Grappling

I went to a funeral on Sunday. The funeral was for a boy that I went to high school with. He was a boy that I'd had a crush on for most of my adolescence. The thought that he is no longer wandering around this town, or this world, just outside of my periphery, is still incomprehensible to me. Eight years have gone by since I saw him daily, and yet the thought of his permanent absence knocked my heart out of its place. The confident, charming person he was in my mind, and the unhappy man he must have been in his reality...the two people don't coincide in my brain. How can perceptions sometime be so off kilter with reality? The loss of him makes me sad for myself, but more sad for his family, for his wife, and for his many friends. I do believe that his mother was right - she wrote in the note that they read at his funeral - that he touched more hearts and more people in this life than he ever realized. I hope he's found some peace, and that it finds the others missing him now.

I Love the Weekend.

I am so tired this morning. I don't know why. I slept like a rock last night. I woke up in a panic because Tony wasn't there. He's been getting up and sleeping on the couch, because he has this heinous cough that's keeping us both up. So I thought that he had done that, but when I look at the clock I see that it's 7 a.m. and he's actually just in the shower. But I never heard him get up.
When I finally ripped myself out of bed, my eyes were still only partially open. It took a half an hour to feel awake, and I wouldn't say that I'm there yet.
I think it could be the overindulgence in the drinks lately. I haven't exercised all week. I'm feeling like a fatty. A tired one. Good thing the weekend is coming, and I get to start over again next week. Oh yeah, and sleep.

Um...so...

I have ten baby cucumbers! Yeah. Ten! I counted them last night.

Cheesy Pick-up Lines

Are actually my favorite kind. I don't think I'm well-versed enough in the ways of the world to spot a really smooth move, should it have ever been laid upon me. So I'd always be willing to give a guy some credit for even trying these lame 2-liners. Something today brought up my all-time favorites. In descending order...
#1. Guy: You've got great hair.
Girl: (Smiles gratefully) Thanks!
Guy: It would look even better in my lap.
Surprisingly, no one at work had heard this before! And it's been my favorite since I was like 17.

#2. Guy: Are you tired?
Girl: Um...no, why?
Guy: From running through my mind all day.
(This one is particularly funny to me, because this is typically the first time that guy has ever seen girl).

#3. Guy: Are you from Tennessee?
Girl: Actually, yeah I am. Why?
Guy: 'Cause you're the only 10 I see.
(I used to get this one a lot when I was at school in Michigan. I'd always get excited like it was my sweet accent that they were recognizing. Not so much. It usually came from people who already knew that's where I was from anyway.).

#4. Guy: Those are nice jeans.
Girl: Thanks.
Guy: They'd look even better in a ball on my floor.

#5. Guy: Did it hurt?
Girl: Did what hurt?
Guy: You know, when you fell from heaven. Did it hurt?

Oh, my. These are so hilarious to me. I think in my single days, I'd have hooked up with a guy just for being goofy enough to try one out on me. Assuming that he was saying it ironically, of course. Anyway, ladies...I've thrown open the gauntlet (to quote Good Will Hunting...um, and some other guy, I think), I know you've got some. Share and share alike.

I've Got a Cuke!

It looks like a gherkin, but there it is.

My garden consists of three pots. The camera died before I got a shot of the cherry tomato plant. See how my cucumber plant is trying to take over the world? By strangling the tomatoes?

Ponderous

Well, it's been kind of a boring weekend. We went to an 80's party on Friday night, which was fun. Tony and I definitely had the best costumes of all the attendees. It should be noted that only our table and about two others even knew about the theme. But the bartenders appreciated our efforts.

Other than that it's been let's lay around and talk about whether or not we should get a new dog. Tony wants one. I want one, just not in our apartment. But then I think, wouldn't it be better to have the puppy mostly trained and ready once we're in our own house, as opposed to starting it all when we're not in a rental property? We pretty much decided that we are both too indecisive about it, and that that is a sign that we aren't ready for dog #2. I did get excited about the prospect of a puppy galumphing about though.

It's time to kick in the overtime. The summer is always harder for me to focus at work. I find myself gazing out the window at the sun and dreaming of the sweet tan that I could be working on by my pool. I find myself craving half days and days off for no reason other than to not be at work.

But. My brother is coming to visit soon, and I'll need extra cash for while he's here, so I need to start padding those paychecks a little. Tony and I also want to move out of this apartment and hopefully into a house when our lease is up here, that means that I need to start paying down some debt and trying to make a little savings nest. That means I need to make more money. That means I need to work overtime. Or get a second job. I think at least until the summer is over, I'll focus on overtime.

Blegh. I'm not feeling it, but sometimes it's necessary. I've also been a little less than stellar at work lately, so I guess it's time to get back to my previous self in that respect as well.

Change Is Hard. I Should Know.

It's time for a change. Something...I don't know what or how, but I am in an intellectual rut. I am coasting. I need to make a change. I need a challenge. I need to feel like I'm doing more than I am now.

Endorsements

I have about a bazillion of these Old Navy Women's Long Rib Knit Tanks. I kind of love them. If your mind still works in the land of Crayola markers, they come in both Bold and Classic colors. They have also been revamping the colors each season (I started buying them at Christmas). They are cheap and wash well. I just thought you should know.
Last night we went to see Wanted. It was pretty good as far as action flicks go. Quite funny, and I liked the plot. It got a little weirdly gruesome in some parts.
We also saw Walle last week, and it was amazing. They went way beyond the whole computer animated-child oriented thing this time. It was aesthetically beautiful, and because the main characters don't really speak, a lot of the humor was visual - in gestures and facial expressions and situations. There was also a great moral, a moving love story. See it. Really.
That's all I've got for now. I feel like I should do a weekend update, 'cause we lived a full life this weekend, but I don't have the energy or time. So, this is all you get.

What a Weekend

Wow. I spent a lot of money this weekend. You wouldn't expect pasta salad and hot chicken fests to cost so much, but they sort of add up. It was a good one though. We really packed a lot in. We drank a bit too. Some nights maybe a little too much. But it was really fun.
Being the awesome place that they are, my employers gave us a half day on Thursday. I hit up the Y with my lady friend, the Brit, and then we headed to my pool for a few hours of sun before going over the the Mullet's to help her with her pre-bbq chopping and mixing. I made a delicious pasta salad and had some wine, but made it home fairly early and in bed by 10. Boyfriend came home from Happy Hour a little later.
I kept wondering why he wasn't super psyched about the Hot Chicken Fest as we were getting ready to go on Friday. Finally I realized that he was hungover. We then proceeded to wait in line (2, actually - one to order, one to pick up) for Prince's Hot Chicken. The chicken was hot, the day was hot, but I think it was worth it. It took us about an hour, but we emerged victorious with two baskets of chicken. The mouse was totally awesome and grabbed me some fish from Bolton's, and it was delicious. Then we made our way to the Mullet's for a "mixed" bbq. It was her first time mixing different crowds, and I think it went off without a hitch. The food was effing amazing. All that chopping from the night before really paid off. There were barbecued riblets and chicken legs. There were spiced and herbed shish-kebabs of veggies (bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini) and tofu. There was a delicious pasta salad prepared by yours truly. A mint fruit salad and deviled eggs rounded out the table. I think there was more, but I've tried to block out how much I ate. In addition, there was plenty of beer and my new favorite, bellinis. Yum.
We were supposed to go watch the fireworks after this, but Tony and I lamed out and went home. We got Dairy Queen (yes, like I needed more food), and we watched the fireworks on TV, which I'd been bashing the entire week when I saw the commercials. The good thing was that you could hear the orchestra. That is all.
Saturday morning we got up fresh and ready for life. We went to the mouse's to help her move into her new place. It was surprisingly speedy, as she had lots of strapping men (I'm totally including my boyfriend in this one) to help. She paid us in pizza and beer. An 18 pack of Miller Lite is nothing to complain about for a few hours of manual labor.
We headed home and got ready for the Poets & Pirates tour (Gary Allan, Lee Ann Rimes, Sammy Hagar (I know, right), Keith Urban, and Kenny Chesney). We totally brought the almost case of beer with us and drank in the car, just the two of us. It was actually really fun. We hit up the concert at the end of Hagar's set, and boogied our booties off to the man, Keith Uuuur-ban. We left a little early to hit up a party, by which time I was starving. I made friends with the dog and cat of the house, raided the fridge, and made the host promise to take me to the movies on Monday. I forgot some of the night.
Sunday I nursed a little hangover at the pool with some poolside reading and intermittent dips. We rented movies and got junk food. And rounded out our full, full weekend with two cheesy movies, The Bucket List and Definitely, Maybe, both of which exceeded expectations.
How's that for packin' it all in?

Return

So Michigan was good. I think I'd have enjoyed myself a little more if there weren't other people visiting for the pig roast, and if we'd had more time to chill out with the family (as opposed to preparing for the party day and entertaining guests). My dog had an awesome time galloping through the fields. I got to see my brother, who is finally as tall as me. And my mom was actually around this time. Tony and I re-lived our golden love days for a few hours in East Lansing. My dad gave me some strawberries from his garden. They were amazing. They're going on my list for next year's garden. I hope that we'll be in a house by then so that we can have a real garden. And a compost heap.
I'm kind of on comedown. I don't really know how to describe it, so I won't try.
I gave blood today, so I ate a shit-ton of food and don't have to feel guilty about not working out. Yum, oatmeal creme pies.
My cucumbers have their first flowers. Now I need some bees to get to pollinatin' so that I can get some cukes. I was pretty excited to see that they had gotten huge while we were gone. I came home to tendrils for grasping the trellis and yellow flowers and leaves bigger than my hand. I guess Mother Nature doesn't need me to water my plants after all.