Here’s a shot of the new entertainment center (sans plants or other decoration…).  I think it’s quite lovely!!  However… it pretty much screams for a bigger TV, don’t you think?

I’ve had these pictures on my camera for a couple of weeks, and finally uploaded them.  I didn’t get a good one of Stormy, but you can still see how handsome he and Grover look in their new fleece coats.  During the day, they go back and forth between the garage and their dog run – so they have shelter, but it’s been VERY COLD the last couple of weeks.  So the boys got coats!  Cute, huh?  Even if you’re not a “dress up your dogs in outfits” kind of person, those are some good-lookin’ pups.

   

We all went furniture shopping yesterday.  It was pretty fun, but would be lots more fun (obviously) with unlimited funds and space.  We did have the reward of a great meal at P.F. Chang’s awaiting us, however, at the end of the shopping trip.

I wonder what kinds of things other people ask themselves when furniture shopping?  Some of the questions that came up during yesterday’s venture:

• Leather or micro-fiber?  (Leather)
• Which will show less dirt when Grover rubs his beard up and down the sofa?  (Hopefully leather)
• Sofa and recliner?
• Sofa and loveseat?
• Loveseat and recliner?
• Two loveseats?
• Tan, ivory, ecru, or beige?  (None of the above)
• Cupholders?
• Seriously.  Cupholders??
• Tall entertainment center?
• Short entertainment center?
• Room for the turntable in the entertainment center?
• “You guys haven’t played a record in 4 years!” – Jimmy
• Room for record storage?  (The CD’s & DVD’s fit in nice, handy, zippered binders – no need for those cute little CD drawers.  Unless they can fit the LP’s.)
• When reclined, will I be able to see the TV over my feet?

On another note – when ordering dessert at P.F. Chang’s, go with the cheesecake, or for something even more decadent and delicious, go with the banana spring rolls.  Oh my gosh, so good!!  Skip the Great Wall of Chocolate.  Go home and do Duncan Hines instead.  It’s better.

It snowed!  It snowed a lot!!  Yesterday, there was a tiny bit of yuckiness on the road to work, which of course led to people driving like idiots and crashing their cars, which then, of course, led to people gawking at the accident and driving 10 MPH for 7 miles on the interstate (turning my 30 minute commute into a 55 minute commute).  Today, I woke up to approximately 27 inches of snow piled on the Cavalier (okay, maybe closer to 6 inches – but still a lot!).  There was lots of snow, ice, and slush on the roads – which can sometimes be a little bit fun to drive in, thanks to the magnificent anti-lock brakes and traction control on the Cavalier.  No wrecks, though, thankfully!  I got to drive close to the speed limit this morning – always a treat.  I did have a close call, thanks to the idiot in the mini van who pulled in front of me and immediately slowed down on a very slick stretch of road.  Brilliant.  I do so love my car in this kind of weather, though – it warms up quickly, and performs AWESOMELY on crappy roads!  Yay!!

So… I decided to do the responsible thing last night, and worked on mending all of my broken clothes.  I sewed on a few buttons, reattached a bow, and then worked on fixing the hem that was falling out of the cute brown pin-striped pants.  The hem took me TWO HOURS!!  Is it really any wonder that I save this job for my mom, the brilliant seamstress?  Putting in hems is so far below her abilities, but so far above mine… One of the many skills that passed me right over.  I think I’ll save the too-long brown pants for another day.

So… I have all kinds of stuff to do around the house.  One big item on the list is mending all of my clothes that are falling apart… sewing buttons, fixing hems that are falling out, hem the pants that are too long (to which my mom will attest that I’m not very good at doing, and will probably end up asking her to do it anyway…)  But… think of all the other fun things to do!  I could make some new jewelry, I could download some new music, I could play some board games with the rest of the household, or I could spend another 5 hours or so playing World of Warcraft (one of the latest additions in my quest to embrace my inner geek.)  Unfortunately, I’m rapidly running out of pants that I can wear without using a vast quantity of safety pins to hold them together.  (I can’t wear skirts this week, due to the very large scrape on my knee that I sustained when falling off of a curb over the weekend.  As Papa might have said, “What do ya say, Grace?”)  I suppose that should drive my decision, right?  Especially considering the extra 15 minutes it took me to get dressed this morning, due to the hem falling out of my very cute new brown pin-striped pants.

Check out these new shoes I just won!  OK, so I have to pay for them.  But I still feel like a winner.  I’ve been thinking about new Chuck Taylors forever (I so love the yellow ones I’ve kept since high school…), and I’ve been obsessing about plain pink ones for weeks.  Normally, I’d be more of a purist, and go for a nice solid color, rather than the crazy patterns and multi-colored things.  However, these proved to be irresistable.

Tina: Hey, do you use that white case that came with your iPod?

Me: Yea, sometimes.

Tina: Can I have it?

In my ongoing effort to embrace my inner geek, I’ve finally decided to get my own website and blog.  Considering my complete lack of ability to actually call, send emails, or write letters, I figure this might be an interesting way to keep in touch with family and friends.  That is, of course, assuming I have anything remotely interesting or entertaining to say.  And assuming the family and friends leave comments.  We’ll see what happens!