3.04.2008

top 10 reasons i have the best husband ever

Top 10 Reasons I have the Best Husband... Ever

1. When we’re driving home from date night through a blizzard and we hit a huge pot hole and get a flat tire, he gets understandably ticked, then calms down right away and changes the tire. Did I mention this was in the middle of a blizzard??

2. He starts my car and wipes off the snow every morning. Every morning.

3. He rubs my arm every night. Every night.

4. He makes the bed after I leave for work in the morning.

5. He puts my lunch together every morning… and slips a note inside too.

6. He lets me call him funny little nicknames and talk in weird voices.

7. He supports my ornament making & crafty endeavors.

8. He always smells amazing.

9. He’s so stinking smart.

10. He’s the funniest person in the world.

~
If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me ye women if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold,
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay;
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let’s so persevere,
That when we live no more we may live ever.
-anne bradstreet

2.27.2008

commuter complaints

I haven't had a terribly difficult time making the transition from New York to Michigan. As a farm girl, I'm a little surprised that I haven't even been overly opposed to living in the city of Plymouth. However, there are certain aspects of the small city life that I don't particularly enjoy. Trains and traffic in general are right up there in my Top Things I Hate About City Life.

First, trains.
While I love the John Mayer song "Stop This Train," I do NOT love the trains in Plymouth. When I lived in western New York, trains were pretty cool because I rarely saw them. Occasionally, one would chug through little old Albion, stopping traffic for about 5 minutes, as small boys (and probably their fathers, too) watched in amazement. I even came to think of trains as an old-fashioned means of transport. No longer. Downtown Plymouth is, quite literally, surrounded by train tracks, which allow trains to invade our quaint city multiple times a day... and night. I can't even count how many nights I have been woken - just at the precipice of my REM cycle - by the incessant blare of a train horn. Really? We see you. I can understand a warning toot on the horn, but honestly - laying it on for 10 seconds straight? UNNECESSARY. In addition, some of these terrors have been known to hold up traffic for at least 13 minutes at a time! And that was only after I decided to watch the clock after I had been waiting for a bit. As if they don't know I'm in a hurry to IKEA? I've been here for almost 8 months - I don't think trains are something one grows accustomed to.

Second, traffic. I can't decide whether I hate driving around here more than I hate trains in the middle of the night - it's a close call. There are several factors that play into my frustration. While I love the 70 mph highways, I hate Michigan drivers. It's a bit annoying when I'm driving a comfortable 78 mph and multiple drivers are still riding my bum. I'd expect it if I was going 68, or even 70. But 78? Back off! To roughly borrow an idea from my dear friend Jeanette, someone had better be dilated 10 centimeters and pushing in that truck.

Outside the 70 mph highways, the highest speed limit near us is 50 mph, on a road I scarcely travel. Our city limit is 25 mph. Twenty-five. Because 30 would just be reckless.

Let's also discuss the state of the roads in metro-Detroit. Holy pot holes. Apparently these conditions are so treacherous because of the nasty winter weather and large allotment for truck weight. Whatever it is - it is sucking the life out of Michigan roads. People talk about craters on the moon - have they seen my route to work?! I'm starting to buy into the theory that dinosaurs went extinct because a meteor struck the earth, and that meteor landed right on Ann Arbor Trail.

I'm never alone on the road. There is always someone driving 5 mph under the limit or 15 mph over. I can never just drive leisurely at my preferred 5-8 over. There is no such thing as a "back road" in metro-Detroit. The closest thing we've got is Hines Drive, which is everyone's favorite route to and from work because there are so many fewer lights than every other road. I miss the roads of Barre and Kent and Lyndonville, etc. I expect rough roads in the country. I do not expect rough roads where the average income is greater than the sum of all incomes in Orleans County.

I've just decided to take all this as another sign from God that I'm meant to work at home. And by "work" I mean bake, read, and make ornaments.

2.24.2008

multi-tasking

Friday night was basically perfect.
After taking pictures in the park with Doug, we returned bottles, got some groceries, made taco salad for dinner, and then watched some epidsodes of Lost. This is how I watch:

And as a result:





I love weekends!

2.22.2008

all in a day's work

Pet peeve at work: my mouse cord is perpetually stuck on “something.” Of course, rather than take 5.3 seconds to bend over my desk/table and figure it out, I prefer to scowl at my mouse, hoping it will magically unloose itself out of fear and guilt. Hasn’t happened yet.

Good thing at work: the vending machine has zero chocolate items in it. The vending gods know it’s Lent. What they don’t know is that I ate half a peppermint patty pie from Burker King yesterday before I realized, “Wow! This pie is completely coated in fudge, which definitely classifies as CHOCOLATE. Which I DID give up for Lent.”

Confusion at work: when I enter the women’s bathroom, and the toilet seat in my favorite stall is up. Yes, I have a favorite stall.

Thing I learned at work today: Banana peppers? Delicious!

Things I think at work: “I really wish I could work the word “subterfuge” into a sentence.," and, “I wish I could write half as well as Dooce.”

Perfect way to start the weekend: leave work an hour early because you can't stand being inside when it's that gorgeous outside and drive home in the sunshine to Sufjan's dulcet tones. Drive to local park and take pictures with your husband.

2.18.2008

snapshots from the weekend

Dad & Mom & Jayne came to visit this weekend...


Jayne contemplates her next move.


Mom, doing some light reading.

Dad, doing some heavy reading...

Bookends making cookies.



It was a wonderful weekend. I can't wait to see the whole family in a month!
Love you guys.