it's the little things...

Or maybe two weeks. Then maybe I wouldn't have been MIA for that first week. My last two posts were entertaining to me. Were they enough to constitute an entire post? Probably not. You want more? Today I overheard someone say, "I'm not really much of a reader." I do not understand. That's like speaking an entirely different language to me. Also, as I was walking back from the liquor store to get lunch (not liquid lunch, an actual salad...oddly the freshest produce around and it's 1.2 miles roundtrip), I passed some purple lantana. About 30 butterflies flew up and were all around me. I smiled and giggled. Do you see? You could have totally read about these things via flicker. But I still won't break down and get it. (And not just because Patois made it less cool.)

"Terrorism is what made America." What she actually said: "Volunteerism is what made America." I'm a little eavesdropper this week. And sometimes even part of a word can make a world of difference. Hey, at least I'm not listening to conversations people are having with the voices in their heads today. You can't wait for tomorrow's installment, can you? _______ Ok, sorry. One more for today. Leaving a voicemail, "Hi, this is BLAH. You were scheduled for an appointment at 10:00 today for a memory assessment. If you'd like to reschedule..." Heehee.

Overheard from a schizophrenic patient today: "Yeah, I was just going to be homeless. I decided that I'd do it for, like, a year. I would live in a car. That way, after a year, I'd have $5,000." Also? "Thanks for the soda. They don't serve them at the hospital. But you can get some caffeine." There are multiple things in those brief sentences that make me ridiculously grateful. And puts some things in perspective.

I marked off another item on the Life List. This time it was illegally setting foot on the grass at Minute Maid Park. They tell you not to but I sneakily stepped right on the edge. I didn't make it all the way to the warning track just to wuss out. The Boyfriend and I went on the twilight tour on Friday night. We saw some fun places up close and received some little giveaways (hats, posters, decks of cards, Biggio pins). And I won a Milo Hamilton bobblehead for some somewhat educated guessing. It was fun, and I'd recommend going. Oh, and if anyone has some suite tickets they want to give me, I'll take 'em.

I'm FINALLY done with the stair project! Sure it means that I'll have to do some work work this evening but it's so worth it! Maybe you need a refresher on what it looked like before. (Not represented in the before? The lace curtains. I pulled those down as soon as I moved in and now there are 2" wide faux wood blinds.) I know some people liked the navy but it didn't go with my scheme and it was a little oppressive. And come on...gold crown molding?! That horrible light fixture? Well, The Brother changed out that light fixture not long after I moved in. The rest? I just resigned myself to living with since who in their right mind wants to paint in the stairs? But the SIL's parents gave us a joint gift of one of those fancy ladders that you can pretty much configure any way you'd like and, thus, the project became possible. Scary as a mo fo? That, too. But here's the after! The walls are a beige-y grey and the ceiling is the same blue-green color as...

I have been super productive in several different areas over the last week or so. I confess. I'm pretty productive normally (except for work sometimes) but have been in the zone lately. Today? Not so much. I don't feel like doing anything. Not work. Not working on indoor projects. Not working on outdoor projects. Nothing. But I have a feeling I'm going to force myself to do at least a little painting of the stairwell trim this evening. This project has done some serious lingering and I'm about ready for it to be complete. What I'm really ready for is the hanging of the stuff on the walls. I've lived here almost two years (What?! How can that be right?!) and nothing has ever hung on those walls because they were just too ugly. Now I have this fabulous set of framed black and white photography (all but one were taken by yours truly) and all are in black or white frames. They're going to go up the stairs at the same angle as the chair railing. T...

The mallow's last hurrah before winter. Too bad Ike blew off most of its leaves. A new way to procrastinate. Spiderwebs I spun for Halloween! The Boyfriend and me, in scary Halloween form. These guys crack me up. The Boyfriend's Pumpkin Ale.

Things have been really busy lately. And when I say "lately" I mean for, oh, the past 3 years or so. There's a lot of work to catch up on when you were only back from vacation for 7 working days before missing another 7 because of a natural disaster. I missed the presidential programming last night because I was flying back home and just wanted to get to bed as quickly as possible. As I was rushing out of the airport, however, I heard Obama say this: I know that I wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for the fact that this country gave me opportunity. I came from very modest means. I had a single mom and my grandparents raised me and it was because of the help of scholarships and my grandmother scrimping on things that she might have wanted to purchase and my mom, at one point, getting food stamps in order for us to put food on the table. Despite all that, I was able to go to the best schools on earth and I was able to succeed in a way that I could not have suc...

I would just like to point out that over there--in the goal section--I've surpassed it. Even with a natural disaster and an entire week of working at The Brother's house. Surpassed it. I also realize it wasn't a lofty goal but the few months prior taught me that my goals were so lofty I'd never meet them. Baby step, people. So I'm rewarding myself with a new pair of running shoes. The new shoes have nothing to do with the fact that the old ones spent a week walking around on things contaminated by the poo water. (And wouldn't you know it? Now that I'm looking for new shoes, I can't find any I like.)