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May 2012
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while you’re on my mind

Apparently Bear’s Come-to-Jesus talk is working. I’ve been more productive than usual and last night the only dream I remember was one where Bear kept falling asleep in the grocery store despite me waking him up over and over.

I don’t know why, but I totally didnt get enough sleep last night and am currently clutching my coffee like it’s the only air available to breathe. I am also banging out a pretty decent abstract.

Bear said yesterday I need to keep talking if I’m going to get through this, so there might be more updates than usual while I get through this.

Pssst. Y’all wanna know a secret? It’s a little shameful for a ECE graduate. I use this webpage almost daily. Also, I was the one that introduced AJ to the phrase “Come-to-Jesus talk”. Not surprisingly, those of Jewish descent don’t really use that phrase.

(Linda, lyric is “this is the last song that I write while you’re even on my mind” from Noah and the Whale, “Blue Skies”)

 

January 6th, 2012 | Tags: | Category: Bear love, grad school | 2 comments

we’ve got time left to be crazy

Its making me sad that a post titled Total Failure is up top on my blog. So despite having both too much and too little to say, I’m dropping in. I had meant to do a year in review for 2011. I might do it anways in a little while. I do love them because they allow you to see the year as a whole and that tends to be a hard thing to do otherwise.

Bear and I have been a little homesick lately. We went to visit his mom’s for Christmas. It was an amazingly lovely visit. Bear and I played and relaxed. We had lots of good food and conversation and celebration. I’m extremely happy that I’m developing a good relationship with my mother-in-law. She’s an admirable, complex woman. I even liked the traveling to and from because Bear and I rode the commuter rail and taxi and plane together. That’s kinda sappy isn’t it?

I’ve also been a little freaked out. I’ve had many many nightmares about awful job interviews and defenses and meetings with my advisor. Every night for about 3 weeks now. Bear had to try and give me a come to Jesus talk last night because I’ve been rabbiting about like I can somehow avoid my thesis and defense and getting a job. Didn’t help that I was feeling kinda adrift because I hadn’t heard from my advisor in weeks despite sending her emails. Just found out today though that she WAS sending stuff. Apparently my school email got cut out. Apparently also, I should have said a lot freaked out. I really want to finish if only so that I can get out from under all of this mess.

(linda, I stole the lyric from fun. “the gambler” except the real lyric is we’ve got time left to be lazy.)

January 5th, 2012 | Tags: , | Category: Bear love, grad school | 2 comments

Keep it upstairs for the grand finale

It’s been a long time since I updated.

Since then:

  • I have missed Gilligan like burning
  • We have eaten over at the neighbors and had the neighbors over manymanytimes
  • I had shishkabobs for the first time in memory. It was excellent. Thanks to Mr and Mrs Right.
  • My mother had her last class ever. WHEEEEEEEEEEE (then she went to Rome with her twin and one of my uncles)
  • My father came to visit. I’m not talking about it.
  • My mother in law came to visit.
  • My aunt in law came to visit
  • My brother in law visited and bought a tshirt and cologne. Each was over $100. I am still in shock
  • My MIL and I had a great trip. I miss her. Not like burning, but still pretty heavily.
  • My MIL and I got manicures and pedicures.
  • My MIL and I went into a creepy looking meat store together. MIL told the cashier? owner? only person in the store? that before walking in, we had worked out a plan to kill them and get away if it turned out they turned their customers into long pig. Thankfully she did this as we were walking OUT. I will never be able to go back.
  • My Aunt in Law, Brother in Law and I had a late night conversation about sexuality that was mostly AIL and I talking about gay sex and shocking Bear and BIL to death. Those boys have such delicate sensibilities. I’m just glad MIL was sleeping. I also learned from AIL that women should be like turtles for their husbands…. I’m not even sure I can explain it. But it has to do with sex. And sea turtles. And variety.
  • MIL made us homemade chicken noodle soup. It was fantastic.
  • We fed the birds and chipmunks and squirrels so my MIL could see the birds when she woke up in the morning. We now have a trap to hopefully kill some squirrels/chipmunks. Hate them, but mostly the chipmunks. I DID NOT BUY THE BIRDSEED FOR YOU. STOP DIGGING UNDER MY PATIO. AND STOP CHITTERING AT ME.
  • We are getting/going to get a new roof.
  • We had an attack of the flies in the house. That was disgusting.
  • My husband has asked “Are you ever going to blog again?”
  • Bear and I looked at (buying?) $2000 speakers that were larger than him.
  • My husband took me to the most disgusting house EVER in search of speakers. ONLY BECAUSE I LOVE HIM THAT MUCH AND MARRIED HIM DID I GO IN THIS HOUSE.
  • I almost died walking down decrepit, filthy, steep stairs carrying 60lb speakers. With flies and mosquitoes EVERYWHERE.
  • I made the only significant progress on my research that I’ve made since… 2009? I don’t know. It feels huge.
(Gilligan, the title is from Blank Slate by The National)
August 4th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , | Category: grad school, home, something new | 4 comments

2010 in review

I’ve been meaning to do this for a little while. I figure 2010 was a huge year, so it took me a whole month to review it. That seems fair to me. Remind me if I forgot anything.

Linda, considering how much of November I remember (damn that rhymes), I might be persuaded to do the blogging thing again.

January

  • Packed
  • Fought with Bear about packing
  • Bought boxes and tape for packing.
  • Paperwork. God I remember a ton of paperwork getting ready for closing.
  • Dealt with both Bear’s and my anxiety about moving and buying the house
  • Got Bear into a Whole Foods for the first time ever.
  • Stalked our house many many many times.
  • This was also the beginning of the hellish anxiety over Bear coming up with things he wants to change about the house and how much I can’t stand hearing about the unending lists of potential changes
  • Dealt with the anxiety about our loan going through the underwriting and approval and god knows what else because it took forever.
  • The joy of knowing we were cleared to close: i.e. we were gonna get our house!
  • TA’d one of my advisor’s classes.

February

  • We closed!
  • Packing became furious and concentrated
  • We cleaned the new house
  • We moved
  • We cleaned the old apartment
  • We lived on minimal computer/tv time.
  • Our house was cold and unfamiliar and new.
  • We unpacked, a little more leisurely than we had packed at the beginning of the month
  • We lit a fire in our new fireplace
  • We smoked out our living room lighting that fire and the very few that we lit after that
  • We bought a bunch of plants to make our home more homey
  • We changed out our car from a Ford to a Toyota because we hated not having cargo space
  • We had our first snowstorm at our house
  • I climbed into our attic
  • We started to get sick of Chipotle
  • TA’d one of my advisor’s classes.

March

  • Momma and Annie came to visit
  • Got a firepit for the patio
  • Used firepit to have smores
  • The storm from hell dumped a bunch of water in our basement
  • We spent many nights and days pushing, sucking and pumping water out of our basement
  • We stained/treated our deck while they visited
  • We learned how to change out a toilet
  • We figured out how our water pipes were run
  • We painted the white part of our green bathroom
  • We got the bulk of the unpacking done
  • We had a rare 90 degree day
  • The house started to feel like home
  • AJ visited
  • The star magnolia started to bloom
  • The spring bulbs came up (hyacinths, daffodils)
  • Cooper visited for the first time
  • We learned we had two dead trees on our property
  • TA’d one of my advisor’s classes.

April

  • http://www.themansguidetolove.com/
  • We learned about burning permits/permission
  • We loved the birds
  • I spent some time fighting weeds
  • Bear’s birthday gift was cleaned baseboard radiator fins
  • A little bird made her nest off our deck
  • Something ate the baby chicks in the nest
  • Spent a lot of time pimping out our old apartment

May

  • Cooper brought his family over to visit us
  • Linda gets nicknamed
  • Mr and Mrs Right threw a “get to meet the new neighbors” for us
  • I got new glasses and got contacts
  • The peonies started to bloom
  • Cooper cut down a lot of the yard in our yard until it looked like a yard instead of a jungle
  • Bear put together a planter box for me

June

  • Mr Bestie and Mrs Cranberry got married, twice
  • Bear and I got new clothes for the weekend of wedding stuff
  • Bear stressed about the weekend of wedding stuff
  • Bear stressed about my mom coming to stay for a month
  • I stressed
  • Bear got some work news
  • My mom came to stay for a month

July

  • My father came to visit
  • Bear got my mom HOOKED on Animal Crossing
  • My mom sliced open her finger
  • I found out where the hospital is by my house
  • I found the shortest route to said hospital too
  • My mom got eight? stitches in her hand
  • I showed my mom how to comb fiber
  • Bear had job continuity issues
  • We planted the extra tomato plants
  • I got about 16 migraines
  • We had money issues
  • We had people getting pissed at us (me) issues.
  • We rented a tiller
  • We used a tiller
  • BEAR used a tiller
  • My mother left after staying for a month
  • I got a new spinning wheel
  • I felt a lot better

August

  • My tomato plants became blighted
  • I finished and mailed the way way way overdue legwarmers for Pippi and Lucy. Although Lucy and The General might be wearing them.
  • Some leaves on our trees start turning colors
  • We replaced our boiler and converted to propane.
  • We played SC2
  • We paid someone to remove the oil boiler
  • We regretted it.

September

  • We started off the month with visiting my family in HOU
  • I had lunch with Bear and his old work peeps! It was awesome.
  • I spun a lot
  • I got these NASTY caterpillars that ate through my tomatoes
  • I gave up on my garden
  • We fed Mr and Mrs Right tbone steaks
  • We fed Left ackee and saltfish and then about 5 months later found out that she thought she was eating eggs.
  • We had weird sleep this month and I can’t remember anything else about it.
  • Hopefully we saved money

October

  • Bear and I started visiting Mr and Mrs Right about once a week for a coke (Bear) and a chat
  • We raked leaves. Because there were MASSES of them.
  • Bear surprised me and paid someone to come take care of the nasty nasty mess on our basement floor
  • Bear and I had the ickies.
  • I napped a lot
  • Bear and I worked our tuchuses off at work
  • My mom had surgery
  • Brain went and visited her for me.

November

  • We raked 50 BILLION more leaves.
  • Hypothetical BABY ASP!
  • I blogged every FREAKING day except Sunday because I love Linda THAT much.
  • Mr and Mrs Right came over and saved our tuchuses with their Kubota right before Thanksgiving
  • During Thanksgiving break my aunt and uncle came to visit
  • We cooked them turkey
  • I drove to the middle of nowhere to get farm raised turkey
  • I spent hours on the internet finding farm raised turkey
  • I failed to get a heritage turkey
  • I was chastised for not finding the Fkajofwijefoiwje heritage turkey
  • Apparently I should have gotten on the list 50 years ahead of time for this akofwjieofnoviwe heritage turkey
  • Thanksgiving was awesome despite the lack of kjowinefoiwefn heritage turkey
  • We put up leaf guards on our gutters
  • My awesome uncle cleaned our our gutters
  • My awesome uncle replaced a rotted board on our deck
  • My awesome aunt and uncle made ramps for the doors in the basement so now you don’t have to step up/down 2 feet
  • I gots me some new shoes
  • Bear and I watched Sherlock and White Collar in extreme fashion
  • the fall foliage was GORGEOUS
  • Gilligan and I started a love affair with Ira Glass. She started it
  • Brain said my brain was greasy
  • Apparently I remember a ton of shit when I blog every day.
  • Bear used his grill to cook stuff in a pot.
  • We moved the TV and the couches and the internet and the wiring for the house bc my aunt and uncle are AWESOME

December

  • I was a little blue after my family left
  • We turned on the Christmas lights at the front of our house
  • I had some awesome days working from home. Productive and comforting days
  • I started a new project at work
  • I read The Help by Katherine Stockett
  • Bear got me grownup luggage
  • I spent some time figuring out Christmas gifts for family members
  • I spent some time fighting with family members about gifts for other family members
  • Mrs Right took Bear and I to the airport at 430 in the morning!
  • I went home and had a great time connecting to my family as a whole
  • I saw Bear’s mom and his brother
  • Bear had a decadent break with his mom and brother
  • We got a huge snowstorm at the house while we were gone.
  • Mr Right used his snowblower and went out there and made it look like we were home.
  • We really do love our neighbors.
January 31st, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , | Category: beyond words, grad school, home, NaBloPoMo | 2 comments
 
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