To Do: Finish Table - Check!

I finally finished the mosaic I was working on for the top of our coffee table. This table was a hand me down (several times over I believe). At one time it had a glass top, but it was broken before DS became the owner. It wasn't the nicest table in the world, so it made a good experimental surface for trying out a new art form.

Never having done mosaics before, but knowing something about general tiling, I headed to the hardware store for tile adhesive. The grout I picked up at the craft store because it came in small amounts and different colors. The tiles were bought from the seller cocomo on Etsy, who finds really sweet ceramics and cuts them up for tiles.

Lesson #1: Unless you're doing a small project, do not do all of the tile adhesive work first. Despite needing a week of drying time before grouting, it will lose its ability to hold tile much faster.

Lesson #2: You should probably do this on days you can open a window. That stuff stinks, and is a great headache causer.

Lesson #3: If you're going for a cohesive look, you should probably plan it out ahead of time. And make sure you have enough tiles in the colors you like.

Lesson #4: Grout is dusty. Also, it looks a lot better if you let it sit for a while before doing the wet sponge part. A "float" helps too.

Lesson #5: Despite all of the other lessons, chances are you're still going to end up with something much cooler than your original ugly table.

I tried to do a series of little scenes rather than try to plan out one big one. See if you can figure them out. (Don't worry if you can't, DS couldn't really tell what they were without explanation either.)

Close up Left

Close up - Middle

Close up - Right

Anyone have some grout?

So the table isn't finished, but not for lack of trying. It took a lot more grout than I anticipated, and I've run out. DS tried to get more for me the last time he was running errands, but the store was out too. So, now I have a half grouted table top. Hopefully they'll more in stock this weekend.

It rained slush all day yesterday, and I was able to see actual road again for the first time in a long time. (I don't know if you've been keeping count, but I'm pretty certain I haven't seen actual ground since Thanksgiving.) Of course, now we're in the middle of a winter storm warning expected to dump 6-10 inches of snow by tomorrow morning. So bye-bye roads again. It's a good thing Wisconsin drivers know how to drive in snow, or we'd all be screwed.

But yeah, I think the 10-day forecast has snow from now until next Monday. Probably not straight snow, but snow that many days in a row none the less. I'm pretty excited about it. There is talk among my friends of going snow tubing this weekend! I hope it pans out. (Come on Cathy, ask for a snow tubing party for your birthday!!)

Blizzard!!

The deadline is almost over (just one more day!), we have an official blizzard tonight (more to do with wind than accumulation), and I'm staying on top of my chores! I feel PRODUCTIVE!! It's awesome :)

Pictures will come later, but here's what I've been up to lately:
1. Watching Season 2 of Buffy with DS
2. Designing a tile mosaic design for the top of our coffee table
3. Playing Rock Band (heck yeah I'm an awesome drummer!!)

Now if you'll excuse me, I have go watch 50 mph winds whip snow around while I eat ice cream. When I woke up this morning, it was 40 and raining. It's currently 2, with a wind chill of -19. Our low is -9 with a wind chill of -30. Anyone want to visit?

Anyone need a zoo planner?

I've taken a break from Mass Effect to re-take up a game I've had for some time: Zoo Tycoon 2. Except now, I've gone expansion pack crazy!!

Need someone to tranquilize some dinosaurs? Call me! Need someone to train marine life and design marine shows? Call me! Need someone to fulfill the ever-growing needs and wants of your zoo guests? Call me!

In case you're confused, I'm basically saying that I'm an expert zoo designer, planner, and maintainer! And I greatly enjoy it, so you'd almost be doing me a favor by giving me that much work!

So yeah, that's what I'm doing now. That and still chugging along towards my deadline. And recovering from hosting a viewing of the Packers' game on Sunday. Packers fans are scary.

And on the exhaustion front, my therapist has recommended getting full spectrum light bulbs, getting more vitamin D, magnesium, and fatty three omega acids, and moving around in some capacity for 18 minutes 3 days a week (apparently, that's really all you need for mood and energy benefits). These recommendations came after being told that I don't see the sun at all in the winter, because my office has no windows and it's dark when I go home. Apparently my brain has forgotten how to function during the "day". So go ahead and try those things out if you're finding yourself exhausted as well!

My brain hurts

At my work, we have deadlines for development and QA that revolve around release schedules. There is currently one approaching at the end of the month. Every time I think I'm doing well, and getting my stuff tested, more things show up in my queue... it's making my brain hurt. And I'm tired. I haven't even been checking my e-mail with any regularity, or reading my online comics. Also, if anyone knows how to make Winston shut up, that would be great. He's taken to meowing constantly, and if we don't spend every second doting on him, he does something he's not supposed on purpose to get attention. DS is threatening to throw him off the balcony, something he usually says in jest...

Other than that though, things are good. Building zoos, reading The Subtle Knife, bringing down my Brain Age. And sleeping... Is it my allergies? I don't know, but I'm tired.

Be Forewarned

Just because you got a new HDTV and have become obsessed with your new Mass Effect game does not mean you can neglect your household chores... Litter box stink will not be your only punishment. Cats retaliate in much harsher ways when angry. I'm just saying.. remember to get off your ass every one in a while, or plan on doing extra laundry...

(Sorry Winston)

Personal DNA

Enjoy Nature at Your Own Risk

DS introduced me to this today:

http://www.nelsonrocks.org/disclaimer.html

It's an actual, serious disclaimer from a sort of adventure park made mostly of rocks.  Real ones.  Like mountains.

Anyway, go read.  Laugh some while you question why you've ever left your house.

Celebrate in Style!

DS and I decided to treat ourselves with my Christmas bonus and his graduation monies.  One of the things we bought was a new board game.  Felix enjoys tossing the die.

Whenever we buy something that comes with plastic, you can be sure that Winston will be there to help you out with it.

Our brand new TV came with LOTS of plastic.  (I bet you can imagine how we spent our vacation!)

It has become our New Year's tradition to go to our friend Dave's house.  I wore my brand new dress that my mom bought me!

(I thought this picture was totally awesome, then I totally Fellenz being creepy in the doorway.  He's like a photo stalker!)

One thing that was different this year was the appearance of KT1, who is usually still home for Christmas at this time.  Nobody can make a party fun like KT1.  

(She looked way better in the other picture of us, but this one was so much more festive I couldn't resist.)

Well, tonight DS and I finally got around to going Christmas light looking.  What?  Don't look at me like that.  There were mitigating circumstances.  Like impenetrable fog for a week, and DS falling asleep when the sun set.  

At any rate, tonight we went.  We found more than we have in past years, now that we live in a slightly different part of town.  As it turns out though, the only thing we found worthy of getting out of the car to photograph had less to do with lights and more to do with sheer awesomeness.

Yeah, that's right.  That's an IGLOO!  I probably couldn't fit inside comfortably, but children could.  We were in total awe.  (hmm.. awe.. awesome.. yes, those words go together perfectly here, and not just in the middle school "cool" sort of way... sometimes I find words fascinating long after I should have realized their true meanings...)

I made 8 different kinds of cookies yesterday.  EIGHT!  If you want some cookies, come on over, because I have plenty.  Sometimes I get carried away.  Maybe I still am, because the only reason I stopped was because I ran out of vanilla and butter.  It's hard to make cookies without those two things.  But I still want to try making cashew brittle, and it's just wrong to make cookies without including chocolate chips.  There's also a batch of dough in the fridge that just needs to be rolled out so I can put jelly in them, fold them, and bake them.  Yum!  Being on vacation rocks.

The only other thing happening is this:  My Brother's Birthday!!  Happy Birthday Brother!!

Merry Christmas!!

Santa brought Winston and Felix an array of goodies!  Look at all of those new toys!

Felix is very fond of their new cat bed.

Winston was interested at first, but quickly went back to his old standby.

Look at him go!  Can you see the little pink and white mouse he's after?

This is his favorite game, and he is taking full advantage of DS being home this week.

As for DS and I, we used our Christmas money to get a new HDTV!  It's not here yet, but we're trying very hard to be patient.  We also got each other some books and video games.  We thought it was pretty funny that we both got each other such similar things.

Now, I'm going to make a BUNCH of Christmas cookies, because I love doing that, and DS is going to make me a roast chicken!  We're loving our first Christmas at home, and we hope you're having a wonderful time wherever you are too!

Merry Christmas!

5 Days 'til Christmas

Work is stressful at the moment, as I have a deadline on Jan 4th, but am about to be off for 11 days straight... which really means I'll just be working from home during my vacation some. Feeling responsible can really suck sometimes.

At any rate, between that and the following things, I've been both busy, somewhat stressed, and scarce. Here's a rundown.

DS was forced into attending graduation by his mother and I.

It was by far the best graduation I've ever attended: short, painless, and the guest speaker was even pretty funny.

Of course, I then had to make DS pose, which he refuses to do with any sincerity. But I'm okay with it, because this picture cracks me up.

Once the rest of his family left, we took his mom to the zoo.
Seals are pretty darn funny when they're flopping around on dry ground.

Of course, the main reason I wanted to take her is that the polar bears become hilarious once it starts snowing. This guy just flops around on his belly looking so content, and then he'll slide down the rocks on his back. Totally worth going just for that alone.

She was also excited to see actual icicles on people's houses.

She asked me to design an ornament for her with her dogs Jake and Willard in it. I was pretty proud of the results, so I'm showing it off.
And finally, I fulfilled a long-standing dream of mine and designed a 3d Sleep Goblin. You know you want one!! And if not, I do, which means I have to make another, cause this was a gift.

12 Days 'til Christmas

My friend Luke has a window office on the third floor at work (that's as high as it goes).  We think he might be on his way to have the world's largest icicle hanging from the roof above him.  It goes well down into the second floor level.  The girl in the office below him looks out at the bottom.  

I have to wonder about the quality of our drainage system, because the entire campus is covered in stuff like this...  Not that I'm complaining, it looks really cool.  Of course, they also have to close the courtyard from time to time because they start falling and it's quite possible something of this size would kill you.

I finally got DS to let me buy a bunch of Christmas candy.  I love this stuff!!  Also, it looks really cool as a desktop wallpaper.  I won't be offended if you download it ;)

13 Days 'til Christmas

The mystery has been solved!  It was indeed ordered from a person and not a store.  Thanks sister of DS!!

So my guesstimate is that it's snowed roughly every 3 days since Thanksgiving.  I'd say we have at least a foot of snow, and it hasn't been above freezing in a few weeks now.  This is why I love living here!  It's like the prettiest Christmas card you ever saw, with all the evergreen trees covered in snow.  Especially when people put lights on the outdoor trees.  AWESOME!

I'm pretty much in heaven here.  Which I could say the same for DS.... He's lamenting his inability to climb outdoors in this weather.  He really needs new hobbies.

15 Days 'til Christmas

Holy Crap!

Apparently I have a [not so] secret admirer of some sort.  I received a package today from someone in Minnesota.  No note, no card, just a return address and a last name on the envelope.  At first I was sure that DS had ordered me something for Christmas using some account that had it ship directly to me.  Feeling as if I had spoiled a Christmas surprise, I took him the envelope in shame.  But no!  It was not from him!

That means it was from someone else.  Either someone in MN (which seems highly unlikely unless you just haven't really made yourself know, since the only person that I actually know in MN lives in Minneapolis), or someone from anywhere else that used the Amazon's "buy from other people" option.

Who is it?!  I want to thank you!!  

19 Days 'til Christmas

Dude.  I am a horrible wife....  Somehow I forgot to announce that DS gave his defense on Monday, and is now officially Dr. DS!!  (Maybe not so horrible, I did go watch it, and carry all that food he bought and no one ate up 3 flights of stairs.)

Sometime ago, maybe this summer, I bought him a shirt from Dinosaur Comics.  My only caveat was that he had to wear it under his suit during his defense.  He did :)

I present to you:

Professor Science!!

This image and Dinosaur Comics are copyright Ryan North.  

Go read it, it's totally awesome.

This is an old picture, but you get the idea.

21 Days 'til Christmas

More snow was dumped on us yesterday, and I believe more is on the way throughout the week.  Man I love living here!  This year, our families are coming to us, and I have a feeling they won't be so happy.  They all come from much warmer climates...  Don't you just love the way the snow clings to the greenery?  All the fir and pine trees around here look AWESOME!

In store news, the ornaments are now officially posted there*.  So if you don't know my e-mail address but would still like one, you can go there.  It uses PayPal.  I'm also working on some festive earrings.  Nothing overly Christmas-y, but I think they'll be great for holiday parties (and maybe all parties)!

*Click on the SG photo!

23 Days 'til Christmas

They're here!!  Send me an e-mail if you'd like one this year!

Also, in case you don't know, I do take special requests for ornaments.  So if you want something special for a gift or yourself, just let me know.

Wonderful Things

1. Several of my work friends have a tradition of "trashing" a co-worker's office on their birthday. Plans are made in secret, and all work is done after the co-worker has left so they'll be surprised the morning of their birthday. This week was Jim's birthday, and he came in to 3 feet of balloons. Check out that static*! 286 balloons are good for that.

2. I have a large marker board in my office. When it's not full of ideas for work projects, people draw on it. This image started with the sailboat, then came the guy falling off and a shark eating his leg. A few days later, a turtle was eating a shark, and then a whale was eating the turtle. Then Jonah appeared, and then an alien "fishing" for the whale. What I love most is that I never asked any of these people to add to the drawing, it just happened. Often when I wasn't in the room.

3. It's snowing. Hard. And the winter storm warning doesn't even start for several more hours. I love winter!!

4. We put up our Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving as usual while we watched Christmas Vacation. This year I bought extra plug timers so I don't have to turn on or off any of my lights. They're on when I get home from work, and go off some time after I fall asleep. Aside from the fact that we can't keep Winston from chewing on the tree (that crazy cat likes to chew on plastic.. makes me almost wish we'd gotten a real tree), I'd say our new apartment is a decorating success! Also, Winston would like to start the countdown to Christmas!


* Image may require enlarging to see static effects.

Not that selfish

If you've noticed that I moved the buy me stuff section closer to the top, you might be wondering when I became so selfish (or something along those lines). I assure you, I'm not expecting you all to buy me stuff. But when your own husband claims he's never heard of your long-existing Christmas list, it's time to make sure people can find it.

So yeah, you don't have to buy me stuff. Of course, I'm not going to stop you either ;)

Do it!

You can do it too! My store make it easy. So does this one.

MMMMmmmmm!

Every year DS frets about making a turkey.  He spends a few days scouring the internet for recipes because he can't find the one he'd used the year before.  One of these times you'd think he'd save the thing.

This year was no different.  He finally settled on an Alton Brown recipe that involved brining, which is something we've never done before.  He planned the timing of everything pretty well, so that all the different foods finished about the same time (except the mashed potatoes, which was really my fault).  He even managed to do all of this while talking to the five million people that called us on Thursday.

As usual, he had no reason to worry.  This turkey was sooo moist and delicious!  Even now, three days later, it's still scrumptious.  He's so awesome!

Look at that spread!  We found this really good stuffing that came in a bag.  It had cranberries in it, which turned out to be great.  I'll have to see if they sell that stuff year round.

I was in charge of the pumpkin pie, as usual.  I attempted to bake my own pie crust this year, and failed.  I think I was close.  I messed up somewhere around the refrigerating and parchment paper and beans part.  It tasted okay after it came out of the oven, but the parchment paper didn't want to separate so my crust had holes in the bottom.  Not so good for holding pie.  Luckily, I had some chocolate crumb crusts in the cabinet, which turned out to go pretty well with the pumpkin pie.  Crisis averted!

Meanwhile, Winston is trying to remember what it was like to enjoy snow.  He's currently in the "what the hell is this cold crap?" phase.  

First Snow

People keep asking me if DS and I are going home for Thanksgiving. They always seemed shocked when I tell them that DS refuses to travel for Thanksgiving. Then I explain the severely bad luck he's had traveling on this particular holiday, and they seem to get it. I'm talking sleeping in the Detroit airport, and getting stranded in the part of Illinois that is 40 miles between exits and you're not even guaranteed it will have anything more than a grain silo.

And wouldn't you know it? The day before Thanksgiving we get our first snow! I'm sooo glad we're staying home!

Go ahead and look at that house across the street. Those lights went up the day after Halloween. HALLOWEEN!!!

1. Dizziness did not rear it's ugly head today. Score!
2. DS finished his thesis. I'm hoping this means a return to his sanity.
3. I am disturbed by the number of houses in my neighborhood that put up their Christmas decorations the day after Halloween.
4. I updated the store!
5. Trying to decide on an ornament design for this year. Feel free to suggest some things!
6. Still have quite a few from last year if you're interested.
7. My best friend just got engaged!!!!!!!

Summary: Things just might be on the up and up. Hoorah!

Almost There

I learned what withdrawal-induced rage was yesterday. I'm very lucky that DS is such a wonderful husband...

My night was filled with such vivid dreams that I never felt as if I were sleeping. I also woke up after every one.

I'm sure that didn't help how I felt when I finally got up this morning. Usually the dizziness had come on sometime after lunch, but it was already there when I woke.

Luckily, it wore off a couple of hours later, and I've been mostly fine ever since. Maybe I'm about done with this crap!

Screw you GSK

Have you ever felt like your head was going to roll off your shoulders if you weren't careful? I'm not talking about because you're tired, or you have a headache or something. I mean like your head is a bowling ball that rests on a very small pedestal, and the tiniest wrong movement will send it cascading to the floor.

Yeah, that's how I feel. Also dizzy, nauseous, hot, cold, confused, disoriented. The more I try to focus on something with my eyes, the more I have this strong feeling that my eyes are flitting from side to side.

It's not that I was oblivious to the fact that Paxil has some withdrawal symptoms. At least, I knew I wasn't supposed to stop it cold turkey. But seriously, someone could have freakin told me that they included things like this. My doctor is tapering my dose, which means every week, I feel like crap all over again.

So now, I'm trying really hard to keep working through all of this, which is especially difficult since my entire job is me staring intently at a computer screen. That happens to be the thing that makes all of my symptoms worse. If I lie down and close my eyes, I feel a little better. The minute I have to focus on something, twitter eyes.

I'd write a nasty letter to the people that make Paxil, but I'm told there are already class action lawsuits against them. I'm not saying they have to stop making their stuff, because it does do some good. But really, they should have to let you know all the crap you'll go through when you decide to stop. Because I'm pretty sure I would have told my doctor she could find another one of the countless anti-depressants to put me on.

I love you Tori!!

Saturday evening, my friend Renae and I went to see Tori Amos in concert. It was at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee. While I can't say that it's the most beautiful theater I've ever been to*, it's definitely up there.

A chandelier inside the theater.

As it turns out, Tori is difficult to photograph from afar when it's dark and you can't hold your camera steady.

It's so hot when she plays two pianos at once!

There were some pretty cool lighting effects. This was one of my favorites.

This picture is actually clear. I was playing with the manual settings on my camera, something I've never really done before. I have absolutely no idea what they do, and no idea what I did to make this happen. Anyway, it was pretty awesome.

*Somewhere around the Fall of 2000 I believe, I saw Tori at the Fox Theater in St. Louis. Pure Bliss!

Pictures at last

I decided to take full advantage of iLife '08 (one of my birthday presents from DS). Instead of uploading a bunch of pictures that will take up a ton of space, I made a little movie. Here are a selection of pictures from the last couple of months. Some things I've talked about already, so they may sound familiar, but I'm a big fan of photos.

*grumble* The quality isn't nearly as nice as it was on my computer. *le sigh*
Also, I don't know what happened to Winston, so here you go.