Is 2005 just a bad year?

Many people I know have already experienced deaths of family members (including pets) or extreme hardship in 2005, and it's only the last day of January! On Sunday, my alma mater experienced a freak tragedy in which several students were injured or killed. I'm at a loss for processing all of this sadness. Here's to hoping the next 11 months go much better...

One person who beat 2005 on the nose is Richard Kral. I always thought beer was a miracle beverage. Knowing that it fights cancer *and* avalanches proves it for me.

PJs, tea, and lots of drugs

Despite the fact that I am in my 30s, my father and stepmother gave me Winnie-the-Pooh pajamas for Christmas. Well, guess what -- I'm wearing them. I am sick as a dog when a dog is sick, and these jammies are comfy to my broken body. (My head is no longer clear, it's very cloudy.)

My husband rocks. Even though he was already very late for work today, he collected a list from me and went to the drug store for cold medicines then came back home to give them to me before heading off to the corporate world. I'm not sure I would be conscious right now if he had not brought home those drugs.

It's 1 degree F outside, with a "feels like" of -14 F. Very difficult to keep my tea warm, so I've instead been using throat spray to keep the acid burn out of my throat. I'm about to resort to the other extreme, and eat some chocolate chip ice cream.

This cold sucks. I really need to be able to breathe by tomorrow morning so I can get my upper braces. I will probably have an anxiety attack if they try to install my braces when I can't breathe through my nose.

I'm going back to sleep now... *mumble*

Germies and polluted mind

No one I know has the cold I have, so obviously I touched a dirty doorknob then sucked on my fingers, or some such garbage. My brain feels great, my mood is *happy*, but if I try to swallow it burns like acid and my nose is snotty.

...and to the next tangent: I really dislike being reminded about certain ex-boyfriends. One in particular was reminded to me last week Wednesday (someone sounding like him), yesterday (someone looking and sounding like him), and this morning (someone sounding like him). I wish I could do an Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and get that little mommy rubber out of my head. I don't want to be reminded of my time with him. PURGE. PURGE. > /dev/null!!!! Cripes, I'm such a geek.

It's official: [W+(D-d)]xTQ MxNA = 2005's most depressing day

Funny, I feel great today! But, formulaicly-speaking, today is the most depressing day of 2005. I think *my* most depressing day is yet to come once my braces are on and I can't do anything but suck through a straw. Blender dindin, here I come!

Kidnapped for chocolate

This afternoon my husband surprised me on the way to the grocery store by taking a turn in the complete opposite direction from the store. He told me he was kidnapping me, and wouldn't tell me details. When we arrived at our destination, we were at our favorite Starbucks 30 minutes away. Earlier this weekend I had read a blog of someone drooling over the new Chantico drink, so that's what I ordered and I was not disappointed. This beverage is truly decadent. It's only 6 ounces, but it's pure chocolate so has tons of calories, fat, and carbs. YUMMA. Nothing like downing a cup of liquid chocolate -- like fondue in a cup. SO GOOD. It definitely made grocery shopping afterwards much less of a stressful event.

Popularity contest

Despite what others think, I *love* the Next Blog button! How else can I waste hours of my life reading other people's ramblings? ;) The most commonly linked-to blog: Ash Tree! Congratulations, Henry -- you're the winner of the crown and mace at the biggest school dance of the universe. I would have to agree that Henry's site is one of the best, in particular because of his story about a dog named Sew. Have a box of tissues nearby, Sew's story will make you cry even if you're a boy. I have been an animal lover since the womb, so an animal story with a bittersweet ending is the most effective at making me re-evaluate my life. Thanks, Henry... :) I shall permalink to you in honor of Sew.

...and how else would I find such interesting images as this one if I *didn't* press the Next Blog button?



Thanks, Waldknoblauch!

!HUFF

Is anyone else out there so addicted to the show HUFF that they can't wait for their next weekly fix? I started watching this show because my DVR recorded it in place of my all time favorite show, Dead Like Me, when it ended for the season. (My kitty Georgia is named after the lead character of DLM.) HUFF is definitely a worthy substitution for DLM while a new season is filmed.

I have never liked Hank Azaria in any of his movies, but his character Dr. Craig Huffstodt is *perfect* for him. All the goofy images of him in his movies are washed away by his firm yet vulnerable, serious persona.

Paget Brewster is new to me as of "Andy Richter Controls The Universe". She is the perfect amount of quirky and still able to pass as "normal" to the regular folks. She reminds me of Parker Posey from an alternate universe. I love it when her character Beth tells Craig she'll fuck his brains out! That's hot. :) And, her body is smokin'. I admire a beautiful woman when I see one, and she is one.

Oliver Platt is brilliant. You have this hope that he'll become a good boy, but you know he will always fail you - so realistic.

Blythe Danner is so good at playing a complete bitch but then is so sweet and tender at moments. (How many people do you know who'll pull the plug for their suffering friend??) Have you ever seen Blythe Danner talking about her daughter, Gwyneth Paltrow? She isn't a bitch in real life...

And, Byrd. Byrd, Byrd, Byrd. He seems so innocent, but we learn each week that he has depth, conviction of character, and a horndog streak. Anton Yelchin was born in Russia, which allows for an extra "je ne sais quoi" about his character.

I am surprised that I am not seeing this show nominated for awards, but perhaps it is a cult phenomenon? Or, just a Stef phenomenon. :) I wouldn't doubt that...

gdmfpos spacers

Today I received spacers in preparation for getting adult braces next Friday. For those not aware of what a spacer is, it's a piece of rubber that forces a space between two teeth so that there is room for bands to encircle the teeth for braces. Exciting stuff. My right-side second top molar is too snug to my first molar so the technician had the hardest time in her history inserting that particular spacer. So, now my tongue keeps playing with just that one spacer because there's extra material sitting in between the teeth and my tongue keeps touching it. Expletive, it hurts. Hay warned me that braces would hurt, and I agreed to be a trooper about them so that I wouldn't whine at him the whole time. So, this is just practice for the next 18 months of my life where I put on a brave face and lie everytime someone asks me how I'm doing. Perhaps I should have more carefully considered having lasik surgery instead...

Lynn, I don't know you, but thanks for posting first day in braces stories. The more info I can get that relates to my situation, the better.

Tangent: Man, I wish I had a wallet that said "Bad Mother Fucker". Then I could be cool like Jules.

...and shove it!

Today while working from home I was flipping around the television stations and found Take This Job... on A&E. I was fascinated by the episode entitled The Big Sell where a car salesman named "The Chopper" and a Mary Kay saleswoman named Kimberly Walker-Roop were featured. I am not a religious or spiritual person in any traditional sense, but both of these salespeople had me believing that I should worship them. They mesmerized me. I feel silly after the fact, but while watching the program I wanted to buy a car from Chopper and sell cosmetics with Kimberly and her mom and sister. Some people have the gift to herd sheep. Some people have the gift to be herded. I am ashamed to say I'm better at being herded...

real love

For some reason, I think expletives make your point stronger.

I showed this to my real love. His only response was, "is that real?" Oh well...

Jim is a good friend

My buddy Jim sent me this advertisement link: http://shorl.com/gygifrerudopo

It's a tiny bit racy, but I agree with the tag line. Rather, je suis d'accord. :)

Georgia parle français

Bonjour, mes amis!


Au revoir, messieurs. J'ai dit «AU REVOIR»!

Words Poppy made up!

August 18, 2005

This might not last for long, but this week I'm on a new word roll. I'm backdating the post so that it can become an old sidebar sitter. So, here are the two I've made up:

• spamment: a spam comment on a blog post
  
• furcumber: a furry cucumber, as in a cat who is "cool as a cucumber"

I'll update this as I happen to think of more words which google doesn't recognize. :)

A poem about a whale, a cat, a hat, and being sick

Une baleine qui est bête,
elle porte un chat sur sa tête.
Le chat, il dit à la baleine très grande
«je suis malade, je dois descendre!»

This was my first French poem from 8th grade. I couldn't tell you what my inspiration was... I really know how to pack the content in though, eh?

05tunes05

I'm using the album year shown in iTunes, Amazon order history, and my memory to guesstimate what music I purchased in 2005, even though I'm actually writing this post for real on 1/1/2007.

Albums I acquired in 2005 which may or may not have been released in 2005:

Same Girl ~ Trina Broussard (a recommendation from an old friend)
Touch ~ Amerie
Wreck of the Day ~ Anna Nalick
The Body Acoustic Cyndi Lauper
Unwritten ~ Natasha Bedingfield
Stand Up ~ Dave Matthews Band
Plans ~ Death Cab for Cutie
Emancipation of Mimi ~ Mariah Carey
The Cookbook ~ Missy Elliott
Natalie ~ Natalie
Monkey Business ~ Black Eyed Peas
JoJo ~JoJo
Greatest ~ Duran Duran
Give Up ~ Postal Service
Transatlanticism ~ Death Cab for Cutie
Hopes & Fears ~ Keane

Not very long, and likely not comprehensive. I know it's not, in fact. C'est la vie, c'est la guerre.

Poppy's Playground Rules

Just a few strongly urged suggestions from the owner and caretaker of this site. Although the date on this post is very old, its real creation date is July 15, 2005 and the rules have been added after several people did fly-by assaults to this site.

1. Be nice. This site is not about spreading hate. It's about acceptance.
2. If you leave a comment in which you insult me or any other commenter your comment will be removed.
3. Constructive criticism is appreciated, but see rule #2.
4. If you don't like what you see here, move on to the next blog in the blogosphere rather than committing acts mentioned in rule #2, or better yet, use your own blog to post your hate. (It's a free country!)
5. You must have a Blogger account in order to post. I find that "anonymous" likes to be rude more often than nice.

Thanks for visiting, hope you come back for more! :)

~Poppy