Thursday, November 30, 2006
Home Alone
The husband is out of town on business until saturday. It's kinda good, because I can loaf around and eat mac'n'cheese out of a box and nobody is going to hassle me for it.

It's bad because I'm unsupervised and I'm not quite sure if I can work the VCR to tape Scrubs, The Office AND Grey's Anatomy at the right times. Oh and he left his coat here and for some reason it's 27F and snowing in Dallas.

Speaking of snow, it's damn cold here too. It was about 50 yesterday and really windy. At night it has been in the 30's. I know, you all think that's weak. Come visit me in July and weak will have a whole new meaning to you. As Heather says, why are people who can't stand cold considered weaker than those who can't stand the heat?

and to Mist1, i tried to leave a comment on your blog and it never loaded the comment box. boo!


Saturday, November 25, 2006
Mawwage
Today I was thinking about marriage. I haven't been married long, just about a year and a half, so I'm hardly an expert on the subject.

We got married fairly young, especially by today's standards. I was only 23. Ha! I say "only" as if it were eons ago and now I am so much older and wiser! Regardless; we dated for about 3 years before we got married and I knew it was coming long before we actually did tie the knot.

Now I may be young and practically newlywedded, but I'm not living in some fantasy world where I think it will always be this good. ~50% of marriages fail. It would be pretty egotistical of me to think that my marriage is immune to that. What makes some marriages more susceptible to divorce? Is it circumstance or personality, or a combination?

I dont think there is any specific formula for a successful marriage.
-Some people have an arranged marriage and do fine. Other people date for years; some end up happy and some don't.
-Some people share the same interests and that keeps them strong; some find strength in their individuality.
I think perhaps what makes a successful marriage is part luck, part compromise and part adaptation. People change, bad things happen, luck can sour. If you and your partner can roll with the punches, you are giving your marriage the best chance to survive.

On a semi-related note: why is there so much pressure to BE married? Most of my friends are single and they are in the thick of guilt trips from other friends and family to pair up. Why does the government give married couples tax breaks? Why is 30 the end of your life if you aren't married yet? Why does our society lead people to believe they are unfulfilled if they don't have a life partner? Why does single = lonely? Do you buy into that?

Honestly, I didn't exactly plan to be married at all, let alone at such a young age. I wasn't going to wait around for some guy to complete me. I had my own plans, and was in the smack-dab in the middle of implementing them when I met my husband in college. What are ya gonna do? Roll with the punches, of course.


Thursday, November 23, 2006
gobble gobble!
Turkey Day went off without a hitch! While I was cooking, my dad and the husband were in the garage installing fluorescent lights and a new electrical outlet for our garage door opener (which has yet to be installed due to a Home Depot snafu) AND taking down a dead tree from the side yard. Our neighbors are going to start thinking we are tree-haters. The food turned out delicious and I couldn't be more pleased. I made my pies last night; a repeat of my pumpkin pie (soo yummy) and my first [bourbon] pecan pie, which turned out great.

I hope you all had a great holiday!


Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Jealousy
Jealousy rears its ugly head every once in a while. I think everybody is susceptible to jealousy at one time or another in life. It's easy to be jealous of someone when you don't have the full picture. Whenever I catch myself becoming jealous, I ask myself if I would want to BE that person. The answer is always NO. Overall, I'm happy with who I am and where I am in life. Sure, there are things I'd like to accomplish and things I'd like to have. I am a realist; I'm only 25 and I have the rest of my life to figure things out and to acquire nice things. A lot of people in this world deserve better than they have; conversely, a lot of people have more than they deserve.

What is the point of this? I guess there isn't one. I suppose that in order to progress on with your life and have a positive effect on the world you need to be at peace with yourself and with other people. How you gonna win if you ain't right within?


Sunday, November 19, 2006
Thanksgiving Week
Somehow Thanksgiving Day is turning into a whole week event. I did the first half of my turkey day dinner shopping. I have a 14lb bird awaiting its final destination on my table in the fridge.

Last year it was just the husband and I. We opted for a turkey breast but we still went all out and had quite a spread. This year we are hosting my parents and have upgraded to a full-size turkey and two pies instead of one. My goal is to send everyone home with at least 5 pounds they didn't arrive with.

The parents get here tuesday and we have all sorts of booze and home improvement projects to keep them occupied and happy. The weather is supposed to be beautiful as well.

Thanksgiving holidays are also important in that they mark the serious start of the Christmas holiday shopping expeditions. Meh...I have no idea what I'm getting most people. I'm super excited to decorate our house. I have a lot of lights and we'll have to figure out how we're going to engineer them up onto the house.

Ohhhh on an unrelated note, the husband and I are planning on taking a "real" vacation sometime in 2007 (probably spring-ish). Pretty much anywhere. Except Mexico. Regardless, if you have any suggestions as to where we should go, please comment away!


Monday, November 13, 2006
What would you add?
I've been thinking about what would make the "perfect" car for a while now. Part of me is old fashioned and "perfect" entails chrome. The practical and modern side of me has been making a mental list for things that a cool car really needs:

A Dashcam - think of all those weird pedestrians, cute dogs, other cool cars and jerky drivers you see on a daily basis. Have you ever seen something totally crazy and then you're telling someone about it later and you just can't convey what happened? OK maybe this is my inadequacy in articulating spoken english...but it would be so cool to be able to record things from your dash. Hit and run might become a thing of the past.

A Car Communicator - picture a scrolling ticker like screen positioned in the back/side window. A built-in steering wheel keyboard and voila! you can tell everyone what's what instead of giving them the finger. I'd use it to get that college student who-is-also-doing-her-hair-and-makeup-whilst-tailgating me to pay attention. Luxury models would have a hands-free voice activated communicator, naturally.




Interior wipers - don't you hate that weird film you get on the inside?

What else would you put in your custom car?? And will Heather pass these ideas on to important people at work?


Sunday, November 12, 2006
Christmas in October
I started seeing Christmas stuff in stores last month. Sigh. I haven't really started shopping yet. Besides the hard-to-shop-for-because-they-have-everything people on my list, my husband's and my dad's birthdays are both the week before Christmas. I'm not one to chintz out and give a joint gift for the two occasions, but that translates into double-duty in the shopping world.

The good news is now that we are homeowners there are a plethora of tools and hardware items I want that will be perfect to give to my husband under the guise of "here is a man-tool to celebrate the birth of Jesus." I'm still waiting for him to give me his list of preferred tools (hint, hint!).

On a side note, I'm slowly starting to get into some gardening. By that I really mean that my Penstemons haven't died yet. The same goes for a house plant. Actually they look pretty good. I have some scabiosas on order (they were perennial of the year in 2000, after all) and I'm hoping I actually get them because I ordered them pretty late. It's still warm here so I don't fear for them too badly. I also got 2 tomato plants and a rosemary bush. So exciting, isn't it!?

Anyway, back to Christmas stuff. I saw this on Nothingbutbonfires.com


Thursday, November 09, 2006
Yesterday
Yesterday was a good day. I got a free lunch, won a $50 Best Buy gift card, and tested negative on my biannual tuberculosis test!


Wednesday, November 08, 2006
NO FUMAR
Out of the two non-smoking propositions, the more strict one passed. I am SO HAPPY!!

Once it goes into effect, smoking will be prohibited in ALL public places and places of employment. (except for outdoor patios, etc.)

I was also surprised by how much all the illegal immigration propositions passed. Personally I don't think these propositions will stop the influx of illegal immigrants. They don't address the incentives for their presence here. However, the wide margins speak for themselves and hopefully foreshadow some *real* policy changes will be in the future.

Illegal immigrants are denied bail for serious felonies.
English was declared an official language.
Illegal immigrants are no longer eligible to participate in state-subsidized immigrant and adult education classes; they are also ineligible for in-state tuition and financial aid at colleges/universities.

It seems like the whole country is on the cusp of some big changes. Very good!


Monday, November 06, 2006
i like suffrage
or is it suffering? Watching political ads = suffering. Reading endless verbiage about redundant propositions = suffering.

Tomorrow morning = suffrage.

Here in Arizona we have not one, but TWO propositions against smoking in public places to be voted on tomorrow. I'm growing more and more liberal with the passing years and all I keep hearing with regard to the smoking issue is "what about freedoms and rights?" What about my right to come home from a bar/restaurant not smelling like ass? What about the freedom to breath clean air??

Sorry smokers...you and your filthy butts are going down. If you want to inhale through your cancer sticks do it at home. The same goes for clipping your toenails. Keep it away from the public!!!


Sunday, November 05, 2006
oops
Have you ever Googled a newlywed couple's name to find their wedding announcement or pictures? And instead of finding that, you find a divorce notice?? Whaaaa??

I don't feel as bad for not going to the wedding now.


Saturday, November 04, 2006
Insert Title Here
I know I've been MIA for a while. Not much has been going on lately. We bought a new porch light because our old one was hideously ugly and only worked sporadically. We installed it just in time for Halloween. It was lots of fun handing out candy and mini Play-doh (from Costco!). We had about 75 kids; my favorite costumes were a buff spiderman and Ketchup & Mustard.

I'm working on my Thanksgiving shopping list already. My parents are coming in from DC and my mission is to send them back home at least 5lbs heavier. I also need to get some good Thanksgiving door decor, a festive tablecloth and some nice napkins. I already have silver chargers ready for action. Ohhhhh the exciting life I lead!!

My friend/coworker finally announced at work that she is pregnant. "Finally" meaning that she's waited a long time to BE pregnant and also because she waited until the end of her first trimester before spilling the beans to the general population at work. This is good for several reasons: she will be a guinea pig for all the pregnancy stuff AND she will hopefully take some of the focus off me. And by focus, I am referring to the woman in my lab who habitually breaks our nice morning silence with a subtle "You should have a baby. Now. You are the perfect age." She only mentions this about every other day. She is also convinced that having her youngest daughter cured her of headaches; naturally, suggestions to have a baby to remedy my headaches is perfectly logical to her. Then again, she is also convinced that our boss has active Tuberculosis. Conspiracy theories to the max!!


footer