Puppies

Ok, one of the few things that actually makes me go and squee like a little girl .....are puppies. I adore dogs, and puppies, well they're just 100x more squee-able.
At my job, pretty much everyone has found a lifestyle that they can live in, and have settled down to owning pets. Most often, plural. Something of which I'm totally jealous.
Today, one of my co-workers brought in an adorable baby Rottweiler puppy named Kona. And i promptly turned into a puddle of goo under the puppy dog eyes.

I would love to have a dog. Right now. raised from a puppy under my lessons, commands, and training techniques. My dog.
Unfortunately, that dream is a long way off. Staying out till 2am on weekends, and not coming straight home after work....kind of dont' work so well with a puppy bladder.

In other news:
I now have an Xbox360 and have joined the modern era of gaming. I'm extremely happy with my purchase as now i can play my netflix and video games.

Also, I have a trip planned. One that actually entails me LEAVING the state. Amazing boyfriend and I are going to California!!!!
No this doesn't mean anything serious, other than a seriously fun trip planned. Can't wait. Countdown to March begins.

Updates

A little while back, i posted about getting a ticket for my tabs, and the resulting mitigation hearing.

Well, i was probably about the dozenth person the judge called forward. The people before me had delt with issues like failure to yield, speeding and a single other tabs problem. And immediatly following a gentleman who was there to Contest, not Mitigate his ticket which nearly caused a shouting match, he called my name. He was in a fairly incredulous mood. I believed this would only prove bad for me. The previous person with a ticket for their tab only got 50$ knocked off their sentence. And they had taken care of it within three days.

Turns out the Judge liked that i took care of the issue the very same day. My 216$ fine, was dropped to just 50$. :)

Other news. I have taken back up one of my hobbies; Knitting. Being mostly self taught, i had gone as far as i could go mostly in the form of scarves. So i enlisted the help of Nano Annie and her mom. The project?.....a beanie hat. But not just a simple basic hat. I wanted something with a little more dimension to it. To learn some more stitches and to for the first time, follow a pattern.
So far.... this is nuts. I still can't see a pattern so far, but i'm hoping another set of 10 rows, and i'll have something mostly resembling the pattern and eventually...a hat.

I'll keep you posted for the outcome.

The new year.

So, it's 2010. My fingers don't even like typing it yet. No idea yet what this year might hold. So far it has been hailed in with massive amounts of poppers, good friends, a little bit of alochol and video games. then subsequent cleaning. and then more video games.
I know.....wild way to start the new year. (sarcasm)

In truth, i have no idea what i want to do with my life this year. It's going to be hard to top last year, that's for sure.
Let's see...roommate drops moving out bomb, actually moves out....have to deal with 8 months of hell, find new roommate, get life back together, win Nano again...in the process of life falling apart again i find someone who makes me exceedingly happy.

The new year is usually a time for resolutions.

Last year, i outright refused to make any resolutions and ended up with one of the best weight losses and worst weight gains ever. What happened? I moved apartments and lost my momentum. That and chocolate is a godsend.

This year, I keep asking myself what I want to do. It keeps coming back to weight loss again. I have never in my life weighed as much as i do now. It's flat out not acceptable. So since i know what i did last year that worked so well for me.

So this year, i resolve for it to stick at least until i reach a certain weight, which is for me to know. And then to not gain back more than 10 lbs of it by the next new year.

So you win, new decade. You have a resolution. But i'm the one that wants it more.

Ferocious Anne

Did you know....
that I am so ferocious that it takes not one, but two cop cars to light me up and pull me over to tell me my tabs are expired???

Naturally this comes after just a couple months that i reminded a friend of mine to get his tabs renewed so that he wouldn't get a ticket. Which in the midst of moving...i promptly forgot about my own. I never received the reminder they are supposed to send out in july or august. Anyway, in october, i have a grand night with blinding red and blue lights. -_-

Now they've arranged for my mitigation hearing. On CHRISTMAS EVE no less. I would have thought that being government, they'd have that day off. Sounds like some people are going to be unhappy with being at work that day. Lucky me.

How on earth does the state justify $216 for forgetting to put little stickers on your plates? That sounds like extortion. Ah the crazy laws we abide by. Some traffic fines, i can understand. Like passing a school bus, or running a red light, or driving drunk. But STICKERS!!!!!!

I'm hoping that since it has been 5 years since my last infraction (which was differed) and that the tabs were taken care of within 24 hours...that they might let me get away with a reduced fine or even better; all together.

*Crosses fingers*

Winter's Delights and Deadfalls

Winter in the Northwest is a mixed blessing. This has been true especially in the last couple of years.

• We get several light dustings of snow....but they accumulate and turn into layer upon layer of ice.
• There isn't enough snow for us to feel like we can't drive....but Seattlelites can't drive in anything more than a drizzle anyway
• Holiday shopping is at it's peak...and so are the lines at the stores.
• Friends are always happy to see you...provided you're the one willing to brave the icy streets to see them.
• There isn't a lot of snow on your windshields in the morning....just a lot of stubborn ice.

With Nano over, I'm finally catching up on all the miscellaneous tasks that fell by the wayside. Things like oil changes, cleaning, paperwork, bill filing, and decorating. The one think i absolutely love about the Christmas season is the lights. They make me so happy. I even have a strand up at work. Now all i have to do is survive cleaning my room and I'll be back to normal.

In other news, I am currently locked in an epic battle with a credit card company that i opened my first account with when i turned 18. Seems the left hand isn't talking to the right and all the words are coming right out of the ass. It wasn't until i started my cold and agressive campaign in which i demanded and took down names, extensions and departments that i finally started getting somewhere. Normally, i wouldn't take such a strong emotion with this kind of issue. However, the fact is, I was told that my account was shut down in MAY. I have paperwork stating so. But the annual fee actually sent me to collections. And now they're trying to hold my $500 dollars hostage. Not to put too fine a point on it- I'm not pleased with that prospect.

I believe credit cards are a necessary evil. I simply DO not spend money i don't have yet the society we live in requires us to maintain some kind of credit score. Yet since i have maintained good credit up till this point; things like Annual Fees and Giving them 500$ to hold to make sure my credit is assured....are not acceptable. And that 500$ is MINE.

Christmas shopping is almost done. I have one more stop to do since i very nearly forgot someone very important to me. As of tonight, I should be clear to wrap and deliver. Yay!