• We have all the windows open wide, letting the fresh air come in
• The crocuses are blooming, daffodils are about to pop and the tulips are coming up
• The honeysuckle outside our bedroom window is shooting out new greenery
• I just vacuumed the car and cleaned the cleaned its carpets (OK, so the carpet cleaning was due to a coffee mug spillage incident, but it still smells better now)
• Husband is going to wash the car shortly
• I’ve been wearing my sandals for walks in the yard with Veronica
• I’ve been twitching to putter in the yard

Took Percy to the vet this morning because her eye looked worse than usual Friday night. We got a different vet this time, and he said she needs eye surgery immediately to remove the eye with a cataract (which is what we’d been thinking already).

She’s scheduled for tomorrow morning and will stay overnight.

I hope we’ll bring home Wednesday a much happier cat, or at least a cat who’s not in pain.

This morning, Ted watched V until 7:30 a.m., then brought me breakfast in bed. (And yesterday, he watched her until after 8. Double husband points.)

For Valentine’s Day, Veronica got Duplos, which she was very excited about. And two new shirts, which she kept trying to put on herself this morning.

And later, we are going to the Patisserie.

Best Valentine’s ever.

According to this editorial, “A study published in The Economic Journal during the summer of 2008 found that voters preferred extreme political positions to moderate ones. It demonstrates a level of commitment and conviction.”

We get bent out of shape about extremist religions, but we like extremist politics? They’re both dangerous.

It does seem that politics have become more polarized. Of course, it also seems that having an extreme position shows a level commitment to craziness.

Of course, I’m a raging liberal, so I’m probably extremist myself. Extremely anti-right, anti-Fox, anti-Bill O’Reilly, anti-Limbaugh.

To the health care / budget / deficit extremists: I’m all for fiscal responsibility, but I don’t think the Republicans or the Democrats actually know what that means. And I’m not sure the tea party fanatics do, either.

Veronica learned two new words this week: car and dog.

One of her new favorite activities is watching her daddy vacuum the floor.

Another is holding on to her mommy’s hands so she has better balance, then doing a very quick walk/run through the whole house. And back again. And then to the other side again. With a stop by the bathroom to prove she knows how to open and close doors.

This week, I discovered I am not the only one who has been piling up tax information (OK, so mine is neatly organized in a folder) in anticipation of filing 2009 taxes. Multiple people in my office were discussing whether they should file their taxes this weekend. It made me happy.

Someone posted on facebook that the government is stupid for taxing “successful” people, defined in the ensuing discussion as people who make more than $125,000 or $250,000 per year. Also discussed was big business’s power to create jobs and how we should lower business taxes to create jobs.

Question 1: whom should we tax, the people who make $250,000 a year or the people who work at Walmart and make $18,000 a year?

Question 2: why is it so cool that big business creates jobs that pay $18,000 a year so the public has to subsidize those jobs with state aid, foodstamps, etc.?

Corollary to question 1: Do you really think that people who make $250,000 a year are paying taxes on all that income, anyway? Seriously?

I say tax the hell out of big business everywhere. The race to the bottom where states vie for the promise of jobs is self-defeating.

Also, I want to be a business, so that when I file my taxes, I get to deduct all my living expenses and then just pay taxes on the net.

I thought all these things, but resisted starting a flame war. Facebook really is not good for me sometimes.

Flame war #2 could have occurred today, but I exited the discussion. I will simply say that after working in the industry for almost five years, I damn well know what I’m talking about. Yes, I’m easily tweaked. And I’m obviously always correct about everything, too. Except football. I know nothing about football. I leave that to the experts.

OK, I admit, I went back a day later and continued the discussion. But I tried not to flame, but rather to explain facts, facts, facts.

Does caffeine turn zombies human again?

Husband always gives me crap for using my phone’s camera because the pictures are not high quality. Here is a prime example of the efficiency of using a camera phone versus a real camera.

Phone camera

1. Take picture.

2. Post to web.

Real camera

1. Find camera.

2. Take picture.

3. Search for connector cable to get picture off camera.

4. Realize husband has connector cable.

5. Search husband’s desk for cable.

6. Try to find available USB spot for cable on computer.

7. Try to find available USB spot on monitor.

8. Swear when I hit my head on my monitor while looking for available spot.

9. Unplug other USB item in order to free up USB spot.

10. Import pictures into iPhoto.

11. Grumble about how slow iPhoto / my computer is.

12. Spend 10 minutes looking through and editing possible pictures.

13. Post pictures to web.

This is why I use a camera phone.

I’m pretty happy with the earrings I made this evening, so I think I’m ready to start on a pair for someone else. Got more beads at Joann fabrics tonight. I’m now very well supplied. And I need to make a lot of earrings for myself to justify my costs.

What a weekend. Sabbath we braved the clouds and went to Pioneer Park to swing and visit the ducks. It was sunny when we said, we should go to the park. By the time we packed the diaper bag, got V ready and got our shoes on, the sun had gone away. But we went anyway. And it was fun.

Sunday, made the trek to Tri-Cities for Target, Costco and Children’s Place. I cannot leave said stores without buying an outfit for V, so she came home with some new fashions.

Today, we took a walk in the sunshine. V walked too, holding Ted and my hands. That was her activity of the day: walking everywhere holding our hands.

This afternoon, I went to MF to the bead shop for supplies. I’m still having a hard time visualizing my finished earring when I look at the beads. Got some spacers and a few gemstones, but when I tried to put one together this evening, it doesn’t look right. So I made a couple of very simple earrings just to practice.

I feel like I need to take other classes to understand the wire working itself, now, but maybe I just need to watch someone else. Ladies’ beading night sometime soon, anyone? And does anyone want to go in on an online order for some basics?

Took a class here this evening. And made these lovelies.