get the ball rolling already

I called our realtor last week to get our house listed but she informed me she was going out of town. He daughter is due to have a baby so she was hoping to spend a long weekend with her and meet her grandson. She would call me Monday when she was back in town. What could go wrong with that plan?

She is not back in town today. She won't be back tomorrow either. Said baby has not come and now she's not planning on coming back until Thursday night. She'll come over Friday afternoon to do a final walk through and price determination. I was ready to have the house on the market last week and it shouldn't be a big deal but time is a-tickin'! We have to get this thing SOLD! sigh. I'm stressed in case you haven't noticed.

How do people do this every time they move?

dream

As I may have mentioned before I occasionally have dreams where I encounter celebrities. I don't remember having celebrity dreams until I got pregnant with Ralphie. Although I don't have them as frequently since he's been born, I still sometimes have one.

Usually these dreams involve Oprah and Gayle. Weird, right? I guess I like to think that we all run in the same circles and happen to show up at the same parties. Last night was a good one, even though Oprah and Gayle were nowhere to be found. I dreamt I was at Prince William's wedding. Not just there, but part of the royal inner circle and running around helping Kate with her wedding dress and whatnot. The Queen came downstairs and asked me to put her fur someplace. I put it on the back of her chair at the head table in the reception hall.

I awoke to Yago telling me it was 6:45 which really means, "Get your butt in gear, lunches need to be packed."

let me eat cake

So I got back from vacation last week but haven't really been able to write about it because it was such a disaster. I'm still not up for writing the whole story... suffice it to say we got screwed. Royally. I have issued myself a restraining order to stay away from ITT because I have no idea what would happen if I got within 100 ft of that building right now. And Disney? Not a big fan these days, I unliked you FB. Take that.

Since then I've been trying to get back to the gym and get our house cleaned up. Yesterday was little man's FOURTH birthday. I'm amazed. It seems like he's been around forever but also like he's always been a baby or toddler and should remain so. Four? That's so preschool. So almost Kindergarten. Eek.

We had 20+ people over for his party, just relatives and neighbors. I became a little overwhelmed when we opened presents and I saw just how many people were here. It seemed like a lot. Ralphie was really happy though, he had a super day. I'm forcing myself to eat every last bit of junk food left in the house and starting fresh tomorrow. Ice cream, check. Pistachio salad, check. Hot dogs, you're on notice. Cake, you won't make it through the night.

loaner

Wow. That's all I can say about my loaner car today. I've become accustomed to a new Volvo as a loaner car. When I took the Prius in for service this morning I thought I'd get a shiny new Toyota to drive around. ...Perhaps something that they had on the lot and would have me drive for a day in hopes of getting me to consider buying a new model. Nope. I got an old Corolla with over 123k miles on it. It's all beat up, no remote locks or power windows, nothing. It was a little comical to me. I didn't necessarily expect a brand new Avalon but something a little snazzier than an old Corolla.

easy a

I just checked my HR grade. No surprise, I got an A. It's not because I'm just that damn good but because I'm pretty sure everyone got an A. The professor basically told us in the beginning the only way to get a bad grade was to just flat out not turn something in. That means I'm officially halfway through my coursework. I mostly have core classes left to do.

I went to a lunch and a movie yesterday with Mistress since she was off for the holiday. We saw No Strings Attached, much better than I was expecting. It, of course, had a completely predictable ending but it managed to be really funny. We followed the movie up with a free cupcake from Jones Bros Cupcakes, soooo good! In case you live in the area and don't know; they announce their cupcake of the day on fb and if you go in and name it, you get it for free! Yesterday was Chips A'hoy which I didn't have high hopes for but it was REALLY good.

I have the gym today. I wish I could get my lower half looking as toned as my upper half. However, I think the only cure for my lower half is fewer cupcakes, quesadillas, and less wine. That doesn't sound like much fun.

OH. I think I figured out what I'm going to give up for Lent. I was really struggling because our vacation is during Lent so I didn't want to give up cheese or alcohol or basically any food. I'm going to give up swearing! I don't think I swear much until I hear Ralphie say, "What the hell?" I definitely need to put a stop to that before a grandparent hears it! I'll put a quarter in a bank or something as a penalty, maybe more. We'll see how it goes...

projects

We painted our basement over the weekend and all I can say is... WHAT TOOK US SO LONG? As in, it looks so much better. Why didn't we do that two years ago? We didn't realize how dark and cold it felt in there until we painted it a lighter, warmer tone. It's a shame we have to sell. ;)

Yago and I experienced the curse of the second visit over the weekend. Let me explain. Frequently we find a phenomenal restaurant (or anything, really) but when we go back a second time we are disappointed. So goes with a gourmet Mexican restaurant that we went to a couple of months ago. Oh well. Yago was good company.

After a weekend of really bad eating I'm going to go to the gym. Perhaps I'll even take in a movie today.

who's crazier?

Yago thinks I'm crazy for dreaming of having a home library one day. I've got about 70 leather-bound books that I'm hanging on to in anticipation of the day that I have a dark, mahogany library that boasts a giant crackling fireplace and a huge leather chair with a cashmere blanket careless slung across it. Insert a small table with a snifter of expensive brandy and you get the idea. What's wrong with that? I kind of gave up on owning a boat and having a posh in-ground pool. Well, the pool thing I haven't totally given up on but I'll settle for a canoe instead of a big speed boat. Maybe the house will be on a lake surrounded by mountains. Is this too much to ask?

Yago insists I can have the same experience at the public library. (?????) I don't even know how to respond to that. I think he's crazy.

easy cheesy...

I never realized how many of my friends had kids with b-days on V-day until I was scrolling through FB this morning. Okay, maybe it's only two but still...

We spent the weekend trying to work on the basement, painting and taping. Boring but it's starting to come together. So much work to do and I still have a paper to write, I'm not very motivated. I set my alarm for 5:00 am but didn't get out of bed until 6:00. Once up, I spent the time discovering v-day b-days on fb instead of reading and writing.

I will do it today, finish the book and write my paper. Also? I've decided to give up wine and cheese until Friday. (Nothing too crazy, just until Friday.) We'll see what this does for my weight. The quesadilla-and-half-bottle-of-wine-a-day diet isn't working too well for me. However, after deciding to nix the cheese all I can think about is the half wedge of brie in my fridge.

Three weeks until our vacation! Very excited. Also very stressed because we want the house ready before we go.

am i that freakish of a size?

I've been given the go ahead (actually it was a recommendation after last weekend) to buy a new swimsuit. I found one that I like surprisingly quickly online. The only problem is that I can't try it on so I need to study the sizing chart fastidiously. And now the problem... My bust size is XS (no surprise to those who know me), my waist a M, and my hips a 1XL. Seriously? It also gives no guidance for height which also means I risk buying a suit that will force me to continuously pull wedgies. Always fun if you're not already self-conscious enough in a swimsuit! Being just shy of 5'7", regular-sized clothes are often just a smidge too short and the tall size is way too long. Annoying.

wah

Our dog just chewed up the wolf ears that Ralphie got with his kid meal at Great Wolf Lodge last weekend. Oh the drama. He's pissed and inconsolable but I've told him repeatedly that you can't leave that stuff out with the dog around. I suppose I should be more sympathetic, understanding that a three-year-old is NOT going to put his stuff away. But can I say I'm sick of picking up legos, hockey sticks, cars and whatever random crap he decides he wants to dump all over the living room. It's like groundhog day around here.

And? The painting has not gone so well. I should have sprung for the expensive painter's tape because the crap I bought was awful. We've got two out of three bathrooms kind of done but have one bathroom with about 15 foot ceilings and a humongous basement to do. Plus we have to do all the baseboards, it's a lot of work ahead. I hate selling houses.

palm reading

Today is another snow day, Schmitty is one lucky kid. I don't remember getting that many snow days growing up. I remember praying for them frequently but I don't recall actually getting that many.

We painted the downstairs bathroom over the weekend. Yago removed the border that had been painted over by the previous owners and then sanded the walls. There are a couple of spots that will require touch-ups but it looks pretty good. Maybe today I'll start one of the upstairs bathrooms. I'm feeling ambitious and grubby. Ambitious may be overstating it...

Yesterday I bought groceries and had some difficulty finding what I wanted. First, organic peanut butter without palm oil and other crap. What's wrong with just organic peanuts and salt? Second, shrimp that's not from Thailand. I just don't trust it. I finally found some from the US but it wasn't easy. Third, domestic salmon that doesn't cost an arm and leg. I finally settled on some from Iceland. Iceland has standards, right? When did grocery shopping get so complicated? I asked about the availability of rabbit at the meat counter, I got quite a reaction. Rabbit isn't such a strange choice in some parts of the world, I saw it regularly in Germany. If I can buy pig face at a local Hy-Vee, why is rabbit strange? I'm curious as to how it would taste when not prepared over a fire at survival school.

I'm going to go find a can of paint. Wish me luck!

to market

We got some estimates to paint the interior of our house... Holy smokes! Let's just say we've decided to do it ourselves! The estimates came in between $2700 and $3700. Um, we're trying to put the house on the market. That's it. We're not looking to sink several grand in to it.

I'm taking a Human Resources class right now. It is the most laid back class I've ever taken. It's supposed to be an "intro" class so I think the professor wants to make sure all the HR majors are excited to start their degree. I'm taking it as an elective but appreciate the break!

I joined a new gym instead of bootcamp because I found one closer to home for a fraction of the cost. I really like it although I'm not sure I'll maintain the muscle I gained in bootcamp. For $40/mo I get access to all the classes and free childcare while I work out, you can't beat that!

I'll miss Offutt when we leave because there are so many things that I'm familiar with here and like. However, it's getting close to time to find new cheese as I learned in the HR class. I am experiencing both excitement and dread but focusing on the excitement.

I gotta head out for a spin class this morning. (Spinning is hard.)

big c

A friend of mine with pancreatic cancer just posted his status on fb saying that after careful thought and deliberation, he's not going to participate in a clinical trial. He wants to maintain the highest quality of life possible for the limited amount of time he has left.

Can I just say that sucks? This guy is so funny and taught me so much while I was deployed. I spent my first rotation scared to death of him and then came to see that he took his job very seriously but not himself. He always made me laugh and I wish there was hope of a happy ending.

p/f

Pass or fail... I passed my test today, yeehaw! Only two more and I'll have SOS done. I should have done it years ago but late is better than never, right? I just barely passed but that's all that matters.

keep on truckin'

I've scheduled a test tomorrow for which I'm woefully unprepared but hoping to pass anyway because I just need to be done with it. At this point even if I fail at least I took the darn thing and started!

Yago and I joined a new gym because the bootcamp was a bit expensive and too far away, especially in the winter. Anyway, I've taken a few group fitness class there and while I doubt I'll see bootcamp-like results I feel good about still doing something. Yago and I did a couple of spin classes together... That stuff is HARD! Who knew?

I'm doing another master's class in a couple of weeks, I must be crazy. That's be five classes in six months. (Kind of a lot.) I'll be almost half done.

P.S. Where does the mountain laundry keep coming from?

Christmas Passed

Christmas came and went in Tuttle. I think the boys did exceedingly well with Santa this year. The only hitch was the Playmobils that Jake had asked for, he even asked Santa himself for them. Unfortunately, three were promised delivery before Christmas but only one made it. Soon the other two will arrive in Tuttle and have find there way to Nebraska. Quite a complication.

Perhaps I'll go pick up paint swatches today, we must paint before putting our house on the market. It's coming quicker than I would like. Putting a house on the market right now is going to be painful...

a tad too salty

I made salty dogs last night just because. I hadn't had one in ages and I must say, they tasted pretty good. However, I probably should have stopped at two and definitely at three. Four? Not a good idea. I woke up at 4:45 this morning so now I'm tired with that groggy, disconnected feeling. bleh

I have cookies to bake, frost, and take to my parents today. Every year I forget how pathetic my selection of Christmas cookie cutters is. I had a bunch of metal ones but they rusted in the dishwasher several years ago leaving me with some plastic hand-me-downs that always result in torn and broken cookies. Stupid snowman hands and reindeer antlers.

I can't wait for a nap today...

wow

Dear Computer,

I've missed your time-sucking capability. I'm back and glued to you today.

-waldo

Time to take a shower and then pick up the kiddos from school, they have half a day. I'm done with everything for a while. I finished most of my annual requirements for work and I'm done with my classes. (Two more As, one of them was a sympathy A but I'll take it!)

I'm looking at getting a new (used) car because the Volvo is not cutting it these days. It's nine years old with 120k miles, our latest discussion has been of a Prius but it's all subject to change. I woke up this morning wanting an Infiniti FX35 but after some discussion I don't think that's our best choice right now. Maybe in a couple of years we can revisit an Infiniti. Or... maybe I'll change my mind again this afternoon! ;^)

already?

I believe someone's feet just hit the floor. That means my morning time is quite possible over and it's only 5:52.

because oscar meyer has a way...

There has been some awful news recently. There's a teacher at Schmitty's school whose husband fell off a ladder Friday night and died. They have two young children that also attend the school, a kindergartener and a second grader I believe.

It's so terrible but perhaps the worst part is realizing that it could happen to anyone. I can't help but continuing to imagine what would happen to us if Yago died in some ordinary accident. The man who died wasn't jumping out of airplanes or driving drunk, he was just doing normal stuff. Sometimes people die doing normal stuff. Thinking of what the boys would miss out on without Yago in their lives is depressing. He's such a good father. (and husband!)

Then while eating breakfast yesterday I watched a few minutes of an Oprah episode where a woman's van was hit by a semi-truck and all three of her young children died. I can't imagine. That got me to thinking of what our house would be like without the sound of constant bickering. As annoying as the bickering is, I think I would go insane if the house were quiet. And it's so big for just Yago and me, the act of walking to our bedroom would be unbearable.

So, in short, this past week has served to make me appreciate what I have and realize how fragile it all is. Even the baloney that makes me want to scream is precious...