Repenting on the Exhale

Quote of the Night

kailara@livejournal.com — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 08:01:24 GMT

"I remember when parties I went to ended with an orgy. Now we sit around making Excel spreadsheets."

ETA: You're only as old as the people you feel - we're either 31.7 years old or 24 depending on how you look at it.

Happy Thoughts

kailara@livejournal.com — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:25:09 GMT

snoopyh42 is encouraging a a frenzy of complements over on his LJ. It's been a long month/year - go say something nice to someone you know. :)

A little light ...

kailara@livejournal.com — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:47:51 GMT

Today is, so far, a good day. I am happy and smiling and hope nothing comes along to kill the mood. I know it will slip away as the day progresses, because that's just the way work goes, but for now I'm going to enjoy it.

It's been a rough month, both personally and for my friends and Fam Damily. I intend to stretch this little bit of happy as far as I can. =D

And since sharing happiness seems to make it grow, I hope you have a happy day as well.

Santa Baby

kailara@livejournal.com — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 06:54:59 GMT

We officially survived another year of the family Christmas party for Shar's mom's family - or perhaps I should call it the family Christmas party, given the extra emphasis added in this year's card from his mom. As always, we had "another obligation" as an excuse to leave as soon as possible after the family dinner - that other "obligation" being getting home, into PJs, and curled up on the couch with a cup of tea and a pizza on the way. Yeah...we're awful like that.

It's definitely full on into winter and the holiday season. I haven't even had time to THINK about posting anything with content since my after-Turkey day commentary. Granted, that's only a few weeks, but it feels like forever.

Work is into that high speed, down hill run to when we file our proxy statement. I'm breathing a small sigh of relief that new SEC regulations don't take effect until after our filing date, but it's still going to be an interesting year - and I'm not sure that's a good interesting. Hopefully it won't lead to too many late nights.

Life on the home front has been just as busy. We managed to get a Christmas tree and decorate for the holidays. We may not be deep believers in Christmas, but I do believe in sparkly lights and green trees - and it gave me a good excuse to take some pictures of the house, which I've been promising to relatives. (They're up on Flickr.)

I've got almost all my shopping done - just need to make a quick trip to the craft store tomorrow and another quick trip to either Target or an office supply store. Then there's going to be some crafty stuff the next couple days, but that should be fun. Add in some time with the Fam Damily this week and plans for post-holiday wind-down time, and it should be a good holiday.

I could use that...it's been a long couple of weeks. Life's been taking me and many of the folks I care about for a serious roller coaster ride. For every up there's been several downs and it's starting to get a little overwhelming. I'm looking forward to the end of the year (and of course, NYE...I always look forward to NYE) - but for now, I think I'll settle for a good night's sleep.

Hope your holiday season is going smoothly. At the rate I've been bothering to post anything of significance, it'll be next year by the time I do this again. Maybe I'll do a New Year's "This is Why I Don't Bother With Resolutions" post. :)

A Familiar Tone...

kailara@livejournal.com — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:26:39 GMT

This sounds like the kind of argument my game groups would get into with their GMs:

Quote...

kailara@livejournal.com — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:07:03 GMT

I found this a couple weeks back and emailed it to myself so I wouldn't forget it. I thought it might be worth sharing...

"The diabolical thing about melancholy is not that it makes you ill but that it makes you conceited and shortsighted; yes almost arrogant. You lapse into bad taste, thinking of yourself as Heine's Atlas, whose shoulders support all the world's puzzles and agonies, as if thousands, lost in the same maze, did not endure the same agonies. "
— Hermann Hesse

Tryptophan for the Win

kailara@livejournal.com — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:57:50 GMT

As is traditional, I ate WAY too much yesterday and now, in that perverse way it has after being stuffed, my body is ravenously hungry. I'm telling it to sit on that thought for a while, then I'll feed it. I have left over dinner rolls from yesterday and Mom's rolls are always nom-worthy, but tea first and then a roll (or two) instead of giving in to what my stomach thinks it wants and eating all of my share and Shar's as well.

This year we went to my family (odd numbered year, even numbered wedding anniversary...how did I forget my anniversary?) and were joined by Deviant, Fraggle and Aesenathwaite. As is also traditional, there was turkey (overcooked of course - why mess with a good thing?) and cranberry sauce and bread and stuffing and potatoes and squash (which I never did get to...oops). Since the Seattlites are veggie eaters, there was also the increasingly traditional vegetarian lasagna, which will go over very well if Deviant manages to bring the rest of his household down for Christmas. (What is it with my brothers and vegetarians? ;P)

And there was pie...

Big 'ol SLABS of pie because my pie plates are apparently a bit larger than Mom's and where Mom's make perfect size portions at 8 slices of pie, mine apparently should be more of a 10 slice plate. No one complained though and no one exploded, so I'll call it good.

Dad even said he really liked the pumpkin, with that sort of surprised, "This is really good!" tone that I don't usually hear out of him (and definitely doesn't go with the usual, "Thanks! That was tasty!" complements from him). Makes me feel kind of bad that I don't think I can do that again at Christmas - since I just don't think I can manage pies AND cinnamon rolls in one afternoon.

So today I have a little leftover turkey, the previously mentioned rolls and two dirty pie plates to go with the rest of the dishes I left out. The weather tells me there will be no yard work and Black Friday tells me that I will not be going anywhere near a store, so those dishes will get dealt with, the floors will get vacuumed and there might even be some decorating. I expect some portion of the Friday Night crowd to descend on us tonight, though I will be surprised if it's more than a small fraction what with Dicken's opening today, people being out of town, etc.

And tomorrow it looks like I'll be heading out to Dicken's myself to do some shopping, browsing, ogling, dancing and birthday greeting. Yay long weekends!

Domesticated...sort of.

kailara@livejournal.com — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:29:15 GMT

In the oven are two pies, one apple and one pumpkin, for my family's Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.

I have to be honest -- they are UGLY. Lumpy, bumpy and, in the case of the pumpkin, slightly uneven around the edges. I have faith they're going to taste good though, and really, if there's anyone you can take an aesthetically unappealing pie to, it's got to be family right?

Of course, having left work at lunch time and spent the afternoon baking, my brain is now in full Friday mode and I keep thinking I should start getting things together to head to Fremont for the evening. I think Poe would be a little surprised if I showed up on her doorstep unannounced on a Wednesday though... =)

And so begins the longest of long weekends for my year. I've been looking forward to this all month. Work went from slow to very hectic in a day this year - almost no ramp up at all - and I've been running at full tilt most of the month, so a break is feeling really really good.

I have almost no goals for the weekend. Pies today were probably the most ambitious of my actual plans. Tomorrow I get to spend the day with my family (including the Seattle contingent) and then I have three blissfully unscheduled days to play with.

Since Friday is a good day to stay at home, I'm contemplating doing some more yard work and digging out my Christmas decorations. Shar and I did a little shopping and picked up a tree (yes, artificial - he's allergic to the real thing), and I plan to actually decorate this year, for the first time in a long while. It feels good to be able to plan to do that. I remember really enjoying decorating when we lived in Campbell and then at the Murrieta apartment and on 5th Street, but with all the moving around and just not being entirely happy with the last house, I haven't had the drive the last couple of years. It's nice to have the space to have a tree and the motivation to put it up.

And the pies are almost ready - so Happy Thanksgiving to everyone if I don't get online again tomorrow. May you all have a wonderful, relaxed holiday...or, if you can't manage that, may you at least have the opportunity to recover from whatever holiday you do have.

Subconsiously Going Off the Rails...

kailara@livejournal.com — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:55:11 GMT

When your dreaming brain needs someone to run about a field with a zither or sitar or other non-Western musical instrument and to act in sort of Bugs Bunny-like ways, Alan Alda really does present the perfect casting option.

The Clothes Make the (Wo)Man

kailara@livejournal.com — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 21:54:36 GMT

So my wardrobe needs a serious re-vamp at this point, and I'm starting to work on a shopping list for things I need. Generally, I've picked up my clothing items pretty much piecemeal. Pants here and a shirt there, new bras on occasion, etc etc. It's been a long time since I did a serious stock-up/re-vamp shopping trip.

With that in mind, I'm soliciting opinions and assistance on completing my shopping list. My list so far is below. If you think there's anything that's a staple part of a good wardrobe that I"m missing, let me know.

Things to keep in mind, business casual for work and I rarely need anything more formal. Also, these are things I _need_...not _want_. I do not NEED leather pants for example...no matter how much you might WANT me to have them. ;P

The list so far:

Slacks - 2-3 pair, not all black
Jeans - 3+ pair, preferably without spandex
Blouses/Tops - _maybe_ 1 or 2 new things
Sweaters - 1 or 2, going to try for not black
Bras - at least 3 new ones
Skirts - at least 2 work appropriate ones, preferably one ankle length and one shorter
Bonus prize - at least one thing that I don't need and is just for fun, eg a nice dress, new shoes, etc.

[Edited to Add:]
Jacket/Coat - a good rain coat and possibly a light leather jacket
Little "Black" Dress
Panties to go with bras

So...what am I missing?

Needs a Better Subject Line...or Any Subject Line...

kailara@livejournal.com — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:43:09 GMT

Not dead yet.

And I've definitely hit the time of year where that's pretty much all that can be expected. Work is picking up like a roller coaster on a 20% downgrade with no brakes and a greased track - it'll be a downhill run to March, but we always do manage to get through it. I've really got to make sure that I take a little time early next week, while I still can, to focus and properly wrap my head around what's on my plate.

I realized the other day that I'm very very good at organizing my life outside of work to be sure that everything gets done. I can create timetables and fairly accurate estimates of how long tasks will take, and thus when I need to get them done. However, for some reason, I don't seem to apply this skill as consistently to work projects. Some of that may be due to the fact that at home I don't usually have someone throwing random, immediate priority tasks into my to-do list and I can set my own order of importance and completion, but even with the occasional jack-in-the-box project or constant shifts in what needs to be done "right now", I should be able to more effectively time manage at work.

Outside of work - well there's never enough hours in the day, but otherwise, life is going well. Haven't made any progress on that bed shopping task, but hopefully I'll get to that tomorrow. Also haven't gotten very far with the yard, but I did some general clean-up work in the front last weekend and will probably do some work in the back this weekend. It'll get there.

Can't quite believe that Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, but that's pretty normal for this time of year - and I'll get to see Fraggle, Aesenathwaite and the Deviant this year, which will be awesome. =D

Not a lot of specifically exciting stuff going on really...but I did feel like LJ deserved a quick update before I turn into a ghost.

You May Already Be A Weiner

kailara@livejournal.com — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:47:41 GMT

Since I mentioned yesterday that they were handing out the prizes for the work wellness competition, I should update on results:

I placed third and won an iPod Touch (8G) which I've had a chance to play with a bit and suspect I'm going to rapidly become addicted to.

If you have suggestions for apps you enjoy or think I could use, let me know. :D

Fingers crossed

kailara@livejournal.com — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:06:07 GMT

I just submitted the final log for the wellness competition we've been doing this summer at work.

Tomorrow afternoon I'll find out if I've done enough to win one of the prizes...

Cross your fingers for me.

Jealousy and other issues...

kailara@livejournal.com — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:07:27 GMT

theferrett has some good things to say today on jealousy in poly relationships.

A lot of what he says is in line with things I've said in conversations on the subject, which might be why I like what he's putting out there, but it's still a good read.

He's right you know...

kailara@livejournal.com — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:14:42 GMT

We tried this on a Friday night and the group that sat through "Barbarella", "Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter", "Cannibal: The Musical" and even the bad-even-for-the-Hoff movie "The Adventures of Stella Star" couldn't get through the Star Wars Christmas Special (even with Riff-Trax!).

Change in Altitude

kailara@livejournal.com — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:28:26 GMT

I have successfully returned home from a long weekend in the Sierra's exploring the wonder that is Yosemite National Park. Technically I've been to the park once before, but we were within the boundaries of the park for only a few hours and only got out of the car for a few minutes, so this was my first real trip.

Oh my god is it beautiful there! *swoons*

A good sized group of us went up to spend the weekend celebrating Killian's birthday. We drove up Friday morning, stopped for lunch in Groveland and spent the afternoon setting up camp. During the course of the weekend we had between 10-18 people in the group, some staying longer than others.

We spent the evening enjoying dinner and the fire pit, and getting to know our neighbors. The next camp site over had a pair of people, one of whom is a grad student from Boston who was, as part of her thesis project in arts, filming people singing the national anthem. Being shameless show-offs, we of course volunteered and so she came by with her camera equipment after we finished dinner and filmed us doing a couple renditions of The Star-Spangled Banner, and possibly goofing around a bit.

I spent most of the weekend hiking. We didn't get organized early enough for the masochists in the group (me, Killian and Stride) to hike Half Dome on Saturday, but we did get a group up to the top of Vernal Falls, which is the first leg of the Half Dome route. (Adnate is part mountain goat I think.) It's a steep climb up stairs cut into the granite of the mountains but it's worth it for the view, and it certainly whetted our appetite for the chili and grilled tri-tip waiting for us back at camp thanks to MishFish and the Admiral.

Saturday night there was a root beer tasting in Killian's honor and more fun around the campfire. We basically adopted the neighbors, so they came over to hang out and enjoy s'mores with us too and we told the biggest Tomahawk Tales we could come up with.

Sunday morning we got moving a little earlier and Poeso, Killian and I did the first part of the Upper Yosemite Falls hike. Again, steep and tough on the legs, but we were rewarded with a positively spectacular view of the whole valley out to Half Dome for the effort. We didn't end up doing any climbing as we'd thought we might, but it was a good morning/early afternoon trek and Poe and I got back to camp in time to do our dinner offering for the weekend.

Today we packed up camp and headed back to civilization, with our wagon train lead by Snoopy the Kamikaze Beagle (seriously...how fast does that truck GO?). We arrived back in Livermore by mid-afternoon, carrying half the mountains on our bodies (or in our sinuses).

It was a really good trip, despite illnesses and some minor snafus (next time, we make sure the guys know we want to use the fire for dinner, not charcoal, and we make sure the cast iron pot is properly seasoned).

Highlights of the weekend include:

- Cider makes a very tasty cooking liquid for pork roast but doesn't release it from an unseasoned cast iron dutch oven very well (seriously Poe, if you need help scrubbing that sucker, let me know. It was my bad idea.)

- The wildlife is not shy and there's a reason Poe and Killian were using freezer bags and not just regular zip bags. (More about the ninja squirrel later.)

- Tennis shoes do perfectly well in lieu of hiking shoes.

- Shar and I really do need a new mattress at home. Sleeping on the ground on backpacking pads without pillows was more comfortable than the bed at home - or at least _as_ comfortable. We certainly slept better.

- Hiking is not the same as walking. It's harder but the view is better.

- Adnate is part mountain goat and Keshian shall henceforth be known as Reverend. ;P

- The best stories start with "There we were...NO SHIT."

- I want to go back. =D

I've uploaded my photos from the weekend to Flickr. If I can, I'll subdivide them into the two hikes and then everything else. In the meantime, here's a preview:

It's always good to be prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse. :D

For SCIENCE!!!

kailara@livejournal.com — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:22:51 GMT

Ok, actually, "For MATHEMATICS!!!"

Snoopy and I have been playing online chess. Really, we've been playing a LOT of online chess. Right now I'm on a horrible losing streak (yes, Adnate, he stepped up and the 5 game win record I had is now crushed.)

I was looking at our win-loss records for the games we've played and realized something....we have a Fibonacci Sequence going.

1 win for me
1 win for him
2 wins for me
3 wins for him
5 for me

I need to lose a couple more games for 8 consecutive losses, but then I get to win 13 games in a row! Right? It's for math after all... :D

Felicitations!

kailara@livejournal.com — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:51:36 GMT

Happy Birthday jeebachu!

*Shows significant improvement

kailara@livejournal.com — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:54:13 GMT

Hey look -- an update. (A boring one I'm sure, but an update!)

Finally starting to sleep again - I've been working towards it and though I'd gotten there on Wednesday, but there was some backsliding, and napping and waking up to bad dreams since then...but I think I'm almost good. A comforter on the bed tonight should help with the waking up cold problem and maybe, just maybe I'll be a human being again in a few days instead of a snippy, controlling bundle of insecure, neurotic whatever I've been. (Didn't notice? Good. I've been trying...) That said, Shar and I are definitely in the hunt for a new mattress at this point. Neither of us are happy with the current one and it will be replaced, oh yes, it will.

Not that I've been letting that slow me down much when I can avoid it. The garage is starting to resemble organized. I need to unpack and reorganize a box and finish filling a shelf, then it's on to my jewelry bench. I plan to organize that today - possibly not long after I finish typing this - and I did pull out and work with a piece yesterday that's been floating around for restringing. (I can't be around other people being crafty without wanting my projects.) It's going to be nice to have my hobby back. And it's even the right kind of weather for soldering - cool enough to work in the garage but not so cold my hands go numb instantly. (Takes 5 minutes or so instead.)

It's definitely fall though. Damn it was chilly this morning when I took my bike out. There was a point where I was starting to wonder if it was getting colder, since I'd been pedaling steadily for an hour and my hands were still cold. Guess I'll have to find more hills to work to stay warm.

Not that I'm not appreciative of a crisp, sunny fall day - I'm just more appreciative when it's not trying to freeze my fingernails off and I have a hot cup of tea in my hands. :P

And next weekend I'll be trying to freeze more than my fingernails off. I'll be off to Yosemite for four days to go camping - the first camping I've done since I was in high school. I can't tell you how excited I am about this trip. Despite having lived in Cali most of my life and having parents who are fairly regular campers (and used to be avid mountain climbers in the days before they had to lug a small child or two up the mountain), I've not ever been to Yosemite really. There was a brief driving tour in and out when I was 16, but that was aborted by illness and we never went back. I'm thrilled to be finally getting out there.

In fact, I should probably be moving laundry around and following Shar's suggestion to shake out the sleeping bags and make sure they haven't gained any...inhabitants (especially of the 8-legged variety). And my tea's empty anyhow...

And So The Princess Made Pea Soup

kailara@livejournal.com — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:05:06 GMT

It's absolutely astounding what a difference a good night's sleep will make.

I've been sleeping poorly for weeks now - since mid-August to be exact - and it's been taking a toll. Last night, for the first time in what feels like forever, I actually slept the way I normally sleep. No tossing. No turning. No bad dreams or waking up feeling like I've been drifting just on the edge of a deeper, better quality of sleep. Just dead to the world unconsciousness, broken only by my loving hubby coming to bed and forcibly removing the blankets from my iron grasp and myself from the dead center of the mattress. (Really, force is the only option when I'm dead to the world.)

It was heavenly.

Now if this will just continue - I might even be able to deal with things like leaving my cell phone at home (again) and the ungentle return of autumn. (Holy crap it was cold this morning!)

Of Cabbages and Kings...

kailara@livejournal.com — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:06:24 GMT

It's been a good long while since I posted anything of substance, so I suppose it's time for an update - especially considering it's suddenly the end of September and, once again, I have no idea where the month went. *sigh*

Not that I haven't been posting, just that almost all my posts lately have gone on my workout filter, because really, that's been what's absorbing my brain of late. (With good payoff, but not in posting.) But then, who has time to post anymore really?

September was...not quite hectic but definitely busy. My "little" brother was down in the area for a conference just before Labor Day weekend - something esoteric involving high-level physics that I had him briefly explain to me and have now promptly forgotten. This gave an opportunity for some hangout time and a good excuse to visit with the folks (which was long over due). Got to see Dad's photos from their month long trek around the northwest, that ran up through Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana before looping down into Yellowstone and then back to California. Also got to see the photos from their trip to Alaska in August. (See, I have a good excuse for not visiting often enough - they're not HOME! =D )

That weekend also gave me a chance to spend some time with my OTHER brother - the prodigal Deviant that no one ever hears from. He assures everyone that he's alive, healthy and quite happy. He'll crawl out from under his rock eventually and say hello I'm sure.

The rest of the month has been filled with the usual madness of work, game, work, trying to squeeze in a LOT of exercise time, work, organizing the house, work and Snoopy's birthday party. We managed to find furniture for our front room and shelving for the garage. Today's plan is to put the shelving up and maybe, finally, have my jewelry bench accessible again. *crosses fingers* Then we'll figure out the next project, which is probably going to be getting ready to go camping in a couple weeks. We're headed to Yosemite for a long weekend to celebrate Killian's birthday, which I'm really looking forward to since I haven't been camping in years and haven't really had a chance to see Yosemite, despite it being relatively close to home.

Generally, life is rolling along. Just trying to keep focused, find 8 extra hours in the day and be around for the Family when they need me. There are worse ways to live.

And now, from my walk this morning, I give you Potter Propaganda:

giggle

kailara@livejournal.com — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:32:49 GMT

Ok, I'm sure dbvixxen has seen this already, but for the rest of the world:

D'Oh!!!

kailara@livejournal.com — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:53:25 GMT

PSA: I left my cell phone on my nightstand this morning. If you need to reach me, you'll have to rely on other methods. I recommend IM or email, since carrier pigeons are not known for their reliability.

grumble

kailara@livejournal.com — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:38:23 GMT

Apparently I missed the news last month that the California tax brackets were getting adjusted.

*mutters*

I generally try to resist complaining about taxes, because I know how necessary they are, but given the current state of California, I'd really rather just give the money directly to LadyJ and VanceFox and the other folks I know who are paid by the State (directly or otherwise).

And it would have been nice to have planned for another percentage point getting shaved out of my paycheck BEFORE my bills were paid this month.

Guess I better go shift my budget worksheet again...

*grumble*

Not perfect, but close...

kailara@livejournal.com — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 01:29:34 GMT

I'm waiting for the plumber to arrive, which is probably the least positive part of my weekend so far. While rearranging things in the garage and removing the cabinets-of-uselessness, Shar and I discovered that the main pipe that drains from the master bath sink and shower (but not toilet thank goodness!) has a very large crack in it, such that when the shower is running it creates quite a puddle on the garage floor. Since we were working with dust, dirt and spiders (ugh!) and both very desperately want a shower, calling the plumber was kind of a must...instead of merely being a really good idea (seeing that Romeo's sink is backed up in the upstairs bath).

Aside from faulty plumbing, it's actually been a really good weekend.

Friday afternoon I took my nerves in hand and did something I've never done - I went to a professional for a hair cut that I couldn't actually accomplish myself. It's very subtle, since basically I just had her put in some layers at roughly the same places my hair naturally breaks, but it's smoother lines and the split ends are gone from the back (along with about 4-5" of length, which doesn't mean much when it was almost to my waist at the longest point).

Yesterday I got talked into joining Killian and Poe at the Pleasanton Farmer's Market, since my usual Saturday plans weren't an option. After a nice bike ride, I grabbed Adnate and met up with Killian, Poe and GwenRose for a lovely morning in the sun (they were melting - I was high as a kite). Wandering the market lead to lunch which lead to the group coming back to my place to get Shar and devolved into a cuddle pile on the couch for several relaxing hours, only briefly interrupted for a mission to procure ice cream, which was then passed about the couch pile.

We finally motivated ourselves to hit a showing of District 9, which was not as earth-shattering as we hoped given the reviews from other friends, and then back to my place for late evening pizza and hang-outs. In all, it was one of those wonderfully spontaneously unscripted days that just winds up being exactly what I needed. I spent entirely too much of last week wandering around inside my own head and trying to find my way off the bad mental pathways, so yesterday helped to shake out the last of the cobwebs and keep my mind mostly in a positive frame.

And there was sleep this morning...lots of sleep. I needed that. Didn't crawl out of bed until almost 10am and then lounged for another hour before going for a walk. Finally got really motivated for the day around 1pm at which point Shar and I decided that we were going to use a trip to the JCPenney Home Store as an excuse to go to Panera in Dublin for lunch (really...we need one in Livermore). We really need to learn to just go there first...

We've been looking around for good furnishings for the front room and haven't been overly thrilled with what we found, but considering that we didn't plan to go shopping today nor did we expect to really find anything, I should have known that we would. So next Friday, we will have delivered a couch, arm chair, love seat, coffee table and end table for the front room - which, thanks to a ridiculously good sale, we got for MUCH less than we expected (and we hadn't planned to get the love seat at all). It might result in some interesting furniture shuffling (though hopefully not moving the book cases again), but it should work - and Tuesday game will be more comfortable. :D

My original plan for today was to remove the cabinets from the garage and replace them with shelving. Since I arranged for a bulky trash pick up tomorrow, getting the cabinets out was kind of mandatory - but the shelves will wait until next week (or the week after). And I can get to at least some of my jewelry stuff now, so I might be able to do some work on projects even if I don't have the shelves.

Overall, a productive, relaxing weekend. I didn't get the dishes done and didn't get to the grocery store, but these things can be worked around. And next weekend there will be a three day weekend and a trip to see my folks for the first time in months, which I'm looking forward to. Now I just need my shower back... =)