Laughed until I cried

Sars' latest essay over at Tomato Nation just killed me: iTunes as prophet. I loved, loved, loved the section about her haircut. And the ending? Priceless.

Befuddled

I'm a little confused as to what's going on with D. Is he just taking it really really slow? Or is he only interested in being friends? Every once in a while he'll say something that makes me think he is interested in me (as more than a friend) but now we've seen each other twice and there have not been any unequivocal signs that he's warm for my form, as the saying goes.

OK, back up.

Yesterday evening as I was chillin' on the couch watching American Beauty and transferring it from TiVo to DVD, D called. He was heading out this way to drop his daughter off at her mom's, and I suggested he swing by on his way home. He called again at 9:30 to get directions and was here moments later. I was definitely not smokin' hot or anything - hair pulled up in a clippy thing and glasses on (although I actually think those are hot) and we hung out on the couch chatting for a couple hours. Not once did he make a move to get a little closer on the couch. At the end of the night, though, we had the patented hug...he is truly the most amazing hugger on earth, all full body contact and everything. And I swear there was a zing - a little split second when I thought he was going to kiss me, or I was going to kiss him, but then he left. Arrrrgh!

But...we are going out on Tuesday. So...? I'm starting to think that if I don't make the first move it will never get made. But at the same time, it is kind of fun not knowing. I'm enjoying the anticipation. My blood pressure, on the other hand, is sky high because I'm totally freaking out all the time over whether he likes me or not. Heh. I feel like I'm back in high school again.

And the bad news is that I'm coming down with the wicked cold everyone's been getting. Lloyd's had it for a while now and I am pretty sure he's the one who gave it to me. I am frantically taking Cold-Eeze (zinc lozenges) and NyQuil at night, hoping to stave off the inevitable. At least until Wednesday. Because I don't want to cancel my Tuesday night date with D!

Party time

Yesterday was Babydaddy's birthday. I cannot believe this is his last year in his 30's. Poor guy was sick and feeling like crap but he took Rugrat to karate class anyway, while I made him a fabulous birthday dinner of thick boneless pork chops (brined, natch), roasted asparagus, and cauliflower with gruyere cheese. Funny, was going through some old blogs yesterday and discovered that I made almost the exact same meal for him last year on his birthday.

Today is K's birthday, and to celebrate we (a fairly large group of us) are going out to dinner at some Italian place in D'ville, and then climbing aboard the party bus to SF, where we will imbibe copious amounts of booze at the Bubble Lounge, and possibly go elsewhere for dancing/whatever. I will be bringing sleepover stuff, because I'll undoubtedly be unable to drive home after such a night of debauchery.

But the best news of all is that I have lost almost 4 pounds over the last couple of weeks, thanks to the knitting diet. The knitting diet consists of knitting my sweater in the evenings while watching TiVo, instead of stuffing my face (which was the usual routine). And the icing on the cake is that I've made about 6 inches of progress on my sweater so far. :) I fully expect that it will be finished long before Christmas. I am racing along! Can't wait to start something a little more challenging next time (like a ribbed v-neck or similar).

Fear & Insomnia

I've been dealing with some wicked insomnia the past week. My usual routine is to go to bed shortly before 11 and read until I get sleepy. This usually takes about a half hour - less if the book I'm reading is particularly boring. But in the past week, I haven't been getting sleepy, or if I do, then as soon as I put the book down and shut off the light my brain starts going a million miles an hour. Yes, it's been a busy week for me, but I'm not under a lot of stress or anything.

Anyway, last night I tossed and turned for probably an hour before finally falling asleep. A few times I started to drift off, and then I realized I was drifting off, and of course that woke me right back up. I finally fell asleep and then at about 2:30 I woke up to a banging, rattly noise. There's been quite an increase in crime around here lately, so my first thought was that someone was trying to break into my house or the neighbor's. I went to the window and peeked through the blinds but couldn't see anything suspicious out front. I lay back down and the banging & rattling continued. I listened really hard and decided that since there weren't any human noises (like cursing or whatever) that it was probably an animal getting into the garbage cans. This isn't normal, although we do get quite an assortment of wildlife in the backyard. Finally I realized that the problem was that Rugrat had pulled the garbage cans in yesterday evening, but neglected to close the gate all the way and the gate was banging against the garbage cans. Of course a couple hours later, the noise woke Rugrat up and he climbed into bed with me. *sigh*

So all in all, not a great night last night.

Today has been better though: D called me about an hour ago and we made plans to meet up next Tuesday again! :)

Miracle Worker

Yesterday I got a haircut with K's hairdresser, J. I have been going to JW for a couple of years now (and was quite happy with her), but one night a couple of months ago I got totally frustrated with my newly short hair and could not do a freaking thing with it. I was at K's house, and J was there with his wife as we were all going out to celebrate something or other. Anyhoo, J styled my hair and made it look darn good, so I swore that he would be getting a visit from me the next time I needed my hair cut.

I sit down in the chair with my hair all up in the clippy thing and proceed to tell him that I don't really want it any shorter, because I like it better long, but SOMETHING has to change because I hate the current haircut and I get these weird lanky bits in the front that don't do anything. An hour later, I walked out of the salon looking like a freaking goddess, because J is a TOTAL FUCKING ROCKSTAR. My hair looks SO good. And just like that, I've found my new hairstylist. I don't even care that the salon is half an hour away in WC.

Also last night, I met up with D, the guy I hadn't seen in ten years. It was great - we met up at the Cantina for Taco Tuesday, had a couple of drinks, a couple of tacos, and talked nonstop for almost four hours. He was just as I remembered him - except that he's shaved his head! It was quite a change, but it looks good on him.

Mom came to visit last weekend and we had a lovely time. Saturday we went grocery shopping and I made her the fabulous Yum Yum Chicken Enchilada Casserole (which I am getting pretty darn sick of now, heh). Aunt L came over to visit in the afternoon, and then the next day, Sunday, we went to the movies (Bridge to Terabithia - sob!) and then to Aunt L's for dinner. My cousin K was there with her boyfriend as well, so we all had a nice visit. Then on Monday (President's Day holiday) I dropped Rugrat off at daycare in the morning so Mom & I went to the gym and then to the salon for pedicures. And then, unfortunately, it was time to take her to the airport. As usual, the visit was too short. :( But it was nice while it lasted.

Old Skool

I found an old friend on myspace a couple weeks ago - a guy I haven't talked to in ten years. Turns out he lives only half an hour away from me, and also has an 8-yr-old child. We've talked on the phone a couple times but haven't yet gotten together; it will be interesting to see him after all this time. He was a really great friend to me back when I was young and stupid and in a very self-destructive phase, so I'm really looking forward to seeing him again.

I found the high-end yarn shop in WC this weekend, and spent a good hour and a half in there, browsing the gorgeous yarns and finally settling on some skeins of lovely brown and olive-green wool to knit my first sweater. I also got a set of double-pointed needles and a circular needle, and I'm off & running on the project. I hope it turns out OK; this is my first non-scarf project so I'm hoping I don't screw it up too badly. It's about an inch long right now, so I figure I might be done with it by next Christmas. Heh. Unless, of course, it goes the way of my counted cross-stitch project (the stocking that will probably not be finished until my first grandchild is born).

Rugrat is losing teeth left, right & center. He's almost got more gaps than teeth, these days. Doesn't do much to help his babyish pronunciation either. ;-) He's doing well in karate though, and currently is the only one in his class (gold belt), so he's getting some great one-on-one attention with the instructors. He'll be moving up to orange belt in about another week, so we're enjoying the individual instruction while it lasts.

And mom is coming to visit this weekend! Yay! Which means I seriously need to clean the house. Boo!

HP7!!

The seventh and final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, has an official release date now: July 21, 2007. You can bet Rugrat and I will be down at our local B&N for the release party the night before!