<roll over, see Emma still sleeping>

<quietly roll out of bed, walk to the kitchen to start the kettle>

Ugh. Only 8am. Brew. Need Brew. Coffee.

<assemble the new version of coffee: instant grounds, two teaspoons of sugar, and some milk>

I miss Dunkin Donuts. Ouch. Coffee too hot.

<get back into bed and waits for Emma to wake up, an hour or so later>

<snuggle time>

“You got to get dressed. Your Mom will be here soon.”

<throw some bread in the toaster>

“Can you make sure to put  <random food I miss from the USA> on the grocery list?

….Please?

…..But I really want <random food I miss from the USA>.”

<plop down on the couch to watch some cooking contest show they have on every Saturday morning>

“Alright, babes. Have fun grocery shopping. Yeah, I’ll text you if I think of anything else.”

<text something to the wife about six minutes after she walks out the door>

Ugh. Dishes. Kitchen cleaning. Bathroom cleaning. Laundry. Trash.

<turn on computer, play music I only play Saturday mornings since Em thinks my tastes in music is crap. Rock out to “Dancing Round the Room” and “Let me Entertain You”>

Ugh. Dishes. Kitchen cleaning. Bathroom cleaning. Laundry. Trash. Must do.

<drink coffee, turns on hot water tap>

<wait 3 minutes>

<don oh-so-sexy yellow rubber gloves; dump out cold water from sink tub since it’s finally turning hot,  does dishes>

<stack various kitchen counter things into one small corner of the counter, spray cleaner all over counter. walk to bathroom and spray down the shower with same cleaner. return to kitchen to wipe down and rinse counters>

Mmmm. Bleach smell.

<get on hands and knees and scrub shower stall. remove drain trap. be grossed out by the millions of my own hairs caught in the drain plug. mop floor>

Bleck.

<turn on shower head and rinse stall. dance to “Love me Two Times”>

<open door to outside. prop wet mop up against side of the house>

<stroll into bedroom and pick up various clothes that need washing. grab towels from bathroom. separate whites and darks or the Mrs. will freak out.>

<decide that there are more whites than darks, wash those first>

“…cause we know we’re falling from grace, millenium….”

Whoa. I’m done cleaning.

<sits down at computer>

Shit!

<remembers to dust living room and bedroom>

Ahhhhchooo! Fucking dust.

“…and we’re prayin’ its not too late…..”

Yay. Now I’m done.

<rocks out to “That Girl” by Shaggy before he was cool and hip>

<strip the bed, realize that I just washed the sheets on Sunday. re-assemble bed.>

<puts away laundry that’s been drying on the rack since Wednesday night. see pile of laundry that needs ironing since Wednesday night>

Argh. Tomorrow. Iron tomorrow.

I’ve been watching The L-Word since I got here. Emma downloaded the first three seasons, and the ones that have been on this year. I’m kinda into it.  Emma’s got a thing for Bette and Carmen. I’m not sure who I’m into.

When Emma was growing up, she hung out mostly with boys. One of the boys she used to play soccer with, Oliver, died in a car crash this past week. It’s a sad thing really. The town is so small, so all of the people her age are coming out to the funeral and services. Open casket funerals aren’t too typical here, and there is an open-viewing for Oliver’s close friends. Emma’s not going to that, and I’m not sure she’s going to do to the funeral. She doesn’t do those types of things very well. I suggested sending a card and letter to the family, and when she’s ready, we can go visit the grave on our own, rather than having to see all the people she grew up with in that sort of emotional state.

I bought my plane ticket back to the States for my birthday. Em and I got them for 122pounds, plus 147pounds tax. Wicked cheap! Direct from London to Boston. Nice.

If you, or someone you know, has a problem with something that I’ve posted on my blog, then you need to contact me directly to begin a discussion about removing it.

I’m sick of 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th parties trying to judge me and what I say here, and make their demands on behalf of others. I understand you may think you are being helpful to a friend, but unfortunately, things are getting mixed up and twisted in the interpretation phase. Do not contact Emma in hopes that I will listen to her more than I’ll listen to anyone else. Do not go to Emma’s mother and ask her to talk to Emma about talking to me about removing anything. They have nothing to do with my blog, so leave them out of it. I’ve told Emma the same thing I’m telling all who read this:

If it’s not worth it for you to talk to me directly about issues you have with what I’ve said, then it’s not worth it for me to take it down.

End. Of. Story.

I don’t think I’ve ever had such a fast doctor’s appointment in my life. I swear it took like three minutes.

More drama with the BIL’s ex. She’s apparently read my blog (well, she said myspace…which confuses me, since I don’t keep up two blogs…), and keeps texting Emma about it, making accusations to her as if Em wrote it herself.  But when Em said she has nothing to do with my blog, and that the ex should be texting me instead of Emma, she said that she would rather not. Which tells me one of two things. Either I’m a big scarey lesbian, or she’d rather not be confronted with the truth. Meh. Gotta love 21-year-old drama. My only concern is that she will go and complain to BIL, and BIL will be even madder at me than he is now.

Em’s making chili and roasted potatoes for dinner. Yum.  Well, she was going to until she got into the text-fest.

One of the guys at work keeps calling me “Mrs. Jacko”, in reference to Em’s last name. I kinda like it. I didn’t change my name after we got married, so this is kinda close.

Work’s boring as fuck. For some reason, a job that takes my peers two hours to do, I can do in 30 minutes. I thought for a while that I must be leaving out steps, since the people who have been at this job longer take so much more time to complete the tasks. But, after going through the packs with one of the higher-ups, I’ve got it down correctly. The positive side to that is we get bonuses based on productivity. Woot. The negative side, is that when I’ve done the packs for the day (usually 2 or 3), I’m out of work to do. So, I’ve been asking around to see  if anyone has post that needs logging in, so I can at least keep myself busy, and give someone else a hand in the mean time.

Emma’s got dominoes tonight. It’s at the pub just 3 blocks from our house, so I thought about joining her for a drink. But then I realized a few things. The BIL that isn’t talking to me is going to be there. The BIL’s ex (who I told off) is also going to be there. I decided to just avoid the scene all together and hang out on my own tonight. I got laundry to put away anyway.

On the work front, I think I’ve settled into a regular job routine. As an IVA admistrator, I collect the data from clients who want to enroll in an IVA, which is this government supported debt management plan. If they had such a thing in the US, I would have done it ages ago. Anyway, I’m only one of eight people in the company of over 200 employees who do such a job, and with the government overseers and lawyers coming in and out regularly, I think I’m in a good place. Unfortuately, my “team leader” is a completely useless individual as far as training me goes, so I’ve either had to figure out my way through it by making mistakes and being told; or going to other IVA admins and asking for their help. Which doesn’t equal much, since most of them only started a few months before me.

I get an hour lunch, so I usually head over to Emma’s department (Accounts), and eat lunch with her. I do get to spend a decent amount of time with her during the days, with a 70 minute bus ride to work, a 60 minute lunch, and a 70 minute bus ride home from work. (The bus is a money pit – we’re dropping about $200 a month each on bus tickets….car soon!) By the time we get home from work at 7pm (9pm on Thursdays, since it’s my late day), have dinner, shower, do what chores need doing, it’s pretty much time for bed.

The in-laws have pretty much stayed clear of me and the house. Em’s dad has come over once, Nana once, and brother once. Em’s mom came by once, but didn’t speak to me. I had a falling out with Em’s brother. I basically told his ex-girlfriend that I knew she was cheating on him back when they were together, and now he’s mad that I hurt her feelings. Yeah, I had a few in me, but the girl deserved it.

I’ve actually stuck to one crochet project since I’ve been here – the mega-huge granny square blanket. I only get time to hook on the weekends, so it’s slow going. Em says she’s getting me a cabinet that I can fill with crochet stuff. I think she’s trying to scare away the homesickness I’ve been going through.

Yeah, I’ve had a few rought days since I got here, which is why I probably haven’t posted that much…it would have been mostly negative.  But I’m in a good place, mentally, right now. And very glad to be with my wife.