Thank God for rubber gloves!

Lulu brought a present in from the rain. At first, I thought she'd been sick and left a disgusting gray pile of shit on the living room floor for me. But no, it's a baby possum. Thank god I have issues with touching raw poultry and have a stash of rubber gloves. Paper towels would not be enough to pick this thing up. And like any good blogger, of course I had to take pictures to share with my faithful readers (and random googlers).

Now I must borrow the humane trap again because where there is one baby possum, there are surely 10 others.

The strangest things

The strangest things can be found on the internet, don't you agree? For instance, today I found this medical article about a woman with a 3rd nipple. That might not be so strange, after all Chandler had one and so did Mark Wahlberg (Marky Mark). But at least theirs were on their torso! This particular woman had the nipple on her foot. HER FOOT. Her FOOT. Her foot people! Do you think it felt strange to walk on? There are so many very inappropriate questions that I would love to ask her.

If you'd like to read the article, click here. Below is a photo of her foot and you can see a close up of the nipple here.








Even stranger, while googling for a link about Chandler and his third nipple, I found this blog post about someone who had his third nipple pierced.
And here's a photo of a chick with a pierced third nipple! Well at least it won't be bothersome to breast feeding.

Good deed

Courtesy of my friend Lyndsey, who is on like day 800 of bed rest and thus coming to the end of the internets, is a link to a site that donates feminine hygiene products to women's shelters across the country. Here is what Tampontification is all about:

Women’s shelters in the U.S. go through thousands of tampons and pads monthly, and, while agencies generally assist with everyday necessities such as toilet paper, diapers, and clothing, this most basic need is often overlooked. You and I may take our monthly trips down the feminine care aisle for granted, but, for women in shelters, a box of tampons is five dollars they can’t spare. Here’s some good news: you can help us contribute to rectifying this situation by making a virtual donation below!
For each virtual donation, Seventh Generation will send a pack of organic cotton tampons or chlorine-free pads to a shelter in your state.

It's easy peasy to donate and you don't have to enter in any personal information. So do your good deed for the day and click here to donate.

It's rainin' men.....

Don't I wish. But no, it's just the regular kind of rain, which we need since all the yards are getting crispy. But today I was in kind of a funk because frankly, I could use a good smoochin. Between the rain and the cute British chick lit I was reading, I was totally craving that butterfly in the stomach feeling that you always get right before the first kiss. But since no George Clooney showed up on my door step or anything, I had to make do giving Lulu lots of cuddles.

This evening I watched several episodes of a very entertaining show entitled Ladette to Lady. It's a British series that takes rough, trashy girls and tries to teach them the ways of a lady. They go to a proper 1950s finishing school to learn things like: cookery, sewing, and the proper way to walk, talk and interact with men. I think it looks like a lot of fun, but even in my hardest partying days I was a light weight compared to these chicks. Most of them have a difficult time and hearing them curse in the various British accents cracks me up. Don't think I won't be cursing like that under my breath tomorrow.

I love that some of the euphemisms for acting like are slut are: trollop and slapper. Hiiiiiiiiiilarious. Some of my laughter may have actually frightened Lulu. Or it could have just been the thunder. Whatever.

I'm off to the pub for a pint and a packet of crisps, g'night luv!

just kidding, I'm going to bed now, just as soon as I pull Lulu in from barking at the possom in the rain. I was born on the wrong continent.

also, need cold shower now after googling for photos of George Clooney

South Congress Cafe

carrot cake French toast
Originally uploaded by Elizabeth_K.

Last weekend, my mom came to town and spent the night with me. We had dinner at a great Persian place but I forgot my camera. Darn, I'll just have to go again and eat more delicious hummus to blog about.

On Sunday morning we...wait for it...skipped church (well mom did anyway) and went downtown for brunch. We ate at the South Congress cafe, where our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. Take a look at the menu, can you blame us?! Mom had the migas, which were quite tasty, and I had the eggs Benedict, which were not that great. For dessert (yes, even brunch deserves dessert) we had carrot cake French toast.

Normally, I am not a French toast fan. Too sweet & too soggy. But not this. Oh no, it was just the right amount of moist deliciousness served with a side of cream cheese pecan syrup . Unfortunately, I was too full to really enjoy it. Next time I will only order the French toast!

How I feel

photo courtesy of icanhascheezeburger.com

My socks are too small

I know I have the big feet but how is it possible that out of all my pairs of socks, the one I chose to put on this morning were too small? Now they are in my trashcan. That's right....

IM UP IN MY OFFICE
IN MY NEKKID FEET

To quote my sister:

dork

Let me tell you what...I'm going on day 3 of a migraine here and I'm so drugged up it's not even funny. My mom brought Lulu home today (long uninteresting story) and then we went to lunch in the new Chinatown. Don't even ask me what we talked about because I do not remember. Now I am counting down until 5pm so I can go home and take the really good drug that will knock me into unconsciousness.

OH. Speaking of sisters...I am jealous of mine. Why? She got a new car yesterday. Now I know she bought this one with her own money, but damn, she always gets the good cars. Do you know what my first car was? A 1969 VW Beetle that was the color of Barney. Her first car....my gramma's Oldsmobile 88. While my car may have looked "cooler" at least hers had heat and a/c AND ran.

Reflections

Senior picture
Originally uploaded by Elizabeth_K.

I thought y'all might get a kick out of my senior photo. It was taken in July of 1990--I graduated in 1991--and that is me looking tan. If there is one thing I'm vain about, it's my hair. The amount of time I wasted getting those giant bangs juuuuuuuust right. On days when I wanted my hair to look really good, I would ask my mom to blow dry it. This was in the days before flat irons were really popular and she could make my hair smooth as glass.

My bushy eyebrows crack me up. I even plucked back then, so imagine how they really could be! Also, my eyes are not brown (yes, even when I'm full of bullshit). All through high school I wore brown tinted contact lenses. Who does that? Most girls want blue or green eyes. I was so strange.

Was.

Really. I'm not any more.

Well not so much anyway.

Childhood memories

kiddoes
Originally uploaded by Elizabeth_K.

This is one of my favorite childhood photos. Don't Kristin and I look cute? I'm sure that I did something awful, like pinch her, 3 seconds after this photo was taken, but in that moment we look cute together. Judging from my haircut and Stormtroopers t-shirt and Kristin's being a baby, I'd say it was taken in 1980. I got my t-shirt at the mall, at one of those shops where you could choose your iron on. If I could have I would have married a Stormtrooper at that point. Don't ask me why, but I fould those white plastic muscled dudes hot. Or at least as hot as a 6 year old is able to find someone. I also had a huuuuuge crush on Luke Skywalker and just could not understand why my mom found Han Solo to be attractive. Several years later I changed my stance because blonde guys no longer had the same appeal.

Spring time approaches

bunny ears
Originally uploaded by Elizabeth_K.

Last week I was thinking to myself that Lulu would look super cute in bunny ears. The next day I was at Petco buying dog food when I found these ears. How could I not buy them?! She tolerates them better than the frog hat or the reindeer antlers.

Dilemma Update

Just in case ya'll were holding your breath (which I hope you weren't or you'd be dead by now) a decision regarding whether or not to relocate has been made. I'm staying put in Austin. Yay!

Good Thing

Once again, Martha Stewart is a genius. Well, I think Kodak has a lot to do with this idea. Photo stickers! How cute. I am thinking that I need to have some Lulu ones made up quick.

Lulu Painting

Lulu Painting
Originally uploaded by lori joy.

When I first began reading blogs, Lori Joy's was one of the first I found. Her artwork has always appealed to me and now I'm going to own my very own piece! Isn't it cute? I can't wait to get it. Now I wonder where to hang it.....

Flattery will get you 30

30 minutes of sweat making on the elliptical, that is. Tonight was my first meeting with my trainer, J, and he told me there was no way I looked 33. More like 19 he said. That man knows how to get this chick into working out. (oh btw, K, he asked about you...but he's all mine now...muahahahaha!). Seriously, he has the most amazing biceps that I could not help but stare at. However, I think he shaves his arms.

So anyway, now I'm all pumped up to work out and eat right. We'll see how long that lasts. He wants me to eat 3 apples a day. Seriously. The only kind of apples I like come in pie. Thank god he laughed at that joke because my last trainer, the one that wanted to open a gym on Mars (seriously) did not find it funny.

Okay, so now I'm going to take the Target gift cart I got for Christmas and treat myself to a new iPod Shuffle. I know I already have the 30gig, but it's too big to bounce around with at the gym. Too bad I still don't have my mini (someone stole it off my desk at work). My mini was green. My 30gig is white. What color shuffle to get?! I'm thinking the turquoise.

Wax on. Wax off.

Hairy leg
Originally uploaded by Elizabeth_K.

Since tomorrow is my first meeting with the personal trainer, I thought it might finally be time to wax. Yeah, so that was a total pain. And by pain I don't mean from ripping the hairs out of my flesh. That didn't really hurt all that much. But it's a total mess with the heating of the wax and given my level of clumsiness, well it's just a disaster waiting to happen. I got about 1/2 of one leg done, mostly the front, before I gave up.

So now I can either be hairily lopsided or shave. I'm going with the second option. By the way, the photo looks pretty cool if you click on it and view large.

Dachsund Love

Something I just remembered, as I once again browsed Etsy & Ebay for Dachshund items, is that I wrote my very first research paper, in 7th grade, on Dachshunds. I think that Dachshunds will always be the dogs for me. The first doxie came to my family in 1978 or 79. It was before my sister was born and I was either in kindergarten or first grade. Her name was Duffy and she was a red short hair. I only have one photo of her and it was taken her last Christmas, in 1988, so she's pretty gray around the muzzle. Duffy was a good dog and even thwarted burglary one night in the winter of 1982.

Anyway, that's enough of my rambling for tonight. Time to go take some headache meds (I feel a migraine coming on) and go to bed.

Weekend Report

On Saturday night, I went downtown to Cuba Libre to meet up with 2 complete strangers. Those of you that really know me, know that this is no easy task. But I am determined to live less of a hermit life and get out there and meet new people and do fun things. One of the women, T, had posted an ad on Craigslist looking to make new friends. She sounded pretty cool so I figured why the hell not. But when she emailed me asking me to meet up I started to waiver. While I was trying to decide how to respond, I cruised on over to see what Crazy Aunt Purl had to say. One of her posts had this very wise gem:

"Suit up, show up and act as if."

Otherwise known as "fake it till you make it" (not that kind of faking! you dirty bird). So I did. I suited up (jeans, t-shirt, jacket that would make Stacey & Clinton proud), showed up (after driving around for 10 minutes trying to figure out where to park downtown), and acted as if (I just started making convo with the bartender and then the women). And y'know what? Nothing bad happened. No one laughed at me. They laughed WITH me. It was cool. I'm glad I went.

Lulu was kind of sad that I left her at home and spent most of the day moping in one of her favorite spots.

Electric

static 2
Originally uploaded by Elizabeth_K.

This is what happens when you have a leather sofa in the winter!

YeeeeeeHaw!

It's Friday y'all! (Pretend you just heard me drawl that out).

Anyway, I had to pop in from work to post because something just really cracked me up. I'm jammin' the iPod while trying to draw a million little pieces of office cubicles and the song "Shake That" by Eminem comes on. Ya'll know Eminem, right? He's nasty and I forget that sometimes. So there's a line in this song that says the guy "gets more ass than a toilet seat". It's so wrong, but cracks me up every time. Because, inside, I'm a 12 year old boy and I laugh at fart jokes.

Ooooh, my imaginary boyfriend LL Cool J is singing to me now. I might have to stand up and dance. The office is dead so if I do a bit of booty shakin here in my cube, no one will know.

I finally found a reason.....

Today after work I stopped by the gym to renew my membership. My gym attendance dropped severely after I ran over a guy in the parking lot in May of 2005. Oh don't worry, he's fine now. And he didn't even sue! God Bless USAA. It was his own damn fault anyway for not paying attention and walking right behind me.

Anyway, so the gym gave me a good deal and only charged me a $70 activation fee and the monthly fee is the same as it was before (was it the flirting I was doing with the gym manager perhaps? I was feeling a bit of the giddy at the time). Also, a new branch of the gym has opened up near Dell so alot of folks have migrated over there, making my gym not as packed. Because I have not worked out in ages, unless you count lifting food to my mouth, I decided to sign up with a personal trainer. Upon my sister's recommendation, I decided to use J. He's super cute, in a Latin Vin Diesel/LL Cool J sort of way. So now I have a reason to shave or wax my legs!

My mom will be so proud. (she can't believe I write about my hairy legs where a BOY might read it).

Best V-day ever!

Today was possibly the best Valentine's day I've ever had. But honestly, that's not really hard to do. Let's recap:

Vday 1986, 6th grade: puked on the way to school, as bus was pulling into school driveway. Many, many kids laugh at me (as if I didn't already get made fun of enough).

Vday 1998: blind date with Army guy in Killeen. How fitting is it that there is an Army base in a town that starts with the word "kill"? Not a terrible day, just terribly awkward. He did give me a rose.

Vday 1999: searched for just the right card to give to oblivious boyfriend to profess my love. He's an idiot and I drive the hour back home crying.

Vday 2000: basic repeat of above, only more wine, shorter drive.

Vday 2001: boyfriend finally says he loves me...dumps me 2 months later. Takes years to recover.

Vday 2002: get stood up

Vday 2003-2006: spend night curled up with bags of chocolate and television

So as you can see, normally I hate this day. However, spending it with the cutest 3 1/2 year old in the whole world can change your view. We had great fun playing with legos and pretending to be monsters. And I even got a little bag of cookies he helped his mom make for me. So sweet. You can see why he is the propaganda child. Have you heard a 3 year old try to say "Elizabeth"? How can that not melt even the most Grinch like of hearts?

Now I'm off to snuggle with my sweety Lulu.

Happy Valentine's day to me

dinner
Originally uploaded by Elizabeth_K.

Tomorrow night I am babysitting the propaganda children so my friend and her husband can celebrate Valentine's day with dinner and a movie out. So tonight I treated myself to a new magazine and some spicy tuna sushi. I was also going to watch a movie, Step Up, but after the first 5 minutes I gave up because it did not catch my attention. Life is too short to watch a crappy movie.

If you need a good movie to watch, let me recommend Stomp the Yard. My mom and I saw it this weekend and it kicked ass. Yes, the story line is no surprise, but who cares! Gorgeous sweaty men! Hip hop music that makes you want to dance your booty off. Another really good dance movie is Take the Lead, which I also saw with my mom. Hmmmm, do I sense a theme?

Dilemma

Something came up today at work and now I have a dilemma. Do I want to move to Houston? On one hand I do. And on the other I do not. What to do....what to do....

Valentine's Day Crafts

Behold, my first tissue holders!

Aptly named

So a new faucet has been purchased. Has it been installed yet? Ha! This blog ain't the Lazy Life for nothin'! The box is still in my car. Too bad I can't just snap my fingers and have it be done. The idea of rinsing my dinner dish (home made Indian food, y'all) in the tub skeeves me out. Don't ask me why because it's not like that tub is some sparkling thing of clean. I suppose I could let Lulu lick the dish first and then just put it in the dishwasher.

My relationship with the dishwasher is an odd one. It's all my mother's fault. You see, at some point in my childhood my mom quit using the dishwasher and all the dishes were done by hand. Mostly with her washing and me drying. Occasionally, Kristin would dry while I would wash but it's really better if we just don't talk about that. Since I'm used to washing by hand I don't use my dishwasher all that much and when I do, everything is practically clean already by the time I finish rinsing the dishes first. When my parents built their current home, they didn't even have the dishwasher installed! How crazy is that?! They did have it plumbed for one though so it can easily be added.

Okay, Lulu is having a fit over a possum so I'm going to distract her with my dirty dish now.

A geyser in my kitchen

So you know what happens when your kitchen faucet breaks off in your hand? Yeah, it kinda looks like that, only smaller.Guess who'll be rinsing her cereal bowls in the bath tub until she gets around to purchasing and installing...okay hiring someone to install, a new faucet?

That's right. Me!

5 Things About Me

Several weeks ago, KathyC tagged me for this meme. Because I'm was so far behind on my blog reading I didn't even know she'd tagged me until this past weekend. So without further ado, here are 5 things about me that you didn't know:

1. I haven't shaved my legs since early December. That sounds kind of gross, doesn't it? But it's winter and Lulu is the only one that sees my legs beside me. Plus, the hair is long and soft now, not itchy. In fact, it is so long that when I took Lulu for a walk tonight, wearing capri pants, the hairs were blowing in the wind. That freaked me out a bit but not enough to shave. It's kind of liberating plus, and this leads into my next thing, it's fun to pluck the hairs out.

2. I have an obsession with my hair and plucking ones I think don't belong, whether the hair is on my head, my eye brows or my cheek (c'mon, like you've never had a random billy goat hair show up). Hours upon hours have been spent examining my hair to find one that isn't right to pluck it out. I think it started when brown hairs started creeping in, then it was the wire-y gray ones, then the fine white ones.

3. I can not go to bed without brushing my teeth. Most people brush their teeth before bed, but I mean right before bed. There is an entire night time ritual that must be followed that consists of: time plucking hairs (see above), removing eye makeup, brushing teeth, taking any pills and then going straight to bed. Any deviation, like taking a break in the middle to blog, means I have to brush my teeth again.

4. I really dislike getting my face wet. That's why I only wash my face in the shower and must dry my eyes off right away.

5. Whenever I spend the night at my cousin's in Houston, as I fall asleep I mentally remodel the guest suite. If I'm in a meeting or lecture in which I'm not paying attention, the room that gets the mental remodel is the master bedroom in the house I grew up in. Strangely enough, I never get very far because my mind wanders off to something else.

So to sum up, this post should really be entitled "why Elizabeth might possibly be a little bit crazy".

Possibly the greatest thing ever

It's a lip balm key chain from BeaG at Etsy. Seeing as that I must have lip balm with me at all times this is perfect! For instance, earlier at the dog park, I had no pockets and had to tuck my keys into the waist band of my pants. With the keychain above, I could have had my Blistex with me instead of leaving it in the car and obsessing about my dry lips.

Sun Beauty

sun beauty
Originally uploaded by Elizabeth_K.

Valentine's bowls

Red melamine bowls from Target. $1.99 each. So cute. Perfect for V-day.

Betty Crocker saves the day

For a couple of weeks now, I've had the urge to bake. But baking doesn't really interest me that much. Thank goodness for pouch mixes. Just add water and presto! Yummy goodness.

Feeling better and so I ramble

I must be feeling better, because even though I can't smell anything and have to breathe with my mouth open, I want doughnuts. Where does this craving come from? I don't even like doughnuts all that much. In fact, I'm not even hungry right now but the craving for a KK is so intense that it's nearly enough to make me actually leave my house today.

That's right, I'm playing hermit again. Although, Lulu and I did go outside twice today. Once to check the mail, which wasn't there, and another to check the mail again as we waved goodbye to my parents (aka gramma & grampa) who had stopped by for a visit. Here's where you get a glimpse of the crazy....I am still wearing the same clothing I wore all day yesterday. Friday at my office is casual dress and since I was feeling sickly, I took the opportunity to wear the closest thing to pajamas that I have. Black knit boot cut pants and a long sleeve t-shirt. This outfit is so comfy that I decided to sleep in it as well. Even kept my socks on.

Okay, I just scared myself a little. But I promise to take a shower and leave the house tomorrow. And you know I will because a local quilt shop is having a sale in honor of Superbowl Sunday AND opening early. Yay!

TGI Nyquil !

Although I woke up feeling slightly better this morning, I now feel slightly worse. But in a different way. Shortly after lunch my nose became completely stopped up. I canbbe breabe oudda muh nose. Do you know how uncomfortable a feeling that is when once again, Grey's Anatomy makes you cry? Seriously.

Anyway, now I'm going to eat my little Lean Cuisine pizza that I probably won't be able to taste anyway and watch the episodes of Men in Trees that I have on my dvr. Lulu will curl up next to me in hopes that she'll get some pizza too (she won't).

After that I'm going to take 2 of the Target generic brand Nyquil that I bought this afternoon and sleep my way into Saturday.

Ya'll be good.

ps...Lauri, the little kleenex holder came in handy today. Thanks!

Tonsil Watch 2007

Even though I'm not running a fever, I have a sore throat and even my eye balls hurt. This can only mean one thing....tonsillitis or strep throat. Now I know that a high fever usually accompianies strep throat, but I've had it so much that now I get atypical symptoms. In fact, last spring my doctor told me that the next time she wants to take out my tonsils.

I love my doctor, like seriously, I want to hang out with her, but she can just step off if she thinks I'm undergoing a tonsilectomy! This all started when, unknown for months, I came down with mononucleosis and had strep throat or tonsillitis every month for 6 months. It totally sucked. Even after all that and all the times I've been sick in the last 10 years I refuse to have my tonsils removed. Too many horror stories! No thanks, just pass me some good drugs and I'll curl up under my blankets and wait to die.

Plus, my tonsils can amuse me when I'm not ill. They're really huge and have crater like pockets that grow little hard balls of phlegm, called tonsilloliths. (theres a photo on that link if you want to get good and grossed out). Mmmmm good stuff.

Sorry, that was gross. I'm going to go lie on the sofa and moan at Lulu to fix me some mashed potatoes now. That dog is just useless as a servant.

Whine

This is how I feel today. My throat is very scratchy and hurty and I just want to curl up in my bed while someone takes care of me. Too bad that Lulu makes a poor nurse.

Friday Goodness

Hello! I watched Rachel Ray's talk show just to see the lovely LL Cool J. He's beautiful. I love him.

Another Quiz

Your Inner Eye Color Is Blue

You've got the personality of a blue eyed women You're intense and expressive - and always on the go You've also got a sweet, playful side - which draws men in

What's Your Inner Eye Color?

For the record, I have hazel eyes that are more green than brown. When I was in high school and started wearing contacts I had dark brown colored ones. Once I stopped wearing them the green in my eyes came out. Some days I can make them look really green, depending upon my make up and clothing.

Crocodile Tears

Once again, Grey's Anatomy made me cry. Seriously. Last week it was George's dad dying. When he said he could not imagine existing in a world where his father doesn't? Giant sobs. Things about dads always get me. The movie Armaggedon, with Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck, is a total cheesefest but that doesn't mean I don't cry buckets every time I see it. Anyway, back to Grey's. So this week George is not dealing with his father's death in the typical way. Instead, he's being a horn dog. Not that I blame him, because the actress playing Callie is smokin' hot and I wished I looked that good (remember the red lace underwear?!) But when he goes on one knee to propose to her....more tears. Then Dr. Chang caving and speaking first? Then Dr. McSteamy apologizing and realizing that Meredith has never had that happen? Can you tell that this show speaks to me? Don't I like to pretend that I'm Izzy (do not even get me started on Denny and his death).

So now you know that I tend to cry just about every time I watch GA. I also cry when I hear the Dixie Chick's song Travelin' Solider, which is about a guy that dies in Vietnam. I cry when news shows talk about the obesity epidemic and fat kids talk about how they get picked on and stuff (not really any surprise why that makes me cry). I cry when my sister cries. I cry when Gus dies in Lonesome Dove. I cry when I'm frustrated and angry because yelling was not done when I grew up. I cry when my dad and I talk about serious things, like jobs and finances. Basically, I'm a big ol' cry baby.

Yes, sometimes it's embarrassing but I think it's better to actually feel my emotions than to keep them all inside and be a cold rock.

What?!

What?!
Originally uploaded by Elizabeth_K.

This is Lulu's favorite toy. It's some kind of bone, but what I'm not sure. When I picked her up from the foster home (doesn't that sound so sad...awwwww) she came with several toys. One of our favorite games is a strange version of fetch/keep away. I'll toss it down the hall and she'll run to get it but then won't bring it back to me. So then I take it from her and start all over. Sometimes, though, she makes it difficult by running under the dining room table or behind the living room chair. Then we fake each other out until I get tired and go back to watching the tv. Lulu likes that part best since then she is left alone with her bone.

Rock On!

In an effort to avoid clearing off the scrapbook table and do the work I brought home, I'm listening to the American Idol auditions (even though I quit watching the show after the 2nd season) and checking email/blogs. Lauri asked me to take this quiz. Please. This quiz sucks! Ashlee, I liked your old nose better.

You Are Ashlee Simpson!

Stylish, unique, talented You're your own woman! "It seems like I can finally rest my head on something real I like the way that feels"

Who's Your Inner Rock Chick?

Hmmmm, I like quizzes. Time for another!

Mondays Suck....and here's why

Nothing gets your week off to a crappy start better than a Monday morning doctor's appointment. At least I got to keep my pants on since it was just a talking over meds sort of visit. But since I wasn't sure if she'd want blood or not, I didn't eat any breakfast and got a hunger headache that lasted even after I ate lunch.

Then, on the way home from work, my car decides to kill me. How? By suddendly sliding the driver's seat in the farthest back position. I could barely push the clutch in. So that was fun a drive home, lemmetellyouwhut. So now I have the new car fever. I'm thinking of a Nissan Versa. The price is right and it has all the bells and whistles I want.

When I was at the state fair in October I sat in one but so far have not gone for a test drive. Test driving a car when you are not planning on buying one (because really, all the planning is in my head at the moment) is like trying on shoes just for fun. I think it's a waste of time and rude. Plus, sales people on commission scare me. And I used to be one!

Anyway, enough rambling. I'm going to veg on the sofa now.

New obsession

Lately, I've become addicted to browsing Etsy in search of cuteness. So many adorable little things that I must have!


Also, it's a great place for sparking creativity, so many ideas! Knowing that I am terrible at follow through and great at starting things but not finishing them, I have not created my own Etsy store. But that doesn't mean I don't think about it all the time! One of my goals for 2007 is to get over my procrastination stumbling block. So perhaps, one day, I will have my shop and sell adorable things and people will love me and think I'm fabulous.

Lulu video

Here is the video of Lulu being a princess and trying to get her bed just right.

Ice Storm Photos

It's been a fairly boring week, what with hermiting myself in the house for 6 days. Thought I'd share some photos with you.



Lulu sniffs the frozen pile of wood in hopes of finding a possum. Also, she is not happy with peeing outside on frozen grass.

What happens when you get bored...a scrapbook store explodes in your living room.

And the best for last....Lulu wrapped up in a hand knit (by me!) scarf.

She refuses to look at me until I pull out a treat for her to eat.


And coming soon....video of Lulu making a sleeping spot juuuuuuuust right.

Day 6

I have no idea what time my office is opening, if at all, today. Sure would have been nice if somebody could have made a decision last night. Guess I'll mosey on in since I'm getting a bit stir crazy here.

Last night I pulled all my scrapbooking stuff into the living room and worked on several pages.

It's snowing!

That's right people. The ice storm of '07 has turned into snow. Lulu's not very fond of it and I don't blame her. It's pretty chilly out there on her little paws. My office is closed today since the roads were icy this morning at it was sleeting earlier. So this is my 5th day at home. The 5th day to be wearing flannel pj pants, an ancient 15 year old sweatshirt and Christmas socks. Ahhhh, bliss.

Ice Ice Baby

Austin is experiencing what the zealous weather people on tv like to call an "arctic blast". In fact, they are so excited about this weather that they're not showing Good Morning America or the Today show! Right now, the roads are still passable but I decided not to take any chances, since it's only going to get worse, and stayed home from work. Unfortunately, they didn't close the office, so I have to use a vacation day. I've got over a week of time at this point so it's not really a big deal but I do feel a bit guilty for not going in.

People in Austin can not drive when the roads are iced over. Back in 2003, when I was going through the most horrible training to be a sales person for La-Z-Boy, we had an ice storm. The rhymes-with-witch woman giving the training would not let us leave early and the only way I could get home was to take the very high, heavily traffic and at that point heavily iced Mopac to N. 183 flyover. Good times.

More from me later, I'm sure.

Another reason why I need to win the lottery

So I'm watching High Flying Homes on HGTV and I am struck by the fact that I must have my own custom plane. Or I could just work for a company that designs them. Do you know that they have special drawers for every little thing so they don't shift around during landing/takeoff/turbulence? How cool would it be to get to design those littler drawers?

You can design your very own plane or you can just rent one. No more getting to the airport hours early so you can take off your shoes and get felt up as you go through security. On your own plane, you can wear your pajamas and sing along with your iPod if you feel like it. Or you could eat fresh out of the oven cookies while you drink champagne served to you in fine crystal flutes.

So enough day dreaming....tomorrow I'll be driving to work in my 7 year old car that has stained floor mats and faded exterior paint.

Blame it on the rain

Girl, you know it's true....this rain is about to make me crazy. I don't know people in Seattle deal. It's nearly 3pm and I'm still in my pjs. The idea of running any errands in the rain just makes me want to crawl back into bed. Oh! A benefit of being single and somewhat of a hermit--I don't have to go anywhere if I don't want to.

This morning I put together a little bookcase and used it to store my cookbooks and Cooking Light magazines in the kitchen. The magazine holders are all full so I probably need to pare down my collection again. Considering that I'm going through a cooking slump, I don't know why I keep subscribing. Also, you can pretty much guarantee that each issue will have a recipe for black bean soup. I don't know why, there just always is. Anyway, here are the before and after.


Before

after

This Indecision's Killin' Me

So not only do I have that song stuck in my head, which of course I don't even know enough of to tell you who sings it, but I can not decide what I want to eat for lunch or where to go. Am I even hungry? Just a wee little bit.

I'm starting to get paranoid about my status in the office because they keep going out to lunch but forget to invite me along. But anyway, I'm tired of eating lunch alone and since I'm reading Harry Potter and it's huge I don't have it with me. That means I need to eat somewhere that will have a Chronicle or something else that I can read. Because as much as I adore myself and think I'm really witty it's pretty dull to eat alone. I need my single girl armor!

Redneck Man's pick up lines

I got these jokes in an email at work today and I just found them too hilarious not to share them with you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you fart?
cuz you blew me away.

Are yer parents retarded?
cuz ya sure are special.

Do you have a library card?
cuz I'd like to sign you out.

Is there a mirror in yer pants?
cuz I can see myself in em.

If you was a tree I were a Squirrel,
I'd store my nuts in yer hole.

You might not be the best lookin girl here, but
beauty's only a light switch away.

Man - "Fat Penguin!"
Woman - "WHAT?"
Man - "I just wanted to say something that would break the ice."

I know I'm not no Fred Flintstone,
but I bet I can make yer bed-rock.

I can't find my puppy, can you help me find him?
I think he went inta this cheap motel room.

Yer eyes are as blue as window cleaner.

If yer gunna regret this in the mornin,
we kin sleep til afternoon.

and.... the best for last!

Yer face reminds me of a wrench,
every time I think of it my nuts tighten up.

Fresh

After much contemplation, I have narrowed down my choices of Freshcut fabrics to these. The fabric in the lower left corner is my favorite right now. I think I'll buy half a yard of each and then create some kind of patchwork.

Angel face

Does that look like the face of a fierce dog? Well let me tell you what....when she needed to go out at 3am to terrorize a pair of possums, she certainly sounded fierce.

The person I borrowed the trap from needed it back so now I'm on the hunt to purchase my own.

Things to Do

Now that the scarf project has been finished I can let myself begin something new. Where to start, there are so many!

1. Read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince--I started this last night but didn't read far as I was very sleepy.

2. Finish my first every quilt--need to cut out borders, quilt, bind, etc

3. Make some criss cross coasters for gifts--have fabric and giftee in mind.

4. Sew up some bolsters and throw pillows for the guest bed.

5. Put together the Ikea Billy bookcase for the kitchen to house all my cookbooks.

6. Create throw pillows for sofa--have tenative beginning.

7. Scrapbook some of the gazillion Lulu pictures--have all the stuff, just need to sit down and do it.

8. File away a years worth of papers--all the things that needed shredded have been shredded. Now I'm down to one small Container Store bag of things to file. Most of the paper probably do not need to be kept, but you never know and I do have a file system set up that I used to use once upon a time. Where did my super organized-ness go?

9. Figure out what Stampin' Up stuff I need to order so I'm prepared for the next meeting.

And because I think a blog post is more interesting with photos....here's a photo from October of me and my sister and our doxies.

Awwww, sisters.
Originally uploaded by Double_K.

Announcement!

The boss scarf is finished! It's being delivered this morning. Yay! I'll be so glad to never see it again.

Last night I dreamed that I accidentally killed Kelly Clarkson, by pushing her over a waterfall, and it was all my boss's fault. Hmmmm, issues much?

Anyway, now I am free to start/finish other projects. The first thing I started was to begin reading the sixth Harry Potter book.

Quiz 2

No surprises here!

You Are An ISFJ

The Nurturer You have a strong need to belong, and you very loyal. A good listener, you excell at helping others in practical ways. In your spare time, you enjoy engaging your senses through art, cooking, and music. You find it easy to be devoted to one person, who you do special things for. You would make a good interior designer, chef, or child psychologist.

What's Your Personality Type?

Quiz time

Katie had this quiz up on her blog. Looks like I'm in the right career after all. If you want to trust career advice from some random internet quiz, that is.

Your Career Personality: Brainy, Logical, and Efficient

Your Ideal Careers: Archeologist Astronomer Book editor Business manager Civil engineer Designer Economist Inventor Judge Scientist

The Quick and Dirty Career Test

Nothing to see here

That's right. Still, the scarf is not finished and I'm not letting myself start another project or book until the ends have been woven in. *sigh* Let this be a lesson. Never knit for someone you don't love.

You know how my day has been? Let me just tell you that as I was backing down the driveway this morning I managed to hit my trashcan. But don't worry, nothing was hurt. Then, when I went to the chiropractor/massage therapist, some idiot decided that he was going to ignore my blinker and the fact that the front half of my car was already in his lane and whiz right by me as I tried to take the north mopac fly over from 183. Ya'll Austinites know what fun that can be. Let's just say that I was deeply intouch with my anger at that point. So of course that just made me more tense and the massage was not the fun, relaxing kind. No, it was the kind where the guy uses his elbow and leans on you with all his weight.

So tonight is going to be spent loafing on the sofa. Yes, I know that is the standard Friday night protocal, but I won't be knitting. My back muscles doth protest.

For cryin' out loud!

Possum #4 showed up tonight. It was brought to my attention that perhaps it's just the same possum, over and over, but I know this can not be the case. You see, the park I take them to is 4 miles from my house. Four miles of heavily traveled road. These are no Disney possum's so I'm pretty sure they couldn't make it back to my yard without getting squished.

Ask me how sick I am of possums. Very. So very.

Work in progress

This is the guest area of my computer/craft/guest room. Of course, since I'm lacking pillows, the bed is still a work in progress but I wanted to share it with you all anyway.

Above the bed are framed 12" x 12" scrapbook papers. I used the same patter, with coordinating solids for the mats.



Here is a close up of the paper.


All the colors are so great. Right before the holidays, my jolly pack of Freshcut came and many of the patterns will make great pillows.