Recycling and Reusing

Earlier today Dixie was sticking her head into my practically full bag of paper recycles and pulling layers out...well she decided to do it again later tonight after I had just made sure it was full so I could take it over to the recycling dumpsters tomorrow. Totally my fault for leaving it laying on it's side, I know. After this second effort to empty the bag I thought that maybe she wanted to play in the bag or just hang out in it, after all she loves her cardboard box from Amazon. So I grabbed a fresh bag and propped it open for her (laying on it's side of course) and what do you know, she immediately goes over and sticks her face in it. About 3 seconds later this is what I see...



And here's the Amazon box I mentioned:
(Sorry, image issue, will fix soonish)

Oh, and have I mentioned her shoebox?



Yeah, my cat's all about the high-tech toys. Well that is if they come in a good box or bag.
Loves.

Consider Yourself Warned

I have become one of those pet owners. You know, the ones that take way too many photos or videos of their pet doing "cute" things. I blame Dixie, afterall she's just way too cute.

I still feel like our relationship is fairly new so I am learning her quirks and normal behavior as she fells even more at home with me. For example, she'll sleep next to me nearly all night but when she wants a little attention in the morning she'll sit on the edge of my pillow and gently knead my hair. And I've learned that if she meows while playing with one of her toy mice then I am not to pay attention, she's talking to the mouse and my talking to her interrupts her concentration.

In the nearly two months that I've had Dixie I still hadn't figured out how to get her to scratch on one of the two scratchers that I've got for her and not the carpet. That is until I bought one of those cardboard scratchers (yes, a third scratcher) which has catnip. Apparently Dixie enjoys catnip.



And yes, she now uses the scratcher.

Better Than The Wedding Singer

I recently got a phone call from one of my close friends, Ashley, letting me know that she's engaged. I was, of course, very excited for her. After getting over the girly excitement she asked me if I would be willing to photograph the wedding for them! I don't think that I hesitated in giving her my answer of a big fat yes. I've been itching to bust out my SLR camera and it'll be nice to be able to utilize a good film camera along with my digital one. I am very honored and excited to be Ashley's wedding photographer. I am sure that I'll be looking into more unique wedding shots to mix into the more traditional photos for a while now.

Are there any favorites or fun takes on traditional moments that you've seen?

Forget Rain, I'm Poolside

This morning when I woke up it was raining and by mid-afternoon I was poolside. Not literally, California is being hit by a storm, but I was mentally there, enjoying the warm rays of sunshine in my mind. You may wonder what prompted this or you may just assume it's the rain, well it's not. I received Victoria Secret's catalog dedicated to bathing suits in the mail and was flipping through it. Turns out I have found my next bathing suit. It's the perfect blend of adorable and retro, plus it's affordable.



I figure that the desire to own this bikini will help to motivate me to get myself to the gym on a more regular basis. Now I know better than to just go ahead and order it, though it is super tempting... What good is rewarding yourself before you've earned it? So until then, I'll just have to decide what color I want it in.

Loves.

It's That Time of Year

I love Christmas. It is my favorite holiday, though I often say that about Halloween right around October but Christmas is really truly my favorite. I love the way that people act (excluding those people that get mad thinking that they waited in line longer than the guy currently being helped at the register), the decorations, Secret Santa gift exchanges, silly Santa socks, Christmas music, wrapping gifts while watching movies, etc. I think you get the idea. I love the magic of this time of year. But my absolutely favorite part is the gift giving. I look forward to the hunt for the perfect gift. I feel so accomplished when I've picked out something a bit unique and that the recipient will love.

As you know, Christmas means that I have a lot of hard work to do. That's right, when I bust out my strand of Christmas lights and place them oh so artfully. Bet you thought I was going to mention all those holiday shoppers!

You'll note that I used the very complex method of draping them across my floor lamp and top of the curtains then to my shelving system similar (ok, practically identical) to last year's method.



Yesterday after work I altered my tradition of watching Disney movies while wrapping gifts. This year I watched the two Christmas episodes of Psych (Gus's Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy, and Christmas Joy) while getting all my gifts wrapped, ribboned and bowed. Oh, and Dixie helped.



If you were wondering, that's Dad's. She also really helped me wrap one of Mom's gifts. :) So sweet of her to volunteer.

I Have A Roommate!

As you may or may not be aware, I've had a campaign to adopt a cat pretty much since I've moved into my apartment. Now this campaign was never aimed at the apartment management, but at my co-signer and financier for school: Dad. (Mom was already on team cat.) After a year of lovingly pestering him about all the benefits and how I could afford to pay for her (with just a little bit of help in the pet deposit department) I finally won him over, or he caved just so I'd shut up about it already. Probably the latter.

And so began my mission to find a shelter cat to rescue and love. After looking into the local shelters I began going to their sponsored adoption days and talking to the organizers to find a cat whose needs matched what I could offer. Turns out that most of the adoption days at stores like PetCo or Petsmart feature almost exclusively young cats and kittens because they are the ones who are considered more adoptable. I ended up talking to a woman from The Cat People and she was super helpful and emailed me information and photos about some of the adult cats looking for a home. I decided to adopt an adult rather than a kitten or young cat because I know that they have a harder time finding a home and even though kittens are super cute, I don't have to have one. I'd like to be able to trust my cat to be home alone while I'm at work or school without getting into trouble.

One of the first emails that I received had the photo of a cute tuxedo cat named Dixie Dot. I've always wanted a black and white cat, don't know why really, but when I saw her photo I knew I wanted to know more about her.



After emailing back and forth with the woman from The Cat People I decided that I'd (pre-adoption) foster Dixie. She suggested this to make sure that we'd be a good match. On Black Friday, after work, she brought Dixie over and she's been here ever since. The first day was interesting because Dixie decided that the bathtub would be a good spot to hide from me...yeah, so hard to see you in there! She was a bit overwhelmed from being brought to a new place and being introduced (and left with!) a new person. I let her be for the most part and went about my evening as usual but would go in every so often just to talk to her and offer my hand for her to sniff. I managed to get her out of the tub on her own accord late that night and she began to explore. She even slept on the bed with me when she thought I was asleep and it was "safe".

She's a very sweet and curious cat who loves to play with her little toy mice and my socks. She's now feeling at home and even runs to greet me when I get home from work! (Take that dog owners! hehe) I've even caught her watching tv on occasion.



Reminds me of Lucky from 101 Dalmatians...



It was very funny when I was watching Pixar Short Films the other day and For the Birds came on. She was very interested and wanted to touch the birds. Since I have Tivo I even replayed it for her (and me, I love that one!) when it ended and the second time around the big bird startled her. It was rather entertaining.



Loves!

Really?!?! Or: Why I Now Carry My Camera With Me

Amidst running my errands today I decided to try to locate Lengthwise Brewing Co. I knew approximately where it was, and it turned out to be super easy to find, but when I found it I saw something a bit odd...



Yes, that is a Budweiser van parked in front of Lengthwise...way to park your company vehicle while on your lunch!