You might laugh, you might frown...

Heyo, you blog-readers, you! I have been gone for far too long, and the only excuses I can give you are that I've either been in a coma for 3 months, or I've just been ultra lazy and un-bloggy. Or, you know, my dog ate it...whatever "it" may be (hey, it works for homework sometimes, so why can't it be a valid excuse for an extended blog absence?).

If you guessed "I've just been ultra lazy and un-bloggy", you'd be correct!...ish. It's more that I've been slowly letting life things snowball while I ignore them, therefore being both distracted and unmotivated. And then today, most of those life things got sick of being ignored. So, I had a classic Karen freak-out today and my stress level was up here *stands on her tippy toes and stretches her hand waaaay up to give the full effect of "up here"* But then! After I talked to my sisters and my mom (heart family), and then after my brain esplodey all over my Disgby (heart Crystal), I was finally starting to relax and got all sleepy-like. So, I put on Spongebob (was missing J-man and Nickelodeon makes me feel mom-y), and took a wee bit of a snooze on the couch. After my mini napfest, I checked my Facebook and people sent me e-hugs, which are almost as good as real hugs, and it made me smile a bit. But then...oh, but then, I went to blip.fm. And what was the first song that I heard? No, not anything from The Outfield. Ready for this? Ready!?!?
Teen Witch, "Top That"!

Yeah. That was the final blow to crushing my blergs. Who knew that all I'd need was some cheesy 80's teen movie rap to make me realize that life isn't so bad? I'm a strange creature, but I'm nothing if not easily amused.
Like...really easily amused.
It's almost sad, really...

Anywho, life is more or less back to a simmer now and hopefully I can avoid having it boil over again, at least for a few months. I'm going to be busy for the next few months, and I only have one other stress-invoking thing to take care of, so until that's over, I may still be on edge...I just need to muster the courage to just do it and get it over with, and soon.

One other thing I've been blerging about lately is that I've been single for 2 years now. Two years. Two of them. And, it's sad, but the things I miss most are the snuggles and hugs. I'm a huggy person, so I get my hug fix from friends and family, but it's just not the same. But, I've whined about boys enough on here, so I won't delve into a sappy "woe is me" post. Besides, while I was stressing today, it was the first time in a while that I'd been thankful I was single; one less thing to juggle. So, yeah, spinsterhood! ^_^

Oh, I almost forgot. Pre-napfest tonight, I was watching How I Met Your Mother (The Naked Man episode...man, I love that show) and eating ice cream, and it at least made me forget the stress for 30 minutes! So, because I know you all care to know what makes me happy, here is a short list of My Favorite Things:

1.) Music! Now, most music can make me happy, but I can put on Gogol Bordello, Pulp, Stars, the Fratellis (lalalas!!!), any Greg Dulli, or Eels, and I can't help but get warm fuzzies. If all else fails, my "musicals" playlist will make me smile 9 out of 10 times (but somedays I like to wallow, and refuse the musicals medicine).
2.) Pocky. I don't quite understand the power that it has on me, but if I'm having a bad day, and someone gives me pocky, I just can't help but feel loved and happy. It's like chocolate-coated happiness from Japan and the crunchy noise that it makes when you bite it is what love sounds like. True.
3.) Haka! I'm pretty sure I've brought up the All Blacks and their Haka before, but in case I haven't, I present exhibit A:

...I'll be in my bunk. Also, would it be weird to ask my future husband to do the Haka as I walk down the aisle? It would? Dammit. ;_;
/rawr
4.) Kilts. EXHIBIT B!:

'Nuff said.
5.) Monkeys. The animal, as well as the word, are happy-makers. They're just that great. Monkeys.
6.) My J-man. I'm seeing him less now that school is out, but being a mommy is without a doubt my favorite thing in life. Oh, and [proud parent boasting] Jackson will be starting the Gifted and Talented program at school starting this fall! [/proud parent boasting] I'm SO beyond proud of that kid! Yay, Jackson!!! ^_^

Ok. That's enough for now. There are many, many, many other things that make the Karen all smiles, but I'm getting boredish and think I may go watch Weeds from tonight and then get some sleep!! So long, people of the interwebz! *muah*

^_^

Music Pick for the Day: "LDN" by Lily Allen
Beverage Pick for the Day: weird WoW Mountain Dew... very weird, indeed.
Socks for the Day: Brown, green, orange and gray striped ankle socks. Man, even my socks have the blergs today...tomorrow, knee high pink and purple stripes...how can I not have a good day in pink striped socks?!

Set phasers to random, and let the babbling begin

ZOMG! Hi. Um, so, like, I've been gone for a while 'n stuff, and, like, I don't even know what to really say...'n stuff. Or something. Ish. Anywho, I said last night that I should stop neglecting this here blog, so tonight, I am updating...but I'm not *only* updating my blog. Oh, no. In addition to updating my blog for the first time in over a month, I've also logged into WoW for the first time in as much time, and I think I nearly gave Ms. Catrena a heart attack: zhe moonkin lives! But it doesn't stop there...blogging, wowing, aaaaaaand...blipping! The trifecta of fun! Although, since I'm not just doing those three things, it's not really a trifecta...because I'm also back up for J-man in Super Mario Galaxies, chatting with random dudes (not really...just Raz ^_^), and doing laundry, all while chewing bubble gum and rubbing my belly. WHEW! Now, if this isn't a night of supreme awesome and random, I just don't even know what is. I really have no goal for this update, other than just talking 'bout off random things from my mind-mush. So let the babbling of brain-gib randomness commence!


Random thought #1: Well, not so much random, as I know where it stems from, but am I the only person who prefers to eat boxed mac & cheese reheated, as leftovers?  This doesn't apply to just any and all mac & cheese; I'm talking about the cheese-powder Kraft kind. I think it's because it has a taste that's a bit...off, much like leftovers do, and it's a quality that normal food shouldn't have. Thus, I prefer the funky taste of cheap mac & cheese when it's a day old and allowed to be a bit funky. (Did this make sense to you? Because it makes sense to me...)


Random thought #2: I kind of wish that I'd learned to play an instrument when I was younger. Well, I was a trumpet player for about 3 weeks in 5th grade, but that's about as far as it went. I wasn't bad at it, and caught on pretty quickly to the basics, but I guess I was never really encouraged to play and just lost interest. Trumpeting aside, I think that I would have liked to play the piano, or the violin, as they both seem soothing to me. And I think that's why I've been thinking about it lately, since I've been in need of things to soothe the Karen. Now I only have TV and movies to soothe my troubled head, and goodness knows I watch way too much as it is (ps. still loving my awesome TV of loveness). Oh, well. Perhaps one day I'll decide to take some piano or guitar lessons or find someone to teach me. I can offer baked goods in exchange for lessons. Tempting offer, no?


Random thought #3: Can anyone really be addicted to the internet? And if so, would it be a bad thing?  I guess the use of the internet could sway the answer, but as a whole, I think that the internet is a good thing. You can learn new things, meet new people, get in touch with old (read: from the past; not necessarily elderly) people, and find things to keep you entertained indefinitely. Although, on the flip side, you could learn fake new things, and meet creepy, fake new people or fake old (again, read: from the past...quit picking on the elderly already!) people, and you could be entertained indefinitely by really bad internet porn (like a car wreck, it is: you shouldn't really watch, yet you just can't look away). However, bad things aside, I think the good out weighs the bad. And as long as you are social-like and venture outdoors occasionally for work and such, it's a-ok to be figuratively attached to your Blackberry at the hip (and I only say figuratively, as I have not yet gotten a clip to literally attach my Blackberry to my hip)...ok, so this was more a question of being addicted to my Blackberry, but I figured more people could relate to the internet, as a whole, and not just the mobile version.


(and that segues into my next...)
Random thought #4: blip.fm is either the best or worst thing that I've happened upon on these here interwebz. It is fantastic, because it allows me to play sweet music for a bunch of random internet folk, and at the same time allows me to find new music from the same random internet folk. And some of those random folks are pretty awesome, musically and personally (as personally as I can tell from random tweets and IMs). BUT, blip.fm is also a huge time sink and you can lose hours on it, just listening to music and @ing people...ok, so that's more of a whiny reason to say it's the worst, but dammit, I needed something negative to say! Overall, I think blip is probably my favorite place on the intertubes right now, and I hope that I don't tire of it too soon. Also, this would be my #1 addiction, if only there were a mobile version available for my BB. Come on, blip! Get on my phone!


Ok. I think I've hit my quota for talking about nothing for now. I'll try to update soonish, but knowing me, "soonish" will be sometime before May...if you're lucky.

And, finally, I'll leave you with a conversation that I had with my son yesterday, as we took a walk at dusk.
J-man: What was that? ...was that a bat?
me: Maybe. Don't worry, they won't hurt you, buddy.
J-man: Some bats can hurt you.
me: Most bats won't hurt you.
J-man: Are vampire bats real?
me: Yes. But, they are just bats and don't turn into vampires or anything. 
J-man: Because vampires aren't real.
me: Right. Because vampires aren't real...not like those zombies.
J-man: *gulp*

^_^


Music Pick for the Day: "Elvis Ain't Dead" by Scouting For Girls (this song makes me swoon with its overly cheesy line "I think I need a love-lobotomy". Yeah, that makes me just all melty. /swoon)
Beverage pick for the Day: grape juice (hey, it was free and I was thirsty...and dammit, it was tasty!)
Socks for the Day: lime green and white ankle socks, with bananas and the words "cheeky monkey" all over them (and, per Jackson, they are "silly")

Can you at all times wear socks, because I’m still scared of feet...

Um...*taps the mic* Is this thing on? Hello? Wow, hey there! So sorry to have been MIA for a while again; I just can't seem to get back into a blog-groove-zone-type-thing. I'd say that I'll try to be better about updating...but you've heard it before, so I'll just say sorry... so, um, sorry! Let's hug it out. *huggles to all* Ok, well I at least feel better now. Glad we got that out of the way.

Hmm...so what has been going on in Karen world this past month? Well, a lot probably happened, but I'm not sure where to start or which things are blog-worthy, so instead of recapping, I'll just ramble for a bit about what is going on in Karen-land at the moment.

So, last week, I got a letter in the mail from Jackson's school, with a hand written envelope. I opened the envelope to find a letter inside from an administrator with the school system...the Gifted and Talented Coordinator. They sent a letter, asking me to fill out the enclosed questionnaire and permission slip (allowing them to do testing on him not within his regular curriculum). I basically started crying immediately, as I was so beyond proud of him. Being a mom, I already think that my kid is the smartest, best kid in the world, but it means so much to know that even if he doesn't make the cut for the Gifted and Talented program, that his teacher recognized something special in him and went as far as to nominate him for this. I have his regular Parent/Teacher conference tomorrow night, so I will be trying to find out more information from his teacher (and tomorrow is also J-man's 2nd day of testing for the program, so I will be doing my best to get some info out of him (even if it's just what kind of questions the lady asked him...when he met with her Thursday, all I got out of him was that she asked a lot of yes or no questions)).

Ok. Proud parent gloating is over...on to the new TV gloating! ^_^ I got my tax returns back last week, and for the past FOREVER, I've been talking about getting a new TV, but something always came up, or I'd get all rational and decide to not spend my money on something as frivolous as a TV. Well, this year, I said "fuck it...I'm getting a TV and that's final!" There was a sale at Target, and I was determined to go on Friday to get the 42" Philips for $799. Well, I went there after work with Crystal and as we were gazing at the TVs, the nice worker boy came over and asks if we need any help. "Yes", said the Karen, "I'd like this (motioning towards the TV). To go, please." And then he said "Oh, sorry. That one is sold out. Sold the last one last night, actually."

*sigh*

"Ok...", says a not-yet-defeated Karen. "How about this one (motioning towards the 40" Sony for $879)?" "Yeah, sorry", says the now irritating worker-boy. "That one's sold out, too. Let me go in back and see what we *do* have in stock." While he's gone, Crystal and I perused the remaining TVs and I said "If they have this 47" in stock, I'm getting it...I am not going home today without a TV." And guess what? THEY DIDN'T HAVE IT! I was not willing to spend more than $1200, nor was I willing to get a TV smaller than 40", so I said thank you to the boy who kept telling me no (seriously, I even get rejection from boys at TARGET?? what is wrong with me??) and we headed to Best Buy to try our luck there.

Well, we got to Best Buy, and I got the "yeah, we're sold out of that reasonably priced awesome TV that you're eyeing up...are you sure you're not willing to go lower than 40"?" for the 3 TVs that I asked about...and then I see a 40" Samsung 750 series TV of sex on display for $1200.Well, whaddya know, $1200 was my limit. And the TV was so shiny and pretty. I was torn on spending that much, but I brought someone with me for a reason. As the boy was waiting for my answer about the TV, I asked Crystal "Should I get it?" Her reply of "Um, yeah" was all I needed to push me to the edge of monetary reason and I said "I'll take it!"

And so I took it. And I love it. Much love for it. Like, lots of love. Heart teh TV. And, to go with my sexy TV, I bought a new Xbox from Mike for $100 and am borrowing a Blu-ray player from my friend Trent until I can get one of my own. He had gotten one for free when he bought his new TV last month, and has no use for it since he has a PS3. So yay, Trent! ^_^ I also borrowed The Dark Knight on Blu-ray and watched it the first night I had the TV and I needed alone time. So pretty!!! And then last night I watched The Two Towers (not on Blu-ray; just on regular DVD) and I have a newfound love for Aragorn. Heart 40" widescreen Aragorn. /rawr

Um, yeah. So parent and electronic gloating aside, I don't think that I have much going on with me right now. I've been a blip-a-holic this past month and can't really remember what life was like before blip.fm. So many great people, and great music. Heart the blippers and their blips!

OH! Speaking of music, I am going to see JoCo for the FOURTH time on the 26th! Can't wait!! Since it's on a Thursday, I'm having my niece Laurel come and stay the night so that Jackson can get to bed on time. He has school on Friday, but I don't have to go to work! I took the day off, so after I drop him off at school, I'll be taking Lolo home, and then spending the day being lazy and watching movies on my sexy TV. ^_^

As for life in general, I've been pretty well this past month. I've had some bad days where I've envisioned myself being single forever, but luckily, I'm able to push those thoughts to the back of my mind most days and focus on more important things, like my fantastically wonderful Jackson, and my never ending playlist of greatness that my iPod provides. And really, with a charged iPod and my beautiful son, I don't need much else to get me through the day.

Ok. Getting a bit mushy now...time to wrap this up! Sorry for the ultra lameness; I'll try to be better. But, if you miss me, hit me up on g-talk or Twitter! I'm basically always online; just not blogging.

^_^

Music Pick for the Day: "The Quiz" by Hello Saferide
Beverage Pick for the Day: Mountain Dew
Socks for the Day: black, white and green argyle

Please stand by...

Bars & Tones from André F. Chocron on Vimeo.

(I'll be back soonish with an update... been terribly unmotivated and meh this past week, but fear not, my good people: I shall return!)

^_^

Dear Santa: Please send boy, or keys to Australia. XOXO, Karen

Well well well...so we meet again, Mr. Blog. I've been MIA for a few weeks, but it's totally not my fault. Well, unless you count being a total slacker as being my fault, in which case, yeah; my fault. I've sat at my computer every night since my last blog update, and have I even tried to post an entry?? Ok, so maybe I did start to update like 4 times in the past couple of weeks, but be thankful I didn't go through with it... some things about male gymnasts and pudding should never leave my mind. Seriously.

Anywho, it's Christmas Eve! Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope that everyone has a good holiday and that any travel that must be done is safe and fun for you all! As for myself, today started my 5 day weekend and it was pretty fantastic! The J-man and I lazed around all day, for the most part. We played in the snow, which was pretty fun! Although, he did lose part of his Dr. Horrible costume in the process. He was being Dr. Horrible as he played in the snow and wore his goggles outside...and decided to bury them...and now he can't remember where he buried them. Hopefully we get the warmer weather/rain that we're supposed to get this weekend and they surface. Otherwise, he will be a goggleless Dr. Horrible until spring. Actually, I can fix this: he'll just be Billy instead. The alter-egos never get any attention! Whoever says "man, I wanna be Clark Kent!" The only alter-ego that actually has people adoring him is probably Tony Stark. /swoon

...thinking of Robert Downey Jr. now and lost my train of thought... Oh, yes. Christmas Eve! After we had our fill of snowy-goodness, we came inside and started watching Christmas movies: Rudolph, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Frosty the Snowman, and The Year Without a Santa Claus. We also played Go Fish, ate some Italian take out, and then finished the night with some Mario Kart Wii action. Oh, and we did watch Dr. Horrible again this morning. Crystal got the DVD, so we are borrowing it while she's in Illinois for the holidays. I have to say, this is a must buy for anyone who enjoyed Dr. Horrible. The commentary...is...AWESOME. They did a musical commentary. It was...it's just magicalness. So great!!
So, overall: Best. Christmas Eve. Ever.

I'm still fuzzy on the details for my Christmas Day, but I know that Jackson will be going to his dad's for most of the day. I will spend part of the day at home, being lazy and listening to music, and then head to my parents' for dinner. I'm not doing my formal Christmas festivities with my family until the 27th, so this weekend I will be ZOMG busy; I'm going to take every opportunity to be loungey and lazy until Saturday, though!

It's kind of sad, though, how much my attitude towards Christmas has changed over the years. I'd always been such a huge goober about Christmas and had such enthusiasm and awe for the holiday. However, in recent years, I've noticed my adoration for the holiday waning and that depresses me. The only thing keeping Christmas exciting for me now is Jackson, but even that excitement only goes so far. He spends Christmas Day with his father, so that day will be just another day this year; no different for me than any other Thursday. *sigh* C'est la vie.
It probably doesn't help that this is my 3rd Christmas in a row being single. I won't say that I hate being single, since I've come to terms with it and am content in my spinsterhood, but it does make me sad thinking how nice it would be to have someone to share Christmas snuggles and mistletoe kisses with. Plus, this weekend I will be around my family and all of their happy suburbia happiness and will put on my happy face... and then I will eat too much pie as I sit in envy of their happy coupleness... blerg!
Ok. Happy thoughts...happy thoughts. Ewan McGregor in a kilt...naked Robbie Williams... 2008 male Olympic diving team (like, all of the teams...so much rawr) in pools of jello...
Ok. All better now!

Hmmm...trying to think if anything exciting or notable has happened lately, but I'm pretty sure not. Alas, the life of the Karen is still unexciting and boringish. I am working on a list of goals for 2009, though, which I'm hoping will help make it not so boring (from my perspective, anyhow). I'm not going to call them resolutions, since if I coin them as such, I will most likely have the Defiant Karen come out and she's too rebellious and care-free to abide by resolutions. She scoffs at them.
/scoff
However, my list of goals for 2008 went over pretty well, so we'll see if I can up my game and come up with some great things for me to accomplish in 2009. At the top of my list: take more chances. And, I've kind of already sort of started that one...ish. Still a work in progress, but it's in progress!! That's all that matters!

Ok. I think I've rambled enough for now. Time to go be Santa and finish wrapping gifts! Again, Merry Christmas and I will try to update before the new year!
No promises, though...

^_^


Music Pick for the Day: "Whistle for the Choir" by The Fratellis
Beverage Pick for the Day: lemonade!
Socks for the Day: red and green Christmas socks that say "naughty or nice" all over (both. Equally. FYI.)

You can't survive on ice cream...

Happy "Take it in the Ear" Day! Why yes, that is a rather obscure and weird holiday, and no, I have no idea where it's from, but it is rather intriguing, isn't it? I've been thinking about it for about 10 minutes now, trying to figure out the intent of this day and have come to a few conclusions:
1. It's a rough way of saying "dude, just listen", so instead of talking, try being the one who sits back and listens? Sometimes, people need to be told to just listen, so really, this is a great day to have. Too many people hear what they want to hear, or don't really listen at all, so it's nice to have a day to remind us to actually listen to what people say at face value; not everyone talks in code.
2. A less offensive way of saying "take it in the rear". So, a day to be humble and take your lumps? Don't be outspoken and learn to shut up? Same kind of vein as #1, but with a different intent.
3. Sexual experimentation day? Who knows, some people have weird ear fetishes...I'm just saying.
Aside from the impending ear raping which may or may not occur today, my Monday is turning out to be a pretty good day, considering how I was feeling yesterday and this morning. I got a free lunch, and I'm no longer feeling like poo, which are two very important things that can turn most days into good days!

I woke up yesterday morning, though, sick as a...something really sick, and wanting to do nothing but drink my weight in NyQuil and sleep the day away. But, I had my geeking out to do with my geeks and was supposed to be at Crystal and Adam's for D&D at 9am. However, since I wasn't feeling sick Saturday night, I was all "I'm not setting my alarm, cuz there's no way I'm sleeping past 7:30". Little did I know that my body was all "Yes, go to sleep, and as you slumber, I am totally going to give you a headache and fill your nose with goo and make your head feel like it will implode at any moment! *maniacal laugh*". So, needless to say, my inner alarm was all gunked up by the yuckies and made me sleep until 9:30...and trust me, that is a very rare occurence, indeed, and just shows how sick I was that I actually slept for over 5 hours.
So, I climb out of bed, message Crystal that I was rolling out of bed and that I'd be there in a few. I threw on some clothes and headed over there at about 10am. We didn't start the game until almost 11, and by 1, I was ready for some quality nappage. We called game before 2 and I headed home, intending to finish baking the cookies for my WoW boys, but with my sickies and general state of blerg, I wasn't up for anything more involved than sitting on my couch, watching Robert Downey Jr. being sexy. So, that's what I did; I watched Iron Man, then chilled with my J-man once he got home at about 4...and then watched Iron Man again after dinner.

I felt like poo all day/night, so I watched another movie after Jackson went to bed, and it made me a bit blergified: PS, I Love You. Damn you, Gerard Butler and your sexy manliness! I wants one of you! It's never a good idea for me to watch romantic comedies if I'm in a less than good mood, since I'm quite likely to fall into a "I'm so lonely and will die a crazy spinster cat lady" type of mood... which is where I was for about 3 hours last night. However, after the movie was over, I headed to my 'puter to do some blipping and that helped cheer me up a bit, although I still felt like my head was going to melt. Then at about 11, I headed to bed and decided to start rewatching Friends, and that always cheers me up!

To keep with the weird backward narration for my weekend, Saturday, I totally went shopping in Milwaukee with the Amie and Angel and had a blast! I heart Angel and wish that we got to see her more often. My goal for the day was to buy a cute dress and some boots, but since I'd just bought 2 new dresses Friday night, I was on the look out for boots. But, the boots I loved were out of my budget for this time of year, so after the holidays, I'm totally going to buy me some totally sexy knee high boots! Very /rawr, indeed. However, eventhough I didn't meet my objective for shopping, I did get some cute arm warmers and some cute knit tights to go with my dresses! I'm going to be so adorably cute in my dress, I may squeee and have the ^_^ face when I wear it! Mission- Fancy Karen: In progress!!

So, after I got home, I decided to be fancy and wear my dress and tights...with my bright blue "It's not my fault I was born awesome" fuzzy slippers and my WoW hoodie, and decorated my tree and living room! Crystal and Amie then came over that night to bake cookies for our WoW boys and to watch a movie. And, eventhough I was in my cute dress and baking, I was already getting a bit blergy (which, in retrospect, was probably due to my upcoming illness...blerg to that I say!) All in all, though, Saturday was a great day!

Friday was a great day, too! After work, I went out for a martini with Crystal, Amie and Myrt and then we headed to Target, where I bought my two cute dresses on CLEARANCE! I had also bought a new coat there earlier in the week (tan corduroy trench for $25! Love clearance sales!), so I am totally /cheer about my new cheap-ass clothes!

So, I'm pretty content with everything in my life at the moment and happy with all things in Karenland. Plus, it doesn't hurt that today there are boys wandering in and out of the department. And really, how can you have a bad day when you look up from your desk to see the bottom halves of men sticking out of the ceiling, while the Shins play in the background? It's like the setting for a Utopia...or at least a very weird, awkward porno.
Dammit... now I'm trying to figure out a good plot for an electrician/painter-man porn and I'm afraid my productivity for the afternoon is going to be quite poor.
Oh well...totally worth it.

^_^



Music pick for the Day: "Cheap and Cheerful" by the Kills (my new favorite!)
Beverage pick for the Day: water
Socks for the Day: blue and white whale socks!

Hearing the whir of the servos inside...

So, I had a pretty great weekend, filled with family and fun. I also got a snazzy new phone which I will marry as soon as they allow people to marry inanimate objects...or as soon as the robot overlords take over and it's no longer taboo to love something made of metal and circuits.
*cue Future Soon by JoCo*
I also got my 1st real Christmas tree in 3 years! I'd used a fake tree while I was in my apartment, since real trees were not allowed, and I'm thrilled to be able to have a real one again. Check out my brightkite for pics of the pretties! I've been too busy to decorate it, but hopefully tonight Jackson and I will have some time to at least get lights on.

My Monday was pretty good, too. There were some good moments, so I shall let you in on the good stuff:

- Mike was late getting to work, because he stopped to rescue a poor little kitten from the cold and snow on his way in. He brought it to the vet where his girlfriend works, and found out that the kitten had been shot in the shoulder and is now having its leg amputated today. So much horribliness should never happen to something so little. But, on the happy side, Mike and Marina now have a new kitty! Mike has also dubbed himself the Kitten Whisperer, and I think I may need to make him a plaque with that etched on it. "Mike the Kitten Whisperer"...although, I foresee that being dirrtied up at some point.

- If you ever hear of an album by the band Fountains of Poop, buy a copy immediately, since it means that Mike and I have started a band and are trying to make our living as musicians. Also, if you should ever hear of the band Velvet Hammer, buy two copies, because it will mean that being mediocre at Rock Band drumming has become a socially accepted form of artisitc expression and I started a solo tour IRL.

- Jackson and I were discussing names for our eventual puppy and he said that he wants to name it Moose II, after our friends Crystal and Adam's dog Moose. I said "no, buddy. It's going to be Monkey". He said that Monkey wasn't a good name, and that Moose II was better. I then suggested Bananaface as an alternative, and he again said that Moose II was better. I then said "How about Bananaface Monkey Moose II?", to which he again said no, this time sounding a bit exasperated with me. So I said "Bananaface Monkey Moose, Jr?" And, his response was "I don't think that would be very appropriate, Mom." So, apparently December 1st, 2008 is the day in which being a 26 year old makes you exponentially more silly than a 6 year old. Kind of a like a Freaky Monday instance. Isn't the kid supposed to be goofier than his mommy?? Such is my life, I suppose.

I think there were more good things, but I'm having a hard time remembering. I've been awake since 2 am, since I went to sleep at 10 pm last night, after a pretty crappy evening. My body got its alloted 4 hours of sleep and wouldn't let me have any more. My mind was also unable to be stopped, so I'm pretty sure that my mind was in cahoots with my body, therefore making it impossible for more sleepy for teh Karen this morning.

But, if my brain de-mushifies as the day progresses and I remember more goodness, I'll update again.

For now, I'm off. Happy Tuesday and I'll check back soon.

Music Pick for the Day: "You Don't Know Me" by Ben Folds and Regina Spektor
Beverage Pick for the Day: tea
Socks for the Day: blue and red Superman socks