So we decided on this tile for the dining room, which is currently painted deep goldenrod and will eventually be dark terracotta.

The kitchen will keep its dusty blue tile as will the foyer.

The back hall is getting commercial carpet in a moss/cream/blue pattern, so traffic won’t show and dogs can’t dig it up. The stairs and upstairs hall will be “mocha mist”.

Am so excited!

Usually we only ever do stuff like this when we want to sell. This time, it’s for ME.

From SpaceWeather.com:

If all goes according to plan, space shuttle Atlantis will undock from the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday morning, Feb. 18th, at approximately 4:30 am EST. This is good news for sky watchers across North America who will be able to witness a rare double flyby on Monday evening. Atlantis and the ISS will appear as a tight pair of lights, as bright as Jupiter or Venus, gliding in tandem across the twilight sky–an unforgettable sight. Favored cities include Los Angeles, New Orleans, Dallas, Jackson (MS), Pensacola, Philadelphia, Reno, San Diego and others. Double flybys continue on Tuesday, Feb 19th, albeit not as tight because the shuttle will be moving away from the ISS as it prepares to land on Wednesday, Feb. 20th.

My regular readers know that I often refer to my day job as making me feel like a paid hack, and while that’s mostly in jest, I do sometimes feel that I’m plodding along on a virtual treadmill, but with none of the benefit of exercise. Well, except for a paycheck.

When one of my favorite webzines, All Things Girl put out a call for new editors to help with some of the sections, recently, I contacted Deb, who lives in the next town, and whom I used to purchase MT skins from, and applied for the section I was most interested in.

I also reminded her that I hadn’t contributed in a while, and explained that I often felt my snarky/sarcastic/wry world view wasn’t always a good fit.

Deb is so amazing that she not only said I could have a humor column (think softly humorous observations, like Dave Barry, but with breasts), but gave me a Sr. Editor title, which basically means I help wherever she says I’m needed. I get to contribute reviews, be a third pair of proofreading eyes, and help generate buzz for the ‘zine and the site.

Now, there’s no money in this, but it’s a great zine, and the folks who contribute are amazing writers. It’s also really good exposure. I mean, this isn’t just a neat blog with a magazine layout. The cover interview for the current issue, for example, is Deborah Harry. How cool is that?

I’m really excited because it means I’ll get to know Deb and the other contributors better, and because it will force me to submit stuff, and do stuff, and not hide behind my blog so much.

I’m also excited because I know a lot of the people reading this post are amazing writers, and this gives me an excuse to tell you to check out the site, and maybe contribute submissions of your own.

All Things Girl wants you!

More house stuff. I’ve found if I post it here, I remember it better.

I need to remind Fuzzy that we need to replace a bunch of the lights along the bathroom mirror. Half have blown bulbs and it makes the mirror feel all shadowy. Good bathroom lighting is crucial when one is dealing with hair and make-up.

As well, I want to find a mirror to put at the end of the tub. No, I’m not so narcissistic that I want to watch myself bathing. I want to line up a mirror with the bathroom mirror, which catches a reflection of the television, so I can watch movies while bathing.

Yes, I am that big a geek.

We never managed to look at new carpeting for the hallways and stairs this weekend (though we may still, tomorrow) but I did manage to connect with our lawn guy to confirm that he did receive our new contract, and that he would come give a quote to clean up the back yard. It’s not horribly messy, or anything, but the ivy is taking over the deck, and the Texas-shaped stepping stones are no longer visible in the ground cover.

We’re also going to rip out the wooden planter that was built to disguise the pool machinery, and replace it with a brick planter, and eventually there will be colorful flowers in front of the arched window in the dining room that looks out to the street. This last is the simplest task on the list, but the one I’m most excited about.

As well, he’ll be cleaning out the undergrowth along the hedges, so hopefully the motion sensor lights that line the walkway will actually be able to function (though I think they need a new timing mechanism).

Am I spoiled that we have a lawn guy? Possibly. Is he worth what we pay him? Every penny.

This rainy day finds me at Barnes and Nobel in Cedar Hill, enjoying a post-facial grilled cheese panini and a white chocolate mocha. Outside, cool rain is falling steadily. In here, there is upbeat music, and a pleasant vibe. Diagonally across the room is a couple with two young children who are sipping not-very-hot chocolate, one is in some kind of scouting troop and is in uniform. The girl, younger, has a pink top and delicate curls.

In front of me is a group of young people, perhaps sixteen, no more than twenty years old. Their conversation is intense, serious, and low-pitched, the way all such conversations are.

I’m not wearing make-up because I just had a facial, but I am wearing a beret to cover the fact that there’s massage oil in my hair.

I can’t decide if I want to write, or shop for books.

I think I’d rather browse.
But not til my mocha is done.

Priceless

Originally uploaded by MissMelysse.

Canine Dental Sugery: $125
Pre-Op Blood Screen: $ 50
Anesthesia (sevo gas): $ 40
Heart monitoring: $ 11
1 Molar extraction $ 13
2 Tooth extractions $ 22
Post-Op Painkiller $ 16
Antibiotic Drops $ 13.

One small dog sleeping peacefully on our rumpled bed

PRICELESS

Several years ago, Fuzzy’s family decided to hold a Thanksgiving celebration / reunion in Branson, MO. Since we were living in Texas at the time, we agreed to go. I wasn’t looking forward to it – travel over holidays is never fun and the drive through Oklahoma severely depressed me, but once we got to Arkansas, everything changed. I fell in love with the green scenery, the twisty mountain roads, the clear skies.

Branson itself is charming. Oh, it’s pretty much a company town that caters to the tourist trade, but unlike Vegas, it’s largely smoke free, and family-friendly doesn’t mean “the casino offers babysitting services.”

We didn’t have an organization like BransonGetaways.com planning our Branson Missouri vacation, and I sort of wish we had, because while we didn’t mind spending $500 to rent a friend’s timeshare, for roughly the same money we could have had a great 4 day/3 night package that included tickets to some of the shows – everything from Mickey Gilley to Shoji Tabuchi, from Broadway musicals (we saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, but it’s long since closed) to vintage American Bandstand performers AND hotel accommodations much closer to the center of town. They even offer different levels of hotel packages, so that couples who want to be spoiled can get that, but families can stay in places where their kids won’t feel out of place.

While our trip included tickets to the Silver Dollar City theme park (which is an old western town that has it’s own shows, crafters, a cave tour and an amusement park) they were a gift from Fuzzy’s mother, not included in any package, and we were so overwhelmed by family stuff that we didn’t even realize Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House in the Ozarks” where she lived with Almanzo and Rose was just an hour or so up the highway. The package deals don’t offer anything to do with Laura, but they do include options for the various theme parks, as well as the shows.

My favorite memory of our original trip to Branson was standing near a grill in Silver Dollar City with my sister-in-law eating a potato stir fry in the crisp fall air, while her daughter and our nieces rode the boats. I would dearly love to return to the area without the family, and with more time to explore, and see shows.

Of course, I’d also love to shop – there’s nothing like retail therapy while on vacation – and BransonGetaways.com also has all the information one could want about the different shopping areas, not just the mall, but the cute shops. (I am all about the cute shops).

Added to my to-do list: arrange for a Branson vacation with Fuzzy for later this year. Probably early fall. And I’ll definitely be using BransonGetaways.com.

Just heard from the vet. Zorro’s dental surgery went fine, and there were no complications with his heart, and no seizures. He’s resting comfortably, and we can pick him up in three hours.

Thank you all for your good wishes. I’m sure it helped.

It’s Friday morning at 6:47 and while I’ll concede that this is not a particularly early hour for those who work a “normal” sort of day, I haven’t worked anything resembling eight (or nine) to five since…um…well…ever. Most days, I sleep til nine or so, do a couple hours of work without leaving bed except to get coffee from the kitchen, and then shower, breakfast, walk the dogs and go back to work. We’re usually awake til 2 AM.

Today however, we’re up early, and while most of our early rising is for good things (like vacations) or at least neutral things (like business trips), being awake before dawn THIS morning is necessitated by the fact that we have to drop Zorro at the vet between seven and eight, it takes twenty minutes to get there in zero traffic, and neither of us has been in morning traffic in months. Years even.

He’s only having a dental, with this stupid abscessed tooth on the “must be removed” list (and probably others), but between the epilepsy and the heart condition, there’s a fifty-fifty chance he won’t survive the anesthesia, hence our worry and distraction over the past weeks.

And now…we go.