Update for the past week or so

I've just realized that I once again forgot to write anything for Monday. Truth be told, life around here has been kindof boring. Same ol' same ol'. Dearest has been sick, and it really tears me apart to see him in pain - he caught a cold, sinus infection, and flu at about the same time and now they've all morphed together into some kind of superflu thing. I don't think he's contagious though, since the worst thing plaguing me is boredom, laziness, and allergies.

A friend of mine has been having some marriage troubles and we've been trying our best to be present and supportive for them. It hurts us to see them hurting this way, which in a way is a little amazing since we haven't known them very long.

Isn't this picture awesome? 

Dearest gets sweeter every day - which is awesome. I'm so very glad to not be in the place we were last year, with him medicated out of his mind and unable to really be a good companion. He's getting a lot better at saying the things I need to hear, even if they sound a little weird. For example, yesterday he assured me that he thinks I smell pretty - not something most girls would think of as something they need to hear, but for someone who desperately misses scented soaps and lotions it's unexpectedly comforting to know that he thinks my non-scent (clean) smells nice. He still doesn't remember when my birthday is, but he remembers our anniversary (he should, since he picked the date) and though he can't remember that I want him to get me flowers for our anniversary he does know that it's essential to my emotional sense of "all is well with the world" that we do something special and out of the ordinary to celebrate. Honestly, since I can't even explain why it's so important that he buy me flowers for our anniversary, I don't mind having to remind him that day. I'd much rather he remember to make dinner plans for us somewhere. He's getting a lot better than he used to be at romance and pushing those mental and emotional buttons that make me feel loved and taken care of, and I really really appreciate all of his efforts.

Our dishwasher broke, making all of his jokes (like, "tell her to get back to it" when I tell him the dishwasher's not working) true. On the bright side, having to wash the dishes by hand is helping me to work on beating my overall laziness when it comes to housework.

We spent...a lot of money...on yard work equipment this week, but it was all things we actually rather desperately needed so I guess I don't feel too bad. I finally got the hedges our neighbor planted - which have since been growing into and taking over our side of the fence - trimmed. I also discovered a few rose plants that have probably never been supported properly and I tied them to each other and the fence with some yarn; not a permanent fix but good enough for the time being. I still have a lot to do with the yard: cleaning up after having trimmed the hedges, supporting the rest of the rose plants, weeding, getting a few potted plants strategically placed and then keeping them alive, that sort of thing. I also have to clean out the fountain that probably hasn't been cleaned or turned on in years.

The inside of my house is much more of the same. Although I did finally get to Laundry Mountain yesterday - with the help of the ironing board Dearest bought me - I still have so much to do and so little motivation to do it. I'm working on it though.

In the last few weeks I've turned a huge canvas shopping bag full of yarn into a canvas bag full of hats for our Imagi-Knit group. Nothing fancy, just beanie-style hats. I love working with the yarn and since I got it for free I have no issues re-donating the hats.

We are still having a few financial struggles, but things are getting so much better. Soon (dear God, please let it be soon) we won't ever have to eat chili again. For those of you who don't know, we've been having chili for lunch and dinner almost every day since January. I, for one, am far past ready to be done.

With my recent download of the Kindle app I've gotten back into novels - which Dearest and my mentor would probably both frown upon. It's a welcome break for me, though, since many of the books I read for the sake of self improvement are fairly dry and quite difficult for me to get through. With a novel, there's nothing to learn or absorb. You just have an adventure in your head and then you're done. Reading the other books has often left me exhausted from the sheer effort it takes to focus and read and absorb what is there. I will get back to them, but for just right now I'm taking a break.

We found a neat new app, called Pirq. It's a coupon app, sort of, and as far as I know just in WA and some areas of OR. It's really fabulous. Businesses sign up with Pirq and put out a limited number of a certain offer to help them get more business, then the users of pirq take advantage of those offers. For example, yesterday we claimed one of twelve available 50% off coupons for a pizza place in the area between 12:30 and 2:30. It was delicious.

I finally finished King of the Hill on Netflix. I tried showing a few episodes to my boss' daughter but I guess to understand the show and think it's funny you had to at least have been alive during the 90s when it was airing and relevant. In any case, that series went on forever! 13 seasons with between 12 and 32 episodes each...LOTS of King of the Hill, and I will probably never watch it again. I have taken all I can take.

Now I'm moving on to Lie to Me, which I've watched before and just need to catch up on. I absolutely adore this show, I love  the Cal Lightman character and the way he interacts with people, and I love the science behind figuring these things out. For those who don't know, Lie to Me is about a firm of people whose sole job is to read people. They know how to pick out microexpressions in body language, how to read what a person is not saying, and how to really get inside the heads of the people they talk to. In the series, their skills are usually called upon to solve mysteries or catch criminals. If you liked Psych or Monk, you'll adore Lie to Me (and if you like Lie to Me, you should check out Psych and Monk, they're more hilarious versions of the same type of thing, minus the microexpression focus.)

That's really all of what's been going on here. Lots and lots of nothing exciting. lol