Off On Tangents

I've been reminded that this blog exists, so I will go ahead and update it now. Yay!

1. I'm watching my calories, again! I yo-yo a lot, because once I stop counting calories I gain weight. If I don't have this device in front of me telling me I'm eating a 2100-or-so calorie s'mores cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory, then the calories don't exist. You understand.

2. I'm simulating a Dot & Bo room in Pinterest because Dot & Bo is hosting a sort of a contest with a $5000 grand prize shopping spree on their website. They have some pretty neat stuff, and I wouldn't mind using that money to buy some dining room furniture. The thing is, once they narrow down finalists, it's up to friends and family to go and "like" the rooms so whoever has the most likes wins the moneybags. Expect that, if I somehow make it that far, I will be soliciting help.

3. The other night I had the weirdest and grossest dream. My skin was really stretched out for some reason and I must not have had any abdominal muscles because my intestines fell into the skin sack that I could literally palpate my bowel loops. It was really, really gross.

4. My cats have started to get super snuggly in bed at night. Mia lets me wrap my arm around her and tuck my hand under her belly and she sleeps like that. So cute!

5. I took the time to get together with an old college friend to see The Avengers. I'm usually really evasive about getting together with this guy because I know that he likes me (he asked me out once back in college, oh, 7 years ago), but I'm just not into him at all. So, the time we spend together is really awkward for me, especially when he is contacting me after break-ups. I'm pretty sure I've always been on his mind, and after confirming that he was attempting to make this get-together like a date, I've finally put my foot down. I literally had to repeat myself three times before he got the message, and it made me feel bad. Of course, he doesn't want this confrontation to ruin our friendship, so once he cools off we will see more movies down the road, just without pretenses. Maybe now I can be more comfortable around him.

6. I ordered some tickets to see a musical in June and a concert in October: My Fair Lady with my mom, and Ben Howard & Daughter in Berkeley with another old friend from middle school. We so excited!

7. Besides the new Avengers movie, I also saw The Age of Adaline and Ex Machina. Both were really interesting. The Age of Adaline was adorable, but I could tell that it was based on a novel. Sometimes plots work better for novels than movies, as in this case, because the little extraordinary occurances seem more far fetched in films than books for some reason. As for Ex Machina, which was quite thrilling, had an expected and yet unexpected ending. I want to say more, but I feel like I would spoil it!

8. Even before the confrontation in #5, I've been thinking about relationships some. My mom struggled with codependency in her marriage and she had me review the characteristics of codependency to see how I fared, too. Now, I only had one serious relationship to use as a reference, but I was certainly codependent to a moderate extent during that time. I fear that this codependency won't go away for future relationships, as if I'm ruined by my last experience. If I do come across the perfect man who happens to think I'm perfect too, then great, I will do my best to be mutually happy. However, I don't intend to wait for that person to drop in my lap (I don't expect them to, anyway), and I don't intend on making it my life's mission to search for them either. I live better for myself when I'm on my own. Sure, it's nice to love and be loved, but I take better care of myself when I'm on my own: I'm not stressed over a relationship, I'm not obsessive or jealous, I don't have to compromise on anything, and (hallelujah!) I don't have to share a bed (suffer from lack of sleep) or shave my legs in the winter (at least until I start feeling like a woolly mammoth wearing a sweater made from its own fur). I have the love that I need from my family and from myself, and it's more than enough to keep me happy. I've been single for two years now, and I can honestly say that last year was one of the best and happiest years of my life. Don't need no man! Ain't nobody got time for that!

Progress

Over the past weekend I finished painting my living room walls, so now instead of the baby blue that didn't go well at all with my furniture and decor, I have greige walls that can probably end up going with anything no matter how many times I change my tastes.

Anyway, I've also been thinking about filling up my walls with photographs, and not necessarily my own. Looking through my digital curation of art on For Nostalgia, I've been trying to come up with a way to describe my taste in aesthetics, and I think my favorites all have to do with capturing a glimpse of a real moment of motion in time or space, which really isn't saying much because that's what a photograph generally is. HOW TO ESPLAIN? All I can say is that when I really sit down to look at them, I become emotionally affected.

Oh, hey. I got some new glasses. I would post selfies but I haven't taken the time to capture them yet.

Renovation Update III

These photos are rather dark, so the colors are a bit off... but you get the idea! Here is the kitchen pre-appliance installation!

 Lookin' pretty snazzy! So far, we have had the dishwasher and stove installed. My first cooked meal in the house was potstickers! We wanted it to be either broiled salmon or banana pancakes but my mom wasn't going to be home when I cooked and I didn't want to have anything fancy by myself. Oh, well!

The refrigerator, on the other hand, is still in the garage. The installation people were apparently not qualified to move the refrigerator from the garage to the kitchen, so now I have to call "delivery" people instead. Honestly, with all the money I've been spending, I'm just going to go ahead and wait to schedule that particular appointment. I don't mind going out to the garage to get food for a while.

Some paint touch ups still need to be made to the trim and some of the wall and cabinetry, as well as having my cabinet guy re-drill some of the drawers he messed up on. That was a whole lot of drama I really didn't want to deal with, but at least he's still going to fix it on his own expense. Maybe deep down he knows he effed up even though he's verbally blaming everyone but himself for his mistakes.

I'll probably put in some final photos once all the appliances are in, but this is about it! I'm happy to report that I am no longer brewing coffee in my master bathroom anymore.

Renovation Update I

After having been without internet or television for over a week now, I've come to realize that there is actually a benefit to this scenario: shit actually gets done. Yep, our to-do projects are actually being checked off. On the other hand, having to do all these projects makes my weekends feel like continuous weekdays. I can't help but look forward to our cable installation next week so I can catch up on my shows. Potatoes gonna potate.

So far I've done a lot of packing and spray painting brass fixtures. There was a whole week of purchasing and returning sink and vent hood products before everyone actually came together and communicated about what could work. That was really frustrating. I had to call and make order cancellations probably five separate times. We figured out why ventilation hasn't been put in before for the range, because there's a structural support beam behind the wall that can't be cut through. The cabinet guy and contractor finally got together and settled on bending the vent into the side cabinet and up through the attic space. Finally.

Also, my mom's upstairs bedrooms are finished being painted a pleasant light green color, and the existing wooden built-in bookcase has been painted a creamy color. I personally would have left it as it was, but it's my mom's room, not mine! Her living room space will be painted today and tomorrow.

The kitchen this week is undergoing some plumbing modifications to reroute water to the refrigerator's ice maker, as well as electrical modifications because that apparently wasn't done correctly when the place was re-wired before.

We're also trying to figure out where the under cabinet lighting will be set for my open shelves. I've been having to shop for lighting this weekend, including a sconce over the window where I decided to go cabinet-free. All of my finishing fixtures have taken on a modern element to the design that I think will work with the space. I'm really, really looking forward to seeing the final product!