Author: Robyn

12/20/06

Jenn. In 2007… 1. Will you be looking for a new job? I don’t plan to, but never say never! 2. Will you be looking for a new relationship? HELLZ no. 3. New house? Hopefully we’ll be done with the renovatin’ in six weeks or so (I just pulled that out of my butt; it could be sooner, could be later). 4. What will you do different in 07? I will answer all my frickety-frackin’ email within two days of receiving it. NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION HIGH-FIVE! 5. New Years resolution? Oh. Well, see above. 6. What will you not be doing in 07? Letting my email languish, unanswered, in my inbox. Procrastinating, in general. (But I’ll think about that another day… Har!) 7. Any trips planned? Not at the moment, no. 8. Wedding plans? Nope, not at all. 9. Major thing on your calendar? Uh… moving to Smallville’s the only thing I can think of, and there’s no set date for that. 10. What can’t you wait for? Moving to Smallville! 11. What would you like to see happen different? I like the way my life unfolded this year, actually. 12. What about yourself will you be changing? Nothing comes to mind. 13. What happened in 06 that you didn’t think would ever happen? I had weight loss surgery on January 30th. And I fit into size 14 jeans in November! 14. Will you be nicer to the people you care about? Oh, I’ll try. I don’t know how successful I’ll be. 15. Will you dress differently this year than you did in 06? I don’t plan to. The teenage boy look works for me, I think. 16. Will you start or quit drinking? Neither. Don’t drink, not interested in starting. 17. Will you better your relationship with your family? It works pretty well for me, for the most part. 18. Will you do charity work? I’ll continue fostering and cleaning at the pet store, though that seems less like charity work and more like selfish work I really really really like to do. 19. Will you go to bars? Why would I start now? Is it time for a mid-life crisis? Seriously, nothing bores me more than the thought of hanging out at a bar. 20. Will you be nice to people you don’t know? Not any nicer than I already am. 21. Do you expect 07 to be a good year for you? Absolutely! 22. How much did you change from this time last year till now? I lost 148.5 pounds and… oddly enough, that’s about all that’s changed about me. Attitude-wise, personality-wise, most everything-wise, I’m pretty much the same. 23. Do you plan on having a child? HELLZ no. Just the one is fine with me. 24. Will you still be friends with the same people you are friends with now? I don’t see why not. 25. Major lifestyle changes? Moving from a house in the ‘burbs to a house in the country. 26. Will you be moving? Yes. And I can’t wait! 27. What will you make sure doesn’t happen in 07 that happened in 06? Hopefully my gallbladder won’t be coming out again. But if anyone could possibly have their gallbladder removed twice, you’re lookin’ at her. 28. What are your New Years Eve plans? To be in bed by 10 and asleep by 11:30. 29. Will you have someone to kiss at midnight? If I want to go into the next room and shake him awake, yes. Otherwise, I’ll have to smooch on Sugarbutt, Miz Poo, or Mister Boogers (all of whom sleep with me every night) and call it good enough. 30. One wish for 07? That it rocks nearly as much as 06 did!

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I left the house early yesterday morning and headed out to do errands. I stopped at the post office to mail out a handful of cards (get your name and address to me by Thursday at midnight if you want one!) and a book I’d sold on half.com, went to Wal-Mart to see if I could find a decent-looking sweater (I could not), then to Michael’s to buy some crafty-type supplies and stocking stuffers. I went from Michael’s to home and had just long enough to go to the bathroom and brush my teeth before I had to leave again for an appointment with the dentist. Well, the dentist hygienist anyway. I cooled my heels in the waiting room for about half an hour (I was ten minutes early; they were running twenty minutes behind; thank god I had my book with me) before I went back for my torture session (which was actually not all that bad, but GOOD CHRIST it hurts when that woman jams the floss between my teeth. I wonder how often dental patients go into a screaming rage and get violent with dental hygienists, because I certainly feel the impulse every time I have my teeth cleaned.). From there I drove out to the cat shelter to pick up my Christmas present and check out the new babies (there was the most adorable little orange kitten and I couldn’t stop rubbing his little belly). Then I went home, made dinner, packed it up to take it out to Smallville, ate lunch, played with the kittens, and did some laundry. It was a busy day for me, but a good one, since there was so much kitten cuddling included. Every day should have a minimum of one hour of kitten snugglin’. That, along with the biscuit law, will be my platform when I run for President in Two Thousand and Never.
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The Christmas kitties are going to the pet store this afternoon, just in time to be adopted for Christmas! When people walking by see (a) How cute they are and (b) That they have Christmas-themed names, they’ll be unable to resist adopting them. Merry’s got the crazy eyes going on.   All of today’s uploaded pictures are here.  
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Previously 2005: Also, if Hollabackness is a desired state of being, how do I go about achieving it? 2004: Apparently she’s a princess now. 2003: Three things. 2002: My shit list. 2001: Emailing gets me all excited. 2000: I sure whine about the weather a lot, don’t I? 1999: Disaster averted!]]>

12/19/06

(Direct link here.) Fred feels it vitally important that I inform y’all that he doesn’t usually sound like that. Because otherwise I’m sure you’d all think that he runs around screaming things in that same high-pitched voice all the time. I think my favorite part of the video is at the end when the boys are eating and Miz Poo is so intent on getting a snootful of Booger ass that she is uninterested in Snack Time.

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I made this for my sister for Christmas (it’s safe to post the picture now, ’cause I know she’s already opened her present; they did their Christmas celebrating last Saturday, because they’re going to be in Pigeon Forge as of this upcoming Saturday). I got the cross stitch kit from Subversive Cross Stitch which – I’m sure I’ve mentioned – absolutely rocks. I got the picture frame from PictureFrames.com, and put the whole shebang together my own self. Debbie apparently liked the picture a LOT, which I knew she would. She’s the easiest person on earth to buy for.
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Yesterday I was listening to Keith and the Girl while I was on my way to Smallville (I forgot to turn the heat down before we left on Sunday, so I needed to go do that, since we’re not even living there yet, so don’t necessarily need to see monster-sized electricity bills on TWO houses this month, thanks), and Chemda (ie, “The Girl”) referred to Andy Rooney as “Eyebrows McGee”, and I laughed so hard I almost drove off the road. Sunday I was listening to them while I was painting, and Chemda was announcing winner of that day’s Keith and the Girl Nano iPod, and the winner’s name was Ross something or other, and I heard “Ro-“, and I almost fell over with a heart attack from the excitement, so sure was I that I was about to hear the rest of my name. I really want me one of those damn KATG Nanos.
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We let the kittens out to run around the house for a few hours last night. It went surprisingly better than I expected. The only big cat who had a real issue with the little monsters running around was Mister Boogers, who showed his butt as usual, but the rest of the cats just kind of sat and looked at the kittens and occasionally hissed if they got too close. Kringle is just a wild little thing who will run back and forth, back and forth, back and forth until he drops into a heap of exhaustion. He cracks me up.   All of today’s uploaded pictures are here.    
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Previously 2005: I’m sure that if Rachel McAdams knew that pictures of her nipples were going to be splashed all over the internet she would have yanked out the hairs just to spare the Dork Brigade the sheer horror of having to be aware of the fact that she’s a living, breathing human and exists for purposes beyond serving as an image for them to jerk off to. 2004: I’d swear to never use Amazon again, but it’s so FREAKING convenient I just can’t help myself. 2003: Clearly we were in the presence of REALLY important people. 2002: Because I’m just that good. 2001: That’s right, damnit, I’m a chick magnet! 2000: We’re standing strong in the face of those two snowflakes. 1999: Though I guess “substance” would be a matter of opinion.]]>

12/18/06

* * * This weekend I painted and painted and painted. And then? I painted some more. Not only did I have doors to paint, I had the trim between the computer room and bathroom to paint (which I did) and then on Sunday while Fred fiddle-farted around outside, I painted the trim in the downstairs hallway, all by myself. Twice. It was actually not all that bad because (for Sunday at least) Fred was off doing his own thing and I was alone in the house with my iPod and my bucket of paint, and I listened to Keith and the Girl and painted, and it was not quite relaxing and not quite enjoyable, but certainly not the hell that painting has been in the past. Plus, I think I might be getting a little faster with the painting. When we were done with the hallway, I looked at it, and I could see every little flaw, every drippy bit of paint that I didn’t realize was dripping ’til it had dried, and I thought “Well, when we’re living here, maybe I’ll sand down the trim and repaint it!”, but I think that we all know that it’s more likely that Sugarbutt will whisk Miz Poo into a perky waltz about the living room before I actually get off my dead ass and sand down the trim so that I don’t have to look at the drippy bits. If there’s anything I know, it’s that I can quite easily turn a blind eye to the drippy bits. Check out Fred’s journal for pictures of what we’ve finished recently. Saturday afternoon I spent zipping about the side and back lawn with the riding lawnmower. Those are the only parts of the quote-unquote lawn that I haven’t mowed yet, and while the grass wasn’t particularly long, I was struck with the urge to be outside, and there was a thick pile of leaves all over the lawn, and so it took me a couple of hours to pick up all the leaves with the riding lawnmower and dump them into a pile on the back lawn with the intent of burning them on Sunday, which I never did do. Either I’ll burn the leaves next weekend, or I’ll get tired of seeing the pile there, and demand that Fred push them into some out-of-the-way location so I don’t have to look at them. Two things I have recently concluded: 1. The perfectly-manicured lawn of the ‘burbs just isn’t meant to be when one lives in the country where there are trees tossing down leaves all the live-long day and trees are blocking sunlight on one side of the house so that grass won’t grow. Don’t get me wrong – we’ll keep our grass cut short and all, but I’m not going to freakin’ EDGE around the driveway or any of that shit. Life is TOO SHORT. 2. One cannot possibly be expected to pick up every branch off the lawn so that one will not run them over with the riding lawnmower, especially when there are so many big-ass trees that shed big branches constantly. If I were to pick up every branch and big twig I saw, I’d do nothing BUT pick up twigs and branches all day long, and life? Did I mention? TOO SHORT. One other thing: Newt, who was the biggest, scarediest scaredy-cat back when we first met him, is now a big lovebug. He loves to stretch out on the front porch for a belly rub, he loves to follow us around when we walk around the perimeter of our property, and yesterday I was in the computer room switching out switches and plugs, and I heard a strange sound, so I turned off my iPod and went into the hallway, and he was coming down the stairs, gave me a big squeaky greeting, and rubbed against my legs. Then he followed me into the bathroom to watch me pee. Apparently Fred had left the back door open, and the screen door hangs open just enough that a cat can sneak in, so he did. Boy, it’s a GOOD THING he’s not OUR cat, huh? Two things about our country cats I have learned: 1. They will eat ANYTHING, and they’ll be GRATEFUL for it. Seriously, they’ve eaten just about every single thing we’ve put down in front of them, and then they’ve given us looks o’ love afterwards. Our city cats will delicately pick at whatever yummy food you give them, and they will take FOREVER to eat it, and sometimes they’ll even turn up their noses, look at us like “You expect me to eat THAT?” and walk away, but in the country, you put a plate of snackin’ snack down in front of them, and it’s gone in about ten seconds. 2. Um. I don’t remember what the second thing was. I guess I’ve only learned one thing about country cats. She’ll sit on Fred’s lap forEVER. She loves loves LOVES him. Which is funny, considering how timid she was around him at first.   ***************************************   The Christmas kitties are still here! The cages at the pet store are full, so maybe they’ll be going to the pet store later this week (depending on adoptions), and maybe not. I don’t guess I need to tell y’all that I did a little happy dance when I saw the full cages and realized I would be keeping the kittens for a little while longer, do I? We haven’t let them out of the kitten room to run around the house yet, but in the last few days they’ve started trying to escape when we open the door, so tonight we’re going to let them out to terrorize our cats. I’m sure there’ll be pictures of THAT little dramafest in tomorrow’s entry. “Look, lady. Here’s the thing. I’m cute. I know it, you know, they all know it. You do NOT need to keep picking me up and kissing me and then telling me I’m cute. I KNOW I AM. Just stop it, because I might be cute, but I have an inner bad girl I will not HESITATE to unleash on you.”   “No house could possibly have enough orange kitties. You KNOW IT’S TRUE, lady!”   “Santa? Izzat YOU?”   All of today’s uploaded pictures are here.    

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Previously 2005: No entry. 2004: He yawned his ears right off his head. 2003: “Well,” he said, all smug and certain of his facts. “If you didn’t have DIARRHEA, then it was NOT the flu! It’s just a cold!” 2002: But is Christmas shopping ever really done? 2001: The usual excitement 2000: Grandma’s other concerns were whether the fire was going out (it wasn’t) and how much Fred and Becky were eating. 1999: When did Toronto become part of the United States, again?]]>

12/15/06

LOOK at what the recipient is going to do with it!! Want to help us pay it forward? Very, very cool, that.

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The spud is just fine and opted to go to school today even though she didn’t have to. I swear to god, when I was her age I would have jumped at the chance to stay home from school, but not her. She doesn’t want to miss her French test. If she didn’t laugh so much like her father, I’d suspect they switched babies on me 18-plus years ago.
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So I’ve been meaning to write about this for forever and a day. One meellion years ago I was bitching about not being able to find a decent bra, and a large number of you gave suggestions via comments and email, because apparently the “bra that fits” issue is a hot-button issue amongst my readers. Then Stacey left this comment: Also take a look here about measuring for a bra. I wore a 38C for years and just thought all bras were uncomfortable. I saw that link somewhere, measured according to their instructions, and it told me I was a 36DD. I said, “Ha! Hahaha!” and went out and tried on and bought a 36D, which fit better than my old bras, but then recently I gave in and tried on some 36DDs and what do you know? They’re comfortable. (I can’t find a bra in that size that doesn’t look like an orthopedic device, but that’s another story. At least they don’t hurt.) So I went to that page and followed the directions for measuring myself for a bra. According to them, I was a size 34DDD. And I said “That is an utterly ridiculous bra size, I cannot POSSIBLY be a 34DDD, that’s not even a REAL bra size, it’s a PORN STAR bra size!” And I opened up the latest issue of Playboy to see the centerfold’s measurements, and sure enough – she was a perfectly respectable 36D. (She also had some ridiculously tiny waist measurement, but we won’t go into THAT.) I rolled my eyes and went about my day and kept on wearing my Lane Bryant Cacique soft-cup bras, size 44DD (I think), even though I could tell they weren’t even close to what I was supposed to be wearing. When you’ve been in the Cacique soft-cup bras comfort zone as long as I have, it’s not easy to break out of it. The problem with wearing bras that are too big for you is that they are NOT COMFORTABLE. I can’t speak for y’all, but when a bra is too big, I tend to fidget a lot trying to make them comfortable, and it just wasn’t working for me. So I tried going to JC Penney’s to be fitted for a bra, and I don’t even remember what size the woman who measured me came up with, but I tried some bras on in that size, and the band size was too big and the cup size was too small and that flabby fat I’ve developed on the sides of my boobs (under my arms) hung over the bands and I took one look in the mirror and I said “Oh, JESUS. I don’t THINK so!”, and I changed back into my crappy oversized bra and got the hell out of there. I spent a few weeks pouting and wearing the oversized bras I already had, wishing someone would swoop down from out of nowhere, drag me off to the store, and fit me properly for a bra that would look halfway decent and would give me perky boobs. Then one day I ran across the link that Stacey had suggested, and I measured myself again, and I got 34DDD again, and I thought Well, fine. I’ll order some 34DDD bras and try them, and when they don’t fit right, I’ll go back to my CRAPPY BRAS WHICH I HATE. And I will email those people and tell them how WRONG they are! I ordered four or five different bras from that site, KNOWING all the while that there was no way on earth they’d fit me. The bras came, and I put the package on my dresser and went about my life. When it comes to things like bras, I have to live with the idea of trying them on before I actually try them on – new things scare me, I guess – and the package sat there for about a week until the day I came out of the bathroom after my shower and saw the package and thought Yeah, I’d better try those on so I can get them sent back and have my credit card credited. First bra? Didn’t fit. Second bra? Nope. Third? Ditto. And then came bra number four, lovely lovely lovely bra number four, the Olga Perfect Fit Full Figure Underwire Bra #35069. The strap fit around me. The cups were perfect. And the best part? The bands on the side were big enough that they held in all that flabulousness and yet were just the right degree of firmness; firm but not tight. I figured that this was too good to be true, so I wore the bra for the entire day, and it was comfortable and I even forgot for a while that I was wearing a new bra. And my boobs were just as perky as they could be. An underwire! Me in an underwire! For the first time EVER, I was wearing a COMFORTABLE underwire! And so I ordered another six bras, because I needed enough to get me through a week at a time (even though I do laundry more often than once a week), and about a month ago, after I got all the bras I’d ordered, I trusted my new fancy bras enough to do the unthinkable: I threw all the Cacique soft cup bras away. (No, I didn’t give them away because they were rather ratty looking by that point) So that’s the story of my search for the perfect bra, and how I found it. For me, it’s the perfect bra. You might not find it so perfect, but boy, it works for me. And look – they’re on sale for under $20 at Breakout Bras right now! (You can also get them at FreshPair)
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What I love about the Christmas Kitties is that their personalities are really starting to emerge. Faith is the big baby who climbs into my lap at the first opportunity and lets out a bitchy “Woman, pet me!” meow every once in a while. I think she’d like it if I did nothing but sit and pet her. Merry is the feisty little biter who likes to sit on my leg and be petted until she’s distracted by my toes, which apparently misbehave and desperately need to be bitten on a regular basis. Noelle’s the shy girl who will stand next to me ’til the cows come home and happily let me pet her, but if I try to pick her up, she’s off like a shot. Jack Frost is the big baby who likes to swish back and forth (much in the way Fancypants used to; I can’t believe he’s been gone for more than three years!) and if I’m not fast enough with the petting, he lets me know it. Kringle is the love bug – he’ll climb into my lap along with Faith, play with her, play with my leg, play with whichever sibling is within reach, and then he’ll fall asleep. Last night, I had every kitten but Merry asleep in my lap. It was seriously cute, and I wish I’d had the camera with me. They may be going to the pet store this weekend, I’m not sure yet. Now I need to go snuggle with them and take a bazillion more pictures just in case they do!   All of today’s uploaded pictures are here.    
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Previously 2005: I probably have a brain tumor. 2004: I swear, my Grinchly heart grew three sizes right then and there. 2003: A tree with glass ornaments? In a house with five cats? 2002: No entry. 2001: No entry. 2000: I told Fred we should hire her out to the local police agencies and she could tell them when someone looks like a “drug person.” 1999: Fred and I came to an agreement last night. The end of March, I’m going off the birth control, and we’re going to start trying to get pregnant. (HahahahahahaHAHA! My, how times have changed!)]]>

12/14/06

Aurora Greenway and screaming “MY BABY IS IN PAIN, MAKE IT STOP!” at the nurses, when it went away for a little while, and the spud was able to doze. The doctor finally came in, did a physical exam and seemed to be leaning toward the idea that it was a stomach virus, which they’ve been seeing a lot of lately. She ordered IV fluids, blood tests, and a urine test, and went along her way. As they were taking blood and starting the IV, her friend and boyfriend showed up to see her. I went into the waiting room for a while so they could both hang out with her (they limit how many people are in the room at one time), called Fred, and read. Her friend left after half an hour or so, and so I went back into her room. They gave her Phenergan for the nausea and started a second IV bag of fluids, and it was just a matter of cooling our heels while the test results came back. The phenergan knocked the spud out and Tyler was watching the Sci Fi channel so I took my book out and read. The doctor came in around 6:45 and said that the test results had come back and it looked like the spud had herself a stomach virus. Since she’d finished her second bag of IV fluids and was feeling much better, the doctor thought she’d be okay to go home. The doctor said the nurse would be in momentarily to disconnect the IV and give us the discharge papers, a doctor’s note for school, and a prescription for Phenergan. 45 minutes later I finished my book, realized how long we’d been waiting, and said “Think they forgot her?” to Tyler. He had just said “It looks like it!” when the nurse came in and apologized for taking so long. It was about 8:30 by the time we dropped Tyler off at home, dropped off the prescriptions at the drug store, and got home. The spud ate a piece of toast and drank some Gatorade, then went upstairs and crashed. This morning she’s feeling much MUCH better. She didn’t need any more Phenergan overnight, and she had a bowl of soup for breakfast. I suspect she’ll be okay to go back to school tomorrow, but we’ll see about that. I also suspect that I’ll be next to suffer from this stomach virus and I can’t WAIT. Woohoo! Fun! *Yes, I know what you’re thinking. She’s not.

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The kittens continue to get friendlier and friendlier. This morning I ended up in the kitten room for about 45 minutes doing nothing but petting kittens. They’ve come to the group conclusion that petting is a good thing and so they mill about me, demanding to be petted and if I’m not fast enough, they squeak demandingly at me. It’s tough to pet 5 milling kittens when you only have two hands, believe you me. Faith, playing with a toy they yanked off the end of one of those “fishing pole” cat toys.   “I am here and I needs to be petted, WHY ARE YOU NOT PETTING ME?”   “I say, I NEEDS PETTING.”   What cracks me up is the look on Kringle’s face.   “Pwease pwease PWEASE may I have some catnip? Pwease?”   All of today’s uploaded pictures are here.    
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Previously 2005: I’m impressed with myself, if you couldn’t tell. 2004: It is in the 20s here today, IS IT OKAY FOR ME TO BE COLD NOW? 2003: (”Thanks, me! I’m so thoughtful!”) 2002: No entry. 2001: Trust me, it was far more horrifying-looking in person. 2000: Babbling. 1999: No entry.]]>

12/13/06

this is what you were looking for, I believe. I am currently working on a “recommended” page, and Axi-Dent will be one of the many links on that page so you won’t have to search on it next time.

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Meme, stolen from Becky. 1. What does your cell phone look like? It’s a refurbished Motorola Razr V3 in magenta, given to me by a wonderful reader! I can’t figure out how to get the pictures off the phone, but to be honest I didn’t want it ’cause it’s a camera phone, I wanted it ’cause it’s badass. Also, I have no idea how to set an alarm on the phone without having to disable and re-enable it every day so it’ll go off the next day. Suggestions? 2. Do you know what time you were born? The middle of the night sometime, I think. Maybe 2 or 3 am? 3. What do you want more than anything right now? To not have to drive to South Huntsville for an appointment with Dr. LiverDoctor. 4. What do you miss? The heat of summer. It’s a balmy 60ish degrees out, but I’ve still got the space heater going because I am COLD. 5. Hot Dogs or Hamburgers? Hamburgers. In fact, a favorite meal of ours is hamburger patties made on the George Foreman grill, covered in sauteed onions and mushrooms. YUMMY. 6. Do you get scared in the dark? Rarely, and never in my own home. 7. The last person to make you cry? Ayelet Waldman. 8. Hair/Eye color you prefer on opposite sex? Brown hair, hazel eyes. 9. If you could eat anything right now, what would it be? Lobster. Lobster stew. Any kind of seafood, really. 10. Who is the last person who was mad at you? I don’t know. Fred or the spud, I suppose. 11. Do you speak another language? Nope, but I’ve been considering taking Spanish lessons. 12. What was the first gift anyone ever got you? Does anyone ever know the answer to this question? I was a baby! I don’t know! 13. Would you fall in love with someone knowing they were taken? No. Now, I know you’re going to say “You can’t help who you fall in love with” and “The heart wants what it wants” (GAG), but you can help how you act and whether you pursue the relationship, and besides the point is moot, since I’m not open to a relationship with anyone, anyway. Besides, who’m I going to meet and fall in love with? The FedEx lady is cute, but she’s not my type. 14. Best way to tell someone how much they mean to you? “You mean a lot to me. Can you hand me the ketchup?” 15. Your Weaknesses? I don’t know. Stubbornness, the insistence on being right, getting pissed off if it’s proven I’m not right, being easily flustered. The list is ENDLESS. 16. Ever done a prank call? Yeah, but not in years. I think the last time I made a prank call is when some guy was being a jackass to my sister, and I called him repeatedly and played the Adam Sandler Thanksgiving “Love to eat turkey! Love to eat tur-ur-ur-ur-urkey!” song. I think Liz was there, too, and we all laughed ’til we cried. 17. If you could get plastic surgery, what would it be? Everything. Seriously, a neck lift, upper arm lift, boob lift, tummy tuck, upper thigh lift, and possibly even an eyebrow lift. If you hadn’t noticed, the operative word here is “lift.” 18. What do you get complimented about the most? My kitty pics! 19. What do you want for your birthday? I… do not know. Surprise me! 20. How many kids do you want? Just the one, thanks. 21. Do you wish on stars? Not really, but only because it doesn’t occur to me. 22. Which finger/s is/are your favorite? I… have never thought about it. I love all my fingers equally. 23. When did you last cry? Monday night, reading this book. 24. What is your most embarrassing CD on the shelf? I don’t get embarrassed by the CDs on my shelf. Some might be embarrassed by the Vanilla Ice CD, but not me. All right, stop! Collaborate and listen! Ice is back with my brand new invention! 25. If you were another person, would you be friends with yourself? Probably I would find myself too annoying to be friends with. 26. Have you ever told a secret you swore never to tell? I’m sure I have, but nothing comes to mind. 27. Do looks matter? In a general sense? Probably. 28. How do you release your anger? Swear, throw my hands up in the air (like I just don’t care), and stomp around. 29. Do you trust people too easily? I’d like to say no, but most likely I do. 30. Favorite toy as a child? Er. I don’t know, my stuffed frog, maybe? I still have it, even. 31. Where were you 6 hours ago? Sleeping and probably being kneaded and licked by Sugarbutt. 32. Who will be your next kiss? Fred, unless the cats count. 33. Anything pink within 10 feet of you? I have pink handled scissors in my pen cup. That’s it, though. 34. What are you wearing right now? Land’s End cotton pants, a long-sleeve Mossy Oak t-shirt (in size large!), and black socks. 35. Last sporting event you watched? I don’t remember when it was, but I’m sure it was figure skating, since that’s the only sport I bother to watch. 36. What is/was your favorite class? I liked most of my English classes. 37. How old are your parents? 63 (Mom) and 65 (Dad), I think. 38. Do you miss anyone? My sister! (But I’ll be seeing her in less than two weeks!) 39. Were you an honor roll student in school? HELL no. I was too lazy to do the work required. 40. What do you know about the future? It’s so bright I’ve gotta wear shades. 41. Do you have a tan? No; I’m always too covered up to get much of a tan. 42. How old do you want to be when you have kids? I was 20. 43. Last time you got stopped or pulled over by an officer? It’s been several years – I was stopped for speeding, and we lived in the other house at that point, so it’s been at least five years – maybe more like six or seven, I don’t remember exaclty. 44. How do you like your drinks? Non-alcoholic. 45. Are you someone’s best friend? Yes.
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Aside from going to get my thyroid ultrasounded (which took about ten minutes and was utterly painless. I always want to fall asleep during ultrasounds.) yesterday afternoon, I also got a package mailed off to my sister and one to my parents, which means that the sending stuff out portion of my Christmas season is taken care of. I ALSO got the Christmas tree put up (it’s only been knocked over once so far, knock wood!) and a few decorations put up as well. Noelle must have heard me typing about her and decided to be contrary, so she came over and stood by me for a good long time, letting me pet her. She didn’t climb on me (only Merry and Kringle are doing that at this point), but she stood there and withstood some torturous petting and even sniffed my foot for a moment. I think we’re making progress. Do not be fooled by the slightly alarmed look on her little face. She was LOVING the petting.   “You tawkin’ to me?”   All of today’s uploaded pictures are hither.    
* * *
Previously 2005: It’s hard to resist a chunky little orange kitty. 2004: (I’m not that much of an asshole. But it sure is fun to imagine!) 2003: Yet another meme. 2002: But I’ll say this – if your kitten is suffering from anal leakage, y’all, TAKE IT TO THE VET. 2001: No entry. 2000: “Why does it smell lemony fresh down here?” 1999: Martha Stewart would take one look at my tree and sob loudly, I’m sure.]]>

12/12/06

laundry room, complete with pictures. Last week, he wrote about the computer room. I’m pretty sure that once we’re done with the house, I’m going to do a room-by-room tour with before and after pictures. I ran across a picture of the back yard one day last week – this one, to be exact – and it surprised the hell out of me. I had forgotten that it even looked like that. I’ve cleared all the brush away from the bottoms of the trees and it looks one hell of a lot better than it did. I’ll have to take a comparison picture so y’all can see what it looks like now.

* * *
I did a lot of nothing yesterday – spent most of the day on my ass in front of the computer, actually – and it was niiiiice. I almost had to go out to Michael’s to get a part for something I’m framing (it was a custom-sized frame I ordered online and the piece that held two sides together wouldn’t cooperate with me, and I had a hissy fit, then figured it out and finished it. It’s a Christmas present for someone who reads, so I can’t go into it more than that (hi, Deb!), but I’ll put up a picture of it after Christmas, ’cause it cracks me up every time I look at it. I spent a lot of time in the kitten room letting the kittens get used to me, and petting them as they went by me. I figure it can’t hurt to spend as much time in there as I can, petting and handling them as much as possible. Jack Frost cracks me up because he comes over to be petted, and he walks around you and lets you pet him, but if he gets too far away and you can’t reach him to pet him, he turns and gives you a LOOK and meows sadly as though to say “Why you stop petting me, Lady?” Merry has actually been climbing up on my legs to sniff at me and be petted. Kringle is the least scaredy-cat of all the kittens, and even Faith likes the occasional back scratch. Noelle, though, she worries me. She’s so scared and timid and I don’t want to scare her by picking her up and kissing her, but she sits off by herself and just stares at us, and I don’t know if she’s wishing we’d pet her too, or that we’d go away so she doesn’t have to be so scared. Poor Noelle. What will be nice is that after tomorrow morning we can stop giving them metronidazole (they were diagnosed with giardia) twice a day, which might help stop them from being so skittish around us. They HATE that metronidazole. Fred holds them while I squirt a dose of the stuff down their throats, and then they run off to sit and drool and shoot daggers at us. I do my best to get the syringe as far back in their mouths as possible so they won’t have to taste the medicine, but apparently I’m not doing so well. Poor kitties. Something’s spooked Kringle! (It was a black paw reaching under the door from the other side. Tommy is DYING to get his paws on these kittens)   “Whyfor haff you stopped petting me, Lady? WOE IS ME!”   “Bahahahahah!”   “Heyyyyyyyyyy, Macarena!”   “Can it be hugs time now?”   All of today’s uploaded pictures are here.     * * * “So I said, ‘I’d like to double HER entendre’. Haw haw. High fives!”
* * *
Previously 2005: (If you must know, it’s the “Tinferl” that really hit my funny bone. I don’t know. Don’t look at me like that. Shaddup.) 2004: Those two just make me shudder. And not in a good way. 2003: “Hey!” he thought to himself. “I think that might be the same bird and the same feeder!” 2002: “That’s okay, Bessie. I hate you sometimes, too,” he said. 2001: No entry. 2000: A blue spark leapt from my tender, sensitive pinky finger to the door of the Jeep in the Wal-Mart parking lot, and I all but screamed. 1999: But if I end up MIA, y’all know where to tell the cops to look…]]>

12/11/06

* * * I had my appointment with the ear nose and throat specialist – we’ll call him Dr. NeckDoctor – on Friday. Basically he reviewed my thyroid uptake scan (which he told me was kind of useless, because nodules don’t show up on those), felt up my neck, looked down my throat to check my vocal chords (I had to keep going “EEEEEE!” and I became amused at how I sounded, so instead of going “EEEEE!” again when he commanded it, I went more like “HEEHEE!”, but he didn’t seem to notice), and basically told me he didn’t think it was cancer (Hey, that was my diagnosis, too!), but he wanted to send me for an ultrasound, get a biopsy of the nodule (He kindly paused while I screamed and ran around in circles. Not because I’m afraid of the pain (a bunch of you have laid my fears to rest on that, thank you very much, you awesome readers), but the idea of a needle? Going into my neck? EEK!) and if it comes back normal (which I fully expect it to), they’ll go ahead and remove my ENTIRE NECK. Kidding! No, if it comes back normal, it’ll be a matter of just keeping an eye on it to make sure nothing goes Terribly Wrong. He was very reassuring that in his opinion the chances of it being cancer were very low, but that if you were going to get some kind of cancer, thyroid cancer would be the kind to get since it’s so incredibly curable and there aren’t even any side effects from the chemotherapy. “So, I don’t want you to worry,” he said. “Oh, I’m not worried,” I said. And I’m not. The good thing about me is that while I might talk about being worried about cancer and neck removals here in my journal, that’s not the sort of thing I worry about in my day to day life. It’s pointless to worry about it ’cause either it’s cancer or it’s not and I’ve got better things to fret about. (Such as the fact that I still have a few more things to buy for Christmas!) I have an appointment for an ultrasound tomorrow afternoon, then once the ENT gets the results back from that, they’ll schedule me a biopsy with a guy who’s so good at what he does – according to Dr. NeckDoctor – that he’s worth waiting for. In other words, I don’t guess the biopsy is going to be right away. Thaaat’s just fine with me. I’m okay with waiting!

* * *
Tufted titmouse (hee!). I really need to clean the outside of the dining room window if I’m going to be taking pictures through it.
* * *
This morning at the pet store, I am unhappy to announce, Catie, Flopsy, and Mopsy were all still there. Adoptions have dropped off a lot this past week, I guess. I was sure to give them some extra love, and Catie was perfectly happy to go back into her cage, but Flopsy and Mopsy gave me the betrayed looks and I was this close to just stuffing them in my purse and bringing them home for a few days. I hope they get adopted by next Monday, is all I’ll say. The Christmas kitties (what I’m calling our current fosters) are doing okay. They’re still very skittish, but they’ve calmed down a little. They flinch away from us when we reach out to pet them, but not as much as they are. We’re spending as much time with them as we can, and Jack Frost and Faith have started squeaking at us when we walk into the room. I don’t know if they’re squeaking at us in greeting or if they’re telling us to go away, but they’re squeaking whereas before they were completely silent. The best thing of all is that last night Fred got Faith to purr. And once she was purring, Kringle started purring, too. The other kittens milled around with little question marks hanging over their heads, as if they didn’t know what this sound was or where it was coming from. Fred suggested that the sound of the purring reminded them of their mother and they found it comforting. Who knows? All I know is that this was the first time we got any of them to purr (I got Kringle to purr again this morning), and it’s a step in the right direction. Noelle with troll hair. She’s the most skittish of the bunch, which is too bad, ’cause I want to pick her up and kiss her and squeeze her.   “Lady, why you flashing that thing at me?” “Bob! Hey, BOB! I hear you’re the man to talk to!”     All of today’s uploaded pictures can be seen here.     * * * * * * Previously 2005: No entry. 2004: And if I ever get the urge to go shopping at the mall on a Saturday two weeks before Christmas, I’ll lay down until it goes away. 2003: Thank god I’m not famous. I could handle being followed around by the papparazzi, but live interviews on the TV and radio? Fuck THAT. 2002: My favorite Christmas entry, ever. Chock-full of the Bitchypoo Christmas Spirit. 2001: Of course my world revolves around me and the people I care about. And yours revolves around you. Except when it revolves around me. 2000: I think they should hire me to play his girlfriend – the stripper with a heart of gold – because I just love that man right to pieces 1999: No entry.]]>

12/8/06

tried to take a bath together five years ago, he did NOT fart on my foot, I’m pleased to say. The cool thing about losing 145 pounds is that there’s more room in the tub. Not only was there enough room for the two of us, I think we could have fit several of the cats in there with us, if we’d been so inclined (which we were not). I was able to stay mostly under the water and not get cold, and we were able to move around into various positions (winkwinknudgenudge) without squishing anything, uh, important. And that’s all I’ll say about that.

* * *
Meme, stolen from Nance. 1. What did you do in 2006 that you’d never done before? Deliberately met a Crazy Internet Person (PEOPLE, even!) that I’ve “known” (in the internet sense) for several years. And I lived to tell the story! 2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don’t think I made any for this year, and I don’t plan to make any for next year. 3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Nope! 4. Did anyone close to you die? No. 5. What countries did you visit? I didn’t leave the country. Maybe next year! 6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006? The proceeds from a vegetable garden packing my freezer and cupboards. 7. What date from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? January 30th – the day I went in for RNY (weight loss surgery). I can’t believe it’s been 10 1/2 months! 8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Meeting Nance and Rick and not acting like such an idiot that they screaming into the street. 9. What was your biggest failure? Not even thinking about getting started on that novel that’s always bouncing around in my head. 10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Yeah, I had the whole liver thing going on. 11. What was the best thing you bought?The Smallville house! 12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Fred’s. He didn’t over-the-top freak out while the whole thing with my liver was going on, he just freaked out quietly to himself. 13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? I don’t know that anyone else’s behavior could ever make me depressed, but that whole thing with Isaiah Washington making an ass out of himself was pretty appalling. In my personal life, I could go on and on about various people who’ve appalled me, but I’m going to just shut up. Actually, I think the number one most appalling thing of the year was my incredible failure to keep on top of my email. I LOVE getting email, I love reading it, but when it comes to responding, I SUCK. 14. Where did most of your money go? Disposable income? Books. Always books. I bought a lot of clothes to replace the ones I’d shrunk out of, but I didn’t spend a lot of money on the clothes, except for bras. Non-disposable income? The usual – house payment (now TWO house payments, thank you), car payments, phones, electric, gas, etc etc etc. 15.What made you really really really excited? Meeting Nance and Rick!!! 16.What song will forever remind you of 2006? Every Mile a Memory, Dierks Bentley. 17. Compared to this time last year, are you:a) happier or sadder? About the same, really. b) thinner or fatter? Thinner, by 145 pounds! c) richer or poorer? Poorer in cash (see: Two house payments), richer in property owned. 18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Writing, exercising. 19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Worrying, stressing, being pissed off at situations that didn’t involve me and I couldn’t influence. 20. How will you be spending Christmas? Christmas Eve morning, we’ll be spending with Fred’s mom and stepfather (and his sister and her family), Christmas Eve evening we’ll be spending with Fred’s father and stepmother (and his sister and her family, and his stepsister and her family). Christmas morning we’ll get up, open presents, hang out, at some point I’ll have to go to the pet store to feed the cats and scoop the litter boxes, and then around noon (maybe a little earlier, depending), I’ll be driving to Gatlinburg, TN to spend the week with my parents, sister, and nephew in a timeshare condo. 21. How will you be spending New Year’s? New Year’s Eve day, I’m sure we’ll be working on the house, New Year’s Eve evening I’m sure we’ll be watching TV (and going to bed long before midnight), and New Year’s Day? Probably more working on the house. 22. Did you fall in love in 2006? I remained in love in 2006. Well. I might have fallen in love with Maddy, but she did not return my affection and moved on to bigger and better loves, the brat. 23. How many one-night stands? None. 24. What were your favorite TV programs? Grey’s Anatomy, Survivor, 24, The Closer. 25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Yes. Well, maybe not “hate” – “find distasteful” is a more accurate description. 26. What was the best book you read? She Got Up Off the Couch, by Haven Kimmel. 27. What was your greatest musical discovery? There Goes Your Heart, sung by Caprice (also known as Chemda, of Keith and the Girl). It’s absolutely addictive! 28. What did you want and get? An iPod. Which I LURVE. 29. What did you want and not get? Uh… I can’t think of anything I truly wanted and didn’t get. Maybe a camera with a kick-ass zoom. 30. What was your favorite film of this year? The Lake House. Shaddup, I don’t care if it was sappy and not believable. I still liked it! 31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I don’t have a clue what I did on my birthday; I’m sure pretty much the same thing I do every day. 38. 32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If I’d finished (or at least STARTED) the aforementioned novel. 33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006? Teenage boy: cotton pants (or jeans), t-shirt, sneakers. 34. What kept you sane? Fred, the spud, and all those damn cats. 35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? TR Knight (George, from Grey’s Anatomy). 36. What political issue stirred you the most? I don’t get much stirred by political issues, except the same-sex marriage issue (for the record: I’m pro). 37. Who did you miss? My grandmother, at strange and surprising times. 38. Who was the best new person(s) you met? Nance and Rick! 38. Side question…who would I like to get to know better? Um. I don’t know. TR Knight? He seems like he’d be fun to hang out with. 39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006: Pointless stressing over someone else’s life is just not worth it. 40. Favorite Memory of 2006? Stepping on the scale to see that I weighed less than 200 pounds for the first time in over 20 years.
* * *
Want to meet the new babies? You know you do! Faith.   Jack Frost.   Kringle.   Merry. (Cat. She’s a kittycat. And she dancedancedance and she dancedancedance.)   Noelle.   I went with the suggestion Rhys made last week (when we were trying to come up with names for Seamus, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail), to go with Christmas/ holiday names. Once I named Faith, I kind of wanted to go with Faith, Hope, and Charity for the girls (the torties are girls; the orange and brown tabbies are boys), but Hope had been used before, so I couldn’t. Kringle was almost named “Parson Brown”, by the way, but we preferred Kringle. Actually, Fred preferred Frankincense (Frankie), but I liked Kringle better. These kittens are real scaredy cats. They’re about 10 weeks old and apparently haven’t been handled much up until now. They’re not feral, by any means. They’ll let me handle them, but when I hold and pet them, they give me the sad eyes and say “Lady, why you torturing me with the love and kisses?”, and run off as soon as I put them down. They also sleep a lot, which is probably because they were all spayed and neutered Wednesday, and were also dewormed, given shots, and had Frontline spray sprayed in their ears (ear mites). I imagine if all that happened to me in a short amount of time, I’d be longing for the release that sweet, sweet sleep would afford me. I love love LOVE little long-haired kittens. And that is all. (All the pictures I’ve taken of them thus far can be seen here.)    
* * *
Newton (full name: Newton “Newtie” McNewterton, the salty country kitty) is pretty, yet aloof. It drives the wimmins CRAYZEE.
* * *
Previously 2005: “Us”? Who’s this “us” kemosabe? 2004: I suppose I need to actually start buying lottery tickets to make these dreams come true. 2003: And also because you Canadians are so cool that I want to canoodle with each and every one of you. 2002: No entry. 2001: No entry. 2000: God bless the internet and online merchants, god bless their little black hearts. 1999: More Christmas talk.]]>

12/7/06

this picture, but if that’s not it, all the pictures I posted of Mia and her babies are in a set on Flickr, here.

* * *
I ended up having a fairly productive day yesterday, all in all. I left the house a little before 9 to have my hair cut and colored. It hasn’t shown up all that well in recent pictures, but the last time I had my hair done, she left the highlighting bleach (?) on too long, and the highlights were way too light and I was hating it. I’ve always thought that maybe one day I’d go blond, but light hair tends to wash me out and doesn’t flatter me all that much. “What are we doing today?” the hairchick asked when I was sitting at her station. “I’d like to go about a shade darker,” I told her. “And no highlights. Highlights are more of a summer thing.” She agreed, and went off to mix the hair coloring goop. An hour and a half later, she turned my chair around so I was facing the mirror. “What do you think?” she asked. I smiled. “Looks good!” I lied. Now, here’s the thing. I like the way she cuts my hair, she does a good cut, but I will never understand why she styles it the way she does. When I got to the car, I called Fred. “I like the way she cuts my hair,” I told him. “But I do NOT understand the way she styles it.” “Sporting the big hair today, are we?” he asked. “I LOOK LIKE SID VICIOUS!” I said. I could hear Fred clicking around on his computer, and then he laughed. “What, she spiked it?” “Not really SPIKED, but… I don’t know how to explain it. It just looks like Sid Vicious did my hair. Or Gary Oldman as Sid Vicious, anyway.” You be the judge:
Gary Oldman as Sid Vicious Robyn And3rson as Robyn Vicious
I’m totally going to change my name to Robyn Vicious. That’s badass. I’m badass. It’s a perfect fit! Not only do I not care for the way she styled it, I’m not crazy about the color, either. The picture doesn’t capture the color very well, but let me tell you – in person, it’s Elvis black and I don’t think it does anything for me. I can’t blame her for the color, though – I was the one who told her that I wanted to go darker, she was just following instructions. It might grow on me, but it hasn’t in the last 24 hours, so I’m not holding out much hope that it will. If it continues to bother me, I’m going to get some hair color from the grocery store and lighten it a tad. I left the hair-doin’ place and headed into Huntsville to run some errands. The traffic was horrid, but I was a little less stressed than the day before, so I crept along and sang happy holiday tunes and ignored the fact that I was moving at, like, ten miles an hour the entire way. I had to go to Sam’s because I hadn’t been there in forever, and we were almost out of bottled water, paper towels, and a few other things. Sam’s, as you might imagine, was busy as hell. I just will never understand how it is that people don’t think anything of leaving their cart in the exact middle of the aisle, blocking it so no one can get by them, and go flitting around looking at various things on the shelf. Have they never heard of the concept of pushing their cart to the side of the aisle? APPARENTLY NOT. So I got everything I needed to get at Sam’s, though I was almost to the checkout when I realized I hadn’t bought trash bags, and had to go back and grab a box. From Sam’s I stopped by the pet store to pick up cat food, and ended up walking around in a daze for a good fifteen minutes, looking at all the toys. I did NOT buy a single toy, though (for once!), and walked out with nothing but the cat food I’d gone in for. From the pet store, I went to the grocery store, where I picked up a prescription and a few groceries, and I was home by a little after noon, with the whole afternoon ahead of me in which to Get Shit Accomplished. I didn’t get a huge amount accomplished, but I did finish wrapping presents, got boxes to my brothers and parents ready to mail, and then watched ER while cleaning the kitchen. I talked to my mother for about an hour, then finished watching ER, cleaned the master bathroom, the downstairs bathroom, and vacuumed the entire house. By then it was 6:30 and Fred was on his way home from Smallville (over the past few weeks we’ve established a routine where I accompany him to Smallville on Tuesdays, and then he goes alone on Wednesdays for a few hours), so I did some laundry and caught up on some journal reading ’til he got home. All in all, not a bad day at all, despite the fact that I look like Sid Vicious.
* * *
While I was talking to my mother, she asked if I watched Boston Legal. I’ve seen a few episodes in the past, but don’t watch it regularly, so she started telling me about the most recent episode. And I shit you not, as she was describing the show, she said: “So William Shatner and that funny-acting lawyer, I can’t think of his name… Anyway, they’re very close.” She paused for a brief moment and then added hastily, “But not in a homosexual way.” Alrighty, Mom.
* * *
I have finally accepted the fact that all the crap I need to carry around with me on a daily basis just is NOT going to fit in a size small bag. I’ve tried to force all my junk into the purse, but the damn thing just isn’t made to carry all this stuff:
(Go here to see the fascinating details of what exactly everything is)
AND a hardcover book, an iPod, and a bottle of water. I’ve been shoving all that stuff in there every time we go to the house (not that I do much reading while we’re there, but the times I haven’t had a book, I’ve really needed one, so it’s better to be safe than sorry, I always say) and just barely getting the purse closed, then having to pull everything out and dig around to find anything. It’s a huge pain in the ass when all you want is a piece of gum or a tampon, to have to do all that digging. So I gave up and switched from the small size bag I was using to the regular size, and let me tell you, it makes a WORLD of difference. Before I left the house for my hair appointment, I had a hardcover book and two half-liter bottles of water in the purse, and if I’d wanted to stuff, say, a cat in there or something, there would have been plenty of room.
* * *
“I likes to lick my chops.”
* * *
Previously 2005: I AM SO HAPPY, YES I AM. 2004: (I never claimed not to be a dumbass) 2003: I would be ever so grateful if you would restrain yourself. 2002: No entry. 2001: I knew y’all were a hip and happenin’ bunch of readers! 2000: Stuff I’ve bought. 1999: And it tasted excellent, of course, which made the eggfart stenchiness more than worth it.]]>