All day and all of the night

We’ve had some really crazy weeks recently and I am desperately craving a day to do “nothing” or to do “something” I wanna do. Between car hunting, parental obligations, plain old housework and too many social plans, we just haven’t had any “down” time.

I have written about needing a vacation and in light of recent developments, I doubt I will be rinsing sand outta my swimsuit any time soon. So I have lowered my standards yet again and am asking for just one day, all day to do with as we wish.

Last night Cynical and I were reliving the past nine years of being together. We started talking about our favorite times over the past (nearly) decade and we both came to the same conclusion: we really enjoy each other’s company and are perfectly content at times for it just to be us.

This led me to thinking about what I would do if we just had a day for us and here’s Ragged’s Plan for a Magnificent Day With Cynical:

First and foremost, we’d sleep late, very late. Once we both decided to rouse ourselves and the five cats* out of bed, we’d mosey downstairs for some pancakes. Cynical is an expert pancake maker and no other breakfast can compare.

Once we filled our bellies and moaned in delight, we’d head back up to sleep a little bit more. (We used to do that all the time and it was my favorite way to waste a morning.)

After we’d had enough sleep and maybe gone for a walk, we’d finally put real clothes on and go out for lunch. (You will probably notice the common theme of food here.) We always have good talks when we go out together, free of the distractions of being at home.

We’d then go home to sit in the sun and read a while. Yes, we are nerds and nerds like to read. I’d journal a bit and we’d talk about our books enjoying the sun and maybe getting some color on our pasty bodies.

Then we could rent a movie and cuddle up to watch it. Very cliche'? I know, but we just aren’t in the same room often and a movie is a great way to assure we are. I’d like to rent something that will spur discussion afterward. Sometimes (like when we both saw “Hotel Rwanda”) we have some great political, moral and personal discussions. Maybe we could rent the first several seasons of “Six Feet Under” as a memorial to the ending of the show, due to air Sunday night.

We’d come up with something for dinner and maybe open a bottle of wine to drink with our warmed leftovers or delivered pizza.

After the movie ended, we’d stay up to watch a marathon of some guilty pleasure show. Maybe we’d get lucky and every “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” or “Blowout” would be on and we could just numbly watch television until time to go to sleep.

As I read my plan, I realize it’s a bit boring, but sounds like pure heaven to me. I guess everyone has their own definition of pure happiness. The only thing that could make that day any better is a Blizzard and a trip to Target.

*Please don’t judge us. It’s a blended family.

Car Hunt:
After much hunting, 376 test drives, multiple stomach aches, countless fountain Diet Cokes, a few sleepless nights and a lot of bullet biting, I finally traded my dear Little Red in for a 2003 Honda Civic. It’s a mixed bag of emotions. I am very happy in my new car and even happier to have Lenny singing “Mr. Cabdriver” on my new CD player, but it was a little sad to leave Red all alone on the lot. Poor little car.

We have a little rule at our one-car garage home: the newest car gets to live in the garage. So, guess who’s car is in the garage now, Baby!

Cola Intake:
I have already given you an update on my cola intake. Big plans shot to ^%$#@. So, I will start over. In the words of Scarlet O’Hara, “Afterall tomorrow is another day.”

This just in:
When it rains it pours around our house. There’s a Cowboy Junkies song I could reference, but I certain I am the only one that will get the connection.

In the midst of car shopping we noticed how desperately Cynical’s own vehicle needed new tires. We decided to take care of that nagging worry immediately and took the car in on Monday. (I am a stickler for car maintenance.) Once they examined the vehicle, we learned that he also needed new brakes. Tough to hear for a couple hell bent on eliminating debt.

Oh and then the dryer went out. I know it’s improper to pray for earthly items, but I summoned all of the appliance gods to come to our rescue. Our faithful repairman beat and knocked, emerged from our basement to announce the dryer was not indeed dead, but just in need of a new blower. I dunno what that means, but he fixed it, I wrote a check and we are literally burning it up.

Remember that doing laundry is my own version of therapy. You can surely understand our insistence on correcting this problem immediately as I am in the midst of a mental breakdown after purchasing the car. (Doesn’t take much to rock my boat, does it?)

I took the photo above at the farmer's market recently. Just can't pass up sunflowers for some reason. I get some strange looks when I photograph produce, the lady at this booth was much more accomodating.