Tuesday, November 29, 2005

It's a martini, it's a Prada bag, it's a . . . . brunette???


That's right, I finally did it - I'm a brunette again. I didn't say anything earlier because I wanted to surprise Mom on Turkey Day, but I had my hair dyed back to (close to) it's natural color. I figured that since I'd been highlighting it for about 10 years, it probably needed a break. Plus, I would like to still have hair when I'm 40! :S

So, this is it! The brunette me! It's several shades darker than my natural color, but it's supposed to fade in another week or two.

posted by Arctic Skipper @ 5:28 PM 2 comments

Monday, November 21, 2005

Diary of Hair Removal: Part 1


Note to self: never put a product on your face that is named after a man's genitalia. Chances are it won't work and will leave you with little patches of hair all along your eyebrows . . .

posted by Arctic Skipper @ 3:24 PM 1 comments

Football and really bad movies (spoilers)


45 - 17!! Take that, Houston Texans! HAH! Yes, I'm gloating over my Chiefs' win over the worst team in the NFL. I know, it's very sad. I'll be crying next weekend when we get whaled on by New England.

Aunt Terri was in town on Friday nite, so I picked her up and brought her over to our new house! She took a ton of pictures for Nana, who was going to surprise me but couldn't make it, and then I burned - I mean, made - dinner and we had a great visit before I took her back to the hotel. It was really wonderful to see her, and I think she got me hooked on a new label of Chardonnay. I'd never tried The Little Penguin before, but it was excellent, and I bought another bottle Saturday afternoon!

Saturday I slept in, hit the exercise bike and lifted and then spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the house (again) and running errands. Shorty came home early and started cooking and we had some friends over to watch the UFC fights on pay-per-view, followed by poker, which lasted until the wee hours of the morning. I Sally-ed out around 2 am, but I think the boys played for another couple of hours.

Sunday I cleaned up the kitchen and then chilled and watched football for the rest of the day. Megyn's mom dropped her off for a couple of hours, and on his way home from dropping Megyn off, Shorty picked up 'Unleashed' and 'Shaun of the Dead.' Note to self: never let Cute Boy pick out movies alone. Ever. Again. 'Unleashed' was ridiculous. Seriously. If you're going to make a movie about some poor guy who was brainwashed into becoming a killing machine by his mother's murderer, at least go for a little more in the detail department. We saw how horribly Danny was treated, understood that something in his past had to do with pianos, and then went through the whole journey of self-discovery and learning about the world as he was 'humanized' by a sweet family who took him in. Then he gets pulled back into his previous life (where he was treated like a dog) in an attempt to keep the bad guys away from his new family. Then he goes back to his new family and we discover what really happened to his mother. Then the bad guys come for him, he fends them off, and we're lead to believe he lived happily ever after. Okay, so the director tries to tug at our emotions and make a cheesy action movie into something a little more. We learn that his mother was murdered, but we don't learn why or what her connection was to the bad guy - other than that he slept with her. Was she some ho he picked up off the streets? She doesn't seem like the type. Why did he come back and murder her in broad daylight? Seems a little risky for a one-nite stand. What did she know? What was her connection? There were just too many little things left out, and a few more details would have made the movie a lot better.

'Shaun of the Dead' was just ridiculous. I was all set to curl up and watch a brainless spoof on a zombie movie and then the producer had to kill it. The acting was funny, the characters were goofy and laughable, and things were progressing pretty much as expected, and then they threw in a serious part when Shaun's detestable step-dad, Philip, confesses how much he cares about Shaun just as Philip is about to die and come back as a zombie. Very touching, but from that point the movie seemed like it was trying to become a serious zombie movie instead of the joke it started out as. Then Shaun has to kill his mother because she becomes a zombie. Okay, we're not supposed to have serious, sad stuff like this in what was suppposed to be a completely goofy parody of Dawn of the Dead. If I wanted to watch a trajedy-stricken horror movie, I would have rented something else. I was all set for something more like Army of Darkness. 'Shaun of the Dead' started off goofy and funny and just pooped toward the end.

posted by Arctic Skipper @ 12:03 PM 1 comments

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

A Whole New Kind of Stupid


He shot me, held me hostage and threatened my family, but I still love him!

Wow. There's not a whole lot you can do about that kind of crazy.

posted by Arctic Skipper @ 10:36 AM 2 comments

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Must . . . . vent . . .


It is never fun to listen to a 54 year old woman whine.

posted by Arctic Skipper @ 4:16 PM 1 comments

Color Me Spanked Part 2

As requested by Shea, here's the link for the crayon quiz.

And, just fer fun:
You are
What Rejected Crayon Are You?


I'll never understand what compels people to marinate themselves in perfume. If people can smell you before you walk in the door, and if I can taste your perfume just by breathing around you, that might be an indication that you should tone it down juuuuust a little . . .

posted by Arctic Skipper @ 10:13 AM 1 comments

Why Do I Even Watch?


I was all set to curl up on the couch with a lapful of kittens and a frosty Bud Lite and witness a complete butt whoppin' courtesy of the Philly Eagles. Instead, I could only cringe in horror as the freaking Cowboys (third most hated team in the NFL, right behind the Raiders and the Broncos) pounded McNabb & Co in the fourth quarter. Naturally, I drowned my sorrows in house cleaning and a great big fatty steak. First Priest Holmes is out for the season, then my Chiefs lose to Buffalo - 3 TO 14!!!!! - then the Broncos and the Raiders play against eachother, leaving me completely confused as to who to cheer for, and now the Eagles choke on what was supposed to be a heinous creaming of Dallas. Football's just too dissapointing this season. Maybe I should chose another sport to dedicate my Sundays to . . . . like underwater basket weaving . . .

posted by Arctic Skipper @ 9:47 AM 4 comments

Monday, November 14, 2005

Smirnoff, Laguna Beach marathon, football & poker, oh, my!


I had a brief but entertaining bout with the single life this weekend. Shorty abandoned me and went to Anchorage to play poker in a tournament the salesduders at Affordable in Anchorage were having, so I was all alone Saturday nite. Did I sit at home, sobbing into my kittens’ fur and wondering what horrible thing I had done to warrant such callous treatment? No, I went out and played Girls’ Nite Out with Ginger!

After taking my heartless boyfriend to the airport Saturday afternoon, I vegged on the couch and watched 6 straight hours of Laguna Beach. It was beautiful. I had plans to meet up with Shorty’s sister and go watch her son’s hockey game, but Cellular One hates me and I couldn’t catch her or Pops on their cell phones. Ginger was able to get through to me on my cell, though, and I met up with her and a few of the girls for drinks at CBI, where I discovered that Smirnoff Bombs are evil, vile substances that should never be pounded on an empty stomach. Jenna volunteered to drive us over to Kodiak Jack’s, and we spent the rest of the nite drinking, dancing and having fun. I made it home around 3 am, had a glass of wine with the kittens and slept all alone in our gigantic California king while Shorty played poker with the boys, hit on the strippers that were hired and blew his daughter’s college fund. Okay, perhaps that’s not entirely accurate. There were no strippers and he took fourth in the tournament, which means he won his money back. (I still think my version is more entertaining and would earn me apology flowers and a nice piece of jewelry.)

My Sunday was spent watching football, recovering from my nite of debauchery and drowning my sorrows over my Chiefs' loss in mineral water and Advil. I picked Shorty up at the airport at 7:45 pm, where I was pleasantly surprised to find that he’d considerately brushed all the stripper dust off before coming home. ;) We were in bed by 10 pm and I still wasn’t able to drag my butt out of bed this morning to do my morning work out.

My weekend of being single thankfully didn't result in any embarrassing photos being posted on internet web sites, and no one got arrested. I did, however, learn two important lessons: I can’t drink like I used to, and the effects of Smirnoff Bombs take at least 36 hours to wear off.

posted by Arctic Skipper @ 3:08 PM 4 comments

I'm aware that this is a decision I made all on my own. I chose to live in Alaska, and I was well aware of the type of weather I would be facing during the winter. I could be living in California right now, soaking up the heat and wearing a cute pair of dress pants and a light shirt instead of a pair of heavy cotton pants and a big, bulky sweater, but I chose to stay in Alaska and make my home here. I did this with a full realization of the ups and downs of the climate in Fairbanks. However, while I understand that I do live in Alaska and it is a bit colder here than it is in other parts of the country, it is never right for a person to walk into his/her office in the morning and be able to see his/her breath! It is freezing in my office. At this very moment I'm huddled at my desk with my space heater cranked. I'm still sporting my big, puffy, pale blue down jacket and I've hunched over a cup of Pumpkin Spice-laced coffee in a desparate attempt to get feeling back into my fingers. My desk is right by the windows, and there is an incredible amount of cold air that radiates from those big bastards! I'd post an update about my weekend, but I'm afraid my frozed brain cells are a bit sluggish and I can't remember what I did five minutes ago, much less a whole 24 hours ago. I'll update as soon as I've thawed . . . .

posted by Arctic Skipper @ 9:49 AM 1 comments

Friday, November 11, 2005

Color me . . . .spanked???

You are
What Rejected Crayon Are You?


WOO HOO!!!

(Yes, the coffee buzz is still going strong . . . . )

posted by Arctic Skipper @ 12:04 PM 2 comments

Caffeine overload!

Coffee Mate has come out with this absolutely awesome new flavored creamer in Pumpkin Spice! I don't usually put cream in my coffee, (just a cubic butt load of Splenda) but I thought I'd be nice and try it out since Co-worker brought some in for me. Wow! I've had about four cups of coffee already and we're about to make a new pot! This stuff rocks! She brought in the Creme Brulee flavor, too, and I'm going to hit up Safeway during lunch for the Egg Nog flavor! It's on!!! (I feel really, really sorry for any clients who come into the office today because we are freaking wired!!!!!)

posted by Arctic Skipper @ 10:27 AM 2 comments

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Brunette vs Blonde - the ultimate dilemma!

I'm thinking of going back to being a brunette. I haven't completely decided yet, but it's something I've been kicking around. (Mom, stop squealing - I'm not sure if I'm going to do it. :P) I love being blonde, I think I look better as a blonde, and my entire wardrobe is made up of colors that look flattering on blondes, but the up-keep is kind of a pain in the butt. Every 6 weeks I have to shell out $100 (which, admittedly, isn't that expensive) to sit in a chair for two hours and have highlighting goop foil wrapped into my hair. (I do pick up excellent reception for those two hours, though . . . ;)) After about 5 weeks my roots are seriously noticible and I have to plan my hairstyles around the fact that I look like a blonde with a fading dye-job. I've been doing this for 9 years. My poor hair probably needs a break! I have appointment with my hair chica next week, and I'll most likely end up getting highlighted again, but after that I think I'll take the plunge and have her either strip the color out of my hair or dye me back to my original brunette.

This may not seem like it should be such a big deal, but for someone who obsesses about her hair, it's kind of a tramatic decision.

Kevin is looking at this whole thing as a very interesting experiment on social behavior. He's betting people will take me more seriously at work, which I'm completely in agreement with. He also thinks that our friends will start treating me a little differently, which I'm not quite sure about. He was describing the transformation as me going from being a cute little tan, bouncy blonde cheerleader type to a more serious, sultry brunette. My personality isn't going to change - I'm still going to be completely ditzy and silly - but his take on the whole situation is that people will think of me differently once I've darkened my hair. I kind of agree, but I don't think it will be to such an extreme degree. I guess we'll find out soon enough!

posted by Arctic Skipper @ 9:52 AM 1 comments

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Best Wake Up Ever!


I woke up this morning laying on my right side with Shorty snuggled up against my back, Jazz (our black kitten) sprawled up against my stomach and Ariel (our gray kitten) cuddled under my chin and in the crook of my arm. Right about then the alarm went off, but I slapped at the snooze button and we snuggled and petted the kittens for a few mintues before I rolled out of bed to go work out. It was the best wake up ever. I'll admit, though, it is a little weird that our kittens like to snuggle under the blankets. Absolutely adorable, but weird.

Not much else is up. I've been slacking with the updates, but that's because Shorty's been monopolizing the computer at home. I'll casually approach the computer desk, see that he's online playing poker (still) and politely inquire if I can use our computer when he's done, at which point he hisses at me, pets the computer monitor and murmurs, "Myyyyyy preeeeeccccccciousssssssssssssss." It's gone from cute and funny and moved right on into creepy. He has sharing issues.

*** Edit - the picture I've insterted is of Ariel & Jazz playing with wrapping paper during Megyn's birthday party. ***

posted by Arctic Skipper @ 9:18 AM 2 comments