Sweet St. Patrick's Day

How I spent my St. Patrick's Day:

With Bubba, a book, and a beer.

Then Handsome came out and so did more sunshine!

Bubba got sleepy, even though he didn't have any beer.

VD stuff

Mr. Handsome disagrees with Valentine's Day. I think ANY day to celebrate something wonderful is GREAT! You made every single light on your way to work? Let's celebrate! Anyhoo, I don't expect much for/from Valentine's Day, but this year, he really hit it.

He made over a dozen romantic pieces of origami (which is how he wooed me in the first place, back in the day) and send me lovey-dovey texts all day! I loved it, loved finding the individual pieces of origami tucked around my regular day. Here's a heart in the coffee can! Here's a crane in my make-up drawer! Ooh, a heart tucked inside my laptop! How sweeet, a crane tucked into the milk jug handle! Yeah, I LOVED it!

So, I made him cookies. His fave, chocolate chip. Now, I'm Famous in My Own Mind® for making really, off-puttingly ugly cookies. I don't know what I do wrong. I try different stuff, they always wind up looking like little piles of excrement. With solids. ew. Anyhoo, they taste fine. BUT! I wanted to make pretty cookies for him, to let him know that I appreciated his effort and that I appreciate him. Seriously, all that lovey stuff. So I decided to be completely cheesy and make them into heart shapes.

I cut out the cookies,

baked them as directed...

... uh oh...

...ummm, this isn't working....

Oh, well. I'll just cut one into a BIG heart! Success!

Yeah, it was a sweet Valentine's Day, with a little help from John Russo! Note the cute Italian sweets (in the little boxes) and the delicious chocolate port. Nice!

And the sun came out

I seem to be in a Yard Phase, showing you lots of pics of our yard. hmmm...

Well, the sun came out yesterday and melted all the snow! After I finished IMing with Sis, Mr. Handsome and I sat outside for a little while (it was still cold, so we didn't stay long) and enjoyed the sunshine.

While I was IMing, Bubba joined me and eventually fell asleep on my lap. I wonder what he dreamt of?

Mr Handsome has succeeded in growing carrots indoors! They are delicious, both bitter and sweet and very tender. We're hoping the tomatoes will do well, too.

So, this morning is bright and sunny and pretty warm, sweater weather, no big, heavy coat necessary! YEA!!!! I've got lots of errands to run but we're going to go see "Green Zone," too. It promises to be a great day! I hope you have a good one, too!

Mar 16

It is so WARM out today and the sun is so STRONG that I sat outside reading for hours. I can feel my body thanking me and I can smell the sun on my skin. Man! It is NICE! 63F, tons of sun and no wind. The birds were singing so loud that they drowned out the traffic! The kitties came out and joined me, enjoyed the sun, and had some catnip. Mr. Handsome came out, too! It was just really nice and felt like Summer. I even did a little gardening. Of course, now I don't want to go to work tomorrow!

Backyard is snow FREE!

That's where I did a little gardening, on the side of the driveway. Doesn't look like much, I know.

I did laundry, too, so I earned my beer.

Bubba loves the sunshine!

The over-wintered catnip

Still potent! Bubba loves the 'nip. Cleo came out and indulged, too. I should have gotten a pic!

Mr. Handsome enjoys a break from working on his hydroponic system.

It got pretty hot! I loved it! Did I say the backyard was snow free? I sure am snow white. geez. Maybe I should re-think my prejudice against fake tans and get sprayed. And do some push-ups. Geez, my arms look like mashed potatoes.
Look, this was a DAY OFF - I'm scruffy.

(credit for cutsie demand for comments: http://thedesigngirlstudio.blogspot.com)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I love any holiday that supports love and candy!

And I love this man:

With a name like, Fred, he had to be nice!

Mr Handsome used to work with this guy, "Fred," who is super nice. He's also an artist, who's very, very congenial and gracious. He had a big party tonight and invited a bunch of people and we went, even though it was RIGHT after work and I was very tired and oh-s0-very-full-of-pain. I forgot all about the tiredness and got to put the pain off to the side for awhile because we had a very good time!

There were lots of friendly people, plenty of delicious food, and excellent music. We had such a nice time! I wish we'd gone to other parties "Fred" and his wife "Wilma" have held, but we were too shy. We definitely missed out.

the Past

I saw this ad today.

For some reason, she makes me think of what I'd have looked like, in my early 20's, had I procreated with a guy I was seeing at the time, a guy I'll call

She looks strong and competent, if not happy. The kid looks content. My life, my self, my everything, would be soooooo different if I'd had a kid. But he definitely was NOT the right guy to be the father of MY spawn. No way. Nice enough guy, but he did prefer the ganja to the job. He was smart, attractive, clever, tall, funny, lots of really good things. But not reliable. Not willing to make sacrifices for anyone or anything, including the kid he had from a previous marriage. So. It was a no go, in all ways, eventually.

When I was a little girl, I just assumed I'd have kids, like "all" women did. As I grew up, I realized I had choices and didn't HAVE to grow a human in my body. I didn't HAVE to spread the miserable health issues my family deals with to another person. I didn't HAVE to risk giving someone a health situation that would make his (and other people's) life a living hell. I could remain child-free; it was MY choice! YAY!

Still, I occasionally feel that kick in my uterus, that baby hunger, that deep in the marrow desire to reproduce. Thank god it passes quickly. I genuinely feel sorry for women who feel that need all the time and are unable to conceive. And now I'm really getting to be too old. My eggs are old. Much bigger risk of even more health issues for the kid.

Mr. Handsome, who had an idyllic childhood, could never give me a "Yes, I do" or "No, I don't" answer to the kid question, in the past. Now, he's sure he doesn't want one. So that's a relief. And he's not worried about what might-have-beens. He says, "We didn't have any, we don't want them now, that's the way it is." I love that about him (amongst many, many other reasons), that he doesn't dwell on the past, on what might-have-been, on regrets.

Random ramblings

I have a head cold and have probably spread it around most of lower West Michigan and now it's expanded into my chest and I keep waking myself up by coughing up a lung. I'm just whining - it'll pass, it's just a cold.

The dining room project moved along really well when we got Joe to work for us! Now, it's stalled again. We're waiting for a professional painter because there's also some plaster work to do. Here's what it looks like now, from where I sit typing:

Look at all the extra light! It's wonderful! It's like a wall of windows! I mean, it's not, but it feels like it. Now, we have to choose paint color and that's gonna be a battle. He wants white, I want color. How to compromise (he thinks pale colors are "wimpy.)? The kitties don't give a rip about paint color; they just love looking outside!

On other topics, I still haven't started doing anything about my excessive bulk. Sis gave me a VERY generous gift certificate to the yoga studio of my choice, right down the block from the bookstore, even, but I haven't started going yet. I WILL go in January, when they've got their new session starting.

Here's an outfit that I wasn't totally hot for, but it was comfy and I love the skirt. I didn't realize how chopped up the blouse makes it look. Next time, I'll stick with a sweater.


I look so CHUNKY! I keep forgetting that I actually AM chunky. I look skinnier in the mirrors at home than I do in photos or in mirrors elsewhere. When I go shopping, I'm continually shocked at how chubby I am in the store mirrors. And, let's face it, stores do NOT have "fat" mirrors (y'know, the kind of mirror that distorts your image, making you look wider). Also, AAAAAGH! MY HAIR! I'm growing it out, which is a VERY slow process with my hair, and it's at a very unflattering length. I'm growing out layers from the Posh Bob and it's taking forever. patience patience patience....


Today, Mr Handsome and I are going to go out with some friends to cut down our Christmas tree! I'm looking forward to decorating the house - it's so cheery when it's all decorated and festive! Bubba loves the tree, too!

clean it up

I've got my bookclub coming over tomorrow night and the house is still completely messy from the ongoing dining room renovation. I just haven't had the gumption to clean. Better get started, though! Cleaning, purging and organizing my stuff really helps me feel more in control of ALL areas of my life and helps stave off the Black Dog of depression that trots ever-so-loyally by my side.

Also, I'm going to decorate for the holidays! Not earth-shaking news, no..., probably super boring to lots of people, but I'm hoping it, too, will help to just cheer us both the hell up. With Mr. Handsome's "sabbatical" ongoing (probably not over until after the new year(!)), we genuinely need all the help we can get.

So, I better get to work. Any suggestions for organizing, etc. are WELCOME!

hair pics

Mr Handsome and I went out for lunch last week and I thought I'd snap a coupla pics to show Sis (she likes to see where we go).




The next night, we went out for dinner with friends (gosh, I post lots of pictures of beer on here, don't I?).


These pictures proved to me, beyond a doubt, that it was time to do something about my HAIR. So, Sunday night, I colored it. I've been trying to grow it out for months, and my hair takes so long to grow, that I knew I shouldn't cut it. So, I colored it auburn mixed with brown, to give it some dimension (hopefully).


It just wasn't enough. Today, I got it cut. I'm still growing it out (from the Pob - the Posh Spice Bob),

but my hair needed professional help! Here are some before and afters from today!


After color

After cut

After color

After cut

I like it!