if I hear "your call is important to us, we apologize for the delay." ONE more time...

ugh. time warner cable.

so I told y'all about the dilemma with matt and the address. without us even needing a piece of paper he went to the license office and updated his info no problemo. I sent him to the TWC kiosk in the mall and they said "nope, can't help you." They did give us one helpful piece of info though--that NO ONE is registered at that address. which makes it kind of weird that they wouldn't accept him.

goodness gracious. for a company that thrives on sales they should really be more responsive. I spent TWENTY THREE minutes on hold (thank goodness for speaker phones) and got no one, the local number is busy and overall? they suck. It's a pity they are the cheaper option. grr.

all. tuckered. out.

other possible options for this post were "shades of green" or "he's very tactile!"

so, after my friday night packing freak out (full on panicking, let me tell you), and after matt painting the yellow wall which took FOREVER, saturday AM we got up at SEVEN (yes, really!), showered and headed out to get some bruegger's and the truck. Matt's CDL got us a twenty buck discount if we took the 26 footer, so we did. It was HUGE. The wheels went most of the way up my my abdomen. CRAZY!

then our WONDERFUL friends came over--Luke, Julie, Jason, Bree, Chelsea and Amos. They were AMAZING. Seriously, I just expected to get, like, the bed, sofa and china cabinet and some boxes, but they were like "let's fill the truck!" So we did! Julie and Bree even went around putting things into extra boxes as it was possible to do so--I was just overwhelmed by their helpfulness!!! Especially because afterwards there were three stories to fill!

I did have an awful part of this move though--when my neighbor caddy-corner and a few houses down was trying to park behind my car (which was admittedly about 1.5 feet into the "no parking" area) and was talking on her cellphone, and as I went to grab things from my car I thought I was in her way to get in her driveway, so I asked if she needed me to move so she could get by. The lady said "yes, could you move your car?" I said "well, um, I'm moving and my car is full and I live right there, so, um--" and she cut me off and was like "oh, well you understand then, we're in the same situation. I have this box (a staples box maybe with reems of paper) to take in and the cleaning people are in my driveway so I can't park there so yeah, just move your car, thanks."

I was FURIOUS. Mostly because I offered to move because she was a) about to hit my car (seriously) and b)I thought I was keeping her from getting in her driveway. I fumed about this for a while and if she ever tries to talk to me I'm either not speaking to her at all or saying "yeah, that was awkward, huh? how I was moving into my house in the heat of the day and you had me move my car because you had ONE box and the cleaning person's vehicle was in your driveway--and did I mention I was parked in a COMMUNITY SPOT?!?" ugh. she deserves a bad haircut, and maybe for the heel to break off her favorite pair of shoes. yeah, I'm serious.

anyway, so, moved and moved and moved and moved. I served as director for a little while (they asked me to so they'd know where things went!) and around 1pm we had everything either in the proper area or in the garage/basement. I'm SO amazed we accomplished so much! They really are troopers.

when we were inside and having a beer break I realized that I had gotten a sunburn. a BAD sunburn. In two minute increments. I *think* I haven't been burned this badly since one of the lambda chi volleyball tournaments. Okay, maybe one of the times at the beach, but I don't think so. My shoulders are red and ouchy. Matt got me some Aveda Rosemary Mint lotion which apparently helps a lot with sunburns (and feels really, really nice!).

We ate a mexican food snack (I really wanted guac!), grabbed a few things from my apt (and the kitties!) and went back to our new place. Gobi and Hazel were freaked out by the new place at first, but already they're settling in. Gobi loves all of the high-up places he can go and Hazel is happy as a clam as long as she knows where I am--she's really worried I'll leave her there and not come back!

That evening Marla came over to help organize the kitchen (which was a GIGANTIC HELP), then Matt and I got sushi and edamame, ate it, cleaned up a little, showered and crashed. This was also when we found out the drain didn't work properly--by the end of my shower I was in 5 inches of standing water! And it was 1245 when we went to sleep. We think our tiredness made us go in slow-mo!

Sunday we woke up at 11 (I told you we were exhausted--I think we coulda slept until 1!), grabbed breakfast and headed to Lowes. Again. Draino, ceiling fan, closet stuff, etc. We also found out there's a sale on the paint I've been using so we'll be buying what we need of it before the end of the day on Wednesday! I had to shower in the guest bathroom (which also had a slow drain but not as bad) and hurry on over to Nicole's shower. It was a LOT of fun! See: pics! Yay for Nicole!

We played an inappropriate game involving a roll of toilet paper and a broom (hint: someone was a guy and someone was a girl!) and told stories about nicole and drank A LOT of champagne (five bottles or more between us. six? seven?) and some boones farm! Oh, and I got to wear a toilet paper dress. too funny!

And then after more collecting o' things from my apt matt and I played a game of musical furniture. We're still having trouble with our living room--the TV can't be too far away and we don't want to cut off the space. We'll see how it pans out.

And then Patty, Darren and Davis came over to bring us food and beer! Seriously, I don't know when I was so thrilled to see food ever before. Matt and I were hungry, but more importantly we were (and are) SO TIRED so this really, really hit the spot. It was DELISH, too! I've already asked for the recipe. I think everyone should have this dish in their repertoire --it's called Botanas I think. beans, meat, chips, cheese, tomatoes, onions with avocado and onions on top, holy moly. SO good after such hard days. mmm mmm mmm. and you know someone is a good friend when they think to bring you beer AND a lime, too. :D yay for Patty! (and Darren and Davis--and by the way Davis is the tactile one. I held him for a bit and he kept nuzzling his head into my neck/chest and grabbing--my shoulder, my boob, my face. he's very tactile!)

we went to target in the rain to buy all sorts of stuff and then installed our curved shower bar. matt almost punched the wall in fury, but we managed to get it attached. and then he made me stand in the shower so we could see how much bigger it was. it made me giggle. this was kind of matt's present for the new house (he got me an umbrella for the deck!) because he LOVES showers. :)

and then, slumber. thank goodness. tonight I don't know what we'll tackle, but we will. Oh, and since you've gotten this far, more pictures...

and no, we didn't paint it a mustard color on purpose. but it's awful close! we're still not 100% sure about the yellow--it's VERY bright. and the colors near the fridge look VERY different than they do in the breakfast nook! and matt bought me those flowers on saturday since they matched the kitchen. he is ADORABLE, people. adorable.

(oh, and. he is a mustard-a-holic. like he SMOTHERS things in mustard. he will eat it straight from the bottle. that is his big container and it's about 7/8 empty. we also have two squeeze bottles that are family size PLUS my normal size one. I am so not kidding.)

i totally owe matt ten bucks.

when we looked at our new place we jokingly referred to the guest room closet as "matt's room." that joke started when we saw it had a window and wasn't tiny. matt said "that's fine. I can totally fit my twin bed in there." I told him there was no way a twin bed could fit--width wise sure, but not length wise.

We bet ten bucks on it.

we've been joking about it ever since--like as we looked at the colors for rooms and some of 'em had names that I can't think of now, but basically implied that you were in trouble. we talked about painting the closet funny colors like that one, where matt would go if he was bad (NOT that I am an advocate of banishing poorly-behaved men to other beds, no no no!) and anyway.

he just sent me a message.
and he was right.
and now I owe him ten clams.

to formalize or not to formalize?

last night I actually got some sleep. At 1145 I went upstairs, put on pjs and zonked out. That's 7 1/2 hours folks! yippee!

also, I have decided I will not miss:
~the sounds of the page road traffic in the AM
~the awkward left turn on my route
~the annoying neighbors
~the construction on davis and 54
~all the stoplights
~my 10 minute commute

I am also excited about
~making...7 turns to get to work, 9 if you count in the parking lot.
~my 4-5 minute commute
~being thisclose to my favorite sushi place
and, of course, all of the awesome owning-my-own-place, living-with-matt joys. :D

Last night we went to World Market to get our patio furniture (ps, go to worldmarket.com and sign up for their emails to get a 10% off coupon) which BARELY fit in my little Mattie the Mazda, and then went to dinner. Adam, his Dad, Taylor, Katie and I were there--we went to Bella Monica. And it. was. yummy.

It was nice to drink wine (matt is anti-wine, believe me, he's tried to like it but he says it tastes like rubbing alcohol) and eat outside (I'm having the baked ziti leftovers for lunch as I type this!) and hang out with such fantastic people! I am happy for Adam that he's moving to be with Kristin, but it makes me so sad that he'll be so far away. :(

And then Matt and I almost broke my car. We went to our new place to unload the set and we literally had to rock the car and shove and push to get it out. I got up in the front seat and put my back on the dash area and pushed with my feet and we FINALLY got it out. I laughed when I realized I'd totally messed up the mirror AND managed to eject a cd with my shoulderblades. :)

Also, I need opinions/advice/insight. As you know, Matt and I are moving in together. We are really, REALLY excited about this and think it's going to be AMAZING. As a matter of fact, we've figured out that we fight less (which is pretty much .001% of the time) when we see each other more. We know that living together will take some getting used to and that the financial parts can be kind of tricky but overall we know this is going to be most excellent.

Together we also decided (after someone else asked about it, I might add) that drawing up a contract was unnecessary. I own the house, he's on the insurance, and if we ever had to split up for any reason (breaking up, one of us having to move to be with family, job, whatever) we would be adults about it and not, like, the people who steal each others cars or have screaming matches where they throw hand mixers and mirrors and whatever into walls. Should that unfortunate circumstance ever arrive, we will still be reasonable about it.

We thought we had this all decided. Until...

So, I am somewhat of a frugal person. Not parsimonious, but thrifty, if you will. Sure, I buy pretty much anything I can justify the purchase of as long as it's either a)logical or b)cheap, but I try to do so in a cash-friendly way. It's how I can do that in the first place.

Matt and I had decided to try out not having cable for the summer. I'm buying a dvd recorder to replace the one the cable company provides, and we're just going to see what happens for a little bit. It's a good time to test it out, I think. However, we are going to have internet because, clearly, I am an internet junkie. Give me firefox or give me death. Um, er...

So we decided to put the cable in Matt's name since new customers get ~$12 off a month for the first twelve months--that's a GROSS amount of money, get it get it? And then I figured out that if you refer someone to cable they give you a $25 visa gift card, pretty sweet, huh? So, I signed us up with Matt's name and info and made our appointment for next Thursday and all was to be hunky dory.

until I got the email saying they'd canceled our service appointment because they couldn't figure out how matt was associated with that address. which got me to thinking--he isn't on the deed (no duh), he isn't on any of the utility bills or the HOA list, he doesn't have his name associated formally in any way. So how do I fix this?

I looked up "rental agreements" and "occupant agreements" and "cohabitant agreements" but all of them are very formal with move out notices and security deposits and damage acknowledgments, etc. We don't need that. We basically need a proof of residency for him, I guess? I don't know. We'll see. If you know anything let me know. I just don't want to get into some ultra-formal agreement because I don't feel it's necessary for us. But this is all very tricky, very tricky indeed. hmm.

also: tomorrow, I promise pictures of the kitchen. I think Matt is going to try to paint the yellow today, and if that doesn't happen I'll still show you the orange. yikes!

we are going to have the coolest patio.

I think you know this, but we have a patio. and a deck. it's one of my favorite things about my new house.

I already told you about the deck furniture. Today I saw an ad and we've decided that tonight we're going to buy our patio furniture. It is JUST LIKE what Matt and I described to each other on Monday. We saw a picnic table and talked about how cool that would be, and then realized that we'd like to be able to push the benches under the table for the sake of space. We had said we wanted a table, seats with no backs and wanted it to be made of a good wood, and as environmentally friendly as possible. We'd hoped to find something used, but figured that was highly unlikely. Oh yeah, and pine was out of the question. matt assembled some swingset out of pine at some point and said it was AWFUL. so, no pine. no pine at all.

so, this guy is made of acacia wood. "Acacia wood is an environmentally friendly hardwood known for its beautiful grain and durability. It also has a high resin content, which resists absorption of stains, odors and liquids."

and then I bought this rug today, it's made entirely of recycled soda bottles. and it's reversible! The two will be most excellent on our patio. With the grill and some plants and some Christmas lights, most likely. :) I can just see us hanging out and drinking a couple of beers and eating dinner on the patio. yay!

whew!

there's a new baby boy in town. congrats to karl and kat!

the orange parts of the kitchen are painted. I think matt's going to do the yellow today. Two coats all the way, baby--it makes SUCH a difference! I did not take pictures (it was after midnight!) but I will today. Seriously, our house is going to look AWESOME. I also cannot wait to start putting things where they go.

also, we may have to replace the linoleum in the kitchen. it sucks. it is not glued down. very pretty, but when we moved the fridge it bubbled like crazy. :(

aaaaaaaand I am EXHAUSTED. like, literally running out of steam. I have been averaging 5-6 hours of sleep a night and that is NOT enough. however, I did figure out one thing about my sleeping habits that is very helpful--I need to be cold when I sleep. Or cool. I certainly do not need to be "warm" or wonder if I'll be too hot with just the sheet on. I am all about energy conservation (and not turning on the AC) but dammit not getting decent/good sleep isn't worth it. In my new place I'm buying the offsets anyway (yes, really) so if I need to set the thermostat to a still-mild-not-freezing 77 or even 76 degrees I don't think I'm being TOO bad. And yes, I have tried using a fan and no, it just doesn't cut the mustard.

one more wall to paint and then our whole middle floor is done! I move in two days! eek!

this is why I complain and praise as appropriate.

so, you know how I was pissed about being overcharged?? dude from the bar commented on the post so I called him. I already have my money back, but now, if I want to return (which honestly it was a fun and chill place other than the overcharging drama) I can call him and I'll get passes to get in and a vip table and a bottle of champagne.

In the past I've gotten wine for me and my friends, or a discount on my next purchase, or an apology or whatever. A free meal.

I don't complain to *get* the free things. And honestly if they're a token of apology then you kind of paid for 'em in your annoyance, right?

Also, I have a new life plan: screw engineering. I'll be an interior designer and a photographer. Y'all like my taste in colors and my photos, right? HA! um, instead hows abouts I just get back to work, hmmm?

shelves.

pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, etc. you get the idea.

I have been packing. a lot. after dealing with some family drama last night and a quick trip to target I went home, made mac & cheese and packed. and packed. ^10

please excuse that nerdy typing.

anyway, so I decide the #1 thing to try to complete was my shelves. I've posted these pictures on my blog before here, here, here, here and here. I'm pleased to say that the shelf in my kitchen (which is FULL) is empty except for a loaf of bread, some hawaiian bread and some english muffins (and two aprons), my china cabinet only has three place-settings and my margarita glasses in it, and the big set of shelves in my bedroom is about 80% empty. go me! I still have plenty to do, but now it doesn't seem quite so daunting. tonight I'm going to deal with clothes and the items on top of my blue dresser (which will probably go away forever after this move but I'm going to move anyway until I'm certain) and my desk.

I REALLY want to have things very ready-to-go when people come on Saturday. I have a whole lot of volunteers (more than I ever expected honestly) and they are going to need things to do! I think I'm going to try to move my food on Sunday, and on Saturday just focus on the heaviest things. Plus, if I unpack a bunch on Saturday then Matt and I can use those boxes again!

Not very entertaining, but that's what's on my mind. Oh, and the dream I had last night where I was making french toast for matt and me for breakfast, and he set utensils with plastic handles on the oven and they melted. And how Gobi finally got to sleep with me last night (Matt crashed at his friend's place) and how instead of sleeping on the extra pillow like he usually does, Gobi curled up right by my shoulder blades. When I woke up and he wasn't on the pillow I was sad, but then I moved to my stomach and could see him!

also, does this happen to anyone else? I woke up at 615 from a noise or something and felt VERY awake but managed to go back to sleep since my alarm wasn't going off for another hour and fifteen minutes. and when I got up to my alarm I was more tired than I'd been at 615!

anyway, yay for empty shelves!

ah, the sweet taste of victory!

um, fridge dude came. fridge is fixed. (we think) matt said something about it sitting unplugged for too long and some pipes being clogged--he didn't get the full story from the dude but apparently it should be all good to go. we're supposed to watch it for a few days, but that's about it. HOORAY!

and, um, eat it, myrick. :)

this weekend was fun and BUSY. friday night was dinner with friends (supposed to be at mellow mushroom, which Matt and I had both been craving ALL WEEK but then there was a last minute switch to hard times cafe). matt and I split a bucket of beer and then, well, we split another bucket. the server, who was approx our age, said "y'all look like you're drinkers...but ones who do it right, so I'm going to bring you some water before you ask for it." it was pretty funny.

then a birthday pub crawl. we only made it to the last two places--landmark and fayetteville st tavern, whose employees wore these shirts, which I really, really liked. oh yeah and to haven, which we despise, but went to anyway because that's what the birthday girl wanted and that's how we roll. I took a picture with three Matts, bought a case of PBR for the boys and got hit on by Woo--the one holding the PBR in this picture. He insisted on carrying my PBR tray. And once we got over there I introduced him to my boyfriend and he left me alone. :)

saturday we tried to go strawberry pickin' but found that the season had ended. so after some pouting and going to earthfare for some strawberries we went to the house to get more things done. then I packed and took a nap while matt went to an afternoon shindig and then it was time for the mellow mushroom. We wanted it so much on Friday we made arrangements for Saturday with our friends Nicole and Dave! I tried to take a picture of their 100% recycled, soy-ink-printed napkins but it just wouldn't work. Their pizza boxes are recycled and everything!

then the boys dropped us off to go deal with dave's flat tire. we went to ess lounge for adam's going away party. it was fun and I was glad to see my friend Laura and everyone, but MAN ALIVE I was pissed at the end of the night--they overcharged me by SIX drinks and I had to request a manager twice before someone decided to deal with me. And when I checked my card on Monday I had been charged for my actual bill AND the mistaken bill, complete with a 20% tip on top. I was LIVID.

Sunday was paint paint paint day. And then I took engagement pictures for my friends Kristin and Adam. These are three of my favorites. There are MANY more, and some that are even better, I just haven't had time to process 'em yet. It was REALLY fun taking their pictures!

And yesterday there was more painting and some re-painting 'cause there were fuzzes or the colors just didn't go on smoothly/evenly enough. But it's looking GOOD. And we got them to adjust the orange for the kitchen, and I think I like it (the top darker one). oh and awesome matt got recycled plastic drop cloths for painting. I am VERY tired. Staying up late getting things done and this morning I got up early to pack boxes before I left for work. UGH. I am SO glad to move but gee whiz do I need a nap!

floooorida!

um, hi. I went to florida. like forever ago. um, or more like a week and a half.

and here are my pictures:

I've none of pearl jam but when someone (ahem!) shares them with me I'll show you. they did play my very fave song, Daughter, which brought memories of my dad's rental house on cherry street to mind. My dad lived with his girlfriend, Penny, and her two daughters Sara and Emily. They aren't important for the Florida story, but it's kind of remarkable that they went through Anna's line at walmart yesterday...

So, Thursday in Tampa: Late luggage, TGIFriday's, little nap, Rocking Pearl Jam and a late dinner at VI. Yes, that's right, Village Inn. How could two Tulsans NOT go there?!?

Friday we slept in. Del woke me up at 11. I was pretty proud of her for waiting so long! sterling and I woke up, ate at einstein brothers and saw a sonic and HAD to stop and then went to see some real live dinosaurs! um, er, real moving dinosaurs? they made noises and stuff. it was as mosi.

and then we met del!!! we ate and chatted and went to the hotel to chill and change clothes. and then met christina for, literally, a boatload of sushi. mmmmmm sushi. we had fun with the aquarium (which you saw here) and the food and then decided to go see The Happening. It was Sterling's idea. And it. Was. AWFUL. I mean, I jumped sometimes. The beginning got me. But as soon as they started talking about what was doing it--yikes. And I really wish I had those hours of my life back.

Saturday we ate at Einstein Brother's again, and Del and I went to Orlando. We stopped at this awesome produce booth along the road. She got peaches and I got some strawberries and we took some pictures. Man those strawberries were deeeeelish!

then, on the road again. To Leu Gardens. Cats and Kittens, if you ever find yourself without sunblock somewhere sunny, saunter into their gift shop. I SO wish we'd thought of that. My sunblock was in Sterling's backpack. I applied some of my spf 15 face lotion to my arms, shoulders and neck and hoped it would work (it didn't). We walked around the gardens, which felt kind of like a jungle in some places, and saw lizards and butterflies and the like.

and then to escape the heat we went on a tour of the leu's house. it was really neat--a LOT of the things in there I was all "my granny has that!" the footstool embroidered with flowers, the carnival glass, the singer sewing machine footpedal table thing. It was awesome. The docent lady really thought it was weird that I was taking pictures of, like, the lamp and the lace curtains. and, um, anything. apparently no one has EVER taken pictures of these things like that. whatever, they were pretty!!! unfortch no flash was allowed so some of the other things came out blurry. :( but here are the ones that didn't, including the armadillo basket!

we left and snacked on deeelish guac and queso and got some summer shandy (del had never had it!) and went to meet Darin and Jake. Jake is super adorable. He's a funny little doggie full of energy, and he has ZERO space boundaries. And Darin was pretty awesome too, we had a good time at dinner. It made me wish Matt had been there--they so would've gotten along. Also, I almost brought a cat home in my suitcase. There were feral cats all out by the deck and I fed one some seafood (off of the deck, people. if they came on I wouldn't) and it was so cute, all pale and calico, and I wanted to take it home. but clearly it was living a life of seafood-eating luxury, so I left it there.

we went to a bar where we almost felt too young and people were smoking like chimneys and then headed back to del and darin's place. Jake was SO sad not to get to sleep with me. We all crashed and got up early to get me to the airport, I came home and packed. The End.

except that sometimes when jake yawns he looks like he's trying to eat del's head.