Not only are we homeowners

but we're also houseowners.

The very cool news is that the final number at closing was even less than what we had been told, so we got a check back for almost a hunnerd bucks. Which we then promptly went and spent on a celebratory lunch with our agent.

Yay!

P.S. And, oh yeah, I forgot to mention that something I learned for property (studying for the bar, no doubt) actually came in handy today. When it came to how to record the deed, they had assumed it would be "tenancy by the entirety", also assuming that we were married. (I don't know which one of us piped up that we weren't married faster!) I told them we wanted "joint tenancy". Same survivorship rights for the most part, no marriage required.

The internets are a cool thing

SM just went online to change the utilities at the new house into our names. And I just submitted a change of address to forward my mail. Online.

And it's done. Just like that. No trip to the post office. Yay!

This afternoon, we did the walk-through. Good news is that everything looked fine. Bad news is that this house is even smaller than I remembered. I don't know if all of our stuff is going to fit. Yes, I have that. much. stuff. But I'm not complaining... well, not exactly. It's a sweet house -- and it will be even better after we install a few very needed closets for storage.

Tomorrow, we hand over a big check. But the really, really cool thing is that today is Sunday, but I'm not going to work tomorrow. We took the whole day off for this.

Yay! A day to pay then play!

Shout out to those of you studying for finals...

First seen at Butterflyfish, this makes for an amusing quick distraction during the long haul to the end of finals.
I loved law school (I know... I know...), but, oh man, I don't miss the stress of finals. Hang in there!

Bliss!

I got to sleep in today... until double-digits. No, I didn't round it back to single digits (i.e., the afternoon), but it was so wonderful to sleep so late. I haven't been able to do that in so long because I haven't had a weekend off in... I don't even remember.

Now I know you folks with kids may be scoffing at me. I know you haven't been able to sleep in, um, probably since their births. But this made me seriously, deliriously happy.

So there.

And it's a gorgeous day out. Beautiful weather. Sleep and then sunshine. What more could a gal want for a Saturday morning?

Coffee. And a bagel with lox and cream cheese.

But after that, I'm pretty much set. :)

Closing on Monday

I'm starting to get excited about the house. It's small... much smaller than I would have liked, but it's a good little house. Cute with a decent-sized backyard, and it cost much less than what our max pre-approved mortgage was. My three gripes are small closets, tiny bedrooms and no bathroom on the main floor. But then again, I've been spoiled with closet space since moving back from New York. Oh well.

Here's the floorplan, not including the basement, which is basically the same footprint as the second floor. Like I said, not much space, but it will be fun figuring out where the furniture is going to go... but also a challenge. I have to say that the livingroom is a stupid layout. What this floorplan doesn't show you is that the left side wall of the livingroom has a fireplace. Nice to look at, but that makes it yet another wall where a couch won't go. Almost impossible to figure out a good furniture configuration that will work with the various traffic patterns, doors and windows. I don't see us using that room a lot. I think we'll be in the addition ("family room") and the basement most often. Gidget will stay in the family room during the day because it leads to the deck and the fence-enclosed yard. We'll have a doggy-door for her to come and go as she needs. This will be a huge increase in our quality of living. No longer will we have to run home after work to take her for a walk before her bladder bursts. Good news all the way around!

Anyway, the even better news is that because the closing costs are so much lower than we had estimated, SM will have the cash to buy a flatscreen TV. That's going in the basement. Also, maybe a grill for the deck, which is off of the family room.

Yay!

Does it count if I read it so long ago that I don't remember the plot?

Snagged from Jen, the crazy girl. I don't know where this list came from, who compiled it or why the books are significant... but what the hell, I'll be a lemming here.

Directions: Place in bold type the books you've read from this list of 100. If there are other books you've read by the same author, include those under the original, without the author's name in parentheses....or not. I'm not going to do that because it would require too much brain power on my part. Also, I'm thinking it doesn't count if I've seen the movie but not read the book. Oh well. The ones that are in bold and italics are books that I think I've read but am not positively certain because it's been a while since I would have read them, like, say high school. Anything underlined is a book that I have on my shelf, right next to every intention to read it.

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25 . Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini) -- partial bold because I haven't finished it
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela's Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She's Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller's Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With A Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones' Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard's First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

Trading in pants for a suit

A lawsuit, that is.

This is a prime example of when "lawyer" is a four-letter word.

They lost his pants, so he's trying to take the shirts off of their backs?

Fair? Hardly.

This is unreal. I hope he gets clobbered with a good old fashion scolding -- and hopefully sanctions of some kind -- for the frivolity of this litigation.

Booooo... hiss!

Well, that's news to me!

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Other than me? Or don't I count?

Actually, I do know that there aren't any other adults in the US -- and I would guess the world -- who spell their names the way I do. There are women with variants of my first name (homonyms or "near misses"), but my full name is original. Kewl.

Also, this database isn't very detailed or inclusive. It didn't find my last name, which is why I'm a "nobody"... They explain it all here.

(and, um, can you tell that things are slow at work? uh, yeah...)

Thith ith why I'vf been tho mitherable lately

Please let it rain HARD soon!

I heart New England

The last state in New England is headed in the right direction... not quite there yet, but this is a big step: N.H. Is Set To Approve Same-Sex Civil Unions.

This part, especially, caught my attention:

In fact, in strongly libertarian New Hampshire, a new bill that would make it the last state in the union to adopt a mandatory seat-belt law has generated far more controversy, political experts say.

"I just don't think it's a major issue anymore," said Jim Lupien, 40, a lifelong Republican and owner of the Cool Moose Creamery Candy Store on Concord's old-style Main Street. "Vermont did it, and then Massachusetts, and people around here just started thinking, 'Okay, what's the big deal?' I'm not pro-gay, but that's no reason to deny them their rights."

Finally, folks are starting to understand that denying same-sex couples their rights is only hurtful and mean -- while ensuring equal protection under the law to same-sex couples hurts no one. And is the right thing to do.

And I'm waiting to see this bumper-sticker...

Support my annual "birthday donation"!

Hey folks --

On October 6th, 2007, I will join thousands of other people in the 21st annual AIDS Walk Washington. This event is a 5K fundraising walk/run, benefiting and produced by Whitman-Walker Clinic.

I have decided to do this walk as my annual "birthday donation". Every year, I make a donation of time and effort (rather than just $$) on or around my birthday (well, at least the decision to do it was made around my birthday!). Last year, I decided to become an adult literacy tutor; in previous years, I have donated my hair, organized cell phone drives for domestic violence shelters, collected clothes for women returning to work from welfare, etc. I was inspired to do a walk this year by Betty Joan.

Many of you have participated in and supported my efforts in the past, and I would like to ask for your help again. I would greatly appreciate your support for this worthwhile cause. My personal fundraising goal is to exceed $2000. With your help, it won't be a problem! Would you please visit my personal AIDS Walk Washington website and make a donation today? Any amount would be greatly appreciated.

Whitman-Walker Clinic is a nonprofit, community-based organization founded in 1973 that provides and facilitates affordable, accessible health services to the Washington metropolitan area. With the advent of the AIDS epidemic, the Clinic became a leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The Clinic has headquarters in northwest D.C. with regional branches in southeast D.C. and northern Virginia. In addition to medical care, the Clinic’s services include HIV testing and counseling, addiction services, a day treatment center, a food bank, mental health programs, legal services and an at-cost pharmacy providing HIV medication. You can find out more about the Clinic here.

Your contribution will help Whitman-Walker Clinic provide critical services to those living with HIV/AIDS. Every dollar brings hope and provides needed care. Please visit my personal fundraising website to make a secure online donation. You can also print a donation form at my website if you prefer to mail your donation. Checks should be made payable to AIDS Walk Washington and mailed to PO Box 73768, Washington DC 20056-3768. All contributions are 100 percent tax deductible.

If you have any questions about AIDS Walk Washington or Whitman-Walker Clinic, please don’t hesitate to contact me or visit Aids Walk Washington for more information.

Thank you so much for your support and generosity.

Sincerely,
She says

Follow this link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support Whitman-Walker Clinic.


UPDATE: Props to my blogger pals...!
And HUGE huge thanks to the Scooter household for contributing already! Thanks!

And ditto to a woman to watch, even though she's retired her blog, Denise. I miss hearing about what's going on with you, chica! Thanks so much for the support! Check out the latest and greatest from Denise and her spouse, Mary: The Rainbow Law Center. I expect them to be arguing cases before the SCOTUS soon.

As a child who grew up watching TV in the 70s...

who grew up to be a politically-aware progressive adult, this amused me.

Join the crowd

The WaPo has a new points system for cross-promotions. Ya' know, the usual rewards program.

The ad consists of animated "points"... blue dots, like this little guy:

I'm sorry, but is it just me? Am I warped beyond saving? What do these things look like to you?

Fried rice

I made fried rice for dinner. In our household growing up, rice never went to waste. Mom always made plenty, and it was never thrown out if we didn't finish what was in the cooker. Perish the thought. We kept it over night.

Ya' see, we'd use the day-old rice for fried rice in the morning. Fried rice was a breakfast food in my house -- and as kids, we loved it. Rice, fried egg, bacon, onions, some other veggies... yum!

And that's what I had for dinner tonight. I took the left-over white rice, fried some eggs and bacon. Added peas and soy sauce.. basically whatever looked good in the fridge. And ate it all up. Happy tummy here.

And this is why you should never order fried rice in a restaurant. Because they do the same thing. Use the left-over white rice to make it. And there's no guarantee that it was just the left-over rice from the rice cooker.

I'm jest sayin'...

UPDATE: and here, you probably thought I was talking about this.

Because taking quizzes is easier than coming up with original blog posts

I am: 2% Republican.

"You're a complete liberal, utterly without a trace of Republicanism. Your strength is as the strength of ten because your heart is pure. (You hope.)"

Are You A Republican?
Stolen from Jami. I think she's more Republican than I am because she lives in (cough, cough) Texas, and there's something in the water!

UPDATE: Credit where credit is due... I bow to Zuska. She rocks.

::sigh::

I'm still alive, but for the last several days, I've fallen asleep before I've fallen into bed. It's been that kind of week.

Good news is that my apartment is all but done. We had the world's best moving crew on Saturday. Great friends and co-workers pitched it and got it done lickety-split. We must have had the best educated moving crew around: JDs, PhD, MAs, CPA, MBA and lots of BAs and BSs. No MDs, but we managed somehow. Still gotta clean a bit and get some stuff fixed, but I can throw some money at the rest of the work that needs to be done.

Good news is that we have someone we know for SM's place. We haven't signed a lease yet, but we will next week. The timing for renting/moving to/from our various properties will require only one month of carrying two mortgages. Otherwise, we will be covering all of our expenses on the two rental properties. Yay!

Bad news is that I've been just too too tired to blog. Hopefully I'll get my mojo back this week... or next.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is Dad's birthday. He's 69 and still swinging (golf clubs, that is). He doesn't know about this blog -- in fact, I doubt he even knows what a blog is -- so the happy birthday wishes are just general happy thoughts being sent out. I'll give him a call later.

Whine...

Today is moving. From my apartment to SM's place. I also just got hit with my period. First day, which also means killer cramps, sore boobs, backache... the whole bit. Great timing, eh?

I am not a happy girl.

(Oh, BTW, yesterday was the auction. Hours and hours on my feet with no time to relax. But we sold most of the stuff. Not all of it, but a lot. I didn't get a few of the pieces I wanted, but that also means that the Foundation got more money. We raised a decent amount. And everyone who bought something did get a bargain. It was a success, I think.)

Just in time for me to move to MD

House Approves A Full D.C. Seat.

I don't think it will get through the Senate and signed into law. Not under this administration. But it's kinda cool that those of us who live in DC and pay disproportionately high taxes -- like for the police escorts for all of the motorcades, like for the potholes from the commuters coming from the 'burbs to work, like for the inauguration, like for enhanced security whenever there's any kind of demonstration or parade, etc... but who's counting? -- will actually get representation along with our taxation.

Maybe. But not soon, I'm guessing.

Um, yum!

I first tried them when they came out under the guise of Star Wars Darth Vader cross-promotions. I was unsure at first. Would I be disappointed? Was this just another gimmick? I didn't know. But I was willing to take the chance. I knew I could stop whenever I wanted, so what the hell? Why not? I went for it. With gusto.

But soon, I discovered. New sensations. New experiences. I had never felt like this before. It was exciting. It was energizing. It was enough to make me cross over to the dark side. I was hooked.

And then they went away. Taken away, I should say. And I was sad. And withdrawn. What's a girl to do but find solace elsewhere? My allegiances were swayed, and I admit, I strayed. I found another. Not the same, but at least I was no longer alone.

Now they're back!

This time, the Addams Family is the force behind them.

Yes, ladies and gents and candy-scarfer of all shapes and sizes, M-n-M has reintroduced dark chocolate M-n-Ms, and they. are. awesome. Unparalleled. You may think that an M-n-M is an M-n-M is an M-n-M. But oh no no, my friend, nothing could be further from the truth. These are a candy of a different ilk -- without the milk! Unquestionably better than regular milk chocolate. Don't even say them in the same sentence!

Close your eyes, they can deceive you. Reach out with your senses, and you'll discover what you really can see.

Dark chocolate M-n-Ms rock, baby.

Some seriously scary shit

By now I'm sure that others have seen the manifesto and photos sent by Cho, the mass murderer who rampaged through Virginia Tech on Monday, to NBC News.

It's really, really scary. Where does such anger and hatred come from? How can someone so young feel so alienated and without recourse? What makes someone decide to do something like this?

But what's really chilling is that while his ramblings and actions are incomprehensible, he also seems so level-headed. This killing spree was planned -- and well planned -- in advance. He took the time between his first murders and the later rampage to mail a freakin' package, fer gawd's sake! We expect someone who would commit such horrible horrible crimes to be insane, manifesting his lunacy outwardly in some physical manner. From his words, one can tell that he's very disturbed, but to look at him, he's also so calm and focused... and almost normal-looking.

Almost. He's wound so tight that it's clear he was about to snap. I still can't wrap my head around this. I really can't.

Happy, not hormonal

Chocolate has that effect on me.

But I'll come to regret it later. When I have my chocolate hang-over.

No, I don't mean a headache, cotton brain and all that. I mean when my gut literally hangs over the waist of my pants.

Ah well. Like any true addict, I don't care right now about the consequences later.

Dumbfounded

So. very. sad. Unspeakably sad. And tragic.

And I couldn't help but notice...

Witnesses described the shooter as a young man of Asian descent -- a silent killer who was calm and showed no expression as he pursued and shot his victims. He killed himself as police closed in.

Clearly, a deeply disturbed young man.

My heart goes out to all affected.

Bad hair week

So I'm at my dad's place helping to organize the charity silent auction this week. Basically juggling that and packing/renting/moving my apartment. Very stressful. Very busy.

Needless to say, I looked like a slob. Hair in ponytail, sweats, etc.

I was innocently entering some data in the computer when I got clobbered by this: my stepmom, who knew I was in the process of preparing my apartment for rent, said to me, "DId you get some paint in your hair?" (pointing to the top of my head).

Um, no. I haven't been painting.

I told her, "No. It's just my gray hair. Bad case of roots showing."

I haven't had time to dye my hair lately. But I didn't realize it was so bad that it looked like I had a clump of white paint on the top of my head.

::sigh::

Sorry I've been absent for a while

but the blog ate my homework.

(oh, you KNOW I've been holding this one for while, squirming to use it!)

Actually, I wish the blog ate all of the work I have to do at home. Packing, packing and more packing. The good news is that it looks like I have a tenant. We sign the lease tomorrow. A 23-year old kid who acts like someone much older than I am. Talk about serious. And, oh yeah, he has a trust fund. Must be nice.

Next: rent SM's place. We have received a few applications, thankfully. My place, an efficiency. His place, a 3BR, 2BA apartment that is more than twice the size of mine. Both command a rent of $1400.

Yeah, I know.

A lesson in effectively communication

On my way to work this morning, I heard a ruckus. Since I work in DC near the courthouses, I thought it might be some kind of protest. When spring arrives in DC, so do the protesters.

Anyway, I was right, sort of. It was a picket line.

Folks were walking around in front of a building with placards. I'd give them a B+ for message delivery. On the one hand, they did get my attention with the noise. On the other hand, I couldn't read the signs nor could I understand what they were saying (if they were in fact saying words). But the thing that got them the "+" for style points and made it quite clearly a protest: the giant, at least ten-foot tall inflatable rat they had parked (literally, it was in the bed of a pick-up) in front of the building.

Ahhh, DC in the spring.

My life

Packing, cleaning, trying to rent my apartment, organizing a silent auction fundraiser for a gala dinner later this month (the day BEFORE I move -- am I a scheduling moron or what?), work and not enough sleep.

I'll be glad when the month is over.

Holy crap...

Winter is back? Winter is back. What the hell?

Okay, I know this isn't nearly as bad as other parts of the country, but last week it went from being in the 80s to freezing. Poop.

Renting my apartment (part 2)

So I did an open house yesterday to rent my apartment. I had a number of folks come by, especially considering that it's Easter weekend, and DC tends to empty out with people going home. It was definitely worthwhile.

Four good things and one not so great thing came out of this open house.

Good stuff...
1. My apartment is much cleaner and in great shape to start the heavy-duty packing.
2. I think I found a tenant. Seemed like a good guy and incredibly excited about the place. Now I gotta check his credit.
3. I now know that my apartment is absolutely gorgeous (always knew that) and shows incredibly well compared to other units in the building. Hell, it stacks up favorably against any other studio in all of DC. I saw the apartment below mine (same layout, almost the same view). They were renting it for $50 less than mine and doing an open house yesterday too. It was a dump. D-U-M-P. By comparison, my apartment looked like an absolute bargain. Even without a dishwasher.
4. I can ask $1400 for my place and have lots of people interested. Wa-hoo!

One other thing I realized yesterday... You know you are a really, REALLY bad housekeeper when your vacuum is dusty. Uh-huh. Absolutely covered in dust. Oooops.

Pffff, I'm tired. We did move a bunch of boxes out but still have loads more to do. It's slow but we'll get there eventually.

Book club

Last night, we went. We ate. We gabbed. We ate some more. We "ooohed" and "ahhhhed" at the addition that one member of the group put on her house (it has now become something of a past time for me to check out additions and porches on houses -- two things we want to do with ours). We gabbed. We drank wine. Somewhere in there we talked about the book (The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-time).

It was fun, as usual.

Next book? On Beauty by Zadie Smith.

Checkin' on my hits

Got my first hit from our armed services serving in Iraq. Camp Liberty, to be exact.

It's kinda a funny hit. Interesting search.


But then again, they did hit my blog... it's kinda a funny blog. Hopefully an interesting blog.

Because it's been a while

A Gidget update.

Here she is in her favorite spot... lying on the sofa at the crook of my legs, with her head resting on top of my knee.

(Pretty nifty how my sleeping pants match the sheet we use to cover the sofa to protect it from Gidget hair/smell, eh?)

Why it's hard out there

for a single gal in Washington, DC.

Quite simply, it's the men.

Now, before anyone takes offense, take a look at what I'm talking about. Sure, this is chock full o' stereotypes and generalizations. Sure, it's not PC. Sure, I should probably know better than diss the male population of DC. Sure, I'm probably being unfair.

That being said, I know women who have been on dates with men like these. And it's funny anyway.

(Keep in mind, SM lives in Takoma Park... a.k.a., page 40)

Renting my apartment

Ugh, the process of renting an apartment out is almost as bad as moving. Almost...

I officially listed it for rent today on Craig's List (any of you DC folks interested?). I'm having an open house on Saturday to accept applications, and I've already received a coupla emails about it.

However, between now and Saturday, we need to get the place in shape. Right now, it's still too cluttered and dusty to show. It definitely needs work. Eeek.

I don't wanna.

And I have to develop the rental application and the lease. Damn. Where's a lawyer when I need one? Oh, right...

But, I have to admit that finding a tenant is much easier now with the internet than it used to be. It used to be a much costlier and more difficult in general to get the word out about the place.

Another reason to thank god for the internet. (joke... I don't think Al Gore is gawd or god or G-d or whatever.)

Bang bang!

That would be bangs! I have bangs! For the first time since I was in sixth grade or so.

Got my hair cut -- about an inch and a half off of the length with lots of long layers. And, oh, did I say... bangs?

The stylist blew my hair out and flat ironed it. It looks very fun and flirty and professional, all at the same time.

In other words -- no chance I'll be able to style it this way myself.

I got me a winner

SM is simply the best. He supports me (and even my bad habits!) 1000%. Always. No matter what.

Right now, he's down at MY apartment packing my shit while I'm at his place not packing my apartment.

Why?

Well, other than the fact that he's just. that. guy... It's because I had a mini-freak-out this morning looking at all the crap I need to go through and pack at his place. And the thought of facing all the crap I need to go through at my place just stressed me into a minor anxiety fit.

We're not scheduled to move my stuff outta my place until later this month, but we do need to get the place into shape so that I can start advertising it for rent. So that means cleaning off surface areas and clearing out clutter. Not necessarily sorting it, but just packing it away to go through it later.

I knew that if I started doing that, I'd be sidetracked by looking at stuff and then I'd start sorting and then I wouldn't get the job done. And I'd probably be freaking out in the process.

So SM said he'd go down and pack it up for me. To save me the time. To save me the frustration. To save me the anxiety and stress. Even though it's completely and totally MY clutter and my responsibility.

That's the kind of stuff he does for me.

::swoon::

I am the luckiest gal around.

No foolin' here

Okay, April 1st. The slate is clean. It's the second trimester of the year, and I'm going to work on ensuring that I don't look like I'm in my second trimester -- carrying triplets.

SM and I have decided to tighten our belts, literally. I am now working on my fourth wardrobe. I have my skinny, skinny clothes (some size 2! holy shit!). Well that ain't ever gonna happen again. The rest are numbers much higher. The numbers aren't so important as the fact that I feel like I look like a linebacker.

So, SM and I are going to impose some rules about eating. No eating after 8:00 pm. That's a bad habit we've developed. No pizza or Chinese food. No more bagel, lox and creamed cheese on the weekends. Portion control. And yes, exercise. But we're starting with the eating habits first.

Also, I'm not buying any more clothes. Not this month, at least. I actually need to purge, which I may do with the packing for the move (notice how I chickened out and said "may"?).

But I'm not weighing myself. Because I'm just not ready for that much of a smack in the face. More important to me is that my clothes fit. Shirts gape in the front. Add a muffin-top to that, and it's not a pretty picture. Because I gain weight in my boobs and gut. So I am way top-heavy.

Like a linebacker. With boobs.