8 more feet

We have 8 more feet at my house. Nope, not snow (thank ya lord). It's 8 more critter feet.

This past summer/fall, Tanner's little mice Oreo and Pepper died. Both were really sweet little mice. Pepper was funny and sometimes even hung out on my desk. (don't get woozy, she didn't poop on anything important - I think).



Tanner decided he wanted some new mice and so when we got to the pet store (where the pets go!), I wasn't all that shocked when he suddenly decided he'd rather have 2 rats.

When I was in Jr. High, my best friend's mom was going to college. They had rats in a class for some reason, and they gave them to her after they were done. I'm positive they weren't doing radiation tests on them or anything... they were just rats.



This was the first time I'd ever seen/thought of a rat in anything other than a trap. - Thanks mom for being phobic. Oh.. btw.. Hi Mom! Anyway, these rats were really sweet and I was most amazed by their tails. Not what I was expecting at all. Ever since then I've wanted a rat.



Soooooo.. I didn't exactly drag my feet when Tanner suggested it. He whipped out his own wallet and paid for the cage, rats, etc so I can't argue with that.

No names have been picked yet. Tanner rejected "Walker" and "Texas Ranger". Hmmfpt.

He also rejected "Pinky and the Brain"
(NARFF)

So, I'm at a loss and open to name suggestions!

One is an albino, and the other one is a very light tan, they are both girls. Oh, and they wrestle like Mack and Jingles do. God please let that be "wrestling".

Evil, scheming CHICKENS!

I never thought I'd say this...

My chickens are sly smart little devils.

That just doesn't happen. I mean, they have like 3 flashing (intermittently) neurons for a brain. Mainly they know, 1.) eat. 2.) poop 3.)"Oh look a bug!" and 4.) gotta lay an egg. Oh there's a little heirarchy in there to shake things up for entertainment (more mine then theirs) but let's face it, there's not a show about a chicken named Lassie saving Timmy from a well.

So today, I go out to let them out like I do almost every day, I noticed a bag on the floor and don't think much of it at first. Then wait...

what?

It's the bag of cracked corn.
*and it's empty*

It seems, that the bottom of the bag at the BEGINNING of the week had a small hole in it. I didn't move it, because it was small, and I didn't want the corn to pour out.

Well, seems some chicken, figured out that if you pull on that little string, more corn falls out and before you knew it, the entire bag was open.

and empty.

So I guess that explains why they weren't eating a whole lot of crumbles this week.

I hope it hurts when they poop.

Life by bullet points

Boring news and unexciting events:

• I've declared eBay awesome. Gene and I have been slowly listing our piles of amassed goodies. 2 paintings we paid $6 for fetched $200 and a toy cowboy/indian set that we paid $70 for has made $260 so far. (we have to relist a couple pieces). Money is awesome!
  
  
• Which has basically paid for my new website upgrade coming soon. Hopefully in the next couple weeks! What I can do with it at this point is maxed out my capabilities. And to think, I used to do it for other ppl as a side job.
  
  
• In the not boring, and very sweet "aw shucks" category, miss Lisa Day awarded me a stylish blogger award the other day. Thank you dear Lisa! She's funny and kind, and also a regular reader. Go love on her blog and leave her comments. She's good people that Lisa.
  
  
• We have 8 new feet in the house. More on that tomorrow.
  
  
• Gene and I sat down and talked tonight about a new venture that I want to get into. Low barrier to entry, possible income is good. Like, both quit our jobs and sit on our butts good. Likey. If you're wondering, it has to do with blogging. Yes, I'm really into this concept of blogging for actual money.
  
  
• I'm sure I'll think of 17 other meaningful things as soon as I admit defeat and go to bed (3 min and counting). I reserve the right to update at will.

Coming soon, to a back yard near you

If the snow is getting you down, I'm here to give you a little hope.

In about one month you'll see some of this:

In about 2 months you'll see some of this:

In about 3 months, you'll see some of this:

In about 4 months, you'll see some of this:

So be patient.
Crank up the heater.
Close your eyes.
Pretend you're on the beach.




yeah... it doesn't really work for me either.
sorry.

The Groupon Weekend Getaway - Part 2 - good eats

I meant to share with you yesterday the second part of our Groupon weekend, food!

Oh, we ate and we ate! Trust me... the old pants were tight.

One of the things that Groupon seems to offer (in my area anyway) on a regular basis is different restaurants. Everything you can imagine across the spectrum. Places I've never heard of... and that's the point, for the business to gain access to a new larger customer base, for not a lot of advertising dollars. Win-win

Our first stop was at O'Dowds authentic Irish pub. In North KC. Having actually been in a real irish pub, I looked forward to it.

I knew before I got there what I wanted. I wanted Bangers and Mash (sausage and mashed potatoes) just like the last time I was in an irish pub (when I went to the UK). Gene ordered a Shepherd's pie. He really enjoyed his, and I was a little disappointed. It was good but not *omg I want to quit my job and be irish* good. The decor was pretty good and seemed pretty real. Considering it's in one of the busiest retail developments in KC (zona rosa) and not in say, Ireland, I give them a solid B.

We got $20 worth of food, for $10 (plus a tip)


That evening, we went to Em Chamas which was a spur of the moment purchase for me. I bought this literally minutes before going to bed on Christmas eve (actually Christmas day around 1 a.m.!)

Em Chamas is a brazilian place, and the concept I knew Gene would love. You get a "coin" at the beginning of your meal and when it's on the blue side, it means you're interested in the waiters to stop. What do they have? Spears of all kinds of meats.

Gene is a carnivore. I knew this was a hole in one.

And it was, he really enjoyed it a lot and it was a unique experience. We got to try lots of different things that we'd never seen before, or often. Gene seemed to like it more than me. Probably because lots of things were more rare that I like them - which is well done.. WELL. I don't like to see blood on my plate.

*shivers*

(No idea who those ppl are on the left lol. I just wanted to show some decor)


We ended our meal sharing a apple turnover type desert. Very yummy. The down side was, it was very busy. We were sitting in the middle of a busy room (I hate that.. I want a booth lol), and even with a reservation, we had to wait around 15 minutes (after being told it would be 5).

I'd give it a B- Gene would give it a B+. There is a location in St. Joseph, so we'll probably try there at lunch time and see if we enjoy it more.

We bought $50 of food for $25 - plus tip

Tips on buying food on Groupon.
-Make sure that you check out the menu online first to see if you're getting a good value for your money. I want to know that I CAN eat on just the groupon if I wanted to. Plus, I want to know that they have things I'll like.
-If you want to take friends, make sure you can get multiple gift certificates and can use them all at once.
-Make reservations if you can, it could be very busy!


Over all, we enjoyed the experience. It was a way to try new things with not a lot invested.
For the weekend, we spent around $135 for $300 worth of "stuff" (not including tips).