Being Childish Is Delicious

I will never grow up.

Well, okay, I'm getting older, obviously, but certain aspects of my personality will never mature. Yesterday Boyfriend The Easter Bunny left me treats all around the house. Call me immature if you like, but I love that kind of stuff!

Everything had to be hidden where Harvey Cat couldn't get it, so it was pretty fun trying to find/ reach everything (I'm only 5'2"). Because everything was up so high, I didn't even notice that there was anything hidden around the house until I noticed Harvey hoarding something under the chair. He looked like a tiny Golem, all wide eyed and excited. When I took his precious treasure away he was poisoned with me. Apparently the little fart is way more clever than Boyfriend gave him credit for.

I think it's important to have fun and not give up on things that make you laugh as you grow up. I'm really lucky to have a partner who indulges these silly things.

What kind of traditions do you guys still keep up on?

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

Weekend Review

This weekend I figured out exactly how much I can eat without being able to move comfortably. What an amazing problem to have! This was actually a pretty jam packed weekend, here are the highlights:

- Friday was a holiday, so Boyfriend and I used our combined powers to clean up the house a little bit. There's no way I can describe to you how big of a job that was. I'm a PIG.

- After cleaning and not killing ourselves or eachother, we met up with Rhyder and Claudia for a day of video games, hot chocolate and turkey sandwiches. What is it about hanging out with friends that makes you eat like you're starving?

- I ran into two old friends who I was really excited to see, I love it when that happens! I also ran into my cousin and his girlfriend (who I'm basically in love with), wich was really nice.

- Saturday was scary because it was sandwiched between two holidays. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but people seem to go insane when they can't shop for a day or two, and they feel the need to shop A LOT right before and after those days. The crowds were huge and I swear that people were buying things up like they were preparing for the appocalypse.

- March 31st is my best friend's birthday! Happy birthday Marissa, I love you long time! We went out for wings and had a great time. Our friend's girlfriend was really sweet about me awkwardly talking about how pretty she is and telling stories about me peeing my pants.

- I woke up to hidden chocolate all over the house this morning. Boyfriend is really sweet and indulges my favorite childhood traditions :)

I hope everyone else out there had a great weekend too!

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

Weekend Review

First of all, HAPPY BELATED ST. PADDY'S DAY!

This weekend was actually pretty jam packed! Friday night I had a nice little hermit evening for myself that included popcorn and Grimm. If you haven't seen this show before, and you are a fan of fairy tales and monster-esque stories, I recommend it! It's definitely my favorite show on TV right now.

On Saturday myself and Claudia adventured out into to world for some random shop hopping and female bonding. What ended up happening was me stuffing myself with food and spending money like I was playing Monopoly. Hooray! That night I went to a friend's party and somehow managed to put more food in my face. I'm noticing a trend here... Nichole + Food = No more food. Your tasty morsels aren't safe around me, friends!

I also did this:



Gorgeous, isn't it?

Bruises are like a fine wine; they get better with time. It took a day or so for this bad boy to get all of those fun rainbow colours, but I think it's going to rank pretty high on my 'best bruises' list.

Sunday was all about cheesy Paddy's Day movies (Leprechaun 3, I'm talkin' bout chu), great friends and, you guessed it, more food. I think I'll just roll myself to work on Tuesday. Hopefully I'll fit into my chair!

I hope you all had a great Paddy's Day weekend!

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

An Afternoon Drive Through The Fiery Gates

Have you ever woken up and thought "Hmm, something tells me I should close my eyes and pretend this never happened"? I have. It happened a few mornings ago actually, when I was waking up at six a.m to start the drive back home. Why didn't I blog about this earlier? Well friends, it's called shock, and it takes time to recover from it. Also, it's pretty difficult to type when your eyes are twitching.

See the darling photo of Harvey above? It's a lie. This is not what he looked like that day. He only has one eye, but when it wasn't filled with disdain for putting him in a moving vehicle, it was filled with a fiery and urgent look of complete insanity. As I drove away from the peace and safety of my mom's house (with Oz and Harvey in the back seat), I already had a sweaty brow and an understanding of why people smoke cigarettes.

Let me explain something. Boyfriend's home town is about fifteen minutes away from mine (in car). It took me thrity-five minutes to get there.

I first had to stop two minutes after leaving the house because Harvey had crawled up onto my head - I was having a hard time seeing cleary with  my scalp being slowly removed. The second stop was about ten minutes after that, when Harvey started yowling (usually a sure sign that a brown crime is about to occur). The third and final stop before finally picking up Boyfriend was five minutes later, when Harvey managed to remove him harness and jump onto the dashboard (in front of my eyeballs).

I pulled into Pasadena as a much older woman, having aged at least twenty years on my short drive. I don't drink, but if someone had offered me something when I arrived, I might have taken it.

Apparently the only way that Harvey can travel is in my arms. For the next seven hours, I sat (pretzel legged) with Harvey nestled into my chest and belly. I would have been mad if he hadn't been so clearly scared, and now so relieved to be safe in my arms. Good thing he's a momma's boy. Looking back it feels nice to know that he's so comfortable with me that he can put aside his fear as long as I hold him, but at the time all I wanted was to cry while singing some Celine Dion. Mental break, perhaps?

That's not a smile on my face... it's crazy, taking form as a curled lip.

Hope everyone else had a lovely traveling experience over the holidays!

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

Crochet Christmas Revisited

A few weeks ago I posted about a some crochet lights that I had done. When I got back to my hometown a few days ago, a friend mentioned how much she loved them. As a thank you for always being awesome, I decided that I'd make her a set, but there was a wee little problem - I only had my 6.5 crochet hook. If I were to do the same pattern with a larger hook, the bulbs would have been way too big (I know this because I actually tried... plop), so I altered the original pattern. Instead of increasing by six on each row, I increased by four.

Here's some crochet bibble babble for anyone out there who may be interested.

Bulbs:

Slipknot
Chain 2
4 SC in the first chain,
Increase to 8 SC in row two
SC 8 in row three
Inc. to 12 SC in row four,
SC 12 in fow five
Inc. to 16 SC in row six
16 SC in row seven
Inc. to 20 SC in row eight
Now decrease to 16 SC in row nine
Dec. to 12 SC in row ten
Dec. to 8 in row eleven.

For the bulb base I just did the purple part of the pattern above.

For the cord I just did a chain of 12 between each base that I attached.

You'll end up with a skinnier light, but I'm pretty happy with the result (I hope my friend likes them!).

The bulbs before they're stuffed

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

Snowy December Evenings

What are you to do when it's super snowy and dark outside? I decided to fiddle around with a little project and snack on some yummy holiday treats (thanks Sherry!).

When it's nice enough, going for a walk in the evening is one of my favorite things to do.

What do you do on nights like this?




Hugs and poops,

Nichole

The Vertically Impaired Holiday

For the past few days I've been lucky enough to be surround by food, family, friends and fun gifts! One new gift is a lovely camera, so you might notice some better quality photos here on the blog :)

My nan almost shot me for taking a picture of her 'homemade' cranberry sauce.

It's a christmas tradition for my mom to make chocolate tarts. The problem with this tradtion is that my sister now can't eat them because she's lactose intolerant, my mom hardly touches them because she's on Weight Watchers, and my dad isn't a huge fan of them, so I'm basically the only person who eats these little gems - and I eat the HECK out of them. At one point I ate so many tarts that I could no longer remain vertical. I'm not joking.

12:30 - First tart devoured.

12:33 - This is not okay.

Overall it's been a really great holiday season so far. I'm looking forward to a bit more time with my family before I return to the 'real world' of having to cook for myself and not experiencing food comas.




Hugs and poops,

Nichole

Merry Christmas

Just a few snapshots of our christmas eve and christmas morning festivities!

I hope everyone is having a lovely day!

Merry Christmas and Happy Day to Everyone :)

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

Another Happy Day!

Happy day to everyone, and merry christmas eve to everyone who celebrates christmas!

Yesterday my mom and I made fudge and decorated cookies while we listened to the most terrible christmas music I've ever heard. It made my ears bleed with christmas joy! It felt really good to package up the homemade cookies and give them out (especially when you get to see the cookies get scarfed down and enjoyed)!

Holly is staying with John over the holidays, so Oz has been enjoying being a single (very spoiled) dog. It's really sweet to see how he misses her though, and from what I hear, she misses him quite a bit too. When we reunite them they always go insane and run around like they're stuck in some kind of tornado!

I'm feeling pretty lucky to be surrounded by family and cookies right now!

Here's a fun rendition of a holiday classic (I love how they switched it around):



Merry hugs and happy poops,

Nichole

The Ghosts Of Time Past

Christmas time can be pretty overwhelming!

The glitter, gifts, friends and family are all amazing, and it's lovely to be reminded of just how much you have to be thanful for, but for some people the holidays can be a very stressful, difficult time.

I myself have had a bit of a hard time being back in the place where I grew up. There are a lot of cues here that remind me of some not so great memories I've had buried in my dusty ol' brain. Since anxiety is such a poweful feeling, it's super easy to wiggle yourself into a rut and get stuck being sad and feeling quite helpless. Though it's harder to be positive and outgoing when you're down in the dumps, it's important that you catch yourself having these feelings and muster up all of your inner Hulk strength to pick yourself up!

Here are a few things that I do to kick those nasty ghosts of the past right in their ghost-y junk:







A smile is like magic on your face. Be kind to people, smile; you have no idea what it might mean to someone. Remember that not everyone has family and shiny gifts waiting for them during the holidays. Be thankful for every little thing you have and don't forget to donate what you can to different shelters and organizations in your area. If you're happy, share it with everyone! Be appreciative and giving of what you've got (even if it's 'only' a smile and a kind sentiment).

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

P.S: I love you guys! Thank you for visiting and always being so kind with your comments :)
Each comment and view is a little internet smile that brightens my day!

What To Do With a Dung Covered Cat Toy

Forty-five minutes into our eight hour drive, Harvey committed what can only be described as a 'brown crime' inside his kennel. Fortunately, I was prepared for something like this. Unfortunately, I was prepared for something like this. When a list for your family road trip includes spare towels (that are potentially disposable), odor and stain removal spray, and enough paper towel to satisfy the bathroom needs of a large elephant, you know that you've crossed a line somewhere. My sister in law(ish) was a real trooper; she took care of the kennel while I dealt with my cat (who apparently loves finger painting). Everything that was salvageable was tossed into a plastic bag, to be dealt with later.

The rest of the trip went ridiculously well. Oz, Holly and Harvey were all amazing; they didn't whine or get restless. I even caught them all cuddling together at random points!

My mom seemed really happy to see me. I'm not sure what she thought about the plastic bag I passed her.

Hope everyone is having a great day :)

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

Happy Day

Someone told me that you're not supposed to say "merry christmas" to anyone unless you know for certain that they celebrate christmas. This makes sense to me, but it also confuses me. Wouldn't anyone who heard this take it as a gesture of well wishing? Here's the conclusion I've come to: No matter what you celebrate (or even if you don't celebrate anything at all), what I want to say to you is "be happy". Merry christmas, happy hanukkah, happy christmas, happy new year - whatever you do or don't do - be happy! So, everyone reading, happy day to you all, and a very happy day tomorrow as well.

Also, I hope your happy day includes good food and loved ones (but don't mix those two things up... that would not be a happy day).

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

Ten Ways To Save Money During The Holidays