"State of Emergency"
All roads in and out of Napa are closed. Our friends, family and staff are trapped in different pockets of this area. I know people whose houses are completely flooded. Pets are trapped. Sonoma has been declared a Federal Disaster Area, and Napa is officially in a state of emergency.
Lovely. Keep us in your thoughts.
My Power Color
| Your Power Color Is Indigo |
At Your Highest:
You are on a fast track to success - and others believe in you.
At Your Lowest:
You require a lot of attention and praise.
In Love:
You see people as how you want them to be, not as how they are.
How You're Attractive:
You're dramatic flair makes others see you as mysterious and romantic.
Your Eternal Question:
"Does This Work Into My Future Plans?" |
Hey, it's a talent...
| Your Seduction Style: Sweet Talker |
Your seduction technique can be summed up with "charm"
You know that if you have the chance to talk to someone...
Well, you won't be talking for long! ;-)
You're great at telling potential lovers what they want to hear.
Partially, because you're a great reflective listener and good at complementing.
The other part of your formula? Focusing your conversation completely on the other person.
Your "sweet talking" ways have taken you far in romance - and in life.
You can finess your way through any difficult situation, with a smile on your face.
Speeding tickets, job interviews... bring it on! You truly live a *charmed life* |
Okay.... Um....
| You Are French Food |
Snobby yet ubiquitous.
People act like they understand you more than they actually do. |
New Blog
To avoid dedicating this blog to constant posts about Mila, I've started a new blog dedicated to stories about her. All those who are interested... All none of you... *laughs* can keep up at
http://lifewithmila.blogspot.com.
Enjoy.
It's Like Having a New Baby.... sorta.
I'm a little obsessed with Mila.
*clears her throat*
Okay. Here it is. I'm a lot obsessed with Mila. First thing in the morning, I run and throw in my contacts, and then I peek into the living room to look at her. She's always curled up, nose-down, fast asleep. Then when she hears us up and about, she stretches, bathes herself.... I've covered this before, haven't I? Anyway. This morning, I made a second level in her cage by weaving thin cardboard through the bars of a mega-shelf (which, if you don't have them where you are, is a coated wire shelf). She spent a while sniffing the underside of the shelf, but after a few moments, she clambered up onto her new "loft". She seemed to appreciate the view, and seemed to take particular pleasure in being able to touch the top of her running wheel.
Now this is the great thing. When something really tickles her fancy, she does this "happy dance" around her cage. No joke. Her dance consists of little hops and leaps around her cage, along with a lot of running up to me and nuzzling my hands and arms. I'm to the point where I spend time thinking of ways to make her happy enough to give me a happy dance.
The shelf was one of those occasions, and this particular dance went on for more than ten minutes. Then she started packing bedding around the bottom of her wheel, so I think I know what's next. Cheebo (my dwarf hamster) did the same thing. "Let's see... If I immobilize the wheel, I can reach the screen! If I can reach the screen, I can push it off and climb out! Whee!" Ben was watching her, and remarked, "The funny thing is that her intent in escaping would probably be to be able to follow us around the house and come up on the bed whenever she wanted."
Amazingly enough, I think he's right. Aww.
Mila
CAVEAT: This post is about my pet rat, Mila. If you don't like rats, don't read this post. If you are tempted to make nasty comments about rats, DON'T. I'll delete the comment and say something very nasty to you, I'm sure. Just play nicely. Don't flame either me or Mila. Thank you.First off, you may remember that recently I bought a baby Syrian hamster named Puka. Well, sadly, she proved impossible (for me) to tame, and when I asked the lovely Petco people about it, they said that sometimes that just happens. "Bring her back and we'll put her in the breeding program."
I thought about that for a moment.
"So then you'll have a LOT of ill-tempered hamsters running around."
But so it was. I took her back and they whisked her off to hamster sex heaven. I hope. I, on the other hand, was quite happily choosing a baby rat. Those of you who've known me for a while will know that when I was a kid, ages 8-10 maybe, I had a rat named Lovey. She just so happened to be pregnant... And soon I was breeding rats. Heh. I sold some, gave some away, kept some, and so on. When I was nine or ten, I can't remember, there was a heat wave while I was at school and Lovey and her two sons died. I was devastated, and I haven't had a rat since.
Until now.
I picked up this black and white baby rat and she scampered up my arm and nestled in my hair... PERFECT. That's the best response. I was immediately in love, and she didn't seem unhappy, either.
I named her Mila, and we're getting along quite nicely. She's an absolute cuddle-bug. She wakes up when I do in the morning, has breakfast, bathes herself, and then is ready to come out and play. She travels quite nicely, either in her comfy carrier or tucked in my or Ben's jacket. (But if we leave the house without her, she gets a little woebegone.) Then it's time for me to go to work (and I don't quite think they'd appreciate me bringing her with me) so back home she goes. When we come home from work, she wakes up and stands up on her back legs, obviously wanting out. Then it's her favorite: playtime. She made up a few games last night, including peekaboo and tag (originals, those), and I'm sure tonight will be even more entertaining. Her one weakness doesn't seem to be food, interestingly enough; it's shiny objects. She tries to take my earrings, my engagement ring, my claddagh, and most recently, my watch. I took her to my grandparents' house this morning (which she really enjoyed--so cute) and Grandma gave her an old costume jewelry earring. We handed it to her, and she looked it over, sort of unimpressed. It had a pearlescent surface surrounded by "gold," but it didn't seem to be shiny enough to really grab her attention... until she turned it over and discovered that the back was completely covered in "gold." She began to chitter excitedly and tucked the treasure in the back of her carrier. She sat playing with it for a few minutes until Grandma brought another present: a huge cardboard wrapping-paper tube. Woo hoo! Even better! Ah, I love my grandparents.
Well... that's what I'm doing lately... bonding with Mila. I think Ben's getting jealous. *laughs* Then Mila runs over and nuzzles his chin and he forgets all about me, so I think we're even.
If you've ever considered getting a small companion animal, one that will travel with you, sit with you, play with you... Basically a familiar, if you think about it... Anyway, if you've ever wanted one, do yourself a favor and go buy a rat. I wish I'd done it again years ago.
Ciao!
Believe it or not, this is a Nike ad....
My butt is big
And round like the letter C
And ten thousand lunges have made it rounder
But not smaller
And that's just fine.
It's a space heater
For my side of the bed
It's my ambassador
To those who walk behind me
It's a border collie
That herds skinny women
Away from the best deals
At clothing sales.
My butt is big
And that's just fine
And those who might scorn it
Are invited to kiss it.
"More Adventurous," Rilo Kiley
And it's only doubts that we're counting
On fingers broken long ago
I read with every broken heart we should become
More adventurous
And if you banish me from your prophets
And if I get banished from the kingdom up above
I'd sacrifice money and heaven all for love
Let me be loved, let me be loved
And if my brain quits, well I guess then that's just it
And if my hands stop working you can call me lazy
And if I get pregnant, I guess I'll just have the baby
Let it be loved, let me be loved
I've been trying to nod my head, but it's like I've got a broken neck
Wanting to say I will as my last testament
For me to be saved and you to be brave
We don't have to walk down that aisle
'Cuz if marriage ain't enough
Well at least we'll be loved
I felt the wind on my cheek coming down from the east
And thought about how we are all as numerous as leaves on trees
And maybe ours is the cause of all mankind
Give love to make more, try to stay alive
I've been trying to nod my head, but it's like I've got a broken neck
Wanting to say I will as my last testament
For you to be saved and me to be brave
We don't have to walk down that aisle
'Cuz if marriage ain't enough
Well at least we'll be loved
Regarding Christmas
I have a serious problem with Christmas. My anxiety about the holidays begins around June 1 and continues until the whole God-damned awful time is over. I won't list all the problems I have with Christmas, since I would assume that two-thirds of you have already labeled me a "Grinch," but really, it has less to do with the NICE things about Christmas, and all to do with the things that make it one miserable two months.
That's the first thing: who needs the stupid season to last that long? Not me. Give me only one week of Christmas, and maybe I could actually enjoy it. As it is, it's like having to eat cheesecake every day for a month, and even I would get sick of that. It's just so over-played.
Secondly, Christmas at my house was a nightmare. And not just the day, either, the whole season was stressful and horrific. No details... just trust me.
Thirdly, I hate the consumerism. A few gifts for people who are extremely important to you is one thing, but going into debt to shower EVERYONE with useless junk is ridiculous. Stop doing it.
Oh, I dunno. I just hate this season. Any tips to enjoy it? And I mean something original, not this "Christ's love" "Hot chocolate" and "Tree hunting" shit.
Returned from Anderson
Well, we're back from Anderson (near Redding). We went up for a kind of Thanksgiving/Steve's (Ben's dad's) birthday thing. It was nice and relaxing, but God in Heaven it was cold. I'd only brought my thin jeans and my sneakers, so I ended up adding to that both the jacket and sweater I'd packed. Nighttime was worse. We'd brought an air mattress and our bedding, but since here in Napa we hadn't had to break out the down comforter, I'd brought our thinner cotton one. DUMB. I froze all three nights.
Enough complaints. On the upside, their horse, Zip, was friendly enough to allow me to rub his face and nuzzle his nose. He whuffed me all over and decided to be sort of friendly. Normally he's a spaz, so that was nice. The ladies, Liberty and Jody, came over to see me, but didn't want to be petted. Ah, well. There's always Christmas. The pig is doing well, and the goats look fat and happy.
Have you figured out yet that Anderson is the middle of nowhere? It's the country, baby. I admit that I'm not the most comfortable with dirt roads and people randomly waving at me, but that's all right. I enjoy going up there. Damn, my cell phone doesn't even work in the mountains. Hmm.
So... Uhm... Nothing really happened, or anything. Kevin (Ben's twin brother) was there, which was very cool, since I rarely see him when we're in town. Stupid schedules. I miss Kev.
Blah-de-blah...
