So I’m working from home today on account of I have some sniffles, and I’ve been taking quick naps (off the clock, don’t worry. 
During one 15 minute snooze, I was surprised to discover it was accompanied by some Richard Marx. And then later, a little Gavin DeGraw.
Wonder if it’s all the drugs I’m on …
The husband is turning 30 next month, which means he gets to have the best. party. ever. And I’m in charge! <gulp>
He has requested a firefly-themed murder mystery, and so that means I have my work cut out for me. <double gulp>
In preparation for the event, I knitted a couple of Jayne hats. One for the birthday boy, and one for a party prize. They really are quite cunning, someone is going to leave the party in style!
So now that THAT’S out of the way, time to get down to the story-writing. And character assignment. And invitations. And menu-planning. (Moldy-protein-chocolate-cake, anyone?)
I have decided on the title of this year’s story, and that’s ‘Serenity Stranded.’ As can be guessed from the title, Serenity is stuck … somewhere (still working on that part) … and it is up to the party-goers to figure out who’s the culprit! I just couldn’t bear offing someone in the firefly ‘verse, (even though Joss doesn’t mind it) so this year’s murder mystery will be short on murder. But hopefully not mystery!
Now to get busy writing …
No less than TWO of my family members were starting to worry about me since I haven’t posted in awhile. So yeah, here I am, still alive!
So, just to recap, in my time away from blogging, I:
got summoned for Jury Duty
had Christmas in Texas
decided to write another murder mystery
knitted two Jayne hats
knitted a pirate sock and a half
decided to host a candle party
bought some new sweaters in 75% off January
got pretty and went to the husband’s company party
bought travel books for Italy!
and, talked to a financial planner.
Except for my time in Texas, I have been freeeeezing the entire time. The butt-cold does NOT agree with me.
And I am exhausted. I know I just had a holiday with New Years and all, but I am so ready for this upcoming 3-day weekend. So very ready.
I just knitted a SKULL and CROSSBONES.
‘nuf said.
It is official: the number-one keyword search that brought people to my site over the last 30 days was ‘cowgirl pants.’ With 3 hits, it has overcome the previous champion, ‘akaemi.’ Which, um, if you can spell akaemi right to google it, how hard is it to just put akaemi.com in the url bar?
Just sayin’.
So while on my Kohling adventures, I took a stroll through the towels to try to find something suitable for my new bathroom.
With sage-green walls and light-taupe tile, I was leaning toward an orangey-rusty accent color, but the husband nixed that idea. He hates red, orange, and everything in that color family, so that was a no-go. Seeing that the master bath is where he starts the day, I figure he should get some say in how it’s decorated.
So we decided on purple. But purple is kind of on the outs in bath colors at the moment, so it’s been hard to find a shade + texture that met my standards. Every kind of green is available, as are neutrals (white, ivory, taupe, brown, chocolate, it’s all in your local bath store). But purple is a more elusive find.
But I found the towels! By none other than Vera Wang. They are thick and luxurious, and they come in a lovely plum that accents my sage bathroom nicely.
And the husband approves. So now I have wonderfully luxurious plum and taupe towels for my new bathroom. Now all I need is bathroom shelves (or maybe a bench?), and my new room will be complete.
In church today was the annual ‘Primary Program’, where all the kids age 3-11 sit up front, sing, and each take a turn at the mic to say something truly inspirational. Being the teacher of the nine-year olds, that meant I also had to sit up front, sing, and take my turn at the mic to say something truly inspirational.
Two weeks ago, they informed us that we’d be singing a cutesy li’l duet, kids vs. teachers.
Now, God has blessed me with many talents. He did not feel the need, however, to bless me with any real vocal talent.
<We will now take a break to explain the akaemi singing-voice classification system. Starting at the top, there are solo voices, small ensemble voices, small choir voices, large choir voices, congregational voices, and the please-don’t-sing-not-even-in-the-shower-voices.>
So I have a congregational voice - with a little practice, I can do ok in a large choir. But two-weeks notice that I’ll be taking part in a small choir - who are spread out among all the children, so that makes it more like a small ensemble - is absolutely horrifying. For me, as well as anybody who has to listen to it.
But today after the program, I asked the husband how it all sounded. And he said he didn’t notice the teacher singing part. That he kept waiting for it, but he assumed it never happened.
Whew, that’s a relief! If the one person in the congregation who even cares about my existence didn’t notice me singing and failing, that pretty much means no one did.
Today at Kohls on my quest for jeans that fit (yay for curvy Levis!), I saw something that made me stop and take a look: Vera Wang hand bags.
I love purses. At any given time, I try to keep my collection to less than ten, but it’s hard. I have to admit, I can’t tell the difference between a vuitton or a or a spade, and I will likely never own a ‘real’ purse. My 
purses all come from Target, Penneys or Kohls.
But back to the purses! They are a little larger than I’m used to, but they are oh-so pretty. I’m considering saving up my allowance to buy my first over-$50 purse. Or maybe I’ll just wait for a crazy-sale day …
So yesterday, as I was avoiding work by seeing what google reader had for me, I came across this gem from thinkgeek.com: origami post-it notes!
Ingenious. They have combined my love for office supplies with my love for origami! What will they think of next?
3 years ago, the husband and I took the plunge and bought a house. It was 2005, and housing was booming. Lenders were willing to loan ridiculous amounts of money. In fact, they scoffed at the “modest” amount of money the husband and I requested. They offered to loan us twice as much, but we declined; we knew how much money we made, we knew how much other debt we had, and we knew what kind of lifestyle we wanted to maintain.
And so we got a loan we could afford. We took a risk with an ARM, but even in a worst-case scenario, we knew we’d be able to afford the payments.
Silly us! If we had over-extended ourselves, we’d be able to renegotiate our loan terms. Instead of being stuck with a loan for twice as much as what our foreclosing neighbor is selling her house for, we might be able to get our principal reduced. Or get our ARM converted to a standard loan.
But, alas, we were responsible. And so there is no help for us.