got some pix of the little one this morning when i gave her breakfast. she inhaled a can of Fancy Feast in no time flat, then climbed into my lap to make biscuits and snuggle. cross your fingers that i find her family today... if she's this lovey all the time, they have to be missing her something fierce.

seriously, am i crazy for feeling put off by this?:

this morning, i called the company we've hired to rip up and re-pave our driveway. i sent them a $2000 deposit by check 2 weeks ago, and have been waiting for a call to schedule our appointment, so i figured i'd call in case they never got the check. here was the conversation:

woman: yep, we received it last week, we're depositing it today.
me: oh good, then when will you be coming out to do the work?
woman: R (the head guy) will call you in a few weeks to schedule.
me: but you're cashing my check today?
woman: yep, we're really backed up with all the rain we've had so we need to get through some of that first before we schedule new appointments.
me: but you're cashing my check today? i'm not sure i feel comfortable with that when i don't have an appointment set.
woman: *completely shocked tone* well, let me take down your number and R will call you when he gets a chance.

am i nuts for thinking they should wait to deposit my check until they've at least scheduled the work?

i'm just posting so i have an excuse to use my new icon. i love him so much, i want to eat his little face.

it's because i watched "michael jackson's this is it" this morning. i totally hadn't expected to be so moved by the movie -- i figured, "hey, jack's still sleeping and i'll watch some fun michael jackson footage while i eat breakfast". instead, when jack got up a couple of hours later, i was in tears as the final 5 minutes rolled.

it's hard for me to explain why i was so moved; i mean, i was a big michael fan in the 80s, but i was like the rest of the world in my confusion/amusement/disdain over what he'd become later in his life. roger ebert does a much better job than me at explaining why this movie is so amazing. but i can't recommend it highly enough. if you love behind-the-scenes documentaries, if you love dance, if you liked MJ's music, if you're a performer yourself, you'll love this movie.

i think what i felt most as i watched it was this profound sense of loss. the footage was taped during rehearsals for a 50-date concert extravaganza in london, for michael's personal archive, so the footage itself isn't super-slick or anything. but what it shows is that this concert, if it had gone off as planned, would have been a monster. it was a glorious spectacle that no-one but those in rehearsal ever got to see live, and that makes me so sad. they hired dancers and singers and musicians from all over the world, the best of the best. they shot creative movies for almost every song, to play on a giant screen behind the action onstage. and best of all, michael was in amazing form. you don't see a sickly, frail 50-year-old man who has to take a cocktail of drugs to get by; you see him keeping up with dancers less than half his age, hitting the high notes just as well as he did in his 20s (there's no britney-spears-esque lip synching with him), and absolutely loving the creative process of putting this wonderland of a show together. and the performers and crew honestly, geniunely love him... not out of a pandering hero-worship thing, but because he is incredibly nice to everyone working on the show. (when people screw up in the middle of a number, he goes, "it's OK, that's why we rehearse" instead of throwing any diva attitude.)

so, yeah, while the performances were glorious and exciting (the dancing alone is going to get me to watch it again), the knowledge of "this never made it to the arena" left me feeling really sad. not just for the audiences that never got to experience it, but also for all of these people who worked so hard to make it happen. every person performing their heart out onstage is in love with the moment -- they are up there completely geeking out that they are part of something that is going to knock people's socks off. and it's heartbreaking to watch them beaming up there, knowing that they have no idea in that moment that in a few weeks it's all going to come to an abrupt halt.

anyway, that's enough outta me. all i can say is, see it. just see it.

* first off, you have to check out Conduct Happiness. OMG, their t-shirt designs are making me squee. tell me that "pea in the pool" and "broccoli gives me gas" don't make you LOL. a lot.

* i read in the recent O magazine about this 18-year-old girl named chrissie white who's into photography and has started winning awards. i finally checked out her website and HOLY CRAP. check out the sections for "dreams" (my favorites are farther in as you scroll) and "me" -- the self-portrait of her reflection in her vanity mirror gave me chills. again -- this girl is only 18.

* also -- if anyone would like to buy me one of these, i would be most appreciative.

there's a post on The Consumerist today (http://consumerist.com/2010/12/bride-sues-runaway-groom-for-100000.html) about a woman who's suing her former fiancee for leaving her at the altar. she'd shelled out all of their wedding deposits, etc to the tune of $100,000, and he cancelled the wedding just a few days before.

what's shocking is the consumerist community's response to the article -- almost every reply is "he's smart to run like the wind, sounds like she's a b****" or "it's her fault for spending $100K on a wedding, he shouldn't be expected to pay just because he got cold feet." am i missing something???? seriously??? the guy let his fiancee dump $100,000 into a wedding that he was secretly waffling over for a year (according to the article), and he shouldn't be expected to reimburse her for some of that?

(yes, of course i think $100k is insane to spend on a wedding. but that's not the point.)

katehaney posted a really cool thing in her LJ this morning so i'm going to gank it. the idea is to "list everything you love to do that fills you with joy and/or grace" and then keep that list by you to remind yourself. considering how down and stressed i am today, i need a few minutes of reflection on the important things in life. so here they are, in no particular order:

* smooching angus over and over on the flat part on the top of his head (it's like that spot was made for my lips to fit, and he totally puts up with it)
* dancing, any kind
* hooping
* laughing at jack's awesome sense of humor (the dude is freaking FUNNY)
* watching jack snorgle any of our kitties
* watching my awesomely talented friends do the things they are talented at
* experiencing a really well-made meal
* singing at the top of my lungs with the top down on the car
* doing the little "goodnight, love you" ritual with jack every night before we fall asleep
* getting a rave e-mail from a hoop customer
* sniffing the first sniff of fresh-mown grass in the spring
* watching a hysterically funny video on youtube and realizing how much humor is out there in life
* opening all the windows on a rainy day to smell that clean rain smell
* waking up in the middle of the night and feeling the cats hunkered down in the bed all around us
* having a really deep discussion with people i work with (inside and outside the company), which reminds me of our greater purpose
* gazing at the perfect, unbroken, glistening snow after a major snowstorm
* seeing a dog out on a walk with its owner (the purest form of joy in the world)
* smelling garlic bread, freshly baked cinnamon rolls, or lilacs
* having "me time" to be by myself and do whatever i want

for shellefly...


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

* just got off the phone with a casting person for HGTV... i had seen a flyer that they were looking for people to judge 2 identical-from-the-outside houses on the decor that 2 different designers chose for them... sent them an e-mail yesterday, and alerady heard from them. they asked me some qualifying questions about shows i watch on HGTV and my design tastes, and then gave me a few details on the shoot. i'm not sure if the shoot details are because i'm one of the 40 people they're bringing in to do the voting, or if it's to make sure i'm available before they decide. but heck, i might get to spend a day doing a TV shoot, fun fun fun!

* jack and i had fun at the costume exhibit at the michener over the weekend. we had expected a lot more costumes, but the ones that were there were fun. some were well-known and recognizeable, like the sapphire necklace from "titanic", scarlett o'hara's "curtains" gown from "gone with the wind", and arnold schwartzenegger's leather getup from "terminator 2". oh, and they had madeline kahn's turban from "young frankenstein" and liz taylor's jewelry from "cleopatra", those were cool. the most interesting thing for me was seeing costumes from really old black and white movies, and seeing how different they looked up close and in color. some of the costumes were kinda crappily made up close, but look gorgeous on folm. and the measurements -- good lord, don't get me started. seriously, some of those gowns looked like the actresses had a 20" waist. insane. it's there through labor day weekend if anyone wants to still catch it.