Dr. Evil has stolen my mojo!

damn that Dr. Evil.

he's stolen my scrapbooking mojo.

what he's gonna do with it, i have no idea.

it just took me almost two hours to do a two page layout. and they ain't that great.

come on.

could it be because this is the first week where i haven't worked ten hour days every day.

oh, and six hours on Saturdays.

so maybe it's not Dr. Evil. maybe it's nothing more than just some plain old tiredness.

or maybe i need my own telethon: help restore Valerie's mojo.

give generously - that we may cure scrappers' block in our lifetime.

Ricky & Lucy had the right idea.

ah yes. the Ricardos.

not only one of the funniest shows ever, but, i believe, harbingers of the future.

always digging how Lucy...and even Ethel dressed - well, except for the heels. (sorry Hubbs, just can never get into them)

but today - i believe they were on the cutting edge because...

separate beds.

because remember in the 1950's, NOBODY had sex, especially married couples.

but lately - i'm for it.

my complaint is that the cat is taking over part of the bed - the husband is taking over the other part. i end up on my side, hanging on the edge.

hmmmm..

everyone else is comfy but me.

now i've pushed the cat off before. he just comes back. i've also tried pushing B over, but dang. might as well try to push Godzilla over. he just doesn't move.

so i want my own bed. not only will i sleep better, but i will be FAR less cranky.

and which would you rather have: Cranky Valerie or Happy Valerie?

uh huh. i thought so. happy hump day.

happy birthday, girl!

you're one of my best friends.

you started me on this insanity called scrapbooking.

you share your children and your life with me.

all this, AND you're my sister in law?!

i'm one lucky broad.

happy birthday girl.

cannot wait till we're roommates in the old folks' home!

no really - DOES it get any better than this?

* laundry done

* grocery shopping done

* made a super-yummy breakfast burrito

* accompanied by an equally yummy diet Coke with lotsa ice & fresh lime (in my HUGE new mug from Disneyland: it has Stitch on it with my mantra "Mornings Aren't Pretty.")

*and i'm watching "The Shadow" on tv. (OK - it's one of the dumbest movies around. but it's entertaining, and better than watching the newsshows & getting frustrated by all they say.)

* oh, and Hubbs & i are off to an beyond super yummy excelsior dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House. (if you ever have the opportunity to go to one, do so. words cannot describe how yummy their food is. and if you're a carnivore like us, it's the next best thing to heaven on earth)

* i am happy. i am lucky. i am blessed. i hope you have as good a life as i am right now.

blog club part deux

i promised...i try to deliver. more of what i love to read...

i am a coconut - cyn is talented, warm & funny. the kind of chick you want to be friends with!

nitty. gritty. - Jody's writing has heart, pathos, humor & reality. love this chick!

tara - well, DUH. tara's photos could make a rock look great.

more to come...

kids spell the darndest things....

so today, i found several future stars of "America's Most Wanted" writing in the dust on a car in our complex.

y'know - the usual. pre-teen boys. mostly OK kids. just being...well, kids.

dorky boys.

and they were doing what pre-teen, dorky boys do when they've just discovered words & things like dick, sperm, boobies, middle fingers...

they draw them.

why? because they can.

so one had written the "t" word for a vagina. (family blog, y'know, so i won't repeat it)

BUT...stupid kid misspelled it. and to make them even stupider, they didn't run when i walked up to them.

OMG. i laughed sooooo hard. well, now, our Future Rhodes Scholar is embarrassed that i'm laughing at him in front of his friends. so he does the only thing he can to save face.

he calls me a bitch.

but as i walk away, still laughing, my reply was:

"that's OK. you'd misspell that one, too."

there's 21 less pounds on my butt....

and that's something to celebrate!

went in for the weigh in today - imagine my surprise when i found i had lost 7.4 lbs.

that's a seven plus a four.

how stinking cool is that?

i'm really amazed the amount of the loss..considering that i was up last week.

now i was bad, but not that bad. so i have attributed it to two factors:

Fact #1: the scale i was weighed on last week is NOT the normal scales i use.

Fact #2: i had just come off the Death March at Disneyland. so there's more than a good possibility that since i wasn't drinking as much water as usual and did a buttload of walking, i probably retained mucho agua.

(21.8lbs. holy crap. i have NEVER lost that much. always got tired of measuring foods on the "other" WW plan. guess having back surgery was a good motivation.)

7.4lbs. hell, i was ready to stop at the 7-11 & get a cupcake to celebrate.

(Linda, stop shaking your finger at me. i didn't do it.)

wowzy. just amazing.

you'll see less of me next time. aloha!

i LOVE being a girl...

especially with cars.

so another 10 hour day at work. the Big Boss kicked me out @ 5pm, so i could get some rest.

and the car wouldn't start.

rassinfrassinshmuckinfreakinbrassin...

well, let me qualify: it would start, just not stay on. engine died every time.

so i did like i always do: called Auto Club to come tow me. luckily my mechanic is about 1/2 a mile from my job. and, as always, Auto Club gave me a window for them to arrive..almost 50 (yes, five-zero) minutes.

at the 50 minute mark, Auto Club called me to let me know they were running a little behind...the tow guy was having problems getting a baby out of a locked car.

holy frejoles!

suddenly my problem pales in comparison.

then, cynic that i am, it occurred to me.

what if there is no baby in a locked car?? what if, the guy was on a dinner break & it took longer than he expected?

like i said...cynicism, thy name is me.

Tow Guy shows up, i 'splain what happened, and he has me pop the hood. checks the battery cables & all around that area, then asks me to start the car.

the car starts. the freaking car stays running. Tow Guy puts car in reverse...freaking car stays running. TG puts it back in drive..say it with me, kids: freaking car stays running.

OK. i am a 43 year old sometimes grown up. i work, i pay my bills, i cook, i do all the stuff adults are supposed to do. but nothing makes a chick feel more like a complete, useless dork than car things. especially when the car, in the presence of a man who is knowledgeable on mechanics, decides to act properly.

freaking car. bloody hell.

so - off i went to Target. car started right up i finished shopping.

it'll be interesting tomorrow to see how it goes.

we girls can do anything, right, Barbie?

except not feel like a dork when the car that an hour ago wouldn't stay running, now runs like a colt in a pasture.

i'll bet even Barbie would feel stupid in front of Ken.

valerie's blog club...

kinda like Oprah's Book Club, except none of these blogs have faked anything going on in their lives.

James Frey, i'm talkin' 'bout you.

just thought you might be interested in seeing some blogs i'm reading right now. not because i'm a guru of all things blogging & you should read as i do. i just love reading their words, and thought you might be interested. let me know what you think! (and if you're a lurker, not a poster - come on! break out of that comfort zone! i'd love to hear from you!)

who ate mary kate - a lovely sarcastic trip

shenuts - how i wanna write when i grow up

patrick fitzgerald - fighting for truth, justice and the American way

doodlebugmom - i love her heart & how it shows in her entries

coloring outside the lines - loni ROCKS!

as i see it... - doug makes me laugh. hard.

just a short list today...i have many more that i follow & will post later. now it's off to the showers & begin another fun day of making phone books.

peace.

mi vida loca...

it's crazy at work.

crazy, nutty, insane.

like, in @ 6:30a.m. & out @ 5:45p.m.

that's p.m., as in pretty messed up.

my job, involves ensuring that my department is clear on all ads for the yellow pages that are going to the printer on any particular day. usually, it's not too crazy, but right now we have about 6 directories going to press, and three of them are our largest books.

crazy, nutty, koo-koo.

and there's no end in the immediate future. most likely, i'm looking at about 10 hrs days and 6 hr Saturdays.

good thing i love my job.

so forgive me if postings are few, or even worse, more disjointed than usual.

but right now, i'm having a mini vacation - watching Rachel Ray's "$40 a day" on Food Network, and she's in San Diego.

i so love San Diego. B lived there when we started dating, and believe me, it was a BIG selling point in dating him. (JK honey!)

oh, and by the way, Rachel is in the Old Town Mexican Cafe - and their food totally rocks!!
makes me jonesing for some killer Mexican food.

in other news...

mother in law is steadily, but slowly improving. she's in the rehab center, and my SIL & i are gonna make some HUGE scrapbook pages of her family, B & i for MIL's room. hey, i may even add my furbaby to a layout. she digs cats, anyways.

feeling strangely creative, especially since they already announced the HOF winners & runners up. the list of honorable mentions was insane. didn't see any names i recognized from either the CKMB or 2Peas. which is OK, i'm still licking my wounds. :o)

here's what i've done lately...there's more, i just didn't take pictures of 'em.

gotta call some friends before they either A) stop talking to me or B) declare me missing.

dieting SUCKS!!

now that i have that out of the way...

gained yesterday, almost two pounds, but i ain't a-gonna complain. considering all i ate was Theme Park food, i don't think that is too bad.

it just means i eat a lot more zero-point veggie soup this week to make up for it.

so, here i sit, finishing up a Lean Cuisine ravioli (YUM!) when, on Food Network ( i know, what kind of a masochist watches Food Network when on Weight Watchers?!) is Chefography on Paula Deen.

Paula Deen. the patron saint of Southern Cooking.

it's so much a part of my childhood. my crazy Auntie Kay was from Missouri and even though she was coo-koo..the woman could cook.

she could fry a chicken that would make the Colonel & Mrs. Knott absolutely green with envy.

but Paula...she just seems like a cool chick. someone you'd want to just hang out in the kitchen with.

oh, and eat of course.

southern food - THE comfort food.

black eyed peas...fried chicken...cobbler...fried green tomatos...grits...well, you get the idea.

we have two restaurants around here (that i know of) that specialize in southern cooking. one has really good tri tip, grits as a side dish and KILLER biscuits with apple butter. the other has pulled pork to DIE for. and their breakfast is pretty yummy, too.

so if you're ever in my neighborhood, now you have two recomendations for eating.

moral of the story: don't watch Food Network when you're on Weight Watchers.

oh, and Paula Deen ROCKS!

peace, love & deep fried chicken.

things that make me happy...

gotta love these.

Target specials, but still...

they just are so cool...

ah, the little things...

just silly things that make me happy.

like Friday.

and, in honor of the day, i leave you with a traditional Irish prayer:

May those who love us, love us.

And for those that don't, may God turn their hearts.

And if He doesn't turn their hearts, may He turn their ankles so we'll know them by their limping.

but it's a GOOD tired.

i have traveled through the far reaches of a Magic Kingdom with this kid.

i have bought cotton candy, coloring books, and numerous toys for this kid and his sister.

i have been designated (with coaching from me) as a soft touch. (it's true. i am.)

i watched him be beyond excited at meeting Mickey, Pooh and Captain Hook.

i loved every minute of it. and i miss him and his mom already.

you know what's cool?

Sitting with a five year old in your lap, out by the pool at his hotel, watching Disneyland's fireworks.

AND, while said five year old is holding your hand, is yelling "Whoa!" after every amazing, shimmering burst.

Then, he turns to me and says "You know why they're so beautiful? Because TinkerBell uses her pixie dust on them."

Not only is this cool, this is magic.

And he's right. These fireworks are made with pixie dust.

what th'...

My sister is down with my nephew, hence why thou has not heard from moi lately.

Three days at Disneyland. With a five year old.

Not enough sugar & caffeine in the world to keep with this kid.

But dang, do i love him.

Met him & his Mommy @ John Wayne Airport, the boy nearly knocked my chunky bum on the ground when he came running & jumped on me. (i'm pretty sure my neurosurgeon would not approve)

So, in trying to kill some time before they could check in their hotel, we went to a scrapbook store in Tustin (for you locals - it used to be Memories, now it's the PaperZone...more on that later) - had to buy stickers for the Boy, then Uncle B took him out to have him run around. They have a nice fountain between the theaters & California Pizza Kitchen, so Uncle & Boy went to check that out.

As Mommy & i are checking out, Boy comes running in, to tell me about the fountain & could he come show me?!

Sure, baby. Anything for you.

So, off we go. I'll post pictures later, but there's a hysterical one we took of the Boy standing next to one of the frog fixtures (water comes out of their mouth) - if it doesn't seem funny now, just think of the last Austin Powers movie, with Austin at a fountain, eating aspagarius to keep peeing. You'll get it.

Boy running around fountain. Boy jumping up & down on fountain. Boy jumping in fountain.

What th'....

You never saw three adults move so bloody quick.

The Boy was flat on his bum. Up to his neck in water. Did Mommy or me get a photo? Naaahh...

For those of you local, you know how bloody cold it was Sunday. For those of you not local, if it got out of the 40's i'll be surprised. For So.Cal., it was freakin' COLD!

So it's freezing & we now have a wet, giggling five year old. And, as the three of us were asking Boy what the heck he was thinking...his response was he "wanted to splash Aunt Balerie."

What th'....

So, we strip the boy down in my car, pull out new togs, and head over to Vans so he can get new shoes.

And this is Day One.

Can you imagine what the continuing days will bring?

Stay tuned...



In Other News...

My mother in law is being transferred to a nursing home for some physical therapy. Still very disoriented, not too strong, but still slowing recovering & improving.

Thanks for your continued good thoughts, prayers & karma.

etc...

So, nothing new going on in Californialand. It's getting cold, though...big storm a-comin' (OK, not big as far as my East Coaster friends would deal with, but when the entire population completely freaks out EVERY TIME IT RAINS, it's gonna be a big deal). Big & cold. Said today that the snow level could drop to 2500 ft. THAT, dear reader, is COLD for us.

LOVE watching "I Love Toys" this week on VH1...love them trips down Memory Lane...Operation...Barrel o' Monkeys....Malibu Barbie...i really love the commercials.

See, i'm a commercial junkie. To me, they can be better written than some 60 minute shows (CSI is, of course, exempted from this statement). Not necessarly better acted. Just written.

Working more overtime this week. It's insane. Two hrs every day and this Saturday is six hours manditory. ugggggh. Ain't even worth the money, after the Government gets their paws on my cash.

Weigh in tomorrow....we'll see how this goes. Last week was PMS, so i also got .2lbs gain.

.2lbs?! what the heck?!

Ah, in the old days, it would be at least maintained. But nooooo...let's have digital scales.

Mother-in-law is doing ok...they will be moving her to a different wing of the hospital that will begin PT for strength. Then, off to a nursing home for more PT. After that, who knows. i feel she needs to be in a place where she's not alone at night...where if she forgets to put her oxygen hose back on, a nurse can come check on her, instead of my MIL calling her Lifeline, who in turn calls my sister-in-law, so she can come over to MIL's. A 15 minute drive. Not long, but forever when you can't breathe.

Have a good Thursday. It's gonna be one long weekend.

didja think i fell off the Earth?

Naah.

Husband went to Reno to visit his Momma...so he took the laptop. i was absolutely LOST without it. ahhh....but it's back. and so is he.

Thanks to all of you for asking 'bout my M-I-L, it's been a long, strange trip. This time last week, i wouldn't have taken the bet that she would last the week.

Sucker.

She went in for congestive heart failure...too much fluid on her body & needs to be drained. She seemed to be doing better, then had a stroke Wednesday night. A full-blown stroke. A horrible, not good, very bad thing.

Then she pulled out of it. Absolutely amazing.

I've decided that Death keeps knocking at her door, but she thinks it's a door-to-door salesman and won't answer. Despite the fact that she constantly says she wants to die.

So, my husband flew out last weekend. Doing well, and better than she was last week. She could be released by the end of the week, and then will be moved into a convalescent home for PT.

Absolutely amazing.

i'll keep you posted. Thanks again for your prayers & good karma. My sister & family appreciate it more than i can ever express.

Food 4 Thots....

Borrowed this idea from Loni...After reading her blog, i starting thinking about quotes & pithy sayings i appreciate - for reasons of one or another.

Some of these are for those of you, who, like me, don't think too much. Or too deep.

Have a great weekend...and enjoy.

Worrying Does Not Empty Tomorrow of its Troubles, But Robs Today of its Strength.
- from a Mary Engelbrite calendar

You Better Think - Think About What You're Trying To Do To Me!
- Aretha Franklin

You may all go to hell - and I will go to Texas.
- Davy Crockett

May those who love us, love us. And those who don't, may God turn their hearts.
And if He doesn't turn their hearts, may He turn their ankles, so we'll know them by their limping.
- Gaelic saying

From Ghoulies and Ghosties and long-legged beasties
and things that go Bump in the Night -
Good God, deliver us!
- another Gaelic saying

Talking doesn't cook rice.
- Chinese saying

Out of confusion come chaos.
Out of chaos comes anarchy & fear.
Then comes lunch.
- my desk at work

He's so stupid, he thinks canopies are a tin full of peas.
- from a bookcover i had in jr. hi. i LOVE this one.

Allow myself to introduce...myself. I'm Richie Cunningham, and this is my wife Oprah.
- Mike Myers in "Austin Powers"

Now abides Faith, Hope and Love...the greatest of these is Love.
- I Cor. 13

Your pants are really baggy.
- someone at work, commenting on my s-l-o-w-l-y shrinking butt.



In other News...

thanks for your good wishes & prayers regarding my mother-in-law. B is heading out to Reno tomorrow night, after talking to his sister, they still don't know much, but think she may have stroked again Wednesday. On the other hand, she seems to have stabilized somewhat. Not out of the woods yet, by any means, but may have cheated Death again. She's done that several times during the last four years. i'm convinced that she will be, once released from the hospital, moved to a full-care home, not her apartment. Hey, she should be. Poor woman is really not and hasn't been in a position to truly take care of herself.

Again - thanks for your prayers & good karma. They've been felt and are appreciated more than you'll ever know.

nothing inspirational, but....

Here's the quote i got in an email from Campbell's soup:

Food is the most primitive form of comfort. -Sheila Graham

...then my bum is a walking can of love. - Me

i know - i'm losing weight, but sometimes...

i'm impatient by nature. i just want to have it done. can't i just unzip my skin & pull the fat off?

so much easier.

that would make my day.


in other news....

Lent started yesterday. i'm not Catholic, but i like the idea of giving up something to improve yourself & make the world a better place.

(and i like fish. A LOT)

enough fun for one day. Happy Thursday.