On a competely unrealated note

Tim and I often discuss how nice it would be if one (or both, in a perfect world) of us could stay home (probably working from home part time or on a freelance basis) after we have kids. Neither of us has a preference as to who gets to stay home; it will depend on our employment situations at the time.

After reading this, however, I am beginning to think I would prefer that Tim be the one to stay home, if only so I can avoid ever being in a situation like that, ever.

August 23, 2006 | Filed Under Random, Tim | Leave a Comment 

Welcome Home, Tim!

Tim arrived home this afternoon after spending 3 days climbing Pikes Peak with John. Those boys are crazy! Although it’s not something Tim ever wants to do again, they did have fun and I’m sure had some quality boy bonding time. If such a thing even exists for boys. They probably just ate their canned vienna sausages and scratched themselves and peed out fires the whole time.

These 3 days have been interesting for me. I am not accustomed to spending nights alone in my house, but am happy to report that I successfully survived 2 nights without getting too scared and running to my in-laws’ house (something that I would have had no chance of doing last year after our house was broken into). Yet another ounce of evidence that I am beginning to feel more safe and comfortable in my own home – always a good thing, no?

What did I do without Tim? I didn’t watch a single bit of TV because it was always taping something that I knew Tim would want to see so I didn’t want to watch it without him. Instead I ate mac and cheese and took advantage of the quiet alone time to read 2 books. All I did both nights was read, and it was heavenly. I even stayed up way past my bedtime to finish the books (and also maybe because my chances of getting to sleep with only the dog to cuddle with were greatly improved if it was 1AM and I was exhausted). I also got to talk to Amy for a long time Monday night, which was great. We haven’t had a chance to catch up like that in a while, and it was really nice.

I also had to deal with sitting idly by at my desk while I watched the mountain become engulfed in clouds every afternoon, as it always does. Except this time it bothered me because my husband was up there and he might have been above treeline (which he was for a good part of yesterday) and being struck by lightning, and there was nothing I could do about it. Although he got cell reception up there, he kept his phone off the majority of the time to save battery power, so I couldn’t call to make sure he was still alive and hadn’t been eaten by mountain lions and bears. (What can I say? I worry about these things when there’s nothing I can do to control them.)

All scary factors considered (lightning, bears, mountain lions, serial killers breaking into my house), I think I did pretty well these last few days. I managed to keep a level head and not worry (too much) about hugely unlikely and unrealistic things. I have a way of working myself up over stuff like that when faced with a situation I can’t control and when I don’t have anyone to talk sense into me. So, although I am slightly crazy anyway, I managed to impress myself with the level of sanity I maintained all by my lonesome.

And tonight when I go home, it will not be to an empty house, and when I go to bed at a more reasonable hour, I will be able to snuggle with Tim, not just the dog. And Tim will smell good, because he got home at 2:30 and therefore will have had 3 hours to wash off The Smell that inevitably comes with spending 3 days in the wilderness, a stench so repugnant that instead of being excited to see Tim, Ben cowered in fear of The Smell.

I can’t wait.

August 23, 2006 | Filed Under Tim | Leave a Comment 

Kat shared with me. Now I share with you.

Take away Garfield, and John goes insane.

August 22, 2006 | Filed Under Random | Leave a Comment 

Book Recap

I’ve been completely loving my local library and its awesome hold system. I can request a bunch of books online and when they become available they ship them to the library in my neighborhood – it’s great!

I have been trying out a bunch of new authors (since it’s free and all) and have discovered some really good ones. My 2 favorite new finds are:

Zoe Rice (aka Real Girl) whose first novel was just published this past June. It’s called Pick Me Up. I absolutely loved it. Chick lit, tons of fun, but not as cheesy and predictable as a lot of the chick lit out there. It was smart, funny, and not blaringly obvious which guy the main character would end up with. Also it had the best shoot-down line (would that be the opposite of a pick-up line?) ever. Seriously, go read this book. It’s fantastic.

Emily Giffin, author of Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and Baby Proof. I’m still waiting for Baby Proof to become available, but I thoroughly enjoyed Something Borrowed and Something Blue (sequel to Something Borrowed, so don’t read Something Blue first). I started reading the first one Monday morning and finished the second one today. I just couldn’t put them down. I would have finished Something Blue last night if I wasn’t already sleep-deprived from staying up way too late Monday and Tuesday reading Something Borrowed. When I started reading Something Blue and realized that the main character was a character in the first book who I hadn’t liked all that much, I had my doubts. But, sure enough, I fell in love with her and would have been crying great big tears of joy at the end of the book had I not been reading it at work over lunch. I’m next in line for Baby Proof and I can’t wait to get it. I’m so excited for it that I may not even start a new book this weekend in the hope that Baby Proof will be available on Monday and I can just dive right into it.

I’ve got some other new authors on my hold list, and I’ll let you know which ones are good. I’ve also been reading everything I haven’t already read by Jane Green, Meg Cabot, and Sophie Kinsella. I especially liked She Went All the Way by Meg Cabot. And I’ve got a ton of Margaret Atwood titles waiting in the wings for when I’m in the mood for reading of the non-chick-lit variety.

I love the library.

August 17, 2006 | Filed Under Books | Leave a Comment 

Pictures!

I don’t have any “before” pictures, so you’ll just have to imagine that before the deck was there, there was no deck, just the side of the house; and before the door was in the bedroom, there was a window where the top half of the door is and a wall where the bottom half is. There were also no pretty purple curtains. And the walls were glossy white instead of eggshell beige.

Also, the deck isn’t 100% complete, as we still need to put the caps on the railings and stain it all. But it really won’t look that much different than it does now, so for the sake of this post, let’s just call it complete.

Without further ado…

stairs

Tim and Ben enjoying the newly-built stairs.

done

Tim and my Dad on the completed deck. (Do you see that green stuff on the ground back there? That’s grass! We have a lawn! It’s not just weeds anymore!)

other side

The deck from the other side.

bedroom

Our beautiful new bedroom.

I am very, very impressed with my husband, my dad, Tim’s dad, and my mom (who helped me paint the bedroom even with a sore shoulder). I am so incredibly lucky to have them all, and not just because they make my house prettier.

August 12, 2006 | Filed Under Family, Home Improvement, Photos & Videos | 2 Comments 

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