Traditions...

If you know where I work, you might want to look up a tradition that happens this time of year...that night is tonight.  It would be creepy for me to go, but I find traditions like this one fascinating.  Especially because the police don't stop it nor do the security guards here.

It's cold outside today and I can't imagine why anyone would want to do this...but tradition is tradition!

PS.  If you DO know where I work, please don't say the name of the place in comments...

Freakin' Friday! WoooHooo!!

Tonight I have the unfortunate duty of returning some items that I bought over the last week or so.  Unfortunately, I have overspent and while I did not allow my account to go below zero, once bills are paid this week, it'll be darn close.  *sigh*  I guess I got carried away with being about to buy stuff now that I have a job and with Christmas just around the corner, I felt so happy that I could buy presents for the people I love.  I'll be returning that cute dress I bought for my father's party...I'll just wear the same one I had last year, which is equally cute, but a little dressier.  I'll also have to return the present I got for the girl's I cook for.  I wish I did not have to do that, but I don't think they are expecting a gift anyway, so it won't make them sad not to get one.  I'll also return the curtains I bought for the dining room-but that's because they were too short.  Sadly, because I got such a great deal on those items, the money being returned back to me is not all that much.  And as you might recall, my party is next Friday.  That means lots of food, wine and my Christmas tree need to be bought by then-food really needs to be bought by Wednesday so I can prep everything.  AAAAAAHHHHHH

I hate money.

After the holidays I expect that I'll be able to start saving again.  That will be a nice feeling.  It's been a looooooong time since I've been able to do that, so it'll make me feel good when I have a little pot built up again.  I'm also looking forward to not having to spend money on things that I need but instead be able to use budgeted money to go out with friends.

In other news, I have amazing friends.  To those of you who have emailed me, called me, facebook'd me...you're fantastic and I love you.  Sometimes it's easy to forget that even though one person has moved on and forgotten me, you all are still here, loving me, caring about me and wanting to be in my life.  So thank you for the subtle and not so subtle reminders that I am worthy of love.

To all of my Jewish friends and readers, Happy Hanukkah!

Favorite Craigslist Ad of the Day

Roommate found it; roommate left; creepy thing still here; please take away.

Rambles

Human resources finally got back to me and reassured me that just because the Dean is leaving it does not automatically mean I will be out of a job come July 1.  She did say that if any "restructuring" happens (and then said, 'that can happen with any job') I would be given 6 weeks notice, as well as help finding a new job hopefully at the university and also get a severance package.  I do not want this to occur, but it makes me feel better that I am here to stay unless something like that happens. 

I continue to get things done in the apartment.  The bed skirt was ironed and put on the bed and the 2nd curtain rod was put up so the sheers are hanging too.  I still haven't hung my jewelry, but I'll do that this weekend for sure.

The dining room is coming along.  You haven't seen pictures yet because the place was a mess.  I have all of my Christmas gifts piled high on the table and it was hard to take the picture.  I still have to hang the wine racks, 4 pictures and paint the trim.  I also need to figure out what curtains to put up.  I bought a pair that I though would look great, but the packaging was wrong and they are too short.  So it's back to the drawing board.  I think I'm going to switch the rugs around too-I currently have a flowered one in the living room (which used to be in my bedroom) and the geometric one that used to be in my living room is in my bedroom.  I'm going to put the geometric one back in the living room for color and take the flowered one and put it in the dining room.  I won't have a rug in the bedroom-it's too small anyway. 

I also hung a candle holder and 3 pictures in the kitchen and put the light cover back on the fan.  I'm not sure why, but the painters took the covers off of all the lights in the apartment and neglected to put them back on.  Weird, but that's fixed now.  So overall, the place is starting to feel like home.  You'll have pictures soon, I promise.  This weekend will be my very last push for a while (funds have run out) so it'll surely be done by Sunday.

Did any of you watch Top Chef?  I'm sad it's over and also sad that the guy I wanted to win did not win.  I will not elaborate just in case you haven't watched it yet, but I'm sad he lost.  He did not even come in 2nd.  Which is lame.  I'm sure they did that for dramatic effect, but still, it's lame.  The guy who won was my 2nd choice, but I don't think he should have been the winner.  I hate that my 2 favorite "reality" shows are over: Amazing Race and Top Chef...I guess I'll have to start reading again. :)

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!