Sunday, January 30, 2011

Greener thumbs and pastures

I just accidentally "marked all as read" in Google Reader. It was super frustrating (but oddly strangely liberating at the same time). I hope I didn't miss anything important on the Internets. I pride myself on my blog stalking.

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I start my new job tomorrow. Yikes!

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Does you know of any good landscaping blogs? (As in the garden part of "home and garden," not personal grooming.) I have found more home design blogs than I have time to read, but my only inspiration for gardening at the moment is an old DVD of The Secret Garden. I'm not sure that Abe can stand listening to me wander around saying, "I'm in the gahhhhden... with Co-linnn...." so any suggestions are appreciated.

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Have a great week!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Musings of the museless


With all my free time I have this week, I should really be doing nothing but writing (comedy, blog posts... something!), but it hasn't worked out that way. I choose to blame my spotty internet connection and the fact that I store all of my documents "in the cloud." (I'm also really nervous that I'm not going to get this all straightened out before I start working from home next week, so I've spent a lot of time biting my nails and/or on the phone with various tech support people.)

No ability to focus = random thoughts. On to the bullet points!
  • I took my nephew with me to the feed store this morning so that I could make sure they sold the breed of chicks I'm hoping to get. (They do.) Charlie seemed a little afraid of the baby chicks and ducklings, but wanted to run onto the loading dock to get a better look at the heavy lifting equipment. Little boys are funny. I bought him a cap gun, because it seemed like the most irresponsible thing in the store (aside from the heavy lifting equipment). I imagine that when Abe and I have kids, payback will not be fun.
  • My friend's dog had puppies. As much as I want to go sit in a box full of puppies and have them climb all over me, I think instead I'm going to send her my thoughts on dog breeding and ask her if she feels comfortable discussing the issue with me. Hopefully, she won't breed her dog again.
  • We have had some interest from renters about our condo, which is kind of a relief and a stressor at the same time. I'm too young to be a landlady!
  • I was almost run over by a speeding FedEx truck today while taking in the recycling bin. The driver saw me at the last minute and swerved out of the way. My father and Charlie drove up just in time to witness the almost-accident. It turned out the truck was delivering a package to my parents' house down the street. The box contained carpet tiles for Abe's and my garage, which my dad wanted to install as a surprise. What do you call almost-horrible-dramatic irony?
  • Our dryer hasn't been hooked up yet, so I've been hanging everything to dry. Honestly, I can't tell a difference between clothes I've hung to dry and clothes that have been dried in a dryer. I'm beginning to wonder if my clothes dryer is a "convenience" that isn't necessarily always more convenient. I am all about skipping steps, especially when laundry is involved.
  • I need to post pictures of our house. It is sort of half-finished. The outside is being painted today, which will hopefully make it look less peel-y. We still have somuchwork. I'm remembering why owing a condo sounded so appealing.
Anyhoo, hope all is well in your neck of the woods, Internets. I think it might be nap time again.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Pass the bon-bons; I could get used to this

I have a week off between jobs. I haven't been a *complete* bump on a log. I mean, we moved last weekend, and I've mostly unpacked, and I'm taking my niece to her swimming lesson this Thursday (which should be adorable), and I've set up pest control and cable and internet and phone service...

But... To be honest? Mostly, I've been napping, watching Netflix, and listening to this album.

I should probably get moving before I start growing moss. I think I might need another nap first, though.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Wednesday thoughts

As I was leaving my house this morning, two of my neighbors were standing in the parking lot talking. I didn't recognize them (I have a really hard time recognizing even close acquaintances), but they looked up at me, so I waved.

One of them bolted across the parking lot and into her condo.

It was Neighbor With Psycho Boyfriend. Thanks to my inability to recognize faces, I am pretty sure I have inadvertently become Possible Sociopath Neighbor.

Who waves (and smiles somewhat blankly or creepily, depending on whether you prefer me to be a gynoid or a Glenn Close in this scenario) at the person whose boyfriend threw poop at her front door? Apparently I do.

Oops.

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We are (finally) moving this weekend. There's still so much work to be done at the condo and the house. It's overwhelming, but at least we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I didn't take any "before" pictures (I am lazy), but I will try to post some "in between" pictures so that you guys can give me decorating advice.

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We have had approximately one week of semi-winter-like weather in Austin (and by winter-like, I mean darkish, rainy, and mildly cold), and I'm already ready for spring. Mostly, I'm just ready for Daylight Savings Time and longer days in general. Sure, I'll be sad to lose an hour of sleep, but the extra sunshine will make up for it.

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Abe's childhood best friend (and my prom date) just invited us to his wedding. Abe and I are both really excited for him. D's one of those guys whose done so many different, interesting things (qualified for and run the Boston Marathon, volunteered in the Peace Corps, lived in Spain, biked across country, etc., etc., etc.), that I wasn't sure he'd ever find someone who could keep up with him. However, I'm pretty sure his fiancee fits the bill. (At our wedding, I told them they'd have really athletic babies someday. This is why I don't drink champagne!)