I promise I haven't forgotten about this place

I don't know if it's a case of the don't wannas or what that's keeping me from writing. I've been busy but not *that* busy in the evenings. I have had a case of the sniffles but it's not been too bad--it's mostly made me have an overwhelming desire to determine the comfiest napping position on the new couch. After a short disagreement with Paul on Sunday, the cat has decided to start speaking to us again and he's right there with me in determining the coziness factor of the couch.

Paul is traveling quite a bit again. Currently, he's in Nashville for a contract review on what is his second trip of this very new year. Next week, he'll be at Berkeley for testing. I believe he has mentioned a fourth trip in early February. I think he's got the same cold I have but unfortunately, he's not able to join me and the kitty in our supreme laziness. We've discussed taking a short trips in the next couple of months but if he's traveling this much, I doubt we'll take those trips. We are planning a two-week trip to the U.K. in June, God-willing and the creek don't rise. I'll settle for just that trip if Paul's able to make it. I've told him that he has to let me know before the first part of April if he plans to bail so we'll be able to change the name on the ticket to someone else. I don't think he will bail but I've already had several offers for stand-ins--I've debated making it an essay contest to determine who would be Paul's stand-in should the occasion arise.

I have finally uploaded all the Christmas pictures--I'm always impressed/amazed with the volume of pictures Paul takes. But that is what photographers say to do--snap away and get rid of the ones that aren't good. The problem is Paul thinks all his pictures are good. . . I'll put some of my favorites up soon--there are some fun ones from our get-togethers with our families. Here's a teaser of what's to come:

In Jub's stocking this year, there was a little mouse that can be filled with catnip (woo!) and this mouse on a string. Because we're classy like that, we twist-tied the end of the string to the back of a dining room chair. Jub's method of attack is to lay in the other chair and whack at the mouse as it swings by. My cat is incredibly lazy with his playing. He's definitely not a mouser--that would require too much energy. (And in another classy decorating touch, we have old towels on the dining room chairs and upholstered chairs to try to save them from Jub and his fur. I try to remember to remove them before we have guests over.)

And I also finally got a frame for our portrait from our photography session in October (which also produced our Christmas card and several Christmas present portraits). It's an odd size portrait--10x10--and I was feeling cheap about how much it would cost to have it framed here in town. Using The Google, I found several places that do custom-sized frames for much, much less than what I'd pay here in town. I love a good bargain and was thrilled that it was only $50-ish with shipping for the mat, frame, mounting board, and UV-protected acrylic, all archival gallery quality. Go Me! (and go framedestination.com). Even though I can hang the picture, I'll probably keep it on the mantel with an easel. I've posted our wedding picture on this place before--it's one of my favorites from our wedding. My absolute favorite wedding picture is the one of us snapped as we were walking back down the aisle and we're both grinning from ear to ear. We didn't get the cropping quite right on this portrait--it was supposed to be more middle of my forehead and less of Paul's chin. While we were talking with the photographer, she showed us several different cropping ideas and we didn't get it back to the original one. I think this one is still good, though.

Finally, four days in Kansas in December and this week's cold weather has once again convinced me that I can never live where it's really cold for extended periods of time. Say, for example, Winter. I get whiny when the temperature dips to 65 degrees, cranky at 45 degrees, and down-right mean at 25 degrees. I just don't do cold--I need between 65 and 85 degrees with a moderate humidity level, say 40%. Then I'm a happy camper. Unfortunately, the temperature will be hanging at that mean mark for the rest of this week. If the meteorologists get it right, it is supposed to be about 12 when I leave for work tomorrow with wind chill in the single digits. I would like a Cold Day--just let me stay home until it warms up so I don't have to go outside at all. Just stay in my comfy spot on the couch with my slippers and blanket until mid-March or so. Basically, I need to hibernate.