Sick Again

Ugh... I'm sick again. I really hate this. I swear, if there's a germ within 4 blocks of me, it'll get me. I'm stuck in bed today with a fever, aches & pains, sore throat & chest... I feel like I've been run over by a Mack truck... again...

I Am Legend

I watched I Am Legend last night. It was pretty good. To me, anything Will Smith does is good -- I really like him as an actor. I'd read reviews and write ups about how he's the only actor in Hollywood who'd be able to pull off being the ONLY person in the movie for over an hour. That's so true -- and he did it so well. In case you didn't know (and I'll try not to spoil any of the plot for you), the movie I Am Legend is based on a Richard Matheson book (of the same name) written in 1947 and takes place in 'futuristic' 1976. They updated the plot to make the movie take place in 2012. It's reminds me of 28 Days Later, where a virus is mistakenly unleashed on humanity and kills several billion people... those it doesn't kill, devolve into animalistic, vampire type creatures. They lose all characteristics of intelligent humans and live solely on instinct to feed and survive. A very small percentage of people are immune to the virus -- and almost all of those become food for the infected. Will Smith's character, Robert Neville, is an Army colonel and scientist, and the only uninfected person left in New York City. He spends his days hunting the nocturnal 'animals' and working in his lab to find a cure. At night he barricades himself in his house and prays for dawn.

While I really liked the movie, it had way too many plot holes for me to ignore. Some books are so detailed and in depth, there's no way it all can be transferred to the screen without losing about half of it. Most movies like this, the fantasy laced reality plots, I tell myself going into it not to look too closely at the details --- just assume it could all happen, don't apply logic. The perfect example of this is Tom Cruise's War of the Worlds. In one scene, an airline jumbo jet crashes into a neighborhood, destroying houses & everything else in the area, but miraculously leaving Tom's minivan untouched in the driveway. That's just one of several examples in the movie, but you get my point. I Am Legend is like that in several ways. I didn't notice so much inconsistencies like that, but more over chunks of plot that were left out/missing. It left me wondering, well what about this and what about that? It would mention a subplot line, but then just skate over it to something else. It left me thinking, 'wait! I want to know more about that'!

I've read several of Richard Matheson's books, discovered him first because of just that. I saw What Dreams May Come in 1998 and was left wanting to know more. I KNEW there was more to the story that wasn't in the movie. I've since read Hell House and Somewhere in Time (another of my favorite movies). I really like his books - they leave you wanting more once you're done.

So now I Am Legend has now been added to my wish list of books to read soon...

Zeno Acne Device

I finally broke down & bought a Zeno Acne Clearing Device. It was expensive, $150, but hopefully worth it. I've researched it for months now - all the studies, magazine reviews, and customer reviews are great. So, I finally went for it. Besides, Walgreens offers a 30 day money back satisfaction guarantee on it.

I really hate having acne. Thank God I was on the pill throughout high school and in my 20's cause I had flawless skin then. But no longer... I've done the Proactiv thing, gone to dermatologists for prescription creams, taken antibiotics, pretty much tried everything on the market. I'm now using Dermalogica products. They're really good, but dry my face out if I use too much. So... I'm going to compliment that with the ZENO. I get facials every few months and my esthetician uses this wand (I call it the lightning zapper thingy) that electronically penetrates & kills the bacteria in my skin. It REALLY works and my zits clear up rather quickly. So - I'm hoping this is a mini version of that machine, and if so, I know it'll work. The clerk at Walgreen's couldn't stop raving about it. She said that she bought one for her teenage daughter and it REALLY worked. Her acne is pretty much gone. Woohoo! Here's hoping!

Peep Show

a little post-holiday humor for you...

Torso Pants

Wow... I know I've said this before, but still... I am SO BLONDE sometimes I amaze myself...

I found this website http://www.torsopants.com/... It took me about 15 minutes of searching through the pages and looking at the FAQ's etc to realize that they sell T-SHIRTS. I was actually looking for TORSO PANTS - like these really weird pants that are more like a jumper that cover your whole body from your neck to your ankles with holes cut out for your head & arms.

WOW... I think my brain hurts... is it time to go home yet??

Easter Pics

Here are pics of Benjamin & my two nieces last weekend. Aren't they just the cutest?? I'm such a mom, I have to show off.

Benjamin & Daphne 1

Benjamin & Daphne 2

Benjamin, Daphne, & Lily

100% Boy... Dying Eggs with Benjamin

The tradition in our house for Easter is that Benjamin and I dye eggs the Saturday night before Easter and leave them out for the Easter Bunny to hide Easter morning. This year we used crayons and special Easter egg markers to decorate the eggs. I swear, Benjamin is 100% boy and it even affects his egg decorating choices. I drew flowers and polka dots on my eggs. Benjamin starts out with making everyone's name "blank" 10 - as in Ben 10, his new favorite cartoon. Then he draws an alien on a green egg - of course. Then he asks me, "how do you spell PTHT NNNNNN" like someone's sticking his tongue out & giving raspberries. "You will NOT put that on an Easter egg!" "Fiiiiine..." Then he dyes an egg red for "blood" (of course) and draws a boy on it. "How do you spell 'Help I'm bleeding!"? "NO - you are NOT putting THAT on an Easter egg either." "How do you spell 'I'm hurt!'? "NO - there will be NO writing on the eggs, just pictures!"

Bumper Sticker of the Week 3/24 - 3/30

Backlog of Blog

I have a Blog Backlog! I've been really busy and stressed the past 7 or so days... I have all these thoughts for entries and just haven't had the time to type them! I'll spend the next couple of days catching up...

Foul & Mysterious Stench

My house has stunk for the past week or so and it's driving me nuts. Well, last night we discovered the origin of the foul & mysterious odor...

Hubby & I were picking up the house last night, and he had the task of going through the boy's pile of crap in the breakfast area. About halfway through a pile of schoolwork from last week, he called me & said "umm... I think I've found the source of the bad odor in the house". Uh-oh, I'm scared... So I go over and he's holding a small white lunch sack decorated to look like a bunny (at arm's length btw). I look inside, and unfortunately got a whiff at the same time, there's a half peeled hard boiled egg inside. By this time it's green and fuzzy to boot! Apparently they had Easter eggs last week at school, and he didn't tell me he brought one home.

Oh the joys of parenthood...

Thank God the weather's great outside right now & we're able to open the windows and air the house out...

Fish again...

Speaking of fish... I just HAD to share... We recently bought 3 fancy gold fish for the tank in the master bedroom -- and my husband named them. 1) Garfield, cause he's HUGE and fat and bright orange... 2) Odie cause he's Garfield's buddy of course... and... 3) Dog the Bounty Hunter. Oh Lord... He swears one of the calico fish's fin & tail look like a mullet, making the fish look like Dog the Bounty Hunter. Umm... okay dear... whatever you say...

RIP Gary the snail...

We've had a death in the family... Gary the snail died. My son has a fish tank in his bedroom (works as a great nightlight AND Nana taught him that fish frighten monsters away - yay Nana!). Anyway, he has 3 goldfish - Sponge Bob, Patrick, and Mr. Crabs - and a blue snail, Gary of course. Gary's normally all over the place. One of our bedtime games is "where's Gary tonight?" (he gets in the weirdest places!). Unfortunately, Gary hasn't moved AT ALL in a few days, so I think he's gone to the great fish tank in the sky. I love kids' resiliency - when I told B the bad news, all he said was "does that mean I can get another one?"... My question though is, what do I do with the shell? I'd leave it in there, but doesn't it have a little snail corpse inside? I guess I'll just toss it in the trash tonight...

105.3 BOB FM

This radio station had a float in the St. Patrick's Day parade yesterday. I LOVE their slogan! "We play anything... 80's, 90's, and whatever! 105.3 BOB FM"

Bumper Sticker of the week

Crunched my garage door... ugh

SO... last night I stopped my car at my mailbox before pulling into the driveway, when my son in the backseat suddenly started screaming bloody murder and crying hysterically. What the hell??? Turns out a huge grasshopper had flown in the car, and my son is TERRIFIED of bugs right now. So now I'm trying to calm him down, shoo the grasshopper out the windows, and pull the car into the driveway at the same time. I actually made it, stopped the car, and told B to get out. He couldn't - he was frozen in place with fear (great) staring at the grasshopper (which was on the ceiling right next to the dome light). Oh and btw, I thought I did a great job staying calm up to that point - I have to say, that was the biggest freaking grasshopper I'd ever seen. B finally started inching out the back door when the killer grasshopper dove at my head and down the collar of my shirt. OH MY GOD! I screamed and started yanking my shirt over my head. This is where things got bad... I thought the car was in park already and obviously I was wrong, because the next thing I knew I heard a loud crunch, looked up, and I was smushed against the garage door. In my screaming and yanking fit, my foot slipped off of the brake. THANK GOD I didn't hit the gas!! I rolled into the door, crunching/denting it and scratching my front bumper. It could have been a lot worse. Thank God for small miracles huh... The garage door's going to need to be replaced, but luckily we have home owner's insurance... and car insurance - which will cover the paint job my car's going to need...

Oh - and to top it all off, I'm walking out to the car with my son this morning and he says "I liked the garage door like it was before"... yeah, well me too...

Dry Cleaned Night Shirt

So hubby took the clothes to the cleaners on Wednesday for me since I was sick and staying home... I got dressed, drove my son to school, and went straight back home & upstairs to lay in bed for the next 12 hours or so... but my nightshirt was missing - what the? It was right here before I left... right here on the closet floor... ooohhhhh - next to the pile headed to the cleaners.
So Wednesday night I asked my husband if he accidentally grabbed my nightshirt with the clothes --- he didn't know. huh?? "Well", he says, "they were really busy when I dropped the clothes off, so I just handed the lady the whole bag & she said she'd sort & count the pieces later". Great... So, I picked up the clothes yesterday and sure enough -mixed in with the others - was my newly dry cleaned $5 Walmart nightshirt. I think it probably cost the same to clean it as it did to buy it! (Not really, but it felt like it!)
Believe it or not, this isn't the first time Hubby's done that. Only the last time it was a negligee from Frederick's of Hollywood (back in my skinnier days). I can ALMOST see someone cleaning that, it was chiffon & satin after all. But a big tshirt from walmart? That's gotta be a new one for the cleaners.

Sick...

Sorry I haven't written this week... my allergies have been kicking my butt... I stayed in bed all day yesterday because of them... I'll check in later and fill you in on all the latest happenings...

Zzzzzz...

This is soooooo me today...

I miss hubby

I miss my hubby. He's out of town tonight on business. My brother's staying with us so I won't be alone, but of course it's not the same. I know I won't be able to sleep. After sharing a bed with someone for 11 years, you just can't sleep alone. Well I won't actually be ALONE alone - I'll be sleeping with three fat lazy cats who just love to take over hubby's side of the bed...

Bumper Sticker of the Day

I just started this 2 days ago and I already almost forgot. Actually, I think I'm going to change it to Bumper Sticker of the Week. That's more realistic.

Anyway -- since I already promised, here's today's... and it's oh so true...

Want a New Tattoo

The pics of my toesies reminded me... I want another tattoo. I think I need one on my left foot to balance them out. My (new) friend Kim has one on her left foot that I adore. It's really odd how well it fits with mine. I think I'm going to ask if I can copy her...

Bright Blue Toenails!

I treated myself to a pedicure last night. I hadn't had one since December. 4 months is an eternity to a princess like me! Anyway... I LOVE the seriously bright blue nail polish I picked out. It's almost blindingly bright! Though it does make my tattoo look a little faded...

Mysterious Text Conversation

When I turned my cell phone on this morning, I noticed a text message at 10pm last night from an 832 number I didn't recognize. So of course, knowing me - curiosity killed the cat and all that - I replied...

832#: you can just call me mr awesome

me: who is this?

832#: you don't remember mr awsome?

me: I know several awsome misters

832#: it's mr awsome god dammit!

me: ok - maybe you have the wrong number. Please tell me who you are or go away.

832#: James, james, james. It really pains me that you dont know who I am... several others my ass. I was in your algebra class.

me: Yep - sorry but you have the wrong number

832#: This isn't James B----?

me: NO - wrong number

832#: LMAO sorry dude. or girl. whichever you are.

me: LADY, MRS. -- no prob & good luck finding James

Moo??

I stopped by a convenience store/gas station on my way to work this morning for snacks & coffee... Usually the little quickie marts like that have the little single serve packages of International Delight flavored creamers - not this one. They had some contraption of a machine that dispensed plain creamer plus your choice of 4 flavors when you pressed down a lever. Ok - no prob. So I fill my cup with coffee, slide it under the spout, press the lever, yada yada... and when I let go of the lever, it MOO'ed at me. The first time I wasn't quite sure what I'd heard so I did it again... yep! The machine actually MOOS at you when you're finished. Umm... ok... I wonder if they had to pay extra for that feature?

Parking Lot Taqueria

Have you ever eaten at one of those little bus/camper/trailer/van Taqueria places that are usually in gas station parking lots? I've always considered them salmonella or e.coli on wheels, and have never been tempted to eat at one... until now. There's one right down the road from my office that just smells wonderful. It's a bright blue short school bus with picnic tables around it, permanently parked in an old closed gas station parking lot. I swear every time I pass it, it has the most mouth watering smokehouse smell wafting out from it --- and there's always a crowd of hispanic guys sitting at the tables. I can just imagine that the foods incredible, but I'm not brave enough to risk montezuma's revenge to try it.

Bumper stickers of cars past

I bought my first car in 1992 - a 1976 Volvo steel box on wheels. The first thing I did was put my stickers on the back window. I know I know, I was such a little radical liberal tree hugger back then. (btw - these stickers may or may not reflect my current political views/endorsements)

(and no, I don't know what was up with the Yaga Ragz sticker. I think it was a present from my cousin.)

My first two cars - the Volvo and a 1982 Dodge K Car - had the above stickers. Thinking back, it cracks me up that I had my pro-environment, hippy tree hugger bumper stickers on two serious gas guzzlers/CO exhaust fume producers...

My next two cars only had one sticker... my AIDS ribbon. I guess I was going for a simple statement at the time.

Bessie's first bumper sticker was from the Dixie Chicks concert I went to years ago:

That one went out of style after not too long, so it was removed quite some time ago... scroll down for Bessie's current stickers...

Bumper Sticker of the Day

I think I'm going to start something new for my blog -- Bumper Sticker of the Day. I love bumper stickers. They're one of my favorite forms of expression. I'd have my car covered with them if I could, but hubby thinks I might piss the wrong person off or make myself a target for vandals.

So currently I only have the below stickers (and my Minnie Mouse antenna topper). I think that's pretty subtle... well for me at least...

(is this TOO subtle? Can you tell the cats are a Pride Rainbow?)

(I cut the words out of this one so it only has Stitch...)

Mothers and freedon of religion

Uh-oh... I pissed my mama off... that's never good...

So I was on the phone last week with my mother, and she said that they were going to to go a bible study/church service in Huntsville on Sunday. I could tell she was trying to be nice and not ask but in the end she just couldn't help it and said I was more than welcome to come. I said thanks really, but no. I'm Buddhist remember? Buddhists don't do church. I have to give her credit, she's really been trying to be open minded about my whole Buddhism thing - but I know she thinks it's just my latest half hearted phase and I'll grow out of it like usual. So she tells me, that doesn't mean you can't come. We still believe the same things - faith hope & love. I said yes, we do believe the same things, hope & love, but you read a book I don't read and follow a guy I don't follow. Uh-oh. Wrong move there Wendy. She got really serious & told me to be careful what I say. "Tread lightly" she tells me. "You don't wanna go there - be careful what you say." Great. Now she has just one more reason to think I'm going to hell. Better light another candle for me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUBBY!

I just want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the best hubby out there - the only man on the planet willing to put up with my crazy princess tendencies for over a decade!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUBBY!!