I'm Going.

USVI, here I come! In October, that is. L is going to be in training in Tally anyway.. so now neither of us will be home. Except our house-sitter. More on that later. (much later.)

In other news, I'm so broke this week! I am using my travel reimbursement check from Charleston to make an extra payment on my credit card, so that leaves me with $40 for the rest of the week. One semi-good thing, though.. I am so tired of restaurants right now that I can't even seem to make myself eat the lunch I order anymore. Yesterday at Fatz I ate 1/4 of my sandwich and 2 fries before saying "Ewwww." And then today at Ruby Tuesday, I ate my plate of salad, but realized when the check came that one plate of mixed greens and a diet coke was not worth $12.

The sad (happy?) truth is that I can cook better than 90% of the restaurants around here anyway, and I'd rather try out my latest Rachael Ray recipe than go out anymore. I suppose this is good for our budget.

I went for a ride with Trigger today. It was great, as usual. He is such a beautiful horse.. He is kind of a prima donna, but I love him anyway. I would be too, if I were as good looking as he is. :-)

L is watching some kind of gardening show on ETV, and I am finishing up my second glass of white wine (our last bottle!) and trying to decide which housecleaning task I shall take up first...

Tomorrow: Perhaps I will sell Numbnuts' ring? Maybe I will... finally.

To Go or Not To Go, THAT is the Question..

*sigh*

Ok, I know it's pretty bad to start the day with a giant sigh. But it's already one of those days. I am really tired already.

Yesterday I was offered an opportunity to go to USVI, expenses paid, to consult on a project, and possibly be part of a new business venture. I am excited about it, because both of the other people involved are people I am already friends with, and who I trust. The problem is that L seems like he doesn't want me to go, but he absolutely refuses to tell me so. And unfortunately, taking him with me isn't an option. He is just acting angry about it every time I bring it up. I don't know what to do.. take the trip and see what happens, or give up the opportunity because he doesn't approve (or at least won't say for sure whether he does or not). Feel free to discuss and/or offer advice. I really don't know what to do.. this opportunity could result in some major cash for us. At the very least, I will get more travel opportunities from it. Not to mention the networking involved..

*sigh*

Today I have to go to Charleston because I am teaching a class tomorrow, so my blogs might be kind of sketchy for a few days. I am sure my readers will survive though. :-)

So.. I'm off to load the car (L is loaning me his SUV for this trip, so we can fit all our stuff into one vehicle).

You Asked for It

Not the greatest pose in the world, but here I am as Esther Williams, Circa 1950. You have to admit, it's a great suit!These are my other BW find.. I have vowed only to wear them inside the house. ;-)

Wedding Planning Extravaganza

Yesterday I drove to Anderson for my dentist's appointment only to find that the office was closed. There was one lady there, who said that she had no idea how I had gotten that appointment. Somebody called me and made it. I don't know how that happened, but I would have preferred not to have had to drive 40 minutes one way for no reason.

Then I went to the BW, where I found lots of stuff for ebay, and a few things for myself.. (shall we make a list? Just a small one?)
1) A vintage Esther Williams bathing suit. SOOO fabulous! I am wearing it to the lake party tomorrow, I think.
2) A brand new one-piece bathing suit with a plunging neckline.. it is ridiculously sexy, but very conservative at the same time. Still had tags on it, too.
3) A vintage wool pencil skirt with lots of tucks in the back and interesting seams. Fits like a perfectly tailored glove, too.
4) Several dresses and assorted other stuff which will be appearing on ebay soon..

L and I have discovered Rachael Ray's recipes. Yum-O indeed! I got a copy of her magazine today and absolutely MUST have a subscription. It's every bit as good as Oprah's, just with more food and no Dr. Phil. :-) So far we have made red pepper green beans (which I actually liked! Me! She Who Detests Beans!), ginger pork chops, balsamic spinach salad, and mustard crusted salmon. Tonight we defrosted the rest of the L's lasagna. Ahhhhhh, it's SO GOOD!!! Even from frozen, 3 months later.

Today we went to taste wedding cake and picked our groom's cake and wedding cake designs. Check the wedding blog for a complete description. :-) Then we went to Publix to avail ourselves of the 5-$11 Coke deal, which we are doing again tomorrow so we'll never have to pay $5 for a 12-pack again (cuz tha's how we roll..)

We also went to an invitation store to look at wedding invitations. Obviously, the invitations are our bone of contention, our Herculean struggle. L likes informal, very simple (boring) invitations, and I like formal, traditional, elegant ones. And we are having a formal wedding and all. Just saying. We finally managed to agree on a style.. but now we can't agree on the price. Seems the ones we like are around $450 for the number we need (and those are considered "inexpensive." And no, that does not include the postage cost). We budgeted $250. This is a problem. The only thing we can get for $250 involves an ink-jet printer and some scotch tape. Not. Gonna. Happen.

So, we get to revisit that battle, because we still haven't made a decision yet.

Wedding Planning Playlist:
The Street Where You Live - Dean Martin

$300 Million Sounds Like Enough

I did make it to the barn yesterday, but it was too hot to ride again. When I got Trigger out of the pasture, he was already completely soaked with sweat. So I just gave him a long bath and a good brushing and let him eat some grass and play some Parelli games with me.

It was nice, but HOT.

Last night it finally rained a little bit. But not much.

I had a weird dream last night in which S and Mom were at a party with me. When the party was over we were so tired that we fell asleep on the couches, but then Mom freaked out and insisted on going home, stomped out the door (don't know how she pulled that off..). I remember looking under the couch and seeing 3 Prada shoes and wondering which of the hostesses had 3 feet. Obviously one of them did. I suddenly realized that they were all witches. A and J and H had all been there. It was strange. Then S woke up and in her sleepy little voice asked me if there was a baby here named Horns. I said No, and she asked me if he was in the Tzomb? (She said it like that.. ta-zoom). I don't know what the heck that meant. But anyway. That's about when my alarm went off, so I'll never know anything else about it I guess. LOL

Tomorrow I have to go to the dentist, then I'm going to the BW for a treasure hunt. After that, L and I are going to meet with the wedding officiant. Saturday we taste cake.

Oh, and we didn't win the lottery last night. But the jackpot is up to $300 million now.

Arts & Crafts Time...

My GAWD. I look like my mother in this picture.
And I am not sure what was going on with my hair, either.
Dude, dig that wood paneling!!

Well... I AM Irish...

Sometimes I think a girl just needs a stiff drink.
Or at least a stiff something-or-other.
Just saying.

I realized this evening that I hadn't had a drink in over a month. Such as situation should not be allowed to stand.

Two martinis later, I am feeling pretty darn good. See? Just goes to show.... Something or other. I will remember eventually.

L and I went through the registry finally.. that was entertaining. Go to Bed Bath & Beyond and enter "L" as the first name, and "Pfister" as the last name, and you will find our list. L hates all of the bedding on the registry, despite the fact that we need new sheets.

I guess I will have to find a duvet set that he can tolerate. :-) He likes stripes and abhors floral prints. I like geometrics and can tolerate stripes, but don't lurve them.

Anyway.
Tomorrow is the boss's day off.
I am going horseback riding after work, provided it isn't too hot, which it undoubtedly will be.
Tomorrow: Trigger!!!

Sometimes..

It was that kind of day. Trust me.
I don't know why I have to be so hard on myself, honestly. I stay mad at myself most of the time, and for the stupidest things! If anyone ever said to me the things I think about myself, I'd beat them senseless.

Seriously, yesterday was an exercise in what happens when you take your Adderall and then get hyper-focused on the wrong thing. It was not pretty. Not pretty at all.

Band practice got canceled. I came home and messed with ebay while L cooked some thai noodles with peanut sauce for dinner. I went to bed early, but was still awake and tossing and turning well after L came to bed and was already snoring. I guess going to bed early isn't an option with the Adderall either.

Still, it's a definite improvement over not having it. At least I am productive now, even when I'm in a bad mood. I also weighed in this morning at 127 pounds. I haven't seen that number since at least 2004 sometime.

And now it's time again to head to work, where I will stick to my list and try to avoid being distracted. It may be a closed-door day today.

That Kind of Day

I can already tell that today is going to be..
That Kind of Day.

How do I know this? Perhaps a list:

1) I had a dream last night that L and I were plotting to assassinate some evil ruler of some foreign country, and I had to hide in a public bathroom, where I was supposed to throw away a disposable razor. For some reason this was vitally important to the plan. Then he went to go do some other part of the plan while I checked out a bombed out flea market. The people there gathered around me, and none of them were natives of the country we were in either. Usually if I have a dream where I am in some suspenseful situation (i.e. trying not to get caught doing something), I am very anxious. My heart pounds and I feel terrified. This morning, I woke up nonplussed and very very hot. (It is a million degrees in my bedroom this morning).

2) While making my breakfast, I put coffee creamer in my cereal! I had to drain the bowl into my coffee cup (which isn't as bad as it sounds, because it was an overly large coffee cup and not a large bowl) and replace it with milk. My cereal tasted weird, but not in a bad way.

3) My first realization when thinking about work this morning is that my two major projects that have been hanging over my head are now completed. So now I should be able to do my job in my sleep. Not sure that this is a good thing, really.

So.. now the time has come to put the convertible top up, pack up my junk, and head to the office..
Later: Band Practice?

Perspective

Kimmy in 1984:

Yours Truly in 1984 (What the HELL is my mother WEARING???):
L in 1985:
Wheeeeee..
LOL

Hell's Kitchen.. ?

Well I couldn't exactly post L's old pictures without putting up a few of my own, could I?

Here we have my sister, pretending that she does ballet. In reality, we both wanted to take ballet or some other kind of dance, but for some reason that was taboo.. unless the dance in question was clogging, which we did almost constantly.

This leotard belonged to our mother, during her "spa" days, when she'd go to work out and we'd be stuck in the stupid nursery. I don't think she actually did much working out though. I mean, think about it.. wearing this getup, you'd asphyxiate or die of heat stroke if you actually broke a sweat. This is not cardio-friendly clothing.

And this kitchen! Agh! This is what our house looked like all the time.. Dark wood, orange and yellow and brown everywhere! A floor that induced nausea if you looked at it from the wrong angle. Random pieces of furniture crammed into every available piece of wall space.. pictures and whatnots covering every available inch of wall and knicknacks and piles of random crap on every horizontal surface.. and STILL we were constantly being yelled at to "clean up this mess!!!"

We really liked to play dress up, can you tell? Here I am in about 1984 or so, pretending to be a bride or somesuch.

Wow, there is so much junk in that kitchen! This is what Hell looks like, people.. seriously, this kitchen was indescribably horrible. I can't possibly do it justice here.

Anyway, note the ever-present bottle of coca cola on the counter.. that one was probably emptied of its contents long ago and filled with water to accomodate the ever-present switch.

What was the switch for? Well, kids, back in the dark ages, a switch was the long, thin stick kept fresh in water in the middle of the dinner table, for when we misbehaved. It left stinging welts on the skin for about an hour, and by then we had done something else for which we deserved a beating. ;-) We went through a LOT of switches.

People could always pick out our house in the neighborhood, on account of the strangely denuded trees. lol

He's Going to Kill Me, but...

I can't help it..
You know how I love old pictures!
Here's L as a 4-year-old:

And here he is a little later, with his Dad. (His love for plain bread and butter apparently began in early childhood...
And finally, my absolute favorite.. L at about 16, and at the height of fashion! :-D
Forgive me.. after yesterday I just needed cheering up.

The Word for the Day is..

Why is it that vacation (while it's a wonderful thing) always brings ordinarily bearable problems at work into sharp, particularly annoying, relief? I wonder if I'll ever dig myself out from under the mountain of crap that awaited me today. Add that to the mountain of other crap that I've been trying to get completed for the past 6 months or so, and you have a recipe for frustration.

Add all that to the fact that it is hotter than blue blazes outside (and in) and throw in some PMS for good measure, and you've got supreme aggravation.

At least there's L and Trigger and the other assorted fur-bearing companions to lighten things up a bit. Speaking of which, the Monster needs his meds again. (There is nothing more pitiful and more angry than a sick cat. Nothing!).

Tomorrow: Who knows? Maybe I'll be less frustrated?

What I Did on Summer Vacation...

I'm back, y'all. :-)
We had a great vacation. HOT, but nice. We went to the beach, where I met L's friends from England. They were very cool. We had lots of fun at the pool and the beach, and playing with the kids. Here is L washing dishes:

And here he is playing with "the boy" who is 4 years old and speaks rapid-fire French. He also speaks English and is learning Spanish. His older sister C is 8 and is absolutely adorable. She colored pictures for us to take home. So now, for the first time ever, our fridge has authentic child-art on it. :-D

After the beach, we spent a few days at L's parents' house. I met all of his college friends one night, and his work mates another day. It was quite an adventure. I learned a lot about L this week. ;-)

Today: Getting my hair done..
Band practice
Who knows??

Adios

Ok, this has been the busiest day in recent history, and that's saying something.

Here's my latest new thing.. a dress form I bought on ebay.. It is wearing my future Halloween costume.

Then we have Trigger this morning, wearing his new saddle and tack and saddle bags. He looks nice in blue, and is quite pleased with himself.
But he got bored with groundwork pretty quick and started falling asleep, so we had to go on a trail ride...
It got hot.
But we had fun. Then I went to lunch with TO, who I hadn't seen in a long time. :-)
After that I picked up my still-broken computer and went to try and fill my prescription before leaving for vacation. The lady wouldn't fill it, said it had to be the exact date of the prescription or she wouldn't do it. She kept saying "it's a narcotic."

Erm. I don't think Adderall is a narcotic, sweetie. It's an amphetamine. And it's been prescribed by my freaking doctor, so quit looking at me like I'm some kind of criminal already. That means that Monday while I'm at the beach, I have to find a drugstore and have them call my doctor's office and then maybe they'll fill my (very expensive) prescription.

And now.. I have to go pack. I'm off to Florida for a week. AC is housesitting while I'm gone.. Monster is staying at the vet for the week because he is sick..

So.. There may be sparse updates this week...
But we'll be back soon, with a tan. :-)

Need More Cash

Want to know what's blasting from my office right now?
"Hear the train a-comin
Comin' 'round the bend
I ain't seen the sunshine
In I don't know when
I'm stuck in Folsom Prison
Time is draggin' on.."

I'm on a Johnny Cash kick right now. That guy was amazing.. simple but effective pretty much summarizes his music. On the surface you think.. anybody could play that. And they could.

But they couldn't do it like Johnny Cash.

He never hid behind anything.. not fantastic musical technique, not an "image," not perfect pitch or vocal prowess (a la American Idol), and certainly not a digital mixer or a slick production team.

He just stood out on his own.

His last CD is downright haunting. Seriously. A few of those songs give me chills every time I listen (particularly his rendition of Hurt (originally by NIN)). And a few of his songs can put me in a good mood no matter what.

The Johnny Cash Playlist:
Walk the Line
Folsom Prison
Cry Cry Cry