Lameness!

9:28 a.m.

Did you have a nice weekend? Ours was busy, and interspersed with me watching my site meter's referral page being taken over by this lady. (Thanks for all the lovely, lovely comments.) On Friday we went to the big city to do some fall shopping and watch a movie, which by the way, was awesomely funny. I got pretty cranky in some stores (what is with the lack of customer service and loud, loud music? I got spooked, I think), and then we watched that movie and I grinned for much of it. And I still grin when I think of it.

Then! Then we discovered a store and I fell in love and it was such a positive shopping experience. It was Heritage 1981, which is an offshoot of Forever 21. Only not so much clubbing/high school girl clothes, more natural comfortable clothes. The fit was more normal and the clothes? They were cute. I pretty much wanted one of everything, as it was full of Kara-style adorable prints and fun dresses, all with a vintage, thrift shop feel. Granted, it's the same company as Forever 21, so the clothes are cheap (but also, they are cheap!). However, I hate spending a ton on things like thermal tops and cardigans, that I rotate frequently. The store had a good sales rack, the music was enjoyable, and the employees were laid back and nice. They have a tiny selection on Forever 21's website, which is apparently terrible compared to the selection in the store, but they do have the jacket listed I bought. Which, incidentally, appeared to be the most expensive thing in the store. And mine is gray, not brown. We got some awesome stuff for cheap, including some button up men's plaid shirts that I use to layer from October-April for 4.99 each. So! If you ever notice one of these stores, and need some cute inexpensive tops, I'd check it out. I grinned a lot there, as well. And saw many women in my age group walking around, dazed and grinning, as well.

We also stopped in at Old Navy and got the dog one of these, in yellow argyle. And I decided Old Navy's men's pants are way better than the women's pants, and was very verbal about it to the man in charge of the fitting rooms. (It is now apparent to me that I dress like a man, as I have recommended men's pants and men's shirts. Awesome.) I'm not an Old Navy fan, normally, but I love the pet sections and the familiarity of the layout. And now I love the men's pants.

So, all that was boring, yes? I get excited by good shopping experiences, obviously. So many are horrendous.

Also! This weekend we socialized, and it went okay. We went to dinner with a couple, and they did laugh at my jokes, and I was only mostly awkward, instead of completely awkward. The woman asked if I'd met many people, and I said, "Oh, I don't know. I've been poky and anti-social. I don't know why I haven't been trying harder." And she said, "You gotta get out there! Meet people! Of course, unless you just don't want to, and that doesn't matter, either! I don't blame you!" It made me feel better. I've been feeling sort of guilty, about my hermit tendencies since we moved. That one little sentence made me feel okay, that I'm taking my time. The rest of the weekend was homey, up and down. J and I watched some movies, worked on training the dog to hold a treat on his nose, I cleaned, had some emotional breakdowns during PMS, his computer completely and totally died (why, Vista? WHY?). I found flower bulbs at a few stores around town, finally, and this morning when I took the dog jogging in the rain he discovered that galloping through puddles is fun. Super fun! (It was dry in Wyoming.)

Additionally, we took the dog to the new vet for shots and it was INSANE. There were dogs and cats running amok, and an unscheduled sick goat with a serious overbite. The "goat guy" was off on Saturday, however, and the cat and dog vet sighed, slapped on some gloves, grabbed what I assume was a GOAT BOOK, and went out to check on the sick goat. A cat attacked a young husky in the waiting room, Monk got excited by a pug who wanted to make out with him, and also? Did I mention the goat vet? Awesome. They were very nice. It was chaotic, but good.

Goat vet!

To top off this Post of Boring, here are some photos. I'm trying the smaller photo format, let me know if it sucks. You can click and enlarge any image.

First, finally, the before and after den photos. Before, the entire den was carpeted in this:











I didn't get great shots, but the den was like this:






















So, when we moved in, we ripped up the carpet, except in the bar. I painted, and we got a couch. It's not breathtakingly shocking, but it's completely different, a lot lighter, and way more comfortable.











This is the dog, doing his best to crap up the new couch by dragging a soggy rawhide bone across it:











These are the tiles that were underneath the moldy red carpet. I sort of love them a TON, as they are so reminiscent of elementary school. I like the silly colors, too.











Bar, which is pretty much the same. Only with our manly, sporty, drinky stuff instead.











Let's check out that comfy couch again, shall we? I had to scrape cats off it before taking a picture.











The den is now cozy, comfortable, and excellent for wasting time.

This is the most pathetic dog in the world, who would never rub a drool covered, sharp edged bone on new furniture. Nor would he systematically run through every puddle on a twenty minute jog/walk.











New collar, because I am dorky:











So, that is that for now. A nice, shallow post to follow a thoughtful one. Because I? I know how to shake things up!

Kisses,
black sheeped