Saturday, August 23, 2008

Blah

I'm exhausted. School starts on Monday and I'm ready to meet my students. And Scout comes home in two weeks for R & R. And Kansas keeps finding cats in our backyard and killing them (and then eats them afterwards, trying with all her might to get away from me with the dead cat in her mouth, while I try to pry the rotting flesh away from her, intestines and all hanging out). And my house is a disaster. And I spend all of my spare time watching Tucker do whatever it is that he does because he's so damn cute (oh, how I love him). And I have tons of homework to get done. And lesson plans. But mostly the rotting cat flesh (and the thought of a cat dying in such a horrible way) is what is bothering me today.

I don't foresee having a lot of time to blog in the near future, particularly if any other stray cats make it into my yard. Dude, cleaning up that crap sucks.

So, my friends, good-bye for now. Hopefully I'll have time once in a while to let y'all know what's going on.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

If I Die...

...this is how I would like to sum up my life. It's the best compliment I think I've ever received:

Talking to Erin is like wearing your favorite jammies in front of the fireplace. It just feels good.

AlliCadem came to my house this weekend and it was absolutely what I needed. During a time when I felt like a Big Fat Failure, she was able to see me just for me. No expectations. I needed that.

It's good to be around someone that is Chill. And has the "Whatever, Dude" mentality. Sorry, AlliCadem, I don't have any food in my house. "Whatever, Dude. Let's go to Ruth's Chris." Sorry, AlliCadem, my AC doesn't really do much upstairs (where you'll be sleeping). "Whatever, Dude. It's all good."

I've found someone that I can just Be around. I don't have to be Erin Rages, or Tucker's mom, or the funny girl that's good at holding a conversation. I don't have to stroke her ego. I don't have to be anything I'm not. I can just Be. Around her, I just Am. I love that more than she'll ever know.

If you can find someone that's able to bring this out in you, hold onto them for dear life. And try not to sound totally desperate when you leave them a voice mail saying, "Ok, so I've decided that you need to move here. Like, immediately."

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Seattle, Continued

While in Seattle, I got to see my Aunt Penny and Uncle Bruce. Bonus: They always cook me amazing food. This time it was cheese burgers, grilled (perfectly), of course. On a sunny Seattle day, there's nothing better.

My Uncle has a rooftop garden that was absolutely amazing. Really, who climbs up a ladder, builds a green house, and grows tasty vegetables on a roof? My Uncle does. And it was totally impressive:


And of course, my mom waited until I was imitating someone to snap a picture of me and my biggest fan:


They have a great backyard too, where my mom snapped this devilish picture of Tucker pulling my hair:

Seattle

Every time I fly into the SeaTac airport, I am amazed by the beauty of the Northwest. I love how green and lush it is. It was so nice to spend a few days there last week. And I found myself thinking as we crossed the Tacoma Narrows Bridge to Gig Harbor how lucky I was to be able to say I was from that area.

I went there to see my family, particularly my fat little niece, Butterball, and my sister, Meghan. I have no idea how it happened, but I only came away with one picture of Butterball and me (and of course, I'm in Full Lounge Mode - I have no bra on, I'm wearing one of Scout's old t-shirts, and I'm sure I hadn't showered yet - totally not presentable for a picture). Butterball was such a sweetheart though. (It's strange how different babies are, and I found myself still feeling a newness about holding her - I've gotten so used to how Tucker eats, sleeps, laughs, and plays that I felt like I didn't really know what I was doing!)


On about four different peoples' cameras, there are pictures of Tucker being a bully and stealing Butterball's binky, but somehow I didn't come away with any of those pictures either! But here's one of Tucker schmoozing with Grandma Seattle: