on our holiday decor

I have a rule that my holiday decorations remain in their boxes until we turn over the calendar to December. Add to that the fact that I had an overwhelming case of bah humbugitis and I was in no rush at all to get the lights up. Due to having very limited space on a good day, Matt informed me that we would not be doing a tree this year. Putting up a tree would mean moving a bench in front of our window (a bench that my adorable little injured dog likes to sit on and look outside, which, by the way is her absolute favorite thing to do if she has to be inside) and that just didn't seem like a good idea. At first, I put up a fight. How could we not do a tree? Seems blasphemous, scrooge or not. So, we compromised. If we weren't going to have a tree inside, we'd string up lights on the tree we have outside.

The tree in front of our house is huge. Helen, the sweet old lady we bought the place from, told me that when she bought it, she was told it was a miniature birch. There is very little miniature about it. It is a large behemoth of a tree that has three separate trunks and stretches up into infinity and beyond. Because it is so big, we decided to just put lights on the trunks. I have been really liking the looks of the new LED lights that are out and I could just picture them wrapped around my tree, looking all cool and such. Now, I don't know if it's just my family that has the worst luck ever with lights or if it's something everyone experiences, but I should have known that it would not be as awesome as I imagined.

Last Saturday, we started out by going to Menards to get our lights. Who would have thought that they'd be entirely out of white lights (both LED and regular)? Regardless, I still managed to spend $100+ on other decor items. Go figure. There is a Wal-Mart across the street from Menards, so we hit that up next. Figuring that this project would use about six strands of lights, we bought seven, just to be on the safe side. We wouldn't want to run out of lights mid-decorating, right? Right.

We got home and Matt dug out the ladder and the extension cords. We spent a good forty-five minutes working to get the cord in the window to the power source in a way that wouldn't leave our window wide open inviting the cold, arctic air inside (no, we do not have an outlet outside, but thanks for asking). I suggested we plug in all of our lights to make sure they all work before we get to stringing them up on the tree. Matt suggested that they were brand new, in the box and so OF COURSE they all work. Fine. He always seems to know what is best.

I got up on the ladder and went to town. The branches start at almost our roof, so I was just a little bit lower than that (fifteen feet up, maybe?). We got into a rhythm of wrapping lights, duct taping the plugs together and wrapping the lights. By the time I finished the first trunk, it was very apparent that we did not, in fact, buy enough lights. I continued with the second trunk and then the third. About a fourth of the way down the third, and largest, trunk, the seventh strand ended. Matt got sent back to Wal-Mart for more lights.

At this point, all that was going through my head was the part of the Twelve Pains of Christmas song about rigging up the lights. I kept singing it over and over again. One light goes out, they all go out!, now why the hell are they blinking?!?!, Grab a flashlight, I blew a fuse! and my personal favorite FINE! You're so smart, you rig up the lights! Great fun. Of course it wouldn't be easy. Anyway.

By the time Matt got back, it was dark. Because, why wouldn't it be dark at 4 in the afternoon? So, there I was, up on the ladder, in the dark, with freezing hands, stringing the last of the lights. When I finally got to the bottom, Matt ran off to finish up with the extension cord in the window bit.

And then....he plugged the lights in. AND THEN THERE WAS LIGHT. Oh my goodness gracious was there ever light. Have you ever really gotten up close and personal with those LED lights? If not, you can trust me when I say that they're really freaking bright. Or, at least the lights that were lit were bright. Yeah, believe it or not, some of the brand new, in the box lights were out. The lights that were in the strand at the very top of the tree, of course. This time, Matt got sent up the ladder. After a few trips up and down with bulbes and fuses and whatnot, he got them all working. And I got him to admit that this task would have been much easier if it had been completed inside before the lights went up. But, there's always next year for that.

Anyway, our yard is now bathed in a cool white glow. As is our neighbor's. In fact, I believe that our lovely miniature birch may be visible from the International Space Station. However, I actually really like it.

Here's the house, with the tree:

And here's one with no flash:

Is it totally tacky? If you think yes, please just lie and tell me it's not, okay?

I also hung up a wreath on our front door, which isn't tacky and which I think is pretty.

I am most proud of my inside decoration. Yes, decoration. Singular. We didn't do a tree this year, so I came up with the brilliant idea to create a really cool centerpiece for our dining table. The miniature birch in the front yard drops branches like it's going out of style. So, I collected a bunch of them, trimmed some pine boughs off of our front hedges and went to town. I am really pleased with how it turned out.

I am also happy with how little it cost. I used a vase/candle holder that I already had as well as a tray from another candle set. The ornaments we had and the branches and pine boughs were from the yard, so aside from the new candle holders, the project was totally free. It's our own little "Charlie Brown" tree.

That is the extent of our holiday decor this year. It is pretty minimal, but I do have to remind myself that we won't be here for Christmas or New Year's this year. Our stockings (which are totally kick butt and handmade by my mom) and all of the really good decorations reside at my parents' house in Colorado. And, those outside lights really did take us the better part of an afternoon to install, if you will. So, this is enough for this year.

Indy

Thank you to everyone for your kind words via blog comments, phone calls, emails and facebook messages regarding Indy. We have weighed all of our options and made a decision based on what we think is best for all of us.

Baby girl is scheduled for surgery first thing on January 6th. We opted for the full on TPLO surgery, which bears a lower risk of her re-injuring her leg again in the future. However, this is pretty major surgery (they will literally cut her bone in half and drill screws into it to hold it together) and she will definitely be out of commission for quite some time. She will stay overnight for at least the day of surgery and possibly the next day too, depending on how she is doing. I am taking that Friday off of work to be home to help out that weekend, as the first few days will be the hardest--as she won't be able to put weight on her leg, we'll need to carry her up and down stairs and to go outside.

We are still going to Telluride for Christmas. And, as we couldn't find anyone to watch Indy for us that would be able to handle the responsibility of keeping her subdued, we're taking her with us! Luckily, I have eleven days off between Christmas and New Year's, so we're driving and Indy gets to come along for the ride. While I'm not entirely thrilled to be driving out, I will feel better knowing I won't have to worry about our dog and whether she's alright.

As soon as we get back, we will start getting ready for her surgery. We have some things to do around the house to make it easier on her. However, as much as we prepare fo this, I don't think that either of us is fully ready, nor do we have any idea of what to expect or how hard it will really be. I only hope that she will understand that we're doing this because we love her.

A Very Sunny Thanksgiving: Our Trip to Phoenix, Part 3

We spent our Thanksgiving holiday in Phoenix (five days, to be exact, which as taken me three blog posts to summarize). It was pretty grand. The full array of pictures can be found at the link at the top of the page.

Even though the rest of our trip to Phoenix could probably be summarized pretty quickly by saying we laid out by the pool, swam in the pool, loved the sun, hung out with my family, ate good food and enjoyed ourselves immensely, that's just not my style and an obscenely long post is what you will get instead.

 

We are not Black Friday people. Not remotely. We like our sleep and our sanity. On Thursday night, as we drove across town, we passed several big box stores that had full parking lots. Matt informed me that these were people that were camping out for the night so they could get the good deals early in the morning. What?!?! Anyway. Instead of shopping, we spent our Friday with my family, laying out by the pool. They came over to our hotel to spend the day with us and after a delicious lunch of Mexican food (you can't go to Phoenix and not eat Mexican), we spent the afternoon by the pool. Did I ever mention that our hotel had eight pools, one of which had a waterslide? I am such a child and it takes little to keep me entertained (which equates to Sierra + waterslide = total awesomeness). Unfortunately, my brother had to be back at work on Saturday, so he had to catch a late afternoon flight home. It was almost hard to believe that he would go from being out by the pool in sunny, 80-degree weather to skiing in less than 24 hours.

Before our trip, I promised Matt a nice dinner while we were in Phoenix. I told him that the choice was completely up to him and that I would accompany him to any fine dining establishment that he should choose. The possibilities were endless as a city like Phoenix has an infinite number of excellent restaurant choices. Ruth's Chris, Fogo de Chao, independent steak houses, the restaurant at the top of the hill at our hotel. Because my family wanted to have dinner with us on Saturday night before we all headed home, that left us with Friday night for our dinner. The choice was up to Matt. I am not sure if he forgot about all of the great restaurants in town or what exactly happened, but on Friday afternoon, he said that all he wanted for dinner was Old Chicago. And, I love pizza just as much as the next person, but I was a little surprised. So, after looking up the locations on my iPhone and driving across town, Matt got his Old C's and he was happy.

We drank quite a bit of wine in the evenings when we made it back to our hotel room. Some was good, some was not. There was one bottle that Matt found quite unpleasant.

On Saturday, my mom and dad came back to hang out at the pools with us. After it had been so warm for most of the week, it really started to cool off that afternoon. We parked ourselves at a pool that was up high on the hill and where we could overlook much of the resort. From there, we watched the beginning of a wedding, but then it started to rain. It actually rained pretty hard and I'm sure that all of the wedding guests got drenched. It actually got cold that night and we had to run the heat in our car. After we said our goodbyes to my mom and dad on Saturday night, I was a little sad. But, not nearly as much as I would normally be, as we're seeing them again in just a few short weeks.

On our last day in the Valley of the Sun, we hit the pool one last time. After a few hours, we packed up and checked out. Our plan was to head over to Scottsdale for lunch and then to drive through some of Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and the Biltmore Estates before heading to the airport.

Even though we only stuck a toe in five of the eight pools, I still needed to snap a picture of every one of them.

If there was one thing that I couldn't quite get used to on our trip, it was seeing holiday decorations out when it was so warm. There is just something about Christmas that goes hand in hand with cold weather and snow. I realize that Christmas happens whether it's cold or not, but it just doesn't seem the same. Though, I admit, there were some palm trees that were decorated at our resort that I absolutely loved.

Sunday was cooler than the other days we had been in Phoenix, but it was still in the 70's. Arizona people are extremely amusing in that they think 70 is freezing. As we are from Wisconsin and barely even saw the temperatures get that high all summer, we still thought it was pretty fabulous to be walking around in late November without a parka, boots, hats and mittens. We had lunch at the Scottsdale Fashion Park, which, if you are unfamiliar, is where all of the pretty people go. As we entered the restaurant, we were offered our choice of seating options: inside, where it was warm and comfortable or outside, on the heated patio because it was "pretty chilly out there". Of course, we asked to sit outside where we were given our own, personal gas heater to keep us warm while we dined. I find this funny.

After lunch, we drove around and as we were headed over to Paradise Valley, we passed Fogo de Chao. You may not know this, but we LOVE Fogo. Upon seeing it, Matt got very upset and says "YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THERE WAS A FOGO IN TOWN!". Well, I did, but he must have forgotten. After I told him that he picked Old C's as our dinner together and that he very well could have chosen Fogo, he got pretty upset. I think he wished we'd gone to Fogo. (Don't tell him, but I wished we'd gone there too.) He pouted for a good 10 minutes after that.

After driving through Paradise Valley and the Biltmore Estates (both of which are very, very pretty and are where some very, very gorgeous homes are located), we had to bring our trip to an end and go back to the airport.

When we arrived home, it was cold and dark (well, we got home at 10:00 at night so, obviously, it was dark). Since we've been home, it's tried to snow and the holiday season is in full swing. The slight tan I got has faded. But, we had a great trip and some great stories to share from it.

A Very Sunny Thanksgiving: Our Trip to Phoenix, Part 2

As you very well know, we spent five days in Phoenix for the Thanksgiving holiday.

We went to see family, which I was very excited about. I was equally as excited about the resort we stayed at. I had stayed at this place with my family several years ago and was really excited to go back. After I found an awesome deal on Orbitz, I was sold. Though, I admit, I had talked this place up so much to Matt that I was reeeally worried he wouldn't like it and I would be held responsible. So, I am fairly certain that he got really annoyed with my asking him "so, do you like it?", "it's ok?", "isn't this place awesome?!" and the like every five seconds.

Luckily, he was impressed. And, I mean, really, how could he not be? This place is the bomb dot com. It is situated on a hill with some pretty steep cliffs. There are eight pools throughout the property. Our suite was situated about halfway up the hill. Speaking of our suite, it was huge and we had a great balcony overlooking the grounds.

After we checked in, we unpacked, changed into our swimsuits and headed for the pool. We lounged in the hot tub until we were good and pruney. We wandered around some of the resort and checked out another pool that was up on a cliff where we watched some of the sunset.

As everyone was bringing something for Thanksgiving dinner and we were staying in a hotel room with no way to make a meal, we offered to bring beverages. We also wanted to stock up on some breakfast items and snacks. There was a Safeway down the street, so we figured we'd get some groceries and grab dinner. Seems simple enough, right? False. I have an incredibly hard time making decisions. An even harder time making decisions when food is involved. Matt does not help one bit in that he's also pretty indecisive. But, that evening, my indecision was in overdrive and I could not for the life of me think of anything that sounded even remotely appealing for dinner. We spent about an hour driving around the neighborhood with Lola trying to find something that might pique our interest. Holycrap, that sucked! Finally, we told ourselves that we'd go to Safeway, get the beverages and snacks and maybe get dinner there if there was anything good. No dice there, either, so we settled on eating at the hotel. Unfortunately, the hotel restaurant was pretty fancy and was serving up $15 salads--not quite what we were looking for. So, we got back in the car and decided on Subway. Pulling into the parking lot, we spotted a neat looking place next door, walked in, ordered and the rest is history. And, delicious! But, man alive was that ridiculous.

On the morning of Thanksgiving, we cruised over to the pool for a couple of hours to lay out and soak up some sun. We met a few other northerners from Chicago and Madison who agreed that the weather totally beat what it was like back home. The high on Thursday was in the 80's. It was pretty awesome.

I had not seen most of my family members that came to Thanksgiving since our wedding two-and-a-half years ago. At our wedding, my cousin had just had a baby who was a few months old. He seems so grown up now! And, he has a new baby brother, which meant that I got to hold a baby. Aside from his drooling all over my hand and trying to eat my hair, I think it was a success.

We spent the day playing Ping Pong:

Trying to get grapefruit out of a tree on the golf course:

And hanging out:

Oh! And since Matt and I were on beverages, we had to run to Walgreens for ice at one point. We were in the line to check out and right there, next to the gum and the eyeglasses repair kits was This is It, the music that inspired the new Michael Jackson movie. I snatched it up and raced back to the car to blare Thriller for the two seconds it took us to get back to my grandma's house. Totally kick butt! We listened to MJ all weekend long.

Because we were a large group and the weather was nice, we ate at the Ping Pong Table. Genius, right?

And then we said Grace and dug in. I love Thanksgiving. I love all of the food and family being together. And the food.

(And, yes, there is a piece of turkey on my plate. (It's hiding under my stuffing and mashed potatoes.) I ate a lot of meat on my trip out west. I even had bacon. Gasp! Don't tell anyone. I'm kind of ashamed.)

After stuffing ourselves silly, we went for a leisurely walk on the golf course to help aid our digestion.

It should be a part of every family's Thanksgiving tradition to play games after dinner, like we do. It gives you a chance to sip on some more wine, socialize and laugh your guts out. We like Apples to Apples, but you can play whatever game you happen to like.

So, after the dinner and the walk and the wine and the pie and the Apples to Apples, we said our goodbyes (I did not get to hold the baby again before this) and headed back to our hotel.

Dear Santa:

I love this time of year. The lights, the holiday cheer, the good food, the snow (ahem, snow? where are you? okay, never mind, you can stay away for now), the apple spice air fresheners, pretty holiday presents... Oh, the presents. I love presents, both giving and receiving. However, I panic when I hear "what do you want for Christmas?" from family members. I never have any idea what to say. Nothing ever comes to mind. So, in a total throwback to my childhood and the days of compiling my list for Santa, I've created a holiday wish list. Some of these items are practical, some are outrageous and the entire list is completely and unquestionably self-indulgent.

A bike trainer so that I can "ride" my bike inside all winter long:

A tiny little iPod Shuffle to replace my old pink iPod for running and playing outside:

While I absolutely love, love, LOVE my trusty point-and-shoot, I've lusted over a "real" camera for ages:

Can never have too many of these:

New ski boots:

And new ski pants:

A Kate Spade (totally unnecessary and completely frivolous? I am aware.):

I do love a cozy sweater:

Some pretty and cool earrings:

The Dansko boots that I've been lusting after for quite some time:

And, finally, the totally ridiculous. Who hasn't fantasized about having a new car with a big red bow?

  

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Aside from the superficial and material, I will gladly settle on the continued love and support of my husband. On a family that will always be close to my heart, regardless of how far away they may be geographically. On having my husband's family nearby that has accepted me into their family with open arms. On the sweetest little puppy dog ever. On the pure happiness that is my life.

A Very Sunny Thanksgiving: Our Trip to Phoenix, Part 1

Lest you were completely unaware, we went to Arizona for the Thanksgiving holiday. We spent five wonderful days in the sun, visiting with family, eating good food and relaxing.

This attractive young lady lives down there and my family was making the drive for the holiday.

I really felt as though I was overdue to visit my grandmother. I also like warm weather. Win-win, right? Right.

We woke up super early on Wednesday morning to a cold and steady rain. The cruddy weather here made it so much easier to get up knowing that in a few hours we'd be in warm and sunny Phoenix. Aside from sitting next to Brut-opotamus (seriously, he reeked) who took his shoes off for the flight (no. seriously.) and hearing a dog barking from the depths of the cargo hold (um, I may or may not have cried a little after hearing that), the flight was uneventful. I just reeeeeally wanted to be there, so I played games on my iPhone and made myself sleep to pass the time.

Of course the sun was shining in Phoenix. Of course. It is, afterall, the Valley of the Sun. The shuttle over to the rental cars was full of us pale-skinned northerners and we were all giddy at the sight of the sun once again.

We picked out a car, went through the whole rigamarole of the art of the upsell and after signing our lives away and giving no less than two pints of blood and our first born, we were off to grandmother's house. Really, Matt and I had never rented a car before. What a trip. Lesson of the Day: be stern with those pushy Dollar Car Rental Agents who like to sell you unnecessary stuff. We had done our research before we went and knew that our credit card covered us insurance-wise and that we could decline the rental agency-sponsored insurance plan. This did not stop the very friendly genteleman from telling us that we were "taking our lives in our own hands". But, really, what would you expect from the same friendly gentlemen who responded to us saying that THE HUSBAND would be the only authorized driver of the car because I'd be too busy partying and dringing Sangria to be able to drive and it was probably best that I left the driving up to him in that case? Yes, he really said that. Um, dude, I'm not, but what if I was pregnant and you said that? Or, what if I don't like Sangria? Jerk. Anyway.

And then came the picking out of the rental car. WHO KNEW this was such a task? We reserved a compact vehicle or a Dodge Caliber or similar. No way were we going to spend more money on something bigger or nicer when we really wouldn't be using it that much. Despite my husband's whining that this would have "no power" and would be "tiny" AND despite dude at the counter's urging to splurge for a Ford Fusion for only an extra $15.63/day, we stuck with the compact. Even after dude at the counter said "well, you have just a compact and it has, of course, crank windows" (uh, sure, of course?) and continued on to say "but, the Fusion has power windows and satellite radio", we stuck with the compact. So, we got downstairs where the cars were and imagine my husband's delight when they took us to the row of compact cars and said "pick one". There were Dodge Calibers, of course. But, there were also PT Cruisers and Nissan Versas and, AND a cute little pearl-colored Subaru Impreza with POWER WINDOWS. Matt clung to that little Subaru and after a full thirty minutes of noting every single little scratch and dent on that poor car (which, it turns out, there were a lot), we finally got to get in it and start her up. And then we got to ease her out onto the Freeway and really see what she could do (which, impressively, was more than expected). But, moving on.

Within about five minutes into the drive, I got yelled at for spending too much time snapping pictures and not enough time playing navigator. Something about unfamiliar vehicle and unfamiliar roads. I couldn't help it, I was excited. Oh, and, yes, I take pictures from the car. I'm weird like that.

My grandmother lives in Sun City, which is a retirement community west of the city. This place is a trip. It's so quiet and serene. Everything is so neat and tidy. People drive golf carts on the streets! I love it.

We spent a good part of our first day with my family. We went to lunch and hung out in my grandma's backyard, overlooking the golf course. It was warm and I enjoyed the company. I don't think it's any secret that I miss my family terribly and it's really hard seeing them so little. My mom and I could sit and talk for forever and a day and I eat every bit of it up with a spoon and smile.

Eventually, we said our goodbyes for the day and made the way across town to the hotel we'd be calling home for the next four nights. This place is seriously awesome and I think Matt fell in love with me all over again after hearing again how incredible of a deal I got on such a fabulous resort. Yes, it was that good.

by the time you read this

By the time you read this post, I will be in Arizona. That's right, I've slipped out the back and flew the coop. Er...or something.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving. I'll catch up on the flip side.

baby girl's got a bum knee

My dog, Indy, is not at all like your dog. Nor any other dog I've ever met, for that matter. No, my dog is really different. She once jumped out of our friend's window. She is blind in one eye. She has scars all over her face which could be the result of a bad dog fight or being hit by a car. She has even gone out on the wave runner a time or three. She's been stung by bees, scraped the skin off of her back and is not afraid of anything.

I feel like we're always dealing with something when it comes to our baby girl. It seems like there is always something and we've become regulars at the vet's office.

And, so, when we came home from dinner one night in September to find her limping, we weren't all that surprised. Concerned? Yes. But, surprised? Not really at all.

I have no idea what happened, but her leg was definitely bothering her. We took it easy and saw no improvement, so we took her in to the vet. We left with an Xray of Indy's leg, a prescription for pain pills and orders to take it easy for about six weeks. Fast forward six weeks and she was still limping on occasion so we went back to the vet. She declared the problem as being beyond her scope and referred us to a specialist. Today was her appointment.

Indy has a torn ACL and will likely need surgery. Of course, I am willing to do just about whatever is necessary to have a healthy and happy dog. She is, after all, our baby girl.

Matt left the appointment full of information which we're currently wading through and discussing our options. There are two surgery options, but one really seems to be the more obvious route to take--it has a higher success rate and everyone we've talked to so far claims that it is the way to go. We are also weighing our options regarding surgeons. Our appointment today was with the specialist referred to us by our regular vet. She said that this doctor is one of the best surgeons locally. We've heard nothing but great things regarding the vet school in Madison and really feel like we should at least do our research and possibly meet them. We just want to be absolute certain that Indy will have the best care possible.

The recovery period will be a long and hard road and I'm really kind of dreading it. But, what can we do? Immediately after the surgery, she will stay overnight in the hospital. During the first few weeks of recovery, Indy will not be able to put much, if any, weight on her rear leg. Her activity will be severely restricted and we will probably have to carry her up and down the stairs and to go outside. She'll have to wear a cone to keep her from licking her incision. She'll have to be in her kennel all of the time when we're gone and probably at night as well. After about six weeks, we'll be able to take her on light walks and start incorporating some really light (leashed) activity. At about six months post-op, she should be back to her normal running, jumping and playing self. If she thought the past few weeks of "taking it easy" have been rough, how will she feel about six months of nothing? She loves to run and jump and play, so this will be pretty horrible for her. I wish that I could explain it to her and tell her that we do this because we love her.

In addition to what to do and who to have to do it, we're struggling with when. With our leaving next week for Phoenix, we obviously can't do it before that. We were planning on going to Telluride for Christmas and New Years. But, that requires having Indy stay here. Like I said, the first few weeks of recovery are going to be very time-consuming and difficult. She will require constant supervision and care. There is no way we could even dream of asking anyone else to watch her during this time. It is not fair to our family members or to Indy. So, do we push the surgery out to January or do we do it sooner and not go on our trip?

The fact that I am having to make this decision is heart breaking. I only get to go to Telluride twice a year and I look forward to these trips for months. Not going has never been an option. But, our dog needs surgery. If we wait, we are risking her doing damage to her other, good leg and needing surgery on that. How do I make this decision?

I hate that we now know what we know and we waited six weeks before finding out she needed surgery all along. If we had done this earlier, she'd already be working toward recovery. Regardless, here we are.

If anyone has any advice or information to share, we'd appreciate it. If you have any kind words for Indy, I'm sure she'd appreciate those. Or if you want to send biscuits, she'll probably want to go home with you.

Twilight Saga Revisited

A little over a year ago, I got completely sucked in by the Twilight series (pun intended, obvi). I spent a week of my life reading these books as quickly as I could. It's a little embarrassing, really, how fast I blew through them. I just could.not.put.them.down. Between the time I finished the books and the movie came out (roughly a month), I spent almost all of my internet time finding fun Twilight-related stuff.

I never blogged about it (I blame being completely and utterly caught up in a new job), but I went to the movie on opening night. I wore a Team Edward T-shirt and I sat in the very front row (which I don't EVER recommend). Oh em gee, it was magical!

After that, the excitement waned and I went on back to my regularly scheduled life. The DVD came out and of course I got the special Target -Disc Edition (see: duh!) and watched it a few times all excited all over again. And then I kind of forgot about it all. What can I say? I had other things (i.e. real life) to tend to and, well, fictional vampires fell by the wayside. Apparently, I'm a sorry excuse for an obsessed emo teenager.

All of that aside, the next movie, New Moon, is coming out in less than a week. I've been watching the trailers over and over again and I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited to see it. I had had plans to re-read the series again to refresh my memory, but that never really happened. And, while I am aware that I am fully capable of cranking them out in a week, I'll be honest and say I really don't want to. The tickets have been purchased (for the fourth row this time) and even though we're not going until Saturday (apparently, this thing is kind of popular and the Friday night shows were all sold out), I'm beginning to feel a little giddy all over again.

And, yes, the Team Edward shirt will absolutely be coming out of the closet for this event.

Amazing. Really.

After watching a clip on the news regarding it now being legal to shoot feral pigs.
{Which, could be a completely separate blog entry about my thoughts on this.}

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What is a feral pig?

It's a wild pig.

I was not aware that we have wild pigs in Wisconsin. Huh. This is weird.

It's a domesticated pig that escaped.

Um, what? You mean like someone's pet?

Yeah, domestic pigs escape all of the time. Like, they're always escaping. They escape pretty easily.

Seriously? Well, how does a domestic pig turn wild then? How can you tell the difference?

It only takes three weeks. They grow tusks. And hair. It's amazing. Really.