Why am I getting so many visits from Ukraine?

Looking at my stats on blogger I've gotten tons of visits over the last week or two from the Ukraine, from several different .ru sites.

Can anyone shed some light on this phenomena? At this rate they'll overcome my visits from the US and UK combined!  Should I start learning Russian?

The Minimalist Bandwagon, Kittens, and Laundry

For a while now I seem to have slowly fallen off of the Minimalist bandwagon.

I was so gung ho at the beginning of the year, but then life happened and I just lost track.

My apartment isn't exactly a mess, but it's not as orderly as it was... and I really seem to have accumulated a lot of things that don't have homes.

Part of this misstep is the fact I adopted two kittens - Eleven & Riversong.  They're wonderful and adorable and act like their namesakes from Doctor Who:

However, being cats, they're rather messy.  They either haven't completely grasped the litter box concept yet, or if they don't get their way, they go to the bathroom behind a sofa.  I try to remind myself that animals don't feel the need for vengeance, and they're not doing it to be mean, but sometimes it's hard to believe otherwise.  I am currently trying to find a better system or location for their litter box, because it seems as if my bathroom floor is always covered in bits of litter.

I have taken a step in tackling my problems with laundry.  After the epic closet clean out earlier this year, I have managed to keep from accumulating a ridiculous amount of new clothes.  However, I am still absolutely terrible at keeping up with laundry, since I do not own a washer & dryer.  I had been going to my parents every other weekend and using their equipment, but between the drive & cost of water/electricity for them, it was becoming a rather cumbersome task... and then I found Marietta Coin Laundry.  They are less than 4 miles from my apartment, and have a "Wash & Fold" service.  On average I have about 20lbs of laundry every two weeks.  I took everything to them last Sunday around noon, and for less than $15 everything was washed, dried, and ready for me by 3pm.  It was fantastic!  While it may cost more in the long run in actual dollars, the time and annoyance it saves me is completely worth it.  The only down side is that they do not take credit/debit, but I should be carrying cash on me more often anyways, as it forces me to pay more attention to my budget.

Time to start planning for DragonCon

As we all know, Dragon*Con is right around the corner! (EEEK!)  Here are some of my plans!

The Dalek Costume

Sure, it's only June, but I have a lot of work to do on the Dalek costume.

Last year's costume:

Dalek Costume Changes:

• Reattach / Re-secure bumpers that have popped off when I was moving to the new apartment
• Turn bottom half into a skirt
• Purchase a corset top in either black, blue, or both
• Buy a pair of Heelys (maybe)
• Lose weight (the most important part, lol)

The Kaylee Costume

My other costume, for days I feel like being a bit more relaxed, is Kaylee from Firefly.  I threw together a costume for an event a couple weeks ago, and while it's ok, I'd like to re-do it for D*con.  Here's a pic:

Changes for the Kaylee costume:

• Buy a new jumper - in green or brown.
• Use jumper to work on cars :D
• Remove patches from current jumper, add to new one
• Get a better matching shirt, preferably one a bit more breathable (this one was sweltering, and it's not gonna be much cooler out by September in Georgia).

A few other details.

Depending on savings, I will be staying with my buddy Jeffrey in Atlanta this year.  He only lives a couple blocks from the con, and this is the view from his apartment:

So yeah, it's win-win.  There is still a possibility I'll be staying with a couple friends in the Marriott, but we'll see.  It really all depends on everyone's cash flow, and I still haven't bought my actual tickets for the con.