Friday 12/12, I did more research on Greek names for the dog and I think I've got a winner. I keep looking at the dog I want online and hope he stays there. I had broccoli and carrots for dinner then headed to Home Depot for Lish and picked up a new bathroom fan / light. I went home and put on Bear then Eric showed up and we laughed and argued while watching the Oprah / Tom Cruise special. We went upstairs and I got ready for bed and by the time I climbed in Eric was almost asleep so I rubbed his back then read a mag and went to sleep.

Thursday 12/11, Had our Rainier Club holiday lunch and got out of most of the day's work. I told Mom my plan for adopting and she was very excited. After work I went home and wrapped presents and did some stuff around the house. I was tired and wanted to be at home. I talked to Eric then Kassie for a long time about presents and trips and Christmas presents. I went to bed around 11.

Wednesday 12/10, Eric called while I was at work to see if I would be around, and I was, so he said he would be up. I kept looking at animals online and found one in particular that I like but don't know if he'll still be there in a few weeks (Shelton). Eric arrived and I showed him what I was thinking and he had some ideas too and I was like "Cute shirt!" because it had a tree on it with a Seattle silhouette. We laid there for a while and looked at animals in Tacoma online and it's incredibly sad, the Bellevue facility is so much nicer in comparison, but that's not a huge surprise. Just sad. We left for Costco and once there I picked up a few things and we checked out some dog stuff and overall had a nice adventure. On the way to the car he kept hitting my butt with the wrapping paper and being like "Oh excuse me ma'am" and I hit him in the arm. We went home and he made grilled cheese and tomato soup with sour cream and we ate while watching SatC. We polished off Season 6 Part 1 and went upstairs to go to bed. We laid talking for a long time then he wanted to watch tv and I had a freak out and we got into it and I snapped at him then rolled over. He apologized and we made up and went to bed. No tv.

Tuesday 12/9, Went to PCC for a few things then home and ran around doing some things to keep warm while my room heated up. Wrapped some presents, talked to Susan, talked to Eric, played on the computer and looked at the humane society website some more along with other strategic dog-acquiring items. Not sure where this is going, but we'll see after Christmas. I went to bed after showering and reading. About 11.

Monday 12/8, I rushed home to see if Eric was there, but he wasn't so I got online to see when the shelter closed and tried to call his cell but deduced it must be dead. About 15 minutes later he pulled in and I asked him if he wanted to go, he said yes, we hopped in the car, drove down and got there pretty quickly. We looked at some cats first and Eric had his favorite, a Jacques look-a-like with a couple white hairs on his chest. Next we headed out to the dogs to look for Tim but never found him. We saw a lot of wonderful dogs and there were so many I wanted to pet because they looked so sad. It breaks my heart. There was a jack russell named Cassie that Eric liked and a few others that stuck out in my mind. Pepper is a barker. A lot were just sleeping through it or hiding in the outer part of their kennel, which made me incredibly sad. Gentle giants. Anyway, back inside to look at more cats and some of them were real jerks hissing at the others but some were very nice and Eric kept picking out all sorts of favorites. We stayed until 6 and called Kassie on the way back because she had ebay questions. At home I sent Tim to Kassie and Eric made dinner. We watched some shows and I continued looking at adoptable animals on various rescue and shelter sites. There's something like 10 million animals living on the streets and their life expectancy is less than two years under such circumstances. We watched my "favorite show" and Eric got me ice cream then we cuddled. I uploaded some pics to flickr from Oahu, but my computer was going slow so that's where I stopped. Up to bed where Eric was almost asleep, I showered, got ready for bed and thanked him for the sweet note I found in my medicine cabinet. We talked in bed for a little while then I rubbed his back while he fell asleep. I read for a little bit then to sleep.

Sunday 12/7, I woke up late, like 10, and told Eric to start waking me up and not sneak downstairs. He was making another quiche, this time with brie and less half and half. I was tired and didn't want to do anything so I sat there while he rattled off things to do and I finally suggested going into Kirkland to walk around. We got dressed and out the door, found parking and started walking. So much has changed down there it's crazy. We stopped in a lot of shops and I found some things for Kass and Mom. I had a crazy hot flash and started to feel like I was going to pass out so I had to sit down and Eric tended to me wonderfully getting me a cookie and some water. I felt shaky and weird. Oh well. Then we went to Sur la Table and I started talking to myself but thought Eric was right there. He wasn't. Some lady was. I said "What the hell is this thing?" then noticed Eric's absence. I found a million things I want but only got a present for Mom. We walked back to the car and drove along the waterfront toward Bellevue and noticed open house signs in front of the Marsh Mansion and I was so excited to finally see the inside to some of these things. We went in and it was beautiful. I thought they were condos, but no, 6,000 sqf and beautifully completed. Insane. We were in awe. Then went up to the other one, not as impressive, but still nice and I'm glad I saw them. Drove into Bellevue and went to B&N to scope out desert living magazines, came up fairly empty. Stopped at the store for dinner supplies, drove home and relaxed. Eric watched football all afternoon. I told Mom we weren't coming over and Eric fixed me some quiche while I talked to Susan. We watched my shows and for some reason Eric wasn't sleepy and wanted to stay up. He would feel it in the morning.

Saturday 12/6, Eric was downstairs when I got up and insisted on making breakfast so I hung out on the couch reading while he did that. First he had brie with three kinds of pears and we talked and watched tv. Mom called and I told her I'd meet her at 12:30 but it was almost noon and breakfast still wasn't ready. I got ready then ate Eric's delicious goat cheese, mushroom, spinach quiche. It was even topped with a little tomato slice. We said bye because he wanted to get going to Schuyler's but as I was leaving I made a not so subtle suggestion. He called when I was in the car to say he would wait for me to get back. Mom showed me the lights she liked and I liked some of them and we ended up picking out a sconce for the entryway and a vase and I'm going to keep that brown lamp in mind for the dining room. I headed home and found Eric naked in my bed and laughed. He'd cleaned up the kitchen and living room so that was nice. We played around for over an hour so that was fun then he got dressed and left. I took it easy and read on the couch a bit, then swept the main floor and stairs and cleaned up a little. I finally hit the road to S & C's and met them at Goodwill. I found a puzzle for Kass, a little bronze apple bell and some back issues of home magazines. We went back to their place and had some of Schuyler's peanut brittle which was very good. I said bye and headed up to CH to Kay-See's for her pre-birthday meet-up. She opened her gifts and liked them (green cleaning supplies) especially the shaving cream, except she thought it was lotion and was rubbing it on her neck and hands and later informed me it tasted good too. We walked to Six Arms and snagged a big table upstairs and looked at the menu for food. I was starving so I got the bacon cheeseburger, yum! Then Michelle, then Stacy and Chris (more tots), Nicholas, and lastly Bill and Mandy showed up. We stayed there for a long time and got Nikki to put a whole cupcake in his mouth and it was clearly no problem and I want to pit him and Eric against each other soon. It was finally time to go so we walked back to K's then over to my car and headed to West Seattle where we dropped Michelle off and headed up to WS Bowl. I talked to Nicholas for a few minutes but then felt awkward with the eye contact so went to find the rest of the crew. I stayed for one game but was tired so I said my goodbyes and had hugs all around and headed out. I got home and Eric wasn't even there so I called him and he arrived 15 minutes later. I was in bed and we talked about our evenings then snuggled and went to bed.

Friday 12/5, I talked to Chrystol on my way home and confirmed the time I'd be over. I also talked to Susan and she wasn't feeling up for going out but I'd call her later. I talked to Dad the rest of the way home and vented about my day then relaxed for a little while and cleaned a bit, ate some dinner then headed out the door praying for no traffic. I avoided a lot of it and made it to Ballard quicker than I thought I would. I was humming to myself and thinking about something in depth when I turned the corner and came face to face with Schuyler's holiday light masterpiece extravaganza. The house and yard are completely decorated with lights and holiday cheer. All I could do was laugh. I went inside and we talked for a half hour or so then Chrystol and I took off for CH. Parking was a bitch naturally but eventually we found something and had quite a walk but we talked about how that is a good thing and about weight and body image. We found the place and it was totally packed. We could hardly get to the art because there were so many people standing around talking in front of the pieces. I found my fav artist but everything is in her new style and I wish she would go back to the old so I could buy one. I can't justify the non-abstract. We decided to walk around and explore and started talking about our respective relationships and both got a sobering look at the other's. We talked about it for the rest of the night. Back toward the car after walking around for an hour or so then back to Ballard via Volunteer Park and 45th then we sat in the car talking until midnight. Almost two hours. The windows were fogged by the time we said good night and I headed home. Eric hadn't called and when I got home he was asleep and said he hadn't wanted to bother me (what I told Chrystol). He woke up a bit and we talked about our day and went to bed a little after 1.

Thursday 12/4, Kass called at work so I called her back when I got off work. We discussed a present for Dad and she wants to get him a camera for his race car so he can videotape his races. It's $1,000. We've worked it out though and we're going to get it for him. We talked when I got home about Frank and jury duty then I looked at the camera online and we discussed. I talked to Eric for a bit then had to get off then made some dinner and organized my gifts to start wrapping. I talked to Susan for a long time about boys then she got ready to go out. I finished wrapping and Eric called back and was frustrated with personalities and trying to modify his schedule. We hung up, I watched some tv and ran around then showered, got into bed, watched the news and to sleep.

Wednesday 12/3, I went to Ross to try and find a few more objects for Eric and Kay-See called for an update and to firm up plans for Saturday. I continued to shop, found a few things then went next door to Petco where I got things for Kass and Lish. Then over to BB&B where I debated a few things but ended up going the less expensive route. When I started pulling out of the lot I saw Richrd so I pulled back in and got out and we talked for about 10 minutes and he seems like he's doing ok, but nothing monumental, other than Steve had a kid, but at first I thought he was talking about Alex. At home I talked to Eric and started getting dinner ready. I took the recycle out but don't think I got much else accomplished. Lazy again, watching that slow motion show. Updated this, went to bed.

Tuesday 12/2, I went straight down to Factoria after work and found Susan in the coats trying on a vampire-esque down jacket. I liked it. We perused men's underwear and shoes and there were like 4 pairs I wanted but couldn't justify the price tag. Next we went to Target and ran around, then TJ Maxx and I got a bunch of kitchen stuff for Eric and a new cute cheese knife for myself then we headed out, Susan gifted me some mags and off I went home. I made a pretty healthy dinner for myself and was lazy for the rest of the night because I was cold and didn't want to move from my bed.

Monday 12/1, I think all I did was laundry and dinner. And talk to Eric and watch GG then talk to Susan. It was nice to be home alone. I probably got a lot of stuff put away from my trip.

Sunday 11/30, I woke up and Eric wasn’t there and I was so dead tired but I got up anyway and went downstairs to find him watching tv so I snuggled up with him and we watched a turkey, etc. special and had some breakfast afterward. We watched some SatC then got ready and headed out to run some errands. PCC, B&N, BB&B, Chipotle for lunch then home to relax / be lazy. We sat on the couch for the rest of the afternoon and took turns falling asleep and playing on our computers. We left the house to go pick up Grandma then over to Mom’s where we had spanikopita that was delicious and fun dinner convo then sat on the couch and talked about what to have for xmas eve dinner. Grandma was ready to go home so we dropped her and made sure she was settled then headed home and settled on the couch to watch EHM then DH and Eric ate some caramel crunch. Eric fell asleep and went up to bed when it was over. I read for a little bit the asleep.

Saturday 11/29, I slept way in (9:30) and Eric finally came and woke me up to say breakfast was ready so we went in and Aubs was preoccupied (along with everyone else) with some dumb wizard show. Eric and I decided to go on a walk and headed to the park and did a few laps talking about weather and vacations and moving and school. It was nice, then headed back and went in for water and to go over house plans with Dad and I think he’s really excited about the one I like the best. We talked for a long time until Mom mentioned the xmas tree and I ran out to get dressed and packed and thankfully Eric was very helpful and had cleaned up the motor home then back in for a little leftovers and then tree decorating commenced and the boys were commissioned into helping. We got it done, pictures then more floor plan discussing and soon we were off to the airport with Aubrie at the helm. We made great time and looked at pictures from the week with Kassie. A dropped us off and we went in and were checked in with bulk head seats within minutes and minutes later going through security with Kass and Skylar. We perused mags then sat at an empty gate and talked while waiting for their plane to board. We said our goodbyes then Eric and I sat and talked waiting for our seats to be called and they were in the first batch. We put on Knocked Up after taking off and arrived before it was over. Deplaned, rode the train (1st for Eric) and ran into Jerick at baggage and he recognized me but I couldn’t even remember his name. Got our baggage then Mom picked us up and told us about her week and finally we were home, stopped at the store for a few things, then home where Eric whipped up a wonderful salad and we finished the movie and some SatC. I showered and lit some candles, put on some music and soon we got down to it and didn’t have sex but both still got off. Time to get creative! We went to bed shortly after.

Friday 11/28, Eric was up before me, of course. He went to a meeting and I went in and talked with Dad while he made me French toast. We chatted about Eric mostly and eventually Aubs came down to watch the Jonas Bros. and have breakfast with me. Eric returned and Dad made him breakfast as well then we got ready and headed out the door to meet up at Court’s in Palm Beach. We found her place fine and pulled up just as Pat arrived home. We got a tour then out the door to get a town-wide tour and lunch. We went to some “World Famous” place on the beach and I had fish and chips and we had a lot to talk about throughout the meal. Next we walked on the promenade for a bit then over to the Hawaii store to try and find Pass-O-Guav but they were closed. We went to a little surfer shop and the boys perused while we soaked up the rays and had girl talk. We walked back to the car and headed back to their place by all the smoke shops. We hung at their place for a little bit and watched some show where a guy eats at places all over the country and the people that frequent these places are so scary. Pat brought out the tropical fruit juices and we were soon on our way back up to Dad’s. We got ready for the Santa pictures and soon headed down to the mall, took a while to find parking with Skylar trying to bribe women to get in and take us to their spot. We parked, walked over, waited in line forever then hit Barney’s. The boys explored (separately) while Kassie and I shopped. I ended up with two new pairs of jeans then we headed back to the car and to the house. We started getting ready for the murder mystery party and I wasn’t all that excited but then I put on a ridiculous wig and that made it funner and I eventually put on a little lipstick then headed down. Grandma loved my outfit (again) and people loved the hair (again?!). It was hilariously sad. I started snacking on pretzels and everyone started trickling in and Eric looked very dapper, minus the shoes. The game started and Eric was taking it so seriously I couldn’t stop laughing in his face when he’d take me aside for calling him “Pookie” and when he’d try and shake Nichole off. I kept calling Debbie an old bag and crazy old lady. After Eric was killed he came back as a congressman and wouldn’t leave me alone, which I later discovered was not part of his storyline at all. He got ripped off by Alishia’s character which cracked me up and he kept propositioning me. We ate and had dessert and no one guessed the killer was Aubrie. Skylar won the prize for best character and Kass for best costume so that was fun. I was exhausted not long after the game ended and we all sat in the living room talking and laughing but I snuck out to the motor home and crawled into bed because I was exhausted. No one came in for a long time which ensured that I made it to sleep easily.

Thursday 11/27, Eric woke up early of course then came back in from the motor home to say he was going to do it, he was going to run in the Turkey Run! to benefit homeless people and took Dad with him. I wasn’t particularly hungry so I set out for a walk and did two laps around the park then hurriedly rushed back thinking Eric had gone by himself and probably wouldn’t know how to get back and would have called me, but when I got back Grandma told me Dad went too. I showered and got ready then Mom made blueberry muffins so I ate two and felt satisfied. Mom started cooking and soon Lish called and wanted us to go over and see her place so we all packed up and headed over and saw her new place and all the stuff she’s done to fix it up and make it her own. It has a lot of potential but it will take time to get it there. We watched her feed her eel / snake thing and I asked Skylar if he wanted any shrimp. We went back to the house and Mom had put out a bunch of food and Aubs wanted guac so her and Kass went to the store and I went upstairs to look at photo albums and eventually got Eric up there to look at a couple as well. When they got back Eric noticed the grapefruit tree broke under the weight of the fruit and water so the boys set out to hopefully fix it and I went out and played with Tyson for a while and chased her around a bit. Back inside I snacked and hung in the living room and went back upstairs where Aubs and I eventually got the old Sega going and figured out Sonic and played for a while until Eric came up and joined us. Alishia wanted to go for a ride so we all went up to the lookout above the mall and watched the sunset. Back at home while watching home videos KT and Mike showed up and we talked with them a bit before going back upstairs to try and tackle Sonic again. Kass came up and wanted to play too so we got going and eventually were called down for dinner. We sat down, said our prayer, dished up and dug in. Eric was stealthy but still had his fair share. We had a nice dinner and were telling stories afterward about Dad telling us lies when we were kids and how Dad almost got kicked out of the Flight Museum on one of Kassie’s field trips and how Dad would buy lunch for kids who didn’t have them on the field trip. I remember pencils being a souvenir Dad loved get for us. As we were reminiscing Court and Pat came in and we all jumped up to say hi and moved into the family room for dessert and socializing. We talked for a long time in there until 11 or so then they took off and I walked them out with plans to get together the next morning. Back inside we hung out a while more then Aubs went upstairs to turn off the game but never came back so we continued talking then went out to bed. I was really full and felt a bit blech.

Wednesday 11/26, Eric got up early and went for a long run (5 miles) and I continued to sleep and eventually went inside where we had some breakfast and woke Aubs up. Mom and Dad were gone and we planned to get the hell out of there before Kass and Skylar arrived so we took off down the PCH toward Lou’s to take in the view and show Eric a bit of the landscape. I got 8 cds, half for me, half gifts. We went into Old Carlsbad and parked and did a little walking before ending up at Cessy’s for lunch because Eric wanted authentic mexi so we ordered and sat down and talked and laughed. K called to say her and S were coming down so we waited for them and talked with them there for a while before walking down to Spin where I resisted looking at anything for fear of buying more. Kass apologized for not calling. We split up to go meet up with Lish on her lunch break and found it fine and got all checked in with Eric doing voiceovers for everything, which Alishia eventually shushed him for. We had a nice time then headed back down to the beach and checked out a cute surfer on our way down to the sand. We walked for a while and Eric went in the water and Aubs thought he was crazy then we walked down to the rocks and I carried A on my back for a workout. We headed back up then back into Old Carlsbad so we could pick up A’s senior pictures which are much better than mine were. We went back to the house where Kass was doing a puzzle and managed to finish it that night because she’s so determined like that. Eric and I walked around the park a couple times to get some exercise and talked then back and caught Mom on the way in and she was going to the store so we hopped in to go with her and split up the duties and we were all running around and Eric was excitedly getting all kinds of items for Mom and I looked for the Pass-O-Guav but came up empty. Mom forgot the whipped cream so she was like “2 cans of whipped cream, Eric, GO!” and off he went running and we started laughing, but he came back with Cool Whip so Mom told him it had to be dairy then was like “GO!” again, and he look exasperated but off he went then when he got back did all the bagging. I got the car and we loaded it up then home. At home we were all sitting around watching home movies from when we were little and Eric was dying watching me and in all my “business attire” and bossiness. We took off for dinner at the Wokery for Aubs’ birthday and all the kids took the Denali and Mom and Dad took the Cadillac. We arrived and met Lish, Grandma and Papa there, said our hellos and sat down to order. Dinner was fun and there was a ton of food. After dinner we went home but stopped at 7-11 on the way where we looked again for Pass-O-Guav but no go. We went home and maybe watched more videos and hung out and eventually headed out to the motor home to go to bed.

Tuesday 11/25, Alan called to say we had to be over at the house earlier so I rushed home from work and we threw the stuff in the car and took off, transferred luggage, got some earphones and headed to the airport. We got checked in and through security without incident then found a spot to enjoy our respective lunches. Afterward we walked all over the place and after getting sufficient exercise went to our gate, then they switched it and over to the next one, onto the plane and all situated. We watched the first disc of SatC Season 6 Part 1 then we were there. Dad and Mom were waiting for us and we all talked while waiting for luggage then out the door into the warm air. We drove home talking the whole way and found Aubs there waiting to tell us all about her Jonas Bros. meeting while we ate meat loaf and mashed potatoes. Dad had a million questions and we all laughed when he’d ask yet another. We talked until after 11 then we went upstairs where I showed him around the house and we hung in Aubs’ room then looked at all the pics in the granny flat and he was fairly stunned by it all. Eventually we headed out to the motor home to get ready for bed and crashed out after reading a bit.

Monday 11/24, After work I came home and organized a bit and prepared for Kay-See and Eric to arrive. K arrived first as I was packing and putting clothes away and I started making dinner (steamed veggies) and Eric came in as we were having girl talk. I finished the veggies then we heated up the Spanish rice and all three finished that off. We took off for the movie (Bond) and got popcorn on the way in and fund our seats. K and I drooled through the whole thing and I let out an audible “mmm” at one point that had K laughing and Eric rolling his eyes. The movie was good and I have a new gf. We went home and K took right off and I continued to pack and probably showered before reading and going to bed.

Sunday 11/23, We woke up and Eric got going right away, I was mildly irritated, and I took my time and eventually got ready and out the door to Susan’s. I think I got there around 1 or 2. We set out for downtown on foot and at first were cold but then warmed up as we approached Westlake. We went to Daiso and I picked out a bunch of little plates and a soap holder. Next we headed to Sephora so I could get Aubs some face stuff so we did that and headed down to the market so Susan could do a walk by of her bf, then back up to look at shoes, H&M and up to CH where the road was blocked off and we saw Damon and some other cute guy with a skateboard. The street was blocked off and apparently the swat team was holding things down. We finished walking up and talking the whole way then chatted a bit at her place then I took off for home with some goodies. Eric was there and we hung there for a half hour or so before leaving again to go to Mom’s for dinner. We were running a bit late but that didn’t stop dinner from being served in our absence. Kima was there and taking care of Grandma for a while. Dinner was fine, talked, then afterward had brownies. Grandma wanted to go home so we left and walked them up and met Kima’s dog then took off for home. I don’t remember what we did but maybe watched SatC. I know I called and wished Aubrie a happy birthday and she was waiting in line at Disneyland to meet the Jonas Brothers.

Saturday 11/22, We woke up and went for a walk up to the top of the hill and Eric brought one of his cigarettes and faked out a biker. Back at home we ate and dismantled my bed and cleaned and put it back together then showered and got ready. We headed into Seattle but S and C weren’t home yet so we went into Ballard to Sonic Boom and there was a show (Fences) and I dug through the used and picked up about 5 cds. Next we went to Cupcake Royale and picked up a red velvet and ate it while walking down the street to the car. Over to S & C’s where we hung out and played with the laser and Lulu was going nuts. We decided to go to dinner and wanted to check out Louie’s so we drove over and we dropped the boys off to check it out and it was a go so we went in and waited for our table. The place was a time warp and we were dying of laughter. I think our waitress noticed. The food was interesting and hilarious and when the bill came Eric asked to split it and she pointed at us and said “Tip not included!” and after she left we continued laughing. Out we went and up to CH to go to Babeland where I picked up an item and we all explored some of the new toys and I found a few I wanted. We headed down to Matador but the place was packed so we got in the car and ended up on Queen Anne at 5 Spot where we had dessert and discussed more free items S could sell on ebay (tampons, sugar packets, stacks of napkins). We headed back to their place and dropped them off then home where we stayed up for a while to watch some of SNL then to sleep.

Friday 11/21, I went straight to Mom’s after work and was going through old texts and laughing about old texts from Eric, Eric and Ian. And Zach. And Jess. And Aubs. And Susan. It was fun. Mom and Dad wanted to talk about Eric and what’s happening with us and the “natural progression” of relationships, which apparently means moving in together. Not ready for that and thankfully neither is Eric. We continued to discuss until Kay-See arrived for dinner and we all dished up and chatted about K and what she’s up to with work, etc. We stayed for quite a while then headed down to Starbucks for chatting and dessert. We ordered and found a table by some high school boys. We talked about Hawaii, K’s recent experiences with idiot R and her date later in the week and potential romance possibilities over x-mas. Around 9 they kicked us out and I dropped K at her car then stopped at Walgreen’s for b-day cards and contact solution. I arrived before Eric and cleaned up a little then he showed up and we planned for the next day and we probably just went to bed. I don’t remember.

Thursday 11/20, Woke up with two texts one saying things are weird and the other saying he wishes I would come to the old house. I wrote back asking what he was doing later and he'd let me know. I went to the store after work and talked to Mom who confirmed she was staying at Grandma's and dinner would be postponed to the next night. I talked to Susan when I got home and we decided to wait on dancing depending on Eric. I talked to my Eric and ate some random dinner items while talking to him. We chatted for a while then I read celebrity gossip and watched WoF when they showed a shopping spree for the area we'd just been in two days prior so I called him back and left a message. He called back and we chatted a bit more then hung up and I continued to multitask on my computer and put stuff away. I watched some old Aerosmith videos on youtube that reminded me of 8th grade. I talked to Susan after 9 and confirmed it was a no go but I'd call her that weekend. I continued to not really do much and finally got ready for bed and read a bit then lights out around midnight.

Wednesday 11/19, Eric woke up first and was out on the lanai and back and forth and finally came back to bed and we talked and cuddled then he started trying to seduce me. It worked. We eventually got up and got going and packing and cleaning and we were done by 9:30. We decided to go for a walk down to the park by Keo's and took it all in one final time as we walked the streets with a warm breeze. We walked the park for a few minutes then back to our place and up to the room where we got the last of everything settled and headed out the door. We mapped our route and headed down Ala Moana, got gas, returned the car (the guy didn't give a shit about the gas and thought my name was Karpah) and got to the airport. We ended up getting window exit row seats so that was good then into the terminal. We did quite a bit of walking before deciding on lunch. We headed to Peggy's gate and watched the plane come in, handed off the keys and instructions and went to our gate. Eric was making fun of me by nudging me when they said people with disabilities could board. We finally got on the plane and settled in and chatted with one of the flight attendants who was very nice then started in on SatC and polished off Season 5 then started on Elizabeth (Golden Age) and made it part way through that before the battery died. When dinner arrived Eric opened his sandwich with such enthusiasm that his turkey and cheese went flying out and landed on his tray and we both laughed for about five minutes. I couldn't breathe. We talked and looked out the window and perused Hana Hou and looked for familiar names and establishments. We chatted with our flight attendant about weather and SAD as we landed, said bye, checked my phone, had a message from Eric ("How you doin?"), wrote back that I just returned, headed to baggage and didn't have to wait long for the bag. As we waited we watched them set up for the 3rd runway ceremony and laughed about the turkey again. Mom arrived, talked about the trip, she dropped us off, we went into my freezing house and cranked the heat then climbed in bed and shivered together for a while but finally warmed up with the two heaters cranked and the heating blanket set to high. I went online for a little bit and Eric drifted off to sleep. I turned off the equipment and went to bed. No return message from Eric.

Tuesday 11/18, We woke up and wanted to go to Eggs and Things for breakfast and we went on a hunt for it but kept coming up empty and finally Eric asked and it closed so we went to Keo's instead. We both thought it was an incredibly interesting place. There were birds flying in and pecking around our feet. Eric had rice with his eggs. We went back to the condo and gathered our things for the beach and I had a message from Trisha that was hilariously ridiculous and it irritated me for the rest of the day. We set out toward the far end of Waikiki beach in order to get some exercise and to find a stretch less crowded. We laid out and soaked up the sun (and a few sprinkles of rain) while I found little tiny shells and rocks and put them all over Eric’s arm. We laughed at the lady on her cell phone with her cigarette, bottled frappacino and legs spread eagle. Yikes. I went in the water to cool off then back up and I did that a few more times then Eric did it and I eventually moved to the shade because I felt I was burning (wasn’t though). He went out to the pier and I laid and people watched. We decided to head back and Eric started talking about his idea for an all male-revue called Diamond Cutters. When we got back we decided to relax and enjoy being at home and perhaps watch some SatC. First we decided to get some ice cream treats from McDonalds and went down and sat outside and laughed at the pigeons being chased out from the ladies with bamboo poles. Back upstairs we relaxed some more and Eric wanted to go down to the beach again (fiend) so we suited up and headed down. It was a lot less crowded and it was too cold for me so I hung on my towel and Eric went in for a final swim and loved it. We stayed until sunset laughing at the Japanese girls in matching outfits taking a million pictures of themselves. We headed back and talked about what we were going to do for dinner and the logistics of Diamond Cutters. Clay Aiken and George Clooney Jones. When we got back showered and got dressed and headed down to the store where I picked out a veggie lasagna and yogurt and Eric got a wrap. We booked it back, put on the show and waited for my dinner to cook. We polished off about six episodes then packed and I hit my head / eye on one of the shutters and had to put ice on it. Swelled way up. I talked to AL for a while then we got ready for bed and watched a Native American special on PBS about these three native kids trying to find out why the gov’t puts all their polluting power plants on native lands. We stayed up for a while and eventually went to bed.

Monday 11/17, We woke up and took it easy trying to decide what to do. We had breakfast and lounged then I laid on the couch and Eric read to me from the HI book and I closed my eyes. We ended up messing about for a while then finally got ready. We started joking around on the bed and Eric wanted to lift me with his legs so he started and we were both laughing so hard. I looked down and said "What is that? Your nuts?" and laughed hysterically and touched the bulge in his swim trunks. He rolled his eyes, laughed and told me to "Get out of there!" We finally made it onto the road and started heading up toward Diamondhead but spotted a nice lookout and got out into the sun. We walked down a path to the beach and put our feet in and admired the sparkly sand and surfers. There were only about 5 other people on the beach. We went back up and kept on and ended up in some ritzy neighborhood and we talked about his Mom moving there. We made it back to the hwy and headed around the SE edge of the island passing all kinds of photo ops. We stopped a couple times to get out and admire the scenery and take pictures but kept on toward Kilua. We eventually arrived and we were both hungry so we parked and walked around checking out cafes and restaurants and picked a little sandwich place that was decent. Back in the car and over to Lanikai. We found a place to park and watched the kite surfers in the intense wind. The guide book was right - the sand was just like talcum powder and absolutely amazing. Eric got in the water and was jumping around but it was too windy for my blood. I took lots of pictures and we sat for a little while before getting back in the car and heading around the loop AL told us about with all sorts of crazy houses. We parked a few times and found tiny hidden beach access paths that led to beautiful secluded beaches. It started raining, then pouring as we made our way back on the hwy to Honolulu. We decided to see the Punchbowl and had a little trouble finding it but ended up there eventually. We parked and walked around forever. It was absolutely beautiful and we took a lot of pictures. There was so much marble it was insane and I brought it up and we ended up disagreeing and he seemed to get more riled up about it than I was, surprisingly. We headed up to a lookout and did our own thing up there, just the two of us. It started raining so I suggested we head back. We saw this little mongoose or ferret or something (second that day) and as we were going after it some nuts or fruit or something kept falling out of the tree above us and when I looked up there was a parrot picking this stuff off and throwing it down toward us. We laughed so hard, but lost the ferret. We continued to laugh at the trickster and talked about birds and bugs all the way down then checked out the underground cave-storage thing. We walked down toward the car and saw a maintenance guy peeing in the bushes. We started down into Honolulu but it was rush hour so we headed straight to Ala Moana and decided to go to the mall. We checked out Neiman Marcus then walked through the indoor/outdoor mall a bit more and stopped into a luggage shop and found Dad and said we couldn't wait to tell him about it and how Dale-tastic it was. We laughed all the way back to the car (smelled like pork out there). We headed back home and hung out there for a while then went on a walk I think down toward the water. When we got hungry we headed back but needed oil so we headed to the little store but it was raining. Then pouring. We hid under an awning with everyone else and this girl propositioned me by asking if I wanted to ride on her handlebars and that I could meet up with "him" later. I politely said no thank you and off she went. We hurried to the store, found the oil, back home where Eric whipped up stir-fry and I lounged looking at a magazine and called Trish with no answer. After dinner we laid on the bed and watched some tv together and eventually went to sleep I think.

Sunday 11/16, We woke up pretty early considering we were on vacation and had some cereal and tried to plan out our day. Josh called to set up dinner for later that night and we decided to meet in Chinatown. Eric and I loaded up the backpack and headed out for a day of exploring. We headed up the Pali Hwy per AL's recommendation and it wasn't long before we pulled over to explore the Pali lookout. We stayed up there for about 10 minutes reading and taking pictures and just taking in the awesomeness of the view. We headed down the mountain and ended up taking an unintended detour and finally got back on the right track. I saw a bakery and was already braking and putting the blinker on while asking Eric if he wanted something. We went in and I got a cream filled donut and he got an éclair and both were delicious and we were soon back on the road. We drove through many little towns on our way up to the N. Shore and watched some surfers for a while then got out at a beach (Waimea) with a Spanish style church on the hill. Eric got in a little and I stayed up on the warm sand and people watched. We rinsed our feet and back on the road we went. We passed a convalescent home and Eric wanted to explore the old abandoned building next to it and I told him he was crazy and we couldn't stop laughing. We ended up in Halewa and I was excited to see where Court grew up. We found parking and started walking and found a side of the road bbq with like 50 chickens going at once so we got a half chicken chopped with rice and walked across the street to a parking lot and sat on some lava rocks to eat. It was sooo good, we were both moaning while eating it. Afterward we kept walking to check out the rest of the town and peeked into a little green house-wares shop that was really cute. We headed back to the car and back to the hwy to head back down to Waikiki. It was nice out and we were having a blast talking and marveling at our surroundings. We made it back to our place without incident and went to the room to change into our suits. We headed down to the water and luckily found beach access about a block down in front of some hotels. We got in and the water felt so good and we both just floated and relaxed. I got my hair wet and slicked it back and Eric said I looked like a sexy supermodel, which was cute. I went to lie on my towel and the drunk guy next to me started talking and I semi-ignored him, just answered with one word replies. Finally Eric came up and the guy got up but had a hard time getting his “sea legs” and went and put his towel next to another girl and she left within minutes. We laid there for a little bit then headed back to get ready to meet up with Josh. We got ready, got muffled directions from Josh (his jaw was wired shut) and headed out. We found it no problem and parked then waited for him to come pick us up. We met his wife and baby, Kaya. She's adorable. We went to a very pricey place for dinner where entrees started at $28 so I went cheap and got the veggie curry, which was fantastic. We talked and laughed and discussed island life and their upcoming move, to possibly the Netherlands. We were there for a while then left and he dropped us back at our car and we went to go check out if there were any movies playing but there weren't any for like an hour so we went home. I was exhausted but wanted a little dessert so while I laid on the bed and fell asleep Eric went out for something sweet. He came back and prepared a wonderfully light dessert of mango yogurt with fresh papaya and watermelon with some Kauai macadamia shortbread cookies. It was good and when I was done he put the bowl away for me and we got ready and I fell asleep. He stayed up and watched tv in order to learn more about the islands.

Saturday 11/15, Eric and I were up at 5:30 and heard Susan not too long after getting her things together. We were out the door by 6 and on our way to the airport. She dropped us off and we got all checked in and through security and looked at some mags and eventually made our way down to the gate and boarded not too much later. The flight wasn't full so we were hoping we'd pick up speed. We settled in and Eric was giddy with excitement. We each read for a bit then had our snack and eventually broke out the dvd player and put on SatC. We watched that for a while, had a meal, read some more and looked out the window. We arrived before we knew it (6 hours later) and as we got off the plane Auntie Lauryn was there to greet us with leis. We walked her down to her gate so we could visit with her for an hour before she had to leave. Eric was awestruck of the outdoor corridors. AL gave us a bunch of people to call and places to see and called Marina to say we'd be coming up to the tree house from the airport. We said bye, got the luggage, caught the shuttle to the rental place and got some good tips from Lew. The lady helping us inside, however, was a total bitch and wanted to tell us that because we were an hour late that she wasn't sure if she had a car for us. Give me a break. It was totally weird. Finally we were going and I was bitching about that lady and it was ruining my day already. I tried to let it go. We headed up to the tree house and found it fine and went in and met Marina. She showed us around all the nooks and the tree house and left us up there to hang out. We stayed for a while with Princess and Harlequin but we both wanted to scoot so we went inside and said we needed to go so we said bye and headed back down into Waikiki but first we stopped at the red snake and picked up groceries and I was sensing that Eric was a little irritated so I asked him but he said he was fine. The bagger twisted off the top of the pineapple like it was her job. We headed down into Waikiki to find our place and we did, surprisingly well. We went through the maze and made it to the office and the lady there was weird as well so we just tried to breathe deep as we went down to the car and into the garage. We unloaded and went up and the room was surprisingly nice. We settled in and put the groceries away and went out on the lanai to check out our ocean and city views. We relaxed for a bit and decompressed. We ate some pineapple, chips and salsa and Eric told me he was feeling a little weird. We decided to walk around and scope out the neighborhood in an attempt for both of us to feel better and relax. We wandered and ended up down by the beach and we decided to go back and make dinner and I told him I would help since he was feeling a little out of sorts. I told him I get that way on vacation sometimes too, especially if it's a new place. We made dinner and we talked on the couch about his mood and that he should have told me at the store but he didn't want to be a downer. We ate dinner and it was good and we laid low. I wanted to shower and managed to coax Eric in even though he didn't want to. He was glad after he did though and his mood lifted considerably. He was ready to go out after that. I was tired and I think I fell asleep by like 9, while Eric stayed up and watched the news. There was some crazy shit going down in the middle of the night with screaming people, a scooter on fire in the street and lots and lots of sirens.

Friday 11/14, Eric met me at my house after work and we talked until Susan arrived and I made an omelet for dinner. My form was perfect. We talked and laughed and eventually put on Donnie Darko as I started painting my toenails. I liked the movie but want to see it again to try and figure some shit out. We all dissected various parts and contemplated some things before getting ready for bed. I packed up a few final items and went to bed not too much later because we were getting up so early.