Val's guide for keeping your cat off your christmas tree.

Step one:  Set up your Christmas tree. Admire it! oooooh, aaaaaaaah, it is delightful! it is pre lit! it is sitting nicely on your little side table, and makes your apartment look nice and Christmas-y.

Step two: go through your Christmas ornaments, and bypass anything that is breakable. (You will be glad about this later)

Step three: Plug in tree, watch cat eyeing lights with glee.

Step four: Admire your decorated tree.

Step five: spray cat who is gnawing on the branches of the tree with water bottle. Cat runs away.

Step six: spray cat who is gnawing on the branches of the tree with water bottle. Cat runs away.
Step seven: spray cat who is gnawing on the branches of the tree with water bottle. Cat runs away.

Step eight: You are about to leave the house! Yay! there is life outside your apartment! (that, or you are going to work)  Unplug the tree, as you do not want to come home to electrocuted cat.

Step nine: Return home.  Find tree on floor, mangled.  Pick up tree, fluff branches, and put ornaments back on.  Repeat every time you return to the house.

Step ten: spray cat who is gnawing on the branches of the tree with water bottle. Cat runs away.

Repeat until insanity is firmly set in.

Ten things that are making me happy right now

1) My new project is trucking along! 1,097 more recipes to go!
2) Thanksgiving countdown has begun. Sixteen Days!
3) Averted near panic today when I thought I was scheduled to work the saturday after Thanksgiving. That would have sucked mightily.
4) Hanging out with my sister and Lauren this weekend - Holy Frijoles for drinks and Rocket to Venus for drinks! (Rocket to Venus is my new favorite place. Try the deep fried pickles. And the Bahn Mi)
5) Sunday Night Dinner with Jackie on Monday
6) Having Wednesday off this week (awesome)
7)  Planning out the things I'm going to make for The Project while I'm at home.
8) Earl the cat surviving a second story jump off of my apartment balcony, completely unharmed.
9) The Weepies Concert is coming up!
10) 11 days until Harry Potter!

Crafty!

So I have a tiny cousin, who is 18 months old.  He's super cute.  He also got a play kitchen for Christmas, and since then I've been meaning to make him some play food. 

I had the day off today, so I decided to get cracking. 

There is the egg shell, the egg, and the bacon.  The egg fits into the egg shell, and looks like this:

All and all, I am inordinately pleased with myself.  They are super cute! I can't wait to make more!  (first up, some more bacon. More bacon is always needed. 

List update!

22. Get my camera fixed

Done!  Through the Magic of the Mail, the awesomeness of Canon Repairs, and me finally getting off my butt to get my camera fixed, it's done!

To celebrate, here are some pictures of Earl.*

* I fully know that crocheting a hat for my cat makes me a Crazy Cat Lady.  I crocheted him some booties too, but he wouldn't wear those.