I’m Not Dead

I was truly amazed by this.

 

You know…in case you were wondering…or something….::runs away crying::

After a week of hold-ups ruined our original settlement date, Joe and I finally signed our lives away for the next 30 years as the proud owners of a beautiful new home! We finalized everything on the eve of Thanksgiving, and spent most of that night and Thanksgiving day moving our crap in. We still have a few odds and ends to collect. We even have a kitty already! Pictures and videos to come. I plan on being a crazy cat lady. (Not really…) But I’ve already taken a disturbing amount of pictures of her lounging.

And so I come to you from the Tree House Coffee Shop, a cute little place close to our home, where they have veggie sausage and put hearts in their lattes. They also have a crappy internet connection (or my Netbook is slowly dying), which proves my love to you since it has taken me half an hour just to get this far in my post. But – they have an internet connection. I’ve been missing only half because I’ve been unpacking and walking around pantless (just because I can); the other half is because no one can get to our house to give us cable and internet until Tuesday! I tried stealing the neighbors’ internet but everyone seems to keep a secured connection around here. Silly neighbors.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We still managed to cook a turkey, and ate it surrounded by boxes. I am thankful.

So in the last week I and/or Joe have, in our new home:

• Cooked a turkey (Okay, that was him. I supervised while drinking wine.)
• Drank a disgusting amount of beer. (There is nothing but Sam Adams bottles in the recycling bin…)
• Started the Insanity workout (that was me)…and I think a few bones may be on the verge of brokenness.
• Successfully cooked dinner and served it by candlelight. (Proudly, that was me)
• Effed up the first attempt at making pumpkin pancakes. (Me…)
• Had boy time in his fancy new garage (Joe, obviously).
• Scrubbed the house from top to bottom (both of us!).
• Ordered a pizza and drank more beer (both again).
• Rearranged the living room 80 times (him).
• Inherited lots and lots of furniture (us!).
• (We) kissed and hugged in our kitchen. ❤
• (We) cuddled in bed with our new kitty. (It’s been a while since Joe has been around cats, but he was always allergic. So far, so good. Fingers and toes and eyes crossed.)
• (We) were rear-ended (that’s what she said) on our way home from Home Depot. The moron will be paying. Everyone is fine, thank goodness.
• (I) have never been more excited to purchase a trash can and dish rags.
• (We) have missed an episode of The Walking Dead. I am deeply saddened.

• (We) have never been happier.

 

I’ll be checking in with everyone as soon as we have our own internet. This turtle-like connection has gotten to me.

Happy Friday, everyone! And happy last day of November!

 

 

 

Pass the stuffing, not the pocket knife; what I’m thankful for; NaNoWriMo continued.

“Real life” has gotten in the way of my blogging for a few days – you know, having to pay bills and all that junk – but now I’m back and ready to write.

Joe and I spent a few days in the mountains “winterizing” the house, which consisted of covering the pond, raking leaves, pouring antifreeze in the toilet to avoid it from smashing into a thousand pieces in case things freeze up there…

I raked some leaves then hid inside under a blanket, furiously NaNoWriMo-ing on the mountaintop. The lack of cable television and an internet connection proved to be the perfect environment for getting a lot of writing done. I’ve fallen a little behind in my target word count, but there’s still time to catch up, which I intend to do. But whatever happens, I am up to over 70 pages added to my novel! I’m pretty okay with that.

Tomorrow, as we all know, is the day of giving thanks. Lots of people talk about their whacky family traditions, but as far as the actual holiday is concerned, we watch the Macy’s Parade and eat all the usual fixings. The most exciting part about the food – while it is all absolutely delicious – may be my mother’s roasted asparagus smothered in Parmesan cheese. Mmm.

Now when it comes to my actual family…that’s another story. Don’t get me wrong, I love them all. Each and every odd member (myself included here). I love Aunt Elane and her endless jello shots. I love Cousin Joe and the rainbow pocket knife he stabbed me with last year. I even love when my grandfather tries to check Uncle Tony’s Blood Sugar level, and has three people holding him down so he can poke his finger with the tiny needle.

Oh, the joy of the holidays are upon us.

And so this brings me to what I am thankful for, today, tomorrow, and all year round.

1.) My wonderful boyfriend, Joe (AKA Charlie…the origin of my family’s strange nicknames are reserved for another post). He is my heart, my best friend, my….alright, enough of the mushy stuff. He treats me better than I deserve, and I am grateful every day for him.

2.) My parents. I think I’ve made it to a point in my life where I can say I’m an intelligent, responsible young woman. And I guess I should give them credit for it. (Mother will be reading this.) I have the coolest dad around (a girlfriend of mine in high school nicknamed him “Slick”, because he always kept his

The 2 coolest dudes around: my grandather & my father.

shades on, even inside). He’s little, Italian, wears a gold chain around his neck, and can break someone’s face with his fist. My mother is Irish and Polish (and I have her skin, hence my fear of the sun), and the Irish in her comes out very easily. She is a fierce Mama Bear, and I’m pretty sure I’d choose both of them to fight my battles for me. (I break easily.)

3.) Vanilla Soy Chai from Starbucks. I am one of millions who help keep the place in business. And I refuse to calculate how much money per week I spend in that place.

4.) Red, red wine. Smoking Loon Merlot, Carlo Rossi Paisano, Cupcake Shiraz…I love it all. Especially when paired with fresh mozzarella and a good movie.

5.) My closest friends, of course. And the rest of my wonderful, crazy family. They are the ones who hold us together, who keep us sane (and sometimes drive us nuts).

6.) Urban Decay 24/7  eyeliner.

7.) Red lipstick.

8.) Boots.

9.) Scarves.

10.) Pumpkin scented candles.

11.) Sarah McLachlan.

12.) Wawa Gobblers.

13.) Fall.

14.) Horror films.

15.) Flea markets.

16.) Good beer.

17.) Honey mustard.

18.) Garlic.

19.) Filet Mignon.

20.) Hairspray.

Got a little materialistic towards the end…but hey, sometimes it’s those little things that make us smile.

What are you thankful for this year?

Everyone have a safe and happy holiday.

I leave you with one of my favorite tunes by The Cranberries; I thought it was appropriate since tomorrow is Thanksgiving and all.