freeeeeeee

the stars aligned, and gifted me the magical combination of a Monday with no clients til 5, and a Tuesday with no class or lab (college inservice day) and no clients til 4!

TWO. MOSTLY-OFF. DAYS.

even better: my math professor doesn't post our weekly assignments til sometime on Tuesday afternoon/evening, which usually frustrates me, but today just gives me even more of an excuse to play.

not that things aren't getting done; i have a load of laundry going (the dryer got fixed yesterday!), and a little later i'll do the usual dishes/counters/stove/floor cleanup in the kitchen. but let me tell you, being curled up on the couch in my new robe, with a craft project and my coffee...mmmmm.

yep, those are cereal marshmallows. we found a source that sells 1-pound bags of them for $3.99 (nuts.com)!!!! i ordered a bag for my sister for Christmas, but...well...i mean, i'm not going to gift substandard marshmallows. so we ordered a bag for us, too, and they are exactly how marshmallows should be.

oh!!! and the new robe!! YOU GUYS, THIS ROBE!!!!!!

it's like a hoodie and a robe hooked up and had a baby, and the result is the softest, warmest, most delightful...it's....like wearing premium butter. i was never a robe person, and now i know it's only because the perfect robe did not exist until now. i'm sad to take it off at night, and happy to put it back on in the morning. last night, i slept in it.

Houdini loves it, too. it's a cat magnet!

in non-robe-related news, on Saturday, E and i dressed up as Rosie the Riveter and helped set a new Guinness World Record for the most Rosies (2096!!!!) in one place:

(excuse my finger. jeez.)

it was so much fun! there were 43 original Rosies, each wearing a rose made out of the bandana fabric, and the rest of us came in all sizes, shapes, and ages (even babies!). to make the record count, we had to stand together for 5 minutes, and we passed the time by singing the national anthem, God Bless America, Amazing Grace, and America the Beautiful.

stay tuned for pumpkin-carving, Halloween-y-ness! Have a great week!

merrily

things are rolling along nicely here.

i'm finally starting to settle into a work/school/study groove (and, as far as i can tell, i'm currently getting straight A's). it means that i don't have much time for phone calls or hanging out, depending on the workload from week to week (for example, last week i had a biology test and a math quiz. this week, i had a biology lab test, and i have math homework problems due this weekend. next week i have a math quiz AND a math test, so add the test review to this week...etc, etc, etc.), but at least i no longer feel like the proverbial chicken. E has been in the next level of training, too, which means several of our evenings have been spent studying together on the couch with mugs of hot tea. it's been lovely.

Little V and i made a batch of homemade cheese crackers on Saturday. she helped mix the cold butter and shredded cheese into the flour (i had to get out the vacuum after that), and she used one of her blunt little toddler knives and helped "cut" the dough:

and you know what? they were the best damn cheese crackers any of us had ever had! i plan on making several batches the next time we have a party, and using some mini cookie cutters to make them all fancy.

E and i celebrated our third anniversary on Sunday. three years! we got all disgusting and schmoopy, and spent most of the day coloring in one of our new coloring books:

we also went to dinner at Carrabba's, which is kind of turning into a tradition. such delicious food! E loves their Chicken Trio, and i'm a huge fan of their tomato cream sauce. the wine (Ecco Domani merlot) was great, the desserts were great...the whole day was great, honestly. i am lucky beyond words to have a partner who is so smart, sexy, funny, kind, and generous. and, who has my back like i do hers. absolute magic.

i'm currently tucked into the upstairs massage room at work, doing math homework and waiting for my first client (of three) to arrive. after work, it's back to school for College Night - there will be representatives from 45 colleges, all with information. it ends at 8, and work ends at 7, so i will be doing a lightning-fast Information Collection Tour ("Nursing School? You has? Gimme!").

things i learned today:

how to solve algebraic equations containing fractions

fermentation is anaerobic respiration

you make hard alcohol through a process called fractional distillation (i'm REALLY enjoying this biology professor!)

deciding whether the statement, "When looking through a microscope, less light allows you to see more detail" is true or false is not easy when you have a background in stage lighting. define "less light"! of course you need to be able to properly see the sample on the slide, but too much light will wash out the details! THIS IS NOT AN EITHER/OR SITUATION.