new specs

i found out just recently that my health insurance plan offers $250 a year for vision hardware (glasses or contacts!) and thought, "damn, i should use that."  i had a very nice eye exam with a nice old man, and picked out some new glasses that are dark blue with a row of rhinestones on the top of the frames.  it's such a funny little decoration; kind of random and sneaky and cute, they were was really sealed the deal for me.  plus, they are a beautiful dark blue, like old cobalt glass.  in size and shape they resemble pretty much ever other pair of glasses i've ever bought, because if anything, i am a creature of habit.  i know, HUGE surprise.  of course, as with any new pair of glasses with a brand new prescription in them, i'm also amazed at how shiny and clear everything looks.  i can't believe some of you just wake up with the ability to see, every single day.  i can't imagine! it's been so long since i didn't have to wear something on my face to be able to see.  (over twenty years, and i don't think of myself as being that old. )

i took today off because i had a floating holiday that was just hanging out.  no good reason, nothing particular to do, no big plans.  everyone is still fast asleep, i'm reading blogs and drinking coffee, waiting to see if we'll do anything today.  if we don't, i won't be too sad.  it's just nice to have a random day off! especially since the first two days of this week i spent in some pretty heavy duty training.  my brain needs a chance to digest all the new information!

xstitch

i've been on a bit of cross stitch bender lately.  when it's hot, i like to hang out on my bed, under my ceiling fan, listening to the radio and working on tiny projects.  this one is about 3 x 2.5 inches, it needs a frame then i'm going to put it on my desk at work.  i joke about working in a cubicle farm, but i do like my little space there.  i've also been making small colorwork pieces; just repetitive patterns in a variety of colors.  shades that don't quite match other has been my favorite thing to play with.  lots of lime-y greens and weird purples being friends with orange, that sort of thing.  a bit of color dissonance, if you'll let me get pretentious for a second.  this little sampler uses an ombre style coloring in the frame, which was a lot of fun as well.  the more i do it, the more i like it.  i used to think of cross stitch as being very formal and fussy, and not necessarily "useful," the way knitting a pair of socks to wear is.  making my home and work more beautiful may not be useful but it does make me happy.  i think smaller pieces like this might make their way into our decor, probably sooner rather than later. 

big red

our truck died a couple of weeks ago.  it had been acting up, and D had told me he thought it needed some work, then one night on his way home, he stopped to buy some beer and the truck wouldn't start.  we called a tow truck, and now big red is sitting in our driveway, looking forlorn.  we think it might be the starter, it also might have something to do with the electrical system (there was talk at one time of some sort of chip or another being hinky).  in any case, we're down to one car. 

which in and of itself hasn't been a bad thing.  the weather has been lovely, D doesn't mind the two mile walk to work, and we do live quite close to a bus stop so he uses that sometimes too.  a few afternoons we get off at the same time, and so he walks to work, and then i pick him up.  saturdays i don't work, so he uses the car that day.  we've got a little system worked out, and so far there haven't been any major complaints.  we'd like to get the truck fixed (it's really nice to have a huge truck for some things), but i have a feeling we won't look into seriously until the fall.  right now we're busy trying to pay off a ridiculous medical bill that took us by surprise and save up enough for the property taxes due in october.  there isn't a whole lot left over right now for fixing the truck, which is unfortunate, but true.  this is one of those times when having an emergency credit card might come in handy, but if there is one thing i do not want right now, it's any kind of credit card. 

being down to one car also means we're spending less.  while one of us is out using the car, working, the other one can't be out shopping.  ha! 

for every shitty spin recommendation

there are sometimes ridiculous little gems, like this from the wavves. yes, it's stoner pop rock, but so fun! cute! teenage! i'm surprised at how much i like it, since the interview with the lead singer and his girlfriend was so terrible. what can i say? they came across as young and smug and annoying.

then, of course, i looked up her band, and they were also awesome. i also saw an interview with her where she was honestly sweet and funny and smart, and now i feel like a jerk for thinking they were asshole hipsters. i mean, they still might be hipsters, but they are not assholes. check out this adorable video!

you know what sucks?

getting this song stuck in your head. because it's catchy, but not necessarily good. yet once you hear it, you will tap it out while waiting on hold, you'll hum it in the shower, you'll find yourself thinking about it at the weirdest times. i'm sorry if you watched it and are stuck with it in your head, but at least you know what i'm going through.

i make fun of my college degree a lot

i mean, seriously: who do you know that majors in anthropology that is actually a paid, titled, for-real, anthropologist? how many newspaper ads have you seen begging for someone, anyone! with the knowledge to compile an ethnography or family tree to apply for a starting salary of 50k?  it's true, i majored in something that can be loosely applied to many fields, but not applied to many more. 

however, my love of sex and gender studies comes in handy all the time.  i got a call today from someone asking about labiaplasty benefits and guess what? not only did i not blanch at the very idea, i knew what it was and didn't need to be told.  then when i was asked how it was different from clinics offering "vaginal rejuvenation" i could explain the difference between a simple trimming of some excess labial tissue vs. full on, surgical alteration of the vaginal canal.  yeah, i'm a rock star. 

if there is anything you can take from this post, it is this: i'm so glad i studied what i studied.  i'm so glad i took the time to learn about things that interest me, even if my interests are either perverted or morbid.  that even though i will literally spend forever paying off my studen loans, those hours i spent teaching sex ed, organizing transgender speakers for classes, and reading about alternative sexualities was well worth my time.  also, if you have a question about your delicate parts, feel free to ask me.  i don't blush easily, and my company is so lucky to have me. 

srsly guys

i declare that there is very little on the earth as awesome as getting a letter in the mail.  a real letter,  that someone wrote out by hand.  if it's at all possible, a letter is even better if it comes from your nephew, he draws you a photo, and actually uses the "tm" signifier correctly.  considered me SLAYED by cuteness and awesome.  if this letter was rated on a scale from 1 to 10, with ten being the best, he would get a solid 100.  hyperbolic? what, me?!  (when i think about it, i'm amazed his parents don't just sit around drinking cocktails and patting themselves on the back because that kid is amazing. as his aunt, i'm full of pride at his smartness and funniness and handsomeness, but they made him! good job, dudes.  thanks.)

i suggest

the fastest and easiest way to piss off a teenager is to disparage the chore they just did.  yes, they readily admit they did a terrible job, but they did it, didn't they?  doesn't doing it badly, and half-assed count for anything?! sheesh.

things i am trying to do lately

• eat more veggies.  i don't know why this is hard for me; i love veggies.  it's just a cheese sandwich is the easiest thing on earth to make.  
• take less ibuprofen.  i think i take way too much, thanks to my motto, "better living through chemistry."  if something hurts, i take two.  i realized the other day that even though you can buy it over the counter, it still has some long-term side effects.  maybe i'm rushing into using it all the time, so i'm trying to be aware of when i use it and why.  
• taking tips from unfuck your habitat.  so far i've been unfucking my mornings, and while i am not making my bed yet (because when i get up, the husband is still in it!), i'm taking the 20/10's to heart and doing small things more often, instead of being bothered by cleaning everything all at once. 
• going to bed early.  this is part of my "unfuck your morning" routine.  honestly, it is amazing how much more pleasant i am with a good night's sleep to back me up.
• keeping track of my spending.  i'm using the toshl program because, and this is so shallow and lame, it's cute and has great graphs and is crazy easy to use.  keeping track of my spending the last few weeks has been illuminating, to say the least.  
• more doing things in real life, less internet-ing.  for all the time i spend online, you'd think i'd blog more! 
• water my houseplants.  it's been hot, and i've been paying attention to them, and guess what? they all look amazing.  whoooo!

• the other big thing i have been trying to do lately is not stress out.  i have lots of good reasons to drink a lot of beer and/or pull my hair out, like our truck dying, a giant doctor's bill that showed up that we don't have the money to pay for, and looming property taxes, so instead of freaking out, i'm just trying to take everything one step at a time.  oh, and i'm making lists.  and giggling at LOLGOTHS. 

CAT-astrophe

when i come home from work, one of two things normally happen; lulu comes running out from under the bed/chair/couch she's been hiding under and says hello, or i go outside and call her and she comes running from the car/bush/camp chair she's been hiding under to say hello.  either way, i can count on kitten headbutts and chit chat* when i get home.  last night, she was not home.  no big deal, i thought she'd come home around dinner time for a check in.  i mean, she always checks in, even if she stays out all night.  she likes when we're all home and hanging out, and revels in the attention we all lavish on her.  i went to bed at 11, and she still wasn't home. i started to get worried because i guess at heart i really am a crazy cat lady, and then sometime around midnight D and the girlchild woke me up to tell me she was home and bring her to bed so i could see her.  i was soooo relieved.  i mean, i know she's a grown-ass cat and can handle herself (the notch in her ear proves it), and that there was a good chance she was just out having kitten adventures, but still.  all i could think of was my poor kitten, smooshed by a car.  today my stepdaughter and i had this conversation via text;

me: i would have cried so much!

girlchild: we all would have.

me: i guess then we could have shaved our eyebrows** all together, though.

girlchild: haha, ya.

me: we would have been a weird looking family for a while.

girlchild: ya, but it would be fun to see who grew their eyebrows back first.

so i guess i was the only seriously worried one, but we were all happy to see her little kitten face at the door last night.

*i like to have one-way conversations with the cat where i ask her about her day and she says nothing.

**when the boychik was 9, his cat died, and he read that the egyptians shaved their eyebrows as a sign of mourning, so D let him shave his off.  it's one of the sweetest stories i have ever heard.