Preach it.

My dignity. Embarrassingly, I got pulled over for driving down the Taconic Parkway in my big ol’ Budget truck. I really thought the officer would take one look at this moron driving a moving van by herself and have pity. Alas I could not save myself from a ticket or his judgment.

Jack’s birthday present. It was this indestructible red rubber ball that holds little bits food. It keeps him occupied for hours so I can actually unpack without a wet dog nose investigating every damn box.

A $1 bag of dried black beans. I was really looking forward to a cheap meal.

Half of my cereal bowls.

Rags. You know, for cleaning a disgusting apartment that was apparently inhabited by monkeys before The Roommate and I moved in.

My iPod charger. How’s that for annoying?

One slipper. How is that for REALLY annoying?

Not lost, but not quite right:

My knee, which has been suspiciously swollen for days since we moved into our fifth floor walk up. I cannot bend it all the way back to stretch my quad. AARP will be calling me any day now.

My underwear (almost!). I paid the laundromat a huge visit the day before moving and washed every pair of my underwear besides the ones on my bum on that day. I put them all in one clean bag and then promptly lost that bag for a spell. It was incredibly traumatizing. Next time I will set some aside in a sort of panty insurance policy.

The little handle of my Anthropologie salt and pepper shaker set. It used to be you could carry them from counter to table and impress your friends with your $55 salt and pepper shakers. Now I have to have to hold them in my hands like a commoner. Anthropologie would be mortified.

Fear not, Sid’s pudginess lives on! He now lives downstate with the Roommate. “Roommate” is more of an honorary title at this point because we had a HUGE FALLING OUT AND SHE MOVED AWAY. Actually she just decided to move in with her boyfriend and we still see each other and hang out and talk a lot and there is lots of mutual adoration.

Anyway, the absence of Sid created a cat-shaped hole in my heart, as well as Jack’s, so in November we adopted Penny. We had originally gone in to adopt an older cat like Sid, but when we walked by her, Penny reached out her two little arms and grabbed our fingers, purring all the while. We were hooked.

Penny likes…

-Food. She is a chubby monster and is quite vocal about her meals. As of late she has stopped growing taller and has started growing outwards. That girl is not afraid to eat.

-Ambushing Jack’s tail. Jack is roughly 8 times Penny’s size, but that doesn’t stop her from sneaking up on him at every occasion.

-FREAKING OUT. She’s good at it, too.

-Sitting on your shoulders.

-Balls of aluminum, bottle caps, twisty ties… she is something of a garbage cat.

Penny dislikes…

-Not much. She’s extremely brave and fearless and doesn’t seem to mind much at all. She isn’t bothered when you cut her nails or give her a bath or take her to the vet or yell at her to get off the counter. Don’t get me wrong, she’s BONKERS. But she’s the most bonkers, easy-going cat I’ve met. Considering she is the smallest breathing thing in the house that doesn’t live in an aquarium, she’s not afraid to run with a large dog and two giant humans.

Penny has been an energetic addition to our little family, but she never shies away from a good nap. She does well here.

I started off the year as a recent college grad who was holding down three part-time jobs and trying desperately not to become hopelessly discouraged. Looking through iPhoto it appears that, besides working a lot, all I did from January to April was cook and eat. Which makes sense — I had no money and the Boyfriend was still in school — what else are a poor post-grad and a senior college student supposed to do in the cold Upstate NY winter? During these first few months of 2010, I did make scallops for the first time, jump back on the bacon bandwagon, and enjoy several lunches on our back porch, but aside from that there was nothing particularly new and noteworthy in the early months of the year.

April is when it all turned around for me. On the evening of April 1st — April Fool’s Day, mind you — I got a call about a job I had interviewed for in February. The interview had gone so well and I’d immediately clicked with the team, but funding fell through and so did the job. This phone call, however, signaled the rebirth of the job and the hiring of one very thankful Page girl! I’m currently exploring the Development side of non-profit work and I find it suits me well.

This spring brought me a new job and it brought a college diploma for The Boyfriend. And in keeping with the Spring Whirlwind, the Boyfriend, Roommate and I had to deal with the end of our apartment lease in May. The Roommate made plans to abandon us and move downstate to live with her boyfriend, taking Sid, her fabulous cookbook collection, and all of the clothes I used to borrow with her. Meanwhile my boyfriend and I struggled to find a landlord who was willing to rent us an apartment even though we have a dog. Yes, even dogs as cute as Jack are unwanted by landlords.

The stress of not potentially not finding a place that was okay with Jack’s size and overall canine-ness wore away at us throughout the spring until we finally found a gorgeous place in a quiet neighborhood:

I really love our apartment — the location, the size, the style. It’s really perfect for us and our growing zoo.

In June I turned 23 for the first time with the help of my family and some sombreros.

Compared to Summer 2009, July and August were fairly quiet. The gang made a trek north in August to do a little camping — our first group trip together.

And by “camping,” I mean eating, drinking, boating, swimming, eating, kayaking, campfiring, drinking, S’moresing, eating, and sleeping in real beds.

(Jack only went swimming twice: once when he fell off the boat trying to rescue the Boyfriend and as seen above when he ran into the water trying to rescue the Boyfriend and I from our kayaks. That’s puppy love.)

October was a banner month: the Boyfriend got his EMT certification, had a birthday, and carved his first Jack o’lantern.

Jack is so proud he’s fighting back tears.

My big moment in October was the 17th, when my sister and I took a supersecret trip up to Saratoga Springs…

…to get tattoos!

I was incredibly nervous, but it’s been a wish of mine to get a tiger lily tattoo for a few years now. Tiger lilies bloom in the summer right around my birthday and my dad brought my mother a bouquet when I was born.

The pain is not as bad as you think. The actual art of having someone draw on you is far more impressive than the sting of the needles. (By the way if you’re in the Capital Region and looking to get a tattoo, go to Needlewurks. They are professional, friendly, talented, and clean!)

My sister got a Linnea flower after her name.

As the months turned colder and cuddling became more necessary, I began to greatly miss my pudgebucket, Sid. So in November I dragged The Boyfriend to the animal shelter where we found Penny:  

Who, like her doggy brother, is an odd mix of lazy and crazy.

“Excuse me, are you gonna eat all that?”

To round out the year, in December the Boyfriend and I celebrated our anniversary on Cape Cod.

And finally, Santa topped off the year nicely by bringing me one of these for Christmas:

(image courtesy of gdgt.com)

It’s love.

“This is humiliating.”

The problem is HOW to utilize this fantastic piece.

He could be a Martian from Planet J…

…or a lively phonograph…

…or a cold, resentful queen.

Decisions, decisions!

“Dream on, lady. No way I’m going trick-or-treating in this.”

No, not for this again. Sadly…

No, we were in Saratoga on a top secret mission.

I can’t reveal any details since we made a sisterly oath to keep mum on the subject. All in good time, friends.

On the way home we stopped to take in the sunset over the Rexford Bridge.

It’s a beautiful time of the year in Upstate New York. The weather is still warm but the leaves are starting to turn orange and yellow. Boots are back in season but it’s still not time to put away summer skirts.

It was a peaceful way to end the weekend.

Save the Greens!… Wilted lettuce can be saved, thanks to this helpful tip from Noshing Confessions.

Are Cupcakes the Perfect Food?… While you ponder, peruse this crazy cupcakes from mental_floss. I’ll take one of each, please.

Slow Down… Videos of sneezes, golf bolls, lightning, and more — all in slow motion. These clips are CRAZY.

To Get Ready for Swimsuit Season… don’t make this Oreo pretzel fudge.

My Boyfriend Has This Tattoo…. Not really, but… soon, I’m sure. Also, can we talk about how this website is called Bacon Today? The content is strictly business with headlines like “People In Canada choose bacon over sex” and “Bacon Marriage Proposal.” You’re welcome.

Boxes filled with movies and books, my beloved treasures. (Although I’d also treasure a bottle of that Chardonnay right about now.)

I ran out of boxes, leaving with me with a nagging feeling of unproductivity and a messy house.

Le sigh. Now I’m just complaining to no one in particular.

On the plus side I sent out a bunch of Mother’s Day cards today. I have a godmother and a quasi-mother-in-law who deserve some recognition, after all. My own lucky mother gets two cards. She’s had to put up with me the longest.

-Dinner at Jack’s Oyster House with my mother

-Hiking at Thatcher Park

-Cutting The Boyfriend’s hair. For the first time. (And, honestly, it looks great!)

The warm weather has been beautiful and I feel like spending my free time outside while the high temperatures last. But fear not, I am taking three days off from work to catch up on blogging.

All lies. I AM taking three days off, but it will be to spend them with The Boyfriend here:

Can you guess where? Details soon!