time to relax

Hello 2019

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Did we make it to midnight last night?  Yes, but barely.  Jack was in his crib by 10:30, and we were struggling to make it 90 more minutes.  Our plan for the evening was TV, Chinese food, and champagne.  TV and Chinese food happened, but if we had added champagne, we would have been unconscious.  Now we’ve got two bottles of champagne in the fridge, which is a nice problem to have.

Our New Year’s Day started with a happy baby (he woke up quiet, no screaming – yay!) who had a massive diaper blowout overnight (ew), then a walk to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast, then a trip to the grocery store, and then a long walk just because the sun was out.  Now we’re in, warming back up, and I’m waiting for Jack to wake up.  He fell asleep in the cart at the grocery store and has been asleep ever since.  Too much partying last night.

Two out of three ain’t bad

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How to make the perfect Saturday for me:

  1. Sleep in, but not too late.  We got up just before nine.
  2. Go out to breakfast.  We tried a new place, I had bananas foster french toast, and it was glorious.
  3. Go to a bookstore.  We went to Barrington Books in Cranston, which is on a list of the five best bookstores in Rhode Island.  I got four more Hugo nom possibilities.  New books!
  4. Go to a used bookstore.  It was about four miles from where we were, so we checked it out. Disappointing. It was the back room of an antique store.
  5. Go to another used bookstore!  Much better.  I picked up four more books, including the full set of the Amber books (in two volumes) by Roger Zelazny, classics I’ve never read and now can.
  6. Go to the gym.  Watched an episode of Jane the Virgin while I was there, and now I feel better about myself after the french toast for breakfast.
  7. Spend the afternoon reading.
  8. Get Chinese food delivered.
  9. Watch a movie (or binge TV).

I love summer

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You want to know what I’m doing right now?  Right this very second?  Well, I’m typing on my laptop (obvs), sitting in a chair in my backyard, with corn on the grill (John says it’s a barbecue because it’s charcoal not gas, but I don’t think that distinction has anything to do with reality), soon to be joined by steak (the corn, not me – the steak will not be joining me until I eat it, and then we two will become one), listening to John strum his banjo.  The only thing that would make this better, right this very second, is if I were drinking wine instead of water, but I’m doing the smart thing and avoiding those empty calories tonight because I did not avoid the empty calories of buttered banana bread at lunchtime.  Gotta make choices, and I choose banana bread and corn and steak.  The wine will still be there next week.  Or when the banana bread is gone, whichever comes first.  Willpower!

I hope my face doesn’t freeze like that

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My facial person moved to LA last month, so I had my first facial with my new facial person (aesthetician is too formal) last week, and I’m not sure I like her.  I certainly don’t like her as much, but we didn’t click very well.  It was all awkward chitchat and too much of it.  She rallied at the end of the hour when she massaged my face.

No one has ever massaged my face before.  It’s a weird thing to do.  Rub temples, sure.  Gently move in circles while applying products, yes.  This was an all-out massage.  Both hands on, whole face covered, pressure added.  I could feel my whole face contorting as she rubbed and twisted and IT WAS SO GREAT.  I would never have put that on a list of things I wanted, but now I want it again.

So yes, very young person with the awkward chitchat, I will see you again next month.  And then I might cancel my membership because I have other priorities for that money.  But she doesn’t have to know that.

Goal achieved

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I got up this morning, trying not to think too hard about my actual age, and set ONE goal for the day.

I WILL ONLY EAT SWEET THINGS TODAY.

Breakfast: I went to Allan Bros (the local coffee place about six blocks from the house with the view of the prison) and had a French Toast latte and a giant eclair.  I mean, this thing was enormous.  It was about 3/4 the length of my forearm.  I read my book, I messed around on my laptop, and I went home in time to gather up John and head for lunch.

Lunch: We went to Mom’s Pies and had a slice of pie each.  Me: berry medley (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries).  John: apple.  They were out of ice cream, which was a little disappointing, but the pies were really good.  We got there just in time – the owner is closing the store in a few weeks in favor of his wholesale business.  He said we can buy them frozen to bake at home from a couple of local grocery stores so we won’t be completely bereft.

Dinner: Cake.  John baked me a cake (yellow cake, chocolate frosting), and that’s what I ate for dinner.   With a glass of milk, of course.  It was delicious.

All sugar, all day.  Happy birthday to me!

Customers think they can get away with anything

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THREE-DAY WEEKEND IS HERE and I am very happy about it.  I got yelled at by two different clients on Friday, like with actual yelling, and I need a good long break.  The first time was around 7am my time, and with a client I’ve never talked to before.  Apparently, this is how she communicates.  I think she’s from New Jersey.  She wasn’t actually mad, or least wasn’t really yelling AT us – it wasn’t personal.  It was still unpleasant.  The second time was just before noon my time, and it was somewhat personal and it was totally uncalled for and thank everything that is good in the world that Harry (one of our VPs) was on the phone and did not take ANY of that crap from the customer.  It was wonderful, and he’s my hero.  And later, he congratulated me on remaining calm and reasonable throughout the call.  I would like to have him in every client meeting forever and ever, amen.

So. Work is done, I get three days off, AND Monday is my birthday, AND we’re in Portland today for a comic con, and I plan to enjoy every minute of this weekend.

The right kind of Saturday

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Rough outline of today:

  • Slept in all the way until 9!  Of course, it was 2am when we went to bed.
  • Rode our bikes about 4 miles to a good bagel place.
  • Spent 2-3 hours sitting outside said bagel place with bagels and coffee, reading our books.
  • Rode 4 miles back home.
  • John worked on fun computer things, and I ran (outside again!).
  • Heading out to drink and play video games at an arcade and local bars for Will’s birthday.

We’re walking over to meet everyone (it’s about a mile and a half away, and we don’t want to have to drive home), so we have to get moving, but I plan to have time to write tomorrow.  I hope everyone else’s Saturday has been as pleasant as ours!

Who’s rushing?

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We got to Orlando late last night (after midnight), found our way to a hotel near the airport, and crashed.  This morning (Thursday) we slept in a little and then transferred to the Hard Rock Hotel, which is WAY COOL.  Our room wasn’t ready (we were early), so we left our bags and walked over the City Walk just outside Universal Studios.  Got a drink, and now we’re sitting outside in the shade with a breeze, just sitting.  Reading a little.  People-watching a little.  We’re waiting for our room, waiting to hear back from Evans and other friends about when John can try on his tux, just waiting.  No pressure, no rush.  Sure, we want to get into the park, but Evans has the tickets and if that happens later or tomorrow, no big deal.

Like, really, no big deal.  It’s life-changing.

U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name” just came on and you can see the tension leave both of us.  Happy vacation, us.

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Sitting in comfort

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We bought a couch (on Sunday)!  And it arrived today!  And it’s comfortable!  Technically, it’s a double chair (not even a loveseat), but it’s big and it’s cushy, and it’s chocolate brown and kind of stripey/soft corduroy.

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We thought about the couch (it was only $100 more), but it was enormous, even bigger than our old couch, and we are not making a purchase of that physical size again until we stop moving around.  This is plenty big enough for the two of us, even with those big cushions on it, and most importantly, it fit through the front door with no issues.

Cozy

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Today was a reading day.  I got up, made my (decaf) coffee, and sat in a chair for nearly two hours reading.  We went out, ran a couple of errands, and when we came back, I tucked myself back into my chair for another few hours to read.

It was wonderful.

John spent most of the day doing computer-y things.  Pleasant, very quiet, and it was raining for the first half of the day and overcast for the rest, so really, the perfect day to stay in and read.  Would have been nicer if our gas fireplace put out any heat, but I guess you can’t have everything.  (Honestly, I didn’t even remember we had one until just now, so I didn’t miss it.)

Maybe I’ll get to do it again tomorrow.

Rubber ducky

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This morning, I noticed a friendly little duck hanging out on the edge of our shower.

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John spent some time working on his car last weekend and got grease and grime under his fingernails for the first time in months, so he dug out the cute little nail brushes with ducks on top that we got as stocking stuffers last Christmas.  I had completely forgotten about them, but how cute is that little guy?  The other one is pink.

Makes me think I should get a rubber ducky or two for my bathtub in Oregon.

I love having no plans

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This weekend is officially a no-plans weekend, and so far, it’s glorious.  We slept until 9, had a light breakfast, picked up the apartment.  I had lunch with Jess, who just happened to text, and John took his laptop off to a coffee shop to program some stuff.  Jess and I bought some wine, took a walk, and then I met John back at the apartment.  Quick trip to CVS, and now we’re home, probably in for the rest of the day.  I plan to read or maybe watch that show I borrowed from Nathan at work, and then we’ll watch Agent Carter and eat pizza and go to bed.

Tomorrow: brunch.  And groceries.  Maybe laundry.  It’s so nice to be home.

Decadent

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This is the life (but better if John were here):

I traveled to the office today.  After spending the day at work (both stressful (didn’t get enough done) and pleasant (saw a lot of people I like)), I went out to get a drink with some coworkers.  From there, I checked into my hotel, where they gave me a warm chocolate chip cookie.  Now, I’m going to take a bath in a bathtub WAY nicer than the one in our apartment.  This might be my first bath since we moved to Annapolis.

Can that possibly be true?

I think it is.  I’m going to take a bath.  With a chocolate chip cookie.

Maybe I should have titled this post “Wine and Cookies”.

No children read this, right? They shouldn’t start with this post.

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I was sitting at my desk in the early evening the other day.  It was pretty dark out already.  The overhead light was on (I don’t remember turning it on, but there it was), and my keyboard was in shadow.  It was getting hard to see the keys.  I have a desk lamp, and I reached over to turn it on.  Nothing.  It wasn’t plugged in.  I wouldn’t even have to get up to do it, but I just…didn’t.  Too much effort.  Instead, I listened to this YouTube video, and I felt much better.

Still didn’t plug in the lamp.

It’s a start

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I attempted meditation today.  (I just tried to type “medication” instead of “meditation”.  I did not attempt medication today.  I’m perfectly capable of taking my medicine.  Attempts are not necessary.)  I was not exactly successful.  I understand that it’s something you have to practice, that you can’t just jump in one day like “Hey, I meditate now!”, but it wasn’t a total failure, either.

It was early this afternoon, and I was in a weird mood to begin with, didn’t really know what I wanted to do with myself (and I’ve just started a new book, and even though I’m 100 pages in, I’m not convinced it’s what I want to read), and I thought that some quiet time might be what I’m looking for, maybe with peaceful music, alone with my thoughts.

I left John practicing his guitar in the front room of the apartment, borrowed some headphones from him, found a YouTube video that plays 6 hours of meditation music (not medication music – my fingers will not stay on topic), and unrolled my yoga mat on the floor of our bedroom (the back room of the apartment).

Then what?  How to begin?  I stretched a little, and then I sat down on the mat, legs crossed, eyes closed, palms up.  I wasn’t really comfortable, so I tried lying down on my back.  Better, but only for all of five minutes because that’s when my phone rang.  Note to self: when meditating, turn off ringer.  It was Molly, venting about work.  Half an hour later, we hung up, and I tried again, but only for another ten minutes or so.  The moment had passed.  Those first five minutes were good, though.  I’ll have to try again.

It’s pretty darn nice here

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I had the best morning today.  Getting up was a little difficult, but I got up and out and went for a run.  Ran over the Naval Academy Bridge (across the Severn River), went a little past and up to a scenic overlook.  I was skeptical, since it seemed like it would just look out over the road (yay road?), but no, they know what they’re talking about when they say there’s a scenic overlook.  There’s a view of the river and the bridge and the academy on the other side.  Scenic.  That was my halfway point, so I came back home thinking I’d grab John and we’d go have breakfast, but he wasn’t back yet.  (He went to Pax River last night to see Shorty and ended up staying.)  So I grabbed my phone and my key, went to Starbucks, and looked for a place to enjoy the sunshine and people-watch.  Found the city dock instead (where we saw a band Thursday night), so I plunked myself down right on the edge with my back to a support post, and talked to Mom and Dad for a half-hour or so.  It was SO nice.  Warm, but not hot, sunny, breezy (no bugs!), me with my iced white mocha.

See my shoes? Proof I was there!

See my shoes? Proof I was there!

Better view, but not great. The sun was in the wrong place. Move, sun! (Yes, let's blame the sun.)

Better view, but not great. The sun was in the wrong place. Move, sun! (Yes, let’s blame the sun.)

I took a few blurry pictures of sailboats that I won’t subject you to, and I tried to get a picture of the guy who was sitting near the top of his big sailboat’s mast doing…something, but that picture didn’t come out well at all.

My terrible photos aside, it was SO pleasant, SO nice, and then as I was walking back to the apartment, I went down the street John usually parks on to see if he made it back, and there he was, driving up the street looking for a spot.  Perfect timing.  After we got his car safely parallel-parked next to a gigantic tree, we headed to West St to check out the flea market (underwhelming, but then, flea markets aren’t really our thing – it might have been an awesome flea market as those things go), and then we had coffee and breakfast at a spot down the road.

Every Saturday morning needs to go like this.  Every morning would be nice, but that might be asking too much.