Kitty Deschanel

(For part one, click here .) One of my resolutions for the new year was to walk on our new treadmill daily. It's a routine that was easy to keep up with when the NordicTrack was new, (to us) but as soon as the novelty wore off, it sat alone in Sexy Nerd's office all day, every day. Of course, I didn't use the treadmill at all in the days leading up to January 1st, lest I be burned out on my resolution before even beginning. Smart, right? Not at all lazy. Well, 2014 rolled around and I did an excellent job sticking to my resolution. On New Year's Day, I walked so long that the treadmill shut itself off to avoid overheating. On the 2nd, I walked nonstop for nearly 2 hours. On January 3rd, I tried to beat the previous day's record. And on the 4th? I could.not.walk. My left foot had developed a painful case of Plantar Fasciitis. It felt like my heel was going to crack in half! When I had to go out in public, (yay, work!) I hobbled - crazy stares be darned. Toda

After getting my braces off the other day, I decided to treat myself to a little shopping at Cost Plus. It was chilly outside, but warm in the store, so I took off my coat. After meandering through a few aisles with it tucked under my arm, the coat made its way into my shopping hand basket. One of my favorite things about Cost Plus is the little section with coffee and tea samples at the back of each store. I poured myself a cup of scaldingly hot black coffee and continued browsing. There are so many unique items at Cost Plus. At the end of an aisle, I stopped to look at a selection of Sticky Fingers scone mixes. There were so many yummy-sounding flavors, like blueberry and cocoa chocolate chip, and they all looked easy to make. I was entirely distracted, balancing my coffee in one hand and my shopping basket in the other, imagining the impressed look Sexy Nerd was going to have when I served him up a batch of freshly made scones. I was going to knock his socks off! Well, I may ha

My braces are FINALLY off!!! I actually finished up a few months ahead of schedule. When your orthodontist tells you to do something, like clench your teeth, it pays to do it! Here is my 'before' photo, courtesy of my awesome orthodontist: OMG, they were soo funky! Here is my glorious AFTER photo:   Note the midline, in all its symmetrical glory. Although my teeth look better than before, I'm not done yet. I still have to wear retainers for a while (24/7 - I was expecting them to be at night only!) There's a tiny bit of spacing on the side that is driving my orthodontist crazy (it's so tiny that I couldn't figure out what he was talking about until I saw the photo above), which he plans to fix. There's a little cosmetic work to do (nothing major, probably). And a round of at-home teeth whitening might help, especially as it was so difficult to brush and floss (especially floss) with my teeth encased in metal. Most exciting of all though?

Sexy Nerd, who is quite the handyman extraordinaire, purchased a tube of Liquid Nails for one of his many projects. (He's currently building a folding boat, of all things!) The hefty woman scanning his purchase eyed him with suspicion, then said gruffly: "You'd bettah not be huffin' them nails."   High as a kite? (Hmmm...perhaps that's why he didn't notice that his shirt was covered in Pica hair.) Just imagine if he'd tried to buy spraypaint. More Quotes of the Day:  Sexy Nerd Quote of the Day - King of the Grill Sexy Nerd Quote of the Day - What's the Word? Sexy Nerd Quote of the Day - He's a Bully before his Morning Coffee Sexy Nerd Quote of the Day...Err, Night Sexy Nerd Quote of the Day - Big Pimpin' Lamb Quote of the Day - Another Year Wiser (I can admit it!) Boss Quote of the Day - Waiting to Exhale

Have a great weekend, everyone. Sexy Nerd and I are off to celebrate the  TEN YEAR anniversary of our first date! The weekend is off to a good start. Sexy Nerd got up early to pick up surprise Duke City Donuts and McDonalds breakfast burritos for us. Now, if someone would just drop off a surprise Frappuccino for me at work today, that would really be perfect. (Hint, hint, Sexy Nerd.)

...you say "I know! I'll dig out my old Littlest Pet Shop toys and use them to act out my novel!" That's Kara in the center, surrounded by Kevyn (boo!), Brett (yay!), Scott, Lily, her parents, Herman, and Candice. Actually, Kara and Lily's dad isn't in the book. I just like that blue kitty.   It's all coming together.

Pica decided to "help" us by taking down the Christmas tree herself...on Christmas day...while we weren't home. Yaaaaaay. Thank you, Pica! (And, in case you're wondering, our Jack Russell Terrier is exactly why there were no ornaments on the tree.)

We decorated the chalkboard door. I made a batch of Joy the Baker's gingerbread marshmallows to take to Sexy Nerd's grandma's house. I was worried that the homemade marshmallows wouldn't come out of the dish, but...ta da!   (so yummy!) Sexy Nerd also baked up some dinner rolls and a baguette with herbs. He's fancy like that. My parents are spending Christmas with my family in Tucson and we're watching their dog for them. Britney will not let me take a photo of her. Look over here, Britney. Over here!! Biscuit understands how to take a good photo, but Pica is stubborn like you-know-who. Over here, Pica!  Hopeless. Merry Christmas!

I use my Nexus 7 as my alarm clock. This morning, I woke up before it went off. The screen said 9:32 (I have to be at work by 9!) It was actually only 6:32. There's nothing that starts your day quite like a small heart attack.

Have you ever seen the movie The Birds ? We took these photos at the Peel Zoo in Australia last year.   Call us crazy, but we decided not to enter. Remember when we visited Loreto ? Apparently, I'm a psychotic bird magnet. Wait...does that sentence imply that the birds are psychotic or that I am psychotic? Are there any grammar experts out there?

Last week, I came home from work to discover that Sexy Nerd had a serious case of I-need-a-treadmill-right-now-or-I'll-go-crazy-itis. Nevermind that he never wants to take a walk with me. The idea had been planted in his mind and there was no getting around it. He'd chosen an inexpensive treadmill from Sears and was pacing the house, waiting for me to come home so we could go retrieve it. I did a little research first. The treadmill he'd chosen? According to online reviews, it was a 100% piece of junk. Sexy Nerd didn't care. He said the treadmill he'd really like is a NordicTrack, but that I'd never let him buy one because they're too expensive. Well, I found him a super deal on a top of the line NordicTrack, marked all the way down from $2000 to $250. (And don't try to blame the slim budget on me, Sexy Nerd. You think it's nuts to spend $2000 on a treadmill too, punk!) Despite the bargain, Sexy Nerd wanted nothing to do with the treadmill. I

Although SN and I started out in a long-distance relationship, with me in New Mexico and him in Michigan, drinking that famous Flint water, we haven't spent much time apart since before our wedding 6 years ago, when I took a family reunion trip to the Seychelles and Paris without him. (He "had to work", but I think the idea of 3 weeks nonstop with my mom terrified him. To be fair, it was pretty scary!) Now, he has been gone on a business trip for nearly 2 weeks and I'm kinda starting to miss him. He says he misses me too. So, I decided to have some fun and send him the following email: Subject: Here are some NAKED photos for you Message: Be sure to delete these after you look at them. The photos, one titled "hubba hubba" and the other "you know you love it": "I ain't afraid to show it, show it, show it, show it." "I'm sexy and I know it." Yep, that is a 100% collar-free, naked Pica . Sexy Nerd&#

Jack Russell Terriers are known for their intelligence, and when Sexy Nerd left the house last week for a business trip, Pica knew exactly what his suitcase meant. She laid by the front door, whining, until I shooed her away. Even offering her a cookie did nothing to console the poor dog. I thought if I kept her away from the front door, she'd get distracted by something (a noise outside? a moth? a piece of dust?!) soon enough. Instead, she went straight to the garage door. Now, for my fellow South Park fans, you'll want to read this next part in the voice of Sexual Harassment Panda. I'm a saaaad Pica.

My plan for today was to share a long, detailed Seattle story with you. However, I'm still sick (aaaargh!) so that post has been switched out with one that's shorter and faster to write so that I can get back to bed. A few days ago, I had a fever of almost 103F. Now, I have vertigo. It's worse than that though. It feels like I'm seasick (!!!) even though I haven't been anywhere near the ocean since last Sunday. The water wasn't even rough on our cruise. This is getting ridiculous. Anyway, Sexy Nerd and I love Seattle. Despite its rainy reputation, we're always fortunate to have the sun shining when we visit. We walk everywhere in Seattle and enjoy the unique shopping, museums, and restaurants. Albuquerque just doesn't measure up. One thing we do not love about Seattle, however, is the overwhelming number of homeless people. That's a very hard thing to write without seeming mean, but hear me out. There's someone passed out or panhandl

First, I'd like to begin this post with a traumatic TMI story. The other night, I was in the bathroom (TMI?) and a spider FELL FROM THE CEILING, landed ON MY BARE LEG, and - this is truly the stuff of nightmares - BIT ME! (!!!!!!) Now my leg is itchy. Okay, on to the meat of this post. Are there any bug enthusiasts out there? (You people are CRAZY, but to each their own, I guess.) We have this weirdo moth/fly thingy in our loft and I've never seen an insect like it before. Geez our windows are dirty. The last time they were cleaned was...by the previous owners of our house (I assume). Also, what is this thing??

I just used our new Vitamix to make a peanut butter, banana, blueberry smoothie. Yum, right? It also contains flax seed, grapes, spinach, cranberries, cucumber, chia seeds, strawberries, raspberries, and nectarines. Now, I'm just kicking back and relaxing with my refreshing beverage, courtesy of my own clever Vitamix recipe. Actually, that's a bit of a lie. A more accurate description would be "my own Vitamix recipe for disaster". It tastes horrible! Just because you can use the Vitamix to blend everything, doesn't mean you should. Also, I didn't have any peanut butter, so I just threw in a bunch of nuts. You can do that with a Vitamix, right? I honestly thought you could do that with a Vitamix. I'm too much of a cheapskate to throw this out. If only I hadn't made 8 cups! The Vitamix container is so large. It beckons for me to fill it. It's so healthy. I really should drink it, especially considering that my breakfast today was Red Vine

This article has been updated! My new chemical peel post, which includes pricing, Jessner peel before and after photos, product recommendations, and a helpful timeline for scheduling your treatments, is at the bottom. My original Jessner peel post (one of the most popular on my site of all time) is at the beginning. Original Chemical Peel Article Considering a chemical peel? I recently underwent my first Jessner peel and thought I'd share my results, post a Jessner peel review, and answer some frequently asked chemical peel questions. (I'm guessing that "Does a chemical peel hurt?" is a biggie!) I'd been planning to order an over-the-counter peel when we were in Iceland , but my computer led me a different direction. I decided to do this on a whim after Groupon greeted me one morning with a great $40 chemical peel deal. Now, I can read your mind. You just gasped in horror and thought  You trusted your face to a  discount  chemical peel?!  You're wondering w

On Saturday, my mom, aunt Jackie, and I spent the day in Santa Fe. We shopped, enjoyed a top-notch happy hour at Zia Diner, and strolled around the plaza. The highlight of our day, however, had to be the car I parked near (but not too near!) when we dropped my aunt off at the Buffalo Thunder Resort. The car is resting on top of the concrete barrier. How does someone do this?? They took the time to put up the sun shade! My mom took this photo of me. I was going for a look of amusement, but didn't quite nail it. I blame my braces for giving me a toothless, old lady smile. And, yes, that is a coffee and a Diet Coke. I needed some caffeine for my long drive back to Albuquerque. They're both complimentary at the casino, so why choose?

I haven't quite gotten Omaha out of my system and have been researching what it would be like to move there. How long do midlife crises usually last? Do you cut that time in half for a mid-midlife crisis ? The Omaha tourism websites only increase my desire for at least a visit, if not a life-changing move. At visitomaha.com , there's an entire section devoted to shopping. They have a store called Chocolate Peacock. Whatever could that be? My rational guess is that it's a typical, everyday candy shop. Then again, who's to say Nebraskans aren't serving the birds as a delicacy, fondue-style? Certainly not me, as Sexy Nerd hasn't agreed to vacation there yet. Omaha does make a big deal about their zoo. Just saying. I really should move to Omaha. Their tourism department needs me! Did you click on the link above? They're trying to convey how friendly and lovable the folks in Omaha are. They want me to believe that a day spent shopping in their various whimsic