a dignified response.

So in the shower this a.m., the Niece came in to the bathroom, "because i'm cold."

"want to get in the shower with me?" i ask. i mean, at this point, i'm hoping she won't be scarred for life by seeing me nekkid.

sure, she responded (did i mention she was also nekkid?).

so along we went, me finishing scrubbing up and what not, when she pointed at my, um...
neatheregions and asked:

"is that your weenie?" (everyone, whether a girl or boy, has a weenie)

yep, i respond. matter-of-fact, i figure. short quick answers are best.

she then flips at the, um....hair down there.

"it sure is furry."

just check your dignity at the door, Gentle Reader. check it at the door.

on weather and other things...

yes, kids..i'm here in Reno.
not Rio. Reno. the Biggest Little City in the West.

and dude. it snowed tonight.

now while Linda and Allison and all my other snowbound friends are rolling on the ground, laughing their butts off at me, we will ignore them to say it rocked.

totally cool to watch from the inside of a nice warm house, whilst i, the California Girl, was completely enamored and tried to take photos.

so if you know how to take photos of it snowing, let me know.

around 8pm, we drove down the hill from my sister-in-law's to Reno proper to pick up Cousin Marlen tonight. she's been flying since 3AM PST from Dublin to Atlanta to Reno.

and got stuck next to a man who, let's just say ate a LOT of broccoli before he got on the plane.
along with cabbage, soda, and every other gassy food/drink combo.

the oxygen masks should've been dispatched, i say.

so tomorrow, the real adventure begins.

we're taking her to Costco.

so as the snow was for me, Costco's gonna be for this girl.

more dispatches from the road.

Disneyland's Aladdin Genie

found this while looking for Shaun Cassidy video. and no, i don't know why they are related. this.is.funny.

my new theme song.

"Stand" by Rascal Flatts. if they had it to download to the blog, i would've.

You feel like a candle in a hurricane
Just like a picture with a broken frame
Alone and helpless - Like you've lost your fight
But you'll be alright- you'll be alright
Chorus:Cause when push comes to shove You taste what you're made of
You might bend, till you break Cause its all you can take
On your knees you look up Decide you've had enough
You get mad, you get strong, Wipe your hands, shake it off
Then you Stand
Then you stand
Life's like a novel - With the end ripped out
The edge of a canyon - With only one way down
Take what you're given before its gone
Start holding on, keep holding on
Repeat Chorus
Everytime you get up - And get back in the race
One more small piece of you Starts to fall into place
Chorus:Cause when push comes to shove You taste what you're made of
You might bend, till you break
Cause its all you can take
On your knees you look up - Decide you've had enough
You get mad, you get strong, Wipe your hands shake it off
Then you Stand


here's to all of us standing.

more peer pressure...

this time i got tag-teamed by Linda & Melissa. such peer pressure.
all i need now is for the two of you to start on me to get my nose pierced. (please?!)

It’s a Two-by-Two survey.
Two Names You Go By:
1. Valerie 2. Valshmal
Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now:
1. peasant shirt 2. green wraparound skirt
Two Things You Have in a Relationship:
1. humor 2. Commitment
Two of Your Favorite Things to Do:
1. write. 2. scrapbook
Two Things You Want Very Badly At The Moment:
1. baby 2. baby
Two Pets You Had:
1. a dog named Cricket 2. a cat named Elvis
Two People Who Will Fill This Out (Maybe):
1. Susie 2. Cyn
Two Things You Did Last Night:
1. Watched Food Network 2. drank some mighty fine wine
Two Things You Ate Today:
1. a salad 2 banana
Two People You Last Talked To:
1. Kristie 2. Maureen
Two Places You Would Like to Go:
1. Hawaii 2. Reno
Two Things You're Doing Tomorrow:
1. Work 2. laundry
Two Longest Car Rides:
1. driving to & from Oregon with my grandma & great auntie when i was a teenager. oy.
2. coming home one Thanksgiving from Reno and driving thru the Donner Pass while the temp dropped & a storm was coming in behind us. oy.oy.
Two Favorite Holidays:
1. Christmas 2. Memorial Weekend (because it's usually my birthday!)
Two Guilty Pleasures:
1.yellow cake batter 2. scrapbook supply shopping
Two Things that Make Me Laugh:
1. Christopher Titus 2. Brendan
Two Things I Last Got in the Mail:
1. Every Day with Rachael Ray 2. company credit card bill

your turn...let me know if you play!

oh my.

have you ever loved someone soooo much, yet wanted to hurt them all at the same time?

it sucks to be me right now.

must.own shoes.

these have to be the cutest.shoes.EVAH.

i mean really.

and they're only $17?!

mamma likes. mamma needs.

after all, spring is coming, kids.

how could i pay more attention?

i was busy being in love with David Johnson.

You paid attention during 74% of high school!

68-84% Pretty good, you know that there are libraries and newspapers, and you remember what you've read. You were a child that wasn't left behind!

Do you deserve your high school diploma?
Create a Quiz

cameras at the ready...

you know how you should always have your camera ready for those unexpected moments?

and you don't?

i had one of those yesterday.

driving to get my meds, i just happened to look over to the curb and in the gutter was some water.

and about four little birds having the time of their lives.

they were splashing. chirping. basically a Kodak moment. me without a camera.

i entertained the thought of zooming back home, grabbing the camera and snapping a few, but realized the opportunity would be gone.

and i was so sad. but i still have it engraved in the memory book of my brain.

hopefully, when i'm old...way old...and can't even remember how old i am, that i can remember how freaking happy those birds were at their own water park in Buena Park.

Happy St. Patrick's!

in honor of the the day...a joke or two. there's no green beer in my future, but possibly a taste of the corned beef.

May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know you're dead.



Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn't find a parking place. Looking up to heaven he said, "Lord take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish Whiskey!"
Miraculously, a parking place appeared.
Paddy looked up again and said, "Never mind, I found one."



Father Murphy walks into a pub in Donegal, and says to the first man he meets, "Do you want to go to heaven?" The man said, "I do, Father." The priest said, "Then stand over there against the wall."
Then the priest asked the second man, "Do you want to go to heaven?"
"Certainly, Father," was the man's reply. "Then stand over there against the wall," said the priest.
Then Father Murphy walked up to O'Toole and said, "Do you want to go to heaven?" O'Toole said, "No, I don't Father." The priest said, "I don't believe this. You mean to tell me that when you die you don't want to go to heaven?"
O'Toole said, "Oh, when I die, yes. I thought you were getting a group together to go right now."


Paddy was in New York. He was patiently waiting and watching the traffic cop on a busy street crossing. The cop stopped the flow of traffic and shouted, "Okay, pedestrians." Then he'd allow the traffic to pass. He'd done this several times, and Paddy still stood on the sidewalk. After the cop had shouted, "Pedestrians!" for the tenth time, Paddy went over to him and said, "Is it not about time ye let the Catholics across?"


Gallagher opened the morning newspaper and was dumbfounded to read in the obituary column that he had died. He quickly phoned his best friend, Finney.
"Did you see the paper?" asked Gallagher. "They say I died!!" "
Yes, I saw it!" replied Finney. "Where are ye callin' from?"


Walking into the bar, Mike said to Charlie the bartender, "Pour me a stiff one - just had another fight with the little woman."
"Oh yeah?" said Charlie, "And how did this one end?"
"When it was over," Mike replied, "She came to me on her hands and knees. "Really," said Charles, "Now that's a switch! What did she say?"
She said, "Come out from under the bed, you little chicken.


Flynn staggered home very late after another evening with his drinking buddy, Paddy. He took off his shoes to avoid waking his wife, Mary. He tiptoed as quietly as he could toward the stairs leading to their upstairs bedroom, but misjudged the bottom step. As he caught himself by grabbing the banister, his body swung around and he landed heavily on his rump. A whiskey bottle in each back pocket broke and made the landing especially painful. Managing not to yell, Flynn sprung up, pulled down his pants, and looked in the hall mirror to see that his butt cheeks were cut and bleeding. He managed to quietly find a full box of Band-Aids and began putting a Band-Aid as best he could on each place he saw blood.
He then hid the now almost empty Band-Aid box and shuffled and stumbled his way to bed.
In the morning, Flynn woke up with searing pain in both his head and butt and Mary staring at him from across the room.
She said, "You were drunk again last night weren't you?"
Flynn said, "Why you say such a mean thing?"
"Well," Mary said, "it could be the open front door, it could be the broken glass at the bottom of the stairs, it could be the drops of blood trailing through the house, it could be your bloodshot eyes, but mostly.....it's all those Band-Aids stuck on the hall mirror.

And the best one......


An Irish priest is driving down to New York and gets stopped for speeding in Connecticut. The state trooper smells alcohol on the priest's breath and then sees an empty wine bottle on the floor of the car. He says, "Sir, have you been drinking?" "Just water," says the priest. The trooper says, "Then why do I smell wine?"
The priest looks at the bottle and says, "Good Lord! He's done it again!"