A little news here and there

I post a lot more in my head than I do in reality. I'm always thinking of things to post while not at home. Anyway, on with the show.
All last week I got to spend at home burning up vacation time. It got off to a wonderful start when, first thing Monday morning, I was offered a job as the administrative assistant for the buyers at Love From Minnesota. You know, the gift store people. It sounds like everything I was looking for in a job except location. I will be much busier, work a regular business schedule, make a bit more money, and most importantly, be out of the mall! The only thing I wanted that it doesn't have is location. I will still be driving to Roseville everyday as the corporate office is across Fair view from Rosedale. Oh well. I spent Thursday with Jess touring the Hill House, having lunch at Cecil's and teaching her how to make manicotti. We both agreed that we should cook together more. The boys met us in time for dinner, which was great. We don't have people over very often, but I usually enjoy it when we do. Nick (Jess' boyfriend) thought it was hilarious that she was actually cooking. James' favorite part of the evening was having Jess bless the meal in Hebrew. Being next to Rosedale will be nice in that I can meet Jess for lunch and not actually have to go very far.
I spent the rest of my vacation working on my sweater until I got hit with a nasty allergy attack/head cold on Saturday. I finished the front and back, and I am almost done with the first sleeve, but once my eyes started watering, I just couldn't concentrate. I hope to finish it before it gets to warm out, so that I can wear it a couple of times this year.
This week it has been very hard to focus at work because I am so happy that Friday is my last day. It will be a long time (I hope) until I have to work past 5(ish) again. Yippee! I am looking forward to starting @ Love from MN on Monday, and will be sure to tell you how it goes on the actual blog, not just in my head.

So many things that have pictures to go with them!

First, if anyone can help me change the look of my blog without using blogger's templates, that would be neat. I may or may not be able to figure it out with help, but figuring it out on my own is just not working.

And now. . . The long awaited watch photo!

I still think it is ridiculously pretty. I really enjoy checking the time these days.

Last week Thursday we had a lot of snow dropped on us. (And also our neighbor Mark's antique tractor.) Luckily I had Friday off, so I didn't have to try to do anything. Instead I stayed home and put up the new curtains. The colors in the photo are a little off, the wall color translates as too something not good. The curtains basically match the couch. The mini blinds will come down as soon as we get the plastic off of the windows.

I have been watching the TV show Heroes this week trying to catch up. I have three episodes to go and then I will be caught up and have to wait 6 weeks for the next episode. Apparently the episode from this week makes it very upsetting to have to wait. I guess I will find out soon enough.

Here are some crazy cute kitty pictures to close the festivities. I am going to knit a sweater now. I will post a picture if I ever finish it.

Finally!

Unreleased Jimmy Page Guitar Riff To Be Retrieved From Secret Vault To Save Rock And Roll

Yeah for the outlet mall

Today gave us a rather succesfull trip to the outlet mall. Nikes for 10 bucks! I am very excited. James also got some much needed new shoes, but refuses to wear them until after yucky slush season is over. We ate lunch at a place called Space Alien Bar & Grill. Good burgers, not so good bloomin onion rip off. Not much else going on here. I am contemplating finishing some ongoing projects, but we'll have to wait and see what happens there.

Woo Hoo!

I finally got my new watch, and I am very excited about it. I haven't managed a good photo yet, but I am working on it. Today NPR's Fresh Air program was added as a podcast. That is also very exciting because it is one of my favorite NPR shows, and I very rarely get to listen to it. I love the way Terry Gross does interviews. She doesn't mess around or take shit from anyone. She reprimanded Gene Simmons after all. In other exciting news, one of my student loans is (finally and at long last) paid off. I think I will be totally done paying the other one off by the end of the year. Yeah!! I think I will try to change the look of my blog. I don't know how, but will try to learn. I apologize in advance for any unfortunate accidents that may occur.

Well, hello again!

Happy new year all! Christmas was relatively uneventful. We went to KC to James' folks. His brother John got in later than expected, but got to stay a few extra days. Jeff wasn't able to get a flight until the 26th after his original flight was cancelled, so we didn't "do" Christmas until then.
Work has been hard to catch up on as all three of my part timers are not here for January. Amy is doing study abroad, Alyssa just came back for school this week and wants to get through the first week of class before she comes back to work, and Jenelle, who only works Sat. anyway, is working on her Master's degree this month. Luckily my manager's wife is kind of a floating office person for our district, so she helps out once a week. Hopefully I'll be all caught up by this time next week.
Still no exciting watch, apparently it is on back order until the end of the month. I did get a bunch of new Cd's though. JJ Cale & Eric Clapton's The Road to Escondido is very good. Cale is the one who actually wrote many of Clapton's big hits (Cocaine being my favorite) The other one that I really like is Gov't Mule's Deja Voodoo. Hard blues, think Allman Brothers or Stevie Ray Vaughn with some jam band thrown in. I'm still waiting on the new Zuton's album, apparently it was available in the US for about a week, during which I failed to buy it, so I had to get an import. Not a bad thing, just a little more expensive. I am also waiting for the soundtrack from the move The Good Thief. I saw the movie on IFC and throughout the movie is Bono's version of That's Life, which is incredible. I honestly don't remember the rest of the soundtrack that well, but it has gotten good reviews. Hopefully it will live up to them.

So Sleepy!

Aah the holidays in the land of retail. At the #1 mall destination in Minnesota. I am having fun, but I am oh so tired, and I still have 5 more 12 hour days to go. Now I know this may sound whiny to those of you who regularly work long days or are very active. But to pudgy, out of shape me, 12 hours on my feet is long, especially 5 in a row. But it will all be worth it. When I get 40+ hours of overtime on my next check I will be able to purchase a very nice swiss made watch that I have had my eye on. With money left over. Yay for overtime! I would post a picture of it, but I could not find one on the web. It would appear that it has been discontinued. Hopefully I will still be able to get it from the manufacturer, but if not, I can pay a little more and buy the one in our case at work. (Watch manufacturers generally sell watches to employees below cost to encourage them the wear the watches in the hopes of driving sales.) When I get it I will take a picture and post it because it is very pretty. I think I will go to bed now.

The Zoester

Here is a picture of the culprit of last evenings mischief. Annoying how something so cute could cause so much trouble. (She gets a stern talking to and several squirts from the water bottle just about every day.)

And here she is with her big sis. Zoe is a little bigger now, but still pretty much looks the same.

Stupid frickin cat

So I was gonna write a nice long post and tell about my new computer and how much Dell's customer sevice sucks and how excited I am that Margaret moved to Minneapolis (having family close is somehow nicer than having them far away even if you don't see them any more often than before), but the annoying (yes I know she's only 4-1/2 months old but still) kitten that is Zoe had to go and walk all over my keyboard and erase what I had written and I couldn't figure out how to get it back. It really pissed me off, even though rationally it shouldn't really have made me all that mad. Anyway, I just wanted you to know, that after not writing for so long I was finally going to and Zoe ruined it. So blame her. Thhhhhppppt. Arrrrgggghhh.

Times really haven't changed that much

We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate. -Thomas Jefferson

As true today as it was back in the day. I hope that everyone votes in a few weeks here. I also hope that everyone takes enough of an interest in their local elections to learn enough about the candidates to make at least a quasi-informed decision. With so many seats up for grabs here, I am having trouble keeping up, but will take the opportunity of my day off today to do some research. So far I am leaning independant in most races. We shall see.

Pleasant Valley Sunday

Today we went to see the new Scorsese film The Departed. It was very good. right before we left for the theatre, we saw a review for it on TV where the guy said it had is three top movie annoyances: too long (2 1/2 hours), too much violence and too much swearing. At which point James and I looked at each other and said "that sounds like the requirements for a good movie in this house!" (Quentin Tarantino is in both of our top three favorite directors) And yes, there was A LOT of violence and swearing (mostly in the form of "fuck" and it's variations, which happens to be my favorite curse word.) A very good plot with dual moles in opposing organizations, and a couple of clever twists. Apparently it is based on a Hong Kong movie. James & I were wondering if maybe we needed to start watching more Hong Kong action flicks.

I had something else in mind to write about too, but I forgot what it was. I guess I'll post it when I remember what it is.

Erin, meet Zoe.

So its been a while since I posted, and guess what! Things Have Happened! Last Saturday we got a new kitten (she is now 11 weeks old). We decided to name her Zoe because Turbo, while appropriate to her behavior, did not seem like a really good name to us. Technically, she is my Christmas present from James. I am giving him the gift of shelves in his closet. Dad, I may need to borrow some power tools and saw horses. Here is a picture of our newest furball.

So far things are going ok between the two cats. Hopefully they will move from mostly tolerating each other to actually playing and getting along. We shall see. Erin is still hissing and growling some, but Zoe also provokes her by jumping on her tail and such.

In other news, I got (sort of) a promotion at work. I am moving back to our Rosedale store, which is a much higher volume than Southdale, and they actually make months, so I should get more than two bonus checks in a year. I will really miss working with the crew at Southdale, but the move is really what is best for me, and probably best for both stores as well. Southdale now has a decent chunk of payroll freed up, and Rosedale gets an experienced Office Manager to help them through the Holidays. I am still looking for more of a nine to five, but with this move (and raise) I can afford to do a lower intensity search and be a little choosy.

Adventure Kitty!

So we had a pretty good time at the lake. We did a lot of reading, I finished a small quilting project and James did a bunch of Su Doku puzzles. Erin managed to get into the ceiling in the kid's room. She thought it was a good time, but it kind of freaked us out, so we closed the door to that room after that. Ever since we got back she has been very talkative. I think she wants to go back out onto the screen porch. Oh well.

Liz, if you haven't already, you may want to check out St. Germain. I like his "Tourist" album. He samples Miles Davis. It is good stuff. I also just today found out that I like all four of the Gnarls Barkley songs that play on their website. I probably like their other stuff as well, but it's hard to say as I haven't heard it yet.

Right now I am reading a biography of Django Rheinhardt. It is really interesting, not only for the info about Django, but because it gives a wonderful history of Jazz in France and also an overview of gypsy culture. One of the books I read at the lake was Dial M, the murder of Carol Thompson. It is about a murder that took place in the Highland Park neighborhood in 1963. Dad, did you or your sibs know the Thompson girls? Do you remember anything about the murder? The three girls went to Highland Park High School, the boy to SPA. I think the youngest is about two years younger than my dad. It was kind of odd to read an account of a crime where I knew all of the locations. Fascinating though, and the book was great because the second half dealt with the aftermath. How the kids grew up with their mom dead and their dad in jail for it. It also discussed how the kids dealt with their dad after he was released. I highly recommend this to anyone curious about a slice of local history.

My neat-o kean cousin

I think Liz has fabulous taste in music (from what I can tell). There. I said it. Out loud and everything (well, virtually out loud). From her blog I discovered Gotan Project (fan-tas-tic electronic tango fun) and Ok Go (the treadmill guys). I think they are both great. The music she mentions that I know is always good stuff, and the stuff I don't know is also good (when I manage to remember to find it.) Ok, lots of parenthases tonight huh. Silly me. Anyway, I thought the world should know that I like my cousin's taste in music.

Friggin' about time.

Yea! I finally finished the afghan that I started THREE YEARS ago! Yeeeeaaaaa!

In other news, we went to Como Zoo on Saturday, where it was apparently sleepy kitty day.

Also we saw the polar bears and the cheeky monkeys (that are really great apes, not monkeys because they don't have any tails).

That would be an orangutan with a sheet on it's head. They like to put things on their heads for some reason.

On Thursday we are going to the lake for a long weekend, which we are both looking forward to. It has been a long week since James got fired. Time to wind down and not think about it will be lovely. He does have a few resumes out, and will have a second phone interview with Target tomorrow. It would be neat if he got a job right off the bat. Fingers crossed and all, we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Big Sigh

I feel a little blah just now. James is in Des Moines. He is supposed to be back Wednesday, but he may come home tomorrow instead. I always feel a little lost when he is gone. Like I should take advantage of the alone time and get a ton of things done. But I never get half of my list accomplished. I do feel good that I got the laundry done, blocked 4 more squares for my afghan and walked for an episode of Angel on the treadmill. I should be going to bed, but even though I am sleepy, I just don't really want to crawl in just yet.
I was reading Liz's blog tonight about her wonderful sounding trip to Maine with Scott's family. They sound great, and like a wonderful fit for Liz. The differences between us struck me as much as the similarities. A four mile run is probably not something I could even realistically contemplate at this point, but on the other hand, reading to unwind may be the most common thread in our family. I never realized how large a family Brenda is a part of. I can't even imagine having that many cousins.
Anyway, a melancholy mood does not an interesting blog make.
The gala for lifetouch was alright. The food was good. When it was announced after dinner that the entertainment for the evening was Lionel Ritchie we left. Along with about half of the people there. He doesn't seem to have been a popular choice. Oh well.

My hair, the bane of my existence

So we are going to this gala for Lifetouch's 70th anniversary next Saturday, and I cannot figure out what to do with my hair. I have a great evening gown, shoes (though if I can find better ones in the next week I will return them) and my accessories are all picked out. I just can't seem to do anything with my hair. I found a great style on the web, but when I went to try it, there was no way it was going to work. My hair is just to thick. Bobby pins bend out of shape at the mere sight of my hair. I want to do a nice, elegant up style. I wear buns and braids to work a lot, so I want something different. I have never successfully put it into a french twist, it is always too long (like it is now) or too short or maybe just to thick, I don't know. Even when I flat iron it I can't really do anything. I may have to go with a low bun. Poo. I wanted something new and exciting. Any suggestions are welcome. Going to a hairdresser is not an option, they cost too much, so I need to be able to at least theoretically do it myself. I think I will go and try a french twist variation one more time, who knows, maybe I'll luck out. My frizzy wavy thick-but-kinda-fine hair really is the bane of my trying to avoid looking to frumpy existence.

New stove excitement!

So we got our new stove on Saturday and I Love IT! It has a built in timer, and the flat top is much easier to clean. It seems like it takes longer to heat up a pan, but that is probably a good thing. We haven't tried the convection feature on the oven yet, but probably will soon. It has a warm feature, which is great when I don't plan well and things are done too early. It also has a nice big window and a light so there isn't so much opening of the door. It also features a clock and two dual size burners. It is nice to be able to tell it to make a burner larger or smaller depending on what pan I am using. I think that I will try out my griddle on it this weekend and see how that goes. Yeah! I really like our new stove.

This Saturday I am going fancy dress shopping with Heidi. It should be fun. Why fancy dress shopping you wonder, well, James' company (Lifetouch) is celebrating their 70th anniversary this year and the are having a gala to celebrate. However, I do not have a gala worthy dress, thus the fancy dress shopping. I am looking forward to the shopping, oddly. Usually shopping is frustrating because I am made up of about 4 different sizes, and am just on the edge between regular sizes and women's sizes. But dresses usually go pretty well, especially with and a-line or full skirt so that the top fits well, and the fuller skirt covers my fuller hips without straining. Anyway, it should be fun even if I don't find anything. Heidi always cracks me up.

Funny Stuff

Wait Wait Don't Tell Me is one of the funniest shows on NPR. And I actually learn from it! It is a news quiz that has funny people on a panel answering questions, as well as listeners playing quiz games to win Karl Casell's voice on their home answering machine. I myself played and won the listener limerick challenge about a year and a half ago. However, by the time I got the tape, I no longer had a home answering machine.

In other news, I had a great time at Deb's 50th. They had a band called the Crawlers that was made up of doctors from St Cloud State. They were pretty good. Deb was all excited because she had sky-dived the day before with her kids. We got to see the video, which was fun. She looked all excited until the second before she jumped, when she looked a little spooked. I'm glad she had a good time.

The Guthrie experience on the other hand was awful. The new theater is ok, I still have mixed feelings about the architecture. The seats are better though. The thing that made the event suck was that they wouldn't let anyone into the auditoriums until after Joe Dowling had made his address at 1. So even though Dad and I got there at noon to beat the crowds, we couldn't see what we came for until 1:30 (the time at which I had hoped to be heading out). So we went to the Mill City Museum and learned about Minneapolis' flour milling history to kill some time. It really doesn't take real long to see the lobby areas, so we needed something to do for a while. When we got back, we had some lunch and then stood in line for half and hour so that we could go and see what we had arrived 2 hours or so earlier to see.

And in even further news (I really need to write a little more often I think) we bought a new stove yesterday! Yeah! No more crappy bad thermostat stove! It will be delivered next Saturday, at which point I will talk about it's nifty features after I get to try some of them out.

Kinda random.

I think my kitty might have the softest fur of any kitty out there. She likes to get scratchies, and I enjoy giving them to her (until she starts nibbling my hand.) James does a better job with the petting as excess fur removal, but I give better chin scratches apparently.

I am really looking forward to this weekend, even though James is out of town until Tuesday Afternoon (a fantastic song by the way. Not my fav. store though.) Saturday night is my Godmother's 50th birthday party, and Sunday is the open house for the new Guthrie. I'll be attending both events in the company of my parents, and I fully expect fun to ensue. Details to follow.

At work today Phil and I were discussing what giant nerds we are. I prefer geek, but nerd is probably more appropriate. He is nerdy because he plays one of those online games where you can buy and sell things for actual money. Me because of my love of all things Buffy. Yup, I am a Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and also Angel) nerd. There is a super fan website that has taken it upon themselves to write an eighth season. It isn't Joss Whedon quality, but still pretty good. I do indeed own all seven seasons of Buffy on DVD, and 1-3 of Angel. They are good to watch while I treadmill. The prices of the last 2 seasons of Angel just dropped at Amazon, so I will probably get them by the end of the summer. And for those enquiring minds out there, I have seen and enjoyed the movie, but I do not like it half as much as the series.