and it begins anew...

okay, so it's been a month. it's just a month! i was busy, okay?

• busy stuffing my face with cheesy delicious goodies and guzzling beers in the name of santa and the baby jesus. but seriously. i need to get back on track. i am considering giving my anti-sugar/anti-flour diet another 30-day trial. it seemed to work last time, but with the quadruple-whammy of halloween, thanksgiving, christmas and new years... it's no wonder i lost all ground that i had gained. and then gained a few extra, just for kicks.
  

• so i went back to the gym yesterday, and i am going back today. and i went to the grocery store and stocked up on things that i can pack for snacks and lunch at work. eating healthy requires a lot of advance thought and planning, gol-darnit.

• speaking of planning, i am also doing a lot of considering. about 2007, and what i want to accomplish. not that i need goals, necessarily. i don't normally set goals. (which, some might argue, is the root of my personal brand of evil...) but i am caught up in yearly goal-setting for work, and i thought: what the hey! i might as well extend that frame of mind into my personal life and see what shakes loose. like further improving my credit score. like getting a credit card. like making a business plan for my pie-in-the-sky home business. like sewing clothes. saving some money. things i've been meaning to do for quite some time. comprende?
  

• betty and virginia are growing like little wild weeds. they've probably doubled in size - they started off like little round walnuts with tails. i'd say they've moved on to the size of Pilsbury crescent roll each. still deliciously cute, no matter what. i think they are getting cramped in their house, so i might get them a second house - for a "playhouse" - and keep the first one just for sleeping and such.

• i can't think of anything else to report. i should have some pictures up soon, from the holidays.

listening to right now: "wolf among wolves" bonnie prince billy

oh christmas tree, oh christmas tree...

so here is a link to our pictures from the christmas tree expedition:

link!

instead of "viewing as a slideshow," you can click on the first picture and you can read my comments. then move through the whole set one by one, by clicking on the "thumbnails" at the right side of your screen.... enjoy!

gerbils pictures to come soon. i meant to upload them with the tree pics, but somehow didn't.

let the names begin...

well, i've finally figured out named for the leetle gerblettes. i was leaning toward names that might imply 1950s spinster secretaries that share an apartment together... the chubby, bossy brown one is Betty! the sweeter, shy black one is Virginia! so there you have it. i have some pictures, so i'll try to put them up tonight after work. they are extra special cute. courtney met them on friday night, and heartily agreed that gerbils are much cuter than people think...

Comments welcome

Hey all -

If you have anything to add, or even if you just want to make a smartass comment - feel free (this goes out especially to my siblings, who must certainly be holding back...).

~mel

birthday hatchlings!

well my birthday has come and gone, and i'd say it was a good one. in addition to other wonderful and generous gifts, i acquired some wildlife for the house: last night, scott and i went on a hunt for the elusive and wiley gerbil. yes, gerbil! scott got me two gerbils for my present, and all the toys and habitats that come along... once they hold still long enough, I'll take some pictures and post them. for now, it will suffice to say that they are darn cute and cuddly. one is stripey-ish brown with a white belly and the other is black with white hands and a white stripe on her neck.

this is the shelf that dad built

exciting new addition to the house!! for those of you who haven't been to the house recently - check out the pictures of the fabulous new LP shelves that dad built... (click on the word "pictures," then scroll down to the bottom of the page of photos. )

leaving myspace far behind...

so i was talked into setting up a myspace account last month. it wasn't hard. it didn't hurt me. but i don't really use it much. i think if myspace had been around in, say, 1997 or 1998 I would have been a powerplayer. those were the years of technology fascination and plently of time for wastin' at crappy jobs. i don't mind wasting some time at work here and there, but i feel funny about the obvious and social-ly appearance of myspace. if my boss were to walk in while i was on myspace, i would be embarrassed and flustered because he would see the large flashing ads and pictures and he would know that i was sinning. a normal blog, however, isn't quite so jangly.

plus myspace was making me feel stupid, because i couldn't directly host pictures there. or at least, i couldn't figure it out. note: i am still on myspace. and i still use it to look up people from my past, and to email with some folks.

now that i have justified my thought-move to blogger.... here i am!