House of Swank

Notorious

Today I decided to walk to the World Wide Knit In Public Day event being held in the 'Couv.  It's just over 2 miles away, mostly downhill, and I could simultaneously be a lazy ass and take the bus home.

While walking through my neighborhood I came across a house that was for sale and stopped a moment to check out the flier out front.  Mainly to see what it was listed for, to see how badly the market had dipped since we've moved in.  The house has 1 fewer bedroom and only 1 bathroom and is listed for $10k less than what we purchased the House of Swank for, so I think we're doing OK.

Anyhow, there was a gentleman at the neighboring house out doing yard work who commented to me that I had just moved into the neighborhood, so shouldn't be looking to move already.  He recognized me from the latest neighborhood meeting.

That would be the meeting where I told the transportation committee that if they didn't support a recommendation that brought transit through our neighborhood they were not honoring the wishes of the majority of people within the neighborhood based on survey results.  I think I made a few enemies at that meeting, but I also made a couple of friends. 

This gentleman was not amongst the friends.

But we still had a nice chat for a few minutes about things completely unrelated to transit and transportation.

I suspect soon I'm going to become "that girl" - since I am making myself known and am not afraid to speak up. 

If I can be "that girl" walking to the max stop in 10 years I'll be very, very happy, indeed.

6 Weird Things About Me

It's taken me a few days to get around to this because I legitimately couldn't think of 6 weird things about me that I was willing to share with the world.  But today inspiration struck.

The rules are:

*Link to the person that tagged you. (Janell tagged me)
*Post the rules on your blog.
*Share six weird things/habits/quirks about yourself.
*Tag six others. And let them know they’ve been tagged!

Here are 6 weird {things/habits/quirks} about me…

1.  When I am buying a serve-yourself-fountain-beverage (*cough* Diet Coke from AM/PM *cough*) I NEVER take the top lid on the stack.  I always go part-way into the stack.

2.  Ceiling light fixtures that look like boobs disturb me.

3.  I am extremely ticklish and the most ticklish spot on me is directly above my kneecaps.  Just thinking about people touching me there makes me cringe.

4.  I have never been a patient in a hospital.  Not when I was born.  Not when I broke my leg at 11 months old.  Never.  Not even the ER.

5.  I graduated college with a Bachelor of Science degree - without ever taking a hard science course.

6.  When I am stressed or overburdened the thing that can help calm me down the quickest is a solitary drive on a curvy, hilly road.

I tag the first six people to read this.  You're all on the honor system.

Luck of the Draw

Via Abigail who saw this meme at The Noble Savage. She found it at What If No One’s Watching, who got it from Mostly True Tales. The original authors of this exercise are Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, and Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. If you participate in this blog game, they ask that you PLEASE acknowledge their copyright.
Bold the true statements. You can explain further if you wish.

1. Father went to college

No thanks to the military.  His 12 years of service was too long to qualify for the GI Bill.

2. Father finished college

3. Mother went to college

4. Mother finished college

5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor.

6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers.

7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home.

8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home

9. Were read children’s books by a parent

10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18

11. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18

12. The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively

13. Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18

14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs

15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs

My maternal granparents put $10,000 towards the cause.  The deal going in was 4 years undergraduate tuition and room/board at a state school and anything above and beyond that (private school, 10 year plan, grad school) was on me.  They ended up repaying the $3,000 in loans I took out to go to a private school my freshman year and I ended up going 4.25 years but they still covered it.  I was responsible for all discretionary funds.

16. Went to a private high school

17. Went to summer camp

18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18

19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels

Some did.  Most didn't.

20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18

Mom worked at our church's thrift store during most of my high school years.  The good news is it got me a heck of a lot nicer clothes (often still with tags) than I would have had otherwise.  The bad news was that it turned me on to good brand names.

21. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them

Three people with three jobs and one of them on the high school debate team got too challenging.

22. There was original art in your house when you were a child  

Pieces done by my grandfather, after suffering from a stroke.

23. You and your family lived in a single-family house

25. You had your own room as a child

26. You had a phone in your room before you turned 18

It was my 16th Birthday present.  I believe I still have that phone in a box somewhere in case we ever decide to go back to land lines.

27. Participated in a SAT/ACT prep course

28. Had your own TV in your room in high school

29. Owned a mutual fund or IRA in high school or college

30. Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16

31. Went on a cruise with your family

32. Went on more than one cruise with your family

33. Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up

34. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family

I've seen this meme floating around the internets for a while now.  It's always tagged with something about how lucky you were, or how advantaged you were growing up.  And it's so  one-dimensional in that regard it makes me cringe. 

My father grew up dirt poor in the backwoods of Wisconsin.  He joined the military the instant he could to hightail it out of town and busted his ass to make a good life for himself and his family.  He is the embodiment of the pull yourself up by the bootstraps anyone can do it American Dream.  In large part things were not handed to me growing up, I earned them.  Yes, I had a car in high school.  After 4 years of using suburban public transportation to get myself around, and a summer of frequently walking the 2 miles to work because both of my parents were also working and had the cars my parents bought me a $1,400 car. 

Am I disadvantaged or unlucky because my mother never attended college?  My mother had the opportunity to attend college, free of charge, but it was Missouri in 1955 and girls didn't commonly go off to study journalism in those days.  Because of that my Mom has always embraced my independent nature and helped push me to take advantage of every opportunity presented to me.  And because no one in my family had ever graduated from college it was a priority to my parents that I get a college degree.  At an in-state school.

Yes, I am lucky and I am advantaged.  Not because of any of these THINGS my parents provided to me, but because of the lessons they taught me about life along the way. 

My Mother's Daughter

Today Sweetie and I ate at Lambert's Cafe - The Only Home of Throwed Rolls.  Sweetie got the recommendation from someone who had contacted him via his baseball stadium website.  I recalled seeing the place on The Travel Channel before, and it seemed like a place to unique to pass by.

The throwed rolls were the bomb.  Every few minutes a guy would come through announcing hot rolls and if you wanted one you'd just raise your hand and he'd throw one at you.  Not just toss it, but really throw it at you.  Luckily his aim is spot-on, so you don't have to do much work to catch them. 

And then there was the pork steak.  Even though I am not genetically related to my parents, there are some ways in which they managed to pass their genetic material on to me.  One of the ways my mom has done that is my fondness for pork, and love of a good pork steak.  My mom often complains how she can't find them in the Northwest to rival those found in Missouri.  And today I remembered what she means when she says that.  As soon as I saw the pork steak on the menu I knew I had to order it, and man if it wasn't even tastier than the rolls! 

Now pardon me, but the food coma is about to set in.

Resolutely

I am not usually one for New Year's Resolutions.  The last time I made a resolution was at the turn of the millennium, and that was "not get in a car accident this year."  Given that in both 1999 and 2000 I was in accidents involving idiots running red lights, I was hoping to make it a year without incident.  And am happy to say I succeeded. 

This year I've actually decided to make a New Year's Resolution.  It's cheesy as hell, but should be keepable, and when I hit that slide in mid-February it's something I'll be able to pick up again easily and not feel like I'm a complete failure.  The resolution:  accessorize more.  Blame it on watching too much "What Not to Wear," but I realize I haven't even worn earrings for a couple of years.

Don't worry, I haven't turned completely superficial.  I've got things I'd like to accomplish in other areas of my life, but they aren't really resolution material. I mean, who resolves to get drapes for the living room?

All Swankette Wants For Christmas

Dear Santa,

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, it is time to turn our attention to Christmas.  Years past posting my Christmas list on line has seemed to work well, so if it ain't broke don't fix it, eh?

It should come as no surprise to anyone that many of the items on my list are directly influenced by the fact that I've just moved into a new home:

• A subscription to Sunset magazine
• A desk chair
• iPod speakers
• A grill
• Jewelry

And, of course, gift certificates are always appreciated.  Some places to consider:

• Sephora
• Local Yarn Shops (This place is probably my favorite)
• Powell's
• iTunes
• Kitchen Kaboodle

The list is, perhaps, shorter than years past, but I'm sure anything you get for me will be fabulous.

Love,
Swankette

In Memoriam

I did not think the name of my past pet would turn up a single picture on google images.  It turned up 38.  Seemed like I sign I needed to do this...

The rules:
1) Answer questions and type into google image search
2) Post pictures from first results page

1. Age at next birthday:

2. A place you'd like to travel:


3. Your favorite place:


4. Your favorite objects:



5. Your favorite food:




6. Your favorite animals:




7. Your favorite color:



8. Town where you were born:



9. Town where you now live:



10. Name of a past pet:



11. First name of a past love:



12. Best friend's nickname:



13. Your screen name/nickname:


14. Your first name:



15. Your middle name:



16. Your last name:


17. Bad habit of yours:



18. First job:


19. Grandmother's name:


20. Your college major:




For many of these I went with the more entertaining photo, rather than literal.  Hopefully you figured that out for yourself already, though.

Legitimate

Well, in the eyes of Washington State, I am now, officially, a resident of the 'couv.  Today I renewed my tabs on my car (which were due to expire on Saturday), changed the address on my driver's license, and registered to vote.

Which also means that I have now, completely and totally (as best as I can tell), given up my maiden name.  I'd never gotten around to changing it on my voter's registration, since I figured it would involve having to take my marriage license in to the elections office and jump through hoops and I was just too lazy.  Plus, voting permanent absentee, it wasn't like I was going to run into a problem of someone checking my ID and it not matching.

As luck would have it, the Clark County elections office is across the hall from the vehicle licensing department, so once I got the tabs updated on my car I popped in to see what hoops I had to jump through, and learned that there were none.  Just had to fill out a form.  Done!

In the eyes of me I should become a resident of the 'Couv this weekend... stay tuned for details.

Uncles Charles' Chair

My Great-Uncle Charles died before my Dad even met my mom, so he's not a family member I ever met, but his wife, my Great-Aunt Zella, aka Auntie, was one of my favorite people in my youth. 

When she passed my mother received some candelabras and Uncle Charles' chair.  This was the cause of great family drama at the time.  Originally Auntie's will was set up for my Grandpa and Mom to split everything, and if one of them was gone the other got it all.  But then our family moved away from St. Louis and Mom's greedy cousin got Auntie (who we suspect suffered from dementia or Alzheimers) to change her will and pass everything to her.

It was not worth the fight, and my Mom was happy that she got Uncle Charles' chair at least. 

One night my dad woke up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water.  He walked into the living room and there was a man sitting in the chair.  Dad woke up Mom, explained what had happened, and it was determined that it was Uncle Charles.  What looked like, what he was wearing, and how he was sitting all pointed to that.  From that point on the chair has been magical in my eyes.

Sweetie and I will be inheriting the chair within the next year, so it's necessary that the living room furniture match the chair.  Several years ago Mom paid to reupholster the chair and it's an EXPENSIVE chair to reupholster, and in lovely shape now, so we can't work the other way around.

We went living room furniture shopping today, and have selected the ensemble that we want.  Luckily, the upholstery choice that we most took a shine to in the store will work well with the chair.  So we'll get all that ordered sometime this week. 

This is the fun part of moving, getting to shop for new things.  Tomorrow morning it's back to the non-fun part of it all, removing the damn staples from the damn floor.

Homeless

It's official, I am now, without a doubt, homeless.  Except for the fact that I have kick-ass parents with a guest bedroom.  Thank goodness they aren't doing the "let's sell the house and live in a trailer" thing until NEXT year!  :)

At least there's a big chunk of change wiring it's way to our bank account at the moment.  That makes a girl feel better.