Photo montage: Brotherly love

Amanda Hevener — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:05:26 +0000

When we first rescued Socrates (Socks), I had a feeling that he and Horus would become buddies faster than e-cigarettes have become popular. As it turns out, I was right. Here are a few pictures of the two looking adorable:

Stalking birds from the office window.

Snoozing on the couch

Getting into trouble.

Photo of the day: Wedged in

Amanda Hevener — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:26:10 +0000

When Horus decided to climb into one of my empty bookcases, he couldn’t just hop onto an empty shelf. No, he had to do it the hard way: between a half-empty box, some bulletin boards, the side of the bookcase and behind the magazine stand. Weirdo.

New Years Resolutions, 2012 Edition

Amanda Hevener — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 00:49:38 +0000

This has taken me forever to write, so I guess I can cross my usual resolution, Stop Procrastinating, off of my list. Although, this year, coming up with my resolutions was as easy as finding houses for rent in Calgary. Anyways, here’s my short list:

1) Get out of the house more. Don’t get me wrong: working from home is AWESOME. But, I never seem to get out and do anything fun. This year I hope to get to attend a sporting event or two, or maybe even go see a movie in a theater (something I haven’t done since 2005.) Heck, even going bowling would be nice!

2) Write a book. I have a bunch of ideas and have been actively outlining two of them. This is the year that I buckle down and start writing one of them.

3) Get organized. This one won’t take place until after I move in about a week and a half. I need to start remembering things like birthdays, not to mention that cleaning out my files and setting up a weekly publication calendar won’t kill me. Well, I can start on that last one.

What’re your resolutions?

State of chaos

Amanda Hevener — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:33:12 +0000

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: MOVING SUCKS. My office is currently packed full of boxes (pun intended) and there’s a small path leading to my desk in the corner, since I still have to accomplish something besides packing.

This is what it currently looks like:

CHAOS!

I have everything packed (except for the essentials, of course) in my office, bathroom and living room. All that’s left are the kitchen (argh! breakables!) and the bedroom. And to hunt down all of the cat toys and place them in a box or something, but that won’t happen until after the movers are done. I have two more weeks to pack, so it’ll probably be a month from now that my brain (and office) are functional again.

And of course the cats are having a field day climbing everything.

2011: Another year for the history books

Amanda Hevener — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 01:58:49 +0000

Here’s a quick overview of the good, the bad, and the just plain strange things that happened this year:

I reviewed some great books.

And identified Goose-squatch.

My husband and I adopted a new cat, and then lost two to old age (Abby) and kidney disease (Loki).

My car broke down, was fixed, broke down again, was fixed, but still isn’t running right and I decided that I REALLY need a new one.

I hit Josh in the face with a snowball.

Floyd D. Computer broke and was replaced by Floyd D. Computer Jr.

I posted my first YouTube video (of my cats, of course.)

And moved into a new apartment.

I reviewed some awesome pet products: T-shirts for dog lovers, some kick-ass pet products, catnip-filled cat toys, and a Gamma2 Vittles Vault.

And some cool cell phone apps: Snapbucket, Let’s Eat and Krispy Kreme Hot Light.

I redesigned this blog.

And… posted LOTS and LOTS of cat pictures.

So, what’s on tap for 2012? I’m moving AGAIN sometime within the next month, my husband (finally!) starts school, and the best news of all… I’M GOING TO BE AN AUNT (courtesy of my sister and her husband.)

Beyond that, who knows? I’ll live it and you’ll end up reading it. There’s nothing more simple than that.

A few cool things

Amanda Hevener — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 20:47:16 +0000

Did you know that Krispy Kreme (baker of awesome doughnuts) has a cell phone app? It’s for Android, iPhone or your desktop computer. Basically, you plug in your location info and it tells you where the nearest Krispy Kreme is, and sends you alerts when they have fresh doughnuts. For a chocolate-covered doughnut-addicted frequent-road tripper like me, it’s perfect. And it’s free. How can you beat that?

I love a good board game, and am entirely disappointed whenever I wander the game aisle at Wal-Mart. All of the new ones seem to come with DVDs or are shadows of the ones I remember playing as a kid. I think all of the kids these days are more into video games, which is a shame. (And, yes, I know how old that makes me sound.) So, when a new board game comes along, I get excited. This one is based on the TV show Modern Family. Basically, as you make your way around the board, you advance by collecting tokens. To get a token you have to draw a card (the color of which depends on the color of the space that you’re on) and answer trivia questions about the show, do charades or discuss show-related topics. Pretty cool!

I got a kick out of this quiz on the ABC Home & Carpet Reveal Blog: Find Your Perfect Bookcase. All that you have to do is answer two questions, then scroll down to see what your ideal bookcase style is. It turns out that I’m “classic” and that this style is recommended:

: Todd Hase designs are made-to-last classics. This bookcase, rendered from sycamore wood, is a timeless piece that will certainly outlast your book collection.

Since it resembles almost all of the 6 (yes, 6!) bookcases in my office, I’m going to with yes, the quiz is pretty darn accurate.

What style did you end up with?

Dexter

Amanda Hevener — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:49:45 +0000

Author: Elias Massey

Does anyone know what channel Dexter comes on Dirct TV Wichita? I watched a couple episodes over at a friends house and got totally hooked. It is a show about a serial killer that only kills other serial killers. Each season usually has one major serial killer that he is tracking and then other smaller killers that he kills each episode. Okay, as I am typing that I am realizing how incredibly morbid and insane this show sounds! But I am telling if you watch it once you will get into it and want to watch the whole season. I know you can buy the whole season on DVD, but if I did that I would probably end up watching all the episode in one incredibly long sitting because I have no self control when it comes to that! I need to find out what channel it comes on so I can just watch one episode a week. What are your favorite shows that you just can’t go without watching? Not that I need any more show to get obsessed with.

Random thoughts: Post-Christmas edition

Amanda Hevener — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 23:53:12 +0000

Holiday stuffing:

Yesterday was what I call Thanksgiving Take 2: a post-Christmas, Christmas celebration with my parents at Cracker Barrel. After stuffing myself with chicken fried chicken, biscuits, hashbrown casserole and mashed potatoes and gravy, I was too full to move. Or eat the fried apples that came with my meal. (I wound up eating them later, though.)

Video game widow:

My husband used his Game Stop gift cards (thanks mom & dad!) to buy himself the new Skyrim V: the Elder Scrolls. He’s been playing it almost non-stop since we got home yesterday. I practically had to force him to stop playing so that he could make dinner. Two seconds after wolfing down his food — he’s playing again! At least it keeps him busy.

Box cats:

Socrates squishing Horus in order to gain control of the box…

Check out the Let’s Eat! Android app

Amanda Hevener — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 01:25:33 +0000

I don’t know about you, but when I’m hungry I need to eat asap — or else someone’s going to lose an eye (or worse.) My husband will testify to that: he’s been on the receiving end of that disaster in progress. Add that fact and the road trips that we enjoy together, and you’ll have the makings for a disaster of epic proportions, especially if I’m both tired and hungry. But then I discovered the Let’s Eat! app.

That’s what’s cool about the Let’s Eat! app that I just downloaded onto my (Android, thank you very much) phone. Instead of having to wander through reader reviews and 10,000 menu options to find something nearby, I just have to let the app find my location and then everything within 1km, or around .62 miles, pops up. With the help of Google maps, it even gives me directions on how to get to the restaurant, diner or gas station of my choosing. Yes, I’m not above eating a gas station hot dog. Most of them are quite tasty. But, I digress…

The graphics on the app are simple and straightforward. You don’t need any flashing or blinking icons, or any annoying restaurant reviews when all that you want to do is find something to eat before your wife starts beating on you. (Right, Josh?)

You can find the Let’s Eat! app on the Android Market here, or search from your cell phone. For 99 cents, how can you go wrong?

Random thought of the day: iPhone dreams

Amanda Hevener — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 02:07:04 +0000

I had a dream last night that I owned an iPhone. Considering the fact that I’m an avowed PC user, it was strange. Either I brought it on by admiring these super cool Star Trek iPhone cases on the Think Geek website, or I watched the Star Wars trilogies too many times over the weekend and my subconscious is telling me to turn to The Dark Side.

Either way, it was weird.

And just for the record, I want a Motorola Droid RAZR, not an iPhone. Yikes.