Literally, it's been years

Friday night, Lena, Emily, and I went to The Melting Pot for chocolate fondue. We shared a Yin/Yang (mix of dark and white chocolate) and Flaming Turtle (dark chocolate with caramel, pecans, set on fire). It sounds quite simple, three college roommates getting together for a little gossip and laughter. But in fact, we've been trying to do this for over three years. We've seen each other, during the day, with various collections of children, surrounded by other people that as hostess one of us must manage. But last night was unique. Just the three of us, at night, without children, without husbands, without distractions. And without a curfew.

The three of us lived together for two years in college. Living together was challenging. All of us were occasionally grumpy, irritable, irrational, selfish, messy, and downright bitchy. Perhaps more than occasionally, often at the same time. A few other girls rounded out as fourth throughout those years, but the chemistry was really about the three of us. It was complicated, as it often is with women who love each other very much, but without the history of sisters. As we've grown up and found our lives taking strikingly similar paths (jobs, marriage, morgages, and babies), these two girls have become a cornerstone of my life. They provide me with courage, hilarity, support, and comfort. I crave their companionship when it's been too long.

So we met at my house (yeah, I didn't have to drive!), enjoyed fondue, came back for tea. They left at 11:30pm. Emily had an hour's drive ahead of her. We just didn't want to stop talking. We discussed Emily's house, Lena's writing, everybody's kids. We discussed how badly we all wanted new dishwashers. Of course we talked about our husbands. We compared holidays. We said frequently, "We need to do this more often." And so we shall. Next is Lena's shall-be-unnamed birthday in February. Two times in three months. It just might become a habit.

What a wretched lot of old shriveled creatures we shall be by-and-by. Never mind--the uglier we get in the eyes of others, the lovelier we shall be to each other; that has always been my firm faith about friendship. * George Eliot

Lunch with Camille

After much drama and deliberation, Camille and I were able to meet for lunch. Her darling husband, Matt, had returned home to LA. Camille was spending a few more days with friends and family. Luckily for me, she made some time for me! We met in Renton. This was quite the sacrifice for me, because I HATE to drive in city traffic and become grouchy when battling traffic for an extended period of time. But she knew of this charming place called the Whistle Stop Ale House. So we ate, gossiped, talked about our husbands, and compared holiday tales.

Plus, she treated me as an early birthday surprise! Thanks Camille!

As my friends slowly move farther and farther away, I treasure these small times to talk in person. Kevin's friends had the good sense to stay in the Tacoma area. My friends keep spreading out. And Lena, you are NOT allowed to move to Sweden. I'll simply have to come with you, and I know even less Swedish than your husband. It's bad enough that Emily insists on living in the sticks.

A Nice Holiday

Everybody survived. Smiling. That is my new definition of a good Christmas.

The two days at work before the holidays were HORRENDOUS. The big "I want to have my baby before Christmas" rush. Not to be confused with "I want to have a tax break in 2005" rush. Slammin-Jammin full. I didn't walk out of the hospital until 7:35pm Thursday night, all ready to pack the car and drive 2.5 hours to Vancouver. I bought myself a big ol' coffee, reprogrammed all Kevin's radio stations (hee hee), and had a decent drive to myself. Mom and Craig had the house all beautiful and festive. David the brother was there, and Kevin arrived shortly after I did with my puppies. The grandparents had flow in earlier in the day, and were fast asleep.

It was a great holiday. We played lots of games. We ate lots of food. Kevin flipped through radio stations and drove me crazy because he stops to watch every cartoon. We watched lots of "The Food Network." Cindy (the wicked stepmother), Tom, and John Michael came over Friday night for games. Mary and Jerry joined us on Christmas Eve for a great dinner.

Kevin and I did Christmas with his family on Christmas Eve. His folks made the most amazing brunch. The best was this fluffy egg dish with fresh crab. Yummo! Grace helped all of us open presents. McGuire the puppy slept in various places, his standard routine. Everything was beautiful and fun, a great morning. That evening, we ate Craig's venison roast. To die for. Mary and Jerry brought a juicy salad, Mom and I made glazed carrots. Christmas morning we were still full, but we managed to enjoy my stuffed french toast. A pot of Brunswick stew simmered on the stove all day. Monday morning, the day we left Kevin and I made Rachel Ray's pumpkin polenta with spinach and white beans. I was so full that when we met Jay and Chenoah (who are having a boy!) I was so full I could only eat a chocolate eclaire for lunch.

Now, I'm detoxing.

The grandparents are a riot. Roy and Norma, my mom's folks, are in their mid-eighties. They winter in Florida, go out to lunch almost every day, and play a mean hand of cards. My grandmother spent lots of time saying "But it doesn't matter to me." I don't think she was always quite truthful when she said it. My grandfather kept getting kicked out of the living room when he wanted to watch poker on TV. My grandmother kicked all our asses at Monopoly by not having a clue what to do. I landed on "Pay Income Tax" every time I passed go, so I never got to keep my $200.

Quote of the holiday, by Mom.
"Hurry up, it's not that hard to make a decision."
Perhaps you have to be intimately acquainted with the family to understand the subtle humor present.

It was really the most amazing Christmas, and thanks to everybody who made it so special: Mom, Craig, Grandma, Grandpa, David (and Beth in absence), Mary, Jerry, Dana, Tim, Grace, Cindy, Tom, John Michael, Jay, Chenoah, and my darling husband Kevin. I'm still hoping I got the one thing I wanted for Christmas, but I'm too chicken to find out just yet. So I'll let you know...later.

Home Alone

Kevin left early for Portland today. He's hanging out with Jay and Chenoah and all the puppy-dogs. They went to a movie, had a huge lunch at Gustavs, and are probably drinking wine and gossiping as we speak. Never be fooled by men--they are gossip whores just like the rest of us, and thank the good Lord for that. I worked 12 hours, I circulated in two surgeries; my first lady was 300+ pounds, the second was functionally retarded, having her second baby with her equal-stature boyfriend and she left her teeth at home. Staffing was tight. Two patients came by ambulance. And I'm still grumpy!

Who do you think had the better day?

So I over-packed tonight for the holidays. I cleaned the house to my satisfaction because I hate coming home to a mess. It's a little lonely and quiet, and I just don't sleep very well when Kevin is gone. Maybe I have a stuffed toy hidden away....

I watched the last part of "Santa Clause 2." It's a little corny, but it's sweet at the end. And I love Tim Allen, only a little bit because he reminds me so much of my dad. And I'm really missing my dad this year.

Christmas is Coming!

I'm in recovery from a CRAPPY weekend. Mostly crappy because of my grumpiness. Friday was overbooked and understaffed. I felt pulled in a thousand directions. Never unsafe, simply mediocere. So after my patient goes to surgery, I ask "Is somebody going to do my baby?" The answer was not "yes." I got just a touch testy, but I did get some help. Saturday I worked on the post-partum floor with nice patients, but the environment is not the most familiar. So I run around twice as much trying to find paperwork, supplies, and patient goodies. It didn't help that my normal L&D team were upstairs reading the paper, surfing the net, gossiping, and enjoying chocolate that I didn't know about. More grumpiness. The Sunday, grumpiness simply remained. But at least there was birthday cake to look forward to! After work, Kevin and I celebrated Tim's birthday with white chocolate birthday cheesecake. Yum-mo! Like a good yuppy couple, Kevin and I gave Tim the present that gives back: A Starbucks gift card. And grumpiness gone, shattered in the face of sugar.

So today I worked on Christmas chores like a good holiday soldier. I have cute new flannel sheets on the bed. I bought the rest of my presents. We have enough food in the house until we head south for CHRISTMAS! Kevin, the lucky dog, is on holiday for the rest of the week. He's heading to Jay and Chenoah's house for a few days. And he's taking the dogs with him! I'm really going to miss my puppies. After two days at work, I'll join him at Mom's house. My grandparents fly in on Thursday. I haven't seen them since my dad passed away several years ago, and I'm really looking forward to a more joyful visit. They are a RIOT. We'll play games and cards. Grandma will listen to the TV way too loud, and Grandpa will drink horrible beer. Try as we might, we cannot convince him to drink real bear in the Pacific Northwest. He drinks Coors. I'm crying as I type, and that is my excuse for typos.

We did have a fun Christmas splurge last Thursday. I discovered by chance "The SantaLand Diaries" by David Sedaris, performed at Vin Grotto by our lovely friend, Jason Ganwich! For only $5! He's doing shows this Thursday and Friday, so anybody in the Tacoma area should try to see it. The price can't be beat, it's an easy holiday commitment at 55 minutes, and the ticket costs go directly to the artist. Please go see Jason, he's wonderful!

Finally, a stroke of very good fortune. Kevin's cousin, the gorgeous Christina, married her hot-and-hunky British boyfriend, Tristan, on the beaches of Mexico this summer. But the rest of us are invited to a rocking party this February in Arizon to celebrate. Thinking time was too short, we dispaired of using our frequent flyer miles. We've been sitting on these suckers for years. We thought we'd use them for Ireland, but no such luck. But we figured, what the hell, let's give it a shot for Arizona. So we are flying FIRST CLASS BABY YEAH! For ten bucks and 80,000 miles. So brilliant. Kevin said, "That's good, we can use that four hundred dollars to ..... (pause: my split second of panic, the word no springing to my lips) ....fix your car."

Oh yeah. Good idea.

And now my puppies are sharing Danica's bed in the computer room. Awwww.

Stand corrected

Tim's Birthday is on the 19th

I really should write that down for next year

But he's getting old, so celebrating early is allowed! And encouraged!

I am Eloise, I am six

Eloise is my newest sort of love. I need to have kids immediately simply to have an excuse to buy these books and movies. Eloise is the alter ego all of us deserve. Meddling, intrusive, constantly on the move. "Getting bored is not allowed." And we all should have had a "mostly companion" like Nanny. Disney DVD released two live-action movies with Eloise. Nanny is played by the brilliant Julie Andrews, who wore a fake large bottom to be true to the character.

And I'm quite intrigued by Kay Thompson, Eloise's stylish and unique creator. So rather than hash it all out here, peak around at Eloise's website. "Charge it, please!"

Happy Birthday Tim

Happy Birthday to Tim, my loverly brother-in-law. He makes amazing creme brulee. He can belt out a ballad worthy of the best sort of pirate. And he's the nicest husband and father to his two main girls.

And if you weren't a lucky recipient of the Tim and Dana family Christmas card, he looks pretty damn hot in these pajamas.

Have a great birthday!

A big ol' thank you note

Dear Kevin, Mom, Cindy, John, Mary, Jerry, Lena, Glen, Stacia, and Steve:

I really hope you enjoyed The Messiah. The Tacoma Symphony Chorus has been rehersing since late September. Many of us, myself included, got the music earlier last summer in order to start practicing right away. We had 11 rehersals for 16 choral pieces, not to mention the various solo works included in Handel's oratorio. I have taken my music to work and begged the forgiveness of my co-workers for the annoying under-the-breath humming of "He Trusted in God." To finally perform this work after weeks of effort was immensely gratifying. But what truly made my evening shine was knowing you were all in the audience. Since Nancy was with you, I figured it would be the front row.

Sorry about that.

Many of you came a significant distance to enjoy the concert. Glen and Stacia drove up from McMinnville, Oregon. I wish they could have stayed at our house. But our tiny house was full up, and Glen and Stacia are too old to sleep on an air mattress in our utility room. Thank you for slumming it at that beautiful hotel downtown. Mary and Jerry came from Portland, and combined their visit with concert/grandbaby time. Grace entertained them while her lucky parents were enjoying a rare weekend full of adult time. Mom not only came up from Vancouver, but she hemmed my skirt, took us out to lunch, and cleaned my disaster of a kitchen after our chili party before the concert. As always, she spoils me rotten and I really enjoy it. I guess it's the best of both worlds; to be spoiled by a loving mom after you are old enough to truly appriciate it. So Mom, thanks again for everything. Cindy (the wicked stepmother) and my youngest brother John also came up from Washougal. John had NEVER seen our house in three years! He also inherited a puppy for the evening when Freya got quite comfy on the couch where John was sleeping. They left our house at the crack of dawn because she was hosting her family Christmas celebration that morning at 10am. Lena let her husband, Shaun, take over kid-duty for the evening so she could join our party. But Shaun and their two kids, Mattias and Hailey, joined us for dinner. Mattias declined everything except the Fritos. Hailey channeled our dogs (who were in seclusion upstairs) by following around anybody willing to feed her tidbits of beef stew and chili. But hey, she seemed to like it. Steve was able to take advantage of Mary's ticket after she (unfortunately for us) saved the day for Dana and Tim's nanny and couldn't attend the concert. Mary, we missed you very much and you were with us in spirit. Although we all missed Mary, we were pleased that Steve could join us last minute.

And a special thanks to my wonderful husband, Kevin, who is endlessly supportive of all my activities. Even my wish to take tap dancing lessons. You are my greatest blessing.

At bruch the next day with Steve, Glen, Stacia and Mom, Glen gave me a hard time about my blog. Specifically, he wanted to post comments. Since nobody by my friends and family read this, I've decided to give it a shot. So post comments people. Have at it.

Thanks again for taking time out of a busy holiday season to enjoy a weekend with us. I'm so pleased you all were there. I hope you enjoyed yourselves.

With love always,
Jenny

I found it

Yeah! The shirt was at the school. After battling the clueless secretary at the front office, the shirt was back in my hot little hand. My favorite was when she said the choir room was open third period. I'm 27 years old, and I informed her I don't know when third period is. But I have my shirt, crisis averted.

Yesterday was loads of errands, a trip to Zoolights complete with spiked hot chocolate. We bring the spiking tools ourselves. Then nachos at The Keg, and a viewing of Love Actually. Kevin started tearing up when he heard the love theme, at the opening of the DVD.

I think today I'll try to make sugar cookies.

A good Sunday

In a typical move, I started my day realizing that I had lost something.

Namely, my new choir top. That I must wear by Saturday night when many of my lovely friends and family will see me sing The Messiah. Not by myself, not even a solo for me. Maybe in the olden days, when I was confident and ambitious. Now I'm lazy and hate to practice. But it's been a hell of a lot of fun. Ya'll are in for a great show. The soloists are all from our choir, and they are AMAZING. Brilliant. Such a treat.

Therefore, I must find said top. We'll see if it's at lost and found at the high school where we practice. If not, we'll see if I can get one shipped real fast. If not, then don't look at me too hard standing in the back. So typical of me. Damnit.

After that, the day drastically improved, because my husband took me shopping. I never wear skirts, being the recipiant of the Chase family short, thick legs. Looks good on boys, not so good on girls. Because of the short legs, skirts are usually too long (along with everything else) and because I'm lazy (see above comment) I don't want to hem them. But the husband LOVES skirts. Therefore, if I point out one I like, he wipes the drool away and suggests I try it on. So I have a cute little plaid skirt with two new turtleneck sweaters (in the blue and black) from The Gap. Those black boots are next on my list. Kevin also found a great sweater, but we'll wait for it to go on sale. At The Gap, it ALWAYS goes on sale.

Next we bought our Chirstmas present. This is a low-key sort of year, and we wanted something fun, something we'd been talking about doing for ages. So we got ourselves a Zoo Membership! The Point Defiance Zoo is one of our favorite spots (Kevin likes the Red Wolves, I prefer the Otters), and we adore Zoolights. I don't know if Dana and Tim have taken Grace yet this year, but I can't wait to see her with the lights! Winter is a surprisingly great time to check out the animals. They aren't drugged with sumer's heat. And there are significantly less children. We spent 20 minutes talking with the trainer at the elephant yard. Like watching the Animal Planet but in person. And three of the Red Wolves were walking around. They are normally so reclusive one is lucky to catch a glimpse through trees. Today they wandered past the fence, slumbered under trees, and howled at the sky.

Then we lunched at Rosewood Cafe. Great food, but choppy service at first. There was an initial mix up with my soup order, solved when the cook plopped it down beside me (not even in front of me) and said, "Well, somebody ordered this soup." And walked off uncerimoniously. Then the waitress informed me from across the room that I had indeed ordered the bowl and not the cup of soup. I was a little frustrated, and politely mentioned it to our waitress when she brought our entrees. Now, for all my big mouth, I hate confrontations. So I was terribly nervous. But she was very nice about it all, and brought me a free cookie! And the food was yummy! So we'll head back.

Then a nap, a trip to the park, choir rehearsal, and more Hershey's Kisses with Cherry Cordial Creme. Tomorrow I'll (hopefully) find my shirt, get ready for all our company this weekend, buy a birthday gift for Tim the Brother-in-Law (Hey, Tim!) and generally try to get my act together. Cheers.

We Drove to Lynnwood for dinner

We drove to Lynnwood for dinner. This was a bit of a stretch for us, as we don't like to get on the highway for dinner. We usually stick around our neighborhood, meaning Proctor or 6th Ave. Anything else is effort. But I was cleaning a drawer the other day and found gift certificates to McGrath's Seafood. The wicked stepmother, having decided McGrath would make a lovely third and final last name, gave us this gift for Christmas. Last Year. So having found them, we decided to use them. So north we drove, to lovely Lynnwood. I read aloud from David Sedaris' "Holidays on Ice." My favorite kind. I started with the infamous "SantaLand Diaries." If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you should listen to more NPR. A classic holiday tale of one man's adventures as a Macy's Christmastime elf. He's brilliantly funny, both as a writer and a speaker. I'd include him as another celebrity boyfriend, but one gay celebrity boyfriend is enough (see Victor Garber).

On the Second day (and the first)

2. In the heat of battle, my father wove a tapestry of obscenity, that as far as we know, is still hanging in space over lake Michigan.

1. Randy lay there like a slug. It was his only defense.

Computer Out

We've been minus a computer for a few days. Turns out things get a bit overheated when dusty. Take the dust out, computer works! Thanks Steve! Thank goodness our friends are on the dorky side and know about these things.

The Holiday season is up and swinging. My house looks darling with lights and candles and loads of plants. The shopping lists are made. If I'm a very good girl, Christmas cards will be sent this weekend. Schedules are getting hammered out, and we are becoming a larger group year by year. Family, In-Laws, In-Law's in-laws, Ex-wives, wicked stepmothers, out of town grandparents, girlfriends, fiances, the gaming group....whew! But I guess we're luckier than most, we actually LIKE these people. If you have make time for "them," then poor you and come to our house. We're fun!

I have the next five days off work, whoo hoo! So it's errand time. All the silly little chores that aren't a priority MIGHT get done. Or I might say, Fuck It, I'm reading these here paperback books with good sex scenes in them. Two new books came out the beginning of the week, and I've been waiting months. And yes, I've already finished them both.

Kiss Me, Annabel by Eloisa James: Book Two in the Essex Sisters series. Not only is her dialogue snappy and believable, but the secondary characters are fleshed-out and add life to the story.

Red Lily by Nora Roberts: I'm 50/50 on Dame Nora. I don't like the majority of her books, although God Bless her for being so prolific. But her lighter series are usually fun. This was the final book of her In The Garden series. A contemporary story, a little paranormal thrown in, with a few twists. One of the heronines was in her late 40's! With grown children!

Adding to my joy were limited Hershey's Kisses with Cherry Creme filling. Divine.

We woke to several inches of snow. Although it's already melting, it was fun while it lasted. The dogs had a blast at the park this morning, and I can imagine my niece, Gracey-girl, found it quite intriguing. Just a bit of a White Christmas.

Socks at 5

AM, that is. Yes, I made my darling husband get up at 5am to buy socks at Fred Meyer. There were some hard core shopping bitches at that store. We observed more than one hissy fit relating to carts, merchandise (present or otherwise), and general crowd discontent. We also found car seat covers (2for1) and games (2for1 also!), so tonight, Kevin and I will be playing Trivial Pursuit, 90's Edition! Then back to the house for coffee and showers, then off to Target, The Mall, and Costco. Kevin will be MIA as he watches Alias Season 4, I have new fluffy socks and flannel pants, but Danica, alas, does not have a new puppy bed. They were sold out. So maybe next week she'll stop sleeping on my feet. We'll tuck in for the rest of the day. I'll make some soup and apple pie. The candles are lit. It's raining outside. Not a bad day.

Thanksgiving

I drove to Vancouver to see my family yesterday. David, the brother, came up, so it was just us with Mom and Craig. Very fun. My favorite part was talking about their hellacious remodeling experiences, ongoing. I'm hoping we can also spend lots of time discussing it at Christmas with my grandparents. Mom took us to Gustav's for dinner, where I had the Barvarian Platter special. It had lots of meat on it. Yum. So today at work, I'll have leftovers!

And one more thing

I decorated my house for Christmas today. This was not as enjoyable as normal. One, I'm not having a very good day today. Discouraged, frustrated, feeling QUITE sorry for myself. Two, I always want MORE when decorating: more space, more stuff, more lights, more candles. I'm a fan of the "more is more" philosophy regarding holiday decor. But it's looking rather pretty, especially with lots of pointsettias and greenery on the mantle. I think I'll put a live tree on the front porch and throw some lights on it. I'd love to have a tree inside the house, but due to pre-existing conditions find this a bad idea.

1. Nowhere to place said tree in living room
2. A live tree would cause my husband to have difficulty breathing, and a man cannot knock-up his wife during an asthma attack. I have priorities.
3. Danica and Freya can be a tad unpredictable with Christmas decorations. Danica, in the past, has decapitated one snowman and eaten the face off another snowman. Guess she's got a "thing."

So the porch it is. We'll be in Vancouver for the holidays. I've got four days in a row off work. My mom's folks are in town, so we'll be doing the Grandparent thing down there. Two years in a row with out-of-town guests for Christmas! I kind of like this traditional bent, sure beats the years of joint custody.

Tomorrow I'll head down and do mini-Thanksgiving with Mom, David, and Craig. Having done the cooking thing, we're doing the going out for dinner at Gustav's thing. Yeah, Fondue! I'll bring the dogs, and Kevin (who has a few hours to work) will do stuff around the house because he RULES.

Heard at my house several days ago:
"It's not Christmas, it's Sex-mas."
And no, I won't put it into context.

Movies

Kevin and I saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire this weekend. Amazing. Brilliant. Perfect. The screenwriter did a wonderful job of streamlining the story for a tight movie plot. Good movement of the storyline that included the necessary ingredients to tell the story and further character growth. Yes, I could write a huge list of what I WISH they could have included. I would have loved to see the World Quiddich Championships. I missed the details about veelas. I wanted to see the kids doing more magic. I always want more Draco and Snape (because they are delicious, evil characters). But as it was done with Lord of The Rings, the core story was well-told: Harry's confrontation of his fears and grows as a wizard, and how this affects/effects the arrival of Lord Voldemort.

Then I purchased The Polar Express, which I saw last year in the theater by myself. Me and all the five year olds at a Tuesday matinee. Charming Christmas movie. I'll watch it tonight as I start decorating the house. But I chose not to buy the 2-disc set. It was more money, and the extras weren't appealing enough to justify the cost increase. It's not enough to watch them once, I want something worth watching over and over. I want the soundtrack, but I'll wait until it goes on sale. Naturally.

The Messiah

We're coming down to the wire. Lots of nitpicking in rehearsals, enough to make one a touch nervous. But we'll be fine, more than fine, we'll be great. And I'm really hoping I can sing some of those 16th note runs. Yikes.

There is a country song by Toby Keith, "I ain't as good as I once was." I can relate. In high school, I was at the top of the choir peak. Sang solos, in the elite choir, performed in all the musicals. I felt like one talented motherfucker. Then I went to college. Still good, but not at the top anymore. Lots of talented musicians, amazing singers, and auditions were competitive. But I was OK with that. I was a nursing major, and was happy to be singing in a choir. I'm a terrible practicer, and I knew enough about myself to know I lacked discipline to be at the top. Then nursing school took over, I could no longer sing, and six years passed.

Then I got into Tacoma Symphony Chorus. Full of music majors, music teachers, music professors, music directors, private voice instructors. The music was hard and practice went fast. Now I have to practice, and I still feel like I'm nowhere close to the skill I used to have. Frustrating. I have an image of myself as an AMAZING singer. The reality is, I'm pretty decent. Catch me on a good day and I'm damn fine. But I sing next to some outstanding vocalists...and they keep me motivated. I walk away from rehearsal knowing, "I've just got to get this right!" It's a mental challenge, not being "the best." I really enjoyed being the best. But I like the hard work as well. I like rising to the challenge, finishing a concert, and thinking, "I did really well. I worked so hard and it paid off." And I really like the my director doesn't give me dirty looks anymore because I'm practicing.

So it's going to be a great concert. Our soloists are wonderful, including several good friends. I hope ya'll can make it. It should be magical.

Our first party

Thanksgiving was a little early at our house this year. I'm working this Thanksgiving, then I work the weekend. Kind of screws the pooch for any sort of holiday, so we got proactive at our house. It started innocently. Mom decided to come up a weekend early to celebrate. Then we invited the in-laws, Kevin's folks and his sister's family. Soon a couple of friends joined the list. All the sudden we were figuring out where 14 people would sit.

Mom came up the night before. Shopping was finished, the house was clean (enough), and we had a plan. Love a plan. Dinner would be buffet-stylie. Dogs would be upstairs. We had 7 bottles of wine. Then two more bottles of wine showed up uninvited. How can you go wrong with wine crashers?

I woke up at 6:30 am to get started the next day. Most of the cooking was done in pajamas. The morning was surprisingly relaxed. We prepped ingredients and ironed the table cloths. "Do we have enough silverware?" Kevin asked. Huh. Thanks to Grandma's silver, we did! Perhaps it was just a touch tarnished...but with food on it, you wouldn't notice. Shower at 11:30 am (like the plan said). Steve Cook arrived early and started popping champagne corks. Then Kevin's parents arrived and listened to Mom's remodeling saga. Dana and Tim came with Grace after her nap, Bruce and Marie-Claire popped in after rehearsal. We ate lots, drank lots, talked lots. Steve hung out with us until 11:30 pm. Then we blew out the candels and went to bed.

Menu:
antipasti plate, deviled eggs (2 types), homemade spiced cashews with sparkling wine
Honeybaked ham, roasted cauliflower, brussels sprouts with prosciutto, cornbread and chorizo stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, cranberry relish, zinfandel, Shiraz, Reisling
pumpkin creme brule (Thanks to Dana and Tim) with orange Muscat and black currant dessert wine

We had a blast, and spend all Sunday talking about how much fun we had at our own party. We only hope our friends had as much fun. And Kevin and I couldn't have done it without my mom, Nancy. Not only was she the inspiration for the party, but she came up with the menu, brought up tons of food and wine, and did lots of work in the kitchen. Then she washed all our dishes, even when I said, "Sit down, I'll do them later." But she refused and I've long given up arguing with my mother. I might have, technically, kicked her out of the kitchen, once. She was starting to cut up a butternut squash. She stabbed it with a knife and grabbed the handle. I had images of a trip to the ER. Lacking the time to take Nancy in for stitches, I kindly suggested this would be a brilliant moment to take the dogs into the backyard.
"You're kicking me out of the kitchen?"
"Just put the knife down."

Thanks, Mom. And your cooking was GREAT. Don't do it too often, or we won't be fooled by the "I can't cook so I'll just stay out of the kitchen and bring flowers to dinner" act for much longer.

Endless sex is losing its charm

Last month: 7 days late, not pregnant

This month: 11 days late, not pregnant

Grrrrr. I give up. Mom and Mary, you are stuck with grandpuppy dogs. I'll get you new pictures to put on your individual desks.

The Weekend, whew!

1. Kevin has finished Abduction with the Tacoma Opera. It was an amazing show. Funny! Great voices, and very unique staging. They called it, "Semi-staged." The director did some amazing, creative work integrating the audience, the musicians, even an usher. Everything went great, and Kevin was brilliant, of course. They got some great press , and here as well. Next is La Boheme in the spring, and Kev is the ASM. Last year the group was VERY FUN (lots of wine). We'll see if this group is up to the challenge. Now he's onto the next show.....

2. The Secret Garden opens this weekend. More of a kid's show, but if you have kids that's a good one. I like the book, but I'm not as huge on the staged version. I'm helping a bit with the set painting, and I'm very hopeful that Kevin won't be finishing it 30 minutes before the show opens. Didn't help that he got the design late. But it's really coming together, and it's a less intense set then the last one.

3. I took care of a little 16 year old having her first baby (better than having her second, which does happen). She was the most mature one in the room, and this includes her mother. Yikes.

4. The Messiah is coming along amazing! I'm so excited about this concert, and I'd love to see anybody their who could fit it into their schedule. It's Saturday, December 10th at 7:30pm at First United Methodist Church. Call 253 272 7264 for tickets. If you look at the picture on the website, I'm on the right! With shorter hair.

5. I voted yesterday, like a very good girl. Now I don't have to hear anymore stupid ads. I hate fucking ads.

6. I saw Betsy Chasse at Tacoma Borders on Saturday. She's one of the screenwriters for What The Bleep Do We Know, a movie that everybody should see as soon as possible. I finally learned how to describe the movie in one sentence. It's about the link between science and spirituality. Eye opening and brilliant. It's appealing to even skeptical types. I bought their book, listened to her answer questions for 45 minutes (including several of mine!), and had it autographed. They are re-releasing a longer movie version next year, so people can see it in the theater. Can't wait.

I'm sure there are some typos, but I'm too lazy to find them.

Gave up

OK, I turned the heat up. To 60 degrees. Felt good.

conversations

Way too early this Saturday morning (and I'm on call, Yah!)

Me: Babe, I didn't sleep well last night at all.

Him: Oh, sorry sweet. I slept good.

Me: Yeah, between Danica on one side and you on the other, I was crammed in, hot. I woke up five or six times before work called.

Him: Oh, but I wanted to cuddle! (Here he pouts)

Me: Yeah, well, that wasn't working for me.

And the house is a brisk 55 degrees, only because the heater is set at that temp, and it GOES OFF. Meaning the house would be COLDER than 55 degrees if the heat wasn't on. But that doesn't count as "turning on the heat," when it's set for less than 60 degrees.

And the race is on

Temperature in the house last night, with candles lit and the crockpot going: 60.2
Temperature in the house this morning as I made my breakfast: 55.6

Haven't turned the heat on yet!

Treasured moments

I had a charming visit with three girlfriends today. Lena, Alicia, and Raissa, along with the hords of children they brought with them. Four adults, six children. I keep threatening to bring my dogs, "See, I suffer too!" But they don't believe me. After three hours of entertaining chaos, I told them I was going to drive home (in a quiet car listening to my own personal choice of music), light some candles (in child-unfriendly locations), drink some wine (since I'm not breastfeeding, suckers), eat dinner of my choosing (and without a bib, since I'm a big girl), and watch DVDs and read novels until I decided to go to bed. Then I laughed at them.

But I know what they were thinking: laugh it up cowgirl. Your days of adult conversation, privacy on the toilet, and non-leaking nipples will someday come to an end.

My guilty secret

Halloween is over. Nothing very exciting happened at our house. I don't buy candy to give out. Kevin wore his gay vampire costume to rehearsal (not to be confused with the gay pirate costume). I worked my normal shift, then came home to happy dogs. No costume for me.

But now it's November. The beginning of the "Holiday Season." Christmas decorations have snuck into the mall. Catalogs have been sent, including my very favorite L.L. Bean. A favorite complaint is the earliness of Christmas decorations. "It never used to be before Thanksgiving!" is the battle cry.

I love it. I love all the holiday decorations. I've been sneaking Christmas CD's into my Target cart, three times already. Today I listened to them while cleaning the house. Hee Hee. Once November hits, Christmas is fair game. The support group will be at my house next week. Bring your Christmas cookies.

A big girl purse

After losing my cell phone during the squirrel death wish visit to Wright Park, I decided it was time. Time to grow-up. Time to look like an adult. Time to carry my belongs more securely than in all my pockets.

Time to get a big girl purse.

Boys give me the "who gives a shit" look when I mention my new purse. Girls want to hear the details: brand, cost, leather or not, size.

Fossil, more than I would like (which for me is 'free'), black leather, big enough to hold a book but not a tote. I told Kevin that I would keep my keys and wallet in my purse, eliminating the daily, "Honey, have you seen my wallet?" five minutes before we leave. Kevin believes this reason alone is a good reason to get a purse.

I like it.

A big wet smooch to my brother in law

Smooches, Tim!

Kevin and I had a spontaneous dinner with the in-laws Saturday night. I shared my saga of woe, and showed off my new phone that I had programs all by myself. Now, this is an impressive feat, because I got married to avoid chores such as this. Then Tim, the lovely Tim, piped up and said, "I have a cell phone from work I barely used, do you want it?"

Yes, oh yes, please.

So I returned the old cell phone, had them program the new cell phone, and saved a tidy sum of change! Verizon was quite pleasant about the whole thing, and even offered to upgrade my software for FREE. I have previously explained my warm feelings for FREE.

There is just one tiny problem with the new cell phone. My ring tones lack discretion. My other phones had a benign ring. Something inoffensive with an unrecognizable tune. This phone is more gregarious. There are no subtle ring tones, they are all horrid. Leaving me with no choice but to choose a song...crickey! So if we are ever wandering pretentious art galleries together, or dining intimately at a candlelit bistro, and you find yourself thinking, "Is that Mozart's 'The Magic Flute?'"

Excuse me while I take a phone call.

A new phone

Took the dogs to Wright Park today, in retrospect a HUGE mistake. Too many squirrels for one thing. Dogs go crazy for squirrels, which means out of control dogs. They aren't that well behaved to begin with. So I'm meeting Kevin at the park, and stupid me decides to bring the dogs. As I'm walking around, I think "Boy, I better watch my phone, it could fall out of my pocket pretty easily."

Have you guessed the ending yet?

45 minutes later, I realized my phone has, yes indeed, fallen out of my pocket. I've been all over the park in the last 45 minutes, being dragged by my horrid dogs. Off the path, on the path, on the opposite side of the road, next to trees where squirrels have been sighted. All over. As I realize the phone has disappeared, Freya gets away from me and maims a squirrel. The rodent is dragging its body away from my dog, and I'm THIS CLOSE from driving to Las Vegas and leaving the dogs at the park. So I cry (very helpful), attempt for 2o minutes to find the phone (useless), track Kevin down at rehersal to cry some more (comforting, but he didn't have the phone), then try again to find the phone (still useless).

Then I say, Fuck it! I go buy a new phone. The lady asks me what kind of phone would I like? The cheap one, I respond.

A surprise visit

My good friend, Alicia, stopped by to visit me today. Fantastic timing, really, as she drove up mere minutes after I'd returned from Owen Beach. The dogs ran around, fetching and swimming, for nearly an hour. And no, they were not tired yet. Simply thirsty. In tote were two of her three genetic reproductions, the smiling Eddie and amazon-baby Anora. Alicia was so sweet about the dogs, especially Freya, the licker. The dogs just get SO EXCITED around kids, but they aren't with them enough to have a plan of behavior. But they did well, both kids and dogs.

Kevin and I went out to lunch today to Europa Bistro. Our lovely waiter got my order completely wrong, but since I was such a cream-puff about it (I didn't bother to replace it, just age it and quite delish it was) he gave it to me for FREE! I love free. Free anything: samples, chocolate, love. Bring it.

Then it was more walks with the dogs, a bit of a nap, a trip to the library, and ice cream for dinner. Tomorrow is a few hours of work in the morning as a favor. Then errands, chores, and happy hour. Not bad for a Friday.

Today is not that day

Over the past weekend I worked hard, attended a great conference, saw my husband in passing as opera season has begun, bought daffodil bulbs, and walked the dogs. I planned on telling ya'll about these things in charming, graphic detail (except the passing my husband part. It's not that kind of blog. What else would I talk about with my friends when our spouses aren't around if not "passing"). But I had a bad day. So you'll hear about it later.

I just purchased the newest Lisa Kleypas book "It Happened One Autumn." Been waiting for it for a couple months, as all my favorite romance authors have new books this fall. But I'm being a very good girl and saving it for the conference I'm attending this Sunday in Blaine, Washington.

Where is Blaine, Washington?

Go to Canada, then turn around. That little town you bought a Slurpee in on your way to Canada? That's Blaine. There is one nice resort, and that's the location of the conference. Should be fun. Am bringing wine for the room. Anything is fun with wine!

Thanks, Sam

As in Samual Clemens aka Mark Twain. I found a quote from him in ELLE magazine, of all bizarre places. But it fit my current mood. I'm thinking of having it tatooed on my forearm, so that I might meditate on it often.

"I have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened."

It's been a good couple days. Here's hoping.

Live a Little Lust a Lot

I saw Nancy Pearl at the Tacoma Public Library tonight. Genius. She's written several books, the newest "More Book Lust" being her reason for the publicity circuit. This gal is after my own heart. She's a heavy reader (yeah!), discusses books on NPR, and her Book Lust series places books in interesting categories, like "Dick Lit" and "Girl Guides, or It's a Dark and Stormy Night, Good Thing You Have a Flashlight." Naturally, I bought both her books and got them signed. Since King Books, a Tacoma bookstore NOT a chain, and Tacoma Public Library bagged together for the reading, they both benefit from the sales. So I wasn't just buying books, I was contributing to the financial welfare of the library.

When Nancy signed my books, I told her that I used to bring books to restaurants as a kid, as The Babysitters' Club was more interesting than my family.

She has weekly recommendations at her website, www.nancypearl.com

Enjoy!

Days like these

It's a beautiful fall day, the classic kind pictured in movies and Lexus commercials. Sunny yet crisp, nature showing off her final glory before her long sleep. My shrubs are still alive, and the yellow chrysanthemums look pretty on the porch. Freya behaved herself at the park (Danica always behaves herself at the park). And my day started with coffee and waffles IN BED. Thanks Kev!

Choir is going exceptionally well this year. Last year was tough. The director suffered from memory lapses. He forgot that we are a volunteer community choir. With high standards, yes, but volunteers none the less. Our schedule was overloaded, and tempers were sharp. While I love working with the choir, I had a few thoughts of leaving. What was the point if it wasn't fun?

This year has charmed me back. We are working The Messiah, and rehearsals are a joy. The choir sounds amazing, the blend of each section is beautiful. We're watching the director, yet paying attention to each other. The group seems to love the connection we have as well as the sound we create. Don't get me wrong, it's hard. I have to work hard to keep up with all the musicians in the group. At the bottom of it, we are enjoying the work. I don't think we enjoyed it too much last year, despite our successes.

But I still need to practice today! Lots of 16th notes go very fast, and I need to keep up!

While I wasn't practicing, I made chili and snickerdoodles. I did laundry (always good for a quick sense of accomplishment). I walked the dogs and washed dishes. I'm still on my Lord of The Rings fix. Having finished all the DVD extras on all three movies, I'm now watching the movies themselves with commentary. I alternate between the Directors/Writers, the Design team, and the Production team. I can't decide who I love more, Peter Jackson or Howard Shore. And although I'd see it because I love Peter Jackson, I just found the trailer on line. King Kong looks AWESOME! I wasn't sure about Jack Black, but he works it.

The tree is gone

Kevin and I worked in the yard again today. And while there is still much to do, we have reached a milestone in home ownership.

The apple tree is down.

I fear that most lack understanding to the enormity of this event. My heart shudders at our beloved family and friends who have not heard the epic tale of our overgrown yard. For those ignorant souls, a recap:

We purchased our home in 2003, six months after the wedding. While our house has it's foibles, we were and continue to be pleased with our first home. It sits on a corner lot, up high from the road. From a neighbor we learned this lot had laid empty for 50 years prior to our home being built in 1994. Empty EXCEPT for the English Ivy and Blackberry bushes that had taken over, taken over like frat boys at $1 beer night at Kells. It was war, and the plants were winning. And this horrid apple tree hovered at the end of the line.

For the past 3 years, Kevin and I were lacking a plan. As I've said before, we debated and ruled out a towering inferno to take care of the problem. This summer, we started chipping away. Controlled chaos was preferable to rampant chaos. A truck load at a time, a few hours on the occasional weekend, and progress was made.

However, today is landmark. Today we cut down the apple tree. Guest might have missed it, as the blackberry and ivy completed covered its branches. After we cut it down, the tree didn't actually fall over until we hacked off the ivy from its base. That alone took three trips to the dump.

So while it's still as ugly as sin on a stick, the side of our yard looks much improved. Now if ya'll would like to donate a few thousand dollars, we can go for brilliance. Until then, controlled chaos it is.

Good Weekend

1. I bought new work shoes, finally. My habit has been old trainers until they fall apart. Kevin said this was not a good idea and dragged me around Tacoma to find the right pair. Felt like shopping with mother as a kid, like when she made me buy a new dress for a photograph when I was 12 years old. Somebody told her big collars looked good in pictures. Therefore, that's what I must have. But she only wanted to spend about $10 on said dress in 1990. Actually, Mom spent $12 on the most horrible dress this side of hell. It had a big collar, alright. It would have looked very sweet on a 5 year old. On a pre-teen, I looked like I belonged to the Mennonite community. I told her that I would never wear that ugly dress again. And I didn't.

2. I'm not pregnant, after being 10 days late and three negative pregnancy tests. Lots of tears. I'm quite frustrated with the whole thing.

3. We saw The Fantastic Four at The Blue Mouse. Quality entertainment for a Saturday afternoon.

4. Spent Saturday night pretending I was still in college at Steve's 35th Birthday, hosted by his lovely wife Christine (a work buddy). The theme was "Oktobarfest," or "Jagermeister 101." Steve aced the Jager portion of the party, as well as the puking-in-the-bathroom portion. Kevin graciously played DD, and I slept part of the night on the bathroom floor. Way too old for this shit.

5. Raining this morning, therefore perfect for hacking away at the side of the yard. Lots of blackberry bushes. Lots of ivy. Very wet. But looking better. Well done, us!

6. Roast chicken with potatoes, mini squash, Swiss chart, and Houge Merlot for dinner tonight.

7. Kevin has decided to re-arrange the living room. TV downstairs. We'll have some practice compromising, as he likes to watch movies and I prefer radio. Like now.

8. Practiced part 2 of The Messiah. Hard. More 16th notes that go very fast.

And the day after

My muscles are very very sore.

So in honor of my sore muscles, I present a lesson in faith. And introduction to "He that created all that we see and all that we feel." And you can be a pirate.

Oh.....It's all a part of being a pirate (A PIRATE A PIRATE)!

Shrubs

The other night, my darling husband and I were in bed....reading.

Seriously, this is what we do in bed, when we're not sleeping or attempting to create grandchildren for the benefit of our mothers.

"Kev, I'm going to Watson's tomorrow to buy shrubs for the empty patch of ugly dirt in front of our house."

"Can we afford it?"

"Of course, my sweet man. And even if we couldn't, it's ugly as sin on a stick and needs beautifying. If it's empty, I'll just have to weed it all winter."

"Well, weeding is your job."

"Would you like to die peacefully in your sleep? I can make that happen for you."

But I bought a lot of shrubs, including one that's really a tree. Tomorrow I will list them out for you and describe in detail my shopping experience, using a rototiller, then making a quick detour for the husband to fix the sewer line we ran over with said rototiller. And I dug all the holes by myself, including the big one for the tree. I'm so pleased, it looks amazing. And Kevin got home from the theater, gave me a big hug and thanked me for all my hard work. I suppose it's one of the compromises of marriage. I do the work, but then it's all done MY WAY. Since I have a strong preference for MY WAY, and Kevin isn't as interested in landscape planning, I do it MY WAY and Kevin stays out of MY WAY. Unless there is a big hole to be dug.

A MEME

I'm not sure what it stands for, but it's passed around on blogs. I found it, so I'm going to use it. I'm not currently pregnant, so I've had a drink. I hope it doesn't show.

Where I was....
10 years ago (1995)
Starting my senior year of high school. Figuring out what I was going to do with my life, where to go to college, how to afford college without having my parents kill each other over the money. Such are the joys of a divorced family. My dad still lived in Vancouver with the second wife, aka wicked stepmother. My buddy Glen took me to homecoming, and I was still dating Erick Curtis who was off at school in Indiana. Sarah was my closest girlfriend, and I have no idea where she is now. I was a hotshot in concert choir and still hanging onto my baby fat. I was also still a virgin, to my complete dismay.

5 years ago (2000)
I've passed my NCLEX, working as a nurse but not yet full time at my current hospital. Living with lovely Lori, who chose our apartment because it was close to the boy who would become her main squeeze. Because he leaves our place at 3am, it's not technically spending the night. Kevin and I are more serious. He's living down the road in his very own big boy apartment with dirty dishes and a gross bathroom.

1 year ago (2004)
My dad has been dead almost one year, and I continue to really miss having a dad. I'm at odds with his side of the family, and that has not improved. His will continues to be in limbo, and the boys and I figure that we'll never see anything special that belonged to our dad. Kevin and I are planning a trip to Hawaii, our honeymoon two years late. The dogs are wonderful. Life is pretty good.

Yesterday
I worked. Long and boring day. Nice family, nice baby.

5 songs I know the words to
Come Monday by Jimmy Buffett
The Heather on the Hill from Brigadoon
And We Danced by Brad Paisley
Please Come To Boston by Dave Loggins
All of Me, the Frank version

5 snacks I love
Figs with Quark and honey
goldfish crackers
spumoni ice cream
carrot cake with cream cheese from Costco
wine...that's a snack, a liquid one

What I would do with 100 million dollars
Pay off student loans, mine, Kevin's, David's, and John Michael's
Put loads of money into a ROTH and 401K
Money to the Tacoma Humane Society, TLT, Tacoma Opera
Buy waterfront property on the penninsula, and a BIG boat
Buy a NEW Subaru Outback, not a used one
Take my Mom on vacation, where ever she liked

5 Places I Like To Go
My bedroom
Owen Beach
My Mom's house
Vin Grotto
Borders'

5 things I'll NEVER wear
capris
strapless anything
skinny strapped summer dresses without a bra
shoes that lace up the leg
sweatshirts with puff paint, "world's best...", kittens, bedazzling

5 favorite books
The Eight by Katherine Neville
Beauty by Robin McKinley
Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Coming Home by Rosemund Plicher

5 greatest joys
My husband
Our dogs
My friends
My mom, stepmom, and grandmother
Good wine, romance novels, and bubble bath

5 favorite toys
Internet
DVD
portable keyboard
walkman for walking the dogs
digital camera

Current read
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
And multiple gardening books

Fall in my yard

I always feel so productive after working in the yard. Like I've overcome some grand obstacle to inner peace. We now have two beautiful mums on the front porch, having thrown out the ugly New Guinea Impatients. Don't think I'll plant them again next year. The leave are lovely, dark glossy brown. But the dead flower petals stick to the leaves, a version of plant smallpox. Then I planted the lavender plants I'd picked up Friday, all in a neat row next to the driveway. They already smell like heaven. Kevin was sweet and dug out the remains of the ugly rhody, now I have a plot next to the porch in dire need of landscaping. And I don't have a clue what to do.

Anybody, Anybody? Beuhler?

Hopefully tomorrow evening we'll head to The Good Life with Bruce and Mari Claire. Yum. And a few other tasks to take care of. Wish me luck.

Free Day

I was on call yesterday! Wooo Hooo!

So what did I do with time, lucious time? I cleaned my house. I walked my dogs (twice). I went to Watson's Greenhouse and bought some perennials because they were on sale. I'm planting Provance Lavender on the side of the house. It's supposed to like poor soil and neglect. I can work with that. I'll head back next Monday to possibly get some shrubs for the front patch. That ugly rhody is gone, I hacked it with the chain saw. Power tools are fun. Then Kevin and I had a hot date, off to Vin Grotto (our favorite waitress, Leslie, is gone!) for cheese and wine. Then we watched the first half of Return of the King. Viggo is lovely. I love chain mail and leather.

But it's off to work this morning.....

Doing Puyallup

Kevin and I went to the Fair Friday afternoon. The weather was perfection, sunny but not too hot. We focused on our true love, finding good things to eat. I'd rate the food at 75%, good enough but not spectacular. But the cotton candy...truly amazing. And pink, it's always gotta be pink. We ambled around for three hours, looking at animals mostly. The 4-H kids were there with their well behaved dogs. These dogs all sat on cushions while dozens of people stared and cooed at them. And these dogs DIDN'T MOVE. Some didn't even wake up. Kevin and I kept giggling at the thought of what our dog's would do in similar circumstances. We love them, our good enough dogs.

On the way home, I gave Kevin hell about not wanting to cook me dinner. Then when he asked me what I wanted, I told him I wasn't hungry. Just another small moment of spousal joy in the Myers' household. We finished Two Towers, then I read The Historian before going to bed. It's a vampire book, but a creative, well-written, interesting, unique one. When it first came out there was lots of press in the blog-world. Thank goodness for the library!

The Month of Auto Repair

So we've fixed Kevin's window. Then my window got fixed, thanks to Wonderful Bob and Dan at Cooper's Collision. I love these men, these auto repair men, with a love that cannot be contained. Terry, our neighbor, offered to take the panel off the door and see what he could do. Sounded suspiciously like Nancy Saturday night. But what the hell, I had to take it in anyway....

Unfortunately, Terry couldn't fix it, but he steered me away from Novus and towards a repair shop. A stroke of bloody genius. After calling two Subaru repair places...

Tangent: Glen's dad Rod offered once to fix my car, until I told him it was NOT a Ford, Chevy, GMC, or another illustrious American made (in Japan) car. His response, "Rod don't do Subaru," like a Seussian prophet.

...I gave Cooper's a call. They offered to give me a free estimate, and they were close to home, so off I went. They quoted me a repair price almost half the other places. So I walked around doing errands while they....did whatever repair men do.

And I returned to a glorious surprise! Bob, upon further reflection, decided to take the door apart NOW to JUST MAKE SURE it was that part. And he found the true problem was loose bolts, fallen-out screws, and missing washers. So he fixed it. For $50. Bob got a big hug.

Now Kevin wants to take the truck into McCabe's, my other favorite repair shop. Seems the RPM's keep racing. And I'm sure there's about another $1000 in work that could be done, as the truck is a 1997 and has 170+ thousand miles logged. Then there's the Subinator, with an oil leak, noisy defrost, broken AC, and squeaky brakes. Not too mention the 120+ thousand miles. We'd like these cars to last another 5 years, so some money must be invested. Ouch. Hope nobody was looking forward to Christmas.

Conversations with my mother

Me: The driver side window in my car fell off the tracks. We'll have to take it in to be repaired.

Nancy: Oh, that's pretty easy to fix. I saw your father do it lots of times.

Me: Kevin and I don't know much about car repair. I think we'll take it in.

Nancy: You could do it. You just take the panel off the door. I saw your dad do it.

Me: Dad build telescopes and garages for fun. I don't think it's that easy. Plus, we don't know what we're doing.

Nancy: I saw him do it. You just take the panel off. You could figure it out.

Me: You saw him do it? You just take the panel off? The man's been dead for almost three years, and you were divorced from him for almost twenty years anyways! You saw Dad do it in 1982. That doesn't count.

Nancy: This is good wine. Can I have another cookie?

Not the ending I wanted

Work was rough. Rough as we (my resident nurse and I) spent over 2 hours on the telephone with a somali interpreter. Rough as in we spent the last 1.75 hours of our 12 HOUR SHIFT (my third in a row for fuck's sake) charting, and that's not counting all the charting we did in the previous 11 hours. Rough as in the fetal heart rate looked like crap all day long (but we had a good baby in the end with a healthy mom, so not so bad) which is really stressful and made my brain hurt because I couldn't fix it. Rough because I was teaching my lovely resident at the same time how to be a good nurse. Lucky for me she's already a good nurse. I've really lucked out with students/residents, both great girls and smart cookies.

And I'm stressing AGAIN about not getting pregnant. Cried again today. Over something that hasn't happened yet, but might happen because I know too much and work with pregnant ladies all day long and it's exhausting. I wouldn't be this stressed if I was an accountant. My head hurts, my eyes hurt, and I can't smell the cheap zinfendel I'm drinking. Blah Blah Blah...it could be worse at least you don't live in New Orleans....well, my fears might not be life threatening but they're MINE damnit. I make no apologies for them. Except like would like them to go away. I miss feeling happy.

Another celebrity cliche

Renee Zellwiger and Kenny Chesney (he's a country music artist) will have their 4-month old marraige annulled. Why does it make me so sad that perfect strangers couldn't make their marraige work? It's bad enough when my friends try so hard, only to have the best solution be to part ways. Then we're all sad.

Nintendogs

It's a virtual dog. You adopt one from the on line kennel, take it for online walks. Do you even pick up virtual poop? Brilliant. www.nintendogs.com I bet you don't have to wash walls with these suckers.

editing

I'm very glad I read the previous post now, and caught the multitude of errors before my mother read it. Both my loving mother and wicked stepmother (hi Cindy) have said:

You must have spellcheck because you didn't spell anything wrong on your blog. You can't spell.

Ah, to bask in such glorious maternal love. Excuse me while I write a sonnet about it.

Busy weekend

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTIAS! YOU'RE THREE YEARS OLD!

1. Charlie's Aunt on Friday was wonderful. Funny, engaging, lighthearted. For the most part, the cast was great. Only a few weak characters. Not bad, just not as fleshed-out as they could have been. We headed out to E-9 afterwards, not one of my favorite places, but open for food. Stayed out too late, very painful the next day. The bounce back is not as bouncy as it was in college.

2. Nice relaxed weekend. Some chores, some playtime. I don't remember anything else we did.

3. Visited with Steve "Shoe" on Monday. It was his birthday, but he was on baby duty as his wife had choir practice. He was NOT babysitting. One does not babysit one's own genetic reproduction. Watched a little football, ate some cake, played with the baby. Very cute baby. Liked being bounced.

4. Hung out with Kevin while he teched during Dead Gentlemen Improv. These are friends of ours from college, although the group has grown to include some lovely new members who did not attend PLU at the same time. Not a huge audience, as school had just begun that week. But lots of laughs. It had been several years since I attended, over three years ago I think. Afterwards we went to the Alehouse and solved the social problems of the Pacific Northwest. Such a clever group.

5. Scrubbed the kitchen floor. Hopefully it will look better for longer than one week with the dogs.

6. Same with the walls. Danica no longer gets disgusting tennis balls in the house. But now she doesn't bring them to me every second of the goddamned day. Not bad problem solving....

7. First choir practice next Monday. The 16th notes in the Messiah are hard.

8. Kevin's car window is fixed. Now mine is broken. Sonofabitch.

practice with pictures

I managed to catch some great pictures of the puppies when we took them to Owen Beach several weeks ago. Freya is ready to jump about three feet in the air, and Danica is ready to go swimming, just as soon as you throw the ball please.












Here is Sunny, Bo, and Danica heading towards the shore. Sunny and Bo are Jay and Chenoah's golden retrievers. Freya is waiting by the shore to attack Danica. She's starting to swim more with the other dogs, but her normal routine is to run in the water, stalk Danica from the shore as she fetches the ball, and then jump on her when Danica is close enough to reach.






And here's the gang in the back of the jeep, waiting to go....hey, where are we going? Doesn't matter, we get to go in the car!

Opening Night

Charlie's Aunt opens tonight. Kevin and the rest of the TLT crew have been working that set like MacGuire the Basset Hound works a greenie chew treat. With gung-ho enthusiasm, lots of drooling, and just a small amount of sweat. Oh, and cursing. Lots of cursing. After a passioned plea of assistance yesterday from the husband, I helped paint the set for a couple of hours. I just knew when Kevin took this job that I'd get suckered into helping (and I'm rather a grouchy helper). But what else did I have to do except procrastinate the last four song of the Messiah? And it was surprisingly fun. I keep saying it, it's a great crew that works that theater. A true family. But I can't be totally laid back about it, it's not in my nature. So after 18 minutes of 96.5 "Jack Radio" (eclectic mix of 70s-current), I commandered the radio. Country music ruled for the next 3.5 hours. "I'm the volunteer, so I get to choose the music," I declared. And I do so love getting my own way....

So as Kevin continues to fix the stage today, opening night, I've been working hard at home. I've waxed my eyebrows, gotten a pedicure, and I currently have a pumpkin enzyme facial mask working magic.

Woo Hoo

Didn't have to work today! Slept in until nine, my favorite husband took the dogs out AND cleaned the kitchen before I got my tired ass out of bed. Met up with dog park friends at, where else, the park. The dogs are worn out from playing. Lena and I met up at NPCC, by PLU. Classes start today. That life just seems a million years ago, and five minutes ago. Everybody looks so young. We felt just a little bit old. Did a bit of wine tasting at Bacchante with other TLT people, good fun with a bit of successful business shmoozing on the side. Charlie's Aunt opens this weekend, so Kevin is busy with tech week. He's not home much, but I make sure he gets the most important of household duties done. I've always got a plan....

And while the news is so sad, I feel very blessed. There but for the grace of God go I.

Saturday night and I ain't got nobody...

My husband is gaming, again. It's Saturday night, I'm all alone. Just me and the dogs. How fucking depressing. So I'm having a glass of wine and got Pad Thai for dinner, finished another romance novel. I slacked on keeping up, but there have been a couple really good finds. Lots of re-reads thrown in, and I just wasn't excited enough to write about them. But I found two new great authors that just might get added to my "look for them at the used bookstore" list. Loretta Chase was the first, I read her new release "Mr. Wonderful." The cover is very appealing, and I like the new trend of faceless men and no man-titty. And he doesn't have a mullet either. Karen Hawkins was the second, I read her last book in the Talisman Ring series (and I'm a sucker for a series). And another pretty cover.

Yesterday was big shopping day, quite exciting to actually HAVE money for some goodies! So we have lovely new candels and real food in the house. I might have picked up some books at Half-Price Books, but that would mean I snuck a fun purchase in from my husband. So maybe I didn't.

Working the next two days. Boo Hoo. But Mom and Craig start school soon! Hee Hee

We have friends

Kevin and I just returned home from a lovely dinner with Bruce and Mari-Claire (shit, I need to check the spelling on that). They are parents to the infamous Tolie, the escape artist husky. We finally joined them for dinner, and the food was amazing. Bruce did an brilliant pork roast, shitake risotto, spinach salad with home-grown veggies, and lots of wine. The timing was great, because tonight is my last boozing night for hopefully nine+months. So I enthusiastically drank a charming chardonnay and El Bastido Sangiovese. As I type, I'm sipping a limoncello. It's the last of the liquors B&MC brought back from Italy.

So thank you so much for a great dinner, wonderful conversation, and a delightful evening. And, of course, thank you for the presents! I love presents. Kevin and I were introduced to limoncello by his parents, who brought us back a small bottle from Italy on their last vacation. Surprisingly, the booze store in Tacoma carries it. Quite sophisticated for Tacoma. For anybody who hasn't tried it, you are in for a treat. This website is worth a peak, but it's avalible at most liquor stores. www.limoncello.com

A Wife's Lament

My darling, dearest husband, love of my life, finder of lost keys and wallets, maker of damn-fine meals, source of all naughty bedtime stories, is NOT high strung with the status of the house. He is NOT anal-retentive regarding household chores. He is NOT freaky obsessive, but only sporadically and therefore unpredictably, about laundry on the floor or hair in the bathroom.

However, he is blessed with the wife who IS all these things.

When phrased like this, it appears I am the source of chore-conflict. Flip-flop your point of view, and the story has a different edge.

I have yet to chat with a married person who says, "Oh yes, my spouse and I are in perfect agreement regarding household cleanliness." Sometimes I feel we are in endless dejavu....

Spouse 1: Honey, I really need you to (fill in the blank of stupid task)
Spouse 2: Sure Babe, I'll get to that (when hell freezes over)
Spouse 1: How is it that yesterday it was OK to leave clothes all over the floor, but today I'm a (fill in the blank insult) for doing it?
Spouse 2: I'm an adult and you need to back off and let me take care of it how I want (which is to ignore it for a few more days)

AHHHHHHHH!!!!

I know we'll never come to a perfect agreement about chores. We both think, quietly, that our way is best and the other person just needs to buck up and relax/step up to the plate. Neither one of us is terribly good at compromise, as much as we tout it as the holy grail of conflict resolution. And while maybe I don't like the way he washes dishes/folds laundry/cleans bathtubs, the man does have his uses.

He puts up shelves and takes care of electronic equipment. Oh, and he's responsible for power tools in the yard. And heavy lifting and digging. I almost forgot hauling shit around in his truck. And he painted the bedroom Purple Passion and hung our curtains. And he's really good to his mother-in-law.

And he's a TIGER in th...nevermind.

What the Bleep do we Know

I had an epiphany, a catalyst for change the other day.

August has been a rough month. Until last Thursday night, I didn't even realize how low my mood had been. My heart was knotted, my thoughts were prickly. Work simply annoyed me. My husband was tolerable at best. At worst will not be recorded for prosperity. But it wasn't flattering. I was held captive by a dark fog which was deceptively heavy on my soul.

I've been trying to get pregnant. Sounds like fun, lots of free "practice." I know loads of people do it accidentally every day. How challenging can it be to do on purpose?

Very.

Did you know that for healthy, 30 years old or less couples, the odds of getting pregnant in a single month are only 10-15 percent? Do you know how annoying that is for a control freak like myself, a person who thrives on plans and schedules? Do you know how having sex on a schedule can destroy any hope of romance on a given evening?

I assume that if something is going to go wrong, it will go wrong with me. That the very worst will happen to me. That the easy path doesn't come to me. So I've been surrounded by these fears, this panic of a situation that is out of my hands. I can't manage it. I can't control it. And I damned well wasn't able to "relax and enjoy" it.

And what can interfere with ovulation and conception? Stress. Fucking catch-22, ain't it.

I was a day late this month. So hopeful, cautiously hopeful. Still thinking that the bricks would fall, believing my umbrella of doubt would protect me from disappointment. One day later, I cried. Lots of crying. Hating my lack of control, hating myself for the inability to cope and go with the flow. Kevin hugged me, assured me we'd be fine, reminded me that we'd only been trying for 2-3 months. As I sobbed, I told him I couldn't bear being unhappy all the time.

Thank God for girlfriends. Lena, Alicia, Raissa, and I met at NPCC that evening. They were all appropriately sympathetic yet realistic. And as we giggled and gossiped, I had 2 glasses of wine and stayed out late. Might as well enjoy the benefits of not having kids...

The next day Kevin and I watched a movie, What the Bleep do We Know. A small little film from Portland about metaphysics. I can't even begin to describe the plot more than that. The website is more succinct than I can be, so read about it there. But it was brilliant. And it helped push me over the edge in a way that cheery pep-talks never could. And I was done with being stressed every day, worrying about getting pregnant, worrying that my plan would fall apart. No more plan, no more schedule, no more knots in my heart. Just hope and faith that it'll happen eventually.

And lots of practice, naturally. God helps those who help themselves.

Songs the Year I was Born

I found this website, Music Outfitters, that has Top 100 hit lists from the last 4 decades. So I decided to check out what was popular 27 years ago. What were the folks listening to my first year? Perhaps more telling would be 1976...the year my parents had sex One Time.

I haven't included every song, just the ones I like. And I've always had fairly dorky taste in music. I love old, cheesy stuff. John Denver, Neil Diamond, ABBA, Barry Manilow. Love it. And the colored songs are my very favorites. Notice I cut all the Andy Gibb off my list.

3. You Light Up My Life, Debby Boone
10. Three Times A Lady, Commodores
11. Grease, Frankie Valli
15. Lay Down Sally, Eric Clapton
17. Just The Way You Are, Billy Joel
22. Hot Child In The City, Nick Gilder
25. We Are The Champions / We Will Rock You, Queen
27. Can't Smile Without You, Barry Manilow
30. Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad, Meat Loaf
32. Take A Chance On Me, Abba
33. Sometimes When We Touch, Dan Hill
35. Hopelessly Devoted To You, Olivia Newton-John
36. Hot Blooded, Foreigner
39. Dust In The Wind, Kansas
54. Disco Inferno, Trammps
55. On Broadway, George Benson
56. Come Sail Away, Styx
60. Here You Come Again, Dolly Parton
61. Blue Bayou, Linda Ronstadt
63. You Needed Me, Anne Murray
69. Summer Nights, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-john
71. Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue, Crystal Gayle
74. Copacabana, Barry Manilow
80. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, Santa Esmeralda
88. I Love The Night Life, Alicia Bridges
90. It's So Easy, Linda Ronstadt
97. The Name Of The Game, Abba
98. We're All Alone, Rita Coolidge

But my favorite song OF ALL TIME is not on this list. It's Please Come To Boston by Dave Loggins. Think it's from 1976. I have an old mix tape with this song, and my greatest wish is to find it on CD. This song trumps all other songs; favorite Jimmy Buffett songs (Come Monday and Fair You Well), favorite boogie-down songs (LoveShack and Shook Me All Night Long), favorite "I'm Not That Into You" song (Crush by Jennifer Page), favorite "I'm very into you" song (Desire by U2), favorite song with my husband (And We Danced by Brad Paisley). Now I wish I had an excuse to get an iPod, if only to make song lists. Maybe I can bargain the next time Kevin NEEDS a new cell phone.

Another new book

12. The Food of Love by Anthony Capella (library) new book new author:
This book was perfect. Charming, funny, interesting storyline. Unconventional set-up of "boy gets girl." Lots of discussion regarding food, glorious Italian food. Similarly themes from "Like Water for Chocolate" emerge in the descriptions of Bruno's cooking, the idea that emotions invade a menu, that a dish can illuminate somebody's soul. The author also created a charming little website about The Food of Love, with recipes!

I'm tired today. Worked the last two days, and I'm just not in love with my job at the moment. Difficult to say why: I have a great collection of co-workers, bosses I respect, and occasionally my job is personally fulfilling. I took care of nice people today. I didn't feel plugged in, fully in tune with my surroundings. Does life ever feel foggy to you? Like you are simply spinning your turn on the merry-go-round, only to end up where you begun? I certainly have enough challenges going on to keep me entertained...maybe I need new shoes. Or lip gloss? I've discovered some new authors that I want to check out from the library. I have a day off tomorrow, here are my plans.

*Walk the puppies in the sunshine
*Pay bills (not fun but sense of accomplishment worthwhile)
*Mail multitude of birthday cards
*Visit Library
*Buy pumpkin candle from Bath and Body Works
*Have drinks with Lena and others at NPCC so we are discuss our sex lives, and our husbands
*Fertilize annuals
*Browse perennials at Watson's
*Take a nap

Doesn't this sound like a nice Wednesday?

Dana's Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANA!

Too bad it's on a Monday. It we were in 5th grade, you could bring cupcakes to class. I hope you have a lovely day with lots of great presents from your darling husband! You go, Tim.

Kisses
Jenny

And I won't even give your true age

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANCY!

My mom is (censored) years old today! Love you Mom! Your present is waiting and the card is in the mail.

For an online present, check out the hampsters. They dance for YOU.

Kisses
The favorite daughter

Friends for the weekend

Jay and Chenoah came up this weekend. As I type this, I'm not entirely sure I'm spelling her name correctly. Lived with the girl, attended her wedding, can't spell her name. Damn. Sorry about that. We all went to college together, lived together, shared VERY THIN WALLS (such a bonding experience) together. Chenoah and I once informed said boys that chastity belts would come back into fashion if their gross bathroom remained unclean for the ladies' pleasure. Such an effective threat. If I wasn't trying to get knocked up, I'd give it another shot. Now I'm left with nothing. Shame.

I met Jay freshman year of college. Surprisingly, at a school as incestuous as PLU, we never dated each other. But I have seen his perky ass. Does that count? Kevin and Jay became quite tight our junior/senior year, right before Kevin and I started "dating." Almost 10 years of memories leaves a lot for discussion. We managed to hit all the big ones this weekend: religion, marriage, parenting, families, sex, divorce, politics, and gossiping about all our mutual friends. They brought their lovely golden retrievers, Bo and Sunny, up for the parties. Four large dogs, about 290 lbs total, in a 1300 square foot house makes for a cozy weekend. And constant entertainment.

We went back to the Ren Faire for two Thryce Wycked Wenches shows. The 5pm show included other musicians from the faire. It was rockin'. Drummers, guitars, and a LONG version of "What Do You Do With A Drunken Sailor?" Next year, Kevin and I need to figure out some way to work the faire and camp overnight at least once. I'm sure the real party starts once the guests go home. Then it was lots of wine and lots of talking. Jay and Kevin solved all the world's problems by 11pm. The next morning we took all the puppies swimming at Owen Beach before our friends left for home. Thanks for coming up guys. Next time the party's at your new huge house!

My friend Glen

I finally spoke with Glen the other day. He and his lovely fiance, Stacia, moved back to Oregon after long, miserable years in Texas finishing physical therapy school. While Stacia is originally from Texas, the beauty of the northwest seduced her when she and Glen were out here visiting his family, who live in Gresham (my hometown). Aren't they cute?

Glen and I met our freshman year at Gresham High School. We were involved with choir and musical theater together, but I failed to convince him to join the newspaper staff. Glen had the distinction of being the only person to sing in all four choir sections as he journeyed through high school. Freshman year had him singing soprano, and by senior year he was a baritone. We were glad, because the dresses the altos wore made his ass look big.

He was a great friend for multiple reasons: he had a car, his dad had a kick-ass movie-watching set up in the basement, his mother always let me eat dinner at their house (she actually cooked). Did I mention he had a car? Glen was amazingly generous at driving me places. He even took me to our senior year homecoming, which was probably the most fun I had at one of those things.

When we went off to college, me to Tacoma and Glen to Oregon State (yeah Beavers!), we managed to keep our friendship going. I loved visiting him and all his lovely fraternity buddies in Corvallis, such sacrifice on my behalf to actually spend the night IN the bunkhouse. But his friendship was worth it. I also got to make a complete drunken lush of myself in a city where I wasn't attending classes and trying to date nice boys like my future husband.

The lovely Stacia first appeared to Glen in an internet chat room. Glen was sheepish about discussing her at first, as he'd crucified various buddies who trolled for chicks on the internet. Naturally, because Stacia is quite intelligent, she sent Glen a photo of herself despite his lack of requests. And because she IS the lovely Stacia, he was smitten. More teasing ensued.

They had a sweet friendship while Glen finished college in Corvallis and Stacia was attending classes in Texas. Such irony that Glen was accepted to physical therapy school in a town near Stacia. To my upmost dismay, Glen brought with him from Corvallis some stupid bitchy bimbo to Texas. His communication with Stacia faded for almost a year. Finally, SBB left Texas, and the lovely Stacia and Glen started chatting again.

And here they are, engaged and back on the West Coast. Glen surprised her with a gorgeous diamond last Christmas. They are planning on an April Fool's Day wedding. And I'm so happy to have them back here. Hopefully I'll sweet-talk them into coming to Tacoma some weekend so we can cook them dinner and ply them with wine. Now I just have to remember to send that birthday card to both of them. So considerate for them to share a birthday! It's hard enough remembering Glen's, and I've known him for 13 years!

The Right Time Finally Came Along

11. A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett (new present from my birthday) new read
I've been waiting for the right time to read this book. Jimmy is hot sunshine, a cool breeze, and nothing else to do. This book could not be read in February, under a wool blanket with hot cocoa. So I started it yesterday after getting off work early, thank the good Lord in heaven. Not a complicated story, but a damn well-told one. It reads like a warm evening in a fishermen's bar, where the story gets more elaborate with the telling.

"A semi-true story, believe or not. I made up a few things and there's some I forgot."

Would it appeal to people who aren't parrotheads? In my biased view, I canna say. But it's perfect for summer and a change of pace from "meaningful" books with "inspirational" stories. Tully Mars, the main character, was first introduced in "Tales from Margaritaville, Fictional Facts and Factual Fiction." But his story was one of many short tales. ASPL takes up where that left off.

So today I'm bucking down to make up for yesterday's lazy reading in the backyard. I've already practiced three Messiah pieces. I'm going to pay bills after this. I might even get a bit of weeding done. But it's the music practice I dread the most. I'm a terrible practice-er. I love rehersal, but I loath the boring, repetive pounding of the notes at home, struggling with my abysmal keyboard skills. However, I hate it less than Geoff giving me dirty looks when I'm obviously struggling through a piece. I have one month to learn "good enough"16 peices. Damnit, I nailed the Rachmoninoff. I can "Handal" the Messiah. So mark your calenders for December 10th, and come to see me in TSO's The Messiah.

More women should do this

10. Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen (library) new read, new author:
This book was hysterical. Man tries to kill wife by throwing her off cruise ship on second anniversary. She survives and is rescued, but instead of going to the cops (where it would be her word versus his) she decides to fuck with him instead. Brilliant set up, witty dialogue, and a few outrageous characters. It's a rare book that appeals to both women and men, and Skinny Dip succeeds. I can't wait to check out some of his other books. His young adult book, Hoot, is in the works for a movie deal, produced by Jimmy Buffett! And he's a hottie, for an old guy.

I'm so tired, one more shift at work, then two days off. I keep telling myself it's worth it for the overtime, and when I get the check I say, "Oh, that wasn't so bad." But tonight, tomorrow, it sucks donkey. So I'll treat myself with pure luxury on the way to work. A green tea frappacino from Starbucks. Yee Haw.

And I just want to thank my husband....the house looked really nice when I came home. Thanks for the present. It was just what I wanted.

Everybody's working for the weekend...

Except me, because I'm simply working this weekend.

Day one of four (I signed up for some overtime). Naturally, it's looking to be sunny and gorgeous.

But I visited the library yesterday, and I have two books that are NOT romance novels. After slamming through 3-4 in quick succession, the flame has died. So I tracked down a new author (to me) Carl Hiaasen. The books is "Skinny Dip," and it received great reviews when it came out in hardback. Books need to have the right flavor for summer.

The one with the secret

8. Rosie Dunne by Cecelia Ahern (library) new read.
Her first book, P.S. I Love You, is a charmer. Lots of tears, but good and unpredictable ending. Not the neat, tied in a satin ribbon ending I would have anticipated. But more real because of it. As much as I enjoyed this book (and blew through it during an easy day at work), it's not one I'll purchase. The story is a series of narratives in various formats, focusing on Rosie and Alex. It starts as small, misspelled notes from primary school. It evolves into instant messages, emails, letters, cards, and all the modern ways we communicate in the written word. Although the characters came across surprisingly well in these formats, it's almost too gimmicky for my tastes. Definitely worth the time to read it, but not on my list of "books to purchase."

9. Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn (new purchase full price) new read.
It's a rare book I'll purchase straight off the shelf, although I did try to use a coupon for 25% off (can't use it until tomorrow). But I WANTED it. In the Bridgerton Series (about eight siblings) this one reveals the BIG SECRET. A minor character from the first story, The Duke and I, had taken on a life of her own. To the author's amazement, this character had a cult following, you might say. Her name is Lady Whistledown. She's an anonymous gossip columnist. Various bits of her "Lady Whistledown's Society Papers" head each chapter. But nobody knows who she is, and Julia never let the secret out even to the readers, much less to the characters. Until this book. The answer is delightful.

And it would be terrible bragging to say that I guessed correctly, therefore I won't.

So I bought it today, started reading it at Borders with a cup of coffee, and finished it on the couch while distracting the dogs with pork rind chews. I should probably do something more useful with the rest of my afternoon. Like practice the Messiah. And I should give myself some credit, I did look first at Half-Price Books. Another treasure was found there, One Night For Love by Mary Balogh. This book is the story of Neville and Lily, but introduces the character Lauren Edgeworth. She's the jilted bride in this story, becomes the heroine in A Summer To Remember, which introduces the six Bedwyn siblings who each have their own story in the "Slightly...." series. I love it when all these books are intertwined.