Little Help?

Husband and I raised our voices to each other yesterday.

You see, I was running around the apartment trying to tidy up so that I could make a huge mess later with all the baking I had planned for that afternoon.

Have you ever noticed that if you're running around tidying up, and someone else is sitting and doing something more relaxing that it gives you just a little twinge of resentment? Well I was feeling that little twinge for the last week or so, and yesterday it started to grow.

And when I went to do the dishes (the task that I hate above all others) I found the proverbial hair that broke the proverbial camel's back. It was a large dirty bowl filled with dirty water, and a plate sitting inside of the bowl and neatly sealing it off.

"Husband, can you come here a second? I want to show you something," I said in a fake-sweet tone. I walked over to the door of "his room" and beckoned with one finger.

"If you're going to complain about something I do that bothers you can I complain about all the things that you do that bother me?" He said as he reluctantly got up out of his chair.

I pointed out the plate-in-bowl issue and he looked at me like I'd lost my mind. "I just really hate when you do that," I said, "It's hard to get it out."

He then picked up the bowl and tipped it over so that the water came pouring out and the plate went with it. "Was that so hard?"

"Well, I just want a little help around here! You complain that I never do the dishes, so you could at least make it easier for me when I do!"

"No, you just think it's slavery if you have to do the dishes once a week!"

"I've done the dishes four times this week!" (Yes, I had been counting.)

"Then the dishes are getting done twice a day!"

It went on like that for about five minutes. The point is this: how is it possible that I feel like I'm the only one who does any work around the house, and he also feels like he's the only one who does any work around the house? I would really love to have a third party fly-on-the wall observe us and determine who actually does "all the work around the house."

But then again, Husband would probably get angry when that third party points out that I was right and he was wrong. ;)

Crying Over Rotten Asparagus

In one of my earliest posts I mentioned that one of my goals is to develop healthier eating habits. One of the biggest obstacles to reaching that goal is that I can never seem to eat the fresh fruits and vegetables I buy before they go bad.



Last night I got out some asparagus that I bought on Saturday so that I could cook it for dinner and was so aggravated to find that it had already gone bad. After some Internet searching I learned that asparagus only has a shelf-life of 2 to 3 days. I'll keep that in mind next time I go shopping, and plan to cook asparagus the day I buy it.



In my digging I found this article from Real Simple about how to keep produce fresh. This article also explains why the carrots I bought a couple weeks ago went bad: I left the greens on them when I put them in the fridge.



I'm amazed at how much I didn't know about storing food. If you have any tips about how to keep things fresh, please share!

Getting By Without A Car

I've managed just a little over a week without my car, and I've got to say, it's not so bad.

At first it was hard, because the bus schedules are so tight that my chance of catching my last connecting bus home was pretty slim. I learned that the hard way when I found myself stranded at a cold dark bus depot frantically dialing my friends' numbers. (You're a life saver, LA!)

After that ordeal, I found myself scouring the Internet for alternatives. Today, I think I've finally got it all figured out. Here's my new and improved plan:

I take a bus from the mall by my apartment for $.50 all the way to the nearby airport. From there, I can get on a Metro bus for $3. It takes me to the same Metro station that the commuter bus was taking me to for half the price! Then it $2.60 to take the Metro to a station near my office.

In the afternoon, it's a little bit trickier. I take the Metro a little further this time for $3.85. I catch a Commuter bus out of that station which only costs $1.75. It lets off at a shopping center that's a couple miles from my apartment. If the Gods are smiling on me, I can take a $.50 connector, but it's more likely that I'll be walking back to my apartment.

Before, I was paying $10 or so one way making my daily commuting cost $20! With my new plan, I'm only spending $11.7o a day! That is slashing my cost by almost half. Woot.

And, as an added bonus, with all the walking (and when time isn't on my side running) I've been doing, I feel like I'm making up for some missed workouts.

Decking the Halls

Ok, I admit it. I LOVE Christmas! Once Thanksgiving is over every year, you can find me singing carols, thinking about gifts, decorating my house, baking, and doing lots of other Yuletide things. In fact, in the years since I gave up Christianity, I've found that I am automatically converted back to Christianity every December. Glory to God in the Highest! And on Earth peace, goodwill toward men!

Here's what I've been up to in the first week of December:

I bought a Christmas tree, set it up, and decorated it all by my self! My Grinch of a husband insisted that Christmas trees are too much trouble, and If I wanted one it was my responsibility and he would have no part of it. (Bah Humbug!) Besides, shouldn't I be saving my money to get my car fixed?

Silly Husband! Didn't you know I could save money by making my own ornaments? I made this one with instructions from the queen of crafts herself, Martha Stewart. They weren't terribly difficult, but you should allow 24 hours to dry the glue.

Also, you knew I was making Christmas stockings. They're finally finished! Trouble is, without a fireplace, I don't know where to put them.

Finally, here's the Creche that I found at a thrift

store:

I learned a new trick!

Last night was date night. I'm still doing without a car, and Husband came to pick me up from the bus station. He was in a sour mood from the moment I opened the car door. When I asked him where he wanted to go for dinner, he insisted that he wasn't hungry. When "Bohemian Rhapsody" came on the radio, he got mad at me for singing along. When I asked what he was wrong he said "nothing." When I asked him what he did today, "nothing."

We eventually decided to go to the Macaroni Grill. After about ten minutes of his one word answers, I was fed up. "What the hell do you have up your ass tonight?"

Eyes wide, he said "That was mean!"

"I'm sorry, but you're being grumpy even for you."

That seemed to shock him back to normal, and his mood improved vastly after that; he was laughing and making jokes. Perhaps I'll have to start using this tough-love approach more often!

What I want to be when I grow up:

Can I just say that I love my mother? And I promise I'm not just saying that because she'll probably read it. I think a lot about how lucky I am to have such a great family, especially my momma. There are so many daughters out there who have these contentious relationships with their mothers, and I'm happy to say I'm not one of them. I like spending time with Momma, and I sometimes get jealous when she's too busy for me.

Also, my home would be a wreck without her. For some reason, I just didn't inherit her eye for design. Shortly after I moved into my current apartment, she came over and appraised the decor, then asked if she could rearrange a few things. All she did was move some furniture around and add a few throw pillows, and the place suddenly looked like a proper home rather than a dorm room.

When I think about motherhood and parenting, I always come to the conclusion that I should emulate her style. There were all these little things that she did that made me feel loved, and a little spoiled. Here are a few examples:

Blow-drying my hair after a bath, and blowing the warm air onto my cold, bare skin.

Secretly going into my room and tidying it up while I was at school.

Taking me on spontaneous adventures. (A friend and I were recently reminiscing about how we were playing together and Momma said "come on girls, we're going out!" And took us horseback riding)

Providing me with a mug of hot-chocolate to sip while waiting for the school bus on winter mornings.

There are so many other little things like this! In fact, here is an excerpt from an e-mail she sent today:

AND I got the sofa for you (the white one at auction). I would like to
come out this evening and switch so we can try it on. B and I LOVE
it!! So, if you WANT, why don't we play with your house tonight? We can
move the futon back to Husband's office, and see how this sofa looks.

I'm looking forward to it!

Anyone know a mechanic that specializes in exorcisms?

So, my car is possessed by demons. I won't go into the details, but what it comes down to is that it is not safe to drive and is going to cost a fortune to be repaired.

Husband insisted that he would not allow me to "commandeer" his car as I have in the past when mine was out of commission. So, for now, I'm taking public transportation.

Now, I'm a big supporter of public transportation. If I could, I would get rid of the car altogether and use only public transportation and my own two feet to get around. Unfortunately, as this map illustrates, I live really far away from, well, everything!

But, I can manage. Here's what I did this morning: I walked to the mall in my back yard where I was able to catch a bus to a local commuter parking lot. From there, I catch another bus to a Metro Station where I catch a train which stops within a few blocks of my office. That's all fine, until you break down the costs.

Bus #1 -- $.50

Bus #2 -- $7

Metro -- $2.60

That's about $10. Double it, (because at the end of the day I have to go back home) and that's $20 a day!

For now, though, I don't think I have any other options.