progress

Yesterday I took my faucet apart to fix it. I had it all apart when I realized I hadn't brushed my teeth or washed my face yet. So I put it back together.

It doesn't leak anymore. I didn't change out any of the parts. Hm... Okay!

We got the grass painted in Calvin's room, which we were both nervous about free-handing, but it turned out okay! Then Ash put the border up, and I made the curtains. We tried to put up the curtain rod, but were unable to get the damn screws in the wall. I tried using Collin's power drill, but I only succeeded in putting dents in the wall. So we taped them up to get the effect.

I can't wait to get the animals on the walls, and get some furniture in there! It's going to be such a cute boy's room. It's hard to believe there will be a baby living in there in a few months. Gah! Being an aunt is going to be so much fun.

I didn't get anything done that I needed to get done yesterday because of that headache. It's looming, but hopefully I can knock some stuff out before it's back again. Like the damn ever-present sink full of dishes.

magic pills

Dear headache/ migraine/ monster,
I know you're doing your best to ruin my life, but I have Wal-phed magic pills with the good stuff in it that you have to swipe your driver's license for. So you can go ahead and suck on that while I go about my day.
You fucker.

-Jen

Things.

I had a dream last night that somebody took my nail polish mid-manicure and I was pissed. I ran around bitching at everyone trying to find it. I never did find it.

No matter how careful I am, pancake syrup always seems to end up everywhere.

Going to fix my leaky bathroom faucet while dad is gone. If I try to fix it when he's here he'll notice and get mad because I won't do it right-- even though I have this internet tutorial to follow. It's been dripping for months and he's not fixing it and it's getting on my nerves. Here's hoping I don't make it worse...

This

looks cool. Can you imagine a whole field or patch of this?

Been randomly catching a lot of Friends episodes lately. I love the ones where Monica and Chandler have their secret relationship.

I love chevron anything right now. Just yes.

Getting into the baby mindset again. Painting, curtains, bunting, baby shower... it's happening.

beam

Today, I had to work late to help fix something that hadn't gone quite right. It was all computer stuff, so I mostly gave feedback and did a little bit of testing while the computer people worked on it.They all worked remotely, so we communicated via phone and email.

At one point, the computer lady (who I'd heard was a bit of a hardass) made a little conversation while we were waiting on something to run. She said that she'd heard from my boss that I was new to this particular area of testing. I said yes, that was true. Then she said, "Well you're doing quite well."

I can't even tell you how I beamed at myself from the inside. You go, me.

I've been feeling rather under-used since I'm still technically learning, even after a month. You know I'm itching to start my own projects.

I could sense the computer lady's apprehension about working with me, since this is really my coworker's project and they've communicated extensively about it for months. I also felt somewhat responsible for the problem, even though I was just a bystander and was attempting to help pick up the pieces. So it felt really good to have her warm up to me, and have her say something like that.

I gotta say, I left feeling pretty darn good.

mess & mis

So many leaves... those stinking things are everywhere. Pumpkin keeps playing with them. All I keep hearing is "rustle rustle." (At least I hope it's Pumpkin....)

I'm kinda ready to go back to work. I've had enough of being a slothful boozy glutton. My body is crying out for a vegetable that's not wrapped in bacon.

Les Mis was awesome. Of course I think Anne Hathaway can do no wrong, so that pretty much made it for me right there. I made it through to the end without tears, but then I forgot about Fantine popping up at the last scene and that notion went out the window. Not a dry eye in the house. We all filed out of the theatre in a crowd of sniffles.There were a few people whining about how it dragged on, and a few bored kids. As Suzy put it, "It's a damn musical about the French Revolution. What did you expect?"

Since I've just seen the Broadway version, I could not help but make comparisons. Most notably, Eponine didn't win me over in the movie, but when we saw it in November, her "On My Own" damn near brought you chills. A few small differences here and there, but overall they are both enjoyable. I will be purchasing the DVD and I'd go see the Broadway version again. I'm officially one of those people who loves Les Miserables.

Parentals leave for the Ukraine today. They were up at the crack of dawn all excited. They're running around not knowing what to do with themselves.

I'm just sitting here drinking coffee, ignoring the huge mess on the floor.

gifty

Man. My cell phone cozie smelled like smoke after last night, so I washed it and it shrunk. Merh. Now I have to make another one. Or, I should probably do the smart thing and get a case for it.

It's Christmas day, there is food and booze everywhere, and everybody is randomly crashed in random places.

This Christmas has been very stress-free. I didn't buy a single gift.
One, because I don't have any extra money.
Two, because instead of buying siblings gifts, this year we decided to just pool whatever money we would have spent and give it to my parents for their trip to Kiev. Made mom cry. That's a win.

I also didn't get a ton of stuff.

So what did I open this morning? A Bissell shampooer thing. Completely frivolous and I love it. EVERYTHING WILL BE CLEAN. Also got some socks.

And that's about it. It's refreshing not to have a mountain of gifts, especially because I've been all about removing the clutter lately. Just a few small tokens here and there. This year it was more about hanging out with family & friends instead of focusing on the gifts. I rather enjoyed it.

Not to say that I didn't miss the rush of picking out something nice for everyone, and getting excited to see people open things. Next year will probably be back to normal, but with everything else going on lately, it was really nice to have a break from the stress and Christmas Greed.

Keeping with that theme, Suzy and I are going to see Les Miserables today. Ashley, too, if we can convince her to go.

P.S. I can't wait for that cold front to come through tonight.

eve

I'm hiding in my room because my mom is in a cleaning frenzy and I don't want to be put to work.

It's too damn hot here. I hate Houston's weather, especially in the wintertime. It's just a yo yo effect of temperatures and humidity and it SUCKS.

It's Christmas day in Japan. Chris says they're not doing anything special for Christmas, but I think they at least get a special meal.

Frank and I were sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee, when my mom hugged my dad and he goes, "Wait, let's move to the kitchen so we can make out." Ah, parentals. Leave some of the mystery for the rest of us.

Mom's making a batch of nut cups, so that will be my diet for the next few days.

It's going to be a long day. Let's get this show on the road.