and so it begins

As I write this, it's almost 10pm. For the last hour and a half Ross and I have been sleeping on the couch. Apparently, Tiger Camp (Haylie) + A continuing and mysterious cold (Ross) + One bowl macaroni-and-cheese (Annie's) = Enough to do us in entirely. And no wonder: today was the first day of summer camp, and it was both delightful and eventful. Favorite quote of the day:

Female Tiger camper, said with no trace of giggling or discomfort, in reference to the male Mandrill: I see his penis.

Could be.

This same camper, one of the most petite and ladylike girls in class, also sweetly and proudly announced when she was about to fart.

Could be.

In other news, I am HUGELY grateful for my incredibly amazing staff. I anticipate wonderfully mellow and easygoing things from Tiger B. BRING IT, summer camp. Tomorrow, though. Right now I'm going back to bed.

men, you know who you are

just in case your brain is spinning like mine

i want to go to there

Inspired by Iceland Video from Inspired By Iceland on Vimeo.

signs that maybe you're not meant to be a hipster biker

Remember that time I got in a bike accident and made such a big deal about it? Yeah... turns out that maybe wasn't as big of a deal as I thought. Full story when I can type with both hands (and please note that I'm okay). Bikes + Rain + Me = Double-Plus Ungood.

ross, mr. collins, and me

Two recent moments of perfect happiness:

1. Today, as I stood barefoot on the warm pavement of our deck with Ross, eating the very first harvest of snap peas in our "garden" while Creature jumped around chasing bugs.

2. Last night, as the previously mentioned Ross and I cuddled on the couch watching the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice and geeking out over Jane Austen's boundless comic genius.

a creature by any other name

Hello all. Quick update: last night's mystery date was to Dance United, a collaborative work featuring Oregon Ballet Theatre, the Miami City Ballet, the Dutch National Ballet, the Australian Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, and the San Francisco Ballet. It was delightful (particularly the pieces by Joffrey and San Francisco), although not quite as good as Dance United 2009. Thanks, Ross. You did good.

In other news, my dear friend Amanda mentioned me on her blog, and I thought I'd return the favor, by which I mean that her blog inspired a topic, and I decided to run with it. Amanda talked about the "illustrious triple spoon," a spoon involving herself, her boyfriend (whose name is emphatically not Greg--sorry about that, yet again) and their cat, Lily. Ross and I also enjoy the triple spoon, which has led to Creature receiving the nickname of "the littlest spoon," or the "teaspoon." Anyway, that was a very long introduction to the topic of this blog, which is the many (nick)names of Creature the Cat.

• Creet Because it sounds like Creature. Obviously.
• Goober, Nerd, Weirdo and Turkey Because sometimes she's a goober, a nerd, a weirdo or a turkey.
• Whore Cat This is Ross' favorite.
• Russian Satellite We like to call her Turkey (see above), which one day turned into Turkmenistan, which turned into Russian Satellite. It's really nerdy in here. You have no idea.
• Fetcher This is Ross' second favorite.
• Insert-word-here-Face Foodface. Hungryface. Sleepyface. Kissyface. Sometimes even cuteface.
• Lady Because that's what she is.

Creature, thanks for giving us (Haylie) so much joy and laughter and for not being hurt by all of the horrible things we (Ross) call (calls) you. You're the best. Stay forever.

mystery date

Ross is taking me on a mystery date tonight. This absolutely thrills me. I thought we were going to The Lion King, but lo and behold, it doesn't start for another two weeks (and besides, we have tickets for July). So I have NO IDEA. What could it be? Shuffleboard at the bar? A movie date at the Fox Tower Theater (Ross' favorite because of the pretzels, my favorite because it shows documentaries and artsy foreign films)? I have no idea!

Oh, surprises. What would life be without you?