Author: erinreeve

• Alarm goes off at 4:55
• Get up at 5:32
• Work until about 2:20
• Get home 15 minutes later
• Check Facebook, etc.
• Matt gets home around 3:20
• Doze on the bed while Matt checks Facebook, chess moves, etc.
• Try to persuade Matt not to work out because I don’t want to
• Fail
• Work out
• Cold shower
• Make a list of my day

Yet to happen (but in the agenda):

• Clean up the kitchen (it’s been about 5 days…)
• Grocery store
• Possibly McKay’s (which would be before the groceries)
• Deliberate about what to have for dinner
• Eat dinner
• Probably watch the rest of If….; the first DVD we got from Netflix played until the movie was half-way over and then refused to go on, so the replacement was in the mail today
• Sleep

Exciting, eh?

just had breakfast at Waffle House. as always, it was delicious. I stayed for a while after eating because it was fairly empty and because I wanted to finish the article I’d started in the latest New Yorker about North Korea. pretty interesting. I’m glad I don’t live in North Korea. really puts living in the US into perspective; as much as I disagree with some of the stuff going on in the government, at least I’m not in North Korea where I would absolutely disagree with everything going on in the government. to say the least. phew.

so now I’m back and home and wondering what to do with the rest of this day off. I’ve had lots of coffee but feel like either going to another coffee shop, possibly for tea, or staying home and maybe taking a nap. if I stay home I’ll probably need to wash the dishes though, which I don’t feel like doing. I knew I should have done them last night instead of watching the Simpsons. geez. I did feed the cats though, so this morning hasn’t been entirely unproductive. heh.

I mentioned the possible elopement in my last blog, I believe. and Katie was the only person to respond to it, which either means that nobody else read that paragraph or that nobody else cares about me. either way, here are a few more details about our thought process (which is more accurate to say than “plans” at this point). Matt does not like needless ceremonies (as most ceremonies are, actually). I don’t care for them myself. also, as we are both more logically- than traditionally-minded, it makes lots more sense to get married at the justice of the peace and throw ourselves a party/reception later than to have a big wedding ordeal. neither of us are particularly comfortable being in the spotlight anyway.

so this is probably how it will be done. the party/reception will be afterwards…days, weeks, whenever is convenient. and I don’t know if it should be done in Nashville AND in Knoxville, or what. because there are lots of people in Nashville who’d want to celebrate with us, but lots of people in Knoxville who I would want to celebrate with us. I know it’s been a while since I’ve lived there, but if you grow up with people then… well, you know. they end up being like family, I guess.

and btw, even if we’re not having an actual wedding, it’s still exciting to me. even if it’s unplanned at this point. so.

no Lipscomb news yet. Dr Hearn said that he would check on some stuff for me and I haven’t heard back from him yet. still waiting on the financial aid to come through or not come through, too.

I’ve been spending too much money lately. I hereby resolve to stop spending so much and start working out more. maybe I should make myself a poster to the effect of — exercise will make you look better than new clothing ever will. not a bad idea….

I think I’m becoming lactose intolerant, maybe. Not that anyone wants all the details, but I’ve been experiencing the typical symptoms — flatulence, occasional bloating, etc. So I decided to cut dairy products for a little while to see if the gassiness went away too. And, as of Day 2, it’s definitely gotten better. Which totally SUCKS. I don’t want to be lactose intolerant!!!! I like milk! I LOVE cheese! And heavy cream and yogurt and butter and pretty much all dairy products. This is going to not be any fun, though granted, I probably was eating too much dairy before and should have cut back anyway. I’m definitely not planning to eliminate it entirely; for example, we bought a ton of fresh mozzarella at Costco the last time we went, and I fully plan on eating it all. Because it’s so good. But I guess I’ll start drinking soy milk and using olive oil instead of butter and all that. But probably will still be eating cheese. I’d rather be a vegetarian than give up cheese.

Also, as long as I’m complaining about my body, I think the bad air quality has been affecting my ability to breath well. I’ve been using my preventative inhaler twice a day but have started needing my Albuterol inhaler again too. Not being able to breath well just puts at damper on everything, I have to say.

Though at the moment I can breath just fine.

Can I say in here that I think we’re going to elope this fall? Or is the point of an elopement the surprise and spontaneity? Maybe I shouldn’t disclose anymore….

On a separate note, I’m getting closer to and more apprehensive of taking this last Bible class. I checked the Lipscomb website, okay? And they charge $850 PER CREDIT HOUR for part-time students. Additionally, all the Bible classes are now THREE CREDIT HOURS instead of two (like they were when I was there). This means that I will potentially have to pay in excess of $2500 for one measly stinkin’ Bible class that I sure as hell wish I hadn’t failed before.

I emailed Dr. Hearn to tell him my findings and see if I could qualify for the adult studies pricing — $499 per hour, which is much better (though still a lot). I doubt that I’ll be able to. I also doubt that I’ll be able to take an online adult studies class either, as the only two online classes that I saw listed were Hebrew History and Luke/Acts, both of which I have already taken. Really the only class that looked like it would fit into my work schedule was Tuesdays from 4-7 and was a readings class on radical Christianity, or something like that. I’m sure it would prove to be very interesting, but it also sounds like a lot of work….

Anyway. Enough of this. I guess I ought to let Matt use the computer….

Our neighbor burns plastic behind our house, in his back yard. We have a window unit a/c which, of course, is in he back of the house. Naturally then, our house ends up smelling like burned plastic. We’re going to develop brain cancer, I just know it. Can we report him to the EPA or something? It seriously smells so awful. Plus i seriously doubt that it helps my asthma.

Matt’s told me lots of stories about encouraging his coworkers to not burn plastic, so I don’t think it would help to actually talk to the guy. And I don’t want to call the police or anything. But it’s seriously annoying.

So is the heat. It’s 9pm and still super hot. But I should stop complaining…

how is it possible that I love Matt this much? it’s absolutely ridiculous. I had no idea that the rest of the world had any idea what it was talking about, being so enamored of love. but now… well, I can apologize for being so skeptical. I mean, it’s going on 3 years and everything is perfect. I had no idea it was really this good. ha!

On day off #3… so far today I’ve slept in (woke up around 8:30, much much later than usual). Then I got dressed and went to Cafe Coco for breakfast, since the weather this week has been so perfect — or at least, as perfect as one can expect summer to feel. I’m reading Catch 22 and am trying to hurry up and finish it. It’s a good book, but I’ve been lazy about reading it so far and kind of want to move on to something new. But am going to finish this one first.

Had a bagel and some oatmeal at Coco. The bagel was good, the oatmeal was very gummy. But you know, whatever. It was pretty cheap.

We’re going over to Katie and Clay’s later, once Matt gets home, to swim and eat dinner and hang out. I need to make some potato salad for that. I’m going to fry up some soy bacon and put in eggs, ranch dressing, and spicy barbecue sauce. Maybe something else too, not sure yet.

But before I do that, I’ve been trying to decide whether I’m going to do any yoga or not. I mean, I should for sure. If I do it frequently enough, I can feel myself getting stronger… and we’ve been doing a moderately good job of exercising on a regular basis lately. Need to keep it up….

But lying in bed charging my phone and listening to music is more fun. I guess I could be charging my phone and listening to music if I was doing yoga, so the key part of the first scenario is the lying in bed part.

After working out yesterday, we went to the Brewhouse and played some poker. Matt’s been trying to teach me. I’m catching on, but still need lots of practice. He’s trying to get together a friendly poker match next week… maybe Thursday, or something. Here’s a picture of Matt, thinking that I was playing with my phone instead of taking his picture. I insert it because I, personally, enjoy blogs with pictures.

Isn’t he cute?  🙂

In the course of 6 days (starting today), I have 4 days off.  This is awesome.  Of course, it’s because I just worked 10 days straight, but I made it through all that and have today and tomorrow off, then Friday, then Sunday.  It’ll be pretty sweet.  So far today hasn’t been too productive, but it hasn’t been altogether unproductive either.  I woke up when Matt left, made some breakfast, and pretty promptly went back to sleep about an hour after that.  Got up again around 10:30 or so, put in my contacts and applied a bit of makeup (mostly because it makes me a little depressed to think that the only time i wear makeup is at work), and got a couple of loads of laundry together.  Matt’s mom, who I suppose I should call Helen (as opposed to Mrs Ralston or Mom…), was home, and showed me a bunch of yarn and crochet projects she’s been working on.  While I did laundry.

After a while she went to lie down (she was only home because she left work early due to feeling a bit sickly), and I went to Old Navy.  They were having a store-wide 30% off sale, and it may surprise you that I only purchased 3 items — a skirt, and a swimsuit (top and bottom sold separately, unfortunately).  I actually like them all.  Plus the swim wear was on sale anyway.

The I went to Bath and Body Works, since it IS right next to the Old Navy and everything.  They were also having major sales, and I came away with lots of bath and body supplies.  I mean, they have awesome sales.  Plus, I saved $10 since my purchase was a little over $30 (and included 7 items).  Good stuff.

Now I’m home and downloading the Indigo Girls’ new CD from iTunes.  Today’s the release date… and it’s a live CD with a bunch of all their best songs from the years, which seem to be most of my favorite songs too.  Some of their albums tend to have like 4 good songs and the rest are just okay… but this one looks like it can’t be bad.  I mean, “Heartache For Everyone” is the first song.

After I get all that downloaded, I need to change the sheets and make some potato salad.  Matt will be home in about an hour, so I still have plenty of time.  Once he gets home we’ll work out a bit and then I’m not sure what.  I’ve been more … um, antsy, or bored lately.  Which isn’t much fun when Matt’s favorite things to do are stay home playing chess or his bass.  And I like being with him, so going to coffee shops and leaving him home isn’t all that fun, either….

On a different note, here’s a picture of Bitey stretched out in front of the fan.  He loves it.  And he loves us.  Not sure what he loves more.  Please disregard all the dirty clothing….

Pretty cute, huh?  He’s a little doll.  Right now he’s next to me, curled up inside the Old Navy bag.  Hm, let’s disconnect the phone for a second to take a picture….

What a cuteness.

BTW, this album is awesome so far.  If I get any blank CDs, I’ll burn you a copy, Katie.

I mean, given my track record, I wouldn’t hold your breath, but still. I’ve been officially re-accepted, and I’m in the middle of filling out the FAFSA, and my email has been reactivated. Hooray.

Have I mentioned how much I hate Lipscomb? Oh well. Maybe they’ll have changed some since 2006. It HAS been four years.

So today/tomorrow I have to file the FAFSA and email Dr. Reed. And possibly Dr. Hearn. Oh, boy. It was so nice to not have to think about this stuff, but I suppose paying off the student loans will be immensely more gratifying if I actually have a degree to show for it… whether I do anything with it or not.

So there’s your update. I might post more later. I don’t like to think about it that much.

And, just because it will come up eventually, I’m going to do EVERYTHING I CAN to keep from having to participate in a graduation ceremony. But, there will be a party. In theory, of course.

I hate it when people post their political opinions as status updates on Facebook. I don’t do that, do I? I fight the urge, and generally end up posting a blog instead.

But someone (who I subsequently “hid”) voiced his opinion that Obama basically has no right to dismiss McChrystal and that it’s a violation of freedom of speech.

That’s bs! Obama is THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF. This means that all of his generals had BETTER watch what they’re saying as long as they’re collecting a paycheck from Obama for fighting under his command!!! It’s absolutely not a violation of freedom of speech for him to be dismissed, and anyway, he wasn’t dismissed. He RESIGNED.

I remember Mom telling us that even if we don’t agree with what the President of the United States says, we need to respect him/her (you know, just to be fair and hope that we have a female President someday) because they are the President of our country. I think she said this while Clinton was in office. If that goes for your regular citizen (which some people would debate, I know — though it says in the Bible… one of the Corinthians… that you’d better be respectful of the governing authorities because it’s God who has put them in command), then it DEFINITELY applies to the generals in the US Army.

Just sayin’. I would have liked to post all that on Facebook, but, well, it’s the wrong medium. And I wish other people would keep their political opinions in their appropriate places. Thank you.

occasionally I like being busy.  not usually, but sometimes.  it makes me feel important, which I’m usually not very interested in feeling.  importance means responsibilities.  but anyway.

so we went to Knoxville this weekend — left on Friday from Nashville, spent all day Saturday there, and came back on Sunday after having brunch at the Tomato Head with sisters and friends.  it was a good time.  the trip itself wasn’t that eventful, but I know at least Katie would like to hear about it, and I have some corresponding pictures to post, so….

oh  yes, I got an iPhone.  I don’t think I’ve blogged since then.  it’s very new, and I’m still learning how to use it, but it’s pretty cool so far.

We had dinner at a Waffle House in Carthage.

My parents’ front yard; it started raining about 5 minutes after this picture was taken.

We had salad and oatmeal muffins for dinner.  See above.  Everyone was there except for Joel, plus Marshall.

Then we went to the Tomato Head for brunch, which I think I already said.  Since I’m sure Matt wouldn’t appreciate me posting another picture of him, here’s another of L, Marshall, and Carla.

(Taken minutes before Josh Casada showed up to occupy the chair on the left.)

Alright, enough photo blogging.  Tonight I’m making salad and pasta… not quite sure what kind of pasta I’ll do, but leaning towards angel hair with assorted veggies, and an olive oil and lemon sauce.  Something light, to go with the hot, hot, hot, hot weather.  I hate summer.  Have I mentioned that?