25.

I have a friend who has recently jumped back into the dating pool. She is currently keeping this information under wraps because she’s not sure how she feels about the whole thing yet, primarily because she finds herself presently dating a (feel free to whisper this next part to make it sound naughty) younger man. Five years younger.

GASP.

So yeah, she’s 30, he’s 25. They’ve gone out twice so far, but going out doesn’t realy translate to “going out.” They’ve hung out two times now. He informed her yesterday that evidently, this means they’re now dating.

It does? They haven’t gone on a date yet, but they’re dating? Is this a 25 thing? Or is it like middle school when folks announced they were “going together” to all their friends?

He also told her in no uncertain terms that he wants to “take things slowly.” Now, I haven’t dated in quite some time, but when someone makes it a point to announce they want to take things slowly, what they really mean is that know they should take things slowly, but unless the other person involved puts on the brakes, things are going to move quickly. You know, once they start actually going on dates.

Sweet Jesus. Somebody on my team at work made homemade pumpkin bread that is so good I might actually weep. Hold me.

And look! New topic with no transition! So it got cold here in Denver this week – if the English Writing degree falls through, I’m definitely shooting for becoming a weatherman. I’m good at this. Anyway, I’m all excited because it means I get to wear fun sweaters my mother knit for me (shush – deep down, you know you’re jealous) and spend inordinate amounts of time perusing recipes for stews and baked goods.

Attempting to catch up with school work while my family continues to thwart my attempts by routinely getting sick. Ear infection number two for darling daughter and bronchitis for the husband? Sign us up! Woo hoo!

Oy. I need a weekend.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Psssh. I spit on sleep.

Last week wound up being a big pile of bad. Lily’s general discontent was not solely a result of teething. It turned out that she had a raging ear infection that I didn’t recognize for several days and kept attributing towards the cursed molars.

Why hello, raging guilt, nice to see you. Who wins the Mom of the Year award? Me! I do! I do!

After enduring several days of horrifyingly high fevers, we eventually made it through the worst of things. And then, we promptly hopped in the car and drove from Denver to Kansas City, because clearly, that’s the smart thing to do.

Actually, it was necessary. My husband’s parents are not well, and we needed to see them. Aging is hard. Watching people age is hard. His mother went into a nursing home on Monday – if you’re one who prays or would be willing just to send some good thoughts, I know she would appreciate them.

We saw several friends while in KC as well, which was nice, and thanks to the powers that be at priceline.com, we stayed in the swanky Hyatt Crown Center. The last time we pricelined our hotel in KC we also stayed there, but that particular trip corresponded with a massive anime convention; we were introduced to the concept of “cosplay.” Oy.

This time, fortunately, the stay was much quieter.

As far as school is concerned, I’m behind right now. We’ve had way too much illness plaguing the Atwell house, and it’s barely fall! I have papers to write, books to read, and stuff to knit.

OK, sure, the knitting has nothing to do with school, but whatever. I just sneezed all over myself. A pox on my sinuses.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

The Disappearing Act.

Sorry about my absence for the past week and a half. The household came down with some kind of death virus the Friday before last which had me panicking about H1N1, and then my Labor Day weekend was interrupted by my daughter’s two-year molars.

Holy COW. My daughter is normally sweet and sunshiny and generally chipper. The past three days have been miserable. She won’t eat, won’t sleep, and has taken to just saying this over and over, “I want…!” Yeah, doesn’t finish the sentence. That’s not frustrating at all. 

She has turned down M&Ms, folks. It’s that bad.

Somewhat unrelated: I did attempt to use my little cam for a video entry, but as I looked like death warmed over, I opted instead to just film out of my windshield and give you a stunning view of 36 Highway while I was driving my daughter through a nap. The jury is still out as to whether or not I’ll post it here.

Here are some more pleasant things that have happened in the past week:

*My family discovered Berry Patch Farms in Brighton.

*We attended Taste of Colorado last weekend and I sang karaoke on the 103.5 karaoke stage.

*I found a really good recipe for a cold bean salad. Yes, I am so old at this point that good bean recipes are considered highlights.

Annnnnnnnnd that about does it. Next weekend brings a road trip to Kansas City to visit in-laws and attend an improv festival. I am hoping that by Friday, Lily’s damn teeth will be pushed through so that the wildly exciting drive across the plains of Kansas will be at least somewhat more tolerable. Viva I-70!

Posted in Family, Traveling | 2 Comments »