One Girl, One Guy, Two Cats

Blog Update

2010-07-25T19:31:00.000-05:00

I think I'm going to move my blog to wordpress, so here is the new link for future updates and whatnot and you can still follow along there as well!

http://onegirloneguytwocats.wordpress.com/

Chocolate for the win!

2010-07-20T10:50:00.003-05:00

Lindt - you've done it again. Oh sweet, yum...

No longer a Miss

2010-07-19T12:56:00.000-05:00

Ah, married life. OKay, so it really doesn't feel all that different from pre-married life. I look at it as a plus, though. Because we've lived together so long, we're already used to each other's quirks and possibly annoying habits - we won't have that potential stressor in our first year of marriage because we already know we live well together. We know we won't fight over new things because we don't really fight anyway... sure there are aggravations and stress, but usually it's regarding a situation and not the other person, so in my case, I just need a little space and then I'm fine. When all is said and done we really have a very healthy relationship, I'd say. :)

Being "official" does feel good, though. I love that I'm a wife now and it's a title/label that I'm very happy to have. Every night before bed we take our rings off and place them in a heart-shaped ring-holder and they fit snuggly together, as we do. I can't tell you what a thrill it is to see a ring on Josh's finger - just as exciting as when he first put a ring on mine. I remember the words in our ceremony* and that's what I think when I look down at my hand and his.

Okay, enough mushy stuff. We won't have pictures for a few weeks yet, but I'll be posting some as soon as we do, or most likely creating a slideshow. We did get some pictures from my mom (yay) and I think a few people are starting to come out of the woodwork with their pictures from the day. Now I just have to pester more people to share theirs with us. :p

*"As you look at your wedding band, remember the great gift that you have been given and all that you have in one another. Remember that you have someone to share this life with."

Interesting....

2010-07-19T09:22:00.002-05:00

I write like
Chuck Palahniuk

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Found thanks to English Muse

100th Post!

2010-07-06T08:12:00.000-05:00

It's my 100th post and just a few more days until the Big Day! We were crafting and running errands like mad this weekend, but we got most everything done. We just have a few more big projects to finish up like the centerpieces, our "canopy" and... actually that might be it. Oh, and my favorite part - setting up candy for the candy buffet! We got over 40 pounds of various candies thanks to Costco for some amazing deals. I love a good deal.

Shall We Dance?

2010-07-01T10:59:00.000-05:00

You know, Josh and I picked out our first dance surprisingly quickly considering neither of us are big dancers. As to deciding who leads while we dance... well that might be another issue. :p Perhaps some more practicing is in order. With all the skimming through MP3s, though, on trying to find good songs, I couldn't help but think of 'The King and I' and how I still think it would be fantastically fun to recreate the scene where Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner fly around the huge ballroom floor to 'Shall We Dance'.

10 Days to Go!

2010-06-30T09:24:00.002-05:00

Everyone think SUNSHINE! It's been raining every weekend and the forecast doesn't look good for the 10th. :( Come on Minnesota weather - cooperate for once, would ya?

16 Days!

2010-06-24T15:42:00.002-05:00

You know, I knew we were forgetting something with all of this wedding planning business. Apparently you need this piece of paper called a marriage license. Whoops! We somehow completely forgot about this, so we'll be going to get one tonight.

I'm not looking forward to all of the paperwork in our future. The week after we get married I've got bust my buns to change my name and get new documentation as quickly as possible - the rush? Well, apparently when you buy a house, they want you to have everything as updated and current and correct as possible, so I've gotten 3 emails this week reminding me that I need to get it done right away before closing. Duly noted.

Holy crap... my name is going to change. It was weird filling out my "new" name on the wedding application in the section that says "Names of Parties After Marriage" - it did fill me with giddy, girlish excitement at the same time, though.

18 Days!!

2010-06-22T12:16:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited to become a Mrs.!!

On that note, I'm going to leave you with romantic, sappy poetry. :)

SONNET LXIX

~ By Pablo Neruda

Maybe nothingness is to be without your presence,

without you moving, slicing the noon

like a blue flower, without you walking

later through the fog and the cobbles,

without the light you carry in your hand,

golden, which maybe others will not see,

which maybe no one knew was growing

like the red beginnings of a rose.

In short, without your presence: without your coming

suddenly, incitingly, to know my life,

gust of a rosebush, wheat of wind:

since then I am because you are,

since then you are, I am, we are,

and through love I will be, you will be, we’ll be.

The Invitation

~by Oriah

It doesn’t interest me

what you do for a living.

I want to know

what you ache for

and if you dare to dream

of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me

how old you are.

I want to know

if you will risk

looking like a fool

for love

for your dream

for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me

what planets are

squaring your moon…

I want to know

if you have touched

the center of your own sorrow

if you have been opened

by life’s betrayals

or have become shriveled and closed

from fear of further pain.

I want to know

if you can sit with pain

mine or your own

without moving to hide it

or fade it

or fix it.

I want to know

if you can be with joy

mine or your own

if you can dance with wildness

and let the ecstasy fill you

to the tips of your fingers and toes

without cautioning us

to be careful

to be realistic

to remember the limitations

of being human.

It doesn’t interest me

if the story you are telling me

is true.

I want to know if you can

disappoint another

to be true to yourself.

If you can bear

the accusation of betrayal

and not betray your own soul.

If you can be faithless

and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty

even when it is not pretty

every day.

And if you can source your own life

from its presence.

I want to know

if you can live with failure

yours and mine

and still stand at the edge of the lake

and shout to the silver of the full moon,

“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me

to know where you live

or how much money you have.

I want to know if you can get up

after the night of grief and despair

weary and bruised to the bone

and do what needs to be done

to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me

who you know

or how you came to be here.

I want to know if you will stand

in the center of the fire

with me

and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me

where or what or with whom

you have studied.

I want to know

what sustains you

from the inside

when all else falls away.

I want to know

if you can be alone

with yourself

and if you truly like

the company you keep

in the empty moments.

Tornado what?!?

2010-06-17T15:41:00.000-05:00

Tornado Watch for Carver County, MN

until 9 pm CDT, Thu., Jun. 17, 2010

This is what happens when you work in a cubicle... you have no windows and therefore are surprised when you go to weather.com and see the above warning.

Camping Pics!

2010-06-16T21:09:00.000-05:00

Finally I get around to posting camping pictures! It's only taken how long? We really ended up with an amazing campsite right on the lake, and the dragonflies! You should have seen how many there were - there were always around 50 at any given time, except for the really hot part of the day, so no mosquitos! Hooray!

We have returned!

2010-06-16T14:48:00.000-05:00

Well, the lovebirds are on their honeymoon and it's back to the daily grind - it's always so hard to get back to work after a vacation. The wedding was wonderful and it was so nice to see family and friends and see my little brother get married to a wonderful girl. Hooray for having a younger sister! :D

The trip went fairly smoothly all things considered, though there were a tense few hours when I thought I had destroyed my phone. I had left it in my back pocket when I had gone to the restroom and as I heard the "plop" and "splash" I wanted to smack my forehead. I pulled it out of the toilet as quickly as possible and proceeded to try and dry it out and take it apart, but the prognosis didn't look good, even after an hour of drying out. However, after sitting for a good 6 hours or so, it started working again! The screen has a little discoloration and gets wonky now and again, but I'll take it!

Pictures to come soon of the wedding and fun!

Road Trip!

2010-06-08T13:52:00.002-05:00

We're off to Colorado in just a few hours and I'm so excited - not only for a road trip, but to see my little brother get married. I'm behind on all of my various picture posts, and I'm bound to end up with a ton of pictures after this trip. My camera bag is packed to the brim with every option for every photo opportunity and my new tripod and wireless remote are ready for action as well! Now, time just needs to fast forward and the clouds need to part so we can get going!

So pretty

2010-06-04T09:30:00.001-05:00

I have my eyes on these flower bowls... I have for a while actually, but then suddenly could never find them in an actual store, so I was super excited to see them on Amazon. I'm imagining them in our new red kitchen. :)

Lovely Quote on Love, Marriage

2010-05-21T09:52:00.000-05:00

Love is a temporary madness; it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of eternal passion. That is just being in love, which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Those that truly love have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.

- Louis de Bernieres

I would say our roots are definitely entwined.

Ahh technology

2010-05-20T12:16:00.000-05:00

Josh's alarm clock finally bit the dust last week (actually, just the snooze button stopped working from being pressed repeatedly most mornings), so Josh got a new alarm clock. It's modern and compact and as I gazed over at my old super clunky massive CD alarm clock, I became jealous and coveted his new fancy clock. Being the sweetie that he is, he brought me home an equally awesome clock that is compact, modern, round, and talks! I've discovered one flaw, however. The husky female voice has a thing against hearing anything above a tenor. My soprano voice - oh no, unacceptable. Case in point:

Me: Set alarm
Silence
Me: Set alarm
Clock: What would you like the alarm to sound like?
Me: Buzzer
Clock: Could you repeat that?
Me: BUZZER
Clock: What time would you like to set the alarm?
Me: 5:45 a.m.
Silence
Me: 5:45 a.m.
Clock: Alarm is set to 9:45 a.m.
Me: Sigh.

She practically fawns all over Josh when he talks to her, though. No repeats necessary.

Also, we've discovered that you must talk directly into the microphone on the new clock. We were laying in bed, the alarm went off, and both of us tried yelling "Snooze" several times before I finally leaned my head directly in front of her and told her to shut it. Now, I just speak in a lower and slower voice and all is well, unless Josh starts laughing at me and then I have to start all over. Thankfully, the clock also has buttons, but the creators of the clock decided to make setting it as difficult as possible unless you use voice commands, so there you go. Hooray modern technology!

This was so needed!

2010-05-20T10:49:00.000-05:00

I absolutely needed this laugh today, and completely forgot about this site until MSN featured it today.

Awkward Family Photos

Update!!

2010-05-12T12:57:00.002-05:00

Update!! Apparently there is a lot of interest in the place we want, but they came back with a counter-offer and are pretty much holding the place for us until we accept or not (and we ARE) so we should be homeowners soon if everything else goes as smoothly!!!

2010-05-11T13:15:00.000-05:00

Another busy few days have passed, and we could have potentially big news in the works. We've talked a lot about moving back to Colorado and we've weighed the pros and cons about moving right now, and depending on what happens in the next few weeks, we may be staying in Minnesota for a bit longer. Moving to Colorado won't be cheap, and then we have to worry about jobs. I admit we're both worried we could end up in the same situation we were in when we got to Minnesota. We didn't get jobs right away and go behind on bills and maxed out our credit cards... not a good situation. If we stay in Minnesota a while longer, we could potentially save up some more money. We're more established here, so hopefully keeping (in Josh's case finding) permanent work won't be as difficult. We also in the past 5 days were looking at houses and we found a great place well within our price range of purchasing. It's a new construction townhome out in the country in a smaller subdivision that probably won't expand too much for a few years - we'd actually be the first ones to move into the subdivision, I believe, and it's bright and peaceful and perfect for a starter-home. It seemed like too good of a deal to pass up on, so as of last night, we've made an offer and now we just wait and see. If it's meant to be, they'll accept, and if they don't, we'll think on it a bit more. Our one concern could potentially be the HOA - neither of us are fond of them, and we're waiting to get their rules and regulations to look over to make sure we're okay with them. We'd love a house, and we've seen a few in our price range - and they're fixer-uppers, which we're okay with, but a lot of them just need so much work, and this place - we wouldn't even have to change the paint colors because we actually like them.

So, there's that.

Wedding planning continues and tomorrow we'll be talking cake! Our inspiration:

Seen here

Finally saw the barn!

2010-05-06T13:31:00.000-05:00

We've been so busy lately, and I imagine it will only get worse as we get closer to July. We did, however, finally get out to the barn, and we're both really happy with our choice. Josh was uncertain at first when he heard the word "barn," but he likes it as much as I do. I have one concern, though. When we arrived, the parking lot was full, and it's not a very big parking lot. The reason, we quickly discovered, is because there is a baseball field right nearby, which I had no idea shared a parking lot with the barn, and was literally right across the path. So, while we were looking around and opening up the barn, very curious people just started wandering in and around. I'm crossing my fingers that no ball games will be happening the day of our wedding, but if it does happen, I guess we need to be prepared. First off, I'm going to make signs to put everywhere saying that the area has been reserved for our wedding and hopefully people will respect that. As for parking - I don't think we can reserve the lot, unfortunately, so finding enough spots for everyone could be tricky. At least we'll be there that morning to set up and maybe we can ask people to park somewhere else, but whether they'll cooperate or not... who knows. At least we're finding out now rather than later that it could be a potential issue.

Backpacking Kitty

2010-04-23T09:37:00.002-05:00

This is just too cool. A French couple who are backpacking around the world found a kitten in Louisiana who then joined them!

Backpacking Kitty

Less than 3 months...

2010-04-15T12:30:00.000-05:00

Boy I've gotten bad about updating... and taking pictures, and doing a lot of things. :p My dress is has begun the process of alteration, however! After a semi-stressful, long drive through traffic into the city (sort of) I arrived and with pins flashing, Louise managed to put my mind completely at ease. I feel like such a princess and I'm so excited to have it finished. You see, I was worried when the dress first arrived. For starters, I couldn't tie the back myself, so I couldn't get a clear picture of the fit, and then there was the bust. Perhaps my measurements were misread? All I know was there was too much padding and my small figure did NOT fill it out so it looked like I had attempted to stuff a box of lumpy tissues down the front. Getting rid of a an inch or two of fabric and the padding should fix things, though, so I'm excited! I go back for another fitting in May and then the actual sewing begins.

As for other things - the paper for the invitations is here so we'll have to start on that soon! I may have also figured out what I want to do for centerpieces, but I have to run the idea by Josh first to see what he thinks and crunch a few numbers. I thought of the perfect way to tie in the oriental elements with the lighting elements I also wanted to use! Flowers are pretty much decided on as well for the most part and I'm actually relieved that part is being taken care of by someone else. :p At first I didn't want to "delegate" at all, but now that's one huge thing to not have to worry about and Kim and Mike know so much more about flowers than I do.

Check!

2010-03-30T13:55:00.003-05:00

Gown Alteration Appointment - Check
Invitation Paper Samples Ordered - Check
Order Official Document for Officiant - Check

You know, the only thing on my mind lately has been weddings. I even dream about weddings - some very bizarre dreams at that. In one dream I was insisting on wearing a poodle skirt (sans poodle at the very least) with matching shoes and my mom would not hear of it and we were arguing over this horrible wedding ensemble, which I would never wear anyway, but it was the principle of the matter, darn it! It's my wedding and I'm doing what I want and if that means wearing a poodle skirt rather than a dress, so be it. :p
I did, however, only now think about one very important thing. I might die of heat in my dress. I wasn't exactly thinking outside wedding when I was choosing my dress and I have no idea if our venue is air-conditioned or not. One can only hope, otherwise we're going to need to bring fans, I think. I'll only get to dress up like this once, though, so I want to do it up and hopefully with enough clinical strength antipersperent and expensive makeup - I'll hold up. ;)

2010-03-25T08:44:00.000-05:00

Hooray, the next set of Penguin Classics is out including Alice's Adventures in Wonderland! I'm considering purchasing them as a wedding expense and using them as part of the decor... our theme is pretty random as it is. :p

Wedding Fail #1

2010-03-22T14:55:00.003-05:00

Well, my first wedding fail is done and over with, so lets hope there aren't too many more. Apparently I'm more scatter-brained than I realized and did a pretty big boo-boo as a result. I was looking over the flight itenerary I booked for our photographer and realized I had booked his flight for the wrong month!! I booked his flight for June rather than July. None of us caught it either. I looked at the thing several times before confirming and apparently I had Daniel & Crystal's wedding dates in mind rather than my own, so I just didn't catch it and nothing looked wrong. So... I now have to call and get it fixed, and the flights available are crap, more expensive, and it'll cost us $150 just to change the tickets. Sigh. I really hope I can manage to not make any more costly mistakes in the next few months.

Oh my.... yay!

2010-03-11T10:41:00.002-06:00

Okay, these are simply too fabulous!! Now if only my pocketbook could justify purchasing them at that price....

Mad Men Barbies

Squish

2010-03-02T14:26:00.002-06:00

It was one of those mornings where I was kind of rushing around... flustered somewhat after it took me another 10 mintues to try and put my eyes in my head. I'm amazed I haven't torn or lost them yet, to be honest. Yesterday morning I was attempting to put a contact in when I dropped it and the thing fell on Uzi's back, which actually probably saved the thing and made it super easy to find. Thankfully he stood still and I managed to grab it.

Anyway, I was rushing around this morning and hastily making myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (yes, I'm 6) and Josh was by the sink and he looked over at me and smiled and kind of chuckled, so I asked him, "What?" and he said he had a "Heather moment." Hmm? He said watching me make my sandwich made him imagine us in the future when we have kids. I'll most likely be rushing around still, only with a row of bread lined up. :p It sent me off to work with a smile. I often have those moments where I'll be watching him and imagine our future family (hence the "Heather moment"). Ah, bliss.

On another note - hooray wedding dress! It is here, and currently hiding in our closet in a garbage bag. :p Yeah, yeah, I forgot to buy a garment bag, so one is on the way. Ha ha.

March Already!?

2010-03-01T12:18:00.000-06:00

After several years, I have finally decided to give contact lenses a go. It's day 3 and things are still a bit odd - a litte blurry and I feel like I have something in my eye - oh wait, I do have something in my eye! I think I'm progressing - it only took 10 minutes to get the little buggers in this morning. I also found a much better technique when it comes to taking them out than what I was shown. I tried the way everyone told me until I literally couldn't force myself to keep my eyes open and they were bright red, and then I tried this other method, and out they popped! Thank you handy dandy pamphlet! Considering that up until a week ago it would take at least two people to get eye drops into my eye, I'd say this huge progress. I was getting tired of glasses (getting smudged, glares, fogging up in cold weather) and I don't want to wear glasses when we get married, so I'm determined to make the contact lenses work. I'm nearsighted, but without glasses, I could barely read the E at the top of eye chart, so I require aid when driving, and if I just want to be able to see people, which is kind of nice to be able to do. :p So hooray and here's to sticking foreign objects in one's eye!

Other than that this weekend, we did some wedding shopping and picked up some items for the reception. Thank you, Ikea! Aside from a mini panic attack due to getting completely turned around in major crowds, I think it went quite well. I definitely don't like the layout of the store, though. Oh well, it ended up being a good trip, and I'm sure we'll be back. Even though some things are really cheaply made, they do have a lot of what seem to be high quality items as well. Sadly, when we move we will no longer be in close distance to one. Yay roadtrip! Now if we only had a vehicle with more trunk space... :p

Ellingson Car Museum

2010-02-22T09:41:00.003-06:00

Okay, well that last link I had listed didn't work, so here's the link to my website instead with pictures from our trip to the Ellingson Car Museum.

Ellingson Car Museum

Pictures!

2010-02-01T19:09:00.001-06:00

Finally pictures of our new rental!

New Surroundings

Unpacking Complete!

2010-01-27T09:11:00.002-06:00

Well, I think we've officially unpacked and are having a few people over for dinner on Friday night in celebration. We'll most likely have a larger gathering a different weekend once I get even more in order. I still have a few piles here and there to work on, but it's definitely all coming together and as soon as my new camera arrives I shall be taking pictures of our new space for the next 6 months. :p I admit that I'm eager to grow some roots, so let's hope that our next move in 6 months (if all works out) will be a good opportunity to settle. I admit I feel like my biological clock has started ticking quite loudly, though it's a frightening prospect at the same time. I have worries and sometimes feel selfish because I wonder about what happens to our relationship when there's no longer just two of us, but three.

Anyhoo... pictures to come and new adventures and for once I'll start blogging regularly again for those who do stop by and read. ;)

6 months to go!

2010-01-07T10:31:00.002-06:00

Yikes! We're getting married in 6 months! It has really started to hit me over the past few days. There is so much to do and I've only got the dress ordered - then come the alterations. I think I need to start making some phone calls and make sure we have our venues in order and someone to officiate and all that other crazy stuff. Ack!

Trader Joe's

2009-12-30T08:32:00.002-06:00

I bought 4 bottles of wine for under $30 last night.

Trader Joe's... I love you.

2009-12-18T16:15:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas!

Eeek

2009-12-17T08:49:00.002-06:00

It's been almost a month since I last made a post! We've been busy, busy, but haven't made any fun trips lately, though that will change this weekend when we go to a car museum, so lots of pictures there! We're going to be moving in January to our own place (finally!) so I'm sure I'll be even more busy in the weeks to come. Lots to update, though, hopefully!

Minnesota State Public School

2009-11-22T19:45:00.003-06:00

When Josh and I went to see the Spam Museum I also stumbled upon another museum that happened to be on the same route and it ended up being one of the best museum visits I've had. We went to the Minnesota State Public School for Dependent and Neglected Children in Owatonna, MN.

The orphanage was open from 1886 to 1945 in which time 10,635 children passed through the doors. It was a fascinating and eye-opening experience, and we happened to very lucky because we arrived on a day when a tour group had arranged to be there, so we were able to take advantage of that and there was a willing volunteer around every corner - all of them connected to the school in some way. While we were there a gentleman by the name of Harvey stopped us and we found out he had written a book about his own personal experience in the school. He actually lived there for 11 years and wrote a very interesting memoir (that we bought). His voice is an honest one throughout the book, though it may not be poetic or win any awards. It definitely gives you a look into what orphanage life might have been like, and it wasn't an easy one. The hardest thing many of the children had to overcome was the institutionalization. He spoke about his trouble fitting in outside of the school and how hard it was to be in a family and to have his own after.

I could really go on and on about what we learned that day, but I'll stop and leave you with some of the pictures that we took instead. :p

Spam Museum

2009-11-16T20:03:00.004-06:00

So Josh and I finally went to the Spam Museum in Austin, MN. It was Josh's 4th time, and my first, and it was actually pretty cool. There were a lot of interactive displays, and while we missed the 15 minute film, we got to see all sorts of Spam awesomeness. It's free to get in (also a big plus) and you get free samples. I now wish I had picked up a couple cans of the Garlic Spam because it's quite tasty. So, without further ado... some pictures. :)

Penguin Classics

2009-10-30T12:05:00.003-05:00

I am ridiculously excited over these Clothbound Series books!! I want them all! Unfortunately it looks like only Series 1 is available on Amazon right now, though.

Clothbound Penguin Classics

Being a woman...

2009-10-18T20:51:00.002-05:00

For those of you thinking of ever trying to epilate... I recommend a full bottle of wine because OUCH! Why did I think this was a good idea?

Lego Fun

2009-10-18T16:19:00.004-05:00

I've been a bit busy, which explains my lack of posting. With the help of some Target gift cards for my birthday, though, we decided to indulge in some childlike fun and behavior. We added to our Lego collection.

And then we decided to create a dice-rolling game.

Oh yeah, and that white stuff on the table? I was painting my nails one day and managed to spill a bottle of nail polish remover on it.

Dassel, MN Train Museum

2009-10-06T18:37:00.003-05:00

I've been meaning to blog about this fantastic stop we made on our way back from the Twine Ball. For $2.50 each we got to wander around this great train museum that is filled to the brim with everything train related that you could imagine. The woman there (I wish I could remember her name!) was super friendly and knowledgeable and fun to talk to. If you're ever in the area, be sure to stop!

The Twine Ball!

2009-09-27T17:22:00.004-05:00

I'm so behind on posting! Here are some photos from our jaunt to Darwin, MN to see the The Biggest Ball of Twine (created by one man). Darwin is a very tiny town and the twine ball and museum are equally on the small side. They did have a neat little school house room in the museum and some fun souvenirs, however, so Josh picked up a twine ball starter kit.

The World's Biggest Boot

2009-09-16T18:04:00.003-05:00

We drove out to Redwing, MN over Labor Day weekend to see The World's Biggest Boot. The museum was slightly lacking, and rather small and spread throughout the Redwing shoe store, so that was a little distracting, but we did get to stop and take pictures with the boot. :)

Como Zoo

2009-09-10T19:05:00.005-05:00

We went to the Como Zoo this past Saturday and had a very nice day overall. Josh's younger sister Jenny joined us in our adventure, and we had a good time. There aren't a huge variety of animals, but there is a beautiful conservatory, and they had butterflies as well, which was one of my favorite things, aside from the large kitties. Unfortunately, a lot of the animals were indoors napping, and due to very poor lighting and dirty windows, we couldn't get good pictures of some of them. However, here are some highlights from the day.

Happiness

2009-08-25T17:51:00.004-05:00

My sunflower is huge!!! One of them broke, though, so we tried to fix it, but I don't know how long it will last. It is sad and droopy. :(

Catch Up!

2009-08-21T17:47:00.005-05:00

Eek, I've been neglecting my blog due to a little bit of a funk I've been in. I do have pictures of from the races at Canterbury, though! It was fun and I got a little bit of sun, which was quite nice. We do, however, wish they had had more than just one race each of the ostriches and the camels.

We saw this little guy on the side of a street we drove by - isn't he sweet? Must have been camera shy, though, because he refused to look over at the camera. :p

Harmony, MN

2009-08-09T10:30:00.003-05:00

Finally I have put the pictures from our jaunt to Harmony, MN on my website...

Harmony, MN

Niagara Cave, Harmony MN

2009-07-27T19:47:00.003-05:00

This past weekend we decided to take a trip to Harmony, Minnesota to see Niagara Cave and to explore the are a bit. More pictures to come!

Blog Lovin'

2009-07-24T11:21:00.000-05:00

Follow my blog with bloglovin

2009-07-20T16:12:00.003-05:00

It was a bit chilly this weekend - we went north to camp out at a B-Day party for a friend of Josh's family - people he's known for years. We did a little fishing, and sadly the only thing I caught is pictured below. I didn't even realize it was on my line when I reeled it in. I had felt a nibble, and thought I lost it, but no... it was just really tiny.

Josh's first catch of the day was about the same.

From there he caught two more about this size, but alas, no bass for us.

Some very nice views, though.

Snuffy's

2009-07-14T21:00:00.003-05:00

So, for our 2nd Anniversary, since we're on a budget, we decided to go somewhere that Josh has been wanting to take me since we moved here. Snuffy's Malt Shop. We had tasty burgers and super yummy malts and we are definitely going back so I can try more flavors!

2009-07-14T12:09:00.001-05:00

I love that after a month, there are still moments where I glance down at my left hand and see that sparkly ring and get completely giddy and squeal with delight. It's a marvelous thing to be loved and to know that I will always have someone to share things with - good and bad. I'm having one of those giddy, excited moments now and have to resist the urge spending unwarranted amounts of time online at work getting wedding ideas. :p

Holga Fun

2009-07-12T21:25:00.003-05:00

I finally got the pictures developed from our road trip to Colorado that I took with my holga and I'm quite pleased with the results.

More here: http://madamesecretary.googlepages.com/2009coloradotrip

Two Years

2009-07-08T15:30:00.002-05:00

It is with great joy and happiness that today we celebrate our 2nd Anniversary of being a couple. Granted, I won't get home until after 10:00pm tonight so our celebration will have to wait, but it's a happy day nonetheless. Not only have Josh and I been together for two years, but I am going to quit my second job, so I can focus on school (still holding down a full-time job), and I think we've officially decided that our Wedding Date will be July 10, 2010. Unless something changes, of course. :p

Fireworks and Sparklers Galore!

2009-07-07T21:03:00.007-05:00

Sparklers, fireworks, and campfires! Need I say more?

Whimsical Fancies

2009-07-03T17:29:00.002-05:00

My Etsy shop is officially open! I'll be adding more and more things over the next few days, but in the meantime, here is the link and if you like what you see, please share with others! :)

2009-06-26T13:16:00.002-05:00

I suddenly have the urge to play tag and have a water balloon fight and play other games I used to love when I was younger... like four square (though I can't remember all the ridiculous silly rules and names that went with it like No Ghosties!) :p

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8885669@N04/1347694038/

Twins Game

2009-06-19T11:13:00.003-05:00

The Twins game Wednesday night was fun... alas they lost. I put up some pictures here: http://madamesecretary.googlepages.com/baseball Our camera doesn't like taking action shots when zoomed in all the way, though. :p You get the idea, though. I can't wait for the day when I can buy a better camera - not that this one doesn't serve it's purpose, it does, but you know... :)

Ho Hum

2009-06-17T13:02:00.001-05:00

I haven't had much going on lately, however we are going to a Twin's game tonight, so I'll be taking a few pictures for sure. In the meantime... here is my other blog. I think Uzi has more interesting days then I do at times. :p http://uzicat.blogspot.com/

Crafty Fun

2009-06-12T19:40:00.005-05:00

So... I've decided to try my hand at making some crafty headbands and branching out into jewelry soon and possibly opening a little etsy shop. Here are the first attempts, and they aren't bad, but I'm already finding ways to improve them - better glue, vintage jewelry and other bits and pieces. So, if it does fall through and no one wants to actually buy my little beauties - all the ladies in my life will most likely receive a lot of my crafty notions. :)

I wore the one above on our boat cruise last weekend. :)

Yard Work

2009-06-09T17:57:00.009-05:00

Finally I am posting pictures of the yard work I did a few weeks ago. :p It's so easy to go outside and take a few pictures, and yet, it's even more easy to procrastinate and not do so. So, I give you... the yard.

These first pictures I replaced everything in these two bottom tiers (including the soil) they were all hostas, and those are boring, so eventually these will all be blooming and gorgeous.

These are my potted plants

Look! Sunflowers! I need to transplant these babies to give them more room.

These are the hostas I moved from the tiers to the other side of the garage with some other plants that I don't remember what they are...

This was probably the biggest undertaking and is still a work in progress. I wanted to turn this hill of dirt into something a little more attractive, so I built the walls and planted some hostas and some other various groundcovers that in time will get much larger and have pretty little purple flowers. :)

Hello Ziggy!

Post Party

2009-06-02T20:39:00.003-05:00

Well, Josh's birthday party was a hit! Everyone has kept saying what a good time they had, and I'm glad everyone had fun. I put together another slideshow because that's what I do. :p As you'll notice we had sumo suit wrestling, a pinata and even a silly raffle. The cake ended up being amazing as well, so I was incredibly thrilled about that because I had bought the tiny action figures especially to put on the cake and Cora (from http://cakesbycora.com/) created exactly what I wanted.

All in all, it was an excellent weekend, as you can see from the photos - we took about 300! Ha ha. I however, am still worn out and excited about so many things - like how fun it's going to be to plan my wedding! Yay!

*I fixed the music - I don't know where that gap of silence came from...*

Untitled from Heather Pennington on Vimeo.

Engaged!

2009-05-27T08:30:00.002-05:00

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon when Heather arrived home from work, slightly tired, but happy that the weather had turned sunny. Josh was outside and greeted her with open arms, suggesting they take one of their many walks, as the weather was perfect for it. They would walk down to the lake and watch the water shimmer as the sun touches it and the air is cool. As could probably be expected it was a busy day at the lake - families out with fishing poles and boats and coolers, so they walked past the bench where they sometimes sit and watch the water and headed down a path that follows the lake. They followed the path, brushing aside cobwebs - Heather saw her first sunfish, or at least what was part of one, passed a family train laden with poles and coolers and chairs until they finally reached a quiet spot. A low hanging tree trailed its branches in the water and they watched the water just beyond. Josh turned to Heather at this point and said, "So, I have a question for you." He dropped to one knee, and Heather may have cried, "No way!" as tears started forming and he asked her to marry him, to which she replied, "YES!" He opened the box, the diamond sparkling, and said, "I really hope this fits," as he slid it on her finger and wouldn't you know - it fit perfectly!

I am giddy and loved and feel like I'm walking in the clouds.

Live List

2009-05-19T08:42:00.003-05:00

Inspired by The Polished Pickle Here is my Summer Live List:

*Go camping!
*Go for long drives ending in picnics by lakes
*Learn to use my sewing machine
*Make at least one dress from acquired 50's patterns
*Take more photographs
*Bake a layer cake
*Attempt to grow sunflowers
*Throw an outdoor dinner party
*Make a travel scrapbook
*Catch a fish and make a meal for my honey (he may have to do the yucky parts, though) :p
*Start furthering my education with a summer course
*Meet new people
*Go on an adventure in the city
*Have more movie/slumber parties with Josh

*Find the perfect recipe for pots de creme and actually make it!
*Come up with a longer list! :)

Ho hum

2009-05-13T21:50:00.008-05:00

It's so hard to come back to reality when you've been on vacation for over a week. I'm slowly getting back in the swing of the things, but yesterday was difficult - my first day back at work at both jobs. As can be expected I had a full inbox and I'm still working through it. I did, however, have time on Monday to put together a slide-show from our trip to Colorado. I may go back and tidy it up a bit, but for now, here is the link.

2009 Road Trip from Heather Pennington on Vimeo.

We had such a good time and I wish we could have stayed longer. I didn't get to see half the people I wanted to and didn't get to spend enough time with those we did get to see. It was also nice to do a few things I hadn't done before and Josh got to see some new sites and do some touristy things he had never gotten the opportunity to do before including going to Mesa Verde, the hot springs in Pagosa and riding the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, which thankfully we decided to only do one way. I had forgotten what a long trip it is.

I don't think I've cried or laughed so much in a while, though. What a mix of emotions on this trip! It looks like my little brother might beat me to the altar, but I couldn't be happier for him and Crystal getting engaged. I wasn't expecting that surprise when we stepped out of the car! I cried - what a girl! Then sadly, Buddy the family dog was put to sleep a couple days later, so that definitely put a damper on things. He was a good dog and had a long life, though. That is the worst part about having pets - watching them go. On the plus side, after spending as much time as we did in the car we didn't have any arguments - just me getting irritable at times or plain crazy after being couped up in a moving vehicle for so many hours. I got pretty squirmy towards the end. :p

It's pretty amazing that we've never had an an actual "argument" or "fight" in the almost two years we've been dating. We might have come close once or twice to arguing, but that's it. Mostly Josh is just awesome and lets me have space when I'm irritable or grouchy or tries to make me laugh which may or may not work. :p He's definitely had a calming effect on me, and my mood swings are less frequent, or at the very least they don't last as long. I'm a lucky girl to have found such a good man. He's calm and doesn't get angry or yell and doesn't take his irritations or frustrations out on anyone else (something I need to work on a lot), he's understanding, and fun, and everything a girl could want. Josh - I love you. :)

Back in Minnesota

2009-05-10T21:55:00.004-05:00

We have returned home after our much too short trip back to Colorado. I shall write a proper post later with links to more pictures from the trip. It was wonderful and much needed, but I'm sad it's over - not nearly enough time.

Ack! So Excited!!!

2009-04-30T15:20:00.000-05:00

I remember being younger and leaving to go on vacation – the butterflies in my stomach would be going crazy and my skin tingled with excitement and I’d lay in bed tossing and turning – my mind going around and around and my heart racing and feeling giddy and wanting to run around and yell and throw my hands in the air.

I have that feeling now.

I wish we had left this morning and not made ourselves wait so much longer. :p

I’m also ecstatic that I can go pick up my glasses in ten minutes and fingers crossed I can take them home this time!

Au revoir!

Toodles!

2009-04-29T19:21:00.007-05:00

One last blog entry before we leave on our trip tomorrow night! I'm so excited! I've been so busy and I'll probably be running around the rest of the night and tomorrow morning doing last minute things. The plan is to take a nap before we leave tomorrow night, but I think there's a good chance that I'll be too excited and just squirm around a lot. :p

We've had some new visitors to the bird feeders the past couple of days as you can see by the pictures we managed to get through the window. Uzi was making odd noises watching what I assumed would be a squirrel Monday evening, and then we peeked out the window and right below it were a pair of ducks! We startled them I think and they quickly waddled away, so we got a shot of their retreat, but yesterday while I was at work, they returned and Josh got the other photos. This morning I also saw a pair of pheasants next to the road, which was neat, and our bunny friends are, of course, daily visitors.

Off to pack now! I have a feeling my work day tomorrow is going to drag ridiculously and I'll be tapping my feet and squirming and antsy, so who knows - perhaps I'll post again before I leave. :p

Gush

2009-04-24T09:02:00.002-05:00

It's amazing what you can randomly learn about people. For instance, this morning I learned something about a coworker that was utterly romantical. As often happens, I get asked when I'm going to get married - Josh and I have been dating almost two years - I tell them it'll happen eventually. Anyway, a male coworker happened to come into the breakroom and mentioned that he didn't propose until he and his wife had been dating for six years, but that's because (and here's the gushy part) they had started dating when she was only 14. They were each other's first love and then he pulled out the very worn photo of their prom picture from 1988 that he keeps in his wallet. How sweet is that? It's the little things that bring me joy and hearing stories like this is one of those.

Hmmm

2009-04-24T08:41:00.002-05:00

Okay, for once I can understand why Josh would get creeped out by mannequins... the new Old Navy mannequins really give me the creeps.

Being Green

2009-04-22T12:34:00.003-05:00

Happy Earth Day!
I try to do what I can when it comes to taking care of the earth, but I have a long way to go. Ultimately I think it would be great to get a Green home (aside from helping the environment you'd save on utility bills), but in the meantime I try to do little things like using Compact Fluorescent bulbs, recycling, using Green cleaning products, trying to conserve water - need to buy some new water efficient fixtures, like a showerhead and screw-in aerators that I found for $5, using reusable bags for shopping (when I remember them - I hang them on the doorknob, you'd think I would notice that and grab them before I leave!) :p In honor of Earth Day, though, I thought I'd look for some good Green Sites and articles to help in the process.

Find out how your make-up rates:
Skin Deep

Buy Green - A wide variety of items - Clothing, Office Supplies

The Daily Green - Offers Tips and Advice on how to be more green

Celery Street - Fantastic site with affordable prices!

Future Office Perhaps

2009-04-21T10:02:00.003-05:00

I love this desk from Pottery Barn! I could definitely use something that size and with all the shelves - although compared to this picture, my version would have a lot more stuff in it. I love the bright colors, though and could invision myself working at this desk in a similar brightly lit space - all of my cameras and of course various other projects. :)

Another First!

2009-04-20T09:14:00.002-05:00

While driving to work this morning I looked to my right and there on the side of the highway were four enormous turkeys! I think I may have squealed - I've never seen wild turkeys before! Too bad it was incredibly busy and I couldn't take a picture.

Spring!

2009-04-15T10:06:00.002-05:00

Spring is here! Our 60 degree weather is supposed to continue, possibly even hitting 70! Also, our bunny friends are back and they've grown. One was at the feeder this morning and didn't mind us going in and out of the door - it just stayed and munched happily away, so I'm glad I'll be able to get some good pictures of them this year since they won't be running away as soon as we open the door. We've had some blue jays and cardinals and a number of other birds as well, and it fills me with joy to see all the critters coming back and everything coming to life. I can't wait to start planting flowers and maybe I can find a nice comfy chair for the yard this year. It would be really nice if we could fix up the little patio area down by the horseshoe pits this year as well. I wonder if it's a project we could start tackling before Josh's party... Hmmm... it would be awesome. Get some seating down there, some solar twinkle lights or something. We'll have to see.

Have a wonderful day everyone!

My Workspace

2009-04-06T13:29:00.004-05:00

I don't think I'll ever use red in any filing system ever again after this. I see red everywhere...

I'm such a lucky girl

2009-04-03T22:34:00.004-05:00

Isn't he amazing - I wasn't expecting this at all... I've got to figure out this camera, though, so I can take better pictures of them.

20 Questions

2009-04-03T10:17:00.005-05:00

1. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
What didn't I want to be? I remember wanting to be an artist, a vet, a writer, an astronaut, and who knows what else that I've forgotten.

2. Are you listening to music right now? If so name a lyric from the song you're listening to.
Yes.
Clair de Lune doesn't have lyrics. :p

3. Which TV show have you seen pretty much every episode of?
Friends, Mad Men, Will & Grace , working on catching up on The Office

4. What was the first conscious thought you had this morning?
I am so tired. Thank god it's Friday.

5. What is the best example of "perfection" that you can think of?
Being finanically stable with no debt and jobs that we enjoy, settled in a house with just us and the cats and eventually our children.

6. What three sounds do you love?
Josh's laugh, A cat's purr, Moving water (like waves, a bubbling brook, etc.)

7. What are your five favorite kinds of candy?
Mike & Ikes, Skittles, Heath Bars, Jelly Beans, Lindt Chocolates

8. What is on your nightstand?
A reading lamp, my alarm clock, journals, Salt Rock Lamp, water glass, prescription meds, lotions, lots of hair clips and hair ties, and loose jewelry

9. If you had a crystal ball that could tell you the truth about any one thing you wished to know about yourself, life, the future or anything else, what would you want to know?
I think I'd like to know where I'll be in 5 years... that seems good. Then if I like what I see it'll be more motivated to work towards those things, or if I don't like what I see I could work harder to change that outcome.

10. Pick out the most important item in your wallet/purse and tell why it's important to you.
Well, aside from the obvious things like credit cards and stuff, I do love my MP3 player which is usually in my purse. I like music and would be lost without it - especially at work - it makes it much more bearable.

11. What sounds great today?
I'm picking out new glasses, so I want time to fast-forward to work being over, getting new glasses, then going home and spending time with Josh and the kitties and the gorgeous roses he surprised me with yesterday (pictures to follow). :p

12. If you were an animal, what would you be?
A cat (of course) - mine in particular - they're fairly spoiled.

13. When is the last time you got lost and what happened?
I've gotten lost a few times in the past year, but nothing much happened because thankfully I had the GPS with me - although it did get me lost in the first place - I guess you can't blame it for not knowing a road would be closed. :p

14. Someone has hung a sign around your neck, and you have to wear it all day long. What does it say?
Talk to me. I'm shy and awkward at times, but can be fun when you get to know me.

15. If you had to be trapped in a TV show for an entire month, which show would you choose? Why?
Okay, at this point I'd have to say Mad Men because I love the show and it would be fun to be stuck in this show for a month - all the drama and intrigue and scandals. :p

16. If you had to pick a game to play from the following, which one would you pick: Chess, Backgammon, Scrabble, or Battleship?
Hmmm... Battleship was always a fun game.

17. What is the most recent movie you watched?
In a theater? Monsters v. Aliens. At home - Quantum of Solace

18. What superhero power would you want to have and why?
Hmm... I think to be able to fly would be fantastic - it would cut down on travel time and it would be fun, but telekinesis could be a lot of fun as well. Oh the choices.

19. What do you do to kill time?
I read, do some scrapbooking, take photographs, read, spend too much time online, read

20. What are your three most favorite articles of clothing?
My black and white chuck taylors (too bad I can't wear them to work except on Fridays)
My American Eagle jeans (the newest pair I got - they make my butt look good and are so comfy) :p
My leather jacket

Current Love

2009-04-01T14:14:00.004-05:00

How did I not try this sooner!? I'm officially addicted!!

Feeding Time!

2009-03-30T21:15:00.005-05:00

The grass is ready and the cats immediately started grazing... followed by an immediate puke fest from Uzi because he over-indulged. Sigh. :p

In other events, we went to see 'Monsters v. Aliens' over the weekend and it was a lot of fun, so if you haven't seen it, you should! I also just watched 'The Duchess' and I really liked it. Normally I don't particularly care for Kiera Knightley, but she really did a good job in this film. You really feel for her character and after verifying some of the facts, a lot of the movie is based on the Duchess of Devonshire's actual life, which is always nice. I hate watching a film that says it is based on actual events only to find out it is only very loosely based on fact.

Picture Post

2009-03-28T21:40:00.011-05:00

Ziggy has been full of it lately, so I thought I would post some of her silliness. She just loves running around and sliding on the linoleum and those rugs.

^And Uzi being adorable.

And now for some pictures of Josh and one of his hobbies that he is quite talented at. He takes regular action figures that often have only so-so paint jobs and he repaints them and makes them look amazing. These pictures really don't do them justice because the flash makes the colors a little funny. They're awesome, though. The first four are all TMNT figures and the last one is The Scarecrow that he painted for Andrew's birthday and came out really good, but of course, you can't tell all the details and everything in the photo.

2009-03-24T14:08:00.003-05:00

In honor of Spring, I decided to go start tanning again just to get a little bit of color and warm up. I found a somewhat decent priced place to go - much better than the other which required appointments and was staffed by women who looked like old pieces of leather you'd find out in the desert. The other place I chose is conveniently located close to home and right next to a liquor store, which is perfect since I'm hooked on Barefoot wine right now - especially the Moscato. It's soooo tasty and cheap! However, vanity does not come cheap and I got burned. I think I was only in for 8 minutes and by bedtime I was red and could definitely feel it. Josh couldn't quite contain his laughter as he rubbed lotion onto my burnt backside, but I'm glad I could amuse him. :p

In other Spring time news I'm going to plant some grass for the kitties in a planter to keep in the house. I know it isn't quite the same as being able to go outside, but hopefully it will help ease the pain of imprisonment just a tad. I'm still considering getting a leash and letting them walk around, but I don't know if that would just be putting salt on the wound or not. I have also discovered that peppermint and spearmint are supposed to repel ants, so I'm going to be planting both around the house and maybe putting some in pots in the house and see if that helps any. I'm looking into various different plants that repel various bugs so we don't have to keep resorting to sprays and such.

My life oozes excitement. :p Anyhoo, pictures to come soon - I'm going to try and get out with the camera more often and will document the changes from Winter to Spring and my growing endeavors and oodles more. I really want to get better with this camera, too. I got so used to my old camera, and even though we've had this new camera for a while, I just haven't played with it as much I should to get really good photos. Ah well.

Hooray for Spring

2009-03-16T20:49:00.005-05:00

Because of the nice weather we were finally able to open up the window for the kitties and they have been thoroughly enjoying themselves.

And I finally got a picture of the squirrel in the birdhouse. They flip open the lid and jump right in. :p

Picture Post

2009-03-05T19:01:00.007-06:00

Well, I got my hair cut and the pictures aren't great, but after taking like 30 different pictures, these are the most decent ones. Meh.

And... Josh was home today and the weather was warm and the critters were fiesty, so he got some great shots of the naughty squirrels!!

2009-02-25T15:21:00.000-06:00

After having a rough night's sleep last night and having to work until 10:00 tonight, I'm looking forward to an exhausting week being over with. It's hard to believe it's only Wednesday. Josh had an interview yesterday which they chose someone else for. Josh isn't too upset about that one because it wasn't his first choice, but apparently they made it sound like he wasn't chosen because they thought he would bored, so it's probably a good thing. Our fingers are really crossed for his interview today, though. He thinks it went well, better than the interview yesterday, so that's a good sign.

This weekend shouldn't be too busy, although we have a party to go to Saturday night and we will probably go see a movie. I think we'll go see 'Coraline' which looks good. I can't think of what else is playing right now. We are super exicted about 'Watchmen' though and will be taking that day off, well, at least I'll be taking off from my day job. I have to work that night, so we're going to see the first matinee of the day. Other than that, not too much else. We're supposed to get 6 inches of snow tomorrow which seems ridiculous considering what a beautiful day it is today, but it happens. Josh said the squirrels figured out how to get into the other bird feeder. He hasn't been able to get a picture yet, but is going to keep trying. :p It definitely explains why there is so much bird seed on the ground, though. They climb the screen on the window and then jump onto it and hang because they're too big, so it tips and all the seed falls out. Apparently Uzi was going nuts watching this happen and while one squirrel did that, the other was fat and happy sitting in the other feeder. Little stinkers. It's too funny. We're going to have the most obese squirrels on the block. :p

Oooh - and as of a few minutes ago I'm getting a haircut on Friday... with another new person. The other girl I went to a few months ago isn't there anymore. Go figure. I miss Lisa Marie - she was awesome. Maybe I should schedule an appointment with her while we're in Durango in May! I might have the extra money to spend and it would be soooo worth it. I'll think about it. :p

Starvation Heights

2009-02-24T15:49:00.007-06:00

My current book of choice is Starvation Heights by Gregg Olsen. You can check out the site here: http://www.starvationheights.com/. I'm about half way through and it's proving to be an interesting read. It's astounding really the things people believed in regards to health and some of the ridiculous things that doctors were allowed to get away with until too many people died from these so-called treatments. In this book Linda Burfield Hazzard's treatment is starvation - a "fasting cure" and this story is about two of her more wealthy and well-known patients who were heiresses to a very large fortune, Clare and Dora Williamson - one of which died and the other barely survived. Patients of Hazzard's treatment were kept on diets of a cup or two of tomato broth a day and little else for upwards of 45 days to 100 days until they were literally skin and bones and most could barely walk. This picture is of Dora who was 60 pounds when a family friend finally rescued her from the sanitarium.

Along with starving the patients, they were given daily enemas - sometimes lasting for hours and extremely painful and doing a strange osteopathic massage that involved roughly thumping her fists against patients' heads, stomachs and backs.

Who can say what led people to actually go and submit themselves to this treatment, but once they committed themselves, they were at the hands of Hazzard and her husband. Maybe like the Williamson sisters they were naive and overly trusting and hypocondriacs willing to try anything and believing almost anything - most giving the Hazzard's money and control of their finances - misguided and taken advantage of while delirious with hunger.

Perhaps even more amazing is that after starving at least a dozen people to death with her treatment, Hazzard eventually died herself from starvation from her own cure. She actually believed in her treatment. she even performed autopsies on patients who had died and never put two and two together that their organs were shruken because of the starvation and that they didn't die because the organs were bad, which is what she believed.

Mad Men

2009-02-17T11:50:00.002-06:00

*Edit* I am now addicted to this show and love it. :)

So I just started watching 'Mad Men' which airs on AMC (I just started watching the first season from Netflix) and I'm pretty hooked. For those of you not familiar with the show you can learn everything you could ever want to know (and more) on Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Men.

It takes place in the early 60's in New York at a prestigious advertising agency. This drama seems bent on showing the worst of everyone. So far in three episodes, it seems like no one is happy... most of the married men are having affairs, the wives are gossipy and unhappy in their loveless marriages, women in the office seem to think (and it was probably unfortunately true) that the only way to move ahead is to show off as much flesh as acceptable for the time, flirt with anyone (married men) and basically be easy if it means a promotion or possible marriage so you don't have to work anymore. Most of the characters I want to smack upside the head, so why am I so hooked on this show now!? Maybe it's this sick fascination watching all of this and wondering if that's how it actually was back then... granted, it's a drama and a televsion show, so you aren't getting a broad picture, but it would be nice and refreshing to see one or two characters that don't sleep around, and aren't lemmings, like perhaps one strong female character who realizes how demeaning it is to have men talk to her or about her likes she's a piece of meat and has some self-respect because so far none of them seem to. They're all bent on flirting and being catty and getting free meals out of men (married or not). Also, it would be nice to have a few male characters who don't all behave like horny bastards and treat every woman like they're there for one reason only. I'll watch the rest of the first season and see how it goes. Maybe the sick fascination will wear off the frustration will set in because I'm tired of seeing the worst of people represented.

Sledding!

2009-02-02T20:07:00.006-06:00

We finally went sledding down the hill in the backyard, so here are the pics from our silly antics. :p

Lego

2009-01-29T11:40:00.002-06:00

Okay, as I mentioned before, I received some Legos for Christmas from Josh and while I haven't built anything too amazing yet, I did find this website for Nathan Sawaya who does amazing things with Lego bricks. Check it out - it's amazing!!

http://brickartist.com/

Igor

2009-01-28T12:53:00.002-06:00

Okay, you simply must watch Igor! This is surprisingly bouncing up to one of my new favorite animated films. The touches of dark humor accompanied with a fantastic soundtrack (which unfortunately can't be purchased - just the intrumental songs) had me laughing and thoroughly enjoying myself.

2009-01-15T07:32:00.003-06:00

The cars won't start, can you guess why?

Eye Contact by Cammie McGovern

2009-01-14T09:30:00.003-06:00

This month's book is about a young autistic boy who witnesses the murder of a fellow classmate. It took a while for the book to really draw me in and then even when it did, it felt like it was hard to feel close to any of the characters. I didn't feel like I had been given enough to really know any of them. The author seemed intent on keeping you guessing and scratching your head, which is great - in moderation. I think I've read maybe a handful of books with autistic characters, though, so it was interesting, especially when I found out the author has a son who is autistic, so she's writing from actual experience when it comes to that aspect of the novel. I really didn't feel emotionally attached to the book, though (I tend to really get into books when I read them). It wasn't particularly thrilling, and while parts of it were definitely mysterious, the writing often felt scattered.

So after reading that I moved on to "Dewey" which I read in two days and laughed and cried and if you're a cat lover than you have to read it!

How can you not love that face?! He truly sounded like a very special cat.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-27T16:25:00.002-06:00

Talk about an exhausting couple of days. I'm officially wiped out. We spent Christmas Eve with Josh's dad and that part of the family. It was a south of the border theme with some non-traditional fare and present opening (of course). All in all, a very nice evening. Christmas morning Josh and I got up and did our stockings and gave the kitties their presents and opened presents from my family - and then I made gingerbread pancakes with lemon sauce. We had a few hours to relax before it was time for Josh's mom and that side of the family to arrive - 15 people in total and when you have that many people you can pretty much bet on a little chaos in a house of that size. Still, we managed to fit everyone in the basement in front of the fire to open presents. We took about 168 photos over two days, so I'm obviously not going to post them all, but here is a link to a seperate site... mostly family opening gifts. I have to work on Sunday evening, but I do believe Josh and I are going to watch some of our new movies tonight and tomorrow and just crash on the beanbag chair in front of another fire. I also plan on playing with my new toys - Josh gave me legos! A huge box of them! Yay! So, while I do that Josh will probably play some Fable II (my gift) and we're going to check out Mario Galaxy for the Wii (from my mom). I also have a new 500GB harddrive to fill! :)

Here's the link: http://madamesecretary.googlepages.com/christmas2008

2008-12-14T19:42:00.004-06:00

The company Christmas party was on Saturday night so we dressed up, which was fun and a rarity. :p The party was at a local golf club and overall it was very nice, the food wasn't bad, the dessert was super yummy! The company really put a lot of money into it actually... free bar and everything, plus gift cards ($100!) and fleece logo jackets for everyone - guests included. We decided it was time to leave as soon as the DJ played the Chicken Dance, which had been preceded by an interesting selection of songs, most of which was pre-90s.

Now... as for the gingerbread castle... it turns out it was a tad bit too ambitious for a first time experiment when you are pressed for time. Things started going wrong when it became apparent that the little hand mixer was not going to cut it. I have now decided to save for a nice big cuisinart that will mix anything. Try mixing 9 cups of flour and molasses and etc. and you'll know what I mean. To make matters worse it turns out my large cookie sheet (which fits in most regular ovens) does not fit in our 70's Brady Bunch style oven. After two hours in the kitchen and one disaster after another I managed to bake the dragon and the knight and the lady, but then called it quits. We have yet to decorate them, but I think a bit more planning next time would be better and a much smaller project to start out with.

Brr!

2008-12-12T18:15:00.003-06:00

Well, we finally got snowed on more than just an inch. It was bound to happen eventually. Thankfully, we have the snowblower, which is going to be a tremendous help this winter. It's so cold here... staying in the 20's or lower. Apparently this next week we are supposed to stay in the single digits mostly. Brrrr. I need to pick up more awesome de-icer stuff for the cars. It's fantastic when you have that super thick ice build-up on your windshield and don't have half an hour to warm up your car and wait for it to defrost.

Hmm... it really doesn't look like much in the picture does it? :p ha ha.

The Time Traveler's Wife

2008-12-09T11:28:00.002-06:00

I think this is the second time this year that I've read this book and it's just as good. I'll try not to give too much away in my description either. Henry DeTamble is a time-traveler. He doesn't use a machine, but it's actually a genetic disease, which I thought was kind of a nice twist. Often brought about by stress and without warning he will suddenly and instantly vanish and travel backward or forward in time, often running into himself and people he knows. It is also in this manner that he meets Clare Abshire as a young girl. Through her youth he time travels to a meadow near her home and Clare learns that this is the man she will one day marry. It's really a very romantic book, but not in a super mushy sort of way. There is heartbreak and passion and if you're anything like me, you'll cry when you read it. There were moments where my heart just broke for Clare and Henry. I recommend a nice lighthearted read after, but even several days after I finished, it's fresh in my mind, and I think that Audrey Niffenegger has a very good future as a writer.

2008-12-06T10:56:00.006-06:00

Thanksgiving went better than expected, all things considered. We also officially have finished all of our Christmas shopping, so now to pay off bills! :p Josh and I decorated stockings for each other the other night and we'll probably be shipping off presents soon since they are overflowing around our little tree. It's so much fun shopping for presents and wrapping them up. I'll probably get some catnip filled toys for the cats, though, those will be a last minute gift or else they'll just get ripped open early. :p Yes, I know, it's probably extremely silly to include your cats in Christmas morning, but they'll both have so much fun playing in the discarded wrapping paper and boxes.

In other events I have been offered a permanent place at my current temp job, which really couldn't come at a more perfect time. I'm going to be making about 25 cents more than I was making at my job that I left in Durango after four years. Not bad. Combined with my second job I should be able to pay off a lot of bills and put some money into savings, which will be so helpful. I'm getting used to the second job, it's only around 12-15 hours a week, which I don't know if that's going to be enough or not, but to begin with, that's okay. I've got to ease into working the extra hours.

The Secret Life Of Bees

2008-11-25T16:03:00.004-06:00

I joined a book club recently and the first book of choice was 'The Secret Life of Bees' by Sue Monk Kid. We had our first meeting last Thursday, and I enjoyed it. I felt awkward at first, as always when meeting with a group of strangers, but I think by the next meeting I'll find it easier to join in. As for the book itself, it was good. It takes place in the 60s and is about several women, one of whom is a young white girl Lily who ends up breaking the woman who looks after her Rosaleen out of jail, who happens to be black and the two of them run away to the small town of Tiburon, led there by a picture that Lily's mother (who is deceased) left behind. It ends up being a label for a honey jar - Black Madonna Honey and ultimately leads the two to the women who are behind the honey. It's a very heart-felt book and you feel a bond with the group of women you're introduced to. They all have various troubles and problems and somehow they get through it. It's a pretty inspiring book about overcoming obstacles and seeing things from different perspectives. You'll laugh and you might even cry a little - I did and you might even come to have a little bit of respect for the tiny creatures the book is named for. Generally I don't care for bees, but I definitely feel a bit differently about them now.

2008-11-19T09:32:00.001-06:00

I'm afraid I haven't been very good with keeping in touch with family and friends lately. You should never be too busy for either of those, but time seems to be flying by faster than I can keep up with it and now with the second job that I got, I'm going to have even less time to get things done that I need to let alone have much free time. That being said, we're hosting a game night this Saturday and then the following Saturday we'll be hosting Thanksgiving. Thankfully I'm not in charge of all of the cooking - phew - that's a relief considering I've never even cooked a turkey. I shall be making pies galore, though, and I've convinced Josh to build a gingerbread house with me this year and we want to do something big and slightly ridiculous, which is probably a bit ambitious when you take into account we've never even made a simple kit gingerbread house before. :p

It's that time of year...

2008-11-09T16:45:00.004-06:00

Yes, we have officially started decorating for Christmas. We picked up a little tree today, wrapped more presents, hung up some lights. It's magical. :p

The weather has been overcast and chilly and we've gotten a little bit of snow, but nothing that has really stuck. As for other things, I got my hair done yesterday and love how a simple thing like a haircut can make you feel like a completely new person.

Official First Post

2008-11-06T16:14:00.001-06:00

As we approach the 6 month mark, I am hopeful that our lives are going to get back on track. They (whoever they are) say the first year after a big move is often the hardest, but I'm going to hope that our hardest months are behind us. It's been hard finding permanent jobs in a highly competetive market and it can be pretty disheartening sending out your resume left and right and going on interviews only to find out you're one of a hundred candidates and the chances are slim. I'm still working on mastering my interview technique (you'd think I've had enough practice by now) and hope after a lot of preparation this weekend I can ace my interview on Monday.

Oh, and welcome to my blog! :)