2009 April » Stop, Drop and Blog

Things That Excite Me: New Windows

Apr 162009

I think it may be official. With my xxth birthday just over a week away, I may officially be old. Why? I’m excited. Not about my birthday. (Not at all.) About what is being installed four days before my birthday. And what’s that?

New windows!

Our house was built in the mid-to-late 70′s. These are the original windows. To make matters worse, when they flipped this house, they did a horrible paint job and we still have paint left along the inner parts of some windows. To make matters even worse, they’re all rather drafty minus the window in our bedroom which is the only window which still has a storm window. Due to that, we’ve had to do things like place plastic over certain more-drafty windows in the winter. It’s not very beautiful.

As such, we’ve wanted new windows for awhile. And now we’re getting them.

I’m probably more excited than I should be about something that we’ll be leaving behind when we purchase a new house in three to four years. (When we purchased this house, we were on a seven-to-eight year plan.) But I’m just so happy! First off, they’re tip in windows. Second, the thought of having the ability to open the blinds in the boys’ bedrooms in the winter as they won’t be perma-shut due to the plastic over the window sounds sunny and fabulous (despite the general lack of sun in the winter).

To make me even more excited, we’re getting a bigger window in my living room. Perhaps now I can decide what the curtains should finally look like. We’ll need some, for certain, as it will be big enough that our neighbors will be able to witness us chasing the kids around at bedtime, ordering toys be put in the toybox. But the thought of sun streaming in the window in the afternoon is a glorious, glorious thought.

So, yes, I’m excited. About windows. As they’re being installed next week, they should be in just in time for the apple tree’s big bloom this year which means I’ll just sit at my new big window (which is right where the apple tree sits) and smile at the pretty pink flowers.

This is how the tree looks right now:

Tree, 04/16/09

With the tree likely in bloom on my birthday (as she usually is) and a new window to sit and stare at her, I think this is likely the best birthday present ever. Don’t you think?

Why I Want to Live in Wallaby, My Animal Crossing: City Folk Town

Entertainment 7 Responses »

Apr 152009

In late January, I purchased the Wii game Animal Crossing: City Folk for myself. It took me a week or so to get it out of the package. It took me another week or so to figure out what I was doing. And then it took me another week to become a total, absolute addict. For those unfamiliar with the game, read a review written by my friend Christina over at Mommy Must Haves. In short, you make a town and try to make it perfect.

And I’m nothing if not a perfectionist.

Right now? I have a perfect town. I do. Phyllis the Pelican who works at Town Hall told me so. I have decided that I want to move to Wallaby myself. Why?

1. The flowers I have already planted give me around four new flowers per day and I can plant seven others that I purchase in the shop. Everyday. That’s up to 11 flowers per day. To boot, simply planting the flowers and watering them everyday ensures that they will continue to live. You know, nothing like the real flowers I deal with all Spring, Summer and Fall. I could water my real flowers everyday and love them and talk to them and pet them and make sure they have appropriate sun… and they still die on me.

2. Having everything I need in walking distance sounds fabulous. Even a bus trip to the city only takes a minute.

3. I have over three million bells (what you use to buy things in the game) in my account. If only that was true in the real world with real money.

4. My house is decorated nicely. Each room has a theme. Each room in my house almost has a complete theme as well so that everything matches. I can’t pick a theme for any room in my own house. I still don’t have curtains for the front window. I fail at decorating in real life. I also have greenery in each room on the game. In real life, I kill inside plants faster than I kill outside plants. It’s quite sad.

5. Shaking trees or hitting rocks with a shovel and finding money seems like it would benefit me in real life as well.

6. If you ignore your neighbors for long enough, they move. I just ignored an annoying bunny (Carmen) out of town today. Oh, if only that was the case here on our lane.

7. I am a good fisher on the game because I have the gold fishing poll. I am not, I repeat, not, a good fisher in real life.

8. If I utilize my wifi connection, I can travel to my friend’s towns in just a few minutes. I go to my one friend’s town on a regular basis. She lives in Australia so visiting her on a daily basis isn’t an option. I wish real travel was that fast. Seriously. Wouldn’t it be fabulous to just log on to a connection and zap yourself to wherever you chose? Definitely.

In short, I have been sucked into a virtual world and I may or may not prefer it to real life depending on which day or hour or minute we are talking about. My friend says that it is just a kid version of World of Warcraft but as the only things you can kill in Animal Crossing are flowers or fish when that one guy who runs the fishing tournament eats them, well, I’ll stick with my game.

Do you have Animal Crossing: City Folk? Do you want to come to my town, promising not to pick my flowers or trample them by running? (Oh, that’s right. I know exactly where each flower in my town is and has been planted. If you steal my flowers, I will haunt you.) Are you addicted as well? Do you want to listen to my voice via WiiSpeak or hear BigBrother talk about the game, cars or anything under the sun? Feel free to leave me a comment with your favorite part of the game. I’ll then email you so we can exchange numbers!

[This post brought to you by extreme dorkery.]