fantasy football leaguers all around the country just let out a collective scream...

My sister is going to be pissed!!!

Oh, Captain America-- how will I know who to rank first in the "Cutest Quarterback" football pool?

Seriously though... ouch!!

beautiful bride, fun parties 2

Another month, another wedding. I'm feeling sad there is only one wedding left in 08 :-(

Joe's sister married the nicest guy this weekend. Now they are off to Tennessee for a honeymoon and Joe's sadness about our "delayed honeymoon" grows ever deeper. Got to know my sister-in-law much better, which was great as she is pretty shy. Wait! I know what will make her feel less shy! I'll post pictures of her on the interwebnets!

The bride and groom share their first dance:



Their cat takes advantage of my carelessness w/ my bridesmaid dress:

grandma

94 years old

seriously, this is why i don't bake.

Joe and I split the first piece of the cinnamon-raisin bread I whipped up in the new bread machine. I ate the REST OF THE LOAF.

In other much sadder news, I'm flying to Cedar Rapids, IA (yes, that Cedar Rapids) on Sunday for a family emergency involving my 94 year old grandmother, Mable Valentine. She lives in the northeast corner of IA, in a small town called Sumner. I can't remember if there is a stoplight in the town.

merry and happy and all that, belatedly.

We spent the last week back in Virginia, where we told the same stories to various groups of friends. At one point Joe said "Are you really going to tell that story again?" I had to explain just how this works-- that I was, in fact, going to tell the same story again. It was new to THAT group of friends, tho he had heard it twice the day before.

We stayed a week which, as it turns out, is a little long to stay with one's parents. Or, more accurately, one's in-laws. I just want to go home, Joe kept saying. As I just moved out of their house in September, I was ok. It was so nice to see some of the old kids again, including Mike, Stephanie, and Frances (picture from 06); The Widow and The Choice; The Aw-zee and his GW; My Lovely Nora and Eddie; HotCop and Mr. HotCop (P-har); and my good friend Michelle.

But we missed so many people, too. I blame the fact that I went to the office on Friday. Never doing that again, unless the company pays to fly me across the country. It turned out to be impossible to cram in time with all our friends, even as Joe was ready to escape my parents.

If we missed you, I'm sorry. We'll see you next time. And, for those of you we did see, I'm sorry we didn't have enough time together. Come visit!!

sister was in town this weekend.

Click thru if you dare...

a different sort of trip.

Dear Reader,

Here is a conversation that transpired between me and my sister on the way from Grandma's house to the airport on Monday.


Me: Ooh, let's go see the biggest skillet.

Anna [pronounced On-uh, lest you hear it in your head incorrectly]: Hmm, I'm not sure how far it is off the highway.

Me: Look, it's in Brandon, the dot is right there next to the highway. [pointing to the actual map as opposed to the hand-drawn map my father provided to Grandma's house. We had to turn around 3 times]

Anna: Well, maybe. We'll see if we see any signs to The World's Biggest Skillet.

Me: I did, I saw a hand-painted sign to Brandon. And it's just Iowa's Biggest Skillet, not the world's.

Anna: Oh, well, then. Nevermind. It's not worth my time to see IOWA'S Biggest Skillet.


Hrmph.

Signed,
Lookin Forward to Seeing the World's Biggest Prairie Dog/Ball of Twine on the Drive out to CO

one step back, two steps forward.

As most of you know by now, I've moving back in with my parents. This move came at a time when I'm in a job that would likely keep me around for the next few years (barring anything unexpected), I'm making more money than I've ever made, and HotCop and I had really hit our stride as roommates. (She dealt with my shoes in the front hall, and I dealt with her dishes in the sink.) All my furniture and kitchen stuff is in boxes and shoved in their garage, I call it the Pile O Crap. Beatrice has a restricted area of the house to run around in.

However, this is all in preparation for a move to CO later this summer. You knew it would come so now you can stop asking me about it. In anticipation of your next question: This means that Joe and I are moving to the next step in our relationship: Living Together. No, there is no Ring involved right now. I'M FINE WITH THAT. Eventually, sure, for legal and child-rearing purposes we will likely get married. The hows, whens, and wheres are still TBD.

The truth is, since Joe moved to Colorado, our relationship has felt alternatively lonely and crowded. I keep telling myself that people have tried to predict the Next Move because they care about us--and that had it been one of my friends I would have tried the same predictions. I do have to wonder what our relationship looks like from the outside when people are saying everything from "he's moving to break up with her" and "he should have just proposed before he left." Really? Am I that scary that he needs to move across the country to get rid of me? Am I that old-fashioned that I need to have a Ring to pursue our relationship to the next level? We all hate it when people make predictions about our lives or ask the hard questions. Why do we continue to do it?

The truth is, when we were at the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert (not kidding. We were there with HotCop and P-Har), and he came back in (after he left to take a phone call, which irritated the heck out of me) and told me he got a job offer in Colorado, my first thought was Oh, no. He's going to move and we're going to break up. I've always said I could never be a sailor's wife. That the long distance thing would never work for me. But, I've also always tried to deal with things that come my way. To maintain my priorities. So we made it work. We both knew it wouldn't be forever, and didn't know how long "not forever" would be.

Turns out, it will be a total of about nine months. That is plenty of time. The only question I want to answer now is: When can we come visit?

the big 60.

Top Ten Things I Learned From My Mother

(in no particular order)

1. Everything is better with lemon: water, tea, steak, vegetables.
2. Old T-shirts make the best rags.
3. Crying in public is ok.
4. When you don't feel like crying in public, look up. That way the tears don't come out.
5. Sunday afternoons are for napping and watching football and most times both at the same time.
6. You can still love people even if their beliefs are the opposite of yours.
7. To call all sweeties "sweetie."
8. That it's ok not to know what you want to do with your life.
9. How to be a good friend.
10.How to be a great mother while still having your own life.

Happy Birthday, Mom.

aahhh...

That's aahhh like WHEW not AAAAAAHHHHH. Furniture's back in place, carpet has a new pad and has been steam cleaned and deodorized, but Beatrice still isn't sure what's going on. She met me at the door when I got home from work but quickly ran upstairs as I jumped up and down yelling YAAYAY YAY YAY!!

Lots of stuff going on this weekend-- off to get my (yellow) bridesmaid dress this morning for Sara's wedding (the one who broke her neck last year), my sisters are in town for my dad's Hurry and Celebrate Jim's Retirement Before He Starts His New Job on the 21st Party.

dad's day.

My dad and I get along really well. I think this is because I'm very similar to my mom, and, well, he likes my mom. 33 years of like.

My dad is the first person I call for advice about most things. The sink is clogged? Call Dad. Job offer? Call Dad. Crapass landlord calls to say we have to move out? Call Dad. Most of the time it's "Call Dad and cry."

My dad retired at the end of last month, and at his retirement ceremonies his favorite thing to say was "Paula followed me around for 30 years... now it's my turn."

My dad is a great son. He flies out to Iowa to pick up his mother and fly back to Virginia with her so she can spend time with us. He arranged it so there's always something on my grandpa's grave-- a flag for Memorial Day, a wreath for Christmas, flowers in the spring. He never told us he did that, Grandma happened to mention it when we were out to visit a couple years ago.

My dad is a patient brother. He will spend hours on the phone with his sister and help her with her husband, who's been incapacitated by too many years of drinking.

My dad is out of town today, so that's why I'm not spending Father's Day with him.

voting.

Did any other Virginian vote in the Democratic primary yesterday? You could've, you know, since it doesn't matter on which side of the line you fall.

I voted. I love to vote. If I'm still in VA in '08, I'll vote in the Republican primary for President. BECAUSE I CAN. Since The Big Move, I've switched precincts, back to where I was first registered, where my parents' still vote-- my elementary school. It's only the second time I've actually voted there the only other time was some local business. I remember my mom saying "Go vote, Daddy* will tell you who to vote for." In '00 I absenteed it from G-burg. If only I'd accidentally mailed it to Florida...

Voting is great!

*She's always called him Daddy to my sisters and me. Not "your dad" or "Jim." It could get confusing sometimes, because she would sometimes refer to my dad (Daddy) and her dad (Daddy) in the same conversation. Sheesh

texting with mom

Fr: Mom

Good morning we have yr travel coffee mug

To: Mom

Oh! Thanks! I have your Atlantic mag!

Fr: Mom

Hows yr last day going now i need to lrn punct lv ma

NOTE:

Mom doesn't know the gloried of the T9.

All I know is that if we go over the allocated text messages on our Family Plan this month it will NO LONGER BE MY FAULT!

trouble.

My mother has taught herself how to text message.

Brace yourselves for the deluge...

:-P

alot alike.

the princess dorks.

30

Today, Feb. 7th, is my sister's birthday.

Cristina and I are probably more alike in personality than Anna and I.

Sometimes, that's great. Sometimes, we can't decide who gets to do the bossing.

Anyway, happy birthday, sis.

mom says be careful.

Don't listen to you iPod too long or too loud.

UPDATE: Pete Townshend agrees.

my mom got me drunk.

Well, not quite but I did get really drunk at her house. By accident.

Thank goodness Joe was there to drive me home. I don't know how it happened. I stood up and suddenly I was wasted. Just blasted. I blame the wine.

Some bits:

HotCop: "I'm mad you didn't bring any food home."
Me: "I was too drunk to pack up food!"

Which was true, I had to get out the door before any of my parents' friends (and church members) realized I could barely walk across the room.

Mom: "I didn't keep an eye on her! I thought people her age could monitor themselves!"

She said this to HotCop at church on Sunday, because I was far too hungover to make it out of bed. Too hungover, even, to walk upstairs and ask my roommate if she would teach Sunday School for me. I called her cell phone from the house phone.

HotCop gave me a breathalyzer. I blew a 0.178, more than twice the legal limit here in the Commonwealth. Whew. HotCop loooves to give her drunk friends breathalyzers, it's like a game for her. She and her friend Wiz (who pulled me over once, but that is another story) experimented to see how alcohol affects men and women differently. Drink a beer, take the test. I want her to marry Wiz, but it's too late, he's already married. :-(

I told my mom about the breathalyzer. She speculated that maybe next year they should just have one on hand to test people as they leave.

Mom: "There was a lot of alcohol consumed. I kept making trips to the recycling bin and thinking 'What must the recycling people think?'"

Anyway, I started feeling reasonably well enough to go pick up my car about 7:30 last night. Made it over to Mom & Dad's house fine. Then I yakked up all the rice HotCop had made me. I broke down on the way home and got my cure. McDonald's #2, no onions with a Coke.

Except it's no longer #2. I had to ask the drive-thru lady if they still have the 2-cheeseburger meal. They did, whew. Cured. Well, mostly.

Tonight, I'm due to have drinks with Sara (of the literal broken neck). I think I'll have water.

GE Time.

Had a little Grandma-Erika time last night.

On Fashion:
Grandma: I'm going to get a new black suit.
Me: Black goes with everything.
Grandma: Yes, and you can spark it up with a bright top.

(It's genetic!)

On Rudolph:
Me: It's the Rudolph movie!
Grandma: That little guy is cute!

On Veronica Mars:
Grandma: Never heard of it.