Good news, and the Death of a Sweater

So, Paul got the loan repayment program!! Basically this means that the big hospital money people give us money if Paul works in the hospital for two years. Yay! I love the big hospital money people. Or, maybe technically they are the government hospital money people. I wonder if this makes Paul a democrat.

Now, for some sad news. Last week, my pink cashmere hoodie died. Upon autopsy I discovered it had developed a hole in the elbow. This went undetected for quite some time, and by the time of discovery, sadly it was beyond repair. This is tragic!!! It should have lived so much longer.....I mean, I could wear it with anything! Almost anything. It didn't really look good with my butterfly skirt, but it looked good with so many things!!! I got it on sale at Banana Republic, one of those magical days when you find stuff on the clearance rack that fits and is actually cute.....(I just sniffed for dramatic effect) it lived for almost four years, you know. I think that's a pretty good run, for a pink cashmere hoodie that went everywhere. It went with me to a Death Cab for Cutie concert, and to Paul's graduation (see above picture), and to......the car show......okay, running out of specific instances, but I think you get my drift. This totally stinks, I mean, it was just getting cold. Nice timing, pink cashmere sweater. Thanks a lot. Hmmm. I think I've moved from grief to anger. What comes next?

scene from a marriage, part II

Paul: I think I'm hungry.

Andrea: You just ate all that pizza.

Paul: Oh, wait. Actually I think I'm full.

odd dream

I dreamt last night that the 1 train was a roller coaster, and as it came out of the tunnel (is it before or after 125th street?) we plummeted down and my tummy got that really awesome dropping feeling that I love so much. Then, I was in a restaurant and needed to use the bathroom. The ladies room was occupied, so I went into the men's room, and in the process of bending over to pull up my jeans, I dropped something into the toilet. I reached in to get it (!!!) and a hand REACHED OUT OF THE TOILET AND GRABBED MY HAND!!!! (!!!!) I recovered from the shock one would naturally experience after having an encounter with a toilet dwelling hand, and went out to sit down, where Kelsey Grammar (from Frasier) and Debbie Reynolds were taking turns serenading the restaurant goers. I don't remember what song Kelsey was singing, but he did look rather blissed out. I vaguely recall that the song Debbie Reynolds sang was about poop. I really need to stop eating ice cream so late at night......

nanny bourne

I was riding the bus home from work today, and we passed a movie theater. I glanced up at the marquis; The Nanny Diaries, and the latest Bourne movie were both listed. Have you ever seen two words and just mixed them all up in your head without even trying? With the way the names were placed on the marquis, or perhaps just because I was quite tired, what I saw was Nanny Bourne. I thought, "hmmmm. That's not right." Then I paused and reflected on what Jason Bourne would look like as a nanny.

sick

Well, since my last post, things have backfired a little bit. While my passion for junk food remains intact, it appears that my strategy for consuming said junk food was rather lacking. On Saturday, Sunday and Monday, I ate virtually nothing but sugar, and this did quite a number on my immune system, which then decided to take a week off. I have spent the last week encouraging it to come back. I really didn't mean to offend it- I mean, if it wanted some protein or vitamins so badly, couldn't it just have written me a note? It just seems like retaliating with such a vicious cold and flu virus is a bit drastic. There's no need to overreact, I was planning on eating some bran cereal for breakfast on Tuesday, really I was. Okay, fine, perhaps my body was trying to tell me with the shaky hands and slightly ill feeling that I really didn't need the fourth cupcake or the second package of sugar babies, and I'll be honest, I didn't listen. I'm just saying I'd appreciate it if our bodies could come up with a more straightforward way of warning us that we're about to become sick. A nice note, or a phone call, or maybe a little bell that goes off when it's time to scale back. What I'm trying to say here is "Immune system, please come back. Let's work on this. Maybe over a bowl of bran cereal?"

narrowing the gap

Hmmm. We look a little cranky. I've been a little cranky this week. I've been reading a book lately that focuses on how we can become closer to Heavenly Father. ( That's not what made me cranky, though.) The author makes some very bold statements that I totally dig- I really like being encouraged to find ways I can improve. (Still not what made me cranky.) One chapter talked about the gap between what we believe, and how we act, and how we can narrow the gap....she said something that I've heard before, about how the more we try to narrow the gap, the more conscious we become of there being a gap, and the less acceptable to us that becomes. (Here comes what made me cranky.) I really tried this week to live with integrity, to do what I said I would do, to do what I believe is right, and at the end of the week......I fell short. I fell SO short!! I stank!! (at narrowing the gap, not physically. I don't think, anyway.) I felt so disappointed. I was trying!!! I was really trying, and I still messed up!!! Then again, I appreciate these experiences because they help me to be more understanding with those around me....we're all doing our best. I really believe that. I like the idea that we should do our best, work our hardest to show the Lord we are mindful of Him, and then trust Him to make up the difference. So, I'd just like to say, thanks, Heavenly Father, for being patient with me. I'm trying.

The Fine Art of Junk Food Consumption

I love junk food. Ever since I can remember, I have loved junk food. I have fond memories of my first grape soda (mentioned in a previous post), the first time I had Kraft macaroni and cheese (at Tiffany Effland's house after school), and the love affair only blossomed with the onset of junior high and high school. In junior high, my lunch of choice was three Snickers bars and an RC Cola. In high school, my tastes became more mature and eclectic, and I moved on to those tasty soft chocolate chip cookies with a thing of cream cheese to smear on top. I also loved the chocolate chip cookie dough frozen yogurt (I saved all the cookie dough bits for the very end), and who doesn't love those individual pizzas? Now that I am (I suppose) a grown-up, I have to curb my junk food loving tendencies a bit and eat things like bran cereal, but I think that junk food knows it will always have a special place in my heart. Now that my deep and abiding love of junk food has been appropriately introduced, I would like to move on to the real reason for this post: the strategy of successful junk food eating. This is something requiring careful thought, consideration and planning. A careful balance must be maintained, with equal parts chocolate, fruity, cupcakes/baked goods, ice cream, and salty/deep fried. My personal technique involves eating a little of every group, not enough to over-do it. I have heard of some people doing revolutionary things like eating carrots in between to cleanse the pallet and creat delusions of health amidst the gluttony, but we all know my relationship with vegetables....anyhow today, together with three friends, I achieved junk food nirvana. First, we went to Economy Candy where I loaded up on some essentials: Pop Rocks, Sugar Babies, Nerds, Mars bars (mmmm, British candy!!), Cadbury Dairy Milk, an economy size bag of Swedish fish (just large enough for me to cradle gently in my arms and coo lovingly at), Tootsie Rolls, and an Abba Zabba for Paul. I tried to hit all the major candy groups, but really Economy Candy has such an extensive selection that several trips would be required to fully appreciate the available bounty: oldies but goodies (nerds, razzles, push pops, sugar babies), connoisseur (dark chocolate, French candy, German candy), chocolates, jelly belly, I'm sure I'm leaving a good deal out, but you get the idea. Then we went to Sugar Sweet Sunshine for cupcakes where I devoured a lemon cupcake and a sexy red velvet cupcake (the actual name of the cupcake! It was sexy, too.), and I took a couple to go. Then we went to the Chip Shop for fish n chips and enjoyed some of their deep fried candy bars (Mars, Reeses, Twinkie). Unfortunately since I had devoured two cupcakes already (poor planning on my part) when we reached the Chip Shop, I couldn't really do justice to my meal and had to bring it home, so perhaps not complete nirvana, but pretty close. Nirvana is good, right?? I think Nirvana is good. If it's actually bad, then replace nirvana with euphoria. It's just that I think nirvana sounds a little cooler. Like I was eating junk food in Tibet.