Today was a beautiful sunny day in Portland. Real sunshine too, not our normal liquid kind. But, I, for some reason am melancholy. I think it’s because of this: there’s nothing I like better to do on a sunny day than go sit outside at a restaurant with some friends and have a salty, icy, margarita. But, there’s nobody here to do that with right now. The girlfriend that I’d most like to do this with lives in Atlanta, and all my other girlfriends have moved out to the suburbs (um, ick). And, currently, Zane is traveling. So, straight home for me.

I don’t know why, but, for some reason the nice weather seems to remind me of my insecurities. I’ve gained weight. I am having a bad hair day, I haven’t had my eyebrows waxed in months, my clothes aren’t that cute. And, the list goes on. I think if it were rainy, I’d be fine with coming straight home and curling up in my jammies with a book, but with the nice weather I want to be out and about. And, if I am out and about, I’m insecure.

Now, I am home and I’m just lonely.

Under the tiles.,
originally uploaded by RhiRhi.

So, Saturday, we noticed that we’ve lived in this house for almost 8 months, and also have had pretty paint colors all picked out and mixed up in our basement. After we noticed these two things, we noticed that we haven’t painted a single damn room. Yay us! I, for one, was under the impression that after we bought the paint, that it would magically adhere itself to the walls. I mean, I knew I’d probably have to put the right paint color IN each room, and of course I was going to do that, but…

So, we decided we’d tackle the TV Room. It’s the room that has the least furniture in it, thus, the easiest to paint. Ha! Boy, were we in for a rude awakening. The painting of the walls itself went great. We bought a fancy painting contraption that holds the paint in the handle, eliminating “back bending trips to the paint tray” and it worked like a champ. Before we could complete the room, we ran out of paint (just the ceiling left to do). So, we ran to Lowe’s to grab more paint (Cat Tail is the color, if you’re curious). Also, not related to this story, but important to me nonetheless, I ate a hot dog at Home Depot (we went there too). I enjoy rewarding myself with processed meats when I’ve done hard labor. Anyway, on with the story. We return home and begin to paint the ugliness that is our ceiling. The ceiling in the TV Room is different, but who am I to judge. It’s a weird tile substance that isn’t in any other room in my house. After we see that the paint is adhering very poorly to these tiles, we have no other choice but to see what is underneath said tiles.

Now, for about 5 minutes, I was CONVINCED that there was cold, hard cash up there. I had figured that the old man that lived here two owners prior to us was distrustful of banks, so he installed these ceiling tiles to hide his cash. But, no such luck. We did find, almost as exciting, MOLD and WATER DAMAGE.

Homeownership Rocks….

But, there are a few positives to the situation. In no particular order:

-Ugly Ceiling Tiles are GONE (they’re currently in big black backs waiting for Mr. Trash Man tomorrow)
-We’ve got about an extra 6 inches of room in there.
-I get to buy a new light fixture.

But, for the meantime, all the furniture from the TV Room is in the living room and there’s no place to sit in this house. So, don’t ask to come over.

My day was weird. Just weird. First of all, I had an early meeting today at work, so I left my house about 6:30 – normally I leave about 7:15. Despite spending an above average amount of time on my hair, my bangs were doing some Farrah Fawcett thing that I was not a fan of. Thus, I spent half the day smoothing my bangs aside. But, I digress. I no longer park my car downtown as it is extremely spendy and there is this whole damn Bus Mall Remodeling which means the buses now run right in front of the garage I park in, thus blocking the entrance, thus making it take up to 45 minutes to exit the parking garage. NOT A FAN of that. Anyway, so now, I park in NW Portland and take our lovely Streetcar into downtown. This is delightful for many reasons. First, I get to read all the way there. Second, it saves money. Third, I get to look out the window of places that I want to spend money at. Depending on who you ask in this household, number three is more of a liability, but whatever, if he wants to say something, he should get his own damn blog.

OKAY, back on track. So, today as I pulled in to the area, what do I freaking see? The damn streetcar right ahead of me. I missed it. So, after parking and waiting for the next car, I arrive into the office, fresh and ready for my day. The day is uneventful for the most part. I leave work and head to catch the streetcar home. I catch a glimpse of myself in the window at Pizzicato (um, you WISH you had pizza this good) and am impressed that my blush has stayed on ALL DAY LONG! Yay for Clinique. I also notice that I can buy half baked pizzas at a local grocery store. I file this away, as this is a great dinner idea. So, I ride the trolley all the way to my car and proceed to drive home. I look in the mirror in the car and still notice the staying power of my Clinique Nude Nude (yes, it’s Nude twice, all things good are named twice, I can provide proof). Then, I turn my head to see my other cheek, only it’s bare. I went the WHOLE effing day with blush on one cheek. SHUT UP.

Now, this is somewhat out of order, but I am also pretty sure that along with my Kidney Infection, I am also afflicted with Kidney Stones. There is some major painage in my right kidney right now. This is inconvenient. Inconvenient to the max. I am going to keep an eye on the situation (um, hard to ignore). But, related to my health, I learned yesterday that along with my kidney woes, I also have a Vitamin D deficiency. Now, I will tell you, if your doctor’s office calls during your work day to tell you that you have some sort of affliction, it is VERY WISE to refrain from googling said affliction. It will only worry you. But, if you are wondering just what a vitamin d deficiency is, go to wikipedia. I am far to lazy this evening to link it. Anyway, so, my doctor calls in some vitamin d capsules for me to the pharmacy. I arrive today to pick them up only to find that I have paid $15 for four damn capsules. FOUR capsules. Now, I need to take 1 capsule a week for 12 weeks and then be re-evaluated. So, for the 12 total pills I will need, it will cost $45. That my lovelies, is a total waste of money. What’s more, the pharmacist informs me that this MEGA DOSE of vitamin d I will be taking will cause minor side effects such as nausea and diarrhea. Who decides what’s a minor side effect? Cause I do not find those minor.

And, because I know how to leave things, I’m out…Here’s hoping for a better hair and blush day tomorrow.

I am home, sick in bed with a kidney infection. I’ve just been feeling funky lately – lot’s of nausea and fatigue (NOT PREGNANT), so I left work early yesterday and finally made it in to the doctor this morning. I feel yucky, but very anxious about being home as I am a contract employee at my job which means I have no sick pay. How I miss my benefits.

Anyway, I am catching up on some knitting and reading. Back to snooze…

This is strange. Very very strange. I am here, waiting, at my local airport. PDX, for those of you who know it. I am going to Atlanta to visit my BFF. I am excited to go, so excited to see her. But, for some reason, I am so sad to leave home. I’ve been to visit her before. I had an amazing time. I am a seasoned traveler. But, I had the hardest time leaving my house tonight. My kitty, my bed. (I’d say my Zane, but he’s traveling himself.)

It could be this: I am now officially off all my mood stabilizing meds. No anti-depressant, no anti-anxiety. Who knows.

Then, there’s this: Zane’s mom will be in town while I am away. I am very happy about this, I think it’s great that they’ll have the weekend to spend time with one another. But, I am not the best housekeeper in the world. I’ll admit it. My house is large, it’s a lot to clean, and I work full time. You’re probably asking why I didn’t tidy up in preparation for her visit. Good question, I would have done this, but I didn’t learn she was coming until last night. So, I am worried that my inadequate housekeeping skills will come under close inspection.

And, also. I am taking tomorrow off. I am worried in the one day I am gone, they’ll realize that they really don’t need me afterall. (OKAY, this is NOT unfounded – I got laid off just about a year ago from my super-fantastic job).

Tell me to stop worrying, please?