Things I can't wait to do when my husband gets home #14 & 15

#14 - Commute - This one may be a pipe dream, but a good number of the jobs my husband is applying to are in the same area as my job. That means we could commute in together, never have to sit next to a stranger on the bus and have obnoxious whispered conversations, then giggle while looking at people on the bus. (That's right annoying couple in front of my Tuesday night. Not only did you make the bus late, but you were annoying on the bus.) I promise we won't be annoying.

#15 - Have lunch. This goes along with the above one, if his job is in the same vicinity as mine we can meet for lunch or go for walks or just have a reason to escape the office for a little bit. I also think I will try to make my husband come into the District for lunch while he is on leave. No reason he can't meet me for a sandwich across the street. I worry left to his own devices my husband would develop a rather wide no pants radius, a la How I Met Your Mother.

Li-i-i-ve

This post is only a week late, but since their were three episodes last week, it seems a lot later. I’ll be honest, there are a lot of contestants this time around, though two have already been eliminated. I think they should do more of a front push then once they get the dead weight gone, they can maybe have once every other week eliminations with the good stars. That’s just my thought.
Another side note, Monday is a tivo traffic jam. I actually have to watch DWTS in between MNF. It’s a toss up, though I don’t think I care much about this week’s MNF game and so I think I can give my full attention to DWTS. Once my husband is home though, I think the words "Don’t. . . care much about this week’s MNF game" will probably disappear from my vocabulary.
Here’s my quick run down of the cast - its quick not just because there are so many but because they all are really like F List stars. I am not even sure D list is the right term for them. Except for you Lance. You’re pretty A list.

Cody Linley - apparently he’s on Hannah Montana. I’m unamused. I am sure he will stick around much longer than I care for because of the teeny bopper vote. (How old do I sound?) I like Julianne so at least its not super annoying. Maybe Miley Cyrus will come on and sing that song. You know the one.

Rocco DiSpirito - I feel kinda bad for him because he’s sunk to this level. Some may say he sunk to that level during the second season of The Restaurant. Or when he starting hawking Bertolli frozen pasta meals on Top Chef. I’m just saying you don’t even see Rachael Ray doing this stuff, let alone Eric Ripert or some other real chef.

Toni Braxton - I really don’t have much to say. She dances well, seems nice, is the requisite handicapped individual for the season (heart condition). I don’t think she’ll have the fan base to go too far, despite being pretty good.

Maurice Green - too many athletes this season. I like Cheryl so I won’t mind this pair, but its just hard for me to get excited about someone who is in a little watched sport. And apparently paid a Mexican discus thrower $10000 for something sketchy. Hmmm.

Brooke Burke - again not really famous for anything exciting. Has a lot of kids. By a lot of husbands. Or one husband and then other men. I haven’t actually seen her dance yet, but I hear she is very good. Still, I’m bored.

Ted McGinley - sorry Ted, you’ve already been eliminated. He was ok. One of those guys who you have to IMDB to figure out where you know him from. Did appear as part of the Sorkin mafia on both SportsNite (Gordon) and West Wing (the tv talk show host, Mark). He was also the captain of the water polo team at Newport Harbor High School. Yeah, you can’t make that up.

Lance Bass - really, this is the best you could do DWTS? (no offense Lance) I love N’Sync, but still, it’s a little sad they couldn’t even pull in another 90210 star. I know Tori Spelling isn’t doing anything right now. Out of sheer lack of interest in the others, I will be cheering for Lance. That and I always admire the courage of someone like him to be honest about their lifestyle when they know it will just make things more difficult in their career. (Or maybe its easier when you are in a boy band.)

Cloris Leachman - she’s pretty nutsy. But she keeps it interesting, so that’s something. I will be interested to see how long the keep her around. I do think Corky is a pretty awesome partner for her, he seems like he can handle her nutsiness.

Jeffrey Ross - also already eliminated. Which honestly he had to see coming. Its been the role of all of these comedians to get eliminated pretty early - though I guess Corolla and Penn Gillette made it a little further than the first week.

Kim Kardashian - This is the only time I acknowledge her presence. She is 1) not a star, 2) not pretty, 3) not good at dancing and 4) really really really dumb. She was discussing back stage at one point that she is really shy and this was difficult for her. I would have guessed that, what with the reality show and sex tape. Maybe she should dance naked and it would help loosen her up a bit. I am also happy she is paired with Mark who I also can’t stand. An early exit will make me very happy. Ok, we never mention this pair again.

Susan Lucci - I love Susan Lucci, but this just makes her look so old and frail. At least Cloris Leachman has a schtick and she makes it work for her. But Susan is so tiny, and meek. Channel Erica Cane. Be Erica Cane. And really, eat a sandwich.

Misty May-Treanor - I think I OD’d on her over the Olympics. The Olympics were on while I was moving and not working yet so I could watch daytime coverage, which was often beach volleyball and it seemed like unlike other sports that started and stopped throughout the 16 days, that this just kept going and going. And they would always talk about Misty and how she was going to play and when she was playing and how she won last year. I got it. She plays beach volleyball. Awesome. So sorry, I am Misty May-Treanor’ed out.

Warren Sapp - a pleasant surprise I think he is actually not a bad dancer. The word on the street - and by street I mean Chris Cooley’s blog - is that he is not very nice. Not nice to Kym, not nice to the stage crew, etc. I would hate to think that is true, because he just seems like such a cuddly teddy bear with his family in the audience, but really, Chris Cooley has absolutely no reason to lie to us.

Things I Can't Wait To Do When My Husband Comes Home #12 and 13

#12 - Go for Walks. We live in this awesome area for walking. We are next door to the National Cemetery. We can walk to Whole Foods. We can walk to the waterfront, we can walk to a ton of great restaurants including two of my favorites - Farrah Olivia and Restaurant Eve. We can walk for coffee, we can walk for pizza, thai, yarn, Afghan rugs, bridal gowns, Trader Joe's wine, the list goes on. We can also walk to the George Washington trail which takes us all the way to Mount Vernon. I really do try to walk, on sunny weekends, go for a stroll, take advantage of my location and get some of that Vitamin D from the sun. But it often ends in me dejectedly sulking back home, annoyed at the number of couples out for a similar stroll, with dogs or babies or just happily holding hands thinking how the many many ways they can spend their Saturdays together. I usually start muttering under my breath about people avoiding their civic duty or enjoying the freedom my husband won for them or something like that. Its hard. Its hard to see everyone around you doing the small silly things that you want to do, but can't. Things that you have never been able to do because of fate's sense of humor. So I am really excited to start being one of those couples without a care in the world, trying to decide if they want coffee now or later or who is going to wait outside the antique store with the dog.

#13 - Go on a Culinary Tour of the Greater Washington Area. As mentioned above, we live so close to so many awesome restaurants and only a short metro ride away from hundreds more. With the DC area becoming quite the foodie haven, I can't wait to start exploring more with my husband. We can't highly recommend Restaurant Eve enough - where we celebrated our first anniversary (two months after the fact) and hope that everyone gets the opportunity to check out their tasting room at least once in their lives. I want to take my husband to Farrah Olivia, which is a stone's throw from our place and also fabulous. There are new restaurants going up in this area everyday, including a new cupcake place! Its all so very exciting to think of simply having a Friday dinner out with my husband in the very near future.

Things I Can't Wait To Do When My Husband Comes Home #10 & 11

They seem to come in pairs.

#10 - Eat delicious and elegant chicken salad - because who can think of anything better? Who wouldn't like delicious and elegant chicken salad? Communists probably.

#11 - Get a puppy - no surprise. We are so close to puppy ownership; I've been looking for day care, located a free puppy crate, preparing to buy baby gates. Its all so close. I am especially looking forward to my husband's leave time when he gets home so he can walk the puppy down to the bus stop to meet me everyday. Little puppy all excited to see her mommy, jumping around, wanting to give puppy kisses. Awesomeness in puppy form.

Things I Can't Wait To Do When My Husband Gets Home #8 & #9

#8 - Cook dinner. I enjoy cooking a great deal but I lack the motivation to cook much for myself. Its also difficult to cook for yourself, knowing whatever you are making you will have to eat for the next 7 days. (I know you can freeze it, but when I moved, I brought with me two frozen things of chicken cacciatore and one of taco soup. That stuff adds up in the freezer.) My dinners usually entail some sort of Morningstar Veggie product (such as a veggie burger, veggie buffalo wings or veggie rice cake.) and then some steamed veggies. Honestly, I try to think about what I've eaten for dinner over the last year and I have no idea. Soups. Cheese and crackers. Eggs. All very sad made for one quick meals. Oh, and a lot of take out sushi. I know that some of these meals will come back when my husband is home - we won't have time or inclination to cook every night, but even if its just on Sundays and sometimes Thursdays, I am really excited to dusting off my cookbooks and starting making real meals again.

#9 - Share chores. Yes, I know people who live on their own do their own chores all the time. I've lived by myself for 7 years now, I know that. But I've been married for over a year now. I did my husband's taxes. Hell, I redid his 2006 taxes even. Doesn't taking on that added responsibility of marriage mean that someone else can clean the cat's box once in a while? Or vacuum? I have to say, my husband is really good at chores. He cleans the cat's box much more often than I see necessary, he doesn't let dirty dishes mount up in the sink because he is too lazy to put away the clean ones in the dishwasher, he puts away clean laundry less than a week after doing it. These are the good influences I need in my life. I don't expect him to do all of them, but I hope his enthusiasm for this type of stuff and willingness to do - and not put it off for another day - will make it easier and more likely that I too will complete daily chores. (Unless I can convince B-cat that since she makes the mess, she really should clean the litter box herself.)

Let Bartlett Be Bartlett

I am completely against the school of thought that attacks Sarah Palin for being "less than elite" - that is attending a state school, liking to hunt, going to Church. I mean, I may not have much in common with her or her beliefs, but I also don't think using those sort of things as a litmus test is, well, elitist. It kinda disgusts me.

All that said - Maureen Dowd's reference to Letting Bartlett Be Bartlett made me happy. That's all the Obama campaign needs. . . Toby. (And maybe Josh. I mean Josh got Jimmy Smits elected and that is really the same as getting Obama elected, isn't it?)

Things I Can't Wait To Do When My Husband Comes Home #3, 4, 5, 6, 7

I've been away in sunny Orlando for an exciting Government Ethics conference so I will be catching up on all of the exciting things I can't wait to do when my husband comes home in this one post.

#3 - Hang Pictures - there are at least 7 boxes of pictures that need to be hung up in our new apartment but I have decided to "hide" them behind the couch until my husband comes home for a couple of reasons. One, he has a better eye than I do for these things. Two, he would redo it anyway when he gets home. I look forward to helping him do complex math equations to figure out where the Colorado wildflowers should go.

#4 - Sharing Kitty Cuddles - I love B-cat a lot. That said, I probably love her a little less at 6am when she decides that she must have breakfast right now. I look forward to sharing 6am kisses and snuggles, and maybe even convincing her that someone other than Mommy can give her breakfast.

#5 - Grocery Shopping - I enjoy grocery shopping, but its more fun with two people, especially because my husband's penchant for shopping like he's still in college - we end up with a lot of cereals that involve small multi colored marshmallows.

#6 - No Longer Answer Questions - I know people want to know when Andrew will be home and are concerned for both of us and excited that he will be home soon - but I probably answer the same questions about 3 times a day. Yes, my husband is coming home soon, yes, it is still on schedule, no I don't know the exact date, yes I do talk to him most days, yes I am incredibly lucky. (That's always my favorite, discussing how "lucky" we are.)

#7 - Talking About Things As I Think Of Them - We get to talk about once a day and then by email - but I have a tendency to think of things during the day and think to myself, hmm I should talk to Andrew about that. And then he calls around 10pm that night and all that remains is the thought that there was something that I meant to talk to him about, but no memory of what that is - and he inevitably gets distracted by whatever is on Dr. Phil that night.