True Talent

When I chose my photographer for our wedding, I decided to use a long time friend. Scott was horrified saying "She should be IN the wedding, not taking pictures!" But I insisted.

As it turned out, my gut feeling that this was the best choice was right on. Not only is she a talented and artistic photographer, but she is one of my closest friends and AS the photographer, we spent the entire day together. I got to see more of her than I did of my bridesmaids!

Erin brought along one of her friends to assist, and they have now posted a few of their pictures on Veronica's website.

These are a few of my favorites, you can follow the links to see the
rest.


Veronica Nelson Photography

Erin Janke aka Visual Noise Photography

SPF K9

For those three of you that were reading my blogitude back in December, you may remember the Chihuahua that came home with me for Christmas Day and New Year's Day.











I got to spend the afternoon with him and his parents at a pool that is open to the public.

It seems that he remembers me, he climbed right up on my chair and wanted to snuggle.

Not a bad way to spend a day off.

More About Skunks

My youngest "child" turned a year old while Scott and I were across the country getting married. For those who have never heard or read the story of how I acquired a pet skunk, pay attention.

Skunks are born in the spring. The majority of pet skunks in the United States are born and bred at Ruby's Fur Farm in Iowa. The baby skunks are descented early and then travel to pet stores around the country.

The pet store I manage brought in 7 baby skunks last spring. There was one apricot, one chocolate and 5 black and white. In Florida, a Class III Wildlife license is required to own a skunk (considered an "exotic") and the store requires proof of this license before the customer is allowed to purchase their skunk and take it home.

Two of the skunks went home very quickly, as their new parent had anticipated their arrival and gotten the license process started ahead of time. The next skunk went soon after and that left four girls. Three black and white and the chocolate.

As soon as the skunks arrived all the store staff spent a lot of time with the babies, trying to get them used to being handled and socialized. Once there were only four left, we spent additional time with them and soon three of the remaining four found loving homes.

The final baby was the smallest of all. Jen named her "Squirt". I wanted to ensure that whoever adopted her would have a loving pet so I started carrying her around with me every afternoon while I did my various duties. I let her sleep in my lap when using the computer, and had her in a small bed on the counter when running the register.

After a few weeks of this Jen (my boss) told me that she thought a friend of hers was going to get the skunk. I was happy for the skunk but a little sad because we'd started to bond a bit.

For my birthday Jen and her husband Mike wanted to take Scott and I to dinner. We planned for them to pick us up after Jen closed the store (since I had the day off) and they arrived with a beautiful carrot cake and a big gift bag.

I opened the bag and inside was a cardboard box. I opened the box and there she was! I was shocked and thrilled and terrified all at the same time - I knew Scott was going to FREAK OUT.

When I opened the box Scott had his back to me cutting the cake. He turned around and saw me holding the skunk, then turned right back to the counter and said "How nice of you!" He didn't know what else to say!

At first Scott was sure that Jen and I had planned this, but I assured him I had nothing to do with it and hadn't even considered getting a skunk, so I understood if he said "no." But I also encouraged him to come to the store and visit her (she had to live at the store until I could get my Class III License) and get to know her a little bit.

A couple of days after my birthday Scott came by on his way home from work and agreed to hold her. She snuggled over his shoulder into his neck and he was instantly in love. We did a trial run with the dog and cats and then as soon as the license arrived we moved her into a cage in the corner of the living room and changed her name to Stinkerbell (aka The Stink, Stinkbug, StinkerPie and Skunky).

Now she is very much a part of the family. We have had to baby proof the house to some extent, when we go to bed we put up gates across the kitchen doorway and the doorway to the bedrooms and put the dog's food bowl up on a chair.

The evening is not complete until The Stink has waddled over to the couch, put her paws up and we bring her up for a snuggle. As I am typing this she is laying on my stomach with her head tucked into my elbow.

Recaps: Now With Pictures!

We got married on a Saturday.

Sunday morning we woke up, packed up our room at the Kennedy School, bought some souvenirs in the gift shop and then checked out. We spent the rest of the day saying goodbye to family as they left town and I took several naps. The end of the day found us at a Sushi-Land in Vancouver with Andy, Jenny and Jenny's friends from Seattle, Ian and Renata. I spilled an entire dish of soy sauce on my jeans.

Monday was more sleep, some doing of laundry and more sleep.

Tuesday morning we drove to Cannon Beach to check in to the Stephanie Inn. We arrived a little earlier than they expected us, so we drove down to Mo's and had a quick lunch.

On returning to the hotel we were led on a quick tour by the bellman before being let into our room. Scott's sister and brother-in-law had purchased the "Relaxation" package for us, so there was Champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries on the coffee table near the fireplace, and candles and lavendar-confetti bubble bath in the bathroom next to the jumbo jacuzzi tub.

We enjoyed two nights at the hotel, and two lovely buffet breakfasts in the upstairs dining room. The weather was a little cold but still beautiful enough to take a walk down the beach and take some snapshots of the hotel, the view and a cooperative seagull.

There is a pizza restaurant in downtown Cannon Beach that has been there about 25 years, during which time I have patronized it at every opportunity. We enjoyed dinner there on Tuesday evening and then decided to drive to Seaside to try to find a camera battery charger. Once we were about 2 miles out of town Scott realized that he left his phone on the table. I circled around and headed back into town, and when Scott ducked in the door everyone in the place was waiting for him and gave him a hard time.

We found a Rite-Aid that was open and after scouring the aisles for a charger, I gave up and purchased two disposable 35mm cameras.

Wednesday we drove back to Seaside to enjoy dinner at McMenamins Sandtrap Inn.

Our evenings were spent relaxing and watching episodes of Invader Zim.

And By The Way...

Please note that I just had a Man of Honor at my wedding BEFORE the movie came out...

His toast went something like this:

" If you had told me two years ago that Reese would go to Vegas, meet a military man, quit her job and move to Key West, get engaged, ask me to be her Maid of Honor, and cut the cake with a sword, I would have hit you with a stick until you went away."

Ho Ho

I'm sitting on the couch with Buster, watching Unwrapped. Right now they're talking about HoHo's... the carmel variety in particular.

In the almost two weeks since we returned from our wedding and honeymoon so much has happened! I've worked almost every day, as a result this week of our main cash-register computer obtaining a ton of viruses and going totally kaput. Either the owner or myself (sometimes both) were at the store nonstop for the last two and a half days. She spent the day today sleeping, which I fully intend to do on Sunday (my next scheduled day off).

Our houseguest moved out today, to move back in with her boyfriend since they have decided to move to Orlando together in two weeks anyway. We are looking forward to being able to move back into our guest room, but we will miss her and hope she is making a good decision.

I've discovered that I always get the best ideas for a blog post while I'm in the shower. I don't know what about the process inspires my mind to creativity anymore than I can figure out why I always think of CSI: Miami, Borders Books and Murder Mysteries every day while I'm counting out the cash drawer.

The skunk has been thrilled to have us back, she has been up more frequently during our waking hours, so we have had lots of snuggle time.

I managed to write about 3/4 of the Thank You notes last Sunday and mailed them in the last two days. I still have about 15 to go - but will be able to do them this weekend I'm pretty sure. We have been SO blessed by the generosity of those that love us so much! Our backyard near the gate is starting to look like the city dump because we've stacked up so many of the delivery/shipping boxes.

Buster is dreaming. I should be.

Goodnight!

This Child is Cursed

The Renter (or "Young E" as we call him at our house) is plagued with unfortunate circumstances.

His check was not in his account on Friday, but it did show up on Saturday, so he let me know he would be depositing $500 into my account today.

Apparently he got into a car accident yesterday and then his parents called and told him his dog died.

Oy.

Mother of Teenagers

I am only 31 and have never birthed a child.

Yet I have raised numerous teenagers and young 20-somethings. Right now Scott and I are parenting a 19-year old girl and a 17-year old boy. The girl dropped out of high school (her parents let her) at 15. The boy's father (who he lives with) takes care of dinner by asking them which fast food they want.

I also helped raise one of my ex-boyfriends from the time he was about 20 to 26 and our roommate at the time from about 19 to 23.

Apparently, one of my renters thinks that he gets to hop on the Mom-Reese-will-take-care-of-me-wagon.

Well, I won't. He is about a month and a half behind in rent (make that 2 and a half on May 1st) and thinks it's ok to not contact me AT ALL.

How many chances should this child get? It is his first time living on his own. This is not my responsibility.

He can't seem to remember to check his email on a regular basis. Not my responsibility.

He won't return my text messages. Also not my responsibility.

For those that wonder why I don't just CALL him - the answer is twofold. Firstly, I DESPISE talking on the phone. I am too ADD to carry on an important conversation and can never remember my point or any of the relevant facts to the situation when I am on the phone. Secondly, half the time his cell phone has been shut off.

He moved in the Vancouver house from somewhere in the eastern portion of the US and thinks he has "nowhere to go" if I kick his skinny little butt out.

While we were in town for the wedding I reminded him that he had promised to give me at least $200 on the 10th. Since the 10th was two days before my wedding, I didn't go beat down his door on the morning of the 11th when I discovered he hadn't made a deposit.

I DID see him on the evening of the 14th and mentioned that I needed that deposit, he said "oh tomorrow is my day off and the money's in the bank so I'll transfer it tomorrow." Which he did not do and did not ever explain why.

Gah.

Don't Try This At Home

One year ago I weighed 141 lbs.

This morning I weighed 127 lbs.

This was not intentional, and pretty much due to stress.

Just in case anyone is worried, I am eating.

Evidence of Matrimony

From Surf to Snow

Yesterday we left Cannon Beach around 11am and drove to Walla Walla, WA. I enjoyed a nap while Scott helped the family prepare for dinner and then we all ate together at my Grandparents house.

After dinner we enjoyed time with my cousins and their families and spent a little more time this morning with one in particular, enjoying the twin 16-month old boys passionate eating.

Aloha Sushi in downtown Walla Walla prepared a fine lunch which we shared with a friend of mine from high-school, before the wedding we hadn't seen each other since probably mid school year 1992-1993.

Following sushi we packed up our stuff and stopped again at my grandparents house and then at my aunt's farm on the way out of town via Milton-Freewater and Pendleton.

In theory I should be doing laundry and packing. Instead I am going to look up whether the nearest UPS is open tomorrow and then go to bed.

We fly out of Portland tomorrow night - unless the airport closes for snow...

Sand and Surf

We are spending two nights at The Stephanie Inn in Cannon Beach, Oregon.

The hotel is amazing. Unbelievable.

We are enjoying ourselves thoroughly, relaxing and watching Invader Zim every night as we fall asleep.

The Mystery Revealed...

We purchased a pair of Converse All-Stars Chuck Taylor shoes for each member of our wedding party and then I embroidered their nicknames on the side.

I finished the last shoe as the rest of the wedding party was processing down the aisle while I was waiting for my turn.

The First of Many...

Moon Me, Honey!

I slept most of yesterday, in between drinking gatorade and eating crackers.

Our wedding day was the most fun we've ever had EVER. I know that's cheesy but it's totally true.

Today we're juggling logistics and making a battle plan for the week.

I'm finally starting to relax - I slept all night very well and have had no more intestinal complications.

Thank you all so much for your well-wishes, and it was wonderful to see those of you that were able to come!

All Done

We got married today.

Right now I'm trying not to throw up.

I really hate this anxiety crap.

Fun stories and pictures soon.

***********************************
Just threw up. Just a little. Trying to relax.

3 to Go.

I have three items left.

I'm contemplating doing one tonight. But I'm tired.

And I'm getting married in the morning.

I really wanted to get them all done.

Frustrating.

I do have to say that this is the ONLY thing so far that is not taken care of. That's pretty good.

:)

T-1 Day and Embroidering...

I am in the hotel room - after my bachelorette party. We went to a couple of places and had a couple of drinks, I wore a pink sash and a pink feather boa. I had a very good time but called it a night kinda early because I've just been tired all day and really didn't want to push it.

The "guys" (Scott and his attendants, which are of both genders) are still out on the town, which is fine.

I'm embroidering one item and then going to sleep.

That leaves 5 for tomorrow.

I miss my skunk.

T-2 Days and Counting...

I got a very good nights sleep.

At the couples shower last night there was friends, family, food and fun - we played the game "celebrity". I don't know if that's it's official, commercial name, but sometime I'll explain the rules. It's a lot of fun and quite hysterically funny at times, too.

I got my hair done yesterday and my face waxed, which has succeeded in causing Scott to stop making wookie noises at me.

Today we pick up our rental car, check in to the hotel, Mom and I are having a facial, I'm having what is hopefully the final fitting for my dress, another shower, and my bachelorette party.

I wonder if I'll have time for a nap.

Ha Ha Ha.

T-3 Days and Counting...

I'm up and awake... a little stiff but not too bad considering that I flew all day yesterday.

I have to call the reception location contact person and the bakery this morning. I have a hair appointment for the hair on my head at 1:00pm and then an appointment for the hair on my face at 3:00pm. I decided that Scott would probably rather not marry a yeti.

I'm remarkably calm. Not too exhausted, and have charged several people close to me with making sure that I have a bottle of water I'm drinking at all times.

I do still have 6 items to embroider. Fortunately some of them will go pretty quick, I'm just hoping I remember to be doing that in between other stuff.

Next on tap is my mom's fashion show so we can decide what she's wearing to the wedding.

T-4 Days and Counting...

I just called a cab to pick us up in about an hour and a half... we're mostly packed and just rounding up the last phone chargers, makeup, etc.

All the wedding stuff is pretty much ready to roll, we just have to show up and say yes.

I haven't puked again since Sunday morning and managed to eat a little Sunday and last night.

As one of my coworkers said to me yesterday - Feliz Matrimonio!

:)

T-6 Days and Counting...

I've puked at LEAST 6 times in the last half hour. I've been pacing in the back yard, praying, and calling to leave my boss a voicemail to let her know I may have to come in late.

I think that's the thing that gets to me most about the panic attacks, is that I get myself worked up worrying that I'm going to let someone down.

Ultimately I have to accept that life can go on with or without me, whether I'm in charge of it or not.

I think my problem tonight is that I haven't slept well again this week, got a sunburn on Thursday, and haven't been drinking enough water to make up for either of those things. Then I ate junk for supper followed by a half of a giant chocolate chip cookie that has since been regurgitated.

I am not really stressed about the wedding. I know that I will survive this and be fine, and if necessary will get a doctor to prescribe me drugs so I can get through the thing doped to high heaven.

Right now I need to relax and breathe. And pray a lot more.

T-8 Days and Counting

Coincidentally, I am wearing size 8 shorts today. Before any of you curse me (except those of you fabulous ladies that are size 6 and 4 and 2), my wedding dress was purchased a size 12. Ha ha ha. This will be interesting.

I have 7 out of 16 embroidery items finished, and am halfway through #8. One of the items that arrived in the mail yesterday was useless, as it is the wrong size, so it will have to be returned. That made me double check the items that arrived on Wednesday, and sure enough, one of THOSE was the wrong size as well. I gave it to our friend Jenny.

I still need to acquire 5 items and get them embroidered in the next 8 days.

T-10 Days and Counting...

What does the "T" stand for?

Teeth that are chipped. Apparently items made of canvas are more difficult to embroider than items made of denim or even, say, cloth.

Consequently, one of my top front teeth and one of my bottom front teeth are chipped a bit. Note to self: Do Not Use Teeth to Pull Big Needle.

In addition to all the OTHER things I have to do in the days leading up to the wedding, I need to get my teeth ground. Grinded? Smoothed? Whatever.

To my knowledge, the bridesmaids dresses have not arrived at the bridal boutique. This makes me a bit nervous, and it has also made a few of my "maids" nervous as well.

Today we received an automated phone call from ACME telling us that "some" of our canvas items were not going to be delivered and we should go to the store where we had ordered them and get a refund. Once at the ACME store we discovered that the outlook is not quite so bleak as I thought and we are only going to be missing two or three items instead of TWELVE. As it is I need to embroider at least one item every day between now and the wedding in order to get them done.

What the heck was I thinking?

Wedding Schmedding

Well, we are now 13 days from the wedding, and nine days from our flights from Key West to Portland.

Apparently in the last week Portland has been getting a snowstorm. Of Snow. Our packing for the trip is now including digging out our boots and gloves and scarves.

The biggest tasks I have left is to arrange the caretaking of our animals while we're gone and some extensive embroidery.

The embroidery project will have to remain a secret for now though, as it is our gifts to our attendants.

I'm looking forward to having a bit of a vacation, and the fact that we get to see a bunch of people we love and have a big party in the middle of it makes it that much better.

Error

Apparently ewedding.com changed something and didn't tell any of their customers. I fixed the link to the left so it should work again.

I'm getting married in 15 days.

ACK!

Southwest in the Southeast

Scott is making home-made chili tonight, a pot with steak for him and a pot with morningstar crumbles for me.

I made some salsa and guacamole too, now I'm hanging on the couch trying not to eat ALL the guacamole.

My salsa has been pretty popular down here, and my secret is using a little balsamic vinegar and at least three kinds of tomatoes.

Alas,

We have no cookies!

This is a travesty.

My First Wii!

Scott and I Wii'd for the first time tonight... Some friends invited us for drinks, pizza, and Wii!

It turns out I'm better at Wii bowling than real bowling, who knew!?

It was very exciting.

The Demon Goes DOWN.

Sunday Stinkerbell and I slept for about 15 hours straight. It did us both a lot of good.

Since then I have managed to get about 7 hours of sleep a night - in increments of at least an hour and a half at a time, which is a vast improvement.

I have been battling some pretty major muscle spasms, which made sleep difficult, and couldn't take much for them since my stomach wouldn't accept nourishment without wanting to return it.

After losing four pounds in four days I forced myself to eat a few bites the last few nights and today followed a small sandwich with some naproxen which has already started working.

My goal now is to get good sleep and hydration every day between now and the wedding (25 days for those that are counting).

Oh yeah and to RELAX.

Something that has helped already is that the vets that operated on Stinkerbell last week came into the store today. I described how she's doing and they assured me that she's healed enough that I can stop doping her and even take her off the pain meds.

Knowing my baby is ok makes sleep much easier!

The Demon Rears It's Ugly Head

I often like to portray that my life is very organized and under control. Most of the time I think I pull it off... balancing my home zoo and work zoo and wedding plans...

But not this week.

For those who don't know, I have a problem with anxiety. (*WARNING - GRAPHIC ICKINESS FOLLOWING*) My anxiety attacks manifest by convincing my body to empty itself through every portal possible.

As a child, when a boy I had a crush on sat down next to me I rushed off to the bathroom and threw up. This continued in high-school, and it's hard to convince your boyfriend that he doesn't gross you out when you puke after every make-out session.

After a tragic breakup, I was unable to eat for about 5 days ( I tried, but it would just come back up) and the doctor finally told me I had to at least keep down a milkshake or she was going to admit me.

I started medication around this time for depression and anxiety, I don't remember what the first one was, but one of them was Paxil. I've also been on Welbutrin before settling on Lexapro.

About 5 years ago I had a major run in with the demon. A good friend had recently passed away at a very young age and I took it upon myself to try and take care of the family she left behind (husband and two kids) and the rest of our social group that was grieving. One Friday night I started throwing up and having diarrhea and it didn't stop. My mom came to rescue me and took me to her house. We turned off my cell phone and I spent the next four days going back and forth from her bed to her bathroom floor. I couldn't take any anti-diarrhea or anti-nausea meds because nothing would stay in either end. I was convinced I was going to die. I went to the ER and they gave me some fluids, and the next day I sat down with a counselor and started working on letting the stress go.

I had to learn to not try and be "the strong one" and learn to accept help from my friends and loved ones instead of being the one giving all the help. It took me quite a while to get a handle on that.

Fortunately, those that love me love me regardless of the fact that sometimes I am a puke and poop fountain. They know that I can get overwhelmed and need to take care of myself.

The last week or so I have not slept well and starting on Thursday afternoon had some "bowel issues" that left me dehydrated and wiped out. When we got home from fetching Stinkerbell from the vet yesterday I was already struggling. As she came out of anesthesia it became clear that she was going to need constant supervision or sedation to keep her from licking and digging at her incision. I got the ok from the vet to give her a quarter of a Benadryl and then left her in Scott's care while I attempted to go to bed.

When he came to bed I woke up and knew instantly that I was not ok. This was around 2am. He and the Stinker went to bed so he could make sure she was sleeping, and I took up residence on the bathroom floor.

After a couple of phone calls and prayers from my mom and another friend, I went out to the back yard and just paced and tried to breathe. I sent out about 20 text messages asking for prayer and have had an overwhelming response from right after I sent them to this afternoon - everyone assuring me that they are praying hard for me and checking to see if I am ok.

Once I came inside I took a Benadryl myself and tried to sleep, finally getting about 20 minutes at a time until around 9am this morning, when I took another half Benadryl and relaxed enough to REALLY sleep.

I am so thankful that God holds my life and plans. I don't need to worry about the details.

Stress, you have not beaten me yet.

Recuperating

Stinkerbell spent the day at the vet today getting her lady-bits un-lady-fied.

She's stoned and wearing a collar to keep her from licking her incision.

My Poor Baby.

Shoulda, Coulda, Didn't Feel Like It.

I SHOULD be preparing the few final invitations that I have recently gotten addresses for. Or planting the last of the new plants. Or doing laundry or putting it away.

Instead I am watching American Idol (I've actually been impressed by several of the top 12 tonight), eating Ghirardelli chocolate with raspberry filling and considering having pizza for dinner, all the while wondering what that smell is and feeling sorry for myself because the scarlet macaw at work bit my lip today.

My wedding is 32 days away.

I'm taking the night off.

A Day Well Done

Today I had the day off. Scott and I slept in until about 11am and then spent some time in the backyard enjoying the sun and a light breeze.

Looking around our yard inspired us to take a trip to Home Depot. First we had breakfast at IHOP and then progressed on to THD for soil and plants.

Once we got home we potted the new plants together and played with Buster until we ran out of soil and it got overcast and chilly.

Inside, I unpacked four more boxes and then remodeled Tempura's new palace. As soon as I can find the charger to my camera I will post pictures of her new abode and ours.

Crazy Animals

The Chou likes oatmeal.

Stinkerbell likes jalapenos.

Weirdos.

7 Things for Kelsie-Lou...

Thanks to my friend Kelsie for tagging me with a meme...

It's going to be hard though, because I'm pretty open and honest with pretty much everybody.

So, 7 Things You May Not Know About Me:

1. I'll probably become a vegan eventually. I'm a vegetarian now, but am just not quite ready to give up cheese.

2. I can't watch sad or over-dramatic movies. If they are too emotional I can't take it. Same with TV shows like "Moment of Truth". It's just too much drama for me.

3. I have a pet skunk. Okay, if you've read my blog at all, you've probably figured that out!

4. I would love to be an astronaut. It just takes a lot of school and I would have had to start a LONG time ago.

5. I have a very spoiled Hamster. Her name is Princess Tempura Buttfluff.

6. I'm a wanna-be chef.

7. When I was little I wished my name was "Michelle".

Man's Best Friend

Scott wants Buster to fly to Oregon with us for the wedding.

He (Buster) is a 70 pound Boxer. He will be 10 in July. The wedding is only 41 days away and we fly in 37 days.

It would be fun to have him with us in the week following the wedding while we are enjoying time in a cabin on Mt. Hood, but I'm not sure he's up to traveling in the underbelly of a jet plane.

Ideas?

Not As Dumb As I Look

The date on my RSVP cards is March 1st.

I am still sending out invitations.

Sorry... I intended to have them out by Valentine's Day and it just didn't happen.

:)

How To Fake A Meatloaf

I am a vegetarian. By choice and because I was raised as one.

Meatloaf has always sounded good to me so tonight I googled "Morning Star crumbles vegetarian meatloaf" and came up with a few recipes. I printed them out, read them, and then did my own thing.

Keep in mind that measurements are all approximate, I didn't actually measure anything.

1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 large white onion, diced
celery salt
garlic powder
1 & 1/2 packages of Morning Star Farms burger crumbles
1/4 cup dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon basil flakes
1 cup bread crumbs (I didn't have quite a cup so I added about 1/4 cup of crushed cheese crackers)
2 eggs
1 cup fresh button mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup ketchup

Set oven to 350 Bake.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine olive oil and onion. Sprinkle with celery salt. Saute for about a minute and add fresh mushrooms.

In a separate bowl, combine bread crumbs, basil flakes and parsley flakes.

As mushrooms begin to soften, add burger crumbles and keep stirring to thaw crumbles. Once crumbles are thaw and mixture is fully mixed, remove from heat and add bread crumb mixture. Add eggs one at a time and stir in. Add ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Sprinkle with garlic powder (about a 1/2 teaspoon).

Spray a 9x9 baking pan and press mixture into it. Bake for about an hour.

Very tasty with A-1.

Last Little Bits and Pieces

We only have a few things left in the kitchen at the condo and then it's CLEAN time.

I'm looking very much forward to being able to focus all my energy (ha ha ha) on the new house instead of splitting it between the house and the condo (and the wedding and the refinance, and doing my taxes and and and and).

I need to go to the post office tomorrow and trade a bunch of 26 cent stamps for some 41 cent stamps. Apparently I miscalculated the size of my outer envelopes and the RSVP cards.

The skunk has taken up residency behind the washing machine. At night she is coming out and helping unpack boxes and trash cans.

This Week with Chef Jenny...

A Blue Cheese Cheesecake, a Field Greens salad and a Blueberry & Sour Cream Cheesecake.

The Blue Cheesecake is from the Diane Mott Davidson Book Dark Tort. If you are into murder mysteries and food at all, you should pick up these books. The writing isn't superb, but definitely good enough for entertainment.

Here's the Blue Cheesecake recipe:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 shallot, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
24oz cream cheese, at room temperature
6 large eggs, at room temperature
6oz blue cheese (preferably Danish), crumbled and chopped
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 small scallion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)

Preheat the oven to 325F. Butter a 10-inch spring-form pan. Place an 11 x 16 disposable aluminum roasting pan onto a rimmed cookie sheet.

Melt the butter over low heat and cook the shallot, stirring occasionally, until it is limp, about 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until it is very smooth. Add the eggs and beat until they are well blended into the cream cheese, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the blue cheese and cream and beat over low speed until the mixture is well blended (it will be lumpy).

Using a large wooden spoon, force the mixture through a wire strainer to remove the lumps. (This takes a strong arm and some time, usually about 7 to 10 minutes.) Blend the shallot and scallion into the smooth mixture.

Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan. Place the springform pan inside the roasting pan with very hot water until the water comes halfway up the outside of the springform pan. Gripping the sides of the cookie sheet, carefully place the roasting pan with the springform pan inside it into the oven. Immediately close the oven door.

Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the cheesecake has puffed, the top is golden brown, and the center is set. Remove from the oven and set the springform pan on a cooling rack. Run a knife around the inside rim of the sprinform pan's collar to loosen any of the cheesecake that may have stuck. Carefully remove the collar.

Cool for about 10 minutes, if you are serving the cheesecake hot. (It will sink slightly as it cools.) The cheesecake may also be served at room temperature or chilled. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers.

Makes 8 large servings.

We did this with no mixer, no roasting pan, no cookie sheet, no wooden spoon, no wire strainer, and an oven that runs about 25 degrees hot.

It's very tasty. Very light consistency. Reminds me very much of a quiche.

We're still waiting on the dessert cheesecake... the egg whites are taking their time becoming stiff.

A Rose By Any Other Name Would Be Confusing.

One of my favorite things about Scott is that he is just as silly as I am, if not more so.

Butterneck Toad is my recent nickname for him, but I love the way it rolls off my tongue. It's not meant in any kind of negative way, it's just a random smattering of words squished together.

We have a lot of nicknames in our house. Buster (the Boxer dog) goes by Buster, Buddy, Buddins, Buddins McPhee, B-Dizzle and "Brown Thing".

Stinkerbell (the skunk) goes by Stinkerbell, Stinkbug, Buglet, Tinker, and Stinker-Pie.

Chou (the Ragdoll cat) goes by Chou, Chowder Bisque, Chowder Biscuit, Biscuit, The Biscuit, and Bisky.

Maui (the Siamese cat) goes by Maui, Maui Biscuits, Baby Bisk, and Meowey.

Minx (the black domestic female cat) goes by Minx, Minxie, Minx-Pie, and Pie Pie.

Interestingly, Pie Pie is also something Scott calls me. I've also been known to call Scott "Biscuit", Inky, and Picklewing.

Chaos Begins Tomorrow

Tomorrow morning Scott exchanges keys with the previous tenants of our new house. We will start moving tomorrow night.

We haven't done any packing since the day before Valentine's Day. We're only moving about a quarter-mile away, but it's still going to be a pain.

In some ways moving across the country was easier than this will be because this time we have to take everything with us and when I moved from Washington I just left a bunch of my crap in my house to be stored long-term.

My first goal once we're moved in is to try and de-nocturnalize the skunk. I don't think she's getting enough attention solely because she is awake while we're asleep.

How Do I Hate Moving? Let Me Count The Ways...

I've moved too much. I'm sure there are military brats that would say I have hardly moved at all compared to their cross-country childhoods, but as I am faced with packing up all my crap again, I'm inspired to count just how many times I've moved from one house to another.

I was born in Seattle, Washington. As far as I know we only lived in one house in Seattle after I was born, and then moved to:

1. Sylmar, California. My parents decided to move out of LA when they learned that a clerk at a grocery store they frequented had been hacked to death in the store with a hatchet taken from a camping display. Gross, right?
2. Mollala, Oregon to stay with my maternal Grandparents until we found a house in
3. Oregon City, Oregon. This is the first house I have actual memories of. Very vague memories.
4. Portland, Oregon. We lived in a Victorian house in the Hawthorne district on Yamhill street. My parents bought this house with the idea of fixing it up, but didn't realize how much that would take. We had two cats at this house: Mocha and Smudgie. One Saturday morning on the way to church my mom accidentally stepped on Mocha who was hidden in the shadows of the stair landing. Mom was wearing heels and Mocha was wearing claws. He showed Mom's calf his claws.
5. Portland, Oregon. We moved into a house on Clinton street. I had the chicken-pox at this house while I was six. I also had a neighbor friend named Jennifer who had red hair.
6. Portland, Oregon (Officially unincorporated Multnomah County at the time...). I started elementary school in Second Grade right as we moved onto a culdesac on 174th. This is the first house I actually remember the full address of. We had two cats, Scamperoo and Twerp. We lived here until the middle of Seventh Grade when we moved again to...
7. Portland, Oregon. SE Halsey Street. This house is no longer standing because it was on land that was re-zoned commercial. While we were in this house I had my first boyfriend. His name was Nathan and I got nauseous every time he sat down next to me. I also got my first dog while living at this house - a puppy from the pound. We named him Huey.
8. Days Creek, Oregon. I went to boarding school for all four years of high-school. The summer after my freshman year I lived for a few months with my aunt and uncle in
9. Mt. Shasta, California. This is where I crashed my mountain bike.
10. Days Creek, Oregon. Back to school for my sophomore year, and I stayed at the school and worked during the summers between my sophomore and junior year and my junior and senior year. One of these summers my parents moved to another house in
11. Portland, Oregon. A little tiny house. A house that is also no longer standing because it was plowed under and had apartments built over the top. I lived at this house during the summer after my senior year of high school and then I went to college in
12. College Place, Washington. I lived in an apartment in the attic of my aunt's house. This is where I lived when I became engaged (the first time). I only lasted at this college for a quarter and moved back to the tiny house in
13. Portland Oregon. Not long after my return, my parents divorced (I was 19 at the time). My mom and I stayed in the tiny house and my dad found a house a few miles away. I spent much of the next two years staying at friends houses, especially during the summer of 1996 when I worked at a daycamp. In 1998 I moved to
14. Vancouver, Washington to live in my boyfriend's parents extra bedroom. Of course, he lived there too. Convenient. During this time I was engaged for the second time (the engagement lasted about two weeks). I moved into his brother and sister-in-law's extra bedroom in 1999 during one of our many breakups and then moved from there to my mom's new house in
15. Portland, Oregon for a few months. Then I got engaged and married (to a whole 'nother random guy) and moved to
16. Moyie Springs, Idaho. We lived in a tiny chalet for about 2.5 months. I was miserable and so was our marriage. We adopted a cat named Crispin who I consider to be my life-saver. We moved then to
17. Hermiston, Oregon for three weeks and lived in a trailer on my in-law's property while we waited for our apartment in
18. College Place, Washington to open up. Our marriage ended in practicality very shortly after this move and I moved with Crispin to my first apartment of my very own in
19. Vancouver, Washington. I was proud of my first pad, it even had a fireplace. I purchased furniture from a friend for $5 a piece (he was taking it to the dump anyway). I also bought another cat - a kitten I dubbed Minx. I also got back together with the boyfriend from location 14. We moved together to a bigger apartment in
20. Vancouver, Washington in the Fisher's Landing neighborhood. We also gained a roomate, Chris. Chris brought along his baby alligator named Moose, a corn snake, a tarantula, a leopard gecko and a snake-head fish. I retaliated by purchasing what was supposed to be a siamese-mix kitten we named Chou. Crispin passed away trying to cross a busy street, so we got yet another kitten (a real siamese this time) named Maui. We had great neighbors here that became life-long friends, but ultimately needed more room. We moved about a half mile away to a townhouse in
21. Vancouver, Washington in a complex called "The Springs". We lived here until Old Boyfriend and I broke up, he and Animal Guy moved out and got their own place. I lived alone for a couple of months, then my mom lived with me for three months while she was looking for a new house, and then she moved out and my friend Andy moved in. Andy and I lived together in the townhouse for about 10 months and then purchased a house together in
22. Vancouver, Washington. Then I went to Vegas and met Scott. I got to spend all of six months in my very first house and then packed Minx, Chou and Maui in the Honda and moved to
23. Key West, Florida. We've been here for 17 months and are moving into a house nearby.
I think that's a lot of times to pack up your stuff. I'm tired of packing and I've hardly started!

Absence Excused?

Sorry for my absence, in the last week my In-laws came and went and we decided to move. No, we didn't move this week, we just decided to.

The three of you that read my blog may remember this. The friends in the house ended up staying and breaking up, getting back together, breaking up, and then getting engaged this last Christmas. They got married yesterday and are moving to DC for real this time on the 19th.

Sooo... we'll be starting moving in to the house on the 20th. This is, of course, in the middle of trying to get married in April. I'm making our invitations by hand, which is involving a lot of cutting things out and putting them together, etc.

I'm also refinancing my house in Washington. I'm really excited about this for several reasons. Firstly because when we bought the house we financed 100% of it and had a first and second mortgage. The first mortgage is at 6.9% and the second is at 11.25%. We're rolling it all into one mortgage at 6.875% and the payment is going to be about $250 less than the total of the 1st and 2nd payments. The other reason I'm ecstatic about the refinance is that I HATE my current mortgage company.

I really don't hate many things or people. I don't believe in holding on to anger and hate because it will ultimately make me an angry and hateful person. But Option One Mortgage Corporation sucks big time. I worked in the real estate industry for about 8 years before moving to Key West, and am familiar with many different mortgage companies and programs. On the closing end I was a big fan of OOMC, there loans were very easy to close and their funding department was very easy to work with. Their "Customer Service" however, leaves MUCH to be desired. Moving to Key West was complicated in the home-ownership category. I didn't want to sell the house, so I managed to find a couple of renters.

With landladyship comes the assumption that there will be a late rent paid once in awhile. In the 2+ years that we've owned the house, I ended up making my mortgage payment on the 16th ONE TIME. That was in February 2007. In the year since, beginning on the first of the month, I get at least 3 phone calls a DAY from OOMC "reminding" me that my payment is due on the first and late after the 15th. EVERY DAY. And then when I try to tell these people I am well aware and remind them that I have made every payment since February 2007 well before the 15th, it turns out I'm talking to someone in India that doesn't have any control over ANYTHING.

Needless to say I am totally sick of the harassment. This is why I'm willing to deal with the stress of refinancing my house from across the country at the same time I'm getting married.

Today is my one day off until next weekend, and I'm going to try to do some packing and cleaning and invitation-ing. As soon as I'm done watching Rock of Love 2.

Blarlge.

Up at 6:30am this time... thanks to a small black and white furry thing scurrying under the bed. I managed to catch her and have her snuggle for a bit but then she wanted to investigate the rest of the bed which is usually for the purpose of finding a place to poop.

I'm going back to bed.

What's That Mean?

I have always wondered what the "M" on RSVP cards means. I looked it up.

The idea is that everyone's title (for the most part) begins with an M. Mr., Mrs., Ms., etc. Apparently whoever invented the RSVP card format decided that it would be most helpful to provide the first letter to save the respondent some time.

Aren't you glad you asked?

Sleep

For whatever reason I require more sleep than most people, even when I am in full health.

As the wedding draws ever nearer I am finding Rozerum a helpful friend (although I have not yet played checkers with a Beaver and Abraham Lincoln in my dreams).

The only problem is that sometimes it wears off at ridiculous times like 5AM when I have no desire to be up and am still quite tired.

Gah.

Demotivation

I'm off today and it's my last day off before Scott's family comes to visit on Friday. I'm sitting on the couch with Chou and we are watching Comedy Central.

I need to go to the grocery store. I also need to do more laundry. And put away my scrapbooking stuff. And find Scott's military paperwork.

I'm a little overwhelmed right now, and anxiety is rearing it's head at me. Last night I had a very difficult time going to sleep despite the fact that I took a sleeping pill and was already falling asleep on the couch. Once I got to bed my mind would just not stop processing details for the wedding, my refinance, that we're probably moving in a few weeks into a house nearby...

I need a personal assistant, maid, chef and a few clones would be nice.

South Carolina, I Think.

I watched American Idol tonight.

It sucked.

My Moment With a Plastic Surgeon

When I was between my freshman and sophomore years in high school, I lived with my aunt and uncle in Mt. Shasta, California for a couple of months.

In theory, I was an assistant to my aunt in her billing for my uncle's anesthesia patients. In reality, I was a crappy worker (I was 14) and spent the majority of my time hanging out with a friend of mine from school and riding horses, which made my cousin (who was six at the time) very jealous.

My aunt and uncle have always taken good care of me, and this summer was no exception. They purchased a mountain bike for me so we could take rides together.

One afternoon my aunt and I were returning from our ride into town to get the mail. We had to cross a country road to then turn onto their street. My aunt crossed ahead of me and I turned my head to see if there were any cars coming. There were a few but they were far enough back that I had plenty of time to cross.

Suddenly I was face down in the gravel with my bike on top of me. There were strangers all around, two cars parked nearby and everyone saying "are you ok!?"

Apparently my bike chain ate my pant leg and tossed me into the dirt. One of the helpful bystanders bundled me into his truck and rushed me to the ER. By this time my aunt had realized I wasn't behind her anymore and turned around to see me on the ground surrounded by cars and people. Of course she thought I had been hit and rushed to the scene, but was reassured that I had trashed myself without outside help.

My aunt met us at the hospital where I was having my face scrubbed with a sponge to get the gravel out. I had landed in the dirt with my entire left side at a great rate of impact and scraped most of the left side of my face and neck. There were large bruises on my left shoulder, elbow and hip, the latter of which was so sensitive it was extremely painful to even have the feel of cloth touching it.

I had split my upper lip across the lip-line and so they called in the on-call plastic surgeon to re-sew it. They gave me several shots to deaden the pain and then he went to work.

The large scrapes on my face and neck were scrubbed out and covered with a transparent "skin" style bandage for healing.

Once I was done at the ER and cleaned up, I was taken to the Ear, Nose and Throat specialist (conveniently a close friend of the family) to make sure I hadn't injured my nose to much and then on to a dentist (another family friend) to check out the tooth I knocked loose. He determined that it didn't need to be pulled, but would probably die a slow death and ultimately need a root canal down the line.

My aunt called my mom and started the conversation with "She's alright, but it's not pretty..."

As it was the summer of 1991, it wasn't too awkward-looking for me to wear my hair parted on the side with my hair hanging over the left half of my face. I slept on the couch and ate a lot of milkshakes.

My lip was swollen out so far that I could see it in my peripheral vision. A chunk the size of a fist was broken out of the front of my helmet, which was a great sales pitch to my young cousin to always wear hers.

Ten years later I had to have the afore-mentioned root canal, which was remarkably un-painful since the tooth and it's nerves were totally dead. They even managed to make my crown in line with the rest of my teeth, giving me a straight row for the first time in a decade.

I'm lucky to not have any visible scars, save the very faint mark on the left side of my cheek near my chin that passes for a pencil mark.

Help From Other Bloggers, Please!

So, I've decided to become a stop on Bossy's Road Trip.

She gave me a cool badge:




That I'd love to put in my sidebar, but can't figure out how!

Jewelry Hoist

I am going to share with you something that I am not proud of.

This is my bathroom.
I am planning to make this travesty beautiful by February 1st because A) I can't stand it anymore and B) my inlaws are coming to visit and we give them our room.

The Plan of Attack is outlined as such:

• Organize jewelry that is strewn carelessly about the counter and sink area.
• Store my makeup and hair products in a way that they are not visible but easily accesible.
• CLEAN for heaven's sake!

The first step is the jewelry. Some of it has been in a tupperware bucket since I moved to Key West in September 2006. I decided to create my own jewelry organizer since I can never find one to purchase that will suit my needs.

I went to the (only) craft store and purchased a plain, empty wooden picture frame. Then on to Home Depot where I purchased some screen and some small bits of hardware: two sizes of screw-eyes, a picture hanger and some silver thumbtacks.






Next I rolled the screen out over the frame and trimmed it for the correct width of the frame.











Then I pinned the screen to the back of the screen on the inner level and outer level with the thumbtacks and trimmed off the excess screenage.






I screwed a small size screw eye into the front side on the top two corners and a large screw eye into the lower front side corners, followed by two additional sets of large screw eyes a bit above the bottom set.



I placed a skinny dowel (I purchased one and cut it into thirds) through the large screw eyes and hung necklaces on the bottom rung, rings and hoop earrings on the 2nd rung, bracelets on the 3rd rung and hung earrings on and in the screen.







Here it is just finished, and hung on the bathroom wall.

A Little Skunky Love

Another Day, Another Project

I'm off again today, which was a wonderful surprise considering I didn't realize it until about 5:30 last night when I was at work and took a gander at the schedule.

I slept until 2:30pm.

But since then I've gotten plenty accomplished, I cooked lunch and cleaned the kitchen and am about to embark on the jewelry-frame-holder-thing.

In the meantime, I thought I'd post some proof that I actually do accomplish things I say I intend to. Most of the time, anyway.

Here's the family tree I've been working on for my Father and his Wife for Christmas. The frame is about 2 feet x 18 inches. I was inspired to do this project by a similar one I did for my almost-sister-in-law last Christmas.

My original inspiration was a Crate & Barrel catalog. It had a kit for sale for $85 that was two frames and some leaves and two half-trees. The idea is that you put the wife's family in one side and the husband's family in the other side and when you hang them together it makes a whole tree.

My thought was why pay $85 when I can make the same thing or better for about $25? The picture on the left is before I put names on all the leaves, but you get the idea.

Mmmmmmm.

Having a friend that has been to chef school is a lot of fun. A couple of weeks ago our friend Jenny came over and made us dinner.

We had individual chicken pot pies. Not only did she make them from scratch (with the help of some frozen pastry dough) but she made some of them just for me with fake chicken (Fri-Chik, my favorite!). Her pot pies were so delicious that I was inspired to make a cobbler with what fruit we had left in the freezer. The peach-mango-mixed berry and sour cream cobbler was well received and heralded. (Has anything YOU ever made been "heralded"? Didn't think so.)

This week Jen crafted a pizza with homemade crust, carmelized red onions, marinated portobello mushrooms, vine-ripened tomatoes, kalamata olives and goat cheese. It was fabulous. I mean really really good. The olives and onions were very tasty together, and the portobello and goat cheese also made a lovely duet. It was interesting how all the flavours came together but were still individual. I have never enjoyed a non-sauce pizza so much in my life.

American Idol in Dallas

A lot of yelling, mostly off key.

The girl that thinks Carrie Underwood looks like her has a nice voice but is too arrogant for my taste.

Ms. Hatfield is joyful, indeed, it will be interesting to see what she does in Hollywood.

The final contestant has a nice voice but we'll have to see if she can develop her own sound as opposed to developing her impersonations of everyone else.

Nothing too interesting.

Ok, apparently that was the first day or the first half or something...

Douglas is a freak. What is the arm movement thing about? And the circling the room and the funny breathing? Scary.

Angela is totally Broadway. Her husband is a hottie though.

The young man that is convinced that American Idol is really the Iowa Caucus is cute in a dorky way, but he has a little bit of a Josh Groban voice surprisingly. He's on to Hollywood! Yay! First they made him promise not to do "weird things" with his hair and wear a red leather jacket like Clay Aiken.

Celine Dion impersonators should stay home. All of them.

Colton Swan is a great name. Funky hair, but good name. He can sing pretty good, y'all. He sounds a lot like Wes King to me, which is a compliment for those of you that aren't familiar with the christian-country genre. He also looks a bit like Blake from last season.

Drew is a cute tractor guy. I agree with Paula though, he has a good voice but doesn't have any fire to his performance.

Kyle thinks he's a rocker, but I think he's gay. I don't mean lame, I mean I think he's a homosexual. Not that homosexuals can't rock, but he's just a total conflict. It's just weird. His singing is about as good as his bottle-tan.

Thanks for the weird "Since U Been Gone" montage.

I do wish that the producers would let less of the weirdo-just-here-for-publicity people get through to the audition room, as much fun as it is to watch the crazy guy bow to Ryan Seacrest. Although I will say it was pretty fun to watch Simon, Randy and Ryan enjoy the "I Am Your Brother" ballad, swaying and raising fists as Paula does interpretive dance.

Next week is San Diego, where I highly doubt anyone will call Simon their "Glory."

Another Confession

This one's not about picking my nose, for which I am sure you a grateful.

This time I'm confessing that I am a big fan of American Idol. Tonight is the season premier and I'm thrilled.

First stop for auditions is Philadelphia. I like Paula's outfit and hairdo. Simon looks exactly the same... Randy is all "yeah dawg" as usual.

First contestant Joey has lost 205 lbs. and I don't know what he sounded like before, but he has a great voice and did a spot-on rendition of Maroon 5's Sunday Morning. They sent him through to Hollywood.

I didn't catch where the contestant in the orange shirt hails from, but he has been "waiting for the right woman that he can love from up the top of hair down to nipple". And he can't sing. Bee Gees or otherwise. But boy is he enthusiastic!

The poor young man in the chartreuse suit cannot sing. He needs to stick to tour guiding.

Stinkerbell doesn't think much of American Idol. She's hiding her head. Just in time for the bad ones. Boring and Horrible.

And then miraculously someone who can sing! The young man singing "The Blues" is great. Jose is good - singing in espanol or english. A few more yesses, and a crazy lady taking off her shoes to dance around.

Of course I have to root for the Oregonian, Kristy. She has a beautiful voice and I like her instincts.

The gentleman in the cloak should have kept it on. I don't understand why people bother to dress up in a ridiculous manner to audition when they are clearly not about being a musician. But he's going to get his chest waxed and come back.

I have always felt that I can tell 90% of the time if a contestant can sing or not prior to opening their mouth based solely on their confidence and comfortability. Those that seem quirky or uncomfortable often cannot sing. Those that are comfortable in their skin and speak confidently are most often great singers.

So far I'm right on. Paul seemed nervous and then broke into his love song for Paul Abdul. He's a crazy person. He has an ok voice but his songwriting skills are awful. "If she were a dog, I would walk her, but instead I'll just stalk her". Ick.

Beth seems pretty confident, I'm interested to hear her sing. She has a nice voice. Maybe a little bit too much affectation, but I think she's talented and should move on. She has a very nice delivery. Simon doesn't think she'd stand out, but Randy and Paula say yes. I think she'll make it at least to the second round of Hollywood cuts.

I honestly didn't expect the Star Wars girl to have a very good voice, but it honestly wasn't bad. I do agree that she wouldn't have probably gotten far, but I think it would have been interesting to let her through.

I am looking forward to this season and am looking forward to the auditions continuing in Dallas, Texas.

Varied Accomoplishings or Not So Much

Apparently I ordered cardstock from which to make the invitations about a week ago. I did not recall this fact until I was looking at my wedding budget spreadsheet and saw, sure enough, that I have pinked-out (my code for something being paid for) the "paper" row and put in "$66.55" as the cost. Fortunately I noted a website where I assume said paper will be coming from, but as to when it will arrive, I have no idea.

I managed to run the dishwasher yesterday and complete addressing about 80% of the remaining invitation envelopes. My goals for the evening are to finish all the envelopes we have addresses for, do some laundry, and start clearing out the guest room/junk room/bowflex room.

I'd also like to get our rooms reserved at the hotel in Portland so we have one more line "pinked-out".

Expensive Time

I don't think that there is ever an increment of time in my day that could actually be termed "free".

There are merely moments in which I am choosing to do one thing (or two or three or six) instead of something else.

I have worked at the pet store the last 6 days straight. The ensuing exhaustion probably contributed to the fact that I gave a baby hamster mouth-to-mouth on Thursday and ate nothing but a Snickers bar and a LOT of iced tea today.

I have addressed about a quarter of the outer and inner envelopes for the wedding invitations, but still don't actually have any invitations made because I: A) don't have the paper I want to print them on and B) don't have ink for my printer. I can solve B by going to Office Max. But A is proving to be more difficult as Key West is not a booming metropolis of paper craft (or much else besides bars) variety.

I have this evening and the next two days off and am starting off by taking a good long nap until I wake up. Then I will likely eat something.

Tomorrow I will clean and organize and hopefully address some more envelopes, although I am already bored of that, and maybe even spend a little time at the pool. Tuesday I am being completely self-indulgent and getting my nails done.

Somewhere in the next 60 hours I hope to build a jewelry frame to hang on my bathroom wall and finish my dad's christmas gift.

Free Time? Hardly.

Red Agent Dodo saw his chance. It wasn't often that he left his cell for exercise, so he knew he had to act quickly. All his practice runs had gone smoothly, and this was his moment.

Black Agent Fuzzbutt had been placed in the new apartment this afternoon. He was immediately comfortable with the "big boys" and was making his rounds and checking out his new surroundings.

Agent Dodo made his way around the square. The timing was perfect: a big crowd, the teenagers chattering endlessly, and the Black Agents all unaware of the impending doom.

He stepped carefully onto the glass walkway. Closer and closer he inched until he had the clip in his claw. He aimed the bottle and dropped.

We did our best to resuscitate Agent Fuzzbutt, I even performed mouth to mouth, but it was too late. Agent Dodo was swiftly whisked back to his cell to gloat.

Rest In Peace, little one, you were the cutest of the bunch.