Just me and my girl...

Lance is gone...on his way to Edwards AFB for the week. He left before 4 this morning, so my sleep, besides being interrupted every few hours by the dog, was interrupted by his leaving.

That was fine though. It's all part of our marriage.

Reece was pretty good after. She let me sleep in until almost 7. When she woke me up around then, I got out of bed and promptly collapsed on the floor. My left leg was rubbery and my knee just buckled. She freaked out and wet the floor a little and jumped on me to see how I was doing. It took a few minutes for me to shake off that rubbery feeling in my leg and be able to stand up. Even then, my leg was a bit weak.

Lance found a package by the front door this morning...gifts from his mom and sister. There were birthday cards for us. I put those aside for later (my birthday is Wednesday...Lance's is the 29th). The gifts inside were for Reece.

She got a squeaky soccer ball from her Grandma J. From her Auntie Kim and cousin Koda, she got a new Kong (perfect, so we can keep one in the dishwasher while we use the other one), a rope chew, and a bag of chicken liver treats.

She loves her new toys.

She got a few licks of my hot green tea this morning. I think she scorched her tongue, judging by the look on her face. That didn't stop her from trying to get a few licks of my replacement cup.

(no subject)

Lance is taking me out to dinner next weekend for my birthday.

I know he wants nothing more than to embarrass me by having the waitstaff sing and bring me a cake or something, so I'm trying to find a place that will minimize that humiliation.

There is a very good Greek/Italian restaurant that is hidden away in a charming but modest house somewhere in the neighboring town of Auburn. That sounds like a pretty good option.

I think I'll be avoiding chain restaurants for this dinner. I am also considering Paolo's, which is a very nice mom-and-pop Italian place very close to our house. But I've been in a Greek food mood lately, so option #1 might be best.

I have also been wanting enchiladas and margaritas, but I'm not going to wear a freaking sombrero.

Masochism

Masochism is being VERY VERY homesick for Europe, yet spending the day watching a Rick Steves marathon on PBS.

And the thing is, I don't even care for Rick Steves. I don't doubt that the man knows his shit. I just find him grating.

Right now, it's Salzburg. They just showed Vienna and talked about Sacher Torte.

*sigh*

At least I have never been to either city (although I have been in the mountains above Salzburg and have always longed to go there). I have, however, had Sacher Torte. If I watch long enough, he'll eventually cover someplace that I've been. Then the longing will hit me harder.

starting over (almost) from scratch...

I completely destroyed the garden today. It was intentional.

The irises and rose bush still exist. I completely raked up everything that I could otherwise.

Rhubarb - gone.

Chives - gone. (The dog likes to eat plants, and I was worried about these making her sick.)

More importantly...the weeds are mostly gone. I still have some more work to do in that respect.

I also realized as I was doing this just how horrible our slug problem is. They are EVERYWHERE. It's disgusting.

I think what I want to do is brick over this area. Add a water fountain and a bench.

Honestly, I lack the gardening gene. I really want a nice backyard, and it will take some work to get there. But I have absolutely no idea how to garden and I find it really tedious to do so anyway. A lot of what I have is very low or no maintenance. It's mainly just one area of the garden that is giving me issues.

I know someday that Lance and I will look back on all the work we've done/will have to do on this house and feel some sense of accomplishment and pride. Right now, it all seems very daunting and overwhelming and very expensive.

And also...

Not gardening-related at all, but I really miss writing. Somehow, I need to get my writing groove back, and I think that not having written anything recently has largely contributed to my recent (and still ongoing) bout of soul sickness.

We need to get MS Office on my laptop...stat. I need to have MS Word. Right now, I only have it on my computer in the office, and I can never use that computer because the office is closed off to the dog. Lance is either always in there, or I am home alone and can't go in there anyway because I have to keep my eye on Munchy.

I need to get some writing gigs or take a writing class or go to the next Writer's Muse meeting (which has been moved from Wednesday mornings to evenings). I need something to light the creative spark within me again. It's smoldering and smoking like a burnt ember, but not burning brightly the way I wish.

And I feel that somehow, my writing is going to be my ticket out of certain situations that vex me about my life right now.