The Fashionable and the Insane

Summer is in full-swing and that means I've moved over from changing stuff around the house to changing stuff about me. That's right, summer is when I decide to cut/dye/dry shampoo my hair, lose weight/tone/exercise more/eat better, get rid of worn out/ill-fitting/ten years out of date clothing, and paint my nails regularly and exciting colors. (Fuchsia! Teal! Lime!) I even plan to try out new makeup. I make the same decisions every year and they rarely make it to action. For example, since 2000 in the category of hair:

Number of dye jobs: 1
Number of radical haircuts: 3
Number of styling products regularly used: 0
Days of the week hair is styled: 0.5 (half-hearted effort on Sundays)

And for this year in the category of makeup:
Number of new lip products purchased: 7 (5 in a trial set)
Number of new lip products worn at least once: 1

It's not the best of track records. This year I have painted my nails once and been thoroughly annoyed at how fast it chips (seriously, one day?!!) and used some foaming shiny hair product once. I'm looking at leftover Panda Express for lunch, haven't even put on makeup, and threw my newly-cut hair into a ponytail. Why do I get these silly notions every year? What is it about summer that makes me want to redo everything in sight?

I'm still dying my hair purple this year after the family photos though. And trying the teal nail polish. And eating better.

Maybe I should just give up. :)

We Finally Have a Car Again!!!!

I put a lot of exclamation points because this was very, very, very exciting for us. After 15 (!) days of fruitless searching, disappointments, and two failed inspections, we finally found, inspected, and purchased a car!!! YAY!!!

This is our new car:




















It's a 2005 Sebring Coupe. It's awesome and I hope we're best friends forever. I love this car. It's nice and clean and everything works properly (including the CD player). There's plenty of leg room all around and yet you could still fit two adult bodies in the trunk. It's only drawback is that it has one of the chinzy gas caps that are attached to the door. Well, and the gas tank is on the passenger side. Other than that, I hope it is the best car ever made and we never have to buy one for again for a long time. The best part about the car is that it was within our original budget ($6500), which we had completely given up on and resigned ourselves to car payments for a while. I like to think of it as a car miracle.



Also when I say it's our car, I really mean it's my car.

This Week, I Swear

This week, I swear, is trying to break me. On Wednesday, Paul was in an accident. No human injuries but the Accord was declared a total lost. Thursday a bill from my health insurance came, informing me that they weren't paying anything for a doctor's visit. Friday and Saturday were spent look for and at cars. Sunday my e-mail address was swiped by a spambot. Sorry for anyone who was offered cheap Canadian Viagra. Oh, and thanks to Memorial Day--which I normally enjoy--inspection and purchase of a new car is delayed until Tuesday.

I have keep remaining myself how these are all inconveniences and annoyances, but not disasters. No one is hurt, the claim for the Accord was settled quickly, we're pre-approved for an auto loan, and found a replacement car. I fixed my e-mail (I think) and Paul has tomorrow off to play.

Oh well. At least I wrestled the doors on the bookshelf/pantry.

Anniversary Week

We reached our sixth wedding anniversary, but rather than cram everything into one day, we decided to have an anniversary week. Okay, really it was because we were too tired to exchange gifts, go out to dinner, and watch a movie all on one night. Yes, we are super-lame. What's your point?

Anyway, we tried a new Italian place one of Paul's coworkers recommended and oh my gosh! It was the best food ever! I had gnocchi alla vodka and Paul had the special, which was some sort delicious steak wrapped in bacon topped with some cream sauce on a bed of mashed potatoes with asparagus. It cost $30 and was completely worth it. And when I tell you something was $30, you KNOW it is definitely worth the money. Plus, I think I have a new favorite food. They have a lunch menu which is much cheaper, so we have a new lunch spot. I just wish they served lunch on the weekends! It was a very fancy restaurant, good for special occasions.

For gifts, Paul got two video games and I got a lovely ring and tickets to see Green Day in August. So if you want to go, submit your application now (250 words or less). Paul's new games are very good, they keep sucking me in and I keep blurting out orders to him. I keep telling him not to shoot innocent animals in Red Dead Redemption (which looks amazing, FYI--it feels just like being in the middle of Utah with the mountains and the barren wasteland all around you) and to load the flashlight in between squeals of terror in Alan Wake. I'm lucky that he thinks it's adorable that I care for the virtual him and not annoyed at constantly having orders barked at him.

We wussed out of going to a movie and instead choose something we could watch in the comfort of our own home, preferably while lying on the couch. Don't judge us. So we watched "The Dark Knight" on Blu-Ray. (Paul is always trying to show me the error of my DVD-loving ways and I'll admit, it does look way better on Blu-Ray.) I had forgotten how truly good that movie is. That movie is better than Christian Bale is hot. And we all know how hot Christian Bale is. (Muy caliente!)

Well, I need to go make dinner, but sentimentalists never fear! Here's your declaration of our undying love: undying love! Feel better?

So There's Been More Setbacks--And Progress!

So there's been some more setbacks, but also progress on the bookshelf-to-pantry project. First, setbacks:

1. IKEA cannot order in pieces from other stores.
2. The back-up doors will not be in stock for approx. two weeks.
3. The paint is latex-based, not acrylic like I need. This means the paint has a tendency to peel off when scratched.

Now, the progress:
1. I learned from a most helpful IKEA employee that the company is releasing two new styles of glass doors for the bookshelf I own. Unfortunately, since they are new, they can arrive in store anytime between now and July when the new catalog is distributed.
2. I finished painting (yes, even the touch-up work, stupid latex).
3. With Paul's kind help, the legs were attached.
4. We moved it into the kitchen! Yay!

Here's a (crappy cellphone) picture of how it looks.


I also moved the previous shelving unit (I don't know what to call it exactly) into the second bedroom and turn it on its side. It is now holding a bunch of books and Paul's video games, with my Barbies displayed on its top. This has freed up some two shelves over my desk, which I intend to raise and change the brackets on (because they are ugly and don't go with anything). Also, now we own a level, so that might be good to use the second time around too. Finally, these new and improved shelves over my desk can hold my Chinese book collection, thus keeping all of my "work" and reference books in one convenient location. I feel like I've gone mad with successful projectitis!

Now, if only those darn doors would come in.

So There's Been Some Setbacks...

So there's been some setbacks in the Great Summer Project of 2010. First, Lowe's couldn't match the color (the placemat was too reflective), so I had to break out a color wheel and go with what looked closest. (Pineapple Mousse, in case you were wondering.) Then IKEA rudely discontinued the doors I was going to use. There were as of last night approximately 10 left in the entire United States. This apparently caused quite the run on my back-up choice as it too is unavailable with an estimated availability date of "unknown." So now I'm going down to talk to an IKEA associate to see if they can order from other stores or at least tell me when the ($30 more) back-up doors will be back in stock. I can order them online of course, if I'm willing to pay $100 delivery fee for $70 doors. (Hint: I am not. I'm not really even pleased with $70 doors, when my first choice was a more reasonable $40.) Finally, the side I had a little trouble with the primer on but didn't bother fixing it because that was going to be the side that didn't show? Yeah, that's totally the side that's going to show and it's the only part I screwed up on.

In positive news, I have been bravely forging ahead nonetheless. The bookshelf has been disassembled, primed, and painted completely with one coat. I am now off to a different Lowe's to get another sample-size jar of Pineapple Mousse for coat #2.

Oh, and I forgot to take pictures.

The Great Summer Projects Begin, Or The Return of Boredom

Exactly one week to the day when I finished my last final and I've kicked into high Summer Project mode. Project one will be to paint, add doors, and add feet to a generic small IKEA bookshelf and move it into the dining room so it can be used as a pantry. I intend to have Lowe's custom-blend the paint color to match the green on the placemats currently decorating the fridge. You may remember them from last year's Summer Project: Kitchen Border. That never really got off the ground, but if the bookshelf goes well....Anyway, the bookshelf now in the dining room will be turned on its side and moved into the second bedroom, where I can display all of my Barbies on top and fill the inside with drawers of video games, art, and books. Aesthetically, both rooms will come together better and storage-wise, the space will be better distributed as well.

I'll take (blurry) pictures with my cell phone (curse you, lost camera!) of each step of the process, just in case things go hilarious awry. I plan to prime the small bookshelf tonight and paint it tomorrow. That way I can rearrange and reorganize the books as soon as possible, instead of keeping them in piles which are starting to take over. How did we get so many books? No, wait, I know this one. It's because I never say no to books. They are always worth the money.

Well, got to go. Those DVDs aren't going to rearrange themselves.