Aurum nostrum est non aurum vulgi

These happy updates are almost a theme

arularia — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 14:51:37 GMT

As of yesterday I've worked two full weeks at the new job AND I've received my first official paycheck. Kent texted me at work yesterday to tell me I had a letter waiting for me and I practically did a little dance right there at my work desk. When I got home he was playing the "oh whatever could it be?" game even though the sender is on the envelope plain-as-day. Of course we had to dash out straight away to deposit it--showing up at the bank with ten minutes to spare. Now I have to hurry up and wait because the silly thing won't be available to cover debits until Monday, but at least it's in there. (Our bank offers extended hours for drive thru banking, but since it's after 5, it still counts as a transaction for the next day.)

I guess I should explain what people are paying me for these days.

I'm working for a claims management company (name withheld, since this entry's open) as a disability specialist which probably means nothing to the lot of you--I know it meant nothing to me prior to my interview. Basically, I'm working in the insurance industry, but not for an insurance company. Instead, we contract with major businesses/corporations and help manage their health care by providing case management for their employees who go out on some sort of disability or leave. We handle short term disability and Family and Medical Leave (FMLA). I think another group within the same office also handles workers comp claims, but I've yet to run into any of them.

Now, why would they be hiring someone like me and why would I work there given my background? I've been hired as one of their top level examiners. My job title actually requires a professional license--in my case, it's my RN. Medical background is something they can't teach on the job so they look for people who have already received that training elsewhere. With that knowledge, you're better equipped to take on more complex cases, mental health claims, and can also act as a consult for other examiners and help in decision-making for what is and is not an appropriate amount of leave (Example I've already run into: Someone whose doctor wrote them four weeks of leave for an uncomplicated, outpatient procedure that requires 1-2 days recovery and sometimes not even that much.) and whether or not there are other factors that contribute to slower recovery. We can also help-out our coworkers with uncooperative providers who might otherwise blow off a "lowly office worker" but will talk to someone with a license and title.

So far I'm enjoying things. I like my coworkers and feel like I've been accepted right off the bat. I haven't felt like the newbie outsider or anything like that and within just days of stepping foot in the door, people were coming to pick my brain about various medical issues. It's honestly kind of flattering since 1) I'm still totally green and 2) I'm one of the youngest, if not the youngest person on the team.

In about two more weeks I'll probably be starting on phone calls and claimant contacts. In the meantime I'm digging into the computer programs we use and trying to learn the general workflow of everything. I'm getting it a piece at a time, but it all seems to be coming together pretty well in my head. Well, for now anyway. I'm sure this is one of those things that you think you know it until you actually attempt to do it.

Since the job is nice and official, Kent and I have laid down a deposit on our new apartment and even got to tour it. The kitchen is huge. It's seriously about the size of my current living room. I have counters. We have about double the cabinet space and we probably even have room to tuck a little dinette set into the corner so we can actually eat meals at a table instead of in the living room or at our computers. This is what it feels like to be a grown-up, yes? Also of note--we'll have a utility closet again. It's driven me crazy in the current apartment that I don't have a hall closet or anything where I can stash the vacuum and things like that. It's lived in a corner of the living room since we moved here, but not anymore! The new place will be toward the back of the complex which means a longer walk to get the mail, but it means less parking hassle for us and our guests and we'll be closer to the gym so hopefully we'll use it more. I'm also hoping that with a different building layout, we won't get as much noise off the steps or from people above (we won't have upstairs neighbors) so maybe Ursula won't freak-out so much from people just walking around.

I can't decide which part I'm most excited about. We'll also have two bathrooms which means no more people wandering through my bedroom! For the most part it hasn't been such a big deal, but every once in awhile I just get defensive about having people other than Kent or the puppies in there. Only a few more weeks of worrying about that though. Then we'll have a hall bath and the Lauren-Chai will have her own room so no more air mattress in the living room. Everybody wins.

Lots of happenings

arularia — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:28:49 GMT

Well, we've had a whole slew of changes in the past month. So, in no particular order of relevance or occurrence:

-Mom is a new assisted living facility. There was nothing wrong with the old place, she wasn't desperately unhappy, they weren't hurting her, or jacking up the cost of living or anything like that, it had simply served its purpose. When this whole thing began, one of our priorities (my own priority and the one I pushed every time we discussed the matter, truth be told) was to minimize the upheaval of leaving the house by keeping Mom in the same neighborhood so that she could still attend her church and see her friends. And for awhile she did just that. She kept going to choir practice, went to weekly mass, had brunch with everyone, and even went on outings with various people.

Then she started getting headaches. Multiple ones each week, bad enough that my siblings and I all received at least one phone call or voice message with our mother on the verge of tears telling us that her head hurt. She's on medication number three now (maybe four) in trying to treat and prevent the damn things. They seem to have improved, but that's another story. With all the pain, Mom didn't want to go to church or choir practice. In started as sporadic absences and then she just stopped altogether because she never knew if she was going to feel good. She start taking communion from a volunteer that visited weekly and she seemed content.

From the start we knew that the closer you got to Dallas, the more options you had in facilities and the cheaper the cost due to competition. We also knew that there was a place right across the street from Damon's house. He toured the place and found that there was an open room so he and I took Mom out to lunch one day to discuss the possibility of moving. She was interested so we scheduled a time for the three of us to have lunch with the director and to have a tour. Everyone liked it so deposits were made and we got ready to do some heavy lifting. We were a bit delayed with all the snow and ice, but we finally made it happen last week and Mom spent her first night there on Friday.

Overall, Mom seems happy about the change. She says that Esperanza has better coffee than Sterling House. I'm happy about the change too. Instead of driving down the highway for half an hour to pick her up, I can just zip across town and be there in about ten minutes. Damon and the kiddos can walk over to see her once the weather is nicer (which hopefully won't be much longer) and they're planning to have her over for dinner at least once a week. Her expenses are now down by $900+ per month. This place is literally about 20% cheaper and they have TONS more activities including recurring weekly events, a monthly restaurant outing paid for by Esperanza and not out-of-pocket, worship services, animal visits from a local no-kill shelter, and, the thing that makes me squee the most, they have about a half dozen little brown rabbits that live in the courtyard. They even have pellets available so the residents can go out and feed the bunnies.

There's so much attention to detail and little things just make you stand back and say "Wow, someone really cared and really thought this through." They maintain memory books for the residents with pictures and such and give it to the resident as a keepsake should they ever move away or to the family when their loved one passes away. They have their own "Make a Wish" program. One resident wanted to go on a date so they arranged for some cute young man (the nephew of a staff member) to bring her flowers and take her out to dinner. Another resident writes short stories so they gathered up some of his works, had them bound, and then held a book signing for him and gave all the residents a copy of his book. And all of it is done at Esperanza's own expense. I have high hopes for this place.

-I have a job now! Not quite a month ago I got in touch with a firm that does nothing but job placements for college grads looking to get a foot in the door on their way to a new career. Put in an application, submitted my resume, and about two weeks later got a phone call. The recruiter had a potential job that he thought I'd be suited for and wanted to meet me in person, talk about my past experience, and just get to know me as a person instead of a resume. He liked what I had to say so he sent me information along to the hiring company and once we finally crawled out of the icy tomb Mother Nature attempted to encase us in, I interviewed with the woman who is now my supervisor come Monday! My head is still spinning with how quickly everything fell into place. I've faxed in my direct deposit forms and all that jazz and it still just doesn't seem real.

Kent and I are headed out today to expand my wardrobe. I'm ridiculously excited about shopping.

-I have a new plushie friend. His name is Lok'tar, but we're calling him Loki for short. Here he is. For the non WoW fiends on my friends list (which is most of you), Loki is a Windrider/Wyvern from World of Warcraft. They're a major mode of transportation for Horde faction characters. They're also goddamn adorable. Loki has been gaming with me, watching Dexter (finally started the first season), browsing forums with me, and overall just making me squee with happiness and excitement. I keep holding him up and flapping his wings at Kent. There may have also been some "Rawr!" noises. >.>

-Now that I'm employed, the Badger and I can finally start looking for a bigger apartment (woohoo!) and getting a second vehicle. Also laptops and various and sundry luxuries that have been on the "someday" list. Living within our means has paid off in having a rather comfortable existence til now and it's paying off again in that we're going to have an awesome disposable income with both of us working.

-Finally (I think this is everything) Kent is enrolled in school for the fall. I did his applications, filed his FAFSA, and requested his transcripts to be sent which is all the major stuff. He'll have some orientation stuff to do and probably some placement tests since his ACT scores are considered expired, but all of that is easily handled. He'll also be starting school debt free and if Meme and I having anything to say about it, he'll be graduating school still debt free. :)

Happy time!

arularia — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 18:49:59 GMT

It's our anniversary and it's snowing. Not excited about the cold, but it's pretty to watch and Ursula is having an absolute blast running around and eating it all. ♥

arularia — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:50:54 GMT

I know that I've been largely absent from Livejournal and that this in no way makes up for that or brings anyone up to speed on what's going on in my life, but all the same, I had to share this.

A Different Kind of Christian Demonstration at Gay Pride

My response? Christianity: You're doing it right. Had I been there, I would have also been in tears and hugging Nathan and his group.

Imposter syndrome

arularia — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 08:57:09 GMT

This hits WAY too close to home. Ouch.

Running, running, running

arularia — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 06:27:30 GMT

I'm getting my butt back on the running bandwagon. Tonight was run #2. I'm not starting over from scratch since I'm still more conditioned than before I started, but I have been working to feel out where exactly I should be picking up. After the run I had tonight though, I can officially pick up where I left off. And I did it in an uncomfortably hot gym to boot. Makes me wonder how far I would have gotten if the A/C had been working properly. Regardless though, two more runs and I'm on to Week 4. Happy!

The power supply to my computer decided to give up the ghost today so Kent and I had an impromptu trip to Fry's. We came away with the needed part, a 2GB stick of ram, and bag of really, really yummy iced tea candies. Win. While inside I ogled the pretty cases and found one I'd actually like to have. Kent asked if I really wanted it and I informed him that, yes, I did, but I wasn't allowing him to buy it for me. He responded by snapping a picture of it on his phone and now I'm sure he's plotting something. He's leading me to believe that he might get it for our six month in July. When I asked if we were actually going to exchange gifts, his response was "You're not, but I am" and then teased about giving me something on his birthday because it's his day and giving me surprises makes him happy. *sigh* Crazy boy.

After Fry's we wandered around Plano a bit and found a pet store with bunnies we could pet and a Corgi puppy who tried to eat my hand through the glass. Kent wanted to bring her home and I had to be the voice of reason. Not that I didn't want her, but we're kind of at our two pet limit and this little pup and Ursula would have surely destroyed the apartment together. That and it really upsets me to see puppies for sale at a retail shop and that's not an industry I want to support. We'll find a pup to rescue when the time's right.

Afterward we stumbled upon a Central Market where we grabbed pizza slices from the deli counter and a couple of drinks. My pizza was covered in spinach with a few pieces of goat cheese and a little bit of bacon. It was awesome. Kent wanted to try gelato so we picked up a container of vanilla and snuck bites of it at red lights on the way home. He wasn't too excited about it so now the bulk of the container is in our freezer and he's dubbed it mine. In all honesty though, it'll probably sit around there long enough for him to eventually ask if he can devour it which is just fine for me cause it's not exactly something I need to be eating too often.

And despite all our indulgences today, I'm still right on track for my points today. Definitely a good day.

arularia — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 21:18:19 GMT

There is a mockingbird in our complex who knows at least three distinct car alarm sounds. Now, that might not sound like too big of a deal, but each alarm that this little guy knows is of the variety which incorporates multiple sounds/volumes. Car alarms seem to be this little guy's favorite thing to mimic and it's kind of hilarious. He's good at it too. The past few mornings Kent and I have been laying in bed just listening to him "sing" his heart out and laughing. He'll do a few loops of one alarm and then get board and move on to another. Lather, rinse, repeat.

One morning this lead to the question of what we would mimic if we were mockingbirds. Kent's vote was for bugle calls ala Reveille. My pick was doorbells just because it would drive the Ursula insane.

arularia — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 22:54:24 GMT

Still suck at updating this thing. Yup.

There's no doubt that summer is officially here. Good god it's hot. Our low temp overnight is supposedly going to be 78 degrees. It's not going to be long before we start to see 80+ degree nights and people dying of heat stroke. :(

I was kidnapped over Memorial Day weekend by a few of my college friends. We went camping together at Purtic Creek State Park which was actually a lot of fun. My back was really pissed over the sleeping arrangements, but it's act together after an hour or two of being awake each day. We left on Friday, made camp, roasted hot dogs, and turned in more or less early. I woke up early the next day from all the light and bird song. (I guess my pineal gland actually works!) My back was not having my attempts at trying to go back to sleep or reading in the tent so I curled up at the picnic table outside and read until everyone else started waking up.

One of my friends has gotten involved with the Society for Creative Anachronism and wanted to attend an event going on not far from where we were camping. She actually brought costumes for all of us and even thought it was hot and the sun was blinding it was fun. Not as fun as other medieval and Renaissance fairs that I've attended, but still neat. We watched a lot of chivalric combat that day.

When we got back to camp, Joe, our resident boy scout, started prepping dinner. Pork tenderloin and veggies--all cooked over the campfire and all freaking delicious. Afterward was mead, homemade merlot, drunken Apples to Apples, and s'mores. There was also a midnight trip to the swing set which was highly amusing. (The park had a few playgrounds and we had to make use of them.)

We packed up and came home on Sunday since our food provisions hadn't kept as well as expected and Joe was wary of the meat. Dinner that night was Raising Cane's instead. I have absolutely no idea what they put in their "Cane sauce" but I'm freaking addicted. Like seriously, get me into a 12-step, stat.

Prior to the trip, I'd been freaking out over the possibility of weight gain. I was honestly not happy at the prospect of having so little control over my food choices and such. I loosened up about it after we got out to the site, but I came home feeling bloated and icky. Like four pounds of nothing but water-weight icky. My abdomen was actually tender because of it and I couldn't let Kent cuddle with me in certain ways. But thankfully, it's gone now and I'm at my lowest weight since probably high school. It's kind of a crazy thought. My goal is about what I weighed right before high school, pending how my body decides to rearrange itself. It's very obvious at this point that, despite the humongous chest, I'm definitely a pear. My face and neck, stomach, backside, and even my calves are all slimmer, but the damn thighs are holding on for dear life. And they're the one part that I hate the most. >_<

Still, I'm starting to like what I see in the mirror. Won't be prancing around in a bikini any time this summer, but definitely feeling a lot sleeker.

Cookie call!

arularia — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:58:46 GMT

In the near future, I'm going to be making and sending cookies to asexual_enya to celebrate his triumphant return to LJ and new apartment. I'll also be making cookies to send to one of Kent's friends in Galveston.

So I figured that, as long as I'm baking, I might as well make someone else's day with some homemade cookies.

Enya is getting some form of chocolate chip (or similar chocolate-y goodness) and our Galveston friend is getting some jazzed up peanut butter ones.

Anyone else interested?

Comments are screened in case anyone needs to leave mailing information.

arularia — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 03:56:47 GMT

OH MY FUCKING GOD.

FLIGHT OF DRAGONS IS FINALLY ON DVD.

MUST TYPE IN CAPS. MUST OWN A COPY.

!!!

arularia — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:23:35 GMT

Kent and I are going to start running tonight and I am going out of my mind with excitement.

I used to run track and cross country when I was younger. I was never the fastest or the best, but I liked running. I played at the hurdles, but never competed in that event. I did, however, pay my dues by getting tangled in a hurdle a time or two and landing squarely on my hip. Ouch.

Eventually I quit because my knees were always hurting. Though truth be told, I never really worked as hard as I should have to condition myself and protect my knees. I should have stuck with more resistance training to build up my quadriceps so they could do their job and support my patella.

For years now I've fantasized about getting back into distance running. I've even pondered training for a marathon which is, I admit, pretty damn ambitious. But the thought of logging miles really makes me happy. So now I'm trying to be a little more responsible in my endeavors. I've been doing a bit of research on how to get myself back into running safely and turns out my past approach was pretty dead wrong. Before it was always about being able to run so far without stopping and if there was any walking involved then, well... you sucked. But apparently that's what I should have been doing all along--walking that is. That type of walk/run interval training actually allows for faster recovery and fewer injuries which is just what we need.

I was nervous about getting Kent on board since he can be rather bullheaded when it comes to doing something new. "This is what I did before and I was just fine." But he was in better shape before and, let's face it, we've both been pretty inactive for awhile now. Last night he made the comment about starting out with a brisk walk though so I think he'll be willing to give this a shot.

Kent has decidedly different motives for running. While I'm hoping for speed and distance, he's looking at it for conditioning to get more into Parkour.

Kent introduced me to the concept of Parkour early in our dating relationship. I had never heard of it. We talked about efficiency, conservation of energy, making your momentum work for you. It sounded neat and I was pretty damn impressed the first time I saw a video of a traceur. We talked more about learning to jump, fall, roll, and avoiding injury in general. Then he told me that the single best way to train was just to run. Straight up, plain jane jogging.

He's been getting emails for awhile now from a mailing list that sends workouts for training purposes. A few nights ago, I was standing over his shoulder while he went through emails and he opened another message from the mailing list. So I asked if he wanted to start working on it. His eyes lit up. "Really?!" Yes, really. The disbelief continued for a bit longer until he squeed and hugged me.

So now I've got myself a few sports bras and a fitted tank to help contain the girls. I'm definitely overflowing the bra, but workout clothes aren't for looks--they're for making sure the boobs stay put. I think (and hope!) they will. Maybe this running around will even leave me with slightly less in the chest department.

After running for awhile, the next step will be to find a playground or something that we can go run around at and jump off of. Guess I'll get to relive my gymnastic days and learn how to fall properly.

This entry brought to you by the letter Z

arularia — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:18:06 GMT

We've got more takers on the meme which means another random topic post. Yay!

Z is for zucchini (and veggies in general)

I freaking LOVE zucchini. It’s definitely one of my favorite vegetables and one of the things I tend to “fall back” on when I’m trying to figure out dinner plans. I’ve made it into zucchini “pie,” roasted it, tossed it in stir-fry, fried it, made noodleless veggie lasagna, topped pizza with it, and turned it into zucchini pancakes. I’ve also had it in soup, pasta, and on sandwiches. To be cliché, I’ve never met a zucchini I didn’t like.

Growing up, I don’t think zucchini was something I ate a lot of. I was never really a picky eater, it just wasn’t something my mom bought very often. As I got older, Mom cooked less, but when she did, one of the things she liked to do was pick up whatever veggies looked good at the grocery store and maybe a pear or an apple. Everything got chopped up and thrown in a skillet until it was hot and lightly browned. That was stir-fry in our house. Sometimes it would get a leftover pork chop or chicken breast added to it, but generally it was just to satisfy a veggie craving. And it almost always had zucchini in it.

Fast forward to my college years. I was dating Adam and he had just moved to Virginia to take a position with the Barter Theatre. The theatre housed its actors and musicians in a dormitory of sorts. Each wing of the building also had a kitchen, shared amongst four to six rooms. Adam decided that this would be a good opportunity to teach himself to cook and I agreed to help. We bought one of those little booklets of recipes that you find in the check-out line and he looked through it to see where he wanted to start.

One of those fledgling recipe tries was something called zucchini pie. It was sort of like a quiche, but with less egg. It was quick and easy to do—prepared crescent roll dough pressed into a pie plate for a crust, zucchini sautéed with garlic and lots of dill (probably my favorite herb to have with zucchini), a little cheese stirred in, and then it gets dumped into the pie plate with some beaten egg to hold it together. Top with more cheese and bake the sucker.

It was good. It was very good. It was also what solidified zucchini in my mind as something I really enjoyed.

The next big zucchini/veggie discovery was at a bar in Dallas. I can’t for the life of me remember what it was called (or I’d be visiting them again), but they served amazing veggie fajitas with zucchini, yellow squash, carrot, and mushroom on whole wheat tortillas. So, so simple, but they were fantastic. The veggies were cut into long, wide strips which I would later try to replicate with a mandolin that turned out to be a hunk of junk. So when I make them now, I stand there with a big knife to cut the strips because they’re just not fajitas if I make them with regularly sliced veggies. At least the cooking part is easy—everything just gets sautéed with garlic and seasoned salt.

Nowadays I’m trying to perfect veggie pancakes and hashbrowns. I got a food processor with a shredding blade Christmas before last which makes it a lot easier to do things which require shredded ingredients. Just stuff it through the food chute and it’s done in maybe ten seconds. I’ve made potato latkes from scratch, zucchini pancakes, and butternut hashbrowns. The latkes were amazing. The zucchini pancakes would have also been amazing if I had been able to wring more water of them and get them to hold together a bit better. The biggest hurdle has been avoiding adding flour or cracker/bread crumbs to them as this was a dish I started experimenting with as a low-carb alternative. I stopped doing South Beach and the Insulin Resistance diet awhile ago, but glycemic impact is something I still try to keep in mind and GI-friendly recipes are always welcome in my kitchen. I’ve used egg as a binder, but the last attempt was more mini-frittata than an actual pancake. The butternut hashbrowns were more successful, but butternut is a little two sweet to satisfy my hashbrown cravings. Still tasty though.

Topics by letter--W

arularia — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:19:49 GMT

This'll be the last installment unless someone else wants to chime in. (For the love of all that is good and fluffy, please do. I'm quickly running out of ways to keep myself busy during the day while I'm alone. Munkys were not meant to fend for themselves for extended periods.)

Lots of openings here. At this point, repeat players are allowed and welcome. The limit of three is flexible should anyone feel particularly intrepid.

W is for wedding.

For those of you new to the journal (hi there!), I'm recently married--as in just over a month ago. The boy in question is the Kent.

In the beginning of our engagement, we figured things would be kind of small--fifty to seventy-five people tops. We ended up putting a lot of effort to keep the list as close to 100 as possible since the chapel seated 95 with about a dozen more seats in the balcony. But the balcony was up a very steep and tightly wound staircase, so it was dubbed strictly for emergencies only. (A freak cold snap would render our planning moot, but that's not exactly something you can predict two months in advance when the invitations go out.)

Having a quiet "intimate wedding" didn't make sense for us. If we wanted to stay quiet and private, we could have run off to the courthouse. Hell, we probably would have skipped the whole marriage thing altogether. We were together, we were happy, and a marriage license wasn't going to suddenly make our relationship bigger or more important. So if we were going to have a public event, we were going to involve as many of the people who had touched our lives as possible. The wedding became just as much, if not more, for our guests as it was for us.

The idea of community became our focus when it came time to work on the actual ceremony. We wanted everyone to be involved and not just sit there passively. I started thinking about all the church services I had attended while growing up. I remembered joining hands with others, answering along with the congregation, and just being present with others and coming together for the same reason. I missed those feelings and wanted to bring that same closeness into our ceremony.

The first breakthrough came when I was grappling with the "who gives this woman?" issue. I didn't need to be given away. My own father had already weighed in earlier in our engagement on the fact that Kent and I were both adults and didn't need anyone's permission to get married. (Which made him respect the hell out of Kent for talking to him and asking for his blessing before proposing, but that's another story.) We were coming into this of our own free will and that was enough. But in doing so, we were asking something from our family and friends. We wanted them to recognize the choice we had made in each other and to support or at least respect that decision.

When Dad and I came to the front, Lon, our officiant, said a few words about family and friends and our desire and hope to be welcomed, together, in their lives. Lon asked who would support us and everyone responded "We do" before I hugged Dad and took the last few steps to stand with Kent.

During the ceremony itself, our rings were passed through the crowd and everyone was invited to make a wish for us, say a prayer, and just generally offer something positive. Rather than having them engraved, our rings carry the love and support of those people who were there on the day we got married.

But not everything was solemn and symbolic. My bridesmaids each had one charm from a "Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" monkey trio tied to their bouquet. Kent wore Converse that later left our DJ speechless. We exited to a cover of The Darkness' "I Believe in a Thing Called Love." Under my dress I had a blue crinoline and shimmery teal polish on my toes. chgu did our ceremony music in a top hat and monocle. Our first ceremony reading equated love to being a dog owner. And in the end, it was "us."

And now, because a wedding post wouldn't be complete without pictures, I'll leave you with some picspam below the cut.

Dad asking if I still wanted to get married while my Aunt Linda fixed my train.

Austen, my nephew, getting into position to pass the rings for our ring warming.

Our ring box with a ribbon my maid of honor, Jennifer, and I braided that morning.

Ring warming

Srs bizness in progress

I got a ring...

... and Kent got a ring.

We kissed

And we was married. Where's the music, chgu?

Running around the building to hide out in one of the dressing rooms before pictures.

We actually look like respectable people.

Kent's parents actually came and I have proof!

And after lots more pictures, it was time for cake and booze.

I was kind of excited with how the puppy cake turned out.

There are still more pictures to come, but for those that are curious and/or have some time to kill, our photographers have two galleries up for our pictures here and here.

I scoffed at the forecast earlier in the week

arularia — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:47:23 GMT

It's snowing. For some people, this would not be news. However, I live in North Texas where "snow" means a few flurries from the sky that might or might not stick. We get sleet and ice more than we get actual snow.

And yet the puppies were almost chest deep in it when we went outside earlier. No they aren't very tall. That's not the point.

Some parts are seeing as much as eight inches. I think the official total for my neck of the woods is about five inches. DFW airport has set a 30-year high for snowfall. This is almost as crazy as when it snowed in Galveston. That was the time that I opened the door, saw snow, panicked, and had to take a moment to process what was happening before Ursula could have walkies. According to the news, snowfall is coming down at about an inch per hour.

Bella is beyond not amused at the weather. Ursula, on the other hand, is in heaven. She's already had two walks in the past three hours and I'm about to take her for a third because she's having so much fun and just generally losing her little puppy mind. I wish I had video of her tearing around in the snow.

Topics by letter--now with pictures

arularia — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 06:40:27 GMT

What's this? TWO posts?!

Same story as before. Meme. 26 slots. Navigate here to play. Comments are still screened.

Today's post brought to you by the letter U.

U is for Ursula.

I met this little ball of fluff in a pet shop in Shawnee, where I attended college. This pet shop was part of a tradition of sorts which started one day when my roommate and I were both having a retched time of things. She came up with the idea of going to the pet store to hold baby animals. As I'm not one to argue against more fluffy cuteness in my life, I agreed and off we went. This was the start of puppy therapy. There weren't always puppies there, but there was pretty much always something fuzzy and suitable for cuddles there. The tradition continued and grew to include other people we were friends with. We played with kittens, held bunnies (even named some of them), and went to pieces whenever there were puppies. Somehow, we all managed to keep our logic about us and made sure the critters didn't come home with us.

Well, until my senior year anyway.

Jennifer (of maid of honor infamy) and I showed up for puppy therapy. There we were greeted by the sight of a squirming pile of Schipperke pups. My. God. I had never seen one in person. When I was little, I had received a book on dogs which listed I don't know how many dog breeds, all with photos and all with a little bit of breed history and/or information on their personalities and such. For whatever reason, Schipperkes were among my favorite of all the new breeds I had discovered. We snuggled the babies, felt better about whatever was sucking that day, and went on our way.

A week or two later, we again found ourselves in need of puppy therapy. When we arrived, we found one lone Schip left in the pin. She (we didn't actually know her gender at that point) was accompanied by a little chihuahua pup who was the last of his respective litter. She looked like a tiny little bear cub, all round and fluffy and so tiny. Her little face looked like a fox though. She was just so. cute. At some point my brain melted and I told Kent about the little fluffball. He was due to visit me soon (I think it was a concert weekend) and when he got there, I took him to the pet shop. Between then and the next weekend, we talked about getting her. At some point we decided it was a good idea to bring her home. Obviously we were both suffering of brain melt as she was about $300 and would still need more shots, a bed, toys, and all the other puppy accessories.

But we still did it. How could you say no to this? We dubbed her Ursula--"little bear"--and agreed we'd call her Ursie as Ursula was too grown up a name for this little cutie. But Ursie just never stuck.

The pet shop refused to hold her even if she was paid for. With some arguing, I finally got the owner to agree to holding her until the next day. I found a local vet who could board for ten bucks a night and she stayed there overnight. They weighed her and I was so goddamn proud when she registered a whopping 4.1 lbs on the "big dog" scale after the tech mentioned she might be too little for it. My friends and I went out shopping for her like she was a baby. They had to fulfill their auntly duties and buy toys for her. Kent called to say he was buying her first brush and pull rope. He also asked that we not take her to PetSmart--he didn't want to miss out on her first trip.

Her first full night with us, she passed out in the middle of playing with her rope. We picked her up and put her to bed and she was so conked out that she never moved. Over the next few days, we discovered she was afraid of doorways. We had to pick her up to get her past thresholds. We also realized that this little pup knew just how cute she was when we took her to go potty. A car drove by us and she flopped over on her back, staring after them, going "you're going to pet me, right?"

We taught her to ring a set of bells that we hung from the door knob to let us know when she needed to potty. We did puppy classes and she learned basic obedience and some cutesy things how to high-five and do a little puppy pirouette. She developed an attitude and decided her daddy was more fun to chew on than take orders from. I yelled at him not to teach her bad things. They still play by him harassing her and her gnawing on his thumbs. If she had thumbs of her own, we have no doubt she would take over the world. Thank goodness for small favors.

Sunday is her third birthday. She's a Valentine's baby. There's a possibility for a pup-friendly cake. Maybe we'll be lazy and just give her a Frosty Paw. She's grown up into a lovely little lady. If you believe her outward appearance that is. She's a little bundle of energy and still mouthy for me to feel comfortable letting her play with little kiddos. I know she'd never hurt them, but she would scare them. She'd be a whiz at flyball if we ever bothered finding a league and training her. She loves to run and her favorite trips to the dog park have been when there were other pups there willing to play chase. At home, she gets a great deal of joy out of trying to kill the laser point dot. She tears around the living room after it like a cat and even pounces it like one. She gives butt wags instead of your average tail wagging. She doesn't have a tail of her own (never did). Her fur grows slightly longer over where her tail would be if she had one. It's pretty cute.

So that's Miss Ursula Valentina McNeill. Being all black, she doesn't photograph too well. It's probably just another ploy to get people to love her in person.

I might enjoy the kitchen a little too much

arularia — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:01:45 GMT

Kent and I made use of his day off today and decided to ~~spend the money burning a hole in my checking account~~ get our completion bonus from leftover items on the wedding registry. After an hour or so and a latte for each of us we now have even more stuff in the living room that needs to be put away. In retrospect, waiting until we were completely unpacked might have been a better mood. Then again, I have a snazzy new printer now so clutter be damned.

My valiant printer who served me for over five years, enduring trips between Texas and Oklahoma, a summer or two in storage, many scanning and photo sessions, and even printing my wedding stationary finally decided she had had enough after we got back to Galveston. She just... stopped talking to my computer and no amount of troubleshooting, updates, or reinstalling drivers would coax her back to service. She stopped scanning years ago, but her printing and copying were still great so we made due.

Part of me feels a little guilty at the sight of this sleek new pretty sitting in front of me. Like I ditched my faithful partner for the newer, sexier model. Then again, she's the one that refused to help in making things work.

Other highlights include a couch cover. You heard me. We have two dogs, both of which would look at us as if we'd lost our minds were we ever to insist that puppies belong on the floor. Having something easily washable will be a lovely thing. It will also mean that I'll no longer have a green couch located a few feet from my red kitchen. (The kitchen was painted before we moved in.) I enjoy Christmas, but I don't need my apartment to look like an after-holiday reject.

I also have this baby coming in the mail.

Oh fuck me I'm excited. I just want to touch it.

In more practical matters, I have an actual step stool now so I can stop using Kent's tackle box when I need to adjust the ceiling fan in the living room or get into the back of our cupboards. (Which are insanely deep and rather high.) In less practical matters, a minor scuffle in the book section ended in me coming away with a copy of Hello, Cupcake!. What makes this story amusing is the sides of the argument that Kent and I each took. Kent informed me that I was "getting the damn book" since apparently it's something I've been lusting over for at least a year now. I will neither confirm nor deny his allegations. I will, however, endeavor to make cupcakes far cuter than baked goods have any right to be.

In other kitchen news, my next big project will be bread from scratch. Kent and I both had Borders giftcards and I treated myself to a copy of Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. The basic premise is no-knead yeast dough (yes, you read that right) which can live in your fridge for a week or two depending on the exact recipe. So after some initial mixing all you do is let the dough rise for about two hours and then throw in in the fridge. When you're ready to bake something, you grab a hunk of dough, shape it, and then walk away to let it rest for awhile. After the rest, you toss it in the oven and you've only spent a few minutes having to actively do something.

I've definitely had breadmaking fantasies.

Topics by letter

arularia — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:15:25 GMT

Awhile ago I posted a meme with 26 slots open for people to give a different topic for each letter of the alphabet that they wanted to see me post about.

Today's post is brought to you by the letter P.

Pro "life" stupidity--In the interest of full disclosure, I'm pro-choice. (Not exactly news around here, but whatever.) That being said, I'm obviously not a fan of the road blocks and legislation generated by the pro-life cause under the guise of protecting human life. There's this idea that if they can outlaw abortion it'll somehow go away. But um... guys? We tried that already. I'd like to introduce you to pre-1973. Abortion was illegal then and it still happened.

Now, I don't know about anyone else, but it seems to me that outlawing it has already been shown to be useless. So how else do we bring down the numbers? Well, let's bring down the number of unplanned pregnancies. I think that's something we'd all like to see, right? We can offer comprehensive sex ed in our schools starting at a young age with basic things like body parts, how to tell the difference between good and bad touching, how to avoid predators, etc. and build from there with a little more information each year as developmentally appropriate and eventually get into the nuts and bolts of pregnancy and STI prevention. We can subsidize clinics to offer family planing services.

Let's say we do all those things and the issue remains. What then? I'd think the first step would be to try to understand why women seek out the option to begin with. Lucky for us, there already organizations that keep stats on this sort of thing.

From a July 2008 publication from the Guttmacher Institute:
Three-fourths of women having an abortion site financial concerns
Three-fourths say another child would interfere with work, school, or caring for others
Link (Last bullet under Who has abortions?)

Point the first: money. It's several thousand dollars just to deliver and that's if we ignore the cost of prenatal care. Afterward, a new parent will spend, on average, $10,000 in the first year of that child's life. That's a hefty junk of money and something you don't just pull out of your ass. And what has the pro-life camp done to combat that? They hand out receiving blankets, a few clothes, formula, some strollers. Hell, I'm sure some of them even give out car seats and nursery furniture.

But when that can of formula dries up? Or the baby outgrows the clothes? And there are no more diapers? What about school supplies and gas to shuttle the wee ones back and forth to school and doctor's appointments? What about paying for medical care itself? Sure there are assistance programs out there, but as any middle-class American can tell you, there's a huge gap between people who could really benefit from some help and those that actually get it.

Point the second: interference with other responsibilities. Work, school, other people. Where are the subsidized daycares? How about PAID time off from work as a federal mandate to new parents instead of this shit 15 weeks of "job on hold" that the US now offers? What about respite care for parents of multiple children? Does any of this exist? Is it being fought for by lifers? No! The politicians they put in office are also the ones fighting these things.

And that's really what this whole thing boils down to. These people rage all day against the evils of abortion and then don't do a damn thing that's actually meaningful to stopping them. They don't want to prevent pregnancy, they don't want to help women seek care for healthy pregnancies and births, they can't be axed to provide meaningful support in raising a child or supporting a new parent who is no doubt completely overwhelmed. How can you honestly be surprised when people come to the conclusion that their only rational option is not to continue the pregnancy?

There's also the lovely adoption answer. Because, somehow, deciding on adoption just makes all the intervening months disappear. It somehow solves the looks on the street and the "what do you mean you're NOT keeping it?!" It makes free prenatal care and maternity clothes appear out of thin air and what do you mean time off from work? Pregnancy's not hard! If you're tired it's because your lazy and don't give me that crap about your back hurting. I threw out my back last year and still went to work no it doesn't matter that I have a nice desk job or can work from home and you're on your feet all day.

But the reality is that adoption doesn't equal a home. There's this notion that every baby will find a home with no trouble, but that really only holds true with healthy, white babies. If the child in question isn't white or, even worse, is black, his or her chances just went way down. Health problems? Same thing. Sites like this are full of people lamenting their desire for a child and begging for a birth mother to grant their fondest wish. But it's not about just having a baby, it's about having *the* baby. It's like there's some kind of shame in adopting. "Oh we can't let anyone know we adopted so the baby has to look like us. Darkies need not apply." Harsh, but when you see profiles like "this which list so many options, but only options that could "pass." Or, my favorite one--"open to discussion." Maybe I'm jaded, but I can't help but read that as "we really don't want a minority child, but we don't want anyone to think we're racist either."

Long story short, the pro-life camp does nothing but cause problems and get in the way of organizations who actually want to change the status quo. And we haven't even gotten into lifers putting pro-war and pro-capital punishment politicians into office or holding those ideals themselves. Or ones that want to bomb Iraq or see no reason to take part in humanitarian efforts. I don't care that you hold those beliefs, just own up to them. If you're going to live your life that way, then say it loud and proud--stop hiding behind your noble label.

arularia — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:12:32 GMT

Tom Tancredo thinks we should go back to the "good ole days" of literacy tests.

The worst part about it? The crowd fucking cheered.

Mr. Tancredo, please get the fuck out of my country. And I wouldn't be sad at all to see the Teabaggers go with you.

arularia — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:42:55 GMT

My photographer emailed me today to say that our picture disk should be shipped the week of Valentine's Day. Happy Valentine's Day to us!

I got a teaser link today with just over 200 pictures. So happy.

This might be my favorite shot ever.

Our morning

arularia — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:46:03 GMT

After finding a link on Facebook to this.

Me: *listens*
Kent: *after song finishes* That was a nice song.
Me: It's the Spice Girls and Pavarotti.
Kent: ... I'm not sure about that.
Me: That's what I said.
Kent: I think my brain just got fucked...

Also from the Kent:

K: Sometime I wish we had kids.
Me: o.O Why?
K: Ones that were a little older so we could just say "Pack all this stuff up."

arularia — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 21:00:29 GMT

Day two of people working on the roof of the apartment complex. The first day wasn't so bad--some general bumping around, but it was quiet and constant enough that I could tune it out. (Except for the occasional loud thud and our windows shaking...) That is not the case for today. I swear to god they had a dance-off up there this morning and someone seems to be trying to get a second round going this afternoon. I have an awful headache from the pounding.

And the worst part? These guys don't stop at five. They go until there's no more light. It's only a few hours more, but darnit I want some peace!

I'd be less pissed off about the whole thing if the complex had had the decency to notify us that roof work was going to be done.

In happier news, Kent and I have an apartment in Dallas now. We're leaving Galveston at the end of the week and moving in on Monday, February 1st. We even have the option to move in a day or two earlier if we decide to leave Galveston a bit earlier. And all we have to do is call the complex and give them a heads up.

We're going to have a washer and dryer IN the apartment. I cannot explain how excited I am about this. I've also decided to make my own laundry soap in celebration of this and as a first step toward the greener way of life Kent and I have discussed for awhile now. The move seems like a nice kick-off point.

arularia — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:52:26 GMT

Dear Friends List,

I think this will make you smile. Boycott Houston.

The website was started due to Houston's election of an openly gay mayor and because of the opening of a Planned Parenthood "abortion clinic."* The director/founder of the website (the same director/founder of Repent Amarillo.com) desires to bring about economic sanctions on the city of Houston, the fourth largest city in the U.S.

Really guys? Really? You honestly think you can bring around enough of a boycott for Houston to even notice? I guess I shouldn't be that surprised since this group also seems to think that conservation efforts are acts of idolatry and "Earth worship."

I'll keep any further snarking to a minimum. These guys snark themselves.

*The site is a combination of administrative offices and clinics and while yes they will be performing abortions, like any other Planned Parenthood clinic, the bulk of their work will be in well woman care, family planning, and other such services. Link

arularia — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:46:36 GMT

Apartment hunting is making me sad. We found a place that looks promising in terms of location, price, and such, but whoever set their policy for pet deposits is on crack. $300 per animal? Seriously? Other apartments are half that and even allow big dogs! (Not that we have big dogs, but at this point, it's all a matter of principle.)

What pisses me off the most is that, god help me, I'm still tempted. They have a two bedroom available for the price that we're paying for a one bedroom in Galveston right now.

arularia — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 06:32:52 GMT

The rehearsal dinner was tonight. Things were crazy, but everything was nice and the food was incredible. Kent and I will be eating at this place regularly once we're back in the area. Several people got up to give toasts. My dad said I had steel in my soul while he told the story of our flurry of a move to Galveston and my insistence to not put off the wedding until the summer.* I've now been told by several people that I look "serene" even though I've come close to removing a few heads over the past few days. But on to the real reason behind this post.

Dad and a few other people have been teasing me a little bit about the bell wands we're making for the reception. As I wasn't crazy about having rice or birdseed or whatever thrown at us, we decided to make bell wands. Kent wanted jingle bells for our exit, so instead of bells on a card or on a string, I somehow devised a plot to attach them to dowel rods and add streamers at the end. (There will definitely be some dying masculinity tomorrow.)

The running joke has been that instead of rice, they'll hurl the wands at us. Today, this idea evolved into turning them into spears. At the dinner, Dad announced a thousand dollar pot to anyone who could spear us. He would plant a pencil sharper at the reception and then everyone could sharpen them up.

At this point, I'm kind of not sure what's been done and what is still left to do. And I'm almost not caring. Then again, I'm kind of zonked and, for the time being, am alone. Kent's taken off for the night and I'm waiting for Jennifer and company to get back to the house. Maybe I'm just ready to have this happen already.

*Apparently, we have inadvertently picked the coldest weekend of the year to get married. As in, there is the potential for record lows. Although I didn't hate life as much as I thought I would running around in a dress and wrap earlier so, surely, I'll be able to brave the cold with my wedding dress and even larger, fluffier wrap.

arularia — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 09:57:52 GMT

So um... I'm getting married tomorrow.

There is some part of this equation that my brain has yet to grasp.