Holy Rollers

Seen on a white Lexus: THXLORD

Seen on a beige Lexus: PRASGOD

I wasn't aware that God was handing out luxury sedans! How did I miss that Gospel lesson? I can't even articulate all of the ways those vanity plates tick me off.

I'm Not Certain This Reflects My Sense of Humor, But Whatever...

Mingle² - Online Dating

Chili Mac, I Curse Thee

I would just like to eat one meal, ONE MEAL, where I do not spill goo on my shirt. I have officially become my mother.

Just Finished

Stayed up too late last night to finish The Memory Keeper's Daughter. My goal is to read 52 books by December 31st--I was inspired by my cousin's goal to read 100. So far I'm pretty far behind schedule because the most intriguing books right now are the ones that are loooooonnnnnnnggg.

I enjoyed this book, there are some unexpected twists, but I don't think I'll read it again. Hey, I have an idea! Maybe I'll send it to my cousin....so she can fall behind on her reading goal, too!

Inspiration from Pottery Barn

I think I like the idea of this room better than I like the room itself. On first glance it's very attractive, calm, clean, etc. When I think about having that room in my house, however, it quickly becomes unrealistic. First, I hate wicker. Hate it. Second, there's not a lot of color, so while the neutrals are nice and universally appealing, it really doesn't reflect our tastes. Third, I could never be that tidy. Where is the unfinished book hanging over the arm of the chair? The unopened mail on the coffee table? The pair of shoes that were discarded after work? Lovely in theory, impractical in practice.

More on Xeriscaping

Sunset magazine has a good article on conserving water during the summer whilst maintaining a lush garden.

Flowers to Plant

I have several lists in the back of my planner: restaurants I want to try, books I want to read, etc. Now I have a list of flowers/herbs I want to plant in our new back yard!

• echinacea
• Shasta daisies
• gladiolus
  
• peonies
• dahlias
• hollyhocks
• day lilies
• chocolate daisies
• basil
• rosemary

Now I just need to find out how many of these are drought tolerant and appropriate for quasi-xeriscaping. We want to keep our water usage low but still have an attractive yard.

And lightness has a call that's hard to hear

The Mister and I went to Boulder to see Indigo Girls (opening act: Brandy Carlile) last night at the Chautauqua. I've been a fan since college and many of the songs transported me back to some of the best times with my favorite people. However, some of the sweetest times were when I was by myself--in particular, a memorable sunset as I'm driving my Ford Escort home for the weekend, over the Broadway Bridge to the sounds of "Galileo" and "Chickenman". It was during the college years, after I broke up with my high school sweetheart and especially after I bought my first car, that I really started to appreciate time by myself.

During my single years I started to resent all of the time alone. Although I lived in a chaotic environment with lots of activity, it still felt like I spent an inordinate time talking to myself instead of having real conversations. I developed some very close friendships during that time, but you can only go out so many nights a week. Eventually your bank account and your pillow will object.

Now I’m married and trying to find the right balance. The Mister’s job has always provided plenty of alone time—he works a lot of evenings and weekends and I’m a 7:30 to 4 kind of gal. That job is changing in the middle of August, and he’ll be home a lot more. I’m giddy as a schoolgirl over this development because it has been a long time overdue, but I also wonder…What will this mean for the marriage? I know we’ll get along just fine, but how long will it take us to find equilibrium? Will he respect the fact that I watch House Hunters every night at 5:30 and there will be no argument about that? Will he understand that some nights Cheerios are the best kind of dinner? Will there be adequate time to read and write in my journal? I guess we’ll work through that in August.

In the meantime, I think I’ll get in the car and drive with “Power of Two” cranked up as loud as I can stand it. Maybe even conjure up a good sunset.

RIP

My folks have a small assortment of animals on their property just outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming. About a month ago they had to put the dog down as she was very old and starting to suffer. Last weekend they had to put one of the goats down as he was sick and not going to recover. Anyone who knows me at all knows that I love dogs and goats, so it's been a rough month. My tribute to Little the Goat*:
Fortunately, Mom and Dad still have Big* (the other goat) and the llama, Molly Mocha.

I'm still trying to figure out how to steal one of those cute baby goats from the petting zoo at the Stock Show in January. I'm willing to create the distraction, I just need someone to put the goat under their shirt and run. The Mister wants nothing to do with this plan, and that makes me sad. He has no sense of adventure.

* I take no responsibility for these names. My sister named them and she's lost all naming rights for eternity as a result. The llama came with her name, so there was no arguing about that.

Designs & Dreams

Obsessing over paint color for the living room. Imagining a beautiful chandelier over the dining room table. Picturing the sheers I want to sew for the bedroom (must learn to sew first). Drooling over throw pillows.

The home inspection went beautifully this morning, and I find that it has just taken my daydreaming to a whole new level. I will be completely non-functioning by the time the closing date rolls around!

We have a contract on a house!

Bliss. Just have to pass the home inspection on Wednesday and sign lots of paperwork and spend oodles of money and obsess some more over paint chips and mentally arrange our furniture and figure out what plants are growing in the backyard and.... Look! Isn't it cute?!?

Absolute bliss.

Elephants on Parade

I just returned from a conference in Omaha. Not much to say about that, except that the first day I was there I went to shut the drapes in the hotel room to change clothes for the evening festivities, looked out the window out of habit, and saw elephants! Our hotel was next to the city’s event center and the circus was moving their animals. The police had an escort for the 12 elephants that had to be moved. I was completely entranced—what a great welcome to the town!

I live with an internal processor

And I’m OK with that. It’s taken some getting used to, but I also think it’s made me a better person. I listen more intently, for one thing. He doesn’t process everything out loud (like I do) so when he does say something it’s already thought-out and ready. Because he doesn’t talk very much (unlike me), when he does say something people are more likely to listen. Early on in our dating relationship I realized that if the Mister says something more than once, it’s really important to him. He’s subtle like that, so I have to pay attention to know what’s going on inside his head.

Me? If something’s really important to me I’ll say it more than ten times. With jumping up and down. And many exclamation points!!!!!! Just so people know it’s important.

You can see where it might cause some confusion.

He only calls me "Woman" when he's disgusted

the Mister: (incoherent singing, mumbling)
Me: Whatcha singing?
the Mister: "Purple Haze"
Me: I don't know that one.
the Mister: It's by Jimi Hendrix!
Me: That's why I don't like it. I hate Jimi!
the Mister: Woman, I'm not so sure we have a future together...

Moments later...

Me: I don't like Bob Marley, either.
the Mister: (grumbling, disgust, more grumbling)...sigh...