So what’s been going on here? Well, it’s pretty unexciting… same old same old. I unpack a box, then go puke in the bathroom. Then I lay down on the couch and try to drink some water. Then I get up and search through the boxes for my underwear or the camera’s USB cable. Then I eat some applesauce and throw it up.

How bout an ordered list today? That’s what web geeks call them.

1. I am tickled pink with our dishwasher. It’s the same one we had in Medford, and I loved it then. It’s quiet and thorough and holds a heck of a lot of dishes. And it was cheap! My only complaint so far is that Matt hasn’t screwed it in to the wooden frame yet, so every time I open the door and pull out the shelves, the whole thing falls forward. This will probably get fixed on Saturday, so I only have a few more loads where I worry that all of my dishes will come smashing out onto the floor.
2. We have yet to install our pendant lights in the kitchen since they’re in transit from Atlanta, so I’ve got a table lamp sitting on the counter. It looks hysterical, and yet somehow like something you’d find in a strange European shelter mag.
3. All I want is fruit, which is tasty but not filling. I eat a banana then an hour later I want strawberries. Apples, applesauce, frozen fruit bars, they’re all workin for me. I have no interest in meat whatsoever. Or pasta. The thought of a traditional Argentine meal usually makes me drool, but now it makes me gag. I’m also digging celery sticks – straight up with nothin on em. And when I get sick of eating every hour because I’m not getting filled up, I slam a bowl of potato chips.
4. Cranberry juice is making me yuke. This breaks my heart. Anyone who knows me knows that there is nothing I love more in the world than a glass of cranberry juice. In fact, when I’m craving chocolate, I can sit down and have a glass of cranberry juice and the craving passes. I love it THAT much. But for some reason I can’t stomach it right now and it’s killing me.
5. I have a twelve pound turkey chillin in the freezer. Matt always loves it when I make a separate Thanksgiving dinner for the two of us. Well this year our T-day plans are TBD, so I went out and got everything for our own Thanksgiving dinner in case we wind up staying home for a quiet day in front of the fire. (Can you tell that’s what I want? Maybe also install a microwave that day? And unclog the bathroom sink?) Well I could have purchased a smaller turkey breast, or even Cornish game hens, but we’re both suckers for dark meat and love to gnaw on a turkey leg, so I got the smallest full bird I could find. Seeing that I’m not really feeling meat right now, we might have leftover turkey in the freezer until the Superbowl. Regardless, my plans for this year’s T-day dinner for two include: Roast turkey and homemade gravy, garlic smashed potatoes, turnips (my favorite!), corn for Matt, homemade dressing, a standard green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, and a loaf of homemade rye bread. And of course a pumpkin pie for dessert. There also may or may not wind up being an entire bowl of strawberries for me to feast on.
6. T-17 days til we bring home our Christmas tree!
7. Luckily Matt found my underwear last night. Things were getting dire.

We spent the entire weekend eating. I’m not even kidding you. And it was profoundly wonderful.

Why doesn’t the State of Tennessee advertise that they have OUTSTANDING FOOD HERE? I’ve got a thousand marketing campaigns running around in my head based on the delicacies we enjoyed.

Here I am eating a pulled pork sandwich. Which I chased with a BBQ chicken sandwich. C’mon… the portions were small!

From Daily Daguerreotype

Then we had kettle corn. And hand squeezed lemonade. And Cajun style fried shrimp. And here’s Matt with a soft-shelled crab sandwich, which he claims was one of the best he’s ever eaten. (GROSS, BTW!)

From Daily Daguerreotype

Between the two of us, we gained about 45 pounds. Except one of us doesn’t gain any weight. CAN YOU GUESS WHO?

We missed the fireworks because it was starting to rain, so we figured we should just go home and digest.

What did YOU eat this weekend?

I’m trying to find the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for Matt. I’m torn between this, this, this or this. Your vote? I know I could make my own, but I’m not feeling very inspired.

Oh that’s right. I have a blog! I completely forgot. Sorry, blogosphere. I’ve been consumed with, ya know, traveling the East Coast, adding a 15 pound tire around my waist via my SIL’s cookies, over-socializing, over-smiling and trying to convince Berlin it was awesome that she has driven over the George Washington bridge thrice already in her short time with us. She was not convinced.

I am so so so so SO happy to be home today, New Years Day, with nothing to do but organize my life, do some laundry, and read in bed. We spent New Years Eve the way all wild kids in their twenties do – sitting on the couch watching 3 movies in a row and drinking Harpoon’s Winter Warmer, leftover from a game night we held about two weeks ago. Some have said that I do things like that because I’m a home-body at heart. I say it’s because socializing and sharing Matt with other people wears me out. I’m sure it’s a little of both; regardless it was a wonderful holiday.

I’m currently reading a few books, but the one I’m into the most is “Julie & Julia,” a borrow from a dear friend of mine that I’m rather enjoying.  If you exchange the hours spent in a kitchen cooking through Mastering the Art of French Cooking with hours spent in a studio listening to country music, it would pretty much describe my life right now to a T. Aside from the fact that my husband is no good at mixing a vodka tonic. But we can work on that. Pick up the book if you need a fun and light read.

And on that culinary note, I will head out. Because Matt made me breakfast in bed this morning, and I really ought to do something with those salmon steaks in the fridge for lunch. After which I will promptly return to bed where we’ll sit until it’s time to move into the living room to watch yet another movie. I believe the next one on the list is “Traitor” – as Matt wants Don Cheadle to star in the upcoming Miles Davis movie, and because I want to have an extramarital affair with Guy Pearce.

Every year since 2004 I’ve written a Christmas letter to include in the cards we send out. This year, the year when I had no excuses, I decided not to write one and to break this tradition because I’m sick of it. Maybe it will be back next year, maybe not.

So here’s my condensed Christmas letter.

We went on a cruise with my family in February. It was a fantastic start to the year and the best vacation we had ever gone on. We gorged ourselves with delicious food, danced every night until our feet were raw, and spent enough time in the sun and waves for our bodies to be completely burned and shriveled. We can’t imagine cruising alone, but with this crowd it was a smash hit.

Then we came home and drove to Ohio to pick up a 10 month old Goldendoodle puppy. We both became obsessed with Berlin and rarely think of anything else. She… completes… us.

Matt finished graduate school. Then enrolled in a BCBA program which he should complete sometime next spring. He likes school, and I think that’s just fine.

We got a membership to a community pool this summer and didn’t walk away with any venereal diseases. Success!

We made great friends in our neighborhood and love love LOVE them. We’re finally starting to enjoy “community” the way we did in Ohio.

We played a lot of music this summer and met Murray Waas while busking in Davis Sq. That was pretty cool. As for shows, we saw Van Morrison again and for the first time Eric Clapton. Brian Regan was also a hit.

Matt enjoys his job and has really mastered the practice of diplomatically suggesting ways parents can improve their parenting while not being a parent himself. To me, this is astonishing and worthy of a Nobel prize.

In the fall, we took lots of long hikes with Berlin and spent a lot of time enjoying New England during her best season. Then we took an enchanting vacation to Argentina which was everything we could have dreamed of and more.

We spent the holiday season with friends and family really relaxing and enjoying the great relationships we’ve been blessed with. It’s also wicked fun to play with Berlin in the snow.

We’re heading into the New Year with the exciting feeling that 2009 is going to bring even more life-changing wonderfulness than 2008! I’ve started, I guess it’s an apprenticeship, with a brilliant audio engineer, and am enjoying learning from someone I admire in a field I love. Matt is excited about becoming the next Skinner. And Berlin is excited about getting another Goldendoodle in the family (please, Matt, PLEASE!?!?!). We’ll probably be buying a home in the next 6-8 months, and I’m sure that will change our lives dramatically.

We love you guys, and hope that you have a safe holiday and enjoy the new year. Once again, thanks for your love and support, and we hope you stop by Verbal Intent again in 2009 to see what else is going on.

Wow. The most recent version of WordPress is totally different. This is going to take some adjustment. Anyone else totally lost inside their dashboard?

We were virtually snowed in all weekend. I don’t know how much snow we have but it looks like a solid 8 inches. I’ve been in NewEnglander’s heaven and wanted nothing more than to flop inside the house eating Christmas cookies in front of the tree with Berlin curled up at my feet. Matt, however, wanted to drive through the snow to all of our previously scheduled activities because he’s reliable and good at keeping appointments. He won out, as he normally does, and I have hidden the hot chocolate to get back at him.

Last night I did win one small battle – we slept on the pullout sofa next to the Christmas tree with the lights on all night. Not the overhead lights, the Christmas tree lights. It was lovely and I had sweet dreams of spending Christmas in San Martinde los Andes in a log cabin that we built with our own hands – all of our Argentine neighbors trekking up the mountain to eat roast meat and pasta with us to celebrate the holiday. I can dream, can’t I?

We have also spent the weekend eating eggs. Dozens and dozens of eggs. My mother was supposed to have some huge celebratory bash at her house last week, but with the power cut off in much of New Hampshire, she sent her three dozen eggs down to our refrigerator where they would stay fresh. Besides using the eggs in baking, we’ve been eating eggs sunny side up, scrambled, in omelets and in quiches. You name it, we cooked it this weekend. And we still have one dozen left to use up before going away for the holidays.

Well, the dryer beeping has indicated to me that it’s time to bundle up again and head out into the snow for doggy duty despite the fact that my toes have not yet thawed from the last trip outside. And people whine about changing diapers. HA! BRING IT! I’ll take your diapers and raise them frozen feet and one steaming plastic bag full of dog poop!