Die Buchwalds

This blog entry is a beautiful explanation of why I stay home. No paycheck could ever compensate for what was missing when we both worked outside the home.

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My business trip to ALCAN in West Virginia was exhausting. In the three weeks I was there, I worked up enough overtime to be the equivalent of three weeks of work… in three weeks time. That’s a lot of time.

Highlights included breakfast at Bob Evans. Almost every day (except for the three days I ate hotel breakfast, which sucked, and the one day I was called in at 3am), I ate French Toast with Strawberries on top and a side of crispy bacon. The cooks there really know how to make crispy bacon. I believe they teach their own discipline, crispabacon-fu. One waitress always immediately brought be a large glass of OJ and a small glass of water, that’s how regular I became. On the last day she waited on me she even made my breakfast entirely, since the cook had to step out for a bit. That earned her the largest breakfast tip I’ve ever given, at over 35%.

We also invented songs. Our favorites were, “How the Quench Stole 4th of July” (You’re a mean one… mister quench…) and “The Plate Expansion Opera,” with one song based on the Oompa Loompa song from the original Willy Wonka movie.

Two days ago, we found a new Mexican restaurant that had opened just outside Ravenswood. The food is awesome. I recommend the Echilada Poblano (whose adjective seems to not agree with the noun, until you realise it isn’t really an adjective, but a type of sauce, and hence another noun). However, they have the worst service ever. They act like they don’t know how to run a restaurant, and are in bad need of a greeter/seater/cashier, since the waitors and waitresses don’t have the time to multitask without forgetting about their customers. I’m sure in a month or so, they’ll have it all figured out since they won’t be rookies anymore, and it’ll be great. I just won’t be there anymore to eat the food, since I won’t be down there. But still, great food. Horrible service.

The project went well. STill some bugs left, but they are relatively minor, and it’s a lot of watching and making sure it stays working. My other two cohorts have next week covered, so now it’s time for the beach!

I was very happy this morning when I came in and saw things were working without me.

Bliss!

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The kitchen is mostly unpacked, as is the bathroom. I need to get baskets or something for the shelves in the kitchen and bathroom closets. WIRE SHELVES BELONG ONLY IN REFRIGERATORS. Wow I feel better already. The wire shelves in those two closets are making it hard for me to store things. Everything wants to fall over. I also have the “I’m too short” problem. In the pantry, even the first shelf is just a bit too high for me to see everything that’s on it. I’ve discovered that I have NO idea how everything fit in our last kitchen. We have almost four times the cabinet space, yet I’ve already run out of room.
Yesterday, the mattress & box spring for our guest room bed arrived. The bed is slanted downhill but at least it’s there. I need to figure out how to remove the casters on the bed because two are already missing & get new casters so everything is level and mobile. Matt & Dad said all I have to do is pull on them, but apparently I can’t pull hard enough.
Matt emailed late last night after working a 14.5 hour day. He’s definitely earning every penny down there. I can’t wait ’til he gets home… there are lots of little projects with his name on them already. Plus, I miss him.
On today’s agenda is grocery shopping including stops at Sam’s Club, SuperWal-Mart and good ol’ Giant Eagle. I’d put it off ’til tomorrow but Ratzi is almost out of food. After the Great Grocery Adventure, I’m going to have to rearrange the kitchen (see above) and then I’ll continue working on putting things away in the bedrooms. I also need to talk to my cousins to see about hiring some yard help while Matt’s away.

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Yesterday was my last day at work. I’ll miss my co-workers but I’m glad to have all the time in the world to focus on my home and my family. Chances are good that I’ll probably take a part time job in the future just to have more flexibility in the budget, but for now I’m going to enjoy every minute of my time as a Domestic Engineer. Which reminds me… I ought to update our biographies. They’re a little out of date.

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we’re officially crazy.
Matt was supposed to have to go to West Virginia on June 26, so I made my last day at work June 22 so that we could move before he had to leave. That takes a week off of our original plan, but we thought it was still do-able. Then the floors took too long to dry and now Matt might have to go to West Virginia on June 20 instead. We were having some trouble finding moving help, too, but that’s getting better.
I just have to figure out how to get this place packed between now & next Sunday. I might even have to break down & go to the liquor store to ask for boxes.

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