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.