Crop circles

I believe in extraterrestrial lifeforms. However, I'm skeptical about their interest in manipulating corn fields to let us know they're here walking or hovering among us. Anyway, here are a bunch of man-made crop circles, linked by Attu.

Poppy ganache

His

Hers

Snapshot

Borrowed from Jules:

What color is most reflective of you? Yellow... or perhaps rainbow. :)

How did you get the idea for your journal name? It's a pseudonym from my BBS days, but spelled differently because someone else had already taken the "seed" version.

What time were you born? 1:40pm

What song are you playing now, or wish you were playing? Numb by Sia

Has the death of a celebrity ever made you cry? Yes!

What color underwear are you wearing? White with polka dots and the word Pink (Victoria's Secret)

Do you want a baby? Yes, but not yet

What is your pet's name? Allie, Ripley, Georgia

What color are your bedsheets? Medium light blue

What are the last 3 digits of your phone number? Which one? I have a bazillion!

What was the last concert you attended? Juana Molina and David Byrne

Who was with you? My husband and best friends

What was the last movie you saw? Gossip with Kate Hudson

What food are you craving right now? I was craving chocolate cake, but not any more!

Did you dream last night? Yes, of someone I do not like or trust

What was the last TV show you watched? CSI (the original one)

What is your fave piece of jewelry? My wedding band

What is to the left of you? A lamp

What was the last thing you ate? Chocolate cake with chocolate ganache

Who is your best friend of the opposite sex? My husband

Who last IM'd you? My husband. Before that, co-workers.

Where is your significant other right now? On the other couch, in front and to the left of me

When was the last time you cut your hair? Myself: Early teens. My stylist: Two weeks ago.

Are you on any meds? Yes, a lot of them. Damn back.

Do you have a mental disease? Episodic depression and anxiety, if those count. I am not experiencing either one as of late.

What shirt are you wearing? LL Bean button down shirt over a yellow business casual t-shirt

What time is it? 8:13pm

What color is your razor? Green

What's your favorite shopping store? Old Navy

Are you thirsty? Yes, very!

Can you imagine yourself ever getting married? Already married.

Tagged: Whoever feels like doing it! :)

A happy ending

A boy was missing, taken by his birth mother who had physically, psychologically, and sexually abused him in the past. He is now found. This sounds far away, but it is not. Jordan is the step-son of the ex-husband of Kim from I wasn't always like this.... I am so happy that Jordan was found. How horrible that a child is missing, but how terrifying it must be to know that the person who took that child has a history of performing unspeakable acts upon that child.

Today's l-unch suspiciously similar

Having the other half of that tasty sandwich from yesterday. Three cheers for saving some for later! I also just bought two slices of chocolate ganache cake for tonight's after dinner treat. Whee!

(No time to take and post pictures, I'm just taking a breather from article writing.)

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

No, I did not wake up with gum in my hair.

Mel has some horrible stuff happening that she cannot elaborate upon. P'nut lost her best furry friend. Spicy's step-dad has a brain tumor. My co-worker in Iraq told me about a superiorly shitty death day yesterday.

I feel so horrible for everyone. I wish there were more of me to spread around my sympathy and help everyone to heal emotionally. I want everyone to know how sorry I am that they are going through this awful time in their own way. Just awful.

Goodnight, sweet girl

My heartfelt condolences to my blog friend P'nut who last night had to make one of the toughest decisions a kitty parent ever has to make in life.

William Bennett should not be allowed to speak

I was carpooling with the Mr. this morning and heard Howard Stern say that William Bennett is quoted as saying that one way to reduce crime in America is to abort all black babies. My jaw hit the floor. I didn't believe it. I don't know who this guy is, but that was just so wrong, hurtful, hateful. Howard then played a clip of William saying the words out loud. He said it wasn't his own theory, he didn't specifically say that he thought it was a good idea, but even to continue to speak of such a theory is grossly irresponsible and shows just how little progress we all have made in the arena of equality, particularly in the areas of race and class (he specifically refers to economics). I realize in writing this post I allow the theory to reach more people, but I want to warn those who have been brainwashed by his best selling virtues books of his real agenda.

You disgust me, Sir.

L-unch!

Do you know what I had for lunch today? I know you wanna know. I thought it was such a great lunch that I took photos. My co-workers think I'm insane, nothing new there.


sammy on the out: 10-grain bread, dill pickle on the side



sammy on the in: regular mayo, swiss cheese, red onion, green peppers,
banana peppers, and one tomato directly in the middle please
(yes, I'm Sally :)

This is my favorite sandwich, although I will claim my favorite is a BLT with just bacon and cheese and mayo. If you clicked the Sally link you're probably thinking the same thing as I am: "There's a broadway musical based on the movie? Huh!"

I think I might needs a degree in Library Technology

...so that I can tackle my ginormous blogroll. The Dewey decimal system has true merits. It is time to divide the celeblogs from the blogarians. Expect change in the side bar, but just in the "can't live without" section.

Je suis cute, dammit!

Nabby from Nabbalicious
(Hard to tell from upside-down, so I checked a right-side-up shot
and see that Rufus does not have so much white on his head!)


Buddy from cityrag


Jürgen from his nation
(not to be confused with the rhythm nation, y'all)

Everybody has a story take 2

I interviewed another co-worker today. I didn't expect her story to be anywhere near as surprising as yesterday's interview. I was wrong. Wowzers. I am so excited and honored to write articles about these two people whose lives are truly spectacular. I do not wish to have their lives, because they have been through ordeals I just don't think I could have handled without an obligatory nervous breakdown to coincide. I'm sorry I'm being vague, but I don't like to talk about work here for the unspoken reasons, but I want to honor these people in anonymity.

Funny.

Attu has introduced me to the music video stylings of , well, I'm not sure who, but the beginning of the video shows Teck from Real World: Hawaii and the frontman for Smash Mouth*** drinking beer, eating with chopsticks, and getting slap happy while watching the video.


We wear white after Labor Day!


Doin' the Ashlee Simpson ho'down!


"I'm hot, sticky sweet, from my head to my feet, yeah"


"Dude, this rocks! Pass me another beer, bitch!"

Result: My favorite Def Leppard song has been defiled by an O-Town copycat...

***GAAAAH!!!!! Apparently if I don't get all my facts straight the only comments I'll get are ones correcting me. So, it's been corrected. Could y'all now instead comment about how funny this is?

Famous last words

*waving head vigorously around and around*
"I am not a crook!"


Oh, but Sir, you are:

Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 12:35:17 -0400
From: CNN Breaking News
Reply-To: newseditor@MAIL.CNN.COM
To: TEXTBREAKINGNEWS@CNNIMAIL12.CNN.COM
Subject: CNN Breaking News

-- House Majority Leader Tom DeLay indicted on one count of criminal conspiracy by Texas grand jury, according to Travis County clerk's office.

That gdb Rita

Blogorians, lend me your eyes:

Rural hurrcane victims ask for 'big city' help

CAMERON, Louisiana (CNN) -- Four days after Hurricane Rita roared ashore along the Texas-Louisiana state line, officials are pleading for essentials such as shelter, electricity, water and gas.

Amid near-record high temperatures, floodwaters as high as 15 feet in some areas receded across the largely agricultural region, revealing livestock carcasses littering the countryside. Live cattle roamed free throughout the region, looking for food or water.

"We need help," said John LeBlanc, assistant emergency preparedness director for Cameron Parish. President Bush's Marine One helicopter flew overhead Tuesday as LeBlanc outlined his desperate situation. "We need the same sort of help a big city like New Orleans is getting." (Rest of the story)

Surprisingly, our state does not seem to be putting forward the effort we did for that gdb Katrina. Are we now numb?

Everybody has a story

It's funny what you'll learn when you sit down with a person and interview them about their life. I did that this morning with one of my co-workers. I am writing an article about him. His life is incredible. So incredible, in fact, that if I did not know him I wouldn't believe a word of it. Just...amazing stuff.

My quest to beat the recall

I'm up to page 187 out of 272 pages in Me Talk Pretty One Day, having started the book last night when I got home from work. Best of all, there's still time for more reading when I walk up the stairs to bed! See what happens when I read a book that I can scan because I "get it" without reading every single word? I'm loving The Stranger Beside Me, but I need to absorb every single word, so if I space out while reading I force myself to go back to where I last remember reading. With MTPOD I just press on, and I still get the gist. I actually heard the Rooster chapter when my friend who chirps like a bird loaned me her MP3. (Dearest RIAA, je vous promets that I no longer have said file. Go sue someone else. Merci bien!)

I'm quite certain I'll be done with MTPOD well before the Friday deadline.

And the award goes to...

(drumroll, please)

• Anonymous Coworker for his mention in The Baltimore Sun
• Kim's mention at DC Blogs
• Stacy for her success in selling her signed photos (this one's my favorite :)
• I'm pretty sure Kris got mentioned at DC Blogs sometime in the not too distant future (err, I meant the past) but I can't find that!
  

Anyway, yay!

Update: The fabulous Kim has pointed me to Kris's DC Blogs mention. Yay, Kris!

Today's mail

The Republic of Tea seems to think I need to infuse more tea into my life, so they sent me one bag of SIP FOR THE CURE Pink Grapefruit Round Green Tea Bag.



Sorry, RoT, but green tea makes me feel like I'm about to drop dead on the spot from racing heart palpitations. Thanks for thinking of me, though. I know who I'll give the tea bag to! - my co-worker whose daughter shares my passion for squirrels. (They are not rats with furry tails, shame on you!)

Unclaimed Blogger addresses

This is true at the time of publication, and might not even be accurate one minute after posting:

• eatmyshorts.blogspot.com
• eatme.blogspot.com
• iamsam.blogspot.com
  (however, samiam.blogspot.com is taken but only posted to thrice in 2001)
• scumbagoftheearth.blogspot.com
  (however, scumoftheearth.blogspot.com exists, but stopped being updated in January, 2005 when the blogger finally got kissed)
• bushwhack.blogspot.com
  (however, bushpuppet.blogspot.com exists but only posted to once in 2004)
• jambalaya.blogspot.com
  (however, gumbo.blogspot.com exists but only posted to once at the end of August, 2005)
• stinkbomb.blogspot.com
  (however, stinky.blogspot.com exists but has not been updated since the tail end of 2001)
• iShotandywarhol.blogspot.com
  (however, andywarhol.blogspot.com exists but only posted to in 2001 - so, I guess Andy was alive until 2001 when he was shot, and before that he was just pulling an Elvis)

Oh, this game is fun.

That's IT.

I don't care if the whole world tells me Ashton and Demi are married, that Demi's pregnant, don't care if I even see a baby being held by Ashton and Demi - Ashton just wants to PUNK US ALL. Mommyrubbin' crackadoodle... *grumble*

Demoted.

You remember back in school when one of the popular kids got kicked out of "the in crowd" for some random reason unknown by the banished clique-mate, but vicious rumors spread around school about what that reason might be? Please leave a comment about what your favorite fantasy (err, I mean rumor!) is for the ejection.


Credit: PostSecret

Operation: Ceasefire in real time

The wonderful and talented Kim got drunk off her ass the night before, but finally made her way to D.C. at 2:00pm Saturday and was inadvertantly dragged into the Operation: Ceasefire protest for 2 1/2 hours. Only Kim could have such true tales to tell, which are complemented by this particularly crass photo of picket signs in front of her when she got stuck in the protest march for the second time:



*shaking head in quiet amusement* Go visit Kim to see more photos and the rest of the story.

In the same vein

Remember how last week Nabbalicious taught us the phrase "that's hella freakin' whack, y'all"? Well, this week Poppyland salutes Maliavale for the terms "freakando" ("freaking" in Spanish) and "Que la fuck?" ("What the fuck?" in Spanish).

So, let's try this all together: Que la fuck? That's hella freak'ndo whack, y'all!

"Not too shabby," as Mary Roachwould say.

Yolaaaaaanda Veeega

Today the winning numbers are: 18, 700, 17, 15, and 1,000,000,000. Good luck!

(Merci bien encore, Attu.)

Vegas warning

Tourists of Vegas: Be advised not to look at drivers of cars as if you are a demon or to put your hands in your pockets as if you have a gun. That is all.

(Cred to Attu. I was wondering why the hell that guy did that...)

flickr is having a massage

flickr is down for emergency maintenance, so you won't be able to view photos until flickr is done repairing. Individual photos that I posted to the blog seem to work just fine, but you can't go to their site to see sets, etc. right now.

Update: Wow, that was quick! Back 15 minutes later!

Busted chads*

I just received a recall* notice from the library for Me Talk Pretty One Day. They requested that I return the book by Friday because someone else "needs" it. So, I'm going to temporarily suspend The Stranger Beside Me in order to quickly read David Sedaris before Friday morning. BTW, I am loving The Stranger Beside Me. I'm only about 60 pages in because I only get about 30-60 minutes to read a day, often 0 minutes and with crime books I need to read every. single. word.

And, just a quick note to everyone (especially Jürgy's mommy), I really enjoyed Wasted and did not mean to imply otherwise. Parts of it I just skipped over, but just partial pages, not entire chapters! If you've ever had issues with food I recommend this book. There is no happy ending to this one, it's a true story of a girl becoming a woman in the midst of her eating disorders and how she must continue to live with the physical and emotional consequences in her everyday life. I relate to this and truly appreciate reading about others who had a similar (although, in her case, a much much more severe) life experience.

(*Recall? Busted chads? Yah, I think I'm funny.)

Ashton and Demi got married.

Via PopSugar. Um, congrats?

Not one, not two, not even just three wishes!

I have a friend who knows Amy Grant and whose sister works for the network that broadcasts the new show, Three Wishes. I was talking with my friend the other day and I made a promise that I would watch the show. I just watched it, and although I held back my tears I need to share that this show is spectacular. In addition to Amy Grant as the host, the other regular cast members (all from Discovery/TLC shows) are: Carter Oosterhouse from Trading Spaces, Diane Mizota from Trading Spaces: Boys vs. Girls, and Eric Stromer from Clean Sweep. They all pull together resources and use their celebrity status to make the impossible happen for regular people. I just cannot believe what I saw in this one episode^*, and there's only more to come.


Amy Grant at a carnival to raise money for
a girl's facial reconstruction surgery
In this first episode the team grants three major wishes, but takes care of a few other smaller wishes at the end of the show. So touching that they not only take care of the biggest wishes but also the smaller wishes that mean just as much to the people who just wanted a new keyboard or to go to the movies together.

If you are inspired and heartened by the spirit of giving (without any material reciprocation) please try out this show. :)

Three Wishes airs Fridays at 9:00pm on NBC.

^*Note: I wanted to link to the episode guide on the show's site but it's not working right now. I have sent feedback to the webmaster to let them know there is a problem with the page. Once the page is working I'll post the link to the episode.

Conway Twitty

That title has nothing to do with the post. If you tack on the word "Kitty" to the end, it's the name of the childhood cat belonging to my friend who can chirp like a bird. Several birds, in fact, just not at the same exact time.

Kitty parents: Do you do this? Whenever I go to turn on the dishwasher, stove, the washer, or the dryer, I have to look inside to see that the cats aren't in there and/or locate all three cats before I dare to turn on said appliance. My furry kids like to hang out in all appliances except the stove, I just look in there to be safe. I also have to check all closets and the pantry before I shut the door, but that's a kitty parent gimme.

In other news, I just woke up from a very bizarre dream. I dream in color ever since I saw someone on TV say that you can dream in color if you tell yourself to. This morning's dream was complex so I don't remember the start, I just remember getting onto a packed boat that acted as a bus, dropping people off at spots like a city bus or a school bus would do. I had to go to the bathroom quite badly in my dream (because in real life I needed to pee, that always happens!) and when it was finally my turn to go into the tiny bathroom it was dark, small, and some air vent (like the little ones on planes) was blowing directly into my face. I got claustrophobic and felt an anxiety attack hitting so I ...woke up. Oh, here I am. I'm not in a claustrophobically small bathroom on a bus boat - I'm in bed, and my nicely sized (unclaustrophic) bathroom is right there, no lines no waiting! Yee!

In the Garden

Just in case tomorrow gets away from me, I'm using this quiet moment to publish this week's garden photos. For Joanne and anyone else who is squirmy around bugs: Two of the photos in the set contain spiders (one cute, one soooo not cute), one has a grasshopper, and another has a teeny tiny little bug (type unknown). Teaser:


Aster

And, here's the full set. Enjoy!

Pardon the interruption

Every time I view my blog it crashes my browser, no matter which one I try. I know that PC users are able to view it just fine, since I asked someone to test it and I tested it myself on Mr. Poppy's Windows laptop - no crashing. I am not yet sure if the problem is user error (a change I made to my template), an Apple error (I applied updates on Friday), or a Blogger error (surprise, surprise...). So, bear with me while I figure it out. If you see my sidebar info disappear, fear not - it will return.

Blue sky from now on

On the way from my office to my car I took this picture without stopping, so thanks to the digital camera gods who allowed this shot to come out so well!



If you click it you can see the berries up close and personal.

Humble pie

Today I totally trashed on a blog that didn't deserve it. I was reading The Nutshell Crack'd and found a post about P'nut having trouble loading The Peevery. I mistook a blogger's name for another blogger's name that was kicking around in this dusty brain and said "The Peevery fell out of my favor after a mildly rude comment (as in, not constructive criticism) was left on my site by JJB. "

Bad Poppy! *smacking hand*

To those at The Peevery, I truly apologize for mistaking you for the offensive blogger who shat on my site a few months back. I salute you, and offer 1,000 apologies. I do, in fact, feel like an idiot for my callous action.

Jege (Jen)!

After an exhaustive search which turned up nothing but her flickr profile, I had given up hope. Sure, I coulda just asked her, or done another Technorati search, but what's the fun in that? Today I checked StatCounter and found Jege (Jen)'s blog, Lein Girlz 3! Weeha! (Hi!)

Aww! Yay, me!

Found in the archives of Bdogg McGee:

You Are Strawberry Ice Cream

A bit shy and sensitive, you are sweet to the core. You often find yourself on the outside looking in. Insightful and pensive, you really understand how the world works. You are most compatible with chocolate chip ice cream.

What Flavor Ice Cream Are You?

A message to TJ, Iopine, and Jules (and, to Duff, indirectly)

Ladies, I am so sorry that I have gone so long without responding to the messages you sent to me in email. I truly apologize. If you check your mailboxes relatively soon, you'll see that I finally got off my duff (sorry about that, Duff), and checked my messages.

Infinite apologies to each of you,
~Poppy

Operation: Ceasefire

I was forwarded the information about Operation: Ceasefire by a blogger friend. I'm too far away to attend, although my state has a peace march scheduled for the same day.

OPERATION: CEASEFIRE
Sept. 24, 2005 - A FREE MUSIC FESTIVAL TO STOP THE WAR IN IRAQ!
WASHINGTON MONUMENT 2PM TO 1AM - RAIN or SHINE

THIEVERY CORPORATION - BOUNCING SOULS - JOAN BAEZ
LE TIGRE - THE COUP - STEVE EARLE - TED LEO + THE PHARMACISTS
WAYNE KRAMER WITH THE BELLRAYS - LIVING THINGS
SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK - THE EVENS - MACHETRES
HEAD-ROC - HOSTED BY JELLO BIAFRA

Click here to download Operation Ceasefire schedule, festival map and "Tips for what to bring to this antiwar show!" (420k jpg)

Join Operation Ceasefire, a new coalition of concerned musicians, for a massive anti-war concert/rally at the Washington Monument on September 24th. This event will be a centerpiece of what is expected to be 4 days of enormous protests in nation's capital in support of a full withdrawal of U.S. forces from the quagmire in Iraq. The concert will bring together musical acts such as: Thievery Corporation, punk rock and independent musicians LeTigre, Bouncing Souls, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists; country music artist Steve Earle, rock and soul band the Bellrays; latin musicians Machetres, socially conscious hip-hop groups The Coup and Head-Roc; The Evens (Ian Mackaye and Amy Farina), Grammy Award-winning African American female a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock and even long time activists Wayne Kramer of the MC5 and hosted by Jello Biafra!

They don't deserve this.

Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2005 10:23:18 -0400
From: CNN Breaking News
Reply-To: newseditor@MAIL.CNN.COM
To: TEXTBREAKINGNEWS@CNNIMAIL12.CNN.COM
Subject: CNN Breaking News

-- Rising water due to Hurricane Rita washes over levee in New Orleans hard-hit 9th Ward, Army Corps of Engineers says.


Mother Nature: Do you not think the people and other life of New Orleans have suffered enough?

Je ne suis plus amusée

Ever wonder what amusement parks used to exist in your state? Or, do you reminisce about a park that you went to as a kid that has since closed down? Catch that amused feeling again via Defunct Amusement Parks. Weeha!

Personified

Kris has a funny and clean joke post about a man and his pet caterpillar. I thought it was cute, so I'm sharing. :)

The Station Agent

Last night the Poppy household watched The Station Agent starring Peter Dinklage (Miles Finch in Elf) as Fin, a little person who has a Ph.D. and a model train store. He is trying to get through life without being noticed because he is tired of all the negative attention he receives when people first meet him. His friend dies and leaves him a train station depot in a small rural town. Fin moves into the depot to try to achieve his goal of a quiet life. Bobby Cannavale (Will's last season cop boyfriend on Will & Grace) is Joe, a man who is happy to live life to the fullest, even in a very small town. He tries his best to befriend Fin, whose depot home is next door to his snack truck business, and eventually succeeds. Patricia Clarkson (the mom in Pieces of April) is Olivia, a divorced artist who, since the tragic death of her son, is also trying to live life without being noticed. She meets Fin when she almost runs him over twice because she is distracted.

There are other characters that are integral to the plot line but Fin, Joe, and Olivia are present throughout as three very different people who come together by chance. The movie reminds me of Sideways in that nothing really seems to happen by the end of the movie, but if you give yourself a minute to think about it you realize that both Fin and Olivia have overcome their demons and re-enter life with a more positive outlook. It's such a charming and understated film. I highly recommend it if you have the time to watch a movie about everyday life. No special effects, no high drama, no happy ending - just a slice of life.

Rita pita

Here's HoustonChronicle.com's Special Report: Hurricane Rita in case you need info about Rita. Thanks as always to Moxie.

What's in your wallet?

I went to Hallmark.com to order an e-card for Jürgen's mommy who has a cold and stumbled across hoops and yoyo begging me to Vote Hallmark. Okaaay, little fellas. I clicked the link and it was a voting page of all those taglines from commercials that get stuck in your head. I can't decide if I want to vote for Hallmark or the Las Vegas Convention & Visitor's Authority. Hmm...

Thanks, Mother Nature?

Note: I don't have a point to this post, this is just me sharing something on my mind. No point in leaving it as a draft, as L-i-T points out that sometimes Blogger accidentally posts drafts. And, thank you to everyone who commented on my Private eyes post. It helps to hear perspective. When I saw that there were 10 comments I assumed that I had been the victim of drive-by spamming, only to find 10 legitimate comments from people whose opinion matters to me. :)

For anyone who doesn't know, I've had this back injury thing since December, 2004. It was a freak box lifting accident, the result of which was a sprained ligament and a herniated disc pressing onto a nerve bundle so that my right leg is also in pain as well as my back. Before the injury I exercised every other day for 45-50 minutes, with the ultimate goal of ramping up to hour-long sessions. Because of the injury I was told to stop exercising. That was all well and fine for the first month, but then I started to gain weight. I wasn't a Skinny Minnie to begin with, but that bit of extra weight was really hard for me to cope with in addition to the back injury. I didn't get depressed over it, just very frustrated. My back still is not better, but getting there. I do a bit of walking when I can, planting, and mowing the lawn, but that's it in terms of activity.

This summer was so freakin' A hot that I couldn't stand it. I kept wearing minimal clothing at home and switched from drinking tons of milk and eating tons of cheese to drinking tons of ice water and eating tons of fat-free sugar-free popsicles and fudgecicles. I lost a good 15 to 20 pounds this summer. People are starting to notice, as is obvious by their comments to me. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I feel pressure to keep the weight off now that people notice. I definitely want to keep the weight off, but weight and I have always been bitter enemies.

I've learned to "care less" in my older age to trick my body into at least maintaining a weight rather than yo-yoing out of control and ending up heavier than when I started. But, now I'll be embarrassed and disappointed if I gain the weight back this winter. It's just frustrating. I want to be thinner for my health, not because I dislike myself or worry about what others think of me. I think I look hot, even completely naked in front of a full length mirror (and Mr. Poppy agrees :), but I'd rather not die of an obesity-related illness before my golden years.

I guess it's time to consistently eat better and do as much exercise as I can, but at the same time not worry about what other people think? Wow, that's a truly lofty goal...

Private eyes

I'm finding myself more and more lately writing out blog entries then indefinitely saving them as drafts rather than publishing them. The entries are just too personal for me to show the world, but I have to write them down for my sake or else I can't move past the feeling that is stuck in my head or my heart. The draft posts sit on my screen, taunting me with the reminder that they are "unfinished business". I feel guilty for not being completely forthcoming with those who choose to read my blog, but ...I just can't do it. I can't protect my privacy and be honest at the very same time. Such a dilemma. Time for a paper journal, a certain light blue fake suede diary that has been sitting untouched in a box in the basement for 3+ years... The one given to me by the "friend" who is no longer my friend. Hmm, maybe it's time to buy a new journal.

That's some seriously bad news.

Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2005 16:09:41 -0400
From: CNN Breaking News
Reply-To: newseditor@MAIL.CNN.COM
To: TEXTBREAKINGNEWS@CNNIMAIL12.CNN.COM
Subject: CNN Breaking News

-- Hurricane Rita reaches Category 5 status with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph, the National Hurricane Center says.



The rest of the story is developing. Let's hope she slows waaaaay down before coming onto land.

The true meaning of "butter face"

I'm really not sure how well known this term is, so I'll define it. A "butter face" is a woman who is smokin' hot, except for/"but her" (butter!) face is just awful - paper bag time. If you're thinking I just made that up, I learn my bizarrely inappropriate terms (such as MILF and bukake) from the Howard Stern Show which my honey listens to on the way into the office, and since I carpool in with him in his car, he has control of the dial. Howard rarely steers me wrong in the inappropriate word department, and UrbanDictionary.com backs up Howard's definition.

Anyway, I'm starting to feel dirtier and dirtier for what I'm about to compare the butter face to, but here goes:


That's Georgie, sticking her butt in "her" (being my) face: butter face! I was trying to take a picture of her as she crawled across me to get underneath the plastic sheet over the recumbant bike and one of the couches, but she was just too fast for me. This pic was taken while my honey was painting the ceiling and I was on drip duty. ("Honey, there's a drip of paint drooling down the wall. No, a little to your left. Yah, right there. You got it!") Oh, the joys of painting...

Sprucing

If someone asked you what your home's front door looks like could you remember it in enough detail to tell them? I can, because I hate my front door. It's boxy and ugly. It looks like this:



Mr. Poppy and I both hate it. We went to our local door store (okay, they sell more than doors) and asked for help with getting a different door. The salesperson asked "you got the wrong door?" and Mr. Poppy and I silently thought to ourselves (as we learned in our post-door-buying debriefing) "well, yes, we got an ugly ass door when we shoulda got a pretty one like everyone else in the neighborhood!" Instead Mr. P explained that we want this door and the accompanying sidelites:



A brushed nickel design with frosted windows. We requested that the door be in the same color as the floor model to which the salesperson said "oh, they don't come in colors, you have to paint them yourself." At that point it dawned on me and the Mr. that for all this time we had these ugly ass doors on our house because that's just the primer color, we were supposed to paint the doors. Dur!

Regardless, we're getting our new door and sidelites hopefully this weekend, maybe next. It will take us several days to paint the door because you don't want to paint one side then flip it too soon and screw up the paint job on the first side while you're painting the other side, and we're not hanging the door until the paint dries on both sides. We'll paint the sidelites while they're in place.

We're so ecstatic that we get to paint the door whatever color we want, because that means we can leave it white inside and blue outside, or vice versa, or whatever colors we want! AAAAARRR, as the pirates would say. I'm just psyched to no longer have the ugliest freakin' door in the entire neighborhood, cuz: That's hella freakin' whack, y'all.

The "That's hella freakin' whack, y'all." campaign

It's a small blogger world. The author of Nabbalicious is the sister of Bella Snow's boyfriend (Bello). Yesterday was Rufus and Nabby's mommy's birthday so Bello called Rufus and Nabby's mommy to say happy birthday and the dialog went as such, at which point the multi-part phrase "That's hella freakin' whack. Y'all." was coined. I think this phrase should become more popular, and I have modified it just a smidge to be "whack, y'all." instead of "whack. Y'all." I ask you, my fellow bloggers, to spread the word that something that just ain't right be described as "That's hella freakin' whack, y'all." It just rolls off the tongue!

So, here's my first use:

You didn't go wish Rufus and Nabby's mommy a happy birthday?! That's hella freakin' whack, y'all.(!!)

TMBG relief concert this Sunday in NYC

TMBG perform in Katrina benefit this Sunday TMBG will be jumping up on stage for a short set with 8 other fine acts as part of a Katrina Benefit this Sunday, September 25th @ Southpaw in Park Slope in Brooklyn. You can do your part just by showing up for the good times. ALL proceeds will go to the American Red Cross, Second Harvest and Humanity First. Joining TMBG will be the pride of New Jersey, The Wrens, and our Barsuk Records pals Matthew and Ira from Nada Surf. Go to www.BrooklynResponds.com for more details. Tickets are a very reasonable $15 at TicketWeb

Of course, now that Rita is turning category 4 by tomorrow afternoon, this might be a combo Katrina/Rita benefit concert... Just my 2 cents.

23rd and 5th

The Food Palate was tagged by Nicole at Craftapalooza for the following meme:

1. Delve into your blog archive.
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to).
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag five people to do the same.

I wasn't tagged, I just love to do memes, so here I go:

Yes, I know how it ends, but who is turned on by Chloë Sevigny doing anything with her mouth?

I knew that sentence was going to come in handy some day... I know it's only the 3rd sentence in that post, but it's the last of three, so "closest to it" applies.

Tagged: Stacy (what? you said you like being tagged!), Kim, Kris, Jules, Miss Penny Lane, AnonymousCoworker, Bella, BitchFestivus, Oregano, TJ, and Bearette(24, of course!). I can count, yes, but the last time I tagged people no one did it except Stacy who I tagged in place of Kim who was in Arizona at the time. And, to those of you not tagged, there are reasons of kindness why I didn't tag you. If you're upset because I didn't tag you, come closer: *psst* you're tagged!

Update: It just occurred to me that, depending which way I think, the 23rd post is from the ascending perspective rather than the descending perspective that I chose. So, if I actually count forward from post #1 up to #23 here are the results:

Yah.

...from my post about Manos: Hands of Fate (the MST3K version). Not quite as exciting a quote as when I go in descending order...

Attaaaaaack!!!

(Click here to see a larger size of the absolutely crazed look on Ripley's face.)

Aaarrrrrrrrr(gh)

So, yesterday was International Talk Like A Pirate Day. I totally missed it cuz of busy work and home life, but luckily my favorite pirate-loving blogger, Poster, and my favorite bad-ass politichick, Moxie, did not forget to celebrate.

In belated honor, I submit to you the top 25 things to say at the office during Pirate Day:

25> "No cover sheet on your expense report? Prepare yerself to be walking the plank, matey."
24> "Hop to it, dogs: Thar be leftover catering booty in the break room for plunderin'."
23> "Sixteen men an' a copier mess -- yo, ho, ho and a bottle of toner."
22> "Avast, men! Get a telescope full of the doubloons on *that* vessel."
21> "I'll be keelhaulin' the next one of ye what leaves ye filthy Tupperware in the break room sink!"
20> "Arrr, matey, have your parrot call my parrot and we'll one day partake of noontime grub together."
19> "No, Bob Dess, I will not 'shiver your timbers.' I will, however, call my attorney."
18> "To arms, me lads! The spoils of the snack machine shall be ours, to each in a fortieth share!"
17> "Me cell phone fell deep into Davy Jones' locker Nobody flush... I'll go get me hook."
16> "Save that last donut for me, unless ya care to feel the cold steel of my hook hand up yer arse, matey."
15> "Be that a peg leg, or arrr ye just happy to cast yer eyes upon me?"
14> "Fax ahoy, mateys!"
13> "Avast! A Team Builders meeting off our schedule's port bow! Scuttle yer productivity, mateys, and prepare to be bored-ed!"
12> "No increase in me pay? Arrr, boss, let me tell ye where ye can store that hook!"
11> "Hold that elevator, ye whoreson bilge rat!"
10> "Ye bent my ear with yer lubberly questions WITHOUT tryin a reboot first? Arrr! It's the plank for you, ye mangy cur... and thank ye for calling Microsoft Tech Support!"
9> "Arrr, load the Canon, wench, and collate me copies!"
8> "Avast, ya scurvy knave! Brave be ye, for certain, but arrr ye willin' ta die fer that parking spot?"
7> "Twenty paces past the Magic Fountain of Water... bear ye left past the Chamber of Meetings... and a minute's voyage down the Great Carpeted Hallway... the unisex bathroom'll be on yer port side."
6> "Aye, if it's a large treasure chest and amazin' booty ye seek, fix yer gaze upon the receptionist."
5> "Boss, I'll be borrowin' a coupla doubloons from petty cash fer some Ho Ho's and a bottle of rum."
4> "Aaaarrrrrghhh! Who among us floated the air mead?"
3> "Arrr! I've arrr!anged for Arrr!lene in arrr!chives to send up that arrr!ticle on arrr!bitration."
2> "Avast, ye demon copy machine! Taste the wrath of my arse!"
1> "Arrr, I have made note of yer demands and I have but one question for ye: Will ye be wantin' slivers o' potato fried in the popular French style with that?"

Rufus and his shadow

That's Rufus of Nabbalicious! And, of course, his shadow. :)

Lesson #357 in home décor

Brown and purple do not (I repeat, do not) go together. Just fyi.

The girls stage a coup

Ripley: What the hell are they doing to this place?!
Allie: Beats me, let's go chase each other through the wet paint and make them mad.
Ripley: Sounds good to me!


Allie and Ripley: Game ON!!
Georgia What'd I miss? What'd I miss? Oh, c'mon, tell me!

In the Garden

It's a little chilly today, but not too chilly for garden photos! The teaser:



And, the rest of the set. Enjoy! Back to painting...

Ripley learns the benefits of fresh water

Back a few years ago the furry kids consisted of Little Kitty, Allie, and the new addition of Ripley. Our girl Allie was a very unhappy camper. She doesn't particular care for change, so when we adopted Ripley from the local shelter Allie was pissed. She hid on top of the cabinets in the kitchen until that one fateful day when Ripley was finally enough past her gawky teenage period where she could actually make the jump onto the counter, then onto the fridge, then onto the cabinets. Allie was outraged and would never go on the cabinets again. Being the caring parent that I am, I tried to give Allie something new that was completely her own, and that something happened to be drinking from the kitchen faucet. It's something she chose and to this day Mr. Poppy or I turn on the water for Allie every morning and almost every night.



Ripley is a little disturbed by the addition of Georgia, who has just recently figured out not only how to climb on top of the fridge to eat Ripley's crunchie treat (which, by the way, Georgie is allergic to - it makes her ralph all over the place because of an apparent salmon allergy) and this week decided to go that extra step up onto the cabinets. Ripley is pissed, just like Allie was when Ripley learned the trick, so in her little kid way she has decided to take out her aggression on Allie by learning Allie's water trick. Except Ripley does it a little differently:







Garden photos coming soon. I have to steal time in between coats of paint to choose and resize the pics!

Do over!

We're repainting the living room. Until earlier this afternoon we had the DSL disconnected, but Mr. P asked me to set it back up so we could check on something to do with primer coats. So, I'll be back around for garden photos but otherwise unavailable. :) Enjoy the weekend!

Tongue bath

Last night I went to a tea shop with my cousin and her live-in beau. After tea we went back to their place so I could see their kitty Lola again and to meet their new kitty.

Lola:


New kitty:


New kitty's name is Colonel McSomething-or-other, I clearly can't be bothered with details, but I like to call him Commander. Dunno why. Anyway, Commander has been living with Cousin and Beau for about three weeks now and has a very beneficial quirk:



He likes to lick dirty feet until they're clean. Perhaps he should be renamed Sir Licks-a-lot? (Yah, I know, har har, I'm soooo freakin' funny.)

I put the camera away because I was feeling pretty voyeuristic, but Lola and Commander were at one point sparring because they were trying to decide who gets to lick the other - Lola wanted to lick Commander's head, but Commander wanted to lick Lola's head. It was adorable!

I finally left a little after 8pm, on the way out asking about photos on the wall, but then I finally just had to say "okay, don't tell me, I'll stay another 15 minutes!" and I walked out the door. I'm so awkward about leaving...

Box of thank yous

Every time someone sends me a personal or professional email with the words "thank you" included I save it to my folder called "thankyous". My original intentions for the folder were to have a quick lift-me-up on a day I was feeling blue, and to store justifications for salary increases or job title changes. In the 3+ years I've had the folder I've never once visited it, but I find comfort in knowing it's there. I feel good about keeping the notes for cheering me up, but I feel guilty and conniving for the other reason. What do you think?

The day's recap

So, let's review:

1. Britney had her baby
2. Delta (update: and Northwest) filed for Chapter 11
3. Governor Easley is pleading with residents of North Carolina to evacuate
4. Two Ohio parents are charged with keeping their adopted children in cages

Anyone care to comment on which story is more/most important?

The one day I wear white!

What Your Underwear Says About You

You like to think of yourself as innocent, even though you're not!

The Underwear Oracle

I try to be diverse in the cut and the color of my daily underwear. Today all my pretty underwear was sitting in a pile on the bedroom floor (well, except for the extra special underwear that only Mr. Poppy gets to see :D ) so I dove into the winter stash and pulled out the hipster whites. Of course today would be the day that I see Bearette24's post about the underwear oracle. Ah, well, I guess the oracle is right. (Muhahaha!)

The Coma

It wasn't creepy at all, just weird. Hmm, maybe the next Alex Garland book I should read is 28 Days Later which is guaranteed to freak me out.

Amber Alert

From CodeAmber:

Endangered Missing - Taylor Behl
Missing from: Richmond Virginia since September 5, 2005.
Taylor is a Virginia Commonwealth University Student. She was last seen with three unknown white males at her VCU dorm on September 5th at about 9 PM. She stated to her roommates that she would return within three hours.

Taylor is a white female, 5'06" 125 pounds with brown hair. She was last seen wearing blue jeans and a black hooded top.

Taylor's car is also missing. The car is a 1997 white Ford Escort with VA license JPC-2848

Anyone with information is asked to call the Virginia Commonwealth University Police, Campus Dispatcher at 804-828-1196, 1-800-THE-LOST (NCMEC) or 703-918-6337 to leave a message (family phone).

Thanks to AnonymousCoworker.

Strawberry blonde

Now hear this: On Tuesday, October 18 at 6:15pm I will allow my favoritest stylist in the entire universe to paste goo into my hair and then wrap my gooey hair into foil packets all for the sake of changing my hair color from mousy browny dirty blonde to hot mama strawberry blonde. I can't wait. And, to all my friends who stick their nose in the air at people who have their hair colored: Bite me. I'll get new friends. Wheeeeee!

Pass me another fountain soda

My mom called me last night just for a chat and mentioned to me that she read an article about a study which claims that people who consume caffeine have a better memory.



Thank goodness I'm doing something right, and bless the little hearts of the folks in the Pays-Bas!

Fall bouquet

I went to the local perennial farm to purchase a beautiful dry bouquet for a special birthday lady and I just had to buy a bouquet for the Poppy household as well. I know I could make my own bouquets, but eucalyptus reminds me of my mom. :)


The whole bouquet



A bit of a close-up. Yes, the leaves are fake, but still pretty!

This stuff freaks me out.

Date: Mon, 12 Sep 2005 16:43:27 -0400
From: CNN Breaking News
Reply-To: newseditor@MAIL.CNN.COM
To: TEXTBREAKINGNEWS@CNNIMAIL12.CNN.COM
Subject: CNN Breaking News

-- Major power disruptions throughout the city of Los Angeles, according to the L.A. Fire Department.


Dear CNN,

Instead of sending us into a state of panic just so you can be the first to report an event, how's about you wait two seconds and find out the cause of the disruptions so you can report that to us?! You KNOW we all automatically think everything is the result of terrorists, no need for you to feed our fear!!!!

Respectfully,

Poppy M. Cede

Today is the day to

I'm stealing this idea permanently from Jürgen Nation, Maliavale, etc. because it is such a great idea and they are brilliant. I'm not sure how fast I'll change it, though, since I can be a real space cadet sometimes. But, anyway, today I will start this in my sidebar. Enjoy my little crunchy Poppy nugget. (Oh, that sounds so wrong, but it makes me laugh.)

Fall library book reading, 10 days early

First book first because it's new so due back in 2 weeks:

• The Coma by Alex Garland
• Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon (hint: click art)
• Wasted: A memoir of anorexia and bulimia by Marya Hornbacher
• Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
• The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule

Alex Garland wrote 28 Days Later so I'm expecting The Coma to creep me right out the door. Looking forward to it! The other books aren't due for a few months so I'll have time to read them at a leisurely pace. Aaaaahhhhh, bubble baths... :)

PS - A friend suggested King Leopold's Ghost which reminds me that I love non-fiction books, as long as they're sordid and not too (stuffy?). If you have suggestions for non-fiction please drop me a comment. Or, even ideas for fiction! I love to read!

In the Garden

Hey, blogger family! Life's been busy, I'm sorry to have neglected the blog and my responsibility as a good blogizen by not reading everyone's entries for a few days. Please feel free to leave me a miffy comment. ;) Despite a busy life, there's always time for the garden! Here's my teaser pic:


Bosley, the space-suited moth

...and, for your viewing pleasure, the rest of the set. Enjoy! I already have a few wonderful photos for next week's garden set. Can't wait!

On a much more serious note, I do know what today is and I am quietly mourning, but I am also doing my best to enjoy life today, as I believe all who lost their life on this day in 2001 would want us to do.

For the first time in 10 years, I'm excited about the new Fall line-up!

Thanks to PopSugar who linked me up to Entertainment Weekly's top 10 picks for new shows this Fall. For the most part I knew about them all and already had intended to set up a weekly recording for them, but a few were new to me. In the end I'd say they picked 10 out of 10 good ones. The only disappointment to me is that one of the top 10's is Everybody Hates Chris which is Chris Rock's new show on UPN - I don't get UPN. :( In our old home we had cable TV and the WB shared UPN time, but my satellite provider shares Fox with the WB, so no UPN. Sad. I love Chris Rock, but I'm very patient so will look forward to watching the entire season courtesy of Netflix when it comes out on DVD.

In case you're using dial-up or are too impatient to keep hitting Continue on each show's page, here's the list:

• Prison Break
• Reunion (a personal fave)
• How I Met Your Mother (looking forward to this one!)
• Kitchen Confidential
• My Name Is Earl
• Invasion
• The Apprentice: Martha Stewart
• Everybody Hates Chris
• Three Wishes
• Commander in Chief

I'm a TVholic, so I'm pretty psyched for this season.

End of innocence

I'm about to watch The Brown Bunny. Look, it just started. Yes, I know how it ends, but who is turned on by Chloë Sevigny doing anything with her mouth?

Designated driver

Yesterday after a crazy and frustrating day which ended in last minute completion of all the day's tasks (I seriously have no idea how I pulled it off) I left work a bit early and picked up Roger's wife for a little TLC night. We went to a local pub with a bunch of my co-workers for drinks and dinner, then three of us went to a great tea shop for...yah, tea! I had Masala tea which was billed as "intoxicating" but I think they just meant the aroma so I dared to drink it even though I was the designated driver. Since my co-worker paid for tea I handed S the money that everyone had given me to pay for the evening and told S to use at least half of it on herself, and the other half on care package items for Roger (she insisted). I doubt S was drunk by the end of the evening, since she just had a shot before I picked her up then one drink at the pub, but I wanted her to just have a fun time with no pressures, and I think that goal was achieved.

Indecision

You might have noticed that I am currently reading nothing. It's not because I don't like reading... I'm an insatiable reader. But, I reviewed all the books in my house that I had intended to read and none of them are calling my name. I looked back at the Fall reading list I sent to frister to which she responded with her own suggestions for reading, and tomorrow I plan to go to the library to pick up a book or 5. So, yay!

I have a sliver.

Do you appreciate how non sequitur I am? I'm really like this in real life. Keeps me entertained.

Anyway, I thought that spot on my thumb was a scratch, but turns out it's a sliver embedded into my skin. Bummer. No tweezers at work (well, none that I'd dare use on my skin) so I'll have to wait it out till I get home. Or, well, chew my skin off? Nah...

Higher ground, but...

...no food, clean water, shelter, or hope in sight for these two dogs who are living on top of this SUV:



The picture is from What Really Happened. Thanks to Moxie for introducing me to this site. Warning: The site contains images of dead bodies. The site is being hit pretty hard with traffic at the time of my post, perhaps later at night is a better time to visit.

And, just as a correlated aside, I received my popbitch newsletter today which was topped with these two quotes:

"I hate the way they portray us in the media.
You see a black family, it says, 'They're
looting.' You see a white family, it says,
'They're looking for food.'" - Kanye West

"Who cares if they take a TV? These people
have been poor all their life - let them
have that ONE moment of touching what
they've never had!" - Celine Dion

I had seen Kanye's quote around the web, but not Celine's.

And, finally, my girl Tiger Lilly sent me a link to VP Cheney being told to "go fuck yourself".

Bry-guy for president!

My favorite Bryan (I know another who definitely isn't my favorite) is running for President of the United States of America in 2020. Dust off your voter registration card and hold on to your pants, we're in for a whirlwind tour. As the bloggers and blogees say, WOOT!

Tu parles français comme une vache espagnole!

What? You do! Not my fault...

Okay, really, this is just my most favorite insult I learned my sophomore year in High School from our "French" teacher who was really a Spanish teacher. She'd always draw a semi-circle on the chalkboard and write "para mañana" then write our homework assignment in shorthand French. Crazy lady...

I knew the borg would come to get me...

Care of The Cyborg Name Generator. (Thanks, O! I switched out the avatar you made me for this cute one, hope you don't mind.)

Shhhh, I'm watching a scary movie!

House of the Dead (circa 1978) aka Zone of the Dead aka Alien Zone. Gotta love it. The movie came free with the purchase of a 50-pack of horror flicks from crazyape.com.


Tagline: Don't you dare go in there!
Update: Dangit! Somebody bugged me! But, someone cool who I'd never met before wandered into my area at work so I helped her to get where she needed to go. I made a new friend today. (Well, okay, not really, unless she gets lost again and returns...)

Being poor is...

Thanks to Nabby's mom for posting a link to John Scalzi's Being Poor post. It's stuff I remember identifying with when I was a kid. I'm no longer "there" but I understand it just takes one or two events to put me back there, and so I am grateful everyday for what I have today, and hope real hard that I will still have at least the bare essential tomorrow.

The best ideas have already been thought of

...and I'm glad they already have because then I don't feel bad if I don't act upon making my idea come to fruition.


Iopine gave me a link to The Glass Slipper Project which is a not-for-profit organization that gives prom, bridesmaid, and wedding dresses to those in need. They accept donations specifically for the Chicago area, but there is likely an organization near you (not affiliated with TGSP) where you can send your money or material donation.

Thanks, Iopine! :)

Camouflage

I was about to pull a weed from one of the circle gardens in the back yard when I noticed this little guy was sleeping on it:


(Click to see the full-sized unaltered photo.)
I circled him since he blends in so perfectly it's hard to tell he's there. I took a bunch of pictures, thus royally pissing him off so that he reared his head at me, then I gently pulled the weed out and placed it even more gently onto the ground where we place our pulled weeds.

Rose Madder(TM)

On the front page of CNN.com is a photo of a dead body floating face down past a New Orleans home in very deep water. Underneath the photo is a link to an article titled "Yes, you can still get a drink in New Orleans". HOW INSENSITIVE IS THAT?! PRETTY EFFING INSENSITIVE. I would give them a piece of my mind if they made it easier for me to figure out how to contact them. Disgusting, disturbing, and just plain WRONG.

ID, please

These kiddos need your help:



If you know any of these children, please contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 or the Louisiana Missing Children’s Clearinghouse at 1-225-342-8631.

Thanks to Oregano who linked Baldilocks who linked The Black Republican and so on.

UPDATE: Dad reunited with the kids! Yip yip! Thanks for updating me, O!