New Update

I keep meaning to update this blog, but you know how it is when you get busy. So I've moved down to Pasadena into my own place (YAY). My neighbors smoke like chimneys (AW) but the only place I really smell it is in the kitchen. Oh well. I think I may end up staying here only until my lease expires in June.

I've gotten a second dog. You all know how I can't resist a sweet face. This sweet face is costing me an arm and a leg. No, he's not a puppy and actually has gray hair, but is a chewer and so far he chewed through 1 lease, a collar, and 2 halters. The dog is a mennace who started chewing on my external hard drive and has already demolished one DVD I didn't care about (Doctor Who Christmas Invasion). I've taken to hiding the stuff I care about. I would crate, him, but he's a whiner and I hate to annoy my neighbors since he does a lot of this while I'm asleep. He is cute though. He's a flat haired

retriever and like Luna is a bit mini. In fact, he's the exact same size as Luna. just with more hair. He weighs less right now because he has a tape worm. Also Luna has been getting on my nerves during walks. 2 times this weekend, she managed to see a cat while crossing a road with a car coming so I was hurrying, so Luna was able to take off. Did I forget to mention my ankle gave out twice last week. It was very painful and it's still sore so when I try to balance and put a lot of pressure downward, it doesn't always work.

On the bright side Luna and Jasper are quickly becoming friends. I don't think Luna knew quite what to make of Jasper at first, but over the past week she started spending more time trying to play with him and now she is the one I have to make leave him alone as opposed to the other way around. btw: he IS named for Jasper from Twilight just like Luna is named for the Harry Potter character.

I've also been sewing and will post a couple of my new creations tomorrow.

My Thoughts on the Twilight Saga

So I just finished my obsessive week of Twilight. I started listening to the books on Monday, the 24th and have now finished listening to all 3. Like the Harry Potter's I prefered to listen to them rather than read them. Although Jim Dale is a large part of my desire to listen to HP and Ilyana Kadushin is no Jim Dale. I do spend a lot of time in traffic and Books on Tape are helpful. I did cheat and listen to them outside of the car if I got to a particularly interesting part. Oh, and I listened at work, although lots of people asked me what I was thinking about while listening because of the absorbed look on my face.

I've come to the conclusion that I really like them. I liked the first well enough, mehed through the emo Bella in the second. Yelled at Bella repeatedly in the third with many admonishments for her to just shut up. I think the last one will be my fav. It's definitely the one I've hated most have to take off the earphones for. The honeymoon is sweet and Bella's calling the baby her 'little nudger' made me want to cry with happiness as just about the first truly simpathetic moment for Bella. Most of the time she's just to overly emotionally teen and annoying, but she won me over with her love of her unborn child. I heard complaints later about Renesme being so Mary Sue and I get teh complaints. Everyone loves her, even Jacob who goes from killing the monster to being willing to die for her in the space of a breath. I did appreciate her most whenever she wasn't acting like an adult.

Team Jacob: I was kinda leaning toward Team Jacob even though I obviously knew before reading the books that she'd end up with Edward. This book definitely took a lot of the joy of Jacob away. I loved the part in the middle from his perspective and despite clothes shopping and dinner on Wednesday, I continued to listen to it. Leah is awesome and Jake as a pack leader was a welcome addition to the story. I wish we could find out more about the origins of the shapechangers and if the wolf form is simply because that's what they think they should change into. Also, I want Leah to have a happy ending. :(

Also, Bella and Edward's relationship seemed to be A LOT more healthy in this book. N one of the stalker controlling behavior, they seemed like equals, albeit with him still being protective. I also missed seeing Alice. One thing I appreciated about the second one was the stories about the other characters. I loved finding out where Jasper came from the the purported origins of the 'werewolves'.

On the slightly negative side, Bella didn't have nearly enough problems with being a vampire. After all that waiting and hemming and hawing by Edward and she takes to it like a duck to water. She even gets to maintain a relationship with her Dad. I did love Bella's stronger shield power, very in keeping with what had gone before and a great way for her to show her strength to everyone.

Big Negative I hated the final battle scene. All that build up and planning and nothing really happens. There's one death. I guess SM was probably trying to avoid too many comparisons to HP since its like the antithesis of the final battle in that series, but than that battle was inevitable and if it hadn't happened, the books would be ruined. The Twilight series is all about relationships, battles, but it would have been much more emotionally satisfying for the battle to have ocurred. :( I can see what SM was thinking. I mean, the Volturi are essential to keeping the vampires in check, but I really wanted a battle and some death and carnage.

So the whole living here in Dallas means that I may be going to Twicon. What is Twicon? It's a convention for Twilighters in Dallas and costs $255. They already have healiners from the movie who will be there. None of the top 3, but there's still alomost 8 months and many more people to announce in the meantime. I know that SM won't be there since she wants to spend some time with her family (what a crazy thought). www.twicon.com Kat seriously wants to go, the only problem in the time of year. I'm already needing to ask off for the first week in July, can I ask for a couple of days at the end as well. And what about the $255 ticket price. We'll see how my job goes. I reckon I'll look into buying a ticket in March or something. After I've done the whole moving into the apartment thing. I wonder if any other Twilighters I know are going to want to go and able to pay the $255 for tickets. Ugh, so much.

Job Update and Twilight

So while I still don't have a start day, I did tell my boss about the new job. They offered me a permanent job and promotion to suppost for the engineering dept. It would have been nice, but when they started talking about training me, I knew I had to tell them about Pasadena despite the lack of official start day. I thought I would hear back today, but with the holiday, I think things get behind so I may not hear anythng until Monday.

So the only problem with listening to Twilight is that anytime they say the word Alice out loud, I want to break into the "Alice Blue Bonnet" song. Its a song about a hat and bonnet that fall in love and are separated at the store, but then reunited in a park. lol. Its cute and the tune keeps going though my head. lol. I'm actually listening to the book as I write this. I'm at the hospital scene.

I've made a list of purchases and budgets for the purchases based on prices on Craigslist, at WalMart, and at the Dollar General. I've created a excel spreadsheet separating and listing the needed supplies and projected cost and divided by need. I think I have 6 sections and so it will take at least 3 months to get my apartment perfected and decorated and supplied and I will be spending $2000 on decorations, furnishings, appliances, kitchen stuff, and everything else. I forgot to add the roomba to it. I'm so buying a roomba. I found one for $85 shipped last night, so I should get it before I move in. This is great for lazy people like me who hate to clean. Hopefully it will help me control Luna's hair. Thankfully Luna is a short hair since long hair gets caught on the rollers.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

New Job and Apartment

So after getting further confirmation of the Pasadena job, I went down to Houston this weekend to look at apartments and I found one. Yay. Its a second floor Quadplex. I talked to the neighbors and really like the area. It's a bit rundown, but not ghetto. There's a park right behind it with a walking trail, a Walmart/ BOA/ Kroger/ Mall/ and the main library within 3 miles. The branch is more like 6 miles away, but the main library will be where I'll be working mostly after March.

On the Pros side for the apartment:

• Not part of some big complex,
• location,
• pleasant neighbors,
• within my price range,
• $100 off first month,
• only $300 deposit for me and Luna and all is refundadable,
• great floor plan,
• beautiful bay window,
• ability to paint walls as I want,
• lots of trees to shade the apt

Cons of the apt

• Too close to shopping,


• not much storage,


• second floor so moving stuff in will be harder,


• wood paneling,


• and last but certainly not least, it does have a bug problem.

So about that last con, yes I did go for the apt despite the bug thing because I simply accept that any multi-family unit in the hot and humid areas of Texas are going to have bug problems. I've never been to one or lived in one that didn't. At least I've lived with it before and know how to deal with it. This includes daily cleaning, no leaving food out, using trash cans with tight lids, cleaning thoroughly, and remaining vigilant. I was after all, once a hotel housekeeper, so dealing with gross stuff is something I just suck it up and deal with. Also, I will be living on my own so just have myself to pick up after. I think Luna will have to get used to eating at set times though since I have the idea of leaving food out for her.

So what work will I do before moving in:

• caulking all holes and cracks to further mitigate the bug situation,


• put out boric acid and traps as well,
  
• painting the paneling and walls


• scrub everything down, especially the oven and fridge

What do I need to do to the kitchen:

• Caulk and fill in all holes
  
• Scrub every surface


• Paint fridge and oven


• Paint walls lemin chiffon or lemon grass


• create floral stencil on wooden water heater cover out of contact paper and spray paint open areas dark blue.


• Hang roman shade


• Hang white sheer curtains with something dark blue as a cornice or something
  
• replace cabinet hardware with black iron or stainless steel
  
• hang family pictures in the kitchen
  
• contact paper in the cabinets


• bug stuff taken care of


• Buy:


• -Cutlery
  
• -boring is probably best
  
• -stand mixer
  
• -knife set
  
• -cutting boards


• -mixing bowls
  
• -dishes drying basket


• -dish towels


• -herb seeds and supplies


• -dried herb rack
  
• -cabinet organizers
  
• -steel microwave


• -medium lidded trash can


• -Square dining sets
  
• -
  

What do I need to do to the bathroom:

• paint walls pale blue, like faraway blue and paint cabinet doors and area by shower dark blue


• Buy:
  
• -metal rolling cart
  
• -small lidded steel or black trash can
  
• -beigy medium brown shower curtain, bath mat, and toilet mat


• -steel accessories as necessary
  
• -one bright floral pic like
  
• -

What do I need to do to the bedroom:

• Paint top of the walls a light green and bottom a dark green with the railing in the middle painted white


• dark brown furniture



• white billowy curtains and a roman shade
  
• bed linens should be golden or dark green and some other color from an opulent fabric


• pre-rafaelite pics
  
• Buy:
  
• -large dresser
  
• -large book shelf
  
• -side table
  
• -vanity
  
• other storage opportunities

What do I need to do to the living room

• Inspiration pic



• I want to paint all the walls that dark teal sort of color and have beige or light brown furniture


• white filmy curtains and a roman shade


• screens on the windows


• small prints like the ones in the pic.


• Buy:


• -couch


• -easy chair


• -coffee table


• -end table


• -2 book shelves


• -other storagey furniture solutions

What do I need to do to the dining area:

• Maintain front room scheme, but with the dark blue green only on the bottom on the room and paint top portion to match the yellow of the kitchen and the middle rail will be white


• dark brown furniture

modern art like,
Okay, so what can I do now?

• finalize paint choices
• plan for after Thanksgiving sales like paint, a flat panel, and plates, cutlery and appliances
• plan utility companies and save deposit
• complete change of address

Twilight

So I just got back from the midnight showing of Twilight. It was awesome. I still haven't read the books, but now I actually want to. I'm not much for horror or vampire lit, but the movie was so good, I think the books aren't what I would expect. They also made sense and were interesting for me as a newbie, I could tell there were references to the book that I didn't get, but they didn't get in the way of the story. btw: It's a story of first love with a little teen angst thrown in, but not too much and it doesn't get in the way. Oh, and the mirror scene was seriously exciting and dramatic.

All the bit characters were interesting. The story revolves around Bella and Edward, but the vampire characters and the classmates are flesh and blood. There were a few akward moments with the dialogue, but I think they were on purpose and they were nearly as bad as any of the Star Wars movies which I hold up as monuments to bad dialogue. All in all, I think this has been my favorite midnight showing since the second Lord of the Ring. The audience was interested, good seats, and the movie was enthralling. Let's see if the midnight showing for Star Trek will compare.

Little Red Riding Hood and the Oil Change

I'm dressing as little red riding hood for Halloween this year, although I've not even finished cutting out the fabric. It's going to be renaissance inspired so I'll definitely post pics of the entire process.

I got an oil change yesterday and as I left the oil change place, my car started acting up. The engine would seem like it wasn't getting gas. I have a 1988 BMW 325i, an awesome car, and its never done this. I couldn't think what was up, and having a suspicious mind, I thought the oil change place might have broken something on my car just to get money for fixing it, so I didn't immediately return. I went to the nearby library to do some research. I then looked under the hood and realized the reason the engine was running unevenly was because the people at the oil cahnge place forgot to put the oil cap back on. I guess other cars can handle it better since I went to a nearby O'Reilly's to get a cap and they so did not have one and the guy behind the counter said that usually the only thing that would happen is that oil would spurt out over the engine and you'd get some fumes. He'd never heard that lacking an oil cap would result in uneven engine running. So fyi, if you have a 88 bmw 325i, the oil acp is necessary. It was actually dark outside, so I didn't see that the cap was sitting near the engine, but the oreillys guy that came out to take a look at it put him hand on it and found it. I put the cap back on and it ran swimmingly once more.

Today I'm picking up a muffler from a junkyard since being muffler-less is a bad idea. I'm going to call Automotive Plus to find out if a used muffler is a good idea and what to look at on the muffler and whether a new one is the best way to go. I suppose I just need something on there right now.

Also, I got a huge rip in my back window yesterday. :darn it: I'm probably going to replace the canvas and window. You can buy one on Ebay for $220 with shipping and it doesn't seem to difficult to install. Time consuming, but not difficult. And If I completely ruin it, I still have the hard top until I have the money for a professional job.

Goodness, its been a month

So I haven't posted in over a month, but we don't have internet at home any more and I tend to do other things while on the internet, like job applications and watching youtube ;-) I have a new HG concealer, Estee Lauder's Maquicomplet. It never cakes and while it costs more than MAC Moisturecover, you get twice as much and more coverage. It's awesome, even for 27.50 plus tax.

Here I am wearing pretty much only the concealer, so you can see it is a good match and makes my circles less noticable. And this was during my horrible Virginia trip. Rained the whole time and was for nothing because I don't think I got the job.

:( I went to the San Marcos Cosmetics Company outlet and picked up some Estee Lauder Individualist foundation with a good color match and some MAC mattene lipcolor is 40s pink. It's a good, almost ylbb color on me. The Individualist foundation I'm a little uncertain about since the color is good, but I think it may be making my pores look bigger. I mixed it with a little Maybelline Age Rewind Cream Foundation this morning and I'm hoping this helps it last longer, it doesn't highlight my pores today either, but that could be because I started using retin a again this weekend and my pores look smaller anyway. I'm so happy I decided to order it from All Day Chemists in India. It arrived in a week and three tubes cost $30 with shipping and they work just as well as the retin a I was buying here.

Okay, so on the job front. I had 2 interviews last week and I should hear about them this week. wish me luck. I'm working for the forseeable future at a temp job in Irving doing mostly filing.

I was feeling horrible yesterday. I decided to start a project and go through my entire clothes collection (I have quite a bit) and since my family was down in Houston visiting my sister (would have gone, but the car would be cramped and my car was in the shop Saturday) I took over the front room and seperated by clothes that fit and then by clothes I like and now have quite a pile for Goodwill. The family did get home early, so I hadn't finished. I also felt horrible and kept stopping to take a nap. I was just nauseous and headachy. Oh well, I still finished it, even if the clothes for Goodwill are in the front room right now. I didn't have the energy to take them out to the car or into the garage.