August cat is the new awesome

My cat calendar seems to be partial to older cats (April Cat, May Cat, June Cat and July Cat).

Not this month!!!

August cat is a little baby cowboy kitten!

July Cat is the new awesome

Just in case you've missed the series of posts I've been doing about my rad cat calendar here's a little recap:

April Cat
May Cat
June Cat

After a slight letdown in June, my cat calendar returned better than ever for July. I present to you July Cat!



And while we're on the subject of cats, I thought I'd update you on how Lucy, the Death Scab for Scootie mascot is doing. I was in Utah last week on vacation with my family and it was the first time I'd seen Lucy since we did this to her last time I was in town.

Her hair is growing back beautifully but since the weather is so hot in Utah right now, Lucy may have another shave in store very soon.

May cat is the new awesome

Remember April cat?
Well for the three of you out there that have been on the edge of your seats waiting to see what May cat looks like, here you go!


Prrrrrrrrrrr.....

Fessing up is the new awesome

So, maybe you have been sitting there at your computer thinking to yourself "those TNA girls sure are getting lazy" or maybe you might wonder if the mob came over and broke our internet fingers or if our computers exploded because we were downloading too many mullet photos. Because, seriously, we haven't been blogging. Well, actually it is a lot less exciting. Things have been kind of going crazy lately with bets' impending wedding and, gulp, mostly with MOVING. That is right. Betsy moved out. Of our apartment. And left me all alone.

Believe me, I am still sort of in shock over it all. For a few days straight, the old lady in a straw hat and i just sat in bet's empty bedroom and stared at eachother sadly in silence.

Then I got up and decided to assess the situation in the apartment. The first thing I noticed was all of the things that I used to use all the time that apparently were not mine. Like, once Betsy took all of her food out, our fridge looked a little sad and lonely. Granted, I had been in Russia for a few weeks, so I hadn't been shopping, but my fridge hasn't been this empty since college. Now the cold empty expanse of the fridge is just a physical metaphor for the current state of my heart.
Also, she took all the spices with her, and just left a few that I had my initials on them. Does it seem strange to anyone else that the only spices that I own are Marjoram and Celery Seed?

Apparently I don't own any pots or pans, either. (Not that it matters, since apparently I don't have any food to cook in them anyway). I have plenty of plates, and silverware, and pretty bowls to display prepared food in. But no pots and pans. So I have had a good excuse to buy all sorts of pretty kitchenware.

I also had to buy a new couch, and new tv, and a new tv table, and some new shoes, and have been painting the living room to try to make my apartment look like normal again.

So, maybe all that explains why we haven't been blogging much, but now we have all these saved up photos to talk about, so I think TNA can get back on track. Maybe bets will even post her photo of October cat, since we are a little overdue there and I think Nathaniel has probably worried himself sick wondering what this month's cat looks like.

April cat is the new awesome

Maybe you remember that I bought a bunch of calendars a few weeks back when I was in Berkeley. The calendar I decided to put up in my bedroom was this one:



Each month I'll give you a little glimpse into the awesome that is this calendar.

I give you April cat.

Conservative dogs are the new awesome

So the other day I was reading Tatanka's blog and found he had referenced a picture of my cat Lucy that I posted from my last trip to Utah. It made me laugh really hard. Here's that link:

#1

Then a day or so later I checked it again and laughed even more. Here's that link:

#2

I know I've mentioned it before but Tatanka's blog is fun. And maybe you think you're not into the adventures of a little conservative dog living with liberal humans and and a big fluffy dumb dog sister who will never win a spelling bee but you'd be wrong.

Dancing drama is the new awesome

OK, tonight was the second round on So You Think You Can Dance. Here are some of my thoughts after watching tonight's episode:

1) I still love Hok.

2) I don't love Lacey anymore. Sometimes I think she might be making babies backstage with her partner Kameron. This kind of behavior might start catching up with them eventually. I think she is an amazing dancer but when she's telling us to vote for her I forget how great a dancer she is and it leaves me concentrating on how annoying she is. Also, I think she is Lisa Marie Presley.

3) I thought Lauren was going to be my favorite girl forever but after tonight I thought she was a little bit snoozeville. Her partner Neil however was SO great in that hip hop routine.

4) I think Jaimie has breast implants.

5) I didn't like Jessi and Pasha initially because I thought they were both too good looking. But after tonight's super rad bird jazz number, I've changed my mind. I love them. And I'm not even jealous of their good looks anymore.

6) The only thing I remember about Danny and Anya is the super plunging V-neck sweater with no t-shirt underneath Danny was wearing when they drew what dance they were going to be dancing out of the hat. It's nice that Danny has a freshly waxed chest but the man cleavage was almost more than I could handle. It made me feel awkward.

7) Speaking of awkward, remember how Faina hates her partner Cedric?

8) Sara is my absolute favorite girl ever! In my dream ending, Hok and Sara win.

9) Sabra and Dominic were really good tonight. And I loved how Dominic strategically cried when they were critiquing him for dramatic effect.

10) Shauna and Jimmy's routine was great. Although the actual stomping part was kind of dumb. There should have been more hand claps than feet stomps.

Any predictions for who leaves tomorrow night?

Also, better late than never Nathaniel...
June Cat!

Sundance Film Festival 2007 is the new awesome

Every year I go to Park City, Utah to work at the Sundance Film Festival as a volunteer in the Eccles theater.

There are a lot of things that make this one of my favorite vacations of the year:

volunteering
As part of my job, I get to do things like rip tickets, help people find their seats in the dark, and make sure that no one enters places that they aren't allowed.

The best part is that if people don't listen to me, I am allowed to punch them in the face. Right Lee?

movies
I also get to see a lot of movies. I saw some good ones this year, though when I looked at the festival winners this morning, it turns out that I didn't end up seeing many of the films that got awards. Still, I have a few favorites that might not be getting lots of hype that you should probably look out for if you know what is good for you:


Son of Rambow
This is a hilarious story about two imaginative boys growing up in the 80's and the home movie they make about the Son of Rambo. It is just a good, heartwarming film I would recommend to anyone that loves fun ... and the 80s music and costuming is an added bonus.

Dedication
This is a fun film starring Mandy Moore and Billy Crudup, reminiscent of Garden State with the emotionally damaged guy that finds stability in a conveniently attractive and quirky young lady. They are a little more liberal with their use of the F-word, and you can replace the heavy use of the Shins on the soundtrack with Deerhoof, but it follows the same kind of basic humorous romantic comedy routine you might expect it to.




The Savages
I can't decide if I liked this film because I like Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney so much, but this was just a straightforward story about two siblings dealing with their father's failing health, and is worth the watch.







celebs
Park City is always crawling with famous people. It is straight out of US Magazine's "Stars - they're just like us" page, because you see them doing normal, everyday things like talking on their cell phones or polishing their sunglasses. Unfortunately, when I see any star worth taking photos of, I am usually too embarrassed to try to snap an obvious photo...which is probably why the only pictures I end up with are photos like this one (courtesy of Emily Cox):


Yes. That IS Gary Coleman at Sundance.

Still, for the record:

best celebrity I peed next to in the bathroom:
Parker Posey

best celebrity I watched buy a bagel:
John Cusack

best celebrity I got so close to i could smell his hair gel:
Billy Baldwin

best celebrity I said "excuse me" to as I walked by:
Mandy Moore

fashion
I know it is cold in Utah in January, but there is something special about the film fest that makes everyone try to dress as much like a yeti as possible. Every store up and down Main St sells these ridiculous fur boots that I can only imagine people wear home and wake up the next morning in a daze, wondering if their neighbors are missing their cat.


The truly committed make sure their boots are paired with an enormous fur coat and hat. I'm not sure who would have a bigger heyday up there - PETA or the hosts from What Not To Wear.

entertainment
The free music they have on the big outdoor Main Street Stage is always a fun activity, if you can brave the cold.

This year I got to see Shiny Toy Guns (give their song le disko a listen) and of Montreal play for free with these fun friends:

Even in the cold, the lead singer of of Montreal still wore a rather revealing little dress that my mother never would have approved of.

At least the other guitarist had enough sense to wear a stylish giant fur thing on his head.


friends
The other awesome thing about spending time in Utah is seeing all the people that I like out there. marsha had an art show:

We all celebrated afterwords at the Provo Bombay House by spelling MARSHA with our fingers.

Marsha and cassian celebrated too.

in their own special way.



Thanks for the good times, Sundance. See you next year.

A new mascot is the new awesome

Since I'm now a member of Death Scab for Scootie, we needed a mascot to replace me. We're still in search of our human mascot that can make treats and wash the scooters etc. But when I was visiting my family in Utah this weekend I realized my cat Lucy would be the perfect animal mascot for our gang. I bought Lucy when I was a Junior at UC Davis from the pound for 5 bucks. She's pretty hardcore. However her style left a little something to be desired.


Enter the new sleek Lucy.


The Lucy who wears navy blue cable knit turtle neck sweaters.
The fierce new animal mascot of our gang.

Decorating for the Holidays is the new awesome

Perhaps it is the fact that my roommate was born on Halloween that makes her decorate for this holiday more than any other, but I came home the other day to find our home completely covered in black and orange witches and pumpkins and other halloween paraphernalia.

the problem? all her stuff is waaaaaay too cute to be truly halloween-y.

the witches are soft, cute and grandmotherly, with moles that look more like dimples.


the sayings adorning our every doorknob do not strike fear into the hearts of any that read them. (not to mention, the witch graphic here is nose-less. everyone knows that if you want to make something look harmless and adorable that you don't put a nose on it)


rather than appearing to be the veritable tower of terror that betsy originally had probably hoped to place in our entry-way, instead we have what appears to be a Christmas tree shaped homage to halloween, with some smiling pumpkins and some really inviting york peppermint patties to take with you as you leave our home.


the black cat does not look like it has the evil intention of causing anyone bad luck, and the red-eyed bat on its tail is flying in loops, which everyone knows is adorable.


Obviously we are having some trouble bringing the appropriate spirit of fear into our home this Halloween season. So I put up my truly frightening decoration - the famed Old Woman in a Straw Hat painting. She knows the true spirit of Halloween.

Heywood is the new awesome

Obviously Utah is great for friending, but I'm extra lucky because for me, Utah is also great for familying. Sometimes it's hard to squeeze it all in but here is proof that I was successful. I present to you, my family. The best family ever.

I'm happy to report that Allie and I are friends now. You might remember a time when Allie was not so sure how she felt about Auntie Betsy. Now she is mostly sure she loves me.


Having said all that, I should point out Allie doesn't love anyone as much as she loves my mom.


My sort of excuse for taking a quick weekend trip to Utah was because it was my sister Jen's birthday. We decided to take her out for a fancy dinner at Winger's. I should point out, Doug is not my husband. And Jake, Emma and Sophie are not our kids.


Doug is Suzy's husband. But Jake does not belong to Suzy.


Jake belongs to Jen and Joseph.


Maybe you've noticed that there are a lot of females in the Heywood family? And some might say when all the females get together we can be a bit...overwhelming. So sometimes the boys find it necessary to stick together. Except, where's my dad?


Oh he's just driving Emma around on the riding lawn mover. No big deal.


Jake was like "when is it MY turn to drive the riding lawn mower?"


Then I was like "Jake chill...you'll get your turn...until then, let's take self portraits!"


Then Sophie wanted in on the self-portrait action.


Cake time! What newly turned 37 year old...


...asks for, and then gets so excited when she receives a GameBoy DS Lite for her birthday? Jen.


Adding to the female count are Rosie & Lucy.
You might remember that once I said I don't miss Rosie barely at all. Still true.


I do however miss Lucy. Lucy is my cat that I bought from the pound for $8 when I was in college. Sometimes my dad thinks it's funny to get Lucy shaved like a lion before I come home to visit.