It's Caturday!

I've decided to post cute/funny/notable pictures from the week of my cats every Saturday. Since I haven't yet shared these with the blogging world, I present to you my babies celebrating Valentine's Day. (Note: They were only 'tortured' briefly and the proceeds went to a local humane society.)

Friday Foto

Sheesh, I'm always a day late and a dollar short. Anyway, here is my pick this week. And you?

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

RightHand's dad had a bit of an adventure coming home from work in the storms last week. The hail ripped his Miata convertible roof and bruised him! He writes, "Large hail and rain in Tyrone made for a fun ride home. The hail stones on the roof were pulled from inside the car after I got home. I found 3 bruises where the stones hit my arm, stomach and the top of my thumb. Thank God it was just a car…….."

Here are the pics:

Luck Be A...Gift Card!

Normally I wouldn't put my poor blog through any contests, etc. but Barking Mad is giving away a $250 gift card to Target and I would DIE, ABSOLUTELY DIE (in the good way?) to win it.

So, all I have to do is:
1. Mentioning Barking Mad- check
2. Put an icon about this in my sidebar- check
3. And list my favorite 5 posts that I have written:
- Mo(u)rning Tragedy
- Glasses
- Not So Super
- TMI. For Sure.
- My Right-hand Man

I'd encourage you to enter, but that would hurt my chances. ;) So.... just....carry on. Nothing to see here... :)

The Crisis of Credit

It is truly worth your while to watch this video that clearly explains the credit crisis. Yay, I finally understand!!!



The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Friday Foto

Here's my favorite from this week:

Which is yours?

Decisions, Decisions...

I was reading an article about how lawyers are losing their jobs and are trying to find work as paralegals. And then came along this gem of a paragraph:

"Trope says her husband, who is also a lawyer, began losing clients, and they have fallen behind on their mortgage. The stress caused a strain on the marriage, and the couple separated. The couple held on to their nanny, however; she shuttles between Trope's home and that of her husband as their two children move from one place to another."

So, let's recap. Now they live in TWO houses. Brilliant. And they KEPT THEIR NANNY, even though they are both not working much, if at all, and they can't pay their mortgage. There are no words. If that's someone's definition of hurtin', then call me callous, but I don't feel sorry for them one bit. Although, one thing worries me...


Do you think someday I'll have to choose between my nanny and my personal chef????!!! THE HORROR.

You can read the rest of the article here.

Cookin' Up a Storm, Part II

For some reason, Blogger doesn't let me include more than about 5 photos in any post, so here we are again...

Nothing too special. Wait. Who said that?! Pancakes are ALWAYS special. And though from Bisquick (Heart Healthy kind), they were damn delicious.

RightHand semi-successfully got an artsy photo of smoke steaming off of them. Yum.

The awesomely hearty lasagna I made last Friday (aka Valentine's Eve for the true believers ;) Another milestone, I'd say. Especially because I had heard lasagna was hard to make. I didn't make my own noodles, but still. Pretty easy and very gratifying.

From a recipe entitled "The Best Rice Pudding." And it was. Nearly. I used 2% milk instead of whole, but I'm going to go full whole milk next time. Just wasn't creamy enough. I was, however, very excited to semi-recreate one of my favorite desserts from the famous Marietta Diner.

Stayed tuned for more culinary adventures...

Cookin' Up a Storm*

* Haha- get it? Because GA had severe storms last night? In which one man died...right. Okay, no more laughing.

Although I continue to eat most of my dinners out of boxes and cans, I have been pushing myself to start trying, at least once a week, one of the mountains and mountains of recipes I keep finding and tossing into my Recipe Drawer of Infinity and Beyond.

And now, I'd like to share a few of the results with you. (If you really want the recipe to one, just let me know. Also, these are the cooking/baking blogs that I follow and that rock: Bakerella, Culinary Couture, Joy the Baker, and Smitten Kitchen.)

This is one of my first meals- salmon with soy sauce over couscous and collard greens. It rocked.

A rigatoni, eggplant, and tomato recipe that taught me that I have been waiting for Ricotta cheese all my life. (Again, where have you been?! I love you!)

RightHand and I thought a steak with coffee grounds recipe sounded interesting. Interesting it was, delicious it was not. Bye bye, recipe.

I felt like I hit a milestone with these peanut lettuce wraps. So restaurant-like! So delicious! I even found Hoison sauce at the grocery store all by myself ::pats back::.

A very dull pasta, another recipe elimination.

To Everything, There is a Season...

I think this happens every year, but I have a short memory, so let me just say that Georgia is having some really weird weather!! Some days it's in the 70s and absolutely beautiful, and other days it is about 16 degrees and I have to wear mittens to be able to touch my steering wheel on the way to school in the morning. COLD.

I am from Georgia. I should never have to dress like this.

All of these day-by-day changes culminated last night with some severe thunderstorms and tornado watches and warnings. A family friend snapped this picture of a hail storm on one of our major highways:

This storm, of course, was followed by some really warm weather today and a beautiful sunny sky. And also so much wind that I could barely walk. I wonder what tomorrow holds...

Growing Pains

The other morning I woke up and was painfully missing RightHand. I thought to myself, "Oooo, the things we would be doing if he were here!"

And then reality slapped me in the face.

Sleeping. That's what I would be doing.

Why? Because, lads and lassies, I have reached that point in my life where, when confronted with an extra hour in my morning, I would choose sleep over sex. Hands down.*

To be fair, I recently consulted with my doctor and found out that my medication was actually sedating me. SEDATING me. Not making me groggy, sleepy, tired, etc. NO. DRUGGING ME. No wonder I've been waking up in the mornings feeling like I'm in a coma. And what do you think the solution to my problem is, O Lords of American Healthcare? Why, treat the medicine with medicine of course! How many pills can one body handle? :(

I'm hoping that all of this is just law school burn-out. Marriage is full full full of great great great sex, right? ;) RIGHT???




*Most days.

Thanksgiving, February Edition

I just found this writing at Momo Fali's and had to share it. It came to me at exactly the right time.

Things to be Thankful For:

-Be thankful for the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means you have enough to eat.

-Be thankful for the mess you clean up after a party because it means you have been surrounded by friends.

-Be thankful for the taxes you pay because it means you're employed.

-Be thankful that your lawn needs mowing and your windows need fixing because it means you have a home.

-Be thankful for your heating bill because it means you are warm.

-Be thankful for the laundry because it means you have clothes to wear.

-Be thankful for the space you find at the far end of the parking lot because it means you can walk.

-Be thankful for the lady who sings off-key behind you in church because it means you can hear.

-Be thankful when people complain about the government because it means we have freedom of speech.

-Be thankful for the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means you're alive.

Mmm or Eww?

I was flipping threw the Sunday paper's Kohl's insert this evening (yes, I am THAT behind...) and promptly needed a shower. I was scandalized!! Why, you ask? See for yourself:



Good Lord! Too much!

How do you feel?

	Bring on the bulge!
	Put that thing away!

Show results

Not So Super

Better late than never, right? Glad you agree, because here is my short take on the SuperBowl, which happened last month, I KNOW! :( Life needs to pause for a minute or two...

Anyway, I was under the impression that the feminist movement had gained even more ground since the 1920s but alas, I was mistaken. Okay, okay, I won't be that pessimistic. And God knows that women everywhere have worked SO. DAMN. HARD. to get us where we are. All I'm trying to say is that the Super Bowl ads this year struck me as especially offensive and stereotypically gendered. A few examples (I am putting my commentary after each clip so you can watch them first without my opinion affecting you):



Of course the womea's clothes fly off. Of course the male cop's clothes don't. I understand that it is based on a man's fantasy, but that's just it. Does that mean that men want women's clothing to fly off randomly during the day? I guess. But don't forget the golden rule: NO FATTIES!



Yet another one where men are trying to get women to take their clothes off. It's getting rather dull. Anytime a woman excels, especially in a male-dominated sport such as racing, men must assert their power by making her more vulnerable in other ways. And no, I don't want to go online to see the "shocking" conclusion. The only shocking conslusion would be the chauvinistic teens realizing they need to respect women.



This ad starts out as a pretty entertaining piece with some shock value that makes you dying to know what is happening, but they lose me at the end. Once again, only men are tough enough for something. And frankly, this sends a pretty high pressure message to men. Remember, mysogyny hurts us all.



And of course, where would we be without the obligatory portrayal of a woman as a chatting, obnoxious shrew. Even Mrs. Potato Head! Proof that women everywhere, no matter the "species" are always nagging...never saying anything important or helpful... oh nooooo....

Do I seem angry? Well, I think there is good reason to be. And if you are going to comment just to tell me that I need to lighten up, they're just commercials, etc. etc., don't bother. You're wrong.

Anyway, just to prove that I wasn't all sour on that fateful Sunday, here are two of the ads that made me smile. A lot.





Happy Monday, everyone. :)

Oh, Men...

Here's hoping your man wasn't that clueless on Valentine's Day!

As for me, RightHand and I had our first Valentine's Day together, consisting of flowers, chocolate, glow-in-the-dark boxers, and a lovely meal with live jazz in the city of Madison, one of America's most beautiful small towns, among other things. A++ :)

Super Fantastic Dream Job!!

I guess news in the form of Facebook status doesn't travel as fast as I thought it did. C'mon, aren't we the technology-obsessed generation? Oh well. Unfortunately, it seems that some of you didn't hear: I GOT MY SUPER FANTASTIC DREAM JOB! At least for the summer. :)

That's right, kids, I have accepted a Legal Clerkship at the Animal Legal Defense Fund in Portland, Oregon and I am SOOOO excited.

In this economy, with my grades, etc. etc. etc., I don't know how I got this position. Well, wait, I don't want to sell myself too short. I AM pretty much dedicated to the field of Animal Law, and I think my enthusiasm came through during the interview. YAY! I feel so, so lucky.

Perks include people bringing their dogs to work, 9-5 schedule (rare in the legal world), staying with an oh-so-generous family friend in her gorgeous house, getting established in the Animal Law field, and a boss who has a sailboat in Washington. :)

Downsides: Leaving RightHand for yet another summer! Though, last summer was my trip around the world, so we are both counting our blessings this time and hoping he can visit. :)

Looking forward to sharing my experiences and photos with you all over the summer.

My 25 Things...

Really couldn't believe how many people did this little activi-tay on Facebook! I finally got around to it so I thought I'd share it here:

1. I complain about it, but I love when my big 15-pounder cat sleeps on me.

2. I love spooning. A lot.

3. My favorite flowers are tulips and daisies.

4. I am in recovery from anorexia.

5. When I’m with someone, I sometimes miss being single. But when I’m single, oh, how I long to be with someone.

6. The next countries I’d like to visit are Italy, Ireland, India, and Africa (North, South and in between…and yes, I know it’s a continent- work with me!)

7. Finding time to shave my legs stresses me out.

8. I have re-dated all of my ex-boyfriends except one.

9. I have a huge fear of finding a dead body in a bathroom stall.

10. I was mauled by a German Shepherd when I was younger and they are one of my favorite dog breeds today.

11. I am very distrustful of generic prescriptions, no matter how many times the pharmacist reassures me.

12. I share my dad’s love of trains and almost always get out of my car at the railroad crossing to watch the train go by.

13. One of my favorite memories is when my dad and I were running around Edinburgh, Scotland at night in the rain trying to find the garden that inspired Treasure Island (we think we did). :)

14. “96 Tears” by Question Mark and the Mysterians is my favorite oldie.

15. I seem to think of a new life dream/goal everyday and it gets very overwhelming.

16. I am not used to living in debt and law school expenses and loans freaking me out.

17. I get violently angry when people do not use their turn signal or just cruise along in the left lane- slower traffic keep right, people!!!

18. I have “baby fever” soooo badly!! Can’t wait to have kids! :) But don’t worry, I’m waiting quite awhile…

19. The only shows I watch on TV: LOST, The Office, and 30 Rock. With more than just basic cable, I would live on HGTV and Animal Planet.

20. I’m not THAT opposed to being a housewife/homemaker as long as I don’t go stir-crazy. But, I think I would. So nevermind.

21. My favorite color is pink. Pink pink pink everything pink yay!

22. It depresses me that I have to get up and shower…every…day….boring…

23. So far, my sleep record is 14 hours, but I know I can and will break that.

24. I have my license to carry a concealed weapon.

25. I love love. (Classic inside joke…and so true)

And now, I tag all of YOU!! :)

Ode to a Hot Shower

Scald me as I step in

Warm my heart, soul, and body

Hot Shower, Good Life