I'm sitting at our table, typing on the beautiful laptop my husband gave me, listening to him play his guitar while I sip champagne (Dom = <3), watch the doxies sleep all curled up into a tri-colored ball in their bed, and occasionally get up to check on my dinner. I'm making cooking pasta in white wine (pinot grigio, if you care), chicken broth, and a bit of turkey drippings. It smells HEAVENLY. When the pasta is cooked, I'm going to mix it with some Gouda, and there you have it. This evening is the epitomy of contentment. I'm not deliriously happy, all giddy and giggly, but every fiber of my being is content right now. I'm in my nice, warm, pretty house with my husband and my wiener babies. I have a glass of my favorite champagne to go with my simple, but tasty, dinner, and nothing that I have to be doing. Sure, I could catch up on the mountain of laundry or clean a bathroom or two, but I don't have to if I don't want to, and what I want to do right now is exactly what I am doing. Sitting, listening, watching, and sniffing.
November 2007 Archives
36) If you have to take a test over four-chapters-worth of material in a subject you are shaky on, to say the least, waiting until two hours before you leave to take the test is not recommended. If you don't know where your textbook is and have to hunt for it so you can commence the last-minute studying, you need to get better organized. IMMEDIATELY.
PS: Waiting until the second-to-last day to take the test is also not recommended.
Mike and I got The Return with Sarah Michelle Gellar from Netflix on Tuesday, and we watched it last night after we got home from my physical therapy appointment. I first saw the trailer for this when we went to see Saw 3, and it really caught my attention. The trailer looked creepy enough that I wanted see the movie in a theater, but for some reason or another, it didn't work out that way. After watching it last night, I don't mind telling you that I'm glad we didn't pay money to see it. I don't count The Return as one of the suckiest movies evar (Deep Impact, I'm looking at YOU), but I don't think it came anywhere close to achieving its potential, either.
*** SPOILERS ***
Stephen King's done it again. I finished Everything's Eventual this morning. I didn't like all of the stories as much as I did the ones from the other two short story books, but there were some good ones. I particularly liked "Everything's Eventual", "Autopsy Room Four", "In the Deathroom", "The Little Sisters of Eluria", "L. T.'s Theory of Pets",
"The Road Virus Heads North", "That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French", and
"Riding the Bullet".
"The Little Sisters of Eluria" is part of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. I've heard about that series several times, but nothing about it piqued my interest until I read that short story. I'm fairly confident I'll be poking through Mike's Stephen King collection over the weekend to see if I can find the first book.
Everything's Eventual was waiting for me in the mail when I got home yesterday, and, even though "1408" was near the end of the book, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that I zipped my way through it before the night was over. It was a pretty good story, but I was a little let-down. I wish I'd read "1408" before I saw the movie, especially since I enjoyed the movie as much as I did. I think I would have been better able to appreciate the story on its own merits without my expectations from the movie adaptation coloring my opinion of the short story.
*** SPOILERS ***
Right now I'm at a point where my age doesn't matter to me anymore. More often than not, if someone asks my age, I can't answer them until after I've done the math (year - my birthday = x). I'm turning 27 in a couple of weeks, but the fact that I am less than five years away from being thirty does not make me feel old. However, my little brother turned twenty today, and that made me stop and think; the fact that my little brother is no longer a little kid or a teenager makes me feel older. The problem is my mindset - I do adultish things (go to work, own a house, pay bills, drink alcohol legally, etc.), but I don't feel like I'm any more of an adult than I did when I was twenty. Oh, I've matured - I can see that in the different choices I make now - but when it comes down to it, I still have myself mentally pegged at twenty or twenty-one. At twenty-six, almost twenty-seven, it's high time to change that.
To my fellow commuters and the other drivers sharing the road with me this afternoon, particularly the driver two cars in front of me:
It's not snow or sleet or hail. It's not raining toads, fire, or blood, just plain old boring water. It was enough to justify turning on the windshield wipers, to be sure, but certainly not enough to necessitate slamming on the brakes to avoid the droplets falling from the sky, or whatever the hell it is you were doing.
Sincerely,
Kate
After much anticipation, Mike and I went to see The Mist at an early show Saturday morning, and I liked it just as much as did 1408.
*** SPOILERS ***
Shortly after I started reading The Dirt, I knew I wanted to read this book too. I liked the way Nikki wrote his parts, and, as I mentioned, I have a huge crush on Nikki Sixx, so I was eagerly looking forward to reading more of what he had to say. I wasn't disappointed. Even though he wasn't through with it yet, Mike let me read this one after I finished with The Dirt, and, like The Dirt, it didn't take me long to read. Since I had only heard it referred to as The Heroin Diaries, I was a little disappointed when I realized it only covered a year. Also, I was surprised to see the pages done the way they were. I was expecting regular text and paper, not the colorful glossy pages that I found when I opened the book up.
*** SPOILERS ***
Until today I would not have said I was a fan of Mötley Crüe, but I am after reading The Dirt. The first I heard of this book was when Mike bought it and started reading it. He read me a couple of parts from it as he went through, and eventually his enthusiasm infected me too. It got to the point where I was agitated because he wasn't done with the book yet, and I wanted to read it already. When he finished it yesterday, I started in on it immediately and finished it this afternoon. I really liked the book. My favorite parts are the ones written by Nikki Sixx or Mick Mars. I have a HUGE crush on Nikki, I think Mick is hilarious, I'm meh about Vince Neil, and I really don't think much of Tommy Lee. There were several parts that made me snort with laughter and one that made me burst into tears. Reading The Dirt has sparked my interest in the band - I want to listen to their music and learn more about them, as a band and as individuals (especially Nikki and Mick).
I watched maybe half of the first Hostel (the rest I squinted at as I occasionally peeked through my fingers), so I expected this one to be just as brutal, although it really wasn't as bad. I only covered my eyes a couple of times, none of which were for very long, either. The beginning was surprising and gross, as were a couple of parts throughout the rest of the movie, but overall it seemed to be more plot-driven than it was gory.
*** SPOILERS ***
When we got this movie from Netflix, I didn't know anything about it other than Mike wanted to see it because he'd read about it in Fangoria and it had Alan Rickman in it. As it turned out, the only other actor I recognized was Dustin Hoffman, who played a perfumer past his prime.
*** SPOILERS ***
Original Thanksgiving plans:
just me and Mike eating turkey, being lazy, and ignoring the dogs' attempts to look pitiful enough to convince us (me) to give them some turkey
Actual Thanksgiving plans:
me and Mike eating turkey with our oldest son, my mother, my sister and her husband, and my brother and his girlfriend, playing Guitar Hero 3, and futilely trying to keep the dogs in their bed
What I was planning to make:
turkey
stuffing
cranberry sauce
cornbread
yeast rolls
buttermilk biscuits
green beans
peas
pumpkin pie with freshly whipped cream
apple pie
What I actually made:
turkey
stuffing
cranberry sauce
cornbread
green beans
peas
apple pie
What my sister and brother-in-law were going to bring:
sparkling cider
What my sister and brother-in-law did bring:
sparkling cider and pumpkin pie, thus saving me from having to make that AND the apple pie while everyone was eating seconds.
What my mother brought that was supposed to be used for the pumpkin pie:
two pints of heavy whipping cream
What my mother brought that is still sitting unopened in our fridge:
two pints of heavy whipping cream
When we were supposed to eat:
4:30(ish)
When we actually sat down to eat:
5:30(ish) - because of this delay, my brother and his girlfriend arrived just in time to eat with us
What the weather is supposed to be like on Thanksgiving in Virginia:
cold
What the weather was like this Thanksgiving:
not cold. Not even chilly until a cool windy front blew in later that evening
Mike and I Netflixed Smokin' Aces and watched it over the weekend, and I was surprised by how much I liked it. I mean, I knew I was going to like seeing Ryan Reynolds in it, but I didn't expect to enjoy the movie itself as much as I did.
*** SPOILERS ***
I am still insanely excited about Thanksgiving this year. I want to do more things from scratch than I did for last year's Thanksgiving meal, which means I've been pouring over recipes, both online and in my magazines. (Note: Everyday Food is possible my favorite magazine evar. I am still pondering this) I've found a couple different gravy recipes that sound good, a stuffing recipe I cannot wait to make, and a recipe for cranberry sauce that makes it sound much more simple than I thought it would be. I can't decided if I'd rather make buttermilk biscuits or yeast rolls, so I think I'm going to do both (I'll have some cornbread mix in the pantry for Plan B if necessary).
I read a few of his books a while ago, but his writing style was hard for me to appreciate; with the exception of Rose Madder, it wore on me and grated as the stories progressed. Lately I've found myself appreciating his stories more, though. It began when Mike and I saw 1408. I liked the movie so much that I wanted to read the story it was based on. Mike didn't have that particular short story book, but shortly after that he picked up two of Stephen King's other short story books, Skeleton Crew and Night Shift. I pounced on them, thinking one of them was the book "1408" was in. I realized that wasn't the case after a quick glance through the each table of contents (and a conversation with Mike, just to make sure I hadn't missed it), but, in spite of that, I decided to read Skeleton Crew because "The Mist" is the first story in the book. (Mike and I saw the trailer for that recently, and I really want to see the movie when it comes out, partly because it looks interesting, and partly because Thomas Jane is in it.) "The Mist" hooked me after the first few pages, and I took Skeleton Crew with me everywhere, cracking it open whenever I had a few minutes to spare. After I had burned through Skeleton Crew, I started on Night Shift and went through that book just as quickly. The short story of "'Salem's Lot" motivated me to pick up the novel, which was an interesting story, although, since I initially expected it to be along the same lines as the short story, I wasn't expecting vampires. After finishing that, I ordered Everything's Eventual, the short story collection that "1408" is in, and it cannot get here soon enough.
Well, most of it, anyways. Seriously, I think that over half (probably 75%) of the health problems I've had this year have been TMJ-related. As I've worked with my physical therapist, I've been learning to differentiate the TMJ-related problems from the other ones, and now I can tell that the pain in my ears is not an ear infection - it's because my jaw muscles are too tight. The headaches I used to get so frequently? I don't get them as often now that I'm doing the stretches and exercises my physical therapist showed me. I'm still getting migraines, but it's easier to tell those from regular headaches now, so I know when to take my Relpax and when to take something else. While I'm not completely cured, I am more aware, and that's helping more than I thought it would.
- kisses from my dogs, even though their breath smells like ass
- snuggling with Mike
- hot chocolate
- the cool fall air in the mornings
- my dogs curling up with me when I do homework
- my friends
- Christmas shopping on Etsy
- thinking about what I'm going to make for Christmas next year (it's too late to do most of what I want to now, but I'm going to start way early for next Christmas...like, January early. I'll write more about that later)
- the smell of puppy feet (much better than their breath, I promise)
- thinking about baking bread - I LOVE freshly baked bread
- a huge mug of ice water with lots of ice cubes
- seeing my sparkly ring
- knowing that I'm getting an A in both of my classes right now, in spite of all my worrying about the Networking one
- Thanksgiving. I am super excited about it this year, more so than I ever have been before. I don't know why, but I am really looking forward to cooking a turkey, mashing potatoes, baking pumpkin pies, and all the rest of the holiday staples. I LOVE THANKSGIVING THIS YEAR, Y'ALL.
- the conversation I had with my supervisor on Tuesday. I am still not overly thrilled about my job, but I am a little more confident and assertive now.
- the puzzle Mike and I are working on
- planning for the holidays - I actually have enough leave this year to take a whole week off if I want to. I won't because I need to save leave for our trip to New York in the spring and our anniversary trip in April, but I COULD take a week if I wanted to, and that makes me happy
- the progress with my TMJ problems - it's nice to at least know what's going on, even if I can't prevent it all the time
I don't know if it's the Paxil, the walks Mike and I have been taking in the afternoons recently, the fact that it is full dark by 7pm, d) all of the above, or e) something else completely, but I have been exhausted and ready to go to sleep by 7:30 for the past few nights. Believe me, I love the idea of just being able to crawl into bed, sadly, it's not an option. I have to much to do for that to happen before 8.
I guess I should say I'm a visibly married woman again. My ring is back on my finger, where it belongs! I had to run home on my lunch break to pick up a few things I forgot to pack yesterday. While I was there I noticed that the jewelery store had called earlier this morning and left a message letting me know my ring was in, so I stopped by to pick it up on my way back to work. The jeweler replaced the diamond and refinished the white gold on the bands, and my ring looks brand new again. It looks beautiful.
It's the type of vacation where I'm still going to work and all, but I don't have to do laundry, make the bed, cook, do any dishes, or clean anything. Mike is attending a training class up north this week, and his clients are paying for him to stay in a hotel on-site, so I get to stay up there with him. That means clean towels every day! A king-size bed! With a feather mattress topper! And a fuckton of pillows! (I love the bed.) Room service! (Mike ordered me tomato juice this morning. He's so thoughtful. This is the first time in my life that I've ever ordered room service. It's quite an experience.) A cd-player alarm clock! (Mike asked me to set the alarm last night, and I am ashamed to tell you that I couldn't figure out how to change the wake-up time on that damn thing. He figured it out in no time, though. I HATE being outsmarted by something that plugs in.) A concierge lounge! (I didn't realize there was such a thing until yesterday. We didn't do anything but peek into it last night, but we plan to check it out more thoroughly this evening.) A parking garage! Two in-hotel restaurants! And when I drive to and from work, I'm driving against traffic, so even though I'm farther away, it doesn't take any longer for me to get to work than it would if I were staying at home.
Originally Mike was going to come home after work before heading back up to the hotel, but he had to work late, so I went home and packed for both of us last night after physical therapy. That took longer than I thought, and I didn't get on the road until after 6, at which point it was already dark. I was a little nervous about driving up north in the dark, especially since I didn't know where I was going, but the trip went smoothly, and I got to the hotel without any major incidents. (I did have to turn around once because I went north on the road to get to the hotel instead of south, but that was a) not my fault [the directions didn't mention that I had to turn at that point] and b) not a big deal - a phone call to Mike cleared up that little mix-up, and I was back on my way in no time.)
It would have been awesome if we could have gotten room 1408, but sadly, that was not the case. The hotel has 16 floors, and we're on the top one. While that was a pain in the ass last night when Mike and I were schlepping all of our bags in from the garage (he said it looked like Brittany Spears was going away for the weekend), when I'm not weighted down with bags I think it's neat to be up that high.
Yesterday was fantastic. I love the part of DST where we get an extra hour. More time to sleep? Yes, please! As I told Mike last night, the day felt deliciously long. I forgot about the time change until I noticed that one of the clocks was earlier than the others, and when I remembered the DST change I was delighted. We had some friends over Saturday night and watched movies till 2am (Bug and Behind The Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon). By the time Mike and I went to bed (two episodes of CSI: NY later), it was well after 3, so for me the extra hour was more than welcome. All day I felt like it was much later than it really was only to find out that I had plenty of time left to get stuff done. That was downright luxurious after a month of feeling like I was always running behind. I finished reading one of Stephen King's book of short stories, got a start on my homework for this week, made a dent in the mountain of laundry, and started tackling the sea of clutter the floor by my side of the bed has turned into.
The night before a big multi-component meeting is not the best time to get a tattoo worked on, especially not if you will be escorting the personnel from the other components. It's hard to be professional and keep your ass from hanging out at the same time.
We also watched Behind The Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon last night. It was an interesting movie. The only actors in the movie that I recognized were both from CSI:Las Vegas - Scott Wilson, the actor who plays Katherine's dad, and Angela Goethals, who had a guest role in Season 6. I expected a spoof more along the lines of Scary Movie, but Behind The Mask was a much more subtle parody of horror movies.
*** SPOILERS ***
We watched Bug with some friends last night, and it was a weird, weird movie.
*** SPOILERS ***
Ugh. I've barely done enough today to make getting out of bed worthwhile. Yesterday I was a ball of fire, and all that productivity felt FANTASTIC. Today I was going to lather, rinse, and repeat, except I didn't. I feel so much better when I'm productive, but I never remember to include that at the top of my "why I need to stop slacking already" list when I'm trying to justify being lazy. And while being lazy feels good sometimes, today it feels like a large, gelatinous blob.
I am back on the Paxil again. It's taken me a while to decide whether or not I want to write about it on here. There are some things I prefer not to share, which is why I didn't write about either of the times I was on it before, but this time feels a little different. I'm not happy about going back on it because I feel like I wouldn't need it if I was taking better care of myself (eating better, going to the gym regularly again, getting more sleep, managing stress better, etc.), but I was at a point where I felt like everything was falling down around me and I couldn't take a breath to get myself together, much less make effective changes so I could get in a routine that was better for me. At this point I don't know if this is just situational depression, or if I'm one of those people that just needs some extra help chemically. I have a pretty strong family history of depression, so that's not a possibility to be dismissed lightly either. I'm not sure I belong in that category, though, and until I am certain I do, I'm treating this course of anti-depressants as a temporary plan - a stepping stone to get me to a place where I'm better able to take care of myself so I don't need help in the form of a prescription. And if I never get to that point, if I find out that I do much better with the medicine no matter how well I'm taking care of myself, well, I'll jump off that bridge when I get to it.
