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I have been working on sorting through the clothes and shoes in all of our closets. Not only to try and get everything washed1, but to weed out items that need to be tossed or donated. I finally managed to take out a few boxes of clothes this past “weekend”2 as well as recycling. It was cluttering up the area near the door where we’d normally have our dining table. I can’t imagine trying to do these kinds of things once kids are in the picture and having to wash & weed out children’s clothing.

Since moving down here to SD, I’ve been trying to become a lot more active around the apartment as far as keeping things clean. It hasn’t been a total success, but I think I’m doing a lot better compared to our home in South Carolina. The husband and I used to try and outlast one another when it came to the dishes in the sink. It was very gross and very pathetic. I don’t work as many hours as I used to, especially compared to what he works now, so I try and make it part of my job description as a wife. I’m not the cleanest person in the world, but I don’t enjoy living in a pigsty, which is how our apartment would end up looking if I waited for him to clean anything *lol*.

He’ll do well with taking trash out and cleaning the litter box when I ask. For some reason, though, he has this strange aversion to cleaning up after himself in the kitchen. I think it’s pretty funny considering he’s the cook between the two of us. Not that he’s been cooking much since we’ve moved down here. He sticks to simple things like seasoned chicken, rice & beans3. We throw in a homemade pizza a couple times a month.

There are still a lot of things to work on as far as our marriage goes, but I’m happier for now. I do my part and I feel good about it.

  1. Talk about nonstop running of the washer/dryer unit! ↩
  2. Our weekend is Wednesday & Thursday. ↩
  3. Relatively bland (in my opinion) Costa Rican faire. ↩
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Settle Down!

I don’t know how much I’ve mentioned our noisy upstairs neighbors, or if I’ve done it at all. I’m sure I’ve said something about it at least once. The most I’ve known about them is there’s at least two kids upstairs who are rambunctious and noisy. They’re the noise-makers. They also enjoy dropping their toys and other items off the balcony with a good portion landing in our balcony, the other landing in our downstairs neighbors’ and the rest on the roof of the parking garage below. Fantastic, right?

I finally met, or rather ran into, the mother and two kids in the elevator on my way down to get the mail. For the 30 or so seconds we were in there together, the kids were all over the place. The mother is too timid to do more than say “stop” to them. They might be around 4-5 years old at the oldest with a year or so younger for the second child (a girl and boy, respectively).

Not being a parent, I’m given little room by those who ARE parents to make critique on parenting skills or how their kids are. I won’t ever come face to face with them and present my opinions. Of course, maybe if they’re unaware that’d be an okay time to bring something to their attention, especially if there’s a possibility of injury. However, most of the annoyance I experience is just overly rambunctious kids who don’t have a production place to let out their energy. I’m sure the mother might get a reprieve when her children are old enough for school.

It’d be great if those kids could be reigned in when it comes to the noise they cause… I can’t imagine what they’re doing that it sounds like heavy crap is being dropped from a good height. :|

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Cleanliness Brings Freedom!

I’m currently watching Wall·E for the first time via Netflix instant play. If I haven’t said it before, I’ll say it now, but I love it. I finally got my Wii this past Christmas but I always go through phases when it comes to playing video games, so it was sitting unused for quite a while. Then came Netflix… and OMG wow. I’m addicted. I’ve been watching Law & Order: SVU and am on season 9 (I’ve skipped quite a few episodes that I’ve seen enough times to remember what happens). My husband and I have become big fans of 30 Rock. While there’s a lot available on instant play, there are quite a few other things more I wish were available. It sucks having to wait for DVDs of TV shows.

I’ve had a productive morning. I had to wake up early (for me – which isn’t saying much :lol:) to take the husband to work. I then sat at a Starbucks with a Frappuccino (coffee flavored, no whip, with a shot of espresso) and an orange-cranberry scone until I had to be at my store meeting. Afterward, I’d usually come straight home and sleep for the rest of the morning until early afternoon. Instead, I picked up some needed cleaning supplies and cleaned up a melted chocolate mess (thanks to a cheap lighter exploding!) in the car. Once I came up to the apartment, I went to town on the kitchen and main bathroom. I hand-scrubbed the kitchen floors (one of the items still in storage), cleaned counters, stove, microwave, did dishes, put the drip pans from the stove into the sink to soak.

Soon I shall fix something for lunch as my tummy is a-rumblin’. Next I think I shall take recycling down and maybe actually organize some of the crap in the bins & boxes laying around.

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Food & Furniture

I just finished the dinner I cooked. Chicken breasts rubbed with olive oil and a garlic herb seasoning, served with mashed potatoes and broccoli cuts. My husband said the chicken came out well. My constant fear with chicken is that it’ll end up undercooked and… well… we know what happens when undercooked chicken strikes, right? I only used one thick cut boneless chicken breasts and sliced it in half to thin it out and make two decent portions.

One of my favorite things is instant mashed potatoes. It may not be the best, but it’s easy and I love mashed potatoes. I also love Ziploc Zip n’ Steam bags for vegetables. My friend introduced me to them back a few years when I was still living in South Carolina. They’re super easy and they yield great vegetables every time! I’ve primarily used them with broccoli (both frozen & fresh) and asparagus (fresh). I tend to add a dollop of margarine and either salt & pepper or garlic powder.

I’m eager to finally get our furniture delivered from storage. The husband and I have been living in our apartment since the beginning of February and the only furniture we’ve been living with are two beds, a recliner, large ottoman, and a small patio set. We’ll finally have our bedroom furniture and living room set – not to mention our kitchen stuff! We’re supposed to get it Friday – yay!

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Much Ado About Nothing

I could talk something about the new political topic du jour, but I’d end up rubbing people the wrong way and phrasing something poorly, etc. etc. so I won’t jump on that wagon. It’s not my style. I don’t like getting into that kind of shit. I just don’t. I don’t enjoy being involved, so I take a backseat and just observe, absorbing facts and opinions as they’re tossed around by people who care more than I do.

Unfortunately, I don’t have much to report on in way of personal goings-on, except for minor things. Gunny is as fat as ever and I’m trying to ignore her super obnoxious behavior that comes with an empty food dish (incessant meowing/whining, scratching at every door/window, getting into boxes and other crap…). I’m not good with the noise she makes all while doing these things. It’s something I need to learn to ignore, and maybe find a way to discourage it effectively so she’ll learn to stop and accept the diet she needs to go on.

Our all-in-one washer/dryer has stopped drying clothes. It was very effective at drying clothes to begin with since it uses a steam to dry (I presume), but now even with ONE article of clothing, after being set to dry for two or more hours, it’s still DAMP as if it didn’t going through the dry cycle at all. I am NOT going to end up taking every damn load of laundry to a laundromat just to get them to dry thoroughly! There’s too much!! Needless to say, I’ll be putting in a maintenance ticket in for it to be looked at and checked out.

After a month of having been in San Diego without a trip up to L.A. to see friends or family, I finally requested a couple of days off to go from Tuesday night through Thursday night. I only saw a couple of friends and since the husband and I stayed at my parents’ house, I saw my mom and brother. We also visited the husband’s father and his fiancé and had a late lunch with them. We enjoyed sushi – and I ordered my first roll! I usually eat shrimp sushi with miso soup and some other appetizer since I don’t like most roll fillings and the seaweed, but I found once that appealed to me (despite avocado and the seaweed lol) and it was pretty delicious! As long as I stuck the whole roll slice in my mouth and chewed it all together, the seaweed or avocado didn’t get to me. I was proud, and so was my husband :lol:

Now for a meme… brought to you by Friday5.org.

1. What is your favorite red food?
2. When were you last caught red-handed?
3. What’s your nicest red article of clothing?
4. Who’s got the loveliest red hair?
5. What are your thoughts on the 2002 Baz Luhrmann film Moulin Rouge!?

1. Strawberries. They’re my favorite fruit and usually my favorite (artificial) flavor. I love strawberry ice cream, strawberry lemonade & shakes (only if made with real strawberries!), strawberry gum and candy, strawberry lip balm/glosses! Strawberry is just delicious!

2. Probably one of the last times I was snooping through my husband’s phone or wallet. It’s habit I need to break and I’ve been good for a few weeks! Sometimes it’s better to just not know :P

3. My 2nd prom dress would have to be the nicest article of red clothing I have. Unfortunately, I had only worn it once (to my husband’s senior prom) in ’05 and I can’t even imagine being able to fit into it now, but I still have it and maybe there will come a time where I can squeeze into again ;)

4. I think Debra Messing’s hair is a gorgeous shade of red, particularly in the movie The Wedding Date. Whenever I watch it, I’m always admiring her hair & make-up :)

5. It’s one of my favorite more modern musicals! I love the story (as bittersweet as it is), the actors, the songs, the dancing, the cinematography… practically everything about it! I enjoy singing Come What May as a duet with the husband when we participate in karaoke.

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