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Today I came home to three cats. To be exact, I came home to one cat and had to look for the others... at which point I found two. So when we combine all these magic numbers, I was down one cat. Which if you read the last blog entry, can be an issue.

However, I didn't panic as the contractors where still installing a bath tub and making a horrendous racket. There was no way that cat #4 was sticking its head out with this amount of noise. so I settled down with a mini eggplant parm sammich and a glass of wine.. a classy meal that lost a something with all the pounding and sawing noises going on. thankfully the neighbors decided to contribute by turning up their music.

after the meal, I tried to read a magazine but that didn't work out so well so I went for a classic "Super Mario Bros". Now I think those people at Nintendo are geniuses. I own a Wii and instead of forking out $50 for some crazy new game, I gave them $5 for a game that was practically worthless.

now, many of us reminisce fondly about mario. personally, I didn't own a nintendo growing up, so I just pretend to remember it fondly. and while playing it, I realize something. I SUCK at super mario brothers.

i started playing, I died. I wondered if the contractors recognized the sounds, I died. I realized that I need to work on my jumping, I died some more... new game.. I thought about blogging about this, I died. I'd do pretty well and die some more. I start to realize that old mario penalizes you for screwing up and doesn't let you save anywhere. I die again. New super mario galaxy doesn't even let you die! I mean, you can lose life, but you still get to try again at the same point. arghghh!

i start questioning whether super mario brothers is actually fun. This damn game must be the biggest example of cutting edge brainwashing BS I've ever seen.

Thank god I also downloaded Lode Runner.

I am stuck in traffic. and right now, I would love to hear from anyone who could tell me how one inch of snow has resulted in school closures and a tripling of my morning commute. actually, I suspect the school closures have more to do with the ridiculous traffic.

this is probably the time when I can advocate buying a nice car. the radio sounds great, I got the seat heaters running, and I have internet (ok. the internet is through my phone, but at least my seat is comfortable.)

but I have to admit, assuming I make it to work, the moment traffic clears, i'm buying some groceries and shacking up at home.

whee! time for a holiday blogging.

This year, I have a dilemma. I am not particularly religious, but I love commercial christmas! I am that person who enjoys leaving the christ out of christmas, in the sense that I love watching cheesy movies like 'a smokey mountain christmas', I like listening to carols on the radio (but not in person), I love decorating with lights, and best of all are the presents!

but the loml does not like christmas trees, which really puts a cramp in my decorating style. What is the point of stringing up lights and tinsel when there is no big sparkly tree? its like missing the cherry on the top of your cake! So this year, I expressed to the loml the intention not to decorate the house. but since he could see that it made me a little sad, he authorized me to decorate with a non-christian alternative that would still celebrate the idea of "peace, good will, and presents to all wo/men".

So I just spend sometime googling for alternative seasonal decorations, and this is what I've found:

• Festivus Poles - some company actually is cashing in on this!
• The new year's table - much like a tree but you use a table instead and its on new year's
• poinsettias - I am against this cause they are poisonous.. and i have nibbly cats.
• the not-tree - lots of entries in this category. this is one example
• decorate your living room like its a giant wacked out tree and hang ornaments from the walls.

hmm, well for a moment i was tempted to decorate the 7 foot cat tree in the living room but i don't think its good for the cats to eat tinsel.

and if the loml reads this: honey, I decorated!!!

------------------------UPDATE----------------------------------

oh boy.. ok, i went shopping with my friend nutter butter for an alternate holiday item.

and did we find something. Sitting here in my living room, I can see it as I type... a 30 inch tall tinsel holiday PENGUIN!!! and its lit up with christmas lights. AND ITS ARMS FLAP!!!

That's right! Automated flaPPing light up HOLIDAY PINGEN!

and its tastefully surrounded by one hundred chilli pepper lights.

I love the holidays.

i made the best dinner tonight, and it was largely due to my amazing rice cooker (barbara: if you are reading this, thank you again!). I have a Zojirushi 3 cup rice cooker, and like I keep telling people, its the cadillac of rice cookers.

Tonight I had garlic and mushroom rice in tom yum - mushroom style. (yes - there was a theme ingredient here. I blame my last shopping expedition). My rice cooker has a setting for 'mixed rice' which means that you are cooking something along with the rice. Evidently this is something the japanese do frequently, and it kind of reminds me of the american slow cooker. Everything cooks together and tastes fantastic in the end.

but i don't want to be one of those people who posts pictures of their food (but I can't blame them, cooking fun food for yourself is great!). Suffice to say that I make a mean tom yum, and the rice was pretty damn tasty too.

So here is an embarrassing story and a PSA all in one.

Yesterday, ladies and gentleman, I discovered I had been suckered.

Last June I wanted to join a gym. The local 'Lady of America' had a special running for $29.95 a month and they were right down the street from my home. So I went in for a visit, the manager told me about the various membership options and I signed a contract with them.

Now we get to the part where, like many people, I lost motivation and fell off my work out plan. Yesterday, I decided to cancel my membership with 'Lady of America' and discovered that I was in a three-year contract. Surprise! The manager lied to me! and I didn't read through the entire contract before signing. So I spent the day calling their member services to see what I could do about it. In yet another sordid twist, the company I am really dealing with is named ABC Financial, and as per their customer service rep (if I may use the term loosely), they plan on sticking to the signed letter of agreement.

well, looks like they got me good. So after sending a polite letter informing ABC financial that I was going to report them and 'Lady of America' to the BBB, chamber of commerce, the consumerist, and every other place I can think of... all I can do now is go work out.

So if anyone reads this, please be warned 'Lady of America' will put you in a three year contract and yes, they will lie to you to get you to sign the paper.

everyone at work today was sick. at least everyone I talked to. not terribly sick though. just the occasional coughing, sneezing, and congestion that might stop us from coming into the office on christmas week.

its a great feeling. we are all watching the great storm developing with varying levels of interest, still unsure if it will be too nasty to leave our homes on sunday... possibly saturday.

and even if we do make it in to work next week, it is with the sure knowledge that nothing will get done.

this weekend, I had the opportunity to watch two fine examples of american cinema.. both destined to go down as classics.

I saw "I am legend" and "Superbad".

One movie was a stirring depiction of man's character, as he attempts to survive in a world filled with zombies. The other was a stirring depiction of man's character, as he attempts to survive in high school.

hahaha - and you know who wins? Superbad - hands down. Go watch it.

this morning was kind of interesting. i got on the bus and on the way to work, a man with a banjo got on. I didn't want to stare at him so I settled for looking at his shoes. They're supposed to tell you something about a person and what this guy's shoes told me was that he didn't own many clothes. Its pretty cold outside and he was wearing black dress shoes with some worn navy pants, none of which went with the felt cowboy hat he was wearing.

And lucky for us, he started to play the banjo. It was kind of neat.

It may be a few days early but now is the time. That's right, its time for resolutions.

For christmas, my cousin gave me a sweater. Which is great, because:
a) I needed a sweater
b) I am going to stop buying things that I can make myself.

Part B is going to be a little interesting because I'm pretty handy and I dislike the idea that there are things I can't do. I own a sewing machine and a dress form (courtesy of my mother). I will not buy clothes unless I can prove to myself that I can't make them.

I make my own jewelry, so no purchases there for me.

According to my records, the majority of my other purchases tend to be food items. So as usual, I will try to make sure that I don't eat out too much.

Last I checked, I've still misplaced every single pair of gloves I own. So hopefully I'll find them soon, or you're going to be reading an infuriated description of what its like to make a pair.

and no, this isn't about the money. Its about proving that I don't need to buy all the things that society says I need to buy.

new year's has a lot to do with resolutions and new intentions. but what no one ever seems to discuss is that there is also a lot of giving up involved. which makes sense since you can't have a new beginning without an ending. so here is what I am giving up.

I am giving up on the bus. I am going to buy a car. many people said I couldn't do it and I suppose they were right. it wasn't the winter weather that did me in though. it was my new intentions. there are so many things I want to do next year and my local bus route doesn't support that.

I want to go back to yoga classes, the fabric store, and the gym without turning the loml into a taxi driver. I want to be able to ditch work whenever I like, get a haircut, and take the cats to the vet.

so that's what i'm giving up on this year. bye-bye bus.

well its been a nice long weekend. So here are a few rambling updates from me.

• I received many wonderful gifts from the loml this year. He is an amazing man. One thing that I must report on is the slanket. You may or may not have seen the infomercial for this product but the slanket is a fuzzy blanket with sleeves built in. I am using it right now as I type. The cats like it and so do I; plus it doesn't shed, which is always a bonus.
• I bought a car! Its a 2008 Honda Civic hybrid. So far, I have racked up 42 mpg on a grocery store trip. I used edmunds.com TMV calculator thing and then got two dealers to compete to lower the price. Yeah - good times.
• I finally followed up on an item from last year and put up some google ads. I have no idea how they determine the content (they don't make sense to me) but am so looking forward to the 2 cents I will earn.