Saturday 11/13, I was up before 7 unfortunately. Eric was up even earlier and went to the store for all sorts of supplies. We got ready and went to the bank quickly then headed up to Woodinville to go to the HS pet pictures with Santa fundraiser with the dogs. It was a mad house and by the end Brizo was starting to get super stressed unfortunately. We’ll see how the pictures turn out. Called C&S on the way home and told them to come over so we could hit the estate sales. We took two cars up to the Issaquah one to pick up the fan for Kass and to see if there was anything else I needed (I didn’t). C and I took off for Bellevue to an awesome waterfront 3 story condo that I loved. It needed major updating but it would be an awesome project. I loved it. I bought a fireplace set with mid-century modern flair for $5. C got a waffle iron to make waffle cones. Next we headed over to Redmond to a big place run by KC and I bought some old-school old style Christmas lights because that’s what Eric wants. I spotted some Marilyn Monroe Andy Warhol print / paintings and asked if they would be 50% off the next day and she confirmed they would but that I would need to get there early because a lot of people had their eye on them. C and I headed home and stopped at Crossroads on the way home so I could get my lotto ticket. I showed her around and on the way out we explored the costumes and I found my murder mystery outfit and got some accessories for Eric. We were laughing hysterically. At home the boys were gone and we found out they were playing soccer or something. When they got home we showed them our spoils and sat around the dining room table. Eric brought out a caprese salad then we sat on the couch and talked while the chicken cooked and started Back to the Future. We ate and watched. It was fun to see it again. Chrystol had to idea to go to DQ and they told me they both hadn’t been there since elementary school. My jaw sat on the floor for about 10 minutes. We headed down there and got the corner booth and waited for the people watching. It was pretty good but not great. There was a tie with an eagle and American flag that was impressive. After a while we took off and did a drive by of the Mormon temple and we couldn’t believe the scale and amount of people there that late. Back at home I think we talked a bit more then they took off so we could go to bed to prepare for the early morning estate sale-ing.

Friday 11/12, I woke up a little before 8 and went in and out of sleep until 8:30. I got up and started getting and was soon out of the house on the way to my annual. Arrived right on time but in the waiting room forever. It was nice to see SH and she was quick and I was back out before getting a ticket. Phew. I called Kass and she told me to head down to Meghan’s and she’d meet me down there. I talked to Mom until Kassie pulled up behind me in a convertible eclipse in burnt orange and I laughed so hard. I didn’t think it was her at first. She’s like, “We should put the top down!” and I was like “No. We shouldn’t.” Down the street to M’s and Sunshine was already there. We sat in the dining room and talked until Meghan was ready. I told them about the estate sales and they were all excited. We piled into M’s car and off we went for the eastside talking about “helicoptering” and some bathhouse up in Lynnwood that will scrub your taint clean among other things for like $35. We found the estate sale and there wasn’t a ton of stuff but a lot of electronics and Sunshine found a juicer and both her and Kass found fans and K’s was like 3 feet wide. We hit the road and decided to get lunch at the Volunteer Park Café and I had a delicious sandwich and we shared lemon pound cake for an appetizer. There wasn’t time to go to the next sale so we went back to M’s and dropped off her and Sunshine and we headed downtown to see Ay*l for K’s ring. As we were circling the block trying to find parking we saw him on the corner and K was like “don’t look!” and I said he looked kind of like Rodney Dangerfield. Up we went and saw the mock ups he’d done of the ring and the settings he had on him. The one she’s getting is kind of over the top but I guess I wouldn’t expect less. Diamonds everywhere. I’m pretty sure the price tags made my eyes bulge out of my head but she didn’t bat an eye. We headed out of there with A making slightly suggestive comments and back to the car. She took me to mine and I headed home. I was tired and wanted a nap so I laid down and soon Eric was waking me up to get up to head over to Mom’s for Dad’s birthday dinner. Eric and I were the first over, then K and lastly Dro*hv and Ak*mi. We talked around the table as we ate and did best and worst which sparked all kinds of side conversations. We had cake and talked a bit more and ended up taking off around 9 maybe. At home we may have watched tv or maybe I just went to bed.

Thursday 11/11, I got up and took Nyx to the park for a once-around. I half-lounged around, half did housework. Eric called at 11:30 to say he was on his way home from P’s and finished the painting. I called Nyx’s rescue to give them the new address and give them an update, called SVS to tell them thank you for the card and made some other calls to get things done which helped me feel productive. Called the pet insurance to ask questions about the euthanasia reimbursement and she also noticed I paid out two deductibles for one claim so she’s looking into it. When Eric got home we were both hungry and went up to Chipotle to grab lunch and watched tv at home while we ate. Eric informs me I took a nap. Kass called and we set up plans for the evening’s dinner. Eric left to go hang out with Schuyler and I was lazy for the rest of the day then started getting ready to go dancing. It was getting late so I told Kass I would just eat at home and meet up the next day. I took off a little after 10 and parked in the normal spot. Susan hopped in and we talked for a little bit then headed in. The door guy recognized us and asked us how we were. We went upstairs to see who was there and there were some regulars but no one we really knew. We went down to dance and there were a couple lurkers but for the most part we fended them off. Von Trapp played pretty good songs but there were two drag interruptions that threw everyone off their game. Back on the floor we kept dancing and remembering all the funny things that happened and the guys we’d hooked up with or had crushes on (ahem, Andy). Or the time we were both making out with guys and Craig just stood next to us dancing. Awkward! It was fun and we decided a little after 1:00 to head out. I felt bad for Susan who had to work early the next day, ish. Got home quickly, ready for bed and climbed in. It was like 1:30 and it took me a while to fall asleep.

Wednesday 11/10, Thank goodness for no work for four days. I got home and asked Eric if he wanted to call C&S to see what they were up to. He didn’t want to call so I did and C invited us over and asked me if I was Aunt Liz. We got the dogs ready and I showered and off we went. We were a few minutes late and stopped to get ice cream for homemade pie. We had an interesting butternut squash soup with some cilantro as well as a pear salad and for dessert I helped her with the apple / pear pie. I cored the fruit. They have a fun new service that delivers fruit and veggies every week. Lots of talking and laughing and eventually 11-ish we headed home.

Tuesday 11/9, The day went by quickly. I was ready to be out of there and was looking forward to hopefully a long weekend. At home Eric probably made dinner and I know I watched BL in the bedroom and yelled at the tv. Eric asked me who I was talking to. I went to bed at the normal time.

Monday 11/8, Eric painted at P’s all day. There were a couple little problem areas but hopefully he gets that under control. I stayed late and picked up dog food on the way home, as well as some bat wings for Brizo so she could be a rat bat. At home Eric put the wings on Breezy and it was really funny. I got the check from the insurance company for Castor and it wasn’t as much as I’d hoped but I’ll take whatever I can get. We both fixed dinner for ourselves then got into an argument because I brought up the yard waste. I went into the living room and he the den. I perused the net then called Sos back since she called and left a nice message on Saturday. We talked about J’s Dad and he’s not doing very well, her afternoon with JP, Hakim, Carmen and her uncle and cousin. It sounded fun and totally random. She told me something funny about her night out that she swore me to secrecy over. We had some much needed laughs and I told her I’d try to have some gossip by the next time I talk to her. She didn’t want that responsibility. I watched a little Office then showered and climbed into bed to watch DwtS and GG.

Sunday 11/7, Up early from daylight savings, like 6:30. Eric was up first and got the dogs up though they came back into bed with me after going out. I started thinking about who I could convince to go furniture shopping with me then thought of RH Eric. I got up a little before 8, put on my walking duds and headed out with Nyxie for the park. Lots of people there including the neighbor a few doors down with the dog. Back home Eric had made cinnamon rolls so I ate one and did some stuff online then into the shower. More internet after, looked at some furniture then decided to call RHE and he was actually working two blocks from the townhouse. He told me to call him later. I continued being lazy for a little longer then got up, finished getting ready and told Eric I was going out for a few errands. I went to Marshalls and bought him socks and a bunch of movies they had for super cheap and almost got Batman Forever, which made me think of Missy. “Batman you say? Coming for you?” I went across to Fred Meyer for groceries and was out of there soon enough and home. Eric was watching the game. I parked it in the bedroom once again and watched Office online then started falling asleep. I put on Dire Straits and fell asleep, for probably only 20 minutes or so then woke up. RHE texted the address and told me to come over. I tried to fall back asleep but couldn’t so got up and headed out. Eric was still watching football. I found the place fine and it was a big house. Eric was hauling concrete sheet things up for a new slate floor. I just followed him around while he did stuff and we talked. N wants another baby, he doesn’t. Should I be broadcasting this? No one reads it so I guess I don’t have to worry. Famous last words. I met Chris (who incidentally also works the Croc) and eventually the three of us ended up in the kitchen chatting. They want to have a hot tub party Monday. We’ll see. I stuck around until after it got dark then took off when they got back to work. He walked me out and we hugged and said we’d talk about the next day and to bring girlfriends. Kass had called so I called her back and we talked forever: Sky, RHE, her disturbing dream, wedding, dress shopping, accommodations, her trip to Chicago, $7,000 showerhead and hardware that Sky said no to (thank god), Eric being home, dogs, donating (got her to donate $300 to ODH and Animal Aware in Guatemala), Mexico, depression, Thanksgiving, more that I’m forgetting. We talked for 2 hours. When I got off I filled Eric in then told him about my adventure over with RHE. I ate some dinner (leftover chicken and potatoes). Laid on the little couch with him and continued talking with him for a while then did some work and watched EHM. Took the dogs out and got ready for bed, updated this until 10:30 then to sleep.

Saturday 11/6, I was tired and slept until almost 8. Up and ready to start the day. We left for Costco to gas up, pick up lights and take the dogs to get their nails trimmed. Costco was a waste of time for lights so we took the dogs to the vet for their nail trim, then for a microchip scan for Nyx since I wrote it down wrong on the change form. We went to Lowe’s and picked up a ton of lights (68 boxes) for P then back home. Brizo puked all over the backseat blocks from the house. Of course. Eric told me not to look back there so I took the dogs in and he cleaned it out. He came in and told me not to freak out but there’s a leak in my tire. We took it to Discount Tire and they told us it would be a couple hours, which was fine. We took off in Eric’s car for the restaurant supply store and Eric was in heaven. We looked at the 6 burner range with 2’ griddle and double oven, commercial grade. Not that expensive ($3.9k) but apparently it’s the duct work to bring it to code that costs a lot. We went to Goodwill next to drop off a box of stuff then home. Eric started on the yard and got it all mowed, line trimmed and raked while I relaxed and went through 5 old Seattle mags. Mom came over with the sander and we talked about house ideas and expanding the square feet by going up into the attic since the ceilings are 10’ – 12’ up there and basically the entire footprint of the house can be added up there. 4,000 sqft would be huge, but great for resale. We also talked about the damn pool and removing that. So many projects it’s just all going to take time. I have the next three ready to tackle when the cash comes in. I called about the car and it was fixed: piece of metal in the tire. We left to pick it up and came home. I wanted to get my lotto tickets so we took a trip up there and went through the costume store. I tried Hit 5 this time and won $1. Ehh. At home we relaxed and I tried to watch Batman Begins but the disc is all jacked so I stopped it halfway through out of frustration. Eric went to the store to pick up a chicken for dinner and spruced up the mashed potatoes from Thursday night adding cheese, bacon and onions. We watched Cops, then some show with Belushi and Jerry O’Connell as lawyers then 48 Hours about this meathead who raped and killed teenage girls. It was awful and made me sick to my stomach to listen to him. I got into bed not long after that was over and went through my latest Luxe until I was too tired to stay awake.

Friday 11/5, Ran an errand for work and Eric texted asking if I wanted to go to an estate sale when I got home. Did I ever?! We took off pretty much when I got home. It was mostly junk, but I got a tea cup for Mom and a little holiday decoration for the window while Eric got Aubrie some sunglasses and a Seahawks cup. We headed home and had dinner. After 8 I decided I wanted a sweet treat so we went down to DQ and each got a DQ blizzard treat. I got a caramel pecan something and we grabbed the corner booth: my favorite. The people watching was pretty decent. We went home and Eric picked four movies for me to choose from: Cold Mountain, Go, Lost in Translation and Virgin Suicides. I picked LiT, not too depressing but not going for the obvious comedy which I usually always choose. Eric liked it. We went to bed not long after.

Thursday 11/4, I stopped at the store for eggs then hurried home, knowing Kristel had beat me there. Her and Eric were talking in the kitchen about his CA experience. We all chatted and I checked email and fb, and eventually I pulled her away and off we went to Super Supplements since she’d never been there and I needed tampons. I got more than I needed: flax seed, st. john’s wart, something else. We headed home and dinner was going to be a while so we sat in the living room and Eric watched tv in the den. We talked about DO’N, Eric(s), Jess, R and sister in law, the guys she’s semi-interested in and her yoga challenge. When dinner was ready Eric brought us our plates. We watched tv and ate dinner then enjoyed some candy before Office came on. She took off not long after and we finished watching, though I missed part of it. Climbed into bed and probably crashed out not long after.

Wednesday 11/3, Another gorgeous day! I went home and we took another walk at the park. He didn’t get the first job, but they want him to interview for another position. It’s a good sign, but he just wanted the first one and to be done with the job hunt. A little disappointing. The rest of the walk was good. More leftovers for dinner! I watched Modern Family without Eric because I think he was on the phone or something. I had cramps and in bed felt awful. Eric brought in two ibuprofen and a magnesium tablet. Thank goodness for him. I crashed out before 10.

Tuesday 11/2, Election day. It was beautiful outside so when I got home (worked a little late) we took a walk and it was gorgeous. Early on our walk a lady had spotted an owl in a tree not far off the trail and we all stood and marveled for a few minutes. It was beautiful, and bigger than I would have expected. We talked about Eric’s second interview and walked down into a part of the park we’d both not ventured to; Castor would have loved it. I was excited for him for the job interview going well, plus he had two others later for the week lined up. Back at home it was more leftovers for dinner, which I didn’t mind because then we get rid of all the food in the fridge. Eric was glued to the election results, while I was irritated there was only an hour of BL on tv. I showered and got into bed; Eric stayed in the den and continued watching tv after I turned in.