Damn. I was on such a roll with 2 posts in a row. Let's see what's new. D had a job and then was laid off again after a week. (Official score: Mint - 1, Sucky Economy - 2). Luckily he got another job a dew weeks later although it was for a lot less money and much further from home. He has since been offered yet another job which he'll start on Monday. It's more in the field that he wants so he's happy. I'm a little seasick from all the ups and downs. I'm not complaining, I'm just stating a fact.



My sister, Dr J, had twins about 6 weeks ago. They were a month early but she was so uncomfortable and tired and her bladder was only holding the equivalent of a shot glass before she has to pee. The boys are so precious , they make my ovaries hurt.



I had a great whirlwind visit from Nutty in April. She was in town for business and I was able to meet up with her and her colleague for the day. She's as wonderful as I imagined she would be in "real life". It's funny when you meet someone who you know only through their blog. Although I'm fairly anonymous on here but I still find that I censor many of my thoughts. If you feel you know me through this blog, I fear you'd be sadly disappointed when you met me in person. With Nutty, she's sugar and spice and all things nice. : )

Here's a pic of the lovely outfit Aunty Nutty gave The Girl.

I leave you with a few pictures of the last few months.

D finally got a job! After months of waiting and countless interviews he found one that was right for him. (And by "right" I mean they will give him a paycheck every 2 weeks). We're a two income family again but I think the chill of unemployment has left me scarred. I make a good living so we were never in fear of losing our house or car, but what about the gazillion other people out there that didn't make it through unscathed? The unemployment actually brought D and I closer together but I don't think everyone is that lucky. Next month we'll celebrate 13 years since we first met. 13 years?? My arthritis flares up at the thought.

I know you don't want to hear about the weather but it's brain-numbing cold. I literally walked out to warm up the car this morning and forgot where I was. For those of you in warm places who are unfamiliar with the concept, you literally have to go out and turn on the car 10 minutes before you go anywhere so it can warm up. This morning the van failed the first two twists of the key and hurled obscenities my way before it finally gave in. The Boy was always losing a hat or 1 random glove until 2 weeks ago when I sent him to school with what extras I could scrounge including 1 pink mitten and 1 red Spiderman glove. Miraculously he has started taking care of his things since then.

I started the New Year with such a great attitude but then I had a little bit of a set-back yesterday and now all I want to do is crawl in bed and sleep until Spring comes. Why do we live in Chicago? I suppose it's a rhetorical question but perhaps subconsciously I want someone to give me one good reason. It's cold. And one minute there wasn't any snow and then I took a shower and suddenly the ground was covered in white like the trees had a major case of dandruff. With D's unemployment we're going to have to postpone our Ireland/Scottland trip this year which bites. I also have some sort of annoying eye ailment. I thought it was an errant eyelash that keeps poking me but I can't seem to get it out. In the meantime I keep randomly winking like I'm using my eyelids to talk in Morse code. The mailman must have thought that I REALLY appreciated him bringing me the 2009 IKEA catalog. *sigh*

2008 checklist:

• Drama on the job front ...check! (New job for me. Unemployment for the hubby)


• Kids growing mentally, physically, spiritually...check! (The boy is almost as tall as my mom. He's got my genes for facial hair so I'm sure he'll be shaving before the 5th grade)


• Dealing with the ups and downs of life...check! (My grandma passed away. My sis (Dr J) is pregnant with twins! Also, did I mention husband lost his job?)


• Making it through another year with (some) humor, (an ounce of) dignity and (plenty of) vodka...check!

Hiya. So I can hear you ask "Minty, where the heck have you been?" I've been here and there and everywhere. Wanted to post for a while but I'm so rusty at this point. Until I get back in the swing of things I shall utilize the beloved bullet-style post:

• I'm totally in denial that summer is over. It's gonna be a long, hard winter. (For all you Office fans out there "That's what she said!")



• D and I completely gutted the basement and redid it. I asked for a remodeled family room for Christmas (2007). By the time St Patrick's Day rolled around I was no closer to having a lick of work done. I, of course, took that opportunity to remind D that I purchased him a limited edition Gibson electric robot guitar for X-mas and unless he wanted to lose it in the divorce he better get off his ass and start knocking down walls. It turned out beautiful. However I only invite over people who pretend not to notice the unevenness of the ceiling.

The Boy is a 3rd grader. Where has the time gone?? I took him for his annual physical over the summer and he's at the 90th percentile for height. I noticed that he had a lot of female admirers at his summer camp which he was completely oblivious to. Unless you can throw a baseball 20 feet he doesn't have time for you.

• The Girl turned 4 and is now in preschool. Her will is so strong and I struggle with raising her without breaking it. D is so tightly wound around her tiny pinkie it's not even funny.

The kids on the first day of school (September, 08)

• My sister Dr J and her hubby bought a house way put in the boonies. Her husband is convinced that I've given Dr J some magic elixir that causes her to want to become a suburban soccer mom.


• I received wedding invitations from 2 fellow bloggers. Congrats to The Box and Me. Both of their wedding albums make me want to marry D again just so we can get a better photographer.
  
• I met my first blogging friend! Had lunch with Beks and her friend Betty (and Betty's adorable son). Everyone was great and hopefully Beks wasn't too disappointed when she met me. ; )

I'm in Southern California all next week for work which I'm kinda excited about. The weather is supposed to be wonderful AND I'll have my own quiet hotel room to watch all the season premieres.

Pretend you're reading this on Feb 19th. 2008

12 years ago today I had a first date like no other. I nervously parked the car at the Italian restaurant and fidgeted with my scarf and wondered if I should just go home. I was tired and was having a bad hair day and just wanted to go to bed. I got out of my car and noticed D coming at me and realized that I had forgotten how cute he was since the last time we had met. I was so distracted by his blue eyes at dinner that I ordered fettuccine alfredo despite hating cream sauces with a passion. (The waitress asked if I wanted the special and I said “yes” and then spent the rest of the night fighting the urge to ask her for ketchup to pour on top). I was so smitten I couldn't think straight. I went home that night with my head in the clouds and have never looked back.

Fast forward to the present. We always go back to same restaurant with the kids for fun. Unfortunately I didn't have time to gaze into D's eyes since the Girl spilled water on me and the Boy complained and whined that the tomatoes on his plate were touching the green peppers hence he couldn't eat them. I couldn't think straight because I had a sinus headache and I went home that night with my head in the clouds.

It’s official. Our relationship is older than my favorite purse.