Peafowl!

Did you know peacocks are actually called peafowl (unless you’re specifically referring to a male)? I didn’t. The last time I was at the zoo, I chased a couple around. I found it amusing, but I’m pretty sure they didn’t.

Since Chris won’t let me own one for reasons I can’t fathom, I found myself searching on Etsy for peacock themed things when I came across something I couldn’t live without: a peacock feather headband.

Cool, huh? If you know me, then you know I have a headband addiction. Now this can be added to my collection.

Luckily for me, the tax gods smiled favorably upon me this tax season. With my refund I’m paying off my registration for BlogHer Conference, and I signed up for the 20SB Ultimate Meetup as well. Not being totally irresponsible, the rest of it is going towards credit cards and personal savings.

Now that I’m thinking about it, who thinks peafowl colors would be good for a wedding? If I decide to move up my wedding date, I think they would be great for summer. Thoughts??

Meet Bernard!

Bernard is a shy guy, so I rarely have opportunities to have a photo op with him. I saw an opportunity for one & snagged it. I’ll be nursing my scratch wounds later.

Bernard is my (almost) 3 year old orange tabby. I got him as a gift for my 21st birthday from my ex, when my then 1 year old female cat was becoming destructive when left alone for extended periods of time. Only one shelter in the area had kittens at the time, so I drove over to Animal Rescue League to pick out my new friend. I had my heart set on an all black kitten, but I could tell Bernard was special and I couldn’t pass him up.

We’ve had our ups & downs over the past 3 years. It can be frustrating having a pet that spends 90% of his time hiding. He’s very skittish, so any sudden movements and he’s running for his nearest hiding spot. On the other hand, he loves my other cat Cady and would probably be lost without her.

Anyway, spring is a big time for lots of cats & their kittens to be picked up by shelters (obviously dogs too, but I’m a cat person). If you’re in need of a new friend, or just want to donate to help feed & shelter those you can’t take care of yourself, here’s a few places to check out!!

Western Pennsylvania:

Animal Friends

Animal Rescue League

Washington Co. Humane Society

Chicago:

PAWS Chicago

I only listed the ones I’m familiar with so if you think I should have mentioned any other facilities, please let me know.

So, please share your pet adoption stories. How’d you meet your pet, and how did you know they were the one for you?

Nintendo + Girlfriends = Amazing Saturday Night!

This past Saturday I was invited by Jamie & Jenn to spend an evening playing video games with a bunch of girls. Sweet, right??

The party was held in the West Loop Studio , which is this AMAZING space in the West Loop. Emily & I couldn’t stop saying how much we wished we lived in a space like that.

When we arrived we were all given super cute charm bracelets and at each of the four gaming stations we were given a charm. Once we collected all four charms we won a prize: a brand new Nintendo DS and Brain Age 2!!!

Emily, Jessi, and I made our rounds at each station. We got to try out Crosswords DS, Brain Age 2, Guitar Hero, and Mario Kart. Brain Age 2 made me feel really, really dumb at first, but now I’m working diligently to bring my brain age down. After munching on the delicious spread of snacks, wines, and champagne we decided to hit up the Wii Station.

We had a BLAST playing Wii bowling. There was some fierce competition, but my wii bowling skills reigned supreme.

Overall, the night was totally amazing. The games were fun, the food was yummy, and it was great to hang out with fellow gal bloggers.

Jamie and Jenn, thanks so much for hosting such an amazing party and for the invite! Nintendo, thank you for the new DS!

More amazing photos can be found here, and my less impressive photos here.

Video to follow, so keep an eye out for that!

MCAT’s and why I hate Borders

Why I’m even thinking of taking the MCAT’s is beyond me. Yes, those MCAT’s. As in Medical College Admissions Test. I must be part nuts, part masochist.

I’m not even sure what spawned this urge to do this. It was always one of my childhood dreams to be a doctor, but I instead settled for a different route in the medical field. First it was x-ray, then CT, now I’m learning MRI. I work closely with radiologists every day. More and more, I find myself wishing I was one of them, rather than in my current position. Even if I take the MCATs, I’m still not sure if I intend on applying to medical school. Part of me is just curious to see how well I’d do, for bragging purposes I guess.

So what do the MCATs and Borders have in common? Technically, nothing. However, I did make a trip to the Borders on Michigan Avenue to pick up a review book. I figured if I’m even remotely serious about taking an exam like that, some preparation is expected. I picked up the Kaplan MCAT 2009 review book and almost choked at the price. $120.00. Seriously?! Keep in mind this isn’t even a text book. I whip out my trusty iPhone and quickly search Amazon to compare prices. Amazon list price: $75.60. To humor myself I also checked Barnes & Noble: $86.50. Sorry Borders, who do you think I’m going to buy the book from? Certainly not your store.

I did buy a few other books since I hate leaving a bookstore emptyhanded. Did you ever notice that Borders uses their own barcodes instead of the ones that are on the book already? Don’t ask me why but I hate stickers on my books. I peel them off. Naturally, this means I peel off the Borders price tag/barcode. Guess what? Borders charges $.99 more than the list price on the book. Why???

No wonder the Borders on Michigan Avenue is closing. Too bad it’s the nicer of the two here in downtown Chicago. To end my mini-rant on a happy note, I bought the review book from Amazon. In a few days I’ll have the book on my coffee table and still have $45 in my pocket.

Which bookstore do you prefer to shop? Borders? Barnes and Noble? Amazon? Or are you a fan of the private owned or secondhand bookstores?