My very own TARDIS!!!

Actually, I guess it's just an RDIS because it doesn't travel in time....

In either case, the good people at Hyundai Motor Corp. seem to have developed my 2007 Accent using Time-Lord technology. When the service crew at the dealership folded down the back seats to store my tires in the hatch, it suddenly became one of those cars that's tiny on the outside and abso-frakin'-lutely massive on the inside. Seriously.

Sweet.

xo,
Ms. V

Pain. Real pain.

Well folks, I finally had one of my tattoos embellished. It looks fabulous, but it hurts like hell. It was done on Wednesday and given the location (the inside of my wrist) and the size, I knew it would be a bit more painful than the others. When the artist opened his drawer to choose a needle size and said "Let's go with the big boys!" I knew that it would be downright excrutiating. I was right. Mind you, I have a very high tolerance for pain. This hurt. This hurt more than all of my other tattoos combined. It still hurts. I think the fact that I have to move my hand is what's actually making it worse. Oh well. It's a small price to pay for a gorgeous tattoo. This has now become my "signature piece." As soon as it's healed, I'll be sure to post before and after pictures.

:)

xo,
Ms. V

Minor updates

1) I take my last final exam tomorrow afternoon

2) I've now officially received word that I can graduate next May

3) I'm terrified about taking the GRE's

4) I made my first car payment. My car is now 1/60th mine.

5) I'm finally going to start working out again

6) Happy Hanukah, Merry Chrismas, Blessed Yule, Happy Kwanza, and whatever the heck else people celebrate this time of year.

xo,
Ms. V

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yes, I know. It's been ages since I've posted and it's been even longer since I've posted something that's not cat-related. Forgive me. I work full time, go to school full time, have a husband, four cats, and just bought a brand-spankin'-new car. My brain is even more mushy than normal. :)

A few things tonight:
1) I love Chicago and must move there immediately. I finally managed to make it to Illinois to visit two of my dearest friends. It was unspeakably fabulous. I dare say it's tied with Vegas at the top of my wish list of places to live.

2) As you might have guessed, I'm overjoyed at the fact that the Republicans are finally the minority party in Congress. It's about freakin' time.

3) The Beast has finally settled. I haven't had the opportunity to pass him in the halls lately, but when I have, I wasn't treated to the delightful combination of B.O. and cologne. This is truly a time to be thankful, indeed.

Alright, I've spent the last 3 days completely ignoring my homework and several projects I have coming due. My weekend will be a fun-filled adventure that will likely involve kicking Hub out of the house while I lock myself in the office/study/den/spare-bedroom to catch up. In between homework and studying, I'll have to clean out my 4-Runner. I have a new car. We're getting rid of Hub's and he's taking the SUV. He likes his cars super-clean. I like mine super-messy. I'm afraid of the things I might find hiding under the seats... Wish me luck and cross your fingers that I come out alive.

xo,
Ms. V

Gracia's new home!

It's been a month since I've posted, but this will be worth it...

Gracia has found a home!! Hub and I definitely wanted to keep her but she terrorizes our other cats. Five cats is also a bit much right now.

As luck would have it, my sister and her boyfriend have fallen in love with her. Gracia and I will be traveling to Montreal this afternoon so she can settle into her "forever home."

If everyone out there in blogland could cast a spell, light a candle, say a prayer, make a wish, or do whatever it is that you do, we'd appreciate it. I'd like to have some smooth sailing for the 2 1/2 hour drive.

xo,
Ms. V

The Beast

There's only one thing worse than the overwhelming smell of B. O. There's also only one thing worse than the overwhelming smell of cologne. In each case, it is the overwhelming smell of B. O. mixed with cologne.

To the nice gentleman in the lab upstairs: please, please, do us all a favor and get up a mere 10 minutes earlier to take a shower. You'll get rid of the B. O. and you won't have to try to cover it up with too much cologne.

Thank you.
Ms. V

Lesson learned

When the timer goes off, indicating that you should rinse the dye out of your hair, make sure you do it.

I was giving myself a manicure last night when my 40-minute processing time was up. I figured an extra minute or two wouldn't hurt. I was wrong. My hair is orange. My hair is also naturally curly. Imagine Ronald McDonald without the clown makeup...

In other news, Copper and Stoney, soon to be known as Grady and Cooper, will be going to their new homes tomorrow night. Yippee! We're still looking for a home for Ms. Gracia and since we CANNOT have 5 cats, we really do need to find a place for her. Let me know if you're interested or know anyone who is! :)

xo,
Ms. V

A very exciting day, indeed!

Well, I started the day in a miserable mood because I, for whatever reason, decided not to stop at DD for my morning coffee.

Truthfully though, it has turned in to an absolutely-fracking-fabulous day. Two kitties have two new homes. :)

Our friend's parents want to adopt Mr. Stoney-Finnigan.

That just leaves Miss Gracia-Mae. If hub has his way, she'll probably stay with us. We'll see.

;)
Ms. V

Breaking news!

Copper has found a home!! Wahoo!

Some very dear friends of our's have decided to adopt him. Since I know what good cat-parents they are, we really couldn't ask for a better outcome. His new name is Grady, which fits him quite nicely. :)

Congrat's to the new parents and his big brother, Pippin.

xo,
Ms. V

Try to resist these cuties!!

Baby pictures, as promised. The orange one is named Copper, the one-eyed tabby is named Gracia, and the other tabby, with the white paws, is Stoney-Finnigan. :)

Copper:

Stoney:

Gracia:

First thing's first...

To the disgusting, wretched, foul scumbag who dumped a box of kittens by the trash bin behind Hannaford: May you be eaten alive by fire ants. Seriously.

Now that my important announcement is out of the way, Hub and I are the proud foster parents of 3 kittens who are too-cute-for-words. Pictures will follow later in the week, I promise.

In other news, I had a one-week break from school before starting up again full time. Now I work full time, go to school full time, take care of our four fur-kids, take care of our 3 foster-fur-kids, and somehow maintain a (hopefully) healthy marriage. This, my dear readers, is the reason for the infrequent posting. I hope to get better now that school is back in session and we have a full-fledged cat farm. Methinks I'll have more stuff to talk about now...

xo,
Ms. V

Long time, no post.

Yeah, yeah, you're all perturbed that I haven't posted in over a month. Well, the good news is that I have a full time job at the lab now (the last lab tech was a nut-bar, got fired, and they hired me instead). On top of the full time job, I'm taking 3 classes. Life is busy. Hub and I have had plans every weekend so far this summer. One weekend included a date with my mother-in-law to the Paul Simon concert, which was unspeakably fabulous. Seriously.

I really don't have time for more of an update right now, but I will say this: To the joker out there who put me on the "Tarrant for U. S. Senate" email list, you are NOT funny. Seriously. Not. Cool. I'll find out who you are and get my revenge. I promise. >:P

xo,
Ms. V

Ode to prednisone

Y'know, prednisone is a great little drug. It gives me insomnia and TONS of energy. As a working college student, these two things come in quite handy.

Granted, the downside is that in another month or so, I'll be as swollen as a blow fish. Also, from having to take so many steroids over the years, I'll end up with glaucoma at 40 and a broken hip at 50. Fun times.

I guess I'll just have to enjoy the extra energy while it lasts, then hope that I can find a good orthopedic surgeon in 20 years.

Wish me luck. :)

xo,
Ms. V

My new mantra

I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework. I hate homework.


Off to finish my god-awful homework,
Ms. V

What was NBC thinking? Really?

Since my good buddy Perplexio brought up the now-famous (or should I say infamous?) David Hasselhoff video, I got thinking: Why on earth would he be picked to judge a televised talent show? Actually, why on earth would he be picked to judge ANY talent show?

I know he was popular in Germany and has been on a few TV shows, but c'mon! A fat Curriculum Vitae does not mean that he has any acting or musical abilities what-so-ever.

Sorry David, I just don't see the appeal.

Kit the talking car, on the other hand, would have been a good judge. I'm sure of it.

xo,
Ms. V

Difficult decisions

There comes a time in every woman's life when she's faced with a great dilemma: which pair of shoes to buy.

Today it was my turn. I needed a fabulous pair of shoe/sandals that I could wear at the lab without breaking dress code (it's no fun to splash acid on your feet, so they're sticklers about the "no open-toed shoes" rule). I hate wearing shoes in general, so wearing my traditional mis-matched socks and purple clogs to work in the summer really sucks. The solution? A comprimise. I decided to get a pair of those "kind of like sandals but could easily pass as shoes" shoes. Like these. Or these.

Off to EMS I go.

I pick out one of each, both in purple. The guy can't find the first pair in purple so he brings me black. Black looks fabulous and I think to myself "I have shoes in every color known to man EXCEPT black. Maybe black would be nice." Black it is.

He brings me the second pair in purple. They look ridiculous. My foot appeared to be twice as long as it actually is.

Now you may wonder where my dilemma is. Well, the black looked great, the purple didn't. The purple, however, was the most comfortable shoe I've ever worn. Seriously. I wanted to wrap my hole body in the footbed. Honestly. Yes, it WAS that comfortable. So the question became: "Do I buy for comfort or for looks?" Ah geez. The practical thing would be to buy for comfort of course, but I don't want to look like I'm wearing flippers. I got the black. They black aren't uncomfortable in the least, they're just not as downright-amazingly-comfortable as the purple. Oh well. At least now I have a pair of sandal/shoes that I can wear in the lab. :)

Thanks for putting up with today's boring post,
Ms. V

Furniture shopping is fun and annoying at the same time

Why? Because we have 4 cats. That's not the problem though. The problem is finding a fabric in a color that we like, that goes with our current decor, that's NOT green (because we're sick of it), that the cats won't want to claw to shreds. Fun times.

We've decided on colors, kind of. Both of the fabrics in the colors we like seem like the type to attract claws, unfortunately. We did find one fabric that was acceptable in a color that is so-so.

The least expensive set has a lot going for it: cheaper, lifetime warrantee, nice color, nice accent, BUT, again, the fabric is perfect for cats to dig in to. Also, it only comes in two colors. I like one of the colors, Hub isn't thrilled with it.

Choice number two: more expensive, limited warantee, cats would love to shred it, BUT Hub really likes the color (more so than I do).

Choice number three: most expensive, limited warantee, cats wouldn't touch it, Hub and I both like the color, but not as much as either of the others.

Decisions, decisions.

I guess we could always try to train the cats, but really, who am I kidding? I don't have the heart to tell them "no." :sigh:

Time to take a second look at our choices.

xo,
Ms. V

Pink is just not my color

At least not when it's on my cornea. Yup, I have conjunctivitis. Pink eye. Fun. What's worse is that I can't wear my contact lenses and I *hate* wearing my glasses. My prescription isn't even updated so I'm not sure I can legally drive with these lenses. At least the eye Dr. isn't too far away. His office is in the mall, right across from Auntie Ann's, so I think I'll treat myself to a pretzel for my suffering.

Bright side? My glasses make me look sufficiently geeky. I love it.

xo,
Ms. V

I'm taking a vote

The VGN wants a picture of me for their website. What do you think of this one? It really makes my blue eyes pop, huh? I'm sure they'd appreciate it. "Science-nut turned Swamp-thing." Catchy.

Also, I know I haven't posted an update of the trip like I promised, but I will before the weekend is over. I'll even include some pictures. Wahoo.


Yes, I've changed the name of the blog,
Ms. V

Done!!! Done, done, done, done, done!

Ladies and gentlemen, as of 9:15am I am officially done for the semester. Tonight I have to clean like a maniac to prepare for the mother-in-law's visit, then Hub and I leave for the Emerald Isle on Friday morning. Good glory, I can't wait! I can practically taste the really-good-beer.

Summer class start on May 30th, but I'm only taking 10 credits so it should be a piece of cake.

I'll have pics and a full report upon our return!

xo,
Ms. V

Oh lord.

Make sure your speakers are on and watch the full 6 minutes. :)

Dance-o-rama.


More fun news: Hub and I leave for Ireland in only 4 days!!!

xo,
Ms. V

Bad album covers

Click here and be prepared to laugh.

xo,
Ms. V

Bad news, good news

The bad news is that 130 flavors is not yet open for the season. We drove 25 minutes just to find that out. I don't know the real name of the place so I can't even call to find out when they open.

The good news is that I presented my poster at the Environmental and Health Sciences departmental symposium yesterday and my advisor (and an integral member of the department) wants to put it up at the school. Mind you, when these posters go up, they go up for a long time (years, actually) and she only picks the really good ones. I'm so freakin' excited I can't stand it!

Bragging done,
Ms. V

Shazam!

Well folks, your's truly has won the Environmental & Health Sciences Departmental Award for Biology at school.

Hub is taking me out to 130 flavors to celebrate! Woo hoo! I have to start thinking about which one I want to try tonight.

:)
Ms. V

It's Party Time!

Hub and I are going to a party tonight with some friends. Should be fun. I'll have a full update later in the week.

:)
Ms. V

1 sick, 2 sick, 3 sick kitty cats...

OK, 3 out of 4 of the cats are sick. Actually, Teba's starting to slip a bit, so make that "all 4 cats are sick. "

If you're ever super-bored, take 3 cats to the vet at once. Make sure one of them weighs 23lbs.

Our home-vet couldn't make it so we had to go to our alternate vet. Unfortunately, they don't do housecalls.

On the bright side, it didn't seem too serious. Condor, Grenidine, and Blaze all put up one heck of a fight when I try to give them their medication now, but so far I still have all of my limbs. I think I'm doing an OK job. I do, however, expect to be heavily scarred by the end of the 5 days.

Now on to more serious stuff. If everyone out there in blog-land could keep your fingers crossed that this really *is* nothing and my fur-babies are completely healthy, Hub and I would appreciate it.

xo,
Ms. V

Just call me tubbo

Guess who has a nice little stock-pile of Cadbury Creme Eggs?

Aaaahhhhh Yeah.

Which reminds me...
That ain't no couch, that ain't no sofa, that's a looooove seat. Aaaahhhhh Yeah.

If you know where I got that and the names of the characters who said it, I'll give you one of the creme eggs. I'm serious.
Ms. V

One lucky girl

I'm sick. Super sick. Sick enough to have not gone in to the lab today, and I love the lab. Going there is my favorite part of the day, so NOT going there means that I'm really, really, really sick. Really.

To top it off, I'm having some strange allergic reaction and the roof of my mouth and my lips are all swollen. On the bright side, for this brief period I actually have an upper lip. I could barely swallow this morning though. Not fun.

Why am I lucky, you ask? Because hub is a super-star. You see, when I'm sick, I usually want my Gram because she took care of me a lot when I was younger and had to miss school. She was a nurse and raised 6 kids of her own so she was excellent at making me feel better. Unfortunately, she's 2 hours away (if I could charter a plane to fly her over here I would). Instead, Hub has to fill her shoes and he does and excellent job. He makes me tea, covers me with blankets, takes care of my house-chores as well as his own, and STILL loves me in the end. Not bad, huh?

I'm accepting well-wishes from anyone and everyone. I have a lot of work to do at the lab so I can't miss tomorrow too. I have school on Wednesday and an exam on Thursday, so I need to be in top shape!

Angelina Jolie-lips,
Ms. V

You won't believe your eyes and ears.

My poor body was torn between laughing hysterically and having a stroke.

Click here, make sure your sound is on and make sure you watch the whole thing. It just gets better as it progresses.

Enjoy!
Ms. V

How will I make it through the day?

My Palm Tungsten arrived in Williston, VT at 3:50am on 2/11/06. Holy moly. I'm going to get it today. How am I going to be patient enough to sit through my Genetics exam?

Now, the other problem is that I bought it used. Cross your fingers that it's in good-enough shape to keep so I don't have to return it and buy a new one.

Impatient, as always,
Ms. V

Random crapola

Random crap for the day, and for my life-update in general:

I'm avoiding studying for a big Genetics exam.

I've ordered a new palm and have been compulsively checking UPS's website to make sure it really *is* supposed to be delivered tomorrow.

I'm ticked off that we haven't gotten any snow.

I'm on a bunch of steroids that are making me cranky (can you tell? Probably not, huh?)

I think my Genetics professor is pure evil. Maybe my mind will change after the exam tomorrow, but probably not.

It's time to replace my contact lenses but I hate going to the mall to buy new ones.

Hub is visiting his parents, so I really should take advantage of the time to read my notes.

I'd rather surf the internet and post meaningless crap to this blog.

The "SBFH" has now been renamed the "LSBFH." L stands for "Lying." This is old news, but I think I forgot to post it. I told hub though, and he got a kick out of it. Roared with laughter. :) I'm not sure why he thought it was so funny.

I haven't been knitting at all. I need to start again soon.

Our basement is finally coming along nicely. The bathroom is going to be started next weekend, not sure how far we'll get. So far, Hub has framed the walls and it looks great.

My Sunday paper didn't come today because there was a glitch with my subscription. I was bummed, but I got over it quickly. Very proud of myself.

Time to get back to genetics and stop being crabby.
Ms. V

Happy Birthday to me!

Well, dear readers, 28 years ago today I was exactly 4 minutes old.

Happy Birthday to me. The world hasn't been the same since!
Ms. V

Go.

If B.B. King shows up in a theatre near you, Go.

Our friend "Moak" and I saw him a few years ago at the Flynn. Unfortunately, Hub wasn't able to go. Looks like we'll just have to try to get tickets for this tour!

Wishing ole' B.B. a happy retirement after this last tour,
Ms. V

SMASH!

Driving an SUV presents a unique challenge: keeping the windshield in one piece for more than a month at a time.

It seems that the height of the 4-runner is *perfect* for rocks to hit the windshield in such a way that it will crack. Every. Single. Time.

My in-laws had it replaced 4 times. I've had it replaced once (I just got the vehicle in October). Guess what happened on the way to class on Monday? Yup. Another crack. Almost all the way across. Lovely.

Off to call the auto-glass shop again,
Ms. V

Erin-go-braugh!

No, not my sister. The country.

I just booked our trip to Ireland. Woo hoo! May 12-May19. We leave one day after final exams end. I can't think of a better way to celebrate.

Slainte!
Ms. V