Bits & Pieces from Last Week

1. Funny/awful car story. My three-year-old car started making a funny noise whenever we turned the fan on, sort of a fluttery whirring noise.  Since the wheel well cover had come off in my snowbank collision, I figured I might as well kill two birds with one stone and get them both checked out.  As I turned the car on to drive to the mechanic's, I turned the fan on and some dirt sort of flew out at my face.  No big deal, I figured that the ample dust that we find here in Santa Fe was causing some sort of buildup.  Anyhoo, long story short, turns out there was a rat's nest in my blower motor. The mechanic told me that it's very common here, especially in more rural areas.  So that "dirt" that flew out at my face was probably some mixture of rat leavings.  Awesome.  $585 and a bunch of tears later, I have a new wheel well cover (from the snowbank incident a few months ago) and a completely flushed-out air conditioner. Plus a significantly higher credit card bill.  Sigh.  At least my insurance agreed, at least when I talked to them today, to cover the cost of the air conditioner nonsense after my deductible. My insurance now only wants to pay for the removal of the nest (after my deductible, around $37).  They're telling me that the air conditioner flush was "unnecessary" despite the fact that there were RODENTS LIVING IN IT.

2. You know you've been watching too much "Mad Men" when you crave a cigarette despite the fact that you've never been a smoker.

3. Not sure if apologizing is the right thing to do here, but I'm sorry for posting so frequently.  My blogging mojo has come back in full force and I've just felt like writing.  Interestingly that streak lost me followers, hence the confusion about it.

4. Does anyone watch the reality competition show Ink Master?  Rob and I love seeing tattoos--good and bad--so we've enjoyed it.  Better than LA Ink by far--Kat Von D and all of her obnoxious faux-drama annoy the living shit out of me. This show has drama but not nearly as annoying. Sadly the season just ended but we're looking forward to season 2.

5. We watched a documentary on Saturday night about this little girl with progeria.  The little girl won't live past 13, but her father in particular is so devoted and clearly just adores her.  I've noticed that as I've gotten older--and closer to having children--watching dads that are really into kids reduces me into a weepy mess.  Though we might not end up with children I still like imagining how Rob will be as a dad.

6. Has anyone been keeping track of "The Walking Dead"? Last episode was INSANE, eh?

6. Though it's been unseasonably warm in Maine, it's been cold and snowy here (as I mentioned in the photo post below) which does not make me happy.  I'm hoping to start seeing warmer days, and spending more time out on our patio.

7.  The countdown is on for Rob to start work.  At least for the first few weeks, it looks like he'll be working from Sunday-Thursday, with Friday and Saturday off.  This will change when he starts going out on fires--he could travel as far as Alaska to help fight fires, but from what I've heard the max amount of time that he'll be gone straight is two weeks. I'm interested to see how it changes our routine.  Since we moved in together (and really, the only experience I have living with Rob) he's been in school with a flexible schedule.  Now it'll be more like it was this summer--gone from 9-6 or later and no coming home.  No more cooking dinner together--if I'm working at home I'll have to be June Cleaver and have dinner at least started when he gets home.  It'll definitely reshuffle the cards.  In a weird way I'm excited to see how this blog will change this summer with this new experience...I feel like I'm becoming a military wife all over again. Does that make sense? Hopefully you guys don't mind hearing about this new facet of our lives.

Hope you've all had a fabulous weekend so far!