But what does it all mean? (said in British tones)

(Started this post in February and never posted it. Hence the reason it talks about shopping for a wedding dress. And for those wondering, the dress I ended up with is 10 times more amazing and also a thanks to the help of my big sis!)





These past two weeks I have been pondering the history and meaning of phrases. Not because I'm some huge English geek (sorry mom!) but because they just struck me as really odd and funny.



For instance:



As I am driving in the car with my sister and girlfriend, Rozanne, coming back from trying on a wedding dress. (A wedding dress that I might have bought had it not been for the saving graces and honesty of these two wonderful ladies) (A dress that I might have purchased before my sister said, 'Oh my god Kristy! You have a 'back butt'!')(A wedding dress that also, on that particular wet, cold, and snowy day made me feel rather 'sloth'ish'...especially since I then realized that I could have a 'back butt') So on our long, slow, wet, cold, snowy, blustery drive back home this conversation ensued:



Me: I am so sick of this weather! I have cabin fever so bad!


Sister: No you don't.


Me: Huh?


Sister: Cabin fever (matter-of-factly), you don't have that.


Me: Ohhh right, because it really doesn't exist and is just some stupid phrase someone made up when they were cooped up in their house over the winter. Well I don't care where it came from, I have it and am sick of it!


Sister: Actually, it came from way back when, when people lived in small hand built shacks (i.e.- cabins) with usually a wood burning stove or fireplace as the main source of heat. The cabin was sealed up tight to keep the cold air out and there was no place for the carbon monoxide to escape. Thus ensued sickness, fever, etc. from the people cooped up inside.


Me: uh-hmmmmm


Sister: Sooooo, quite literally you cannot have cabin fever because you are not suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning, you don't live in a cabin, and you have no ill symptoms such as fever.


Me: touche (I am notorious for throwing this word into conversation. Yet to this day, I have NO idea how to use it properly in a sentence!)



Now, did I actually believe her at the time? Ehh, her 'story' seemed logical enough but this is my sister we're talking about. The same person that when asked, 'Hey, who sings this song?' could look at you with the straightest of faces, act like she was really digging deep for the answer, ponder it for just the right amount of time and then say, 'Nirvana' as matter-of-factly as if she was telling me that the sky is blue. Only to later find out that the song was actually sang by Queen. She's good at what she does, I'm tellin' ya!



Fast forward two days later:



I'm sitting at my cubicle, at my new job, chit chatting with the IT guy at my desk. Why? you might wonder? Because I have entered a new IT ticket for every day I have shown up to work this week. On this particular Friday (my most favorite day of the week) no one was in the office and I was rather the Chatty Cathy. So I tested his knowledge and asked him where he thought cabin fever came from. His story almost 100% reiterated my sisters. ERRGIN-SCHMIRGIN'!!! I'll give her just this one!



Well, this conversation somehow lead into talk about meanings of words and such, which ensued the following:



IT guy: Oh yea, and 'cake eaters'...uggghhh



Me: (Weird, confused look on my face.)



IT guy: You know, a cake eater?!?!



Me: (Wheels are starting to turn and it's not good. I quickly think, surely he's not 'politely' trying to call me fat is he? I don't look like I eat cake all the time! Okay, I know I've put a few on, but it's WINTER! What a JERK!)



IT guy: You know, like the kids that went to...(dramatic pause)...priiii-vate schooool.



Me: (gasp! He IS calling me a cake eater!!!)

What Drinking and Wallpaper Have in Common...

Update on the wallpaper post. Jerry's halo has since been tilted and his wings broken. After much research and a multitude of conversations with Ace Hardware employees in the paint department of 3 different Ace's, we realized that texturing was only covering up a problem with a problem.

This is where I just want to take a quick moment to let everyone know that Ace Hardware Rocks! We went to 3 different ones, and each person we talked to in the paint department was an old man who was a retired professional painter. They had us convinced by the end of the conversation that we could do this and to not give up hope. I'm sure that Vic, our favorite Ace guy, was taken aback a bit by us. I can only assume he had never heard a young couple in their 20's say to him, 'Thanks a lot Vic! You have talked me out of 'accidentally' burning down our house now!' And he was the first one to then jokingly point us in the direction of the Lighter Fluid!

Well, we have now decided to leave that wallpaper as is and prime and paint over it. Why you might ask? Because this entire last week we have done nothing but strip wallpaper. As in ONE wall in one room. It all started last Sunday when we decided to crack open a few brews while stripping paper. It seemed to be much more enjoyable and we even cranked up some tunes on the radio and played 'Country Singer Alphabet'. Monday night rolled around and as I continued to attempt to get the devil paper off, I realized that a beer sounded good. My body was starting to equate stripping wallpaper to beer! Once again, I cracked one open and life was better. the paper still came of in small pieces, but I at least wasn't cursing it. Tuesday, I was in the mood for Mexican! Justin made homemade burritos and so I went down the street and bought Sangria! Next thing you know, I was drinking Sangria and.....stripping wallpaper. So here we are, a week later: a bottle of sangria and a case of beer, and ONE small wall in ONE small room is wallpaper-less. It is also chalk full of dents and gouges where the paper took of everything, including the backing to the sheet rock. Uggh! Needless to say, we are priming the rest and painting over the wallpaper. I don't think my body could take any more stripping of wallpaper...nor my liver!