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Friday, May 29, 2015

(Tiny) Road Trippin'

Happy Friday!  It's been a decent week at work after the long holiday weekend.  My supervisor was out all week recovering from a surgery, so it was quiet on that front.  The evenings have mostly consisted of dinner and movies with BF and one trip to the gym.  Woefully inadequate!  Anyway, BF made me watch "The Rundown", which is an older movie with the Rock in it.  :-p  I then made him watch "Suicide Kings" last night since his movie reminded me of my love for all things Christopher Walken.

Today I'm meeting my friend, Mary for lunch.  It's always good to catch up!  We used to work together and get together on occasion for lunch since we're within walking distance.  Tonight I will be going out to my first Happy Hour of the season with my friends A & J.  We're going to a Mexican spot in Chinatown for margaritas and chips and salsa!  Can't wait.  :-)

I had to get up and drive to Metro this morning in light of these plans.  The train ride home tonight will be long and boring, and then I'll have a decent drive home after that.  Not the most convenient living location, but I love BF and wouldn't trade the pleasure of going to bed next to him and waking up next to him every day for anything!  Hopefully I won't get home too late after all of that commuting fun!

Tomorrow morning we are waking and getting out the door earlier than usual.  We fairly impulsively decided to take an overnight trip to Lancaster, PA.  We're going to explore the sights, hopefully rounding out Saturday night with a Lancaster Barnstormers baseball game and accompanying fireworks, weather allowing.  Sunday morning we'll probably find a good breakfast and then head back home. So it will be a short trip, but it's only 2-3 hours away and it will be nice to do something different.  I'm sure J is less than thrilled on the face of things (she is NOT a sports fan), but I'm sure she'll have a good time with us!

Things are just good.  I'm happy.  It's almost June.  June is my birthday month, June is summer.  Next week marks 17 months I've been with BF.  Can't believe we're closing in on the year and a half mark this summer!  We just laugh so much, and have both taken such great efforts throughout the course of our relationship to be better people to each other, to understand the other, and to really compromise and show humility when appropriate.  This remains the most balanced, reciprocal and healthy relationship I've ever had by a long shot.  Though he may drive me nuts on occasion (and vice versa!), I think we have both agreed that we are very lucky to have found each other. <3

Anyway, I'm definitely ready for the weekend....I just have to get through this work day first!


Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Moving on Up (to the 8th Floor)

So this week at work has been a fun and crazy mess in preparation for my department's move up to the 8th Floor.  I am scheduled to be moved at 9 am tomorrow morning, so I packed up the last of my things today.  When I come in tomorrow I'll be going to the new office and getting everything situated!

I haven't posted since my trip to Omaha.  It was a great success!  BF finally got to meet my family.  I think he made a really good impression as I've heard nothing but raves from various relatives since getting back home.  He may not be the over the top charmer of my past guys, but he is much more real and he did such a good job getting to know the various relatives.  My mom loved him and was so glad to finally meet him, and I definitely feel like a puzzle piece that was missing is in place now.  :-)

I enjoyed getting to show him the city where I was born and raised, and pointing out my schools and various other locations of interest as we moved around the city.  The family reunion weekend entailed a lot of eating, as well as the fabulous Henry Doorly Zoo.  We spent some lower key time with my brother and his wife, and it was all just really lovely!

I'm very much looking forward to the long holiday weekend.  We don't have a ton of definite plans, though we do intend to get to a Washington Nationals game on Saturday with my friend, A.  BF hasn't been to a Nats game before (!!!) and so I'm excited to share that experience with him.  We're hoping to get my Firm's tickets as they are awesome (and free!), but we're going either way.  Weather is currently predicted to be pretty nice, seventies and sunny!  Beyond that I predict erranding, maybe a movie, and definitely some grilling!

J isn't coming this weekend.  She's got negative interest in sports and this would have been her half weekend, anyway.  We'll miss her, but we'll get her the full weekend the following weekend!  I admit to selfishly looking forward to a full long weekend at home with BF, just the two of us.  :-)  I just love that extra time, with nice weather, and nothing to do but whatever we want!

Tonight I'm considering running some solo errands to a) avoid Memorial Day weekend crowds and b) enjoy my own leisurely pace of shopping without feeling like I'm dragging BF along with me.  :-D  I need to re-up on super exciting things like a nude-colored bra and also new underwear.  I'm also on the hunt for some workout shorts that are fitted, but not insanely short or obscenely tight.  In other words...a unicorn!  I also feel like some Target wandering time would not be out of the question! We'll see how motivated I feel once I wrap up this work day and get my commute knocked out, though.

I hope everyone is having a really lovely week!  Anyone have any fun weekend plans on tap?

Monday, May 4, 2015

Three Day Work Week

So it's a Monday, but I'm not feeling too bummed about it since I'm only working through Wednesday this week.  :-)  I'm a little tired thanks to two consecutive migraine nights, though. Saturday night was a slow builder that led to me taking two Benadryl before bed in addition to a bunch of Advil.  I still had to get up early and take a migraine pill, but I went back to bed and slept in until 11:30. Thanks, Benadryl!

Last night I went to bed with a dull headache and woke up around 3:45 am with a pounder.  I made my way downstairs to get new ice packs and a granola bar to eat since I need something on my stomach with that migraine pill.  I think it's a double whammy effect of hormones and allergies.  :-/

I'm really hoping that I get a break during this work week because I only have four migraine pills left until the middle of next month, and I definitely want some on hand for the weekend.  I will not have my trip home tainted by a migraine if I can help it!

After I went back to sleep around 4, I had what felt like a huge, long, crazy dream.  The details are fuzzy now, but I think it was basically an anxiety dream about introducing BF to my friends and family in a few days.  I've never dated someone this long without them meeting my family, so I guess it feels like it has a bigger build up!  In some respects I will be glad to just get it over with.  :-p

Plans are coming together for Omaha, which is good.  I'm hoping I can fit everything in that I want to do while also working around all the family events.  I would like to show BF some additional Omaha spots because who knows when he'll come home with me again!  Plane tickets there are so pricy for someone who is not family-bound to visit.  ;-)  Crossing my fingers for good weather because I want to go to the zoo for sure, and lots of our plans are outdoor oriented.

Weekend was nice!  Friday night I met BF and J at a new to us pizza place for dinner after work.  The food was really good, so we were happy!  J requested to ride back to the house with me, so we got a chance to chat on the drive back.  We then ended up sitting in the driveway for over an hour talking, which was pretty awesome.  She really opened up to me a lot, and it was such a good conversation.  I'm walking a fine line between letting her know I'm there for her if she needs me, but not trying to overstep my bounds or rub her mom the wrong way.  I'm not her mom and I'm not pretending to be, but I am her friend and we feel like family at this point.  I think in many ways I'm an easy outlet for her because I'm an adult female who's involved enough, but not so involved as to be her mom.

She told me, amongst other things, that her mom really likes me and is really happy for BF that he found someone like me.  She said he seems happier and that makes things easier.  J also basically told me that she really likes our little family, and again made reference to her being like my kid.  She told me that she was glad her dad was finally dating someone sane, and that she thinks his less than stellar relationship tenures in the past were because he didn't care enough to make it work with the past people for varying reasons---one was too lazy (no job, didn't try to find one), some were crazy, one was rude to J.  We talked about how, in spite of the fact that he bugs her and is a dork sometimes, she is very lucky that he loves her so much and wants her to be involved and not feel left out and to be engaged during her time with us.  We talked about how his frustrations with her mostly stem from him simply not understanding what to do with a teenaged girl. :-D

She also talked to me about feeling like her mom is too free- rein with her.  She gave an example of last week when she skipped gym glass.  She told her mom via iMessage she was going to skip and her mom said something along the lines of, "I'm not here to tell you to go to class, that's your responsibility."  J said that if her mom had told her to go, she would have gone. She said that sometimes she wants and needs that guidance and is the type that will listen if told.  She also talked about figuring out her schedule next year, and how her mom told her to figure it out on her own.  She's been really into drama, but isn't sure she wants to remain focused on that next year.  She's considering getting into writing with a creative writing class, but said that she's very indecisive and sometimes wishes she could get some advice.  I told her that anytime she wants to talk about that kind of stuff, I'm around, even if it's just to have a sounding board to work the decisions out on her own.

I'm trying so hard to be there for her, but not to overstep.  When she was expressing frustration with her mom, in particular about still not having gotten her phone back from two months ago, I tried to explain her mom's point of view, or what I guessed it to be.  Her mom is reacting with anger and punishment to what I see as hurt feelings, and J couldn't see that at first.  I tried to explain that it's easier to just be mad sometimes than to admit your feelings are hurt, and she seemed to consider that more.

We talked about a lot of stuff, and she was just so open with me.  When talking about her grounding, she said something along the lines of, "I think I'm a pretty good kid.  I don't drink, I don't smoke pot, do drugs, I don't have sex (because no one likes me, but whatever)."  Ugh, that killed me!  I totally believe her, too.  She IS a good kid.

Anyway, it was a really good talk.  She let me know that she thinks it would be "so cute" if BF and I got married, and how glad she is we get along.  She is such a bright, insightful girl and hearing her take on BF's past, our current relationship and everything else was just awesome.

MOVING ON from that huge tangent, LOL...Saturday was nice, though busy.  The three of us ran errands until about 3pm.  We came home and made a buffalo chicken dip for the evening, and once J left around 5 it wasn't long before we went to the fight party at his friend's house.  It was actually a really fun night and I felt like I got to know a couple of people a lot better this time around.  We didn't get home until about 1 am because of how late the fight was, and we crashed pretty quickly.

Sunday was the grocery store and then grilling lunch and using BF's new smoker for dinner.  It was our first try at the smoker and it showed...we didn't eat until about 9:45pm.  It tasted awesome, though!

This week should be manageable.  Tonight will be dinner (mahi mahi burgers) and the gym, then hopefully an hour or to of relaxing before bedtime.  Tomorrow night will be quesadillas for dinner in honor of Cinco de Mayo, ha, and gym again.  Wednesday night dinner (sausage and peppers) and, you guessed it, gym!  Thursday we'll hopefully be sleeping in a little, then packing and getting ready for trip.  I want to pick up some flowers for J on the way to her play, and then we get to watch her show!  Friday we're off to Omaha!

Should be a good week, which will be a nice follow up to a really lovely weekend!






Friday, May 1, 2015

May Day

I cannot believe it's already the first day of May!  Unfortunately, it's in the fifties and gray so far today, with a high only in the mid sixties with rain chances.  Hopefully tomorrow will begin the upswing of some nicer weather that lasts more than a day at a time.

A year ago this weekend BF and I packed up for a trip to a cabin in Luray, Virginia.  It was such a great first getaway together.  This was also the trip where we said our first "I love yous".  :-)  Good memories!  We've come a long way since then.  It's been a year and four months on Sunday since we started this crazy adventure together.  :-)

I'm so glad it's Friday.  I'm definitely (and always) ready for the weekend.  Turns out we have J all weekend again, I guess since we'll be out of town next weekend.  That was a last minute change as of this morning.  Tonight we're going to a new-ish pizza place for dinner.  Tomorrow we have some errands to run before the Caps game is on in the early afternoon.  We will close out the night at a friend of BF's house to eat, drink and eventually watch the Pacquio-Mayweather fight.  J will be hanging solo at the house for that portion of the weekend since we already had the plans before this change and she would be terminally bored there.  Sunday will be any errands we couldn't get done in our limited time Saturday, and then the usual relaxation and chores.

I'm super excited that I only have a three day work week next week.  We both took Thursday off to sleep in a little, get packed and have some time to get to J's play without it being a huge rush.  I'm looking forward to her show, as they're always really fun to watch.  I'm less excited about getting up at the crack of dawn a week from today, but the payoff is that we'll be in Omaha a few hours later!

Got to see my new office yesterday.  Really nice space and I'm pretty happy with it.  Our department isn't getting moved until the end of the month, but I'm relieved that a) I still have an office and b) it's a nice one.  Still get to keep my awesome alley view window, but at least it will be from the 8th floor instead of the 2nd now. ;-)

Better get back to the Friday grind.  Hopefully the day will go by quickly!