MUST. OWN. NOW.

Indiana Jones Mr. Potato Head

NEW DISHWASHER!!

The good side of all your crap breaking, is that you get to replace it all with new crap! Last Wednesday my NEW DISHWASHER was delivered. It's quieter, faster, cleans better, and doesn't have bugs living inside it! Yeah, you heard me. The old one had bugs. It was gross. But! This one is awesome.

When the delivery guys brought in the dishwasher, I was really happy.

See?


When the dishwasher was installed, I loved it so much, I wanted to live in it.


Surprisingly, I didn't fit.


Oh, dishwasher. Never leave me!

Remember when I said things were at their darkest point? Yeah, not yet, folks! On Thursday my internet went out. Dead. Kaput. So I spent an hour on the phone with Comcast trying to get it working again...nothing. Which of course, I immediately thought that my computer had broke AGAIN.

Thankfully, when the repairman came by on Friday, it turned out that it was not my computer that had broken, but was instead my modem box. So we plopped in a new one, set up a new network, and BAM! Back in business, baby!

They say bad things come in 3s. That when it rains, it pours. Oh, and that it’s always darkest before dawn. I say, “screw you.” Because basically everything I own has broken in the past two weeks and I am starting to majorly freak out about money here. So far, here’s the broken list:

- Dishwasher

- Toilet (the wax seal broke meaning that I had to pay to have it repaired, plus pay for the damage that it caused to my downstair neighbor’s ceiling)

- Work laptop

- Ipod (totally dead)

- Internet (either Comcast screwing up, or my computer has broken AGAIN)

Sigh. I mean, can I catch a break? I am not doing so well.

I just found out my Aunt and Uncle on my mom's side are conservatives. I found this surprising because 1) they are Jewish, and 2) they always seemed like such nice people. Just kidding. But not really. Anyway, it basically came out that they vote conservative based on economic policy. And I vote liberal based on social policy. So we came to an impasse where we had to just basically respect each other's differing priorities and points of view. I hate that.

But seriously, voting purely based on your pocketbook has always seemed kind of...selfish to me. And I know that's unfair. I'm just not willing to give up some basic liberties so I can save a couple bucks on taxes. The fact that I am also a single woman only responsible for supporting myself has, I am sure, a lot to do with that. I have the luxury of principles. But I just can't ever see myself voting Republican.

I am trying really hard to not let this color how I see my Aunt and Uncle, but still, Fred Thompson, Uncle Dave? Really?

Christmas 2007 Pics

Finally. Finally, it has happened. I can enter the 21st century properly, with a new digital camera firmly in tow. Which means the two people (counting me) who read this blog, won't have to wait 30 weeks for me to post pictures. Enjoy!

Mom's Christmas tree. It's the biggest treee I have ever seen in an actual house. It was the tree that ate Cleveland. 8 feet tall, at least.


The top of Mom's tree is a crown with ostrich feathers. It's modeled on the Regency Tree displayed in the lobby of the Williamsburg Inn. Nice, no? And she made it herself.

Since Amanda was the newcomer to our Christmas (and the youngest--by 4 weeks), we made her be Santa and pass out the gifts.

Bill and Mom on Christmas Day evening.


The next day, we went to my Grandmother's, and here is Bill and my Dad. Still not a Scottish Santa.

This is Lumpy. Lumpy is attacking my Stepmom. Or just trying to cuddle. Since Lumpy weighs 90 pounds, the difference is not always clear.

And here's my humble little Christmas tree. Which, sadly, has to come down this coming weekend. Boo.

Wake up, Maggie. NOW.

I had a really disturbing dream last night. I'm not usually one who lives in fear of someone breaking into my house (even though I am woman living alone), but this one has almost got me there.

In the dream, I am in the bathroom washing my face, when I heard the front door open. I poke my head out and see a slightly chubby guy in some kind of uniform. He tries to feed me some line about being from the USDA (dreams are weird, just go with me here), and I basically throw him out. I remember in the dream strategizing that the best way to get this weird guy out of my house is to come off as really aggressive. So I immediately start shouting for him to get out. He hems and haws and keeps trying to get me to let him stay, but I remain firm, and keep saying, "NO. GET OUT. NOW." Which I'm actually rather proud of myself for. I think a lot of time women get prayed on because we are too timid in confrontational situation, something about society teaching us to be quiet, not make a fuss, blah blah, but in the dream I was all, "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE."

So the guy left and I locked the door. But since it's a dream, the door was not locking. And the weird guy kept opening it. I kept shutting it and yelling that I would call 911. But he kept. trying. to get in. So I ran and got my phone...but there was no 1 button. Everytime I tried to dial 911, I would dial 922 which = useless. By this time I was getting really freaked out (in both the dream and in my real mind).

Then, all of a sudden, it wasn't just the weird guy, but he had his sister with him too and both of them were trying to get in. I kept trying to lock the door, but for some reason the locks would not hold. I was also still trying to dial 911, and getting more frantic. Also, since it was a dream, my door was not the solid piece of metal that it actually is, but instead had glass panes in it, like a kitchen door of a house. So the creepy dude and his sister starting busting through the glass and opening the door. At this point, I ran into the bedroom, grabbed a baseball bat and waited for the inevitable confrontation.

Then I woke up.

This dream has really shaken me. Like I said, I've never really worried about someone breaking into my house, but I do take certain precautions. 1) I live on the 16th floor of a high-rise, so nobody is coming in through the windows. 2) there is one entrance to my place, and it has a metal door with a deadbolt and knob lock that I keep locked at all times, even when I am home. But I am thinking of investing in a baseball bat to keep next to my bed (NO GUNS) and maybe installing a security chain. And making sure that I always have a phone with a 1 button on it.

*shudder*