Went on a walk with The Other today instead of a ride die to stome unexpected schedule changes. It was nice! We walked up to the local park and like any adult I decided to play on the equipment.
I also found a Little Library at the park which made me so excited! In some neighborhoods there are a lot of controversy over these but I haven’t heard any complaints in my neighborhood. I have a hard time letting go of my old books but I think I am going to find a few to donate to this worthy cause.
I participate in the RedditGifts Gift Exchange periodically. This time around I got matched with the most amazing “secret santa” who not only scoured this very blog for inspiration but then hand drew me a wonderful picture of all 5 of my cats!!
I think she did a great job of capturing their personalities, even including Brutus’ blep! They are surrounded by a purple blanket which happens to be my favorite color. It came all framed and matted so I could hang it right away!
She really went above and beyond to make this a great exchange and I am proud to display this work of art in my family room. If you want to check out more of her stuff, please check out her website!!
This past weekend we headed down to Northerly Island in the city for Polar Adventure days. There was birds, snakes, dogs, hot chocolate, stories, and snacks! A small event but a lot of things to see and do and not too many people to get in the way.
Here is my highlight reel, courtesy of Google Auto-Awesome #ThroughGlass
That’s me, the house that gives out full sized candy bars for Halloween. Not only full sized but king sized!! A lot of planning goes into it but I love the look on a toddler’s face when they get a Kit Kat bar that is bigger than their head! Truly epic!
We keep a spreadsheet so we know how much candy to buy, what is popular, how much we ate, etc. It’s important because an 8 year old has no qualms telling you Snickers are disgusting and can she please have something else. We also have to have enough extras for the “Cheaters” usually teens who come back a few times. If I catch them I call them out, but honestly all the kids look the same to me so sometimes I miss the repeats 🙂
So let the festivities begin and if you’re in the neighborhood stop on by!!
One more week until the Mariano’s opens in Gurnee – yay! yay! yay! yay! I’m a litte sad I will be out of town for the opening day fun but its okay. I am already planning my list of stuff to purchase when I get back!
I participate in the Reddit Gift Exchange and this time I did the nail and makeup exchange. I was really excited about this one because I like getting my nails painted and recently have started to enjoy painting my own nails and even trying out designs. It seems like I can’t go into Ulta or Sephora without purchasing nail polish regardless of how many colors I have. I actually put a self-imposed ban on my nail polish buying leading up to the exchange (and even that I broke…)
I didn’t do this one myself, I used my Christmas gift from Brianna to treat myself to a gel mani. Its sparkly teal with orange glitter – I feel like a mermaid!
Anyway, my gift arrived today and I couldn’t be more thrilled!! It is a DIY nail art book and some nail art brushes. My Santa included a super nice note and she totally got me the perfect gift. Honestly I would already be trying them if I didn’t get the above gel mani last Friday 🙂 Give me at least another week
So thank you thank you thank you I can’t wait to try it out! I will definitely post an update when I try my first design.
In the meantime to hold you over (cause I’m sure you need that) here are some recent manis I did myself:
Butter Knackered – this is the polish I broke my ban to buy. It was the last one left and too pretty to pass up!
Butter Rosie Lee – so much glitter!!!! Butter makes the best glitter polish I know, only issue is getting it off.
These are actually Sally Hansen nail stickers. Great for a quick mani and have some cool designs. I hope to be doing designs like this myself now!!!!
I recently took in two cats from a co-worker of mine who, due to some extreme family and medical issues, was no longer able to care for them. Both cats are female, spayed, up to date on shots, have their claws and both are in need of a new “Forever Home”. They can be adopted together or separately. Both have lived with other cats, a dog and children in the past. Free to a caring home.
Chilly
Chilly:
Chilly is a 5 year old orange tabby short hair. She is the more active of the two and enjoys exploring her surroundings, playing with her toys and climbing on my cats’ trees. Chilly likes to snuggle and will come to you for attention but I would not consider her a “lap cat”. Most of the time when I am watching TV or working on the computer she is nearby and interested in what I am doing, but without being “in my face”. Chilly loves to play with her toys and is capable of having fun by herself but she definitely likes it when you interact with her (such as with a laser toy or wand).
Here is a video of Chilly in action:
Missy
Missy:
Missy is a 3 year old black short hair. She is more reserved then her house mate Chilly and prefers to wait until you make the first move. Once you do though she is an extremely affectionate cat who loves to be petted. She has even jumped on my desk in an effort to get some snuggle-time! Missy favorite toys are plastic rings from milk cartons, which she will carry around in her mouth. Her previous owner said she used to sleep on his bed and follow him around the house so once you win this cat’s loyalty she will be yours for life.
Here is a video of Missy in action:
If you are interested in either Missy or Chilly, please let me know and I can setup a time for you to come over and meet them.
The holiday season for 2010 is done and I am left reflecting on something I never gave much thought before – Thank You Cards. That’s not to say I don’t thank people for my gifts but I don’t know if I ever wrote formal notes. I still don’t now. More importantly, when I was younger, if someone wasn’t in the vicinity when I opened my gift, I wouldn’t say thank you at all.
I remember once when I was younger being scolded for not sending a thank you note to one of my relatives. I was told that if I didn’t start sending thank yous I would stop receiving gifts. After that, fear of being cut off made me to be sure to thank the giver in some manner, although I still saw it as a bit of a unnecessary endeavor.
However, the older I get the more I identify with the tyrannical rule of my elders.
These last few years I have become more and more disgruntled at people who do not acknowledge the gifts I send them. I am not expecting a handwritten note or anything so formal. A text, facebook IM, phone call, email, or any of the other many means of communication would be fine.
I find it interesting that I am now annoyed by the very thing I used to do. Is it because I am older now and see the error of my ways? Is it a biological clock thing? Is it just turning into a crotchety old lady?
After sending a gift and hearing nothing back, my first concern is that you didn’t get the gift at all. The second thought is more selfish – did you like it? Wasn’t it great?
If you didn’t like it that’s ok, but I am still hurt when I don’t hear back. I feel like you don’t like me personally. That your dislike of the gift is a mirror of what you feel toward me. I wonder if my relative felt the same way?
This isn’t just from individuals either, I have donated to many nonprofit organizations both big and small. Some will send a thank you note or email while others just ignore me. I’d like to think the money I give your cause is going to something special – even if I know logically its going into a big fund. I like to receive thank you notes detailing all the items my money will be used for or just thanking me in general for supporting the cause.
This may be selfish, and reading it back it definitely comes off that way. I’m not looking for a gift back, all I’m really looking for is a “Got the gift, thanks!” I think we all want to be recognized for the things we do and as much as I try to fight against it I too need that recognition. I find it interesting that I need something so primal, and I do try to work against it. I mean, in reality I do not know the other side of the story about why thanks wasn’t sent – I am too busy focus on myself and the irrational perception that I have somehow been wronged.
In the end I realize that what I feel is irrational emotion so I don’t act on it. I will not stop sending gifts nor will I require a thank you. I think it’s important to examine our knee-jerk reactions to see how we can better ourselves. Sometimes just looking at something under the microscope highlights just how silly it is.
But what do you guys think? Do you feel bad when you don’t get a thank you note? Does it change how you interact with those people/organization?
So for whatever reason I get the National Geographic Holiday Catalog.
Not sure what I donated to or signed up for that got me this but I don’t mind – it makes me feel sophisticated.
I imagine it like
“For Buffy and Jeeves I got matching hand knitted sweaters made by Himalayan Sherpas”,
as I drink tea with my pinky finger out.
Anyways, as I was paging through I noticed that on page 58 Tom got this lovely puzzle from Debs for his birthday:
But then on page 65 he got this other puzzle from Beth:
Hmmm, seems like someone has been playing both sides of the fence!
How do I know its the same Tom? What other Tom do you know that likes puzzles??
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