Some of you will understand

For those of you who know me very well, I wanted to tell you that I finally hemmed my favorite jeans. And you thought it would never happen!

To get you in the mood....

It's Christmas time!! So, to get you in the mood, I thought I'd pass on a little holiday cheer!

My Obedient Child

Friday watches the birds through the blinds. I try (without success) to stop him.

Do you think I can get the disobedient child I'm bound to have out of the way through Friday?

Just a thought....

This photo weirds me out.

Friday's brother passed through our backyard today. I saw him on the fence, and my heart nearly stopped because I thought Friday had gotten out! But Friday was definitely inside, staring at his mirror image and meowing. He's never responded to cats in the yard before, but he did to this one! I've seen white cats in our neighborhood, but always at night and from a distance. You'd think something as recessive as pure white wouldn't come out that often, but here it is. I have to think that this cat, though from a different litter, is related to Friday. How crazy is that? Crazy.

The new table and chairs

I've posted before about choosing chairs for my table, which I did decide on some. Then I painted my table, and now I have a brand new dining room! It didn't turn out like what was in my head, but that's what I get for thinking a $10 can of paint would do miracles. :)

Here is the new table:
I was hoping the black chairs and green paint would lend a contemporary feel to the room, but the "bones" of the table were just too traditional to pull it off. With the green paint, it looks very antique, when I was hoping for modern. So my "antique" table paired with the chairs is a more shabby-chic feel, which I suppose is fine, too. It didn't take long to paint, so I can always pick another color some other time.

And here is the centerpiece I put together for it:

And Friday's reaction to the table:

I don't think he likes change. :)

A ghetto thug picked the lock to our house

Today, a man dressed in expensive black slouchy jeans, a zip-up hoodie that said, "South Pole," white leather shoes, a thick silver chain, and a baseball cap picked the lock to our house.

What's ironic is that we paid him $65 to do it. They really need to give locksmiths better uniforms.

So, I'm adding a new item to my Christmas list: a key hider. (No fake piles of poop, please.)

Friday's Clean Bill of Health!

Yesterday, Jon and I took Friday back to the ophthalmologist for his check-up. We've been giving him medicine in his right eye for a viral infection for a month now, and it was time to check on his progress. And his eye is better! Yay! The vet was very surprised at how quickly the eye healed. There is a tiny bit of haze, but that is scarring that the vet says will probably go away completely pretty soon. We have to "wean" Friday off the medicine over the next two months, so that the virus doesn't come back. Well, so it doesn't come back immediately. It will probaby come back another time in his life, since it's a virus, which sticks around. I'm just hoping it doesn't come back for a long time!

On the down side, we heard that phrase that we've heard too many times with Friday, "This is rare in cats." Yes, we found out Friday has a tiny cataract. It turns out cats almost never get cataracts, but leave it to Friday.... The vet said it was so small, there were no worries, and that it would probably never get worse. It's not even visible to the naked eye, really, and it's only a problem if we can see it. So I guess we'll just keep a watch on that, but otherwise not worry about it.

So Friday has made it out of the woods in his latest health ordeal! He pulls through again! Woohoo! Today he's hiding from us, because not only did he go to the vet yesterday, he also got a bath. That's what he gets for sitting his booty in the fireplace soot.
And then, he thought he found the perfect hiding place in the shower...until Jon unknowingly turned the water on at full blast. Now he's ignoring us completely. Poor kitty has had a hard couple of days. But he's better, and we're happy.

Home again, Home again

Karen and I made it home from Seattle, and after a night's sleep, Jon and I joined our class in a camping trip! Jon planned everything, and did a great job! We and another couple got to the site early and set up everyone's tents, and started preparing the food. It was a good thing, because by the time people got off work and made it to the site, it was too dark to set up tents.

We played Mafia, Spades, 42, CatchPhrase, and anything else that came to our heads. For some reason, the trails were muddy and closed, so we enjoyed sitting around the fire and staying close to the campsite.

It was a beautiful weekend, to end a great week, and the only bad thing is that I came home with a cold. But I guess that's expected, considering the rain in Seattle, and the cold temperatures at the campsite.

So there you have it. The end of my "Week in Review" series. :)

Still in Seattle

We just finished our final day of our conference in Seattle! It's been a crazy three days of classes. We've gone to about 6 classes a day. Each hour had between 3 and 5 classes to choose from, and we chose the classes that most applied to what we would need. For example, I took a class today about tables, because I know nothing about tables. Karen took a class about world languages yesterday. So we pick and choose the best classes for us, and come away with a TON of information. The next goal is to figure out how to apply all the stuff we've learned!

Yesterday, Karen and I had an hour right before lunch that had classes neither one of us were interested in, so we played hooky and went to Pike Place Market! Everyone who's been to Seattle said that we HAD to go there, and this would be our only chance. We took a taxi there and back from the Adobe University, and had a whole lot of fun! It's so interesting, and different from anything I'd ever seen.

There were all kinds of fish there:
There are people who throw the fish around, which is what makes Pike Place so memorable. Here is a fish thrower:
Okay, so he's not paying attention, and he actually did drop a fish once. :)

Everything was very old. I had a sense that people had been walking on these floors, and up and down these stairs, for year and years:
And Karen introduced me to dates!
mab had mentioned that everyone should try a date in their lives, so I did. :) It was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be! Still, it was incredibly sweet, and I didn't make it through the whole date.

The fall foliage here has been beautiful:
There have been trees dressed in reds, golds, oranges, so many beautiful colors! And they're different from the trees that grow in Texas, so it's been fun to try to identify them.

This morning we woke up to blue skies!
Okay, it's hard to tell, but that sky has a lot less clouds than it has had the rest of the week! It stayed dry all day today, and it's been a good look at Seattle on a good day.

Here we are at Adobe University. I'm wearing my "vintage" Adobe t-shirt, a gift from my dad, from his font days. He guesses it's from about 1990, and I got a comment today, "Now there's an old shirt!" They just don't appreciate the classics, I guess.

Overall, we've had a great time. We're ready to come home tomorrow, but it's been a really good week!

We're in Seattle!

Hello World!

Karen and I made it to Seattle Sunday evening, with no problems or anything. Yesterday, we enjoyed a very full day of classes at Adobe University, and came back to the hotel comparing notes from the classes we each took. We've already learned a ton!

It has rained the whole time we've been here! (Those bright spots in the picture to the left are raindrops on the windshield.) And all my photos are at night, because it's already dark by the time we get out of classes at 5:30.

It stopped raining long enough yesterday evening for us to go "out on the town" and enjoy some shopping. It turns out I can't afford Nordstroms, even on sale. But I bought a "Sleepless in Seattle" winter hat! :)

Oh, and if you've seen the reports of flooding and all that, we haven't seen any flooding, yet. And we're going everywhere on public transportation, and they generally know what they're doing. At least better than we do in a city we don't know!

Anyway, we're heading off to another day of classes. Just wanted to check in and say we made it! More later!

Happy November!

The holidays are upon us! I can't believe it's already November. Its going to be a crazy next two months. I've got a camping trip to plan, a conference to attend, parties to organize, and Gilder to blame for it. I'm swamped! (name that movie)

So, in the spirit of the holidays, I'm trying to get organized. I'm using Google's handy online spreadsheets to keep track of everything related to our family Christmas: gift lists, addresses, menus, etc. I'm also using it to keep a weekly grocery list and a packing list for my upcoming conference. I would recommend it, especially for people as unorganized as I am! I can't lose it, because it's all online. And I can edit in on any computer I'm on, in case I think of something while I'm in Waco or...well, I never go anywhere else. But if I were to go somewhere else, I could still make changes. Organization helps me feel less stressed. I usually end up over-organizing, and never actually getting anything done. :)

Speaking of computers, I have a new work computer! It's the MacBook Pro 17 in laptop, and oh, it's very nice.... What I like about Macs is that they have great programs, they're well thought out, and they have fun little things you can do right out of the box. For example, there is a program called Photo Booth that really has no use at all, except to take funny pictures of yourself. It basically uses different filters to distort the camera image. Like I said, completely useless, but perfect for making PC users jealous when I turn on my computer for the first time, pop open Photo Booth, and show them something they've never seen before. Apple is so smart to have stuff like that included. It's one of those programs that you get tired of quickly, but really helps you love your computer right out of the box. Ingenious.

Next week, Karen and I are heading to Seattle, WA, for a design conference! How exciting is that! We'll be learning more about InDesign, which is the program we both use every day. It's going to be three long days of classes, but it's going to be great. I've never been that far Northwest, so I'm excited! Of course, predictions are for rain the whole week, but what better way to experience Seattle?

Probably from now til I get back (and a little after, since we go camping the day after we get home) you won't be hearing much from me. But after that, I'll post some pics of Seattle, the account of the trip, and any funny camping stories I'll have! Whew, I'm a little stressed thinking about all the things coming up, but it's going to be fun, a whirlwind, and pretty soon, it's going to be the New Year! Holy Cow!