Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Make your own Word Cloud

This is cool. Got the link from Libby. You can make your own here.



I like that mine includes the word "bedroom". I can't remember writing anything in my blog about a bedroom so I'm not sure why that word appears. But I certainly like that it does!! Makes me sound a little more ...randy..., dontcha think?! ;)

Monday, January 30, 2006

You know Portland has had a lot of rain when....

......the govenor of the state is suggesting Oregonians buy flood insurance.

And when the radio stations are spouting jokes, such as:

What do you call the day after two days of straight rain in Portland?
Monday

What do Portlanders say to the Pillsbury Dough Boy?
Nice tan.

This would be a BAD sign, people. Because this is Portland ... and we're used to rain. So when it makes the news .... it's officially TOO MUCH rain.

Especially being that we have had over 8" inches of rain so far this month. Yes, I said "8 inches"!! They are predicting almost 11" by the time the month ends tomorrow night. When Portland is breaking rain records that have not been broken since the 50s .... that's a lot of rain.

Just sayin'.

The view out my office window this whole month has been:



Not the most uplifting sight, eh?

Of course, nor was this.

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern.
A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock.
A unique woman like you needs a city that offers everything.
No wonder you and London will get along so well.


I took a quiz which indicated that London should be my city of choice. And hello! ... I LOVE London. So you would think that would be great, right? However, I wasn't too keen on the image of the woman holding an umbrella. So I am veto'ing London for now. Today my mood calls for something more along the lines of .. say .... Belize. Or Nassau in the Bahamas. Or pretty much anywhere in Fiji. Any sugar daddies out there interested in taking me on a little trip? Ya know, to somewhere where the sun DOES shine! ;) Pretty please? With cherries on top? I'll knit ya a Speedo...

Friday, January 27, 2006

Random Thoughts for Friday the 27th

Sorry I haven't been posting much. Work has been hellaciously busy. Which has left me tired and uninspired in my non-work hours.

But here are a few things to throw at you today:

  1. When I read things like this, I want to argue for forced sterilization.
  2. My "date" (still no third date planned but he continues to email) just had grandbaby #2 (hey now .. he's only 42). I started knitting baby booties for the baby. I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not.
  3. A coworker posted the following puzzle today: Dr Dr
    I've been told the "Dr" does stand for "doctor" but have yet to figure out what the puzzle means.
  4. The band Bon Jovi was on a plane which skidded off the runaway up in Toronto a few days ago. Everyone was okay. You do not KNOW how upset I would have been had they not been. (gah! ... freaks me out just to think about it)


  5. I'm pondering selling my house.
  6. I am highly impressed with James Frey for agreeing to be on the Oprah Winfrey show knowing that he would be interrogated and called out on the carpet for his lies. I have yet to read the book "A Million Little Pieces" (I plan to) but have heard the hoopla regarding the controversy. And going onto Oprah knowing what you were in for ... took a lot of guts. And, in my opinion, integrity. Someone willing to publicly take responsibility for their actions.... HO-LY COW! Bravo, James. For that.
  7. Today's Craigslist Loser Of The Day:
    No Relationship Required - 40

    Reply to: pers-@craigslist.org
    Date: 2006-01-26, 10:56PM PST

    Just be 19-31, confident, hot as hell, sexy and look good in my arms. I'm single, 6'1, wealthy and strong. I'll open the doors and pay for everything. No strings. No LTR. No wackos. Your picture is required to get my response. Believe me. This will be fun. [uh, yeah ... Mr 40 Year Old. Fun for whom? Lo-ser, move along]

And there ya have it ... today's random ponderings. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

pssst .... do you have my 420???

So Friday night I arranged a clandestine meeting with a stranger on Craigslist to trade some concert tickets for 420. I was a bit nervous about it, I must admit, having never done this before.

Even though the 420 I was after was actually $420 and not pot. (ah come now ... me a druggie??!)

After a few furtive emails and a quick phone call, the Craigslist Stranger and I decided to meet in a dark, secluded alley* to do the exchange.

Ya know, away from the prying eyes of the po-po.

All was going smoothly until I realized on the drive over that we had left off a critical piece of information with regard to hooking up ... what either of us looked like.

I toyed with the idea of approaching random people in the Starbucks ... errr, I mean, the dark alley ... and inquiring, "pssst .... do YOU have my 420???" ..but figured that could get my ass thrown in jail. What with my luck and all.

I was a bit nervous that that could happen anyway. Which is why I was only reselling the 3 extra** Aerosmith tickets I had for face value. A penny more and I was sure I'd be arrested for scalping.

Trust me, people, I come across as a goody-goody ... and I am ....but it's probably only because I've learned from past experiences that I can't lie and I WILL get caught. Just ask my late grandmother the one time I tried to sneak some cookies in my bedroom. The question came through the door, "are you eating cookies?". To which my cookie-muffled response was "mmNoomnnfrfrr".

Uh yeah, Master Criminal I ain't.

Luckily, my Craigslist Stranger was easy to spot .... the only one not drinking a coffee (now Master Detective I may just be! ;)). So the exchange went off without a hitch. And I quickly took my new-found bootie and high-tailed it to the bank ... errr, I mean, outta Dodge! ;)

Have I mentioned how much I love Craigslist?? :)

* or a well lit, very popular local Starbucks ... whatever.

** yes, EXTRA tickets. I will still be at the concert. Ain't no way I'm missing a chance to drool in person over this (mmm,mmm, mmm,mm,mmm):

Monday, January 23, 2006

The Purl Scarf

My latest project ... The Purl Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.

I love it. Very soft and thick. Even though I cheated on the yarns.


The pattern calls for three yarns: one 100% wool (recommended Manos Del Uruguay), a fine mohair, and a thicker mohair. I checked two yarn stores but could not find the colors I wanted in the Manos Del Uruguay so I went with the denim color of Steadfast Fibers Wonderful Wool Worsted Weight yarn instead. At the same time I purchased a skein of Rowan's Kidsilk Spray. Unfortunately, I wasn't finding a coordinating thicker mohair I liked. Not letting that stop me, what with my being Miss Lack All Patience and all, I simply grabbed up the leftover Moda Dea Dream yarn used in the blue baby booties and gave it a go. Worked just great. Take a gander:




Strange to me that those three different blues equal that one pretty one ... but there ya go.

Anyway, you just cast on 16 stitches (I'm using size 15 needles) and K1, P1 til you can't take it anymore. Even with as much as I hate The Purling ... I love The Ribbing ... so the scarf is nice and long.

Here's the finished product:



I liked it so much I paired some pink Moda Dea Dream yarn with some Linie 67 Como yarn I had picked up at 40% off (woot) and have started this:




Perhaps a bit more girly than I'm accustomed to ... but there ya are! :)

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

My teeth hurt!

That's right ... you heard me correctly! My teeth hurt. It's driving me crazy. Just this continual dull ache. Of not one tooth ... but all the teeth.

I have no idea why! The only reason I can think of is that maybe it had something to do with watching the American Idol try-outs on tv last night (shut it!). Perhaps there was some major teeth grinding going on while watching some of those idiots ... err, I mean "contestants" .. trying to sing. Did y'all catch it? Come on ... we're all friends here ... you can admit it! I won't tell! Really! :)

But SERIOUSLY, people! What are some of these folks thinking!?! Do they REALLY think they can sing? At all?! They must ... because who would CHOOSE to make a fool of yourself on national television like that otherwise?! I simply can't imagine.

But why aren't their friends stopping them, that's what I want to know. I mean, sure ... let your Horrible Singing Friend (HSF) sing karaoke at a bar and laugh your ass off. All good. But to let your HSF go on national television like that to be made fun of, not only by the judges, but by other tv shows and radio shows and ... apparently ... on blogs! That's just not right! Friends don't let HS Friends try out on American Idol. That's all I'm saying.

That would be like MY friends letting me join The Knitting Olympics or something.

Oh wait.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

The Knitting Olympics!

I'm going for the gold, people!!



The Yarn Harlot has laid down the gauntlet with the following challenge: to knit something which must be started and finished within the 16 day of the 2006 Winter Olympics. No starting before the torch is lit. The project must be a challenge for the Olympic Contender. A simple garter stitch 10 inch long scarf would NOT earn me the gold. Nor the bronze for that matter.

The majority of folks who signed up with The Yarn Harlot are doing very intricate sweaters. I do believe that's because they are crazy. And know how to knit. And probably don't work for a living.

Others are doing socks. One Insanely Crazy Lady, in fact, has signed up for TWO pairs of socks AND a baby blanket! Hello? Do you sleep?? Or leave the house like EVER?? Cuz that's just crazy! When I push it, I can finish ONE sock in 16 days. ONE. That's not a pair. I'm talkin' ONE. Two, can't be done. Plus I don't want to make any more socks right now. Well, other than the mate to the one sock I just finished this weekend. But I digress.

I DO, however, want to make this bunny.




The pattern is in the book Last Minute Knitted Gifts*. I have looked at the pattern, scratched my head in Pattern Instruction Confusion, and promptly turned the page to something else.

But it is SO cute. And I want to make it. And so I shall (try). If'n it turns out to be easy-peasy (HA!) ... I will also knit up a hat. Or maybe a scarf. Or The Sock Mate. Or perhaps a Bunny Mate. Something.

Now off to train. Which should involve yarn buying and swatching. But instead will probably involve chocolate.

I'm daring like that! :)

*please note that this title is misleading. As I discovered with the baby booties. 1-2 hours ...MY ASS!

Monday, January 16, 2006

AH HA! Perhaps THIS is my problem!

Here I was thinking that not having a boyfriend is the reason I'm not really "gettin' some". But NO. Apparently it's because I have a tv in my bedroom. Who knew?! :)

TV in the bedroom halves your sex life - study

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Now if my stalker had looked like this .......

:)

So I'm just glancing at the headlines and wanted to catch the latest on Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's condition (see? I can do "smart" once in awhile ... really! ;)). I click on an article and find that one of his neurosurgeons looks like this*!




Now, if my Stalker Dude had looked like this ... he could call me as many times as he wanted. Even if he ate through the entire conversation! Just sayin'! :)

Hello? Trip to Israel, anyone?? Maybe I'll give this Stalking Thing a go. (errr, ya know ... more than I already do with regard to celebrities, that is!!) :)

*granted, I don't know FOR CERTAIN that this is one of his neurosurgeons. This is simply one of the pictures they had attached to the article. As was the name Dr Jose Cohen. Which I'm noting here for future reference.

Baby Booties Take 2

Now that I am stalker-free (*grin*), I figured we could get back to our regularly scheduled programming. Which, oddly enough, entails another knitting post today. (sorry, folks!)

Well, actually, less a "knitting post" than just my sharing with all y'all a couple pictures of the second pair of baby booties I made. This pair was for L and D's new little baby Eric! (welcome to the world, Eric!!!)

I had some Moda Dea's Dream yarn laying around, so tried using that. I absolutely LOVE how they look. Yet, oddly enough, this yarn didn't rib very well. The cuffs simply don't have much spring in them. I have no idea why.

Ah well.

They ARE cute though, and that's the important thing, right??!





Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Stalker Update

Okay, for those of you that commented and/or emailed me (thank you) regarding yesterday's post ... here's the update:

He emailed me yesterday requesting the best time to phone me. But by then I was no longer interested in pursuing anything and so responded via email that I didn't think we were a match and wished him luck with his search.

Then I go home for the day figuring that’s that. I head out for the evening and check email this morning only to find that he had emailed THREE TIMES IN A MATTER OF HOURS LAST NIGHT.

The first one inquired why I decided to "end" it. The second tried to convince me to continue it. The third one a couple of hours later must then have assumed I was simply sitting there at the keyboard the whole night refusing to answer because he admitted defeat.

Uh yeah. HELLO?.... sometimes people are not at home by their computers and home phones and so will not be responding immediately!! Just sayin'!

Bizarre to anyone else?

Anyway, again thanks to the comments and emails with the wonderful advice. I appreciate you taking the time to give me your words of wisdom.

And if y'all thought my Phone Phobia was over the top before .... it just quadrupled!!! :)

Monday, January 09, 2006

Have I mentioned I hate making phone calls?

Yep, rank Making Phone Calls right up there with Changing Light Bulbs on my I Don't Wanna Do It List.

I've simply never been all that much of a phone person. Even with people I know and love. Ask my family .... who rarely, if ever, gets phone calls from me. And it's not because I don't love them or want to be closer to them or want to know what's going on with them. I simply don't like picking up the phone to call someone and Just Chat. Maybe because I've got commitment issues and calling "just to chat" entails more than a 5 minute commitment. I don't know. :) All I know is ... thank goodness most people I want to communicate with are email savvy. Because email I can do!

And yes, there are exceptions to the phone rule. Buck, for one. I'm comfortable enough with Buck that I can pick up the phone whenever and call him. Sometimes the conversations are long ... sometimes short. Sometimes there's a point or agenda to them ..... sometimes we're just keeping each other company while watching the same television program or movie. I love that. That's a good level of comfort.

And I can think of several good friends of mine that I'm certainly okay chatting with on the phone. Especially if I don't see them all the time and they're slackers on email (not mentioning any names here, T2! ;)) So to hear what's been going on with them via phone is a good thing in those cases. AT least until I can train them better on those email responses and/or am able to schedule more in-person time with them, that is! ;)

And I'm good with those quick phone calls to people I know too ... you know, to indicate which movie theater we should meet at, or restaurant, or to say that Fabric Depot is having a huge yarn sale. Not a problem. Quick and easy ... on and off the phone... all good. No stress.

But THEN there are those phone calls that are requested to be made which I know are going to be long and p-a-i-n-f-u-l. And which will completely stress me out. And for which I need time to gear up for before actually picking up the phone to place the call. Ya know, like those phones calls to a complete stranger .... one who is going to want to Just Chat with me to get to know me better. Say, for instance, with a guy I've been communicating with through an online dating site.

These are the phone calls I try to avoid because they just make me uncomfortable and highly stressed before the phone call and then I feel trapped during the phone call. And I do manage to avoid them a great deal ... instead requesting to meet in person for a quick cup of coffee or something*.

But there are those times, like this weekend, for instance, where meeting in person in the near future simply isn't feasible due to scheduling conflicts and so I have to put on my Big Girl Pants and agree to a Chat On The Phone. (*insert hissy fit*)

Take, for instance, this guy I will call "Daniel". "Daniel" and I have been communicating via the internet fairly superficially for a couple of weeks and decided it was time to meet. He wanted to schedule a whole "tennis match and then a show afterwards" kind of date. I wanted to meet for a brief cup of coffee (please see The Date From Hell for my reasoning behind this). I won. But his work schedule is such that the only times we would ever be able to meet would be on weekends. I said I was busy on Sunday but how about some time on Saturday. He couldn't do Saturday but suggested he could call that day instead. (*insert heavy sigh here*). Since I knew this would then have to be dragged out another entire week to possibly schedule another meet next weekend ..... and because I'd rather find out sooner than later if he and I could build any kind of relationship (friends or whathaveya) ... I said okay to the phone call. Very grudgingly, granted .... but still ... I decided to go with it.

So I'm home all day Saturday up til afternoon and no phone call. I finally go out to run errands in preparation for that evening's festivities only to find out that he had called while I was gone. No time to make the call at that point (remember, I need "gearing up" time as well as "chat" time) because I had to dash out the door for my shindig that evening. I arrived home too late to call.

Up the next morning and checked email. He had left an email Saturday simply saying that he had left me a voicemail (duh?). I replied and thanked him for the call, said Saturday had turned out to be busy and that I would try to call him back that (Sunday) evening if I got home early enough. Granted, I could have called right then .... but I can't see calling someone I don't know early on a Sunday morning. Most folks never before 9 or 9:30am .... a complete stranger whom I know works swing shift and so probably has a Later Morning Sleep Schedule than most ... ain't gonna call before 10 -10:30. By then I was frantically finishing off a pair of baby booties that needed to be gifted that day and running out to Target for wrapping. Then straight to T1's for a day of errands, baby bootie delivering and to the Portland Art Museum. By the time I got home that evening ... he had already left another voicemail. Which was weird ... being that I said I would call him.

But anyway, so I ate dinner and then took a bit of time to do my "gearing up" for the phone call ..... and so I didn't call til 8pm. He answers the phone with his mouth full of food. I'm thinking this isn't starting well but I identify myself anyway. Before I can check to see if I've called at a bad time ... he says "Oh, Kat from blah,blah,blah ... I was about ready to give up on you!". Which threw me for a loop ... because hello?.... he had just called the day before! It's not as if it's been two weeks or anything! Plus, I had left him an email that morning indicating I would be gone all day and would call him that evening if I got the chance. So anyway, I apologize and say I've been busy and we conversed. But about 3 minutes into it ..... I got tired of listening to him continue to eat and chew in my ear LOUDLY and so inquired (nicely, mind you) "if perhaps I called at a bad time?". He said "I'm eating dinner now can I call you back in a few?". I said "sure" ... he said "will you be up awhile then?" to which I thought "well, that's weird .. it's only 8pm now ... how frickin' long is your dinner going to be??". But anyway, I simply said "sure" and happily hung up.

Did I GET a return phone call from him last night, folks?!! No, I did not.

So I get on that site about 11pm last night and check my messages. I was looking to see if he emailed instead of calling but found the only email I had from him was one he apparently emailed about 10 minutes before I had made the phone call:
"Well I have called twice now....I don't want to call a third time. I don't want to be a pest."
To which I didn't reply. Because the phone call had taken place after that. But I thought it would be interesting to see if I received any other message from him ... ya know, after our phone conversation in which he said he would call me back.

So I check messages this morning and had the following email from him:
"I am sorry I didn't call you back, but I guess it was my turn to get busy!"
Uhhhhh, is it just me ..... or should I be running hard and fast from this guy? I'm certainly thinking so. I mean, I know I drag my feet over making these kinds of phone calls ..... but hello? .... can I help it if I'm not sitting on my ass all day next to the phone just waiting for opportunities to talk on it? I don't think so. If the f'er knew me, he'da been honored that he got a Next Day Call Back. Cuz trust me .... there are some people that don't. Email, yes ... phone calls, not so much. And, in this case, it wasn't like I was just sitting around at home not calling him. I was out. SHEESH!

At this point I am no longer interested in getting to know him better. But the question is ... should I bother replying?

So there ya have it ...... my latest dating woes. More to tell tomorrow probably because I'm actually MEETING one (a different one) tonight for a cup of joe. This guy already has earned himself some brownie points though.... he hasn't tried to talk to me on the phone! Whoo hoooo! I love him already! :)

*Yes, folks ... you've heard that correctly ... I would rather meet a stranger in person to chat than have to try to chat with them via the phone. I am quirky like that.

Friday, January 06, 2006

Baby booties to fit an actual baby!

Uh-oh ... prepare yourself ... this is an actual knitting post! (argh?!!!!) :)

So Attempt #2 at making some baby booties that will actually fit a baby and I discovered the coolest knitting technique yet! It's called double-knitting. (I think. That's what I call it anyway!). And it's easy! And it works! It's like magic ....

For the booties you cast on 24 stitches onto one needle*. Then using another needle you simply K1, S1** for the entire length of the row. When finished with the row, turn and repeat. Only this time because of how the row is set up, you'll be knitting the slipped stitches and slipping the knitted stitches. And you continue on like this and it creates an inside-out pouch in which for one row you're knitting one side of the pouch and for the next row you're knitting the other side of the pouch ...when in fact, you're simply knitting on the same needle! Hello?!! ... BRILLIANT!! Who comes up with this stuff???

Check it out:

Here's a photo showing all the stitches on one needle. It's just two needle knitting (K1, S1) til you reach the desired length (for this pattern ... 2 inches)



Once you've created the length you want, you transfer all the current "knit" stitches onto one needle and all the current "slipped" stitches onto another. With the stitches separated onto two needles you can open your pouch like this:




Then you do the heel which ends with a 3-needle bindoff (that was a new technique for me too) and it looks like this. Which to me ... looked WIDE! And I was thinking .... what kinda screwed-up pattern is THIS? That looks ridiculous! That won't fit a baby's foot!




But THEN .. as per the pattern, you turn it rightside out at this point and voila ... the extra width goes away and creates the foot height. Again ... magic I tell ya......




The directions for the cuff made absolutely no sense to me so I fudged it (shhhh!) and just did K1, P1*** ribbing for 5 rows. And here ya go.....




With a little ribbon to hide the flaws .... errr, I mean ... to fancy it up .... and LOOK! .... my first ever knitted baby booties!!!!!




* pattern taken from the book Last-Minute Knitted Gifts.
** K1= knit one. S1= slip one.
*** K1= knit one. P1= purl one.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Someone who loves The Target-y Goodness TOO much??

Nahhhhhh, I think they love it Just Right! This site is awesome!

Now if I can only find me one on Ikea! ;)


Slave To Target

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Christmas in Laughlin

So I headed down to Laughlin for Christmas to visit my sister J and her family. My mom headed up from Los Angeles to join in. Buck flew down with me. And Ms C* journeyed over from the Home of the Bewildered near Tucson, Arizona. It was SO nice to see everyone. I hadn't seen Ms C since she left Portland over a year ago for her new Airstreaming life. It was great to see her looking so fit and happy. The new life agrees with her (dang it ... I was hoping she'd move back).

I just wish my sister A and her brood could have headed out from Denver to join us too.

Anyway, a great time was had by all. Much good eats, good chats and good drinks. Even the Gambling Gods were kind to me on the drive back to Vegas airport ... made a stop at the Railway Casino and managed to almost triple my money at the craps tables! Whoo hooo! (Course, I was only playing with $20 and making $2 bets. But HEY ... I hate to lose my hard earned money so I'm not much of a gambler. So walking away with $57 was pretty damn exciting!)

Here are some photos from my journey:

This sign greeted me in the Harrah's hotel room bathroom. My hope is that I didn't piss off the maid who could then easily steal the towels and charge me. Hrmph! Not so sure I agree with this policy. Especially being that the towels weren't all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips anyway. Granted, they were many steps up from those Buck and I experienced at our hotel in NYC....but really, what towel isn't?? :)


Some of the pretty lights among the Laughlin casinos....



Also, check out this t-shirt I found at one of the many souvenir stands:


What a hoot, eh?! And, as hard to believe as this will be, I actually resisted buying it! Yay me!

A couple of shots of my sister's puppy, Lucky.


Isn't she a cutie-pie? She reminds me so much of my late dog, Meg (aka The Megger-Wegger).


Meg


Both in looks and personality. They're both just such happy dogs. I'm actually planning on stealing Lucky from my sister .... just as soon as she** outgrows that chewing on furniture-phase! ;)

Here's a pic of my niece wearing the hottest new toy: Moonshoes! Never heard of them? ... me neither til I went down there. Then I saw about 6 kids in the neighborhood bouncing around on them on Christmas Day. I'da given them a try but apparently there weren't enough industrial strength rubber bands included in the box for the moonshoes to hold me. Sigh.




So Christmas gifts for the adults this year were home-made gifts. Hence, my knitting. Sis J provided yummilishious fudge. Mom provided home-made mouse pads and photo albums. Check out some of these photos that were included. They are absolutely awesome!

This is my mom back in the day. How did I miss out on these Sex Kitten genes?? It's not fair, I tell ya, just not fair. Sigh.


My sisters A and J when they were little. I love how J is fascinated by the gloves. The gloves were a good plan, Mom. Apparently kept J from realizing she was wearing that silly ..errr, I mean CUTE ;)... bonnet!



Here's my niece K and nephew J when they were much younger. Adorable pic, yes?



And last but not least, me. How do you like that color coordination? Pretty impressive, right? And, I'm holding a cat ... of course. I think all my pictures as a kid has me with a pet of some sort. Obviously the love of animals was just something I was born with. As, unfortunately, were the short, chubby legs.



Here's a pic of me and Ms C .... I don't think you can find two more anti-being-photo'd people. As I'm sure you can tell by this pic! And believe it or not, in the original picture we're actually MUCH further away. This version is actually cropped and enlarged ... just for all y'all! (you're welcome! ;))




So Ms C did a tarot card reading for me while we were there. I asked what the year 2006 would hold for me. This is what the cards said:



I don't really speak The Language of the Tarot Cards but Ms C translated for me and said that 2006 looked very, very, VERY promising for me, starting early in the year. If only I can stop being my own worst enemy. Uh-oh.

She read Buck's too ... he requested info on his love life in 2006:



I'm thinkin' any time that devil card shows up in that final position (at the top) ... it can't be good. Oh well, maybe it will be fab up until next Dec 31st. One can hope.

A few other random photos from the trip:

The requisite In N'Out (oh so good!):



A dime Buck found on the street near my sister's house. Melted INTO the pavement folks! You KNOW it's hot when a dime gets stuck TO pavement! I've mentioned the heat there before, haven't I??



This was the Bloody Mary drink Buck ordered at Chin Chin's in the New York, New York casino in Vegas. Had we known it came with all that grub we wouldn't have had to order lunch there first! So just a heads up to those of you budget travelers who may find yourselves in Vegas sometime soon! :)



Hope you enjoyed!

* check out Ms C's trip summary here

** the dog, not my sister! ;)

Sunday, January 01, 2006

Happy 2006, Everyone!

Happy New Year, everyone!

As many do at this time of year, I reflect on the past and set goals for the future. And I've thought long and hard about a resolution list this year and about the eating better, exercising more, losing weight, creating and sticking to a budget, revamping the old career, etc, etc, etc items that I would normally resolve to do. But really, the past has shown that at times during the year I'll do those things ... and at times I won't. It all just seems to depend. And I can't imagine that this year I will resolve to do those things and then actually be able to stringently stick to those guidelines all year. Just ain't gonna happen...right? I mean, I have decided to eat better lately in the hopes of shedding that holiday weight gain (damn fudge) and have done an excellent job of it the past 4 days. But will this willpower still be in effect 10 months from now? Hell, how about 10 hours from now? Can't say. And certainly can't promise.

So I've decided my resolution list this year will consist soley of things I CAN do. All year. So I've thought and thought and thought ... and found that my list contains only 1 item.

So, alas, without further ado, Kat's 2006 New Year's Resolution List:

1. Stop asking Santa to bring me a HottieHotHot Cabana Boy for Christmas each
year and instead ask Santa to bring me a HottieHotHot Lightbulb Changer Boy.
Because really, perhaps Santa hasn't fulfilled my wish in the past because I
don't have a cabana? I'm thinking that must be what it is because I have been
good this past year. Ya know, for the most part. And yet still ... me ... with
no hard-bodied, shirtless Cabana Boy. Sad really.

So I'm thinkin', because I have this oddball habit of dragging my feet with regard to changing lightbulbs (last count there are 4 bulbs out at my place: hall light, front porch, 1 of 4 in bathroom vanity, and 1 in bedroom ceiling fan) that Santa can't possibly deny me a HottieHot Lightbulb Changer Boy, right? Right. Because, believe me, I will always have the lightbulbs that need changin'. Well, unless the cats finally learn how to reach the high ones. Because, for some reason, I just hate doing it. I can. I do. I don't want to. Weird, I know ... but there ya go. So this coming Christmas my goal is to tell Santa ... nix the HottieHotHot Cabana Boy and please bring me a HottieHotHot Lightbulb Changer Boy instead please. Or a HottieHot Candle Lighter. I'm going to need one or the other. Thank you!


So there you have it. Wish me luck! Though this resolution just might be the one I'll be able to stick to. ;)