Sleep Talkin’ Man

My ass and my personality are the same thing. Huge and in your face.

If you haven’t been privy to a hysterical blog called Sleep Talkin’ Man, click on that link there. An American insomniac woman records her English husband’s nighttime mutterings, and they’re pretty much the funniest things I’ve ever seen. Note: some are a little graphic, so keep the kids’ prying eyes away, mkay? Great.

Then comment and tell me which one’s your favorite

Pulled pork tacos

As a gift thanking MOSH and BF N for letting us stay with them forever, the FI and I picked them up a CrockPot and muffin tins. Then I made pulled pork tacos for dinner, using the recipe below (adapted from this one at allrecipes.com):

Ingredients

• 4 pounds pork shoulder roast
• 2 (4 ounce) cans diced green chilies
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• salt, to taste

Directions

• In a small bowl, stir together the green chiles, taco seasoning powder, oregano, chili powder, and garlic. Rub onto the roast.
• Place roast in CrockPot. Cook the meat on low for 8ish hours (start in the morning before you go to work, serve when you get home) or 5 hours on high, until falling apart.
• Remove meat from CrockPot, shred into small pieces using two forks, and place back in CrockPot for 30 minutes to an hour to soak up all the juices.

Serve with tortillas, sour cream, guacamole, and mango salsa for sophisticated pulled pork tacos that’ll make your mouth water! Serves 4 ravenous adults with lots of extras to spare.

I also made a rice and bean dish, but it was really bland and not that spectacular. It did add some extra “meat” to the tacos, so that was good, but I don’ t know I’d make it again.

I. Am. Banished. (and other stuff)

Note: that’s the Romeo and Juliet banished, with the accent on the “ed” part. Mmmkay? And I have some miscellaneous things to throw out there, so here’s a hodge-podge.

Banished

Last night, I went to the FI’s part-time place of employment to visit him during his “lunch” break. We decided to head back to our apartment to check on progress and see how it was all coming together.

Mistake.

There was no progress from when I’d been there on Sunday, meaning there was no one there working yesterday. Let’s just say I lost my sh*t, AGAIN, and am no longer allowed to go inside until we move back in. I can go over to pick up the mail and maybe peek in the windows, but that’s it. It seems that every time I’m there, there’s less done than should be, and I get so frustrated that I burst into tears. I’m not proud of it, but there you have it. So I’m not allowed back.

When can we move back in, you ask? Well, that’s a terrific question. I have no effing idea. It was supposed to be mid-last-week. Then it was supposed to be this past weekend. And we’re still not there. And now I refuse to move back in until the following occur:

1. The stove is re-installed.
2. The dishwasher is re-installed (since we likely won’t have a sink until the counters go in, and that could potentially be another 8+ days.
3. Some sort of prep surface is installed, even if it’s just plywood.
4. Someone cleans the bathroom. It’s covered in 100-year-old wall dust, muddy footprints, and whatever else the contractors have brought into the house. In short, it’s filthy, and I am not cleaning it.

In my mind, the deadline is February 7 before things start going down. That’s exactly one month to the day from moving out (January 4) plus the three days we were supposedly paid for. Stay tuned!

Avatar

MOSH, BF N, N’s sister and BF, the FI and I (got alphabet soup?) went to see Avatar in 3D at the Imax theater near us on Sunday night. It was amazing. The storyline was strong, the 3D animation was unbelievable, and it was really an experience. We all loved it. Yay!

Lady Gaga

I am a new Gaga convert. I’m not usually into pop music that much, but she’s just so catchy and dancy and fun that I can’t help myself. The FI, too… he confessed that he had “Bad Romance” stuck in his head and was listening to it on my computer. I drove into work yesterday, and having Gaga in the CD player made the drive so much better. So give a listen, if you’re one of the last remaining people on Earth (like me) who haven’t been made hip to the Gaga.

To Bee or not to Bee?

MAN, am I good at cheesy post titles or what?

Here’s the thing (I sound like one of my clients, who starts nearly every statement with “well, here’s the thing”): I’m a fan of this blogging thing. I know I have a little following, and would love to have a little bigger following. I like talking about the wedding planning/getting married process, and I feel like I have an interesting take on it.

When we first got engaged, I threw myself into reading a little site called Weddingbee. Who am I kidding– I was way into the ‘Bee well before we got engaged, since summer ‘08 or so. For those not in the know, it’s a collection of women all blogging about their wedding planning processes under cute pseudonyms like “Miss Cheese,” “Miss Potato Chips,” and “Miss Scissors.” They get their names from the generations of blogger handles– food, junk food, crafty items, drinks, weather, etc.

The main focus of Weddingbee is the DIY bride. These ladies DIY ev-er-y-thing. I just did a quick site-specific search for “DIY list” and found one board poster who had 33 items on her DIY list. 33. Things like belly bands, gowns, jewelry, out-of-town bags, 3 different types of favors, and napkins. That list, to me, is a lot of what is wrong with the anti-WIC blogging bride. Side note: God bless Meg from A Practical Wedding, one of my favorite bloggers of all time.

Don’t get me wrong– I’ve seen a lot of great ideas come up on Weddingbee. There’s a lot of honest discussion about relationships, the stresses of planning a wedding, and what happens after you come down from the wedding-planning high. I’ve picked up some writing tips along the way, too. And I don’t want to seem condescending or come off as holier-than-thou… I’m very much “to each his/her own” when it comes to weddings. That sort of stuff just isn’t my thing.

I’ve just become a little jaded lately with all the (to me) unnecessary stress these ladies are piling on themselves, going berserk over envelope liners or save-the-date cards. Sometimes it seems that they lose sight of what a wedding is: a celebration of the couple starting their lives together as husband and wife (or wife and wife or husband and husband, but I don’t think I’ve seen any non-straight bloggers on there). I’m positively lazy when compared to these dynamic ladies.

Here are my pro/con thoughts for applying to be a Bee:

Pro:

• Bigger audience for my blog
• The chance to have what amounts to a part-time job I really enjoy
• Being a bigger part of the Weddingbee community
• Providing a voice for the sane bride in the face of DIY/OMG-we’re-planning-a-wedding/a-marriage-is-more-than-a-wedding mania

Con:

• Big time commitment (multiple wedding/marriage-related posts every week, posting on the boards, answering comments, etc.– it adds up FAST)
• Feeling a little out of place with all the cutesiness I see on the Bee
• Probably being seen as a Negative Nancy in the community

For those who have been on Weddingbee, what do you think? If there are any Bee bloggers reading, would you weigh in on how you came to the decision? And if you haven’t heard of Weddingbee until right about now, do you think I’d be crazy for getting myself into it?

Turning 24

Today’s my 24th birthday. I asked MOSH last night what 24 feels like (her birthday was in October), and she said,

Like 23. But old. Like really old. Like everything hurts and you’re tired and feel like an old lady and want to go to bed.

So I’m excited, since that’s pretty much what 23 was like for me.

In seriousness, though, I’m now in my mid-20s. I’m old enough to be jaded about some things in the world, but still young enough where people don’t take me seriously most of the time. I can buy cigarettes, dirty magazines, and alcohol (thanks, 18th and 21st birthdays), but still get slapped with a major surcharge if I rent a car (that doesn’t drop til birthday #25).

One of my coworkers said “24 is a very ‘blah’ age, don’t you think? There’s nothing special about it!” And I have to say I agree. But that isn’t going to stop me from being AWESOME at my mid-20s. My early 20s were all right… there was a lot going on during them, after all.

I’m going to make my mid-20s so effing fantastic, people all around the world will say to themselves, “Holy Mother of Pearl… someone is absolutely killing a random time period in his/her life right now! You go, girl/boy/whatever!”

I’m gonna own this biatch. Who’s with me?!

Kitchen Renovations, Week 3

Yes, I know, I skipped Week 2.

That’s right, kids. We have been out of our apartment for 21 days, as of today. We’re technically starting week 4 of this God-forsaken project. MOSH and BF N haven’t kicked us out yet, thankfully, but I’m not sure how they’re putting up with us.

We’re nearing the end, though. I think.

The carpenter was in the apartment Saturday and Sunday working on the new hardwood floors, and he’s there again today. He can’t paint yet, because the plaster still hasn’t cured, and it went up on Tuesday/Wednesday. Still left to do:

• Finish the floors
• Paint walls and radiator
• Install lower cabinets
• Re-install appliances (we’re getting a new microwave, but that’s it at this point)
• Measure for counters
• Install counters
• Re-install sink
• Install top cabinets
• Finish work– trim, outlet covers, etc.

We can move back in once the bottom cabinets are in, but won’t have a kitchen sink until the counters are installed, which is at least 5 days after they’re measured. I asked how we’d wash dishes. “Well, you’ll have the dishwasher installed.” Then I asked what would happen if I made pasta for dinner… where would I drain the water? “Well, you have the bathroom sink.”

I’m not kidding.

I opened my mouth to say “I feel like we’re being taken advantage of since we’re staying with friends and not at a hotel,” but as soon as I got to “taken,” our landlord came out with “You know you’re not paying rent for February, right?”

Like I could have possibly known that if she didn’t tell me. Sweet! But that information really would have been helpful before I gave myself an ulcer (not really) over this stupid project and not sleeping in my own bed for almost a month. I was all worked up about having to garnish rent for the time we’d been away or negotiating some other way to make this equal.

She said we should be able to move back in by mid-week, but I’m not holding my breath. I’m figuring it’ll be this weekend at the earliest. I just want it to be done!

Has anyone else been through marathon renovations not of their choosing? Are there any landlords out there who’d like to weigh in?

Ode to Pandora

Oh, Pandora, I love thee. Let me count the ways:

1. You let me listen to music I want with not too many commercials
2. You introduce me to amazing new songs (more on this later)
3. You remind me of songs that I used to love but haven’t heard in a while
4. You let me create stations with different genres of music so I can switch it up
5. You. Are. Free.
6. You’re on the Internet, my BlackBerry, and now on my Roku player (another ode for another day, paired with an ode to Netflix)

Anyone else have an intense love for a web site? Inordinate love for an inanimate object? You know you do.

Now, for that bit about “introducing new songs.” I have a Death Cab for Cutie station that I listen to with some regularity. It was starting to turn into a Dave Matthews station without my permission (though I probably thumbs-upped a song by them at some point), so I deleted it and started over again. Side note: I’m still unsure I’ve heard any Death Cab while I’ve been listening for the past few hours.

I’m listening away, and I start hearing really sweet lyrics. I’m always on the lookout for them, since my music of choice doesn’t lend itself to sweet lyrics most of the time– depressing or angry, sure. I check it out, and it’s “I Was Made For You” by Rivers Cuomo. Not Weezer, the band with Rivers as the frontman, but his own recordings from his home studio. Here’s how it goes (source) :

Little one, how long I’ve waited here
Waited for so many lonely years
Nobody ever could make me smile
‘Til you came ’round with your pretty style

And I will love you so
And I will love you so

‘Cause I was made for you
And you were made for me
And that is all I know
You’re all that I can see
‘Cause I was made for loving you
And all the little things you do
Remind me who I am inside

Happiness is such a fickle thing
Nothing compares to what you can bring
You can bring meaning to what I do
That is why I want to be with you

And I will love you so
And I will love you so

‘Cause I was made for you
And you were made for me
And that is all I know
You’re all that I can see
‘Cause I was made for loving you
And all the little things you do
Remind me who I am inside

My darling, I need you
I’d give myself to please you
My darling, I need you
I want you to be mine

‘Cause I was made for you
And you were made for me
And that is all I know
You’re all that I can see
‘Cause I was made for you
And you were made for me
And that is all I know
You’re all that I can see
‘Cause I was made for loving you
And all the little things you do
Remind me who I am inside
Remind me who I am inside
Remind me who I am inside

And here’s how it sounds:

I love new music!

Engaged Couples Weekend

This past weekend (Friday night and all day Saturday), the FI and I were at church. Our parish runs an Engaged Couples Weekend as part of its Pre-Cana requirements, so we were there. I was a little apprehensive about how it would all go– would be be holding hands and singing Cumbaya or would it be all fire-and-brimstone?

Well, it was neither. The five couples who ran the program were great– they were honest, open, and genuinely excited about sharing their marriage experiences with us marrieds-to-be. The best part about the weekend is that it focused on marriage, not the wedding. We’re inundated with tips and tricks for wedding planning, but no one really stops to think about what will change and how to handle it when it comes to marriage.

We discussed communication, finances, intimacy and sexuality (not nearly as scary as you might expect, coming from the Catholic Church), spirituality, sacrementatlity, fidelity and commitment, and the first years of marriage. One of the team couples would give a little presentation on their topic, then we’d move into small breakout groups to discuss it. I was a much bigger fan of the small-group discussions than the presentations, but they were both great.

At one point, the leadership team told us to split up from our spouse-to-be and write a letter starting with “Dear Whatsyourname, I want to marry you because…” I had a hard time writing down why I want to marry the FI in the 10 minute allotment they gave us, but managed to sneak in how he makes me laugh, how I love spending time together, and how I’ve known for a long time that he was it for me. The FI tends to think faster than he writes, and managed to write “I could imagine myself with anyone else but you.” Oooops… that missing “n’t” makes kind of a big difference! We got a good laugh out of it though, even if it meant the other couples thought we were insane for laughing during this heartfelt, spill-your-guts activity.

The weekend wrapped up with 4 o’clock Mass Saturday afternoon, where the priest giving Mass asked us onto the altar and had the congregation pray over us. While we were up there, the FI leaned over and whispered “so what do you think?” referring to seeing everyone out in the church looking up at us. I smiled big and told him I liked it, imagining us standing in that same spot after taking our vows.

Anyone else out there go to a similar program before getting married? What was your biggest takeaway?

The wrong way to follow up

MOH K and I hadn’t seen each other for a while, so we decided to get together this past Wednesday night. I noticed there was a bridal show going on that night with free champagne and passed hors d’oeuvres, so asked if she wanted to go. Both of us have most of our vendors booked, but it would be something random and free to attend while we caught up.

Wednesday morning, we both admit to feeling kind of sick, so we postpone our plans. We decided to skip the bridal show.

Fast forward to yesterday. I get an email from a photographer saying, “Hello! It was nice to meet you at the XXXXXXXX’s bridal show. I hope you were able to meet many great vendors and get some good ideas for planning your wedding…” (it continued into a generic sales pitch).

Do you see the problems? 1) No personalization. 2) Clearly, if I wasn’t at the show, we didn’t meet.

Vendors, please. I understand you get a list of all the people who registered to attend the bridal show. I understand we sort of opt-in to receiving these types of emails when we register. Saying “it was nice to meet you” to someone who didn’t stop by your booth (when most vendors have their own signup lists) doesn’t make me want to sign a contract with you. Plus, in this magical age of the Mail Merge, there is no excuse to not have a personalized greeting for a first contact. I see MASS EMAIL written all over it.

Has anyone else run into this, whether with a wedding vendor or someone else?

May I have your attention, please?

Two announcements. I guess if you’re here, I have your attention. So here we go.

Announcement #1: After reading this here blog for the very first time, MOH S has requested that I call her MOSH from now on. So that’s what I’m calling her from here on out. Don’t get confused.

Announcement #2: Though I haven’t yet read The 4 Hour Work Week (from whence this discussion came, I’ve heard), I’m intrigued by changing your answer to “What do you do?” to reflect who you are as a person and not define yourself by your job. In another “from here on out” move, I’ve decided I’m going to answer something along the lines of “make delicious things.” Baking and brewing are two of my favorite things to do, and they both yield delicious results. And they make people happy. Which makes me happy.

There you have it. Are there any questions?