Some people have too much time on their hands

I realize that's a very general statement, but who has enough time to do something like this? And by the way, watch the whole thing...I'm not saying that it's not impressive, but why?

http://media.ebaumsworld.com/wmv/xmaslights.wmv

I'll bet his neighbors are livid.

Thanksgiving

Well, it was an interesting start to the holidays this year. On my way home from work yesterday, I was just merrily heading home, thinking about seeing my family on Thanksgiving day and all of the good times we would have together. A couple of miles away from the place that I'm staying, I was rear-ended. Thankfully, neither of us were hurt, although the cars weren't quite as lucky. My car was OK, and will probably just need a new bumper and maybe a little look-see at the underside because it's running kind of loud now. The other person's car has a rather bent up hood. Overall, not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things though. My back is kind of sore, but it's not too bad. I've been taking some Ibuprofin today and just trying to lay low. I'll keep an eye out on it the next few days and make sure that it doesn't act up.

Anyway, Thanksgiving day was really great. I went over to my parent's house and we had 19 people there (including my new little nephew). It was a really good crowd and everyone was excited to chat and spend time together. I had a wonderful time playing with my niece and nephew, talking with my sisters and other family, and holding the new baby. My mom knitted the baby a little pumpkin hat, so he wore it tonight and looked so cute.

So, overall everything went really well. If I think back on this last year, I have a lot to be thankful for. I'm going to take a page from my friend's book and do a little list...

Things that I'm seriously thankful for:

• My family and friends, who have helped me through the worst times in my life and helped me to come out on the other end.
• My job, which keeps me challenged and well paid.
• My home, which will just get better and better with each new thing I do to it.
• A home away from home whenever I need it with people who love me and will never give up on me.
• My health, which at the moment is still a bit down in the dumps because of the cold, but is otherwise sound.
• My brain, without which I would be nowhere.
• My experiences, which have helped me become the person that I am today.
• My counselor, who is a very knowledgable woman and has helped me to see a lot of things more clearly.

And, things that I'm thankful for, but are silly in comparison to the things that I've listed above:

• Victoria's Secret, without which I would have no adorable pajamas or underwear.
• Coach, without which I would not be known to my friends as the Coach handbag girl.
• Zappos.com, without which I wouldn't have such fabulous shoes with free upgraded shipping.
• Tiffany's, without which I wouldn't have my adorable ring (a present to myself after the divorce) and a color for my bathroom.
• My bed, which is (using a term from Kati), heaven on a bun.
• Fabulous parties with Kati and A.
• My upcoming trip to Las Vegas.

Congratulations friend

I'm very excited for my good friend, E. because he got accepted to school in Tokyo and will study Japanese there next year. Way to go!

Waxwing is calling it quits

I recently talked to the dummer from Waxwing and found out that the band is calling it quits. I'm not sure why, but it definitely sucks. They're a local band, and I got to know the drummer through an ex-boyfriend many years ago. I did find out, however, that they are having their last concerts on December 16th and 17th, so I intend to go to one of those shows.

On the bright side, the drummer's other band, Gatsby's American Dream, is doing well. And a couple of other guys that I sort of knew from that group have broken off into other projects, such as a band called Slender Means and a solo project called Blue Checkered Record Player; both of those Web sites have some of the tracks streaming, so check them out. I heard Slender Means featured on the morning show on 107.7 The End a few weeks ago, and they sounded really good.

So, those are just a few local bands that I'm into right now and suggest checking out.

Weird story from Japan

As I opened a Web browser today and watched it load my home page (msn.com), I was puzzled to see the following headline: "Radish on life support after decapitation".

Before reading the article, I assumed that it must be about some poor guy or gal with a last name of Radish who was somehow decapitated but still living due to some hard core life support measures. Boy, was I wrong. The article is about an actual radish - yes, the vegetable kind - that was growing up through asphalt in Japan. Apparently this started a few months ago, but recently someone tried to kill the radish, so the Japanese are quite upset about it and are trying to save it. They've put the head of the radish in water to try and bring it back to life or to get it to flower.

What a weird friggin' story. More at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10078798/.

Down with the sickness

Well, that cold that I thought I was coming down with last week came to fruition this week. My cousin lovingly saved me by insisting that I come back to her house where there is food and furniture - two very important comforts when you're sick. So, I've been sick since Monday and I guess I'm on the upswing now, but try explaining that to my poor lungs and throat. Oh well. I should be over it all soon.

So, in addition to the cold, I'm PMS-ing and it was a full moon yesterday. It's making for some interesting moods. Maybe I should just throw in the towel for the day and get some sleep, then wake up to a better day tomorrow.

Lighting

All I can say about today is that I have such a fabulous support system. My cousin, R. and his wife (and one of my best friends), A. came over to help me install a fan with a heat lamp in the bathroom, and a new light in the living room.

Originally, I didn't think that I had a fan in the bathroom because there was just a random light fixture near the bathtub. However, after taking off the cover, we found that the fan was simply unplugged. After R. uncovered the wiring, we figured out that the fan was attached to a different light in the bathroom - a very strange setup. So, R. and A. rewired everything and got new switches so that I can dim the light fixture above the sink. It's quite wonderful.

We also got a beautiful new light fixture hooked up in the living room, so now we won't have to walk into the low-hanging lamp that was there before.

Element

Went to the club, Element, tonight with my friend, A. and S. for S.'s birthday. It was really fun. I haven't been there since it was Polyesther's, but it hasn't changed a whole lot. There are still two floors with different DJs and music. A. knows one of the part-owners, so he put us on the VIP list, so we got in free. Then S. got us into the VIP room upstairs. It was fun to look down over the dancers below and people-watch.

Overall, it was a fun night and a good time to just go out with people. I almost canceled because I was starting to feel like I was coming down with a cold, but I relented and went anyway. I have plenty of time to lay around in bed this weekend if I get sick, so hey - why not have a good time tonight :)

Good thought for the day

"Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around."
-Penelope Cruz in Vanilla Sky

Custom furniture

Over the last week, I ordered or acquired the following pieces of furniture for my new place:

• Custom bookcases for one wall of my den in distressed black
• Two media cabinets in distressed black
• Three stools with backs in distressed black for my breakfast bar
• A TV stand in distressed black
• A white corner desk hutch
• A white corner cabinet
• A white coffee table with glass top and drawer to display things
• A deep red colored sleeper sofa
• A mossy/sagey green colored cuddle chaise

The white pieces of furniture were from IKEA and were in stock, so Kati and I put them together last week and this weekend. They turned out really nicely and will kind of brighten things up a bit since I'm going with distressed black in the other pieces and with so much color in other areas. The whole look is very Restoration Hardware/Pottery Barn. I'm quite pleased with my color choices. Unfortunately, the distressed black furniture, the sofa, and the chaise are all special orders, so I won't receive those pieces for a month to two months.

I was looking at my bedroom furniture this weekend, and it's just so beautiful. It's a nice set in mohogany and includes a lovely sleigh bed. I dressed the bed up with some fabulous aubergine and dusty rose bedding, and it looks very rich. Then I thought about it, and figured out that I spent a LOT of money on that bed, even considering I got the bed and matress at cost from my step dad. All things considered, the bed and bedding alone probably hit the $2500 range. So, I shall sleep like a princess in my beautiful new home.

I suppose that it's fairly obscene the amount of money that I've spent on furniture over the last two months, but I figure that this is my home and it's mine alone. So, I'm going to make it exactly what I want :)