So much to tell...

I last posted about my birthday and there's much to tell about the few weeks since then.

Brian and I spent Thanksgiving together. He's been living here since that week. It's been really, really nice with him here. I like spending my free time with him and having someone home waiting for me. I find myself making him lunch a few times a week and leaving him cutesy love notes from time to time.

Thanksgiving was fun. We went to Uncle Tracy's house and the house was packed. Most Thanksgivings with my family are. I felt a bit bad that Brian's mom didn't get to see him, but she's had him for a lot of Thanksgivings. He and I got two gift cards. One to Olive Garden and one that's a general type gift card. Food was excellent as it always is. We had to head out a bit earlier than I wanted because Brian had to work at the crack of dawn the next morning.

I was able to sleep in on Black Friday and really enjoyed the lazy time. I had arranged to go shopping with Brian's mom. She came by around 10 and we set out to Target. I wanted to look at Xbox 360's. Brian and I wanted to go half in on one. I made a B-line to the video game section and picked on out. They were the same price, but it came with a $60 gift card. I also picked up a few other odds and ends, nothing too noteworthy at that store.

We waited for Brian to get off and then headed to the Wild Side. It's a really cool pet store in Puyallup. I've had Frances since July and thought she could do with a little sister. There are a few reasons I like going to the Wild Side and not to the pound. Well, the Wild Side takes kittens from people, once they're sure they're healthy and sells them. They include a vet visit with the purchase of a new pet and give the parent free cat food. They take good care of the little ones in their care. I had a hunch that they'd have sales that day and I wasn't dissapointed. They had tons of kittens and they were $30.00 off. Brian and I picked out a little black and white kitten. We decided to get another girl so we wouldn't have any awkward humping situations.

I named our new kitten Samantha. Brian usually calls her Sammy. She's a sweetheart. She and Frances were at odds for all of a day and a half but they soon started being really good friends. Frances has been in heat for about 4 days so she's a bit more docile than usual (yes, we're getting her spayed next week). She's been playing with Sammy quite a bit when she's not humping walls and everything.

Things are really coming together in the Becerra-Smith household. We're doing our best to get settled in. Brian's mom has been a huge help. She's really good at getting things put away. I was a bit surprised that I was ok with that. I've always been a bit weird about people coming and cleaning my shit. She's been a lifesaver though.

Anywho, here are some pictures of the two cutest kitties in the world:

The Man with the Golden Gun

I had my 23rd birthday last Thursday... it was fantabular! I spent most of the morning with my dad who snuck off work to come see me. We had a pretty good time. Then Brian came over and we spent the evening together. Luckily, Brian was going to give me my birthday present and take me out Friday... so I was spoiled for two days.

I took Thursday and Friday off work, so I had ample time to not do anything. It felt great.

Brian told me that we were going out to Ipanema Grill (this really nice and expensive Brazilian restaurant). I took time and got all prettied up for him. Brian came over after work and gave me my birthday present. He gave me this really cute earing and necklace set (the earings don't irritate my earlobes, which is rare!) and he gave me Brain Age 2 for my DS. It's a really, really fun game. I'm trying to get my brain age lower... I initially got a 60. I think part of it was being unfamiliar with the software and the game.

So, back to Ipanema. We drove to Seattle and Brian got us parking in a garage. We ended up not being stuck in traffic for as long as we had anticipated, so we walked down Pike's Street and I got a latte at Tully's. Then we headed back to the restaurant. Brian made reservations (which is a very sexy thing to do) and we got to sit down right away. I had a Strawberry Lemonade and Brian had passion fruit juice (or something exotic). The way the restaurant works is you get to get your salad and everything buffett style. You can go and get as much as you want, but as soon as you're ready, you flip over a card on your table and they bring meat by on a skewer and you can say if you want it or not. They have all sorts of meats there. They had turkey wrapped in bacon, chicken, tons of different steak cuts, cheese steak, grilled pineapple, oooh, and they had shrimp and bison. We ate till we were stuffed. Then we had some more... We finished up the night with dessert. They had really good and rich tasty dessert balls.

It was a really wonderful night and I feel really lucky to have a great boyfriend.

Oh, and Brian finally moved in! Yay!

plotting.... always plotting

I'm planning a trip to California with Brian. He and I are going to do something fun there. I won't say what because it's a surprise. He'll find out on Christmas... For his birthday he found out what state we're visiting. I'm super excited for this and hope it goes well.

the space between

I decided a while back that it was a good idea to keep my car key off my large mess of keys. In the back of my mind I thought that I could eventually be somewhere without the keys I need. Today was that a day.

I had my keys out at work and add some keys to a few company vehicles. Then I left my keys at work.

Wouldn't have been that bad if I lived close to work, but I live 25+ miles from work!!!

Thankfully Brian has a spare and is bringing me a key.

Gah, I'm dying

I've had this soar throat thing since Thursday. Now it's mixed with phlegm and other niceties. I guess that wouldn't be so bad if I could just have the weekend to myself and not do any work or count on a nice easy week at work... but I have one of the busiest weeks I've had for sometime.

Monday I'll be in Bellevue at 7:00 a.m. to work on a presetion for my boss then I have to make it to Kent bt 10:15 to give a talk on timecards and other fun bits of information.
Tuesday I have to work in Kent. I'm going out in the field for four or so hours.
Wednesday I'm giving the same talk as Monday but to another group.
Same Thursday and Friday.

Usually this would be a welcome break from the usual, but I feel like crap and just want to float by.

All in All, it was't as bad as it could have been...

My dad visited me this weekend. He was supposed to see me last weekend, but he totally flaked out last minute. I was pretty devastated but got over it.

This week he said he was coming over. I took his word with a grain of salt. Sunday came and he said he was on his way. - with Gwen.

Gwen is my stepmother and the reason my dad has been rather absent from my life for over three years. She doesn't like it if he calls/sees/spends money on/does anything with me. I am the problem in their marriage, and if I magically disappeared their marriage would be fine and dandy.

So, we went as planned and headed to Longhorn Restaurant. On the way in Gwen turned to me and asked if I was planning on paying for my dad's meal. I was all "..." About it. I hadn't thought about it so that's what I told her. Her response was "well you should buy your dad lunch once and a while."

I was pissed. I haven't seen my dad since June. You can't pay for something on a "once and a while" basis if you don't see them more than once in a blue moon! I didn't say anything. I didn't want to piss anyone off.

And that was the high point. Dad and Gwen talked more to Brian than they did to me. Between the icy silence (in which Dad and Gwen picked at their shared sandwich while Brian and I had a buffet) dad mentioned that I don't go to Bremerton that often.

I felt a bit upset at that and perhaps my answer reflected my feelings. I told them that I don't go to Bremerton that often because I don't have anywhere to stay. I said it seemed ridiculous to drive that far try and fit everyone in then head home. If I had to choose a low point of the visit, that was it. Gwen does not allow me to stay at her house (it's only their house on paper). It's been a sore spot in this whole relationship thing.

The whole thing has me a bit down. I really wanted to see my dad, but now that I did I feel disappointed. :-(

To Everyone But Heather (because she already knows)

After much debate and heated discussions between the sheets, Brian and I decided to move in together. We're shooting for a November-ish move in date.

It'll be really nice to share a home with a man that I love so much ^_^.