testify! part too....

welcome to Downtown Disney...and yes, those are Red Hatters in the lower corner.

the house band...

nothing like romantic candlelight...

while the house rocks.

and while i'm not sure what a Stormtrooper, Chewbacca and, er...Catman (becaue it is a man, or a chick with a bad hormonal problem that causes mustaches) were doing there, i'm sure it was because of the cheese grits, biscuits, gravy, catfish, and bread pudding.

did i mention the bread pudding?

total fun. thanks Kristie!

seconds, anyone?

helping myself to Tracey's blog, i thought i'd give this another go...'sides, it's good practice to keep my mind sharp by coming up with these things. right? right?
(and if you're bored by this, feel free to change the channel)

Your Name: Valerie
1. Famous Singer/Band: Vince Gill
2. 4 letter word: vice (stop reading into things!)
3. Color: vivid red (come one - it's not my vault my name vegins vith a v!)
4. Street: Ventura Highway
5. Gifts/Presents: video games
6. Vehicle: Volkswagen
7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: visior
8. Boy Name:Victor
9. Girl Name: Vickey
10. Movie Title: Vanilla Sky (thank you IMDB!)
11. Drink: vino (so it's italian)
12. Occupation: vendor
13. Flower: violet
14. Celebrity: Valerie Bertinelli - the New Face of Jenny Craig!
15. Magazine: Vegetarian Times (thank heavens for the internet!)
16. U.S. City: Valencia, CA
17. Pro Sports Teams: Vikings (Minnesota)
18. Fruit: valencia oranges
19. Reason for Being Late for Work: vandalism
20. Something You Throw Away: voided checks (so i'm stretching...v is hard!)
21. Things You Shout: victory!
22. Cartoon Character: Vicky Vale (remember? from Batman?)

oy. i'm tired now. time for a nap.

dear Maureen -

i'm so bummed i missed you yesterday.

i love you and i'm feeling your frustration.

you're never far from my thoughts and prayers, whether you like it or not!

love you.

there's mischief afoot!

there probably is somewhere.
but not here. i just like how it sounds and say it frequently at work.

today - barring any further unforseen circumstances, i shall finally go to the gospel brunch at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney, over by Disneyland.

i've been trying to go for the last five years or so. you'd think it wouldn't be so bloody hard: make reservations, go, eat, pay.

ha!

my friend Kristie and i originally planned on going for my 40th. in Vegas.

sweet.

we had a death in our family, and so we postponed. but, like so many things, it got pushed off to the side, rescheduled over and over. it just wasn't meant to be, apparently.

but not today.

today, Brendan, myself, Kristie, her kids and six of Kristie's friends will converge on the House and have some good Southern cooking (holy frejoles. GRITS!!!!!), perhaps a Bloody Mary (even if i'm not flying - i sometimes have one before i fly by myself someplace).

i'm so looking forward to it. it's just gonna be fun to dress girlie, hang with my Husband and good friends and eat good Southern food. oh and take pictures, naturally.

see ya, y'all.

thanks Jolene!

i like being tagged...especially by someone so nice!

seven random facts/habits about me. i'm gonna dig deep into the obscure folder, so watch out!

1. i have a pair of large silver hoop earrings that i wear almost every dang day. not being really an ostentatious jewelry kind o' gal, it kinda isn't me. but i love 'em.
2. i was in choir at school and church up until my senior year in high school.
3. my first love was Tim Pederson. if you ever see him, TELL HIM HE BROKE MY HEART!
4. i cannot stand styrofoam. like in cartons, or packaging, not the little fillers. there's something about that sound that puts me over the edge.
5. i had the most fun EVAH planning our wedding. i had so much fun, i even considered starting a wedding consultant business on the side, but realized i had to do what my clients wanted, not what i wanted them to do.
6. biggest punishment i ever got was when i was 5 and snuck into my auntie's bedroom, like a commando, to open up before Christmas a Texaco tanker truck. bad. bad scene.
7. as said 5 year old, my uncle loved to call me Buster. i have no idea why...Buster Brown perhaps? but i would go totally ballistic. well, as ballistic as a little kid would.

i tag you, Gentle Reader. have fun!

i'll take potpourri for $500, Alex.

watch out: i'm gonna be all over the road without signaling.

just like a good Californian driver would.

on the way to get my tire fixed (i got a flat a week or so ago)i passed a church with this on it's signage: Count Your Blessings Instead of Your Problems.

accurate. but if it were only that easy.

i think because our problems consume us that there's not the same time made to look at our blessings.

face it: are not most of the commercials & talk shows out there focused on solving our problems? honestly, where would Oprah & Dr. Phil be if we did focus on the blessings?

besides out of a job, that is.

it goes along with the Great Social Experiment: no complaining. hard to do, because we're so conditioned the other way.

(lane change)

i met Jerry today at the tire shop. Jerry said hi to me, told me his name, and that he had to go to the bathroom.
Jerry was probably my age physically, and the age of my nephew mentally.

and today, the biggest problem Jerry faced was getting the Coke machine to take his dollar.
Jerry was happy. he had a big ol' smile, some funky suspenders and a bounce to his step that didn't care that he would never progress past the age of 7.

it's all about perspective, kids. and i need to change mine.

(lane change)

oh happy day! i finally got Donny's new cd today - Love Songs of the 70's.
sorry, though...i'm not sure how Will It Go Round In Circles became a love song? oh well.
i guess when i make a record i can afford to nitpick. until then...

oh happy day part two!! Dreamgirls finally comes out on DVD this Tuesday. i'm sure the Husband is shaking his fist at the Powers that Be for this one, and all i can say is get over it.
oh, and Sweetie? damn good thing you put the DVD player in our room with my new TV.
you'll enjoy laying on the bed watching "The Dirty Dozen," whilst i, luxuriate in the recliner with a refreshing beverage and several Kleenex's, watching my girl, Jennifer, rip out her and my heart.
you'll love it in there, baby.

(taking freeway offramp...dang! wrong street. back on freeway)

what have we learned today? probably not much.
i however am looking to change my attitude, regardless of what's going on real or imagined in my life.
Donny rocks.
ditto Dreamgirls dvd.
and it's Friday. 'nuff said, there.

happy Friday everyone!

oh SO nosy today...

that i must steal another survey (or whatever you want to call it) from simplescrapbooks.com

what can i say, i'm not original.

'sides, it's been rough at work for everyone in the castle here.
aaaannnndddd...
the baby shower's this weekend. no, i'm not going, but it just plays at the back of my mind all day, which in turns makes me a little over-emotional.
aaaannnndddd...
this whole turning 45 thing is bumming me out. BIG time.
am i totally pitiful yet?

so with no further ado...allow me to send this to you. have fun!!

Name: Valerie
Nickname: Val, Valshmal, Sweetiepie
City, State: Orange County, CA
Occupation: wife, laundress extraordinaire, assistant supervisor for the yellow pages
Family: Husband—Brendan, one furbaby
Your favorite dessert: i know you think it's coconut cream pie, but the list is so long. right now, i just finished an episode of "Good Eats" about cheesecake, so that is the favorite du jour.
The best smell in the world: cookies baking in the oven, fresh laundry, a newborn baby
One thing you’ll never ever throw away: two things: a book i got from my great uncle (who i consider to be my dad) and a Liddle Kiddle i got when i was 4
One thing that’s on your wish list: a beach house. i've got some others, but who's got that much time?!
A place you visited that has changed you: San Diego. i love it there, and the place Brendan lived when we were dating is just the best. the city, combined with real California country. it ROCKED.
Early bird or night owl? is late morning/mid afternoon an option? i'm not good early, and even worse late.
Winter or summer? winter & spring. i can't STAND the heat.
What is one of your guilty pleasures? my newest favorite ice cream: Ben & Jerry's Dublin Mudslide. that and disco music.
Name one thing that makes you truly unique: only one? just kidding. not sure if this is unique or just weird: i cannot go into a public restroom during or after a meal. HurlCity, here i come.
Name a line from a movie you regularly quote: again, just one? how about this one: "Frankly, my dear, i don't give a damn." - Gone with the Wind
When scrapbooking, how do you begin a layout? i end up picking out colors and embellishments i want to use. then there's a lot of scooting things around, banging of fists, and diet coke with lime.

wring me out and put me out to dry.

quick survey: by a show of hands, how many of you think i am the biggest sap that ever walked this earth?

oh wait. it's the internet. i can't see your hands.

well, let me tell you - i am.

right now, i'm watching the Travel Channel's special on Sea World Orlando.

holy crap. i'm in a puddle here on the sofa.

i don't know what it is about Sea World, but i cry at these specials every dang time.

do i cry when i actually go to Sea World? oh youbetcha.

Sea World in Florida has a attraction called Discovery Cove - there, you can swim with the dolphins.

duuuuude. that would SO rock.

i told Brendan the next time we go to Orlando, we need to do some of the other parks out there, besides Disney.
but i'm such a sucker for Disney, that i know it would be difficult at best.

holy crap, though. swimming with dolphins.
i'm all weepy just thinking about it.

50 more things you didn't know about me.

stole...er, borrowed from Steff...because you can never have enough questionnaires, right?

1. Introduce yourself?Valeria Lynn (and it's val-er-ray, not val-er-ree-ah, like everyone likes to say)
2. It's Wednesday during the afternoon, where are you usually?at my desk at work, finishing up reports, trying to decide if i want to take Friday off
3. What kind of laundry detergent do you use?Tide with Febreeze
4. What brand of shampoo is in your shower right now?Suave Professional for colored hair
5. Did you ever get into a bar and drink before you were 21? Not at a bar. At someone elses's house, well...that's a different story.
6. What were you doing last night?eating dinner with the Husband at a teppan restaurant with another couple where the girl was bombed off her bum. to the point of dropping F-bombs and her boyfriend trying to shush her. man, they were both annoying.
7. Do you watch MTV anymore?naah. too old.
8. What do you think about Oprah? she's OK...i don't watch her, but i know she does a lot of good
9. What color are your bedsheets? white, with a blue & peach pattern
10. You need a new pair of jeans..what store do you go first?Lane Bryant...they fit the curves in all the right places (amen, that, Steff).
12. What kind of car do you drive? Chevy Blazer
13. Honestly, is that car insured?it's the law here in California
14. Do you like sushi? oh yeah...but only the cooked stuff, not crazy about the raw
15. Have you ever been to Tiffany & Co. or Saks 5th Ave?nope & nope
16. Did your parents spoil you growing up?everyone assumes i was, being an only child. but there were others in my extended family WAY more spoiled (can you say kids wearing expensive, pre-designer jeans while i'm wearing Tuffskins?)
17. Do you like roller coasters?oh, youbetcha
18. What magazine(s) do you buy regularly or subscribed to? People, Simple Scrapbooks, Every Day with Rachael Ray
19. Do you remember the WB show "Popular? that was a show?
20. When you go out do you prefer to go to a dance club or to a bar? i guess the bar - heaven knows i have no rhythm
21. College Graduate? nope. not even close.
22. Who do you think will be the next president? oh.bro-ther. what worries me is that, with so many candidates out there, the best one for the job will be closed out of the race.
23. Are you registered to vote? yes
27. Do you like Carrie Underwood? yeah, one of the really talented ones to come out of American Idol.
28. Been to "The Vegas"? well, yes and no. we went all the time to visit the Husband's parents, but we hardly ever made it down to the Strip. does that count?
29. How far away do you live from your parents? about 30 minutes
30. Are you happy with your job? most days...just like everyone else (ask me again after i get home tonight!)
32. What did you get in the mail today? i'll go with Saturday's mail: a "you've been approved!" letter from a local car dealership
33. How do you like your steak cooked? medium rare
34. Britney Spears...ready to have a nervous break down or just having fun? one messed up little girl.
35. What do you usually order at Taco Bell? bean burrito with sour cream and a crunchy taco (it's this weird texture combo i like to have), but i LOVE the Encharito.
36. Have you ever sat all the way thru Gone With the Wind? yeah, but not for a while. LOVE that movie.
37. Have you ever been to Mt Rushmore? nope. but i just found out that the man who named it, David Swanzey, was married to Laura Ingalls Wilder's little sister, Carrie (another useless fact to brighten your day!)
38. Is it just me, or was The Marine(w/John Cena) a really horrible movie? didn't see it, but if the commercials were accurate...YES!
39. Are surveys like the the cocaine of myspace/blogs? i'm too cheap for drugs. but they sure are addicting!
40. Where is your favorite place? Catalina Island
41. What is your favorite candle scent? right now Gold Canyon's clean laundry
42. Do you believe places can really be haunted? oh sure. especially TV's in some Motel 6 locations...
43. Do you smoke cigarettes? nope. can't stand the smell.
44. Have you ever been to NYC or LA? LA - yes (since it's just a freeway or two away), NYC, nope.
45. How many states have you been to where all you saw was the airport? one, possibly two...i'm old so i can't remember
46. Do you think 50 questions is enough? oh heck - let's make it 100!
47. Are you currently planning a trip? no, but i want to
48. Is Ryan Seacrest gay? don't think so, and wouldn't care if he was.
49. Do you take anti-depressants? no - not yet...
50. Have you ever googled your name and found out something? yeah - that i was Anna Nichole's mama. kidding!

let me know if you play...if i don't find out before i check my email. i tend to check blogs before i check my mail.

happy Monday.

because no one asked for it...

well, no one except for SusieQ.

so - per no request...here's some things that make me happy, in no particular order.

reading...writing...creating artsy stuff...scrapbooking...eating good BBQ...ditto good beer...the color cobalt blue...CSI...Good Eats...laundry...daisies...Disneyland...makeup...time alone...time with the Husband...rainy days...the beach (but only in the winter)...good music...fresh baked goods...clean laundry scented candle...photography...James Bond movies...In-n-Out burgers...Fatburgers...hot fudge sundaes with no nuts...coconut cream pie with a graham cracker crust...homemade split pea soup (thanks, Maureen!) Donny Osmond...Keith Urban (once again, thanks Maureen!)...Alton Brown...history...Hollywood studio history...fresh sheets on my bed...pedicures & manicures...massages...travelling...Marathon bars (NOTE to M&M/Mars - BRING THEM BACK!)...trivia...the local radio show: Disco Saturday Night, which plays exactly what you think it does - for seven fun hours every Saturday night...

ED: how could i forget? Haggan Daas vanilla ice cream...and my two new favorites: Ben & Jerry's Dublin Mudslide and Strawberry Cheesecake
doesn't take much to make me happy, does it? with all this, i should be happy all.the.time.

i want an instruction manual.

Gentle Reader, we girls need an instruction manual.

(sorry, guys - while i promise to not mention...you know what, i just should warn you that the following is really more geared to us chicas, not youse so much. sorry.)

when i say instruction manual, i don't mean one that lists:

• be happy
• be good to your parents and small critters
• don't lie
• don't steal

although for some, that would be a very good thing.

no, my manual will have things in there like:

• how to keep eyeliner & mascara from gathering under your eye
• the perfect combo of every eyeshadow for that sultry, causal or work look.
• the best way to coordinate patterned papers
• how to find heels that won't kill you when you wear them

oh, i could go on and on. i guess my problem is that although i like being creative, playing with makeup and all that other fun stuff, i just can't think outside the box in a creative way.

i like form. function. a clear cut agenda. i'm black and white in a gray world. a little bit country, a little bit rock-n-roll.

and obviously this world ain't attuned to my way of thinking.

so is it possible to be a bit of a hippie that wants to play by the rules?

dang. i am such a Gemini.

what kind of stupidhead...

that's the question of the day, Gentle Reader.

what kind of stupidhead gets a steam burn?

a.steam.burn.

see, the Husband is still at work. so he called and said i should eat without him. and although i rarely cooked for myself, i decided this time i'd do it.

so i fried myself up some Tempura. so-so green beans and really, REALLY good yams and mushrooms. oh and i found tempura shrimp in the frozen food section, and that also was so-so.

but after i steamed some rice, well...i managed to practically stick my finger in the rice after i took the lid off.

stupidhead.

you'd think i was trying to keep up with the Husband.

hi - my name's Valerie, and i'm a masochist.

oh yeah. apparently i'm into tormenting myself, and i didn't even know it.

remember this? well, she's having a baby shower next weekend.

i ain't a-going.

but, for whatever reason, i did purchase her a gift or two. and believe me when i say that for all of us who wanted kids but never were blessed with them, walking through the baby section for someone you're not related to is hell.

i can stand buying most of this, but today, i just was angry all over again.

oh, and add another irony log on the fire - she's due around my birthday. my mom, God bless 'er, tries to convince me that first babies are never on time.

nice try, mom. this kid'll be born on my birthday. woo-hoo.

so, in an effort to save my own sanity, i have decided to not attend the shower. i'll bring my gift over to their house this weekend, but i don't see why i have to put up with all the baby shower games - diapering a baby while blindfolded (which i win dang near every time, thankyouverymuch), guessing how big momma is, blah, blah, blah.

see? i get bitter and angry all over again.

an attitude adjustment is necessary. got one for me?

in other news...

what is happening here? first Virginia Tech, then the Johnson Space Center. and here in Mostly Smoggy So. Cal., a high school cancelled classes today because the parents of a child who attended the school has been missing since Wednesday, and he stole some guns and ammo from the parents.

this.ain't.right. makes me want to go to my hermit happy place, and not come down. ever.

well, except to you guys.

Happy Weekend!

15 minutes of fame..the evil version.

my dear Linda was commiserating today about how absurd it is that the schmuck who was so angry & miserable about his own life that he couldn't be satisfied removing himself from the gene pool, he had to take innocents with him.

and with it a little bit more of our own innocence.

i wasn't going to post on the a-hole. schmucks are schmucks and he deserves no more publicity. 'sides, all the TV news shows are WAY more than making up his 15 minutes of fame.

but something bothered me...where's his family in all this?

not that i would want to announce the fact that my child massacred students at their school. but could anyone want to reach out to them? (and not the freaking TV reporters, shoving microphones in their face asking "how do you feel about this tragedy? do you have any words for the victims families?"

sorry. but my prayers lately have not only been for the families who lost children, but for the parents of this young man who allowed himself to get so lost, somewhere along the way.

and before i get too depressing, just a thought i shared with Linda that really made me laugh.

right now, this guy is sitting in hell, on a lumpy sofa surrounded by all the infamous hell has to offer. but instead of getting his jollies by watching himself on TV, he's doomed to watch the same rerun of "The Hudson Brothers Sunshine Variety Hour." over and over and over.

now that, kids, is justice.

peace.

oh boy. purse par-tayy!!

one of the supervisors i work with invited me to a purse party at his house.

thrown by his wife & little sister.

so off i trotted. and there were bunches and bunches and bunches of them. bunches. all knock-offs of some pretty dang high end purses. Coach. Prada. stuff i've seen in In Style magazine. prices were ok, about $35-40, until you got to the real leather knock-offs.

those were about $200 and up.

and their house was as full of chicks lapping this stuff up as it was of purses waiting to be lapped. some buying three purses.

and myself, being a traditional non-conformist, could find nothing to compare with my Old Navy hobo bag.

and lordy does this bag look like hell. needs washing, really, but i never remember to take all my crap out of it, before i start my laundry.

and did i mention the bag only cost about $18? nice.

in other news...

Brendan's company is moving it's location later this month, and sent out this postcard. made me laugh:
PR1MARY is moving.
The Irvine facility is moving to a bigger, better, bolder, badder, sicker state-of-the-art, so-we-can-put-a-wider-smile-on-your-face location!

dang. i wanna write copy like that. just silly stuff that will get people's attention.

hey - maybe i'll start a blog.

the relationship of glass houses to stones...

i am an advocate of one of the greatest inventions know to man.

spell check.

as a former English major, i always enjoyed spelling. usage. just not diagramming a sentence.
but i never claimed to be the be-all, end-all on all things English.

however...

what bugs me is when people kvetch about other people misusing and misspelling words, and they have lotsa misspellings in their website.

like i say, i misspell all the time. but again...those that live in glass houses. i hope i would never diss someone because of their usage, when mine is just as horrible.

hmmph. a complaint.
now i guess i gotta switch my bracelet to the other side.

see what Daniel Webster made me do?

because i don't let him out much.

or Chapter 278 in How We Are Slowly Trying to Kill and/or Permanently Maim Ourselves.

this past Saturday, i was putting the dishes from the dishwasher away, and employing the Husband to help.

heck, he helps get 'em dirty, the least he can do is put the clean ones away, right?

whilst this is going on, i'm chatting on the phone with my dear friend Kristie (who reads but never comments. but no pressure. hi sweetie!). i'm handing articles of eating to the Husband, who puts them away. as i hand him a pair of tongs, i say, "can you also fix this?"

see, the little band that keeps the tongs closed has wiggled its way over the nut (not my nut) and i can't move it back.
i turn my attention back to pulling more things out of the dishwasher when i hear:

#$%!*&%!@*%###!!!

when i turn around, i see red. on.his.thumb.

see, my Husband, the Rhodes Scholar, decided to use a paring knife to force the band back over the nut. with the blade facing his body.

thankfully, no trip to the hospital was required on this go-round.

and i was always the klutzy one that everyone in my family figured i'd be dead by the time i was 20. by my own undoing.

suddenly i feel like a graceful princess.

Friday XIII

so today, a black cat crossed my path, i stepped on cracks, broke two mirrors (one while walking under a ladder)

i spat into the wind, spilled salt and spoke ill of my mother.

oh yeah, and i booked passage on some ship...Thai...Tie...Titanic.

wait. actually i don't think it is bad luck to speak ill of your parents. scratch that.
and a black cat crossed my path every dang day. so that's no good.

i did, however, have a horrible, no good, very bad day.

so glad it's the weekend. i would like to believe that as a dazzling urbanite that there's a massage in my future, but i somehow doubt that.

so i'll settle for some coconut cream pie. or a hot fudge sundae..

no nuts please.

on the cover of the Rolling Stone...

OK, not the Rolling Stone, but People, US Weekly and some other one had Reese Witherspoon and Jake Jyllenhall (or however you spell his last name. i really spell it Y-U-M-M-Y), with a caption of "Why She Fell For Jake."

seriously? you have to ask the question? tell me it's rhetorical and that it hasn't turned into a two page spread because oh.my.goodness.

the boy is just yummy.
she's nothing to sneeze at either.

can you imagine if they did get married...holy Toledo. talk about the world's most beautiful children.

in other news...

retro food week continues in the our household = crescent dawgs. had those lately? sliced hot dog with some cheese in it, wrapped up in a crescent roll.

yum-o. not healthy, not Weight Watchers, but whatever.

let good eats reign.

just a rhetorical question...

if Anna Nicole's baby wasn't set to inherit gazillions of dollars, do you think anyone would've been fighting this hard to establish DNA?

this poor kid is screwed before she even gets a start in her life.

oh...there i go again. being cynical and sarcastic.

bad valerie. no cookie.

for you who asked..

the tamale pie was goooood.

i helped it along by frying up some ground beef, seasoned with Lawrey's Tabasco flavored seasoned salt, tossed some cheese around the edges of the cornbread mixture.

totally yum. highly recommended.

that wrong turn from Indian to Tex-Mex was the right road after all.

New Delhi is just off the 80 from Dallas, right? Right?

i am in a culinary rut.

rut.rut.rut.

i came to another brilliant realization, that i don't have a whole lot going on in the variety dinner department. i tend to cook the same things over and over.

mind you, the Husband isn't complaining. he knows better. he might end up cooking.

so tonight, on my Holy Pilgrimage to Target (face it: you go for toilet paper and end up with a hundred freaking dollar bill)for toilet paper (see above), i came home with some cute oblong tins from the dollar section, polo shirts for Brendan, colored pencils...well, you get the idea.

but when i saw this box dinner, it was all over with.

it looks soooo yummy! it must go home with me!! i must cook it! tonight!

and originally, i was thinking of making a chicken curry. so i've gone from New Delhi to Dallas and haven't even left the O.C.

it's in the oven as we speak. it is just a different road than what i originally envisioned.

but let's face it: with the amount of sleep i got, i could screw up the curry and turn it into heaven only knows what.

and while i'm feeling pretty dang proud of myself, i just realized that i gotta do this again Wednesday. any ideas?

another Easter miracle.

this is what's left of Scooter.

Scooter is my niece Elizabeth's VW.

or was.

Saturday morning, on her way from my sister-in-law's in Reno to Sacramento, she had a bit of an accident.

girl rolled the car four times before it stopped. thankfully all she hurt (besides the car) was a cut on her toe, and lots of bumps and goose eggs and bruises.

it reminds me how fragile life is, and how close we all came to losing her this weekend.

and that Elizabeth's sister, the now psychic Erin, is a pill.

it seems that before Elizabeth left on Saturday morning, Erin told her to "not crash Scooter, Sissy." and you can only imagine how indignant Miss Erin was when she found out about the accident.

"i told Sissy to not crash Scooter - Sissy just never listens!"

oh but what teenager does. someday you'll be the same way, my love.

oh so thankful that only Scooter was mangled.

on bedhogs, insomnia, messed up sheets and Rocky IV

Daniel Powter Bad Day
Where is the moment we needed the most
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
They tell me your blue skies fade to gray
They tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carryin' on
You stand in the line just to hit a new low
You're faking a smile with the coffee you go
You tell me your life's been way off line
You're falling to pieces every time
And I don't need no carryin' on

Because you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day - You had a bad day

my day started at 1:30a.m.. a combination of many things i think. really don't know what exactly woke me up.

all i do know is this:

• darling Husband was way over the middle of the bed.
• said Husband's elbow was in my head.
• FatBoy (not the Husband, my dear Elvis) was also taking his half out of the middle.
• the bottom sheet on my bed had come off the corner and i was half on it, half on the mattress.

now perhaps i never told you, Gentle Reader, but in the story of the Princess and the Pea, well, i AM the Princess. my sheets had dang well better be tucked in at the foot. tight. worst sleep i ever got was when we went to DisneyWorld, and the bloody bottom sheet (which wasn't a fitted sheet, BTW) kept creeping up.

just add it to my list of Little Things That Make Me Weird.

i've given up a long time ago on trying to move Brendan over. he's a rock. so, i think, i'll just pull the sheet back up and try to get it over the corner of the mattress.

well, that would work, if it weren't for the fact that the Husband is sleeping over the middle of the bed. at which point the Princess decided to just get up and sleep in the recliner.

where (obviously) sleep continues to elude.

i was just ready to fall asleep, when i thought "did i pay my insurance?"

oh crap.

so i logged in and paid it. well, now i'm awake.

and watching Rocky IV on tv. what struck me is how bloody young (and thin!) Sylvester Stallone was. Bridgette Nielson was totally cute too. and not running after Flavor Flave.

now i'm debating if it's right to have a little sumthin'-sumthin' to nosh or if i should just let it go.

but my tummy's growling. and heaven knows it's hard to sleep with all that racket.

happy Monday, everyone.

almost forgot!

(sorry for the flash brightness...)

i bought myself a bit of a kicky spring bouquet today. i decided i was tired on waiting for Husband to 'surprise' me, and since i am responsible for my own happiness (flowers = happy), i decided to surprise myself.

Husband was surprised too, especially when i told him they certainly were NOT for my mother.

(and before you say Bad Daughter, i did buy her her own bouquet)

flowers make me happy. almost as happy as a coconut cream pie with graham cracker crust.

(and Susie, that is your bear nestled to le posies)

more weird stuff in my in box...

and the hits just keep on coming. here's the amazingly titled gems for Botox or stock suggestions or penile implants that showed up in my email today.

maybe if i got the implant & Botox my stock would go up...literally & figuratively.oh well.

check out this one from Dickson Jane:
Howard asked Cindy if her ass looks as good in person as in the layout.

sheesh, Howard, what do you think? EVERYTHING is retouched.

or these tow from Luanne & Gabrielle, respectively:
revoke and periphrastic
(perry....perryphas....oh the heck with it. it means roundabout.)

dextrose & elution
(elution means to dissolve. in my case into uncontrollable laughter. apparently Gabrielle wants me to make some sugar water tea. SO not gonna happen.)

and Linda wants me to "Just try and convince this quality means and methods."
suuuuuure i will. just as soon as you convince me that you're not talking about the aforementioned Botox, penile implants or stock suggestions.

and although they are a pain, and clutter up my Bulk folder in my email. they do give me a good laugh. first at the horrible, horrible English, then at the absurd notion that i would actually open the bloody thing.

then i stop and consider the possibility that these weren't written by someone in some third-world country.
they could've been written by people i graduated with from high school. let's face it, they weren't too bright there...some were voted Most Likely to be Your Baby's Daddy and even Best Crack Ho.

so let's hear it for higher education. and for "naacp than exhumation, " courtesy of Tamaka.

thanks, Tamaka. you really made me think.

per Steff's request...

five interview questions, courtesy of Steff.

1. What scrapbook item/tool could you not live without?
stamps. i so love stamps lately it's disgusting. 'course, if i don't have paper, then i guess i'd be stamping myself.
and wouldn't that be pretty.

2. Be honest...do you wash your hands every single time you go to the restroom?
yep. in fact, after drying my hands, i use the towel to open the door of the restroom at work/restaurants, etc because of those that DON'T wash.

3. What is the one thing that makes your mouth water just thinking about it?
BBQ steaks. yum-o!! i'm such a carnavore.

4. When you're intimate with your husband, where is the one spot you go absolutely crazy when he touches?
my belly button. and not in a GOOD way. i HATE having my belly button touched.

5. In the shower, what is the first thing you wash?
my hair. always the hair. don't know why, it's just something i've always done.

the continuing misadventures of a dork.

don't ask me why i'm such a glutton for punishment, but after grocery shopping today (and i know, Maureen...mine is NOTHING compared to what you go through), i decided to do laundry.

at.the.complex.

why? because i am the daughter of the Marquis de Sade.

and since i had rummaged enough quarters to make my coin jar at work lighter, i thought no time like the present.

'sides, if i do my chores now, i can play this weekend. i have no idea what to play. just play.

the Husband hasn't done laundry since i was in Reno, not that i'm surprised, but, a girl can dream.
besides, i thought (as part of my new attitude)that only i am responsible for my own happiness.

oh, and my own laundry.
again, offspring of M. de Sade, doing laundry makes me happy.
a sense of accomplishment. a feeling of "well done thou good & faithful servant."

i realized that to get across the complex, hauling a laundry basket AND the rolling cart that contains our laundry supplies, would be nigh on impossible. so i used my brain (?!) and hauled down this contraption the Husband created..a dolly with a sheet of plywood across it. (see, the bars are movable, so it can be used as a dolly or as a flatbed.)

as such, i can s-l-o-w-l-y w-a-l-k d-o-w-n t-h-e s-t-a-i-r-s carrying said laundry and cart. after hauling the flatbed down the stairs, of course.
now i am ready to meander across the complex to get some laundry done.

oh, won't the Husband be surprised when he comes home to find dinner AND laundry completed? why, perhaps the man will take me out for a steak dinner! or buy me some lovely bauble! or put the toilet seat down!!

hey. it's my fantasy. let me live it.

as i entertain such thoughts and arrive at my destination, i find my prayers have been answered: no one is doing laundry (with only four washers & dryers for a 50 unit complex, well...you see how lame it is).

wait...what's that notice on the door?

"LAUNDRY FACILITY IS FOR TENANTS OF PINECRAP, ER, PINECREST ONLY. USE YOUR GATE KEY TO ENTER. LOCK DOOR BEHIND YOU - PROTECT YOUR GOODS."

i.do.not.have.gate.key. it.is.upstairs.in.my.purse.

so i leave my goods, and trot my fat arse back upstairs to fetch my key, trot down said stairs (tell me why again the Husband insisted we get an upstairs apartment?)and across to the room where thankfully my dirty clothes are still there unmolested.

because you know how tempting dirty chonies are.

i have already sorted, so while the washers fill, i add soap and realize: i've left the Downey balls upstairs.

well, to hell with it. we have Bounce sheets. if the Husband complains his chonies are scratchy, i will smile my sweetest and tell him to scratch 'em, then.

Gentle Reader - while i am a huge advocate of being responsible for one's individual happiness, i have decided that perhaps it cannot be found while doing laundry.

it can, however, most likely be found in a Reese's Peanut Butter cup. or a yummy slice of coconut cream pie.

it's rough being so responsible.

i know what's good for America.

and i'm not even running for office.

wrap your mind around these little tidbits, if you will. and if elected, i promise a chicken in every pot. or a politician in every pot. i forget which is better.

• American Idol: perhaps you need to rethink your voting policies? come on, when a guy who's super cute (Sanjay, i'm talkin' to you) but his voice isn't that strong keeps getting on week after week? come on.
• limit anyone running for office to only being able to raise $1000 limit for their campaign. OR....if they have to earn as much as they do, then make them match dollar for dollar donations to people out there actually doing good. or better: create a national health care system for everyone who has none.
• Dancing with the Stars: come on. are ratings sooo low that you hire Heather Mills notMcCartney just so everyone will tune in to see if her leg flies off? look, i've got a great idea that not only will boost your ratings, BUT do something good for the America media: hire all the schmucks...er, gentlemen claiming to be Anna Nicole's baby's daddy. the winner gets the baby BUT has to donate all that money to the aforementioned national health care system. nuff said.
• attention all fashion magazines & designers of womens clothing: how 'bout making the standard sizes in all stores, from Nordstroms to Target go up to 18? since the average American woman wears a 14-18, wouldn't it make more sense? think of the millions of women you would make friends with, instead of alienate? not to mention open up the opportunities for shopping we would have.

oh yeah, and i'd also make more leg & bum room on airplanes, lower taxes, legalize something, more rights for women, blah, blah, blah.

vote valerie 2008.

now THAT'S funny.

An elderly woman had just returned to her home from an evening of Church services when she was startled by an intruder. She caught the man in the act of robbing her home of it's valuables and yelled, "Stop! Acts 2:38!" (Repent and be baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven.)

The burglar stopped in his tracks. The woman calmly called the police and explained what she had done. As the officer cuffed the man to take him in, he asked the burglar, "Why did you just stand there? All the old lady did was yell a scripture to you."

"SCRIPTURE?" replied the burglar. "She said she had an AX and Two 38's!"

i shoulda stood in bed.

but i'm not complaining. that would be anti-bracelet.

and remember: if you want one, just email me. i'll send you one.

things are weird at work. not bad, just weird.
my boss's wife is 7.5 months pregnant with their third kid. she's had 7.5 months of morning sickness.

oh, and they homeschool their kids, so she doesn't even get a break by sending them to school.

hey, i've never been pregnant, but have had enough stomach issues and nausa to know that it sucks big time.

no pun intended.

needless to say, the boss is a little distracted.

we got rid of a proofreader in our department. we now have one proofer (who is a contractor, believe it or not) full time and are rotating the designers in our department to help prove.

(that would be proof, not prove. apparently i need a proofer here.)

and we're slammed busy. probably gonna stay this way until after summer.

but being busy is better than being unemployed. i keep telling myself that.

in other news....

over the weekend, i got (or did we get? not sure) a Christmas present from my friend & his wife (remember the clock?) - a SHAG map of Disneyland.

it.is.so.cool. i'll post a picture when i can get one without the flash reflecting off the glass.

i have the muse of creativity living here. i just need to make time for her. living here.
or at least in my craft (read: crap) corner.

now tis time for a small piece of coconut cream pie. happy hump day.

social experiment day two.

nothing new to report...
but if you would like a bracelet, email me @ sweeteepi172001@yahoo.com

and it's hard to not complain.

the great social experiment begins

they say it takes 21 days to make a habit.

21 days.

nearly a month.

you can do a lot of things in a month.

i'm gonna try to not complain.

or gossip.

and try to be a better person.

wanna join me?

i'm modeling the latest in self-improvement...courtesy of acomplaintfreeworld.org

here's how it works, in a nutshell (and if you don't want to click the link above) - you wear it for 21 days on either wrist. you try to not complain or gossip. and if you do, it's OK, because everyone does.

if you fall off the kvetching wagon, just switch your bracelet to the other wrist and start over.

i have 20 bracelets. they're free. post here iffn' you'd like to try this with me.

and we can make side bets on how long (or quick) it'll take me to fall off the wagon.

no foolin'

i think it's good to be home.
naah. it's good.

uneventful flight home...well, except for the "dip" the pilot hit on the way home. we did a quarter-turn, then as everyone whooped, the pilot got on the intercom.

that's it...i thought. calm my butt down.

"ooops, " he said.

ooops? ooops?! ain't nothing ooops about that.

a fine time had by all - good to see the sister in law & familia...cousin Marlen from Ireland...heck, it was even good to see the dogs.

and it snowed. but i already covered that.
and i came home to a new TV for the bedroom.

i guess the Husband missed me.

then my friend Mark came down this weekend with his wife...yesterday we all headed up to the Reagan museum..absolutely amazing. then to walk into a room and see a retired AirForce One...wow.
then this a.m. they, us, and my parents met up for breakfast at the always faboo Original Pancake House..ya gotta love German pancakes..with fresh lemon wedges to squeeze and then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

yumo.

but now, i wish i had one more day off. the Muse is courting at my door and i feel the need..the need to create.

but in the meantime i have over 200 freakin' photos to go through. modify. and print.