Sparkle Fairy Princess!!

So my first saree arrived yesterday!  Noel played fashion photographer:

This thing is just gorgeous!!  It's so sparkly and regal.  The fabric is even more beautiful than you can see in this photo - not only is it embroidered with sparkly stuff, it also has shimmer on the fabric itself.  I feel like a queen in it!  Now we just need to find a place where I can wear it!  :)

So the cool thing about sarees is that they're essentially just a really long piece of fabric.  You wrap it around your waist, pleat it and tuck it into the front of a petticoat, and then wind the excess around your body and over your shoulder.  The cool thing is, they sewed the petticoat to the saree, so I don't actually have to do any pleating or tucking.  It's already done for me!  Also, they sewed the matching blouse to my measurements.  It came from New Delhi through Paris and to Texas.  I am just thrilled with it. 

The other saree should be coming soon - it's a bit more casual and not so sparkly - dark blue with a dark red edging.  I just think these are such graceful and feminine garments.  :)

So some of you may have noticed in the above photo that there appears to be....less of me.  And yes!  You would be right!  I've been doing WeightWatchers since July and have lost over 40 lbs so far!  It really has been all about portion control for me.  I don't feel like I'm deprived at all, and the results are exciting to say the least.  I'm wearing clothes that I haven't worn in years, and am enjoying wearing fun clothes again, now that I feel like I can get away with them (thus the sarees!)

So that's a quick update for today.  Hope everyone had a good Mardi Gras!

Tool Time!

Happy weekend, everyone!  I hope all of our friends in the northeast are safe & sound (and staying warm!)

It's been insanely warm here, so much so that Noel & I have been marking things off our To Do list.

Now that Noel and I are homeowners, we get to spend some quality time doing things to improve our little homestead.  I've rented so long, it's funny that I sometimes forget we can change things on the house if we want!

So here are some projects we've taken on lately.  I'd just like to give a shout out to our new internet provider, because I was able to upload all of the following photos in, seriously, 10 seconds.  AMAZING.

On to projects!  So we bought a green bench years ago, and it was in great shape.

For a while.
 

 

How could this kind of damage happen to a perfectly innocent bench, you ask?

 

Do you even need to ask?

 

 

When the cats decided to destroy this particular piece of furniture, they were...thorough.

 

Please note that Sammy has a foot stuck in the hole.  After he had torn it away enough to smoosh himself into the lining, he used to lay inside it, like some kind of tattered hammock. 

 

So here was our quick fix.  I didn't feel like reupholstering the whole thing right now, so I took some twine and made some creative patches over the torn parts.  I also touched up the finish on the legs.  It's...well, unique.  I'm not 100% in love with it, but at least the cats can't destroy it.  Funny thing is, I used twine so that if they wanted to scratch on it, they'd at least scratch on the parts that felt like a scratching post.  But I was wrong.  They avoid it now like the plague.  *shrug*

Noel has a workshop in the garage.  When we bought the house, it had a HUGE wooden work table that took up a lot of space and frankly wasn't very useful - it was so deep that he wasn't able to use the majority of it.  So: Brilliant Idea!  It's our table, let's cut it in half and make an L shape!

Here's the original table:

 

We spent several hours sawing, drilling & hammering.  Here is his new workspace (he also put up new fluorescent lights to make it brighter.  It's a really nice (and roomy!) workspace now!

Note that there is yet another project on the sawhorses in the picture above.

It's a plain white divider wall that hides our water heater.  It is ucky. 

 

And guess what?  We own it!  So we can change it!  We found this awesome textured wallpaper at the home improvement store.  It has the glue already on the back, you just have to soak it to activate the glue and then put it in place:

 

Then you trim the excess off and let the paper dry completely:

 

After the paper dried for 24 hours, we painted it to match our front door.  It took several coats (red usually does):

 

 

But how awesome does THIS look now!?  (We added a 3rd piece we found in the garage):

 

 

Here's a closeup of the texture.  Isn't it awesome?

 

 

Yet another project?  We've done several outside ones.  One is a shed we built in the corner of the yard, to house the mower and make Noel's workshop even roomier!

 

The other big outside project?  A new garden!  Yes, I finally took pictures of it.  Does this not look like we have multiple dead bodies buried out there?

 

 

For those of you who think it might be too early to plant a garden, look!  The baby radishes are already coming up!

 

 

Even our lantanas are blooming already!

 

So that's an update on all the exciting domestic things we've been working on.  It's a good thing too - it's supposed to rain tomorrow. 

Today's my birthday! Da-na-na-na-na!

Ah yes.  And now that I am another year older (definitely) and wiser (possibly?), I'd like to share some of my hard-gained revelations about life.  You see, young people out there, right now you are happy-go-lucky and feel like you're immmortal. 

But things change.  Be not afraid, young people.  I, Elder Sister Grumpy Pants, am here to guide you through the confusing and frightening world of oldness.  Here are the key moments that you can look forward to experiencing:

1.  Remember the last time you went out partying with your friends until the wee hours of the morning, and still managed to get home, shower, take a power nap, and wake up fresh as a daisy?  Well guess what?  Someday, you will go out with your buddies til dawn, go home and crash for a few hours, and then wake up - in agony.  Oh yes, friends, late nights will start to hurt.  And that's the moment when you start making decisions like "would I rather go out for Mardi Gras, or stay at home and not feel like I got run over by a dump truck in the morning?"  And the decision gets easier every time you make it.

2.  You begin to pay attention to your bathroom schedule.  You also begin to think about your fiber intake.  Enough said.

3.  High heels become excruciating.  They make every inch of your body hurt.  Even your thumbs.  So you catch yourself slowly acquiring lower and lower heels, until one day you look in the mirror and Surprise!!  You're wearing sensible brown librarian orthopedic shoes.

4.  Spicy & junky food starts to hurt.  See #2.

5.  You hear the music that people younger than you listen to, and you realize it stinks.  You don't know the names of the bands, but it doesn't really matter because it all sounds the same.  And you begin to wax poetically about the high quality of the music of your own youth, wondering why Those Young Kids don't appreciate the intricate depth of musicality that is Whitesnake.

Concerned yet?  Don't fear the reaper, children.  Nor the Metamucil.  Can someone please pass me the Ensure?

The Day Before The Day of Reckoning

Tomorrow is my birthday and I'm feeling a bit melodramatic.  Know what would help?  A vacation.  Maybe to here?

That's Bora Bora, for those of you who are curious - it's an island in French Polynesia, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  Can you believe how gorgeous that water is?  Unreal.

Sigh.....

So this past weekend Noel and I worked diligently in the yard.  The total tally of weeding time?  NINE HOURS.  I am sore today.  But!  The garden is weed free and I've planted seeds for:

• Sugar snap peas
• Radishes
• Spinach
• Mescalun mix (fancy salad)

These veggies like a little cold weather, so next week's slightly cooler temps will be good for them. 

I don't have a picture of the nice weed-free garden, because I didn't finish it til dusk last night, and also the authorities might think I had buried several bodies in the yard.  That's kinda what it looks like.

It's a bit late, so I'm going to head to bed.  Ta ta for now!

Saree for the Bad Pun. :)

Yay Friday!  We *heart* you. 

We've spent the evening watching MMA (Mixed Martial Arts - for those not in the know, it's where 2 grown men are locked in a big cage and beat the ever-living crap out of each other).  So for those of you who have known me for any period of time, you'll know that (1) I am extremely non-confrontational, and (2) I have a weird (and ironic) violent streak - remember The Rugby Years?  Yeah.

So Noel used to watch MMA when we lived in the motorhome and I just couldn't bring myself to watch it. 

At first.

Here's the weird thing about bloodlust - it sneaks up on you.  So at first, I'd read and just glance over the book at the tv.  Then I'd end up looking more at the tv than the book.  And then I'd start yelling at the guy to KICK HIM AGAIN! 

Then Noel laughed at me, and I had to give up the pretense of feeling too high & mighty to watch people pummel each other as hard as possible for money.  I even have a favorite fighter: Anderson "The Spider" Silva, a Brazilian guy who makes it look way to easy to knock people unconscious with his pinkie finger.  Not a guy to meet in a dark alley, but certainly the guy to walk into a dark alley with. 

Anyway, so we have since gone to sports taverns to watch pay-per-view fights and while Noel happily munches on nachos and drinks a Shiner Bock, I sit there and yell at them to KEEP YOUR HANDS UP, STUPID all the while knitting.

Because knitting is totally ok to do while screaming at a guy to choke another man to unconsciouness.

Tonight though, there was no knitting, because I was too busy shopping online for my birthday present from Noel!  Guess what he bought for me!?

A saree (also spelled sari)!  Specifically, this one:

How gorgeous is that!?  These are the traditional style of dress in India, and these sarees are actually made there and shipped here.  I'm so excited - I can wear it when we go out to fancy places for dinner.  Yay!  As soon as it gets here I'll take pictures.  I'm so excited!  Thank you, honey!

Huzzah?

Hello my darlings!  And welcome to another exciting peek into the world of Chez Cat Butt. 

For those of you who don't know, my birthday is coming up next week.  I will be officially in my LATE THIRTIES.

Huzzah.

So I know that some of you are saying "yeah, but you're just a spring chicken, a mere babe in the grand scheme of Father Time."  Ok, but still.  LATE THIRTIES.

I am having a surprisingly harder time with this than some of my previous birthdays, but sometimes random ages sneak up on you and scare the crap out of you.  For example, when I turned 26.  That birthday hit me hard.  Why?  It took me a while to dissect the psychology, but it finally dawned on me that I was now older than all of my childhood Barbie dolls.  I had established their ages in my 8 year old head, and so the realization that I would never be the successful Veterinarian/Flight Attendant/Model/Jogger/Astronaut that she was....well, it was humbling.

Of course, there are perks to not being Barbie.  Being able to wear flats, for instance.  And also not having the dog chew your hand off.  Hopefully.

Speaking of dogs, check out this monster:

This is Mini (short for Minion), Noel's sister's 95 lb. pit bull.  (That's Brittney on the left - Hi Britt!).  And no, Noel isn't trying to ride the dog.  He's trying to hold her still for the camera because (1) she is a massive chicken-shit, and (2) she wants to love on everyone and will come sit on your foot.  Which is not a flattering camera angle for you or the dog.

Mini here would probably eat most of a Barbie.  But then look scared if you caught her in the act.  She's hilarious.

Also she drooled on my pants leg.  Twice. 

At least she strikes terror in the hearts of potential intruders.  Drawback?  She also scares the crap out of the pizza delivery guy.  Not good.

Meanwhile, for those who are so brazen that they would consider breaking into our home, fear THIS:

 

Or don't.  They won't wake up either way.

Hello Again!

Guess what we now have?  HIGH SPEED INTERNET.  I am beside myself with joy.  This means that I can blog again!  Last time I tried to upload photos on the blog, it took HOURS.  Now it should be super fast!  :) 

So now...on to updates!

Noel's been working in town this entire season thus far, which has been really nice - he's been home on weekends, and we've been able to go on lots of short adventures (photos coming up later in this post).

I've been working in my new job for several months now - it's been quite a change, learning a lot of new terminology and the in-depth parts of our business.  I have a window by my desk, so that's also exciting.  Ok.  So not exactly EXCITING, but at least it's pleasant. 

The house is great!  We've had several parties here, a housewarming and a Halloween party.  The fireplace is awesome!  Too bad it's so warm here that we only get to use the fireplace about 3 times before it's summer again.  :)

The cats are fine, of course.  Spoiled rotten.  I pulled out the electric throw (Rachel, the one you gave me) and half the time I can't even get under it because all 3 of them are camped out there.  So now, on to photos!

Today we went to the Houston Auto Show.  It featured new models that (if you have the scratch) you can go out and buy.  It was an interesting show, but not as awesome as a show we went to earlier in the fall, the O'Reilly Autorama.  It was FABULOUS.  And huge!  We had no idea when we walked in the door that there would be so much there!  They had old cars galore, restored to the point where they practically glowed!

Love the color of this one:

I personally am partial to fins, and they had quite a few examples of some Fin Fabulosity:

 

The engraved bumpers on several cars really impressed us too - it looks like filigree!

And then there was....this:

Want a closeup of the interior?  Of COURSE you do:

I have no words.

(Well, I do, but they're not appropriate for a blog of this quality and respectability).  Noel's comment was "It looks like a rainbow threw up."  About sums it up.

Other exciting and education trips we've made?  The Texas Prison Museum, of course!  The museum focuses on the Wall Unit, which was one of the most notorious in Texas and housed their deathrow inmates for many years.  The exhibits talked about life in the prison and featured some artwork that the prisoners made.  It was seriously impressive stuff, considering it was made out of matchsticks, toilet paper, etc.  If these guys had just turned their hands and creativity to productive outlets, instead of...you know...killing people...

Speaking of killing people (like that delicate segue to the next pic?), they also had Old Sparky there.  Don't know who Old Sparky is?  Let me give you a hint:

Yup.  Old Sparky was the name for the electric chair that signaled the end of the road for 361 of the Wall Unit inmates.  They also featured transcripts of interviews with surviving family members of people who were either executed or who were the victims of the inmates who were put to death.  Surprisingly (or not!) most said that it didn't really help that the inmate died - it didn't really bring any closure.  Anyway, the museum wasn't huge, but was certainly educational.  Main lesson learned?  Don't commit a capital crime in Texas. 

On to other scary and potentially life-threatening events:  Thanksgiving!

This year Noel decided to deep fry the turkey.  I was...concerned.  The deep fryers are not exactly the safest things on the planet.  He had to watch it the whole time, but it came out really great!  Also, it's super fast to cook that way - 45 minutes and I'm not exaggerating.  We had to keep the turkey warm in the oven so I could finish the side dishes, because I wasn't ready yet!

We had a nice first Christmas time in the house too, and put up both trees again before traveling to visit family back east for a week.  We had the fireplace here going some, and of course the kitties helped with the festivities:

Samson really does a great job of holding the wrapping paper down so it doesn't blow away in a gale storm.  :)  Also, yes, his rear quarters are that big.  :)

And now that January has arrived?  It's time for gardening.  No, seriously.  We've been working on the garden already and our first batch of seeds has already been planted.  It's in the 70s here!  Don't hate!

So that's the update from here!  Hope everyone's doing well!