Oh, and one more thing. But then I promise I'm leaving.

Anyone who's ever lived with me knows that I can't leave a room just once. This is not usually a problem when I'm in my own home because nobody cares if I enter the living room five times until I finally leave with the book I needed to put back in the office. However, when on my way to class, I usually "left" the room 2-4 times before I had all the books, pencils, notebooks, outergarments, shoes, and brain to live through the next stage of my day. Let it hereby be known that I have every right to say goodbye for three days and then come back in a couple of hours. So there.

Besides, it's so worth your ridicule, because look what I found when I started packing:

*ahem* You know you, uh, can't leave me alone with him. Right?

And one more. Because I already miss her so.

Be grateful you have the luxury of thinking they're TOYS! (oh, my poor makeup brushes!)

Ciao, bella!

Funny thing: yesterday I had to restrain from posting every other hour; today I can't complete one good post. "What a difference a day makes . . ." (That line can only ever sound like a husky alto since I saw Bob Kelso enter Sacred Heart the day after his anniversary to the sounds of that amazing voice. Dude, I love Scrubs!)

Tomorrow I head out for Conference Número Dos of the season. Today was taken up with work and occasional breaks to switch out laundry loads and gather packing supplies. I also received The Conference Kit - the huge, 65-lb suitcase that will accompany me throughout my journey and back home, since I'll need to have one when I take over coordinator duties. I'm gonna come back with arms like a certain California governor. :-/

I don't know if I'll have access to a computer while I'm away, much less whether I'll feel like writing or just crawling into my hotel bed and zoning on whatever cable can offer the business traveler. This is gonna be a learning experience and a half.

Tonight I'll finish packing, hold my cat too close, make K tell me he loves me 867.3 times, and sleep fitfully. Pray for moi and any airline personel who might have to inform me that there's a problem of any kind.

Close Your Blinds, Ye Who Work From Home

Remember that time when I said that I was glad not to have a flowering tree outside my window for the sake of my productivity?




I am so in trouble.

Athletic - HA!

Proof that online quizzes are full of poo-poo.

ERICA
E	is for	Earthy
R	is for	Rare
I	is for	Impressive
C	is for	Conservative
A	is for	Athletic

What Does Your Name Mean?

Now if only they weren't so addictive and fun. ;)

A Critique of Pure Perfectionism

I am a life-long perfectionist. As a child I hated anything asymmetrical because it wasn't perfect. I began styling my own hair at age 8 because I could not STAND to let my mother do it. She CLEARLY did not care enough about perfection to verify that there were no bumps in my pulled-back ponytail EVEN THOUGH I COULD FEEL THEM or that the pins in my hair were PERFECTLY PLACED in a coordinate plane I mentally mapped over my skull to get them just so. Someone give that poor woman a medal. As I grew up, I had to grow out of some of those things. I hated my own writing, but I couldn't abstain from writing papers, so I had to learn to improve without fretting over how far I had to go. But my default attitude hasn't really changed.

One woman told me that perfectionism itself was ungodly - at times it gave us pretentions of equality with God and at other times it paralyzed us from doing what we ought to do, even if imperfectly, rather than leaving it undone. The former thought is sheer Bovine Scatlogy. The whole point of being a perfectionist is that you always have the right to think you screwed up and you're the lowest kind of filth because NOTHING you ever do is "perfect enough." ;) Still, there are times when my efforts to achieve my goals have given me the impression that I'm better than those who don't have such lofty ambitions. It's just that I so often fall short that I usually feel inferior, not superior. As far as the other half goes, she's absolutely right. Which makes her unoriginal because seriously, EVERYONE IS TELLING ME THAT these days. The UNIVERSE is harping on me to stop letting perfectionism stop me. I hear it out of the mouths of people I pass in a shopping mall, pastors from the pulpit, even a housekeeping website I recently visited. I'm very glad of this because I am so dense that I have to hear it ALL the TIME.

It's not that I don't organize my desk because I'm lazy or I just don't care; it's that I know it must be done and I want to do the BE ALL/END ALL job of cleaning the darn thing. I can't make do with a half-baked job. I can't create that filing cabinet without knowing precisely which category labels I should put in there to divide the information in such a way that I always have a place for everything and everything stays in its place. BUT, since I cannot do that and I doubt my own capacity to begin with, I live with a totally messy desk until it affects my work and then I break down and spend two hours cleaning it, fretting over each and every scrap of paper or coupon I must file when it could have taken 5 minutes a day over time. Plus I wouldn't have two new gray hairs, a deepened worry-line, and worse cramps this cycle.

Well, when I put it that way . . .

I just have to try. That housekeeping website I mentioned gave me a shove in the right direction. Sure, half the things they write are too fluffy/annoying, but they're always saying "you're not behind, you just have to START," and "housework, even when done imperfectly, is still valuable." So I've decided to start small. I try to make my bed every morning, I keep the kitchen relatively clear of dishes by taking care of them right away, and I get dressed fully every morning. (That last one is crucial 'cause I often have stuff shipped from work and I HATE it when the UPS man rings the doorbell and I have to start my heart beating again, throw on jeans and pull a hooded sweatshirt over my head and down to my hips to make sure it covers the fly that I didn't have time to zip, and finally dash like an olympic athlete to sign for a package. yiiiikes!) I also apply the 15-minute rule, doing things in tiny increments so I can't get distracted or disheartened by the miles I have to go before perfection is achieved and I have a chance to actually get it done, a few minutes at a time.

I hope my mental practice of just DOING something instead of fearing and doing nothing helps me because I think the biggest danger of my perfectionism is the epic levels of guilt I make myself endure. It took us almost 3/4 of a year to finish our thank-you cards from the wedding and the entire time, whenever I thought of it, I felt so ashamed that "anguish" probably best describes my mental state. I wanted so badly to share my gratefulness with everyone who was so generous to us, but I couldn't do it right, and I had already failed do it fast enough, and I just wanted to crawl into a hole and never emerge. I hope I never let anything become that big a burden.

For those of you who don't suffer this malady, be glad. It's makes ya nuts. And be kind to those of us who do because it is hard to be so darn perfect all the time! >;)

overheard on the way home from church

K: The preacher used the term "predilection!" You know how much I love that word?!
E: *knowing glance*
K: I mean, I've had my phases with "visigoth" and "filibuster," but I just keep coming back to "predilection."

Maybe you find that silly or vaguely disturbing. I married this man because I find it extremely adorable. You may all feel free to roll your eyes and laugh at me. I just thought I'd let you have that opportunity. :-D

New Look, New Reason to Ruin My F5 Button

If you're seeing purple, not green, then you might be as thunderstruck as I was when I first looked upon the majesty that is the new "Filosofia y Flores" look. It started with an image that most of you might recognize. Then there was a banner. Then a profile pic. Then all Tartarus broke loose and I was making matching icons and yelling for K.

Yes, friends, I'm far too proud of it. I hope it's still eminently usable for my tiny, but vital readership. I hope you all enjoy the new look. :-D

Some acknowledgements: I found the pattern background on Citrus Moon, a most excellent source for patterns. Easily Photoshop-able for maximum matching. The other essential was K, Master of All Computer Knowledge and Hotness. Many thanks for his patience with my constant nit-picking and design diva-ness. You rock, baby. And yes, I've noted the many, many points you've won throughout this endeavor in the ledger. If we keep using your computer/expertise for these sorts of things, there might be some new laser mice coming your way. I know you covet it; deny it not. ;)

Fun Math

(1) Person fixing some electrical problems in the apartment.
+
(2) People delivering our couch.
+
(1) Person caulking the counter to finish remodeling the kitchen.
+
(1) Person delivering some cheap shirts we ordered.
=
A WHOLE lot more strangers than I typically deal with in one day.

It's like the plot to some inspirational movie in which the quirky (usually cat-obsessed) hermit finds s/he can't shut out the world anymore and must learn to be comfortable in society. That's me in Finding Forrester!

Much as I usually love him, I think I would prefer being played by someone other than Sean Connery. I draw the line at the gruff voice and beard.

things, in no particular order

1. I hate having a ton of little projects I want to get done because then I'm sure to forget one and be frustrated no matter how many others I get done. It's like the 99-sheep-never-lost vs. the 1-sheep-lost-then-found. Only not holy or in any way uplifting.

2. When Persephone plays with the Old Prospector, she often balls up and starts kicking at him with her back feet as she chomps him with her jaws. If you push on her back feet at this juncture, you can slide her all over the floor on her side because she pushes your hands away and ends up skidding away from you with the best perplexed face EVER. I have inflicted this upon her several times today alone.

3. I'm making paella for dinner tonight. I FREAKIN' LOVE paella.

4. Only I could manage to marry into a family in which having a discount on homeschool curricula is considered a selling point. Enjoy your new science course, G! I scored major points with your mum, so I had to do it. Nothing personal, okay?

5. The maintainence guy finally looked at the garbage disposal, light switch, and hall fixture that have been broken since we moved in. He also told me that ball of stuff I found in the garbage disposal and managed to get out in February was, in fact, dried paint from someone attempting to dispose of paint in the sink. WHAT, THROWING THE CAN AWAY WAS JUST TOO MUCH FOR YA? grrrrrrr.

6. Percy is totally into my monitor right now. GET A ROOM! Seriously, she luxuriates on it for hours daily. What will happen when I finally get my flat panel? No more snuggling with the vents for you, Kitten-Cat.

7. Tomorrow, the much-anticipated sequel to last month's Happy Couch Day! opens in the P household. Couch Day II - The Final Delivery is sure to continue the style and comfort of the original. Stop by for a visit and see it for yourself, or just aim an ear in our direction to hear our coos of excitement for the next week. La-Z-boy - you ROCK!

This ain't no sugar buzz, sister!

My very own berry tree muse.

I cleaned the window in my office yesterday. Well, part of it, anyway. We have wide windows in our apartment, and they start high (ground floor, remember?), so I'm not tall enough to get the screens of on my own, so I cleaned one half of it, inside and out. And, well, wow! I was more afraid that I'd try climbing out the window than that Persephone would!

The sky's been so blue and the clouds so perfectly white and puffy and just waiting to be identified as bears or icecream cones or whatever form their water/dust molecules had taken en masse. Even worse, it's warm enough to sit out to look at them without losing fingers to frostbite or having to curl up your shoulders against the chill forming between them. I can't get enough of seeing the trees, too. I don't even have a flowering tree outside my window, can you imagine the damage to my productivity if I did?

Yesterday I took this picture and had a little fun with it in PhotoShop. I think it captures my mood - unrealistically excited about Spring!

...and a good time was had by all.

My high-school English teacher used this as an example of an unnecessary use of the passive voice. That kinda ruined it for me. (heh, I bet she wouldn't like that colloquical verbage!)

The weekend away was awesome. K and I took a different route than before so we could avoid the $8 PA turnpike toll both ways. The drive was more scenic, too, and we sang along to Cake songs and talked all the way. We arrived just in time to catch the GCC Children's Theatre production of "The Music Box." It was a musical written by a student who was a Tri-Rho with K and directed/wrote another musical that I was in Junior year. What an incredible show - not just because our friend wrote it, composed all the music, and accompanied the entire thing from the piano at side-stage, but because he did a great job with it! That plot was cute and included lots of audience interaction, which the kids loved, of course. We were so glad we made it in time.

After the show, we were greeted by all our friends in a mob! It was so good to receive so many warm hugs and to catch up with them. K had to leave to attend N's bachelor party, but I got to go out with everyone afterward and just chill. I saw my former suitemates and people I'd worked with in the theatre last year. I slept over some friends' suite. I didn't keep up much with them, so we had a lot of talk about until *gasp* THREE in the morning! I hadn't been up the late in MONTHS. I woke up early in the morning, too, not just because I was meeting L for breakfast at 9 but because it was light early and I've gotten used to sleeping in the dark at home. (FYI, you could amuse yourself while reading this post by counting the number of amazingly old-fogey-ish statements I make. Yiiiikes!) Still, getting up was worth it because I had the best time talking to her and eating yummy Eat 'N Park french toast. She even brought pictures of her trip abroad and they were marvelous!

Later that day, the ceremony was lovely and the pair looked HOT! >;) I also finally got to see that whole group of people and we just kept the party going at the reception. Yummy food (yay for pepper jack cheese!), drinks, some dancing, and lots more talking. It ended rather late, so when we finally treked back to campus, it was 11pm or so. Man, we felt so beat! The girls weren't in the suite, so I decided to meet K up at the student union building and ran into another group of girls on the way. They invited me to stay with them, so I did. More chatting and hanging out and pretty soon it was 2am and I was just letting the old head hit the pillow.

I slept like a rock and got up to meet K for breakfast and later J and M for the drive home. Since we had the same course for 3-4hrs, the girls and guys split up and went in separate cars. It was good to get some face-time with M. We've been sharing blog comments for a while, but we hadn't had a good long talk in forever. The best part was, we knew we could probably get more time to talk in 6 weeks when the next GCC wedding hits.

Coming back to a place that's so familiar is surreal. You feel like you just fit there and yet you're wearing clothes you didn't own then and you don't have any homework to do - a sure sign life is different. Because it's such a small campus, I saw lots of people's faces that I recognized and I had people do double-takes when they saw me pass them on the sidewalk. We did so much talking this weekend, but it was hard sometimes to keep the flow of conversation going when I was just thinking about how much I wanted to be around these wonderful folk all the time. I didn't even want to talk about serious things sometimes, I just wanted to pretend it was the good old days and we didn't pass the last six months (or longer) far away. Some people I just wanted to hug, for goodness sake! I enjoy my new life, but that doesn't mean the old one's lost all its appeal.

Even still, we were glad to get home, cuddle with the cat, watch a little TV and hit the hay early. Hey, it was fun staying up, but we'd earned a few ZZZs! Thanks for spending time with us, folks. You made this weekend a smash success, even if I now miss you more.

WARNING: Dangerous Levels of Nostalgia Detected!

How ever did South contain all that brilliance and whiteness!

Taken at Homecoming 2004, this picture still manages to make me smile and yearn for days past. Oh, sure, it would be more appropriate to use one from Suitemate Scrabble nights - never has such an innocent game sparked such provocative vocabulary stretching and intense chocolate consumption. I could use one from the Gala when we were dressed to the nines and smiling demurely. What about that picture of us wearing all of our Christmas gifts at once - including two sets of pajamas a piece? Ah, but as much as I would like to go back in time and pretend I'm still living in last-year's youth (and that I never sported a style that looked so odd and mullet-esque as the one above), I cannot. This picture reminds me that we now must consider going only six months between reunions as pretty darn good. *sigh*

So, on this day when I pack for a trip on which I will be seeing you all, I pay tribute to the suite (+ S!) that made my year.

And one more, because I miss her and I'll be seeing her there, too.


M and I with some books in the background. It's like we're back in our dorm room!

amusement

Alternatives to "Opening a Can o' Whupass" for the Less Confrontationally Inclined.

"Unsnapping a Purse o' Politeness"? Been there! "Lightly Greasing a Ramekin o' Retreat"? mmmm-hmmm. "Unpacking a Portmanteau o' Panic"? I'm doing that right now; my abs are frozen from laughing so hard. Yes, this list may be a one-trick pony, but it's a cleverer trick than you can do!

Socially awkward geniuses writing for Mcsweeney's: GIVE ME MORE!!

I want to be more like my cat.

Usually when you hear the phrase that appears in the subject line of this post, it is associated with other phrases like "because she lazes around the house all day and does absolutely nothing," or "because she is only as friendly as she wants to be and feels no compunction to talk to anyone she doesn't want to and OH MY GOSH, CREEPY STORE CLERK, STOP FLIRTING WITH ME!!!!" Or variations on the theme.

Persephone seems to be the exception, not the rule in this case. Ever since we came home, she's been purring when she didn't purr before this weekend. She purrs when we give her food and pet her back as she eats (purring and eating - what skill!). She purrs when we break from play to stroke her back and praise her for smacking the Old Prospector up and down the living room floor. She purrs when she wanders near me, yowling about something, and I reach down to scratch the side of her face and her back. I haven't even done what she wants, but she's purring! It's as though she's finally decided she loves being around us. Maybe she just thought we were really gone this past weekend and she's still happy to see we're sticking around. I find that last idea highly unlikely. It's elephants who are associated with long memories, not cats, and with good reason. Percy can't remember that I JUST GAVE YOU FOOD, YOU HAIR-BRAIN, AND YOUR HUMAN-BABYISH YOWLINGS AREN'T MAKING IT DISAPPEAR, SO JUST EAT ALREADY! Whatever the case may be, I should be more appreciative of my loved ones and more expressive about my appreciation.

So, along with exercising, reading, and drinking water more regularly, I will add the goal of enjoying the people I love more.


Okay, so maybe I envy the napping thing a little.

all worded out

I thought I would sit down yesterday, as soon as I got home from this weekend, and write a big ole post, but I'm just out of words. I think talking to the family and K all weekend took their toll. This'll be a short one.

The wedding was great. J and S seemed to happy together, they were really adorable during the ceremony, smiling and giggling even when his ring wouldn't go on easily. The reception was a blast. They had the best band I've ever heard at these things. They did covers of a ton of fun dancing songs and almost all of them were first-rate. The couple's first dance was to "Songbird," sung in Eva Cassidy's arrangment. Unique, and perfect for them.

We hung out with tons of K's fam and many laughs were had. We were also invited to visit three seperate families in Florida. Autumn vaca, here we come! We found out about another wedding in the fam for July 9th. We were planning on going away for our 1st anniversary, but we don't want to miss it. Talk about torn . . .

Not much else to report. We spent a few more hours with K's immediate fam on our way back home. They gave us some old cat paraphenalia they had around - yay for free pet carriers! Soon we were back on the road, however, and we returned to the loving yowls of Percy, who commenced with the purring on sight and amused us by chasing everything we dangled in front of her nose, including the laser pointer his uncle gave us. It's good to be home. :-D

"I'm just a crosshair"

It's 73ºF and climbing here, and after seeing the reckless appearance of the cherry blossoms in April (isn't it supposed to be showers now and flowers in May?), I guess it's really Spring. Living in Michigan and Pennsylvania for the past 15 years leaves me feeling like Winter's got me in his crosshairs and he's just waiting for that perfect shot. When you've tasted warmth only to be locked in the cold for another month, you learn to be as wary as Percy sharing the living room with Jacques, Lord Roomba of the Vacuums. Anyone else from MI remember the April Fools Day when we were greeted by 5 inches of snow? Yeah, that's not soon forgotten.

But despite the prudent half of my brain railing against it, I'm listening to Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out," and wishing I could do something reckless like take a bike ride or go on a picnic or commence the gardening I've envisioned for months now. No such luck today: we've got to pack for a wedding. K's got a cousin whose wedding is this weekend in Upstate NY and we're meeting up with his parents outside NYC on our way up there tomorrow night. I'm looking forward to it, although I definitely don't know this side of his family well, unlike the other side with whom I've partied and vacationed several times a year. I'm glad to be able to spend time with them, but it's still tough to know how it'll go. P's and Q's and all that.

The one thing I'm looking forward to is planning what to wear. It will come as a shock to NO ONE that I enjoy planning my outfits, which implies auditioning several dozen possibilities before call-backs and the painstaking final decision. If only the weather holds steady at 60º as predicted, maybe I'll be able to wear something other a snowsuit. I don't trust New York Winters any more than Michigan's.

Alright, Franz & Co., take me out . . .

Cherry Blossom Festival 2005

Cherry Blossom Festival 2005

K, curious to see what all the fuss was about, decided that we were going to go see those blossoms if it was the last thing we ever did. Now, it almost was because the traffic was insane and we kept making bad decisions so the trip down was long. Now mind you, it still wasn't that long but we had a little knowledge of how long it should take and the layout of the city and this made us just smart enough to make colossal mistakes and get frustrated about it. You know what they say about "a little knowledge." On the bright side, we happened upon some lovely sights such as these folks:


Arlington Bridge statue

But it was all good cause we made it there and it was beautiful. The piles of trees with the famed blossoms were nice, indeed, but look at these lovelies:


Magnolia trees in full swing.

They don't hype the Magnolia trees enough! They have a heady scent to match the grace of their blooms. We wandered around the trees near the Jefferson Monument, then hit up the JM for some thought and a few pics (not shown) and rowdy middle-schoolers. Apparently it's not uncommon in this area to take late-day field trips with your entire gang of hooligans decked in FBI hoodies and hats. Oddity, indeed.

Still, we managed to make our own calm in the storm and we watched the sunset over the Tidal Basin and the Washington Monument. Then we wandered around the FDR memorial (which K had never seen) and admired its picturesque stone and waterfalls. In one portion, I thought I remembered from my evening tour that there was a portion with a fossil theme, which prompted K to quip, "FDR: the Man, The President, The Trilobite." Heh. Funny man. Anyhow, I was wrong, they were all reliefs of people's faces. Lovely effect. And that, plus an uneventful drive home in which we didn't make one wrong turn!, is all of CBFest 2005. I leave you with a parting shot:


The sun sets over Washington, DC.

Someday, when I'm awfully low...

. . . and the world is cold (and full of stuff I should have done last month), I will feel a glow just thinking of you, and the way we were productive this weekend.

Sinatra, it ain't, but we got so much work done this weekend! We went to a couple of stores and got some "storage solutions" (read: shelves) and pulled the laundry room into shape. We cleared some more unpacked boxes from the move out of the living room to make room for the other couch which should arrive in the next few weeks. We organized our closet and got rid of some more clothes, etc. to charity. We finished some lingering projects and filed so many part-year resident income tax forms that I blacked out and when I came to, I thought I worked for H&R Block. Seriously people - 4 different income tax returns this year. Don't be us, okay? Don't move around so much!

In between bouts of organizing and shopping, we watched a movie we'd rented from the library: Wait Until Dark, which was made in 1967 and stars Audrey Hepburn and one creepy Alan Arkin. It's a great movie and if we ever get the chance to see the stage show on which it was based, K and I decided we'd totally do it. We later returned said movie (on time!), shopped for the many weddings we have to attend, and got kitty a new toy. He reminded me of the Old Prospector from that famed SNL skit, so as I sign off, enjoy a picture of him cuddling with Persephone:


Love at first sniff - yay for catnip-filled toys!

AHEM.

It has been brought to my attention that having an official Couch Day is weird. To this I have a two-fold reply:

1. If you know us well, you know this isn't even "quirky" on our spectrum.

2. We haven't had a couch for over 8 months. 8! I'd be willing to bet that the nerve damage we sustained by sitting our delicate derrieres on the floor for that long has addled our brains and a little "Couch Day Eccentricity" is the least of our worries.

To quote JD, “Checkmate, gin, and yahtzee, my friend!”

Speaking of TV, any Arrested Development fans out there, heads up! Go to www.getarrested.com and fill out the pledge. FOX set up the site and linked it right in to the regular show page, so this is a great place to let them know you’ll miss the show if they cancel it. I don’t know how long that website’s been up, but there were only like 13,000 pledgers yesterday, so add your voice SOON! I hate to plug so shamelessly, but I figured some of you might want to know. Oh, and if you were thinking about buying the first season on DVD, you can save $5 on it from the Fox Store (where it’s reasonably priced anyhow) when you pass the word on to a friend. They even knocked off shipping when I did it. Saving bucks never hurts and saving good television from being replaced with dumb reality shows is heroic!

Happy Couch Day!

I woke up this morning at 7am to find K holding a plate of food over my head and wishing me a happy Couch Day! He fell asleep early last night, so he was rested up for this morning's early sofa delivery and he made me breakfast. mmmmmm . . . not-from-concentrate orange juice and plum jam and English muffins and eggs! Scrumtrulescence! And now, behold The Sofa:


One fabulous, contrast-pillowed vision in brown twill and retro oval print!


Kitty is suspicious of the Sofabeast and even more suspicious that if she joins me atop it, she will have to make a break for it early in order to continue her play - right she is!


Kitty finally gets what she wants.

things

Thing the first: La-Z-Boy called to inform me that they'll be delivering one of our two couches on order tomorrow. I'm so happy I think I'm tearing up.

Thing the second: Persephone started purring the moment I walked in the door yesterday. I feel validated as a pet owner and a human being capable of being loved. *sigh* It's good to be home with those I love. Oh, and with K. He had to tolerate more than his fair share of hugs yesterday - give him a hand. ;)

Thing the third: Leaving the fam yesterday was so tough. Oh, not the flight, thank the Maker. If I had had to deal with one more thing from the airlines, I would have had a NERVOUS BREAKDOWN in front of total strangers which required CHEMICAL SEDATION. No, I just had to leave my bro in the airport to wait four hours for his flight back to Korea. He's got so many big decisions and struggles on his plate for the next few weeks. I didn't want him to have to spend the next 24 hours sitting next to strangers, thinking, alone. I guess it's just part of growing up that I struggle to let go of burdens I cannot really carry, but I've always thought growing up was overrated anyway. Even I will acknowledge the truth of K's words that "people have outlived harder circumstances and he's a good, tough man." This must be the part where I channel my worries into emails and support, huh?

Thing the fourth: At least he's being promoted when he gets back! What a man! What a marvel!

Thing the fifth: It's Friday, people! As Tobias might say with gusto, "booyah!" Enjoy your weekend!

As promised: my gorrels.

Ay, me! The hotness! >;)


What you can't see in this picture is that we're goosing each other. >;)