Kitty Deschanel

*This post is a continuation of yesterday's post, Costa Concordia: Our Experience The number of missing people has doubled since the first reports of the Costa Concordia accident. Does this mean that Costa originally reported these people as alive and safe to their families in error? How can you take something like that back? Can someone please explain to me how Yahoo's "Trending Now" list works? I have always thought that it was showing the most searched for keywords, but today the list starts with Beyonce and includes things like "Dwarf tossing" and "Napoleon Dynamite". The Costa Concordia isn't on the list. How can this be? I just read about a survivor whose husband gave her their only life jacket. He jumped into the freezing water right before her. She never saw him again. It's all just too terrible for words.

The Costa Concordia sinking is just too terrible for words. There are still people trapped on the ship, including a 5 year old girl, and the search is too dangerous to continue. There are reports that this accident occurred because the captain was showing off. I cannot imagine having to jump off of a cruise ship into the water, even to save my life. When I saw the photos of the Costa Concordia on its side, I just stared and cried. It's no secret that Sexy Nerd and I love to cruise . Of the 4 cruises we have taken, twice on Norwegian, once on Holland America and Costa, the Costa ship was undoubtedly the most beautiful. The Costa Concordia, built at a cost of almost half a billion dollars, was just over 5 years old. It's difficult to imagine all of that - the amazing glass chandeliers, the artwork, the theaters - all sinking to the bottom of the sea.     Based on our Costa cruise experience, I was not at all surprised to read about the chaos onboard. We cruised on

Update: Pica's memorial post Pica hates the train. She really, truly does. Pica hates the train so much. Me? I just hate the blue carpet.

*Hee, hee, hee* Sorry. In the face of social pressure, I become a nervous mess. And who can blame me? All you fabulous SITS ladies peeking and prying into every corner of my little blog. I tidied up for you, but there's always more to be done. I wonder if there's something like Merry Maids for blogs. Okay, deep breath. Are you buying my calm and collected act? Sexy Nerd told me to tackle my SITS day the same as when someone comes to visit our home, which is to kick back and leave everything as is, insisting that no one cares or is going to judge us in any way just because of some unvacuumed carpet or smudges on the light switches. He gets in trouble before every guest and insists he has no idea why, all while eating in front of the TV and spilling crumbs on the couch! But perhaps Sexy Nerd is right this time. Feel encouraged to snoop through old blog posts and stir up a little (I hope just a little) dust. And share a post (or 2! or 3!) of your own below, in a weekly LambAr

This is the quickest, easiest, and cheapest meal to feed a crowd EVER. Step One : Buy a HoHos Happy Combo, which is a ginormous box of lo mein, fried rice, and 3 entrees for about five bucks. Of course, if you don't live in Albuquerque, you can always substitute food from your favorite local Chinese restaurant. On a quick side note, when did "ginormous" become an actual, spellchecker-approved word? Step Two : Steam or boil whatever tasty vegetables you have lying around. I love to use carrots, cabbage, celery, and bean sprouts. Throw in some peanuts too! Eew, these bean sprouts look like little bugs. They sure are tasty though! Step Three : Mix everything together. Let the flavors mingle.   Look how healthy this is! Other than, you know, all that greasy Chinese food you're about to add to it. Step Four : There is no step four. You're done! Wasn't that the simplest, most affordable meal for a crowd you've ever m

It's crazy to think that Sexy Nerd and I had our first date 8 years ago. Things were so different back then. (Click the image to enlarge) And has it already been 4 years since we got married? Really? I wonder if I'll look back another 8 years from now and be amazed at how much things have changed. By then we will hopefully have our home in the mountains and Baby Nuke . I'm hoping Pica and Biscuit will still be here (though I'm realistic that our punk Pica will probably run down the street one day, never to be seen again). If all goes according to plan, we will each have a new vehicle by then (a Prius C for me and "something sporty" for him) and will have traveled to Australia and cruised so many times. Sexy Nerd will have his Ph.D. I suppose I'll call him Dr. Sexy Nerd. Life can change so much from year to year. Based on the past 8, I think we're in for some pretty wonderful times.

Oh, the cuteness! Sorry, Pica and Biscuit. We couldn't resist! Pica was a pretty good sport about this. We're cheap frugal and keep our house at a toasty 50F. She probably wishes she could wear earmuffs all the time! Biscuit only put up with this for a few seconds, just long enough to capture her annoyed photo. Some dogs just can't pull off the earmuff look.

I managed to avoid this for almost 27 years. Finally, someone has been sly enough to drag me to a monster truck show. Darn you, Sexy Nerd! Warning, ladies. Monster Jam tours the country. They were just here in Albuquerque a few months ago and will be back again soon. Monster Jam may very well be coming to your town next. Don't get suckered into going like a certain blogger you know. If you hear a commercial that starts with "Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!" you need to spring into action and change the channel, pronto. Meh. What's more exciting than a bunch of elephant-dwarfing, room-shakingly loud trucks racing each other? Oh, just a little thing called the Tingley Colosseum concessions stands. Albuquerque-style Frybread and Navajo tacos in hand, it was time for the monster trucks: Vroooom! Monster Jam: The Destroyer Although the trucks weren't exactly my thing, I did love that Sexy Nerd had such a fun time. Monster Jam: