What color dominates your wardrobe? How do you feel when you wear that color? Why?
Once again, rather than answer the question, I'm going to answer something related-but-different.
Which color do I have absolutely none of in my wardrobe? Why?
Yellow.
No yellow. No yellow at all, hardly even as accents. Outside of a lost bumblebee or some fabric I get in a variety pack, good luck finding any yellow in our entire house, actually.
When I was in junior high, my mother took me shopping at the local factory outlets. Reading, PA is famous for them, which always seemed strange because they never seemed toh ave anything I really wanted to buy, but anywhere, there we were, in Rue 21 (now Forever 21, I think), and I found a shirt I wanted. A yellow shirt. I held it up for my mom to check out / approve, and she said I couldn't get it, and that I should never wear yellow, because yellow made me look sick.
While I'm sure this was meant to be thoughtful fashion advice (and might even BE good advice), I took it personally and practically banned yellow from my life, at least as far as clothes are concerned. I hate the color, all because of my mother's comment.
I am determined, however, to have a rubber ducky themed bathroom, so there will be some yellow in our house eventually.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Question 7
If you could change your appearance, how would you decide to look?
Right now, I'd grow my hair. I've had it short since...April of 2007. The day I broke up with my ex-fiance was also the same day I chopped of my hair - from the middle of my back, to a much-preferred pixie cut - AND got a tattoo. Talk about being dramatic, huh?
I've always gone back and forth with my hair. I first got it cut short when I was 10, to a bob, and kept it that way for a little while, but then grew it out, which wasn't so bad because the bangs were already long. I think I cut it again my freshman year of high school, to some variant of the super-short hair I have now. I grew it out again after keeping it short for about a year, then cut it short again at...16, I think. The guy I'd been on again, off again seeing at the time, Billy, thought that my cutting my hair short was some sort of "coming out" statement and that I must obviously now be a lesbian. This didn't prevent him from continuing to on again off again date me, though. Hah.
I grew it out again after that, then cut it short before leaving for boot camp in September, 2003. I figured (and rightly so) that it would be SO much easier to have short hair during basic, and it was. I kept my hair short until getting out of the Air Force in May, 2004, then grew it out again. I kept it long because the guy I was dating said he preferred it that way. My hair is so thick that, at its longest, it would take four or five hours to air dry (because I'm much too lazy to buy, let alone use, a hair dryer).
I cut it in April of 2007 and have had it super short since. It's so easy, especially with my hair being thick, but lately I've been feeling like it isn't particularly girly. The process of growing it out when it's so short, though, is daunting - I'm looking at six solid months, or more, of having hair in my eyes non-stop. Oh, and my boss likes to comment on his female employees' hairstyles, particularly when our hair does get in our eyes. Apparently he doesn't read sexual harassment memos or anything.
So yeah, I'd probably zoom my hair forward six to eight months, and have chin-length hair. :)
Right now, I'd grow my hair. I've had it short since...April of 2007. The day I broke up with my ex-fiance was also the same day I chopped of my hair - from the middle of my back, to a much-preferred pixie cut - AND got a tattoo. Talk about being dramatic, huh?
I've always gone back and forth with my hair. I first got it cut short when I was 10, to a bob, and kept it that way for a little while, but then grew it out, which wasn't so bad because the bangs were already long. I think I cut it again my freshman year of high school, to some variant of the super-short hair I have now. I grew it out again after keeping it short for about a year, then cut it short again at...16, I think. The guy I'd been on again, off again seeing at the time, Billy, thought that my cutting my hair short was some sort of "coming out" statement and that I must obviously now be a lesbian. This didn't prevent him from continuing to on again off again date me, though. Hah.
I grew it out again after that, then cut it short before leaving for boot camp in September, 2003. I figured (and rightly so) that it would be SO much easier to have short hair during basic, and it was. I kept my hair short until getting out of the Air Force in May, 2004, then grew it out again. I kept it long because the guy I was dating said he preferred it that way. My hair is so thick that, at its longest, it would take four or five hours to air dry (because I'm much too lazy to buy, let alone use, a hair dryer).
I cut it in April of 2007 and have had it super short since. It's so easy, especially with my hair being thick, but lately I've been feeling like it isn't particularly girly. The process of growing it out when it's so short, though, is daunting - I'm looking at six solid months, or more, of having hair in my eyes non-stop. Oh, and my boss likes to comment on his female employees' hairstyles, particularly when our hair does get in our eyes. Apparently he doesn't read sexual harassment memos or anything.
So yeah, I'd probably zoom my hair forward six to eight months, and have chin-length hair. :)
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Jeff & Iraq
I posted a...week? two weeks? I don't know. Anyway, I'd previously mentioned that Jeff applied for a job in Iraq to be an "evidence custodian."
He got an email today saying he did not get the job...
But that he should definitely apply if/when the job gets posted again, because he was one of TWO applicants for the position, and the reason he did not get chosen was cuz the other guy had a PhD.
Oh, and the pay? $160,000 for six months.
That's more than our mortgage...and his grad school... and probably also a new truck. Combined. So yes, Jeff will definitely be applying for this position again.
He got an email today saying he did not get the job...
But that he should definitely apply if/when the job gets posted again, because he was one of TWO applicants for the position, and the reason he did not get chosen was cuz the other guy had a PhD.
Oh, and the pay? $160,000 for six months.
That's more than our mortgage...and his grad school... and probably also a new truck. Combined. So yes, Jeff will definitely be applying for this position again.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Question 6
#6: If you could change your name, what would your new name be?
In high school, I decided I didn't like being Stephanie Lastname anymore. It was much too long, and not very fun. At the time, I didn't like Steph, either, so I decided that I wanted my friends to call me Wendi. With an i. I think I had my friends call me that, or tried to, but that didn't work and for a while that was that. (Do you remember htat at all, Renee? Gosh I was obnoxious in high school!!)
Before getting married, I toyed with keeping my maiden name, or hyphenating it with my husband's name... but being Stephanie 10lettername-5letters seemed a bit out of control, so I took my husband's name. It seems silly, but I love being Mrs. Mabry. I love that his family calls me Mrs. Mabry. I still giggle when I get "important" mail that says Mrs. Mabry. When I went to the Social Security Administration and to the DMV, the clerks at both agencies were surprised with how quickly I was there - we made sure to send off our marriage certificate thingamabloobery before leaving for our honeymoon, and we got it back from the county by the time we returned home. We got married June 13th, and before July arrived, I was Mrs. Mabry.
Interesting, I like being called Steph now, too. Stephanie doesn't sound right with the new last name, but Steph sounds okay. :) So Mrs. Steph Mabry I am, now, and I wouldn't have it any other way!
In high school, I decided I didn't like being Stephanie Lastname anymore. It was much too long, and not very fun. At the time, I didn't like Steph, either, so I decided that I wanted my friends to call me Wendi. With an i. I think I had my friends call me that, or tried to, but that didn't work and for a while that was that. (Do you remember htat at all, Renee? Gosh I was obnoxious in high school!!)
Before getting married, I toyed with keeping my maiden name, or hyphenating it with my husband's name... but being Stephanie 10lettername-5letters seemed a bit out of control, so I took my husband's name. It seems silly, but I love being Mrs. Mabry. I love that his family calls me Mrs. Mabry. I still giggle when I get "important" mail that says Mrs. Mabry. When I went to the Social Security Administration and to the DMV, the clerks at both agencies were surprised with how quickly I was there - we made sure to send off our marriage certificate thingamabloobery before leaving for our honeymoon, and we got it back from the county by the time we returned home. We got married June 13th, and before July arrived, I was Mrs. Mabry.
Interesting, I like being called Steph now, too. Stephanie doesn't sound right with the new last name, but Steph sounds okay. :) So Mrs. Steph Mabry I am, now, and I wouldn't have it any other way!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Long conversations with my husband
Jeff and I went to the Sacramento Zoo today. It was Museum Day in Sacramento, so the zoo and a dozen or more museums in the area were offering free admission. Coincidentally, today was also my niece's 10th birthday! Hooray! So we took her along with.
The day proceeded pretty much as expected - Niece being all autism-y, Jeff working with her using the applied behavior analysis techniques he uses with his clients at work, my mother-in-law agreeing "Oh, yes, this really would work for her!" but all of us knowing nothing will happen. Seeing my sister- and brother-in-law, listening to them talk about whatever it is they talk about, etc. etc.
Anyway, it's a two hour drive each way. On the way down, I usually read. On the way back, I either fall asleep, or we have lengthy conversations - and by conversations, I really mean one-sided semi-therapy sessions in which I start talking about his sister and eventually get to my sister and my family or whatever.
Today I talked about how my mother let me down. How unfair it was that I always had to babysit my sister after school - particularly with my mother getting sick so unexpectedly-yet-regularly, forcing me to take care of her for even longer, to lie to her, and all with hardly a word of thanks, because after all, my mother was sick, what else did I expect them to do?
Jeff always has such remarkable insight, and I always end up so thankful that I married such a kind-hearted, understanding man. He thinks that my mistrust of female friends stems from these continued let-downs from my mother - whenever a female acquaintance does something, I assume the worst kinds of treachery. A coworker I joke with about other coworkers, well, she MUST be a double agent of some kind. A friend who rejects an invitation clearly is not actually my friend at all. The male friends who have stopped speaking to me? Not their fault, but rather that of their girlfriends.
Much to think about. Mostly, though, I'm thankful for these car rides with my love. <3
The day proceeded pretty much as expected - Niece being all autism-y, Jeff working with her using the applied behavior analysis techniques he uses with his clients at work, my mother-in-law agreeing "Oh, yes, this really would work for her!" but all of us knowing nothing will happen. Seeing my sister- and brother-in-law, listening to them talk about whatever it is they talk about, etc. etc.
Anyway, it's a two hour drive each way. On the way down, I usually read. On the way back, I either fall asleep, or we have lengthy conversations - and by conversations, I really mean one-sided semi-therapy sessions in which I start talking about his sister and eventually get to my sister and my family or whatever.
Today I talked about how my mother let me down. How unfair it was that I always had to babysit my sister after school - particularly with my mother getting sick so unexpectedly-yet-regularly, forcing me to take care of her for even longer, to lie to her, and all with hardly a word of thanks, because after all, my mother was sick, what else did I expect them to do?
Jeff always has such remarkable insight, and I always end up so thankful that I married such a kind-hearted, understanding man. He thinks that my mistrust of female friends stems from these continued let-downs from my mother - whenever a female acquaintance does something, I assume the worst kinds of treachery. A coworker I joke with about other coworkers, well, she MUST be a double agent of some kind. A friend who rejects an invitation clearly is not actually my friend at all. The male friends who have stopped speaking to me? Not their fault, but rather that of their girlfriends.
Much to think about. Mostly, though, I'm thankful for these car rides with my love. <3
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Question 5
Question 5: What do you have to put up with in your life? How long have you been tolerating it?
There are a lot of ways I could answer this. I could talk about how much I hate my job, how much I hate being the primary wage-earner, how much I hate that Jeff was losing weight when we first met but has since stopped and that bugs me.
Instead, I'll talk about not having a washer and dryer in our house. As I guarantee you've heard me bitch about, our house was a disaster when we moved in...and while the primary living areas are much improved, to the point where I feel happy entertaining guests... the other things, like, I don't know, bathrooms, still need considerable improvement.
The house has two bathrooms. The first, and the one we use, is tiny; there's room for a potty, sink, shower and cat box. The walls are gross, one of the walls is actually a taped-shut-and-painted-over door, and the walls above the shower used to be spotted with mold because previous owners didn't replace the exhaust fan when it broke.
The second bathroom, though, is where our washer and dryer - already purchased, and waiting in storage until we can get it moved in - will go. Currently, there's no light in the room, so it cannot be used after dark. It's painted a color slightly darker than the pink of Pepto-Bismol. It's got an unfinished skylight. It's got a weird door that goes directly outside (which I've convinced myself would be good when we have a bunch of little boys running around, as they can come in to go to the bathroom without tracking mud through the house). It's also got the water heater in it.
My plan is that we replace the traditional water heater with an awesome tankless unit that would be on the outside of the house. The sink would be replaced and would slide over to where the water heater currently is, the shower would be replaced with an actual shower/tub unit, the toilet replaced with one that isn't the same 1970s olive green as the sink, and the floor would be tiled. Then we could move in the washer and dryer, and there'd be no more trips to the laundromat to pay $1.75/load to wash and 25 cents for seven minutes of dryer time.
I had Jeff call our plumber yesterday to get a quote. He must not be hurting for work, because, as he put it, he charges whatever the cost of the water heater is, plus $110 per hour to install it. He provided no indication of how many hours it would take, nor even a rough cost of the unit itself. Awesome.
So this is what I put up with.
There are a lot of ways I could answer this. I could talk about how much I hate my job, how much I hate being the primary wage-earner, how much I hate that Jeff was losing weight when we first met but has since stopped and that bugs me.
Instead, I'll talk about not having a washer and dryer in our house. As I guarantee you've heard me bitch about, our house was a disaster when we moved in...and while the primary living areas are much improved, to the point where I feel happy entertaining guests... the other things, like, I don't know, bathrooms, still need considerable improvement.
The house has two bathrooms. The first, and the one we use, is tiny; there's room for a potty, sink, shower and cat box. The walls are gross, one of the walls is actually a taped-shut-and-painted-over door, and the walls above the shower used to be spotted with mold because previous owners didn't replace the exhaust fan when it broke.
The second bathroom, though, is where our washer and dryer - already purchased, and waiting in storage until we can get it moved in - will go. Currently, there's no light in the room, so it cannot be used after dark. It's painted a color slightly darker than the pink of Pepto-Bismol. It's got an unfinished skylight. It's got a weird door that goes directly outside (which I've convinced myself would be good when we have a bunch of little boys running around, as they can come in to go to the bathroom without tracking mud through the house). It's also got the water heater in it.
My plan is that we replace the traditional water heater with an awesome tankless unit that would be on the outside of the house. The sink would be replaced and would slide over to where the water heater currently is, the shower would be replaced with an actual shower/tub unit, the toilet replaced with one that isn't the same 1970s olive green as the sink, and the floor would be tiled. Then we could move in the washer and dryer, and there'd be no more trips to the laundromat to pay $1.75/load to wash and 25 cents for seven minutes of dryer time.
I had Jeff call our plumber yesterday to get a quote. He must not be hurting for work, because, as he put it, he charges whatever the cost of the water heater is, plus $110 per hour to install it. He provided no indication of how many hours it would take, nor even a rough cost of the unit itself. Awesome.
So this is what I put up with.
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