i know. i'm blushing.

I’m really excited about my recent addition. I’ve had kind of mixed luck with my plants lately, though. I’m hoping that since a succulent can survive the desert, it will also be able to survive me.

Good news, everybody.

I haven’t seen a fruit fly in days. I’m pretty sure I won.  And in other good news, the plant that I doused in Raid hasn’t died yet… even though the warning on the can told me that it would.  (Hey, when it comes to combatting bugs, I take no prisoners.  Fraternizing with the enemy is unacceptable.)

…Hang in there, little plant.

So this might be considered old news, since the movie’s been out for more than a month now, but this past weekend, Bryant and I went into Seattle and saw Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. It was wonderful. I’m totally enamored with it. You all probably already knew how awesome it was because you’re not weird like us and wait a month to go see the movies that look good. But if you haven’t seen it yet, go now!

We saw it in 3D, which was fun, as you can clearly tell by the expression on Bryant’s face.

In other news, we finally got Washington plates and new drivers licenses, so it’s like we’ve officially moved in. (Though, technically Bryant is still waiting on his.) The thing is, having Utah plates kind of felt like a protection—a valid disclaimer. When I was driving someplace new, it was almost excusable to be driving like a lost soul, pausing a little too long before turns, driving just a touch too slow to figure out where the heck I am. Or anytime I did something stupid on the road (unrelated to being new, just related to being a bad driver), I would say, “Sorry! Utah driver!” and I felt somehow justified and protected from ridicule. But now it’s official. We live here. No excuse for driving slow or crazy. I’m supposed to know where everything is. Supposed to know what I’m doing. Feels kind of like taking off the training wheels.

We found this cool place in Seattle called “Fainting Goat Gelato,” and as everyone knows, anything with goat in the title must be excellent. The word gelato doesn’t hurt either.

Needless to say, the goat rule of thumb didn’t let me down; it was excellent. Bryant got the fainting goat flavored gelato. Thankfully, it didn’t taste like goat… at least not what I imagine goat to taste like. It was made with goat milk and this funky dried berry/raisin-looking thing (though we can’t remember its name) from some Greek island (though we can’t remember which one), but the locals have this tradition that it possesses special healing properties. I’m not sure if Bryant felt healed after eating it, but he was in a pretty good mood. It tasted odd and delicious. I like when those two adjectives join forces. My stracciatella was delicious, too.

Anyone who wants to come visit us will get a trip to Fainting Goat. …What? You thought I was above bribery?

Also, as we were walking down the street and fattening up on our delicious dairy desserts, we saw THIS:

(Er… whatever it takes?)

and THIS:

I’ve found my new favorite street in Seattle. Just thought I’d pass that along.

I’ve got this Excel spreadsheet on my desktop titled “moving list.” It’s a huge, exhaustive list of all the things we needed to do before we could move. It was long and daunting and usually overwhelming. During the past two months the file was nearly always open, waiting for me to check something else off the list.

Tonight I’m sitting here in my living room next to a dozen glowing tea lights in front of my ridiculously bushy (and free, and undecorated) Christmas tree. I’m here with my laptop on the floor, because we have to wait another four days before our belongings arrive, and for the first time in over a week, I noticed that Excel file on my desktop.

I opened the list to have a look and it suddenly struck me: the list is complete.

I’m amazed. Somehow we managed to get everything done/sold/cleaned/packed, get ourselves to Seattle, and get an apartment. Now we’re here. It almost feels like it was simple. How can that be? It felt so complicated at the time.

But here right now, it’s so peaceful. …Goodnight. Merry Christmas.

I’ve got this list telling me I should be packing. There’s a big mound of empty boxes next to me, waiting to be filled. I’ve stacked them up into a (somewhat) orderly pile so they won’t be in our way. Maybe I shouldn’t have; they’re a little too easy to ignore when they’re out of the way.

Our stuff gets picked up and shipped to Washington this Friday. We hit the road Saturday morning. I’ve gone over the schedule so many times that it’s almost lost its realness. It’s as if I’m just telling a story.

I can’t imagine what it’s going to feel like to arrive in our new city. Our little home in Salt Lake City will be behind us for good.

This is why I pine for a dish washer. Although, a bigger counter would probably work, too.

I’m posting these for no other reason than they feel good to me. Sort of like they fit in with my day. And sort of like they’re what I wish my day was.

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(Each of these comes from Shutter Sister’s “the daily click”.)

My mom and I started a project together. Inspired by “habit” (read: we’re shamelessly ripping them off), we’ve started a family habit of our own.

I’ve been wanting to do something like this for a long time but always lacked the motivation to try; I was always too afraid that I wouldn’t follow through with it. My mom’s enthusiasm for the idea was the final push I needed to really give it a shot.

We’ve been at it now for just under three weeks. It’s sometimes challenging to be consistent, but I’m happy with the results so far. I’d like to tweak some formatting issues on the site, but this will do for now. Go have a look.