the princess decrees...

crispin's comment

2009-10-19T21:07:00.000-07:00

man, i totally got one up--ed. ol'crispy glover had some wonderful costume ideas for the tall one. i don't think young white foot will go as anything other than drunk elvis, though. it has taken him a month to grow some side burns. we got the black spray. i guess we are still missing the telltale elvis suit. so i'll keep working on him. see what i can do. and i'll get on the photos as soon as there is something new to photograph. and also what are the hott pockets going as this year? rock em sock em robops? if so my money is on that hott mamonster, and little dusty junior. that battle for world domination could be brutal. let us know.

all to avoid studying

2009-10-18T23:28:00.000-07:00

i will sometimes go to great lengths to get out of studying, but this weekend may have hit a new low. saturday, i gave dust the car. that way i would have no excuse not to study. the neighbors started the saturday morning pounding at 9:30. i was up. so i start to study. i studied for a few hours. then i did four loads of laundry, walked to the safeway and bought the makings for new cakes. brown sugar toasted pecan with caramel for frosting. the frosting took two tries to get it right. but they are good. we saw where the wild things are this weekend. i cried. we froze some yummy corn. and we danced the night away to brother ali et al in the city. all in all it was not such a bad weekend. i think i have ordered everything to be a convincing dr girlfriend. so i think i am ready for the week. now about those two tests on tuesday...

back to normal.

2009-09-29T23:28:00.001-07:00

i am back to school. the week off was well needed and way to fast. monday and tuesday of this week went by in a blur. homework day one. what did you expect? tomorrow we have off. so does dust. so we are going to visit my brother and his wee one, emma drew langford. also i bought her sunglasses and made some little cakes shaped like ghosts. not bad for being a full time student. i think i also told you dust and i are now californians. we took the tests for licences and passed. ( me--100%, him--minus 2--ha ha! making me the victor!) i should give an update of the tiny, tiny house. we are making it work. it is not comfy for us both to be in the kitchen at once, but every other room we can be in together (there's only a living room and a bedroom and bathroom, but we are making it work.) dust said we may not have to move again for the two years we are here. that is scary to me because a few times now my commute has been more than an hour from here. and we all know i am no morning person. so. the idea that i should get up earlier than my 5:55 wake up call, is just mean. but so far dust has not suggested that i should do that. so things are good. this quarter looks a little less grueling than last. that is a relief. i have classes with natalie (my upbeat vietnamese friend) and that helps. she is so pumped on everything, that i forget how burnt out this whole thing can make me. i am going to go finish the pink book i started over break (really it is a nice minty green, but it is written by a lady who wrote a few pink books. so i thought i would go green.) also the big, biG, bIG, BIG news at our tiny tiny house is that kelvin got a visa. kristin and he will get to live together happily ever after, i know. i know how happy this must make her. i only lost my honey for a month, and i was losing my mind, so a year and a half... she is better than me. i know i could and would not be able to put myself through that. but love makes us do some crazy things. so good on her for waiting. i know it will be worth the wait. so yippee. we get kelvinito back. and this time for good. ahh. dustin is once again the hermano blanco. as he should be with those feet. and kelvin coming to vermont just in time for winter. poor guy. but i am so happy he will be there. finally!

photo montage (or photo montag for the infamous heidi)

2009-09-23T23:24:00.000-07:00

you know it is summer when stinx's white feet come out. don't they look glorious. sparkling white feet.
today marks the end of an era. six years with vt tags. now we are real californians. well tomorrow we will be when i get to take the written test. i guess right now only our car is a californian.

that is right. we are up to no good. we are the "no goodnicks."

this is why your mama tells you not to drink car bombs for breakfast. what were we thinking? i don't care who's birthday wish it was, its just wrong.
ahh the birthday boy himself. still drinking. way to go, champ.

see, everyone looks hot in a hotdog hat.

return of "the good wife."

2009-09-21T00:20:00.001-07:00

ahhhh. i can finally breathe. i am on a week long break, and already i have done more than i did since rob and quinn's wedding weekend. it started thursday afternoon. i finally slept. (i hit my coma). and i still managed to wake up in time to go for dinner with dust at Rudy's can't fail. while there i enjoyed a delicious chocolate malt and some yummy tofu rancheros. friday began like any other first friday of break. a boy from my school was playing sloshball in golden gate park (it is also called kegball---you play kickball with an over sized ball and a keg.) in college there were kickball leagues and some friends of mine and i always played. so i figured since i sat the first two quarters out, i should go. i wrangled melissa in, and we were off to the park at 11. by noon we had cups and by one the games were on. i can't say our performance was stellar (we lost most of the games we played), but we were loud and people loved us--as they do. when we left in the mid afternoon, to go to the fluevog store, people still playing were bummed. that was a nice thing. ( i firmly believe you should always leave people wanting more of your presence.) we got some sweet shoes and then met up with mike cilley and his bartending friend. we drank ourselves silly again and then went home on the last bart. it was a long, but fun day. i was thankful saturday morning to have drank a ton of water in addition to my adult beverages. i woke up early and made lunch for dust and i and some cupcakes for his work. dust and i had lunch and he delivered the cortcakes to his working friends. then i came home and cleaned the bathroom and watched a ton of Kortney and Khloe something something in Miami. it was great. today, we started celebrating the two year anniversary. (last week it was seven together, now two married--as of tuesday). his gift to me was to take me to great america. we rode roller coasters with our friend forrest all day long. the only bummer was that funnel cakes were 6.99! so we got to go to sev-elev for slurpees instead. this was a nice touch because before we ever started dating dust and i would walk from his house in the middle of the night to the sev-elev by him and split a slurpee before i went home. and y'all thought we only drank adult beverages. so icees it was. we came home and barbecued. i do love break. tomorrow we go to the monterey bay aquarium to see the sea horse exhibit. i am so excited. we convinced our friend brain (henceforth referred to as brain) to come with us. he has wanted to go, so why not now. it should be really great. the trip to the seahorses is what my poppadaddy got me for my birthday. i think i will love it. i have been planning my outfit all night so that i look nice in the pictures we send him. that is right. i am planning how good i look. :) then on the big day (tuesday) i get a haircut and dust is going to let me go with him while he shops for new jeans and shorts and "fall shoes." i will admit that i love shopping for myself, but it is almost as gratifying seeing my honey in some fall must haves. i asked if we could go to nordstroms. he is not ready for that, but we'll keep working. this is, after all, only our second year married. but what a year.

the update

2009-07-07T19:05:00.000-07:00

there are a few things you should know.
when i last wrote, dust was coming home soon. he has been back for three weeks now. i went home to arkansas. tomorrow we go back to vermont for the wedding we have been waiting for for what seems like years and lifetimes. i am so excited. i had a three week break. we went to yosemite. i was cake decorator and photographer (with my friend teja) for our friends' sandy and jt's wedding. that was a trip. melissa's dad was in town. we found out claudia is going back to boston. we got 1 million fans on rock band. we looked at a cute little place across town for when we have to move. i started back to school yesterday. in a nutshell that is it. oh. our car got hit. but it will get fixed. we got cable. i think that is it. i will include pictures.

tuns out we weren't the only wildlife in the park. we saw bears and squirrells and birds and deer. it was crazy. and it was our first nature vacation. go figure.

this is sandy and her partner, JT. sandy goes to school with me. she was my research tutor. ( i got an A this time. thanks sandy!)

this is Anjeannette, and teja (tey'ya is the white girl with the apron on.) between them and sandy, they are my favorite three at school. that anjeanette goes to the club with us. she is the funniest. she is like my little sister. and teja is our mom. (if my mom was a month younger than me.) but they all love a stiff drink and a little rock band occasionally, and the three of those ladies are three of the strongest, most supportive women, i have ever met. i am lucky to have so many strong, supportive ladies in my life. ( i sound like i am kissing up, but only a few of y'all will read this blog anyway, so it is mostly for me.) and that is the cake we made. it fed 60 people. and sandy and jt have more than 700 pictures to commemorate their day. pretty sweet.
this is why i am escited to go back to vermont.

maybe some stomp rocket and rock band at the hott pockets.

see the happy family, and meet the newest nunz. i can't wait to see this little guy. i will one day buy him a lot of candy and ice cream. then i will drive him home. HA HA. maybe don't let me babysit. atleast until he gets teeth. gotta chew the candy.

include abby and karen abel in here. and i just can't wait to see the ladies at the farm. and sarah waldo.

and eat cake... oh i mean, and see the yack. :)

and we go to the other wedding of the century. sorry i didn't have a fitting photo of rob. hopefully i have a few when we return. i hear there is talk of getting him tattooed in boston. although i know it won't happen, a girl can dream. and quinn, look how far that dress has come. :)
i can't wait. we will go get food and then pack. we leave when dust gets off work tomorrow. we'll be in boston at 5:00 in the morning on thursday. see you all soon.

For the record

2009-06-02T23:12:00.001-07:00

week one

2009-05-21T22:50:00.000-07:00

just finished midterms. tomorrow scott comes to celebrate. i can not wait. this week has been really full and fun. went shopping (got a few wonderful things), studied, did the usual things...but i only talked to my honey for a few minutes a day (half an hour tops). and today none. i texted him to tell him that one week was done, and boy, was i happy.. no answer. then i called early (the time zone is a killer). no answer. i hope he is ok. he always calls at least to tell me good night or he had a good day. i know i have no reason to worry, but i do. he is thousands of miles away from me. THOUSANDS. that is hard for me.

i've set a few rules for myself since he has gone:
don't go to sleep until i am really tired. i get a lot more done, and the bed is not so lonely when i fall into it.
don't cry while i'm still on the phone. wait until i hang up. then only for three minutes. get it all out. then keep going. do what ever and power through.
no super depressing songs or news or movies.
stay busy.
more will probably come. this is only week one.

on a new tangent, i saw young at heart. it is a documentary about old people who are in a chorus in north hampton and tour the world singing everything from forever young to sonic youth. it was funny and heart warming. i just loved it. put it on your queue. it won't disappoint. i kept looking for elizabeth, shea's mom/hott mama and gamera's neighbor. she loves those sorts of things. i looked for her in the audience, not the chorus; don't get the wrong ideas.
claudia is good about making me eat dinner at the house. she made a great lentil thing with leeks and arugula and blue cheese and salad dressing. sounds weird, but it was so nice i had it twice--leftovers for lunch. that never happens. her life has also gotten golden. she had her review at work on tuesday. she was sort of nervous because those reviews never go well there. people dread them. but she had hers and got a raise and she is now full time. 40 hours. i am so happy for her. she will have great news for her family when she goes home to the wedding this weekend.
tomorrow scott, forrest, melissa and andy and i are going to suppenkuche (soup*in*coo'*kuh) where we have a reservation at 8:30 to drink beer out of boots. that is pretty much our new obsession. last year it was cynar, artichoke liquor. this year, publically drinking out of boots. this place is special--two sizes of boots. sweet. should be a night to remember (or not). no girlfriend of scott's, so it'll be just like old times. scotty and cortney will hit the town like crazy drunkards when dustin's away. oh boy.
wish me strength in many forms. missing my honey, no hangovers...it is a long weekend. i gotta get ready. :)

man

2009-05-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

i have some good friends. since dustin left, i have been soooo busy. all thanks to some wonderful people. wednesday night, my friend, natalie, took me to a seminar where i learned that the only way to detox your body is to buy their special supplements. it took 2 hours to get to that. and thank goodness for my research class--the studies they used were not only old, but not well tested and i knew it. so i didn't buy their crap. yesterday, claudia and i went for pedicures. she got gold toes (first place) i got bronze (third place). we look good. we came home, dealt with the ant problem that was out of control, cooked dinner and watched LA Inc. today i am going into the city with melissa to go shopping. i am dressed up and ate my breakfast. while i was eating, i got to talk to little quinn about all her wedding stuff. it was nice. all in all, i know i will make this. i just don't have to like it. i haven't really talked to dust since he left. and that makes me a little sad, but i know what he is doing and that he is good. if you see him before i do, tell him i love him and miss him. i will keep you posted on the goings and doings of ol' cl. until then
have a lot of fun

almost!!

2009-05-07T21:46:00.000-07:00

tonight is my last night of studying for a little while. no tests next week. i can not wait. i have had 14 tests in the past 9 days of school. but tomorrow is the last. i am a little fried. luckily, two friends from school have agreed to get drinks with me tomorrow night. dust says he will come. i hope it will be fun. at least we can eat and then get a few adult beverages. lord knows, we earned em. i just hope we don't all dork out and bore the socks off dust.

2009-05-06T20:17:00.000-07:00

dust got a new grill. and uses it almost every night for a month straight. he loves that thing.
we went with shea, his step dad, wesley, and forrest to eat real southern barbeque in the city. they loved it. it really smells like memphis when you go in the restaurant. it is spectacular.
this is the german restaurant we drank beer from boots at. there is another german place that has multiple sizes of boots. this one just had large and extra large.
we saw the red sox at the Colosseum. we went back a few days later and saw some other team play the a's. with that one we got to see fireworks; you know i loved that.
random graffiti around town. it is a whole wall of this. so nice to drive by.
hope you feel like you are here.

phew

2009-05-06T19:59:00.000-07:00

only one more test on friday and thus concludes my 12 tests in a row. seven last week and four this week. it has been a long round. i made one of three-- one hundred per cents on my diversified (a type of adjusting) midterm and the second highest grade (minus one) on the microbiology lab midterm. i am a freaking genius. it is starting to warm up. it is sunny. today this girl brought me a large white pocketbook. seems, she "can't do white." good on her, and better on me. free bag. it is big and white. but i kinda like that. we went for drinks with dustin's friend, tc, today. he works with dust. he is a pretty funny guy. it was nice to be out. i know swine flu is in our area, but i am not out enough to catch it. it is sort of depressing. i mean, i need a shot at the H1N1 virus just like anybody else, right? yup. today is dustin's grandpa's birthday. he was at work during the time to call him. so that sucks, but i know we both thought about it throughout the day. that is what counts, right? nope. dust will be gone in one week and one day. yesh? so soon. i am sick of looking to that date with such dread and ready for the whole thing to just be over. so five weeks and one day until the whole thing is done, and i have my honey back. maybe that is how the count should go. sorry to take him away from y'all, but i'm the wife. i am supposed to take him away. it is my duty. :) love to the hott mama and the screamy gamera for showing me i can be married for 9 years. we'll see. get these next five weeks over with. and then on to the next seven and a bit of married yeard (do we get to count the five we were dating?) if not nine is a long way away. i think all will be fine, though. i do love that tall one.

a few pictures to make it like you are here

2009-05-04T23:19:00.000-07:00

oh regal little lady. how i love thee.

my little man in the bed. he sits like a man sometimes. this is where i study so he keeps the bed warm for me. pretty cute, eh.

the boys are beat. see my arm and papers. proof i study. all they do is sleep. but the tall one says the boy kitty doesn't like him. i think this photo shows differently.

we go out right. flowers, feathers, fake eyelashes. we look good. people always stop us on the bart to tell us how amazing we look. that may be a little exaggerated, but i believe that is what they mean.

really--5months

2009-05-04T23:02:00.000-07:00

ok. if you don't check this thing, you won't know i am back. five months this thing says it has been. so i hope for your sake that my readership is down. i have been taking classes dust can't even pronounce. and most recently, i have only made a's. that is right neuromuscular physiology, microbiology, biochemistry and adjusting classes (that is right i adjust actual members of my class--and they like it)! i take my research midterm tomorrow. i have been studying all quarter and feel pretty good about it. we'll see. second time is a charm, right. this quarter is my favorite so far. i hope it just keeps getting better. school is fun, and i am learning tons that i think will be helpful in my future life. i have only like 12 classes this quarter. two less than last quarter. that makes it so good.
in 10 days dust leaves for the farm for a month. it took me a LONG time to realize that he wasn't leaving me. i was not so pumped on him going. but i am trying to realize that he needs to do this to confirm that he wants to be a farmer for eternity. he gave me that oportunity, i owe it to him. i just have never been away from him for more than two weeks since the day we met. and it was a horrible two weeks. he is my best friend, and my honey. and we don't do so well on the phone. so we'll see how it goes. i am trying to stay big about this. but i don't know how long into the month i will last. i may demand him home sooner than i care to admit.
but i do have things planned while he is away. the week after he leaves, our old roommate scott is coming to visit me. that will be fun. also claudia will be gone that weekend, so it will be cortney and scotty time. then for the two weeks after he leaves i will do a fast (the master cleanse). some people at my school have done it, and they just rave about the results. i fugure at worst, i don't have to cook for myself (i dread that almost more than sleeping alone for a month), and maybe i am healthier. or i eat the most delicious meal ( aren't they all the most delicious meals when you get done fasting?). i will catch up on girly movies that dust would never want to see, and keep the grades up. he gets back my last day of finals. then we are going to go to portland to eat all the ymmy food there. better for fasting, right. earn the feasts. and then i have volunteered with my friend, teja, to be the cake makers/ photogs for my friend, sandy's wedding. so we will make a cake and snap some shots of some lovely ladies getting married. that is june 20th (my parent's anniversary). then on the 21st (father's day), i get to go to arkansas. i have not been to arkansas in the summer since---geez, 2002. i am so excited. my dad has agreed to sit in the hot tub with me everynight while we drink fancy mixed drinks and eat ice cream. (and you guys were worried about me...) i got it good. then i will have one more week off. sort of with dust but he will be working by then. but still he will at least be home, and i can snuggle a tall one.
i think that is the preview of what is yet to come. i will try to put what has passed on here, but i might just bore you all. who knows if you even check this anymore. we'll see.
love you all

wasn't it lovely

2009-01-20T21:20:00.000-08:00

wasn't it just the best sight in almost the history of time to see that helicopter fly away with those bush's and know they would not be back. just another reason to view texas as the armpit of america that it is.

it is also nice to see so many people really happy. i think it was nice that our new president flubbed the oath. i think it makes him appear human. he was talking in front of two million people. i would flub, for sure! you would think that supreme court justice would have helped him out. (maybe he was nominated by a republican?!) i do hope things change. we gotta work together. and also hope no loonies are out there. i've had enough.

now we drink champagne. tomorrow we get down to business.

and then

2009-01-20T21:19:00.000-08:00

...and now let us go forth with peace to love and serve the world.

finally

2009-01-19T21:42:00.001-08:00

finally. 8 years of hell will be over tomorrow before noon (before 9 in california). HOPEfully life will CHANGE for the better. i know i may take flack for voting for Nader, but i do hope that barak obama will change our country. lord knows we need it.

Claudia's Birthday!!!

2009-01-19T13:30:00.001-08:00

guess who turned 25? lady claudia!! she's precious, isn't she.

we got her a little cake. we got to eat it, too. that makes it good. man, i love birthdays!

we got everyone together--in costume, of course!!dust was a douche bag. claudia was a socialite (paris hilton-esque), andy was a rocker, forrest was a gym coach, melissa was something and i was phyllis diller. do you know what we did?

we went to a bar with glorious red/gold velvet wallpaper and sang karaoke.

of course, the wolf hat came, too. (see that wallpaper) so nice!

we sang me and bobby mcghee. dust and melissa sang these boots are made for walking. i was dancing, so i didn't get a picture. sorry.

this was andy's first time to publicly do the singing. he owned ozzy too. his wig was the first thing to go. then went the beer splattered glasses. he is quite the showman!

all was over seen by this creep. the coach in the corner. his job was to drink and watch the purses. in that order. forrest got hit on by three ladies in this get up. he is amazing.

all in all i think claudia's birthday was a success. i had fun, at least. that is what counts, right? :)

we need a top twenty

2009-01-03T18:49:00.000-08:00

i just was looking over the blog, and in mid summer i made a top 20 list of things that had happened. now while this may have been boring for you then, being that most of you lived it right along with me, maybe this one will be better. we'll see what i can come up with. keep in mind they are in no important order. they are just as my tiny brain thinks them up.
1. i spent a good three weeks off with my honey. no school, no homework. he worked only a little. that is so nice.
2. claudia and i get to spend every waking moment of almost every saturday together.
(you guys jealous yet?)
3. my parents just came for a little visit. and dustin's parents will be here next weekend.
4. i am one quarter into my school year. three more to go this year, and we'll repeat the whole quarter (4) system two more times, and then i am done.
5. there is a fluevog store just a bart ride and a bus ride away. real fluevogs at my fingertips. if only i had the funds to supply my habit.
6. i have gained a few (2) pounds from all the amazing food out here. i could eat indian food every day. i could eat mexican food most days. i could eat dessert every day.
7. andy is one of the most fun rockers we have come in contact with, and he and melissa are very close by. we get to see them a lot. they are good friends to have, but we do miss our horsicopter rockers back in vt.
8. weather is tolerable here. it doesn't get below forty in the day. rain is nonexistent (until mid january). supposed to be 60's next week. it is january. this hasn't happened in years.
9. i like my school. i like what i get to learn. i like how big chiropractic could be. i had no idea (it turns out) what i was getting into.
10. pappamingo's. a sweet little frozen yogurt place. it is my dream come true. it tastes like real yogurt (with the texture of a creamy). delish!
11. i have some amazing people watching/shopping in my 16 square mile town. both are amazing. i could easily see why people chose to come here in droves. i am happy to not be one of the crazies that inhabit my town, but maybe i can aspire to be one--if i keep working.
12. san francisco (my favorite city in the us) is just a few bart stops away. more shopping and people watching and great food...need i say more
13. we get to have shea come visit us a few times a month. he makes every body's day. he is the easiest house guest i think i have ever had. he is equally comfortable with everyone, and that is nice. i only hope he really does move here. our band (miracle baby and the no talent ass clowns) could really use him. he bangs a mean drum.
14. forrest comes over a lot. i think we are good for him, and he makes us laugh. so we all win. he throws us parties at new year's and christmas. he is always accommodating, and up for a good time. i like it.
15. the i phone. i know this is a little frivolous thing and being as expensive as it is, but that little booger has saved my day. it has a maps function. it is like a gps because it shows where you are and how to go, and where traffic is. i pretty much love it. it is smarter than me, but i am glad it is on my side.
16. the kitties are pretty happy here. they like having a whole house to maintain and play in. our house has a big window in the front where they can watch birds. we have a resident humming bird who maintains our salvia. that makes them happy. i like that.
17. christmas and new year happened. i love christmas. we got a lot of good gifts. this is the first year in years that no gift of mine was returned. i even got two pairs of fluevogs, a pair of black boots, towels, j crew gift cert ( i already got hot pink corduroy pants), candy, purple socks with unicorns...the fabulous list goes on and on.
18. gin and tonics have been the drink of choice around here. we have enjoyed a few car bombs, but mostly just the ol' standby of a cold g and t. not so bad.
19. cupcake stores. now that i have a few to chose from, i can pick my cupcake by what frosting i am hungriest for, or what part of town i am in, or if i need big or little. all of my options are staggering, huh.
20. i baked a lot over the christmas break. pound cakes, chocolate cakes, gingerbread cookies, sugar cookies, dust made biscuits, my life is good. especially with the new speakers in the kitchen. ahhhhhh.
these are all the little things i am thankful for or have done recently. my life is good. i know your head is probably spinning with all the fun i get to have. hopefully you get to have that much fun in your life. shopping, eating, crazy people watching, rocking...see life is good. now let's all work to maintain such goodness.
xoxo to all
i love you and miss you all
clangfo

grey day here in the bay

2009-01-02T11:30:00.000-08:00

went for today i helped my parents get to the airport to go home. that always makes me sad, but to do it in the rain and fog is just a little more fitting somehow. their visit was cut short two days in the beginning because my mom fell off my aunt's horse on christmas day. so those parents of mine spent christmas night at the emergency room. it was there that they found out that their flight had been moved to 12 the next day (instead of leaving at 10am). when they got up the next morning (packed and ready), they found out that their flight was bumped up two hour (leave at 8) instead of pushed back like they were told. so they had missed the flight. and my ma was ready to puke from the pain of just taking a shower. so my dad made the executive decision to come on sunday instead of friday. i was crushed. this meant that i would pick the parents up from the airport and take them to my brother's house instead of entertaining them in my town for a few days. so i pick them up, bring them to my house to open presents, and take them to ben's. it was made better because both dust and i stayed on my brother's couch, and took a tour of his winery the next day. then we left thinking the parents would be down here on thursday afternoon, and leave friday morning. but they had a better idea. they came back wednesday (new year's eve) and played with us all day yesterday, too. it was nice. i am sure i bored them to death. since my ma couldn't walk, we spent a lot of time indoors, but it was nice to just have them here. and now they know how dust and i live. we are boring, but we have a good time watching movies and just playing around the house. we picked up a free love seat on the side of the road while they were here. my dad and i sat on it while dust and claudiaforrest's car (it has a roof rack). i think my dad got a kick out of just sitting on the side of the road (holding the couch down) while two cars pulled up obviously trying to get the couch. (we won!!) and we got a good chuckle out of just following the couch home. at times all we could see in the traffic was a floating couch, so we knew it was ok. it is just the little things, you know. i showed them my school, too, but other than that there were no big things. it is nice just to know that they know where i am, what i do, and that sort of stuff. it always makes it feel more like home when the family comes to you. now i am off to find a new back to school outfit with my jcrew gift card. i got some sweet back to school shoes from the manix's. they are my dream shoes. so i am pumped. purple and aqua mary janes from john fluevog. you know i love that. so i guess i am ready to start school on monday. of course i have to do the dishes and the laundry. get caught up on home things, but now i can go back feeling like i had a break, you know. dust started back to work today. i think it was hard, but probably harder for me than him, because i know that now i will only see him in the evenings for 10 weeks, or until his schedule changes. but it too is only temporary. and this weekend we get shea, next weekend is claudia's birthday, and the manix's come. and the next week claudia comes to vermont. so keep your eyes peeled for her! i will try to be better about blogging more regularly. i do look forward to hearing from you all--so make your new year's resolution to be in better contact with us and we will do the same. love you all. happy new year, and don't forget to celebrate festivus for the rest of us. we have mastered "feats of strength," and "airing of grievances." what do you have mastered?

i'm on break.

2008-12-19T17:36:00.000-08:00

i have been on vacation for one week now. boy do i love vacations. so far i have completed the christmas shopping, except for the tall one, baked some amazing gingerbread snowman cookies that are already gone, made a few christmas cards, made a big paper chain for the christmas tree. also yesterday, my big outing was to get movie tickets to see my name is bruce. this is the new bruce campbell movie. he was actually at the theater doing a q&a after the movie. it was great. that man is really funny. he was just telling everyone exactly how it is. one girl asked bruce campbell to call her friend in kansas. so he did. only it was a "Prank phone call..." you've heard of those, right. he asked the dude if he wanted insurance. the guy said yes. so then he said, "well take that insurance and stick it in your *s$!" and hung up. a few minutes later the guy called his friend back and the phone was handed back to bruce. the guy said on speaker phone, "is this bruce campbell?" we, as an audience, cheered. at that point the guy said "if i was back in Ca, i would be there right now..." and bruce said "yea, but your not, so you aren't. and hung up. it was pretty hilarious. made only funnier by the fact that kansas time is 2 hours later than ours and it was 12 here. so it was 2 am there. it was funny. we had fun and the movie was the cheesey camp you expect from him so we were not let down in the least.
the weather has also turned sunny. i guess that is what happens when scott and his girlfriend go to hawaii. it gets almost nice here (it rained and was cold for the four days they were here). so it warms up to at least the mid 50s every day, and is sunny. our neighbor has jonquils now. (that is daffodils or buttercups to some of y'all.) i think things are good. i got my grades. i got a 3.58. i'm not too pumped about a 3.5, but i was talking to my ma and she reminded me that the first year is the exact same as med school, and people fail out of that all the time. so i feel better now. and only 11 quarters left to go. if you time it out in 10 week quarters, (not counting breaks) i only have 110 weeks left in school. sweet! we should make a little paper chain for that. :) count down the weeks. 110, 109, 108... you get the idea. i will talk to you all soon. call if you get bored. i got nothing but time until my family comes on the 26th. yippee!!

thanks

2008-12-01T21:27:00.000-08:00

we had our thanksgiving. it almost went off without someone going completely mad, but then i woke up grumpy. so by almost went off , i mean didn't even come close. i got kicked out of the kitchen while i was making breakfast because i was so grumpy. so i took a shower and came back rejuvenated. i had been juvenated. then i went to the shower and got juvenated again. rejuvenated. so we ate the breakfast and shea arrived. thank goodness he was first. he is always so easy to entertain. i re started cooking. all was well. we enjoyed a lovely huge meal and a little rock band. not a bad day. we had 11 people here. not bad for being new to town. on friday we got a new tv, courtesy of black friday sales. usually i try to buy nothing like a good little revolutionary, but this year i failed. we got a sweet tv. 5 inches bigger than the last. and anti glare screen. better for rock banding. then i took two naps. not everyone can boast of two naps in one day. i felt good. saturday i spent some time doing a take home test (8 hours i believe was the total time spent doing the test). what ever. that is far too much cell physiology for me to wrap my head around. i spent the evening having solo time with my friend melissa making christmas ornaments and drinking wine. it was a nice night. sunday was study time at a local eatery with a girl from my school. i really like her. her name is sandy. she is pretty nice. so we spent four hours there. not so bad. also i got to talk to allison that day. i was sad to hear i missed rob's mom's advent tea. i do love cookie's cookies. but i was glad i was missing the snow. let me tell you one more silly story...on saturday, i watched my neigbors pull the christmas tree off their car and into their house. it was 70 degrees here. 70! that is christmas.? i kind of love it. today was chilly though. did i tell you i got another hair cut? the last one looked a little mushroom--y with the layers. i just looked silly. so now i look normal. regular short hair. like i draw me. you picture it? i only have two weeks left in school this quarter. that means 8 more tests (i took one today, and one class is just show up for an A). then i get a three week vacation. and my parents will be here. and old roommate scott is coming with girlfriend angela. i think it will be a fabulous time.
also on thanksgiving we all went around the table and said out loud what we were thankful for. it is one of shea's traditions. 90% of the people at the thanksgiving had just moved here around the time we did, and most of us were thankful we were here. even dust. thankful for liking his job and being happy here. me for realizing i am smart, and i can do this school thing and getting to do all that this wonderful place where winter never happens. i was thankful for my geography and all that came with it. melissa was thankful to live in an expensive city and not be in the financial trouble that a lot of american's are in. she was thankful her life was good. andy was thankful to be here in town with her. and scott was thankful for being in a cool place. not like cleveland ( that is where he came from). anyway. i think we convinced shea this place was pretty cool, and he told me friday when we were walking to lois the pie queen, he would move here in the spring. i will now never let him off the hook. come spring, i will be on him like a dirty shirt. anything to get him here sooner. i think it would make dustin even happier to be here if he had his be fri. you know. so two weeks. then we sleep. and eat breakfast out and christmas shop and play. play. play. xoxo to all! hope you had a good thanksgiving. wish you were here.

pictures, my friends

2008-11-24T16:41:00.001-08:00

finally, halloween is up. this is us in all our glory. we worked up stunts as ice skaters. that pretty much makes us the coolest kids on the block. and you gotta love andy. he made those fancy beer coozies. swanky! claudia came up with the idea to make socks into ice skates. be sure to check out that. and remember...we rode the bart downtown in those sweet suits! we are the cooooolest. be proud of our greatness. it gives you something to strive towards. *

(* note the sarcasm, i am no fool)

i'm the #1 dork in this house

2008-11-16T17:22:00.001-08:00

this week was eventful. boring eventful, but eventful, nonetheless. i made a few more a's on a few more tests. ( i know--i had more tests?!?) and i signed up to start a diplomate program in neurology (if i am gonna call myself a doctor of the nervous system, i better sign up for that, right). it all starts in january. also i got elected as treasurer of the neurology club. that is the fourth place of dorks in the school. let's face it no one really thinks neurology is cool except for the dorks, right. well there is a president, a vp, and a secretary who are more dorky than me. so i'll have to settle for fourth place at school. but i'll still be #1 in your hearts.
so far the count is 8a's and two b's. not so bad. i take three tests this week and then i am home free until after thanksgiving. so that is good. hopefully, i can boost those b's, but if not, who cares?
dust took off work today. it is the first time in about a month that we have had breakfast together. so that was nice. i told folks to come to a study session at three, so i had to leave for that. but i am home now. he cleaned the house. man, it looks good here. also he said that over thanksgiving we can make christmas ornaments. you all know i love christmas!! i already started the shopping. so get ready. (nothing more than 12$, dust, so don't be alarmed. :) ) i know that christmas might have to be less this year since half of it will be half financed by loans. that is stinky. there is so much i want to get everyone. one year.
also november birthday folks, your gifts should be there by monday, if they weren't there saturday. none too fancy. just fun to get things in the mail. you know.
i have not talked to quinn lately. and i miss her. so if you see her, tell her this is true. i will probably call over thanksgiving. so get your phone out and on. (tell her that, too :) ) also rose is coming for thanksgiving. little rose pants. i am happy to see her.
we saw the new bond movie. not horrible. we saw zach and miri make a porno. funny. we ate at a new breakfast place today called rudy's can't fail cafe. it was great. so i think that is the week in review. mostly me studying (boring). but i also got to talk to karen on the phone this morning. that was good. and i chatted with kristina on the computer yesterday. so i feel like i am keeping in contact pretty well. i email abby and karen abel --tell her congrats, by the way. she just became the grandmother of a little granddaughter--isabel. note the abel in the end of the name. cute huh. so i am pretty much up to speed on most of you. but i do need to know how the wedding planning is going. what has been done, what are the stresses, what is up? i miss you all.
and if you haven't heard from me by thanksgiving, call then. i want to talk to everyone.
xoxo
cortney

ahhh!!!!

2008-10-30T18:37:00.000-07:00

it was a hot week. not for a long time have we had weather in the lower eighties or high 70's the week before dustin's birthday. maybe that has never happened, but either way, claudia and i needed to be outside.

i bought these stickers that look like space invaders ( the video game from the late eighties, i think.) they are restickable and pretty amazing. now no one will know we have no headboard on the bed. it just looks cool.
here is an update for everyone who doesn't already know. dustin had a birthday. it was a week long celebration. (as it should be!)

there was rockband on friday.

andy sang hungry like a wolf in the wolf hat. it was a real highlight of friday night.

it was a real celebration. even forrest got to rocking!

then came the big day. claudia and i got our hair cut while dustin worked. wen he got home he opened gifts. here are the highlights!
gift one: a huge beer! from our friend scott who lives in san jose. gift two: a fancy wig from jeremy and allison and the cute boys! and me sporting the nice wig. the beads are key.

i got dust an amoeba gift certificate and some new birthday shoes.
melissa and andy got dust blood that sticks to the window.
ahh the gifts just keep coming. they finished the big beer...

then we went to the dinner and the bar.

came home for cake.

mona liked the shoes, too. pretty cute, huh.

the next morning, right when we woke up, shea was here. and we all walked to the chicken and waffles restaurant. then dust and shea spent a lot of time and money in amoeba records. it was pretty much their best day.

pancake party 2008

2008-10-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

these are my back to school shoes i told you about.

the precious!! isn't the purple to die for. i just love my fancy new phone.

the wolf hat helped claudia and i celebrate dustin's birthday month. i don't think he was as excited about the hat as we are, but....

you get the side view, too. it is a beaut!

the fabulous pancake chefs!!

chocolate chips, bananas, cinnamon apples, raspberries, and candies pecans. yummy!!
tots

the fruits of our labor.

the fruits who enjoyed our labor.
that is pretty much my day. pancake party!!!

school

2008-10-06T18:37:00.001-07:00

so far i have been to school seven times (if you count my friday orientation). i like it pretty well. the classes are interesting, and i seem to be learning a lot. but for some reason, i am not yet overwhelmed. (let us all take a moment to knock on some wood for my sake.) also if you count that the quarter is only 10 weeks long, i am 1/10th of the way done. i have seven classes and three labs and one seminar (a time every friday where speakers come). not so bad. my first class gets started at 7:30 every day, and monday through wednesday are my long days. i go until four. i think i told you that i found a boy to ride with so i leave at 6:40 and get to school at 7:20. then we get to leave right at four (instead of waiting until 4:24 for the bus to come). by leaving at four, i get home at 4:20. the bus wouldn't even have picked me up from the school, yet!!! thursday and fridays i get out at 3. so that is a nice way to round out the week. all of my teachers are doctors of some sort (drs of anatomy, histology, chiropractic, et c). it is interesting to be surrounded by a lot of people who all want to do what i want to do, but so far no competitions have arisen. but i do know who the dumb ones are. they are never very good at keeping themselves hidden, you know. i will tell you all more as i have time. right now we are going to our friend, forrest's house for dinner. he is a good cook. so i am pumped. we are bringing olives, cheese and crackers and salami. i am not sure what forrest will make us, but i will probably let you know.
xoxo to all
and thinking of each of you.
corts

bout time for some photos, doncha think.

2008-10-05T15:10:00.000-07:00

i put these pictures on in no order. i just wanted you guys to gt a feel for what we are doing. this is by no means all of it, but you will get the idea.

i thought we should start this off with dustin's gaming partner. they argue over who will wear the headset, and usually mona wins. how could you say no to her? she also loves "reading."

this is where we went to breakfast this morning. they specialize in southern breakfasts. it is called lois the pie queen.

so this is the original owner's son, chris. (lois's son). he runs the place now. that is the wall of fame behind him. digital underground is on there, the women's arm wrestling champ is up there, too. they got everybody up there.

this was dustin's breakfast, eggs, grits and fried chicken. he was loving it. i got grits, biscuits, and a pancake. after we had finished this feast, they brought us a slice of lemon ice box pie with whip cream. i could not put any more in, but dust was in heaven. you have no idea. it was great. and they were so nice in there. i think when people come to visit, you will eat there with us. i think dust is salivating just reading this.

not too long after we got here, our friend, andy, had a birthday. we like andy, and he enjoys most of the things we enjoy. so we went to Bevmo in search of cynar, the artichoke liquor, you 'member? then we saw this beacon, and our birthday plan changed. he is now the owner of a "das boot." this boot (and dustin's matching boot) are so good (and bad), but they make for a silly saturday night or two.

the boots hold 40 ozs of any liquid when filled to the "sock line." that is usually sufficient to get miracle baby and the ntac's rocking.

after it gets dark, the party has to move inside. (the other boy in the photo is one of andy's oldest friends, scott. we knew him in portland. he came to my work, and he would always come to our parties. he is a good guy. like andy, he is up for anything.) you will also note that melissa is staring longingly at the boots. we all were. you just can't help but want a freaking boot. i don't know what it is, but that boot... it lives on the top shelf of our dish cabinet--alone. if only we had a treasure case to display treasures like they do in museums. you know the glass cases with the light positioned just right so that you know you are looking at a real treasure. that is the kind of space this boot requires. so if you come across one of those at a yard sale (a glass case), pick it up for us. our boot has needs.

the new tiny house. it is yellow. you can see what was cannas, euphorbia, and some nice shrubs. there is a hummingbird who lives close and comes to get all the sweet, sweet nectar from our flowers. (which we still have.) it feels so far from fall here. it rained yesterday for a little while (the first real rain we have had since our arrival). but our palm trees are going strong, we do really have flowers, and i have only gotten the jacket out once. that was friday night. it is the month of dust. usually by this time i am arguing with myself on why we should or should not turn on the heater. it is nice to be here.

albee sometimes sleeps on my side of the bed when i am not in it. (mona sleeps on my side of the bed when i am in the bed). look how cozy and nice he looks. i like that even the little furry kitties are happy here.

this is our little kitchen. it would be unbearable if that sweet island did not come with the house. i think the kitchen serves it's purpose. and believe it or not, it has been put to use a few times already. we are hoping to make sure we cook more. we'll see. y'all know how we are.

holding it down. this is one picture we sent to all the grandparents. note that blue chair. it is about the most comfortable piece of furniture we have ever owned. we all love it. and the couch is brown. it does a good job of collecting albert hair, and without a vacuum, we lint roll the durn thing about every day. but i sleep really well on the couch, too. also we have a big window right in front of where dust is sitting. i like that. with all the sun, we can sit inside and take it all in.

this is the sideways view of me walking out of my school when we came for melissa and andy's wedding and took a tour. but that is where i go every day. even if it is not how i look now. you get the idea.

i found a boy who lives close to me who will drive me to school for half the price of the bart and bus, and i will get to leave 40 minutes later. i think i will like that more. wake up at 5:40 tomorrow instead of 5. it should make all the difference.

and also:

2008-09-25T00:48:00.000-07:00

today
we saw death race (better than expected and funny)
we had claudia's friend nate over (and hilary too) for burritos and cupcakes and rockband
gave some cupcakes to the land lords (they are nice folks)
did laundry
dustin applied for a job at a nursery
made the bus and train trip to my school (1.25 hours one way)
and

and

and

and

CLAUDIA GOT A JOB AT SAUL'S being the hostess. she will be making a lot of money and tips. we are all really pumped for her.

what did you think, laundry would make the blog. y'all know i got news when i make a post! :)
know that i love you all.

we've been...uhgh..really..busy?!.

2008-09-25T00:12:00.000-07:00

we have now been married one year and two days. we got a ton of cards from folks--i didn't even know people did that. it was cool though. it is nice to feel like people remember your anniversary--even if it is not theirs. that is a little cool, or maybe i just like getting mail. probably both. let me tell you about the weekend we just had. it was pretty big. here it goes! it all started thursday (like all good weekends do). dust and i went to bevmo (a huge discount liquor store) and found "das boot" mugs. (andy's birthday was earlier this month so we had reason to buy a few.) the mugs didn't get used on night one due to loud rocking. the new drums arrived earlier in the day, and like all good rockers know, rocking comes before drinking. so we rocked! that new rock band is pretty great. living on a prayer, call me, eye of the tiger, round and round...we already have a plane. need i say more. we rock!! our band is called "grumpy's best day." we are taking this global--FAST!:)
then came friday. andy came over. we went to lunch with melissa who had to work. we got a ticket :( then claudia and hilary and i walked around rockridge (a neighborhood in oakland). claudia and i were beat--from the rocking, of course. so we went home to find dust and andy wailing on the drums and guitar. needless to say, claudia and i felt as if we were not doing our part. so of course we joined in for a bit. soon we got the call that it was time to go to the art museum in san fran called the de young. the place was having a big exhibit by a glassblower named chihuly. now i don't do the description of this guy's art the credit it deserves. so i will make you a link: http://www.chihulyatthedeyoung.org/index.asp the stuff was huge. there were people in crazy costumes, putting on shows (singing and dancing and puppets and back flips). it was mind blowing in the best possible way. we loved it. afterwards, we came back to our side of the bay and ate pizza. saturday brought the boots out after dust worked. now each boot holds more than 40 oz of beer, so tossing back 2+ boots can do some damage. luckily, we all drank enough water to not be dying the next day because two things happened that day. one: melissa and andy found out they got their house. they will be 10 minutes away from us in a little town called albany. it is a really cute house with two HUGE brugmancia bushes and an even bigger lemon tree. andy had to go back up north to pack up their stuff so they can move in next weekend. so we said goodbye to him. the other thing that happened that day (two: , if you will) was that shea came. we were all really happy to see him because last time it took him three months to come the three hours to visit us. but this time we got him early. now when shea is here, we sort of loose dust but we get good food. we get to eat out at all our favorite restaurants like jimmy beans for breakfast, rick and anns for dinner, et c. we have to show off a little for shea because he appreciates good food too. that is nice. also they go record shopping all day. seriously--all afternoon. now i can stay in a record store with the best of 'em, but those two together could shut a store down. it is like they just move in, you know. couple that fact with the fact amoeba music in san fran( http://www.amoeba.com/ )is the size of a full sized bowling alley packed with new, used records, cds and movies. it is pretty much their heaven. so we kissed them goodbye for the day and claudia and melissa and i walked. we shopped (not really purchasing anything), but walking and talking none the less. it was a good day. that was sunday. also that day, melissa took me to costco. ahhh. now many have told me the wonders of costco. i never really doubted, but i never had a real reason to go either. then we needed a bed frame. costco had those metal ones for 35$ (a valid reason to go.) oh my goodness. it was far better than anything i could have imagined. seriously. i had to talk myself out of clothes, snacks, vacuums, christmas lights, furniture. that place should be a mecca to all good consumers. monday brought the first anniversary of the party of the century that happened last year. you all were there. it was great. so we remembered that day. i know the first anniversary is supposed to be celebrated with paper so i subscribed dust to cooks illustrated magazine. it has recipes and stuff. dust got it this summer and used the mess out of it, so i figured it was a go. i don't know how pumped he really was about it, but he put on a good show. i also got him those ferro rocher ball candies because they are one of his favorites and they have a lot of paper on them, too. shea cooked us all dinner and it was the best dinner that has been made in this house yet. (just wait until those cooks illustrateds start paying off. then we'll show him!) he also got us hooked on another brittish show--shameless--put it on your cues. it is funny and insightful and pretty great. we convinced him to stay an extra night so we could finish the disc. you know that is good. so that was the amazing weekend. also we got shea to play the new drums on rock band. he also rocks. so there was much rocking and just living the rockstar life. that is pretty much how we do it out here on the mean streets of oakland. sweet huh. also we are warm and sunny. the idea of fall...not really hit us yet. here it is still summer. and the entire time we have been here, we've only gotten like 6 raindrops. this is the life.

we're here

2008-09-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

well. we have been here for almost two weeks. in that time we have:
made three trips to ikea (at least two more than normal humans should make in that amount of time)
eaten in several great eateries
experienced an earthquake
gotten our boxes from vermont
seen ratatat (the loudest show ever--thanks popa j (wahoo!) for recommending ear plugs--they really helped)
gotten rock band two (it has the go go' s and journey--pretty much awesome)
started a regimen of wii fit (thirty minutes a day. we are gonna be jacked when you guys see us next!!)
decorated our little house (not as tiny as the tiny house, but the kitchen and bedrooms are pretty much done)
seen melissa, forrest, and claudia's friends nate and mike
eaten both at the cupcake store and papamingo's frozen yogurt
and much much more.
also you should know our landlord is a polish vytas! his name is jasic (yasick) and his personality is so vytas. he is a funny land owner (he owns land and houses all over the bay and a farm in poland)--he is also funny. he does everything we ask like put screens on the windows and get us keys for the house. he also lends us mattresses until ours got here. both jasic and his partner katy are friendly and helpful. it is very nice.
i also finally got my gardenia plant--a five dollar target special. it is pretty hardy here and should be able to be planted outside in the ground. it has not rained since we got here. it has, however gotten more chilly--maybe seventies in the day and 50's at night. it is probably colder in vermont, but we all know i am not cut out for that kind of cold. that is why i am here. it took us forever to get internet. seriously. forever. that is why i am only now writing this. i will start carrying my little camera with me wherever i go so you can feel like you are here, too. turn the heater up in your house and read this blog and feel like you, too are here in the sunny side of the bay. if you could also get one person playing video games just in your peripheral vision. then you would really have my life to a tee. it is 12:49 here and i have eaten breakfast, but i have not yet bothered to shower. soon. this is my life. are you at least a little jealous?

four and a half hours

2008-09-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

i have spent the last four and a half hours saying goodbye to good friends. this should translate to four and a half hours of me in tears (at least to those of you who know how horrible i am at goodbyes). please know, any of you i said goodbye to, that i am fine once you have left, but the physical act of saying goodbye to you makes me cry. only because i love you so much. tomorrow i say goodbye to sarah waldo and then dust and i go to boston where we say goodbye to jack and karen. that'll be tough. today that penny jumped up on me and just was kissing me. i love that little doggie. all in all i am excited to go on this adventure in my life. i know it is the right decision for dust and i. so am not the least bit nervous to leave. but i do absolutely hate saying goodbye to everyone. i love to go, but i hate to leave. this is my life. only now i am dragging poor dust with me. we will try to keep up on the blog so you will know what is going on. i will post pics of the house (my own) as i take them. i will do better at taking pictures of the city. it will be just like you were there with us. just don't forget to email us as to what you are up to. we need that.
love and miss you already!

oak town

2008-08-26T16:43:00.000-07:00

here is the tiny house that we will call home in a week.

note the sweet van does not come with the house. it is a little yellow wooden number with a tiny palm tree. you can see the little front porch, too.
here we have our future tiny kitchen. i'm not sure how that two panel oven will work, but hopefully it does. my future classmates will need a few cortcakes.
a future bedroom. ours will hopefully look nicer. especially when we know photos will be taken. anyway, you get the idea.
living room? and dining room? the dog's (white tail you see walking out of the room) name is elvis. sweet huh.

so that is where we will live. we signed the lease today. there was some good news. the lease says the rent is only 1100$ a month. a whole house for $1100 in the city! needless to say, i signed the lease. dust thinks we have to call them and let them know, but they have already signed it soooo.... i know he is right, but would be nice to have a home we could actually afford. you know.

so now you have seen the house as much as we have, but you didn't have to mail the check. so feel lucky. so now if you want to come visit, you'll know to come to the yellow house. we'll be waiting.

gonna go crazy on you.

2008-08-26T04:58:00.000-07:00

the month in review... so august started out pretty well. i was spreading the word about my birthday month, like i always do. i even made cupcakes for the workers on august 1st. i was in full celebration mode. one of the first nights of the month, i called an apartment we had found on craigslist that looked perfect for us. the man i spoke with was very nice, but he basically told me that dust and claudia and i were going to live in the ghetto. we would have to live in a place where we wouldn't be able to go outside after 5:30. i was a little freaked and started looking into tickets to get out to california. it was more than 400$ to get there and back, and i would miss my own birthday due to travel time. i freaked out a little more. but i was convinced i could keep us out of the west coast the ghettos. no we come to the 12th... our friend forrest had been going to open houses for us in california (thank you, forrest!). we had filled out rental applications, given all our financial info to strangers and been turned down rudely by one home owner, and one called us up to say she had so much interest in the house that she had decided to re post the house for 400$ more a month, and were we interested?. we had to say no because it brought the rent up to 2400$ a month. that is a big chunk of change. then on the 12th i get a phone call from my school saying that my transcript for my online chemistry classes had gotten there, but my grades were funny, could i call them back? i called. (i was told from the university of new england that they had recorded my second semester of organic chem as a "B" just as earned. but i was told that the 70% i earned in organic one would be a "C". i was fine. my grades would transfer and all would be merry.) the admissions woman at my school, told me that my believed "C" was recorded as a C- and would not transfer and did i retake the course? i hung up the phone and just erupted. all the stress of moving across the country and going to school and getting so much money in loans and bringing my friends to see me fail all came out. i called my mom, bawled. i was genuinely scared. i left a message for my online teacher, i emailed him, too. no word. so i did the same the next morning. (it was a long night. i had come to terms with retaking the class in two weeks, but i struggled with why i was dragging two people across the country with me to watch me fail at achieving my dream. it was a long night.) the 13th, karen and jack take the workers to six flags. i love rides and roller coasters. they are pretty much my favorite things in the world, but my gut was in knots after a night of no sleep, and i really felt horrible. so i rode half what everyone else did, and i was pretty quiet and reserved for amusement park me. we got home just after 6 and i found out my teacher had called and the grade was recorded wrong, and he had changed it. we are still waiting on the new transcript, but he assures me it has been done. with less than one week to go until my first day to be thirty one, i was relieved that i was no longer dragging two folks and two cats across the country, and i just might not fail. so what if we all had to live in the car?! i cancelled the birthday party. it was to be a robot party. and everyone would have to dress up. that had to go because i needed to have a garage sale to get rid of some stuff, and i needed to throw quinn a bridal shower. this would happen in the weekend following my birthday. i spent the birthday week gathering things for the garage sale, pricing them, et c. on the birthday, we went to boston with claudia and ate lunch in the north end (italian food). we had wine at lunch. it was nice. we went shopping and i got boots at the fluevog store. pretty much a good a day. hands down the best day of the month so far. we had no real worries. we were in the city, and life was good. we met up with friends at the people's pint in greenfield for dinner. it was good. the next day (the twentieth) the cousins came up from connecticut, that was good. we went to see tropic thunder with them. i think they loved it. they left the next day. friday was my last day of work at the farm. it was pretty uneventful, but it was sunny and warm. it was claudia's last day, too. and i think all in all the whole thing ended just as it should have. no real fanfare, a few hugs and well wishes from customers, it was pretty good. but dust came in around 4 to give the standies their checks for the week. he just hovered over me while i was checking some poor customer out. when i was done, i handed the register over and went to talk to dust. something was obviously up. he told me we had gotten a house that forrest had talked us up to the owners. i was shocked. it took a good hour for me to realize we had a place to live. by five thirty claudia and i were excited and by six, closing time, we were a little petrified by the fact that we were now out of work, and had a very large rent to pay every month for a year. so i think things have worked themselves out. we are pretty excited to see where we will live. it is strange to send a four thousand dollar check across the country for a house you have never seen. but it will be good. saturday was full too. we had the garage sale. i made a whopping 20 some odd bucks. i got a sun burn. i sat int he yard all day and drank a margarita at 11:45 with claudia. we were successes. that night we had a sort of customer appreciation dinner at the farm, and came home to friends ready to play rock band. it was pretty good. sunday we woke up and went to move allison and jeremy into their new home. then hilary came over and took me to get groceries so we could make the food for quinn's shower. i spent the rest of the birthday money, but i think it was worth it. people seemed to have a good time and most of the food was eaten. yesterday we started packing the house. the movers will be here friday between 12 and 5 pm. then we are free to do whatever. until then i will get everything ready to go. now you should be up to date on what has happened. and what stress we have been through. why we have been a little down or out of it when you talked to us. we have really had a full plate this month. but we are in a better place now. we are moving forward in all of our plans. we have a place to live, the loans are good to go at my school, dust got his job back at the farmer's market. things are looking up. so what that i didn't have a real birthday party. or that things were not as easy as i like them to be. we are good now.

busy, that is all i can say, busy

2008-08-25T15:45:00.001-07:00

i have been going pretty much nonstop for the past month. you know i am telling the truth because i almost put my birthday on hold. no huge celebration, amazing for me, but we did make it to boston and 15 or so of my nearest and dearest made it to one of my favorite restaurants for dinner on the big day. dust was a complete gem on the big day. i woke up to a shiny new wii fit of my very own, and he took the day off to go to boston wit claudia and i. i was so happy because dust hasn't really taken my birthday off work before. i felt so special! i will tell more stories soon. right now we are going to panda with karen. delish!

picture update

2008-08-11T14:00:00.000-07:00

my favorite 5 year old, sebastian.

quinn and i try on dresses at pamela moore's bridal shoppe.

no one has seen our home. here are some pictures of it. large rooms with hardwood floors. lot of empty space. lots!

that picture with the view from the window is where we want to one day build a home. that hill. just above the tree line there.

nothing beats a rock band party on a sunday afternoon. trust me. nothin!

dustin's grandma came for a visit. his cousins came up. it was a big week.

kristin's dog, carmina, ate her first ice cream cone. she has eaten many since. who doesn't love ice cream?

new post

2008-07-29T19:57:00.000-07:00

tomorrow it is off to see claudia show cows at the cheshire county fair. she has won best in show for the past few years, so karen and dust and i are taking the day off to go to the fair. none of us have ever seen a cow show before, so we should be in for a treat. i am excited.
today was a good day. i worked with abby which is always the best. allison and the boys came by at lunch to tell me they get to close on their new home on august 12th. that is so exciting. then they are set for a whirlwind month. getting things ready, moving in, etc. should be fun to watch and help. then after work karen made us dinner and we talked to the caterers for a work party. we are looking to set a dinner for the best customers,and the proceeds will go to charity. should be good. it is being catered by the people who catered our rehearsal dinner. yummy!
kristin is off to the dominican to see her honey for 10 days. that is good for her. we finally got around to giving her a card and a check. we are such slackers, but we do get things done.
i am starting my scholarship papers for my school. i stand to win 3500 in free money. i just have to write a few papers. one on "i believe i should get this scholarship because..." for that one i wanted to do a little something like bill clinton's speech about still believing in a place called hope. only have it based on the fact that i have lived in putney for five years and gotten to know the people so well through the farm...and how we as a community support each other, and how they need me to be a chiropractor... "i still believe in a place called dummerston" we'll call it. :)
the second paper is about "the adversities and awards i have accumulated on my to chiropractic school." i was going to write about how i have never been mistaken for the valedictorian, and i almost have several undergraduate degrees including the one i actually received in journalism, and how i can use all these random skills i have learned in my desired field of chiropractic.
if you guys have any ideas i would love to hear them. really. please help. i need free money. i will talk to you all soon!
xoxo

it is out there

2008-07-26T22:09:00.000-07:00

dust and i finally had "the talk". the one where i address all my issues and he listens (or not, but i think he does, so he does a good job at pretending). i had a tough week. i think i have plantar fasciitis ( described earlier), couple that with my job...it is just to much to bear sometimes. he is right i do take my emotions out on him. i just hope he knows that he gets the brunt of all of my happiness as well as my frustration. but i am sure my happiness is interpreted as me "overreacting." while i am not completely sure that our talk will help anything or that it was even good, i no longer feel like divorce is imminent. so that is good.
i also have three and a half tidbits of good news. here is the first--my dear friends are officially going to own their own home. their kids will have a yard, they will have a real garden, they will have next door neighbors (instead of upstairs neighbors), they will have colorful walls, and a new refrigerator... i am so excited for the hott little monsters, i just can't stand it.
my brother also bought a home. i am equally excited for him and his wife and daughter. they will now be in california for at least as long as we will be. it will be nice to be close to my family again. but he will be half an hour further away than before. but that is still closer than 3000 miles. it is so funny because i remember when my brother was born, when he would sleep in my dad's white t shirts--they were so big, and he looked like an angel. looks are deceiving with that one, though, and i look forward to getting to tell that baby emma all the silly stories about her father. starting in one month.
melissa got a job. a real job. i can't say i've ever known melissa to have a proper job. so i am excited for her. she will be moving to the bay area by mid august, now. she was planning on being there by october, but fate has a way of looking out for me, because now she will be there to scope out apartments for dust and claudia and i. i think melissa will love working. she will hate (and i mean HATE) waking up in the am hours, but she will be a success, and that will make up for it.
the half bit of good news comes from the fact that our friend from work, heidi pancake (real name) won some tickets to an amusement park in new hampshire, and gave them to dust and i. i love roller coasters. so i can't wait. i hope it works out. --we'll see.
those are my three and a half tidbits of goods. i hope they are not done. (the goods) lord knows, i need all the help i can get.

been a while

2008-07-21T20:02:00.000-07:00

so here are the main points that have happened:
1. work.
2. ryan came for a visit. stayed a day longer than he planned. that was nice to have him here.
3. showed the batman begins on the big screen here at the house. fun night.
4. got manicures with one hott mama.
5. went to burlington with quinn. (later that week was featured with said q in a commercial for her work.)
6. played a lot of rock band. love that game.
7. think i have plantar fasciitis. it is where the bottom of your foot hurts really bad when your foot is straightened out (like standing on it) due to micro tears in the fascia (the part that holds muscle to skin). basically, ouch! especially when my job title is "standee".
8. saw batman first night. recommend.
9. saw hellboy II. also liked, but batman is better.
10. lost power here for 2+ hours and made weird passes at jimmy valente as dustin took away the only flashlight (what can i say, there was mood lighting.)
11. got tickets to california (september 3rd).
12. looking for a moving van.
13. dreamed about a new couch from ikea.
14. made a b in my online organic chem class. two words--summer and vacation come to mind.
15. started reading a new pink book. pink books have not been a part of my life since january. i say it is high time they got reintroduced.
16. lost a lot of sleep due to potential move and school and loans for said school.
17. tubed in the west river--twice. the first time no bruises. the second time, the water was lower and bruises appeared where my f-a had dragged itself into rocks. another ouch.
18. talked to parents, jamie and melissa recently. parents are redoing their yard, jamie had a birthday and melissa may have gotten a job. all three are reasons to celebrate--just in case you needed a reason.
19. the hott mama and her monstrous love may have actually bought a home. i am really excited for them.
20. kristin got married to kelvin. he is still in the d. r. and may be there for two years, but at least he can come here again one day.
these are the top 20 things that have happened. no order. just as i thought of them. if you have questions, or want more details on one, just let me know.
xoxo
clangfo

why is it that...

2008-07-05T15:25:00.000-07:00

so i have a friend (this one is real. not like the others.)...this friend is feeling scared because he has everything he has worked for a year and a half to get. he is scared that these things will be taken away. he is scared because his grand mother is in the hospital. he is scared because he is paranoid. so i told him that his grandmother is not looking back on her life right now thinking about all the times she worried about something. and then i told him that even if he looses everything he has accumulated (a positive female relationship, a record contract, good times with friends...) all these things can be gotten again. am i right? just looking for back up. why when things are going are way do we worry? i do it. do you do it? creepy stenographer here, gets worried when things are wonderful. why? am i paranoid, too. of course i am. but why? do you get it, too. why can we not just revel in what we worked so hard to achieve? why can we not be proud of the fact that we have relationships, steady work (or not steady work--hm), we are happy with our current situation. why does there always have to be more,and why do we worry about it? you be my therapist. thanks team.

yesterday

2008-06-30T13:17:00.001-07:00

yesterday hott mama, gamera, the gameras junior, and mothra, and prince charming and myself set off on a glorious adventure that involved dragons, guns a blazing, speeding cars, thunder and lightning, and tickets--many, many tickets. we made the two hour treck to poop hampshire's own fun spot. fun spot boasts that it is the world's largest video game arcade. three huge floors filled with pin ball, all the stand up arcade games you remember as a kid and the table top versions too, skee ball, air hockey, mini golf, little rides for the kids, and a bragin' dragon's lair for a pizza lunch. it was great fun. just seeing how happy sebastian was while playing kid skee ball and how pumped he got when he won tickets (nothing compared to how happy i got when i won tickets) was the best. those kids ran and jumped and rode and laughed harder than i ever saw them do those things before. and dust and the rest set the daily high scores on more than a few machines. i tried my luck at the adult games (paperboy, super mario bros. and q*bert) turns out whack a mole is more my style. i like to win the tickets because then you can shop at the end. we got the boys a hatch and grow sea turtle and a whoopie cushion. i walked out with two ring pops and those glasses with the eyes painted on and a fun spot cup. the rest was a donation to the hott paquettes. we got to ride go carts after lunch. that was my best part, too. there were disgusting puddles of go cart track water that coated us. it was gross, but made worth it because we got to ride go carts. we missed our chance for air brush tattoos due to the man attempting to sweep said puddle off the track. damn that puddle. on the way there and the way home it was raining pretty badly. we only passed one wreck. that was good for a two hour road trip. who knew poop hampshire had such a fun spot?
i came home to a slightly sick belly (all the horrible/delicious food we ate) and claudia ready to watch definitely, maybe. i loved it. yesterday was one of my best days. thanks friends. now off to water aerobics. it is chilly so i don't know how long i will last. wish me luck.

c is for completion

2008-06-30T12:59:00.000-07:00

well, well, well. the day i have been waiting for has finally arrived. i finished the main portion of my class today. i took my last quiz. i made 100%. now i just take the final on next tuesday (the 8th). i feel like i will be ready. today i am bored. i am happy to be bored, because things are finishing up. for one...the class. for two... having a lot of time off. soon i will be back working full time. watch out bank account, for you will be on the rise. i think i told you last time that we got the amount in loans i can expect for the first year of school. shazam! it is intense. i may not be debt free for a long, long time. but i think i am ready to give that a try. my neck, on the other hand, is hurting. so i am not sure how well i really am coping with the fact that all this (my dream of future independence) is quickly becoming reality. it has also affected my sleep. i have almost given up sleep completely. you would think that now would be the time i am loving my sleep. i am working hard and studying and doing things that generally necessitate sleep. so why can't i do even that? i will get there. i would like to say that i am done worrying about when i will sleep or when i will pay back my loans (i don't even have the loans yet), but those things tend to predominate my thoughts and my interactions with others. everything in my mind comes back to "enjoy this, because it costs money and you wont have that in a little while." and i know dust doesn't mean to, but he inadvertently facilitates this. i want to go on a day trip to north hampton, but he said "we went and spent enough yesterday." and i know he is right, but i just feel so guilty for putting him in my future financial situation. but on the other hand, i have never failed. i will not start now. and i will not give up without even trying. so what if i lose sleep. i have seen the machinist. i will lose massive amounts of weight. maybe i will be mistaken for a super model and begin earning my keep while wearing high fashion. something i have always wanted. high fashion. then i will look good and paying stupid loans off will be as easy as smiling for the camera. my life could be perfect. could be? hell, i am on my way.

the subject says it all

2008-06-25T20:59:00.000-07:00

the next post was somehow rearranged so i talk about doing chemistry and go right into obama. i am sorry. what i meant to say was that i am doing well in my chemistry class, still have an a, only one lesson left to do. that i am a dork. and i have been cynically reading up on obama. now begin that one again. sorry for the flubs.

wha happened?

2008-06-25T20:32:00.000-07:00

dork. so what do you expect? i started reading i have one more lesson to do for my chemistry class. that is the best news i could give, right? and i still have an a in the class. novel, for me and organic chem, but i am a closet brainiacobama's platform because i figure i will have to vote for either him or ralph nader. to me ralph is a better candidate, i agree with a lot of what he says and i know he has my best interests at heart. i just remember someone asking him after those planes hit the world trade center (and pentagon, and field) what he would have done in response to that. his answer was a resounding, " it wouldn't have happened on my watch. i have been lobbying to get locks on cockpit doors since the 1980's." i started looking into it, and sure enough...ol' ralphie was looking out for those people who died on 9/11. i have to admit i was cynically reading the obama platform. he says he wants to keep no child left behind (a horrible piece of legislation if you ask me), but that it needs more funding. he wants math and science grads to want to graduate and teach (this has never been a strong pull for actual mathematicians and scientists--because there is no money and no lure of nobel prizes or other awards.) how does he plan on luring these people to teaching--more money of course. right. we are supposed to believe that our governmental body will pass legislation to give money to school. those kids can't vote. (cynicism--sorry.) he does want universal health care. (a plus, but something hillary has been working toward for years.) and he did talk about preventative medicine (hello--chiropractic... but scary with his health care for all, i have to start thinking about how much these potential companies will pay me to perform said chiropractic services). and he mentioned trying to keep social security. these are all things i am for. he proposed a pay as you go system for government so as not to run us into anymore debt, but i wonder how long that will last. a lot of feathers could be ruffled when certain things lose funding or get cut back. like i said, i read it with a lot of cynicism, but that is me. i got frustrated when i asked a few people why i should vote for him, and they would say, "he is smart." or "he wants change." george bush promised to unite our country, too, so you can understand my scepticism when i hear these things spouted off. also why do people say, "you just HAVE to vote for obama." tell me why i HAVE to. why is it not ok, to read the literature, and wait until running mates are named? why should i just know now? that isn't what this should be about. should it?
beauty school on house (on the flip side, i got a letter from my grandfather. he is about the cutest grandpa any one could ever have. he let's me know about his garden, and my aunt and uncle, and mom and dad. it is nice. we had jeremy's 31st birthday last night. we unknowingly got him the same video game his mom got him, but that is ok. also i have a few things to look forward to fun spot video game palace this weekend (if you haven't seen king of kong, fist full of quarters, get off your lazy bum and watch it. it is fabulous). also day of beauty with the girls at the keenejuly 14th. manicures, pedicures and facials for only 52$. amazing. i ordered bras today off the computer. so they should be here in a few weeks. (but i can look forward to it.) my final is scheduled for july 7th because on the 1st we get to go eat at wayne and joe'skaren and jack's friends who are wonderful landscapers and even better cooks). and tuesday i am also getting my eyebrows waxed for the first time. not such a bad life here, eh. that is my life in a nutshell for now. i will get back to you all soon.
love and more love from me.

i need your help

2008-06-17T13:31:00.000-07:00

here are my real dilemmas. why is it that when you don't really care for someone and you want them out of your life, you feel bad? it was them who didn't live up to your expectations. why does this happen? i am a firm believer that when i am surrounded by positive people, my life is better. but sometimes getting there is work. why?

also help me rationalize what i am about to do is ok. we got the amount that i have been approved for in loans. it is more than dust and i make in a year--combined. that stresses me out. i told him that if he wanted to divorce me, now is the time. come august, it will be too late. please weigh in on these two issues. i would love to know what you think.

i don't get it.

2008-06-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

there are two things people from new england love. those two things are underdogs and dynasties. not like the cartoon superhero or ancient chinese civilizations, but rather the new england patriots that until recently were the top of their game every year ( i should include the red sox here as they are also quickly becoming a dynasty but have been the underdog for many generations---thus doubly loved here in the northern states.) and the celtics. my friends are so excited that their beloved celtics have a chance tonight to go from last place to first place all in the course of the season. most of the people i know here in vermont will be in my house tonight watching their underdogs attempt to defeat a team i have loved since my first trip back to LA in first grade (mainly because they are purple, but we will go into that later).
i say there is something to be said for consistency. look at the razorbacks--90% of the time their football team is not just bad, but they suck. anyone from outside the state could never believe a team so horrible would necessitate a field with the world's largest jumbo tron. like we really need our suckiness so big that the faa has to be told when that thing will be on (it registers with the FAA that a flight is crashed right on our beloved razorback field). anytime we score, they shoot off a freaking cannon. some seasons the cannon only gets fired three times. but that is our team, and they continuously suck, and we seem to love them more for it. i will use this analogy for a team outside the south (so as to not make it appear that southerners are stupid and thus would root for the home team never knowing they actually suck).
enter the amazing LA Lakers. they have been at the top of their game for more years than i have been alive. continuously good. people around america love the lakers. one of my favorite mc's has a line from a song (about being from la) that goes like this, (sorry about the spelling) " Asa laka lakam/ i also like the lakers. " hells yea. the lakers are hella cool. kareem abdul jabar, magic, shaq, kobe...generations of greatness. seems like until recently the celtics could only boast larry bird. larry bird? a hideous white man who has done nothing with his retired time other than bulk up and spout random basketball opinions. has he nothing else? wahoo. go boston. you got an over sized white guy spouting opinions. my team has magic johnson's thrift stores all over california, with proceeds going to help find a cure for aids. and need i remind all of you of the ever popular raver fashion of goggles--made famous by kareem. and just think what lessons we were taught when shaq and kobe overcame their off court hatred to dominate the nba. and when my team traded that big oaf to miami--genius. i hope my team wins tonight. just so i have a house full of unhappy guests. i love my spite.
before these games i would have told you i didn't really care about basketball unless i could go there and see it in person. but my love for consistency and my love for the lakers, and my love for being right has taken over yet again. would you new englanders make up your mind if you are rooting for underdogs or dynasties? all this flip flopping from sport season to sport season is making me ill.
if the celtics win--so be it. they have a good record this year, they have three good players, fine. but if my team wins...IN YOUR FACE.

i am a slaker!

2008-06-14T19:32:00.001-07:00

i have not been blogging really since we have been back in vermont. i have been busy with school and playing and a little work. just last week i went down to a glorious four day week. now that is the life. this week i get to do the same. i have sunday, monday and tuesday off. it is nice. two days for chemistry, and one day off. tomorrow is father's day. to celebrate, we are having our only friend with children over to the house for a little rock band. we went grocery shopping tonight. we got such staples as cake batter ice cream, goldfish crackers, and pink lemonade. why would we not be sebastian and dorian's favorite? i attempted my first ebay sale this week. sort of a mistake. my ma won my bag for 75$. not all bad because it will be great for her. but i did pay more than 75 for it. but it is my mom, and she will look fabulous with the big navy blue bag. i am missing california right now. less now that we have the food at the farm, but more because i miss the cheap shopping, and our california friends. i am thankful allison and quinn are here. without them, there would be no reason for me to be here other than the fact that i know everyone in town, and dust is so durn happy here. that is nice to see. he falls asleep before he gets bored here. there he would be up until 4 am and then complain of being bored. funny how that works. but i just read on my friend, melissa's blog that she spent the weekend in san fran and ate yummy food and explored fun new areas. we ate mediocre mexican (it was also great) and the chelsea royal diner (not bad). it comes no where near close to finding out what papusas are and eating them for the first time. but when i am back there i will complain about missing allison and quinn, and ultimately they are worth more than most meals to me. we are still working on what to get that stinky jack for father's day. my dad got a new electric toothbrush. i think he will be thrilled. some dads like power tools. not mine. a new electric toothbrush and he is good to go. i love that about him. i am trying to convince dust that we should take jack and karen out to peter havens (my favorite restaurant here). he is unsure because it is so expensive, but it gets us a chance to go there, too. so we all win. and eating dinner out with them is sort of a trip. just tonight we heard a story about a man they called "Radar." get this the guy had some weird cartilaginous growth in his ear. i was laughing so hard. also he (radar, i think) married a woman that neither of them knew her real name. they just called her wrinkles because she was twenty years older than poor radar. so i was picturing things like trees with hearts carved in them that said "radar and wrinkles 2gether 4ever" and things like that. that just kept me rolling for so long. ol' radar and wrinkles. maybe that is what they should start calling dust and i. i got dibs on being radar. his skin is much stretchier than mine. rob and quinn are away until tomorrow at a wedding in north cakalaca ( north carolina for y'all not in the know). quinn's parents will be here sunday night and monday they are all going to look at potential vermont wedding locations. secretly, i hope they find it here. i like the idea of being married in vermont. why not start your life together (like they haven't been doing that since before they got engaged, but you know what i mean) where you hope to build your life together (like they have not been "building a life." i sound so stupid, but you all know what i mean). but if they chose delaware, we will make that work too. just takes more planning on our end. that is all. dust likes side projects. :) i am still working on getting pictures up. though i have had no comments in so long that i am sure it no longer matters because the one (hott mama) who is reading this sees me on monday nights and tuesday afternoons already. so she tells me the comments in person. and gamera just leaves self deprecating comments so that we feel bad that we can not play "Hard" drums. (only kidding hott paquettes, i am just trying to get other people to let me know they read this thing.) i think that is pretty much our vermont news. our roommate turned 21. that is exciting. my friend ryan was impressed i knew 21 year olds. i think he thinks i am old, but he is that old. he should be wrinkles. old fart. dustin can be radar. and i will be a princess. as it should be. wrinkles and radar, my two best friends. :) i will probably go blogging again on tuesday. gotta keep y'all up to snuff on my chem lessons. last week was a 90 and an 80. not so bad, and still averaging an a. big brain. looks like i may earn my grandpa that bet he has with my aunt trace (pronounced: ant trace). double or nothing. my grandpa lost last time for thinking i could earn a b or an a. huge mistake. huge. i snuck by with a 70. this time. he may not have to pay. woooohoo. that is pretty much it. i am off to make signs.
xoxo

karen gets honored.

2008-06-06T19:50:00.000-07:00

we have had quite a week. i am pretending to be a little downtrodden that my lovely, lovely lakers lost, but really i don't care. it just keeps things exciting in our house. we have had something to do every night this week. on monday, dustin's grandparents came over for beer time. then came exercise class. tuesday we went to people's pint with karen. wednesday was drinks with karen abel, abby, and sarah waldo. thursday i went to see sex and the city again. this time with laura and new roommate rose. friday, today, we went to the latchis movie theater where they were putting on a celebration for women in agriculture. karen, dustin's mom, was one of the honorees. it was nice. especially since now all the locals will know that jack is NOT married to betsy. it is KAREN'S farm. i get a little sore about that subject because everyone thinks that betsy runs the show. including betsy. it is fine usually, but sometimes she doesn't set people straight that the farm is not hers. i am all for taking ownership in your work, but come on. there should be a limit. karen got flowers and a plaque. she was handed these things by kids in chicken costumes. it was pretty cute. there were several honorees and it was fun to hear all of their stories. we also got steaks from my parents for an "un father's day" for dust. all i got was a card for "unmother's day." another reason it sucks to be a girl. :) not that i want steaks, but surely there is an ice cream of the month group out there. come on. i think this week has been good, but i miss my little kitties. i think they need me. also the purse is being watched and has a bid. it is a good sign with five days to go. so i am pumped. tomorrow we go to noah's going away party at his little cabin. i can not wait to see the deck he has added. i am sure it is great. even quinn says it is a good use of space. i also just read on hott mama's blog that they are going for a second viewing of a home in brattleborro. that is sweet. i hope they like it so they can fulfill their dream of being homeowners. sweet. tomorrow it is supposed to get to 90 degrees. this will be the first time since last summer i have felt that goodness. i also get to start having sunday's off. (three days off). man. i think sunday i may just sit in the yard and see how red i can get. this could very well be my dream come true. my goal is to get a few pictures posted on this thing this weekend. so stay tuned for that. i know it is high time i put something up. also i am thinking of making a haircut appointment. quinn says layers, but abby and sarah waldo say no, just trim. so be sure to weigh in on that. xoxo

put it in my bag

2008-06-04T20:14:00.000-07:00

i listed the bag on ebay. that is right, i am really selling this wonderful bag. here is a photo of it. go bid. make my rent that much easier to pay. :)

i know i look good with it, but you could, too.

now that the camera is back and working, i will get photos of the house and the farm on here. you have my word.

pretty much why i'm here

2008-06-01T20:35:00.000-07:00

this weekend was as close to perfect as i have seen since i got back to vermont. the weather was warm. the rain came a little, but mostly the sun was out. friday was allison's birthday. we got to have a fabulous dinner at a little place called Panasian! we ate good food, drank an adult beverage, ate cakes and watched allison open presents and we got to sing. she had almost sold me on going to see that creepy liv tyler movie, the strangers. i think i would have been sleepless for weeks had i seen that movie, especially at the late show like she was hoping for. but at the last minute we invited the whole gang over for some late night rock band action. it was nice to have jeremy wailing away on the drums and allison singing her siren songs (or playing the bass) while rob played guitar. dust and i switched off with everyone, too. so we got a little rb action in, too. it just felt so comfortable and "right" to have that crew over till the wee hours playing a silly video game. i just hope we did not mess up allison's dream of having us all so scared we couldn't walk to our cars from the theaters. :) it was good for me.
saturday night i got a group of my girls to not only dress up and go out for cosmos, but also go watch sex and the city, the movie. it was probably the best movie i have ever seen, and i can't wait to go back and see it again with the ladies who couldn't go the first time around. it was great. i won't give any details away, in case you are going to see it. but it was just so fun to watch.
today was the putney school's graduation. the putney school is for super rich kids (it is a private boarding school). so most of the kids really have a lot of money. they are supposed to be out of the dorm after graduation so anything left over creates quite a "free for all" for the staff and their chosen friends (me). i got so many good finds and all for free. so if you need anything, come on over. i got some stuff for you. it was nice to get to see hilary and tim. i have not really seen either of them in a while. both are undergoing major life changes very soon (like the rest of us). so that is good for them. but that hilary is a little scared. so it was nice to see her in her element, you know. so i finished the dorm raiding frenzy by coming home to do chemistry. exciting, i know. but i gotta get it done. this section was on carbohydrates and how your body uses them. i learned an interesting fact. here it goes: the only scientifically proven negative effect of sucrose (table sugar) is tooth decay. so all y'all getting upset about my high sugar/ high carb diet, step back. tooth decay? eating too much sugar over the course of a lifetime has not been proven to cause diabetes (my biggest fear) because the sugar is broken down and leaves your body. so i may just make it on this all carb diet. :) also, i made another one hundred on the quiz. boo yah. best weekend ever.

a lovely day!!

2008-05-27T09:45:00.000-07:00

as of yet, i have not left the upstairs of my house since i woke up. this means i have not showered or anything else that most of you would associate with preparing for a busy day. i have done chemistry today. one more chapter down. (i got a 90% for those of you keeping up.) tuesdays here mean dustin works and i finish all the errands that didn't get finished yesterday (depending on how long chemistry takes me. today was a record. only a few hours. that left me with time to put on the duvet cover that has been washed and crumpled in the floor for probably two weeks. i folded clothes that were lost in the duvet cover and put away the clothes in my "closet room." i also wrote and sent my grandfather a letter, my old work and insurance got a letter too. i got caught up on my favorite hott mama's blog and that of her sweet, sweet spawn, big boy s as well. after this, i will shower and go to the bank. i will emerge from the house a success! it is like a caterpillar turning into the most beautiful butterfly. (i had to throw in a sick cliche that i knew would make the hott mama, herself, gag.) speaking of the temptress, her birthday is friday. it is probably the only thing in the world that could keep me away from the sex and the city movie premier (that and the fact that there is no telling when our two horse town will get the movie). i can not wait to invite myself over for a birthday celebration. i should make a point to call her to find out the when's and where's and what-to-brings. oh boy.
also i bought a hobo bag yesterday to sell on ebay. my shopping adventure with quinn, lead us to tj maxx. they randomly had hobo bags in the purse section. so i called my friend melissa (who makes a living off of ebay). she looked up how much they were going for and what i could hope to make. only one was worth purchasing and selling, but i hopefully, stand to make at least $50. now that should buy me a shopping trip for the future.
other big news includes the fact that june is almost here. that means i should be getting one more day off a week to do the chemistry--making my grade that much higher and getting the class done that much faster. also it should pave the way for the elusive rock band party.
at 5 our new roommate, rose is moving in. some of you will remember that she and dan came to visit us in berkeley. so you have seen her.
memorial day weekend is over. thank goodness. the farm was pretty busy. and though it made for quick days, i was exhausted. saturday, i also had one killer migraine to work with. that hasn't happened in a while, but it made sunday easy because i was so happy i could just move. so all is well here. now, i will shower.

things are looking up

2008-05-21T20:23:00.000-07:00

i went to the dentist today. last time i was there to have a cavity filled, i could not use that side of my mouth for six months. so he fixed that. i also had to have him fix the cavity he broke while checking my teeth after the cleaning. but after holding my mouth open for nearly an hour, my mouth problems were done. i came home to sit on the couch, numb, but happy my mouth troubles were over, and watch oprah. dust came home a little early, too. so we took a nap. i woke up to my tongue itching the crap out of me. i guess that is what happens when your tongue is waking up from novocaine. all good though. i took a shower and then we ate at top of the hill grill with quinn and rob and her friend shenendoa (sp). we also got creamies. i needed a treat. when dust and i got home, we watched lost and just sat on the couch. it was nice. a pleasant evening out and then time with my honey. exactly what i needed. and i can use both sides of my mouth again when i eat. nice. i feel good. tomorrow we go to rob's pottery show. that is pretty exciting. i am pumped to see what he made while he was at camp in north carolina. this is the grand unveiling. should be sweet. we'll take the check book.

not all bad

2008-05-20T15:54:00.000-07:00

finished another chemistry. five down nine to go. got another 80 on this one. i think that is ok. we have claudia bringing over some stuff today before she moves out of her house in boston. and alex is coming over. so things are better now.

my green monster

2008-05-20T14:24:00.000-07:00

we are safe back here in the green mountain state. all is fine and dandy except one thing. my green monster is starting to raise it's ugly green head. here in vermont, we overlook a green, green field (where we plan to one day build a home). we are also both making money for the first time since november (green). i should be happy and wonderful. but i keep have dreams where things are getting stolen from me. this has been going on for about a week now. i asked my friend, hott mama what that meant, and she said something in my life was out of control. so i have been thinking and thinking what is out of control, and actually, there a several things out of control in my life. here are a few. i am used to spending long periods of time with my honey. he now has one day off six days on. on his one day off, he likes to spend it playing video games and sleeping. so i am green with envy at all the people throughout the day/weeks that get to hang out with him. i don't feel like i do anymore. i have two days off, but one is fully devoted to chemistry, and that makes me a little ill (green). it is a hard class and things keep happening to make it impossible to do. yesterday, our one day off together, i could have been doing quiet chemistry upstairs while dustin took a nap on the couch, but the power was out. so now computing could be had. i woke him up by sweeping (a job that needed to be done, but only has one day to get done). he was a little sour at me for waking him. i was at a loss, because i was cleaning the house and letting him sleep. stinky. (green). he explained that having tuesdays off was actually like having two days off because i didn't work. this made me angry. (green). i am a little sad now because instead of getting to tell him these things, he is seeing his grandparents, a job he likes, but has to work around his schedule. i know he loves the farm, but i need my honey in my life. i need him functional and happy. six days a weeks is killing me. and while he is working, he is fine, but he falls asleep early most nights. so i don't get to see him , or we have some amazingly crazy plan (this is good because we get to hang out, and we get to be happy) with friends. i am so happy to be surrounded by friends again, but for the first time in years (anti green), i hung out with friends while dust stayed home (green). i guess i just need some quality time with my honey. it will happen. in june.
sniffle, sniffle

vermont, a green state.

2008-05-20T14:23:00.001-07:00

get ready to rumble!

2008-05-15T19:24:00.000-07:00

for months dust has been after me to start singing a solo tour on rock band. so i finally started a solo tour on rock band. you all know that all i do is sing. so it is pretty much me, sitting in the house, singing in various pitches and octaves to hit the notes of various songs. i'm really singing, not yelling. and i am singing on the "hard" level. so be impressed. i think i am ready to take on gwen stefani. the hardest song i have come across so far is, "should i stay or should i go now/ if i stay there will be trouble/ if i go there will be double." it is really hard for me to sing that low. you may think in your head that it is an easy song. that is ok, i did. but it is so hard for me. so when we have guests, i will not rush to sing that one. that may have to be a quinn song.

also we are trying to plan a sleepover with all of the hott paquettes. i am so excited. i hope this dream comes to fruition. the last time we just got the elder two hotts and now we may get all 4. dorian knows the words to "dead or alive." we are set. i don't know if they know it or not, but i think that family should buy a bus and take that gig on tour. they've got their own band. they've got the world's most talented five year old drummer, the cutest two year old singer, a hott bassist, and a daddy guitarist (sorry jeremy, you have to settle for "daddy" as your adjective. but you are still way more talented on the strings than i could ever hope to be. so that must suffice for now.) i hope it happens. right now dust and i share one day off a week. mondays. in june this should change. we will try to get back to our luxurious sunday/monday schedule. i am looking to work 4 days a week until the chemistry class is over. so it may be tricky to get jeremy off of work when we are off work--unless this is a rocking democracy. in that case it is 5 (if dorian and sebastian are of legal rock voting age) against one. also we need rob and quinn in the mix. that way we can all switch instruments and no one gets too tired before 4 am (official rockstar bed time). good thinking, huh.

i should go to do the ol' chemistry. i must start lesson 5. as it is, i only have 10 more weeks left. thank goodness.

we are here

2008-05-13T17:59:00.000-07:00

well. i finished section 4 of my class. i only got an 80, but that is still 10points higher than i need, so i am ok with that. things here are looking up. we got monday off, and i get tuesday off, too. that is the new chemistry day. the computer is up and going. i got to eat dinner at jeremy and allison's last night. it was so good to get to hang out with them. i don't think i have ever gotten the two of them to myself, so that was nice. the house is finally feeling like we live here. we got groceries and hung curtains. we're getting there. even our friend jess and her baby, daylin, came to visit us. i even managed to sleep till 10 this morning (not that that is a record or anything, y'all know how i am, but with no curtains, 10 is great!!) let's hear it for the curtains. we took karen for a mother's day dinner tonight at a yummy sushi place called shin la (or as dustin says, "shin ra"). it was a nice evening. oh. yes. today the last of the big boxes came in the mail. it had my back pack, some sweaters and rock band and the wii. if the post office knew what they were holding, i am certain we would not have gotten our box. luckily, no one tipped them off. it is good to sleep in this house on our bed. it is so quiet compared to our san pablo address. and our bed is the lap of luxury. we are on a busy road for vermont and maybe one person every 10 minutes goes by during daylight hours. it is so nice. we are thinking of building a house on the grandmother's land that is right across the road. so it is nice to have a chance to feel out where we could spend most of our life. so far so good.
i started a solo tour in the rock band game today. so far i am at least 4 stars in every song on hard mode. now that is saying something. i only sing. so you know any potential neighbors love that, but they are so far away, they don't know what is happening in this house. so i can be as loud a singer as i want. nice. also, you should see how happy the kitties are here. stairs to climb, windows to look out, their couch to sleep on, and empty rooms to explore. kitty heaven!
so i guess things are good. we have a schedule at work. we sleep well. we see our friends every day. it is good.
dust is happy to be back to work. he is on for 6 days a week. i did that in asheville, and it nearly made me crazy. i vowed to never do it again. so far, i am pretty much keeping that vow. and i am much happier now. i don't think the manix's mind too much that i only work 5 days. i am sure they would like more, but i think we would all be burnt out on me in no time. so all is well.
we miss our friends in california. melissa and andy are in arkansas right now. would be nice to be warm and tipsy. (i know they are.) they get to hang out with jamie, too while they are there. i am jealous. it would be quite a party to see those girls at the same time again!
meg's birthday is next week. shout outs to her. she gets to turn thirty. so that is nice. she is a doctor of anthropology. so she has a big brain. but she is still fun. i am sorry to miss that party.
forrest, if you are reading this, like you said you would, i should tell you jack told me the best way to get rid of aphids organically is organic soapy water. you may have to wash your chard a little more thoroughly, but you will get to eat it instead of the aphids eating it. also i want another jar of that chocolate sauce. how do i go about getting that?
lynette is back home and has eaten all the yummy organic food we left her. i am sure she, too, is happy to have her own bed and the snoring man and crazy dogs that comfort you to sleep when you sleep there.
love to all.

listen alla y'all, it's a sabatage!

2008-05-08T15:36:00.000-07:00

since returning to vermont, we have seen friends which is great! we can walk to work, or ride our bikes that we rescued from the barn at the farm. we can do a lot of things (laundry--in the house, for example). but there are some things we cannot do. here they are:
we cannot take a fast, hot shower. the water system is quirky. you must let the water run for a good 5 minutes to guarantee a hot shower. otherwise, cold.
we cannot take the box springs to our mattress up the stairs. the way the house is set up, it just doesn't go up because of the banister/ceiling combination.
we cannot cook dinner. our pots are somewhere in the barn. we must get them.
we cannot go to the bank. we are working until well after the bank closes.
we cannot go to dinner after nine anymore. nothing is open then except bars.
until today, we could not get on the internet. i thought this was the most sabotage--ing thing because i need to do my chemistry, and being that it is an online class, the internet is key in actually taking the class.
also we cannot play the rock band. the big box we sent, is not here yet. it also has the wii. so no smooth moves, either. what are we to do with ourselves? the horror!
all this aside, i am happy to be here. and the kitties love their new digs. it is pretty sweet to be able to hang out with rob and quinn and have allison and the boys come visit at work. that never happened in california. and obviously, the internet is back on now. and we have cable tv for the first time in years. we get to go to ben and laura's tomorrow for a party. we have eaten all the cupcakes i brought home. so i guess it is time to get back to baking. and it will be nice to put that lovely pink kitchenaid mixer to work. sleeping on our bed is the most luxurious thing we have had in a while. that pleasure is not lost on the kitties or us. riding a bike is about the silliest thing i think i have done in a while. do you have any idea how ridiculous i look? so far only dustin and jack have seen me, both got a chuckle out of it. so. between that and not driving, i think it is worth it. the crew at work is pretty good. they all are happy and nice. laura is there and claudia starts tomorrow. should be fun. as for me now, i should go and take a shower. i gotta run the water a while. but i just thought i should keep you updated. love to all.

tennis anyone?

2008-04-29T11:49:00.001-07:00

today, though not even noon, has already been productive. we got up a little early. it has been warm here so i decided to wear my new pink dress. i look good.

some of you may know that today is the day that grand theft auto IV comes out. dust was pumped. he jokingly suggested that we go to one of the stores that was having a midnight sale. when i agreed, he said no. so we waited. we got to the store by 10 am. we then got him his required jamba juice. he loves that stuff. then we got a big box for the guitar hero stuff to be mailed home. it will be on it's way soon. i found a vet in putney that sells the kitties new diet food. and i am going toy shopping for two little boys today. i am excited about that. i hope they like surprises because i sure don't have an idea what to get them, but i can't wait to have a looksie. it is dustin's last day of work. i think he would stay home just to play this new game, but it is not so hard to work he says. so he is playing the game now. i think he likes it.
when i get back from the toy shopping, i will try to finish another chemistry before we pack up the computer. we may be out of commission tomorrow, and for sure while we are traveling thursday. so we will catch up with all of you soon. be pumped....for once!
(see dust "reading" in the background?) i love that guy.

make mine a turkey!

2008-04-28T18:25:00.000-07:00

quiz number three in my chemistry class was taken and another 100% was rewarded. to celebrate my "turkey", i bought myself two new dresses from american apparel. one is hot pink and another is green. the hot pink one looks like a long polo shirt. and the green one has a boat collar and no sleeves. i like to think that in chemistry i now have 300%. i know that is false, but i feel good thinking like that.
while i was doing my celebratory shopping, i got a little thing of frozen yogurt. i had passed by a festival, but i couldn't see what kind of festival because i was on the phone with my dad. so anyway. i get the yogurt and go sit in the park. turns out the festival was for freedom of speech. i love freedom of speech. so i was looking at the people. they looked weird, but it was sunny, and there was a bouncy castle, so i must admit, i was a little preoccupied. then i noticed that this freedom of speech rally was for freedom of expression, and half the people were naked and covered in metallic paints. now it was no november evening in vermont. and i could leave this merry band of nakedness. so i ate my yogurt in the car where it was nice and HOT and everyone (me) was fully clothed. what is it about me that can find the nakedness?

i only have one more day of work on wednesday left. i'm pretty pumped about that. i wish i had it off, but there is no reason for me to have it off. all i have left is to pick up my brother on wednesday night, and get on a plane. i am living out of a suitcase right now just to be ready. dust should do the same tomorrow night. i need to find a box big enough to fit the drums for the rock band game and get that sent off. i gotta get some in flight reading, too. so don't go buying this week's trashy magazines if you haven't already. i'll have a few ready for the taking friday morning.
love to all.

and one more thing

2008-04-26T22:45:00.001-07:00

i wanted to show you guys random pictures that haven't yet been put on the blog. i thought you guys might like to see 'em. if not, don't look.

why not let this one start 'em off? we found this big cup at a store. who needs that much beverage? you will be happy to know that it stayed at the store, and it will not be making the trip home. so no random, huge cup as an embarrassing gift for anyone. although, now that i think about it, there is still time....

did i already show you dustin's new hoodie? i did not get a matching one, you will be happy to know.
baby emma no longer cries when i hold her. maybe we will start getting along.

at our coffee shop (across the road) the owner and his friends gather and sing opera once a month. we finally caught them this month. it was nice. they had a good time. and the place was filled with old italian couples singing along. i loved it.

you remember when we had hilary here? i was just getting to taking my org. chem final so things got a little hectic and she is not so well represented on this blog. just means you will have to make the trip again--or look at the pictures when we get home.

we even had dan and rose here when my parents were here. you remember that?

we found this big concrete slide in one of our city parks. there was cardboard right next to it. that cardboard makes you slide twice as fast. it was a lot of fun this day. this is the same day i had my interview at La Foot.

i did a bad, bad thing

2008-04-26T22:35:00.000-07:00

i have been in love with a pair of shoes since before dust and i started dating. he got them at the new balance store (using my insurance discount) in portland way before we even started dating. he then re bought the same pair of shoes last year. i forgot he had re gotten them. i thought he had the same pair for 5+ years. so i rationalized finally buying them (45%off) from my work when my size came in. i was so happy. i put them on and wore them while working the whole rest of the day. i absolutely love them!

so dust might have been a little upset given the fact that we already dress alike due to both of us being sponsored by agent apparel in the early 2000's and then being sponsored by walker farm until recently. and we always wear jeans. so we do kinda look alike. but i do love my new shoes. so i was just getting over it when we went to my brother's house on thursday. he was not only wearing the same shoes as dust and i, but also the same shirt as dustin. so i guess it runs in my family to dress like dust.

well, howdy, folks!

2008-04-26T22:14:00.000-07:00

we've been continuing to pack. i got several boxes shipped to the manix's farm. and tomorrow we will go to buy actual luggage so's we can get the stuff we need now and right when we get there--home. we even made the treck to my brother's to visit the baby and drop a car load off there. we got the kitties their kitty valium--just in case. we signed our outrageous lease, and sent a check. so i guess, come thursday, we might be ready to jump on a plane. we had the work dinner tonight. we went out with my two favorite people from work, matt and tim (and their honies) and another girl named manami. so i work monday and wednesday. then no more La foot. we had melissa and andy here wednesday night. they were on their way to get andy's dad. so it was nice to say good bye to them. we even went to the hot chip show on thursday with meg and forrest (our two favorite berkeley--ites). so we have had busy and fun times. we are continuing to eat out as much as possible in hopes that we will get sick of it, and not miss having great restaurants around. i think we are about done. ( but don't tell dust.) we have to just get a box for the rock band drums and mail them off ( we could not ship them before melissa and andy got here. they need it, too). other than that, i think we just have to put stuff in bags and go. not so bad. so it all seems real now, and i am ready to come home to my friends. below are just some pictures from the week. enjoy. next week, you could be on here!!

to ben's baby emma smiles now!

meg and forrest post amazing hot chip show!!

oh yes!

2008-04-20T22:35:00.000-07:00

i almost forgot, i got another 100% on quiz 2. we'll see if we can get a turkey. that would pad the chem grade. also i bought a new "california approved" winter coat. it is no where near warm enough for vermont, so it will stay here for the summer. but i will describe it so you guys get a feel for it. it is a white, wool pea coat. single breasted and knee length. it will look nice with dressy clothes and fancy with jeans. i pretty much love it. when we first got here, they were way too expensive. but seasons change and with that, prices go down. and now that i am working, and it was 75% off. so i got it. when dust gets home, i will try to take a photo. you guys will love it. and happy birthday again to kristin, quinn and jack.

two birthdays have happened

2008-04-20T22:09:00.001-07:00

since i last wrote, two very important people in my life have celebrated another birthday. they share a few similarities. their honeys are away, they are living in their own house, both don't usually do too much to celebrate their birthday, and i have not talked to either since before their birthday. so i am sad. i want to know what quinn and kristin did for their birthdays. kristin's birthday was friday, the 18th. i worked all day and got off too late to call her (durn those time zones). that day we were awoken by a call from our new car insurance company at 6:45 am (again--durn those time zones). needless to say, i woke up very grumpy. i don't usually get up until 8:45. so, i woke up 2 hours early. you all know how i don't like mornings. i would just as soon miss them all. but no! this guy called and left a message. can you believe it? after the phone rang, the neighbors started in with the hammering and the kitties started singing to get out of the room. when i got to work, i decided to be happy. it worked. just needed a mind change. then i came home at 6:30, and dust was grumpy. he was tired of being bored while i am at work. he is ready to work. to cheer him up and celebrate the coach's birthday, we made the 10 mile trip to the infamous in n out burger. it was a nice night. after eating we came home and watched more episodes of lost. not a bad day really.
the 18th is quinn's day. i was to work. it was chilly, and dust went to tahoe to see shea. i bought new shoes and watched lars and the real girl. it was good. it made me cry. i have been saying for a few days that i think i would feel better if i got a good cry out. i did feel better. i spent the nights with the kitties. i had bought a bottle of champagne, but the idea of solo drinking was not so appealing. so i watched the movie and did a little chemistry. i went to bed around 1am. as i turned out the light, albee jumped on the bed like usual. he looked for dustin, and jumped down. he went into the closet and just started putting on a show. i thought i was home free because there was no snoring from next door and no hammering from downstairs. i thought the night would be easy. boy was i wrong. the concert put on for mona and i lasted nearly half an hour. i did everything i could, but he just kept going back into the closet to cry. and dustin thinks albert doesn't like him!!! as albee got done, mona who was sitting patiently by the door, started her own chorus. i had to put her on the bed twice to get her to be quiet. she was much easier to pacify. the neighbors, never ceasing to amaze, began with the hammering at 6:30. this continued until 8 when a man walking down the street started screaming. ahh. life in the city.
i made it through both the birthdays. i hope they did, too. i hope they had so much fun, they didn't notice their honey was missing. i hope they got everything they wanted and then some. i hope they both want to keep the celebrations rolling when we get home. we want to celebrate with both of them. happy birthday, y'all.
and jack, dustin's dad's birthday is tomorrow. we will have to find a way to celebrate that here. any reason to celebrate. and we have a chilled bottle of champagne. :) take it easy, jack, don't work too hard. be sure to get a few games of hearts in. maybe get a doughnut during coffee time. eat a big piece of cake and a little one for me. make it a best day. know that we love all three of you. we love jack the most because he is the oldest (isn't that sebastian's logic?).

i'm back!!

2008-04-17T23:05:00.000-07:00

hey team. as you know, i started my second semester of organic chemistry this week. for starters, the first two sections are covered by no book. no book. i mean this is a class i have no idea what is going on, and now there is no book. what is the deal? so i read and read and read all the little handouts i printed out at the library on monday. and today, i took my quiz. i was a little nervous becuase what do i know about organic chemistry? but turns out i know a little. i got a 100%. check out my big brain. ooooooh, cortney has a big brain! finally. i am back.

we also spent the day getting the car looked at. it was time for the transmission to be checked. so we got to walk all over our neighborhood running errands. it was nice. we ate a freeze (ice cream mixed with m&m's---yummy!) we mailed a lot of packages. so if you find your birthday coming (quinn and kristin), your gift should be there in, like, three days. so start getting excited. we wrapped. not just dinky boxes the post office gives you. real wrapping paper. we're fancy and citified. we also mailed our first box (my shoes) to the farm. should be there in 8 days). we got the call that the car was done in the middle of the afternoon and we walked down to get it. it was less than $70. never in my life have i had car maintenance done (besides oil changes, of course) for under $100. so that was nice.

we also started season 4 of the wire. this is the season everyone says is the best. i miss all my people i have gotten to know for 3 seasons, but i will get used to these little kids. and i know i am hooked because we watched the three episodes on the dvd. and no we get to mail it back to netflix. man, what a good day.

i'll have to tell you about the hiking trip we took with forrest last weekend. i got a few pictures, but you need to see forrest. that way you know he exists. and we saw cows in berkeley. we had heard rumors, but now we know that there really are cows in berkeley.

also we saw the bank job last night with the guy from the transporter in it. i like that dude. he is cute. it was a true story about a bank robbery in london. i liked it. it seemed like an old timey movie--all wind up, then climax, then credits. it was buy one get one free night at our brew and view, wednesday and all.

working tomorrow. i work right up until april 30th. then fly home the next day. can't wait to see you all.

dust goes to tahoe with forrest this weekend to get a little snowboarding in. i think he is ready to go there now. i am making him wait until saturday afternoon (he's working saturday morning), because i want him to bring me the car while i work. that way i don't have to park at my work. there is no parking around there, and the last time i parked there, i got a $36 ticket. so he has to wait until at least 5 to leave so that the two hour parking limit is not exceeded. also it means i get to tell my honey goodbye. see, big brain!

i know today was a nice day. i will have a few more before i get home. and this weekend, putney's temperature should be higher than ours. you go putney--ites. think of me while i am chilly and home alone with two kitties. not so bad, but, two days is nothing. hope you all have a good day, too.

one down nine to go

2008-04-15T01:35:00.000-07:00

today was a day of doing. i realized that i had been living my life waiting for things to be over and done with. this is not usually like me. so this weekend marked me taking my life back and having fun. i am officially done with 90% of everything i set out to do here. the one exception is finishing organic chem 2. after quitting my job, i realized i had no more stress in my life. rent was paid, we have a place in vt, taxes are done, chem one is done and passed. why lose sleep? so i am done with all that. today, after my half day (i will give you that story in a minute), dust and i had a date. he was going to take me to the store where this shirt he had been talking about was for sale, and then we would go for lunch and delicious frogurt. i didn't eat breakfast so i would be ready to lunch. also i tried on a pair of my favorite pants and my butt was too big to fit in them any longer, but still happy, i changed into jeans and went to work.
monday's i get off at 2pm. bonus. dust and i went to telegraph, an area i usually try to avoid. but that is where the shirt was and the frozen yogurt is there, too. so we go. i bought him the shirt (a hoodie). and it looks good on him, too. but i figured he needed a treat. if for nothing else than just putting up with me the last few weeks. i must have been little fun, always trying to get things done....boring.
so we also ate ate at this salad place (pretty yummy--and cheap!) then off for the best frozen yogurt in the area. blueberry flavored with chocolate chips. what could be better.?!
at work, i spent the first hour and a half having no one but customers talk to me. finally, i spoke to the manager. one point for la foot and zero points for me. i asked if he had seen the news story about the man who buried the red sox jersey (go ortiz) in the new yankee's stadium. he laughed and everything was ok. finally, i had to tell him that quitting the job was hard for me, too. and get this he offered me and dust his futon in his living room just to get me to stay. part of me is flattered, but the other part just feels sorry for them. stuck with boring people to work with. needless to say, it made for a long four hour shift.
all is good, though, because even la foot is temporary. and dust looks so cute in his new sweatshirt. we got to sit in window and eat salads and laugh.
i even managed to start part two of my class today. i have a new teacher (though the class is still on line), but this one seems more promising. the teacher is more thorough (so far) and the last half of the class is on biological parts of organic chemistry. so even i may get through this.

what you are about to see is shocking!

2008-04-13T13:31:00.000-07:00

the 750's have joined the rank of madonna, the beatles, leonard cohen, and other hall of famers. we may very well be one of the only cover bands they allow in these hallowed halls. all the stars all showed up to cheer us on as we played our 8 song set that included run to the hills, tom sawyer, enter sandmand, won't get fooled again, flirtin' with disaster, and more! you should look for our ck in stores because we are huge. especially huge in asian countries. they even gave us that nice wall plaque. that is real gold. some fan sent us a shot of us while playing our songs. so that is what you have seen. tell everyone!! the 750's are coming and we will rock your socks off.
(sebastian, now that you have the tour bus--come join us in the hall of fame. it takes a lot of time playing the game---i mean rocking out--but you can do it. let's make it happen this summer!!)

i did it (not for kid-o's)

2008-04-11T19:08:00.000-07:00

i really did it. i quit the running shoe job. i told them the end of the month would be my last day. that is two days longer than i wanted to work, but the boy looked like he was going to cry. really. upon giving him my two weeks, he put his hand to his forehead and stared at the floor. he told me how disappointed he was that i was only there one month because he had a lot of good applicants, and now i was leaving. blah blah blah. it is all emotional blackmail. but it totally worked. fortunately, they are letting me finish out my weeks there (for now at least) because we are lined up to live in a four bedroom house. so i know the little extra money will come in handy. i just hope now that the manix's will let us borrow one of their projectors so we can have all night rock band parties in one of the rooms we won't be using. :) so i guess now, everything that had to be done here is done. i should feel better, but i have stressed myself into a headache today. i just feel a little bad. i will get over it, though. it is hot here so i will put on a skirt and go play with dust tonight. maybe i 'll make him get me a drink. not so bad. i feel like i earned it. i hope they never know how i played them (the work that is--not the drinks--but i'll play them, too, i guess.)
overall, i am happy. i have everything i ever wanted. really i do. good shoes, a nice pocketbook, a honey i love, two kitties, and now a home in vt. (those are in no particular order!!) what more could a girl want? i'm sure i'll find it--what more a girl could want. and when i do, i will tell you all so we can all want it. :)
i am glad to hear that papa j gets home tonight. i don't like that allison being left alone with those boys for a whole week. she is probably the strongest lady i know. so i know those boys won't kill her, but i just want her to have her honey back. that is important. and he better bring back a super souvenir for everyone. maybe a baby monkey. that would be coooool!
and start planning the welcome home parties. we get home the same time claudia does. and then rob will be home. so i think you vermonter's only have a few weeks. no worries. when i get there, i will help with the planning, and we can do it at our place. get ready for a rocking summer!! and if we really get the house karen is finalizing for us, get ready to rock until the wee hours. and potential horsicopter fans, if you feel like making the journey to vermont, this summer is the time. we'll have room in the mcmansion for you.

****just an interesting side note@@@@@i did the spell check. for "mcmansion" the spell checker recommends "micronesian" so we will be living in a micronesian this summer.

one sucker here...

2008-04-10T23:20:00.000-07:00

well i channeled the spirit of sebastian on tuesday. i decided i would dress up to celebrate my day off. dustin was not sure if i dressed up in fancy clothes or dressed up in costume. i had gotten these tights in san francisco, and i was dying to wear them, but i thought (before now) that it would just be too cold. so i had put off even opening them. until tuesday!! they are black with silver sparkles. i thought i looked so cute, but dustin said, "oh. that is how you are dressing up." i had to convince him how great i looked. you be the judge. i vote--good!

we started looking for luggage today. that was the big outing. we were comparison shopping. not so exciting, but that lets you all know that we are ready for the party sebastian and dorian are throwing us when papa j, rob, and dust and i get back to vermont. it will be my best day. i can't wait to see those littles. i am excited to have all our stuff again. even our beat up couch. i miss the movies. i miss our tv. i miss the papasan. i miss monday night exercise class. i really miss our bed. man, do i miss that bed!
we have karen running around town looking at potential places for us to live (thank you!!). we have taken the kitties for their shots (to ride in the plane, they have to have proof of their yearly shots). so things here are getting finalized. i signed up for organic chemistry 2 last week. we are finishing season 2 of lost so rob and quinn can start season three with us. i get to quit my job tomorrow. it has been really glamorous putting shoes on people, but i have learned a lot. so that is good. i am nervous to quit. i guess the worst they can do is just let me go on the spot, and that is not so bad, but i just hate quitting. i feel like i will let them down. and they do seem to like me. but it needs to be done. and it was going to happen sooner or later. at least i have a good excuse, we have to go home to our friends and family. and we will be back. better just to rip that band aid right off than to take it one pull at a time, right. so tomorrow, i put in my two weeks.
we went to dinner with our friend, forrest, last night. we went to our friend, meg's, work. she works at a japanese restaurant on fourth street (my favorite street). it was pretty good, but it was noodle soup. it was ok. the appetizers were great. we got spinach in peanut sauce (yummy) and tofu dumplings (good). it was nice to be out with friends. it seems rare that people we meet out here get sarcasm, but forrest and meg do, so we always have a good time with them. it was nice to be out at night. i know that sounds silly, but we have been eating in more. so a real dinner out with actual friends is nice. we appreciate it, you know.
how weird is it that in a matter of weeks, we will be home. part of this stint seems like we have been here forever. we spent so long not working. then we got jobs. we survived the chilly, rainy season and this weekend could get up into the high 80's. it stays sunny till 7:30, and before, when we got here, it was dark two hours earlier. i have been at my work for a month (just more) now. and dust has sold veggies for longer than that. so. that reminds me. i was going to upload a picture. upon further review of the "apron" it is not so visible, but i asked dust if i could show it, and he said yes. so i will. you have to look past the signs (the yellow laminated beasts) and you will see a little yellow apron at his waist.

sorry he is sideways. i will try to get my paparazzi skills better honed next time. but it is not bad for a first try. i hope this means that when we are short handed in the stand, dust is now qualified to come sell some produce to the folks who frequent our farm. let me know what you think. in two weeks and four days we will have been in california for a quarter of a year. that is no small hill of beans. it is no 128 hours that allison and jeremy are apart. and it is for sure no two months that rob and quinn will have been apart. but we, too, have felt alittle something missing from our lives for a quarter of a year. and it is you all. dorian, is speaking real words and sentences, sebastian has come up with crazy new songs that we have never heard, quinn and allison have done strip tease "workouts", kristin has a house we have never seen and a dog we've never met, penny has done so many things we don't know about...the list could go on and on. don't get me wrong, i love my time out here, and our new friends are fabulous. it is also really nice to see melissa and andy as often as we do. but we miss our vt homefries, too. jamie, james, kristina, we miss you guys too. and it has been far, far too long since we got to squeeze your necks. let's all work on that. (come visit). love to all.

i'ma get it for this one!

2008-04-08T18:42:00.000-07:00

a few weeks ago i promised a picture of dust working. this was mostly for karen's benefit because i know she would love to see dust in his little apron at work. well. today, i snuck the camera into the farmer's market. low and behold, i don't think dust ever noticed. but a picture was taken. i gave him my word not to put it on the blog. so let me hear you make some noise for the picture. that way i have ammunition when dust says, "you promised you wouldn't put a picture of me in the apron on the blog." then i can say, " dust, you have a fan club who really wants the pictures this paparazzi can get, and you know, if there is a market for the photos, i gotta put 'em out there. it is my duty as a real blogger." that is how the conversation will go down. i am sure of it! so leave a comment as to whether i should put it up or not. and when the put-it-ups have it, it will go up. otherwise, the picture stays on the card.

also i have an update. it seems that i misunderstood melissa's potential job title. she alerted me to the fact that she will have nothing to do with the bay area's poop at her new job. she will only deal with drinking water. bonus, for her, she will not have a real sh*t job, eh.

also today is melissa's birthday. so shout outs to her. andy's making a feast for friends when they come over to celebrate. she said they would be drinking. so i told her to drink until she could drink the cynar. happy birthday, melc. know that i love you.

what i love

2008-04-05T19:21:00.000-07:00

we saw this today:

the real one is supposed to look like this:

i got to thinking about what i was "missing" by living in the country for so long. we don't get billboards in vermont. so that cuts down on alot of the advertising i see. also since we don't get tv. so if npr doesn't tell us about it, we may not know. but i would say, all in all, we are pretty hip.
so the list begins...

i like to be here on the west coast and here is why:
i get to see actual people wearing actual fashions.
i can find places that sell second hand fashions and purchase those because they are affordable.
i can work enough hours (at a part time job) to pay the entire rent. ( i know this is not the norm, but it works for now.)
i can eat any kind of food out that i feel like eating. and all the restaurants are good--or they would not still be open.
i love gay men. there is a radio station that plays "dance music". normally, this would be in the "do not like column," but you add seriously funny gay men as the dj's and suddenly, it is my favorite music.
and folks like that we also hear things like young i love having a choice of radio stations. there are about 4 npr stations that are local, the gay man station, and an old school r&b station that plays marvin gaye and tammye tarrell, and otismc, mc lyte, tone loc and candyman!!!!--it is great. it is nice to not just listen to npr all the time.
we have a tv that picks up actual stations. as dorky as it sounds, i have now seen a bit of a few episodes of american idol, and it was ok to good. (my favorite girl already got voted off, so i may not be a regular at watching it, but...hey, i've seen it. )
i can go to any number of shopping areas and just walk around and watch people.
we have cupcake stores.
we get to go to shows and dance. i love dancing. i love shows.
people here expect you to be smart. multiple times while tying people's shoes, they have asked me what college i went to or did i move out here to go to uc berkeley.... never before have i lived anywhere where people assume you are smart. it is a nice feeling.
people here are active. on the way to pick dust up from work the other day, i was held up by a gaggle of people supporting a free tibet. women in pink are always protesting outside of the marine recruiting office, tree sitters are right across the street from the uc berkeley campus. it is nice to see people getting fired up about things again.
i am not writing this to tell everyone why i do not want to go back east, i just thought i had been here long enough to tell everyone what some of the perks to here were. i assume most of you know the perks to vermont. friends, affordable rent (really), the farm, friends, most of the crazies are weeded out by the weather,friends, i can be second most fashionable (next to quinn or kristina--depending on who is out), friends, vermont has a comfy feeling of permanence to it, and did i say we miss our friends???
any way. there are more things i like about being here, but i've gone on enough for now. but we will be home soon. in fact, dust said the girl we sublease from came by today. perks to this are we can now park inside our little gated community, downfalls, i can't quite shake the feeling that we should not be here if she lives here, you know. she is staying with her parents a few towns away. your comments on that are welcome. i don't know where we would go. being that we have two cats, and plane tickets home for may and no place to live in vermont... just a few major things. i guess if we found a place to live, we could pay to change our tickets and that would be fine, but what a weird pickle, you know. so let me know what you think about all this. what do you like about vermont, or the bay area. leave out the weather comments, because that is just painful. and feel free to mention the fact that outside we have flowers blooming at any time of year here in sunny california.
all for today folks.
love you
clm

break out the cynar

2008-04-03T00:10:00.000-07:00

our friends melissa and andy came for a visit sunday night. that means we finally got to crack open that bottle of cynar (artichoke liquor) we have had since vaentine's day. i liked it, so did andy, but no one else did. cynar needs to be mixed with a splash of soda and a little oj. then it is an intersting (but likable--to me) drink. they had to come down not only for the cynar, but also melissa had a job interview on tuesday at east bay m.u.d. this company is responsible for disposing of the bay area's waste water and sewage. sounds horrible to me, but she just graduated with a degree in environmental engineering so it is her dream job. she was told to purchase a suit, heels and hose for the interview. nothing too flashy, though. i agree with the old adage that you should beware of institutions that require new clothes (unless you want to get those clothes that are required). she was not too pumped about the suit. so we experimented with the shirt. we spent monday afternoon at target and macy's (andy and dustin in tow). we got her a cute purple shirt (our favorite colour) at target and some cute pointy toed patent leather heals. i said she should express at least a little of her personality in her outfit. turns out i was right. as she walked in, the main guy doing the interview commented on her shoes. bonus. it really set her at ease. yet again, stress averted just by having the right shoes. (fellas take it in. avoid confrontation by buying your lady some shoes. potential crisis averted.) they told her as soon as a position for a junior engineer opened, it would be hers. so that is exciting. andy, her husband, dressed in purple for solidarity. here is the before picture:

this is at 9 in the morning. she had been up in time to curl her hair. who has that kind of time in the morning. never in my life have i seen melissa stressed. it was impressive. she kept it together, and they should know how badly she wants this job. she is already planning a career with them. so that is nice to see. as long as i have known melissa, she has never had a real job. maybe waitressing now and then, but a real job--unheard of. so it was nice to see her really want to get things right and work toward something. just so she knows she can do it. she even skipped out on going to see planet b-boy with dust and andy and i. (a fabulous movie by the way. really worth seeing it on the big screen. people can do some amazing things with their bodies. it was amazing. we were all smiling and wiggling uncontrollably to the movie. dust even clapped afterwards--that never happens. ) but she skipped out on the movie to focus on the next day's tasks. talk about devotion.
while she was at the interview, dust and i took the kitties to the vet for their shots so that they can fly on the plane. a super expensive trip that was no fun for anyone, but it is done, and we have diet cat food in hopes of having two little kitties again......
so we get home (i had to take dust to work) and we drink a glass of champagne to celebrate.

then we hit the town, and we got new eyeshadow (blue for me). andy didn't get any make up. but we went to see dustin at work at the farmer's market. it was a nice day. i dropped melissa and andy off at the house and picked dustin up early so we could go see the red sox take on the oakland a's.
there were at least 50% red sox fans at the oakland season opener. we not only won, we got to see some home runs. our area was full--FULL-- of red sox fans. we were all yelling and laughing. it was great! we went back today with melissa and andy. it was a noon game. so we showed dust the southern art of tail gating.

we stood outside the car (we didn't bring chairs), talked to other sox fans around our parking space and ate food and drank pabst genuine draft (the cheap beer). because that is what you do at a tailgate party. usually there is grilling involved, but it was too early for grilling. some may argue that it should have also been too early for drinking, but we knew we would be at the park for a while, and ballpark prices are outrageous. so we drank early. and you know what--we got to see papi hit his first homerun of the season! it was spectacular. the sox shut down the a's. the a's had nothing. no points--few hits, but nothing amazing. and public yelling.

yes! i love public yelling. it really made the games that much more fun for me. we ate a lot of crappy food at the games as well.

note the new red pocketbook. (thaks ebay!)

note that that hat was a little full of popcorn when dust put it on andy's head. and the super fans!!

so that is what we are up to here. baseball games and rock star lifestyles. we do it up over here. soon we will do it up over there. keep searching for us a place to live. we will soon be homeless--or sleeping on your couches. :) xoxo to all.

big news.

2008-04-01T10:33:00.000-07:00

well, it was an average day. so far. i woke up, checked the email. looking for my grade, i realized i finally had a response from my teacher--i "squeaked by" with a 70% in my online organic chemistry class. evidently, this much work earns you a 70%:

he actually said "squeaked by." that's not too nice. maybe he is a joker, but i would never know because i never heard from him. but alas the class is really done, and all along i said i only wanted a C. i guess i just expected more. maybe in round two. and i am not really upset. i just feel like i did more work than a 70. but that is all i needed. so squeaking by is not so bad.

turns out we are not failures!

2008-03-28T00:20:00.000-07:00

who knew?!? most of you already know, but this beats doing a mass email because you check it by choice and i don't bombard your in box... but we got tickets back to vermont for wednesday, may first. we are flying direct from oaktown to beantown on jet blue with two kitties in our laps (really in bags, but they will be our carry ons). my brother will drive us to the airport, and take my car back to his house. he and his family will also house all of our stuff that is staying here (should only be a chest of drawers full of blankets and towels and things, but still it will have a home). so i think this is a good plan. and it is far cheaper and faster than driving back across the country. maybe at the end of the summer i will be ready for another cross country adventure, but i still haven't gotten over the new year's eve catastrophe. (where we shoved two screaming cats under the bed and pretended they weren't there until we woke up the next morning.) i think flying is faster and will keep the four of us as sane as we possibly can be. so that is nice. and jet blue serves snax. that is huge since we will be on there from 10(pst) am to 7pm (est). i think we will need some snacks and most airlines don't really serve food. the manix's say they will pick us up. that will be so nice to see them and hug their little pointed heads off, but soon after we get back to the v-t, we will be aching to see all of you, too. expect big hugs, and maybe some tears (but probably not, because i usually only cry at goodbyes, but dust may be another story... you know he cries all the time--mostly just since we got married...he weeps and weeps and says "why am i so trapped" through his sobs, "what was i thinking.." i just point and laugh. i've even made up a dance i call "look, he's crying again." it involves me jumping and waving frantically and pointing and saying in a sing-songy tone, "look, he's crying again! look, look, he's crying again!) i am so funny.

i'm a model, you know what i mean

2008-03-27T23:54:00.000-07:00

well. i couldn't get any pictures of my shopping extravaganza on the blog yesterday because my photographer was ill. he spent the entire day (while i was working) asleep, then we got him some soup, and rushed home so he could take a two hour nap. the poor boy was hurting. luckily, we woke up today and he was better. much better. so our morning was spent with me doing a small fashion show complete with pictures so that you guys could see my purchases from tuesday.

the boots (not the super white legs). (again, the boots) still with tags and box said they cost somebody $260, but i got them (NIB) for $10. as you might be able to tell, they can be folded down or worn up. nice huh. i think they are good. and i can't wait to show them off on those chilly brattleboro nights. watch out, vermont!

sweet new jeans. cute pockets, but i didn't think a butt shot was appropriate. i'm not a real model, i just play one in my house.

ok. so i was saving the butt shot, but those pockets are bedazzled. and really aren't you more inclined to love me when i wear my green jeans with bedazzled pockets? now those of you who looked up the leslie hall, might remember that she collects gem sweaters. i think this may be a whole new realm for her. or maybe i am her evil nemesis--keeper of the gem pants!!! who knows. also....

how could i not get them when they came with that swanky belt. how is a girl to say no to green jeans with a metallic, pleather belt. i mean, seriously. i don't even know how those green jeans were still in the store when i got there. they are so hot. again. watch out vermonters. we're coming!!!

today was a good day

2008-03-25T18:54:00.001-07:00

sunny and chilly. but today was a good day/ i didn't have to use my a.k.
i used all my shopping points today. and boy howdy. how did i win. i went to crossroads, a secondhand store that sells high endish things. i got two pairs of pants and a pair of brown boots for $30. i found some pants for quinn, but i didn't get a hold of her in time to see if they would fit. then i went down to our shopping district (4th street). when quinn called, i talked to her for a while and then went to visit dust at work. he is so cute in his little yellow apron. i'll have to take the camera next time so you guys can see it.
so aside from shopping, what was so different, you may ask. well... it is simple really. things are finally getting finished. abby and glenn got the tax information, so we no longer have to worry about the taxes. thank you glenn. my school got my final (that i took 3/13) yesterday. so soon my organic chem class really will be done. thank you big brain and postal service. and i ordered a pocketbook from ebay today. thank you power seller. my dreams are coming true. now we only have to find a place to live and get tickets home. yesterday, i got next wednesday off of work to go to the baseball game. go sox. and then i quit (give two weeks notice) the running shoe job in two weeks. so things are finally wrapping up. i am happy too, because i was beginning to lose sleeop. i hope the living situation gets worked out soon. i don't mind paying two rents for april as long as i know we will have a place that will have both us and the kitties. then dust can work to his heart's content and me too. so we will be home within a month. we just have to talk to the manix's about when is a good time to pick us up in boston. thanks to hilary, we found super cheap tix, but only to boston. so stop worrying about me. i am gonna make it. and i look good, too. new boots and pants and all. :) well, i must go, i have to pick up dust from work. i have already cleaned the house, folded the laundry, and started our pizza dinner. man, i am productive. love to all. and when dust gets home i will have him take pictures of all my nice new stuff. get ready!

i forgot to tell you...

2008-03-23T19:04:00.000-07:00

one bit more of good news: skinny pants are so out. every store i go into has filled themselves with wide leg pants. thank goodness. you all know how i hate skinny jeans. maybe now both girls and boys will stop looking like they are wearing tights. i can not wait to see more wide legs and less tights. that makes me happy. we will all forget the skinny jean phenomenon soon enough. stay strong!!

strugglin'

2008-03-23T18:18:00.000-07:00

so i have a few things on my mind. i still have not heard about my chemistry test. i know the test was mailed on st. patties day, and it has to go all the way across the country to maine, but i really am ready to know what i got. and i know i need to get started on part deux of the class so i can start school in september. help a brotha out. just let me know. please.
also i am having a hard time working. not for any other reason than the fact that being surrounded by people who are fancy has made me want to be a little fancier. not such a bad thing. there is a pocketbook i want, some pants and a jacket. but i can't get any of these things yet because i have to pay the rent. as you know i am used to treating myself. so it is hard for me to be grown up and show discretion and not make any purchases. i am trying. but i do tend to get a little more upset than i should when i think about all the things i want, you know. is that normal? dustin told me this morning that i tend to be impulsive when it comes to buying things. probably this is true, but it was not what i wanted to hear. and i figured out, if i work two more weeks, the rent will be paid, and i can get the pocketbook. then we'll work on the pants and jacket. impulsive, my eye. i am working. i just want to get myself something so i don't feel like i am working for nothing. i am a selfish one. but i feel like i miss out on so much because of a job i don't really agree with, you know. i didn't get to spend the week with my parents, i missed a whole day of dan and rose, andy and melissa are coming this weekend (and i start working saturdays then). so i will miss them, too. i know i am just feeling sorry for myself.
one good note. we went to see be kind rewind. michele gondry directed it. he has done several great music videos and the science of sleep. i am sure he has done more, but i forget. i like the way he uses his imagination to tell the stories he tells as opposed to a huge budget. (he may get a big budget for his movies, but they all have a "diy" feel to them. i thought the movie was cute. i liked the reenactments of all the movies they did. it was fun to see a movie that i felt like i hadn't seen before, you know. with romantic comedies you get the formula: boy meets girl-something goes wrong + other person must be wooed back = they live happily ever after. with comedy you get: a group of regular people trying to over come some ridiculous obstacle+ hilarity ensuing = things are fine--funny but fine. this movie had a little of that...jack black gets irradiated+ erases all the movies in the store + hilarity ensues....but it still felt original. is that silly? i'm sure, but i needed a good laugh, and that sufficed.
i have been nothing but cold today. it has been so warm out. everyone is in shorts or tee shirts. i am cold. i got on my hoodie--hood up. i hope everything is ok, because i have to get this rent paid. the sooner the better. then i can start in on my selfish tirades. but i will look good.

wow

2008-03-22T09:25:00.000-07:00

we entertained the fam this week. it was nice to have them, but sometimes i forget how funny they are. we went to my brother's almost every day. so that was nice. they really like that baby. one day, my ma and i babysat for four hours while they went to the dmv. that baby erupts every other time she looks at me. so it was a long four hours for me. my parents were smitten. especially my dad. he really likes babies, and man, did that little girl cling to him. it was so cute.

three of the days they were here, i had to work. so that left dust to be the entertainer. man, is he a good one. who else could entertain the in laws (please read as my family more than "in laws") for a full day on their own? but he never complained. he even said he had a good time. so that was nice. you know how worried/upset i got when i had to work. but in two weeks i give my notice. just enough time to pay the rent and buy my dream pocketbook. i can't wait. so the whole thing is not a total loss, you know?

here is the run down of the family visit.
sunday night:
dust and i make mac and chee, salad and asparagus. we sit around and do wii fitness. turns out my dad is 57 and my mom is 45. not bad considering i was 47 (note the two years older than my mom. my life is just sad!) and dust was 22.
monday:
i work until 2. the three of them go to bette's (betty's for those of you that have been here) for lunch. then pick me up and go to my brother's work for a winery tour and tasting. it was nice. we had dinner at our favorite mexican restaraunt in calistoga and home we all came.

tuesday was a day of work:
not any kind of work we get paid for. my family woke up and went to napa. we were there at 11. my brother took off work early, and we got his car jumped and to the mechanic, we got him car insurance, and we got his house spotless. we have a saying in our house "mom clean". it is pretty much the cleanest you can get an area. so clean that the walls are scrubbed with cleaner as well as any other surface. there is no dust, no dirt, no little piles. it is a bit sickening, but it makes my ma so happy when it is done. she and karen able are the only two women i know who have perfected this technique. it is amazing to see the mom clean in action. we had lunch at four and came back to berkeley by six. my dad held a baby all day. so i think the day was successful. when we got back to berkeley, we got to go to the farmer's market to see dust work at his stand. that was nice. then i got word that dan and rose were coming that night. fancy. dust went to dinner with them at our mexican restaraunt that serves the mojitos, and i took my parents to zachary's, a chicago style pizza place. mmmmmm.

wednesday:
i worked selling shoes. a lot of shoes. one man not only wanted women's shoes because they were pretty, he wanted them two sizes too small so his foot didn't look "huge an bloaty". it was awesome. he picked these really nice pink and purple shoes that no one else buys because they are not good for any one's feet, but maybe two sizes too small, it doesn't make a difference. who knows. one man refused to let me even see his feet because he had not had a pedicure. i love this town. that night we went into the city to meet up with marcia with dan and rose. it was a night of laughing and stiff drinks and mexican food. not so bad. we got to hear about rose in africa. we heard about dan's senior thesis. we showed them leslie hall, and rose was in awe of those gold spandex pants. turns out even she would not wear them. it was nice to see them. they are really funny kids. we are trying to plan a trip for us and marcia to go see them in portland. that would be a ton of fun. watch out nine hour drive. we got two redheads in the car and we are a little crazy. no family visit for me on wednesday.
now as far as family business goes. this day was the day my uncle bill came into town from la. he is my dad's best friend. they have the same goofy sense of humor and they have known eachother since their acting days at cbs. so they go back a ways. so it was nice they got to spend a little time together. they all went up to napa and my brother made dinner for them all while they oooohed and aaaaahed over that emma drew. so i know they were in complete heaven.

thursday.
up to napa we go. dan and rose go back to portland. my brother needed to go to the dmv to register his car. nice. wait until the parents come and then have them and their out of town friend spend their vacation at the dmv. i only joke about this, but it did happen. we did, however, get burgers and shakes at taylors refresher. so the day was not a complete loss. and my uncle bill showed us the video of his most recent trip to russia. so that was good. it was nice to get to see him at least for a little while. he is my godfather after all. so that is nice.
we took unkle bill back to the airport thursday evening. and my parents and dust and i went for a delicious dinner at pf changs. we also enjoyed stiff drinks. nothing soothes a stressed out mother like a stiff cosmo. my dad had the hindricks gin and tonic. it was nice to see them cut loose and have a free moment. i think they forgot they were on vacation.

friday:
i get up to sell more shoes. most of the people i helped were in their fifties looking to run a marathon in october. so that was inspiring. and it made me think,"what am i doing with my time?" there is no training. no real running. nothing too cool. but i got off at 6:30 and the fam and dust picked me up. they had been to sausalito, a little hippie town on the other side of the golden gate bridge. that means they saw the ocean, too. that is my ma's favorite. so that makes me happy. they drove over the golden gate bridge into san fran. they went to the cliff's house right on the ocean. they admired expensive homes with real yards in the city (those ain't cheap!), they went to the museum and saw the real "thinker" statue. and they saw a seal. so the day was not a complete loss. when they picked me up i heard all of this was incredibly jealous. i want to see all of those things. that would have been way better than selling shoes. but again i can buy my dream pocketbook in just two weeks. so i can make it.
they picked me up at 6:30, and we came back to our house to make dinner. they had picked up the makings at trader joe's earlier in the day, too. man, they were busy. we called my brother, and played smooth moves for a while. i think my parents are in love with the wii. it was their idea to stay in and play it. and they were upset we had kept one of them. suckas.

today:
met at the coffee shop for breakfast at 8:15. early. they left and now this is happening. do you feel like you relived their trip in real time? that was my goal. it was nice to get to see my brother so much. and my parents are really proud of the parents that he and meredith are. so that, i think made their trip. more so than meeting emma. i know she will grow to like them because they will spoil her rotten. my dad will get her anything, i just know it. and my mom opened some sort of college fund for her while they were here. so that little one just won them over, i know. in fact, i sort of feel like i lost my status as top female (i was second place for cliffy--just after my mom). but with emma here, that status is now second or third (depending on the sex of the parent you are asking). they think i am jealous, but i think it is just great. that little one is pretty special. and now she has 4 grandparents who know her and love her. she is a lucky lady, that baby.

we got to laugh a lot. it was nice to see all the other visitors besides those in my biological family. dan, rose, uncle bill. what pleasant little treats. y'all may laugh, but i do love when visitors come. it makes this place seem less temporary. and it gives poor dust something to do. :) i kid. i kid. i'll put the pictures on this thing and y'all get back to whatever it is you were doing before you took on this novella.

no word on the chem final yet. i know it was mailed back to university of new england on the 17th. so it should be soon. keep your fingers crossed. hopefully, they have been crossed for the week. lord knows i have needed it/ will need it.
squeezes and indian burns to all.

there is your christmas card. aren't we cute?

they're coming

2008-03-16T20:10:00.000-07:00

today was a day of family. talked to both karen and jack on the phone this afternoon. that was really good. it is nice to hear their voices and find out all the farm gossip. karen is looking for a place for dust and i, but i told her the soonest we could be there was april. but i think may may be the soonest because we have tix to hot chip and the red sox. both are in april. so looks like i may be working at the shoe store a little longer. not so bad, though. i get really bored when they go through the training stuff, but i like helping people, and i love being around shoes all day. :) i wrote my grandpa (poppadaddy--to those who got to meet him at the wedding) and dustin's grandma in arizona letters today. i talked to my brother on the phone. and if that weren't a lot of family, my parent's plane just landed and they will be here within the hour. oh, i am just so excited about them coming. it will really make this place feel like home. me working, and showing my parents around. so nice. i just wish i could take the week off to entertain them. but such is life, and they assure me they will be back. so that is good. i am making dinner for us tonight. we are having karen's famous mac and chee, fresh--organic asperagus, and spinach salad with dried cranberries and dried cherries, honey roasted pecans and blue cheese with raspberry vinegrette dressing. not too bad a feast. but then there is dessert. a cup cake a piece. choc with choc for my mom. white cake with chocolate frosting for my dad. pink velvet with cream chee for dust, and white on white for me. ( i know choc/choc is my favorite, but this way we can cut them and try them all.) do you see the big brain on me? it never stops. but i am so excited. it is nice to have time to enjoy all the family stuff. we get to go visit my brother tomorrow, and they will meet the baby. on wednesday, my dad's best friend is coming up from l.a. (unkle bill.) he is fabulous. it has been a while since we saw him, so i am really pumped. i will show as many pictures as i can very soon. we will surely have a few photo ops coming up. what with a baby, an unkle and cupcakes. what more could a girl hope for. love you all, and i will keep you posted.

ahhhhhh!

2008-03-13T19:28:00.000-07:00

woke up this morning after a few hours of sleep to drive for an hour, and take a test. the test was the organic chem final. six months it has taken me to finish that class. i gave myself the lecture time and again the last week and a half "how could i drag this on for so long...why do i spend time cramming when i have had six months to get this done...." and on and on. i read that chem book three times. three times. once in the last two weeks. that is a lot of information to re-take in. but hopefully i did ok enough to not have to retake it. i feel ok about the test.
enough of that.
while i studied, dust got hooked on lost. and thank God we kept a wii because the xbox got the dreaded ring of death--just as shea was coming. what a shame too, because shea never got to play rock band. and we all know what a travesty that is.
i started a new job at a place called "La Foot." it loosely translates to "the foot." french or spanish...i'm not really sure, but it pays 13.75 an hour and i only have to be there three days a week. i watch people walk and sell them running shoes. sometimes i get to sell people orthodics or sports braces. yup. livin the dream. i am jealous of dust for only working one day a week, he complains he is bored, and i get to go to work three days a week. boy our life is good.
while shea was here we got to see our psuedo-friend, forrest. for a few years we all would converge in georgia where shea's family is from for a thanksgiving celebration. since his grandmother died, the celebration has not happened, but that is another story. anyway. we used to see forrest for a week or two every year because his best friend lives in asheville (shea's cousin), and he would spend time there before we all went down to georgia. he is a fun guy. he showed us where a dude caught a head in the ocean. he showed us where lacy peterson's body washed a shore. it was a gruesome tour, but it was probably my favorite tour of the area we've had so far. i like to know those kinds of facts. he told us those stories while dustin and shea took pictures of the sunset. it was a good day. also i am glad shea came for a visit. we have been here a few months, and he is only three hours away, and he is dustin's best friend... so while i worked, they played frisbee. i was so happy for dust.
next week the tours continue. the langford family is coming for a visit. i am so pumped. now i will have to work monday, wednesday and friday, but other than that, they are mine....well mine and my brother's. most of you know that my brother and his wife had a baby in november, and this trip will be a great meeting of the minds. parents meet emma. fam sees san fran/berkeley/napa. not so bad. maybe i can show them where the bums wash ashore..... :)
i feel like studying is all i have done. but today dustin bought me my first video game. smooth moves. i told you all about it when we went to melissa and andy's. we rented it there. the box advertises 200+fast paced games. man is it fun. i pretty much love it. and i never had my own video game. so that is dorkily exciting.
after i got done napping today, we went to a flower shop in richmond. (richmond is the town in the bay with the worst crime. it has a horrible reputation. but i have always had a good time there--see karaoke pictures.) so we went to the annual store. they had everything. huge selection of plants. sold only individually and starting at $4.00-$10.00 depending on their rarity. it was nice to see so many options, but their presentation was horrible! everything in trays on tables--fine. few blooms. fine--it is march. but even their little display areas were lacking. but they had huge tables of various aloes, native californian plants, more varieties of things than i have ever seen so that was impressive. all the sections had watering instructions on them. posted in spanish. i liked that. they had so many plants. even walker farm, with all it's greenhouses full was no comparison. but man, when we left, dust said, "you know, i think the farm has a lot of plants, but after seeing this place, maybe we lack a few things in varieties, but we make up for it in quality." he then went on to describe the formal garden to me and the time "people" put into it every year. (like i had never seen this illustrious "Formal Garden." it was really cute. i just kept picturing jesse and karen getting everything placed and planted. it is a pretty nice farm there in vermont. i think dust is starting to realize it too.
in a week i find out how well i passed my test. hopefully enough to get at least a c in the class. that would be best. my dad thinks i got a "B", but i think he is dreaming. don't get me wrong, i would totally take it, but i think i got a c. i earned an a++,but i'll be happy with a c. so i'll let ya'll know about that. either way, i gotta gear up for organic 2. should make for an eventful summer. but for now i got a week off. can't do anything till i know if i passed this. so i'll go pour myself a glass of wine and play a little smooth moves. tomorrow i am a working girl.
glad to be back with you all.
love and kisses.

and yippeeeeee to quinn and rob. i am stoked about the engagement. it really made for my best leap day ever!. i just wanted to wait until everyone knew before i gave the shout outs. (i didn't want to go spilling the beans like i did for shea to his mom....another story another time).
congrats you guys. i can't wait to celebrate at the wedding and drinks (when we get home) are on us. only one round or so and probably you should just share a scorpion bowl. worked for us.

lynx

2008-03-10T20:26:00.000-07:00

so i don't think my links worked. so we will try again.

www.lesliehall.com

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hu4CM23kD4

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypn436DFTUQ&feature=related

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPly-A9KgSM&feature=related

that'll at least get you started. keep looking, i think you will be impressed. a few of you will really enjoy it, a few will be terrified.
good luck

okey dokie

2008-03-10T20:10:00.001-07:00

started a new job today. selling running shoes and making custom orthodics. it is pretty exciting. but it pays and i get to leave the house. so all is well on the homefront. dust is still working one day a week. (i've only worked one day, and i am completely jealous.) we had hilary here. it was good. we did the same stuff we do for everyone else. i hope she enjoyed it as much as the rest of y'all. i have my chemistry final on thursday. so i will write a lot more after that. i just didn't want you guys to think i had forgotten you. in the mean time amuse yourselves with this:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZMimTEyLNU

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtU7BO03Pk

www.lesliehall.com

or just type in leslie hall in google. we stumbled on a free live performance at our local record store. she is a 200# girl in gold spandex and she will rock your sox off. we had no idea what we were in for, but man, it was fabulous.

now if you don't like things that are a little strange--don't go to these web sites. she is probably a complete freak, but she was entertaining. weird, but entertaining. she is a self proclaimed "ceWEBrity" who celebrates sequin sweaters and spandex. how could i not love that?

any way that should keep you busy until i can update you on thursday night.
xoxo to all

i thought of sebastian yesterday...

2008-03-01T15:10:00.000-08:00

yesterday (leap day) dust and i had our first organic strawberries of the season. now, i know sebastian can not eat strawberries unless they are organic (he gets a rash), so we bought them just for him. i could not wait to get home before i had to eat them. they were big and red. and they were sweet (not as sweet as walker farm's strawberries), but it was february and they were organic. (from san diego--so from our state!) this was just amazing to me. we could eat organic strawberries in late feb/early march? what is this world coming to? what have we been missing out on? what else was there that we could be enjoying in february that i thought had to wait until june? now, as you can tell i am not saying these berries were perfection. "sweet, and crunchy" dust called them. but i was happy for a nice "real berry alternative." at least until we get back to vermont and can eat our fill of REAL strawberries. until then, i will continue to eat these for you guys who are snowed under. sebastian, i loved your picture of you holding the pink gem. you look fabulous. if you don't know my favorite five year old, check out his blog :

http://plantsgrowing.blogspot.com/ love to all!

sunny days and sixty degrees

2008-03-01T14:30:00.000-08:00

the title is not there to make you new englanders jealous. it is to tell you what i have been missing whilst i've been on the couch. i caught dustin's sickness. though it seems to have loosened it's grip (or grippe), now cramming for the chemistry final has taken hold. those are stories i know you do not wish to hear. so i will spare you. it seems today is Laura's birthday. march 1. every year. so happy birthday , laura! also today marks our halfway point here in california this trip. hard to believe we have only been here two months, huh. but couple that with two weeks in arkansas, and a few weeks not working, and the time really adds up. so we should be home by may.
now the news:
we went to see built to spill. they are, after all, my favorite band. they played at the filmore in san francisco. the meat puppets opened up for them. now the filmore is full of history. anyone who is anyone has played there, so i love to go there. for some reason, they give away apples by the front door. just a little fact for y'all. so we saved all our errands for monday until we were leaving for the show. my goal was to miss the meat puppets. their name alone made me a little ill during their heyday in the mid nineties. so i really had no desire to see them. unfortunately, (or fortunately as the case may be) we forgot about rock star time. in living in vermont for so long, we forgot that shows do not start on time. so we got there half an hour late. not even late enough to miss the real opening band (hel-vetia--from seattle). they were ok to bad. no one was really feeling them and even their drummer looked bored. so we tried to be enthusiastic about them. but no. they played for 45 mins and the singer asked if his sister had made it. silence took over the crowd. even the dude's sister couldn't make it. sad day for him, huh. then the meat puppets. i was dreading this. i knew Nirvana had covered two of their songs on their unplugged album. so i knew it could be better than i thought, but still when they took the stage i was still not thrilled. then they started playing some southern rock type song, and the energy the bassist had was amazing. soon i was dancing and cheering. then they played some songs i knew. they were great! i almost considered saying to dust that they were my new favorite band, and we could just leave because there was no way built to spill was living up to the meat puppet's energy . they were all dancing and playing instruments, and singing, and smiling and sweating. they were working it. and the crowd was going crazy. especially the balding men (and me). everyone was cheering and laughing along with them. now, this was a show i wanted to see. when they were done, i bought my bts shirt, proof i had been to the show, and went upstairs to a bar area where a band was playing along to some old radio show recording (putting their own soundtrack on it). dust was happy. as we went down to the main stage and took our place in the crowd for built to spill, we were ready. dust had a beer, i had a new shirt in my pocket. good to go. then they came out. the set was pretty good. they did not even come close to playing everything i wanted to hear, but they played a good mix of old and new songs. it was nice to have the whole crowd sing along and dance. it was good. and they kept going (they aren't called the indie jam band for nothing). it seemed like hours of me dancing and cheering. it was great! as we left, we got a free poster. new art for the house. what a good adventure.
the next day, i had a job interview at the chiropractic clinic. (i got the job, but had to quit before it began.) here is that story. the interview went great. i really liked all the people i talked to. the typing and the math went well. they offered me the job, and i told them i was going to chiropractic school in september. they asked if i wanted to push that start date back and work for them for a year. i told them i had already pushed it back long enough, and september was late enough. so i didn't take the job.
(you will also remember i had an interview with a cactus store--that was creepy. they asked how i thought i would be selling cactus in five years. it is a part time job. really. five years. one of the owners looked homeless and one looked like mr. rogers. we sat in a little room, our knees hitting, and the smell of fertilizers filling our noses. --too creepy. as i left, the boy in the retail area was so sad/bored and said "s-s-see you soon?" i told him to have a nice day. but it was an altogether creepy time at the cactus store! so no me for them.) now back to the chiropractic day.
that was also dustin's first day at the farmer's market. it was sunny and in the upper sixties. i took him at 12:30, and went to Trader Joe's to get come Emergen-c's to fight off the cold i had been feeling. i made it home and had to take a nap because i was exhausted. two hours later, i forced myself to get up and clean the house and do the dishes. then i went to get dust. i had to lay down again when he got home. i made dinner at nine and went to bed. the next day was much the same. all i had the energy to do was go to the in-n- out burger. then nap. yesh. i was getting boring. and fast. for two days, and i mean 2 days i was hurtin'. now i am better. but i have the sneezes. but at least i can leave the house.
during my stint with the chimera, we went to see there will be blood. that is right. those of you paying attention know we couldn't go see that movie until dustin finished the book. so, ladies and gents, you can start the count of actual books read by dustin manix this year with "oil" by upton sinclair. it inspired "there will be blood." and dust gives it a thumbs up (the book and the movie). so see, i told y'all he could read. you thought it was just a life of video games for us here in sunny california, but no. we read. i've read three books--four if you count me finishing the organic chem book. and dust has finished one. but his wii fitness age is at least half what mine it. he is 22 and last i checked i was 57. so there is something to be said for not reading.
tomorrow hilary comes. we will show her around. it will be good. i have another interview at a running store that sells orthodics (i have made custom shoe inserts at my job in portland--so maybe i can get that.) it pays more than $13 an hour and it is part time. nice. and another interview on friday for medical records filing--pick your own hours up to 18. so not so bad. i'll keep you posted and try to publish more pick, but you guys don't need sick pictures. that is no good for anyone. better now. we'll talk to you all soon!

y'all won't like this, but...

2008-02-24T14:08:00.000-08:00

how come the story about Obama and his supposed mob ties and ties to slum lords in chicago are not bigger news? i know the man gives a good speech, but let's be honest, if this were hillary, the media would be all over this. i was thinking, too, how did he rise so fast without these ties? i know he is a good speaker, but to clean up this mess our country is in, it is gonna take more than speeches. sure we need to be united, but we need to be united for a cause. where is his action. what has he done? a few terms in his state government, and two as a senator. but the way he talks. and don't get me wrong, he says some wonderful things, but he is for things like " no child left behind." think about it. every kid has to be on the same level at the same age. and they have to pass the test to prove they are at that level. this is ridiculous. some kids are never going to read or do math on their grade level. and some kids are going to blow these tests out of the water. but school funding is based on these tests as well. that is scary. don't the kids who fall behind need more funding to get them up to par? and who sets par? probably someone who would have had no problem passing these milestone tests. it just seems silly. i just wonder if some people aren't taken in by his speeches and how charismatic he is. but issues.
i heard darlin' bill talk not too long ago. saying glorious things about his wife, of course. and he said that being president is a tough job because at the end of the day, you are still human. and you are going to fail at some things. he went on to say that it is how the president handles failure that determines what kind of president they are. in the late 1990's he let hillary chair a board on health care reform. she took a lot of flack for her position (it was looked at like a spoils of victory position). she took so much flack, the reform she was working on failed. FAILED. but she picked herself up, and started working on better health care for kids. and our country now has better benefits for more kids than it ever had. all because of her failure. she has made huge changes in our country. and most have been positive. but it just seems to me that she may lose to rhetoric. i'm sick of "empty words". GeeDub promised to unite us, too. you 'member? personally, i do think we need some unity, but unite us with a cause and the cause should be greater than furthering our political party, or our own career, or how great we were in the past. this is now. let's get some real changes going. that would be better.
it is not a race issue, and i don't think i am a racist for not supporting the black guy. i think he will get his time, but let's do something. for once. this is my soap box.

look at the big brain on this one...

2008-02-24T13:49:00.000-08:00

well. guess who set a new record in online chemistry. that is right. me. i took my last test (before the final) last night/this morning. and i got a 90! that is unheard of! i almost called my parents just to brag, but it would have been 4 am their time. so i waited. now all i have to do is study really hard for the final and pass it. then i am done with this leg of online organic chem. i hope to never have to do another on line course again. these things are murder. today i start my solo world tour in rock band. i think i am ready. watch out gwen stefani. cortneylangford is coming! we get to go see built to spill tomorrow night. yippee! and i have a job interview at a cactus store tomorrow afternoon. then tuesday i interview at a chiropractic office. i don't see why they would hire me. i am going to be honest about leaving in two months and starting school when i get back. i don't want to go burning any bridges, you know, but i do want to see them and talk to them. who knows. maybe they are crazy. and we don't have a place to live yet so i could be out here in the summer. who knows. but i think honesty is the best policy with them. as for the cactus store.... that is a different story. a girl has to work. and, like i told laura, what if rare cacti are my new passion. who knows. :) i'll get to learn to prune cactus, learn about rare cactus, et c . could be good. dust starts work at the farmers market on tuesday. i think he is excited. so that is good his new work's logo is a picture of penny eating corn. only it is not penny. (penny is dustin's family's dog. she is pretty cute. and she eats corn just like this dog). so he was happy. he will be doing what i do in the stand. retocking and selling veggies. he'll be a natural. i told him to get ready to see how dumb people can be. while he was talking to the guy, the woman next to me picked up dark red kale and said, "i bet this is that infamous red cabbage i've heard about." no joke. i told her she had a bunch of kale. and pointed to the "infamous" red cabbage. she was not impressed. but i thought it was pretty funny. is red cabbage "infamous?" i just figure i always knew what it was. i mean, come on! get ready dust. that is all i am gonna say. get ready. people will amaze you!
the rain didn't miss us, but we only lost power for about 30 seconds (as opposed to last time and losing power for 8+ hours), and the rain made for good study weather. we also got to eat chili and cornbread for dinner. i love that dinner.
i need to give a shout out to laura. she got accepted to nursing school. so if you see her give her a big squeeze for me. i am so happy for her. don't you think she will make a fabulous nurse? i do. i think that is the news from here for now. i'll keep y'all posted on the chemistry class. i will be so pumped to have it be done. soon. finally the end is in sight. and WAY TO GO, LAURA!!!!

today is a new day

2008-02-21T22:43:00.001-08:00

thank goodness today is a new day. i couldn't have redone yesterday. it seems that dust is feeling better. he even got a mini job at the farmer's market on three days a week. he starts tuesday. i talked to quinn and she thinks there might be a place for us right under their apt that is month to month, and claudia said she may have nice place for us. we went to the open house at my school tonight. it was a one hour drive to get there. yesh! that could be my daily commute, but that is another story. the open house was pretty cool. we got the token tour (complete with cadaver display) and the speeches about how great life west chiropractic college is. by the end of the first speech, even dust was ready to sign up. then we heard what had happened to the school that was going to teach me organic chemistry. turns out they lost their accreditation. so they can no longer teach science. they do have a pretty fancy law school and a few other branches that are successful, but no the one i need. so last night i was worried. but i think that may have been a little premature because my school is already planning a way to offer both the chemistry classes in the same place at the same time, and they may even try to employ the same teachers. so that is somewhat of a breath of fresh air. and just listening to the president of the school talk about his beliefs in chiropractic lets me know that i am not only in good hands, but i am in the right place--despite the potential hour long commute.
also thanks claudia and quinn for coming to the rescue. i am amazed at the speed you guys are capable of coming through for me. and even if nothing comes from either situation, just knowing i have friends who will jump to it when i need them means the world to me. now don't think i am slighting the rest of you. i know dust and i are being watched out for by all of you. so those nice words are to all of you. i could not have made it through a lot of the times in my life without you. nor would i want to. so thank you.
now it is supposed to really start raining on saturday. they are talking that we may lose our power for hours again. in which case, could we start a vigil early in the power loss--age to focus our energy on getting the power back on? otherwise, i may just have dust drive me to the bar and drink like an old country and western singer. not really, we could never afford that now. hopefully, work will turn up on my end, too. i don't really care to be supported financially. so i hit the streets looking for work (not street work, just work). i am going to go to the shops around the house and ask there. that way i would not have to drive. and they might be more open to part time or what not. but i could walk. that is nice. and we have a cute little neighborhood. so it could be fun. so keep us in your thoughts and prayers and whatever you believe. we still need it. but there is a little silver on the lining of our cloud #9. let's just get more of this and less of those pesky "nope days".
love to all

here comes the rain again...

2008-02-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

man, i love annie lennox, but i hate when she plays the soundtrack to my life, you know. she is not notorious for the most uplifting music. claudia left yesterday. it rained yesterday, too. the first time in weeks (maybe just two, but that constitutes weeks, right). today was sunny, but more rain is on the way (both metaporically and weatherwise). we went to bed last night to dust not feeling so well. i hoped he could sleep it off, but mona had another agenda. one loud cry every 20 minutes does not help dustin get well. so little sleep was had. he woke up before 10 ready to face the world. not me. i had spent the whole night trying to shhush the cat. but he was up--so i was up. i made him a nest on the couch and let him read his book while i did my morning phone calls to schools and what not. i even applied to a few temp agencies in hopes of finding work. someone has to support my hasband's video game habit. then when he started making everyone we know as wii characters, i knew it was time to take a shower so i could also face the day. i checked the email to find that we can not live in kristina and vytas's house this summer because tom will still be there. this is not a bad thing. i am so glad someone is living there. that little trailer makes me so happy, i would be heart broken if someone happy weren't in it. so i am glad he is and will be there. i am just worried because i don't know where we will live when we get there. for the first time since we got here, we had to seriously talk about what would happen if he went back and i stayed here. i know 4 months is not that long to go without dust, but it also means i miss all of you, too. and with the ammount of time i spend with the big oaf, i've gotten used to just having him there. and 4 months without him reading my silly little mind and laughing at my jokes and foiling my plots to take over the universe--really, what am i to do? so i called home while i was at the laundrymat. after a quick lecture from my mom about how financially irresponsible keeping the wii is (and i know she is right, but...it is so fun), she and my dad both told me that not only is 4 months (in the grand scheme of things) not soooo long, but that we still have at least two months to find a way for this to work out. so keep your fingers crossed. i also just got an email from my potential teacher saying that my class (org chem I--starting april 1) may have to be postponed by three weeks. this would make it impossible for me to take the second class out here because it would start one week after the first--or three weeks later, and ideally we would be back in vermont. so i just don't know what is happening. i guess my vacation is over. i am looking for a job, and may need to start looking for an apartment for the summer. i just guess i am scared. i feel (for the first time in a long time--thankfully) that things are out of my control. you all know what a control freak i am secretly, so you know how this is hard for me. the good news is: i believe bad news happens in 3's. so i am done for a while. count 'em:
1. dust is sick.
2. we have no where to live for the summer.
3. my silly class is postponed or cancelled.
and looking at them that way, they seem pretty meager. so i know we will be ok. but i just needed to vent, and what better way than to blog. that is why these things are here. am i right?
on the flip side we go to my chiropractic college tomorrow night for an open house. i feel like a silly kid on the first day of school. i did laundry today so we would be clean. i am a little nervous, but i think it will be a boring/ good time. i think it might be good for dust to go with me, i want him to know and feel at home where i will be spending so much time, you know.
and i got to talk to both of my parents. that was fun. it seems like when i call, one of them is gone or something. so it was nice to get their perspective on the situation. my mom always says what needs to be said, and my dad makes me feel like everything will be ok. so it is a nice combo. i may not hear what i want to hear, but i know what is up and have a new outlook when all is said and done.
i printed out a resume. i really have to start looking for work. the vacation is over. sad, but it was nice while it lasted. keep your fingers crossed for us. we need all the luck we can get.

karaoke anyone

2008-02-17T13:26:00.000-08:00

we took claudia to the booths where you get to sing karaoke. like in lost in translation. we picked so many great songs: shot through the heart, two journey songs (they are the bay area's finest), don't go chasing waterfalls, ice ice baby, and many more! here are the photos of our fabulous adventure:

that is right. we rock!

y'all ready for this?

2008-02-17T13:20:00.000-08:00

the much anticipated cosby sweater photos.

we're they better than you expected? i thought so. i really had complete strangers telling me "hers is the worst. just look at it. " good thing i am not more sensitive about how i look or what others think of me. but we do look pretty good, right. we went for ice cream after the party. there were some high school girls with no sense of humor--which made their gawking that much better for us. so there you have it. us as the real goons we are.

oops i forgot!

2008-02-14T23:21:00.000-08:00

i forgot to tell you about the party we went to while we were at melissa and andy's house. it was their friend's birthday, and in keeping with dustin and my tradtion (where if we know we don't know anyone at the party, we go in costume)... we wore cosby sweaters. you ready for this. i had people i did not know telling me mine was the worst and i looked horrible. it is refreshing to know "i still got it!" "it" being the ability to turn complete strangers against me with only one sweater and a side ponytail. think it over whilst i have dust resize the picture and i'll put it on tomorrow. see if i measure up to what you expected, or if it wasn't as bad as you thought. and just wait till you see dust. think shades of brown. melissa opted for the hot pink sweater, leaving poor andy in the purple with roses sweater. just you wait... this one is good.

we got claudia

2008-02-14T23:05:00.000-08:00

for valentine's day some people get flowers or candy, but everyone who knows us, knows how unconventional we are. we got claudia for valentine's day, and we couldn't be happier.

today we went wine tasting up in my brother's area. it was a lot of fun, but i don't think i need anymore wine for a while.

our first stop was meredith's work (ben's wife), envy. there we learned that wine tastes better if you hold your pinky out from the glass.

the second winery had a lot of plastic ducks outside, but the wine was good and they fed us. so we liked them most of all.

no wine tour would be complete without stopping at clos pegase because that is where my brother works. here we have the girls at his winery:

and ben, too.

it was a fun day. and we made it to our fabulous dinner at tayor's refresher. nothing like a hamburger and shake for a great valentine's meal. we were all very happy on the way home.

"we're in the money"

2008-02-14T22:56:00.000-08:00

if you haven't heard, dust and i have gotten into the lucrative dealings of ebay. we hope to make a small fortune selling wii's. we have two that we are planning to sell. hopefully they go for a lot of money. we were really excited to actually get the wii's on our first few hours of looking. it was almost like dealing with the mafia to get one, though, because the gaming store was very secretive about even having wii's to sell. first dustin went in. and asked. one guy said he would "go look" to see if they had any wii's--while the other dude went and got the wii and put it in a bag in the back room of the store. coming back with a bag, dust's day was made. then we went and got cash and i went in. my transaction was not nearly as smooth or as quick. i go in and follow dustin's protocal. asking quietly for the wii. they go in the back and package it up for me. i tell them i am buying it for my nephew in arkansas. nice use of the accent, i know. so as i am paying for the wii, their computers completely crash and i am left not only not holding my $340, but also not holding my wii in a bag. so i wait for what seems like an eternity, but is probably only slightly less than an hour. then i emerge with my wii. nice. we follow up the wii purchases with in and out burger. what a celebration. one wii is on sale now--so happy bidding. :) only kidding. but if this goes well, we know when another shipment of them comes in at target. so if you need a wii, we are in the know.

wiiiiiiiii

2008-02-09T23:39:00.000-08:00

we are at melissa and andy's house in blue lake, california. they have a wii. so in honor of the paquette's we decided to take the wii fitness test as often as possible. the first time i took it i was 36. i was pumped. everyone else was in their 50's at least. i was so proud. then the next morning, i was 80. and at night 52. so i am convinced i am a night person, and not meant for morning competition. we have been here since thursday, and they have convinced us to stay until monday. we are also trying to get them to come down to our area next weekend because they have to get to know claudia. that way we all have friends. it is good. either way we have to leave by monday. dust is having trouble sleeping on an air mattress, and the kitties are getting tired of being in one room. oh. i should tell you too, on the way here, albert got car sick that was pretty bad. we were weaving through the red woods to get here and he was crying. it made me feel so bad. but we got that cleaned up.
also today we rented a game for the wii, wario smooth moves. seriously, you (paquette's) must play this game. rent it. then you will want to buy it. it is the best. in fact, it is almost my turn so i should go.

you take the good, you take the bad

2008-02-05T23:58:00.000-08:00

so as the coverage of super tuesday was winding down here in the state that now calls themselves "the prize", i was happy to see my girl was winning. i grew up, my mom managing a law firm in little rock, and hillary was a lawyer at a rival firm (one that my aunt ended up working at). only one time of year did all the rivals come together--the christmas party. now i was stuck with the kids at these parties, so i only heard the gossip as people were coming to get their kids and what not. but one thing that was ingrained in all of us was that hillary was called the ice princess. they said she had no personality, and was hideous (really ugly--not personality wise--side note: she is the only arkansas first lady to have her portrait painted from behind--true story). but they also dreaded coming up against her in the court room. they said she was a fierce competitor and they said she was smart. now i take in to account that i was young, but i still believe all of these things. ice princess, fierce, smart. these things are important to me because our country has been run into the ground by stupidity for 8 years. we need someone who doesn't care what others think of them (her), and is willing to fight hard for us, and do so with intelligence instead of a gun. so this princess supports every princess, regarless of their domain. ice--y palaces or my own sunny shores. i believe there are no smarter candidates out there. don't get me wrong, i like obama, and i would vote a clinton--obama ticket in a heart beat (regardless of what chris rock says about a black man being elected vp). i think that would be smart. and in 8 years, i would not hesitate to vote for obama to be my president.
but while california was coming in for hillary, and she was winning so many delegates in so many big states (obama campers take stock in the fact your candidate won not only more states, but also most of these little states are battle ground states), dust was on the computer checking more delegate info for me (as i watched KRON 4-the local news). we learned that six--count them six--tornadoes had struck arkansas, tennessee, and kentucky killing 22 people. i assumed it was eastern arkansas (a less populated area)where the tornado hit, but no. it was in a town that near where my aunt lives. it also said that horses were involved (statistics we never get--the animals hurt or killed). so reading about these two horses that wouldn't look up until light was in their eyes--they only "whined in distress" until that point. it just sounded so sad. so while i was so happy that my home state had gone to my girl (and my evil nemisis, mike huckabee never to be mentioned again), i was really sad to hear that people had died, and people were being searched for. i know people from this town from my tri delta days. and i remember when this same thing happened when i was in college in a town called arkadelphia (the town was destroyed to the point where the national guard was called in to guard from looting and disney offered to buy the town to rebuild it for movie sets...it was crazy). but it all just struck a terrible cord. so i feel alittle sad right now. and worried for the people in atkins. i hope they will be ok, and i hope it will be a big news story, and not overshadowed by "super" tuesday. i guess the word "super" can take on a lot of meanings, too--eh?

this one's for quinn

2008-02-05T16:51:00.000-08:00

now i will admit that it has been a loooooong time since i lived in the city. but i have always fancied myself as fashionable. WRONG. moving to the bay area has shown me that my style is not only haggard, but also cheap. usually i like the cheap aspect. i like to get clothes off of ebay. but here, that is just not enough. i have yet to find some outfit or accessory that was not at least 98$. the only bargains i have seen have been in trader joe's, the cheap, but good grocery store. also skinny jeans seem to have taken over the bay area. all colors of skinny jeans and all sizes (not so good) and on males and females. also the fresh prince colored hoodies (think neon prints), as have hoodies that zip Over the face and have mesh eye coverings. these hoodies are usually printed with a skeleton or spiderman or chainsaw yielding jason. i am always amazed when i see the kids in these things. amazed mostly to see who actually buys them, but still...
all of those flowing shirts have almost been replaced with fitting shirts and little sweaters. also knee high boots and skirts. boots in black or brown--just not too shiney. now i priced these boots in dsw in san fran--any place called a warehouse should be assumed discount as well--WRONG again. these boots were cute and pricey. 200-500$. also heels--not as big in the city if you are planning on walking. so most places also sell a lot of flats. you would think the flats would be cheaper than heels--nope. but flats are huge here. these people would laugh at the vermont fashion. no carharts have been seen here. also no real flannel shirts. so vermonters--it is time to step it up. so we don't look like vermonters when we go out of the state.
i put my foot down on the skinny jeans. i just don't think that is a look that needs supporting. but i could try the skirts with boots (given that i could find boots under 50$). sweaters, i am not opposed to. and i love fitted shirts. i am hoping this signals the end of the drapery/maternity wear that has flooded stores for so long as i do not think it is a good look for anyone under the size 22-- or non maternity. oh yes, pea coats--invest in pea coats--all the rage. and if your jeans are not designer, (and/or skinny) don't wear them. wear pants. i know it is crazy, but the bay area has no "dress jeans". also they dress up more for a saturday afternoon than we do for a month of nights going out combined.
one other funny thing--i saw a boy in keds on the bart the other day. no, he wasn't gay--he was some sort of wanksta. i thought it was hilarious.
i do see alot of designer handbags here. all over the place--coach, gucci, hobo--on people you would not expect to have a designer bag. i even thought about making a purchase of one instead of my dream shoes. a "cheap" hobo bag is only 98$. and it could be my "treat" for finishing organic chemistry. but then i thought, what kind of treat do i think i deserve? if we lived here full time, i think i could make us broke as jokes in no time. but we would look good.

whirlygigs and water spouts

2008-02-03T20:39:00.001-08:00

well. it all started thursday morning when we went to visit my brother, his wife and baby. it was a good day--really rainy, but good. we got to talk to my parents on skype. that was fun because they haven't really seen baby emma yet, so that was a big deal. none of us could quiet that baby for most of the afternoon. both dust and myself asked why people actually wanted and looked forward to having such crying machines. my brother assured us it was the best thing that had happened to him. so i know all is well. we also could not get that baby to take a bottle. so ben drove up to meredith's work in the middle of the afternoon so the wee one could eat. we even got to hang out with meredith this visit. so that was good. last time we left too early. we got to babysit while ben picked meredith up from work. we got the baby quiet ( for the most part) see......i think both of them are tired beyond belief. but i sarcastically told them to give it a year or so and they would all be sleeping through the night with little memory of all of this. it was made extra funny because my brother nearly got drenched while trying to change baby emma's diaper.

we left there about 8pm. we were worried that melissa and andy would beat us back to the house. they accidently took the golden gate bridge in to san franciso and had to drive through the city to cross the bay bridge to our house. their turn was actually a few exits before the golden gate, and had they made that exit, they would have not only made it here about 45 minutes faster, they would have avoided a $5 toll. so that was stinky. we took them to our local bar and had a great time. friday we explored oakland. we found two inviting area of that city (so far i had been put off by oakland). we even saw rob's pots in an upscale shop's windowso i was reassured. we also went across to the island of alameda. a quiet little area. and then we showed them berkeley. it was fun. i think we all could own this part of the country if we were all here together. we managed to make it to the pyramid brewing tour (if it weren't free, i think it would be very dissapointing). we made it home in time to introduce them to rock band. they were sold. i forget how fun it is to have a room full of people playing that thing. it is nice. we even got shy little andy to sing several songs. now, there is one bad thing you guys should know, one of our guitars broke again so we've been playing in a band of three. not quite as much fun, but it is still fun.

saturday we went to san fran because there was a flower show in china town. it was the start of chinese new year and part of getting ready for the celebration involves buying flowers, fruit and candy. (my kind of celebration!) dustin was by far the tallest one there. it was a hoot. but it was nice to walk through all the vendors and see their flowers. i had read that if you have flowers blooming in your home on chinese new year, it is said that it will be a profitable year. and if you have oranges with the leaves still attatched, it will be a good year for newlyweds (fruit attatched to leaf, bride and groom attatched). and who doesn't celebrate with candy? so we walked around and saw it all before the rain came. we got a cab to the haight area, and then went back downtown and ate curry and naan (my favorite fast food indian food) and shopped like nothing else. we didn't really buy anything, but we did go in our fair share of stores.

it was nice to have people who are so excited we are on the west coast. it was also nice to hear them say that we should all live in the same town. i agree. we had so much fun just laughing with them. so we both were sad to see them go. but we did get the excited invite to come up to visit them (with the cats) next weekend. so barring any new best friends inviting us to something more amazing we will probably do that. it will be fun. maybe i can get them to start packing for their move. :) if not, maybe we can play rock band into the wee hours. they have a house so we would not be a nuisance to the neighbors. ahh. houses. one day. but for now we have friends!

a sight to behold

2008-01-31T01:23:00.001-08:00

oh, boy, what is this? is true?
he can read?
all this time i thought video games were all he could read. turns out, he is literate. who knew?
dust bought a real book. it is upton sinclair's book titled oil. it is set in southern california, in the 1920's. it is the book that the movie "there will be blood" with daniel day lewis is based on. dustin was telling me yesterday while we were at the coffee shop that he loves how the book describes the process of drilling for oil and the character devlopment. so i sat there listening. he made it sound really interesting. i will probably read it when he is done.
now other gamers, do not be upset by the fact that he is reading a real book. he is still keeping those controls warm. the book only comes out on special occaisions.
**again, no spell check. i can't get that button to work for me. don't know why? any help?
love to all