My College Homework

Learning Garage

2011-09-29T21:38:00.000-05:00

Two people brought up my blog today and I had to confess I hadn't updated since June. So, here I am.

Back in June, the month when updating ceased, my dad came to town and helped straighten my garage. It was leaning and stressing me out every time I pulled my car in the garage. This project was handled just like every other project with my dad — I took pictures (and sent him this link); he did the dirty work.

After the garage was pulled back in place, Dave and my dad replaced some rotting boards, and a week later, Dave and I slapped a fresh coat of paint on it. Done.

Oh, also, there's this neat stuff called foam backer rod. Write that down. You can use it when you have extra wide gaps that need to be caulked.


Before

During

After

Lost and Found

2011-06-08T21:20:00.000-05:00

I did a good deed yesterday. I found a dog wandering my neighborhood around 6:30 a.m. with a collar but no tags, so I corralled it in my backyard while I debated my next move. Since I couldn't call the owner, I ended up calling our local humane society, but they weren't open yet. Their phone system gave me another number to call for lost and found dogs. So I called that number...and it turns out it was for the police department! Did you know you should call the police for lost dogs? I was totally caught off guard.

I'm happy to report the dog was returned to its owners.

Found!

P.S. Heather -- thanks for helping me with the dog!

Streamers

2011-06-03T07:22:00.002-05:00

Back when Dave had a birthday, I made a dozen of these streamers. Then, I left them up for a week and a half. When I took them down, I intended to throw them out, but that seemed like a waste of paper cuttery, so I stuck them in my spare bedroom closet. It's very festive in there.

Bonus – Penny Friday!

A funny thing happened

2011-06-01T23:25:00.000-05:00

I got bangs. I feel like I'm wearing a Halloween costume. It's startling every time I look in the mirror, because I'm not so sure about this new fringe of mine.

I cannot smile with bangs; something frightful happens to my face.

Time Management, part 2

2011-05-17T17:59:00.000-05:00

And then I went to China. My brother, sister-in-law, and I made the trek to the middle kindgom in early April. We dropped in on our aunt and uncle in Hong Kong, got yelled at in a Beijing subway station, and cruised the Huangpu River in Shanghai.

Here are some of my observations:

The bikes in China are old. The cars are relatively modern, so why are all the bikes rusty and old looking?
Asian bakery pastries are so tasty. We went to one almost every day, sometimes twice a day.
I'm terrible at bargaining (because I hate it so), but still ended up getting good deals.
To get anywhere took a lot longer than we expected.
Cars do not yield for pedestrians. Cross the street at your own risk!
Pizza Huts are fancy.
When we would finally work through language barrier issues with waiters and ticket counter agents — through a combination of Chinese, English and hand signals — it felt like a huge victory for mankind.

Hong Kong city shot.

On the street in Hong Kong.

Making our way up to the big buddha in Hong Kong.

Greetings from the Great Wall.

See?! Old bikes.

In Tiananmen Square -- out of all the places we visited, just milling around the square is what felt most like China to me.

An Asian bakery. My true love! They all look something like this.

Colorful shot of Shanghai. So sci-fi.

Time Management, part 1

2011-04-19T20:47:00.001-05:00

Hello? As it turns out, time management has not been my strong suit during the first several months of this year. No matter. I'm here now to delight you with my lack of home improvement projects, pictures of Penny and miscellaneous news since my last post two months ago.

First up, in early March, my mom and I tagged along with my sister to San Francisco where she was attending a conference. While Lola learned defensive programming in Java (thrilling!), I marched my mom all over the city. I have a very purposeful stride.

I scored a half-off Segway deal on Yelp. At one point, my mom got stuck in the mud.

Lola, my mom, and me with a classic San Francisco backdrop.

You've all seen the Golden Gate Bridge, but this shot's not too bad, right?

Bundle of joy

2011-02-19T13:10:00.000-06:00

Penny Fridays have gone by the wayside, but that doesn't mean Penny has! Here she is all bundled up. When I took this picture, I had the day off from work so I exercised my right not to make my bed.

Kale Chips

2011-02-10T19:15:00.000-06:00

I can't stop eating kale chips! They are so tasty and good for you because kale is a powerhouse vegetable. I've been eating them every evening this week and have said "Mmmm!" out loud every single time.

According to the Internets, these are so a year ago, but, no matter, I'm always behind trend. I started with this recipe (only four ingredients) and made my own modifications. Here are the two things I do differently in case you want to follow suit: Use lime instead of lemon (or experiment with various vinegars) and change the oven temp to 325 and cook for 12-14 minutes.

This just looks like a bowl of salad greens, but I promise you these are kale chips. I would have taken another picture, but by the time I realized this one was lame, I had already consumed all of the chips.

2011 Calendar

2011-01-23T10:00:00.001-06:00

I'll just out myself before my brother does in the comments — my 2010 calendar only consisted of months January through April and October and November. I got lazy. This year, I went the pre-made route with the My Owl Barn calendar. Done.

Unlike 2010, I will acknowledge all the months of 2011.

Where's Bee?

2011-01-19T18:55:00.000-06:00

One of my Facebook friends had posted this video. Since I'm too chicken to re-post stuff on Facebook, I'm sharing it here. This little lamb is crazy cute.

Monday Off

2011-01-17T17:00:00.001-06:00

If I were to make an un-scientific guess, I would say that about half of the working adults in the U.S. had the day off today. I was one of those. Dave was not. So Penny and I got some quality time together. I also brought my car in for an oil change, which is my first ever oil change that my dad or brother has not done for me (we're talking 11 years' worth of oil changes). I may become an adult yet!

Here's Penny. You know you missed her.

New Old TV

2010-12-27T14:38:00.002-06:00

After a long weekend away for Christmas, I return to find an old TV dumped in my yard. What the heck? Who dumps old appliances on residential lawns? Now, I'm eyeing some of my neighbors suspiciously and dreaming up retaliation schemes that I would never actually carry out.

My options for disposal include paying $5 for it to be picked up or taking it to Best Buy for a fee of $10, but then receiving a $10 gift card.

I need to stop looking at this picture, because my annoyance is turning to shades of rage.

The Warby Parker Bandwagon

2010-12-20T19:56:00.002-06:00

I would like to jump on the Warby Parker bandwagon. All the hipsters are doing it. And I want/need new glasses. For $95 you get lenses and frames, plus before you buy, you can do online try-ons and in-home try-ons for free. My cheapy glasses from Zenni Optical have treated me well, but now it's time to upgrade.

One of the issues with ordering glasses online is that you need to know your pupillary distance (PD), which is not often included in your prescription (and I'm too chicken to ask my eye doctor for it). Back in the old days, I had to measure my PD with a millimeter ruler. This time around, I found an awesome online measurement tool from One Specs in the UK.


57.5 mm...4.5mm more than what I'd measured by hand.

Here are the five pairs I'm planning to try on at home. Based on online reviews, some of the proportions on the virtual try-on can be a bit off — with glasses appearing smaller than they actually are. It's a good start, though.

Warby Parker Finn - virtual try-on. I like these best so far.

Warby Parker Zagg - virtual try-on

Warby Parker Roark -virtual try-on

Warby Parker Nedwin - virtual try-on

Warby Parker Langston -virtual try-on

I've been doing this stuff

2010-12-14T21:29:00.001-06:00

In addition to not updating my blog, here's the other uninteresting things I've been up to lately.

I've been using up my supply of hotel and sample toiletries. This is just a fraction of the supply. I have an entire gallon-sized Ziploc bag full of these.

I read the fifth Harry Potter book really, really fast after going to see the seventh Harry Potter movie with my neighbor. (Pic)

I've made several variations of this pasta. If you make it, add a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the pasta water when you add the greens. You'll get a creamier sauce when it's all done.

I shopped for new glasses, but didn't make a purchase.

I took some pictures of Penny.

I hosted a little dinner party a month ago and have finally uploaded a picture here to prove it.

I stressed myself out over shopping for the perfect gifts for my office's gift exchanges. This is an annual occurrence; I'm too indecisive. I considered buying some Pottery Barn ornaments, but then succumbed to the almighty indecision.

I've been doing Facetime with Dave (I won an iPod Touch a couple months ago, which has made said Facetime possible).

Clearly, I have failed my 2010 New Year's resolution to re-purpose my blog.

Bark Test

2010-12-03T18:30:00.000-06:00

Speaking of Dogs Decoded (clearly, it spoke to me). Try this test to see if you can identify the meaning of different dog barks. I got four out of six.

Dog Pile

2010-12-03T18:19:00.000-06:00

Dave and I recently watched an interesting little NOVA episode called Dogs Decoded. One thing the program mentioned was that petting your dog releases oxytocin in your brain and your dog's brain, giving both of you neurological warm fuzzies. Can you imagine the amount of oxytocin pumping out of Penny's brain as a result of this dog pile?

Fake Flowers

2010-11-29T17:39:00.002-06:00

Real flowers, move aside. The next generation of fake flowers is here and they are awesome. I found these in a random catalog (Signals. Never heard of 'em.) I received in the mail.

1. The coffee table book to end all coffee table books: Paper Blossoms by Ray Marshall. It's pop-up art for the adult set. Please give this book to someone on your Christmas shopping list this year.

Pics from Amazon where these books ship in 1 to 4 months. Months! Try a different retailer.

2. Felted wool bouquet. Cozy and no watering required. I found some similar bouquets on etsy, but none were quite this pretty.

Red cat

2010-11-21T12:01:00.000-06:00

One night last week, Penny suddenly took an interest in the red wooden cat on the top of my TV. She stared. She whined. She tried very hard to reach it by stretching up on her back two legs. Alas, in true cat fashion, the cat showed no interest whatsoever in Penny.

Penny staged

2010-11-12T09:00:00.000-06:00

The memory is fading, but I'm pretty sure I staged this pic. All the elements were there — Penny and the netbook were already lying casually on the bed — how could I not just push them closer together?

Living room: Upgrade

2010-11-11T17:15:00.003-06:00

My sad slip-covered love seat (it's blue country plaid underneath) has finally been kicked to the proverbial curb. As of last Friday, it was demoted to my spare bedroom where all my misfit belongings go to die. That was the day my new chairs from Overstock arrived. The only sad thing about them is that I bought them one day before a 5% off seating sale started. AND, now when I went to fetch the link for this post, I see they are 10% off. HRMPF! I do wish I wouldn't have seen that. It pains me not to get the best deal.

In other living room news, I also spray painted my crummy MDF TV stand Krylon's Ivy Leaf.

BEFORE. This is a lame before, but it's the best I had and it does a good job of showing the sadness that is the love seat.

AFTER. New chairs. Night-time lighting.

AFTER. From a different angle this time. Still night-time lighting. Also, no flat panel TV here.

New color for the kitchen

2010-11-10T21:14:00.000-06:00

After two years, the orange I'd painted my kitchen was just too...well, orange. The room glowed radioactively with its orange-ness. After I saw this kitchen's paint color, I knew mine couldn't stay orange for much longer. So, I painted it Behr's Mocha Accent. It's a pretty perfect brown-gray-green and my kitchen feels grown up now.

Does anyone else google paint colors to see how they look in other people's homes before taking the plunge? I do.

Before. Yes, there are bananas everywhere because I just re-used this pic from a previous post. Oh, and before before.

After. I know how it looks, but that "N" is not for Nebraska; it's for November.

The most depressing thing

2010-11-05T18:14:00.001-05:00

The most depressing thing in the whole world is not natural disasters, divorce or death. It is when Dave leaves the house.

Book Review: Little Bee

2010-11-01T22:09:00.002-05:00

Here goes, my inaugural book review. Before I begin, I think you should know a few things about me: I appreciate clever, witty writing and endearing stories. I gag on cheesy dialogue and ridiculously implausible story lines (I'm looking at you The English American).

Book: Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Stars: 3/5
Quick summary: The lives of a teenage Nigerian refuge and a British working mother collide.
Should I read it? Sure, but don't rush out to get it. If and when you get around to it is fine.
My take: The story has some smart, spry writing, but don't be fooled -- the subject matter is serious and can be a bit grim. I was happy to be done with the book because it had just a little too much sunshine-covered sadness for my daily commute.

Pic from Barnes and Noble.

Mua-ha-ha

2010-10-29T12:02:00.002-05:00

Dave won't allow me to dress Penny in clothes or cosutmes, although, sometimes I'll sneak some things. So, inspired by Suds, I turned to the Internet to get Penny in the Halloween spirit. Be afraid.

Mua-ha-ha.

Appraisal

2010-10-26T18:29:00.003-05:00

I spent last Tuesday through Sunday doing repairs, deep cleaning my house and cleverly staging things to hide imperfections all in anticipation of an appraisal on Monday (I'm re-financing). And then the appraisal lasted less than five minutes. That's it. I suppose it wasn't all for naught, though. Who can complain about a clean house?

Now, here's one of the repairs I did. With the help of my brother and advice of my dad, I fixed an old water spot on my spare bedroom ceiling. NOTE: The entire ceiling is crappy and there's a poor patch job by the previous owners that looks extremely obvious in these photos. My patch is within that patch.

BEFORE. I scraped off the stained parts of the popcorn texture.

DURING. I secured parts of the sagging ceiling with drywall screws and fender washers.

AFTER. I patched the ceiling with mesh tape and joint compound, applied new popcorn texture, and painted.

Close-up

2010-10-22T23:52:00.000-05:00

Close-up from last week just in case you hadn't seen enough of these two on a couch.

Same dude, same dog

2010-10-15T20:22:00.000-05:00

One week. Two couches. Same dude. Same dog.

Take 1

Take 2

Yay books

2010-10-12T12:30:00.004-05:00

In Shelfari, I've just surpassed the 200 mark on the number of books I've read! This makes me happy because books make me happy. Seriously. I look forward to solo car rides because I can listen to my audio book and I dutifully read my book club's pick each month so I can chime in on the discussion.

I don't think I'll ever get around to re-purposing my blog, but if I do, I might just start doing really short book reviews to help steer you toward enjoyable reads and away from Jodi Piccoult. Really, what else am I doing besides posting lots of fluffy cuteness on Fridays?

Yay books! Those books with two stars = miserable.

In the clear

2010-10-08T23:06:00.000-05:00

Penny has successfully completed her heartworm treatment! She's now in the clear to exercise and get excited. Yet, here she is, still just lounging around.

Commander-in-Chief

2010-10-01T23:06:00.000-05:00

She's got her eye on you.

Kodiak

2010-09-28T22:26:00.000-05:00

I'm watching this guy for my brother and sister-in-law for a few days. His name is Kodiak. I introduced him to that tennis ball and now we are BFFs.

So eager!

Almost there

2010-09-24T11:52:00.001-05:00

Just three more days to go for Penny's mandatory 4-week rest period! Then, it's back to the vet for another shot and maybe more rest.

Deja vu?

Parting Thoughts on Iceland

2010-09-23T20:08:00.000-05:00

Warning: Long post ahead. You can just scroll down to the pics if you like.

For those that suffered from the blues after watching Avatar, they need to go to Iceland. Eighty-five percent of the stuff on Pandora is there.
Waterfalls are everywhere.
It's a good starter place for someone who wants to put his/her toe into the waters of international travel.
You only have to do as much hiking as you want to do. For us, that was minimal.
Egils Gull beer (one of Iceland's home brews) tastes like Busch Light or Natural Light. Not so good.
We didn't need to have any Icelandic kronur on us. We could have made it through the entire trip with just credit cards.
To pay at the pump with a credit card, you need a PIN.
I didn't feel self-conscious about not being able to speak the native language, because there's only about 320,000 people that speak Icelandic.

Strokkur Geyser

Waterfall and me -- refreshing!

Gray and overcast, just the way Iceland should be.

Sheep -- with crazy eyes

Mars

Blue Lagoon

Church in Reykjavik. The name begins with an H and is really long.

You know

2010-09-17T11:34:00.000-05:00

You know you missed her last Friday. No worries. Penny is back. Still resting, but she's back.

Around the Ring Road in Five Days

2010-09-16T22:12:00.000-05:00

"Around the Ring Road in five days." A large part of the trip planning for Iceland involved me googling that phrase every other day. I needed validation (repeatedly) that it could be done. It turned out to be the perfect amount of time for us -- plus two nights in Reykjavik.

The Ring Road goes all a way around the island, connecting the major towns and sites. We went around counter-clockwise, staying at farmer's guesthouses, gaping at the sites and eating at N1 gas stations along the way.

Godafoss waterfall

Adding to a rock pile. Stacks of rocks are everywhere.

Jokulsarlon -- iceberg lagoon.

Basalt columns at Halsanefshellir.

Colorful Reykjavik!

Iceland

2010-09-13T12:16:00.000-05:00

I'm back home again after a week in Iceland. It was a spectacular, surreal trip and perfect, I think, for anyone who likes planet Earth.

So, why Iceland? We have the Internet to thank for that. Particularly, this little video, originally spied here.

I'll post some pics soon!

Chillaxing

2010-09-08T12:47:00.001-05:00

At the moment, I am:

Away from home
With my netbook
Chillaxing

Those man feet are mine.

Resting

2010-09-03T12:00:00.000-05:00

Penny needs to do a lot of this for the next four weeks. She was just treated for heartworms and is on strict orders to stay quiet and calm for the rest of the month.

She's recevied monthly heartworm prevention meds ever since Dave has had her. So, how did she get infected? The vet's best guess is that she was newly infected right before she was adopted.

Get well soon, P-dog.

Door to door

2010-08-31T21:32:00.000-05:00

My neighborhood is a mecca for door-to-door sales people. A couple weekends ago, a guy selling high-speed internet showed up at my door and asked me if my parents were home. Say what?

That line is rivaled by last month's door-to-door guy who was selling front stoop cleaner (at 9:30 p.m.). He called Dave, "the king of the house." I was the queen, natch.

This is where all the magic happens.

A haircut

2010-08-27T12:06:00.000-05:00

This dog got a haircut. So did this one.

Rain pants

2010-08-25T21:56:00.000-05:00

I received these in the mail today. Rain pants. Purple rain pants. They are the anti-jeggings.

Turns out, decent rain pants for women are not easy to come by. All the local stores only had men's sizes (of the XXL variety) and they ranged from $20 to $30.

If you need/want/deeply desire a pair, you can get some crazy cheap from Cabela's. I got mine online when they were $4.88. Now, they are $2.88! I kind of want to buy another pair just because the price is so low. Must curb compulsive bargain spending.

Waterproof, yes. Flattering...ha ha ha.

Bathed in a golden light

2010-08-20T11:55:00.000-05:00

There is no doubt about it, this dog is loved. My netbook was displaced for this redonkulous cuddling.

Trifle

2010-08-17T21:32:00.001-05:00

My neighbors and I had a little cook-out this weekend. I brought this strawberry cheesecake trifle. It was a hit. If you make it, I promise it will be a hit, too.

Look how eager we are to dig in.

Sitting around

2010-08-13T09:50:00.002-05:00

Just sitting around.

Deck railing

2010-08-12T21:50:00.001-05:00

Now, the deck is really, really done. Railing is up and stair is attached.

Now, if only it would actually cool down and all mosquitoes would die, I could actually enjoy it.

Here's Dave on the deck, along with a mysterious blob in the patio door.

Ghost?

Nose

2010-08-06T18:39:00.001-05:00

Notice anything?

Bandana

2010-07-30T21:59:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time I put Penny in a bandana. The end.

AGT

2010-07-28T20:48:00.000-05:00

I have really been enjoying America's Got Talent this summer (hooray for summer TV). I was bummed to see Hannibal Means go home. He is someone who would be an amazing guest at a dinner party. Dave and I have been walking around saying "HAHN-ee-BALL MEEEANS" for a week now, so it's time I give him proper recognition here.

Celebrate yes!

Serious in Sepia

2010-07-23T20:09:00.000-05:00

Why so glum?

Corn crash

2010-07-22T21:45:00.000-05:00

The corn my brother planted in my garden has met its untimely demise. Last week, we found most of the corn lying flat on the ground. Brian's best guess was someone came into my backyard and stomped it down (malicious, I know). My best guess was raccoons (I'd just seen one in the neighborhood days earlier).

Turns out it was wind. And more of it came last weekend to finish the job. Sad.

I thought if we propped up some corn using those wire tomato thingys, we could salvage the corn. Wrong.

Hot hot hot

2010-07-16T12:17:00.000-05:00

It was a hot one this week.

All decked out

2010-07-16T12:14:00.000-05:00

It took just six hours for a new deck (minus the railing) to be put in place and that included allowing time for lunch. Speaking of which, figuring out what to prepare for lunch is often one of the most stressful parts about these projects because I need to perform (and it better be tasty).

Oh! And my dad removed that last stubborn floorboard by slicing through the nails with a recip saw.

Before. Well, just moments after before.

During. Drills up, gentlemen.

After. Yay to these guys and my dad.

Balance Beam

2010-07-09T23:28:00.000-05:00

Deck rebuild starts tomorrow! But first, a picture from the recent past -- Penny as Shawn Johnson.

Go for the gold, P-dog!

Deck be gone

2010-07-07T12:04:00.000-05:00

Replacing my deck seemed like one of those projects that would always be on my to-do list. And suddenly—POOF—the old deck is gone (thanks Brian and Dave!) and new wood is arriving today. Well, it isn't really gone; I still have a huge pile of wood to throw away.

Like with most of my projects, I sent pictures to my dad for some long-distance consulting. He could charge for this stuff (not me, of course :), but maybe my siblings...hehe).

This is one of the pics I sent my dad. The problem: How on earth do we get that last floor board out of there?

Clean up

2010-07-02T14:51:00.000-05:00

If you roll around in stinky stuff, you're gonna get a bath. Got that?

Half and half fail

2010-06-28T20:53:00.001-05:00

For my dad because he says I need to update my blog more.

I like cream in my coffee, but I don't deserve it. By now, I think I've wasted gallons (plural!) of half and half by forgetting to put it back in the fridge before racing off to catch the bus for work. A crying shame.

The scene of the crime last week.

Shh...

2010-06-25T12:45:00.000-05:00

Still sleeping.

Driving stick

2010-06-24T08:03:00.002-05:00

I may or may not need to learn to drive a stick. So far I've logged .25 hours on a tractor. Not quite the same as a car, but it's a start.

Can you drive a stick?

Little variety. Lots of cute.

2010-06-18T14:06:00.001-05:00

Another fast week. Another dose of cuteness for your weekend. Expect more variety from me next week, although I can't make any guarantees.

This is cute, yes? And makes us up for my slacking, yes?

Saucy

2010-06-11T12:45:00.000-05:00

Oh, she's a saucy one.

That's some good rawhide.

Crafty Carafe

2010-06-10T19:08:00.000-05:00

My very own There, I Fixed It! I cracked the carafe to my coffee maker last night and needed some quick fix solution so that I could have coffee in the morning. Enter my tea kettle! Another option would have just been to buy coffee, but that would have a) been too easy and b) seriously conflicted with my miserly ways.

An excellent fix if I do say so myself. And, no, I didn't stage that flower.

I used the tea kettle's lid to depress the lever that allows the coffee to flow from the filter to the pot. Now, before you wonder why I just didn't turn the kettle the other way and use the spout to push the button, I tried that, and it didn't work.

Extreme close-up (ignore the griminess)!

What time is it, Mr. Shark?

2010-06-07T19:40:00.000-05:00

This is not a casual stroll. This is an intense game of What time is it, Mr. Shark? Google reveals this game is more commonly called What time is it, Mr. Fox?, but whatever, everything is always more fun with a shark.

It's about to be lunch time.

Exile

2010-06-04T22:45:00.000-05:00

To demonstrate her opposition to us going to dinner, Penny exiled herself under the dining room table.

Such angst.

Three-day weekend

2010-05-28T14:52:00.002-05:00

Heading on out for a glorious three-day weekend. Enjoy yours!

Later, yo!

Flowers for my mom

2010-05-26T17:28:00.003-05:00

For my mom.

My mom asked me to take a picture of the flowers I planted in a pot on my front stoop. So, I did. Ta-da.

While I was out front taking these pictures, my tough-as-nails, 70-something neighbor was beating down my side door, cigarette and beer in hand. He had something for me. A deer sausage. Fresh from his pants pocket.

These are flowers. Pansies, marigolds and something else.

Cascade redemption

2010-05-25T19:40:00.002-05:00

Cascade gel detergent with Dawn has been redeemed!

Their customer service department responded quickly to my e-mail with an explanation of what went wrong (temperatures were too low during shipping) and instructions on how to restore the liquidity of my detergent (see below). Plus, they are sending me a coupon for a free bottle of Cascade in the mail (a pleasing peace offering).

Instructions
If your detergent is crystallized, fill your sink halfway with hot water. With the cap on, place your bottle in the water for one hour. Do this twice. I only did it once and it worked.

Carry on, Cascade.

Happy on the Inside

2010-05-21T12:47:00.000-05:00

This dog is just as happy indoors as she is outdoors.

hi.

WTF Cascade?

2010-05-19T21:04:00.000-05:00

Alert! I cracked open a new bottle of Cascade with Dawn gel dishwasher detergent tonight only to find it was nearly impossible to squeeze any detergent out of the bottle. The gel had turned into some kind of crystallized mass. It's like there's a gallon of goopy sand in the bottle!

Naturally, I turned to the Internet and found my brothers in arms who have also been saddled with the defective detergent. I also e-mailed Cascade in hopes they will send me coupons as a peace offering or a truce.

Our voices will join as one. We will rise up. We will not stand for bad Cascade!

Some Thrifting Success

2010-05-17T20:53:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I browse Craigslist and sometimes I think about going to garage sales and Goodwill. And that's usually as far as I get. This Spring, however, I went thrifting on exactly two occasions and had some mild success.

At Goodwill, I found a little four-legged footstool that is now serving the role of coffee table. At a couple tag sales, I picked up several small bowls to hold things. I don't fancy myself a collector and don't aspire to be one, but, man, am I a sucker for a small, decorative bowl.

I've been on the hunt for a coffee table for ages. I'm going to say this stool is good enough.

This isn't exactly a bowl, but I don't know what else to call it. Isn't that turquoise enamel yummy?

Penny Periscope

2010-05-14T08:18:00.000-05:00

Penny's recconnaissance missions include the use of a high-powered periscope.

You've been detected.

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T13:11:00.003-05:00

For Mother's Day, I treated my mom to a fun photo shoot with my brother's MacBook.*

Look how much fun she is having.

*Really, I treated myself to a marathon photo booth session; my mom just happened to be one of my subjects. Macs are FUN. Temporarily thinking I need one.

Built for snoozing

2010-05-07T07:30:00.000-05:00

That's a paw built for hitting the snooze button. Excellent coverage and plenty of fluffiness.

Talk to the paw.

Poison Ivy Poll

2010-05-02T15:12:00.000-05:00

The consensus is no one knows whether that mysterious plant in my yard is poison ivy or not. I've stared at it a few more times, tracing its vines and stem with my eyes. Based on my excellent visual vine mapping, I think it's a flower...but, just to be safe, I'm not going to touch it even though the poll-voters thought I should.

We'll never know.

It's Friday

2010-04-30T07:57:00.003-05:00

Man, where did this week go? It's already Friday again, and you know what that means...

Penny rules the roost.

In the yard

2010-04-23T08:14:00.001-05:00

A happy little dog in the yard.

In the yard...

...smiling!

Poison Ivy?

2010-04-19T23:01:00.003-05:00

Quick! Is this an innocent flowering vine or is it my arch nemesis poison ivy? It features leaves of three (let it be!) and a hairy vine (no friend of mine!). Vote in the side bar.

Here are some sites to help you make up your mind: Missouri Department of Conservation and Wikipedia. And also this site about Clematis virginiana which is a poison ivy look-alike.

I've already picked up poison ivy from my yard once before and am no longer interested in any of that tomfoolery.

Click the picture to see this plant up close and personal. Just don't touch it.

Rub 2.0

2010-04-16T07:18:00.000-05:00

Belly rubs are the stuff of life.

Censored.

Tombstone

2010-04-12T22:25:00.000-05:00

This looks like a tombstone, yes? I inherited this sweet slab of concrete along with a ton of bricks when I purchased my house. It's been lying flat on the ground for two years.

Last weekend, I propped it up as step 1 of a two-step disposal process (step 2 being actually heaving it into the trash). Unfortunately, now it's back at step 0 -- lying flat on the ground -- because I thought it might be creeping out my neighbors.

Here lies the previous owner's garbage.

Rub

2010-04-09T07:35:00.001-05:00

Could someone please give this dog a belly rub?

Let the belly rubbing commence in 3...2...1.

Snowy DAH

2010-04-06T20:29:00.000-05:00

For Brian. His handiwork is finally getting the online recognition it deserves!

Back when we still had snow, my brother created this gem in my backyard: DAH. You'll find definitions of "dah" in the Urban Dictionary, but none quite hit on how we (we being a couple siblings and me) use it. I suppose it's best described as a response to tease or poke fun. Example:

Me: Some guy was playing the harmonica on the bus!
You: Dah dah dah.
Me: Dah!

I don't think "dah" is going to catch on with the population at large, but here it is in the snow, nonetheless.

Keen supervision

2010-04-02T11:00:00.001-05:00

Certainly, Dave's manual labor was very helpful in finishing my bedroom painting project last weekend. But, we both know, had it not been for Penny's keen supervision, none of this would have even been possible.

Managing the projects from her cushy office.

How to make pots o' gold

2010-04-01T19:37:00.001-05:00

Pots o' gold are so March 2010, but I said I would post the instructions, so posting I am.

Ingredients (for scotcheroos)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup white corn syrup
1 cup peanut butter (divided)
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups Rice Krispies
6 oz. chocolate chip
Some crushed green M&Ms

Instructions
In a large pot, bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil. Turn off heat and stir in 3/4 cup peanut butter and vanilla. Add the Rice Krispies.

Grease your hands a bit and then roll the scotcheroo mixutre into litte balls. My batch made approximately 18 balls. Let those cool on a sheet of waxed paper.

For the frosting, melt chocolate chips in the microwave and stir in the remaining 1/4 cup peanut butter. You can either dip your scotcheroo balls into the chocolate (covering about 2/3 of the ball) or scoop some chocolate onto a table spoon and roll the balls in it (this is what I did) to cover the lower 2/3 of the ball.

Place them on the waxed paper to cool (even when cool, the chocolate will still be somewhat soft). Take a crushed bit of M&M and add it to the front of the pot for a little decoration.

The rainbows are DIY toothpick flags. I found a simple rainbow image online and skewed the image to make the ends skinnier. Once they were printed and cut out, I folded the rainbows in half and glued the two halves together around a toothpick.

These lucky little guys won me a $20 gift card. Cha-ching!

Tail to nose

2010-03-26T16:15:00.001-05:00

From tail to nose, Penny is all leg.

I think she would be more comfortable if she had a teddy bear.

Bedroom Overboard

2010-03-24T19:04:00.001-05:00

As it turns out, I picked the perfect color for my bedroom. It's Frozen Pond from Behr's Premium Plus Ultra line of paints (paint and primer in one!).

The paint and primer in one saved time with painting the walls, but I'm far from finished in my room. While spackling nail holes in the wall, I just had to mess with some chipping plaster on the ceiling (natch.). Everything has spiraled dangerously out of control from there. Now, I'm scraping, sanding and painting the trim, caulking the windows, patching the ceiling and kicking myself for being so "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"-esque.

This picture is simply proof the painting is done; the color is not really accurate at all.

Sheared

2010-03-19T08:12:00.002-05:00

Fluffy is out. Slim and sheared is in.

This is Penny's new springtime look. Edgy, no?

Blue-green bedroom

2010-03-18T21:27:00.001-05:00

I'm picking up paint tomorrow for my bedroom (Right now, it's speckled, remember?) and am currently agonizing over three particular shades of blue-green. I meant to spend tonight clearing out my room, but instead, I've been playing with paint colors online. Typical and dumb. Internet wins again.

The three contenders are all in the bottom row -- fourth from the right, second from the right and the first one on the right.

Pot O' Gold

2010-03-16T22:21:00.001-05:00

For St. Patrick's Day, my work is holding a little bake-off. I hadn't planned on participating, but then I was struck with this idea while I was leaving Target last night. And I've been thinking (giddily) of nothing but little pots o' gold ever since.

I'll post the instructions later; I just turned my scotcheroos recipe inside out.

Bring it.

Watching Bread Rise

2010-03-12T08:15:00.002-06:00

It really is quite cruel to put good-smelling things at dog-nose level. But, my bread dough wasn't rising and the Internets seemed to think it was because the temperature in my house was too cool. Blasting the dough with fresh-from-the-furnace hot air did the trick.

Oh, how Penny longed to investigate those smells!

Australia - Things We Ate

2010-03-08T19:28:00.000-06:00

Last but not least (food could never be least, in my book), here's some of the stuff that kept us fueled while we were in Australia.

Also, as I've lamented to most of you by now, ordering regular coffee with cream was no easy task. Because, as I was schooled by some coffee shop fellas, "there's no such thing as regular coffee." There are such things, however, as long blacks, short blacks, flat whites, etc. This site breaks it down.

Fish and chips with my friend the kookaburra.

Malaysian meat on a stick.

Taiwanese dim sum. Those eager fingers are mine, natch.

One glass each of Toohey's Extra Dry.

And Tim Tams! In the spirit of full disclosure, I must confess I didn't actually try the national cookie of Australia until I was back in the U.S.

Getting to know you

2010-03-05T08:38:00.002-06:00

The P-dog would like to get to know you. She implores you to divulge one of your juiciest secrets and then rub her belly.

Ahhhh...In yo face!

Australia - Things we did

2010-03-02T19:05:00.003-06:00

Proof that we did things while Down Under. Not shown here: we all came home with souvenir sunburns.

Hobnobbed with some locals.

Climbed a bridge we found laying around by the harbor.

Got up close and personal with the Great Barrier Reef.

Swung through the trees with the greatest of ease.

Snow long

2010-02-26T19:03:00.000-06:00

Watching. Waiting for the snow to melt.

Someday, Penny. Someday.

Australia -- Things We Saw

2010-02-24T12:36:00.000-06:00

Our one week stay in Australia was impossibly short by European standards, but we made the most of our time by seeing, doing and eating as much as we could. After our delayed start, we spent 3.5 days in Sydney and 2.5 in Cairns (the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef).

Here are pics of some of the things we saw. Pictures of things we did and ate to come!

So sleepy koala.

Sydney Opera house from up high!

Hello, Australia.

Darling Harbour when the sun goes down.

Nighttime in tropical Cairns.

How to get to Sydney

2010-02-21T13:25:00.001-06:00

My brother, sister-in-law and I just got back from a little trip to Australia (woot!). In the words of the Aussies, it was brilliant! In the words of the Irish, it was grand! In my own words, it was awesome! More on all that later. First things first, we took the long way to Sydney.

Map key
Dotted lines: Flights we were booked on, but did not take.
Solid lines: Flights we actually took.
**Click on the picture to see it bigger**

Total trip time: Approximately 48 hours. In other words, way too long.

Penny Peeking

2010-02-19T08:00:00.004-06:00

Some of the most interesting stuff around the house always seems to be just out of Penny's reach.

Just...a little bit...further...

BAM! Penny Fridays!

Here's looking at you, Holly

2010-02-15T08:00:00.002-06:00

Last month Dave and I watched two old movie classics: Casablanca and Breakfast at Tiffany's.

The beginning of Casablanca had me a little confused as I tried to keep up with all the unfolding details, but by the end, I was very pleased with the story. And it was kinda cool watching all its famous quotes in their original context.

Breakfast at Tiffany's, however, not so pleased. Holly Golightly is not my homegirl. I will not be dressing up as her for Halloween.

I don't care if we both do have dark brown hair, you won't catch me prancing around as Holly G.! (Photos)

Penny's Paw's Doppelganger

2010-02-12T08:00:00.004-06:00

Just when you thought only your Facebook friends had celebrity doppelgangers, I give you Penny's paw and one Ludwig van Beethoven.

Dun dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!

This has been another installment of Penny Fridays.

Avatar, at last

2010-02-08T21:41:00.001-06:00

If there is a hot pop culture book/movie/tv show/etc., you can count on me to catch it just as the hype is on its very last legs, if not dead already. Such is the case with Avatar. After a month of planning and canceling and rescheduling, Dave and I finally caught it on Saturday.

The scenery in the make-believe world was fantastic (as expected) and the story kept my attention for the full 2 hours and 42 minutes. And I walked away wishing I could do/see/experience a couple things on Pandora for myself...and I may or may not have tried to convince Dave to play along with me.

Pandora -- the planet. Not to be confused with the box or the free music streaming site.

Here's Penny

2010-02-05T17:30:00.001-06:00

Here's some more Penny for you as I continue to ponder how exactly I'd like to repurpose my blog. Perhaps I should introduce Penny Fridays to keep the cuteness coming weekly. heh heh.

Nothing to see here. Just settling in for a little nap. What? Don't you still sleep with a teddy bear?

Where's Penny?

2010-01-29T23:51:00.002-06:00

Hmm...I wonder where Penny is...Pe-nny! Pehhhh-nnnyyyyy!

I wonder where she could be...

Now, where on earth could that dog have gone?

Poor Penny didn't want to go in the kennel, so she was hiding. Shh. Don't move a muscle.