T&L

Friday’s Tale of Terror is brought to you by the letter “C”

So I know I can be a pretty big pansy about things. Crazy scenarios of highly unlikely situations run though my head, I can be worry about nonsensical things, and the sight of a spider or scorpion that probably wasn’t intentionally hunting me down can send me into a panic. But this time I don’t think my mind was playing tricks – I swear I saw a coyote 50 feet away from me in our backyard this morning.

I was raking the leaves (“Again?,” you ask. “Do your leaves reproduce overnight?” Yes. Sure do.) and I was like 10 feet of leave away from finally being finished and I turned around and saw this dog-looking creature emerge from the woods. I got one decent look at him before bolting up the driveway and into the house. His eyes didn’t appear to glaze over in hunger and he wasn’t feverishly licking his chops and I’m pretty sure there wasn’t a neon sign above me that read “Breakfast On-the-Run…Fresh & Delicious!” so I’m not sure if bolting was my best plan of action as I’m sure he can run faster than me anyway and he could have mistaken me for a roadrunner (meep! meep!), but I was terrified. The rake is still outside exactly in the position I threw it down in and the yard remains unfinished – and it will stay that way until Ted and I can finish it up tomorrow….together. I was able to get another look at him from the safety of the kitchen window (while catching my breath…) as he trotted across the yard. Then, just to be sure, I googled “coyote.” Yep, same tail.

I mean, it could have been a dog and I’m just paranoid, but he was kind of big for a dog and didn’t really look like any dog I’ve seen recently. He pretty much looked exactly like this picture. If you remember from one of my previous posts, the other night on the news there was a story about the abundant coyote population in Anderson Township. We live in a pretty populated area. We’re not downtown or anything, and our house is set back off the road and in a semi-woodsy area. Maybe that’s where my brain is, but I’m convinced it actually was a coyote. Regardless, that’s enough raking excitement for me for one day.

I drove to UC today to meet Ted during his lunch hour. I’m kind of proud that I didn’t get lost. Driving in an unfamiliar city, especially on a confusing college campus, is always a challenge. Kudos to Ted for being an awesome direction giver. We went to Chicago Gyro and it. was. phenomenal. We had the Philly Gyro which was gyro meat, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, mozzarella and tzatziki sauce wrapped in a pita. Definitely worth the drive downtown. I inhaled it. And it was really nice to see my husband during the day :-)

University of Cincinnati’s CCM (College Conservatory of Music) is one of the top music schools in the nation. On the way to the CCM building where Ted works (he’s the Resident Master Electrician for CCM & the theatre department) you walk by an entire building of practice rooms and the music coming from that building is gorgeous – violins, pianos, tubas, opera singers – you hear it all through the open windows and it’s like a symphony of beautiful, wonderful sounds. The talent in there is astounding. I love it. I really miss being on a college campus. I miss being in school and learning. There’s always so much to do, so much going on and it’s great for people-watching. The campus isn’t bad looking either. I’m thinking of looking more seriously into their Arts Administration graduate programs. The competition is killer to get in though. Bummer. On the drive back home I drove on Observatory, which I affectionately refer to as “mansion row.” Between the fabulous architecture of this enormous homes and the gorgeous colors on the trees lining the streets, it’s hard to keep your eyes off the homes and on the road.

Today I am trying out our new washer and dryer for the first time. I have to admit, I really like it. It just looks so nice. I also like that it is an energy star & he appliance. I actually read the manuals on this beast cover to cover – it’s so sophisticated it’s a little intimidating. I don’t think I’ve ever been so careful measuring detergent before in my life. HE appliances require a special kind of detergent and less than normal or they might over suds and leak. I’m running the first load now and it’s very very different from any other washing machine I’ve ever used. It uses so little water that I spent the first 7 minutes of the cycle crouched on the floor looking into the little glass door trying to determine if there was actually water in there or not and figure out what all the odd on-again/off-again noises were.  It’s really quiet and you can’t hear any vibration – just swishing. I’m anxious to see how this load comes out! 3 years ago I would never have been excited about an appliance. Ever. Anyone who was excited about appliances was clearly boring enough to not have anything better to be excited about. But I can’t help but feel a little twinge of joy at actually owning our own stuff and pride in taking care of what we have.

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Marriage is…

Now that we’ve been married a whopping two-and-a-half weeks and I’m a pro (ahem) at this whole marriage thing, here’s a quick update on what I’ve learned so far:

Marriage is, of course, love and passion, but there’s so much more to it. It’s about finding the person you can share love and passion with, but also share all of life’s adventures and experiences with – no matter how exciting, new and unusual or mundane and monotonous they may be. Marriage is spending a week raking a yard full of leaves until you can’t move your throbbing arms anymore. Marriage is installing weather-stripping on the doors in the dark after work and taking weeks to decide which washer & dryer to purchase because you want to read every review ever published and make the right decision (those things aren’t cheap – we’re on a budget people). Marriage isn’t complete togetherness – sometimes it’s a little lonely when your husband has to work days and some evenings and weekends – you try to put together a bookshelf alone (and fail miserably) and you eat pasta and watch America’s Funniest Home Videos alone and wish he were there instead of at work. But none of that matters because you are overjoyed the second he is home.

Marriage is learning where your husband likes his milk positioned in the fridge for easiest access and living in Lowe’s and Home Depot (we make a minimum of 4 trips a week to each store. They should just starting giving us crap for free. For real.) Marriage is spending our money on things like kitchen island carts, closet organizers, bathroom hardware, and saving for a new sofa and recliner set instead of going to Cedar Point and dining at Hell’s Kitchen in between jaunts to Vegas and Italy. It’s insurance plans and banking accounts and retirement plans and medical decisions. It’s leaving a job and friends you love to move to a new city and start all over again with your best friend in the whole world. It’s giving up your handsome cat (I’m not biased, he really truly is that handsome) and postponing a honeymoon so someone can start a great new job. We figure that honeymoon will be appreciated even more in a year when we’re worn out and need a vacay.

But marriage is also heading to Buffalo Wild Wings on Sundays to down a Woodchuck and some wings while cheering on the Packers together, trying a new restaurant every week, and playing games together on the awesome Wii you received as a wedding present. It’s getting lost, and sharing the couch and ripping open wedding cards and wedding presents like kids on Christmas morning. It’s making macaroni & cheese together, breaking open a bottle of wine (courtesy of Door County!) and settling in for an evening of Hell’s Kitchen or Big Bang Theory. It’s snuggling into bed and falling asleep to the beat of his heart and the sound of his breathing. Marriage is exploring a new city, riding bikes and rollerblading and bowling, making this house our home, inside jokes and lame puns, a “fun things” to-do list, and learning to love, respect, appreciate and enjoy each other more every day.

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Turning a new leaf

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Ted & I got married two-and-a-half weeks ago on October 22, 2010. Our wedding weekend was in Door County, WI and after a year of living 1500 miles apart, working and completing graduate school, and planning a completely DIY, uniquely-autumn wedding weekend, we both agree the whole shindig was a smashing success. The weather and scenery were stunningly cooperative, the winery tour-Sweets & Sips welcome party-Peninsula State Park-“Guys & Does”-pizza and gelato picnic-and friends & family night activities were fun and relaxing, our many guests who traveled so far to celebrate with us were brimming with love and support, the rehearsal dinner was a delicious and gorgeous lake-front, fish-boil dream, and our 9-piece Big Band & bonfire reception was the talk of the town among our family and friends. Three days after our wedding weekend extravaganza we packed up and moved from Green Bay, WI (I had moved from Texas to Green Bay only two weeks prior) to Ohio where Ted had a new job waiting for him and a rental house we had found and signed the lease on. Our honeymoon will have to wait until next year when we have some vacation time saved up. We are enjoying finally living in the same city (and household!) and adjusting to life as newlyweds in Cincinnati.

All these changes are refreshing and every day seems to bring new challenges, adventures and joys – a definite learning experience – but the process of moving, unpacking, cleaning, fixing up a house, yard work, adjusting to a new city, looking for employment, and staying home all day while Ted works is definitely more work than I anticipated. We have a newly remodeled, spacious kitchen but very little storage space. So we find ourselves in need of a kitchen island cart, a kitchen table and chairs, and a wine rack or two to house the 25 leftover bottles of wine from our wedding – enter Ikea stage left. The hardwood floors I adored when we leased the house are, I am learning, a mixed blessing. Sure they’re pretty, but they keep the house less than cozy in the winter. And what’s left of the weather-stripping from the 1930s on the doors isn’t helping keep us warm either. So new weather-stripping it is. I didn’t even know what weather-stripping was three weeks ago. Oh, and all those fabulous trees in this nice big yard I fell in love with? I may not love them quite so much now that I realize that raking those suckers isn’t as fun or easy as it looks in comic strips. I don’t ever remember raking leaves in Texas. Our very first brand-spanking new front-loading washer and dryer should arrive on Thursday. In the meantime we are adding carpet to the basement to make it look more like a part of the home and less like a dragon-infested dungeon. Not that a dragon wouldn’t be helpful occasionally. He might help keep us warm with his fire-breathing talents. ;-)

During the day while Ted works hard at UC-CCM, I unpack boxes, find homes for things, try to organize out living space, go grocery and home-goods shopping, stare at the leaves in disgust before finally convincing myself to stop being a pansy and go out and rake them, and I got a library card at the Anderson Township Library so I borrow books and movies to keep my mind going and allow me to see the world when I can’t physically do so right now.  See, I like working. I like having a job and co-workers. Granted, my jobs are fun since I work in theatre and the arts – there’s never a dull moment and that’s what allows me to enjoy my jobs and look forward to going to work. I love the creativity and I love sharing dance and music and art and stories with others. It’s fun, exciting, and something different every single day – and the people who work in the arts are generally a bundle of fun and laughs, and I miss that. There’s nothing wrong with staying home and working at home. It takes all types to make the world go around. This past week I have been schooled and I learned that house work in and of itself is a full time job. But it’s not for me, at least not permanently. For now, it’s okay. It’s nice to set up a new home and relax a little and make meals and be waiting for Ted when he gets home and try out a different kind of job, but I’m looking forward to doing this for another few weeks and then finding a job I love (hopefully!).

So stay tuned while we figure out this whole wife & husband, newlyweds, house, job, Cincinnati thing together. After all, this is just the beginning!

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