Winter Wonderland

Photos from when we dogsat my parents' dog, Cleo. What a week that was. After three days of staying with us with no problems at all, the poor thing had diarrhea all over the house and all night long the night before these were taken. She doesn't look too sick to me in the photos. She was just stressing.

Also, on the day she arrived, our cat, Nico, got diarrhea too from stressing out. That's always fun with a long haired cat. Nico got a bit of a haircut that day. I was afraid the Husband was going to leave me after he had to clean up poo ump-teen times. I told him it's just preparation for the babies. Of course, babies wear diapers and don't have angora fur growing on their bottoms.

No good deed goes unpunished. I was just trying to help my parents out while they enjoyed their vacation in Mexico. I ended up freaking two of the nicest animals around right the heck out. The thing is, they've been around each other on several occasions. Cleo has spent a week with us before. The cats have all traveled to my parents' house a handful of times. Oy. My Nervous Nellies.

All aminals are fine. Nico was fine after a couple days of co-existing with the dog, and Cleo was back to her loving, happy self as soon as she got home. I guess the saying's true: Home Sweet Home.

Choppity Chop

I went through with it. I got my hair cut on Tuesday night. I'm not quite a Jenna, more like a Katie, but that's alright. I have yet to have a haircut experience go exactly how I pictured it in my head. It's like the stylists have a mind of their own. Well, I guess they do, but they definitely put their ideas first. I couldn't style my way out of a paperbag, so I'm left to trust their expert opinions, and my ideas of end streaks were not even entertained. This was the concept, but I guess without blonde hair it won't work too well, eh? I also don't want to look like I just stepped out of the trailer park mimicking a skunk either.

Here are my before shots, taken on Tuesday before the appointment. Lovely, I know (blech!).

And here's the after. The carmel is a little lighter than I'd normally put on myself, but I'm thinking in a week or so, the color won't be as harsh and will blend in more. I really love the cut. It feels so light and bouncey! So instead of end streaks, I ended up with heavy highlights on the front and top, the bottom and back left dark. A nice compromise. I had eight inches taken off. Wowie! My hair kinda looks red too, I'm just not a good photographer, and in too much of a rush to play around with the settings. It looks better in real life, I promise!

Not the greatest behind shot, but it's hard to take photos of yourself!

So whatcha think? Could I pass as a Katie sans bangs and with highlights?

That's me and pseudo Suri. It was either the cat or a Santa Bear from the basement. Wellll???

Please Make the Snow Go Away

This is a shot of the lighthouse in Manistee, which was taken last Saturday. The photo was taken by one of my friends at work. I am so sick of winter. It's only February. Hopefully only one month to go.

Happy Valentine's Day!

If you guys knew the week I was having, you'd understand why I think this is so funny. Happy Valentine's Day to you (my four faithful readers, I heart you)! Spread the love....

The Appointment Is Set

Next Tuesday is the day! It's time to cut my hair. It's gotten quite long, it's just above my bra strap across my back, but it's time for a change. It feels sooo blah. Here's what I'm going for...

That asymetrical bob that was made ever so popular by the one and only, Posh Spice. This version allows me not to chop my hair totally off though. Posh's hair is really short in the back. Like boy short. I'm just not ready to take that plunge yet. I gotta work my way into it.

Oh, and I have to mention this is a photo of Jenna Jameson, of the adult film industry fame. Can you believe there was a time, not too long ago, when I had no idea who she was?!? Now I want her hair. I stumbled upon her picture by doing a google search for "trendy hair". Nothing else, m'kay?

This is the red color I heart so much. It looks so good with blonde. Unfortunately for me, I don't have a blonde hair on my body. I really want to work this in somehow. I'm thinking of getting a little more crazy (for me) with the color this time. The girl I'm going to see, she's got this platinum blonde hair with pinkish-red streaks through it on the ends. I could go for getting my ends done for some creative coloring. We'll leave the pink to the stylist though. No way could I ever pull that off.

So geeked am I. Time for a change! I'll be sure to post pictures of the end results.

Love For MyPublisher

Back in November, I created photo albums for my Mother and Mother-in-Law from the wedding. I gave them the books as Christmas presents. I have to rave about how well they turned out. They turned out so well in fact, that I used MyPublisher to create a photo album from my Trash the Dress photo session in July.

I've attached it for your viewing pleasure, if you have the desire to take a peek. The viewing quality is ho-hum, but the books themselves are amazing! Here it is. Be patient. I uploaded some massive files to make this book, so depending on your connection speed, it may take a while to upload.

There is even a link on the page to save $20 on your first book if you're a new customer. Hey, that's a good deal! I wish they would've given me, a returning customer, a coupon like that. I only got 20% off. Every little bit helps!

You Can't Handle the Soup!

You want the soup? You can't handle the soup! Oh, Jack Nicholson, that's where you're wrong! I CAN handle the soup!

I found a recipe online that's supposed to mimic the Panera Bread Vegetarian Black Bean Soup that I love so much. I made myself some of that up on Sunday night. Mmm-mmm, mighty tasty. I think this one is a keeper. The Husband thinks I should fine tune it and sell it to Health Food Stores. Hmm, my claim to fame, perhaps?

Here it is, for any that may be interested:

1-onion, finely chopped
2-cloves of garlic, minced
2-celery ribs, finely chopped
1/4-large red pepper, finely chopped
2-small chicken bouillon cubes**
1.5-cups boiling water
2-cans black beans, undrained
1/2-teaspoon of salt
1/2-teaspoon of cumin
1/2-lemon, juice of
1.5-tablespoons cornstarch***

1.) In a pot, combine first six ingredients; simmer for 10-minutes
2.) Add half a can of black beans, salt, cumin; cook for 5-minutes
3.) Puree soup
4.) Add rest of beans to soup
5.) Combine cornstarch with 1.5 teaspoons of water
6.) Add the lemon and cornstarch to the soup; cook until thickened

**I substituted vegetable bouillon for chicken
***I omitted the cornstarch
I also added a little cilantro to the soup before I pureed for a little umph.