Chickens!!

This weekend was interesting if nothing else. The Bat and I were supposed to go to dinner on Friday evening to celebrate our anniversary. I wore a nice dress that I really like but that I never have reason to wear, and we picked up some booze to bring to the BYOB cafe in town down in the country. Unfortunately, Antique Ally happened this weekend and it was packed. I was pretty upset and disappointed because the Bat and I already don't get any time together that isn't with other people and/or doesn't involve working, and I couldn't even have this one night. The Bat didn't really care that much because he's not romantic in that particular way but, as he told me, he was sad because I was sad and he doesn't like that. We managed to have a good time nonetheless, talking and drinking with his parents and then going out to do donuts in the truck.

I always think I'm over donuts and then we do them again and I'm giddy all over again.

The Bat's back was still painful so we didn't put up the drywall like we'd planned, but I did clean out the solarium, which took more effort than I originally thought considering that it led me to organize a closet. No one helped me or watched me do it and so everyone kept talking about how it was a nice relaxing weekend even though I worked! And his mom ripped stuff up off the floor (I can't remember what it was called) so she and I totally worked.

But that is neither here nor there. Since it was going on and I am desperately trying to decorate my apartment, Bat and I went to check out Antique Ally. Let's just say it didn't blow my skirt up. It was pretty much just a massive flea market in town and along the sides of the road. We didn't see much in the way of antiques and the furniture that I saw and liked was overpriced. So yeah, it was meh.

Except... on the way to town, we saw, off to the left side of the road, a person selling chickens. Obviously we stopped on the way back to the house and so now the chicken tractor that was built two weeks ago is full.

Bwaaaaak

We don't know what kind they are but they are neat. All hens but some blonds and brunettes and colorful ones and some have green legs, blue legs, and bright yellow legs. I haven't really given a lot of thought to chicken legs in my lifetime, but I never would have thought they would be blue or green. 

Some of you might know this and some of you might not; chickens can be assholes. We bought a total of ten and nine of them picked on one so the Bat's mom separated her out. Originally, Lonesome Lois was kept in a small cage until we could throw together a second, smaller coop. But when Bat's mom went to give her food, Lois noped the fuck out. Here she is, strutting around and showing off her freedom.

That is Mia, a gaited horse, in the background.

I like to think that, as Lois strutted in front of the tractor, the following conversation took place.

"Damn it, Mary! I told you we should have been nice to Lois! She could have taught us ALL how to escape!" 

"Shut up, Linda."

Lois is still on the property, or rather, was as of Sunday. She roosts in a tree and I guess that is where she's going to chill for awhile. Once the others understand that their coop is home, they will be free range during the day. 

No, I get it. I'm just as surprised by what I talk about these days as the next girl. Chickens, really? Talking about chickens is something I never thought I'd really do, any more than I'd talk about how proud I am of Monkey, someone's 16 year old daughter, for getting her first real job. And I am proud of her, and super excited because that boy finally asked her to Home Coming already. Jeez, took him long enough (but he did make a cute sign with lollipops to use to ask her and he sounds like a good kid).

But I digress from more important matters. I don't recall if I've shown pictures of the pigs on here or not but every time I look at Lullabelle, the bigger one, I think "she looks like something from The Labyrinth. Do you remember that movie?  How silly of me, of course you do because you have to be somewhere around my age and how could you not remember that movie? Anyhow, tell me if I'm wrong or wouldn't she have been a great edition to that film? 

I'm a giant pig

I have a shot of her from the front but her eyes look really gross in it and I just couldn't bring myself to post it. 

That's all I have and I don't know how to close this post out so I'll do it with elegance and class, which is best depicted by two grasshoppers humping on a paint can. 

Yes, I took a picture of grasshoppers doing it.

A Conversation I Just Had

I really need to remember that people are not in my head and/or do not necessarily know what my mood and/or intentions are. I had the following exchanged, via Facebook Messenger, with the Bat just now.

ME: "When did I stay over, Sunday or Monday?"
BAT: "Monday."
ME: "That's right."
BAT: "That's when my back went to shit."
ME: "Ah, yes, I remember."
BAT: "That's an odd question."
ME: "I figured it out almost right after I messaged you."
BAT: GIF of a guy saying "I'm confused."
ME: "I just feel like I haven't seen you in a long time and wondered when I last had had."
BAT: Thumbs up picture.

ME: "Do you love me?"
BAT: "Yes.
BAT: "Why the random questions today?"
ME: "I'm in a silly mood and my work is allllll data entry."
BAT: "Ah."
ME: "I shall stop with the questions though. They do read like I'm building up to something now that I think about it."
BAT: "Yeah."

Everything I said was true. I was just curious as to when I'd last seen him because it does feel like a strangely long time. And I am just in a silly mood with a lot of data entry in front of me. I mean, yeah, I like to be reminded that he loves me, but that was all. I really should be more careful so as not to scare a guy.

I wonder what he thought I was leading up to. 

An Open Letter to My Cat

Dear Bubbles,

You've been with me for two years and I still have no fucking clue what is going on with you. Sure, you're cute and adorable and fun to pet, but what the fuck is going on inside that little cat noggin of yours?

I know you aren't the scary badass I feared. You don't know this but I was afraid to bring you down to the country for fear you'd fuck up Monkey's kitten or the Bat's parents' cat. You look mean and I don't feel like I know you well so I was scared of you. Well, just look at you when you strike one of your dignified, Vladimir Putin poses.

Pretty regal and serious looking, right? But after seeing you punch Monkey's kitten, who then just jumped right back up to play more, and seeing what you looked like after the Bat's parents' cat handed you your ass, I realized I was being unfair. You are a big ball of sweetheart who just doesn't want other animals bothering her. Sorry about that, babes. I shouldn't have judged you so harshly.

But what the fuck is with this neediness and diva behavior? I can't shut the door if I go to the bathroom without anyone else in the apartment without you putting your paw under the door and meowing. You lay outside the bathroom and stare at me if I take a bath. If I sit at my computer, you frequently come up to paw at me to pet you. Bitch, you even take my chair if I get up now and today? Today you jumped on my desk and onto my damned laptop.

I give you attention! I pet you and talk to you and will purposely lay on my love seat when I read so I can pet you some more. I pat my bed for you to come up when I go to sleep. I fucking ordered 25 cans of Fish and Shrimp Fancy Feast from Amazon because you like it. Or you did. What's this shit with you not eating it all of a sudden? It is the only thing you would eat once I switched your fat ass to can food and now you turn your nose up to it? Well, looks like you are in for a lean couple of weeks because I'm not going to the store to get you cans of the same goddamn thing just because it doesn't smell like it came in the mail or whatever.

You wouldn't even eat tuna fish!

I don't speak cat, OK? I don't know what is going on. A friend at work says that you just love me and want my attention and that you may still be stressed out from your fight/attack. I'll get you one of those pheromone things on Friday when I get paid again and I'll keep petting you. But you need to meet me half way here. Either eat your fucking food as a compromise, or learn to speak human or manipulate a writing utensil and tell me exactly what you want. The more anxious I get about you the more I begin to wonder if I should give you up because I clearly cannot care for you very well. I hate your bald spots from that fucking asshole cat. I'm not taking you to the farm ever again. I'm not going to Rowlett very often any more just so I can stay home and be with you. I'm doing my best and you just refuse to work with me.

I'm going to have to take you to the vet, you know, to find out what the hell is going on and to make sure you are OK. This neediness and all up in my business ALL the time shit needs to stop. I love you, but you are driving me up the fucking wall.

You don't even care, do you?

Camping Season Has Begun

The Bat and I are going camping later this month and we've begun discussing it with great enthusiasm. It's just us because Monkey has to reserve one weekend day to go to the farm and train her horse but some people the Bat knows may join us. The reservations for the campsites have been made and so we are planning with gusto. The tent we usually use was ripped two weekends ago and needed to be replaced anyway so we've been sending links back and forth with options (the Bat's got crazier and crazier until he sent a link for a twelve foot military operation style one) and discussing other needs. He ordered a total of six camping chairs, two of which swing (and are exactly like the ones we had when we were in Flagstaff) and I've ordered metal place settings to serve four, a really neat LED lantern that can also charge mobile devices, and a camping ladle.

We aren't being as frivolous as I'm making it sound. As I said, we needed a new tent due to aging and it being ripped. The old camping chairs are broke down and needed to be replaced but, what's more, they are all down on the farm and we want to keep them there for the time being. The metal place settings weren't really necessary, but they will keep us from having to buy paper plates and plastic picnic wear and we'll be greener this way (people can't argue when you throw mother nature and earth friendliness into it). Plus, this way we never have to worry about dumb shit like having one plastic fork remaining and the spoon box breaking. And it will cut down on volume with regards to 'stuff we bring when we go camping.'

The latern is a bit iffy. I've wanted one for a long time but never purchased one because I couldn't come up with a real need. Between camp fires and flashlights, there is just really little reason for a lantern. But this one will be handy, not just for camping but on the farm, for bathroom trips and extra lighting as well as having a USB port so we can charge Kindles and blue tooth speakers. It also features a removable handle so we can hang it up on the metal hooks at the top of the pole on our site. Besides, we've lost a bunch of the flashlights we previously had. I should also note - and this isn't really a justification as much as it is an annoyance and observation - that we have lost a lot of flashlights since we began work on the farm.

The ladle was thrown in so I could get free shipping but I'm glad I found it. There is always at least one occasion during which I find myself annoyed because I either have to dip a cup into a pot or pour from a pot into a bowl or onto a plate and I always think "why don't we have a ladle?" Sadly, this is scheduled to be delivered while we are actually camping so it's inaugural trip will have to wait. I'll see what I can do in order to convince the Bat not to make stew just this once. UPDATE: Actually, I will have the ladle because we are going camping three weekends from now, not two. The Bat told me that last night and then, a few hours later, he apologized about it because he knew I was really bummed and let down. I'd had a dream the night before about being all packed and ready to go just to be reminded that we weren't going for awhile. Welp, here I was, excitedly buying things from the Walmart website, purchasing a ladle so that I wouldn't have to pay shipping and being too lazy to go to the gd store itself, but it won't be needed until October.

Dry your eyes, I'll be fine.

Items that were not purchased due to my restraint include, but are not limited to, a camping coffee urn/maker and a compass. I think I just want a compass so that I can have it on me at all times and figure out where I am in case I get lost (which I do quite prettily). The coffee urn/maker is, obviously, because I drink coffee at times and it would be nice to be able to make a pot of it without it going cold right away and without using shitty instant stuff. But if I want it that badly, I can just carefully pack my French press (which is basically what a camping one is). Besides, I don't always drink coffee and I can get it for free at the little shop on the park grounds. So that would really have just been my throwing money away.

We are really looking forward to this, as you can obviously glean from this post. Part of it is just that we haven't really had much quality alone time in awhile. Our nights in the hotels during the Arizona trip were manic and ridiculous and it is a rare week that finds the Bat at my place on our regular Wednesday date nights. Also, let's face it, he and I are old and broke down these days. Our weekends aren't generally relaxing and they are filled with people. Between that and our regular work weeks we've fairly depleted of energy and so haven't devoted much time to 'us'. It's a weird concept to think about but even though we are stronger than ever in our relationship, I think we both miss a certain amount of intimacy that we used to enjoy on lazy mimosa Saturdays and Sundays. Don't get me wrong, I really love going down to the farm and that takes precendence right now, but we just need some time together away from everything.

Camping is perfect for that.

A Very Tuesday Type of Post

Memory Prompt
This is a picture of a horse.

Action horse! 

I know, you are thoroughly impressed with me, aren't you? I can do colors too! I posted that picture because I am terrified of horses. I think it is a legitimate fear considering how large they are and the fact that they can kill you. I posted a picture of a legitimate fear with hopes it will prompt me to remember whatever it was I thought of yesterday that is a ridiculous fear. You know how I get really anxious when I order from Jimmy John's online? It was something along those lines, a weird anxiety issue for no reason. So hopefully Action Jackson the horse up there will help me remember as I continue to type this.

Lying Thief

Something really dumb happened yesterday. Long story short, I didn't have anything for lunch because I just brought two sticks of string cheese with me to work. But I did have a $5 bill on me, which is second best to a $1 bill in terms of easily accessible food. I put the fiver in my pocket and walked to the vending machine to confirm that it did, indeed, take that nomination. It does. It says right there under the bill slipper inner that it accepts $1, $2, and $5 bills. So in went my fiver and out came ... righteous indignation. The machine kept telling me to use exact change and then said there was a credit of 5.00. Like there is anything in that stupid box priced at $5! I tried various options and then just had to walk away.

The goddamn machine lied to me about what it would take and then ripped me off.  I had to go down to reception and fill out a form in order to get my money back and then walk to the little deli place we have to get some cheetos. It was the most stupid thing to have happened to me at work in a long time. In retrospect, however, I'm lucky; the Bat was changing a door knob yesterday and his back went out on him. He isn't 100% crooked but he definitely has a tilt and when he sits down, he does it like an infant (so I'm told... I was demonstrating for some of the girls at work [sorry Bat! I wasn't making fun of you, just demonstrating the extent of your pain] and they both went "awwww, that's like what babies do!") and he winces a lot. I felt terrible for him so I drove to the sushi bar after work to meet up with him and then went to his house. He actually left his car for Monkey (she started her first day of work!) because he didn't think he could drive and didn't want to get in and out of cars any more than he had to. Poor guy. 

Chores n' More! 

I'm at work on a lunch break right now. I've got some chores to do after work and they are all in my home thank god because we all know how I feel about doing stuff outside of my home after work. 

I'm actually looking forward to them and wish I could go home and get started. This happens to me every so often and it tickles me. I have to do dumb shit like laundry and update my calendar and stuff like that, nothing special. But I'm looking forward to going home, throwing some cookies in the oven (more on that in a minute) and doing dishes and settling in to my domestic chores. I'm also looking forward to sitting and reading with Bubbles, who has been horribly neglected lately. I felt really, really bad when I saw her sitting by her scratching post as I left to go to the bar. Here I'd left her all weekend long and I was leaving her yet again. Poor thing has bald spots from wear she got into a fight with stupid Haroun, the Bat's parents' cat.

I will not be going to the Bat Cave for at least a month because I do not want to leave poor Bubbles all on her own. I know, I'm insane. 

So the cookies! A couple of months ago I gave my friend $18 for her son's fundraiser and yesterday I finally got my 2.5 pounds of cookie dough. That is a ridiculous amount of cookie. I can't remember what the options all were but I ordered something called chocolate peanut butter cup because I figured, if I'm ordering my cookie dough by the pound, I'm sure as shit going to make sure it is something the Bat likes as well so that my fat ass doesn't go all Walking Dead on damned cookies. It's going to be awesome with the smell of baking as I wash my dishes and sweep my floor and vacuum, all whilst listening to the Russ Martin Show or else NPR. RMS is now advertising Blue Apron, oddly enough. I miss cooking and can't wait until I can start up my service again but I need to make sure I'm financially sound before I do so. Seeing as I have about $60 in my checking accounts right now, I don't think it is time, do you? 

The End

Sigh. I'm getting deadly dull and, well, old aren't I? I'm looking forward to cleaning my apartment (why do I have to do this so often?) and baking cookies. I'm also stoked because all of the stuff I ordered for camping will be here by next week (I'll tell you about camping in a different post). But what can I tell you? I like this stuff.

Not so much the not remembering though. I still can't remember what stupid thing it was I was thinking of yesterday. 

Church

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, yours truly attended church this Sunday. "But Simply, you're an atheist!" you cry, aghast at this confession and a bit frightened by the idea that I may have gone round the bend. But fear ye not my faithful readers (all three of you)! It is not what you think and it is not the same as Teacher, who wasn't really into church but wanted to marry his wife and so had to do some church stuff and then BAM!!! was born again. Naw, this was completely different.

The Bat seems to run something of a halfway house these days. He's got House Keeper (HK), who is trying to get back on her feet after her husband died and a tornado destroyed the hotel she was staying in. She's been here since late May I think. And now he has LSMG (stands for Little Shit Made Good because that is sort of how the Bat - and LSMG himself - describe the guy) staying with him for a couple of weeks because he has been on the outs with his old lady. LSMG is working towards getting home but there are legal things that have to happen before he can so he's presently camped out at the Bat Cave. LSMG comes down to the farm with us to help and I've gotten to know him better because of it. Previously I just knew him in passing for the most part because I'd only really see him when we'd stop to get firewood or we'd go shoot on his property and he and the Bat would shoot the shit while Trucker and I shot the ammunition.

Well, LSMG has a lot going on in his personal life and is in a bad spot at the moment. He is also religious and he stated that he needed to get his act together, that he wanted to get right with his lord, and that he wanted to be saved. So I offered to go to church with him last Sunday and he was happy about that. Unfortunately, he had to start a job Sunday morning so he ended up leaving early. So we went yesterday instead. I like church when you get the right one and we lucked out. Everyone was very welcoming from the get go so you didn't know who was the pastor (the husband and wife were as it turns out) and who made up the congregation. The town is extremely small so of course everyone really knows everyone else. But they were happy to have us and introduced themselves to us and were just very pleasant people. The service featured a lot of singing and hand clapping, which I found delightful, and the dude pastor talked about some stuff that was uplifting and positive (I just filtered out the God parts because church is fantastic if you remove the God stuff). Community, kindness, neighborliness and all of that. I enjoy it and it leaves you feeling good and ready to face your week.

Then we tithed (LSMG gave me a dollar so I could do it) and then there was more singing and then there was the praying. Oh lord was there praying! Chick pastor tells the congregation to step forward if you are in need of prayer and so LSMG did and he was with the dude pastor and other members of the congregation for a good ten or fifteen minutes while the rest of us kept singing holy is the lamb that was slain and my god is great. After LSMG, a couple of other people needed prayer but, thankfully, they weren't nearly as longwinded (in LS's defense, these other people are regulars so probably get their shit sorted weekly). Then dude pastor told a joke and talked a bit more about god and then, as he was about to sit with his wife and go over the book of Philimon, he announced that he knew we were pressed for time but that LSMG wanted to be baptized. Chick pastor was the one to decide to skip the scripture reading (though she encouraged us to do it on our own) and get right to the baptizing because that right there was really where god was.

Yup. After about twenty more minutes I watched three grownups walk into the lake to get baptized. It was weird. I mean, it was kind of what you expect and what you see on television only there were no robes being worn. It was really nice for LSMG and he felt fantastic afterwards but I find the practice a bit suspect. My brother was rebaptized and was born again but he only did that once about ten years ago (well, so I think. I have no idea but I've never heard mention of him doing it again). I have a feeling these people do it somewhat regularly. This one guy called out to LSMG saying that the best part was that everything in your past was washed away and you got a clean slate. He was so excited about it that I kept thinking "what kind of cocaine fueled adulturous benders are you going on, kid?" That and one of the people getting baptized (daughter of the pastors), stated that she wanted to because she was going through a divorce and it was a really rough time for her right now. It was like baptismals are therapy for her or something.

To each their own and I'm obviously not religious but it seems like these people treat it as a get out of jail free card and it irritates me enough that people think that through religion you will be saved. From what? Original sin? Yeah, OK, well, you're going to die anyway and if someone stabs you, it's going to hurt as much as it would if you weren't saved. That and I hate when people attribute successes to god rather than man. You want to thank the lord for saving your precious loved one from dying? Yeah, fuck you doctors, nurses and medical staff. Next time these assholes come into the emergency room, go ahead and just keep on with your conversation because your efforts don't do shit. God's got this one.

Rant over.

So yeah, other than my concerns over baptismal abuse, it was a really nice experience and I think I'll go again. Oh, wait, there was one other thing that made me uncomfortable. While LSMG was being prayed with, the guy next to me came over and grabbed my hand as we all sang and I did that fucking thing where you put your arm up in the air. Why did I do this? Because for some reason I thought I was supposed to! I haven't been to church in a long time and I've never really 'attended' church so much as tagged along, so I was following the cues of other people, clapping when I was supposed to and standing when I was supposed to and then all these people had their arms up and it took me a minute to remember that I didn't have to. That and it felt really uncomfortable and like I was saluting Hitler or something (just how it looked, I am not saying these people are racist or anything). The Bat's mom said that she's thought about going to church again to see what it is like and for the community and to meet people. Maybe she'll go and maybe she won't but if I continue to enjoy it, I see no reason not to.

That and I want to study the Bible because that seems like something you should do so you can be really well armed if you get into debates with people who are super religious (that and the Bat's mom told me there are some great stories in it). And now I feel like I sound as if I'm on the slippery slope towards redemption and seeing some light and being saved so I'll end this by saying that I really enjoy fornication outside of marriage and drinking and carrousing and all of that.

No, I'll end this properly, with a quote. "Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" That is my favorite quote and I think it sums things up beautifully.

Oh What a Byoooo-teee-fulll Morning!!!

Well that was special. This morning I left my home five minutes earlier than usual.

Let me tell you, I will never do that again.

If only I'd waited those five minutes to get the traffic report. Since I didn't, because a good early bird employee, I ended up in quite the clusterfuck. Actually, let's be accurate here; I, very fortunately, was not involved in the clusterfuck, just the fallout from it. Apparently an 18-Wheeler carrying propane (with or without accessories I have yet to discern) overturned and caused accidents with five cars.

Propane=hazmat situation

Overturned large truck=multiple lane closures

Overturned large truck + propane + multi car accident= total closure of the highway.

I spent two hours to go two miles. Then I realized my car was super over heating and smoke was coming from my hood. So I put down all of my windows and turned the heat way up until I was able to pull over to the shoulder, where I turned the car off and then sat.

Then I sat some more, facebook messenger messaging back and forth with the Bat, who instructed me on what I needed to do, and texting a work friend to let her know what was going on.

An hour passed.

I decided to just walk the two miles back home. Along the way, I ran into a couple of other people who'd pulled over and one of them, since he lives off of the same road as I, offered to walk me back. I only had him walk me back halfway (the highway portion) because I was familiar with the rest. But it was still quite the walk and I was soaked in sweat with a sore back from having my computer bag with me and the balls of my poor feet are blistered to hell.

So now I am working from home and waiting for news that the highway has reopened. Keep in mind that I left my house at 6:15 a.m. and got back around 10:00 a.m. or so and it is presently 12:06 and the highway is still completely closed down for a good stretch. When Monkey gets home from school, she's supposed to come over and pick me up to take me to my car so hopefully by then it will be somewhat clear.

There is always hope and considering that I'm in a really cheerful mood, I'm leaning towards optimism.

Farmville

I am presently in the process of trying to convince the Bat to move to a place with a better climate (read: isn't center of the sun hot for ten months of the year) and become farmers. It just makes sense. We love being in the country and we like doing things ourselves so why not? Plus, we could live slightly off the grid.

At first I suggested southern Oregon when the Bat asked me to name a place that didn't have too much snow. He argued that it is too expensive there and you can't even pump your own gas. I have no idea how he knows that but I don't doubt him because OR is pretty trendy these days. Then, after looking up a map of the U.S., I suggested Arkansas. He considered this one as a possibility because it has more water but more dry counties as well. Easy peasy on the latter because we would just run bimonthly trips to the big city for supplies.

Obviously, the Bat has a couple of years before he even thinks of moving because he has the kiddo. But I think that is perfect because we can plan and be ready for when the time comes. We can also learn more homesteading stuff and survival skills (I don't know what to do if a wolf comes at me and I don't know how to hunt or clean my own chickens or whatever). I can learn to make my own clothes and bake bread and can stuff. The Bat can brush up on raising cattle and pigs.

Ugh, he is telling me that learning to make my own clothes would be difficult and it will take a long time. I'm pretty sure I could do it because a) I used to work an itty bitty amount with costumes when I worked for the art studio and b) I'm not looking to make designer dresses or anything. Frankly, I just don't think he is totally on board with this, which is crazy because ... well just because damn it. Mr. Camping and grew up in the desert and have all these homesteading skills etc. doesn't want to go live the life of Riley on a farm?

I swear, if he starts wearing skinny jeans, I'm going to have to leave him.

UPDATE!!!!!

Last night the Bat and I were Facebook messenger messaging, like we pretty much do throughout the day and evening. And then he came out with it...

I will never wear skinny jeans. Promise.

Do I have a good one or do I have a good one?

 

Wants

I want to bake bread ... just once. I don't have any desire to bake my own bread from scratch on a regular basis but I think it would be nice to try some time. 

I would like to knit myself a sweater but I think that may be a pipe dream because I can't seem to handle just knit one row purl the next and repeat. 

I'd like to go for a ride in the Bat's canoe. The lake is full for once so that seems doable and it might be fun.

I want to snuggle on the sofa on a rainy day and enjoy a good book or watch movies and just relax. 

I want to come up with an idea for a short story and actually write it. Actually, I would like to write in general but I know I don't have the stamina for it. 

I want to go camping. 

I want to sit with a beer and watch the sunset out in the country, all the way until the stars come out. 

I want to go on a picnic. 

I want to decorate my apartment but have no idea how to do it. No ideas and no money. 

I want to go out on a pontoon boat again, like I did last year when the Bat and I went with his parents to Lake Palestine.

I want to take off sometime and stay in a cabin with the Bat. Somewhere slightly secluded, preferably in a place with cold weather. 

I'm happy with my list of wants because they are, for the most part, obtainable and they are things that make me happy to think about. They also remind me of how much I enjoy life, even the small, stupid stuff.