Randomivity

It's weird when people constantly rub their bellies. In public.

Memories of where I have been inspire me about where I am going.

Memories don't fade fast enough.

Those of you who are my facebook friends already know this, but my boss announced yesterday that he will not renew his contract in June. This means a new Dean will step in. I am worried about my job, though I am told I need not be. Still, there's a chance, and I hate that.

Waffle fries pretty much rock. Especially crunchy ones washed down with ice cold beer and lots of laughter.

My apartment is freezing. This is better than my old apartment which was hellishly hot, but at the same time-I'm cold! I invested in a nice fuzzy robe and I snuggle under blankets while reading or watching TV. I could raise the heat, but I'm trying to tough it out as I know I'll have to do that later in the month.

All of my Christmas shopping is officially done. It's a lot easier this year since I have less presents to buy.

I dislike how easily people are replaced or forgotten.

I found a nice dress for my father's holiday party (which I am bringing a friend to!) for $30 and a pair of sexy silver shoes for $5. The little black clutch I am bringing was a gift from my mother so it's a very cheap night.

IKEA's cinnamon buns are lethal. They're so good I could bathe in them. Or smear them all over a sexy man and lick it off.

Did I type that out loud?

I Did Stuff

I've been very productive. I finished painting the red in the dining room. Sadly, it's still a little streaky, but it's 5 coats of paint and 1 coat of primer...that's about all I'm willing to do. Next I have to paint the trim white, but that will wait until this weekend. I wish I did not paint it red, but live and learn...

The kitchen is now done. As I was painting I actually said, "Green paint, I love you.". Yes, it's weird, but I only had to do one coat and it went on like a dream compared to that stinky red! The entire thing only took about an hour and a half and though the room is still torn apart, the walls are done!! That ugly flesh color (that's still all over the rest of the apartment) needed to go. The kitchen is so cute now! I can't wait to put up my pictures and start cooking... I also managed to procure a bed frame! I found on in a local used furniture store in my old neighborhood for $24. I was a little worried to be honest that it would not be the right size when I got it home (they have a strict no return policy) but it was right and I will sleep on a raised bed for the first time in a while. My bedroom is now almost done. I have to put up the 2nd curtain rod so I can hang my sheers and put the bed skirt back on (now that I have space under the bed!) and hang some pictures on the opposite wall...oh, and hang my jewelry. But here is what it looks like at this very minute.

That "headboard" is a little something I picked up for free on the sidewalk in my old neighborhood about 4 months ago. I was going to ask a certain person to help me hang it the next time he came to sleep over, but well...we know how that went. But I managed to do it all by myself in this new place, and I'm quite pleased with how pretty it looks.

And here's the big news-I finally managed to get 4 chairs from IKEA! Every time I went there, they were sold out. But this time I looked online and saw they had 75 in stock. After cooking, I drove out there and picked up 4. I was going to get 6 but thought better of it. I'll get more later on once I have an actual table, but for now 4 works because I have 2 chairs in my kitchen. So I'll just use those for the party next week. I can't wait to put them together and set up the dining room!

Last, I got martini glasses. IKEA was also out of those when I went this weekend but tonight they had them. I only got 8 even though about 15 people will be at the party. I figure that not everyone will be drinking the martinis-they'll switch between the cran-tan cosmos or wine which are all in different glasses.

Overall, I am very happy with how things are going now. What is left?

1. Paint trim in dining room, living room, hallway and bathroom white.

2. Paint walls in bathroom white

3. Paint medicine cabinet black

4. Hang curtain rods in bedroom

5. Put up curtains in dining room

6. Get and decorate a Christmas tree

7. Get a dining room table

8. Get a computer desk and chair

I'm sure there is more, but my head hurts and I want to remember how happy I am with my progress, so that is all.

Frustrations & Mysteries

Never buy Glidden paint.  It is thin and streaky and it does not cover well at all.  I know that red is a particularly hard color to paint but I've done it before and it was not nearly as hard as this has been.  As you may remember, I primed the (already freshly painted walls) with pink primer.  I then waited over an hour and painted the first coat.  It was streaky, but I thought that this would be fixed with a 2nd coat.  It was not.  Instead, what I got was darker streaks showing the older streaks from the prior coat.  After one more coat, I was fuming-it looks horrible-unless the lights are off.  Then it's OK.

 

So today on my lunch break I am making my way over to Home Depot to buy another gallon of red paint-but this time Behr brand, which I've always used.  So if you were wondering what I'll be doing tonight after work-it's not relaxing.  I'll be painting, again...and not the trim like I wanted.  That will have to wait until the weekend.  Luckily I only have plans on Saturday so I can use Friday night and Sunday to paint.  Hopefully that'll be the end of it.

 

This weekend Bella was sitting on my lap while I was reading, happily purring and snuggling like she often does.  (She's so cute!)  Suddenly she jumped up and went down to her bathroom.  This is not odd, but she usually gets a drink of water and comes back.  This time she did not.  I thought that she was maybe just sleeping on my bed, which she sometimes does so I didn't think anything of it.  But then I got up to use the bathroom myself and she did not show up.  I went into the guest room and she was not there.  I called her name, I dropped food in her bowl and made her water bubble.  Nothing...so I checked the cabinets.  She hasn't yet hidden in them, but my other cats used to, so I checked.  No Bella.  My  heart dropped.  I opened the fridge, which I had opened hours earlier and worried I would find her in there dead.  Thankfully, she was not there either.  But where was she?!  I hadn't opened any closets or doors since she was on my lap, and there were no windows open.  I thought she had a really great hiding place.  I called her name again and again and I started to panic.  I started wondering if there was an opening in a wall somewhere that I didn't know about and then I thought about ghosts.  I just could not fathom where she was.  The last place I looked was my closet in my bedroom.  As soon as I opened it, she jumped out and ran to her bowl in the kitchen.

 

How did she get in there?!  I really do not think I opened that door after she was on my lap.  I know I must have, but I've gone over this in my head lots of times and really, I can't see why I would have opened it.  I was already in my pajamas and robe and I had socks on too-which would have been the only reason I can think of to open that door.  It's a mystery to me-but even more a mystery is why, even after being locked in the closet for hours, Bella still runs in when I open that door...

Dining Room, B4 & During

Did you get any snow where you are? We were slated to get about 3-7 inches and though I have not yet been outside, it looks like we got about 2-4...and so starts the "I hate winter!" comments.

My holiday housewarming party is in a couple of weeks and I'm really trying to get everything done. That means painting, organizing, decorating and planning. The fun party today so far was making the vodka for one of the cocktails being served at the party-a ginger lemon martini. The main ingredient, of course, will be this ginger-lemon vodka. It will steep for 2 weeks and then I will strain it. It sits on my kitchen counter:

I had a busy day yesterday and when I got home in the evening I was just not up to priming the walls in the dining room. I really should have because I'd be in better shape today, but I think it'll all work out if I'm diligent. Here is the before:

And here is the after. JUST KIDDING! This is the "during". The primer is tinted pink because I am painting the walls red. This will help ensure I won't have to paint 4 coats...hopefully.

I really wish that I could paint the trim white today too, but I think that will have to wait until tomorrow night after work. I don't want to mess up the paint job by taping, which I have to do for sure since it's red.

Next week I'll be painting the kitchen. Luckily that trim is already painted white, so it'll be an easier job. I might also go ahead and paint the bathroom at that time too. I decided to just paint it a clean white instead of gray. I already have a huge thing of white paint left by the painters and with the mauve tile it might just be better to have it white. I don't mind the sterile feeling in a bathroom.

So, I have a lot of work to do. Later today I am driving to IKEA to hopefully purchase the chairs I need for the dining room....at least 4 of them. We'll see. I've gotta go! Lots to do, lots to do!

And It's Not Even Wednesday...

Apparently free or cheap furniture is not in my future.  Last night I was supposed to pick up the bed frame but I got horribly lost.  That window of opportunity was very small and I blew it.  Thanks to Morgen though, I have a tip that WalMart might sell them at an affordable price, so I'll go check that out this weekend.  I'll also go to IKEA to buy some chairs too.  My search for a free or cheap table will continue.  In addition, I'll be priming and painting my dining room and hopefully painting all of the trim white.  I'll take before and after pictures.  I think it's going to be quite dramatic and when it's done I think it'll look great.

 

I hate people who don't commit (in general) but I really hate people who won't accept an invitation until they find out if something or someone better comes along.  News flash-I am the someone better. (JK)  But really-either you want to come or you don't-just reply.  This is especially frustrating when said person is the one who sent the invite and then won't confirm once you yourself commit.  I just think this is extremely rude and inconsiderate.

 

This is turning into a randomivity post and it's not Wednesday.

 

I am sick of hearing about Tiger Woods.  People just talk and talk and talk about the same thing for weeks until something better (hey-is this a theme?!) comes along.  I rode to work in silence today because I could not stand to hear every station talk about how many women he cheated with and why he did it. 

 

Tonight I am going to see my friend Danny's play, "An Ideal Husband" by Oscar Wilde.  He is the Artistic Director for Bad Habit Productions and I must say, he's amazingly talented.  Every time I go to see one of his shows, I am blown away.  He has a way of putting a spin on classic tales and it just blows my mind every time.  And the actors they cast...just as amazing.  When I first saw a show put on by BHP I could not believe that I was seeing community theater.  The talent is just out of this world and I often remark to my friends that I can not believe these people are not famous or on Broadway.  Lucky for us, they are still here and Danny and his team scoop them up to perform for us.  Needless to say, I'm psyched for tonight.

 

I updated my Facebook page to say that I was going to see "An Ideal Husband" tonight and one of my friends' husbands commented that since I was coming to see him tonight he'd have to cancel his plans.  Funny man.

 

I had a very long, sad dream last night.  It was confusing and conflicting just like the situation in real life has been and I woke myself up several times to try to stop it but the dream just came back each time.  Starting my day like that is not fun.  It's harder to live in the moment when things cycle through my brain because of a dream.  For the most part, I'm doing well and I'm looking forward to making the shrink smile tomorrow because I won't be crying.  At least that's my hope.  I am still in the hate phase though.  I want to move past that.

 

Pretty colored post it notes make me smile.  That is all for today.  Live long and prosper.  Peace out, goodbye.

Running Late

Today did not start out well.  In addition to me being super tired for some reason (and therefore not able to get up on time) I woke up to a leak in my ceiling.  The archway between the living room and dining room seems to have a leak and so I spent a good amount of the morning cleaning up.  Which of course, made me late getting into the shower and then doing my hair and of course, I could not find anything to wear considering it's 60 frickin' degrees here!  *sigh*  The rest of the day should be better....right?

 

My father's Christmas present was delivered yesterday.  It wasn't on his list, but I know he'll like it.  He's been taking online classes at a certain music school here in MA and so I got him a sweatshirt from the bookstore.  I picked the same one that I see all of the on campus students wearing on the T so I know it's a good one. :)

 

I am not getting the dining room set.  I was going to rent a van to pick it up but then realized I have no help getting it up my stairs.  Unfortunately the girl can't hold it until Saturday when I would have help, so I have to let it go.  I'm so bummed.  $30 was a steal for this thing...so the search continues.  I think I might go to some used furniture stores this weekend to check them out.  They sometimes have delivery for a small fee, so that would solve all of the problems I'm having.  As long as I have something (at least chairs) by the 18th which is when my party is-I'll be fine.  Luckily it's not a sit down dinner.  That would be quite the dilemma.

 

Last night I signed into my etsy shop and saw that I had a repeat customer.  I've had several friends (thank you!) order multiple times, but this person is a stranger to me.  Not that my friends would order the stuff if it stunk, but having a stranger come back to a random shop to buy my cakes is pretty cool.  Luckily, I have all of the ingredients in the house and I don't have to work tonight so I can send it off tomorrow!  (BTW-do you need to send a rum cake, lemon cake, cupcakes or cookies to a friend for the holiday season?  Go check the shop out!)

 

That is all for now.  Talk amongst yourselves and play nice.

Randomivity

Every now and then I Google my name to see if anything crazy comes up. Yesterday I found 2 links to this blog using my real name, which is NOT cool. Luckily at least one of them has been removed. I also found out that I was in the university newsletter last month. My bio is there and everything. Sure wish someone told me!

I am starting over. Last night before bed I cleared out my Google Reader. Today I am going to start being a better blog friend and I'll try to click over to comment more often. I'll also start responding to comments here again. I can't do it from work though, so it'll be at night, but it is a start.

It's funny to watch Bella inspect the heaters when they come on with a loud clank.

I finally found a free bed frame and will be picking it up tomorrow! Finally...my bed will not sit on the ground and I can use the underneath for storage!! And it's free. :)

I also found a dining room table and 4 chairs for $30. I have to rent a truck b/c I don't know anyone with a truck or SUV (who is free on Friday) but it's still significantly cheaper than buying one. I'll purchase 2 chairs for a set of 6 and paint it so it all flows together. SO excited!!!

There's a cute boy who works in my general area and when he goes to get water or coffee I get to smile at his cute little face. I think he's taken though, but it's fun to look.

I have a window in my shower-which I detest. It's frosted but I often worry that people can see in. I have a little curtain up, but it's not enough. Luckily my neighbor was showering in his bathroom last night and I got to see how the frost works...I couldn't see feature but I could see flesh colored skin and his outline. Definitely time to get blackout curtains for that sucker!

It's nice to have friends who email you to say they miss you and they want to get together soon. I've never really had that. People who miss me and actually tell me. It's nice.

I know this is weird, but I love the way my Bella smells. She's getting so big too. I love her.

Frank (my neighbor who likes to get freaky with his wife while I'm trying to sleep) rolled down his car window yesterday morning to say hello and to see how I was doing. It is nice to have neighbors who talk to you...but at the same time, I'm kind of antisocial and when I see them I want to sometimes turn around.

Only 16 more days until my party. I. Am. So. Excited!!! What's neat to me is that I have friends from all over coming-different stages in my MA life all coming together. I know I've said this before, but I'm so very happy I moved to Boston! I've never had so many friends and such an active social life.

I stole a pickle yesterday and it was good.

I once wrote a speech about pickles.