Solar Powered

Mr. T and I have been taking full advantage of this gorgeous weather, and I've been thoroughly annoying with my camera apps. ^_^

Mr. T

My trusty Daisy Cruiser

Stinky trees

I am solar powered, and so thankful for the sun.

The Man Loves Chickens

How's it going, friends? Mr. T and I have been doing pretty well. We've been experiencing some changes lately. Some have been good, and some not so much, but we're dealing. Can't really complain.

I happily edited my employment status on the book of face last night. Self. Employed. I can't even begin to express how good it feels to be able to say that. Working from home definitely has its ups and downs, but the ups seem to be winning.

There are so many things that I wasn't able to do while working full time, little things like making  gifts for people. It's been years since I had the time and energy to make Mr. T a homemade valentine, so this year he got a little foxy fox card.

I cut out the pieces...

Colored them...

And then glued them together.

I also made him a felt plush chicken.

It's not as strange as it sounds. The man loves chickens.

I used to read posts about people quitting their day jobs, and I was so jealous. Pretending I was content worked for a while, but that hopelessly trapped feeling kept rearing its ugly head. I was so tired of begrudging other people their happiness, because I was too afraid to go looking for my own.

I am incredibly thankful that I'm able to focus on my artwork right now, and I hope I can keep it up.

A Sight To See

Oh, yesterday was a day, folks. A good day, but a day. When I left work, heading to get my tires rotated, and eat dinner with my loverly husband, it looked like this.

About 5 minutes later...it looked like this.

While we waited for my Jeep to be taken care of, we decided to take our chances riding bikes at a local green way. We checked the weather, and 40% chance of rain wasn't going to stop us, so off we went. 

About 4 miles before we got caught in a downpour. (We just rode 4 miles. Please excuse the hot mess.)

 

Luckily, we were close to an overpass! We ducked inside like good little wayfarers, and hung out with some pigeons. We also spotted a teensy snake swimming in the water you see there. When I approached to take his picture, he politely refused and swam to the other side of the stream. Hmph.

 

We waited it out, checked the radar on my handy dandy Droid and were back on our way in no time. We finished the trail, which was a little over 4.5 miles, and headed back the way we came. Right as we returned to the very same overpass, the bottom dropped out and it poured again. 

We waited as long as we could, but we ended up finishing the last couple of miles in a light sprinkle. We were drenched, but it was hilarious.

 

By the way, my husband's a genius. He left his dress shirt in the truck (rode in his white undershirt), and brought me a clear poncho (I felt like a Hefty bag.).

9 miles later, our clothes were pretty dry, but we sure were a sight to see.

Warm Fuzzies

I'm sitting on my futon with a warm, fuzzy kitty on my left, and my warm, fuzzy husband on my right. We're being serenaded by a lovely British man wearing mismatched socks. His lovely wife, who just so happens to be my best friend and soul mate, pointed that out.

They're visiting from Michigan for Thanksgiving, and they're staying the night with us tonight. Yay!

Everything is warm and cozy, and smells like my hazelnut cream candle. It's sabbath, and I'm going to sleep SO WELL tonight.

Thanks to New Moon, I only got about 3 hours of sleep last night. I was afraid it wouldn't be (worth it), because I didn't really like the first movie so much. It was a lot corny. Thankfully, I was worried for nothing. This movie was waaaaaaay better. New director = can't wait for the next two movies.

Sweet dreams, jelly beans!

Fantastic Indeed

There's no amount of praise I can give for Wes Anderson, his usual cast of characters, or Roald Dahl that can express just how awesome this is going to be. So, I think you should watch the trailer (again if you must). And you must.



Glorious, isn't it?

SNOW

Do you see this? Do you?

This, my bloggerific chums, is what I'm talking about. Bliss.

I awoke, blinded by the white awaiting me outside my bedroom window. Winds of about 40 miles per hour. A nice steady snow fall. Rapture.

I know there are a lot of you folks out there who could care less if you ever saw another snow flake as long as you live, but I miss this. It's just such a lovely change. One that reminds me of good times as a kid. Good times that were few and far between.

I LOVE SNOW!

Benjamin, please forgive me. ^__^

A Furry Stress Reliever

Today has been an exceedingly hectic day, and I am in need of some relaxation. Seriously. Can I go get a pedicure? I've done that one time, and it was pretty calming. Well, until the soaking part was over and the chick started touching my feet, and scraping hide off.

Anyhow, I don't know what to do to unwind. It's after work hours, and I'm just waiting on a call to head out, but I'm seriously uptight at the moment. I wish my cat was here. I could rough his fur all up and force him to take a straightening bath. And he can't just go part of the way. He's in for the long haul. Which means he'd have to wash between his toes meticulously. Which is like a sedative to me for some reason.

It takes like fifteen minutes of him sprawling out his tootsies, cramming his tongue between them, and purring like tomorrow will not be happening. I know it has to taste bad, but the soothingness of it all must outweigh the grodiness(I'm pretty sure that's not a word, and if it were that wouldn't be how you'd spell it).

Did you know cats take comfort baths? I learned that on Cats 101 the other night. They do it to calm themselves. Just like a bubble bath and some candles. Only furrier and it leaves that hiney taste in your mouth. Ick.

I always thought cats were just little furry obsessive compulsive freaks. Guess not.

Wow. That just turned into a post entirely about kitty grooming habits. Unintentional, I assure you.

What do you do to wind down after a stressful day/week/existence?

PseudoFamily

Top Row/Left to Right: Todd, Jodi's little sister, Jodi's husband person
Bottom Row/Left to Right: Me, Jodi, Her Mom

I have a love hate relationship with this picture. It's nice, but then kind of 80's sitcomish. Not exactly sure why I'm up in the air about it, but it's full of people I love, so I'm dealing.

This is part of that adopted family I'm always referring to. I've been pseudo sister/daughter in this family for 15 years now, and the fact that I've known anyone that long still blows my mind. That's what moving around as a child will do for ya. You get used to not knowing anyone longer than a couple years at a time.

So, anyway. This was our Saturday. We decided, since it was about 70 degrees in December, we'd go on an outing after church.

Again, yes I go to church on Saturday, and no I'm not Jewish. Not that I have a problem with Jewish folk. I just happen to keep sabbath and believe in Jesus, which makes me not Jewish.

Is it terribly obvious that I get asked about tabernacle ALL THE TIME? No tabernacle. Not Jewish people. Sorry.

Anyhow, we had great fun. Ended up playing Wii sports into the wee hours of the morning, watching episodes of Fresh Prince that we'd all seen a billion times, and eventually passing out.

Oh, and I Sharpied little sister's Chucks.

They now rock.

Not so eventful, but wonderful.

Tonight Ari, Jodi and her husband, and Todd and I are meeting with another old chum. He and Ari and I went to college together.

Can't wait.

Eight O'clock And All Is Well

It's only eight o'clock here, but I'm pretty sure I'm too beat to be posting. Beat but relaxed.

I am basking in the glow of our Christmas tree, listening to the wurr of the ceiling fan, and the yipping coyote pups in the distance (I think I've mentioned that I live in the boonies). Todd's asleep on the futon, and Kimchi's asleep in Todd's recliner. Our birdies are sweetly peeping now and again, and the clock is ticking me to sleep.

Christmas is over. It's 70 freaking degrees outside, and NOW it really feels like winter to me. Don't ask me why. Maybe it's because I can relax now? I don't know.

Whatever the reason, it feels like all the world is napping. Except maybe those coyotes. I LOVE IT!

Tomorrow will consist of church, good food, going for a walk at the lake, and an evening with dear friends-an adopted family of sorts.

Fun will be had by all.

Fundamental Fundependability

Kitty noses are things of great beauty. At least I think so. Do they ever get warm? Can they get warm? In my experience they are perpetually cold and wet.

Kimchi's nose is exceptionally cute, if I do say so myself, and I do. And I should know. I see it first thing every morning. He likes to waltz up to my face and push his nose to mine and start loving on me. Love I tell you. Complete. Unadulterated. Love.

Now, I know it's to get me to refill his bowl of Iams Weight Management Kitty Kibble(the vet says he might be genetically predisposed to be "chunky"), but it's love too. A nice cozy relationship full of trust and reliability. Fundamental fundapendability.

All my cats were always psychotic gypsy nut jobs. They fit right in with my family. Grade A neurotic.

Love me. Pet me. Okay...stop or I'll eat you. Never mind. I'm leaving.

This is not the case with the newest addition to the Click family. He is oh so sweet and cuddly. I've never met a more lovable feline. All eleven and a half pounds of fluff are full of love.

That picture up there? Todd's posing his wittle mug to get that picture for me. Kimchi? Didn't mind in the least. Just purred the whole dang time.

I love him. Stinky hind end and all. Think I'll go home to him now actually, and my hubby. ^__^

Survivor

Hello wonderful people! Since you're all dying to know...Thanksgiving was a blast. I wish I had more photos than I do, but my crappy razor camera doesn't quite cut it. Ha!! Razor. Cut it. Okay. Okay. Sorry.

As I was saying. Todd and I survived Thanksgiving. Festivities at Jodi's(You remember Jodi. The soul mate?) house included:

-Making veggie rolls, as seen (pre-rolled) above.
-Making obscene amounts of deviled eggs. I can't even look at my chickens as of late.
-Baking my first lasagna, which was devoured.^_^
-A rousing game of Rock Band, at which I owned the drums. On medium! I'm so proud of myself!
-Playing football until I hurt my shoulder.
-Watching some weird Kung Fu movie that I actually liked. Who knew?!

So, that's it in a nutshell. It was lots of fun, and really felt like family.

It's been a long while since Jodi and I have laughed like we did this Thanksgiving. It was so great. We've always been so very different. I'm amazed at how much we need each other.

Being so far apart for so long, I worry that we'll drift apart, but it hasn't happened yet, and I pray it never does.

Unmonumental Bliss

Well, the weekend is over and I had to give Ariana back to her husband and puppy. Zombies were apparently taking over their home, while she and I were in our cozy little world of knitting, sculpting and yapping. Believe me you, any weekend with lovely ladies, knitting needles and The Big Lebowski is a weekend worth remembering. We even managed to force Todd into retreating(with my guitar and amp) into the bedroom. SCORE! Girls night in achieved. Freakin' A!

What interesting things have I to tell? Hmmm...perhaps nothing. I gave Ari one of the two Muppet magnets I've been in the process of making her. Kermit, Pepe and Animal are her favorites. She's got Pepe and I'm holding the other one hostage until tonight. For your viewing pleasure...heeeere's Pepe!

This very unmonumental post reminds me of how thankful I am to be able to enjoy such smallness. No big deals or earth shattering news. Just me and loved ones. Just being. Just creating. It's nice. My world has seemed vary ominous and scary in the past. I like what it's become, or how it's maintaining.

Oh the hippiness! I need food. Enjoy your days peoples!