Tuesday 8/26, Eric started cuddling me early in the morning and we eventually started doing it then he took off because he was late for work. I called and managed to get an appt a day earlier than my scheduled Thursday appt. Thank god. At work Eric texted that he was going to be in Seattle and would come by later in the evening. I worked just a tad later than usual to make up for the time I knew I would be missing the next day at the derm. I did my 2-miler and ran for a good part of it then on my way home I called Eric who said he was almost to my house and I told him the same and he ended up barely beating me. Anal fun finder, texted it to everyone, received enthusiastic responses back. We hung out in my room and he showered while I called Kassie to see how her and Skylar are doing then started burning more music to my hard drive. It was about 6 and Eric asked if we could get dinner yet so I quickly showered and he wrapped me in a towel, got dressed and out the door. We went to the good Thai place and laughed at the boxer in the next car over who wanted to play poker and pool. We ordered then went to Office Depot so I could get an arm band then back over to pick up the food. Back at my house we waited for Hillary to come on to watch her speech but she didn't for a long time so we turned on SatC and switched back and forth to see if she was on yet. We ate and stuffed ourselves then watched her speech, which was very good I thought, then finished up our episode and watched another and now Eric's not so in love with Big. We went upstairs to get ready for bed and I was still burning and he asked me to come up by him so I put on some mood music and laid with his arms around me and we talked. I finished up the cds then got ready for bed and we talked more before turning the lights off and going to sleep. At 4:05 I received "You can pick me up?" from Eric. I just sighed and put my phone back in my purse. I was tossing and turning, as was Eric, and I didn't really fall back asleep for a while but crashed after he left.

Monday 8/25, Talked to Jess before the day's end and decided to meet at Grandma Marie's for dinner etc. I called and left a message for Eric telling him to call me if he needed anything and that I’m there for him if he needs help. Eric wasn't at home when I arrived so I called and he was at REI and on his way home. I was playing on my computer while he shaved and got ready and we were out the door headed north. Traffic sucked but cleared up once we hit 5. We sat in the living room talking and GM bustled in the kitchen prepping for guests. She asked me if I was laughing at her hair. Then we talked shit about GW and Jess tried to say her Grandma liked him and her Grandma would make horrified faces. Day arrived with food so we took off shortly after for Azteca where our server was quick and very to the point, just the way we like it. No we don't want an appetizer, no we don't want to hear the specials, just give it to us, and quickly please. The bill was paid and we headed out and Eric got Jess with the fake cigarette and she asked why it was funny and Eric responded that he has a seventh grader's sense of humor. We decided to go to downtown Everett to see our school and ended up taking some detours to the red house, MC's house, Jess' Dad's old house and my old house before heading downtown to show him the school. He was impressed then Jess got off the phone with "Willie" and we found a DQ via googl and headed toward it on Evergreen Way but had to detour. We arrived and were laughing about Jess' Mexican pizza. We ordered then took a seat toward the back and talked about terrorists and the shirts we want to wear, especially to "Willie's" Lebanese restaurant. My favorite is the eagle carrying a turban wearing terrorist in it's talons. We were laughing so hard talking about bringing an eagle aboard the plane in a mini body bag. We were seriously in hysterics. Then there was the terrorist dump truck scenario with the turban flapping out the window in mockery. Our conversation came full circle back to the Mexican pizza again on the way out and blizzards and how any tourist would love such American fare. We continued to laugh all the way back to her Grandma's then she begged us not to leave her there but we had to because it was 9 and we both had to work the next morning. I gave her a hug and told her I'd see her in two weeks then we drove home and Eric told me how much he appreciates me and why so that was nice. When we got home we got ready for bed and crawled in and went to sleep.

Sunday 8/24, We got up a little after 9 and got ready and headed out for brunch at Kay-See’s. We had to stop at the store for juice and chicken sausage and when I went to call K to clarify which kind she wanted I saw I had two texts. From Eric. That I hadn’t heard in the middle of the night. The first at 2:32am said: “Will you pick me up and bring me to your house and lock me up for a day?” and the second one at 4:05am stating: “I would like you to take me” so I just stood there, mouth agape then told Eric and he just kind of shook his head. I couldn’t deal with that at that moment and pushed it to the back of my mind and tried to concentrate on sausage. We got the stuff then headed into Seattle and found parking easily and up to her’s where we found her and Ky chatting. Breakfast was almost ready so we hunkered down, chatted, then dished up and started the juicy gossip. The food was so good and I ate a ton and we watched Friends in the background. We hung out there for quite a while checking out shoes online and laughed about Friends and Eric getting hooked on it. We left around noon and headed down to Chrystol and Schuyler’s but hadn’t heard from them so we took a detour by the place with the chair I like but it was closed or something so we went by their house and planned to drop the baby but they were home and spotted Eric, but not before he could plant it. We sat in the living room and talked for a long time and I showed Chrystol the furminator then she went outside and spotted the baby and the sign I’d left “Be my Mama and Dada. Please love me” which Chrystol thought was hilarious. We finally got out the door to the market and it started raining, lightly at first, then much harder and I was under an umbrella but the rest were staying dry under rain coats. I was wearing slippers so my feet were slippery wet. Down at the market it was pouring and there weren’t any pastries out so we ducked into the shops and looked at cute stuff then over to look at my chair and it’s gone up but I still love it. Eric thinks it’s over the top. We eventually headed back and stopped at the store on the way and got donuts and other snacks because somehow Eric and I were hungry again. We walked back to their house and in the process Chrystol and I received some cat calls then chowed down. We watched Lulu go crazy under the rug and I started falling asleep. We decided to hit B&N in U-Village and Chrystol and I took off to check out the art books then the boys joined us and found some penis book that freaked me out because there was a guy with a two foot flaccid one and it totally grossed me out and all I could say was, “That can’t be real. It can’t. You don’t think it’s real do you? It can’t be” but I was overruled. We parted ways because it was about 6 and I needed to go to Grandma’s to drop off her juice so we did that and took the dog out and talked with her for a little bit then went to the store and picked up a few things then home. I showered and Eric got dinner going and I went down and he had it all done so we watched some SatC. We went upstairs and lit some candles and put on some music then got down to it and an hour later and four orgasms under my belt we hopped in the shower then crashed out.

Saturday 8/23, When I woke up Jess was out in the living room with her Mom and was about to go for a run so I settled onto the couch with a stack of mags while Day got breakfast going. I got ready when Jess returned and we kept joking and saying "divert him" and "beguile him" and laughing. We went outside to gauge the temp then back in to wait for breakfast. We finally had some and didn't wait for the rest of the guests to arrive and I talked to Kay-See and gave her info. Jess and I went out to the dock to catch some sun and K called while we were up in the house and needed directions. She finally arrived and the three of us laid out and talked and this boat came up looking for Charlie and Jess filled them in then they left and we were determined to get on a boat by the end of the day. We didn't care who we had to blow. Sike. We went in to have some nachos and I put on Fujiya and Miyagi so Jess could hear who we were going to see while in Dublin. Back outside for more sun and finally onto the jet skis in search of boys. We had a blast and K rode the purple one and eventually got the hang of it and was cruising around. Jess was doing all these tricks and was like "Sure, these guys out here with their new jet skis can do all sorts of tricks, but this piece of shit was made in 1987 and I can still make it MOVE!" and did we ever. K said we got some pretty wicked air. We followed a boat around with a bunch of hot guys for a while and looked for Kyle and came up with a plan to get on their boat and told them we always give Kyle a bj for taking us around. We went to the other side of the lake and I spotted a red head and K and I both liked, then Jess said something very offensive about ds babies in relation to red headed babies. We were all laughing so hard, it was terrible. We decided to head back and lay out some more, without making it onto anyone's boat, but we weren't that heart broken. I could feel I was starting to burn so I tried to lay on my back and soon realized I was very burnt so I sat up on the deck under the umbrella. Some people came by and long story short, this woman getting out of the boat was drunk and tripped onto the dock and broke her arm. I was worried she'd knocked my phone and camera into the water - she didn't. Day called an ambulance and told us to wait out in front of the house. K was like "Ooh, paramedics!" so she took her clothes off so she was in her bathing suit, and so was Jess and I was wearing a see through white tank top with no bra, except I folded it up so that you couldn't see anything, but at first I pretended I was going to leave it, nipples blazing, and we were all laughing hysterically. We flagged them down then hung on the deck and her mom got mad at her which abruptly ended the party. K left and we were pretty much on her heels after packing our things up. We went down to Red Robin to have a drink and I talked to Eric who told me him, Chrystol and Schuyler were going to see Tropic Thunder at 10:15 in Ballard if I wanted to go. So Jess and I snacked and talked and made plans for London then at 8:15 we packed up and left on our respective ways. I made a mad dash for home and talked to both Eric and Chrystol on my way and told them about my face and Chrystol could sympathize and said she'd set aside some stuff for me and had some other tips. At home I hurriedly showered and got ready and back out the door to Ballard and made pretty good time. We hung at their place for a few minutes and I got a nice hug and kiss from Eric and I told them all about my weekend and about the boys on boats and how K was going to have to perform bjs and Eric did an impression of her giving two guys hjs and saying “Nice boat you’ve got here” with the head rocking perfectly and we all laughed so hard and made him do it repeatedly over the weekend. Pretty soon we were on our way over to the theatre on foot and the movie was really hilarious and we were all in hysterics for most of it and Eric and Schuyler pretended to high five each other throughout it and do pull ups on the bars. I think Eric liked the Tony Taglioni preview the best though. We walked back to their house talking about the movie all the way and headed home shortly after. Chrystol had given me a little card thing so I opened that when we got home and it was a really nice note with a picture of me and Kassie from our photo shoot. We got ready for bed and hit the sack.

Friday 8/22, I left straight from work to go up to Jessica's Mom's and talked to Grandma who wasn't feeling good then Eric and sat in traffic for a long time. It took an hour and 40 minutes to make it up there so by the time I arrived I felt a bit frazzled. It was warm out so we got our suits on and helped gas up the jet ski and took off. We went all over trying to find cute guys and went by Kyle's and saw his boat but no sign of him. Jess took us over some waves and we went higher than we've ever gone and it was like slow motion and I was screaming "Ahhh, I'm going to fall off!" and when we finally landed after being repeatedly airborne over like four waves we laughed and laughed with water dripping off. Then another time we were going in circles and the back end slipped out from behind us and we almost went in and Jess couldn't believe I didn't fall off. We went back and Day wanted to know what I wanted for dinner and decided on steak. I showered off and put some clothes on and we hung out talking and enjoying the nice weather. We ate dinner and afterward were craving ice cream so we went down to the little store while Day got the fire on the beach going and checked out the late night locals. We got chocolate peanut butter and Jess called the guy with the long hair, even though they both had long hair. Back to the house with lots of stories being traded then we constructed our banana splits and Jess had about three times the amount I did with way more toppings. We went down to the beach and she filled me in on Tim and all her other goings-on and we were laughing hysterically and I was enthralled with all that's been happening. We stayed down there until it got pretty cold then headed back up and her Mom was asleep on the couch so we crawled into her bed which was incredibly comfortable and one of those elevating beds. We started the Other Boleyn Girl and she fell asleep about 5 minutes into it and I watched for a while then turned it off and went to bed. Maybe 11:30.

Thursday 8/21, I woke up a little early anticipating a call from Sos about breakfast. She called and I woke Ian up and asked him if he wanted to get breakfast but when he looked at the time he said he didn't want to so I finished getting ready and said bye and gave him a hug before I left and was out the door. I got a donut at the store for breakfast and instantly felt guilty for it afterward and vowed to run after work, which I did, and ran most of the two miles only stopping a few times, briefly, to walk and keep a side ache at bay. I came home to a house that looked as if no one had been there despite leaving two sleeping boys there that morning. Ian made it home but never found Silver Platters even though we texted and I told him where it was. I lounged and didn't want to go dancing at all and after a phone call with Susan we decided against it. I got through some mags and relaxed and talked to Eric at some point I'm sure. I showered, ate some leftovers, packed for Jessica's and probably tried to get to bed early.

Wednesday 8/20, The weather was shitty so I was anticipating a call from Ian saying they weren't making the drive but that call never came. Jess called and I'm going up on Friday after work for lake-fun. On my way home I called Ian and told him the weather sucked and he said it was blowing him. He said he'd call when they were on their way to my house around midnight. I called Grandma to tell her the meds were being taken care of and that I would be there later in the evening. I went home and found my new fireplace screen waiting for me on my front stoop and was so excited. I put it together and set it up and took the ac downstairs and my living room looks very nice. I polished off a few mags in between doing last-minute tidying up. I mostly relaxed then ate dinner and checked traffic. At 7 I took off for Grandma's and called Eric and told him why I was really in a bad mood on Sunday and asked him what was wrong with my face as I walked around Walgreens. I hung up so I could pick up the Rx then over to Grandma's where I found her watching some Obama special and got her meds for her and also found the cheesecake. I took Toto out for a little walk and figured out that she's got a couple outlets out then headed on my way over to the house to check up on the dogs. I called Zach but he didn't answer but his car was there so I went in through the garage. We talked about relationships, credit, Vegas, long distance relationships, relationship preferences, staying friends with your exes, Jake and the family dynamic and the letter he found and the dogs. We had a good time just chatting but around 9 I called it good and took off calling Eric back on the way home. We talked for a long time and I told him I didn't know how I was going to make it until midnight when they would probably show up. I was thinking about going to sleep. After hanging up at 10:30 I took care of some things I needed to mail out then showered and got ready for bed and climbed in. Ian called and said they were on their way and it was a little before midnight. I was compiling messages from LPC and going through my myspace inbox. They pulled in around 12:45 and I got hugs from both boys and Ian's hair is so short, his summer cut. I pretty much put them to bed and was reading a little when Ian was like "Karrah? I'm hungry, do you have anything to eat?" so we went downstairs and they had some cereal with blueberries and we sat in the dining room chatting about health insurance, the show (Radiohead), people who pee in the bed and a very brilliant plan of flipping the mattress over with the sheet still on then getting the hell out before your hosts wake up. We all turned in and I told Ian I would wake him up in the morning to see if he still wanted to do breakfast with Sos. I read for 5 minutes and went to bed, but had an extremely hard time falling asleep.

Tuesday 8/19, I went straight home and started cleaning. I had a lot of shit to get done to make my place look halfway presentable so I started right in by getting the kitchen totally spotless then dumped most of the dead plants, dumped the flowers Sos gave me for my birthday, vacuumed the main floor and coffee table grooves, vacuumed the stairs and upstairs, cleaned the guest sink and toilet, did a couple loads of laundry and stored some comforters and organized the second bedroom closet more effectively and cleaned up quite a bit of the clutter on the chest by my bed. I got rid of a few more magazines as well and hung up my Bowie piece and the cd display thing Brandon made me. I got so much done and it felt good but there's still a lot of other things I need to work on, like just fucking finishing the painting that needs to be done. I ate dinner while talking to Eric, curry, and kind of made plans for the weekend then Ian called so we talked for a little while and his plans for the next day and the day after so we'll see how that works out. Talked to Sos next to set up a possible breakfast / coffee with Ian on Thursday. I talked to Alishia for over an hour about her potential new house and her bid and all that and relationships and growing up and it was a really productive call I think. I talked to Susan briefly then worked on this and Kay-See called to make dinner plans so we'll see how that pans out and also for updates but didn't hear any of hers. I showered and got ready for bed and cursed my face. Slept incredibly well, especially since I went to bed before 11.

Monday 8/18, I had to get up early to take the fam to the airport. Dropped them off without incident except Dad's gas gauge came on during the ride back so that freaked me out. Went to the bank and my bf’s accomplice wasn't there to interrogate this time. At home I read some mags and fell asleep for over an hour and just as I was waking up Eric called and I felt bad because I was so incredibly out of it while he was talking and it was just not a very productive conversation. I did some laundry, ate dinner, cheesecake, mags and pretty much lounged and went to bed.

Sunday 8/17, I woke up and Eric was already awake reading so we talked about the blinds and how I needed to go to Whole Foods but we ended up in the shower and both getting off at the same time without even doing it. We both laughed, said the neighbors were probably sick of seeing us naked in that room then both got ready. Eric started on the blinds and I ran my errand and when I got back I finished cleaning the kitchen and rinsed some blueberries and fed some to Eric while he worked away. He had them mounted in no time and they look fantastic. I took garbage and recycling out and had to make many trips with boxes and old blinds and other shit from the garage. I felt very productive. I put the second room back together and kept on with chores then we both laid down and read and Eric started feeling very sleepy. Chrystol called to say they were still on Guemes so we weren’t going to hang out. We eventually decided, after talking for a long time, to get up and head to MI to go to the farmer's market and Luther Burbank but then he pinned me up against the wall then in front of the mirror and we messed around until it was time to shower again and now it was my turn to be sleepy. We scrapped going to MI and sat on the couch downstairs with the fan on and watched some Olympics then some SatC until it was time to go to Mom's. We picked up Grandma and I was in a weird mood; tired, overreacting and feeling ugly because of my face. Eric stopped me when we got out of the car and gave me a hug and asked what was bothering me. We got Grandma and headed over where we found Ernie and Erika, Peggy and Monique and Chip talking and eating. I was only able to get one piece of bread and brie down before Mom handed me a plate filled with veggie curry and pork with peanut sauce. Eric and I sat outside and were joined by some people and the convo was a bit slow so we went back inside where Chip was getting Grandma to eat a ton and I ate a lot more bread and a really delicious goat cheese Peggy had brought. Then it was time for dessert and Mom made a fantastic cheesecake with fresh strawberries and it was so good I ate almost two whole pieces. Drhoov and Akemi showed up so I talked with them a little then as Alix was opening some presents Zach showed up so I got a hug and didn't actually talk to him because Grandma was ready to go but said I'd talk to him later in the week. We collected Grandma's things and leftovers (including more cheesecake!) and headed out after saying bye to everyone. At Grandma's Eric put stuff away and I took Toto out and he did his business and Eric cleaned it up, we said bye to Grandma and headed back to my house, calling Chrystol on the way. Schuyler asked Eric how he got that number and that he better stay away from his old lady. At home we opened all the windows because it was so cool out and there was a nice breeze and stripped down to watch some tv and I read some mags. Eventually we went upstairs and had a big discussion about exes and them staying with you (a la Ian on Wednesday) and how it changes when you get married and compromise and relationships and stubbornness so that was helpful and informative and we got to know one another a little better, but in a totally non-confrontational healthy productive way. I was tired so I turned in and he watched some Olympics and I was out but didn’t sleep well dreaming about picking up the fam to go to the airport.

Saturday 8/16, We woke up and had an early start so I could get my tires fixed. We were out a little before 8 and were still in for a 45 minute wait. We walked up to the Coke plant then waited inside for my car to be finished. We went to Mom's next for the drill and my birthday check and ended up staying for quite a while talking to Mom and Dad. On the way back home we saw the Issaquah Farmer's Market sign and decided to attend, but first we wanted to lay down for a second because we felt exhausted already. We ended up messing around then into the second bedroom shower and a first for me which included standing up and holding on tightly. When we were done we streaked back into my room for towels. We got dressed and out the door calling Sos to see if she wanted to meet us at the market but she wasn't home. At the market I bought a local peach that was delicious and we perused and decided on a hot dog in a sesame seed covered bun. The guy made fun of my shirt for riding up. We watched a sad country show and made fun of little kids. We went back for dessert in the form of a molasses cookie and danish. We sat and watched the cowboy dismantle his set and talked about the chubby Asian baby next to us and how flexible they are. We left and decided to try the art / craft fair at Marymoore. It was so hot we were sweating like crazy but made our way through the stands like champs. I bought a limited edition print from jROD with bees and a gun then found some wire art that was very interesting and different. We finally called it good and headed home. Susan was lounging when we got there and we sat in the living room talking and reading and I tore out some recipes that we decided to try that evening. I fell asleep and woke up to the Olympics on tv. Alix was eating dinner and wasn’t going to come over for a little bit so the three of us took the Rover up to Thriftway to get the ingredients and had a fun time running around picking out blueberries, yogurt and dancing to Hall and Oates. Susan and Eric sang and danced to it and some older guy in the meat aisle was smiling. We checked out and on the way out saw a guy with his shorts up to his belly button and I told Eric that was him in 20 years. We drove back and Alix showed up shortly after Eric started dinner. We talked and sat in the living room and asked Eric if he needed help but he said he didn’t. Dinner was really good and we continued working on the movie trivia while we ate then put on SatC and watched a couple episodes of that then the women’s marathon and the Ukrainian woman won by a long shot. It had cooled quite a bit by 10 so Susan left and Alix left a few minutes later. Eric and I went upstairs to go to bed but stayed up for a while reading and watching more Olympics and finally went to bed.

Friday 8/15, I went to Best Buy to exchange the cd from 2 Christmases ago Jake got me and bought a Devendra Banhart album then over to Whole Foods for some lemonade and some sage deodorant and soap for Sos. At home I relaxed in my underwear and played on the net and read mags and was lazy and talked to Eric who said he would be up after all his stuff, around 11. Susan arrived by 6 and we sat in my room while I think I uploaded more songs or something. We talked until it was time for me to get ready and go over to Sos'. Jake called and asked me to bring candles. I went over and chatted with them while we waited for Kay-See to show and also, apparently, Chrystol and Schuyler. Chrystol called me for directions so I stood on the corner and they spotted me. We sat outside for a few minutes while Schuyler put on his shorts and Chrystol pet one of the feral-ish cats. Sos was shocked the cat was allowing it. Went inside and ended up in the back sitting on the deck talking while Jake got the grill going. Schuyler had his head in the leaves and I told him it wasn't ecstasy and Chrystol and I laughed. I called K but she didn't answer and that didn't bode well. She ended up calling after we'd been eating a ton of Georgian appetizers and said we shouldn't wait and that she was just leaving Wild Waves. We eventually sat down to our Georgian feast and Sos went over the traditions and we tried to get Jake to drink out of the horn. Dinner was amazing and just as good as I remember from college when she made it then as well. We all ate a ton and Chrystol ate almost the entire vessel of veggie tzatzivi by putting it on everything. We had birthday cake as it was getting dark and I mashed my cake up with my ice cream and everyone admired me for it. Eric called right as I was wondering where he was and I told him to come over and arrived about 10 minutes later. We sat outside and continued to talk and listen to neighbors and smell pot wafting through the air from various backyard patios around us. The cat went back and forth on the roof which kept us entertained. Around midnight we started to rustle getting ready to leave and said good byes and headed out. Eric and I laid on my bed and talked for a while but I was so tired I was soon falling asleep so I turned in and he probably watched the Olympics.

Thursday 8/14, Did my emissions after work and came out with a big thumbs up. I went home and relaxed and talked to Susan and made plans for the evening. I went to her house and met Julia and understood why Susan likes her so much. She seems really sweet and very funny and shocked by most of the stories we tell so that’s always hilarious. We started walking and talking on our way to Smith and Susan joked about R being there and punching him, then we walked by and he was totally in there so we split and laughed at how big his eyes were after seeing Susan. We started walking and ended up down by Kingfish still talking and marveling at houses and walked past a certain restaurant and saw Julien and I was like “Dude?” and he said he would come back and chat and while we were waiting I saw John H*user dining in the front but didn’t say hi because of how him and Kassie ended up but I totally recognized him and made a mental note to tell her. We decided to keep going without talking to J because they were really busy and briefly looked for Volunteer Park Café but ultimately decided to go back up to 15th and settled on Thai and got the window seat. I pretend-flirted with a cute (short) boy and said I would ask him to take a picture of us. During our delicious meal I saw Chuck walk by and couldn’t believe I’d seen three people I knew in one night. Cuh-razy. We had a nice dinner with girl talk and relationship talk and other kinds of talk then decided to head back to Susan’s. We walked by Smith but didn’t see R and continued discussing on the way back to her’s. We hung out for a while talking and when it was getting to be close to time to go I went out to my car to put my shoes on and called Eric so I could say hi to him and tell him briefly about my night. Julia ended up ditching but promised to go another time and Susan and I took off for Neighbs. They were playing “Come on Eileen” which was a good omen and we hit the floor right away then grabbed some water from my bartender bf and he had the water waiting for me when we got up. Susan was the one who originally wanted one so we headed out onto the floor with our waters and decided upon the fan spot. The music was good, though I don’t dig all the “mixes” of 80’s songs but I’ll take what I can get. Darren ran over and gave Susan a hug and danced with us for like a half song then disappeared. Richie showed up next and we got hugs and took some pictures and he gave us toothpicks to keep in our mouths and I dug mine. Anything Richie wants me to put in my mouth I do so without question. Ha, sike. My outfit-changing bf was there as well as polio girl and syphilis. Not too many exciting things happened besides good music and seeing a few regulars and no drag show. We decided to call it a night around 12:30 I think and walked to our cars while Susan texted Richie who had already left. Drove home and went to bed.

Wednesday 8/13, Jess called me earlier in the week to confirm our trip to Ireland and how long we wanted to stay and all that so that was fun and she said she's got loads to tell me. I went for a run after work and my new shoes work wonderfully and it actually did feel easier to run, whether it's all in my head or not. I went home and relaaaaaxed. I did a few things around the house but mostly worked on music, this thing and going through magazines. It was a fantastically relaxing evening.

Tuesday 8/12, Eric was home when I arrived and he'd had a productive but somewhat stressful day so I let him vent for about a half hour then I suggested a walk up the hill. We got our outfits on and headed out. We had a nice walk up with lots of talking and laughing and he told me a little more about his family situation. We saw two rabbits on our walk. My new shoes worked wonderfully and Eric said I look like a gazelle when I run. At home I called Mom to see where all the stuff was that she had squirreled away for me and we headed over. They were out to dinner for their anniversary so we played with the dogs a little and got all my stuff and headed over to Grandma's where I dropped off some hair clips. We stopped at the store on the way back for fajita supplies then home where I knew I was bleeding everywhere so Eric got dinner started. He got things going and was done in no time so I got the table set and the dvd in and cleaned some pots and pans while he finished everything up. We watched SatC and ended up finishing up the second season and he was so excited when Big came back. It was 10:30 by the time we finished so we went upstairs and got ready for bed and showered. I read for a little bit and watched the Olympics off and on and eventually turned in and he continued watching.

Monday 8/11, I called Eric on my lunch break to see if he wanted to see Batman right after I got off work and he did so I met him there and we went right in. Luckily we caught the Bond trailer and ended up laughing at all the rest of them because they're all for comic books or something. I really enjoyed the movie and couldn't stop laughing at the hockey pants part. After the movie we headed home and Eric informed me that he'd prepared most of the dinner so we'd be ready to go in no time. I asked him what we were having and he said: fried chicken. He'd pounded it out then had it soaking in milk all afternoon, then whipped up some flour concoction to bread it and heated up a big pan of peanut oil. He'd also marinated some broccoli and pan fried it and I was in charge of the rice. We watched SatC while we ate dinner and I used my new placemats. Everything was so good and I finished all but two bites of the chicken. It was huge. I cleaned up the kitchen while he worked on his resume and turning in an application. I went upstairs to check my stuff and to clean a little and he joined me and asked if I still wanted to go on a walk but I didn't. We talked for a long time then he got some ice cream and I ate a snickers. We talked more in bed and eventually climbed in and watched some of the Olympics. Went to bed.

Sunday 8/10, We woke up by my alarm and laid in bed for about 10 minutes then got our workout gear on, stretched and started up the hill to Starbucks. I was surprised that it was a relatively easy climb considering it's almost 2 miles uphill. We talked and laughed up the hill and I told him not to tell me we were almost there if we weren't. We jogged to the light after it leveled off. We were pretty sweaty as we walked in, Eric ordered me water, we smiled at the man with the enormous Newfoundland and headed back down. We talked about why it's harder for him to get out of bed some days and many "what if"s about his life and mine and how I have a better relationship now with my Mom than I did before. It was a nice walk and I'm glad we did it. At home I swept then headed upstairs and called Ky and decided we'd meet at noon at Panera. We got in the shower and started messing around in there but didn't go too far. I was helping him in the other room with the steamer for his shirt and as I bent over into the tub to fill up the bottle he got all frisky so we ended up doing it on the bed in there. I've never done it in that room so that was a first. We were supposed to meet Ky in 10 minutes so we threw on clothes and rushed around and out the door. Him and P were waiting inside when we got there and we did introductions then ordered food and got a table. We chatted for about 45 minutes then all walked over toward REI with all our matching sunglasses (Eric hates his orange ones, but he still wore them) where we split off from them in search of Chip and running shoes. We perused the Siggs then shoes, but there weren't any so we headed back and hit Shoe Zone where I found a couple but didn't love any of them. At BB&B I picked up a little rug for the downstairs bath and some other stuff. We headed into Bellevue to Sports Authority where I found a bunch of shoes and Eric found ones for me to try on that I never would have tried. The most comfortable ones were the cutest and I had a really hard time picking between some black and pink New Balances with a rainbow front and some black and pink Nikes (two pair) that were both incredibly soft. I ended up getting one of the Nikes that were on sale then got some other running stuff too. We left and stopped at the store on the way home and saw some guy slumped over the hood of a Mercedes outside the liquor store. We looked at the Stumbling Goat menu then watched SatC then got ready. He gave me many compliments and we took some pictures before heading out. He pulled the car up to the front door and off we went into Seattle. We took the scenic route and had a lot of fun talking and joking. We were a little early but they seated us anyway and got going on the menu. Two of the waitresses complimented my cute shoes and I told them Eric picked them out and gave them to me for my birthday and they were ooh-ing and ahh-ing. As they were walking away I heard one say she'd never received shoes like that for her birthday. I beamed at him. We ordered two cheeses, a blue and the La Tur (cow, goat, sheep) which I had at my murder mystery party a million years ago. I ordered the beef special which was two huge raviolis stuffed with beef. Everything was excellent. We cleaned our plates and had a really wonderful time with each other. Instead of enjoying dessert there we decided we'd go old school and go DQ. We drove around Phinney Ridge then down to Greenwood then onto the freeway and to Susan's. I told him about Eric and my relationship and friendship and he said I'm a compassionate person and that he needs a little more of that. We hung at Susan's talking for a little while then drove back to Bellevue to our favorite dessert place. We were dying at the guy's hair coming out the top of his visor. We ate our treats and Eric clarified that if it's under $5 he's allowed to inhale it. I removed my shoes in the car and sighed because they were so sore. He dropped me at the front door and inside we watched the last episode of SatC Season 2 disc 2. We went upstairs and got ready for bed and I read a bit of my Architectural Digest and he his new book but after about 5 minutes I was too tired to keep my eyes open and turned in.

Saturday 8/9, Eric was awake when I woke up and we started messing around then started getting frisky with each other and before I knew it I was getting off in a position I've never been successful in. It was a victorious day already. We got up and showered and sat around until Mom called saying she was coming over so we could go get a table for the spot between the two bookshelves in the dining room. We were both ready when she arrived and she brought in some silk and crocheted items done by Grandma Rose. Eric loaded the old toilet into his car and off he went to hang with Schuyler for the day. Mom and I took off for Redmond and found Cost Plus just fine, but the table was a little trickier. While Mom tried to track it down I picked out placemats. Finally they found it, bought it, loaded it up and we were on our way back home talking about Theresa's wedding. At home I ate something because I was starving then we put the table together and got it all set up. I sat on the couch completely exhausted and told Mom I didn't want to go pick out curtain rods so she left. I went up to my room and turned on SatC then fell asleep listening to music. After about an hour I jumped out of bed to start getting ready for the wedding. I painted my nails and washed my hair, got dressed and headed out the door to pick Michelle up. I was already hungry but didn't get anything in anticipation for dinner. It started raining as soon as we parked and luckily Matt was next to us and helped us in with an extra umbrella. Michelle and I just hung out, picked a table, saw Kay-See in the bathroom with the rest of the bridesmaids and checked out guys. I vowed to get the bar tender in the photo booth without his shirt by the end of the night. Then Michelle came up with a great pickup line "I don't need digits, just a closet" so I wanted her to use it on someone. But she didn't. And I never got that guy in the photo booth either. The service was nice and officiated by Chris and he did a good job. After the ceremony we hung with K and ate appetizers going around on trays. I was like a vulture - starving and hovering for more. We took a ton of pictures in the photo booth over the course of the night, like 20, and had a theme for each one and some of K's were so hilarious. Dinner was really good and I ate a ton then schooled some guy on the Beatles when he tried to tell me they were on the Ed Sullivan show for the first time in 1967 and I was like, Um, no, they weren't even doing live performances anymore by then. Buuuurrrn. Dancing started and we were getting down and Michelle was pushing us around with her ass and I got spanked a lot and Christine wanted to tag team Chris, so we did. White shirt stood on the sidelines with his gf on crutches. Michelle's ex was all over her and K and it was cracking me up. More pictures and more pictures all the way up until the end. I texted Eric and he said he was in Michigan so stopping by to say hi wouldn’t accomplish much. I called Eric to tell him I was on my way out (it was almost 11) and would see him soon. When I arrived he was watching the Olympics or something. I fell asleep pretty quickly because I was exhausted.

Friday 8/8, I talked to Hailey in the morning and told her how to get to my house so she could sleep for a while. When I got home I talked to her again and she said she would be back then I went upstairs and played on my computer for a while. I didn't have to go over to Mom's to dog sit so I relaxed and enjoyed having the house to myself before the weekender(s) arrived. Hailey showed up as I was cleaning the kitchen so we sat and talked and I made mac and cheese and we ate and talked more. She thinks Beau is hot, heh. We went upstairs so I could show her pictures of what my house used to look like and she checked her facebook while we talked. I decided I should get new towels so we left for Linens N Things and ran around laughing and touching things, like the hangover bedroom accessories. I got some towels and a knife. We went home talking about weight loss and had some ice cream. Eric called to say he was on his way and that we should turn on the Olympics so we did and as I was washing pans Hailey yelled "Get in here, there are like a million Asians running" so we watched them Tai Chi and it was very cool. Really beautiful and amazing. I kept up on the kitchen then we watched and Eric showed up. We all watched together until a little after 10 then Hailey had to leave for work. We went upstairs to go to bed and were both so tired we fell asleep.

Thursday 8/7, Sos met me at P's to walk / run and boy did we ever. I did more than I thought I could and was even holding a conversation without panting. We passed a deer that was like 10 feet from us and I freaked out. Mostly because I felt something watching me and when I turned it was RIGHT THERE, looking down at us. We had some good conversations happening and when we got back to P's Sos jumped off the dock. P wanted to show us her fashion show outfit and she looked great and then was off. We took off too and made plans to run again the next week. At home I showered and got ready and ate some leftovers then Susan came over and we hung out in my room and I continued burning music. I had talked to Chrystol previously and made plans to go to her house before Schuyler's show and GO had texted me asking if I was going and that he'd stop by. Susan and I left at the same time and waved bye to each other at Olive. At Chrystol's she was making stamps and encouraged me to make a mess of the pliable material with her new knives. We chatted then walked over to Tractor and I called GO on the way to give him the deets and I’d woken him up. Chrystol and I talked about Eric being kind of gay because he's good at picking out women's shoes and wants to have a hot razor shave or whatever, and the fact that he says it about himself anyway. It cracks me up. At TT we spotted the boys against the far wall when we arrived and hugs were passed around. Sam and I chatted about the songs they were playing that evening for the Guilty Pleasures theme and he was bummed I knew about "Your Body is a Wonderland" but played it off like they weren’t going to. Some of the bands were so incredibly good and hilarious and played songs that weren’t guilty pleasures at all. I would have been proud to stand up and say I liked most of those songs. I spotted GO and he came over and said hi to Sam and Schuyler and I introduced him to Chrystol. The band that went on next played that "I come from the land down under" song and the singer was playing the flute and marching in place and the place went crazy. They did it immense justice. Next was a guy playing the accordion and GO said "This restores my faith in humanity" and we'd voted prior to him playing whether it was going to be really really good or really really bad and we both voted good and we were both right. The HR kept getting pushed back and I was becoming angry especially when that dumb girl with the hat didn't even know the words to the song they just HAD to play. Chrystol was disgruntle as well and saying she hated her ugly hat. Finally the HR went on and you could tell the crowd had no idea what they were playing until the chorus then a few people let out yelps and Chrystol and I went up to the front to take pictures but my battery was dead. They played well but I fear the prior band drove some of the crowd away. After they were done I told C & S I was heading home as it was midnight and GO was too so I found Sam and said bye and asked GO if I could have a ride back to my car. He put on Datarock and was scrolling through all this music. His car is very nice and smelled wonderful. Mmm, new leather. Chrystol called on my way home to make sure I made it to my car ok, drove home, went to bed.

Wednesday 8/6, I went for a walk / run after work then home to clean a little and got ready to meet with people for dinner. I called Kay-See when I was almost there and told her to meet me out front and picked her up and we drove down to Deluxe. We put our name in and wondered what we were going to talk about with Ky and P. They arrived and we talked outside for a bit before our sidewalk-adjacent table was ready. We sat down and gabbed and ordered our $5 hamburgers and discussed all they’d been doing since P’s arrival. I kept checking out guys and Ky was cracking up. After paying we walked to Sbucks so I could get a cookie then we walked down Broadway and we played the motorhome game and taught Ky and he showed us all the empty buildings and I mourned the vacancy of Dilettante. We headed down to Vivace and Jeff was working and we chatted quite a bit and I couldn’t stop looking at his lip ring. He hooked it up and I thanked him and told him maybe I’d see him at Neighbs next week. He had an enormous hickey and as we walked away they all commented on it then on how he has to like me with how he was looking at me. We walked back to my car and I gave the boys a ride home and planned for appetizer night then dropped K off and drove home.

Tuesday 8/5, Eric told me I looked regal before leaving. I received many phone calls throughout the day with lots of singing and well wishes. I made plans with Susan for dinner but first decided to walk and luckily Sos came down and joined me. She brought the pups as well as some beautiful flowers, including hydrangeas. We walked down the trail a while until the dogs were too hot to go on so we turned back and got them into the lake back at P's. We made plans to run on Thursday then she took off. At home I ate a little salad to keep me sustained until dinner at OEShe. I uploaded more music and talked to more people until Susan called to meet her down in Factoria. I talked to Eric on the way down and went in to meet her at the Rack. There were some cute shoes but I resisted. We walked over and I decided to go with something new: beef curry. It was really good and we talked and took pictures then went back to my place. We sat in the living room while I did the music thing and made plans for Thursday. I got a few more calls (Mom and Aubs singing the Beatles' rendition made me laugh) and we mostly just sat and talked until about 9. After Susan left I was getting my lunch stuff together and found a funny note in the bag from Eric with you're and a-lot and sexy minx. Then he called so I talked to him for a long time again and Kassie beeped in so I called her when I was done with him and we talked for a while about lots of topics then I went to bed.

Monday 8/4, I had an eventful morning with Eric smoothing my hair as I dazed in and out of sleep then he said he had to tell me something. At work I found a cute note in my crackers he had written and left for me to find during lunch. I went for a short-ish walk down the trail and used my new ipod which ended up working very well. Now I just need one of those arm band things. Eric called and asked what I was doing and said he was going to be in Seattle and wanted to know if I wanted to hang out. I said yes. At home I continued putting music into itunes and eventually showered. I talked to Susan for a long time then Dad about the river pictures then Eric showed up and he told me about his personal advancements. He's going to move into Seattle, change jobs, sell his car, etc. We discussed that for a while then I told him I'd called Nordstrom in Southcenter and they had my shoes so we hopped in the car and drove down, exchanged, then to Sephora to return the eye lash curler then to H&M for a quick walk through then back to the car. We stopped at the store on the way home and picked up some veggies, hummus and pita bread and some hamburger for HH. He got the app and salad going and I worked my magic on the HH and we talked and joked while cooking and it was really cute. We ate our salads first then entree then settled onto the couch for some SatC. He tried to trick me into telling him how it ends but it totally didn't work. He gave me all this attitude so I held his nipple and when he challenged me that I wouldn't dare, I did and twisted that nipple hard to the left. He apologized then I kissed it. We had fun watching then went upstairs to bed and lit some of the rainbow-color-flame candles and started making out. I was so tired I was falling asleep but then things picked up and I didn't fall asleep.

Sunday 8/3, I set the alarm again but we didn't get up until 9:30 or so. He gave me my last present in bed and it was a pair of peep toe super high heels in kind of a pinkish purplish snake skin. Because I'm his snake lady. They were too small though. We got ready and went to Costco so I could get some lotion then over to Mom's and called Susan on the way. She wasn't able to make it but we made plans to have dinner on my birthday. We talked with Mom while she continued cooking and I cleaned a little then Grandma arrived and we talked with her. Next was Kay-See with blueberry bars that were delicious. We all sat around eating chips and cheese and bread and roasted peppers and talking. Peggy arrived and was very proud of the card she'd made on the computer. Zach showed up with Adrian and Luke who I pegged early on as a nice little treat for K. Everyone mingled inside and on the deck and ate and eventually we were all outside waiting for the show and we were not disappointed. Mom got the cakes out and she did one plain cheesecake with pecan crust and one cheesecake with lemon curd and it was sooo good. I wish I hadn't eaten so much earlier because I would've eaten much more. Plus there were a lot of fresh strawberries and blueberries. We all ended up on the deck and in two groups, me and Zach and then everyone else. Him and I talked for a long time about our respective relationships and tracking down the real meaning of donkey punch. The answer lay between my two theories. Dad made me do hot / cold to find my gift and it was in the kitchen and it was an ipod. They said I could exchange it for a color I wanted so that excited me. More hanging out and the boys helped move the dining room table and Eric later remarked how when Luke grabbed the front he wasn't even holding on anymore because he's so strong. Around 6 everyone filed out and we did hugs and kisses and said goodbyes. Eric and I headed to the mall where we hit the mac store first and I completed the exchange then over to Nordstrom for some mascara. We looked at the shoes and I tried on a bigger size in the black so I knew which size I needed and I was so tall, which Eric loved. We went back to the car and headed into Issaquah and drove into old Issaquah and kept going and saw some hang gliders and Eric was very excited about it. We went to B&N so he could find a book and though he ended up empty handed he got his coffee and home we headed. I started downloading music and trying to figure everything out, with limited success, and Eric insisted on watching some terrible shows. I ended up falling asleep and he woke me up around 10. We went upstairs, I showered, climbed into bed, we watched the news a little and went to sleep.

Saturday 8/2, Set the alarm for 8 and got up and ready to get my oil changed. They weren't ready yet so we drove down to Geraldine's and scored a nice table by the window. I had a delicious herb, havarti and sweet corn scramble and our waiter kept cracking us up by going "Whewwww!" while scrunching his nose and squinting his eyes when he approved of a food item. We had a very nice time and headed back to get my oil changed and Eric kept making faces at me and was baffled by the guys working there. Especially the guy with the tall hat. We headed to Bellevue to Home Depot and picked up my new toilet then over to Best Buy with me being a tease and him threatening that I didn't want to go there, but then detailed all the ways in which he would like to go there. I got the new Ratatat and Dr. Dog and he got Across the Universe. We went back to my house and I was really tired and though he told me to take a nap while he put the toilet in I made myself stay up and do chores. I watered the plants and cut all the dead stuff off then cleaned the kitchen sink and some laundry then wanted to lay down and Eric had installed the toilet so he laid down with me and we both fell asleep. When I woke up he wasn't there and was downstairs trying to fix my stereo, but it wasn't broken, so we had to fix it back. We got the speakers hooked up with some team work then he gave me my second day's worth of presents in the form of that cute little crow I'd liked when we went to that gallery next to the theatre in Tacoma. Also a butter bell, in blue, that will fit in very nicely in my kitchen and some chocolate covered fruit from Dilettante. We were getting hungry so we decided to go grocery shopping for dinner. We went up to the Thriftway 1.7 miles up the road (I clocked it for walking purposes) and ran around the store shopping for ingredients to make stir fried peanut sauced chicken. We perused magazines and he attempted to convince me Maggie G isn't even half as pretty as me. I disagreed. We checked out and back to the house and he started dinner as I got the table ready and cleaned up a little. I was half in charge of the rice and the dinner turned out really good. We watched Across the Universe with the newly hooked up speakers which was great for the soundtrack. Eric fixed up some of the angel food cake Kay-See had made and reduced down some strawberries to make a deliciously fruity topping. I almost fell asleep a few times during the movie but stayed awake for all of it. We took a shower and ended up back downstairs on the couch for fun adult time. Went to bed by midnight or so.

Friday 8/1, Got off work early. At home I started getting ready to go to Kay-See's to hang out and to walk downtown for some necessities. I ate some of the leftover pizza then headed out and traffic wasn't that bad. When I arrived we talked briefly then headed down to Southcenter to go to H&M. We cruised through, both picking up some clothes and accessories then over to Forever 21 but I couldn't even concentrate in there - so much going on. Next it was over to Sephora where I got some tweezers and an eyelash curler. We kept walking and I wanted DQ and then there was one right in front of us so I got an Oreo blizzard and told K "Ask and ye shall receive" and that I'd learned it from the bible and quickly asked if that was from the bible and she just laughed. I still don't know. It sounds like it might be, judging from the "ye". We sat and gawked at all the teens with kids and how ghetto it still is. Next was Nordstrom where I struck out with mascara; apparently only Bellevue and downtown carry YSL. The boy who helped me was very nice though and I tucked in his tag for him. Next over to shoes so K could try on some boots and this old lady was helping people and she was dressed like a motorcycle cop and we couldn’t stop staring. It was hilarious. Then K tweezed a hair out of my chin. In the Nordstrom women's shoe department. Eric called and said he'd probably be there by 10:30. We packed up and ran to get into Macy's in order to get out and drove back to her place. We had some angel food cake then I showed her the messages from both LPC and Ian I'd received the prior day. I think I finally left around 10:15 and called Eric to tell him I was on my way and he was relaxing when I arrived. I showed him my purchases then I think hopped in the shower and we messed around and went to bed by 1:30 or 2 or something.

Thursday 7/31, I confirmed with GO that we were getting together for dinner. After work I did a few things around the house trying to get it ready for the weekend and having Eric up. Traffic was terrible so I left at 6:30 to make it to Tutta Bella by 7. I made it by about 7:07 after circling for parking a few times. I talked to Susan on the way in and it sounded like she wasn't going to make it but I had talked to Chrystol before leaving my house and she said she was in so I was glad someone would be there with me. Walking down to TB I saw Justin R*eser waiting with his band at the back entrance to the Columbia City Theatre so we hugged and he said I better be there right on time. GO was waiting for me and had put my name down but I thought he was kidding. He wasn't. We were seated and had a really hot waiter. We talked while mulling over our choices, ordered, and continued discussing all manner of subjects. Pick up lines and tactics, the ever elusive draw of Asian girls and the two types in the Seattle area. We had a nice dinner and he picked up the tab then we walked to my car so I could stash the leftovers then back down to CCT. Schuyler had called during dinner to say that Susan and I were on the list so I asked him to change Susan to GO so we breezed right in and I saw Sam and Schuyler at the front so we went over and sat with them as Justin played. His set was absolutely amazing and he only played maybe three songs from his album. The electric cello kept me baffled. After his set we talked with S & S and Chris came over and shook my hand and asked me how I was doing then Kenji's band went on and I swore I saw Callie next to me so I texted Hailey and told her and it came back a while later that it was her so I hoped she would show back up so I could say hi. The second set was ok, but I was really excited for Mulally's because I don't think I've seen them since the Easy Street show in W. Seattle which was forever ago. Schuyler, GO and me talked then GO decided he was going to hang his hat up for the night so I walked him out then back in and talked with Schuyler. We chatted and excitedly anticipated Mulally's performance and we weren't let down. Chris came out in a jaunty scarf and started dancing right away. I got the camera out and taped some of it but kept missing his really great moves. He was looking right at me singing and I couldn't not smile and kind of laugh. Callie came back in and we talked for a long time and I missed some of his best stuff prompting Sam to tap me and ask "Are you seeing this?!" It was Justin's last show with them and right before the end of the last song Chris went upstairs and disappeared for like 20 minutes. That was the end of that I guess. Schuyler and I talked while waiting for the next band then Sam came back and said that at Guilty Pleasures night they were mulling over playing "Do You Wanna Touch Me?" and I got very excited. The fourth band went on but I was tired and though Schuyler and I were making jokes about some of the members and laughing I told him I was going to go home. I said bye to Sam on the way out then to Schuyler and ran to my car, drove home and to bed.