Caffeinated Wishes, Lofty Dreams

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Today's to do list (once I decide to leave Gypsy):

Avoid cleaning the apartment
Call Mama G.
Make appointment to view loft apartment above

Our lease is up. I hate my neighbors. The rent for the loft is less than what we're paying for our current apartment. Why not?

Loveseat Baby, That's Where She's At

My entire family decided to gather south of the border (that's anything south of here as far as I'm concerned) at my brother's house for Thanksgiving. I spent the better part of that morning slaving over a hot oven making meals for locals who decided to stay home as well. After a short four hour shift I got home just in time to catch the last fifteen minutes of the parade; Santa's arrival. I never miss it.

As if on cue I started dinner for David and I; we opted for a small turkey breast instead of a whole turkey. Dinner was delicious and I learned that David can be a 'texture' eater - he can't tolerate jello-like substances. There's always a can of jellied cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving dinner, and this year it was all mine. (Mwah ha ha.)

After dinner came the obligatory sofa nap, then a few movies and a bottle of vino.

Miso Kitty even got a bit of turkey for dinner, and promptly after gorging herself decided to crawl under, and then into, the loveseat.

Yes, into the loveseat.

An entire evening was spent searching and calling for Miss Miso Kitty. David had tears in his eyes when we suddenly heard a few muffled meows coming from the behind the sofa cushions. I started laughing until I realized I needed to tear the fabric from the bottom of the frame in order to get the cat out of her hiding place. Since then she's been extra affectionate and unbelievably obedient.

But I'm still guarding the Christmas tree. And the toy train.

Frankie 2.0

Newsflash: I'm a Junior. Today is Frank Senior's birthday. I'm going to call my Dad later; after I finish grocery shopping which will take place after I've finished my wifi mooching, java swilling lazy morning. And I have no idea when that will end because I'm enjoying myself a bit much right now.

Some items of interest I will undoubtedly utter in hopes of lightening the ever present (yet dwindling) tension between the two of us:

"Hey, remember that time you tried to get me to play on a little league baseball team? Remember how I ran the bases? Crying? Giving you the finger the whole time? Yeah, memories."

"That one and only time we went fishing and I screamed like a bitch when I saw what we had to do to the worms? Awesome."

"How about when you forced me to go on that Boy Scouts camping trip? I froze my ass off, broke a toe, and almost got mauled by a bear, love ya!"

Luckily, my Dad's sense of humor is about as warped as mine.

Cleveland Rocks Cooks

Thanks to George from Brewed Fresh Daily for pointing this out. Not only did I find a great stuffing recipe for turkey day; Mr. Symon has kindly given recipes for an entire meal.

Who am I to argue with the Iron Chef?

Rock It

In his absence, David asked that I create my Christmas wish list. Below are a few of the items I've decided to add to the (never ending) list. Don't look at me like that; I've so earned these lovely items:

• this necklace
• this trench coat
• shoes from this collaboration

It's beginning to look a lot like a rock star kind of Christmas.

Fun With Fir

Like any happily-not-quite-married couple, David and I appreciate time away from one another.

Time to spend with our families, time alone in a cozy coffee shop corner with the laptop or a good book - or in my case, time alone this weekend with holiday decorations.

Ah, the Christmas tree; my weekend project. David will return from his brief family visit to witness the tree perfectly positioned to the right of the fireplace; ornaments and lights covering every single branch. Glass, glitter, silver and gold in every nook and cranny of the fabulous fake fir.

The toy train will be rounding the base and at regular intervals shall emit a whoo-whoo and a quiet puff of smoke.

After I finish my masterpiece, I’ll enjoy a nice cup of tea while basking in the glow of blue, gold, green, and red twinkling lights. My ears will enjoy the soft soothing sounds of Ultra Lounge’s Christmas Cocktails and after a few minutes of taking it all in, I may even croon along with Kay about waitin’ for the man with the bag.

Until, of course Miso Kitty decides she misses her Daddy and like last year, clumsily climbs throughout the tree mistaking it for her carpeted kitty palace knocking down (and breaking) valuable keepsakes. If this happens she’ll inevitably derail the train and offer pieces of the locomotive set as peace offerings by dropping them at my feet and more than likely I’ll eventually find the caboose buried in her litter box.

Exactly how cruel is it to chain a cat to a radiator for 48 hours? Just asking.

Love Is The Drug

Friday night I consumed half a pitcher of (light) beer, one shot of scotch, and two Bombay Sapphire and tonics with lime. That amount of alcohol, on an empty stomach, was enough to create a desire for a pastrami sandwich of mammoth proportions. So, David and I found ourselves having a very late dinner in a quiet corner of a noisy deli.

We decided to walk home, but not before stopping off to pick up some chocolate for dessert; pink M&M's.

Walking in fall weather breathes new life into me. Walking in fall weather arm in arm with a loved one while eating chocolate makes me feel like I can fly.

I slept in as late as I could on Saturday. I worked a seven hour shift Saturday night, followed by a nine hour shift six hours later; exhausted doesn't begin to describe how I felt Sunday evening.

Monday was a typical work week beginning; busy, too much to do, not enough time to get it done.

But today, David and I both have the day off. We're having coffee and chocolate chip muffins as I type this, and grocery shopping is the next chore of the day.

All of this may seem boring, mundane and just plain unexciting to some of you, but a few of you will understand just how high I am right about now.

Correction

Earlier today, the coworker who likes to hide the things I need to run my day as smoothly as possible decided to brag a bit about his upcoming winter vacation:

"I'm going to be surrounded by white sandy bitches!"

Of course I thought I misheard him:

"Don't you mean white sandy beaches?"

He replied:

"It's a gay resort."

I stand corrected.

I'm meeting a few of David's coworkers for the first time this evening. It's a casual gathering at one of the local watering holes; I'm mentally going through my wardrobe piecing together what I should wear. I've picked up quite a few Obey pieces thanks to the Brigade Boys and deep discounts, but each and every time I wear a signature piece of Obey some fashion queen (thank God I'm not the only one here in Cleveland) paws my choice of clothing and squeals loudly enough to shatter my martini glass.

Perhaps tonight I'll chillax in a track suit.

And if you believe that line, I have a bridge I'm dying to sell you.

Shift Happens

The slight twitch of my right eye can be attributed to one of the following: too much caffeine, too little sleep, the recent void of a constant nicotine supply to my body.

Or, it cold be all of the above.

David's new schedule requires him to get up before sunrise. This, of course, has been taking a toll on my sleep pattern. I'm quite comfortable with his warm body being next to mine until I decide otherwise or the alarm goes off, whichever comes first.

I've substituted coffee for cigarettes which is probably not the greatest trade off considering how much I like both. I'm not getting headaches or anything, but the urge to speak like a cast member from Gilmore Girls is ever present.

My attention to detail has been noticeably greater since I've upped the intake of dark roasted beverages. Which probably aided in my spying a bag of crack cocaine on the ground in front of my building. At least that's what it looked like. Quite honestly, I have no idea what the stuff was, I just knew that the four children playing less than five feet away from it shouldn't come into contact with it.

So they didn't.

And now, more than ever, I really want us to move. Again.

The Good, The Bad, The Insanity

The Good:

Hard work and creativity pay off; I recently got a raise.

The Bad:

Mama G. lost a canine companion earlier this week; I'm still trying to console the dear woman.

The Insanity:

I've canceled my mobile service, for now. I will miss my late night textversations with a few select peeps.

Everything on the home front is just fine and dandy, save for a few found fleas on one Miss Miso Kitty. Hello flea dip and bombs. Oh yes, I bought three of them. Detonation date: tomorrow afternoon.