Smug Marrieds: The Hey Cutie Scenario

You know you need to pay more attention to your spouse when...

Blair and I are sitting on different sofas in the same room, reading. I look up and am struck with how handsome he is as he concentrates on his book.

"Hi, Cutie," I say.

No response.

"Hi Cutie," I repeat. 

Nothing. 

I clear my throat and Blair looks up. "Sorry, what?" he asks.

"I was just saying, 'Hi Cutie,'" I answered.

"To me? Oh. I just assumed there was a cat walking through the room."

Classic.

Allergy Testing

Given that I live in the pollen capital of the world AND I insist on living with cats, I receive a weekly allergy shot so that I'm able to...wait, what is it again? Oh yes. Breathe. 

Tuesday I went in for my annual evaluation. That's where they take a magic marker and number 1-50 on your back then inject you with small doses of allergens to see what you test positive for. Prick, prick, prick... it's like Chinese water torture. No one needle hurts but 50 tiny needles kind of sets your teeth on edge. 

Here are the results: I should never be around dogs or cats. Ever. They're my worst allergies. No surprise there. Also no surprise that my allergist has given up on me.

"Still ignoring my advice about pets in the house?" he asked. 

"Yup," I answered.

"Okay then. Moving on."

What was unexpected was that I tested strongly allergic to beef and pork. You don't usually test strongly for foods you don't eat but hey--now I have another reason to stay vegetarian. Beef makes me sneeze. 

I also had mild reactions to dairy and peanuts. I wish I had the willpower to give up dairy. I gave it up the summer I trained for the Chicago marathon and I've never felt better. Clear head, clear sinus', even pollen season didn't bother me as much. I'm toying with the idea of once again trying to go without, at least until my marathon is over. 

Add in the other standard allergies of trees, grasses, molds, and dust mites, and it's a wonder I'm able to get out of bed in the mornings. On the bright side, my allergist encouraged me to try going 2 weeks between shots to see how I do. I think I'll do just fine.

Until I hug a cat and eat some cheese, that is.

Cheers,

Dena 

A Sweet Ride

Check out my new (used) car! I survived the car-shopping process to walk away yesterday with a 2008 Infiniti G35. I love it. I drove it home from the dealership yesterday, clutching the steering wheel in a two-fisted death grip while mentally chanting "Don't wreck the new car, don't wreck the new car." 

We gave up the '93 Lexus on a trade-in and for all my complaining, I was sad to see it go. We'd had that car for over 10 years. It felt like we were handing over the family dog to strangers. I wanted to cry, "She likes to be taken out for daily walks and given a little treat before bed." Obviously, I have issues. 

My favorite part of any large-purchase process is watching Blair handle the finance person. Blair is a numbers whiz so not only does he not just accept what's been placed before him, he can do the math in his head and shoot out why what they're presenting is factually incorrect or makes no sense. 

Yesterday, for example, the finance guy at the dealership was whizzing through some numbers on-screen, explaining how the 2015/100,000 mileage extended warranty was such a better deal and only cost $20 more a month in payments. This guy actually used the words "high-faluting," as in, "You know, we've had CEO's and bank presidents in here this week and they all went for the extended warranty and they're some pretty, you know, high-falutin' people."

Blair didn't flinch. Instead he pointed out how the figure on the contract didn't match $20 a month, it was closer to $50 and why was that? You could see the guy squirm as he explained that was with interest tacked on. Blair went line by line through the contract and pointed out other inconsistencies and you could just see the guy shrinking in front of us. 

As we left the room and I turned to Blair and whispered, "That was so sexy." 

Blair will now be driving the Camry. I offered to scrape off the "26.2" and "Blue Ridge Relay 208.8" stickers I have on the back window but he said he doesn't mind leaving them on. "When people ask me if I've run a marathon I'll say no, but my woman has," he said. 

Sexy man, sexy car. Not a bad way to spend the weekend.

Cheers,

Dena

Smug Marrieds: An Aha Moment

Blair and I were in Winston-Salem today, doing the last of the car shopping. After test-driving a few cars, we went to the Old 4th Street Filling Station for lunch. As we sat on the patio, enjoying the food, sunshine and ambiance, Blair sighed contentedly. 

"What do we need to do so that we can live like this every day? Just do what we want and enjoy life and not have to worry about the demands of other people?"

I took a sip of water and smiled politely at him from across the table. 

"Right you are," he said, sitting up. "So, great, we're halfway there already on the goal. Excellent. Yes." 

Cheers,

Dena