We Got Our Awesome Bookshelves Today

Some assembly may be required.

The Yellow Dress

Remember when I purchased this dress from Shabby Apple, and then my friend Jennie (who happens to live in Utah) told me that her neighbor is part owner of Shabby Apple and that my beautiful, sunny, summer dress has a return rate of 75%?

Well... my dress came in the mail the other day, so I wore it to class today. This is what it looks like on me:

Though, admittedly, I buttoned up my sweater all the way by the time I went out in public because I haven't shown off that much awkward cleavage since high school. Also, I think my fashion style is more Repressed Librarian than Flirty Débutante.

There are a few negatives about this dress. For one, it re-introduces me to my old nemesis "uniboob." Also, the waistline is somewhere between empire and.... well... actual waistline. It's not especially flattering. It's completely see-through, so I had to wear a slip, and I spent the whole day wondering whether my slip was showing (it was). It just barely doesn't cover my garmies-- even the especially low-cut mesh ones. And although I absolutely adore yellow and black, I admit that this outfit makes me look a bit like a Mario Bee.

But... I'm going to keep it (and not just because I got sweaty during class). I love, love, LOVE the color. I don't think I could ever be unhappy while wearing such a vividly yellow dress. The fullness of the skirt makes me feel like a Kindergartner and/or 50's housewife and/or Zooey Deschanel in "(500) Days of Summer." Walking back to my car after class, I had to resist the temptation to break out in song. 

However, my search for the Perfect Summer Dress continues.

Stuff to do Before Josh Turns 30: Pittock Mansion, Hollywood Theater, and All the Apparatus

Ever since we moved to the Portland area three years ago, I've been telling Josh that we need to visit the Pittock Mansion, since it combines things we both love: old houses and journalism. With Josh's 30th birthday looming ahead in less than a month, we finally made the effort.

Here are some things we saw:

The Mansion

Cool ceilings

Random cat portrait

Mt. Hood

Josh also wants to visit all of the older, independent theaters in Portland, so we went to the Hollywood Theater to see The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (since I have now read the trilogy). I'm not a huge fan of that part of Portland, but the theater is interesting.

I'm not sure what kind of face Josh is making, but the sun was directly in our eyes.

Detail

Finally, we made the trek downtown to see our friend's band All the Apparatus. I've been listening to their CD nonstop for the past couple weeks. They are really good, and if you ever find yourself downtown on a Saturday night, I recommend seeking them out on SW 5th and Morrison in downtown Portland.

The band

Our buddy Mike

Mike's wife (and my sister's sister-in-law) Sherrilyn

Here are some videos that Josh took of their performance:

Eliminating Fish Burps

I went to the doctor the other day and we had a long discussion about what vitamins I've been taking. I told her all about my foray into fish pills, and she remarked that she really hates the fishy aftertaste, which is why she takes fish pills with a little lemon in them.

Later, Josh and I were at the pharmacy and we found fish pills that purport to "eliminate fish burps." I couldn't stop giggling about it. I didn't buy them, but I should have. All the talk about fish burps has apparently made my stomach super sensitive, so now when I take my fish pills I can't help but burp. 

Sadly, I need my fish burps eliminated.

I Just Bought This Dress

I just bought this dress from Shabby Apple.

I hope it fits because I previously bought this dress:

 from JCrew and had to return it. It was oddly simultaneously huge and tiny. I don't think I have ever worn anything more unflattering in my life. I'm trying to find the perfect dress for summer weddings, but I haven't been having the best of luck.

Josh and Mercury (plus: being thankful for nerdy friends)

Josh took the cats to the vet the other day and we discovered that Mercury, our resident irascible fat cat has lost an entire pound (yay!) and that she has now graduated to Senior Cat status (being all of 8 years old now). When  Josh and I first started dating, Mercury hated him (probably because he would pick her up and pretend she was dancing), but in the past year or so Merc has really warmed up to him. Sometimes she will even approach him for snuggling! After bringing her back from the vet, however, Josh was sad to discover that they were in a fight. He texted me a few hours later when I was in class, though, because apparently she had forgiven him and they were friends again.

Tonight, this is what it looked like in the ShepAlder house:

Josh was loving Merc

Merc was loving Josh

Then Josh started singing "Paparazzi" and pretending I had caught him in the middle of a tryst. Mercury was clearly not amused.

I'm glad that they made up, though I'm a little jealous. Mercury was my only roommate for five years before I married Josh, and for a long time I was the only one she loved. Of course, Josh is the one that feeds her, so.... I understand.

In Other News:

I absolutely love new friends, especially when we find something in common about which we are both besotted. This week my friend and classmate Stephanie loaned to me her Wii copies of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" and "Evil Under the Sun" and I got to loan to her a couple of my Nancy Drew games. It has really made my week! Plus, she told me about where to get free kindle books. (BTW: I have a Kindle now, but I will probably write about that some other day). I love making friends who are as nerdy as I am!

Kevin Arnold vs. Food

Thanks to Netflix streaming, Josh and I have been watching "Man vs. Food," which is ordinarily on the Travel Channel. I like the show, but it can get distracting because the host, Adam Richman, looks a lot like a chubby version of Fred Savage. What do you think?

Adam Richman

Fred Savage

More Pictures of our Cats

When Mr. F was still a kitten, Josh captured this series of pictures:

Mr. F spots her prey, the elusive Pepsi Max....

.... plans her attack....

... then swiftly and inexplicably decides to nap.

Then the other day, I got this picture:

Josh with Mercury and Mr. F

You can sort of see in this picture how much bigger (and fluffier) Mr. F has become in the past year. She now outweighs Mercury (who is 8 years old) but at least five pounds!

In Other News:


My brother:

visited this weekend because I tried to set him up with my friend Nancy:

and we played Rock Band for several hours. I don't know how the date went, but it was fun hanging out with my brother for the weekend. 

I Made You a Beard

We got these in the mail today:

These yarn beards are courtesy of the lovely Erin Dollar at imadeyouabeard.com. Josh asked her to do green and yellow so we could wear them to Ducks games (and, you know, around the house). Erin is from Portland, so we like to think that we're supporting a local artist.

This is what it looks like off the face:

She even color-coordinated the backs!:

And she included these cute stickers (and business card):

I can tell, you're totally jealous.

In other news:

I started watching "Persons Unknown." I'm not sure yet how I feel about it, since it reminds me a lot of either a psych experiment done by some grad student in 1940 or the plot of Saw II. However, it fills the hole in my Summer tv watching schedule left behind by the cancellation of "Happy Town."

Happy Birthday Mr. F!

We don't have any kids, but we do have three cats who each have their own personalities and demand our attention. Sometimes I get really stressed about having three cats. When you have one cat, it's very easy to add a second cat. We had an electric catbox, so we didn't really need to increase any litter cleaning, and they didn't necessarily need any more food or attention (especially since our second cat is super chill).

However, the third cat. Well, we may as well have five cats. They destroyed the electronic catbox (so we had to get a different model), and they were constantly competing for food (we had to put them all on a diet because they were overeating, I think in fear that the other two cats would eat everything).

But when the opportunity first came to adopt the third, I thought it was a really good idea. Plus, who could say no to this face?:

Mr. F and her brother on my lap

For awhile we couldn't come up with a good name for her, but Josh and I both love the tv show "Arrested Development," and especially think the episode "Mr. F" is funny. In the episode, "Mr. F" is also a girl. 

Snuggling while I study

When we first adopted her, we always held her, even when we were napping.

Josh and Mr. F taking a much-needed Sunday nap

We even let her sleep in our bedroom, which is a strictly no-cat-zone.

She likes to snuggle when I'm reading

When she was a tiny kitten, she would burrow under pillows. It was really the cutest ever:

It's hard to believe Mr. F was ever that small!

Although Mr. F and our oldest cat Mercury still haven't become friends, Mr. F and Falkor used to snuggle up (before Mr. F grew to be Falkor's size!)

It's actually pretty amazing how quickly Mr. F grew. It seems like only yesterday I could fit her in the front of my sweatshirt just to celebrate Griffin pride.

Alder Families are Forever Griffins

Mr. F was also the source of the biggest trauma to hit a ShepAlder cat (if you don't count that night Mercury accidentally spent outdoors), a broken leg. When we woke up to find Mr. F's leg sticking out at a weird angle, it was probably the grossest thing I've ever seen in person (and I'm glad we were too grossed out to take a picture), but Mr. F in her cast was possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen in person. Once her leg was bandaged, she hobbled around at top speed, which was a problem because we were supposed to keep her away from the other cats. But every time we went to feed her or say hello, she bolted for the door!

We joked that Mr. F was like a pirate with a peg leg, only faster!

I can't believe our little Mr. F is over a year old now, and no longer a kitten!

Falkor, Mr. F, and Mercury-- just chilling on the couch together

A Much-Needed (but Much-Dreaded) Solution

I am in graduate school, but just barely right now. My mother asked me the other day how school was going, and the only way I could answer was with raised eyebrows and a shrug. Let me explain: My program has a rule that you have to finish your thesis by your third year. Most people finish in their second year. I, however, am almost done with my third year and until a week ago I still hadn't finished my thesis. A year ago, right on time, I set up my study, gathered my data, and did all of the background research I needed, but then, for whatever reason, I just couldn't write it. I even took a term off from school (not because of my thesis, but for different reasons), and I didn't even pick up any of my research. I didn't work on it at all!

When I finally met with my advisor again in 2010, she told me that she didn't think I was going to finish. It was probably a well-deserved slam, mostly because I didn't think I was going to finish either, but I did end up writing about half of it. But I had made a goal for myself that I would be done with it by June, and May 31st I still only had half done. So I made a drastic decision.

A friend in my program suggested that I get a motel room and just sit and write for a week away from all distractions. I had put off doing this, but on Tuesday I knew I had to do something drastic or else it would never get done. So I moved into a motel for four days. I let Josh pick the place, and he picked probably the cheapest possible place (I think he was afraid that if I went somewhere nice I would never come back). There was no chance of that! By the end of the week, I was so happy to come home (even if it meant I had to deal with Josh's snoring and constant chatter).

(Note: It wasn't the absolute cheapest place I could find and it wasn't terrible by budget-priced motel standards. In my defense, I am taking Emily HERE in August... so hopefully that will make up for the experience of the Beaverton Comfort Inn! -- Josh)

Here's where I spent the majority of my time:

Five pillows, all to myself!

There was this random counter that was really too high for a counter, and not very useful:

It was also broken:

On check-out day, I woke up and went to brush my teeth, only to find that the entire bathroom floor and counter were wet, and the sink looked like this:

This picture doesn't do it justice, but the sink was full of crud. I checked whether the pipes were broken, and I checked to see whether the sink drained (it did), so I can't figure out what happened from 5am to 10am when I was sleeping.

But, after four nights (two of them completely without sleep), countless rounds of solitaire, about a million vitamins (fish oil is apparently supposed to help brain function), and loads of caffeine, I am pleased to announce that I am finally done with my thesis-- only a year late!

I don't recommend this solution to anyone. My circadian rhythms were so screwed up by the end. I came home and slept for eight hours, and despite the fact that I took tons of vitamins, I think I made myself super sick. I really hope that, in the future (because I still have two years left of school and a dissertation to complete), I do not have to resort to this.