I'm Down In A Hole

I have Gillian’s Welch’s song “Miner’s Refrain” stuck in my head. Actually, just the “I’m down in a hole” part. I couldn’t even remember what the song was, I had to Google the line.

I’m blue today. It took herculean effort to get out of bed this morning – albeit, late and with Tom laying on my head - and I still haven’t snapped out of it.

I don’t get this way much anymore. Either I’m very happy with my life, I’m keeping busy enough that I don’t have time to get this way, or the pretty pink pills are actually working. However, nothing seems to be working today. I don’t know how it long will last, or what will make it better. I just know that I don’t like this feeling.

I just want to sleep until it goes away.

Yes, I am kitteh kitteh.

Yes, I am.

Tom Time

Or, kitteh got back!

Also, notice the dawn simulator on my nightstand. Big ass bright light, and I can STILL sleep through it. I am awesome.

Flirtini Hell

So, I got a little overzealous with the flirtinis. My new medicated system ain't used to the flirtinis. And I was reminded of that at midnight last night.

Shoot me.

I guess I'm just not that young 34 year old I was last month. Can't do the party thing on a random Tuesday night.

Sigh.

It's hell gettin' old.

Weekend Update

Gavin came over for Friday night movies and pizza. He brought over Repo! The Genetic Opera. The only thing that made me sit down to watch this movie was the fact that it had Anthony Stewart Head (Giles from Buffy) and Paris Hilton in it. It was sick, but good. And Paris has found her calling as a selfish, vain, singing tramp. She was great.

Then Gavin and Todd did some brotherly bonding and watched the Red Dwarf movie while I curled up in the bedroom and reconciled the checking accounts. Fun stuff.

Saturday, Todd and I were up and out early to get coffee and do a little shopping. I needed vacuum cleaner and bags and there is one store that sells them (or I could order them from Amazon, but I like going into the vacuum cleaner store and oogling the new vacuums).

Then back home to be domestic. I think I cleaned. Oh, and we did a big grocery shopping trip. That’s right.

Then dinner, then a movie. Tyler was sleeping and Kayleigh had a friend over and Zadra her cousin was visiting for a while, so the girls holed up in K’s room to be girls, and Todd and I watched Humpday.

Excellent movie. And almost entirely improvised. The director gave them the gist of the scene and the actors talked. It was very natural and very funny.

And then, bed.

Sunday, we woke up relatively early to make pancakes and bacon. And on a whim, I called Stephanie and Steve to see if they wanted to come over for breakfast. They weren’t home, so I left a message, but a few minutes later, Steph called back and asked, “Is the offer still good?!”

So, they came over for coffee and pancakes and just hung out for a couple of hours. The men talked about the wireless set up and Todd’s broken guitar and Steph and I went out to the cottage to start organizing the storage room. When they had to leave, Todd joined me, and we were most productive. We moved things from the house out there, and some things back into the house. We’re still just trying to figure out what things we’ll need to access semi-regularly and what things can be packed back into a corner.

However, we now have more crap in the dining room than we did before Sunday. How did that happen?

Anywho, we brought ourselves to a halt early and made a Target run for some supplies. And new shower liners for the claw foot tub. This time we got linen liners. Now I can just wash them when they start to get yucky, rather than throwing them away and buying new ones. The shower looks like it has actual curtains now! I don’t think we need to get decorative curtains. I think the liners are fine. Simple.


We still need to paint that white splotch behind the shower. One day.

That evening, Todd made the best dinner yet. Pork chops.

Before you start with me, mother, these were not the kind of pork chops you used to make for dad. Those were tiny. And dry. And crispy. I liked the ones with the bones, the ones before the tiny ones. But these that Todd made were big and plump and he used molasses or brown sugar or something and good gawd, they were yummy.

We also had baked potatoes (which are great if you load them up with sour cream, cheese and bacon bits. Which I did. Twice. Because once you eat the top layer off, you just got potato. And that bores me.) and green beans. Home cookin’! In my own home!

Because my husband cooked.
I’m a bad wife.

While we ate, we watched Mrs. Brown. Great movie. Dame Judi Dench as Queen Victoria and Billy Connolly as one of her personal servants. They are both such incredible actors, you’re just sucked in and right there with them.

And then, bed.
Ahhhh…..

And this evening, I am having flirtinis and sushi with Jamie, whom I haven't seen for a few months. Funny how life kind of gets away from you sometimes. I am very much looking forward to talking about shoes and undies while having 'tinis. Yum.

SAVE THE DOGGIES!

I have accidentally created a problem for myself.

I saw this story and video on Komo4 this morning, and just about teared up. A German Shepherd leads police to a house fire through winding country roads.

I LOVE THE DOGGIES. LOVE ‘EM.

When they’re not biting me.

(Yes. A 100lb chow. When I was 14. And I have the scars to prove it.)

Anywho, after seeing this story, I tortured myself by going over to craigslist (we love craigslist!) and looking for a German Shepherd. Because our little 940 square feet main house, with four people and two spastic cats just isn’t full enough!

Listed in the Pets section of craigslist was an posting for the Northwest German Shepherd Rescue (that's where these pictured doggies are from).

Oh, kill me now. Such pretty puppies. And some of them are older, which is just heartbreaking. I want an older dog who just wants to lay at me feet and take slow walks around the block. I don’t have the energy for a young, active dog, but I’d love to take care of an older one. Give him a home to just curl up in.

I emailed mom and told her she and dad needed a couple of these for their three acres. She said Goober is already enough responsibility. She can’t just pick up and take off because the damn cat won’t eat dry food – only nice, fancy stuff – so he needs to be fed while they’re gone.

(Well, whose fault is that, mother?)

So, I can’t adopt the doggies. And mom and dad can’t adopt the doggies.

Can you adopt the doggies? The poor doggies need homes!

Please?! THINK OF THE DOGGIES!

Birthday Vacation

We were uber productive yesterday!

We we made a quick run down to Southcenter (after some bigass lattes), then back home to get the cottage cleaned up and ready for Gordon and Heather, who were coming up for Heather's surprise birthday trip. We put the rug down, crammed everything in the storage room, stocked the kitchen with teas and dishes, and set up the little basket with the lotions and soaps in the bathroom. By 4:30pm we were all done, and got cleaned up and ready for dinner.

We had a splendid dinner at Wild Ginger, then saw Florence and the Machine at the Showbox. It was an all ages show, so Kayleigh joined us and stated afterward, "That was the best concert EVER!" And this is the girl who saw the Police as her very first concert. Quite a statement.

Florence has the pipes:



And the stage presence:



She's tiny and 24 years old. I hate her.
But I love her.

This morning, we got up and went to brunch with Gordon and Heather, who met us at the Florence show, down at the Alki Cafe. Afterwards, they went off to do their own thing, and Todd and I first hit the Seattle Schools enrollment center, then headed on to Crate and Barrel to spend some gift cards. We ended up with new, matching white bowls and a couple of lovely wine racks to go in the new barmoire.

This afternoon, Todd got the stemware racks in and the barmoire set up, while I went off to get a birthday manicure. And this evening, Tyler went off to a movie with Miles and to stay the night so Todd, Kayleigh and I watched New Moon and mocked it the whole way through. Fantastic.

And then, poopedness. It's time for bed.

But tomorrow is a special birthday guitar night at Steve and Stephanie's!

I must wear my tiara.

Happy Birthday To Me!

My sweetie pie woke me up this morning with a card and a gift certificate to Head to Toe (he helped my folks too, who also sent me a gift certificate from there).

Then my buddy CB texted to say happy birthday and that she would pick me up. Well, okay fine. We made a quick trip to Metropolitan Market, where she made me pick out a cake and then a flower. She said, "Just act like you're not with me.....which cake do you want?" She's so sweet.

And my co-worked who hates decorating baked me chocolate chip cookies. And then CB and I went out to lunch. A good day, indeed.

Nothing much went on this evening. Except I get the next two days off. And since we're going out to dinner and a show tomorrow, we're just staying in and going to bed early tonight.

That's never a bad thing.

Weekend Update – HGTV Edition

I had the best weekend.

Aside from Friday night, when I had a tender spot on my back, right at my spine, that felt like a severe bruise but there was no bruise, and a sore spot on my stomach wall that had me checking myself for a hernia, and a headache that just made me want to hole up in a dark room.

But I persevered and we went over to Trish and Dan’s for movie night. This movie night, however, was research. We watched Ogre and Ice Spiders. They were both very bad Syfy “horror” movies with horrible acting and atrocious special effects. But Dan and Todd, being directors, writers and producers wanted to dissect these things for educational purposes, so we sat and laughed and mocked them until the bitter end.

The movies. Not Dan and Todd.

Home, then bed.

On Saturday, we were up bright and early to begin the cottage (cosmetic) renovation. Though, Todd has taken to calling the cottage “The Shack” so from henceforth, that is how it will be referenced.

We made a numbered errand list, then ran around getting paint (tannish), supplies (Goodwill! Who knew?!) and lunch (Mickey D’s – a special treat). Then, it was time to work.

We got three fourths of the living room/front room painted (two coats! Hands, OW!), and even had a visit from Mr. Sparky’s to write up a bid for the rewire. That won’t be happening any time soon, but it is inevitable.

Saturday night, we had tacos and watched a Buffy episode. But then it was too late for a movie, so we watched our rough disk of wedding pictures that Ron had just delivered on the big TV. Kayleigh had a friend over, so she drew my portrait while we sat around. It was a fun night.

Sunday, up early, but not as early because Saturday kicked our ass. We got the remaining portion of the living room painted, then got the boxes down out of the attic and the six tool boxes out of the pantry and moved them into the storage room. Todd spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking his office and I started organizing the storage room (and consolidating the six toolboxes). We now have some dishes for the kitchen, the shower curtain is up, and there are magnets on the fridge. It’s beginning to look homey.

We’ll wait to paint the kitchen. It’s white (instead of mint green, like the living room) so it’s just fine for now. But eventually, it will be a nice warm gold.

Sunday night, we slacked and had hot dogs for dinner, while we watched a little more Buffy, then I got my second wind and polished up our armoire that we got out of storage, which will soon become our barmoire. Of course, we’ll take pics when it’s finished. We also got my big mirror and a framed print hung up in the new bar corner, which means we’re just about done with that area.

Then at 9pm, my back said “Absolutely no more!” so I did my paraffin dip on my hands, showered and curled up for some laptop time and reading, while Todd got in some Champions with his buds. It’s funny, “reading time” to Tom means curling up on my neck and falling asleep, so that was a nice way to end the day.

And then I woke up late today. Slept right through the dawn simulator, and I forgot to ask Todd to set his alarm last night.

I’m taking Thursday (hopefully) and Friday (definitely) off, so I just need to make it through three days. And today is halfway over already!

The Evolution of an Organizing Junkie

I've gotten (another) wild hair and started a second blog.

Mighty Tidy.

Some of you may recognize this name - it was my cleaning business years ago. But I thought it would be a good title for a blog about organizing and cleaning and all things neurotic. Like me!

I'll still blog here about family stuff and stupid stuff and shoes, but I wanted to have a focus blog, as well. And it's something else for you to read at work!

Enjoy!

Miner's Prayer

When the whistle blows each morning
And I walk down in that cold, dark mine
I say a prayer to my dear Savior
Please let me see the sunshine one more time

When oh when will it be over
When will I lay these burdens down
And when I die, dear Lord in heaven
Please take my soul from 'neath that cold dark ground

I still grieve for my poor brother
And I still hear my dear old mother cry
When late that night they came and told her
He'd lost his life down in the Big Shoal Mine

When oh when will it be over
When will I lay these burdens down
And when I die, dear Lord in heaven
Please take my soul from 'neath that cold dark ground

I have no shame, I feel no sorrow
If on this earth not much I own
I have the love of my sweet children
An old plow mule, a shovel and a hoe

When oh when will it be over
When will I lay these burdens down
And when I die, dear Lord in heaven
Please take my soul from 'neath that cold dark ground

Yeah, when I die, dear Lord in heaven
Please take my soul from 'neath that cold dark ground

Exhausting Weekend Update

We are now two storage units and $200 lighter a month! Or would $200 be “heavier”? In any event, can I get a woohoo!?

Our tenant moved out of the cottage last week, so Saturday the hubby and I, along with help from Michael and Tim, rented a U-Haul and emptied the two storage units we had, on of which since July. It was four hours of heavy lifting and grunting and sneezing, but oh so worth it.

Now we have a cottage full stuff that needs organized! And we’ll need to paint! And we bought curtain rods so we’ll need to buy curtains! Oh, and get it rewired! And get the posts underneath leveled! And replace the roof that had a leak and now has a sagging bulge sutured with painters tape! And we get to replace the shower, bathroom vanity, stove, kitchen cabinets and heaters!

In other words, we have a new project.

Which means Rae-rae is a happy girl!!

After doddling until late Sunday morning (because we were sore from Saturday) we finally got cleaned up and ready to head out to shop for some basics. And in the midst of getting ready, I found $275 worth of gift cards in the bottom of my underwear drawer! I thought I had lost these! I was writing thank you notes, and feeling so guilty because I would never get to use these beautiful cards.

But, luckily, our laundry situation got so bad that the cards emerged from their hiding place. It was then I remembered that I had put the cards there before we left for our honeymoon. To keep them safe. Ha!

Our new found shopping energy was squashed, however; Target, Staples, and Goodwill were closed for Easter. Thank goodness for Bed Bath and Beyond and Home Depot. We were still able to get some basic items for the cottage – new padlock for the front door, shower curtain liner, hotpot, garment rack for costumes.

And after a quick lunch, we dove in. I organized the back storage room, Todd put on the new front door knob and deadbolt. Kayleigh even came out and sorted through her nine bags of stuffed animals (NINE GARBAGE BAGS OF STUFFED ANIMALS – do not buy her any more stuffed animals) into a keep pile and a give-a-way pile.

I haven’t mentioned the kids until now because they had been at Norwescon since Thursday morning. Well, they came home Thursday night, went straight to bed, then went back Friday and stayed the night with Gavin and Michelle in their hotel room. We finally saw them Saturday night, and we had some quality family time with fried bananas, the X Files movie and some mother daughter bonding while Kayleigh braided and pinned up my hair.


They were scheduled to go back Sunday, but Tyler never woke up (until that afternoon) and Kayleigh actually seemed relieved Todd said Gavin couldn’t come get them. I think three 10 hour days of volunteering at a con was enough. They did good.

And to celebrate our child free Friday night, Todd and I had dinner at Chandler’s, thanks to some Christmas gift cards from Doug and Ann, then came home to watch Men Who Stare at Goats, and make out on the couch. Gasp!

Yes, we know how to live it up.

Peace Love and Fireworks

I don't much care for 4th of July fireworks, except for the ones my brother sets off in the cornfield in West Virginia, as he's cursing under his breath, with a lit cigarette dangling from his lips.

The big production here, that happens at over Lake Union, is a little too loud and they go on a little too long and it's normally pretty chilly by the time they start and I'm just ready to go to bed. I've gone to Gas Works Park a few times and watched them, but that was enough. I'm good now.

Well, this year the fireworks were cancelled. Washington Mutual was the sponsor for eight years after they went under, the company who puts on the display couldn't find a sponsor. No one was willing to foot the bill - $500,000. And people were upset. Because, apparently, they actually like the fireworks.

So Tom Douglas and Dave Ross challenged local business to pledge money, to keep the fireworks going. And whadya know? A day later, the $500,000 goal was reached.

Starbucks and Microsoft were a huge driving force, each pledging $125,000. And Nordstrom donated $25,000 and Renton Concrete Recyclers donated $2,000 and a woman named Heidi donated $1,500. You can see the whole list here.

I am tickled.

No, I don't care if the fireworks happen or not, but I'm tickled that those people who do love the fireworks (and have the money) stepped up to ensure they happen. They didn't sit by bitching and moaning about there's not going to be any fireworks, and that just sucks and why doesn't someone do something?!

They made it happen. A bunch of people and businesses came together, gave some money and now they get their fireworks.

I think that's beautiful.

I won't get to see these lovefest fireworks because we'll be in West Virginia on the 4th, but I'm happy for my fellow Seattlites. You guys rock.

LATTELATTECAKELATTE

As if getting a 16oz latte with CB at 2pm wasn’t bad enough she then comes over to my cube with a BIGASS piece of white cake with lots and lots of frosting and says “You should go get some!” knowing that I have absolutely no willpower in the afternoon and will do anything for a sugar or caffeine rush just get until 4pm so of course I go and get a piece of cake out of the kitchen but getting a piece isn’t enough I have to get a CORNER PIECE (more frosting) and one with the big purple flower on it (even more frosting) and now I’ve finished my latte AND my piece of frosting and oh my gawd my eyes are buzzing in their sockets and my teeth are sore and my tummy hurts but MAN ALIVE I am chipper and I fear for Todd when I get home because inevitably I will crash from this fiasco.

B R E A T H E

I think I need water.