Kir Bear

Happy Halloween!

2005-10-31T12:53:00.000-05:00

Yes, that is Pumpkin in a jack o'lantern costume :-)

Happy Halloween!

In the past 2 weeks...

2005-09-30T10:35:00.000-05:00

In the past two weeks, I have:

Not walked out of the office anywhere near 5pm.
Paid for an entertainment center, built an entertainment center, taken apart an entertainment center, moved an entertainment center from a friend's basement, illegally moved an entertainment center into my apartment building. rebuilt an entertainment center in my apartment.
Bought a jack-o-lantern costume for Pumpkin and watched him wear it for hours.
Interviewed 8 potential roommates, and selected one. She's moving on Wednesday and her bfriend blows glass. Very excited for the decorating potential.
Bought a couch with someone else's money.
Spoken to my landlord for the first time, ever. Since decided that he is the nicest man ever.
Programmed my universal remote for my tv, after 3 years.
Reorganized a closet.
Redecorated my bathroom after a Bed, Bath & Beyond debacle.
Counseled numerous friends with such helpfulness like yawning, rolling of eyes and "c'mon, give me a break."
Received a new paperclip holder for my desk, which is just beautiful.
Canceled on the bocce team, over and over again ... made up song about never playing bocce- don't tell Scottie.
Watched LOST!!!
Scrubbed behind the oven and recovered 6 miceys for Pumpkin.

So life has been very crazy, mom is back in chemo and doing well, stopping home on Sunday to visit with her. Going to NJ for the weekend. Catch ya later!

WWFSMD

2005-09-19T15:31:00.000-05:00

From my friend Scot ... reflections on white water rafting this weekend. More to come later!

I quote from the book of Fusilli, 2nd chapter verses 5 & 6: "And it came to be in the wilderness where He made his presence known to them as a burning table and it spoke to them saying: Thou shalt not let a cup be flipped by womanfolk on a table again as they have caused a great cloud of shame to darken this land. Burn every table these womanfolk have shamed or the wrath of the Noodly Appendages shall be unleashed upon thee."

To learn more about the holy pasta visit these sites.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster

http://www.venganza.org/

May we all be enveloped in His loving sauce. Amen.

Hurricane Assistance

2005-09-01T16:06:00.000-05:00

Reasons why you should donate to help after Hurricane Katrina.

Last week's insanity

2005-08-19T14:18:00.000-05:00

At some point, I probably could write something about last week, but it was all so crazy and slightly frustrating, that I'm just going to make a list.

- Great Big Sea concert with the Daves. Awesome.
- Getting car towed. Bad.
- Not going to Dewey because I gave all my money to the towing company. Bad.
- One weekend in DC on $10 total. Not as bad as expected.
- Lunch for boss' very impending new baby. Very delish.
- Movie with the PMR girls, Must Love Dogs. Cute, debatable about how it compares to Fever Pitch.

Not much new

2005-08-19T14:10:00.000-05:00

So, the transition here at my office is complete and official.

And now my workload has tripled. Makes work fun and interesting ... but also makes work go on forever!

Had a very nice and relaxing weekend last weekend. Wasn't feeling super hot, but it made laying out by the pool all day with Kodi and Mallen really nice and perfect. Granted, it was pretty darn hot, and by the end of each afternoon, you would find all three of us standing in the pool with our books, but perfect. And anytime anyone wants to watch Team America- World Police, again, we will be there!

This weekend is shaping up to be crazy as usual. Going away party, redneck barbecue, two birthday parties, then my dad's surprise birthday party. And that doesn't take Pumpkin-Kirsten bonding time into account!

Hopefully going to borrow Bren's digital camera next week to document the cuteness that is Pumpkin. He's quite the little acrobat!

Okay, back to work ... and have a great weekend.

A poem from my little sister

2005-08-08T13:56:00.000-05:00

An email from my sister:
I know you are feeling down, and sad since your little snuggly Dan is in Aruba.. so I figured while I'm working and going crazy at my job, I'd sendyou a little poem! I call it.....SMILE!

Smile because you have a job, and there are over 1,000 Americans either laid-off, or unemployed
Smile because your computer works, and I'm sure there is a number of them that don't!
Smile.. you have a sister who loves you
Smile... you have my cat, who is falling in love with you
Smile, because the parents that are away on vacation, love you!
Smile, because if you don't, thats a frown, and we don't like frowns!
Smile, because you've found someone who loves you for who you are, and you love him!
Smile, because he'll probably get you something nice in Aruba (maybe something expensive)Smile, because Natalee Hollaway is missing in Aruba, (not Dan!)
Smile...you have the ability to use your legs and arms, millions are paralyzed.
And....smile because you have a great life, and people who love you, and you avoid wrinkles when you don't!

love,
your little sis

So, so, so tired ....

2005-08-05T15:21:00.000-05:00

But good times with dinner, movie and Georgetown!

So last night, I took Dan out for his birthday to Fahrenheit, at the Ritz Carlton Georgetown. Very, very fun and yummy. Plus, I was wearing my little black dress with my cute red shoes, so I was feeling particularly cute and sexy. We stopped for drinks at Degrees first, and Dan mentioned that he hadn't had a cigar in forever, so of course we had to stop at Georgetown Tobacco. Then we hung out at Tony & Joes to enjoy said cigars and watch the Nationals on tv. And then it was off to Bad News Bears, which was hilarious. Billy Bob Thornton, while very odd in general, was hysterical. He just doesn't seem like a nice person to me, but he was really, really good.

So after all these fun times last night, I went to get in the shower this morning, desperately needing to wake up and ...

no hot water.

So I took the cold shower, with Pumpkin yelling/meowing at me the whole time, and now I am so sleepy.

Maybe I can fit in a nap before the Nationals game tonight? Maybe before I shower again?
Arg.

My leg hurts

2005-08-04T10:21:00.000-05:00

My cute little cat attacked my leg last night.
It is bleeding and hurts still ...

I was apparently very wrong for wanting to go to bed at midnight. Obviously, if Pumpkin wants to play, then I should not be getting into bed. But buddy, let me tell you, the best way to convince me to stay awake and play is NOT to chomp my leg and draw blood.

Pumpkin as a kitten

2005-08-03T09:44:00.000-05:00

He's 9 months old now. This is a pic of him from about 4 months.

Kitty survived

2005-08-03T09:39:00.000-05:00

Hey all,

So just a little update. Pumpkin survived the removal of the cone. I got home from work, changed into some comfy clothes, and then took off his cone.

He rolled around on the carpet for a while, then started bathtime. For a while, I just sat and watched him, and whenever he got close to the stitches, I would bat his head away. Finally I gave up and took B's advice, that he would stop if it hurt.

And people, I am pleased to announce that he is a smart kitten and did not kill himself.
He survived the night and darn, he really loves that little mousey. I hope Isabelle doesn't mind that he's loving the toy basket in the living room :-)

But I definitely need another cat friend for him. I would feel so much better if he had a buddy while I'm at work. Technically, I'm giving him back to my sis on August 20th, so I have some time to coordinate my plan for 2 kitties.

Yay!

Kitty with the cone

2005-08-02T15:21:00.000-05:00

So I have officially started catsitting my future cat, Pumpkin. We drove back home from Delaware this weekend, him all curled up and napping in my lap while I sang him country music. He was/is my little sister's cat, but she moved back in with my parents and they did not appreciate the cuteness of the kitten since he terrorized the old cat, Raindrop.

(Okay, so Pumpkin might have enjoyed putting Raindrop into a headlock and attempting to bite her head off, but it was all in good fun. He's only a kitten! And she was tormenting him (she's 9yo) by waving her tail in his face. What's a kitten to do!)

But I digress. So I am temporarily housing Pumpkin for a couple weeks, to give Raindrop a hiatus, and to entertain myself.

But all I have learned so far (2 days and counting) is that ... I think I'm going to be a horrible mother.

And not just a horrible mother, but a neurotic, obsessed, I can't believe I'm still at work because what if something happened to him today and I've been working, kind of mother.

See, Pumpkin will no longer a man and also (thanks Dad) got a microchip implanted in him, so as my sister explained, if we dropped him in the Alps, they could find him via satellite. As a result of all this surgery, Pumpkin has a cone on his head. For the past 10 days, he has been called Coney, Conehead, Helmet and any other variation of oh-my-goodness-you-look-ridiculous. Because he does.

And as soon as I get a hold of a digital camera, I will have the pictures to prove it.

I'll share some more stories tomorrow, but tonight is technically "take off the cone night."

And I'm petrified that he will rip out his stitches and bleed to death if I do not watch him every second. And I have to do laundry tonight .... in the basement of my apartment building!!!!!

The cone is definitely going back on before I step out of the apartment.

Maybe even if I have to go to the bathroom.

No AC

2005-07-28T08:33:00.000-05:00

No air conditioning in our office today.

Luckily, the high today is only 85. But if it rains, we might be in big trouble.

The Small Wonder

2005-07-26T10:13:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the many long, long drives to Dewey Beach this summer, I have spent a little time this morning researching my home state.

(Disclaimer: I live in Northern Delaware, which is very different from the Rte. 404 - Rte. 16 drive to Dewey. Northern Delaware is the home of MBNA, University of Delaware, Wilmington, my parents and a 20 minute commute to Philly. Obviously, this makes my house much cooler.)

What I learned about Delaware today:

State Bug: Lady Bug- Adopted April 25, 1974, the Lady Bug was chosen by the Legislature after an intensive effort on the insect's behalf by Mrs. Mollie Brown-Rust and her 2nd grade students of the Lulu M. Ross Elementary School in Milford, Delaware. Wow, what would we have done without Mrs. Brown Rust (?what the heck???) and her "intensive efforts!"

We have a State Song. Which is not: "I'm Delaware-born and Delaware-bred, and when I die, I'll be Delaware-dead. So it's Del, Del, Del, De-la-ware .... Del, Del, Del, De-la-ware ..... Del, Del, Del, De-la-ware .... the greatest state!" My mom totally lied to me.

State Nickname: "The First State": On December 7, 1787, it became the first of the 13 original states to ratify the U.S. Constitution. Became the official State nickname on May 23, 2002 following a request by Mrs. Anabelle O'Malley's First Grade Class at Mt. Pleasant Elementary School. (What is it with these crazy school teachers? Shouldn't they maybe focus on, I don't know, TEACHING?)

State Soil: Greenwich Loam. Enough said.

And yes, my state is very, very, very small. Delaware is 96 miles long and varies from 9 to 35 miles in width. Isn't that just so cute? Don't you just want to eat it up with a spoon, it's just so cute!

So there's a little lesson about Delaware. For more information and to learn the State Fish, check out this very informational site :-)

More pictures from California

2005-07-14T09:41:00.000-05:00

Here are some more pictures from vacation, minus Trooper :-)
And yes, those buckets are filled with a lovely alcoholic beverage called a Shark Attack. We spent the day in Hermosa Beach with one of my favorite people, Ben. We laid out on the beach and then drank from buckets and people watched.

The flower is my one artistic shot from the Getty Museum. Creative, I know. Ooooh, a flower, and it's purple! I'll throw up some of Dan's later; they're kinda awesome.

And the cheesy shot of Dan is from dinner one night. We ate at this great Italian restaurant in Venice Beach, where they just drop off a carafe of chianti (honor system), amazing garlic rolls and tons of food. Then, they come by with song sheets and the whole restaurant sings along with That's Amore with much clinking of glasses. It was fun and romantic all at the same time. I mean, it was practically karaoke :-) with candlelight.

Pictures from California

2005-07-14T08:11:00.000-05:00

By popular request, here are some more pictures from my vacation.

Kirsten and Dan at the Gerry Museum.

(And the only picture of the two of us from the entire vacation.)

Dan and Trooper

The Pacific Ocean :-)

Trooper on the beach

Me and Trooper on the beach.

Sleepy Trooper on the way home.

And so ends the Trooper at the beach series. Stay tuned for another day of photos!

2005-07-12T09:45:00.000-05:00

I finally managed to upload a photo to my blog. And yes, it is a picture of Trooper from vacation. Isn't he the cutest dog in a convertible? This picture was after his day at the beach, when we were getting ready to head back to Santa Monica.

I think I just have issues with the uploading on my work computer, so I'm going to have to figure that out. But yay- pictures!!

Okay, back to training. The "not-so-bright" participant has finally caught up to the rest of the class.

Training Update 3

2005-07-12T08:33:00.000-05:00

I cannot wait until Thursday. That's when we're going to learn how to mail letters.

I don't know if I can handle that excitement. I just don't know.

Training Update 2

2005-07-11T14:18:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, learned this morning how to access work email from this computer.

Now am balancing work and training ... and making major To Do list for when I go into the office tonight.

Maybe I should have done the training in Charleston?!!

And yes, this training is all week long. Fun times.

Training Update

2005-07-11T09:48:00.000-05:00

Just so everyone knows, I just learned how to log in and where the help button is.

I'm good to go.

Blogging from Training

2005-07-11T07:53:00.000-05:00

Did you know the best way to spend a Monday after a weekend in Dewey?

Sitting in a software training.

Definitely.

You seriously can't have more fun than that!!

But at least they have free coffee and the Internet :-)

I'll try to keep you updated on the excitement, but I don't know if that's possible. I might just be having too much fun to blog. Actually, I think I'm going to go refill my coffee.

It's Finally Friday ....

2005-07-08T11:22:00.000-05:00

So I know we only had a 4-day work week, and yes, I was off all last week on vacation, but darn if it seemed like a long week!

And now I'm looking out the window watching the scary dark cloud of death overtake the pretty blue sky in Old Town. Natasha is keeping an eye out for Tom Cruise, because we might be facing the War of the Worlds here. And guess who has to venture out for a meeting at 1pm.

But I can look at the pretty, pretty flowers that Dan sent me today. Even though he's crazy busy at work, he sent flowers to my office to thank me for an awesome vacation. Who does that??!! *big cheesy grin*

Kir discovers Flickr

2005-07-07T14:03:00.000-05:00

So I've really enjoyed FlickrBadges on other blogs, so I actually ventured into the world of html today. See my pretty pictures!

And isn't it just a little strange that I had to teach Blogger's spell check that blog and Blogger are words?

Fun from the Fourth

2005-07-06T10:55:00.000-05:00

To supplement my very weak, weak first post about the Fourth of July, look at the cuteness of the official "Fourth of July outfits" and the boy putting together the grill.

(Also known as K playing with posting photos. It does not seem to be working, and I might need to give up and go back to doing actual work for a little while.)

*****

Okay, back at the blog and I will now play with linking, since instead of working, I just read the blogs of my friends.

Pictures of cuteness here!

Too Hungover to Post

2005-07-05T16:09:00.000-05:00

Thanks Jenny for the pretty, pretty blog! I'm so excited to get started, but thanks to the Fourth of July and a red-eye flight from California, I'm not so much functioning yet today.

Rolled over this morning and glanced at the alarm clock .... hmmm, it's 8:10. That seemed early. Except for the fact that I, you know, had to go to work this morning? What the heck.

Who schedules work for the day after the Fourth? When my group of mid-twenties friends decided to celebrate the Fourth old school style. Although, is it really old school if we just never stopped partying like this?

Well, off to the bakery in a thunderstorm.

Will write more later :-)