woot is a state of mind

2010-09-04T13:39:00.000-07:00

Steve tore off this piece of pizza and exclaimed, "Look! It's Missouri!" I got the privilege of eating my home state starting with the bootheel.

NOM NOM REDNECKS NOM NOM

(I can say that, 'cause I'm from there. That's always the way.)

2010-08-28T20:09:00.000-07:00

WHAT

Steve cut this out from some random catalog that he received in the mail, and pinned it to my cork board. OH GOD THE VEINS!

Flop them on the table, indeed. Perhaps these are life size for the fellas carrying these?

A cat and his girl.

2010-07-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

Aya and I enjoying our mossed-over lake and the lovely barley bales.

Pros and Cons of Gaining Weight

2010-06-23T09:42:00.000-07:00

Pro: Boobs are a little bit bigger.
Con: Not big enough to make it worth it.

Pro: Setting fun new goals, like running 5ks with your BFF.
Con: Setting awful new goals, like running 5ks in the SUMMER.

Pro: Watching my kittehs all blissed out over making biscuits on my skooshy belly.
Con: Skooshy belly popping out of my favorite jeans. Hello, muffin top!

Pro: Fitting into all the cute clothes I couldn't bear to part with when I lost weight.
Con: Not fitting into all the cute clothes I have for when I was thinner.

Ok, that's all I've got for now. I'm off to eat some (reduced fat, natch) oreo's and (maybe) work out!

Painting the Roses Red!

2010-05-31T19:46:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo! My rose is finally blooming. I'm not a total black thumb.

I love the way it is red and white striped, but I wish the blooms lasted longer than 2 or 3 days.

(Sorry, I can't remember the name of this rose. The tag is looooong gone.)

Surprise! Don't eat me...

2010-05-24T19:38:00.000-07:00

The other day I went outside to water the outdoor plants. We keep the watering can on the back porch full of water so we don't have to mess with the hose every time we want to water something. I tipped the can over to water our Angel Wing plant and barely a trickle came flowing out. I knew it was full, so I took a peek down the spout to see what was clogging it.

A BIRDY!

"Please don't eat me..."

So, of course I exclaim to Steve, "OMG, it's a bird!". Steve's reaction was "Oh...ew!", assuming it was dead, but it was alive! It must have just fallen into the can right before I went to water the plants and couldn't get out. The bird and I sat there for a bit and tried to figure out how to get him out. Well, Steve and I did the thinking, the bird just blinked at me.

I very carefully dumped out the water and tapped the can on the concrete to get the little guy to slide back down the spout.

Freedom!

And here he is trying to get away from us as fast as possible. I'm thinking he fell in there looking for water, so I'm going to try to leave out a little dish for the birdies and try to keep the watering can empty from now on.

2010-05-15T10:57:00.000-07:00

I...I don't even know anymore.
I really need to find a job.

2010-03-28T20:04:00.000-07:00

Shot this short video of Fargo Kitty sleeping under the quilt on our bed today. Oh I do enjoy pestering her!

Who likes thrifting and has two thumbs? This girl!

2010-01-25T11:03:00.000-08:00

I had the pleasure of going antiquing with a great group of girls this past Sunday. Usually when I go into antique stores, I am by myself, so it was really fun to have other people there to point and laugh at the redonkulous items for sale. Also, I was nice to get out of the house, since I'm now unemployed, I've been on self imposed house arrest so I don't spend any frivolous money. I did budget for this trip though!

Like this bunny doll that looked like it was bent on world destruction:

Image swipped from Angie. Can you tell how freaked out I was about this creepy bunny?

Anyway, on to my loot!

Two wood bead owl place mats. Don't know what I'm going to do with these yet, but they were too cool (and cheap!) to pass up.

In this photo, I have a metal and plastic owl pin, an Asian style necklace with a dragon, and a canvas bag from the Nixdorff Chain Company in St. Louis. I love finding things that have to do with STL in antique stores. Not sure if the bag is a reproduction or old stock, but it's still cool!

Detail shot of the Asian-style necklace. It looks like cloisonne.

Orange and white cherry blossom porcelain box, coffee mug with birds with cherry blossoms and a handful of old buttons. The box will go great in my bedroom since the colors in there are orange, blue and brown. The buttons will go great with a hat I am crocheting and the mug...well, I really don't need any more coffee mugs, but look at it! So pretty.

The clear glass owl on the left is an antique pipe holder. The blue owl on a branch is going to go in my blue, white and black bathroom to hold my rings when I wash my hands.

Avon perfume bottles. I really liked the owl (Dr. Hoot!) bottle itself, but the hat is a little chintzy. Maybe I'll spray paint it gold when it gets warmer outside. The toad on the stool is so cute, and I just love that elephant. The toad and elephant are going to hold my perfumes from Bath and Body Works. Not sure what to do with Dr. Hoot yet.

We are going to have to do this again sometime. I look looking at old stuff like a fat kid loves cake. (Wait, I love cake too...man, now I want cake.)

2010-01-17T19:28:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post before I have to get ready for bed. I know how the internet loves kittehs and DIY, so here is a little of both.

Tonight while watching TV with the husband I made a sweater for Aya. I know, I know. I'm two steps closer to being a crazy cat lady. I just need one of those sweatshirts that has a picture of a row of cat butts and I'm there. It was surprisingly a perfect fit. I had to catch him first though. He took one look at me and my newly created sweater in my mitts and the glee in my eye and he tried to get outta Dodge. Luckily for me he's too fat to run fast.

I lost my tapestry needle, so I'm going to have to wait to get rid of those loose strings until I can pick up another one. I don't intend for him to wear the sweater all the time, but dang, it sure is funny when he does wear it.

It's amazing how much shit you have in your office when you have to clean it out...

2010-01-08T10:25:00.000-08:00

So about those vacation photos? I think I'm going to post those later.

I was laid off from my engineering job in the beginning of December. (The photo above shows all the stuff from my office, sitting in my home office). Y'know, that poster is even more poignant now than it was when I hung it up.

Now I'm enjoying the unexpected free time and generally loafing around and doing some crafty things I've been wanting to do.

Except now, I'm going to put on my Hazmat suit and try to clean the kitchen. Wish me luck.

2009-11-25T18:21:00.000-08:00

Holy RSS feed, Batman! I just saw that I have 59 people subscribing to me in Google Reader. I better get makin' with the posts then.

I'll post some pictures from various fun trips I've taken in the past after Turkey Day. I don't know if I'll post my trip to Europe right away though. All those photos were before the age of the digital camera and I'd have to scan in photos.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving and be sure to stuff yourself silly.

2009-11-22T14:27:00.000-08:00

So the story of how our kittens got their names isn't so much a story, per se, but more like an explanation. See, Fargo is our girl and Aya is our boy. Yeah, I come from a family who likes to name their animals odd names.

So Aya first.

Pay attention to meh!

I found Aya as a kitten behind my work back when I was still in school and designing websites for a small company in a small town. He followed me into the building and after I put him back outside I said to him, "If you are still here at 6:00, you are coming home with me." Welp, that brat made me eat my words because he came home with me that night.

I got his name from an anime called Weiss Cruz. And....I thought the kitten I brought home was a girl. See, his...bits hadn't popped out yet, and well, I had already named him Aya by the time the vet told me "Yep, you've got a little boy here." Now, I can't imagine him named anything else.

Slurp!

Fargo was born on my husband's family's property. She was the cutest little fuzz ball I've ever seen. I need to find pictures of her as a kitten. You'll die. The hubs was wanting to get a cat to keep him company (this is before I moved in with him) and I gently (or not so gently, depends on who you talk to) nudged him to take her home. He finally decided to name her Fargo after she barfed in her cat carrier on the way to his house. His reasoning? "The movie Fargo made me a little sick, and so did she on the drive home."

So there you go. Here's some more kitteh pics for you. Because the internet and cats go together like cookies and milk.

These two pictures above are like catching an extinct animal in the wild. It just doesn't happen very often. Fargo is not really what we like to call, "a friendly cat" and HATES Aya with a passion. Sometimes we'll come home and they are sitting together like this. I suspect all the growling and hissing is a front and they secretly are in cahoots to get rid of us.

Turn off the light...it's too bright....

2009-11-19T12:00:00.000-08:00

Whether they wanted to or not, the Fargo and Aya got into the Halloween spirit (Fargo is the tortie and Aya is the black/white/brown tabby):

I wish death upon you all.

They see me rollin', they hatin'...

Did I barf on something of yours? Is that why you put this on me?

Novelty shirt...too...heavy...must...lay down...oof...

I'll do another post where I will talk about where their names came from.

2009-11-18T19:26:00.000-08:00

Anybody out there on Ravelry? If you are, come on down and be my friend!

Here is a quick photo of what I'm working on right now:

It's a baby blanket for my new niece for Christmas. Shhh, don't tell her! I know she's probably surfing the web all the time (kids these days) so lets hope she doesn't find my blog.

More posts to come soon.

2009-05-20T08:52:00.000-07:00

Swiped this from Angie. Ha ha, you'll never catch me, coppers!

A – Age: 28
B – Bed size: Queen.
C – Chore you hate: Litter box, yucko. My cats poop like it's going out of style.
D – Dog’s names: No doggies.
E – Essential start your day item: Shower
F – Favorite color: blue
G – Gold or Silver: silver
H – Height: 5′6″
I – Instruments you play: I played flute in junior high and high school. Not so much now. But I still have the flute!
J – Job title: Design Engineer
K – Kid(s): Just two furry kids, Aya and Fargo.
L – Living arrangements: Small house by a small lake
M – Mom’s name: Elaine Eudoika (I'm not sure how to spell it, it's Greek)
N – Nicknames: Mags, Magpie, Hey you.
O – Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Can't say I've had one.
P – Pet Peeve: Talking on the cell phone while driving.
Q – Quote from a movie: “There are a shortage of perfect breasts in the world. It would be a pity to ruin yours.”
R – Right or left handed: Lefties unite!
S – Siblings: Sophia, Ben and Andrew.
T – Time you wake up: 6:12. My alarm clock has weird snooze times.
U- First word that comes to your mind for “U”: ukulele
V – Vegetable you dislike: Fresh green beans. Bleh. They squeak when I bite into them!
W – Ways you run late: Hitting snooze, not being able to decide what to wear, traffic
X – X-rays you’ve had: face (for sinuses), foot (for chipped toe bone), teeth
Y – Yummy food you make: Ha!
Z – Zoo favorite: The cabibaras! I want to ride one!

Lookie! An award!

2009-02-24T18:16:00.000-08:00

The lovely Angie over at Klenke Konfessions has pulled me out of semi-retirement with this cute little award. I say semi-retirement, because I wasn't sure I really wanted to continue with this blog. I had a blog way back in 2002 and blogged all through college, but I wasn't sure I wanted to continue on now. I kinda have a "been there, done that" sort of feeling about it. I've also been having problems with my migraines lately and I really haven't wanted to do much of anything. BUT! Now that I'm back posting today, I feel like I can keep this up (ha, we've all heard that before!).

Enough o' that, here are the rules to the award:

“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

Here here! Now, I don't think I'm going to tag anyone, since everyone has been tagged already. But to keep up with the spirit of the award I'll post 8 blogs that I like to read.

1) Hark! A Vagrant - This is the blog of artist Kate Beaton. If you are a nerd like me and like comics and history, her drawings and comics will make you pee your pants.

2) Fuck you, Penguin - A hilarious twist on all those cute animal blogs.

3) Glassy Eyes - If you've ever commented on my glasses, check this blog out. He shows you how to get great looking specs on the cheap.

4) Bent Objects - Art using small objects and wire. Very cool.

5) Craftzine Blog - The official blog to the now defunct (SOB!) Craftzine magazine. Don't worry though, it still lives on in the web-o-verse.

6) Already Pretty - Great fashion advice from someone who doesn't sound like they are spouting crap from a glossy fashion magazine.

7) Shorpy - Great blog that posts old pictures of every day life from 50 to 100 years ago.

8) Everything Everywhere - Gary Arndt sold his house and everything he owns in 2007 and now he travels the world. I live vicariously through his travels.

Welp, there you go! I hope I've inspired you to put yet another blog in your Google Reader.

2009-01-20T07:06:00.000-08:00

I'm watching the inauguration on msnbc.com with the sound off and listening to the coverage on NPR at work. Yeah, not getting much done today.

Squee!

2009-01-08T07:42:00.000-08:00

So, it's 9:40 in the morning and no one has said a peep to me at work today. I wore my contacts to work today, which I never do. My glasses are sorta my signature thing. Maybe without them I'm invisible today. Hmm. Kinda nice not being bothered, but kinda weird all the same.

I've been tagged with horrible spelling!

2008-12-03T18:22:00.000-08:00

The hilarious Sarah has tagged me with the Kreativ Blogger graphic. I am now forced to get out of my blogging slump and actually write something! Damn you, Sarah, damn yoooou! *shakes fist!*

Ok, enough of that drama, on the the thankfullness:

1. I'm thankful to have a house with central heating and running water. It's amazing what you'll put up with when you are growing up.
2. Even though it's sucking balls right now and I don't like it, I'm thankful to have a well paying job in a market I (think) is pretty recession proof.
3. My cats. I'm not going to lie. They are pretty 'effin awesome.
4. My husband. Man, did I luck out or what. It's like I married a handyman, therapist, and lover all in one.
5. Sushi. I can not stand seafood, but give me a spicy tuna roll and I'm your best friend!
6. NPR. Because I feel smarter after listening to it.

Ok, the rules are that I'm supposed to tag 6 peeps to keep this ball of thanksgiving rolling. Well, Thanksgiving is over, Santa is on his way to town, and hell, I can't think of 6 people to send this to.

I read back over some of my older blog posts and realized that I have promised pictures of stuff and I never delivered. I will try my damndest to get some of that stuff up here in the next few weeks.

2008-11-28T17:06:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a good T-day. Between two dinners, I stuffed myself stupid as usual.

My poor fuzz boy has the sniffles. He's been laying around the house all day sleeping. But then again, that's what he always does so I'm not too worried.

Aya was snuggled up on the couch with me today while I watched the What Not to Wear Marathon on TLC. He only sneezed and sprayed snot on me once so, Aya 1, Me 0.

2008-10-30T19:38:00.000-07:00

Sooo....I got busy and then I got to run around in a big poofy dress a few Satuday's ago. I'll post more when things settle down. :)

Have you seen that new movie?

2008-09-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

It's rated ARRRR!* It be Talk Like a Pirate Day!

I hope everyone got out of Hurricane Ike unscathed. We had a bit of fun this past Sunday morning with a small flood in our neighborhood. We got about 1/2" of water in the house. We could have used a pirate ship, come to think of it. Arrrrr!

Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/awesome_sauce/sets/72157607294259595/

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fInvOtrixUg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nllkn7hXveM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fT1quKJsto

More on how the invites were done next, promise! I also have my shower this weekend so I hope to get some good pictures from that.

* I freakin' love that joke.

Invitations!

2008-09-05T09:15:00.000-07:00

To save money, we decided to make our own invitations. I honestly don't know if we saved any money since I haven't worked out the numbers yet, but I get such a kick outta telling people that we made them ourselves. It was a lot of work and a lot of nights of me shreking "I hate them! It's a horrible design and no one will come because they are so 'effin ugly!". A little dramatic, but that's how my creative mind works. I go through these stages whenever I make something:

Mmm, Krispy Kremes....Well, without further ado, here are the invites:

I don't know if you can see, but on the RSVP card there is a box that has above it: "Please draw us a bird!" It's fun getting RSVP's back to begin with, but now it's exciting to see what they've drawn. We've had some party poopers who've left the box blank or wrote in, "I can't draw". That's not the point people! I'll post some of the birds we've gotten in a later post.

I couldn't get a good picture of the printing, but all the letters on the invite part (not the map or RSVP) are raised, like it is Thermography printing. This was achived using my Gocco machine and embossing powder. I'll post pics of us making them in the next post!

2008-09-02T10:52:00.001-07:00

I've got a bunch of crafty DIY stuff I've done (and doing) that I'll try to get around to posting sometime this week.

I think I have a cold. And a sunburn. And the wedding is 5 weeks away.

Whee.

I think I'm going to go hurl.

2008-07-28T16:41:00.002-07:00

Ha ha! I like how they put in two dudes in my "look alike" spread. I don't think I look like them, but we do have excellent taste in glasses. I should probably try this some other time with my contacts in and see what I get.

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

2008-07-28T16:41:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Dancing!

2008-07-21T06:43:00.000-07:00

This is probably the best thing I've seen in a long time:

http://www.vimeo.com/1211060

This really made my Monday and it's only 8:45.

2008-07-08T19:39:00.000-07:00

I'm not one to get excited about celebrity fashion lines, but this caught my attention:

Sheryl Crow plans eco-chic clothing line

I think it is interesting that she's named the line "Bootheel Trading Co." We are both from that area and honestly, I couldn't get outta there fast enough. I don't know if I could wear that logo on my butt. That being said, I am interested in the "eco" part and also that the jeans will be manufactured by Western Glove Works. WGW also make Silver jeans which I LOVE. I think everyone has a brand of jeans that just works for them, and mine is Silver.

It will be interesting what the price point will be whenever the line comes out.

Indiana Jones and the "Spielburg needs to stop making moves"

2008-06-23T09:43:00.000-07:00

Found this abridged script that someone put together for Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.

Spoiler alert, but it's damn funny.

My favorite (slightly non-spoiler) lines are:

HARRISON teaches his film class entitled “How To Ruin Millions Of Childhoods In 2 Hours” when he is interrupted by the DEAN, JIM BROADBENT.

and this one:

HARRISON FORD

What are we doing in the Amazon?

KAREN ALLEN

Cate wants to return the Crystal MacGuffin to the ancient City of Gold.

HARRISON FORD

City of Gold? Isn’t that what Nicolas Cage was looking for in National Treasure 2? Are we seriously getting the plot for our shitty sequel to Indiana Jones by ripping off the plot of a shitty sequel to a shitty knock-off of Indiana Jones? I feel like that should unravel the space-time continuum or something.

Buahahaha! Seriously, that movie sucked the life outta me. I'll just pretend it never happened just like Star Wars Episodes I-III.

2008-06-19T13:26:00.000-07:00

I thought this was an interesting article:

Why Women Quit Technology Careers

I work in a technology field that is male dominated and I feel very lucky where I am. Everything in that article was my biggest fear when I was job hunting. I really didn't want to get stuck working with an old cranky engineer that thought women should be barefoot and pregnant (I've heard some horror stories). I've only been in this field for two and a half years now and I've never felt like I was inferior because I wasn't toting a sausage and peas.

2008-05-05T19:10:00.000-07:00

The Steve (TS) and I were working out tonight and we were both on the ellipticals with the individual T.V.'s. Being the dorks that we are, we were both watching a History Channel show about magnets. On the show, they explained how they make magnets out of plastic and how different colored light beams can either raise or lower the magnetism. A blue light increased the capacity by 150% while green light decreased it by that much.

At a commercial break, I tapped TS on the shoulder and proceeded to tell him a theory that had popped up in my head:

Me: Hey, did you see what that green light did to the magnet?
TS: Yeah, why?
Me: Well, Kryptonite is green right? And it glows right?
TS: Yeah....
Me: So that's how it affected Superman!
TS: You're saying Superman is a magnet?
Me: YES!
TS: *Shakes head*

It makes sense though doesn't it? I mean, Superman wasn't human. If he had some sort of magnetic properties then that could explain how he is able to fly. Ha ha. I'm such a nerd, I love it. Ok, I'll get off my nerd soapbox now.

Anyway, I hope everyone of the Orthodox persuasion had a happy Easter (two weekends ago, I know, but better late than never). Christos Anesti! I drug TS to a Greek Orthodox midnight service this year so I could have him experience it just once, since I never go anymore. I managed to not catch my hair on fire*, so over all it was a good time. Here we are before we left:

*you have to hold a lit candle during the ceremony, and by 1:30 am I started falling asleep, but then would wake up realizing I had fire mere inches from some old lady's hair spray laden updo.

Bleh...

2008-04-13T18:03:00.000-07:00

I have an unwritten rule to myself to not blog at work. When I get home, writing here sometimes isn't a big priority for me. I'll try to post more often in the future, but I'm just posting now to let everyone know I'm still alive. :)

Oh, and my fiance looked at the photos of me in my blue shirt/dress thing and said "Wow, that looks really good!" and I replied, "Aw, thanks honey!". To that he said, "Oh, I meant the house looks cool in that photo...but uh...you look nice too."

He's lucky he's cute.

DIY Lamp #2

2008-03-20T17:53:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all the comments on the outfit everyone! I'll take a picture next time I wear it once I figure out what I'm going to do and post it.

So a while ago, I posted about my experience with rehabbing a lamp I got off eBay. Well, after that one I got the bug, so I decided to try it again. I love pretty much anything Asian, so I searched for "geisha lamp". Here are the pictures from the auction:

I don't remember how much it cost...something around $100. That may sound expensive, but look at it! Isn't it gorgeous? It was one of those "I have to have it or I'll DIE" kinda things. I've never heard of someone dying from 'lack of lamp', but I'm sure it's happened. Please note that it is in one piece and in pretty solid condition except for a few places where the paint has chipped.

I think when FedEx or UPS sees a box labeled "Fragile", it means "Smash the bejebus outta me" in their language. The lamp was packaged pretty well, it just looked like it had been hit with a Mack truck. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of it when it first came in, but I do have pics of it after I had spackled it back together. There is a metal rod that runs down the length of the statue and that was bent right at the neck. It must have taken a LOT of force to get it to bend like that.

Here you can see where her bun was cracked (the red stuff is the Bondo that I used). Also, this is after I had removed all the existing paint that was on it. It looked like it had been gold leafed sometime in it's past life! It took forever to get that paint off though. There is so much detail in the statue I had to dig paint out of every crease.

This is her neck from the front. That gray bit you see in the middle is part of the steel rod poking through. If the statue wasn't molded to that rod her poor little head would have fallen off.

Now, this is where I wish I had taken a before photo. The back of the base was all smashed up and in about 10 or so pieces. I put it back together like a puzzle using super glue and then Bondo'd all the cracks. I think this is the part I'm most proud of.

Here is the whole statue before I applied primer and painted it.

Action shot! I think I'm applying the primer here. I know this is off topic, but I love our backyard. You would never know from this picture that I live in a subdivision.

Cheese!

Here is the finished head all painted up. I liked the color that it was, but I wanted it to have more texture. I decided on a stone finish for the statue and a cream color (like the original color) on the stand.

The non-shattered base.

Here's the whole shebang. The first photo shows the colors well, but the flash picked up all the light spots on the lamp and makes it look splotchy. This is a good shot of the detail:

It was a lot of work, but it was worth it. I think whenever we move, this bad boy is sitting in my lap for the move. I'm not going to risk it getting damaged again!

Fashion, Smashion...

2008-03-16T17:31:00.000-07:00

I need some advice from the ladies. I bought a dress on eBay and I couldn't wait until it came in. It came in the mail....and it didn't fit. The seller sold it as is so I couldn't return it (that's eBay for ya) but I liked the way it looked so much that I just stuffed it in my closet hoping I could figure some way to wear it. It is labeled a size 12 (my size) and I guess I didn't see any length dimension on the auction but it is WAY too short. Like, it shows my hoo-ha short. I have no interest in showing everyone my lady bits, so I thought I'd try to wear it over jeans. The Steve said it looked fine, but I need a woman's opinion.

Front view:

Side view:
Part of me feels like this looks really good and is trendy, and another part of me thinks I'm crazy. Plus, I've got some wide child-bearing hips I've got to work with and I don't know if this works. What do you think?

Tagged!

2008-03-01T20:09:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by Jen and Nicole! You are supposed to write seven facts or interesting tidbits about yourself and then tag seven other people. Since I got tagged twice, it's only fair that I list 14 things.

1. My full name is Marguerita. And, no, that wasn't my mother's favorite drink! She prefers Mudslides anyway. I think the root of it is French, but it's a traditional Greek name. I'm named after my Aunt Rita and it means pearl.

2. I built my computer from the ground up. I hate having to take my computer to a repair shop because you have no idea if they are snooping around in your stuff. I used to work in a small computer store and, while I never did it, some of the techs liked to poke around other people's computers to see what kinda of goodies they could find (music, movies, pr0n).

3. I like to draw, but I never have time for it.

4. My BFF/MOH and I have been friends since Kindergarten. She just needs to move up here now so we can hang out more often!

5. I'm left handed.

6. I have an insane amount of earrings.

7. I have two cats, Aya and Fargo. If you listen carefully, you can hear Aya meow at the end of my voicemail message.

8. I used to have a Chihuahua, named Honey, but she passed away a few years ago. It still hurts to talk about her.

9. I graduated with a degree in Architectural Engineering from UMR in '05. It's a lot like a Civil Engineering degree, only I took more building centric classes and no highway or storm water classes.

10. Despite my engineering degree, I can't do math in my head. I can solve all sorts of complex equations, but if you ask me to add in my head I'm screwed.

11. I am the third child of four. My sister is 10 years older then me and my older brother is 8 years older and my younger brother is two years younger. I'm the last one to get married.

12. My mom is a twin (fraternal, my uncle is her twin) so that increases the likelihood that I'll have twins.

13. I have an obsession with all things Japanese. For example, I have 7 books on Geisha.

14. I love to go camping. I can't wait until it gets warm again!

Whew! That was harder than I thought it was going to be! I won't tag anyone else since I think everyone I know on the blogosphere has been tagged (oh yes, I said 'blogosphere').

Dress Shopping

2008-02-28T19:00:00.001-08:00

I went dress shopping for my wedding dress a month ago and ended up ordering one that same day. This was probably the one thing about wedding planning I dreaded the most. I'm not a dress person (I am slowly becoming one though) and I didn't think any of that frilly crap would appeal to me. The dress I ended up with is so far on the opposite end of the spectrum that I thought I would be, but I love it. It's hard not to go in and peek at it everyday.

My dress came in last week due to the magic that is David's Bridal so I thought I would post pictures of all the dresses that I tried on. Sort of like an homage to the dress that never was.

The Wedding Shoppe in Troy

I had such great service here, I felt bad I didn't purchase a dress here. Here are a few I tried on there.

I think this is the very first one I tried on. Sparkly boobs!

These next two are more like what I was looking for, but when I tried them on the lace hit in the wrong spots on my hips and weren't very flattering.

I wanted to try on one with sleeves so I put this one on. The sleeves wouldn't stay up, but I kinda liked it better this way.

This was one of my top two and if David's didn't have anything I liked I was leaning toward coming back and getting this one. It was discontinued and it was only $200!

This one was my favorite when I got it out of the magazine, but when I tried it on I was torn. It had the lace that I wanted and it was form fitting giving it a modern look. But the TULLE! So much tulle. The magazine copy showed the dress only from the waist up.

The back:

David's Bridal

I had heard mostly bad things about David's, so I went in a little wary of my sales lady. She ended up being super friendly and helpful and never really pushed anything on me. She did the required DB thing where they bring you a bra, shoes and veil, hoping you would see the whole package and just HAVE to have everything. I showed restraint though and only got the dress. I snagged the veil I tried on later (Thanks Amber!).

I tried this one on because I love blue. I don't love this gown as you can tell from my expression.

This one was pretty humorous. The back of the dress had these wings that came out the sides...They seriously looked like butt flaps. It was like I could finish with the ceremony and just fly away to the reception.

I can't believe I'm going to post such and unflattering photo of me, but I do it for you guys. I LOVED this on the mannequin. It looked so sleek and modern. On me, it looked like a sausage stuffed in a casing. Also, it was a wee bit too low cut for me. I could do a deep v-neck like that to the bar maybe, but to my wedding? Nah.

This was my favorite from the magazine cut outs I had brought. They didn't have a larger size but even if they did I don't think this one would have been the one for me. I just had to tell myself that these form fitting gowns aren't for girls with booty. I probably would have been really self-conscious all night instead of just enjoying myself.

I really liked the top on this one. Made my boobs look HUGE. I wasn't a fan of the bottom and the train was very plain. I did like the color though. So shiny!

Below is the dress I ultimately chose. I actually walked by this when we were pulling dresses and just dismissed it as too froofy. At the end of the day I was starting to give up since I hadn't had that "aha!" moment. My MOH talked me into trying on more dresses and I'm glad I listened to her (Go Leslie!). I heart this dress.

I can't post the photo's here or talk about it more because my FI reads this blog so you'll have to click the following links.

STEVE NO CLICKY!!!
I MEAN IT MAN!

2008-02-17T19:35:00.000-08:00

Some people get chocolate and roses for Valentine's Day. Me? I get great stuff like this:

That is page one from "The Pop-Up Book of Phobias". Don't have dentophobia? How about coulrophobia?

Seriously, *swoon*. This is why I love The Steve. I hope everyone else had a great Valentine's Day!

P.S.: I did get roses also. I know people will go on and on how this is a holiday made up by corporations that forces men to buy stuff for their significant others, but hell, I love getting flowers so you won't see me hatin' on the holiday.

Eyeglasses

2008-02-10T13:04:00.000-08:00

I've worn glasses for forever it seems like. When I first got glasses in grade school, I thought my life was over. Of course this was the late 80's, early 90's when all you could get cheaply were the dorky plastic glasses that were too big for your face. Now I can't see myself without my glasses. They seem to have become a statement piece of mine and I feel naked without them. I do wear contacts from time to time, but my eyes tend to dry out pretty fast - especially at work where I'm under flouresent lighting and my face is glued to a computer screen.

When I first got my job after graduating, I decided I could finally get the glasses I've always wanted. It's a dangerous thing to give a girl an engineers salary after she's been poor most of her life. Anyway, I waltzed into Lenscrafters (first bad move) and got glasses off the designer wall (bad move #2). I obviously had money burning a hole in my pocket because I dropped 800 duckets on two pairs of glasses. A black and silver DKNY pair and a green Prada pair which I love.

Now that I've been working a while and I have a wedding to pay for I'm not too keen on spending that much money on another pair or even getting the lenses changed in my old ones. That's when I ran across glassyeyes.com. It's a webblog started by a guy who got fed up with the high markup by the eyeglass retailers. He outlines how to purchase eyeglasses online and gives reviews on different online retailers. I figured I would give it a try and get a cheap pair just in case it turns out to be a bust. Guess how much I paid for prescription glasses?

Fourteen fucking dollars. Boo. Yeah. I even got prescription sunglasses for the hell of it and I think those were probably $20. So now I am a convert to online eyeglass shopping. And, hell, at those prices I can afford to get several different colors too.

My super cheap glasses. I've gotten more compliments on these than any other pair I've owned. It's a bad pic, but they are black and red. I ordered the blue and black pair as well. If you wear glasses I highly suggest checking out glassyeyes.com.

Rings

2008-02-09T15:30:00.000-08:00

I went out with the ladies from STLWed last night and I had a blast. It's been a long time since I've been out with a group of girls so it was very refreshing. I mean, where else can you talk about nips and peens in public?? Those girls are great, I can't wait until the next outing next month.

I'm writing a post about my mega-cheap eyeglasses I got off the internets and I suspect it's going to take a while. So in the meantime, here's a picture I took at work:

The light wasn't very good, but I thought the background for the rings was pretty nifty. The top one is my engagement ring and the bottom band is a ring my fiance made out of scrap titanium at work. The scrap metal came from the wing hinges for a F18. So cool!

History

2008-02-07T19:54:00.000-08:00

Here is something I wrote a long time ago when I was living alone and bored. Amazing what boredom can bring huh?

PART 1

Wednesday, January 22, 2003

22 January, in the Year of Our Lord 2003:

The village has been under siege for three weeks now. The enemy has taken out our food supply in order to force us out with starvation, but we will endure. We don't know how they get past the stone walls, but they have left behind their trademark after every strike. This enemy is no ordinary foe, for they are the Ninjas of the Mausu. They move only when darkness falls and their attack is as silent as the wind.

We have surprisingly caught 5 of their numbers, but true to their code, they would not talk. Being a peaceful village, we let them go with a warning...but this is proving to be our downfall. They strike back with even more ferocity than if we had killed in cold blood.

The council members have come to a decision today. Outside help must be brought in. Normally we detest the hiring of mercenaries, but we are left with no choice. The survival of our clan is at stake and we can no longer fend off the attacks.

Here is a photo of the merc, named Kamisu, who arrived this morning. He has a slight problem with keeping saliva in his mouth and tends to stare off with a blank look, but he is the only one close enough that has the skills necessary. Let us pray that he can deliver us from this evil.

God save us. - Councilwoman Seberu

Yep. I have a mouse problem. The little buggers broke into my brand new loaf of bread, chewed up one of my chopsticks (just one! why not both??), and pooed on my computer desk. Since the live traps aren't working and I can't bring myself to set up the spring-loaded traps, additional action had to be taken. So, I called up my sister and I am borrowing Kami The Mad Mouser until my situation is under control. Seeing as he is a bit...um...slow, aggravates my brother-in-law to no end, and hates to have his tail touched (a favorite target of my nephew) we both figured it was in Kami's and my best interest to have him at my house for a while. I figure him catching mice is a bit more natural than the death-traps and even if he doesn't catch any, just his presence in the house should keep them at bay.

He also has a slight drool problem - it's better than it used to be though. Due to a mouth ulcer, he's lost most of his teeth so he tends to leak from time to time. I think he's picky about his tail because, when he was at his sickest that was the only place that didn't hurt, so he's a might bit protective of it.

I'm just happy I have a roommate now (an invited one, the mice don't count), even if it is temporary.

PART 2

Thursday, January 30, 2003

Listen to me young ones, as I tell a tale. A Tale that took place very recently - A Tale about Samurai Kamisu, the defender of our village. Though slow witted and hygienically-challenged, he single pawedly fought off one of the Seven Demons of Rodenticus. The Ninja of the Mausu had sent One of the Seven, the one they call Hamtaro. Here is the story, told by Councilwoman Seberu as she recorded the event:

From the safety of the surrounding brush, I was able to record the Demon Hamtaro in his evil act. He was attempting to cut the telephone wires so all communication between the village and the outside world would be severed.

Despite my best efforts to stay hidden, the Keen Eyes and Sharp Ears of the Demon could not be deceived. Damn our traditional garb and it's decorative bells!

With a single leap, Hamtaro covered the ground between himself and the ledge I was perched upon. I attempted escape, but he was too fast for me.

I was afraid for my life. Just when things were looking bleak and I had resigned my fate to hamster food, Kamisu the Savior leaped from the trees!

Ever the cautious warrior, Kamisu scoped out his enemy before engaging.

And the battle begins! The two fighters moved with such speed, I could barely keep up with their whereabouts. Just as fast as the battle began, it was over. Kamisu successfully drove the limping Hamtaro back into the forests and away from our village.

My Hero.

DIY Lamp #1

2007-12-15T15:32:00.000-08:00

Here is a DIY project I did where I rehabed a lamp that I bought off eBay. I first saw the lamp on eBay with a starting bid of $70 and a shipping price about about $70. I absolutely loved it because it had a Geisha figure on the pole part of the lamp. Anyone that knows me, knows I seriously loves me everything Japanese. Alas, it was more than I was willing to spend on a floor lamp, no matter how cool it looked. I watched it go through two (two!) bidding cycles with no bids. Then the third time the guy posted it, he had it going for $20 with $20 shipping. Fuck yeah! Surprisingly no one tried to bid against me and I got it for a whopping $40 smackers.

^ Lady on the lamp

When I finally received it, I realized why he had the shipping so high. He had barely wrapped it with any padding and crudely taped some boxes on it. It also looked like the UPS guys had a blast tossing it around the warehouse, because parts of the metal were cracked. It must have had a rough ride to have been that damaged. Lucky for me, my fiance is a metal whiz and he said could fix it. (I'll have to post pics of the half ton milling machine we have in the garage.)

The first thing I did was to take it apart and clean it. Steve took the pieces that were cracked and sandblasted them clean and then put putty in the cracks. (Man, that sounded dirty!)

^ Before sandblasting

^ After sandblasting...so clean!

^ The putty filled cracks

Next step was to paint the individual pieces. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that process, but honestly, it was pretty boring. We used Rustolium paint in spray cans. I decided to keep the original color mostly because I couldn't think of any other color to paint it and the dark brown went with our decor in the house.

Here's the top of the finished lamp with the freaking expensive glass shade we got for it. Seriously, that thing cost more than twice the price of the lamp since the only shade that would fit it is a reproduction piece. But it looks awesome. We decided not to sandblast the Geisha on the lamp because I liked the old antique look it had to it.

Interesting trivia: This is the lamp that my engagement ring was hanging on when Steve proposed. :)

Stay tuned for DIY Lamp #2, where I rehab another lamp I got off eBay.

(After writing this post, I have come to realize that I hate the way Blogger's "compose post" screen is. >:P)

2007-11-18T18:03:00.000-08:00

People! Christmas is after Thanksgiving. Christmas Trees and lights should not see the light of day until you have been thoroughly stuffed with turkey! Perhaps I'm sensitive since I grew up in a household that didn't put up lights outside and the X-mas tree didn't go up until Christmas Eve, but c'mon!

I just had to get that off my chest. To do my part, I'm leaving up my Halloween/Fall decorations until after Thanksgiving.

I know. Purple shutters. I try to ignore them. Here's the setup at night:

Pretty huh? The logs came from a branch that was hanging precariously over our house. We decided it had to come down before the next big snow. (Steve, ever the woodsman, cut it down himself.) I was wondering how to set up the pumpkins this year because I didn't want to use hay bails this time (see picture below -- they were such a hassle to get rid of). We had all this cut up wood laying around and an idea was born!

Last years decorations

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone!

2007-11-06T18:55:00.000-08:00

These are a little old, but I wanted to share these pics I took of a double rainbow. I was on my way to dinner (at a Japanese Steakhouse, YUM.) with the fiance on our 4 year anniversary.

If you can tell, there are two rainbows there. It's rare for me to catch a double rainbow so I just had to get it on film. I could actually see the full rainbow all the way across the sky. I was in my car, so I was unable to get a full shot.

Don't worry, traffic was crawling so I wasn't recklessly snapping photos. I only do that when it's not raining. I like this shot because that building in the distance is a hospital. It looks like the rainbow is going right into it. I'm not overly religious, but I'd like to think it was a symbol of a child being born or perhaps someone being called home to God.

2007-11-03T15:42:00.000-07:00

I have taken, like, 3 poops today.

Man, I love having a blog.

Engagement

2007-10-16T18:26:00.001-07:00

This is old news to a lot of people, but since I haven't blogged it yet and this is a new blog I thought I would post a little sumthin' sumthin' about it.

I got engaged in March to my best bud of 4 (ish) years (Leslie, you are still my bestest best bud though). On my birthday actually. Normally I would advise against proposing on someones birthday since it can impart a gimmicky vibe, but this was pretty good timing. And it's easy to remember when we got engaged!

I came home from work on Friday in a really poopy mood. I had a few people cut me off in traffic and that just fuels my already simmering road rage. My then-boyfriend, Steve was laying on the couch. At that time he was still working second shift at his job so he had Fridays off. As I plopped down the couch with a grumble he asked me if I wanted to turn on the new floor lamp. Some back story here: I bought a floor lamp off of eBay and Steve and I took it apart, painted it and bought a new glass shade for it (I'll post pics of the process later). He had finished putting it together and wanted me to turn it on. So I walked into the spare bedroom and my first reaction to him was "Hey, where is the shade?" He was leaning on the door frame and replied, "Just turn it on." I reached to turn the little knob and lo and behold something shiny is hanging from it. Before I pick it up, I say, "What's this?". I knew what it was, but it just didn't sink in. I pick it up and look back at him and ask, "Are you serious?"

Yeah, not the best words, but it really took me by surprise. He didn't get on one knee and that's exactly the way I wanted it. I'm also glad he didn't do it in a restaurant or other public place. He asked and I said yes.

Afterwards we went out to dinner at a nice restaurant and I must have been glowing, looking at my ring too much or maybe both because at the end of dinner the server brought us a piece of cheesecake with a single lit candle in it. "We think you guys just got engaged!" It was a really pleasant surprise. I then began deviously thinking of all the other free dessert opportunities I could get. Alas, no other restaurant has given in to the shiny diamond ring that I flashed everywhere saying "free cheeeeeesecake!" under my breath.

Pikachu, the ring bearer

Stay tuned to wedding plans! I'm already head first into this planning thing, and don't worry I don't think I'm a bridezilla or one of those squealy girls who get all worked up about their "big daaaaayyyy!" At least I don't think so.

Booties

2007-10-10T17:00:00.000-07:00

At work, I typically eat lunch around 11 unless I have errands to run (errands, shopping, whatevs). Today I ran to Michaels and Goodwill in search of brown shoestrings (didn’t find any. Poopers.) and was starving by the time I got back to work. To add to my torture, I drove by a Chinese restaurant with my windows down and I could smell the yummy goodness. My stomach practically jumped out and grabbed the wheel saying, “Screw your ‘healthy lifestyle’! I’m getting me an egg roll!” I was impressed that my stomach could in fact, drive, but also made the quotation gesture in the air for "healthy lifestyle" with its various…tubes…

Enough of that stuff. As disgusting as that visual is, I’m getting hungry again.

Today I’m test-driving a pair of knee high boots. I’ve never owned a pair since my calves are like tree trunks and I’m hard to fit, but I found some at Target and DSW that have stretch to them. They look really cute with this brown and blue skirt I have but I wanted to give them a go under some pants before I wore them in front of everyone. I’ve had to pull them up a few times today and I do have some “slouchage”.

Excuse my dirty mirror.

So what do you think? Are they supposed to look like that? My fiance says yes, but I'd like a female opinion if I can get one.

PS> Word to the wise. Shave before you wear stretchy boots like this. Every time I pulled them up the fabric caught every little stub of hair I had. It was like a thousand tiny needles poking me in some sort of bizarre torture. I'll never talk Goldfinger!

First Post!!!11!1!

2007-10-06T19:16:00.000-07:00

I'd like to welcome everyone to my new blog.

Hope you enjoy!