April 26, 2007
Category: NikkiZ |
Making herself at home
I took NikkiZ to a birthday party this weekend, and the first thing she did after warming up to the crowd, was start rearranging the chairs around the kids’ table. It occurred to me as I was editing the pictures from the party - that she does this ALL THE TIME. I went and tagged some of the photographic evidence of this habit of hers to show how compulsive she is about it. If we go play in the front yard, she has to FIRST bring her chairs out there. We stopped helping her because she’s so determined she’ll do it herself and it’s adorable. When we’re inside, she’s moving her various chairs around the living room. It’s not like she does it because she wants them in a certain place - because she’ll move them no matter where they are. I think she just likes moving shit around.
And heaven forbid if any of the animals happens to be sitting in the chair she wants to move. She’ll push on them and say, “Moooooo…” until they get up. (She’s not a cow, she just likes to leave off all ending consonants on her words.) The cats ignore her which frustrates her to no end, the dogs will hop up immediately and find someplace else to sit. It’s obvious who is king of the jungle in our house.
Maybe she is already showing an interest in feng shui? Do we have too many things favoring the Fire element and she’s trying to balance us for better harmony? Or is she simply type A and feels better having things arranged her way? I hope it’s the first because we already have two type As in the house, we don’t need anymore.
April 25, 2007
Category: Domestic Me |
Soon after MrZ and I started dating, he decided he’d buy us a washer and dryer since together we were spending quite a chunk o’ change at the laundromat every weekend. We went to Sears and walked in with one intention: Buy The Cheapest. Keep in mind - we were quite young - and even younger looking. We found the cheapest washing machine and the cheapest dryer. They did not match and were not even the same brand. They were simply the cheapest. And that was what we wanted. We grabbed a salesperson and said, “We want these.”
He proceeded then to try to convince us that we needed to buy a matching set. Like, somehow clothes washed in a Maytag could not EVER be dried in a Kenmore. Or some such nonsense. It was almost as though he pitied us. Like, poor kids, don’t know any better. I’ll share my wisdom with them.
Of course we were poor, yes, but stupid, no. We knew we just wanted the cheapest thing they had and we were fairly certain we didn’t need the damn things to match. We finally convinced him to sell them to us. This was in 2000. We are still using the same set today. We’ve not had one problem out of either of them, much less any problems with the fact that they don’t match. Not only does one brand dry the clothes of the other - but no one has even looked at us funny when they see our laundry room! No one scoffs at our mismatched washer and dryer! Or at least, not to our faces…
(Anyone want to place bets on one of them dying now that I wrote an entry about how they both still work?)
April 25, 2007
Category: Domestic Me, Homeowners |
MrZ has always wanted to make sure we buy all new appliances in the kitchen before we sell the house at the 5-year mark. I’ve always insisted that if he wants to do that, let’s do it a few years before that mark so I can enjoy new appliances for awhile. Our fridge (a whopping 15 cubic feet) is old and on it’s last leg. The stove and dishwasher are not new, but were still in good shape. MrZ decided last week that it was time. Time to make the jump.
And what happened no less than 3 days after he made that decision? The in-good-shape dishwasher died. AWESOME.
We went last weekend to shop around. I did this kicking and screaming the entire time. I have no interest in being part of this process. I have learned that shopping for things for the home with my husband is a bad idea. We usually disagree and most of the time go with his choice. This always angers me because I feel short-changed. BUT - it is always the way we should go because the few times we’ve gone with my choice, I end up hating it later. This makes me even angrier. I suck at interior design type things.
But I went because he insisted. And it was not fun. The spot our fridge is in is very restrictive in terms of size. This means the pickings are slim. We either go the exact same size as the one we have now (SO SMALL) or we go bigger, but we pay more because we have to get the weird dimension one. The only ones we saw at one appliance store that would fit AND give us more space were over $1500. THAT’S A LOT OF MONEY. And let me tell you - they were WAAAAY fancier than we need or deserve. The one that MrZ was looking at had a wine rack. A WINE RACK. My boxed wine will not fit there.
I told MrZ I did not want to get that one because I was afraid it would judge us. The fridge would be all, “12 different frozen casseroles? REALLY? You buy me to hold your pre-made frozen dinners? And do you really need 3 cases of diet coke?”
I don’t know. We need to at least get the dishwasher because the whole washing dishes by hand thing SUCKS. But we want to decide on the fridge first because the other two will be easy: THE CHEAPEST. It’s making me crazy. They say that the two things that will break a marriage is (1) Tragedy and (2) Home buying. I think that #3 has to be SHOPPING FOR NEW APPLIANCES. It may not hurt our marriage, but I think if we have to do it any longer, I may need medicating.
April 24, 2007
Category: Operation Marathon |
I have a condition that is afflicting me right now - I’m calling it “Marathon Brain.” I can think of nothing else but the marathon. I’m constantly doing math in my head, “This time…4 days from now…I’ll be halfway through my first marathon.” I’m researching routes to get around the course without driving. This is for my family, of course, I kinda have to stay on the actual course for some strange reason. Which is silly because I found a route from the Start Line to the Finish Line that is only 3.2 miles! That’s waaaay shorter than 26.2 - why are we taking the long way again?
Every time someone talks to me, my mind immediately processes how what they are saying affects my marathon. You need some breakfast? Really? Well - what should I eat for breakfast on Saturday? You can’t find your shorts? Well - you better find them before Saturday because I’ll be too busy to look for them.
Of course, I’m also wondering how anybody else can think about anything besides my marathon. Things pop up at work that need my attention and I keep wondering why the emails requesting my help don’t say something like, “Oh - and good luck on Saturday!” How is it that other people are able to think about things other than my marathon because I CAN NOT. MrZ has this golf tournament on Friday and he thinks we should take separate cars so he can come to Nashville afterwards. I was all, “NO! We have to ride together!” and I was thinking the entire time, “How can anything else matter but what I want, dammit. I’m running a damn MARATHON ON SATURDAY!”
Self-absorbed much?
But seriously. I’m examining maps and guidelines and pointers and tips. I’m obsessing over the weather (70% chance of storms: THANK YOU MOTHER NATURE.) and what I’ll carry on the course (cell phone? In case I get lost? camera? In case I want to document my pain?) and I’ve printed up the results from last year to try to see how many people will finish behind me this year. (One person. And she’s 82.) It’s a disease and the only cure is to run the damn marathon on Saturday.
So - if I see you anytime between now and Saturday? I apologize if I seem either (a) distracted or (b) insane. Hopefully I’ll be back to normal by this time next week.
