I bet you didn't know!

The very first Red Robin was a biker bar in Seattle with a horrible reputation for drugs and violence. This is the original sign that now hangs near the door of that first Red Robin. Notice anything different about our red feathered friend?

Fashionista in the making?

I came across a photo today that gave me a huge smile. When I was in my last month of pregnancy with Darian I had a lot of time on my hands to sit and wait. She was two weeks overdue, and when you have been pregnant for 9 months, 2 weeks seems like a lifetime! So I spent my time making clothes for her.
Now, you have to remember that I was quite young, and still pretty Goth when I had her. Here are two outfits I made for her from the same material. The first one you can't see as well, but it was a little elf robe with a bell at the end of a hat. The second one made me laugh out loud.
She is only 2-3 months old in these photos. Look at my long black hair! How time flies!

The last days of summer...

Saturday morning, Darian and I got up and had a lovely breakfast. I had a scramble with Artichoke hearts, squash, and a smokey flavored cheese. Darian picked a yogurt Parfait that came out looking more like a dessert! We were missing Jon big time. He is off in Scotland playing a Big Star show this weekend. I always hate it when he has to be gone for three day weekends, but that is how he makes the money, so you got to do what you got to do.
From there we went to get our brows waxed at the local salon. Darian inherited my very thick, dark eyebrows. In a way it is a good thing, because with this type of brow you can get them waxed into pretty much any shape you like! It is easier to start with too much and make it less that it is to start with none and make it more! She also wore her new contact lenses out for the first time, so she looked much more mature than I am used to. All day people were asking us if we were sisters, or if she was my niece. When I would thank them and explain that she is, in fact, my baby they would double take and ask me somewhat rude questions like, "How old ARE you?"
I would just say, "I am old enough to have a daughter that is her age!"
After we finished at our salon we decided to walk downtown to finish up her school shopping. We could have drove, but yesterday was such a beautiful day out, we wanted to take full advantage of one of the remaining summer days.
We went to several stores, purchased new shoes, new jeans, and a few sweatshirts. We have pretty much covered everything she is going to need to look fashionable and fun in the coming year. The last item we still need to buy is a nice winter coat, but most stores don't have those out just yet, so we will be waiting on that one.
After shopping we went to the cinema to catch a movie. We finally got to see The Simpsons Movie! It was really good. Both Darian and I are huge fans of The Simpsons, so it was everything we expected and more. I'm glad I didn't talk to anyone about it before I saw it, or didn't read anything, because the gags were all a surprise and that made it really fun.
After that was over, we decided to pop over to the next theatre and see Superbad. We had been hearing good stuff about it, and figured since we had such a hard day of school shopping, we deserved a double feature!
Suberbad was OK. I predict it will be hugely popular with men, stoners, and 12-18 year olds everywhere. It was a lot of penis jokes. Kind of American Pie meets Porky's without the nudity. I thought the two main actors were very good and I look forward to seeing them in other roles.
In fact, earlier this week, Darian and I went to a free sneak preview of another lowbrow comedy called Balls of Fury. It starred a guy who we saw perform in a musical we went to earlier this year! If it were between seeing Balls of Fury or Superbad again, It would probably be Balls of Fury. It was more of a silly knee slap comedy and I just totally adore Christopher Watkins so much, I'd rather go down that road again if I had to. But really, I don't want to. They both fall under the "I'm glad I saw them for free" umbrella.
We had a somewhat creepy encounter on the bus ride home. When you catch busses after 7PM, the mix of people on the bus changes dramatically. During the day you just get a lot of commuters and business people buzzing around town. Maybe some nannies and stay at home moms using the busses to go to the park or get from here to there. Well, after 7PM you end up with a few shoppers (like us) carrying loads of bags from the downtown stores, a few obvious tourists, and a lot of Who's who in Mental Health.
Generally the rule is "Don't speak, and Don't make eye contact"
This guy got on the crowded bus who seemed to have a godawful case of pinkeye. He had one huge inflamed eye that was tearing up. He sat right across from us. I whispered to Darian to not touch ANYTHING and make sure we REALLY scrubbed our hands the second we got in. The guy was just going to town on his dripping eye. He would not stop touching it. It was really giving me the willies. THEN he noticed Darian and I sitting across from him and pulled out his cell phone. I noted right away that it was a camera phone.
(Now, THIS is a trend that I've noticed recently that really gives me the creeps. Random men take pictures of random women with their cell phone cameras a lot in the city these days. It's happened to me a few times while walking down the street.)
Creepy guy lifts up his phone and I notice he is pointing it right at my daughter. So, I lift up my GIANT Hot Topic bag and very obviously hold it in front of her obscuring his view. Then I give him the hard, "What in the hell do you think you are doing you freak!" mom glare.
I don't break the silence, but my glare and gesture of holding the bag up was really loud, it was pretty obvious what I was doing and everyone on the crowded bus figured it out really quick. He made eye contact with me for a second and looked at the floor all embarrassed, put his phone away and scurried off the bus at the very next stop. As soon as he stepped off the bus, the people around me started talking about how creepy it was that he was trying to take a photo of my kid, and how they thought it was smart how I handled it by holding the bag in his way.
This age of technology is so great and makes life so convenient in so many ways, but it also scares the crap out of me from the perspective of trying to raise a child in it. Parents are faced with so many more challenges these days than ever before. Creeps have so many more avenues to get away with things. You really have to stay alert!
This remided me of the guy who worked at the Cinerama in downtown who was caught with a tiny camera installed in the ladies room just about a month ago. It sucks that I can't use a public restroom until I completely look over every inch of the place for hidden cameras and what not. I know it sounds paranoid, but it is the people who do look for them, that find the cameras and bust these creeps.
I had a friend who was in the changing room of an Urban Outfitters a few years back who found a tiny camera wire in her dressing room. She pulled it out and followed it to a small camcorder shoved behind a display. She just threw the camera in her purse and waited around. A little while later a guy showed up frantically looking for something. He didn't work there, he had just been in there "trying on clothes" and he said he lost something. (This is another reason I hate stores with unisex changing rooms as well. I will buy stuff try it on at home and return it if I need to. I won't even shop at a store if they don't have a full refund policy and they only offer unisex changing rooms.)
She watched him look everywhere the camera was supposed to be. She said she enjoyed his panic. She left and tossed the camera in the bin after destroying it. She would have turned it in and turned him in, but she knew that it had video of her changing as well, and she didn't want her nudity going in as evidence. She already felt violated enough. She figured it would take that creep a long time to get another one since it looked pretty expensive. I would have handled it differently, but she was the one who was violated, and that was her reaction to it.

Today, I'm taking on the lazy Sunday slowly. Seems my girl came down with some kind of stomach flu late last eve. She crawled into bed with me about 3AM and we were up late getting her sorted. Poor baby. She is resting now and I am just getting my first cup of coffee. Luckily, Netflix sent her three of her favorite movies this week (I use Netflix for her because they tend to stock more of the Anime than our local video stores do) so she can just rest and watch movies all day while sipping Ginger ale until she feels better!
Maybe I will get some laundry done? Probably not.

Freaky Sunday.

Or: Why we didn't get to see The Simpsons movie even though we bought tickets twice in one day.

Darian got back from Grandma's yesterday. SO GOOD to have her home. I missed her a lot. She got back early so we went to do phase one of getting ready for back to school. She got a haircut and we bought the first round of new shoes, clothes, and stuff for back to school.
Today, we went downtown to go to Sephora and buy some makeup with the gift card I got from Chris for my birthday (THANKS AGAIN CHRIS!) and then go see The Simpson's movie.
Well, we got to the movie and the time was wrong. We thought it started at 3:50 when it really started at 3:10, so we exchanged our tickets for the next show and went to Sephora.
When it was time to go back we headed into the building, and we were evacuated!! Turns out someone pulled a fire alarm or something. They said they will let people back in, in about 20 minutes. We decided to go over to the next mall and chill in the food court to wait it out.
While sitting in the food court, I started to notice a weird tickle in the back of my throat, I start to clear my throat, and both Jon & Darian say they feel like they have something in the back of their throats. We start to cough, and then we realize that EVERYONE sitting around us (About 30-50 people) all start coughing at the same time!
Then we see a small group of cops standing across the room with things covering their mouths and coughing.
I will tell you, in this day and age, when you are sitting in a food court and your throat starts feeling on fire and everyone around you starts coughing all in unison, it is enough to trigger a minor panic attack. People start clearing out fast, coughing and covering their mouths. We ask the cops, turns out someone opened a can of Mace or something like that in that part of the food court. Neat. Glad they informed us all!
So, we leave and head back to our theatre as the evacuation of THAT place was over and our movie was about to start.
WELL, when we get to the front they tell us that The Simpson's movie was the ONLY movie effected by the evacuations and was running about 20-30 minutes behind.
We all agreed right then, that today was NOT the day to be downtown. Too much weirdness and we were all feeling pretty sick from the gas in the other place.
So, we got our second refund of the day and came home.

I guess we will have to see The Simpson's movie another time.

Doh!

Flavor of the Month:

Part of the difficulty of being married to someone who has a public job is that it makes it harder to trust people who want to be your friend. To let someone get close to you is a lot more difficult because you have to wonder what motivates them. You have to second guess everything, and put every action under a microscope. It is exhausting for a small town girl like me who is naturally open and friendly. Every now and then someone slips by my personal motives detector and eventually it throws a full-on monkey wrench into my life.

What is worse, is that Jon has been doing this forever so he can spot it coming from a mile away. So the times things have come up since we have been married, it has always been me who has opened the door and welcomed these people into our lives. Not only do I get burned and hurt by said monkey wrench, but I also get to hear "I told you so!" which is every wife's favorite thing to hear! I am learning to be harder and more closed off and private, but I really hate that I have to change who I am fundamentally just to make this life work.

This story is what motivated me to write this:
I heard from a very dear friend who is married to someone who is in a very popular band. Not too long ago, when she was at a show following him to the stage with a video camera, (Because he had asked her to catch some of the show on tape) she was attacked by three teenage girls in the crowd. She didn't see it coming at all because she had the camera up to her face. She said that out of nowhere she was punched in the stomach, hard, she hit the ground and then the other two started jumping on her back. Luckily she was only bruised, but it could have been much worse. They are a young couple, they could have just as easily been trying to get pregnant at this time. Think of what could have happened.

Why did they do this to her? Have they ever even met her?
No.
They did it because she is married to the rock singer that they have a crush on so they saw her as nothing more than an object standing in their way to what they wanted.

For me, this story illustrates perfectly how I feel. How a lot of the wives and girlfriends of people in the public eye feel. We look away for a second and we get sucker punched in the stomach and then get stomped into the ground. For what? Just because some little sycophant decides that our husband somehow belongs to them. The arrogance!! It truly astounds me.

Men who are married are not available, regardless of whether or not they are famous, they are not available.
When you are trying to climb into their beds you are not only sucker punching their wives, but you are sucker punching their babies and children, their families, their close friends, their careers. You are basically pissing all over everything that I consider precious and holy in this whole wide world.

Home Improvements

With the nip in the air that is the first sign of the end of summer approaching fast, Jon and I took a look around and decided that we need to make some major home improvements since we will be spending loads of time indoors soon.

With Department store credit card in hand we went to our local home store to look at several fancy things this weekend.
The short list:
A new couch
A portable dishwasher
A smaller coffee maker

I never realized how hard it is to buy a couch until this weekend! It is easier to buy a car!
We went to the nifty little section of the store that looked like 20 little living rooms all set up in a row. We were immediately approached by a very eager salesperson. There didn't seem to be a whole lot else happening in that particular department at the time because while he was telling us about the super sale they were having and all of the features on this particular model couch, there were 4 other salespeople lurking just behind us. It was the most customer service I've ever seen and a teeny bit unnerving.

We felt fabric swatches, sat on, stretched out on, jumped on... every style couch you can think of. We decided that we need a couch that converts into a bed for when we have visitors.
We have a small apartment that we are pretty fond of, and after much debate on the subject, and looking at a lot of apartments around town, we decided that we want to stay here for at least two more years. After that time we will buy something in an area with a good high school for the kidlette. So we want to make the most of the space that we have and still be able to accomodate cofortably when friends and family visit us.
Buying a couch is serious business. There are so many things to consider! We found one overstuffed lovely that was even on sale that we came *thisclose* to purchasing, but after I did a little Internet sleuthing we decided we will hold off a few more months to make that particular purchase during the after Christmas sales. Turns out they need to sell out as much as possible at the end of the year before taxes, so we could save several hundred dollars.
So after several hours of shopping, and several trips to the store, we have no new couch... yet.

Then we looked at portable dishwashers to replace out current dishwasher (Jon). I fell in love with this little Maytag model that I think would be perfect and it really isn't too expensive for how much joy it would bring into our lives. But because this building is so old, and the water pressure is not as great as it could be, we have to hold off until we have a professional come by and test our pressure to see if it is compatible. I fear that it will not be.

Even the coffee maker was too hard to find! Since I am the only coffee drinker in our apartment, I have been wasting a lot of coffee every day. I make a half pot, pour a cup and end up dumping the rest. I've been dreaming of one of those little two cup coffee makers like they have in hotel rooms. It would take up less counter space as well! Sadly, we could not find one with an auto shutoff, which seems pretty important to me!

So, there was a lot of shopping this weekend, but we didn't buy anything.
Scratch that; I bought an amazing new pair of knee-high boots for fall. I guess that counts for something! I can't wait for it to get cold enough to rock them!

Carnivale!

Today is the first Tuesday of August, so that makes it the day of our Annual neighborhood block party. It also makes it a press day, and a super long press day at that. Didn't even step out of the office until almost 8PM.

Right now my neighbors are all gathered around the building having a Gong Show! For reals! It is actually really sweet. It seems that Karaoke is the talent for the day. Some people are not half bad. I keep hearing cheers and laughter. It makes me happy. It reminds me of what a wonderful neighborhood we live in and what a sense of community this little place has. We have so many interesting characters around here. This is a writer's wonderland for material. It is the sort of place I always imagined raising my children. It is why, even though we have been consistently getting rent increases every 6 months on the nose, we stay here. (We have looked around a lot over the last few months since our last increase and really, there is no better deal, unless we want to live in a slightly more isolated part of the hill. Still close, but not in the center of the community like this place is.)

I like that my child has grown up knowing these people, and living in this city. If I had not had such an exhausting day I might even have tried my hand at a little Karaoke, but instead I think I am going to pour myself a nice tall glass of cold Iced Tea and enjoy the wonderful people who live and laugh around me every day.


Happy First Tuesday of August everyone!

Carys

Another adorable photo of my new niece! Look at her smile. TOO SWEET!

Just be. Every tomorrow is a new chance to start over.

"Bright light, dark shadow. Sometimes you just can't get past it." This line is a quote from a very sweet blog written today by a very talented
MS/LJ-friend of mine, PKM. It really touched me, and got me thinking so I felt I had to re-post the line and elaborate on how it made me feel.

This line touched me because I have known many people throughout the years, friends and distant relatives, that the sentiment describes perfectly. People who really do have these great big hearts that are so full of potential and magical minds who seem to be so bound by anger, fear and pain that they always seem to have a dark shadow of paranoia looming over their path.

It is as if they are always swinging wildly in the dark with their eyes closed tight trying to take down anyone who gets close to them or tries to reach out to help them.
It makes me sad, because I think living your life, walking around with so much anger and hate all of the time must be incredibly hard. (Not only is this a mental illness, but I also really believe that living like that is connected to illness such as Cancer. Not the only cause by any means, but how can it not be? Hatred in it's own right is a Cancer.)

I really do feel for anyone who goes through it and lives like that every day. It is the exact reason I want to go to school to become a therapist or a nurse someday. Maybe get the opportunity to help people like the ones I have lost to mental illness over the years, before they are beyond help?
I wish there was something that I could do to help them now, but at the end of the day, they can only truly help themselves.

A person so hell bent on hurting themselves can't be cured by all of the love in the world, they would not know what to do with it. They need to want to help themselves first. I had to learn that the hard way several times in my life before it stuck.

The first step to any recovery process is learning to really love/believe in yourself, the rest will follow.


PS- thanks so much PKM for the inspiration!

************************************************************
"I picture you in the sun wondering what went wrong
And falling down on your knees asking for sympathy
And being caught in between all you wish for and all you seen
And trying to find anything you can feel that you can believe in

I know I would apologize if I could see your eyes
cause when you showed me myself I became someone else
But I was caught in between all you wish for and all you need
I picture you fast asleep
A nightmare comes
You cant keep awake

cause if I find
If I find my own way
How much will I find
If I find
If I find my own way
How much will I find
You

I dont know anymore
What its for
Im not even sure
If there is anyone who is in the sun
Will you help me to understand
cause I been caught in between all I wish for and all I need
Maybe youre not even sure what its for
Any more than me

May gods love be with you
Always..."
In The Sun by Joseph Arthur

Birthweekend!

It was not just a day, it turned into an entire weekend event!

I almost forgot to mention the fact that my office surprised me on Friday afternoon with a mouthwatering cake from some cute little bakery downtown, doughnuts in the morning, and roses on my desk when I got to work. OH, and they got me a card that plays the chicken dance song! Too adorable!

Then the party last eve was so much fun! I figured it would just be a low key party with the usual suspects at our local watering hole, but so many people turned up that I have not seen in ages, it was such a great surprise! My friends spoiled me with wonderful gifts from Sephora, lush and my favorite coffee place as well as some other cool things. (My Mom made me a beautiful purse & wallet that she gave me when I saw her on Thursday, I will have to post photos of it soon!)
Licia brought a cake that was chocolate with white frosting and red roses and had a delicious Bavarian cream center. When 20+ sing happy Birthday to you, you really feel like you have bee sung to!! Even the old guy walking by on the street outside joined in since it was a nice night and they had the front open.

I ended up having two friends stay over since they were in no shape to drive, so this morning they treated me to Brunch. Now I am all tuckered out and ready to cat nap all day and watch movies.

Like I said, I have the greatest friends ever. They make me feel super loved every day. I'm so lucky to have them in my life and I love every single one of them like family!

Birthday.

Today is my birthday. Bree and I kicked it off last night at the stroke of midnight at this magical place called Manray, or as I have dubbed it "The happiest place on earth"
She and I went to see some poetry and then she suggested we go there to ring in my new year. It was completely different than my usual rock clubs, but I found it to be refreshing and fun and everybody was so nice (and so beautiful!).
The DJ even announced my birthday and played songs for me.
In a lot of ways it reminded me of a place we used to go to in Alaska when I was still a teen, so it gave a shot in the arm of that youthful feeling.
Tonight I'm celebrating with several more of my lovely friends. I'm a very lucky girl as I have the greatest friends ever. I feel very loved.
What more could one ask for on their birthday?

July's mixed CD (Before the month is over)

This mixed CD was not so much made up of my favorite songs by these artists, but by the songs that I can "see" when I hear them. As in, they start playing and I can almost see the scene in the movie they would be accompanying.

(Bonus points if you know which movies the ones that have already been in movies were in.)

You Should Be In Pictures

A Hazy Shade of Winter- Simon & Garfunkel
How Soon is Now? - The Smiths
I Want You- Elvis Costello
Want to be Bad- Tegan & Sara
Oceans Cracked- TubeTop
Make Good Choices- The Vernacular
Freeze the Saints- Stephen Malkmus
Think (Let Tomorrow Be) - Sebadoh
Do I Move You- Nina Simone
Sell All My Things- Rosie Thomas
I Finally Found a Jungle I Like- The Posies
Cemetery Song- Jon Auer
Méchant Pétard- Plastic Bertrand
Regret- New Order
Sick Of Myself- Matthew Sweet
Ultimatum (Live)- The Long Winters
Step Back- Letters To Cleo
Honey And The Moon- Joseph Arthur
You Are What You Love- Jenny Lewis With The Watson Twins
Baby's Coming Back To Me- Jarvis Cocker
Plainclothes Man- Heatmiser
Learn to Live With What You Are- Ben Folds
Various Stages- Great Lake Swimmers
I Won't Dance- Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
Mental- Eels
We Both Go Down Together- The Decemberists
Car- Built to Spill
Starz- Broadcast Debut
Lady Sweet- Big Star
Dumb It Down- Bell
Crowds- Bauhaus
Runaround- Arlo

Hearst Castle Shortbread Cookies

I made cookies tonight. I got the recipe from this wonderful blog. They turned out perfect. Light and YUMmy! I rolled a portion of them in cinnamon just for an extra zip. I am looking forward to having them with coffee tomorrow!

Hearst Castle Shortbread Cookies

This is a shortbread inspired by the version published in The Castle Cookbook by Marjorie Collard and Ann Marie Lopez. The end result is a perfectly light and buttery shortbread cookie with just the right amount of sweetness.

4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 pound unsalted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

In a mixing bowl beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and beat again, scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl once or twice as you are mixing. Beat in the vanilla extract. If you have a vanilla bean slit it open along its entire length, scrape out the vanilla bean paste from the interior of the bean, and add this to the mixer as well. Add the flour mixture in two additions. Stir until everything comes together into a thick dough.

Turn the dough out onto a counter top and divide into two pieces, there is quite a bit of dough, so cutting it into two pieces just makes it easier to roll out later on. Press each piece of dough out into a flat patty an inch thick. Wrap each piece in plastic and chill completely in the refrigerator - about thirty minutes. When the dough is chilled, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out 1/4-1/2-inch thick. Cut the dough into desired shapes using cookie cutters or a knife and place on a parchment (or Silpat) lined baking sheet.

Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies are barely golden.

Makes 3 or 4 dozen tiny cookies - more or less depending on the size of your cutters.

Peter Pan-ish

There was one of those Aura photo booths set up at this fair I went to. Just for fun I decided I would go ahead and get mine done. When my photo was developed the guy running the booth gleefully exclaimed, "You have the Aura of a child! I've never seen this before in a full grown adult!"
Wondering if I had just been insulted, I asked him to explain further.
"Oh no, it is not a bad thing. Children are more energetic and their minds are open, and they have higher ESP. When we grow up we get tired, and busy and stressed and we close up. But not you! You are full of crazy energy and your mind is wide open. If you focused your energy you could blow the doors right off of this place!"
He was all lit up and excited when he was explaining this, it was sweet, but I figured he said that to all of the cute girls.
"It must be all of the coffee I drink." I teased.
"No, this is a very good Aura, you are a special girl!" He insisted, "See that white light above your head? Those are the spirits that are always with you. Not everyone has those."
That part didn't surprise me. So many people I have loved have died. If there are spirits that follow us around, I would be one to have an army.
He went on to show me other people's photos, and he was right, all of the adults had one solid color, the only people with layers like mine and that white and purple outer layer were the kids!

Well, we all like to feel special, and I am not one to refuse a compliment, so there you have it. You heard it here first. Even though my birthday is a week away and I am turning 147 years old, my Aura is not a day over 7! Oh, and I am never alone. I hope at the very least they don't peek when I am in the shower!

Here's the interpretation thing:
Red/Hot Pink: desire, vitality, power, the urge to win, to have success, intensity of experience, action, doing, love of sports, struggle, competition, force of will, leadership, strength, courage, passion, eroticism, earthiness, practicality, desire for possessions, sense of adventure, the survival instinct. A majority of young children and teenagers especially boys, have bright red auras.

Green: perseverance, tenacity, firmness, patience, sense of responsibility and service, self assertiveness, high ideals and aspirations, dedication, puts high value on work and career. Ambitious desire for respectability and personal attainment, deeply focused and adaptable. Green is also the color of growth and of dedicated parents, social workers, counselors, psychologists, and other persons focusing on creating positive change in the world.

Violet or Purple: magical, original, tends to be unconventional, often has psychic abilities, unusual charisma and charm, the uncommon ability to make their dreams come true, or manifest their desires in the material world, wish to charm and delight others and can easily connect with higher planes of consciousness. Playful, nonjudgmental, tolerant of others' eccentricities. Sensitive and compassionate. People who have purple auras appreciate tenderness and kindness in others. Not especially practical, they tend to prefer to live in a dream world of their own creation. You'll find many "violet or purple" entertainers, movie stars, free thinkers, visionaries, revolutionaries, and otherwise singular and magnetic individuals. Dark violet could indicate a need to take charge of their life, or perhaps, that the person needs time to spiritually ground himself or herself.

White: spiritually motivated, the ability to be open and receptive to the divine, or spiritual world. Can merge with ALL THAT IS. Probably unconcerned with worldly matters or ambition. Inner illumination, cosmic wisdom characterise the white energy. Young children, energy workers, and people who meditate intensely often will show bright white in their auras. Generally, white does not often appear in the auras of adults.

Lucky.

At lunch today I decided to poke my head in the thrift store next door to my office.
It was just a quick walk through to see if there were any new coats/vintage clothes/handbags.

I noticed a somewhat unremarkable bag that looks like it was circa 1940-something. I picked it up and opened it for no particular reason. Inside it had a teeny change purse. I opened that as well. In there were two of the most beautiful silver and rhinestone vintage looking earrings. They were so shiny and new looking that I initially thought they were knock offs made to look vintage. The purse was obvz the real deal as far as being from the 1940's so I thought there was a slim chance they had just been sitting in that change purse since the 40's.

I went to the counter and asked the guy what he would charge me for these earrings. I explained how I had come across them. He seemed interested in doing as little work as possible, so he said, "They are yours for 99 cents!"
DEAL!

I figured that even if they were knock offs, they are REALLY pretty and you can't beat 99 cents!

They have a marking on the back. I came back to the office and googled them. Turns out they are from 1941 Eisenberg ice collection. I found a pair on a website they are selling for $125.

I don't think I will sell them because they are so pretty and in perfect condition. It makes me wonder if they really did just sit in that change purse for the last 66 years waiting to be found by me.

Here she is!

My new niece, Carys Lynn Price. I swiped this photo from my brother's blog, you can see more of her there! Congrats big brother and lovely Laura. You two are in for an awesome ride.

She looks a lot like Darian did when she was a newborn. Too cute. Takes me back...

Also, Happy 55th birthday to my daddy!

First vid with the new camera!

It is a lot bumpy because it is the first time I used the camera and I was playing with the settings. Here is a video of Josephine & Angelita from The Triple Door show, 7/14/2007


See more videos at: http://www.youtube.com/dreamingviola

Enjoy!

To film fest, or not to film fest, that is the question.

There is a film fest I want to try to enter. The deadline is Aug 10th but it is only a 7 minute film fest. I know, it seems silly since that is not too far away and I don't even have an idea yet (Or totally know how to use my camera for that matter) but it sure does sound like a nice challange!

Now I just have to think about what would be interesting for 7 minutes.

You can combine any genres, the winner last year had part home movies and part animation. The only rule is that is stays under 7 minutes and that somehow there is "a slice" in there. It could be a slice of life, lemon, pizza, pie... You get the idea.

7 minutes... hmmmmm...

Babies are fun!

My sister in law's (my older brother's wife) water just broke! She is in labor right now.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that she gives birth before midnight because then she and Darian will both be born on the 18th of their respective months!

This will be my first niece! They are giving her a Welch name, Carys Lynn, which (I think) they are pronouncing Care-us, but still need to have clarified.

I bought all of these realy cute baby clothes, I have to get them mailed out today as she is a few days early and I had planned on posting them Friday!

The girl in the leopard-skin pill-box hat

I think this video is both sad and beautiful.

Just the inspiration I needed...

Jon's Mom and Bill sent us a surprise anniversary/my upcoming birthday gift!!
I am SO STOKED!

They got us a Sony Handycam DCR-SR82
And a tripod to go with it!

Woohoo!

I have a feeling my YouTube account is going to be seeing a lot of action very soon!

Now I just have to decide what kind of movie I want to make first. Hmmmmm...

Happy Leather Anniversary!

Today is our 3rd wedding anniversary.
I looked up what the appropriate gift would be for a third anniversary (ie 1st is paper, 2nd is cotton...) to my surprise the 3rd anniversary is leather. Now the first thought that pops into my head is one of Jon wearing some funny leather daddy hat or something equally as ridiculous on him. I know, that is so wrong on so many levels, but you must admit, one does not normally go out shopping with the plan, "I'm going to buy leather!" in mind. (Or maybe someone does, but I generally don't.)
I also noted that if you stay married 90 years (Which I doubt happens ever) the 90th anniversary is Granite!! As in rock.
I'm wondering if they were trying to imply a headstone with this one? I mean really, who is married 90 years? You would have to live to be 100 and get married when you are 10!

I decided to get him something he would actually like, and bought him a block of rentals at his favorite video store, some really interesting looking Jasmine infused beer from a local brewery and a map of all of the best wineries in WA state.

It is strange to think that 3 years have already passed. In some ways it doesn't feel like that much time has passed, and in others it feels like 30.
The lady who was ringing up my purchases at the store said it best when she said, "Three years!! Wow! That is a really long time in this day and age!"

Indeed.

Which came first, the cookie or the fortune?

I was pacing in my cube at work, and I stepped on the corner of a bag.
I hear: CRUNCH!
I think, "Oh no, what did I break now?"
I look in the bag and find a fortune cookie from a lunch I ate last week in a pile of crumbs and the little white paper sticking out of the pile.

I, of course, pull out the fortune.

This is what it says:

You will find your lost item within the next week.


I could not stop laughing.

Seattle Show Just added

SEATTLE: 7/14 DAVID BAZAN/JON AUER CO-BILL @ THE TRIPLE DOOR

JUST ADDED: DAVID BAZAN & JON AUER (SOLO ACOUSTIC)
Saturday July 14
8PM (All Ages)
$10 adv/ $12 day of

Don't miss this just added co-headlined show with two of Seattle's finest
indie rock talents! David Bazan of Pedro the Lion and Jon Auer of the Posies
will each perform solo acoustics sets in an intimate setting.

$10 adv./ $12 dos.
www.tripledoor.com

For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her

When I first saw this photo of a billboard in New York I thought: Emily, you are my HERO!


But then my hero worship was ruined by this article that explains what was really going on:

"A billboard in LA and New York has gained a lot of attention and buzz recently. The billboard reads: ‘Hi Steven, Do I have your attention now? I know all about her, you dirty, sneaky, immoral, unfaithful, poorly-endowed slimeball. Everything’s caught on tape. Your (soon-to-be-ex). P.S. I paid for this billboard from OUR joint bank account.’ Some viewers thought it was a real personal ad, while others were skeptical. The billboard is actually part of a mystery ad campaign for a new cable TV show. This type of buzz is called viral advertising and allows companies to produce cheaper ads because most of the advertising is created by people talking about the ad and forwarding around the piece on the internet."

I almost wish it were real...

Where's The Beef?

I know it is bad for me and I know that about 80% of my friends would never be caught dead eating it, but there are certain times (Especially when I'm living in PMS city) that I really enjoy a good old fashioned fast food binge.
It only happens about once a month, but when it does, I want it to be, well, fast and convenient.
Because I choose to live in the biggest tree hugging, vegan loving, foodie food snob part of Seattle, I have access to all sorts or really amazing and cheap fancy food, but a good old fashioned greasy cheeseburger is getting harder and harder to come by.
We only have two fast food places within walking distance of my office. We have Dicks and Jack in the Box. Neither offer flame broiled goodness, they are both clamshell grill kind of places and (I know this is practically sacrilegious to say in Seattle) but I don't think their burgers taste a hell of a lot different! I know, people LOVE their Dicks burgers here, but after talking to several people, I think it is more about the secret sauce, which I think is nasty and always order my burgers without. I am a catchup and mustard and extra pickles kind of girl. Go anywhere near my patty with Thousand Island sauce or anything that even resembles Mayo and I'm gonna throw it back at you.

I'm personally a fan of a good old fashioned Wendy's burger or a nice "Have it my way" Burger King burger with the happy little grill stripes when I'm looking for a greasy meat patty fix. Neither of which are within walking distance of work or home. And who doesn't love a Frosty? Come on!


At least I still have Taco Bell for my late night, after the rock club cravings... for now. (I heard it is being closed by the end of the summer to build condos and they don't see it being reopened on the hill. BooHoo.)

Dirty Muffins

My favorite commercial on television right now is the one where the woman goes to her boyfriend and asks "What's a muffin top?" No matter how many times I see it I giggle like a little girl every time I see it:




My LEAST favorite commercial on television right now is this one:




I mean seriously! What the hell? Did a bunch of men get in a room together and think: You know what would be a REALLY funny commercial? Let's compare girl parts to crustaceans and in a round about way make girls think their parts are gross and dirty.

OK, I have a problem with this commercial for all of the obvious reasons, but also any good Gyno will tell you that it is these kinds of feminine products that mess with the delicate female balance and causes the issues they are supposedly going to "fix" in the first place.

To me it is the equivalent of making condom commercials that pick on penis size. Dumb dumb dumb.

Dysfunctional TV relationships

I like Hell's Kitchen but I don't want to watch it anymore.

The fact that I like this show at all really disturbs me on a very deep level. I mean, I watch the show and see how Chef Gordon Ramsey talks to those young chefs in the kitchen. He yells at them and calls them horrible names that border on sexual harrassment and really, it makes my stomach hurt to watch! In fact, if anyone were to EVER try speak to me or anyone I care about like that in real life I would probably call the police! If I were talked to like that in my work place, I would bring them up on charges! It's just so wrong. So why do we watch it?

Seriously.

I've got to wonder if they find abused and already broken personalities to work for these shows. I've noted that most of their chefs are not even half as talented as the chefs on Top Chef. So, maybe they do find the people who grew up in broken homes or with mothers with addictive personalities and abusive boyfriends, so the young chefs don't think there is anything wrong with how he is speaking to them?

I know there is this great big cash/fame payoff at the end, but I don't care how much money is at the end, if that is the guy who you will have to work for/with forever and ever amen, it just doesn't seem worth it.

Every week, when they are brought to tears after being harrassed and picked on and screamed at, they are crying to the camera and between sobs they are saying, "It's ok. I was wrong. This is how I will learn to be better. He just wants me to be better."

Um, sound familiar? To me it is sounds just like, "He only hits me because I am bad and he wants me to be better. He really is a good person deep down."

Yeah. Gross.

So, I am confused as to why I even like this show starring a person who would be so awful to the point that he brings people to tears several times a week. I just don't get it.

Is it a weird voyeurism thing? I am watching from the safety of my living room and they are the people in the shiny box, so they are not real, so this must all be scripted so he really isn't as horrible as he seems? Kind of in the same way I love the Godfather and The Sopranos and think the mobsters on those shows are really cool, when I am totally anti-gangs and violence in real life.

Is this the first step towards prison execution reality shows?
Is this really what we are coming to?
Is watching people in a classic abusive and bullying situation really good TV?

Has anyone taken a gander at the very popular Dr Phil house or seen the ratings on Jerry Springer?

I guess I answered my own questions.

And yet I keep tuning in, and watching while I get stressed out and my stomach hurts. It is the proverbial car wreck I can't turn my eyes away from. It has to stop.

At the very least I have to stop watching it.

My Prom Date is Hotter than Your Prom Date!

Last night I went to The Prom. Well, it was a fake Prom at a nightclub for people who are 21 and up, but it was still a prom. There was a cool band, and most everyone dressed up.
I noticed most people dressed up as close as possible to what they wore to their first prom. It was funny because you could scan the audience and get a feel for who graduated in the 70's, 80's or 90's.
I chose to go for a look similar to my original prom attire and wore a short black wig like how my hair looked in 1991. It was a lot of fun!
I got to see some old friends. I got to wear a fancy party dress. My dates were both beautiful and way more fun than my first prom date! And, as an added bonus, I even got to meet Seattle's own, Mr Joel McHale, who used to be on Almost Live back in the day! (How I miss that show) and who I think is one of the funniest people on television today. (IMHO: When Conan replaces Leno I think Joel would be perfect to replace Conan.)

How could it have possibly been any better?

The only thing missing was Jon, but he is playing shows in Japan right now and says they are going great, so I don't feel too sorry for him for missing out on prom.
My Dress:








School Spirit!

















X's and O's

GO LOBSTERS! (That was the mascot for the night)

The Finale

This was the impromptu finale to the Radio8Ball show. It is where he reads all of the questions that were not answered. Jon is there for comic relief. :-)

Letter

This is just something I did for fun. The song is Jon & I screwing around with the recording devices on our home computer.

Radio8Ball - Sundown

This is the video of Jon and Andras doing the live version of the radio8ball show. Our friend, Bre, was randomly drawn on this particular night.
Her question was, "Who, even, are you, even, fer-reals?"

--------
This next video is of our fearless host doing a song himself! It is a lovely song called Message for the Moon by Andras Jones.

Caffeine Cafe - Seattle

This is one of those times that I really want to talk about what an amazing experience I've had at a restaurant, but at the same time I am a bit afraid to because I kind of want to keep it my own little secret.
Why would I keep it a secret? Because I know as soon as I start telling people about it, and they go there, this place will be packed and hopping on the weekends.
Yes, it is that good!

Today was the first day that Caffeine Cafe opened their fairly new restaurant for brunch. Since a good brunch place without an hour long line on Capitol Hill is nearly impossible to find, I was pretty excited about the prospect of a new option. I brought the family down a few hours ago to try out the new brunch menu.

First of all, the atmosphere of the place is just beautiful. It had a lot of fantastic, colorful art pieces on the walls. It has very modern, yet warm furniture and great lighting. One could easily see it as a set in a movie or as a cafe that the Sex and the City girls would be meeting for one of their trademark brunches. It was obvious that someone took great care in putting this place together and that they had impeccable taste.
Caffeine Cafe is a little off the beaten path as far as location goes, but because of it's location there was tons of street parking. (Major bonus in Seattle!) We were able to park without a problem right in front of the door!

Darian and I ordered waffles, mine had a berry compote and Darian's had apples and walnuts. They were beautifully presented and tasted as good as they looked! Usually waffles are a little too heavy, and as much as I like them, I leave feeling like I have a rock in my stomach, but this one was just right. I also noted that the topping to waffle ratio was perfection, so much so that neither Darian or I needed to touch the extra syrup the waitress supplied us with.




Jon had a very classic two egg breakfast plate. He said that the potatoes were exceptionally yummy, his plate was also put together with great care.
The people who were leaving the table next to us highly recommended something called a Two Eyed Monster. It had sausage and peppers, which I was not in the mood for this morning, but I really want to try now that I have seen what the chef can do.

The staff were super sweet, the chef even came out and answered some questions for us. Jon had noticed some really intriguing looking sandwiches on the menu board and the chef was happy to answer his questions, he even wrote down the name and address of the meat supplier he used because Jon wanted to know. Jon was really impressed with the whole experience. (I have a feeling that Jon will be getting some take out sandwiches for lunch during the week!)
We will be going back quite often, or at least until everyone else finds out about it! For Caffeine Cafe, I hope that time is very soon, because for as much care and heart they have obviously put into this place I think they really deserve to have their business take off and do really well!

*****
Caffeine Cafe
1809 Minor Ave #101
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 838-7441
Open all day M-F
Now Serving Brunch:
Sat-Sun 7:30AM-3:00PM
Belgium Waffles
Frittatas
French Toast
Mimosas

Remembering James Polk

On my way home today I was stopped by a familiar Real Change Vendor in a spot where another familiar face has been missing for a few weeks now. Before I had a chance to ask him where James has been (He is the guy we usually buy our Real Change paper from) he asked me, "Did you hear the news about James? He passed away. I just found out today."
I had not heard the news, and even though I was not surprised by it, the news weighed heavy on my heart.
James was a very kind man. He was one of those people that would always smile when you walked by. It could be raining and cold and he would still be cracking jokes!
I didn't know a lot about him. I only knew the sorts of things that the most casual acquaintances could know. I saw him in passing nearly every day and always stopped to talk at least for a minute.
I knew he loved orange juice and orange Popsicles were his favorite flavor. I knew he had very kind eyes and a sweet smile. He was always warm and welcoming. I knew he had been through some hard times in life and he was just like the rest of us, doing what he had to to get by.
I guess that isn't a lot if you really think about it, but it is what I knew.

Almost every day on my walk home from work he would say, "Well, you look nice today!" followed by, "You should tell your husband to take you on a vacation. Perhaps the Bahamas or Jamaica?"
Then he would point out the articles on the front cover and explain to me in his own way why he thought I should read them.
He was a simple fellow with an almost childlike quality to his speech, but he always sounded pleasant and happy. When we saw him outside, my daughter would always grab a dollar from me at the registar and run ahead of me to buy a paper.

My family became very attached to seeing him every day over the years, so whenever he would not be in his usual spot for a few days in a row we would become concerned. Even though he was a younger man and he always seemed chipper and happy you could tell by the yellow that was slowly darkening the whites of his eyes that he was not in the best health.

The last time I saw him was probably the last day he worked a few weeks back. He told me that he had been in the hospital and that he had been very sick, but he thinks he is doing better now. The light in his eyes that was normally there was not quite as bright as it usually was, and his voice was a little less cheerful, but he still smiled and he still told me "You should tell your husband to take you on a vacation!"

This is the Obituary that was in the Real Change paper this week:
JAMES POLK
This weekend brought sad news to Real Change, when we were told that one of our vendors, James Davis Polk, had died. The cause of death, according to his sister, Juanita Mae, was a liver ailment. He had been staying with a cousin in Tacoma, recovering from a stroke earlier this year when he died Sun., June 10.
Born April 14, 1961 in Hattiesburg, Miss., James only spent three months there, before his family moved to Seattle. From then on, this city was his home.

A popular vendor since 2001, who sold papers on Capitol Hill, at the QFC located on E. 15th Ave., James was beloved by customers for his sense of humor and winning smile. These traits were parlayed into one of his most endearing selling strategies: gently teasing potential buyers by referring to them as Bill Gates or Paul Allen.

All your thoughts were clean and clear...

Tonight we went to the Radio8Ball show with Andras Jones and Jon as the musical guest. The premise of the show is that everyone in the audience places a question in a box. The questions are chosen at random. Not every question gets picked, but as luck would have it, last night my question was picked second! So I had to get up on stage, ask my question and spin the wheel.

My question was: Should I go back to school this year?

My answer was:
AT LEAST FOR NOW

Friday comes with little warning
Saturday is close behind
Then you sleep in Sunday morning
Monday back out on the line
Bitter friends go passing by you
They pretend that you're not there
It's their affection they deny you
So you pretend that you don't care
You're not to blame 'cause you were never
Made aware

Chorus
(that) it all comes back
In good time and that's a fact
It's all right--at least for now

A healthy dose of deep depression
Keeps you comfortably smug
Life without you can't imagine
It's become your favorite drug

Once you had your own direction
And all your thoughts were clean and clear
Now gazing at your own reflection
Makes you want to smash the mirror
You can never listen but I know that
You can hear

Chorus

You can always worry
You can always think that you're wrong
But never say you're sorry
For something that you've never done

The weight of the world is on your shoulders
You've seen so much and your so young
But you'll have to wait until your older
To understand all that's been done
Stand your ground because the battle has
Just begun



Missed this one and want to catch the next show?
July 17th at CHAC with Central Services
www.radio8ball.com

(I made a couple of videos of the show as well, will get those posted to youtube soon!)

What's new on the Pretty Red iPod?

This week's downloads:

Smile: Charles Chaplin

Between The Bars (Elliott Smith Cover): Madeleine Peyroux

Trust in Me: Siouxsie and The Banshees

Via Con Me: Paolo Conte

Back To Your Heart: Dinosaur Jr.

I Saw You

The paper I work for has a section in the back where they have "I Saw U's"
I've been reading them since I moved to Seattle. I even did a little art project using them once. I would cut out and scrapbook interesting I Saw U's. I did this for YEARS. I have a pretty great collection.

I've even got a few over the years. One from a door guy when my band played at a certain club. One from some girl who saw me in a bookstore with my kid. A few from old boyfriends and even funny ones from old friends/coworkers who moved out of town.

I still stop by the webpage every day to see when they get updated because I think they are really fun to read (And not all of them get printed). I LOVE when I find one for one of my friends and I get to be the first to tell them they have one. It is just a silly little "thing" that I do.

Anyhow, someone just posted one that I thought was really cute.

Here it is:
girl at bookstore, procrastinating
you picked up a Kosinsky novel and something by Updike. Wish you felt like procrastinating a little more, I wanted to make out with you in the back stacks.

When: Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Where: capitol hill
I saw a: Woman
I am a: Man
Date posted: Thursday, June 7, 2007

If you want to read more, the link is here (Be careful, it is addictive!)

Guest blogger:

(Darian & Zack kitty when they were both just kittens.)

I don't usually let other people post on here, but Jon wrote a comment about Zack kitty that is so sweet and moving I thought it needed it's own post.

FROM JON:
Jeez....

It was so strange.

Michelle was out for the evening with our good friend Licia and I was home with Darian. I'd finally come around to the school of thought that maybe it was time to take him in to the professionals...and, I knew if I did take him to the vet that they would more than likely say it was time to put him down.

So, before Darian went to bed, I told her to say her goodbyes to Zak. With many a delicate pet to his head and many a tear from her, she did just that.

An hour later, Zak stumbled by our dinning room table, just under the gerbil cages, and wouldn't get up. I went to his side, hoping to get a look of recognition from him, maybe one of his trademark, familiar meows, but he was totally incoherent and shaking like a tree in a strong wind - that is, if the tree was having unbelievably bad dreams. Calling his name did nothing but make me sadder and drive home the fact that this was the last time we would be together while he was alive.

I was holding Zak's frail head in my hand when he took his last breath, a moment I will never forget. I hadn't cried like I did since Gala, sweet kitty, passed away just over a year ago. They were both the greatest.

I had Zak almost 20 years, longer than I have known many of my friends. He was one of a kind, a true original. He was always sweet, always happy to see you, and he had the coolest set of "eyebrows" I've ever seen on an all-white kitty and a crooked, “Cubist” or "Picasso-like" tail I've never seen before or since. He LOVED "people food" and I can still see the way his nostrils would flare every time we'd bring home fresh orders of teriyaki chicken, his absolute favorite I am sure. That's when he would unleash a fresh batch of those trademark meows I mentioned....again, one of a kind.

I take comfort in knowing that Zak lived long, loved life and was more than loved in return, and I'm glad that we were together when he went. He was more than just a cat or a pet to me - he was a force of nature and a true friend. We all missed him the instant he was gone.

All of your questions will be answered...

Pointless rambling weekend post #9678:

This weekend really felt like the first days of summer to me.
I woke up on Saturday morning, before everyone else in my house, with way too much energy so I decided to go jogging. I was a little self conscious at first because I am the least graceful person in the world while running. I stomp when I run and I never know what to do with my arms. Basically, I look like a spaz. So, one would assume that would mean I would just run on side streets where I would not be seen, but NO! With the recent beatings and muggings in the hood right near my house, I have changed a lot about my walks to and from work as well as where I would or would not run. I am less afraid of looking like a spaz in public than I am of getting mugged.
I wandered down the street for a while when I reached the hospital campus. I realized that the campus is pretty large and busy with people in front and back. So what I did was I would walk down the front and sprint up the back.
The only people who would see me run are at the hospital, and I figured if they were there on the weekend, they probably had better things to be worried about than what a spaz I looked like.
I lapped the building like this for well over an hour. I really thought I might throw up at one point, but then I got to a point where I started kind of laughing/crying. Mmmm endorphins!
It felt good.

After the spazzy jogging session I went home and showered and then announced to my family that we were going to the beach!!
The beach was heavenly! Darian even went swimming! I sat in the sun and read and listened to my *iPod. I am a full shade darker now to boot. (*Best new iPod download: Nerdy Boys by Candypants www.myspace.com/candypants )

Sunday started at around 4AM for me due to some sort of commotion from one of the neighbors that woke me up. It seemed to be some kind of argument or something. Jon said it sounded like a loop of the same two voices saying the same things over and over again. Why can't people fight between the hours of 9AM and 7PM? Why does it always have to be in the middle of the night? Seriously!
So, I got up and watched a movie to try to drown out their voices (I watched Little Children) and got the day started on a very strange note. Good movie, just kind of surreal at 4AM with a domestic dispute coming from the next room. Ah, the joys of beehive living in the city!

After the movie I wandered around the hill looking for garage sales and whatever else for a few hours. Then I sat in front of a coffee place with outdoor seating and read for a while.
Sunday eve we went to Licia's and buried our sweet Zack kitty. I'm happy to know that he is resting at a place where there is so much love. She is going to plant a pretty Hydrangea bush over the spot.

Today, as of just after midnight, it is raining.

RIP Zack Kitty

Our poor old Zack kitty passed away tonight. He was almost 20 years old. He will be missed.

I'm not a baby machine...

I guess I'm at that age where I am expected to start nesting and having babies. I'm entering my third year of marriage, I'm turning 33 in a few months and I am at the average age that women are having babies these days. Why am I even thinking about these things? Well, because my email and junk mail are telling me to. It turns out that all of those websites you look at while you are wedding planning save your info and right around 3 years after you are married they start to nail you with baby making stuff. I've been getting a barrage of emails about joining "New Mommy Groups" and "What to do to get ready for baby" and I've been getting things in the mail for nursery catalogs and diaper services. I want to call every one of their customer service numbers and inform them that my 'baby' is almost thirteen years old, my childbearing days are long behind me and to go pester someone else.
Is that all we are to the marketers of the world? Are married women between 29-34 just babymakers as far as they are concerned? Don't they understand if I had more kids now I would literally be raising kids for my entire adult life?
Don't get me wrong, I love raising my daughter, it is the best thing I have ever done and I could not be happier with how great she is turning out. I'm a natural when it comes to parenting. But I would like to, at the very least, try and see if I can excel at anything else as much as I have at being a parent.
I would love to go back to school in a couple of years, maybe go into medicine like I always dreamed. Or maybe travel around the world a few hundred times and finally finish that book? Or maybe just work at a cafe and take life day by day meeting new and interesting people, or maybe finally make that movie I've got rolling around in my mind's eye.... The possibilities are endless and I am entering the prime of my life!
Raising children is a huge responsibility and should never be taken lightly. Just because I am really great at it doesn't mean I want to have a bunch of children I can't afford. To me, that would be terribly irresponsible.

Being a parent has been an amazing adventure, but I don't want that to be my only adventure. I've only got this one life, I need to make the most of it.

Whoas. Another new low.

I have no idea what possessed Courtney Love to think this was a good idea, but here is a new ad campaign for Doc Martins with Kurt Cobain selling shoes from a cloud up in heaven. It is almost as bad as when I saw scenes of my beloved, Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face pieced together for a freaking Gap commercial! (Ms. Hepburn was one of the classiest ladies of the last 100 years, she was a style icon! I highly doubt she would wear Gap jeans much less be trying to sell them if she were alive today!)

As for Kurt selling shoes; that man did the most selfish thing a person could do when he pulled the trigger and left his infant child behind with a drug addled mother. I don't care what he meant to music, his image doesn't need to be selling any vanity products to today's youth. If Courtney wanted to use his image for anything maybe it should be donating it for promoting suicide prevention or something useful like that?
But, I guess she would not make any ca$h from that now would she?

Just a quick post this morning to say....

Happy Birthday Mom!

Now here is some cuteness for you:

loves
xoxox

Big Love

This is the time of year that I start renting full series on DVD.
Mostly for two reasons;
A: All of my favorite television shows go on their summer hiatus
B: I'm not particularly fond of hot weather. I grew up in some of the coldest places in the US. I wilt in heat and would prefer to stay home in my skivvies, with a fan pointed directly at me, while sipping Mohitos and watching DVDs. (Wow, that paints a pretty picture doesn't it? I'm really not that lazy. Am I?)

Last week I started watching a series I've been very curious about called Big Love.
I know, the title totally sounds like Plus Sized Porno doesn't it? Well, it is quite the opposite. It is a series about a Polygamist practicing Mormon family in Utah. One man, three very different wives, and a whole bunch of unremarkable kids.
Nearly every episode starts with some kind of HBO style sex scene which I think they do to try to keep it less vanilla, but other than that it is pretty... well... vanilla.
In the first few episodes I was getting pretty excited that it was going to be good, but now I am on episode six and I am already bored with the main story line.
They have introduced Juniper Creek which is, for all intent purposes, the Mormon Mafia. It has quickly turned into The Sopranos light. There isn't as much of the threat of death implied as there is the threat of excommunication. (Oh No's!!)
I'm finding myself not really liking any of the characters with the exception of the crazy mom Lois (played by the creepy and talented Grace Zabriskie) who I think I like because something about her character reminds me of some of my relatives. And I like the oldest daughter character, Sarah (Played by Amanda Seyfried) because there is something bewitching about her almost unreal doe eyed expressions. She's so striking looking it is almost scene stealing and the director takes advantage of that by giving her scenes where she uses batting eyelashes and coy head cocking more than actual dialogue.
Mid way through episode six I found myself wanting to hit fast forward to get through it faster. I'm going to try to wade through the rest of season one because I already rented it, but it will probably be with one eye on the screen and one eye on my laptop... Who knows, maybe it will pick up soon? It has not reached irredeemable for me just yet, but it is quickly getting there.


Next up I will be catching up with one of my favorite shows, Curb Your Enthusiasm. I can hardly wait!

Lost and Found update!

So, I wrote this blog back on Saturday, November 19, 2005.

Click here for the original post.

It is about a letter I found stuck in the door of my car. It was a letter from November 29th, 1958!

Today I got a comment on the post that was very interesting and cleared up some of the mystery:

At 12:02 PM , Steph F. said...
Postscript to your blog: Steve and Hazel Eastman were my grandparents..I was just surfing to look up some articles on Steve as he passed away Sunday May 20th at the age of 96. That New York trip sounds about right; they relished air flight, his hobby was restoring airplanes for the Boeing Museum of Flight, and they made sure they were on the inaugural commercial flights of the 707, 727 and 747. As of last month Grandpa was still campaigning for a seat on the first commercial flight of the new 787, and he also got a little press from his 94th birthday skydive out in Redmond a couple of years ago. He knew how to party! Grandma Hazel made it to 92 and passed on a few years ago, now Steve is with her again.
Best Wishes, Steph F. Seattle.


Wow! Almost 50 years from the time the letter was sent, it managed to make it's original destination, get carried around until it somehow ended up in the door of my car, I post it's contents on the internet, and a couple of years after that I get the back story and they sound like they were very interesting people who lived full lives!

Crazy!

I'm going to see if I still have the letter, if I do I will try to get it back to the family it belongs to.

I'm still baffled at how it ended up stuffed in the door of my car. I guess that part will remain a mystery.