Tuesday, March 20, 2012

WHERE THE EFF IS SPRING?

Because 73 does not feel like spring.  Or March.  And it's lovely outside but in my office it's a hotbox and I am so cranky.  Also I'm bored because I'm really caught up here and I have read all of the internet today!

Things are going well.  Sometimes I still feel stressed about what's left to do at home (I guess because I have busy weeknights this week), but it's really in fine shape.  We still have to go to Ikea for bedroom furniture, and it may get a little crowded in there but it'll fit, and I need the living room curtains to arrive and I have to decorate with photos and stuff a little more, but it's almost there.  Somehow it seems like I need to clean the floors every other day, but I think this weekend I'll do a big vacuum/mop/scrub to the floors (there are some spots behind the radiator that no one should ever have to see) and then spot mop for another week or two until I do that again.  It seems to collect dust more than my last apartment for some reason, but it's a boy with boy hairs and the Target reviews online did say the new towels were "linty," so what can you do.  Oh, and I need to figure out how to clean off old grease spots on the stove and the stove hood.  (PEOPLE ARE DISGUSTING.)  I've tried all of my cleaning products and elbow grease and there's still some that won't budge.  Any cleaning hints would be appreciated!

I had a fun weekend of Homeland marathon and Greek food at home with Hike on Friday, helping Schmillie look at Astoria apartments on Saturday then the girlfriends came over for some drinks at my place (my first in-person visitors!) and then we went out for St. Patty's and I got very drunk.  Which was very fun, but I also managed to pull something in my back (it's been sensitive with all the moving/cleaning/lifting I've been doing, and I just pushed it too far somehow), so the past few days have been painful but it seems mostly better today, finally.  Sunday I slept, laid around, and ate Chinese food.  And then last night I cooked Five Alarm Chili for us and for Harpie dinner, which will be tomorrow night.  Our theme is our astrological signs, so I had to make an appetizer that represented my Sagittariusness, so I figured the chili would work for my fire sign that loves travel and adventure (it's got Mexican flavors) as well as curiosity, since I sort of made it up as I went with some scant guidance as far as ingredients.  I'm going to serve it in small portions in little corn tortilla cups (if those work when I bake them in a muffin tin tonight) and just some cheese and crema and green onion on top.  I'm pumped!  Plus we'll be eating a few meals out of the pot, too, so it was worth the effort.  I put laundry off until Thursday, since tonight I get my haircut (and I'm super excited about it though I'm not doing anything different), and tomorrow night I'll be with my fellow zodiacs.

I took out my cartilage earring on Sunday, too!  It had been suddenly bothering me lately when I slept on that side (I think it was rubbing the strap from my eye mask), and then I was thinking it's probably time I moved on from that look anyway, as I am 30 and it didn't mean much to me anymore.  I'd had it for 10 years!  So it's out, and I have the hole still but it'll hopefully close up.  It's not noticeable anyway.  Besides I still have three holes in my left earlobe, so I'm not too square.  I feel the same, guys.

Um, Hike still hasn't slept at home.  It just never seems like the right time!  He'll be done with class late and then I want to feed him and then we're both tired and he doesn't want to have to schlep his stuff home, and so whatever, we'll see how this plays out.  I don't want to worry about it.

OH I FORGOT THE MOST EXCITING PART.  Schmillie found a very cute, quirky, HER apartment on Saturday and she just found out today that she got it.  It's like less than 10 minutes from my apartment!  It's going to be great!  She has always lived an hour away (at least) so this will be so fun to have a new neighborhood friend and I'm so going to push the "drop-by" neighbor type of relationship.  That would make me very happy.  (Just like Friends, right?)  Now we just need some male friends in the area to balance things out.

In weight news, I am feeling slimmer and my clothes are fitting more loosely, though I tried to weigh myself this morning and it hadn't moved, which was confusing. I blame my slopey bathroom floor.  Also I'm sure I've been burning calories with all of the cleaning and stuff, so maybe I added muscle weight?  Anyway, I feel good so I just have to keep eating fairly well and enjoying myself.  I definitely need to lower my stress/anxiety levels, so let's just relax and let it happen, right? :)  Ha, I'll try.  OH CRAP but I do have to be in a swimsuit in a month for Schmate's Bachelorette Trip to Miami...but with all girls, I suppose, so it's not as nerve wracking. 

SUMMER IS HERE, basically.  We only had one good snowstorm!  I'm grieving the winter that never was.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Emerging Like a Butterfly

And I'm back.  Whew, the move was crazy.  Well, the actual move was great and smooth and only took 2 1/2 hours, but then Time Warner didn't show, one of the new apartment's windows wouldn't stay closed, and an outlet didn't work.  After a lot of bother, this was all resolved last Tuesday.  I stayed home from work and the contractors came in the morning to fix all the windows (they lock now, too!) and the outlet and then TW came later on.  It was very productive.  OH and I was in great shape the Friday night before the move, so Hike and I drove to Ikea on LI and bought the couch, so they delivered it on Sunday night.  It made the weekend a lot easier to not have to plan around an Ikea trip on Sunday.

It's been frustrating that while the new place appeared relatively clean, it was obvious that the previous tenants weren't that clean, so I had to wipe down all the shelves before putting anything on them, and really scrub the shit out of the top of the kitchen cabinets and the bathroom (lots of bleach there).  I mean, I'm happy to have it clean to start with, but it's taking longer and it's a lot of work.  The past two weekends I've pushed myself pretty hard, but finally I can sort of see the end of the to-do list.  Last night I did a ton of laundry, which was our regular stuff plus all the rags and the old towels and the new towels (so we could use them) and one of the new floor mats and the living room pillow covers, etc.  Tonight I need to clean up the kitchen table area, which has been sort of my junk area while I straightened everything else, and I need to put the bathroom together with the right shower liner length/width (cross your fingers, this is my fourth try), but maybe I can be sort of done after that?  Or at least not work so hard for a few days.  We'll still have to hang any decorations and buy bedroom furniture, but things will slow down.

I am really having fun using my new kitchen stuff and having pretty bathroom stuff and all that.  I realize these are things people usually register for, but I needed some of it now, and some of it I just decided that I have the extra money for and I want to live like a grown-up, you know?  I've been pretty frugal for a long time, so I'm allowed to have nice dishes (that I got on clearance) or whatever.  I can't wait for someone to come visit me now!  No one's seen it yet, though only recently would I have even wanted them to.  Still, it definitely feels like home.  It's just so comfortable to have my/our own place.  Well, it's ours and he's been there every night, but I think I should insist on at least one night a week alone, right?  It's only fair, since he hasn't officially moved in (or paid rent yet).  But the co-habitation has been pretty peaceful and nice, once things settled down from the move.  For a few days it was rough -- I was all business and he was gone, then would come home and need to "relax" and I'd get really angry that he wasn't doing more or anticipating what needed to be done, but that phase has mostly passed, and he was helpful when I directly asked him to do something.  Now it's nice to know that even when I work hard all day (office work then house work and cooking dinner) I will be able to fall asleep with my head on his chest while he plays with my hair.  It's those little things.

I've been so focused on the settling in that I now feel like I'm emerging from a cave or something, and I'm excited to get back to a normal life.  It was actually a quiet few weeks socially, which worked out well for me to hole up.  This past weekend we did have some friend time on Friday night (his friends who I enjoy very much) and then family time on Saturday night (Zipcar!), and I'm starting to re-assimilate into society again, thank goodness.  Plus this warm weather is making me want to sit outside and brunch or drink or drunch! 

Next time I'll tell you about our pet adventures (or at least in theory -- we don't really have one yet.)  Let's just say I'm starting to have very warm feelings about a pigeon.