Mid-Twenties

Today is my 25th birthday. I feel old. But, Chris lovingly cooked me a wonderful breakfast, got me a gift certificate for a massage (yay!), and even wrapped my gift in Happy Birthday wrapping paper (as opposed to Christmas paper, which is unacceptable). Having a birthday during the holiday season is rough sometimes. Anyways, we're going out to a nice dinner tonight, and then going to have a drink at a local brewery with some of our friends. Wahoo!

I mentioned in my last post that the weather out in Lon-Gisland was intense, and I have some pictures to post to prove it. These were taken by Chris's sister Laura (La!), who resides over at http://www.classylas.blogspot.com/. You have to get invited to read her blog, and that is a club I happen to be lucky enough to belong to. So yeah, here are the pics, which she gave me permission to use:



I know it's a little hard to tell, but there were 6 and 7-foot waves! On the Sound!

Crazy, yes? It was in the mid-twenties all weekend, but with the wind chill it was around 14 degrees. Brrrrr! Ok, here are a couple older pics from when we visited Lon-Gisland, so you can compare the Sound. This is what the same body of water (and I) usually looks like:



Hard to believe, I know. Chris and I went out exploring in the wind, but we lasted all of five minutes. It was SO COLD. We bundled up, and I resembled an Eskimo, and Chris resembled a Babushka.

We have bags full of presents that we have yet to unpack, and I think I will do that today. We got some very cool things, including a Star Wars poster with all the characters from the movies in a band rocking out onstage, a guitar-shaped spatula, some sweet books, the Planet Earth DVD series, etc. And I have two other Christmas/Birthday celebrations to go to this weekend with my family! Crazy!

My mom and sister called me this morning, but no one else has. They are soon to be in trouble...

Playlist 1: Christmas Ain't Over Yet

Whoa, so the wind was blowing here in Lon-Gisland at like 50 knots all last night (I have no clue what a "knot" means, but let's just say there are 7-foot waves on The Sound, which ain't supposed to have waves at all!). I actually couldn't sleep at all, because the wind was so loud. And, the gutter blew off the house. And I was convinced that the windows were going to blow in.

Anyways, Chris has this great idea for my blog. The idea is that I make playlists every-so-often (or virtual mixed tapes). This is one of my favorite past-times, the love for which I inherited from my dad. My dad is seriously the king of making mixes.

So, here is my Christmas playlist. I tend to despise Christmas music, so here is my very picky hand-picked list for your listening pleasure:

1. "Linus and Lucy," Vince Guaraldi
2. "Pretty Paper," Willie Nelson
3. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," Brenda Lee
4. "St. Stephen's Day Murders," The Chieftains
5. "Jingle Bells," Shroeder
6. "Blue Christmas," Elvis Presley
7. "All I Want for Christmas is You," Mariah Carey
8. "Christmas Island," Bob Dylan
9. "The Twelve Days of Christmas," John Denver with The Muppets
10. "Happy Christmas/War is Over," John Lennon


So, my thinking is that I will try to do a different playlist every couple weeks. All of them will have the tag "playlist," so if you wanted to pull up all of them, you could simply search for that.

I hope you all had/are having wonderul and relaxing holiday!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I'm writing from New Jersey after a morning/afternoon of Christmas-type activities. Right now, Chris is napping with his legs draped over me on the couch, and I have my netbook on his calves. The delicious quiche is the culprit that has the whole house in one giant food coma.

It was a great Christmas morning and afternoon.  Things got started about three hours later than I'm used to, though; my mom has a habit of getting my sister and I out of bed at like 6:30 AM on Christmas morning, so it was quite surprising when I woke up at 9:30. My mom always bellows out a Christmas song of some sort to wake up the house, because she gets up at like 5:00 AM because she's so excited. She's like a little kid!

And though I miss my family dearly (and my two Christmases there), I've had a wonderful time doing Christmas with Chris and his family. We're getting ready to head over to his aunt and uncle's house to do Christmas dinner. Then, we're headed out to the Long Island Sound! Wahoo!

Oh, and things of note: Chris and I got two matching shirts. Stay tuned for ridiculous pictures of us matching in flannel. I was also given a bracelet made out of guitar strings (cool!), a Beatles book, a photography book, and some other really nice things.

I have lots of things going on when I get back (like MY BIRTHDAY), so I'm planning on trying to relax in Lon-Gisland (that's how they say it there).

Love to my family. Drink a cocktail and eat a croissant for me (:

~R

Oh No, Mr. Bun!

That is to say, I made cookies today to bring to the Christmas Eve celebration I will be going to with Chris's family. Don't worry, I only made one Bun cookie, and it is now gone.

And now, some more pictures of Coltrane, just because he's cute and I won't see him for five days over the holiday. I'm sure you're getting sick of it, but just deal. with. it.



Looking a little chubby.





Look at my little squishy-face!



O, Christmas Bun, O, Christmas Bun...

Tee hee!

Mohawk

We leave for New Jersey tomorrow for the holiday. I will post from there! A New Jersey Christmas- Fuggeddaboutit!

Quarter-Life Crisis

In 9 days, I turn 25. That's TWO-FIVE. That's "MID" twenties instead of "early" twenties. That's halfway to the big FIVE-OH. That's one year away from how old my mom was when she had me. That's six years past the age Bob Dylan was when he released his first album. That's the age pop-stars in the '60's were considered "washed up." It's almost been TEN (10!) years since I got my learner's permit. That means I can say I did something of note "a decade" ago. I'm going to be older than 3 times my shoe size. I'm older than "Twenty-four and there's so much more." I'm already getting grey hairs (and yanking their little asses out). My memory is starting to go. It's ALLLLLL DOOOOWNHIIIIIIIILL FROOOOM HEEEEEERE! ARGH!

This is me on or near my 20th...

You should probably send presents to make it all better...


































PS- Check out my friend Doctor Derby here: http://doctorderby.blogspot.com/. She has dedicated herself to finding a cure for the dreaded Quarter Life Crisis.

Store Affronts

I went out shopping with Chris today so he could finish up the majority of his Christmas shopping (as I mentioned before, I'm done! Go me!). Yes, that's right, we went out on the last weekend day before Christmas. Such a bad idea. The crowds were unbearable. Nothing pisses me off more than crazed-angry-shopping-types. We ran into just about every type of shopper you want to avoid:

1. Steals-Your-Parking-Spot-Guy
Clearly you had your blinker on first, therefore that spot is yours. But Steals-Your-Parking-Spot-Guy has a huge, gas-guzzling SUV, which could smash your hatchback into a million pieces. Apparently, this makes him feel entitled to your spot, because he aggressively pulls into it, making sure to avoid eye-contact. Incensed, you are left with no choice but to park a mile away from the stores. Steals-Your-Parking-Spot-Guy is the second cousin once-removed to Parks-In-Two-Spots-and-Doesn't-Care-Guy.

2. Walks-Really-Slowly-Old-Lady
Walks-Really-Slowly-Old-Lady always manages to get in front of you in a crowd. She's oblivious to the world around her, and has no clue that if she simply moved eight inches to the right, you'd be able to get around her and go about your shopping business. But, NO. She does not move. She is molasses in a red sweater with snowflakes on it.

3. Pays-With-A-Check-Woman
Um, seriously? Who the hell pays for something in a store with a check anymore? Have we not heard of debit cards? Have we no moral fortitude? It is immoral to pay with a check if you have other means of paying for something. Yeah, that line behind you? They're not ok with you taking extra time to record the check you've just spent six minutes writing into your little check log. They're tired, miserable, and just want to go home. Taking eleven minutes to pay is unacceptable, UNACCEPTABLE I say!

4. Slams-Into-You-and-Doesn't-Apologize-Man
This seems to happen to me all the time. I'm minding my own business, and all of a sudden some big oaf slams right into me and practically sends me flying. Ok, I realize you're in a hurry (I am too), but at least have the decency to turn around a apologize instead of scurrying away like some sort of field rodent.

5. Makes-You-Feel-Guilty-for-Not-Putting-Money-Into-the-Red-Bucket-People
I have no problem with the idea of people standing outside of the grocery store ringing a bell and asking for money for charity. In fact, I'm impressed with those people for being able to stand out in the cold for so long for a cause. However, on occasion I run into one of these people who is constantly accosting people and trying to guilt them into giving away money. What if I really don't have cash or change (often the case with me)? I'm not putting my credit card in the bucket, sorry. And not only do they get you on the way in, but they repeat the process on the way out. One time, I put money in the bucket on my way in, only to have the same guy who was standing there before give me a hard time for not putting money in on the way out. Um?

6. No-Sense-of-Personal-Boundaries-Lady
This is the lady who looks over your shoulder at the store, and practically breathes down your neck. She also stands REALLY close to you when you're in line to pay. Almost like she's trying to get around you. This makes me so incredibly uncomfortable! Get away! Leave me be! Move over! I've found that a good counter-attack is to fart in her general direction.

7. Says-Awkward-Creepy-Things-Cashier-Guy
I always run into this guy while I'm shopping. One time, I bought one of the seasons of Sex and City at Target, and the cashier said, "Ok, enjoy your sex!" !!!

The point of all this is that online shopping may just be the answer to all my holiday shopping worries. Too bad Chris didn't get his shit together...

How is your shopping going? Any amusing anecdotes?

Somebunny Loves Me

This holiday season, having my pet rabbit Coltrane around has been a true gift. My recent state of being unemployed has been stressful at times (mainly financially, of course), and it is becomming harder and harder not to feel rejected on a daily basis. However, little Coltrane has loved having me home, and has his little bunny ways of making me feel wanted and loved.

With me home, he gets full run of the bottom floor of the house, and, even though his pen is this (see below) big, his favorite thing in the world (perhaps even more than treats) is being free to run around.


And yes, those are bunny pictures on the wall!

One of the ways he shows me he loves me is that he runs in circles around my feet. When I get home from somewhere and let him out of the pen, the first thing he does is run a lap around the dining room table and then start running in circles around me. I took a video of him doing this, and, if I do say so myself, it's pretty cute!

He also loves playing a sort-of "chase me" game. He'll run full speed around the house while I try to keep up, and he'll show that he's having fun by doing a "binky." I think I've explained binkies before, but they're basically when a rabbit jumps and twists in mid-air, out of joy. Very little is more fun than watching a rabbit do this. And he just loves treats, lettuce, cilantro, and his timothy hay, and it's so very cute to watch him munch!

And, I must admit, it is so nice feeling needed. This amazing little creature relies on me to provide food, water, shelter, and affection, and it simply feels good to know that I can provide all of those things. People make fun of me for giving Coltrane so much space and for letting him have the run of the house, but, the way I see it is like this: I wouldn't want to be confined to my bedroom for eternity. It would start to feel like a prison. And rabbits are programmed to want to dig, run around, and chew. So, why would I deny that to Coltrane?

So, though unemployment is a little scary, I'm trying to view this time in-between jobs as an opportunity. I get to hang out with Coltrane a lot more, and, as a result, he gets more of the attention and affection he deserves. Though he loves to be naughty and do things like eat the Christmas tree and steal ornaments, he's also helping me get through this time without even knowing it.

Isn't it great when Somebunny loves you?
http://www.trupanionpetinsurance.com/

Settlers of Catan

Awhile back, I wrote a blog post about the best lawn game in the whole, wide world (Kubb!), and now I'd like to post about the best board game in the whole, wide world: Settlers of Catan (affectionately shortened to "Settlers" by those of us who have spent many an hour playing). If you haven't played this game, I feel sorry for you.

The reason I even bring it up is that I played with four of my lovely, smart friends the other night... and I kicked their lovely, smart asses!

Some people complain about it being complicated, but you know what? Those people are just stupid people, and no one wants to hang out with stupid people. The board is made up of a bunch of hexagonal pieces, which are put into a random sequence each time you play. Therefore, this game is never the same. I repeat: This game is different every time you play it. It's the perfect game for Playas and Slutbags (that is, those people who get bored easily...). You put the pieces together to form the Island Nation of Catan, which each player is trying to Settle (hence, the name). This island is surrounded by water (most islands I've heard of are), so there are ports. The player who most successfully takes over Catan wins. You do this by earning Victory Points. Each settlement and city you build earns you points, you can get points for having the longest continuous road (my personal favorite way of achieving victory), the largest army, etc. You get resources each time the dice are rolled, based on what hexagons your buildings are touching. It's great, it's good, like God and stuff.

So, this is the Island Nation of Catan:

This is a settlement:

This is a city:

This is a road:

And this is someone's attempt at taking over Catan:

So, you roll the dice on your turn, and each roll corresponds to a number that is on each hexagon:

Then, you collect the resource cards that correspond to the hexagon that number was on:

AND, did I mention how incredibly good at this game I am? No? Well, I'm officially mentioning it. Me= Awesome.

So, three to four people can play, unless you get the expansion (which Chris and I have), which allows five to six people to play. Another fun factor in this game is that you can trade cards with each other. So, deals are made, curses and insults thrown around, alliances formed and promptly broken, and it's wonderful and fun and the best game in the whole, wide world.

ALSO, this game is so awesome that there are several different expansions you can buy so that the game changes. Cities and Knights is the best. The game takes anywhere from 1-2 hours, and is better with wine.

In college, for a period of a couple months or so, my friends and I played this game once or twice a week. One friend of ours used to win every single time, for such a long time. But I've since usurped him as Queen of Catan.

So, that being said, if you're trying to figure out what to get a game lover for Christmas, I highly recommend Settlers of Catan. I think it is ages 12 and up. And, once you learn how to play, consider getting the Cities and Knights Expansion. It adds two or three more things you have to keep track of, and is quite fun and challenging. Also, there is no way you can beat me, so don't beat yourself up.

Confessions

- I just ate like five cookies' worth of raw cookie dough. With a spoon. Out of the roll of dough that I bought for $2.50 at Kroger. It's over 1-lb of dough. Only a small amount of it has been used to actually make cookies.

- I recently did some part-time hourly work at the job I quit. Because I need money. I very nearly stole office supplies today, but stopped myself. I've also considered changing all the computer passwords to funny things like "Ryan rules!" or "OMG LOL JK."

- I just finished all of my Christmas shopping. I did not set one foot into a store. Yay for Amazon.com!

- I am getting really annoyed at my pet rabbit Coltrane, because he keeps trying to eat the Christmas tree. He also grabbed an ornament off the lower level of the tree and started running around the house with it. Bad bunny!

- I am curled up on the couch watching Stargate SG-1 with Chris, and I'm not hating it. And, there is a kitchen full of dishes that I will not give my attention to until tomorrow. So yeah, I guess that makes me a slobby geekoid.

- I took two really long, hot showers this week...Water bill? What water bill?

- I have not cleaned the upstairs bathroom once since we moved in to our place. Neither has Chris.

- I keep daydreaming about summer. Pretty much every-other second.

- I have listened to God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise by Ray LaMontagne at least 35 times over the past two months. I worship it. And him.

- I have slept past 11 most days this past week. I have gone to bed past 2 most days this week.

- It takes all of my energy and will power to not spend money on things like sushi, red wine, and going out for drinks with friends. But I'm doing really well, so there!

- I'm tired.

And now, for my second act, here are some things I found on Amazon while I was Christmas shopping that I thought were hilarious:

















Drink. Drank. Drunk.

By the way, I'm still waiting on my Christmas presents from y'all.

O, Christmas Tree

Chris and I put up our Christmas tree this past weekend. It's one of those artificial ones, and it leans to one side. We call it The Leaning Tower of Tree-sa.



The Leaning Tower of Tree-sa...

We tried three different Christmas CDs while we decorated, all of which we both hated (Bah! Humbug!). Music snobs who have both worked retail jobs (think smooth-jazz versions of the same 10 songs over and over and over again) have a hard time with Christmas tunes. I wanted to listen to A Charlie Brown Christmas, but our CD player doesn't play burned CDs, and that's the only version I have. Bah! Humbug! And, of course, Chris and I had a hard time being serious about decorating and the holidays:



Blue Balls...



Chris's Cluster

And you know, I always get a little sad around the holidays. Ok, maybe more than a little. But, I'm doing my best to stay positive, even despite the fact that I still don't have a job.

And now, I'd like to share some silly pictures I took of Coltrane around our tree. First, I tried to lure him over towards it with treats (he was scared), but now I'm paying for it; he keeps trying to eat the tree and dig in the tree skirt!



The pictures with this kind of light quality were taken with the "underwater" setting on my camera.  Some of them turned out crazy-cool:

Invisi-bun.

What a cute bun eh? Here's a video of him digging in the Christmas tree skirt:

If that doesn't make you coo, I don't know what will! So, here are a few more pictures I took:

And now, I know I already have my Ryan's Recommendations section, but here are some things to get you thinking about your holiday shopping!