New Year's Eve=meh.

Yeah, so it's New Year's Eve again, and I am spending it with my parents. Actually, I'm spending it with my computer, but my dad is in the other room and my mom should be home around eleven. Am I feeling sorry for myself? Probably, but the fact is I did absolutely nothing to try and secure any plans more interesting than this. I'm going through one of those periods wherein my internal monologue is set on "if my friends want to see/talk to me they can dang well call me themselves" mode. I know it's self-destructive, and I know (usually I know) it's not true, but sometimes I just can't. I'm not sure what it is that I can't do, but I know I can't do it.

I know it's just as much my fault that I never see/talk to these people, but I just get tired of feeling like I'm the only one making any effort. Yes, people have children and jobs, etc. etc. But. I don't know, I suppose I'm just feeling a little selfish.

OK, enough of the pity party. On to the resolutions. I'm making the one and only resolution that I have been making since I was a junior in high school. To make it to 2009. Well, when I was a junior in high school I didn't resolve to make it to 2009, but you get the idea. So far I've always been able to accomplish it. Go me! Hope everyone's New Year is full of good stuff and all that jazz. Seriously, though, I hope everybody has a great year! TTFN!!!

PS-Don't fret, I will begin the digital camera torture soon enough, I'm just too lazy to go upstairs and get it right now.

The aftermath

Christmas is fun, but busy. Tonight I'm just vegging, even though I have things I should be doing. Meh. But I did have a good Christmas. I got a digital camera, so I can now begin the relentless torture of anyone who reads this thing with pictures of my cat. I'll give you today off, but be prepared.

No plans for New Year's Eve, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. It seems like I'm the only one who even gives a poo, so whatever. I'm feeling very apathetic about seeing anyone I'm not related to. I'm not sure if it's a winter thing or just a general lack of motivation to actually contact said people. Whatever.

Anyway, hope your holiday season is a wondrous time full of love and...other sentimental stuff. TTFN!

Yeah, yeah...

I'm not gone away or anything. Just having a really, really dull couple of weeks. I do have some ideas for posts floating around here and there, so I'll try to get to them this week. Until then, please enjoy this cute picture of a cat from our shelter:




Her name is Ginger, like the character from Gilligan's Island, not the Spice Girl.

Me, in a nutshell...or a cupcake wrapper

It has been brought to my attention that my blog doesn't tell anyone anything about me, per se. I guess that's because there isn't really anything new to report. I'm kind of in maintenance mode at the moment. I'm still at my parents' house, still going to group therapy twice a week, still spending a lot of time at the Humane Society, stuff like that. I'm moving in the direction of getting my own apartment, but that probably won't be unil the new year, and I'm planning to move back to the Twin Cities in the summer. Hopefully I'll be starting at Hennepin Tech in the fall, but I'm not ready to say that is absolutely definite yet. My kitty is still fat, and I still watch way too much TV. Other than that, I'm just working toward becoming as independent as possible. Sometimes it feels like I'll never get there, but I know I will.

In other news, my godson Cory got a D on his report card. It may seem an odd thing to tell you, especially since some of you have never even met him, but I'm hoping that the more public embarrassment he suffers, the less likely he will be to repeat this feat. He is a smart kid, and anyone who has ever talked to him for five minutes knows he can do better than a D. I love him to pieces, but he's got to realize that no self-respecting nerd would get a D in anything other than gym. Or maybe art. But this D was in literature, which isn't cool. So send out your horrified vibes to him, because apparently he needs a swift kick in the work ethic. Thank you for listening. TTFN!!!

All grown up?

Am I? I certainly don't feel like it most of the time. I'm not sure if it's because I'm still living at home, or because I still haven't matriculated, or because I'm not married and have zero kids, or most likely a combination of all of the above. Whatever the reason, I find myself questioning what it really means to be a "grownup". Does it involve mortgages, or 401k's, or is it something more intangible? I know some people with mortgages who are very immature, and some people just out of college who act much older than I think they should. Regardless, I don't know if I even want to be a "grownup". It sounds boring. Does anyone really enjoy being a "grownup"?

Mmmmmm...cookies...

I don't feel like blogging, so here's a recipe:

Fudgy Buttermilk Salad

1 c. buttermilk
1 3oz. pkg. vanilla instant pudding
1 8 oz. carton Cool Whip
1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple (drained)
1 20 oz. can mandarin oranges (drained)*
1 11.5 oz. pkg. fudge stripe cookies

Combine buttermilk, pudding & cool whip. Stir well. Mix in pineapple & oranges. Refrigerate. Before serving mix in crumbled cookies.

*If you can't find a 20 oz. can of mandarin oranges, you can use two 11 oz. cans.

Wow, that's...

Puzzling. Sorry, I should explain what I'm talking about. OK, so I'm sitting here watching afternoon cartoons (yeah, yeah, screw too old for that stuff) and there was this commercial. And I figure since I ranted about a girl's toy I should rant about a boy's toy also. I'm not going to go off on professional wrestling (I promise), but is this toy a good idea? Using ladders to injure people seems like a bad message to send to kids whose parents might own step ladders. And this might just be all of the gay porn talking, but this seems pretty homoerotic to me. Of course, pro wrestling in general is pretty homoerotic (oops, sorry). OK, that's enough for today. TTFN!!

Is it weird that I'm taking it personally?

As I was watching Sen. Larry Craig "set the record straight" last night, I was very irritated by the whole thing, but especially when he was picking on the cop who busted him. I'm thinking it's a Minnesota thing, but I don't really know why. Maybe I'm just irritated that a United States Senator is so stupid, regardless of whether or not he did solicit or whatever. What a dil-hole.

Things that irk me number...whatever.

Those of you who have known me for a while know that I tend to get up-in-arms about many different things. Sometimes several things at once. However, this usually leads to me ranting for a few seconds and then moving on to the next thing that pisses me off. Well, I have one I need to vent about in a public forum, so here goes.

I was watching Nickelodeon this morning (yes, it was a Fairly Odd Parents-athon) and I saw a commercial that raised my hackles. It was a commercial for the Dream Town Rose Petal Cottage by Playskool. It is a play house with a washer, dryer, furniture, etc. Now, I know there are lots of kitchen play sets and the like out there for kids. What struck me about this particular commercial was some of the wording. If you'd like to hear for yourself just click "Watch it" on the link above. A couple that stood out in particular:

• "...where her dreams have room to grow..." - Honestly, is this what parents want their daughters to dream about? Baking muffins and rearranging furniture?
• "...entertain her imagination..." - With what? Laundry?

I'm no femi-nazi, I have no problem with guys squishing bugs and such, provided that women at least know how. But, come on. I thought we were past the time when girls only dreamed of having babies and baking cupcakes. What about building bridges or curing cancer? I'm not saying there's anything wrong with having babies and baking cupcakes. Far from it. But is this the message we want to send to little girls? That their only purpose in life it to keep house?

Am I overreacting? Absolutely. As is my right and tendency. If I don't who will? OK, that's a bit grandiose, but you get the drift.

Completely changing the subject, go Gophers! TTFN!!

Only 5 weeks late...

Yeah, well, I can't help it if his parents are hopelessly slow. Yes, that's right, I finally have pictures of Adyn. I'm going to put up a couple of my favorites, and you can go see the rest here if you'd like.






























And did I mention the heart-shaped nostrils?

The state bird of Michigan is...

How the heck should I know? Ask my brother. Yes, that's right, we packed him off to Holland, Michigan with his gal Becky. Moving is always such a grand endeavor, and this was no exception. Actually, it was a pretty boring deal all around. Everything (mostly) fit where it needed to, and nothing ended up bouncing down the freeway at 70 mph. And I have to say, Becky has got this whole "getting Ethan to do what you want him to do" thing figured out pretty well. Of course, I'll miss having him around, but I think Becky will be worth the move. She seems to know the depths of his dorkosity, and loves him anyway. Plus she's a redhead, so we can buy sunscreen in bulk together.

So, good luck Ethan, and don't you dare become a Wolverines fan. Seriously, or a Badgers fan (Becky is from Wisconsin, poor girl). TTFN!!

Fun weekend

Probably one of the last nice weekends up at The Lake, and boy, was it a nice one. The weather was great, everyone was in fine spirits, and I got to meet Adyn. I'd show you a picture, but his parents seem to be woefully slow in sharing said pictures. He's pretty dang cute, though. And he has heart-shaped nostrils, which for some reason absolutely fascinates me. I spent the whole time I was holding him looking up the poor kid's nose. Hopefully he won't be scarred for life. Then again, he probably isn't the first, nor will he be the last, child to be forced into years of therapy by something weird I do. TTFN!!

A forensic PLUMBER?!?!?

I'm sitting here watching Forensic Files on CourtTV, and they've enlisted the help of a forensic plumber. Er, what? I think I'm going to become a forensic furniture refinisher. Yeah. Or maybe a forensic platypus wrangler. That would be cool.

Puppies and kitties and stuff, oh my!

Yesterday was a kick-ass day at the shelter. For those of you unawares, I volunteer 3-4 days a week at the Humans Society of the Lakes animal shelter just north of Detroit Lakes. Now, I know there are those of you out there who are probably of the opinion that shelter dogs are not as good as pure breeds, and I could go off for several pages about the shelter in Brooklyn that has to euthanize 30 dogs every day and puppy mills and inbreeding and the like, but I'm not going to do it. Really. And while I do understand wanting a certain kind of dog, the fact is, you can probably find that kind of dog in a shelter. A couple of weeks ago we had a Welsh Terrier that had papers and everything. His owner had to move and couldn't take him along, so she asked us to help him find a good home. Which we totally did.

This job has probably done more for my mental health in the last six months than all of the medication, therapy and group meetings put together. I could go off for pages about the warm, fuzzy feeling I get from helping a family find just the right pet, but I'm not going to do it. Really. Suffice to say all the sappy Hallmark cards in the universe couldn't come close. And if you want a little bit of that feeling, (here comes the sales pitch) you can donate time, or money, or even just old blankets to your local shelter. The Humane Society of the US and the ASPCA would be good places to start. Thank you for letting me preach at you.

Attacked by wolverines

I look like I have been. Honest. I'd post a picture but my brother has the digital camera in Michigan or something. I wasn't actually attacked by wolverines (duh). I was helping give kitty shots at the humane society and a couple of them decided I'd make a good scratching post. Oh well, at least it's less embarrassing to explain than "tripped over a crack in the sidewalk" or "burned myself making microwave popcorn". Nothing interesting to report, although I did make molasses cookies. TTFN!!

I had a really cool title in mind...

...but then I forgot it. Oh well.

Anyway, I've been reading lots of Stephen King lately. I have read his stuff in the past, but kind of got out of the habit for a while. I started again because I thought his stories would be engaging enough to keep my attention. And, lo and behold, I was right. I'm on my third book in three weeks. That's a really big deal for me. I've spent the last year and a half feeling like half of my brain fell out somewhere, and now I feel like it's maybe back in there. Not quite up to speed yet, but getting there.

In other news, er, my cat seems to have stopped pooping in the living room. Wow. That's honestly the most interesting thing that's happened lately. Wow. I really need to get out more. Also, I learned that the aspartame in diet soda breaks down into formaldehyde. Not enough to really hurt you unless you're drinking an obscene amount of it, or if you're bipolar. It's a bad idea to drink or eat anything that has Nutra-sweet in it if you're bipolar. I'm just saying. Well, the cat's snoring has distracted me to the point of losing any sort of train of thought I may have once possessed. That, and I'm about 20 pages from the end of Cujo. TTFN!

I'm an auntie! (Sorta)

I'm excited to report that Kay had a healthy baby boy yesterday at 6:50 pm. He was 8 lb. 11 oz. and 21 inches long. His name is Adyn William Lienke and mom and baby are doing just fine. Good job to everyone involved!

Dane Cook is NOT the new Ryan Reynolds, dammit!!

OK, so I don't think anyone has actually said that, but I'm staging a preemptive strike, here.

• First of all, Dane Cook is not funny. I will admit that, at first, I laughed along with everyone else. After about 5 minutes, though, I realized that he's really just a younger, scruffier version of Jerry Seinfeld without the whiny voice. Pointing out obvious things so show how hilarious they are is not , in my opinion, comedy.
• Second, Ryan Reynolds is obviously much hotter than Dane Cook. He does clean-cut better, and he does scruffy better. Even though Dane Cook has never done ripped hottie, I'm still willing to bet Ryan Reynolds does it better. I mean, have you seen Blade 3? Horrible movie, granted, but come on! Yum!
• Third and theoretically most important, acting. Dane Cook plays Dane Cook very well, but that's the extent of his range. Ryan Reynolds can do comedy, drama, action, etc. I'm not saying he's the next Marlon Brando, but he's better than at least half (okay, maybe fifty percent) of the actors out there.
  

So, in conclusion, (even though I know it's cheating to use those words to begin the conclusion) Ryan Reynolds rules and Dane Cook drools. The end. TTFN!!

Ta-da!!

Whoo! I bet y'all thought I'd forgotten about this thing. Not forgotten, so much as ignored. Too much pressure and all that. So I decided to just start blogging about whatever the heck I feel like, and if no one on the planet but me ever reads it, eh. In the spirit of renewal, I have given the blog a new name. If you didn't get the Ocelot reference, I would like to apologize on behalf of everyone who has ever conspired to convince you that you need a Windows computer to get along in the world.

So anyway, the splog is back in action, so watch out. Or in. Nevermind. TTFN!!!

Solving crimes with math...

Possible, or not? I'm watching NUMB3RS and Charlie is trying to catch robbers with math. Hmm.

In other news, that schedule I made for blogging really worked out, huh? Yeah, I wish there was a font for sarcasm. Maybe I should invent one. How about something like italics that lean left instead of right? It could work.

On the brain front, I think it's growing back. Slowly. Not enough yet that I feel like writing anything substantive, but it's coming. TTFN!