Kitty Deschanel

Construction has been delayed (surprise, surprise) for quite some time due to our local utility company, PNM, refusing to do their job. This has meant deep, open trenches and sky-high mountains of dirt blocking the path to our house. No one has been able to do any work, interior or exterior. Somehow, Sexy Nerd and I still managed to get inside without any trouble. We were even able to move in a long, cumbersome vanity for the guest bathroom, as well as all of the cabinets Sexy Nerd built for my closet (a ton of cabinets...I may have gotten carried away), even though every member of the construction crew was helpless to access the house until PNM arrived. Weird how that works, isn't it? Not to complain though, because guess what? PNM has finally come and gone and the trenches have been filled! After So beautiful. Before Ack! If I'd started with this hideous photo, in typical Before & After fashion, you never would have clicked the link to this kick-@ss

You know that 1/2 can of coconut milk that's leftover after you make curry? The 1/2 can that is going to go to waste because your Sexy Nerd whined when dinner what served that he hates curry? (Maybe someone should not have pretended to love it just to impress me when we were dating...) Fellow thrifty-minded readers, don't you dare throw that coconut milk away! It's the secret ingredient to making a plain Jane instant chocolate pudding taste fancy. Especially fancy if you serve it inside a dainty Australian china teacup. This recipe couldn't possibly cost any less to make. $0.33 a box? You know there are about 20 of these in my pantry. While creating my fancy schmancy pudding, I decided to throw in a little bit of coffee. There was none left in our coffeepot, so I swiped the rest of Sexy Nerd's morning cup when he wasn't looking. I then confessed to my crime so that I could share his ridiculous coffee mug with the world. Is that frog...

Remember that greenhouse Sexy Nerd and I built together? Yeah, I'm taking credit for it. Supervising is hard work! I also provided snacks, Subway sandwiches, and icy sodas, which anyone doing hard manual labor will tell you is a much-appreciated job. I tried to provide icy beer too, but Sexy Nerd said drinking and heavy lifting never go together. He's so moral, that crazy guy of mine. Luckily for the icy beer, I was not doing any heavy lifting. Sexy Nerd worked all day long, tirelessly moving each 80 pound bag of concrete from the bottom of our lot up the steep, uneven ground until all 6,800 pounds were accounted for. When the 85th bag finally reached the top, I ran up to him in celebration. He was sunburned and sweaty; his hair ashen with cement dust. He'd done it! I threw my arms around him. Phew! Sexy Nerd reeked. I knew he'd worked hard, but this was too much. Recoiling, I vowed we would not ride home in the same car. Which leads me to the Sexy Stinky Ne

There's a screech owl who has been flying all around my neighborhood. Our weekly newsletter pointed out this "cute visitor" at the beginning of December. Here he is, perched on a neighbor's front door. It's called a SCREECH owl, not a fluffy owl or a cutesy owl or a buddy owl. Think of a kitten. Now, think of a SCREECH kitten. Scary, right? Perched nonchalantly, he's plotting his next evil deed in that evil feathered head of his. It's what they do. This is exactly why all houses need multiple ways in and out. You say you love owls, but you wouldn't dare open this door with him sitting on it. Insist all you want that it's just so you don't disturb him. We both know it's because owls are scary little f*ckers. The next weekend, the screech owl was photographed at a neighbor's wood pile. Supposedly, it's the same "cute visitor" as before, but this one looks bigger to me. And scarier. And, though I wouldn't h