Let me tell you what i think

I had an idea, but i forgot it.

2012-01-28T21:15:00.000-08:00

Menu of the Day:

The best thing: I ran 66 minutes today, the longest i have run since 13-14 years ,with no walking. I want to run a half marathon in May, the same one that i ran when i turned 40 years old. This time I will be in a new age group, the 55 and over. (Pushing 60 with my next birthday is my motivation, just as turning 40 was in 1997.)

Music: Mother and Child Reunion by Paul Simon.

Drinking: Ballbuster Red. I think i posted about this before.I cannot tell a lie. I am on my third glass.

On with the random stuff. Cause i think i need to make this short.

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1. Gingrich: really? I am not sure if i am happy about this or not. Do i like America better because they would choose him? No. i do not. I would feel better if people who disagree with my politics chose Romney. Because that tells me they are making an intelligent decision. But maybe I am happy because i think Obama is going to be okay?

2. Let's get off presidential politics. here's what is bugging me lately. I don't like the new E-Trade baby commercial; i am not happy with it is happening with our state politics with charter school legislation and even more than that, especially since i want to go back and work in schools after 2013. I think Brad Pitt should win an Academy Award more than George Clooney.

3. I used to joke, and be semi-serious to to be honest, about working in charter schools, but i also said the same thing about working in an orphanage. It's all about the wacky parents. But truthfully, in jojo terms about what is wack, i do not want to work with helicopter moms, soccer moms, and any parent who over coddles their kids. That's what i mean. And i didn't realize until recently that charter school moms are going to be EXACTY the kind of moms i am going to want to punch in the face. (I have been reading their blogs.)

4. Which means i will be fired within the first week.With my new workout routine, i think it means they will end up in the hospital.

5. Back to Academy Awards. here's why i think Brad should win over George. George Clooney is playing himself in The Descendants. I liked that movie alot. dont' get me wrong. I read the book before i saw the movie. George was great, but it was like the character was written for HIM... Brad Pitt went out of his personality and pulled it off. So there. Brad Pitt.

I think i am going to stop right here.

Notes to myself:

All time Views: 24,388
Run today: 66 minutes, no stopping.
Pageviews last month: 1240

So what is going on with all of y'all?

I'm too busy saving trees to blog....

2012-01-19T21:40:00.000-08:00

I'll just put up the photos i just loaded to Facebook for those of you who don't FB.

This Ice Storm is worse than our December 1996 storm. Right now lots of folks have no power, but somehow our condo area always seems to have it. (Partly because our power is underground).

I remember all the trees lost in that '96 storm so today i've been out with a rake knocking off as much ice from the trees around here. Brian came out later this evening to do it again with me and i took my camera. I took lots of photos, but i'm only putting up a few.

It makes where we live looking like a majestic little village.

The ice on the low lying bushes is totally like breaking up concrete. I can almost feel the rhodadendrons breathe a sigh of relief. (How do you spell those anyway?)

It's been a great week off. I had not cabin fever even though i've not been at work since last Friday and it's Thursday night. I've run most days except today and yesterday. I've been cooking, cleaning and reading (two different books), checking in with family, and cleaning our back room because our new computer work station was delivered and set up today. It's like having a whole new office. (I'll post photos later.)

Tomorrow if my brothers are still without power i think we'll have a dinner and game night. It's an adventure to go without power for the first day (and they both have woodstoves or gas fireplaces) but after 24 hours it can get old.

Friday Night Menu Specials

2012-01-13T19:01:00.000-08:00

Menu of the Day:

Tonight's Wine by the Glass: This wine is called Hestia. It's a Washington red blend wine from Woodinville and it is fantastic. A waiter referred this to me at Marzano's restaurant the other day and i loved it. I called my favorite wine guy and he ordered three bottles for me. It's $20.99 a bottle. (Worth every penny.)

For your listening pleasure: Gerry Rafferty City to City cd.

Literary pleasure: I am really liking The Leopard by Jo Nesbo. Jo (actually a guy) is from Norway and is being compared to the Dragon Tattoo writer. (If you like the Dragon books, check out Nesbo. This is my second one.)

Weather Forecast (and what i'm looking forward to:) SNOW this Sunday. (Hopefully).

What i'm thinking about doing: running a half marathon. I have a work colleague friend who is doing the Capitol City half marathon in May. I've run it twice before but not for 14 years. It might be just what i need to keep motivated. (Please don't hold me to this, i just like putting it down for the record, in case i do it.)

Things i've been doing differently: i have altered my neighborhood running route. I cut my morning bath routine too. (Now i only stay in there one half hour reading instead one one whole hour. And now i get to wake up each morning about 20 minutes later.) And i've got a plan to quit being a blonde.

What i wish would happen: The Republican candidate would just get picked already. I was wrong now i have to admit. It will not be Rick Perry as i predicted. (I made that prediction based on an interview i saw with Jon Stewart where he was pretty charismatic, before i saw him on the debates.)

The commercial i love to hate: louie will get this because we just talked about it last night. I HATE that Sarah McLachlan animal ad. HATE IT. In fact i can't even listen to her music anymore because of it. I just hate being manipulated in such a fakey way. Alyssa Milano does a similar kind of ad and i hate that one too. Like louie says, 'worse than those Sally Struthers ones".

My newer favorite shows on TV: Parenthood. (SO much like real life. This is a Ron Howard production. Ron Howard is like Tom Hanks. He doesn't do anything that's not good.) I also love Property Brothers on the HG channel.

The coolest person the planet besides the obvious pick, (Jon Stewart): Anderson Cooper (and Matt Damon too.)

Sunset time: (I'm going to try and remember to include this from weather.com each blog post to remind myself it REALLY is getting lighter now. Today it said 4:44 pm.

All time views on this blog (which is set to not tracking my own hits): This is more for me because i love statistics and numbers and want to keep track of how much blogs (including this one) are dying... Today's all time number: 23,701; Page views today = 18.

Stuff I like

2012-01-04T22:41:00.000-08:00

I thought it might be nice to focus on something positive... so here is my list.

1. I know this might not sound like me, but i actually like it when waitresses call me 'sweetie', 'honey', or 'doll'. Today I got a take out lunch order at Moonrise Cafe and the friendly waitress with a sleeve tattoo, who was about 15 years younger than I, called me 'Doll' and it made me happy.

2. I love watching old Bob Newhart shows on the ME TV network.

3. Sometimes when I am reading, i like to do so when there is complete silence. No background noise whatsoever.

4. Speaking of background noise, i love the sound of our new dishwasher when it's running through a cycle.

5. I really like a nap in the afternoon on my day off.

6. I hate running in the morning. but i really really like how i feel when i'm done.

7. I like rainbows. Today there was an amazing one just as i was leaving the house. I went back in to take a photo of it. It's kind of late tonight to format it for this blog, but i'll try and put it up tomorrow.

8. I like a good restaurant hamburger.

9. I like when i think i don't know how to spell a word but then i wing it and find out later that i got it right.

10. I like putting stuff back where it belongs. Sometimes i wish i didn't need to have things in order, but when i'm doing it, i realize i just like doing it. It feels good.

11. I like cooking the most when i am trying a new recipe.

12. I like to tweeze my eyebrows. It actually might be more of an obsession. But lately i've been trying to grow them out so i'm trying to hold back. It goes along with my love of tasks which show results fairly quickly. Painting and vacuuming being other tasks i like (though i don't have rugs to vacuum anymore.)

13. Back to spelling for a sec: I like that i always know how to spell 'vacuum'. Many great spellers still miss this one. Also 'nausea'.

14. A new pair of pajamas is just as exciting to me as a new pair of boots. I LOVE pajamas.

15. I like when people ask provocative and daring questions.

16. I like making Excel spreadsheets.

Let's hope the Mayans have it wrong

2012-01-02T18:48:00.000-08:00

Menu of the Day:

Music: I'm listening to the 'folk' genre on my iPod so right now an obscure song by Todd Snider is playing.

Book: the reason i was listening to folk music is because i was reading a book about Woodstock stories and i just finished my Kindle reading of Judy Collins biography. Now i'm going back to "Ciderhouse Rules" by John Irving.

What I'm not looking forward to: going to work tomorrow after all this time off. Today i woke up right at 8:30 when i am supposed to at work already. I've been doing that for the past two weeks because i keep waking up at 3 am.

Photo: Brian took this on New Year's Eve. (I love blurry photos!) His band opened for the Tim Hall band which is playing in the background. It was one of our most fun NYE times. At the Moose Lodge, even!~

I know most of y'all don't make New Year's Resolutions and i don't either. But i wondered if anyone has certain stuff they hope to do or get accomplished in 2012. Come and inspire us if you do!

Here are mine... There aren't very many because i haven't given much thought to the new year just yet. I just hope it's not really the end of the world.

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1. I want to organize my condo friends from the pool to get together and play cards like i used to do before Dorothy died. We all love to drink wine and visit and we live a few doors down from each other.

2. Keep running, but add to my workout because i realize running doesn't do all things for a body to keep in shape.

3. I would like to drink less wine but drink better wine when i do.

4. Same with food. It would be great to try and cut back on the processed food.

5. It would be fun to take a cooking class or workshop - Brian and i are going in Feb. to a resort on the river that offers such classes at different times of the year. I'm going to check it out.

6. I need to learn more about retirement and finances and be smart about it so that when i meet with the financial planners and do something i understand better so that i don't get ripped off with fees or something.

7. I am going to change my hair color more to my more natural dark color and just hope i like it.I may even stop straightening it and let it go it's natural messed up wavy way. (i must be inspired by the Woodstock stories i've been reading! HA!)

8. I'm going to figure out how to love reading books on my new Kindle Fire. So far i've liked it. Especially since i don't need a nightlight if i wake up at 3 am. But i have to say that paying $14 for a Kindle version of Judy Collins bio was too much. It was a good read but not a great read. I knew her son committed suicide but i didn't know she was such an alcoholic. I always did like that song Suite: "Judy Blue Eyes" by her boyfriend Stephen Stills. It was that much of an in depth read really.

9. Maybe i'll start writing more outside the blog. I do plan to keep up my goal of averaging one blog post a week for 2012.

10. I will make a better list than this as the year gets on. I am not exactly what you call an over achiever. Or even an achiever at all!

Post Ho Ho Ho-sings....

2011-12-29T18:10:00.000-08:00

Menu of the Day:

In my glass: The Guardian. a good red from Walla Walla. I'll explain it after the menu.

Music: I just bought the Black Keys cd called El Camino and it's awesome! I love the video for Lonely Boy and will probably put it up for my first January blog post. It's hilarious. For those of you on Facebook, i already did.

Book: I just finished reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. I had not read this book since i was 17 years old so re-reading it was like the first time. This book will go on my list of Top Ten favorites books of all time. Maybe in the Top Five even. The book is told through the voice narrative of the big tall Indian guy. Even if you have seen the movie 10 times like i have, you should still read the book. It's amazing. (Brian got it for me as one of my presents.)

What else i got: Bowling lessions...but sssshhhhh, it's a secret from the bowling league! I want to go back there and start bowling a 150 average! ..... I also got a Kindle Fire (as you can see in the photo).... I think I'm going to like it! ..... I got other stuff, including a Memory Foam topper that i thought i wanted for our bed. But after three days of trying it i feel like i need a chiropractor and i never have back problems. So back it goes. Plus it made us both too hot.

About the photos: The first photo is Brian and his mom Christmas day playing Chinese Checkers while i made Beef Wellington. (for the first time). The second one is my favorite Christmas Moment when Ashley and her boyfriend and Kylee came over to exchange presents Christmas Eve with us before we headed out to the big family affair.

After that are photos of my Beef Wellington. I used Tyler Florence's recipe that uses something like a mushroom pate that i made called a duexe?.... Anyway that's the stuff you see on the proscuitto that goes on top of the beef tenderloin which helps to keep the puff pastry from getting too soggy. The mushroom stuff looks ugly, but it's very good. It was fun to make and i would do it again.

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The Guardian wine:

My nephew Brian (Troy's son) got me the bottle of this good red called The Guardian. It's a Washington blend and very very nice. And kind of pricey. We had this conversation the last time i had seen him as we were watching Brian's band play in mid-December.

(That evening my other brother Scott was so funny going table to table with Brian's recorder interviewing all the folks in the bar about the band. As i'm watching this i say to Brian the nephew something that went kind of like this:

Me: Damn, I want to be the funny one in the family! I am tired of being the boring one. Scott and Troy are so funny and love to party. I want to be more like them.

Brian (nephew): But you don't like to party.

Me: I know. I know.... But I'm going to change! I'm going to start doing wild things and be bad and funny and do outrageous things.

Brian: But it's not you. We need you to be you! You're the matriarch in the family. You're the one we go to when we need to get straightened out. You always give it to us straight. We need that.

Me: I know, but now i want to go be bad so that i can come to YOU so YOU can straighten ME out.

Brian: But the Louvraks need you to be the matriarch.

Me: I don't want to be the matriarch anymore! The matriarch NEVER has fun. She just irritates everyone. I don't want that job. I'm sick of being responsible!

So i loved when I opened up this present from him that also included a very poignant note that I didn't read until i got home. That note means a lot to me. (My other Christmas Moment).

Highlights of the Year 2011

2011-12-22T10:55:00.000-08:00

Eleven for 2011:
I am not sure if i will have time to get my 52nd post in for the year 2011, so i'm going to do it today before my mother in law arrives since the computer is in the guest room. Here are highlights.

1. In congratulating myself on reaching my goal. Here is #1 pick for my best blog post in 2011. I think i outdid myself on this one....Click below:

IMO, the best jojo blog post

2. The end of the Iraq war. And why wasn't this bigger news? Even i forgot to hang out my flag. I should have been more excited since i marched against the war BEFORE it started. How did it end with a whimper? I think it's because we're still in Afghanistan. And who knows what's next? Iran? North Korea?

3. I got to retire! Officially i am done Dec. 31. Though i am working through August 2013. But i finally got to put an end date to my dissatisfaction with working for the union. It's making me do something different.

4. Brian's in a new blues band that he can be proud of and one i love to go listen to. When i first started dating Brian in 1992 he had a dumpy little bachelor house and in his living room in the corner was a set of drums he had since he was in high school. He would play them while i got ready to go out. Now he has two sets of newer drums and living the dream.

5. I'm still running and nothing hurts. That is an accomplishment.

6. The best book i read in 2011: Cutting for Stone

7. Best new artist: Jason Isbell

8. Favorite new show i started watching on TV: Property Brothers

9. We almost bought a house.... and then we didn't.

10. As a direct result of not getting the house we remodeled part of our kitchen AND all of both bathrooms. And now we've also commissioned the cabinet makers to build us a custom computer work station which is ready in about two weeks.

11. Nobody i love died or got sick in 2011. (And i didn't murder anyone i hate.)

What are your highlights for the year? I know i probably have better ones than these but i'm doing these on the fly without much thought.
I hope all of y'all have a great Christmas and new year!

Let's be honest....Stuff I don't like about Christmas.

2011-12-19T20:01:00.000-08:00

1. I am not a good shopper because i don't like shopping and i worry about the gifts i buy too much. If you don't like cooking you are not likely to be a good cook. And that's what shopping is like for me. So this time of year is hard for me. I want to buy the right gift, meaning the one you really would love but don't even know you want. But I usually fail.

2. I do not like sending Christmas cards. And if i am being honest, i don't like receiving them if i feel like i have to send one back. Some people you know you can get away with not sending one because they know you well. But the obscure cousins in the family, i feel obligated. (And don't get me started on some of the manifesto Christmas letters that get sent out!)

3. Receiving a Christmas card from a long lost relative or friends who doesn't write even the briefest message feels like a hit piece. They are sending you a message and at the same time are withholding information. One of the reasons I don't do cards is because i feel compelled to write a little personalized letter with it and that takes too much time.

4. (Actually, it shouldn't since i only have about two friends in real life.)

5. Christmas parties can be difficult. Especially work ones. Brian and i do not make each other go to Christmas parties where we don't know the folks in the crowd. We go stag.

6. Taking down the tree is depressing. My tree, beautiful as it is, is already losing it's green color and i'm going to have to take it down a couple of days after Christmas. (At the same time i like that it's dying before i throw it out.)

7. I don't like the feeling i get when i miss the people who are not here. And i don't like the feeling i get when i wonder what the others are feeling who are even closer. It seems like as you get older there are more sad feelings than there are of that Christmas spirit feeling we used to get when we were little kids.The good news THIS year is that we did not have to put a loved one's photo in the tree. (Nobody in our family or of our friends died this year.)

8. I like playing Christmas music after Thanksgiving, but by about December 10th i'm sick of it. It's like playing a Greatest Hits album every day of the week after awhile.

9. I have only had one Christmas Moment all year. That's not so many for the season. Probably why i'm thinking about why i don't like instead of what i DO. I guess i better go out and make some Moments. Because that's my fault.

So i only have one more blog post to go for my annual goal!

Because i need 3 more....Here are 30!

2011-12-16T19:34:00.000-08:00

i am going to steal a post from another blog. I put this up on Facebook today and many folks from my work started sharing it. It's called:

My disclaimer: i normally HATE affirmations or rules about how to be a better person. I do not like reading self-help books. But these are pretty straight-forward rules that everybody, i mean everybody, can use.

30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself

But first. Menu of the Day.....

In my glass: Molly Dooker Two Left Feet. It's amazing. It cost over $25, but it's worth it.

On the stove: jojo's spaghetti sauce.

The Best thing: i am off work for 16 days in a row for the holiday!

What i wish: That i could sleep better without waking up at 2 or 3 am.

What i feel guilty about: That i should be wishing for ending World Hunger instead of sleeping through the night.

Music playing : Dustin Kensrue "Don't you wait for me" i think that's the title. I love this guy.

OK. here is the post that i wish i had come up with. I took out all of the explanations because blogspot won't allow so much text and i don't think they need explaining anyway.

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As Maria Robinson once said, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” Nothing could be closer to the truth. But before you can begin this process of transformation you have to stop doing the things that have been holding you back.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Stop spending time with the wrong people.
2. Stop running from your problems.
3. Stop lying to yourself.
4. Stop putting your own needs on the back burner.
5. Stop trying to be someone you’re not
6. Stop trying to hold onto the past.
7. Stop being scared to make a mistake.
8. Stop berating yourself for old mistakes
9. Stop trying to buy happiness.
10. Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness.
11. Stop being idle.
12. Stop thinking you’re not ready.
13. Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons.
14. Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work.
15. Stop trying to compete against everyone else.
16. Stop being jealous of others.
17. Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself.
18. Stop holding grudges.
19. Stop letting others bring you down to their level.
20. Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others.
21. Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break.
22. Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments.
23. Stop trying to make things perfect.
24. Stop following the path of least resistance.
25. Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t.
26. Stop blaming others for your troubles.
27. Stop trying to be everything to everyone.
28. Stop worrying so much.
29. Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen.
30. Stop being ungrateful.

Four More.

2011-12-09T19:14:00.000-08:00

That's how many blog posts i need to hit my goal of 52 a year....

So here we go, just a random jojo thingie.

Menu of the Day:

Music: Sara Mclaughlin Christmas Wintersong cd ....(Normally she kind of irritates me, but i really like her Christmas cd)

Drinking: OMG, this is a fabulous wine that my favorite wine guy sold me. It's called....oops i forgot...let me go check....it's called The Ball Buster by Tait... Tom told me the guy who makes it calls his wife that. It's a big red and cost about $20....totally worth it.

The Best thing that happened this week: i got all of my shopping done and not only that. As of this evening i have them wrapped!

How I've been a bad girl: I did not do my On Demand exercises as much as i wanted. Only twice. However, i did run 4 days this week.

What i read recently: there was an article (i think in my Group Health magazine) that listed the Seasonal Affective Disorder symptoms. I swear to y'all i had every single one of them listed. When i start eating frozen white bread right out of the freezer to get my carbo fix, i know i'm in trouble.

How i'm fixing it: Because i live only 2 miles from work i can run at lunchtime, shower and get back to work within an hour plus 10 minutes. I'm going to run at lunch to get through this instead of what i've been doing lately....running in the pitch dark at night around my condo circle.

What scares me: Newt Gingrich rising to the top of the shit of the Republican candidates. How did THAT happen? He wants to put poor little kids to work because he thinks their parents are such losers who don't teach them work ethics. Let's talk ethics and politics, shall we? OK, let's not.

Rest in Peace

2011-12-02T19:35:00.000-08:00

Menu of the Day:

Blog hits: as of today 22,715. Only 2 views today. :(

Wine: my first glass all week. Kind of rare for me cause i usually start the weekend on Thursday. It's Waterbrook Reserve Chardonnay. Pretty good, but not as good as the index card said.

iTunes: Dustin Kensrue's Christmas album. It's called "The Good Night is Still Everywhere". This is my favorite Christmas album of all that i own, i think cause it's so different from other traditional songs.

Least Favorite Christmas album: James Taylor's Christmas album. I know this will upset some people. But i think his voice is too whiney.

The Best Thing That Happened: Brian went out to to the Christmas Tree farm. I was at work. So using his iPhone he emailed me photos of trees he thought were potential Benedetti trees. It took about 14 emails, but in the end he found THE PERFECT tree. It's more petite and that's what i wanted. A tree that looks different from our past four years.

The Other Best Thing: I got my parents all done and a few things for Brian too. I'll be nearly done very sooon. My Dad always wants a pair of 501 jeans, button fly. It's all he ever wears (except when he has to go to a funeral). His size is 33 waist, 30 length. He's so little! He gets smaller every year.

OK on with the blog post:

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REST IN PEACE:

1. Herman Cain's campaign. I watched the Lawrence O'D's interview last night with the mistress. Why, i don't know.... Anyway i think she is credible and i believe HER and not Cain. However, what the hell was she doing? IMO, she's really pretty much prostituted herself in the whole matter because she didn't even love the guy but accepted the money. And in 13 years you would think she might have been able to find a nice guy to really love. Anyway, i expect that Cain will announce he is out and will make it seem like he is protecting his wife in doing so.

2. Blogging...Rest in Peace. (And Fuck you Facebook for killing it.) I'll probably keep this up because i like looking back at my own stuff when i'm bored to see what i was doing the year before and so on. It's a nice history and easier to track than if i wrote it out in journals like i used to do....

3. Rescue Me... Last night I finally finished all 7 seasons of this show that was about New York firefighters starring Denis Leary. It was one of the most misogynistic and homophobic and sexist shows on TV. IIn spite of that I loved this show. I think because it shined a light on how absurd it was to be that way, sort of like Archie Bunker in All in the Family. I love Denis Leary. But it was kind of funny to think that he was supposed to be such a magnet for hot chicks. He's not THAT good looking.

4. ....though in Season 5 he seemed to have buffed up quite a bit! In the first few seasons i think i could have beat him arm wresting. Then all of a sudden his arms were great and FX had him showing them off, in various stages of undress, so much it was like he was Matt McConaughy..... but i digress from the topic...

5. Rest in Peace: My flat abs. I've been doing those stupid workouts on the On Demand. I hate doing them more than i hate running. I'm not sure how long i can keep this up.

6. Rest in Peace: my ability to get a good night's sleep. I haven't had much sleep all week because i've been coughing all night long. (But you didn't see me post about my cold on Facebook now did you?...No i didn't, because i hate when people do that. but i don't mind posting it on my own blog because it's not exactly public and i am not looking for sympathy.) However I have caught up on Morning Joe on MSNBC before going to work and i love that show. (Mika is so cool!) And if i get a chance i'll post the really cool commercial they have for their show.

(edited to add, i tried to get it up here, but it's not linked to YouTube so i can't.) I can from Googling that The Huffington Post has it on their website right now. But i can't get bloggerspot to make it happen if it's not YouTube.

Huffington Post - and the jojo blog have a lot in common. Only they have about 9 million hits a day and i have 2.

7. Also edited to add: How could i forget? .....My libido. Rest in peace.

8. and my tolerance level for assholes and passive aggressive people especially. )

9. And my memory for names. I used to be so good at that! Last night when i was semi awake i was trying to think of the good looking congressman who left the U.S. House to run for the Senate and lost. He was on MSNBC.... I knew his first name was Harold. I had to Google his last name. It's Ford.

I hate green bean casserole & other Thanksgiving musings

2011-11-23T17:17:00.000-08:00

Menu of the Day:

Music: Shawn Mullins "Ghost of Johnny Cash"

Number of views of this blog since i started: 21,545

In my glass: a Cline Mouvedre. Really big and nice red. (first glass)

Ways I've been a bad girl: I've been bitching about going to Thanksgiving at my mom's house. Two years in a row we took off on our own and i loved it. But Brian wanted to do family. So we are. My parent's house is smaller than our 1000 foot condo and very messy and cluttered and they are having 16 people over!

Ways I've been a good girl: I didn't murder anyone at work this week. But i wanted to. I am at a point in my career where i can no longer tolerate repetitive incompetence or passive aggressive behavior without feeling my blood pressure rising. It's really time for me to get out of unions. I hope i can hang on until 2013.

The Best Thing this Week: I have finalized plans for our custom home office computer station with the cabinet makers. I can't wait!

What I'm bringing: I watched Guy Fieri make a REAL green bean casserole dish with three different kinds of mushrooms and real shallots fried up and a mushroom/chicken broth gravy and it looked great and fun to make. My mom always makes the soggy mushroom soup one. I'm also bringing twice baked sweet potatoes that you mash up with real whipping cream and brown sugar and put back in the shells and top with pecans - my mom will be disappointed that it's not the kind topped with marshmellows. (This is another Guy Fieri recipe)

About the Photo: Each weekday morning i get up 2 hours before i have to get to work because i like to read in the bathtub and each morning Brian brings me a cup of coffee. This is what he brought me last week. He found a mug at Starbucks that lets you write on it with chalk. The night before i had said rather excitedly that we'll be getting a Christmas tree in only two weeks. The message on the mug says "Only two weeks" with a little picture. So i took a photo.

On with the randomness.....

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1. HA! Newt Gingrich is now the Republican frontrunner. Now i'm starting to think that John Huntsman can be the nominee cause he's making the least amount of gaffes. Not that making huge stupid gaffes ever stopped the American people before from voting in an idiot.

2. And how about that commercial Romney put out that takes Obama's quote "If we talk about the economy we lose" which is REALLY Obama quoting McCain during the last election. I'm starting to think Romney has more balls than i thought!

3. It has rained and rained and rained here. Seems like every Thanksgiving time around these parts is when we get the terrible flooding and trees falling over. I am thankful that though my family will be squeezed into a small area i am not driving over the pass. (So there, that's me being positive and thankful! )

4. My husband bought a new car last week after looking for two years! I love it. It's a 2008 Honda Element in that cool burnt orange color. He sold his truck to his nephew and we still have the 1992 Honda Accord that we'll keep. But i love that his new ride has an airbag for me now AND a cd player instead of a cassette!

5. I turned on our Christmas lights outside tonight. (Brian put them up last weekend, a rare non-rainy day.)

6. Does anyone hear watch Parenthood? I just love this show. It's so real. And i care about ALL the characters, even the flawed ones. This is Ron Howard's (Opie) show. Let me know if you do. This is becoming my favorite show on TV.

7. I am reading Diane Keaton's book and much like i imagine her personality, the book is all over the place and jumps from subject to subject, but it works somehow and i like it. It makes me think i could write a book too, only i need to become a famous person first.

8. As i type, my husband is trying to figure out how to get his new Honda Element on his side of the garage AND keep his drum set over there. HAHAHA.... This i gotta see!

9. He just came in to tell me he hung up my new birthday bike from last year. The one i wanted with a basket and a little ringer. this means that i will unlikely ever be able to ride it again because it is SO HEAVY and i will never be able to get it down.

Ok, that's all i got. I need to try and make these shorter anyway and for some reason that is hard for me, even when i have nothing to say!

Who i would choose to put on Mt Rushmore....

2011-11-19T18:15:00.000-08:00

Menu of the Day:

on iTunes: Jason Isbell

In my glass: a really great Old Vine zinfandel by Dry Creek. I got it from Costco and it cost about $20 and is so worth it. On my first glass.

Book: I just finished a really good book The Descendants, which is a movie starring George Clooney. I totally see Clooney in this role. I loved the character of Sid. I just started Diane Keaton's autobiography. (I used to have a girl crush on her back from the Annie Hall Days. ...much like by girl crush on Ali McGraw during the Love Story years. )

Ways I've been a bad girl: I missed my 10 minutes workout. I'm having more trouble sticking to my No Miss More than Two Day rule with this workout. It's easy with running, but not so much with the On Demand. (Also i'm having murderous thoughts about a co-worker.)

Ways I've been a Good Girl: It's Saturday but i worked today for a pre-retirement workshop today and late last night. The women who put this on just love me because i'm so organized and do a lot of the work to make it easy for them. I also bought a couple of Christmas presents! Yay for me!

Ok, on with it:

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1. I saw this post on Facebook today from a work colleague and loved the question: If you had to choose what authors should be on Mt Rushmore, who would you pick? My answer is: Richard Russo (TxGrits are you still reading? i always think of you cause i know you love him too); John Irving; John Steinbeck; and Barbara Kingsolver, (or Louise Erdrich, it's a toss-up).

2. Who would NOT be on Mt. Rushmore: The author of The Shack; The Twilight author; Jodi Picoult (because i think she sold out) and John Grisham (same reason).

3. My music Mt. Rushmore would be: Van Morrison, Ryan Adams, Joni Mitchell, and Springsteen.

4. This has nothing to do with Rushmore, but it just now reminded me that for three nights in a row i've had weird dreams and i'm in danger in each one, but luckily wake up before i think i'm going to die. And for some reason, Neil Young was in last night's dream. Weird.

5. Maybe Neil's mad because i didn't put him on Mt. Rushmore!

6. The people in my family i would put on Rushmore: My grandmother Bop (who was the first person i remember ever being in my corner and who took care of me when i was very little); my husband (who is always in my corner now); my brother Troy (who has lived through more shit than any person should but is still standing strong in a way that i don't think i would be, even though i think i'm a tough cookie); and Kylee (for obvious reasons to anyone who knows me or have been following this blog).

7. Movie stars on Rushmore: At one time i would choose Jack Nicholson. And maybe he should be on there, so i'll go with him, Cuckoo's Nest alone is deserving by itself). Meryl Streep (I know, i know....almost cliche); Johnny Depp (because i think he's underrated) and Brad Pitt (for the same reason).

8. News folks on Rushmore: Jon Stewart (he counts as news folks!); Anderson Cooper; Rachel Maddow; and Brian Williams.

9. Movie stars who should NOT be on Rushmore: That Jacob dude from the Twilight movies. He's cute, but a terrible actor; Nicholas Cage; Meg Ryan (she's just annoying to me and i believe i would not like her in real life at all because she seems too high-maintenance); I'll come back and add the fourth one cause i just drew a blank and i know there is some actor out there i really hate but who is really popular.

I might come back with a #10, i drew a blank just now.

Stuff That is Befuddling

2011-11-13T18:59:00.000-08:00

Menu of the Day:

Music playing: i just bought a cd off iTunes by The Everybodyfields. It was one of those Recs for You. It's blue grassy and i actually like it.

The best thing that happened this week: I designed and drew out plans for our custom computer work station for our back bedroom on Thursday, met with the cabinet maker on Friday nd went to my nephew's post-wedding reception on Saturday. Very productive week!

Ways i am being bad: I did run today and actually added an extra 10 minutes. So i'm not feeling totally guilty missing my 10 minute core workout and it's the third day. (I'll do it tomorrow).

Book: I finished What is the What by Dave Eggers (about the Lost Boys of Sudan). And also the new book by the Still Alice author. The new book is called Left Neglected and was so good i read it within 24 hours. Now i'm reading the book The Descendants, which is a new movie out starring George Clooney.

Product endorsement! I think i've mentioned my obsession with finding the perfect foundation for my terrible skin. I have older skin but it was so acne prone until my 40's and has been so sensitive that nearly all moisturizers create havoc with it. But i think i may have found the perfect foundation for my older skin. It's Clinique called Even Better. It really does feel great and it's oil free and goes on nicely and covers well. AND it was difficult to choose between not one but two colors that seemed to work perfectly for me. That hardly ever happens. Plus my Lancome was $45 an ounce and this is less than $25.

OK. on with the Bedfuddlements....

****************************************

1. What is up with those Mormon commercials? Seriously? Is Mitt Romney's campaign funding these? Where will it stop? We probably need We are Muslim commercials more than this actually when i think about it. But what about We are Jewish. We are Catholic. Does the Mormon church really have that much money? Because these are very well done and must cost a bundle.

2. I am befuddled by Rick Perry and how he can possibly still be considered a valid candidate, but you watch, he will be. His "Oops" is exactly like Howard Dean's scream. It's interesting to me that while the Dean Scream was ad nauseam played over and over, the Oops isn't as much, though it's getting a lot of attention.

3. Skinny jeans. Nobody, i mean nobody, looks good in these things. You have to be about 6 and half feet tall to pull these off, most of that legs, and wear a size 1. I think only Giselle can rock the skinny jeans.

4. Those longs blanks on cds where you get a surprise song at the end. What is up with the dead air and why does anyone think this is a good idea? I have made playlists for folks from iTunes and forget that mofro's song Brighter Days has a long blank space before they do some improvisation. It's just stupid.

5. If Kim Kardashian doesn't make a case for gay marriage. I don't know what does. (I include myself and J-Lo in this too.) I bet the divorce rate among gay couples would be far far less, per capita.

6. iMac Excel befuddles me. I LOVE Excel on a PC . But i can't figure out this 'Office' version for the Mac.

7. What the hell is going on in Greece anyway? Do i have to care about all of this?

8. In our state we voted in an initiative that got the state out of the liquor business, put people out of work, made it alittle bit scary for rural area convenient stores and was a record breaking money spender. Costco spent more than 22 and half million dollars to buy this vote. This pisses me off royally.

And honest to god, do we really need Kirkland Vodka? And is adding all the hard stuff going to cut down on the variety of wines to make room?

9. Blogger befuddles me. But i guess since it's free, i can't complain too much.

That's all i got for now, but i'll be back.

Everybody needs my advice!

2011-11-04T19:38:00.000-07:00

RE: photo.... One morning during my summer vacation i woke up and Brian had made a happy face by the coffee pot using chopped nuts. So i took a photo. I love these things that my husband does. All the little post it notes, (i must have nearly a hundred of them saved up by now!), the cup of coffee he brings me every morning. It's the little stuff that counts so much. Probably my first advice would be to all husbands to pay attention to the little stuff.

I was reading Dear Abby the other day, i don't even know why i read her anymore, she should be ashamed of herself. That bitch has the easiest job in the world because she never tackles anything big in her column and her advice is so banal. (She and Mary Worth both need to die. Sorry louie.)

So this got me thinking about all the advice i wish i could give to people, if only they would ask. And i know y'all have some advice you want to give out too, so step right up and give it up!

Advice by jojo:

1. Barack Obama my advice to you is to get pissed off in a royal way every once in awhile for the shit you get blamed for that you know is not your shit. Take a freaking Anger Management classe... By that, I mean an Anger Management class that teaches you HOW TO GET ANGRY. (Americans love rage!...Example: The Occupy Movement...LOVE those folks! Take a hint.)

2. Facebook's founder Zuckerberg (is that his name?) needs to listen to me when i say he should limit the number of photos that anyone can post of their kid or grandkid. If you are on Facebook and you reach photo #25 of your grandchild, your Facebook account should be deleted, just like that, no warning.

3. He should do the same thing with people posting about any kind of illness too. He should put a default in there that if you post more than 8 times about an illness that he sends your computer a REAL virus .

4. I think Brad Pitt and Angelina should listen to me when i say to them, "just get the hell married. Then you will become boring to everyone, which is just what i think y'all want."

5. All of the Republican candidates running for President right now should just drop out. All of them. Every single one of them. And they should drop out all at the same time. Make a big announcement on Fox News, holding hands, standing side by side, to tell us they are not running. Here's what in it for them: By giving our country a rest from our Gone with The Wind-like presidential election campaign timeline maybe Republicans can win some kudos for that next go-round, not that i want them to. (If i were Republican right now i would be so embarrassed to have these people running. Herman is no more qualified than i am to run for president!)

6. At the risk of sounding like Suze Orman (who i actually really like) ...Save money. That goes for everyone. I don't care how little money you make. Save some of it. Quit thinking you need stuff that in your heart you know you don't really need.

7. If you are over 35 years old and wear bangs in a straight line across your forehead. Quit doing that.

8. Do not look in that 3-way mirrors at your backside when trying on clothes. Only look at the front.

9. If you wear perfume, be very careful how you wear it. Spray the air and walk into it. Like Audrey Hepburn. I can't believe how many women don't know this trick.

10. If you are shopping for furniture or any kind of thing that is a big decoration/remodel for your house, Don't go cheap. I have a Drexel Heritage sofa that cost me two months salary back in 1983. It is still holding up and because it's made so well I'm going to pay to recover it rather than replace it. When you see something you really like in the home department but worry about the price, don't worry too long, you won't be sorry in the long run. But still keep in mind #6.

Ok, i'm going to come back and give some more advice but i i'll do that so as to bump my comments. But come post yours! We all have great advice.

What's going on.

2011-10-30T17:28:00.000-07:00

1. I still haven't mailed in my absentee ballot. I have even marked it (except for the City Council folks since i don't know them) and just need to get it in the mail otherwise they will start calling me.

2. I am procrastinating about doing my On Demand 10 Minute Workout. I'm still sore from the day before. Workouts hurt. Running hasn't hurt me for years. That's why i like it better. But it does nothing for my core. I hate worrying about my core. stupid word.

3. Brian's band was great last night. Fun seeing all the Halloween costumes. Probably the best one was an Avatar chick. Then a couple of cavemen. The guy was pretty funny because he had to wear glasses with his costume. (We did not dress up.)

4. I returned my online raincoat and got a better one. Every time i buy a coat it looks like i'm wearing someone else's coat. And that's what happened with this one. Good news is i found a shorter one i like better and it was HALF the cost!

5. Bought another pair of jeans which i may still end up returning. Or maybe altering. I cannot find a good pair of jeans!

6. i WAS starting to think i might be wrong about Rick Perry winning the nomination because of his horribly stupid performances in the debates. But then i remembered how Americans voted in Bush and so i'm sticking with my first pick. I still think it will be Rick Perry. I feel like the polls are f*cking around by pretending to pick Cain.

7. I'm back to reading Dave Eggers What is the What. It's very good and i wonder why i put it down in the first place. (I started it last summer).

8. I keep thinking i might want a Kindle or a Nook or an iPad. And then i think i'm not sure that i really do. For one thing, if someone wants to steal my copy of What is the What i'm only about $15. I don't like the idea that i have to carry around an e-book worth something every time i go anywhere because i never go anywhere ever without a book. I'm afraid i'll lose it.

9. My best nephew Brian (Troy's son) , came over Thursday to my office. He wanted to tell me in person that he was going to ask his girlfriend (of 8 years) to marry him. I was very excited for him because they seem to be in a very good place now after some tough times. I got to know before his Dad. (I think once he made up his mind he wanted to tell someone who was close to him and he couldn't find his dad.) He asked his girlfriend the next day and she said yes.

10. Speaking of politics for a minute, i'm thinking i might not be overly thrilled with our Democrat candidate Jay Inslee. He's cute and looks like the quarterback that he used to be, but sort of seems like he might be an empty suit. HOWEVER, we have to be sure not to let McKenna in or we could be in for what Wisconsin just went through.

11. I just don't like working for elections solely on wanting to be sure the other guy doesn't get in. I've done it before, but i liked it much better when working for Obama.

12. I haven't given up my thoughts about going to Occupy Tacoma. I just don't want to seem like that Catholic person who only goes to church on Easter and pisses off the regulars (who tend to run late to everything and have to stand in the back) because i get to sit in the pew (because i'm always on time). I need to feel committed to doing something besides showing up once and going out for a beer afterwards. (The photo above came from their Facebook page.)

OK that's all i got. Not too inspired but it was a week and time to change the blog.

Nothing Much to Report.

2011-10-23T17:53:00.000-07:00

Menu of the Day:

Music playing: Jason Isbell's "Codeine". I recently bought this and LOVE it! Such a great song.

The new song that i'm wearing out: If you want to hear a really beautiful song, check out Josh Garrels' "Don't Wait for Me". That's my new song.

Book: I'm reading three: still Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet; Suze Orman's Action Plan (about financial planning) and the Lincoln Lawyer book "Reversal".

In my glass: J Lohr Chardonnay. First glass.

The Best thing that Happened this week: Brian is in a new blues band and i got to see them for the first time. They are really good! And i'm excited for him, because like i said before, I never could get past the female singers in his old band who tried to sound like Janis J. Nobody should try to do that. Especially them. The lead singer in this new band is an older dude but has a great blues voice.

That's all i got for the menu. On with the random stuff .....

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1. Now that the football games are over i should put on the Jillian Michaels On Demand stuff and do the workout that louielouie told me about. But i poured this glass of wine instead.

2. I bought a pair of those "These are Not your Daughter's Jeans". Here's the thing about those jeans: They are not exactly MOM jeans, but almost! Once i got them home and looked in a real mirror instead of the fakey Nordstrom mirrors i realized they had too much room in the butt and made my butt look like a big saggy square after they were worn for awhile and stretched out. Plus they had too much room in the legs. I don't even HAVE a daughter so i have no idea why i bought them. I had them hemmed, wore them once, and returned them for credit. I might be 54 years old but i am not ready for Mom Jeans. Plus the sizes are vanity. You have to buy a size smaller.

I think that is where the hook is.

3. The best jeans in the world are Christopher Blue and i have about 10 pairs, but they are wearing out and Nordstrom quit selling them in favor of these stupid Non-Daughter jeans.

5. The thing is i cannot find a thing i like in Nordstrom these days. I feel like i'm either too young or too old. I hate to think i am ready for Lane Bryant.

6. I hate to shop but I have three shopping addictions: shopping for jeans, shopping for books, and finding the perfect foundation.

7. I am thinking about getting my lazy ass down to the Occupy gatherings but i want to go as a group and i think we union folks should be there. I am loving this movement and want it to continue. I think they should be right outside every Capitol building. But i need to do something besides carry a sign. Only i want someone else to tell me what that need is. Like register voters. Because i don't assume that protestors actually do vote. Because if they did, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess.

8. My advice this week: If you have mutual funds, 401Ks, etc. do not open your statements this month. I wish i didn't. And i wish someone told me not to.

9. I just noticed i have 29 followers now and i for the life of me cannot figure out who the next one is.I click through and don't see any new names. So welcome Follower #29. Whoever you are and i hope you post.

10. I am starting to really HATE Facebook. The newsfeed is banal and boring and full of just quotes and shit. And it's kicked my blog ass and i hate that the most. Because i don't give a shit about your sniffles, or your kid's sniffles or where you ate your dinner. I think Facebook is the definition of ironic.

Velvet Sledgehammer - my new favorite wine. And my new favorite commercial

2011-10-15T18:20:00.001-07:00

This has been my favorite commercial for awhile now. I almost wonder if the little girl is really the father's daughter. I know y'all probably know it well.

1. It's Saturday night and i just poured a shiraz called Velvet Sledgehammer. I bought a bottle of this also for our chief bargainer who is in part responsible for my new retire/rehire status. I thought it was a fitting title for a chief bargainer who had to put up with a lot of shit from our own union members. And he did with a lot of grace and patience. I got a wonderful thank you from him about my support for the bargaining team by trying to stand up to some of those shitheads. It's really very very good. (And velvet in the title is fitting because it is velvet-y.)

2. I have money in my iTunes account but i am finding that sometimes i just need to own the cd in it's commercial packaging. I still play cds on our stereo set up because the sound system is so much better and my iPod hooked up to it has a bit of static. So i play cds. Ryan Adams just put out his new cd and instead of iTunes i bought it from Amazon. I never seem to be able to find the cds i've burned. And like some books that i want to own (The Help, Prayer of Owen Meany, Broken for You, Cutting for Stone) i also need to own the storebought cd and not a download.

3. I also bought a raincoat online. i hope i like it.

4. I should be practicing my speech for Tuesday night. But i don't like to be too rehearsed for these kinds of thing. I know what i want to say so i'll just jot down notes and talk. That's gotten me through some funeral eulogies and retirement speeches okay. (That and a beta blocker!) lol.

5. I got all my paperwork for my retirement yesterday. It turns out to be better than i was expecting and more than the original quote because of how the bargain turned out, so THAT was worth celebrating. I can't believe i'll be done for good in only two years.

6. I probably should buy another bottle of the velvet for the chief bargainer.

7. Last night i bought Paul Simon's Mother and Child Reunion cd. I own it on vinyl and used to play it on my outside patio record player during the summer. But something is wrong with the record player. Probably since we keep it outside on our patio!

8. My husband just got accepted into another band today. A blues band and so much better than his old band The Disclaimers. Truth is i never liked his old band because i couldn't get past the bad women singers. This new band is much better. As of this writing he is actually in THREE bands, but will be quitting the Disclaimers. He's so excited. And he's constantly studying it and practicing while at home. I think i have mentioned before that both of his cars sit outside the garage to make room for his drums. (He owns two sets).

9. Sometimes i think i need to learn a new hobby. Then i remember how i hate learning new stuff.

10. I didn't really have anything much to say today, but being the numbers goal oriented person that i am i saw that i have 12 more posts to reach my goal of 52 by Dec. 31. So here i am.

I guess i'll go practice my speech. What are y'all up to?

Here's What's on the Menu

2011-10-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

Menu of the Day:

Music: Your Life is Now by Mellencamp

In my glass: a wine made by a friend called Two Loons. It's an amazing Cab Franc and i just paid $200 to help make it in the future. It's a local thing that they are inviting friends to join them to get involved in the labeling, tasting, bottling.

What i'm looking forward to: My husband has been doing something late every single night this week for work and/or his band. Tomorrow is our 'date night' with cooking, music and wine. I love our date nights.

What else is good: Work. It's been so busy for me and i love that.

What i'm anxious about: I have been taking a public speaking class. I have to give a speech on something i know about at our last class next Tuesday. I'm going to pretend i am talking at a running clinic and my audience is made up of folks who want to know how to start a running program.

What pisses me off: Obama not being able to get anything done (most recent Jobs Bill) because Congress is playing politics...again... just like with the Debt Ceiling Shit. No wonder he wanted out of the Senate so quickly.

What i wish: I want Obama to kick ass and get pissed off. I want him to be as mad as Biden was when the vote went down. It's good to be calm and grace under fire. But sometimes i need to see the fire, yano?

What else i wish: I'll come back to this. I forgot what i was going to add!

What I am procrastinating about: I need to take those iMac classes! They are already paid for!

What i hate about my iMac: i do not like this iMouse. It's scratchy on my desktop surface and it's not much better with a mousepad. ALSO, the biggest thing is sometimes i move it and everything i write disappears. I don't even know what causes it. It's happened on my blog and in email.

What I am starting to not care about: My hair woes. Right now it's too long. And this time of year it's fruitless to try to control hair that has weird waves and curls and bends like mine. Right now it at least long enough to simply put it in a french braid. So i'm good to go.

What i also don't care about: The Republican debates. Though i have to say Kathleen Parker's column was great today. She is pretty conservative and i don't always agree with her but i liked what she said about the Republicans being too worried about religion since the Mormons are the smartest of the bunch.

Here's the link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-shameful-bias-against-mormons/2011/10/12/gIQAR5WVfL_story.html
She says:

"The use and abuse of religion to advance politically is a scourge on any nation, and no witness to Islamist theocracy should doubt it. Less dramatically, it is simply bad form. Americans of a certain age remember when preachers preached and politicians didn’t. Tent revivals took place on the outskirts of small towns, not in mega-coliseums led by presidential contenders. (See Rick Perry.)"

Bad thing i did this week: Actually it was last week. I went to pick up my Dad for his birthday tavern lunch. And as i was leaving i saw that horrible family photo hanging on the wall that was taken in Christmas 1991. It includes my sister's ex-husband and my brother's ex-wife. (Mine was already literally 'out of the picture' by then.) Dad said he had already hidden it but she found it and put it back up. Mom wasn't home so i took it down and put it in the trunk of my car. (Where it still remains.) I know my sister is high-fiving me if she is watching.

If i give it back I'm going to have Brian PhotoShop Brad Pitt as my sister's husband. And I'll have to ask Troy which celebrity he might want to be married to. (I already know it's not Angelina).

So come tell us. Especially...what bad thing you did! And what is pissing you off. The negative stuff is always the juiciest.

Just your regular random nothings.

2011-10-06T17:10:00.000-07:00

1. I love my iPod, iTunes, and my iMac so I was sorry to hear yesterday that Steve Jobs died. Not even all the money in the world could help heal him. I hadn't realized he was diagnosed quite a few years ago.

2. I got my first iPod from Brian for Christmas. It was the white one that held 5,000 songs. When i opened it up, i did not know what it was, though i had seen the U-2 commercial. I think it was either 2004 or 2005.

3. I learned to use a computer on an Apple II-C in 1985. Louielouie taught me and a few other enthusiastic educators from the junior high where we worked. I was hooked and could not wait to trade in my Correcting Selectric typewriter!

4. Louie actually bought one of those computers! I was so impressed. I think she was the first person in the District outside of the tech people to own one. Later that year, going through simultaneous divorces we started writing our reference book on how to be single. And after too much wine we accidentally erased the whole thing.

5. Later on we found out some dude plagiarized our work. I am not sure how that guy recovered our lost book from louie's computer, but when "He's Just Not That Into You" was published we found out just how close we had come to being wealthy. (If only we hadn't had that third glass of wine.)

6. Speaking of books, I just finished reading the Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly. I am now reading another Lincoln Lawyer book entitled The Reversal. Matt McConnaughy perfected this character in the Lincoln Lawyer movie. It's a pretty good read that reminds me of old Grisham, back around The Firm and Time to Kill books.

5. This has been a very busy week at work and i love it, though not so much two back-tback 12 hour days because i don't get anything done at home. No laundry, no groceries, and no time to dust! (I love dusting!) I am looking forward to doing nothing all weekend. I will probably go buy a bottle of special red wine tomorrow, purchase some new iTune music, make a fire and lay around and read The Reversal.

5. I love summertime, but i am usually ready for it to be over too. What's great about this time of year is waking up in the morning when the heat kicks in and i can smell the coffee that Brian is brewing through the vents. It's a wonderful way to start the day.

6. The big thing that i don't like about this time of year (besides know that our gray winter is following) is switching out my summer clothes and going back to my regular (lighter) Lancome foundation. I also don't like that first day of running in long pants. And right now for the first time this season, I am wearing my Sporthill long pants while i procrastinate my workout by updating this blog.

7. Oh yeah, and i don't much care for Halloween either. I stay home and give out candy, but i don't really like it all that much. I think it's the expectant feel of the doorbell which makes it hard to relax.

8. I'm thinking about a Kindle or a Nook (color) or an iPad. Not sure i need all the bells and whistles of an iPad, but i'm uncertain about the best fit for me. I'll have to do research. If any of y'all have an e-reader, i hope you'll weigh in. I need a long battery life. I want color cause i plan to get cooking magazines. And i need to not wear out my eyes.

9. I don't have much to add to this so i'll probably change it up soon with a theme. I saw that iSad image and it inspired me to update my blog.

10. I wonder if i should use some of my retirement money to buy Apple stock???? Did it go back up yet?

Coming Soon. A new post. Edited to add: Instructions that do work on how to post here.

2011-09-28T17:42:00.000-07:00

Too much happening and no time. I'll get to it soon. in the meantime if someone wants to start a topic, go ahead and i'll add it to the subject line at the top later.

See second comment below for instructions.

Charr, and anyone else having trouble, I just tested these instructions and they do really work. The secret is being sure that you sign in to your google account BEFORE posting. then you must UNCHECK the box that says STAY SIGNED IN. I just did a test by trying to see if i could sign in and click ON that box, but it doesn't let me post. So if you follow those instructions it does work. I think only pc users have this issue. I don't know why blogger doesn't fix this. It used to not be a problem until the last few months.

Ten Items or Less....

2011-09-16T21:25:00.000-07:00

My friend Julie (who posts here infrequently, though she should post here more... ) gave me this idea for a blog post. It's from a movie starring Morgan Freeman and one of those kids who have been in movies recently (Superbad?) ...anyway. here is what it's about.

List 10 things.

List 10 things that you want to keep.
List 10 things that you want to lose.

(Don't list the obvious, like your family, we all know that's a given. )

Here are mine.... And i have to say i am going into this knowing i already don't know what i might say beyond #1 and #2..

What i Want to Keep:

1. My belief about standing up for what i believe in, even when i know someone, maybe many people, might think i am wrong.

2. My ability to run. i know this is related to health, but it's something i've done for more than half my life (31+ years) and when that day comes that i can no longer run, i know that will be a hard day.

3. I want to keep all things that are in my trunk. My trunk is filled with letters, thank you cards, emails from my nieces Kylee, Ashley, and Brian and Josh, writings from when i was in high school, letters from my dad when he was on military leave in Japan away from us, homework from my civics class where i gave my opinions about politics at the age of 17.

4. I really want to keep my books. Even the ones in storage.

5. And my iTunes library. All 5400+ tunes.

6. I have a pasta bowl i really really love. I hate to think that it might break one day. And i hate to think that someone other than myself would break it cause i don't want to hold it against them. (That's why i always choose to wash it) It's stupid i know, but i love that bowl.

7. I am not a jewelry person at all whatsovever. But my first husband bought me a set of Mikimoto pearls that are the best piece of jewelry i own. I don't wear them. But i like that they are somewhat of a heirloom. And i want them because i want to leave them to my niece Ashley . She doesn't even have to wear them. (Or maybe she could as a bracelet).) I just want to leave her an heirloom. One oldest daughter to another.

8. My husband said i should say i would love to keep my journals. But the truth is i am not sure, I wrote those in a past life that i don't really care to revisit and i would rather not lose the stuff i wrote here on my blog more than what i wrote in my journals from decades ago.

So i think i only have 8 thinks i want to keep.

Here are 7 things i want to lose: (I tried to do 10, but i can't)

1. I want to lose this feeling of not knowing what my future will bring.

2. I wouldn't mind losing this iMac computer right now because it's becoming apparent to me that it's not all that after all until i learn it.

3. I want to lost that attitude that i don't like learning things.

4. I wouldn't mind losing one of our three vehicles. Not mine, of course. But i wish my husband would get rid of one of his two cars and make a decision soon about buying a new one. This has gone on for over a year and a half now.

5. I would like to lose my Facebook account. I wouldn't miss it at all. i think.

6. I would hate to lose my eyesight. Shoot me now because it means i can't read.

7. i would hate to lose the money i have been saving for so long by whatever reason. The stock market, unemployment, posting bail for murder. i love having money in savings.

I don't think i can do a number 8,

Ten is obviously too many for me. Maybe it is for you too. Try to do 5 things if you can't do 10.

I think i could be a flight attendant if i didn't hate to fly! PLUS my new favorite commercial!

2011-09-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

The reason i say this is because i have been hanging out in a hotel room suite (with a full kitchen) on this assignment this week and it's kind of cool. (EXCEPT i really miss my fabulous high thread count sheets!...and my down pillow too.)

I am working a little bit longer hours. Today i got back here after 7:00 and turned on the TV to Friends marathon on Nickelodeon and just poured a glass of wine. And before i go to bed i'll email Brian and maybe read. No chores whatsoever.... I think i could like doing this every once in awhile, but not too much or i would miss my husband. But temporary hotel living goes along with my lazybones self. Last night i got Red Lobster takeout cause it was a walk down the street. I expected it to be a lame meal on par with Olive Garden, but it was actually a pretty nice shrimp and lobster half size order of pasta. I might go back there tomorrow.

I keep trying to keep reusing my towels by folding them all nicely but the maid won't let me. She keeps taking them and replacing them. I wonder maybe if i didn't tip her every day if she would let me be more environmental! lol. (Don't tell Al! I always tell my husband i'm telling Al when he throws tin cans in the garbage instead of the recycle.)

About the commercial video: I LOVE Dean Winters from the Mayhem like Me commercials and my new TV obsession of Rescue Me where he plays the Irish cop brother Johnny Gavin to firefighter Denis Leary's deeply flawed character Tommy Gavin.

OK on with the regular randomness (no Menu of the Day today)....

1. I am watching Anderson Cooper right now. Isn't it weird that it was 10 whole years ago since 9-11? Have i mentioned on here that i think Dr. Sanjay is kind of hot?

2. Having said that i don't really want to commemorate this day. I don't like thinking of the dates when loved ones died either. And when i see those shrines on fences or the side of the road where people died in car accidents i don't get it. I would rather leave flowers where they were born. or better yet where they were conceived! ;)

3. I am reading Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet right now. Is anyone else reading this? Did you like it if you did? I just am getting into it. If i haven't already said, i read A LOT of books this summer. And i would pick Cutting for Stone as my very favorite of all.

4. I still don't know much about what my union is doing and i'm still in a state of unknown. They are still bargaining. It's surprising me how i am not obsessing about this and just waiting for whatever happens. The date may get extended to Sept. 19th i hear. i still haven't heard from the school district on the school secretary job that I applied for.

5. Is Amanda Knox guilty? They just showed her on CNN because she's back in court. I don't know. I think i would like to read the book and decide. If she wasn't so pretty and this wasn't a sex murder, would this even be on CNN?

6. That's a jury i would NOT want to be on. Or maybe i would be. Is it in Italy right? I could just get my Xanax filled so i could get on the plane and then get myself sequestered in a HOTEL! And maybe later get myself interviewed by Anderson Cooper and write a book!

7. It was 96 degrees here today! The hottest day all year that i've had. I was inside writing newsletters and working on a database for the union i'm helping right now so i never really felt it. But i did decide not to run, which was my plan.

8. I am rather happy that it's fall and back to school now. I wish the autumn season just lasted longer and winter was about 8 weeks shorter. That would be just about perfect. I could never live where it's always warm and sunny.

9. I'm going to sign off cause this is boring. I'll post when i know more about my future. I'm trying not to let it weigh on my mind, but i think it is and it's kind of messing with my mojo.

In a state of flux...but it's been a good thing.

2011-09-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

I am never very good when i feel this way. I had avery anxious weekend trying to figure out what i was going to do when my union contract expired, as it did Aug. 31. (They have been bargaining since March!) But i have it all figured out now.

I've been talking on this blog off and on about how I am somewhat disillusion about my job in unions. Mostly it has been with my own union. We have a great contract already.( If i listed all the benefits you would be amazed that someone like me, without a college degree, could have the perks and salary that i do. ) In a word, we can be pretty freaking greedy when we bargain. I always hate the drama of it.

So my union is talking strike because they could not reach agreement Aug. 31 and our contract expired and now we are working under an extension. The big issue is pension plan take-aways because our plan is underfunded. Management thankfully allowed those of us who are eligible to retire (like me) to submit a letter of intent so that we will be grandfathered to retire under the old pension plan. Yesterday they let us extent the date of our letter too. I have until Sept. 14 to make a decision.

My union continues to bargain. Today i was told it looks like we are headed for a strike.

I cannot in good conscience vote for a strike. I am not even certain in good economic times I would vote to strike, but certainly not now. On Saturday, on a lark, I applied online for a school job. And within within two days and working late (and with louielouie's help) I now have all of my paperwork in order, including four letters of recommendations, a cover letter, and a resume. I have done SOOO many resumes for friends, but not one for myself in 23 years. It's not easy to write your own resume. But i think it looks good.

I am applying for a job that is not much money, less hours, even more time off during the summer than i have. I would get to work around little kids. The District may not be interested because i am overqualified, but it's just the kind of job i want post retirement: not the major responsibility for the office, task orientated duties, face paced.

I suppose it's possible they also might not want someone from the union. I don't know how to let them know i am not a rebel rouser without throwing my employer under the bus and seeming to be disloyal.

There are 3 options and i have a plan for all of them now.

#1 If my union calls for a strike before Sept. 14 i will retire no matter what. I'll buy a Kindle (or an iPad), a sewing machine and join the YMCA again and take bowling lessons.)

#2. If the school calls me and wants to hire me, i will take this new job, regardless of what my union decides and will retire and collect my pension.

#3 If my union gets it done without a strike and the school doesn't call then I will work for one more year and retire in June instead.

I like scenario #3 the best because i may end up with getting to add vacation time to the pension if they get to keep it in this bargain. I wouldn't get it now cause i didn't expect this to happen and i took it all. Plus I like the people i work with and i don't want to have to desert them suddenly.

In the meantime my headquarters boss just called me today to go work a strike build-up of a different school district union -which is what our work is all about. Helping school employees. This assignment is about 2 hours away. I'll be put up in a hotel and gone about a week. This same boss wrote me a reference letter for the job and it was almost over the top. He's always liked me because when he wants to tap me for outside committee work i am always willing. The problem is that it may make it difficult to be in touch with the school district on the chance they do call me. I think i am going to have to get a cell phone!!!!! He did say i could leave as needed if i got an interview.

I have been excited since i made all these decisions on Monday. More so than i've been in a very long time. I realize i've been in a rut and allowing myself to stay where it's comfortable, even though i'm not loving it as much as i used to. It's never good to stay just because of money. So at least, no matter what happens I am going to get off my butt one way or another and June 1st is the longest i will be working there, no matter if i have something lined up or not.

I always feel so much better when i have a plan. I know this is long and rather boring and leaves the participatory stuff out, but then again not much is happening here anyway, and i wanted to put this down for the record so i can read this later a year from now and see where i am.

Do you swear to tell the truth, and nothing but the truth?

2011-08-27T18:08:00.000-07:00

I served on jury duty for two days this week. It was my third summons for duty. (I think a jury duty summons is like hemorroids or cold sores, once you get them you are prone to get them.) I knew i was going to be chosen from the panel of 25 people, because it seemed obvious some were trying to get out of it by their answers.

This was a DUI and hit and run case.

For example: one guy answered a question with saying his very best friend got a DUI and he hasn't spoken to him since and that the defendant shouldn't be comfortable with having him on the jury. Maybe that's true too. But i felt he wanted out. Another woman, a nurse, kept interrupting and talking and sounded a little bit wack actually.

The jist: A young woman left a bar at 2 am. This bar is notorious in town. There was a gang related still unsolved murder a few years ago. (My husband worked with the father of the kid who was killed and we went to the funeral.) As a result of that reputation, the bar hires Lakewood Police officers as 'rent a cops'.

The woman drives out of the parking lot. She actually sees that he is parked there, and as she drives out, her rear view mirror scratches the side of the officer's car. Very minor. But he feels it, but she is unaware that she grazed him. She pulls out into the street. The copy puts on his lights and follows her and she pulls over immediately. (To this police officer, this constitutes as hit and run. She is so close to the bar that you could throw a heavy rock and hit it.)

He, by his own testimony, came on strong with her, that he was 'agitated'. He approached her and was yelling at her about 'what the hell was she doing?' etc. etc. and ordered her out of the car . She swears she didn't know that she clipped him. (Her music was loud.)

The cop calls for backup from a state patrol officer. This guy is nicer and comes and gives her the field sobriety test (FST) even though he testifies that she does not appear to be drunk or swaggering. She walks a complete straight line, but fails to do it to instruction of heel/toe. This nice cop testifies that the defendant is totally cooperative. He does say she smells like alcohol. She admits to having one vodka/Coke in the bar about an hour and half before. She has been there since 8:30 for her cousin's birthday party and now it's 2:00 am. He thinks her eyes are wiggling when he does the test with the pen, but also admits under cross examination there are 40 other variables that could cause this, not related to drinking. (Strobe lights and being tired for one thing.)

The defendant is a young African American woman. The first mean officer looks like a Nazi kind of cop - he was intimidating on the stand and seemed pissed off about being in court and even admitted that he was 'agitated' that he had to be there. He never once looked at the jury when he spoke. In a word, the guy was an asshole. (Later the defendant told us that he wouldn't let her get her coat, yet it was near freezing outside.) I had to wonder about his attitude after what happened when four of his colleagues were killed in a coffee shop here two years ago here by a black man and his family helped him escape. Not saying he was racist, but i could see how SHE could be scared into believing so and so nervous she cannot pass the FST perfectly.

to be continued....

2011-08-23T20:13:00.001-07:00

Correct me if i am wrong.....

2011-08-21T21:18:00.000-07:00

1. But it seems like the country is starting to view Barack Obama in the same way that they did Jimmy Carter back the end of his first term.

2. That Rick Perry is the incarnate of George W. Bush, only in a way that pisses me off, more appealing. And i do believe Rick Perry will be the Republican nominee.

3. That many/some Americans seem to like stupid people more than smart people, especially when electing a president.

4. That it makes no sense to buy some things organic...say like.... avocados, bananas, melons.

5. That we look better than our mothers did when they were the age that we are now, mostly because of the styles, especially hair!

6. it used to be more fun going out to the movie theater. I think that's because i don't get to wear my pajamas and lay down on a pillow.

7. It's harder to find music i like on iTunes. I think i might not be their demographic.

8. The more strident and obnoxious a person is on TV the more famous they get.

9. We actually have to be reminded sometimes that there are wars going on because it seems easy to forget unless you have a family member fighting in it.

10. Reading anything in our local news is likely to give one hypertension or agoraphobia or enough to make even a bleeding heart liberal to want to go out and buy a gun.

11. Enunciating your words perfectly is irritating to anyone who has to hear it.

12. Chewing gum is low rent.

13. Obnoxious and immoral people never really change.

14. Passive aggressive people are some of the most obnoxious people on the planet. Because you can never win with them. You just have to kick their ass and make it hurt.

15. Women have it worse than men because menopause sucks and lasts far far too long which is not fair, considering women already have to go through childbirth and getting old looks worse on us than on them. i think this needs to be renegotiated with God or whoever is in charge of this.

So what would YOU add?

Saturday Summer Slacking

2011-08-13T16:52:00.000-07:00

Not much going on. I just felt like posting.

Menu of the Day:

Music: nothing - i'm starting to get used to posting without music since we don't have our iTunes switched over yet. I'm digging it, like equeyaya was saying earlier about the silence!

Photo: this is from The News Tribune. It's a photo of Troy's girlfriend's burger restaurant in Univ. Place. It was great review from Sue Kidd (who can be a difficult critic). Troy got his food handler's permit and is working with her on his days off and after work and even on his vacation. I think he's having a great time. The lines are LONG and the place is hugely popular already. I'm very happy for Pam because it's been a dream of hers and in the works for two years. (She and Troy met because she wanted to hire him for construction work that long ago. Who knew that burgers could lead to love? ) And speaking of her burgers: They are indeed very good, like the old fashioned juicy burgers from our past, because they are hand pressed, not frozen.

Troy called me at work couple of days ago and he sounded very happy. We both laughed at how it will be along time before we get together again. (Unless i get my food handler's permit too!)

Book: OMG, i think this book is replacing my favorite books of the year, maybe the past two years. Cutting for Stone is an amazing story. I think i love this book even more than The Kite Runner or House of Sand and Fog. (I only name these two because i never knew i could like books about other cultures.) I will be done with it maybe even by this evening or tomorrow for sure. I don't want it to end. I will be sad to let these characters go.

On with the numbers - i'm still trying to get to my goal of 52 posts for the year and i'm still lagging. Whether anyone is reading or posting here, i'm forging ahead with my goal, come hell or highwater!

The Best Thing That Happened: (edited to add this:) I just found out after checking the mail today! ......Our little abode is paid off with only one more payment! (I wasn't expecting it until October or November.) No more house payment! WE are meeting with a financial planner next month to invest that same money. We are so excited with this news!

**********************

1. Where did that phrase 'come hell or highwater' come from anyway? I think i will Google that.

2. In regards to the Republican race for president: i want to go on record right now that i do NOT think Michele Bachman is going to be the candidate, Iowa straw poll be damned. (Though i so wish she would be!) I would be willing to bet money that the presidential nominee is going to be Texas Governor Rick Perry. I remember seeing him awhile back on Jon Stewart and i thought he reminded me SO much of George W. in his mannerisms and his speech. BUT he is better looking and even i have to admit, while i don't like the guy, he comes across with a certain charm. I will remind y'all from time to time as the days get closer to election time that i said this. I hope i am wrong. I really do.

3. I wouldn't be surprised if some Democrat doesn't come out of the woodwork to challenge Obama either. But right now i don't know who that would be. (If it were Anderson Cooper or Matt Damon, i may be inclined to change my mind about my vote!)

4. I went back to work last week. It wasn't as bad as i thought. Here is the key for me for a successful new year: do something new! .... My manager/boss at headquarters assigned me to mentor a new hire in one of our neighboring union offices. And after talking with her on the phone yesterday to set up a lunch date, i can tell I will already like this woman. Also on Friday my boss asked me to serve on a committee to research the best communications tool we can use for our 80,000 members. I love communications, so this is right up my alley. And both of these assignments get me out of the office.

5. When i think about my summer, it was great, lots of unencumbered time. Nobody demanding anything of me. But it mostly involved me watching Tabatha's Salon show, The Debt Ceiling news, Casey Anthony, unfurling my flag which kept getting wrapped around the pole on my front porch, watering my patio plants, taking naps, running, drinking wine, watching Rescue me, reading and making my bed. I wasn't bored, but i realized it didn't make me an exciting person to be around either. Housewives and young stay at home mothers must feel this way.

6. I am going to be meeting susieatl (who posts here infrequently) next Saturday in Seattle. She knows what i look like, but I have no idea what she looks like because she never puts up photos on Facebook of herself (mostly her dog) but she tells me she is under 5 feet. I think I should show up in a wig and sunglasses! LOL.....

7. My husband has been under our house in our crawl space for most of the day today, fixing and rewrapping our duct work and checking for leaks. I KNEW the dust coming inside our house and inordinate amount and sure enough we have some leaky duct work that sucks it into the house. Brian fixed it. When we are done we will have the most looked over condo in good repair in our whole community. He's been in every inch of our crawl space and thought he is not claustrophobic (as i am) it's not a pretty job.

8. I love being married to such a handy guy. He can fix almost anything!

Ok, that's all. What's going on with your week

i have no idea what's on my mind...

2011-08-09T21:18:00.000-07:00

...but it never stopped me before.

Menu of the Day:

Music: right now it's Springsteen's Ghost of Tom Joad.

Best Thing that Happened this Week: i'm still thinking......i'll get back to you.

Book: i resisted this book before and i'm not sure why because i'm reading it now and LOVING it. Y'all have probably heard of it: Cutting for Stone . It's always prominently displayed these days in bookstores.

(I think this makes book #14 this summer for me.)

What I am procrastinating about: I need to take those classes with the Apple Store so i can do the Microsoft applications like Word and Excel, not to mention the music stuff. I miss my iTunes!!!!

What i have accomplished this week: I'm still thinking....i'll get back to you.

On with the randomness....

**********************

1. I HATE the commercial for the Shake Weight, don't you? Have you seen this stupid commercial? An overbuffed muscle-y dude is shown BEFORE his 6 minutes with the stupid Shake Weight and then they show him after he's worked out with the Shake Weight for awhile. It's the same guy only his body is even grossly more buff. I hate guys who love their body that much.

2. The Shake Weight looks like a workout tool for how to give a better hand job without throwing out your wrist. Everyone says that. And nobody needs six pack abs in order to give a good hand job. I'm pretty sure.

3. Having said all this, for something like only $26, it would make a great gag gift.

4. I went back to work this week. What made it easier was the weather hasn't been all that great. It's been somewhat cloudy and not making me beg for margaritaville time at all. I also like having lots of stuff to do with time to do it and this time of year makes it easier. I swear i felt the touch of autumn in the air today.

5. Did everyone see Matt Damon and his mom (who is a teacher) speak up for teachers? i YouTubed it on Facebook. But i also found out that Lawrence O'Donnell did a whole thing on his The Last Word segment.

6. Matt Damon is my niece Kylee's new husband pick. Too bad she gave up blogging so she won't see this.

7. I don't have that much on my mind after all so i guess i will stop. I was just getting tired of seeing Tabatha's photo at the top of the other post. I love her, but she's a little bit scary.

My summer vacation with Tabatha and Denis Leary comes to an end!

2011-08-04T20:26:00.000-07:00

I am one of those weird people who love being alone and hanging out around the house. I have not been on any trips for the past 5 weeks of my vacation and i have loved it! Here's what i did:

1. This summer i became obsessed with two shows: Tabatha's Salon Takeover and Rescue Me. I love Tabatha and Denis Leary. (I seem to be attracted to harder personalities who take no prisoners and do what they think is the right thing even if they step on toes.)

2. I read about 13 books. No kidding. I could breeze though a book a day if it was good enough and some books i did read in one day: Room, Prayers for Sale, and names of others i have already forgotten. I need to start keeping a list! But i can't figure out this new iMac Excel, which pisses me off because i am an Excel whore. I'm going to have to take some of those classes that Brian signed us up for.

3. I didn't go to the pool that much this summer, and if i did, i never put on a swim suit, but i did manage to get tanned enough from running. I actually made myself go for a swim today (only because it was hair wash day anyway and no one was in the pool). It was my first time in the water in two years. I was trying to figure out how hard it would be to swim 20 minutes (which is what Brian had to do for his mini-triathalon. I could only manage 5 minutes. It's hard! )

4. Each morning i would start my day by watching the news on the Debt Ceiling. Brian brings me coffee and newspaper in the morning before he goes to work and it's incentive for me to wake up early enough so the coffee is still fresh. Then i would put a couple of episodes of Rescue Me from the netflixed DVDs or watch Tabatha. After that, i would go for a run, tend to my patio plants, and shower. Then i would check my emails, (work and home) and Facebook and blog (though that never took very long). And by the time i was done with all this it would be past noon and almost time for my nap!

I am the most responsible and organized slacker you will ever meet.

5. My summer uniform is an Eddie Bauer tank top, Eddie Bauer flip flops, and a switch between my Eddie Bauer cargo pants with the zipper pocket at the ankle (so i don't have to carry a purse if i don't want to) or my Old Navy pants i've had for over 10 years that i just love because they are so comfortable.

6. Besides Tabatha and Denis i also got hooked watching Shark Week and the ME TV station. Mary Tyler Moore and Bob Newhart are my most favorite shows on there, and also MASH. Its a great channel!

7. I didn't ONLY watch TV. My first day of vacation was helping Kylee move to her new place in Seattle. And I did get together with different friends over the month. I even spent 6 hours with my mom Elodie yesterday for her birthday. I cooked a lot. (One of my new recipes was chicken breasts stuffed with goat cheese and sage with a brown butter sage sauce.) I drank a lot of wine and discovered some new ones i really like. I sewed my brother's pillows with louie and beat my husband at many games of Yahtzee on the patio. I even had a good time meeting the neighbors at the pool at the annual Neighbors Night Out earlier this week.

Normally we would have gone somewhere. But the rivers are too high for flyfishing now because of all of our snowpack (so we probably won't get to it until mid-September or October when it's better fishing anyway) so that's why i've been home. But i don't mind. It seemed to be a longer vacation that way.

And now it's over. I go back to work on Monday. At least i have a month before the teachers go back so it will be quieter and i can wear the same slacker clothes i've been wearing at home since not many people are around. I might even ride my new bike to work!

Happy Birthday louie/louie and other summer stuff.

2011-08-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

1. Today is the birthday of my longest best friend in the world. We have been friends since 1979 when we both were working at Mann Junior High. (Back then she was a Home Ec teacher and i was a Student Accounts Secretary.)

We used to run together in the park after work every day for years. We left our first husbands who(m?) we had both married at very early ages during the same year. (I think her ex blamed ME for the divorce and my ex blamed HER!) I've known her kids since before they were born - (I even ran with Nick before he was born!). I would have dated either one of her brothers back in the day had the timing been right. (Not sure they would have dated me though.) I was her Maid of Honor (but not a very good one because i was poor and distracted by dating back in 1987) when she married again (Emma's dad). She brought me Guiness Stout and Vanity Fair when i had pneumonia and Brian was out of the state. And she made me pajama pants during another time i was sick after my nephew died. She sent me a card in the mail every day during that time.

My husband says of her, "Your friend Sarah is such a good friend to you, she's a good egg." So Happy Birthday, louie/Sarah!

You are indeed a 'good egg', but not one that cracks, because you know that eggs do not dance with stones and we're both stones. (Neither of us do needy high maintenance friends well. )

2. I just got in from running in 80+ degrees in the hot sun. I am not complaining because i already complained way too much that it was cold and cloudy. But i'm mentioning it now to say i weighed myself before and after. And i lost nearly a full pound of water weight from that run! (short 1/10ths)

3. I have been watching Shark Week on Discovery. I love shark stuff, ever since i read the book Jaws and saw the movie. But then, I have nothing to worry about, i don't even swim in our pool, much less the ocean. I'm thinking it's kind of mean for Discovery to have Shark Week during the summer when people want to play in the ocean the most.

4. I went to work for four hours today cause it's money time of the month. It wasn't so bad because i knew it was only a half day and i got a lot done. But i still am not ready to go back. Normally i am by now, but not this year.

5. I hope my union goes on strike. Then i'm done. If that happens i think i will take 6 months off and then look for a job. But i doubt my union is dumb enough to go on strike right now. We can't be THAT greedy.

6. So the Debt Debate is in tentative agreement. I haven't watched TV yet today to see when the Senate vote is happening, but i expect it might be today? or is it over already? I doubt it, because the Breaking News on Comcast as i logged in was about a near death experience that Lou Diamond Phillips had years ago on the set of Young Guns.....

Anyway, I have no idea what to think about this outcome, but i loved the article by conservative columnist Kathleen Parker. She started it out:

"Take names. Remember them. The behavior of certain Republicans who call themselves tea party conservatives are the most destructive posse of midguided "patriots" we've seen in recent memory."

The names she lists (and i am sure that there will be more to come): Michele Bachman (of course), co-founders Jenny Beth Martin, Mark Meckler, and Judson Phillips; Rep Jim Jordan (Ohio); and South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint.

7. I imagine nobody in Congress wants any polls taken about their popularity these days, which must hover around Gaddafi's or Casey Anthony's, take your pick.

8. louie, i bought a chardonnay today called "Emma Pearl" because of the name. I'll let you know how it is. Ask Emma if she has heard of it. I hope it's good cause it was almost $18.

9. OK, that's all i got for now. How is everybody's summer going? I'm glad for these last few days of sun before going back to work next Monday!

Open for business.

2011-07-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

Only because i know i am still behind on my goal of 52 posts for the year 2011.......................................

Sometimes when i am bored i liked to go back and re-read this blog. Every time i look at the stats the Bad Boyfriend one pops up as being viewed on a regular basis. It has something to do with Google searches. Apparently lots of folks are looking for Bad Boyfriend websites. I re-read that one this morning and i liked it. A couple of Anonymous folks posted on there since i last read it.

The other one that pops up as being viewed is the old High School Favorites where i posted about Ali MacGraw and Cat Stevens and Roman Gabriel. The reason that one pops up is because there are many searches on Roman Gabriel. (I would have expected my Charlie Whitehurst Seahawks QB would have gotten more attention.)

The internet is weird. (How did i live without it?)

1. I watched two hours of Tabatha's Salon Takeover today. I swear this woman makes me want to be a better office manager/secretary when i get back to work. I wish she would come into our office and kick some ass. Today she had this woman Candolyn (i think i got her name right) who was the owner of the salon going under and it's easy to see why. All Candolyn did was cry. I HATE crybabies. Crying solves NOTHING. Apparently so does Tabatha, which is why i love her so much.

2. Sarah/louie and i sewed yesterday. I made those pillows for my brother and nephew and i liked how they came out. I'll post a photo later of them. I am not sure what louie got accomplished but she did iron some of my fabric. Mostly it seemed like she was ironing. I was sewing and drinking wine.

3. Ok, so the freaking NFL can make a deal work but our cocksucking Congress can't come together on an agreement on the Debt Ceiling negotiations. Unless i have missed some breaking news in the past few hours. I am so angry about this. Where are our priorities in this country?

4. Cause i am certain that more Americans were more concerned and are now more excited about the NFL decision than if the Debt Ceiling talks get done by their deadline. You just know it!

5. I miss my iTunes. I miss posting photos. I know that this is not likely a hard thing to learn whatsoever but i want my husband to figure this out for me and then show me. I don't want to be watching any tutorials. I hate instructions. Don't most people?

6. Where i live in Lakewood a woman pumping her own gas had her foot cut off by some nitwit in his car talking on a cell phone who got distracted and jumped the curb, thereby running over her as she was putting gas in her tank. The article she says she lost her foot though Harborview Medical Center was going to try and reattach it. It happened right next door to my old office. I am going to cut this article out and show my husband because I think this means that my husband should always put the gas in my car. There are few things i hate more than pumping my own gas.

7. Ok, washing my car and washing my hair rank right up there with hating things to do. But i still think pumping gas is the worst especially since they closed down my favorite station.

8. You have to wonder what is up with Norway's police force when it took them 90 minutes to get to the site of the camp where all those kids were killed. We may be idiots in Congress and America does have it's problems, but i guarantee you that it would not take our police forces that long to get out there. What is up with Norway anyway?

9. I also heard that their maximum sentence for any crime is 21 years. Can this be true? This was on the news. They said this guy could get out when he is only 53 years old. That cannot be true. And why couldn't they charge him for 76 murders times 21 years?

10. let's see....what else is on my mind? OH, i am truly loving Denis Leary's Rescue Me. Does anyone else watch this? It's nasty! And he's sooooo bad, but you can't help but like him anyway. It's the show about the post 9-11 firefighters in New York. Most all of them come across as sexist/homophobic assholes which is a little bit disheartening because i always think of the firefighters as straight up dudes. NOt that i have a lot of experience with firefighters. Maybe again, this is just the New York firefighters. It's a whole different culture out there.

11. Why is Denis Leary sexy to me? does he do it for any of y'all? He's not even what you call handsome. (But he was so funny on Jon Stewart!)...maybe that's why.

Ok, i think that's enough for now.

Closed for Repairs.

2011-07-25T18:24:00.001-07:00

Until i can come up with an idea that is not redundant.

Sort of a post summer rant.

2011-07-17T17:42:00.000-07:00

Truth is i'm kind of sick of everything now that our Five Days of Summer in the Pacific Northwest are over. As i type it's pouring down rain and 61 degrees.

I read a really stupid crime book - it's so bad i am not even going to list the title or author. When when it was over i thought oh lord, i could write better than this. Why didn't i just stop reading it?

Inertia. It's not a good thing.

I was going to make spaghetti and meatballs for dinner tonight. For two reasons:
#1 I have to open a bottle of red wine because i use it in the sauce. And drink the leftover.
#2 Meatballs always make me happy. (They are probably in my top ten favorite food.)

However, like emptying the dishwasher, washing salad greens and folding clothes, while i might love eating meatballs, but i really don't like making them.

I went for a run today and was a whole minute and a half slower on my route than normal. (I think it was because Natalie Merchant and Cat Stevens showed up on my playlist.)

OH, i started watching The King's Speech last night but we put it on too late and we both started getting tired so we will watch the rest tonight. I can tell that this movie is really good and i didn't want to miss a thing. We are watching it with the English subtitles! I can barely understand the actors.

I'm still kind of pissed off about the murder of my hydrangea bush by this condo board. And i hate that stupid prickly bush they replaced it with. I don't like prickly plants. I don't really even like roses that much because of their thorns. The owner before me had many many rose bushes out front and i took them out because i don't know how to care for roses, nor do i care to learn. (They always attracted aphids anyway, which got into my fuschias.)

OK, i guess that's enough for now. I just wanted to change my previous post about songs because it was dumb and redundant.

See, something is wrong when i don't even number these!

10 Songs that i never get sick of.

2011-07-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

I know that it's only been a couple of days since my last post but i'm still behind with trying to have my goal of one new post a week for the year. So y'all can still go back and post to the previous Menu of the Day and i'll check back with it, but not much is happening here anyway, so i'll work towards that mission of 52 posts in 2011 :

I don't have iTunes hooked up to the new computer so i've been YouTubing music as i write online to hear music. And it's interesting to me who i feel like looking up when i can look up ANYONE. So i thought i would make a list of the songs i never get sick of, (no matter how many times i've heard them.)

Disclaimer: over the years i have loved some songs far more than these i have listed only i made the mistake of overplaying them to the point i almost can't listen to them anymore. (For example, Van Morrison would likely show up more often had I not done that.)

1. Friend of the Devil (by Lyle Lovett or Counting Crows especially)

2. California - Joni Mitchell

3. When the Stars Go Blue - Ryan Adams

4. Let it Ride - Ryan Adams (This is a favorite running song!)

5. Above the Bones - Mishka

6. The River - Bruce Springsteen

7. My Sweet Carolina - Ryan Adams

8. After the Gold Rush - Neil Young

9. The River - Joni Mitchell

10. Amelia - Joni Mitchell

What songs would YOU list?

Menu of the Day: No specials.

2011-07-14T21:39:00.000-07:00

Today i'm going with only the menu...

Menu of the Day:

In my glass: a rather boring Waterbrook Shiraz. I swear it's almost watery. Very thin. Doesn't even make my teeth purple. I am going to pour it back in the bottle and pour a glass of viognier instead. (Brian will drink it, he drinks anything.) The viognier will go better with the peanut butter sandwich that I am eating for dinner since Brian is not home.

Music: Shawn Mullins "Cabbagetown"

Reading: i just finished a Norwegian crime novel by Jo Nesbo called Redbreast and now i'm reading another Memento like book called Before I go to Sleep. Both are good!

How many books have a i read so far? Hmmm i think this is my 5th one now. I believe last summer i may have read 12.

Best thing that happened today: It's my handsome nephew's 29th birthday (Troy's son Brian). I dropped off his present today at his dad's house. It's so fun to give him a present because he is always so appreciative and never expects anything. One of the presents was the book The Help because he wants to read it. (Like both of my brothers, my dad and me, he reads a lot.)

My new obsession: I have finally moved on from the Casey Anthony trial but now i'm watching the Tabatha Salon lady on Bravo. She's that tough looking Brit with the short blonde hair who goes in to salons that are failing because of their terrible employees and she whips them into shape. It's fascinating watching her work with arrogant lazy employees to make the company better. She's intimidating but soooo right. I LOVE Tabatha. Sarah/louie are you watching this? I could see you and Amanda thinking this is good stuff. Does anyone watch this?

What SHOULD be my obsession: Finding out what the fu*k is going on with the debt ceiling.

What i plan to do in the near future: Get an unlisted phone number. I am quite sure because of past work in the Democratic party that the Jay Inslee people are the ones who keep trying to get ahold of me. Only they never leave a message or they simply say they are looking for Jo. It's either than or it could be the Planned Parenthood people. It's usually a Seattle area code or a 888 number. If you try to call me someday and the number is changed be sure to email me. I'll try and get the word out.

What bugs me about this: i actually believe it's the Planned Parenthood people because they have my name as two names my old married name and new married name because that's what i did when i got married and continued to donate. But every time i send a check, they ask for another one almost immediately.

What pissed me off this week: Bush murder: let me explain: I have a beautiful hydrangea bush outside my door. It usually blooms late September and the flowers are so huge. The bush in bloom gets pretty big and covers part of my pathway to the door. I can have flowers in my house from this bush for a month. They are a vibrant purple/blue. People commented often if they saw them in bloom. I prune this myself each year. This year i noticed it was not bouncing back and the leaves were coming in but slowly. I came home after running errands two days ago and went outside and the condo folks had taken it out and replaced it with a prickly short bush. I hate this new plant. I used to leave notes on this hydrangea: DO NOT CUT! when i knew they were pruning. I was on this condo board for four years because i hated what they did. And i hate this new board too but i can't see myself running again right now because i will be fighting all the time with them. I decided to let this one go because i know there will be bigger battles later and i can't be spending my energy on a bush.

Book Recommendation: The Girls (about conjoined twins) includes characters that you wish you were your family or friends. I miss those characters already.

Product endorsement: Do i need to say it? ....the iMac desktop computer!

Jojo's Thoughts on the Casey Anthony Trial

2011-07-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

1. First of all, they have to quit calling it Breaking News on the Headline News CNN channel. The words Breaking News mean the opposite to me. Just like Fox News Fair and Balanced means the opposite.

2. Nancy Grace needs to quit calling Casey Anthony 'Tot Mom'. It sounds so stupid. Plus i don't like the word 'tot' anyway. Just as i don't like the word 'hubby'.

3. I think i have never seen a female prosecutor with good hair. (Burdick is the prosecutor with the long blonde hair)... And remember of Marcia Clark. (OJ trial)

4. Though i saw Marcia give her two cents on the trial and her hair looked a hell of a lot better. And i think she had some work done.

5. I did feel very sorry for Casey's mom Cindy. However i think if i were in Casey's shoes (but with my own personality) and she coveted my daughter the way that Cindy seemed to, i might have some mom issues too.

6. I don't believe that Casey was molested by her dad or there would be more to say on that story. Pathological liars tell huge lies with lots of details and elaboration for drama and i think that was what that was all about. Otherwise why would she subject her daughter to living in their home?

7. I still wonder why the subject of Caylee's father never came up in a big way. That seems most weird to me.

8. I think it's funny how Casey wore baggy ruffly, even puffed sleeve, sensible cotton blouses for the jury with her hair all pulled back tight against her skull and on the last day wore her own clothes with her hair down. (which she kept fidgeting with).

9. I thought Casey's brother was kind of hot.

10. I never believed the woman with the two names when she said she had an affair with George. I think she was seeking money from tv interviews.

11. Having said that, i think George is not telling the truth about everything either and i remember thinking something was off about him three years ago when i first watched some of this story on Nancy Grace.

12. Nancy Grace is also a former prosecutor. I just wanted to add that to my evidence of #3. She lookes like she is wearing a football helmet. And what's with that black leather jacket?

13. I also think if Jeff Ashton lost just a few pounds (and i think he did by the end of the trial) he would be super hot. I liked how one of the lurers outside the courthouse held a sign that said "Jeff Ashton for President".

14. And speaking of those folks who hang around outside courthouses for cases like these, they are nut cases themselves i think. Can't they find something better to do?

15. ... like watch hour after hour of Nancy Grace in the privacy of their own home for days during their vacation so that you can at least hide from the public that you are a nut? ;)

16. I wonder if the Anthonys will stay married.

17. I give Casey less than two years before she gets in some kind of trouble again. It might be a much publicized DUI or it will be another pregnancy. Or some fight with a girl or guy in a bar.

18. And of course it will be Breaking News.

Summer vacation at cucina abode

2011-07-07T16:28:00.000-07:00

Menu of the Day:

Music: YouTube of Amos Lee. I don't have iTunes hooked up to our new iMac yet.

The Best Thing that Happened this week: The new iMac! I cannot believe how much faster this computer is! I am so excited. And the resolution on this monitor and the sound is so fabulous. Why did we wait so long?

The worst thing that happened: Casey Anthony should have at least gotten Murder in the Second or child abuse - isn't it child abuse to not report her missing? I watched the trial when i first started and i do feel strongly about her guilt. Though i don't think they proved 1st Degree. I think she fits the profile totally of Diane Downs. She may wish she was still in jail after she gets out in the real world with some of those wackos who protest the verdict. I won't read a book if she writes it, but i would love to read one written by a reputable author. Oh hell, what am i saying, i'd probably read one by Nancy Grace even. And she's a nut too.

OK, short menu. The only thing i don't like is this teeny Little Mac keyboard that feels like my netbook. I need a real one. On with the randomness...

*********************

1. I washed windows on 4th of July. I have a small place - 4 windows and a slider and a big mirror, but it took me over two hours. That's the last time i do that. Usually i hire it out. But they look great. i think i'm going to reward myself by buying a very expensive bottle of wine that would equal what i would pay.

2. I just read a GREAT book in two days. It's a novel about conjoined twins called The Girls. Very poignant book and i highly recommend it. This one and Half Broke Horses are my new favorite books.

3. I've been watching on DVD the first season of Arrested Development. Does anyone else love this show? It's full of people you are not supposed to like but somehow you do. Except maybe for the mom.

4. Brian put Edward Hopper's famous painting of the Nighthawks diner on our wallpaper on this computer. I love it. Edward Hopper is one of my favorite painters. I have one of his coffee table books and i liked finding out he was married to a woman named Jo and he died on my birthday.

5. I am on vacation until Aug. 8th. But if my union decides to go on strike (over a loss in our pension), i will retire on Aug. 31. If not, i will pull my letter and go to work.

6. There is a part of me that wishes this decision was made for me by having my union strike.

7. I LOVE being alone on vacation. I love sitting out on my patio and reading for hours. I love the mornings best when i watch TV (Arrested Development) while drinking coffee in bed for an hour or two before going out for a run. And i like taking naps. But i am not sure i can make a whole life out of this so maybe i better stop thinking about retirement.

8. There is only so much YouTubing a person can do in their leisure time.

9. I'm going to end on 9. I could probably go find a photo off the Internet to add, because i can't upload anything just yet on this iMac until we get it hooked up to our stuff. (And we need to load PhotoShop.) i might just keep this naked for the time being.

Hope y'all are all having a great summer! What's going on?

I am posting this from our new iMac desktop! Testing 1-2-3

2011-07-06T16:14:00.000-07:00

I have been AWOL because i could not bring myself to turn on our desktop pc and i do not like changing this blog on my netbook. Plus even my netbook is giving me fits. That evil Bill Gates is all behind it i know.

I know that i will get frustrated with this new Apple computer at some time....for example this keyboard seems a little too tiny for a desktop and i keep making typing errors. I can only imagine if i was drinking wine. But maybe i will get used to it. But i love already how quickly it fires up. Amazing!

we still don't have iTunes hooked up yet so we have a ways to go, plus i need to find a workstation because our monitor is too big to fit in our old computer table.

I'll be back to add more later. I just wanted to check this out.

Stuff I Don't Like to Do - Edited to add: read Comment #13 on how to post here if you have problems

2011-06-11T20:52:00.000-07:00

Menu of the Day:

What I've been doing: Watching the Casey Anthony Trial. And DVRs of Chelsea Lately. I am so lazy!

Music: Graham Nash "Be Yourself".

In my Glass: No wine today. Just a smoothie. (It's also dinner because we had a late lunch from House of Pho.)

The Best Thing that Happened This Week: Got a haircut that i like! She cut off about 3 inches.

What I'm Procrastinating about: Sending in those warranty cards on my new dishwasher and stove.

OK, here is my list of stuff that i hate to do. Come and add your own!

***************************************

1. High Fives. I absolutely hate the high five and i almost wanted to quit bowling because of it. Everyone wants to high five after a strike or spare. Both teams even. This is probably why i don't bowl that many strikes.

2. Along those lines: The Wave.... OH do i ever hate the wave! Just when i am getting situated in the stadium (stadiums not being a favorite place anyway), i get all settled and damn it i have to stand up and participate and show my team spirit. I HATE standing. It's why i never take a shower. It's why i became a secretary.

3. I do not like shopping. I especially don't like shopping for myself. I buy clothes more and more these days online (sometimes Louie is online and i email her stuff i think i want to buy to get her opinion.... i buy ALL my shoes online because of short fat wide Flintstone feet. Honestly, i think i would rather go to the dentist than go to the mall.

4. I really do not like washing my hair and if i were 20 years old i would grow dreads. It is so thick and wiry and takes forever to dry (though if you read my last blog post you saw my product endorsement of the Babyliss hairdryer). And it never looks as good when i do my hair as when my stylist does.

5. I don't like wearing eyeshadow. I do not know how to put it on.

6. I don't mind washing the clothes, but i hate folding them and putting them away. Same with the dishwasher.

7. I don't like traveling. I wish i could beam myself places. I do like being someplace away from home. I just don't like getting there.

8. I hate cooking for vegetarians. This is a well known fact about me if you have been reading here for awhile.

9. I don't like brainstorming or anything to do with group meetings that involved lots of broad visions. And i especially hate mission statements.

10. I work for a union but oddly enough, i hate bargaining. I am not a hold back kind of person. I just lay my cards on the table. In negotiating, (i.e. buying a car, buying a house) i always offer up what i want too quickly. the good thing is that i do walk away if the deal isn't suiting me. It saves A LOT of time.

11. I hate making small talk, another well known fact about me. If you meet me at a party for the first time and we only end up talking about the weather or you ask me if i have kids or where did i go to college (a question i always hate because i never went), I will probably pretend i have to go to the bathroom. Then i will probably head to the kitchen to get more wine.

12. I hate polite talk. The more polite you are, the more i am likely to stick my foot in my mouth and say something inappropriate.

13. I don't like reminiscing about the old days or my childhood.

14. I also don't like hearing too much about other people's favorite childhood memories.

15. I hate going to baby showers. Or wedding showers too. I swear i think i would rather go to a funeral. (as long as it wasn't someone i really liked too much. But then again, why would i be at a funeral of someone i didn't like?

16. I really hate it when people use cute words for cussing. If you are pissed off and say 'oh pickles' you will hear my eyes roll in my head. There is nothing wrong with the 'fuck' word. It's the perfect word, one syllabel, hard "K", easy to enunicate and even if you are hard of hearing you will be able to recognize it.

Ok, that's all i got for now. Please come add you own. I know you have many!

I hope y'all are able to post. I've had trouble myself, but lately my computer has been behaving. So i don't know what to think. I looked at the settings and they seem okay. Maybe Bill Gates has heard i've been talking smack on him.

Sunday Stuff. Family photos from yesterday's Crawfish Boil.

2011-06-05T19:02:00.000-07:00

Menu of the Day:

Music: I love Mission Bell so much i went back and bought Amos Lee's Last Days at the Lodge

Quote: "We're Louvraks, we're great at mediocre" - this comes from my nephew Brian last night (when we were trying to sing around the campfire at his house for the crawfish boil last night.)

Best thing this week: The weather. FINALLY the weather made it here. We had mid-to upper 70's yesterday and sun and blue sky all day long. Days like yesterday make you forget all the other 325 days in the year.Yesterday was the very first day we put on the air conditioner!

The other best thing: Our remodel. I just have some finishing touches and we're done. My car, for the first time in over a month, is back in the garage.

What's not so cool: The condo board tells us it's against the law to discriminate against kids by having adult hours at the pool. Those little f*≈#cers are in the pool ALL THE TIME now. I now I will get no reprieve from "Marco Polo" when i am outside on my patio reading. Sometimes i really get sick of how it's always ABOUT THE KIDS. i think kids get enough coddling and all that shit without messing with my adult pool hours too.We're the ones with the stress and we need our quiet time at the pool.

What I'm going to do: Is look up the law. I don't trust this board.

Photos: We were at my nephew's house last night for the crawfish boil. That is my mom drinking her chardonnay out of a kid's tippy cup. Thankfully, my brother Troy told my dad (usually it's me taking on this fight, which gets old) he couldn't drive home when they were getting ready to leave. So Dad gave the keys to his big giant 1983 Cadillac to Troy and went to get another beer (for the road) and my mom not to be leaving her chardonnay behind asked for a to go cup and my nephew gave her this kids cup. (Someone else took these photos.)

Edited to add Kylee's photos too. The first one is the group shot. The second one is my nephew Brian and brother Troy. After that is my mom and niece Ashley (Kylee's sister) - both are true yayas. Then Ashley with my other niece Jessica's daughter Mariana. Ashley is wearing Jessica's glasses to show how Mari and Ashley look alike!

Book: I just read THE BEST BOOK i have read since maybe "Unbroken". After i read the two Chelsea Handley books i read "Half Broke Horses". It's written by the Glass Castle author. It's a wonderful book about the grandmother of the author. She was an amazing (however flawed) woman.This book would make a beautiful movie. I wanted to be the character and have my granddaughter write this book about me. I highly recommend it.

What I'm procrastinating about: I need to send in my warranty cards on my new range and dishwasher.

on with the randomness....

*********************************

1. I can't believe i didn't buy this Amos Lee cd earlier. It's amazing.

2. We need to get a new computer and we're going to because we have found we like spending money. So far it's working ok and not crashing, but pretty soon it will probably start revving up. It's intermittent how it works these days.

3. Actually the more i think about the loss of adult hours at the pool the more it pisses me off. Why do we make the world revolve around kids? I swear i'm so glad i never had kids. I would have been a terrible mother. (I am the antithesis of a soccer mom.)

4. Actually Brian's quote above is not totally accurate. We Louvraks aren't always mediocre: Sometimes we fail spectacularly.

5. I will be on vacation in three weeks. Then i will have 6 weeks off. I cannot wait. We won't be flyfishing just yet because we had so much snow that is still in the mountains that the rivers will be too high for awhile.

6. I like to look at my iTunes library sometimes and see which songs i play the most. I just did that and i have many songs that have zero plays (mostly Brian's songs!). But "Let it Ride" by Ryan Adams tops the list at 60 plays. After that it's "Master of Disaster" by John Hiatt. After that it's "Can't Seem to Get it Right" by Joe Purdy. I wasn't surprised by Ryan Adams. But i was at the other two. (I figured it would be a Van Morrison song. )

7. I don't have much to say today really. I just wanted to change the blog cause it was time. So please come and tell us what your week was like.

Remodeling is not for sissies

2011-05-29T19:03:00.000-07:00

This is the reason i have been somewhat AWOL....(also because we have been having intermittent computer issues, so far so good for now.) I really thought this remodel was going to take about 5-10 days.

After all, we were only doing two small bathrooms with all new floor and wall tile, vanities, toilet and sinks and faucets and new kitchen Corian countertops, new fans to fix our ventilation issues and repair under the house to fix our overflow leak from the tubs. It ended up being nearly 28 days. In retrospect i have no idea why i thought it would be less than two weeks.

But i love it and i love all the guys i hired from Roma Tile and Stone, Fineline Pacific (who did the Corian), Erichsen Brothers (who made our custom vanities to my specs with a drawer!) and Drywall Paul (as i call him) who fixed our skylight and ceiling issues and redid the plumbing.

The photos don't really do justice because the color never comes out right on the Internet. I decided to paint both bathrooms two different colors so they don't look TOO twinlike. You can't tell but the tile on the floor is different from the tile on the wall. The tile on the wall is a 'linen-y' look. the floor has more colors in it. It picks up that maple from the vanities.

The first 7 photos show the old stuff and that computer/guest room where we moved all the stuff really tested my OCD after about two weeks. But i told myself it was like camping, which cracked up my tile guy because i think to him camping at a state park is for sissies.

We had no bathroom sinks for two weeks and once they were in i still had this feeling that i had to brush my teeth over the toilet or kitchen sink. I lost my birth control pills one day, my blood pressure medication another day and never found my toenail clippers until i was able to put everything away.

I cannot believe that within 12 months i have painted FOUR TIMES in our little bathrooms. If you have been reading this blog you already know about my paint obsession. I swear i have probably lost about 3 inches of my square footage in the bathroom because of how many paint layers i have on that drywall! But when we were done, the blue i had painted last April did not work with the new everything. So i went with a new butter color (same as my kitchen) and love it because the skylight really brightens it. Even looking in the mirror makes my skin and hair look better because of the color with the lighting from the skylight. (If only i could bring that room to surround me all the time.)

I especially love our undermount sinks! And my new deeper kitchen sink. And Brian loves loves loves his new American Standard Cadet 3 toilet! LOL. And my Corian is a total thrill. I chose two different colors: Willow for the kitchen and Fossil for the bathrooms. I love Corian. I love to run my hands over it. I love it's warmth. I have never liked anything shiny. (Not even patent leather shoes when i was a kid.) I have never been a fan of granite and believe that everyone just asks for it because they think they should. Same with stainless steel appliances. Someday i believe they will be as outdated as the avocado green appliances and the pink tile bathrooms. Plus it shows all the fingerprints which you never see when you are watching the HG Channel!

And speaking of appliances. I was not planning on this but I went out Friday and bought a new range and dishwasher too after much research. And because i don't like shiny, i bought straightforward white appliances. I bought a Whirlpool range (coil cause i can't do the smoothtop either because i have never ever seen one yet that wasn't scarred from misuse). I also bought a Maytag dishwasher.

I have been wanting a new self cleaning oven and our appliances are going on 12-15 years old. I figure if our plan is to sell this place in five years, why shouldn't WE enjoy the new appliances for a while? Plus i can't get those appliance faces that clean anymore and it's messing with my new Corian.

I'm only putting this up pretty much for history purposes so i know it's now a riveting new post and i won't keep it up long. But i know Barbara/eque is busy moving too and i'm wondering what the rest of y'all have been doing on Memorial Day.

Random Sunday Shooting the Breezes

2011-05-22T18:04:00.000-07:00

1. My dad always uses the phrase 'shooting the breeze' which means you're just casually talking about shit that has nothing to do with anything really. And that's what this blog has mostly been about.

2. I'm almost done with the bathroom/partial kitchen remodel. It's about time. My OCD is in overdrive. The place is a mess and nothing is where it should be. I cannot find my toenail clippers and i had to FILE my toenails because they were starting to look like one of those men from India who grow them out really long until they curl up. (Ok, slight exaggeration.) But i HATE filing my nails because of the noise.

3. I have been hiding out in my bedroom when i get home to get away from the mess. In one week i have read THREE books. I read the new Rob Lowe book and the new Chelsea Handly book that Brian got me as part of my bday presents. I also finished another Chelsea book (the "are you there vodka, it's me Chelsea") I haven't laughed out loud at a book since i read Mash.

4. Thank GAWD my partial kitchen remodel didn't make me lose my corkscrew. (Though if it did i could always google that video Julie sent me that showed how you could open a bottle of wine with an Italian loafer. Not that my husband owns any Italian loafers,but i'm sure we could find something that would work besides bowling shoes.)

5. Lately i've noticed that i really like those screwcap wines. I'm getting too lazy i think. McManus makes an awesome chardonnay (I just poured a glass) and i was so happy not to have to open it up. I'm exhausted from all the touchup painting that i had to do today.

6. I think i should work in a paint store when i retire. I can at least get a discount. Because i realize now that my tile is up that my new blue paint in my bathroom (that i painted and repainted last year) is not going to work after all. I dread painting a bathroom, yet again. This will be the fourth time i painted a bathroom within 12 months.

7. Yesterday Brian went out and finished up my bicycle accessories. I wanted a basket and one of those little cheesy bells like little girls have on their bikes. AND fenders. And he got me all that. Plus a Kryptonite bike lock. I wanted the basket and the bells because i don't want anyone to get the idea that i am riding this bike for exercise.

8. I look like a Ninja Turtle in my bike helmet. i hate it alot. it's hard to look cute in a bike helmet. Even if i do have a cute little head.

9. Yesterday i went to our state capitol to help lobby our legislator in our district. His name is T r o y K e l l e y . I like his name because it is my brother and my sister's name. However i am not sure i like the politician. He says all the right stuff when we see him. But he's a bit of a namby pamby Democrat. And just in case he likes to Google his name i put spaces in between because he knows who i am. Anyway we're doing what we can to be pro-active so that our state doesn't become a Wisconsin and Michigan, and Idaho, and all those others. Anyway, what was really cool was the state capitol! for all my political stuff i have never been inside and in the balcony to see the action. It's a beautiful and amazing building. It was quite a nice day.

10. The legislative session is supposed to be done on Wednesday, the same day as my remodel.

11. Hey, how about that Non-Rapture???? Maybe May 21st really is the true day of the Rapture and God is pissed off enough at all of us so he's keeping us all down here. I guess we all better start worrying about Oct. 15, if that's the case.

12. If i were God. That's what i would do. Say to hell with all of you.

13. I was only a teeny tiny bit afraid that i would be Raptured up. I'm a nice person even though i am not the best Christian, but i would hope i would get Raptured up before Ted Bundy or Tammy Faye Baker. (I might even be nicer than that Kirk Cameron. I know it might not always seem like it from this blog, but God knows what is in my heart...) But the truth is, I do NOT want to go where those born again Jesus freaks go or any of those people who paid big bucks to put up those billboards, so i was never worried at all about having to be left behind.

14. Besides.....i don't like traveling. Jesus and God know this.

15. Brian told me he put up some photos of me on my new bike where i look like a Ninja turtle but i didn't find them on Facebook. When i do find them, i'll add it here.

Birthday Musings. NOW WITH VIDEO!

2011-05-14T19:55:00.000-07:00

It's my birthday tomorrow. I will be 54 years old. this seems old because I am more than officially beyond middle aged. Nobody lives to be 108 years old really. (Not that they lived to be 106 either...) But somehow this one feels too close to the 55 Alive Senior Citizens group kind of thing.

Today Dear Abby had a letter from a daughter in law upset about her MIL wearing a bikini and short skirts and spaghetti strap tops while in her 50's because the MIL works out alot and wants to show off her body. I said to Brian this morning, ""Our daughter in law, (that bitch), is writing a letter to Abby about me". (Neither of us have children, so this is a joke)...But it could be true because i do dress younger than i should, though last year at our condo pool i finally quit wearing a bikini, or even a bathing suit at all at the pool.

But yeah, i can tell it's finally happening. I am not young anymore. But i still refuse to shop at Talbots or Chadwicks or other older lady shopping places. .

Though i promise not to shop at J.Crew anymore. :(

Photo: that is me as a black haired baby. I was born with all that hair.

Video: My other best friend Julie (louie/Sarah and Julie and I are the 3 amigas, though we do NOT call ourselves that) made this video of her music kids for my birthday. It's adorable. She videotaped the kids about friends and birthdays. I love the little Michael Jackson dancer. And the little girl who tells her that she has been best friends with HER friend for they were " i dunno... really young". And i noticed after watching it the third time that she has per eyeglasses perched on top of her head like a little adult. Only i think she must be about 2nd or 3rd grade. (I forgot to ask Julie how old they were.) It's really cute.

Hodge Podge Blog updated w/ more mom conversations

2011-05-06T19:18:00.000-07:00

1. I can finally break up with this house by Point Defiance Park but it sorta makes me sad, like a divorce can, even when you don't want to be married to that man anymore. This house finally sold. But i am so very mad at our realtor. This is the house we made 3 offers on last Feb. It's 50% bigger than where we live now and in a better location, plus it's newer and not a condo, but in a place that takes care of your yard, etc. so much like where we live, only better.

But we walked away on the last offer when they didn't accept it because we felt our offer was solid and good without contingency and we were pre-approved. But our realtor failed to make that deal. So we decided to quit looking and remodel and move on.

But Lisa, (who shall be named The Very Bad Realtor/VBR) called Brian yesterday to tell him this house sold. (It has been on the market since last August) AND 'VBR 'thinks it went for about the same amount that we offered, maybe even less. But here's the kicker.....THEN she told Brian that the listing agent of that house had called her last month and said they would drop the price again if we were interested.

ONLY SHE NEVER CALLED US because she thought we would not be interested even though i told her that if they ever called her to let us know we may counter once more. I am still not sure why she called in the first place except that she thinks we might still be interested in looking and having her be our contact. NO WAY.

What makes me really mad is last month i got a call from a different realtor who used to live here who said he heard from our neighbor we might sell our place and he had a cash buyer who has been wanting to move in to our condo community. He said that he knew our place was much nicer than the listing he had. But i told him we had quit looking and were now remodeling. But the truth is if this couple wanted to buy our place especially with the remodel in place at our cost, karma might have worked and it would have worked out so much better for us if that happened in terms of remodeling the new place and the house payment.

But we never got that chance.

I am so pissed. Even though i am really going to like what we are doing to this place and have made room by renting storage. I really liked that house by Point Defiance. Point Defiance is one of the most beautiful parks ever.

2. Ok, thanks for letting me vent. I needed that because i was going to contact her and blast her a new one and then decided it would get me nowhere. So i'm writing it here.

3. We got a recommendation for this gal too. It was from my friend Julie's ex-husband who i actually trust. I should probably tell him not to recommend her anymore.

3. Brian says everything happens for a reason and this house was not meant to be. But you know, i still look sometimes online at homes, and i can't find one that i like as much as that one. And probably that couple who wants to move here might not have been interested either.

4. I do think i will love my bathrooms. The drywall is done today in the bathrooms and i hired a good guy. (I call him Drywall Paul.) After this remodel i think that Brian and i might be able to build someday - something exactly like we want, nothing too big, and maybe that's what supposed to happen. I now know a good roofer, drywaller, tile guy, hardwood floor company, and my brother Troy is a framer and turnkey home builder and has all kinds of connections to electricians and plumbers.

5. OMG, like the last post, once again Violin by Amos Lee has come on the cds playing. I really do have to make myself stop listening to this before i ruin it. But i'm addicted to him right now.

6. I am glad that Obama didn't release the Osama photos. I am also glad that Osama was killed on Obama's watch. I haven't been watching much of the news at all to see how Fox is going to twist this because i am getting very tired of all the talking political heads, EXCEPT for Jon Stewart. I seriously think he might be The Most Trusted Man In News, replacing Walter Conkrite.

7. I just bought the book Faith at Costco tonight. Along with about $150 worth of stuff i didn't plan to shop for when i went there only for seafood. Is anyone else reading this book? I think it sounds like it might be something like that Meryl Streep movie Doubt, a movie i really liked.

8. I watched The Office ending where Steve Carrell left the show. I almost, but not quite, cried. I don't think they were even acting in that last episode. Especially that scene where Jim goes into Michael's office to tell him what a great boss he was. I think they were seriously sad.

9. I hope that they hire the original Office Michael, Ricky Gervais. He's my pick.

Ok, that's all i got.What's on YOUR mind? What are your vents?

Donald Trump and other stuff on the menu that you would never order....

2011-05-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

Menu of the Day:

iTuning to : Violin by Amos Lee. I have got to quit listening to this song because i will wear it out very soon if i don't. This is an amazing song.

Book: I am reading, and i can't believe it myself, but i am reading John Grisham 's stories of Ford County. It was loaned to me. I haven't liked Grisham's books since "The Client" when it seemed he was only writing for money. (Same thing happened to Jodi Picoult). But i like this one. So far.

Disclaimer: If i ever get to be a published novelist i will never write for the money.

Title of my novel, if i ever write one: Slamming on the Brakes.

Reason for the title: It would be a memoir about my family. My family has always been about slamming: be it slamming people, slamming drinks, or in most important slamming of all, the case of my mom ...when she had her accident in 1967 (i was in the back seat at the age of 11) she slammed on the brakes literally and nearly killed herself in the process and lived in hospitals for over a year and half but came out of it (really a miracle), but has lived with a slight sort of brain damage that ever since that has affected us all.

The Best thing that happened this week: It's an absolutely beautiful Sunday. Super gorgeous. the kind that makes you totally forget the other 11 months of shitty grayness. Kylee and Brian went out and did a photo shoot today with the camera he bought her for her college graduation last winter so he could teach her some of what he knows since he was a digital photography teacher. Then we all met up for drinks together on the outside deck of Jake's over looking the Puget Sound.

Why this photo: I LOVE that Donald Trump is running for President. I also hope that Michelle Bachmann is running ... You know why? I won't have to work so hard as i have the past two elections. I can finally take a break.

What you should not order: I just realized that my subject line is about what not to order and i didn't include anything. I would say you should not order: house wine in a Chinese or Mexican restaurant; actually, house wine ANYWHERE; Lady Gaga off iTunes; In fact most of the iTunes Top Songs; whatever the latest new Estee Lauder face stuff that promises to make you younger (doesn't work); a glass of wine while bowling. (Bowling is strictly a beer game.); don't order jeans online; and speaking of online never...ever....ever.... order anything online while under the influence.

What I am looking forward to: Getting the remodel done and painting. Going on a 5 day trip to the ocean with my husband in late June, the condo pool opening up in four weeks, being off of work in July.

What i am going to quit procrastinating about: Getting that freaking will. I told my husband what i want for my birthday is an appointment with the lawyer to get the will finalized. I can't stand not having my ducks in a row. And if we died tomorrow in a plane crash, our families are screwed trying to figure out what we want.

OK, c'mon yall. tell me your random stuff.

Blog Fog

2011-04-24T16:52:00.001-07:00

Just need to update it, so i did.I had time before work to at least witness The Kiss on the Balcony. Kate is beautiful. Though she looks like she lost weight since the footage I had recently been watching of her.

Totally Random jojo Musings

2011-04-13T20:50:00.000-07:00

Menu of the Day

Photo: I don't think i've posted this one before. I took it at a restaurant in Sedona (for obvious reasons), which is where we were this time last year. Which is where i want to be right now. I am sick to death of our crappy concrete colored sky, the kind of dampness that withers your bones into the consistency of tofu (and not the firm version), my tofu/mushroom colored skin tone, and that horrible feeling like the clouds that cover our blue skies are also in my head making me forget even the smallest things like... did i take my vitamin this morning? Or was that my antihistamine?

Mood: See above. (Truth is, it should have been a Valium instead of a vitamin.)

iTunes: i bought this Justin and Steve Earle song called "Time You Waste". It's a little country, but i really like the song and the lyrics.

The Best Thing That Happened: The fact that nothing BAD happened.

OK.....on with the randomness. Let's see it's 8:23 as i write. I am just going to go for it and not think about what i say. Here we go:

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1. Sometimes when i want a glass of wine but don't think i should because it's a school night i will get on the scale. if i am over my 'magic weight' it's easy, i don't pour any. If i'm under, i'm good to go.

2. Though i don't think it's the wine that affects my weight so much as the carbohydrates, such as my propensity to eat frozen bread right out of the freezer in my carbo desperation.

3. But i think somewhere i read in an Oprah magazine a long time ago where either she was quoted or it was in an article that alcohol slows down your body's ability to burn fat. (I don't get that magazine anymore.)

4. Today i was running. And ahead of me a ways on Phillips Road was a younger girl and she looked like she was about my pace. So i decided to make it a goal to pass her up. It took me a bit, but i did pass her up, along with a little bit of help from a Foo Fighters song: the fast version of "Times Like These".

5. The problem with this is that she was behind me for almost the rest of my run ( i know cause i sneaked peaks). And because of that i had to keep up that fast pace because i didn't want to feel like a schmuck to just pass her up and slow down.

6. And when i got home i had to run around the almost the whole circle of our condo to get my whole 35 minute run in. That run wore me out today.

7. My husband just came in to interrupt me and talk about his band, which is going through some disorganization or whatever you call it when a band isn't coming together. I told him he should let me manage them and i will only take 10% over what they make. Which is $0. I thought i offered a good deal. But he ain't hiring. But he should.

8. He interrupted my random chain of thought. I'll try to get back to it, but first let me put my music back on: here comes Joe Purdy's "Just Can't Get it Right Today"...or the Kia commercial song as i like to call it.

9. Speaking of commercials: Who else thinks the "Mayhem Like Me" Allstate guy is hot?

10. If i didn't already have the best insurance in the world (Pemco), i would switch on those ads along.

11. I am sucker for good advertising. (I actually think i would have loved to have a career in advertising and my husband actually does, only he is selling one product: education, which right now is sort of like trying to sell nuclear power to the Japanese). Because of good advertising I researched and ending up buying (and loving) my D90 Nikon camera all because the Ashton Kutcher commercials caught my attention.

12. I've said this before, but if J-Lo was pimping Nikon or Tom Cruise, i wouldn't have given them a second look.

13. Y'all might recall (I like how that sounds, "Y'all might recall") that i collect obituaries. It started a long time ago with pet obituaries because i thought it was so funny that people would spend big bucks for a photo and an obituary for their dog (Do y'all know how expensive an obituary is with a photo? We're talking $500 bucks at least, depending on how many lines.) Anyway it struck me that Fido and Spot can't read, nor do they have texting abilities, so it's not like Fido can call or text Spot and say, "Hey did you know that Marley died?"

Anyway after awhile i started collecting any unique obituary and now have enough to fill more than one scrapbook . (For example, one of them is for a homeless man...and sadly, some are in the scrapbook because i know them.) But it's been a long time since an obituary was 'jocucina scrapbook worthy'.

But today there was one. And here it is (link below) : Thomas Christopher Hansen was born the same year that i was, which is why i noticed it in the first place.... (I love the ending the best.)

And i think i'm going to post an online tribute after i get off of here, because i remember one of the comments on my nephew Josh's obituary was from someone none of us knew and i remember how much i appreciated that she felt compelled to write simply because of what Troy had written about his son. And i remember feeling better after i read it.

jocucina obituary collection

Slow News Day...updated with yet another photo....

2011-04-02T17:25:00.000-07:00

Menu of the Day:

	Definition of Woop Woop
	1. Australian term: used to describe the middle of nowhere. 2. similar to the American term for the "boonies". 3. Used to describe a place not usually inhabited and out of one's normal travel. A hole "yeah, he lives out in woop woop"

In my glass: Woop Woop Shiraz (it's from Australia) (second glass). LOVE this wine. Love the title!

Listening to: Citizen Cope's "Healing Hands' (LOVE this song so much that i have two copies of it in my iTunes library

Movie Rec: I want eveyone to watch "It's Kind of a Funny Story". I LOVED this movie. It's got the Zac (burly bearded dude carrying the baby from The Hangover) and this wonderful new young actor. Troy recommended this to me. It's such a good movie.

The Best Thing : I'm moving forward and finalizing everything for our remodel. I liked the bid i got for the tiling and sheetrock. I liked the bid I got for the Corian for our kitchen and bathroom. I'm ready to roll. Can't wait.

The Next Best Thing: i got to see my favorite friends in the world this week. Sarah/louie and i had a nice dinner at Marzanos and then to a place that had 'wine on tap'. Then Modern Hippie/Kylee and Julie came over for my famous Marcella Italian lasagne and wine so Kylee could help us out with remodel/interior design stuff. (Julie's remodeling too).

OK, on with the randomness. As usual i have no idea what's on my mind or what i will write.

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1. Sometimes you have to splurge on good stuff. Just yesterday i bought a very nice extra virgin olive oil at my favorite H & L Produce place. I usually use my usual Costco Kirkland kind, which is okay, but this Sotte Voce EVO makes dishes pop.

2. I also bought flowers for myself. Splurging is important. Especially when it has been raining five days in a row.

3. Yesterday it rained with these misty hard little prickly raindrops. When i went running it almost hurt because it blew right into my face. And when i came back and looked in the mirror my mascara had run down my face and i looked like a barfly who had been crying in her beer all night.

4. I can only hope that this make-up mishap happened AFTER the cute guy asked me for directions to the Oakbrook Country Club.

5. The thing about running where i live is that i am not lying when i say i get asked for directions at least once or twice a month. Everyone gets lost in Oakbrook. In fact when i moved here i was lost running for an hour before i found my way home after dark. And ironically when that happened i had a car stop and ask me for directions.

6. I recently discovered The Decemberists. I love their song, "Down by the Water". Can't hear it enough. I need to buy more of them, but i just checked and i only have $2.86 in my account.

7. I have had a great lazy day. I watched the HG channel for most of it. I wish Holmes from Holmes on Home and the Brian guy from DIY Disaster were in my family.

8. Oh yeah...Wine on tap....i was skeptical ...but it was good!

9. Slow News Days are good. After Japan's disaster i think we can all use the reprieve.

come and tell us about your slow news. (Or fast news too...that works.) I don't have a photo to put up right now, but maybe later.

It's Saturday and time to change the blog. Whether I have anything to say or not

2011-03-26T17:08:00.000-07:00

Menu you of the Day

Music: Amos Lee's El Camino

Book: Ahab's Wife. Still loving it. I've just had a busy week and not much time to read.

In my glass: Some Penguin chardonnay. Cheap, but good.

Photos: (If you are on Facebook these will be redundant....) Troy's girlfriend Pam's mom had a 70th birthday party last night and it was a lot of fun. #1 This is my sister's daughter Jessica.(I love this photo of her!) #2 Jessica's brother Christopher (who is something like 6'7" tall), me, Brian and my nephew Brian. #3, the knuckleheads with Brian (Troy's son) ; #4 Kylee and Brian; #5 (Kylee actually took this one) I liked it so i bumped it in PhotoShop; #6 Troy; #7 My dad with brother Scott; #8 and Mom and Dad (or as i like to call them, Bruce and Elodie)

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1. It's been a nice lazy rainy day. I watched Valentine's Day this morning. then it took nearly two hours to load up and resize these photos (over 275 in all that i had to edit) for Facebook.

2. I'm still in my snowflake pajamas. Is it wrong to be drinking wine while still wearing your pajamas all day? I feel like a bad mom in a Made-for-TV movie!

3. I have not watched Anderson Cooper for over a week now. I haven't heard one pundit talk about Libya or Elizabeth Taylor's death or Linday Lohan's father or Charlie Sheen. It's been nice. And i have slept well all week long.

4. Maybe there is something to this apathy stuff.

5. Not only that. I took my blood pressure yesterday and it was 115/80. That's the lowest it's been since i've been checking it. (I'm also on new medication though too.)

6. Last week was the first time i could have worn shorts while running. I love when we start to emerge from the winter doldrums!

7. I don't have much to say today really but i wanted to change the blog. I'm counting on y'all to come up with some ideas to talk about.

Steve Martin isn't funny anymore....and other things that have changed.

2011-03-19T21:35:00.000-07:00

MENU OF THE DAY:

iTunes: Lay Me Down by Forest Sun. If you don't know Forest Sun. Check him out on his release For the Story . . . every song is so good.

Book: I am loving Ahab's Wife and have abandoned the other three books that i was reading at the same time. (My brother Troy and I always like the same kinds of books and he wasn't wrong about this one either.)

The Best Thing that Happened: I think Brian and and I are coming to a solid agreement about where we are going to live in our future.

The Other Best Thing: i had to work today at a big training for nearly 200 educators. It was so awesomely organized i was proud to be a part of it. And then the good folks i work with afterwards went out to a cool new wine bar. (I always love finding a new wine bar!) What was also cool was that when we left the bar after 7:00 pm. it was still light outside.

What I am envious about: louielouie/sarah this week called me on what was probably THE VERY worst rainy day these past few months. She called to remind me she was leaving for Hawaii the next day (her son Nick lives there - he's an officer in the Navy). What's notable about this is the last two times louie went to Hawaii, BOTH times it was snowing (and rather late in the wintertime too) the day before she left.

Ok, on to the list of the Stuff That Has Changed....

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1. Excuuuusssseee Me! .... The reason i even thought of this subject was the other day Brian and I turned on David Letterman. Steve Martin was on that night and it was the most boring of interviews i have seen on Dave's show in a very long time. This is not the first time i've seen that Steve Martin has lost his edge and zip. I used to love him so much back in the day. (Did anyone else see how bad this Letterman show was?)

2. so it got me thinking ...what do we all observe about what's going on today that has changed? I think i've mentioned this before because it's so unsettling to me!....I forgot that i was going to get old. For so long and in every single job i have ever held, i was THE YOUNGEST person in the department. And now i am the oldest person in my office. So yeah, i forgot that i was getting older. (But i am reminded every day when i look in the mirror.)

3. Some things have changed for the better.

4. I just wrote that above and a full minute later i am still thinking about what to write. If i don't come back to it at the end, remind me later. Or at least come up with your own.

5. Music and bookstores. iPods. Pandora. No more going to the music store. I CANNOT believe that one of my favorite stores has closed its doors here. Borders Books & Music is gone in Tacoma. When Kylee/modern hippie was a little girl I used to take her to Borders. It was fairly new then and such a hot spot when it opened up. I used to buy all my books and music there.

6. I am partly to blame. I quit going to Borders when I got my iTunes account.

7. My eyebrows. My eyebrows have changed. In a really freaky funky wild hair out of this world way. They would take over my whole face if i let them, like a caterpillar on steroids.

8. Politics and Hope have changed: I thought Obama could get our country back on a more even keel after Bush and stop the polarization of the two right wing/left wing attitudes. But i was wrong because i underestimated the tenacity of the right wing to amp it up BECAUSE Obama was President. And now we have the Tea Party and worse.

9. I still have hope. And i hope Obama doesn't decide to say, 'f*ck it, i will not seek or accept the nomination for re-election." (but if Obama was/were (still don't know the proper word there) my brother, i might give him the advice to do this very thing, even as i wouldn't want him to really follow it...)

9. For ummagumma.

10. The country is going to hell in a handbasket when it comes to public schools and unions. And i worry about the future of how this country will change without unions and collective bargaining.

And i am most worried about is how the media has adopted this conception that public workers are the evils about who is to blame for our economy and i am incredulous that they would go after public workers in a way that bankers and corporate CEOS were never attacked. Including oil companies who have destroyed our environment. how did we come to a place where teachers are bigger villians and get more negative media attention from Fox News than the BP oil company who nearly destroyed Lousiana's coast?

Who will be left to tell the truth in the news? How long before Rachel Maddow is gone?

11. Thank-yous. I have mentioned this before too. It's a huge pet peeve.

Nobody thanks anyone anymore. Last summer I gave a $100 check (which was indeed cashed) for a wedding present to the daughter of Troy's best friend. I never got a thank you. ( Kylee's mom also said she didn't get one .) This bride is both our Facebook friends. How hard could it be to drop an email thankyou? This kind of thing seems to happening more often even as technology has made it easier to do so.

That's all i have for now. I'll be back with more later.

A random jojo chardonnay post... like in the old days....sorta...

2011-03-12T20:06:00.000-08:00

I just added the Amos Lee video after making this post. It's the song, track #3 Violin song that I am talking about. This is from his appearance on David Letterman.

1. took these photos today. I've posted similar ones before. But today I took down some of the pictures on the living room wall because I am feng shuing even the walls. I've already done knickknacks, closets, cupboards and drawers. It feels good.

2. However I did realize recently that i packed up all but one of my salad bowls AND my book journal, (the one where i write the good stuff from books i am reading.)

3. Uh oh, in that second photo, I just realized the framed photograph on the far end is a little crooked and my OCD is starting to kick in and makes me want to fix it, only i can't unless i take a new photo and upload it.

4. That photograph is the one i took of all the paint colors in their cans when I was doing my painting project last year between February through June.

5. The Japan news is very scary. I thought Wisconsin was scary. And now this. What is weird about the Japan earthquake is i got my news about it in the old fashioned way. Neither Brian nor I had been on the computer Thursday night and we didn't watch TV. So the first i heard this news was on Friday morning when it was HUGE headlines in the News Tribune.

6. I wonder what this means for us all globally too.

7. I want to blame all of this on Charlie Sheen.

8. I am reading three books: Ahab's Wife, Youth in Revolt, oops...no, make that four books.... World Without End and Townsie. Yep, I am reading four books right now.

9. My hair is too long right now. So i french braid it everyday. I am thinking that if i turned into a bohemian, i might save over $1500 a year by not cutting and dyeing my hair. I'm getting it cut this week.

10. I don't think we are going to buy a house now. Brian said tonight that as he has been looking he realizes he appreciates the charm of our place more now and also the one in Point Defiance that we didn't buy. I'm fine with not moving now that we've fixed our roof and mold issues.

11. I might re-upholster our sofa now. Spend some money on decorating. Maybe redo bathroom floors and vanities.

12. Oh my lord, this is a really boring random post. When did this happen that i got this way? i blame it on SAD...(Season Affective Disorder).

13. I has rained everyday for a week now. With another week of rain forecast.

14. Would i be a more fun person if i lived where the sun is not constantly the color of of semen?

15. Two cool things: A really good movie : "On a Clear Day" about a guy who at the age of 55 makes a goal to swim the English Channel with the help of good and fun friends. Another: Amos Lee's new cd "Mission Bell". Best song on the cd is track #3. Only i forget the name of it.

Ok, i'm going to end this right now because #1 either i have not had enough wine to make this an riveting random musing or #2 I am just not into blogging these days and probably should take a hiatus.

God is mad; lies we tell ourselves; & 10 things i wish would happen

2011-03-02T18:57:00.000-08:00

Topics I'm considering:

1. What Pisses off God

2. Lies I tell Myself

3. What God Would Say in my Evaluation

4. Ten Best Things Right Now

5. Ten Things I Wish Would Happen

Let's Talk Oscars in Realtime!

2011-02-27T18:13:00.000-08:00

I once did this on the Gumbo yaya board and it was fun. Blogging about the Oscars as you watch gives you something to do in betweem commercials and those super boring Oscar awards where the documentary of short films director makes the longest and most boring speech.

I am coming in to this alittle bit late, but not much.

1. So far the Best Actress award went to someone i don't know in a movie i haven't seen. I think her name was melissa? I liked her.

2. I don't expect too much from James Franco as a host. I saw him host SNL and he wasn't that great. I did like him on Freaks and Geeks years back though. And i actually did see his movie 127 hours.

3. Ann Hathaway's dress is gorgeous!

I'll be back.

4. Oops one more thing. Javier Bardem looks alittle bit fleshy.

Don't even get me started.

2011-02-21T17:35:00.000-08:00

1. I do not want to hear from Sarah Palin one iota about what is happening in Wisconsin. Her kind of leadership is why unions were born.

2. And yeah, that Governor in Wisconsin..... . I commented on this in my previous blog post (in response to amulbunny) about this.

Here's how i view this, in my simplistic black and white way:

George W. & Co. used Sept. 11th to go into Iraq and do what they wanted to do. And Walker is doing the same. Busting unions and using the budget deficit as an excuse.

3. I think the Wisconsin governor's leadership is a perfect example of why we still need unions. And i believe what he is doing may backfire. Unions have always done their best work when they are under fire.

4. And i say that, knowing i do not always agree with our positions.

5. And dammit....what the hell is happening when peaceful protesters are being shot in Egypt and Libya? Is this true? I say all this knowing i don't know all that is going on. Does anyone? The news doesn't quite get out there in the same way as it does in America.

6. And did i read somewhere that Donald Trump might be a hopeful candidate for the Republicans in 2012? Oh please, tell me this is true! I would so love that. He may even be worse than Sarah Palin!

7. Re: the House Drama: We made a third counter offer on the house i wanted. The owner countered back with adding a lousy $2500. this makes me think he's in it for the joy of bargaining and winning. We already know he is 80 years old and has lots of money and lives in a retirement home while he pays for fees on this one since last August. We already know that his house is listed as the highest of all for sale in that same area, by about $20,000. And here come in, prequalified without asking him to fix anything, no contingency, and we pay all our closing costs and still offer $15,000 more than the one that sold there last month that we liked even more because it was bigger. And he balks....so we walks. (But we still look.)

8. I think we are firing our real estate agent. She knew Brian had some misgivings about moving there and she didn't close the deal over a lousy $2500. It was enough of a blink for us to take a step back. My brother Troy met her too and when i said i think she might be too timid to be able to work with us, he said 'timid' was the word he would use. I just know i would have closed that deal if i could sit across the table from the owner. But it's okay. Brian and i keep looking. And we'll find something we both get excited about.

9. There is a lot of stuff happening in the world right now besides Egypt and Libya and natural disasters that makes me wonder if the end is coming.

10. If that's the case. well then, i want to go out and spend all my money on something frivulous because i have never in my life done that.

11. 'Frivilous' has that dreaded red line under it. (Even when i changed the spelling, it's still there!) But i am too lazy to look up the correct spelling.I knew the minute i wrote it it did not look correct. But i still don't know what it should be.

12. I could say i have never been stupid with spending money. and that takes care of the spelling. Cause i know how to spell 'stupid'.

13. This disappoints me because i did once win a spelling contest in the fifth grade. But it was within my own class, not the whole school. Isn't that funny that i still remember that and want to hang my hat on the glory of winning a fifth grade class spelling contest?

14. Still not doing the Facebook thing that much these days, so please forgive me if i miss a comment or post or a birthday. I only check every once in awhile to catch up and be sure there is no spam virus thing attached to my name. And i do need to use it to comment on our own Facebook page at work.

15. Back to unions for a second.....why do we get the blame for everything wrong these days? Unions didn't get a government bailout like the damn banks. Unions didn't start a war that we had no business going in to that added to the deficit. We weren't the cause of the all of the bank foreclosures on the housing industry. We didn't cause Katrina, the Gulf Spill,

....and we didn't bring about the existence of Lady Gaga.

So there.

Come in and tell us your own elementary grade stories where you shined. And what else is going on that makes you want to rant (or rave). I never mean to make any blog post a totally negative one.

jojo's Friday Night Rambling Randoms w/ brand new e-Trade Baby commercial

2011-02-04T18:03:00.000-08:00

MENU OF THE DAY:

In my Glass: first sip of a glass of Wente Brothers chardonnay.

On iTunes: Friend of the Devil by Counting Crows.

Book: I'm reading about four of them. Can't remember any of the titles. One is Ken Follett's about the World end or something.

Shocker: I am thinking about finally breaking down and getting a Kindle.

Another Shocker: jojo the Status Quoquo Queen and Brian are making an offer on a home!(We have lived here in our little 1000 sq foot condo for 19 years!)

Looking forward to : Moving to a bit bigger place in a jazzier area of town.

Not looking forward to: Selling our little place. It's not a seller's market.

What worries me: aside from buying a house, the anti abortion legislation (don't know enough about it to debate, just know enough to be scared); Egypt, (again same disclaimer) and also that Anderson Cooper is going to get hurt again!

On with the randomness....

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1. Pray for Anderson to be safe! (I love him almost as much as Jon Stewart.)

2. Who do you think would win in a wrestling contest? Anderson or John Stewart?

3. I'm thinking it's a draw. They aren't the manliest of men. Sort of in an equally unmanly way.

4. Who do you think would win between Sarah Palin and Barbara Bush? (I put my money on Barbara.)

5. I might watch the Superbowl. At least i will make bloody marys and low fat chili for it. But i haven't really cared about football since Roman Gabriel and Joe Namath played. That's how old i am.

6. Speaking of old. This week i had to get a different blood pressure medicine (the other one hasn't been bringing it down) and this time i will take a diuretic because of edema. I've never taken a water pill before. I hear it means you go to the bathroom A LOT!.

7. This means i will be in the bathroom approximately 7.25 hours per day now, since i'm always in there anyway with my bladder since it is about the size of a raisin. ....or Sarah Palin's brain.

8. I just hope it allows me to not want to rip off my jeans immediately after eating anything. I was getting ready to carrying a pair of sweats in my purse everytime i went out for Mexican or Chinese food.

9. Next week i go get bifocals. I don't think i will ever mind being old. I just hate GETTING older.

10. Speaking of Sarah Palin's brain. Why is it that the folks with the very largest egos have the smallest brains?I bet y'all can come up with more examples!

11. I wish there was a surgery to operate on egos. I know about 4 people i would love to schedule.

12. Course they are the same ones who probably want to schedule ME for a lobotomy.

13.I think i might have chosen to have a kid if i could have given birth to the E-Trade baby.

14. Welcome any yaya-ers who might be lurking. I heard this blog was linked on Facebook for a short while. I wouldn't have a problem with that if i was active on Facebook, but i'm not and i think we all know i have control issues. So i didn't want to keep it up. But if you came here because of that. I hope you post and introduce yourself.

15. Y'all know the rules: come here with your own randomness!

Why i hate Facebook. Edited

2011-01-28T23:17:00.000-08:00

1. It took people away from blogging.

2. I have friended people i would never in my life have lunch with. ONLY because i was afraid of offending people.

3. This bothers me too because usually i am not worried about offending people that much.

4. I do NOT ever want to hear about these things on Facebook, yet people always seem to talk about:

* their sniffles and sore throats

*their kids sniffles and sore throats

*the person who works next to them who have sniffles and sore throats who might make them sick

*their cancer. Really do we need to talk about such seriousness on something as banal as a social network?

*anyone in their family who died. Again, too serious of a topic IMO.

*union stuff. over and over and over. (because of my work 'friends') I work for school unions. I do not want to read about all of this stuff right now on Facebook too, because i already get it at work, especially since unions are so vilified and the root of all the economic problems.(Disclaimer: I do NOT agree with this, i'm just saying what i'm reading. It pisses me off. But that's another post.)

5. I looked at Facebook way too much when it was easy to click in. Once i logged myself out and had to type a password to get in it was easy to leave it alone.

6. I have only checked it now about 3 times in the past 4 days. (I did not deactivate it.) Disclaimer: I just logged in Saturday to load a video of Eddie Vedder and Johnny Depp performing together. Watching Vedder and Depp on a stage together is porn to me. (Check it out if you have Facebook. They are doing "Society" from the "Into the Wild" movie.)

7. You see, I am too lazy to even type in a few letters to get to it. That's how much Facebook doesn't inspire me.

8. I know my blog might not inspire others either. But i like that if it does, it attracts folks who might have more to say than the stuff that i just mentioned in #4. And thank you all for that who post.

9. I got curious about how many other people post about hating Facebook and it turns out that quite a lot of the cyber population have similar posts: here's a quote by Andy Ostroy that i thought was funny: (He posted this on Huffington Post.)

I think I've figured out Facebook's major appeal. It offers uber-narcissists an opportunity to have their proverbial 15 minutes every five fucking minutes!. The site is overcrowded with attention-starved grown-ups essentially screaming "look at me... look at me!" all day long. They change their profile photos as often as I change my underwear, and they've somehow convinced themselves that their lives are infinitely interesting all the time. The "audience factor" is just way too attractive to these folks. It's drunken karaoke without the booze and the bad singing, but with all the requisite self-indulgence.

10. In regards to the quote above, I would like to point out to all that equeyaya and I never change our Facebook photo. In face we've both had the same one since last July. (Photos that happen to be taken on our trip together on Vashon Island.)

If Jesus was a blogger...updated to add: What would Justin Bieber Blog?

2011-01-06T18:48:00.001-08:00

I got to thinking while running the other day. What would Jesus say if He was a blogger? I know this image is a God- like one, but it was the best i can do.

Anyway, here is what i think Jesus would say:

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1. My Mom Mary is a really sweet woman. But i really would never want to party with my mom.

2. And here is why: MY very best talent is turning water into wine. But my Mamma always has to bitch to me: "Baby" she says, "I think that is enough water turning for now."....JUST when the party is getting started.

3. (I hate it so much when she calls me 'Baby'.) And yeah i know, it's hard to imagine Mary being a bitch.

4. What REALLY bugs me most is she and my 'Semi-Dad-Joseph' are always asking me who is my girlfriend.

5. The reason it bugs me is i think they are worried that i might be gay.

6. And so what if i am? I think they knew before I did that Judas was a Bad Boy and you know how everyone, gay or hetero, goes for the Bad Boy/Girl. I think they were afraid i had a crush on Judas.

7. And the truth is i sort of did. However, I was on to Judas from the start, attractive as he might be he still creeped me out a little, sort of like that one Baldwin brother living in your world. (I think his name is Stephen.)

8. I know what you are thinking. How could i even say 'i think his name is Stephen'? Shouldn't Jesus be ALL KNOWING?

9. The truth is that's my Dad, not me.

8. And back to Judas for a moment: it doesn't matter to me how hot I may have thought Judas was. I still have a good work ethic. And I knew what I was supposed to do.

9. And though i may have forgiven Judas. And i know i should forgive EVERYONE....at the same time I wouldn't mind kicking some Pontius Pilate ass.

10. Here's another thing. I am NOT the narcisisst that some folks need to make me out to be. You don't have to capitalize the "H" when you say 'he' or 'him'.

11. But most of all, i don't give a fuck if you say "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas" or whatever. Don't blame me for that mess.

12. If it were my choice i would choose "Hey Ya" as the appropriate greeting. leave ME out of it.

13. OOps, i didn't really mean to capitalize the "m" in "me" above. It just happened.

Christmas Moment Musings...

2010-12-22T17:43:00.000-08:00

Short Menu of the Day:

iTunes: Ryan Montbleau cd. (Thank you, equeyaya!)

In my Glass: Toasted Head Chardonnay

Photos: 1) Paper whites are my favorites. I should have taken this when they bloomed more. Oh well.
2) Brian's tradition is to make his own smoked salmon and give it as gifts. It takes all day. But i've never tasted any smoked salmon better than his.
3) My tree, which looks like every other tree, but dammit, this tree is like having a new puppy. It needs water twice a day! I think this tree will live until March. I'm not getting rid of it until it dies.
4) louielouie's daughter made this snowman/ghost candle for me when she was in elementary school (she's 21 now, right?...louie?) I still put this out every year and light it.
5) Dorothy's Christmas wreath was well known around our condo. When she died her daughter gave it to us. The first year we hung it i had two friends call us thanking us for making sure it was still displayed. Brian and I still miss Dorothy and talk about her often. She would join us for our Christmas breakfast those years we didn't have to hit the road to Eastern Washington.

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My thoughts on Christmas moments:

1. First the disclaimer: I wanted to be sure that i have 52 blog posts before i end this year and i'm not sure once the tsunami of Christmas arrives (which for me starts on Christmas Eve afternoon) that i would have time.

2. This blog post is about posting your Christmas moments this year. As i've gotten older I have learned not to have the expectation of the whole Christmas Spirit feeling. I am sure that is partly do to my choice of not having children. (I think children are the key to that spirit.) Instead I have learned to enjoy the season by looking for those moments.

3. Kylee's graduation last week from the Seattle Art Institute. First of all Kylee is the first person in my family to graduate with a bachelor's degree. And being in Seattle at Christmastime with family during a celebration like that was really cool. We went out for tapas and wine afterwards at a nice place where we got to sit in sofas. It was very warm and cozy and happy.

4. Watching Roman Holiday with Brian the other day. Kylee loaned us her DVD of this and though it's not a holiday movie, it felt like it. Neither one of us had ever seen it.

5. Yesterday my brother Troy stopped by unannounced. He was carrying what i first thought was lawn furniture cushions. Instead it was his dog, Gus's dog bed. (Gus was a girl named for Augustus McRae from Lonesome Dove.) Gus was a gentle black lab who lived to be 15 years old. She died only two months before Troy's son Josh died. With Gus's dog bed was also a pair of Josh's jeans, size 30/30. I used to make lots of jean pillows years ago for my nieces and nephews and I had told Troy i would make a pillow of Josh's jeans and Gus's dog bed scraps if he ever wanted that. He never responded at the time so i thought he must have thought it was a dumb idea and i had forgotten about it. But last night he showed up with them both.

6. I am going to buy a sewing machine now! I keep thinking i should.

7. A moment I'm looking forward to: Brian and Kylee are headed out to Weight Watcher's tonight and afterwards are coming over to watch Eat, Pray, Love and i'm in between writing this blog and cooking a healthy pasta dinner for when they return.

8. Tonight my nephew Brian called me from the mall. He always leaves his Christmas shopping until the last few days which cracks me up. He was looking for the Ryan Montbleau cd and he couldn't find it, which i'm not surprised . I don't think Troy reads my blog so i'm not giving up anything. But i love when they call me for ideas.

9. The other night this same nephew was at my mom's house and i noticed that he had duct tape in the crotch of his jeans. LOL.... It was pretty funny. Apparently he had ripped them out and decided that was the fix. So though we normally don't do the gift exchange in my family with any kids over 21 i bought him some Gap jeans for Christmas.

10. My niece Ashley emailed and said she wants to come down and visit with me ahead of the Christmas Eve Tsunami on her way home from Seattle. So she and Kylee and Brian and I are have a pre-function at our place and maybe nephew Brian and his girlfriend will come too. All my favorites.

So if you aren't too busy with Christmas, come and share you own Christmas moments with us all.

And thank you for reading this blog. I hope you will all continue to come here and post in 2011.... (you too....TXGrits, where have you been?)

My goal, whether Facebooking takes over blogging or not, will to continue to try to move this once a week as i did this year. I like writing and it's a great outlet for me.

Merry Christmas all.

Edited: to add louie/louie's children: Emma and Nick. I'll add a comment to explain.

How to be happy.

2010-12-17T20:14:00.001-08:00

I'm going to skip the Menu of the Day and just cut to the chase with How to Be Happy. I got the idea from equeyaya's video that i have posted here. This is such a happy song. Anyway i thought it might be fun if we all blogged about our ideas on how to be happy. I myself haven't even thought ahead about this, so i'm just winging it.

1. Do what you are good at. And do it often.

2. Have at least one friend that you can so totally honest with that you can tell them that one thing you might write in your private journal that you hope no one in the world ever reads even after you are dead and gone.

3. Exercise. I know, i know, people hate it. I hate it too. And yeah, getting started is hard and you will be miserable for a bit. But if you do it long enough to make it a habit, it will become that thing you have to do, like paying bills, flossing your teeth, eating fiber. And soon you will be amazed at how much better you feel and how your body will change. And THAT will make you happy.

4. Do something that challenges you. (I'll admit this is a hard one for me and i don't do it often enough. But those times when i have ventured into new territory i find that i get energized, especially at work, for example: designing and maintaining our website at work. )

5. If you love wine, treat yourself to an expensive bottle every once in awhile...it doesn't have to be super expensive, but say... $25 or so, as long as it is recommended by someone who knows their stuff.

6. Try to find at least two hours of unencumbered time for yourself every few days. As a non-mom it's easy for me. For moms, i think it's super essential. Even if it's just to watch TV without interruption or Facebook during that whole time.

7. Change your hair if you hate it. (What do you have to lose?)

8. Listen to music you like every day. But not that freaking sad angsty shit. Something like the video posted above.

9. Don't watch too much of the news on TV. And if you live in the Pacific Northwest, like i do. Don't watch the weather either.

10. Buy yourself flowers. Buy them once a week if you live in the Pacific Northwest. Where the skies are the color of..... concrete 10 months a year.

11. And better yet! ....Order them from your favorite florist and have them delivered to yourself at work and then don't tell anyone who sent them to you.

12. Order lot of shit from Amazon. I love when i come home and a package is on my doorstep. Every day this week i come home and a package is out there and i get excited and they are not even for me because they are Christmas presents!

I don't want to make this too long so i will end here even though i have more ideas, but i'll wait for yours and post some later in Comments.

Potpourri Blogging

2010-12-09T18:34:00.000-08:00

Menu of the Day:

On the iPod: eque yaya's mix (eque there is a song on there is could have sworn was Conor Oberst but it turns out to be some guy named Aaron.???)

In my glass: A mouvedre red blend. By Olsen Hills. Very nice.

What I'm procrastinating about: I was supposed to wrap presents today but i realize i don't know where the To/From cards are so i need to buy more.

What's bugging me: The vote on extending the Bush tax cuts. And the Don't Ask/Don't Tell.

What I'm looking forward to: Christmas! And the time off! And Kylee's graduation. She is the first person in our family to graduate with a bachelor's degree! Yay Kylee. And when she's done she will come back to this blog. And i look forward to that too.

Why i deserve a gold star: i went running on my lunch hour today and the rain could not have come down any harder even as i headed out to do this. I looked like i had fallen in a lake when i was done. It's a good thing i don't have to run again until Sunday, it will take that long for my shoes to dry!

Another reason i deserve a gold star: I think i am done with Christmas shopping!

Photos: My niece Ashley wanted the series of photos i took of her and Brian and Josh Christmas 2008. (This was Josh's last Christmas). She had only seen a couple i had posted on Facebook before. So i put them all up today because i finally found the folder. And then I decided to add a few of them here too.

The Christmas trees are Tree 2009 and Tree 2010. They look the same! What a crack-up. (Next year i think we'll mix it up.) The darker photo is from last year. I came across this photo of my husband in a vest! And that made me laugh too. This is from his post college years i think. He's the one on the far right (wearing the vest!). The foot ornament is Kylee's favorite. Brian actually carved this years ago and we had a running joke. I used to hide it at the back of the tree and he would always move it. Now Kylee makes sure it has a special place in the front.

Current news that's sorta interesting to me : (I'm embarrassed to admit!) I saw the headline on Comcast that Kate (+8 mom) and Sarah Palin didn't get along on their camping trip. I'm waiting for Furline to weigh in on this. And the Zuckerman Facebook dude. He's interesting.

What's not: Prince Charles' car being attacked.

My tentative plans for 2011: I'm going to join the Thursday night Running Club. I'll start bowling in February. (LOVE bowling!), I won't watch American Idol this year so that frees me up alot. I wonder what i'll do. Oh....probably Facebook instead. That's about it. I'm not much of an overachiever.