New England Winter

Is winter over yet? The good thing about shoveling these stairs it I can use it as an excuse to skip going to the gym.

It's only January 27. A few more months to go.



This one doesn't seem to mind the snow.

Coffee Competition!

This is how the day started.

A few minutes later, someone had shared their opinion about how Dunkin ruled over Starbucks.

Clearly, the Dunkin fans were more vocal than the (more refined) Starbucks fans.

Laundry

One of the never-ending household chores is the dirty laundry. I dream of the day all of the clothes and towels and sheets and whatever else is clean. It will never happen. At the end of it all, I still have to be wearing something. So those clothes will definitely be dirty.

I had a solid 36 hours in front of me to clean the house, clean my room, get rid of all the clothes that don't fit me, and boy are there a lot of those. And DO THE LAUNDRY. Instead, I did a few loads of laundry, cleaned some dishes, and then went out to do some chores. Now, it's nighttime, I got back at around 10, and there's no way I'm doing any cleaning. Not when there's an entire episode of The OC here. At least there's some clean underwear.

Hearts

It's coming up on Valentine's day, which is another excuse for stores to sell holiday themed candy, and bakeries to sell holiday themed cupcakes. I bought a chocolate cupcake on the way to work, with white frosting, a red plastic heart pick and red and white heart shaped sprinkles.

It's not my favorite holiday.

Limbo

How long does limbo last before it's not limbo, you're no longer waiting to find out or hear something, and it's just time to move on?

Peevish

Some pet peeves (forgive me if I've posted about this before)

The sound of a plastic spoon in an almost empty yogurt cup. That quick scrape scrape sound makes my skin crawl.

The incessant throat clearing of my neighbor. It drives me crazy. I can hear it over the cranked Pandora. I've had a cold and am now doing it myself, but I'm trying to keep it to a minimum and am NOT doing it 2 or 3 times a minute!

People who ask if you have any questions and then keep talking and don't let you ask them.

Hating,Continued

Dating Hating, continued:
Plans were made, plans were canceled, and now we're both doing some thinking. What a hassle.

The Lure of TV

It's my day off, a holiday for MLK day. I decided I'd try to finally get my house in order and continue the constant chore of sorting out clothes that don't fit anymore and need to be donated. If only I didn't have a TV I might actually get something done. Instead, I'm watching bad sitcoms, reruns of MadTV, and whatever else is on so that I don't have to go back to cleaning.

Long Island Wealth

Summer 2006, I went to a kid's birthday party on Long Island, in the Hamptons. It was unbelievable, this summer house. The house was right on the beach, and they had a giant pool! The family had rented a trampoline that was docked in the water a few hundred yards out. They had kayaks, little electric cars for the kids, and food and drink galore. The weirdest thing was that they'd rented a petting zoo for the kids. There were rabbits, goats, and chickens. I've never been to a party at a home that had an actual petting zoo. To make matters even stranger, the petting zoo company never came back to get the animals. They got busy with some other project and never came back. The poor animals had to stay overnight and there wasn't enough food for them for that long so the owners had to make do with some sort of substitute animal feed. Bizarre.

Loser

As I was driving home, going at max 20 mph down Highland Street, stop and go, ready to lose it and trying really hard not to tailgate, I thought, "I'm in hell. My own personal hell would definitely involve me stuck in stop and go traffic." Then I thought about what would be on the radio and would it be the same song over and over? What if it was the song that was on the radio right then? Some Lenny Kravitz song. That wouldn't be good.

My train of thought went to another time that a song was on repeat for way too long. It was about 20 years ago, at the CK. Shaun was playing Beck's Loser over and over and over and over, for hours. I think I was there for about an hour of the marathon. After a while it was kind of soothing.

Hating

Netflix hate: I was so thrilled to receive the OC yesterday and then was so disappointed when I got to the second episode (the next-to-last episode of season 1) and it was all messed up. Pixelated, skippy, annoying.

Dating hate: I'm in a situation where the balance of power has shifted and I'm on the bottom. I'm the one wanting to see this person, and he's the one who is too busy with work to even consider making plans. It's funny how quickly things change. I've been avoiding writing about dating on this blog because I thought this one was going well and I didn't want to jinx is, and also wanted to protect privacy, and now, I'm inches away from throwing in the towel so what does it matter now? Actually, some might say I've thrown in the towel already because I'm now at the point where I'm done reaching out, via email, telephone, or the abhorrent text message. I'm waiting for him to call. Not waiting by the phone or keeping my calendar free, but waiting. Unfortunately, I have a daily reminder of this guy in the form of a new coffee maker. Yesterday I was so bent out of shape I actually bought a latte on the way to work instead of making my own in the K-Cup machine.

Muscle pain hate: I've had serious muscle pain in my back for a month. It's from the old bed, which is gone, but I'm not sure how to get rid of the pain.

Mail order shopping hate: I bought the 34R bootcut jeans from J.Crew because the 33Rs gave me serious muffin top when I tried them on in the store. Then, I lost a pound and also wore the jeans and they stretched out. I can't wear them without a belt and am thinking I need to have them tailored, taken in at the waist. So, they were still on sale so I bought (final sale!) the 33Rs, thinking they would still give me the muffin top but they'd stretch. I tried them on yesterday and would you believe, they're loose? What the hell? Granted, the crotch isn't as long as the 34s, and I haven't washed them yet, but how can one 33 be so much looser than another? Also, I tried on my sister's boot cut cords from Ann Taylor Loft and the size was right, so I ordered them online and today, I tried them on and wore them to work. I think they're too big and I'm hoping they'll shrink up in the wash but probably not enough. I should have gotten a size smaller. Ugh.

That's enough hating for now.

Like Cat, Like Owner

Sam went to the vet today because he has an infected cut at the tip of his ear. As it turns out, another animal, probably a cat, bit right through his ear. There was a hole!!! Now, he's on antibiotics and I have to open the wound twice a day to drain the fluid. Gross.

The funny part is, he's taking amoxycillin, which is what I'm taking for my ear infection/sinus cold.

Today, though, at the end of the day, things turned around. I got The OC, Season 1, Disc 7 in the mail. Pure JOY.

Have Cape, Will Travel

I made these capes for my nephews for Christmas, from a pattern I got from this blog.

They were a hit!

Things I've Bought That I Love

As a tribute to Mindy Kaling's blog, here are a few things I've recently purchased that I just love.

Aloe Soothing Day Cream from The Body Shop


This lotion is unscented, doesn't have alcohol as one of the first few ingredients, and is not drying. It's also not overly thick, doesn't leave a film, blends in really well, and keeps my face moisturized but not shiny for the whole day. It's worth the price. $14








Kiss My Face Clean for a Day face cleanser

I picked this up at Whole Foods and I love it. It smells really good, like tangerine, but it's not too powerful of a scent. It's not drying at all, but my face feels clean after washing. I love it. I'd been using Cetaphil, but it really wasn't getting my face clean and kind of dried me out at the same time. It is good for removing makeup, though.







A Shabby Chic Milk scented candle ($28 - way way too much but it smells fantastic. Though to some people, it smells like Ivory soap. I don't get it.). They aren't available online, but they have stores in malls. If you go into the store and fall in love with the way it smells, this candle is for you.

Good Times

I went ice skating yesterday. No falls for me or my brother; plenty for my nephew. It was fun but I think I'm going to sign up for lessons at the local rink. And buy some knee pads.

Friday Night

It's 10 o'clock, Friday night, and I'm into my 5th episode of the OC, Season 1 (I love Netflix.). I've been in my pajamas since 6, and I'm knitting.

I'm 35. Not 16, not 65. 35. I think the thing I'm struggling with is, as much as I want to be at home, comfy and just vegging out, I find it hard to get past the fact that it's Friday night and I'm at home, comfy in my pjs, watching a 4-year old teeny-bopper comedy-drama and knitting. Maybe it's the knitting. Tomorrow, I'll wake up with my first gray hair. Hahaha. My first... I'm not looking forward to that day.

It will be a cute hat and pair of socks, though.

Update: I forgot to mention the 2 cats hanging around. Aah the single life! :) I do love it, though. Especially when it's like 10 degrees out.