Smug Marrieds: Name Your Elements

/

I've spent the better part of this weekend reading The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin. I'm reading it on my iPad, so I find myself highlighting sections and taking online notes, mainly because I can. (I rarely go back and read the passages I've outlined, but hold faith that someday the habit may come in handy.)

Inspired by Rubin to do a better job of connecting and engaging the loved ones in my life, I decided to start a conversation based on a paragraph in the book that resonated with me. When neither cat seemed keen on analyzing the finer points of the passage, I went in search of Blair.

"Let me read this to you," I said flopping down on the bed. Blair was barely visible behind a mound of shirts he was ironing. (I'm a wife, not a maid. Don't judge me.) "This is about why it's important to grow and try new things."

Read More

Smug Marrieds: Blairism

/

Earlier this evening: We're sitting in a booth across from each other, eating Chinese food. There is a large red scratch on the side of my nose.

Blair: What happened to your nose?

Dena (self-consciously touching the red mark): I accidentally scratched myself.

Blair: Sugah, you gotta be careful when you're picking your nose. You could hurt yourself. 

Oh. My. God. I spit out a fortune cooking, laughing.

Cheers,

Dena

Looking For A Few Good Halloween Ideas

/

My nephew's revenge for the vegetarian meal I made to counteract all the sugarYikes! The spooky season is upon us and Blair and I have yet to decide what our theme will be this year. We take great pride in being "that house" that always has the cheesy Halloween theme going on. In years past we've done everything from hauling in tons of sand to make a beach for a pirate theme to creating a Frankenstein monster operated by pulleys that sat up when kids approached, scaring them to death. (God, I love this holiday! Only time I can be intentionally mean to kids and no one calls me on it.) Headless horseman. Probably my favorite costume we've ever done.

Given our shared love of the The Walking Dead tv series, I'm leaning toward a zombie theme. But I'm open to suggestion. The only thing we won't do is political (scary as that may be). We like to keep it traditional with monsters and blood, eyeballs and gore. 

Thoughts?

Cheers,

Some years we keep it sweet...Dena

The "This Is Not About Italy" post

/

Although you'd never know it from my Facebook page and this blog, there are other happenings in life versus reliving the Italy trip. A quick recap to bring us all up to date: 

  • This Saturday is the 24-hour run at Hinson Lake. You know, there's a fine line between "bad ass" and "dumb ass" and 24-hour runs are a balancing act.  Last year I ran 54 miles in 11 hours. This year I'm aiming for 70 miles and lasting until midnight. Bored Saturday and looking for something to fill the hours? Come run with me. And bring chocolate. 
  • THE BOOK. Does This Collar Make My Butt Look Big? A Diet Book For Cats is due to my editor October 1st. My writer's group has been handing me feedback all week and I'm in a mad scramble to rip the book apart, incorpurrate (sorry, job hazard) their suggestions and get it out on time. Stress level = 8, but I'm having fun. I do my best work when I can see the finish line. 
  • New Clients. Sensing my absence from the country, several new clients popped up while I was away.
Read More