i'll be your salt lick, honey,

Mmm...a three-day weekend. A rare occurrence in the world of my dot com job. Most American "holidays" we do not get off work...like President's Day, etc. people need their online shopping experience seamless on holidays more than ever?

The best part is we're doing nothing in particular over the weekend. Playing some Wii, eating Mexican food, exercising the dog, and whatever we want to do. I got my hair cut today, and I decided to get full-on bangs, which I haven't had since oh, maybe 18 years ago:

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(As you can see from the background, it's a beautiful Saturday in Seattle!). It almost looks like you could give me a child named Suri and I could pass for Katie Holmes, which wasn't quite what I was going for, but I like the haircut overall. My hair is naturally curly, so I we'll see how the bangs look when I get sick of flat-ironing it.

In other news, Andrew and I are ready to buy a house, and we're abouts to start looking. The housing market is pretty interesting right now, so we'll see what happens. That, and the average home price in Seattle is over $500,000, could make things a bit crazy. Seems like a good investment though. I would really like a dishwasher, disposal, a bigger closet, a second dog, and to be able to paint the walls whatever color I want.

Speaking of dogs, our pup, Southpaw is getting awfully big. She is also quite the swimmer. Here's a glimpse of her last weekend at the dog park, going for a cooling swim:

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And of course, taking a pee in the water:

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Yeah, I have no clue why she does this.

Oh yes, I am getting my wisdom teeth taken out tomorrow. And I'm going to rent There Will Be Blood, and watch it while I'm on all the vicodin and eating mashed potatoes. I'm not too worried about the actual wisdom teeth removal, as I will be knocked out. Plus, I get the day off work.

Speaking of work, my department had a little pool for the NCAA Tournament. And I WON! I had KU going all the way, and much to Andrew's delight (a true born and bred Jayhawk), they did go all the way. Easiest $100 I ever made, and most fun NCAA tournament ever...since I invested in it. Though I think gambling at the office is against company policy.

Andrew got Radiohead tickets for their Aug. 20 Seattle tour stop this morning in a pre-sale. Man, this is the best day ever! The pre-sale is sold-out and the same tickets we got are already going on Ebay for $400 a pair. I got some tickets as well, as we were trying to get them at the same time to ensure we would get some, but mine are much farther back, whereas Andrew's are in the pit. So I'll probably sell mine off.

All right...back to work!

What's your favorite thing about being sick?

My husband brings me juice, walks the Southpaw beast, and cooks a mean soup.

I really hate being sick though. Mono last winter was the worst. Missing work at Amazon during Q4 was more stressful than it was worrth.

So it's my first time post-college, that I've remained at a job for 6+ months. Good for me, good for Amazon. There are certain aspects of my job I'm not particularly in love with, but all in all, not bad.

Things are going good. Mostly, I'm so busy that it takes me a couple days to realize that I haven't looked at a newspaper in days, and I have no idea what's going on outside my bazooka-sized bubble. Good thing I watch about 3.5 minutes of Good Morning, America every morning. Just long enough for Meredith Viera to annoy me beyond all reason.

This Saturday will mark my two-week anniversary of being married.

I have to say my dress looks insanely white and virginal in that picture, but really it was a slightly slutty, bemusing shade of ivory. We got married in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand. I can't say enough about how fantastic it was. Lots of family and friends were there, and the days just flew by as we tried to hang out with everybody. I lost $60 playing craps, drank something frozen and alcoholy out of a giant boot, watched the Bellagio fountain in the freezing cold in my dress, got a new last name, and best of all got to marry my favorite person. I was thinking about it on the way home (i.e., stuck in McCarran Airport for 8 hours) and realized there was absolutely nothing I would have changed about the wedding, or the whole weekend. It was the best few days of my life to date (and I've had a pretty kick-ass life).

So I'm still trying to get used to having a new last name. It's actually a HUGE hassle to change your name. And also it still hasn't truly sunk in that I'm married, though life couldn't be better.

More photos here: http://flickr.com/photos/moreadventurous/sets/72157603746060282/

Which breed of dog is your favorite? Post a picture of it. 
Submitted by Melissa.

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The majestic "Rotador"... rottweiler/lab combo.

List 25 things you've wanted to tell different people but couldn't. Do not use names. List them in random order.

1. At some point you have to grow up and stop making excuses. And you better do it soon.

2. I really wish you wouldn't patronize me.

3. I am slightly jealous of your vast collection of nice clothes and expensive shoes. Only because I think people take you more seriously because of them.

4. I admire you for going after whatever it is you want. You are the most driven person I know, and I hope you never stop following your dream.

5. I wish you were here to see the person I've become. Everything I've done, I've done with the hope that you'd be proud.

6. I think you're probably the most selfish person I've ever met. You're also the biggest power tool in the history of humans.

7. It probably feels like you're losing me, but really you're still my very best friend.

8. I think you're pretty ignorant for someone who is decently educated.

9. When I watch British movies or TV, I miss watching them with you.

10. You really were an asshole to me. But I loved you anyway.

11. I don't think I've ever seen you happy. Sometime I'd like to ask you why.

12. I love you so much it makes my head hurt.

13. I'll never, ever, understand.

14. It's hard to be mad at you for the way you are, because I feel so sorry for you.

15. Please don't die before I do. I don't think I could handle it.

16. I miss eating breakfast with you, looking at the spines of books, laughing. Being the only ones to know.

17. I wish I could cook like you.

18. I am so sorry for how I treated you. I really hope you see how I try to make up for it.

19. I like the view, but you should have installed a new dishwasher long, long, ago.

20. My biggest fear is that I will disappoint you.

21. Please, please, please, don't get bored. Let's beat the odds.

22. I've been meaning to ask you if it gets easier.

23. I hope you're happy with me. It's probably hard not to have any say in the matter.

24. I'm pretty sure it's entirely your fault I'm so self conscious.

25. Pulp Fiction is not appropriate for a 10-year-old. But thanks for letting me watch anyway. 

What is your favorite dish on the Thanksgiving table?
Submitted by Kadeeae.  

I've always believed that mashed potatoes held a special power. My mom used to make them every Sunday, and I remember my grandma saying that little Katy would "eat them like ice cream."

Mashed potatoes become slightly more enhanced on Thanksgiving, when you can mix them halvsies on your fork with stuffing. This is slightly problematic the four years I've been a vegetarian, as Stove Top comes with "turkey and chicken flavor" in it. Must we just dump meat flavor in fucking everything? I'm hoping this year to find a good recipe for vegetarian stuffing.

In other news, I feel like death. Somehow I've contracted mono and strep throat. My throat has looked disgusting for the past week and no antibiotics were working. Now, I've also experience vicodan and some other interesting drugs. Mono is simply nooo fun.

early fall
holed up for a weekend
with you
west of here.
how many times we’ve fallen
it is a wonder
we ever landed this softly.

The puppy has gained almost 13 pounds. At just 11 weeks old, she's close to a whopping 30. Great...13 more pounds of pure teeth and claws coming at our toes each morning.

Today was my first official day at Amazon.com and I had to attend a four-hour new employee orientation. Even though I've already been there close to two months. It was pretty much a waste of four hours I could have spent working. But I did learn about the Amazon business model and about when my stock vests. When I came back, my desktop was supposed to be swapped out for a laptop, but instead there was no computer and my log-on would not work. So I spent the rest of the day reading/researching some magazine called "Lucky" and cleaning up the shoe samples, since my computer issues won't be fixed until 2 a.m. Not very lucky.

Despite that, I am so incredibly happy that I got hired on full-time. The literal SEVEN hours of interviews were not so fun. But for once, I actually have a job that I enjoy. I also feel like I am respected as an intelligent individual who actually has college degrees, rather than just be relegated to making copies and answering phones. This seems like a job that could actually go somewhere, and that salary isn't bad either. Definitely a new start.

This week should fly by pretty fast. We're cutting out of work at noon on Friday to fly to Chicago to attend Andrew's cousin's wedding. I'm excited for Chicago, but not so much for the wedding/Andrew's extended family. Our wedding is pretty much the antithesis of the huge, traditional Catholic wedding that his cousin is having. And if one more person asks me, "So, what made you decide to get married in Las Vegas?" there will be a smackdown in the Windy City.

That's my generic update. Time for How I Met Your Mother and entertaining the enormous puppy. Hope everyone is good!