Esprit de l'escalier

http://www.flickr.com/photos/madson/sets/72157603796377413/

So, for those who haven’t seen the awesomeness that is our house, check out the link above. Kyle has posted the flier photos in flickr. The house was staged, so obviously it looks different with our stuff. Plus we painted our room last weekend and it looks so cool! We are attempting to restore the historical aspects of the house while adding our own modern touches (like Kyle’s surround sound system). haha.

I had a slight breakdown last night after writer’s group. I guess it finally hit me how the obligations of having a house are really going to affect us. For example, before the house, my pay check was simply extra money for savings and the occasional camping trip or emergency vet visit. Now, my check is absolutely necessary and without it we’d be in a pretty serious situation.

In addition, we’ve also discovered that with the charm of an older house also comes the “little fixes” (that if not caught in time, may become “big fixes”). The pilot light under our water heater, for example, is very efficient and working brilliantly. However, if the rust gathering on the side of the tank ever should decide to venture closer, we may have some issues. Not to mention that replacing the water heater is going to be a big enough task because of it’s snug location, shoe-horned between the concrete foundation and behind the furnace.

I know that these things probably aren’t really as ominous as I think they are. I mean, compared to last weekend’s TiVo scare (after the cable guy came and we discovered our TiVo might not be compatible with the digital cable connection) our To Do list seems like a cake walk! Thankfully, after a sober cable guy came and fixed everything, our TiVo is back in action.

The most wonderful part of having our own home now is that now I have a place to let my imagination run wild. All the walls in our home (except our bedroom) are still white and the painter in me is swimming in a building pool of ideas. I’m most excited about our ‘ambiguous’ room. I’ve learned that all old houses have an ambiguous room, the room that doesn’t seem to serve any great purpose other than to be a catch-all for things that don’t really have a place and act as a walk-thru to get to a ‘real room’. The way I see it is that this ambiguous room is really my creativity room. I’ve dreamed of turning it into an island get away with sunset walls and a warm evening glow. I’ve envisioned it becoming a library with a warm hearth and book-lined walls. It could also be a serene retreat with soft curtains, a massage table and relaxing music. The possibilities are endless!

We get the keys today!!!!

Best Valentine’s Day gift ever!

-Working, praying, fellowship, eating, some sleeping…
-Bought a house in Phinny Ridge (know for having the highest pet population ever)
-Got rear-ended on my way to work
-Dr. appointments
-Job promotion
-Working harder
-Closing up latest biography
-Sister-in-law is pregnant!
-Brother is engaged to another Sarah (at least my name will live on…I’m proud she’ll be taking it.)
-Took another side job as NCWA critique group director
-Izabelle and Ricochet are another year old. They grow up so fast.
-Andrea came for a visit. Next time she comes…I don’t think I’ll let her leave. 🙂
-Emily and Steve came to visit too. Steve is considering getting his DR at UW
-Parents are coming later this month to help with the move. You are all invited to the house warming party…stay tuned for more info!

God is so good!

Tired. So very tired.

Wishing very much I could be napping right now instead of working.

This year for Christmas I’d like to give a goat and save a girl.

http://donate.wvus.org/OA_HTML/xxwvibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=10024

What do you want (to give) for Christmas?

Why the question has struck a fascination in our office is beyond me. But the conversation has ensued. What’s your price? How much would it take for you to drink an 8 oz. glass of rat milk?

This question, in turn, brought about conditions:
-Is it warm milk or cold?
-Can I add chocolate to it?
-Does it come with a plate of cookies?
-What kind of rat is the milk from?

After a little investigation, I discovered that the idea of rat milk isn’t really new.

The Federation of Rodent Cheese Makers
http://deedah.org/cheese/facts.html

Check out the link above to discover yummy rat cheese recipes and to learn more about the different kinds of rodent lactation.

I heard a segment on the radio the other day about Entertainment Tonight (or one of those shows) doing a special on road rage. I made sure to Tivo it so I could watch it after the Sonics game. I was hoping to see more road rage action, but it turned out to be rather short, which was disappointing. However, it was very satisfying to see the reporters approach various drivers after being pulled over and say things like, “You were driving like an absolute idiot, do you realize that?”

That one line made it totally worthwhile because so many times I’ve wanted to say that to people. Especially in Bellevue on 405.

*Question of the day concerning global warming: “Heather Mills, exactly how do you milk a rat?”

Look it up. 🙂

Once again I’m sitting in traffic. I used to not mind traffic, but I think I’m getting more irritable with age.
I used to somewhat enjoy commuting when I lived in the Bay Area. I actually got to know my fellow commuters a little bit. We were actually on a smile and wave basis.
Now I can’t even enjoy a conversation with friends on my cell phone while commuting because I’m so irritated with rude drivers and it makes me such a grumpy pants. No one wants to talk with a grumpy pants, well, unless your Kenny and your grumpy all the time.Maybe I should call him when I’m commuting – I bet he might appreciate a kindred spirit.

In other news…what’s with all the bridge jumpers this week? There’s been two that I know of just this week! I don’t get it. Why now? Eggnog steamers and pumpkin lattes are back. How can you be sad and suicidal with that? Well, unless of course the price hike was a breaking point.

Ok, that was mean. I shouldn’t trivialize things like that. But it is astounding. I also heard that veteran suicides are up. That’s so sad.

I started the day out taking donuts to different offices for marketing. I got there after fighting the grueling traffic and everyone was out! They were either out on site taking care of all the tree crashes and accidents from the wind storms or they were sick. Blah. 

Both my managers are out sick, I have no idea where Mike (my co-worker) is and both our techs are out sick. I think today we should just have the day off. Nobody is HERE!

Plus, all my customers are dealing with their own problems and there’s nothing I can do to help them. I feel so useless. I wish I could do like we used to do in high school or college…play hooky with a bunch of friends and camp out at the dorms and play games. *sigh* Such good times. 

I hope Andrea moves here…I think I almost have her completely pursuaded. She totally belongs here…she’s a Seattle girl at heart.  

I could totally go home right now and no one would know. (Well, except the few of you that read this…Hi Kyle, hi mom, hi Cassie, Hi Jamie!) The only problem is my stupid conscience. I would feel way too guilty…although I would probably feel a lot more productive at home. Our kitchen is a big fat mess.

One thing I really enjoy about my co-workers is how our everyday conversations pertaining to work are so easily snagged on tangents. 

I had just returned from a job site and was asking how I should go about handling what may turn into a huge mold situation. 
I told my co-workers how I had removed the kick plate to the dishwasher to confirm that it was the source of water that caused the underlayment to swell. I told them how the customer told me that they’d actually found mushrooms growing out from under the dishwasher. 

Manager: “The mushrooms were actually visible from under the dishwasher?”

Me: “Yeah, I guess he removed the kick plate himself and found the Smurf Village growing right there.”

Other manager explaining to manager: *laughing* “You know, the little blue guys who live in mushrooms.”

Manager: “Oh right, I suppose the fact that they live in mushrooms is what makes them blue.”

Me: “Actually, I think the mushrooms are probably more responsible for their overwhelming joy and happiness than their color.”
       “But it doesn’t do much to explain why there were so many smurfs and only one smurfette.”

Other Manager: “Little hussy.”
                             “It also doesn’t explain why there’s only one baby smurf.”

Me: “Wasn’t smurfette originally created by Garganel in an evil attempt to infiltrate the smurf village? I remember hearing that somewhere and then that Papa smurf somehow made her good again and let her live in their community.”

*laughing hysterically* Other manager: “I wonder how he did that!!!!”

Manager: “Maybe the Smurf schools started distributing contraceptives to their 11, 12, and 13-yr-old smurf students after Smurfette had the one and only baby smurf when she was 11.”