Kitty Deschanel

It has become clear that designing and building our dream home is going to cause a bit of stress on our relationship. I showed Sexy Nerd the following photo: Not too shabby, right? Our real-life view on our 13.1 acre lot in the New Mexico mountains isn't going to include any other houses. This seems like a realistic idea to me. Sexy Nerd, however, says that my dream balcony is "not being practical and would never fit into our budget". Yesterday, he caught a glimpse of a photo I had liked on Pinterest . "Send that to me!" he said. I rolled my eyes. "Really," he insisted. "I'm going to incorporate that into our house design." The photo? Really, Sexy Nerd? Really?

Because some days, random is the best you can hope for. Sexy Nerd is watching Swamp Loggers. Half the words are bleeped out and you can't understand the other half. At least Shelby's dog, Willy, is pretty cute. Part of my job involves answering the phone for a law firm. I could not get a caller off the phone yesterday. I kept telling him that I just answer the phone and am not even in the same office as the law firm - strictly an answering service with no legal experience whatsoever - but he kept insisting that I give him legal advice! Want my advice? Leave your number and wait to get legal conseling from an actual lawyer! Our Memorial Day trip has come and gone. Next up? Australia! I'm researching airfare in between posting this weekend's linky party. The prices....OUCH! I'm awfully tempted to scrap the whole Australia thing and just take another fun road trip instead. For the price of this vacation, we could even upgrade to a nicer road trip ca

Working in a children’s dental office, I’m often forced into an uncomfortable front-row seat for spouse bashing. The other day, a mom and dad were trying to schedule a filling for their 2 year old. I suggested a possible appointment time. Dad mentioned to mom that he thought she had something else scheduled already. So what did she reply to him with, exactly? Mom: Let’s look in my planner so we can remind your TINY, EMPTY BRAIN what’s going on. I so did not want to suggest any more appointment times to these people. And, of course, their 2 year old was standing right there!  You just go right ahead and keep arguing in front of me. You're blogging gold, my friends. Later, both parents jokingly asked if they could just leave their child at the office and pick her up at her next 6 month check up. I was awfully temped to say yes!

Sexy Nerd, frustrated by the many smoke detector false alarms in our home, has been suggesting I buy a deep fryer. I was reading reviews on Amazon to find just the right one, when I came across the Presto 06006 Kitchen Kettle Electric Multi-Cooker and Fryer . It can be used as a fryer and a steamer, in a sort of dietary yin yang. Score! As a surprise bonus, someone had written the following...err...helpful review: "Very handy as it does a lot of different things well and doesn't take lots of precious kitchen space, not like republicans in washington." WHAT?! I was on the fence before, but now they're hogging all the space in my kitchen? Geez.

I hate shoes. There, I said it. To all you strappy sandal gals and stiletto doo-dad fans, I just don't get the shoe obsession. Sure, there are some cute pairs out there, but really, what's better than the comfort of simply going barefoot? Nothing. Right now, while you're reading this, stretch out and wiggle your toes. Aaaaah. I work at a dental office and the first thing I do when the last patient leaves is kick off my heels. Of course, there is a downside to all this gallivanting around with naked feet. You know, apart from the occasional stray piece of used dental floss that makes its way between your bare toes. KIDDING! We're a sparkly clean pediatric dental office. Really. Nothing like a little black carpet to make pasty legs seem even whiter. Look away, everyone, before you're blinded!  And, please, do ignore all those bits and specks you see all over the carpet. I really was kidding about the dental floss. I promise. Galavanting around

Let's begin this week with a quick, embarrassing story. Sexy Nerd and I went bowling the other day and decided to partake in the alley's happy hour special. We went to the bar and I ordered us two bottles of beer. It's not something I do often (okay, the last time may have been in Las Vegas, however many years we were last there) but ordering beer is simple enough, right? Bartender: You want to leave it open? Me: Sure! Sexy Nerd: No! Me: But I want to drink it now. That's it. From now on, I'm sticking with my Michelob ULTRA Light Cider , straight from the fridge. (For all my fellow non-orderers of beer, the bartender meant the bill . Oh!)

The folks at BlogHer want to know: What are your favorite resources (Products, Apps, Books, Websites, etc.) to help you get organized? Hmmm... My best tip for getting organized is one that I stole from work. Get yourself a box, like the ones paper comes in, and an assortment of folders to stand inside the box. I use this idea for e verything , from keeping track of different bank accounts and credit cards to magazine subscriptions. Some Fun Folder Ideas Decorating Inspiration Party Plans Future Travel Itineraries Books I Want to Read (whenever I finally have time) Websites to Visit (same problem as before!) I also created a Vitamins/Supplements folder, which is great because I can rip out an article on something I'd like to research further and possibly try, then take care of everything in one order the next time I'm ready to make a purchase from Drugstore.com (translation = easier to hit the minimum purchase required for free shipping!) And

You've probably noticed some changes to my blog lately. There's a new header almost weekly (I really like my new one and think it's here to stay...though I said the exact same thing about the last one, which is dead to me now), I'm posting more frequently, and I've been cleaning up some of the nonsense in old posts. Wow, there's so much nonsense!  Plus, I've completely done away with anything lamb-related from the good ol' LambAround days, so if you're a new reader to this blog, you're going to be confused if you look very far into the post archives, which is lamb everything . I'm working on it! I see all these other blogs succeeding and think Hey, I can do that . Call it a side effect of my latest crazy brain meltdown . Today, I'm looking through drafts that were never posted. Here's a gem from 2011, where I took a million photos to teach you how to make kale chips. The photos are from 2011 and the text is from today because

Sexy Nerd and I recently completed a road trip from Albuquerque, NM to Phoenix and Tucson. As you may remember, a certain someone hates staycations , so we had to get out of our own state. We loaded up the trusty Alero and hit the road. Our first stop was Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. Pretty, but not pretty enough to pull over? Bam! Chilling in the shade of the Crazy Old Man hat. Petrified Forest petroglyphs. Our theory is that ancient teenagers were bored (wouldn't you be??) and vandalized these rocks. The park service and scientists everywhere have a different theory. Our next road trip destination... (duh nuh na nuh) The Grand Canyon Sexy Nerd is a bit of a worrywart and he refused to venture anywhere near the edge. Like, anywhere remotely close to it. This photo was taken with the lens zoomed waaay in and has been cropped so that I'm not off in the distance. I was being cautious. See me using that tree f

Sexy Nerd has enrolled in a second Master's degree program. All I have is my measly Bachelors. This isn't the overachiever part though. He's going to get a jump start on his new degree by taking classes this summer instead of waiting for the fall semester. Nope. That's not all. His first class is online. Sexy Nerd got a hold of his syllabus a week before class began. He completed and submitted his first assignment, which was a long essay. Class hasn't even started and he has already turned in his first homework assignment! It was fun for him. I love you, Sexy Nerd, but classmates like you used to really annoy me! It's a good thing his class is online. Sexy Nerd is totally that guy who raises his hand with a question right after the teacher says they're going to let everyone out early.

Since writing my last bike post , in which attempting to ride just about killed me, I have become a bike riding pro. Okay, maybe not a pro in the eyes of actual bike riders, but I did recently pass an obese rider who looked impressed. Sexy Nerd and I took our bikes out this morning and are so fitness minded that we even passed up the opportunity to buy ice cream when we stopped at the grocery store. Even though it would have fit nicely in my super-stylish basket: The Kent La Jolla Women's Cruiser Bike Ain't She a Beaut', Clark? Yeah, that's a big lie. The entire reason for stopping was to buy ice cream. I just cheaped out. Did you know that Dryer's has replaced their tiny ice cream cartons (which I'm pretty sure they slyly downsized to get more money for less product not too long ago) with new, 1/2 gallon cartons? They want $7.99 for them! WTF?! Dryer's has clearly gone bat crap crazy, along with anyone who would fork over that wacky amount. It al