I can't NOT post on February 29. I mean...the internet probably won't even exist anymore in 2016, right?
Today was not the way I wanted to spend my extra day in 2012. Overall, I'm really excited about 2012. It's an even year, so duh. It ends with "12" so, duh, again. The summer Olympics are this year. (Did you know spell check makes you capitalize Olympics? Adding that to the proper noun list in my classroom...) It's an election year, which is not all that happy but exciting nonetheless. I get to be in Leslie's wedding this year. Chris and I get to spend the summer in a super cool place. I am excited about also getting an extra day in 2012.
But today doesn't count. I did not just spend my extra day at school til 5:00, crying on the couch about how hungry I am, and then passing out at 7:00.
Therefore, I will be redoing Leap Day in June. I'm thinking two June 12ths. Since real June 12 is on a Tuesday, I will be celebrating June 12.1 on a Sunday, when Chris is off. I will eat pizza rolls and cookie dough ice cream. I will stay in bed until 10:00 and play with my puppy til 12:00. I will go shopping, because money isn't real on Leap Day. I might even drive to Knoxville and back. I have 24 extra hours and I can spend 6 of them driving to Knoxville and back if I want to.
Leap Day 2012 is going to be terrific.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Cursed with Crazy Neighbors
Chris and I have had some pretty unbelievable neighbors during our married time. I'd like to introduce you to some of them. The headings they are under are the names by which we referred to them.
Lonely Dogs
These were a young married couple who lived beside us in Knoxville. They were actually pretty great neighbors, except that they had 2 dogs...in a 700 sq. ft. 1-bedroom apartment. They both worked during the day, which caused their dogs to be very cramped and lonely. Those dogs barked ALL. DAY. I probably would have never known this had we not had 134 snow days last year. I spent most of those days with the TV really loud. In the end, we're not too mad at Lonely Dogs, because for all we know, Itchy could bark all day while we're gone and no one has ever told us.
The McSextersons
This was a young Asian woman who lived beside us. And when I say beside us, I mean our bedrooms were connected by a single wall. At first we thought a seal lived in the apartment beside us, but then it turned out just to be Ms. McSexterson and her boyfriend. Needless to say, we lost many nights of sleep.
Ms. and Ms. McSexterson
After the McSextersons moved out, a very nice young lady moved in. After her first night, which was basically deja vu from the McSexterson era, I decided that I was going to nip this right in the bud. I left a somewhat comical note on her door, politely telling her that we could hear every sound through the bedroom wall. There were no noises that night, but the next morning, we spied our new neighbor giving her lady friend a kiss as they left for work. The night noises eventually started again and we referred to them as Ms. and Ms. McSexterson. Lesson learned. We made sure the bedroom in our next apartment was not connected to the neighbor's bedroom.
Domestic Violence Downstairs
Super awkward screaming matches from the couple downstairs in Knoxville. We knew waaaaaaay too much information about their relationship, but the door slamming bothered us the most. It happened so frequently that one day, their apartment was broken into. Chris and I were home at the time and heard their door get kicked in, but we assumed they were fighting and slamming doors again and didn't even get up to check. We felt pretty horrible when we found out.
Club Upstairs
A few college students moved in above us. They had super loud parties, and apparently never had class on Fridays. Every Thursday was Thirsy Thursday at Club Upstairs.
So that was Knoxville. We were surrounded on all four sides by hilarity. Our apartment in Nashville has been much better...with the exception of the last few weeks.
Belmont Girls
The girls next door go to Belmont and have been awesome neighbors. One of them mentioned one time that she "could just steal my dog, he's so cute." I was a little weirded out by that, but I'm choosing to believe she wouldn't actually do that.
Non-Existent Neighbors
The neighbors on the other side of us are so quiet that they are practically non-existent. They're my favorites.
Dogzzz
We've had two different neighbors downstairs. The first, I refer to as Dogzzz. They had two shih tzus that barked allllll the time. Then one day, one of them bit me. As in, my neighbor let the dog run UP the stairs on its retractable leash to where I was standing, waiting for them to pass. It bit my on the leg, and the owner LAUGHED. Fortunately, they avoided a law suit because it was mis-matched clothes day at school and I had 2 pairs of socks on over some leggings. I was protected.
Club Downstairs
I think Club Upstairs has moved to Nashville and FOUND US. They now live downstairs and have upped their parties to include loudly screaming the name of whoever walks in the door. So far, we know Jerry and Javon (possible Chavon) are frequent guests.
In our years of apartment living, we have developed a set of rules for anyone who aspires to be a good neighbor.
Lonely Dogs
These were a young married couple who lived beside us in Knoxville. They were actually pretty great neighbors, except that they had 2 dogs...in a 700 sq. ft. 1-bedroom apartment. They both worked during the day, which caused their dogs to be very cramped and lonely. Those dogs barked ALL. DAY. I probably would have never known this had we not had 134 snow days last year. I spent most of those days with the TV really loud. In the end, we're not too mad at Lonely Dogs, because for all we know, Itchy could bark all day while we're gone and no one has ever told us.
The McSextersons
This was a young Asian woman who lived beside us. And when I say beside us, I mean our bedrooms were connected by a single wall. At first we thought a seal lived in the apartment beside us, but then it turned out just to be Ms. McSexterson and her boyfriend. Needless to say, we lost many nights of sleep.
Ms. and Ms. McSexterson
After the McSextersons moved out, a very nice young lady moved in. After her first night, which was basically deja vu from the McSexterson era, I decided that I was going to nip this right in the bud. I left a somewhat comical note on her door, politely telling her that we could hear every sound through the bedroom wall. There were no noises that night, but the next morning, we spied our new neighbor giving her lady friend a kiss as they left for work. The night noises eventually started again and we referred to them as Ms. and Ms. McSexterson. Lesson learned. We made sure the bedroom in our next apartment was not connected to the neighbor's bedroom.
Domestic Violence Downstairs
Super awkward screaming matches from the couple downstairs in Knoxville. We knew waaaaaaay too much information about their relationship, but the door slamming bothered us the most. It happened so frequently that one day, their apartment was broken into. Chris and I were home at the time and heard their door get kicked in, but we assumed they were fighting and slamming doors again and didn't even get up to check. We felt pretty horrible when we found out.
Club Upstairs
A few college students moved in above us. They had super loud parties, and apparently never had class on Fridays. Every Thursday was Thirsy Thursday at Club Upstairs.
So that was Knoxville. We were surrounded on all four sides by hilarity. Our apartment in Nashville has been much better...with the exception of the last few weeks.
Belmont Girls
The girls next door go to Belmont and have been awesome neighbors. One of them mentioned one time that she "could just steal my dog, he's so cute." I was a little weirded out by that, but I'm choosing to believe she wouldn't actually do that.
Non-Existent Neighbors
The neighbors on the other side of us are so quiet that they are practically non-existent. They're my favorites.
Dogzzz
We've had two different neighbors downstairs. The first, I refer to as Dogzzz. They had two shih tzus that barked allllll the time. Then one day, one of them bit me. As in, my neighbor let the dog run UP the stairs on its retractable leash to where I was standing, waiting for them to pass. It bit my on the leg, and the owner LAUGHED. Fortunately, they avoided a law suit because it was mis-matched clothes day at school and I had 2 pairs of socks on over some leggings. I was protected.
Club Downstairs
I think Club Upstairs has moved to Nashville and FOUND US. They now live downstairs and have upped their parties to include loudly screaming the name of whoever walks in the door. So far, we know Jerry and Javon (possible Chavon) are frequent guests.
In our years of apartment living, we have developed a set of rules for anyone who aspires to be a good neighbor.
- Don't own a dog.
- Never speak.
- Don't invite anyone over.
- No relationships.
We have unrealistic expectations.
Living on Love...Literally
As most of you know, I am a teacher and Chris is in physical therapy school. I like to think we'll look back on this time of our life and remember that it made us stronger. But right now, it's not a lot of fun. We can't afford luxurious vacations or fancy dinners. Not that we have time to go anywhere anyway...we don't have a single day off together until Christmas. (Not including weekends.) So we've learned to be creative about spending time together. I thought I would share some of the ideas we've come up with in case you find yourself in a similar situation, or are just looking to save money.
- Cooking together. Chris and I like to make this a game. We call it "See how many spices Chris can throw in the pot before Laura catches him." It's fun.
- Redbox. $1 for a relatively new movie. It's worth waiting a few months to save $20 on a movie.
- Heart to Heart. MY FAVORITE! We talk about real things in our head, heart, and life. The only rule is the person who suggests Heart-to-Heart night has to provide the topic.
- Grocery shopping. We also make this a game called "See how many items Chris can throw in the cart before Laura catches him." But seriously, I love that Chris is willing to shop for groceries with me, ensuring we both get meals we want for dinner and we make less trips up to our third floor apartment with armfuls of bags.
- TV marathons. Lately, it's been Friends on DVD, but in the past we have done marathons of Modern Family, River Monsters, Scrubs, How I Met Your Mother, and The Muppet Show.
- Playing with the dog. Because Itchy's just the darn cutest thing we've ever seen. He's also recently moved from watching objects hit him between the eyes to attempting to catch them.
I would have included "Working Out Together" because we've tried that 3 times. However, the workout room at our apartment complex was locked every time we went, so we gave up. Let this be a lesson to all of you. You burn us 3 times, and we will quit you forever. We quit the gym.
So there ya go. Love doesn't have to be expensive...but we sure are looking forward to a cruise in 2014.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Completely Irrelevant Ramble About My Life
I have been SO tired lately. Like...fall asleep sitting up tired. I get to work at 7:00 every morning and usually don't get home until 5:00 or 5:30. Because I bring home the big bucks. Okay, so I don't get paid for any time after 2:45, but I want to keep my job. But 10 hour work days are getting pretty rough. When you're a teacher, there is NO down time. When I worked at Kay's, there were always times when no one was in the store and I could stare into space and day dream for like 10 minutes. (Sorry Dad.) But in teaching, the only mental break you get is your 1 restroom break for the day. So you gotta make that 30 seconds count.
I'm not really complaining about it...I've just noticed that I've been waaaay more tired than usual lately. Hopefully it's just all the sad, cold winter weather we've been having.............
I miss snow days.
On a completely different note, I have the best husband to come home to. He lets me ramble about standardized tests and new curriculum adoptions without a single rolled eye. He wakes up at 5:45 when I do and starts studying so that he's also tired at my grandma bedtime of 9:30. (I have 14 minutes left.) He immediately starts making dinner when he sees me walk in the door with my "I've had it up to metaphorical here" look. And because I got extra lucky by marrying a (future) physical therapist, he works out the softball-sized knots in my back. Listening to the naming of each muscle fiber is a small price to pay for the physical therapy magic.
I love him.
My kitting is going well. My Hunger Games reading is not. My brain just stops working at 6:00 and Teen Mom is about the most intelligence I can handle. I cooked 3 homemade meals this week and got burned out, so we went to Sonic tonight. The scary one on Nolensville. But it was great, and even though it's not the same one, it reminds of the time my friends and I went to Sonic 78 days* in a row in college.
I like 2012. I am suuuuuper excited about the summer olympics and Leslie and I's traditional viewing party. The 2004 opening ceremony was on TV the night my parents left me in my dorm by myself for the first time at UT. We've had a special connection ever since.
My class is going to see Aladdin (play) on Tuesday. I already know I'll be disappointed because Mark Jennings will not be playing Aladdin. Also, Mark Jennings is literally the only name I could have said that Chris would be okay with.
*Number may not be exact but it's pretty darn close. The carhops knew our names.
I'm not really complaining about it...I've just noticed that I've been waaaay more tired than usual lately. Hopefully it's just all the sad, cold winter weather we've been having.............
I miss snow days.
On a completely different note, I have the best husband to come home to. He lets me ramble about standardized tests and new curriculum adoptions without a single rolled eye. He wakes up at 5:45 when I do and starts studying so that he's also tired at my grandma bedtime of 9:30. (I have 14 minutes left.) He immediately starts making dinner when he sees me walk in the door with my "I've had it up to metaphorical here" look. And because I got extra lucky by marrying a (future) physical therapist, he works out the softball-sized knots in my back. Listening to the naming of each muscle fiber is a small price to pay for the physical therapy magic.
I love him.
My kitting is going well. My Hunger Games reading is not. My brain just stops working at 6:00 and Teen Mom is about the most intelligence I can handle. I cooked 3 homemade meals this week and got burned out, so we went to Sonic tonight. The scary one on Nolensville. But it was great, and even though it's not the same one, it reminds of the time my friends and I went to Sonic 78 days* in a row in college.
I like 2012. I am suuuuuper excited about the summer olympics and Leslie and I's traditional viewing party. The 2004 opening ceremony was on TV the night my parents left me in my dorm by myself for the first time at UT. We've had a special connection ever since.
My class is going to see Aladdin (play) on Tuesday. I already know I'll be disappointed because Mark Jennings will not be playing Aladdin. Also, Mark Jennings is literally the only name I could have said that Chris would be okay with.
*Number may not be exact but it's pretty darn close. The carhops knew our names.
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