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At Home March 23, 2009

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Something that Jim and I decided when we decided that I would move in with him was that we would finally finish up the decorating and rennovating of the townhouse.  I needed to make it feel like it was my place as well as his, and he never had really put much energy into making it a home for himself either.  We’ve furniture shopped together over the past few weekends (looking for a grownup dining room table), and I am happy to report that our styles are mostly similar.  (We’re pretty boring, except when we’re not.)  We’ve also visited Lowes so many times that we actually know where to find things (it seems like it would be easy, but some things are a bit elusive at times, like waterproofing tape.)

Friday I was able to get out of work early (finished taxes! I think…) and painted the kitchen at the townhouse.  It’s an amazing shade of yellow that actually seems to compliment both my red applinaces and his harvest gold fridge and stove (in the future it would also compliment a nice white stove and fridge).  It’s retro-y, cartoon-y, and wonderful– I am very much going to enjoy making cupcakes in my new kitchen.  I also spent some of Friday night finishing up things in the guest bathroom.  Two rooms down!  (Living/ Dining, master suite, and guest bedroom left to go/ finish.)

Saturday we moved my clothing and the rest of the stuff for the kitchen over, we also moved over our most valued “possession”– the cat.  She refused to get into her carrier, and I couldn’t find it in my heart to force it, so I held her tightly (as she yoweled and shivered in fear– she does not like the car) while Jim drove very slowly home.  I was so scared that she’d be petrified and spend the entire weekend hiding under the bed, or that she would act up and pee on something.  Of COURSE she was perfect about the whole thing.  She loves running up and down the stairs, and seems to like that she has a whole bathroom all to herself (just about).  The princess cat finally has her castle.  At the apartment when I would get home she would always be there to greet me anxiously as soon as the door opened.  The times that we’ve gone on an errand this weekend I would get home (myself anxious that she’d somehow dart out the door), and she would be upstairs lounging on the bed– not a care in the world.

Yesterday we picked up a dresser from my mom’s house and finished organizing the closets, finally having a real home for my clothing (and finally having all of my clothing over there).  After my shower this morning I didn’t have to dig through a bag to try to find a pair of pants, or a matching sock.  Instead I just was able to open my drawers like I do at home and get dressed normally, and then I realized– I am at home.  I love that my home is one that I get to share with the man that I love.

Love love love, love is all you need.

And apparently to change all the outlets and light switches out so they match the trim, that is seems to be something only a man would be concerned about.

Edit March 10, 2009

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I did want to say that I don’t mean to imply in my last post that any figure flaw, financial woe, or other life problem that people have should be solved already.   I realize that there are conditions (medical, social) that keep people from meeting those goals easily (or at all).  It’s more the phrase “I would do anything to..” that was annoying me– mostly because I would catch myself using it in my mind.  I would think to myself “I would do anything to lose this last little bit of jiggle in my thigh” and then have to respond to myself with “really? ANYTHING?  Why don’t you just do more squats?  Better yet, just take a hacksaw to it.”  Obviously I wouldn’t do ANYTHING, which is fine.  My priorities turn out to be sane (and not hacksaw wielding) in reality, I just wish my (and other people’s) speech reflected that better.

Annoyances March 9, 2009

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Lately two phrases have been irritating me more than usual.  The first is “I would do anything to…” used often by women at the gym in such sentances: “I would do anything to lose this last 5 pounds”, “I would do anything to firm up my arms”, “I would do anything to make my thighs jiggle less”.  However, this phrase isn’t limited only to the gym (or women) “I would do anything to be able to go on a trip” and “I would do anything to be able to save money” are also commonly heard.  The part of the phrase that annoys me is that if you would do ANYTHING why don’t you workout more, diet, save money/ spend less, whatever it is that you would need to do to get your goal accomplished?  (Yes, I know, some goals like upper arm flab seem unobtainable– what about saving for plastic surgery then?  If you would do ANYTHING?)

Often when you hear “I would do anything to…” the mind leaps to crazy scenarios involving kidnappings or grocery shopping naked, the only problem with that is that showing the produce section your peach/ banana isn’t going to help tone your arms magically.  The “anything” you usually need to do is pretty common sense, hard work and dedication.

Annoyance doesn’t apply when this phrase is used for more impossible seeming feats: “I would do anything to be able to teleport myself from one location to another”, “I would do anything to be able to run a 3 minute mile”, and “I would do anything to be ruler of the known universe” are all totally appropriate.

The other phrase that annoys me is any variation on “there’s nothing I hate more than…”, such as “there’s nothing I hate more than raisins in a cookie”.  Really?  What about genocide?  You hate that less than an oatmeal raisin cookie?  Sick bastard.

Are there running dorks? February 19, 2009

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I know there’s music dorks, theater dorks, band dorks, and many more (you can replace “dork” with “geek” if it makes you more comfortable, I prefer dork since I’m pretty dorky).  I’ve been known to be a dork a time or two in my life, sometimes I even am a food dork.  But a running dork?

Last night Jim gave me my late Valentine’s present (I’m assuming the postal service is to blame for its lateness).  I got a Forerunner!  I’m very excited about this, now I won’t wonder how much farthur I’ve run due to my getting lost all the time.  (Though, unfortunately, it won’t help me not get lost.)

I guess I’m a running dork now.

Word Association Followup February 18, 2009

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The other words I was given are:

Jumping: Jacks!  I HATE doing jumping jacks when I take boxing class.  Usually I run straight from work there and don’t have time to hit the bathroom, which is all fine until the jacks– then I suddenly have to pee.

Cages or Wings: Is this a common phrase?  Makes me think of birds, but they have wings even when in a cage.  And then I’m thinking of a “lead role in a cage” and who wouldn’t trade a walk on part in a war for such?  War is dangerous Mr. Floyd.

serendipity: I love John Cusack, I want to have his babies. I also really want to try frozen hot chocolate, how is that different from a milkshake?

plastic surgery: is alright as long as it’s done for reasonable reasons, I guess.

cookies (cause I want some cookies right now): “C” is for cookie! That’s good enough for me! “C” is for cookie! That’s good enough for me! “C” is for cookie! That’s good enough for me! Cookie, cookie, cookie starts with “C”!  There are a lot of other things that start with “C” too, but none of them are as good as cookies!

Words for you:  zygote, zymurgy, zigaurat, tesseract, and tuna fish (I got letter-stuck, sorry! That’s my own word association at work again.)

Hopeless Romantic February 17, 2009

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Last weekend was Valentine’s Day and for once I was actually on top of things.  Usually I spend a week or two fretting about the right present (because that’s what I do– fret), and then give up and buy Jimmy some beer.  Instead, I just cut to the chase this year and picked up a six pack (Big Boss’s Hell’s Belle, for those of you that care).

I ALSO ordered our favorite pizza and got some film noir detective movies from Netflix, now that’s romance Recession Style!  (I also got him the soundtrack for Evil Dead: The Musical, which is AWESOME.)

We spent the first part of the morning delivering cupcakes (photos to come eventually).  I made red velvet/ cinnamon and strawberry shortcake because they matched the holiday’s colors, and chocolate chip cookie dough because it’s awesome.  After spending Saturday afternoon dropping cupcakes off with some of my favorite people and places (the tattoo parlor down the street has been added to the tour, as has our favorite used bookstore) we headed back to Jim’s for an evening of romantic cheese making.

I’m not sure what problem Erin had with her cheesemaking (perhaps you needed to let it set longer? I think we set ours 10 minutes instead of 5), but our Love Cheese (because it was Valentine’s Day) turned out awesome.  I sliced up the fresh mozarella and served it with tomato slices and basil (and the best pizza we know).

All in all, a very laid back but super sweet and lovely Valentine’s Day.

Word Association February 11, 2009

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From

What I’d love is if you leave me about 5 random words/phrases/events/actions, etc., in the comments. I’ll answer with what I associate these things with. If you do it, I will return the favor by leaving YOU 5 random things to do the same thing with on your blog, if you want to do it.

I’ll post a followup post with any words commented to me and assign new words right back at you.

To get the ball rolling here are the words that Fraulein assigned me:

ancient: for some reason takes me to old paper, and then the word papyrus, and THEN to Papyrus which is an awesome stationary store.  I love stationary and wish I had more reason to write letters these days.

lugubrious: I love this word, and I don’t know why.  It was on a vocabulary quiz one week in Ms. Thornhill’s class and I randomly assigned it to be my favorite word.  I still get a thrill when I see it used in writing.  I guess I’m just emo.

kiss the bride: Did I see a movie with this title? No. That’s the Princess Bride I keep thinking of.  I love that movie, maybe I’ll watch it again tonight.  Andre the giant is awesome, especially in the “I am the Dream Pirate Roberts” scene… prepare to DDIIIIEEEE.  Where was I?  Kiss the bride? eh.  Moving on.

paper or plastic: I feel so guilty asking the bagger to change to paper, because they act like it’s a true hassle for them.  So I take my plastic bags at home and stow them away in a closet, some day to be engulfed by them.  At least I use a few for trash can liners, and Jim uses them to carry his lunch.  I’m killing the Earth and I hate myself! But I can’t stop or I’ll feel bad for the baggers!  Damnit, why did they have to send me to Catholic school?

holiday: Celebrate! Holiday! Celebrate! If we took a holiday, holiday! Took some time to celebrate, celebrate! Just one day out of life.  It would be, it would be so nice!

Blog Post For February February 4, 2009

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I’m thinking at this rate getting in one post a month is pretty decent for me.

I’ve been crazy swamped at work lately, so haven’t had much time for anything– even sitting down and posting here.  Right now I’ve got about 15 minutes before I have to get dressed and found some wireless of the neighbors– thank you neighbors.

The only things that I MAKE myself make time for these days is running, yoga, and pilates.  And my friends, to the extent that they’re free (it seems to be a busy time for everyone).  Last night as I was doing the end of class meditation in yoga I was having trouble getting my mind to relax so I went to my happy place– cupcakes.  I’ve thought of a few cupcakes that I didn’t get around to making last year, a few new ideas, and some old favorites that need redoing.  Here’s my goal, to make at least two types of cupcakes every month: to reinstate the Cupcake Happiness Tours.  They died somewhat during wedding season and the holidays (though there were a few unphotographed ones here and there), and that makes me sad.  I have some awesome ideas for Valentine’s day cupcakes, so if you’ll be in the Raleigh area on Valentine’s day (or even the Sunday after) let me know and I’ll try to get some to you.

As far as my running is going it’s pretty great.  Right now I’m taking my long runs for 6 miles at a 10 min/ mile pace, which is slower than I’d like (I’m hoping to hold a steady 9 min/ mile pace on my long runs in the future), but I’m still building a good foundation.  The Las Vegas Marathon opened registration earlier in the month (or late last month I guess) and I’m very excited.  If I can run 6 miles now I can DEFINATELY run 26 at the end of the year, I can feel it in me.  Almost as exciting is the Virginia Beach Half Marathon in September, which I am thinking about signing up for (if the other person who hasn’t fully committed to doing it decides to go, that is.  They would be walking it, but walking 13 miles is still a pretty incredible feat!).

Maybe by my next post (which will probably be in March) I’ll have some cupcake photos and the ability to run a less than 10 min/ mile for 6 miles (my training schedule doesn’t have my long runs go up in distance until the middle of March, so plenty of time to get up my stamina and speed, maybe even find a 10K to race in).

Old Year/ New Year January 7, 2009

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Some time around the end of this past year I declared “instead of resolutions we should write down our accomplishments for the past year!”  I think that seems a more positive outlook, instead of dismissing the past year as some sort of failure to be fixed by the upcoming year.  Plus, I think my accomplishments are even more wonderful because I failed to make resolutions last year.  Here are a few of the many things I accomplished last year, and some resolutions to go along:

  • Ate at some truly fantastic restaurants (at the time I ate at them).  Jibarra, The Mint, Fraizers,  J. Betskis, Coquette, Dos Taquitos, Cafe Phoenix (Wilmington), and Ringside (Portland) among them.  I was able to finally try sweetbreads (yummy glands!) as well as develop an obsession for palak paneer.  Resolution: To continue trying new foods and exploring what local places are dishing up– I WILL get to Poole’s Diner this year, and I’ve already conquered Fearrington House on the 2nd.
  • Went on the South Beach Diet for the first part of the year and lost a good bit of weight.  More importantly I was reminded of how you’re supposed to eat (fresh, whole foods), and took to eating in a healthier manner over all (minus cupcakes and eating out on occasion, but I still believe that splurges like that are good for the soul).  Resolution: To continue eating healthy and tasty foods, and to not feel guilty or defeated over a cupcake.
  • Did I say something about cupcakes?  Last year I started the Cupcake Happiness Tours, which were a big hit.  I’ve made a few cupcakes since my last posting about them and accomplished something that even impressed my chef cousin– Swiss Meringue Buttercream!  This is the most amazing thing in the world, light and fluffy yet still buttery and delicious.  After this I will never go back to boring American Buttercream.  I managed to duplicate the Best Cupcake I’ve Ever Tasted, and decided that I don’t need to move to Portland after all.  Resolution: To keep baking and cooking, to not get stuck in ruts and to explore my culinary creativity, to conquer buttercream fears (Italian Meringue anyone?).
  • Went to Portland! I loved getting to explore a new place and do things that would usually be out of my comfort zone (hiking didn’t seem like my kind of thing, but I enjoyed it and look forward to hiking in my area in the springtime).  Resolution: Travel!  (I’m thinking Vegas!)  Don’t get in too comfortable a zone.
  • I went from dreaming about running around a 2 mile lake to running a 5k.  And another.  And another.  And another.  As well as an 8k Turkey Trot.  Last week I went for a run around that lake, three times.  Resolution: To keep running, and do the Vegas marathon (as long as everything goes as planned, knock on wood) next December.
  • Had some super cheesy fun times.  Local muscadine wine, yummy!  Dollywood! And revisiting Rocky Horror Picture Show after a 10 year hiatus.  Resolution: To keep having fun with life, and to remember that there are very few things that I’m too grown up or sophisticated to do.
  • Got a new tattooResolution: To follow the White Rabbit.
  • Got a new perspective on my body, or perhaps just a new and stronger body.  Resolution: To take care of my body and love it for all that it is capable of doing.
  • Saw four different friends get married (and fail to blog about one of them, apparently!), and act as a bridesmaid in two of those weddings.  Resolution: Fit my friends for parasols and hoop skirts– just for fun. ;)
  • Met a new blog friend, and was able to stay friends after my spazzy first real life impression.  Resolution: Take ritalin before meeting new people.  OR to keep an open heart and an open mind about new people and to accept new friendship easily.
  • Got rid of the internet at home (and then had an excuse for not blogging frequently!), as well as my TV.  Learned to live very nicely without either.  Resolution: Keep up what I’m doing!  If I do get into a situation where I’m living with a TV again I would like to maintain my ability to not zone out in front of it after work automatically, conversation and books are wonderful things.
  • Watched most of the Star Trek movies.  Resolution: Live long and prosper.  Also, finish the last few movies and get ready for the new one that’s coming.  I think that involves making vulcan ears.
  • Made the most amazing gelatin shots and mini cheeseburgers.  I also had a few other parties that I cooked way too much food for this year, including showers and a Groundhog’s Day party.  Resolution: To keep celebrating as much as possible.  Also, to either make less food for future parties, or to stagger how things are platted on platters to make people eat more.

Resolution: To keep being me to the best of my ability, and to enjoy every moment of it possible.

And marshmallows! January 7, 2009

Posted by jacksginger in Blahblahblah, Love.
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I have a lengthy New Years post to write, but have been swamped for time.  In the meantime a conversation Jim and I had the other night.

Me: It’s <not sure what we were talking about prior> typical that we feel that way, I am usually a glass half full type and you’re a glass half empty type.  Maybe that’s why we get along so well, the balance.  Although I wouldn’t define us exactly like that…

Jim: Yes, I’m an engineer– the glass was spec’ed twice as big as it needs to be.

Me: And I’m me… if you hold the glass up to a sunbeam it’s full of rainbows!