It's not plastics, though. Too much stuff to do at work, so I'm doing a meme I've seen travelling around OPB (Other People's Blogs). You have to answer all questions with one word.
1. Where is your cell phone? Desk
2. Your significant other? JD
3. Your hair? Sleek
4. Your mother? Awesome
5. Your father? Caring
6. Your favorite thing? Dumplings
7. Your dream last night? None
8. Your favorite drink? Tea
9. Your dream/goal? Mom
10. The room you’re in? Office
11. Your hobby? Reading
12. Your fear? Electrocution
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Family
14. What you’re not? Virginian
15. Muffins? Banana
16. One of your wish list items? Ireland
17. Where you grew up? Maryland!
18. The last thing you did? Phone
19. What are you wearing? Suit
20. Favorite gadget? iPod
21. Your pets? Family
22. Your computer? Connection
23. Your mood? Harried
24. Missing someone? Friends
25. Your car? Hybrid
26. Something you’re not wearing? Bracelet
27. Favorite store? Levenger
28. Like someone? Everyone
29. Your favorite color? Green
30. When is the last time you laughed? Noon
31. Last time you cried? Monday
Tip of the hat: to Amy for the meme.
Wag of the finger (or punch of the fist): to smug fertiles (in these posts) who make my friends feel bad.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
One Word
Monday, July 28, 2008
Internal Blog Editor
Do you walk around all day editing blog posts in your head? You know you do.
Today was the start of a new day and a new me; we are all about getting back on the bandwagon with everything: hair, makeup, exercise, eating right, cleaning house, sleeping, etc. You'll be seeing posts on all of those things (hopefully) this week.
Possible Names for the Project
Operation New Day/New MeOperation Infinite Waffle (taken)
Operation Supermodel
Operation As Cool As {Insert Cool Celebrity Name Here}Operation Be Kind Rewind (taken)
Mission Zamboni
Operation Bill Parcells
Mission WheatenaOperation Kozy Shack Kommando (makes me too hungry)
Operation Personal Intervention
At this point, I'm probably going with Operation Bill Parcells because it makes me smile whenever I read it. hee.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Towards the Goal
I like jeans; they think I'm just OK. For my entire adult life, I have had to employ the use of a safety pin with my jeans zipper, because the spandex that they put in fat women's jeans allows the fabric to stretch and the zipper to frequently come undone. I wondered if I lost weight that I would be able to give up the safety pins.
You know what happened today? I wore a pair of jeans with no safety pin. Result? No zippers came down! I am so happy - it's like I'm normal or something! Yay!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Awesomeness
My mom is awesome. I love my mom! I love my mom cause she's awesome!!!
We all know that I work at the family bidness, right? I figured out that Brother, who stays at my parents' place when not out-of-town at his actual house, was at my parents' house and could bring in food for his dear sister.
Called up my mom and she agreed to send in something for me. Brother comes in with a huge shopping bag filled with a container of oatmeal with cut up fruit and a large thermos of coffee made just the way I like it!
My mom is a rock star!!!!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Lunch Break
Nothing much going on here, but I got tired of looking at yesterday's post. Tonight, BFF and I will be going to a book club meeting, hosted by a law school friend of mine. Neither of us have read the book and the author (a law school professor of ours) is going to be there. Since we're both lawyers though, BFF and I are equipped with that most necessary of all lawyerly traits -- the ability to BS for minutes on end.
What awesome skill is necessary for your profession?
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Arrivederci Sophia
I'm sad to report that the beloved Estelle Getty, Sophia Petrillo of Golden Girls, has passed away, just shy of her 85th birthday. Sophia and Dorothy (Bea Arthur) were always my favorite characters in that show. They both reminded me of my own relatives -- maybe because Italian-Americans and American Jews have a lot in common.
So, there goes our collective hope for a Golden Girls reunion, tentatively titled, Golden Girls Again: This Time With Extra Gold.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Flickr is Fun
How to do this your very own self:
A. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
B. Using only the first page, pick an image.
C. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into the mosaic maker. Choose 3 columns with 4 rows.
The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word that describes you?
12. Your favorite animal?
Glossary
1. Jennifer
2. Chinese food
3. WJ
4. Green
5. David Tennant
6. Tea
7. Ireland
8. Ladyfinger cake
9. Happy
10. Family
11. Worried
12. Mini Poodle (this dog looks like a twin of The Boy!)
Whatever Doesn't Kill Ya
You know how when things seem to be going against you, the whole universe conspires to make it even worse?
SO much work to do, was planning to get into work at least at 8 AM --> Overslept, woke up at ten to 9.
Lots of traffic, but eventually get over to the Maryland side of things and off the highway, 5 minutes from work --> Foot slips off brake at traffic light, bump into car in front of me, scratch rear bumper (thank G-D, driver is OK, minor scratch on bumper).
John Dear: vacillating between good, loving partner and extreme douchebag. Right now, I think, there is more good than bad. Fairy Godmother asked me to do a chart to keep track, so I'll have to do that in my spare time. Ha!
Ran out of the house, did not have a chance to take my pills.
This day should be AWESOME.
Friday, July 18, 2008
New Classics Challenge
Because I don't have enough to do in my life and I am the Queen of Procrastination, I'm signing up for a book challenge.
The New Classics Challenge, hosted by Joanna, requires you to read 6 books (between August 1, 2008 and January 31, 2009) that you have not previously read from the New Classics list drawn up by Entertainment Weekly.
I've read the books in bold; I am planning to read the books in green.
1. The Road, Cormac McCarthy (2006)
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
4. The Liars' Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)
11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
12. Blindness, José Saramago (1998)
13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
16. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988)
18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
20. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)
21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000)
22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
31. The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien (1990)
32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (1988)
33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
36. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)
38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)
39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (1988)
44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
47. World's Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
56. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
61. Money, Martin Amis (1985)
62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)
72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)
76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998)
77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)
81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
84. Holes, Louis Sachar (1998)
85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)
88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)
91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)
95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)
96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)
97. Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
98. The Predators' Ball, Connie Bruck (1988)
99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)
OK, you only have to complete 6 of these books for the challenge, but right now, I'm wanting to read everything. That's a good problem to have.
As I finish the books I've chosen, I'll be posting reviews. You can check out more about this challenge and read along with the other participants here.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
In the Car
Allow me some literary license to the title of this post, as I will be in the car later this afternoon and for much of tomorrow. Will be travelling in a van with MIL, FIL, SIL, and John Dear up to New York for the funeral of FIL's mother ("PGM" for Paternal Grandmother).
PGM had been struggling with severe dementia for at least the past 5 years, certainly longer than I've known JD. In April, she began refusing food, so the family made lots of preparations at that time. Then, she started getting better again. Earlier this week, her nurse said that she was doing well -- that night, PGM passed away in her sleep.
JD has been struggling with the fact that he really doesn't feel sad. He feels guilty for not being distraught in the way that he was when his mother's parents, who he was very close to, passed away. I've been trying to help him work through those feelings and relating my own feelings when my father's mother (in a nutshell, not a good person and also had severe dementia for the last 10 years of her life) finally passed. I didn't feel sad, although I felt for my father, who felt extremely close to his mother. Instead, I felt relief -- relief that this horrible person who had caused my family so much pain was gone. And I recognized that the person who died wasn't really my grandmother. She had been gone a long time already.
So, we'll all be driving up to New York in one van to pay our respects and visit with some family. Pray that we don't all kill each other.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
What is 247 & 136?
I'm back at work after a trip with my sister to set her up for one of her doctoral internships, and then driving around all day yesterday to go look at some of my company's properties. (They are looking good).
Things I Learned in the Great State of South Carolina
1. Jesus saves.
(How much was not mentioned. It must be at an impressive rate, because I saw this message several times).
2. The restaurant, Sonic, actually exists and does not merely exist in TV commercials.
Why Someone in South Carolina Should Mow the Lawn
I saw a sign that read:
I thought this was horribly mean-spirited. Couldn't they just tell Jesus one-on-one that he should lose some weight rather than putting it out there on a highway sign? Or maybe they should mind their own business. Screw them, Jesus! Just be healthy!
Also, I've never heard of dieting as a tool for repentance, though admittedly, I am not up-to-date on the more modern methods of atonement.
I then realized that there were overgrown weeds covering up the last "d" in "died".
Friday, July 11, 2008
Fat Free Yoga - None for Me
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Manamma Na
First, so many thanks to all of you for your concern, good wishes and overall show of your true care for me. Thank you even to the anonymous commenter who advised me to leave John Dear based on her experience in a bad marriage. I appreciate all advice and thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Next time, I hope that you feel able to leave a comment with your name on it.
Second, the 100 Things post took a lot of time to do, so I really loved seeing all your comments on it. I spent a few minutes here and there for a couple of weeks putting it together, so don't think that I just came up with all that in one sitting. I'm sure that all of you could come up with 100 things about yourselves too. :)
Third, the stress level is pretty high around here, but I'm doing well, feeling good. Stress is due to work projects exploding, helping to take care of my grandmother (recovering well from her 4th eye surgery since January), gearing up to accompany my sister on the drive down South for her internship, and general all-around busyness. Though my emotions are good, I'm feeling really tired and could use a couple days' of sleep.
I'm hoping to do Fat-Free Yoga tonight, so that I can finally do it before returning it back to the library on-time. Will let you know how it goes.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
100 Things
In honor of boredom and apropos of nothing, I present you, dear Reader, with 100 things about me.
1. I love grape jelly. This probably stems from my mother’s dislike of grape jelly, so all we had growing up was strawberry. In order to complete the Circle of Life, any kids I have will have to grow up hating grape jelly. Except they shouldn’t, since grape jelly rocks!
2. I am close to both my parents, but closer emotionally to my mother.
3. I am Jewish and worry about the amount of “benign” anti-Semitism in my country and in the world.
4. I work at a medium-sized company (more than 400 employees) along with 2 cousins, my brother and my father.
5. I don’t like driving over bridges and have to do deep-breathing exercises in order to cross the bridge. If I’m riding in the car though, no problems.
6. My greatest fear is being electrocuted.
7. I am a hard-core C-SPAN junkie.
8. I sunburn very easily and have had two instances of skin cancer (basal cell). I wear sunscreen every day – my favorite (currently) is Neutrogena Healthy Defense.
9. I love going to the movies and used to go every weekend. I haven’t seen as many as I’d like to in the past several years due to law school, John Dear’s painful feet, all-around busyness and the fact that movies are now a million dollars a pop.
10. Both of the dogs in my life have been boys. I don’t know if I could have a girl dog, because I’d tell her she was a good boy.
11. I am a repeat orderer. I always say that I’m going to get something new and I almost always get the same thing. Why mess with perfection? My orders: Cheesecake Factory – Chicken Marsala with Bowties; any diner-type restaurant – Western Omelet.
12. I cannot defy gravity, but I can touch my tongue to my nose. Ah, my one great skill.
13. I am left-handed.
14. Most embarrassing story about myself: I once bought so much in one trip at Lane Bryant that they sent me a bouquet of flowers.
15. My favorite soda is Dr. Pepper, closely followed by cream soda and root beer.
16. I’m a sucker for a good home-improvement show – but nothing on HGTV beats the classic Hometime from PBS and TLC.
17. In the course of my post-college education, I have attended 4 different universities in the greater Washington, DC area. I’d consider doing a Ph.D. if only to bag some more schools for a grand slam.
18. I love to read and try to do so as much as possible and as varied a selection as possible. See my LibraryThing widgets on my sidebar for specifics. I’m constantly trolling for recommendations, so pass ‘em along.
19. I saw The Graduate and hated it. Sue me.
20. Best thing ever: rainy day, cozy chair and hassock, crackling fire, good book, cuppa tea, buttered scones.
21. Overseas place where I could see myself living: London or Amsterdam.
22. Stateside place where I wish I was living: Maryland.
23. Stateside place where I am living: Virginia.
24. John Dear and I met on E*Harmony. I was his first match!
25. Growing up, I believed that the Flintstones was based on my parents, as they resemble, both in looks and character, Fred and Wilma.
26. I was never a Brownie or Girl Scout because they shut down the local troop before I was old enough to join.
27. I only wanted to be a Brownie because I liked the uniforms. Ditto for the Poms Squad, Cheerleaders, Field Hockey and Crew.
28. My first car (that I got to drive, not that I owned) was a 1990 Buick Roadmaster station wagon, white with wood paneling.
29. I memorized my credit card number in law school so that I could buy stuff online while I was sitting in class.
30. I’m not good at video games because I get terribly motion sick. Instead, I am the best video game spectator on earth.
31. When I’ve driven safely through a yellow light, I kiss my hand and touch it to the roof of my car as a thank you. A friend taught me this in high school and I’ve never been able to break the habit.
32. Favorite author: Diana Gabaldon for her Outlander series – it’s history, it’s time travel, it’s romance, it’s everything. Sigh.
33. I love listening to comedy specials and going to see comedians. Current favorites: Jim Gaffigan, Carlos Mencia, Frank Caliendo and Patton Oswalt.
34. There are four remotes on our coffee table now. TV, TiVo, Cable, DVD player.
35. What do I worry about? Everything. My mom calls me Very Worried Walrus after the Sweet Pickles books. Now that I’m a lawyer, I say that I’m employed as a professional worrier.
36. I have a relevant quote from Friends for just about every situation.
37. TV Shows I watch currently: Deadliest Catch, Grey’s Anatomy, Ice Road Truckers, House, How I Met Your Mother, Top Chef, 24.
38. When I was little, I wished that I was Christian so that I could sing in a church choir.
39. My favorite carol is “O Holy Night.” I first heard it in the movie, Home Alone.
40. My least favorite carol is “The Little Drummer Boy.” Whenever I hear it, I start to hate Christmas.
41. Favorite TV shows ever: Friends, West Wing, Quantum Leap.
42. I’ve visited 24 states and 9 countries.
43. My type? Waldo. Yes, Waldo from the children’s books. EX: David Tennant (Dr. Who), John Oliver (from The Daily Show), all of my ex-boyfriends and my husband.
44. Crazy decision: a prone-to-motion-sickness person going to Venice for her honeymoon. John Dear carried several different kinds of Dramamine for me on that trip.
45. I helped my team win a talent show in Hebrew School by lip synching to a Janet Jackson song.
46. I am unable to light matches or small cigarette lighters without burning myself and/or heirloom tablecloths in my vicinity. I (and I’m sure a grateful fire department) now rely on those long trigger lighters for all my ignition needs.
47. I love musicals! My favorite of all time is Guys & Dolls. I prefer the 1992 revival with Nathan Lane, Faith Prince and Peter Gallagher.
48. The restaurant at which John Dear and I had our first date was knocked down soon after we went there. They rebuilt in time for us to have our second anniversary there.
49. I reached my lowest weight ever in my adult life during my first year out of college. Then, BFF and I went on vacation and I proceeded to eat my way through Europe. Eight years later, I’m still struggling with the aftermath of that trip.
50. The first rock concert I ever went to was in college. I saw Alannis Morrisette when she was touring for her hit song, “You Oughta Know.”
51. I’ve since seen Counting Crows, Letters to Cleo, Velocity Girl, Guster, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews Band, Paul McCartney, N*SYNC, Elton John, Billy Joel and U2.
52. My BFF has a theory to which I completely subscribe. In a family of three kids or more, the youngest child when grown up will state that his/her favorite flavor of popsicle is green or orange. Why? BFF says, and I agree, that it is because the older kids always picked red and purple first, so the younger child only ever received orange or green.
53. My first boyfriend was very geeky and into computers. After many intervening years and many different boyfriends, my husband is very geeky and into computers.
54. I used to be addicted to McDonald’s. In my first and second years of law school, I probably had fast food eight times a week. After watching the movie Supersize Me, however, I went cold turkey. I have not had any fast food since October 2005.
55. I love watching fireworks. John Dear loves lighting off fireworks. It works for us.
56. My favorite movie changes from day to day and moment to moment. Here’s the list of my current faves: Weekend at Bernie’s, The Hunt for Red October, Elizabeth, High Anxiety, Sense & Sensibility, Spaceballs, Ever After, Run Lola Run, Crimson Tide.
57. John Dear and I share the same favorite ice cream flavor – mint chocolate chip. Yet, we’ve never ordered it at an ice cream store since we met.
58. I think Glide is the best floss there is, but I don’t have a similar level of love for any kind of toothpaste.
59. I believe that the best tomato sauce is simple, made of stewed tomatoes with diced onions and spices.
60. I’ve learned that the key to fluffy scrambled eggs is to: a) add about 2 Tablespoons of water or milk to the beaten eggs and, b) allow the eggs to set in the medium-high heated pan for about 45 seconds prior to scrambling.
61. My favorite quote: “Some people see things as they are and ask, ‘Why?’ I dream things that never were and ask, ‘Why not?’”
62. I can run a mile (given enough time).
63. I think the world would be a better place if we laughed at least once a day.
64. I’ve learned that the greatest gift in the world is to have someone who can make you laugh so hard you spit out your drink.
65. My favorite tea is Twinings. I prefer English Breakfast or Irish Breakfast, both with milk and a spoonful of sugar.
66. Favorite song? Too many to count. I prefer to go by the CDs where I love every song on the album. That’s both from Maroon 5 (Songs About Jane and It Won’t Be Soon Before Long), Vertical Horizon’s debut album (Everything You Want) and John Mayer’s Room for Squares.
67. Biggest childhood fears: Darth Vader, ET, Hitler.
68. I’ve voted in every general election for which I was eligible to vote, but the first time I voted in a primary was this year.
*69. I know you called.
70. The best Girl Scout cookies are, without a doubt, Thin Mints.
71. I’d be super-clean and organized if I didn’t get in my own way.
72. These ladies made me wish I could write like they do: Mel, Geohde, Julie, LJ, Alexa and JJ.
73. Don’t let me get hungry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m hungry.
74. Seriously. I almost killed John Dear on our honeymoon for “betraying me and not letting me eat food.”
75. He should have listened to BFF’s advice to have a snack or sandwich for every hour that you could be out of the hotel. That’s how she has lived through many trips with me.
76. In high school, my favorite color was green and the large proportion of green items in my wardrobe attested to that. Green eventually gave way to blue for my college and post-graduate years, but lately, I’ve been moving back to green.
77. I can never move away from this area because I’d have to take the bar exam again. Not that I refuse to take another bar, but John Dear has made it pretty clear that he can’t live through me taking the bar again.
78. My current weekday breakfast: two scrambled eggs and cheese on whole wheat toast and a large hazelnut coffee with cream and sugar.
79. I’ve never worked in retail nor at a restaurant. I did work the refreshment stand at my high school’s basketball games, but that was for fundraising, not as a job, so it doesn’t really count.
80. The best hot chocolate made in the entire world is at The Phoenician, a hotel in Arizona.
81. I used to only get hot chocolate at Starbucks, but transitioned about a year ago to Chai Tea Lattés.
82. I love hockey, but more importantly, I love the Washington Capitals. I’ll drink their Kool-Aid any day.
83. I have snored so loudly that I’ve woken myself up. I have done this more than once.
84. I started learning German in graduate school eight years ago. I did really well in the class, but have lost the great majority of what I learned. All I can remember now is how to count, how to ask someone’s name, how to tell someone my name and how to tell you in a grammatically-incorrect way that I forget all my German.
85. Ich vergesse meinen Deutsch. (Told ya it was grammatically-incorrect).
86. Since I studied French for so long, however, I am able to pick that back up relatively quickly.
87. Voila! Je souviens la français!
88. I can calculate a tip, but cannot make change.
89. On my wedding day, I was so drugged with Dramamine (because of nausea) that I had my sister help me out of my dress just before the ceremony so I could take a nap.
90. I’m a lifelong Democrat, but I’m usually only a little left of center.
91. I can usually remember my dreams; they are always in color.
92. I never got into The Simpsons. I’ve seen episodes here and there, but I was never a huge fan.
93. I thought Ricky Schroeder’s racecar bed in Silver Spoons was cool, but I would have preferred to have the duck-shaped phone.
94. I rock at logic puzzles, crosswords and Sudoku.
95. I also rock Trivial Pursuit. I am a font of useless trivia. Like the fact that I know where the phrase “hocus pocus” comes from.
96. I’m not a huge fan of Mexican food, but I do love me some guacamole.
97. I grind my teeth at night so I have to wear a night guard to prevent me from cracking the enamel.
98. I used to wear acrylic nails but had to stop wearing them in order to use the mikveh. I miss having nice nails all the time, but appreciate the mikveh and the drop in expenses more.
99. I love the Container Store so much that I’m not allowed to shop there without someone to stop me from impulse buying.
100. I much prefer even numbers as opposed to odd.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
And What Do We Got? A Cuisinart?
This post is going to be as scattered as my mind is right now. I'm all mixed up like a blender.
I wonder if this post talking about a possible end of my marriage is appropriate, given that it's my 200th post. I've been so eager to reach the point of 200, and now that I've reached this milestone, all I feel is confusion and hurt and sadness and shame and fear, and love and happiness and hope, a desperate, clawing, eternally springing hope.
Remember New Year's? I told John Dear everything that I had been holding back -- essentially, that I couldn't stay in a marriage that wasn't a partnership, that was more of a relationship of master & servant, of a parent & child. I told him how I woke up every day and asked myself whether that day would be the one where I decided to leave.
With tears running down both our faces, we recommitted to each other. JD promised that I would never have to feel that way again, that he would change and we'd be happy together.
As in all things, there's been a bit of backsliding. John Dear is being demanding and demeaning. Arguing with me and calling me names in front of others. This is not about his Asperger's. This is about JD not being an adult yet.
Well, I can't wait forever for him to change. I don't know if it is possible for JD to change or if he is, I don't know if I can stay here waiting for him for as long as it takes him to do so.
I figure there are three options:
1. John Dear doesn't change, I stay in the marriage, we (eventually) have children, and I stay somewhat happy, but mostly unhappy for the rest of our lives together.
2. John Dear works to change, I stay in the marriage, we (eventually) have children, and I stay mostly happy and hopefully completely happy for the rest of our lives together.
3. I leave. Who knows what happens after that?
I can't figure out whether or not I've explained this previously, but in case I haven't, John Dear has just started his "health sabbatical." This is 2 months for him to completely rehab the foot that he had surgery on in October 2007. He's been in steady pain since then, first recovering from surgery, then because he didn't start walking fast enough, then because his crutches were wrong, then because the physical therapists he was seeing were jokes, then because he had to walk "a lot" for his job (allegedly). Essentially, John Dear (with my support) quit his job due to health reasons because he was going to be fired due to his very poor attitude.
As Dr. Chai and I reasoned it out, you've got nothing to worry about but getting better, so go do it. See, his poor health and all of his other issues prevent him from being a true partner, and if he was able to better his health, all of his other issues would likely be ameliorated and our marriage would be a happy one. JD agreed with all of this reasoning.
So, he's got these 2 months to show me that's he committed to our marriage and to the family that we will have, that we share the same values, that I'm neither his mother nor his camp counselor, that I'm his partner -- his wife. After these 2 months, I can't say and he can't say that I didn't do everything, everything, to make this work.
All of the above was this past weekend and yesterday morning. Yesterday evening, I spoke to John Dear and told him a little bit of what I've been feeling, confining the conversation to his fighting and name-calling and my need for him to help. He has promised to change, knowing that I'm aware change is hard and won't happen immediately.
Last night was lovely. We had a fun time together talking and being with each other. It made me remember why we got together in the first place. So, what do I do with all that I was feeling this weekend? I was convinced that in 2 months, I would make the decision to leave. Now, I'm in this. I'll stay. But this is the real test. Can he change and stay changed? I'm not sure, and that's why I'm all over the place.
Monday, July 7, 2008
If It's Monday, There's a Meal Plan
There's a lot swirling around in my head right now; I hope to post on that soon.
Here's the meals planned for this week. John Dear will be cooking (this is the start of his "health sabbatical", two months out of work to help rehab his foot), so we're going with simple.
Monday - Chicken w/ baked potatoes and veggies
Tuesday - Whole wheat spaghetti w/ meatballs
Wednesday - Fish w/ veggies and polenta
Thursday - Beef and vegetables stir-fry
Friday - Broccoli and Shallot Frittata
This weekend, I'll be helping my sister drive down to South Carolina, where she will be doing a 2-month internship as part of her doctorate. So, no meals planned for the weekend - JD is on his own.
Goals for this week
1. Due to the aforementioned swirling, I'm not really focused enough to have specific goals for the week. Right now, my goal is to just get through this week with my sanity in tact and not eating to numb my emotions.
2. Have now checked out the Fat-Free Yoga DVD for a second time. Hope that this week I will actually do it.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Today is Our Independence Day
Just wanted to wish everyone in the US a very happy 4th of July. In honor of the holiday, we'll be having the traditional cookout with hamburgers (just like our forefathers ate).
Found this list on Amanda's blog and thought it was so cool I just had to do it:
The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed.
Instructions
Look at the list and bold those you have read.
Italicize those you intend to read.
Underline the books you LOVE or if you can't put a note at the end.
Reprint this list in your blog so we can try and track down these people who've read 6 and force books upon them
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. A Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte's Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
42 out of 100 on this list - I read 3 of them in French! Je suis awesome!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
I Am a Corned-Beef Rock Star
Many thanks to the Chickie Nob (one of Mel's little darlings) for my favorite expression ever.
Remember that list I had up yesterday? All done. Last night. By me. Well, John Dear moved the wet clothes into the dryer, but otherwise it was all me.
I'm sure that you don't care about all my to-do lists, but it helps me to be accountable. So, here's the list for this evening.
1. Make dinner
2. Load and run full dishwasher
3. Go to library so BFF and JD can get books (I am not allowed as I already have 4 billion to read).
4. Pack up food for trip
5. Empty fridge of suspect items
6. Water flowers
7. Turn up thermostat
8. Throw out trash
9. Pack car
10. Drive to THE BEACH!!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Must've Been a Bureaucrat in a Former Life
Because I am all about the organization thing today. Lists upon lists upon lists. Of tasks, directions, recipes and anything else you can think of. I don't have a List of Lists yet, but I am getting there.
I usually get this way when vacation (of any length) nears. Lists and scheduling on the calendar. I am rocking that calendar.
Here's the List for After Work Today:
1. Pick up The Boy from doggie daycare.
2. Put new load of clothes in washer.
3. Make steak w/ baked potatoes for dinner. Cook extra steak for tomorrow's dinner. Cook defrosted chicken in fridge so it doesn't go bad.
4. While cooking, empty clean dishwasher.
5. Pack up extra steak for tomorrow's dinner. Pack up chicken with peppers for tomorrow's lunch.
6. Eat dinner with John Dear.
7. Clean up kitchen. Load dishwasher.
8. Work out.
9. Laundry tasks.
10. Shower.
11. Pack for vacation.
12. Walk The Boy and Evening Routine (wash face, brush teeth, blah, blah, blah).
Unfortunately and realistically, I am unlikely to accomplish everything that I've set out for myself. What I think will actually get done is colored in blue. To paraphrase, my eyes are often bigger than my ability to get things done. Oh well. Hope springs eternal.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
A Day Off
So, today I took the day off of work in order to help BFF move across town. What a beautiful day! Not too hot (at least in the morning); things returned to garden center (w/ no receipt, so got store credit); old love seat moved (donated to BFF); BFF out of apartment with no heat, no A/C, no drawer pulls, no outlet covers (yes, it's true).
We (well, mostly the awesome movers) moved BFF to her new apartment in a fabulous location. I really think and hope that she will be happy in her new place. After dropping her off at her old place (so she could clean up and get her dog) and driving home, I received a call from her telling me that she had already lost the keys to her new place and she would need to use the copy that she just gave me in case she locked herself out. So, BFF and her dog will be coming over soon, along with the dinner that I had brought over for her so she would have a nice dinner in her new place. Not CORE, but we'll live.
