Why Ryan Loves Me (it's not anything you think)

Ryan's favorite thing in the world is when I get all kinds of obsessive about things.  One day, I'm happily going about my business, the next I'm overtaken by the urge to, let's say, hypothetically speaking, get a puppy.  Now. Get a puppy right NOW.

Of course, in this hypothetical, Ryan would have mentioned the three tan beagle/hound puppies that are at the Lakeland shelter where he got our precious darling Isabella.  It's possible I then kept looking at the puppies and pictures of beagles, even after he told me his family's vet recommended we not get one because they might be inclined to howl.  I may have even sent him a few emails and/or text messages he immediately get me a puppy because I was already picking out her harness and bows for her hair.

Today, it might have reached a new level of insanity when I saw the cutest pictures of those two little beagle puppies.  Yes, now we're down to two puppies because obviously someone saw the other one and took her because she was the cutest thing ever.  Naturally, I emailed Ryan a picture then sent him a text message telling him the check his email.  Now, of course, Tiffany is gone.  The calmer dog is gone.  We're down to one beagle puppy here, folks.  So I texted Ryan again and told him to get Maxine.  The text messages might have included things like "I know you're golfing with your friends" and "turn your car around, drive to Lakeland and get me that puppy."  I may have even threatened to quit my job so I could go get the dog.  It's possible I told him that he "can't ignore crazy because it just gets crazier."  Again, hypothetically speaking, of course.

Clearly my most endearing quality is the obsessiveness and he must love the text messages about the fact I will not be ignored, no matter how hard he tries.  I mean, what guy wouldn't want 10 text messages and 3 emails from his significant other, demanding he get her a puppy, while he's trying to golf with the guys?  I'm only asking because my friend wants to know.  It's not like I'd ever do anything like that.  But, if I was asking for me, it would be his fault anyway because he's the one who told me about the puppies to begin with.  Right?  Right.

Lost

Today I was informed my one of my co-workers that she never received an invitation to the wedding. WHAT!?!?!?!

Postal service, this is why you're going out of business.  She is the second person to tell me an invitation has not yet arrived.  I also just got an invitation sent back to me as undeliverable.  I Googled the address and it exists.  It's an apartment building.  I type in the address to the USPS website without an apartment number and it gives me the zip code I have on the invitation.  I add an apartment number, and suddenly, the address ceases to exist.  The address came from the woman's ex-husband and they're not on bad terms.  FedEx recognizes the address.  Why can't the postal service?

I thought maybe it was just me.  Maybe while I was stuffing envelopes and taking Percocet, I checked some off as being finished and in the stack when they weren't.  I already know I forgot to give someone a response card.  Whoops.  But two envelopes?  On two different days?  When I have very distinct memories of both envelopes, including a debate about whether the calligraphy on one of them was good enough?  That's not likely.  And I'm not taking any pain pills now and the address on the envelope mentioned above is right. 

Plus, one of my dad's friends said he thought he sent his response card back almost as soon as he received his invitation but it hasn't arrived at our house yet.  That has absolutely nothing to do with me and whether I've taken a pain pill or two.

I am not a happy camper.  How many other invitations are lost in the mail?  How many response cards won't be returned?  Why is the postal service trying to ruin my life????

Okay, that might have been a bit dramatic.  But I'm still not happy.  Guess it's a good thing I bought extra invitations.

Things That Keep Me Up At Night

Last night, while I was reading for school on the couch and my father was in the recliner, he announced he was heading to bed.  I asked what time it was, and he practically jumped out of his chair as he realized it was 12:20.  A few minutes later, from down the hall, he suggested I go to bed too.  Gee, thanks, Dad.  Way to make me feel like I'm in high school again.  Oh, the joys of moving home when you're 28.

Seriously though, I told him I'd be going to bed soon.  And I did.  Then I wound up laying in my bed, ridiculously tired, but unable to sleep.  Sometime after 1:15, I drifted off. 

The next time I looked a the clock, it was just after 3.  Apparently, my body forgot that I have a sleep
disorder and I was wide awake.  At 3 am, with barely two hours of sleep, my body, which normally craves at least 10 hours of sleep, thought it was time to be awake.  What, you might ask, was I thinking about?  The first thought I remember, other than "oh dear goodness, it's only 3," was about the china coffee server I added to our registry last night. 

Yes, I was laying in bed, unable to fall back asleep, because I was debating whether to keep a china coffee server on our registry and if so, if the pattern I picked really is the closest match to my grandmother's china.  Apparently, my grandmother,who had 24 place settings and two of every serving dish, didn't have a china coffee server.  How did she serve coffee to her guests?  Did I mention that in addition to the 24 place settings, she had another set of really fabulous cups and fancy saucers that look like artist palettes?  Perfect for a sandwich or light snack at an afternoon tea. 

After I concluded the coffee server debate, I started thinking about what to hang on the walls of the apartment and where everything should go.  We have vaulted ceilings with a fireplace that's positioned where the ceiling comes to a point so it's a lot of space to think about.  Also, I think we really should add some peonies into the flowers at the reception.  They really would look lovely.

Serious world problems, y'all, very serious.

I recognize the insanity of not sleeping because you're thinking about wedding flowers and china coffee servers, but it's probably not going to stop me from thinking about them.  Even if I could stop thinking about them while I was awake, I would probably have nightmares in which giant coffee servers were chasing me down or I was surrounded by clashing china.  Great, I think just set myself up for another sleepless night...  Maybe I'll watch the news or some sobering documentary.  I'll probably sleep like a baby.

Negativity

Let me tell you how much I love political ad season.  I don't.

I don't want to get into the actual politics, and I'm not choosing sides, but it seems the ads have taken a turn for the negative, and I'm not a fan.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact Florida's Reublican primary is technically about to take place (we have weeks of early voting and vote-by-mail options so really, voting has been going on for quite some time), or maybe it's just"that time" in the campaign, but I wish it would stop.  I was about to vote for Romney based solely on the fact he had all kinds of positive ads on.  Pretty much, they all said nice things about him, and he always approved the mesage.  Now, it's a mess of Newt v. Romney and Romney v. Newt.  Most of the ads aren't approved by either candidate, but when one of them comes in at the end of the ad and gives his approval, I want to yell, "well you shouldn't have, you idiot."
Surely there's a way for everyone to get their points across without bashing the other candidates.  I'm not talking about something like "so and so has a more consistent record on such and such" or similar messages.  I'm talking about the ones where the candidates practically accuse each other of eating babies.  I mean, seriously now people.

There's enough garbage out there already.  Do we really need one of the two final candidates for president smeared?  Does he really need to attack his opponents?  I fail to see how this is good for our country.  And it's not just the Republicans.  The Democrats are equally guilty.  This year the difference is they's not duking it out in the primaries and turning on each other Lord of the Flies style.

In sum, I think I'll be voting for the next person that puts out something positive.  I'll be giving the candidates with negative ads demarits and the ones with positive ads gold stars.  Yes, that's my highly sophisticated, well-informed, very intelligent voting plan.  If they want to act like they're in elementary school and call each other names, I'm happy to treat them like it.

Jealous?

The news just told me this afternoon it will be 78.  The graphic with the weekly high temperatures said 82.  My biggest weather-related "problem"?  Deciding how to appropriately layer so I don't die when I'm outside and freeze to death inside.  Crazy Floridians are addicted to air conditioning and think it must always be at least 15 degrees colder inside than it is outside (unless it's 60 or below, when the heat is cranked up to 75+).  I am not one of those crazies.

Don't be jealous.  It's not like I'll be at the beach this weekend.  The high is going to drop to the low 70s, which is far too cold for this Tampa native to be outside in beach appropriate attire.

Two Months

Two months from today, Ms. becomes Mrs.  Along with the change in title comes a name change, which will be interesting considering I haven't even chosen what my name will be.  The last name is settled on, and was never really a question, but the middle name, well, that's still being debated (in my head, of course).  New name = new monogram = my towels, robe, and several other things will no longer be correct.  I've also convinced myself it means I can buy lots of new things and monogram them, just because I have a new monogram to use.  I've shown much restraint my entire life, but I firmly believe that if it doesn't move of its own free will, you should monogram it (and if your husband/fiance doesn't move fast enough, you should probably monogram him too). 

Poor Ryan, he's not going to know what hit him.  haha.

Best. Grilled Cheese. Ever.

On a trip to Crate & Barrel to look at everyday drinking glasses for our registry, Ryan and I found this little bit of deliciousness:

 

via

Ideal for grilled cheese, you say?  I was intrigued and obsessed even though I had not even tried it yet.  "We're getting this," I declared.  "I must have it.  It's not a want, it's a NEED."  Ryan, ever the good sport, agreed it would probably be very tasty and I should get some if I wanted it.  Then, proving he's worthy of my love, he suggested we go to Greenwise (the fancy Publix full of organic and fancy tastiness) and pick up a small thing of bread and a few slices of cheese.  Further proof we're meant to be together forever?  We both were thinking Havarti cheese would be best, even before we talked about it.  Oh, and we both thought goat cheese would also be tasty and maybe we should get some of that too.  

I was supposed to study Sunday night.  Instead, we quickly went to the checkout at Crate & Barrel, purchased my small jar of happiness, and went to Greenwise for supplies.  In what is actually a rare occurrence, we were on exactly the same page when it came to food, and we quickly settled on sourdough bread, hit the deli counter, and perused the aisles for other treats.  Ryan likes to call himself a carnivore, though he's clearly an omnivore.  That I am a vegetarian is still beyond his understanding, which leads to much of our food debates.  Soon we were off to the apartment so I could cook up our gourmet meal.

And gourmet it was.  Golden brown buttered sourdough bread, perfectly melted creamy Havarti cheese, and the Fig & Balsamic Magic Spread.  Mmmmmmm.  Next up, was the goat cheese version.  I might have gone a little heavy on the goat cheese, which almost overpowered the spread, but it was still soooooo delicious.  I had half of each sandwich on my plate and went back and forth trying to decide which was better.  Then, Ryan wanted more.  I made him another sandwich, this one with ham, goat cheese, and the Magic Spread.  He only wanted half a sandwich, so of course I had to make another one for myself.

They may have been the most expensive grilled cheese sandwiches either of us had ever made, but they were incredible and worth every penny.  They may have also put both of us over our ideal caloric intake considering the wedding is so close, but I don't care.  I had a protein shake for lunch so I at least started my day off right.

Also, sorry there aren't any pictures of our tasty treats, but we gobbled them up so fast, there was no time for pictures.  I'm sure I'll make them again soon, and will edit this post to include pictures at that time.  You just can't expect a grilled cheese to last long if you put it in front of me.