tobermory's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's to Laurie! So. OK then, this one�s for Laurie! After a looooong break, I�m back � at least for now. I slacked off because , hey, I�m a slacktastic, slackerlicious slacker. And lazy to boot. But I�m back because Laurie was nice enough to drop me a line and say that she missed me and knowing that there was someone out there interested in my writerly drivel flattered my most base instincts. Who am I to disappoint? Lots has happened at Chez Paula over the last few months. Two most notable things are (one) that the old Jeep Cherokee has been replaced. Not in my heart mind you � if Jeep were smart enough to continue selling the old style Cherokee I�d still count myself as a loyal Jeep customer because I loved that old beast of a car (truck? SUV?) and would have happily bought a newer version if they made one with the same body-style (the Liberty is not for me). I would have just kept driving the Cherokee until it bit the dust completely but my brother made me an offer I couldn�t refuse � top Blue Book value. Plus, since my commute to work is about 40+ miles roundtrip the ballooning gas prices weren�t doing me any favors - the Jeepster only got about 14 miles to the gallon (shhhhhh�. I know the mileage should have been better but I kinda have a leadfoot). I splurged and bought a Ford Escape Hybrid � pretty swanky. In one fell swoop I emptied out a bank account and moved into the 21st Century. Jeep: crank windows, manual doorlocks, mildly scuffy cloth seats, simple dashboard. Escape: power everything, leather seats, navigation system. I don�t love it yet, but I�m liking the conveniences. I feel a little less rugged and a lot more conventional. I�ll try to document when I finally start to love the car � right now I still look out the back window and wonder who�s parked in my space � duh! It�s just the new car. Plus, I need a name for it. I�m not usually a car-namer, but since this one came with a pleasant voiced woman who keeps me from getting lost I feel that I should give it a name. Maybe I�ll call the car Donna Reed since that�s who she sounds like. Or, I could expound on the Escape theme and name it Rupert Holmes (in honor of the Pina Colada Escape song). Speaking of emptying out bank account, big event number two is that the house thing finally broke free from the death-grip of Estate Court, so beginning when Steve and I (finally) close on the house in about 3 weeks I will become instantly less fun. Having no mortgage for the past 2 � years has allowed me to become a bit, shall we say, fiscally irresponsible? That might be a little harsh � I pay all my bills on-time and in-full (of course I do � there was no mortgage to pay!) but I imagine that the mortgage, taxes, utilities and the massive amount of remodeling that we need to do to get the upstairs livable will put a cramp in my flying to New York on a whim, buying expensive concert tickets, whimsical purses, spa visits, Trish McEvoy make-up binges, etc. I don�t intend to become a churchmouse, but I think I might have to impose a budget on myself. Especially if I want one of those fancy restaurant style kitchen faucet sprayer thingies and a stainless steel counter-top. Whatever � it will all be worth it. Plus, since most (actually all) of our wedding gifts are still never used in their original packaging I�ll get to quell my shopping urges by going �shopping� in my own basement when I get to unpack our gifts. I honestly have no idea what our flatware looks like. Ditto the everyday china. It�s going to be like getting married all over again, but this time I won�t have to write Thank You notes! On the cat front, the mystery pee-er is a mystery no more. I caught Ivy in the act. Naughty little bugger. The worst part is that I was spending $60/month on Valium for her that Was. Not. Working. Happily after an emergency call to the vet where I was practically crying because I just couldn�t take it anymore and I thought I was going to have to walk the Green Mile with her the vet gave me a new prescription to try. Now she�s on Elavil and that�s only $10/month � and most importantly, IT WORKS. Sure, Ivy�s a little woozy and zombie-esque and the side effect of dizziness makes her get all freaked out if I pick her up too fast, but my home has remained pee-free for about two months now. I�m willing to trade in my fun zippy cat for the Night of the Living Dead version because I don�t have to sniff my couch/bed/chair every time I come home. I had been reduced to sitting on a wooden grade school desk chair � normally only used to sit on to tie my shoes � when I watched tv. It made my Gilmore Girls and (new fave) Prison Break tivo marathons most unpleasant � my kiester is still screaming from the last time I tried to watch two consecutive hour-long shows. I�m still a little gun-shy � the couch is still tarped and I have the shower curtain on the bed, but I�m starting to think that the worst is over and soon I may be able to lead a plastic free life again. I�m getting wordy here, so I�ll end with my new-beauty product pick: DermaNew Satin Screen Firming Daily Moisture (SPF 15). I only have a sample packet that I got with an online order from Sephora, but I crave a full bottle. It smells heavenly (not perfume-y � more like expensive spa-y) and when I use it for my afternoon forehead moisture session (less of session than a hurried application in my cube) it plumps up the fine lines instantly and leaves me just a little dewy looking. At $60 a crack I probably won�t be buying it anytime soon, but once all my other moisturizers are finis then I just might splurge. If you try it, just don�t be a moisture junkie like I was. I thought � hey! If it�s good for the fine lines on my forehead I bet it will work wonders under my eyes. Yes, it did work wonders on the fine lines, but my eyes were watering for the rest of the day. That will teach me to stick to the eye products for the eye area in the future. And so, ta-ta until next time - which will hopefully not be months from now! 3:47 p.m. - 2005-11-21 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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