Chilly Hilly: My First Organized Ride and Why You Need Sleep

Sunday's weather was pretty darn great! We did do the Chilly Hilly ride, and I'm so glad. This was my first organized (paid?) ride and it was very fun. I've done lots of group rides now, with up to sixty-ish riders, but nothing like this: close to six thousand riders zooming around a very hilly island. (Oh heck, who am I kidding, everything in the Pacific Northwest is hilly, I think!) It was 33 miles and 2,675 feet in elevation gain: not the hilliest or longest ride I've done, but nothing to sniff at, either.

That's Mr. W's friend, he's not really photo-bombing us. Except he kinda was, haha.

Thoughts on the experience:

• Gold star: I may be slow up those hills, but I didn't walk my bike up any of them. Bikes are for riding, not pushing! There were an awful lot of people walking bikes up hills, so I felt like a powerful athlete chugging along at 4 mph, hahaha.
• I was a bit nervous about riding the ferry (specifically boarding and disembarking) with a ton of other cyclists but it was no problem. Except when the guy in front and to the side of me dropped his water bottle and people (not me) started toppling like dominoes as he stopped to pick it up, haha.
• I had Clif Shot gel (citrus flavored) and it was yummy. And here I thought I despised all gels and their bizarre texture. Nope, this one was good. I also like/love Clif bars even though I don't like most/all any other bar I've tried. I should buy stock in the Clif company, or at least be their PR person.

• Matt Mr. Wonderful has a lot of biking friends. Sheesh. I am friendly but have never felt the need or desire to know everyone. I have a small group of friends I would die for. Most of the rest of the people in the world are sort of blurry entities I am aware of but don't focus on too much. I have limited attention and thought capacity and I must ration it carefully!
• Seriously, Mr. Wonderful is such a geek. Have I told you? :) This is my first up-close encounter with a  geek. I feel like Jane Goodall sometimes.

He's a much better kisser, though.

• I would follow that bullet up with examples of geek-dom but there are just too many and some of them might make you question my sanity. I can't have you doing that while I am doing that, we might come to the same conclusion. Skeery.
• I was REALLY slow on this ride. Why, you ask? Because I was horribly, horribly sleep deprived. Why, you ask? Because I spent the weekend at Mr. W's house. Is his bed lumpy? No. Are his pillows uncomfortable? No, not really, although I did stop and grab my own pillow from home for the second night. Loud neighbors? Nope. Mr. W. is GRABBY. 

I googled "Sleeping with Octopus" and isn't this the cutest thing ever?

A bit closer to what I meant, if you understand that I am represented by the cat.

Well, this one accurately depicts my body and the feeling of being suffocated by an octopus, anyway. ;)

• Wow, that man cannot keep his hands to himself. We "slept" (and I use the word loosely, at least when describing my night) twisted up like a candy cane. We haven't had many actual grown-up slumber parties, I realized, after spending the whole weekend together. Will we have many more?? I sleep alone in a king-sized bed. Ahhhhh, space. 

I know how, and it's really not that hard.

• This issue will need to be addressed, and I suspect message reinforced, before, during and after future sleepovers. I was exhausted. By Sunday night after the long ride, you couldn't distinguish between me and a walker from the Walking Dead.

So very tired.

• Anyway, so I was exhausted and very slow, but we made it through. I would definitely do it again! Next time with plenty of sleep the night before. Mr. W. is a fun riding partner because he's a good mix of chatting and leaving me the heck alone so I can chug up this damn hill. I enjoy him so much, even though he mistakes me for a body pillow. We are having a (Mr.) wonderful time together. And will continue to do so, unless I go into complete geek-breakdown. Such strange creatures.

Questions for you, Constant Reader (to steal outright from one of my favorite authors, Stephen King):

1. Can you sleep with someone velcroed to your body? Or do you paint a line down the middle of your bed, if partnered?
2. Do you like Clif Gel, and if so, are there other flavors that I should try, given that I have been known to take a mouthful of Gu and spit it on the pavement? (Normally, I swallow, but will spit if it is just too darn unpalatable, hahaha.)
3. Are you one of these social butterflies who knows everyone like Mr. W, or can you count your besties on your fingers and maybe toes?
4. Are you, or have you ever been a geek? Do you affiliate with geeks?
5. Do geeks deserve love, too, like real people? ;)

Heads Up

Oooo, pretty! I swapped out the picture of me and Mr. W. in favor of the pretty Gerber daisies. Hurry up, springtime! Groundhog Day promised me an early spring and I want it. Bad.

Speaking of Mr. W, (and when aren't I?) we had a couple of  milestones this weekend. Saturday night we took the kids to a restaurant for dinner. Yup, first time he joined us. I normally don't even take the kids out to eat, as with three kids it can be a $60+ prospect at many sit-down restaurants. Their favorite is Red Robin. I took Alli there for her birthday when just she and I went out to eat earlier this month. We talked about how "back in the day" we ate at Red Robin frequently, maybe even once a week or thereabouts. These days, though, it's a rare treat. We had Reid's playmate spending the night, and we all went to IHOP. The boys were rowdy but reasonably well-behaved. Mr. W was not feeling well, and even spiked a fever during the meal. I tried to send him home but he had left his bike at my place and needed it for the next morning. I spent the meal stressed out, but everyone else, including Mr. W, seemed to have a good time.

Monday, we all had the day off for Presidents' Day. We picked Mr. W up early for a trip to Northwest Trek, a zoo-ish sort of destination location in our area. Again, I was moderately stressed the whole day (oh, okay, I'll just say it - I don't exactly relish days out in public with my kids. There. I said it.). My daughter is an angel but my boys are always roughhousing and my youngest is a human-wolf hybrid (you may have seen the articles in Newsweek, etc. when he was born). Again, Mr. W seemed to have a good time, and when I said later that I wondered if I'd see him again, or if I should be concerned that he's such a glutton for punishment, he said all sorts of nice things.

I'm still languishing without regular exercise. We skipped last night's bike ride because of the weather, and the weather is supposed to suck this weekend so we may skip the Chilly Hilly ride, too. It's my first organized bike ride and I am a little nervous about it. But excited. It will be fun. I am *still* waiting for an answer on my financial aid application to the Y: I can't reactivate the membership until that's reviewed. I'm getting more than a little surly about it.

You take a ferry to the bike ride start.

I've never been, but apparently it's a little crowded, haha.

Tomorrow, I'm off to the flower and garden show! Yay! My friend Patti and I have gone together every year for a long time now. I'm not much of a gardener, but I always enjoy looking. :) It's supposed to be super stormy tomorrow, so I will be glad to be inside looking at all the exhibits, pretending it's spring time.

Sneaker

First, I have to show you. Seriously, fog, go the heck away. I am so tired of you.

This winter is like being wrapped in thick cotton batting. I cannot breathe.

Happy belated Valentine's Day to ya! Yesterday I thought I'd be cool and serve nachos for dinner by candlelight. The kids were home, but the nachos idea wasn't as well-received as I had hoped. "I don't want nachos," my 7yo said. Wha?? Kid food?? Turns out they have nachos every week with X. Here I had been thinking, "Wow, we haven't had nachos for dinner in YEARS! How fun!" Hahaha. 

So we had heart-shaped pizza from Papa Murphy's. And I completely forgot about the candles. Oops.

The view out my window.
Oh, you can't see anything, either?

In my ever-seeking-trouble-with-Human-Resources ways, I approached a coworker this morning and told him I hate him and his kind. "Should I just leave 'what kind' to my own imagination?" he asked. No, I told him, this time I'm thinking naturally thin people. 

When I had my weight loss surgery, the doctor told me that I would lose whatever percentage of my excess weight, then I would regain a little, then I would fight the same 5-10 pounds that everyone else does. HA! I thought. Not me.

Um. I've lost all my excess weight, I've regained a little, and now I am in a death-battle with the same five or ten pounds everyone else is.

Hrumph. Stupid know-it-all doctor.

Sneaker pounds. A donut on Valentine's Day, followed by handfuls of mini candy bars in the evening. A big hibernating winter appetite and an utter collapse of the vigorous exercise routine I had been on. Handfuls of sent-straight-from-heaven crunchy Cinnamon Life cereal. A mini chocolate covered strawberry Blizzard from DQ.

Can't ride my bike this Wednesday because we went for early Valentine's dinner. Can't ride it Saturday because the kids are home. Can't ride it Sunday because Reid is having a sleepover. Can't, can't, can't.

Oops.

What I really need to do is figure out how to bike to work. Then I would feel happy and great arriving at work, I'd have a ride home in the evening, and boy, would I be getting a lot more exercise. It's about 12 miles one way...a perfectly reasonable bicycle commute. They have shower facilities here for bike commuters and everything. It's just time...time is always short.

I am in the process of getting the Y reactivated. It's not a complicated process, but I did apply for financial assistance, so I have to wait until I hear back. Otherwise, reactivating the membership is as easy as showing up, haha. 

The extra pounds weren't the "Sneaker" I was thinking of when I started this post, however. I was thinking about Mr. W, who clearly has wormed his way into my heart. I know this, because his clearly-smitten ways and his eagerness to be around me have turned from slightly annoying to happily welcomed. Of course, that probably means he'll break up with me tonight. ;) He came to dinner last night with the kids. My 7yo especially adores him. I think he thinks I bought Mr. W at a store just for him. Mr. W will sit and play legos, he takes Reid on bike rides around the neighborhood, etc. Hearkening back to the Five Love Languages (which I still have not read and do not intend to), Reid's language is Quality Time.

Mama likes that. But more than that, it is just SO FUN to have someone to bike with, to plan weekend trips and vacations with. Someone who strangely is willing to incorporate three kids into his childless life, talking about driving vacations with the kids to places they'd enjoy seeing. Someone who buys me flowers (Yes, Kim, I told him I don't like carnations! Which he told me he buys because it's the January birthday month flower - see, he's just sweet and thoughtful. I, in turn, told him, yes, I have hated them my whole life, haha. Maybe I just resented being "assigned" a flower.) and chocolate covered cherries (oops, yeah, I've been eating those, too) and a SBUX card (the ultimate language of love, I say!). 

I'm a Gerber Daisy girl. 

Anyway, we're having fun and I am learning to like having someone be nice to me. And he's learning to not be overly present: this weekend he's doing his own thing every day and I am the one hoping he'll squeeze in some time for me! And that's a nice, balanced feeling.

Quick list:

• I have now seen urgent care, my chiropractor, the acupuncturist, physical therapist, dentist, endodontist (root canal dentist), primary care doctor and an oral-maxi-whatever surgeon for my throbbing teeth and aching jaw. Yesterday I had a full panoramic x-ray of my head and there ain't a broken bone or cracked tooth in sight. The oral-maxillofacial surgeon said, like everyone else, that I have got the nerves and muscles completely screwed up. Time, he said. Time and drugs. He threw another one into the mix that I'll start tonight. Now I'm on muscle relaxants, nerve blockers and a souped up anti-inflammatory. Yikes. He also recommended I continue acupuncture and says he has had great success in patients for pain relief.
• I had another iron IV infusion yesterday, so that should help battle back from the blues.
• You should watch "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World," now that we have meteor(s) crashing into earth. It's good.
• Mr. W rented "Frankenweenie" but Reid won't watch it because it looks like a zombie movie. How and why are my boys so fascinated and afraid of zombies?
• I don't even want to get on a scale, but I am going for a walk at lunch time, so I'm sure I'll feel less sluggish and fat. It looks like it's maybe sunny under the fog.
• Have a great weekend!

Slogging Through Winter

Winter can't end soon enough for me. It seems like it's been foggy every day for a year in Seattle. This probably isn't true. Tonight, it's super windy: heads up - wind is my favorite winter weather. I love windstorms, as long as I'm not the one who has to clean up after them. And it is garbage night, so when I pulled the cans out to the street, I made a quick wish that they don't blow over.

Why am *I* pulling the cans out to the street, you ask? When I have three able-bodied children? Hmm. I wondered the same thing. My now 14yo daughter is actually pretty darn helpful around the house. Garbage duty is loosely owned by my 11yo son, but he is afraid of the dark. Zombies, specifically. So after his lacrosse practice, I nearly made him come back outside to haul the cans to the street, but I'd have to stand out there to protect him anyway...well, I just went ahead and did it.

I saw a new doctor today - I'm in search of a primary doc as mine retired last fall. He was my GP from the time I was 12 or 14, so you can't say I'm not loyal! This woman seemed very nice. I sought her out in search of help for my aching jaw and teeth. It's been a month since my snow tubing calamity and I am still in so much pain. It's amazing how chronic pain affects your mood! Grr - I have been foul this last month. Anyway, she's trying me on another med, a nerve medication this time, to see if it helps calm the nerves in my teeth and jaw. I'm trying it tonight: I guess it makes you pretty sleepy. Here's hoping! She also referred me to an ENT (ear/nose/throat) doctor for follow-up care. 

Amazing to me how close we came to not even snow tubing that day. Grr. We had already snowshoed all afternoon. The place was closing in two hours. We had dinner plans. But it was cheap and looked like fun. We almost didn't do it. Imagine how much pain, time and expense I would have been spared, sheesh.*

*unless by going snow tubing I was averting some other more serious calamity, haha. With me, you just never know. I'm the type that would step out in front of a bus while busily texting away. :)

Okay - I'm fattening up again. Yikes. Seriously over winter. Today at the doctor's I weighed in at 148. Holy isht. Yes, I was wearing jeans and I had a very full belly (uh, there's part of the problem - I seem to always have a full belly these days) and a very full bladder. But still. Put the fork down, fatty! This is not all cycling muscle weight, since I'm cycling, oh, once a week at best these days. Argh!

Serious winter depression. Talk about the WORST TIME EVER to have a new boyfriend. I am just no fun in winter. I did go get my blood work done and my ferritin was in the crapper again and I'm having an iron IV on Thursday. But they said my vitamin D level was fine (40), so no prescription vitamin D for me. Boo. 

No bike ride tomorrow night. Mr. W and I are celebrating Valentine's Day early. My X's mom was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and she is having surgery on Thursday and X wants to be at the hospital, of course. So I'm keeping the kiddos an extra night and Mr. W and I going out tomorrow. I had planned to go buy a pretty dress tonight, but a busy evening schedule with the kids the last couple nights made that plan go bust! I talked to X's mom today - they caught the cancer very early and are super-optimistic about her outcome. She's a strong woman - my money is on her being just fine. Still, it's very nervewracking, for her and everyone who cares about her (myself included).

Oy, Mr. W. I am crazy about him while at the same time he is driving me crazy. Truly - he's about the best thing you could ever ask in a boyfriend. He is just so freaking head over heels for me...what a ridiculous complaint, I know. It's probably the pain and the pain meds screwing with my head, and for that reason I have committed to just continuing along happily with him for now. Plus, I'm trying to get whatever life lesson I'm supposed to get out of this! He is *exactly* as moony-crazy-in-love over me as I was over Greg. I remember Greg saying things like:

- I think it's great that you want to spend all your free time with me, but...

- I think it's great that you want to do whatever I want to do, but...

You get the idea. I'm trying to figure out what Greg could have said or done to get me to MELLOW THE F OUT. The nice thing about Mr. W is that he is super easy to talk to. He's just so damn gung ho. Oh, I don't know.

But he's fun. :) On Sunday, he rang the doorbell and I came down the stairs to see him through the front door window. He was down on one bent knee (tying his shoe). I opened up the door with, "You have GOT to be kidding me!! I told you this is TOO SOON!" He was so shocked, then he got it and we were both cracking up.

But seriously. If I told him tomorrow I was ready to be engaged, I'd be wearing a ring by the end of the week. Sabrina says he's already bought it, haha. She also makes a mean face at me if I even so much as allude to breaking up with him. And she reminds me what Kim said, that "you know you're the problem, not him." Ahhhhh, friends. What in the world would you do without them? I feel a bit as if I'm in an arranged marriage, though, haha.

It's too much for me right now. Winter and this CONSTANT PAIN are wearing me down! No life changes allowed during this time. If I told you all the wonderful things Mr. W says and does for me - you'd think me insane for being stressed by them. Really insane. That man has outlayed unthinkable amounts of time and money on me since we started dating - you wouldn't believe.

Anyways. I am crazy about him - truly - but I'm just not at the same speed or intensity. He tries to back off for my sake, but then it's just like a car revving its engine next to you at a red light. Not really backed off, just ...holding. Barely.

Example: We saw each other Saturday evening (briefly - I was very sick w/ flu this weekend), all day Sunday, and dinner with the kids last night. He texted me today, "I miss you!" I haven't had time to breath, let alone miss him or anyone else. We spoke on the phone tonight and he said he thought about me all day. See, I think about him, too. But I think he thinks "I can't wait to swallow her whole in one giant all consuming love bite." Or something like that.

One giant love bite. (Thanks for sending this, Kim!)

But, I remember when I was seeing Greg. If I hadn't heard from him by the afternoon, I would have been in conniptions. The couple evenings we didn't speak, wow, those were long lonely nights. 

What to do, what to do. I know it's the pain. And winter. And the pain meds. I am not myself.

So...on the exercise front...I have not reactivated my Y membership yet. I did talk to the woman today, finally. I emailed her three times before I finally called and got her today. See, before, I was getting a small amount of financial aid that I found very helpful. I would like to have that re-instated, thus the waiting patiently to talk to her part. She sent me the appropriate forms to complete. I make too much to warrant a genuine financial hardship, but I'll probably get some token $20 off a month or so, which is big money for my squeaky budget!

No ride tomorrow, no ride this weekend. I've got an extra 6yo boy this weekend, as I'm watching my friend's son. He is totally taking advantage of me, in that these sleepovers are never reciprocated, but he is also a single dad and has 100% custody of Reid's buddy and I feel for him. I try to help him out when I can, because although single parenting is hard - I get lots and lots of free time. He does not. He's our old next door neighbor from the condo and I like them both a lot. He has a girlfriend (they met at their high school reunion!) and she has a daughter who is about 5. All together, that's a very nice blended family combo...boy/girl, close in ages, each only having one kid. 

I digress. No bike ride this weekend. Next weekend is Chilly Hilly, an annual organized ride that's about 40 miles and whatever hilly elevation gain. We are doing that at least, so I will be back on the bike sometime this month. (weak, self-pitying laugh. Cue unbuttoning top button of too tight jeans.)

Let's see what I can do to pull myself out of this funk!

Rainy Ride

I freely admit I am the *biggest* whiner about winter weather. In all seriousness, when the kids are grown, I plan on high-tailing it out of Seattle in favor of a sunnier climate. Even though when it's sunny in Seattle, there isn't a better place to be in the whole wide world. That's the best friggin' week of the year! (ba-dum-dum)

So last night as I was leaving the office in the pouring down rain and cold, I was NOT EXCITED about going on my weekly group night ride. But see, I haven't been hitting that ride very often these days. The ice, the cold, the rain, my snow tubing injury - I had lots of reasons to skip. To the point that it wasn't even really "my" group anymore. Oops!

I wasn't going to cancel last night. Rain, lightning, whatever. I asked the universe for a physically active boyfriend and BAM! did I get one. If I keep bailing on the activities, well, he's gonna start to wonder, right? Ok. So, I'm in. Argh. No matter how crappy the weather, I won't be the one to cry uncle.

It was just the die hards last night. I was the only girl* - this puts on extra-special pressure, right? The group mulled canceling the ride, but there I was with my big smile, "I'm good to go." ("please cancel it. please cancel it.")

*Later, two other girls showed up. They were "racer chicks," slumming it for the night to join our little group. We broke into two groups anyway: the really fast boys and the superhuman girls. That is pure jealousy speaking, by the way. :) Pure and utter jealousy! I would love, love, love to be a fast racer chick. It is not in the cards for me, I think.

Who am I kidding? They never cancel.

Mr. Wonderful gave me the option: we can go do something else? This was funny, because on Tuesday night he texted me the weather was supposed to be awful Wednesday night, and we should have a back up plan. My response to his text and his next text passed each other through the airwaves:

Me: That "Warm Bodies" zombie movie is supposed to be good.
Him: We can go to the club and play racquetball or the open badminton. 

Oops.

Okay, nope, I'm in. Here we go. Twenty-four miles in the dark and rain. It was so fun! Once I'm out there, I have a blast. I do not like biking in driving rain, but in moderate, typical dreary-suck rain, it's fine. I don't think that riding in the dark is the *smartest* thing to do. I have a pretty great light. There are much better lights. Either way, you're sort of taking it on faith that you won't ride right into a hole or over some unavoidable obstacle.

Total blast. I love riding my bike. I am fast on the flats and super slow on the hills. But I keep up with the boys.

And on Sunday, we have a very hilly 40-mile ride on the agenda. That one won't get canceled, either. And I'll plaster on my big-girl brave face and git'er done. :)

Freakout Weight - Revisited

Boo. Stupid winter. Stupid foggy Seattle weather. Stupid hibernation eating. Remember back here in July, when I established the original freakout weight? And then again back in October, when I revisited the new lower freakout weight, just to make sure it still freaked me out?

Hullo, freakout weight. I was hoping not to see you again. I didn't want to step on the scale this morning, but I knew I had to do it, or it would just continue to get worse. Today's weight was 146.2. Oops. Up a full ten pounds from my lowest weight. Well, I can't really claim 136 pounds as  my lowest, because honestly, the scale just touched it one day. My body likes to weigh 137-140. I would like my body to weigh 129-135, but apparently this is not happening.

Okay - so what's been going wrong?

• I am barely exercising.
• I am eating too much.
• I have discovered Clif bars, after a lifetime of hating all bars and successfully avoiding them. Thank you, Mr. Wonderful, for filling my stocking with them, haha.
• I have been so doped up on pain killers and muscle relaxants for the last couple weeks due to my aching jaw (hmm - can I blame the snow tubing accident on Mr. W, too? Could he possibly be a VILLAIN in this story??). Do narcotics make me feel hungry? Or just not give a damn?
• It is winter, and I hate winter, and I am depressed and so over the foggy gray Seattle skies.

Oh look, I'm not immune to science! If I overeat and don't exercise, I will gain weight. Boo!!

I did go on a short bike ride with Mr. Wonderful on Saturday. I begged off the long hilly ride on Sunday because I had my kids, and 2/3 of them have been very, very ill for the last week. It seemed mean to leave them on their own for the afternoon. Lonely, sick kids. But Mr. W and I did go for a quick hilly ride: he got to see my ugly side, because I DID NOT WANNA GO ON THAT BIKE RIDE. He finally lured me into it when I said I needed to get to the library to pick up a book that was waiting for me. He pointed out the library was only a couple miles away and would make a nice bike ride. Argh. We spun it into a longer loop and rode up a badass monster hill I've been wanting to do. So even though it was only an eight mile ride I was pleased with myself. (Also, I remember posting late last summer when I started riding that I rode TWELVE MILES! WOW! Now anything less than twenty is a fun little fake bike ride, not a workout, haha. Amazing how times change.*)

*Although, as I said, I'm barely cycling at all right now, so those fun little fake bike rides would probably push me out of the freakout zone if I did a couple, haha. Slacker.

Okay - so what's the solution?

• I'm going to call today about re-activating our YMCA membership. I turned it off in conjunction with my plastic surgery.
• I told my daughter I'd look into buying a treadmill on craigslist. She has/had been doing so well at running in the neighborhood, but it is cold and yucky out. I don't like her out there in the dark when she gets home from school.
• Back on my stupid liquid diet for a few days. Stupid protein shakes. 
• Clif bars are treats to eat on long bike rides only. Period. I'm moving my stash out to the garage with the rest of my biking stuff. Not in my dresser drawer to hide from the kids and make a delightful bedtime snack.
• I am going on my group's regular Wednesday night ride and Sunday's hilly bike ride if it kills me. It may kill me. I have missed so many Wednesday rides I am really not even part of the group anymore! Last Wednesday I skipped to go out with two out of town friends. Drinking many beers and eating much food. It was counter-productive to the goals of the bike ride.
• Might I even start climbing the stairs again at work? Perhaps?? I should talk to Barb about going for The Big Climb like we had wanted to do last year. Oops, no, it's sold out. Bah.

I really screwed the pooch on my winter training. My problem was that I forgot to factor in my utter depression and lethargy during the winter months. I knew it was coming: that's why I made the goal to force myself outside even in crap weather. Where I fell short was getting a solid plan in place before the doldrums took over. Now biking seems too hard, running seems too hard, etc. etc. etc.

Wow, did Mr. Wonderful *ever* get a dose of my whinyness this weekend. After last Sunday's ride, which was 37+ hilly miles, I said I was done with winter riding. Even though I totally love it and had a blast! Once I'm out there. But it was wet and miserable and cold and I was always switching gloves and adding and removing layers, and freezing to death on the flats and burning to death on the hills, and and and. He tried to lure me out for at least part of this Sunday's ride: it was three adjacent loops that would have been easy to do one, two, or all of them. But nope, I would have nothing to do with it. Call me when you're done. Period.

Oh, that guy. I should tell you, I'm totally falling for him. He is still a complete geek: I was changing the light bulb's in Reid's room and replacing the old-fashioned glass cover. It had an extra washer that made it difficult to screw the base back on. "Should you just disable the washer?" he asked. I stopped, looked at him and said, "Do you mean, 'throw that f*'er away?" Yes, he laughed. See, he always laughs. I am really too much woman for him but he hasn't figured that out yet, so I am just rolling with it. I am really crass and vulgar and pretty obnoxious. He's, um, not. I know I heard him swear once. I think he was quoting someone.

I could make you a list of 1000 nice things he's done for me since we started dating. But you wouldn't believe me if I told you. Or you'd think I'm being really, really spoiled. :) I'll write more about him sometime soon.