The wheels on the bus go round and round

I rode the bus. I had to yesterday in order to get home. I carpooled with husband then worked until 6pm. Husband went home around 4:30pm. He didn't abandon me. We had planned it. I was nervous. I had heard horror stories about the transients and students on the bus. However, my experience was very positive. I rather enjoyed it. It's probably because it makes me feel very metropolitan and chique. I rode the bus this morning and will take it again to go home.

Since I'm a freak about tracking my money, I'm curious to see how much I'll save on gas money. I'll keep you readers posted. I'm sure you're on the edge of your seats.

I've got your blog right heeya

Alright. So. Last week? Cuh *raze* ee. It was the last week at a job that I've been at for five long and fulfilling years. Did I complete everything I needed to before leaving? No. Did I come in late and leave early every. single. day. anyway? Yes. Do I feel a little guilty about that. Yes. But not much.

New job! Ironically, my first day at this job was also the first day of school for my nephews and niece. Also it was niece's first day of school ever. I do have to say, this job does have the "starting a new cool school" feel. (Yes, I was one of those kids who thought school was cool.) Let's go over the highlights of yesterday.

1. Downtown, baby! For some reason walking around any downtown makes me feel like I'm on vacation; because that's really the only times I've ever done it. Therefore, this morning, walking through the streets surrounded by the noises, smells and sounds of downtown morning, reminded me of our trip to London. Good times.
2. Stocked kitchen. As in, there are chilled juices, cokes, diet cokes, sweet leaf teas, cheese, organic fruit and various other snacks, all waiting for me to consume them in each of the three kitchens.
   
3. (Pause while I sip my sweet leaf tea)
4. Fitness center on the 11th floor. Paid for by my company if I so desire. Or they will pay for my gym membership elsewhere.
   
5. Free downtown parking. I'm everyone's new best friend.
6. I get Columbus day off! Columbus day! Along with other bank holidays. I went from supporting people who work 24-7 to people who, literally, have banking hours. Finance may not be as noble as healthcare, but at least I get Columbus day off.
   
7. Seriously, a three-day weekend in the middle of October.

K. Now I'm done. I have to go do some work. Can't goof off when you're the new girl on the boy's block.

What is this stuff?

It's like I'm in the shower but I'm outside. I don't get it. And the sun is not blazing. There are these gray and white things in the sky blocking it. Could this be what they call "rain"?

It's wonderful! I have always enjoyed and marveled at the weather. For me, it's a daily reminder that there are things bigger than we are and that we are not in control. That is, until one of the evil masterminds really *does* create a weather machine and uses it to control the world. Seriously, though, I love the weather. It doesn't matter what the weather is either. I like the oven-like heat and the cold. The dry and the wet. All of it. I like sunrises and sunsets. I like to watch clouds. Every season is my favorite season.

Husband and I have decided to hold off on putting the house on the market. The market isn't looking so good right now and I'm not sure we are ready to move anyway. Husband also got a raise. That, along with my raise, means we will be able to save up a larger down payment on the next house. So we want to wait.

What this means short-term is that I am going to attempt a container garden. Again. I've noted the weaknesses that lead to failure in the past. We are going to try to rectify them. One being, the faucet for the back of the house needs to be replace and I need a good hose and watering device. The next being, we need to tidy up the back yard and put a rocking chair or swing out there for me. We are also going to attempt to plant some ground cover. I'll try to post some before pics so y'all can know what we are up against.

What am I going to plant in my container garden? I'm so glad you asked! I'm going to have two tomato plants in one container. I'll have a "greens" container that will be a wide shallow planter where I'll start with some collard greens and/or chard. I'll switch to some read leaf lettuces in the fall. I'll also have a basil container. I can't decide how much basil I need to plant in order to be able to make pesto on a whim. I'm thinking a fairly large container. I also hope I can make it a perennial here in Austin. Princess Kate? Any advice on this? In the future I hope to have a few root veggie planters for some potatoes and beets. We'll see how this goes.

The foodie in me

I was working my way through Amalah's blog and got to the Feb. 3, 2005 entry where she posts about finding out she's pregnant. I can't read about that. That will get me to daydreaming about being pregnant and that leads to obsession and stress. All that to say that I've been searching for another blog to read.

And I found one. Cheese slave mostly blogs about healthy, yummy food. I've only read a few posts (okay, one) but they were enough to make me profess my love for Cheese slave. Apparently butter and animal fat are better for me than veg oil. He (she?) also mentions cold-pressed olive oil, which I also like, but BUTTER! and ANIMAL FAT!!! Yum. Meee. I'm so on board.

As if that weren't enough. Today the post is about how eggs and butter can help increase fertility. Awesome! I'm going to start having eggs fried up in some butter every day.

I will now compulsively read all back posts of Cheese slave.

in other news, we bought a Wii fit last night. Oh! the fun! I heart it.

Time to clean house

Exercising is not going so well. I've not exercised all week. again. But! There's a very real possibility that I'll soon be walking a minimum of a mile a day. This is due to the fact that my new office will be a mile from where my husband parks. So, he will drop me off in the morning and I'll walk over in the afternoon. That's built-in exercise. Perfect.

Now it's time to focus on getting the house organized and clean and keeping it that way. I've decided to track my plan and progress here. The plan is a little fuzzy. I can't decide if I want to handle things by room or by problem, because some problems, such as books, span several rooms. So here is the plan so far. It is just a start and will probably be revised over time.

1. Organize books
1. Pack ones that aren't going to be used or read any time soon
2. Find a place for the cookbooks
3. Find a place for reference books
4. Goal is to have ONE bookshelf
   


2. Get the laundry under control
1. I've done this before, so I can do it again
2. The secret is to get Husband in on it (maybe I need a chart)
   
3. Decide where to store extra linens


3. Kitchen
1. I already feel overwhelmed
2. Get my friend, CC, to come over and talk to me while I do this
3. Pack all appliances that I haven't used in months (like the juicer) after cleaning the mystery grime off them (they are just sitting there, how do they get so dirty!)
   
4. Eliminate the utility cart that seems to get so very dusty and covered in dog hair
5. Open a bottle of wine and share it with CC
6. Repeat three times to myself that I do NOT need to replace all the cabinets and counter tops
   
7. Deal with the leftover container cabinet
8. Stop crying
9. Remove everything from all cabinets and clean
10. Re-line cabinets with something better than what I have
11. Replace cabinet items, throwing out what is not needed
12. Forbid anyone to cook or eat in the kitchen because it is now perfect
    

Another week, another post

The weekend was nice. We had friends over on Saturday for a D&D marathon. I don't handle sitting still for long periods of time very well, so I was pretty tired of it at the end. Then the guys had to sit around my living room drinking scotch (as if drinking very expensive scotch could make them any less dorky) for an hour or two and discuss the dynamics of the game play. I read cookbooks.

Sunday my sister and her family came for a visit and dropped off their oldest son. He is sixteen. And by sixteen, I mean he is soooooooooo six. teen.

Her younger two remind me of tazmanian devils from Warner Bros. and I think the older one needs a break from them every once in a while. Now he can play computer games in peace.

I turned in my two weeks notice this morning. It was very stressful. My program manager apparently knew three weeks ago that I was getting a job offer. How he knew? I do not know. The guy is crazy intuitive. I felt like I've kept this on the down-low. Oh well. At least he wasn't surprised.

I'm not feeling as emotional as I thought I would. I still have to wait for official communications to go out before I can socialize the change. I think that's when the emotion will hit.

So this week is starting off with the good kind of scary excitement that only comes from impending change. I have found a lot of clarity with what I need to do to tie up loose ends here. Which means I will be much more focused at work now. Maybe, just maybe I'll get a jog or two in as well.

And the beat goes on...

(Disclaimer: I have no idea what song this lyric is from or what its context is in that song. I think it might be sung by Cher, but I'm not sure. However, if I'm using this lyric in an offensive or otherwise wrong way, you need to get over it.)

Sooooooooo! Nee How! Olympic opening ceremony is tonight! Exciting! ! !
(It is actually going on right now, because it is tonight over there)

Update time. I did finally receive an offer for that job. It was pathetically low. And it made me sad. Very very sad. Then I put on my negotiating hat. They raised the offer and explained benefits. I'm now willing to accept the raised offer, if they will EVER send it to me. I already hate their HR department. grrr.

I've not exercised, cooked or cleaned once this week. NOT! ONCE! So mad at myself. I think I might have to stop going to someone else's house every single evening. That might be preventing me from getting things done at my house.

Best Husband EVER!

I just got an email from Husband addressing how I was feeling this morning. He's wonderful!
or he knows just the right things to say...

(silly happy blushing)

Nope, he's wonderful!

Dream Dree-eem Dream, Dream Dream Dream

Yes, it's another song lyric for a title.

So, I had a dream last night that Husband was into strip clubs. This is one of those things that he's told me he's not into. That they kind of creep him out. And, I, of course, believe him. However, Husband also told me that he doesn't really like porn and doesn't use it. That turned out to be not so true as is discussed here. So, in my dream, I get all hurt and pissed and feel betrayed. A lot like how I felt when I discovered he was lying to me about the porn in real life. This leads to me waking up feeling all hurt and pissed and betrayed; although all Husband had done was sleep next to me all night. Aren't dreams crazy! Poor Husband. He had to deal with an inexplicably highly emotional wife first thing in the morning. I wonder if I have trust issues.

En knee way yuh, today is the day that I should get my job offer! Oh the butterflies! I already know from my inside track that they aren't going to meet my requested salary. This means there may be some bargaining going on. I want to ask for more time off. I loves me some pto. I'm still going to miss working here a lot, but it's time to move on.

On the exercise front, I didn't get my jog in this morning because I was too busy looking for porn on Husband's computer (didn't find any, yes, I'm pathetic). However, I did go for a long walk last night and do ab work. It's not much, but it's still better than doing nothing. I'm going to a yoga class after work. That is, if my friend CC is also going because Husband and I carpooled today.

Housework front. Hmm. Let's not talk about it.

As for getting preggers, I still half-heartedly track my signs so that I have an update to give my acupuncturist. I still hope that we can get me back to normal. But I'm not sure I want to keep trying right now. I've read on blogs and boards about women who have a heart wrenching time trying for a year and then take a year off. I really didn't get this. I couldn't understand how you could just stop and not think about it all. the. time. How do you ever go through a 2 week wait without obsessing over every possible sign of pregnancy? How do you not force your husband to sex you up every time you have egg white cervical mucus? How do you plan your life when you could get pregnant at any minute? Planning a vacation is iffy. A career? even iffier. Heck, I was scared to buy shoes because what if I got pregnant, my feet swell and then I can never wear them again? No one should ever be scared to buy shoes (especially if they are really cute patent red leather). How do you just turn it off and stop?

I think I'm there. I definitely feel as though pregnancy is not going to surprise us. I've accepted that I probably won't give birth to four babies as I'd hoped. This does make adoption and/or fostering more viable. Which is a good thing because these are things I've always wanted to do anyway. But, most importantly, I'm happy with where I am right now. I love being able to go and see all my friends' babies and be there for them when they need me. (this isn't often, they are all very independent. almost stubborn. you know who you are) And, as selfish as it sounds and probably is, I like being able to focus on me. I like being able to focus on getting in shape and how to organize the house and my career and traveling and starting new hobbies and and ...

Don't get me wrong, I would be thrilled if I turned up preggers tomorrow; but most importantly, I'm not crushed if I don't. My life is not on hold. I'm no longer a skipping record. My needle's been bumped and my song continues, with or without a baby.

Monday Monday, so good to me

Here I am on the wrong side of a weekend again. I'm sipping on my Diet Coke, which is my self-reward for actually coming to work today. Don't get me wrong, I love my job. I just love sitting on my ass playing Professor Layton and the Curious Village even more. I also love sleep. Of which I did not get enough. I know all of my friends who are new parents (which is nearly *all* of them, by the way) are laughing because I don't know what it is to not get enough sleep. To all of these friends, I have to say, shut. it. I'm not in the mood for all of your "I'm such a martyr for my baby"* crap. Just be glad you have a baby.

Now that my Monday-morning mood has been well established, let's move on.

I actually had a very good weekend. I managed to get up and jog Saturday morning, and then I was off to the spa. Nothing like starting off the weekend with hair being pulled from your labia. It really wakes you up. It's all the adrenaline from the pain, ya know. Non-sarcastically, though, the touch ups really are not that bad. And my facials are doing a good job of giving me that nice healthy skin I've always wanted. I always leave the spa a few hundred poorer, but feeling like a million bucks.

We even made it to mass on Saturday evening and then to Presbyterian church on Sunday. And, AND! I met people at church. Here's the short story, long.

I don't know about you and your church, if you have one, but at mine we have this "sharing of the peace" time. I do not like this time. It's smack in the middle of the service, which for me, is in the middle of my reverential prayer time with God. I hold this dear. People are supposed to share God's peace with each other just as Jesus did with the disciples before serving the first communion. However, this just turns into some sort of social minute in the church. There is a lot of "Hi! How are you? What are you doing tonight?" crap. I always want to say, "Cut it! You share the peace of God and then shut your mouth and face forward." But I don't want people to hate me, so I don't say this. As for myself, I do not engage in conversation during this time and I share the peace with as few people as I can without looking like a jerk. So when the lady in front of me started asking me questions like how long we've been coming to this church and where are we from, it was uncomfortable for both of us. Mostly because I made it uncomfortable for her by using one word answers and avoiding eye contact. After service, though, I made up for it by being all bubbly and forthcoming with information. She then introduced me to some people. Turns out there are some very nice people in my neighborhood who attend this same church.

Now the new week is starting. I'm still hoping for a job offer, ovulation, unprecedented amounts of will-power and motivation for myself and more sleep.

*None of my friends actually do this.