Keith is getting very close to completing his dissertation and becoming a full-fledged PhD. I mean VERY
CLOSE. Like three out of four main chapters approved with one still hanging in the balance. And last night, that critical fourth chapter was in the hands of one of his pickiest readers, awaiting judgement. Keith was on pins and needles all night. Much praying was heard. And cursing. And the merits of animal sacrifice were debated. For instance, if we sacrificed the newest kitten in our menagerie, the tiny white one that keeps peeing on the laundry room floor, might that be just the element needed to cement the reader's decision in Keith's favor? I mean, we love our kitties but we really, really need this dissertation to go through and pronto so Keith can graduate this semester. So we joked, and hoped, and prayed.
And then later I fell asleep on the couch watching Gilmore Girls while Keith alternately read and muttered about what a bitch Rory is (we're watching Season 3, while she's tennis balling it between liking Jess and liking Dean and it really isn't her finest moment). Anyway, I'd been asleep for I don't know how long, and these weird sounds started to penetrate through the fog of dreams. There were random noises and shufflings and whispers. It was honestly a little creepy. I flung off my sleep haze and popped open my eyes with a gasp to find Keith crawling around the living room on his hands and knees hissing "Eowyn! Eowyn!" in the loudest whisper ever. For those of you following along at home, Eowyn is the gray, fluffy kitty. We have four, it's okay if you're confused. We are too (clearly).
Me: What are you doing?
Keith (slightly startled): I'm....trying to get Eowyn to purr.
Me: .....
Keith: I got rejected by Ransom and Falcor and I'm not going to bed until I get one of the cats to purr.
Me: Are you drunk?
Keith (sheepishly): ....maybe. A little bit.
Me: .....
Keith: Let's go to bed.
And then he crashed into our closet door.
And yes, I know that the first part of this post isn't at all related to the end of it, except that both things happened last night. And I find them amusing. And will probably regret recounting them here. Oh well!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
LOST = OMFGWOW
The big premiere was Tuesday night. Lost. Season Six. The final season. The beginning of the end.
It did not disappoint. As predicted we got more new questions than we did answers. But oh, such good questions! Left my brain aching and my mouth gaping. Am at a loss for words. So much so that I can't even come up with a decent title for this post. Am still trying to get it all straight it my head, but it seems like there's not enough room for all of it to be in my head at the same time. Overload!
I don't want to spoil things for the (crazy) few of you out there who haven't seen it yet, and there's no need to get into an in-depth discussion dissecting on the meanings because 1) someone else has already said it all much better than I could, and 2) brain. meltdown. can't-take-it-in!!!
So I'll just leave you with this little reminder of what was (for me) the best part of the episode.
Richard (to FakeLockManInBlackSmokeyMajig): You?
FLMIBSM (smugly): Me.
All of Us Watching Along at Home: WHO?!?!? (as our brains splatter all over the wall behind us)
It did not disappoint. As predicted we got more new questions than we did answers. But oh, such good questions! Left my brain aching and my mouth gaping. Am at a loss for words. So much so that I can't even come up with a decent title for this post. Am still trying to get it all straight it my head, but it seems like there's not enough room for all of it to be in my head at the same time. Overload!
I don't want to spoil things for the (crazy) few of you out there who haven't seen it yet, and there's no need to get into an in-depth discussion dissecting on the meanings because 1) someone else has already said it all much better than I could, and 2) brain. meltdown. can't-take-it-in!!!
So I'll just leave you with this little reminder of what was (for me) the best part of the episode.
Richard (to FakeLockManInBlackSmokeyMajig): You?
FLMIBSM (smugly): Me.
All of Us Watching Along at Home: WHO?!?!? (as our brains splatter all over the wall behind us)
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
10 Reasons Why I Heart February
February has always been my favorite month of the year and now it feels like there are even more reasons to celebrate. So without further ado, here are 10 Reasons why I Heart February.
- Lost Returns- I cannot think of a better way to kick off the best month of the year, than the return of my favorite show, Lost, for it's sixth and final season. Tonight marks the beginning of the end, my friends. There will be tears, there will be drama, there will be nicknames, there will be pointless love triangles, there will still be more questions than answers- but I truly believe that at the end of it all we will get a fitting resolution to one of the best dramas on television. Let the amazingness begin!
- 28 Days- I don't know why, but I've always thought it's kind of cool that February is the only month with its own number of days. Not 30. Not 31. It doesn't fit the rhyme. February is a rebel.
- Birthday Month- February 8th, ya'll, it is almost here! Yes, I overindulge myself by celebrating my own birthday for not just a day or a week, but an entire month. But I promise, it's not as narcissistic as you think. It's not so much about celebrating ME (although, let's face it, I do merit celebration), as it is about celebrating how incredibly grateful I feel to have experienced one more year of this fan-freakin'-tastic thing called life and how incredibly blessed I am by the amazing folks who share it with me. Plus, birthday month leads directly to reasons 4 and 5.
- Birthday Cake- Shouldn't need an explanation for this one. This year, I've requested strawberry cake. Yummmm.
- Birthday Party- Again, it's not about celebrating ME, it's about celebrating WITH all of those WONDERFUL people who make me want to keep getting out of bed every morning. So thanks for that, world.
- Super Bowl- Yeah, this is a whole lot more exciting for Keith than it is for me. But when he's happy, I'm happy. And it's another great excuse to get together with good food and good friends and be excited about something. Personally, I'm crossing my fingers that the Saints will pull it off.
- Great Light- There's a certain slant of light this time of year. I don't know what it is or how to explain it, but the world just looks prettier and more hopeful.
- Valentine's Day- I'm not at all a big fan of schmaltz, so the lovey-doviness of Valentine's Day can sometimes kind of get to me. And I think that most women make far too big a deal about it (says the girl who celebrates birthday month, I know, I know). But it's also an entire holiday devoted to flowers and chocolate and hearts and the color red. Now that's something I can get behind.
- Anniversary Month- It is quite amazing to think that at this time just one year ago, Keith and I were crazy stressed, running around like insane people trying to get all the last minute details in place for our wedding. It was the most perfect of perfect days, and on February 28th, we get to celebrate one full, beautiful year of being hitched.
- Anniversary Celebrating- We're going to spend a night at the Cotton Palace Bed & Breakfast (where we stayed the night of our wedding), each a fabulously decadent dinner at the Green Room Grille (Waco doesn't have a lot of fancy foodie places, but this place does everything right) and get a couple's massage (we got one on our honeymoon and have been addicted ever since). Perfect way to end a perfect month? Yup. It sure is.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Yummm...
It takes something special to lure me away from my constant coffee craving.
That'll do the trick.
Passion tea from Tazo. Fruity red tea in a big red mug.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Our Odd Little Corner
Our house sits directly on a street corner at the intersection of two streets, one fairly busy, the other fairly sleepy. There is something about this corner.
There is a stop sign (2-way) halting traffic on the sleepier street and there is something about it that people regularly ignore. The stop sign is merely a guideline, a suggestion. There is something that makes people pull a u-turn in the middle of this intersection. It must look a like a good place to turn around. There is something that makes people on the busier, non-stop-sign street come to a stop anyway. There is something that makes them stop and sit there for a long time. There is something about this corner that makes it seem like a good place to whip out your phone and text message someone, or check directions, or reapply lipstick or have a fight with your boyfriend. Or stare blankly yet somehow menacingly at the happy married couple sitting outside on the front steps of their charming little house on the corner. What I'm trying to say is that there is something odd about the little corner on which our house sits. And we regularly see all kinds of odd traffic and odd behaviors and just shake our heads and say to each other only in Waco.
Yesterday Keith had a whole new experience on our odd little corner. He was outside, enjoying a lovely sunny day when a car pulled over in front the house and rolled down the passenger window, engine idling. Inside was a very round, not particularly friendly-looking, somewhat elderly man. Or as Keith put it, your typical crotchety old guy (we'll call him TCOG for short). Assuming that the man needed directions Keith walked over and leaned down to peer in the open window.
"You sure need to mow your lawn," TCOG opened randomly. "It's going to rain soon and that grass is going to start growing again."
Incidentally, our lawn does indeed need mowing, a fact that was brought to the attention of our lawn mowing guy back before Christmas, but alas no mowing has yet commenced. Keith politely informed TCOG of said situation. At which point TCOG turned the key in his ignition, shutting down the engine. He proceeded to talk to Keith for close to 20 minutes, rambling inanely about money, kids these days, the cost of all the things his pesky grandkids have broken (lawnmowers, transmissions, weed eaters), money, retirement, his worthless son-in-law (got the weed eater stolen from him), the neighbors who moved out down the street (they were noisy), money, the neighbors who moved in down the street (TCOG is sure they've got three families living in one house "and that's not legal"), the fact that TCOG's wife wouldn't be home from work for another hour, and of course, money.
A snippet of TCOG's riveting conversation: "I pay my grandson ten bucks to mow the lawn. Ten bucks, I mean, that's a lot of money. Don't you think? But then I get to thinking about the costs associated with his mowing the lawn. Like the gas I bought for the lawnmower, what's that, about three bucks? And regular lawnmower maintenance, I pay for that lawnmower not him, what's that?...So I decide I want some of my ten bucks back..."
And as delightful as all of this obviously must have been, Keith is standing there stooping down to the window, back cramping, mind reeling and every time he tries to extricate himself, TCOG veers into yet another topic and he's off. No connection from one story to the next, no transitions between them, no line of logic to follow and worst of all- no stopping him. At one point it occurred to Keith that TCOG might be going into some kind of shock, maybe diabetic? Like maybe his brain was somehow unhinging and he just couldn't stop rambling, but Keith didn't know what to do about it.
TCOG did finally quit talking, turn the engine back on, and drive away. Keith never did find out why he pulled over in the first place. Our best guess is that he was just a lonely, typical crotchety old guy who was looking for someone to talk to, just trying to pass the time until his wife came home from work. And while it's an amusing story there's also something about it that breaks my heart a little bit. You know what I mean.
So this is the kind of encounter that our odd little corner seems to attract. Once again we look at each other and shake our heads. Only in Waco.
There is a stop sign (2-way) halting traffic on the sleepier street and there is something about it that people regularly ignore. The stop sign is merely a guideline, a suggestion. There is something that makes people pull a u-turn in the middle of this intersection. It must look a like a good place to turn around. There is something that makes people on the busier, non-stop-sign street come to a stop anyway. There is something that makes them stop and sit there for a long time. There is something about this corner that makes it seem like a good place to whip out your phone and text message someone, or check directions, or reapply lipstick or have a fight with your boyfriend. Or stare blankly yet somehow menacingly at the happy married couple sitting outside on the front steps of their charming little house on the corner. What I'm trying to say is that there is something odd about the little corner on which our house sits. And we regularly see all kinds of odd traffic and odd behaviors and just shake our heads and say to each other only in Waco.
Yesterday Keith had a whole new experience on our odd little corner. He was outside, enjoying a lovely sunny day when a car pulled over in front the house and rolled down the passenger window, engine idling. Inside was a very round, not particularly friendly-looking, somewhat elderly man. Or as Keith put it, your typical crotchety old guy (we'll call him TCOG for short). Assuming that the man needed directions Keith walked over and leaned down to peer in the open window.
"You sure need to mow your lawn," TCOG opened randomly. "It's going to rain soon and that grass is going to start growing again."
Incidentally, our lawn does indeed need mowing, a fact that was brought to the attention of our lawn mowing guy back before Christmas, but alas no mowing has yet commenced. Keith politely informed TCOG of said situation. At which point TCOG turned the key in his ignition, shutting down the engine. He proceeded to talk to Keith for close to 20 minutes, rambling inanely about money, kids these days, the cost of all the things his pesky grandkids have broken (lawnmowers, transmissions, weed eaters), money, retirement, his worthless son-in-law (got the weed eater stolen from him), the neighbors who moved out down the street (they were noisy), money, the neighbors who moved in down the street (TCOG is sure they've got three families living in one house "and that's not legal"), the fact that TCOG's wife wouldn't be home from work for another hour, and of course, money.
A snippet of TCOG's riveting conversation: "I pay my grandson ten bucks to mow the lawn. Ten bucks, I mean, that's a lot of money. Don't you think? But then I get to thinking about the costs associated with his mowing the lawn. Like the gas I bought for the lawnmower, what's that, about three bucks? And regular lawnmower maintenance, I pay for that lawnmower not him, what's that?...So I decide I want some of my ten bucks back..."
And as delightful as all of this obviously must have been, Keith is standing there stooping down to the window, back cramping, mind reeling and every time he tries to extricate himself, TCOG veers into yet another topic and he's off. No connection from one story to the next, no transitions between them, no line of logic to follow and worst of all- no stopping him. At one point it occurred to Keith that TCOG might be going into some kind of shock, maybe diabetic? Like maybe his brain was somehow unhinging and he just couldn't stop rambling, but Keith didn't know what to do about it.
TCOG did finally quit talking, turn the engine back on, and drive away. Keith never did find out why he pulled over in the first place. Our best guess is that he was just a lonely, typical crotchety old guy who was looking for someone to talk to, just trying to pass the time until his wife came home from work. And while it's an amusing story there's also something about it that breaks my heart a little bit. You know what I mean.
So this is the kind of encounter that our odd little corner seems to attract. Once again we look at each other and shake our heads. Only in Waco.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)