Aloe, Cookie, Manifesto

Did anyone else make the mistake of trying to talk to their super conservative rural Ohio family about the repealing of DOMA? Am I the only fool who thought that would be a good idea?? 

Yikes.

For penance I stood in the kitchen for almost 4 hours baking cookies. I HATE baking cookies. I especially hate drop cookies which take forever and are difficult to get evenly baked (is that just me? I'm always afraid to play kitchen confessions on the off chance I'm the only person in the world that sucks at something. We should discuss the epic pain in the butt that is bread making, amiright? Wait, right guys? right?? anyone????)

I'm also serving hard time for the sun worshiping I insisted on doing at the pool last weekend. I am beyond tired of going to bed each night caked in aloe only to very gently toss and turn on sticky sheets because no matter how I lay, it smarts. I've gotten adept at standing in exactly the right spot in the tub so that the shower nozzle sprays me enough to get clean but not enough to make me cry. Luckily a few days into my sentence of suffering from karma in silence, my friend Amanda texted me her sun burnt status and thus I've had someone to complain sympathize with. I've been using my burn as an excuse to take it easy this week, but now that it's slowly fading and my "projects" are piling up, I need to get on top of my chores before the block party takes over all my extra time.

On a cheerier note, has anyone seen the manifesto posted by Vimrod last month? I don't normally find myself drawn to these, as none have ever been quite the perfect fit for my own world view. But this one, this one is so close that as I read through it I felt like it was precisely the type of thing I would write if I was going to do my own (and maybe one day I will find the time to do my own......like when God invents the 32 hour day.) The only disclaimer I'll put is that I don't pee in nature. In fact, I've gone to death defying lengths to make sure that never happens.

I'm considering having this made into a poster to hang in my mudroom so I can read it coming and going, what do you guys think?

source

Here Comes the Sun

Sure, it's all fun and games being of Scottish decent until you walk outside and the sun hits you. Usually I'm a mess of freckles after spending any time outdoors in the summer, but thankfully after a few hours in the pool this weekend, they're all covered up with the worst.sun.burn.ever. Ollie said to me before we left the house, "You're going to want sun screen. If you don't put it on, I don't want to hear any comments about how much your sunburn hurts!" 

Me? Sunburn?? I laugh in the face of sunburns!! Muwahahaha....

And do you know what's infuriating about my spouse? He's so often right. Now I look like a lobstah and I can't even complain about it. (Which made for a pretty quiet run this morning. Yes, I ran and I counted each time that my shirt touched my shoulders and made me wince. A most unpleasant way to pass the time, let me assure you.)

Baywatch extras

I have to admit, the sunburn was mostly worth all the fun we had in the pool over the weekend. Out in the country no one cares how you look in your bathing suit, or if you splash pool water on the ground, or if you bring a list of "80 Questions to Ask Your Spouse" and then laugh uproariously when your husband reenacts some of his playground antics to demonstrate his answers. We played hard and then slept like logs each night, just the way I remember summer's as a kid. 

Today it's back to situation normal, and a marathon week as we prepare for the big P-ville block party this weekend.

Playing Catch-up

I don't hate running! Ok, I'm not going to go so far as to say I love it (#crazytalk) but I've learned to appreciate it's benefits. Mostly the empowered feeling that I can drink a glass of wine, eat a slice of bread, or have a spoon full of unbaked cookie dough because I RAN. (Sometimes I do all three of those things. #realcrazytalk) I feel like a super hero! Especially since I wake up at 6 am, forgo makeup in favor of passing a brush over my teeth, and then do this blessed event outside in the open where everyone can see me. It isn't especially pretty or fun, but when we finally get home there's a very reassuring moment where I lay on my living room carpet and try not to die.

Monday evening Kate and I went out to dinner at The Minute Bar. We ordered 2 margaritas a piece (Life is short!) and laughed ourselves off the stools and solved all of the world's more major issues. Plus we had to gush over the wedding of our mutual friend this past weekend. What is it about weddings that just make all your warm gooey places melt?

L to R: Myself, Erin, and Carey

L to R: Kate, Myself, Carey

See that look on Kate's face and the fact that I'm simultaneously cracking up? That's how we've managed to get ourselves into so much trouble over the past 12 years. (Also, I realize I look like a sher-pei when I laugh. I'm working on it.)

I think I may actually be getting a better handle on this whole hillbillie housewife gig. I do sometimes feel like I'm caught in a tug of war between my house projects and my cleaning schedule. I've also insisted that the husband and I not use our AC this summer in an effort to "save money." And while saving money is great, my real reason (as misguided as I realize this is) is more about trying to adhere to a 1950's style housewifedom and that includes the laughing and yelling of the kids at the pool being filtered through the box fan in my window. All that lovely noise mingles with my radio and keeps me company. Pure nostalgia, but I think it adds an extra mite of sweetness to each day.