Oh Today...

Today was not the day that I thought it might be.  It was not bad, not really in any way at all; it just wasn't what I thought I was getting when I pulled the "May 26th" straw.  I didn't get as much time with Handsome as I would have liked, due to an excessive accumulation of crap stuff in my Math office and a freak accident with my computer.  

I am sad to say that I am writing to you from somewhere I have never written to you from before.  Also, as the other side to that coin, I will never again write to you from my old computer.  The math dept computer dude doctor said that it was most likely an aneurysm and it went quickly in the night (last night to be exact).  However, the "doctor" was also a transplant specialist and right there, without a sheet over it or any type of anesthesia, he removed the old hard drive and memory card (stick? piece? magicness?) and transplanted it into an even older but more mobile computer.  Apparently my old computer was the universal donor, because despite a sizable difference in years and generations, the transplant was a success and the recipient of the new parts got to go home the same day.  The old computer went to the place where computers go to die (note: linked movie is not recommended unless reader enjoys playing Mystery Science Theater 3000).

Yesterday, riding on my high of moisture-rich air and a sweet tea smell you can taste, I arrived home to find out, quite to my pleasure (remember, I was on a high) that although my home and its inhabitants can survive without me, they do not thrive as well as when I am there.  Today I tried my darndest to get the dog smell out of my house, swept and did laundry, and thought about grocery shopping.  I thought about taking the covers off of the couch cushions to wash them, but I'm pretty sure that zipper is just there as a selling point; one would never be able to fandangle that cushion back inside that cover in a million years.  So tomorrow, when I think more intensely about grocery shopping, I'm going to pick up some febreeze too, and pretend that its the same as cleaning.

Last week, I had another day that did not go as I had thought it might; it went much better.  Handsome and I took el Duke-o and went mountain biking.  We actually did this two days in a row, although the second day went considerably better than the first.  It helped that we actually found the trail the second day.  Here's some pictures with narrations from myself.  Feel free to add your own narrations if you don't like mine; its called creative license.

El Duke-o got to ride inside the truck because someone *coughmecough* has a soft heart and feels bad about El Duke-o's psychological fear of bicycles.
Someone else in the family claimed it was a fix-fix situation:
Duke doesn't like the bikes, jumps out of the back and dies, problem fixed.
Duke learns to deal with the bikes and lays down for the ride, problem fixed.
Yes, it has occurred to me that I married a sociopath.

My version of What I Wore Wednesday
I know its appealing, you don't have to say anything.
I feel like the curvature of the truck really helps my reflection; yeah, nothing awkward about it...

We rescued a turtle from the road.
Story: Once, during the first days (looong days) of grad school, I came home after umpteen hours of working on homework and getting nowhere, to find handsome with a cooler, saying he had a surprise for me.  Inside the cooler was a box turtle he had found, and thought that I might like to see as well.  Now, we might not do candles and flowers, but a man who will save a discovered amphibian for you to see too is a rare find himself.  Turtles always make me think of that.

Handsome says its a bike-strap chin, not a double chin, that I'm rocking there.
He also told me once that if he didn't lie to me all the time, he wouldn't have anything to say.
Take from that what you will.

No, its not Tahoe, but its mine and I love it.

Apparently, El Duke-o loves it too.

And Handsome, well, he loves his truck.
This picture is taken shortly after he floored it, leaving a big black cloud of diesel smoke,
and shortly before the huge smile that spread across his face as a result.
He also loves his bike shorts.
As you can see, I'm still winning the "No Spandex-Only Outfits" argument.
Please pray this holds.

We spotted these unusual flowers.
They're probably either poisonous or weeds, but I liked them all the same.
Look a little bit like Christmas, don't you think?

We did not see any of these buggers, but I took this picture last week and I'm a little bit proud of it.
Plus, I can't seem to stop myself from looking at pictures that creep me out.
Gross.  Awesome.  Grody.

Still fighting the PST v. EST fight,

TFW