Golden Birthday

Today the world celebrates, as it is H's Golden Birthday!

Have you ever heard of a golden birthday? I had not before I met H and his family. A golden birthday is the birthday on which when a person's age matches his or her date of birth. Today H turns 29 on the 29th.

I feel like I have been mushy and barfy enough lately, so to H I will just say:

Why not 20? Come here so I can give you a punch hug. I love you, and happy birthday!

The 2006 Review

I am thinking about doing my own Project 365, but like Laurie, I am unsure whether to do it or not.

Reasons I might do it: it would be cool to have a record of every day of 2007, the end result might be cool

Reasons I might not do it: I am not a great photographer, I hate stopping to take pictures of things when I am with other people, I might get tired and give up on it, the end result might suck

Looking at that defeatist list makes me want to try. So I think I shall. I doubt I will post all the pictures here, but I may share some of the good ones. I have no idea yet what the end result will be. Maybe a post on December 31, 2007 of a collage of all the photos. Or maybe just an online record of my year. I don't feel like I have to decide that yet. And now for my thirteen, I shall steal some questions from Lawyerish's post tonight.

1. What did you do in 2006 that you’d never done before? Stay married for a whole year. Work at the same job for a whole year (the last job was only 51 weeks). Serve as a bridesmaid (twice). Attend a Hindu wedding.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I just looked through my blog archives to see if I had any resolutions. So obviously if I made them I didn't keep them, or I only kept them accidentally. I don't think I made any last year though. This year, my resolution is to treat people the way I want to be treated. Kind of hard to measure, but I think it's a good goal.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? My friend who I met while we were studying abroad in Ireland gave birth this year. Her baby is the cutest baby ever. Sorry, Stefanie, but she is. I admit that Megan is extremely cute though.

4. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006? A vacation where I can just sit by the pool or ocean and read. I want to go somewhere warm and relax! Also, a bookcase in our home office.

5. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? May 28 was my Texas friend's wedding. It was gorgeous and fun and Texas-y. July 2 was Double_G's wedding. It was beautiful and unique and Indian-y. September 3 was our first anniversary. So apparently weddings are very important to me.

6. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Staying happily married. Not that we had a rough time or anything. I am just very proud of our relationship. H is really my best friend. (I apologize if lame cliches make you barf.)

7. What was your biggest failure? Losing 5 pounds and then gaining back 10 pounds. I am back to exercising almost every day and paying attention to what I eat. Hopefully, I can lose 15 pounds by the end of March (my arbitrary deadline). When I told H I wanted to lose 15 pounds, he asked, "Why not 20?" Please see Item 6 above. (He was not being mean; he just doesn't think about how he says certain things.)

8. What was the best thing you bought? Our bedroom set. I feel like an adult and not like a college kid now.

9. Whose behavior merited celebration? H's. Not only is he a wonderful person, but he has lost 35 pounds! He has worked really hard to change his diet and exercise more. Of course, I think he was hot before, and he is still hot. I am just proud of all his effort and discipline.

10. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Lindsay Lohan. You were so cute in "Mean Girls"! What happened?

11. Where did most of your money go? Our house. I love it though, so it is worth it.

12. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Guitar Hero. Pam and Jim's kiss.

13. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer? Happier, fatter, and richer. May 2007 bring more of the same. Except for the fat.

Jumpin' Jehosophat!

This blog is not going to become a "Kids Say the Darndest Things!" site, but the story of my interrogation reminded me of another time I had to put my diversion skills to the test.

A few years ago, I was a volunteer at an elementary school. Once a week, the other volunteers and I would go to a school and read for 30 minutes with our first grade reading buddies. My buddy was very nice and super cute, but she had the attention span of a gnat. Every weekend, I went to the library and picked out lots of books with tons of busy pictures and few words because that was about all she could handle. And yet, almost every week she would bring her own books that were big and boring with tons of words and few pictures. I would try to get her excited about the picture books that I knew she would like, but she always insisted on starting with her books. After the first sentence or two, she would get annoyed and distracted, and it was a pain to get her back on track.

One week she actually selected a book with a ton of busy pictures. I was so excited that she had picked it out herself. It was a book about dinosaurs. We started reading and naming all the dinosaurs and learning about what they ate and where they lived. Then we turned the page, and there were pictures of different ways the dinosaurs could have gone extinct. One picture was of a volcano spraying out lava.

"Did that volcano kill all the dinosaurs?" my buddy asked.

"That is one theory as to why all the dinosaurs died," I said.

"Is the volcano going to explode again?" she asked, looking up at me with big eyes.

"No, I think we're ok," I tried to reassure her.

"Are we all going to die?" she asked.

"Ummm... don't worry about it. Everything is fine," I said. I tried to turn the page.

"Can I look at the volcano again?" she asked.

I tried to convince her we needed to move on to the next page instead of discussing life and death, but she insisted on studying the volcano some more.

"Why didn't Jehovah save the dinosaurs?" she asked, with trembling lips.

"Everything is fine! Don't worry! We are safe! Let's look at this book about the Berenstein Bears!"

"Couldn't Jehovah save the dinosaurs?" she asked, a little bit calmer.

"I'm sure Jehovah could. Ok! Let's look at the Berenstein Bears!" I said, picturing her going home and telling her mom how she and her reading buddy talked all about Jehovah and why he killed all the dinosaurs and everyone is going to die. But luckily, the call of the Berenstein Bears won out, and we spent the rest of our time learning how the Berenstein Bears joined the Bear Scouts.

Christmas Interrogation

My six-year-old niece has become quite the little interrogator in the three months since I had seen her last.

Niece: Are you and H going to sleep in the same bed?
Me: Yes.
Niece: Why?
Me: Because we're married.
Niece: Did you sleep in the same bed before you were married?
Me: So I heard you got a new guinea pig?
Niece: Did you sleep together before you got married?
Me: What is the guinea pig's name? Can I see him?


Later, I taught my 11-year-old niece how to knit, using some extra yarn and a set of needles I wasn't using. It was fun, and she learned really quickly. It was especially cool because I knew that her grandma (H's mom) was giving her knitting needles, yarn, and a how-to book for Christmas. She was so excited when she opened up the gift and saw all the yarn. She already had about half a scarf made when we left this afternoon. But anyway, as I was teaching the 11-year-old to knit, the six-year-old found me again.

Niece: You cried at your wedding.
Me: Yes, I did.
Niece: I saw you.
Me: I know. You were the flower girl.
Niece: When are you going to have babies?
Me: ...


Then the niece went off to ask my sister-in-law why she doesn't have a boyfriend.

To the Farm!

We were supposed to pick up H's sister at the airport and take her to H's parents' house, where we would all spend the weekend. But H's sister's flight got cancelled, so we are sitting at home when we should already be at the family farm. Aargh. She must be frustrated too. Waiting at the airport SUCKS.

But we are headed out soon, after a quick trip to the liquor store for my "supplies." I will be back Monday night with tales of my adventures on the family farm. I hope you all have a merry Christmas or at least a good long weekend!

PS I like my hair now. At least, I don't hate it. So that is progress!

PPS I saw a pimp today. He was wearing baggy lime green pants and a white fur coat. And he was yelling at some thug-type guy on the street. Good times.

When I Saw My Haircut, A Certain F Word Came to Mind

Before I do my Thursday list, let me first tell you a little story. I decided to get a haircut today. I have been thinking about it for a while and realized that I would actually be able to leave work in time to get a haircut tonight, so I made a quick appointment and met with a new stylist. I said that I would like shoulder-length hair. The stylist asked if I would like layers. I said yes. She asked if I would like long layers. I said yes. The stylist confirmed that I wanted shoulder-length hair with long layers.

Does this look like shoulder-length hair with long layers to you?

I am pretty sure that my chin is above my shoulders, so the fact that my hair is now above my chin does not make me happy at all. It is ugly. I am mad. Mad and ugly. I can't wait for all the Christmas pictures.


So anyway, for my thirteen things today, I am going to list thirteen things that start with the letter F and make me happy. I have done something similar before, but this time I got a letter from Stefanie. Lots of other people have done this as well, including Malia.

Anyway, here we go.

1. frankfurters at baseball games- I love going to baseball games. Especially College World Series games. And franks taste best outside.

2. friends- I am so lucky to have a few people that have stuck with me despite my moodiness and general craziness, and I am so glad to have them in my life. I am also grateful for new friends. Nothing can cheer me up or make me happy the way a friend with a good story can.

3. frozen yogurt- Ben & Jerry's frozen yogurt is deliciously wonderful.

4. Frappaccinos- the perfect summer treat and a good reason to take a break at work.

5. family- My family is small, but I know that I can depend on them no matter what.

6. fancy dinners (that I don't have to cook)

7. freedom- Don't worry. I'm not going to break out into a song by Lee Greenwood.

8. Foo Fighters- I will not break out into a song by the Foo Fighters either.

9. fabulous haircuts that look nice and are actually shoulder-length

10. French cheese- Camembert is my favorite despite number 3 on this list.

11. Falk, Peter- I love Columbo. I like the mystery aspect, the pace of the storyline, and the way he makes people think he is dumb in order to trip them up. You think I'm a dork now, don't you? [As though you didn't think that before you read this.]

12. fermented grapes- Kind of a stretch, and yet, I don't care.

13. free food- What can I say? I am stingy.

It Is Tuesday, Right?

I think I went all day without saying anything weird at work, which is pretty amazing for me. I even had some important conference calls during which I sounded professional. Wooo!

*****

I have been having a very odd problem lately. I have no idea what day of the week it is. For example, I was certain that today was Wednesday, and I spent a lot of the day freaking out because I have a project that has to be completed by 8 a.m. Thursday, and I had no idea how I was going to get it done. It was not until 6 p.m. that I realized it was Tuesday. I have been like this for two weeks. I will even look at the calendar to figure out what day it is, and then five minutes later, I have no idea what day it is again. I think I may have caught a bad case of Laurinaitis.

*****

I have no idea why I needed to make that extremely lame "joke," but I am having sever day-of-the-week issues. It is so bizarre.

Send Me A Kiss By Wire! Baby, My Heart's On Fire!

So I have been trying to think of six weird things about myself to write since I was tagged by Stories 2 Tell a while ago. I can't seem to think of six weird things about myself, although if you asked my sister, she would probably not be able to stop at six. So here is my attempt at six:

1. I talk to myself a lot. In the car or when I am alone. Not while wandering down the street or in the elevator or anything like that.

2. I also talk to inanimate objects. I was at the printer at work the other day, and I thought no one was around. I realized I had printed the wrong thing, so I looked at the paper and asked, "Why did I print you?" Of course, a partner who I rarely see was walking by and gave me a weird look. Which reminds me that I saw a different partner today and we had the following conversation:
Me: Hi! How are you?
Him: Fine. How are you?
Me: Good. How are you?
Him: Fine.
Me: [in my head] D'oh!

3. I am somewhat lactose intolerant, but I eat lots of cheese anyway. Then I get sick. Yet I still cannot resist cheese. Maybe that is not so much weird as it is dumb.

4. I freaking hate the winter, but I moved to Minnesota willingly. It hasn't been too bad yet in the 2.5 years I have lived here.

5. When people praise me, I cry. It's not like if my boss says, "Good job," I will start weeping or anything. I only get teary if someone gives me a lot of praise. Like when my favorite professor in law school came to the graduation party my friends and I had, and he told my mom what a great student and trial team member I was and went on and on. Then I got really teary and almost cried. Or when H gave a speech about me at my swearing-in ceremony (when I became a member of the bar), I got really teary.

6. I break out into song quite frequently. When I come home at night, I will often sing, "Hello, my honey. Hello, my baby. Hello, my Nerdle pal!" [instead of ragtime gal].

Overheard in Minnesota

Earlier this week...

H: We got two packages from Amazon.com today.
Me: Don't open them.
H: Can I just open the small one?
Me: No.
H: Ok, I'll just open the big one.
Me: No.
H: Fine. I'll only open both of them.
Me: No.
H: I'll just guess what is in them, and you tell me when I guess right.
Me: No.
H: What if I open them, look inside, but then tape them back up and pretend to be surprised when I open them again?
Me: Let me think about it. No.
H: I'm going to open them when you leave for work.
Me: No, you're not.
H: LET ME OPEN THEM!
Me: NO!


Today we exchanged presents. We are going to be out of town for Christmas. Plus today we went to a performance of "A Christmas Carol" that H's cousin was in, which was surprisingly good. And I wanted to give H some time to play around with one of his presents. I gave H a cordless circular saw (that he picked out) and a pair of cuff links. H gave me some gorgeous diamond earrings. It was a very Christmas-y day.

Advice Needed

First: the good news. I have been working out for two weeks. In a row.
Second: the bad news. This week, it really helped me to watch the first season of Project Runway on DVD as I worked out. But I have finished the first season, and I have already seen seasons two and three.

Where you come in: Please recommend a new show that I can rent on DVD that will keep me (figuratively) glued to the seat of my bike.

Shows that I like: Arrested Development, House, The Office, Grey's Anatomy (although I haven't watched the last 4 or 5 episodes), and Gilmore Girls (except I stopped watching it last season).

Drinkin' It Up

I loved law school. I met some really great people (including H) and had a lot of fun, even though it was a lot of work. Do you know what I did not love about law school? Finals. During the entire three-year period of law school, I only had three classes in which my entire grade was not based on the final. It was a little bit stressful. But after the two week finals period was over, the entire law school would go to this one dive bar and proceed to drink. It was marvelous.

The December parties that I have to go to now are not nearly as fun. In fact, several of them are quite painful. We went to a fun one last week at the house of a judge for whom I used to work though. Every year, he invites all his former clerks and their significant others over to partake of wine and crazy Norwegian food. H made a new friend (some guy with a job similar to H's), and I got to catch up with the awesome people with whom I clerked.

I don't have that much else going on right now, besides work. We don't have any plans for the weekend, so hopefully we will finally clean our house. We will go to the family farm to spend Christmas with H's family, and then we will go to see my family the following weekend.

I really just want to go find a dive bar and drink it up with friends right now. Well, not right now, but soon. Maybe I will just bring lots of alcohol to the farm.

I Do It All For You

Thirteen Pearls Of Wisdom I Think It Is My Duty To Share With You

Alternate Title: Thirteen Things I Have Learned the Hard Way, But Only For Your Benefit

1. Do not use the finger with which you just applied Carmex to your lips to wipe your eye five seconds letter.
2. Your eye will start watering like a mofo, and basically, your eye will just start crying.
3. That will also be the exact moment your coworker will come into your office to ask how your annual review went.

4. When, during an interview, the interviewer admits that she is 50, try not to look super shocked.
5. If you do look super shocked, pretend that it is because you thought she was much younger, and not, in fact, because she actually looks at least 75.

6. When you are wearing glasses, make sure that you look through the lenses when you are trying to judge how high a curb is.
7. If you do end up falling into the street, try to get up quickly.

8. Try to focus on what people are saying during a meeting.
9. Otherwise, you might start thinking of something really funny that happened about three years ago, and then you might try to stifle a laugh and end up snorting.
10. Fake coughs will not disguise the fact that you just snorted.

11. When you are speaking with a group of judges, do not end the conversation by saying, "Thanks, guys!"

12. Check out links on the blogs you like, in both the sidebar and in the comments.
13. You may find some new blogs that you will fall in love with, like Metalia or LizLand.

The Waiter Made a Face Like "WTF Are These Nerds Doing?!"

I am supposed to come up with 6 weird things about myself, but after reading Jes's list I feel like there is just no way I could top that. I will try to work something up for you.

I am kind of a competitive person, as you may remember. I like to pretend like I'm not and I can convince myself sometimes that I am laid back and all kumbaya. But then when we are playing a card game, I get frustrated when someone takes too long on his or her turn and I start bossing everyone around. Or perhaps when we are playing Taboo, I am like, "Oh, I don't care who wins!" But then I am yelling out answers like a crazy person and jumping out of my seat when someone says one of the words from the Taboo list. Just so you know, I don't get mad at the other players. I just get really into the game.

And now for a somewhat related tangent, H hates card games and board games, while I love them. I can never get anyone to play games with me. It sucks. Pictionary is so fun! Especially when you are drinking! Maybe the problem is that I feel like a five-year-old asking people over to my house to play games, so I never ask anyone. Is it dorky to ask people over to have a game night? Would H participate if I had a game night, or would he just go in the basement and lift weights on the Thunder Thruster?

OMG, people, H wants to buy this exercise machine called the Thunder Thruster. How hilarious is that? Very hilarious. I am sure it is a great machine and everything, but it is called the Thunder Thruster. "See you in half an hour, honey. I gotta go THRUST on the THUNDER THRUSTER." I will laugh so hard if we have a Thunder Thruster in our basement. And it makes me think of the Thunder from Down Under that I had to go see earlier this year. In fact, I bet the guys from that show use the Thunder Thruster a lot, if you know what I mean.

Hmm... that last sentence makes no sense, and I realized that when I wrote it, but it makes me laugh, so I am leaving it.

So, speaking (writing) of board games - nice segueway, wasn't it - I had a friendly acquaintance in college who liked to play board games. I went over to his apartment once and played board games with him and his friends, and it was a little ... interesting. When we were deciding what game to play, we had to go out to one of the friend's cars and go through his trunk to look at all his games. His trunk was FULL of board games. It was so full of board games that he had to put the games in the trunk in a specific order so that they would all fit. Whoa. So we played a game, and it was fine, and then I left. A few weeks later, the same acquaintance asked me if I wanted to go out to dinner with him and some other friends. (I will not go into how I know that this was not a date because, seriously, that is at least another whole post on its own, so just trust me; this guy had no romantic interest in me.) So we go out to dinner, and trunk-full-of-games guy was there. And he brought Uno with him into the restaurant, and everyone started playing Uno as soon as we were seated, and I was mortified. I admit that I am a nerd, but do I really need to play Uno while I am waiting for the waiter to take my order? No, I do not.

When Do I Get My Deputy Badge?

H and I were driving to the grocery store (actually, I was driving; H was the passenger) when H yelled, "That kid [in the car next to us] just took a bong hit!" Nice. The car was going really slow and swerving, so H called 911.

H: "These two geniuses in the car behind us have a bong."

The 911 dispatch asked us to stay with the car and to let them know where it was going. So we got behind the kids, and the trip to the grocery store turned into an a drive through three different suburbs.

The kids finally stopped in the Wendy's parking lot. (Of course.) The dispatcher asked us to park in a nearby location and keep an eye on them. I felt like I was on a pothead stakeout. The kids stayed in their car for a while, and then got in a waiting minivan. The dispatcher asked us to follow the minivan, but we got stuck in traffic and lost them.

The dispatcher asked us what the kids were wearing. The answer: tie-dye. Tie-dye and Wendy's? Did we even need to follow them? I could have told the dispatcher all this as soon as I saw the bong.

*****

I asked H if he wanted to do a guest post on my blog about our adventure because he was really into it. H says he will consider doing a guest post about some undisclosed subject in the future, so stay tuned!

And You Know What Else You Can Read

This Girl's View/Sarah Says Cranium Superstar

Thinking Out Loud I'm Listening

Tartine Lessons From NYC

Swimming With Sharks Law School Is Full of Them

Super Fantastic If You Are Only Medium Fantastic, This Is Not The Blog For You

Sunday Undies Holier Than the Rest?

Stefanie Says Listen Up!

Sass Attack Your Only Defense is a Dash of Sass

Red Red Whine Makes Me Feel So Fine

Preppy Girl's Guide Word.

Paisley Propaganda The Propaganda is Good!

One Smart Cookie Not Too Crumby

One Single Groove Groovin' on a Sunday Afternoon

Nabbalicious It's Laughtastic

Metalia Bloggin' It Up

Marmite Breath A Dingo Ate Her Baby

Mama Drama Oh, The Drama

Maliavale It's dot-com!

LizLand Liz, Gee Whiz

Lawyerish Lawyers=People Too

Jonniker When Snowbirds Attack

Grumpy Frump Now With 99% Less Frump

Galoot's Hoot Page Nutcracker Star

Face Down Bottoms Up

Don't See In Here Reverse Psychology

The Cupcake Tent Varitek Lovah

Crazy Aunt Purl Ol' Wine Lips McGee

Chirky Fun in the Metroplex

Boozie Drinks for Everyone

The Karate Kid Loves Blingo, And So Will You

A Study of Human Nature, in Bullet Points

* I saw the ex-friend today! I smiled at her, and she ignored me. Oh well. If I see her again, I will continue to be friendly to her, and she can choose whether or not she wants to be civil to me. Not a big deal. I don't dislike her; I just don't want to spend time with her.

* I am caught in a ridiculous situation that I do not foresee changing in the near future. In the last few months, I have cycled through stages of (1) trying to make it better, (2) getting annoyed, and (3) anger. Today I reached a new stage: (4) laughing at how ridiculous it is and being entertained. I was feeling pretty good about myself for kind of transcending the situation and not letting it get to me, but then when I was working out tonight, I felt myself getting angry about the situation again. I am trapped! Again, my response = oh well. I can't control other people's behavior, and I will continue to try to see the humor it.

* Yes, you read that right. I worked out tonight. That is two times this week! It's a Christmas miracle! I actually enjoyed the workout and part of me did not want to stop, but I had to so that I could get some more work done before I go to bed. Anyway, I do not want to admit that I enjoyed the workout because I do not want H to gloat about it and use this admission as justification for nagging me in the future. Who am I kidding? Of course H will nag me to work out for the rest of my life whether I admit that I found it enjoyable tonight or not. So there you go.

* H was talking to his mom on the phone tonight (not a common occurrence, in case you were wondering), and she asked him what she should get me for Christmas. I told H that I would like some nice stationery and note cards. Instead of repeating this to his mom, H said, "She says she wants an expensive gift card." Later, when I told H again that I really did want some stationery, he yelled at me, "Don't waste your Christmases!"

Stories That Entertain Only Me

Hey. What's up? Not much here. Just writing about scooters, vacation, and fall.

I'm not sure why that cracks me up, but it does.

So anyway, I was talking to Stefanie today (and by talking, I mean I wrote her an e-mail to which she responded, "Quit stalking me, you freak") about the apparent fact that we look alike. When we met, we laughed at how we have similar glasses, and Stefanie said that I looked kind of like her younger sister. She took this picture of us when we met, and she received several comments saying we look alike. Then H met her this weekend, and H said that I look more like Stefanie than I look like my own sister. I have met my [taller] doppelganger! Except Stefanie and I don't really think we look that much alike.

In college, I hung out with a group of friends that included this tall, skinny, blonde guy that I will call Harold [not his real name]. One time at a party, my friends and I saw Harold on the other side of the house, so we yelled, "HAROLD!" He didn't even look over at us. So we went over to him, and when we got within a few feet of him, we realized it was not Harold. It was Harold's doppelganger, who we called Pseudo-Harold. So we chatted with Pseudo, and it turns out that Pseudo had an apartment near mine and was friends with a guy who I hung out with a few times. My roommate even started dating Pseudo. All of Harold's friends who met Pseudo were amazed at how similar the two looked. We told Harold and Pseudo about each other, but they kept narrowly missing meeting each other. Finally, we had a party at our apartment that both Harold and Pseudo attended. They could not believe we thought they looked alike. Seriously, they saw no resemblance whatsoever. When they went to shake hands, one of my friends yelled out, "Nooooooooo! Matter and anti-matter must never touch!"

And that was funny only to me, but that is ok.

Tis the Season (of Fake Christmas Trees)

Not that you care, but as promised, I have pictures of my tree skirt and Christmas tree. I purchased the tree skirt at the No Coast Craft-o-Rama, but the seller has a website, if you are interested.


For some reason, I am totally in love with this tree skirt. Probably more than is normal. I also loved the one described here as "My Favorite Tree Skirt" (scroll down), but H thought it was too girly.

Anyway, here is our tree.


H and I are very proud of it and our red and gold theme. It is just a fake Christmas tree (from Target), but it makes us happy.

Another random thing about which I am excited is the Google feed reader. I have now listed all the blogs I read on this Google reader. If you already have a Google or gmail account, then you have access to the reader. (From gmail, you select "Other Services" at the top left, and then select "Reader.") It is supposedly more accurate than bloglines. We shall see.

Things about which I am not excited include the freaking cold weather and going back to work tomorrow although I don't feel that much better.

What is making you happy today?

Being Sick Makes Me Boring

People at my office rarely, if ever, take sick days. It is so strange to me. If you are sick, you should stay home. So I am at home today because I went to work all last week with my hacking cough and blazing forehead, and I am just not getting better. Yesterday, I woke up, went to church, came home and slept for three hours, ran some errands, slept 8 more errors, and still felt like death warmed over this morning, so here I am at home today. I have done 18 minutes of work today so far, and I think that is going to be all. I think what will really make me feel better is watching the first DVD of Project Runway Season 1 (which I have never seen before) and drinking Cranapple on the couch while admiring our new Christmas tree.

That is right. For the first time, H and I have a Christmas tree, and it looks pretty darn good. I will post some pictures tonight so that you can all be jealous. You will be especially jealous of the tree skirt, which I bought at the No Coast Craft show, where I met up with Stefanie, who got to meet H for the first time. [I really love prepositions when I am sick.]

I was feeling a little better Friday night and Saturday. H and I went to a friend's house on Friday night, where I served my Better Than Sex cake (alternate title: Better-Than-Sex-With-Anyone-But-H Cake)(recipe by Guinness Girl). And Saturday night, we went out to dinner with some friends in St. Paul. So I may not be as popular as Stefanie, who knows everyone in the city of Minneapolis, but I did have a good weekend.