Great Weekend!

So, despite having a stressful Friday, we had a great weekend.

It was sort of a rough start. We decided to back out of buying the car I SUPER want (my dream car, a Subaru Forester). It was the right decision. There were just too many red flags. Kind of a bummer, but better safe than sorry!

We took Xabi to the vet, and he is a healthy pig! The vet said that he's a little light, and if he loses more weight, she'd be worried, but that he isn't terribly underweight. She also said to not compare the different breeds of pigs (Xabi is Abyssinian, the other two are English). But just in case we need to force feed him, she gave us a nice syringe, so we're at least prepared! We concluded with the vet that it is possibly all of the fighting going on between Harvey and Biscotti that is causing Xabi to not get enough food. I redid the cage (AGAIN), and I think it's a better set-up. For more rambling about guinea pigs, you can visit http://threelittlepigpigpigs.blogspot.com/

Another thing we did is re-pot a plant that my grandma gave me when we first moved here. It was 4 different plants in 1 pot. It looked really nice all together, but recently it has not been doing too well. I had already repotted it to a bigger pot, but we decided to just separate them. It's kind of fun having a bunch of different pots around the apartment. I hope it didn't stress them out too much. It was nice to actually DO something. I mean, we cleaned the apartment up and everything, and I made a little grid shelf system for the pig stuff, but it felt good to do something outside. Even if it was just on the deck.

This is when we first moved. It's really small there! I'll upload the separate pots once I get home and can take pictures. I look forward to the day that I can have a real porch or sunroom for my potted plants! 

Oofta

A lot of stress has built/is building in our lives right now.

First, Justin had an interview at Weber State for a fantastic manager job. (Which he got!!!) But we are sort of still feeling the residual stress of travel and interviewing. Plus, there's a lot to learn for this job.

Second, our Mazda Wagon has had a lot of issues and we are going to take it to the dealership and hope for a good price. We're hoping to do that Friday.

Third, we are renting a car in the meantime, and that can be very expensive. We need to return it Friday.

Fourth, we found a car we want, but we have to take out a car loan and we have some reservations about it. We're going to do that on Friday.

Fifth, Justin's internship ends today and he has a lot of wrapping up to do there.

Sixth, no rest for the wicked, because the semester starts on Monday.

Seventh, our little guinea pig Xabi is rapidly losing weight, so we're taking him to the vet on Friday.

Eighth, there's a LOT of drama going on at my work recently. And it has been dragged out since mid-June.

Ninth, we are moving in 4 months and renting a moving truck is not inexpensive.

Tenth, my ear is still whooshing. It seems to be slightly better, but I dream of the day that I never hear it.


In conclusion, lots of things are going on, on Friday!

Victor Frankenstein

So, as you may know, I don't like horror movies. AT ALL. I am a huge wimp and my brain struggles to disassociate fiction from reality when watching horror movies. I have never understood the appeal of purposefully scaring yourself. I just don't like it.

With that said...I'm super excited about Victor Frankenstein! It looks like it has some humor in it. It probably also helps that I'm familiar with the plot, so nothing will be...TOO much of a surprise? Not sure 'bout that, but still. Just look at the cast: James McAvoy, Daniel Radcliffe, Jessica Brown Findlay, Andrew Scott, Mark Gatiss.

Seahorse

I can't remember if I've posted this song before or not. It's one of my favorite Devendra Banhart songs. My favorite part:

 Well I'm scared of ever being born again,
If it's in this form again ,
   I wanna know how, why, where, and when,
and then, and then...

 I wanna see you be the bright night sky,

I wanna see you come back as the light,

I wanna see you be the bright night sky,

I wanna see you come back as the light.

 

New Libertines Album!

So, I knew that the Libs had a reunion show sometime around 2010, and there were sort of rumors or snippets of news about them working on something, but then recently it has been revealed that they have been recording a new album, which is out soon!!!

See this link for descriptions of the track listing. I kind of don't want a new album, in a way. 2 albums in their hey-day, and nothing more sounds good to me. But I have read that a lot of what is on their new album is recycled old demos or bits and pieces from unfinished Libs songs, so I'm pretty excited about that. It also seems like they aren't trying to desperately re-create their 2003/4 sound. But I think a good balance of old and new will be great. eeeee!

NME Track by Track Review

Recent-ish photo from the studio. It's real!

Spectre

Macbeth

Dehydrator

I'm so excited to use my dehydrator! I'm going crazy on pinterest finding recipes.

https://www.pinterest.com/rakusfrakus/recipes-dehydrator/

Check it out!

I'm also excited because you can do things like dry flowers, make your own potpourri, make cat or dog treats, etc!

25

There is something scary about the age 25. Maybe it is because I feel like, professionally, I still don't really know what I'm doing or what I want to do. Maybe it is because I don't feel 25, I feel 22. Maybe it is because at this age my mom had a house, two kids, a career, and was earning her master's degree, and all of that seems so...grown up. 

And although I suppose I feel more grown up than I did at 22, I guess I just feel like being 19-23 age was a very convenient excuse for not knowing what I wanted to do with my life.

Oh well. Feedly-dee, I'll worry about it a later day. FOR NOW, I'm just going to bask in the glow of my glorious birthday!!!

I don't mean to brag, but, um, I got freaking AWESOME, thoughtful gifts. The entire series of Battlestar Galactica on Blu-Ray from Justin. A thermos (which I sorely needed) and a generous giftcard to my FAVORITE chai place, (which happens to be less than a 5 minute walk from my work and less than a 5 minute drive from my apartment on the other side of town), really cute Calico cat earrings and a generous giftcard from my in-laws, an awesome Ultimate Book of Lighthouses book from my sister and brother-in-law (more on that in a later post about our trip to Wisconsin/Lake Superior), and today I just received a dehydrator from my best friend Kiki!!! I was totally not expecting it and it is something I've wanted for SO LONG! I'm still grinning while posting this.

(Sorry Kiki for interrupting your class! I feel really bad! I was so excited and I didn't even think about how grad classes are in the evening!)

Thank you to everyone for making my birthday amazing. I can't wait until next year, when I'll be celebrating it at home!


EDIT: More ramblings below:
It is very comforting, however, that oddly at 22 the prospect of not having a clue what I wanted to do with my life was so much more stressful than it is now. Maybe that is the stability of marriage, maybe that is my self-confidence, maybe that is from working jobs that gave me experience to feel like even if I'm not doing my dream job, I could still earn enough money to get by. Doesn't matter which it is, I suppose.

I'm just glad that I feel more at peace with the unknown, since moving.  I don't know if I would have felt this kind of calm with not knowing what I'm going to do or where I'm going to end up, if I didn't take the plunge into the unknown with moving to Indiana.

And I know that I wouldn't feel this kind of peace if I weren't married to someone who balances my weaknesses with his strengths and vice a versa.

Follow-Up

With all that said in my previous PT post, I do want to say something else:

I have the most wonderful husband who is supportive, funny, smart, sympathetic, and strives to be his best for me everyday.

I have three cute little guinea pigs that make me giggle everyday and are a testament to our financial progress since moving (we only got them once we could afford for their care, and since we made a blind move to a place without having jobs it took months before we could get pets)

I have an apartment full of things that remind me of our journey and that comfort me because they remind me of home,

I have a family of people (both blood and law relatives)that love me and that I love and respect.

We are financially stable, I have a full time job with a boss that listens to me suggestions.

I have clothing on my back, a roof over my head, and live in a safe environment.

I have not experienced trauma from my whoosh (such as a bomb or gunfire that could damage the ear) and I am not in pain from my whoosh.

I will NOT let this stupid whoosh and that stupid doctor drag me down. I will not let this whoosh out-weigh my happiness, no matter how difficult it can be to ignore it.