Saturday, February 22, 2014

RUNning A New HOME


I have recovered from R0nda Appreciation Day. I know you were all concerned. ;) Here is how I celebrated myself! I enjoyed a blueberry muffin and sailed through work. I came home to a near empty house. The parents-in-law were off tending to leukemia things and for a short time it was just Man Friend and I. I did housewife duties like cleaning the kitchen and putting away dishes. When you have 7 or more people at dinner every night you go through a lot of dishes!! Then I sent myself on a run. The weather was gorgeous and the run was great....until I hit the pond. It is normally a path for people but it is currently a pond. I tried to run around it and ended up in water up to the middle of my calf!  I further spoiled myself by going to Lowe's and buying myself a new vacuum cleaner, which I immediately used. When I came home the house was filled with the aroma of freshly baked peanut butter cookies. Delicious! I got to spend a lovely evening with a lot of my new family. They are pretty awesome, I got lucky!


Today I did another run, this time avoiding the "pond". I actually ran at my fastest pace in quite a while. I call this last minute slacker training for Ragnar. And see? I even dressed to show I am attempting to prep for it! 

Speaking of Ragnar, I think I am almost all set with my outfits. I just need to create my screen prints for my shirts and I'm set. Amazon.com and I had quality time to accessorize together!

In other news, I LOVE my new house!! I could stay here all day and not get twitchy or want to leave.  Since we have so much company we have paused on unpacking and decorating for a while, but we still feel settled and comfy. It's so lovely! With this house also came Davey Jones. That's what I've named the cat that spends a lot of time here.  Out by our pool we have "Davey Jones' Locker" for him to go if he wants a nice bed and food. But he still has his food, treats, water and bed up on our deck, too. I spoil him. He even got to spend a day at the cat spa getting his hair freshened up!

I will end with my latest addition to our home.  My grandpa was given this steamer trunk ages ago. I've seen it my entire life and always loved it. Well, it is now mine! It sits in my bedroom but may find its home in the living room to help tie in the nautical theme of our kitchen area and swimming pool.  Isn't it cool?




Friday, February 21, 2014

Happy RAD! Let's Get Busy Appreciating ME!

I should know the year off the top of my head … but I don’t – I just looked, it was 2007…. Once upon a time I created a holiday. R0nda Appreciation Day. It was my own protest against Valentine’s Day since I had just (exceedingly happily) gotten divorced. I figured Valentine’s Day is a fake holiday that people get behind, so why not have my own holiday? So one week after Valentine’s Day I celebrate R.A.D.!

Two years ago on this date I hurried to work. My mom had told this obnoxious guy at work that R0nda Appreciation Day was coming up and he said he would leave me a little gift at my desk. She passed that along to me and so when R.A.D. came along I was filled with curiosity. What would this guy that I hated for so many years have to leave for me for MY holiday?!?! Ugh, it was the annoying slip showing how much money was taken from our paychecks to cover our union dues. Damn union rep! He knew how much I hated those things, so I did have to laugh when I saw that is what he had left me. Perhaps that obnoxious guy was smarter than suspected …. Because just over a year later I married him!

See what can happen if you create your own holiday?!?! I’m always shocked when people actually gift me things. I did not make it so I’d get presents, although I did try to solicit a new iPod the first year – to no avail. In the past I have received things like a gigantic plastic diamond ring, a puzzle book, a princess photo frame and even an Apollo astronaut complete with Lunar Rover! This year I might gift myself a vacuum cleaner now that I have two stories of carpets to clean in my wonderful new home. Also, I have the pleasure of company. My in-laws are staying with us for a while, and with that brings many other family guests. With all of us actually having homes hours apart, it’s nice to have us all together in one place. I think that’s a great R.A.D. present! Heck, we even have two visiting boys named Shadow and Speed. Without a doubt they are the largest cats I have ever seen in my life. You might think you know of a bigger one – but I assure you Shadow will convince you otherwise. He’s nearly 7 times larger than my old dog was. No joke, I just did the math!

So anyway, happy R0nda Appreciation Day everybody! Get busy appreciating me, dammit!

*Ignore the 0 instead of an o - I do it on purpose to avoid google alerts.