Warning: May Contain Nuts

Yesterday, in the mail, I received the most beautiful post card I have ever seen. Allison sent it to me and it is a detail of one of her new paintings. I’m very much needing her to have a website where I can go to see all of her new paintings and the old ones too that I can no longer see just by looking at my walls. If you ever visited our apartment just off V for Violent, you would know that the place I call home has never looked as good as it did in those days, filled with her art (and, as it turns out, all of her furniture. I did totally dominate the kitchen cupboards though, since I clearly invested in the things that were most important to me – food making tools and devices, having given away that heavy heavy sleeper sofa to the Buergers – which I have, oddly enough, sat on a number of times since, given that they still own that sofa and it is in their apartment here in Dallas).

I love my postcard with so much love that I couldn’t put it down for a little bit and I kept telling Jud how beautiful it was, as if he’d suddenly gone blind and could not see the beauty for himself. Then I put it in my purse so that I could bring it to the office where I spend most of my waking hours. This morning I carefully positioned it on my cube wall so that I can see it every time I reach for the phone (which, of course, is a lot). I was so proud of my pretty new addition and feeling so great about it that I called people over to show them the postcard hanging on my cube wall. They liked it too, but not as much as I did.

My day was going well……not too much to do; a good amount of Chinese salad waiting for me to eat it for lunch; the promise of cookies from the catered lunch for the project pricing team. Then the front desk called me and asked me to come up to the front for a minute. Either the receptionist needed help with the postage machine, a FedEx package I sent was found with explosive materials or I had a surprise. I was really hoping for that last one…..and I was right to hope! Jud brought me beautiful flowers (which I’m pretty sure are from Central Market) in a very cute vase with so much character and beauty that my cube is now very enjoyable and very much like home.

I love Allison.

I love Jud.

Differently.

PS I got lots of cards and ecards and emails and text messages and phone calls from lots of wonderful friends this week and today – thank you Cheryl and Laurie and Mandy and Ronke and Celisse and Jeremy & Rachel and Jenn and Zanna and Mom and Dad and all of the rest of you. It is so nice to be remembered!!

Addendum

When I got home even more wonderful things were waiting for me, like a banner (more on why I love banners later)

and a German chocolate cake (also from Central Market) and Buffalo Mozzarella (my favorite cheese, and clearly, if you have a favorite cheese, you really love cheese). Then we went out to dinner at Scalinis with our current house guests….the future Mr. & Mrs. Jeremy. We are spending tons of time with them and you are jealous!!

More thank yous are due Tawnya, Grans, Amy and Mandy for the emails and the cards! I love you too and thanks for making me feel so special (not in the shorty bus way).

So, my dad has been here since Sunday night and we have been celebrating school, since Jud has one summer class that he attends and two that are online and Dad is here to go to a class and will be back next month for more.

I, however, no longer believe in hi-er edjumucatin. After listening to the rehash of bizarre pontifications from their professors, I realize that higher education, while mostly good, is also quite a bit about filtering out the false and the pride and the crazy and finding the truth in spite of all the classroom time. I’m proud of Dad and Jud for spending lots of time, energy and money (okay, so the us.gov picks up the tab for dad, but who’s counting? Uh, I guess, I am.) on getting their Master’s degrees, but I’m just really glad that I’m not going to class with them. I’d totally freak…..at least twice a semester.

By the end of the summer, Jud will have 36 graduate credits under his belt.

Dad will have finished all of his requirements for graduation.

And neither will have lost it on their profs.

Makes me proud.

Celebrating at the Cheesecake Factory = Giant Salads

You will not graduate unless you finish that giant mound of food.

You will get a B in housework if that knife is not scrubbed clean!

My friends at work were always catching those Datelines about online predators who solicit teenagers and actually show up at their homes following four hour drives. I hadn’t seen one until last Wednesday when Ronke told me that one would be on and then I reminded myself eighty billion times so that I would remember to watch it instead of Lost because I haven’t seen Lost in ages and none of it even made sense to me then, so why would it now. So, I watched and it was both horrifying and funny. ‘Can you believe this guy?’ and also ‘why is that guy from Dateline so funny when he asks those questions?’

After watching last week and calling Ronke during commercials, I found out that a new one was on this week. I stumbled across it and then got a text message to check it out again. The gross people were even grosser and stranger than the last week. And even though these shows make me terrified to ever bring children into this world, what with all the perviness out there, I also found myself deliciously enjoying their outing on national tv.

Rehabilitate, shre-habilitate. Lock em up forever.

This morning was beautiful…cool breeze and sunny and we were out walking in the beauty while the rest of the city was still sleeping off their drinks from last night.

Back home and ready for brunch at Legal Grounds with friends, we drove over and ate delicious prom cakes and yogurt with granola and fruit. The guys (and Isabel) went off for some frisbee golfing while the girls came back over for another session with Beth Moore (we’ve run out of time to fit in the last three lessons due to minor things like child sitting (for two weeks — brave souls) and moving to Denmark (where another baby will be birthed — in their absence, baby shower details will be made in great detail). I showed off my new spice rack / paper towel holder / rings on which I have nothing to hang IKEA find and the new pillows and candles IKEA practically gave away yesterday (what else is there to do on a day off but drive to where all the white people live and buy things from them? Sometimes I forget how urban our life is here and then we take the tollway up to places that are new and shiny and then Jud remembers that he’s probably not permanently cut out for all this urban hustle and bustle and I remember that this is the Dallas most people know and love…the Dallas with the money and the new and we both feel a twinge of guilt for feeling so at home in that area…materialism and comfort, my, how they motivate).

The guys finished up the folfing and picked up some furniture finds for Martin & Hansy’s new digs (they are renting a house with another couple). I’d heard of the place but this was our first real live meeting. It will meet their needs so nicely, especially with the new baby and the great big kitchen! I do seem to remember communism breaking down at points, so hopefully some house rules will keep Marx alive.

Back home and the hubs is crashed on the sofa. I am sleepy too but not so much from a lack of shut eye as the histamines that are invading my face. Off to down some of those Claritin we stocked up on last weekend…..

Happy Graduation Day, Adam (and the rest of you GU kiddos)! We love you and are really proud of you for sticking it out and gettin’ ‘er done. We are also happy about the idea of you being closer to us (we’d really appreciate it if you would all move a bit closer, please. Closer…..closer….oh, oh, a little too close! That’s better). Sorry we’re missing your sweet party. So, who got the Tschetter Award?

Just a quick note… In case you have a tendency to forget things I just wanted to remind all Nebraska voters to vote for Tom Osborne in today’s Nebraska primary. I really dont think that you have any other option when you examine each candidates political policies and philosophies. Tom Osborne isnt just good for Nebraska, he’s great for Nebraska. A couple weeks ago I was watching CSPAN because 1. I love CSPAN. and 2. I saw Osborne as I was flipping through the stations. When I watched him it was clear that everything that he was doing and saying was clearly in with the motivation of representing and fighting for things that benefit Nebraskans, in this case he was fighting for expediting federal funding on ethanol production which will lead to more jobs and money in Nebraska. While a lot of politicians will say they’re actually serving in representative democracy, they’re really just representing special interests or their agenda. The other candidate (Hieneman) has never been elected, he’s simply there because Mike (get) Johanns (off me) was tapped as Ag Secretary. Anyway, I feel really terrible that I cant vote today to help Dr. Osborne out but this is where I hope that those of you reading this can make up for me. Vote for Tom.

Also, I got a call from the Sarpy County Sherriff saying that he would like my vote too, but for him I really could care less. In fact, the recorded message was pretty low quality, so I think I would actually vote against him without knowing the issues or other candidate.