A Warm Start

New Year 2009

No one can deny that New Year’s Eve in Boston was pretty damn cold. But, it didn’t stop Ellie and I from going in for the First Night celebration. She’d bought our buttons a few days before Christmas, and there was no way we were going to let them go to waste. It wasn’t terribly cold either–I’ve heard horror stories from some people. We did however not do the night in exactly the right order; we started at the Common to see the ice sculptures, then walked to the Hynes to see what was going on there and the beginning of the Grand Procession, then BACK past the Common to the Waterfront to get our FREE (well, we did pay for the buttons you needed to get the ticket) harbor cruise tickets. We’ll probably switch the Hynes and Common if we ever do this again–make better use of our time and take more advantage of the offerings.

Yesterday was another chapter of Christmas and continuation of the New Year revelry. Jere, Em and I went out to North Hampton for the 2nd annual Hot Tubbing Extravaganza. It was an absolute blast, and was definitely worth the crappy driving conditions (only for me of course!!) and the fact that I had to suck up my pride and let them pay for me. I also have to thank them for allowing me to put the money I WAS going to spend on Northeastern Gear (when my reimbursement comes in in a few weeks) onto more waterproof gear for my commuting, so that was a double-blessing. Yes, there WERE shenanigans, and we’re pretty sure our server for dinner wanted us dead, but that’s all really par for the course when we get together. Next year, massages will be back!!

 

Recovery

Well, it’s been way too long since my last post, and I really have no interest in doing a redux post, so I’m not going to. I do plan to post about Christmas and New Year separately however.

Christmas 2009

Christmas was great!! Ellie and I had a 4-part holiday this year because she was required to work. So we opened stockings in the AM, then gifts when she came home. Afterward we hit the road: first my dad’s house for dinner and presents with my folks, then NJ for her annual reunion party and Christmas with her family. Although we were EXHAUSTED when we finally made it back to MA, we had a lot of fun and came bar with a car full of gifts, which are now still mostly spread all over the spare room, although most of the kitchen supplies are put away, as well as the stuff my mom gave us to make over the bathroom (just need to paint and hang shelves, and buy liquid soap for the soap dispenser). BUT, Christmas still isn’t over…I’m getting together with Jere and Em tomorrow for our 2nd annual hot tubbing extravaganza, and we still have to make plans to make the trip to MD for Christmas with her other brother–there was just no way we could physically, mentally or time-wise make the trip then since it was our 3rd trip in 6 weeks. Hopefully we’ll be able to coordinate schedules in the next few weeks to make the trip–but I’m totally leaving THAT up to her

 

Wheels When I Want Them

On a slightly less stressful note, wtbrosie FINALLY has a new car!!! It was not the easiest process, but we are really happy with it so can put all the bullsh** behind us. That ALSO means I have my car back and can now use my new-found time off (today is my last day of employment with the Girl Scouts) to run errands and visit the ‘Deis folks, or see my mom on her days off without having to worry about working out a car schedule. I really wish we had been able to be a one-car family, at least for a little bit longer to save money on insurance and car payments, but it was a huge hassle and I know it would have wound up ugly if we’d had to do it too much longer.

Now that she’s a Mass resident, wtbrosie no longer has to worry about places not accepting her ID for alcohol, which is nice. It also means she’s insured in MA, so I can be added to her policy to hopefully save a ton of money (yay governmental insurance!!)–going to be researching the hows and costs of that tonight.

 

Cruising…Or Not

A couple weeks ago, <a href=’http://wtbrosie.livejournal.com/profile’><img src=’http://www.rosequoll.com/lj/lion.gif’ alt=’userinfo’ width=’17′ height=’17′ style=’vertical-align:bottom;border:0;’></a><a href=’http://wtbrosie.livejournal.com’><b>wtbrosie</b></a>’s car wouldn’t start. AAA came out and couldn’t help at all, so they towed it to a garage. Now, she knew the car was on it’s last legs and needed work, so this was really mainly an excuse to actually bring it to be looked at.  As I’m sure you can all guess, the car has seen it’s last day. The guy called with the diagnosis and offered to hold it until she was able to clean it out and decide if she wanted to junk it or try to get a trade.

When she picked it up yesterday he told her he could have ‘fixed’ the car for her, but he told her it wouldn’t have really made a difference. Then made a suggestion of a dealership, gave advice about the cars she’s been contemplating and also offered to look at whatever car she was thinking to buy. From the interactions she’s had with him, he’s going to be our guy for as long as we’re in the area.

 

Culture Comes in Many Forms

I never talked about our day this past Sunday. Even though it was absolutely disgusting weather-wise, wtbrosie had a full day in Boston. That morning we went into Chinatown for the August Moon Festival. I used to go in with my family as a kid and teen, but I hadn’t been since probably my first year of college. it’s always a ton of fun, and I like begin able to expose wtbrosie to new things, like Dim Sum and Moon Cakes.

Afterwards, we joined the Boston Queer Adventurers and my friends Kim and Mel for Shakespeare in the Park. This is an annual free show performed by the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (formerly affiliated with CitiCenter). This year they did The Comedy of Errors . I haven’t been able to get much theater in due to money and time, so I’m glad this is still happening in Boston–it’s good for the city too.

 

These are the Days of My Life

Well, this has been a hell of a week already. It was recently sprung on wtbrosie that she needed to get her LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) about a month ago, so we ran around like idiots filling out form after form and check after check in order for her to apply, register and take her LCSW test. It was absolutely ridiculous to be honest, but she was finally able to take the test on Monday–with about 3 days to study. She DID pass, so now she is licensed in the state to shrink peoples’ heads. So there’s a pretty good chance she’s going to have a new job in the relatively near future. Not going to get too excited until she signs the paperwork, but things are looking good in that area.

After a wonderful dinner at Savino’s Grill, we met up with wtbrosie’s friend Stephanie at one of the apartments we’d looked at over the weekend. There was one in Wollaston Beach that we loved, but needed to get Stephanie’s approval before we applied for it since she’s going to be living with us. Well, we filled out all the applications yesterday and are signing for it on Saturday.

 

Ivy Wars

When wtbrosie moved into her mom’s childhood home three years ago to go to school, it had been neglected almost completely for about 10 years. Unfortunately there are no pictures, but from wtbrosie’s description, the yard was pretty bad–no sun, ivy and fallen leaves covering every inch of ground, trees and bushes overgrown and tangled. She’s given it everything she has been able to, but things like school and work and illness have been a little more important

This weekend, we took Sunday and Monday as do-nothing days, so spent some time working on the yard. Until this weekend, I never realized JUST how evil a creature ivy can be (if any locals want some ivy, let me know, I’ll be glad to give you some of ours!!). I have a whole new appreciation for what progress she has made–the entire front yard was nothing but ivy, and now it’s mostly grass (still low sunlight). She’s uncovered stepping stones she never knew went around the back of the house, and has opened up so much of the entire area to allow sunlight in. We worked on the side yard/driveway area, and it’s a daunting task to be honest; I’m a little overwhelmed, but it looks so amazing compared to what it was like. We still have some ivy to pull up and some brush to cut back, but I’m totally unused to yard work (or exercise for that matter) so had to bow out early. Plus, wtbrosie was wary of cutting TOO much, so decided to give it a day or two to give it a fresh eye before breaking out the saw and cutters again.

If anyone knows anything about landscaping (the easy stuff like where/how to cut back trees and bushes), we’d like to run some questions by you!

 

First things first: my broken ass is feeling much better now, thanks!!

Today’s my first day back at work after a vacation–took Wed-Wed off, and was in Tampa/St. Pete from Friday-Tuesday. One of Ellie’s friends from high school was getting married, and we decided to make a real vacation out of it. Saturday we went to the Salvador Dali Museum, which was awesome once we finally got there. Too bad we weren’t allowed to take pics. We did find a great cajun restaurant on our walk, where I finally got to try crawfish.

Sunday was the wedding, which was beautiful although small. I will say BBQ was probably NOT the best idea for lunch, but I didn’t hear about any mishaps. The date of one of the bridesmaids created a new drink which we have all dubbed ‘The Screaming Fox’ after the bride’s Fennec Fox. Not really sure what was in it, but it was bright green and delicious!!

Monday was supposed to be Busch Gardens, but it was pouring and thundering in Tampa, so we had to bail on that idea. Instead, we joined some of the bridal party on an excursion to the Florida Aquarium, which is WAY better than the New England Aquarium. The rain had mostly let up, so we wandered around the beaches at Ft. De Soto Park and collected shells, saved some sea urchins and witnessed an osprey eating a fish–I can’t WAIT to see those photos.

 

Another New Home

I spent the entire weekend moving into wtbrosie’s house. Saturday, brontosproximo and robthegodofwar joined us to lug junk to my Dad’s house before going geocasheing. That went very quickly, and my Dad took wtbrosie and I out to lunch with my mom and uncle. We decided to head down to the Wrentham Outlets to see if we could find bathing suits and an outfit for wtbrosie since we’re going to a wedding in Florida next month. I had no luck at all other than getting some idea as to what I should look for in a suit, but she made a few purchases, one being a bathing suit bottom that’s super cute!

Sunday was the big move–everything going to wtbrosie’s house. We picked up a truck form a friend, and I’m really happy I decided we weren’t going to have enough time to head into Boston with my friend–we got to my place at 11:30am, and weren’t packed until 4:30!! Apparently my mattress didn’t fit in the truck, so we had to run out for rope. Then it was so hot we took our time packing the cars.

The only stuff of mine that’s even remotely ‘put away’ are my hanging clothes that are in the closet and the few perishable items I took from the fridge. Everything else is all over the living room, so I’m hoping to take care of some of that tonight–like my bureau & nightstand (along with the crap in the drawers and clean clothes unfolded in my hamper).

 

Weekend Recap

Friday, the Sox were finally able to pull out a win–in a BIG way–and I got to watch it with my girl, a good friend, and her new flat-panel HD TV! And the watching commenced after a fantastic dinner of steak, veggies and potatoes from the grill. This is something that NEEDS to happen again!

Saturday we hung out with wtbrosie’s friend from back home. We bummed around Harvard Sq, then met up with some of their other friends at the Sunset Grill. Alas, my motion-sickness headache was not going away, so I didn’t go to JP later that night for board games and drinking. I’m really starting to get worried about these headaches, and am hoping that the new contact/eyeglass prescription I got yesterday will help me not get them so often and quickly–I basically can’t be a passenger without getting ill, and Saturday was the worst it’s been, I just wasn’t able to recover from it, so wound up lying on the couch all night. If the new Rx doesn’t help, it’s off to the Dr to start running tests, which I do not want to do; we still haven’t quite figured out the sleeping thing!!

Sunday was an overnight with my Girl Scout troop–we went to a Girl Scout overnight at Carousel Family Fun Center in Whitman. It’s been quite a few years since I went roller skating, but it was a lot of fun, and I’m hoping to be able to join the troop next year if they do it again (since I’m sure they’ll need drivers).