Dinner conversation tonight.

B- "So I was going to place that Nutrisystem order today..."

C- "I know, I have every intention of getting back on track too."

B- "Let's just say that whoever gets motivated to start first, the other one HAS to follow in their footsteps right away. No matter what."

C- "We need some sort of real goal to work toward....I know!! Okay, I really got it!! What if....whoever hits the 40lbs lost mark first picks the color of the living room paint. No exceptions. That's just the color it's going to be."

(B thinking about it.)

B- "Whoever hits the 80 lbs lost mark first gets their wildest sexual fantasy fullfilled."

(C's eyebrows hit the roof.)

B- "Mine is going to involve you drinking copious amounts of alcohol."

C- "Mine is going to involve you needing some form of topical numbing agent."

B- "Bring mouthwash."

The best book of 2009....so far.

So, I am now convinced that I actually really do have secret magical powers! Allow me to explain....Bryan and I love to spend hours at the book store. It's something we both enjoy and look forward to on weekends. That being said, we have very different experiences once we arrive. This is why:

Me
I go to see what new magazines are out.
I go to see what new bestseller might be interesting.
I go to pick through the bargain books.
I go to see what new children's book I could give as a gift.
I go to get good ideas out of home design books.
I go to find a new recipe.

Bryan
He goes to READ.

That's it. He walks in, goes straight to graphic novels, grabs a handful and then he sits down and reads. Man alive, that husband of mine would read (at the book store) for 4 maybe 6 hours if left to his own devices. I'm usually done with what I was doing after the 2nd or 3rd hour and I'll go find Bryan and tell him "I'm ready when you're ready" which is code for "I'm bored", but apparently since it's 'unfair' to assume he's going to jump out of his chair and follow me out the door that very second, I always have to wait around another 10-15min.

THIS is where magic happens. I start wandering around, just waiting really, and I'll spot a random book sitting on the shelf and I am inexplicably drawn to it! So I go to it and pick it up and read the description and I am intrigued but not yet excited because it's just a random book after all. I don't know anything about it or I would have already looked at it hours earlier. Maybe I buy it that day or maybe I request it from the library, but the result when I read it is always the same.....I LOVE IT. I absolutely can't put it down and develop book lust, I love the book so damn much! This phenomenon has been happening for years now and has brought such books as The Historian, The Thirteenth Tale and The Monsters of Templeton into my life and it's now happened again with The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

It's a story set in Jackson, Mississippi during the civil rights movement of the early 60's. It's about black housekeepers working for white families. I'm not going to go into a long explanation of the book because if you're interested, you'll look it up and read it and then you'll see what I'm taking about. It's a very easy book to read, especially since you can't put it down.

I finished it this morning and this evening when Bryan and I were playing around as we always do he accidentally poked me in the eye. I don't really understand what happened at that moment but I just got all these flashes of parts of the book in my head and I sat down on my living room floor and I cried. No, I SOBBED. I was crying and crying and Bryan with that endearing, confused look on his face just sitting next to me asking if he had really poked me THAT hard. I kept trying to reassure him that I was perfectly fine but I couldn't form words. I had to really reign it in though when I could tell he was getting a little desperate.

B- "Honey, you know crying confuses us men."
B- "Is this a water faucet thing?" (This has happened to me before and that's how I explained it to him.)

I'm going to carry the memory of this book for a little while, I think. It was so thought-provoking, how could I not?

Winter, Summer, Spring, Autumn and Holiday

I'm back from holiday travels and I just HAD to post a quick comment about the spectacular window scenes at Bergdorf Goodman on 5th ave in Manhattan! I am currently in obsessive lust-phase 1 with them. I'm SO GLAD I took a pic with my phone of my favorite because it's not featured on their website.

Tis the season...

Birdie got her gift a little early this year because I'm leaving for California on Wednesday. I've had this little project floating around in my head for a couple months now, but finding doggie clothing without logos or silly phrases is surprisingly hard. Considering this is my first iron-on attempt, I think it's pretty rad. Isn't she the cutest?!

Santa Worm~ The Amazing Mark Ryden
Model~ Birdie Willoughby Schmidt

Casa de Schmidt #2.....possibly.

So here it is. Not the best picture in the world, but more to follow. We are waiting to find out if the bank will accept our offer. We are trying to be cautiously optimistic while still making our plans for what needs to be done if we do become homeowners. This house has a fully finished basement which needs A LOT of updating but which can be pretty damned awesome if we do it right! Let's see what happens...

Moving on...

We lost the bid on Casa de Schmidt #1. We are totally bummed but moving on to other options. It's a buyers market after all and viewing potential homes is fun. Thanks for the encouragement, Desi. Hopefully, by the time I come see you I'll have better news!!

I can't wait....let's go to Kitaro! And maybe we can stop off at ChaChaCha's and drink Sangrias and blow smoke rings while loitering on the sidewalk! Don't think I won't post those pics on here. Muahaha!!

Miss you!

The future Casa de Schmidt....maybe.

Front lawn and long drive-way.
Fenced in backyard.
Dining room.

This past Sept. I wrote about my struggle with the commute from Richmond to DC. In Oct. when Bryan started his new job in Alexandria, our search for a rental in Northern VA intensified. We spent a lot of time touring apartments and browsing websites like craigslist.org and rentals.com. (Both of them are great resources.) We started talking about our situation and the economy and the housing market and before we really understood what was happening we had a real-estate agent showing us houses! Not surprisingly, we discovered we have very different views about what we wanted in a house. It seemed like every house we looked at met one condition but never both.

Bryan wants a man-cave, I want a nursery attached to the master bedroom.
Bryan wants a fenced in backyard, I want hardwood floors.
Bryan wants RV parking (we don't even own one!), I want history and charm.

Never mind the fact that I want to be in DC and Bryan wants to be in the country. We are VERY fortunate to have an agent who has shown infinite patience with us. Anyway.....we viewed a bunch of houses and then we found it!!! We just knew when we saw it that this one would make us both happy. It's about 40 miles south of DC (trust me...this was the best compromise we could reach), it's on a beautiful 3/4 acre of woodsy nature and yet it's just off the freeway.

We can't afford to get our hopes up because this is a very long and complicated process. There are important things that need to happen.

1. The house has to pass inspection.
2. The bank has to accept our offer.
3. I have to manage to make it to closing without going fucking nuts.

I'm so happy I can share this process with family and friends that read this blog. IF we do become the owners of this house we will be delighted and if not we will continue searching til we find the next ONE.

Here's to hoping!!
xoxo
C