Missing Summer already

I'm only working a half day today:-) The firm is sort of unofficially closing at noon today, so everyone can add a little bit extra to the long weekend. Works out great for me because we can get out of here this afternoon and be at the beach before dinner:-)

This could be the last beach weekend of the summer, which always depresses me. The house gets rented out during the fall for events (weddings, etc.) so it is not always available. And if the weather doesn't look like it is going to be good, we usually don't go. Add in the start of soccer season for Munchkin and we will be lucky to get one more weekend in down there after this:-(

I hate fall...and I always have. A lot of people count fall as their favorite season, and I really can't disagree with any of them. The weather is nice, the colors around here are great and there is a lot of fun, pumpkin-related stuff to do:-) The reason I hate fall is because I really, really love summer, and fall means that summer is gone and it is the longest you possibly have to wait for another one. When I was younger, I used to get really bad seasonal depression during September and October...I was always in a bad mood, I cried a lot and was just generally miserable.

That went away when I moved to Arizona (when there is no winter, why miss summer?) and hasn't really come back since I moved here. I still have a day or two when I just get really kinda sad, but I am basically a happier person and the season doesn't effect me as much as it used to. But...I still may cry for a second when I leave the beach house on Monday;-)

So there it is...I know I am in the minority on this, but this is my least favorite season. We all know how much I love fantasy football, and I do love soccer games, so I am not totally opposed to fall, I just don't really like it.

Anywho...does anyone have anything good for the long weekend? Long weekend at the beach for us, I think everyone is going (meaning Smoking Hot Roommate, Big Sis, Papa Bear and any assorted attachments) and I am sure there will be some other friends and family there, too. Should be fun:-)

Didn't he used to rap with Puff Daddy?

First things first...for Ella...it seems to be kind of un-branded. The only brand is the store that it came from, which is a little sex toy/novelty shop nearby here. I didn't know that they had store brand sex toys, but apparantly they do...:-)

Not surprisingly, no one seems to think it is a good idea for a little girl to carry mace around... this, honestly, struck me as a terrible idea right off the bat (and I would never even remotely consider it) for several reasons.

1) Still Just Me is clearly the parent of a child this age... YOU CAN'T HAVE MACE IN SCHOOL!!! She would likely be shown the door and never invited back. What's more, the school would likely need to call some kind of an authority, and I am pretty sure that my custody of her would become less...um..."settled".

2) She is 12 and everyone she knows is 12, and kids that age are not capable of "responsible use". She is extremely smart and mature well beyond her years, but she is still 12, and all of her friends are, too.

3) I don't want her thinking it provides her the security to go places she wouldn't otherwise. The way for girls her age to stay safe is to stay in groups, stick to public, safe places...and scream your little head off if someone tried anything...

4) Mostly, it is inconceivable to me that there would be a situation where she would be able to use it effectively. Someone is going to corner her and she is going to go into her backpack, find it, point it in the right direction and use it correctly? If you have ever been in contact with kids that age, you know that there is just no possible way that it could actually be used in real life as it is intended.

Anyway, it was never really an idea I would ever entertain...but I did want to see if there were anyone else with an alternative view on it. But so far, it looks like there isn't.

Today is Thursday, and we all know what that means:-) The last chicken finger Thursday of the summer (that shouldn't imply that they stop once school starts...they don't). We are headed to the beach for the long weekend, even though it looks like it may be a little bit on the chilly side down there. And then next week, school starts...man, summer goes by fast...

Still buzzing

Seems that The Boy didn't really appreciate my story yesterday. He doesn't get mad easily, but apparently he would have rather I didn't tell that story. Mostly, he admitted that he had a horrible and long day at work and was just kind of irritated in general and not specifically at me but that this was just kind of one more thing. Either way, I said I was sorry and he is all better now:-) He knows he can't stay mad at me for long...I am WAYYY too cute.

I think he was a little bit upset because I implied that he sort of solicits these types of discussions and may have encouraged the gift. While he likes Work Friend a lot and finds her charming and entertaining, this is not the kind of thing he normally discusses with women acquaintances, even close ones. She is just sort of that way, and definitely likes that it can make people moderately uncomfortable sometimes... And, I have to reiterate that I have spoken with her about vibrators and sex toys in general at much greater length than The Boy has, and her thinking of us was much more based on that than based on her wanting to buy him that kind of gift. Hope that clears things up...

Still Just Me's comment from yesterday reminded me of a really funny story from a couple months ago. Anything that I would qualify as an "adult toy" is locked away from curious eyes, safely in my closet (I kinda have a lot of them...lol.) However, Munchkin did once ask me "How come you always have Altoids next to your bed? I've never seen you eat one." Umm...ask me that again when you are 21... I told her it was for days when I wake up with a bad taste in my mouth, and she bought it for now. But one day in about four years she is gonna call me on that...ah, well.

Ella W asked what kind of vibrator it is. There is actually nothing really special to it...it is basically just a small, metal egg-shaped thing that vibrates at like 40 different speeds and can be controlled by remote. Then there are a whole bunch of rubber, jelly-like things that fit over the actual ball, all with different textures and ticklers and things (there are a couple that have like a loop that fits around him to keep it in place during sex). Really it is the size that is great...it is strong enough to really feel good, but small enough to not be at all clumsy.

Finally, I need everyone to settle an argument for me (this actually ended with the other person calling me "stupid" which is a whole other issue entirely...you can tell me I am wrong, but there will be no calling me stupid). And in the interest of fairness, I won't tell you who thought what or who the other person is or how the discussion came about. It was a follow-up to the idea of Munchkin walking to school...

The subject is: giving her mace to carry with her as a means of protection.

Discuss...and pull no punches.

Strange Gifts

I guess no one liked my random air show story... Well, sucks to you! And still not a ton of commentary on "What do you think about during sex?" so I guess no one has anything really interesting to say on that. Personally, I think about a lot of things...although most of them involve The Boy, so he shouldn't be too alarmed by this:-P

OK, I have a story that...well, I don't really know what to make of it, but it is going to embarrass The Boy terribly. And I may possibly should be offended, I don't really know...you can tell me.

There is a woman that he works with that is probably his closest "work-friend". They started on almost the same day, shared an office for a bit and get along really well. She is older than him (35 maybe?) and is insanely funny. The funniest part about her is that, when she is comfortable with the people she is with, she has absolutely no filter...whatever she is thinking comes out. And often the conversation can turn a bit...um...risque.

So, occasionally when things get a little stressful there, she and The Boy and one other guy that they are friends with sneak off for lunch. The nature of the job is such that they don't generally take long lunches, but occasionally it is necessary to decompress. And from what I can tell, the conversation is never even remotely work-related;-)

One day last week they got on the subject of bedroom toys, and Work Friend got all excited because she had just bought a new vibrator that was a really great "partner toy". Now, it is possible that she and I have had this discussion before... and she decided on the spot that it would be something I would love, and told The Boy such. Then, she decided that what she should really do is go to the store she got it at and buy one...

So, on Friday, another woman gave my boyfriend a vibrator as a gift...is this something I should be concerned about? I am sure that you all have some thoughts on that one...

(And for the record, her review was spot on...:-D)

I could definitely fly and F18

It took you all a while, but we finally got some feedback from my questions on Friday (or "Friay", as I chose to spell it...) I think most everyone was thinking along the same lines that I was in regards to the girl losing her sex drive. My thought was that she just needed to think about it more during the day...and I am with OC, there is nothing wrong with scheduling it if that is what it takes.

My ideas included the always wonderful dirty text messages, or shopping for some massage oils with the complete intention that it be foreplay. From listening to her, the problem isn't that she doesn't like the sex or want to have more of it...it is almost like she needs extra long "mental foreplay", and anything that gets it on her mind will help. Even if it is a simple "m hrny" that you think about him reading during a meeting...

No one had a lot to say to the question about what you think about during sex...so I will leave that open and ask you to keep submitting responses. I tend to think about a lot of stuff...which will remain silent until at least tomorrow;-)

As for walking to school, I am not really sold on the idea. We leave in a really busy area (for those who know, we live in Beacon Hill, and to get to her school we walk down Park Street past Boston Common). It is a very short walk, and it is not at all a dangerous area, but there are a TON of people, and she is still kinda young for that, I think. I am not totally opposed to the idea of 3 or 4 of them walking together, but not by herself or even with one other girl. She as one friend who has an older brother that is a Freshman in High School at the same school...I would feel OK if they were walking with him... I dunno, maybe I will change my mind.

Anyway, the weekend ended up being not at all what was planned...lol. The original plan was to get out of work and head to the beach as soon as possible. First things first, I managed to sneak The Boy out of work at 4:30, which gave us a small window to ourselves before I had to get Munchkin at 5:00. Small...but big enough for me to get laid:-D

Right after that we walked over to meet Munchkin, and The Boy got a semi-panicked phone call from his Twin Sister. She was really dizzy and was having trouble breathing normal and was really scared. Her wife was out of town, as were their parents, so she called him to come over. So we split and he ran over there to see her. They called the doctor who talked to her a bit, asked some questions and determined that she had just over-exerted herself on Friday afternoon. She was out shopping and walking around, it was kinda warm, and she was a little bit dehydrated. The fact that she was alone when she started to feel faint caused her to get even more scared which contributed, as well.

At the same time, when I got Munchkin, she asked if we could go to an air show on Saturday and then a barbecue at one of her friend's houses. The air show was on Cape Cod and the barbecue was nearby (in Falmouth, for those interested;-)). So, since it looked like there would be no Boy if we went to the beach, and Munchkin didn't want to anyway, we changed our minds and decided to stay home. We went over to Twin Sister's place Friday night to hang out, watch the Red Sox and keep her company...she was already feeling better and is all better today:-)

Then we woke up Saturday, headed to the air show (which was actually kinda neat!) and then to her friend's house. We had dinner there, hung out a bit and then headed back...got home about 11:00. I didn't make The Boy tag along for the whole thing, especially after one of his friends asked if he wanted to go golfing (it was like 105 degrees...who golfs in that?) So by the time I got him back at night, he was a little bit sun-drenched and a tad tipsy...hee hee. Just how I like 'em!!!

We all slept in a bit Sunday and then just kind hung around. Munchkin and I went for a walk and did a little bit of shopping. Then we went to the store to get stuff so we could make Smoking Hot Roommate dinner:-) Which was delicious!!!

So, kinda random, but a really fun weekend:-D

Friay Questions

Sorry I didn't post yesterday, but I was busy in the morning and then I just didn't feel like it in the afternoon:-P Don't worry, though, pretty soon I will go back to posting everyday, including weekends, so you can get 40% more of me every week...what a treat!

I have a couple of "Fun Friday" things today which should allow everyone who wants to a chance to chime in over the weekend. A couple are based on an IM conversation the other day with a new chat buddy who shall remain nameless for the time being. And the third is, well...you'll see.

1) This person was looking for a little bit of advice. She has been in a relationship for a while now (longer than six months, less than 2 years...) and is having trouble maintaining her appetite for sex. She reports that the sex is always good, she always orgasms, and whenever they finish she thinks about how much they should do that much more often. But still, she has a terrible timing getting into the mood to actually do it. I have some of my own thoughts that I gave her, but I am opening it up to the floor...how does everyone keep their sex lives new, exciting and interesting when you get into the routine of a relationship?

2) What do you think about during sex? Your partner, past partners, celebrities, fantasies...whatever? Most people probably think of different things at different times, I assume.

3) How old do you think a little girl should be before she is allowed to walk to school by herself? With one or two friends? Imagine she lives about a quarter or a mile from school, lives in a big city and her commute would consist of walking down Park Street in Boston...lol. Also, assume she is very responsible and all that stuff...

OK, have fun with those...I will give my own thoughts and comment on everyone else's on Monday:-) Hope everyone has a good weekend...we are all headed to the beach again:-)

All Hail the #2 Miller Lite Dodge...

First note of business...Happy Birthday to one of my very favorite bloggers...Brandy. Always funny, always thoughtful, and always mmmmagic:-) Best wishes for the best year yet!

Now, back to the regularly scheduled program. Quiznos sucks. I already knew this, but it was reaffirmed yesterday. It seems like they justify their entire existence by highlighting that they own a toaster oven. Yay.

It was an awfully nice treat to meet Munchkin for lunch, though:-) So, I can't complain about that. And the half-free lunch was pretty sweet, too. I didn't see any curious people skrinkering around mysteriously and looking for me...(brookem, how did I do? I am trying to figure out exactly what this word means...) But if you were there and saw an ultra-sexy older sister and her super cute little sister sitting on the steps outside at about 12:30, well...congrats, you found me.

Have I mentioned that I have a favorite Nascar driver? Kind of a long story, but it dates from this ski trip here. The father that took all the kids apparently (and kind of inexplicably for a Princeton/Yale-educated lawyer from Boston) loves Nascar...and his one huge respite every week is when he sits down to watch the race on Sunday in complete peace or with his two or three other closet Nascar-fan friends. It's like a deal they have...she has all of Saturday morning to herself to do whatever she needs to, and he gets Sunday afternoon for racing and football. I think these are the things that make happy marriages...

Anyway, he skipped out of skiing on that Sunday and since I was bumming around the house, I ended up watching the race with him while I did some other stuff. He explained quite a bit to me and I picked a favorite driver... because he said everyone hated him and I felt bad for him. Of course, then he tried to run someone over with his car during a race in June, so I guess the hatred is maybe well-earned.

Apparently my favorite Nascar driver has been quite the little racer-guy lately, and I now get email updates every Monday morning of what happened. Or, in this case, on Wednesday morning because they got rained out for to days and my favorite Nascar driver won again... (full disclosure, I already knew this because one of my IM buddies who is aware of my love for MFND had filled me in one what happened.)

So, what do we think...should I go up to Loudon, NH for the next race there in September? I was invited in July but didn't want to burn up a whole long weekend to go. However, I have never been and I feel like it is something I should do at least once. Especially if I get to chug Miller Lite all day!!!

Invasion of Mama Bear's Family!

Sorry about not posting yesterday, I was really busy and never got around to it. I am sure you all cried intensely;-) There was some interesting commentary on Friday's post, and several guesses at the identity of the mystery man. For the purposes of the story, it is unimportant, and it is entirely possible that some little details were changed to throw you off the scent:-) One person guessed by comment, Aaron made a reference to Michael Vick, and three people guessed by email. At least three different names came up, and I am not saying anything about whether anyone was right or wrong:-P Except to say that Aaron is wrong...lol.

Anywho...

The weekend was really nice...the beach house was packed and there was loads of activity and lots of fun going on!

I have mentioned a few times previously that Smoking Hot Roommate and Big Sis' mother's family (I guess we can call her Mama Bear? I have struggled to give her a name, I guess because I never knew her) takes over the beach house for about a week and a half every summer. That started last week, so this weekend was really the peak time...just about everyone was there. So many that the kids sleep mostly in tents on the lawn:-)

Friday afternoon I skipped out of work about an hour early to go to the grocery store and the liquor store and load up on provisions. If I can digress for a moment, I really like doing that...it makes me feel included. I know it sounds stupid, but when Papa Bear gives me a list and says "Can you go to the store and pick this stuff up and bring it to the beach?" it makes me feel like part of the family. I know, it's dumb, but whatever.

Munchkin thought that the nice boy who loaded the 15 cases of beer and three boxes of random booze into my car was hitting on me. She also found him to be quite charming. I think he was like 19 and was turned on by the thought or a girl with a car full of booze... Or he wanted a big tip. Could have been any of the above...:-)

Sat on the beach all day Saturday, ate and drank too much. Went for a walk with Munchkin and the dog on Sunday morning, which has become something of a weekly tradition and which I like a lot:-) Then sat on the beach some more, packed up and got home a little on the late side. Munchkin was a little torn on whether she wanted to stay down there for the week or not, but decided to come back with me. I think she is maybe a little beached out...she has spent a LOT of time there this summer.

OK...scavenger hunt time:-) I am willing to give out small personal details if you are willing to work for it...lol. Today's challenge, if you are in Boston, go to the Quiznos in Government Center. They have a "Name of the day" contest everyday, where they put one name on a sign out front and if it is your first name, you get a free small sub. Well, I am going to go and meet Munchkin today so that she can claim her free sub...(she is at her school all week doing some theater stuff, so I can go grab her).

So there is your challenge...get to Government Center (or ask someone you know who works there;-)) and you can learn Munchkin's first name... If your timing is right, you could even catch a glimpse of yours truly;-) Also, it is important to note that it may appear to be a nickname, but it is in fact her full name and she is very possessive about it! Don't try and call her by the assumed long name or you risk a scolding!!!

And...um...that is about it. Boring Tuesday, I guess:-)

Proposal #3

Chicken Fingers last night:-) Me, Munchkin, Smoking Hot Roommate and a couple of our friends...a pretty good night in my book! They Boy joined us later, but he was at work kinda late so he missed dinner. He sure did enjoy his dessert, though (sexual innuendo completely intended:-D)...

Anyway, this is one of his favorite stories...(sarcasm completely intended;-)). As I have mentioned, I have been officially and formally proposed to four times. By this, I mean that four times in my life a boy has asked me to marry him and presented me with an engagement ring. There were a couple other "I love you and wanna be with you" moments, but they don't count.

I already told you about the first two...involving Sam (a six part story...but a really good one if you haven't read it yet part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6). That was difficult to decline just because there was so much pressure on me to say yes. Save for BFFb's timely intervention, I very well may have caved.

On to #3, and this one was really tough for different reasons. Right after the end of my freshman year in college, I got set up on a date. A friend of mine was friends with a kid on the football team and thought we might hit it off. So we went out one night and had a pretty good time, but maybe not great. We went on a second date, and again...he was really nice and I liked him, but I could tell there just wasn't a huge connection. He obviously sensed the same thing, because he called me right after that and said "Hey, I hope this doesn't sound too weird, but I really think you and one of my friends would be great together."

And that is how I met T (that is what I called him most of the time, and it makes for a good blog name, so there you go). He was also a football player and a good friend of the guy I had been set up with to start with. And in this case, the connection was immediate and it was really good (for those cross-referencing, yes, this is the guy I started dating the summer that Sam was out there). Despite weighing about 260 pounds (he is much bigger now!) he was a super sweet, really gentle guy. Plus, he was sort of from Chicago...an even worse part of the city than me...so we always had that in common.

We hit it off right away, and pretty soon I was very much in love with him. I guess in hindsight, we weren't really together all that long. We became serious really fast and were already "together" when the football season got going. I didn't know a thing about football before I started dating him...and still don't, really, but I do know the basics...but I did realized one thing really quickly: he was REALLY good. He was the best player on the team that year, got all kinds of awards and became something of a celebrity.

As an aside...his Mom had moved out to be nearer to him, and she constantly sent me food because she thought I was too skinny:-) That meant a supply of really great, home-cooked soul food. I maybe got a little sweet potatoed-out, but it was all really good:-)

Life is really busy for a college football player during the season, but things went pretty well for us. I always loved that he got along with my friends so well (He and Smoking Hot Roommate used to introduce each other as brother and sister at parties and ask if the other had talked to Mom or Dad recently. The obvious joke is that Smoking Hot Roommate is very clearly 100% white, and T is very clearly 100% black...that always led to some confused people...lol).

Then a funny thing happened...he got too good. By the time the season ended in December, he had a decision to make: stay in school for his senior season or leave early and go to the NFL. The coaches told him that he would likely be a first round draft pick. He was on the fence about it for a while, but I think I always knew he would go. It would have been foolish of him not to...football is a dangerous game, and playing another year in college would have meant risking an injury that could have ruined his career. I would have loved for him to stay, but I couldn't possibly tell him that I thought he should.

So he made the right decision...to leave school and go pro. We talked about it beforehand, and while I wasn't really sure what it meant for us, I knew that he had to do it. It was probably in about February of that year that he asked if I would have any interest in leaving school and moving with him. It as a tempting idea, and I didn't give him an answer.

It was later in March of that year that he asked for real. We had a really nice dinner, and then we drove out to a spot outside Phoenix to just look up at the stars and talk. I knew what I wanted to talk about...I wanted to tell him that I didn't want to leave school. I liked my friends too much, and I was too committed to finishing and I didn't want to leave for some unknown place where I would be alone and have to start over again.

But I didn't get a chance to say that, because he asked me to marry him. He didn't just want me to move with him, he wanted to get married and be together for good. This caused me to reassess my decision, although I didn't give him an answer on the spot. Also, it was a really nice ring and that may have clouded my judgement:-D

This was a much harder decision. I did love him, and I could envision myself marrying him. Further, the thought of just totally losing him was not a really good one either. It never really dawned on me that a long-distance relationship was even a possibility...and I don't think it would have worked, either. And I would have been able to do whatever I wanted...finish school, work, or just kinda do nothing. I could have been a full-time volunteer if I had wanted.

I just couldn't do it. I spent two days thinking about it, and it just wasn't gonna be right for me. School had become home for me, and I didn't want to leave it. I was comfortable there, I loved my friends and I was fully committed to finishing. No one in my family ever went to college, and I wasn't gonna leave one that I loved. And I wasn't ready to get married. I loved him, but we had been dating for less than a year, and at 20 I wasn't sure that I knew that I really was ready to say that he was the one.

So I said no. And I cried a lot and he did, too. It was really hard, it was hard on him, and it was sad. Plus it was weird, because it kind of meant that we were broken up. In truth, we never really broke up...it was sort of unspoken. He was drafted a month later, moved away and I only heard from him a few times after that. There was a very long and very tearful goodbye, but I won't go into it for fear of making myself cry at work.

Sometimes I think about what life would have been like, and honestly, it would have been good. I think I would have finished school somewhere else, although I don't know what I would be doing now. And I would still have Munchkin because we would have been in a good position to take her in. In some sense, it would have been easier, I guess...I would have been able to arrange more time to play Mom.

But I never spend too much time thinking about it...that serves no purpose.

T still plays in the NFL (no, I will not tell you which team!). I don't really watch much, but sometimes Smoking Hot Roommate tells me when his team is on and I watch for a bit. She reports that he is a very good player. I don't think he is married (I googled him to find out...LOL) but I don't really have a source on his personal life now. I could find out if I really put my mind on it, but there is no need. I hope he is well.

So, that is my story...kind of the abbreviated version. A story about a really great guy that I loved and was really sorry to let go. But sometimes...well, you just have to recognize when life is working against you...

Two days in a row...nothing much here...

Had a really nice dinner with The Boy and his parents (and Munchkin:-)) last night. Desiree commented yesterday that his Mother sounds like a real sweetheart, and she very much is! I have gotten along with both of his parents really well since I first met them, which I suppose is a very good thing:-) I guess I don't really know what I would do if I didn't get along with his family...thankfully that isn't a problem.

They are all incredibly excited about the forthcoming new baby:-) Two months to go! The two moms are gonna hold off on finding out the sex of the baby, but The Boy says it is gonna be a girl. And given the weird psychic connection he has with his sister, I have no reason to doubt him...:-) Both Twin Sister and her Wife say they don't care about the sex, but deep down I know they both want a little girl. And seriously, who wouldn't:-D

I like seeing The Boy as excited about it as he is. It makes me think he will make a great Dad someday. Not to get to far ahead of ourselves here...

Nicole D. asked yesterday for pictures of the wedding and the beach house, as well as some more detail on the large number of times I have been proposed to. I will go through the wedding pictures when they are online later this month and see what I can come up with. I have to warn you that I am not good at following through with pictures. Not good at all...

Tomorrow might be a good day for proposal stories though:-) There are two of them that I haven't covered, at least one of which is a nice story. If I don't have anything specific, I will tell you all about The Football Player (who was roughly three times my size:-)). I thought about that one for a while, and nearly said yes...so you can have that as a teaser!

Other than that, things are peachy:-) The weather is beautiful...work is kinda slow because there is so much drama in the credit markets (we are sort of sitting out of things for the moment and "observing", so say the bosses) and life is pretty good:-)

I think I want sushi for lunch!

This Post is About Almost Nothing

I have very little for you today... Low key night last night, The Boy came over after work and Munchkin and I made dinner. Salmon, scallops and asparagus, all on the grill. I am kind of hooked on grilled asparagus, even though it makes your pee smell:-). Cover it in olive oil, salt and pepper, then a couple minutes on the grill...delicious! Just make sure to keep them running perpendicular to the grill;-) Otherwise they fall in!

The Boy's parents are coming into town tonight and we are having dinner with them, which should be nice...I haven't seen them since we were on vacation with them, and I was a little bit hyper-stressed that whole time. Hopefully the stock market doesn't go haywire and trap him at work all night; and honestly that seems like it could be a possibility at the moment. Let's all cross our fingers...

His Mom called me a little bit ago to ask if Munchkin was coming to dinner. I hadn't planned on it, but she kind of insisted..."Oh, bring her if she is around, we haven't seen her all summer and we miss her!" There is also a funny exchange between Munchkin and The Boy in my "Thought for the Day" section over on the right... He asked her what happened with the boyfriend, and that ensued.

That is kind of about it...I feel like I am becoming a very boring blogger these days. I think I need to spice things up a bit or risk putting you all to sleep:-)

Any suggestions? Anyone have any topics they want me to address? Fire away...

Date night with Munchkin

I guess I will start today with a hearty congratulations to one of my regular readers and devoted IM-buddies; povosgirl is getting married;-) In line with their shared love of the Red Sox, her boyfriend proposed during a game in Baltimore last weekend (they drove down from Connecticut for the weekend). So everyone think good things and send kind wishes to her:-)

I had a hot date last night with Munchkin, which gave us a chance to hang out, debrief on her visit with her brother and talk about a whole bunch of other things. We have had surprisingly little time to do that all summer. I think we actually sat at dinner for about two hours, and then of course spent some more time walking to get dessert:-) Priorities, people!

She really amazes me... she is a remarkable kid. I know, I gush about her all the time, but I am particularly mindful of it today because I noticed how much she has grown up just this summer. I guess mostly I get overwhelmed by her maturity...she handles social and personal interactions like a 30 year old. She broke up with the most recent boyfriend last weekend for a variety of reasons, but didn't make any cheesy excuses. I heard her end of the conversation, and she basically said "I like you and I enjoy spending time with you. But there just doesn't seem to be a real spark so I don't want to pursue being boyfriend and girlfriend anymore."

OK, those are my words, but that was the gist of the discussion. It would have been really easy to blame it on being in different schools or on being in different grades or the difficulty of seeing each other regularly during the school year. But she told me...and these were her words "he is very nice to me and I like him and I would feel terrible lying to him." I guess most thirty year olds aren't even that mature, now that I think of it...

She also let slip to me that she knows her brother was in jail, even though no one told her and we always tried to keep it from her. We actually talked about him a lot, and her read on it was surprisingly similar to mine (and in truth, she may have heard me say this and just be repeating it)...that his fiance is a complete gem and a total sweetheart and is the main reason he has gotten his life in order over the last couple of years. I am not 100% sure where she stands on him to be honest, she is having a hard time articulating exactly what she is feeling at the moment. I will call it "overload" for the time being and assume she will be back to her old feelings soon.

Anyway, I am rambling a bit, I know. But I had a really nice time at dinner, and I notice more and more that she is really turning into a fantastic young lady. She is so incredibly confident in herself and comfortable in her own skin and I am just really, proud of her. And I am happy for her, too...she has been dealt more shit that any kid deserves, and I like to see that she can just enjoy life and do the normal goofy things that girls her age should do.

I just don't remember growing up this fast;-)

I win:-)

Things are a little more back to normal around these parts. Munchkin's brother and soon to be sister in law left yesterday, which made her a little bit sad, but she was kind of ready for them to leave...lol. It has been such a crazy summer, there has been very little time when she was just home and hanging out with me. The break has actually been kind of nice...it is good to get out of the routine once in a while.

Of course, I say that...and then she is probably going to spend all of next week at the beach again:-) Next week is the annual beach bash for Smoking Hot Roommate and Big Sis' mother's family (last year's is referenced here) and I may let her stay there all week with them. I guess I will keep an eye on the weather and stuff.

She had an interesting visit with her brother. She was out with them for a week, and then back here at the beach for a week, and I think it was a little too much. It is kind of hard to explain, but I think the novelty wore off a bit and she had just kind of had enough. She has spent a day at a time or so with him before, but two weeks may have just been too much, especially when they were all kind of "on vacation".

I suppose it is petty of me to be moderately happy about that, but I can't help it. I like having her around, and I like that she likes me better:-D He gets to share a last name with her, but that will just have to be it. She still loves her brother very much, but I think she realizes that some distance is maybe good for their relationship (or I just read all of that into it...possible...)

Beyond that, the weekend was great. Nice weather, no real agenda and lots of sun. Big Sis and I went golfing last night, which was fun...we still suck...lol. Munchkin was really beat after the weekend, and Smoking Hot Roommate didn't feel like playing, either (she is probably not thrilled about playing with us, since she takes about half as many strokes as we do!) so they stayed home and it was just me and Big Sis. Interesting topic of conversation for which I am sworn to secrecy. Damnit...

That's about all. I feel like I am leaving something out, but I can't think of it at the moment, so it will have to wait...

F You, NASDAQ!!!

I realized this morning that I haven't had a regular "Friday" in a while. Lots of Fridays off for various things, and then last Friday I was still kinda doped up. But today is a regular old, work-then-bolt-for-the-beach-as-fast-as-possible Friday. I am having lunch with Boss Foxy, which I also haven't done in a while. Between vacations, weddings and illnesses, we have missed a bunch of weeks in a row.

I got here early and actually already got a lot done (it is almost 9:00 now). Hopefully I can be really productive the rest of the morning so that I can justify sneaking out a little bit early tonight. That kind of depends on whether or not The Boy can get out early, too, and that sort of looks unlikely...the stock market as been a fucking retard all week, so he has been swamped. I just saw a headline at cnn.com that says "Stocks poised for another beating," which does not bode well. Another day like yesterday is gonna lead to a 4:00pm "You better go without me" phone call...

The stock market is definitely on my shit list these days. First of all, this shit is doing a number on my 401K. I have mentioned before that I kind of like the "sport" of saving money, and I am pretty good at it now, but these headlines cost a lot!!! [Total aside, here is my public service announcement to enroll in your 401K and put as much in as possible. This is becoming one of my favorite pet subjects...you can email or IM for the whole shpiel. There, off my soapbox.]

Second, it is really cramping my social life. As I have detailed before, The Boy is a money manager, and huge swings in the stock market...especially swings downward...make him very, very busy. I was all set for another night for just the two of us last night, but he didn't get out of work until almost 10:00. I was kinda bummed about that:-(

And then I feel kind of bad because he gets really apologetic, and I don't want him to feel like he has to be. Certainly I would rather he not have to stay at work until 10:00, but I know him well enough to know that he won't be happy if he isn't working really hard and being challenged professionally, and this just comes with that. I think the ambition is sexy:-)

On this topic, I have chatted a bit this week with another blogger about sacrifices and compromise and such. If I make a list of all of the things that he sacrifices for me (and for Munchkin) and then make a list of the things that I have to put up with...well, I really get the better of that deal. He has to deal with sharing my attention and altering the entire schedule and plan of our relationship. My biggest issue is that he works late sometimes...I really don't have anything to complain about. Well, except his inability to put dishes into the dishwasher;-)

Wow, this really got off topic...LOL. That's OK, it is Friday and I can get away with that! So anyway, work, then headed to the beach. Pretty full house this weekend; Munchkin has been down all week with her brother and sister-in-law to-be (more on that next week), Smoking Hot Roommate and The Rocket Scientist will be there as well, as will Papa Bear and his lady friend and a couple of his friends. Big Sis gets back this evening, and they may come down if they feel like it, too. Not sure yet. The weather is supposed to be pretty good, so it should be fun!

Hope everyone has a really good weekend:-)

Talking with strangers

I tend to meet people. Pretty much everywhere...bars, restaurants, grocery stores, the train, wherever...I always seem to meet people everywhere. I am kind of chatty, and I think I can be pretty engaging, so I generally strike up random conversations with strangers in random places (like with strippers, but that is a story for another day). I kinda like that about me:-) Munchkin is the same way, so I am guessing that it is genetic.

Anyway, I was out for a walk last night with The Boy after dinner. OK, more specifically, I made him buy me ice cream:-) So, we were out walking, and there was a girl walking a dog. Nothing out of the ordinary there. But this was a girl who was my size or smaller (around 100 lbs, or 45.45 kilos for my Euro readers;-), and a Rottweiler that was about the size of a Volkswagen. Seriously, she had it on a leash, but I don't know who she was kidding, she couldn't stop that thing if she tried (she said it weighed 135 pounds...his name was Benny:-)).

So I stopped to talk to her and ask about the dog. I know, most people aren't that friendly, but I am, so there:-P Turns out she is from upstate Vermont, went to school up there and really wanted to move to a big city after she graduated. The biggest city in Vermont, incidentally, is Burlington, which is way up by Canada, and sports a population of less than 39,000.

Her father, having lived in Vermont his whole life, was terrified at the prospect of sending his only daughter into the great, scary unknown. Not wanting to disappoint him, she wanted him to bless her decision to move. This led to them striking a deal...she could move, as long as she got a dog that could keep her safe. I thought that was a really cute story:-) Having had the dog drool on me, I can't imagine it would offer any real protection, but it is really scary looking, and could likely do some serious damage if it thought she was in danger...

Anyway, that is my story, though you might like it:-)

More on Harry

I went to see Harry Potter #5 last night, which was pretty good. It was as good as could be, I guess...the book was the weakest of the seven, I thought, and also the longest. That made for a tough movie, but they did a pretty good job with it. Also, Harry is now downright hot...I would totally have a threesome with him and Hermione:-) Hee Hee!!!

I have to cop to being kind of a child about it. I sort of figured that I would go and see it with Munchkin, since I have seen most of the rest of them with her. But she and her brother went to see it right after it came out last week. And yes, I was kinda jealous when I found out (I know it's stupid, you don't have to tell me.) I feel like a divorced parent fighting over the affection of her kids...lol.

So I had a mini-tantrum and decided to go and see it without her, even though she wanted to go again with me. I know, I know...awful of me. But we are still gonna go see it again together. In her stead, I went with The Boy's Mom:-) We had a date since The Boy's Dad didn't want to see it. That was kinda fun, too...we had dinner first and then went to the movie. I like his Mom a lot, and I like having the chance to hang out with her.

Random note: You know that song "Umbrella" by Rihanna? What the fuck is with putting an extra syllable in "um-ber-ell-a"? Seriously, it is not that hard to think of a one syllable word that makes that song sound so much better. That really irritates me and ruins what could have been a good song.

Anyway, I went for a week-after checkup this morning, and everything is A-OK. Stitches are out, everything looks good and I am hopefully done with this forever. The muscles are a tad sore still, but it gets better all the time:-) Munchkin's brother is around until Monday morning, and then I am back to being Mom all the time...Munchkin has been "out of my hands" most of the summer, and honestly I am kind of looking forward to having her back again:-)

She starts school in four weeks...man, summer goes by fast!

Harry Potter (no spoilers, promise!)

With so much time to lay around all weekend, I managed to accomplish one important goal...tearing through Harry Potter #7. Despite the fact that the title is very bad grammar ("Deathly" is not a word, people...), the book is excellent. It is very much a continuation of book #6, more so than most of the other books had been previously.

What really amazes me is how well thought-out all of the details are, and how well the plot unfolds over six books. For example...every wizard has a really weird name: Draco, Severus, Albus, etc. Except, of course, for the Weasleys, who are named Charlie, George, Bill, Ginny, Fred and Ron. It is never actually written, but since Mr. Weasley is completely fascinated by Muggle things, it makes sense that all of their kids would have muggle names. And there are a millions little details like that. One of the very first appearances of any wizard in the first book is when Dumbledore arrives and clicks off all of the street lights with a pen. Without giving too much away, that pen comes back later on...

The books are also a lot more historically political than they are given credit for. TONS of Nazi parallels, right down to the "impure" blood of the crazy leader trying to purify the races. And plenty about how people can get swept up in a quest for power, and a fear of people and things not like them. As the books go along, you realize that the good and evil lines are blurrier than you might expect.

Anyway, I loved the book, and I think it is the best of the seven. In case you are wondering, I would order them 7, 3, 6, 1, 4, 2, 5. Really, the fifth one is too long and has too much filler, but other than that, virtually every page of every book is excellent. I am, however, not really sad that it is over. I feared that I might be really disappointed when it was done, but I didn't really feel that way.

The ending was satisfying, if a little bit confusing. The "chronology of the wand" thing gets a little bit hard to follow, and I am not entirely sure I get it, but whatever...I figured enough of it out...lol. I fought my hardest to not read the chapter called "19 Years Later", which was OK, since there isn't much in there.

So this was kind of rambly, but it is hard to not give anything away! Thoughts? Comments? Email or IM if they are plot-sensitive:-)

Back in the swing

My last week involved very little blogging, lots of pain, lots of Vicodin (those last two in alternating cycles), a lot of sleep and a whole lot of people pampering me:-) The last part was really nice!!!

Now, however, I am back to my regular self, mostly. I have stopped taking the painkillers, although I did take a Tylenol this morning because my chest hurt. And yesterday I started to get a little stir crazy, so I knew that I was ready to get back into the swing of things. That means regular blog reading, which I fell woefully behind on, but did mostly catch up (although I didn't leave any comments, I was in a rush!!!)

To recap, the surgery turned out to be more involved than it was planned, so I was out of commission for longer than expected. The good news is that both cysts were removed, and neither was at all harmful (at least not in the 'Big C' kind of way). The recovery has been good, too...no infections, no complications, just some pain. The Boy and Smoking Hot Roommate get extra special points for being very good and devoted nurses for me:-)

I got a lot of flowers:-) Everyone who knows me knows that I am kind of a sucker for flowers, and some very nice people sent me some...in addition to The Boy. I got a really nice bouquet of Lilies from the school parents, which was super sweet of them, and both my mother's family and father's family sent me flowers, too. It is nice to be thought of:-) The old lady next door baked me cookies and banana bread (can someone please make the appropriate Simpsons' joke?). Boss Foxy brought me flowers when she came over to visit, and I had a nice big bunch of them sitting on my desk this morning when I got back from the office.

Munchkin is back, sort of:-) She and her brother and his girlfriend got in on Saturday morning, and they are staying for the week. I went to the beach Friday night, and left them my car (I borrowed Big Sis'...vroom vroom!!!) so that they could drive down when they got in. For some reason, however, the traffic at the bridges was horrible on Saturday, so I told them they would be better off staying in Boston for the day and coming down sometime in the later afternoon [Local lesson...there is a canal that separates Cape Cod from the rest of the state. There are two bridges that cross the canal, and the traffic in the summertime can sometimes be really bad, especially on Saturdays, and especially if there is an accident on or near one of them.]

So they got there Saturday night, and are staying at the beach all week, which should be fun for all. I feel like I have barely seen Munchkin all summer...she has been at the beach a LOT with other people, and I definitely miss seeing her everyday. But at the same time, it is sort of nice to have the break, and she is happier down there in the summer anyway.

Oh, and the announcement is that Munchkin's brother and his girlfriend are getting married. That in itself is not news...they told Munchkin and I this a while back, but it was sort of a secret. They have now told their families, and are planning a very small wedding sometime this winter of spring. The real announcement is that Munchkin is going to be the maid of honor, which I think is really sweet. It is going to be a very small wedding, and the girlfriend's brother is going to be the best man, and Munchkin is going to be the maid of honor, and that will be it for the wedding party. Needless to say, Munchkin is pretty excited about that;-) (Also...is there a record for being in the most weddings before age 13? She is piling them up fast, and is in another one next summer, too).

Ok, that is enough for today...I have to get to work! Tomorrow: Harry Potter, although I won't give anything away. I am, however, willing to discuss at length via email or IM...

Nothing is ever easy

Seriously, nothing is ever easy with me. And nothing good ever comes out of hospitals (OK, except for the time I was almost dead when I got there and came out fine.) I've had some minor complications that turned this into a bigger deal than originally thought.

First thing, they took a scan of my chest to make sure they saw exactly what they were dealing with. This led to two immediate issues. 1) The cyst in question was much larger than previously thought...part of it was kind of between my ribs, so on the surface it didn't seem as big as it was. 2) It wasn't alone. There was another, similar but smaller cyst in there, too.

The upshot: general anaesthesia and a procedure that required more cutting, more stitching, and more recovery time. Groan. But whatever, not much else I could do at this point. Because of the change, they pushed back the actual surgery until later in the day, so I had to sit around the hospital all day until it was time for prep and then the actual surgery.

For me, the whole procedure was "OK, breath in" and then waking up in a fog, with a lot of pain in my left side and a whole mess of bandages on me. Randomly, I knew the nurse who came in to change my bandages, which made me feel oddly comfortable...

I guess everything went according to plan...or so the doctor says. I don't think the actual procedure lasted real long once they started, but the incision for the first cyst had to be pretty big, and the smaller one has a couple stitches, too. The anaesthesia took a lot out of me, too. I woke up, but never really woke up...(the vicodin may have something to do with that). I stayed overnight in the hospital rather than check out and go home at like 11:00pm. The Boy was super awesome to me:-) He came over after work with flowers and stayed with me until I fell asleep (for those counting chivalry points, he came planning to spend the whole night, but I sent him home...). Smoking Hot Roommate came over to get me in the morning, check me out and take me home.

And then I slept all day. Well, I woke up to take more painkillers and eat a little bit. But I didn't eat enough, so all the sleep, drugs and lack of food made me not feel real good...but now I am eating spaghetti and I feel better:-) The Boy should be here in a couple minutes, and then I will feel even more better:-)

I am still tired, and in a lot of pain (well, when the drugs start to wear off), and then out of it for a bit when the Vicodin kicks in...so no work for me again, tomorrow. More sleep, and hopefully I can stop taking the pills.

But I am doing fine, and should be back to my old self soon...hopefully I can go to work on Friday, and then the beach, bandages and all, this weekend. Munchkin gets back Saturday...I miss her:-) And I kinda lied about staying in the hospital...she worries:-)

That's about all...my Google Reader has like 50 posts for me to read, so I will be catching up on all of your doings tomorrow, I hope. And I am gonna start reading the newest Harry Potter, too...hopefully [I have heard nothing, but I have a real bad feeling Ron isn't gonna make it...I hope I am wrong:-( ].