exotic hand-shaped locales

When last we spoke, the protagonists of this blog were jetting off to exotic hand-shaped locales to celebrate nuptials that were longer in the making than those of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

The wedding week was wonderfully fun! We experienced dinner tables on fire, bachelorette karaoke, scalding sunburn, and perhaps the coolest wedding trend ever, the reception photobooth. My sister was beautiful, and yes, riding the MSU bus around campus was totally, completely rad.

I could hardly blink back the happy tears as I stood by my sister's side at the altar, and the ridiculous grin on my face is probably going to be a source of much amusement when the professional pictures come back.


If the flurry of candid photos that have popped up on Facebook post-wedding are any indication, the professional snaps are going to be great, and I can't wait to see them and share some of them here. I felt so elegant all dolled up in my pink dress, and Jason looked absolutely dashing in his suit and coordinating tie.




After spending so much time apart while he was deployed, being back together for such a special, romantic event was a thrill, and it made me fall in love with him more than ever before.

Coming back to California was a huge letdown for us after such a great week. How we felt about it has definitely reinforced our desire to lay down roots in Michigan as soon as we can.

off we go

Jason and I are jetting off to Michigan in a few hours for a week of wedding fun. It will be the first time we've flown together since 2005, and only the second time that Jason has been to my motherland. He was last there for a weekend in 2007. He's long overdue!

Not only is he coming with me on this trip, he's also a last minute addition to my sister's bridal party! I couldn't be happier and I can't wait to make goo goo eyes at him from across the altar on Saturday.

To keep you occupied while I'm gone, I posted a humorous little tidbit from Jason's deployment over at List of the Day. All I can say is that some street signs in Malaysia seem to be for a mature audience!

The next time I post, I'll show you where I'm from on my hand.

best bus EVER

It was a sad day on base today. An F/A-18 Super Hornet jet went down during a routine training exercise this afternoon, killing both men aboard. I don't know either of the sailors or their families, but when a tragedy like this happens, the entire community grieves, and an accident on the home front is particularly jarring.

In better news, I'm getting ready to head home to Michigan on Friday for my sister's bridal shower. I'll only be there for the weekend, but considering that I haven't been in the mitten since 2009, I'll take what I can get. I might even kiss the ground (but I'll probably just stick to kissing my parents' cats).

I've been looking forward to this weekend for a long time. I'm also looking forward to some awesome little details that sissy dearest is planning for her wedding day, which I am going to spill the beans on because SHE doesn't have a blog:

The bridal party's ride! I am probably more excited about this than she is.
Our super-awesome bridesmaid necklaces from Love Salt Jewelry by the lovely Salt! These are going to look perfect with our dresses and shoes.
Hooray!

the pride of Putin

Boris was a dumpster cat from the mean streets of Ann Arbor.

At least that's what he wanted you to think. In truth, he was a Soviet agent, tasked with infiltrating American kittydom in idyllic Grand Ledge, Michigan.


His desire to return intelligence to mother Russia was eclipsed only by his curiosity about the outside world. The allure of America called to him at every moment. He was always the first cat waiting to dash out of whatever door had been opened.


There were windows to be looked out of.


Boxes to be sat in.


And oh, those American birds.

In his younger days, Boris was the master of leaping into the air in pursuit of string toys, huffing and puffing "HA!" with each bounce. He would jump and "HA! HA! HA!" over and over and over. I would tire of the game before he would.

My dad and stepmom said goodbye to Boris today. He was ten years old. He had been battling lymphoma, but it finally got to be too much. He was a shadow of his former self. And so the vet came to their home this evening, as she did for Darcie and Alice last year.

I will miss him, that Blackie. I will miss making up ridiculous stories about him. I will miss his "HA!" I will miss how the only part of him that you could see in the dark was his eyes. I will miss how he slept on my feet at night when I went home for a visit.

Spokojnoj nochi, Boris, and do svidaniya.

Crazy Eights

Brittany tagged me in a game of Crazy 8s:

8 T.V. Shows I Watch
These are just shows that are currently on the four main networks. This doesn't even touch MTV or Food Network or summer season shows. What can I say, my DVR gets around.

1. Castle
2. American Idol
3. The Good Wife
4. Glee
5. Lost
6. FlashForward
7. Bones
8. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

8 Favorite Places to Eat and Drink
To keep things interesting, I'm going to limit this to non-national chain places that I've been to in California. These aren't necessarily my favorite places ever, but they're decent places that I can go currently. In no particular order...

1. Saddle Ranch Chop House, Universal City
2. Rock'n Fish, Los Angeles
3. Café Sierra, Universal City
4. Toshiko Japanese Cuisine, Hanford
5. Shine Café, Morro Bay
6. Taj Palace Cuisine of India, Visalia
7. Red Door Asian Bistro, Fresno
8. Thai Kitchen, Hanford

8 Things I Look Forward To

1. Five weeks from now when Jason is done with his current college class and has time to do fun stuff again.
2. The finale of Lost.
3. Seeing the number on the scale begin with a 1 again. Just a few more pounds!
4. Fitting into my size 14 pants again. And someday, even my size 12s.
5. My sister's wedding next year.
5. Finding and accessorizing bridesmaid dresses.
6. Any opportunity to be fancy.
7. Weekends.
8. Sleep.

8 Things That Happened Yesterday

1. I forced myself out of bed around 5:30 a.m., cleaned up the kitty litter boxes, started a load of Jasper's towels, and made Jason some coffee to take to work with him, as I do every weekday.
2. I worked from 6 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
3. I took Jasper to the vet.
4. I talked on the phone with my grandparents.
5. I wished my sister a happy birthday several times.
6. I took a nap in the evening.
7. Jason turned the air conditioning on while I was asleep.
8. I turned it off as soon as I woke up. It's still too soon!

8 Things I Like About Summer

1. Opening all of the windows and letting the breeze blow through the house.
2. The heat makes my cats even sleepier and lazier than usual.
3. So much sunshine!
4. Summer storms.
5. Fourth of July/our anniversary. We're coming up on five years together, four years married.
6. All the blockbuster action movies come out.
7. My birthday.
8. It is perfectly acceptable to play "Summertime" over and over and over.

8 Things I'm Passionate About

1. My husband
2. My family
3. Animal rights
4. Michigan State University
5. Charity
6. Recycling
7. the state of Michigan
8. My cats

8 Words or Phrases I Use Often

1. The F word. I am probably far more foul-mouthed than most of you think. But I usually only speak that way in front of my husband.
2. What do you want? (to a cat)
3. What are you doing? (to a cat)
4. You Ms. (to my sister)
5. All done! (to Jasper after injecting his insulin)
6. I love you.
7. Have a good day! (to Jason, every morning as he leaves for work)
8. How was your day? (to Jason, every day when he gets home from work)

8 Things I Have Learned From the Past

1. It's usually better to keep your legs closed.
2. Constantly walking into protruding doorknobs will leave nasty bruises on your forearms. See also: I've apparently lost all track of what my arms are doing when I'm walking about.
3. Liquor is quicker and tastes better.
4. Take home half of your dinner.
5. Take home dessert, too.
6. My passion is more important than my paycheck.
7. The coffee shop always smells good while you are there, but when you come home after a shift you will stink.
8. Water is better with a slice of lemon.

8 Places I'd Like to Visit
I'm going to list places to which I have never been. To see where I've already been, read my Where in the World Wednesday archive.

1. Disneyland
2. Hawaii
3. Alcatraz
4. Annapolis, Maryland (where my sister lives)
5. Sweden
6. Las Vegas
7. Williamsburg, Virginia
8. India

8 Things I Currently Want/Need

1. Want: a bowl of the nondairy ice cream in the freezer.
2. Want: a red purse.
3. Need: to vacuum the house.
4. Want: some cute new earrings to wear when I'm feeling fancy.
5. Need: to put away two loads of clean laundry from last weekend and wash all of this week's dirty clothes.
6. Want: some new art to fill up the last remaining blank walls in our house.
7. Need: to convince Jasper to use the litter box again.
8. Want: the scratch down the middle of my cleavage to heal. Thanks for that, Lola.

8 Bloggers I Tag to Play Along
You... times 8!

Meowy Michigan Christmas

Happy Christmas eve!

I'm watching the weather anxiously here. If the headlines say "Travelers beware if leaving Michigan," it can't be good news for my flight out of Detroit tomorrow. All the more reason not to leave. Except that I miss my husband and kitties terribly and every happy moment is tinged with sadness that Jason isn't here to share it.

Angst aside, Merry Christmas to one and all, from:


Erin


Dustin


Alexander


Casper


Spike


Sophia


Nigel


Amy


Mittens

...and me.

the mitten kitten

I'm in Michigan. It's cold. It smells good. Does cold have a smell? It does here.

Last night I sat down on the chilly streets of Ann Arbor and hugged a beautiful black dog close to me until her homeless guardian came out of the restaurant in which he was warming up. Her chattering teeth tapped a drum line beat. My heart broke a little right there on the sidewalk. I hope I gave her a temporary reprieve from what must be a difficult life.

Another orange cat was sitting at our door when Jason took me to the airport yesterday morning. He didn't want food, just love. We left him some food anyway. The kitty was still there when Jason got back, so he sat and petted him for a while before he had to go to work.

I can't save them all. But we did save my mom and stepdad's (as yet unnamed) kitty up there, who showed up at their door like she owned the place. And now she does.

Welcome to the family, Kitten.

increasing my carbon footprint

Tomorrow morning bright and early I'll be heading to the land of these guys:


see more Sports Pictures
No, not Sweden and Russia. Rather, Hockeytown--a different mother land entirely. Mine!

I'll be taking these tasty snacks with me since I'll be in airports from 4 AM Pacific to 8 PM Eastern time. I love my random imported commissary food!

I have all of my holiday shopping done (and paid for).

I only need to add a few more last-minute items to my suitcase.

I also need to get the cats off of it.


My parents' cats are going to have a field day smelling my luggage. I think the cat lady disease is starting to spread, because my mom and stepdad have a cat now, too. And my dad and stepmom have a mighty flock as usual. If you don't want to end up with a cat sleeping on your head at night, I suggest you stop being friends with me posthaste.

Get ready, I'm coming home.*

* Holy crap, I love that song. It needs to be on iTunes, stat.

The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge

It's the first of December, and you know what that means.

Yes, it means that you only have 24 shopping days left until Christmas (I only have two people left to buy gifts for, suckahs!).

Yes, it means that it's World AIDS Day (use a condom, people).

It also means that it's time to look back on the year behind us--and what better way is there to do that than The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge? (That was a rhetorical question, so don't answer it.)

Here's how it works: there's a writing prompt in question form for each day of December. For example, today's question is: What was your best trip in 2009? And so forth for the next 30 days--the list of prompts is here (there's also a list of participants on that page--I'm number 240, so seriously, all the cool bloggers are doing it). Easy, yes?

Well, maybe not. I am by no means promising that I'll blog every day or that I'll write about the prompt question if I do blog. I can commit to a man, but I sure as hell can't commit to blogging every day. Nor can I be counted on to summarize my year properly. Regardless, mad props to Gwen Bell for adding a little bit of organization to these here intertubes.

On to today's topic: my best trip in 2009. I've done a bit of travel this year. Most recently to Virginia for work, to Oakland for work, and to Los Angeles a few times, definitely not for work. And I'll be going home to Michigan two weeks from today (side note: SQUEEEEEEEEEEE!).

But the best trip of all this year was by far when I drove 3,100 miles from Massachusetts to California with a car full of disgruntled cats. (In case you missed it: part the first, part the second, and part the third.) And I don't mean "best" in an ironic or sarcastic sense at all. Leaving Massachusetts and knowing that I'll never have to live there ever again made the unpleasant parts of the journey fade into the background. California was my light at the end of the tunnel highway, and blasting across the Massachusetts/New York border throwing a one-fingered salute was better for my mental health than a bottle of Zoloft.

The move (and the Navy reenlistment that prompted it) was also an integral part of reclaiming our lives, which seemed to be stagnating in the morass that is Massachusetts and its accompanying familial entanglements. (Hehe, I said morass!) It was tough at times, like when Jason had to leave me in Massachusetts (for we didn't know how long) when he reported to his temporary personnel unit in Illinois. He certainly had it worse than I did. We ended up only being apart for two months, but that separation made joining him in California even sweeter, despite our less-than-ideal temporary accomodations and sleeping on the floor for two weeks while waiting for our moving truck to arrive.

I never thought I would drive cross-country, let alone with no other company than my cats. I feel grateful to have had my situation necessitate it. Making the trip was rewarding in that it taught me that I can handle that kind of stress. When Jason first reenlisted, I told him I wanted us to be sent anywhere but California because I knew that I would have to drive the cats to wherever we ended up, and I didn't think I could do it on my own. Now I know that I can!

This trip got me out of a negative place (literally and figuratively), boosted my self-confidence, and reunited me with my husband. It doesn't get much better than that!

cinquante trois

Wait, what day is it? July 27? Shit.

Today is my mom's birthday. Sadly, I don't get to spend the day with her like I did last year. And come to think of it, I didn't get her a present this year, either (and I sold the veil she's holding in the picture, so she can't have that).

But she's back home in Michigan whooping it up playing musical cottages with various family members up north where they don't have things like postal service or those cell-you-lar telephones that give you the cancer in your brains, so it's not like she'll notice anyway.

Well, OK, they do have cell phones, but you have to go to the top of the special hill to get any reception and you'll only be able to make out every third word so you'd better hope the person on the other end says filler words like um, uh, well, like, and you know a lot. They probably do have mail service, too (by pony express), so I'm out of excuses.

Luckily for me, my mom and stepdad will be venturing west in September to check in on their rogue California-moving children (my stepsister lives here, too), so I'll get the chance to be a good daughter then.

Perhaps I'll drag her out into the desert to spy on the Bunniculas. What? It's obviously a great present. She'd love it!

Want to know the kicker? She transferred $100 into my bank account today. A round of applause for my mom, yes?

...

Happy birthday, Mommy! We love you!

No one talked about cheese.

It's my policy not to talk about my job. It's generally better that way because most people do not understand my line of work. AT ALL. And that is why I so thoroughly enjoy being around those who do understand it.

Still, I was nervous about my trip to Oakland to spend a day in the office because what if the people didn't like me? What if it was totally different from what I was used to when I worked in the office in Virginia? What if I slipped and mentioned how I sometimes eat cheese on purpose accidentally? Worst of all, what if I couldn't find anything to wear?

Well, all of my worries were for naught, because my day was AMAZING. I loved my coworkers, and they loved me (and my outfit, which was totally cute and got compliments for matching the organization's logo). No one talked about cheese.

Plus, Jason got to come along and keep me company in my hotel room. It made up for all of those work trips he took without me before he reenlisted in the Navy.

Ok, so it totally didn't make up for the time he went to Jamaica without me. But it's a start.

The weekend's big excitement was buying three Rubbermaid trash barrels for our beverage container recycling. I even made labels for them today. Don't laugh--I take my recycling very seriously! Ask my mom, who used to have a corner of her garage in Michigan monopolized by recycling bins that we'd have to haul to the township drop spot whenever they filled up because there was no pickup. That was 5-10 years ago, though, so the trash company may do curbside service by now. When I moved to Virginia after college I brought most of my recyclables to work because there wasn't a bin at my apartment, but there was at the office (and Virginia doesn't do bottle refunds, boo).

Here in California, they recycle almost everything curbside (even little towns like Lemoore!), and the bottle return rules are different than other states (like Massachusetts and Michigan) that have bottle deposits. Instead of having in-store centers where you put the cans and bottles one by one into a machine that counts them by piece, Californians must take their beverage containers (including plastic water and juice bottles!) to stands (usually in grocery store parking lots) where they're weighed and you're paid accordingly. You can also do it by piece some places, if the workers can be bothered to count them.

Now that I have my lovely bins we'll be able to wait until the barrels are full to schlep them into town and receive our handsome reward for being eco-friendly (last time we got a whole $2.20). I had been throwing the empty beer bottles and pop cans into a plastic bag in the back seat of my car. This concerned Jason to no end, but I thought the clinking at stop signs was rather musical.

This afternoon I battled the ant hordes for a while (in anticipation of trash pickup tomorrow), shoveling loose dirt into the trash barrel so they have nowhere to live. I struck gold, taking out two nests of them along the front of the house. I also sealed up a crack in the wall inside the garage that they had been using in their to- and fro-ing. They still haven't dared come back into the house. I like to think that they fear me now.

Cross-Country Road Trip, Part the First

I have just watched my Michigan State Spartans dismantle the University of Connecticut Huskies!


I had to navigate through a Nebraska blizzard to make it to my hotel in time to see the second half of the game. I passed jack-knifed semis and cars in ditches, but nothing could stop me. It was worth every white-knuckled second.

Now we are relaxing in the Holiday Inn in Ogallala, Nebraska. As you can see, Jacob, Jasper, and Lola have made themselves right at home. The local CBS affiliate station is reporting a blizzard warning with wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour and up to five inches of snow for southwestern Nebraska. I am glad to be safe and warm inside.

Let me rewind a bit back to Wednesday, April 1--moving day. I got up at the crack of dawn to gas up the car and get some last-minute cash. The movers showed up bright and early, before I had even finished my coffee. I shut the cats in the bathroom and we packed all day. Jacob and Jasper spent most of their time playing musical carriers, and Lola curled up in the sink and yowled at regular intervals.

I had hoped to leave by 4 or 5 PM, but the movers didn't finish until after 5. My hopes of making it to the hotel I had booked in Syracuse in time for Lost were dashed. By the time I had finished cleaning, had some dinner, and loaded the cats in the car, it was after 9. And raining.

At that point I was so done with Massachusetts. But it wasn't done with me. A lovely state trooper pulled me over about two hours into my drive, for going 80 in a 65 zone... just like everyone else. Why he picked me, I'll never know. Luckily for me, he took pity on me--possibly because I looked horrible--and let me go with a warning. Needless to say, I crossed the border into New York with my favorite finger raised to my least-favorite state.

I didn't make it to Syracuse until 3 AM--I had to stop once to close my eyes so I didn't fall asleep at the wheel. I don't really remember getting everything into the hotel room. By that point I had been awake for nearly 24 hours and was mostly delirious. Then Lola spent the next three hours cuddled up next to my head--hissing and growling every time Jacob or Jasper came into her line of sight. I didn't get to sleep until 6. She did not get over being miss hissypants until today. I guess traveling makes her grumpy. I can't say I blame her.

My journey so far has gone like this:

Dracut, MA --> East Syracuse, NY --> Maumee, OH --> West Des Moines, IA --> Ogallala, NE

That's 1,770 miles out of 3,100.

Or for those of you who are more visually inclined:



More than halfway there!

I saw countless "this way to Michigan" signs on my way through Ohio. It made my stomach twist and it took every ounce of self-control I have to keep the car pointed west.

The states of Iowa and Nebraska are mile after mile of the same damn thing: cornfields. It is mind-numbing. Luckily, the speed limit on I-80 is 75 miles per hour across large strips of both of those states and there aren't any cops, so you can treat it like your own personal drag strip. After my run-in with the 5-0, I've been careful, but that doesn't mean you have to.

We'll see how this blizzard thing goes tonight and tomorrow. I'm pretty anxious to get out of Ogallala and back into civilization.

Hooray for blog friends!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting a longtime blog-friend for the very first time. Jamie is a fellow Michigan native I've known since way back in my Diary-X days. Just last month we discovered that we live half an hour away from each other (and that we both hate it in Massachusetts). Since I'm bailing on this fail state soon, we knew this could be our only chance to meet in person.

We spent five hours chatting at Starbucks--I don't think there's anything we didn't cover. It was so nice to let it all out with somebody, face to face, who understands how I feel 100 percent. The only reason we left was because it was closing time (and because our cats were waiting for us at home).

I can't think of a better ready-made friend than Jamie. We have a ton in common (cats! veganism! darling husbands! our excellent home state!) and I feel like we're truly kindred spirits. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not very good at making friends, so having made one all by myself feels so good.

Except that now I'm leaving. Such is life, I guess. I know our friendship will continue to grow online, where it started. And if I ever have to come visit Massachusetts, I'll have her smiling face to look forward to.

Christmas and engagements and weddings, oh my.

I am back in Massachusetts. My trip home to Michigan was far too short, but we sure did accomplish a lot. My mom got married in a very special ceremony in her new living room, my sister got engaged to her boyfriend who is also named Jason (I knew all about his plans to propose but kept it a secret!), and I... well, I didn't do anything special, other than rocking my new dress, pictured below. I just enjoyed being home, getting used to things at my mom's new house, which I love, and taking up my old routines at my dad's, which include drinking large amounts of coffee, eating myself silly, and chasing their thirteen cats. The only thing missing from all of this was my most wonderful husband. Maybe next year.


Today I am relaxing with Jason, fattening my ass on coffee and chocolate and thinking about my own absolutely gorgeous wedding--one year ago on December 28, 2007! (Note: it's not our anniversary. We were legally married when we eloped in July 2006. Today is my dad and step-mom's anniversary, however--they got married on December 28, 2003. I guess my family likes winter weddings.) All pictures below by Michael Umansky (of Reflections Photography) or Jamison Wexler. If you are getting married in New York/New Jersey or Massachusetts/New Hampshire, respectively, check them out. The venue was the Beechwood Hotel in Worcester, Mass.

The mitten: a holiday essential.

Guess what?

I am there, in the mitten. ------>

And it is fabulous.

As much as I hated to leave Jason and the kitties (I totally cried in the car while I drove myself to the airport), I was so ready to get the hell out of Massachusetts. From the Masshole snow plow driver who was so rude to me that I did the Ugly Cry standing in our parking lot to the thought of going yet another holiday without seeing my family, I'd had enough.

So here I am in Mommy's new house, getting some work done before the Christmas crazy settles in.

Ok, that's not true. The crazy is already here.

And I love it.

Tomorrow is Mommy and Phillip's wedding, then Christmas, then back to Massachusetts on Friday to hopefully spend some quality time with my husband.

Merry Christmas, everyone.