Warning!!

Do not, I repeat, do not mention anything about the trip home for Thanksgiving on my facebook page. My mom has access to that and checks it, and recently I have become paranoid about her finding out about the trip. Comment all you want here on the blog, but not on facebook. Can't wait to see everyone!!!!!!

I'm a Bit Obsessed With the Leaf Blower

So, I'm pretty sad that I don't have time this morning to use the leaf blower out front to rid the yard of leaves. Leaf blowers are awesome! I compare it to the memories of raking leaves as a kid, and man, so much better now!! We have two very large trees, one in the front and one in the back, and I can't imagine doing it all by hand. And now I don't! Yay leaf blowers! Not that I'm going to do an entire post proclaiming the greatness of these machines. No, there is much to mention. In fact, I will probably forget most of it, and as I'm in a bit of a time crunch, I will be numbering all of the topics in a list format, starting with the most important and moving on down. Notice, I started with the leaf blower. Pretty big stuff! Onto the list!

1. I got a job! I interviewed for the position two weeks ago and when I didn't hear back from them earlier on the day that they told me they'd get to me by, I thought I didn't get it. I was pretty much convinced, and I had spent the morning applying to another batch of jobs. But at around 3:30, AJ called and offered me the job! So, now I will be officially known as Jen Reiter, Psychotherapist/Outpatient Clinic Manager. I will be working with a variety of clients from children with ADHD and ODD to adults with chronic mental illness, psychiatric disorders, drug addiction and mental retardation. I am so excited! I don't start until November 17, so I'm spending this time relaxing, getting new work clothes, reading, and getting a jump on Christmas present creation (see below for more). More to post later on the job front.

2. Halloween! Arlo and I went out for Halloween and had a blast! He was not thrilled with the idea of dressing up when I told him I was really into it, oh, say 3 months ago when we moved. But he warmed to the idea, so much so that I wasn't even planning on doing anything and he asked if we could. We debated between being two present-day dirty hippies a la Bonnaroo, or a lesbian couple, and in the end we went with dirty hippies. My costume was complete with frizzie wig, tattoo around the belly button, long skirt and fairy wings. Awesome! Arlo looked splendid in his Grateful Dead rasta shirt, rainbow glasses and tall hat. We went to a few bars in Milwaukee and ended up at Ma Fishers for the fried food platter. Fun night! For more on Halloween from Arlo's perspective, see his blog at http://arlosbloggitybloggyblog-blog.blogspot.com/

Oh, and we also carved pumpkins, see below! Mine is the scary one.

3. I joined the Y! They had a deal for joining by October 31, so I did it and it's awesome! I have been twice since I joined and I haven't used the pool yet, but I'm very excited to head there tomorrow. I also can't wait for the spinning classes and kick-boxing classes. Arlo signed up with me on a family plan, though his intention is to use the gym more like a spa, going mostly to use the hot tub and sauna when it's really cold in the winter and he needs a good thaw. I, on the other hand, have visions of us sweating together gleefully in a spinning class or encouraging each other as co-spotters. Ah, the idealist. So much fun to dream, so sad when those dreams are dashed!

Alright, best be going. I need to get ready for work now. One last thing. I'm trying something new for Christmas this year. I have an idea of what I want to make everyone for Christmas, but I'm making an offer. If there's something I've given someone else or something you've seen, thought up but don't think you can make (a la Kevin's blanket with sleeves), or something I've made you before and you want another one (like a new pair of pj bottoms), please shoot me an email or post a comment. I will try to honor requests. That being said, if I have my heart set on making you something else, you might get that, so you'll still be surprised come gift exchange time.

Word!

The Arrival of Fall (and Wendy) to Wisconsin

You know it's fall in Wisconsin when all of the Hortons begin getting excited about the Gaysmills Apple Festival. This year was different in that Arlo and I were among them. We all met up on the first day in the small town you see in the beginning of the blog. There the kids had fun on carnival rides, we all ate a so-so lunch and then looked at the local arts and crafts wares for sale. I don't know about you, but I can just NEVER have too many kitchen towels with Packer logos on them! From there, we went to the flea market, which was HUGE, and wandered through isles and isles of stuff. Arlo and I found an axe, which made Arlo very happy as he can now chop stuff for our fire pit, and for the rest of the day, he kept pointing stuff out that he could chop, if I wanted him to. I declined, as I would think that the vendors wouldn't like it if he chopped up their vintage baby cradles. As the kids grew sleepier, crankier, and louder, we knew it was time to wrap it up and get to the important part of Apple Festival- The Apples!! So, we headed to Arlo's favorite orchard and (to my dismay) we didn't have to pick the apples, they were all ready for us in huge bags. We left with not just one bag of apples, but three. This is very different from my usual 5-6 apples when I go to the grocery store, one for each day, bit. I'm immediately thinking of all of the things I should do to "use up" these apples before they go bad, pies, apple sauce, more pies. Funny enough, I tend to just keep doing what I have been doing all along, one apple a day. Suddenly, three bags don't seem to be an absurd idea. We ended the weekend with a pancake breakfast held in the town church. It was delicious, but some of us (Arlo) couldn't use self-restraint and ended up with a stomachache. Oh, yeah, and to explain the picture of the goat, on the way out of town we stopped at Peck's, a produce place that has a petting zoo out back with goats, potbellied pigs, a camel, a miniature horse, ducks, etc. As you can imagine, this was one of my favorite parts of the entire trip.

Since then, October has started, our fall shows are in full swing, including Pushing Daisies, How I Met Your Mother, and Arlo's recent find, which you should check out if you have BBC, Gavin and Stacey. We have had some really fun times, including when Arlo made me a super awesome suprise dinner of crab legs, asparagus, and corn on the cob. It was delicious! As you can see, I am enjoying it! We have also been having some fun dates, like going out for mini-bowling at Koz's, a local bar, playing trivia at Nomad, another bar, and checking out the local scene at Robert's, up the street from us. I haven't been keeping track of my Live Music Tally, but we went to see some live music too, Cory Chisel and the Traveling Sons (I think that's the name anyway). Cool band. For more detail than that, check out Arlo's blog.

So, other than that, what else? Hmmm...there was my VISIT FROM WENDY!!! Wendy came and stayed with us on her way to Seattle this past weekend and it was AWESOME! It was so great to have someone her who knows me and has been my friend for quite some time. After picking her up at the airport it seemed like she's been here the whole time, we just picked right up. We spent the weekend doing what we did best as friends, talking (a lot), crafting, watching tv, eating, thrift shopping, and drinking wine. In addition, we did two things that we haven't done in the past- sing kareoke and search for a bronz statue of The Fonz from Happy Days. Both were successful endeavors. The singing took place at Robert's. We originally went there to see the Neill Diamond impersonator (don't judge, it's our local bar!), but they were doing kareoke instead, for Sweetest Day (like Valentine's Day, don't ask). As I have always wanted to try it and never had the courage, and Wendy was feeling the same way, we decided that now would be the perfect time, as there were about 10 people in the bar, including us, and the average age was 51. I sang Copacobana, and Wendy did Blister in the Sun. Both were huge hits! It was a wonderful weekend, but it had to come to an end. I dropped Wendy off at the airport at the butt-crack of dawn on Monday morning and then headed back to bed, sleepy and sad after the send-off. Now, it's back to the job search, waiting tables, and perhaps a renewed quest for a new female friend. Not that Arlo doesn't make a fabulous boyfriend and friend, but no one can be someone's everything. Wow, that was a mouthful. Alright, need to be going. Time to exercise and do all of the other things on my list of things that need to get done today. Oh, before I go though, one more thing. Marley's been doing some strange things lately and we are wondering if he's having an identity crisis after living in a house with two cats. Is this weird? Peace out to Bill (and everyone else).

Tired Jen

This is tired Jen. She's home alone, it's 10:18, and all she wants to do is crawl into bed and sleep. However, as it's been a long time since last posting, and since I recently took Marley out of his room and it would be cruel to put him back so soon, I decided to stay up, post, think about what I can possibly say in the job interview tomorrow, and then scoop cat litter, brush teeth and hit the hay. Arlo's bartending right now. He got a job in Racine at one of the bars he's been going to with his dad since he was a wee tot. I think, as tonight is Wednesday night, he should be listening to live music right now, and I'm sure he's probably happy about that. Excuse me. I just had to go play intermediary between cat and dog. Right now, we exist within a complex system of individual bedrooms and baby-gates, all intended to keep the animals from harming each other. I just completed a routine intended for behavior modification, called "When I See Him, I Get Treats!" While the animals stare each other down from either side of the baby-gates, I throw treats to each, praising each for not hissing, whining, or barking. It's quite amusing, and so far seems to be working. The other night Sidd went Kamikazi, jumping over the gate, but Marley was on the chair, and by the time he noticed, I had his leash. For the next hour, Marley slept on the one side of the gate, and Sidd stared at him from the other.
I do realize that sharing all of this animal information makes me sound A.)like there's nothing else going on right now and B.) like the kind of woman who talks about her pets like they're her kids. These statements are indeed partially true, no doubt, but a bigger reason for all of this is that I'm freakin exhausted, not thinking straight, and my mind is drawing a blank. So, let's get organized, shall we? What's been happening since last we spoke?
1. Arlo and I have been to one movie and one concert. Movie, Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, Concert, Ray Lamontagne. Guess which I liked more. For those of you who guessed movie, you're WRONG! The movie was good, it was cute, sweet, and everything I love about a good chick-flick rom-com. 'Cause that's definitely what it was, despite having funny lines from Michael Cera and cool music. Definitely still a chick flick. It's funny, it makes me realize that I'm getting older, as rom-coms are now appearing with seemingly younger and younger casts. Weird. Anyway, the other event was the Ray Lamontagne concert http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddX1FOD1Yx4&feature=related. For those of you not familiar, he's a fantastic singer/song-writer/hetero-sensitivo with a gorgeous voice, who looks surprisingly like a combo of Zach Galifianakis, Iron and Wine, and some woodsy forest ranger. BTW, check out Zach here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JeUTEtP1lE&feature=related, he's a hilarious comedian, and he looks a lot like Ray Lamontagne. Anyway, it was a stirring, beautiful concert, and it made me jealous of his kids/future kids to have a dad who could sign the pants off any lullaby. Damn.
2. I have been working steadily at my new job at Louise's Trattoria. It's not exactly steady pay, however, as I am finding mostly famine with a couple of feasts. The people who work there are cool, however, and I'm enjoying trying to remember all of the Spanish I learned in high-school (as the cooks are mostly Latino).
3. I have been hired as a substitute teacher. This is another temporary job as I am continuing to look for gainful employment as a social worker. No dice on that, though there's an interview tomorrow, so we'll see what happens. I haven't done any gigs as a teacher yet, but I do have an orientation Friday morning, so let's see what happens next week. Who'd thunk that I would be back in the classroom after all of these years?!?! I feel like I'm repeating the last 10 years of my life, waiting tables, then teaching.
4. I've created a compost bin and started composting. Believe it or not, this is very exciting to me. It feels really good to be able to recycle even more of our waste. I don't have much in there yet, but it's a start!
5. Not really about me, but I wanted to share and to invite everyone on my list to go and check it out- Arlo started a blog!!! http://arlosbloggitybloggyblog-blog.blogspot.com/ It's meant as a more interactive blog about all aspects of pop culture, music, movies, television, etc. Give it a go. I have to say it's way funnier and more clever than mine, with less animal adventure stories, so you will probably enjoy it.

Alright I'm out. I really want to get a good night's sleep tonight so I can get up butt early and get ready for the interview/interrogation (depending on how you see it.)

Miss my peeps on the East Coast. Keepin' it real, yo.

"Pet Shenanegans" Clinches It (as do the Cubs)!

While Amanda's support was lovely and Matt's critique was predictable, I need to give the people what they want. And since Bill and Phay were the only people who actually said what they wanted, I will be sharing the lastest and greatest pet news.

Being very cautious from the beginning, Arlo and I decided it was best to keep the pets apart for quite some time. So, the cats were living in our room, and Marley was in his bedroom if the cats were out. The cats had free reign when Marley was in bed and during the day when he was in his bedroom and we were out. All of that changed last week when we began letting the pets see one another. It started with Arlo walking Marley by the bedroom door and not letting him push in. Both cats stared at him, freaked out entirely, but for the most part stood their grounds. After this event, Fizgig became bolder, and anytime Marley walked up to the bedroom door or sniffed underneath, Fizgig would hiss and make this other weird sound that wasn't growling, but sounded like coughing, and he would hit the door. It was pretty funny to witness.

Since then, there have been other pet interactions, always with Marley on the lease. Sidd has finally seen him and not gone running right away, and he hissed at Marley. Last night, Fizgig actually growled at him, a low, suprisingly loud growl. While I felt really bad for Marley (after all, he is doing nothing wrong except for being their instinctively hated species of animal), a small bit of me is actually kind of proud of them, kind of like when the parent of a scrawny kid finds out that their kid made the bully cry or wet himself. I'm hoping that eventually they can learn to get along, and I have no doubt that at least Fizgig will be able to exist in the same room as Marley eventually. Sidd on the other hand may take up permanent residence in our bedroom, which would be fine by me except for the occasional poo after I've scooped.

Other news- Arlo and I went out for the Packer's game. We walked up the street to what is literally our neighborhood bar, as in it is in a house in our neighborhood. That's right, Deb and John who live on Plainfield Ave. have created Deb and John's Plainfield Pub. It was awesome! I wish I had taken pictures. There was Packers stuff everywhere, pretty much everyone there but us was in Packers regalia, and there were 4 tvs all displaying the game, so I was surrounded by football. Sounds like my personal hell, right? Actually I had a lot of fun! We had beer and snacks and I actually watched a good almost half of the game. Unfortunately the Packers were slammed. We got to vote for the Best Dressed Packer Fan (we weren't even nominated as we were both wearing brown.) And, I saw the Best Women's Restroom ever! (not actually called that or voted by the people.) Ask me why. Well, because the place was plastered with pictures of half-naked men and jokes and forwards covering such topics as menopause, the menstrual cycle, men being idiots, and the need for chocolate. Hilarious!

So, just to conclude, as I was typing this, Arlo went to take Marley out to pee. While walking him by the bedroom, Fizgig tried to swat at Marley, shutting the door and then proceeded to open it again to posture at him, as if to say, "You wanna play!?!? You wanna play??!? Oh, I see how it is! Yeah, run away, little doggie. Go running back to your daddy." Oh Fizgig, you badass.

p.s. Pics are of the cats' favorite "TV" show- the nature channel going on outside of the window and (soon to be posted) picture of Deb and John's Pub.

I miss you all!!! Take care!

Finally, The Pictures!

Okay, so the plan was to put pics of the house online yesterday, but I was in a crazy rush to get out of the house for a music festival, followed by a concert by Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet (cue knowing laugh by Kevin). Two, count them two, occurrences of live music in one day!! Add that to the tally (which hasn't been updated, by the way). Abigail Washburn was amazing, but more about that later.

The pictures are of the various rooms of the house, namely the bedroom (Elsie), Marley's room (Susie), the Kitchen (The Daisy Diner) and the living room (The Planetarium) (Arlo and I gave them the names the first day we moved in to make putting furniture and boxes away more fun). It's tough to see the colors perfectly, but the main bedroom is a sky blue and Susie, Marley's room, is a bright green. The living room is a khaki tan. I made all the sets of curtains and Arlo helped me pick out two of the fabrics. Please notice the new couch, which is comfy, big enough to nap on, and sporting a fantastic ottoman. Also, the bedroom is definitely a work in progress as far as stuff on the walls. We have to move that one painting to over the dresser and put more pictures up. Fortunately, Amanda and Bill sent us a great frame with four pictures and we are going to be hanging that up, so that will definitely add something, especially with Bill's handsome face! I'm really pleased with the way that everything in the house turned out. Our place isn't perfect, but it's pretty awesome! I know we're both very happy here.

Okay, so here's where you come in, Choose Your Own Adventure Style. I would like to know where you want me to go from here. You can either hear more about my new job at Louise's Trattoria, the Abigail Washburn concert, or the recent shenanigans amongst the pets! You choose. Whatever has the most votes by Friday will be written about thoroughly. But not too thoroughly. Entertaining, concise, and titillating. That's my style.

Night, y'all.

Damn! I've been lax!

So sorry to those of you who check on a regular basis! I really wanted to wait until I took pictures of the house, which meant I wanted to wait until the curtains were done, and then my sewing machine was a bit possessed, and there you go. It didn't happen. So, despite the fact that I STILL don't have pictures, I decided to write about what else is going on. I did actually finish the fourth and final set of curtains (hurrah!), but I don't feel that the place is fit to take pictures of, as there is still A: a lot of crap around, B: the process of switching over to the fall clothes in the bedroom and hence, piles of clothes, and C: A CAT LITTER BOX IN THE BEDROOM!!!! Emphasis on that last tasty morsel. The plan right now is to clean up the laundry room so it's kitty-proof and move the litter box and food dishes in there, but it hasn't happened. So, please continue waiting for those pictures as it's probably going to be a few days. This is not due to sheer laziness, I assure you. It's due mostly to the fact that I recently accepted a job at Louise's Trattoria, an Italian restaurant in the city. I worked a double there today, and will do another one tomorrow and another on Saturday. They are all stupid training sessions, so I'm trying to pack them in so that I can get on the floor and start making money!!
As for the other job, you know, the one where I do social worky type stuff? Well, haven't found one of those yet. Unfortunately, this continues to be a bit difficult, but I am still sending out my resume, calling places and checking online. I'll keep you all posted on that.
I guess nothing new to report otherwise. Oh, yeah, there is one thing. I saw an Indy race last weekend. It was the Indy 300, held at Chicagoland Speedway. I went with Arlo and his friend Scott. Having experienced it, I can safely say that while aspects were enjoyable (the crashes once the people were discovered to be fine, the company, and the finish), I have to say that I was wondering why people would pay actual money for this. I mean really, it's a bunch of cars driving in circles 200 times! However, who am I to judge. If given the choice, I would so dig watching a marathon of shows from E! and Style to my heart's content.

Alright, time to go study the 10 Points of Service for my quiz tomorrow. Man, this puts the LCSW-C exam to shame! Night, y'all. Pics to post soon. Love you!