A New Obsession

I have a really good friend. The way we became close friends is kind of odd and I think I'll just keep it between us. Let's just say we already knew each other but were not close. I called her one night and needed a big favor quick. Without even a question she agreed to the favor and helped me tremendously.

Since then she has been there to hear me talk and cry. I went through one of my hardest times with her right by my side. She was always there to help me. She has also, on countless occasions, fed my kitty and given her love when we've been out of town. She has fed me a lot as well. What's even cooler about it is she's given me a chance to try food I've never tried. She has also given me candy that I have never thought about about eating; that's pretty cool.

I try so hard but I don't think I will ever be able to give her the friendship she gives me. You see, she is very inspirational. I don't think she realizes she has this quality. How is she inspirational you ask? She can do anything she sets her mind to and she sets her mind to a lot of stuff. She has earned a double major. She has run in several triathlons. She is a wonderful mother, has a successful career AND a successful photography business. *side note: She literally just decided to pick up a camera one day and made something of herself. Amazing, I know. She also is a good quilter, wife, and her house is so cute. On top of all that she still manages to be such a great friend to me.

As you can see she has a lot of good qualities about her. All of those things are great but there is one more thing that makes her even greater..she works at Pixar. Yes, she is a technical designer at Pixar Studios. It is so awesome having a friend who works at Pixar. She has graciously invited us to Pixar many times. We have had the opportunity to eat at the FREE cereal bar countless times and that makes me pretty much famous. We have also been invited to many events including BBQs, Chocolate Day (or whatever it's called), lunch, movie premiers, and The Oscars.

Oh the Oscars.

The first time we were invited to go watch the Oscars at Pixar we only did it because of the good company and free food. We were not disappointed. There were finger sandwiches, soda, candy, and other finger food. We sat in their biggest theater room and watched the Oscars. We could come and go as we please and talk as much as we wanted. I really enjoyed it. The coolest part was when Wall E won and everyone started clapping. It was so cool. So, when she invited us to go to the Oscars again to watch Up win, we were quick to say yes.

This, year, however we did not get watch the Oscars at Pixar. I'm assuming it's because my friend has a baby and it would be bad timing for bed time. Or, maybe, it's because they have other friends they wanted to invite. Whatever the reason, I was not offended or put much thought into it. What I didn't realize was how much I would miss watching the Oscars. As February 27th was arriving I found myself in panic because I needed to find a way to trick Michael into watching The Oscars. Even worse, there was a basketball game on that was really important so how would I get him away from that? My blood pressure has rose just reliving the feeling.

Luck was on my side.

We have this new puppy, Roxy. She is Michael's puppy. Therefore he has been incharge of waking up with her in the middle of the night to take her out to go to the bathroom. (FYI: I'm not a jerk. For the next couple of nights I will be doing this so my poor husband can get some rest) Because of this, on Sunday February 27th Michael took a 4 hour nap. I'm smiling just thinking of it. I was able to watch The Oscar Red Carpet event. I got to see all the stars come down in their new, fancy gowns and get interviewed about stuff that doesn't even matter but yet I care about it.

Michael woke up just in time as The Oscars were starting. What was I to do?

Remember...luck was on my side.

Michael had put in some money for a pool..pole..at work for what/who would win what Oscar. This means that Michael had some interest in watching The Oscars.

I didn't get to watch all of it like I secretly had hoped but I was able to feed my new obsession just a little bit.

Thanks, friend, for giving me so much. At this time I especially thank you for giving me the love of The Oscars.

Also, Congratulations on your win. *She helped in the making of Toy Story 3

This is a true story. I wouldn't lie.

Does everyone here know that I have an ant problem? If not, I have an ant problem. Two days after moving into our house I found a bunch of gross, crawly, want-to-make-you-die-you-hate-them-so-much ants. Over the past little while I have been finding out new ways that they are getting in. First it was from under the sink. Then, through the window seal. Then a baseboard in my breakfast nook. Then...well you get the idea. I am happy to say that I have not seen an ant (inside, I recently sprayed a bunch outside) in about a week. *knock on wood

Moral of the story: I HATE ants.

My boss has a three year old boy. Boys like bugs. This means that he now has pet bugs. Guess who gets to feed, water, and take care of the pet bugs? You guess right: me. I'm so excited. Can you sense the sarcasm? The ladybugs were easy and I actually didn't even have to touch them. My boss just poured them into their cage thingy and they turned into ladybugs without any hassle. Now, I just have to drop raisins in their cage and droplets of water every once in a while.

Another bug he has is caterpillars, well now butterflies. Oh. My. Gosh. Don't ever get your kid pet butterflies because they are high maintenance little buggers. First you have scoop food into a little cup, place the caterpillar in there, then put on a lid. After about a week the things have made their cocoons and are ready to be safety pinned to the side of the net. (the cocoons are attached to the lids. I don't actually put a safety pin through the cocoon.) Finally, once they have become butterflies you have to feed them with fruit and flowers (mums or carnations to be exact) and give them sugary water. Also you have to tell the three year old about a hundred times "No, don't grab their legs like that it hurts them."

Reality of the situation, ladybugs and butterflies aren't that bad. They are kind of cute and it's kind of cool. Still, I will never get my kid a pet bug. It's icky.

Today, my being ok with the pet bug changed. Today, the ants were delivered. When I knew there was going to be ants I set aside my feelings of wanting to kill every ant I see, inside or not, for a cute three year old boy who could be interested in seeing ants crawl and tunnel. I said to myself that I would not have to see them crawling all over my JUST CLEANED dishes or in my JUST PURCHASED sugar. Still, I was not excited about having to take care of a bunch of ants. I would rather them die.

At this point I would like to throw in a "For the record..."

FOR THE RECORD: I am a nice person. I love animals, probably to a point where it's weird. I never want to see an animal, insect, or arachnid die. I even apologize to spiders before I kill them. Afterwords, I kind of feel bad and hope they don't have any family or that they don't have a big enough brain to know when a family member is missing. But, the ants have crossed a line. If you ever get ants you will understand.

Like I was saying...*clearing of the throat* the ants arrived today. I shuttered as my boss told me that I needed to set them up. I have been dreading this day for about two weeks. Every time I saw the empty ant hill I would sigh because I knew I would have to set it up eventually. I also secretly hoped that the ants would never come.

I realized, though, that it was time and it would be better to get it over with. With any pet, including a pet bug, you need to read how to take care of them. Surprisingly enough ants are really easy to take care of. All you have to do, after pouring in the sand-not so easy, is put in a couple drops of water and a piece of fruit the size of a popcorn kernel into the habitat every three days. EASY. I was kind of relieved as I read that it wouldn't take much effort at all. Hooray, for easy ants. Then I read how to get the ants into the habitat. First thing I see is this...word for word...

"CAUTION! DO NOT TOUCH THESE ANTS. They are for observation only. The harvester ant can inflict a painful sting that normally causes local swelling and itching. IF you are stung apply ice to the area until the pain subsides. If symptoms persist see your physician.

"Put ants in refridgerator for 10 minutes to calm there activity. DO NOT PUT THEM IN THE FREEZER THIS WILL KILL THEM." You can imagine my temptation at this point to put them in the freezer.

"Shake the ants to one side of the tube before pouring into habitat. Pour ants quickly into habitat. Close the lid instantly so they can't get out.

"If they escape, DO NOT TOUCH THEM."

I am so F*@!#$% excited my boss feels the need to have pet ants.

Bring a smile to your face

Michael and I have been on the hunt for a dog. We thought we found one, he was so cute and so sweet, but unfortunately it just didn't work. That means that Michael spends probably about 50% of his day on craigslist looking for just the right puppy. Every once in a while I get the chance to look too. While scanning over all the ads and looking at all the cute puppies I tend to get distracted. You see, I love kittens. There are very few things in life that are cuter than kittens. Alright, let's put two and two together. I love kittens...I get distracted...Ok I tell you. I look at kitten ads. Every ad is pleasing; I've never been disappointed in the cuteness of them. I often look at them and pretend I'm playing with them or petting them or watching them sleep. Have I reached the point of craziness yet?

There is a point...

One day I saw an ad that said, "The fluffiest kitty I've ever seen." I opened the ad and found this...


I ran into this ad a while ago but still every time I see this picture I giggle. Seriously, how can you look at that kitty and not smile? It's impossible.

Now, if I'm having a rough day or I'm feeling a little down I just look at this picture to help me smile. I hope it can do the same to you.

Moving in

Welp, I survived. Even though last week I thought I might die from the stress I didn't. I was able to get everything packed away and ready to go. Saturday morning came and I was ready to move. We had so much help it was amazing. We were able to get moved in about 2 1/2 hours. We found out that our doorways are super narrow so that made life interesting. In order to get everything in the house and into the right room we had to take apart and put together a lot of furniture.

After we returned our moving truck we made a trip to IKEA so that we could get a new bookcase and entertainment center. Word of advice: when you are already exhausted from moving and have a lot of unpacking to do, don't go to IKEA you will become so tired you will just want to fall asleep. Even though I wanted to just lie down and fall asleep I knew I had to at least get my kitchen together. I'm really glad I made that decision. After seeing my kitchen all set up and looking cute it made me feel really excited about my new house.

Tomorrow it will be a week that we have lived here. We have all but two boxes unpacked but still stuff is scattered everywhere. Since we had to go back to work it's been hard to come home and work some more. I have tomorrow off, though, so I'm hoping to get our bedroom all pretty as well as the living room finished. I also hope to get a vacuum to my floor because it's disgusting. I'm really ready to be all moved in. It stresses me out when I think of all the piles of stuff all over my house. It makes it really not feel like a home. Also, I really want to get some pictures to my faithful followers and I refuse to do it until I have a clean house.

So there you go. That's how it all went. Keep your eyes peeled for my post of pictures; I'm sure it will be coming soon.