So my house is overrun with Michalski men right now...and how am I feeling? (well lets just say I'm feeling lots of things but not gonna lay it all out on the table right now -- but you can make the safe assumption that they aren't positive emotions). I really like being around family and encourage David to spend time and be supportive of his family, but I REALLY value my quiet time, personal space, and the ease of my lifestyle. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
Anyways, while they went to watch Thor, I went grocery shopping (lately it feels like retail therapy since I've been nuts about cooking for myself) and got some perspective on the big wide world. The world is not propelled through space by Michalskis, it's safe to assume that nobody at the store has the last name "Michalski," there are far more serious problems in this world than those in the Michalski clan.
Things at the store that reminded me I'm still on planet Earth and not on planet M: the guy behind me in line didn't use any bags for his produce and brought his own box to take the groceries home, what an eco-conscious human being...I was embarrassed of my 15+ plastic bags. There was a lady with one leg hobbling around the parking lot asking for money. I said I didn't have cash and she didn't even bother finishing her sob story, she just headed to the next person in the lot. As I got into my car I saw people walking the long way to their cars just to avoid her and even though it may be safe to assume she lost her leg to something drug related, the sun had just set and I felt terrible that here she is, probably feeling as shitty, depressed and low as anyone could ever feel, and she is not going home to eat dinner or sleep in a bed and does not have a houseful of family members waiting for her. Nobody deserves to feel like that.
Anyways, so I came home humbled by my store excursion (by the way it felt great to drive in a car ALL ALONE for the first time in days) and made some EatingWell.com Chicken Noodle Soup. I cooked and rocked out til the boys came back home, and I feel a little better than I did before they left. I'm just gonna quietly keep to myself for the rest of the night and let them talk / dramatize amongst themselves.
(for some reason blogger won't upload the pics of my soup -- i think the Michalskis are hogging the bandwidth with their cpus -- so instead I'm uploading pics of my beautiful dogs who make me happy and keep me sane)
Tomorrow I'm having lunch with a friend who is leaving to the Army on Tuesday and bc I'm a HUGE wuss, I know I'm gonna tear up. So much stuff all going on at once! I'm soooo mentally exhausted and feel like tomorrow's goodbye will just be the icing on the emotional cake. sigh. Please Jesus, let me wake up tomorrow morning to discover it is May 28 / time to fly to Jamaica, and that I can leave and avoid this last week in Michalski limbo. :)
12:03, Thurs. March 24 (officially the Birthday Boy) and he looks older already :)
He's mine, all mine, that D.M.M. and now he's another year older. Older, wiser, stronger, smarter. Twenty eight and never been late? ? ? hmmm...anyways, the theme of this birthday was love, love, and more love (corny, I know). D always has sweet surprises prepared for my birthday, so I rustled up some last minute things keep him on this toes throughout the day. The night before I waited for him to fall asleep and then decorated our bedroom with some 'love post-its' so that he would wake up and see all the little reasons I keep him around.
it was a hit
Then he was off to work! I started some much needed yard work but eventually gave in to the crazy wind and focused my efforts on the second surprise of the day: A love scavenger hunt. I wrote some clues on index cards and each one led to different things D loves. We had "Big, Black and Gassy" (the bronco), "Melty, Sharp, and Tasty" (cheese), "Amore tus perros negro" (black dogs), "Hook, Line and Sinker" (fishing), and then it ended with "Thrash, Carve, and Cut the powder" which led him to his bday present: an Arbor Abacus snowboard. He loves it (thank god) and I'm glad all the planning and wondering is over.
Then we had THE BEST DINNER EVER at Vernon's Hidden Valley Steakhouse. AMAMZING.
Today we both took off work and rode the Rail Runner up to la Santa for some strolling / shopping / munching. It was a beautiful day and we just wandered around looking at all the jewelry and art (and I went to J. Crew and left in a huff bc everything is expensive and fits weird). The only thing I bought all day was a reprint of an old WPA National Parks poster for Crater Lake. There were different posters featuring like 15 different parks and I wanted them all! They are sooo cool and I would dedicate a whole room in my house to them.
I bought this one to commemorate our trip to Oregon last summer, but I also hope to collect the prints below
We stopped for a beer on the marble brewery rooftop patio and then took the train ride back home to Burque city.
Tomorrow we will continue the bday weekend with a big party (it's been a long while since we've had a party at the house - - argh) and then hopefully some chillaxin.
Another year around the sun, and another excuse for us to celebrate all the good things in life!
(as a side note, D's birthday is especially auspicious this year because we have completed ONE full calendar day / date cycle! The first D bday we celebrated together was on a Thursday, and then we were an 'official' couple the following Saturday. Now, six years later his birthday landed again on a Thursday and our anniversary is on the following Saturday. Yikes!)
Here we go again... another weekend goes by and here we are the start of another....la dee dah.
Friday night after work we had a bottle of wine and watched "Despicable Me" (ehh kinda cute).
Then on Saturday we relaxed all morning and drove down to 4th and Osuna to get some brunch at the Calico Cafe and David broke my #1 rule: if you don't talk about it, it won't happen. Or if you do talk about it, make sure you knock on wood. YES WORLD! I AM A LAW BREAKER, A NON CONFORMIST, AND NO! MY CAR IS NOT REGISTERED!!! I can say that in my head allllllll I want, but blabber mouth David started asking me, "Why haven't you registered it yet? When are you gonna do it?" and of course the universe heard him and put a Bernalillo County Sheriff right behind me. Thanks Dave. So yeah, I have my first court date scheduled on March 9th and I will be reunited with my very polite officer. I was laughing at the whole situation, I knew it would happen eventually, and the cop seemed surprised that I had zero excuses when I kept repeating "I just haven't done it. Just haven't. (shrugging, smiling, shrugging) No reason, just haven't gotten to it." So yeah, if you want to shake the hand of a law breaking rebel, shoot me a text.
Next we ate a sub-par breakfast (all that trip for nothing) picked up some things at Lowe's and relaxed at the house. Then, out of nowhere, David brought home some flowers and cooked an awesome dinner, all by himself! Turkey burgers with mozzerela and red peppers and some cracked pepper spinach soup. Perfect!
On Sunday, Dave had allergy / cold junk and it was awful, cold and windy outside so he made some yummy red chile and we stayed inside. It was also my day to babysit and luckily Narayan slept a whopping 3hrs and 45 mins. When he woke up he was ssssuuupppperrrrr hyper and ready to play and later he and my sister stuck around to eat dinner and watch the Oscars with us.
Lola had to be right next to Narayan at all times
Exciting, I know. More exciting news is yet to come!
last week D and I drove down to T or C and enjoyed a short romantic / family get away to River Bend hot springs. I HIGHLY SUGGEST RIVER BEND HOT SPRINGS BY THE WAY. It was great and quiet. The hotsprings are right off the river, the rooms are quaint and artsy and funky and clean and sweet, and there is a high priced posh Cali-kitchen style Italian restaurant to splurge on when you are tired of soaking....heaven. Also you can reserve a private pool for an hour at a time and you are out under the stars, next to the river, enclosed in your pool with a little hot water fall....bliss.
These stairs lead down to the river and you can take a dip if you dare brave the freezing water.
1. Honorable mention at the top of this month's list: NKOTBSB
That's right. New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys, larger than life (hehe). Sunday night D and I were flipping through the channels and just happened to catch the very last performance of the American Music Awards, in all it's amazing glory. Please dedicate the next five minutes and fifty two seconds to the greatness that is NKOTBSB.
2. Christmas carols on the radio. I know it can seem a little premature, but I'm so excited about the crackling fire, twinkling lights and yummy egg nog that I can't help myself from tuning into the two 24/7 Christmas stations for a little pick me up. Seriously, hearing the perfect holiday song at the right moment really takes the edge off a long work day.
3. Tea thermos. My sister called me last week to ask if I would be interested in a tea thermos for Christmas, and I told her hells yeah! Since I've been sick for the past week, I've been drinking a TON of tea. She took pity on my sicky sick self and brought it to me on Saturday instead of waiting til Christmas. I seriously haven't had coffee since Sunday and instead have had like 3 cups of tea a day, just because I love drinking from my classy ceramic tea carafe.
I have the thermos on the left
4. cheesy I know, but give some love for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I've only really grown to love these movies since the characters have gotten older and the movies a bit darker, so no, I'm not die hard, I would lose at HP trivia, I would never dress up for a premiere, and no, I've never read a book, but don't hate...I can enjoy a good movie just as much as the next person.
Another mentionable movie I saw with an interesting story line: 'The Kids Are All Right' Google it.
5. My friend Violet. She is amazing and a dreamer and down to earth and funny and brave and adventurous and strong and smart and a great mom and fun friend. We treated ourselves to a post birthday Girls Weekend (I am two days older than she is) in Denver. We went with no plans except to relax, stay at a great hotel, eat good food, and go to the Broncos game...all plans were wildly successful. This is our second vacation together and I felt bad that she might think I'm a huge blabber mouth, but do you have those people in your life who you feel are just appendages of yourself and you know they think the exact same way you do? and think all the same things are interesting? and around other people you can't just say every little thing that comes to your mind, but with your bestie soul friend partner, you can say anything, or too much of all things, and they are like, "yeah, totally, me too!"? That's Violet. Love her. Seriously think we are some kind of soul mates and this weekend just really sealed the deal because it worked out perfectly, almost too perfect at some points, like surreal-ly perfect. The universe wanted us to be in Denver that weekend, and we were happy to oblige.
Double Daughters - our pizza / cocktail bar of choice, two nights in a row
6. Okay, maybe not really a November favorite, but definitely a November milestone. I recently watched the very last episode of M*A*S*H. It was season 11, episode 16, originally aired on Feb. 28, 1983 and was the most watched episode in television history up until the recent 2010 XLIV Super Bowl.
This is something that not widely known: My dad used to tell me that my grandma watched MASH because Col. Harry Potter looked just like my grandpa. I never saw an episode until staying at a family friend's house where I watched a day long marathon of MASH episodes and I was hooked. That was six or seven years ago, and since then I bought all eleven seasons on DVD, one by one, and watching an episode has become my nightly ritual, and sometimes is my Saturday comfort. Most people don't understand it, and David really just tolerates it, but it's just my thing, take it or leave it. I haven't watched it every single night for the past seven years, but I've definitely watched every episode at least five times and can't fall asleep without it...sometimes I even wake up in the middle of the night, and turn on an episode before I can fall back asleep. Why? It's dim and technicolor, there is no sound track aside from the intro song, the canned laugh track is as soothing as falling rain, and the characters, in my opinion, are the most original and sincere people ever. It was SO ahead of its time. Homophobia, pre-marital sex, racism, STDs, alcoholism, anti-war sentiment, mental health problems, were all common topics as well as acceptance, endurance, friendship, etc. (Also, there is something very sexy about tall skinny Army surgeons who do not follow protocol). I'm still going to watch MASH every night, but I have officially seen EVERY episode. #1 fan. high five.
7. Coldwater Creek infinity scarf. Ok, so it's a store for middle- / older-aged ladies, but I actually found myself liking quite a few things in there while shopping with my mom last weekend. It's getting fricken cold outside and it made all of their scarves look even better. This is one I'm gonna go back for when pay day comes, and I'll probably pick up a few extras as x-mas presents as well.
8. Also in the shopping theme....LOVE Cost Plus World Market. I went in there on Sunday "just to get some ideas" and left with $50 worth of Xmas decorations (and I edited by selections about a million times just to get down to the $50 mark). I love this place. It's all stuff that both D and I like, and I could decorate our house up and down, inside and out, using only their worldly-hippie-mildly overpriced wares (some things are better bought at Hobby Lobby). But seriously, you can buy Williams Sonoma / Pottery Barn type things, for 1/4 the price. Frames, candle holders, wine, chocolate, rugs, pillows, bath stuff, pictures, dishes and kitchen stuff...just never buy their furniture. It is for midgets and you will pay out the wazoo.
I will be back there this weekend to start my Xmas shopping...it will be wonderful.
I bought these last weekend, but didn't realize you put the candle on top. In the store they were flipped the other way so I've had them with the candle inside. Now that I see them this way, I like them even more.
9. David comes home tomorrow. Technically it's happening in December, and isn't really a 'favorite,' just a VIP. He's been in New Hampshire visiting his dad for a week and I've been perfectly content without him, until today. Now that I know he's coming back tomorrow, I can't wait to have him home! Back in the day I wouldn't be able to function without him, but a lot has changed and I am happy for him to go off and explore on his own knowing that he is coming back to our house to be with me. Also, I'm happy to have the time to myself to do things I don't normally prioritize when he is home (like dust every single surface in the house and file, shred, and open piles of mail, dirty every dish in the cabinet and then wash them all at once, eat popsicles for breakfast lunch and dinner, and watch anything I want on tv). He always comes back with a fresh outlook and lots of new ideas, and I want the house to be clean and organized for our fresh start.
Wow, where does the time go?........already December. Yowzer.
