Wednesday, December 1, 2010

December

AHHHHHHHH!!!!

It's December already!

Seriously, I can't believe how fast this year went.  Wasn't it just January like yesterday?  Seems like not too long ago my years were measured by school-Christmas vacation-school-spring break-school-SUMMER!-back to school already?  Even now mid-December and end of May rolls around and my internal clock slows down.  Bedtimes should be later and alarms should be shut off.  More importantly, responsibility should be limited to what movie are we going to and whose house are we hanging out at after?

HA.

It's December 1, and I'm already panicking that A) I don't have all my Christmas cards signed, sealed, and delivered, B) I have exactly 2 Christmas presents bought, and C) before you know it, it will be January 1st and I will be 90 days away from being married in a still not completely planned wedding.  By the way, if this were a multiple choice test, the answer is D) ALL OF THE ABOVE.

So let's look at the positives for a moment.

Today I picked up my wedding dress.  I wore my hair up today, and when I tried on the dress it looked beautiful with my hair up (I wanted to wear my hair down for the wedding, but now...).  I caved and asked to try on one more veil (I didn't want a veil).  The veil looked beautiful.  I now have a veil.  I am dying to just put the whole outfit on and stare at myself in it for hours-because God knows I probably will never put it on again after the wedding (although if any of my girlfriends are reading this and want to get together post wedding for wine in wedding dresses, I'm totally up to hosting).  Unfortunately the dress will be living at mom's house until the wedding, so I'll just have to hop over there every once in awhile to gaze and adore.

My house is unpacked and decorated for Christmas, and most of our big projects have been tackled.  Blake has turned into quite the handy man.  I think he has surprised himself at some of the projects he has taken on.  I happen to think he's Superman, so I'm not at all surprised.  My favorite renovations are the small ones.  The new backsplash in the kitchen is AWESOME, but the new toilet seats in the bathrooms that actually fit our toilets as opposed to extending four inches out from the edge of the bowl have revolutionized my bathroom experience.  Also, we have (after trial and error) finally installed a door on our bedroom.  Once upon a time we thought (okay, I thought) it would be a good idea to sand the door before we painted it.  Only the door wasn't actually wood, it was plywood with some kind of plastic veneer that should most definitely NOT be sanded.  Then Blake had the brilliant idea that maybe we could sand off the veneer which resulted in a door that looked like this: ~~~  So we bought a new door which of course didn't fit because the old door was pre-hung in the frame and they don't make doors that size.  Out came the saw-problem solved.  Until Blake tried to chisel a place for the hinges and the crappy $20 door literally split in half, showing us it's styrofoamy innards.  So ~~~ with white paint doesn't look so bad now.  Actually, you can hardly see where we tried to sand.  And now I can't hear Blake open his cereal in the morning and he can't hear me watch TV at night.  Thanksgiving never ends around here.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, we are on a tryptophan high (or is it low?) around here.  With all the turkey leftovers from two families, I've had the chance to try out some creative leftover recipes.  I'm getting pretty good at it, if I do say so myself.  I made a turkey gratin (fancy phrase for turkey/pasta/LOTS of cheese) that was super delicious.  If I can edit my notes to resemble a recipe I'll be happy to share it on the blog.  Unfortunately right now it includes phrases like "throw cheese in the pot until it looks right".  Guess I'm not winning any culinary awards any time soon.

I can hear gentle snores coming from behind my new/old bedroom door, which means it's time to wrap this up and go snuggle with the biggest positive on my list.  Happy holidays ya'll-the craziness has officially begun!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Life as a Wife

It was a Friday night and Blake was out with his friends while I was home relaxing with a bottle of Chardonnay.  I found myself with nothing to do (which means I was playing Farmville on Facebook and had 30 minutes left till I could harvest anything...) so I decided to play one of my favorite random games: Google That!  I made it up all by myself.  Just go to Google, start typing in any random question, and hit enter.  Ok, so maybe that's why Google was invented, but still, you get some pretty interesting answers (and questions, now that they have Google Instant).

And somehow during this random question game I thought to ask the almighty Google, "What does it mean to be a wife?"

This was my personal favorite answer:

"It means you have promised to have and to hold, from that day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish 'till death do you part.

It also means you may now fart in front of him."

I laughed.  And then I got kinda sad.  Because that was the only semi-decent answer to the question.  What DOES it mean to become a wife?  I haven't found many positive or affirming answers out there.  On top of that, I'm Blake's second wife (which I rarely think about, I have never once felt "second" in his life)-and the Google results for "What does it mean to be his second wife" were even more disheartening.

I have been very fortunate in that Blake and I have encountered very few obstacles as a couple.  I think it's a combination of the fact that both of us were in very poisonous relationships prior to meeting each other (and therefore infinitely more grateful to find a partner who was also grateful), and that we are just suited for each other in just about every way.  We complement each other very well.  However, that does not mean that it hasn't taken us time to adjust to being a we after being just a me for so long.  Dating is/was fun (I say that because I believe that in order for us to remain a successful couple we will need to continue "dating" each other in some form or fashion for the rest of our lives)-but the moving in together presented a major stepping stone and change in how we spent our time together.

For instance, the first month we lived together Blake asked me every single night, "What do you want to do tonight?"  And finally, after a month, I explained that some nights I wanted to come home and do nothing.  And nothing means nothing.  Not sit and watch tv with you.  Not play a game together.  Not talk about our days.  I mean I want to come home and no offense but I don't want to talk to you or anyone else I just want a glass of wine and my computer or tv or book and do what I do without being watched, talked at, monitored, followed, or otherwise reminded that I currently share this space with another human being.

Of course that doesn't mean I love that human being any less.

I just need some me time, and I know myself well enough to know I'm always going to need that.  I'm going to have to figure out how to explain this to my kids someday.  But that's a WHOLE other blog.

See what I mean?  Right now I'm just the live-in girlfriend/fiancee who is trying to find a balance between the "me" I know and the "we" I want.  And I've been a "we" before, so this isn't exactly new territory.

"Wife" is an exciting, alluring, strange, frightening, important and yet at the same time almost mundane thing to become.  I mean, come on.  We all know "wives".  Nearly all the women in my life are or have been at one time a wife.  Does being a wife take on new meaning as you celebrate your 35th year with the title?  Or does it just become another way you define yourself?  "Oh, I'm so-and-so's wife..."  Most women I've talked to have said that being a wife is definitely different from being a girlfriend, but none of them can really define what changes.

My girlfriend Lindsay is a very different wife from my girlfriend Lauren, who is a very different wife from my girlfriend Emily, who is a different wife than my mother, who is a different kind of wife than my grandmother was or what my sister-in-law is.  I will be a different wife than they are.  I wonder how I will define "wife" when the time comes.

And I wonder how life as a "wife" will define me.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Pictures and Flowers and DJs-Oh My!

I am getting married.  I have a website that counts down the days (157, if you're curious).  Getting married sounds like a lot of fun.  I certainly am excited to marry Blake.  I really and truly cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with him.  And have lots of babies with him.  Or just the two he says I can have before he cuts me off.  Whatever.

Anyway, getting married sounds like fun.

Planning a wedding is not.

First off, let me start by saying I don't want a traditional wedding.  I am not one of those girls who grew up dreaming about her wedding day and planning it and scrapbooking it and stop me now before I puke.  Not that there is anything wrong with that-I'm just not that kind of girl.  I didn't think that would be such a problem-in fact I was heavily leaning towards a small elopement, except for the fact that I can't pass up a big ole party where there's wine, beer, and my favorite people.  Throw in a pretty dress, a diamond ring, and the man of my dreams-well pretty much it's a no brainer.  And hell, it's a wedding, aren't people supposed to bend over backwards to make all your wishes come true?

(Insert evil laugh)

Turns out people have pretty strong opinions regarding weddings.  Not just mothers and mother-in-laws and friends and family.  Nooooooooo.  All those wedding vendors you're going to shell out big bucks to?  They have pretty strong opinions too, and they're not afraid to voice them.  At almost every turn where I've requested something unique or out of the ordinary, the vendor in question has raised an eyebrow and less than gently tried to steer my opinion back to the road more traveled.

As if I need anyone telling me what MY wedding should be.  Bridezillas suddenly seems to deserve a little more sympathy.

It hasn't been all bad.  I found a fantastic photographer who today relieved some of my wedding stress by sending us our engagement photos.  Looking through them I fell in love with Blake all over again.  And I remembered why I was going through all this (drinks, diamonds, man of my dreams...).

So as long as Blake is waiting for me at the end of that aisle, and says "I Do", then it won't matter what I'm wearing, what color the cake is, or if it's pouring rain. And really, that's what it's all about.

(Yes, I quoted the Hokey Pokey.  I think it's pretty deep stuff.  Better be prepared to dance it at my wedding.  With no complaints.  Thank you very much.)

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

I've Been Tagged!

I've been sadly neglecting my blog, and thanks to my good friend Lauren Parr from "The Fabulous Life of Lauren" I have a nice little push to get back into the blogosphere.  Lauren tagged me in a blog survey (TAG!  you're it!), and I thought it would be fun to answer.  So here we go...

What is your greatest achievement?

For me, nothing will ever top the moment when I was standing in Rockefeller Plaza, after a long hard day of many, many auditions, and I received the phone call that I was being offered a job in a Broadway national tour.  Since I was a little girl all I had ever dreamed about was singing and dancing and standing at the edge of a big stage, taking a bow and basking in the applause.  That moment in the middle of the city that never sleeps, my biggest dream came true.  Even though I ultimately decided to take a different road, I will always carry with me that no dream is too big or out of reach.

What is your worst habit?

I bite my nails.  And I mean baaaad.  I've been trying so hard to break the habit-this last year especially.  I mean, I have this gorgeous diamond ring on my hand now, and somehow when I'm gazing at in wonder my hand just drifts toward my mouth...and eeewwww.  I hate it hate it hate it-and can't seem to break it.  Especially when I'm super stressed.  Which I have been (I've quit my job, I'm planning a wedding...gee, what do I have to stress about?!).

What did you want to be when you "grew up"? 

Well, I went through a lot of phases (what kid didn't?!).  The first thing I remember telling people I wanted to be was the first female President, but then I realized I didn't quite have the temperament (or the ability to filter my opinions) for a politician.  There was a long period of time where I wanted to be an author-I love books, I love language, and I love expressing myself.  I still haven't quite let go of that dream yet, although I put it aside the first time I sang in choir and got bit by the acting bug.  Then I settled on "I want to be an actress when I grow up."  Well, so far I'm one for three-TWO for three if you count blogger as an official publication!  So maybe I should start coming up with a campaign slogan...

What is your favorite childhood memory?

My parents are not going to believe this, but my favorite childhood memories are of all the road trips we took from Texas to Pittsburgh and back again.  When I was little we didn't have the money for flying, and my parents weren't going to let us miss out on visiting our family up north.  So when summertime would roll around they pulled out the old Snail Cartop Carrier, pile me and my brother in the backseat of the station wagon with a sleeping bag, and at 4 AM off we'd go across America.

It wasn't all apple pie and sunshine.  There was a lot of "Don't touch me!!!"  "Are we there yet?!"  "I HATE that music!" and we were all a LOT happier when we got to upgrade to a minivan.  But mostly what I remember is playing car bingo and travel trivia.  I remember taking a slightly longer route to see the mountains of Tennessee.  I remember making chipped ham sandwiches in the backseat and drinking pop-and never once feeling like I was missing out because we weren't stopping at McDonald's for take out.  I remember stopping at a really special McDonalds where the Golden Arches spanned over the highway.  I remember learning to both appreciate and tolerate my family-and in return I think they learned to appreciate and tolerate me.  No fancy DVD players for this family, just good old family torture-I mean, fun!

How did you decide on the name for your blog?

I've always wanted to be a Disney princess (Belle, to be precise) and what better way to tell my story than starting at the beginning like any good fairy tale..."Once Upon A Time..."

What is your favorite place to go out to eat?

The Olive Garden for salad and breadsticks, usually consumed with a bottle of wine alone at a table while reading a book.  Yes, I like to dine alone, and no, it's not weird.  Especially since I also happen to share the same meal with friends on a pretty regular basis too!
What is the last book you read?

"The Rainmaker" by John Grisham.  I loved it until the end, and then it was a little disappointing.  But still good enough to keep me up waaaaay past my bedtime.
What is your favorite family tradition (new or old)?

The newest tradition seems to be gathering at my parent's new house every Saturday night for fishing on the pond and dinner.  The funny part is, it's never a really big deal, and we never really plan on it, but somehow as the day starts drawing to a close we all suddenly decide it's time to go to "Bubbi's Big House" (as Jack has dubbed it-he calls my mom "Bubbi") and fish until it's too dark to see.  Then we go and eat whatever mom has laying around the house.

I have started my own tradition that I hope to continue with my children (if and when that happens), which is Cookie Day.  The last two years I have put aside a day in December for baking all Christmas goods, which get handed out to co-workers, neighbors, friends, etc.  Some of them just get consumed as they bake, but the real fun is in the baking itself.  Because I'm not a baker by any means, and where I go trouble (or at least a huge mess) generally follows.  The day has produced some legendary stories and involved many of my family members, and-oh yeah-we end up with some pretty tasty treats too!

Here's the part where I'm supposed to tag someone else, but not many of my friends and family keep a blog!  LOL So if you've read this and think it would be fun to answer, make sure you let me know, I'd love to read it!

As for me, I'm hoping this will help jumpstart the blog back up.  The wedding planning is well on its way, the holidays are upon us, and I have a lot of stories to catch you up on, so see you soon...

Friday, August 20, 2010

Untitled and In Progress

I'm at home alone tonight, a rare occasion now that Blake and I live together, and I had a "Eureka" moment.

I'm so lucky.

I'm so very loved, in love, taken care of, needed.  I have a roof over my head.  I have my best friend and soul mate by my side.

The last 6 months or so everything has gone by in such a blur.  I haven't felt like myself-I didn't want to sing, to be outspoken, to be creative-I just was existing.

Tonight, I'm belting out Air Supply, Jason Mraz, and Martina McBride (thanks largely in part to an excellent Pinot Grigio) and wondering where the hell I've been.  Where's the feisty, bull-headed, whimsical, loveable me that all who love me...well, know and love?

Well, she's been bogged down (as usual) with things WAY beyond her control and focusing too much on what she can't do and not enough on what she can.

So watch out.  I'm back.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Once Upon A Time...

I was single, lonely, lost, and convinced that I would remain so for the rest of my life.  Then, one day, there was Blake.

And after surviving nearly two years of my constant stressing, overscheduling, nagging, and the general mayhem that is my life,  Blake proposed.

And I accepted.

Which is a really nice way of saying he shocked me into silence for one of the few times of my life, I cried, and managed to squeak out a "YES!" before running around to every person I could find screaming "I'm engaged!!!!!"

And for those of you who haven't already heard, here's how it happened:

Since last year we had been planning a vacation with my parents to Hawaii (yes, I'm a very lucky girl, and yes, I have tried endlessly to thank them).  Since Blake had taken me ring shopping in February, I suspected that a proposal might be in the works, but Blake kept insisting that the ring wasn't ready and Hawaii just wasn't the right time or place.  Blake is, generally speaking, a terrible liar and if Christmas is anything to judge him by, he has a hard time holding on to presents and not just throwing them at me once he's gotten them.  The girls at work kept telling me, "Oh, come on.  Hawaii is the perfect place for a proposal."  But I knew Blake, and I knew it wasn't happening.

Blake had made one request on the vacation, and that was for us to have one evening all to ourselves.  He planned the whole thing-oceanside dining for two with a private waiter and a 7 course meal during sunset.  When the waiter brought out dessert, a selection of sorbets, I saw perched on top a Ring Pop, and I started laughing.  I had always joked with Blake that I didn't really need a diamond, he could propose to me with a Ring Pop and I would say yes-I just wanted to marry him!!  Well, that served me right.  Blake took my hand and said, "I really wanted to propose here in Hawaii, but the ring just wasn't ready.  I promise that I will upgrade that Ring Pop soon."  I laughed (only a little disappointed) and kissed him, telling him of course I knew he would and I didn't care, as long as he wanted to marry me.  He smiled at me and we talked a little more as we ate our dessert.  When we were as full as we could be the talk turned again to marriage and Blake looked at me and said, "You know, I don't think I can wait."  He got up and walked around our table, pulling something out of his pocket.  "I think I need to upgrade that ring right now."  Then he fell to one knee and proposed...

and I said nothing!!  For once I was completely shocked into silence, tears streaming down my face.  He slid the ring on my finger as I nodded vigorously, and then finally managed to squeak out a surprised "YES!"

Well of course the rest is engagement history.  We celebrated that night and haven't really stopped celebrating since.  Here's the best part-he really did completely fool me!  He took my parents out MONTHS ago for dinner to ask their blessing, and arranged the whole proposal with my dad.  My father, who has as big a mouth as I do, managed not to tell me or my mother what was going on (although he did manage to tell just about everyone at the convention were with in Hawaii).  He had faked emails to our insurance person about the ring in case I saw anything, and the ring was in the fireproof safe under our bed for quite some time.  He even got it to Hawaii in his carry-on...the one we had stashed all our food in!  The day of the proposal he accidentally showed me a picture of the ring on his iPhone as we were flipping through shots of Hawaii-but I was so convinced that the ring was still at the store that I just wrote it off as the picture he took when we went shopping in February.

So the point is...I'm getting married ya'll!!!  Bring on the wedding plans, the dresses, the stresses, and the I Do's-I'm ready for my happily ever after =)

Thursday, May 27, 2010

The Peanut Butter Jar Debate

I knew that moving in together would present new hurdles for me and Blake.  We both have been single and living alone for so long...how could we not develop some habits that would seem downright silly to each other?  For instance, I tend to leave half empty glasses wherever they are.  For days at a time.  When I finally realize they need cleaned they usually look like a science experiment, but I just dump it down the disposal, throw it in the dishwasher, and hope for the best.  Blake seems to find this unusual and disguting to say the least (so do I, but I guess not enough to change the habit).  And apparently I never eat restaraunt leftovers, which I didn't realize until Blake started eating them.  "Hey, I was saving that!"  "Really?  Because it's been in here for a month."  I guess you could say that's one of his quirks-he'll eat anything.  He thinks he's impervious to any food generated illness.

Blake, on the other hand, is of the opinion that if you use it everyday it doesn't need to go in the cupboard or pantry.  So at his apartment nothing was in the cabinets, and I think milk only made it in the fridge because he likes it cold.  Needless to say I nipped this one in the bud as soon as we moved in.  I took over unpacking and organizing the kitchen immediately and got it all in the cabinets before he could claim counter-space for say...peanut butter.

Fast forward a few weeks.

Blake has been wonderful about trying to keep up with my constant rearranging of the kitchen, since we keep finding more kitchen stuff as we unpack.  Most of his things end up back in the cupboard they belong in when he's done.  There was just one teeny tiny little thing that was driving me a little crazy...

We have two peanut butter jars.  A very large fat-free version and a small regular version.   Blake uses the fat-free PB on his morning toast every morning.  Every morning he would stack the very large jar back in the pantry on top of the much smaller regular jar.  Every morning after he left and I started to fix my breakfast I would inevitably knock into the stack and send both jars flying (thank God for plastic).  I would restack them with the large peanut butter on bottom and go about my day.  The next morning, there it would be again-the large PB jar taunting me from the top of the little one.

Finally one morning I opened the pantry and saw the jars, stacked big jar on top of little, and turned to face Blake.

"Why do you stack the big peanut butter jar on top of the little peanut butter jar?"  (*I had already had my morning coffee and this was said with some actual decency and more than a little curiousity)

"BECAAAUUUSE!  It's REALLY HARD to put everything AWAY when I use it EVERY SINGLE DAY and I'm not LEAVING IT ON THE COUNTER and then I have to MOVE THE OTHER JARS OUT OF THE WAY and I'M TRYING REALLY HARD HERE!!!!"

I'm probably a really terrible girlfriend, but I laughed.

And then I moved the little peanut butter jar to the bottom shelf, out of sight and away so that he had one less thing to have to remember.  Because he is trying so very hard to put up with my constantly changing demands and kitchen organization.  Because he is more than patient with my mercurial nature and unpredictable whims.  And because even though I don't want the peanut butter jar on my counter, I don't want him to have to change who he is completely for me or anyone (and I still don't want the peanut butter jar on my counter).

Epilogue

Two days later...

I open the pantry door to retrieve something for dinner and see, once again, that oversized PB jar on top of the ridiculously small one.  I turn, hands on hips, to face Blake, who says, "What?!"

I reach into the pantry and remove the large jar, a million variations of "Haven't we already discussed this..." running through my head and ready to burst out of my mouth.  As I lift the jar, I see a small sticky note attached to the jar below:

I love you :$

(that's the emoticon Blake gave me...he says I have a million dollar smile and that's why he fell in love me.  I know, it's disgusting isn't it?  I love it!)

I think when I turned around my face must have frozen somewhere between "I can't believe you stacked these jars like this AGAIN after I MOVED that little one for you!" and "I can't believe I'm such a jerk to complain about stupid peanut butter jars".  Blake nearly fell over laughing, and then wrapped me in his arms and said with a big grin on his face, "I've been waiting two days for you to find that."

Which pretty well ended the peanut butter jar debate.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Turning Two...and Other Milestones

My nephew Jackson turned two last week!  I honestly can't believe how much time has flown...I remember getting the phone call (as I was speeding through OK to try and make it for the birth) that Jackson James had entered the world.  That news changed the course of my life.  Up to that point I had been seriously considering (and even planning) to move back to New York City to try and make a career as an actress.  The moment I laid eyes on that beautiful little boy I knew I could never again make the choice to be away from my family.  It was always hard when I was on tour to be missing important family events (birthdays, weddings, holidays), but I could always justify it with the thought that everyone knew and understood that my job had different demands than the average 9-5 gig.  But when I started to think ahead (and BINGO-that was milestone #1 for me, actually thinking further ahead than the next 6 months), and I started to imagine explaining to little Jack why I missed Christmas...or his birthday...or his graduation...

It just wasn't worth it.

And that was the day I decided my life was going to be different.  I decided that what was most important to me was the kind of LIFE I had, not the kind of JOB I had.  My father has always told me that whatever I decide to do, I should do it with passion.  I am passionate about my family.  I complain about them, whine about them, give them a hard time, but at the end of the day I would rather have had a life full of family than anything else.  I want to be cool Aunt Nikki, weird Aunt Nikki, fun Aunt Nikki-not absent Aunt Nikki.

My life turned around completely in a matter of 24 hours.  The Monday morning Jack was born, I was merely Nikki, undecided.  Monday evening I was Aunt Nikki, smitten and galvanized.  I wonder if my nephew will ever know or understand what a wonderful birthday gift he was, and that if I spoil him rotten it is not just because that's my job but because he gave me such a wonderful gift.  He gave me the life I always wanted by showing me the possibilities of family.

In the two years that have passed, Jack has grown from a fussy infant to a clever toddler.  I suppose the same could probably be said for me.  We've both done a lot of growing up over these last 24 months.

Happy birthday, Jack.  And thank you :D

Friday, May 14, 2010

A Barrage of Bullets

Since it's chaos around my house, this will be less of a post and more of a random bulleted update.  Enjoy!

  • I have turned over the keys to my apartment and I now live full time in the house!  This has taken a considerable load off my shoulders.  Blake will be completely moved in as of this weekend, and then we have no where else to go...
  • Which means we better start unpacking since currently the only clean spot in the house is the kitchen (suprisingly-only because Blake is a saint and does the dishes.  Though I love him for many reasons, I have to say this one is in the top 3.)  It is not very easy to take two complete households and cram them into one.  Especially since we're both packrats and, let's face it, lazy.  I would much rather do things like install my wine fridge or plant a garden than go through yet another box.
  • So I did.  I planted our garden out back (with considerable help from Saint Blake, who somehow got a shovel full of dirt in the face for his troubles.  Things like this tend to happen around me.  Sigh.)  I have rose bushes, rosemary, and several other things intended to attract butterflies and hummingbirds.  So far all I have are ants and a really bad sunburn.
  • New rules have been instituted in our household to try and keep some sanity.  Blake has only given me one rule.  If we are in separate rooms and I happen to drop/kick/break/bump into something or otherwise make a loud crashing noise followed by an expletive, I am required to immediately yell "I'm okay!" assuming, of course, that I am okay.  Apparently he thinks it's possible I could mortally wound myself during normal cleaning/unpacking activities and needs to know quickly whether to call 911 or just chalk it up to Nikki being Nikki.
  • My rules tend to be more numerous and specific.  Like don't drape your work pants on my chair in the living room when you get home.  Don't drape them on the couch either.  I don't care if it's your couch.  Yes, I do follow my own rules.  My clothes are in a pile on the bedroom floor, NOT on the couch or chair.  No, I don't want you to follow my example and start your own pile.  Because I said so.  Because I'm crazy and I think you're insane for wanting to stay with me when I am this crazy.  Thank you for staying with me when I'm a nut.  And thank you for not putting your pants on my chair or your couch.
  • Blake thought I would forget about ring shopping after we closed on the house, but really it's all I think about.  I can't wait to marry him someday (if he still wants to marry me after all the grief I give him-life with me will be an adventure to say the least).  I just wanted to put it out there that I still want to marry him.  Not just because I want to plan a wedding (and boy do I want to plan a wedding) but because I love him more than anything in the world.  Because he is my best friend.  Because I can't imagine a world without him.
Thus ends the bullets.  For now.  Pictures are coming, I swear!  And, I think it's safe to assume, there will be plenty more "We're Living Together-NOW WHAT?!" stories-there's no turning back now!

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Moving Day...Again...Part 2

I love my family.  I love Blake's family.

I do not love moving.

You know how they say "Man plans, God laughs"?  Well, God was roaring all day Saturday.  I had the whole move planned.  I knew what furniture I wanted moved and where I wanted it moved to.  I knew what I wanted packed, and where I wanted those boxes.  I knew what order we should hit our apartments in, and I knew what I wanted unloaded and where.

What I didn't plan on was 4 very opinionated, very enthusiastic men steamrolling over my pretty little plan with their dollies and packing tape.  One little girl, even a very loud, very stubborn, very frustrated, and foot-stamping little girl, could hardly be noticed by the all-mighty quadrangle of alpha males that found themselves bonding in my living room and garage.

It mattered not that I mentioned (yelled, even) that I only wanted my furniture moved out of my apartment since I didn't have to be out for another week.  Blake, Albert (his brother-in-law), Pat (Blake's dad), and my dad swept in like a tornado and grabbed whatever was within reach to toss in the truck.

Once at the house I managed to get the majority of the boxes and furniture in the rooms I meant to, and the guys (seeing my red face and sensing a breakdown of Mount Vesuvius proportions) actually listened to me.  There was the small incident where they tried to hook up my washer and found the hoses had corroded onto the taps (and leaked to boot).  My dad may have gotten a bit vigorous with his wrench and slightly bent the pipe out of the wall (plumber fixed it in about an hour yesterday).  There was also the hour spent putting together the new bed frame-no headboard or footboard, just a frame-a project I started that was quickly taken over by-I mean assisted by-Pat and dad.  There was a lot of measuring and hammering and debating and Corona (for me) involved.

My mother says it was fun for the two families, a real bonding experience.  I think they all bonded over my exploding head.

In any case, we're moved in (mostly) and beginning to unpack (a collaborative process that may take another year to complete).  My temper has mostly subdued (due to the fact that I got Blake to agree to hiring movers the next time no matter what-as much as I love volunteers, I'd rather save our relationship and spend money on people I can force to listen to me).  Now if I could just find a clear bit of couch to sit on, it might actually start to feel like home.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Moving Day...Again

Here we go again!  Once more I'm moving...leaving my tiny apartment and moving in with Blake into our own home.  It really is becoming a home already, even if we aren't living in it yet.  The main rooms are painted, repairs have been made, some old features stripped down, and some new things installed.  I, of course, have grand plans to continue renovating (a kitchen/wet bar backsplash is on the horizon...), but this week the majority of the work has stopped so we could clean up.  Here's a rundown of what we've accomplished in the last month and half:

  • repaired the back fence (due to a "privacy issue" with our neighbor, this was high priority)
  • painted the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, laundry room, and living room, including the 20+ foot wall (which I painted because Blake is afraid of heights-actually he's afraid of falling, and he could have done it but it would have taken a week to get the first coat of paint on because he can't look down when he's on the ladder...)
  • stripped the large mirror doors off the master closet (I may not have informed Blake before doing this...)
  • removed the tacky shower doors from the master bath (I DEFINITELY did not inform Blake before starting this project, but got the point of no return and then asked for help.  I was determined to get rid of those things.)
  • painted almost all the ceilings
  • installed a double curved shower rod in the master bath (it's AWESOME)
  • installed shelves in the garage
  • BUILT shelves in the garage (my father bought me a saw and let me use it.  I can't wait to start another project with it!!!)
  • tiled our kitchen floor (I can't take any credit for this other than I asked Blake to do it.  It took the better part of a month of weekends, but he ripped up the old linoleum, cleaned the cement, cut and laid and grouted the tiles.  It looks amazing, and he still wants to live with me, so I guess it wasn't that atrocious of a request...although I probably won't be asking any favors any time soon...)
When I say we built shelves in the garage, I mean my father heard me say we were looking at hanging shelves for a portion of the garage and he returned from Home Depot with wood, nails, screws, braces, and a saw and decided that right then and there I would have garage shelves.  Were shelves on my to do list that day?  Nope.  But my daddy took the day off to help his little girl in her new house, and who was I to argue with whatever he wanted to do?  Besides, they would have been on the "to do" list at some point.  And, I might add, we did not argue once while building them.  It may have had something to do with the saw I was wielding...but I think I'd rather chalk it up to our healthy father-daughter relationship.

I have taken numerous "before" photos, but wouldn't you know I haven't had a moment at home to upload them to the computer?  Plus, I have to start taking the "after" photos tonight before we move in all our furniture...which will drastically change the way the place looks too.  I'm so excited about having a place that's ours, and I'm determined to make it everything I/we want (within reason.  I'm still nixing the Superman mural in the "gameroom" I promised Blake he could have.)

I also have some wonderful "what I've learned in my first month as a homeowner" stories, like how our postal delivery man is actually afraid of the dog next door (I had to distract the poor blind dog while the postman snuck behind him to deliver the mail), but those definitely deserve their own blog post.  In the meantime, keep me, Blake, and our families in your thoughts and prayers this weekend as we once again move mountains...I mean apartments...

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Takin' A Break

I don't know how I can make this any clearer:

Being a grown-up is HARD.

Why was I in such a hurry to move out of my parent's house, where I lived rent free and my dad filled the beer fridge weekly?  Why did I think it was so important to get a "real" job when, as an actress, I was required to only work 5 hours a day and go to amazing parties afterwards?  Why oh why did I think buying a house with my boyfriend would far outweigh living in separate apartments when buying the house meant that we would be managing three households, two families, one dog, and a partridge in a pear tree?

I might be exaggerating a bit.  We don't actually have a partridge.

I know it sounds like I'm complaining, but I've already had a glass of wine and I'm well into my second.  I'm just mildly cranky.  I absolutely love our new house.  I do.  I love working on it and dreaming about it and spending every weekend there.  I don't love coming home to a small disaster of an apartment.  I've completed neglected my actual living space, so there is a trail of laundry piling up from the front door to the bedroom.  Dirty dishes were piled mile high in my sink until Blake took pity on me and did my dishes last night.  Random knick knacks are strewn across the floor wherever they happened to last fall, since these days I generally am only home long enough to strip off my paint covered clothes and fall into bed (my parents are reading this right now and thinking, so what's new?).

It's all completely worth it.  I'm going to be living with the only man who could possibly put up with me in a house we are quickly making our own.  That's the light at the end of the tunnel.

But DAMN, why's it gotta be so hard?

(Insert cliches about how working hard for the things that matter blah blah blah.  Pour more wine, talk less cliches.)

Monday, March 15, 2010

The OTHER Man In My Life

This weekend Blake and I drove up to Kansas to spend a little time with my nephew, who will be 2 years old soon!  It's so wonderful and strange to watch him as he grows.  I imagine my awe will triple when I have my own children, but it is nice that I have this remarkable little man to observe and love on.  Actually, nice doesn't even begin to describe it.  Blow my mind is more like it.

He's such a complete little person already, at 22 months.  He has an active imagination that I only wish I could see more fully.  He understands just about everything you ask him, and even makes little jokes.  We were sitting together watching TV when I felt a tell-tale rumble from his bottom, and I said, "Jack, did you fart on me?"  He actually giggled and said in a sing-song-I-know-I'm-gonna-lie voice "Noooo...."  Maybe my favorite moment all weekend was at the mall when we rode the elevator for the millionth time and Sara finally said "Enough."  Jack insisted on riding one more time and when Sara counted to 3 he merely marched over to the button, pressed it, and turned around crossing his arms as if to say, "So what?"

We cooked imaginary meals together, read the same 3 books a million times, destroyed and put back together puzzles, looked for Tate (the dog-every five minutes Jack looks up and says "Tate?" and won't resume his activity until he has seen the dog with his own eyes), and shared pizza.  We rode swings, watched cartoons, and made up funny games chasing each other.  I became fluent in Jack-speak.  Which is why I was absolutely mortified when I climbed up the stairs Sunday morning and was greeted with Jack walking right past me to the stairs to yell, "Blaaaake!  Blaaaake!"

Actually, it's more like "Blay" which is close to his word for "play" and "bottle" ("bay" which isn't a bottle at all, it's his sippy cup), but still!  I've only been waiting his WHOLE LIFE to hear him say my name, and I get brushed aside for Blake!  I admit, I don't blame him.  Blake is a pretty awesome guy.  I just don't think Blake's heart would break into a million pieces if Jack learned MY name first.  I'm just saying.

The only thing that made me feel better and simultaneously worse was that he cried so hard when we left.  Partly it was because he really wanted to go "Ooooouuuut!!" and for a ride, but when I talked to my brother later he said Jack was pretty upset that we actually left.  I can tell already it's going to be terrible when we leave and he actually has the words to say "Don't go" or "Please can I come with you?"...

For now we'll just work on "Aunt Nikki".  And trust me, that kid will get whatever he asks for.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

No One Told Me Turning 30 Meant My Body Couldn't Keep Up Anymore

Blake and I are now officially homeowners, which means...

I'm tired, sore, out of clean clothes and dishes, and completely unaware of what day of the week it is or what my real address is.  I have spent hours painting, trimming, taping, cleaning, organizing, and fixing anything and everything in our new home.  Not alone, for sure (our families have been a HUGE help), but apparently turning 30 activates something in your DNA that blocks your body from recovering as quickly as it did when you were 29 (or less).  Poor Blake has spent the same hours ripping up linoleum (at my request...I wanted a tiled kitchen floor, not knowing that it would take superhuman strength and 3 full days just to get rid of the linoleum).

We have already discovered that a toilet won't stop running, our kitchen sink leaks and molded the cabinet, our closet door sticks, the construction people who worked on the house before we moved in left both our trash cans full to the brim, and our 80-year old next door neighbor wants us to fix the backyard fence asap because "it's a privacy issue" (she also has a diabetic cat and a blind dog in case you were wondering).  We've left the back door unlocked at least once because we're too used to apartment living where you only have one entrance/exit to worry about.  We managed to change the locks on the front door (replacing the old brass handle with a spiffy silver one) but discovered that the door, now brown, had once been painted robin's egg blue-on both sides.  We know this because whoever painted it brown did not remove the handle to paint the door, and of course our new handle is not an exact match.

In other words, we are discovering the joys of being homeowners.

There are a few things that make the sore muscles and mold-induced headaches worth it.  Our bedroom is a beautiful relaxing blue color and our master bathroom is on its way to being a spa-like haven.  We found ceramic tile for 85 cents a square foot-and we should be able to lay it soon becuase the linoleum is almost gone.  Blake's parents bought us a beautiful red rosebush for our backyard (and promised me cuttings from their rosemary bush to grow my own!!!).  My parents brought us sandwiches, snacks, and beer to sustain us.  And, most importantly, in two months I will be living full time with the man of my dreams in our beautiful new home.

Mold beware.  Love is moving in soon.  There is no room for you here :)

Monday, February 22, 2010

Best Saturday Yet

Now don't jump to any conclusions, and don't get too excited (I'm talking mainly to myself here), but...

Blake took me ring shopping on Saturday!!!!!!!!!

I will try to relay the afternoon's events with as much calm and decorum as I can manage, but just know that on the inside I am giddy, absolutely GOOFY with excitement.  After all, Blake and I have been talking about getting married for a long time now.  As my father puts it, it has never been a question of "if" but of "when".  Blake has been trying to pay off all his debts from his previous marriage, which I respect, before starting our new life together as man and wife, and he didn't want to ask me until that debt-free day was closer at hand.  So I've been uncharacteristically waiting patiently, concentrating on the other exciting things going on in our lives and trying very hard not to picture myself in a flowy white dress gliding down an aisle on my father's arm to my rock star of a boyfriend so that I can call him husband...

I digress.  All this talk of wedding makes me think of dresses and quite frankly I can't wait to try on every dress in the state.

So anyway, ring shopping.  We had one failed attempt on Valentine's Day to look at engagement rings.  What started out as a romantic gesture quickly became a disaster as we pulled into the Galleria parking lot only to realize that it was NBA All Star Weekend and most of the "stars" were shopping at the Galleria.  Which meant half of Dallas was there NOT shopping but star-gazing.  After fighting our way through the crowd the one store Blake was looking for turned out to be out of business.  Not the best way to start out.

Then on the way to dinner we passed this 3 story building with a giant diamond ring in the window.  I pointed it out to Blake and laughed, saying, "That's where we should have gone!" while inside I'm thinking "Three stories of diamond rings?  Are you kidding me?  I bite my nails.  They won't let me try on rings in a store like that."

Turns out a store like that not only will let little old me try on diamond rings by the score, they will serve you coffee and water while you ogle their shiny shiny goods.

The store was Robbins Bros., and my advice is that if you are going to shop for an engagement ring this is the only place you should go.  You can make an appointment with a personal shopper (which, of course, Blake did, ours was named Susie), and she meets you at the giant diamond ring with offers of coffee and water.  Blake had emailed a list ahead of time of rings he thought I might like, and she immediately took us to the case that housed the most likely candidates.

And then she let me try on every ring in every one of the 20+ cases in the store.  Big rings, little rings, wedding bands, three stone, pave, vintage, modern, classic, solitaire-you name it, they had it.  When we finally settled on one-wait.  We didn't settle.  We-and by we I mean I-fell in love with a ring.  So Susie shuttled us over to the "diamond education room" where we learned about cut, color, clarity, and something else c-related (I was in oooo shiny shiny mode, so this is the part where Blake was paying attention).  THEN they ushered me out of the room so Blake could talk to her about his plans without me listening.  Later he told me some of what they discussed, and Robbins Bros. helps with everything related to the wedding, even offering "proposal specialists" to help the less creative male propose in style.

All in all I left with diamond dreams in my eyes and head, and now I'm afraid Blake has no choice but to ask me soon or else watch me slowly slip into a wedding dream coma.  When I conveyed this to him his response was, "You just have to forget about the ring.  It won't be hard.  As soon as we close on the house, poof! you'll forget you ever had diamonds on your hand."

It is safe to say that he still has some things to learn about me.

Friday, February 19, 2010

How Did You Spend Your Friday Night?

Every once in a while I pat myself on the back because I've finally got my shit together.  Besides the obvious good turn my life has taken since the Great Breakdown of 2007 (post breakup, pre-Blake), I'm generally more responsible and organized than ever before.  I pay my bills weeks before they're due, I take my trash out regularly, and I manage to make my bed at least one week a month (come on, it's still me.  Some things will never change.).  I even know where my important paper work is-I have a file cabinet AND a fireproof safe.  Impressed?

Don't be.  Because this year when my W2 came I put it with all my other important papers at the time, which included the last two years income tax statements, last year's W2 from my work at Garland Summer Musicals, last 2 paystubs from last year, and everything else I needed not only to file my taxes but to give the bank for the loan for the house.  And where is it now?

I still have the income tax statements, last year's W2 from my work at Garland Summer Musicals, last 2 paystubs from last year, and everything else I need to file my taxes and get the loan for the house.  This year's W2?

Now would I be sitting here blogging about it if it was exactly where it was supposed to be?

So this quiet Friday night, in true Nikki-style, I have spent what should have been a stress-free, relaxing, possible craft-filled-wine-drinking-book-reading evening going through every single piece of paper in my apartment because the bank called today to inform me they hadn't asked before but is it possible to get a copy of this year's W2 to them by Tuesday to avoid delaying closing?

Thanks for the reality check.  Good to know I still have room for improvement.  =D

Monday, February 15, 2010

Live and Learn

I'm thirty!  I think I may be the only person I know who is excited to be leaving her twenties behind her for the next decade of adventures.  I'm working on my own version of a list my friend Lauren did...but hers was a 30 by 30 list (30 things to do before she turns 30) and mine is going to be 30 FOR 30: Thirty things to accomplish for my thirties.

Today, though, I want to say goodbye to my twenties.  I don't think I'll ever look back and say, wow, those were the best days.  There was a lot of heartache and growing pains,but I want to celebrate them rather than look back with regret or sadness.  It is the journey that makes us who we are, and I have had one wild ride.  I was a professional actress/singer, a fiance, and an aunt.  I traveled the country from coast to coast and visited several European countries.  I lived in at least 4 different states, drove from Texas to Virginia to New York-more than once, and had a landlady named Helga who was about as German as they come.  I have been to countless weddings, sang in 3 of them, and about as many baby showers.  I have been unemployed, self-employed, and fully employed with benefits.  I'm thinking there's not much I haven't done (although I know there's so much more to come!)
So here's some hard-won wisdom, 30 lessons by 30.  Some practical, some entertaining, and all true:

  1. It's okay if you don't wash dishes the night you mess them up, but washing them within 24 hours is a pretty good idea.
  2. If you fail at #1, it's okay to throw the dishes out.  Just buy cheap ones.  Or paper.  Or date someone who likes to do dishes.
  3. 409, Pledge, Spot Shot, and other cleaning sprays are excellent substitutes for bug killing spray (especially when you live alone with no boys nearby).  Just keep a dust pan handy to scoop up the dead bug.  And you also end up with clean carpets or walls.  It's a win-win.
  4.  Do not try to pack wine with plastic corks in your suitcase.  Regular corks will allow your wine to fly just fine, no exploding vintages or red soaked shoes.  Plastic means you're getting a new wardrobe.
  5. Do stay in touch with your high school friends.  There's a reason you were friends back then, and (most of the time) it's nice to have someone who knew-you-when around when everyone else just knows-ya-now.  And don't worry if it's ten years between get togethers-with the right friends you'll just pick up right where you left off.
  6. Don't eat chicken in Mexico.  Ever.
  7. Don't drink the water either.
  8. Saying "I love you" is not the same as meaning it.
  9. Be open to possibilites.  You are not limited to one single dream for life.
  10. Being alone is better than being with someone who won't, or can't, love you the way you deserve.  And you deserve to be loved well.
  11. Your college degree does not define what job(s) you will have or what field you will work in, or even guarantee you success.  That being said, it's totally worth every penny and every hour.  Even if you never use it again.
  12. After finally getting the college degree it will take approximately 7 years, several moves back in with the parents, a bad break-up, a totaled car, credit card debt, and six months of crying in your bedroom day and night for you to figure out who you are.  And that euphoria will last about ten seconds before you realize that now you have to get off your butt and do something about it.
  13. You can cook just about anything on a George Foreman Grill, including scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, and toast-at the same time!
  14. Toothpaste is an excellent wall hole filler.
  15. Being a creative thinker does not always mean not following directions.  Sometimes someone already did the creative thinking for you and they are trying to save you the time of blowing things up or ruining your favorite cookie sheet by simply writing the process that worked.
  16. Your parents will be right about a lot of things, but it's important to make sure you don't tell them that too often.  They might get big egos and expect you to listen to them all the time.
  17. Good things actually do come to those who wait.  It helps if you try not to complain too much while waiting.  This is something I am still working on. 
  18. The social hierarchy that began at recess and in the halls of elementary school doesn't change, just our perception of it and how we react to our place in that hierarchy.  Nerds are still nerds and cheerleaders are still goodlooking but dimwitted.  Obviously my perception hasn't evolved all that much.
  19. It is not true that if you swallow gum it will take 7 years to digest.  This is yet another myth perpetrated by parents to keep you in their intellectual power as long as possible.
  20. It is universal that elder siblings feel that their younger siblings had it much easier (sort of like how our parents think we have it so much easier...).  This is because it is, in fact, true.
  21.  Everyone's family is weird and dysfunctional.  Some are just louder than others, and mine happens to be one of those.  Still, in the end, being loud and weird and dysfunctional sure beats being boring.
  22. There are 346 ways to break a wine glass.  I personally have found them all.
  23. Wine tags on your glasses don't work because the people who need them the most will have drunk too much to be paying any attention to the tag on the glass, and when they realize there is a tag designating the drink for a specific person it is likely they will spill the wine in an effort to figure out what the tag looks like and who belongs to it.  This is a waste of perfectly good wine.  Not that I know from personal experience.  I'm just sayin'.
  24. Just in case someone DOES spill red wine on your carpet, plain old regular salt will soak it up and leave no stain.  This one I DO know from personal experience.
  25. It's okay to ask for help.  It's not like you're asking for a million dollars.  Unless someone out there has a million to spare.  In which case, I could use that too.
  26. Be kind, be patient, be grateful.  These things never go out of style, and you're never too old for them.
  27. It is a fact of female life that you actually do have to wash you face every single night, even if you didn't wear makeup, if you want to avoid a week of pimples.
  28. Choose your battles wisely and you will win the war.  Ask my mother about my freshman year of college and the battle for the car.  (I won.)
  29. Call you mother.  More importantly, call your father.  His guilt trips are louder, longer, and harder to argue with.
  30. Just be yourself, and realize that who that is will constantly change.  The people who love you will ALWAYS love you, even when you don't know who you are.  Trust them and yourself, and you'll be just fine.

Slipping Into Thirty

Last week I turned 30...and somehow it just slipped right on by and never made it into my blog!  Possibly it's due to the fact that the celebrations have lasted a week...I had a special dinner Friday night (2/5) with Blake's family, then a special dinner Saturday (2/6) with my family, including my cousin Steven who turned 26 the day after I turned 30.  Then on my actual birthday Blake surprised me by taking a half day and delivering a dozen roses and Cheesecake Factory lunch to me (it bears repeating that I am blessed with the most amazing, attentive, thoughtful boyfriend ever).

The week went quickly due to the record breaking snow drama we had here, and then WHAM! it was Valentine's Day.  Saturday Blake and I spend the day Valentining (couples massage at Massage Envy and dinner at the Melting Pot complete with a half dozen roses, a gift basket, and a bottle of wine).  Sunday my brother and sister-in-law drove in for the big family celebration and they left me and Blake alone with my nephew for a whole glorious hour!!!  I'm not sure if anyone realizes that was the BEST birthday present ever.  He's at such a fun age!  He does this thing when he's coloring where he sits back, purses his lips and puts a finger to them while contemplating his work.  Then after a moment he raises the finger like a big number one and says "Aha!"-it totally cracks me up.

And now we're kind of back to normal, normal being "catch-up mode" and me looking at 3 blogs I've started and thinking I should finish this week.  Especially since they have to do with turning 30.  And that's old news now.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Pour Some Sugar On Me

Remember how I said I was learning to quilt?  With my good friend Alicia's help this
turned into this

and then with a little bit of help from last year's birthday present (an awesome Singer Confidence...I know, I'm totally a craft nerd for being excited about my sewing machine) those colorful strips became

A super fancy (and sharp) rotary cutter (that's craft nerd speak for a pizza cutter for fabric) gave me these

Aren't you impressed so far?  The girl who cooks with a dash of this and a dash of that has actually followed directions so far!
Now the first glimpse of what's to come...
And after some patient sewing together of  each square into a row, and then two rows together I had this
(I had to hang the strip on my shower curtain rod, so the red behind the squares is my shower curtain and not my nifty handywork.  That's what happens when you live in a teeny one bedroom apartment and the longest rod in your house is in the shower.)
And FINALLY, 11 hours, 2 glasses of wine, and 1 Blake-free evening later...

It's possible I'm exaggerating the 11 hours.  But not by much.
How cool is my quilt?!
It's not quite a quilt yet.  This is only the top.  I now have to make the back of the quilt, line the inside with batting, bind it, and then quilt it.

Apparently this is not yet a quilt.

Quilting is the stitching that goes all over the blanket and gives it that puckery look.  Huh.  Never knew that before.  That's at least another 4 glasses of wine and several chapters of a Harry Potter audiobook.

The directions/pattern/tutorial Alicia chose for our quilt along can be found at the Old Red Barn Co.'s blog.  The link on the side called "How to Make a Quilt" gives you all the direction you need.  It's totally my kind of pattern...the kind that emphasizes it's okay to make mistakes, and every quilt will come out a little different.  And I suggest, if you try this time consuming but rewarding project, that you follow the buddy system.  It's been a lot of fun emailing back and forth with Alicia and meeting up on my day off to sew and chat.  It's also nice to have a human being to ask all my silly questions, like "How do I use this machine again?"

Some things never change I guess ;)

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

The Joining Together of These Two Households...

The hunt for our first home is almost complete!  We made an offer on the townhome in Carrollton, they made a counter, and we accepted.  We walked through the inspection (a 2 1/2 hour ordeal), decided which repairs we wanted to ask for, and signed about a thousand things.  Now we're just waiting to hear back from the seller.

And since I love to make my life complicated, we're also opening a joint checking, trying to combine our car insurance, and basically take everything that we have two of and make just one.  This is supposed to make our lives easier and more affordable.  What it is currently doing is giving me a headache.

But Blake is wonderful.  Where I freak out and lose my temper, he calmly and gently presses on.  He writes the emails that I am too stressed to write.  He makes the calls I could not make without yelling.  He lets me rant and then says, "Whatever you want, Princess".  I absolutely cannot imagine going through this with anyone else.  He is without a doubt my partner for life.

For now we are just waiting...waiting...waiting to hear back from the seller on our repair list.  This home shopping thing is NOT as much fun as HGTV would make you think it is.  On TV you pick a house and at the end of a half hour you sign and they hand you keys.  There should be a disclaimer that the half hour is actually several months condensed into 24 minutes plus commercials.

So here's to more waiting...

Monday, January 25, 2010

Oh, The Drama...

As I mentioned last week, Blake and I are buying a condo.  This sounded so simple when we decided to do it.  Rent an apartment (where I would most likely murder him within the first 6 months due to lack of personal space) and lose any money we dumped into rent OR buy a condo with room to spare and this lovely little thing called equity?  No brainer.  (PS-I wouldn't really murder Blake.  But I do like my space.)

So off we went to our financial advisor who set us up with a Private Banker who set us up with a mortgage originator.  Then we had to get a realtor who set us up with the website, viewings, the comps, and iPhone app (there really is one of those for everything).  Week one of the condo search wasn't so much a search as a big meet & greet of all the players we needed to make this happen.  And then finally the search!

This was the part I was most excited about-the big search.  Roaming through other peoples' houses and imagining what my life and my furniture would be like there, picking out in my head the colors I would paint the walls...only these condos were TRASH.  Dogs had chewed the molding from knee-height and lower in one place.  Another had amazing granite kitchen countertops...but they had awful shag carpeting EVERYWHERE.  Some had no living space, some had tiny kitchens, some had no parking, and all of them were painted a dingy white.  It was depressing to walk through them.

I finally found one I liked and brought Blake along to look.  It was smaller than we had hoped for, but it was one of the largest we had looked at in our price range.  In 2 weeks I looked at over a dozen condos and knew that unless something absolutely amazing came on the market, this condo was our best option.  Plus it had a kick-ass kitchen.

Then the drama.

First came the inspection report.  Oh boy.  There was a lot of things that needed to be fixed.  Then the realtor for the seller told us that the current owner was very close to a short sale and was hoping to have someone assume the loan.  Which meant we could either assume her loan or get our own, but either way there was very little negotiating room.  Then, after we agreed to another visit, had our realtor bring a contract, got pre-approved for our loan, and figured out all the details...someone else made an offer on the condo.  My heart broke.  I already knew where all the furniture was going!  Blake had promised me a new sink and countertops!  I was going to paint!

As if that weren't bad enough, our realtor hit us with the worst news yet: she had pulled comparative sales for the area and they were selling for almost $7K less than the asking price for this condo.  Oh man.  We knew right away we didn't want to be anywhere near this situation.  With sinking hearts we agreed to go look at a condo I had been saving as a backup.  It was larger condo but at the very high end of our budget.

And of course we fell in love with it.

So the good news is today we are signing the contract to put an offer in on our first home together!  It's so true that when God closes a door he opens a window.  This new place is big enough and nice enough that should anything happen-we lose a job, we have a baby, the economy tanks (again)-we will be able to live there comfortably and happily for several years.  All our stuff will fit, there is a nice 2 car attached garage, and the neighboorhood is a nice suburb centrally located between both our families.

Wish us luck, friends and family!  Today the bidding war begins!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Love on a Dime

Blake and I are on a serious pay-off-all-debts-buy-a-condo-please-let's-get-married-in-the-next-decade budget, but that doesn't mean we still can't go out and have a little fun.  Take Tuesday night, for example.

Right down the road from me is a dollar theatre where every Tuesday night is 75 cent night.  They show pretty good movies, too...2012, Zombieland, and Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs were all playing the night we went.  They don't have stadium seating, but you can hold hands over any old armrest, so who cares?!

Here's my idea of a great date night:

Pop a bag of popcorn and put it in a ziploc baggie.  Stuff your biggest purse with the popcorn, some candy, and bottled water.  Raid your quarter jar for six quarters.  Head on out to see your movie of choice (I chose Ninja Assassin-it was something Blake wanted to see that we missed at the big theaters.  Lots of blood.  Lots of swords.  Not much story.  But hey, I got to spend 2 uninterrupted hours with Blake, which makes anything worth my time).  I guess it's not so much love on a dime as it is a quarter, but it's sure nice to spend a night out and not feel the pinch in your wallet the next day!

In other news...

Blake and I have been condo hunting and found one we like.  Good location for our commutes, nice complex, nice size for just the two of us.  We went to the mortgage guy last night to get pre-approved and now we just have to make an offer.  I knew turning thirty this year would mean I'd be doing some serious growing up, and there's nothing like signing a million waivers, copying five ID's, checking credit scores, meeting with a hundred bankers, and discussing site inspections to make it real.

ALSO!  In all this free time I have now I've been able to start a project that I've been dying to do.  My friend Alicia taught herself how to quilt from online tutorials, and she has agreed to teach me by doing a quilt-along.  It's so very "Little House On the Prairie" I can hardly stand it, but I'm super excited and spent 2 hours picking out fabrics with my mom at JoAnne Fabric.  The name of the quilt is Sugar + Spice + Everything Nice but I think I'm going to call mine Pour Some Sugar On Me.  I'm gonna be a Rock Star Quilter ;)

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Public Service Announcement: World Peace

I would like to take a moment to discuss a pressing issue.  It's a problem that affects us all and crosses the lines of age, gender, and race.  Should this problem be solved, I believe it could lead to an economic regrowth, world peace, and a significant decrease in domestic violence.

"What," say you, the eager reader and peace lover, "what is the key to this happiness you speak of?"

Friends, family, fellow commuters...

Please learn to merge.

The ability to merge is becoming a lost art, and my fellow commuters seem intent to prove this everyday.  Ideally, merging onto the highway should be like two sides of a zipper smoothly interlacing so that the zipping motion is seamless, uninterrupted, and swift.  It should be so easy that it becomes a non-thought, each piece finding it's perfect fit among its peers.

Instead every morning I witness how little we have actually evolved as morning commuters jockey for position in line.  Compare a group of cars merging onto a busy highway to a group of first graders lining up for recess.  Ah, how much it says about us grown ups that the first graders do it better.  They manage to get into a straight line from total randomness with no slamming brakes, burning tires, middle fingers, or expletives.  Granted, their education has not progressed that far yet, but you get the point.

Learn to merge.  Learn to find your place in line and hold your tongue ("Goddamn it, it's my effing turn" never got anyone anywhere faster.  I know, I've tried it.).  Resist the urge to play chicken with the semi that is barreling down the highway at 80 mph.  Try your hardest to unglue the front end of your car from the helpless, hopeless driver's rear-end in front of you.  Please keep all 10 fingers on the wheel.

And please get out of my way and let me merge.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Welcome to Once Upon A Time...2010!

Hello again friends and family!  I have not fallen off a cliff or in the toilet, nor have I been swept off to some faraway desert island by the love of my life (only metaphorically speaking).  I have not died of pnuemonia (though I lost several months of my life to bronchitis) and I have not joined a cult of vampires living among humans...wait, that's almost the plot of Twilight.  Mmmmm...Edward...sigh.  I digress.

I have been too busy for my own good, which is part of my extremely loveable personality (wink, wink).  I beg forgiveness (grovel, grovel) and offer these feeble excuses for where my time, attention, and often my health have gone...

Overtime-The Sound of Music (I played Maria and yes it was amazing and no I won't ever do it again)-Blake-Moving Out (NOT the musical, ME actually moving OUT of my parent's house into my own place)-Blake-Trying to be a good Aunt Nikki-Weddings, weddings, weddings (why does everyone I know pick the same year to get married?  I'm going broke buying gifts and dresses!)-Blake-My first straight play no music at all called Don't Dress For Dinner-Massive Halloween party-Blake-Getting bronchitis and missing Thanksgiving through most of December because all I could do was sleep-Christmas New Year's Back to work already?!-and Blake.

By the way, have I mentioned I'm still dating Blake?

So that's 2009 in review.  Too much of not enough time.  This is why in 2010 I will be concentrating on some things I love MORE than theatre, and take a little break from singing and dancing.  Of course Blake is first on the list, but high up there on the list is my nephew, my family, friends who have been MORE than sorely neglected, and hobbies that I have been wanting to pursue and-GUESS WHAT-didn't have time for.  Like this blog.

So keep an eye out.  It's a new year (the year I turn THIRTY ya'll!), a new attitude, and a brand new beginning.  I can't wait to see what stories unfold...and this year, you all will be the first to know them =)