mystery unveiled

so after i left a note on my neighbor's door, i heard a faint knock. i went to answer it and it was my neighbor saying he had received his note. he said it had been him that flipped it--apparently in the chinese culture, there are a lot of superstitions with mirrors (this is all according to him). he's apparently been having serious nightmares lately, and the mirror is the only thing he could think of that might be causing it. i found an article which states:

"Remove mirrors opposite your entryway door. The mirror will reflect beneficial Chi -- and prosperity -- out of your home before it has a chance to enter. "

the mirror does face his door directly. luckily in my note i had included that if there was a reason for the flipping, i'd be happy to come up with a solution. he even complained to the landlord, asking him to remove the dresser. we, however, have grown attached to it and i would hate to see it leave--it's the only place we can have fresh plants because of the kitties. after speaking with the neighbor for a few minutes, he said it'd be fine if i just covered the mirror. yay! mystery solved, and everyone's happy.

creepy [cont'd]

***update 1. contact attempted, but no one was home. left a note on their door.***

soooooo, the mirror was flipped again this morning. i've determined it HAS to be either neighbor across the hall or a visitor to neighbor across the hall. regardless, i'm going to inquire tonight if they have been flipping the mirror, or if they have had a guest possibly flipping it on their way out of the building. honestly, if i know WHO is flipping it, i don't mind--they can flip as often as they please. until then, however, the flipping is freaking me out. if it's a prank, fine. if the mirror freaks YOU out, fine. i'll find some fun pretty paper to cover it and we'll call it a day. if it is the creeps-out-the-neighbor factor, however, why wouldn't you just say something to us? obviously we're just going to keep turning it back. it's been suggested that i leave it and see if someone then flips it back, but i'm too much of a wuss to do that. some signs i'm tempted to put up:
"i'm a mirror. i see you. please stop flipping me."
"if you can see me, i can see you. please don't turn me over."
"please don't turn me over, the wall isn't very fun to look at."
"would you like it if i kept turning YOU over? please stop turning me around."
"what you don't realize is that i am actually a hidden camera. i know who you are. please stop messing with me."
"i'm sorry you don't like to see yourself in the mirror, but it's not my fault that you're scary looking. please don't turn me around."

anyway, hopefully the mystery will be unveiled and i'll have an update later tonight...

christmas gift

i realize i never shared what brandon got me for christmas, which is surprising because i'm EXTREMELY excited about my gift. this year, especially since we just got back from new york, brandon and i decided to set a very low price limit for christmas gifts. in november i blogged about brevity designs, and the necklaces and earrings i was swooning over. i didn't know that brandon actually does read my blog, but the husband paid attention to my swooning post AND he was paying attention to the time i said in passing that i wanted to start wearing earrings more often. i was genuinely shocked when i opened my little package from brandon--i had no idea he knew about those earrings! i have been wearing them constantly....here's a picture i snapped today

bad cat behavior, ep.2

so, remember that cute little cat curtain i made for my bookshelf? and how i mentioned that i only had a makeshift curtain rod and needed something else? well, the need for that became a little more urgent. i came home from work and it was obvious that two little cyclones had hit our apartment:

apparently we have a woodchuck or two residing here. not only was the curtain down and stick chewed in half, but the blanket was halfway across the room, their bed was flipped over, and the bathroom trash was knocked over. looks like the boys had a wild day! never a dull moment at our household....i really need to get some kitty cams up

modern cat

we're on modern cat again! ben and stuart are becoming famous. thanks to modern cat for showing off the new kitty nook (and adorable snuggle time)!

follow this link to see the post.

creepy mccreeperson

so last night i heard noise outside our apartment, but without fail if someone's at the door the cats at least perk up and usually run to the door if someone's there. there is a dresser outside our door, which was there before we moved in, so it's been adopted as a perch for some plants, etc. by us. it's one of those old fashioned ones with an oval mirror that can rotate attached to it, and this morning when i went outside, the mirror was flipped (so the mirror was facing the wall). in order to accomplish this either the dresser had to be moved out, the mirror rotated and dresser moved back (which means everything on the dresser would have to be moved to clear space for the rotation) OR someone removed the mirror, flipped it, and put it back.

regardless of how the rotation was achieved, i'm creeped out big time. there's only one other (quiet) neighbor on our floor, and we're on the top so unless you're on your way to us, you don't pass our apartment. our building is pretty quiet, not a lot of parties, no strange pranks...we are the last people to move into the building and we've been there over a year, so it's not like there's a crazy new neighbor.

so creepy.

crafting sunday

with the latest holiday vacation, my cats really took us being home as an opportunity to put their best (and by best i mean worst) foot forward. i decided that perhaps i could help them out with some "environmental enrichment" so i googled around an found this article here. from reading this article, i realized my kitties do not have a cozy "private area." yes, they can go under the bed, and yes they are the most social cats i have ever encountered, but i'm sure they'd still like a cozy place to snuggle up and be left alone.

at first i wanted to cut a hole in a box we have from ikea that sits in our expedit bookshelf, but brandon convinced me that the edges would look bad, and even if i tried to edge it in something, it still might end up looking icky so i had to rethink my strategy. i decided instead to clear out a cubby, put a cozy blanket in there, and then make a little curtain for the kitties to give them some privacy. here's how it turned out:



so far the cats, especially stuart, really seem to enjoy the nook. i'm going to see if there's a very small curtain spring rod somewhere, because currently i just have a basswood stick wedged in there and it keeps coming out. hopefully we are on our way to an environmentally enriched home for the kitty cats (meaning they will be better behaved).

snugglefest 08-09

so lately the cats have been napping in their little bed together pretty much every day, and i haven't been able to resist snapping a few pictures...here are some of my favorites:





similar to stu getting in our laundry basket, he pretty much jumps into ANY empty container...this time, the garbage can...thankfully he choses empty receptacles. i got this really crazy shot when stuart was apparently rotating his head but keeping one of his eyes stationary

brandon got this "portrait" while i was out running errands today

bad cat behavior, ep.1

for the new year, i've decided to document the trouble my cats cause around the house. there is a ceaseless supply, so it shouldn't be too difficult to make this a semi-regular thing here on the blog. with no further ado,

bat cat behavior, episode 1: attempting to print

whenever i try and print something, as soon as the printer begins making noise i suddenly have two curious little creatures on the desk, on the computer, on the printer, wherever they can explore. brandon says "they're just trying to help!" that really isn't a consolation when i'm actually trying to get output from the printer. let's not even mention the printer cord that seems to be tasty dessert for the cats (i have to put it away after i use the printer every time).

happy new year!

happy new year, everyone! we got back from portland last night and ended up just hanging out at hom with the kitties because brandon is getting sick with whatever the nasty thing going around is, and we didn't want to spread it or get brandon more sick.

anyway, i'm not huge into new year's resolutions, but i do like to reflect on the previous year and set some goals for myself. for me i've summed up my resolution to this:

i will stop being so lazy.

this is all-encompassing--physically, mentally and socially lazy. some of my top priorities for the year: exercise (i'd like to run at least one half marathon this year), start my etsy account (finally...name is STILL holding me up), and being taking my architectural exams. i'd also like to be more conscious about saving so brandon and i can afford our next step...we must determine/agree on what that next step is, but we at least know we can't do anything until we save. there are so many small ways that i can apply this to my daily life, and i hope i can continue to stay motivated throughout the year. perhaps i'll have to make myself a little reminder sign.

one thing is certain--i've enjoyed blogging over this past year, and i look forward to another year of posts, pictures, and projects to share with everyone! happy new year, and welcome 2009!