Back to School (and the Vet)

The great thing about the quarter system is that you get to start fresh every 10 or so weeks. (11th week is finals.) The not-so-great thing about the quarter system is that you have to start over every 10 or so weeks.

Oh, and our sweet baby kitty L.ouis needs oral surgery, and it's scheduled for this Friday. (He's not actually a kitten. He's approx. 2.5 years old but he'll always be our baybee.) Right now, Baby A and I are pretty calm about this. On Friday, after we leave him in the very capable hands of the vet though, I'm pretty sure there will be TEARS.

In more upbeat news, PICTURES!

Amanda's tattoo is all finished, but needs some touch ups.
I have a few broken lines, but nothing noticeable, so I think I'll leave mine.

Ignore the dry skin. Look, shiny! And pretty ocean!

This is the beach, on the North Shore, where the nose ring picture was taken. So. Blue.

The twinks at a different beach. Yes, we have the same style of sunglasses. Not because we're twins, but because Wayfarers are awesome.

Cheers,
Alison

A List, Because I'm Lazy and on Spring Break

• I'll definitely be posting some pictures of my nose piercing and some more of our tattoos...
  
• Because we're in Hawaii, and hellooo, people take photos on vacation. And in Hawaii, it's all beautiful weather and ZOMG amazing beaches, which makes the whole showing-off-tattoos thing a lot easier than 40 degrees and rain, like it was for much of the school quarter.
• Baby A is sick with bronchitis, unfortunately. Here, on the island. Poor thing. Thank goodness for health care. HCR, anyone?
• On a different health-related note, apparently helmets aren't the law here. I have seen so many moped and motorcycle riders without them. Every time I see one, I freak out a bit, because traumatic brain injury or even worse? Not even HCR can fix that. Granted, I do ride my bike without a helmet (shame on me), but I ride almost exclusively on bike paths, away from motorized traffic (rationalization, FTW!). I could fall off my bike or get hit by a bike and hit my head, but I'm pretty sure the probability of a brain injury from that kind of fall is much lower than the probability of one from getting hit with a car or truck or hitting the asphalt at high speeds. I really should get a helmet or wear the one I actually do own, in any case.
• I am obviously going to enjoy this vacation, but I'm also looking forward to next quarter. I will start working in a lab studying lactation and infant development on campus, I'm taking classes I (mostly) really want to take, and I have a big sewing project all ready for me to getting a-sewing on. Speaking of that project and next quarter...
  
• I'm marching for Maddie again. Are you?

Cheers,
Alison

What is a Twin Good For, Anyway?

Lots of things!

A shoulder to cry on, a companion when you need it (and sometimes when you don't), unconditional love...

Oh, and help taking care of new tattoos and piercings.

There is NO way I could have taken care of my back tattoo by myself. I knew that if I wanted something there, it would have to be when I lived with Baby A or someone similarly awesome and close to me. Baby A it was.

Aaaand I recently got a nose ring. I didn't have enough hands today when I was messing with it (cleaning it, moving it, making sure the hole in my nose is A-OK), so Baby A was called in as back-up.

The things we do for each other.

Cheers,
Alison

New Year, Part Deux

It is our birthday! How is it that we are 21 today? Twenty. One. Years.

Today is going to be for cleaning our apartment, bowling, hanging out with friends, and enjoying our own personal New Year.

It's a new year for us (and, as the bartender said last night, a new era in our lives). We're "grown ups" now, or so people say. I'm not sure being able to purchase alcohol and gamble in Vegas really makes me an adult, just sayin'.

21 years and 9 months of kicking it, twinkie style!

Cheers,
Alison

Twenty Ten

2009 is behind us. It's January 1 of a whole new decade. And I'm looking for to 2010 and the new decade, because...

In 2010:
Baby A and I turn 21 in less than 2 weeks.
In month and a half or so, we'll be halfway done with our five year, double major undergraduate education.
During spring break, we'll be swimming in warm ocean waters, hiking green mountains, eating plate lunches, and sipping fruity drinks on the sand. With our mom, which makes it even better.
Summer is for work and play.
In fall, my upper division nutrition courses will start.

And this decade:
Who knows what this decade will bring? But I know I'm ready for it.

New year's resolutions? Got 'em. There are only a few, but they all fall under this theme: "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." Annie Dillard

Cheers,
Alison

Sunny and 60 is NOT Conducive for Sleigh Rides

Baby A and I are snuggled up together like two birds of a feather would be. (I've had the song Sleigh Ride stuck in my head for days.)

If you're celebrating Christmas, we wish you all a wonderful day! I should have posted for Hanukkah (Challah!) and the winter solstice, but winter break turns my brain to mush, and the internet and I have been a little distant. So, belated Happy Hanukkah and Happy Solstice!

We heart the holidays, every one of them.

Happy Holidays!
Alison

It's the Most Twinful Time of the Year

Maybe it's because this is the busiest travel time of the year, with people jetting off to be with family or friends.

Maybe it's because it is at this time of year that we travel, leaving NorCal for SoCal once again, spending significant amounts of time in both regions.

Maybe it's just the way it is.

Maybe it's just a coincidence.

Whatever the cause, this is the time of year when twins come out of the woodwork. We see twins, other twins see us. It's holiday festivities all around, double vision without the aid of eggnog or hard cider.

Mmm... eggnog. I love it (half eggnog, half milk), Baby A HATES it. Such is life.
Photo from Tasty Kitchen.

Of course, there are always those who feel like they have imbibed a bit too much holiday cheer when they see us. "It's like... I'm seeing double." The subtext of that usually being "I'm fully capable of that at the moment" or "Like last night."

Cheers,
Alison