OMG SO CLOSE!

I've been patiently (okay, not so patiently) waiting for the arrival of a very important new addition to my life.

As of this morning, this new addition has made it to my neck of the woods. The suspense is killing me!

Where am I?

It's really amazing how life can come at you. One moment you're celebrating your third anniversary, the next you're doing the whole "Where is this relationship going?" conversation. You're taking care of your father when you look out the window and notice the rental house over the hill is burning down. You're on your way to visit the family only to hear that your father is going back to the hospital with pneumonia. You wake up to find out he has pulmonary embolism- a nice sized blood clot in his lung.

The last month has been really strange.

Teaser time!

The game Val's been working on? It was announced today!!!

Happy Three Years!!!

Val and I celebrated our three year anniversary yesterday... YIKES! I love the guy, but seriously, has it been three years already?! It seems like yesterday when he would come over to visit me at UW, and we'd gorge ourselves with bubble tea, bento, and anime far into the wee hours of the night.

Here's to hoping that there will be many, many more years to come.

And yes... I did get more lovely jewelry from Tiffany & Co.

(I am so spoiled...)

Today...

Today will be a good day. I have decided that by eating chocolate for breakfast, that all evil has been thwarted for the next 8 hours.

I'll let you know how that works.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Chaaanges!

I KNOW I keep talking about changing my hair... Chopping it off, becoming a redhead, going darker, highlighting it more... Finally, I bought a box of hair goo and decided to have a go at being a dark-tressed temptress.

I. Love. It.

I should have done it sooner.



Maybe you'll get pictures if I ever get brave.

Vacation Update

Where to begin?

So my vacation is now officially over, in quite a big way.

Today was going to suck. There was really no way around it. I had to face the people that I am destined to leave in almost a week. Will I miss them? Yes. Will I look back after I hand in my keys for the last time? Maybe. I know better than to burn my bridges... kinda. My alter ego destroys most bridges I have anyway.

I am, in a nutshell, a true Gemini. I am blessed (and cursed) with the ability to see both sides of most pictures, and I'm often torn if I have to pick sides. In this regard, I can be seen as being two-faced, because I can empathize with both parties in a flamefest. I do my best to stay neutral, even when the flamefest is focused on me. As wonderful as I might just be, I know my faults all too well and realize that there's some truth in every bitter thing the opposition has to say.

I digress. What I'm trying to say is that while I HAVE to be mild and meek mannered Julie the Super Banker at work, if you push me too far you will meet my alter ego Weibke. I'm really hoping that I can keep my inner biker bitch/velociraptor under control long enough to keep the friends I've made while there. We'll see.

I got the job!!

I found out today that my interview on Saturday was a success. I was offered the position at a location that is 5 minutes away from my house. If I continued to work in Bellevue, I would spend fifteen 24 hour days in traffic a year. For what I get paid, the job simply isn't worth the commute.

Girl pals

I kind of wish I had more girl buddies... I'd rather like to go handbag shopping with a few best friends and to sip tea and gossip while sitting on the porch... A few feminine sorts to tell me which pants look bad, and when not to wear pinstripes.

It's occurred to me that it's quite possible to be entirely happy with the love of your life... but having that one person does not solve the feeling of friendlessness.

Vacation... only a day away!

Tomorrow promises to be the Best Day Ever. One day away from a vacation, plus tomorrow's a payday. Thank goodness! The coffers are getting a bit low...

On Saturday I have an interview at a branch that is much closer to my home. The last interview at a closer branch went wonderfully, but I decided to turn down the offer since my pay wasn't going up as much as I had hoped it would. I can a) Advance and commute or B) Keep the same level of job but be closer to home. Hmmm... decisions, decisions!

Holy Sh*t

Today was crazy.

Thank goodness for alcohol!

And three cheers for the hot programmer boyfriend! Even though his work gave him the last week off, he still got up at 7am to drive me to work... just so I could have the benefits of the carpool lane.

How sweet is that?

He took an extra 1 1/2 out of his day, plus sacrificed his sacred sleep-in time, just to be my carpool companion.

I love this guy.

Last Day of August

Thank goodness this month is over! This one has been an exercise in frustration. Besides stress at home, work has been less than wonderful. We were really, really short on staffing, so customers were even more pissy than usual.

This will be a great day though. It's the Friday before a 3 day weekend, the last day of the month, and a payday. We're also holding a customer appreciation event at our branch. It's going to be hell.

Looks like Julie is getting a larger caramel macchiato than usual.

Interview with a Banker

So what's more fun than working on a Saturday?

Not being able to balance.

What's even MORE fun than being off balance?

Having a root canal immediately afterwards.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I guess you can say I have had better weekends. It really wasn't all bad though... The root canal was painless (yes, you heard me right... although my tooth is sensitive now), and Mom made the most amazing apple pie (with fresh apples from the orchard). Tender mouth be damned!

Frogs, Frogs, Frogs!

I have frogs coming out of my ears!

I finally have three Cryptophyllobates azureiventris in my hands, as well as some lovely green legged lamasi froglets. I have two more vivaria in progress for the new species, but it has been a slow process. I finally cut enough glass for one tank, and all I'm waiting for is a miraculous windfall of money so I can afford all the lovely plants that are necessary for making a tank worth of putting $50 frogs in.

Some pics of my project:



How awesome does it look to have three tanks neatly in a row? It's froggy feng shui!



This is the current interior of the tank to the right. For the price of a 10 gallon tank ($9.99), polyurethane foam ($6), gorilla glue ($12), and coconut fibers ($3), you too can build yourself a Taj Mahal of froggy bliss.



And this is why I do it. Imagine having a teeny tiny frog (smaller than your thumbnail!) this beautiful in your dining room. Suddenly all the fly cultures you must devotedly make are completely worth it.

Frogs, Frogs, Frogs!

I have frogs coming out of my ears!

I finally have three Cryptophyllobates azureiventris in my hands, as well as some lovely green legged lamasi froglets. I have two more vivaria in progress for the new species, but it has been a slow process. I finally cut enough glass for one tank, and all I'm waiting for is a miraculous windfall of money so I can afford all the lovely plants that are necessary for making a tank worth of putting $50 frogs in.

Some pics of my project:



How awesome does it look to have three tanks neatly in a row? It's froggy feng shui!



This is the current interior of the tank to the right. For the price of a 10 gallon tank ($9.99), polyurethane foam ($6), gorilla glue ($12), and coconut fibers ($3), you too can build yourself a Taj Mahal of froggy bliss.



And this is why I do it. Imagine having a teeny tiny frog (smaller than your thumbnail!) this beautiful in your dining room. Suddenly all the fly cultures you must devotedly make are completely worth it.

100th Post!

So the last few days have been nothing short of crazy. My father ended up in the hospital on Saturday. His multiple infections started to really act up. At one point, we really thought that this might be his final battle. I rushed home last night after I called him on the phone. He told me "Julie, it hurts to talk... I have to hang up. I love you. I'm so sorry. I love you, I'm so sorry.." and he was crying. It scared the hell out of me, I really didn't know if I would see him again. Turns out he had a bad reaction to some very strong medication. His condition is stabilized right now, and we're all very grateful that he's so delightfully stubborn.

This brings up another area of stress- where should I be living right now? I have a job I can tolerate, working with people I genuinely like. I don't want to toss everything away that I have here. We just bought a place, I have a boyfriend who loves me, and I may eventually move up at work and earn some decent money. On the other hand, I have a wonderful family, who unfortunately happen to be mortal. I'd really like to be there for them.

It wouldn't take all THAT much to move back home.. .I love the area, and it's always easy to find a bank that is hiring. For what I'm paying on my mortgage right now, I can get a decent bit of land and have more room for my dart frog hobby.

Speaking of dart frogs, I'm building 2 more frog tanks. I have 4 green legged lamasi tadpoles that will occupy one tank, and I'll be getting a couple of adult P. azureiventris- essentially ninja dart frogs. They're freaking sweet.

That's enough rambling for now. Hope everyone is well and happy.

Happy birthday, Amber!!!

To Amburger:

Happy 26th Birthday!

Welcome to the dark side of your 20s- we're only a slippery slope away from hitting the big 3-0. Which isn't too much of a crazy thing- we're both like fine wines. We're only getting finer as we age!!

I've already starting using anti-wrinkle cream.

Hope this year is the best one yet!

Tamagotchi?

Remember those irritating little egg shaped things that everyone had when you were 14? Well, guess what? They're still around!

I was looking for a tamagotchi-like application for my new Sidekick and discovered that the old school tamagotchis were still around. I convinced the hot programmer boyfriend to drive me to Target so I could have something to entertain myself with while he attacked the people at the Verizon store. Lo and behold- I picked one out (a green and purple one) and bought it.

Oh the shame.

I really don't know which is worse- the fact that I bought one in the first place, or that I actually enjoy it. The detail in the game has changed significantly- you are in charge of raising generation after generation of Tamagotchis, guiding their career paths, helping them earn money and perhapes even earning status with the King of Tamaland (seriously).

You even get an online code for tamaland.com, and you can play games, earn money, and meet computer run tamagotchi characters to help further your own tamagotchi's purpose.

Sounds a bit lame, I know... but it works. Cheap entertainment is always a good thing.

Upgrade!

I have been with Verizon for a year and a half now. I have the older version of the ENV phone. Well, recently I decided that just wasn't enough, and Verizon's customer service is anything BUT accomodating.

Now I am blessed with a lovely brand new phone with T-Mobile- Sharp's Sidekick 3. So lovely that even the hot programmer boyfriend wants one.

Life Update!

I haven't been feeling too verbose lately... so here's a summary:

Promotion. Check.
42" LCD tv courtesy of the hot programmer boyfriend. Check.
1000 days celebrated with said hot programmer boyfriend. Check.
Tickets to see Walking with Dinosaurs Live in Spokane. Check.

It feels like life has been going at 75 miles per hour. Weeks are speeding by, months feel like minutes, and before we know it we'll be in 2008. Insanity!

Happiness wins again!

Somewhere along the way you have to stop and enjoy what you have. I am amazed by how lucky I have been- even through a haze of angst, I can appreciate my surroundings.

Happy 4th of July!

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to wish you guys a happy 4th!

Hello hello!

Dear Friday~

Thank goodness you're here! I'm so glad to see you. I can't believe it's only been 7 days since we last met...

Discoveries

It's crazy to think that I'm still changing as a person. After all this time, even after I hit the quarter of a century mark, I can still tell my personality is really changing. Every once in a while I miss the girl I used to be- the girl who plowed into Scottish country lessons, tried to teach herself how to play the accordion, who tried to build her own boat... I felt fearless- if I wanted to do something (and if I could afford it), I'd give it a whirl.

Now, not so much.

I entertain myself with superficial things... and it's starting to wear on me. I want to be a person that I'm proud of being- someone who actually follows through with their goals and can be relied on. I'm so far from being that person.

At least I have shiny things to keep my mind off of it. Hello brand new Nintendo Wii.

Happy Anniversary!

It's been one year since my first post on this site. I can't believe how fast the year has gone... Here's to a few more!

Birthday Bash!

When I went to work on Wednesday, I discovered that my desk was covered in sweet birthday loot. Balloons, flowers, cake, birthday cards... All from my lovely coworkers! They're my heroes for putting all of this together for me. It was so nice of them.

And if that wasn't enough, when I went home I was given a GIANT gift bag... Inside, a beautifully wrapped Coach box. Inside the box, a fantastic coach bag. Inside that coach, a Tiffany & Co. box..



It boggles my mind that Val even exists... I keep expecting to wake up alone one day, haunted by the dream of such an honest love.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes! You guys are the best. :)

OMG SO EMO

So we all know what time of year it is...

BIRTHDAY TIME!

And, true to tradition, every year around this time I get depressed.

I used to call it a quarter life crisis. Now I know that it happens EVERY year. To sum it up:

One year of my life is over.
I didn't accomplish much.
OMG I'm going to die someday.

Keep this mood going from May 1st-June 10th. Rinse and repeat!

Things really aren't that bad, you know? I have a wonderful family, a great boyfriend, no comment on the job, and some awesome guppies. You'd think I'd be satisfied.

Happy Birthday, Val!

For the love of Target

I adore Target!

I just went in, had a mini-shopping spree for an hour and a half and ended up with three bags of loot... For $60. Sweeeeet.

Nothing like a little retail therapy to get you through a rough day.

What would *you* do with $15,000,000?

I'm so, so excited right now! Val discovered something quite amazing... The Discovery Channel has a set of robotic, life-sized dinosaurs!!! With a budget of a cool $15mil, these guys are freaking awesome.


I was a bit bummed after Val told me it was in Australia... But it turns out they're going to be on tour in Tacoma in July... Interestingly enough, Val and I are celebrating our 1,000th day together on Friday the 13th in July- right when the show is going to be here. I can't think of a better way to spend a Friday.

Val + life-sized robotic dinosaurs = HOLY SHIT! This *is* awesome!

Miso's Occupational Hazards

It's been one week!

There's a bout of happiness going around! It's been one week since Abby came into our lives, Val is back from Utah from his sister's graduation as of a couple hours ago, it was my coworker's B-day yesterday (happy B-day Stina!), and it's now officially my vacation.

So what is this girl going to do to celebrate? Um... Blog about it?

Sadly enough, the coffers are running a bit low. I'm tempted, however, to spend the time getting completely unpacked and to finally plan a housewarming party. I'd also like to spend some time over at the nearby tanning salon for a change. I've been too pasty for far too long.

All you need is love, love... Love is all you need.

So Val took off today to go to his sister's graduation in Utah. It seems so weird to be home alone without him. I try to be fiercely independent (see China Trip #2) but end up failing big time.

Val is a lot of things to me- he's my sunshine, my happiness, my love, my teddy bear, and my best friend. He's also my cook, my chauffeur, and my entertainment. I guess that fiercely independent thing didn't work out so well after all, did it?

I don't even really believe in the whole soulmate thing, but I really think Val and I have found something unbelievably special. It's only been 810 minutes since I've seen him last and it's already wearing me down.

New Addition!

Name: Abigail
Age: 1.75 years
Breed: Toy Fox Terrier
Personality: Awesome

This may be a little late but...

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!!

The Mochinator

You know Mochi has destroyed something you hold dear when you come home to this face... RIP brand new bamboo plant. You were beautiful while you lasted.

Yay for getting a good deal!

I don't care much for shopping, except when it comes to home decorating and for handbags. I'll grimace at spending a few extra dollars when it comes to a nice shirt, but will happily plunk down some change for a new handbag. Crazy? Maybe.

When Val and I had our dose of Weekend Angst, we ventured north to Marysville. Sure enough, the bargains were brewing at Coach. My urge to indulge in a little retail therapy was quenched- I saw the bordeaux suede bag that I have been eyeing for the last six months... marked from $269 down to $84.99... As well as a leather wallet marked down 40%. Funny thing is that Val was going to pick that bag up for me for Christmas but grabbed a satchel instead. Now they're both in my custody, where they will remain for many happy years.

Of course, a picture of my happy handbag family:



My tastes wander a bit, wouldn't you say?

Contrary to Popular Belief...

I'm not dead!

In fact, Val and I are happily settling in to our brand new place. Our first mortgage payment came in a week ago (not due until May! Let's celebrate!) and we're busy getting everything decorated and sorta organized. To try and play catch up, here's the news:

Val has decided to cut back on school a bit and join Airtight Games as a full-time mid-level programmer.

I've applied to Charter Bank as a Operations Specialist. Thanks to Ashley, a past coworker at WaMu, I had an interview with the V.P. on Thursday. Cross your fingers for me!

Val and I got a U-Haul stuck in a random snow storm during our move. We pulled an all-nighter on February 28th-March 1st, once we were able to move our U-Haul out of the snow at 3am. Going to work right after moving everything out of our apartment was hell, considering we didn't get a drop of sleep. We got the $1000 bonus for moving out in one day though. Worth it? Hell yeah!

Finley the froglet died during the move. He burrowed under a pebble smaller than a quarter... when it shifted, the weight of it crushed him. I never thought I'd cry so hard over an amphibian. It's so hard to see something grow up only to see it crushed.

My remaining dart frogs, Petri and Adama, have started courting. I heard my first "Hey Baby" calls on Wednesday. Wish me luck! Maybe I'll have a few more tadpoles to murder. :(

Val and I have been daydreaming about adopting an Italian Greyhound. We've decided to name him Sparta. "This is for SPARTA!!!" Or... "This is SPARTA!" It's all very dramatic. Plus, the Burke Gilman trail is right at our doorstep. It'd be a great place for a pooch!

Hope all is well with you and your own!

We're Still Alive!

We're all moved in... and do I have some stories to tell you!

Unfortunately, we won't have the internet (or cable!) for who knows how long... So sadly my tales of woe will just have to wait. Thankfully the hot programmer boyfriend has allowed me to use his computer long enough to post this.

Papers were signed as of 12:06pm today. It's official- We're home owners!!!!

Hope life is treating all of you well!

This is it....

We are moving in on Wednesday!!!!

I am a financial ninja!

The other day I logged in to pay my BOA bill and lo and behold, there was a pending charge on my account for englishtown.com.

I know that my English is flawed, but I haven't enrolled in any sort of Teach-Yourself English courses in quite some time. I called the 1-800 number to see if I could find out any information, if perhaps I just ordered something somewhere and somehow forgot that I wanted to learn slang from a native speaker. Turns out voicemail for the number was completely in Spanish.

Crap.

Interestingly enough, my financial information disappeared last move somewhere in transit. Yes, disappeared. I had a bag full of information that was to be shredded, but it was somehow misplaced and we have yet to find it. I've been patrolling my accounts like a hawk ever since, and I am really glad I did.

This is my first case of fraud.

Thankfully, we caught it in time. The transaction was stopped and my card was shut down.

Julie-1.
Fraud-0.

Sick... again.

Because I didn't suffer enough with the flu last week, I was blessed with a cold this week. Coughing, sneezing, manly voice and all. What a great time! I finally called in sick, there was no way in hell I could function well enough to handle large sums of cash. I slept for the majority of the day and thankfully I feel much better. I have to be 110% this weekend since we have to move.

Speaking of moving- because we are the first people to close on our condo at this site, there has been an issue with the documentation. Because of this, our loan *won't* close on the 28th... The 28th is the last day we can be in the apartment we're living at... So we might just be living out of a U-Haul until things get figured out.

I can't wait until this is over.

Today's News

I was proposed to....



...But not by my boyfriend.

A new home.

We're buying our first place. Pictures can be found here and more info about the location can be found here.

The loan closes on February 28th. We'll have a place to live by March!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

I've been meaning to blog about this since Wednesday, but sometimes life has a habit of getting in the way.

Valentine's Day was too short but really sweet. Val was determined to spoil me (as if I'm not spoiled already) and took time off work to drag me off to my favorite Thai restaurant. He dropped me back home at the apartment and from there I started getting his gifts ready.

His loot: Coach wallet and Rootbeer keg
My Loot: Dozen roses, the sweetest love note ever, and a bottle of Vera Wang's newest perfume.

So 5 rolls around and he abducts me to take me to Sage's, a wonderful Italian restaurant. Salmon picatta and tiramisu later, life is fantastic.

Thanks, Val, for another wonderful day with the one I love!

Sleeping beauty? Not so much.

I hate that the little things will irritate me and prevent me from falling asleep. Even if they're minute, if something is on repeat for more than 3 minutes, my mind locks onto it. If I hear that sound throughout the period of time that I'm trying to sleep, I'll wake up and start getting severely pissy.

I moved out from my dorm in college because the girl sniffled too much. Yes, sniffled. Every morning she'd wake up and refuse to use a kleenex. I'd buy them for her, so she'd have them sitting right next to her while she was typing away on her laptop. Sniiiiiif. I'd roll over and mumble "kleenex!" but she was never bright enough to ever get it. I could handle her being a snotty bitch, but the sniffling was really what killed it for me.

So imagine poor Val. It's the season for cold and flu, and now he's been a victim. I always cuddle right behind him with my face buried in his back. Well, he's got a nasty sore throat with the sniffles. Every 30 seconds (yes, I counted), he'll swallow. After being up for a few hours because of it, I left the bedroom, grabbed some cough drops and tossed them onto his chest.

If little things bother me so much, imagine how I felt last night when Val has the swallows and my cat has the howls. ALL night the two traded off in their annoyance, a delicate balance of how-to-piss-julie-off. I grabbed my sleeping bag and stormed out to the recliner in the living room, where I got repeatedly whacked in the face by the cat.

So, the entire summary of this post: Julie hasn't slept in two days.
Today's mission: Try to be pleasant for V-day & buy earplugs.

The Cat's Meow

So Mochi and Miso have been best buddies since day one. Even when Mochi was a distemper kitty, Miso would always accept him with open arms when he came home every night.

But this time... This time is different.

I don't know if it's the scent of lost dignity, or the thought that HE could be the alpha male of the house, but he was freaked out when he saw Moch. Yowling, throwing up a mean halloween cat stance... I've never seen him act so tough before!

Because I thought i might be the scent of the vets that might have scared him, I put Miso in the same container that Mochi came home in... That way he'd know it was the place that smelled like resident evil, not Mochi himself.

Miso's opinion on the matter? Click below.

Sorry the quality is so crappy, but it's really the sound that matters.

Mochi's Early Valentine's Gift

Mochi is getting his present a little early this year... The bachelor of love is getting what he's had coming to him for a looooong time:

Neutered.

That's right, folks! He's getting micro-chipped, a manicure, and The Operation.

As to why I waited so long- he was rather sickly the first year or so of his life with us, and now that there's the money and his health is good enough to handle the stress... It's time!

The one thing that pisses me off about the whole procedure is how the vets always push annual vaccines. Vaccines aren't always the best thing for your pet... I hate having them shoved on my pets without my permission. I also hate being treated like an idiot because I personally think they're a horrible idea.

Anyway, Mochi is being forced to have yet another rabies vaccine. I understand it's the law, but at the same time rabies is so amazingly rare... The chance that Mochi would get out of the house and a rabid squirrel would be RIGHT there to attack him... I'd have better chances at winning the lotto. And for him, with multiple shots comes the increased risk of cancer. What a prize!

The natural dichotomy of things...

So, I am now the proud owner of a lovely tax return. And of course, this is the weekend that I come down with the flu. You know, complete with headaches, chills, and the absolutely necessary need for pepto-bismol. Nothing better than spending the day in bed with a trusty bottle of that! Hurray!

It's been years since I've had the flu... Just on Friday I was bragging to my coworkers about how healthy I've been feeling. Ugh... Why, why, why?

Words Fail.

I had a lot of stuff I wanted to say today... But when I logged in to check my email my heart sunk to the bottom of my stomach. Turns out that my ex-roomie, Trevor Homer, died yesterday afternoon.

There are no words that I can say to make it okay. He was so innately good... Never drank, never smoked, always optimistic. It breaks my heart to know that a person of that caliber has left this world.

Trevor- I'm so sorry that I was a jerk at times (and a stubborn one at that), a crappy friend and a worse roommate. You deserved so much more from life than what you had- only 26 years! You were there for me whenever I needed someone... but I am ashamed to say that I never was around for you.

Rest in peace, my friend. May heaven be full of light-sabers, jedi, and half-life crowbars. You will be dearly missed.

Introducing Tokidoki... A new love affair.

Sometimes the things I love the most are the things that I initially dislike. When I first saw a LeSportSac Tokidoki print bag online I about vomited. And of course I called Val over to laugh at it with me. But about a week ago, half a year later from the first time I laughed at it, I saw a girl at the bank carrying one.

And I fell in love.

This is nowhere near anything I thought I could like. Bright and dizzying prints with little anime characters thrown in for good measure. It then occured to me: If I can't ever own a Takashi Murakami and Marc Jacob designed Louis Vuitton, I *could* own something in the same crazy-fun vein... a Tokidoki handbag designed by Simone Legno.

And the plus side is, there's a LeSportSac outlet that I discovered actually carries some of the designs... Knocking a good $30 off the retail price. Score!

Let's break it down:

Real Louis Vuitton's Cerises Papillon: ~$2000
LeSportSac Tokidoki Bella Bella Bag #9153 : ~$130

Both crazy fun prints, but one I won't have to lock up at night.

Cargo pants, black shirt, and Tokidoki handbag... I can see one on my arm now!

Ode to Handbags!

My mom, bless her heart, is a purse person. I could never understand why she'd want to go into the purse section of any department store and handle a few choice handbags- checking out the pockets, the zipper construction, the way the bag feels on an arm and on a shoulder. It used to frustrate me to end, and I refused to carry a bag of my own. I resorted to making wallets out of duct tape and throwing them into my cargo pockets.

But now... Oh, how I understand.

Nothing is better (or sweeter) than picking out a new handbag. Fondling the clasps, smelling the leather, examining the stitching. I've run into a few "You paid HOW MUCH for that?!" from my coworkers, most of which do not have a designer handbag of their own. Once you own one though- once you've had a taste- you will be convinced that it is a worthy cause to venture forth and invest in. YES, I said invest. You will be surprised on how much differently you will be treated with a Louis Vuitton on your arm, the envious glances from the person in line at the market, the questions.. "Can I hold your bag? I don't think I've seen a real one before."

But the most important thing about a new purse is quite simply how much better you will feel with it on your arm. To know that your finances, your life, your daily essentials ARE important enough to you to place in such a receptacle. You must understand that it is not an indication of how shallow you are as an individual, but serves as a statement on how well you deserve to be treated.

Remember...
Your purse will always fit, even if you gain 20lbs.
Never carry a fake, unless you want people to treat you as such.
Purses can make good weapons. Arm yourself wisely!

End of January...

And yet another month bites the dust.

Highlights:

2006 taxes
Moving... again
Snow storms
Mini Promotion
Froglet morphed
10LBs gone- 20 left to go

And life creeps on. Didn't January feel like a month long Monday?

I thought this was rather sweet.

Yes, I realize that as a 25 year old woman I have no right to be taking love quizzes... but sometimes it's nice to have a silly quiz validate the way my heart flips everytime I see a certain individual.

Get your love compatibility results here!

Stressful Days Ahead!

As our plans for world domination truly begin, we're going to be facing some stressful times in the next few weeks. What we're doing will make it a lot easier for the both of us- it'll help cement our future but will also protect us from a lot of what-ifs.

All I can say is... uf. It feels good to have a bit of a plan, but I'm still scared to death with everything going on. I'm really thankful that I have my family to support me through this and to rely on... I really couldn't do this without them.

I'm so happy that this week is here. My monthly bonus will be posted on Wednesday, and I'll get my normal paycheck on Friday. I can't even begin to tell you how much I really like working for a bank- it's so much better than anything I've ever done. Much cleaner, better hours, less stress, lots of vacation time... and having weekends off- priceless. I occasionally work on Saturday from 9-1, but the hours fly by. I can't imagine doing anything else at this point.

Val is busy wailing on his electric guitar. Speaking of wailing, those of you who watch Jackass would really enjoy the fact that Val's dad is in the second movie. He helped design the rockets- cool, isn't it? The more you know!

Changes...

By beloved boyfriend, the one who always wears black shirts and khaki cargos, has changed. Today was the first time I've ever seen him wear brown. AND flip flops.

Daaaamn, he looks good.

The Finley Channel!

After Finley's new front legs popped out, it was time for me to jump into action. I prepared a little morphing tank- I got a long ziploc container and proped it up with a short piece of pipe. I threw in a chunk of prayer plant and put him in it. Do you have any idea how stressful it is to move a living being THAT small and THAT fragile? I almost had a heart attack!



The next morning... He made the final leap. He was standing in the dry side of the tank, with his little front legs stretched out underneath him and his chin proudly aimed at the sky.

So. Stinking. Cute.



His markings are getting brighter and brighter, and his tail is becoming a thing of the past.

And in other news... you know the HUGE thing that we're working on? Well, we're still working on it, and I think I jinxed myself too much by even being an optimist. You will all just have to wait until the pieces fall into place.

LEGS!

Finley HAS LEGS!!!



Got limbs? :D

And I'm not going to jinx myself here... but there might just be a huge metamorphosis for Val and I right around the corner.

Oooh, the mystery!

Update

If I had one word for all the emotions going through me right now, it'd make my life a hell of a lot easier. There's just so much going on, and so much changing that it's a little too much to handle right now.

Increase of responsibility at work = yay, but more chances to screw up.

Found a really nice condo that Val and I adore. We love it, so of course it'll sell for at least $20k more than the asking price. In other words, we have yet to find a place to live.

I discovered a new hobby that is insanely biology nerdish but too expensive for me to dive into. I have yet to reveal it, but let's just say that a webpage dedicated to the hobby is in the works. I figure I have to balance my life- trivial purse obsession on one end, biology geek at the other.

Due to a thermostat issue, my newest d. ventrimaculatus died. The heat was out of whack and I walked into a sauna. I opened the tank and found him on the floor of the tank, not moving. I saw him open his mouth once and he died right there... It's my first adult frog death, and it was heartwrenching to watch.

On the positive side of the hobby, Finley is growing so, so fast. He's starting to look like a real frog!



Please excuse the over-exposure, but I had to capture his new markings! Note the stripes down his back and the spots on his legs. He's starting to look more and more like an adult!



So, there's the update on my life. Hope all is well with you!

It's so pretty!

Another Picture of Finley: Round 3!

I was able to get this shot by putting a LED flashlight in a tube and placing Finley's container on top of it. Note the small s-like shapes right behind his head. I'm waiting on confirmation, but I'm going to reach out on a limb (har har) and say that those might be his arms just starting to develop.

Awwwwww....

And in other news:
Mom and I have a shopping date on Saturday!!! YAY!
Val bought an electric guitar and has been playing it nearly non-stop.
My New Year's Resolution has yet to be broken.
We have yet to find a place to live (yup, we lost out on yet another place).
And it looks like it's going to snow (again).

Another Picture of Finley

I love having days off. Nothing like staying home and stressing out about stuff I can't change. We still haven't found a place to live, and are supposed to be out by the end of the month. We might have found a studio apartment to rent in the condo community I adore... It'd be perfect for us to see if we'd actually like to live there for an extended period of time. We're going to check it out right after work tomorrow. Hopefully I'll know by the end of the week if we get it.

Sad news: A few weeks back one of my tadpoles died. I was so devastated I refused to even acknowledge the incident by posting about it. I know it's just one of those things froggers have to get used to- they're such tiny and delicate creatures, it's a miracle humans can keep them alive at all. The good news is that the gentleman who donated the tads forgives me, and has even encouraged me to take another one so I can figure it out before my vents start breeding. I don't know how I feel about it... I'd much rather buy a froglet than watch another tadpole die. Yet at the same time I'm so in love with the one that's left- It would be truly amazing to watch the process again.

So here's Finley and his newly acquired limbs:



And in other news, I'm back on the diet train. I know it's so cliche to make a resolution to lose weight. The thing is, it's the Year of the Boar! Come on now, you can't ignore such blatent irony!

Hope all of you are having a fantastic year thus far!