A life filled with curious things

One of the things that I love about Satu is her curiosity. She is interested in everything which is great because so am I! When there is a mole running across the driveway, we will chase it together. When there is a frog on the front porch, I can count on her to wake me up at 1am to go check it out, and when she finds a beautiful little bird egg, well,

I might come home to find it waiting by the sink ready to delight me. Satu shares. Not just with me, but with everyone. She believes in the experience of life. She encourages Josie to smell the coffee and gives the dogs olives because they should have the experience.

When I came home and found the egg, I must admit that my first thought was...

which is a little greeting card I bought a while ago. I bought it because I am excited about moving in with Satu in the next few months and I thought it would be perfect to break the stress bubble some time when we are both neck deep in boxes and can't find the dogs under all the bubble wrap and newsprint. Unfortunately, I haven't even started to pack and I've already lost the card.

 

The thing is, I am so excited to see what our lives together will be like. We've been together for five years, but my job has kept us from being able to have all those wonderful little moments together, like when you discover a bird's nest or learn a new word. Every time I have a moment like that, Satu is the first one I want to share it with. I want her to laugh at the funny moments in my life and I want to hear about her day when she comes home to me. I want to  always find eggs by the sink and feathers in the den and get pictures of lizards during my work day because a life shared is a fuller and better life.



BIRTHDAY GOODIES!!!!

!!!!!!! That's not nearly enough exclamation points to explain what a wonderful job my sweet girl did selecting birthday presents for me. I know I am supposed to stop here and comment about how it's not the presents that count and I would be happy just getting a card or something because I know she loves me. Ok. whatever. SHE KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK and it's how well she knows me that confirms how much she loves me. The prezzies were perfect and they are a great example of just what a thoughtful, supportive, loving, understanding girlfriend I have. She just knows me like no one else could and she listens even to what I don't say.

Exibit 1:

First off she did get me two cards. One for books and one just for my ego. The gift card is because I didn't realize that the Jeanette Winterson book I had asked for wasn't even out yet and even if it had been, I am in love with my kindle and might not be able to read regular font any more at my advanced age. The birthday card just made my chest fill up with pride and hope. I know that I am not ugly, but I am no longer what I once was so I worry all the time that I will disappoint Satu or embarrass her. When she says that she thinks that I am pretty, it makes me feel good to know that I am enough for her. It really does make me feel like I am good enough for the first time in my life.

Exibit 2:

Fire. Ok. Here's why these are so perfect. Months ago Satu bought me a bamboo candle to help me start a good calm down ritual. Nights have been hard since I have been having some panic attacks, but she makes a huge effort to make tea with me and keep it light around bed time. The candle really helped, so she went back the next day and bought two more to save for when the one she gave me ran out. She has been saving them for me for months along with the lovely fig one in the background that smells like happiness and true love.

Exibit 3:

On the left is an awesome post it note tray because I have gone back to school and now most vertical surfaces in my house have at least one post it note on them. Satu has been nothing but supportive about school and has found all kinds of ways to help from editing really boring papers to avoiding the tv when I am studying so that I stay focused. The pencil she gave me is exactly like the one I "borrowed" from her last month. I found it too wonderful to return and when she saw my reluctance to give it back, did she throw a tantrum? No. She gave it to me even though she is a woman who is very fond of her office supplies. Those little bones are erasers. Cool huh? I think of voodoo when I use them and say a little rhyme to help me pass my tests.
"The marks that were, now are not.
 Come now the answer that I forgot."

Exibit 4:

Alas, poor Yorick!
He was a puzzle in about a billion little clear pieces, but Satu helped me get him together. By that I mean that she thoughtfully and methodically pieced this object together while I picked up one piece at a time and tried to jam it into whatever piece I was holding. I had a few wins merely by accident, but this was mostly her. Mad props to you my girl.

He looks great with his shot glass buddies and his vodka bottle daddy.

Exibit 5:

Ok, so this is it, this is the one that blew my mind. Every thing in here was selected just for me and it was like the birthday present that you could just keep exploring. Soooo awesome!!

This whole thing is an awesome toolbox for my bits and pieces that I am currently storing in little mugs and jars and bags. I am a bit of a shade tree inventor and I am always messing around with some hair-brained thing or another and all of my hair brained things require assortments of odds and ends. This box is absolutely perfect.

Inside, there were 30 sections all full of stuff!! Stuff for me!!!

1, 6 and 11. Gum and mints for my filthy mouth. It won't clean up my mind, but at least it will make me kissable and minty fresh. Let me just take a moment and think about Satu's sweet kisses.

2,7 and 12. Razors for my never-ending war on hair. Practical is perfect in my book. I like that Satu will get me some of the things that I just hate to buy for myself.

3,8 and 13. Eye shadow. 14. Eye shaddow brushes? swabs? applicators?  Specifically, these are colors that Satu picked out carefully for me when I had a winning experience in her make-up bag. I am kind of an awkward girl and though I long to be a pretty, girly girl some times, I missed all that stuff when I was growing up. When I was supposed to be learning how to put on makeup, I was catching frogs and playing with my chemistry set. Therefore, I have never worn any color of eye shaddow except brown because I have brown eyes and I don't know the rules. One day I tried a color that was in Satu's make up bag that she left at my house. She not only noticed, but she took notes when I told her how it made me feel pretty, but a little self conscious and she selected these colors for me. She told me that they would all look good on me and that I didn't have to worry. I have worn two of them so far and I am trying to learn the rules.

5, 9, 10 and 15. Eraser and voodoo erasers. Just because they are cool.

14 and 17. School supplies including these awesome rounded little clips so you can clip things together and then hang them on push pins and things. Currently there is one on the dog.

16. There were post it notes in here I think, but they are already in use on many of the vertical surfaces in my home.

18. There were some Dove chocolates in here, but they were too yummy and I had to eat them immediately.

19. A beautiful bracelet that looks great on me and will go with my new interview outfits that Satu helped me get.

20 and 23. Three pair of really stunning earrings that make me feel really fancy. One of them matches the bracelet colors.

21 and 25. Good smelling face mud. It is a special treat to have this refreshing stuff to make your face feel young and tingly. I like to put it on my face and light a candle and watch videos of kittens and things on you tube. It makes me feel like everything is going to be ok.

22. Q tips and stain erasers for the traveling I am doing to try to find a new job (and also because I can't walk through a room without getting a stain on my clothes.)

24. Ducky pins! Just delightful.

26. These are curious little blotting thingies that make your face less shiney. Who knew there was such a thing? Well, of course Satu knew, but this just floored me. Really, do most girls know about these things? Awesome!

27. Two really gorgeous bracelets that are silver links with just a touch of gold. They look great on my skin and have a classic, but kind of mechanical look to them. Hard to explain, but just lovely to wear.

28. Star Wars angry birds pop rocks! You betcha.

29. More post it notes in regular lemon and some in lime!

30. Travel deoderant and some germ killer to make my hands feel fresh.

Exibit 6:

And then this blew me away. The sentiment couldn't be more perfect for me. This is the kind of thing that makes me know that Satu really knows my heart.

I am such a lucky woman to have found Satu and I hope I spend the rest of my birthdays with her.

Dogs and droids cannot be trusted

 

These little guys are almost always up to something. That's what I love about them. They have indomitable spirit. Satu of course is afraid that they will burn the house down, so she is always checking up on them. I know that she speaks droid. After all, it's not a hard language for someone who is fluent in crow and chipmunk to learn. The problem is that they just won't be told what to do. They are like people that way, they have to get into things.

 

See how they just stand there and nod while she tells them how dangerous matches are? You can tell they are just going to do it again. You just know, like you know that the dog will eat your cream cheese as soon as you leave the room. Dogs and droids cannot be trusted.

This morning Satu thought that she was catching them in the act of destroying the coffee table objects or some other equally mischievous deed. However, when she got downstairs...

It seems as if they were trying to tell her how six-e she looks in her pj's (they aren't great with English)

 

Or, maybe they wanted to wish me a happy 39th birthday. They are good with numbers.

Things to remember in 5 years

I haven't posted in a while because I just spent some time in the desert without internet or phone access. My time at Camp Wilson can only be described as 90% hot and miserable, 5% windy and miserable, 2% cold showers with strangers, 1% boring brief about the endangered desert tortoise, .1% HOLY SHIT! IS THAT AN ICE CREAM TRUCK? and .9% Do you think the ice cream lady will come back?
So I have had some time to reflect on the little moments with Satu that make up our lives and since we are coming up on our 5th year together, I thought I would list a few of those moments. This way, in another 5 years, when I still can't remember if she is allergic to almonds or walnuts, we can both look back on this time and have some place to start.

Remember.

1. Satu's post for a dinner group started it all.
2. Brown pin striped pants made me late for work more than once.
3. Our first kiss was at the top of the stairs and Satu inexplicably said no right before she leaned in for the kiss. It was September 4th, 2008.
4. My color identification system has been mis-loaded.
5. Princess movies stop panic attacks and so do middle of the night car rides.
6. At this moment Satu is 43, she looks 33 and worries that her size 2 jeans are getting too tight.
7. The first time I came over to Satu's house I hid behind her dog for comfort. He was a good sport.
8. I listened over and over and over and over to the CD she made last Valentine's day.
9. Cookie! Poof.
10. I can fix it! Snap. Oh what do I do now!? freeze.
11. Satu has posted 70+ times on tumblr in the last 3 days about the hotness of Mary McDonnel.
12. Unium is the delicious wine that she got for my birthday because it has an eagle on the label.
13. Because of the already want to.
14. We went to Costa Rica where Satu got scuba scars on her feet and took pictures of plants and reptiles.
15. Last year we went to Key West where we had Cuban coffee and Satu took pictures of reptiles and plants and birds.
16. Satu leaves notes for me on my mirror.
17. I once left little notes in flowers.
18. Satu took me for a drag on the carpet on Christmas and it made me laugh like a child.
19. Shane Hylleberg had the happiest basement in the world.
20. Right now, neither of us can manage to keep food in the house because we don't do well living in separate places.
21. Fatty Happenstance has just learned to sit on laps.
22. Satu has peppermint trees on the kitchen table.
23. Lately we hang out at Lucky's because they have beer, dogs and battered artichokes, but we also like Seed because it has a horses neck with a kick.
24. Neither one of us knows what we are going to be doing in three months, but we will be doing it together at long last.

I wonder what we will be doing five years from now, and where we will live. My life with Satu is so much better than I ever would have guessed life could be. I can't wait to see what's next.