The Universe Speaks To Me In Many Ways

Today, it's through chocolate.

I'm treating myself to a Dove Dark Chocolate square, stolen from my boss' closet.

(Ha. Treating myself. These things are my vitamins. One a day keeps me good.)

And, on the inside of the foil wrapper, there are these cutesy little sayings. A "promise", they call it. Normally, it's something uber nauseating like "Read a book under a tree" or "Find the beauty in your day".

Ack! Shut up and just gimme the friggin' chocolate!

But today, it was different. Today, it said: "Don't think about it so much."

[pause]

Well, okay.

Because I WAS thinking about it a lot. I was picking it apart and wondering, well, what does it mean if I feel THIS way? And, shouldn't I really feel THIS way if it were meant to be? And why don't I feel THIS way when he calls? Shouldn't I maybe feel THIS way if I don't see him for two days?

It's maddening.

I'm so hellbent on making sure this is right. Making sure it is EXACTLY what I think it should be. But you know what? It's not. It is not a cookie cutter, pre-packaged, by-the-book relationship.

It's not a fairy tale.

But it has swept me off my feet and made my head spin. And I think I've been misinterpreting that as a bad thing.

Gotta Love The Scottish

TBBE is very upset with Ike.
Nice to know the big Scotsman has my folks' back.

Thanks, babe.

I Give You.....THE BEDROOM

So! Quite the productive weekend here at Chez Downing.

There was no time to work on Friday night - movies and pizza and friends.

And, Saturday morning, while Todd was taking the kids to meet Katherine, I was SUPPOSED to sleep in, but the excitement of cleaning made it impossible. So I was up at 7:30am, throwing laundry in, taking trash out, loading the dishwasher.

Todd got back, we went to breakfast, then on to Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond for bins and general shopping merriment.

And then. Oh.
The Bedroom.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

And in case you were wondering what a real life blogger looks like, IN THE PROCESS, wala.

Not a pretty sight.....

Aside from bedroom news:
Jamie passed her boards (WAY TO GO, JAMIE!) Now she starts her Real Job. Yay!

Todd and I made three pies at the pie party last night. Two apple and a blackberry....with rum.

And the Seahawks sucked royally today. No amount of mimosa could ease the pain. Believe me, I tried.

Reason #129 Why I Love My Man

Todd called a little bit ago. He had a quick question.

He was hanging my towel rack above the toilet, and in the process of measuring and actually drilling, the towel rack moved alittle to the left. A full inch to the left. So, it wasn't centered over the toilet.

He asked if I wanted him to redrill the holes and fix it.

This is not why I love him. You would think.....but no.

After I said no, don't put more holes in the wall, it will be fine, really....we started talking about something else. Then a few minutes later, during a brief lull in the conversation, he said, "I'm going to fix it. Yes, I'm going to fix it. It will bug me."

THIS is why I love him. He's as detail oriented as I am.
Or neurotic. Take your pick.

There Are Changes Afoot

Not much to tell you about. I've had a pretty quiet week. Except for work. That's one of those things that's afoot. But I can't tell you about that just yet. Soon. Promise.

Also, I'm feeling some forward momentum in the luv department. I'm taking my coffeemaker over to Todd's this weekend. And I may just leave it.

G A S P.

We're having a football brunch on Sunday for the 10am Seahawks game and Todd doesn't have a coffee maker. Which is why we're at Starbucks every weekend morning. He has a french press (that I bought him for Father's Day) but we've both proven that we have no idea how to make coffee in a french press. So, I'm hauling my swanky Cuisinart over there. And as I was loading it into my car this morning, I thought why don't I just leave it? I never make coffee during the week. Only on the weekends. And I'm at Todd's on the weekends. Duh.

First a toothbrush. Then a towelrack. Now a coffeemaker.

Look at me.....relate!

And this weekend is already shaping up to be uber busy. Jamie is taking her board exam tomorrow morning (everyone send good juju to Jamie around 9am! Go, Jamie, Go!) so I'll be meeting up with her for celebratory drinks tomorrow afternoon. And yes, we will be celebrating. I just know it!

Then there's my friend's annual pie party (what's your favorite number? PIE!) that I attended last year (and I will not be making a plum pie). This year it's BYOF. Bring your own fruit. Apparently, their fruit trees haven't produced much. I think I'll go with apples.

Then Sunday is the big football brunch, then finishing up the cleaning we started last weekend. Hopefully, there will be before and after pictures. They're good for my portfolio.

Ah, so much to do!
Now, if I can just make through today.....

California, Mid-Week Update

I could give you an update on our California trip, but let me instead refer you to TBBE's blog. We collaborated. More efficient.

Suffice it to say, 1) we're having a great time, 2) Todd has fantastic friends and 3) I'm not running away screaming. Which was apparently a concern.

No, no. All is good in Taechelle land. Or RaTodd land.
Still working on it.

The Ring

No, not the movie.
The ring that Todd gave me.


Pretty little Celtic knots.

I've gotten a few emails that all ask the same question:

"Why the hell haven't you blogged about this!?"

Well, faithful reader, I'm a visual kinda girl. I wanted to wait until I could get a photo when the ring wasn't so tight that my finger turned blue. That just killed the beauty of the whole thing.

And it's been a rough week in RaTodd-land. Or Taechelle-land. I'm still workin' on it.

On life's highway of love, there are speedbumps. Sometimes those bumps are roadkill, but sometimes they're just speedbumps. Speedbumps slow things down for a reason. Speedbumps make you almost come to a complete stop and ask, "What the......?" This is a good thing. In hindsight, of course. In pre-hindsight, you don't see the benefit. You just think, "Oh crap, I hate dating."

But then you talk it out and the weight lifts and the barrier of anger you had up dissolves and suddenly all you want to do is latch onto that person for the rest of the night.

Unfortunately, you've decided to sleep in your own apartment. On a Friday night. Because your bills are piling up and your bathroom is filthy and you have a friend who really needs you on Saturday. So, you make sacrifices and tell your boyfriend you'll see him tomorrow night.

But you smile every time you look at your pretty silver ring.

Weekend Update

Friday night was movie night at Todd's. Although, I was the only guest, so it was really just hanging out. We walked down to Westwood Village beforehand so I could look for shoes and pick up something for a bridal shower on Saturday. Then I surrendered and watched Star Wars. For the first time. I think it's cult of somesorts. It was good, but I think I just missed the whole Star Wars curve, so a lot of it was lost on me. But I did it. I watched the whole thing.

Saturday morning, I drove allllll the way down to Covington for a bridal shower for one of the gals I have dinner with once a month. It was a small gathering with games and cupcakes and presents. Some people played it safe and got the bride a cheese grater or a waffle iron.

Oh, but not me. I am the raunchy comic relief of the group, so I have a reputation to maintain.

I got her The Art of Lap Dancing. Picked one up for myself, too.

After the bridal shower, I headed to West Seattle. Todd and I had plans to watch Hedwig and the Angry Inch (he'd never seen it!), but I needed to kill some time, so I hung out at Westwood Village, my new home away from home. And I might have accidentally bought a pair of goldish strappy heels. Oops.


They're good, right?

After the magical experience that is shoe shopping, I met up with Todd. He took me to din din at the Celtic Swell, down on Alki, then back to his house to watch Hedwig, which he just loved. And why shouldn't he? Movie dude that he is. I felt all superior pointing out the little behind the scenes things and quoting it under my breath:

"He loves me, mother. He's going to get me the hell outta here!"

And today, I have been muy unproductive. It was cold and overcast and I just couldn't seem to get out of my jammies. I did get the bathroom cleaned, since Jessica will be here tomorrow night, but that's about it. And that took two hours. I kept getting pulled back to the couch, where I would lay down and watch the Weather Channel. Love the Weather Channel.

Jamie came over around 5 and we walked down to the India Bistro for dinner. That was my big adventure for the day. I say, woohoo.

Now, I'm sleepy so I should go to bed. The freakin' birds woke me up at 6am and while I just love spring, I do not love all of the birds that were chirping at daybreak right outside my window. Don't they know some of us like to sleep in on Sundays? Ack.

There's No Denying It Now

I think a self portrait makes it official.

Drumroll please......

Todd and I are dating.

[applause]

To be honest, I'm still wrapping my head around it. And he is well aware of this. It's more change. Good change, but change nonetheless. I just got used to the fact that I can be alone without turning into a sobbing ball of goo. I can be single and happy. What growth!

And then completely out of the blue, when I was least expecting it, this giant of a manly man who makes me laugh until my throat hurts crosses my path and wham. Instant Nora Ephron movie.

It's funny how these things work.