All this space...[archive]

I've been listing my everyday accomplishments and/or good things here, since these things always have so much free space on the sides with unnecessarily (and deceivingly) long posts on the rest. I like to fill my space, dangit!

But I've moved it from the sidebar to the main section, to fill the sidebar, from now on, with other things, not so dated.

3/11/08:
1. A whole lane to myself at the ARC!
2. Neil remembered how he likes me to Rap
3. And he did the long "ooooookaaaaaaay" at bedtime! I missed it so much.
4. My favorite weather (overcast, still, temperate, the silence before a rain) happened after swimming, so I was able to enjoy it a bit. Then it turned cold and rainy--unfortunately I was optimistically in flip-flops so going outside later on was chilly.
5. Finished the Chef! DVD. I can see why it didn't last (Chef's pretty one-dimensional), but it was an enjoyable seven episodes.
6. Am getting more into New Moon, especially when Edward made a fleeting, voice-only appearance last night. I don't like to pick it up when I only have a short time to read, like for toilet-reading or during my lunch hour. It's too involving.
7. Also finished importing the 4 books on cd I want for the L.A. trip.
8. Had a lively conversation with Steve this evening. It's funny--I always think I'm not a phone talker, but with him I can't get the words out fast enough. We've always had a special bond, and it's good to know it's still there even though we don't see each other or chat that often. Michael Johns and David Cook came into Brookstone! And Laura Linney, apparently, is a biotch. Also talked to Lillo for a few minutes, who was saddened at David Hernandez's departure. Poor Papa--he jumped over a fence during tennis yesterday and thinks he may have cracked a rib! I hope he's okay, but he did mention our trip may not happen if he's still feeling bad. I wish he would be a little selfish and call me to wait on him!
9. I cooked Brats tonight for the very first time!
3/10/08:
1. Finished Tuesday's NYTX in a little over 9 minutes without any trouble. I bet doing them with keystrokes (i.e. Tab to jump between words) would speed up my score even more.
2. Got a cute layery haircut at Great Clips right next door. It was going great, until I saw Solicits-Clients-For-Sex in there with his so-called nephew. It freaked me out, and I ran home to Neil as soon as I could. But I like the lightness of my head now. It's the first salon cut I've had since I moved to NYC!
3. Went on a huge grocery shopping trip this morning instead of swimming and stocked up for awhile.
4. Made me & Neil a huge "salami sandwich" salad for dinner. We both loved it! It had O.G. salad dressing.
5. We (largely Neil) put up 2/3 of the Ugly Doll frame sets in the living room.
6. Watched a really unpleasant Busy-Philipps centered "Freaks and Geeks." I still don't know about that show.
7. Talked to Lily for a few. It surprises me how well we get along on the phone.
8. I like that "The Today Show" shields me from unpleasant news. "Pepper and Friends" is better at that, but I'm not sure if I can take a helping of Fake-n-Bake on a daily basis.
9. Neil called me beautiful, in a way that made me feel really, really wonderful.
10. We cuddled this morning before he got up! It was kind of half-asleep cuddling, but a really nice way to say goodbye to sleepytime.
11. I bought a red oven timer to match our kitchen! And I used Beth's yellow claw things to toss the salad. They make me feel like a real cook, somehow. Probably because they force a close proximity between you and the food so it's like I'm mixing up some sort of bread dough with my bare fists, but without the bread dough or the dirty hands.
12. Wore my new green and white striped sweater today. It's my favorite shirt right now, I think. I should have worn the green Christmas earrings Dad gave me, with it.
13. Kristy Lee singing "Eight Days a Week" on Idol was like when Weird Al Polka-rizes current hits. Unintentionally hilarious. (On KL's part. I'm sure Weird Al isn't trying to send a serious message.)
3/9/08:
1. Finished the Sunday NYTX completely yesterday with only a little help--perhaps the first time I've done that! And today, the Monday's was a breeze.
2. Steamed all the wrinkly clothes last night. it made me nauseous.
3. Coupon clipped and printed out the Grocery Game list for tomorrow (I'm going grocery shopping during my morning break instead of swimming...well, at least I'll be walking around for half an hour!)
4. Sorted coupons, purged files, and have a GREAT start on the new filing cabinet. Don't open both drawers at once, though, or it will fall.
5. Went to Papa's for homemade pizza and vanilla cake. I love visiting with him. Soon, it'll be on the front po'ch!
6. Am loving my new "Organize" magazine. Every page makes me excited. I have a propensity for falling in love with and subscribing to magazines that get cancelled, though (Sassy, Jane, Budget Living) so I hope I don't jinx this one
7. The dining room table looks much better than it did when the weekend began
8. We're watching "Freaks and Geeks" now. I absolutely detest Busy Phillips, as always, and am surprised at how unlikeable James Franco is in it, but everyone else is pretty charming.
9. I got a response back from USPS already! I'm really not expecting anything, but am going to give them the info they want anyway just in case. I guess it's just nice to know they didn't just send me an automated response.
10. Neil shaved off his goat today! There is nothing there but chin! He likes how I say "Minimum Wage." I like how he says everything.
3/8/08:
1. Began (& finished) Last Night at the Lobster
2. Went to the ARC to show Neil around, then Dad's to pick up frozen items for this week. He's making us all pizza tomorrow night, and vanilla cake!
3. Neil filled the suet baskets, so we'll have birdies again
4. Because I finished Lobster, I'll be able to totally get into New Moon tonight without feeling guilty
5. Didn't sleep in turrible late this AM, so I my sched won't be that wacked up for DST tonight.
6. I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow with the Grocery Game list and $100 to spend. I haven't done that in awhile!
7. We decided not to continue the Trib subscription, which will assuage the guilty pile-up in the corner of our living room
8. Ate up a few eggs (I had to buy a dozen last time and knew many of them would end up getting thrown out) for breakfast, then later, the Double Gloucester with Chives & Onions.
9. I wrote the USPS about the Christmas snafu with Steve's package. The situation just makes me sad and mad every time I think of it, and I had to do something to get it off my chest. Whether they do something about it or not, I definitely felt lighter after I hit 'Submit.'
10. Gave Pops another check today. It feels good to pay him from time to time, even though I know he doesn't need us to stick to a deadline or anything.
11. Dad updated me on Lily, and it sounds like she is doing awesome at her job at Christian Abugieriereifrerejacques. I'm so proud of that little one!

3/6/08:
1. Finished Twilight, obviously
2. Made a super new thing for dinner: I was looking online for suggested pierogie sauces, and someone said they liked mixing a topping of veg oil and tabasco and baking the pierogies on the oven, then dipping them into blue cheese dressing. Hot Wing Pierogies! They were fantabulous! Neil liked his, in a pre-made creamy butter sauce with onions, as well.
3. Neil got paid today, so our financials are stable for now.
4. Phoenix was making super, super shapes this morning: the first, snaked through his new dome home, through the hole on top, and laid out on the driftwood above it. The second, he was kinda vertically smashed halfway up the glass, doubled up in the middle, and his other sides went through his log apartment where he was sticking his head and the very tip of his tail. He is practicing for some sort of tournament.
5. Thought of a great name for our to-be-dragon: Sean, or Shawn. I gravitate toward Sean because I like the spelling better, but Shawn is the spelling of Rider Strong's character on Boy Meets World, from whence the inspiration sprung. (Because of the "Pheenie"/"Feeny" connection. But also Neil started calling it the new name today and it sounded really cute. )
6. Dad's making a vanilla cake, so he asked for some of my punch-bowl-sized volume of icing. I gratefully dropped that by today.
7. Steve wrote me a cute e-mail too. I'm excited to see the kiddos at the end of this month! Not excited to leave Neil for that long, though. :(
3/5/08:
1. Rent was featured in the Oscars EW! What a fantabulous issue! Lots of opinions and gossip I hadn't heard.
2. Finished Acito on the way to work and started Nights of Rain and Stars, read by Terry Donnelly, who also read the delightful Quentins. So far, it's very engaging.
3. Walked against the Lazy River and debuted the swimsuit-cap-under-the-silicone-cap. I think it will work great.
4. Sad and touching segment on The Today Show about parents who have photos taken of their newborn babies who won't live. I cry at anything, of course, but I didn't think I'd be brought to tears before 9 AM from a TV segment.
5. The last MU home basketball game of the season was on the radio when Neil was going to bed, so we snuggled and listened to it end in second overtime, with Mizzou snagging the victory. It was a nice few minutes, listening in the dark.
6. I bought water shoes at Target (never thought I'd get those) so the Lazy River walk will be easier on the toesies.
7. I really want these new shoes I saw in Nina's catalog called FitFlops (in green). And red brocade Danskos. Oh, I covet. I covet.

3/4/08:
1. Had a lovely wide lane all to myself at the ARC today and snuck in a shower before going back to work
2. Ate up the Thai and pasta leftovers
3. Began The 1940s House and Twilight, which I *swear* I started during an Online Book Club week, a couple years ago. I can tell it's going to be grrr-eat!
4. David Cook (he turned "Hello" into a rock anthem!) and Michael Johns ([Don't You] Forget About Me--he's so Michael Hutchence) were amazing tonight, and Castro got a great review from Simon (singing that Hallelujah song from Scrubs, or Jeff Buckley, I guess).
5. "The Office" rerun tonight was S3 season finale, with Jim asking Pam on a date. It was so, so terribly cute.
6. I look forward to this week's EW, too, as it is the best recap of the Oscars. In fact, Us and People don't even put the Oscars in a starring role anymore.
7. My new swimming chamois dries into funny frozen shapes if I don't rinse it well.
8. Steve Carell was on The Today Show this morning; this time, 'disarming' would be an appropriate adjective. How can he be so grounded?
9. Returned two items to DBRL! But alas, I'm on the final chapter of Marc Acito. I love not wanting to get to the end of books that I'm enjoying so well. And I fear that books in the immediate future won't be as great.
2/29/08:
1. Cici's Pizza for dinner! Yee-haw. Except, we had to wait for a table. The hell? Going back to the positive side, though, there was buffalo chicken pizza.
2. Nice drive through a glittery downtown Columbia, contentedly full, afterward.
3. Worked a Sunday Trib Xword in full, with Neil's help. Could I be getting better?
4. When I went to deliver the processed cart of new stuff at the end of my shift, James was so excited that, even though he was shrugging into his jean jacket to go to lunch, he quickly shucked it off and marveled at all the new items. He's growing on me--for some reason, grumpy old men tend to soften a bit when they get to know me. (Of course, normal, pleasant men tend to get irritated with me quickly, so it evens out.)
5. I am absolutely loving the narrator of "How I Paid for College," my current unabridged (because what is EVER the point of abridged? I wouldn't list an abridged novel on my "books read" list) book-on-CD on my way to and from work. He made me laugh out loud today when "Nadie" (sp?) says in his squeaky Long Island accent "They can't charge you for the same crime twice, right?" It was only funny in context, but it was so funny it makes me giggle just remembering it. This is a great book. I dig that I'm in the middle of two books I can't wait to get back to every time I return to them.
6. I got a lot tidied up today when I got home: vacuumed, even though I hate it, and cleaned out the brushes; went through all my notes on the desk; filled in all the books needed to be entered in my "Books" file (is it too weird that I like to keep track of books I read, want to read, and own?); started on the pile of newspapers; emptied and reloaded the dishwasher; and installed all the UglyDolls on the caddy shelves above the desk.

2/28/08:
1. Agreeable Idol eliminations tonight: Alexandrea, Alaina, Skunky Yeager, and Robbie "The Wig" Carrico.
2. The cheesy pasta leftovers went over well.
3. Attempted several practice tourney crosswords, and finished NYTX, with help from Neil & Google.
4. Delish chicken baguette sandwich with coleslaw for lunch.
5. Got home from work at 2 & had a long afternoon following the low-stress workday.
6. Dad's coasters arrived and look great!
7. Neil Christian was rompariffic!
8. Finished the 2-weeks-ago EW.
9. Cut out coupons & went through mail.
10. Didn't eat too terribly unhealthy, and didn't snack after Neil went to bed.
11. 'Sarah Brown Eyes' came on at work and for the first time I was able to almost fully sing along.
12. Work flew by like a flash--I was alone today.
13. The temperature was warm enough that the weird snowstorm this afternoon didn't stick to anything.
14. Perfect Strangers is on DVD! BALKEEEEEE!
15. I'm getting used to going to bed an hour early to make up for waking up an hour early.