Ernie

This is Ernie. He lives on my desk at work.

He greets me every morning by staring at me like this, usually with his back fin fluttering. I think it's his version of a glare, silently telling me to feed him now. It works. When I do, he flutters away. He likes to stare at me throughout the day, but when he gets very intense about it, he's hungry.

That may sound like I'm personifying him, but I'm not. He is very curious, but when it comes to food, it's a serious stare... flutter flutter... STARE!

Getting back to it.

I was pretty ok with myself at the wedding. In all honesty, I wanted to lose another 10-15 lbs, but I looked right in all the right places for the wedding (and dress), so I wasn't about ready to kill myself over it.

But, post wedding brought on:
1) Oh thank goodness all that planning is over;
2) I can eat like crud because my husband is 130 miles away and that makes me sad;
3) Oh shoot we have to go house hunting now? I'm tired!
4) Oh dear Lord we have to move TWO apartments?
5) We have to unpack and we're oh-so tired.
and finally...
6) I have to drive how far? I need food to keep me awake.

I've gained a few lbs. Shoot!

Quite honestly though, it's not like I regret this. It has been exhausting and stressful stuff! But I must and need to eat better.

So I'm starting today. No more toffees or chocolates as I walk by that one secretary who loves to tempt me with that bowl of goodies. No more! Snacking is my problem, so I need to be careful to eat food that's more filling so I don't fill up on junk as my stomach growls.

Yup, I'm loaded up on the right foods, and I have my jug of tea. I've found that really helps-- having something nearby to sip on. Herbal tea= great.

It's not like I haven't done this before, sadly. But this is NOT that much of an amount compared to a few years ago. I've yo-yo'd since then, but it's been a really short sting yo-yo, not a high number gained or lost. Truly though, as my life becomes more stable, I need to really focus on getting to a point and staying there. I am so much happier when I do. I know what I need to do. I just need to do it. And then monitor. Not like a crazy person, but you know, just keep an eye on it. Splurge, but not all the time.

B and I may go down to see my folks in San Diego at Thanksgiving. That's a good goal point, I think! Plus, that airplane seat will feel better. :)

Besides, I have all these cute suits I can't wear right now. This needs to be remedied. Ugh, how vain does that sound? But really, it's amazing on when you feel better about yourself how much easier it is to get ready in the mornings.

Sweet Cheeks

Our one major splurge (and it isn't that major) is that we recently joined a wine club. It doesn't cost anything, except you are obligated to buy the distributions of wine when they are released. This particular winery has GREAT wine, but it's not horrendously expensive. Plus, unlike some other wineries, we like all their wine, so this works out well for us. And, we get the wine at a reduced rate. Excellent!

The winery is fantastic. It's called Sweet Cheeks Winery. And, they really love their wine club members. This weekend on Saturday, we're going down there for a free dinner. It should be really fun, and we're really looking forward to it. We'll get some extra % off wine too in addition to our normal discount, so we may buy a few bottles. Their wine ages really well, and they have lovely packaging, so it will be nice to have those bottles in our new wine rack.

Plus, all the vines and grapes will be in full form. Juicy grapes and lush leaves. I can hardly wait to see it all!

Plus, we get to enjoy this lovely view from where we eat. Very exciting.

So, that's our date for Saturday night. Now... what to wear? It's by no means a snobby winery. But I don't want to wear jeans. I think a dress and cardigan will be playing it relatively safe. :)

Washer & Dryer

B: One dorm suite and four apartments later...

Me: One dorm room and nine apartments later...

We are happy to announce that we are the proud owners of a...

WASHER AND DRYER SET!!!

(crowd roars)

Let us take a moment to remember all the things we will now be missing out on:

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No more traipsing down to whatever dungeon the washer/dryer is in the apartment.

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No more traipsing down only to discover that there are 14 people ahead of you for the ONE washer and ONE dryer for a 16-unit building.

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No more getting down to the machine and realizing you left the detergent upstairs... then going back up stairs then downstairs and realizing you're ONE quarter too short.

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No more squirreling away of quarters.

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No more attempting to time how long a load will take.

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No more attempting to time a load and then going downstairs only to discover that icky neighbor has removed all your underwears and piled them on top the machine so he can use the dryer (or washer). And no, he did not pick up the five pairs he dropped on the ground and now look like little dank sheep due to the amount of yucky lint on them.

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No more removing the 15-prior user's lint because they didn't have the courtesy to clean their own.

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No more thanking God for the building not burning down due to the lack of people removing their own lint.

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No more hoping that you can wash your clothing without stealy mctheifersons upstairs taking your shirts... or pants... or underwear (um, ew?).

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No more lugging full laundry baskets upstairs and/or in the rain from whatever damp corner the machines are located in.

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No more looting laundromats for their quarter machines.

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No more feeling like a looser because you forgot a pile of laundry and now you're out of quarters and can't wash it.

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No more putting off washing sheets and/or towels because you only have x amount of quarters and you really really need clean underwear and clothes for work.

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No more buying socks because you really really need clean ones and have no laundry machine nearby (B... plus he really likes fluffy socks).

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No more saying screw the softener! because it's not worth trying to time a trip downstairs to add it in.

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No more getting to the machine only to discover that your detergent has been stolen. Or your fabric sheets. Or both.

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No more having the door swing closed behind you only for you to close your eyes and think "oh crud, were my keys in there?" Of course it automatically locks behind you.

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No more HAVING to stay awake until the end of the load and then traipsing out into the cold or into the dark creepy basement (in the building of creepy landlord) because if you don't get your laundry now, it could be all gone by morning.

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No more neighbors complaining that you're starting a load of laundry at 9pm.

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I am totally aware that now we'll have additional electrical costs and gas costs (the gas heats our water heater). Our water is paid via stipend to our landlord, so I guess now we're getting more out of our stipend so that's a moot cost issue. And yes, if it breaks down, there's no calling the landlord.

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But oh, the bliss. Bliss!

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We got the set for a GOOD price on craigslist. They don't match, but we really don't care. One has a loose piece of plastic on the top, but you can't tell unless you pull on it. Both these things lowered the price, which we were FINE with. The woman was selling them because she's moving and her new place has a set. This was evidenced by the moving boxes in her place. We wanted to know WHY the set was being sold; this was a good explanation.

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We hook up the set tonight... here's hoping! Last night we were just too tired after long days at work, running to look at the set, then running to home depot to get a truck, picking up the set, dropping off the set at our place, and returning the truck.

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Still though: WOO!

Failing to impress

Seriously? You haven't unpacked yet. Dude. Get on it already.

Yes, I'm failing to impress even the cats. Is it wrong that the last thing I feel like in the evening is unpacking?

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Maybe it's my fault for going ahead and knowing where the critical items are. Now there's nothing necessitating action, besides the garage full of stuff.

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Sigh.

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But, the good news is that we're on the hunt for a good used washer/dryer set. Keep your fingers crossed!!

Stretching dinner...

Last night I had this report to do... so what to do for dinner? B got home late, almost at 8, so I wanted to start something...

I like hamburger helper, but I dislike how gooey it is. And there's a lack of veggies too.

So, I cooked up the ground beef.
Then I added a chicken breast and a half and cooked those up.
Started about 1.5 cups of long-grain brown rice cooking.
Added in the water and seasonings to the meat.
Added an additional cup and a half of noodles to the noodle/meat mixture.
Chopped up an old tomato that was still good but not good for sandwiches.
Added a zucchini.
Added the 2"x3" leftover of lasagna about 3-4 days ago (still good), all chopped up.
Added about 1 cup of the leftover summer squash from 3-4 days ago (still good), all chopped up.
Added seasoning salt and some chicken broth powder
Added the cooked rice.
Stirred it all together & let it boil/simmer down.

Result: Leftovers used, and it tasted pretty good! And, we made a $1.50 pack of hamburger helper result in about 4 lunches and 3 dinners.

Woo!

Two woots and a holler!

Two woots: Got two really good feedbacks today at work. Gosh that feels GOOD.

The holler:
I really want one of these, if these are non-inflated numbers:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32370233/ns/business-autos?GT1=43001

Feeling the need to unpack...

Every day, I have this overwhelming desire to go home and get things unpacked.

Then I come home.

By day's end, I'm tired. And, if it's like last night, I finally got a project finished around 8:30 for work, meaning I had about an hour to an hour and a half to eat dinner, relax, and go to bed.

shoot.

We really need to get the bookshelf put together. THen we need to just go through boxes. I'm so tired of not having it done. It's not that big a deal, but I do kinda want to know where my sugar is. And bread machine. And flour. And salt! The things that are missing....

Sigh.

What a weekend.

On Saturday, we cleaned out the rest of the apartment. PUNK landlords; we realized there was no way we were goign to clean it absolutely, positively to their specifications. So, we opted to pay the piper a little and have their cleaning service come in for their lowest of cleaning options. Got everything signed off on, so here's hoping that will be the only deduction. If not, well, heck to pay, heck to pay. Gosh, I am so done with landlords.
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The landlord we have now seems really reasonable. That's really what we want. Pay your rent? Ok, fine, he leaves us alone. Perfect.
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Poor B right now is really facing a hassle as he ends things with his landlord. He's riding it out through the end of the lease, but the guy is a serious tool. B gave him permission to show the apartment before B's lease term ended. Now the guy says that he wants to charge B for having a maid service come in because "the place is not showable."
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Excuse me???
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No, B was not housing an elephant in the apartment. "Not showable" to the landlord is that there were a few dishes in the sink, and there are some boxes (um, yea, Crate & Barrel boxes.. your tenant got married). No joke. And the reason there are dishes is because the hot water stopped working... AGAIN. This happened once before, B called the guy, he came out, and flipped a switch and basically called B an idiot because he couldn't fix it himself. I don't think that was the issue, because 2 days later, the hot water was gone again. ANd yes, the switch was flipped in the right direction.
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Tool.
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B's approach is to play nice, but I'm all ready to whup out the big guns on this guy. Seriously. This guy has obviously never rented to trash-the-apartment folks. Pshh. Crying over a few dishes and a few boxes. Ridiculous.
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Anyway, after the apartment we went and got some fruits & veggies. I got a flat of blueberries. I've grown a real fondness for them frozen. It's like, they dont' freeze completely. It's like a slushy blueberry in your mouth. Yum!
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Then we hopped over and looked at this:
AND WE GOT IT! It is so cool. It's a 1959 Grafonola. Would you believe it originally sold for $199 when it was first made!?! We got it for a song, and it works! And yes, the music really does come out of the horn.
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From there: Ikea (just for as-is to buy a piece of wood and see what they have & get two office storage boxes), Home Depot (to get a few plants), and Costco (to get 4 great new bath towels). Then we went down to Crate & Barrel and took advantage of our 10% off everything completion-of-your-registry coupon. WOO! We got 2 wood bathmats, a pitcher, two beautiful drink glasses (scotch? I dunno), 2 apertif-type glasses, and a set of 12 glass storage bowls with plastic lids. We could have spent more, but that was more than enough for us. Then HOME!
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Saturday night at home we unpacked. I rocked it and totally got the china cabinet up, despite not having any power tools or a drill. Up and secured to the wall, may I add. My gosh, the glass looks beautiful in there! And, we realized ithas the extra benefit of keeping all things away from monster cats.
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We put down the rugs too, and we realized that the one we bought that goes in the dining room is just not gonna hack it. SIGH. It's just too yellow, and we really need it to go with th erug in the dining room. SO I think we're going to sell the dining room one.
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Sunday we went to Goodwill to hunt for records. Then grocery shopping. Then home.
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I went out and picked 12 quarts of blackberries from a patch near our house. B helped too, though I suspect this activity was WAY more up my alley than his. I'm trying a dressing with a few cups, we'll see how it works out.
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So now I have about 50 plums, 15 bags of blackberries, a flat of blueberries, a flat of blackberries, and 1.5 flats of currants all waiting for me to do something with them. Oh sigh, to unpack.

A recap of the past 5 years...

I talked to my father on the phone this week, and he made the comment of "sometimes you just need time for nothing." It made me think that there have been projects on our plates for a while. I mean, right now we're unpacking boxes... I haven't been out of boxes for the past year and a half. It's been a crazy 5-6 years. I know I know, someday I'll have kids and this won't seem crazy. But in my world, it is.

2004: Lived in Oakland/Berkeley, commuted to San Francisco for work. Moved twice.

2005: Started out in Oakland/Berkeley, commuting to SF. Moved once, but then summer of 2005 was basically spent hopping from friend's place to friend's place becuase leases were up and I was moving in August to...Oregon! Law school began in August 2005. Found a lovely one-bedroom apartment. Long distance relationship... but that ended in September 2006. Just not the right person and not the right situation. Ended the job in SF, but had a part-time job my first semester.

2006: First year over, second year began. Worked that summer for a professor and for a judge. Worked as a tutor the next fall in Contracts. That was fun! Second year was much better than the first year. Broke up with long-term, long-distance boyfriend. Dated. Started dating a jerk law student... should have seen the forest through the trees on that one. Ahh lessons. Packed up my things winter of 2006 because I got to house-sit in a gorgeous craftsman for two professors who were spending a semester elsewhere (free rent, woot). Lived with a friend for 2 weeks first... she was lovely for putting me up.

2007: Living in the professors' house for the first 5 months of the year. Met this law student whom I really thought was a bit full of himself. Turned out to be my future husband. Tutoring still, working for 3 professors. House sitting and pet-sitting business is really taking off at this point. Everyone likes that I'm not ripping them off... I guess kennels give you very little for a lot of money. Found an adorable historic house for song and got the top floor apartment. Quirky. Loved it. That summer I clerked for a good law firm in-town. Loved that too. Continued to research for professors, though the one was beginning to bother me (ever get the sense that someone thinks they're too good for what they're doing now? Yea...). Started dating B the fall of 2007.

2008: Dating B. Loving it. Got the job in March, to begin in August. Packed up the apartment before the bar exam because the job was originally to begin 110 miles away the day after the exam. Studied like a mad woman for the bar exam. Computer crash. Things went wrong. Didn't pass. Horrible feeling. Had already been working for the firm for a month when the results came out... but they liked me a kept me on as a paralegal while I studied again. Meanwhile, B (despite being at the top of the class) was not finding a job. Darn economy. He opened his own firm late 2008, and decided to move about 30 minutes away (we had 2 apartments close to each other) to be mid-way between me and where his practice was at. Got engaged in late November.

2009: January: part time at work to study, February: off work completely. And time off= not paid. Just saying. B got a job 110 miles south of me in late January. He lived with friends for the first 4 months, then got his own apartment. I moved into his old apartment. I took the bar exam in late february. THen continued as a paralegal until mid-April when I found out I PASSED! Got sworn in in May. Changed job titles May 1 and love it. Got married in late June. Found the new house the following weekend. Packed up and moved (this last weekend).

SO now we are where we are now. In boxes, but married and together with B. The last year has been a whilewind. Two bar exams. Engagement. Three moves. Marriage. Job changes.

I'm ready for some continuity, please. Things can be the same for a while and that'd be just peachy for me.