Two Words...

First Monday. In Canton. With my spud bud. Does life get any better than this?! Can't wait to experience Canton and take a break from my icky job and even ickier decisions to make. Anthropologie, IKEA, and The Cloverleaf are all in our future. And I get to hang with my awesome aunt and uncle, maybe take a dip in their pool, maybe feast at Joe T's. The possibilities are endless...

Decisions, Decisions!

If you've ever been out to eat with me you know how much of an ordeal it can be. I can narrow it down to two or three choices but then I hem and haw. I don't want to pick the wrong thing! And even though I go to the same places over and over again, the decision-making process doesn't get any easier. I usually end up giving my choices to the server and having him/her choose for me. Although I know the dinner decision will not make or break my life course, it seems SO important at that moment. So imagine how difficult it would be for me to have to choose between two boys (that's another post in and of itself. Let's move on.)...or two jobs...or two towns. Yowza!

Pros about Staying: my house, my family, life in the big city, my spud bud Val, bunko, scooter chicks, Pepper's Grill.

Pros about Going: job happiness (what's the phrase I'm looking for?), my dear friends, dinner club, life in a small town, better gas mileage, a fresh start, Billy Boy's (mmm).

Cons about Staying: my house (hot in the summer, cold in the winter. And oh-so-many projects!), hating my job more and more every day (next year would only be worse), the commute is starting to wear on me too.

Cons about Going: dating is hard enough in a big city (are there even any men in the little town?!), I'd miss my sweet nephew Ethan so much, what if I don't sell/rent out my house (financial destruction = self implosion)?

Anything I'm leaving out? Feel free to comment. I think I can hold 'em off a day or two.

At times like these I wish I had a Magic 8 Ball...

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - D

D

Dave Matthews Band - I am in love. Enough said.

Dill Pickles - I love, love, love me some dill pickles! Not sweet pickles, not bread and butter pickles. Dill pickles. Ah...when I was a kid I'd go to my grandparents' house after school and I'd scoop out some of Mamarj's homemade pickles and eat them with ranch dressing (I was a visionary, I tell ya!). Not much has changed over the years. When I go to Mazzio's and hit the salad bar I load up on their perfectly chopped bite-size pickles and ranch. Mmmmm...I think I'm salivating a bit here. And you know you have great friends when you're at lunch and they offer up their own pickle just because of the sheer joy it gives you. Thanks, Steph!

Dogs - I've always loved dogs and have almost always had them growing up and as a grown up. They're so cute. And sweet. And so loving. Even if you've had a rotten day and don't spend as much time as you should with them, they're there with those big understanding eyes and a wagging tail. Just hoping they can do something, anything, just to make it better for you. Also, I collect porcelain dog figurines. Of the vintage variety and not so much of the dollar store variety. I have just gone room by room and counted 20 of them. In bookcases, under cloches, on pedestals. They're everywhere! Just as they should be.

Drinking - Except for the occassional stolen swig of schnapps from my dad's kitchen when a friend spent the night or a random sip of beer (with some adult's permission) or the accidental glass of champagne I got at my stepaunt's wedding reception (I honestly thought it was a punch fountain! And I only took the one sip.). I really never drank alcholic beverages until I turned 21. Even then, as a student at a faith-based college, I rarely did. After college I loosened up a bit but I was never going to be mistaken for a party girl. Not until the last couple of years have I ever really experienced being intoxicated. And thankfully (knock on wood) I have yet to experience a hangover or sleeping next to a toilet. It's not a goal I have. And drinking is just too dang expensive to make a habit out of it.

Driving - Ugh. Driving is one of my least favorite things. I spend at least an hour a day in my car on my way to and from both jobs and various errands. I feel trapped. And I get angry. Yes, I suppose the term "road rage" could be used to describe me. And I'm not so great at it, to tell you the truth. I've backed into my fair share of parked vehicles. As much as I dislike driving I did, however, plan and execute a long road trip a couple of years back. I traveled to FL to pick up my best friend, meandering through towns of interest and stopping to visit friends along the way. Once I got to her, we headed to New Orleans together and then continued on to TX. I actually really enjoyed that trip, even the 8-hour legs on any given day. I don't think there was much road rage on that trip, even in the places I was unfamiliar with. Wonder what the difference is. Hmmm...

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - C

C

Cat, as in "That Darned Cat!" - I've snuck into my neighbors' overgrown yard FIVE times now to open a window and let my cat out. Her entrance has been barricaded more than once but nothing seems to stop her. Five times! I think it's time Olive finds herself a new home. And, no, I'm not referring to my neighbors' creepy abandoned home.

Concerts - I love, love, love live music. The first concert I ever went to was Michael W. Smith in the 9th grade. Although my music tastes have changed quite a bit since then my love of the concert experience has not. In the last couple of years I've had the pleasure of seeing Dave Matthews Band (2x, with and without Tim Reynolds!), U2, Sarah MacLaughlin, Indigo Girls (2x), Rufus Wainwright, Ben Folds, Coldplay (2x), Cat Power, Gnarls Barkley, The Flaming Lips, Damien Rice, Feist, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eli Young Band, James Blunt, Sheryl Crow, New Kids on the Block, Shiny Toy Guns, The All-American Rejects, and (most recently) Matt Costa.

Crafts - I need to make more time for me to unleash my creative side. I'm drawn to all types of crafts and am in awe of those of my friends who excel in one area or another. Val and her quilts, Kristin and her purses, Adrian and her photography, Ashley and her painting, etc. And now that my eyes have been opened to the world of bloggers, I'm inspired each and every day by someone new. I would love to delve into a particular area (maybe mixed media collage?) and find out I had some talent in that area.

Crushes - I've been making a lot of lists these days while at my second job. I'm sure many of these lists will become their own posts in the future, but since this one is "brought to you by the letter C" I thought I'd include a chronological list of my crushes here. I wish that the intensity of school age crushes would stay with you on into adulthood. It would make the whole dating over the age of 30 thing much more fun. But probably a bit more dangerous. Hmmm...here goes:
4th grade - Kelsey H. and Jay B.
5th grade - Kelly L. (he moved away that year)
6th grade - John S. I remember he sat behind me and over one row in our reading class. I checked the clock above his head at least 15 times a class period just to get one more glimpse of him.
7th grade - Marcus M. and Ed K.
8th grade -Michael M. and Mike H.
9th grade - James W. and Phil G. This particular crush lasted until...
Junior year (college) - Mike C.
Senior year (college) - Michael F.
Post-college - Jon W. and (much further down the road) Chris B.
As with most crushes, the majority of my feelings for these boys were unrequited. I dated only three of them. And I've had relationships since, but there's still nothing like that feeling of butterflies aflutter in the pit of your stomach when you anticipate running into your crush in the hall between classes or whenever/wherever you might see him. My palms would start to sweat and I'd begin to hyperventilate. As much as I hoped they speak to me I equally hoped they wouldn't because I was absolutely sure that nothing intelligible or intelligent would escape my lips. Ah, the good ol' days.

Courtney's Menagerie

Sitting there at my oh-so-busy second job I came up with a list of all the pets I've had since I graduated from college. There is no other word to describe it other than sad. Just plain old sad.

1. An aquarium full of fish - I've always been fascinated with fish. When I was little I would sneak into my parents' bedroom and scoop the fish out to pet them. *died of natural causes*
2. Jake the stray cat. *given away* (to my sister when I moved in with my grandparents)
3. Murphy the chocolate lab who suffered from separation anxiety. A master escape artist.***
4. Winnie the Pug. She was pug-shaped but brindle. *returned*
5. Mali the Chesapeake Bay Retriever. High maintenance. She bit me. I almost killed her with rat poison (not on purpose! Not even after she bit me.) *returned*
6. Milo the black lab. He was dumb and gangly but god I loved him!***
7. Tucker the growth-stunted chocolate lab. I think he was fed crack as a baby. I would wake up to terrible commotions and found him (numerous times) on top of my dining room table shredding anything that was lying on it. *returned*
8. Ty(son) the white lab. I say white because he was white. With blue eyes. Not sure what he was mixed with but he was beautiful.***
9. Winston the pug/something ugly. *returned*
10. Hopalong the bunny. *given away*
***I had Murphy, Milo, and Ty (my complete lab collection) for quite awhile. When I took the job as a dorm director I couldn't have any pets on campus so I had to find homes for them. It was the hardest week of my life.
11. Casper the cockapoo. After four months without a pet I tried smuggling this puppy in. After one week I knew it wasn't going to work. He barked constantly. I had to go back to my apartment every hour to restart my dryer to muffle as much of his noise as I could. *given away* (to my sister)
12. Sushi the carnivorous betta fish (he hopped up and caught a fly!). My friend Amy thinks living without pets is the worst so she bought me this betta to keep me company. *died of natural causes*
13. Bijou. My wonderful, adorable, fat black pug. I smuggled her into the dorm. She ate everything in sight but she was quiet!
14. Becker. My fawn pug with an attitude. Very photogenic though. *Hit by a car*
15. Wilbur. "Some Pug." My fawn pug with one eye. Given to me by a breeder (through Amy) because his eye was scratched by a littermate. He is the sweetest little loverboy.
16. Suki. *returned* In a moment of weakness I checked petfinder.com out and came home with another fat pug. Wait...hold the phone, folks! She wasn't fat...she was preggers! Which led to...
17. Humphrey, *sold*
18. Buster, *sold*
19. Bing (the runt) *died of natural cause*
20. Greta, *sold* and
21. Ingrid. *sold* {for all you math geniuses out there that's nine, count 'em, nine pugs in my house at one time. Ay, ay, ay!}
22. Olive the tabby cat. Who sneaks into the abandoned house next door forcing me to break and enter every other week (FOUR TIMES now!!!). Who didn't get spayed soon enough and spewed forth...
23. Dolce, *given away*
24. Gabbana, *given away*
25. Dooney, *given away* and
26. Bourke. *given away*

26 animals in 12 years (24 in 9 years). This is bad, folks. Real bad. I have a sickness. My name is Courtney and I'm a petaholic. Better than a PETaphile, no?

For the record, only three animals live with me now. And all but one (Bijou) were adopted/fostered through rescue organizations and shelters. Writing all this down makes me realize just how wishy-washy I am truly am. I'm ashamed at all the times I typed the word "returned." Pet ownership is serious stuff and I shouldn't have taken it as lightly as I did.

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - B

B

Bijou - Bijou is the name I gave to my precious black pug. She's four and a half years old now and already started to gray around her face and stomach. I got her in the beginning of October 2004 and nicknamed her Boo. Somewhere along the way I dropped the Boo and reverted back to Bijou but my family still refers to her as Boo. I was living on campus as a dorm director when I bought her (she's the only dog I've ever purchased from a pet store. I usually adopt my animals but I simply couldn't resist when I saw her sitting in that glass box) and not allowed to have pets in the dorm. So I did what I had to do...I smuggled her in (a pug smuggler, ha!) and kept her a (relative) secret for the nine months I continued to live there. She's a big gal at around 28 pounds. Each year we go to the vet for her check up I get the same lecture...she really shouldn't be putting on any additional weight...but I stopped listening because he's been saying that for the last three years (and at least the last eight or so pounds!).

Bridesmaid, as in "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride." - I have had the distinct pleasure and honor of standing up at the altar with Amber, Deanna, Stephanie, Sarah, Mom, Jenny, Janessa, and Kristin as they've vowed to commit their lives to their men. This fall I'll be at it again with Courtney O. And while I hope to one day have my own wedding, for the time being I'm content with the fact that all these lovely ladies (I thought there was a 10th one in there somewhere) are happily married all these years later.

Bungalow - I live in a craftsman bungalow built in 1920. Her name is Loraine (from a sign we found in the attic). She's got 9-foot ceilings and incredible crown moldings (at least a foot tall in the living and dining rooms), hardwoods throughout (although they've been damaged pretty badly in the bathroom and kitchen), french doors out to the wraparound front porch and out to the side porch, a sleeping porch off my bedroom (that I use as a dressing room), and built in cabinetry and columns in my dining room. I love her, I love her, I love her, despite the cold winters and hot summers. But it's been a lot of work and there's so much more to go. I don't know that I'll ever get a profit out of her. But she's been worth it all.

Bunco/Bunko - No matter how you spell it, I have the pleasure of being a part of the greatest group of Bunko babes ever. I look forward to spending time with these lovely ladies every month, with or without Amber's Chinese acrobats. I have also been nominated to host October bunkos from here on out (See "H" for Halloween in a couple of months). I began playing bunko as a sub for my aunt's group some 10 or 15 years ago. Every once in a while our family gathers to play around the holidays.

Buttercup - My 2008 cream-colored Kymco People 150. I was hit with the scooter bug thanks to my friends Valerie and Doug. Ever since they sent out Christmas photos of themselves on their scooters five or so years ago, I knew I would one day own a scooter. And really, who doesn't want to be as cool as Val and Doug? Read about my relationship with Buttercup here.

Do Diaper Cakes Taste Like Crap?

This question was posed after I updated my facebook status awhile back. Hmmm...

I don't know if they're considered passe now or not, but diaper cakes are still my favorite baby shower gift to give and create. Here are a few that I've done most recently.

For baby Harper:For baby Cash: For baby Derek:

Inspiration Strikes

It doesn't strike all that often but I was sitting at home on Friday night and around 8:00 I thought to myself, "Self, it's about time you got around to painting those bottom cabinets in the kitchen." It should be noted that I decided less than a month ago that I should definitely paint my lower cabinetry black. To have conceived, started, and completed (!) a project within a month is a record. Procrastination is my middle name for sure.

Here's a before pic (please excuse the mess and disregard the dog-scratched door in the background):
And the after pic (Decidedly cleaner, no? And, yes Mom, I know I need to properly secure the insert between the cabinet doors under the sink!) :
Look at my little Wilbur peering up from the bottom of the photo. Ain't he cute?!

My favorite part of the whole process is that dirty old dishwasher. You can switch the paneling from white to black or almond to stainless. They sure were innovative back in the 80s, eh?