After the power went out for fifteen hours and ruined everything in the freezer, I realized that the way to keep your over-eating under control is to simply not have any food. I just bought those popsicles. :( Anyway, earlier in the week there were muffins. Only eighteen, thank the Good Lord above us.






Here's the hideous bright orange shirt I had to wear that afternoon for Day One of Moving. Traffic cone couture.


And here's a bonus shot of the old store being eaten, as taken by my disappointingly shitty camera phone.

Doing my best slouchy, awkward Top Model pose to show off my new winter coat. You know, should anyone get the itch to knit me a long, cuddly black/black-and-white(?) scarf. (As always, click to enlarge to see the finer details.)

Ben started pointing and giggling at the people in costumes and I was like, "Look, you forfeit all right to laugh at people by being here yourself."




Seven out of ten males cannot smile properly for pictures.


This glass blowing guy looked a little like Orlando Bloom if Orlando Bloom had disappeared off the face of the earth for a few years and maybe only bathed every fourth day. Come to think of it, has anyone see or heard from old Orlando lately?


Crystal glass musician.


Ben tearing into the Italian sausage that would haunt him the rest of the night.


Check out these chicken fingers and fries, ok? Have you ever seen such a spectacular display of grease? It's like they stuck a ladle into the deep frier and dumped the contents, oil and all, into the paper basket.


I left my gross, ratty hair down so that I could have it done in a fancy-schmancy braid, but the wait at the braiding booth was, no joke, two hours long. NO THANKS.


Instead I bought a gaudy ring. It's still less hideous that 80% of the stuff at work, plus it didn't require any financing.

This is downtown Dayton. As suspected, there's not much there.




Except this nice park.










Donny Osmond was hanging out by this statue too, but he declined to be photographed.

Something is wrong with these birds. Look at the ducks, guys. Seriously. ZOMBIES.


Tony approaches with caution.


Swan likes the menfolk.


Then Tony and I played a rousing game of Scrabble.


Which I won. 8D

Ben and I took one of our periodic excursions into the depths of Ohio to visit this crazy six-acre food mart.


I wish I could share some pictures of the interior of this monstrosity of a grocery store, but Ben told me that if I started acting like a Japanese tourist he would leave me there. Even though we took my car.


And then I saw the best church ever.


I'm seriously thinking of joining. I hear they have an Olympic-size swimming pool.

For some reason when Ben's brother stepped out onto the patio the swan decided he wanted to come over and hang out.


This has never happened before. It was...very strange. Perhaps it was trained to detect illegal substances like those dogs at the airport.


This was my celebratory I-got-a-job lunch, since Ben and his family ditched me to go fishing.


When I got home from work today this note was stuck to the fridge. MAYBE I WILL AND MAYBE I WON'T.


Then I opened the fridge to find some dinner and saw something strange and unfamiliar on the bottom shelf.


What could it be.


Oh no he did not leave live bait in my fridge.


:(

Lesson in composition.


Me and Emanuel chillin' on the steps of the Art Institute, trying to get away from the parasitic tourists at the Taste of Chicago.


I call this "Tony and Emergency Pop."


Back to Ohio. Taking a break in the Arby's/Steak 'n Shake parking lot, Japanese tourist style. Oishii!

The other day I caught this stupid wasp trying to build a mud nest in the underside of our patio door.


Fat chance. I waited until it left to get more mud and then I sprayed its house with bathroom cleaner.


Unfortunately, when I looked the next day, it had already completed a new nest in a different corner. EWWWW.


I KNOW THESE PICTURES ARE REALLY EXCITING. TRY TO CONTAIN YOURSELVES.


Here is a bonus picture of the ridiculous earrings Mom bought me.