Fiesta!

This past week was Fiesta here in Santa Barbara. Apparently people drove in from all over to partake in all the festivities. Needless to say it made parking downtown a nightmare, and so Charles and I didn't spend much time downtown this past week. I did go out with a few of my coworkers on Saturday and there were TONS of people. All the bars were amazingly crowded and several places had outrageously high cover charges. But at least I can say I went to Fiesta this year.

The first summer session has ended, leaving Charles with a lot more free time. He's not sure what he'll do with himself; I'm not sure either. But this week, his mom is coming to visit us. I'm looking forward to seeing her and showing her all the stuff we missed from last time she visited. Even though I still have work all this week, Charles will have lots of time. And hopefully, we'll get to see a taping of 'The Price it Right' on Tuesday.

Other then that, not much is going on here. The weather is beautiful, and all is going pretty well. Hopefully it will stay that way for a while :-)

Working on Being Social

Thank goodness the whole fire business is over. The fire near us is almost completely contained, and because of the firefighters diligence, no homes were lost in the fire. That-- and we also have reliable power.

We did have the power go down one day while I was working at the bank. That was pretty fun-- mostly because our banking skills are very limited without computers. So we helped one customer at a time, keeping everyone else locked out. So we were a little bummed that the power came back on an hour later, but it did take us a while longer to get the network up and running, so at least there was a whole 2 hours of no work in that day.

Since I'm on the subject of work, I recently passed my one year working at the bank anniversary. So Justin, our manager, got me a balloon and card (so did the other gals who started around the same time I did. We also got these spiffy little pins which we now wear constantly). So I sat down with our manager and had the 'what now' chat about my career. So, I'm hoping to soon be promoted to "senior teller" and get a raise and the whole bit. But, that means I'll be moving off of the merchant line next week. I'm a little sad to be leaving the merchants-- but hopefully it will all pay off. If not I can threaten to leave the bank.

I had to tell Justin this story; during my break one day I ran into a gentleman at the drug store next door, and he asks if I work at the bank. He then continues to say that his company is currently hiring an administrative position, and am I good with computers (I reply that I am a big fan of excel, an odd response I know, but the charts are just so cool!)? Then he asks how much I get paid. I am amazed at how rude people in this state can be. I respond that I make enough and enquire how much he's offering. "We offer $25 K starting." "Well," I say, "I make a lot more then that." "Really?" Apparently everyone thinks tellers make peanuts, "Are you the manager or something?" "No, I'm a teller!" He honestly thought we made 8 to 9 and hour! For starters, minimum wage in California is $8.50, and the guys flipping burgers at in-n-out make $10 an hour. Justin kept asking me for more details about my encounter, Why's he trying to take my employees? He offered you how much? You ran into him at the drugstore?

The morale of the story, I better get a raise!

Charles and I have made an effort to be more social, and during the summer this means mostly hanging out with my coworkers. Some, we have found, only care about drinking, but most outings are pretty fun. We've gone out bowling, clubbing, and to dinner recently. I'm proud of us. We even got to go to a special (free!) showing of Dark Knight (2 days before it came out!!) on late at night on Wednesday. Everyone we went with slept through the movie, but Charles and I enjoyed it.

A Visit and Fire

I am pleases to say that all of our utilities currently work. Well, water and natural gas never let us down, but it is awfully nice to have both cable and power at the same time! -- And thus I can blog.

We had the pleasure of my parents visiting last week. I was really glad to see them, and particularly excited to show them around this beautiful town of Santa Barbara. The weather really held out for their entire stay. I was a little worried it'd get fairly cloudy, but it was perfectly sunny everyday. Even though they came down with some serious colds, we were able to fit in a few activities. Specifically, my mom I and went shopping downtown until we were both worn out. I can't usually get Charles into all the art and jewelry stores, so I likes having a different shopping buddy :-) Also, my dad and I went to see the Mission and then the History museum. The mission was a pretty impressive building-- and I didn't know that they still use it today as a church and a library. I especially enjoyed the planetarium they had at the museum, and our presenter asked my dad if he wanted to work there! Apparently it's hard to find people well versed in cosmology (I can't find anything in the night sky except for Orion).

We were all able to tour the campus, and Charles showed off his office (and the view!). I also took them to the wharf and we got to see the ocean and look at all the gift shops. I think they had a good week despite not feeling 100%.

I'm glad my parents came the week that they did, because on the 2nd, a forest fire started just up the mountain. Charles and I saw it when driving to the book store, just a little red dot on the mountain side. Since then it has grown quite a bit. Our power went out on Wednesday, and has been iffy ever since. Our cable was out all day Thursday and most of Friday. I guess I can kind of understand. At the bank on Thursday we got a call from the fire department-- our power would go off that evening since the fire was below the power lines. Needless to say-- closing the bank was exciting. The power kept hiccuping, we had to balance the vault as quickly as we could, before the power shut off. And the sky-- most afternoons the wind blows the smoke towards the coast. The sky turn a reddish brown color, and the sunlight barely gets through. The light is very yellow and big clumps of black and white ash fall from the sky. It's like an apocalypse zone. I just hope that the fire department gets this fire under control soon. Oh, and that the bank doesn't burn down; that would be nice, too.

Plumbing Disasters and More

Last, week I came home to quite the surprise. Sometimes I come home to a slightly funky smell; I usually blame this on the fact that we live in college town and by a few of the frats. Usually turning on our new little fan helps. However, when I venture in I notice that the fan is sitting in a puddle. Further still, and I realize that the bathroom, half the bedroom, and the living room are flooded. And not just with water. But murky sewage water. The sink was full of of gross water which apparently had spewed everywhere at some time during the day. Even the kitty was hit. Her paws and side had water all over them, and she kept prancing through the water.

I called Charles,"Hey Honey, how's your day? Good, good. Hey-- just wanted to let you know our place is flooded. Yeah, thought I'd let you know before calling a plumber. Love you too!"

After unsuccessfully trying to reach our property manager, I called the plumber anyway. This is something on which I didn't want to wait for Hilary, the property manager, to get back to us. Thankfully roto-router works late, so we had a plumber here within 15 minutes. You know it's bad when even the plumber is amazed by the situation. He was able to remove the standing water and found the clog that started the whole ordeal. Apparently our upstairs neighbors clogged the sink and the clog was situated so that all their sewage came back up through our pipes.

And then the apartment smelled like sewage-- and only after threatening to bring in a health inspector did Hilary send a cleaning crew.

Other then that, life has been a little more mellow. I didn't get the promotion I applied for a few months back, but I do get promoted to senior teller which includes a pay raise, so I can't complain too much. Plus, the girl who did the get the position I originally applied for is really nice and easy to get along with. Since our bank failed the previous audit, we're getting audited soon, so my supervisors have been going a little crazy getting ready for that. I'm sure I'll be fine with it.

Charles is doing well. I'm so proud of him; he's receiving an award from the math department for being a great student. Only a few students get it-- so he's doing pretty well :-D He'll also receive his masters by the end of the quarter. I think everything he does is pretty cool-- but I think I'm allowed to brag about him a lot. He's great!!

My parents are visiting us later this month. I'm super excited-- I've told all my coworkers and many of my customers. We might even bring kitty to the groomer before they come so she will be presentable. I never knew white cats showed so much dirt!

Memorial Day

Well, we're certainly having a productive Memorial Day. Charles and I went shopping yesterday and ended up getting a new TV stand and mattress pad. He already assembled the TV stand, but we have yet to put the TV on it. The mattress pad already made it onto the bed. It's one of the temperpedic memory foam pads. It's so soft and squishy, and it really helps with any back pain.

Just last week we celebrated out one year anniversary. It didn't feel as big as I thought it might-- but we did a few things to make it special. Charles bought me flowers. I've done my best to keep them safe from the kitty-- which means they're displayed on the highest shelf we have in the living room.

Work is going. They put a hiring freeze on our market-- which explains why I didn't get that promotion yet. Justin says he's holding the position for me, so hopefully by next quarter I'll get it. In the meantime I'm doing well in my current position. I took a week off earlier this month, and it seems that they had a hard time without me. It's nice to feel important.

Charles is doing really well with school. He only has two weeks of classes left and finals. Then he has a few weeks off before he starts his TA duties for the summer. I look forward to having him home-- it's so nice being able to come see him during my lunch break, and he gets all kinds of things done when he's home :-)

So one year down, and we're still happy and still smitten with each other. I don't think we're doing bad at all!

No Good News

I've had a little bit of a rough time recently. A few weeks ago I applied for a supervisor position at the bank. Every one at the branch was routing for me, so I though I had a good chance of getting the job. So I applied and interviewed. I thought it went well...

So then Justin, the assistant manager, pulls me into his office and tells me that Holly, the regional manager, recommended against me getting the promotion. She blamed it on my sales. So, Justin said they'd keep the position open and that I have a month to improve my sales. So, SELL SELL SELL!!

I think perhaps that the bank isn't promoting anyone at this point. We all thought Justin was a shoe in for manager, but he hasn't gotten the official tittle yet.

So Friday morning, I came into work super early to open the bank so that I could take off early and have the day off. And luck be it that the auditors came on Friday! So I didn't get quizzed and scrutinized like the other tellers. Very cool. However, our branch failed the audit. I like to think it's because we're operating on minimum staff and no manager. That certainly doesn't help.

Taxes were do the other day. I know this because the bank was packed with people who needed cashier checks payable to the 'united states treasury'. I didn't realize that so many people waited last minute to do their taxes. Charles did ours earlier this month. He filled out the forms all by himself-- I'm amazed he could decipher those things. So hopefully we'll get lots of money back soon.

I finally heard back from UCSB about my grad application. They said no. People seem to have a hard time grasping that since I was rejected, I can't take any classes. The reaction I most often get is, "Oh, that's too bad. But you can still take a few classes." No I can't. They don't want me. No school for Beth. :-(

So, the past week has been an overall bummer. I'm thinking I should look for a new job; I don't know. Charles just wants me to be happy. Once I recover from this double blow, I'll think about how to proceed.

Looking Ahead

Well, after the whole ordeal with my appendix, I took a couple of days off of work, and returned by Wednesday. I felt bad about missing SO much work (I had to have a doctors note so my surgeon wrote --Please excuse Beth from work. She had surgery) but all of the customers I told were surprised I came back so early. I did take it pretty easy-- I sat all day, and had my coworkers do all the lifting for me. So any time I needed to get money from the vault, I'd just watch Alan as he took all the money out of the vault and piled it on the cart, roll it to my station, then put all the money in my drawer for me. It was pretty nice actually, but I'm glad to be feeling better. I enjoyed taking uber painkillers-- but being almost normal is much better.

So, once I felt better I decided to make some changes. Specifically at work. I still don't know if I might get into UCSB, but until then I figured I could put my name in for a promotion. So I applied for the position of 'Sales and Service Specialist'. I wanted to because I am sick of a lot of the pettiness of the other tellers, I want to take on some more responsibility, and the position was open at our branch. So as SSS, I'd act as a teller supervisor and I'd also be able to do a lot more tasks to help the customers. Working with customers is probably one of my favorite parts of my job-- and it will be nice to be able to open new accounts and other things I can't do as a teller. I've got an interview on Thursday, so hopefully all will go well.

Last week was Charles's Spring break. I kind of envy him for having a week off, but it was nice being able to go home and see him every day at lunch. He had plenty of time to play games, watch Discovery Channel specials, and of course work on math stuff. He has a much nicer schedule for next quarter. I'm sure looking forward to him having more free time-- and I'm sure he is too. I was so proud of him-- he was so attentive to me while I was sick and still didn't get behind in any of his classes (even though most of his classmates were behind) and pulled through with all A s. I couldn't ask for anyone better :-D

O Appendix, Why Hath Thou Forsaken Me?

Well, I've had an exciting weekend.

At work on thursday, my stomach started hurting-- enough where I didn't want to work the whole day. So, Justin said I could go home early and I stopped by the grocery store and got a bunch of stomach meds and some ice-cream.

I proceeded to take take all of the stomach meds and indulge in some ice-cream. But no matter how much pepto I chugged I didn't feel any better. In fact my stomach kept feeling worse. So when Charles got home he got me some even stronger meds but even those didn't help, and by this point I was spending some quality time in the bathroom.

I was hoping it would pass by the next day, but I could sleep more then 30 minutes before waking up in intense pain. I spent much of the night crying, and Charles agreed to take me to the hospital first thing in the morning. So at 6 am he crawled out of bed and we drove to the nearest hospital. Once there they admitted me to the ER. I was pretty impressed how seriously they handled me, even thought I pretty much walked in because my tummy hurts!

After asking me a few question and poking my belly, the doctor was pretty sure I had appendicitis. So, they hooked me up to an IV, gave me pain killers, did a CAT scan, and then an ultrasound. After that they were very sure it was my appendix, and transferred me to the acute care wing of the hospital and lined up surgery for later that afternoon. Charles stayed by my side and called all parents, and even told Justin I couldn't come into work.

I spent 2 days in the hospital after that. The first night was really hard. The nurses woke us up all the time to take our blood pressure and ask how our pain was. It would feel better it I could sleep through it... Apparently the pain meds they gave sometimes lower blood pressure, and the nurses were worried that my blood pressure was getting too low. They told me all this when I was asking for more pain meds, so I told them my blood pressure is normally on the low side. The nurse came back after consulting my chart, her bp was 103 when she was admitted into the ER, so the meds aren't affecting her bp. We can give her more morphine. woohoo!

I had trouble when they moved me from IV pain killers to pills. I hadn't eaten anything in two days and the pills were suppose to be taken with food, so the nurse gave me a few crackers to choke down and some pills. So, the rest of the day I chocked them back up. I had no appetite, and the hospital food was all really heavy or greasy, like steak and potatoes and sausage and bacon. I really wanted to eat enough to be able to take pain pills, but there was no way I could keep their food down. The next nurse said that they always had jello and pudding in the kitchen, and brought me some. The next day they gave me less intense pills that I was able to keep down and was able to leave.

Charles was so wonderful throughout the whole thing. He was constantly by my side-- and did everything he could to help. He did his best to keep our families informed throughout. He even made sure the kitty was well fed and happy when he was away at the hospital. I hope I told him enough times how much I appreciate him and how lucky I am.

I was amazed at how quickly modesty goes out the window when at the hospital. I seemed every nurse had a reason to poke and look at my girly bits. After the surgery there were about 7 sticky little heart monitors all over my torso, and one on my boob. How'd that get there? Honestly it was a little over the top, I only have one heart, I don't need that many monitors. Plus the gowns were very good at flapping open and showing my butt.

So, of course I took Monday off work, and took tuesday as well. I think I should be good to go to work tomorrow. Justin said I needed a doctors note to take off that many consecutive sick days. I had surgery!! I think a doctors note is a little silly at this point.

So, now I don't have near as much pain, and I've got most of my mobility back. I'm still very swollen (I gained 10 lbs while in the hospital!) and don't have much energy or an appetite. I just won't push myself tomorrow.

I joked with my parents that Charles was probably relieved it was something serious after being dragged out of the apartment so early in the morning. He later said that he actually had hoped that it was nothing-- he hated to see me go through all of that. He's so wonderful.

There Was a Valentine's Day There Somewhere

Charles and I had a pretty good Valentine's Day. Being so busy, we weren't able to make any elaborate plans, but we did remember to get each other cards. And I cooked him dinner :-D

More important, we get this beautiful three day weekend to ourselves. I recently got myself a new camera, so I've been taking lots of picture. Here's a few of #1. I love the first picture, but the second one really showcases her unique eyes.





I love any picture of Charles. Here we're getting lunch downtown.



And finally, a picture of the lagoon on campus to make every one jealous :-)



I decided to get a hair cut and add some layers and shape to my hair. Charles said that he wasn't up to the task of cutting in layers, so I went to a bona fide salon. It was actually not as expensive as I thought it would be (certainly cheeper then 3thirteen) and I'm very happy with the results. The women who cut my hair said, "You let your husband cut your hair! Well, he actually did a really good job." So, I'll keep him in mind when I need just a trim.

The kitty, #1 doesn't enjoy bathing herself as much as the normal cat does. So her white fur started looking a little yellow. And then she started to smell... So I bought some kitty shampoo (they had a shockingly blue colored shampoo specially formulated for light colored cats similar to that so silver shampoo for grey and blond hair that combats 'brassiness') and threw the cat in the tub. So, #1 doesn't have a healthy fear of water, and didn't make a peep during her bath (she did try to jump out though) and then paraded around the apartment for the next couple of hours showing off we wet fur. Afterwords, she is VERY white. Perhaps even glow in the dark white. I kind of like this shampoo. However, she's discovered that the toilet is full of water and loves perching on it with her back feet on the seat and her front paws and little face in the bowl. Oh well, I guess bathing her will soon become a regular thing.

Work has been going. There have been many fewer people in the bank recently. So corporate have been riding our manager about our slow sales-- only for the regional manager to come into the branch and see for herself that indeed no one is coming to the bank. All this time, James, our manager, has been looking for a new job, and has finally called it quits with Bank of America. Next week is his last week here, and he said he'll just be on 'sabbatical' until he gets hired elsewhere. Of course we'll all miss him, but I definitely understand why he's leaving, and can't believe he didn't do this sooner. We also lost one of our personal bankers this week. He never particular liked working here, so it's no surprise that he's leaving so soon.

But I'm doing well, so no complaints here.

Waiting...

I have been impatiently waiting for a response from UCSB. I'm tired of working full time, and want to get on with my life. So, maybe a month or so more, and I'll know the fate of my future.

Charles is having a very busy quarter. They needed him to teach a few more sections, and he has a heavy homework load in every class. Of course he's handling everything beautifully. I'm amazed at his ability to keep up with everything and am so proud of him! However, now I don't get to come home to him cooking dinner, and frequently I get home before he does, but I can understand. So it's forced me to try cooking a little more.

Work has been going pretty well. The bank has become a lot less busy recently. It's kind of nice since I don't have to work as much, but it does get pretty boring in those stretches when nothing is going on.

I'm a little worried about doing taxes this year-- usually I had a lot of help (my dad did them for me) but now we've got to do them ourselves. We've gotten about nine million important tax documents in the mail, so hopefully we can make it all come together. We still have a couple months though :-)

When It Rains, It Pours

We've had a very rainy week here in Santa Barbara. A lot of rain around here is a whole 5" in a day. Wow. Although I've heard many people say that we 'needed' the rain, I am slow to believe them. The rain just drains back into the ocean, doesn't it? Apparently I was mistaken, for this city does not seem to have functioning storm drain. So what happens when water falls from the sky? The water level just goes up. After just a couple of days of rain, everything is flooded. Roads have been closed and sand bags are lining all the stores and homes to keep water from coming in. I find it kind of amusing and ridiculous that every has so much problem with water. We were amazed living in Georgia how ill equipped people were to handle winter weather-- i.e. snow, but having major problems with rain? If I'm not mistaken, I'm pretty sure it rains at least once a year. Come on people!

Our apartment only mildly flooded (the floor is damp against the outside wall) but that only pales to the flooding in the bathroom. Apparently when this building was constructed the decided that having the drainage pipe from the toilet go straight down, then take a 90' turn so that it runs sideways was a good idea. So it got clogged and started gushing sewage everywhere. We had a plumber come in who simply removed the toilet to discover the plumbing malady. So, we've been forbidden from flushing much of anything down the toilet (use only a few squares of paper!) and we should be fine. Our neighbors are having similar problems. One visited today to borrow our freshly fixed bathroom and we got to chat about how awful the plumbing is.

Charles gave me permission to buy a new camera since mine has been giving me so many issues. So I'm upgrading from 3.2 Megapixels to 7.1 (and in pink!!) I ordered it through best buy. That's where we got the TV, and ever since that purchase they have been sending lots of coupons, so I got a pretty sweet deal. Plus, I mean, it's pink. You don't get much better then that.

Last week was customer appreciation week at the bank. So each day we wore coordinating colors (all red, then blue, then white) and had free coffee and cookies. Since it was also rainy, we didn't really have that many customers come in, so the tellers drank most of the coffee and polished off the cookies. Oh well. They were yummy :-)

Tire Fix and Hair Color

Well, I had some excitement after work of Friday. I finished counting out soon after the bank closed and left, only to find that the car had a flat tire. So, I went back in the bank to see if anyone could help change the tire. I figured if push came to shove I could do it myself-- but I didn't want to get dirty and it was already dark outside. So Steve volunteered, "I know how to change a tire, however, I can't since I have a broken arm." So he supplied the know how and Carlos supplied the man power, and we were able to put the spare on the wheel. I was so grateful for their help, and got home only an hour late.

Saturday morning we brought the car to a tire shop to get the tire fixed. It had a nail in it and was an easy fix-- so they didn't charge us which was pretty cool. Charles jokes that by working at the bank, it seems like I'm a celebrity since a lot of people recognize me when we're out. I think that might have been a factor in our free tire fix.

I had a baking bonanza on Saturday. I wanted to make scones, and got pretty creative with the ingredients. I tried using wheat flour, and upped the baking powder. They still didn't rise at all. Oh well. They taste pretty good. I like the cherry chocolate ones I made. Chocolate makes everything better.

After doing a little research on the net, I decided to dye my hair, by myself. Well, I did have a little help from Charles to make sure I hit every strand. I got dye all over my skin and the bathroom-- but cleaned it all up is time so it didn't stain. Well, most of it. I wanted to do a semi permanent dye that would wash out if I did a really bad job. So I got a box in black, read the directions nine times, and gave it a go. I'm pretty happy with the results-- I might try and maintain this color-- it's very cool. I'll see what everyone at the bank thinks. They also have some pretty rad colors (like blue and purple) that are super temporary, but i don't think they'd like that at work :-D

In the meantime, both Charles and I have Monday off for MLK day. I'm not sure what we'll do. Maybe get some R&R. I love having days off.

The Swing of Things

I always thought all those Hollywood fad diets were reserved for silly celebrities who were already thin, but needed to lose 3 pounds to be even more thin. However, it appears that diet stupidity has travelled out of celeb-ville. So, with the new year, many of the other tellers have adapted some pretty odd diets. There is the so called 'detox' diet. I'm fairly sure that this does nothing to try and detoxify your system, since all you do is drink water and maple syrup for 3 days. Two of my coworkers tried this and aimed at extended the 3 days all the way out to 10. In the end, they barely made it through the minimum 3. I'd imagine 'detoxing' would be something more like shoving down loads of fibers and carbs, but what do I know? There have been a few Atkins-like diets that include few carbs or none what-so-ever. Basically, the branch has become a diet guilt-fest. Even the slender guys are on diets. I've seen one of my coworkers only eat almonds the past couple weeks.

Of course Charles and I are trying to follow a healthier lifestyle as we hale in the new year. Although I've had limited success so far, I'm very proud of Charles; he's lost 10 pounds so far. It really helps that we're doing this together. We've found a new love of vegetables-- although my stomach is still adjusting to the changes.

Justin promised that if I balanced over the next couple of weeks I could get a raise, but my manager James went ahead and pushed it through, so I should be getting an extra dollar an hour on my next paycheck. He said they're very pleased that I stepped up to the plate and took over the merchant position, and have been performing very well recently. So now I get paid much more then any of my coworkers :-D but I won't let them know that.

Inevitably after Adi left we would need a new teller, so apparently two have been hired to take her place. Many customers comment on the constant turn over at the branch, and now that I've been there for a while I see what they mean. Tellers are constantly coming and going, leaving for school, working part time only while in school, or transferring branches to be near friends or family. Although, I don't plan on working at the bank forever. If I'm accepted at UCSB for next fall I plan on cutting back hours if not totally quitting. But that's still a while off.

Promotion, perhaps a Raise

Charles is back in class. Looks like he'll have a pretty busy quarter. He's been taking qualifying exams the past couple of days, so hopefully that will be the last time he has to take these tests. If he passes all of them then he can have his masters by the end of Spring. Then he can teach his own class-- that would be pretty cool.

Adi is moving in with her boyfriend who lives in Fresno. So, I will be promoted to merchant teller. So, I'm asking for a raise. Justin says if I keep balancing my cash drawer everyday, then I should expect a raise. Very cool. I wouldn't mind extra money :-)

The kitten is doing well, too. She's been getting bigger-- mostly around. Oh well. She's very loving and wants to spend all of her time with us. She insists on sleeping on us, snuggling with us, playing with us, and following us around whenever we're home. She also loves licking us, similar to a dog. She'll come up to me and lick my face and nose and chin. It's cute / odd.

My new hobby is anaglyph imaging. Those are those 3D images using the red/blue colored glasses. I bought a pair on the net and have figured out how to make 3D images using my camera. So I've done images of the view out of our apartment, the living room and random objects. I think they're pretty cool.

New Year

Well, all the Christmas stuff is put away and life is somewhat back to normal. Putting the tree away was fairly easy. I just turned it upside down and the branches folded up and the tree fit right back in its box. However, storing away the tree and other decorations was a different matter. Our small place doesn't have much room for extra stuff. So, if we never buy more seasonal stuff, we should be in good shape.

The kitten, #1, is adjusting to life with us fairly well. She hasn't ruined the furniture yet, although she does enjoy using us to exercise her claws, especially in the middle of the night when we're sleeping. So we've learned to lock her out of the bedroom at night while she's learning to use the scratching box. Overall, she's pretty mellow.

Well Charles and I have made only a few resolutions for the new year. He's trying to lose weight, and I figure eating healthy myself couldn't hurt.

I've turned in all the parts of my application for UCSB, so now we play the waiting game to see if I get in. I'm pretty sure I'll get accepted, but we'll see.