So, Denise gave me my Christmas presents, and I just DIED when I saw what she had gotten me:

Two tickets to the play in February, TERRA NOVA, BASED ON ROBERT FALCON SCOTT'S EXPEDITION!!!!??!! In Fairbanks??! *FLAILS!!!!!* OMG that is AMAZING (she asked my mom first if she thought I would like it..how could she even have any doubt haha??). I wonder if Cherry will be in it?? I so can't wait, I bet I'll just be smiling stupidly during the whole play LOL. Denise, wow, I don't think I could get her a gift that cool! I gave her a giant hug. :D What a perfect gift!! <3 (My expression says it all LOL)

She also got me this cool penguin blanket:

LOVE IT. She always finds the perfect gifts!

( 2017 survey )

Ooo, I've been wondering when this was going to come out! I hope it's not too scary though (yeah it's called The Terror lol, but that was the name of Crozier's ship too). I saw that Mance Rayder from Game of Thrones will be in it lol..cool. Not a lot was known of Franklin's expedition after they disappeared, so I'm wondering how much it's going to be "based on true events.."


Haha, the kitty sounded like Greyboy in the beginning! Always amusing when they randomly go crazy :P

( pics for dec. 7-8 )

Today's trivia: Miami is the only major US city founded by a woman

A Cat Called Alfie by Rachel Wells (Nov. 1-5)
Alfie and George by Rachel Wells (Nov 5-9)
To the South Polar Regions: Expedition of 1898-1900 by Louis Charles Bernacchi (Nov. 9-13)
In the Antarctic: Stories of Scott's Last Expedition by Frank Debenham (Nov. 14-16)
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (Nov. 16-22)
Antarctica: Journey to the Pole by Peter Lerangis (Nov. 25-26)
Alaska Days with John Muir by Samual Hall Young (Nov. 26-27)
Emperors of the Ice by Richard Farr (Nov. 28-30)

Awesome reading month, 8 books!! (Makes up for last month lol.) I also saw the movie of A Man Called Ove, which I liked a lot better than the book. ( spoilers! ) I am now on my 60th book of the year, woohoo :D

( December 1: 'Tis the Season )

1. What would you sarcastically like to thank your local government for? Leaving up graffiti in places where everyone can see it, especially tourists. It's so pretty, right??
2. What would you sarcastically like to thank your body for? Having migraines after doing something strenuous, like big sales at work. I love feeling like my head is being hit with a hammer!
3. What would you sarcastically like to thank your neighbors for? Watching something loud. I hate peace and quiet!
4. What would you sarcastically like to thank the internet for? Having flame wars over nothing, and being mean because they don't support the same person you do. Who wants to get along??
5. What would you sarcastically like to thank November for? Getting dark at 3 and 4..I love feeling like it's 10 PM at 6! (That was kinda fun LOL)

Here's something amusing I found yesterday: Fake subtitles of library books. I very briefly wondered if The Worst Journey in the World would be on there, but I was like "yeah right, what are the chances?" Imagine my COMPLETE shock when I clicked to the third page, and there it was!! Awesome. :P Awesome library, wherever it is lol (funnily enough, A Walk to the Pole, the book next to The Worst Journey in the pic, was the book that finally tipped me over into obsession haha)

One thing I hate about Prozac is that it's hard to sleep..a couple months ago mom bought me something called Hyland's Calms Forte Sleep Aid Tablets, for natural relief of tension and sleeplessness. I thought I'd give it a try, and OMG, it is AMAZING, 100 times better than melatonin. I can actually sleep for hours at a time (well, unless Abby wakes me up lol, but I can go back to sleep easily). I'll wake up and think it's 5 or 6 or something, and am shocked when I see it's almost 9! If anyone has problems with sleeplessness, you should definitely try it..it works great!

( pics for nov. 22-24 )

Yep, Abby is definitely the kind of cat that loves knocking things off tables and stuff lol. The noise the cat made when Simon was drilling the nail had me LOLing :P

The sun starting to go down at 3 PM and -12 for the high? Yep, it's winter :P

( pics for nov. 17-20 )

Today's trivia: The Lincoln Tunnel (which connects Manhattan and New Jersey) is the only three-tube underwater vehicular tunnel facility in the world

November 13: Underneath

Watch out, Abby's on a mission! Haha

November 14: Find a Heart

Found one :P

( the topics )

Today I was looking through this book on mountains and for some reason decided to look at the inside of the back cover..there was a picture of a ton of polar exploration books on a shelf, and there were two copies of The Worst Journey in the World in the picture!! What are the chances haha? There were a lot of books I'd never heard of, so I'll definitely have to see if I can find them! (I have a feeling some might be hard to find, but I'll try lol.) Exciting!

Yesterday when I went to bed it was around 24, today when I got up it was -2! That was a sudden fast temperature change! It's also supposed to snow again into Friday..crazy weather lol

( pokemon update )

Today's trivia: Baby monkeys are born headfirst, so they can grab their mother's legs and pull themselves out

1. Of all the spaces in your residence, which is most powerfully your space? My room?
2. What’s the most spacious space in your everyday life? The living room, etc
3. What’s a good song about space? "My House On Mars" by Ayreon
4. What’s under your bed? Probably cat fur LOL
5. What are your thoughts on typing one or two spaces after sentences? I've never understood the two spaces thing..it seems unnecessary to me, especially when reading a book..it distracts me haha

( November 10: Currently Loving )

November 2: Priceless

When Abby does things like this LOL, even if she made my leg a pincushion :P

November 3: Repurpose


( the rest )

Today's trivia: A "devil's advocate" was a person sanctioned by the Vatican to argue against the canonization of a potential new saint by pointing out their flaws and critically evaluating their miracles. Christopher Hitchens served as a devil's advocate for Mother Theresa

👻🔮✨ spooky questions! ✨🔮👻

ghost: have you ever seen a psychic? No
witch: do you believe in heaven? I feel like there must be *something*..nothingness just terrifies me!
black cat: favorite urban legend? *shrugs*
bats: are you superstitious? I can be, especially if I'm stressed and think something bad is going to happen..
coffin: have you ever had a paranormal experience? Yeah, I saw the ghost of a logger guy at the house I used to live in in Texas, and I saw a mysterious ball of light floating across the tundra when watching the Northern Lights a few years ago..mom and I still have no idea what it was (it was completely silent, so it couldn't have been a drone or anything like that)
cauldron: strangest dream (or nightmare) you’ve had? I've had many, but one time I dreamt my brother fell off something and turned into macaroni LOL
wizard: do you believe in aliens? *shrugs* Who knows?
enchanted: what fictional character scares you most? Most horror villains lol
haunt: do you believe in haunted objects? Maybe
spells: do you believe in magic? In a way..more like illusions..
graveyard: do you believe any conspiracy theories? I HATE conspiracy theories, especially the ones about 9/11. They're annoying to me..
potion: favorite horror movie? The Sixth Sense
full moon: do you believe in reincarnation? It's an interesting idea, but I'm not sure. It would be interesting to experience it though..
vampire: are you afraid of death? Yeah
pumpkin: do you believe in ghosts? Yeah
midnight: last horror move that you’ve watched? Umm..Cabin in the Woods? That's as scary as I get LOL
skeleton: what is your biggest fear? Death, spiders, etc
crystal ball: when is a time you got caught? When I was taking water out of the Jacuzzi when I was told not to as a kid..mom put me in time out and I was so not happy with that lol, but I sure learned my lesson :P
magic: have you had any near-death experiences? When I choked when I was home alone a few years ago. *shivers* That was terrifying D:
raven: favorite fairytale? Hmm..not sure if I have one, but for now I'll say The Three Little Pigs lol
ouija: have you ever played with a ouija board? No
fangs: favorite poem? The Raven, Polar Explorer Apsley Cherry-Garrard, etc

( October 31: That's the Spirit! )

Today's trivia: According to ancient Roman records, tribes located in today's Germany and France traditionally wore costumes of animal heads and skins to connect to spirits of the dead

Last week at work our carpets got cleaned, so yesterday Denise moved some things around so we could get at least partway in the back. Me and Shirley were insanely excited to see that this morning haha (two weeks of squeezing past boxes and stuff got old quickly :P). Denise wished she could have seen our faces, she knew we'd be happy (she was ordered to sleep in after picking up Paulette at the airport at like 1 in the morning). It took awhile, but we got all the books that were in boxes and tubs back on the "to clean" shelf and moved the cleaning table back to where it normally is. It was so relieving for all of us to have something get back close to normal again. There's still a lot of work to be done, but we can't do it till they replace the drywall, and we're not sure when that will happen. Clearing up the cleaning area was a relief though!

One change that's going to happen is my office is going to be in a different spot (that'll be strange, I've been in that spot almost 10 years!). Denise knows change is hard for me, so she gave me plenty of warning. I have to say, Denise is one of the few people that totally understands me (mom and Dana are a couple others), which is absolutely amazing. She said she doesn't see my weaknesses as limitations, just things to improve on and work around, which is incredibly awesome..there has been more than one person that has said "that's not an excuse!" when I tried telling them how my brain works. She's very respectful of my interests, and doesn't scoff whenever I mention Cherry (I had a coworker who would roll her eyes and tell me I "wasn't living in the real world" whenever I mentioned him O_o). I absolutely feel comfortable in her presence, and I confide in her a lot (she gives great advice!). It really does make all the difference in the world to have someone like Denise around..she's a great boss, and an even better friend. <3 Thanks Denise!

( pics for oct. 20-22 )

Today's trivia: In the American Civil War, soldiers were required to have at least two opposing front teeth so they could open a gunpowder pouch. Some draftees had their front teeth removed to avoid service