I wonder if it's better if you can read the language

So cool. Really. Just click it.

Look! We own it!

We did it. We bought a new car. Although technically, we haven't given them a single dollar yet. I guess they like us! Isn't it pretty?

Baby it's cold

See this picture? That is Zadie, our recently shaved cat, sitting about two inches from the space heater. I guess when you take away all the fur, she's just an 85-year-old man at heart. (I have always wondered why she calls Andrew "sonny" and tells the same stories over and over.)

Or maybe we should turn up the heat in the house? Nah. Too expensive.

Brrrr. Is Cold.

PS - Does anyone else think my living room could use more color? Who's got David Bromstad's number?

Two Finalists

This afternoon Andrew and I went car shopping. We planned to go last week, but it snowed. Again. (I am getting pretty sick of this weather. I wish it would just quit being gross and cold, but the weather refuses. Andrew and I had a bet going last week. He said that it wasn't going to snow anymore this season, and I said Ha Ha Ha! And then it snowed. And then I won $100 from Andrew.) Where was I? Oh. Car shopping.

The best part about going car shopping was that I took off work to do it. I love not being at work. Don't get me wrong; I love my job. I just love not being there more (and still being paid for it--that is key). Andrew and I went to lunch and spent the afternoon together. Since he's been so busy lately with school and work, it was lovely spending some time just hanging out. You know, driving around, cruising the streets of Johnson County with a car salesperson in the backseat. . . what could be more romantic?

We still haven't decided on which car to buy, but I think we're down to two finalists: the Nissan Versa and the Mazda 3 hatchback. Or I think that's what the Mazda is. I get all their numbers mixed up. The cars are fairly similar. Both small hatchbacks, with fairly comparable price points. The best parts of the Nissan are the excellent gas mileage, the built-in bluetooth phone system, and the fact that the Nissan dealership gives free (NO CHARGE!) oil changes for life (FOREVER!). The best parts of the Mazda are the comfort, the slightly larger size, and the general feel and awesomeness of the car. I would be happy with either car. More importantly, Andrew would be happy with either. It's just a matter of deciding which is best for him.

Cross your fingers that Andrew doesn't pick a red car. If he does, the po po will always be tryin' to catch him ridin' dirty.

If I only liked tea. . .

I came across this British Wal-Martish website today. Isn't their little ad just too cute? Look how they say "mum" and "Whilst stocks last." Don't they know it's "While supplies last"? Silly British people. Also - what is up with a Mother's Day advertisement in February? Do they celebrate that holiday at a different time than we do? Can anyone explain this to me?

Just confirmed

The insurance people looked at Andrew's car this morning and confirmed it. It is totaled. I guess that's what we expected. Time to get serious about shopping for cars. We already looked at the Nissan Versa. It was small but functional. Pretty cute, I think, and that's all that really matters, right? That and a good set of airbags.

Nissan Altima: 1999 - 2008

Not such a fun day

Andrew was in a car accident yesterday. He is not hurt, thankfully, but it was a shaky day for both of us. He was just driving along, going through a green light, when another car that should have yielded to him turned into the intersection right in front of him. Andrew slammed into the other car at 40-45 mph. His airbags deployed and his car is likely totaled. The other driver was injured, though we don’t really know how badly. Not life-threatening or anything.

It took a couple of hours for the scariness of the whole thing to sink in with me. When Andrew called to tell me he’d been in an accident, I wasn’t too shaken, since I could hear his voice and knew he was okay. But later, when I began to go through the what-ifs and kept thinking how much worse it could have been, I felt sick. It has been a long week for me and Andrew anyway—he’s been working long hours and in class two nights a week, and it was all just getting to me (to both of us, really). This car accident sort of threw everything back in perspective. So what if he has to work late or go to class? He is still coming home to me at the end of the day.

We went to the towing place and cleaned out his car. I took a couple of pictures that will get posted soon (I can’t seem to get them to load correctly right now). For now, Andrew is driving a rental courtesy of our insurance company. We’ll have to make some decisions about buying a new car, or a used car, or what. So much to do and think about. I just hate this whole situation.

As for Valentine’s Day, we still managed to have a good evening. We had dinner together and saw a movie. Very low-key, but I think that was for the best.

To sum up

Check out this series of entries, nearly live-blogging Project Runway. You'll get my thoughts on today's episode. If you don't watch the show, I'm sure it will be fascinating for you. First entry in the series is at the bottom of the page, so keep on scrolling down. (though I just realized that you can see who the winner is right away, since the last entry is right after this one. Hmmm. . . is it too late for a spoiler alert?)

BTW, this is clearly the last time I am going to do this. It's like blogging, only worse, and it's also like watching TV, only worse. Yeah. Not so much for me. Apparently I don't multi-task well.

And the winner is. . .

. . .Christian! Cocky bastard.

Jillian is in, headed to Fashion Week.

Sweet P is out. Saw that coming, didn't we?

It's down to Rami and Chris. Who will get the final spot in Bryant Park?

Yes! Chris is in!

Bur wait, what??? Rami is also in? This is crazy talk!

They apparently both have to create collections for Fashion Week, but only one will actually get to show his collection. Very interesting, no?

The judges chat. . .

From the looks of it, the judges don't really like Rami's predictable draping and Sweet P's boring dress. They also didn't really think Chris did anything new with the crazy shoulder thing. I'd say Jillian and Christian are certainly going to Fashion Week. And the third. . . my vote's on Chris.

(Nearly) Live blogging stinks

I am tired of this. I'll post one more time to tell you who wins. But no more of this nonsense. I want to pay attention to it.

More Project Runway

Tim is here to check things out and bring in the models for a fitting. Uh oh, Sweet P's model is late. Not coming? Coming? Whoever has Sweet P on her team just got some points for model trouble.

Oooh, a special guest! Look, it's. . . Who? Collier Strong? Bleh, who cares. Makeup consultant or some such shit. Bring back SJP! I want to get Bitten!

Chris is done early. He is taking a nap on the couch outside. What is he thinking?! Get in there and fix the hem, or something.

I find it bizarre that Christian can fit into the clothes he designs. They are meant to fit a very skinny girl. I guess he is just a very skinny little boy.

Moment of truth. . . Tim doesn't think Chris's outfit is "wowable." Tim is worried. Like usual.

Ack, cat on my lap making it hard to type.

The last challenge?

Christian just said something about this being the last challenge. Did I miss something? Are two of them going home before Bryant Park?

Sweet P never finishes on time!

Time to fast forward the commercial. . .

The shopping etc.

Christian said he is picking a military, high fashion thing. I bet he'll win. I hope so, he's on my team. Of course, with 5 contestants left and 3 of them on my team, the odds are in my favor that one of them will win. But I am also suck at this fantasy team thing.

Shopping done. That was super fast. Two days to finish the challenge.

Rami picked purple. Hmmm. Make it work, Rami.

Jillian wants to be edgy. Not going to happen, I think.

Is Chris making a trash bag collar?

Here comes Heidi

Seriously, who cares about the models? I don't even remember their names from week to week. All this drama over the models, sheesh.

Chris stayed with the girl who is apparently called Marcia. Amanda is out. Dammit.

The challenge. . . another field trip. 5th Avenue and 82nd Street. Where are they going? The suspense in this show kills me!

Ahh, the Metropolitan Museum of Art! Rami thinks it is huge (thank you Captain Obvious).

Hee hee, statue butts!

They are using art as inspiration for their designs. What a novel idea. 45 minutes to pick their art inspiration. Rami is stuck on the draped Greek stuff. No surprises there.

Christian likes the European gallery. He would. (I don't even know what I mean by that.)

Jillian finds it spiritual. I find her annoying.

The opening

Chris won last week with the women's wrestling challenge, and our favorite hat-wearing crier Ricky was out. I think I'm rooting for Chris at this point, though I think Christian is the most talented.

Opening credits are over.

Sweet P sounds kind of dumb. She's always so shocked about everything.

Yes Rami, we know you're not from America.

My first (nearly) live blog

I'm going to try something new. I'm going to blog about Project Runway as I watch it. It's not technically live, since I recorded it on the DVR and I'm starting it 20ish minutes late (Plus, I won't swear by it, but I think I actually recorded the second showing of it--the one that starts at 9:00 central time instead of 8:00. Can anyone verify that? Does it actually start at 8:00?).

Anyway. . . enjoy. If this doesn't work at all, I promise I won't subject you to it again. Unless I feel like it. I am dizzy with power!

It wasn't just for kicks

Apparently I did not really explain WHY we shaved Zadie. It wasn't just so we could point and laugh. She had a little matted fur problem that we could not fix. We tried to brush her, but she can be a little jumpy, to say the least. The razor was our last resort. And now, even though she is not as pretty as she once was, she is just as sweet. Maybe even more sweet. She's being awfully cuddly and nice. But she might just be cold. She did lose a lot of fur (I wonder if they weighed her before or after the shaving . . .).

You've got to see this.

Words really can't adequately describe the new Zadie. In case you missed it, she got the lion. And a little Valentine's Day bandana. And she smelled like baby powder. Seriously. I didn't know cats could smell like that. But enough talk. Let's get to the good stuff (the photos).

True to form, Zadie went straight for the food bowl as soon as she got home from the vet. In her defense, she hadn't eaten in over 24 hours (since she was getting anesthesia, the vet said no food).


I'm not sure if Gary didn't visibly recognize Zadie or if she just smelled different or what, but Gary was very cautious around this "new" cat. Gary kept peeking around doorways and watching Zadie, but every time Zadie got too close, Gary hissed, poofed up her tail, and ran away.


Without her fur, you can definitely see the blubbery rolls on this cat. They weighed her at the vet's office, and she is a hefty 18 pounds, 8 ounces. They suggested she lose about four pounds. Do the math, people. That's a huge percentage (I didn't actually do the math, or I would tell you exactly what that percentage is. But I bet it's a lot.).

Who took mah fur? I can has fur back? Kthxbai.

Do you see what I see?

I put those silly Google ads on my sidebar and it has finally paid off. No, not in actual money. But in awesomeness. I don’t know if you can see the same ad that I can, so I am putting a screen shot of the ad I can see. Clearly it is the best ever. Except no one was supposed to know about those pics...

Shave and a Haircut... Definitely Not Two Bits

Guess what is happening today? Perhaps right this minute, as you read this? Our darling kitty is becoming a lion. Or more accurately, she is getting a lion. Not sure what I am talking about? Getting a lion is like getting a mullet or a bowl cut. Yes, now you’ve got it. We are shaving Zadie, by which I mean the vet is shaving Zadie, by which I mean the vet’s assistants are shaving Zadie. Pictures will come soon. She will have fur on her head and around her paws, and probably nowhere else. I wonder if she will still love us...

Guess what else is happening today? I am getting my hair cut. I know, I know, booooorrrriiiiing. But I had to mention it since I put it in the title. And FYI, the entire day’s hair/fur loss will not cost two bits, but more like 104 bits (dollah dollah bills, y’all). And Zadie is the lion’s share of that (get it? the LION’S share? Ha!!!). Forgive me; it’s early.

Harder Better Faster Stronger

For Christmas, I asked for a few sessions with a personal trainer, and I got them. Three of them. Last week I had my first appointment with my new trainer, Nicole. Since I have a gym membership and Nicole is not employed by the gym, the plan was that she would work up some kind of weightlifting-stretching-etc. routine for me to follow when I’m at the gym.

Despite barely being able to walk for three days after my first appointment (the squats and lunges very nearly killed me), I think I’m going to like this plan. I have a list of exercises, and I do them. No standing around in the gym wondering which mysterious piece of equipment I should attempt to navigate next. So far it’s all going well. Andrew has gone with me and done the same exercises, which is awesome. I’d like to think he’s there to motivate me, but he’s probably doing the routine to get himself in better shape. But it’s nice having him there. Who else would count for me and make sure I’m doing all the reps?

My next appointment with Nicole is in three weeks. I’m hoping that by then she sees some improvement. Send good exercisey thoughts my way, please. Working out is hard.