It's officially winter around here

The cat was under the blankets today. In Dublin she spent most of her days under the blankets, but today was the first day she dug under there. Most of her time is spent here:

Thankfully, that's Wes' side of the bed and I don't have to share my space with her.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had lots to be thankful for and we celebrated it with great friends, family, and food. That awesome combination makes Thanksgiving my favorite holiday of the year!

Homework

This morning I had to call and make us a couple of appointments at the clinic. I had to make another one for Wes to give a sample and the appointment is on a Monday. The woman goes, 'Now, you  have homework on Friday and/or Saturday, but then no homework after Saturday'. It took me a minute to figure out what she was talking about. How weird when sex starts to be referred to as 'homework'. I just hope the school kids don't catch wind of that!

This shouldn't surprise people who know me

I was talking to my mom today and I mentioned the scandal that's just hit Penn State University. We used to live in State College and my family has been long time Penn State fans, so this was particularly shocking to hear. Jerry Sandusky was always well respected as one of the football coaches.

Mom: "You know you went to nursery school with Jerry Sandusky's son."

Me: "Really?" (Clearly this wasn't a lifelong friendship)

Mom: "Yeah. That day of your bike accident* you were supposed to be going to his birthday party. There you were coming out of anaesthesia with your big, fat lip and all you wanted to do was go to this party so you could still get a cupcake."

Me: "Nothing gets between me and a cupcake. I gotta keep my eye on the prize!"

Mom: "You haven't changed a bit!"

*The summer before I started kindergarten my sister and I were out riding our bikes. They both had banana seats and mine was called 'Desert Rose'. Awesome. Our front tires collided and I fell onto the road (my sister didn't seem to have a scratch on her). I ended up knocking out my two front teeth, broke my middle finger, and split my bottom lip right in half. Since I couldn't see my face I was focused on the fact that my finger really hurt. My sister and I ran home, me holding my finger and her screaming and crying next to me. We ran into my parent's bedroom and I can remember my mom's face and her saying, 'Don't get any blood on the bedspread!' She's not sure she ever said that, but a child never forgets. Am I right?? When it was all said and done, I ended up with a toothless grin that lasted 2 years and 65 stitches in my bottom lip. Needless to say, I never got my cupcake that day!

It's amazing what a little cleanliness can do for the soul!

Now that I'm working full time to say cleaning has been pushed down the priority list is an understatement. Wes is really good about doing laundry and getting dinner started in the evenings, but cleaning isn't his favorite thing and I can't blame him for that. It's not mine either. We have a friend coming from Ireland this week, so there was some deep cleaning that needed to be done. We've been so busy that this is the first weekend that we've actually been home and I've been able to get some things done. You know, those annoying things like wiping down the baseboards and walls in the bathroom. Do people really do that kind of thing every time they clean the bathroom?? This person doesn't. I vacuumed the stairs (this one was way overdue). Wes put together the shelf and I hung the mirror in the guest bedroom. It just needs pictures on the walls and that will finally be finished. I've been holding off hanging some things in the living room until we paint, but I said screw it and went ahead and hung a couple of things that were sitting around.

The best thing that happened was finally picking out a new sofa on Saturday. I don't think I blogged about the original sofa. I was so distraught that it wouldn't fit in the door that it made me feel physically ill. Actually, it was hearing we were going to lose a 25% restocking fee that made me want to lose my lunch. Yesterday I picked out a new - not as beautiful - sofa that WILL fit in the door. Now we wait 6-8 more weeks, but the last one didn't take that long, so I'm hoping this one doesn't either. I became a total cheapskate and skipped on the $69.99 delivery fee. We'll rent a truck from Ho.me De.pot for less than half the price and move it ourselves. I'd like to get the kitchen and living room painted before the sofa shows up.

Other than cleaning, I slept in both days and we had homemade waffles for breakfast on Saturday.

Huh...so this might be the most boring post in the world! Yet, it's weekends like this that can make me feel the most content. The beautiful autumn sun shining in the windows certainly helped with my mood!

Commuting Chronicles

Just a public service announcement for my fellow metro riders:

If you're standing next to a pole, because there are no seats and the train is jam packed, don't wrap your body around the pole to stabilize yourself. You do not own the whole pole. Other people would like to hold on as well and they'd like to do it without the possibility of touching your breast.

Sincerely,
A shorty metro rider who can't reach the handles hanging above her head