We close next Thursday, or we should. So Jeff and I have started collecting boxes. Just our experience--stores throw away so many cardboard boxes, so go on a dumpster diving adventure and find what you want. Don't buy boxes ever. Just last night we found a ton behind the Petco near our house (free of pet smells, I might add).
Though Jeff has many terms of endearment for me, there's one that makes me cringe whenever he uses it. "Hoarder!" he cries, whenever I hesitate in throwing something away. It's in my genes to save. I come from a line of industrious, resourceful Swiss Germans who see the value in everything. Perhaps more value than is actually there sometimes, but 'waste not, want not' isn't a saying for nothing!
Last night Jeff made me start going through my vinyl collection, AKA a major source of contention in our marriage. Not that he hates vinyl, because he enjoys listening to them. But he doesn't enjoy owning so many (especially so many we don't listen to). So last night, with Jeff as DJ, we started listening to my many albums I've collected and started weeding out the winners and losers. For example...
Winner:
Genesis: Nursery Cryme
A great collection of prog rock tunes from the two prog rock greats: Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins. Their vocal style is just so appealing to me. So much intensity, yet so soothing. Like Sting and Morrissey. And this guy. (Skip to the 1:00 mark for vocals).
The ol' Jefferson Starship. Not my favorite incarnation of the band. Not a great album. Sometimes old bands should just stay old bands.
Like the Beach Boys. Have you heard their new album? I gave it a shot on Spotify the other day. Like I said, some bands should just stay old bands. See here:
Pretty hilarious video plot-wise (toward the end when they open the garage--LOL!), decent cinematography. The consistent rapid succession of jump cuts makes me a little queasy. Does the song conjure visions of a Mormon talent show for anyone else?
Now since it's the end of a long post and you're still with me, I've got a gem for you! A new song. A couple of you seemed to like the songs I posted a few weeks back, so here's another one for you. Hope you like it!
I said I was going to post some old posts. I will, I promise.
Jeff and I have been busy lately and I figure I'll give you readers (anyone?) an update.
We are buying a condo and will close in early July. It's in an extremely quiet neighborhood, is about 200 feet from our church building and is also surrounded by old people. We can't wait to move and have income from this property when we start renting it in a few years. Our current 700 square feet is not cutting it anymore. Plus, we live next to Home Depot and hear forklifts at all hours of the day and night. Gross!
The lady we are buying the condo from was probably the original owner. It was built back in '78, so there are some dated elements to it. She's tastefully updated the kitchen and bathroom, not really our styles but it'll do. All the doors and walls are that creamy tan color, I'm guessing original--or close to it--to the property. I'm debating whether to go grey or white on the walls. The doors and trim will all be white and we'll have to get new knobs for the doors. The kitchen cabinets are a nice country white. I think we will leave those alone. The carpet is really plush. I'll feel bad if we ever tear it out, but someday we probably would like to put in wood, though I dream of concrete.
I just keep telling myself we won't live here forever. It needs to rent well for us, not be our dream home. Conservative is probably better. Ok, goodbye concrete floors.
We've made the big decision to give some friends of our most of our furniture (thanks, Jeff's parents for giving it to us), so we will have no living room furniture other than our current Ikea bookshelves until we save up and buy stuff we actually like and get some built-ins. Is this crazy? I don't think so. We are ready to have a home that reflects our taste and style. I have my eye on a few pieces, and I'd sure as heck love to get my hands on some old Precedence or Declaration by Drexel (thrift store prices, of course!). Such lovely furniture. Don't plan on any parties at our house unless you want to sit on the floor with us.
We just returned from a week-long vacation in New York and Canada. It was so awesome. If I can get my act together, I'll post some pictures and blog all about it. Don't hold your breath though as I'm not too motivated. You should probably just follow me on Instagram (@littlelisa) if you want to see the pictures. A definite highlight of the trip was being at Niagara Falls to watch the Great Nik Wallenda tightrope himself across the horseshoe falls. What a surreal experience.
Mid-to-late July we will be in California to welcome my brother Michael home from his LDS mission in Japan. These next few weeks will be busy (and expensive) for us with closing on the home, painting, and finally moving in. But we can't wait!
Also, Jeff was accepted to the Masters of Ed. programs he applied to here in Houston. I'm so proud of him! Pretty soon we'll be calling him Principal Ward.
Friday, June 01, 2012
Two posts in a day WHAT?
I'm going to start a new series where I post past posts I wrote, never finished and never posted. I have some from way back in high school that are sure to be winners.
I'm posting a few songs that I really like. The Bon Iver one is a just a treat; the others are on constant repeat in my mind. I wake up in the morning singing them. It's awful.
Alabama Shakes is by far my favorite band these days. I cannot get enough of Brittany Howard's voice. I have always loved androgynous voices. Hers has so much vitality. It's rough, it's controlled, it's deep, it's just so unique and I love it. Not to mention this song has the best beat. If I drank alcohol, I'd want to sit around on someone's porch drinking a Rolling Rock longneck brew, eating chips and salsa, listening to this band jam. But I'll take two out of three (the chips and ear candy, duh). I'm so sick of talentless hacks making it big for their digitized, over-produced voices. I want something raw and real, and Alabama Shakes has that better than any band I've heard lately. Go their album 'Boys and Girls'! Or listen to it on Spotify.
Being an adult is a big deal. Suddenly things that never felt right before just start feeling right. Like buying a house. Jeff and I are in the process of finding a condo to buy. Buying a condo. Still feels weird to say. The one we like has a 2-car garage, which both of us will love. We will save at least $4 a week since we won't have to wash the obscene amounts of bird diarrhea of our cars. SERIOUSLY WHAT ARE THESE BIRDS EATING?
I got a Kindle touch a few weeks ago and I had no clue how much more fun reading would be with a Kindle. Since I got it, I've read four books and I'm almost 3/4 of the way through 'Wuthering Heights.' I am glad to be reading again, and making reading a priority. I write more when I read, and writing is something I love, when I am actually writing. I have said often on here that I feel I have nothing to say, but perhaps I have nothing to say because I am not putting new ideas into my head. My life is fairly mundane, very structured, but I enjoy it. I am not engaged in enough creative pursuits. Reading will help that.
I ran across this quote today and it feels very true.
"In my professional experience, a good sex life is directly tied into emotional connectedness...The idea of two people changing together and—more importantly— accepting each others changes over a 50-year span is delusional unless that person is undeniably your best friend in the whole world. Ever."
-Ask a Therapist
I believe strongly I am married to my best friend in the whole world. Ever. We have our struggles (or rather I do), but I know Jeff loves me without judgment, without fear, and without worry. He is my favorite person to be with. Ever.
In my last post I mentioned we are going to New York, which we still are, but now Grandma has broken her hip and she--the whole reason for the trip--will be in a St. Louis hospital instead of New York come mid-June. We find ourselves with a few extra days to fill in. What should we do? (Remember--we will be upstate, not in NYC).
Jeff and I did 'Murph' on Monday and it really wore me out. I also hurt my right knee very badly. I can't pinpoint exactly what I did, but imagine a sharp shooting pain in your knee cap that radiates down your shins to the tips of your toes and up your thigh to your hip. It was better by Thursday morning, so I went and worked out again. Big mistake. Heavy farmers carry, I decided to run because my knee was feeling great, and wham-o. I couldn't bend my leg or stand without excruciating pain for the rest of the day. I took a white trash vicodin (two Advil chased by two Tylenol) and within an hour the pain had subsided to a noticeable but much more mild throb. Today it feels much better. I can bend and lift the leg freely, with only slight discomfort. I'll rest through the weekend and hopefully be better by Monday.
