Monday, August 27, 2007

I got the job!



Shots all around, people.

Oh and BTW, how cute is my husband in this picture? I just want to eat his face.

Spartans everywhere rejoiced



This weekend I took Bryce up to visit my Alma Mater. It's been a long time since I've been up to Michigan State, and it was a beautiful day for it. We walked around campus for awhile, seeing the sights and just enjoying the weather.



We met up for dinner with the family that I used to be a nanny for in college. I watched Clare from the time she was born up until I graduated 2 1/2 years later, and now she's going into the 2nd grade. Before I know it she'll be driving and dating boys and running off to college herself. Man, I'm old.

After that, we met up with some college friends of mine to show Bryce the other side of Welcome Week - shots. And shots. And more shots. We went to a few bars and lived it up like we were in college again. Holy hell, I drank enough to kill a small horse. It was a great time. Needless to say, we spent all day yesterday in bed nursing our hangovers, eating ice cream and watching The Shield on DVD. Although, that ended up being a great time, too.

All in all, it was a pretty great weekend. How was yours?

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Dinner

Start with eggplant, straight from my garden



Add stewed tomatoes, onions, garlic, basil, and just a bit of balsamic vinager



Toss with rigatoni and some mozzarella cheese and you have a feast!



Finish (as if the house weren't hot enough at this point) with my homemade peach-cobbler.



Martha Steward would be so proud of me.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

I'm a pretty, pretty princess

So I had my 2nd interview today, at the actual office I will be working, with the actual manager I will be working under. All in all, it was good and I know he wants to hire me. I have a meeting with the Regional Manager on Friday and then, I'm assuming, they will offer me the job officially.

I'm pretty excited. And pretty relieved to soon be earning a paycheck again. Yay, gainful employment.

In other news, I found a wedding gown! For those of you out there thinking this is a backwards process - get married in Vegas THEN find a wedding gown - well you're right but I'm sort of getting married all over again in a few weeks. See, Bryce is Catholic and really wanted to do a "blessing" of our marriage in a church in front of his family and God. At first I wasn't all about it because, duh, God doesn't just hang out at one church, he's kind of everywhere. In fact, he goes to Vegas too. I personally think Jesus spends plenty of time there, whenever His dad is getting on His nerves and He needs a weekend to Himself - you know, play a little craps and maybe hit up some Cirque de Sole. I get it, Jesus. Sometimes you just need to blow off some steam.

Anyway, I sort of ending up getting really into the whole thing recently. I'm tasting cake flavors and trying on wedding dresses and all of a sudden, holy god I'm a bride! We got married so quickly that I didn't really get to be a bride, which was totally okay with me - I've never been one of those girls anyway. But it's actually pretty fun, as it turns out.

Yesterday the Mom-in-law and I were running some errands and decided to stop into David's Bridal, just to see if they had any pretty dresses for sale that I could snag. Well, they didn't, but I ended up dragging a few dresses over to the changing area anyway. The first one that I tried on, I walked out and the whole room gasped - even people I didn't know where like, "Oh my god, that's the one!". And best of all, it fits me like a glove - so no alterations! AND it ended up being on sale anyway. Needless to say, I bought it.

So, in two weeks I am getting married. Again. This time with family and flowers and a maid of honor and a beautiful white dress and a man in a tuxedo at the end of the isle.

I feel like the luckiest girl in the whole world.

Monday, August 20, 2007

The only-child in me boiling to the surface

Mostly I love being married and living with someone and all the comes with it, but there are a few things that I miss about being single.

1. Late night music jams. I used to love to turn up the stereo to this-is-why-I-don't-live-in-an-apartment levels and cater to whatever I was feeling at the moment. Maybe it would be a glass of wine and some Damien Rice, or maybe it would be me dancing around the living room like a fool to Justin Timberlake, whatever I was feeling at the time. Just me and the music.

2. Saturday afternoons just for me. Sleeping in late. Getting up and baking muffins or pancakes or scones. Eating them at my kitchen table with a cup of coffee and just enjoying the silence of my own house and the quiet of my own mind.

3. Solo trips to the bookstore. I used to go to the bookstore after work some days and wander around with a cup of coffee for hours. I had no where to be and no one getting bored while I sat in one of the arm chairs with a big pile of books to pour over. Sometimes I would come home, armed with several new books, not to make or eat dinner until like 9 or 10. It was fabulous.

4. Girl's Nights Out. Laughing and dancing my ass off with my girlfriends all night long. Ending up back at my house, alone, half in the bag, stripping off my clothes on the way to bed to pass out - smelling of booze and smoke, but who cared.

Ah, the single life.

My morning so far ...



Man, I love rainy days.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

She's voting for Barack



My kitty turned 18 this weekend. Yeah, 18. That's like 80 years old in cat years She defies the imagination. I can't believe that I've had her (Oreo - like the cookie) since I was 9 years old. I was actually there when she was born. It's crazy to think about.

In other new, I have a really good job interview lined up for tomorrow. I don't want to say any more so that I don't involuntarily jinx it, but I'm really excited. Wish me luck!

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Lazy weekend days

Lying in bed surrounded by pillows, checking my email and things for the first time in days, not feeling nauseous finally (also for the first time in days), reading a lovely cookbook called The Vineyard Kitchen, and reflecting on a day that was simple and just utterly perfect, I feel so content I could purr. I finally took the wrappings off my knee yesterday and took a shower, which was like heaven after two days of being in bed and smelling like hospital. It's not too swollen, although still quite a bit stiff and I find that I can't really put much weight on it yet. Nonetheless, Bryce noticed me going a bit stir crazy and took me and my crutches to the Farmer's Market this morning for fresh peaches and then out to a local Cuban restaurant for lunch. We proceeded to spend the rest of the afternoon in bed - reading, making love, napping, and watching movies.

And the best part is, I get to do it all over again tomorrow.

Oh, life is good. Very, very good.

Monday, August 06, 2007

On bed protocol, excessive use of caps, and forced unemployement



See, he says that I'm exaggerating when I tell him that if I don't come to bed until late, he takes over the whole bed. And as you can see for yourselves, evidenced in this photograph I took with my cell phone, not only does he totally spread out, but he spreads out into MY side of the bed! See that side he has totally taken over? With all the pillows and stuff? Yeah. that's my side.

So now I am vindicated! Yes! I am posting proof to the WORLD that I was RIGHT, damnit. So, ha! ... or something.

And in less vindictive news, there's something I haven't really been able to talk about because it wasn't really official until Friday, I am unemployed. This week, in a whirlwind of suddenness and ferocity, my company closed its doors due to "deteriorating market conditions", laid off all its employees nationwide, and filed for bankruptcy. Or wait, how did they say it again? Oh yeah, they are "liquidating their assets". Whatever. All I know is, I am unemployed, uninsured, and about to undergo knee surgery. All I have to say is, thank god for COBRA.

In truth, I wasn't very happy there anyway. I've been trying to figure out what to do about my career for awhile now. Maybe this is the opening I need to move into something more stable and more enjoyable and that doesn't make me want to shoot myself everyday. Sometimes I feel like bad things happen to give your life a spot open for something even better to come along.

Or at least that's what I'm telling myself right now.