Ten Things Tuesday

(Note: This was done yesterday, but due to technical difficulties, it got posted this morning)

I am not in the most cheery of moods at the moment, due to my frustration with (ok, I'm really pissed off at) the "CEO" at my workplace. I've been fighting an uphill battle for respect and got smacked down today, but I want to consciously focus on turning my attitude around in the spirit of the holiday weekend. I will vent plenty about work next week, but for now I choose to be grateful instead.

Ten Things For Which I am Thankful

1. My Family - I don't generally do these TTT lists in any particular order, but I do feel that I should put my family at the top of this one. No matter what may come my way, I will always have my family. Even my dad, who has been gone nearly ten years, still counts because he is part of me (and he sends pigeon soldiers after me a LOT). My mom has often said to me "I may not agree with your decision, but I love and support you anyway" and my sister, while not using that exact quote, has illustrated the same sentiment. Plus, neither of them say "I told you so", and I've deserved that more than once.

2. My Friends - I don't have many close friends; I really never have. I have acquaintances with whom I enjoy spending time, but I've never been the social type and I let people phase in and out of my life pretty smoothly. The few friends I do have, however, are people that would drop everything to be with me this very second if I needed them to be. I also have a handful of online friends, both in the blogosphere and on a message board I have frequented for a few years, so they deserve their own special acknowledgment.

3. My Job - Yeah, I'm having a tough time with a few issues and this may not be my dream job, but I know how fortunate I am to have a job that pays the bills and allows me to have some fun. Plus, I have a flexible schedule and I work with my mom, so I do smile a lot more than I have at other jobs. I plan to use some of my flexibility to work on my writing in the upcoming year.

4. Orgasms - Hey, if Mrs. Chili can say it, so can I! :) Seriously though, last Thanksgiving, I never imagined that I would have the emotionally and physically amazing relationship that I have with Jersey. She and I were simply friends, coworkers, and roommates...and now we are planning our wedding. Before she came along, part of me thought I deserved the shitty relationships that I had. Now I feel strong, safe, and incredibly sexy. I look at her and see my future.

5. My Money Market Account - Why am I thankful for this account? Because last year I didn't have it. In fact, I was still in the midst of (a largely self-induced) financial hell. A single bean burrito at Taco Bell was out of the realm of possibilities. I would ask my mom for a roll of toilet paper. Those samples of toothpaste and hotel shampoos were all I had. I'd scrape together change just to pay the bills. But through it all, I stayed current on my mortgage and car payment and have built myself back up. This summer, I opened up a money market account and I make at least two sizable deposits in it each month.

6. My Health - This includes all things mental and physical. I have remained emotionally strong since going off of my antidepressants almost five years ago and my body has forgiven me for the physical damage. While I have gotten a little soft and squishy over the past year, I am confident that I can regain my healthy body with some hard work and self-control.

7. My Self-Awareness - For the most part, I know my strengths and I know my faults. When I take any of those personality profile test thingys, I can pretty accurately predict the results. At this point in my life, I feel like my awareness gives me a couple of advantages: I can use my natural talents and proclivities in work and at home, and I can improve upon my weaknesses while not being forced to be something I'm not. It's taken me nearly 30 years to get to a stage at which I am very comfortable.

8. My Well-Roundedness - My mom has told me that this was a big focus of hers as my sister and I were growing up. She didn't want to raise one-dimensional children, so we were exposed to a lot of different things. As a result, I am comfortable grabbing pizza before a baseball game or savoring king crab legs before a Broadway musical. I don't make many judgment calls about things I've never tried. I am open to new experiences and ideas, and I am grateful for that gift.

9. Jersey's Family and Friends - I know how lucky I am that my family and friends are so supportive of my relationship with Jersey...but how awesome is it that her family and friends are just as supportive? We have twice the love and acceptance and it reaches all the way to our grandparents' generation. I knew that my family would embrace Jersey, but I never dreamed that I would be so welcomed by hers. I know our union will be more than a joining of just two people.

10. My Car - Because it is now, officially, MY car. I was able to pay it off about eight months early and now I can take the car payment money and save it up. I had originally planned to get a new car in the next year or two, but then I did the math and realized what I could save if I keep it just a few extra years. It's a fun car in good condition, so there's no reason to be silly about it. I may treat myself to the installation of a 6-CD changer, but that's about it.

I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Jersey and I are driving to California to spend the weekend with family (my mom and sister will meet us there). We will also be attending my high school best friend's wedding on Friday. Whoo hoo! See you all next week!

How Do You Spell Relief?

K-I-T-C-H-E-N


Finally, my kitchen is back to normal. If you read my kitchen hell post from a couple of months ago, you may remember that it looked like this:


My repairs were supposed to last 2-3 weeks. In my own head, I translated that to a month. I am not at all thrilled that it took nearly two months and I'm grateful that everyone around me survived it. As much as I love my mom, I'm glad that I don't have to drive to her house every night for dinner (and my wallet is glad that I don't have such an easy excuse to hit happy hour). Jersey and I went grocery shopping this weekend and were able to fill our refrigerator and cupboards; I never thought I'd be so excited about that. I also decided to go ahead and get a new dishwasher, as long as the old one was already out, and I upgraded my countertop as a treat to myself.

The repairs got me onto a slight home improvement kick, so I have painted my home office (the use of which is about to increase dramatically - more on that in an upcoming post) and the downstairs bathroom. The living room and master bedroom will be painted, hopefully, by the end of the year. I also just slipcovered my living room furniture and got all new bedding for our bed. I will take pictures of all of it once everything is finished! YAY!

Any fun projects going on in your house?

Ten Things Tuesday (Edited)

At the request of my sister, here is an update on the new kitten; she insists on call him Saki, though his name is Max. He's been with us for a little over two weeks now and he's adjusting quite well.

Ten Things We've Learned About Max

1. He loves the shower. We haven't let him in it when it's running full blast, but while we're in the shower, he cries to be let in and tries to open the door. At first, we thought that he just wanted to be near us, but the second we open the door to reach for towels, he jumps into the shower and spends about five minutes inside. Then, he gets out and shakes off his paws (it's funny watching him do the Hokey Pokey)...about a minute later, he jumps back in for round two. Yep, he takes two "showers" after each one of ours. Every day.


2. He hasn't figured out how to slow down or control his little body. He just runs full speed around the house and then...SMACK! Right into dressers, tables, the wall, etc. He has a little bump/cut above his eye, which we figure is from one of his fits of excitement. Could this be a plot to get Kitty Protective Services after us?!?

3. He talks. All the time. He talks when he wants something or just when he wants to hear himself. He talks as he's scratching an itch and he talks when he is cleaning his face (which is hilarious). I especially love when he talks while also purring loudly; it comes out as a vibrato meow. I don't like when he talks while I am sleeping.

4. He likes to drink. Ok, not really (don't call KPS on us!), but I thought it was funny when he kept reaching for my bottle of Captain Morgan from underneath the bed. It's actually pretty funny when he tries to sniff at one of our cocktails because he doesn't like the smell at all and takes a few very quick steps back. Which leads me to #5...


5. He doesn't know how to turn around. At least not very well. When he wants to go a different direction, he goes into reverse and then angles his body from there. It looks like a car pulling out of a parking space or something.

6. He likes the toy that Crazy Lady (formerly known as FMIL) bought for him better than any of the toys that we bought. I figure this is how our future children will be as well; the toys from grandma will be WAY better than toys from mommy. I won't take anything too personally, though, since he also loves zippers and shoelaces.

7. He enjoys watching football on Sundays. And his favorite seat is directly in front of me, blocking a portion of the screen. Good thing he's small.


8. He gets in the way of properly making the bed. You see, we have a down comforter and a duvet cover, so after we washed the cover, it had to be put back on. He didn't agree with that plan, so he jumped inside the duvet cover. I guess he didn't agree with that either, because he pretty much flipped out once he was inside. It was all pretty interesting, but we took him back out because we don't like a lumpy bed.

9. He likes exploring our closets, more so than anything in the entire house. I've taken to calling him Lola, since I have no doubt he'd crawl right into our clothes if we let him. And I just like singing the song.

10. As much as he may be a handful, he's so adorable when he sleeps. Peaceful Max seems to make me forget Wet/Insane/Loud/Drunk/Lazy/Cross-Dressing Max.


Edit: Apparently, Max does like to drink; he just waits til we're not looking. We heard a suspicious noise downstairs and found a little surprise.

Meme Monday

Mrs Chili tagged me (well, she tagged everyone) for a quick and easy picture meme. The instructions were to publish the sixth picture from the sixth folder on my computer. However, like Mrs. Chili, I cheated slightly in the name of privacy. In my case, the sixth picture was of two of Jersey's friends and I haven't asked them for permission...plus, they aren't really friends of mine and I don't have much to say about them. To put it as simply as possible, these two girls are the very antithesis of Jersey and me in behavior and personality. Instead, I chose the sixth picture from the bottom of the sixth folder:

This picture was taken by Jersey when we were in Santa Cruz, CA on Labor Day. We were visiting my sister for the weekend, and she took us down to the Boardwalk for a day of gluttonous fun.

I grew up near the beach in Southern California, but did not appreciate it near as much as I do now that I live four hours away from it. After spending my first 18 years in California, I moved to Connecticut for college, then settled down in Vegas after I graduated. My decision at the time was based largely on affordability...I was able to purchase a condo when I was only 23, and in CA I would've been sharing an apartment with roommates for the same amount of money. I've been in Vegas for over seven years now, but I still think of CA as home. I miss it terribly and love to visit whenever I can. And now that Jersey and I are planning our future, we've talked about moving to the coast...

The thing is, I am too logical and the affordability thing still gets to me. In a few years, we will be able to buy a gorgeous home here and the mortgage will be about half of what we would have to pay in CA. We want (not need, want) a home with approximately 3000 sq. ft., built within the last few years, with an office, guest room, three other bedrooms (master + two rooms for the future kids), a game room/loft, and a pool. In Vegas, that is very reasonable for our price range and we shouldn't have much trouble finding something perfect. In CA, there's just no way. We could find something okay, but not what we really want. Hell, for the difference in the mortgage payment alone, we'd be able to afford regular weekend trips to CA, and I just think that may be the way to go.

There are LOTS of other pros and cons on both sides of this debate (families,friends, jobs, Prop 8, proximity to things we like to do, etc.) and it's not something we have to solve right this second, so it's just floating around in our heads for now. Til then, I will enjoy the picture.

My Future Mother-In-Law

I apologize for my recent hiatus, but I will defend myself by saying that I wasn't just ignoring you; I was spending lots of quality time with my future mother-in-law. She lives is New Jersey and had never traveled further west than Ohio. Plus, she hadn't been on an airplane in about ten years, so she got to learn all sorts of new rules and regulations! Anyway, it was a blast having her stay with us for almost a week and I hope that this becomes an annual trip because I loved seeing Jersey and her mom so happy. Actually, we're hoping that once Jersey's sister graduates from her East Coast University, we can convince both mom and sister to move out here. :)

FMIL (hmm, she needs a better name than that) arrived last Wednesday night and, with the time difference, it was late for her and definitely bedtime. We did, however, get to introduce her to Max, give her a tour of our home, and show off Jersey's ring.

I had to work on Thursday, at least for most of the day, so Jersey took FMIL to see the Hoover Dam (and they went into Arizona, so that FMIL got to "visit" two states on this trip!). They also drove past the juvenile detention center so that she could see where Jersey works, even though they couldn't actually go inside for security reasons. I left work a little bit early and the three of us went to a bar for happy hour and the Browns/Broncos game.

Fortunately, on Friday I didn't have a ton of work to do, so I wrapped everything up in a couple of hours while Jersey and FMIL took Max to his first vet appointment (well, first with us anyway). He was exceptionally well-behaved and they even brought him into my office for a quick visit with my coworkers. Oh, and they brought three dozen Krispy Kremes. Mmmm. After leaving work, we drove down to the Strip and walked. A lot. No, really, a LOT. It was awesome doing that with someone who hadn't ever been to the Strip...I get pretty blah about the whole thing, just because it's so accessible to me. Jersey and I also took FMIL to the restaurant at which we used to work (where we met...awwww) and found out some personally funny news...my ex, Goodfella (yes, he's male...I will do a past relationship blog post at some point to clarify a few things), has a new baby. Very interesting timing given when we broke up. Anyway, he has no idea that I know about the baby, though he's an idiot for telling so many people and thinking that I wouldn't find out. Tonight, Jersey and I are having drinks with him because he wants to toast our engagement. I plan to surprise him with a toast to his child. The look on his face will be priceless. Yes, I'm a tiny bit evil.

Saturday, Jersey had to work at her other job (at a local bar), so I spent the day with FMIL. I was admittedly nervous, worried about the possibility of staring at each other for hours with nothing to say. Everything went great, though! I took her on a drive through Red Rock Canyon and then we went out to Lake Las Vegas, which is a man-made oasis with a small village of shops and restaurants around it. The weather was warm for November, so we really enjoyed walking around outside and getting to know more about each other. Eventually, we headed home to rest up before Jersey got back from work.

Later that evening, the three of us met up with my mom at a new(ish) place that has become quite a Vegas hotspot. It's an outdoor shopping center with a huge movie theater and lots of phenomenal restaurants and it has become our "go-to" place to take visitors. Jersey and I were both a little scared about having our moms bond over dinner, but that went as well as everything else. Seriously, if our families get along (and, really, there's no reason they shouldn't) it just makes things so much more pleasant.

Sunday I wasn't feeling too great, so I took it pretty easy. We did go look at some model homes in one of the huge new-home communities here, which I always love to do. I give the sales agents my business card and talk shop...then they leave me alone so we can tour ourselves. Perk of my job, I suppose. Anyway, FMIL fell in love with one home and took the brochures back to Jersey with her; Jersey and I revisited the home we hope to purchase a few years down the road, once it becomes a resale. After we got home, I rested in bed and did some work on my laptop while they went back to the Strip to see a few things that we had missed on Friday.

Monday was FMIL's last full day in town, but we took it pretty easy. I went to work, they went back to Red Rock Canyon and then briefly checked out Downtown, and then we did one last yummy dinner together. We were all pretty worn out by then, so it was an early night.

Tuesday morning, we got up and took FMIL to the airport. She was sad to leave, but Jersey will be going back east next month to visit before the holidays. Oh, and FMIL said that she got lots of pictures of Max and just a couple of us, which I figure is a good indicator of what it will be like when we have children! Anyway, she had a safe flight home, we settled down in the quiet, and everything is back to our normal routine.

Wordless Wednesday - A Kiss

Ten Things Tuesday

Ten Great Patriotic Songs:

1. America The Beautiful - Possibly the "prettiest" of the songs on this list. It's pure and can stir a lot of emotion in me when done well. This brings up a HUGE pet peeve of mine: Patriotic songs are special and should not be turned into some fancy schmancy chance for a singer to show off creativity. Sing it the way it was written. These songs are classic and fucking with them strikes me as disrespectful. Oh, and this rule also applies to Christmas carols.

2. I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy - This song cracks me up and I don't even know why. It's just fun. I'm not sure I could sing it without smiling.

3. Battle of New Orleans - Ok, this is a sentimental thing. My mom used to sing this when I was little and it made me really excited when I got to middle school and learned about the Battle of New Orleans. I felt like I was a step ahead of the rest of the class!

4. Some Gave All - Yes, I know that a lot of you don't like (hate?) country music. And believe me, I am not a Billy Ray Cyrus fan in any way, shape, or form. I really love this song though and it gives me chills. If you can't stand the thought of listening to it, at least check out the lyrics.

5. America (My Country Tis of Thee) - More so than a lot of the other songs on this list, this one sends me straight back to elementary school assemblies, where we used to sing a patriotic song after reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Are schools allowed to do that anymore?

6. This Land is Your Land - Ah, what a nice idea. All across this great country of ours, with all of the differences, we could actually share and respect each other. Hmmm.

7. Yankee Doodle - So, I learned something interesting about this song when I looked it up...not that I had really thought about it one way or another. Anyway, when he sticks a feather in his cap and calls it macaroni, he's not referring to the pasta (which I probably could've guessed, though it does create a fun mental image). Macaroni was a fancy style of Italian dress, so it's basically about some average kid standing proud as if he were dressed to the nines. Cool.

8. The Star Spangled Banner - When I was a toddler, my mom took me to high school football games each week to watch my dad coach. Every time, I was super excited to hear the band play the "spaindled bainder". Oh, and my dad was adamant that players respect the Anthem by staying still and keeping their mouths shut for the entirety. That respect has stuck with me to this day and I consider the playing of our Anthem to be rather sacred.

9. Battle Hymn of the Republic - This is another song that gives me chills (I'm sensitive!). When there's a band involved, with horns and drums, it's even more powerful. I like singing it slowly and somewhat quietly...then building up to the pride and glory of it all. I just can't adequately express how much I love this song. And, yes, I know it's very religious as well, but there's just something about the freedom that gets to me.

10. Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American) and American Soldier - Technically, this brings my list to 11, but I figured I can put these two Toby Keith songs together. I love Toby Keith, but those of you who don't can look these lyrics up instead of exposing your eardrums to country music. I'll admit these songs are significantly more powerful when he does them in concert (this year they were his encore...actually, they've often been his encore). Even Jersey, who is not a country music fan, was quite moved by the emotion when she heard these songs in person.

Happy election day to everyone! GO VOTE!

Surprise(s)!

Yesterday, while Jersey was at work, I told her I was planning a surprise for her and that it would be ready when she got home. She was a little nervous about what I might be up to, but she was a good sport when I told her to stop outside the bedroom door and close her eyes. I guided her into the middle of the room and told her she could look around. Around the room was a scratch post, a cat bed, and a couple of toys...she squealed when she realized I had adopted a kitten. The kitten in question was hiding under the bed when she first arrived, but I was able to take some pictures this morning:
After Jersey stopped squealing, I told her that the kitten was hiding under the bed and that I had taken the liberty of naming him already. She reached under the bed to pull him out and look at his tag...this is what she saw:Jersey thought it was a joke and started to giggle, but then she looked up at me and saw a ring in my hand. I got down on one knee and she fell backward onto the floor. I still don't remember if she actually ever said yes (she says she did, but I don't know), but there was an awful lot of shaking, crying, and kissing going on!
By the way, I went through a little bit of hell earlier in the day when I called Jersey's dad to ask for his blessing. I wasn't actually that freaked out about asking him, but I am terrified of the phone. It's irrational, but I can't stand the phone in the most normal of situations. This definitely didn't qualify as normal. Being the freak that I am, I wrote out exactly what I wanted to say, rehearsed it a number of times, vomited, stared at the phone for about 15 minutes, and then dialed. I caught her dad while he was grocery shopping with her four-year-old brother (not the best timing, but oh well) and went through my mini-speech. When I ended with "I would love your blessing because I would like to propose to Jersey tonight", he said "You got it." Wow, that was simple.

Much of last night and this morning was full of phone calls to excited friends and family. Oh, and the kitten's name is Max and he'll be four months old on Tuesday (he was born on July 4th!). He kept us up most of the night with his talking, but he's adjusting pretty well to his life outside the shelter. So, now Jersey and I have a kitten and a wedding to plan! Yay!