Things I wouldn't have minded getting for my birthday:

My birthday was last week!

Takeya Iced Tea Maker - I've been wanting this all summer.  I'm a tea junkie, and sometimes you just can't stand to drink hot tea in the summer!
Cool Jewels from Fred - A beautiful ice-cube mold in the shape of gems.  Filling them with different flavours of juice or coloured water would be fun.
A squid or nautilus necklace from noadi on etsy -  I'm slowly working on my collection of cephalopod jewellery.  So far I've got a sunburst cuttlefish from noadi, and a pewter octopus from a local-ish jeweller.
Tentacle Tee Dress - Speaking of cephalopods, I love this dress on ThinkGeek.
Kitchenaid Architect Stand Mixer in Candy Apple Red - A girl can dream, can't she?

All dreaming aside, though, the gifts I got this birthday were wonderful (two lovely dinners, an octopus art print, amber earrings, a bottle of sparkling Pinot Grigio...) so I'm not complaining.

Also:

I had frog's legs.
You know what they tasted like?
Chicken.  Chewy chicken.

Some vacation photos

The vacation I mentioned awhile back was a week-long cruise to Alaska to celebrate my father's 60th.  My family went together (Mom, Dad, sister, and me), with my mother and father in their own room and my sister and I in another.  We managed to not get into any fights, surprisingly enough!

This is where we first made port, in Icy Strait Point.  It was a tiny little settlement that was devastated by fire in 1944, but it seems to have bounced back mostly since.

What do I get excited about?  Seaweed, apparently.  This is one of many photos of seaweed that I took.  Specifically, I was excited about the fact that the same species of seaweed grow in Alaska that grow back home, but their colouration is different (I had a theory about accessory pigments showing through more, but I've no idea if it's right or not).

The next day we sailed by the Hubbard Glacier, which was absolutely stunning.  We had gorgeous weather, and it was so clear that the water was glassy.

Next stop: Juneau.  I loved this boot outside of the Nature Gift Shop on top of Mount Roberts.

These signs were around posted around the tram that took us up to the top of Mount Roberts.

The next place we went to was Ketchikan.  Yes, I went snorkeling.  In Alaska.  And fyi, it is freakishly difficult to get clear underwater photos, even when your fluorescent flippers aren't casting a yellow aura throughout the entire shot.

I love moon jellies.  They're lovely and they have a really interesting life cycle.  I was glad to find out that they wouldn't sting, or at least not significantly, so I was comfortable in letting it get close so I could get a good photo of it.  This was the largest one I saw, and it was maybe the size of a softball.

This jelly, however, would sting, so taking photos of them were punctuated by me flailing to get away when they strayed too near.  This is a Lion's Mane jelly, and apparently their stings are about as bad as a bee sting.

More seaweed.  Swimming through a kelp forest was enchanting, and I loved the way this photo turned out - they almost look like two people talking.

My cat doesn't like his drinking bowl.

Just a quick update: I have internet again, despite a hedge-trimming incident where the trimmer in question was looking into the sun and accidentally trimmed the internet/TV cable instead of the hedge.

I'll try to post more regularly after I get back from a vacation I'm taking soon.

Now, onto the title of this post... my cat behaves like a dog once in a while.  He used to fetch (he's a little older now and doesn't like to exercise too much), he follows you around the house, and he drinks from the toilet.

Tonight, he decided to sample a new unorthodox watering-hole: my bathtub.  While I was taking a bath.  Luckily, I hadn't washed my hair or used a bathbomb at that point.  Still, it was startling, seeing my cat perching on the rim of my tub, risking falling in just so he could lap up some piping hot water.

My internet connection has been abysmal...

...and that's why I've not posted anything for the past few days.
I spent awhile on the phone with a tech support guy yesterday, and the only thing he ended up suggesting was unplugging and plugging things back in, which has seemed to work so far.  Whoopee.

Why I got glutinous rice flour:

Dango!
The colours intensified when I boiled them... I intended for the more pastel palette that goes with hanami dango.

Happy Mother's Day

Because Tesla is infinitely better than Edison...

You know that scene in the live-action remake of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" where the protagonist begins wooing his childhood sweetheart by playing a song she previously played on the radio... on a ton of Tesla coils?
I wrote that off as bunk.
Turns out, it's possble.

Chinatown/Downtown Results

So, I found most of what I was looking for when I went downtown, plus a few extras.
It was a drizzly day, and I forgot my umbrella (read: I lent it to my boyfriend and it's at his house now), so I got a little wet... and today my cold is coming back.  Oh well.
But, as a result of it, I've got this little tip for you: if you're going out for a longish excursion (say, 2-3 hours) that involves walking, and you want to tone your legs, wear some heels.  I haven't worn heels for a long time, and this morning my calves were a little sore... the sore you get after going to the gym or working out at home.

Things to search for in Chinatown:

Baskets
Glutinous rice flour
Purple sweet potato (I have no idea where else to look for it!)
White rabbit candy
Bamboo curtains (note to self: measure bedroom windows)

Afterwards... go get bubble tea as a reward for a day of shopping well done!

Projects for the nebulous future:

Make candles out of old teacups that I buy at a second-hand store (perfect little gifts).

Fashion lighting out of glass globes and mini-Christmas lights.

String up origami cranes in my bedroom and possibly make a mobile.

Make a sun jar.

Find an old, beat-up Breyer horse model at a second-hand store, sand it down, and then paint it with chalkboard paint and give it to my childhood best friend who I don't see much anymore.

Unusual things I do to my face:

I use my fingers to apply pressed-powder eyeshadow, as it tends to adhere better as well as blend better.  My explanation for this is that I have oils on my fingertips.

I stick a Q-tip into apple cider vinegar and dab it on any blemishes I might have.

I use a moisturizer that smells like campfire/incense (St Ive's Renewal Cream, which has a picture of apples on the front... though it smells nothing like them.)

I sit with my face toward tea that's just brewed to steam it.

Unusual things I do with my hair:

I use moisturizing body wash (such as Dove or Olay body washes) as shampoo, because my hair is super-curly and if I use shampoo too regularly it will resemble a hay maze in both texture and appearance.

I use talc dusting powders as dry shampoo if I don't have time for a shower and my hair feels a little too oily in spots (though this only is necessary when I straighten my hair OR accidentally use a glut of product).

I rub body butter or whatever heavy moisturizer I can find into the ends of my hair before I go to bed to prevent split ends.

I have a big bottle of chamomile tea in the back of my fridge.  I hate chamomile tea - but, it's a good treatment for an itchy scalp.  Plus, if you're blonde (which I'm not), it'll help naturally lighten your colour.

I forgot my camera!

Today, I voted for the first time.  My polling station was quite close to my house, so I decided to walk.  It's a drizzly day, and on the way I noticed lots of tiny slugs on the path.  I wish I'd had my camera in my bag to take pictures of them!
If you're a Canadian citizen eighteen years or older and haven't voted yet... hop to it!  There was a reported 34% increase in advanced polls this year, and I'm going to hope there's a 34% or more increase at the regular polls, too.

I stayed up 'til 3 AM to watch the Royal Wedding

Not that it was my intent, really, I'm just a raging insomniac.  Kate looked lovely, of course, but what struck me was how tired she looked.  Maybe that's just me, but she seemed so ready to get the ceremony over with and relax.
While watching, I finished the cowl I'd started knitting with the yarn I bought yesterday.  It's pretty bulky, so it knits up fast.  However, I made it a little thick (18 stitches on size 10/ 6mm needles), so it looks almost like a neckbrace if I don't play with how it folds over my neck.  Oh well, lesson learnt!  But to get a cowl out of one $6 skein of yarn is pretty fantastic, so I'm not complaining.

Things I bought today:

Forever Nuts tea from Davidstea - My mother and I went to check out a tea place that just opened recently - and picked this one out.  To me, it smells like nutty cinnamon buns.  To my mother, it smells like Apple Jack cereal.  Either way, delicious!
Charisma Yarn in variegated navy-grey-brown - I've been wanting a bulky yarn to knit a cowl with for some time.  For an acrylic, it's amazingly soft.
Chiyogami - A combination of floral and leaf prints for folding.  I've been folding with regular-weight printer paper up 'til now, and I have to say, it's much easier with proper origami paper.

What's caught my eye today:

An Australian bamboo expert... - I really like the idea of growing bamboo indoors in long pots.
Chris Levine's Laserpod... - Hailed as the "lava lamp of the new millenium," and it produces beautiful lightshows.
Egg "geodes"... - I'm a few days late, but aren't these gorgeous?
Bikram yoga... - I think it would be great if I could commit to an exercise regime like this - I just don't know if I could!