catching up

i'm embarrassed that it's been awhile since the last post. we've been quite busy at the merryman house. january - march is jon's "busy" time in his new job (hence the lack of posts on the food blog) and my job picked up significantly after the new year. which is good, but leaves little time for reading and writing.

it's taken me over two months and i'm not finished with my current read, john irving's last night in twisted river. he's my favorite author, but for some reason this one's a bit cantankerous. if you think you've never heard of him, you probably have...he's the brains behind "simon burch" and "cider house rules." i've never taken two months to read anything ever. pretty sure that's not a record i'd like to continue to beat.

i'm behind on all my magazines, too...i've committed a cardinal emily sin and started ripping out recipes before i've had a chance to read the whole thing. there's just not enough time.

parenthood...oh, parenthood. i feel like all i've been doing lately is complaining. pretty sure the honeymoon's over -- while we thought we had the world's most mature teenager, turns out he just hit the moody phase pretty recently. nothing...absolutely NOTHING is his fault and he pretty much hates being in the same room with us.

scene 1:
me: "did you notice the black paint on the carpet and not clean it up?"
him: "yes. i just didn't tell you about it because it's not paint."
me: "even though it's right beside your paint table?"
him: "this isn't paint."
me: "mmmhhm. so, why didn't you tell me about it?"
him: "i didn't think you'd care."
me: "what happened the last time you got paint on the carpet?"
him: "you freaked out."
me: "right, so shouldn't you tell me about paint on the carpet?"
him: "i guess. if you want."

scene 2:
me (calling his celly at 5:30 p.m.): "hey, dennis...i hope you're at home because there wasn't anything on the calendar and if you're not at home that means max hasn't been out in 10 hours. call me when you get this."
him (calling 10 min later): "um, emily, i told you the other night that i had play practice probably every night."
me: "but did you put it on the calendar like we asked?"
him: "no, but i told you i would probably have it."
me: "but you DIDN'T PUT IT ON THE CALENDAR?"
him: "no."

poor max. he almost didn't make it out the door when i got home.

on the cancer front: mom is almost, almost done. she goes for one last scan next month and if she gets the all clear, they will take her port out. my dad is on round 2 of 3 on the latest treatment. his doctor says he's ahead of schedule and is reponding well to the treatment.

i think the world knows by now, but my little sister has a bun in the oven. it's been so fun checking in with her on all her cravings. she has (thankfully) not been sick so far, and her only complaint is that her clothes don't fit. i keep reminding her that at least she has an excuse. some of us can't wear our clothes and don't have a growing being in our belly.

i feel better having purged. have a great, snowy weekend.

happy new year...for real.

what an amazing day. i'm pretty sure that my husband would disagree, but today was my perfect day.

10 a.m. wake up.

10:01 feed max

10:05 get a wild hair and tell hubs that we're eating paninis for breakfast

10:30 read martha stewart living AND watch the Today show...all while drinking coffee

11:00 prep sandwiches; tell hubs to grill bacon (so smell doesn't permeate the house)

Noon Eat yummy nutella-bacon-peanut butter paninis

12:14 a.m. start the TAKE DOWN OF CHRISTMAS

12:31 stub toe

12:35 stub another toe

12:39 stub another toe

4:00 put last shiny silver ornament in its holder

5:05 get in the shower (after vacuuming, mopping and putting last shiny silver ornament in holder

6:00 start dinner

6:05 put for sure last shiny silver ornament in holder

10:33 blog about it all

10:35 find one more *&%^$ last shiny silver ornament.

it really was an amazing holiday season. i feel like i'm getting the hang of working...endless parties...buying gifts...keeping a clean house. what if all this time....that THIRTY ONE was what i was aiming for?? i think i'm well on my way.

fo' real...happy new year. may 2009 be WAY better than 2010.