So it’s late it’s late and I’m tired from moving today and yet bored, so I decide to go through some of the boxes that Hydee and I have unloaded.  I start rummaging in one box that is already open and I see a few photos of Hydee’s mom and some knitting needles and the first thing I think is, “Great.  A box of Hydee’s junk.”  Both Hydee and I tend to collect boxes of “odds and ends”, which is a polite way of saying that we’re pretty disorganized and end up with boxes of God only knows what.  I usually find tools in my boxes that, for the life of me, I can’t figure out what their original function was and that I secretly suspect never had one.

Here’s the rub though.  As I poke through this one, I realize that it’s not Hydee’s.  There’s an old driver’s license of mine, a ribbon from a 7^th grade track meet, an old game CD of mine… this is OUR junk box.  My junk mixed up with Hydee’s, and it all fits together like a Tetris game.  Love can be so many things in so many ways… passionate, sublime, sincere, tender, caring…  however, two people intermingling their mementos and having it all belong together is likely the most tangible sign of love that I have ever experienced.

So here’s the text message that I got from Lisa at 8:29 a.m. this morning.

“Is today cory & yours anniversary? Any plans?”

Yep, I forgot our anniversary.

Five summers ago, Cory asked me out to a game of pool with some friends. We started hanging out together pretty often. Then one night (5 years ago) we ended up on a date just the two of us. A week later, Mike asked me to come out for Cory’s birthday and that is when we “started dating.” We have been together since then. The last five years have flown by! Cory and I have definitely had our ups and downs! We both have worked on not taking our relationship for granted, making the other person laugh, and always being available for Emma cat to sit on!

As cheesy as it is to say… I just can’t imagine my life with out you, Cory. Thanks for being such an important part of my life! I LOVE YOU!

for helping the US economy out.

Some of the Terry Prachet books that I have read.

Moving Pictures

Interesting Times

The Fifth Elephant

Carpe Jugulum

Making Money

Wyrd Sisters

Maskerade

Monstrous Regiement

Thud!

Hogfather

Night Watch

Reaper Man

Pyramids

Witches Abroad

Men at Arms

Small Gods

I made plans to have lunch with my friend, Kelsie on Friday. We decided to eat at this great local restaurant (one of the only non-chain restaurants around). Kelsie called and asked if her partner, Dom could come along? Of course, so I got to catch up with both of them. It was fun seeing them.

I know. I know extremely corny pun for the title of this post.

Just wanted to let people know that our first batch of salsa is done. We roughly used the salsa recipe from www. Here is a photo with the salsa that Cory made.

The jar was just out of the water bath and extremey hot.

I wish there was still time for naps in our lives as adults. The clock says its 4pm and I can barely keep my eyes open. I am having a coffee break and hoping that the caffeine will help me stay awake for the rest of my shift.

Cory brought home 15 pounds of tomatoes from Yakima on Sunday. We have been talking about making our own salsa and canning it. (Lisa is the one who started us on this adventure. She gave us a jar of her salsa, which was yummy.)

Cory peeled all of the tomatoes last night and chopped up all the ingredients. He also had time to play two games of soccer. Tonight, he will make the salsa and can it. My contribution is cleanning our small kitchen and doing prep work for the canning to commence.

Coming back from Portland, Mom and I stopped at New Seasons for dinner. I ate the quinoa salad for lunch today. It was so yummy! I took the photo before I ate the last bite. I need to learn how to make this salad!

When I was 10, I stepped on a slug barefoot and developed a phobia about slugs. For years, I would run from them or avoid places where I knew that slugs may have been present. I had this irrational fear that a slug may chase me down and attack me. Yeah… I know, no one said that it was rational. Well, over the years, I’ve relaxed let down my guard about “being attacked or stalked.” I wouldn’t run screaming, if I saw I slug. I would saunter away after letting out a squeak vs. a scream. That’s all changed after last night…

I picked Cory up from a late night ferry and right before I entered the house I squished a banana slug. It was on our porch and I squished it with my flip flop. Ugh! I ran in the house and screamed bloody murder. Cory looked like he was ready to attack anything that moved but was unsure what to attack. After, I calmed down and told him what happened. I kept shaking my foot because I could feel the sensation of stepping on the slug. He used his super counseling skills and to distract me from my immediate “trauma.” After giving me a hug and taking a few deep breaths; he went outside to clean up the body and clean off my flip-flop. (He’s a great boyfriend.)

I can’t believe after 20 years, I am “re-traumatized” by stepping on a slug. Some phobias, I guess I will never get over.

On an un-related note, I wrote this post in MS Word 2007. Hopefully, everything uploads correctly.