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.

I like my Ladies Bare, I like them Naked.

I have an admission to make: I love the Barenaked Ladies. I have loved them ever since 1998 when I visited my sister Tasha in SLC and she let me listen to "Stunt" and "Gordon" in her 4-Runner. Then in 2000 when "Maroon" came out, I kept dating a guy because he had tickets for their concert. Best. Concert. Ever. (Or, at least, definitely in my top 5).

So when BNL was in Portland, we had to go. Josh had never seen them in concert, and he loves concerts, so it wasn't really a choice.

Us before the band took the stage

BNL takes the stage

During their encore

Josh wanted me to include this little gem, a picture from the first concert we ever attended together, Counting Crows at Clark County Amphitheater (Worst. Venue. Ever.):

June 21st 2006, before the Awesomeness of ShepAlder,

there was just the awesomeness of Shepard and Alder

Josh Demanded This Be Included

After reading my last post, Josh said, "But you forgot about 'The Tonight Show'!" It's true. When we were in Southern California in October, we got to see "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien." We've both been Conan fans since he started hosting "Late Night" back in 1993, but neither of us had ever seen a taping of either of his shows in person.

The ticket

We didn't realize at the time that Conan was going to host for such a short period of time, but now we're really glad that we went. We even had VIP tickets, which meant that we didn't have to stand in line and got to sit toward the front, because Josh is randomly an acquaintance of Mark "The Love Man" Pender, who was the trumpet man in the Tonight Show band. Seriously.

On the set with Mark Pender

Josh says this about the experience:

"I met Mark Pender when I interviewed him back in 2005 at the Pleasant Hill Jazz Festival. We'd stayed in touch since then, exchanging emails here and there. He'd always told me to give him a holler if I was ever in NYC, but sadly, that never happened. When Conan took over The Tonight Show in June 2009, I was determined that we'd see him live the next time we were in L.A. Mark was nice enough to get us VIP tickets for the Oct. 13 show. The guests were Ice-T, Eddie Izzard and The Flaming Lips. It was a really cool experience, and as evidenced by this photo above, Mark waited around to greet us after the show. Later, Mark and I met up at The Baked Potato, a little club in Studio City where we watched Ronnie Guiterrez (who played bongos in The Tonight Show Band when Max Weinberg was on tour with Bruce Springsteen) and his father play some lively salsa music. It was an awesome evening!"

I also found these pictures of the Hotel Del, taken with Josh's phone (I wanted to share them because our other pictures were so foggy and made it look like the weather was bad the entire time, when it was really only overcast on our checkout day):

At twilight, from our balcony

The beach, also from our balcony

Me on the beach, possibly in the spot where Some Like it Hot was filmed

We loved the Hotel Del so much, we're planning to have our 20th anniversary party there (in 17 years).

Disneyland, Hearst Castle, WB Studios, and the Hotel Del (October 2009)

It's true that Josh and I went to southern California recently, but we also went there a few times in 2009 as well: in March with Josh's dad and sister, in October with some of my family, and in December/January 2010 for the Rose Bowl. This post is about October because Josh posted a picture on Facebook the other day and I was reminded that we had gone.

First, we spent a few days at Disneyland, which was dressed for Halloween.

Duck fans

Haunted Mansion was dressed for "Nightmare Before Christmas" and is was super busy! We discovered why they have a Fast Pass option.

It was even Halloween at DCA, and I wanted to point it out

Main Street, USA

We don't get to ride the tea cups very often

I love this picture of Josh. We were spinning so fast!

Later, we met up with Josh's high school friend Audrey and her boyfriend RJ at Hearst Castle. Josh and I went there as part of our honeymoon (we drove to San Francisco, to Hearst Castle, and then through Fresno). Our first time there, Josh and I took Tour #1 which takes you through the guest houses and the main floor of Casa Grande. This time, we took Tour #2, which takes you through the upper stories, Hearst's own living quarters, a bunch of guest rooms, and the kitchen. 

Josh, me, RJ, and Audrey in the bus

Still pointing at things

A big smile and a guest room

The library I covet

The indoor pool

Slightly blurry, but the prep area of the kitchen. The ovens and the fridge are in the back somewhere

The side entrance

If you like old houses, the Hearst Castle is a great one to visit. Josh and I want to come back for the night tour, when the tour guides dress up in vintage costumes. 

We also went on the Warner Bros. Backlot Tour. 

The water tower, home of the Warner Brothers, and their sister Dot

Being on this tour was kind of like deja vu since it all looked really familiar but I couldn't quite place it. It probably means we watch too many movies.

This el train track is from ER

Employees get to watch pre-screened movies

We also got to see prop cars, like the Mystery Machine

The Batmobile

And the sportscar from "Get Smart"

(we are saying, "Missed it by THAT much!")

Oh, and we happened to see this little set:

I think I touched absolutely everything in here, in addition to sitting on the entire couch

Josh on the couch

We also decided to go to the Hotel Del Coronado in Coronado, CA because it's beautiful and we had never been there. We had an awesome room overlooking both the pool and the beach. I loved it. 

Sadly, it was foggy on our last day, but this is the rotunda from our balcony

Luxuriating

From the driveway

Just a little bit more of past adventures. We've been having fun. I wish we could just travel forever.

Drum Roll Please....

Our new closet!

My side of the closet

A closer look

When we first moved into our house, I ended up with the left hand side of the closet where there were the only shelves. Josh took up most of the hanging space because he had so much stuff to hang (I don't think he had gotten rid of any clothing since before his mission). 

But NOW, I get the "long hang" and Josh has tons of "short hang" space. We have probably three times as much shelf space, four times as much hanging space, and a guarantee that this closet will be up until we die (or move, whichever one comes first).

From the doorway. That shoe rack to the left is full of all my beautiful shoes that previously had to sit on the floor or hide in the spare bedroom closet.

Josh's side

They even installed tie racks, which I love so much I thought I might cry when I saw all of Josh's ties hung up, when they had previously lived on the floor or somewhere that Josh could never find them. We have most of our stuff out of the cloud room now, but I figured that an empty closet is much more fun to look at then all of our boring clothes. Also, in these pictures the closet looks a strange shade of Tiffany Blue when it really is more of a sky blue. We mixed up a bunch of the paint we have leftover, and it turned out pretty well.

In short, if you ever want to re-do your closet, Portland Closet Company is efficient and friendly. We had a guy come and give an estimate, then two weeks later the closet was being installed, and it only took a few hours until it was done. It was possibly the best ending to an otherwise stressful situation.

P.S.

This our 100th post! Woot.

The Sixth Floor Museum (December 2009)

I really wish I had posted about this back in December when we had just gone, because it was such a cool experience, and then I could have referred back to it when I blogged about the JFK library, but I didn't.

The Sixth Floor Museum is in Dallas, TX in the building where Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK as he passed in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza. You can't take pictures inside the museum, but it's totally worth seeing if you ever find yourself in Dallas.

Here are some things we could take pictures of:

The Texas School Book Depository building

The right corner window on the sixth floor is where LHO took his shot

Dealey Plaza monument

The Grassy Knoll

Josh took this picture standing in the spot where Zapruder shot his infamous film footage of the assassination

The spot where JFK was shot

Dealey Plaza

Okay, so we snuck the last picture from the corner window of the seventh floor, where they had an exhibit devoted to the photography of Robert H. Jackson, who took this award-winning picture. It was pretty intense to stand in that spot and realize that this was basically the same view of an assassin. 

I highly recommend watching the Oliver Stone film "JFK" before visiting Dealey Plaza. Whether or not the "second shooter" theory is accurate, the film details the activities of that day. It was cool to see the movie and then be at the area.

We didn't just hang out at assassination sights, we also went to the Dallas temple, which reminds me of the Boise temple. I'm not sure that we'll ever be back to Dallas, but it was an amazing one-time experience.