the giraffe life

I put our white chair cushion outside this weekend while the weather was nice to get some sun (I've heard it helps disinfect and deodorize fabrics). But then a surprise rain shower moved in so I brought the cushion inside and left it on the couch in hopes that the rain would pass. It didn't, but Capone sure enjoyed the new sleep spot (I was surprised he didn't fall off - it must've felt like sleeping on the side of a mountain or something).  Dottie played it safe and slept in my lap on the couch. linking up for wordless Wednesday

When we bought our house, there were plenty of things Mr. G and I didn't notice because we were inexperienced homebuyers. One of those things was how shallow our sink was:  Here it is in use . It's nearly 6 inches deep (about 14 centimeters). That's not terrible, but coupled with the low faucet, that left an 8 inch (20 cm) clearance for pots. Which is a huge problem for me because I love soup and make a big batch almost every weekend. Cleaning huge pots is already a chore, and fighting with the sink didn't help matters. (And just so you don't think I wanted a new sink just so I could easily clean a soup pot once a week:  It was also irritating to clean tons of other things - skillets, cake pans, serving trays - anything larger than a dinner plate basically.)  So I started plotting to get a new sink. And by plotting, I mean searching on craigslist (a website similar to the classified ads in the newspaper) for a deeper sink. Luckily it worked out and I found a ...

I'm sure you're jealous of my jellyfish notepad. :) I cleaned out some old boxes full of paperwork ( inspired by Fiona ) and found some essays I wrote in  high school. My handwriting has changed so much! (This fact was cemented when I wrote a letter to a friend yesterday - good golly it's strange!) Despite learning cursive in 3rd grade, and being required to write only in cursive until high school (9th grade/about 14 years old here in the US), I quickly reverted back to writing in print. Which then evolved into this strange print/cursive combination that you can see above . .  With that handwriting, I jot quick notes to myself or my hubby, make to-do lists, write in my journal, and send funny cards to my family. I figure they'll call me if something's truly illegible.  In my neat handwriting, I complete forms, write notes to work colleagues, address cards, and solve crossword puzzles (or rather, try to solve them. I don't think I've ever finished on...

My snowbells didn't come up this year, but at least my neighbors are having better luck. I spotted these on a walk this weekend :) linking up for  wordless Wednesday

Happy Easter! I hope you enjoyed the day :) We were even visited by two of the Easter Bunny's friends: Do you guys outside the US have an Easter Bunny too? You know, a bunny that breaks into your house to leave children a basket full of chocolate and candy and hide plastic eggs around your home/yard. (Even as a kid, I thought the idea of the Easter Bunny was just plain weird. I mean, rabbits don't lay eggs. Where did the Easter Bunny get them from?!) And now onto my post, which is completely unrelated to Easter (or at least I couldn't think of any good segues . . ). My work is trying to encourage employees to exercise regularly by hosting a Pedometer Challenge (I say it like the Cash Cab host says "Red Light Challenge!" - as seen at about 3:17 in that video). Basically, you're given a pedometer to track your steps daily for about 5 weeks. For people who don't do much walking, but participate in other activities, we're allowed to use this chart ...

Mr. G and I celebrated last night because I turned in the final project for my masters :) Now I just have to wait for my grade (eek!). He had Bailey's + whipped cream and I enjoyed vodka + carrot juice. Yum! I'm also treating myself by ordering this dress tomorrow :) Thank you again for all your kind words and encouragement - it was wonderful to have so many people rooting for me! Have you done any celebrating lately?

As I was driving home from work last week, I saw something weird in the road. At the last second (as I was about to pass it), I realized it was an upside down turtle. So I pulled over and ran out to pick it up. Since I didn't know which side of the road the turtle wanted to be on (and I didn't want him to have to brave another crossing if I picked the wrong side), I took him with me. He rode home on my lunch box lid. And met Dottie. Clearly the highlight of this turtle's year. Then I took the turtle outside and put him by the body of water (is it a pond? is it a swamp?) behind my house. He thought about it for a minute, then charged in and disappeared below the water. Awesome! Have you had any recent encounters with the wild ones?

The market had local asparagus this weekend and that made me pretty cheery. But then I saw the chicks . . and got really cheery. Squee! So adorable! :) linking up for wordless Wednesday

Mr. G and I try to plan our one big vacation each year for June because the weather is (usually) mild and we can double-dip and celebrate our anniversary too. This year we're heading to sunny California for a little over a week. We're so excited!  We're flying in to San Diego, making our way up the coast, and flying home from San Francisco the following week. Everything is booked (we slowly made reservations over the past few months to spread out the cost) so the only thing left is making a playlist and lots of anticipation. :) This had the potential to be a super expensive trip since there are plenty of cities in California renown for their high cost of living (San Francisco is #2 in the whole country!). So here are a few things we've done to lower the cost . . We used a Southwest credit card to earn free flights. Southwest Airlines offers a credit card that allows you to earn points for every dollar you spend. Plus, if you spent more than $3000 in the first th...

You never know what you'll find at the store these days . .  Given any foods a double take lately? linking up with wordless Wednesday