I started cleaning the living room with the intention of culling crap I didn't need. Alas, my huge box o' photos was out and I couldn't help myself from going through it. This is what I've chosen for your viewing pleasure thus far:
Did we all go through a Cure phase?
This is me and one of my best friends in high school, Leah. She taught me that I can be close to a lesbian who says she's in love with me and just be her friend.
Got Chicken Pox when I was 12. Lovely, isn't it?
Fun with candy corn
Self-portrait when I used to do my rebellious blonde chunk thing
My senior prom ensenble. I went solo, in my Jeep, in a dress I bought for $12.99 end embellished myself (the daisies and sequins were added.) I might add that I was one of like only 5 people who did The Time Warp when the DJ played it per my request. *sigh* If only all the kids could have been as cool as I was.
When I went through my giant box of pictures to find the ones I posted above, I found a few I wanted to share. Have a ball...
Sunrise @ Wallis Sands (that's me)
Me again, bein' saucy
Ah, the beauty of 'fridge poetry
Posted @ 4:20 PM
Sunday, October 23, 2005
I didn't realize I'd left you all hangin' with regard to the housing issue. Whoops. Well, I made an offer of 80% of the asking price Wednesday afternoon. Thursday morning, my realtor called me and said they'd counter offered 87% of asking. (From what I gather, most places in NH are selling for at least 90% right now, so this is still good.) I accepted, which my mother says was foolish, but the truth is, haggling over what boils down to a difference fo like $6.00 a month is not worth the stress to me. So yes, the Purchase & Sales agreement has been signed. I have a home inspector going in on Tuesday to hopefully pronounce my new home healthy. As long as things continue to go as they are, the closing should be at the end of November. Now the only thing I am stressing out about is that my prequalification was contingent upon my putting a certain amount down: an amount which has already diminished significantly as I have paid all the deposits and inspection fees I hadn't anticipated. However, the pre-approval was also for the asking price and I am going to end up financing almost $9K less than that, so I should still be good, right? Anyway, if anyone wants to make a donation, I ain't too proud to beg. Button above.
This weekend Jenn, Barb, Dianne and I went up to York, Maine for a much needed mini-retreat. Saturday morning, I drove up to Lilac Estates and dropped off my application and deposit, then met everyone at Jenn's so we could carpool and go to breakfast. After that, we went to Nate's (Barb's son) soccer game, which was cool. I haven't seen teenage team sports since...well, since I was a teenager. I found myself thinking, Wow, I would have been swooning over these kids 10 years ago! Now they look so young and...well, undeveloped. Lol. As in, kids, Erin. Um, duh. Somehow always shocked by the obvious... Anyway, they won and then we went back to Jenn's to gather our gear and head north again.
We dropped all our crap off at The Anchorage and went back out to do some light shopping. We stopped at this little store called The Daisy Trading Co. where I got a sweater and some wicked cheap wrought iron tealight lanterns. Next we stopped at a little roadside store that sold a lot of junk, but also every size, shape and color of old glass bottles imaginable. Dianne and Jenn stayed in the car for this part, but I love old glass and so does Barb, so we poked around for like 45 minutes. (Jenn got antsy and actually called me from the car to make sure we hadn't been bound and gagged in the basement or something. She's so friggin funny.) Anyway...
Next stop was the outlets in Kittery, followed by dinner at The Flatbread Company which was super cool and super tasty. The place is very unique - sort of had a cafeteria feel to it (huge room, high ceilings), but with individual 4-seater tables. They have real brick (clay, actually) oven as big as a small igloo, so the open fire was nice and the place smelled awesome. Now, I don't mind eating Pizza Hut pizza (it's just so damn goooooood!), but must admit that the fact that everything's organic at The Flatbread Company is a bonus. I can't wait to move out that way so we can go again.
After that, we went to the liquor store (of course) and bought a bunch of this and that. Got back to the hotel and went swimming, then sat in the hot tub for a while. The pool and hot tub are in a different building than the one with the rooms, so running across the parking lot wet and still in my bathing suit in 45-degree rain and wind was exhilarating. Yeah, exhilarating, that's it. (I left out the part about me being fucking crazy, 'cause I figure it's implied.)
Back at the room, we warmed up and cracked open the bottles. Barb and Dianne had never had Aftershock, so that was fun. I also made everyone Caramel Apple shots (half Buttershots, half Apple Pucker) and found out that if you put a dash of Aftershock in, the cinnamon turns a Caramel Apple into an Apple Pie. Yummers. We didn't get wasted, just a little silly. Did each other's toenails and talked about blow jobs - that sort of thing. I also put Jenn's hair into tiny braids which looked cool but made her head itch, so out they came in the morning. Photos below.
Before
After
This morning, Dianne and Barb left to go to church and Jenn and I drove up the coast a little ways to get some pictures. It was still incredibly windy and wet and the ocean was awesome. I haven't seen the ocean in almost 3 years, so I was especially moved by the power of it. Anyway, once I couldn't stand being blown around anymore, we went to The Golden Egg for breakfast. I had sweet potato apple pecan pancakes. Holy shit were those good! After breakfast, I got gas (down to $2.39/gal in Portsmouth!) and came home.
I crashed as soon as I got here and ended up sleeping for almost 5 hours, awaking with a horribly snotty, sneezy head. It's official, I'm sick. Yeah, the decision to run through the parking lot after swimming seems even more stupid now.
Anyway, here are some pictures for your enjoyment. It was a really good weekend, though I wish it was longer. I hope you all had a great weekend too. Wish me luck on Tuesday with the home inspection...
Us crazy girls. (BTW, the giant green raincoat didn't do me any favors appearance-wise. I am not that puffy.)
Well, tomorrow I go to officially put an offer on the mobile. I am so incredibly excited but also utterly stressed out and anxious about it. I have been trying to get out of ManchVegas for so friggin long - I always fear the worst when things start to look good. Anyway, wish me luck. And if you have it in your heart and wallet, I am in dire need of cash and home improvement gift cards!
Here's a picture. I myself am still battling the stigma of "trailer parks," but when it boils down, this would be better than this piece of shit condo, with assholes on the left, right and below; not being able to garden, not being able to let Indie loose, not being able to move my car when I want to when it snows; having to drive 50-minutes to work one way like a bat out of hell, all the while prayin' I don't get pulled over for speeding... This still won't be perfect, but an undeniably major improvement. It's gonna need a lot of Erinising inside (See! All that Extreme Makeover: Home Editionhas paid off! I'm already picking out paint!) but structurally, it's in awesome shape.
Jay's on his way home and I have to start dinner. Hope everyone had a lovely day.
Posted @ 5:48 PM
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Looks like I've been avoiding my bloggidy duties again. *shrug* I've been this mixture lately of bored, unmotivated, apathetic, etc. and I just didn't have the...yup, you guessed it...motivation to write anything. Too much going on, not enough sleep, too much money going in too many directions... Same old shit. Speaking of shit, we have this eccentric client who's a transplant from somewhere in the south and she's quite a feisty old broad. She's gotta be at least 65, and has her hair dyed bright red -- like Ronald McDonald, almost -- and it's cut short and always going in 100 different directions. She still has the southern drawl. When she came in to get her vicious dog's nails trimmed last week, she was talking about someone (her previous vet, I think it was) and she said, "Well, he don't know shit from apple butter." I love that! I can guarantee you I'll use it myself one of these days! Shit from apple butter. Good stuff!
We have a second showing tomorrow morning at nine. It may be wishful thinking, but I keep getting little pangs of this is the one. The place is in good shape, though has that atrocious fake wood paneling throughout, so there'd be a lot of elective cosmetic procedures -- think boob job, not cleft palate repair. I don't find that daunting, though; I'd love the chance to gut it and truly make it my own. *sigh* Wish me luck.
I need to go whip up some brownies for the candle party. Can't show up to see an old friend empty handed after four years, right? Hope everyone has a good weekend. Much love.
Posted @ 9:04 AM
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Hope everyone had a good weekend. Mine was very uneventful, but that's what I needed. Work was nuts last week due to Barb being out sick herself, then out because her son was in the hospital. It's a stretch to maintain smooth operation with four people, but as we're now back on the 4-day work week, that means we already have only four people working on any given day, so losing Barb too put us down to three. It was interesting, to say the least. But we got through it no worse for the wear. I had Thursday off so I stayed home and made apple pie. I have to say, it's better than Mrs. Smith's, which is my all time favorite. Just look at this pie, will ya?
Anyway, somehow I got really into the baking process and felt empowered by creating food. I know it sounds silly, but it was made from scratch and bringing such a tasty thing into being...well, it made me proud.
Tomorrow I have another house showing. Tuesday I have to get new tires. I also have to pay $183.50 for a stupid shrink appointment I forgot about and missed. My car payment is due. I have an orthopedic appointment on Friday. I am going to the candle party on Saturday and won't be able to buy a thing. I need more money and more time... *sigh* Always the same sad story.
I think I'll take Indie out and go read. I am so sucked into the fifth Harry Potter book, it's not even funny. Hope everyone's Monday is nice and smooth.
Oh, and HUGE congratulations to Doug and Laura!! Long live Mr. and Mrs. Seavey!
Posted @ 8:37 PM
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Right now...(a moment of reflection)...I am 27 years old and starting to feel like I should purchase anti-aging products. I can't seem to get rid of the dark circles under my eyes. Clad in a heather gray Playboy t-shirt ("Playboy" written three times: white, red, then blue on the bottom) and cheap floral-pattern pajama bottoms, my boobs are in denial about gravity and abandoned the bra as soon as we set foot in the door. 38DD does not wish to be held back. Release the hounds! My significant other (which I call him despite the fact that I'm told it makes me sound like a lesbian to anyone who doesn't know the significant other in question is a he) is rattling away on his keyboard, playing some MMORPG (i.e. Everquest, Shadowbane, Dark Age of Camelot or something along those lines) and is literally in another [digital] world. Indie is at my feet sulking that I wouldn't give her any of my dinner. The sink is full of dishes and I should go ride my exercise bike (and I will), but I just need to digest a little bit first...
Tomorrow I have an appointment to see a mobile home. I am still trying to reconcile what I think about mobile homes with the stigma about them and finding it easier and easier, which surprises me. I fail to see how living in a compartment (er...condo) with loud assholes on all sides of me, being sent a fine and a nasty letter if I ever dare hang a towel on my balcony or don't move my car within the first 2 minutes of the snow plows arrival is in any way superior to living in a trailer park (There! I said it!), not sharing walls, having my own yard to deal with and having to shovel out my own goddamn car, on my own goddamn schedule. So, we shall see what happens. I have thought for a long time that I was ready to leave Manch Vegas (Oh, what a remake of the Sheryl Crow tune that would be!) and convinced myself that it was my finances or the market or the pets that kept me from doing it. I do think that's true to an extent, but fuck! If people who work at Irving for $7.00 an hour can move and have a decent place, so can I, right? Where there's a will, there's a way?
I am having four new tires put on my car on Thursday, 'cause they all seem to have sprung microscopic leaks at the same time and I have been having to fill them up again every few days. I also have another appointment with the orthopedic doctor on the 14th because the weird prickly/pinchy feeling in my vertebrae is back and is clearly its own thing with in absence of fucked up muscles to confuse me. Also on the schedule, Jenn and I are going to a candle party (think Tupperware, but candles) on 10/15 at which I really can't buy much, but I used to be a candle party whore back in the day, so I'm sure it'll still be fun. What else is going on...? My coworkers and I are going up to Maine 10/22 for a girls weekend (or girls night, more accurately) of swimming, sitting in the hot tub, doing each other's toenails and all the crap squealy girls do. Should be fun.
I guess that's it. Just wanted to drop some random thoughts. Hope everyone's well.
Posted @ 8:32 PM
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Well, I don't really want to hash it all out, so I will just tell you that there was major turbulence (think "We're going down, we're going down!") of late in just about all the significant areas of my life. I hesitate to say that everything's under control again lest I curse myself, but it does indeed seem so. Yay for that. Moving on...
There's not really much to report other than the stuff I don't want to, so I thought I'd provide some pictures instead. Most of them are from work, but those are often the best, so here ya go...
I love fall!!
This is Bubbles the pug recovering from anesthesia.
This is Sammie the pug/beagle mix whose family loves her enough to buy her shades.
This is Dr. Dave with Sarah's Norwich Terrier puppies. The one on the right is so friggin cute he doesn't even look real!
