Day 1018: So this is life

So...life in Idaho. Is pretty much like this. I work. I spend time with my husband. I write, and craft, and sometimes do kenpo, and hang time with friends. My friends are almost universally my husband's family and friends, but I've more or less made friends with the other people in my department - mostly Adelina, because we're in the same ward and spend way too much time on Google chat catching up with each other and working through loan issues together.

Work was good this week. Busy. It's the end of the month, and apparently the last week of the month is always super crazy, because everyone wants to close before the end of the month. I've had some interesting research projects, and apparently once work slows down I'm going to shadow some people in the other departments, and also I'm going to start working on backlogged accounts receivable, which means tracking people down who owe us money. Always a fun gig, but seeing how complicated our work is, I totally believe we should be paid for it.

This week I did not go to kenpo because I came down with a super raging migraine (read: it hurt so bad it made me cry. Me. Cry. Just sayin'). I finished off all of Netflix's offerings of Lie to Me and also the two discs of Smallville Season 8 I borrowed from the library (Oliver Queen is adorable, Tess needs to go away, I finally don't hate Lana, and I want to see Lois and Clark together so badly), and then I watched the first episode of Ally McBeal, season 5. I remember watching at least the first season of that show when I was a kid because it was one of the few English TV shows in Hong Kong, and it wasn't great, and had questionable morality...but Season 5 has James Marsden. In a suit. Singing. Frank Sinatra. I'm not so fond of Frank Sinatra, but I am fond of James Marsden, and I am especially fond when he's singing. It sorta helped the headache.

I have made absolutely no headway on my novel, which sucks, but then that's life. I figure on the days when I have writer's block I should type up what handwritten business I have so I don't lose it all in case my flat burns down or my journal falls into a puddle or something (the ink I use is water soluble). I have made progress on my lunch break novel. I know I jumped into the thick of the fun stuff in the plot first without building it up enough, but I reckon I can make it work anyways, and it's an exercise in discipline more than anything.

Maybe I should bring the other novel to work and work on it during my lunch breaks instead, and that way I'd get more done.

That's not a bad idea.

I've made progress on my drabble novel, though. I'm rereading back entries so I sort of know where I'm going with future entries. I'm starting to head for unknown territory and reckon I need to take loads of courses in history before this novel will be remotely decent, but hey, it's an excuse to go back to school. Maybe when I'm older and the kids are all grown and out of the house. You know, the kids I don't even have yet.

I had some super good times this weekend. Friday night we went down to Cody's little cousin's baptism (the little cousin he made throw up at a wedding by running with the kid tucked under his arm like a sack of potatoes), and we played piano in the dark after the shindig (Idaho style - baked potatoes with chili on top). I got to see Cody's brothers and chatted with Cody's mom and her sister, who I've never really talked to much before but who is super nice.

On Saturday we went down to Cody's Uncle Mike's place (Uncle Mike being the father of the kid who was baptized on Friday) to watch UFC 144. We told lawyer jokes, because one of his other friends is a lawyer, and I made friends with Cody's girl cousin Madison (Cody had the honor of baptizing her a couple of years ago). The fights were pretty epic. I got to talk to Cody's brothers some more, and got to know his Uncle better. Apparently Uncle Mike lived with Cody's family when Cody was a kid, so Uncle Mike is sort of like the boys' older brother.

Kieran invited us out to his band's gig next Friday night. I'm pretty excited, because we had lots of fun last time we went, and they're a good band. Cody's friend Bob came by to visit today. Bob played guitar in Cody and Steven's band in high school, so we talked, traded mosh pit and comic convention stories, and then the boys played music. It was lovely hearing them play and seeing how happy it made Cody to play again. They played songs they played together in high school, and I got a free acoustic rendition of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here". So we made plans to meet up in Blackfoot Friday night before the concert and jam in Cody's basement (where there are drums), and then we'll all go see Kieran's band play for a couple of hours.

I think I'm finally getting life here in Idaho.

This is life. It's pretty awesome.

My dad got back from China this week, and he and Mom are in California for a conference and family reunion. I'm pretty excited to hear how it all went.

Our home teachers came today - Ashley and Jordan. It was super nice to see them. I shared some of our cake with them - I decided to bake strawberry cake. I was a super domestic goddess today - I made bacon-wrapped chicken covered in parmesan, pasta with an Italian herb cream sauce, and white wine mushrooms. And since I had the oven at the right temperature, I mixed up the cake batter and put it in the oven once the chicken was done. When dinner turns out right, it makes me super happy. I had my first big dinner mishap this week. I've made that meal before, so I shouldn't have screwed it up, and I was pretty embarrassed that it went badly. I had to remind myself that no one was the perfect cook at the outset of marriage.

Unless they went to culinary art school like some people I know.

But we're human and we all make mistakes.

Anyways, Ashley and Jordan have been inquiring minds and have discovered that there are about five total newly-married childless couples in the ward. We figure we'll band together and maybe print up a bunch of t-shirts proclaiming us "team childless" and go to all the family activities together. The way I went to couple-y activities in college with a gang of single, dateless girls. I'm all about being a social rebel.

This week looks like it'll be good.

It turns out Cody's little girl cousin Madison is having her eleventh birthday at the end of the month, and she's the first girl I've met in forever who actually likes Barbies. As it turns out, I have a collection of historical Barbie costume crochet patterns, so I figure I'll make her a super spiffy dress on a costume doll and give it to her for her birthday. It'll be a lot of crocheting, but the supplies will be cheap, and I like making things for people, and I've been sort of aimless without a real project for a while (although I am working through some new tatted mask patterns).

So...life is getting better. I'm happy. I love my husband, who's handsome and smart and generally wonderful. Everything will be okay, people.

I'm not crazy!