No, I'm Not Proud

I heard a song in Wet Seal when I was out shopping a few weeks ago.

Yes, Wet Seal. Don’t judge me.

Anyway, it sounded like some angry, frequent smoker/drinker chick and it just kind of struck a chord with me, even though I don’t normally like angry frequent smoker/drinker chick singers. When I got home, I looked up the band (Thriving Ivory) after remembering a mere one line of the song (I heart Google). Imagine my surprise when I learned that the band actually consists of five young emo guys. And they’re so tortured with their shaggy hair.

I watched the YouTube video and couldn’t make it through the whole song. The guy singer just kills the feeling I get, which in turn, makes me not like the song at all. But I still bought the song because I can picture the angry, frequent smoker/drinker chick in my head and get an entirely different emotion from it. As long as I’m not looking at the brooding emo guy.

So, the point of this post, is a line in the song:

“Pull yourself together before you set yourself apart.”

I like that line. It hits home. Get your crap together before branch out on your own.

Maybe it’s just the “pull yourself together” part as my self, incidentally, completely unraveled over the weekend. So, I felt especially lectured when I heard this again this morning on my iPod. I pictured the angry, frequent smoker/drinker chick cooing at me, very lovingly, saying “Dear. Get yourself together…”

Okay. I can do that.

“And I know and I know and I know
That you’ve had more than you can bear
But you’re gonna have to let it go
No, you’re not movin’ anywhere.”

Yes, yes. You’re stressed and overwhelmed and you’re about to blow a fuse, but get over it (to quote my mother) and skootch along. You’ve got shit to do.

It’s amazing how much I can read into a song.

Speaking of not being proud, Celine Dion just came across my iPod.

I remember listening to her first album, with my brother in his apartment. Her big hits then were “If There Was Any Other Way” and “Where Does My Heart Beat Now”. That’s when I first started singing and, man, you could BELT the Celine songs. But then she got a little to big for me, and then she put a large string section in her band, so I don’t listen to her much at all.
Then one day recently, I heard the song “Taking Chances” somewhere. Can’t remember where. But oy, it hit a nerve. It’s like it was written for me and Todd.

“What do you say to taking chances?
What do you say to jumping off the edge?
Never knowing if there’s solid ground below
Or a hand to hold, or hell to pay?
What do you say?”

It just chokes me up.

Todd has specifically said no Celine at the reception, so you’ll just have to watch the video. And yes, it’s not your speed of music, but the song is short, so just do it.

Okay, back to work.

Suddenly, I'm Vain

I had my trial run with Alyssa, the gal who’s doing my make up and hair for the wedding. She’s a friend of Todd’s and very young and very enthusiastic. We did the trial in her mom’s kitchen, with her brother and sister (twins) cracking jokes and giving tips. Her mom came in midway and stated it had been a helluva day and she was opening a bottle of wine and who wanted some.

It was a fun night.

However.

Oh my gawd, the gray! I went in the bathroom to take a look at the finished product and was in awe at the streaks. I’ve never minded they gray before. Really. But seeing it in my perfectly coifed hair was startling. It was like the Bride of Frankenstein. Dark, poofy hair with white running through it. I’m only 34!

I may have to color my hair before the wedding.
I can’t believe it.

Gasp!

I think I might be vain.

You probably think this song is about you...

Catching Up

I realized I never published the post about my bridal shower. I guess I've been busy or something.

Anywho, it's up. With a pic. September 28th.

Toodles.

Yes, I'm Still Here

But I’m buried under projects at work and I’m buried under boxes at home. It’s really no fun.

The unpacking is coming along, in large part to TBFE (I’m going to have to think of a new acronym after November 7). Thank goodness he works from home, but he sure ain’t getting’ any work done. Well, not business work anyway. He’s been coordinating bids for windows and coordinating bids for rewiring and letting in dry wall guys and putting boxes out on the sidewalk with Free signs and running all over Seattle looking for a second cherry bookcase. It’s really no surprise that he has this crazed look in his eyes by the time I get home.

Once I change into my grubbies, I start on boxes while he makes dinner, or I’ll make dinner while he unpacks a little more. And before we know it, it’s 9:00 and we’re telling the kids to get ready for bed. Because we’re ready for bed.

However, last night we took a time out and watched the big wedding on The Office. And I had tears in my eyes and I felt just like a typical mushy girl. Could it be the whole wedding thing is hitting pretty close to home right now? I believe it is.

Anywho, we have absolutely nothing on the calendar this weekend, so I’m very much looking forward to being productive. And watching the entire Seahawks game on Sunday. Every last minute. Dammit.

WWRD?

Raechelle would sleep. A lot.

Period.

My Horoscope

From The Seattle Times:

Aries (March 21-April 19): Today is an 8 -- You're being drawn in seven different directions at once. Share your intuition with others, and go with it.

The Universe understands.

Except my "intuition" is telling me to put my feet up tonight and enjoy our brand new 50-freakin'-inch TV.

I don't think that would be the best thing, since you still can't walk through the house without whacking your leg on a box....or six.

Quick Weekend Update

Last visit to the old house on Friday. Done!

Dan and Trish visit. Pag’s pizza for dinner and a little champagne. Because WE DESERVE IT.

A little unpacking.

Off to Bellingham Saturday morning for Jessica’s wedding.

Wait. We need new locks?! Agent to handle. Whew.

Arrive in B-Ham. Drop off Kayleigh. Purchase wedding rings.

Ahhh.

Arrive at B&B. Where are TBFE’s dress clothes for wedding?!

Off to Sears for pants, belt and dress shirt.

Back to B&B.

Shower and clean up for wedding. Hair dryer doesn’t work. Lights don’t work. Clock is dead. No power.

Transformer blew. 4600 people without power. Wedding hall without power.

Arrive for “sound check” at wedding. Ha. No power. No sound. Generator on the way.

Generator is too late. Jess needs to walk down the aisle. Todd strums the guitar for her. She is radiant.

I sing “Come Away With Me”. People clap.

Dinner in the dark. LED lanterns to show us the food. Very romantic.

Lots of wine. Lots and lots and lots of wine.

I do not fall down! May have broken a toe, though. Not sure how that happened.

Power is restored.

Sunday morning. Breakfast at the B&B. Mexican blintz. Pineapple and banana in a crepe with honey. Yuck. Rae-rae fuels up on coffee and sausage.

Seahawks game! Where to watch? Nothing open. Miss the first half.

Off to Todd’s folks’. Kayleigh is sick. Game is on!

Lunch. Yum.

Back to Seattle. Pick up Tyler. Wait on agent who has new keys to new lock.

New lock isn’t working. Need another one.

Some unpacking. Bedroom is almost done.

Can’t do anything with the bathroom. Need circular curtain rod and shelves. Should arrive next week.

Dinner. Take out. Must quit that. Pants are very unhappy.

Cuddle time with sick girl. Fever of 101. Set her up with a movie.

More unpacking. Kitchen is coming along. Must find the food.

In bed at 10pm. Not too bad.

Up late this morning. Discover water heater is not turned on. Must wait for a shower. Back to bed. Oh darn.

Showered and off to work. Welcome wine on front porch. A friend lives across the street. Who knew?!

Busy at work. Busy at home. Busy busy busy.

Ready for Kauai.

Oh, wait. Wedding in a month!

WWRD?

Raechelle wishes to sleep now, please.

We will return to your regularly scheduled blog next week.
Once Raechelle can form a coherent thought again.

Is This Year Over Yet?

Good gawd, it’s been a busy two days.

We moved! And we signed papers!

The packing took 10 hours on Wednesday. And the move took eight hours yesterday. Our new house is a maze of boxes, but I know what I’m doing – I made the beds and found the toothbrushes before doing anything else.

I have declared that I wish to never, ever move again. Ever. I’m done.

And after a long, busy day of moving, we sat down and signed escrow papers at 5pm. I am now a homeowner.

I like to say, “I’m vesting. Right here, in front of your very eyes.”

We are without internet (and TV) until next Wednesday, so our updates will be few and far between. But at least we’re over two major hurdles.

Now can we please focus on the fun stuff? Like the wedding?!

Only 36 days to go!!

My Bridal Shower

My bridal shower was yesterday. It was quite…surreal.

That's me with my ribbon bouquet (in front of all of my loot). Apparently, I have to carry that at the rehearsal. It's made from all of the ribbons from the presents. And did you know, that however many ribbons you break when you're opening gifts, that's how many babies you're going to have?

I BROKE NO RIBBONS. Ha!

I also was surprised at how overwhelming it was. I was even a little teary eyed when talking about how Todd and I met. And you know Rae-rae don’t do mushy anymore. She is SO over that. But I think it just kind of hit me that this is all really happening and it’s very real and very scary and very exciting. It could also be that my stress level is through the freakin’ roof, so it doesn’t take much to make me cry right now.

Like Aunt Mardie’s card. She addressed it to “Binky”. Only my family uses that name. My parents rarely use anything but that name. And I think I was really missing my mom yesterday, and wish so much that she could be there. So when I got home and was re-reading all the cards, I came to Mardie’s and just lost it. It’s like my mom was there. I tear up just typing that now.

Sigh.

It must be the stress.

It’s Amazing I Don’t Have Any Pimples

I have an ulcer in my mouth, an upset stomach and kink in my neck, but by gawd, I have no pimples! I’m okay being stressed if face doesn’t break out. This must mean I am truly an adult now.

I honestly cannot think of an adjective that is strong enough for where we are right now. Chaotic? Tumultuous? Hectic? Disorganized?

We might close today. Or we may close tomorrow. I am on standby for the phone call. Who knows when we’ll take possession. Still need to book movers, but can’t book movers until we know when we’re moving. I want to get all packed, but don’t want to pack the very necessary stuff because I don’t know how long we’re going to need that very necessary stuff out.

Friends are offering to help, but we don’t know what to tell them because there is NO PLAN. I NEED a plan. I cannot function without a plan. I am planless.

I spent all day yesterday either on email or on the phone, sending last minute stuff to our mortgage gal, searching for a circular shower curtain holder for this new freakin’ claw foot tub that is 66 freakin’ inches long, coordinating the electrician to meet our agent so they can give us an estimate for rewiring, researching movers, and all the while, trying to actually do my job. I finally went to lunch at 2:30 and just sat at the little café and stared into space for 30 minutes.

I told Todd, I cannot keep this up for any length of time. I need it done. Right now. Done.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, though. We’re going to Bellingham this weekend to attend Jessica’s wedding! She’s asked me to sing, so Todd will play guitar for me (our first public performance together! The whole purpose for us meeting!) And then we’ll stay in nice little B&B and catch up on our quality mushy time. Just thinking about it puts a smile on my face.

Sigh.

Gotta get through this week, gotta get through this week...

WTFWRD?

"So, in the WTFWRD category this week, how about this question: I'm watching from some distance as my stepson and soon to be stepdaughter are simultaneously packing to move, selling their house, buying a new one, planning a wedding and working, while keeping two young 'uns in school. Which should I do? Watch in fascinated horror (think train wreck), offer to help in some insipid & probably useless way, or vacuum and clean the toilets in my house?"

-Bob

Raechelle would want absolutely no part in such drama and train wreckness. Your stepson and soon to be stepdaughter sound like they are complete gluttons for punishment and need to relax and enjoy their lives, rather than constantly coming up with ways to draw attention to themselves. “Look at me!! I’m so stressed!!” I mean, really.

So, Raechelle would clean her toilets and vacuum, so that when the stepkids finally snap from the insanity and need a place to which they can escape and drool on themselves, you can offer up your home.

Rumor has it, you’re a pretty a good cook too, so I’m sure the stepkids would very much appreciate some kind of gooey chocolate dessert to comfort them.

Thanks for the question!

Sold!

The For Sale sign out front now has a "SOLD!" sign on it.
I think it's time to start panicking....

Ahem...

I mean packing.

Feel The Love

So, remember the RSVP box that I thought was a FANTASTIC idea? And my friend CB thought I was retarded for even contemplating spending money on something so stupid?

CB was in a mood one day and didn't feel like working.

So she made me an RSVP box.

Isn't that just the sweetest? I laughed until I had tears in my eyes. And let me tell you, the staples and scotch tape just add a little something special to it.

Happy Birthday, Daddy.

On a more positive note, it's my dad's birthday today. I won't tell you how old he is. He may not like that. But he's retired, and that's all that matters!

He's also sick today. He and mom both have the crud. Let's hope it's not the swine crud, but it's still crud, nonetheless. Send them good, healthy vibes.

Happy birthday, Daddy!

WWRD?

Raechelle would win the lotto so she could quit her job and not have to deal with a certain department and their indecisiveness and their constant need to revise their quotes. Raechelle has been dealing with this since late June and she’s just about had enough.

And Raechelle would have faith in the sale of her house so that she could actually start packing to move (in two weeks). But Raechelle is not so sure this will actually happen, given the experience she’s had with these buyers. So Raechelle is Freaking Out.

Raechelle will, however, be drinking a crap load of wine tonight so she’s got that going for her.

And as if the Universe knew Raechelle was having a bad today, this is her bento box fortune cookie fortune:

A vacation to sunny shores is soon in store for you.

Well, no shit, Sherlock. Is that supposed to make me feel better right now?

Because that vacation to sunny shores is still two months away. And I don’t know if I can make it through two more months of this.

**********

As you may have guessed, there was no question this week. See what you get if you don’t write in a question? See? Wouldn’t you rather read about organizing?

Die, Uterus, Die!

I must have this.

It's from IHeartGuts.com.

I'm thinking it could come in handy when its, you know, that time. And when I get all crampy and pissed off, I can stick needles in it. Like a voodoo uterus.

Fantastic.

"Well, sometimes I vary it a little..."

I'm mad today. So mad, at one point, I had to go outside and walk down the block to keep from throwing something. So, CB took me to Subway for lunch to get some air. She's a good friend. I told her I felt the need for something different, but I didn't think today was the day to make the change.

I'm not good at Subway. Too many choices, too many options. I lock up. CB laughs at me. Sometimes I like pickles, sometimes I don't. I have to think about what mood I'm in as I'm ordering. It's the same thing at Taco Del Mar.

Lately, I've just gotten into my routine:
6" sandwich
Whole wheat
Grilled chicken
American cheese
Toasts
Lettuce, tomato, green peppers and a smidge of mayo. Just a smidge.

But today, when I was asked what kind of bread I wanted, I said Italian herb and cheese.

Gasp! Branchin' out.

And I immediately thought of this exchange in When Harry Met Sally...

Harry has asked Sally to tell him about the sex fantasy she has.

Sally
Well, basically it's the same dream I've been having since I was twelve.

Harry
Which is?

Sally
Okay, there's this guy...

Harry
What does he look like?

Sally
I don't know, he's just sort of faceless.

Harry
Faceless guy, okay.

Sally
He RIPS off my clothes.

[pause]

Harry
And?

Sally
That's it.

Harry
That's it? Some faceless guy rips off all your clothes, and THAT'S the sex fantasy you've been having since you were twelve?

Sally
Well, sometimes I vary it a little.

Harry
Which part?

Sally
What I'm wearing.

My herb and cheese bread was just the spark I needed.

Well, that and the big ass chocolate cookie I got.

WWRD?

We have a question!!

What would be your must have essentials for your cleaning bucket? If I wanted to amass a bucket of cleaning supplies what would I be sure to have and what would I pass on? Rags vs Paper towels? I am thinking I have too many things and would prefer a few multi-cleaners, ya know. And, of course, what works best on which surface. Trying to decide if I should put them all in a bucket so I can tote it around the mansion.

- JamieB

And it's an excellent question to start off this new segment of the blog!

Knowing your mansion (i.e. new condo), I will speak specifically to what I would do in your situation. I had a big ‘ol blog post written (three pages of a Word document) but it was more about what I do in my house and in my situation. You may have gotten some ideas from it, but it was a long read.

So, in your brand-spankin’-new condo, I would put the following items in my cleaning bucket:

Swiffer
All purpose cleaner
A sponge
A toothbrush

It’s a small bucket.

I like the Method all purpose cleaners. They’re non toxic and smell yummy.

And I use these sponges call Turn-Abouts, but you can’t find them just anywhere. It’s odd. But they have nylon mesh on one side (good for scrubbing, but they don’t scratch) and cloth on the other side (good for wiping).

I like toothbrushes because you can get into nooks and crannies with them, and they’re great for baseboards.

I would keep a basket of rags in your closet, next to your cleaning bucket, so when you grab the bucket to go clean, you could grab a couple of rags as well. I like the terrycloth rags from Home Depot. I’ve been using the same ones since I had Mighty Tidy, my cleaning business, back in 2005. They’re very durable.

I would keep the bathroom cleaning supplies in the bathroom, under the sink. I’d have a little basket with:

Toilet bowl cleaner (I have to have bleach in my toilet bowel cleaner)
Bon Ami (powdered scrubber, non-toxic, non-smelly and usually under $2)
Two sponges (the one for the toilet in a Ziploc baggy, so it doesn’t cross contaminate)
A couple of toothbrushes
Gloves
Glass cleaner wipes.
A cup (to rinse out the tub) if you don’t have a handheld shower head.

Since your bathroom and your kitchen are close together, you could either grab the bathroom basket so you could use the powdered cleaner and non-toilet sponge in the kitchen, or (because I am somewhat neurotic) I’d just get another basket with powdered cleaner, a sponge, a toothbrush and an all purpose cleaner and put that under the sink.

I get on cleaning fits rather quickly and if I have to go and seek out what I need to do what I want to do, I get annoyed. I’d rather just keep everything right where I want it.

I rarely use paper towels to clean, even though we can now throw them in the composter. But there is one exception – when you’re cleaning a stove top. Using a sponge just smears whatever it is that you’re cleaning up. Fresh paper towels (or rags, if you have enough of them and don’t mind washing them) make sure that you’re not just pushing the same grease around.

Some people like the all purpose wipes. The only time I use them is in my cubicle at work. And that’s only because it’s just easier since I don’t have a water source close by. A rag wet with water can do wonders. If you’re looking to disinfect, then a cleaner would be good, but just in general, water is fine.

I wouldn’t have a spray glass cleaner. The ammonia that sprays into the air is icky. I like the Windex wipes. They still reek of ammonia, but at least I’m not spraying it. For some reason, this makes me feel better. And I just use the wipes on mirrors. I clean windows with a wet rag and squeegee.

I would have furniture polish on hand, maybe tucked away in the closet, behind the rags, but polish doesn’t need to be used at every cleaning. Swiffers are fantastic at picking up the dust and keeping a hold of it. I've found that feather dusters don’t really hold the dust, so I’ve never been a fan. Although, I’ve read that *down* feather dusters actually attract the dust, as do the static dusters, so maybe I was just using the wrong kind. I still love my Swiffer, though.

Okay, I think I've babbled enough. Thanks for your question, Jamie. I hope I answered it well.

Until next Friday, that's what Raechelle would do.

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

Yay, it’s the first day of school!

Except Kayleigh is in 7th grade now, so she starts tomorrow. The 6th graders in her middle school start today, though. It gives them a chance to get used to the big, new school without all of those daunting upper classmen.

I had no idea why mom and dad were so happy when I went back to school. I totally get it now. There's just something about getting back into a routine and structure and early bedtimes.

But I had forgotten about the traffic that comes with school. I need to adjust my morning a bit.

I Think I'm An Adult Now

Well, it's official. We bought a house.
Finally.
Look familiar? It, too, is a 1922 Craftsman. Just like the house we're leaving.
We like our Craftmans. Craftsmen?

We saw this house on Wednesday, after it had been pending, then came up active again. We wrote up the offer that night, the seller countered and we accepted.

BAM! What's the time on that?!

It's a three bedroom (almost - we need a door downstairs to close off that area), two bath, with a one bedroom, one bathroom rental cottage in the backyard. The goal is for that to be Todd's office and our studio. But it's rented right now, which just means we don't have to get used to larger mortgage just yet. It will be a bit tight in the house until we ask the renter to leave (spring maybe?) but that's okay. Because it is a mere one block off of California Ave.

For those of you not from around here, California Ave is the main, downtown West Seattle street. Where it crosses at Alaska, that's call The Junction. That's where you want to live.

And now that's where we live.

Todd and I fell in love with it as soon as we walked inside. And as soon as I realized that oh my gosh, it has a walk in pantry, and on my gosh, it has a walk in master closet, it was a done deal. You just can't find old Craftsmans, even redone old Craftsmans, with a decent closet and a pantry. But this one has both. Sold!

We're anticipating moving in sometime during the last two weeks of September. Which gives us a month to get it somewhat up to speed before the wedding. Talk about cutting it close.

And related to cutting it close, you know that Todd and I are all about the signs. The signs control us. Well, we had said if we didn't have any decent offers, and didn't find a good house by September 7, we were done. We'd try again next year. And then lo' and behold, on September 2, everything falls into place. I was temped to email The Universe (because I have his email address now, and we're friends on Facebook - The Universe is hip like that) and ask just what did he think he was doing? Could he maybe have not of waited until the last minute? Sheesh!

But I see the beauty here. I see the learning experience. I'm no dummy.

I am, however, officially a homeowner.
Crazy.

WWRD?

Raechelle would have written in a damn question when her very favorite blog asked her to! But no one sent a question. So, we have no column today.

And I sure don’t have the brain power to think up a question. I have too much going on in my head. House stuff, wedding stuff, work stuff. Ack!

We’ll try again next week.

Until then, enjoy your (hopefully three day) weekend.

And this kitty picture that reminds me of me and TBFE. Except we have less fur and we don’t sleep in the sink.

My Soon-To-Be Son...

....is 5'9" now.


Mom wanted a photo, so see how big he's gotten, but he doesn't like to have his picture taken. I said we could blur out his face, but he preferred to stand beside me, turned around.

Whatever.

It still shows how big he is, and how tiny I am.

Speaking of my kids, my soon to be daughter bought me a present yesterday.

It says "Shoe Fund".
Does she know me or what?

Todd already put some change in it. I'm well on my way!

WWRD?

I had dinner with Jamie last week. She just bought herself a new condo! Yay!

She was asking me questions about organization and packing, and I told her about Stephanie’s email a few weeks ago.

Steph was cleaning her office and thought, “Would Raechelle keep her printer manual on her desk, and if so, where? Or would she file it away?” She said she should just wear a necklace when she cleaned that said “What Would Raechelle Do?” or “WWRD?”

Todd took it one step further and said, “How about WTFWRD?”

Get it? The WTF?
No? Ask a 20 year old…

Anyway, guess what Stephanie got for her birthday?



I’m so good.

Jamie thought that was great (as did Stephanie) and said that should be a blog feature. What Would Raechelle Do?

I like it! And you know how I love talking about organizing and cleaning and preaching the gospel of vacuum cleaners. So, on Friday I’ll start a new feature of the blog. WWRD? Or maybe, when it’s a tough question, WTFWRD?

So use that link “Email Me!” on the right and send me your organizing or cleaning questions. I’ll pick one per week and answer it.

It’s not like I have anything else going on, right?

She’s Wound Up Tighter Than a Pissed Off Rattlesnake

My horoscope for today.

From The Seattle Times:

Aries (March 21-April 19): Today is a 5 -- A puzzle you've been putting together finally starts to make sense. A little more work and you'll solve the mystery.

Really? It’s all going to make sense now?
Thank.Gawd.

Cause this funky little dance of sell for this price, buy for this price, put this much down, but you need this much for closing costs, but have this much money left over is going to give me a freakin’ heart attack.

Todd asked me this morning if I would be disappointed if we took the house off the market and just stopped this. He said maybe it’s just too much with all of the other stresses. And I asked him, “Are you stressed about the wedding? Really?”

And he sighed and said, "No."
I said, “Neither am I.”

It's just this house stuff. But it should be done soon. It has to be done by September 7. We’ve decided that if we have no acceptable offers, if we can’t find another place we like, we stop this madness cold turkey so we can really enjoy the last two months leading up to the wedding.

So we’ve got one week.

There are things happening. Trust me. But the funky little dance isn’t written down on paper yet. That’s the key. The signatures.

One week. Just a little bit longer….

…but man, my head hurts.

Braindead

I missed another game! Dammit!

I complete forgot (I KNOW!) that the Seahawks played last night. FOR.GOT.

We got caught up in a movie (Leatherheads – awesome) and then in the midst, had to vacate for a showing, then came back and finished the movie, then ordered pizza and watched another movie (Lords of Dogtown – also awesome), then watched the documentary about that movies, and then went to bed.

And I missed my boys win yet another pre-season game!

I’m sorry, guys. I promise to pay better attention and look at the calendar regularly (the games are on the calendar!) Really.

They play again Thursday. I've got a big post it note on my monitor.

I will not miss this.

Why Didn't I Think of That?

It's fabulous.

A box for your RSVPs. No on one side, Yes on the other side. Alphabetized index cards to separate by name. And even matches the invitations!

Genius.


My friend, CB, says "Ridiculous. I will get a shoebox and MAKE you one of those. Much better."

But will it be covered in pretty paper?

She says, "Of course!"

I say, she's hired.

Why can't I think of this stuff before other people do? Oddly enough, this site is by the same woman who wrote my Big Ass Wedding Book. She's a pro. She knows what the crazy brides want. We want useless boxes of crap that are pretty and remind us that we're getting married!

Speaking of crazy and organizing, I got on a kick last night and organized the hell out of our white board. I've got a list of things we still need to spend money on, a list of To Do items, a list of questions for the caterer, and taped to the board, a drawing that eerily resembles a football playbook that tells me who is riding in which car to get from West Seattle to the rehearsal dinner and then who is riding in which car to get back to West Seattle/the hotel downtown/back their lodging.

There are lots of arrows.

All the while, Todd worked on the processional music and drafted up some programs. We were bustling. Today, we're emailing ideas about paper back and forth. There will be a trip to Paper Zone this evening.

Yes, it's a good day.

Random Thoughts About The Weekend Update

We had another open house, and I, of course, had another freak out. There will be no more open houses. I cannot take it. We had some genuine interest this time, so hopefully, there will be no need for another open house.

**********

We also have a showing scheduled for tomorrow, and I just got a call from someone at my company who saw my listing on our company news board. We have movement!

**********

TBFE and I went Kauai shopping. And I bought (er…Todd bought me) a bathing suit! And I actually feel kinda good in it! I am ready for the beach…

**********

We met with my friend who is making our wedding cake. And I told Todd last night, there is a certain beauty to planning this wedding among house buying and house selling and teenager drama.

We don’t fret over the details.

Our cake meeting took a whopping 30 minutes. We said we like this, we don’t like this, we want to do this, there are this many people, and BAM. We’re getting a wedding cake. We don’t have the energy to scrutinize the details, like how many roses we want on the cake or how many different types of combinations or do we want fondant or buttercream frosting.

Just gimme a damn cake that tastes good and let’s move on. I got things to do.

**********

I forgot my glasses at home and my head already hurts from staring at the computer. Maybe it’s time for eye appointment and back up glasses?

Nah. I’m not ready yet.

**********

The Seahawks won Saturday night!! We’re 2-0!

Okay, yes it’s only preseason, but hopefully it’s a good sign for regular season.

And the Redskins beat the Steelers. Holy crap. Way to go, ‘Skins!

**********
We bought new shampoo and toothpaste this weekend. The shampoo smell is different and the toothpaste taste is different. So I have this “homesick” feeling in my gut. I get this when I’m surrounded by unfamiliarity.

I have a new shirt on, too. That’s not helping.

**********

Which is a more significant sign of aging –

The fact that I get those little, stiff, black hairs on my chin, or the fact that I can oh-so-discreetly yank them out with my tweezers while sitting in my cube because I have been doing it for years and I am THAT GOOD?

**********

Every now and then, I am distracted by my sparklerific ring. Either the light catches it just so or it knocks against something and makes a loud thunk. And then it hits me all over again.

I’m getting married.

And then I think, “I just wanted to sing with a band. Really.”

Funny how things work out.

**********

To wrap up this riveting post, please enjoy this pic a snuggling Tom.

Tom doesn’t care if you’re laying on your stomach, your back or your side. If he sees a warm body, he’s on it. He laid like that until my arm fell asleep and I had to rollover.

My little, fuzzy baby...

I Am Offended!

From The Seattle Times:

Aries (March 21-April 19): Today is a 7 -- You're doing something the hard way concerning record-keeping. It's too hard to find what you need. Get organized.

Excuse me? "Get organized"?

Just who do you think you're talking to, Ms. Universe?

Have you seen my Holy-Crap-I'm-Actually-Getting-Married spreadsheet (15 tabs!) and organizer?

I enter my receipts into Quicken at least once a week. And I have all of my blank birthday cards in their month appropriate pocket in coordination with the person I think they're good for. And our Google calendar color coordinated so that we can glance at it to see who is doing what that day (I am red, Todd is blue, Kayleigh is green and Tyler is tan). And my shoes (that aren't in storage) are still in their labeled, clear bins.

I am organized!!

Oh wait.

Are you talking about the wedding invitation I lost? Is that what you mean?

Well, I had to clean up my desk for the open houses and I put a bunch stuff "somewhere" so it would be out of the way, but still accessible, but now I can't find that pile of stuff and I finally had to email Jessica and ask where her wedding was again because I have "temporarily misplaced" the invite and this pains me more than you could ever, ever know.

She replied with, "Rae-rae! I am SHOCKED."

Sigh.

Rae-rae loses things now. It's very sad.
But, by gawd, I am still "organized"!

Sleep

Yeah, I’m gettin’ none of that. I thought I would crash hard last night, but even with a nip of my codeine cough syrup, I was still either awake most of the night or snoozing but could hear every little thing around me. Even with earplugs.

This is odd to me because I have never had a problem sleeping. My mother often tells people that, when I was just a baby, she finally took me to the doctor because I was sleeping 12 hours a day. She would put me down at 7pm, then have to physically wake me at 9am the next morning. The doctor’s response?

Don’t knock it. Consider yourself lucky.

I’m still like that, although 12 hours really isn’t an option anymore. Now, sleeping in means getting at 9:00am. Which really is plenty of sleep. I should be thankful for that.

I’m not sure what I’ll do tonight. Benadryl? Valarian? Baseball bat? There are lots of options. I just hope I’m not up again. Three nights of very little sleep is gonna make Rae-rae a cranky biach.

You Said It, Girlfriend

Thank you, TBFE. For the laugh.

And the nightmares that are sure to come tonight....

Weekend Update

It was a good weekend. Lots of social time, lots of house time and very low stress. I like weekends like that.

Friday night Todd and I hung out the Celtic Swell and decompressed and talked wedding stuff. We even had the waitresses helping. So how can that not be fun?

Saturday, we continued the wedding fun and visited the Sanctuary at Admiral again to get some measurements, look at the tables and arrangements and time the walk down the aisle. We figured out where the chairs would be, where the cake will be, where the jugglers will be.

Just kidding. There will be no jugglers. Sorry.

That afternoon, Todd finished up the new railing on the porch and I detailed the inside of Sportacus, his truck. He’s cleaner than Ruby now. I’m not happy with that. So guess what I’ll be doing this coming weekend?

That night, we traveled to Ballard to see Thornton Creek play at Egan’s. Egan’s is a great little venue with wonderful food and a homey, friendly vibe. We sat with a few of the Millers and visited throughout the show. I’m very lucky that Todd likes them as much as I do. And they seem to like him, too. I also saw some acquaintances I hadn’t seen in years, so I got to tell the whole I’m-getting-married! story again and introduce my fiancé. Who knew there was anyone left that I hadn’t gushed to?!

Sunday, the wedding fun continued as Kim and I went and bought her Best Lady dress. Then we just wandered around and oohed and ahhhed over all the frilliness. I told Kim, whenever I’m in bad mood, I’m just going to go to a bridal shop and hang out. You can’t help but smile when you see the little flower girls running around in their pretty dresses, or the young brides in the big, poofy gowns.

I told Todd a few days ago, I’m almost sad that the wedding is so near. I already miss the conversations about what color theme we should have and do we want a buffet or a family style dinner (family style. Definitely.) All of the decisions we had to make in the beginning and buying my first wedding magazines and ripping out pages of dresses that I liked.

Sigh.

He said I’ll get to experience it again when Kayleigh gets married. I keep asking her if she has a boyfriend yet, but she just rolls her eyes at me.

The rest of Sunday was spent doing some house cleaning, making some dinner and then watching the repeat of the first preseason Seahawks game that originally aired on Saturday but I missed it because I have completely lost my mind and can’t even keep track of when football starts. I hate myself. And now the Seahawks are going to suck this year because I wasn’t there at their very first kick off, in my Seahawks sweatshirt, with my Seahawks coasters, screaming for them to KICK SOME ASS.

Please forgive me, ‘Hawks. I just have a lot going on right now. What the hell was I thinking, planning a wedding during football season?! I promise to not miss any more games. Well, except September 27th’s because that’s my bridal shower and I don’t think football factors into my mother-in-law’s vision of wine and cupcakes and then on November 15th I’ll be drunk out of my gourd on a beach in Kauai, so unless I can find a battery powered TV, no can watch. I hope you guys understand.

Maybe the Seahawks don’t need me, because they beat the Chargers, 21 to 14. We sacked the Chargers’ QB 4 times and made 2 (or 3?) interceptions. That’s a pretty good start to the season.

And all of the games are now on the Google calendar. So, I have no excuse.

Sunday night, Todd and I tried to go bed early, but I got a wild hair to make a present for a friend and then we both laid down, but neither one of us really slept all night. Well, until 5:30 this morning.

Why is that? You lay awake all night, unable to sleep, tossing and turning. Then your alarm goes off, you hit snooze and BAM, you’re out like a light, dreaming and everything, and then you wake with a jolt and you’re late for work. When you should have just gotten up at 4am and gone on in early, rather than continuing to try to sleep, only to actually fall asleep right when you’re supposed to be getting out of bed.

Yes, you could say I’m a bit cranky today.

But my day is almost over, and it hasn’t been too terribly bad. So here’s hoping for a good 10 hours of sleep tonight. Gotta catch up.

Go ‘Hawks.

General Life Update

To answer the question that is on everyone’s mind – there are no new updates on the houses, the old or the new. We’re assuming the bank is still taking it’s sweet time approving our offer on the new one, and the old one hasn’t had a showing yet. But we are not deterred! Since our closing on the new house isn’t set until September 30th, we really don’t want the house to sell right away. Because then where would we live? If we get to September 15th and we still haven’t had any showings or offers, then I might panic. But it’s too soon for that.

Look at me, being all level headed and practical.

Todd’s stepdad was down last week, helping put up the new porch railing, when he came into the kitchen and said, “You know, you seem to be doing pretty well with everything that’s going on.”

I replied, “It’s the alcohol.”
Bob said, “Oh…that’ll do it…”

My therapist tells me I appear to be holding it together pretty well, too. I’m flattered. I really don’t FEEL that stressed – like crying at the drop of a hat, or screaming my head off for no reason stressed. I think my stress lives solely in my brain.

It’s hard to tell what’s natural and comes with aging, or what is simply losing my mind. For instance, I lost a credit card. Never in my life, even as an irresponsible 20 something, have I ever lost something so important. And now, I’ve lost a credit card. I lost Jessica’s wedding invitation. I moved a box of tissues when we were taking photos for the listing and could not for the life of me find them after the shoot (an hour later, I found them behind my dresser. Wha..?)

I forgot to shampoo my hair one morning. Went straight to the conditioner. Then couldn’t figure out why my hair was so greasy later that day. And sometimes, I have to ask what day it is.

Funny. These are also symptoms of perimenopause. Wonder if the hot flashes and night sweats are signs of stress, too?

My therapist suggests I take a little time each day, just for me, just to let my brain have some quiet time. I’ve told you about my Tom therapy. That helps. Being able to decompress and download to Todd helps, too. Just to get everything off my mind at the end of the day.

And I feel like we’re in a lull right now. We can’t actively do anything to sell the house (except clean. And build a railing, but that’s finished now.) or buy the other house. So I’m in hyper wedding mode.

I have contacted my friend who is making the wedding cake and there will be a meeting next week about the details. The invitations are done, but those don’t need to be mailed until September. I’ll probably contact the caterer in September as well, to finalize the menu and all that fun stuff. Todd and I have been compiling music and sketching out the itinerary for the ceremony, so that makes us feel productive.

And Kim and I are going dress shopping on Sunday!

Speaking of Kim, I thought of her when I saw this LOL cat.


She’s already married, though, so it shouldn’t come to this.

(Late) Weekend Update

In bullets!
Because I’m lazy (loaded word).

Friday

* Attended the opening of Kayleigh’s play, The Music Man, at West Seattle High School. After first having dinner and margaritas.

* The play was great, Kayleigh was great. Here’s a pic from the West Seattle Blog.

* We forgot to get flowers, but took her out for ice cream afterwards.

* Home. Bed.

Saturday

* TBFE and the kids painted the new railing to the porch and cleaned off a patio set that magically appeared Friday morning. Real estate agents are sneaky that way.

* I made banana nut muffins for breakfast, did lots of overdue admin work and contacted a plumber to come out and see why there was water on the kids’ bathroom floor.

* Plumber came out, and it appears the toilet overflowed, yet no one noticed. Until late Thursday night. Plumber fixed the toilet. All is well (and dry).

* Todd and I went to Costco to prepare for Sunday’s shoot and then hit the grocery store.

* I made dinner (baked spaghetti) and we watched Serendipity while Kayleigh was at her play. Cute little movie.

* Then bed.

Sunday

* Todd was up and out at 8:00am to shoot the next Duo short.

* I slept in, then took two hours getting myself together. I plucked, shaved, exfoliated, blow dried and painted stuff. It’s a rare day when I get a chance to groom.

* I took Kayleigh to her matinee and then joined Todd at the shoot.

* We wrapped about 4:00pm, then headed across the street with Trish, Dan and Dan for some munchies and beverages at The Bohemian, our new favorite little bar.

* Picked Kayleigh up after her play, headed home and vegged for the remainder of the evening.

* Then bed.

Yes, it was another one of those weekends.....whew. The fun never stops!

My Horoscope

From The Seattle Times:

Aries (March 21-April 19): Work out your plan so that you know exactly what you're doing. You always find it comforting to have a blueprint.


Well, duh.
Tell me something I don't already know.

Random Thoughts

I started taking prenatal vitamins. I call them my baby pills. Which makes Todd laugh and cringe at the same time. No, I’m not trying to get pregnant. Although I have this secret fear that taking prenatal vitamins makes my body pregnant. Todd assures me that’s not how it works.

I just want my hair and nails to be healthy and pretty.

**********

I’m also using moisturizing body wash now, in order to make my skin silky smooth and hydrated. My Big Ass Wedding Book told me to. And I must listen to The Big Ass Wedding Book.

Although, I’m not a body wash kinda gal. I was raised on soap and a wash cloth. The loofa is weird and I can’t keep a hold of it. And it just doesn’t feel like it’s getting me clean, especially after this particularly hot and stinky week. But my skin is smoother, and Todd says I smell good, so I guess it’s okay.

**********

Speaking of the wedding, I had a dream last night that it was the wedding day but everything was off. Todd was watching me get into my gown and I was thinking, “He’s not supposed to see me yet!” And my hair was down, but pulled back a little (not at all what I had in mind) and I didn’t have earrings but I thought, “Oh well. Who will notice?” Ha! Not at all like me. Then I couldn’t find my Schedule Enforcer, Julie, and was thinking maybe she didn’t even show up, and the hair and make up gal wasn’t there, so I was trying to put on enough eyeliner to do that smoky thing.

But I also noticed my dress was a smidge looser. That made me happy.

Eventually, I realized everything was awry because we had moved the wedding up. By a couple of months. Then everyone started leaving, but they were walking across my very long train (unlike my dress) and I was gathering up it in my arms yelling, “THIS IS A THOUSAND DOLLAR DRESS, PEOPLE! GET OFF MY TRAIN! YOU GUYS SUCK!”

Weird, no?

**********

And one other wedding note, due to timing issues, the part of the Best Lady will now be played by Kim (aka Kim-n-Tim-Milo). Not to worry, Jamie and I are a-okay.

Kim, however, is very enthusiastic and has made the mistake of telling me she welcomes my barrage of wedding emails. So she may end up quitting before the big day. We’ll just see how much she really loves this stuff.

**********

General life update: our house hasn’t sold (dammit!), we still haven’t heard back from the bank regarding the new house, and things with the boy are calm and pleasant. I’ve seen Kayleigh for maybe two hours total since Sunday. She’s been at her friend’s and then at rehearsal until 11:00pm. Quite the flourishing butterfly she is.

And I’ve been having crackers or a bagel for breakfast, noodles for lunch and pasta for dinner for too many days in a row. I need some vegetables.

And it's darn near chilly today. Thank goodness.

Therapy

This is my new therapy. Tom Time.

Tom and I spend a little bit of time every evening snuggling. Normally with him laying on my chest, right around bedtime. It makes me stay in one place, and it makes me look at him and coo. How could I possibly be stressed or upset when watching such a loving kitty sleep on me?

We laid on the couch this evening, when I got home from work. Kayleigh was at a friend's, Tyler was in his room and Todd was doing some work on the computer. The house was quiet and I wanted to just rest my eyes. I called Tom up on me and I laid and looked out at the backyard, at the sun going down and the locust tree swaying in the breeze.

We laid like this for about an hour. Then it was time for a meeting, then dinner needed to be made, then the dishes cleaned up. Now it's almost time for bed.

But I got my Tom Time in. Just a bit of quiet and stillness each day. I think it's doing some good.

**********

I like this photo, too.

Reason # 3 Why I Hate My Job

Letters like this:

“Dear Valued Customer,

Beginning in August 2009, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics (OCD), Therakos, Inc. and Veridex, LLC will implement changes to our Customer Services to align with those of other Medical Devices & Diagnostics Companies of Johnson & Johnson. Our goal is to provide simpler, more coordinated processes for order management, billing, returns and inquiry resolution. To do this, Customer Services previously managed by OCD, Therakos and Veridex are transitioning to Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc. (JJHCS).”

Um. What?

This is what happens when a company gets too big.
Just tell me who I need to call to order crap.

Weekend Update

I told Todd last night that this was one of the best weekends I’ve had in a long time. Now, that’s saying something.

Our weekend started Friday night with the traditional pizza movie night. We made pizzas, instead of ordering in, and watched Transporter 3. I am now a huge fan of these movies. It helps that Jason Statham is just beautiful, but the fight sequences alone are enough to have me on the edge of the couch. Just awesome.

This movie, however, was probably the weakest of the three. Jason gets the woman in every movie, but why on earth did he even want this woman? I wasn’t convinced that he liked her, let alone loved her and took her fishing with him. Gimme a break. And the little strip tease scene? Lame. Jason can kill a man with his dress shirt; why on earth would he tolerate this rich little twit demanding he do a strip tease to get his car keys back? I don’t think so.

Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t mind WATCHING the strip tease. Even though he only took off his jacket, tie and shirt and he really wasn’t “teasing” at all. It was still good, cheap entertainment.

After that movie, we watched 10 Things I Hate About You because it was Eric Riedmann’s first movie and well, how could we not? (Eric played Afriel, Protector of the Children, in Todd’s movie Ordinary Angels. My mother probably gave Eric the highest compliment when, after watching OA, she said, “I really believe he would protect the children!”.) We cheered when Eric said his one and only line, then critiqued the rest of the film and tried to figure out where they were since it was filmed in Seattle.

Earlier in the evening, I made the declaration that I would be sleeping in on Saturday. And I promised ice cream to those who worked hard to help make that happen. Kayleigh obliged – she went to spend the night with her friend. Tyler obliged – he slept until 10:00am. And Todd obliged – he snuck out of the bedroom at probably 6:30am or so. I didn’t even stir until 8:30 and at 9:15, finally decided that I was sufficiently rested and got up.

And wow, what a difference sleep can make! It was a beautiful sunny day, and only really warm, not oh-please-kill-me-I-can’t-take-this-heat hot. Todd and I had some coffee and breakfast, then tidied up for the first of two open houses for the weekend. Kayleigh was hanging with her friend all day, Tyler finally got to hang out with his buddy for the day, so as of 12:45pm, Todd and I were on our own!

We went to check out some wedding bands. Muy fun. We went to look at the tux that Todd picked out and size up the colors. So pretty. We had lunch at Blue C. We swung by Costco for kitty litter. We toured a couple of hotel rooms downtown to get an idea of what we wanted in our wedding night room. And then we headed to my co-worker’s BBQ. Which turned out to be a great time. There were only about 15 or so people, but it made for a nice circle around a plastic, kiddie wading pool. The yard was huge and sunny (and hot) with the exception of a nice shady patch in the back. People threw the ball for the dog, there was a dart board and horse shoes, and her husband grilled up yummy salmon fresh from Alaska.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had such an carefree, relaxing evening. New people made for fun conversation. Todd and I throw parties all the time, but I’m in such host mode that I don’t take time to enjoy those parties. I’m too busy making sure everyone else is having a good time.

Keep this in mind if you’re coming to the wedding.

Slight tangent:
When we met with the flower guy, I was asking questions about delivery and would we need to pick up the flowers and how would I need to set them up…. The guy stopped me and said, “You are the bride. You don’t do that. WE do that.” Then he looked at Todd and said, “Tell her she doesn’t have to do anything.”

I don’t have to do anything? But..but…I don’t want to inconvience anyone!

This will be my great challenge. If you see me clearing plates, stop me. It’s a habit.

Anyway. Where was I?
Oh yes. BBQ. Fun time. Much needed.

Sunday was yet another open house (and there was maybe more sleeping in) so we got up, had breakfast (Todd made homemade cinnamon rolls – reason #74 why I love him) and then all headed out. Kayleigh went back to her friend’s, Tyler hung out with his uncle Gavin, Todd had a production meeting with Trish and Dan, and I met up with Jamie for lunch. After lunch, I stopped by to visit Kim-n-Tim-n-Milo, which I hadn’t done in ages. It was a good three house of just chilling out and catching up. Milo didn’t wake up from his nap until about the time I needed to leave, but I got to see him and say hi. He’s two now. I can’t believe how time flies.

After my visit, I picked up Tyler, we hit the grocery store for a couple of things, then arrived home to find Todd bustling around in the kitchen, prepping dinner. We had a lovely sitdown of cold pasta with basil, olive and tomatoes, as well as a Caesar salad. And then it was time for some HGTV House Hunters (I am officially addicted to this show) in the bedroom. Where it was much, much cooler.

And with the exception of the leaf blowers flaring up at 5:30am and Elvis knocking my glass of water off of my nightstand and into my slipper, it’s a pretty good Monday.

So far.
Check with me at 4pm.

How Hot Is It?

It’s so hot that our annual summer work bbq (which is now an “ice cream social” to save money) has been moved INDOORS. Is that irony?

It’s so hot that I didn’t even bother to blow dry my hair this morning.

It’s so hot that, for dinner last night, we had a picnic of meat, cheese and fruit on our bedroom floor.

It’s so hot that my head is pounding and my stomach is sick and all I’ve been able to eat today is a banana.

It’s so hot that public libraries are closing because they don’t have air conditioning and the heat levels inside are nearing “dangerous”.

It’s so hot that I thought the poor lady who bought the VERY LAST FAN at Rite Aid last night was going to get mugged on the way to her car.

It’s so hot that I can’t even contemplate having a cup of coffee. And that just pisses me off.

It’s so hot that I have worn nothing but skirts and dresses all week. I miss my blue jeans. And my sweatshirt.

It is so hot that we can’t even think about anything else. It’s all we talk about, think about and complain about. Oh, there a few people (like my mother, who doesn’t even live here) who absolutely love it. No one is really talking to them, though. It was fun to hit a new record, but okay, we’re done with it now. Let’s get back to that cold, dreary weather we all love so much.

Oh! According to Weather.com, it looks like we might get some showers on August 7! Woohoo!

Ud pate....so....hawt....ug

We hit 101 degrees today. In Seattle. The same city that was snowed in for three weeks last winter. Now we're burning up.

But global warming is a myth.
Yep.

**********

So, what else is going on, besides our famous weather? No one came to our open house on Sunday. That was a bit disappointing, but the house hasn't even been on the market for week, so it's a little early to start freaking out.

Oh, but you know me. It doesn't take much for me to freak out. Like Sunday morning, for instance. We were rushing around, trying to clean up and get out of the house by 10:30am because the open house was at 11:00am and it was already hot and for the love of puppies, why the hell can't you just PUT YOUR SHOES AWAY??

I may have had a meltdown. I may have thrown the garbage in the garbage can a little too forcefully. There were tears. And comments like "What the hell was I thinking, taking all of this on RIGHT NOW?!"

I may have scared Todd a smidge.

My therapist suggests that I am slightly stressed. Who knew?

But not to worry. All is good. Stress is to be expected during all of this. We're tacking the three biggest stress factors, all at once. The key is look at the big picture. Just a few more months and our house will have sold, we'll be moved into the new house and we'll have gotten through the wedding festivities. Then we'll be sitting on a plane, headed to Kauai.

Oh yea.

And we will not be moving, selling or marrying EVER AGAIN. Life will be gravy from here on out. Well, except for the whole teenager thing.

**********

The rest of Sunday was lovely. I took off and had breakfast by myself down at Alki, then sat and watched the water and talked to a friend on the phone. Then I drove down to Nichole's baby shower. Lots of cute things. And when I got home, Trish and Dan were here, so we made a little deli dinner and chatted about our wedding and their pregnancy. Everyone seems to be in some form of change. Pregnancy, buying a home, having a baby. Big year.

**********

And this week is just spent laying on the floor in the basement. This is the only time I love having the bedrooms down here. It's like a different climate.

We've got another three days or so of unbelievable weather, but then we drop down into the 80s this weekend. Ha. "Drop down". Funny.

Feelin' Hot, Hot, Hot

Please send snow.

House For Sale

It's official.
The house went on the market yesterday.

After five days of busting our tushies, putting stuff in storage, wiping down walls, window sills, windows, doors, door frames, kitchen cabinets, dusting, polishing, sanding, painting, and hiring people to do the yard and haul junk away, we are EXHAUSTED. I have never known this kind of tired. And I don't know how people do this more than once in their lifetime.

Oh, I've MOVED a lot. I am an expert packer and mover. Moving is one thing. Selling is a completely different beast. We had the house ready to show yesterday, although it didn't get on the market until last night, and it was a good thing. We got a call from an agent at 10am, wanting to come by in an hour. So we woke the kids and took them to Denny's. I can see how this will get old really quickly.

So, let's hope for a quick sell, shall we?

My Horoscope For Today

From Yahoo:

Quickie
Go ahead -- be daring. The universe will rise to meet you in your endeavors.

Man, I hope so.

I feel like we’re leaping through the air, flappin’ our arms, trying to keep ourselves up until we spot that metaphorical net. You know, leap and the net will appear?

Okay. We’ve leapt!

Where the hell’s the net?

Overview
You're feeling the buzz today, and you can't help but share it with others! Now is the best time for you to get folks together and see if you can't make something extra-crazy happen!

I don’t want “extra-crazy”. My life is “extra-crazy”.
At this point, I would be happy with “secure”.

I don’t ask for much.

What Would Happen If I Actually Stood Still?

Gawd help me, we made an offer on a house.
Actually, I made an offer on a master bedroom closet. Trust me. It’s totally worth it.

It’s a custom closet, complete with little shoe racks that you stand your shoes up on (My babies will love it!) and pull out shelves and little cubbies for your socks. There’s a vanity IN THE CLOSET with a sink and a cabinet and I can get ready in the morning IN THE CLOSET, surrounded by my shoes. I may just sleep in there.

Okay, the house that is attached to this closet is really nice, too.

We’ve been house hunting off and on for about year. You know this. We’ve blogged about it. But last week, a house that we’d been stalking for a couple of months finally dropped into our price range. So we pounced. And whadya know, the sellers actually accepted our offer. Huh. It’s a short sale, so we won’t know anything for a few weeks (funny, huh? Short sales take so much longer….weird) but man alive, I’m learning some grown up stuff. The mind boggles.

To add to the fun, we sat down with our agent on Saturday and filled out all the paperwork to list our house (well, Todd’s house really. But he’ll correct me and say “our” house. So okay fine, OUR house. But it’s still Todd’s house. I didn’t sign anything).

We filled in all the cute little boxes that say how great the house is (soaking tub, bath off master, high-speed internet, carport-attached) and signed and initialed a bunch of papers. It was all very exciting.

And I will say the question that asks “Has this property ever been involved in a fire, flood, earthquake, yada yada yada” was THE MOST fun to answer. We needed an extra sheet of paper.

Oh, but then it was all very nauseating because our agent said she wanted to list it on Thursday.

THIS Thursday. Five days from now Thursday.

Um…then we should get to cleaning, yes?

And we did. At 6:30am on Sunday. Todd was awakened early (by my snoring. Sorry sweetie.) so he got up, and that woke me and then my mind started racing (see: panicking) about everything that had to be done, so I just went ahead and got started. We were muy productive. We two trips to storage, each in our respective cars, we cleared out the office, we cleared out the bedroom and closet.

We finally came to a stop at 6pm so we could clean up, take Kayleigh to rehearsal and then go out for a much needed margarita.

So, this week is about cleaning. Deep, deep cleaning. Like, wiping down the baseboards and doors and walls and the inside of the fridge and the windows. And taking my wedding dress to the seamstress for hemming. And rehearsals. And counseling appointments. And movie meetings. And movie shoots. And listing a house. And waiting to hear back about the new house. And tae kwon do. And belt tests! And baby showers (yay, Nichole!!)

Ack.
What day is it?

**********

This post brought to you by wine and chocolate. Because I see a lot of it in the near future. Tropical honeymoon be damned.

Lessons About The Facebook

I would like to give props to my Mama. She accidentally got herself a Facebook profile!

Isn't that the coolest?!

I'm still waiting for her to update her status.

But be careful!! Some people just don't understand how to use the Facebook. As evidenced here.

Although that the first one is hysterical.
Because it's true.

Oh, She With The Curious Mind

Back in 2000, I started temping at WRQ (a software company, not a radio station) after I quit my jobs at the montessori school and at the dance studio. I had been working 15 hour days, and had no social life.

So I decided to suck it up and go back into an office. Easy money, 8 to 5 day, and health insurance. My assignment was for four months and it was mindless work. I moved information from one database to another, to get ready for the implementation of a new customer service database named Siebel.

Well, four months turned into six months, and six months turned into a year and then I finally got hired on full time. And my boss was a nice man named David.

David gave me more responsibility. I was in charge of cleaning the database. I merged duplicate entries, I retyped information so that it was all uniform and consistent (yes, it was a dream job). But in the process of cleaning this data, I started to notice that the sales people were using it in different ways. Therefore, the data was being entered inconsistently and I was having to retype everything. I realize now that was simply job security, but I’m all about efficiency and doing it right the first time.

So I started to talk to the sales people and ask them about their processes. How did they use the database? What information did they need to extract from the database? What part of the database did they not use? What part did they hate? We ended up making some changes to the database and doing training sessions for the sales people, so that everyone was on the same page and using the information the same way. Go Raechelle.

When it came time for my first review, I was praised in most everyway. I was a good worker, I was fast, I was punctual, I was fun to work with. But David gave me one ding. He said “Raechelle needlessly concerns herself with tasks that do not relate to her job.”

Um. Needlessly?

I’ve been telling this story a lot lately. As a buyer, I’m buying things that are very foreign to me. Pipette tips, hexahydrate, a geneamp PCR. Stuff like that. And I like to ask my customer what these things are used for, so I have a better understanding of what we need should the vendor ask me when I’m placing the order.

And I can hear David in my head saying, “You’re just the buyer, Raechelle. You don’t need to concern yourself with what this stuff is. Just do your job. Just buy the stuff.”

I tell David to shut up.

Because my inquisivitiveness has paid off. I am in the middle of trying to get these cartridges from our vendor, but our vendor ran out completely, so we only got seven of the 30 we ordered. I had no idea what these things were, only that our lab folks were calling on a daily basis says, “We REALLY need these! We’re running out. PLEASE see what you can do!” (This is the part of my job I don’t like so much.)

And the kicker with these cartridges is that they all have to be of the same lot. I had no idea what this meant, but I kept telling the vendor “Yes, please send the remaining cartridges, but please make sure they are of the same lot.” The vendor should know what that means, right?

Finally, the manager of the lab called me to get an update. She’d been hearing updates, but wanted to know first hand where we stood. I had been doing everything in my power to get these freakin’ cartridges (not really even knowing what they’re for) but the vendor kept telling me they just don’t have any, but they would be getting a shipment of them in soon. I told all of this to the manager, and she was very sweet and thanked me for doing what I could. Then I asked her, even as I heard David’s voice in my head, “What do these things do? Why are they so important?”

Well.
Before these cartridges came along, our lab people had to manually separate blood samples. Pull the white from the red, then extract DNA then separate something else. These cartridges do all of that for them in one spin. What used to take them hours to do now, with these cartridges, takes seconds.

Sold!

I called the vendor back and asked to speak to a manager. I said we would be out of these cartridges in the next five days and if we do not have our remaining shipment, there was going to be hell to pay. And these puppies MUST BE from the same lot because if they are not, we have to test that lot and to test a lot uses four cartridges. FOUR WHOLE CARTRIDGES. So, by gawd, they better be from the same lot because a case of 100 cartridges (tiny, little cartridges) is $800 and we are not wasting FOUR CARTRIDGES to test these lots because you can’t seem to get them all from one lot when THAT’S YOUR JOB.

Yes, yes. Feeeeeel the power.

Well, the cartridges came in, and they were all from the same lot and the manager of the lab thanked me profusely for keeping on the vendor and I look like I know what I’m doing. And now when the order comes through for these things, I AM ON IT.

So.
In my opinion, asking questions isn’t such a bad thing, now is it?

Weekend Update

As per usual, this weekend was a non-stop, breakneck speed whirlwind of productiveness and socializing. I fear the day when all of this catches up with me.

Friday night, I caught a ride with my work buddy CB to the Junction after work to meet up with Todd and enjoy my first festival of the summer (in mid-July), the West Seattle Summerfest. We saw the band Gunbunny (the drummer was in Ordinary Angels), met up with some friends for happy hour and food, then toodled around until Mudhoney came on.

Slight tangent: For those of you not from ‘round here, Mudhoney is one of the very first Seattle grunge bands. Their song “Touch Me I’m Sick” was referenced in the movie Singles. Matt Dillon’s band’s song “Touch Me I’m Dick” was a wee bit of a rip off.

Anywho, we listened for about 15 minutes, said, “Woohoo, we saw Mudhoney!” then went and got another drink.

Saturday, up and out early to pick up Ruby. Apparently there was a broken cable in the driver’s side door which was shorting out a specific fuse. Who knew? So everything is working now. Except the tachometer is a little sticky. I’m not so concerned about that, though.

After picking up Ruby, we went by Metropolitan Market and ordered our flowers for the wedding! The Flower Dude said we were very easy (he has no idea). We went in saying “We need this many boutonnieres, this many bouquets and this many centerpieces. We want this color, and this flower.” BAM, done! Except I forgot about corsages. Crap. Sorry, mom. You gotta wear a flower. Deal with it.

And after the flowers, a quick bite to eat, then on to Lincoln Park to attend a friend’s birthday picnic. And boy howdy, it was hot. I think it got into the 80’s on Saturday and sitting outside in the sun was a shock to the system. Luckily, half of the picnic table was shaded, so there was relief.

Then, back home where, after a quick nap, I got a wild hair and washed Ruby. While listening to thunder! It was just like being in Texas again.

And later, there was curling up in the bedroom, watching X-Men, which I had never seen. And I liked it!

Sunday, up early again, this time due to a certain 15 year old who was up early. But that’s okay. Jamie was due to arrive at 10:30am, and then she, Kayleigh and I were off to shop for bridesmaids’ dresses.

I was in a bit of a panic at this point. Since I only had two dresses to think about, I thought, oh, we’ll just go to David’s Bridal and (hopefully) buy off the rack. Kayleigh is 11, growing like a weed and not enthusiastic about wearing a dress at all, so I wasn’t going to put much effort into it. But after hearing through the grapevine that bridesmaids’ dresses take about four months to order and get in, I lost it. Official wedding panic set in and it lit a fire under my ass. What if I have to actually ORDER ONE for her? So, off to David’s Bridal we went. Luckily, we found one that she’s comfortable in, and Jamie even found a couple that she liked, so whew, we don’t have to order one. We do have to go to another store, as the Southcenter David’s Bridal didn’t have the correct size for Kayleigh, but that’s easy enough. The Lynnwood store does, so we’ll just go up there this week sometime.

So, flowers, done! Dresses, done!

Now I need to make an appointment with a seamstress for my alterations on my dress. It’s really just hemming it up and putting on a bustle. No letting out or taking in. Anywhere!

Let’s see….where were we?

Ah, David’s Bridal.

After dress shopping we stopped for a quick lunch, then dashed back home, so Todd and I could go look at yet another house. Which was just okay. Sigh…..but! It was right across the street from one we had looked at a month ago, and that house has since dropped in price, twice! So we looked at it again. And found even more great things about it.

We’ll take the kids to look at it this week and then figure out what we want to do at this point. There will be more pros and cons lists. I’m sure of it.

And after looking at houses, we slowed things down. Made dinner, ran Kayleigh to rehearsal, and settled in for some Family Guy.

This week looks to be just as jam packed as the weekend. Tae kwon do classes, another visit to a couple of houses, lunch with friends, counseling for everyone and then the reward for a busy week, the Kirby Krackle show on Friday!

I can’t believe it’s only Monday.

Update on the Edith Macefield House

If you remember, back in February of 2008, Edith Macefield turned down one million dollars when developers tried to buy her house. Then Edith passed away in June of 2008 and left the house to the construction supervisor.

Yesterday, in the Seattle Times, there was an article about Edith’s house being sold to a motivational speaker.

MyBallard.com also has a informative article about plans for the house.

I'm not so sure how I feel about the plan. Seems shady to me. But at least the house isn't getting torn down.

In the end, Edith wins. Her house still stands.

Weekend Update

A brief recap of our long, holiday weekend.

Friday, I made the trek to Ballard for the much anticipated pedicure, followed by some errands and a trip to Goodwill. When in Ballard….

That afternoon, Todd and I met up with our real estate agent to look at a couple more houses, one of which may be just the break we’ve been looking for. But it’s too soon to talk it about or get our hopes up.

Unfortunately, our hopes are up because we spent a few hours at Home Depot on Saturday pricing stoves, refrigerators, cabinets, countertops, flooring, tile, front doors and other fun house stuff. There may be a spreadsheet. I’m not at liberty to say, really.

Sunday was the day to try on The Dress. I picked up Stephanie and Isabella and we headed off to I Do Bridal, where Jamie was waiting for us. There was much oohing and ahhing as The Dress fit P E R E C T L Y. I’ll need to have it hemmed up a couple of inches and have a bustle put on, but other than that…..like a glove. Despite being bloated! (I love my uterus!)

To celebrate The Dress fitting perfectly, we went out for crepes afterwards. I’m bettin’ that dress don’t fit so perfect anymore. Ack.

After crepes, I took Stephanie and Isabella home, and, so as not to tempt my fiancé, I hung my wedding dress in Stephanie’s closet. In my ex-boyfriend’s girlfriend’s closet. Stephanie likes to say we are so “new millennium”.

Back in January, Todd and I were talking about our wedding party and how we’re happy to only have two people standing up there with us. Todd rattled off the names of the men he could possibly have, if we were doing a large wedding party, and I rattled off three names, then hit a wall. I don’t have too many close girlfriends. But then Stephanie’s name popped into my head, so I looked at Todd and said, “How fantastic would it be to have Stephanie up there with me?!” Heads = exploding.

Anyway, the rest of Sunday was very domestic. Grocery shopping, cooking dinner, making s’mores, then doing a little more purging of some random boxes and filers. Just when I think we’re finished and have cleared out every box or bag of papers, we find another one. It’s job security, really. Keeps me busy.

And welcome to Monday.

When’s the next holiday? September?
Crap.

Happy Fourth of July

Like the red, white and blue cocktail picks in our margaritas? This was the extent of our partying for the holiday.

We didn't really do much today. Kayleigh is at a sleepover. Tyler is playing games in his room. I made potato salad (from scratch!) to go with our hot dogs and watermelon for dinner. Our dessert was cake like sugar cookies with blue frosting and red and white sprinkles.

Maybe we'll watch the fireworks on TV later. Ooh. Maybe on the big screen. Feel like we're RIGHT THERE. Because we don't really want to be RIGHT THERE. Because there's too many damn people RIGHT THERE.

Happy Fourth to you.

I Broke My Own Rule

I wore flip flops to work today.
And I annoyed myself as soon as I walked to my cube.

But it's supposed to be 80 degrees and it's the day before a holiday weekend and I have on my brand new-I-don't-care-if-it-looks-like-a-nightgown-I'm-bloated-and-it's-comfy-dammit dress and the only "shoes" that look good with it are my black flip flops.

Oh, but let's up the Raechelle Is Crazy anty, shall we?

My toenail polish is chipped.

I KNOW!

Not only am I showing my toes AT WORK, my polish is disgusting. Red, chipped and disgusting. And I don't care.

Because I have a pedicure tomorrow. Hee.

Every now and then, when the circumstances are just right, I can not care. It's rare, but it happens.

I'm sure I'll be wound up and back to normal tomorrow.
At least until my pedicure....

Giddy

MY WEDDING DRESS IS IN!!

A whole month early! So, I have an appointment on Sunday at the shop to try it on and make sure it's what I ordered. Jamie will accompany me.

And no, that's not a picture of my dress, silly.

Weekend Update….and then some

Let’s see…

The last you heard, TBFE and I had jaunted off to the romantic city of Tacoma (ha!) to see Adam and Kris. And now I am hell bent on going to Portland during the only possible weekend that will work for the next three months - last weekend in July. I think Todd and I deserve a few days away to remind ourselves why we like each other. We tend to forget these things. Or maybe it’s just me. Todd seems to remember better than I do. I get bogged down with real life. And laundry.

So, if you’d like play family and have your very own teenagers for a weekend (Fri thru Sunday), please contact me. The rental fee is small.

Where were we?

Ah, Saturday.

On Saturday, I got up early (9am, which is early for me) and set out for Jamie’s. But there was a marathon going on and the normal 20 minute drive took 50 minutes because 99 was closed, as was 1st Ave downtown, which I did not know about, so I ended up on the freeway, which was a parking lot, like always, but finally! I arrived and was welcomed with mini quiches and chocolate croissants and coffee and mimosas. Because Jamie loves me.

We cleaned out her storage area in the basement and man, I wish I’d taken before and after photos! It was amazing! You'll just have to imagine it. Before: stuff piled high and crammed in. After: stuff neatly organized on shelves and enough space to actually crawl into. Wow!

After our cleaning fest, I headed back home (after receiving a text from Todd that simply said “Kill me.”) to help prepare with Kayleigh’s End of School Luau. She had three friends over and I’m guessing they had something that included a whole lotta sugar before I got there. They were running circles in the house (we have dubbed the upstairs “the dog run”), squealing at the top of their lungs. Ah, youth. Good times.

Todd and I took turns supervising, then hiding, until finally the pizza arrived and the girls sat to eat and watch Dr. Horrible. Todd and I watched, too. While we drank pina coladas. Tyler pretty much hid in his bedroom the entire night. Except when he’d emerge for food.

Two of the girls ended up staying the night, which wasn’t bad at all, and after they settled down in Kayleigh’s bedroom, Todd and I retired relatively early.

Sunday morning, Todd went off to coffee with his buddy, Ron, the photographer who did our Christmas photos. Ron has also agreed to be our wedding photographer, as well.

Speaking of the wedding, FIVE MONTHS, people. FIVE MONTHS AWAY. Crazy.

While Todd was at coffee, I made pancakes for the girls, then got on a cleaning bender. By the time Todd got home, I was full of energy and ready to go do something productive. So we headed down to Alki to collect some rocks for something (can’t tell ya) then to Metropolitan Market to make an appointment to talk flowers for the wedding, then to Petco to get Tom a tag (and some kitty pillows and some mylar balls and a little fuzzy ball on a spring….love the kitties) then back home, where we made nachos for dinner after laying around in the sun for two hours. What a lovely Sunday.

And thus begins a short week!

We get Friday off, so I’m thinkin’ Rae-rae needs a pedicure (UPDATE: pedicure scheduled). I still have a very generous Habitude gift certificate to use, but I’ve had option paralysis and can’t decide what I want to do with it. I think a pedicure is justified since we’re finally in flip-flop season. Maybe a facial, too. Never had one.

I also need to take my car back down to Goodyear. Oh, slight tangent.

Happy anniversary, Ruby!!
It was our three year anniversary on Sunday, Summer Solstice. I didn’t even give her a hug. Crap.

But she’s needs some attention now. There are things that aren’t working. The remote door locks, the interior lights, the radio, the clock. The needles on the speedometer, the tachometer and the gas gauge flip out when I start her. Dad and Todd both said it's a bad fuse, but when looking at the fuse chart, it looks like some things on a particular fuse work, while one thing doesn’t. Now I’m wondering if it’s more rat damage that’s either 1) just surfacing because the cable finally snapped or 2) we have a new rat. Dammit.

So, I'll go by Goodyear at some point and have them check her out. I should probably do it soon. I really miss my radio.