Weekend Update

Quite the busy weekend here in Raechelle-land.

Friday night was our normal, routine movie night. And it was great. Trish and Dan came over, we had spaghetti, watched Wall-E. My nerves were frayed for some reason, but other than that, a lovely evening.

Saturday morning, Todd and I got up early and toured the Sanctuary at Admiral, a venue for the wedding. And we absolutely fell in love with it the moment we walked in the door. We had every intention of shopping around, but after getting an email with information about another location and looking at a couple of other websites, we decided the Sanctuary is exactly what we want. So there. Done deal.

Later that afternoon was shopping with Christmas gift cards. I bought four new bras. Crazy, I know. But those babies are $30 a piece, so what better way to spend free money?

Saturday night, Kayleigh went to a sleepover, Tyler had a friend stay over, so Todd and I actually got to watch TV, on the big screen ALL NIGHT. We watched Get Smart, too, which was actually very entertaining.

Sunday morning, Todd went off for coffee and I made the boys french toast while tidying up and doing laundry. I'm so domestic. Then I headed out to meet Jamie for sushi and shopping.

But my plan was foiled.

Did you know that rats eat car cables? I knew this, as Todd had to have his spark plug cables replaced a few months ago. But just like everything else, you think "Oh, that'll never happen to me."

Ruby will tell you differently.

When I got in my car Sunday afternoon, it sputtered. A lot. I called Todd out to get his opinion, and he said, yes, it seems the rats have gotten to your car. Crap. Of which there was a lot under my car, another indicator that rodents were involved.

So, I called Jamie and asked her just how much she loved me and how badly she wanted to see me. She's a good friend, so she drove down, picked me up, and we had lunch at the Blue C in Southcenter (rather than the U Village, like our original plan) and shopped around for a bit. Plan = salvaged.

I took Ruby to the nearest Goodyear center Monday morning (at 8:00am ON A HOLIDAY!) then Todd treated me to breakfast afterwards. Because I was sad and I missed my car (and the money I was going to have to spend) already.

After breakfast, back home to clean up and head to Macy's to spend more free money on some new bedding. But first, a call from Goodyear.

And it was bad.

The rats had apparently not only eaten through a spark plug cable, but also my fuel injector cable. An $1100 part. That requires ("to start with") four hours of labor.

Shoot.Me.

After the initial panic set in, I called State Farm to tell them the situation. Bobbi said she's heard of this before, and yes, it's covered under my comprehensive. Big.Fat.Whew.

But now, a second issue. If you remember, I mentioned a while back that my rear brakes needed replacing. They were down to 30%. Well, now they're down to a ridiculous percent and it's looking like it's a warranty issue. The guy at Goodyear said I have 16,000 miles on my car and my rear brakes should not be that low.

So I've got that on plate as well. Good times.

We did, however, accomplish our mission of new bedding, after sitting on the floor at Macy's for 30 minutes talking about what we liked and didn't. We went from one end of the spectrum (formal, damask) to the other end (casual, rustic). And then we went to Bed, Bath & Beyond and bought a quilt we had noticed a while back. It's got the blue of the carpet and the tan/brown of the walls, and a little red to boot. Perfect!

Sunday evening was dinner and a movie - Southland Tales. Oy. Have you seen Donnie Darko? It's from the same guy, Richard Kelly, which means it's just as weird. The best scenes were the ones with The Rock, swear to gawd. And Justin Timberlake. Yes, I know how that sounds, but Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock - one of mom's many boyfriends) is hysterical and Justin Timberlake is flat out creepy. And sad. Have you ever seen him on Saturday Night Live? Oh.My.Gawd. He is fantastic.

Okay, I'm starting to sound like a 13 year old girl now, so I'll just say, the movie has some good scenes. But someone also gets shot in the eye, so if you're squeamish about those kinds of things, skip it.

Now you're all caught up.

Cuteness - You're Doing It Wrong

Kayleigh does not appear to like the red blow that I tied in her hair.
Hmph.

The Great Migration

You've been waiting so patiently.....
Okay, here we go!

On December 29, at 1:00am, I flew to Houston. And I somehow, magically got upgraded to FIRST CLASS. I thought I wasn't even going to be able to board, but the ticketing agent finally gave back my boarding pass and whadya know - my new seat was 1B. Right on.

I arrived in Houston, was picked up by Dad, fed bacon by Mom and my other-mother Mary, then passed out for three hours while they did the last minute packing. Awoke, showered and prepared for the godparents and an early dinner.

[The Moms]

[The Dads]

I'm not as upset as I look. There were three different cameras going off. The moms were trying to blind us.

Went to bed early to prepare for the movers early the next morning, but fate had other ideas. I started on the couch, until mom got up to get on her heating pad (in the recliner in the living room). That woke me, but then I started hearing the freakin' grandfather clock gong every fifteen minutes (also in the living room). Shoot.Me. So I went and climbed in on mom's side of the bed (it's a big bed - dad was nowhere near me. Honest.) but dad snores loud enough to make the walls shiver, so after tolerating that for 30 minutes, I went to the quietest room I could think of. Mom and dad's walk in closet. I laid on the floor with a pillow, shut the door and wrapped mom's robe around me. I was asleep within minutes.

Until mom woke me by flinging open the door in a panic because no one could find me at 8am.

Anywho!

The semi-truck came, loaded everything that wasn't loaded in mom's car or dad's truck, and after five hours, drove away. During the load, however, Goober escaped from his kennel and the bathroom, so we were feverishly looking for him and determined not to leave until he came home.

Which he did, as soon as the truck took off. Big whew.

We shipped out at 3:00pm, each vehicle quipped with, among many other things, walkie talkies.

[Now would be a good time to go refill your coffee or pee. Go ahead. I'll wait.]

Around 6:00pm on Dec 29, we arrived in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Where we found a motel and curled up for the night while my other-mother Mary took off on her own and did a little gambling.

Up bright and early the next morning. Free breakfast in the dining room, and off we went!

Tuesday morning, we headed toward Birmingham, Alabama, stopping frequently to tinkle and eat. It was a no rush kind of drive. Except I had the pedal to the metal and cruised along smoothly at 75 the whole way. Mom offered to drive a few times, but I said no. She was now retired and deserved to be chauffeured like the old broad that she is. She knows I say this out of love.

Stopped outside of Birmingham and stayed at the Jameson Inn. Because it had a Starbucks beside it. Mom splurged and go me and Mary our own rooms. On our way back from dinner, I came across a stray kitty. He was crying and he was lovey and I couldn't bear to just leave him out in the parking lot.

Until the hives started.

Then he was on his own.

Up bright and early Wednesday morning (New Year's Eve!), breakfast at the Kettle (cheaper than sin!), cruise control set on 75. Oh, I kid. I don't use cruise control. I like the power.

Drive, drive, stop-n-pee, drive, stop-for-gas, drive, drive, Shoney's, drive, drive.....

Lexington, Kentucky.
Another Jameson Inn.
No stray kitties this time.
But there's a Starbucks!!

We have dinner, at which I sent all parents into a crying/laughing fit by making a scene in Ryan's Steakhouse by acting like a twelve year old because I really wanted ice cream for dessert, but they were all done and just sitting there waiting for me so I felt the pressure to get the hell out of there so I just got a couple of cookies and, by gawd, I let them know I was not happy about it. People stared. I was pleased.

Dropped the parents off at the hotel, cruised down to Liquor World (which was insanely packed), cruised across the street to the Liquor....Barn? to pick up a bottle of champagne. Korbel, but still.....It was New Year's Eve and it is unacceptable to not drink champagne, even if I was alone in my own hotel room, watching Countdown with Keith Olbermann , listening to the big party next door and talking (slurring) to my fiancé on the phone. Unacceptable.

I downed about half the bottle.


Mission accomplished.

Up bright and early, breakfast at the free buffet downstairs, big ass latte from Starbucks and off we go!

[Mary and Mom, in their matching casino sweatshirts.]

[Note of funny – we passed through Jellico Tennessee. Jellico. Say it with a thick twang. Then suddenly become the PR rep of Jellico and talk about how people need to come to Jellico because they have the THE BEST jelly in the land in Jellico. Swear to gawd! Gotta do it with a twang, though. Trust me. My mother will laugh for a half an hour. Totally worth it.]

Okay. Home stretch.

We crossed into West Virginia and the walkie talkie beeped. It was Dad singing "Country Roads".

[From the Barbour Democrat, the local newspaper]

We arrived at Pisswilly Ranch at 4:00 on January 1, 2009. Happy New Year, indeed.

Except....

For the mud. Oh gawd. The mud!

I wish I had gotten a picture of the mud. You can see how angry it made the Scotsman. He punched the mud in the face. Bad mud!!

He's very good at punching things in the face.

Anyway.

We arrived to a new home that had no furniture, no water, no phone, no TV and no internet. Oh, and no cell phone reception unless you drive about two miles up to the top of the hill.

The next day (after a four day drive) I made the three hour trip to Pittsburgh to pick up my sweetie.

[This is the part you’re REALLY interested in, isn’t it?]
[Do you need another break first?]

Todd’s flight arrived around 5:00pm, so that put us back in Belington around 9:00pm, after stopping at my now favorite chain restaurant ever, Bob Evans (home cookin’ and dirt cheap. Love it!).

Now. The scene.

It’s dark. It’s quiet (as the house has no TV – just the radio is playing). Mom and Mary are at the kitchen table, playing cards, I believe, and Dad is asleep in the front room, on the floor, snoring like only he can.

Welcome home, honey.

Introductions were had, hugs were shared and dad was awakened. We all visited for a bit, then retired to our respective rooms and respective air mattresses.

During the five days that Todd was with us, we ate and shopped, and Todd got to impress the folks by putting up towel racks and medicine cabinets. Go, Todd, go. He and the parents got along fabulously, sharing raunchy songs and calling each other names. Yes, he fit in just fine.

We had hoped the truck with the furniture would arrive while he was still there, but it was delayed in Nashville, so the day it arrived was the day Todd had to leave.
And here’s the weather stories to end all weather stories, even bigger than Snowpocalypse 08.

Thursday’s Drive To The Airport.

We had some snow on the ground but nothing compared to what it had done overnight. Our plan was to leave at 7:00am (for Todd’s 12:40pm flight) but Mom came in at 6am and said we needed to get on the road right freakin’ now.

Oh, mom. How bad can it be? Don’t you remember Snowmaggedon 08? Please…

Holy shit.

It was dark. It was pouring snow. Did you know that the roads twist and turn up there! And there are bridges. Lots and lots of bridges. My shoulders ached from tensing up. My hands hurt from gripping the steering wheel so hard. I did 40 mph in a 65 mph zone for an hour because I had no idea where the lane was. I told Todd a few times that if it was no better when we hit 79 (the major north/south freeway) we were turning around and he would just have to reschedule his flight. Dammit.

Luckily, once the sun came up, life improved considerably. I could see more than a foot in front of me and the snow let up a bit. It still made for a rough drive to Pittsburgh, but at least we weren’t in danger of sliding off the side of a mountain.

[Todd was gone, but his size 13 muddin' boots were still put to good use]

So, got Todd to the airport, turned right back around came home. And found the most interesting sight. A bulldozer, pulling a U-Haul truck up the hill to my folks’ place. The mud and ice were so bad, the U-Haul couldn’t make it up the hill. And if you remember correctly, the furniture was loaded into a semi-truck in Houston. Well, there was no way a semi was going to be able to get around the turns of the driveway, let alone, up the hill. So for a very large additional fee, the movers unloaded the furniture onto a U-Haul and brought that to the house. Believe it or not, it only took two trips.

There was quite the assembly line; truck to porch, porch to dining room, just inside the sliding door, dining room to correct room of the house. We were all so worried about the mud that would get tracked in, but there wasn’t a speck on the carpet. The inside team had their shoes off and the outside team dropped off items onto the moving pads that were sprawled out in the dining room. A very organized system.

And very tired men.

After the furniture was delivered, it was time to unpack and assemble. I spent Friday putting mom’s computer together and unpacking her desk. And here is a yet another example of where I get my organizational skills.


We also spent a good chunk of time on the kitchen. And Saturday was spent on getting the living room and front room/dad’s game room arranged. I spent all morning moving the end tables and pieces of the couch. Thanks goodness for a sectional that comes in sections. Much easier.

And Sunday, we were off to the airport so I could return to civilization and my family. The day started like any other travel day, then quickly turned into a drama flick with, as previously mentioned, me running through Newark airport, lungs on fire, backpack flopping around and me yelling “EXCUSE ME! EXCUSE ME!” while running on the moving sidewalk.

It’s truly amazing I didn’t fall on face.

I made it to the gate and ticket counter (while yelling “DID I MAKE IT?! DID I MAKE IT?!”) and a very nice gentleman unlocked the main door for me and ran with me down the jet way to another nice man who banged on the door of the airplane with me. My seat was in the third row from the back of the plane so everyone on board got to see me sweating, panting and wheezing as I worked my way as quickly as possible to my seat. Which was in the middle. Crap.

I don’t know if my lungs have fully bounced back yet.

I arrived in Seattle on time and my bag was the first one off the plane (probably because it was the last one loaded on the plane. And just how lucky am I that my bag actually made it on the plane? Wow). TBFE picked me up and off to the romantic and magical LaQuinta Inn and Suites in Tacoma we did head.

Yes, I’m serious.

I had a buyer’s seminar from 8 to 5 on Monday, and that’s really the only reason I came back from West Virginia when I did. And I knew that after flying alllllll day I would not be able to drag myself out of bed early enough to make it on time. So we had a nice little quiet welcome back evening in a hotel.
Also previously mentioned, the instructor of the seminar was dangerously close to making my head explode come 5pm so that made for a very long day, to say the least.

So yes, two weeks away from home, compounded with a stressful day of flying, compounded with a day long seminar, compounded with complete askewness (yes, it’s a word) in my home, well....Rae-rae had a teeny weenie little breakdown.

But all is good now!

I am back in the rhythm of things (I think), I’ve caught up on all of my blogs, I’ve gone through all of my mail, I’ve updated my Facebook status, I’ve returned my emails…..Yes, I think I’m all caught up.

Whew.

And now, some random photos for you....

[How you hold your roof up]

[Kitty lovin']

[The dedicated smoker]

[Christmas carnage]

[Tired Daddy and Goober]

So Purrfect....

You know I'm neurotic. Oh, but you have no idea HOW neurotic.

So neurotic that after being away from home for two weeks, then running through Newark airport because my first flight was delayed and my next plane was scheduled to leave RIGHT NOW and having to literally bang on the door to an airplane so they would let me in, then sitting for six hours, then staying in a motel in Tacoma, then sitting in a buyer's seminar taught by a woman from Austin who twanged for eight hours at a volume that made my head hurt, then coming home and not being able to find my VERY FAVORITE PILLOWCASE, I collapsed in the chair in the bedroom and cried for a good 30 minutes.

Maybe I should think about some more therapy?

I'm still working on the vacation post.
Haven't forgotten about you.
I have pictures!

Soon. I promise......

I'm Home

But I am tired.
I am fried.
I have no vacation post composed yet.
It's going to be a long one.
Bullets, maybe?

Will post again soon.

Need sleep now.

Incommunicado

TD here by Raechelle's request, letting everyone know that she is out of town for the next two weeks and will have no internet during that time. I will be giving status updates on my blog for the next week, then I'll be gone too. I'll be taking the laptop with me, but it remains to be seen what kind of connectivity I'll be able to get.

Until then, have a wonderful New Year and Raechelle will be back in the blogosphere in a couple of weeks.

Cheers!

Merry Belated Christmas!

What a week we've had.

Home on Monday. Made it to work on Tuesday, thanks to a co-worker who lives nearby and her all wheel Honda Element. Home on Wednesday. Christmas Day! And home today.

Actually, Wednesday and today are vacation days so I don't feel so bad about being home.

Christmas was lovely. The kids let us sleep until 7am, then started banging on the bedroom door. We were scheduled to go to Bellingham to be with Todd's family, but the roads were still icy, so we planned a second Christmas in January. In the meantime, Gavin, Michelle, Doug and Ann all came over for breakfast and presents, then headed out to beat the freeze. So the Downing clan and I had a nice Christmas dinner, just the four of us.

And would you believe it? It snowed yesterday. Really. Big fluffy flakes. Now we're above freezing and it's just raining, but it's still icy and slick out. I need to shovel the driveway a little more and clear a spot for Ruby as I will attempt to get her out of the carport today. Todd got Sportacus out yesterday, but it took a few tries. Hopefully, he cleared enough of a path for Ruby to follow.

Because I'm supposed to have dinner with Jamie tonight! My first outing since Sunday, Dec 14th. Todd and I are both going stir crazy. He went to lunch with a friend today so when he gets back, I'll head to Jamie's.

Again, provided I can get Ruby out.

What Is It About Kids and Eating Snow?

Even after their father tells them it's loaded with pollution, they are not deterred.

And please note the layer of snow, layer of ice, then layer of new snow. Good times, I tell ya. Good times.

Snowpocalypse, Day 9

Things are starting to thaw, so there's hope that Snowpocalypse will be ending soon. We may even get to leave the house! We haven't been anywhere (except Westwood Village) since last Wednesday. Ruby and Sportacus are both covered in snow down in the carport. We think the worst might be over, but there's still snow in the forecast sporatically through the rest of the week.

My department was actually closed today. They put out an email yesterday after a conference call among the gurus. It was nice to not have to wake and pretend to debate if I'd go in or not. So we went down and bought sledding disks this morning and played with kids for a couple of hours. Until Todd took a tumble. Then Todd's fun was over.

He and I have been making the most of this WINTER STORM DISASTER. Bride and groom questionnaires, guest lists, ideas. And we get to soak up as much of each other as we can possibly stand before I head to Texas on Sunday.

So, no. I'm not really complaining at all.

Walkin' In A Winter Wonderland

(Our snowy cottage)

So, here we are at Day 5 of Snowpocalypse '08.
Un-freakin'-believable.

And we've got a housewarming party tomorrow! Damn you, weather!

Since I had another snow day today (that's two this week, for those of you keeping score) TBFE and I walked down to the Village to do a little shoppin' and gawkin'. And I remembered to take my camera! I'm such a good blogger.

(My Man - How much do you love me, Todd? THIS MUCH!)

(The Village, with people)

That's a road that those people are walking on. Really.

Tomorrow is a crapshoot. The high is supposed to be 25 degrees, and the forecast is for clear skies. So, no new snow, but nothing is thawing. Hard to tell what the roads will be like. Todd and I have gotten in the habit this week of waking up around 6am and turning on the news to watch LIVE THUNDERSNOW TEAM COVERAGE of road conditions and news people showing us how icy it is by ramming their heels on the ground. Riveting coverage. But it's much more pleasant than just getting out of bed in the dark and stumbling to the bathroom half asleep.

This morning I waited until 8am, then called my boss to tell her I was going to wait a couple of hours until the roads cleared up. But at 9:30 it started snowing pretty hard, so...uh...that plan backfired.

Guess I'll wake up tomorrow, turn on the news, check West Seattle Blog and decide then.

Yes, it's very exciting here in Raechelle-land.

Random Thoughts

Ruby finally left the carport this morning. She’d been trapped there since Saturday. The dirt driveway was mostly snow covered ice. The street that runs in front of our house is a sheet of ice, with carefully placed patches of dry. Not enough of them, though. I didn’t make it to work on Monday and a co-worker drove me in on Tuesday, but I had to walk up the hill to meet her on a dry street.

**********

Our high for Friday is 26 degrees.

Speaking of our cold weather, we put new carpet down in Tyler’s room, so we had to move everything out of Tyler’s room. We put his desk out on the carport so I could spray it down and clean it. I sprayed it with Simple Green, then got a phone call. When I got back out to the carport, the Simple Green had frozen on the desk.

Granted, the dirt chipped off pretty easily, but I had to bring the desk in so the Simple Green would thaw and I could finish wiping it down.

Funny.

**********

Signs of age:
I can’t see my eyebrows to pluck them. My vision blurs out.
After sitting on the bed for 30 minutes, doing Christmas cards, I creak and hobble when I get off the bed.
My hands cramp up and ache while I'm blow drying my hair.

**********

I have run out of people to squeal appropriately with about my engagement. Who doesn’t know yet? Who can I call?

**********

Remember that whole branching out in the blogospher and blogging for the Seattle PI?

Yeah, that’s done.

I was using that blog to spew about what I’m seeing and learning in my new ‘hood. And I was getting nice little comments telling me that I should be blogging about the current goings on and the events in the neighborhood because no one really cares about me and I only had three posts and I was already blogging about a stupid flag?

Um. Okay. If you want news and happenings, that’s what the West Seattle Blog is for. My blog is not news. I am not a journalist. I do not want to be a journalist. I had no intention of writing what these people want me to write about, and that makes it kind of like work, so I had the blog removed.

Oh well, that was fun. Now what?

**********

My business cards just arrived!
I’ve never, ever had business cards before. Well, when I had my cleaning business, Mighty Tidy, I made up cards – Cleaning Enthusiast.

I wanted my cards to say Shopping Enthusiast, but my boss said no. Poo.

**********

Last night, TBFE and I laid in bed after the kids were tucked in and talked about our wedding. And I laughed until I thought my throat was going to explode. My gawd, the man is funny. I was also reminded of how we are damn near perfect for each other. I would think "Oh, I want this and this, but I don't want to say it...I'll just wait and see what he says..." and inevitably, he would say exactly what I was thinking.

Sometimes I think he's put a chip in my head so he can read my thoughts. That's probably why I'm not sleeping soundly through the night. He wakes me up when he does the download.

Got a bit a bit sneakier than that, babe. I'm on to you.

He Proposed

Saturday morning, on Alki Beach, in 30 degree weather, with waves splashing up over the wall. Then we ran inside Alki Cafe and got breakfast.

Funny thing that I couldn't mention earlier. I told you we called mom and dad on Thanksgiving. What I didn't tell you was that Todd asked for their blessing during that call. And he got a pretty good idea of just what he was getting himself into.

Todd: I intend to ask your daughter to marry me sometime in the near future, and I would love to have your blessing.

[chirp, chirp]

[uh oh....]

Mom: FINALLY!
Dad: Take her! Please!

I just looked at him and said, "Are you sure? Really?"
Apparently, he is sure.

My Horoscope

From the Seattle Times:

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Someone loves you, warts and all. You might only see the warts when you look in the mirror, so you'll be pleased by reassurances that come from loved ones. Don't take criticisms from strangers to heart.

Funny too, because I have a bigass pimple on my cheek.

I thought this crap was supposed to end after high school?

And I got a criticism from a stranger (not about the pimple).
But I'm not taking it to heart. My horoscope says not to.

Seattle PI Blog

I am branching out in the blogosphere.

I now have a reader's blog with the Seattle PI. Please note the link on the sidebar.

I figured, maybe blogging about West Seattle though a newbie's eyes would get me more integrated in the neighborhood. Look at it with a different interest.

We'll see how it goes. I haven't really had time to explore my new 'hood, so the blog posts aren't flowing. And since it's neighborhood specific, I can't really blog about my boot fetish there. I need to keep it a little more focused.

But keep in mind, I am no reporter. So if you're looking for news about West Seattle, your best bet is the West Seattle Blog. Not me.

Goodnight, Sweet Boot

It is time to retire my very favorite pair of boots.

I noticed at the holiday open house we went to on Sunday that the leather is cracking and peeling.

Sniff.

Remember when I first bought these boots? A mere $7.
Ah...they were good to me.

Goodnight, sweet boot. I will miss you terribly.

But guess what I have to do now?

Yep. Boot shopping.
So I guess it's not all that sad, now is it?

Blue Decorations

Let me tell you about my mom.

My mom is an impulsive gal. She gets something in her head and BAM, done. Sound familiar? She decided a year or two ago, she wanted hardwood floors in their house. Two weeks later, they had hardwood floors. Most people would deliberate a while. Not my mother. She wants it, it’s done. And that is why I love her.

It was the same with our houses. I think I’ve mentioned I lived in about 10 different houses growing up. We rented, so when the lease was up, we’d, more often than not, move. I don’t know what Dad would say, but I know Mom would get bored with the houses. It's funny, I can still remember the names of the streets. Austin (rust colored carpet), Glenview (for two weeks and we were there over Halloween), Molina (grey arches on both sides of the fireplace), Remington (bushes out front that smelled like cat pee), Papoose (trampoline!), Whitefeather (on the golf course, 2nd hole), Something Bear (red kitchen countertops), Appaloosa (on the lake, hot tub – our own little mansion). Then I moved out on my own (and had three different addresses in three years).

I think I’m missing one between Austin and Glenview.

But I digress.

If you remember, I told you that when we first moved to Texas, we didn’t have a lot of money so Mom and I made Christmas decorations. But then Mom got her job as a legal secretary at a swanky law firm in downtown Houston and boy howdy, no more making decorations! We BOUGHT decorations.

You could say that the money went to our head.

One year, when we were living the Molina house, Mom got a wild hair and declared we were not doing red this year for Christmas. No sir. She wanted blue decorations. So off to TG&Y we went to buy blue lights, blue garland and blue ornaments. I wish I could find the picture of our house decked out in blue lights. The vision I have in my head is a little gloomy.

This is what I see in my head whenever I hear BB King’s “Blue Decorations”. Our blue Christmas.

The next year, Mom was over the blue and declared we would do white decorations. We did white for a few years in a row after that. Then Dad got all cranky because he had been begging for multicolored for years and we kept vetoing him, so we gave in and let him have his multicolored decorations. I’ve never been a fan of multicolored.

Anyway, I’m doing manual labor at work today and listening to my Christmas playlist on my iPod. And when “Blue Decorations” came on, I thought of our blue decorations on Molina Street.

Well, first I started shakin’ my booty.
Then I thought of the decorations.

Old Fart

When I was young, my parents had a rule. No phone calls after 9:00pm. Mom and dad usually went to bed at 9 and they didn’t want my friends calling and waking them up. I think I probably had to go to bed when they did, or at least go to my room. And I remember thinking, “Ug, gosh!! It’s only 9:00!” And then I’d curse them.

Mom and dad, I’m sorry I cursed you. I totally get it now.

Todd starts the bedtime process around 9:30pm. It takes a half an hour to get jammies on, teeth brushed, guinea pig fed, hugs and kisses, etc etc. Once the kids are tucked in at 10:00, then Todd and I bed down. And then we end up talking until 11:00 and then 6:00am comes and I’m cranky. And every morning I say I have to get to sleep by 10:30 at the very latest. The VERY latest.

Because I just absolutely hate getting out of bed. Once the alarm goes off (and I’ve made the decision that I cannot hit snooze anymore because I’ve already shorted the morning process by not washing my hair, just wearing jeans, not having coffee and eating breakfast at work), my 15 minute process starts with cuddling, then I moved away from the cuddling, then I kick one leg out from the blanket, then that leg hangs over the edge of the bed, then I sit up (eyes still closed), then finally I stumble (eyes still closed) to the bathroom.

And I’m grumbling the whole time.

Once I’m in the shower, I’m all good. I laugh at Marty and Jody on the radio. I sing along to the songs. By the time I’m saying goodbye and hugging the kids, I’m damn near perky.

And this morning was no different. I hit snooze until 6:35 and whined and moaned that maybe I should just work 9:00am to 5:30pm. That’s when Todd said we need to have the kids in their rooms, settling down by 9:00, so we still get our talking/cuddling time and I can be asleep by 10:00.

In bed by 9:00. I get home at 4:30pm. That’s four and a half hours of “life” after work and that’s just sad. Makes me feel old.

On a side note, the mega millions is up to 170 million. I think we have tickets.

Weekend Update

The weekend was good. But the week leading up to it was….off. Stars out of alignment, bad juju in the air, the Universe had PMS….I don’t know. But suffice it to say, here we are at Monday and everything has shaken out and life is good again.

Saturday was muey productive. Shipped mom and dad’s Christmas box home, went grocery shopping as Kim-n-Tim were coming over for dinner, vacuumed the upstairs (utter joy!) and helped TBBE hang the Christmas lights.

And here’s my I-am-woman-hear-me-roar story. We don’t have an exend-o ladder. Just a regular ol’ five foot ladder. You know I’m not good with measuring and math and all that, so when Todd said he was going to put lights up on the house, I envisioned the lights going up along the roof, which included the point above the front door and porch.

But the five foot ladder wouldn’t reach the point, even with a 6’4” tall guy on top of it.

Well. This would never do. The vision has been created, and you know I cannot deviate from the vision. If we couldn’t do the point, then I didn’t want lights on the house at all. I even walked down to the neighbor’s house because I saw an extend-o ladder in their carport (taunting me!) and no, I didn’t know them, but dammit, I wanted lights on the point!

The neighbors weren’t home. And their very large great dane was not happy that I woke him up.

Then there was talk of getting on the roof. Sure, Todd could get on the roof. He’s done it before. But Todd is a big man and if he falls, it’s going to hurt a lot more than if I fall. And I’m the one with the health insurance, so…..

Up on the roof I go! Because I wanted the lights on the point! And you know what? Roofs in Seattle are a bit more slanted than the roofs in Houston. And they have moss. I used to get up on the roof every year with Dad and hang lights. Well, he hung lights. I watched and generally just felt cool being up on the roof.

Roof is a funny word when you type it a lot.

Anyway, up on the roof I go. Trying to squeeze the staple gun was the hardest part of the process. That and leaning over the edge to make sure I was stapling them in a straight line. Cause you know Rae-rae – if they’re not in a straight line, what’s the point?

But all ends well! I survived the roof and the lights are in a straight line. For the most part. Now we just need to do the long side of the front and maybe, if we have enough lights, along the carport.

Sorry we slacked on taking pics.
But please enjoy TBBE’s rendering of the event.

That evening, Kim-n-Tim came over for some of my delicious veggie enchiladas. Milo stayed at home to chill with Grandma and Tyler and his buddy were holed up in his room, so we had some nice adult conversations, followed by a game of Apples to Apples. It was good to hang out with them for an extended period of time. And they had only met Todd at Milo’s birthday party back in June, so Saturday, everyone really had a chance to get to know each other.

That night, upon getting ready for bed, I made the mistake of taking two Benadryl. Elvis had been lovin’ on me and I had some itchy patches on my neck from him.

Well, just a warning. Two Benadryl is one too many. Knocked my ass out. At 10:30 Sunday morning, Todd came in to wake me and tell me he had made pancakes and I was still at the drooling stage of my slumber. Knocked.Out.

I finally got up and made it to the table for breakfast, but I was in a sleepy haze and barely remember eating at all. After breakfast, and checking my email, I laid on the couch and dozed alittle more. But we had a holiday open house that afternoon so I had to bring myself around sooner rather than later.

The open house was lovely. Yummy food and a great lesson on making turtles. The candy. Not the reptile. And funny thing – the host is a friend of Todd’s and a reader of our blogs. She and I have emailed about books and West Seattle, but I’d never met her before. This blogging is a funny thing.

And after the open house, back into the jammies just in time to watch the Seahawks completely screw themselves out of a win against the Patriots. They were winning!! The whole game, they were winning!! And the fumbled. Patriots won. Ack.

Then came home made pizza for dinner, followed by a couple episodes of Buffy, all the while doing laundry, followed by Sunday night animation. And at 9:30, bed. Blah.

Whew!
More info than you ever wanted to know about my weekend, huh?

The Universe Is A Strange Bird

Sometimes, there are just clear signs of not meant to be. Almost creepy, blatant signs.

Man and woman meet online.
Man and woman date for two years.
Man plans to propose to woman on rock on beach, but woman is carried off by a rogue wave just seconds before.
Poof. Gone.

How sad.
And how very weird.

My Horoscope

From Yahoo:

Quickie
There is a real problem with a co-worker -- and it won't go away until you two talk.

I checked with my two co-workers. It's not them.
Whew.

Wonder who I have a problem with? I'll ask around....

Best Search Phrase EVER

Someone found my blog by googling this phrase:

todd sniffing my farts

How fantastic is that?
And no, Todd has never sniffed my farts. It was just the collection of words that led them here.

Conflict of Emotion

I don’t like to see a local business close, but I really never understood how Bella’s stayed in business as long as it did. The one time I went in there, I fell in love with some pajamas. They were $119. Huh. For cotton pjs. Wow.

I don’t know of many people who would spend the kind of money Bella’s was asking for, but I’m sure they’re out there – maybe the same ones who paid $400,000 for a new one bedroom condo in the neighborhood?

I know I'm not a Ballardite anymore, but I'm sure West Seattle is going through the same thing. Tons of great little boutique shops that are so expensive or overpriced that I (nor any of my friends or family) will never be able to buy anything in there.

And, call me cheap, but even if I could afford $119 pjs, I wouldn't buy them.
Because they're PAJAMAS.

Random Thoughts

I think I'm poor.
No, I know I'm poor. How do I know this?

I've been eating Cup O'Noodles or Top Ramen noodles for lunch for three weeks. Four for a $1! But I'm kinda sick of noodles now. I'd like some fresh vegetables, please.

**********

And I think I'm morphing into a mom. How do I know this?
I can't remember when I painted my nails last. Just can't seem to find the time to either.

So Jamie and I have manicure appointments tomorrow evening. Gift cards are a beautiful thing.

**********

I haven't shaved my legs in over a week either, but I thought that might be too much information.

I did, however, "schedule" a bath for this evening, so we can remedy that. And yes, I shower every day. Just so you know....

**********

The Christmas cards are almost ready. The address and return address labels are typed; we just need to sign them and stuff them and stamp them.

There's another sign that my free time has dwindled. No homemade cards this year. Oh, you still get a picture, but we bought these beautiful Papyrus cards and just did up some Word labels. Much quicker.

**********

I bought my plane ticket to Texas for the big retirement move.

Did I not tell you about the big retirement move?

My parents have sold their house, so I'm driving with them from Texas to West Virginia, up to Pisswilly Ranch. This trip was originally supposed to be next summer, but once the house sold, mom and dad said there ain't no way they're waiting. So, we're shippin out on December 29th. I shit you not.

The ranch has already gotten about 8 inches of snow. Should make for a fun drive.

And, of course, there will be a stop in Louisiana for a little gamblin'. Cause that's whatcha do when yer retired.

**********

Work is work. Not too bad. Except for the whole getting-up-at-6:00am thing. Well, 6:15am. Sometimes 6:30am. Cause Rae-rae ain't so good at early.

And apparently, just typing about West Virginia makes me twang like a country bumpkin.

Yeehaw.

**********

Okay. Lunch is over.
It was nice chatting with you. Do be sure to stop back by.

Crazy Busy. Can't Form A Thought. Feeling Guilty For Not Posting.

Turkey day good. Bird still frozen. Almost five hours in oven. No one got sick. Lots o'wine. Shaun came! Called mom and dad. Both in rare form. Raunchy jokes abound. TBBE still loves me.

Black Friday. Minimal shopping. Couldn't find JoAnne's. Must have closed. Didn't get stocking hangers. Dammit. We survived Home Depot. Got a trash can.

Decorating that afternoon. Pretty tree. Lots of memories. Some sad. But good. Feelin' the spirit.

That night, girlie sleepover. K's friend. Watched Sixteen Candles. Donger need food! In bed early.

Saturday. Uh....

Wait. Gimme a minute.....

Slept in. I think. Pancakes for everyone. Twilight plans dashed. Dinner instead. Kyle at Kiss Cafe. Sleepovers for both kids. Partying it up, kidless style.

Sunday. Really slept in. Lunch. Wrapping presents. Twilight with Trish and Dan. Oh gawd. At least Edward is pretty. Goulash for dinner. Mom would be proud. Sunday night cartoons with the kids. Bed.

Today.
Ack.
I see wine in my near future.......

Who Is This Sergio Ross Guy....

And how on earth can he sell his boots for $1199?!
And who on earth (aside from actors and politicians) can actually afford to pay $1199 for boots these days?!





I like boots, but my limit is $100.
Most of the time.

Unless they're really, really spiffy.

They Have Them In Black!

[whimper]

Damn my sudden desire to be debt free and responsible! Where is my credit card now?!

I may need to find something to sell......
Or start pimpin' TBBE out to support my habit.

Gobble Gobble

It’s that time once again. Where we cook too much food, drink too much wine and watch football. I love Turkey Day.

And I know you must get sick of me reminiscing, but I can’t help but think back to where I was a year ago.

I don’t need to go into the whole my-life-is-so-much-happier-now ramble. You know all that.

Oh, but I sense that tonight, I will be right back on track with the Pre-Turkey Day Freakin’ Out. We have four people coming over tomorrow for dinner so I need to vacuum (the actual highlight of the night!) and clean the bathroom and we have to put the leaf in the dining table and Kayleigh wants to make Irish soda bread and my jeans stink so I should probably do some laundry and I promised Tyler I would help him finish cleaning his room and Kayleigh’s clothes are all clean now but she’s completely out of room in her dresser drawers so we need to organize those so she can put her clothes away and I need to get in her closet and clean that out and help her organize it because right now there’s all this wasted yet useful space and then there’s our closet and my boots are just everywhere and where are we going to put all of the towels because right now half of them are piled up on the floor beside the bed because they won’t fit in the cabinet where the towels are so I should really get Todd to help me sort through them so we can put everything away and I bet the kids’ bathroom needs cleaned because what if someone needs to pee and the half bath upstairs is occupied?

Um…

Where was I?

Oh, right.
I need to vacuum tonight.

That is all.

Happy Thanksgiving.

An Example of the Hilarity

While laying in bed at 6:30am this morning, with a very, very full bladder, after the alarm has gone off three times.

Todd: (thinking he's motivating me to get out of bed) Don't make me touch you inappropriately.
Me: I will pee on you, I swear to gawd.
Todd: (laugh) Like a mouse, when you hold it.
Me: Wha...?
Todd: Mice. They pee on you when you pick them up...
Me: Why are you holding mice? That's disgusting.
Todd: Some people juggle geese....

Even better, when I first typed this, I typed "sheep" instead of "geese".

Todd read it over my shoulder and said, "I said geese. Not sheep. Baaaaa."

I almost spit out my bagel.

Mushy Post - Don't Get Used To It

Every now and then, I look at TBBE and I see him through the eyes of that woman who went to his house on her lunch break, to merely audition for him. I remember him opening the door and I was staring at his chest. I had to crane my neck to look at his face. He was huge.

Then my attention was replaced by a dog. A dog that was very anxious to get to me. Todd had him by the collar and was pulling him back as I was coming in. I couldn’t take my eyes off the dog.

(Did I mention I was attacked by a dog when I was 14? A 100 pound chow. He got my arm and my leg in two spots. I have nice scars to show for it. So, needless to say, I’m a bit leery around dogs when they’re coming at me. Even if it’s just to sniff my crotch.)

Todd was holding the dog back and he asked, very casually, “You’re okay with dogs, right?” And I said, very bluntly, “No.” He was surprised. No one really says no.

The he remembers sending Wiley to his kennel, but I remember Wiley licking my feet (and me trying to outwardly cringe) while I was playing.

But the very clear memory we both have is nervousness and trying hard to form complete sentences. I remember Todd getting me a glass of water and then going back to the family room, but I thought he was just going to get a guitar so I was waiting in the front room until I heard him holler, “You can come back here.” I remember my voice shaking and my hands sweating when I was playing, and that I skipped two verses in my own song because I just wanted it to be over. I remember him playing and singing “Goodnight My Love”, with his eyes closed. I remember telling him that my friend gave me a hard time about answering a Craigslist ad by saying “Ahhh, you’re gonna meet your next boyfriend!” because I met my last boyfriend through a Stranger ad.

And I remember that when I was leaving and grabbing my coat and my purse and all the swag he had given me, he leaned down and gave me a hug. I had to stand on my tiptoes to hug him back.

When I got back to work, Nichole emailed me and asked how it went. I replied with, “Good. He's cute. Really cute. Really tall. Hugged me goodbye. Might be a problem. I can't stop grinning.”

I looked at Todd last night as we were leaving QFC after our weekly grocery shopping trip, and had that brief, fleeting thought of “How did I get here?” I just wanted to play music again. I wasn’t looking for a boyfriend. I wasn’t looking for a family. I just wanted to play music.

And now I live with this man, and his kids. His daughter tells me she loves me when we say goodnight and his son asks me for permission to go to a friend’s house.

“And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?” – Talking Heads

Oh, but I’m so glad I’m here. And this past weekend just calmed all of my fears and took away any doubts I ever had. Todd and I laughed until my back and my throat hurt and I couldn’t seem to take my hand off of his arm. And there was no over thinking things. There were no heavy discussions. We just had fun.

And it was wonderful.

Okay, back to your normal, cranky, sarcastic blog about boots.

Somethin' Just Ain't Right With That Boot....

WTF?




I am dying to know who would actually wear this.
Contact me. Please.


Yes, I'm working.
Why?

Raechelle, The Cat

www.icanhascheezburger.com

'Tis The Season

Oooh, ahhhhh.....

Wake Me When It's Friday

From: Cuteoverload.com

(Late) Weekend Update

TBBE and I were a bit busy yesterday, so our apologies for not posting. I see he has just posted his weekend update, so here's my contribution.

Friday evening, Todd, Kayleigh and I went to see Bullshot Crummond. I hit my functioning limit at about 9:00pm. Home. Bed.

Saturday....uh. I'm actually having a brain fart and cannot remember what we did Saturday.

Umm. Hang on.

Oh! Pictures!
Todd's friend Ron came over and took family photos. Cause the holidays are coming and even Todd's arms aren't long enough to do a family self portrait. As much as we'd love to.

Todd put a couple of photos up on his post.

I think I was difficult. Give me a few glasses of wine and you can't keep me away from a camera. But at noon, functioning only on three cups of coffee, I don't know what to do. I fidget. I roll my eyes. I'm annoyed. Some of the photos turned out okay, though.

That afternoon, we just tinkered around the house. Unpacked some stuff, walked down to Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond. Very low key.

Saturday night, I attended my friend Nichole's bachelorette party. As bachelorette parties go, it was very tame. Nichole warned me that there were to be no strippers, no phallic desserts, and no naughty gifts. I may have adhered to two out of three requests. How do you go to a bachelorette party without buy the bride some lickable massage oil or edible panties? Come on!

My gift, however, was not the worst, so Nichole is still my friend.

I excused myself early because after her ninth(?) jello shot, Nichole decided to move the party down to the hotel bar. Go Nichole! However, I knew that if I went down to the bar, I would end up crashing in the hotel room. So I announced that I need to leave, siting that I was now a mother and needed to set a proper example for my children.

The group of 15 women then laughed at me. Loudly.
Hmph.

I was home by 10:00pm.

And Sunday was just blah.

Todd had gone to coffee with Ron, Kayleigh had slept over at a friends' house, Tyler is 14 and sleeps until noon, so Rae-rae didn't wake up until 10:00am.

RIGHT ON.

But it made me very unmotivated all day. Oh, I was muy productive. I was just very slow going about it.

I treated myself to a glass of wine and a hot soakie after dinner, and read some of the new Stephen King book that TBBE bought me. It's no Twilight, but it's good.

And to start the week of right, Todd and I had a lovely dinner last night at Etta’s, since they’re participating in Dine Around Seattle. Three courses for $30. And the restaurants that participate are normally way too expensive to eat at otherwise. Wednesday evening, Jamie and I will be having dinner at The Georgian. She tells me I have to wear my pearls. It’s that swanky.

Hopefully, I will be feeling better by then. The pork tenderloin (oh, when will I learn?), mixed with throbbing ovaries and a tight back, made for a very rough night. So this morning, I’m just worn out. I would very much like to be curled up in a ball right now.

Sigh.

This is going to make for a long day....

**********

And in my defense, regarding a certain clothes rod that could not take the weight of all my very fabulous clothes - no one ever gave me a weight limit on a clothes rod. I've hung clothes on a clothes rod for years and not one has ever collapsed on me.

In hindsight, maybe putting jeans, fleece and sweaters on the same short rod was a bad idea. Lesson learned. My apologies to Todd's wall.

Sleepy Haiku

Thank gawd it’s Friday
Just need to sleep in one day
So very tired

Rethinking this plan
7:30 too early
I am out by two

Close my eyes quickly
Turns into really long blink
Where did the time go?

Would a latte help?
Maybe a coca cola?
How about some speed?

One hour to go
Then hopefully a quick nap
Before we head out

Theater tonight
We are so very cultured
Bravo! Yes, bravo!

Okay, mind hurts now
No! Do not look at the clock!
Must stay distracted

Sigh…..

The First Hurdle

My new drive to work takes about 30 minutes. That's with normal 7:30 to 8:00am traffic. Throw rain or an accident in there, well, it's just a mess.

Which is what happened yesterday. There was a wreck in the Battery Street tunnel, which backed up Aurora (my normal route) for miles. So I took I-5, which really wasn't much better. It took me an hour to get to work.

So, last night I invested in a big thermos and I programmed the coffee maker to start perkin' at 6:40am. I got up at 6:15am, showered and beautified, made some coffee and was out the door by 7:00.

Total commute time: 23 minutes.
And now I get to leave at 4:00pm.

I figure, I have a new home, a new neighborhood, a new family. Why not a new work schedule?

We'll see how long I can keep this up. I may have to rethink my strategy when my head hits the desk at 3:00pm.

Is This Your Foot?

There is an eerie mystery up here in the Pacific Northwest. Very Stephen King-esque.

Single feet, all in running shoes, are being found in the water. They’re popping up in rivers and in the sound. Since August of 2007, seven athletic shoes (different brands) containing a human foot have washed ashore. It seems that most of them are right feet. There’s no foul play suggested – it looks like the feet have become “disarticulated” through natural decomposition.

Questions that are being asked:
Is this the work of serial killer who targets runners?

Are these the missing bodies from a 2005 plane wreck near Quadra Island in British Columbia?

Are these victims of suicide, as two of the feet have proven to be a match and once belonged to a depressed man who disappeared in 2007?

It’s very interesting.
Where are these feet coming from?

Check your loved ones.....

Random Thoughts

Happy Veteran's Day!

I have to work today. Half of the campus isn't working today, but half of the campus is. And we're a little cranky about it. Maybe it's just me.

**********

My first official evening at the DowningMarsh household was lovely. TBBE had dinner ready when I got home and the kids fought to clean up afterwards. Wonder how long this whole impress-the-new-family-member will last.

How about years? Can we say years?

**********

Remember all of that stress and exhaustion I wasn't feeling during the move? Yeah, that's all caught up to me now.

We went to bed at 9:30 last night (after dozing on the couch for half an hour) and when the alarm went off this morning, I was just mad. I remember waking up a few times last night, so apparently I didn't get that solid nine hours of sleep.

And you know how Rae-rae likes her sleep.

So, I'm dragging a bit today. It doesn't help that the kids had the day off, which meant Todd could sleep in a little, too. Maybe they'll feel guilty for having such a relaxing day and they'll pamper me with wine and love and chocolate when I get home.

Ha.

**********

Just got an email at work that we are participating in a country wide hospital disaster drill in the next week or two.

The name of the drill?

PANDEMONIUM.

From Merriem-Webster.com:

Main Entry: Pan·de·mo·ni·um
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin, from Greek pan- + daimōn evil spirit — more at demon.

Date: 1667
1: the capital of Hell in Milton's Paradise Lost

2: the infernal regions : hell

3: a wild uproar : tumult

How the hell are we supposed to be calm during a drill called PANDEMONIUM?

**********

My gawd, is it 4:30 yet?

**********

I scheduled a haircut for tomorrow. I feel frizzy. I'm thinking layers. Lots and lots of layers. Might go a smidge shorter, too. My hair is so long right now that when I sit back against my chair and then turn my head, my hair gets caught. It bugs me.

**********

I am treating myself to a soda pop today.

Letting the belching commence!

**********

Okay. I think my lunch is up. I should go.

I will leave you with this moving photo. In honor of our veterans and heroes.

West Seattlite

As TBBE wrote, the move was absolutely painless. Yes, it was hard to leave Ballard, but not as hard as I thought it would be. Guess I was more ready for the transition than I thought. Dare I say, I was excited? Raff did comment on how cute my apartment was, and I immediately stopped him. "Don't even say it. It's hard enough to leave it. Just tell me what a dump it is." My apartment was good to me and got me through a rough time. But now, things aren't rough anymore. It's time to move on. Start a new chapter. A better chapter.

So, after a flat two hour move, and a big ol' lunch, I stood in the bedroom, looking around. And I felt the twinges of option paralysis. What to do first?

Lay down. That’s what. What’s the point in rushing?

I got my clothes put away (see: tossed into drawers) and some of the bathroom unpacked. Then it was time to gussy up and head out to Jamie’s cocktail party. Which was a blessing in disguise. That just meant I couldn’t overdo it and work until the wee hours of the morning.

I bartended for the first time ever. A pretty easy first time gig. The options were wine or champagne. Jamie likes to keep it simple. Todd stuck with me, while occasionally making a food run so we could nibble in between serving. It was a lovely evening. Jamie throws a beautiful party.

After the party, home and straight to bed. Busy, busy day.

I wasn’t as productive as I would have liked to have been on Sunday, but again, being forced to stop to go see Jason Mraz was a blessing. And it was a great show. Well, it was after I told the guy next to me that he had dog crap on his shoe and wouldn’t be able to focus on the music unless something was done immediately. My gawd, the stench. He ended up going to the restroom and cleaning up. And he thanked me profusely.

After the concert, home and straight to bed. Another busy day.

Tonight, I will get my computer and desk set up and maybe work on the bathroom some more.

And I’m very much looking forward to having dinner with my family.

Tough Birds

See?! See why I hate 'em?!

Signing Off

Not permanently, silly.
Just for the weekend.

It's time to pack my computer. I've procrastinated and procrastinated, but there's nothing left to do. I have to unplug it.

This hurts me.

My kitchen is packed, except for the fridge. But I've already cleaned it out. The cabinets and drawers are bare. The magnetic knife rack has been removed.

The couch was picked up at 11:00am. So tonight I'm on the floor. That's okay. Tomorrow night I'll be in a big fluffy bed with a big fluffy guy.

Jamie came and took apart the big bookshelf. She'll pick it up tomorrow. I took a trunk load of stuff to Goodwill, and have yet another pile starting in the corner. The shower curtain is down, but I think I want to take one last soakie before I go to bed. Wonder if I can find a candle easily?

The curtains in the bedroom are down and I took the top piece off the dresser to make it lighter. We'll move it to West Seattle, where it will go to one of Todd's friends. It will have a good home. She said she'd take the curtains and the lampshades too, but I'm willing to rent a storage unit if that's what it takes to store them until I can have a spare room to boudoir-up.

So now I sit here, with my glass of champagne, looking at my naked apartment and I can't help but think back to where I was a year ago.

It was just about this time last year when my life imploded and I blew a fuse. I was sent home from work because I couldn't do anything but cry. I started taking the pretty pink pills, I stopped eating and my ass created a very prominent dent in my couch. Not a good time in Raechelle-land.

My goodness, look what a year can bring.

The emotions! Oy!
It's exhausting.

Well.
Here we go.

Cheers!

We Now Return You To Your Regularly Scheduled Life

I’m wearing a blue sweater today. This is big news.
I don’t wear blue tops. Especially with blue jeans. Too much blue. Blah.

Aside from my wardrobe, not too much to report. I’m still trying to get back on track from Tuesday night. Little too much wine, not enough sleep. Kim came over last night and I laid down on the couch, thinking, I’ll just take a little nap until she gets here.

I was awakened by my door buzzer and it completely freaked me out. You know when you’re in a deep nap and then you’re yanked out of it suddenly? Your vision is blurred and you can’t think straight and you’re just disoriented. I didn’t really come out of it until we were walking back from dinner and then I just got nauseous.

I tried to be productive when I got home (got a blog post up!) but ended up going to bed…er…couch at 9:30. And I was asleep within minutes.

Then my alarm went off today and let me tell you, I was none too happy. Laid and listened to the radio until 7:15, then finally decided I should maybe get up.

On the bright side, I get to sleep in tomorrow as I took the day off. One last day to finish up the packing and enjoy my little place. Hopefully Esther and K. won’t be home. My little place isn’t enjoyable at all when they’re there.

And then, I ship out at 10:00am on Saturday. Headed for the big city of West Seattle. I was informed today, by a life long West Seattleite, that they’ve tried to secede from Seattle three times. So, it is kind of like moving to a new city. But then, Ballard is kind of like it’s own city, too. Well, they were their own city until Seattle cut their water off and said “Join us or suffer.”

Sigh.
Anywho, I babble.

Okay, back to your regularly scheduled lives now.

Look How Far We've Come

In my packing this evening, I found my copy of The Stranger from 11/11/04, when a lot of us were beaten down and feeling hopeless.


And within that paper was the electoral map from the Bush/Kerry race.



Look at all that red. Wow.
Here's the electoral map from this year's election.


So pretty. Much more balanced.

And, once again, we love The Stranger. They have nailed the sentiment on the head, once again.

(Warning - Big, bad word. Not at all suitable for work.)

Yes We Can

And boy howdy, did we.

Thank you, Ohio and Florida.

Carrie, I won't be needing that room. I'm proud to be an American today.

Because we finally made the right choice.

The Big Day

I don't think I get this excited at Christmas. I can't help but click over to CNN every three minutes, even though there is absolutely nothing to report yet.

But even through the excitement, part of me feels a slight sense of dread. I think tomorrow is going to be a rough day, regardless of who wins.

If McCain wins, well, how are we supposed to go on? I have until January 20th to get my passport. If Obama wins, there might be some people who are upset. And the people who would get upset by such a thing are pretty darn passionate, on so many levels.

I just hope it's quick and painless. I want a concession speech by the end of the day tomorrow. None of this dragging it out for days, recounts or threats of lawsuits. Just give up and accept defeat like a big boy, McCain.

Oops.
Did I say that out loud?

BOO!

Just a quick post to direct you to photos of our Halloween party. TBBE will have a more in depth post for you.

Todd and I agree - the party was a success! There was much eating, drinking and schmoozing, and the vampire costumes were a big hit.

Sunday was spent in jammies, watching football, sleeping and eating pizza rolls. A perfect day in my book.

Now we begin election week. I sense that tomorrow and Wednesday are going to be quite unproductive at work……

Happy Halloween!

Please enjoy this Obama pumpkin of hope and optimism.

Photo by Tony Delgrosso

And! Ballard has made the New York Times today. We're that cool.

I may be living in West Seattle next weekend, but for one more week, I'm a Ballard Gal.

Represent!

Undecided? Really?

My friend Dan's most recent post turns our attention to Margaret & Helen's blog. And boy howdy, Margaret is on fire about this election.

I choose not to blog too much about politics and my opinions. I think you know my opinions. And I think you know who I'll be voting for. But if I were to blog about politics, I wouldn't be able to do it as well as Margaret. She's blunt, honest and doesn't give a shit if you agree with her or not.

Her current post speaks directly to that person who is still undecided about who they'll vote for.

Undecided. Really?

Well, if that's the case, or if you're just curious, check out Margaret's blog.
She's quite persuasive.

Insight To My Future?

Best search term EVER to find my blog:

raechelle pornstar

Nice. Very nice.
One other Google search of interest:

I get headaches at the smell of cookies

Poor thing. That sucks.

By far though, the Google image search for homecoming mums is still the number one search driving traffic to my blog. A close second is a search on the word “hyperosmia”.

Gotta love Sitemeter.

Red Hair

Dee asks for a photo, so she gets a photo.

It's not bright red. Deep, burgundy red. I'd like to get it done professionally and just have it flamin' red. Ah, one day.....

For the record, I don't like my nose.

Weekend Update

TBBE does a great job of laying out the actions of the weekend, which makes it so much easier (and quicker) for me to simply throw in my little random thoughts and tidbits. Because, as I may or may not have mentioned, my new job is surrounded by people who actually adhere to the 30 minute lunch rule (so we're only at work 8.5 hours a day, as opposed to 9) which doesn't leave me a whole lotta time to blog because my blogging includes 20 minutes of self editing.

And I just used up 10 minutes on that paragraph (while eating my salad). Ack.

So!

Did you know that blackberry bushes leave little infected welts on your skin when they poke you? Yeah, I didn't either, or I would have worn gloves when we were cleaning up the bushes next to the carport. Man, my hands hurt today. I've got four major owies. I've been pouring hydrogen peroxide on them, but that's not helping the pain. See why I avoid manual labor? I get hurt. I never get hurt when I'm sitting on the couch watching football. Never.

Unless I pull something while screaming at the TV.

Speaking of which, holy crap, we finally won a game! We beat the 49ers. Which, come on, they were 2 and 5. But hey, we won. Yippee.

Update: 17 minutes left in my lunch. Pardon any typos from here on out.

I got my beautician on last night. I colored Kayleigh's hair bright strawberry so now those blue eyes and freckles stand out even more. I was going to wait to do my hair (dark red) until Thursday, since it's a temporary color and I wanted it bright for Halloween, but I was jealous that K got transformed so I ended up doing my hair, too. I feel like a hottie.

And then I ordered fishnets with built in garters from Amazon this morning, so now I'm just feelin' naughty. My semi-respectable costume (albeit, still slightly trashy) is slowly morphing into Great Big Whore. And I don't care. It will make for good pictures when I'm 75 and looking back at photos and pining for my youth.

And in other news, my calendar is clear this week, as I must start packing. Must. Well, maybe there's a walk in there. And maybe dinner with Jamie. But that's it! I mean it.

**********
Best Quote of the Weekend:

Kayleigh (grabbing a pair of 3 inch black, shiny stilettos at DSW, with a big smile on her face):

"These will definitely make you look like a slut. Try them on!"

Alone and Productive

So, I finally finished the infamous magazine project. Whew!

Jamie gave me an expanding pocket filer Monday when we went to dinner. She asked if I needed it for anything (HA! Of course I do!) and that's when it hit me. I should put the pages that I rip out from magazines in these pockets (organized by beauty, fashion, household tips, decorating, holiday decorating, etc...... you get the idea...) rather than in the sheet protectors in the three ring binder. Easier access, easier to actually put them in the filer and the thingy zips up all nice and pretty!

In a mere three hours this evening I finished up the project. And it was just what I needed. Some alone time, in my sweats, on the couch, doing something for me. I haven't been doing a lot of that lately, have I? Yes, I'm enjoying the organizing and cleaning at Todd's and yes, that's for me so that I can get my stuff in there, but it's not really mine. This magazine project, regardless of how small and inconsequential this is, it's something I've been wanting do for two years.

And it's done.

Now what can I obsess over?

An Iron Is An Iron Is An Iron

So, here's a funny little story for you, as I begin to clean out my hall closet.

(Yes, still having dinner with Jamie. Just not until 7:30pm.)

When I moved out on my own for the first time, my Other Mother Mary bought me an iron. I think it was Mary. Anyway, this was a good iron. I don't iron much, but dammit, I had a good iron now.

I brought it with me when I moved to Seattle. I kept it when I lived with my roommate because he was a dude and didn't own an iron. I kept it when I lived with Mike (yet another mistake from hell) even though he had an iron. It was fortuitous. We broke up a month after signing a year's lease.

Then came the back-n-forth living situation with Steve. Still kept my iron. He had an iron, but since we lived together for a few months, then apart for a few months, then back together for a few months, I just kept the iron. It was almost a security blanket at this point.

After five years of living together, that iron found a home in the bottom drawer of the spare dresser in the office. I said something to my mom about it one day, how I really should get rid of it because we don't need two irons. But for some reason, I just couldn't bring myself to put it in the Goodwill pile. Mom called me a weirdo.

"It's an iron. You can buy another one if you ever need one. Just get rid of it!"

But the iron stayed in it's place in the bottom drawer.

Then Steve and I broke up. Ha, Mother! I don't have a bed, a couch or an apartment, but by gawd, I HAVE AN IRON!! VICTORY IS MINE!!

Let's skip ahead.

Two weeks ago, I was looking for an iron at Todd's. I couldn't find one. I finally asked him if he had one, he said yes he had one, and went off to fetch it.

Then he came back and said he was misinformed.

He did not, in fact, have an iron.

[pause]

Get it?

I have an iron! I shouldn't have had an iron, but I do! And Todd doesn't!

See how everything in the universe just falls into place? It's craziness!



No, I haven't been drinking.
Why?

Autumn Has Arrived

If I were in Texas right now, I'd be running for the closet in the middle of the house. Holy crap, that cloud looks bad.

But I'm in Seattle, and I've been here long enough to know that this is merely the First Creepy Storm of the Season. I knew it was coming, yet it still puts me in awe.

If you could see further west, over the water, you'd see that it's just solid black now and pouring the rain. But just a few minutes ago, you could see the sunset over the mountains and the sky was pink.

I love living here.

One October day, a few years ago, Steve and I sat out on our balcony, facing west, and literally watched the first storm of the season move in over the span of two hours. We started out in shorts and t-shirts because it was warm and sunny, but then the wind started so we each threw on a fleece. You could smell the air change and feel the weight of the storm. The clouds got thicker, the lightning started up and we could hear thunder rumbling over the water. The temperature dropped about ten degrees, so we grabbed blankets and curled back up in the lawn chairs. But we sat out there until the rain drove back us inside.

It was beautiful.

And now, it's autumn again. The storm tells me so.