A Very Jill Update

Apologies nerdgirls & friends, it’s been too long.  It’s amazing how busy life can get when sometimes you work 11 hour days and discover firsthand the addictive qualities of Angry Birds.  Let me catch you up to speed.

A few weeks ago I bought myself a Christmas present – the new iPod touch!  To be honest, I wanted it more for the wifi capabilities & apps than the music player.  I love being able to stay connected with my email, facebook, & twitter without sitting in front of an actual computer.  And oh, the apps!  Seriously, Angry Birds gets addicting.  Plus I’ve just discovered apps for Cash Cab, Set, Picross, and Kakuro.  If you don’t know of those, do yourself a favor and check them out.  Fun AND good for your brain!

Not my real hand.

Next up: the weather.  Wherever you live, there’s a good chance you saw snow this past weekend.  I saw a lot of it.  Not because I was up in Minnesota by the Metrodome or anything but because there were blizzard warnings in Illinois!  My sister and I were traveling back upstate from being home.  It took us 6 hours to go what’s normally a little over 3 and then it took me 3.5 hours to go what’s normally about 2.  The blowing snow was horrible!

Not taken while driving.

That’s taken on an actual interstate in Central Illinois.  I do not recommend driving in blizzard conditions.  Wish we could all be on a warm cruise like Jen!

The last update on my life is about my library.  We’re a finalist to win $10,000 in a contest!  And, if we win, all of the money will go to improve our small teen area!  I know most of you who know me have voted, but if you’re a fan of libraries (and how can you not be if you’re reading our blog) please take a second to vote.  You use your email address, but you will NOT get spam or even a confirmation.  Please use all your email addresses; they each count as a vote.  http://vote.playaway.com/v/mortongrove/ Thanks to everyone who’s voted!  I really appreciate it!!

– Jill

2 + 2 = Crazy Cat Lady?

So I went a little crazy this weekend and adopted two more cats.  So that brings my grand total up to four.  I’m pretty sure I should stop there because I might already be entering pet hoarder territory.  I got them from an animal shelter, which was a really traumatic experience for me.  I walked into the cat room and burst into tears because there were so many of them.  All of them ran to the front of their cages and tried to nuzzle up against my hand.  Oh the tears!  I almost took all of them home with me.  Thank God I had already picked out the two I wanted ahead of time or else I would have been in serious trouble.

The two kitties I picked out are sisters (I guess the proper term is littermates) who have been together all their lives.  They lived for four years with a loving family who raised them from tiny kittens.  Then the boy in the family developed severe allergies and they had to give up their beloved animals.  Thank goodness I am not ever having kids because I totally would have been like, “okay kid, you can sleep in the garage from now on.”  I know, I am horrible but that is one of the reasons I’m not having kids…because I am too mean to have them.  🙂

So anyway, they seemed perfect for me because they are right around the same age as my cats and they had already been declawed, so I wouldn’t have to deal with the guilt of having it done.

So, without further ado, I would like to present the newest members of my family.  Here is Penelope Alice.  After knowing her for over 24 hours, I can tell you that she is a total cuddlebug and the more mature of the two.  She also appears to be the leader.  She likes playing with toy mice and having her tummy rubbed.  Her name comes from the Christina Ricci movie Penelope and the character Alice from Twilight.

Then there is my little firecracker.  Her name is Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Longstocking, but I will probably always call her Pippi.  She LOVES to get up on the counter and lick my dirty dishes.  She also likes sitting on my lap or hanging out in the clothesbasket.  If you don’t know where her name comes from, well, I can’t really help you.

It is going to be a tough adjustment for poor Addie and Hermione.  Addie looks so crushed and hurt and Hermione hasn’t emerged from behind the bookcase.  Every time I go in the bedroom I hear hissing and growling coming from the corner and I know it is meant for me.  (By the way, Hermione’s growling totally sounds like one of the skeksis from The Dark Crystal and it kind of freaks me out.)  Addie is currently on my lap, daring either of the new girls to come anywhere near me.  Oh well, hopefully we can all be one big happy family soon.

Jen

P.S.  I kind of like that all my cats names in an “eeee” sound.  Hermione, Addie, Pippi, and Penelope.

Update on Tangled…

Okay, so I totally saw Tangled again last night with my friend Erika.  It was even more wonderful and amazing the 2nd time!!!  Most of you are probably like, yeah, whatever….you already told us that you loved it, why are you posting about it again???

Well, I noticed that there was a glaring error in my first review, and I felt the need to correct it.  Here is an exact quote from my first review:  “The songs aren’t bad (they aren’t phenomenal, but they are kind of catchy).”  I was very very wrong about that.  After seeing the movie again, I must say that the songs are all fantastic!!  I think I wasn’t really prepared for computer animated characters to break into song the first time I saw it, so that kind of weirded me out.  Also, I have this problem where I usually can’t like a song until I’ve heard it at least a few times.  I am not sure why, maybe it’s because I like familiar things instead of new things.  Who knows?

But, I am currently listening to the soundtrack right now (thank you libraries for saving me so much money!!) and I can tell you that I will probably listen to it most of the day.

So, if you haven’t already seen this movie, you should probably go soon.  If my silly cruise weren’t going to get in the way I could probably see it at least 3 more times.

Jen