That's a hacked-up baby onesie - and Lily was surprisingly pretty ok with it.
It worked, too; her side is healed and she's back to being her nekkid furry self. :)
I got a Christmas card in the mail that put a wonderful grin on my face:
AnnaMay! I love that her folks used one of my pics for their photo card - LOVE. IT.
I'm working on a new cross stitch pattern:
Not gonna lie: I was tempted to stop there. :D
I've been watching Arrow while I stitch each night, and it's not bad! The main guy Oliver makes Anakin in The Phantom Menace look animated, and all of the characters are so gorgeous it's actually kind of annoying (ie the "awkward" tech girl who just stepped out of a Victoria's Secret catalog), but the story so far is great. Plus Harry Dresden is in it, so, booyah.
I discovered those cheap plastic snowflake ornaments you see everywhere make grrr-reat! gift bows:
Btw, I love wrapping so much I used to beg my friends to bring over their gifts so I could wrap everything for them. Please tell me I'm not the only one.
I don't mention it much, but John and I meet readers out at Disney almost every week some months. It's a fun way to hang out with fellow geeks, and we've now met new friends from all over the country/world that way. (Plus some weeks it's the only thing that gets me to leave the house - and you just can't put a value on that.)
Anyway, Wednesday night I spent a blissful few hours with Rachel - my new photography buddy - while her hubby Jeremy and John patiently waited for us to take oodles of long-exposure HDR shots around the Magic Kingdom. My favorite was when a cast member let us hop the queue chains in front of the Haunted Mansion, so we could sit on the ground and get shots like this:
I'll post a few more later, when I'm done playing with them all in Photomatrix. (Although I have a feeling Rachel's will put mine to shame; the woman knows her stuff!)
I'll post a few more later, when I'm done playing with them all in Photomatrix. (Although I have a feeling Rachel's will put mine to shame; the woman knows her stuff!)
And now for the winner of this month's art roundup, since I'd like to mail it out in time for Christmas:
Congratulations, Sarah Wilson!
Please e-mail me your mailing address & choice of art from my Pinterest give-away board!
Have a great weekend, guys!
Jen, I suck at wrapping, can I bring my gifts to you? :D
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this one. I hate wrapping.
DeleteBRING IT.
DeleteDang, if you lived closer I'd bring all my gifts to you to wrap! I am sooooo bad at it! My hubby actually does almost ALL of the gift wrapping. Nicole S
DeleteI think my husband needs your help...I hear him cussing up a storm trying to wrap whatever he got me for Christmas...oh no...crumbled wrapping paper just came sailing out the bedroom door....and he's done. The gift remains unwrapped=/
DeleteNo. you are not the only one who loves to wrap gifts...
ReplyDeleteTotally cracked up over Lily's picture - adorables! Sorry she has a reason for the oneise but it is freaking cute.
And a Big Shout Out to AnaMay!
And love your cross stitch, but the crumpets need cream and jam!
Squee!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteExcuse me while I go marvel over your giveaway board for half an hour, trying to decide... BEST DAY EVER!
I LOVE wrapping gifts too! It's weirdly cathartic. Unfortunately I don't get to do it all that often, as my family has decreased the amount/frequency of the gifts that we give to each other. It's a good thing in that Christmas is TOTALLY stress free, so I can avoid the malls and don't have to go shopping, but I do miss wrapping tons of gifts at this time of year!
ReplyDeleteMy family hasn't exchanged gifts in years, so I'm RIGHT THERE WITH YOU. When I had more time John & I used to volunteer at a charity gift-wrapping station in the mall, or one time we grabbed an armful of charity "wish ornaments" that let us shop for at-risk kids and actually wrap the presents. (Most won't let you wrap anything nowadays.) I don't miss the shopping and stress, but oh, to have a mountain of gifts to wrap... and of course the time to do it properly! ;)
DeleteI have loved wrapping presents since I was a kid. Mom would tape my boxes shut so I could even wrap my own gifts at Christmas, and my first job was the seasonal gift wrapping counter at the mall. My OCD has had to take a back seat with our three year old "helping" now. Our packages are not quite as elaborate or neat, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
ReplyDeleteTHAT'S AWESOME my mom lets me and my sister wrap her gifts for our siblings and each other! I love it
DeleteArrow is a fun show. I often wonder if Oliver was trapped on the island from Lost. Oh, Jack Harkness and River Song are on the show as well. ;)
ReplyDeleteD'awww! Those adorable blue eyes! I totally understand though; my dog has the same over-grooming problem with her foot. I don't know how to deal with it though. We've tried putting her in booties, but not only does she despise them, she can ALWAYS get them off! Hopefully it'll just go away on its own. Your cat is absolutely adorable! I'm so glad she's doing better :) Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteWhen my sister and I were little, our mom gave us a box of leftover wrapping paper and ribbons. We spent many, many happy hours wrapping imaginary gifts. To this day I love gift wrapping, so no, you're not the only one, Jen!
ReplyDeleteLily looks so precious in her onesie! Some years back our golden retriever had surgery on her shoulder and we had to put a t-shirt on her to keep her from bothering it, and she not only tolerated it, she LOVED it. She pranced around like she was the most fashionable doggie in town. I think it broke her heart when she no longer needed to wear clothes. Moral: Sometimes the animals you least suspect will like dressing up like their humans!
You go girl, AnaMay!
Oh good golly! Left over scrapbooking stickers to put names on presents???!!! Are you kidding??!!?? Yes, Jen. I think you are the only one in the world to beg to wrap presents. Next year I'm sending you all of mine, because I really suck at it. I don't even try anymore -- I just use gift bags - lol. I laughed so hard at Lily in the onesie! I'm glad she was mostly ok with it and didn't (probably) realize how undignified she looked!! But whatever works, and I'm glad that did.
ReplyDeleteThanks as always for sharing.
Arrow does get better, and Oliver gets a *little* less wooden as time goes by. This season is AWESOME!
ReplyDeleteFirst of, that is the cutest picture of any cat I have ever seen! I just wanna scoop Lily up and snuggle her!
ReplyDeleteBut you are so not alone in the present wrapping love department. I never thought to tell my friends to bring their present to me to wrap, though! Genius!
My cat's been over grooming herself too. Any idea what causes it? She didn't have any flea or tick bites according to the vet. I have been using an anti-itch spay on her at least twice a day but she absolutely hates the sound of the spray bottle.
ReplyDeleteOver-grooming is one of those crazy cat mysteries, but so far it seems the 2 most likely culprits are allergies (have you cleaned your carpets lately, changed your detergent, her litter, food, etc?) or stress. At first we thought Lily's was a food allergy, and the non-allergenic (and extremely expensive) food seemed to do the trick. Then she had a relapse after so many months, so now we're trying Kitty prozac for stress. It's frustrating since she never *seems* stressed - she just lies around and purrs all day - but who can understand the mind of a cat? o.0
DeleteWhat kind of non-allergenic food were you using? After I switched my cat to grain-free (and expensive) food both her over-grooming and barfing issues went down dramatically. FWIW she always licks one spot on her front paw. It's the area cats lick before they clean their face. The kitty prozac never seemed to help.
DeleteSadly there's no point to beautifully wrapped gifts in my family. I have 3 nephews under the age of 6 who tear through presents without a second glance. The cat eats whatever ribbons/bows may have fallen in the destruction process.
Lily's still on the special food; it's the hypoallergenic one from Royal Canin, I think, with the hydro-what's-it proteins. I will say it completely eradicated her bad breath - an unexpected bonus - so that alone is worth the price to me. ;) Plus there's no way to know if maybe she DOES have a food allergy, but just had a wierd flare-up from something else, so I don't want to rock the boat by changing it.
DeleteWell I recently moved to a new house with new roommates so it might be stress related. I would totally switch to a new food if I wasn't limited to a teacher's assistant (grad school) salary. I might snag the kitty onesie idea from you if her bald patch gets worse!
DeleteAfter years of dealing with serious separation anxiety in my rescue dog and trying multiple meds, prozac finally seems to be doing the trick for him. The regular dose made him sleepy and aloof but the lower dose really helps. He can be left alone without harming himself or the apartment. I hope it brings Lily relief too!
DeleteSnuggles to Lily, from Amy (and Pete the Bloodhound)
I'm so glad Lily is better!
ReplyDeleteWrapping gifts is the only thing I look forward too, really. Like a lot of people, I get depressed missing loved ones during the holidays, and wrapping gifts is so helpful. I can participate in the holiday spirit while not thinking about sad stuff. I love to focus on perfecting the scissors-through-paper glide. Friends invite me over to wrap for their family.
ReplyDeleteI love wrapping too. My Mom even saves hers so I have plenty to wrap. Last year I wrapped in brown paper and has so much fun with ribbons and bows. Even the kids helped by coloring on the paper before so I had something to build the colors off of.
ReplyDeleteWhat an all round happy blog post: a cats; a gorgeous photo; a favourite exemplar; and a top wrapping tip thrown in. Thank you, that cheered me up!
ReplyDeleteThanks again for making it AnnaMay's "Best Year Ever!!"
ReplyDeleteAll the ladies in my family, fail so epcily at wrapping presents (my mom grand mom and i) so most of my life my grandad did the wrapping for us! :) I've picked up a few tricks to learn how and have improved. but he is still the best wrapper we have ! :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Sarah! Pick out a good one!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if I should put my cat in a onesie, she's licked all of the fur off of her belly...
ReplyDeleteI don't know if she'd be ok with it though. :P
Jen, I LOVE LOVE LOVE wrapping. My family teases me because every year I have a "theme" (this year it's red paper with gold filigree and gold ribbons and bows). No theme can be re-used. And no re-using paper from year to year either. (I give my old paper to a friend who gladly uses it.) Nothing makes me happier than a pile of gifts to wrap.
ReplyDeleteAnd Dave and I were lucky enough to meet up with you and John in Epcot a few years ago (during TS Debby) ...we are looking forward to seeing you again at Boma this coming summer! :-)
I love wrapping too! Sometimes I do themes, one year I used Pirates of the Caribbean paper (thank you Dollar Tree) and made name tags by burning the edges of butcher paper so they looked appropriately like aged treasure maps.
ReplyDeleteMy dog had to wear t-shirts for about 2 weeks due to having stitches in her side. I was fun playing dress-up till she started to rip them :-/
ReplyDeleteThis year Wrapping is going to be very important. I lost my husband this Thanksgiving and our anniversary is tomorrow. We usually spend our anniversary Christmas shopping for the kids. We have 5 and they are still little. This year to get through this day I have made arrangements for all of the kids to go spend the morning and the afternoon at friends houses so I can stay home and wrap gifts. His job has always been to hold the tape. Sorry for the sob story, just wanted to get it out.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear about your husband, but what a lovely tradition shopping for the kids on your anniversary.
DeleteHope you manage to get through the day.
Michelle, I don't know you, but I am so sorry for your loss. I wish I could do something for you.
DeleteMichelle, I don't know where you live, but I'd give just about anything to help you wrap those gifts tomorrow. Sending so many virtual hugs and warm thoughts your way, my friend. And if you need anything, please - no really, *please* - e-mail me.
DeleteMichelle, I don't even know you, but I'll think of you tomorrow. I'm glad you had such a nice thing to look forward to with your husband every year, and I'm so sorry he can't hold the tape this time, but I think he'd approve of your plan for the day and want you and the kids to have the nicest holiday you can this year.
DeleteMichelle, my heart hurts for you... I'm right there with everyone else. I wish there was some way I could help... you'll be in my thoughts and prayers...
DeleteHey, Michelle. Sending you virtual hugs and prayers from Iowa. Know there's a legion of Epbot-ites who will be with you in spirit.
DeleteDiana
Your getting hugs and shoulders to cry on from Illinois! I'll keep you in my thoughts.
DeleteThanks everyone. It was a hard day, but luckily my husband was a very talented musician and he had just finished recording his first solo album. I listened to him sing to me while I wrapped and it felt like he was there with me. I am just trying to figure out life right now. We got married when I was 17 (Iknow, crazy), we had our first child when I was 18 and I have been a stay at home mom all these years. Just when I started to go back to school is when he was diagnosed with cancer. It was a very aggressive cancer and I then became a full time caregiver. Now it is time to pull myself up and find a way to support my family. It helps to read websites like this. I see people conquer the world all the time on Epbot. Thanks for the love.
Deletethat haunted mansion shot is tremendous! wow!
ReplyDeletei would be happy to bring you my gifts to be wrapped if it makes you that happy. such sacrifices i would make for you! ahem. yes, sacrifices. (bwaaaaaahahaha!)
I absolutely love wrapping. AND wrapping paper (I have a bit of a collection). Love the idea for the snowflake ribbon. One of the best parts of Christmas really.
ReplyDeleteI love it too - my grandmother, when she was still alive, would have me come over and wrap for her. (Even mine, because I was old enough to know peeking spoiled everything.)
ReplyDeleteWe have a cat with allergies, and I know when she's missed her steroid pill if she's licking obsessively.
ReplyDeleteP.S. - Typo in header....yes, I'm a crazy spelling lady....
I looooooove wrapping! This year I've gone crazy with kraft paper. http://blackwyrmdesigns.com/content/how-wrap-gifts
ReplyDeleteAlso, I totes just finished a cross stitch for a friend that says "Welcome to Planet Bullshit" on it because it's one of his favorite phrases.
I fricken LOVE Arrow! Def in my top 5 favorite shows (and I watch a LOT of shows). I do have to look up some of the characters when they show up because I don't/haven't followed any of the comic stories.
ReplyDeleteAnd God do I wish I lived closer to you! I would bring you every single thing I had to wrap! And I would love some photo sessions with you. Your pics are amazing.
I love wrapping too! I also worked at Papyrus for a little while and got trained to wrap presents *perfectly*. In past Christmases, I've gotten frustrated by the poor quality of most wrapping papers out there, so this year I got some of the brown packing paper stuff, and I'm just decorating them each individually with ribbons, markers, prismacolors, crayons, stamps... whatever I have that I think I can use. So much fun, and I know my paper won't tear! :D
ReplyDeleteI love wrapping! I've told my friend/neighbor that I will gladly wrap hers - especially since she sucks at it!
ReplyDeleteLily in a onesie = cuteness overload.
ReplyDeleteI think our cats would race around the house madly trying to GET THAT THING OFF. Which . . . might be rather entertaining. And they need the exercise. :)
I'm still crying (in a coffee shop, thank you very much!) over AnnaMay's Christmas card. Best year ever.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jen!
Jen, I, too love to wrap gifts, and like others on here, I don't get enough opportunities to do so. @Meg - a gift-wrapping theme each year?!!? How crazy and fun!
ReplyDeleteJen, I also enjoy cross-stitching - I've stitched Christmas stockings for my immediate family and our daughter-in-law, and several samplers over the years. For me, it's a very cathartic hobby. You'll have to share your project as the poetry develops ;) and when you've finished.
P.S. Yay, AnnaMay!
Jen, you should share your cat onesie modifications here!! Or, start selling them. (like you need to add anything else to your plate!!)
ReplyDeleteThat cat onesie is the best thing I've seen all week!
ReplyDeleteCan I mail you my presents and you just mail them back? I'm terrible at wrapping. I try so hard, too.
The tech girl on Arrow is gorgeous! Every time I catch an episode I spend the entire time wondering if they're ever going to hook up.
I LOVE wrapping gifts! I always ask people if I can help wrap. I want to start a gift wrapping/Elf on the shelf moving business. I have so many great ideas, but, I don't have kids!
ReplyDeleteI live in Lake Mary - can I bring you mine yo wrap?!
ReplyDeleteArrow fan here too. Be patient; Stephen Amell gets better. (Big Supernatural fan too.)
I hate wrapping so much that I'm actually tempted to post my presents to you from Britain and pay for you to send them back, all wrapped up! If only they'd make it back before Christmas ;-)
ReplyDeleteThat HM picture is beautiful! I needed to see these pics today - kid superheroes, a cute kitty and my favorite ride!
ReplyDeleteIs it wrong that I was seriously tempted for a moment to run out and buy a onesie just so I could take a photo of my cat in it. Yeah, I'm probably a bad person... Lily looks so cute though!
ReplyDeleteAww, I <3 Arrow! That cat onesie is brilliant and adorable.
ReplyDeleteYep, I'm a little nuts about wrapping too. I am a little sad I don't have more to wrap this year! Maybe I can convince my friends to let me wrap theirs! ... and I love the snowflake-as-bow idea.
ReplyDeleteCross stitching rocks!
ReplyDeleteMy grandma hated wrapping presents (I know, WHAT?). I used to go to her house every December with a supply of paper and enough holiday movies to last a long afternoon, and I would wrap the stuff she had for all 20 or so of us in the family (my aunts/uncles/cousins/etc). I didn't realize until she died a couple of years ago that would be what I'd miss most at the holidays. :(
ReplyDeletep.s. I LOVE AnnaMay's card!
One year when I was first married, I wrapped all the gifts in brown craft paper and had a different color theme for each person (blue bows and ribbon), I was so proud! At the end of the family Christmas celebration, I overheard my Dad tell my Mom to send me some wrapping paper since I couldn't afford it! When my girls were babies, I bought two very big rolls of wrapping paper with Santas on them, and each year was able to wrap all the presents from the North Pole with this paper. My kids could look at photos from past years and see the same paper. The paper lasted longer than their belief did.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post full of warm fuzzies. Thank you! I was just looking at my cat and one of my daughter's nightgowns thinking how completely adorable she would look in it. But I decided I didn't want to bleed that much. Although, looking at Lily's picture, it might be worth it. :)
ReplyDeleteI used to take my family's presents from underneath the tree and add ribbons and bows to them.
ReplyDeleteeat goddamn crumpets... My brain is now trying to fill in the gaps. What is the rest of the design going to say/look like?
ReplyDeleteThe Cake Girl
NO WAY...my family took a big trip here to Orlando this week from the good old western US, and I thought it would be funny if I saw Jen and John at Disney World. Turns out we were there the same night!
ReplyDeleteI have always loved wrapping gifts. My grandmother used to wrap gifts for me in plastic bags to hide what they were, then I would wrap them in paper. I did actually work as a professional gift wrapper one summer when I was in college. I wish I had more gifts to wrap these days, honestly.
ReplyDeleteI have a confession to make: I am not a geek. (Shamedly bows head and averts eyes.) The truth is I don't understand half of what you are talking about. So I look to the comments to explain the references I don't get, which is most of them. 60some comments already and not one of them has cleared up what that cross stitch is going to say when it is done. I'm frustrated. Please please explain.
ReplyDeleteI believe it's a Borderland reference. "Gonna eat so many goddamn crumpets, it's going to be a Crumpocolypse.""
DeleteThanks Kaaren, now I just need to Google what Borderland is and I'll be all set.
DeleteI also wish everyone would let me wrap their presents!
ReplyDeleteOh, good! I'm glad you got a card from AnnaMay too! (I wasn't sure how often you check your P.O. box.)
ReplyDeleteMy last dog was the same as Lily - licked himself raw sometimes and we had to put clothes on him to make him forget. My current dog is just skinny and cold-natured, so he needs a shirt in the cold weather. Aren't fur-babies funny - especially in clothes? =)
I laughed so hard when I saw that cross-stitch tweet. Can't wait to see what it really says! And that Haunted Mansion shot is a.maze.ing!
I'll never forget my Dad's wrapping artistry. He once disguised a fire extinguisher as a fire truck - complete with handcut paper ladders and cardboard wheels that turned. The Christmas before my first summer camp he disguised a sleeping bag and pillow as a giant mushroom. Each gift was wrapped uniquely, so he never put names on any gifts. We spent many happy hours wondering whether the decoration was a hint of what was inside or not and whose gift was whose. I still like to try to be inventive with wrapping.
ReplyDeleteLily is adorable. I would never be able to get any of my cats into any sort of clothing. And that makes me sad.
ReplyDelete@Diane R - what a fabulous Christmas memory of your dad's wrapping artistry! I would be sad to unwrap the presents, ruining his artwork. However, I doubt most kids would share my angst and dive right in ;) .
ReplyDeleteWhodda thought the Haunted Mansion could be so beautiful! What a fun thing to see. Whatever you are doing to your pictures, keep it up. So enjoyable!
ReplyDeleteAlso, this year I bought a thick roll of Christmas wrap that is blue with white snowflakes of varying sizes. I used my Silhouette cutting machine and made the names of all 10 recipients in white script, different fonts. The presents are so minimalistly (is that a word?) pretty, and easily identifiable, so the 7,5, and 4 yr. olds can hand them out. I also fount that you can pull off a long piece of cellophane tape, stick one long edge of it to the table, and roll it over on itself, creating a very thin tube. You can then cut off tiny pieces of the tube and stick the tags onto the presents. It was actually easier than using glue dots, which tend to stick to my fingers. Love your posts, Jen. Merry Christmas!
Cathy M.
The next time you visit your parents, I'd love to hang out with you at Busch Gardens. I know it's not Disney, but there are a few wonderfully steampunky areas (have you ever been through the line for the Loch Ness Monster?)
ReplyDelete