Kitty Deschanel | Food, Wine, and Travel Adventures Across the USA

I've worked in a pediatric dental office for the past 11+ years and yesterday I received a call that stumped me. The man on the line asked me about doing technical writing and my work experience. He said he'd read my LinkedIn profile. Caught completely off guard ( You read my what??) , I said something like "I just work here. There's an opening next Wednesday when we can see both of your children." and then freaked out a little the moment I had him off the phone. Okay, I may have freaked out a bit while he was still on the line too. Where did technical writing come from? There's no mention of technical writing on my site. How did he even find that? Kitty Deschanel is my pen name, not the name parents know me by at our office. And even if there was a profile created years ago that I've forgotten about, it wouldn't be linked to the dental office. Plus, the parents I meet through work only know my first name. I'm stumped. To top everything off,...

Today is our 12th Valentine's Day. I made Sexy Nerd a fancy dinner, complete with roasted butternut squash, salad, and a filet mignon that I began marinating two days ago. It was good, but perhaps next Valentine's Day we can enjoy our meal together? I ate downstairs with roses from my boss, who knew they would surely be the only flowers I received, and a candle. (Not so) Sexy Nerd ate his upstairs, watching a rerun of Gold Rush in his recliner. I'd suggested he join me, but he declined in a "no hard feelings" sort of way. No hard feelings, indeed. He was recently drawn downstairs by the aroma of the from-scratch Devil's food cake baking. However, he was dismayed to learn I'm frustrated with him, so now he's back in the recliner, quite possibly waiting for me to bring him a slice of cake and an apology. Harumph. ***Update*** I can't stay mad at that crazy guy. All is forgiven.

Due to an absurd error on my part, where I typo'd DESPRESSION (ack!) as the URL and was unable to change it,  my depression (no S!) blog post has moved here . Sorry about that.

Shoe makeover! Before: Darn you, Gold Buckle!I'm not a pilgrim.  Hmmm, which one to choose? Unbuckled (You're enjoying this narrative, right?)    Boring on the back...  Sparkly on the front! Ta da! Like Dorothy, only pink and with some self control. That weird little string is still inside the shoes. Does anyone know what that's for? Surely, it's a sign of a quality pair of luxury shoes. (LOL!) You do all your blogging in your pajamas too. Admit it. Side note: Aren't fuzzy slipper socks the greatest?  Geez! Next to Pica, my size 8.5 feet look freakishly small. Did I ever tell you she is supposed to be a miniature Jack Russell? I guess Pica didn't get the memo. I'm not sure whether the girls at work are going to like my sparkly shoes or make fun of me. I think my shoes look fun! The women I work with aren't the type to put nail polish on their ugly gold buckled shoes though. They probably wouldn...

A special treat for a very special dog. (We've tried to stop her from doing this in the past, but Pica remembers and searches for them until next time!)

At work a while back, I needed to access an old Qwest bill. However, the Qwest website was turning what I'd expected to be a simple task into a major chore. I selected the button marked ONLINE CHAT and was pleased to be instantly connected. To prove I was indeed the account owner, I told the representative my name, account number, and billing zip code, as requested. Okay, truth be told, my boss is the account holder, and I provided all of their information. It's part of the job! A few minutes passed. "To verify your identity, what is the answer to your secret account question?" Ummm...my what? Usually, I'm asked a specific question, such as the street you (my boss) grew up on. I inquired as to what the secret account question was. Another pause. "If you cannot answer your secret account question, instructions for resetting your online password can be mailed to you." I asked again WHAT IS THE QUESTION?! I was sure I could answer the question...

  ***UPDATE: Amerisleep has started a new referral program. If you order your mattress through this link , you'll save an additional $50 on top of other discounts and specials !!!*** You drink plenty of fluids, always wash your hands, and have already received your annual flu shot. Other than that, there's not much you can do to avoid getting sick this winter, right? It turns out one of your best germ defense might be literally right under your nose, in the form of your mattress and comfy pillow. In a recent study from Carnegie Mellon ­University, people who slept an average of only 7 hours or fewer per night were almost 3 times (!!!) more likely to develop a cold than their peers clocking the recommended 8. When bogged down with sinus pressure, aches, and worse, you're bound to lose more than an hour per day in productivity - the perfect excuse to sleep in a little later tomorrow. My boss will totally understand. Okay, maybe it's the perfect excuse...

This is a repost because I'm crazy busy getting our new house set up to host Thanksgiving for a million people. We're so busy, we even have 2 brand-new Amerisleep mattresses sitting in their boxes while we sleep on the floor! We don't have anywhere to sit, even for only the 2 of us, and that's apparently not going to change anytime soon, as SN insists he's going to build all of the furniture himself, sofas and all. Yes, he is insane. There is a checklist of "must do" items before everyone comes over next week and I'm told none of them are going to happen. A place to sit? There's simply no time for that. Setting up a big sink and a pegboard wall in the garage? Top priority...though admittedly one that does not affect our soon-to-arrive guests in any way. Gee, the ramblings above could have become their very own blog post. ***** We've all had harmless fun teasing the ridiculous things Sexy Nerd says on this blog. (Extra emphasis on harmle...

I am a thrifty person. Not cheap , just thrifty. Okay, maybe it would be accurate to say that I'm up along the very border of cheap. Only my toes are over the line. Today I would like to share a story from my college years, when I was working as a Pizza Hut manager, about one of the many times trying to save a few dollars has put me in a stupid situation. I had a coupon for a free car wash. The regular price was $4.99, so without the coupon there was no way I would ever be getting my car cleaned. My car wasn’t dirty enough to justify using the coupon, so I continued to put off using it until the day before it expired. Although it was the middle of January, I took my Alero through the automatic car wash after leaving work, shortly before midnight. It was the last day before the specials changed at the grocery store, so after the thorough washing, I decided to drive next door to do a little grocery shopping before going home. I zipped inside right before the store closed and came...

I was recently able to get away on a short vacation, which was perfect, but getting there was a comedy of errors. It all started the night before my flight, when I was going to finish up a few last-minute errands, then get to bed nice and early. My mom had even agreed to spend the night at my house, ensuring she wouldn't be late to take me to the airport. I had all my ducks in a row. Errand #1: Order the Shabby Apple Alana dress I'd been eyeing. By ordering it before my trip, I could take advantage of a MyPoints promotion for free United Airlines miles. I'd been thinking about which dress to buy all week, and was finally certain of my decision. My mom was sitting next to me and she glanced over at my computer as I was on the final checkout screen. It's super-cute and flattering, right? "That's the dress you're buying?" my mom asked, making a face. "Ugh!" I'd thought the dress was very me. I envisioned myself wearing it everywhe...