A conversation

The set up: Jeff loves to buy domain names. It is one of his get rich schemes - someday someone will want to buy one of his domain names and be willing to pay $10 million for it. One of the domain names he bought two years ago is www.gretchencutler.com.

The name is now up for renewal. He either pays $8/year to keep the domain name, or it goes back into the pool to be potentially snatched up by someone else.

Jeff: "What do you want me to do with that domain name?"

Gretchen: "I don't know. I mean, if we were to get married in like TWENTY or THIRTY years I don't know if I'd take your last name."

Jeff, with great sincerity: "Yeah, I know."

Gretchen: "When I get all moony about wanting to get married to you I think that maybe I would take your last name. And I've never wanted to take someone's last name. And then I think, 'But I'm Gretchen Kinder. I've been Gretchen Kinder for 39 years'."

Jeff: "You are 39?"

Gretchen: "Hey, look at all of these cuts on my arm!" (She raises her arm to reveal a series of small scratches on the underside of her forearm.)

Jeff: "How did you get those?"

Gretchen: "From carrying too many grocery bags on my arm."

Jeff: "Maybe we should name you Gretchen Clutzo instead of Gretchen Cutler!"

Gretchen: "And maybe we should call YOU Jeff Clutter instead of Jeff Cutler."

Jeff: "Well played, well played."

Sofa Bed Night

One of the rituals of our tiny tiny family is Sofa Bed Night.* At least once every two weeks - usually on a weekend - we haul all of our bedding into the living room, pull out the sofa bed, and crash for the night in the living room. Falling asleep to the flicker of the television is comforting to me. And Jeff and I often switch "sides" on sofa bed night, so the bed time snuggling is different.

Sofa Bed Night is often inspired by an unfinished project in the bedroom - 10 loads of unfolded laundry piled on the bed, changed sheets that haven't quite made it to fully made bed stage. We had Sofa Bed Night last night because we're in the middle of fixing the underbed drawers and clothing is everywhere.

I love Sofa Bed Night.

What I don't love is Sofa Bed Night the morning after. My body is always a little tight and ouchy because our double stuffed futon mattress just doesn't compare to the Bob-O-Pedic. The living room is littered with bedding and other night time detritus. I can't use the couch as a couch which only exacerbates the ouchy tightness. And, the mess in the bedroom is still a mess in the bedroom.

*Sofa Bed Night is a ritual we learned from my younger sister, ELR and her family. Not only have Jeff and I adopted it as one of our rituals, but my older sister HTP and HER family have also adopted it as a special treat. Feel free to adopt Sofa Bed Night for your family too!

Dream home

Jeff and I built our dream home while waking up this morning. It would include:
1. An exercise room with a bow flex or solo flex and a cedarwood sauna
2. A library with leather club chairs and one of those "ladder things"
3. A movie theatre with 24 seats and a popcorn maker
4. A heated garage
5. A heated driveway - NOT a snowblower - with a heated grate at the bottom for run off and to somehow avoid giant mounds of snow at the bottom made by municipal plows
6. A scooter room
7. A dumwbwaiter to bring our sports gear up from the basement when we want it.
8. A walk-in closet for me
9. One spare bedroom
10. A giant screened in porch.
11. A hot tub on the giant screened in porch
12. A small greenhouse so I can start those giant pumpkins I'm growing indoors
13. A really big kitchen with a really big table in the middle of the kitchen
14. Two bathrooms, one for Jeff and one for me. Mine would have a jacuzzi tub and a separate shower

Things we DON'T want in our dream home include
1. Formal living room.
2. Pool table
3. Dart room.

If we win the lottery today (which is apparently on the horizon) look to here to see where we are building our mansion.

Pillowtalk

Gretchen: "I'm afraid I have some flesh eating bacteria on my face."
Jeff: "I can't be with you if something eats your face. I implore you to get that checked out."