I Was Wearing My Bossy Pants.

I have two kitties to my left, preening and snoozing.  Steph is in the front room, watching a movie on her new (enormous) TV and putting together a cardboard "trophy elephant" to hang above the fireplace in our dining room. (We technically have 4 fireplaces in our house, one being in the dining room....I clearly have an over-abundance of good things in my life, fireplaces included in that tally.) 

Today is our anniversary and we were talking about our years together as we were prolonging the in-bed-time this morning.  As I do every year, I brought up the details of our first kiss.

See, we met online (how lesbo-cliche?)  -- just emailing at first -- for a very long time.  It wasn't originally intended to be a set-up, or a dating relationship, or even probably a face-to-face anything....but eventually it became pretty clear that we'd have to meet and at least have a date.

There were a lot of ideas thrown out to meet, including one night before Christmas at the campus bar where she worked because she anticipated it'd be dead that night.  I refused to meet someone for the first time at her job...and especially not at a campus bar....so I suggested after Christmas.  Then we were going to have drinks on the 26th, after she got back into town from her parents' house up north.  I was terribly sick and could barely breathe, let alone hold a conversation without puffy, droopy eyes...so I put it off until the 27th. 

I worked that day, worked late in fact. While we'd planned to meet out together, I was running so late that I suggested I pick her up on my way home from campus, stop by my house and let Sophie out, and then get on to drinks and dinner.  Here I broke my #2 Dating Rule (never let her know where you live on the first date)...but it was either that or waste an hour and/or make the puppy suffer. 

We had a really nice dinner.  The way she (jokingly) tells it, she was waiting for me to be as funny in person as I had been for those months in emails and phone calls....but I she was laughing and telling stories right along with me.  We pretty much closed out the restaurant, were the last to leave and they turned off the lights as we stepped out.  I took her home and we sat on the couch before I left for home, just talking and laughing....it was easy and time was clearly slipping by. 

When I realized what time it was (and remembered that I had to work the next day)... I jumped off of the couch and explained that I had to leave.  I clearly caught her by surprise....I practically ran down the stairs and out the door (think: Cinderella. It was late and I was pretty sure I'd turn into a pumpkin very soon.)

I guess I had tunnel vision until I got to the car.  As I was waiting for my car to warm up, I realized how crazed I probably looked, running out of there.  I thought about the night and the time we'd had....and I was bummed that I hadn't even stuck around long enough to get a kiss, or a squeeze.

I called her.

"Really? You're calling me 30 seconds after you left my house?"
"Yes. I am.  I think you need to come back downstairs."
"Did you forget something?" 
"I guess so. You should come down here." 

I got out of my car and met her on her porch.   She came down the stairs with a smile and a drill in her hand.  She stepped outside and put it down.

"That's hot.  You greet me with a drill."
"Better this time than earlier tonight, right?"
"Likely better, yes."
"So you came back."
"You know, in the interest of not saying later and leaving, wishing I'd done something then: We just ABSOLUTELY had a great date and you need to kiss me after that." 

After that was done, it really was time to go.  I concentrated VERY hard at getting to my car without tripping or skipping, either or both.  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This morning we were laying in bed, briefly replaying the details before we started the day.

"I sure am glad you came back downstairs when I called."
"Yeah?"
"Yep - and that you kissed me after I said you needed to."
"Me too."
"That was pretty bossy, huh?"
"Well, I can't ever say I didn't know what I was getting myself into!" 

Truth.  Happy Anniversary to us!! 

Saturday = picture post

Holiday Scheduling

Know what's hard? 
Trying to figure out how to split the holidays between families....and neither of us come from divorced ones either.  

That is enough for now.

Christmas Dreams, Dashed

A nice day with the family was had, turkey was consumed, great conversation and comfortable laughs with my kickass family (with a few absent.) 

It was a terribly early dinner (I'll call it "Thanksgiving Lunch,")  though, so by the time I got home....I had a lot of time to pull out the Christmas tree and (finally) put it up.  Truthfully, I've been leading-up to this for the last week at least....teasing Steph the whole time.


Well, long story short, my Christmas decorating dreams have been dashed. 

I was all set. I pulled out the iPod, turned on James Taylor's Christmas album, started opening the box and pulling out the tree.  There were a few "what is this part" questions, but on the whole this tree is just like the trees I've had in the past (it was an LED upgrade this year, though) so I knew the landscape. 

I set up the stand...put in the bottom part....and the stick didn't fit in the hole.  I tried it every which way, even with a hammer.  I begged, searched for some piece I'd maybe looked over....nothing.  Hell, I even broke out a hammer and pliers.  It didn't fit.

I knew when I was cussing out James Taylor, giving him a filthy piece of my mind and telling him to "Shove it and THEN go tell THAT on the mountain, JIMMY...."....that it was time I took a break.  By break I mean put it back in the box and walk away.  By break I mean prepare to return it for another tree.

By break....I mean break my heart.

So I was bummed out and opted to not put the ornaments up in the TV....or hang the effing lights up on the front porch.  That'll have to wait until tomorrow....or maybe Saturday when I can get the Christmas tree I was meant to have today.

I was looking forward to having tea and reading by the light of my tree (and my nook) tonight.

Instead I'm in my jammies in the sewing room, having distanced myself completely from the front room and the disappointment.  Sophie and I are watching the National Dog Show on DVR. 

Saturday - Saturday is MY DAY.

A look into my future...but not my present.  Could I be any more dramatic??

On Cleanliness

I thought way too much about cleanliness today.  Not just the "I need to vacuum around the litter box" kind of cleaning, but the ways and types of cleaning that I seem to be especially particular about.  

I cannot, for the life of me, keep my glasses clean.  I don't think I touch them a lot, but I guess I do put them on top of my head a bit...and okay I probably *do* end up poking my eyes a bit, forgetting that they're there.  But crap if I can't keep them clean.

I like to clean things, but abhor cleaning the bathroom.  I don't like loose hair.  It makes me gag.  (It still happens, I'm just especially nice to Steph when she does it, to encourage repeat performances.)

When Steph and I were talking about moving in together, my only request was that I have one room to sew in....a room that I didn't have to clean up, that I could spread fabrics around, have scraps on the floor and not feel bad about it.  While my sewing room doubles as a second TV room, it's an appropriately messy space.

At work I pride myself on having a really tight organization system, but the cleanliness of my desk oftentimes gets away from me.  I wasn't ever an organized person until this job - I was a piler (because piles at least looked more organized than a bunch of papers laying around all willy nilly) but now I have it down.  On the rare occasion that we get a quiet moment in the office, my first priority is to clean off my desk.  This is to say that it gets really clean just once a quarter (usually the day before a long holiday.)


I do, however, still need to vacuum around the litter box.

Busy Day

Some days, the only quiet time you can catch....is in the bathroom. 

Upside Down

For the first time in as many years as I can remember...I'm upside down about Christmas.   Usually I'm happy to wait until after Thanksgiving, sometimes even well into December.  This year, though, I want to put it up early.    I had the bug this weekend, and was this [  ] close to pulling it out and putting it up for Steph to see when she got home.  (She wouldn't have been as excited as I would have been, I can guarantee you this.) 

And while I want to deck the halls...I cannot for the LIFE of me figure out what I'm going to do for a Christmas Card this year.  Usually I have a good idea of how I'm going to set this up, if I haven't already taken the picture and sent it to the printers.  This year? I have no idea.

Part of me wants to re-create my favorite card from 2007 with some minor changes....it was a huge favorite.  It'll come to me, I'm sure. 

...In the mean time, I think I'll just threaten Steph about putting up a tree-a-day until Thanksgiving. 

Step By Step

Rub Nipple, Get Bacon


Since I usually do a photo on Saturday, but actually wrote something out then, today you get a photo.  It's not just any photo, this is one of my favorite pictures I've ever taken.  Dependent upon how you know me you may interpret that statement to mean that I:  
- really love bacon
- really love nipples
- don't take many photos
- or have the maturity level of a 12 year old. 

Maybe We Should

The other day an old high school acquaintance reminded me that we're not kids anymore.  It happened earlier in the day, before my brain was in overdrive, so it actually stuck with me a little longer.

Longer as in 40-something hours later I'm blogging about it because I've been thinking about it since then. Come to think of it, if I'm going to remember stuff like this in the morning, I should probably do more during those early hours.  Do things I need to remember - learn a language, perhaps.  Go the the grocery store.  I cou

She meant it in that "we can't always get 8 hours of sleep" way, since I'd been complaining about waking up after just 5 1/2 hours of sleep, feeling wide awake, but wanting to sleep until my alarm went off at 6:30.  While I still think I do better with between 7 1/2 and 8 hours every night....I get that this can't always be the reality.

But it made me think -- what if we left behind something important when we grew up?  What if focusing on not being kids and instead on being adults made us lose something along the way?  What if we left it back there and it would make us better today, if we could just go back and pick it up and reintegrate it (while still keeping our driver's licenses, etc..)?

I spent some time with my Goddaughter today, who is 7.  She had some friends over and they were playing, and I saw how much of how she moves through her world is magical.  It's different, when she's playing with peers.....how I can see how she interacts, reacts, and so on.  She made me realize:

We should lean into our next moments (and the moments after that) with enthusiasm and joy.  Feel the excitement of moving there, to let go of the fears of the future, and be thrilled to move into what is next.

Forget wearing emotions on your sleeve - how about leaving it where it is and showing it in who you are, WHEN you are?  What about experiencing an emotion, really having it and validating it and feeling it?  It's not a terrible thing to be sad or mad or jealous....what's terrible is not being honest with ourselves about why we feel that way, attending to the source of the feeling, owning where we are and allowing ourselves to move on.   We could all be more honest, with ourselves and others, about how we feel.  It would actually help others be more authentically themselves with us, when we're authentic with them.     Kids, when they're in the middle of an emotion, they'll feel the heck out of it...let it run its cycle...and move on.

Don't just be honest about emotions, but also about opinions, personal truths, impressions, and so on. 

We need to play like crazy.  Nothing was ever invented by someone who half-assed something. That may not actually be true I guess....maybe the Snuggie was intended to be a big, cheap fleece dress but the inventor was just too tired to put the back on.   No matter, when we love what we do, we do better at it. 

We need to sleep when we're tired, and sleep until we're satisfied.  Maybe if our heads are clearer, we could drop some of the stuffiness surrounding adulthood and just be more authentic, and happy, and living in the NOW.

Speaking of sleep....

Quick Like A Bunny

1)  Telestrations is one hilarious and super-fun game.  A quick-hit that I'm considering buying before Thanksgiving just so we can play it with the fam....or at least before the next Big Gay Dinner Party

2)  In a game of Telestrations, "throw pillows" can quickly become "betty stripes" which then slides into "betty ford standing in front of a flag." (This is to say it can go downhill quickly.)  Also, just about any scene can become "indian massacre."  Brutal, also true.

3)  I rocked the hell out of some salad dressing tonight.  Olive oil, balsalmic vinegar, maple syrup, dijon mustard and salt.   (Whuuuuut?)  On a spinach salad with walnuts, bacon, red onions and pears.  Dang.

4)  My church dinner company this time is, hands down, the best damn dinner company I've ever been a part of.  I laughed so hard tonight my eyes were bulging out of my face, my SKIN hurt from being stretched because my MOUTH was open in screaming laughter.  This is to say I had a nice time.

5)  I was up this morning at 5am because my body woke me up at that time. I was not pleased, but I did do a full load of laundry, exercise, and have a leisurely breakfast before the time I'd normally get up.

6) GracieBeans was not pleased that I was up and not using that time to pay attention to her, so she proceeded to get into the middle of everything I was doing.  This included jumping from the couch to my back mid-exercise.  She is not a jumping cat, so this is saying something.

7)  Speaking of GracieBeans, I just discovered that she is IN LOVE with being "lint rolled" -- positively loves it.  This is good, but weird.

8) Tomorrow will be full of many obligations -- including (but by no means limited to) cooking for Steph's family's Thanksgiving on Sunday, cleaning the house, grocery shopping, returning 2 Christmas trees, and laundry.  Yeesh, housewife much?

9) In light of that, I must go to bed.  Now.  Goodnight, moon.