Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas 2009!!!

Remember when you were a kid and Christmas was all about the presents? I always remember going back to school after Christmas break and talking to all my friends about what we all got for Christmas. Whadja get? Whadja get? Am I the only one that remembers doing that? Do I remember any present I got when I was a kid other than my first camera in 9th grade? Absolutely not.

Here are some of the various items I was lucky enough to receive this year......
Edward Cullen fleece blanket, thank you New Jack Weenie / White Elephant Extravaganza 2009. Thank God I didn't open the box with the butt plug buried beneath the mound of creepy vintage inspired dolls. Ugh. And yes, Casey, he does resemble Sloth from Goonies in that picture. Actually, not even close. He's beautiful.
My cousin Fran made me the quilt below. She lives in Missouri, and made this quilt for me as a Thank You for the scrapbook I made her Mom and Dad for their wedding anniversary in June. Its kind of a patchwork denim quilt with plaid flannel backing. Totally love it because it is homemade and from the heart, the best kind of gift. And look at my Mom, she's so wee. Have I ever told you that she represents the Lollipop Guild?
Below you will find the bounty of gifts given by Gina and Paula. Good stuff! Can't wait to crack everything open and put them to use! Paula came through with the Dymo Caption Maker that has been on my Christmas list the last two years. And a gift card to World Market and some Bliss products! Love it! I've been super in to Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers lately, ever since I watched the 4 & 1/2 hour documentary Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream a few months ago. Tom Petty is a genius. Anyway, Gina got The Live Anthology, which I am totally stoked about. She also got me an awesome book, Seattle's Best Dive Bars, which I think I'm going to turn in to a fun activity for 2010. The activity will be something along the lines of how many of the dive bars can me and my friends hit up in 2010? Who's with me? Thanks for the awesome gifts Paula and Gina!
Carol has made me different Santa Claus inspired crafts every year for the past, probably, 16 years. Carol is the reason I have Christmas decorations other than ornaments for my Christmas tree. This year she made these two cuties, little bouncy snowmen. Thanks Carol for the many years of Santa, I always look forward to seeing what you have created for Christmas!
The past few holidays (birthdays, Christmas), I've asked for various kitchen items from my parents. This year they did not disappoint. I've been working on getting rid of my old, low budge knives, and switching them out for good quality knives. This Christmas my Mom and Dad helped me along in my quest to seem like an adult with these J.A. Henckels guys. A paring knife, and 8 everyday knives. And a Target gift card. Thanks Mom and Dad!!
Usually my favorite gifts of the year come from Chris and Mike. Chris does a bang up job picking out gifts. She'll go rogue every now and again, and it never disappoints. This year was no exception! Check out the sweet handmade flower pin! Love it! And awesome earrings from Fireworks, I love that store.
Earlier this month, Chris, Kim and I went to Urban Craft Uprising, which is, as described on the website, Seattle's largest indie craft show. Held the past two years at the Seattle Center. The past couple years Chris and I have used this craft show as a spring board to our Christmas shopping for eachother. We walk through the show together, taking note of what the other person likes, then split up and take on the show on our own, buying stuff for ourselves and eachother. It works out really well. This year I had my eye on this awesome scarf by Franken Scarf. I love their by-line....."Fire Bad, Scarf Good". I also got an awesome cookbook by Hungry Girl, can't wait to test out some guilt-free recipes!!
Okay, so my favorite gift of all this year is this necklace, made by MarKhed. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but it is Seattle. And you know how I love this city. I can not wait to wear it.
So this year was a great year for gifts. But you know what? More importantly, 2009 was a great year for family, friends, pets, and the things that are really important in life. Possessions don't mean much compared to your family and friends. I thank my lucky stars everyday that I have my family.......
And where would I be without this cranky fluffball? He's my little guy!
And this chubby bastard? He's definitely made life more interesting over the past few months. He's a heartbreaker, he certainly is.
I can't wait to see what 2010 has in store! Besides the Seattle's Best Dive Bar year long bar crawl, I'm not sure what I have planned. Let me think about it and I'll get back to you.

The Gooch!!!

I'll go all Gran Torino on yo' ass!!! So Wednesday morning I was running out of the house to make it to an appointment in the morning and guess what I found on my car? Some shady creep tagged my car!!! 5 times!!! Yeah, awesome. Check it out......
"Gucci" with a thick, black Sharpie marker all over my pristine Subaru. Across the hood, on the side door, on both side mirrors, and on my back window. WTF? Luckily it came off the back window and side mirrors really easily by just wiping them with a towel. The hood and side door? Another story.
I wish I would have immediately gone online and did some research on ways to get Sharpie tags off car paint. But I was totally in the moment and wanting to get this lameness off as fast as possible. I got some soap and warm water, and a soft sponge and started to put a little elbow grease into it, but only a little bit came off. Ugh. Then I thought about this ceramic top oven cleaner I have, and that took the Sharpie ink right off my car.....unfortunately it also took a little of the shine off of my car in those spots too. Bummer. You can't even really tell unless the sun is shining, but it still bums me out. My dad seems to think a nice wax job will bring the shine right back, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that will happen.
The irony of it all, and what actually made me laugh, *really* hard, about the whole ordeal is that Tuesday night I was watching the first episode of a HBO show called Summer Heights High. Hilarious, BTW, check it out. One of the characters is a punk kid, Jonah Takalua. He tags everything, and his tag is "Dicktation"......see below.
God, that is funny. While I was inside my warm little house, laughing my ass off about "dicktation", some punk was outside gucci-ing my car six ways to Sunday. God, it could have been soooo much worse. I'll take Gucci over Dicktation any day.
Check out Jonah in action:
Oh yeah, if this happens to you, apparently the removal method of choice is a dry erase marker or hairspray. I guess the dry erase marker ink binds to the Sharpie ink, and it can easily be wiped off leaving no marks and taking no shine off the paint. Hairspray contains a ton of denatured alcohol, which also can be used to get rid of black ink. Guess what I own now? Yeah, dry erase markers and hairspray. Bring it you punks! Insert picture of me here shaking my dry erase marker fist in the general direction of the neighborhood.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Frank's new washroom......

Check it out! I read about the Clevercat Top-Entry Litterbox in the most recent publication by Mud Bay. Frank loves to get cat litter EVERYWHERE near his box, so I thought I'd give this one a shot. Plus, Mr. Milo likes to nab Frank turds every now and again, and I don't think he'll be able to fit his pudgy little face inside this box. I know when Milo has been in Frank's box because he'll walk up to me with litter sprinkles stuck to his nose. Little rascal! Check out these other litter boxes I found in my search for the next best litterbox.......

The one below has to be my favorite of all. Talk about a multi-functional shitter.
Is it just me, or does that cat look totally cranky about getting his picture taken while he's shaking one off?
The best part about Frank's new litterbox? It took him about 5 seconds to get used to it. I was worried he would take a few days to get used to it, but no, I put litter in it and about 5 minutes later I came back to the bathroom and sure enough, he had taken a squeedge. I love my little guy!!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Cool it with the guyliner bro!

Check out this little guy! Do you not completely fall in love with him when you look into those droopy, half-mast Basset eyes? He looks like he's wearing permanent eyeliner. These shots were taken this afternoon, while I was catching up on about 5 Gossip Girl episodes. Milo decided to take a much needed rest on the couch, and allowed me to take a few shots of him relaxing.
After the photo shoot he jumped down from the couch, went outside, threw up and ate it. Gotta love dog behavior. Another thing he does on occasion that makes me get the heebie jeebies? Chows down one of his turds.
A few days ago, Heather sent me this link to an entry on The Pioneer Woman's blog. Loved it. You should check it out. It is a great post, loved the pictures of the paw and the ears (my two favorite parts of Milo).
Could he get any sweeter?
A couple more things I have learned about Milo..... If he finds Frank's food dish, just let him finish it, the growl coming out of his throat is actually quite scary. 1/4 cup cat kibble once every week or so isn't going to make him a fat ass. And my unmutilated hand thanks myself. I took Milo for his first vet visit last week. He's weighing in at a whopping 61 pounds. He's like a full size dog with three inch legs. And something else? His vet looks like a female Tom Petty. You may think I'm kidding, but I'm totally not. Swear to God, they were separated at birth.

Deck the Halls!!

Happy Holidays!! The Thanksgiving / Christmas season is one of my favorite times of the year. I love sprucing up the house with decorations and lights. Last Saturday I took advantage of being home sick and decided to get my holiday decorations out. The wreath below is actually real, and it smells awesome. One of my co-workers was selling wreaths for a fundraiser for school so I scored this little guy for a mere $21. Money well spent!
The lighting isn't the greatest in this shot, but as you can see I tucked my pint size tree into the little nook in my living room. It fits the spot perfectly. I love getting out my Christmas ornaments each year. I have ornaments from throughout my entire life, as well as new ones that I've acquired in recent years.
Over the past few years, Casey, Kim, and I have painted homemade ornaments. The one below is from 2005, when my first feline love, Charlie, was still alive and well. The ornament is a saloon that I named "Charlie's"...... who knew that 6 months later he'd be gone. Breaks my heart still when I think about him, and makes me love my animals that much more. I'm getting a lump in my throat just writing this! I'm a softie, what can I say......
There is one of my homemade painted creations from last years session, a bright eyed penguin. The red shiny car in the shot was one of many ornament gifts from my Aunt Judy. Before she retired, she owned her own travel agency and whenever she traveled, she would always bring my sister and I an ornament. I probably have about 10 special ornaments from Aunt Judy.
This paper angel was found a couple years ago in a cute little Ballard boutique. That silver ball to the left is also an Aunt Judy ornament.
Along with the many ornaments from my childhood, and my ornaments from Aunt Judy, I have a couple other really special ornaments on the tree that are very simple, but really mean a lot to me. A shiny green Christmas ball that belonged to my Memere Far Far Away (my mom's mom that lived in New Brunswick, Canada), and a hen cookie cutter that belonged to my Memere on the Farm (my dad's mom that lived right next door to us in Marysville). They aren't the most spectacular looking ornaments on the tree, but it isn't about that, it is about the stories I remember when I look at them. And that is why I love the holiday season.
You know what else I love about the holidays? Christmas music! My place of employment has already started piping in the Christmas tunes non-stop and I love it! I've had one particular disc on repeat at home.....Elton John's Christmas Party. It is one of those discs they were selling at Starbucks one year. It has become one of my favorite Christmas albums of all time. Lots of non-traditional Christmas songs. Check out the line-up:
Elton John: Step Into Christmas
El Vez: Feliz Navidad
The Ronettes: Frosty the Snowman
Bruce Springsteen: Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
The Beach Boys: The Man with All the Toys
The Flaming Lips: A Change at Christmas (Say It Isn't So)
Pet Shop Boys: It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas
Rufus Wainwright: Spotlight on Christmas
The Ventures: Jingle Bell Rock
Chuck Berry: Run Rudolph Run
The Crystals: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
Outkast: Playa's Ball
Otis Redding: Merry Christmas Baby
Jimmy Buffett: Christmas Island
John Mayer: St. Patrick's Day
The Eagles: Please Come Home for Christmas
The Band: Christmas Must Be Tonight (one of my favorite Christmas songs EVER!!)
The Pretenders: 2000 Miles
Kate Bush: December Will Be Magic Again
U2: New Year's Day
Elton John and Joss Stone: Calling It Christmas
What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?