So much cleaning...

I'm currently occupied with getting ready for Dad and Megan, who are coming tomorrow.  I'm far from ready.  Our first Netflix movies arrived yesterday, and we watched Dan in Real Life.  It was cute, but I don't know how much Jason did.  He's not really a romantic comedy kind of person haha.  Neither am I, for that matter, but I  liked it.   Next up is Eagle Vs. Shark.  My birthday cards are coming in every day now, which is fun, I love getting mail.  I'm hoping to get some clothes with some of the money.  I've also been wanting to get some brackets from Anthropologie so I can make a shelf for the living room.  After I get done on here, I'm going to take Harlock to the back yard and read while she digs around in the yard.  Then I will be cleaning frantically for the rest of the day haha.  I can't wait to go to the beach!  On the Jersey shore website, the Keansburg boardwalk and amusement park were in the top ten Jersey shore attractions.  I just hope the beach itself is good too.  I'm a little nervous after all those people drowned in New York last weekend, but the beach forecast says the water should be calm.  Jason wants us to go on Saturday because he needs to go into the office for  a seminar, but I have to double check the weather first.  Either way, I'm so excited, it's been way too long since I've been to the beach.

Our new addition

On Thursday Jason gave me my early birthday gift, a chinchilla!  I named him Mortimer, after Cary Grant's character in Arsenic and Old Lace.  I've been wanting to use the name Seymour for an animal since I read the Salinger short stories about the Glass family, but Mortimer just seemed right for him.  But, since Megan disagreed, Seymour will be his middle name haha.  He's very sweet, and a lot of fun to watch.  He loves his exercise wheel.  When he runs, he hops, so much so that he's unscrewed the wheel a few times.  I find chinchillas very interesting, on one hand they are extremely fragile, everything from 80 degree temperatures to a bacteria commonly found in tap water can kill them.  But at the same time, they live an average of more than 10 years in the wild, and can live to past 20 as domestic animals.  Their fur is so thick that if they bathe in water instead of dust, their skin can rot off.  I've wanted one since middle school, when I saw one bathe in dust.  Mortie has a bath house, which he loves.  They are also the most inquisitive animals I've ever seen.  If he sees unexpected movement, he will stand up on his hind legs and watch it.  He also follows anything that wiggles in front of his face.  I just discovered that he loves shiny things, which unfortunately include my rings, my silver finger nails, and my necklace haha.  He bit onto my wedding ring last night, I was afraid he would break his teeth.  He's very sweet, but does not like to be picked up yet.  The pet store guy said I have to hold him for 10 minutes a day for at least a month before he'll calm down.  This is easier said than done.  He's extremely wiggly and fast.  He jumped out of my arms earlier, ran to the door to our room, which was shutting Harlock away, and leaped off of it.  It was pretty scary haha.  He also expresses his displeasure by making a sound similar to a duck quack when I try to pick him up.  But luckily he's not a biter, except for shiny things, which inadvertently puts my hand at risk, with the rings and finger nails.  He did lightly nip my nose when I put it near his, which is a rodent greeting, but it didn't hurt.  The last thing I will say about chinchillas tonight is that they have orange teeth.  This means they have enough calcium in their diets.  Jason got sick on Friday, and I had to take him to the doctor.  I've been in a medical situation with him 3 times before- once he had such a high fever that he started hallucinating, when he dislocated his knee in Dallas, and when I took him to the knee doctor after that.  It turns out he has something called Pharyngitis, and the doctor said all he can take is ibuprofen.  He's still feeling pretty bad, but he still managed to be a trooper this weekend so we could have fun with his parents.  We bought a cute fountain for the backyard, and we finally got the deer print in the mail!  Jason didn't like it when he saw it online, but he really likes it in person.  He just needs to trust the interior design genius that is me haha.  We went to the Lost Dog Cafe last night for my birthday dinner.  It was good, especially the Geisha desert, which is fried pieces of cheesecake dipped in chocolate, raspberry and caramel sauces.  Yummy.  On an unrelated note, we finally joined Netflix today.  We've been going back and forth about it for a while.  I don't watch a lot of movies, and while Jason used to, he doesn't have the time anymore.  But on the other hand, most of the movies we do want to see are impossible to find around here.   We're doing the 2 at a time plan.  I am disappointed that the instant computer movies aren't available for Macs yet.  Our first two movies are the Fearless Vampire Killers, a Roman Polanski movie Jason's been wanting to see, and Dan In Real Life, which we both want to see.  I had no idea I wanted to see so many movies, but we already have 30 movies in our queue.  Other ones that I picked that have me excited are Eagle Vs. Shark, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, and La Vie en Rose.

The one thing you shouldn't do while embroidering a pillow...

So I got a lot of embroidery done yesterday, and I was really happy, until I discovered that when I moved the hoop, I put it over both layers of the pillow, so now it's embroidered  together.  I'm just too annoyed to fix it yet haha.   We didn't do too much this weekend, just wandered around, went to the mall and new boutique Jason just learned about.  I'm really excited that I ordered that deer print on Friday.  I can't wait to see it in the living room!  I've been playing the Sims for most of the day today.  That has to be the most addictive game on Earth.  We have the original Sims, but we have the complete collection, so there's more to do than you ever have time to, since their needs are a constant job haha.  I have several families, but the ones with kids are exhausting to keep up with, so I've been playing a couple in which the wife is a model.  Making people famous is fun but time consuming haha.  Now that I'm done nerding out, I'm happy to report that I've finished three books so far this summer.  I read the new David Sedaris, which was hilarious, as usual.  I also read another Augusten Burroughs.  His writing is pretty similar to David Sedaris.  The third book I read is the second book from the five "continuous novels" collectively known as Cities of the Interior.  They're written by Anais Nin, and I actually started them when we moved here, but I put them down and picked them back up a couple of months ago.  They're absolutely amazing, it's like poetry in the form of a novel (or five).  But the problem is that even though I'm making progress, since they're all in the same book, I feel like I'm getting nowhere.  Whenever people ask me what they're about, it's hard to answer, because nothing really happens in them.  They are really just explorations of relationships and the internal lives of the characters.  But, since I can't say enough about how much I love Anais Nin, I'll just say that they're great books.

I killed my dinner with karate, kick 'em in the face, taste the body...

I can't stop listening to Joanna Newsom.  I would guess that most people wouldn't like her voice, but I think her music is beautiful.

The Book of Right On  (sorry about the link, I can't figure out how to embed youtube videos haha).

I've also rediscovered Marquee Moon.  Both the song and the album are so amazing, Television reminds me of a certain time in my life that I don't mind revisiting for brief periods.  Speaking of television haha, we got cable again today!  Now I know you're not supposed to talk about loving cable, since the cool thing to do is to not watch it haha, but I like cable.  Especially TLC and HGTV.  Good times.  I gave the no cable thing a try for the last month because I thought Jason was right that it's not necessary and that it just takes away from other activities.  But I discovered that I do the same things with or without tv, I just find it relaxing and comforting in the background.  Yesterday I went to the pool and it was actually warm enough to get in and swim around a little.  Mainly I've been trying to decide what our first steps should be as far as the house.  I'm hoping we can paint the entryway and living room when my mom and Bob are here.  I really want to do something that will scream "this is our house!" haha.  I've picked a blue-gray color with white trim.  In the entryway I'd like to paint one wall a different color- I can't decide between blue-green and a pale raspberry.  I also want to get new mini blinds for the downstairs, curtains for the living room, and these two decorative accents.  These in lilac and white for the entryway, and this for the wall in the living room.  I think it's beautiful, and I've never seen a deer with such large ears.  It looks like a rabbit haha.  And, just for good measure, I'll show off one of the items on my birthday list (if Jason doesn't feel like thinking of anything on his own haha), probably for our bedroom.  It's a splurge, I know, but it's so beautiful and unusual, I just really want it.  In addition, I have finished four houses on my embroidered pillow, and am started on a fifth.  Just five more houses and four trees!

Pretty lazy day

I've been starting my day progressively later and later as my summer has worn on.  I hope to change this so I can get more done during the day.  Today I decided to put Werther in his harness and take him to the backyard for the first time.  I was going to take pictures but after lugging him and the camera outside, the battery was dead.  Maybe next time.  He seemed to like it, he hopped around on the grass and in the planter.  He ate some weeds, but he didn't figure out that he could dig in the planter, which is something I'm sure will make outside more fun for him.  Digging is his favorite activity.  But after a while he got tired of the harness and tried to pull it off, signaling the end of outside time haha.  I wish we could just let him roam around, but I know he'd sneak through some tiny hole and be gone forever.  I love him so much, he's just the sweetest little man, and I don't think anything has ever been so dependent on me for protection.  When I was carrying him outside, he hid his face under my chin.  I've never met such a sweet rabbit, and especially not one who was constantly ready for affection like him.  

After that I took Harlock to the park, and then went to Michael's.  A few years ago I got really into embroidery using Sublime Stitching patterns.  I did all kinds of projects, including my favorite, a pair of Mexican wrestler underwear haha.  I haven't done it in a while, but I went on the website and they have so many cute patterns I decided to order some.  I got the Black Apple artists' edition, and they're so cute!  I also got two pillow cases for the living room.  I'm working on the first one, it has two rows of houses with some trees in between.  I'll post some pictures when I'm done.  I think the other one is going to have animals on it.  I've also decided that it would be fun to embroider on some scraps of fabric, and just hang the embroidery hoops on the kitchen wall.  I'm really glad to have some projects to work on, it's been a while since I've done anything crafty except make necklaces.  I also got Jason his first Spooky Town additions of the year.  When we lived in Austin, he would make me go to Garden Ridge every year in July when they got in the Halloween decorations, since it's his favorite holiday.  And since he's so sad that it's warm and summery, I thought some Spooky Town might make him happy haha.  He also has some from Megan and my mom from Christmas that we've never put up. We're still trying to rebuild the town from when he lost most of it during a move.  I got him Death riding a horse, and, my personal favorite, "Cowboy Gravesite".  It has cowboy boots sticking up out of the ground with a tombstone that reads " Here lies one mean varmint".  I couldn't resist, it was too funny haha.  One day I would like to get him one of the really big crazy ones that lights up and makes noise.  Maybe for our anniversary...

Our first batch of visitors is gone...

Lindsay and Chris left this afternoon.  We drove them to Scranton to the airport.  We had fun while they were here, I hope they enjoyed themselves too.  Last night we went to see Wall-e.  It was really cute, I liked it a lot.  After that, a combination of the Playstation 3 and engrish.com kept me up until 4 and Jason and Chris up until 5 haha.  I probably shouldn't be up right now, but I took a nap when we got back.  I also took a bubble bath, and used the Champagne Supernova bath bomb Joeli got me for my birthday last year.  Somehow it got buried under the other bath bombs, so it took me almost a year to use it.  It smelled really good, like a mimosa, and there was confetti in it.  Basically it was a party in my bath tub haha.  Jason thought I smelled like Fruity Pebbles when I got out haha.  Tomorrow I have to call Time Warner to figure out why Brian's getting our internet bill, and hopefully go to the gym.  Other than that, I just want to relax this week, and spend some time with the animals.  Right now I'm wasting time online and listening to Broken Social Scene.  I downloaded some of their songs a few times, and I never really got into them until recently, but lately I've been listening to them a lot.  

Beach Day

I went to the pool today for the first time.  It was nice, except that it wasn't as warm as I thought it would be.  Even so, I managed to get in for a while and swim.  The swimming usually makes my back, neck and jaw feel better.  But today it hasn't worked, I need to be finishing up the housework before Lindsay and Chris come back tomorrow, but my jaw hurts so bad it's hard for me to concentrate.  I gave Harlock a bath this morning, her ear allergies are acting up again and I'm afraid she'll get an infection and have to go to the vet.  So I've been using her prescription hydrocortizone drops, Neosporin because she's been scratching, and Benadryl cream for the itching on the outside.  I also have to fill her ear canals with vinegar and water once a day.  She's pretty miserable, I feel sorry for her.  It looks like Dad and Megan are going to be here for my birthday weekend, which is great.  They're going to take me to the beach.  I wanted to go so badly last year, and we just didn't make it.  This is also good because Jason doesn't have to go, since he hates the ocean so much haha.  The problem is I have to find a beach that isn't too far away, since we'll just be making a day trip.  So after sorting through New Jersey's many lovely beaches, I've tentatively settled on the one I found last year, Keansburg.  It's south of NYC, and it's technically on a bay, but it's close enough for me.  Plus, it has a boardwalk and it's only 3 and a half hours away, which is the same as driving to Philadelphia.  I'm pretty excited.  I also want a Friendly's ice cream cake, but Jason thinks that's silly.  To that I say, who doesn't like ice cream cake? haha.

Acorn part 2

Here's the birdhouse.  It's perfect in that spot.  I love the backyard, it's the best part of the house, like a secret garden.  I'm going to repaint the chair in the first picture, I'm afraid that it will rust.  I love those chairs, my great-grandmother had a front yard that was full of them.  They're usually expensive when you find one, so I'm pretty happy I get to have at least one, and it rocks too! haha.  I wanted to mow the lawn, but I think it's going to rain.  So instead I'm going to finish the laundry and clean the house a little.  I've also been watching Flight of the Conchords, I'd never saw the show before, but I bought the first season in Syracuse.  It's pretty funny, but I'm not sure if Jason will like it or not.  I really wanted the theme song as a ringtone, because it's perfect for one, but they didn't have it, just other songs from the show.  So, after downloading a couple that didn't work for me, I settled on "Inner City Pressure" haha.  I hate that you can't preview what part of the song is on the ringtone before you buy it.  

So I guess I'll talk about our 4th.  It was nice, Lindsay and Chris were here, and we made a really big meal.  We grilled swordfish, Jason and I have never grilled, but luckily Chris has, so they turned out really good.  We also had seared tuna, sushi, grilled artichokes, salad and berry shortcake for desert.  Combine that with raspberry Lambic beer and sake bombs, and you have a good time haha.  We ate in the backyard and then watched our moron neighbor light off fireworks in the street and nearly burn our house down.  Good times haha.  It was a nice fourth, I liked it so much more than the typical, all American hamburger and hot dog bbq.  We're definitely not all American people haha.  I find hamburgers and hot dogs completely repulsive.  

Acorn Sweet Acorn

I finally got my acorn shaped bird house in the mail from Anthropologie!  I've been staring at it online for months, but I felt like I couldn't justify $40 for a bird house.  One day I was sitting in the backyard and I realized that there's a bracket back there that's the absolute perfect place to hang it, and I had to order it.  Jason had also been ready to order it for me to surprise me.  I ruined the surprise, but it was a nice thought haha.  It's so cute, and it looks perfect in the yard.  I just put it up, so it's too dark for a picture, but I'll post one later.  It goes really well with my other lawn ornaments.  I just hope that some cute birds make their home there.  I really want a pet bird, but we're at pet capacity now, and rabbits don't do well when they live near birds, and obviously Werther's needs come first since he's already a family member.  So this is the next best thing!

Bienvenue!

Welcome to my blog.  I have no idea what kind of things I'm going to put on here, but I thought it would be fun to have.  I guess I'll just talk about the things that make me happy, for the most part.