Pictures and Other Stuff

As promised, here are some pictures J took of the tractor fire in the field across from the house. Exciting, huh? The tractor is sitting off the edge of the field now, all burned out and sad looking.

So, how was your Memorial Day weekend? Or just your weekend if you're not in the US? :) Mine was good. J had to work Saturday, and due to some problems he ended up being there in the middle of the night too, so he didn't get home until Sunday morning. So in his absence, I mowed the lawn, cut and pulled a bunch of those horrible grape vines away from the pool area - you can now see the entire privacy fence on the side of the pool - and of course played the Sims. Quiet but productive, which is just how I like my Saturdays to be.

Sunday my brother-in-law came over and changed my oil for me, in preparation for me having to go to Albany for work later this week. That was nice of him. Of course, I'd much rather not go to Albany for work, but I don't really have a choice in the matter. Sigh.

On Monday, J and I went to the movies to see the new Pirates movie, along with Jamie, Sarah and her husband Jeff. We got there and were going to go to the dollar store to get our sodas and junk food (so much cheaper than the theater), but instead I locked my keys in my car and we spent the time before the movie trying to break in. Unsuccessfully. Sigh again. I still can't believe I did that. But Jamie was nice enough to drive us back to the house, so I could pick up my spare key, and then he drove me back so that I could finally drive my poor little red car home. At least the movie was fun. Long as hell, but fun.

And that's the exciting tale of my weekend! Fun, huh? :) Yeah, sorry, I'm not quite awake yet, so I can't be more interesting than that.

For those of you who are interested, I got chapter seven, part one of my Sims 2 legacy story online last night. Part two may be up tonight, or this weekend if I don't get the time to do it tonight.

And okay, I need to go wake up now. It's 9:04 a.m. and I've been at work for an hour and a half. I think it's time to actually be conscious. Although I don't have a soda with me, so I'm not sure how to get that way. Hmm. I'll figure something out. Happy Wednesday!

Happy Birthday, J!

He's sweet, generous, handsome, funny, loving, dog loving, cat tolerating, amazing, great company and he got up this morning and had birthday cake for breakfast. He loves his family and his country and he loves me. He is a Navy veteran. He loves hounds, particularly his basset hound Rosebud, and wants her to live forever, and he's already planning his next dog - a bloodhound to be named Bumpus. He loves Star Wars, and the Simpsons, and he loves silly movies that he and his brother can quote to each other. He inherited most of his build from his Dad, but his nose from his Mom. He has beautiful blue eyes. He's going to be seriously embarrassed when he reads this.

He has filled a large void in my life. I spent 37 years alone, and the last ten or so thinking I would never be lucky enough to find someone to love me the way I yearned to be loved. And then he came along, when I wasn't looking at all. I fought loving him, but in the end I had to give in - how could I push away someone who thinks I'm beautiful and special? With him I have all that I ever dreamed love could bring - a partner, a willing audience, an ear when I need one, a shoulder to cry on if I need it, someone to take care of me when I'm sick and someone to share silly times with. We love to be around each other, and I am very happy to have him in my life.

J, I love you, with all of my heart, and I love that we're in each other's lives now. I can't wait to hear you upstairs playing the bass in your music room. I can't wait to sit on the futon with you in your new room and watch movies on your DVD player. I can't wait to go on trips with you, and to go to family events with you, and to have our friends and family over when we're in the mood to be social. But most of all, I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you.

Happy birthday!

Lunch and birthdays and tractor fires, oh my!

J had today and yesterday off, so he came into town and met me for lunch both days. It's so nice to be able to hang out with him in the middle of the day! I enjoy that a lot. Yesterday we went to lunch at the local restaurant that is owned by the place where I work, and had their yummy chicken sandwiches and fries (and Saranac root beer bottles at $2.50 each - ouch!), and today we went to the local pizzeria and had slices and cheese sticks. While we were at lunch, I gave him one of his gifts (his birthday is tomorrow) - a book by Alice Cooper. J's a big fan of his.

After lunch, we came back and got ice cream cones from work, and then he met some people who I work with, including Jamie! Jamie and Sarah both have been telling me that I was making J up, but now I have proof! Jamie's seen him and spoken to him, so now he knows he's real. Of course, Sarah's Mom saw him when we happened to be at the movies at the same time, but apparently that didn't count. But now he's been officially introduced, and just in time, because I think we're all going to go to the movies on Monday to see the new Pirates movie.

Anyway, after he met my bosses and coworkers, J went back home, and I went back to work. I have to say, it was kind of nice introducing him to everyone. I liked showing him off. :)

Apparently there was some excitement near my house this morning. J was there working on the room upstairs that is going to become his music room, and he started smelling something burning. He looked around the house and didn't see anything, and then when he let the dogs out, he saw that the tractor that has been plowing the field across the street was on fire! It was fully engulfed in flames, so he watched it get put out. Cool! Well, not cool for the farmer - I hope they had insurance on it. But still. I missed the whole thing, what with being at work, but J took some pictures. If they come out well, I'll post them here, too.

Okay, I haven't updated in what, a week? Wow. You'd think I'd have more to say, but apparently you'd be wrong. ;-) We had a quiet weekend. J had to work both days, which officially sucks, as does his boss for making him do that. So I played the Sims a lot, and watched TV and lots of non-productive stuff like that.

Oh, and on Saturday I had lunch with a friend who I used to work with at SU. We hadn't seen each other since the weekend before my first date with J, so it had been a while. It was really nice to see her and catch up again. After lunch, I went shopping to get some new jeans, and ended up getting one new pair of work pants, three new work shirts, and no jeans. Sigh. I dont' know what is up with the retailers. Why do they think women only want to buy capri length jeans in the spring? Stupid people. There was a whole wall of regular Levi's for men, and a similar wall for boys, but nothing for women. Stores suck. So I haven't gotten any new jeans yet, but at least I got some work stuff.

So, tomorrow is J's birthday, like I said, but he has to work (I mentioned his boss sucks, right?), so we're celebrating tonight. We're going to have barbecue and mashed potatoes (that's what he wanted for his birthday, and the barbecue is Dinosaur, for anyone familiar with this area) for dinner, and cake for dessert, and he's getting two more gifts! I can't wait to see him open them. I've been hanging on to them for three weeks, and it's been torture. I love giving gifts.

Anyway. Suddenly I'm out of things to say, so I'll wrap this entry up by saying bye! I hope you all are having great weeks, and may your tractors not catch on fire. :)

I love sleep, and junk food is the devil

It's amazing what a difference it can make to my world view when I get a good night's sleep. I hadn't gotten a full night's sleep all week, and was feeling very grumpy - yesterday in particular was just not good. I ran late in the morning, I got stuck behind some jerk who only wanted to do 35-45 in a 55 mph zone (grr) and got to work six minutes late. I was in a semi-bad mood all day, and was so happy to see the day end. Nothing really horrible happened, but the day sucked all the same.

Then I got a good night's sleep. I woke up feeling refreshed this morning, and suddenly the skies are blue again (well, metaphorically, anyway - it's raining here, so in reality they're kind of gray at the moment - much more fitting to my mood yesterday instead of today). I got up on time, I got to work seven minutes early, I'm getting stuff done at work and am just having a good day. I love sleep.

I did get some game play done in the Sims last night, though. I got everything done for my next chapter, so now all I have to do is put the pictures together and write it up. Of course, I say "all I have to do," but that process will take somewhere in the neighborhood of four hours, so it's not really all that easy. It's rewarding, though. I am loving this legacy a lot, and I'm having a lot of fun playing and writing it. My second generation will be handing the reins over to her daughter in this upcoming chapter, which makes me very sad. I love her as much as it's possible to love a simulated person. She's cool. I hope any of you who are reading are enjoying it. And look for the next chapter to be up by the weekend.

I've made the decision to start eating better again. I've been very bad for the last few months, and have gotten right back into the habit of eating junk all the time, and eating because I'm bored, which is the absolute worst reason I can think of for eating. So I'm trying to start turning myself around again. I want to feel good again, and I don't right now. Here's hoping I can keep it up forever this time, instead of just for a few months. Sigh. Junk food is the devil.

And now I must go read an e-mail from my J, who I love and miss very much, because he stayed at his house last night instead of coming home to ours, so I haven't seen him since yesterday morning. Bye for now!

Busy Weekend

What a busy weekend! J had to work Saturday, so I was on my own until he got home at somewhere around 5:00. I would love to say that I spent the whole day sitting on my butt playing the Sims, but spring is here, and with it seems to have come the ambition to get things done. I did play the Sims a little bit, and I got a lot accomplished toward my next story chapter. But I also did the following: did all the laundry, vacuumed the whole downstairs, stripped the bed, washed the dishes, bagged up all of the recycling that had been cluttering up the kitchen, cleaned the bathroom, made two batches of dog biscuits with which to tempt the dogs, rinsed out and bagged all the soda bottles that were laying around, and I tried to start mowing the lawn, but the garage door wouldn't open, so I decided that I was off the hook for that for the day. :) It was a good, busy day.

When J got home we went after groceries and went to Jreck's Subs for dinner. It was nice. I love spending time with J.

I bought new summer sheets for my bed when we were at Walmart on Saturday, and I love them. I use flannel sheets in the winter and regular sheets in the summer, and I didn't have any regular ones left. I washed them when we got home and put them on the bed as soon as they were dry, and it felt like sleeping in an all new bed. I loved it. New sheets are always great.

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and J was off work. Since my Mom died seven years ago, I haven't actually celebrated a Mother's Day since 1999. But J's Mom is still here, and they were having a family get together to celebrate it. It felt nice to be able to celebrate with my future Mom-in-law. I cut some lilacs that were just starting to bloom, and three tulips that were still closed up enough to cut, and I took them to her. She loved them.

Anyway. Before we went to the family thing, though, I mowed the lawn in the morning, and J cleaned out the filter between the well and my water pump, because it had gotten clogged up with little stones that come in from the well. Then we got ready to go, and he took me shopping! He spoiled me, he really did. I made a comment one morning last week that I was running out of summer shirts, and the next thing I know he's offering to take me shopping to buy me some new summer shirts for work. He's so good to me. I only found one shirt that I liked (I'm wearing it now, and I love it), but I also ended up bringing home a pair of Skechers sneakers to go walking in with him, a Trix is for kids t-shirt (love), two undershirts, a flag shirt from Old Navy and a long sleeved orange SU basketball shirt. It was really nice to be spoiled. I don't expect it to happen all the time, and in fact I didn't expect it to happen this time, but I loved it. Thanks, J.

And now somehow it's Monday morning again, and I'm wishing I were still home in bed (on my new sheets), and yet I'm at work. Sigh. I really need to start playing the lottery.

New Porch Pictures

As promised, I'm back with pictures of the porch! First up, here is a shot of the porch before.

Ugly, isn't it?
Here it is now. It needs paint on the top by the roof, and the porch itself will need some water seal, but that has to wait at least a month. Pretty, though isn't it?

Here is the side of the old porch.

And the side of the new one.

The inside of the porch, looking at it from the end. Notice how far the front is leaning in.

And the side of the new porch, complete with the neighbor's dog, Hank, who has decided he likes our house better than his own, probably because there are four dogs here for him to play with.

And here is where I'll be spending a lot of time this spring/summer/fall. In my rocking chair, on the porch, watching the world go by. Because apparently I'm old like that. :)

So what do you think? Do you love the new porch? I sure do!

The letter B

Clare posted a list in her blog of her favorite things starting with the letter T, and offered to give letters to anyone who commented. I did, and got the letter B. So, here we go - ten things I love that start with the letter B (and it's kind of disturbing how many of them are food. Hmm).

1. Boyfriend :)
2. Bernie (my dog, of course)
3. Brownies
4. Birthdays
5. Bracelets
6. Buttercups (the flower)
7. Birthday Cake
8. Bob Seger
9. Bread - home baked, white, warm from the oven, yum
10. Blogs

If you want a letter from me so that you can post ten things that you love, post a comment and I'll reply with one for you.

So in other news, good things are happening with my porch and roof! The roof is done now, and the porch is all done except for the handrail for the steps. He'll finish that today, so I'll take some pictures when I get home and post the before and after, so you can marvel at how much nicer my house looks now. I am in love with this porch (if my list was of words starting with p, that would have been first on the list). I put my wooden rocking chair out there on Saturday, and I have sat out there a little bit already, even though the contractor's tools are still all over. I don't care - the porch is just so nice that I can't help but want to be out there. It's great.

How would you like a weekend recap? If you said you'd love one, then you're in luck, because I'm about to give you one! Saturday I had a short list of things that I wanted to do, which included mowing the lawn (done), doing laundry (done), vacuuming (partly done), cleaning the bathroom (not done), doing the dishes and cleaning off the kitchen counters (not done), playing the Sims (did some) and writing chapter five of my legacy story (not done). Yeah, I didn't do everything I wanted to do. But! I did clean and slightly rearrange the living room. And I sat on the porch with the dogs for a while. :) So it was still a productive day. It felt especially good to get the lawn mowed for the first time this year - it always looks so nice when it's first cut.

After J got out of work on Saturday, we went to Pizza Hut and got pizza and breadsticks for dinner (yum), then we came back and watched TV or something - I don't know, it's been a couple of days, so I don't remember anymore. My memory is crappy.

Sunday J had off, so we hung around the house and watched TV in the morning, then we got ready to go to the movies, because we were seeing Spiderman 3! My sister was supposed to go with us, but she crapped out on us, so it was just the two of us. We got some candy and soda from the dollar store to sneak in with us, got our tickets and some popcorn, and went in to watch the movie. I really enjoyed it - it was a fun way to spend a couple of hours. Although my butt was killing me by the time it was over - movie seats just aren't as comfortable as they used to be.

And that's pretty much the extent of my weekend. It was a good one, even though J did have to work on Saturday.

Remember to check back later - I'll take pictures of the porch when I get home (assuming he finishes today) and post the before and after pictures.

Good Day

I'm having a really good day today. Despite an inauspicious start (Duff peed on the floor last night, which J found when he got up, and Willow is having anal glad problems again, which means she is acting freaky about her poop, which lead to her pooping on the floor in the house this morning - now I get to express her anal glands, oh joy!), this day has turned out great!

You all know that I am quite a bit obsessed about my Sims, and you know that I've been writing a new legacy story, which is where you start with one Sim and follow their family through ten generations (or 27, depending on which type you're doing), following certain rules along the way. And if you've ever looked at the link bar to the right there, you see that I link to a site called boolprop.com, which is a Sims 2 forum centered around legacies. Well, I spend a lot of time there. Anytime that I'm online and bored, I'm on the boolprop site, finding new stories to read, reading updates to my favorite stories, and of course I post my own story there, too.

Well, one of the authors of one of my favorite legacies is going to do a bachelor challenge, which is where you take one Sim from your game and you do a bachelor thing with them - like the TV show. You place them in a house with seven other Sims, and the seven compete to win the heart of the bachelor (or bachelorette). He's using Sims from other legacies for his challenge, and he asked me if he could have my two second generation girls for his challenge!

Now, to any of you who aren't me, you're probably less than enthused. But I was so happy! I was mentally squealing and jumping around (and only not doing those things in reality because I was at work). I of course said yes, because I would love to see how Amelia and Addie fare in the challenge. I'm going to work on uploading them tonight. So exciting!

And then my boss came out of her office a little bit ago, and was just gushing about how great her staff is, myself included, and how lucky she feels to have us all working for her. She's very sweet.

Plus, our new porch is coming along great - it's going to be very pretty. I can't wait until it's finished, so that I can show you how pretty it is. And I can't wait to sit out on it with J and act like a couple of old farts, reading books or talking as we watch the world go by. (He'll be on big time spider killing duty, though, because my porch usually gets a lot of them. Yuck.)

Also, J is, at the very least, going to be renting out his house, which will save him a bunch of money, and he actually had someone talk to him yesterday about buying it. Either way, he'll be in better financial shape, and he'll be moving all of his household stuff into my (our) house, so he'll officially be living with me. Even though he's been living with me for a while now, but his stuff hasn't, and now it will be moving in, too. And I can't wait. It took me 37 years to find him, and now that I have him, I want him there every day, with all of his stuff, too. I want to get the rooms upstairs made over for him, and I want to sit up there and listen as he plays his bass (which I haven't heard yet). Life is being very good to me lately.

And I bought J's birthday presents yesterday. :) He doesn't know what they are, and he reads this, so I can't say, but I can't WAIT to give them to him. And his birthday is still three weeks away. Sigh. I love birthdays.

Okay, that's all I have to say, I guess. I just needed to come gush about my life, much like my boss was just gushing about her staff. Bye!