Grace and Toy / 33 Weeks

This is Grace with probably the cat's new favorite toy. We've actually had it for awhile, having bought it last year at the Lake. At least, I think that's where we got it from. This picture is a less psycho-looking version of what she looks like when she plays with it.

33 Weeks! Yes, I know I look pretty small still. It just annoys me when people point that out. I want to scream: "You try carrying this thing around!" Ugh. And this morning it was cold enough outside to wear a sweater. I love Fall.

The Rules of Logos are Simple and Finite...

...any Cosmo girl would know!

That's right, Elle Woods is the inspiration for the quote bragging about me getting a 10-6 record last week on my NFL picks - including the surprising upset loss by the Green Bay Packers to the perennial suckfest that is the Cincinnati Bengals. Are the Cincinnati Bengals? Be? Am?

Whatever. Grammar is hard. On to the picks!

WAS at DET: Eurgh. Both teams suck (the Redskins beat the Rams entirely on field goals last week!), but the Redskins' logo is slightly better. Redskins.
GB at STL: The Packer logo is spectacularly worse than the Rams' is, but even I know better than to bet on the Rams. Packers.

An aside: Jason LaRue is obviously white trash, but at least he doesn't have a mullet - his hair is the same length all the way around.

SFO at MIN: I just hate Brett Favre when he wins, but the logos don't lie. Vikings.
ATL at NE: You know what? I LIKE the Patriots' logo - it looks like a flying Elvis! Patriots.
TEN at NYJ: The Titan logo is, for all intents and purposes, a thumbtack that looks like it's on fire. Plus, I can't in good conscience pick the Jets, having been crippled by having their quarterback Chad Pennington as my fantasy football team starter for so long, even when he sucked (he's with the Dolphins now, and is apparently much better). Titans.
KC at PHI: It's the Chiefs. Even if Donovan McNabb doesn't play, it's the Chiefs. Eagles.
NYG at TB: Even though the Giants' logo is lame, it's a classy kind of lame. Plus, I like blue! Giants.
CLE at BAL: Hahahahahahahahahah! Ravens
JAX at HOU: Houston did win last week, and I picked them to win, like a crazy person. I'm picking them again, just for funzies. Plus, their logo is like the flag of Texas, and if you don't like the Texas flag, you're a terrorist! Texans.
NO at BUF: Hahahahahahahahahah! Saints.
CHI at SEA: Seattle's going to be wearing their hideous sea foam green uniforms. Green shirts, green pants, light-green piping. Ewwww. Plus, ask me sometime about high school and all the douchebags in their Seahawks windbreakers. They may have a better logo, but the terrible outfits cancel those out. Bears.
PIT at CIN: I like the leaping gay cat logo, and the fact that there's a player named "Ochocinco" (yes, "eight-five") on the roster. Bengals in a HUGE upset.
DEN at OAK: Stylized horse > pirate dude. Broncos.
MIA at SDG: The Chargers may be overrated, but again, Dolphins can't run on land, and don't even have hands - how can they catch a forward pass? Chargers.
IND at ARI: Kurt Warner is so sexy, in that old man who's not a total douchebag like Brett Favre kind of way. Cardinals.
CAR at DAL: The Panthers have a better logo, but they're so terrible, the logo can't help. Cowboys.




By the way, Brian is bragging about his 12-4 record last week in his picks league. But he's such a dork he joined a picks league, so what does he know?

Sleep Deprivation is Fun!

I have entered that wonderful time in pregnancy where sleeping has become extremely difficult. This is for two main reasons. 1) I have to pee all the freakin' time. I mean seriously, four times in one hour. That seems a bit excessive and yet there you go. 2) Whenever I lay down - and I do mean whenever, it could be 2 in the afternoon - baby girl decides that would be the best time to practice her jazzercise routine. Its like a disco in there. I would not be surprised to find that she has hung a miniature mirror ball in my uterus and is doing some sweet moves from Saturday Night Fever.

I was so tired from lack of sleep last Saturday that I was reduced to tears (yes, actual tears) because all I wanted was to take a nap. Just a couple of hours of uninterrupted sleep. That's all I was asking for. If you don't believe me, ask Brian. It was awful and no, I did not in fact get any sleep that day either.

Perhaps this is my body's way of preparing me for when she's born and doesn't sleep for more than a few hours at a time and my sleep schedule has to correspond with hers. I'm telling you though, I see a very cranky Kirsten for the foreseeable future.

Also, simply by walking one block from my car to the London Tea Room for Knitty Knerds last Friday, I have managed to reinjure my ankle. Its not as bad as when I first hurt it but there are times when I feel shooting pain up my leg. Fun.

Man, I'm such a whiner sometimes.

NFL Picks, Week Two

Last week, using my fantastical tactic of picking pro football game winners based almost entirely on their mascots, I compiled a record of 9-7. I'll keep track of my cumulative record throughout the season unless I get sick of this.

On to the picks!
CAR at ATL - This is a difficult choice - they have equally good logos. However, the Atlanta home uniform of black pants (slimming!) with black shirts and red trim is a far better choice, fashion-wise. Falcons.
MIN at DET - I hate Brett Favre. I hate him - I hate him! But the likelihood is that he'll win, because it's the Lions, and the Vikings do have a better logo than Detroit. Vikings
CIN at GB - I don't like the Packers, either, but I know they'll probably win, because it's the Bengals. But I do like the Bengals' leaping kitty logo! Bengals
ARI at JAX - I have faith in Kurt Warner, because he's old and still playing, but not as annoying as Brett Favre. Cardinals.
OAK at KAN - The Chiefs' logo is really hideous, and the Raiders made a show of it last week against the apparently-overrated Chargers. Plus, the Chiefs don't have Dick Vermiel anymore, who amused me because he always looked like he had to poop, but did win a Super Bowl with one team and took another to one 20 years before. So, Raiders to win.
NE at NYJ - Cut-off hoodies for the win. Patriots.
NO at PHI - The Saints have a better uniform. I don't like that green crap the Eagles wear - what is that, sea foam? It's just as bad as the Seahawks (more on this later). Saints.
HOU at TEN - Houston still has a better logo. I like the flag inside the longhorn skull. Brian tells me the Titans are a much better team, but I don't care. I know the Texans suck, but still pick them. Texans.
STL at WAS - I have a whole lot of "meh" for this game. I guess Rams.
SEA at SFO - I really hate the 49ers' uniforms. Gold pants? What is this, the 70s? Is this Studio 54? No, this is the NFL. Lucky for the Seahawks they'll be wearing their road whites! Seahawks.
TB at BUF - That frickin' buffalo is pretty ugly. You can't deny that. Buccaneers.
PIT at CHI - In this case, you have the choice of weird sparkly painty bits in a white circle versus a boring orange "C." OooOOoOOoOOOoooOOOo. Steelers.
CLE at DEN - It's the Browns. There's nothing exciting about them whatsoever, so I have to always pick against them. And the Browns will probably be terrible, so I have better-than-even odds of being right. Broncos.
BAL at SD - I hate the lightning bolt, so I have to go with the Ravens. Seriously, a lightning bolt? Even the name "Chargers" is kind of lame. What kind of team mascot is a charger? Is it, like, a horse? A supercharger from a car engine? A battery charger? Ravens.
NYG at DAL - Neither logo is a very good choice. But maybe people will keep kicking things into the giant screen, so the Cowboys have a home field advantage there. Cowboys.
IND at MIA - Nobody would pick Miami. Brian tells me they made the playoffs last year. I don't care - it's the dolphins. They may be the most intelligent creatures on earth, but they aren't supposed to be on land, and I'm relatively certain they can't kick a field goal. Colts.

Couldn't Have Said it Better Myself

Normally, I avoid editorials but this article on CNN caught my eye. In essence, it criticizes the self-centered, me-first world we live in. I wish I could have written this. As someone who has worked in various forms of food-service where we basically have to treat every customer as the most important person there and put up with them being anything from rude to downright cruel, I could not agree more. At what point did we decide it was okay to make another person cry (and yes, I have cried on more than one occasion at work) just because something didn't go our way? When did it become okay to look down on someone just because they have a job that you consider demeaning? If no one worked in food service or as a janitor or as a gardner, where would we be? Just because we don't make huge salaries does not make us any less of a person than you. In fact, I'm going to come out and say it, we are more important than you because we keep the world running and make your lives easier. There I said it.

/end rant

31 (Almost) Weeks

The lighting in my bathroom sucks, but that's the only place in the house with a mirror so...there you go.

Oh My Neighbors!

Sometimes I hate where I live. People here have no idea how to behave properly. For example, the kids like to play "kick ball" in the street and they have on more than one occasion come very close to hitting my car. While I realize that this is an urban neighborhood and there aren't a lot of front yards for the neighborhood youth to play in that does not make it okay to play in the middle of the street. Right next to my car!

That's not what I really wanted to complain about. Why is it that people think it is okay to sit in their car with the windows rolled down blasting their stereo late into the night? This has happened on more than one occasion and it was different cars every time; so, it was probably different people each time. Oi. And it is always when I have to get up early the next morning. If you must blast your music could you at least do it inside someone's home and not right outside my house? Thank you.

Also, yes that was me that called the cops.

NFL Picks, Week One

So. Brian used to do his picks on his blog every week and although he is not doing that anymore, I thought I'd keep the tradition alive. Only my picks will be based almost entirely on who has the better mascot/logo. It's got to be at least as accurate as any other way.

TEN vs PIT: Technically, this game happened yesterday. But since no one in their right mind would pick the Titans over the reigning Super Bowl champions, I'm counting this as a win for me. Pittsburgh

MIA vs ATL: This is a bit of a toss-up for me since neither the falcons nor the dolphins is a particularly exciting mascot. But since I think the Atlanta logo looks better, I'm going to pick them. Atlanta.

KC vs BAL: This one's easy. Ravens definitely better than the chiefs, mascot wise. Baltimore.

PHI vs CAR: On the one hand, I personally like the Carolina logo better. On the other hand, I think the Eagles might be a better team. On the other hand (yes I have three hands), the Eagles signed Michael Vick who is a bit of dog killing asshole. So, just for kicks I'm going to go with Carolina.

DEN vs CIN: The Bengals are a totally better mascot than the Broncos, unfortunately their logo is a bit lame. Hmm...plus they probably won't win cause they're just that bad. Then again, Brian might be upset with me if I didn't pick them to win so...Cincinnati.

MIN vs CLE: Here's another hard one. The Browns is a terrible name for a team. Then again the Vikings signed Brett Favre who I personally believe needs to just give up. I mean, dude, seriously, you're old and past your prime. Let it go. So I have to go with Cleveland.

NYJ vs HOU: Just to be contrary, even though I know the Texans will probably lose, I like their logo better. Houston

JAC vs IND: Again, the Jaguars logo is better, but I know they are a much worse team and have lost their last three (I think) games against the Colts. In this case though I'm going with Indianapolis.

DET vs NO: No contest here really. New Orleans.

DAL vs TB: There are too many teams, so from now on I'm just going to give my picks and forget the commentary. Tampa Bay

SF vs ARI: Arizona. Also, duh because they were in the Super Bowl last year and I can't remember the last time the 49ers were any good

WAS vs NYG: New York.

STL vs SEA: Hmm...my adopted home town team or my former "home town" (being the closest team to Vancouver)? Decisions, decisions. Seattle

CHI vs GB: Da bears.

BUF vs NE: New England. I mean seriously, who would pick Buffalo?

SD vs OAK: Another no brainer. San Diego.

That's all folks. We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog.

And the Results...

Brian Boitano's Coq-Au-Vin-Guine:

Do I Talk About Food Too Much?

I think maybe I do. Perhaps it is because of this thing I'm growing in my tummy that makes me hungry all the time. Anyway. Tonight Brian and I are going to tackle a recipe from What Would Brian Boitano Make? (if you haven't watched it, you are totally missing out on some excellent ridiculousness) Check out the recipe here