Kat's Caffeine Induced Rantings

Can you say "pissed off wardrobe person"??

2008-11-24T15:12:00.000-08:00

So I'm flipping channels yesterday morning and come across the FX channel playing Spiderman 2. But in addition to just the movie, two hosts jabber a bit about the behind the scenes of the movie after each commercial break (you know, like how it works on "Dinner and a Movie" only this is called "DVD and a Movie").

But when the two hosts come out, they are dressed LIKE THIS!!!! (these pictures don't do the horror justice!)

WTF people! Even I (Miss Definitely No Fashionista!) knows both these outfits suck!

First off, horizontal stripes on this man .... seriously??!!! Everyone knows you just-say-no to horizontal stripes if you've got 5 or more pounds to lose. The dude looks like CRAP in that outfit! And frankly, that sweater is just wrong no matter the wearer's size!

And then the chica looks like she is dressed to go boating back in the early 1980s. Hello, the Love Boat called, and Julie McCoy would like her outfit back! I mean, really!

And worse yet .... not only do those two outfits suck individually, but I think seeing them together has permanently burned my retinas! Shit people ...... how did anyone think those outfits were okay?!!!! I mean, maybe if the movie they were showcasing was Saturday Night Fever or something ..... I could kinda get behind the bad fashion joke, you know?! .... but the recent Spiderman 2??!!!!! I just don't get it.

(*shakes head in dismay*)

GAHHH. Someone please go apologize to the wardrobe person for whatever you did to piss them off. And when you do, you might want to bring some flowers. And chocolate. Maybe some jewelry too. Hell, by the looks of it, you'd better throw in a multi-million dollar yacht!!! Because they are RAGING mad! So go! Quick like ninja! Because my poor retinas cannot risk viewing an equally horrible outfit fiasco next week!

I love snarky!

2008-11-20T14:16:00.000-08:00

So I lovelovelove this website! Reminds me of a few posts I did myself way back when! (here and here)

And to offset the snark, here's a little Do-Good-For-The-World link. There is a postcard project from "Join the Impact" to make sure President-elect Obama knows folks would like equality for all .... gay or straight! So if you are so inclined, feel free to join in!

p.s. where the hell does all the time go?! I can NOT believe that it has been almost two months since my last post. How did that happen???

The "B"s have it!

2008-09-25T13:28:00.000-07:00

Here's some updates on some "b"s in my life!

B #1: a new Baby! (no, not mine!! ;)). Congrats to T and C on their new baby boy! He's GORGEOUS! Love the hair! And so happy that he's being such a good baby for you! When do C and I get to babysit??? :)

B #2: the updated Bathroom! C and I did some updating on my guest bathroom. Here's a pic of what I had to start with when I first purchased the condo:

Y'all can say "craptastic" and not hurt my feelings ... trust me! :)

After some painting (wall, door, and vanity), cabinet removal, repair (wall, floor tile, and vanity side), replacement of (faucet, light fixture, toilet lever, door knobs, cabinet hardware, toilet roll holder), the addition of (a towel holder, linen closet, and mirror framing), and some decorating (towels, shower curtain, knick knacks, artwork) .... we get this:

It isn't a high-end upgrade (I spent under $500) ... BUT ... I love it. I think it modernizes the bathroom and makes the house more sale-able! Woot! Plus ... the most important benefit ... Emma approves! :)

B #3: Beauty! A few weekends ago, C and I drove down to Silver Falls State Park to do a little hiking. Just look how gorgeous that area is!

A couple of waterfalls there.

From behind a third one.

A hairy tree! :)

Pretty leaves

Check this one out .... three trees which look like they are hugging! Too cute!

A pic of C and I reflected in a river:

B #4: B&Bs! Just recently we decided to spend a weekend in a bed and breakfast on the other side of Mt Hood. Tons of open space over there, with farms and orchards ... really beautiful. It's maybe a 2 hour drive from Portland.

Anyway, the area has what is called a "fruit loop". It's a loop of highway with many orchards and fruit stands you can stop at to browse and shop! (also wineries and alpaca farms!). We had a great time!

The alpaca farm was my favorite (of course!). It was baby alpaca season ... just look at this cutie!

This guy was my favorite .... quite the character!

My favorite picture of him was when he put his ears up! Reminds me of me in ponytails as a kid! Look how hilarious this picture is .... cracks me up!

A couple of other cuties there...

The farm also had a working dog to protect the herd at night from the coyotes. He was gorgeous ... and catching a few deserved winks while it was daylight.

That place was heaven, of course, and with a yarn shop! I asked when I could move in, but apparently the owners weren't thrilled with that idea! Go figure! :) I did leave with this though!!

A winery we stopped at on the "fruit loop" had a great flower garden in the back guests were allowed to explore!

Sadly, we were not allowed to move in there either! :(

One of the great things about that Hood River area was the wonderful views of Mt Hood everywhere you went. Here are just a few taken throughout the weekend!

Yeah, I tell ya ... that was one nice weekend! I'm already jonesing to go back!

So there you have it .... the latest on some "b"s!

Favorite quote of the day

2008-09-17T12:39:00.000-07:00

"You can always tell an old soul by how friendly they are to trees. To dogs, too."
-- Mike Dooley

Cheers to all the other old souls out there!

Have you ever had ......

2008-09-08T15:27:00.000-07:00

... one of those mornings where you actually included an open can of cat food in with your packed lunch?? Yeahhhhhhhhhhh. Happy Monday morning to me! Sigh.

So I find the cat food when I'm sorting through my food at work and then have to hide it in the back of the break room fridge, cuz really ... how do you explain THAT to your coworkers?!

I tell ya .... the time for putting me in a nursing home keeps creeping closer and closer!! ;)

You Know You Have Too Many Houses When....

2008-08-21T11:09:00.000-07:00

So I just read this quote from Barak Obama about John McCain:

"Somebody asked John McCain, 'How many houses do you have?’ And he said, I’m not sure. I’ll have to check with my staff. True quote: I’m not sure, I’ll have to check with my staff."

Really??

I hope one day that we are all so lucky to have so many you forget count. Like "oh right ... that's right ... add one more to the total ... I forgot about that beach house in Fiji. Crap, and that mansion in Belize. Oh wait, does a penthouse apartment in Paris count???"

Yeah. Or maybe just to have a staff. How fun would that be??? Where do you sign on for that!?! I want a cleaning staff, and a cooking staff, and pool boy staff (what?), and a grocery shopping staff, and a cat box cleaning staff, and and and!!!

Man, that's the good life. Especially that cat box cleaning staff. Cuz yee doggie, my cats know how to dirty up a box, know what I'm sayin'?!

Only when I am so lucky, I plan on knowing what I have. Otherwise, I'd feel pretty ungrateful, you know?! And I'm not saying that McCain isn't grateful ... it could just be a confusion over whether he owns the property or his wife does, or whether he was unsure if he was supposed to count each condo he owned or just count the entire condo property as "1 property". Could happen. (or he could be an ungrateful ass rich guy .... don't know! ;))

Either way, I don't think Obama should be using this as an example of McCain being out of touch with your average American. Cuz really, Obama, how many "average" Americans make $4 million dollars a year and live in million dollar mansions?!! Yeah, Pot, meet Kettle. Just because McCain (and his wife) have more money than you, doesn't make you average. Just sayin'.

(Wait a minute ... how did I go from writing a short, mocking post to standing up on this political soap box???? Sorry about that!) (*slinks off soap box and starts browsing ads for cat box cleaners *)

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

2008-08-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

So my honey C likes to kayak. And I've never really kayaked before. Of course, once you hear my story, you will have to say that I STILL don't kayak. Technically. But I'm getting ahead of myself. :)

C knows that I'm lazy (it's a fact, why deny it!?! :)). Sometimes he teases me, other times he appeases me (ha! Just call me Dr Seuss!). And so kayaking is one of the times where he appeases me. To do so, we tandem kayak! Which means we have a big ole kayak for two that he rows while I just sit and pretend that I'm back in Venice with my gondolier rowing behind me. It works out really well I must say! He's happy that we're kayaking together, and I'm happy that I don't have to exert myself rowing for hours. It's a good compromise really.

Plus, this allows me to sit and take pictures. This makes him happy as he likes my photos and will add them to his screensaver slideshow or print them out, frame them, and decorate his home with them. So it's a win-win.

Recently we grabbed some friends and headed out to kayak outside Portland in a place called Scappoose. The area was very peaceful with lots of wildlife, so I have some pictures to share. Take a gander!

First we spotted some osprey with a nest atop a big pole. Here's mom in the nest with the two young 'uns.

And here's papa watching over them from a nearby pole:

And here's mama osprey heading out to hunt (sheesh! Stuck raising the kids AND hunting for them while he just sits his arse over on another pole watching the scenery! That ain't right! :))

And here's a blue heron we rowed by then later spotted in a tree:

That's a weird looking bird, isn't it?! Almost dinosaur-age looking. Weird.

Here are some sandpipers. Too cute! I love these guys!

Oh, and we can't forget the traditional ducks and geese:

Boy, did they make a ruckus when we were cruising by!

A couple of other shots along the way:

And the group at our turn around point:

And last but not least, as we were almost back to our starting point, we stumbled upon a cow which had JUST given birth! So we hung out on the water watching as the mama cow cleaned up her calf a bit, then as the baby tried standing for the very first time! So cute! What a great thing to see! (well, the afterbirth part wasn't SO great .... but the rest of it .... very, very cool! :))

Fresh outta the oven, all wet and gooey!

Mama trying to clean baby up a bit:

Baby's first stand, with mama looking on:

Ta da!!!!

All in all a very good time! I highly recommend this kayak thing! (Especially if you can wrangle someone else into doing the rowin' for you! ;))

For sale: Used shoes, great at concerts

2008-07-30T14:24:00.000-07:00

My friend M and I went to the Alkaline Trio concert last night. Since I wasn't real familiar with the band (this concert was M's pick), I decided to forgo the stressful "smuggling of the camera" foray ("will they find it this time, will they find it this time, shit ... what if they find it???"), since this venue (the Roseland) does a pretty good job of searching both body and purses. And I didn't want to get blacklisted* over a band I didn't yet care about (errr, no offense, Alk! ;)).

So we get there early enough to get our choice of front row seats up in the balcony. The balcony is "U"-shaped and we like one edge which puts us near the front, really close to the stage (the stage situated across the top of the "U"). These seats also keep us from having to stand for hours packed in like sardines on the general admission floor below, which more often than not, also turns into a huge elbow throwing mosh pit (hello, NO thank you!!). So not only do we have a nice safe seat, but we also have a great view of the band AND of the craziness down below (highly entertaining to watch, don't think it isn't!).

The crowd at this point is very thin. The doors just opened and it's only a little after 6:30pm. So not many folks at all. But about 5 minutes after we sit down, two twenty something guys sit down in the seats immediately to my right (M is sitting to my left). Dudes, they stink to HIGH heaven of alcohol. AND while one guy leaves to go get them beers (sigh), the other one starts chatting us up.

And don't get me wrong, they are very nice guys. So it's not like they are obnoxious drunks or anything; they are being very polite. But they are talking to us .... continually. M and I keep making eye contact and snickering under our breaths as it is pretty funny as they just don't.shut.up! But since they seem relatively harmless, all is good. And the guy next to me (ummm, I'll call him "Chris") says that Alkaline Trio is one of his favorite bands so he is VERY excited to see them. And his buddy ("Corey") hasn't seen them before so he's jazzed too.

So anyway, the first opening band The Fashion takes the stage, so everyone stops chatting. Well, almost everyone. Because, though Chris and Corey stop talking to us, they continue to talk to each other the ENTIRE time The Fashion is on the stage. Weird. I mean, first, didn't y'all pay good money to come and listen to the bands?? And secondly, trying to talk at a concert while a band is playing is NOT an easy feat, let me tell you! You basically have to position your mouth against the other person's ear and yell directly into their ear canal. Even then, you only catch about 20% of what the other person is saying. And yet, Chris and Corey seemed to be unfazed by it at all. Kudos.

After The Fashion finish (they did a good job, btw, look for them to gain in popularity in the states soon), Chris and Corey make another alcohol run (beer and shots! - double sigh). They come back and chat a bit with us and also with new folks who just sat down behind us. They are Chatty Kathys, let me tell you!!! And at this point, the venue is starting to fill in nicely with all the latecomers.

And again, once the next opening band, American Steel, hits the stage, Chris and Corey get lost in very intense conversations between the two of them, throughout the band's entire performance. What the..??? I tried eavesdropping (what? ;)) to no avail. Darnit!!! Cuz it looked like a really interesting conversation!! :)

Okay, so finally the opening bands are done, and the stage is getting set for Alkaline Trio. It's probably about 9pm at this point. Chris has slowed down considerably (he's been pretty hyper) and is sitting with his chin leaning on his propped up hand, eyes closed. He mumbles something to Corey and Corey bolts out of his seat and heads downstairs. M and I are transfixed, wondering where Corey is going. Is he getting a barf bag? Some food to soak up the alcohol?? Medics?? A souvenir t-shirt?? What???

Anyway, while Corey is gone, Chris rouses himself enough to lean over to me (argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and mumble something. You know "The Mumble" I'm talking about? The kind which indicates the mumbler is NOT feeling well and must mumble because they don't have the energy to actually speak normally? Yeah, THAT mumble. NOT a good sign. Especially as this points his mouth in MY direction, and I have a fear that more than words will be spewing out of it shortly. And it takes like FIVE times for him to be coherent and loud enough for me to decipher that he is asking if I would like the beer he has on the balcony railing in front of him, of which he has taken only a sip. I know, right ... I told you he seemed like a nice guy. But uh no .... I give him the head shake, and hope he doesn't register the alarm I'm certain is written all over my face as I know that his evening is NOT headed in a good direction and that I will probably end up being part of it due to my very close proximity. Buggers!

He nods back off. Whew.

Corey shows back up and he has a bottle of water for his friend. Awwww. Isn't that sweet?! Unfortunately, instead of appreciating the fact that Chris seems to be comfortably sleeping this off, Corey thinks that giving his friend head noogies in an attempt to wake him will help the situation! (seriously, WTF???). Chris regains consciousness and grasps the water bottle that Corey shoves into his hands.

Two minutes later, Corey realizes that Chris has not had any of the water so opens the bottle and starts pouring some into Chris's mouth (oh, yeah ... this doesn't bode well!). I turn to M and give her the "oh shit" look. I turn back to find that Chris is leaning forward resting and Corey is looking at me over his back. I ask "so do you think he's going to get sick??" at which point Corey says "don't worry, I'm driving!". Ummm ..... okay, this isn't good. So while I'm looking at Corey in utter disbelief as he may not be three sheets to the wind, but he is certainly 2 1/2 sheets to the wind himself and definitely should not be driving, I feel M stand quickly to my left. I look up at her and see her staring in horror at Chris. I look over and realize he is vomiting onto the balcony railing right next to me. ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

So I'm up! And M and I do a quick shuffle to our left to exit the row and put some distance between us and The Smell. But not before I glance down over the balcony and see folks below also looking up in horror as some of the vomit makes it way down to the floor below (shudder!). Yeah, not good.

We find seats two rows back (which puts us in the back row as there are only three rows on each side) and quickly claim those. Corey gets Chris up and tries to guide him to the walkway behind us. I'm thinking he's going to take him home, but no ... he was just moving him away from The Vomit as well and sits him in other empty seats in our row, about 5 seats down from us.

Hmmm.

I figure I am now out of vomit range, but don't think they should still be here. Apparently the venue didn't either, as about 5 minutes later, security shows up and escorts them downstairs. Woot.

Everyone in this section is greatly amused (and kinda grossed out). As new people show up, there are stories and questions about "where were you during The Great Vomit Of '08?" flying around everywhere! And I swear there are also people snapping pictures of the vomit, which is easily visible on the wide cement balcony railing, with their Blackberries and then emailing the pics to their friends. (sigh, this is where I wish I had my camera with me. Wouldn't a pic of been a nice addition to this post??! (what? really? you think not??? Ah, come on!! :)))

About ten minutes later, Corey comes back upstairs. Everyone in the section waits with bated breath to see what he is doing back. He goes down to The Vomit, leans over, and reaches into it (ack) and pulls out ..... Chris's digital camera! Everyone "ewwwwwwwwwwwws" in disgust and Corey says, "yeah, am I a good friend or what?!" and we all break out in applause! Cuz really, that IS a good friend! What a hoot.

Anyway, the rest of the concert we spent watching folks stepping into those seats, amazed at their luck at finding such primo seats so late in the game! Yeah, until either The Smell hits them, or courteous folks nearby point out The Vomit puddle, in which case you see the confusion, the comprehension, the horror, the mad dash out of the area, quickly followed by intense scrutinizing of their shoes for any residual vomit. Hee hee ... so entertaining! (I know, I'm easily amused!)

Speaking of shoes though, I'm pretty sure I'll be burning mine. I swear my right shoe and sock felt wet with vomit during the rest of the concert even though I looked and didn't see any, and really don't think they got hit (it must have been close though). Still .... I'm no longer loving them, so we'll have to see. I'll throw them through the wash first and see if the love comes back. If not ..... shoe shopping!!!!! (I know, I know ... twist my arm, will ya?! :))

At any rate, I THINK Alkaline Trio put on a really good show, but really, my attention was elsewhere, so I can't do a proper review. I DO know though that they will always be known to me now as The Band Who Played At The Vomit Show!

* Fine! They probably don't "blacklist" you, but I would have had to walk the camera back to the car or given up camera batteries or something!

The Knitting Scout Pledge

2008-07-08T15:05:00.000-07:00

How cute is this??!!! There is a website of Knitting Badges. You know, a'la Boy Scout badges?! Only ... for us knitters. Way too cute!

I figure I've earned at least the following:

The “Proselytize Knitting” Badge - A requirement for all Knitting Scouts, the recipient must do his or her bit to present knitting in a positive light, whilst at the same time avoiding all references to “hipness”, grandmothers, and yoga. [and other than my "Toothpick Hell" knitting post, I think I've not voiced my knitting frustrations TOO much! ;)]

The “MacGyver” Badge (Level One) - The recipient must demonstrate clever use of a non-knitting tool in a knitting-related scenario. For instance, recipient has used paper clips as stitch markers, or successfully whittled and then utilized bamboo skewers as dpns. [I am all over that "paper clip as a stitch marker" thing]

The “Inordinately Fond of Novelty Yarn” Badge - In which the recipient professes an arguably unhealthy affinity for yarn with slubs, sparkles, spangles, fur, feathery bits, and an unconscionable proportion of man-made fibre. Recipient makes no apology for the preference. [yeah, yeah, I have a plethora of fun fur scarves. What of it?? :)]

The “I’ve Knit Items With No Conceivable Practical Application” Badge - Recipients are those “special” campers who have knit items which somehow missed the mark of their intended application. There are probably more who are deserving of this badge than one would expect. [umm, can you say "accidental yamika"??]

The “Knitting Whilst Under the Influence” Badge - This applies to both actual knitting under the influence, as well as achieving moments of stunning intellectual clarity about ones knitting under the influence. Presumes talking about knitting whilst under the influence a given. [sometimes knitting just requires a little wine, dontcha know?! ;)]

Now if only they had a "My Friends Quake in Fear When I Say I've Knitted Their Baby a Gift" badge, I'd be all set!! :)

Stop the presses!! The socks fit!!! Woot!

2008-06-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

So the trip to Los Angeles was a success!!!!! And not only because, LOOK .... the socks I knit for my bf fit!!!!!

YAY! And not only did they fit, they fit perfectly!! Double yay!!!

But also, since C had never been to LA before, I was able to show him around a bit, what with LA being my home town and all.

(I also got to introduce him to my mom, and to my friend V and her family! YAY!)

Look how huge this city is .... all concrete, not many trees. It's quite a different view flying into Portland, Oregon, I tell ya!

First up, we hit Venice Beach.

I was hoping the loonies would be out in force for him to experience. I have a feeling that he was hoping the hot bikini rollerblading babes would be out in force for him to experience. ;) Sadly, we were both disappointed. Venice was pretty quiet for a nice sunny day. Of course, we were there before noon on a weekday so perhaps the loonies (and babes) are still sleeping at that time? :)

We did see this character though! Long live rasta!

And I like this photo I took of a lady walking on the pier.

But for the most part, not too many folks out and about on the boardwalk. Certainly no-one working out in the famous muscle beach portion of Venice.

And (thankfully?) no-one walking around in the plus-sized bikinis available (don't do it, people!)

So we gave up on people watching, and I dragged him to my favorite burger joint there in Venice .... Hinanos. It looks like a little dive bar (and it is ;)), but I swear the burgers are really, really good! So do yourself a favor and try it out next time you're there!

We also checked out Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade. And the Santa Monica pier. Many more people there.

Santa Monica Pier

They had a demonstration on the beach, showing a cross for each American soldier killed in Iraq. It made for a lot of crosses. :(

On a more chipper note, we drove up to the Hollywood Sign to get a better view (since the smog was certainly making its presence apparent). I always love seeing the Hollywood Sign.

We also took in a couple of Dodger games, as his Chicago Cubs just HAPPENED to be playing my Dodgers on his birthday! (how fortuitous!). As you can see, we had pretty great seats!

Also cool that this year is the Dodger's 50th anniversary. So I made sure to pick up some memorabilia while I was there!

Of course, I had to show C Rodeo Drive, Hollywood Blvd, and the Sunset Strip. We got out and walked along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and took in some footprints at Grauman's Chinese Theater. Look, T2!! .... the Ocean's 11 guy's prints are on display now! (T2 and I looked high and low for them while we were there in Oct!). They are located smack dab in the center in front of the theater doors! (to anyone planning a trip there soon!)

Here's George Clooney's (le sigh!)

And Brad Pitt's:

And Jerry Weintraub's (the producer of the Ocean movies)

And Matt Damon's!

Dang luck ladies who were on hand to see those guys do their prints. George Clooney, Brad Pitt AND Matt Damon .... all in one place. Yikes-a-bee .... my breathing quickens just thinking about it!!! Whew.

Apparently they also did the stars of the Harry Potter movies as well as those are on display right below those of the Ocean's 11 guys.

For dinner Saturday night, we tried out Ketchup on the Sunset Strip. What a great place! We had so much fun! And the food was great! We tried a variety of appetizers, including some little burger "sliders" (which were FABULOUS) and even more fun was the sampler platter of fries and ketchup. Yep, three different french fries to try out with five different ketchups! Too much fun. And all quite delicious! I'd definitely go back, that restaurant was a hoot!

While we were leaving the restaurant, who should we see coming in but Jason Castro of American Idol fame. Being that David Cook and Michael Johns were my Idol boys this season (and of the two I'd probably only truly stalk David Cook), I gave Jason only a chin nod of recognition as I passed him. But C shook his hand and congratulated him as we walked by. So that was cute. It's never a real trip to LA until you see someone famous and see something being filmed (which we did on our way back from the Hollywood Sign).

So definitely a successful trip. Socks fit (check). Sunny weather (check). Saw something being filmed (check). Saw someone famous (check). Saw the Hollywood Sign (check). Doesn't get much more LA than that! ;)

Success!!!!!

2008-06-04T09:54:00.000-07:00

I have been knitting like the wind lately, in an attempt to knit a pair of socks to gift to my bf for his birthday this weekend. Though, of course, when I say "like the wind", I mean "a slight sporadic breeze" as we all know I'm a slow ass knitter.

In the past, I was thinking that a pair of socks normally took me about three to four weeks, knitting around my full-time job, occasional social events, and the ever needed thing called sleep. But what I failed to take into account when I started this pair three weeks ago was that:

A) these are bigger (and hence more work) than the others I've knitted
B) I can't knit them on weekends because he spends weekends with me! GAH!!

Boy, don't think those realizations about a week in didn't cause some panic!

So I only had four evenings (at best) per week to work on them. So each free night I had I'd buckle down and knit for hours in my attempt to finish.

Which, amazingly, happened last night! Just in the nick of time, as he comes over tomorrow right after work so we can leave for Los Angeles! WHEW! That's cutting it close. They are currently blocking and I should be able to gift wrap them tonight! WOOOOOOOOT!

Take a gander, ain't they pretty!

They are a little big on me (note the looseness around the heels and ankles), so I'm HOPING they fit him. I've never knit man's socks before so it was all guess-work (and a little help from T1 (*shout out!*)) with regard to how many stitches to use. I normally cast on 60 for mine, so used 72 for his. Fingers crossed they fit! (please, please, please!)

Also, speaking of T1, here's the pic of the socks you helped me finish earlier this year! I loves them! Thanks so much for reminding me how to do the freakin' heel turn!!! Sorry it took so long for me to post the pic!

(err, which also reminds me that I never posted the Hawaii pics. So I'll get to that, perhaps after I post about this weekend's LA ones!)

Have a great weekend!

You know you have too much money when.....

2008-05-27T13:14:00.000-07:00

... you buy the following watch:

"In April the Swiss watchmaker Romain Jerome (which last year created a watch made from remnants of the Titanic) introduced the "Day&Night" watch, which unfortunately does not provide a reading of the hour or the minute. Though it retails for about $300,000, it tells only whether it is "day" or "night" (using a complex measurement of the Earth's gravity). CEO Yvan Arpa said studies show that two-thirds of rich people "don't (use) their watch to tell what time it is" anyway. Anyone can buy a watch that tells time, he told a Reuters reporter, but only a "truly discerning customer" can buy one that doesn't. [News of the Weird, 5-25-08]"

I'm shocked by this! I thought FOR SURE that Rich Folk could afford something we Poor Folk call "a window". Huh ... who knew?!

Headlines that make you go "hmmmm"

2008-05-14T14:37:00.000-07:00

Like this one:

"Japanese Company Unveils Solar-Powered Bra"

Yeah, can you say "created by a man"??? Because really, unless you're Madonna (or apparently Amy Winehouse), just wearing a bra in public is not acceptable. And, of course, for the solar powering to be effective, the bra couldn't be covered. Sigh. Men!!

You know, a woman would have created a solar powered hat. Because a hat would make sense! Right? :)

What next, men? ... the solar powered g-string??? (*shakes head with the pathetic-ness*)

Things I learned in Boston

2008-05-09T16:12:00.000-07:00

My bf and I just got back from Boston ....

..... and here are some things I learned:

1. Pedestrians do NOT have the right away! We learned quickly to start crossing only when a person who looked like a local Bostonian stepped out to cross. Which, more often than not, did not correspond to when you had the little green "walk" sign.

Which leads me to Things We Learned #2....

2. The green "walk" signs in Boston are worthless! ;)

3. Bostonians are actually very, very friendly people (as long as you're not trying to cross a street, that is!) Each time I pulled out a map, one stopped to ask if I needed assistance. Very nice. Thank you Boston!

4. Bostonians lovelovelove their Dunkin' Donuts! No kidding!! I saw WAY more Dunkin' Donut shops than I saw Starbucks! You heard me correctly. More Dunkin' Donuts than Starbucks. Folks, that's just crazy! But trust me, they are everywhere!

Even at Fenway Park. Look!

And no, this is not a beer line. It's a Dunkin' Donuts line!!! WTF?!

Weird, I tell ya! I mean, the Milky Way hot chocolate they have IS pretty dang yummy. But .... Dunkin's at a ballgame?? Why that's un-American!!! It's supposed to be beer, hot dogs and peanuts, people! Beer, hot dogs, and peanuts! Not donuts! Sheesh! You crazy, Bostonians! :)

5. Fenway Park is beautiful. It's completely old school. I loved it. A bit chilly for our night game though. They announced that it was 46 degrees as the game began. We survived til the 7th inning stretch then left to try and thaw out.

6. While we're on the topic of baseball, I believe you risk life and limb if you are other than a Red Sox fan there. Because EVERYONE wears Red Sox jerseys, hats, etc! I've never seen anything like it! Do hospitals give out Red Sox baby clothes and blankets to newborns before they leave the hospital?!! They must.

7. Fancy convenience stores. Is this not the fanciest 7-Eleven you've seen? I found this in the Beacon Hill neighborhood.

8. Fabulous subways! We found our way to everywhere we wanted by either walking or taking the subway. VERY easy to get around. No need to drive (thank goodness. If trying to cross the street as a pedestrian was bad, I can't imagine actually being in the middle of things there!)

9. They definitely like their statues there. I haven't figured out who/what/why this one? It kinda creeped me out.

But loved this one! This is in Boston Public Garden and is called " Make Way For Ducklings". This is mama duck with babies: Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack. Too cute! Based on a children's book.

10. Boston Public Garden is beautiful!

And the animals in it are as friendly as the (non-driving) Bostonians!

11. Bostonians seem to like things which reflect:

12. Great artwork! We went to the Boston Museum of Fine Art to check an item off my bucket list ....

.... by seeing my Renoir! ...

... and found some other great artwork as well!

13. Apparently hookers are classified into "general" and "non-general" and have separate entrances.

I'm assuming "hooker" does not mean "hooker" and instead is some political term (?) ....but found the sign to be a crackup nonetheless! "Hooker entrance" ... hee hee. Of course, if this state building deals with politicans, then maybe "hooker" does mean "hooker"! (what? You thought it too! You know you did!!! :))

14. Two Cheers there ... the original Bull and Finch Pub which had the its exterior used on the tv show Cheers.

And the mock-up Cheers designed to replicate the interior of the bar seen on the tv show.

Sadly, no-one knew our names at either. ;)

15. Lots of history around Boston. Here's a picture of the Paul Revere Mall with the Old North Church (in which Paul Revere hung the lanterns) in the background.

And Paul Revere's grave. I haven't quite figured out why folks put money on it. But there ya go!

16. The squirrels are horny.

What?!! Is squirrel porn wrong?? :)

17. And last but not least of things we learned in Boston, Kilroy was here! :)

All in all a great trip! And two items checked off my bucket list ... the Renoir painting and a game at Fenway Park! Woot!

An addiction that saves the world!

2008-04-18T15:22:00.000-07:00

A friend passed along this link. It's a great way to improve your vocabulary while feeding the poor at the same time. Doesn't cost you at thing .... well, other than hours and hours and hours of your time, of course, as it is hella addicting!!!!

But give it a go anyway, because it is fun, improves the mind, and feeds the poor! Now with all those benefits, how can you not?? :)

Enjoy!

Free Rice - Play and Feed a hungry person!

I Heart Matt Nathanson!

2008-04-11T15:36:00.000-07:00

So I've gone to a few concerts lately so I thought I'd finally get off my butt and get you some pics!

First off in this post was the Lifehouse concert. Now, I'll get to the actual Lifehouse portion of this talk in a minute. But first I have to mention the opening band. I'd never seen him, or heard of him before, but am now madly in love with .... Matt Nathanson!!

Look how cute he is! (and yes, that might be my blonde hair in the bottom left corner which means I was back to stalking The Pretties ... but what of it!? :))

Oh so cute!

Not only was the music great, but the guy is freakin' hee-lar-i-ous!!! What a hoot. Here's a bit of him performing Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl" (which had T2 in 7th heaven, don't think it didn't, as she loveslovesloves her Rick)

Now doesn't he look like a fun time??

If you haven't heard his music before, go to his website and start listening. He's going to be a huge hit. Even though I swear he kinda reminds me of that actor on the tv show Psych. ;)

So then Lifehouse performed! Wonderful as always!

Let me give an "mmm mmm mmm" for T1 who loves herself her Jason!

Here's a little Lifehouse for you!

And I love this clip of their song "Broken".

And THEN ... the same week I head out to the same venue to see Dropkick Murphys. Check out the difference in the crowds! You just saw Lifehouse and the lack of security in front of the stage! Now check out DKM!

CRAZY, right??!! Makes it hard to watch the band as the crowd is just so freakin' entertaining!! I can't believe those security guys ... they had to be on watch the entire show, continuously physically yanking people out of the pit!!!

Not for me ... uh uh .... I'll stay safely ensconced up in the balconies for Crazy Crowd Shows! That's for sure!

Here's a better one of DKM performing my favorite of their songs ... "The Gauntlet".

After that show, I was shocked I was able to convince the same friends to attend another Crazy Crowd Show coming up in a few months! This one is probably going to be even a bit more wild so .... wish me balcony seats!!! :)

And last but certainly NOT least on this concert post, was the recent Bruce Springsteen concert here in Portland. You know I loves me my Bruce. And on my Bucket List I have listed front row at a Springsteen concert. Yeah, well ... it didn't happen AGAIN! ARGH!

First let me send out a HUGE thank you to T2 for suffering through the standing and waiting outside in the sleet (literally!) for hours to get in (general admission sucks!). AGAIN! T2, thank you, thank you, thank you! I know you and your pregnant self did that all for me and I SOOOOOOO appreciate it! You ROCK!*

But as in Los Angeles, we had about a fifty-fifty shot of our wristband number getting us into The Pit (the floor area closest to the stage). And AGAIN, we didn't make it! CRAZY! What's a girl got to do, Bruce?!! GAH! At this point I'm thinking my quest for the night in the Lincoln Bedroom and the flight in a Blue Angels jet are going to be easier than this Bruce front row one! Good lordy!

But anyway, even though we didn't have the pit, we still were pretty close. (relatively speaking, of course, as we were in a huge arena! Not so close had it been a small club! Just sayin' is all! ;)). Here's a couple of pics:

And here's a little blurb of him singing "Badlands". Man how I love how he'll just have the house lights on and you can look around and see everyone standing on their feet rocking out (uhh, not in this video, but ya know ... when there! ;)). Just doesn't get any better than that!

Still love you Bruce, even though I may never get to see you up close and personal! You know, like I did Matt Nathanson!!!

Woot!

Okay, so I think that's it on the latest concerts! Hope you enjoyed!

*also thank you for the use of some of these images!

I bought cable tv for my cat

2008-04-08T12:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I call it "tv" ... most people would call it a "birdfeeder".

But I tell you what, Emma is in seventh heaven! I hung it outside my dining room windows, which are huge and can be seen from three different rooms.

Unfortunately, we all know Emma is NOT the sharpest tool in the shed, eh? And so she doesn't get that sitting right in the window keeps the birds from approaching the feeder two foot away!

Come to me, my pretties!

Eventually, she got a little more slick! Check out this bird watching tactic!

Ah ha, I fool you! Surely you can not see me now!

Sadly, the birds are still smarter than Emma. As Emma can't contain her excitement and pops right up as soon there is any bird movement near the feeder. Poor kitty. She'll get it right at some point!

In the meantime, there is a squirrel that she couldn't scare off! In fact, they both were shaking their tail feathers (so to speak) at each other for quite awhile! (note: the squirrel is hard to see but is on the limb to the right of Emma)

Yep, this is the best cat toy I've purchased in forever!! And it doesn't even contain cat nip!!! Who knew?! :)

With these kinda odds, maybe I should be buying a lotto ticket??

2008-03-13T10:54:00.000-07:00

So this is crazy! I was just reading an article listing the 2008 top 10 Dirtiest Hotels in America .... and I've stayed at the hotel listed as NUMBER ONE!!!!!! Y'all ....... what are the odds??? Just think about that ..... how many frickin' hotels are there in your city alone?!!!! Now ponder in ALL OF AMERICA! And I managed to hit #1! Scary, isn't it! And the dang thing was like $150 a night too! That's the real pisser! I mean, you pay $29.99 for a room ... well, expect to be rooming with some cockroaches. But $150? Come onnnn, now. At least change the sheets, know what I'm sayin??

Here's the top 10 list for those of you interested:

The 2008 Dirtiest US Hotels

1. Hotel Carter, New York
2. Ramada Niagara Falls, New York
3. Days Inn Vanderbilt/Music Row, Nashville
4. Red Carpet Inn, Fort Lauderdale
5. Regency Inn & Suites, New York
6. St. Augustine Beachfront Resort
7. Travel Inn Civic/Medical Center, Miami
8. Eden Roc Motel, Wildwood
9. Days Inn Lancaster, Lancaster
10. Pacific Sands Motel, Santa Monica

And here's a link to my writeup of the hotel in a post back in 2005. Man, just seeing those pictures again makes me want to scrub down in a scalding hot shower for a couple of hours, let me tell you!! Because it was NASTY!

Seriously, where's my loofah!??!

So do you think ....

2008-03-03T16:09:00.000-08:00

.... I pulled a muscle in my left butt cheek while participating in extreme paper shredding, full-contact income tax filing, or perhaps tv watching which ran into overtime??

Yeahhhh, so sad. This gettin' old thing sucks!!! ;)

The good news is I'll be able to rest it up in Hawaii in just a few days! Woot!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!!

2008-02-14T14:47:00.000-08:00

I found a fascinating website today ... either it is VERY appropriate for Valentine's Day ... or VERY inappropriate for Valentine's Day .... I can't tell which! All I know is .... I find it fascinating! ;)

Take a gander and let me know what you think.....

Relationship Obituaries

Apparently I'm now a Monthly Blogger....

2008-02-05T16:23:00.000-08:00

... Instead of an Almost Daily Blogger. What the hell happened there? It's as if my blogging ability has dried up. Or my creativity. Or my time. Or all of the above. Actually, I think it's mainly my time. Work has been busy since one of our programmers left and now I actually have to work! (gah! :))

Ah well, instead of analyzing it .... let's just get to a quick roundup of what's been going on!

First up, though I can't name names as I don't know quite how public the info is, I'd like to congratulate YouKnowWhoYouAre on the fact that I'm going to be an "auntie" again! Whoo hoooo! And I am using all my positive thinking to believe that after the baby is born, these folks won't up and move across country as SOME other people did after they had their little one (*cough T1 cough*) :) I want to be an in-town auntie, damnit, so these folks MUST stay! (that's right, I'm laying down the law!). Anyway, CONGRATULATIONS! I am very excited for you guys!

More exciting news, T1 and hubby and baby were just in town! Whoo hooo! And though it was fabulous just to spend time with them, the BEST part was that T1 helped me "remember" how to do the heel on my sock! I know, I know ... I've done what .... at least 5 or 6 pairs in the past? And even had finished the first sock of this pair. AND even had the pattern on how to do the heel. And yet, I stared at the directions, I stared at my needles, and had NO clue! So I waited til my Knitting Guru came back to town and now I am well on my way to finishing the sock! YAY! Just a few more stripes on the main foot part to do and then I start the toe decreases! (hmmm, toe decreases .... do I remember how to do that?? T1, maybe you need to book another flight soon??? :))

We had a gathering while T1 was in town, and during that another friend's 4 year old daughter wanted to sing for the group. Now remember, she's FOUR. Also, she's never had a singing lesson .... just watched the movie so many times that she has taught herself. Check out this video .... amazing!

Yeah, you'll be seeing her on American Idol in 12 years, I'm sure! :)

What else? ... what else? Oh, FINALLY bought the camera I've been wanting! I'd like to get back into photography and My Boy is taking me to Hawaii next month (yeah, I know, I'm SPOILED!) and so I finally bit the bullet and bought the camera because I know I'll have some great photo ops while we're there and I wanted a good camera to get the best shots possible. It's the Nikon D40x .... ain't it pretty? :)

Yeah, I've been talking about that camera for awhile! I'm glad I finally bought it!

Also, I went to Jill Conner Browne's booksigning. Do y'all know who she is? ... author of the Sweet Potato Queen books. Man, those books are a hoot! And the recipes she includes are to die for (literally, they'll harden your arteries up in no time!). Anyway, here's a pic of her and then one I snapped of some attendees who showed up in "queen" attire! Too cute!

We've getting quite a few days of snow in Portland this winter, though nothing that has kept me home from work (dagnabit)! Still beautiful to see though. Especially so I suppose because it's been safe to drive in (yeah, us Southern Californians ... wusses I tell ya when it comes to anything but clear and sunny driving conditions!) :)

I can't think what else offhand. Oh, happy early birthday to my mama!

Okay, I guess that's it. Hope all is well with everyone! And next time I blog (if'n I am still in this Once A Month funk) I'll have Hawaii pictures to share! Whoo hoooo!!

Awww Heath....

2008-01-22T14:50:00.001-08:00

RIP Heath Ledger 1979-2008

I found this quote of Heath's character Ennis Del Mar (from Brokeback Mountain) particularly interesting given the potential drug overdose twist:

"Bottom line is... we're around each other an'... this thing, it grabs hold of us again... at the wrong place... at the wrong time... and we're dead."

Too sad. How many people do we have to lose before folks wise up?! It's just truly such a waste.

And if this was a purposeful overdose by his own hand, how sad that someone with SO much going for him felt so lost and hopeless. What a tragedy.

Either way, condolences to his daughter, family, friends, and us ... his fans. You'll be missed, Heath. :(

A new year giggle

2008-01-02T08:50:00.000-08:00

In case I'm not the only one who didn't see this video in 2007, here's the hilarious Dramatic Prairie Dog video. This thing just cracks me up! (it didn't the first watching, but I swear it grows on you!)

It's only 5 seconds but make sure you've got sound on!

And Happy New Year, everyone! I wish you all the best!

Happy New Year, everyone!!

2007-12-31T15:16:00.000-08:00

And Merry Christmas! And happy holiday travels!! And happy birthday to me! And happy 21st birthday to my niece! And .... holy hell, y'all, ... it's been busy!!!!! :)

But it has all been good ... very, very good! I survived turning 40! WHEW! It could have been rough, but instead turned into quite the celebration! Or should I say, celebrations! I was treated very well (spoiled rotten in fact), and had a great time for days!

And my favorite part, my boyfriend C (MBC) made sure to text me at midnight the morning of my bday to make certain he was the first to wish me a happy birthday. Awwwwwww ... now isn't that the sweetest??? :)

I mean, sure, sure ... all the gifts he showered me with were terrific (including gorgeous diamond earrings .... hello!) but I'm not as materialistic as I am a sucker for being treated with utter adoration! And his staying up til midnight to make sure he was the first to wish me a happy bday ... yeah ..... bring it on ... I love that!

Plus, T2 and MBC went out of their way to throw me a lavish dinner party at a new restaurant (for us) called Roux! If you live locally and haven't been yet, get ye there and quick! And make sure to try the crawfish pie and the apple spice cupcakes .... just sayin' is all! Isn't this cute, the restaurant set the cupcakes up for us like this .... plus had some additional side tiers loaded up too! (I told you I was completely spoiled rotten on my birthday, right?)

So yeah, that was some good eats. And the service was fabulous too! Thanks Roux ... and thanks T2 and MBC and everyone else who helped me celebrate! It was perfect!

The celebration continued as I headed to Laughlin to see family for Christmas. I saw palm trees......

.... and seagulls......

... and ducks and fish (the fish are the dark shadows underneath).....

.... and a kinda creepy mailbox!.....

Okay, a VERY creepy mailbox!

..... and I inhaled yummy rum cake (don't drive rum caked ... cuz holy cow, that was strong!!)....

.... and, of course, had to have me some In 'N Out!

Mmm mmm mmm .... good eats! And as always, good to see the fam! (and the sun! (hey, we're midwinter here in Oregon, I've missed it! :)))

Now tonight is New Year's Eve and it is time to get all gussied up and party like it is .... well .... 2007! ;) I hope y'all have had a great year and I wish you and yours the very best for 2008!!!

Emma, it's a BAG.

2007-11-29T09:37:00.000-08:00

That's right .... a BAG. "B". "A". "G" .... BAG. You're not a kitten, you HAVE seen these before. You've played in them, slept on them, chased them. Yes, that's right, a bag!

Oh, and that grey twitchy thing ... yeah, that's your TAIL. It's a body part. Of yours. Don't tell me I need to find those flash cards again ....

Things that make you go "hmmm"

2007-11-27T11:25:00.000-08:00

So I put an extra tampon into my front pocket of my jeans this morning (keeps me from having to take my purse to the ladies room thereby announcing to all what time of the month it is ... ahem!) in anticipation of needing it at some point during the day. Only, when I just went to the ladies room, it was no longer in my pocket. Which leads one to wonder, at what point (and maybe more specifically, WHERE) during this workday did it leap out??

I work for a small company, and I'm the only woman in the development department. So it's not as if I can blame a wayward tampon on a programming coworker, know what I'm saying?!

The problem is ... I can't FIND the darned thing! I've scoured under my desk and backtracked from the restroom to my office. Bupkus! I suppose it COULD be in the breakroom at which point I could play dumb and say it was someone else's (there are other women that work here ... just not in my area). But I'd still love to know where that f'er got to. And which person found it. Sigh. It is looking to be one of THOSE days! Instead of hunting for the tampon I do believe I need to switch this hunt to chocolate!!! :)

I am thankful

2007-11-21T15:28:00.000-08:00

As we head into Thanksgiving tomorrow, I just wanted to share a few things I am thankful for this year.

I am thankful for much continued health and wellness, for me, my family, my cats and my friends!

I am thankful for continued income which not only meets my basic needs, but also enables me to travel and even buy shoes! (yay for shoes!!!) :)

I am also thankful for ..... are y'all sitting down for this???? ...... my boyfriend! (I KNOW!!!!! ... .CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!?!). That's right, you heard, me .... I have finally tracked down and captured the ever elusive Good Guy and wrangled him into being my boyfriend. He's amazing .... not only does he meet my (errr, overly high, it's been said!) standards ... but he exceeds them! Y'all, that's unheard of!!!!! At this point, we're still both kinda reeling from it and still wondering what the hell is wrong with the other person. I mean, neither of us are perfect (of course), but it is all about finding someone perfect FOR you. And at this point, I can't imagine anyone more perfect. Which completely and utterly wigs me out .......and thus leads me to.........

I am VERY thankful for all my friends. Not only have y'all listened to and dealt with my Dating Crazy (and boy do you guys deserve a medal for that!!) .... but you have also kept me ever entertained this year with movies, meals, emails, shopping, concerts, and even trip adventures! It has been a fabulous year and I do appreciate each and every one of you!

Best wishes to all this Thanksgiving! Now let the feasting begin!!! :)

Have you ever had one of THOSE days ....

2007-11-14T11:56:00.000-08:00

... where you've even forgotten to wear mascara? And didn't even know it til you just wandered into the ladies room for the first time at the office just now??

No?! Oh, uh ... yeah, me neither!

Sigh.

(On a positive note, I've been out sick the last two days so looking like mega-shit is acceptable. Though don't think I wouldn't give my right arm for a mascara-vendor to come walking through the office right about now!!! Cuz us blondes, yeah, we need the mascara! Oh yes we do! ARGH!)

This is "My Hometown"

2007-11-08T17:02:00.000-08:00

I know, I know ... it's been awhile since my last post. Life has been crazy (and that hasn't been all bad! ;)). Work has been crazy too which has really sapped my blogging time. But here, finally, are some pictures from the LA trip!

First stop .... Citiwalk! T2 and I headed there for some late night grub after our arrival into LAX.

The next morning we headed out to the House Of Blues on the Sunset Strip to catch the Gospel Brunch with a few girlfriends of mine.

There was some good eats there but this gospel band in particular won't be one of my favorites.

Next off, I drag T2 off to Mann's (Grumman's) Chinese Theater to show her the ultimate in touristy!

There we found many, many foot prints. Such as:

Mr Tom Hanks:

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward:

Roy Rogers and Trigger!

Shirley Temple:

Sly Stallone:

And last but certainly not least, the nicely big-footed (ahem) ... Johnny Depp!

Speaking of Johnny Depp, check out this actor available for picture taking right outside the theater. He wasn't bad. The Orlando character not so much .... but Capt Jack ... pretty good (though apparently not in this picture ... I know not why!).

We also saw the Kodak Theater ... home of the Oscars.

The Roosevelt Hotel:

And the Walk of Fame:

T2 also bought a map to the stars home (hehe ... that cracks me up) and so we became bonafide stalkers.

Bruce Springsteen's mailbox (the house appeared to be undergoing renovations):

This SAID it was George Clooney's place but we didn't agree (it just didn't feel right!). The view coming down from that place was pretty dang spectacular though...

And then in honor of my friend A who is Tom Hanks first cousin ... we stalked Tom Hanks (sorry Tom!).

The street was beautiful and normal ... the house hidden by gates ... but we believed this to be Tom's place when we spotted a security guard parked in a truck watching the house from two houses down. Of course, he spotted us as well and apparently two pictures was the limit because he pulled out and so we skedaddled (hello, 1-800-IMA-WUSS!!) :)

While trolling the Beverly Hills neighborhoods....

... we ran across an open house! So, we went in! HEH! Man, that real estate agent gave us the Stink Eye! But who cares, we got to tour a 6.5 million dollar home! Whoo hooo! Here's some pics. Oh, and for the record, those closets, yeah, his and hers. At first we just thought there was the one off the master and were oohing and aahing over that ... but no, his and her bathrooms and closets! Where do I sign up for THAT??

The master bedroom with veranda (LOVED me that veranda):

"His" closet and bathroom!

"Her" closet and bathroom!

And finally, the backyard!

We also hit Rodeo Drive! That's where we met our shoes. Sigh.

Here's Versace .......and also some chick with her horse/dog just out for a day of shopping!

And LOOK! We recognized this hotel at Rodeo Drive and Wilshire Blvd as the one used in the movie Pretty Woman!

We also tracked down the much acclaimed cupcake store called Sprinkles! Apparently we weren't the only ones looking for it! Check out this line! (OF COURSE we waited in the line .... hello, CUPCAKES!)

But the cupcakes were indeed yummy and I had to take a picture of the "Shot of Frosting" listing on the menu. Can you say "diabetic coma"!!!!

So after a day of hanging out in the nicest of areas, we're driving back to my mom's place in the rental car when suddenly I notice an engine light on and the car acting very sluggish. I look at where we are on the freeway and just inwardly scream "NOOOOOOOOOOO". Yeah, not a good area ... and we've got to exit the freeway.

T2, ever on the ball, takes note of the nearest gas station as we exit the elevated freeway and we limp over to it ... car doors locked! We let the car cool a bit and then MacGyver (errr, T2) pops the hood and puts more water in. I notice that it is just leaking right on out and so she futzes around a bit and sees that a hose has lost its connection. She puts it back on but we add more water and know it isn't going to hold because it is still leaking.

So we call Enterprise and complain that their brand new 2008 Ford Focus (with a whopping 397 miles total on it!!!!) is shot! They say they are sending help so we hunker down in the car and try to be invisible! Good thing I remembered that we had CUPCAKES! And before we could even polish off one each .... our rescuers arrived! They took a look at the hose situation and discovered that Ford had used a plastic band to connect the hose. You know, plastic ... the thing that expands and breaks easily when heated ... which is had. SHEEESH! Lame! Anyway, so they whipped out some handy-dandy zip ties to better complete the connection and we were off!!! As our tip to them, they are now Sprinkle cupcake eaters as well!! :)

The next day we headed out to the LA Sports Arena to stand in line for Bruce!!!!! Only to find out that numbered wristbands will be handed out between 2 and 5pm and so we had some time to tour around a bit more. T2 found a place called "South Park" nearby so we headed over there for some picture taking. Here's the park .... and a nicely graffitied tree! (yeah, doors locked in this area too!)

We then did a little shopping on the streets of downtown Los Angeles then met my friend L for some lunch at one of the restaurants outside her office building.

Then back to Bruce!! T2 did NOT know what she was in for with regard to Bruce-mania man. There was almost a thousand people there just with wristbands waiting to see which number would be called so we knew which lucky 500 people got to be in "the pit" (right in front of the stage). Apparently we used up all our luck not getting killed the night before when our car broke down so we weren't two of those 500 unfortunately! But we did well anyway and packed ourselves in probably three rows behind the pit folks. Here's a couple pics!

And true to form, my video taking while rocking out like a maniac doesn't make for the best video! But it's a crackup anyway. Here's a very short clip of Bruce performing "Born To Run". (warning: you may want to take Dramamine before watching this!!)

That's it! All in all a fabulous trip! Thanks to T2 for your mad MacGyver skills during the breakdown, for the general fun, and, most importantly, for your new concert purse with hidden compartment so we were able to sneak your camera into Bruce!!!!!!!!!! :)

If anyone is at a loss as to what to get me this year....

2007-11-01T15:25:00.000-07:00

T2 and I ran across these shoes in the Louis Vuitton store while we strolled along Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Aren't they the cutest??

We both pounced on them and began petting them immediately. Ummm, that is, until we turned them over and saw the price!! 1120 bucks!!!! Holy Jumpin' Jehoshaphat! Yeah, we gently replaced them and backed away as quickly as possible.

Do love them though. Nay, lust after them! So if you haven't finished your Christmas shopping yet, I'm a shoe size 8 1/2! Just sayin' is all! They're only $1120 .... I'm worth it, I SWEAR!!!!! ;)

Me and my smoky lungs are back from LA!

2007-10-31T15:13:00.000-07:00

Actually, I expected the air to be much worse down there! The discolored sky could have been smoke ... could have been smog ..... all I know is ... I'm happy to live and breathe in Portland! ;)

But anyway, great trip down south with T2! We saw the mama, we hung out with friends, we did touristy stuff, AND we saw Bruce! YAY!

I will soon post pictures and stories ... but today I am busy trying to catch up at work.

Plus perhaps hyperventilating a little because I am going to a Halloween party tonight and I have decided to take a MAN with me! (I know ... scary). It will be the first intro of him to some friends. Wish me much wine! :)

Until later.....

To all you cat owners out there!

2007-10-24T14:00:00.001-07:00

I KNOW you've experienced mornings like this! (Funniest with sound, so turn up those speakers!)

Poopsie-daisies!

2007-10-23T13:07:00.000-07:00

So I've mentioned that Emma is perhaps not the sharpest tool in the shed, right?! Yeah, well ... here is further proof.

I missed out on videoing the first 5 minutes of this venture, Miss Emma trying to find out where the poop smell was coming from! She kept blaming me and sniffing at me any time I came near. But no ..... it 'twas her own bum! It just took Miss Brainiac a little while to figure it out.

But the good news is .... she eventually did! I think she deserves a gold star!! ;)

Think "Flat As A Pancake!"

2007-10-22T13:24:00.000-07:00

In honor of mi amiga who is getting her first ever mammogram today .....

.....And in honor of me who has to call to make an appointment for my very own first ever mammogram today......

... the phrase "Jebus on a cracker" will hereby be "Teetus on a cracker" this week ..... for obvious reasons!

Of course, she is getting a mammogram because her doc recommends it for anyone in certain age groups. No worries there.

I am getting a mammogram because a medium said to.

Oh yeah, you heard me.

So there's a good time. Try explaining that to your doctor. "Uh hi. Yeah, I have a friend who went to a medium. And the medium told her all kinds of freakily true things. And one thing she said was that she has a friend with my name who needs to go get a mammogram. She said she'll be fine, just scared, but yeah ... she needs to get a mammogram."

Uh huh.

So, my doc gave me the referral to the mammographer (??? ... hehe) and to a psychiatrist! (HA! I kid! I mean, I could use one, don't get me wrong, but my doc didn't even really bat an eye. Which I found relieving, and yet at the same time, slightly odd! ;))

So anyway, wish us luck!

It's official ... I have a Girl Crush!

2007-10-19T11:37:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's right .... my first Girl Crush! Crazy Aunt Purl came to town last night and T2 and I headed over to Powell's for the book signing.

Y'all .... that woman is frickin' ADORABLE! Gorgeous as all get-out, funnier than my mama (sorry mom), and if she is ill at ease speaking in front of folks she certainly doesn't show it! I wanted to hate her for all that .... but I couldn't .... I loves her. It's official!

She read the first chapter of the book ("Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair", for those of you not InTheKnow) then proceeded to answer audience questions. That was my favorite part, because that woman can talk! And with the most adorable of southern accents.

Here's a brief bit I recorded while she was talking about how her coworkers (except for Work Jennifer) were in the dark about her book until one accidentally saw a copy on Work Jennifer's desk.

Yeah, she's frickin' adorable, right?!

And here's a picture with the leg warmers she is currently knitting! Hehe ... leg warmers! Too cute!

Oh, by the way, throwing Muggle T2 into a knitting environment was a hoot! To see so many folk knitting in public (gasp!) I believe was a shock to her system. She recovered well ...... although I noticed she didn't even take a second glance at the baskets of yarn laying around. (apparently I have more educating to do with her! ;))

So Crazy Aunt Purl (CAP) signed books afterwards and I managed to get mine signed without making TOO big of a babbling idiot of myself (or maybe I did, but let's just pretend otherwise, shall we!). I mean, I did throw out to her that I was her stalker down in LA that one time at The Stinking Rose. Which, to her credit, she managed to keep from dropping everything and calling for security backup! (perhaps her fine southern upbringing prevented her from doing so??).

But! BUT! I also had a copy of the book from T1 to get signed as well. (T1 now currently living in North Carolina and is HOPEFULLY MOVING BACK SOMEDAY, DAMNIT but sent her book out to me so I could get it signed for her since CAP isn't heading out that way.).

And T1 asked me to show CAP a picture of T1 and Baby Q while CAP was signing her book. (yeah, hello .... as if my idiot babbling wasn't bad enough! ;)). Anyway, CAP was awesome! She's all "oh, we all need to take a group photo with it then!". And so we did!

(Yeah, y'all didn't think I was going to let that one be easily full sized, did ya?!

I mean, first off, anyone standing next to CAP is going to look like a toad because of her gorgeousness. Dem's just the facts.

Secondly, the Rules Of Having Your Picture Taken just go right on out the window whenever anyone points a camera at me!

I generally can pull off Rule #1 (shoulders back, hence boobage out) and Rule #2 (stomach in).

Rule #3 (chin(s) up) is usually a bit more difficult for me, as proven here.

But Rule #4 (arm AWAY from the body) is always, always my downfall. I get so tensed up right before the camera clicks that my arm gets pressed tightly against my body. Which, as y'all know, forces the "bat wing" to spread out to its fullest glory! Sigh. And y'all thought I would learn, after I looked at every single China picture and saw the same thing! (*repeatedly taps forehead with fingers and repeats mantra, "Must remember to keep the arm awayyyyyy from the body! Must remember to keep the arm awayyyyy from the body!!!"*). Seriously, how difficult is that rule?! It's not, right?! But yeah, there's just no hope. I see a camera and I clench everything tighter than coal making a diamond! Damnit!)

But LOOK! Via the wonders of cropping, here's a great picture of CAP holding the picture of T1 and the ultra-adorable Baby Q!

Yay! That, at least, is very, very cute!

So anyway, all in all a fun time! I hope some of y'all get the chance to see her too! She's so adorable that I warned her T2 and I would be in Los Angeles stalking Springsteen on the 29th so she might have to be careful and beat her bushes to ensure that we weren't in there stalking her too. Luckily for her (and me -- I've managed to avoid a police record so far, I don't want to start now!), she said she's in Tennessee! Whew!

Though I forgot to warn her that I'm down there for Christmas too. Hmmmm. :)

In case you are bored at work today.....

2007-10-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

Here's a little link to amuse you. Try to see how far you can keep the drunk walking. I've only managed 51 meters so far .... but the afternoon is still young!! ;)

I'm apparently Straight-Brained

2007-10-16T09:29:00.000-07:00

The link below takes you to a visual test to determine your right-braininess vs left-braininess. I was surprised that mine defaults to the dancer turning clockwise ... which indicates more right-brained. With a little doing I could get her to switch directions and now I can get her to do it at will. But the first time I look at it she is still turning clockwise. I find that odd. (if you knew me, you would too! I am sooo about the math! :))

Which way is she turning for you? I keep trying to query male coworkers here but they seem too distracted by the outline of her torso to be able to reply coherently! ;)

Here's the link

Ah man, I'm back to bashing!

2007-10-12T16:06:00.000-07:00

Dang it! I've been trying to be good, really I have, and have managed to avoid the bashing of some of the craigslist ads lately.

But I made the mistake of doing a search on Craigslist for "funky" because I like to see what unique artwork and/or furniture, etc is out there. That's my kinda style.

But my eyes fell upon the ad title: "Leather skirt w/fringe Plus Size". And I thought ... "plus size"?? ... in a leather skirt?? ... ah, this can't be good. So I took a look at the post.

Y'all, here's the photo of the skirt:

And here is the ad:

I recently purchased this skirt off of eBay and discovered that it's too long for me. The tag says it's a size 30w but I'm a 22/24 and could wear it easily but there is plenty of room. If you're a size 22 - 32, I'm sure it would fit you easily. It's very soft, black leather and in awesome condition. The smell is a little funky but it isn't bad, just needs to be aired out I'd guess. Please let me know if you're interested, there's a lot of skirt here for only $50 and yes, that price is firm.

Not only does is SMELL bad (???) ... but the seller is saying it is TOO LONG! Really? ... too long????? I'm not nearly that big and I wouldn't be caught dead in public with a skirt that short! I'd be arrested for scaring little children. They'd be all "MAMA! MAMA!! There is some fringe covered white dimpled jiggly monsters coming after us!!!!! HELPPPPPP!!!!!!" (It just would NOT be a good look, KnowWhatI'mSayin'?)

Seriously, too long??????????

Good golly, she is a braver woman that I!

Friday Cuteness

2007-10-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

I call this one "Hungry, hungry Kit-to"

I get like that with my food too! (heh!)

Catch up!

2007-10-11T10:37:00.000-07:00

Okay, first off all y'all AREN'T HELPING with regard to this tattoo thing. ;) I can't envision any tattoo at all looking good on me right now .... but 20 years and 20 pounds from now? ... yeah, just boggles the mind (and not in a good way!!). So if the tattoo ever happens ... it will have to be something very, very significant. And at this point, I got nuthin'! :)

So I had a date Monday night which .... (are you sitting down for this??)... WASN'T HORRIBLE. (I know!). Yep, apparently my standards have been lowered to the point where if I am not trying to gnaw my arm off even once to make my escape during the date, I consider the date a success! Sad really! :) Anyway, we chatted easily for two hours or so and he asked me out again for the weekend. I'll keep y'all posted.

Though actually, the past couple of weeks men have been coming outta the woodwork (when it rains, it pours!) so I'm not sure who realigned the planets, but thank you! (although that young 26 year old who just wanted to be Friends With Benefits ... yeah, didn't need him. Just patted him on his behind and sent him back home to mama. But for the others, thank you). So wouldn't it be a cruel joke that after The Great Dry Spell Of '02, '03, '04 (.... ah, fuck it ... that's just too depressing, let's just call it The Great Dry Spell (TGDS) shall we?...) that I ended up torn between too many great guys at once?? I mean, sure, I'll take it ... don't think I won't ..... but I'm really only looking for one.

Big adventure coming up!!!! You know how my List To-Do includes front row at a Springsteen concert?? Well, T2 and I have tickets in hand and we are flying down to LA to catch the show!! Whoo hooooo!!!!! We have general admission floor seats so we have a CHANCE to get front row! Granted, knowing the fanaticalness (is too a word!) of the LA'ers with regard to their bands, the front row chance may be slim .... but nonetheless, it is a chance! And we are going for it!!! Wish us luck!!! The tickets say "no cameras" and usually I ... uhhh .... might overlook that fact, as y'all know... but I don't think I'm risking it for Springsteen! Nuh-uh, no way! I WANT IN and I WANT FRONT ROW and getting turned away at the door to take the camera back to the car or booted out of the concert entirely is NOT in the game plan!! So though I may not have any pictures, I plan to have stories of touching the greatness that is Springsteen (umm, that sounded dirtier than I intended).

Let's see ... what else?? I CANNOT believe I have not written up the post about the last Daughtry concert I went to. Remind me about that one.

Oh, did just see Lou Diamond Phillips in the theatrical presentation of Camelot!

Yeah, I only snorted a few times while trying to suppress the chuckles when he first broke into song. I behaved myself the rest of the time (well, except for when the cast performed "What Do The Simple Folk Do ". My third grade class performed that song and I couldn't help but bop along to it. Amused my friends but perhaps not so much the rest of the auditorium (oops!)). All in all, mildly entertaining. I think I was spoiled by the quality of the theatrical performances down in Los Angeles .... it just doesn't get much better than Michael Crawford in The Phantom Of The Opera! I mean, LDP did a great job with the character ... but I just kept hearing "bbbbbllaaadada La Bamba" in my head.

Okay, that's it for now. Hope y'all are having a great week!

uh-oh, is this the third sign??

2007-10-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

I was browsing the Australian news site today and found an article titled:

"Orang-utan looking for blondes with tattoos"

Things that make you go "Hmmmm". :)

Help! The peer pressure! The peer pressure!!!!

2007-10-08T15:23:00.000-07:00

So last week I was flipping channels and stumbled across the new show LA Ink*. Somehow I got sucked in and now I see that the tattooists on the show are just so amazingly artistic that they have actually made me CONSIDER getting a tattoo one day. I mean, these folks will take a photo of your loved one and created this phenomenal portrait tattoo for you! Sheesh, and here I was thinking folks just got butterflies or roses! (yeah, I don't get out much!)

But anyway, if you know me, my considering getting a tattoo has got to seem astounding for several reasons!

First, I hate pain! Tiny needles jabbing into my body for hours on end just doesn't sound like a fun time. Call me crazy!

Second, my weight fluctuates. A tattoo which looks good at one weight ain't gonna look so hot perhaps at another! Just sayin' is all! ;)

And most importantly, I'm commitment phobic. If I won't even commit to what I'm having for dinner tonight, how the heck would I ever be able to commit to a freakin' tattoo. Seriously! :)

Nonetheless, that show got me thinking that I could no longer say, without a doubt, that I will never get a tattoo.

Fast forward to today: Another coworker walks in to my office to say hi and just out of the blue asks me if I know a good local tattooist. HELLO? What an odd question to ask me, one who has NO tattoos and has never even talked about tattoos with her.

I say "no" but suggest she talk to my office mate who has gotten a tattoo locally and likes the artist. So the three of us sit around talking about it for a bit and now for some reason this coworker wants me to go get a tattoo with her. And keeps popping in all day mentioning it. And my office mate isn't helping because he wants us to do it. The pressure people!! Two against one! This ain't right!!! ARGH!

So anyway, that's two mentions of tattoos recently. Some folks say that when something gets thrown at you in "threes" that The Universe is trying to tell you something. Why The Universe would feel that I need a Snoopy tattoo on my butt I'll never know ..... but who am I to question the ways of The Universe. :) So we'll see if this idea of the tattoo keeps getting thrown at me or if this was just a quirky coincidence.

In the meantime, I'm going to keep watching LA Ink. That show rocks! :)

*I'm telling you, it's this bloody dvr. Because of it I now watch every freakin' show out there! Seriously, quiz me. I'll know the show you're talking about! It's crazy, y'all. Send help! :)

Boy, and y'all thought we had an idiot running OUR country!

2007-09-24T15:44:00.000-07:00

So the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, comes to town and causes quite the hubbub. Apparently most Americans aren't so keen on a president believed to support terrorism just roaming and speaking freely about the US. As one might expect.

But Columbia University gave him an invite to speak and I for one was looking forward to what he had to say. I'm weird like that .... I like to hear the other side .... the perspective generally offers SOME sort of new insight. And generally the more sides to a story you hear, the closer to the actual truth you get.

But in this case, I have to disregard everything this man said because he proved himself certifiable. I mean, did y'all hear THIS quote from him when asked to explain the execution of homosexuals in Iran:

"In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country. In Iran we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who's told you that we have this."

WHAT THE BLOODY HELL?! Seriously?!!!!!!!!! Who thinks that way?!!!!!! ARGHHHHHHHHHHH! How do you communicate with that type of idiocracy?!! I mean, that thinking is SOOO far off the beaten path that all the GPS systems in the world couldn't even help! GAH! Where's my wine?!!!!

A Concert-Etiquette Reminder

2007-09-20T07:54:00.000-07:00

Y'all, some things just shouldn't HAVE to be said. You know, like don't try doing a backflip while driving your car on the freeway.

Or don't try trimming your toenails using a chainsaw while blindfolded and drunk.

Or how about, don't go without underwear if you've always got paparazzi trying to snap a picture of your hoo-ha.

You know, common sense things.

So when I was at the BB King concert last Thursday, I was kinda shocked when a strange man decided to plop down on the grass really close to our blanket and then proceed to cuddle the feet of my friend. And when she moved hers in shock, he proceeded to cuddle the feet of her husband. What the bloody hell?? Who does that stuff??!!!!

Of couse, I'm just giggling because of the insanity of it all. Plus, ya know, it wasn't my feet! (hehehe)

But really, I don't care HOW big of a foot-fetisher you are ... don't cuddle with stranger's feet without their permission at concerts. I'm just sayin' is all. You need to at least ask first. SHEESH! ;)

On a less admonishing note, the concert was great! Etta James opened. Man, that chicky is a wild thing. Some of her stories had ME blushing. ME!

And BB King, of course, a legend! It was so great to see him! I took a couple of pictures ... they didn't come out too well ... but I'll share anyway.

All in all, a grand ole time. Foot-fetisher and all!

I am perhaps not so smart

2007-09-19T13:59:00.000-07:00

So y'all know how I loves me my dvr/tivo, right?! And am now officially spoiled rotten by it?!

Yep, ain't no way around it. Because you KNOW you are spoiled by dvr/tivo when you are driving in your car and try to rewind the radio. Yep. The DJs were talking and then they started laughing. Only I had missed what they said (due to something shiny I can only suppose) so I reached over to try to rewind what they said.

On more than one occasion.

Sigh.

Send help! (Or rewinding live radio! :))

I do dog tricks

2007-09-17T14:37:00.000-07:00

No, not ME. I didn't mean that *I* do dog tricks. (Although I do sit and lay down pretty darned good).

But what I meant was, that the doggie on this here website does dog tricks ... at your command! How cute, right?

Give it a go. I've tried "sit", "down", "shake", "roll over", "beg", "bark", and "dead" so far. But my favorite by far is "kiss". Too too cute!

Yep, it's official, I loves him!

There's a new welder in town!

2007-09-13T12:05:00.000-07:00

OMG, I have the nicest friends!

So for months I was lusting after a table lamp at one of my favorite home decor shops. Each time I went in I'd ooh and aah over it. But alas, I knew I didn't have a spot for that lamp in my house so I resisted buying it (who knew I had any willpower at all, but there ya go! Now if only I could harness that same willpower to resist, say, donuts!).

Anyway, I went to that store recently to shop that big sale they were having. And lo and behold, I found my beloved lampshade, only sans the lamp base (apparently it had broken). And the shade itself was only $3!!!!! And so, it goes without saying, that I had to have it!

I didn't really know what I could use it for at that point, but I knew down the road there would come something I could attach it to. Maybe even say, a lamp?!!!!

Only I get home and I start eyeing this funky, metal, floor-standing, older, Ikea(?) candle stand that I had. I set the shade on it, leaned it up against the wall (since the shade wouldn't stand on its own), and By George, it looked kinda cute.

So I mentioned my new treasure (my precious, my precious) to my friend T2. She mentioned it to her husband, aka MacGyver, and he said to give it to him that he could probably figure out a way to affix the shade to the candle holder (apparently they were not impressed with my idea of using several sticks of chewed bubble gum!)

Anyway, he takes a look at it, buys an old lamp at a Goodwill so that he can use part of it, buys tools so he can weld, and voila ...... I now have a lamp-shaded candle holder!! And seriously, it is BEAUTIFULLY done! That man rocks!

Take a gander:

Here's the top of the candle holder before it underwent any fixins'. Just an old candle on it, sitting on a spike sitting in the center of the base.

After some welding and a new paint job ... shazam!!! ..... no spike any longer in the center and the two lampshade prong holders (errr, that may not be the official name of those ;)) welded to the base!!!!!!

I was so dang excited after they gave it back to me last night that I ran right out and purchased one of those new-fangled battery-operated flameless candles (I'm thinking a real candle flame would have been perhaps a bad idea so close to my beautiful silky lampshade!).....

.....Popped the shade prong thingamabobs into the shade prong holders ......

.... and VOILA!:

hmm, this looks hella better in person, trust me. You can't even see the candle glow here nor the detail on the lamp shade. Phooey!

Too cute, right!?! Thanks SO much T2 and C! Y'all ROCK!!!!! I'd have no idea what I'd do without you (and this isn't just referring to a lamp-shaded candle holder either!!!). Love ya!

Comfort Food Recipe #1

2007-09-11T16:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, on this day of remembrance, a little comfort food never hurts. And I was watching a tivo'd copy of Ellen last night and they made this recipe! This SOO reminds me of the recipes found in the Sweet Potato Queen books (anyone ever read those?? ... those are a HOOT!). Which means that you will gain 5 pounds just READING this! ;)

Here goes:

It's called (ready to gain a pound and a half right here with just the title???):

Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding with Butter Rum Sauce

And it goes a little something like this:

2 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts [oops, here's another two pounds gained just with the first ingredient!!]
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
2 (4.5-ounce) cans fruit cocktail (undrained) [hey look, FRUIT! That makes this healthy, right?!]
2 eggs, beaten
1 (9-ounce) box raisins
1 pinch salt
1 or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon [or 3 or 4 .... love me the cinnamon!]
Butter Rum Sauce, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cube donuts into a large bowl. Pour other ingredients on top of donuts and let soak for a few minutes. Mix all ingredients together until donuts have soaked up the liquid as much as possible.
Bake for about 1 hour until center has jelled. Top with Butter Rum Sauce.

Butter Rum Sauce: [mmmmmmmmm]
1 stick butter
1 pound box confectioners' sugar
Rum, to taste
Melt butter and slowly stir in confectioners' sugar. Add rum and heat until bubbly. Pour over each serving of Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding.

Yeah, no fat there! It was funny, because Paula Deen was showcasing the bread pudding portion on the show and was all "the best thing about this recipe is that I added no sugar to it ... which makes it a 'sugar-free recipe'!!". (heh heh).

She also said that she prefers only 14 donuts to the two dozen because she likes the finished bread pudding to be a bit moister. Which sounds like a grand plan to me because then that leaves you 10 donuts to bide the time with while the bread pudding is baking! (what??) :)

If anyone tries it out, let me know what you think. I'm probably going to have to hold off on sampling this for a bit, I'm pretty sure my arteries have hardened just with my having typed up the recipe! :)

The Chronicles of Life and ......... hey, where is everybody???

2007-09-10T14:57:00.000-07:00

So Friday at lunch I'm listening to radio station 105.1 The Buzz when they announce that they will be at a new-fangled outdoor shopping mall (Bridgeport, to those in the know) between 3:30 and 5:30 that afternoon giving out tickets to that night's Justin Timberlake concert. They also mention that the band Good Charlotte, who was set to open for Justin that night, would be there sometime during that time singing a few songs and signing autographs.

Now, being that I live the lifestyle of the Not-Quite Rich and the Not-So Famous meant that I was stuck at work and couldn't leave to be there right at 3:30pm. Blasted! Nonetheless, I did manage to high-tail right over after work and arrived at 4:30!

I walk in wondering where all the hubbub was at. I expected impossible parking (found one right off) and hordes of people. I mean, seriously, Good Charlotte is a popular band with great music and a number of cds ..... where the f@ck were the shocked-yet-delighted masses of fans pulling out their hair and throwing their panties??

'Twas crazy. Not a pierced nor tattooed fan in sight!

(*insert sound of crickets chirping*)

After much wandering around and querying of the "Who is Good Charlotte???" Folks, I finally found someone who said that the band might possibly be across the street at the new section of the Bridgeport Village! Criminey!

I jog on over and arrive to the sounds of Good Charlotte music!! Yippee Skippee!! And better yet, there were MAYBE 100 people there watching the show. MAYBE!

Without time to question why so few people were there, I join the back of the pack watching the performance and video'd this for all y'all:

How cool, right?! I was sooo jazzed!

Now normally I would have more video for you, but as un-luck would have it, that was the only song I got to see! Right after recording this came the sounds of "thank you and good night!". I was all "seriously"??? (*insert sound of much foot stomping and cussing*)

Sigh.

Still happy I took the time to go though. I was going to hang out to catch autographs but being that I didn't have time to swing by my place to grab their cds beforehand I had bupkus for them to sign (just ANY piece of paper isn't my thing). Plus without a wing-man, I'm pretty wussie when it comes to asking for pictures with the band members. Of course, my internal rationalization wasn't that I was a "wuss" per se, but that I needed to be across rush-houred town to meet up with a friend by 5:45. So, ya know, otherwise I would certainly have waited in line with my Big-Girl Pants on and asked for a picture.

Uh-huh. (If y'all believe that then I've got a bridge to sell ya!)

Instead I have the following two pics. The first while the band was still on stage, and the second as they were walking into the Verizon store to sign autographs. (seriously, they are there ..... it's just a "Where's Waldo")

Regardless, yay for Good Charlotte! Very cool of you guys to take the time to perform before the show for this promotional event. I'm not sure where all your fans were though .... I'm still baffled by that. Perhaps your song title "The Young And The Hopeless" is more fitting than y'all thought. ;)

A breath of fresh air!

2007-09-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

With all the disheartening news online lately, I thought y'all might enjoy this very uplifting story! Seems a Mystery Gardener did some free yard work for a Red Cross building when nobody was around ... and no-one knows who it was. How awesome is that??

Story here.

That reminds me of the Nick Cage movie "It Could Happen To You" where his character spends his lottery winnings randomly and anonymously helping people. Just simple things like offering up free tokens to people heading into work on the NYC subway! Seriously, how fun would that be?

Ellen DeGeneres just did something similar on her show yesterday where she took over duties at a toll booth in NYC and let people go through for free (well, they had to sing or something first ... but still ... that saved them $6 (btw, $6 per trip through the tunnel??? HOLY HELL!))

Love it! So thanks Mystery Gardener for stepping up and doing this Random Act Of Kindness. I thought for sure that you'd be stepping up to take credit once the story hit the papers ... but nope, you haven't! Which makes it simply perfect! Thank you!

This gives all new meaning to "'JOHNny-on-the-spot"

2007-08-29T09:25:00.000-07:00

So did y'all read the story about the senator from Idaho nailed for lewd conduct in a public bathroom? Seems he solicited an undercover police officer for sex by using a series of secret hand signals and foot taps under the stall door. What the hell?

First off .... WHO KNEW about all these secret signals? Have I ever been solicited in a public restroom and been too oblivious to know it?? I know, I know ....probably not. But if not, HOW COME? What's wrong with me?!! I can channel "sexy bitch" upon occasion. Of course, I've never felt that it was channeled while in the midst of using the toilet.

Which leads me to......

Since when does nothing say sexy like someone sitting on the crapper!?!!!!! WHAT. THE. HELL?!!!! Yuck. Yuck. And more yuck! The senator eyes this guy sitting on the toilet and thinks "hmmm, yeahhh, I've gotta get me some of that!"?! Obviously, the senator and I have different ideas of what constitutes "sexy"! I think I'll stick with my image of a HottieHot without shirt scrubbing my kitchen floor for "sexy", thankyouverymuch!

Furthermore, just who did that undercover cop piss off to get assigned that crappy duty??? (haha! I used both "piss" and "crappy" AND, come to think of it, "duty" (get it ... "doody")! How awesome am I?? .... hehehe). But seriously ...... you couldn't pay me enough! I try to spend as little time in public restrooms as it is .... but to just have to sit there and see, hear, and (by far the worst) smell folks just using the restroom. Oh HELL NO. I can't count the number of showers it would take to wash the horrors of that away at the end of each work day! I'd go broke just trying to pay my water bill!

And finally, senator, apparently there have been "closet gay" rumors following you since your college years. Now you get arrested for this lewd conduct charge. And worse, you plead guilty to it (HMMMMM). I'm not SAYIN' you're gay .... but you certainly seem to be "merry", "happy", "sprite", "jolly", etc to me. Just sayin' is all. You're 62 .... don't you think it is about time you just own it? There's nothing wrong with it. I'm sure it would ultimately relieve a lot of stress you must have trying to hide it. But more importantly, it would help me out! Because that would be one less person I know is having sex in icky public bathrooms, bare skin probably touching stall walls and possibly toilets!!! (*shudder*) ARGH!!!

(Good lord, where are my antibacterial wipes????)

"I got Kat class and I got Kat style"

2007-08-28T13:24:00.000-07:00

AWESOME concert on Sunday night. Four bands for a whopping $9.71! Can you BELIEVE that?!!! And just look at this band line-up: Gin Blossoms, Stray Cats, The Pretenders, and ZZ Top! It was just amazing!

First off, T2 and I have general admission tickets which are for the grassy area in the back of this amphitheater. But we plop our blanket down towards the front of this grass area only to find that we....

a) can't see the band (this is the Gin Blossoms performing my favorite "Hey Jealousy" (no, no ... I SWEAR) ... but my video aiming was off because I couldn't SEE them due to distance, metal bars, and viewing from bright sunlight into shade):

but(t) (ha!) b) unfortunately, CAN clearly see this:

And this was after he had pulled his pants up! Bleck!

So after the Gin Blossoms finish, I notice the chick in front of us clamber over the wall separating us "Lawn Peon" Concert-Goers with the "Actually Have a Reserved Seat" Concert-Goers so that she could better take a picture of the Stray Cat stage setup, which was currently taking place. Then she clambers back. But all I'm thinkin' is .... "hey, no-one stopped the chicky from clambering over to the reserved seats ... so what's to stop T2 and I from doing the same ... only, we don't clamber back!?".

So that's what we did. We looked right, we looked left, we left the blanket on the grass as a viable "ahhhhh shucks, we was just going up there to take a picture" cover story in case we needed it, and we were off! Man, I tell ya ... stuff so dorky like that and yet it gets my heart a'poundin', I tell ya! (I'm such a goody-goody!).

Anyway, SUCCESS! No sirens blaring, no armed po-po coming to whisk us off to jail. Bupkus! So we casually (yet probably very obviously) meandered down to a section of empty seats and plopped into two! Whoo hooo!

And shortly thereafter, our view went to this!

Not as close as I'd like to have been .... but hella better!!! And not one butt crack in sight!

And the Stray Cats were AWESOME! They were the band I was looking forward to seeing the most as I've never seen them before! And who didn't love "The Stray Cat Strut" back in the day! Whoo hooo!

Here's a couple of mini-videos for your viewing pleasure. They don't quite capture the energy as I would have liked .... but you get the gist:

Man, the sound! The energy! That Lee Rocker on slap bass! HOLY MOLY! Sign me up each and every time these guys come to town! Too much fun!

Next up ...... The Pretenders. But while the roadies were busy changing out bands, T2 and I figure we should probably go rescue the blanket. So we walk out of the amphitheater as if we are ticket holders, then headed back into the general admission lawn section. The blanket was still there ... whew .... but extra security personnel were also stationed around (boo!)

Sneaking Back Into The Reserved Seating Area Take #1: We roll the blanket up as small as possible (not easy with an extra thick wool blanket) because we know that walking into the reserved seat area with a big ole blanket full of wet blades of grass ... looks a mite suspicious! Wait til Security Guard #1 is looking the other way, hop over the wall, and head down the ramp. Unfortunately, as we turn the corner we find Security Guard #2 right there and looking right at us. So without missing a beat we casually change direction and head right on out the doors of the amphitheater as if that was our plan all along. Foiled!

Sneaking Back Into The Reserved Seating Area Take #2: We mull a few minutes outside the doors deciding how we want to handle this when ... shazam .... Security Guard #2 walks out and away from her guard post. One quick glance at each other and T2 and I rush back in and safely back into two other empty reserved seats! WHEW! Time to sit back and enjoy!

Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders. Well, I'd like to tell you that they rocked the house and all .... but I have to admit that I didn't really pay much attention. There was a cutie-patootey single man sitting in front of us who seemed very content to chat with us the whole time. I can tell you he had beautiful eyes and a nice ass ..... but I can't tell you which songs The Pretenders played. Oops!

OH, but once I found out that Cutie-Patootey-Boy travels 45 out of 52 weeks of the year, doesn't really have a "home" since he travels so much (ie he couch-surfs), and still seemed hung up on his ex (the big 'red flag').... I did manage to refocus on the stage and snap this picture of The Pretenders for you.......

Chrissie had some pretty swanky boots! (umm, you can't really see them in this picture so I guess you'll just have to take my word for it! :))

Anyway, last, but certainly not least ....it was time for ZZ Top! Now, I'd seen ZZ once before .... but it was eons ago back in Cali and I went to the concert with my best friend at the time Viki, our good-looking coworker Art, Art's barrel-chested Navy Seal buddy, and about 4 other of the Navy Seal buddy's Navy Seal buddies. Uh yeah ........ can you say "heaven"?? So I KNOW my ticket stub says "ZZ Top" .... but to this day I have NO idea who the opening bands were or what songs were played! (The only song titles which come to mind anytime I think back on that concert are: "Flex for me, baby, one more time" and "Good God that tight t-shirt shows those rippling pec muscles to perfection!". ZZ Top songs?? No?!) Anyway, lordy, lordy, that was one helluva concert regardless of any bands playing music at all!!

This time though .... I had the chance to take a listen. And they are just too cool for words! An absolutely phenomenal show! Here's a couple of pics. (Sorry they are so blurry but I still haven't mastered taking photos while bouncing up and down in time with the music! ;))

These guys are just a hoot! And the guitar playing was amazing!! I took more video!

[dagnabit!!! Neither this new Blogger video thingamabob nor YouTube will run this video! WTF?! It meets their file size guidelines! @$#^&*($@%#@!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FINE!

Sorry, folks, here's what it went like:

She's got leeeegsss, [*insert cool guitar rift*]
She knows how to use them [*insert cool guitar rift*]
She never beeeegsss, ....

(not the same??. Sigh. Oh well. I tried.)]

For one of the songs, ZZ Top brought out both Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats and Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders for a group jam. Here's a quick peek!

[See above. (grumble, grumble, grumble). I will try these video uploads later and see if the persnickety video uploaders are then in a better mood. F!]

All in all .... a fantabulous time! Thanks T2! I make the motion that all future concerts involve all fab bands instead of one good band and a couple of crappy opening bands. And that they all be less than $10! Can I get a "hell yeah"?! :)

My Little Helper

2007-08-27T14:08:00.000-07:00

So one morning before work I walk into my spare bedroom (aka The Office) to find Emma lazily laying in the middle of the floor next to a live spider! She spots me and half-heartedly reaches out a paw toward Charlotte (I'm assuming that's the name she would have chosen for her new friend) as if to say "oh crap, I'm supposed to be killing this thing"!!

Of course, the attempt was so half-hearted that the paw reach towards said spider was barely perceptible. She then drew her paw back and continued to just gaze off into LaLa Land.

Which left me to have to quickly find Spider Extracting Equipment (in this case, a nearby flower vase and an envelope) and scoop up said spider and take it outside. All the while mumbling under my breath something along the lines of "damn worthless cat".

So to restore my faith in Catmanity, the same morning CJ steps up to help me wrap a gift for a coworker. Ah, I loves me that kitty! Look how cute!

CJ: "I'll hold, you tape!"

Faith restored! How could it not be with that face?!

I can't make this stuff up!

2007-08-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

Y'all .... seriously! I'm just minding my own business and stumble across this headline......

Dwarf's penis stuck to vacuum

Now, I immediately think of T1 (don't ask) so I read the article to find out if it is T1-Worthy.

Folks, it is BEYOND T1-Worthy. Because, at first I'm thinkin', "okay, the guy is trying something out at home. Pretty dang weird but what are ya gonna do?".

But THEN! But THEN! I open the article and read THIS!

"A DWARF performer at the Edinburgh fringe festival had to be rushed to hospital after his penis got stuck to a vacuum cleaner during an act that went horribly awry."

Dude was on stage doing this?!!!! And they're saying that the "act went horribly awry"!!! Y'all .... the act ITSELF is horribly awry! WTF?!

Either this is true Bizarro World .... or I need to get out more!

Here's the full article for those interested........

I tell ya .... it's a crazy world. Makes you wonder what the other acts at this "fringe" festival were, doesn't it?! (it doesn't? Oh, never mind then!)

You might want to be sitting down for this .... I'm going to talk knitting!

2007-08-16T15:25:00.000-07:00

I KNOW! Shocker, right?! I'm actually KNITTING ... and have pictures to prove it! Whoo hoo!

But first, I was so impressed with myself last night when I figured out (with the help of the wondrous internets) how to wind yarn into a pull skein. See, I started with this:

Lorna Hand-Dyed - Swirl Chunky

And ended with this! YAY me!

So I tried it out .... and found that the yarn would only pull from the center for about one yard .... then it just was NOT pulling out any more! I mean, I was grabbing it with two hands and pulling while practically bracing my feet up against the yarn ball. To absolutely NO avail. That yarn was just not budging. So I decided to use it as an outter pull yarn ball instead and deal with the massive internal tangle when I get to it! :) (y'all can just call me "Scarlett O'Hara'!)

I was reading Crazy Aunt Purl's site yesterday and remembered her post about the Magic Scarf. I figured this yarn was PERFECT for it so I decided to give it a go. The only difference being that my OCD-self wouldn't allow for squares being 5 stitches wide by 10 rows in length (5x10=rectangle not a square!) so I altered my pattern to only 5 rows before the switch. And this is what I have so far ..... I like it!

Cool basketweave! It IS magic!!!! :)

I also added the 3 rows of garter stitch at the beginning to keep the scarf edge straight. Seems to be working! Of course, I don't know that mine will be 9 FEET LONG as Purl's was! In fact, I'm guessin' it will probably be "Until I Get To The Massive Internal Yarn Tangle" Long, I'm thinkin!

Just a guess ... but if I was a bettin' woman that's where I'd put my money!! ;)

The Birthday Boy!!!

2007-08-15T15:22:00.000-07:00

This is baby Q, y'all! Is he not the cutest??!!!!!!

Ah, I just adore him! And hopefully will get to see him soon! YAY!!!!

Experiences still on my To-Do List

2007-08-14T09:49:00.000-07:00

My list to date. Some of these items will simply take time and effort on my part; others will take money .... and some of them will out and out take a miracle! :)

But in all cases, the first step is simply a matter of knowing what you want! So, what's on YOUR list??

Ride in a military-style jet (like with The Blue Angels)
Volunteer to help baby turtles make it safely from nest to sea
Watch a Cubs game at Wrigley Field
Attend Mardi Gras in New Orleans
Spend the night in the Lincoln Bedroom. Preferably with company. Of the opposite sex. (if I'm going to get a night in the Lincoln Bedroom ... I might as well "go for the gold" so to speak. ;))
Swim with dolphins
See the Taj Mahal
Explore areas of the South Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Bora Bora, etc) at my leisure
[Done!] Travel to Boston to see my favorite piece of artwork (Renoir's 'Dance of the Bougival')
See an active volcano
Drive a sports car (preferably a Ferrari) really fast ... like on the highways outside Las Vegas
Meet Ellen DeGeneres and make her laugh
Vacation at a dude ranch
Enjoy front row at a Bruce Springsteen concert!!!!!!!
Attend a space shuttle launch
See Petra in Jordan (maybe while wearing an Indiana Jones hat! ;))
Learn to scuba dive
Celebrate New Year's Eve at least once in Times Square, NYC
Travel to Greece
Be blessed by the pope
Watch a tennis match at Wimbledon
Be a "trainer for a day" (if not make a career of it) of dolphins and sea lions
Attend the Academy Awards
[Done!] Reread the "Little House on the Prairie" book series
See the "sun rise" over earth from up in space.
See the Great Pyramid and Sphinx in Egypt
Learn to play the violin
Go check out Miami at least once
Explore Machu Picchu
See the Northern Lights
Take an eco-tour to the Galapagos Islands
Shop the Mall of America
Go whale watching and actually see whales! ;)
Travel to all seven continents (so far I've been to three: North America, Europe and Asia. Still to do: Africa, Australia, Antarctica, and South America (some folks count North and South America as one ... I don't)
Party in Rio De Janeiro (and maybe even see Christ the Redeemer while there! ;))
Become a member of Mensa
Take a swamp tour to see the gators
View Mount Rushmore
Photo-safari in Africa and see "the big 5"
INSPIRE!
See Niagara Falls
Travel to Ireland
Watch the sun set with the locals in the Florida Keys
Marry the man of my dreams
Stay at a (purposely) underwater hotel (perhaps at the soon-to-be new one in Dubai?)
Visit Easter Island
Pay homage to Elvis at Graceland
Learn the bloody metric system!
[Done!] Watch a Red Sox game at Fenway Park
Cruise the Nile River
Help build a house or school
Take an Alaskan cruise
Become a great photographer
Learn to speak Spanish at least semi-fluently
See Emperor and King Penguins in Antarctica
Relax in Belize

.... to name just a few! ;)

I'm sure this list will continually be revamped as other ideas pop into my head. So tell me, how clearly does this list reveal my level of insanity??! ;)

[last updated: February 13, 2009]

It's NOT a pumpkin!!!

2007-08-09T15:37:00.000-07:00

This post goes out to T1! Holla, T1!!!

Just wanted to let you know that the gift I knitted for baby's Q's 1st birthday and sent to you this week is NOT a pumpkin! No really, I swear!! Perhaps taking on a new project after having not knit in so long was not the best of plans!

Oh and ... the colors ... yeahhhhhh, those are supposed to be Bronco colors. I KNOW ... crazy, right? ... who knew that "rust" and "bright orange" were not the same color! Not Q's crazy auntie Kat.

Sigh.

So .... sorry. But here's the good news with regard to his gift:

1) it doesn't make noise
2) it doesn't make a mess (L- still sorry about those bathtime paints! Who knew??! :))
3) we live 3000 miles apart so you can just toss it yet just tell me he plays with it all the time.

See? ... all good! :)

At any rate, happy bday to Q tomorrow! Wish I was there to eat cake too (errr, I mean "see him"!!!)

p.s. in case you need ANOTHER hint as to what I was actually trying to knit .... it is one of the patterns in that book I gave you for your birthday. No, no really ... I SWEAR! THAT'S what I was trying to make! Crazy, right? :)

p.p.s I'm only not saying what it is SUPPOSED to be in this here blog post in case T1 hasn't opened it yet. Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise!

The Frayfields vs The McBrides

2007-08-07T10:24:00.000-07:00

Concert updates! Get yer concert updates here!

Okay, so I joined some folks in watching The Fray perform out at McMennamin's Edgefield last week. They did a great job! I love when a band actually sounds like their album. You've all been to a concert, right, where you're thinking "what is this, some person doing a crappy karaoke rendition of this band's stuff?". But no, The Fray, sounded great live! YAY, The Fray!!

The bad news was that this venue is way on the other side of town. WAYYYYY on the other side of town! And concerts there start at 6:30pm! On Thursday nights!! Which makes for the bumper-to-bumper commute from hell to get there right smack dab during rush hour traffic. Which really sucks because all the seating is general admission out on a huge lawn, so the later you get there, the further away from the stage you end up sitting.

Now I knew there was no hope for me getting out there early after work to save spots for us, BUT ... a friend planned to be off work at 4pm and head right over there. Unfortunately, he forgot his tickets and had to go back and get them. So we ended rolling in at exactly the same time .... and long story short, we were at the back of the bus, so to speak!

In all actuality, it was nice to sit and relax and listen to a concert instead of being up amongst the hubbub vying to get the best picture angle (you know me and the stalking!)! Since this was the best I could do picture-wise, ....

Who dat??!!

.....I was able to just sit, chat and relax instead! Which was all good .... being that I'm not fanatical over The Fray. (had the band been say ... Bon Jovi! ... I'd been tossin' bodies to get them out of my way so I could get up front and personal. Ahem!)

So all in all, a wonderfully relaxing evening.

.............................................................

Next up was Martina McBride.

Now I'm not a big country fan (in that I like it but don't listen to it, if'n that makes any sense) and wasn't familiar with Martina's music. But a friend had an extra ticket and when have you ever known me to turn down a free concert!??! :)

And I'm glad I didn't. This chicky can s-i-n-g! Good lordy! I don't think I've ever been at a concert where the performer had to stop after a song and wait for all the applause to die down. (standing ovations to be exact) I mean, sure, sure, at the end and during the encores .... but just mid-concert?! Crazy! The power in her voice and the length of time she can hold notes ... phenomenal! I'd see her again in a heartbeat!

Opening for Martina was another great band, Little Big Town.

They rocked! I really liked one of their songs .... "A Little More You" I think the name is. That was really good live! In fact, both Martina and Little Big Town are FAR better live than they are on cd (I've since heard the same songs on cd). They both know how to infuse energy and fun into their concerts which doesn't quite come across as well on the cd. So give them a gander if they come to your town.

......................................

In non-concert news, the author Jasper Fforde was back in town (*insert much applause*). Y'all, I just think he is just sooo darned cute! Here's a couple of pics for your viewing pleasure.

In fact, the pictures just don't do him justice. You've got to see him speak. So here's a short video I took of him ..... with his accent and mannerisms ... doesn't he just make you think of Hugh Grant???

He does me! I just find him ridiculously charming! Le sigh!

Anyway, that's it for recent concert updates! Hopefully more concert updates later this month!

Maybe it's just me but...

2007-08-06T11:34:00.000-07:00

.... am I the only one who found it odd that out of all the places in the world the president of France could have vacationed, he chose to vacation in New Hampshire?? I mean, I don't want to knock New Hampshire or anything, but seriously?!

If you've got a boatload of money and the world as your playground, how far down on your Vacation Destination Choice List is frickin' New Hampshire? I mean, sure, it could and should be there somewhere ... but first? second? twentieth??? Not for me!

Porn for Women

2007-08-03T10:39:00.000-07:00

Hee hee. Someone just emailed me this today and I thought I would share! It IS porn for women!!! :)

(click to enlarge ... the captions are priceless!)

Dibs on the shoe shopper! ;)

Experiences I Am Grateful For

2007-08-02T14:37:00.000-07:00

Standing on The Great Wall of China with my mom
Having my name listed in the acknowledgments at the front of a novel
Viewing NYC from the top of the World Trade Center towers
Buying a house all on my own
Taking pictures of Paris from up in the Eiffel Tower
Growing up getting to play frequently at the Happiest Place On Earth (Disneyland)
Sitting and looking at the Mona Lisa
Sunbathing topless on a beach of the French Riviera
Being gifted with a love song written and recorded for me
Lettering in varsity
Riding in a horse drawn carriage through Central Park
Rubbing onto paper a soldier's name off the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC
Watching the changing of the guard outside Buckingham Palace
Seeing the Grand Canyon
Standing on The Grassy Knoll in Dallas, TX
Being proposed to
Standing in awe at Stonehenge
Seeing a movie at Mann's (Grauman's) Chinese Theater
Touching Jon Bon Jovi!!
Taking the Chunnel under the English Channel
Standing at Shakespeare's grave
Walking hand-in-hand along the Champs Elysees
Being thanked in the acknowledgment section on a cd
Browsing the shops along Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills
Skydiving
Strolling Les Rambles in Barcelona, Spain
Being in 4 states at one time (4 Corners)
Gazing up in amazement at the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel
Cruising down the Yangtze River
Riding a gondola in Venice, Italy with the man I loved
Exploring the Kennedy Space Center
Watching Old Faithful erupt
Leaning with the Leaning Tower of Pisa
Being an extra in a movie
Attending an Olympic event (1984 in Los Angeles)
Riding the train from NYC to Los Angeles
Shopping Harrods in London
Hiking to the top of Multnomah Falls in Oregon
Spending time wandering and photographing Claude Monet's gardens in Giverny
Snorkeling alongside sea turtles in Maui
Being tipped by another player for rolling such a great round of dice at a craps table
Visiting the house of Anne Franke in Amsterdam
Seeing the Hollywood Sign
Having my fortune told by Madame Marie in Asbury Park, NJ (a'la Bruce Springsteen)
Sitting in the bleachers for a ballgame at Yankee Stadium
Making strangers laugh so hard they've cried
Touching the Berlin Wall
Walking on the London Bridge in Lake Havasu, AZ
Touring Hearst Castle
Receiving tossed strings of beads in New Orleans
Getting kicked off the train in Spain due to a sudden rail strike
Looking over the harbor from inside the crown of the Statue of Liberty
Hiking in the Swiss Alps
Piloting a boat on Lake Tahoe, NV
Gazing around in awe inside the Library of Congress
Visiting Pearl Harbor
Escaping Alcatraz Island
Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge
Seeing movie stars out and about in the wilds of Hollywood (and NYC)
Watching the sun set on Waikiki Beach
Graduating college with honors
Climbing to the top of Red Rock Amphitheater in Denver, CO
Riding the bus from all the way across country (California to Massachusetts)
Seeing the Liberty Bell when it was touring the United States by train
Eating Belgium Waffles in Belgium
White water rafting
Watching a Space Shuttle land
Having my picture taken with a donkey in Tijuana, Mexico
Surviving a take-over bank robbery
Figuring out that over time and various road trips that I have driven the entire length of I5 freeway from the Mexican border to the Canadian border
Performing on the field of Dodger Stadium
Being chauffeured around in a Ferrari
Seeing Michelangelo's statue of "David" in Florence, Italy
Taking a weedy patch of dead grass and creating a beautiful cottage-style flower garden.
Gambling in Las Vegas
Touring a Scotch Distillery in Scotland
Helping to sail a sailboat
Exploring the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam
Sipping beer in Germany
Watching the live taping of one of the final episodes of the tv sitcom "Cheers"
Celebrating the striking of midnight twice the same night on New Year's Eve (two time zones)
Boogie and body boarding the Southern California beaches
Seeing a bridge lift for Tower Bridge in London
Visiting the Colosseum in Rome
Accidentally stumbling across the most perfect white sandy beach in Oahu
Eating a Nathan's hot dog in Coney Island, NY with my dad
Sleeping overnight on the sidewalk in order to save a spot to watch the Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA
Shaking hands with Rob and Carl Reiner, Jonathan Winters, Leslie Nielsen
Going to the top of the Sears Tower in Chicago
Successfully knitting a pair of socks (which fit!)
Spelunking
Getting my kicks driving on Route 66
Conversing in a mix of English, Spanish and French with a Spaniard in Barcelona in an attempt to find the post office
Having a wonderful dinner and watching amazing magic at the Magic Castle in Hollywood
Being in a parade
Browsing the fabulous Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City
Taking pictures atop Victoria Peak in Hong Kong
Ringing in a new year making love at midnight to the man I loved
Flying in a little Cessna plane (and briefly piloting) on a jaunt from Los Angeles to Catalina Island
Gaining insight into prison life by touring a not-yet-opened (at the time) women's prison in Wilsonville, Oregon
Touring the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland
Driving to Canada just to watch a hockey game
Falling asleep to a show of twinkling lights across Lake Como in Italy
Midnight forays with my sisters to surreptitiously shake presents under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.
Bruce Springsteen concerts!
Seeing the Terracotta Warriors in Xian, China
Being first place champions of my entire league for high school doubles tennis
Sipping a beer in the original "Cheers" bar in Boston, Massachusetts
Being in 17 countries (so far) (US, Canada, Mexico, England, Scotland, France, Spain, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, South Korea, China, Hong Kong)

(to be continued! :))

Booooo!

2007-07-30T10:37:00.000-07:00

My favorite yarn store in Portland is closing! ARGH!

I swung by on Sunday to buy yarn for two projects I want to start (I know, hello? ... REALLY, there is going to be knitting again? GET OUT!!!! :)) and saw this sign:

I walk in all befuddled.

Me: "uhhh, why does the sign say 'store closing sale'?????"

Salesperson: "yeah, we're closing"

Me: (*blink, blink*)

Me: "but .... whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy???"

Salesperson: (*hem, haw*) "oh, several reasons, ya know" (*shuffles off*)

Me: (in head). "wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

But then after looking up and noticing all the yarn...

Me: (in head) "holy shit! All this yarn is 40% off!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whooo hoooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!" (*insert happy dance*)

And about $100 later I walked out! YAY for new yarn! (though really, "boo" for store closing!)

So any local Portland knitters who were unaware.... Lint is closing and everything in the store is currently 40% off! And I'm sure the discount will increase as time marches on although the yarn selection will surely decrease as well. So the sooner you get there the better ..... for them and for you! (oh, alright ... for ME too! Because the less yarn there is there, the less I'll be tempted to go back and buy! So help a girl on a budget out, would ya?!! Pretty please? With cherries on top??? :))

p.s. oh, and really, there may be pictures of knitting stuff on this here site again soon!!!!! HOLY COW! I hope you were sitting down for that news cuz that there is quite the shocker I know! So stay tuned! :)

In honor of the new Simpson's movie coming out...

2007-07-26T16:06:00.000-07:00

.... here's a photo of CJ and me in our kitchen hoping upon hope that some decent food will magically appear in the fridge!!!! :)

Hee hee hee. I know, I know ... you want to Simpsonize yourself too! So here's the link to the site! Have fun!

Speaking of copying people....

2007-07-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

.... Ms C was just in town!!! YAYYYYYYYYYYY! And she made the mistake of showing me the cutest little notepad and telling me where she got it. So now I'VE got one for my purse too!!!! Whoo hoooo!!! (HEY! ... but it's a different color, Ms C, so maybe it's not really copying you at all?!! :))

But here, look, see ... isn't it too cute?!!! (sorry for the crappy pictures!)

And then, and THEN .... we went to a bbq and her friend S made the most delicious mini cheese ravioli pasta salad! And so now I will be copying that TOO!!! (mwaa haa haa haa!)

Oh, oh ... and I copied the rest of the world by buying and reading the new Harry Potter book! I popped into a bookstore Saturday afternoon looking to buy a different book and found a pile of the Harry Potter at 40% off! So I figured, what the hey, since my HP Book Loaner has since moved to North Carolina (bah!). And I had a backup HP Book Loaner (always good to carry a spare) but she got called off to London and I'm not sure if she remembered to pack her ark* before she went so who knows if she would make it back before someone spoiled the book's ending for me.

I think that's it lately with the copying of other people. Let's see, T2 (check), Ms C (check), her friend S (check), Rest Of World (check). Yep! That's it! See?.... not too shabby!

[that's right folks, TWO posts in one day! See, miracles DO happen!!! :)]

*massive flooding there for those of you who didn't get that ark reference!

Pop Quiz!

2007-07-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

I won't tell you which of my two cats is the intelligent and fearless one, and which one is afraid of her own shadow (*cough*Emma*cough*). But let's see if you can tell from the following scenario:

I bring home a drinking water fountain* for the cats. Neither has ever seen one before. I assemble it, fill it with water, and plug it in for the first time. I call each cat over:

Reaction of Cat #1:

"Hot damn! Running water in a bowl!!! This is GENIUS!!! Mom, you rock!" (*slurp, slurp, slurp*)

Reaction of Cat #2:

"HOLY F!!!! What the HELL is THAT?!! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

I know, I know ... it's a tough call. But I have faith in you! ;)

*yep, I have copied you AGAIN, T2! Hopefully you take it as "imitation is a form of flattery" instead of "holy crap, it's time to get a restraining order!!!!!" :)

2007-07-16T11:44:00.000-07:00

So yesterday some folks and I took a guided tour of the Oregon Zoo with a Cherokee Indian priestess. As we walked along, the priestess pointed out the significance of certain animals and how their appearance at different times in your life might have a specific spiritual meaning.

It was pretty interesting in that some of the animals did strange things when certain people in our group approached. Like one beaver would not leave one woman alone. Kept following her and putting its nose to the glass wherever she was at. The priestess indicated that the beaver symbolizes a builder and that this person might want to make sure she wasn't building herself into a corner somehow in her life.

Another had a huge swarm of fish pay extra special attention to her. I didn't catch the significance of that.

And another had two monkeys staring and screeching at her. The monkeys indicating foolishness.

And me?? Well, I had a billy goat licking on my hand for quite awhile. Which apparently doesn't have any great spiritual significance .... other than perhaps I was a big salt lick in a past life??

Sigh.

I am, perhaps, not so good at this spiritual stuff. The priestess was speaking about the giraffes having long necks because they are more godlike, closer to god, etc. And I couldn't help but think "or maybe they have long necks because their food source is the leaves off trees!!". Yeah, me and my logical mind are going to hell. Quick, send a hand basket!!!

But until I go to hell ..... I've got pictures (of course!)!!! Here's my favorite! Nothing like being up close and personal with a polar bear!!

And here are a few others:

"I like big butts and I can not lie...."

"Yeah, Kat, you're going to hell." - God-raffe

Hope y'all had a great weekend too! And I wasn't kidding about that hand basket! ;)

An Ellen for your very own!

2007-07-12T13:13:00.000-07:00

Get-out!!! I was so excited at lunch today when I was looking to purchase a card for a friend and stumbled across a whole selection of Ellen DeGeneres cards!!! Whoo hooo! Who knew?!!!!! I didn't realize she had a line of cards out! They were so cute! And I'm geeky enough that I stopped and read each and every one!

And though they didn't have one for the topic I needed, there are a bunch of birthday ones I liked. So for those of you with birthdays approaching ... you've been warned!!! ;)

Words of Wisdom

2007-07-09T11:30:00.000-07:00

I just heard the greatest quote yesterday and so I thought I would share. The speaker was talking about the "disipline of respect" and said:

"You are the master of your words til you speak them -- then they are the master of you."

How true is that??? I love it!

And another little tidbit I found today, supposedly a quote from Danny Thomas to his daughter Marlo is:

"Put blinders on and run your own race"

Aren't those both great?? Now if only I could learn to live by those words ... ;)

I'll be working on it! :)

Happy Monday!!!

Friday Roundup - with pictures!

2007-07-06T12:27:00.000-07:00

So I'm catsitting for my friend T2 and her hubby C and y'all ... T2 is a HOOT!

So they have this humungo entertainment system in their media room (yep, I said "media room" ... how's that for hi-faluten?! :)) and I said I would probably kick it there and watch one of their umpteen movies to spend some time with their cats each time I came over.

So C goes about pulling out all eleventeen hundred remote controls to show me which buttons to push where and in which order so I will know how to watch a dvd when I catsit.

It went something like this:

C: "This remote turns on the receiver....."

Me: (in my head) "receiver?????"

C: "...and on this one you'll want to press 'input' and then choose 4 if you want a dvd or 6 for cable...."

Me: (in my head) "oh god, 'input'?? And then which number was dvd????"

T2: "And this one is for tv volume also."

C: "This is the cable one...."

C: "....And this one controls the dvd ...."

T2: "Here's the actual dvd recorder ... you just put the dvd in here"

Me: "Wait! ... where did you just push to get the dvd to open??"

C: "And this remote works the lights..."

Me: (in my head) (and maybe aloud) "Lights?? GAHHHHHHHH!!!"

Me: "Okay, maybe I'll just bring a book to read instead??" (*whimper*)

At which point T2 said not to worry about it because she'd write up a Remote Control Cheat Sheet for me!

And she did!!! Look how cute!!! She did pictures and everything .... I couldn't stop laughing!!!

Ah too funny ... you've got to love a friend that will still love you even though you are perhaps completely and utterly Electronically Challenged!

Anyway, they also provided me with a fridge full of my favorite drinks in the whole wide world!!!!

Mmmm, mmm, mmm! So sweet! I am so spoiled!

And so I popped over Wednesday to hang with the cats for a bit and I'm happy to report that after a few trials and errors (word of advise: don't let your big fingers accidentally push buttons on the remotes not listed on your cheat sheets. Weird things happen and panic ensues.) ... SUCCESS!

So I watched Smokin' Aces starring Jeremy Pivens (above), Ben Affleck, and Ryan Reynolds (mmm, mmm, mmm ... see below).

And as you can see, one of the cats (Peeps) joined me. A grand time was had by all and I'm pretty sure I was able to turn everything off afterwards!!! (fingers crossed!)

..............................................

Speaking of grand times .... Miss CJ has been living it up on the deck lately!

She managed to find a few inches amongst my flower pots to lay and sprawled out in style! I especially like her "bed head" ("deck body"??) in the second one. And the fact that she learned my "if you stand next to something big, you look smaller and more petite" theory in that last one! ;)

After the sun moved off, she chose to steal MY chair instead....

So I annoyed her with endless pictures til she let me sit down too!

Not to be outdone, Emma came outside too and took time to smell the .... well, bamboo?

Oh well, she almost got it right. My "special" child. :)

..............................................

To celebrate the 4th, what's more "American" then heading out to a baseball game and downing some hotdogs, nachos, peanuts, and whatever else the food vendors bring your way??!!

That's right ... nuthin! :)

So that's what a couple of friends and I did.

Now Portland doesn't have much in the way of major league sports (I try to overlook the Blazers) but we do have a couple of farm teams .... one hockey and one baseball. The baseball is a Triple A farmteam for the San Diego Padres and they are called the Portland Beavers.

The weather was beautiful on the 4th and the stadium where they play is nice....

......the scoreboard is a hoot (they still do it "manual" so if you click on the picture you can actually see the person sticking their head out through the 10th inning slot to watch if the ump will next call a ball or a strike!)......

......I love the view (most people may find that Oregonian building ugly but I like it)......

.....there be fireworks after the game!!........

.....and the field is full of athletic men in tight pants!!!

Needless to say, I had a great time! ;)

As I hope y'all did!

..............................................

In closing, I thought I'd leave you with this Living Will from Maxine! It's a hoot ... I hope everyone enjoys! Have a great weekend ...........and I'll catch you on the flipside!!!

I, MAXINE , being of sound mind and body, do not wish to be kept alive indefinitely by artificial means. Under no circumstances should my fate be put in the hands of pinhead politicians who couldn't pass ninth-grade biology if their lives depended on it, or lawyers / doctors interested in simply running up the bills. If a reasonable amount of time passes and I fail to ask for at least one of the following:

A Glass of Scotch
Chocolate
A Margarita
Chocolate
A Bag of M&Ms
A Glass of Scotch
Chocolate
Chicken fried steak
Chocolate
Mexican food
Chocolate
French fries
Chocolate
Pizza
Chocolate
Ice cream
A Pint of Scotch
Chocolate
Chocolate
A Fifth of Scotch
Chocolate

Then it should be presumed that I won't ever get better.
When such a determination is reached, I hereby instruct my appointed person and attending physicians
to pull the plug, reel in the tubes, let the "fat lady sing". . and call it a day!

Soul Patrol! Soul Patrol! Soul Patrol!!!

2007-07-05T15:52:00.000-07:00

That's right, Mr Taylor Hicks from American Idol fame was in Portland on May 11th playing at The Crystal Ballroom. Y'all ... he ROCKED!

I know, I know ... shocked, aren't you?

I know I was.

I mean, I loved him on American Idol but mainly for his personality because his music style, though good, isn't what I normally listen to.

But ever the faithful music fanatic, I decided to give his cd a shot.

I didn't love it.

I mean, it was good and all ... but not what I was going to grab to play when driving down the road. Because, when I drive down the road I like to rock out. Or at least to be caught up emotionally in the music.

His cd .... eh.

So after a listening or two .... back in the case it went.

However, I wasn't opposed to seeing him up close and personal. I mean, he IS adorable. And single! (what? :)) So hey ... what the hell, right??!

So my Sis2 and friend T2 and I headed down to check it out.

Folks, his concert was AWESOME!

"That's right, I'm #1!"

First of all, it started on time! Now, those of you frequent concert goers know this is a rarity. These rock folks aren't opposed to just wandering out whenever they darn well feel like it! So I'm used to waiting around forever for the main act to take the stage (Axl Rose being by far THE WORST (I think he took the stage about midnight and played til 2am ..... on a school night*.... sigh)).

And another bonus was that he didn't have an opening band! So when 8pm rolled around, the lights went out and Taylor appeared! Voila!! That, my friends, is my kinda concert**!

But then ... but THEN .... I could not believe the energy in the show! He handpicked a phenomenal backing band.

There was like 6 or 7 or them and they were fabulous musicians and so interesting to watch (one in particular ... ahem!).

And the entire show had a great rockin' jazz feel to it! SO MUCH ENERGY!!! I mean, seriously, how can you go wrong when you've got cowbell??!!! :)

"I gotta have more cowbell"

So really, I can NOT recommend his live shows more. We were talking to a roadie after the show (what?? ;)) and he said that a live concert dvd was being filmed (elsewhere) so to keep an eye out for that in the near future! Whoo hooo! I'm tellin' you, folks, either get the dvd and/or check out his show next time he swings through town because his live shows are so worth it!

In fact, here's a quick, quick, quick, quick, QUICK view (I have a much better video clip but apparently the file is too large to post (sigh) so I can only show you this one). But can't you just feel the energy....

Soul Patrol! Soul Patrol! Soul Patrol!!!!

*yeah, it's official ... I'm old!!!!!!

** again with the "old"

A Little Friday Humor

2007-06-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

Jokester: Knock, knock.

Audience: Who's there?

Jokester: Interrupting pirate.

Audience: Interrup.... [Jokester]: ARRRRRRRRR.

HAHAHAHAHA. Heard that on Last Comic Standing last night and I had to pause my dvr recording because I was laughing so hard. I know, I know ... juvenile sense of humor ... what can I say?? :)

Happy Friday, everyone!!

Add "Crazy Plant Lady" to my resume!!

2007-06-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

Oh man, my poor condo neighbors ... they do NOT know what they are in for!!!! You see, I have been missing my garden lately. You remember, the garden I grew at my old house under the tutelage of Ms C?

Ah memories.....

And now that it is spring/summer and everything is a'bloomin' out and about in Portland... I've found myself wandering amongst nurseries yearning for some of my old plants ("yearning" in only a platonic sense, of course!!!!).

I mean, my deck does have a lavender and a jasmine in pots which I brought over from my old house and those are doing well. (they'll be doing REALLY well once they start bloomin' (come onnnnnn Jasmine!!!)). And I also have a few gigantor bamboos I purchased from a neighbor who was moving out.

But yet I yearn.

I yearn for the old. (hello? Issues with letting go??)

But thankfully, I do not have issues with "shopping" and so I went on a shopping spree for more plants!!

Only, I couldn't bring myself to buy "normal" container style plants because I loved the plants I used to have! And so I purchased some of those.... you know, the ones which should be planted in a yard, grow really really big, are perennials, like full sun and, did I mention, they grow really, REALLY big?!?!

Heh, heh!

So I'm not sure how well they will do in containers on my only partially sunny deck but .... see those big white daisies in the picture above?? Yeah, I bought those. And those tall, purple coneflowers? Yep, those too. And in the very front, the lavender color?? ... that's catmint. My cats loved it (yes, shamefully, in the "wink,wink" fashion) and so I bought one of those for them too (see, "Crazy Cat Lady" still stands!!!). And I may have bought one or two other plants (what? :))

Anyway, so if all those grow well there won't be room on my deck to sit. Seriously!!!!! BUT ... does The Crazy stop there?? Oh no, no, my friends.

Because yesterday I was out on my lunch hour looking for this one particular flower I still wanted which would "finish" off the deck, so to speak. I didn't find it. BUT ... I did find a butterfly guara that I had.to.have!!! A butterfly guara which also grows Freakishly Large!!! Hee hee hee.

But wait, there is more to this Crazy! So I bought the guara during my lunch hour which meant that I had to leave it in my car for the rest of the work day and so I was concerned that the car might get too hot. So I cracked a window for it! HAHAHA (*slaps knee in merriment*). Yeah, there's the true crazy, my friends.

So send help. OR ... better yet, send more potting soil! Because I think it's still early in the planting season and someone just mentioned something called "plant stands"! ;)

The Harlot Does Portland

2007-06-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

So, now that we are off the topic of China (*insert clapping and cheering*), back to Real Life!

I went and saw The Yarn Harlot speak at Powell's Books on Friday June 8th. It was a Packed House, let me tell you! Here's a picture showing part of the room.

Isn't that crazy!!?!! And there were more people to my right. As well as other folks turned away at the door due to overcrowding! I tell ya, it was standing room only with 45 minutes still til she was scheduled to speak. Luckily we all had knitting to while away the wait. I found myself knitting on a sock which (oddly) saw the light of day the last time I saw Stephanie speak. (and I wonder why it isn't finished yet! :))

Here's the Harlot upon arrival. I think it's so cute that you can barely see her over the massive podium!

And her obligatory sock pictures:

(Sorry for the blurry pictures. Apparently my camera has yet to recover from its workout in China!)

Anyway, and last but not least, I took video!!!! (shhhh, don't tell!)

So for any of you who have never seen her speak, here is a little blurb! She is so cute and funny, and is seen here talking about a possible wool shortage!!! (too cute!)

So, as always, a grand time had by all! Even for those of you Muggles (non-Knitters) out there ... I recommend checking her out next time she is in town. She truly is a hoot!

People, Places and Things ...... oh my?

2007-06-19T19:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, so apparently I took WAY too many pictures in China and so maybe I'll pare this post down to just People. Because if I add on Places and Things I'm certain Blogger will disown me. As will all y'all! ;)

Anyway, I loved people watching there. And everyone was so sweet. And interesting. And the lifestyles and surroundings were just a photographer's dream!

So without further ado, here are some of my favorite photos from China.

Cute kids! These taken at the Chongqing Zoo:

Just look at that little girl in the first pic with her hair!!! GAH! ... sooo cute! I smile every time I look at her!

And I asked Gramps if I could take a picture of his grandbaby because I wanted to show you the No Diaper Phenomenon I found everywhere (seriously, didn't see even one diaper. Just bare bottoms). But Gramps figured I'd want a front shot so turned the baby towards me and I couldn't figure out how to non-pedophiley explain that I wanted a picture of the baby's bare butt!! So I didn't .......and settled for just this Cute Picture instead. :)

But at least in this next one you can kind of see the opening in the baby's clothing. No diaper. Which may or may not explain the stain down the mom's leg. Just sayin'.

Taken in Chongqing's Old Town

My favorite cute kid! He was hanging out at a dock when we were in port one morning and I snapped this picture through the cruise ship's dining room window.

I think his mom worked on the docks. Here he is watching as his mom worked on the fishing nets.

We visited a kindergarten class. They sang the ABC song for us!

In the port of Fengdu, a vendor carrying her baby:

Also in Fengdu, a vendor baby! (hello?! Labor Laws???)

And last but not least with regard to pictures of Young 'Uns (how you hanging in there, Ms C?? :)), I found these girls while I was wandering the streets of Xian. They were playing Chinese jump rope (would that just be called "jump rope" there????) and I wanted to catch a picture but they came running over to pose when I pulled the camera out. Love it though. They were so sweet!

Okay, on to adults! Here's one of the Peking Opera stars gearing up for the night's performance:

A gentleman outside a club in the Hutong area (took that one while cruising by in a rickshaw!):

Our group heading into the Forbidden City in Beijing on the only rainy day we encountered on the whole trip!

Check this out. In Chongqing, motorcycle taxis!!! (no helmet for the passengers)

(sorry for the reflection ... taken through the bus window)

In the Yu Yuan Garden in Shanghai. There was sweeping going on EVERYWHERE in China. I even saw one person sweeping the highway! (seriously!). And this broom is the style they all used.

A street scene outside our bus window in Wuhan. Not sure why the man was standing around in his underwear ... but now he's on the internets (that'll teach him!! :))

I took this outside of the Summer Palace in Beijing:

And this in the Hutong area of Beijing:

On the Li River outside of Guilin:

A seemingly popular way to carry things in Old Town of Chongqing. Looks like Moving Day in that second picture...

In fact, my theory is that you could hire these guys to carry things for you. I saw some men sitting around with some of these poles nearby. I wish I had some of them locally ... I've always got some stuff I could use schlepped around!!! :)

Also in Old Town, this picture:

A Chinese coworker believes the sign indicates this is a dentist's office. The question is .... is this the waiting room ... or are these the dentists??? :)

And last but not least, two pictures of men playing a game. I figured it to be Chinese Checkers which is why I snapped the pictures. Hee heee ... Chinese Checkers ... in China! HA! (seriously, I'm like 12 ... I know this!! :))

Outside Summer Palace and in Chongqing's Old Town, respectively.

Okay, that will do for awhile. I think we've all had our fill of China pictures. Next up ... something non-China related!! :)

Excuse me, can you spare a square??

2007-06-18T16:41:00.000-07:00

Here's a little tidbit for future travelers to China .... bring toilet paper!

No, no ...... seriously. Because it's not as if the existing toilet paper there is, say, a little rough, or something. You know, like in Europe. In China, the toilet paper for the most part is just plain ole Missing In Action.

You'd enter a stall and there just wasn't even a PLACE for toilet paper to be hung. You could try moseying back out to the "common" area of the bathroom in hopes that a toilet roll holder would exist there (a couple of bathrooms had it this way). One bathroom, in fact, had a bathroom attendant who handed you a small wad of toilet paper as you headed into a stall. (how's that for a sucky job??) But really, about 50% of the time there just wasn't toilet paper. Nada. Nothing. Kaputz. And it's not like I was out wandering in the backcountry, ya know? I'm talking even in mainstream tourist areas and big city restaurants.

Luckily I had plenty of small packets of tissue with me. So I never went without. But that doesn't mean that I'd always enter the stall prepared with tissue in hand. Oh no, no. Often I'd be midstream (sorry for the mental image) and reach for toilet paper, find none, and realize I then had to wrestle out of my backpack and dig around in the bottom of it for a packet or two all while balancing in the most awkward of positions.

"Why is that?", you ask. "Why weren't you just comfortably sitting astride the lovely toilet? Are you subtly telling me that I need to pack toilet seat covers as well??"

Nope. You certainly CAN take toilet seat covers with you ... but you might then also want to pack an actual TOILET SEAT as well. Because the majority of toilets there, my friends, looked like these:

That's right, our tour guide called it "Oriental Style". And this style of toilet was the status quo. So airport, nice restaurants, etc all had toilets such as these. (the hotels we stayed at, luckily, had "Western Style", god bless 'em)

Now, granted, that first one pictured above needed a good cleaning. Seeing this picture with all the wetness around where I had to stand to squat is just making me want to grab my antibacterial wipes and rescrub the bottoms of my shoes. (*shudder*). And sadly I visited much worse than this one. MUCH WORSE. Though this particular restroom didn't have it, the "nicer" ones actually had a bathroom attendant whose job it was to mop the floor around these toilets after each use. (a job even suckier than the TP Chicks!). Of course, I just kept thinking about all the ickiness on the mop ... it's not like it was cleaned and sanitized (or even dipped in water) between each mopping. (where did I put those antibacterial wipes again??? GAH!)

But the good news about both of these toilets is that these actually FLUSHED. Because the ones which didn't, and there were certainly ones which didn't ... yeeeee doggie. Just be happy this blog isn't scratch-n-sniff is all I'm sayin.

Of course, even a lot of the nicer restrooms smelled because they requested you throw out your used tissue (ahem) into the wastebasket instead of flushing it down the "toilet". So even if the toilet flushed most of the restrooms had quite a strong stench to them. And that wastebasket, not a sight for sore eyes, know what I'm sayin'! Ugh.

Now these Oriental Style toilets took a bit of getting used to. And being creatures of habit, or lazy, or just really bad at balancing in the squat position, the folks in our group would check each stall to see if any were Western Style so we'd know. And if one was found, we'd line up to use that one. But I finally figured out that you could tell which stalls were which style just by looking to see if there was a step up into it. Like viewed below:

See the step up into each stall? ... yep, all Oriental Style. Much easier than checking each stall.

But I tell ya, after one particular restroom experience I no longer cared which style toilet I used. Whatever got me in and out of the smelly bathroom quickest, ya know? Because there was this one restroom break we took at a reststop (picture a gas station) between Wuhan and Yichang. Good. Golly! A number of folks wouldn't even use it because they couldn't stay in there long enough without retching. Plus there was no privacy. And you pretty much just peed into a trench. If they had souvenir t-shirts reading "I survived the bathroom facilities here" I'd a surely bought one. Let me tell you, I must have gone through an entire packet of antibacterial wipes after that!!!!!!!!!! So once I survived that restroom all the others seemed pretty damn nice to me ... oriental style or not!!

Of course, later in the trip I saw this sign on a restroom and had to go in just to check it out.

For the record, the restroom it is referring to contained the flattest toilet of the two pictured at the top of this post. Not quite the 4-Star Facilities I was hoping for .... but again .... compared to that reststop restroom .... this one was gold!

So, Future China Travelers, let's recap what you should pack:

1. Toilet Paper
2. Antibacterial Wipes
3. If you plan to use that one particular gas station reststop, additionally pack a gas mask, a stall door, and a portable antibacterial shower. At the very least!

And in preparation for your travels to China, be sure to build your quadriceps up well. You're gonna need 'em.

p.s. I found the following, an "Etiquette Bell", in each stall of the Seoul, Korea airport (which is by far the cleanest airport I have ever been in!).

Does anyone know what the hell that thing does when you push the button?? (along with why?). I have one guess ... but I don't want to say. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller??

[update: ah ha! Success!!! I finally thought to just Google the Etiquette Bell and found this! (hee hee hee)]

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

2007-06-13T09:26:00.000-07:00

I didn't plan on posting this "Signs" post next but that damn song* keeps playing in my head. So I figure maybe posting this will exorcise the song. (why yes I am a bit of an eternal optimist ... why do you ask?? :))

And when I say "everywhere a sign" ... Hong Kong especially had them crammed in pretty tight. Take a gander at these:

That's a lot of signs! And that last one in particular cracks me up. Because, isn't the sign in front itself a warning??? Maybe it's just me. :)

More in Hong Kong:

Also in Hong Kong, I found this one at the ferry terminal.

Hee hee .... they say it's a safe city and then immediately warn you about pickpockets!

Apparently the city is also not safe for pedestrians. As this sign indicates. (blood and all! tee hee heee)

A shout-out to my GE homies (this photo taken at the airport in Wuhan, China):

One of my favorite .... at the Three Gorges Dam in China:

"No Turning Over, Please" ..... hehehe (*slaps knee in merriment*)

This one I found at the Three Gorges Dam viewing site and I'm STILL trying to decipher the top portion of it!!!

This one there as well. Difficult to read but it says "Workaround. Please stop." (so polite):

I have to admit that I decided to pass on buying this snack in the Hutong area of Beijing (poor da Eyore):

Also in Hutong, a sign outside a bar:

On the Li River cruise ferry:

In Chongqing, China .... one of three Walmarts they have. I was told all are very, very popular and even have shuttles to go bring people to the store.

This in China:

Y'all, not a blade of grass in sight!!!!

And this one, with its 4 foot tall rock formations ..........

"Perilous Hills" .... hee hee hee!!!!

Another of my favorites ...... "no scratch"!!! A-ha ha (I know, I'm easily amused. What can I say?! :))

Found this deck of cards at the Xian airport. I was too scared to buy one pack to see what the cards actually pictured!!!

Are they really a deck of cards with pictures of Xian on the backs?? Or ....do the pictures have something to do with "Amorous Feelings"???? I'm a little confused.

And this product ......

Seriously, what IS it?? "Senile Fleck Dispeller Cream" ..... should I have purchased 10 of them???

At the Starbucks in Shanghai:

In Hong Kong .... "healthy dessert"?? Isn't that an oxymoron?? (or it should be for a dessert to be a proper dessert at least!!! :))

In the City of Ghosts on a chairlift up to the temple, running, walking and/or skipping is fine ... but for godsakes, "No Striding"!!!! :)

For those of you familiar with Britain's "Mind the Gap" subway sign .... here's Hong Kong's version:

And also Hong Kong's version of Britain's "Look Right" warning to those of us pedestrians accustomed to cars driving on the right side of the road. (that's "right" as in "not left" ...Just sayin'! :))

And last but not least, clear indications that it was time to go home:

* "Signs" by Five Man Electrical Band