I'm Back Baby!

Well I've actually been back since Tuesday but it was late Tuesday and I had work and laundry and....and just back off Internet, I had shit to do. Wow, that hostility came out of nowhere. I'll just use my old standard excuse, I was tired. The trip was great and I got to see Captain Awesome! And the rest of my family. All four days were scheduled really tightly so I could see and do everything. The Captain and I did some "adult" stuff including making some super un-fun but fiscally responsible decisions about the move. (I just re-read that and "adult" stuff sounds dirtier than I meant, although there was some of that too.) Because of bad timing and a shitty housing market we will not be making money on the sale of the current house. Also, the Captain and I may well be the world's worst savers. My amazing 25 year old sister and her fiance just bought a house where she saved the entire down payment in two years. Captain Awesome and I are lucky if we have money left over at the end of the month. We make good money but we also spend spend spend. Anyway, we decided to move back into a small apartment when we get back to NC, get a loan from the credit union, pay off all our debts and get some savings. Woohoo, money discussions. Don't be jealous of my glamorous and exciting life here people. On to the trip recap:
Tuesday-Thursday-clean like crazy, work and get packed. Captain had sent me a list of stuff he needed and I already over pack so my bag was easily 546 pounds. Our realtor set up an open house so had to leave the house in "show" condition. **Quick aside-I always leave the house clean when I go on a trip. I have a weird fear that if I die while away and friends have to come get funeral clothes they will be disgusted at the dirtiness of my house and talk bad about me at the funeral. Yes, I am crazy**
Friday-we had snow and ice over night. Awesome! I had booked my flight out of an airport an hour away to save money. I dug out my car, braved the roads, slogged through the long-term parking lot and got the shuttle to the airport only to find my flight was delayed 2 hours. Of course. And here is where I prove I am an idiot (although in my defense I was SUPER tired). I looked at my ticket and saw a big number indicating my gate. I got there and figured I had some time to kill so I took a cat nap. I woke up about 45 minutes later and noticed I was one of 3 people at the gate. I thought it was kind of weird and then I started noticing other things. The gate was not for the airline I was booked on, the sign did not show my flight and (after looking at my ticket again) I had looked at the seat number instead of the gate number! Shit! So I walked/ran while panicking to the correct gate where I saw my flight was canceled. Shit again! The desk agent was extremely nice but let me know there was no way I was getting to Wilmington, NC that day. I start internally flipping out so I started naming cities in NC where I thought I could get a ride. My parents live in Raleigh and luckily I could get a flight to there but the flight was leaving later that day from the airport 20 minutes from my house.
Once I made it on the plane (many many hours later) it was a nice flight and my dad picked me up. I saw Captain Awesome in person for the first time since Jan. 5th so everything worked out in the end.
Saturday-Bridal shower day! My youngest sister, A, was also in town (for the shower) so I got to hang out with her and the Captain. She is super funny and I miss her a lot. We got dressed and my mom and another friend drove us to the shower. It was fun and the first time all the bridesmaids were together. And there was two kinds of cake! We got back about 4:30 and my dad and I went to the gym. It was warm so we had wine and cheese on the deck and then weren't that hungry so my mom made salad, green beans and mashed potatoes (requested by A) for dinner. Captain was out with friends playing poker and drinking and I was still tired so I passed out about midnight.

So I've realized this is too long of a post so I'm making it a cliff hanger. Stay tuned tomorrow for Sunday and Monday...the drama, the excitement dun-dun-duuuuuunnnnn!

Word Salad

I have a lot swirling around in my brain so I'm going with the old standby...
Bullets!

• I went home sick yesterday. I felt crappy on Sunday but I assumed it was the wine and beer and food. Turns out I had a 24 hour bug. I made it to work and then I smelled stale cigarette smoke on someone and started gagging. After I made it out of the bathroom I went home and went straight to bed. I NEVER nap but I slept for 6 hours.
  
• This makes me worry about having morning sickness when I get pregnant. My mom had morning sickness with all her kids for the first trimester. On the one hand, yay not gaining a quadrillion pounds right away. On the other hand, I could barely function yesterday morning and the idea of that for 12 weeks straight sounds horrible.
  
• I feel MUCH better today.
• I got a spa gift certificate and made the appointment for yesterday evening. I felt better when I get up from my nap so I kept the appointment. I highly recommend SIA Spa in Cincinnati. The place is gorgeous and everyone on the staff I met with was super helpful and friendly. I was one of the last people there and no one was rushing me out.
• I had a bikini wax with hard wax instead of the strips. I will never go back. Tricia was my waxer and she was funny and really fast. Two things I look for in a waxer.
• I also had my first facial ever. I love it more than life itself. So relaxing and my skin looks amazing. My face was dried out and you could see my massive pores and fine lines. The Vitamin C facial made my skin glow and no more fine lines! Now I just have to keep it up.
• The first rule of blogging is "Thou shalt not talk about the weather since everyone thinks it's boring" And now I'll break it by saying it is damn cold and this wind may kill me. It snowed yesterday and we're supposed to get more tonight. Really winter?!? Really? I hope the blogging gods won't smite me.
• After blowing my diet this weekend and not working out because I felt so bad I was not expecting good numbers for the "weigh-in" today. Yay! I lost 1.8 pounds bringing my grand total to 4.5 pounds in 4 weeks. Slowly but surely I'll get there.
• Walking around I have a permanent goofy smile on my face. I get to see Captain Awesome in three more days! I can't believe how giddy I still get when I see him, even after being married for 5 years.
  
• My book club is meeting at my house and I am blowing the diet again by making cheese fondue with French bread and green apples. Oh well.....bring on the wine!
  

Unplanned Weekend

Saturday night was one of the funnest nights I've had since we moved to Cincinnati. It was completely spontaneous but everything we stumbled onto was awesome.

The evening started out a little frustrating. Liz and I planned to eat at a Jamaican place on the north side of town for dinner. Then we found out they were closing early. Plan One was foiled. Liz is awesome at hearing about new interesting places so when she suggested a new wine bar called Bouquet I was in. Of course the wine bar was in KY (south of town) and it didn't make sense to drive all over the city so we planned to eat dinner there. Liz called to make reservations but they didn't have anything available until 8:30. Plan Two foiled. We decided to just meet near the bar and find something nearby to eat. Then have dessert and wine at the bar. The Cock and Bull is a Irish pub where we got dinner and some beer. Since I've been doing Weight Watchers I haven't really eaten beef so I splurged on a cheeseburger. As usual, Liz and I had great conversation that ranged from politics to mental health to books and more. It wasn't 8:30 but we thought maybe we could sit at the bar at Bouquet.

Bouquet is a georgous little restaurant. The decorations are modern but beautiful and it's very intimate. We did sit at the bar and got some wine. Our friend Laura met us so we had more wine. And what goes great with wine? Four kinds of cheeses! Everything was amazing and they had my favorite bleu cheese Drunken Goat. And then we had more wine. The chef and sous chef were, moving around through the restaurant and we saw them bring some chocolate covered strawberries to a table. They weren't on the menu but we asked and they brought some to us on a plate with edible flowers. And then we had more wine. The restaurant was closing so we left and were walking back to our cars.

Liz and I passed the Cock and Bull and it was bumping. There was a DJ and they were playing some great old songs. I turned to Liz and mentioned I could maybe go in for a minute, she was thinking the same thing so we walked in. Immediately we saw three guys in fake mustaches at the other end of the bar. Of course we had to find out what the story was. Turns out it was their birthdays so they decided to come out wearing fake mustaches. How awesome is that? The bar was a great mix of fun people. Everyone was casual and friendly. So ofter when you go to a bar it's just a meat market of chicks in tube tops and asshole drunk guys. This was the total opposite. Liz and I danced our asses off. And had more beer. By 2 we were tired and hungry. We finished the night in a hole-in-the-wall pizza place.

Today I was hungover, my legs hurt and my hair smelled like smoke. And I've never been happier.

*I wish I had pictures of the mustache guys but we were having too much fun to remember to get a photo.

There's No Words

I've been trying to write a post explaining my feelings about the shooting at NIU last week. I have personally never had to experience the terror or sadness those poor people are living through so any words will be inadequate. My heart goes out to all the students, faculty and families during this horrible time. You are all in my thoughts.

Valentine's Day post about Captain Awesome

Captain Awesome and I aren't together this Valentine's Day. It's really ok because we've never really bought into the whole "Hallmark" holiday. We have dinner together almost every night and he randomly brings me presents throughout the year so February 14th isn't different than any other day. We always joke about cards since he thinks they're a waste of money. Every year I try to find the one with the smallest amount of words so he can pretend to read it. And then we laugh. That's what I love the most about the Captain. He can make me laugh harder and more often than anyone I've ever met. I've been trying to figure out what's been missing while we've been apart. Since we've been away no one has made me laugh so hard I can't stand up and tears came to my eyes. No one has made me snort or have to catch my breath because I'm screaming laughing.

The best thing about his humor is how effortless it is. Some people are very jokey or have to make sure you know they told a joke by laughing first. Captain Awesome is naturally witty. Nothing is forced, he just pulls together a word or phrase and turns it perfectly into a joke.

I can't tell a joke to save my life. Usually I end up messing it up completely "No wait, it's gotta be your bull...." trailing off while everyone else stares blankly. The few times I've made him laugh are the proudest of my life. Among every group of his friends he is the funniest. I can't tell you how many co-workers I've met who tell me how hilarious he is. And he's not "that funny guy" because he blends it so perfectly into everyday life.

We have a ridiculous amount of inside jokes. Some are just lines from movies or TV shows that make us laugh. Some are things we've done or said to each other that make us smile. People keep asking me if I miss Captain Awesome and I do. One of the hardest things about being apart is that he is not here to laugh if someone mentions lactose, Paz, Lindsey-chops or bridge inbunkments. No one's yelling PANTS or making jokes about zero degrees Kelvin.

Captain Awesome also has one the top five laughs of all time. It's loud and he laughs with his whole body. No matter what has tickled him, when he laughs, I laugh. Even if I'm mad at him the minute he laughs I can't help laughing too. I love watching TV and movies with him or going to see comedians. I know he'll laugh and that always gets me.

Happy Valentine's Day Captain. I love you and I miss you. Thank you for choosing me to laugh along with for the rest of our lives.

Just a perfect day,
Problems all left alone,
Weekenders on our own.
It's such fun.
Just a perfect day,
You made me forget myself.
I thought I was someone else,
Someone good.

Oh it's such a perfect day, I'm glad I spent it with you.
Oh such a perfect day,
You just keep me hanging on,
You just keep me hanging on.

Lou Reed
Transformer (1972)
Perfect Day

KKkk-KOLD

I am freezing. Due to some ridiculously high power bills I am trying to keep the heat lower. If I had my way it would stay at a comfortable 78 degrees. The Captain is naturally warmer than me so we had compromised at 69. Also we are middle school boys. I turned it down to 66 to try to save a few pennies (I just typed pennis-again, middle school boys.). I'm usually only here for dinner and to sleep so I don't really need it to be super warm. I have my electric blanket at night but between coming home and getting into bed I have gotten creative with my wardrobe.

First of all I change immediately after coming home. Usually it's because I come straight from the gym and need to change out of my sweaty work-out clothes. I put on pajamas because, why not? I CANNOT sleep with anything close to my neck or I feel like I'm being strangled so I have lots of thin strapped nightgowns and tank tops. In order to get some layers I have been wearing pj pants underneath my nightgowns. But C, you say, the dresses over pants thing is over and done. Well I like it, and obviously I am super behind the trends, I started a blog in 2008 for god's sakes. Anyway, the sleeveless nightgowns still leave me cold so I put on a long sleeve shirt or sweatshirt over top of all this mess. I am toasty warm but look like a homeless person.

To finish off my ensemble (you have to say it in a snooty French accent) I wear my blue fuzzy slippers. I had a pair similar to this in college that I wore all the time. Not just in the house but while visiting neighbors, driving around, any where during exams. They were SUPER comfortable but very ratty looking. The Captain MADE me get rid of them when we got married. He never criticizes my clothes so when he made a big deal about it I gave in. But because I am spiteful and stubborn I went out and got a pair just like them.

Fuzzy Blue Slippers

And to prove my feet are not freakishly huge,

see, it's the slippers

I bet Captain Awesome can't wait to see me in a couple weeks when I post sexy outfits like this

What Kind of Person Am I?

The woman I work with is a morning person. She gets up without an alarm at 5am every day. She is cheerful and makes jokes when we're working together. She also goes to bed around 9pm each night.
Captain Awesome would sleep until noon every day if he could. He gets a second wind around 10pm and can stay up all night. He's a night person.
So what does that make me? I can barely pry my ass out of bed at 6:30 when the alarm goes off but I go to bed every night at 11. On Saturdays I usually wake up around 7 but stay in bed reading for a couple hours to spend time with Captain A. I feel most motivated between 10am and noon. Am I a mid-morning person? No matter what time I get up I need plenty of sleep. Usually a solid 7 or 8 hours. I'm a pretty light sleeper so I hear the cats moving around, the house creaking, cars passing and the furnace kicking on. Since the Captain's been down South I've been sleeping worse than usual. I can't usually sleep until midnight and then the cats wake me up at 5:30 or 6am. This lack of sleep gives me some gorgeous black circles under my eyes and a lovely personality.
Reading back over this I sound super complain-y (yes, it's a word). It doesn't really make me upset and I don't want to throw a pity party. The human body is a crazy complicated thing. I know new mothers, doctors and many more people don't get the sleep they need and they're productive members of society. I can suck it up and figure it out.
Maybe I can turn myself into a morning person....or not.

Happiness Is....

an electric blanket, hot chocolate, snoring kitties, falling snow and

Someone Interested In Buying My House!

I've been so stressed about selling this house and moving down to be with Captain Awesome and the people that saw it over the weekend are coming back because they loved it! I'm so happy! I really hope I'm not jinxing it but honestly, even if they don't put an offer down it's a step forward. The realtor emailed us this morning and I have had a smile on my face all day.

Work was meh but I had a great Pilates class and now I'm all settled in and smiling.

On a totally unrelated note I am LOVING the SmartOnes meals. I was eating Lean Gourmets since they were cheaper but they were kind of gross. The SmartOnes are only about 50 cents more expensive but are way way tastier.

I'm Ba-ack

When I started this blog I promised to write every other day......well never mind. So I had kind of a shitty end of the week and I didn't feel like writting another "poor me" post to bore everyone. I did have a good work-out week and tried Pilates for the first time. Man, that hurts but in a good way. Then even though the house is officially off the market we had a realtor call about a showing on Saturday! So there was drama trying to find someone to crate the cats during the showing. Why do I hate asking for help? I have great friends who always offer to help me but I would rather cancel a trip to see my elderly grandparents that admit I need help. I also was getting frustrated at Captain Awesome because I was stuck taking care of everything. In the end I broke down and got help.

The weekend was great and super relaxing. It was FREEZING so my planned Saturday run was cancelled in favor of watching a movie. I slept in a cozy mattress with a duvet and got lots of rest. Also ate pretty much the entire time. I forgot how much I miss someone taking care of me. So it was amazing and I feel a million times better. I will make an effort next week to write more.

Stay Warm!

Great Workout

If anyone is interested in a fantastic work-out I recommend going to
http://www.zumbafitness.com

I take this class at my gym and LOVE it. It combines traditional Latin dances and aerobics for a kick-ass hour of fun. I am the whitest un-cordinated person out there but it is really fun. The hour flies by but you will feel it the next day.

Try It!!

Lessons From My Mom

My Northern mother tried to raise her kids with Southern manners and etiquette. We were taught table manners during family dinners, conversation skills (always ask questions, people love to talk about themselves) and to always write thank you notes and bring a hostess gift. Since I am now a perfect lady (Captain Awesome is laughing so hard he spit) I follow these rules to the letter. Ok, not really. But a rule I always try to remember is to never talk about politics, religion or money at social events. There are always hurt feelings and unless you want to turn your party into a shouting match just smile and change the conversation. If I'm with a group of friends or my immediate family we can talk/debate/laugh/yell about any of the three big ones but I try to avoid it with people I don't know as well.

After "Super Tuesday" the whole country is talking politics. I am so glad that we care about what happens to us and want to actively be involved in choosing the leaders that shape our county. I am a super liberal and a democrat. I never vote a straight ticket if I feel someone else can do a better job but in my 27 years I've stayed true to the democratic party. It was in some ways influenced by my parents but after research I've decided that it really is the best choice for me and my ideals. Of course I married an independent but luckily we can usually agree to disagree.

My mother's family is from a small town in the mid-west. My Grandmother is very outspoken liberal democrat who HATES the president with the passion of 1,000 suns. Some of my mom's siblings are liberal and some are conservative. This weekend I will be staying with some of the conservative ones. They are incredibly generous kind-hearted people but we have no similar political opinions. They still live in the town they grew up in surrounded by small farmers and small business owners. They have been working hard in the family business for many many years. I understand why they are republican and why they believe what they do but I just cannot bring myself to agree with them. I guess this weekend I will just have to take my mama's advice, smile and turn the conversation to something else. Wish me luck.

I Need to Get Over Myself

I meant every word I wrote in the last post but it was so depressing that I needed to replace it. So I decided to steal an idea I've seen on a lot of blogs that are cooler than mine. Just go to Google and type in "(Your name) Needs" and see what comes up. Here's what I got...

-Celia needs to stimulate or increase her activation, bringing it up into the optimal range
Basically Celia has a big ass and needs to get it off the sofa. I'm trying! Jeez Internet, get off my case.

-Cecilia needs more social interaction with boys her age
Hmmm, I haven't seen Captain Awesome since January so I would definitely like more interaction with him. Only 18 more days! bow chicka wow wow

-Celia needs is a glow-in-the-dark plastic computer angel
Really who doesn't? Is the glow-in-the dark really useful though. If I'm at my computer I'm rarely, if ever sitting in the dark. I guess if I had that angel I could. I could also use a plastic Jesus for my dashboard.

-I think Celia needs a life
Man, the Googlers are mean. Going to bed at 9pm on Friday is cool, right? RIGHT?

-Celia needs an escort to the Sinnoh Elite Four Lucian
I'm not sure what this means but I'm assuming it's a fabulous social event that may require a ball gown.

-Celia needs to be in an engaging, interactive and supportive environment to learn.
It's true. I don't learn well sitting by myself in a dark room.

-Celia needs parents?
The questions mark was part of the statement. I don't know why it would be a question. Who wouldn't need parents? Although I do have amazing parents and in-laws that I consider my second parents. So I guess I don't need parents after all.

-Celia needs a fenced yard to play in
I prefer hiking in the woods (hee hee I just typed hicking) so I don't know about the fenced in yard. I do constantly get lost so maybe they're just trying to protect me.

-Celia needs as many people as possible to sign a petition that she can continue her good work till all cats are safe
You already know I'm a crazy cat lady. If I had a petition to save cats you bet your ass I'd make you sign it.

-Oh, and does anyone else think that Celia needs a Tony?
Yes! My car singing and dancing have finally been noticed by the world. I'm going to be a star!

-Celia needs to recognize that a budget is a continually changing thing
Boo budgets, I suck at saving.

-Celia needs to know what to do with her giant wads of cash
Mmmm Giant wads of cash *drooling* I'd start with paying off all my bills (see, responsible) then give our families some money. Then buy real estate in NYC, England and some kind of ski lodge. Step 3: PROFIT!!


On an unrelated note I got a hilarious spam message today from Ferdie Peden. She wanted to know if I wanted to "InCrEaSe the size of my WEENER. I don't know why the mis-spelling cracked me up but I seriously laughed at my desk for 5 minutes. Maybe someday you can be as cool as me.

Female Trouble

Don't worry, it's not about that. You don't have to run away.

I have been thinking a lot about how women treat each other. I know everyone has talked about how women need to be builing each other up instead of tearing each other down but it needs to be repeated and repeated until it actually happens. Women have a hard enough time proving their worth to employers, families, significant others and most importantly themselves. Instead of supporting each other we are catty, hateful and competitive. Growing up in a very female-centric house I was raised to believe that my uterus wouldn't prevent me from doing whatever I wanted to do. I was encouraged to be smart and ambitious. I appreciate all the women who came before me who fought so I could have the rights and priviledges I have today.

Yet I was shown once again this weekend that the "sisterhood" is broken. And please don't think that I'm blameless. I admit to making comments about another woman's clothes, looks, life choices, etc. And it's mostly because I think (at the time) it's funny. This weekend I brought together several friends who did not know each other. Instead of a fun night out it turned into a stupid high-school competition. Instead of acting like the grown-up successful women we are we regressed to sullen pouting children. I'm so disapponted in myself and my gender. I wish I knew how to fix it or had some great advice but I don't.

Sorry but this post is not entertaining or funny. It's actually very cliched and unoriginal. That being said, I hope it makes us realize that together we can make a difference. You don't have to like every woman you come in contact with but just make an effort to respect their lives.

Merlot and Cheese Fries

In Cincinnati there is a society for wine lovers/drinkers. I am not a member but because I have cool friends I get invited to their wine tastings. It seems to be mostly young attractive professional type people and everyone is friendly. (And not just because we taste massive amounts of wine-and of course taste= large drinks). I've now been to two and in concept they are great. Get together with friends to form a team of 3. Buy three bottles of any brand of the varietal (1st one was Cabernet and last night was Merlot). Two bottles are wrapped in brown paper and numbered for tasting. Everyone tastes the wine and then votes for favorite and least favorite by number. The team that brings the "Most Favorite" takes all the bottles home. "Least Favorite" takes their wine back. The events always benefit a charity so really I'm doing good, not using it as excuse to booze it up on a Thursday. Last night there were between 200 and 300 bottles of wine to taste so you would think I would be happy.

I love working in catering but planning and attending all types of events and actually having a college degree for it makes me a nit-picky jerk at any event I go to. (Don't you want to invite me to you party/wedding/bris/etc now?) I can control it when the event is thrown by friends, family or someone else I like. But last night made me want to kill. This group has these wine tastings every couple months so why oh why were there so many obvious problems?? Celia (you ask) why can't you enjoy your unlimited wine and stop being so critical? Good questions internet, I just don't know. Here are a few of the problems I encountered last night:
--It was in a mall food court-they try to hold them downtown which I like but really? a mall? with florescent lights and terrible accoustics?
--There was no coat check-it has been freezing here so every person had a coat. Since you're trying to raise money just charge $1 and they would have made a mint. Instead people had to stuff their big heavy coats around the mall food court.
--The directional "signs" were 81/2 x 11 pieces of copy paper written in green marker. Did no one go check out the facility and realize some signs may be needed by the elevators before that night?
--There were no containers for pouring unwanted wine out. You get a plastic cup and are supposed to taste lots of wine. If you get crap you are forced to drink it instead of being able to pour it out. People started using left over plastic cups which immediately filled up and spilled red wine everywhere.
--The only food was little brownie bites. I am never against eating chocolate but when I'm tasting 30-40 different types of wine I need a little cracker or something to clean my palate. (Don't I sound snobby-well I am) Also, Merlot is almost always better with food and some of the wines I hated were probably very good with cheese. Plus lots of drinking and no food is always a bad idea. And we were in a FOOD COURT. Could none of those places stay open later or donate 1 or 2 trays of sesame chicken, cheese, chips, anything?
--The voting sheets are too large and awkward when trying to manuver around 200 people with a coat, purse and cup of wine. Just an index card would work as well or not better.
--I already mentioned it but the lighting was wretched and the noise level was so bad that you had a yell at the people you were networking with. Not classy.

These little things always being a problem seems like just laziness and poor planning on their part which are two things I cannot stand.

All that being said I did have a great time with my friends, saw people I hadn't seen in a while and met a lot of interesting people. Although I realized I don't love Merlot I will probably go to the next tasting. But as God as my witness if there are florescent lights I will have to throw a fit.

**The cheese fries mentioned in the title are what my friend and I had for dinner before the wine tasting because we are Klassy with a capital "K".