grind the beans fresh right there! and oh they smell like heaven. so imagine my disappointment, in my disgusted post-neon oatmeal coffee mood, to catch a waft of fresh beans and then see that the first pot of the day had already vanished.
i swear they brewed 3 pots today (mondays people) and i only got my cup from the last pot, and it was the last cup, and it was right before lunch! which is way too late for my first cup of the day.

and then i disclosed on some loans, you know, and explained a high price issue to a cranky loan officer, listened to one guy sitting near me argue on the phone with his mother, and another girl argue with her ex-boyfriend, and i listened to some death cab to block it out.
transatlanticism is still their best record, hands down.

i trolled my news sites and did a little spazzy jig in my chair every time i saw mention of the new breaking bad episode that came out last night and had to put my left hand over my right hand on the mouse to steer it away from clicking on those articles!!

and i planned what i am going to eat tonight. i kept drawing it out in my mind. "okay, we will leave on time, and maybe even a few minutes early, and then we jet home, and make the quickest supper ever, and put on the last 2 episodes of breaking bad for a refresher before we watch the new one! but we need to go grocery shopping and i don't want to cook up anything... maybe we should stop at panda express and just grab some delicious din-din there, and then we can be eating yummy chinese food and watching breaking bad super duper fast!"
i do so want to try their new shanghai angus steak and grilled teriyaki chicken... but being the good kids we are, the hubby and i vow to only eat out once a week and we would be wasting our eat-out on monday! the very first day! plus, have you seen how much panda's prices have gone up? i know it is a long shot from when they first opened up in my mall and you could get a 2 entree meal for $5 something... nowadays you're dropping $20 for 2 people to eat and for that we could go to a nice sit down restaurant and get some decent soup. aaaah well... does panda tempt you like that?
it is such good, sticky comfort food.  it makes me salivate.

so then i had a frozen teriyaki rice bowl for lunch and it did not satisfy me, what with all that talk about panda express. eli and i planned out the trip we are taking to san diego this autumn...so excited! i get to show him my favorite haunts...mission beach, the tide pools, la jolla, coronado island....

then i disclosed on a ton more loans--i am working quick today! and then the hubby told me that he found out he has to stay late to replace some blade thing for the company server.
there goes my dream of skidding out of here a few minutes before 5 and eating supper in front of breaking bad by 5:30...

i listened to gogol bordello and when "start wearing purple" came on i realized i AM wearing my purple button down today and i was holding a purple highlighter! so i took this photo to document the moment. if only my eyes were that twinkling violet like liz taylor's. that has always been a fascination of mine.

i read a few more news articles, thought about why alfred hitchcock movies are so freaking bomb and how sad it is we don't have films like that anymore. then i thought about how scary the conjuring was. and how much my ankle hurts since i twisted it yesterday doing yard work and where on earth could my ankle brace be? packed up somewhere no doubt. and wrapping it would shore it up and also cover it up since those bruises and swollen patches look icky with my black high heels.

then i read the lackluster review my boss gave me. she said it is my year review and wrote that on the document but i have not been here a year...? and it had some funny typos in it.  clearly she cares.

then i daydreamed about breaking bad and how it could possibly end.
and wondered if i should dip my fingers in that stuff they put on kids to keep them from sucking their thumbs (i can't stop gnawing on my hangnails).
then i listened to the commencement speech robert redford (oh, bob, you luscious old hippie) gave at my alma mater and remembered how pissed i am that i missed it to help my father-in-law move. and i remembered how much i miss my college and higher education and intellectual conversation in general... and yearned to go back to school. i want to be a teacher, and need to look into online courses to get certified so i can get my butt in gear and start on it while i am still working.

then i figured while i am getting my mental butt in gear i should get my physical butt in gear and googled exercises you can do at your desk while working and let me tell you they are weird and impractical, unless your office finds it totally normal to sit on an exercise ball in your pencil skirt.

so here i am, pining to escape in about 20 minutes, but knowing it could actually be two hours more, wanting panda express so desperately, and getting all worked up to see breaking bad.
but a blt will make a good sandwich if i can't have panda, and the anticipation will make finally sitting down to breaking bad all the better. now if i could just stop biting my hangnails in impatience i would be on the right track!

which is better "breaking bad is back and there are only 5 episodes left" food?
panda express or blt?

Youth is in a grand flush, like the hot days of ending summer...

Youth is in a grand flush, like the hot days of ending summer; and pleasant dreams thrall your spirit, like the smoky atmosphere that bathes the landscape of an August day.
-Donald Mitchell


From this weekend:

this one goes out to the one i love

it's Eli's birthday.

happy birthday honey. i love you, i really do.

it's been a weird morning. not off to a good start. i have some kind of tummy lurgy that is mostly from stress but that doesn't make it any better and i sneezed all over my coral blouse and i think it looks kind of gross, and also smells suspiciously like one of those disgusting tonsil stones.

but this really helped things along, this video here. full of men that i love (Colbert himself, Bryan Cranston, Matt Damon, etc.). not to mention he POPS OUT OF Henry Kissinger's closet. what are the psychological implications of that?

and now i suddenly find myself listening to Harry Nilsson, which just doesn't usually happen.

but it makes me feel strangely zen.

this is all to say it has been a rough week and i can't wait for it to end so i can properly celebrate with my husband who i love.

you are smart, funny, adventuresome, caring, ambitious, and handsome.

and many other things.

i love you for so many reasons.

some of them being:

Because you are a Roman God (that tans exceptionally well)

Because you are a marvelous Uncle and will someday be a kickass father

Because you are ever-so stylish. As seen here in my hat...

And here in the infamous wolf shirt.

Because you'll always consent to take photos with me, even if you make this goldfish face that I despise.

Because you take care of me and push me around in my wheelchair.

And don't disparage my "unique" outfit choices.

You are going to be a handsome old man, husband.

Because you can put up with my strange and unpredictable personality.
That sometimes calls for 1am reenactments of Bobby's World in someone's garage in the middle of a lightning storm.

Because you'll blow up my floaty. Even if you have to persuade a friend to help you.

sub·ter·fuge

Word of the day (and usage demonstrated in the USA):  subterfuge

Noun Deceit used in order to achieve one's goal. A statement or action resorted to in order to deceive.

Synonyms evasion - ruse - trick - dodge - artifice

trolololololololo

It's Friday and I can go home in an hour to eat the kielbasa miracle that has been simmering in the crockpot all day. And then a BBQ with friends.

This week has been a tad bit hellish. I get to sleep in tomorrow for the first time ever.
Well, in like a month and a half.

I'm feeling like this.

Fortuitous

A fortunate accident:
I forgot my Spotify was already playing.
And I opened the Priscilla Ahn song "rain" in a window online.
So it was playing over the Parents Choice Players' "you can't always get what you want" and since I had never heard "rain" so I kept thinking holy cracklin oats I LOVE the overlay of the chimes playing Rolling Stones against her singing! 
It was indeed magical.
Until all of a sudden the background chimes ended and the dang Bee Gees came in on Priscilla's song and I was confused for a blink until I realized my Spotify was on.
So I still like "rain" but I recommend you all play it at the same time as the Parents Choice Players' version of "you can't always get what you want." Which by the way is on the "Baby Lullabies 101" album.  Whatever. You like what you like, right?

My Thursday

This is what my morning has consisted of.....

Far too many Hi-Chews!
Have you had these things? They aren't quite gum or quite taffy or quite swallowable candy, but rather a mixture of all of the above that you can't put your finger on. Or say no to.
Sometimes strawberry is my favorite, but I am feeling particularly sassy today, so I'll say GRAPE.

I unknowingly matched my lipstick to my shoes.

Kind of amazing, right?

Admiring my cute new birthday charms.
My bestie got me the birdcage and my dad got me the Harley! Which is not a Pandora charm, but fits perfectly and adds some dirty hellian attitude to my previously-far-too-feminine bracelet!
I love the contrast of the two next to each other.  It sums me up as a person, in microcosmic-charm-bracelet form.  Because don't get me wrong, we are not objects and cannot be captured by them, but it is also kind of the point of a charm bracelet.  And everyone thought I was being weird and old-fashioned when I said I wanted one 2 years ago but now they get it and have really enjoyed picking out fitting charms for me.
I have yet to buy one for myself.  And that is how I like it.

We are leaving the office in an hour or so to go to a wedding luncheon.
One of my oldest good friends, Jeff, is getting married! I can hardly believe it!
I've known him since 6th grade and he was the one that introduced me to my future husband, Eli.
So I am overjoyed and excited that he has found his Person.  They are being sealed in the Temple right now (the Mormon way of marriage, learn more here).  I am bummed that Eli and I are not allowed to attend the ceremony, but respect his and his future wife's beliefs, and we will celebrate with them afterward!
And then back to work for finish out the day, to market to get some fruit and veg, and then chicken pesto pitas for supper.  And.... THE NEW EPISODE OF BREAKING BAD! I am going nuts trying to figure out how this beloved show of mine will end.  Walter will die, clearly, he must... But who will kill him? I doubt it will be the cancer, but that will certainly spur on his bad behavior... Will Jesse do it???

Farewell

“Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting.” 

-J.M. Barrie

Vicky's flight back to the UK is in a couple of hours. We just had to say our goodbyes.
I am a soggy mess. These past 3 weeks have been amazing and our new home is going to feel so empty without her.

Ambulatory

So I stumbled across this word, AMBULATORY, today.
And I gotta say. I like it.

It sounds kind of dirty any dangerous.
Something that occurs during walking.
Meaning you are able to walk.

Can everything be ambulatory?

The Last Day

What a whirlwind this month has been! I cannot believe Vicky is going back to England tomorrow.
I can't...
I haven't even processed it yet but when I do, the floodgates are going to burst.
We have had a hell of a time and I'll write about it all later, after I've cried my eyes out, caught up on 3 weeks of sleep, and done some laundry.
Until then, here is a blip of some of our shenanigans.

Quarter of a Century

I am 25 years old today.

Usually my birthdays don't phase me.
I scoff at people that gripe "oh I am sooooo old!"
I recently developed like 16 gray hairs on my head so I kinda get it.
But at the same time we are all going to age and die and it is what it is, so savor it.

Anyhow, I was kind of marveling at the whole "quarter of a century old" thing and the significance of time and history and human life and Eli pointed out that I am no longer in my "low 20s" and that made me go "hoooooly toledo you're right!"   Isn't it strange the world of difference (at least culturally portrayed) between low 20s and upper 20s?

In your low 20s you can stay out all night partying and you're probably in college or at least supposed to be in a job you only work for the money so you can go on adventures and do artistic things.  The hangovers aren't that bad and you're all over social media with your hipster friends.

In your late 20s you are supposed to be established--serious relationship, maybe a kid (unless you are in Utah, DEFINITELY like 3 kids at this point or you're failing at life) and you don't do kegstands anymore, you have "a glass of wine" as a "nightcap" and you have a career now.

What??! Where do these stereotypes happen?
Anyhow, this is all to say that I suddenly feel some kind of pressure that I'm trying to shake off because that is just ridiculous. Everyone should just live their own life and be done with the rest of it.
Stop trying to attain perfection (and by that I mean what Hollywood and Twitter and Facebook make you think you should be doing and create this panic in your gut that you are missing out) and focus on your breath and what YOU WANT.

Today I have been doing that.

I have had 2 maple donuts, a cup of delicious coffee (Salvador Honey Angel, whatever that is. Delicious is what it is), and I am currently drinking my pomegranate green iced tea. I've listened to "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" and "Babylon" all morning because good, depthfull songs are what it is about on a quarter-of-a-century birthday and I have a blue balloon that the girl at the grocery gave me when I bought the donuts and sweet tea.  I rather felt like Winnie the Pooh, walking back to the office with this bobbing balloon dancing waverlyishly over my head. And then I started thinking about dear stuffed Pooh and the quote "rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there someday."  and felt really good.
Pooh Bear knows what is UP.
I also thought about how I asked for the full illustrated edition of the books for Christmas a few years ago and got it (Mom and Dad know me so well).  And how you can never be too old for Winnie the Pooh.
Which just kind of says everything about life and age and birthdays, doesn't it?

I just had to

Okay so I know this is way overdone and is getting annoying, but I love it, so I just had to.
It makes me happy.

In other news, today is my last day as a 24 year old. So weird to think that I will be a quarter of a century old tomorrow.  And then Eli had to ruin the awesomeness of that by pointing out I'll no longer be in my early twenties.  Thanks babe.
I'm trying to just enjoy my coffee and chocolate doughnut and not dwell on it.

I'm Feelin 22

Ohmygaaaaawd I think I am dead.
We were out last night partying too hard. On a Tuesday for crying out loud.
It was Vicky's birthday in England and her last day being 21 in America and we went downtown to drink and dance and shoot pool.  It was fabulous.
But we should only have been shooting pool, and not vodka.
And definitely should have stopped ordering beer.

At some point that Taylor Swift song came on and it was so appropriate.
I can't believe my best friend is 22, and that I will be 25 in about a week.
It is so surreal.
And I am so glad that she is here to celebrate. We have never celebrated our birthdays together before, so this is quite magical!
We are going out again tonight for her American birthday, and then to Vegas tomorrow for a joint party.  My liver is already trying to curl up and die!

Happy Birthday Torie!
May Number 22 be a dazzling year for you.

Absentia

We had a marvelous time camping in the High Uintas last weekend, and we leave for Las Vegas in two days!!
Everything is nutso and I'm running around like a headless chicken.
We are having the BEST time with my best friend.

Absurd photos and stories to come . . . if you want to see them. 

Yes, that is me walking alongside a giant dam carrying a floaty dragon.

In the beginnings of a rainstorm.

Time Fail

Somehow my desk clock was set to a different time zone. I was packing up to go home and then checked my cell and realized . . . I still have to spend 2 more hours at the office.

It felt like this.

Home

I just spent an hour writing a glorious post.

I was really proud of it for once.  It was funny and heartwarming and the writing was decent.

And then f*cking Blogger deleted it.

And I don't have the time or patience to re-write it.  Uuuururrurhhgh

So here are some photos of our home.  Which we are now living in.

We are in love with it.

Housewarming gifts (fancy hose not pictured) from my sweet parents.

My view every morning.

KEYS

OFF WE GO!

To get the keys to our first home.

That sounds pretty official, doesn't it.

I suppose that makes us homeowners!!!!!!!!!!

I'll write all about it soon.

Have a wonderful weekend kiddos.

Thankful

After the rough-and-tumble year so far I've had (broken jaw, cracked foot bone, the disappointments and stress of house hunting, and some personal issues I shan't mention here), things have been going so smoothly.
Smoothly enough that it has made Eli and myself suspicious.
Like "when is the shitstorm going to hit??!"  It kind of makes you paranoid when you get used to one thing going wrong after another and then suddenly it is blue skies and good moods and rocky road ice cream every day.

I am feeling quite grateful.
I try to remain grateful even when things are terrible, because it could always be worse, and in the grand perspective of the universe, my awful could be the damned best of someone else.  I am so very fortunate and need to stop letting the little things get my down.  C'est la vie.

I am thankful we have our house.  The seller signed docs, we signed ours yesterday.  The title company offered me drinks and I had a Diet Coke because I was in a celebratory mood and now that there are big changes happening I thought "why not?" No, I am not going to suddenly pick up a bad Coke habit.  I only have soda in my cocktails, and with plenty of ice, but I figured it was the next best thing to champagne.
Ick, I was wrong. Always choose champagne over Coca-Cola (if champagne is an option, otherwise...water).  It reminded me why I don't drink the stuff.  And there wasn't even ice.

Anyhow, Diet Coke aside, all we have to do now is get some of our boxes together for our first trip to the house! We're going to spend the night tomorrow, after getting the keys, and just camp on the floor.
We still have a lot of packing to do--we have all the main, big stuff...now just the annoying crap is left that fills in the cracks.  You know, shampoo and decorative pillows and end tables and nail polishes and vitamin bottles.  The things you pretend you can do without until suddenly you notice how crappy your nails look and your hair is dirty and your B12 levels are low, and whatever.
That is the stuff that sucks away your precious time.

Sorry for the crap photo but you get the idea.

In other house news, we have picked out the guest bed! It is a bunk with a full on the bottom and a twin on top, so it can sleep 3, or be quite comfortable for just one person on the bottom.
We figured this way we can have 3 of our nephews/nieces sleepover comfortably, or some poor drunk devil(s) (who had one too many "Mare drinks") can crash there. And that room has its own bathroom, so voila!
It even has a darling little ladder to take you to the top bunk and they are all railed in for safety (both for children and drunks).
We need to buy it and pick it up, probably next week. We could pay extra for delivery and setup but Eli loves to be all handy and build that stuff himself, so power to him, and $$ in our pocket to buy a cute throw or accent platter.

GORGEOUS!!! Right??

And we got a dining room table!! We purchased it yesterday and it is something else we can pick up next week.  It is gorgeous oak with a leaf (we insisted on buying a table with a leaf, they are so convenient!) and fresh white accent.  The pattern on the chairs reminds me of French gothic windows, so I was in love.

So we're nearly there with the early critical furniture pieces.  We need a bedroom set for us and stools for the kitchen counter ASAP, and later we'll need a divan for the library and some pieces for the living room (armchairs? love seat?). And patio furniture of course.  But we're doing good!

The plan is to spend our first night tomorrow night, and then bust out as much moving as possible before jumping into our glad rags and heading to our friend's wedding.  I wonder if I can get away with not showering first...? I have no shame. Especially since I will be showering tonight, as we are going straight to the new house after work.... why don't they make dry shampoo for your armpits??!
I know, it is called deoderant and blah blah. But that stuff has a point where it just stops working.
And it doesn't get rid of armpit hair.  Mine grows annoyingly quick, or maybe I am paranoid, but I am obsessed with clean-shaven armpits on myself.

I saw the flirty orthopedist again this week. I don't know if I wrote about this dude, so recap--
when I dropped the laptop on my foot in March I really screwed it up and my insurance hooked me up with this orthopedist who was the quickest one to get into, and had the best reviews.
He is way out in BFE and when I saw him before I was wearing my pencil skirt (I went on my work lunch) and he moved his hand from my thigh down to my foot. I was like "errrmmm woah" and he said he was checking some kind of alignment of bones or something.  Which I am sure he was, it wasn't like he put his hand in my skirt or made me feel violated, but he was a young handsome guy and did that intense eye-stare thing and it felt like an episode of Grey's Anatomy.  
Anyhow, he did an X-Ray, we found out I snapped off a piece of bone, and he gave me a steroid shot. Good? Good. It healed up quick.
Almost.  Like 2 weeks later we were dancing at the club and that dear husband of mine trod RIGHT on the injured spot and it killed.
And then it bruised up again but instead of swelling, it started denting in.  WTF?
I figured it would go away but here I am, a month later, and the bruising has started to get worse and spread across the top of my foot gradually, like some purple demented waterfall.
So I went back to flirty dr this week and he did another X-Ray and can't figure out what the devil is going on but is "concerned" and blahblahblah wants me to get an MRI on my foot.
And he told me I need to be careful with it. No high heels or uncomfortable shoes, no extreme exercise.  Which moving obviously counts as. He wants me soaking it in epsom baths and keeping it elevated and here I am about to undergo major moving overhaul.  Great.
I'll have to remember to take breaks.  Anyhow, maybe the hurt foot will prevent too much heavy lifiting for me, and therefore, less sweat?.... though there is the fact that Saturday will be the first 100 degree day of the summer. Whoopee.


I have really digressed here.
What I am trying to say is that I am thankful.
I am thankful for our new home and that we can buy new furniture to go in it.
I am thankful our new home will have a yard! And bathroom and bedroom doors that lock!
I am thankful for my best friend and the awesome friendship we have, even on separate continents, and I cannot wait for her to arrive here (13 days)!
I am thankful I have enough nice things that I can donate many of them to help others.
I am thankful for my working body--especially my vision and sense of hearing.
I am thankful for family that will help us move.
I am thankful for art, that brightens the world every day and can change my outlook on things.


And I am unutterably grateful for my husband.
I sit next to a girl at work that is in an abusive relationship.  Her boyfriend obsessively calls her all day, even when she explains she is busy, and I can hear him yelling at her through the phone. She tries to baby talk him and cries sometimes and does her best to appease him, by demeaning herself and submitting to his bizarre demands.  It is awful to listen to and I feel so bad for her, and it makes me so thankful for the healthy, respectful, communicative marriage I have.


Was that cheesy enough for you? Well better at least than the people who don't say anything grateful ever and then go around the table on Thanksgiving because the holiday insists they do it or whatever.

CLOSED.

DID YOU HEAR...?

   Something major happened to us today...

Migraines, garlic burgers, and poetry

This weekend is not what I expected.
Friday night I had saved in my phone (which is a big deal, if you know me) that we were going to go on the art stroll downtown.
But then Eli had a bachelor party he had to go to (he is a groomsman) and I had a completely terrible day at work, where I got into a big fight with a loan officer that lasted for about 6 hours. Compliance concluded that I was right, but it was at that point where you are so drained that you cannot even relish in vindication.
So I just collapsed on the couch with a big glass of Merlot and some Seinfeld. 
And went to bed alone. And couldn't sleep and texted Eli around 11:30 to see if the bachelor party was any fun and he responded "I've been playing Uno. For two hours."
Some bachelor party, eh?

The next day we went to the Salt Lake City Arts Festival and were supposed to stay there into the evening, and then hit the bars with some friends and basically do a "redo" of the poor failed bachelor party.
But then I got a massive sinus headache that became a migraine, right in the middle of our fun.
We had the best Thai food from a cart (that chicken satay, my God  yum!!) and some local beers and listened to some beatniks spewing poems and I made a hand puppet and we shopped for some art. We didn't buy any of course because it was so overpriced ($400 for a replica painting you printed--not painted--printed on a canvas? No thanks) but I sneaked a few photos and now I can make my own rendition.
Inspiration is everywhere, ya know? ;)

Oh and they performed a ballet number on the side of the glass library facade. For real! I'll put a photo up of it but it was insane.
We were having a great time and then this headache got worse and then the migraine.. oh and a migraine in the heat of the day when you're stuck outside is not good. I thought I was going to barf and pass out at the same time. So we had to go home and I collapsed with an ice pack over my eyes and went to bed and we didn't go out that night and do the bachelor "redo."

And the next day we were supposed to go to the pool and lay out and actually relax but we ended up packing almost all day.

So, not what I expected.
But whatever.
Instead of trying to be witty and interesting out with friends Friday night, I got to sip wine and relish someone else (Jerry, George, Elaine, Kramer) being witty and interesting and not worry about carrying on a conversation with someone for the first time all week.
I was able to enjoy Eli reading me some of my favorite poems while I reclined in a dark room.
And instead of suffering a sunburn and screaming kids at the pool, we got one step closer to getting into our new house and while packing I found one of my favorite necklaces I thought was lost and a precious baby photo of my brother and I.

Delightful!


Monday night we rounded up the gang and went to Cotton Bottom Inn, this famous dive bar in Holladay none of us had been to. They apparently have the best garlic burgers in Utah.
We knew it was a dive going in, but I didn't expect it to be like that.
We had to sit outside because there were 2 tables intended for no more than 4 people inside, one pool table, and a jukebox. They had no liquor, no wine, just 3 beers on tap.  And the waitress was the most foul mooded hipster I have ever encountered.  She was just plain mean.
We shot some pool while waiting for said garlic burgers and it was quiet as the grave.  I plumped for some tunes on the juke, but they were $1 a song.   A SONG.
So after a few I asked the waitress if she could play something (usually they have a way of playing background music if the customers don't want to go broke livening the place up, ya know. They'll put an override on the juke or plug in their iPod or something) and she said "sure!!!" brightly and then added "just put money in the jukebox." And proceeded to walk off.
I was like "I have been, but when it is $1 per song.... would you rather it be dead quiet?"
She said "well some songs are 2 for $1."  I said "Oh, sure, like what? Willie Nelson?"
I checked the juke. The 50 cent songs were... Willie Nelson.

The waitress ignored us, rarely giving us just enough attention to roll her eyes, and mixed up our orders 3 times.  If you stared at the Idaho tattoo encircling her elbow she glared at you. Well what do you expect when you get a massive tattoo on your body and expose it to the world? Is the world supposed to not look??

The garlic burgers were pretty good, but toooooo garlicky. The kind where you're eating it and going "I'm going to regret this tomorrow" (sure enough we all got ass cancer and acid reflux). The best part was the bun.  But there were no french fries. Like IN THE ESTABLISHMENT.
They serve all their food (keep in mind the "menu" consists of 3 burgers) with a little bag of plain Lay's potato chips.   Not the best thing to eat with your burger.  I want hot greasy fries drowning in ketchup.

The waitress considered to be a sourpuss and we went outside to the big dirty picnic table to avoid her. When we asked for our check she refused to bring it outside (though she would for any other table, as we witnessed), and said we would have to go back inside to pay.

We were glad to leave and will not be back !
Especially for those prices. When I pay $9 for a burger, I expect a little atmosphere and a little respect!

Oh well.  I made some peanut curry chicken last night that more than made up for it !
And.... WE SIGN OUR CLOSING DOCUMENTS ON OUR HOUSE TODAY AT LUNCH!