Life moves on.

I find it somehow sad and somehow funny that the last post I wrote was regarding the bad economy.

Anyways, the job hunt is going slow. There honestly isn't much to apply for right now. Freelance work is really pouring in though, so I've been working non-stop and hopefully building a business with two of my friends that will amount to something someday. In theory I can make a really good living doing freelance, it's just scary because it's not as stable / predictable as being employed full-time and it takes a little time to get established.

This week I've been going down to Lakeville with Chris everyday and working at coffee shops with my laptop. It's good because it forces me to get up early and stay focused. I've been getting more work done this way and it's nice because we get to have lunch together and talk on the drive to and from the apartment.

The kittehs are adorable. Pene's new favorite spot is on the back of the couch. She likes it there because the heat from the register funnels up behind it and keeps her nice and toasty. She can also sunbathe and watch birds out the window from that spot. I've also got baby-fever lately. Dave Quamme's little girl Allison is just too cute. She just turned 2 and is very very sweet. Sometimes when we all hang out he brings her with and so she's gotten to the point where she trusts me and likes to jabber on about her favorite show "The Wiggles". Lol....I'm tempted to steal her.

Chris and I have his work Christmas party tomorrow night. It's at a ski resort south of the cities and it should be a good time. His company also just moved buildings on Monday. The new one is only a couple miles from the old one so the drive isn't much different. The building is beautiful. Chris' company Hearth and Home Technologies is owned by a much larger company named HNI. They specialize in a lot of other industries besides fireplaces, so they had a lot of additional resources to contribute to the new building. They had professional space planners and interior decorators working on it. The also got very high-end cubes and chairs through one of HNI's other companies.

So life is good. Not what I expected...but life is rarely what we expect. Last night I told Chris that I'm scared and he told me something to the effect that fear keeps life exciting. And I suppose he's right. Although things are crazy right now I'm probably overall more happy than I was before I got laid off. I'm definitely more satisfied with the type of work I'm doing now. A quote about life comes to mind that I learned back during my days of being LDS.

"I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it."

I don't know where exactly this quote came from only that it's true. The best things in life rarely come easily.

Signs of the times.

The economy must be bad. I'm searching through a stock photography site for some real estate related photos and I've found more than one photo stamped "Foreclosure". Apparently there is a market for this now. Weird.

Anyways, on a different topic I've discovered that I love dried mangos. I dream about them.

Q and A.

My brother sent my these questions and I thought I'd share the answers.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?	My grandpa wanted my mom's middle name to be Colleen, so they gave it to me instead.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?	Saturday when I found out I wouldn't be having lunch with my sister and niece.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?	Yes, when it's not too rushed.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?	Ham.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?	No.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?	Probably not, because I'd be too jealous of my boyfriend.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?	No never. ;)
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?	Yes.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?	Yes.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?	Cinnamon Life.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?	No.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?	I used to.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?	Anything with cookie dough.
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?	Face.
15. RED OR PINK?	Both.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?	Once I heard that you should never tell people what you dislike about yourself because it will just draw it to their attention.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?	My brothers and friends in Bemidji.
18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?	Khaki pants, black shoes.
19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?	Pasta and Salad last night.
20. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?	A coworker talking on the phone. In my car it's Hole though. How moody right?
21. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
22. FAVORITE SMELLS?	Citrus, honeysuckle, clean laundry.
23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?	Dad.
24. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?	Basketball.
25. HAIR COLOR?	Naturally? Some sort of dark ash blond. Physically it's a nice dark brown.
26. EYE COLOR?	Brown.
27. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?	Sometimes.
28. FAVORITE FOOD?	Pizza and tacos.
29. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?	Happy Endings.
30. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?	Cloverfield.
31. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?	Blue and brown striped.
32. SUMMER OR WINTER?	Summer.
33. HUGS OR KISSES?	Hugs from most people...kisses from a few.
34. FAVORITE DESSERT?	Cheesecake.
35. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?	Fahrenheit 451.
36. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?	Kittens.
37. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT?	Nothing, but it should have been "Jericho". It's just recently been added to our favorites list and we are still catching up on season 1.
38. FAVORITE SOUND?	All of Pene's little "talking" sounds.
39. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?	Very good question. "Wild Horses" by the RS is one of my all-time favorites, but the Beatles have lots of amazing songs. I'll have to go with the Beatles.
40. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?	Valdez, AK.
41. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?	Many.
42. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?	Fairbanks, AK.
43. WHAT TIME IS IT NOW?	10:38.

Caturday Afternoon.

This weekend Chris and I went out to run some errands and when we got home this is what I found. Dahlia managed to pivot the chair in such a way that she could look out the window. She also curled herself up with this blanket and pillow. She is the queen of finding comfortable spots around the apartment. Warm laundry is probably her favorite.







And then Pene came over to see what all the fuss was about. Oh and this coming Saturday will be Dahlia's 1st birthday. We wanted to have a kitty party and invite their friends over....well, the cats of our friends....but unfortunately cats aren't social like dogs and we would just end up with a hissing party. So instead we are going to make her a cheeseburger (sans bun and toppings...so just a burger patty with cheese). Apparently cats like cheeseburgers.

ICanHasCheezBurger

Why wouldn't they?

Labyrinth Guards.

Bird poops in mouth.

So my good friend Laura asks:

"My parents recently got a kitten. Any advice on what to do about their wild nighttime behavior?"

Well, I guess for the most part we've been lucky. They tend to curl up and sleep with us most of the time. That in it's self can be inconvenient though. Dahlia sleeps on me. Mostly on my tummy or side, but if I'm on my side facing outward from the bed she'll spoon herself up in front of my face, so that I need to reposition just so I can breath. Pene spends the first part of her night laying on Chris' chest gazing into his face and then at some point in the night she sleeps on my pillow and wraps herself around my head. Sometimes I wake up and she's sleeping in the middle of the pillow and my head is on a few inches of the bottom corner.

On most occasions when they feel like late night antics they take it out to the living room. There are better things out there to climb on, play with, and run through I guess. But occasionally they start tearing through our room playing "who's chasing who?"

Or Pene likes to wake Chris up when he sleeps in on weekends. (Pene by the way is in love with Chris. She has been from the time we got her. We used to joke that she was constantly trying to get rid of me so that she could have him all to herself. ) It's very humorous to watch her work. She'll start purring and come up to his face to give him some kisses. He usually grumbles and pulls the covers over his head. She will scout all around looking for some sort of opening in the blanket she can stick her nose into.

There is usually only one method of stopping playful kittens while you are trying to sleep. It involves placing them about 4 inches outside of your bedroom door and then swiftly closing it. :)

Seriously though, I think it does get better with age just like real babies. When we first got them they did a lot of that playful pouncing on your feet under the blanket and whatnot, but eventually they calm down.

Other News:

I tried to make the Verde Chili last night, so that it could sit in the crock pot today. Well it didn't go very well. The concoction sitting at home sort of resembles barf, so I've received a great deal of advice and coaching from my coworkers today. My chili rescue plan involves beans (both regular and refried), sour cream, and cheese. /cross my fingers

Today while scouring Reddit.com I found a couple of particularly interesting articles.

This first one was particularly entertaining being a web designer, but I think that anyone can appreciate the author's commentary. I will warn you though that there is a little bit of foul language.

Internet '96

This next one is just...well...random.

Bird poops in mouth

Enjoy. And everybody have a great weekend!

Plastic, rubber, ribbon, string, hair, melon.

Well, not a lot is new. So I'll just bore you with things that are of mild interest.

We're looking forward to the weekend. Last weekend my Dad and brother Michael came to visit, which is always fun, but busy, busy, busy. The Winter Carnival starts Wednesday today and lasts until the 3rd. I'm excited to see the ice sculptures. We are also going to this cool little hamburger place we saw featured on the Food Network. I can't remember the name right now.

Speaking of Food Network. Chris and I have become addicts. So I finally have the desire to cook for us. So tonight I'm making some baked chicken and potatoes. Tomorrow night we are having this Chili Verde stuff. Well maybe modified a little. It needs to simmer forever, though. So I'm actually going to put it all together tonight and then let it simmer on low tomorrow while we are at work.

Kitty News:

If there is one thing I know about kitties...it's they like an Omega Paw Whirly Mouse Jr. The first day I gave it to them I came home that night and couldn't even find it. It took me all weekend to realize that in a fit of playful excitement they shoved it clear under Chris' recliner. Then a couple of days later they actually managed to pull the ball out of it's track! So I put the ball back in and now everyday they play with it until it tips upside-down (which must make it unusable :) ) and then I fix it for them and it starts again.

Most of you already know that Dahlia loves to eat weird stuff. You know...plastic, rubber, ribbon, string, hair, melon, whatever. So yesterday morning I'm getting ready for work and I walk by and notice there are some socks laying in her vicinity. She's very nonchalantly laying there acting innocent. But the long piece of sock string hanging from her whiskers gave her away. I'm very curious how many inedible things she eats everyday.