Today's cleanup suggestion makes a lot of sense:

... aaaaand ... is already in play in our house. I guess we're more organized than I thought.

Not that you can tell from our house.

Organized to me means there's a place for everything, everything is in its place, and those places aren't a jumbled mess. Of course, even with everything a jumbled mess, I can still find most everything in the house. Just ask Andy where the thermostat (and instructions!) were.

Ooooookaaaaaaay, I guess the kitchen can use some fixes, though, so I'll go ahead and try this. Everyone who's been to my house and seen my kitchen knows, owning one of every type of appliance (except the microwave and broiler) means there's a lot of cooking items in that kitchen.

A lot.

Mom forwarded me an email exchange from when Kris and I first brought Bella home. Mom visited us the weekend after we picked up Bella.

From: Vicki
To: Eric
Date: Wednesday, August 13, 2003 11:50 AM
Subject: I'm here!

Hi,

What a cute dog they have! They had to go all the way
to Salsaulito to get her so ended up bringing her back
last night. What a AARRROOOO! Nothing at all like 
Trixie - this is HOWLLING and SINGING! So funny.
She's about half as tall as T and kind of stocky, brown
and white. Very friendly and seems to be acclimated
already to the surroundings. Kitt and I were in
the backyard talking about the compost bins and Bella
snuck over and grabbed something unidentifiable off
the top of the heap.

So Kitt's gone off to work until 230 - I'm doing some
homework and then working in the yard with Bella (who
is now laying outside in the sun ... just like home).

See you soon XXOOXX

   From: Eric
     To: Vicki
   Date: Wednesday, August 13, 2003 11:50 AM
Subject: RE: I'm here!

glad to hear all is well.  

But...where are the pictures???  you got camera, you
got computer, you got dog...  

i want a howling video.

how well does she dig?

   From: Vicki
     To: Eric
   Date: Wednesday, August 13, 2003 10:41 PM
Subject: RE: I'm here!

I have a howling video! Will send that tomorrow! She's
got a BIGGER howl than Trixie - goes on for a lot longer.

The woman that Kitt got her from said that she didn't
dig. Ha! Bella went outside and didn't come back for a
while ... there she was, in the raised garden beds,
digging. Kitt brought her in and Bella headed right
back out.

More later ... it's getting late ... I'm fading. It's
been a fun day ... I'm glad I'm able to spend some
time with Kitt. Thanks.

V

   From: Eric
     To: Vicki
   Date: Thursday, August 14, 2003 9:16:38 AM
Subject: RE: I'm here!

yup; beagles dig.

You know, I'd hate to be a guy reading this get-organized list. I mean, what is a guy going to do with fuchsia sandals? Hell, what would I do with fuchsia sandals? Oh, yeah! I don't!

Another one of the "this would be a great suggestion, if only it actually applied to me and my lifestyle" suggestions.

I don't own that many shoes. I have one pair of really nice shoes from Katie. I have three pairs of cleats. I have two pairs of running shoes. I have two pairs of just walking around shoes. I have two pairs of sandals: one sporty and one dressy. And I own one pair of black flats (come to think of it, also from Katie).

The cleats are in my ultimate bag. My running shoes are by the door, with my walking around shoes and sandals. My flats are next to Kris' shoes by the front door.

And the really nice pair of shoes from Katie is in Kris' closet, with my other really next clothes in my 3 feet of closet space.

So, yeah, the wobbly trees and ferris wheels don't really apply to me. Maybe someone else could use the suggestion.

Went to practice tonight, for the first time since mid last month. It's been cold at nights, all the way down to 46°. Forty-six degrees. Forty six.

My dad is laughing at me right now.

At least my mom is thinking, "Brrrrrrrr!"

Given the team hasn't really been out and running around together for a month, just playing sounded like a great idea to me. We did a lot of throwing (about 200 throws per person of various grips and lengths), and played games. I'm not sure they liked the way I divided the teams up: number of letters in their last name, odd on one team, even on the other. I followed that one up with something like the number of letters in their first names. The teams seemed pretty even.

Although playing ultimate and teaching people (and combining the two!) is a lot of fun, I have to admit that hanging out with Kate, even in the cold, cold, cold, stop laughing Dad, cold weather is the best part for me. I like chatting on the sidelines with her, talking about life and plotting women's ultimate domination in two years with her. It's a lot of fun.

If only I could feel my toes.

My sides hurt.

My office chair is too small for both me and Bella to sit on at the same time.

Crystal commented to me last Friday that my new work schedule is, "Just like college!" I had just mentioned how I was enjoying my days, working among various activities, heading to the gym or off for a dog walk when I wanted to, without worrying too much about the schedule per se. I'm still worried about deadlines, and I still have calls and appointments to keep. The day to day schedule is pretty nice, though, because I can choose to go for a walk, end up at the library and work from there.

You know it's cold in your house when you use your laptop actually on your lap to stay warm.

Did you read that? My sides hurt.

Annie isn't any better, even after the week of drugs. She's nearly unable to walk the 1/2 mile loop we have around the block. I'm starting to worry about her, which is saying something. I usually don't worry about indestruct-a-doggy.

Hasn't rained in a week. Might be time to start working outside again.