I’d like to pretend that cleaning, purging, and maintaining are organic processes for me that I can handle without research. This is not so true. I am far better at it than I was a year ago, and even managed to get rid of about a dozen moving boxes of things I don’t need when C moved in- but it wasn’t enough.  Cleaning is still a huge chore, and my stuff doesn’t fit in the closets, dressers, shelves, and cabinets where I hoped it would stay and maintain order.

I bought a few books for the tasks at hand, and am working on this one first:

Today begins my “week,” but in order to really get things out of my house I’m either going to repeat the week twice or stretch each day to two days.

Monday handles wardrobe, workspaces, and home reception area. I’m excited to get things out of my life that keep me from “[developing] the remarkable life I want to lead.”

One of my favorite photos taken at one of my mom’s favorite places on earth- she & my brother, hanging out in the West Indies, eating some fresh-caught lobster at picnic tables:

Photo taken at Wagamama, probably her favorite restaurant of all time despite eating there maybe 2x during their trip to visit me in London.

During a long stretch of extended-family time:

Today we’re spending the day bowling, eating sushi & cake, and enjoying the first round of attic cleaning. Fun for all ages!

Mom, I really hope you don’t read this blog, because your surprise would be ruined! For your birthday you’re getting one of these:

BULLMASTIFF PUPPY!!!!!

Cuddle the crap out of her while you can, because when you’re asleep there’s a chance I’ll steal her.

+ Valentine’s Day was a terrible movie, but full of plasticattractive people. I enjoyed dinner beforehand + cake and cokes, girlfriends time, and the Pretty Woman cast featured, but did not enjoy the chatty, texty girls who plopped right beside us in a mostly-empty theater. Out of 6 girls, the highest score was a 5/10.

+ Gracie is a maniac! I have cuts on my face, hands/arms, and chest.  I really wish we had time to have a nice big dog who could be her live scratching post– In the meantime she has a new tent + tube toy with mesh cut outs- she likes to smush her face against them and watch me, it’s really fucking cute!

+ Kroger now carries Steaz! 4 packs for $7. Yes, this is worth mentioning. If anyone has ever seen me act cheerfully before 11am, it it probably all thanks to those little green drinks.

+ I still have no idea what I want to do with myself.  Except everything.

1. I want to renovate properties and rent them.

2. I also want to take people’s credit cards and renovate/decorate their houses.

3. Oh and I’d like to work w/social services to get kids into better homes.

4. I’d like to start my own craft and kitsch business.

5. I want to teach high school seniors/college freshmen how to handle real life: how to drive, cook, clean, pay taxes, interview, make good cookies, negotiate rent, be feminists, change a diaper, change a tire, etc.

So I’ll just have to do it all, somehow.

+ Despite being far from any of the above goals, I am happy. I know where I’d like to be, but here is fine too, for now. Maybe it’s time to start taking some more classes………..

C and I aren’t exchanging presents or doing anything out of the ordinary today, we’re both working- Yesterday we watched Scrubs, went thrifting, ate Chinese food, and went to an EFC MMA fight! It was very fun, especially because it was something different. A guy from C’ gym was fighting, and although he lost his fight, everyone was in a great mood and highly entertained. The people watching was amazing! I couldn’t count the number of people with Tap Out shirts, Ed Hardy gear, and insane tribal tattoos. The racing-redneck community seems to overlap heavily with fighting enthusiasts…

I was far less affected by two people beating one another than I thought I would be- the punches sound so soft and the fighters were evenly matched.  I obviously sided with either the smaller fighter or the one who chose a non-meathead entrance song.

Post-fight we stopped by a Jersey Shore-themed party where people I know and love were transformed into JS douchebags. It was hilarious! I had to race home due to extreme hunger grumpiness and actually shoved C out of the way to get to the refrigerator. We stood in silence in the kitchen munching furiously on celery and peanut butter out of our own jars (his: crunchy, mine: creamy). After half of a bag, we resumed normal life, watched some more Scrubs, and fell asleep.

Ah, love. This is quite honestly the happiest I’ve ever been.

Edit #2: M just informed me that blood tests aren’t required in VA! She knows this because her burlyman fiance is also afraid of blood extraction. Thank you, VA, for catering to us weenies.

Today, day two of focusing a bit more on myself, went poorly. I did more detrimental things, like eating too much fried-and-grease-laden Mexican food, than beneficial, but did get in some relaxing social time with a former roommate, M.

I spent the morning at B&N and Target after dropping a car at the shop, ran home for a yummy cranberry & stuffing Tofurkey sammich (+1 for spoiling myself with two kinds of Tofurkey at the store, another +1 for eating a meal at home for once), then back out to B&N for ultra-girly time (+1 for sitting still guilt-free). Weddings. Girls. Flowers. Cakes. Love & marriage. Blah, blah.

M and her boyfriend got engaged a few weeks ago, and I LOVE planning so I was all over it. The afternoon mostly turned into a bashing of cheesy wedding phrases and decor, ugly dresses, and magazines that only support exorbitantly expensive, bride-centric weddings. We made a lot of gagging sounds and guffawed at sentences like, “A modest gal, Sally spent a mere $15,000 on her Big Day!!!” M is aiming for many, many thousands of dollars less than this, plus food raised/grown on her parents’ farm, an eBayed dress, and tons of DIY. Very proud of her for this!

The whole process made me want to never have a wedding- I’d much rather avoid an occasion where all eyes are on me and my friends have the opportunity to give toasts involving embarrassing stories. Oh, and the blood tests? Cue Meatloaf right about now for a cheesy line, because I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that. My ideal wedding, if that’s in the cards, would be a dressy potluck- my favorite people in one place, looking a little fancy, with awesome food. Then we would go snowtubing and stay in cozy cabins. Damnit, M, and your wedding planning, I’m getting all sappy now.

After B&N came the heavy Mexican meal, ugh, then more Target hours logged, a quick stop at Lowe’s, and finally home!

+1 for making myself tea, chatting with the new roommate, and playing with kitten, who still relieves stress like nothing else in my life.
Tonight I might grab a piece of pie before we retrieve the car, and I think I’ll round out the day with a plan for tomorrow: scheduling the massage my parents gave me for graduation. My muscles are relaxing just thinking about it…

Selfishness score: +4

It’s already in your head, so…

Yesterday marked Day 1 — I took Gracie to the vet early in the morning (just for a check-up, she’s healthy), got back in bed, and was fed peppermint Joe Joe’s by my year-of-selfishness-supporter boyfriend.  We ran some errands but stopped for sushi on the way home.  I got some amazing West Elm sale items because the local store is going out of business, including a $35 light green duvet cover, two candles (Bergamot and Mint, Lavender Vanilla), a floating frame, and a ceramic white vase like the tall, thin one in the center for $11!

I didn’t just spend on myself though, I’m new to this “me, me, me,” and got a candle and a facial gift certificate for my mom… A former roommate is an esthetician and helped me out with an amazing discount on an otherwise $110+ facial.

After shopping I hung out with the new roommate, N, and her visiting friends from Boston who were dears and helped her move here.  An afternoon of gluttony and spending behind me, I switched gears and, you won’t believe it if you know me, went on a run.  It didn’t last long, due to being anything but athletic and inappropriate clothing for the 25 degree weather, but I earned some more gluttony, at least.

Dinner with Boston girls, N, and two RVA friends occurred at Ipanema Cafe, and the kitchen/dish staff wasn’t displeased with the table of 8 ladies sitting so close to them- C and I laughed later about how often they found reason to pop out of the kitchen and walk by.  We went to another bar, which was mostly empty, for more chatting and storytelling, before I headed home.  In bed with my kitten, C, Bust magazine, and an episode of Scrubs, I knew I could get used to the selfish lifestyle.

Selfish Day 1 Accomplishments:

1. General laziness to include eating cookies in bed

2. Gluttony involving healthy food also

3. Shopping + spending

4. Fitness efforts so I may acheive, in the words of my friend Marina, “Lady Gaga’s body!!!”

5. Socialization time with awesome people

6. Going home early, sober, and before becoming entirely exhausted

Today’s starting out with Hulu and brunch cooked by others, so it looks promising already!

+Major projects at home: Painting my new room, the craft room (incl. wallpaper removal, comparable to paper cuts on my hierarchy of do-not-likes), the foyer, and hopefully the kitchen soon as well.  Photos will be posted when I find my camera battery (the joy of moving and losing everything) and the rooms are put together… Now they are in a phase I call “organizing,” during which I spread out everything I own and attempt to get rid of things but really just end up expanding the mess.

+Xmas and New Year’s Eve:  I spent both with my family… Xmas at my parents’ house with my immediate family and my great-aunt, and NYE on Deep Creek Lake in MD with my immediate family, C, and 3 out of 4 members of a family that my family has been close with since just before I was born.  We snow tubed, skated and slid on a frozen lake (human bowling!), watched fireworks from the hot tub, ate many cookies and large meals, and played card games.  Really fun and relaxing!

+Major life changes: 1. N, the new roommate, will arrive from The North tonight for move-in madness!

2. I adopted a kitten!  Her name is Gracie, here are the obligatory photos thanks to the amazing camerawork of her catsitter, Karen.

Gracie, sassypants

Gracie, in repose

She is the sweetest, most bumbly and uncoordinated cat I’ve ever met- she never stops making me laugh.  Gracie has mild Cerebellar Hypoplasia, which means her mom probably had feline parvo while pregnant, so Gracie’s cerebellum didn’t develop entirely.  She’s in no pain and is completely healthy, but has impaired balance.  Her footsteps are a little more like an elephant’s than a kitten’s and she doesn’t often land on all four paws (ok, she almost never lands on her paws)… Rather than climbing and jumping she creates kitten caves in my bookshelves, inside my box spring, and under furniture.  She’s even managed to charm C, an emphatically “only dogs” person.

Overall, things are busy and wonderful.  Now I’m going to attempt to put my whole house together before N’s arrival, while taking breaks to see C’s parents who are driving through this afternoon, donating a ton of goods, shopping for a headboard (DIY, I’m thinking a large screen, canvas, non-college-dorm-esque tapestry, or a huge frame), and eating some vegan peppermint Joe Joe’s (thank you, Trader Joe’s!).

One of those will hopefully make you smile too!

Tomorrow is C’s birthday! The big (but not old at all!) 3-0! I’m planning surprises that he hopefully still doesn’t know about, though when I visited his restaurant last night, everyone seemed to know what was up already! Shh shh!

Dinner with friends is planned for tonight so more people can make it, especially out-of-towners who have to work on Monday, but I’m unfortunately finding out exactly how much C hates surprises! I told him awhile ago that I wanted to take him to dinner tonight but it might take some convincing to get him to come now– I really hope it’s worth it and he has lots of fun!

Anyway, I only have my shitty camera phone to document the process today (my regular camera charger is MIA), but I’ll do my best. Now, watch me attempt to get all of this done by 3pm-ish when some of his friends from out of state are due to arrive!

1. Baking: Black- & Blueberry Brownies (thanks to Veganomicon, though I made things more interesting by adding blackberry jam), 2 batches. I highly recommend this recipe, I got great feedback! The brownies taste much better after they’ve cooled and settled than when they’re warm.

Using the stove AND the oven!

The batter:

The baking: Check out the blindingly angelic light emitted from my perfect oven! Evenly baked foods! What a dream…

2. Cleaning

Ok, this resulted in dusting, shoving boxes and books in my room, adding more seating in the living room in case people come over, and doing about 3 loads of baking dishes. Bought swiffer pads but forgot to borrow the actual swiffer…

3. Research and Writing- Yup, school is still a looming threat. Two papers, 1 test, and a presentation to go!  A friend gave me two additional novels that might work well in the big research paper but that means I have to read them! Aahhh!

4. Present wrapping and card-making

Lucky birthday boy is getting a comfy robe & an awesome Isis poster designed by Seldon Hunt… C was checking them out awhile ago and I really liked this one… selfish? Maybe a little. The orange in the background is more vivid in real life, and when it’s in a place of our own I’d like to be able to work it into the design scheme.

Click the poster image for a link to the site from where I ordered it… they’re awesome and helped me out with helpful emails when I had problems with the first attempt at ordering. I love good customer service!

Edited 12/7:

Overall the day was great! I did a poor job of keeping him at home so our NC friends could surprise him there, and we spent awhile as moving targets with them trying to catch us on our errands… I kept stalling wherever we went and he started to catch on After NC friends arrived in a Starbucks, he was very surprised! They went to a craft fair for awhile and then we all met VA friends at Mekong, an awesome Vietnamese place. About 30 people came!
After the uncertainty of the surprise ended, C was having a great time- success!

Post-dinner we ate brownies and embarrassed the shit out of him by singing the “Happy Birthday” song loudly!

This morning we got brunch and watched the Eagles-Falcons game, ran some errands and went to the mall, where we both got incredibly frustrated after trying to shop for shoes.  Chinese take-out and video games soothed the fury, and I passed out on the couch around 7pm!  I needed the energy for today-thursday: the last of my papers are due and then I’m done!

Keep those fingers crossed for me!

Happy birthday, C!  And thank you to anyone who came to dinner and showed him how lucky he is to have such great friends