Meet Blu

Some of you have already seen Blu on this site. But Hunter's Mom has not, and it's important she does. Our cats look the same! Except mine is bigger. She's bigger than a lot of cats. Our cats are also barn cats, except they went in different directions. Hers got meaner, mine got nicer. They were also both pure white when we got them. Oh yeah, and Blu hates strangers too. It's
like they're the same cat. But they're not. So weird.

Weird Al

My husband is a big Weird Al fan, and we found this on his myspace page tonight. It's "White and Nerdy", a parody of the song "Ridin' Dirty" and it's HILARIOUS!

Get this video and more at MySpace.com

If you drive a car in Wisconsin

New License Plates To Raise Money For Women's Health Programs

Wisconsin officials have created a new license plate to raise money for women's health programs in the state.
Former Wisconsin first lady Sue Ann Thompson unveiled the plates in La Crosse Friday.
They bear the name and logo of a woman reaching for a star of Women's Health Foundation.
Thompson established the foundation nine years ago, two years after recovering from breast cancer.
Thompson said half of the money raised will go to the Wisconsin Women's Health Foundation for outreach and education programs. The rest will fund grants to support community-based women's health programs.
The plate includes a one-time $15 fee plus a $25 donation.

From Channel3000

There's someone at your door!

We were in the parking lot at Kohl's last night, about to go inside. It was probably 6:30ish. I was about to open my door and D said "Watch out!" There was a girl, no older than 8 we guess, selling M&M's. She was standing at the door of my car in a parking lot at Kohl's. And there were no adults near her to explain what the hell she was doing in the parking lot selling M&M's. I said no, so she tried D. He said no too.

When did schools start suggesting kids hang out in busy parking lots to raise money by selling candy?

When will that change?

There's been so much controversy in the past couple years about Christmas. Walking into a store in December and hearing "Merry Christmas" offends some people. You can't call it a Christmas tree or Christmas break. (it's a bit ridiculous if you ask me. but, no one did.) Anyway, I'm going through some addresses tonight and I came across one that sticks out. I wonder when it will change.



Yes, that is MERRY CHRISTMAS LN in Mineral Point, WI. When do you think they'll change it to "Happy Festivus Rd"?

Its warm in here!

We FINALLY got some new windows installed today. D's brother is a contractor, and he dropped off our windows last week, but just put them in today. I'm so excited. I'll put up pictures when I get them on to the computer. It's just so nice because we replaced some VERY drafty windows, and with the temperature dropping to a whopping 35 degrees tonight, it'll be nice to have them sealed up. Not to mention they're energy star efficient. I think the old ones were energy star deficient. Now, we didn't replace all of our windows. Just the most drafty. Now we're just waiting to get the new patio door (with the blinds between the glass) installed and we'll be set for winter! (No, 35 at night doesn't constitute winter. 35 during the day, maybe. But not at night. That's still fall!)

We also got a new lawnmower, just in time for snow. No, not a snowblower. A lawnmower. Ours decided to stop moving halfway through the back yard last week, so we replaced it. So now the lawn is mostly even. I've learned the beauty of mulching! No more bagging grass! Woo hoo! I LOVE IT! And now the mower is ready to be stored! Speaking of "just in time for winter" things, we also replaced the gas on our grill last week. I sure hope we get another chance to grill before the snow. Wait, we can still grill in the snow, right? Right!

I think that's it. For now.

It's TIVO time!

I love fall. The rustling leaves, the cool breezes...and NEW TELEVISION SHOWS!

Popcandy had a link to MSN TV today, showing the pilot episode of Runaway before it airs on 9/25.

It's my new favorite show. Here's the link. It stars Donnie Wahlberg. He was wrongfully accused of murder and has to move his family to a small town where they take on new identities.

I LOVE DONNIE WAHLBERG. I can't wait to be able to watch him EVERY WEEK! WOo HOo!

GOD F(*)()NG DAMMIT!

Sorry for the title...it's been a bad day.

Just before noon, I was getting ready to leave my house when the phone rang. Unknown number. I never answer those calls, but I figured that we're waiting for a phone call, so I might as well get it.
"Can I speak to Kari (insert my maiden name)"
"She's not here right now"
"This is such-and-such bank, and we need to talk to her. could you have her call us."
"Well this is her, but that's my maiden name"
"Kari, we received a credit card application today and since you have your mortgage through us, we're pretty sure it's not you."

Son of a bitch, my identity has been stolen. This person put my first and maiden name, an address and employer in Los Angeles, and MY SOCIAL SECURITY AND BIRTHDATE.

The only reason this was caught so soon is because the bank has my mortgage and could verify it wasn't me. If it had been any other bank, I could be screwed. I had to call the police to report it and get a fraud check on my credit report. For the next 7 years, any time credit is applied for, they have to call me.

Whoopee.

I just have to

Where were you?

I was living in Sun Prairie with my friend Babe, working at the MATC bookstore. I'd been back in the area less than a month, and I was driving a crappy '94 Camry. I was in the parking lot of the condo putting transmission fluid in my car. I had the radio on, tuned to the (then) 80's station. (It's now Charlie FM...they play everything). Anyway, it was a news report, and I honestly thought it was one of those "remember this story from 1982" or something like that. Then I realized Katie Couric didn't do the news in 1982. At least not national anyway. I got confused at first because they said the WTC had been hit, and the Pentagon had been evacuated. **thinking: that's weird. I thought the WTC was in NYC**. (I eventually figured it out!) I went inside to check the news, and then it hit me. A very good friend of mine worked in Manhattan. I immediately started to cry. I sent her an email, and waited FOREVER (i had dialup at the time) to get her reply. I cried/sobbed the entire wait. Thankfully, she didn't work near the WTC, so she was fine and was leaving for home as soon as she could.

That's mostly what I remember about that particular day. I know I watched the news a lot more in the next week or so than I ever had before. I needed to know what was going on. I signed a large banner MATC was sending to NYC. I stood outside burning a lot of candles. I cried a lot. I gave blood. And I cried some more. I know I wasn't the only one.
I found myself needing to know. I needed to watch the shows and cry about it. My friend in NY didn't, though. She couldn't watch any of it. I think she didn't want to cry. I needed to.

Everyone has their story. I wanted to share mine. Remember.

Note to self

Dear Self (aka: Idiot)

When you have to get up at 7:45am to make it to work on time, DON'T DRINK EVERYTHING IN SIGHT THE NIGHT BEFORE.

Love,
Me