February 25, 2008
It's a testament to the Garfield comic strip (you can go to the official Garfield site but I'm warning you now...) that when you remove Garfield, the comic stands on its own as a lonely, sad picture of a man losing his mind. In a funny way, of course.
Check out more at Garfield minus Garfield.
This is a great new way to enjoy Garfield, as the strip itself hasn't been funny in fifteen or twenty years.
Thanks to Frinklin for bringing this to my attention.
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February 24, 2008
I had never even concieved the thought of people purposefully pitting two stallions together to fight until one is injured so badly it may need to be slaughtered. Not to mention the rape and abuse the mare in season that is used to work the stallions into their crazed state is subject to. Gambling and crime syndicates keep the horse fights going.
Then again, why should I be surprised that people in third-world countries are treating animals barbarically when we here in the US aren't capable of treating our animals any better? When NFL quarterback Michael Vick is using "rape stands" to breed fighting dogs and killing them by the hundreds and Jaimie Foxx is saying that it's part of black culture so we should go easy on the guy?
The truth is it's part of gangster and drug dealing culture and an underclass that I hope to God is dying out. There are better things to do with your time and energy. One doesn't need to pit innocent animals against eachother, be they dogs, roosters, horses, or even camels.
There are a couple of things you can do to help the fighting horses of the Phillipines. You can stop travelling to these areas of the world that fight horses and let those officials know that they are losing your dollars. From the Network for Animals:
Horse Fighting, an illegal spectator blood sport where stallions are incited to fight one another, is widely practiced on the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines. Fuelled by cash prizes for the owners of the winning horses and extensive gambling, horse fighting is a cruel spectacle that results in serious injuries and often death for the horses.
Please send a letter to the Mayor of Davao City, the largest city on the island of Mindanao and the economic hub of the area. Inform Mayor Duterte that as a compassionate traveler, you choose tourism destinations that are committed to treating animals humanely. Only when all horse fighting has been ended, will you consider traveling to Mindanao.
Rodrigo Duterte, Mayor
Davao City Investment Promotion Center
Door 10, Ramon Magsaysay Park Complex, R. Magsaysay Avenue
Davao City, Philippines
You can also contact the International Fund for Horses. Their Mission Statement:
The Mission of the Int'l Fund for Horses (IFH) is to promote and safeguard the health, safety and welfare of equines worldwide, domestic and in the wild.
IFH is dedicated to ensuring that humane standards are set and kept relating to the working and domestic lives of all equines from the beginning to the end of their lives. IFH is particularly committed to ending horse slaughter for human consumption wherever it exists.
Additionally, IFH is devoted to the preservation of wild horses, mules, donkeys, burros and zebras in their natural habitats.
Protecting Horses through Intervention, Education and Legislation
You can go to their Take Action page to sign up to help by writing a letter, sending a fax, or making a phone call. Nothing fancy, just a simple action that can help save a horse's life.
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!!!February 23, 2008
I don't read a lot of non-fiction (as Kevin will tell you, as he is mostly patiently waiting for me to finish Pale Blue Dot, which he loaned me a month ago and I informed him the other day that I am on page 30), but I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and started to flip through the first few pages. It turned into a fascinating read!
This book makes me want to travel to far-away places just to eat exotic fruits. And it make me incredibly annoyed at the paltry selection that we have here in the United States. Why don't we have the ice cream bean fruit? Why are we denied the miracle fruit*, which makes sour things taste amazingly sweet? It turns out fruit is tied to all sorts of political nonsense, but that doesn't keep people from constantly trying to bring better fruit to the Western World.
According to author Adam Leith Gollner, we Westerners may be introduced to a new banana relatively soon, as our own hardy Cavendish banana is facing extinction from a mutant strain of a fungus known as Panama Disease Race 4. The original Panama Disease did away with "top banana" Gros Michael in the 1960s, introducing us to the Cavendish. And now we're facing the same problem again. Not that I want the Cavendish to disappear, but who knew there are over 1,000 types of bananas out there; to name a few:
- blood banana
- sugared-fig banana
- pregnant banana
- ice cream banana (which tastes just like it sounds)
- popoulou banana (bright pink inside and tastes like an apple)
- haa haa banana (bright orange inside)
- Burmese Blue banana (guess what color?)
You can see several of these varieties on this page, along with many other I didn't list.
This book also allows you to terrify your friends with disturbing facts about pesticides and fruit. The number pesticides on your average apple is just disturbing. Or the dying of oranges to make them orange, which is banned in England, Australia, and Norway, but not in the good 'ol US of A! This practice causes Cancer in lab rats and mice, but I'm sure it's not harming you. Don't even get me started on exactly how a Wenatchee, WA based company is making Grapples. Let's just say when Frinklin tried to talk me into trying one at the local grocery store I'm really glad I said no. Something always felt wrong about those things and now I know why.
One of the most important things Gollner noted is that your average grocery store does not want people to be aware of the variety of fruits available. If so, everyone would be asking for these amazing fruits. "Every five requests are seen as representing the desires of a hundred customers. Demand for quality fruits can help reverse the trend of fruit homogenization." The key is that consumers must be aware of the fruit varieties. As the author notes,
"Fruits are often sold without being identified by variety; they're just straberries, not Monarchs, Seascapes, or Albons. The strawberries we buy in North America and Europe -- firm, red, cold resistant varieties like Camarosa, Elsanta, Diamante, Ventana-- are as reliable as they are flavorless. Little do we realize that there were 1,362 varieties of strawberry described in the 1926 compendium The Small Fruits of New York.
There has been a conscious decision by the produce industry to wean shoppers away from varieties. If consumers start learning about all the varieties of fruits, that means they'll start demanding quality."
So get out there and start demanding ice cream bananas!
For anyone who is a fan of Salt: A World History or Spice: The History of Temptation, this is a natural fit. Or if you're just looking to for a great read about an incredibly interesting topic, this fit that bill as well.
The Fruit Hunters is due out in May 2008 in hardcover from Scribner, a division of Simon and Schuster. ISBN is 9780743296946. Cover art shown is the Canadian Edition, I don't have the final cover art of the US Edition.
*Miracle fruit can be ordered from this web site. Some friends and I are planning a miracle fruit party at some point in the future!
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February 21, 2008
Here are two very touching photos honored at this years [sic]
FirstPlace
Todd Heisler The Rocky Mountain News
When 2nd Lt. James Cathey's body arrived at the Reno Airport , Marines climbed into the cargo hold of the plane and draped the flag over his casket as passengers watched the family gather on the tarmac.
During the arrival of another Marine's casket last year at Denver International Airport , Major Steve Beck described the scene as so powerful: 'See the people in the windows? They sat right there in the plane, watching those Marines. You gotta wonder what's going through their minds, knowing that they're on the plane that brought him home,' he said 'They will remember being on that plane for the rest of their lives. They're going to remember bringing that Marine home. And they should'
Second Place
Todd Heisler The Rocky Mountain News
The night before the burial of her husband's body, Katherine Cathey refused to leave the casket, asking to sleep next to his body for the last time. The Marines made a bed for her, tucking in the sheets below the flag. Before she fell asleep, she opened her laptop computer and played songs that reminded her of 'Cat,' and one of the Marines asked if she wanted them to continue standing watch as she slept. 'I think it would be kind of nice if you kept doing it,' she said. 'I think that's what he would have wanted.'
PLEASE KEEP THIS GOING!
________________________________________________________
So, my Mom sent this to me. I got rid of the thousands of pounds of internet crap that was attached to it. A bajillion forwards and sappy, "I could barely see the pictures for the tears in my eyes!" comments. And some quote from Ronald Regan. And something about the "silent majority" wearing blue on Fridays to support the troops. And a guilt trip about forwarding it on unless you hate America.
I think the pictures are sad, really. They're obviously touching, especially the one with the woman sleeping next to her husband's casket. But for the most part it makes me angry about a stupid war we've been fighting for a lot of stupid reasons. A few good ones, but mostly stupid ones. It's costing us, and our children, and our children's children more money than I can even imagine and driving our country into a recession in the meantime.
But what it really makes me think about is the fact that until recently, soldier's caskets weren't allowed to be photographed. It was a symbol that we weren't "winning the war on terror" and that it might make us doubt the bullshit that the President likes to feed us about Iraq. I'm not sure if it was a lawsuit, photographers' tenacity, or just the government deciding to give up that changed things.
What's funny is that the government always had it wrong. While a casket does show that we've lost something, it's not a war, it's a person, a soldier. And it's shameful that anyone or anything would hide the deaths of those who fought for it to keep a propaganda machine alive.
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February 20, 2008
Visitors who live within Tacoma city limits will be admitted free on Wednesday, Feb. 20. Please bring proof of residency (current driver's license or utility bill).
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February 18, 2008
After living in Tacoma a few months, Bob's Hogs and Weiner Pigs offered me a Pilot Position that included working from home. This was perfect for me, as I was tired of working in a store and ready to take on some new responsibilities. I happily packed up my digs and moved all my stuff into the home office, effectively rendering it useless to Frinklin and requiring him to purchase a laptop (but that's another story).
My office has a large window that looks out to the side of our house. I haven't bothered to put up any blinds or curtains up in this window as it's largely blocked by a huge butterfly bush. The butterfly bush allows enough sun to filter in to keep me warm in the winter, and shades the same hot sun in the summer. Since the bush keeps its leaves year-round, it provides a lot of privacy as well. Which is how I got to observe something completely unexpected one afternoon.
Sitting at my desk working diligently away on a price quote for a customer, I noticed movement outside the window from the corner of my eye. Looking up, I found myself a few feet away from a strange man who was slipping onto my property, working his way behind my house. Thinking he had seen me and would stop any moment, my heart began pounding, but the butterfly bush had kept me completely hidden, working like a one-way-mirror, although it appeared we were eye to eye.
As he passed out of sight behind the house, I leaped into action, calling The Jeffrey and running toward the back door. As I passed the hallway to the master bedroom with it's window facing the rear of the house I saw the man passing by and my heart sped even faster. With The Jeffrey's collar firmly in my grasp I unlocked the back door and stepped onto the rear deck, confident that the tall back fence would keep the intruder out. As an arm crept over the top of the barrier and began feeling around for the latch I spoke.
"What the HELL do you think you're DOING?!" I yelled, hoping I sounded much more authoritarian than I felt, and praying he didn't have a firearm of some sort. The arm whipped back over the fence. Footsteps began retreating. I slammed the back door and ran to the front where I threw open that door, still holding The Jeffrey's collar, him standing beside me, barking like mad. Two men stood in the alley beside my house, one brandishing a large 2x4, both looking pissed off. A glance to my left revealed the now-terrified-would-be prowler.
"Dude," I said to the man, "I don't know what you're thinking, "But I gotta whole lotta German Shepherd Pit Bull just waiting to eat your ass you if you got over that fence, so you're fucking lucky you DIDN'T get in MY BACKYARD!"
"That guy tried to get into my backyard too!" Yelled the man with the 2x4.
At this point, the prowler had turned quite pale and was just wanting to get the hell out of dodge. He had clearly underestimated the power of the Tacoma North Slope Historic District Neighborhood Watch Program. He chose the best course of action available to him when a woman with a raging 75 lb. dog and an angry man with a 2x4 are yelling at you - run like crazy. He took off down the alley with the 2x4 man hot on his heels screaming, "You think it's OK to walk into people's backyards? Huh? I'll show you!" The other neighbor began picking up rocks from the alley and throwing them at the prowler as he ran.
At this point I realized I had my phone in my hand. I must have picked it up automatically. I called 911 to report that a man was in danger of being beaten to death by two others with rocks and a board. I also mentioned the potential break-in. The operator informed me that an officer would come by my house to speak with me. I waited outside for a half hour, but no one came by. I also waited for the men to come back, but they never returned. Eventually a police car drove by, didn't stop, and turned the opposite way that they men had gone. Well done, Tacoma Police, well done.
I felt rattled by the experience for a couple of weeks. But we put locks on the gates to the backyard and make sure we keep the doors locked. And we still have the man-eating dog. And although I've never met those particular neighbors again, I assume they're still out there, keeping our North End backyards safe.
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February 15, 2008
"Next time, knock on my Goddamn door and let me know!" was Frinklin's reply, but the guy wasn't paying attention and was slipping over the fence even as I was walking out the door after hearing Frinklin shout.
"What's going on?" I asked as I saw a leg diassapear over the fence.
"Stupid guy in our backyard trimming his tree."
"Oh my God! What if we had let The Jeffrey out?" I stared at Justin. "You're lucky dude! I yelled, "If we had let our other dog out he would have ripped your legs off!"
"I've always been lucky!" came a voice back.
Dumbass.
I'll write about the backyard break-in story tomorrow.
It's been a long time since I've hated on some neighbors. Feels good. Feels real good.
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February 12, 2008
Last week the ground swelled and bucked and tossed Frinklin into limbo. The company formally known as The Corporate Behemoth now known as Those Fuckwads Aetna fired Frinklin without warning. Without any warning at all and definitely without a severance package. Official reason, "failure to improve performance statistics." Unofficial reason, "It's just not working out." After three fucking years of stellar performance reviews and busting his ass. My suspicion is that they are getting rid of him because they announced that they will be outsourcing his position within the next year. They offered to have he and other people in his position train folks in the Philippines just a couple of months ago.
On the one hand this isn't the worst news. When my husband came downstairs to tell me I looked him square in the eye and said, "Thank God you never need to go to that crap job again," and gave him a huge hug. Frinklin's been half-heartedly looking for another job for a while. He hated being tied to his desk (granted, at home) in an hourly position, listening to people scream at him for problems that weren't his fault. It left him grouchy at the end of the day and dreading the work week. And they never gave bonuses, but a steady supply of branded alarm clocks, laminated certificates, and once a crappy canvas folding chair that one of our cats peed on. Thanks asshats!
The bad part is the money end of things. It's not good when one half of the household income disappears. There is, thankfully, unemployment which will bring in a portion of what's been lost. And I started making calls to see what we could do. That did not go well.
Our mortgage company always gives you a happy little message that if you anticipate having trouble paying your mortgage you should contact them. I let them know that I don't think we'll have trouble, but wanted to know what their potential solutions would be. Their "solution" is to make a double mortgage payment now, allowing us to skip a payment in the future.
"See how that helps?" the representative chirped to me.
"Not exactly." When I explained that I don't have the funds to make a double payment now, allowing us to skip a payment in the future she told me that she couldn't really help me further. That our payments would need to be made on time as usual, or if made late that our credit would be affected. How exactly is this helpful? I'm not sure. She couldn't tell me either.
My next call was to the folks that manage my 401K. I have a significant amount in my 401K as I've been paying into it for 8 years. I did take out a loan about 3 years ago that I've been paying back steadily. The 401K folks did tell me that I can take out a "Hardship Withdrawal." Fantastic! Send me the forms! The forms arrived and I found that I don't qualify for a Hardship Withdrawal as there are only four reasons one may make said withdrawal:
1. Payment of tuition for post secondary education for me, spouse, dependents.
2. Payment of unreimbursed medical expenses for me, spouse, dependents.
3. Payment to prevent loss of primary residence through eviction or foreclosure.
4. Purchase of primary residence, excluding mortgage payments.
So you see, I must stop making payments immediately on our mortgage, allow our credit to fall to shit, and hope that the bank begins foreclosure proceedings on our home post-haste in order to withdraw the money. It's a perfect plan! What about those of us that want to make our payments on time and keep our credit scores good?! The logic of this whole thing escapes me. Plus it's my Goddamn money!
We do have credit cards that we can live off of. It's just that we already have credit card payments and I don't want to be a slave to debt for the next 20 years. I don't want to have to go to the Bank of Parents to solve this (they have money, but not tons of it to give me).
To top it all off, Frinklin's last paycheck wasn't direct deposited as usual, the Fuckwads are mailing it to us to arrive who-knows-when. They haven't officially reported Frinklin as terminated, so his 401K can't release any funds to him. And his ex-boss won't call him back about anything (four messages and counting).
We're holding their fucking computer hostage until I get some answers.
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He was in Provider Relations, handing calls and assisting doctors' offices with claims. He knows the insurance and provider side of claims as having experience in training.
Here's hoping my job is secure!
February 11, 2008
After some continued confusion as to who exactly we were (313? 312?) we waited around for our Precinct Captain to show while the Caucus Chair asked us to talk amongs ourselves. No one was entierly clear on how exactly things would go down, considering the number of people present, and the folks running things all seemed to be relatively young first-timers. A festive mood continued to reign as an hour passed and Frinklin and I chatted with an undecided neighbor about why we were for Obama. She remained undecided as we broke into our respective groups a short time later.
The caucus site ran out of sign in sheets and requested that people sign in on the back of sheets if they hadn't already. People who hadn't signed in their choice had their names read aloud and were asked to declare, "Obama!" " Clinton" or "Undecided". The Precinct Captain was the first name read alound and tried to get away with being undecided, but after sheepishly blushing gave it up for Obama. People proudly yelled out their choices and were cheered - undecideds were given just as much applause as those who had a candidate determined.
At that point, the room was divided into our three groups, Clinton on one side, Obama on the other with the Undecideds in the middle. Each group was invited to have a representative speak, which we did. At that point, the Undecideds had questions that they wanted answered. The Caucus Chair asked us to quiet down, but after a couple of hours of being told to keep quiet and chat together, we were ready to make our voices heard and debate. Several of us (myself included) stood up and yelled loudly, stating that we would like the opportunity to debate and sway the Undecideds. The Undecideds shouted that they would like the opportunity to ask questions and make up their minds. The Caucus Chair started to get nervous that he might have a bunch of pissed off Democrats completely rebelling and the debate was on!
While many people spoke from their hearts and didn't always weigh in on specific policy and topics, everyone was passionate about their decisions. We also heard from a number Undecideds who gave varied reasons as to why they hadn't made up their minds; one man couldn't see enough difference between the two (he eventually went with Obama), another woman though Obama supporters were just attracted to the Cult of Personality (although she later also swayed to Obama too), and one woman said she was terrified that Americans are stupid and prejudiced and wouldn't vote for an African-American man (Frinklin stood up and told her, "If YOU are afraid to vote for him, stand with us and show others that people WILL vote for him!).
The final count was 189 for Obama (16 delegates), 58 for Clinton (5 delegates), 16 Undecided (1 delegate). Frinklin is a delegate and I am an alternate for Obama. I find it funny that it appearsthat a bunch of people we know are delegates or alternates (Jen, Kevin, Cassie, Mark -- did I leave anyone out?).
This was my first time caucusing, being from California. I have to say it was confusing and messy and long, and I absolutely loved it. I can see why it's not for everyone, and if I had kids or needed to be somewhere that day why I would hate it. But it was really fun from my perspective this year and I wouldn't mind doing it again at all.
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February 08, 2008
When we left there were hordes of people behind us in line as well as tons of people still arriving by the thousands. We let as many people as we could know that Key Arena was full, but most continued on to see if they could still get in. Most said they would be caucusing for Obama tomorrow and when it continued to be announced that the event was full people's attitude was, "That sucks that we didn't get in, but that's fantastic!"
There's been some discussion as to weather Obama has outdrawn Hillary at their Seattle events. Even with their respective venue choices, I'd say that Obama could have easily had another 7 - 10 thousand people should he have chosen a larger venue. I don't think that Hillary could have drawn that kind of numbers.
In other news - Frinklin met Janet Huckabee at the Starbucks headquarters this morning. But I'll let him tell that story later on his own blog. He's busy at opening night for his new show (How the Other Half Loves - tickets available now!) right now. It's a funny show he tells me. I'll be there a week from Saturday.
If you're a Democrat and you need information on the how to and where to caucus for (Obama) your (Obama) chosen (Obama) candidate (Obama) in Tacoma (did I mention that Obama rocks?) check out http://wa-democrats.org/. Everything goes down tomorrow at 1 PM. Be there or be square.
Also - (FINALLY!) our long backordered Obama yard sign and rally sign arrived. They went up in our yard and window to tell the world that we're in the cool crowd. Hopefully the yard sign won't blow away!
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February 04, 2008
He's also a pit bull activist and recently posted some great information about the dogs that were rescued from Michael Vick's property. Most dogs that are used for fighting are destroyed, however, these dogs were allowed to be rescued and many are now in foster and adoptive homes after spending months in shelters.
Plus his dogs are adorable!
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February 01, 2008
The Tudors Season 2 will premier on Sunday, March 30th! Ann Boleyn is crowned Queen this season and the forces around King Henry VIII continue to exert their power at Court. You can check out a preview of the upcoming season here.
You can read more about this gorgeously acted and incredibly sexy (as well as just the right amount of trashy) show on my original post here.
The best part is that if you have Comcast On Demand you can watch the episodes a week in advance! How cool is that?!
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January 23, 2008
You're like - JESUS! Two blog posts in two days!? What have we done to deserve this?
But I had to write about the fabulous experience that my toes had last night at SAVI Day Spa.
Cassioposa and I have been on a quest to find a descent manicure shop in Tacoma for some time. We figured we would visit a number of ghetto places around town, eventually stumbling upon someplace unknown yet amazing. You know - the dream that all girls dream - an inexpensive nail shop with a miracle worker inside that can magically transform your shredded nails into strong, healthy, gorgeous nails overnight. All for under $20 a visit.
And we tried. We really did. We hit up several shops. Old ones, new ones. Until a few weeks ago we tried someplace really new and it was as though the place terrified our nails into not growing at all. Both of us have been suffering from short, peeling, split nails ever since. Plus we were seated far away from each other so we had to shout our conversation and then we were up-sold the entire time on eyebrow waxes and massages. Um, no. It was terrible. So we took a break.
And then I decided yesterday that my toes just couldn't take it anymore (email to Cassie, "Toes are claws! Need pedi!") and I needed and pedicure. But not at some ghetto place. I was determined to find something great, and in Tacoma. But try Googling "Tacoma Best Pedicure" online and you'll get a ton of results for Seattle. It's rather depressing. I soldiered on and eventually landed on the SAVI Day Spa at the Hotel Murano downtown. After a quick phone call to make sure they had room for two in the evening, our appointment was booked for 6:30.
We arrived right on time and valet parked (any service over 30 minutes gets free valet parking), admiring the new lobby decor. SAVI is in the corner of the building and we found our way quite easily there. Once in, Kelly welcomed us by name, given some paperwork to fill out for potential future visits, and offered drinks and appetizers. Since we had just come from The Melting Pot's happy hour we declined, sadly. But a glass of wine with your pedicure sounds just about perfect, don't you think?
At that point we each removed our shoes and ascended to the pedicure thrones. I can't imagine being more comfortable as Shelly and M (I'm so sorry I forgot your name!) worked on our feet. It was like heaven! We laughed and talked while our feet were pampered and rubbed, scrubbed and polished. There were no lulls in the conversation as we chatted with each other as well as Shelly and M.
Part way through our pedicure Co-Owner Sharon joined us to start our manicures. She provided us with some excellent advice as to why our nails might be spitting and chipping so badly since the last manicure (formaldehyde in the nail polish?). When she finished working on my nails they looked nothing like the sad things attached to my fingers I had brought in with me. Thanks Sharon!
They nearly had to shove us out the door when we were finished, we had such a lovely time at SAVI. I would have happily stayed forever.
We went with the lowest priced option for mani/pedi. The pedicure was $45 and the manicure was $30. Plus a big tip for the excellent overall experience. Definitely worth it. There are a number of other options that I'm sure I'll be checking out in the near future.
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January 22, 2008
Hi there!
Did you miss me?
I'm sorry I've been MIA for the last couple of weeks. But, I've been busy, you see. There's been work, of course, which has been really picking up. And my house got a mini-makeover. And I got a mini-makeover.
I wish I could show you the before and after pictures of all this. But I can't, because I didn't take any before pictures. Because I suck at the whole "makeover" thing. Sorry about that. Suffice to say, it wasn't pretty. However, I DO have AFTER pictures of the gloriousness that is now.
New bookshelves in the dining room:
New Bedding:
Detail:
New Curtains:
Before the mini-makeover, there was a broke-down old shelf with far less space in the dining room that had unfortunately absorbed some of Sadie's pee (we've come to an agreement with Sadie at this time that seems to work for both of us and is saving our furniture). Out with the stanky shelf, in with the new! White, basic curtain panels in the bedroom were replaced with the ones (thanks Ikea!) which have leaves that match our wall colors as well as the new duvet cover.
And then there is my own makeover. Jenyum at Tacomamama was kind enough to notify me of a 50% off haircuts event that Embellish was having a little over a week ago. I'd been chatting with various people about Embellish and "meaning to call them" for about six months now, so I finally wo-manned up and made the appointment for a little over a week ago. It had been over two years before any sort of hair professional had touched my head.
This launched the crazy "hairstyle search of 2008" campaign. I immediately bought every hair magazine on the racks and began frantically looking for some haircut that would look good on my head. I knew I wanted something longer than my shoulders, but not much longer, as my hair dreadlocks itself as the day goes on. It should be able to be worn in curls or straight, and look good with my squarish/roundish face. Commence panic.
Pretty quickly I settled on what I thought was a good look - Kerri Russell has gorgeous brown hair. She also has very curly hair that looks great when straightened. I could rock this 'do, I thought:
And now, I am.
Thanks to Albon at Embellish for spending FIVE HOURS over two days on my hair to make it look gorgeous like Ms. Russell's. I can't recommend him enough. He was a lot of fun to have work on my hair and did a great job.
And I feel fabulous with my new hair. I've got an actual hair STYLE instead of a big mess on top of my head. It's inspired me to wear lipstick for the first time in forever. Who knows where this could lead?
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January 11, 2008
Time: 5:42 AM
Ensie is awoken to the sound of much cursing and strange sucking noises. Going to investigate she finds Frinklin standing over an uncooperative toilet.
F: The damn toilet will not unplug.
E: What did you do?
F: Nothing! It was like this when I came in!
At this point our heroine takes the plunger from our hero and vigorously begins to plunge the toilet. After a few moments a successful toilet flush is heard.
Frinklin stares in awe.
E: See? And you thought all that time playing Raving Rabbids was in vain!
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January 07, 2008
| What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Social Nerd You're interested in things such as politics, psychology, child care, and peace. I wouldn't go so far as to call you a hippie, but some of you may be tree-huggers. You're the type of people who are interested in bettering the world. You're possible the least nerdy of them all; unless you participate in other activies that paled your nerdiness compared to your involvement in social activities. Whatever the case, we could still use more of you around. ^_^ | |
| Literature Nerd | |
| Drama Nerd | |
| Gamer/Computer Nerd | |
| Artistic Nerd | |
| Science/Math Nerd | |
| Musician | |
| Anime Nerd | |
| What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace | |
Found at erin-go-blog
Posted by: Ensie at
12:18 PM
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January 06, 2008
What an idiotic question!
And it's something that would never have ever been asked of a male candidate. It's hitting below the belt on a female candidate and it's absolutely ridiculous. It relates directly to the idea that men who show commanding traits are assertive and women who do so are bitches.
I believe Hillary Clinton's immediate inherent response was to look at Scott Spradling from WMUR like the idiot he is and say, "Likability? Did you ask Mr. Huckabee if he's concerned if he's more likable than Mr. McCain you asshat?" Instead, she was forced to choose from one of many more "acceptable" female responses:
Flirty - Giggle and tilt the head. Look down while smiling. Say, "Nuh uh!" (See: Any episode of Sex and the City when Carrie is asked on a date)
Playing Dumb - As lip begins to tremble allow the words, "What? He is?" to slip out before eyes well up in tears and collapsing onto the podium in tears.
Sexy - Bite finger, smolder eyes, ask huskily, "Are you sure about that?" while suddenly finding you must touch desk chair with every. part. of. body. Oooooh.
What Hillary chose in her two seconds she had to think was a coquettish, girlish response of, "Well, that hurts my feelings." I cringed for her in that moment. I think most powerful, strong women did the same Unfortunately, calling out Mr. Spradling would likely have ended her run at the Presidency.
Going forward, can we made sure that Hillary gets the same sort of questions that the boys get? I'm not even a Hillary supporter, but even asking the question was bad form.
Posted by: Ensie at
07:30 PM
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January 03, 2008
We had a great time, talking blogs and Tacoma, somehow meandering to stories of mooning people (you can see the natural progression there, right?). After listening to some hilarious parenting stories I've decided to delay having children for several more years. I like to sleep.
Thanks for coming over guys! I'll see you next week - same time, same place!
Want to join us? Send me an email at ensie1@gmail.com
Posted by: Ensie at
11:57 AM
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Mmmmmm......caramel.... *drools*
see y'all next week-- if the man doesn't get too snarky with me!!January 02, 2008
Posted by: Ensie at
01:18 PM
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December 28, 2007
The day started off relatively relaxing, with both Frinklin and I sleeping in. He was planning to do some Christmas shopping and I was getting ready to attack the massive piles of laundry that were taking over our bedroom. We were watching the dogs play with a new toy in the living room when things got a little heated between The Jeffrey and Perdita. Suddenly, Perdy decided the new toy was hers and hers alone and grabbed The Jeffrey's head in her jaws!
Normally little tiffs between dogs are no big deal. They happen from time to time and you assess the damage and move on. However, Perdy happened to catch The Jeffrey's eyelid on her canine tooth from the inside and we couldn't separate them easily. The stupid dogs wouldn't hold still long enough for us to grab them, so I was practically sitting on Perdita when they magically came apart. Somehow, The Jeffrey only had a small puncture wound in the bottom part of his eyelid - no major damage. Whew! Escape Emergency Vet visit!
I should have never said those words aloud.
Not an hour later I hear one of the cats errupt in a loud scream, which is not unusual, considering the difficulty Sadie has had fitting into our family of kitties as of late. My usual course of action is to scoop Sadie up and soothe her, as she usually dissolves into a puddle of purrs and cuddles within seconds.
This time she growled and hissed at me, and when I ran my hand down her tail my fingers came away wet with blood. I discovered a large chunk missing from her tail and when she squirmed away from me red droplets followed her. On closer examination, I found a V-shaped slice in her tail, obviously requiring stitches.
"Now I'm off to the emergency vet!" I called to Frinklin, who was prepping for his foray into the wilds of the mall.
"What now?" He yelled in reply.
"Cat damage!" I exclaimed as I packaged up Sadie into her cat carrier and bundled her out to the car where she pitifully cried the entire drive to the Animal Emergency Clinic. It must not have hurt too badly though, because she was all charm and love when the vet on call examined her once we arrived. Her paperwork states, "Purr to loud to read pulse."
The vet initially recommended $700 in surgery for her tail to keep the blood flow active (don't want to kill off the end of her tail!). But because Sadie is so sweet, we opted for sedation and local in the tail while the stitches were put in (only $275!), which seems to have worked just fine. Everyone at the Emergency Vet's office fell in love with her. I told them that they could keep her, but so far no takers.
Upon her return home she appeared to have a giant dread lock attached to her ass:
Sadie remedied this quickly by ripping the vet wrap off almost immediately and rendering herself even funnier looking:
Our own awesome vet checked Sadie out on Monday and declared her to be healing. Her stitches come out in another week or so. As great as the emergency clinic was, I have no desire to go there again soon.
Posted by: Ensie at
12:14 PM
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