It's been a long day

I nearly cried when I saw this video. Microsoft has made some pretty hilarious videos but this one is the best I've seen:



It's a fictional video of Bill Gates' last day at work, which they showed before his keynote speech at the CES conference this year. I promise you won't regret watching this - it is *awesome*.

Get it while it's hot

Post 'n' run today. Things I am happy about:

1. Amazon.com's MP3 Download service. No DRM, which means I can use this music anywhere. Heck yeah, I'll pay for it, cuz I actually *for real* own the music once I've downloaded it. Yay Amazon. And they have Kix! And Poison! No Def Leppard yet, though.

2. Podfitness - download personal trainer workout audio, and their engine mixes it with playlists on iTunes. I've done 2 of the treadmill walking workouts so far, and it ROCKS. Makes me hate working out just a little bit less. For $20/month, this subscription is TOTALLY worth it. (And since I'm not paying for a gym right now, that works just fine for me.)

3. Sucessfully getting up at 6:40am to go to the dog park with Allison. EVERY DAY. (Well, on weekends we meet at 9:30am). I've never missed a day I said I'd be there. And we've only taken a handful of days off since November. Go us!

4. Spikeman is back to his usual whiny Beagle self. No more morose and sickly Spikeman. The old, happy, "give me a treat NOW" Spikeman is back! YAY.

5. I sold "A Year of Earrings" on my Etsy shop, and it was bought as a birthday gift for another friend of mine. I can't wait to get started on making the earrings - it's so much nicer to work on a specific project for someone you care about.

6. Friends. You all are awesome. For a variety of reasons, but most of all because you're honest and don't spout the party line at me. Because we can be REAL with each other. YAY!

C'mon puppies, it's time for bed.

I got no patience and I hate waitin'

Look what followed us home yesterday:



We decided to keep him. You can read all about our long day of car-buying on TJ's blog.

Yeah, I like driving a big car. If Peanut were a car, he'd be the 2008 Dodge Nitro R/T.

And TJ forgot to give me props for my mad negotiation skillz, which saved us $370 and got us a price that was even lower than our initial offer, as crazy as that sounds.

We went into the dealer with our offer - invoice price for the vehicle itself, plus the destination charge, but minus all those other stupid things that dealers try to stick to you (shipping fees, loyalty programs, gas?!). We presented our offer, and the 'sales manager' had to go 'see what he could do'. He came back with some hazy explanations about not making money on the dealer holdback because they brought this particular car from another deal. (Ask me why I care, since we didn't request this.)

So he presented us with the Chrysler partner program price which was $364 higher than what we came in with. TJ was wavering at this point since he hates negotiation, and it wasn't enough money for him to continue the unpleasant process. So we asked the dealer guy to let us discuss this for a minute in private. It felt very much like the attorney-criminal whispering sessions in Law and Order.

I said that this dealer was not likely to lose a deal based on $364 and we didn't really need a car so we could just walk away. TJ was unsure, but decided to play along and hold firm on our number. Turns out, I was right, and the dealer actually ended up taking off $370, so we got an extra $6 off. Awesome!

While the negotiation is yucky, I actually don't mind doing it. However, TJ hates it and also makes me feel like a harpy when I get on my "no crap from you, salesman" attitude on, so that makes me unsure. He thinks I come across as too confrontational, but I think it's because he doesn't like even the hint of disagreement or conflict. I just don't feel like I need to be overly friendly or volunteer info that will definitely be used against us later.

We have an agreement now that I'll take care of the negotiation next time we do this, which will be several years down the road. But for now, we'll be driving our big pimpin mobile around town. It's so HOT.

There's a hole in my heart that can only be filled by you

Sad news today. My parents' dog Mona died this morning. Despite making great progress with the treatment for lymphoma over the past couple of months, she suddenly got much worse over the last few days, so they had to euthanize her this morning.

What a hard decision to make. I do not envy them. But she lived a good life with them as their first (and very cherished) dog. She was a sweet, mellow girl. Though I haven't spent much time with her, I'll miss her, too.

Send happy thoughts their way, please. And if you're so inclined, send a small donation to your local Humane Society - that's where Mona was adopted from. Sad.

And never brought to mind

Happy New Year, everyone! I can't believe my long holiday vacation is coming to an end. I've been off work since Dec 19, but it seems like just yesterday. Oh well.

I do feel re-energized by the break, though (of course!) I didn't get everything done that I wanted to, including trying out a coworker's BeDazzler that she let me borrow over the holidays. (It was a gift from a customer, before you start making fun!)

Last night TJ and I rang in 2008 at Canlis (where else?) with a lovely 9 course meal, and Sommelier's Wine Pairing. It was, by far, the most expensive meal I have *ever* had. And after 7 glasses of wine, I forgot to bring home the menu, so I don't even remember which wines we had. I had quinoa for the first time, and discovered I really like it, so I'll have to buy some to make at home.

But I do remember one was the Chateau Mouton Rothschild with a very cute Picasso sheep drawing on the bottle. Apparently this one goes for $90 for a single glass, according to our waiter, who was a fun and quirky guy. So apparently the tasting flight was a screamin' deal. Which I'm sure it was, if we knew anything about wine.

But I'm definitely getting a better sense for what I like and I'm having a lot of fun trying to describe what each one tastes like. (Not in official wine terms, of course. One of the wines last night tasted like a wet attic to me, kind of musty and how I imagine moss might taste. Not in an entirely bad way, just different.)

So now we will go back to eating mac n cheese at home. For a *very* long time. And of course, it's New Year's Resolution Time, so here are mine for the year. Just two, because I'm trying to make them manageable:

1. Once and for all, get down to a manageable healthy weight. (have we heard this before? Yes. But if I don't try again, it definitely *won't* happen.)

2. Get my jewelry for sale in at least one local store/salon/boutique. (This involves me narrowing down my work into a few signature lines, and figuring out how to approach store owners and market my pieces.)

These aren't exactly easy resolutions, and they'll both take a lot of time and focus. And desire. Obviously the weight loss thing has been plaguing me for years. It's a planning/stress thing for me - if I overplan and make everything regimented I start to get stressed and freak out. If I don't plan enough, then I don't eat on a regular schedule and end up snarfing down nachos when I'm so hungry I can't see straight. So somewhere in there is a delicate balance.

Here's to finding that balance in 2008! Salut!