Meet Taco

My brother's calling himself "Daddy". Wouldn't you? Meet Taco.


She's seven weeks old, just adopted this weekend, and Dayv and Kris brought her to the family reunion yesterday.


She is super-tiny and apparently made of full-on cute.


She slept over last night, and I got to go to PetSmart and help buy a bunch of toys and stuff. So! Cute! She attacks fingers and will fall asleep on your chest. We joke that she's a lesbian kitty because she snuggles between boobies.

After meeting her, Z and I talked and we've decided we may need a kitty to help warm up his place. More to follow...

EDIT: See more Taco!!!

Hm, I did name this appropriately.

It's Olympics time! Once again, my family and I celebrate the spirits of world togetherness and athleticism by sitting on our butts and watching different events at opposite ends of the house. Yay! Well, that is an exaggeration; we are often together watching the same event. But I do find it amusing that as a world, we celebrate our athletes by sitting and staring at them on television. Go irony! As for me, this is the first Olympics that I suddenly realize that I am *way older* than most of the competitors (especially in some highlighted events - I'm looking at you, gymnastics - where the athletes are literally half my age) and super out of shape, so my shoulders and arms are sore from doing extra time with Wii Fit in the mornings.

Ah, Wii Fit. I have a love-hate relationship with my daily routine on the balance board. I haven't seen whether anyone else has a hardware problem with it, but sometimes, my board freaks out in the middle of longer step and boxing sessions, and I have to get off, turn it off and on again, and resume, having now missed several steps, breaking my flow and lowering my score. Yes, I know score doesn't really matter, but I do get a bit miffed. I'm the only one in the house that has this issue, but ever since last month, I'm the only one really using it besides Liam on the balance games. I actually deleted a few family profiles since they hadn't been used. At least I'll be getting my money's worth out of it - even if I just keep losing what seems to be the same five pounds over and over. Whatever. It's better than doing nothing, and even if I weigh the same, I look and feel a bit different. Also taller. Hard to explain.

One of the other things keeping my on my butt is participation in the Ravelympics! During the Olympics, I have taken it upon myself to finish three different knitting and crocheting projects. If they are completed in time, I win. If not, no medal for me! I chase a back-to-school vest for Liam, a Pokemon stuffed toy, and (in the Works-in-Progress Wrestling event) a promise to finally complete that green Megaman backpack I started two years ago and never bothered to sew together. There's time to do this! I'm almost halfway done with the vest already, and I'm feeling confident about the rest.

Another fun treat for me has been my subscription to the Venture Brothers Shirt Club. Oh my god. Awesome. Every week, I get a new, VB-themed t-shirt. My favorite is the Dean! shirt, but they all rock pretty hard. Well, I'm not crazy about the OSI one, but I'm sure it'll grow on me. I've seen the shirts going on eBay for much more than I paid for them, so I'm glad I decided to get in on it when I did. Especially since they only make each design available for one week. Yikes.

Instead of going on a big vacation this year (although I must confess the Disney Weekend in May was rather good), my family has been going on a series of short trips. Camping with our friends at their place in the Poconos. Anime Next (and the kid cosplaying as a Moogle, super cute). Wild West City. The one I'm missing to go to work today, at the Crayola factory. The Butterfly Gardens. One I'm plotting for Saturday to Nintendo World and maybe Jekyll & Hyde's. Many of these are known only to the planner (it's me, mom, Judy, and out friend Donna plotting these) until we arrive at our destination. It's pretty awesome. And I find I can work my weekly assignments for work into four days, so it's easy enough for me to take a day off if needed.

Stuff I need to do: take the Kid back-to-school shopping (ack, first grade!), do my financial aid paperwork, schedule my last six classes. It's too hot to think about school, though. Just. Too. Hot. It's not too bad outside, but somehow my bedroom and living room have become giant easy-bake ovens. Last night I woke up around two because it was so so hot in here. The boy was fine; he managed to get a breeze through his room somehow, but it was stifling in here. I grabbed some iced tea, turned on the house fan (why was it off?!?) and moved the floor fan to the foot of the bed. And fell asleep immediately. I prefer a cool room for sleeping, so summers are not a restful time. Yes, we have air conditioning. No, we're not using it. Unless it goes over ninety-two (or it's horrifically thick and heavy with humidity), it's lower-cost fans.

No fiction lately, although I have been considering some of the early-Thelma ideas. Nothing seems to gel though. I want to get it in gear so I can amuse myself and others. The world needs more humor; I'd be honored to provide it.

Again, I live up to the name

So glad I called it "Infrequently Updated", no matter how off it seemed when it was shiny and new and I blogged every day.

Things are decent here in hamsterland. We (my family, my aunt's choir, and assorted chaperone-style people) just returned from a trip to Disney World, which is always a lot of fun and much less hokey than I initially believed. I'm still plugging away at my classes, planning on graduating this year, and must order the cap and gown and class ring soon, now that I think about it.

I recently rediscovered my old IRC channel, which is still up and running, surprisingly enough, and still has the same familiar faces.... er..... names in the side window. Awfully good to see people, some of whom I severely missed. Severely. I hope I get a chance to spend real-life time with these folks soon. Even if they do accuse me of having had a second child and selling it to the gypsies. Dorks. ^.^

I can't believe I actually wanted him to move back to NJ

My brother is trying to fart the theme song to Power Rangers.

Somebody help me.

Two weeks into the new year: a list of totals

Time taken off from work to help with Mom after her surgery: One week

Size of Mom's ovarian cyst: About the size of a grapefruit or a kaiser roll

Do I have a picture of it? Yes, but not sharing online due to disgusting contents.

Weight gained since Jan 1: Four and a half pounds

Where it came from: apparently fat particles fly through the air and attach themselves to me. Also, possibly fast food dependency.

Progress on knitting projects: an inch and a half into a pair of socks, a foot of garter-stripe scarf, a fully formed pattern in my head but a moderate determination to finish outstanding WIPs (and one promised gift!) before I start anything new. Even a Knit-a-long.

Yarn purchases: Two balls of ribbon yarn at dollar store

Yarn I wanted to purchase: More than you can possibly imagine, unless you knit, then yes, THAT much.

Clothes ruined during painting Z's house: one pair jeans, one t-shirt, one bra. Underwear and socks shockingly unscathed.

Has he moved in yet? No.

Speculative date of his moving in: Jan 20

Actual date: May be February at this rate

Days late on car payment: two

Days until I get paid: one

Days until Dad's birthday: two

Gift ideas: zero

Holiday photos uploaded to computer: 69

Times I laughed at that: once

Months I've been low on black ink: two, and I can still just squeak out my work papers every cycle anyway. My faxes are still, apparently, legible.

Resolutions partially accomplished: I am re-enrolling in school this week. With a semester's worth of credits left to earn before my bachelor's, it's stupid to not continue.

Number of cavities at Kid's dental checkup: zero

How proud am I of him? Immeasurable

Days missed using Brain Age 2: one, and seeing the little pixel-doctor's frown of disappointment was hilariously encouraging.

Brain Age, according to the software: 28

Actual Age: 30

Desire to refer to myself as 28: Meh.

Old friends contacting me through Facebook: one

Happy to see this person? HELL, yes. :)

Shock at seeing measurements for bridesmaid dress: None

Still want to change them? Yep. They're kinda huge.

Plans for diet/exercise? None yet

How to lose weight then? Sheer force of will, and/or reliance on stomach viruses. (totally kidding)

How much of this post is serious? Enough.

Brief and to the point

Not words I would usually apply to my writing, but, ehn.

Christmas was wonderful. I have two projects outstanding, but at least those who are getting them know that they're coming, so that's not so bad. The Kid was simply awesome this year - he opened every gift like it was the greatest ever, and although he did have some clear favorites (A to Z Mysteries, Sonic action figures, the gift card that allowed him to buy His Very Own DS), his responses were so over the moon for even mundane gifts. Six, I think, is the Best Age, but then, I say that every year.

I got to cook Christmas dinner this year, for the first time! We had ham, sweet potatoes (with marshmallow, yum!), green bean casserole, and veggie lasagna. And we also had leftovers.

As for my own best gifts? Having my family around me, spending a first Christmas with a good friend, watching the delight in the Kid's face.... oh yeah, and Metalocalypse season one, Danger Mouse, Brain Age 2, and the yearly gift of a Bag of New Underpants.

Gearing up for a difficult week ahead. However, if the first week of the year is going to be rough, then the rest should be okay, right?

Happy New Year if I don't post before then, all. :)

Little things....

I have nearly all of my holiday knitting done.... just six projects left, three of which are already on the needles! Yay! I still have shopping to do (mostly for the menfolk and for Z's family) but it's nice to see how much is finished.

I love these two pictures:


The Kid's party is today! We finished making goody bags last night, full of fun little trinkety things. I hope he has a blast! He's so big now; I can't believe my baby is six tomorrow!

Also, my new deodorant makes my armpits smell like Piña Coladas.

My (not-so-impressive) goals for this weekend

1. Get the invitations ready for the Kiddo's birthday party. It's next weekend, so I hope I can get the friends from school in time. Partially done: need to buy colored ink to print them out for him to bring to school Monday. He helped design them. ^.^DONE!



2. Put together the Christmas list. Pretty much everyone's getting handmade things this year, but how many gifts do I still need to put together? Who am I exchanging with? Do I even know? (and is it OK to hint that I'd LOVE the Aziraphale and Crowley perfumes? And how cool is it that they even EXIST?) Work in progress.....

3. Shave the legs. It's a jungle down there. Sure, no one sees my legs but Z, and he's still in Georgia for another two weeks, but it can't hurt to start some maintenance down there. I'm starting to look a little manly. Done. It's nice to look like a girl again.

4. Make my room no longer look like a yarn shop threw up in a thrift shop. There's some serious straightening that needs to be done. Also, getting the assorted strings organized will help a bit with #2. Not quite done. Spent more time in the Kid's room than mine. Sigh.

5. Work. Yes, that still needs to be done, as well, doesn't it? Alas. To be honest, I did shift a fair amount of my store visits to Friday and Saturday this week so I can spend more time with the kid. But I can still Do It All. A challenge appeared when the Kid needed to go to see the doctor Friday afternoon, but I'm on my way to finish things up as soon as I get my uniform on. Forget that. Done, baby, done!

6. Actually call my brother and have a real conversation with him that doesn't involve either one of us reading out loud from the internet. DONE!!!! He's working overnights now. Weird....

Gratitude

So today is Thanksgiving, and before we all munch our way into a tryptophan-induced coma, take a moment to reflect upon the good stuff that keeps us going. Our families, whether we're together or not, and the love they have given and continue to give to us. Our friends, for everything they do for us. For our homes, and for work, which we can be considered lucky to have. Just remember - Life Is Good.

And now, a message from the kid.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, he was done faster than I expected.

To you and yours, a safe, fun, holiday. Now go fall asleep watching football.

Halloween awesomeness

So it was a great, great day. Kiddo's costume was so cute, he charmed the peanut butter cups right off of everyone he met. He was *really* into trick-or-treating this year, too, so we had a LOT of fun making the neighborhood rounds after school. He was a bit rambunctious at the class party; I just hope it was because he was overexcited. I dressed up as well, but I always do, so no big shock there. Our Jack-O-Lanterns are still pretty much intact (yay lack of pumpkin rot!) and I need to snap some pics of them before we toss them out. I was hoping we could carve one with the immortal image of a bear holding a shark, but sadly, I was voted down. Instead, we have a grumpy face and a cheery face.

But yes. Fun ensued. And my kid was cuter than anybody, hoorah!

Here's the update you've been clamoring for

...or have you?

Atlantic City, while fun, was a drain on the wallet - even though I only spent the money I set aside for spending. Perhaps I was too optimistically hoping for a decent win, or to at least break even? Bad planning on my part, at least.

Rusty, my grandfather's cat, passed away on Monday. His cancer, although it was a treatable variety, was too aggressive, and he was in pain. Poor fuzz. The worst part was that this happened the day after Grandpa was admitted into the hospital himself, so he couldn't even be with him. Now he's really upset, and is in no hurry to get back home.

The kid is, as always, awesome. But that's constant enough, isn't it?

I really, REALLY miss Z. I still haven't figured out when I'll be going to Georgia to visit him, and the particulars behind that. But I desperately want to see him. There's certain things that only one person can take care of, you know? ^.^

Tonight, we're going to go to Walking with Dinosaurs, which we're all very excited about seeing. Kiddo especially.

Rusty

Let's all give big wishes of hope and health for my grandfather's cat, Rusty, who is currently having trouble breathing due to fluid on his lungs and is in the vet's for observation. Rusty is a great cat, extremely friendly, and actually understands what people say to him. He'll actually come to you when you call him! He was a stray, adopted from the same feral community the gave my family pretty much all of their cats for the past five or so years. (Harry, Maggie, Mollie, Lil' Bit, Clover, and Cinnamon.)

It's odd; I noticed that the males are always super-friendly and smart, and the females are shy, elusive, and reluctant to let humans touch them. Discuss.