The Poppyland Daily

I spent from 8:30am to 3:30pm preparing for and doing yard work. I even had to dig a small bed so that I could move the invasive primrose from the front bed to directly under the back deck. I had to make a decision about whether to try to divide the primrose away from my balloon plants, but the primrose was so entwined that I brought the balloon plants along with the primrose to the back. I'm sad to have to move them, but I have other balloon plants in the front, the primrose was completely taking over its section of the front bed, and now I have room so that I could plant seeds of Delphinium, Hollyhocks, and Cupid's Dart. I'm pretty excited to have those grow. :)



While digging the primrose bed I found this juicy worm in with the others.



Note my thumb in the picture for scale. Ew.

Hay knows how entertained I am by bugs and such, so he brought over a stick from one of our trees which was already being nested by baby caterpillars.



They're squirmy little suckers.

During a very brief trip out to get lumber for another raised flowerbed and to grab some lunch to bring back home I saw a man on the side of the road selling lawn ornaments so I stopped to learn about them. He said he makes them himself so I bought some bunnies for the front flowerbed.



I love how their eyes are made with glass beads.



Princess Kitty, the neighbor-across-the-street's cat, came over to visit today. While she was over her nervously skinny twin came as far as the middle of the road and mewed at me.



I went to the road and picked her up to put her down on our side of the road, but she jumped down and ran away. Later she came over and scoped out our driveway under Hay's car and our garage then she left. I guess people make her skiddish.

I'd just like to say there's nothing like totally trashing your hands and fingernails in the process of a great day's of work in the dirt. I did my best to clean up my hands before heading over to my dad's house for supper, scrubbing my hands and nails with a pedi brush and gritty soap, but I ended up needing to cut all my nails off.

While over at Dad's for dinner I looked at old photographs of my family.



My father recently found two boxes of papers and photos he had not realized were in his possession. I've decided I'd like a fair number of the ones he is offering to me and my brother. Now I just need to negotiate with my brother to hold onto the ones I chose. ... I'm younger. No matter which photos Big Brother takes I still get to keep my own photos of Dad's collection of pocketwatch faces. :)




Dad also showed me a scrapbook that my grandmother made which contained all the cards people sent congratulating my grandparents on the birth of my dad.



A few of the cards are super cute. My dad prefaced my viewing of the scrapbook by saying its contents would be nothing I'm interested in. I swear my dad's self esteem is lower than my own some days... I think there were about 50 cards, maybe really closer to 100, in that book.

Hay and I had a scrumptious pot roast dinner with Vidalia onion, carrots, mashed potatoes, gravy, and rolls. It was so good. My stepmom really is a great cook of traditional American dishes. Let's admit for the sake of my stereotype that we've adopted spaghetti with meat sauce, Shepherd's pie, and tacos as American fare.

It's almost midnight and I'm nodding off. Sweet dreams, Blogland. See you tomorrow for Sunday Garden!

~P

Shuffle

From Kim. Put your iTunes or other music player of choice on shuffle/random, and whatever song pops up is the answer to each question.

Will I get far in life?
Salvation - Michael Hoppe, Martin Tillman, Tim Wheater

How do my friends see me?
One Evening - Feist

Where will I get married?
Waiting Room - No Doubt
(I'm already there, so I've actually already left the building!)

What is my best friend’s theme song?
Suddenly Last Summer - The Motels

What is the story of my life?
Hypocrite - The Samples
(Woah. My secret has been found out!)

What was high school like?
Answer - Sarah McLachlan

How can I get ahead in life?
Zamba corta - Juana Molina
(A beautiful song about a day with her grandmother.)

What is the best thing about me?
Boom Intro / Pass the Dutch - Missy Elliott
(I've never done drugs in my life, but I love me some Missy.)

How is today going to be?
Summer Skin - Death Cab for Cutie

What is in store for this weekend?
Extra Smooth - Aaliyah

What song describes my parents?
Wildcat - Hot Club of Cow Town

My grandparents?
Pick Up the Phone - Ciara

How is my life going?
Fearless - Cyndi Lauper

What song will they play at my funeral?
Pantala Naga Pampa - Dave Matthews Band

How does the world see me?
Running - No Doubt

Will I have a happy life?
Second Best - Barenaked Ladies

What do my friends really think of me?
New Kid (On the Block) - Barenaked Ladies

Do people secretly lust after me?
Don't Tell Me - Avril Lavigne

How can I make myself happy?
Sonamos - Juana Molina
(A song about children keeping a secret from Mother. I do like my secrets. They're something I collect.)

What should I do with my life?
All Through the Night - Cyndi Lauper

Will I ever have children?
More Than Love - Los Lonely Boys

What is some good advice?
Round Here - Counting Crows

What is my signature dancing song?
Alternative Girlfriend - Barenaked Ladies
(I LOVE THIS SONG, FOR REAL.)

What do I think my current theme song is?
I Don't Know What You Come To Do - Robert Randolph & The Family Band

What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
Walking On the Moon - The Police

What type of men/women do you like?
Break Your Heart - Barenaked Ladies
(Well, that used to be true...)

Santa, Baby

Hay wanted cake with tomorrow night's dinner of pot roast prepared by my stepmom. My dad and stepmom don't like traditional cake, so as a compromise my stepmom will make one dessert and I made the cake that Hay wants -- Devil's Food cake with cream cheese frosting. And santas. Just because.

rural

poulet

Here's the best photo of the chickens I could get while Hay was attempting to slow down for me:




Yes, we will see 3 or 4 dead chickens in the road each year. They cross the road a lot, no joke.

Books (by women) meme

Borrowed from Elle at Living Juicy. This should be interesting. I don't get the impression about myself that I read a lot of women authors.

Rules: BOLD those you’ve read, ITALICIZE the ones you’ve been meaning to read.

Alcott, Louisa May–Little Women
Allende, Isabel–The House of Spirits
Angelou, Maya–I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Atwood, Margaret–Cat’s Eye
Austen, Jane–Emma
Bambara, Toni Cade–Salt Eaters
Barnes, Djuna–Nightwood
de Beauvoir, Simone–The Second Sex
Blume, Judy–Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret (over and over and over again)
Burnett, Frances–The Secret Garden
Bronte, Charlotte–Jane Eyre
Bronte, Emily–Wuthering Heights
Buck, Pearl S.–The Good Earth
Byatt, A.S.–Possession
Cather, Willa–My Antonia
Christie, Agatha–Murder on the Orient Express
Cisneros, Sandra–The House on Mango Street
Clinton, Hillary Rodham–Living History
Cooper, Anna Julia–A Voice From the South
Danticat, Edwidge–Breath, Eyes, Memory
Davis, Angela–Women, Culture, and Politics
Desai, Anita–Clear Light of Day
Dickinson, Emily–Collected Poems
Duncan, Lois–I Know What You Did Last Summer
DuMaurier, Daphne–Rebecca
Eliot, Geroge–Middlemarch
Emecheta, Buchi–Second Class Citizen
Erdrich, Louise–Tracks
Esquivel, Laura–Like Water for Chocolate (I think I read this, but if not I intend to do so)
Flagg, Fannie–Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
Friedan, Betty–The Feminine Mystique
Frank, Anne–Diary of a Young Girl
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins–The Yellow Wallpaper
Gordimer, Nadine–July’s People
Grafton, Sue–S is for Silence
Hamilton, Edith–Mythology
Highsmith, Patricia–The Talented Mr. Ripley (loved the book until the ending)
Hooks, Bell–Bone Black
Hurston, Zora Neale–Dust Tracks on the Road
Jacobs, Harriet–Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Jackson, Helen Hunt–Ramona
Jackson, Shirley–The Haunting of Hill House
Jong, Erica–Fear of Flying
Keene, Carolyn–The Nancy Drew Mysteries (any of them)
Kidd, Sue Monk–The Secret Life of Bees (in the process of listening to the book on tape still)
Kincaid, Jamaica–Lucy
Kingsolver, Barbara–The Poisonwood Bible (again, think I read it but if not intended to)
Kingston, Maxine Hong–The Woman Warrior
Larsen, Nella–Passing
L’Engle, Madeleine–A Wrinkle in Time
Le Guin, Ursula K.–The Left Hand of Darkness
Lee, Harper–To Kill a Mockingbird
Lessing, Doris–The Golden Notebook
Lively, Penelope–Moon Tiger
Lorde, Audre–The Cancer Journals
Martin, Ann M.–The Babysitters Club Series
McCullers, Carson–The Member of the Wedding
McMillan, Terry–Disappearing Acts
Markandaya, Kamala–Nectar in a Sieve
Marshall, Paule–Brown Girl, Brownstones
Mitchell, Margaret–Gone with the Wind
Montgomery, Lucy–Anne of Green Gables
Morgan, Joan–When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost
Morrison, Toni–Song of Solomon (one of my favorites of ALL time)
Murasaki, Lady Shikibu–The Tale of Genji
Munro, Alice–Lives of Girls and Women
Murdoch, Iris–A Severed Head
Naylor, Gloria–Mama Day
Niffenegger, Audrey–The Time Traveller’s Wife
Oates, Joyce Carol–We Were the Mulvaneys
O’Connor, Flannery–A Good Man is Hard to Find
Piercy, Marge–Woman on the Edge of Time
Picoult, Jodi–My Sister’s Keeper
Plath, Sylvia–The Bell Jar
Porter, Katharine Anne–Ship of Fools
Proulx, E. Annie–The Shipping News
Rand, Ayn–The Fountainhead
Ray, Rachel–365: No Repeats
Rhys, Jean–Wide Sargasso Sea
Robinson, Marilynne–Housekeeping
Rocha, Sharon–For Laci
Sebold, Alice–The Lovely Bones
Shelley, Mary–Frankenstein
Smith, Betty–A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Smith, Zadie–White Teeth
Spark, Muriel–The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Spyri, Johanna–Heidi
Strout, Elizabeth–Amy and Isabelle
Steel, Danielle–The House
Tan, Amy–The Joy Luck Club
Tannen, Deborah–You’re Wearing That
Ulrich, Laurel–A Midwife’s Tale
Urquhart, Jane–Away
Walker, Alice–The Temple of My Familiar
Welty, Eudora–One Writer’s Beginnings
Wharton, Edith–Age of Innocence
Wilder, Laura Ingalls–Little House in the Big Woods
Wollstonecraft, Mary–A Vindication of the Rights of Women
Woolf, Virginia–A Room of One’s Own

Yah, that's what I thought. I'm sure many if not all of you have read way more of these than I have.

Weepy

I have no idea why Joaquin and Reese “work” but the end of that movie just moved me to tears. I knew it was all coming -- they get married, they live a long life together, she dies, then he dies 4 months later, but it's all so bittersweet. Such a wonderful story. *sigh*

Keyword query: fuck me poppy

What do you suppose the person who did that Yahoo search was actually looking for when s/he found my site?

Johnquin

I am not finished watching Walk the Line, am up to the part where Johnny/Joaquin falls into the water with his tractor, but I love the music and movie so much that I just bought the soundtrack then stuck a bunch of essential Johnny Cash albums on my wish list. I loved Johnny from afar, owning only one of his newest albums, but now it's time to get close and personal and risk overdosing in the process.



(PS - Idol speak: Ace went home last night. GOOD call, America. Get rid of Kellie next, PLEASE?!)

Riding in cars with (a) boy

On the way into work this morning I saw:

1. Four free-frange chickens, one of which was a beautiful rust-colored rooster
   
2. Two miniature Basset Hounds, one of which was a boy and was peeing on a tree
   
3. One emu who was being gawked at by a tourist (the other emu who is usually there must have been in hiding)
   
4. Two beautiful black horses, one of which was a boy and was peeing straight down to the ground
   
5. A clueless lady in a GMC Yukon who chose not to yield to our car, and who has now been sworn at profusely by moi (oops)

Summer is early.

Because Buddy says so. :)

Paris Bennett sings These Foolish Things

From April 18th's American Idol. Love, love love it!

Oh, the irony!

I wonder how pissed Brooke Shields is that she gave birth to a baby girl on the very same day that a baby girl was born to Katie Holmes, wife-to-be of the crazy couch jumper who slams the idea that women get depressed after having babies. Life is funny...


PS - did anyone else notice that TomKat's baby is named the middle of Tom's last name?

S-U-R-I
(C)-R-U-I-S-(E)

Not so creative after all. Probably just sitting around in a room staring at his own last name and said, “oooh, another way to make this kid MINE!”

Free cone day is here! (almost)

Announced to me by B&J:

Oh Happy Day! Tuesday, April 25th is Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's, and you know what that means... free ice cream for you! As a way to thank our customers for their support and to celebrate 28 years of scooping the chunkiest, funkiest ice cream, frozen yogurt and sorbet, Participating Ben & Jerry's scoop shops are giving it away between noon and 8:00pm! So head on down and have a scoop of an old favorite flavor, or maybe even find a new one. Like we said... Oh Happy Day!

Put it on your calendar, people! :)

UPDATE: Yes, if you have a scoop shop near you then you can get a free cone if you go there on April 25. It's not just for Poppyland, je vous promets!

Your Famous Last Words Will Be:

"Nice doggy."

What Will Your Famous Last Words Be?

Thanks, P'nut! The thing I don't get is that I told the quiz that I expected to die of old age at 90, and instead of that I'm getting chased by a dog? I love dogs. I already have a strategy for mean dogs -- punch 'em in the nose, just like a shark. Stuns 'em, and you've got the chance to grab their necks or run like the mommyrubbin' wind. Right? Hmmm. Maybe I am going to die at the jaws of a nice doggy.

Pin drop

You could have heard one in the house while Paris Bennett performed her song. She looked beautiful, she went back to her Billie Holiday style, and her stage performance was commanding, but in a perfectly demure and subtle way. We love you, P. :) Simon's comment: “You bewilder me.” (In a good way. :)

We totally thought this theme would suck, and it so does not.

To the confused: Hi, this post is about American Idol. :)

I walk the line

I took that photo for all y'all in our backyard wildflower bulb bed. I actually was thinking, “I hope blogland really enjoys this shot” as I was lining it up.

And, of course, segue to the movie Walk the Line which arrived from Netflix. I'm not sure when exactly we'll be watching it. Hay has been very tired at night so we've been watching regular TV or nothing. I am looking forward to it, although I think Joaquin is a very odd pick to play Johnny.


Oops, one more thing. I sent flowers to my co-worker-in-Iraq-who-is-now-home and his wife. Orchids. I hope they like them. Who doesn't like orchids?

Bachelor pad unveiling

Apparently I now live in a very masculine home.

Here's the house before the gutters:



...and here's the house later today:



(Keep in mind, and I'm really telling myself this, that it's very sunny in the before picture and very unsunny in the after picture.)

I'm not telling you what to do, but you better still like my house or I'll beat you up. Or, maybe I need to beat Hay up for “encouraging” me to agree to black gutters. But, whatever. I'm actually more freaked out that I can hear my heart beating when I wear my noise cancelling headphones. Que la f? with a side of freakando sauce!

*clappy hands*

The dumpster left our driveway this morning! Yippy! That means today is the last day of the job on our house!!!!!!!@@!##!! I am so friggin happy I could kiss a leprechaun. Maybe. How about a bunny instead?

I'll post pics tonight of the black gutters.

UPDATE: Hay went home at lunchtime and EVERYthing is d-o-n-e, baby!!!!!!!!! Cart-WHEELS! I still promise to post photos later.

Easter leftovers

FYI, sugar cookies with frosting and candies (or rainbow sprinkles) are in my top five favorite cookies.

One more for the Easter Bunny road

We don't celebrate this holiday in our house, but please don't hold that against us. We did have a philosophical discussion about Jesus in the car on the way to Hay's parents' house yesterday, and did have ham yesterday. On the way home we even saw a congregation exiting their Easter service. We also have been eating a ton of Easter candy for several weeks now. But, by far my most favoritest part of my form of “worship” is staring endlessly at this photo:



Mmmmm, caaaaaandy. I just can't help myself, it's so fascinating to me. I want to eat them but they're too pretty to eat. Such a dilemma! Very much looking forward to seeing what other photos Deloris (Stacy's Detroit photo-taking buddy) takes for other holidays.

Ouchies

I totally stole that from Moxie (who clearly stole it from elsewhere). I can't stop laughing.

May you put the chocolate buns out of their misery very quickly. Joyeuses Pâques, Internets!!

Sunday Garden

Today's set is a bit larger because my in-laws had some interesting stuff. My favorite is actually a photo I took outside my work building of this spider dangling delicately upside-down from her dandelion* daffodil web.



Enjoy the full set here.


---
I wrote dandelion the first time I published the post, and I love that word so much that I can't remove it. Daffodil is such a harsh word...

Clearing up my obsessions

You know why my reading list hasn't changed in forever? Because I watch too many movies. Currently awaiting my perusal via DVD: Walk the Line, The Corpse Bride, and Red Dwarf: Series 7, Disc 3.

Reading, photography, animals, nature, gardening, mowing, blogging, listening to music, travelling, cooking and/or eating incredible food, and watching TV in general are also my passions, but some of them take priority over others based on how I'm feeling in general. Today it is grey outside, like it has been here for seveal weeks, so movies are my addiction of choice. It'll change soon. Sitting on the porch reading was attempted on Friday evening but the parents next door visited and the mosquitos were trying to chew me to bits. I'll make another attempt on our next nice day.

Chop Chop!

Remember waaaaaaaaay back in January, 2005 when I was watching A&E's The Big Sell and got excited over “The Chopper”?



He has his own freakin' A show now! It's called King of Cars. It's like a half hour of behind-the-scenes salesman slimery, but trust me when I say that's not a bad thing. :)

Speaking of: avant et après

Lucy as a tiny puffball pup:




Lucy as today's foxy big girl:

An old friend, a new friend, and a few licky friends

My camera returned this evening. The UPS man was going to set it on the porch step but I happened to be walking out the door so he handed it to me. My camera is back to factory defaults, but also thoroughly cleaned -- NO MORE fuzzy linty thing on the lens. Thank the dogs, my best electronic friend is back with me and completely healed. :)

No more of this poo-buckety-ungoodness:



I did get to visit with Princess Kitty from across the road yesterday or today. I hope she still knows I care very much for her... I am keeping my fingers crossed for a visit soon.

Hay and I are off to visit the in-laws tomorrow. I hope to return with lots of puppy photos of Lucy and Emma the cutest (and lickiest) Pomeranians on the planet. ;) Oh, and a bit better of a Sunday Garden!

House

Our home is this close (fingers almost touching) to being complete of its work. The gutters are not on the house, the stair railing isn't finished, and the site is still in construction mode, but to us it looks beautiful.

Before:


Now:

A suggestion to all you furry kid parents, and some other stuff

If you wear black pants and a black shirt one of your kittos (or doggies or ferrets or buns or hamsters or or or) will go missing. I was not covered in fur at 7:50am. By 8:50am I was sobbing because Hay had finally located Georgie with a flashlight. He glimpsed her inside the boxspring of the guest bed after an hour of searching. The cats had ripped away the bottom lining at some point and Georgie crawled in and headed to the back, where she preferred not to be disturbed. I was just so happy to see her that I lied down on the floor. Ripley came up to me to see what was wrong and rubbed up against me, so ...yah. I didn't bother changing, so I'm the lady in furry black today. :)

When my kitties go missing here is my thought process: She got out. A dog ate her. A car hit her. She ran away and doesn't want to come home. She ran away and can't find her way home. The builder dude took her in spite. The builder dude killed her in spite. Somehow Hay knocked her out (by mistake) when putting together a load of laundry and she's unconscious and drowning in the washing machine. She broke her neck trying to jump somewhere and now her dead body is lying somewhere hidden in the house. She has vanished. She hates us. She has gone deaf. She is scared. I'm a bad mom. I'm an awful mom. I don't know what else to do, I don't know what else to do, I don't know what else to do. Oh, Hay is making a sound like he has found her, did he find her?!! No, he didn't. I'm a bad mom. *sob* *SOB* *SAHHHHHHHB* Why me? Where is she?! Georgie, please come out, I just want to see you. I promise we aren't putting you in the basement today to keep you safe while the builders come in and out of the house. I promise!!! Ripley, WHERE is your sister?! Allie, WHERE is Georgie?! Hay, WHERE IS SHE?!?!?!

I'm exhausted now. Do you know how awkwardly embarrassing it is to have to write to your supervisor that you'll be late to work because your furry kid has gone missing? Luckily she understands, but my other supervisor (over there *point point*, yes I have two) would not. He has no kids and no pets. I just hope Georgie understands that I love her and don't want her to be harmed. But, probably not.

In other news, the black pinstripe pants I just bought online because none of my pants fit anymore after I lost so much weight - yah, they're too big, too. I don't know why, but I didn't trust myself and ordered one size bigger than the size I knew I was when I tried on 20 pairs of pants in a fitting room a few weeks ago. These pants are actually two sizes too big. So, for the sake of argument, let's say I'm a 12 but I got a 14, and I guess these pants would have fit me in a size 10, but I'm not actually saying that's my size, because that would be admitting to all the 0's and 2's out there that I actually have curvy meat on my bones, and to anyone larger they might be bugged by the smallness, and I just want everyone to like me.

Okay, really, another busy day. I hope all is well with you all and that you're not affected by the rumor that Avril Lavigne is preggers even though she's supposed to be some sorta hard rocker chick who now is...a model. Whatever. Youth these days, getting so confused... I'm happy for her if she really is pregnant, as long as she takes care of herself while growing her kiddo.

I'm (oops, not) a little teapot

My co-worker wanted some hot tea with lemon after drinking his iced tea with lemon, so he tried to put hot water from the water cooler (irony, I know!) into his plastic cup and it puckered on him. He was annoyed, but I was in awe.

Drop dead, you piggy-backererer!

“Poppy, that wasn't nice!” Okay, okay, but don't you think that if the docs say they don't know what her chances are then she's probably not going to survive much longer?

Donor Heart Removed; Girl's Heart Improves

Apr 13, 10:45 AM (ET)

LONDON (AP) - A girl whose body began to reject a donor's heart has had it removed because her own heart is now strong enough to pump her blood on its own again, her doctor said Thursday.

Doctors transplanted a donor heart to "piggyback" on Hannah Clark's diseased organ a decade ago, said Dr. Victor Tsang, one of the 12-year-old's surgeons.

When she developed severe complications with her immune system recently, doctors at the Great Ormond Street Hospital decided to remove the donor heart so they could take her off the immune suppression drugs she needed to keep her body from rejecting it.

They had determined that her own heart had recovered sufficiently to work on its own, Tsang said.

"It is a very unique situation for a piggyback heart transplant to offer a window, a period of time, for the diseased heart to recover sufficiently to take over the circulation again 10 years later," he said.

Hannah had suffered from cardiomyopathy, a condition in which her heart was inflamed to much bigger than its original size. Tsang said she made a quick recovery and went home less than a week after the operation.

The hospital said she was doing well, but because her case was so unique doctors did not know what her long-term prognosis was.

The hospital said it believed her operation was the first of its kind in Britain.

The article comes from Excite News, who always has the best news of the weird. Thanks to my favorite boy Hay for passing me the article. :)

One more, because it's so freaking funny

Hay was telling me about this in bed last night and I could not stop laughing. And that's before I saw it, which I haven't, I'm giving it to you first:



Spock. cracks. me. up.

cookies

I'm eating cookies for lunch. Shhhh, don't tell anybody. It's what I have available. Yesterday's lunch was a Ben & Jerry's shake. On the walk downtown I encountered a lime green VW Beetle with M&M's melting in the back window. Poor guys...



Once at Ben & Jerry's I absolutely had to whip out my camera. (Or, rather, the camera which I am borrowing while mine's in the shop.) I asked the guy behind the counter if I could take photos inside the shop and he said as long as I didn't use them to complain to Corporate about something then knock myself out. So, I knocked myself out. It hurt a little!



Of course, to continue this gorgeous day of galavant I had to take flower and kitty pictures, so here we are:



I also obtained two more flowering plants yesterday, one which was given to me and one which I purchased, but I'll be saving those for another post.

Today truly is a crazy busy workday, so I bid you adieu and wish you a merry Wednesday. Au revoir, mes ami(e)s!

Okay, one more time: SAAAAAAAAAAARSGAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!

Mags and my favorite pirate are getting married. Cuz he knocked her up. Yay. :)

Thanks to Perez who could give a flying feck but led me to the official story from People.

That's my prerogative

I gots me a new MacBook, yo. You're jealous, right? Well, this thing is 24/7 stalking my ass because of the little camera* staring at me. I'm going to put a Post-it over that thinger lest it drive me absolutely paranoid crazy-case.

On a totally different tangent to what's important in the world today: For your space travelling enjoyment I present to you the G4tv Star Trek 2.0 commercial:



Commercials are becoming funner, aren't they? Yah. Funn-er.

HOLY SHIT**! My keyboard just lit up!!!!!@!@!@#$!!!! Okay, now I'm loving my new computer.



---
*Here's why the camera is staring at me.
**(-ake mushrooms)

Nothing gets past me

Derailed - What a predictable crock 'o shit ending. I guessed in the first train scene what was going on. I guessed in the scene with Winston what the ending would be. I still resent the rape scene.

Rebecca and Jerry are engaged

I love these two, they're so adorable together.

Credit: The Celebrity Cafe

Only if

Do you feel like you know too much about me that you don't care about, but don't know the true essence of Poppy? Yah, me too. Anyway, here's some more junk about me, courtesy of The Idle Receptionist:

If you were to be the opposite sex for one day, what would you do?
Play with myself, I guess.

If you had to name the most difficult thing about being a teenager today, what would you say?
Peer pressure to do very scary stuff.

If you had to name the most embarrassing moment of your life, when was it?
Getting my period for the first time while wearing baby blue pants. Wasn't a good scene.

If you had to name the most overrated actor in Hollywood, who would it be?
Rob Schneider. I wish he'd just stop trying.

If you had to name the one personality trait that you have tried the hardest to change in yourself, what would you say?
Being introverted.

If you could go back for one minute to the Garden of Eden and give Adam advice, what would you say?
“Have an apple, they're tasty.”

If you were to name the best “I told you so” you ever got to deliver, what was it?
These happen to me a lot, so I can't think of any in particular...

If you were Madonna, what would you do for your next publicity stunt?
Lick a frozen flagpole.

If you could have a lifetime 50 percent discount in any single store at your local mall, which store would it be in?
Starbucks or a music store. Ooh, or maybe a movie rental store! This is a tough one...

If you could have one more pet, what kind would you get, and what would you name it?
A little dog (current bid is for a Dachshund) named Chewy (as in Chewbacca, not as in tough to chew)

If you could have God perform one miracle today, what would you want it to be?
I hate to break it, but I don't believe in this. I don't want to go all philosophical, but my mind doesn't equate “miracles” to “g/God”. That said, I'd really like for Jules to stop being harassed by her client. He's way outer limits today.

If you could spend next New Year’s Eve doing anything, what would you do, and with whom?
Eat junk food and drink sparkling grape juice on the couch next to a sleeping Hay, an excited and slightly buzzed Stacy, a giggly and snuggly Bdogg, and a happy-because-she's-not-at-work Jules. :)

If you were to set your country’s immigration policy, what would it be?
All are welcome, as long as you clean up after yourselves and are productive members of society. That is, until we're bursting at the seams and then we'd like everyone new to kindly go elsewhere for a bit or figure out a way for us to inhabit other planets so we have more room.

If you were given the power to settle the issue of gays in the military, what policy would you set?
No more military. Everyone be happy. No war. No aggressive acts worthy of military action. I appreciate all that our military does for us, I just don't appreciate our aggressive/combative nature.

If you could have one person you have lost touch with call you up tonight and invite you to dinner, who would you want it to be?
My cousin, I guess.

If you could change one thing about your love life, what would it be?
More ice, please.

If you could have prevented one book from ever having been written, which book would it be?
I just wouldn't do that, it would change the entire course of history for all of us (chain reaction, ya know).

If you have to name the best music album ever recorded, which would you select?
Faith by George Michael


I ain't taggin', but you go ahead and If yourself silly.

And now for something pretty

After a downer post I like to bring the mood back up a bit, so here we go:



Photo credit to the beautiful and wonderfully talented Maliavale.

Yes, I did see The Shaggy Dog this weekend. I thought Kristin Davis was fantastic in it, but I liked the original better.

Off track

Hay's father recommended a movie to us that he thought was really good. It happened to be Derailed starring Jennifer Aniston, among others. I had recently read that Jennifer Aniston was not a fan of Derailed, and I unfortunately saw why last night.

I watched up to the rape scene and then I flipped out so bad that Hay turned off the movie and said he'd watch it another time then changed his mind and said he would return it unwatched. When I flipped out I was yelling, “your dad should have warned us about the rape scene!!!!!” and he didn't mean to, but he laughed at me. If I'm angry about something and you laugh at me then I just go psycho. I just hate it when people don't take me seriously. So, anyway, I'm telling you all now: I don't like watching rape scenes. They make me feel dirty and perverted for watching them and then emotionally scarred afterwards. I tend to absorb those types of scenes as my own, as if I was just violated. So, no. Nope. No thanks. No.

I went online and read more about the movie and it doesn't sound like there are any more rape scenes so I told Hay I want to try again tonight, to continue watching the movie. Everybody talks about the twist ending (which I really think I had figured out before I even knew there was a twist ending, but whatevs) so I really wanna see it. I just don't want to watch any more violée scenes.

Woooooohoooooo!

Just got an email that “my co-worker in Iraq” is now “my co-worker in the USA”. He's being processed then should be back in town in about two weeks. He's home safe, and that's all I care about. :)

Over the river and through the woods

Today I visited my grandmother to celebrate her birthday. At her request I made her a choco choco cake. We ate a small piece of cake to revel in birthdayness.



While there I noticed a photo on the wall of my great grandmother with my mom and all of her siblings.



My mom is the girl bending over whose face is hidden by bunny ears.

My grandmother is famous within our family for her chairs of teddy bears, so I thought I'd share one of the chairs with you.



She has teddy bears from all stages of their existence, a mini museum of large and small bears.

I didn't take any pictures of the people who were physically present, as promised to them all so that they would even let me take the camera out of its case. My brother and niece showed up while I was visiting, because I had mentioned yesterday when I dropped my niece off after the movie that I would be visiting Gram today. My brother gave her a beautiful glass etched with the insignia of a local business that is important to her. She loved it.

I am not sure, but I do get the feeling that we have very little time left with Gram. Her mind is still sharp but her body is falling to pieces. I am glad I was able to see her today, and hope that I get another visit or 12 in before “it” happens. I did tell her I'd have grandkids for her soon, but I don't get the sense she'll be sticking around and holding her breath just for that. :) Oh well. I know her spirit will live on. I am just like her, and I'm proud of that.

Sunday flowerpot

After the return of some frigid temperatures our land was unsuccessful in growing anything more than crocuses this week. I will still take us through the motions of Sunday Garden, however. Here's a very small set of lovelies. Crocuses are beautiful, but if you sat in a room full of diamonds all day everyday those would become boring too, ya know? Enjoy. Or, send me a link to a flower photo of your own and I'll post that for this week. Happy to!

Ho-ho-...ho.

Since the tax deadline is right around the corner I find this a fitting time to post Toothpaste for Dinner's “tax system for children” (as opposed to “for dummies”). Using Santa. That's funny. :)



With that said, I still hope we won Powerball. It'd be fun to be rich. I could buy you all a round of drinks at the blogfrence!

(Fifi) fun, fun, fun*

What a gorgeous day! I'm off to lunch and a movie with my niece and step-mom, taking my co-worker's camera in tow (mine's in the shop and she [being the human mom of the furry mom of Georgie] offered to share hers).

Do you enjoy my embedded sentence skills? Yah. I dunno why I do it, I just do. I like to understate things?

Anyway, I think I'll step out and see if I can catch any shots for Sunday Garden. Happy Sunny Saturday, Internets! You deserve a happy day. :)

Update: Je suis tired. Like, a lot. Oof.



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*I love The Housemartins. You should give them a try.

IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII Questions

Borrowed from Penny who stole it from Duff.


1. Who was your first prom date?
Hmm. I didn't go to a prom. I went to a dance once, and danced with Gay Drew. That was about the extent of my comfort zone, dancing with a gay boy.

2. Who was your first roommate?
I had several first roommates, because my first experience was in a house with two women and a man, but more people than that were always there. It rocked. We got drunk and made out a lot. Sometimes even the sex happened. :)

3. What alcoholic beverage did you drink when you got drunk the first time?
Dandelion wine. A whole bottle. I loved the feeling, hated the taste.

4. What was your first job?
Little computer person at my high school

5. What was your first car?
I am so sick of answering this question that I'm just going to refuse from this point forward.

6. When did you go to your first funeral?
I think my great uncle's funeral at approximately age 6 was my first? I don't really remember that.

7. How old were you when you first moved away from your hometown?
Eleven

8. Who was your first grade teacher?
Mrs. Gable

9. Where did you go on your first airplane ride?
England

10. When you snuck out of your house for the first time, who was with you?
My older boyfriend so we could go have the sex

11. Who was your first Best Friend and are you still friends always?
Um...depends when. I moved around so much that I had many: Erica, Lisa, Carolyn, Blake, Kerry, myself, Emily, Jim, Kristen, Stacy/Bdogg. And, of course, Hay is always my best friend.

12. Where did you live the first time you moved out of your parents house?
An apartment with the same buncha folks I drank and had the sex with.

13. Who is the first person you call when you have a bad day?
Hay. The first person I write is Hay, Stacy, Bdogg, and occasionally Jules. :)

14. Whose wedding were you in the first time you were a bridesmaid or a groomsmen?
My brother's

15. What is the first thing you do in the morning?
Pet the kitties on the way to pee

16. What was the first concert you ever went to?
Wang Chung opening for Tina Turner

17. First tattoo or first piercing?
Piercing of both ears at age 8. It was one of the worst experiences of my life and I'm allergic to most earrings, so I don't wear them. Ever. Period. Don't buy me earrings.

18. First celebrity crush?
I'll go with Penny and say Corey Hart :)

19. First crush?
Jeff

20. First love?
Adam

Tagging is for mean people. I'm not mean today.

Because I love me some good Star Wars action

Aside from the Blinding Light icon at the start needing a freaking eyebrow wax, this is incredible:



Picked it up over at Avitable-isms. (Thanks, Ad Avi!)

More green girls welcomed to the family

While shopping with Forest and the cool kid posse I came across a flower shop with fantastic deals on plants! So, um, yes, while in another state I did in fact purchase plants. I'm addicted, I told you that already! :)

Here are my new lovelies:



The vase is for that cactus. I just haven't quite had time to plant it yet. I also have three other cactii (including one that Ripley tried to chomp on, oops) that I've yet to plant, starting a new indoor cactus garden.



I've wanted an aloe vera plant for some time. I used to have one but lost it in one of my many moves from home to home. The other plant is just silky and gorgeous. I don't know its name, but I am getting a “Vivica” vibe from her. So, she shall be referred to as Vivica. Only certain plants tell me their names. (The rest are shy?)

:(

From Access Hollywood:

aula Abdul claimed she was assaulted at a party over the weekend by a man whose name she knew, Access Hollywood has learned.

Abdul reported the alleged incident at about 9 p.m. Tuesday to the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollywood Station.

"She claimed she was at a private party on April 2 and that at 1 a.m., an argument occurred between her and a man, and that the man grabbed her by the arm and threw her against a wall," an LAPD spokesman told Access Hollywood Thursday. "She claimed to have suffered a concussion and spinal injuries. She saw her own doctor and at the time of the report, said she would make herself available for photographs (of her injuries)."

Police have yet to take pictures of Abdul, although they are starting to interview witnesses, the spokesman said.

Although police told Access they have a suspect, his name has not been released.

Abdul knew the man well enough to know his name, police said.

That makes me sad.

Mistaking Forest (and Woods)

Tuesday night I checked into my hotel room then spoke with Hay on the phone and headed out for a walk into town to eat me some steak. I arrived to my destination of choice, a local brewhouse which I found during my pre-trip search on the Internets. I ate a great NY strip steak with cajun spice, and phenomenal garlic mashed potatoes. (My order is important later in the story, don't forget that detail.) I sat alone facing the front of the restaurant.

Near the end of my meal I saw two men walk in and could not believe my eyes. Is that...Forest Whitaker?!?!?! Ooooh, wait, and James Woods?!??!?! I was so excited that I wanted to go introduce myself and slather them with my adoration, but I played it cool. I settled my tab then walked by them but didn't dare to look. When I got outside I looked through the glass and saw Forest staring at me so I turned and almost did a face plant into a patio chair. Turns out Forest and James were really not Forest or James, just two guys having dinner. Oh well, at least I could blog about it, right?

The next day I went into my workshop room and was chatting with some ladies from another organization when WHO WALKS IN?! FOREST AND JAMES! I couldn't help myself, I went right up to them and told them about the night before, about mistaking them for famous actors and almost tripping over the furniture outside. “Thanks!” Forest said. I was curious so I asked, “what, you don't get that all the time?!” Forest explained to me that he and James had never been anywhere together so they'd never been told that before.

The session started and I then began to experience what I like to refer to as human interaction remorse. I talk to people in an extroverted way, and then after the interaction is completed I replay the event over and over in my head, telling myself how stupid my actions and words were. I just couldn't believe the small sliver of extroversion in me had the balls to walk up to total strangers and tell them they look like celebrities.

During a break I happened to see Forest in the hallway and apologized to him. I made sure he knew that the real Forest is one of my most favorite actors, that I didn't think that he was some two-bit B actor whose career is in the toilet. He laughed it off, and I crawled away feeling even worse than before.

To my surprise, however, at lunch Forest caught up with me and asked if I wanted to sit with him at a table. An 8-person table. Me, next to Forest. As soon as we sat down people started flocking to the table and all of a sudden little old me was sitting at the popular kids' table! I couldn't believe it! I asked Forest what he had for dinner at the restaurant the night before: NY strip steak, cajun style with a side of garlic mashed. “That's what I had, too,” I squealed. The chit-chat flowed, we all talked about how frustrating our jobs are, and we actually bonded. WTF? Je suis un INFP, people! I don't bond with strangers!!

After lunch the whole lot of us even went so far as to go shopping for souvenirs as a group! It rocked!

When we were all finished for the day we all said our goodbyes and made promises to email each other, shaking hands and reveling in our happy bonding experience.

When I got to work today I was very busy, but not busy enough to forget Forest. I started to compose a message, which I haven't quite sent yet, but I fully intend to:

From: [Poppy]
To: [Forest]

Hi [Forest's real name],

Or, should I say, “Forest”? [*snort*] It was great to meet you at the [conference name withheld]. I didn't say anything at the time, but I really liked the idea you mentioned at lunchtime about...

Someday I'll actually finish that message and send it. Maybe Forest will remember me, and maybe we'll meet again. If not, we'll always have that moment in the restaurant. :)

But the cat came back the very next day

I have returned with small tales to tell, but work calls me so I must do it. I'll share more later. Thanks to everyone for leaving comments while I was away. I haven't gotten through them all yet, but will tonight.

Can you believe that AI bottom three last night? Ouch! Darn country night... I only got to see Bucky perform on Tuesday because I couldn't figure out the channels in the hotel room (t-a-r-d, party of 1), but I couldn't understand a word he says and he ends up safe? Weirdness. Did Kenny Rogers not say that if Bucky didn't enunciate then we wouldn't be able to follow the story?! Well, I couldn't follow the story, y'all.

Oh, and another thing...

My chest shot will have to keep you happy until Thursday when I return from business out of town. Happy hump of the week, Internets. Leave me lots of comments so that I know you missed me. :P

It's true!

(Okay, it's not true, I have other friends, but my chest looks so damn good saying it...)

!!!!!

KIM HAS A NEW BLOG. Check it out, check it out, you gotta, you gotta: Kimsnotebook-dot-COM!. WOOT! :)

Yay, Kim!

M-u-r-r

Good morning, Internets!

I had a post but Blogger ate it.

Anyway, I was just going to tell you that I did a bunch of housework this weekend à cause de PMS. I tend to perform my wifely duties to the extreme at this time of the month. I'm not saying the house is sparkling, but Hay usually does laundry and instead I did all 8 loads yesterday. I also did 2 loads of dishes, cleaned the guest bathroom (for the men working on the porch), did the bills, and tidied up the kitchen, living room, and dining room.

And, now I'm going away on a (short) business trip so I won't be home to enjoy it. I know when I return it will be a disaster again. Hay and I generally live like slobs, that's just who we are. In fact, when the house is clean I actually obsess about its tidiness. Whenever my mom absolutely forced me to clean my room as a kid I couldn't sleep that night because I was thinking about everything being in its place and if there is something more I should have done. Clean and I don't mesh.

This morning Ripley tried to bite one of my cactuses. Needless to say? she did not enjoy the experience. She actually heaved afterwards, although I'm not sure there was anything in her mouth to heave out. I tried to check her tongue and face for prickles but she wouldn't let me. Poor girl. She knows not to mess with that plant anymore, eh?

I'm finally sending my camera off to be repaired. I'll be using the old digital camera, which I actually forgot I had before I sent out a feeler to others for a camera to borrow or rent. I took test photos of flowers yesterday - as long as the quality is set to super fine and the AF is set to flower we get along great. Otherwise, the photos are crappy.

I don't see how it would be likely, but I'm worried about not having my camera for June when the balloon show happens. Two years ago a ton of hot air balloons bombarded our sky and all I had was a 35mm camera. Last year the wind was not right so the balloons didn't come in our direction from two towns over where you have to pay $15 or $20 to get into the park. I know there is another balloon show that happens at another time of year in another county, but I have bad ex-boyfriend memories associated with it, so I never go. Isn't it weird to avoid an event because of old memories? I should just write that stuff down, chuck it, and move on with life. EH!

Hope your Monday is at least not disastrous.

xoxo,
~Poppy

The 3 Musketeers Plus Bun

Mary-Kate, Mary-Agnès, Geneviève, and Bunbun in an “all for one” moment. No idea what they were agreeing to do, and this morning Geneviève is lying down. Maybe she didn't fully agree to the plan?

Sunday Garden

Snow crocuses! Oh, and a few more snaps over at flickr. I will be sending in my camera and using my old camera for a bit, which has decided to resurrect itself (yay!) so there should be no disruption of service for Sunday Gardens.

The Poppy household's favorite commercial.

A breakdancing worm. It doesn't get better.

(Yah, I know it's a commercial for the big, bad financial empire, but it's still freakin' awesome.)

SPRING FORWARD. FOR REALS, YO.

*unsticky*
(ahhhh, I feel so much more relaxed now)




It's time to lose an hour from your weekend. How PSYCHED are you? At least there's more time for gardening in the evenings! :D

PS - I totally stole that clock from my girl Nosy Snoop who reminded me about the spring thing. I actually did know a few days ago, but we all know I have no memory.

Happy fish day!

In our 8th grade French class Madame told us all about poisson d'avril*, the tradition of affixing fish (pictures) to people's backs as an April Fool's day prank. So, here is my wish to you: May you place many fishes but receive none in return. (Although, honestly, I'd be very flattered if many people thought of me and put fish on my back, but then there's the whole grossness factor...)





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*en français