For Tom

This one's for Tom who maintains the best astronomy blog this side of the universe. Sorry about the cat hair on my shirt, you wanna hang with me you gotta put up with a little kitty fur. :)


(In regards to the shirt's tag line: No I don't, but today I'm trying to convince myself I do...)

je me souviens

So, remember that time in May when I went with my husband and his company to Cirque du Soleil in Montréal and we saw the Trading Spaces caravan in Vieux Montréal?


Last night's episode of Trading Spaces was the Montréal episode! So, I guess they film two months before the show airs.


I wondered how long it was from filming to airing, and now I know! (Jenna, please don't hate me for watching TS even though I said I would boycott it! I'm addicted.)

Ripley sunbathing

Sunday morning garden

States I have visited

I found the map at Lisa's site, although she didn't link back to where she got it from. That doesn't ever stop me, I'm a Google freak, so I found the map by googling for keywords map of places i have been and it was the first hit on the page. Yay, me! :) Anyway, the map comes from Douwe Osinga's site. Pretty neat!

My fantasy fed

Thanks to Lisa, I can now continue to fantasize that I am hanging out with Amy Sedaris by reading her interview about her imaginary boyfriend Ricky over and over and over and over and over and over again. Whee!


Amy Sedaris smears cake on herself
(because she feels like it, duh!)

i ain't fookin around

Thanks, Jürgen's mama, for pointing out TJ's book aid blogathon.

Everybody else - you got a buck? Give it to Book Aid International!

"Last night at the dance my little brother paid a buck to see your underwear"

O P E N   L E T T E R S T O   P E O P L E   O R   E N T I T I E S W H O   A R E   U N L I K E L Y T O   R E S P O N D . - - - - [Send your open letters to openletters@mcsweeneys.net.] - - - - AN OPEN LETTER TO THE COUPLE WHO FOUND MY PANTIES IN THEIR YARD LAST SUMMER. May 19, 2005 Dear Couple, Sorry about that. I was drunk, not that I think that makes it OK or anything. I did think I would grab the panties as I left, rather than leave them under the tree like that. I hope you can understand that we were in a hurry, having only the amount of time one would reasonably assume it would take us to go around the block on a bicycle. I guess that would be about 10 minutes, which really isn't enough time at all, even when you skip the kissing, which we did. Anyway, people were waiting for us, and for the bike, so there wasn't time for cleaning things up afterward. Also, even if I'd found the underwear in the dark (and I would have liked to, because they fit well and didn't dig into my fleshy parts, making me feel fat), my skirt didn't have any pockets. I couldn't very well show up back at the barbecue with a fistful of Jockey, could I? That would have been suspicious. Of course, I did regret it, leaving the panties behind. Regretted it almost immediately, actually, and not just for fear of my skirt flying up into my face as I balanced on the handlebars and he stood on the pedals pumping and panting us up the hill. I realized, clinging and swaying on the cold metal loop as I was, with face flushed, stray bark stuck to the back of my shoulder, and naughtiness erupting from my pores, that I hadn't ridden on handlebars like this or even ridden a bike without a helmet like this since I was a little kid. That made me think that maybe you had a kid. I thought about your kid and how, after breakfast tomorrow, he would be sent out in the yard to play with your dog that bounds about, smelling things. And I saw a floppy golden pup named Lad, wagging and sniffing and whining on our spot under the tree. Then, of course, the boy is there, too, poking at my delicately flowered underwear with a stick, bringing it to you, asking questions. So, anyway, I've been meaning to write you and let you know that I did regret it, and I am sorry if, you know, explaining my underwear to your son was a bad moment for you, parentingwise. Sincerely, Sarah Johnson New York, NY

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(Thanks, P'nut and John Hughes!)

Meme you

Sorry, I couldn't think of a clever title for this one. James has tagged me for the what's on your nightstand meme. I'm a little late in responding, but here goes:

1 lamp from HomeGoods
1 Sony CD/radio alarm clock
several assorted hair ties
lots of used ear plugs
a package of 25 pairs of ear plugs*
a cherry wood music box gifted to me by my husband
receipts
a mostly used tube of Icy Hot
a half-used tube of Cold and Hot (the generic brand of Icy Hot)
My Friend Leonard (well, okay, it's actually right next to me at the moment, but at night it's on the stand)
my glasses case
cat fur
water spot rings from my nightly glass of water

*I always sleep with earplugs in. Done it since college. If I don't have a pair of earplugs in I get a shitty night's sleep.

So, pretend you're tagged and tell me what you've got on your nightstand!

Bums the word

Today I saw the most beautiful bumble bee, dead, lying on its side on a sill next to an opaque glass block window. It was a Kodak moment. My camera is at home.

After I saw the bee I saw a beautiful yellow butterfly fluttering around a patch of hot pink and purple petunias. Another Kodak moment. My camera is still at home.

Bums...

Kim from KTimes is famous!

A reporter found Kim's post titled I love my cell phone. The reporter asked to interview Kim, who agreed to be interviewed. The product of said interview is this article. Here's the bit about Kim:

Kim Holman, 27, of Reston, Va., said she speaks softly and doesn't reveal private details when catching up with friends and family on her cell in the mall, sidewalk or wherever. Even so, she constantly endures stares and comments.

"I just ignore them. When I'm on my phone I'm not loud. I talk on it just as I would if that person was sitting or standing right next to me," Holman said. "Would they give me those looks or make those comments if the person were right next to me? No. Therefore, I don't think I'm doing anything wrong."

Yay, Kim! :)

Reward

Reward for information that allows authorities to locate LaToyia Figueroa: $10,000.

Reward for information that allowed authorities to locate Laci Peterson: $500,000 but later downgraded to $50,000.

Reward for information that allows authorities to locate Natalee Holloway: $1,000,000.

Draw your own conclusions. Constructive comments only, please. Someone knows where LaToyia is. I hope they're not holding out for a bigger reward.

A new trend: committing crimes against supporters/soldiers of the war in Iraq?

Republican or Democrat, pro-war or anti-war, we must all agree that trespassing on private property and vandalizing someone's property is not a productive way to voice your political opinion:

Not even 24-hours after Private First Class Tim Hines's wife and family said goodbye at his funeral, American flags that had adorned their Fairfield yard were piled beneath a car and burned.

Hines' sister-in-law woke up to hear her car alarm around 5:30 a.m. and saw her car on fire.

As firefighters brought the fire under control they discovered a pile of around 20 American flags underneath the car.

Neighbors say Hines' wife's family had flags line their front yard and on the porch.

Those were taken as well as flags in neighboring yards.

This comes from a post at Eric's Grumbles Before the Grave. Eric is a veteran of Desert Storm whose own property was trespassed upon by "protesters" while he was away serving our country. They would not leave the property until Eric's wife accepted the brochures they were handing out which showed children that were maimed in the war. The rest of the article about the vandalism to PFC Hines's property is available at WCPO TV.

The rug

Here's the rug my pal Roger sent me. It is from Saudi Arabia. Anyone recognize the building? I think it must be something in Mecca, but I could not find an image similar to this in Google images.





(If you can read Arabic, can you tell me what the tag says? Merci!)

Why I love John Hughes*

When I came downstairs this morning the cats swarmed me. I turned on the kitchen faucet for Allie then tried to walk to the pantry for Ripley's morning treat, but Georgie was at my feet trying to trip me so that I'd pet her. I looked at her and said, "just a minute, I'm fixing your sister's carrots." Classic! Just popped out of my mouth. (No, Ripley is *not* trying to grow boobies, but thanks for asking.)

Georgie must have understood what I was saying because she walked into the living room and waited patiently for me to finish feeding Ripley her Fancy Feast gourmet crunchies. :)

*John Hughes is the director of Sixteen Candles. The running joke in this movie is that Samantha's mother fixes her carrots to eat at lunchtime because they're supposed to help her develop breasts. Remember?

A new spin on thefacebook

Trust me, thefacebook is for hooking up. But, Self-Portrait Day is to help you get out of your rutty stagnation in surfing the same old sites:

The Goal
We hope that Self-Portrait Day functions as a way for people to discover new faces. For those of us who find we're following the same circle of Web sites every day, we hope that this will act as a way to discover new places. Basically, it's a launching pad; almost every portrait is clickable and should lead you someplace new. There are 6 new faces featured every day, Monday through Friday, and there are only a few simple rules regarding submissions.

I submitted a profile and photo (of a poppy) but I haven't started looking around yet. Pesky work and home chores! I'm looking forward to checking out some new spots on the web...

Ain't that the truth...

"When you feel that you have right on your side... you can do some horrific things." -- The Weather Underground

rekindled

Two winters ago I came back into contact with a friend from middle and high school. We met for a little social afternoon, just sat and caught up on each other's life, then we parted ways. I haven't seen her since but we've been in less-than-regular email contact ever since. The post about the unfriend kicked my ass into writing back to this friend who I miss very much. We're trying to work out a time where we can get together now that we live in the same state. I don't want another fallout. This friend is genuine. She is super-intelligent so I know she is not just using me for knowledge. So, I have found the good in my unfriendship -- a closer bond to my childhood friend. Life is so mysterious in its ways of giving you waves of goodness to counterbalance the badness.

Do I need a gimmick?

Would readers come back to my site if I had a gimmick à la Kim with the Thursday Caption? Kristine with Stuff Portrait Fridays? Britpoppa's (now defunct) semi-weekly celebrity quiz? CityRag smoke-ins? Junk Feud's butts of the week *and* celebs signing autographs? JJ with added posters Jimmy and J.Mo and the semi-daily/weekly Ev comic? ... the list is endless, and I'm just being too lazy to find the other "gimmicks" I see on other blogs. Gimmick might not be the right word. Perhaps recurring theme is nicer wording...

I'm not really a gimmicky kind of girl. I just want to post about my thoughts, put up a few pics when the mood is right, and have a little chat with those of you who stick around. I don't want to feel obligated to a gimmick. I love that all those who have a gimmick are dedicated enough to keep the gimmick going, but as soon as I start feeling responsibility for projects I want to run in the other direction, and I don't want to start hating my blog. So, with that said, no gimmicks, just Poppy. And the kitties. And random ramblings. And cheese. Yay. :)

Sometimes...

...I like to sit at my desk with my earbuds in my ears, not listening to anything. I just like the feeling of the buds in my ears, and the white noise blocked out.

9 days

Fallout

I always check out the websites of those who post comments on my site. dbhayes posted a comment about the mean people suck post, so I visited the Frozen Toothpaste blog associated with his profile and found a post about falling out with friends. So, I'm taking this as a sign that I really should blog about something that's been bugging me for the past two weeks.

I had a friend, or so I thought. We worked together at a company. It was her first tech job. She had previously been in the restaurant business but wanted to make more money, so she switched to information technology. I taught her everything she knows about computers and how to do computer support. (Really, I'm not bragging about what I taught her. She didn't know anything about computers.) I left that company but I stayed in touch with her. We hung out on occasion, lunches together or visits to our respective homes. She would call me at my new job or email me quite frequently asking how to do certain tasks that I used to do that she was now responsible for completing. I had taught her how to do these tasks, but when you're trying to learn something brand new to you sometimes it doesn't sink in or make sense right away. I was happy to help her.

Over the past few months I've emailed articles or just messages saying hi to her, but she never responded. Recently I emailed her and she told me she was thinking of me, was about to go away on vacation, and maybe we could get together when she's back. I waited for her to return. No email from her. I sent her another email. She didn't return my email. I guess she's done with me.

It would have been "nice" of her to have the decency to just say she doesn't want me in her life anymore, and for what reason. I'm not a creep, I'm not mean, I'm not nosey, I'm not a tyrrant. I'm a very thoughtful and giving friend. I will do nice things for friends without prompting, that's just me. I am very fond of her son and her cat, and get along well (but not "too well" if you catch my drift) with her husband. My husband really enjoys hanging out with her husband because they have similar interests. So, wtf?

When I was growing up I would make friends and then we would move so that was the reason why I was no longer friends with people. Once I tried to keep contact with a friend after moving and it just didn't pan out because we were 10 and didn't quite know how to fight for friendship. In high school I made friends and wondered when I would lose those friends. The end of high school came. We all went to college together. Then we all lived together. Then we all worked together. Now our lives have diverged, but we maintain contact. So, we are still friends. Yes, these are the friends I complained about earlier, but they are my friends. They don't just stop calling or writing. They find some way to stay in my life, and I in theirs.

So, I'm thinking that "friendship" with the person who (apparently) used me for knowledge wasn't actually ever a friendship. It was her sapping me of all of my craft's information so that she could have my job when I left it, and now she's happy to just forget I ever existed. That's shitty.

I resolve from this day forward to no longer try to contact her. She is no longer my friend. I will not speak of her again. I will not try to fight for this "friendship" that was never a friendship to begin with. I am done with feeling this way. I will forgive, but I will not forget.

The even straighter dope about Poppies

Finally, someone who knows what she's talking about! Lori says that the poppies in this picture aren't illegal.



Only the variety called Papaver sonniferum (Opium poppy) is illegal in the USA.


(Copyright Russell Jones.)

Thanks, Lori!

"Not now, I have a headache" and other ramblings

This morning I woke up with a headache. It's mild, so it's just more of a nuisance than anything else, but why today? I'd like it if my body could at least explain why I have a headache. Am I catching (another freakin) cold, do I have a brain tumor, is the weather affecting my sinuses, or does my head just hate me today? C'mon body, you know you want to tell me, so just do it!

I work in two different offices. One of my offices has a mouse. Each day that I come to this particular office I find mouse turdies on my desk. So, I go to the kitchen, grab a long sheet of brown paper towel and the FantastiK bottle, I spray down my desk, wipe the turdies away, throw away the towel, return the FantastiK to its resting place, wash my hands, then set up my laptop. I'd really like to strike a deal with the mouse. He can turd anywhere else in the room, even on any of the other desks (there are three in my office, even though I don't share this office with anyone), but I would like him to stop pooing on the desk I actually use. It's the desk I like the most -- the one that lets me face the entrance to my office. I am easily startled so I can't have my back to the door. How about it, Mr. Mouse? Poop on the other desks, but leave this one alone? There's no food in the room, no food on my desk, it definitely doesn't even have any tasty residue since I've FantastiKed it 4 times now. I'm happy to share my office with you, but no more poopies on my desk so that I don't have to worry about catching Hanta virus every day I'm here?

Yesterday I received a gift from my pal Roger who is in Iraq. It was a rug made in Saudi Arabia with some famous building on it. I think it's a temple, probably in Mecca, but I cannot find a photo that looks similar to it. The rug is in my other office, so tomorrow I will bring my digital camera and take a picture of the rug to post. As soon as I can figure out how, I'll be mounting the rug on a wall in that office. The office walls are made of cinder block, so I can't just tack it to the wall. One of my two officemates in that office had some great suggestions for how to mount it, which involve obtaining supplies from the business manager's office. He's away right now, and I feel silly asking someone for their key so that I can break in and get some office supplies, so I'll just wait until he comes back. I'd bring it home, but I really think that this rug "belongs" to everyone who has helped make Roger feel supported while he is away from family and friends, so I'm keeping it at work.

Today in this office with the mouse droppings I received a gift from a client who I helped all day Wednesday to get his computers up-to-date. This client used to be ornery, but a series of life and career changes have turned him into a very kind person. While I was in his office I showed him pictures of the garden tour and he showed me a flower picture that I absolutely loved. He said he could give it to me if I liked, but I didn't reply. Today, in my mailbox, I find a card with the photo mounted. It is beautiful -- a Mexican sunflower with a bee nesting in the stamens, and a little green bug sitting on a petal. Since it's his photo I'm not going to take a picture and post it, but the Mexican sunflower itself looked just like the Mexican sunflower picture that I took during the garden tour:



Beautiful! I'm definitely going to grow these next year. :)

Mean people suck

...but that doesn't mean they're not funny as all hell.


(Thanks, City.)

Fuzzy

I took Friday and Monday off, so in anticipation I changed my email address in the Blogger configuration to have my blog comments sent to my Yahoo account instead of my work account thus avoiding the copious Mail Delivery Error messages (and giving my work address to people I don't know). So, now whenever I want to read all the great comments you all leave I either need to scour my site or log into my Yahoo account. It's so disjointing. I loved getting comments sprinkled in with all the "hey, I need you to do something for me but I'm not doing anything in return" messages. Although, it was neat to log into Yahoo and have 22 messages worth of comments waiting all at once. :)

(BTW, fuzzy is a synonym for disjointed. Who knew?)

Now hear this

I've made a major life decision. I will now read My Friend Leonard before reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Why? Cuz I feel like it, that's why. And, because I am suffering withdrawal after reading A Million Little Pieces. (How ironic.)

I "hate it" when...

...people remove the button bar from their Blogger blog so that I can't click on the "NEXT BLOG" button. I know, I can just go back one blog then click the "NEXT BLOG" button on that blog, but it just bugs me. Pet peeve. Snitty. Okay, I'm done being a whiner. I think. ;)

Rejected.

You are

What Rejected Crayon Are You?

The funny part is that the only question you're asked is "what color underwear are you wearing?" and once you answer that it spits out your crayon color. This makes me laugh. :) Thanks to twentysomethingmom for this one.

Country rides and din-din

I live in the country. Sure, the road I live on is paved, but that's only because it was a condition of building the homes in the middle of the (now deceased) farmer's meadow so that the town could have the other 40 acres of common land around our neighborhood. Sometimes farm animals "happen" in our neighborhood. Today was one of those times...

Meet Billy:



He belongs to this boy in the orange:



Billy is a sheep, not a goat, but that doesn't stop him from eating the neighbor-across-the-street's lawn:



This is a picture of Billy being dragged off by another boy, although I am not sure why, because he just walked him right back down the street:



(The flash went off, made the picture look overexposed...)

And, of course, here's a broken down tractor that the neighbor kids were using to travel around with the sheep:



The biggest kid asked our other neighbor across the street (the one with the dog who doesn't like me and peed in my garden) for jumper cables and a battery. Must have worked, because the tractor's gone now. :)

I asked the boy in the orange shirt about Billy. He is the family's pet sheep, but this Fall Billy will become dinner. Although, if the family gets another sheep Billy will remain their pet. I told him some people eat their pets, and that's just life, but that I hope he does get another sheep so Billy doesn't have to be dinner. (What else could I say?)

Photog

So, about Born Into Brothels... The woman who narrates and pieces together this documentary is a photographer named Zana Briski. She lives on assignment in the Red Light District of Sonagachi in Calcutta, India. She teaches children of prostitutes about photography by giving them a camera, giving them a few lessons about taking pictures, then bringing them to places (beach, zoo, art gallery) where they can take photos. This is the main story. The underlying story is that the children's mothers are prostitutes and that the daughters of these prostitutes will likely soon become prostitutes themselves. By the end of the documentary the main story becomes the underlying and vice versa.

None of the children except one boy has had any formal education. The one boy who is in school, Avijit, speaks English and had aspired to be a doctor, but decides that he has no future. It is hardest to see him go downhill. His father was once well respected, now his father smokes hash all day, every day, and his mother has moved away to be a prostitute somewhere more lucrative. Sadly, her new pimp sets her on fire in her kitchen and she dies. There is no time for her son to mourn her, he must continue on and take his exams.

You ask me to post, so I'm going to tell you how it ends. Zana gets schooling for almost all the children, at a couple different boarding schools. She endures the process of obtaining all the proper papers for each child and all HIV tests for each child (you're not allowed to be in the boarding schools if you test positive). All the children's tests come back negative. The photographer brings all the children to their boarding schools. The families agree on film not to take the children out of these boarding schools. Off camera, all but two of the children (Avijit and Kochi, a girl) are pulled out or choose to leave school to continue supporting their impoverished families. One child who wasn't permitted to go to school in the first place runs away and enters a boarding school. So, there are three happy endings, and several unhappy endings. Any girl who left school is, right now, either dead or a prostitute - being used for sex, addicted to drugs, being treated inhumanely, making a living on her back, and not yet even a teenager.

A more comprehensive review is available at IMDb. I am happy for the ones who made it out, I am sad and frustrated for the ones who returned home.

Why don't you just bring everything, okay?

My friends have decided they are going to the beach today and have asked me and my husband to go along. We said yes, what could we bring, and they replied "something to grill and a salad". That might not sound like a lot, but I know my friends and they've basically asked us to bring EVERYTHING.

I like my friends, but I am easily agitated by them. Last year was my friend's 30th birthday, and I was the only one who did ANY planning for it (not even his wife helped plan) and I ended up bringing $60 worth of picnic food AND THE CAKE while everyone else basically brought a single portion of food to eat for themselves, but they pigged out on my food, ate the cake, then thought nothing more of it. I was so upset that no one even appreciated what I had done that I had a migraine so I packed up all the food and left early.

So, I've decided we're revolting against the friends and we're bringing portions to grill that are only enough for the two of us, and just a little bit of FRUIT salad. (WHO EATS GREEN SALAD AT THE BEACH?!) I'll put the single serving of fruit salad and enough grilling food for the two of us in this BIG cooler that looks like it's FILLED with food. My friends' eyes will be wide, they'll get all excited, they'll rub their hands together in anticipation of feasting on the food that *I* bought!!!! And, then, I will move all of the ice packs aside to reveal!!!.... the single serving of fruit salad and two chicken breasts.

Actually, I'm changing my mind about the big cooler because if I bring that they'll bully their way into using my cooler for their own stuff. Nope. Nope nope nope. Not gonna happen. I will not be taken advantage of today.

Taking 5

Two hours ago I was sitting at the dining room table with a glass of ice water and a grape popsicle as I finished A Million Little Pieces. I am happy for James. I am unhappy for all the other characters who relapsed. I am so sad to hear about Lilly, especially considering a comment that was made to me by Jürgen's mom gave me hope for her. Oh well, that's life I guess.

So, my next triumph will be all the chapters before the last of Harry Potter. (If you didn't catch that post, I read the last chapter already so that no one would ruin the book for me, I ruined it for myself. :)

Watching Constantine right now, in which a very adult-sized version of Georgie is the leading lady's pet. Neat! Okay, back to movie...

I'm not dead yet!

Did you miss me? I sure missed you. Spent a fun day baking cupcakes for my wonderful husband then bringing the cupcakes to him, going to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with my niece*, then going to a dinner with 190 other people for the final night of my husband's company's user conference. I used to work for the company, so I got to see some of my favorite clients, an employee I haven't seen in a few years because she works out of a remote office, a former employee that I hadn't seen since Christmas. It was decidedly a very good day. :)

On a completely different subject, Netflix finally sent me "Born Into Brothels", an Oscar-winning documentary about the children of prostitutes. I'm looking forward to this one. I love to watch documentaries, particularly if it involves understanding people's life choices.

*I originally had written the word nurse here, Freudian slip I guess!

Poppies - the straight "dope"

In an earlier post LiT asked if poppies were illegal in the United States, to which I answered, "I don't think so!" Yesterday I happened to be talking with someone who is an expert in horticulture. He explained to me that the poppies that are found in wildflower mix are not illegal, but that the type of poppy that is called the Opium Poppy is in fact illegal in the US because it is the type from which you can harvest Opium. Here's some more info about poppies since I'm never going to describe this correctly myself. On my garden tour from a few weeks ago I unknowingly took a picture of that kind of poppy:



It is illegal to grow these, so the owner of this garden is actually breaking a law. Crazy. Why would you risk growing this? It's not so beautiful that you just have to grow it so you can experience its beauty every single day of your life. So, now I'm wondering - are these people partaking of their poppies?

Intense.

I'm on page 382. Jürgen's mommy knows what I'm about to say. Lilly, and the old man, and ...woah. It's one thing for her to tell James about her past, it's a very other thing for James to find Lilly practicing her past in front of him. Granted, he went looking for her, but I just was not expecting that. I was really hoping he would find her *before* she went there. I guess addiction makes you do some pretty bad shit, excuse my français.

Only a little bit more to go, but I need a break. This is intense...

More London attacks. :(

(No, I'm not done with my book, but some things are more important. Click the pic to go to the article.)

No mas

I will not blog again until I finish James Frey's book. I'm on page 309 of 432. I'll be quick, unless something holds me up, in which case I'll be slow. (I realize, I'm stating the obvious.) Just don't want anyone to be refreshing my site over and over waiting for me to post my next zany entry when I'm actually sitting on the couch, trying to tune out the ice cream truck that has just made its THIRD pass down our road in 10 minutes, while I read the ending to this fabulous but heart-breaking true story.

holy shitakes

(Credit: D*ana's DIRT.)

He's kinda hot now!
*tsk* I'm such a cradle robber...

Snail mail

Remember that time when Kim was going on vacation to Vegas and the Grand Canyon so she promised to send postcards from Vegas to anyone who sent their address? Well, I sent mine to her. She has some lame excuse about "losing the postcard" (I kid, Kim, I kid!! ;) but here's what she sent me instead:





Thanks, Kim!!! :)

No sleep till

streeeeeetch

A friend's kitty :)

Confession

(I'm about to get rotten produce thrown at me. Or, maybe worse.)

So that I could talk with others about Harry Potter and/or not be upset when I saw others talking about the book before I had the chance to read it, I read the ending. Sorry! Sorry. I promise you I'm an avid Harry Potter fan, but I'm still in the middle of A Million Little Pieces which is about alcohol and drug addiction. I can't just pop over to wizard land for a bit then pop back into addiction hell.

So, yes, I'm a Harry Potter ruiner. But, only to myself! I will read the whole book, first page to last, after I'm done with James Frey! Je vous promets!

Stream of consciousness

From the talented Unconscious Mutterings, I present Free Association:

1. Tolerate:: accept
   
2. Release:: renew
   
3. My soul:: on fire
   
4. Sax;:: Candy Dulfer
   
5. HP:: piece-o'-crap (unless it's a laserjet printer)
   
6. Worth:: millions
   
7. Rockstar:: lush
   
8. Terrify:: shock and awe
   
9. Knock me off my feet:: Tom Cruise (not in a good way)
   
10. Taunt:: the Oompa Loompas
    

Speechless (har har).

GUESS WHOSE BLOG I JUST FOUND?!?!?!?!??!?!??!?!?!?!?!??!

DID YOU GUESS?!?#?!!!!!??@?!?@!?!

DID YOU?!?!?!?!?!

KEVIN SMITH!!!>!>!!>!@>!@@!!@##%!!!!



(woot!)

Oops, in my excitement, I forgot to cite my source - Jen at Very Big Blog via City Rag whose second-to-newest side link is Jürgen's mommy, congrats! ;)

Pretty in pink

Today I received an email from a co-worker (who is also one of my best friends) that simply said:

Subject: you

You look nice today.

Today I am wearing:



My husband also said I look good today, and this is the only new thing I'm wearing, so I think it's the shirt. It's very slimming, and flattering to my figure. Yay, me!

Hey Mr. Spi-der I thought you said we had a deal

(Who recognizes this line in slightly modified form? Hope Nabby's mom, at the very least!)

This morning I drove myself to work for the first time in, oh, maybe a month. I noticed that there was a spider web between the driver's side mirror and the driver's side window. Knowing this would distract me the entire ride into work, and therefore possibly cause me to be in an accident, I attempted to dislodge the web from the mirror. This action caused the keeper of said spider web to appear out of nowhere (well, from behind the mirror) and curse me out. I could hear his little voice screaming "getcher hands of my web, you [cursity curse curse curse]". I recoiled quickly, tried dislodging the web from the window instead, and just gave up.

I'm not an arachnophobe, but when little guys get aggressive with me, I'm backing down.

Subject: JetBlue Clearance Sale, Everyone Must Go!

From: mail@jetbluepromotions.com
Subject: JetBlue Clearance Sale, Everyone Must Go!
Date: July 19, 2005 11:11:22 AM EDT
To: [Poppy's work email address, how rude!]
Reply-To: mail@jetbluepromotions.com




(I feel like I've been Old Navy'd. At least it came in at 11:11 so I get to make a wish!)

Vengeance

25,000 Iraqi civilians have died as a result of the war in Iraq.



What are we doing?! "Acceptable loss" only applies when one chooses to objectify human life. (Opinion, not fact.)

Gimme your opinion, even if it's contrary. But, make it constructive. I want to understand how this is okay.

Spinwheels

I really like this image:



(Click to see the original huge image.)

Something about the flowers spinning in opposite directions makes me smile. What's that called? I know there's an organic chemistry word for this. I keep thinking sinister (but that's just left), radio-, mirror image... the term is on the tip of my brain. Any orgheads/chemheads/smartypantses out there?

Try 2

I had exactly 4x6 (24!) pictures, but one escaped me so I went for an inferior shot, but then found the beautifully perfect flower that went missing. Do you see the difference? Yah, me too...

Flower collage

Foster parents!

Husband and I left work early today, not by choice exactly, and arrived home to a large envelope. Inside the envelope was paperwork about Eve, our new foster child! Here's a picture of Eve:



Eve was born in Fall 1995. She was bought to be barbequed at an Easter Sunday celebration. Someone thought she was being mistreated prior to being butchered so contacted the local humane society who confiscated her.

Eve now eats her favorite food, sweet cob mix, on a hillside with her sheep buddies.

The strangest part is, we don't remember signing up to be foster parents. Our birthdays are both coming up, so all we can figure is that one of our relatives sponsored us as foster parents as our birthday gift. Or, well, there was that time last month where I sent money to about 10 animal organizations... :)

Do you know John Lennon?

LA at Junk Feud just posted a snippet from a British newspaper claiming that 56% of Brits surveyed did not know who John Lennon is. Um, that ain't right. I bet if Americans were surveyed we'd do a better job! He's an idol, an icon, a god to us. Sure, maybe you didn't like the music, or you didn't like Yoko, but you knew John so had such opinions in the first place! This is just bizarre. I mean, he was assassinated, so that should make him more famous to the UK! *shaking my head back and forth back and forth back and forth*

Clownin' around

Even when he's in Iraq, my buddy Roger goofs off. Gotta love that about him. Here's a picture of him sitting on the flight deck of the plane he rode in from Kuwait to Iraq. The funny part is that he is not authorized to be on the flight deck. Or, maybe that's the scary part? ;)

Documentation

I'm writing documentation today. I took screen shots of every single step of the installation process for the product I am documenting. My audience ranges from technophobe to way smarter than I am, so it will be interesting to receive feedback about the documentation set. I think I'm probably going to need to have two sets so as not to insult the people who aren't afraid to click Next. (If you are one of the people who is afraid to click Next when installing software, you are the reason I took 29 screen shots. If you are in the other boat, well, you're sitting next to me, so hi!)

Fame

We all want it. (OK, some of us do.) Then, we get it, and it is our nemesis. J.K. Rowling is dreading the end of Harry Potter and, despite her net worth of $1 billion, she has mixed feelings about her success:

"But one of my regrets would be that I will never again have the pleasure of sneaking into a cafe -- any cafe I like -- sitting down and diving into my world and no one knowing what I am doing and no one bothering about me and being totally anonymous, that was fantastic." (Full story)

I do not envy her. I would rather be poor and happy than rich and bothered.

Something about this being the second-to-last book has allowed me to be patient about starting it. Before I would feverishly burn through the Harry books in one or two days, sacrificing home and work life (oops) to get to the end. But, this weekend I instead spent much needed time with my furry girls, read the first James Frey book that I had already started before Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince arrived to my doorstep, and ate a lot of popsicles. It's very difficult to read and eat popsicles simultaneously.

I keep the Harry book near me, sitting on the other end of my couch staring at me, but I'm happy to let it sit there until I am ready for it.

Yay!

Sandra Bullock married Jesse James! Yay! I'm not even going to quote a source, cuz it's just true. :)

Annoyance.

I love bacon. I buy fake bacon bits made out of hydrogenated soybean oil and I just eat handfuls of them. Just now I had a bunch of handfuls of them while reading. And, well, now there's bits of fake bacon bits stuck in my braces. Rats...

Alphabet stoop

Borrowed from the fantabulous GEEEKGIRL...

A: If you could be any ANIMAL in the ocean, what would you be?

A cat, swimming my tail off to get back to shore.

B: Other than food, what is the last thing you BOUGHT for yourself?

Books, books, and more books!

C: How many COUNTRIES have you been to?

Four.

D: What is your favorite ride at DISNEYLAND?

Um, err, I've never been there. So, I dunno.

E: Do you believe in ESP?

Yep.

F: Have you ever FAKED listening to your friend talk?

Oh...huh? Were you talking to me?

G: Have you ever fired a real GUN?

Nope.

H: Regarding surfing, do you know what the term "HANG Ten" means?

Um. ... Catching a really good wave? That's what I always assumed it meant.

I: Is Michael Jackson INNOCENT or GUILTY?

Depends what you're asking me he's innocent or guilty of. I think he's guilty of acting inappropriately with children. I think he's innocent of the fundamental understanding that adults are supposed to have about appropriate conduct with children.

J: Do you wear JEWELRY?

Just my wedding ring (but not the engagement ring). Sometimes I will wear other rings to special events, and occasionally I wear a bracelet that a little girl made and sold to me which supports breast cancer. But, I'm not into jewelry.

K: Have you ever KILLED an animal?

Yes. Let's move on.

L: What was the LAST thing you mailed?

A request for more information from my gardening club.

M: Who is your favorite MUPPET character?

Kermie.

N: Have you ever been to a NUDIE bar?

No, but not for lack of interest.

O: Can you change your own oil?

I am sure I could. I don't want to though. (This is Geeekgirl's answer, but I'm borrowing it.)

P: Did you attend PRESCHOOL?

No, daycare.

Q: Do you know what a QUAHOG is?

Oh, yes, I do! Thanks to Alton Brown.

R: Have you ever RIDDEN a horse?

Um. No. A pony.

S: Have you played any organized SPORTS in your life?

Yes, but only as intramurals in adult life. Played softball in 2nd or 3rd grade.

T: Do you owe or are you getting money back from last year's taxes?

Got money back.

U: Do you own an UMBRELLA?

Yes. It has puppies and kittens on it. (I have this one, too! I actually own 7 umbrellas.)

V: Do you exercise your right to VOTE?

Of course.

W: What's your ideal WEATHER forecast?

Cloudy, 70 degrees, the threat of a thunderstorm, but with a clear patch so that a rainbow can shine through.

X: What was your last X-RAY u had taken?

My back, so that steroids could be injected into it. (Just this past Monday!)

Y: Do you own a YELLOW shirt?

Yup, I love yellow. It's cheerful.

Z: how many ZIP/area codes have you lived in?

Nine.

Wooohooo!!!!

The mail lady just delivered my copy of Harry Potter!!!!!!!! ! ! !!! !!!! !! ! !!!!! !!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! :)

Day 1.

I just received confirmation that my buddy Roger is now in Iraq.

Is it just me, or?

Hubby and I stupidly stayed up past our bedtime last night. I was watching True Life on MTV and caught a commercial for the newest season of The Real World in which a punky who looks way too young to be on that show said he and the roommates were trying to bag as many babes as possible (or, whatever slang he used). Is it just me getting so old that I am seeing the cast members as younger than they are, or are the people on that show ridiculously young since Real World Vegas? That's the last season I could actually get into at all where the cast seemed at least partly adult. The newer seasons have left me feeling like I'm chaperoning kids...

I L-O-V-E Real World/Road Rules Challenge, though. :)

A day in the life...

Just a collage of pics over the last few days...


look closely, the girls are sticking their tongues out at each other!!
(click the pic to see the original full-sized image)



bubbles for Georgie!



"Okay, Mom, I get it -- bubbles. Now, leave me alone so I can go pretend to catch birdies!!"



Ripley's gorgeous belly (shaved, of course. it's hot, ya know!)



this one's for my girl, TL :}



wildflowers, with the exact inverted color scheme of the tigerlillies



a poppy next to a fuzzy stock



leaving this one sideways and bigger so you can see the little bug crawling on this wildflower (Joanne, hide your eyes! ;)



cabbage!!!! (It's *almost* ready, muhahaha!)



garden beans



strawberry! (something's been munching on them, so this is the only one right now)



this reminds me of a flowing poodle skirt, and of a breast... it's just a wildflower.



banana peppers! they're ready! tacos, here I come!



the neighbor's dog, who typically shuns me, came over for a visit. he just wanted to pee on my garden, oh well.



lettuce, woot!



radishes (not so much, but my husband loves them)



tomates! we have 12 cages, we're going to have waaaaaaaaaay too many tomatoes :)



choppin' broccoli....



the lonely cucumber, searching the garden galaxy for a mate