What Would Jen Do

Archive for August, 2008

i’m just a little bit sick.   my throat started hurting on Friday and I was feeling worn down.   I came home a few hours early and just sat around for the rest of the day and when i woke up on saturday my throat hurt just a little bit more.  The good news is that today I don’t have a sore throat at all, but it seems as if it’s been replaced with a cold.  or at least the beginnings of one.     I’m not really sure how to handle the situation because i’m not sick enough to be bed ridden, which makes me want to get up and do things.    But when I get up and do things I start feeling sick again.    While it sucks to be sick over the long weekend, it’s not like i had huge plans to go on vacation or anything.  I was supposed to have lunch with 2 of the girls today but had to cancel that.  At least I got to see them for a bit anyway.

Tomorrow marks my one year cariversary.   The tags this year cost more than the past 3 years combined on the Chevy.    It’s a pretty good thing I like this car.  Now I kind of want a Honda Pilot but the Scrooge inside of me cannot justify that one at all.

Today on the way out of the neighborhood there was a huge vulture in the street eating some roadkill and its equally huge friend was flying around just above him.  I have never seen a vulture before, very creepy.   I wish I had my camera on me.    It wasn’t even afraid of the car, it just made itself bigger and walked slowly out of the way, like it was no big deal.

right now my neighbor is trying to pull the big tree out of his front yard with his truck.  it’s not going so well.   if anything, it’s fun to watch.

We finally got ON Demand in our neck of the woods.   The library isn’t really that great but what I’m definitely not complaining about is the FEARnet which is an on demand scary movie channel.  HORROR MOVIES!!!   ON DEMAND!!!! I’m in love.

Today Icey and his dad are working on building the garden in the backyard.  It’s vegetables not flowers.   It’s our wedding present from their family.  We’ve been interested in growing our own vegetables for some time now and since his dad and step-mom have been doing it for so long, they offered to help us out.   I have no idea how any of this works. I just get to pick some of what we’ll be growing.

Yesterday we went and saw Tropic Thunder, I didn’t even really know what it was about, which seems to happen a lot when I go to movies with Icey.   (Dark Knight, Sin City, Spiderman, Pineapple Express)  I mean I know what they are about and I hear that they are good, I just don’t pay much attention to the backstory or anything.   But the movie was hilarious.   Lots of great cameos.

I’m just waiting for two more cards to come in the mail and then I will have changed my last name 99%.  I still need a new passport and maybe change my name at the gym and I’m sure there are 1 or 2 other places I’ll figure out I need to change it with.   But the most important things are done.  I told my boss I wanted to stay Ja Smiff at work so he went ahead and ordered a name/date stamp and business cards with my married name on them!  Way to listen!!  I said screw it and I’ll just go ahead and change my name at work too.    Apparently what I want doesn’t really matter.

I made some choco chip cookies today and tossed in some mini marshmallows to about 6 of the cookies.  I semi recommend it.  What’s fun about it is they take on a toasted marshmallow flavor but they make it so the cookie doesn’t stick to itself well, but sticks to the baking pan extra good.    the more i eat, the more i like them.

I ran into Cat today at Sprouts.  FUN!!   we were checking out at the same time and never managed to run into each other in the store.   I looked up and she was at the check out directely across from me, facing me.   I never run into anyone anymore.  When Icey and I first started dating, we couldn’t step into a public place without me running into someone I knew.  That was back when I was popular.

Bulk trash is this week, THANK GOD!  phase one of the great summer of 2008 cleanout is underway!

I think today makes the third time where I WROTE THE WRONG NAME.   I physically cannot sign Jennak I have to sign Ja Smiff.

Happy one month anniversary to me!   oh and Icey too.  

We booked our honeymoon over the weekend, we’ll be spending 5 nights in Hawaii starting on our 3 month anniversary.  How sweet!  We have the ‘romance package’ which doesn’t actually sound so romantic, it’s just reasonably priced.  And we’ll also  be flying first class both ways, because we deserve it.  Bring on the fine china and free champagne!  I’ve taken a total of 10 days (7 work days) off and I cannot wait to get out of this place.   I’m already pretty much packed.  sunscreen, bathing suit, books, flip flops.  done.  

Today i am going to the MVD and am getting my new license  with my new name and new picture.  I think that after that’s taken care of, i will 100% be a Mrs.   I just have to wait for all of the places i submitted the name change to, to update their systems and learn how to physically write my new last name.   Now I have the same last name as my kids.

Part of my birthday present from icey was getting my car windows tinted.   he got that done for me yesterday and i am so excited because i have NEVER had tinted windows on my car before.   The kind we got is supposed to help a lot with heat reduction, so we’ll see how much cooler the inside of the car feels tomorrow after it’s been sitting outside in the sun for a few hours at the gym.

I started the process of changing my last name.  Really I had not intended on doing that so soon, because as I suspected, it’s a lot of work.  But since I HAVE to get a new license in the next few weeks, I figured that I might as well do it now because I would have done it in a few years anyway, which would have meant going back to the DMV.    So I might as well do now what I was going to do in the future.   I have to take care of 2 more banks (really who has 5 banks, what is my problem?)  my car insurance and the DMV and then all the little stuff that comes up that I can’t think of right now.  Yesterday at the bank I am thinking ‘ok write the new name this the new name’ and I still started writing my old last name.     I am actually very very sad to see my last name go it doesn’t seem like I have a new last name.   I’m trying to keep my maiden name as my name at work, while still changing it legally for taxes . but so far they are being pains in the asses about it.    so whatever.

This weekend I was actually serious about it and started TCB’ing around the house.  we cleaned out the guest room and have gotten things ready for bulk trash.  There is just SO much that needs to be done around here that it takes a lot of movitvation to even start.

i’m going thru horror movie withdrawals so if i can finish up some stuff here, i’ll be sitting my butt back on this couch with popcorn and a mojo, watching a skeeery movie.

My birthday was pretty good, I took a four day weekend and ate at golden corral and church’s chicken.  my once a year guilty pleasures. We also went to see pineapple express and my mom came down for lunch.  Tuesday night (my actual birthday) Icey made me dinner and i really didn’t have to do anything.    

Schools started up again last week and traffic is just awful.   The only good thing about summer in AZ is that the freeways are usually free and clear and then once school starts and the snowbirds come back, forget it.

we’re booking the honeymoon this weekend and if everything goes well, we’ll be on the beach in two months, having flown there first class!  you only get one honeymoon (that we know of) so we’re doing it right.

for the past few days I’ve been online obsessively looking for a place to take our honeymoon.  for years i’ve been anti-hawaii because it’s Hawaii and there are so many other tropical places to go that aren’t part of the united states.   I also thought it would be very commerical and stupid.

But I found this resort that looks just awesome and  I keep coming back to it, to read reviews and price packages and see what else you can do at the resort.   AAA and costco both have it on their travel list!

There are no TV’s, no phones, no internets and no A/C.  OMG! (you at least get cell reception you just aren’t allowed to use them unless you are in your room)   But there is beach and food and booze and hammocks and i don’t really need much else.   and speaking of rooms, you get a hut!   

Icey probably has a pretty good idea that i’ve suddenly decided on this place and it’s where we must go.  And yes, i’ve planned my honeymoon around the presidential debates and voting day.  That is how much I love my husband.    you do not mess with him during that time, it’s his crack.  

 Stolen from Trace-Ann.  You can type in words that you like or link it to your webpage and it will pull words for you.   I think it makes a very pretty collage.

As you can see off to the right, I’ve joined Twitter.  you can update it with a play by play of what’s going on in your life.   Mine isn’t connected to my cell, so unless I’m near a computer, no updates.

Last night we went out for Kim’s 30th birthday, I think she had a pretty good time, I didn’t see her very much as I was stuck in a corner or at the other end of the table most of the night.     We’re pretty old and left before midnight, it’s the latest we’ve gone to bed in months.  I’m pretty sure we didn’t even stay out that late when we got married.   Going to bed so late, I woke up at 8am today, freaking out about having ‘wasted my day sleeping’.   The two glasses of wine (or perhaps 2 o’douls) I had, gave me a headache.  I just can’t keep up with these kids anymore.

My birthday is coming up next week, and I’m really excited because this means I get to eat at Golden Corral.  I love buffet!!!  I’m not having a party this year because there was just too much going on and I’m too tired.  I’ve taken a couple of days off and once again I have a lot of big plans in my head about what I’m going to do with those days, but more than likely what will really happen is that i will sit right here on this couch, doing nothing.

Today if this headache ever goes away, I’m going to try my hand at homemade banana bread.  I’ve never made it before but it looks pretty easy and I just happen to have 4 over ripe bananas laying around.  Then I have another ‘baking’ surprise that I’m working on…….

We got a new TV for the bedroom last week, the one we had was pretty old and had a sound problem.  This one is a nice flat screen and it’s a bit bigger than the old one.   Icey also replaced the kitchen lights yesterday so that I don’t have to cook in the dark anymore.    slowly but surely, we’re TCB around here.