Velvet Vox

Check it, yo. I have a BLOG.

2012-02-07T19:48:00.000-08:00

GUESS WHO??
Weird, I know, right? Also, guess who is unemployed and feelin' chatty? Don't know who all is still out there but my plan is to schedule a little time to look up all my ol' blog peeps and see how you're doing.

Just a quickie "howdy" post right now because I have dogs to feed and holy moly it's like have small children.

X's and O's and exclamation points to you all...

I Love You

2009-04-04T10:43:00.000-07:00

Really. I do.

Ooo... it's another Wordless Wednesday! Ok, NEARLY Wordless. Let's Not Get All Punctilious About It.

2009-04-01T21:55:00.000-07:00

WOW

Because I Am Nothing If Not Random

2009-03-06T23:29:00.000-08:00

because one can not mention frijoles refritos in one's post without including a picture of a lowrider.

So yeah. Completely out of the blue - HI. Kinda had the idea to ease back into this, maybe? I think? Mostly because tonight I started that Blogging In My Head thing. Those of you who've been doing this for a while now and those of you who did it way back when will know that of which I speak. And it was soooo random and silly. But then that's what you were used to from me, yes?

Here's what was in mah head:
I almost don't dare to say it out loud, but I'm on a slight weight loss kick as of late. The Spawn is has joined her school's newly formed swim team and because they don't have a pool they have to have practices at the Y, and then only 2 days a week for about an hour and a half. (Ok, why is it every time I say that I hear Inigo Montoya say "a leetle less than haf an hour" in my head?)GET TO THE POINT, I hear you say... We joined the Y and I swam for 5 days straight and oh the joy of being back in the water. Of course after a couple of laps I'm wheezing like a smoker with emphysema taking a drag through her trach hole, but FIVE DAYS IN A ROW. And boy howdy am I caps locking it up tonight! Well, my darlings, that is not all, no siree. ALSO, I have had no caffeine for 5 days and, here's the kicker, no simple carbohydrates. ::GASP:: I know, right? Hi, my name is Teri. I'm addicted to carbs. But none has passed mine lips! Uuuuntil tonight... at which time I had a bean and cheese quesadilla. (For those of us who grew up close to a border with Mexico know that cheese quesadilla is redundant... but I digress...) So, THAT brought me to this, as a SoCal girl born and raised there are 3 things that my cupboard is rarely bare of: tortillas, frijoles refritos and cheese oh-so-glorious cheese.

Ya know, it sounded totally more entertaining in my head earlier.

So yeah. Hi.

O's, X's and !'s

MWAH.

Deep Thought Thursday, #1

2008-05-08T12:56:00.000-07:00

Uh, yeah. I got nothin'.

Instead Of Words

2008-04-24T21:22:00.000-07:00

I offer you artistic edification.

Joseph Cornell

19. Be Glad It's Wordless Because Otherwise I'd Be Whinging On And On And It Would Be A Bore.

2008-04-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

Parole mer Diciotto - The Belaire Edition aka Mama Needs a New Car

2008-03-05T19:26:00.000-08:00

The Procrastination Knows No Bounds. Or Shame, Apparently.

2008-03-03T22:55:00.001-08:00

That is all.

Ch-ch-changes (Or It's A Long And Winding Road)

2008-03-01T22:02:00.000-08:00

Yeah...making a couple of changes to this here sadly neglected place. And if you know me at all, you know that is a classic sign of my Chronic Procrastination. Sure it's one of the things on my War And Peace length To Do List but let's be honest it ain't anywhere near to the top. So of course I wandered in and started futzing.

Maybe it's just me, but do you ever feel there is so much to say that you're exhausted just thinking about it? (Translation: There is so much I was going to say relating to the title that I'm now exhausted with the thinking part and have very little will to write left.) It sorta tangles up inside my head - a Twister game of thought, if you will, and collapses in a heap of arms and legs and slightly nonsensical metaphors.

So, the changes part... that would be the look of my Blahg. AND (try to control the hysterical laughter this might provoke) I have declared March the month of Spring Cleaning in the M. household.

I heard the giggling. No please. Go ahead. I'll wait.

Yup... giving myself 31 days to purge, organize and scrub this place until it becomes the haven it should be. So I can read and write and make with the art and not feel guilty because I'm living in a less glamorous version of Grey Gardens. (Um, yeah, that's a slight exaggeration on my part. As far as you know. ::cough::)

Alrighty. I guess that's it for now.
(Oh no, that was in no way an awkward ending. Nope. Not. At. All.)

**Ed. Note: dateline, next morning - changed it back for now. I changed one of my changes and now I can't change it back. And I'm annoyed. **

**Ed. Note, amended: Yeah... it's gonna get a little crazy around here today. This is really, really irritating me.**

XOXO!!

The 17th Wordless Wednesday - The Placemarker-I'm-Really-Still-Here-Just-Still- Working-A-Lot Edition

2008-02-27T13:00:00.001-08:00

A Dearth Of Words for Wednesday (The 16th Edition)

2008-02-20T14:02:00.000-08:00

Minimal Words Thursday, The First

2008-02-14T13:07:00.000-08:00

::MWAH:: my darlings.

XOXO!!

The Quarterly Blogger

2008-02-03T17:33:00.000-08:00

Now you don't have to stare at the sad eyes anymore.

The quarterly blogging seems to be my norm.

I'm feeling like this will be a classic Teri-stream-of-conciousness, Jackson Pollack-esqe splatter of words and random thoughts punctuated with apologizes and verbal self-flagellation (that should bring some rather interesting traffic) sort of entry. Maybe I'll skip the last part because, really, how very tiresome. I've mentioned the whole "so overwhelmed I'm paralyzed" issue ad nauseum. Let's just assume that it is still the prevailing manifestation of my particular brand of neurosis.

On the work front I now have proof that I have been busier than the oft mentioned one-legged man. You are reading the rambling post of the San Diego branch Employee of the Year and...wait for it... CORPORATE Employee of the Year.
Seriously.
I'm not kidding.
I've got the pretty etched glass to prove it.
My company rocks.
Of course, if you know me at all, you realize that this doesn't lay to rest any fears I have that I'm not doing quite enough. Oh wait, we weren't going to go there. Anywho, thanks to my fabulous company and my gorgeous boss. Who, by the by, gave me a MAN for Christmas.

I think I'll just let that one hang out there for a moment.

Hee! Ok, ok... she hired me help! I am thrilled to pieces! So far he's the bee's knees and I don't see that changing. Of course it's taken a month to get the poor guy through training because I'm constantly having to stop and do 4 other things at the same time. I sometimes wonder if maybe my time management skills aren't what they should be. Frankly, I'm not a very good judge of me. Whatevs. Moving along.

In other news, The Spawn made it to 14 with only a little pain and mental anguish on the part of her mother.

::patented smooth segue::

I've just found out that my 20 year high school reunion is July 12th. That's 5 months and 10 days, people. Hello swimming pool at 24 Hour Fitness and truck loads of lightly steamed vegtables. Except for the blubber induced panic this discovery engendered, I'm rather excited. While I wasn't cool enough to be truly popular in high school, I had many friends and I'll be happy to see them again. That is, I will be happy as long as I don't resemble someone in a painting by Botero.

Ooo, betcha didn't expect an art lesson thrown in, didja?

::deep sigh:: I become weary... I shan't leave you with probable empty promises, but merely a tiny bit of hope that my sorry self will someday get her act together.

OOXX!!

Confessions Of A Blahg Slacker

2007-10-27T17:13:00.000-07:00

^See? Wretchedness, I tell you!
You so can not be mad at this sad face, now can you??

Er, yeah, so when I said that I would try to blog every week, what I actually meant to say was every 4 months or so.
::ahem::
I did warn you that I was being lured to the dark side that is Flickr™LOVES YOU and frankly I've been doing a kind of photo blogging over there.

I will shamelessly drag out the old "A picture is worth a thousand words" saw with very little compunction. Don't think I won't.

The fact is I've been as proverbially busy as the proverbial one legged man in a proverbial butt kicking contest at work. <(begin)whine>I'm doing the job of at least four people and the work load has left me...tired...uncreative...a teeny tiny bit apathetic. <(end)/whine> Luckily I have an awesome boss who is aware and I know some time after the first of the year the situation will be rectified. It is what it is, but obviously other things have suffered for it. On top of that, one of my many faults (oh stop, you've missed my little confessions) is if I put something off and feel guilty about it, then I avoid it and then I feel worse and avoid it even more and then it looms and I feel wretched and try not to think about it and become paralyzed in my wretchedness. Lovely, no?

I've been thinking about how I would like to get back into this and back to all y'all and then I picked up this and felt the teensiest of tiniest stirrings of...could it be?...creativity. Maybe if I start slow, don't pressure myself too much but also, I don't know, be a disciplined grown-up for once, I can do this again.

I'll wrap it up for now. No need to belabor the point. Plus I need to comment back to all of you who have been so sweet as to check back every now and then. And I have so much catching up to do.

X's, O's and !!'s

Are you still there, my darlings?

Wordless Wednesday XV (Hey, It's Still Wednesday For 33 More Minutes.)

2007-06-13T23:26:00.000-07:00

This Might, Possibly Be Cheating On The Blogging, Just A Weeny Bit. Maybe.

2007-06-11T21:09:00.000-07:00

Honestly I was going to try and blog at the very, very least once a week as suggested by the ever rockin' Bo. I meant to do so today. Really. You know how I love confessing things to you, so you must know: I'm addicted to Flickr now. It's bad. And who woulda thunk it - this whole 365 Days project has me all excited. Before, you would be hard pressed to get a picture of me. Of course it helps that I take and pick the pictures. And also, it seems that my eye stars in most of them. But I'm working on that. I have all sorts of fab ideas for July and August (anniversary post! hee.) Hm. I think my train of thought has blown through the station... I started to have more of a blogging point here... Oh, right... I sorta blogged in my Flickr today and now I'm kinda blogged out. Check it, peeps: Day 17. Look down on the right. This pretty much covered Teri Today. Feel free to browse the other ones, too. Highly informational. Etc. I'm babbling now, aren't I? And I think I owe Luke a meme or an interview or something and I've been a total slacker and haven't looked at my email. Sorry Luke! Soon. Ok. I'd better be going before I add anymore links.

XXOO!!, bebes!

(Yet Another) Triumphant Return of Wordless Wednesday!

2007-06-06T10:03:00.001-07:00

(Click = Bigger)

In Lieu of Vox... Dang, I'm Usually Pretty Good With The Catchy Titles, But Apparently Not Tonight.

2007-06-02T22:43:00.000-07:00

First, I would like to thank the Academy... oh wait, wrong speech... No really, thanks for your kind comments and encouragement. Sometimes you just gotta get it out there and I appreciate your indulgence.

Now back to our regular programming...

As the title subtly implies, there will be no audio post today. Not that I'd promised one, but I was thinking that it would be a nice idea, since it's been a year since the last one, but I've just spent half and hour looking for my cheap little computer mic and I can't hook up my professional one because I have no cable. Did you catch that word professional? YES SIREE, I am officially, sorta, a professional voiceover artiste. Ok, I haven't gotten the check yet, but it's comin'. Which, crap, means I'm gonna hafta set up paying taxes and I should probably actually do something with my website and...But I digress. Thanks to The Spouse, I was booked to do the intro on some doctor/pharmecutical power point training program thingie(hey, the talent isn't always clear on the details, she's just there to woo them with her pipes)for one of his clients. So, yay me!
Frankly I don't have a whole lot to say at the moment. Mostly I wanted to get the dramafest that was my last post pushed down a bit. If you're new here, do me a favor and check out the archives. Here... for now you can hear me, er, here. Plus I did a pretty cool one for my birthday last year and of course the ~~sappy~~touching anniversary post. Go. Peruse. Feel free to comment. I craaaave the comments. And don't forget to check on my Flickr for my daily contribution to the 365 Days project.

Also, I will now be abbr. my usual sign off. I didn't want you to miss it. Not that I think you're dumb or anything, I just didn't want you to be, ya know, confused. Anyway.
OOXX!!

From Teri On Her 37th Birthday Or How I Decided To Grow Up And Be A Better Person. With A Meme. And A Photo. And Serious Soul Baring.

2007-05-26T00:53:00.000-07:00

(Welcome to my catharsis. Don't forget to purchase refreshments in the lobby.)

Greetings and salutations, O Most Patient Ones. Have I caught up on all y’all’s blogs? No. Was I using that as one of my excuses for not blogging? Yes. And I really am very busy at work. Seriously. I’m hoping we can be like old friends who just pick up where they left off. Whaddya say? Can you forgive me for my neglect? Pretty please with widgets on top?

::insert one of my patented smooth segues here::

First, let’s get the serious soul baring out of the way.

I am going to be 40 in 3 years (exactly) and on that day I plan on taking stock and finding that I am happy with who I am or who I am on my way to becoming. Today starts a change in me. (That didn't sound as corny when I first wrote it as it does now in edit.)

I am tired of: being a crybaby… hating how I look… being angry… being cynical… being afraid… wasting my (and everyone else’s) time and my talent because I am afraid of? failure? success?... my lack of confidence… being unwise… being judged…. feeling like I’m being judged… being socially inept… being disrespected… not earning respect… feeling like an incompetent parent… being disorganized… not doing things because I’m disorganized… not knowing where things are because I. Am. Disorganized… being self-absorbed… not relying more on my faith in God… not revealing my faith in God… talking too much to myself and not enough to God… living in the past… being lazy… procrastinating… being frustrated… not living up to my potential… not keeping up my end of the deal… being ungrateful… not trying my best… not giving my best… panicking about all the mistakes I’ve made… wishing I was more… I am tired of being tired.

And, of course, I’m aware that most of these things are merely my own perceptions of who and what I am, that mostly what I see are the flaws. And reading that over, self-indulgent and self-involved are begging to be added. I’m perfecting my whole Woody Allen persona. Without the hemming and hawing or thinning hair or hangdog expression. Or creepy marriage to adopted daughter. Ok. I think we’re getting off track here.

My point is this(if I haven’t blunted it with the deflecting self-deprecating humour):

Things have got to change. Things are going to change.

Yeah. So. Still there?

MEME TIME (I'm just crankin' this post out, ain't I?)

Debbie over at A Charmed Life, she of the magical Italian chocolate, decided to make up her own meme. And I quote: …”it makes me think, how well do the people in our lives really know us? Like an Impressionist painting, sometimes figuring out what the picture is about depends on where you're standing.” The little darling tagged me way back in January Ought Seven, and if you don’t want to tear your eyes out yet with the really knowing of me, here’s my answer to her challenge:

The Near...Far!!! Meme.
Someone looking down at you from a balcony will notice: my grays

Someone seeing you from across a parking lot will see: My tiny pin head sitting atop my apple round body? WHAT? I deflect with the humor – I have no idea… this whole self analysis thing is difficult.

Someone seeing you for the first time will notice: My eyebrows or that my specs have some heinous scratches.

Someone shaking your hand will notice: I have a firm grip. The fingertip shaking thing irritates me.

Someone walking behind you would notice: My fat bu… Oh. Uuuh, my long hair?

Someone meeting you at a party would see: The most socially awkward person in the room. Weeeeel, maybe the second most socially awkward person in the room.

Someone looking into your eyes would notice: Almond shaped eyes with long lashes framing darkly rimmed chestnut irises dappled with motes of gold. (Please check the photographical proof.) (see, I can be all poetical and sort of self-complimentary.) And probably the eyebrows.

Someone listening to you talk would hear: Hello?? VELVET VOX, people. I ain’t just whistlin’ Dixie, here.

Someone who's just met you might think: That I am pretty sweet and very funny. <~~ that was Debbie’s answer (which you would know if you clicked on the link), but as I’m doing this, I’m writing over her answers and when I looked down from my last smart remark I briefly thought to myself, "Self? How accepting and unusually nice you’re being to your, er, self." Then I remembered I didn’t actually write that. And now you are asking yourself, "Self? Is Teri attempting to avoid answering this question by distracting us with double talk and painfully contrived conversations with herself? And myself?"

What was the question?

Someone who's known you a long time knows: (I’m so bad at this) Er. Um. I guess I’m kinda funny. Hopefully not funny lookin’. I’m generous. I’m an emotional movie watcher. I love having my back scratched. I love really hot showers. I can’t go into Rosie’s Calico Corners without spending a minimum of 45 minutes sifting through the button trunk. I wanted to be an actress when I grew up.

Ok. Let’s see… what else? Oh yes – the picture. I’ve decided that to launch me on my voyage of discovery and improvement, I am going to join the Flickr 365 Days group. That’s one picture a day until May 26, 2008. Yay for cropping and Photoshop Elements 4.0.

Hi. I'm going to bed now.

HUGS AND KISSES AND EXCLAIMATION POINTS TO ALL!

p.s. as always, if you really feel the need to see my mug practically life-sized on your screen, Click It.

No Way! Has It Really Been Two Weeks? REVISED

2007-02-15T13:01:00.000-08:00

Dateline SoCal 05/19/2007 ***Please check back on Saturday May 26, 2007***
(hugs, kisses and exclamation points on the horizon)

You all must be so, like, TERI IS A BIG FAT FATTY FAT LIAR. SHE'S NEVER GOING TO BLOG. I'M SO SICK OF HER FATTY FAT FAT LIES. PANTS ON FIRE!

Who could blame you?

We'll just pretend that we've smoothly segued away from the name calling, shall we?

This right here is my 99th post! For my 100th I'll do a little recap and finally do the meme that my Italian chocolate connection tagged me with last millennium.

In the meantime, enjoy a couple of pictures of my new work space, sans art and a new table top, but still on the purty side.

Hugs, kisses and exclamation points to all!

(as always, click on pic to see molto bigger)

BTW - Hope all y'all had a lovely Valetimes day.

Wordless Wednesday 13

2007-01-31T00:00:00.000-08:00

(Wordless-ish: visit Maggie Taylor to see more gorgeous art)

From The Trenches - A Thrilling Account. Ha. I Crack Me Up.

2007-01-29T10:43:00.000-08:00

Actually from the warehouse. Thusly, this will be my first post since the very beginning that is sans photo accompaniment. And it's going to be short because A) I'm at work and B) my fingers are frozen. All of me is frrrrozzzzzen. We're getting polished concrete on the first floor, where my office will be, so until that's done I can't set my office up and we can't get to the stairs until which every layer they are doing to day is dry.

Did I mention that I'm frrrrreeeezzzzzzing?

Obviously I haven't gotten back into the Swing Of Blahging, but I'm trying. I spent most of the weekend out and about with my SIL and catching up on Men in Trees. So no blog reading either. Sawwy! Also we've only got one vehicle right now. Not that I'm going to whine about it, because duh things could be a thousand times worse, but good grief, it ain't easy for a two job household with a ::sob::teenager::sob:: to have one car! In the spirit of sharing, the story is this: due to a problem that apparently VW knew about, my car needs a new engine. You can imagine that it's something that isn't in our current budget. So we wait for help from VW/the dealer from which we have purchased 3 vehicles, now. I'm thinking it's time for one or both of them to step up to the plate. I'll keep you updated.

Ech... I can't get to the restroom right now either! Grrrr! My teeth are floating. (Don't you just love free association blogging?)

Ok, I'm going to sign off because my frost bitten fingers are making more typos than not.

Hugs, etc...

Clean Slate And All That

2007-01-19T18:47:00.000-08:00

Once again, greetings and salutations and much thanks for the sticking by me. SO... First point of business, because I've been A Very VERY Bad Blogger and also A Very Bad Email Friend and let my Yahoo email get completely (HEE! I remembered some HTML!) out of control to the point that it haunted me and I avoided it because apparently I am immature and a champion avoider (just ask Visa and Mastercard and, by the way, who ever said money can't buy happiness never glimpsed the 9th Level of Hell that is my financial situation) AND SO, I humbly beg for an almost clean email/comment slate. I have/will read every single comment left since the ::gulp:: beginning of December BUT if you would grant me a mulligan, I shall mostly not comment back. Just know that I Internet Love You and even though the majority of you don't know me in so-called RL, I am totally touched by your concern and encouragement and all that mushy stuff. PLUS, I am determined to go through my Bloglines and read all of your entries that I've missed. Just so you know, my lack of commenting on all y'all's sites means I haven't actually been reading them since the plan was to catch up and then I didn't and it just got worse and OH what a tangled Blogline we weave when once we wait to read. (Yeah, yeah I know... lame.) OK THEN. Clean slate?

Now on to the second point of business. As previously stated, I am now gainfully employed. While, of course it's YAY exciting and Wells Fargo Financial is rather relieved, it's also YIKES scary, I have no idea what I'm doing ::whimper::. Lucky for me my boss is a long-time very good friend and so far everyone at my new company has been very nice. I spent last week training and this week we've started setting up the office. I don't plan on blahging much about the job, since this blog isn't the most anonymous of sites, but you can check out the cool product we manufacture here. (I have to admit I only almost remembered how to link without reminding.)

In much more devastating news, I am now the mother of an actual teenager. Surprisingly the earth did not stop spinning and fire did not rain down from the sky. It might feel like it at times, but I'm told that it's all in my head. I'm also told (by my long-suffering husband who has taken to desperately asking anyone he can find with a 13 year old girl) that the angst, strife and epic conflict that are the key elements to the mother/teenage daughter relationship are all perfectly normal and I am not, in fact, being singled out by some capriciously sadistic demon intent on seeing how far I can be pushed. Happy Birthday, kiddo. Just accept that no matter how old you get you will always be my little girl and that is, despite what you think, a good thing.

Whew. I'm exhausted. I shall end this entry here as I have a little work to do and I am hoping to start getting up to speed with all your blogs/lives.

Hugs, Kisses and Exclamation Points!

(P.S. Should I just give in and sign up for the New Blogger? Feedback requested.)

Looking To The New Year

2006-12-26T20:16:00.000-08:00

Here's hoping you all had a very lovely Christmas. (Or whatever you celebrate. At my house, it's Christmas.)

In short, my Christmas present was a new job being an office manager/administrative assistant for a very dear long-time friend, at her new branch office. (Thanks Karla!!) I'm planning on returning to the cyber world after the first of the year. (I'll be training the second week of January, so it will probably be after that.) Can't wait to catch up with all y'all. I hope you're still out there!!

Hugs and kisses and exclamation points,
Teri

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Blahger Friend

2006-12-08T22:22:00.000-08:00

Wearing the psychological equivalent of a hair shirt? Check. Mentally flogging myself? Check. Getting down on my hands and knees and begging for your forgiveness and your leniency? Check. Check.

Patience with me you must have. Groping my way towards some sort of center am I.

(Haven't checked email, haven't looked at blogs, so don't think the silence is the cold shoulder.)

Hugs and big sloppy kisses to you all.

What?? I Napped. So Sue Me. Oh. I Mean: Wordless Wednesday Dodici (12)

2006-11-29T20:47:00.000-08:00

(Yep. That's right. Click Pic To See Ginormous.)

It's Still The 28th Here.

2006-11-28T21:20:00.000-08:00

A little peace offering. Yeah, I know you can only stare longingly at it. Trust me, best cupcake evah. I, however, did not make it. I've had some struggles with buttercream frosting. Just ask my long suffering father-in-law. ( Sorry Pops! Rest assured, I think I've found a better recipe, but I promise to practice it before I make you another birthday cake.)

This is going to be pretty short, since it's already past my bedtime. We are having gloriously cool weather here which means that I should sleep well. On the flip-side, it also means that it will be harder to get out of bed!

I haven't been doing anything particularly productive with my time away. I did read Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere in one day. Good grief can that man write. (Note: I put the B&N link instead of my usual Amazon link because, well, ya know... working there and all...) My bestest friend from high school, Mandy, came over for dinner with her two gorgeous children. (If you click on the link you'll see about the cuteness. I mean, hello beautiful people!) Then we went to the Zoo. The World Famous one. Unfortunately the petting zoo was closed for remodeling. Don't you think that maybe they should mention that somewhere before you start telling the kids how fun it's going to be?? We had a nice, quiet Thanksgiving at my grandfather's place. And I can tell I'm starting to ramble....

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday and I would also like to say thank you for sticking in there during my unscheduled absence. (Did I say that already?) Tomorrow? Wordless Wednesday makes it's triumphant return.

Hoping You Haven't Given Up On Me

2006-11-27T16:44:00.000-08:00

It's sort of been like this:

I'll be back tomorrow. (That's when I'll return emails as well.)

Hugs and kisses to all.

Photobooth Friday Twelvsies

2006-11-10T15:12:00.000-08:00

I rediscovered this on Saturday when going through a little stash of ephemera that I brought. I'm guessing WWII. I looked up "Banaziak" and it would appear that it is a Polish surname. I just love how it's made up to look like a postage stamp.

Short and sweet today. I'll be adding links to the other Photobooth Fridays later.

Tales From An Episcopalian Craft Fair

2006-11-09T20:41:00.001-08:00

Wow... does it feel like midnight to anyone else? And no fair answering in the affirmative if you are in the Eastern Time Zone. Up at 4:45am tomorrow but then 3 full, glorious days off. (Not so glorious for my bank account, but I will have to work my first Saturday weekend after this and it will even all out.) I am going to apologize ahead of time if I start to ramble unintelligibly or boring, er, ly. In a nutshell, the craft fair was rather small, but the table was only $25 and the proceeds from the table fee and any donations are going towards the church's Thanksgiving dinner for the homeless. It was held in what we Southern Baptists call the Fellowship Hall. (I don't know what Episcopalians call it.) One, um, shall we say unfortunate thing was that it smelled like sauerkraut. Now, I have always loved sauerkraut (yes, even as a child), but it's not the most attractive odor. It was made from scratch and rather delicious, still, I'm thinking that maybe it should be kept outside next time. Saturday was pretty dead but thanks to my SIL's foresight we brought things to work on. Sunday was a little busier as parishioners came in after services. We made enough to pay for the table and have a little to split. Plus one very nice lady, and our biggest customer, bought a card I made there with a vintage image (genius here forgot to take a picture) and said that she was going to send it to her granddaughter who has started a linens business and the lovely lady thought that since I offered custom orders her granddaughter might be interested in commissioning some thank you notes to send to clients. Fingers crossed! Jenni made some beautiful hand painted Christmas cards that the same lady snatched up. In fact, they are what lured her to buy. Yay for Jenni!

::cue awkward segue:: The picture above features some of the cards I made for the event. You, as always, can click on it to see it up close and personal. I think I'm getting closer to opening the Esty store. And, thanks to one who shall be recognized later, I even have a name for it. Now I'm going to take the trash cans out to the street and then collapse into my bed.
Sweet dreams my darlings.

Friday morning update: News Flash! I'm A Bonehead! Got to work this morning to discover that what I thought was an "a" after the 6 was actually a "p". Obviously Ms. Attention To Detail here needs to watch her p's and a's. Badumpbump. I'm going back to bed. I will however post a photobooth photo later, because I found one that is supah cool and must be shared.

Wordless Wednesday Eleventy. Fascinating Craft Fair Talk Tomorrow.

2006-11-08T09:24:00.000-08:00

(click it, see it biggah and with notes)

It's Wednesday, Do You Know Where My Wordlessness Is?

2006-11-01T16:16:00.000-08:00

Well my darlings, my Best Beloveds (as one of the most fantabulous writers on the face of the planet would say), I have woefully neglected you. I haven't even looked at my Bloglines since last week, which means I have read none of you and am soooo far behind on what is going on in all y'alls' lives. This sad state of affairs will continue on through Sunday, after which I promise to do my best to catch up.
My excuses are twofold. I am a working member of society again. So far mostly only 5 hour days, but starting at 6am is kickin' my gluteous maximus. AND I am preparing for this craft fair thing this weekend. Thanks to all the students working for B&N, it looks as if I will be spared from working weekends. YAY.
As I am a wee bit sleepy, I'm going to cut this short. In honor of All Hallow's Eve yesterday I give you Fidget and Jynx:

Hugs and kisses to all.

Photobooth Friday Eleven

2006-10-27T00:22:00.000-07:00

(say it with me: click on pic to see larger size)

Whew, the pictures I've been posting lately have been ginormous. This one is so small because if I posted the next bigger size it would do that pushing down of all my sidebar info thing. This is my last vintage offering for Photobooth Friday, at least for the present. Who knows, maybe I'll win the lottery and go on an eBay© vintage photo buying spree. What? You have to play the lottery to win the lottery? Meh. Anywho, ain't she purty? I love the fan and parasol. Guess we've got a bit of a Chinoiserie theme going there. The one with friend is funny. "Ok girls, look natural!"

In other news, starting Sunday night I'm going to have to go to bed at a reasonable hour, as my new job at Barnes & Noble starts Monday. For now I go in at 6am. Fun stuff. At first I will be stocking shelves and possibly cashiering (is that a word?), but since I'm a good 10 to 15 years older than most of the other employees, with a zillion years worth of customer service experience, I'm hoping to be on the fast track to something less 6am-ish. And hey, it'll pay some bills and be in one of my personal heavens on earth - a bookstore.

And in the tradition of my usual procrastinative (it's possible I made that word up) habits, I'm nowhere near ready for the craft fair weekend after this. Luckily for me my SIL will be helping me.

Ok, then... a wave of exhaustion just hit me and since I need to be alert enough to do Rise and Shine battle with Le Tween (my new name for her) bright and early, I shall take my leave.

If you read this early, make sure to check back later for other Photobooth Friday links. They usually have much better stories than I.

PBF Peeps:
hula seventy
Woof Nanny
JesC

Wordless Wednesday X

2006-10-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

All Crafts! All The Time!

2006-10-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

More magnets:

Miscellaneous points of possible general interest:
1. I've made headway in organizing The Mess.
2. I have a job interview at a Barnes & Noble about 10 minutes from my house.
3. I've reserved a table for a crafts fair/All Saints Festival. Good thing I have two weeks.
4. How ridiculously gorgeous is Sarah McLachlan and her voice?
5. I need a Pepcid.
6. Why didn't I read Little Women when I was younger?
7. I have seriously must start going to bed at a reasonable hour. (This sentence was a victim of hit-and-run editing. It should have read: I seriously must start going to bed at a resonable hour. Duh me.)
8. Ok. No more procrastination. I gotta make me some product to sell.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

9. Is it just me or does not having 10 things on this list feel...unbalanced.
10. I always like the little "." after numbers to line up. All my forks and knives and spoons have to go in a certain direction in the drawer, too. And yet I can walk past a dust bunny for days. DAYS.

Oh, I forgot... I'm supposed to tell y'all that The Spawn finally posted something again. You can go and read about how cool a mom I am and how she caught me in a weak moment when I was temporarily insane.

Voilà!

2006-10-21T10:49:00.000-07:00

(click on pic to see biggah)

Welp, there it is. (See Friday's post for explanation, if you haven't already.) I went back and forth a couple of times on the style. My immediate thought was Shabby Chic Vintage Collage, since that is mainly what I do. Then I started to think that maybe the colors would be too muted. Since she'd want to be sure any random doorbell ringer would immediately notice it, I decided that something bright, graphic and retro would be better. I've always had a place in my heart for that hep Mid Century vibe and have started making cards that reflect that. Guess I just wasn't feelin' it last night. I learned a couple of things while making it, like I really need to learn how to do the whole cover a piece of cardboard with paper thing better. And I need a lot more practice with walnut ink. And I should invest in a set of larger plain letter stamps, cuz inkjet printer ink smmmmmmmears during the sealing pro-cess. And I gots ta work on my Photoshop skillz. The photo I used is a scan of one from my ginormous collection and I think it printed out a little too much on the yellow side. Live and learn.
My Auntie Jude brought up a good point about its vulnerability in being exposed to the evils of today's avaricious society (aka, it could get stolen), and I had thought about that, too. I could possibly punch holes through it and attach those rings that snap together (uh, technical term, anybody?), but I don't know if her gate has big enough holes to put them through. So I decided that if she does buy it, then she can figure it out herself or we can hope that she lives in a quiet neighborhood.
I'll letcha know if she buys it or not, as I'm sure you all virtually breathless with anticipation.
Hope everyone is having an enjoyable weekend! XXOO

Photobooth Friday #10 Surprise, Surprise!

2006-10-20T14:07:00.000-07:00

Yay for me! Whilst (don't you just loooove that word? I do.) pawing through my vintage photo stash looking for a picture of a sleeping baby/babies (to no avail), I came across a couple more photobooth pictures! Hurrah! Ok. I think I'm done with the exclamation points.

Isn't she lovely??

Such a sweet smile and pretty, flowery frock. Unfortunately there is no documentation on the back, which means we'll have to make something up.

Whilst (there it is again) I work on my first commission, y'all check out my Photobooth Friday Chicas:
hula seventy Photobooth Mother To Us All (Go, go now!)
JesC
LeSophie
Woof Nanny
Nessie Noodle

Check back later for additional links! (ok, it's later now.) (Ack - the exclamation point just snuck in there! Oh no! Another one! THEY'VE GONE MAAAAAD!) (Heh. Sorry.)

Ok, ok, here's the commission story: A woman came in the stamp store that runs the artisan gallery were I have some of my "work". She was looking for a stamp that says "Please don't ring doorbell, children sleeping". Which to any of our knowledge doesn't exist. Because the customer wanted to put it on her security door and remove it when it wasn't needed, the store owner suggested a magnet. I didn't actually meet the woman, so I'm flyin' solo on style here. I was going to do something shabby chic vintage, but then realized that it needed to be bright enough to be noticed. When I'm done I'll post a picture. Here goes nothin'!

Self Portrait Challenge #2

2006-10-19T10:34:00.000-07:00

Auntie Jude will be happy to see that this does not portray feet in any way, shape or form. And if we could never, ever mention that other thing you compared it to, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

As you might have ascertained, I'm not super enthusiastic about this month's topic. I do like the idea of it, but when it comes to the execution, not so much. Could just be where I am right now, metaphorically speaking. So, I decided to avoid physical me.

This is my bathroom doorway. The masterbath was our first project so it has a couple of issues. Despite those, it is still gorgeous. Nantucket inspired with dark floors (laid at an angle, thank you very much Most Talented Spouse), white beadboard wainscot, lovely jetted soaking tub, and Custom Paint By Moi. Depending on the light, it is alternately like being under water or under the sky. The door needed to be replaced and that resulted in the above pictured peeling paint. At first I was kinda bummed, but it's been growing on me. It's rather Grey Gardens-esque. Without the cat pee smell.

Wordless Wednesday #9 (Creative Titling At Its Best)

2006-10-18T10:05:00.000-07:00

(as always, click on pic to see life size - practically)

It's Feet Week!

2006-10-12T12:16:00.000-07:00

HAAAHAAHAHAAHAAAAAHAhahaha Oh my. I crack me up. I guess you'll only really get that if you have ever or currently live in a Navy town. If you haven't, trust me, that is punny.
I thought I would share a little of my evening:

(and, of course, if you feel the need to see
a larger size, click on the pic.)

It is the result of having this

120 gal. fish tank shoved over the afore-pictured toe. It hurt. I came very close to blurting out a little PG-13 or even R rated language. There was some tearing. And hopping. And Lamaze breathing.
For those of you breathlessly following the remodeling of my living room, here is where the killer tank is going:

which, in turn, is located here:

where there is new paint and pretty lights and surround sound.

Well, me and Sgt. Hulka With The Big Toe have got to limp over to the grocery store and then get some Excel training. Welcome to my glamorous life.

Wordless Wednesday #8 What? It Is Too A Post.

2006-10-11T14:35:00.000-07:00

Self Portrait Challenge #1

2006-10-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

Hi. How ya doin'? I know, I know... I've been a Very Bad Blogger. As I said to Katherine, I've been feeling "blahggy". ::Cue the ennui::

In an effort to keep my audience from wandering off, I shall endeavor to do better. And to that purpose, I have decided to join Self Portrait Challenge. Each month they issue a challenge which the participants attempt to answer via photographs.

Boy, did I pick the right month to start. ::Ahem:: Here's the challenge for October: Look beyond the surface of your life, dig into your imperfect self and reveal it to us. I want to see the down and dirty you, the messy, gross and ugly you, the side of yourself that you always try to hide, give us some insight into your dreadful secrets. This can be your physical self or your personal space or within your wider life. Be not afraid!

There's nothing like putting yourself out there for all the world to see.
Worrisome. Terrifying.

For this first one, I decided to go with "physical self". I go barefoot around the house and usually wear a pair of AdidasÂ® slides when I'm goin' casual. While this footwear is very comfortable, it's killer on the skin of my heels. So. Here ya go... one of my imperfections:

Here's hoping you won't think less of me. (I think this will be my tagline for every "Challenge" post this month.)

Wordless Wednesday #7

2006-10-04T17:11:00.000-07:00

Tell me about it, stud...

2006-10-01T21:06:00.000-07:00

As much as I hate to push my kewl croc picture down, I had to share:
The Spouse is in the other room watching Grease. How cute is that?

Yesterday, All My Troubles Seemed So...

2006-09-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

Actually, there are no troubles that will be reported here. When I thought the word "yesterday", the classic Beatles song naturally followed. I know I'm not alone in this. Around my house we do this with movie quotes, too. A lot.

I went to The Zoo with my SIL, Jen, yesterday where I took the above picture of a Johnston's Crocodile or, as our friends Down Undah refer to them, "a freshie". Just thought I'd share.

FYI, if I haven't commented on your blawg recently, that means I haven't caught up on it, yet. I'm working on it. I don't think I'll go that long without checking again. It takes forever to catch up!

I'm off to Costco. Wish me luck.

(Oooh, which reminds me - another delish dinner idea: grilled "Flap" steak that has been marinated in Mr. Yoshida's Sweet and Savory Original Gourmet, um, sauce. Thank you to our beautiful friends Dave and Alena for introducing us to this.)

Requested Recipes Part II Subtitle: Pork Marsalalalalala

2006-09-28T22:10:00.000-07:00

First off I would just like to say that I was thinking about it, and the way I wrote the instructions for the fish sorta makes it sound as if I don't expect any of you to know how to cook fish. That was not my intention. If you don't know how to cook fish, then there it is for you in black and white and technicolor. If you do, just keep doin' whatcha been doin'. Ok. So, on to the pork...

Pork Marsala
adapted from a recipe for Chicken Marsala

1-1/2 to 2 lb Pork Tenderloin (if you get it in the vacuum packed, er, package it usually comes in two pieces. Use both.)
1 tbsp Oil of your choice (I used olive oil)
3 tbsp butter (pronounced buttah, of course)
3 cups sliced mushrooms (your choice - I used cremini, which look like brown button mushrooms - and you can reduce the amount if you prefer)
2 tbsp (at least) chopped shallots (Hi, my name is Teri and I'm addicted to shallots)
3/4 cup Sweet Marsala wine (Go ahead, splurge on the $11 bottle)
1 cup chicken stock
Salt and pepper (Salt 'n' Pepa, anyone?)

Pre-heat oven to 350°(325° for convection). Lightly oil roasting pan or 9x13 baking dish. Heat the tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tenderloins and brown evenly on all sides. Transfer tenderloins to baking pan. (I also chopped up some red potatoes, tossed them in a little olive oil, minced garlic and kosher salt and arranged them around the meat.) Bake in pre-heated oven for 20 minutes, turn meat over and cook another approximately 20 minutes or until the thickest part of the 'loin gets to 170°. (This is where my digital thermometer paid for itself.) Once it reaches temperature, remove from oven and let the meat rest. (Seriously, it turns out, letting it rest is important.) At some point during the last 20 minutes that the meat is cooking, take the skillet you used to brown the meat and melt 1 tbsp of butter. Add shallots and cook until translucent. (Carmelized might be even better, but would take longer. If you carmelize the shallots, then you should probably add a little more butter before you add the mushrooms.) Add mushrooms and cook them, stirring frequently, until they are golden brown around the edges and have given off their liquid. Add the Marsala (beware of flare!) and bring to a boil, scraping all the yummy brown bits from the bottom of the pan. When the wine has reduced by half add chicken stock and cook until sauce thickens a bit. Swirl in butter and add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer sauce to a bowl, cut up pork into nice juicy chunks and serve to applause and praise from your adoring audience. Easy peasy.

Enjoy!

(Please note: here in SoCal it is technically still Thursday. I'm just sayin'.)

Update/Correction: Meno pointed out that I forgot to mention when I use the shallots. Duh me! Before you add the mushrooms, cook the shallots until they are translucent. Or carmelized them, even. If you carmelize them, you might want to add a little more butter before you put in the mushrooms. Hope this didn't cause any problems! Thanks, Meno! (I've corrected the recipe, btw.)

Recipes As Requested (Don't you just love alliteration?) Part One

2006-09-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you've realized by now that I exist in my own little Space/Time Continuum apart from the actual 24 hour day. It's embarrassing, but that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

::insert smooth segue here::

Warning regarding recipes (especially for the fish): Quantities are approximate and to taste. Cuz that's how I roll in my 'hood. (aka my kitchen. Or, as we call it around my house, thanks to a 3 yr old H-bug, "chichen".)

Tarragon Orange Roughy
(This was inspired by combining a recipe for stir fry O.R. and a great scallop recipe that my mom gave me.)
Serves 3
3 fillets of Orange Roughy (or any other mild, white fish), cut into 8 pieces each
3 tbsp Oil of your choice (I used Enova©)
2 tbsp chopped shallots
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon (or 2 tsp dry)
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tsp dry)
Kosher salt to taste

Evenly coat pieces of fish with 1 tbsp of oil. Toss with cornstarch, tarragon and parsley and a couple pinches of salt. Set aside.
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in skillet. Add shallots and saute until translucent. (this means you don't want the heat too high at this point) Add garlic and saute for another 30 seconds or so. You don't want the garlic to burn or it will be bitter. Add fish to pan. This is where it can get tricky. Cooking fish can be a bit intimidating. Cook it too long and it's chewy. Not long enough and it's slimy (and possibly dangerous). In this case, I dump the pieces into the pan and toss them around a bit with my spatula so that I can get them coated with the shallots and garlic. Then I make sure they are all lying flat and watch for them to turn from transluscent to opaque half way up. Because fillets aren't very thick, this doesn't take very long. Flip them all over (some might stick - that's ok) and keep a VERY close watch, because this time it really won't take very long. The oil will keep the fish looking glisteny (what? glisteny can too be a word), so make sure you don't mistake that for "slimy". You are looking to see that the fish is now opaque white. (Click on the above picture, then on "all sizes" to see it really big. That's what it should look like.) As soon as it looks done, remove it from the pan. Make sure to scrape up some of the crunchy bits or maybe think about trying to make a nice little sauce by deglazing the pan with bit of white wine (or chicken stock). I served it with white rice. But brown or wild or both would work. I just think it should be something that is subtle in flavor so that it doesn't clash with the fish. Tarragon has a licoricey flavor that mellows nicely when cooked. It also is delicious with scallops.

If there is something that doesn't make sense, email me and I will try to clarify. If any cooks out there find that I've made a mistake, also please email me so that I can fix it! Remember with the herbs and salt, it's all relative. If you haven't tried tarragon before and think that 2 tablespoons might be too much, start with 1 tablespoon and see how it looks. Keep in mind, my Tween Terriblé ate it all up.

Thursday: Pork Marsala!

Almost Wordless Wednesday #6

2006-09-27T12:03:00.000-07:00

Click on picture to enlarge

(Recipes to follow later this afternoon.)

Huh? Whaaa? Today Isn't Monday? Heh. Oops.

2006-09-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

Saaaawyyyy. But I'm here now. Still not as organized as I should be. Really, though, who here is surprised about that? I made a couple of really tasty meals. So I've got that. I even took pictures. Duh.
See?
Pork Marsala with Roasted Red Potatoes and Zucchini
The pork was sooooo perfect. Amazing how helpful a digital thermometer can be. I highly recommend one.
And also:
Tarragon Orange Roughy (or does Orange Roughy Tarragon sound better?) with White Rice and Roasted Patty Pan and Yellow Crookneck Squash
This is a recipe that I tweaked to use what I had and came out sAhoooo fab. I was pretty proud of both of these meals. If anyone is interested, I'll post the recipes. They are quick and easy, but look impressive.

Alrighty then. My computer keeps bugging me to restart so that it can finish installing some update, so I think I'll end this first very exciting post. And then I'm gonna start catchin' up on all y'all. (And YES, I'm going to finish organizing the computer room/office/craft room by ~~tonight~~ tomorrow night and will post pictures. Really. No. I'm serious.)

Psssssst a.k.a. Monday, Monday...

2006-09-22T20:53:00.000-07:00

Psssst...hey...ovah heah...sssshhhh, I'm not actually done, so technically I shouldn't be here, but I thought I might mention that I plan on being back by Monday afternoon. And I'm going to make a concerted effort to post something every day. I took a peek at my Bloglines list, and HOLY COW PEOPLE, what's with all the posting?? I have some major catching up to do.

Thank you everyone for putting in your thoughts and suggestions regarding my magnets! I appreciate all your kind comments. And the kick-me-in-my-gluteous-maximus ones, as well. Hee.

And you know that it's almost a compulsion that I post a picture with my posts, so here ya go:

Now I'm off to watch Men In Trees. After just one episode, I'm totally hooked.

Uh... Couldn't Come Up With A Clever Title. With Pictures. Sweet.

2006-09-18T11:20:00.000-07:00

I'm makin' stuff! Yay me! I'm making business card size collage magnets to sell at the artisan gallery where I have a few cards for sale. Looky: (the bottom one isn't finished)
As you can see, I'm really lovin' the washi paper. Oooh, and also, a birthday card:

I'm on a roll.
And, ALSO, here's where I was on Friday:

Ok, that's all the pictures. (and as (sort of) usual, click on the pic to see it biggah)

So, I woke up this morning with an urgent pressure on the inner wall of my bladd...oh wait, no, that's not what I was going to say. Heh. Ok, ok, seriousness for a sec... I woke up this morning and felt that it was imperative when fall and winter finally saunter our way that I be prepared. I am determined to purge and organize this place during the next couple of days, so that I don't have to continually stress about all the cleaning and organizing I should be doing. And I know that I have a lifetime of really, rAHEally amazing art supplies that, if I could get to them, I would be using like mad. This means that I'm taking a non-lazy, announced break from Blahging for a few days. And ::gulp:: Bloglines. So, starting retroactively since Friday, I won't be reading and commenting until I have regained some control of my ~~mess~~ ~~environment~~house. I just didn't want you, my Interweb Friends, to think I was ignoring you and your insightful, witty, poignant, funny selves. Of course, when I do come back I foresee a 24 hour period where there will be nothing but catching up on reading and commenting. Should be fab. ::breathing into paper bag::
Oh, but I do have a question for you. Looking at the two magnets that I've actually finished - would you spend $2 on one? Honestly. No blowin' sunshine up my, er, skirt.

I guess that's it for now. See you in a few days. Hugs and air-kisses to all.

Wordless Wednesday #5. Only On Thursday. And With Words.

2006-09-14T06:47:00.000-07:00

As usual, click on pic to see larger size

I'm breakin' all the rules all ovah the place, here. And in classic lazy fashion killing two proverbial birds with one stone. Posting and addressing comments.

First : Here is your pretty picture for the week. Only I'm probably ruining the reflection potential by, ya know, being wordy. (rule breaker - I'm a rebel like that.)

Second: Thank ya'll for your suggestions for my phantom Esty shop's name - humorous and actual. If I actually open the shop and pick a name, you'll be the first to know. As an excuse for this lame way of commenting on my comments, I would just like to say that I am not a morning person and if you'll notice, I'm posting this at 6:47AM. AM. I've been up since 4AM. AM. I went to bed at 12AM. AM. I need to get up at 8am, so I'm going to see if I can ignore the sounds of the quail my daughter insisted on bringing home with her at the end of school last year (please, PLEASE stop. the. squawking.) and get in a little nap.

You all have a fabulous, sparkley, lovely day.

A Cry For Help

2006-09-12T14:47:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking about doing something creative and useful with my days and possibly opening an Etsy shop. For those of you who don't know, Etsy is a site a little like eBay, but for handmade items and I don't think you do any auctioning. Of course, to open a shop means that I'll have to actually make an inventory of cards and collages. And get permission to use a lot of my stamps. And open a PayPal account. So, yeah, that I have to actually do something on my computer besides obsessively refresh

Anywho, the point of my so-called "Cry for Help" is that if I do indeed take the plunge, I would like to have a clever name for the aforementioned, currently fictitious storefront. So, hit me with your best shot. If I happen to pick yours, I'll send you something artsy. That I made with my own two widdle hands. How's that sound? Let the games begin!

In Memoriam

2006-09-11T06:46:00.000-07:00

We will never forget.

Please visit the 2,996 Project to read tributes to the people lost on this day 5 years ago.

Happy Grandparents Day!

2006-09-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

The Contents of My Purse Meme

2006-09-08T17:55:00.000-07:00

My first Interweb ~~stalker~~groupie, Bo ovah at The Cat's Me'Ass, has tagged me for a meme that, in theory, shouldn't have been that hard to execute. Unfortunately, and despite some evidence to the contrary, I can be surprising anal about details. I may or may not have taken 10 or so shots, edited those down to three and then went back and set it all up again and taken 10 more. I'd prefer not to confirm or deny.

So, without further ado... The Contents of My Purse.

This really is the purse that I've been using. I got it at Target for a dollar. Yes, siree. I do use a much nicer possibly leather purse in a lovely springy/sagey green for more formal occasions. Just sos you know. In case you were worried.

The Contents:
1. Pink leather wallet - over stuffed (unfortunately not with greenbacks)
2. Magenta T-Mobile Razr (whose your MOMMA!?! heh)
3. Today's Target receipt (guess who's gotta cover her grays)
4. Unused coupons
5. Car/house keys (remind me to tell you the whole Story of The Car sometime)
6. Spectacles wipe
7. Sugar-free Creme Savers in Strawberry
8. Sunglasses (they attach magnetically to my specs. Cool, huh?)
9. Hep (aka "hip") small, striped pad of paper
10. Burt's Bees Lip Balm - I panic when I'm without it.
11. Mary Kay lip gloss in Berrie Smoothie - just in case I happen to casually bump into one of the greatest singer-songwriters of our time. It's Marc Cohn, people. Marc Cohn.
12. A Pilot Precise Rolling Ball V7 pen
13. Lint (not shown)

Once again, thank you Bo for putting a fire under me to blog. Hey, believe it or not I have two drafts on which I am working. No. Really.

Now I'm tagging my beautiful and cool bestest friend from high school, Mandy. Giving you a little practice with your camera, gf. Welcome to the Wonderful Wide World of Blahging Memes!
Update: I'm now also tagging S@bd, too!

Wordless Wednesday Four - My Entry For Laziest Blogger Ever

2006-09-06T10:33:00.000-07:00

Photobooth Friday #9 - Now With Actual Words!

2006-09-01T10:02:00.000-07:00

(click on picture to view larger image)
Written on the back in pencil: "Sunday Sept. 8-18"

I love the hat, of course, and the sweet pose with the other girl. These sorts of pictures make it difficult for me to not wax romantic about "simpler times".

In other, much more modern news: A New Google Hit! This time for "diamond encrusted wedding band". I barely made page 2, though. Looks like some lucky girl out there is going to have a beautiful wedding. Or she's trying to figure out a way to pawn it. Let's go with the less cynical scenario, shall we?

Anniversary update: For those of you who were wondering (and because I know he is a little disappointed that I didn't report this earlier), The Spouse cooked a lovely dinner for our anniversary. For starters there was a fresh wedge salad with a thick slice of organic tomato (you must pronouce it "tomAHto" when it's organic), seared ahi coated in Thai seasoning and sesame seeds and topped with a tangy cheese and garlic dressing. The salad was served with flaky Parmesan bread sticks. The main course was a nice thick steak of grouper. Its perfectly grilled flesh was firm and flaky. This was laid lovingly on a bed of brown and wild rice and topped with a delightful lemon butter. Oh my was that lemon butter delightful. It was served with scallops broiled in olive oil, garlic and smothered in Italian cheese. On the side, grilled baby asparagus and carrots. Did I mention the lemon butter? It was all delicious AND he washed the dishes. I'm thinking the money we spent on this kitchen was made worth it just because he will now cook. He so hated the other kitchen that he refused. But you'd better believe I got to cook in it. And do the dishes. Without a dishwasher. For seven years. While I also had a full-time job outside the home.::ahem:: Anyway, it was a fab meal. Lemon butter, people, with a touch of heavy cream. It melted like delicious lemony gold over the hot, meaty fish, down into the nutty rice. ::sigh::

Alrighty then.

Until I get off my lazy be-hind and go through my photos, this will be my last Photobooth Friday for a while. I guess it's time to make some new ones! Yeah, don't hold your breath. "Slim in 6" takes at least 6 weeks. But that's only if you actually do it. Oh. I mean - maybe in 6 weeks. Heh.

In the meantime, whilst my Photobooth Friday mentor, hulaseventy is moving house (poor girl, what a pain!), amuse yourselves here:
LeSophie (Guest Photobooth Hostess Extraodinarie, this week with a simply wonderful poem by her son as a bonus.)
JesC (be sure to look at her Photobooth Set, as well. It's amazing.)
hulaseventy's Flickr Photobooth Set

All ya'll have a lovely, long weekend.

Mercoledì Nessun Parole Numero Tre

2006-08-30T15:52:00.000-07:00

The First Day of Our 17th Year

2006-08-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

(editor's note: Settle in, this one's a doozy.)

Dear Boo,

Before I go any further I would just like to point out that when we jokingly made up pet names, mine for you went on to sweep the hip hop world. Because despite the fact that I'm a goober, I can totally start trends. Decorated vests for women? That was me, too. Sorry about that.

Ummm... where was I? Oh yes. Today we celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary. Pretty weird, huh? Time is a strange and complicated thing. On the one hand, it seems like just yesterday. (What? I'm not still 19? This can not be!) On the other, it seems a lifetime ago. (Good grief, I feel like I'm a hundred.) But in a good way. We started out young, you cradle robber, you. Fortunately, we grew up together and not apart. Ours is a "Princess Bride" sort of romance - heavy on the humorous banter and dry wit. Flowers and cards have never much been your style. Instead, luckily for me, you have a talent for giving the fabulously unexpected. If our audience will indulge me, I will submit a few examples.

I admit, I can't remember if this and this were for our first Christmas or my birthday. I do remember that I cried, because these were pictures I took in Germany in 1987 and you knew how much the memory of that trip meant to me. We were completely broke that year and I wasn't expecting much. Major points, babe.

With Christmas 1991 came one of my favorite gifts of all time. I miss him.

Thank you for taking this out one day to get it washed, and coming back with this. Wow. WOW. Seriously.

Thanks for coming here with me. I very much enjoyed showing you this and this and this (despite your seeming complaints of "basilica butt" and the overabundance of the depiction of Mary and The Christ Child). To be able to share a place that I love so much with you was a gift in and of itself.

The best was a gift we gave each other. This one showed up a little early. And, boy, is it the gift that keeps on growing and growing and Holy Adolescence, Batman, growing. Even though I can't remember you changing one diaper ::AHEM::, thank you for being a great Dad.

Thank you for putting up with my bad traits and (mostly - heh) appreciating my good ones. And for your patience when I freak out a little about life's R.O.U.S's. (Really, people, it's just a little - in general I'm pretty low maintenance. Right, hon? RIGHT?) Thank you for all the hard work you've put into our house. And for putting the toilet seat AND lid down, right from the beginning. Let's work on the beard hairs all over the bathroom sink, though, shall we? Thank you for cooking me some fab meals. I miss you doing the grocery shopping, though. I hate going to the grocery store. ::SAP ALERT:: To sum up, (and to wrap up, so as to not bore the masses) thanks for being the sort of husband I need to traverse the Fire Swamp. You're too good to me.

Love yer body, Larry.

Google Referred - AT LAST!

2006-08-23T11:40:00.000-07:00

WOOHOO!! I'm disproportionately excited that I have finally had a Goggle Referral! AND... I'm the second site listed! I made a top ten! How many more exclamation points can I use before it becomes annoying?!? Oh. Too late.

Check me out, peeps:

p.s. I know the picture is hard to read, but any bigger and it drops my sidebar. You can better believe that now that I've (sorta) figured out how to change my background, my next goal is to figure out how to make the main area bigger.

Dear Old Golden Rule Daze

2006-08-22T13:15:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year again. The time of year when I begin to dread the coming of the morn. I trudge to bed in the knowledge that with the dawn comes much gnashing of teeth. Threats. Shouting. Recriminations. Crying (mostly mine).

I birthed a night owl which means that my nights are framed by the struggle to get The Girl to GO TO BED, ALREADY and then GET UP, ALREADY. Yesterday was the first day of school and she amazed us by getting up rAHEally early. This resulted in a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. You can see where this is going? Yup. Up late last night. As I was already resigned to the fact that she would get out of bed a thousand times for various reasons (mostly to torment me and whiiiiiine), I relented and we vegged in my room and bonded over a couple episodes of Invader Zim. This morning could have been worse. It could have been better, but it could have been worse. I didn't have to poke the snarling, bad-tempered little tiger with a stick. But don't think I won't if it comes right down to it. Because I have, and I'm not afraid to do it again.

Personality Test Monday #3 - You Know You Love It.

2006-08-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

You know the drill: take the test, put your results in the comments. Cuz it's all about you. Uh. Yeah.
I must say this one is pretty spot on for me. I totally talk to myself when I'm upset. And music? Must have it.

You Communicate With Your Ears

You love conversations, both as a listener and a talker.
What people say is important to you, and you're often most affected by words, not actions.
You love to hear complements from others. And when you're upset, you often talk to yourself.
Music is very important to you. It's difficult to find you without your iPod.

How Do You Communicate?

Photobooth Friday #8 - The Ocho!

2006-08-18T12:33:00.000-07:00

click on pic to see larger size

We're a little more feminine this week, my darlings. A beauty from St. Louie. I think my favorite is the first photo - I adore that jacket and hat!

Photobooth Peeps:
LeSophie
hula seventy
my kid

The Why of "Velvet Vox"

2006-08-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

Katherine (btw, I'm realizing that all the people on my 'roll are, like, attractive) asked me earlier how I came up with the name of my blawg. Firstly, to clarify - the only place I sing is in my car. What I am good at is speaking. I'd always wanted to be an actor, but life happens and I was inside sales/customer service for a wholesale building supply company for 16 years. I honed my phone voice into a velvety customer service machine. Actually, I was mistaken for a machine at least once a day. It usually went like this:

Me: Thank you for calling @#$%& Building Products. How may I help...BEEPBEEPBEEP

Me: Uh. Hellooooo?

Them: What? Hello? Oh. Sorry. I thought you were an automated voice!

So, I used my feminine wiles and velvet vox to sell plywood and particleboard and lumber to sweaty guys who probably needed to shave. They ate it up. They all cried when I left. And my office closed. Before I left, our LA office asked me to do the messages on their automated system, so my old customer still get to hear me say the magic words: "Thank you for calling @#$%& Building Products." I am a legend. LOL

Long story short: Thought I might be able to make money with my speaking voice. Took a couple classes. Years passed. Finally did a demo. Quit my job. (Between 45 mile round trip commute in some of the areas worst traffic and losing the ability to deal with irritating people - I was one angry, unhappy girl.) Now, theoretically, I'm supposed to be pursuing a career in voice-over. At some point I decided that "Velvet Vox" was a nice little tagline/marketing gimmick.

You can hear the one audio post I've done so far here, if you haven't already. And as soon as I can remember my logon for the site I used to host it, I'll upload a track from my actual demo.

The end.

A Brief Photo Intermission

2006-08-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

First, I would just like to say, completely apropos of nothing except that it happened the instant I started this post, a Model-T just drove down our (very quiet, hidden) street and it had a For Sale sign on it. I waaaant it. ::sniff::

Anywho, to tide j'all over until I post actual words, I present to you My Spawn. I call this one "All Up In Her Grill". What? Oh please. No frontin' - you know when you were a kid you took foil and made a "grill". Us middle class bored kids totally did it waaaaay before them rappahs. ::ahem::

p.s. Don't let that adorable "aren't I so cute?" smile fool you. (I say that for her benefit - to protect her street cred.)

Wordless Wednesday #2

2006-08-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

Personality Test Monday #2

2006-08-14T21:21:00.000-07:00

I'm such a dope. I completely forgot that it is Personality Test Monday!

Ready for it? Here we go.....Don't forget - take the test, post your results in the comments!

You Are Best Described By...

Eye
By M.C. Escher

What Famous Work of Art Are You?

Photobooth Friday #7 - at last!

2006-08-11T12:14:00.000-07:00

(click on pic to see a larger version)

I have several strips of this sort, thanks to my obsessive haunting of eBay for vintage photos. I should have posted this in July, since on the back is written: July 1918. That would explain the flag. I like the pose with that new fangled contraption, the telephone. Her hairbows and what I'll bet is a gorgeous white lace dress bring to mind Anne of Green Gables and The Secret Garden. Just think, a couple of years after these oh-so innocent pictures, this girl probably bobbed her hair, rolled down her stockings and was doing the Charleston on top of tables while trying not to spill her martini. My, but they do grow up fast.

Go check out these Photobooth Friday goddesses (and stay to read their lovely blawgs):
hulaseventy
LeSophie

Wordless Wednesday

2006-08-09T10:50:00.000-07:00

Tagged!

2006-08-08T15:15:00.000-07:00

I have been tagged for a Book Meme by Archshrk. This I can handle, it being about books and all. (And, yeah, I'm lame and didn't go back to that Thursday Thirteen to put in all those other links.)(Totally unnecessary aside: I was going to just post pictures of the book covers, but apparently Blogger ::coughFREEcough:: has limits. So, links it is! Links that will, btw, open a new window, thus allowing you to peruse whilst still reading.)I would like to preface this by saying that it pains me physically to have to choose one for most of the categories. Hello, bookfreak!

1. One book that changed your life:
A Toad for Tuesday by Russell E. Erickson
I know, yer all "Wha?" Explanation: The year, 1977. The book, the first I ever owned. It. was. MINE. My memory is of getting to read one chapter a day. Oh the delicious anticipation. Plus, it is a story about anticipation, of a scary sort. This book was the start of my addiction. Sure I have a library card. But it's not quite the same.

2. One book you've read more than once:
Ok, I'm copping out a little on this one - every book on this list, with the exception of #7.

3. One book you'd want on a deserted island:
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Yeah, yeah, it's several books. It's my meme and I'll cheat if I want to. (Everybody, sing it with me!) I just have to say, I can't wait to meet this man.

4. One book that made you laugh:
The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett.
What? You made me pick one.

5. One book that made you cry:
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Neffenegger
I'm pretty sure I cried harder the second time I read this, because I knew what was coming.

6. One book that you wish had been written:
A book with specifically detailed instructions on how to perfectly parent a tween/teen. With a guarantee to pay for therapy for the parents and child involved if it doesn't work.

7. One book that you wish had never been written:
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
List this under "books you wish you'd never bought". I like to read classics. Henry Miller - he's supposed to be some Iconic American Writer, right? I could not finish it. What a complete load of...er...codswallop. Synonyms of the word "loathe" would describe my feelings in regard to this book. (I'm not a big fan of Ernest Hemingway, either. Surprise, surprise.)

8. One book you're currently reading:
Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey
Doing my Thursday Thirteen the other day brought this series to mind, so I decided to revisit. A little sci-fi/fantasy reading to help with the ignoring of real life. I wanna dragon I can mindspeak. A tiny one will do. ::pout::

9. One book you've been meaning to read:
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
No, really. I even bought it. Does this make up for my bourgeois dislike of Henry Miller?

I'm supposed to tag five people, but I only know of one who probably won't want to brain me with her keyboard, so get to it Bobealia. And if any of you want to do it, please let me know and I'll add a link to your post on this post!

Personality Test Monday #1

2006-08-07T20:53:00.000-07:00

I'm stoked. I have found an excellent way to shirk my posting duties. Sort of. Plus I love doing these little personality tests. Don't you? Of course you do. Don't lie.

You Are Austin

A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll.
You're totally weird and very proud of it.
Artistic and freaky, you still seem to fit in... in your own strange way.

Famous Austin residents: Lance Armstrong, Sandra Bullock, Andy Roddick

What American City Are You?

See? Proof that I am odd. Although I prefer "quirky", thank you very much. Austin, huh? Who woulda thunk it?

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Take the test and let me know the results! (Holy meat by-products - a way to post AND get comments. I. am. devious.)

p.s. My spawn has a blog, too and she's been haranguing me to mention it. What happened to the sweet-natured, blond curly-haired baby I used to rock to sleep? This: Hey Look It's a Girl Playing Baseball

Tonsillectomygate '06

2006-08-03T15:09:00.000-07:00

First, I would like to lodge a formal complaint. I thought that you weren't supposed to be able to talk after getting your tonsils ripped out by the roots? Turns out that this is a hope-raising LIE. And Tylenol with Codeine? Not an attitude adjuster, also as hoped. I'm just sayin'.

Ok, so all went well. Thanks to the wonders of modern medicine, the actual procedure took about 20 minutes. She was out of recovery in about 2 hours. A big change from yesteryear when you stayed in hospital at least overnight. (Not that I know, personally. I still have mine. Makes me feel kinda special.) Everyone at Children's Hospital was great, except some dumb broad in billing. I soon had her straightened out. The anesthesia made The Girl nauseous most of the first day, but that passed. Yesterday and today she's been talking less, but still ornery. She thinks that I'm pushing her to drink more liquids only as a part of my diabolical plan to drive her insane. I can't seem to convince her that I've put that plan on hold for now and that her insistence on continuing the Tween Crappy Attitude and Refusal To Co-operate Just Because is making me slightly frantic with the aforementioned pushing of the aforementioned liquids.

That's the fascinating update. I'm going to take advantage of the blissfully overcast, cool weather here (70 degrees, people. In August. It is, indeed, a miracle.) and do something creative. After shoveling off the kay-rap that is covering my work area. Meh.

Now to go and push liquids. You know, because I am mean and cruel and moronic. Like all mothers of tweens.

For Bo (Updated with Picture, No Thanks to Blogger)

2006-07-31T11:27:00.000-07:00

Oh, this is funny. I can't even think of a good opening line. It's a good thing I'm not doing this for a living, eh? So, Bo has been hammering me because I've been a Very Bad Blogger and haven't posted since the Dawn of Time. ::Appropriate Look of Contrition:: Sawwy, honey. Does this mean I can count you as my first groupie? (insert appropriate ASCII winking face here) Really, I've just had Writer's Block and Performance Anxiety. (Ya know, the British have something with the Capitalization of Certain Important Words in a sentence. I heart it.) Firstly, I am just not my best during the very long SoCal summer months (it can last through October down here.) Heat and sweating make me irritable. Add to that the universal worries about blithely hurling a third of our income back into the face of corporate America, dealing with the vagarities of the Tween mind, wallowing in the guilt of an ineffectual housekeeper and failed birthday card sender, and various and sundry petty little distresses (petty because, hello, I've got it so good compared to the majority of the world)and you've got the longest run-on pity party known to the literary world. Yeah. So. Hey, it gave me something to write!

(insert Clever Segue here)

My fabulous best friend from high school, Mandy, took time out of her busy schedule (2 adorable, very active boys!!) to find and scan some pictures of us/me from high school. The picture above (Ed. note: or, more accurately, the picture that will appear above whence Blogger decides to cooperate. Please check back later.) perfectly illustrates that I am a geek and always have been slightly goofy. This is probably why I didn't date much. Mandy called this one "Teri and the Cool Guys". Notice who is smiling in a most uncool manner. I am, I think, looking very good in my Banana Republic shirt and Levis, though. Too bad I couldn't scowl.

In other news, The Girl is getting her tonsils out tomorrow, poor kid. But since this will require copious amounts of ice cream therapy, she's not too worried anymore. Bonus for me: I get a couple of days of no talking back. I will only have to endure the eye-daggers.

So, dear readers (and Bo!), I will bring this long awaited post to a close.

Live Long and Prosper.

Thursday Thirteen #1

2006-07-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

Thirteen books and/or authors that I read over and over again.

I am a voracious reader. My mother read us the entire Little House on the Prairie series when I was 5 or 6. I still have the first book that was my very own. (The name escapes me, but when I find it I'll post it because it is a fabulous book.) I have spent many a happy hour immersed in times and lands and galaxies far, far away.

1. C.S. Lewis - The Chronicles of Narnia I was given this series when I was 9, and have read it all at least 30 times. Yeah, I love it.

2. Terry Pratchett - Mainly his Discworld Series I have always loved sly, subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) British humor. This guy is a master. I could gush on and on and on. But I've got a time crunch here, so I won't. But really. He's the best.

3. Patricia A. McKillip - You'll see a fantasy/Sci-Fi trend here. I get lost in the worlds this woman creates, they are so vivid. If I had to choose, my two favorites would be Winter Rose and Ombria in Shadow. But don't make me pick.

4. Joan D. Vinge - The Snow Queen Obviously story is the most important aspect of a book, but atmosphere is a big reason why I'll read one more than once. The world in this book relies heavily on the sea, which I love.

5. Tad Williams - I recommend Tailchaser's Song and the Otherland series.

6. The Time Traveler's Wife - I've read this twice, so far, and I cried harder the second time. To call it an achingly poignant love story wouldn't do it justice. Warning: it has some rated R moments.

(Intermission: I have to be somewhere at 2pm, so for now I'm not going to link the rest. I might come back later to do it.)

7. Ray Bradbury - particularly Dandelion Wine, The Illustrated Man and The Martian Chronicles. The man is a master.

8. James Herriot - All Creatures Great and Small and the others that came after. Another series that colored my childhood and completed my transformation into a rather young anglophile.

9. Guy Gavriel Kay - All his books, but especially Tigana. In fact, I'm going to start it again today.

10. Anne McCaffrey - The Dragonrider Series My freshman Honors English teacher introduced me to some fine fantasy/Science Fiction and this series is one of the best.

11. Soul String by Midori Snyder - When I was younger my dad worked for a newspaper and would come home with boxes full of the review books. This was in one of those boxes and I think I've read it at least 5 times. Atmosphere + Story = Multiple Read!

12. Ellen Gilchrist - She writes about the sometimes wretchedness of humans and the human condition with compassion and a certain gold tinged nostalgia.

13. Vladimir Nabokov - especially Ada or Ardor, Pale Fire and Lolita. This man was the reigning master of luminous prose.

Well, there you have it. This time I went the "deep insights into my soul" route. If I do it again, I'll try to go for the funny. ;)

(whoops - forgot to say: This autolink is for Thursay Thirteens, this time)

And muchas gracias to Kelly of Diary of the Nello and Nello Design for the lovely free banner!!

The Preamble To My Thursday Thirteen

2006-07-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

Bobealia over at The Cat's Me'Ass and I have been promising to tag each other with a meme, if one of us gets tagged by someone else. (Nice awkward sentence, there.) Well, Bo decided to take the bull by the horns and has commanded me to do a Thursday Thirteen. Mine would have been up sooner, but you all know about my case of fatal procrastination. And (The Spouse will be so thrilled to hear this), I inadvertently slept in today. Admittedly I was up until 1am. Then the she-devil cats woke me up at 5:30am. I could not get back to sleep. Did I fire up the computer and do my Thursday Thirteen? Nooooo, of course not. I laid in bed watching what passes for music videos these days. I got a little sleepy, so I said to myself "Self, why don't you close your eyes for a bit and then get up at 8?" Try 10. Oops.

While you wait for me to get my act together go check out Bo's Thursday Thirteen, cuz it is totally hilarious.

Out Of Left Field

2006-07-16T17:23:00.000-07:00

Holy cow, I can't believe it's been almost 10 days since I last posted. It's the whole superconductivity thing, as I have already explained. Ok, so anyway, today is just gonna be lightnin' fast. I was over at Amethyst Grove (girlfriend doesn't even know I lurk over there, but she's makes the cutest aprons and is into vintage stuff, therefore, I am a lurkiloo)and she posted about a website with the cutest, sassiest, mostest gorgeous tableware. EVER. I'm so weirdly excited. An insight into me: here are some of the things that make my materialistic little heart sing.

The One In Which I Whine. But Only a Teeny Bit.

2006-07-07T23:24:00.000-07:00

I am positive that higher temperatures slow down my thought processi. And the pooky part is that it isn't even August. Gah. So that's my excuse for the lack of posting. The superconductive fluid in my cranial cavity needs cool temperatures to insure that my brain function is what it should be. (And a shout out to anyone who reads Terry Pratchett's Discworld series and gets the reference.) On top of that, I think I inhaled killer mold spores while cleaning (finally!!) out my closet. This has made my froat hurt. ::sniff:: And today, the sneezing. For the love of all that is holy - THE. SNEEZING. ::sob::

As an interesting side note: I Image Googled "fainting" and, seriously, 95% of the pictures were of Tennessee Fainting Goats. Step away from the breeding of freak, mutant fainting goats, people. For all our sakes.

Happy 4th O' July

2006-07-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

National Archives - "The Charters of Freedom"

Brief Apology

2006-06-29T23:52:00.000-07:00

I would like to take a moment to apologize for any inconvenience or mental anguish that turning on word verification may have cause you, my beloved cyber-pals. I realize that sometimes they seem unnecessarily long. And I think several have been subtly naughty. Unfortunately, it had to be done. I got whammied with 65 spam comments. Imagine the thrill I received thinking I'd gotten a ginormous influx of comments. And then my little comment greedy heart was crushed. Crushed, I tell you.

I've been meaning to address the situation for sometime now, but was spurred on today by a really complex jumble. It rejected my first attempt. On my own blog.

Ooo. I narrowly avoided turning this into a rant about respect, and how word verification wasn't givin' a girl any.

Apology turned possible rant over.

Random 2am Thoughts

2006-06-28T02:06:00.000-07:00

Man, Fudgsicles are good at 2 o'clock in the morning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is a snake in a baggie in my freezer. Child, Daddy says to bury it in the front yard underneath the liquid ambers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear BlogMad,

I did not click on the wrong number. No. I. Did. NOT.

Sincerely,
Teri M.

p.s. Why is it that only the people with a zillion credits win the lottery? ::pout::
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Is there any way to find out if my little corner of the blogsphere has been ferreted out by Google searches, without having to pay extree? Update: Thanks Will and Threecollie - I've got SiteMeter, but I thought that the keyword thing was only part of the paid package. So, darn. I'm not getting Googled. Uh, I mean, yay - er, no awkward keyword searches are finding me.

Who Cut The...

2006-06-28T00:38:00.000-07:00

I should be sleeping. I want to be sleeping. For one thing, I can ignore the heat when I sleep. And for another, the furbabies wake me up at 5am every morning. I should be sleeping.

But no. And The Girl is to blame. Hear me, child? I blame YOU, ungrateful non-sleepy spawn.

When the Bread Winner is out, um, winning bread (and working with people like Sandra Day O'Connor and Green Day) (~~name dropping? not me!~~), the aforementioned girl usually sleeps in the CalKing with her adoring mother. Ever tried to get a 12 year old on summer vacation, who slept until 10am, to ~~SHUT UP~~ be quiet and go to sleeeeeep? Precious quote for the day(middle of the night)? "Hey, my butt is, like, farting in time release!" And then a 30 minute continuation and exploration of the phenomenon that is time release farting. I will admit that if you'd been walking past my window 15 minutes into the apparent scientific research, you would have heard my semi-hysterical giggling and the shaking of my bowl full of jelly.

So, now I'm wide awake.

Sigh.

I want to know YOUR results

2006-06-24T14:19:00.000-07:00

You Are 40% Weird

Normal enough to know that you're weird...
But too damn weird to do anything about it!

How Weird Are You?

Is it weird to be a little disappointed that I'm not weirder?

Take the quiz and let me know YOUR results.

p.s. Yeah, I know, I haven't change the picture yet. I'm shy. And pudgy. Whatev.

Get Me To The Fair On Time

2006-06-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

Will be at the county fair today. My sunburn and I will be back late tonight to address whatever comments I didn't yesterday. (Fine, fine I'll change the picture, MamaP! lol)

Greys

2006-06-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

I was going to post pictures of my transformation from J-Lo-esque greys, but then I saw the aforementioned photos (which I can not help but pronounce in my head "fo-toes") and changed my mind. Apparently the greys were much more obvious in my ~~mind~~mirrors. Plus I became scalp shy.

Now I need a haircut. I have yet to find a salon that cuts my hair the way I ask. It's as if I suddenly start speaking Klingon once I'm asked the question,"So, what are you looking for today?"

And I usually end up looking to see if that's a real cosmetology license stuck on their station or if is says "correspondence course" anywhere on it.

It was really all about me.

2006-06-21T15:54:00.000-07:00

RE: J-Lo 'n Me

It was really meant to illustrate that I looked very closely (in two or three mirrors, in the full sun) and realized that my roots was showin'. I have since rectified the situation. Whence I have pics I shall post them.

I know you'll be waiting on pins and needles.

J-Lo 'n Me

2006-06-20T11:23:00.000-07:00

This is how we roll.

The Scarlet S. And L. And P

2006-06-17T16:52:00.000-07:00

Confession time. Bless me Internet for I have sinned...

Here it is: I am not earning my $134,121 a year. No where near it. And I have art to prove it.

I am here to be ~~branded~~presented with my Scarlet S. And L. And P. What, pray tell, do these initials stand for, you ask? Slob. Lazy. Procrastinator. Or to put it in a more grammatically pleasing form: Lazy Procrastinating Slob. I'm so lazy that as I sit here, I am losing the will to type.

This can wait until morning. I'm going to bed.

*********************************************
Ok, so I didn't go to bed. But you knew that , didn't you? You knew that I stayed on the computer feeding the Obsessively Reading Blog Monster until almost 2am. Why? Because I am a champion Procrastinator. World class, baby. If this were an Olympic event, I couldn't compete, because I am a Professional.

Now, I get a pass on the dining room for the moment, because it is being used as a living room and storage for our currently gutted living room. Of course, that doesn't excuse the dust bunnies. Oh wait, yes it does. Does, too. Afterall, construction dust gets everywhere. He hasn't worked on it in a couple of weeks you say? Shaddup, buster, I say. And I keep the mess in two of the more important rooms down to a dull roar. Usually. These are the two rooms that are most likely to be seen by unexpected company, The Kitchen and the front bathroom. So, I've got that going for me.

This is becoming unconscionably wordy. Even my interest is waning. Oh, wait... that would probably be the laziness kicking in.

So. Let's get down to the nitty gritty. The scenes of my crime. Frankly, I can not bring myself to show you the worst of it. It's too painful. It's too horrific. It's the state of my bedroom. I hang my head in shame. Shame. Remember Jody Foster's room in the original Freaky Friday? Minus any gross old pizza boxes or moldy dishes. I do have some standards. As far as you know. Instead of showing you the train wreck of clothes and boxes and goodness knows what that is the hovel in which I sleep, I'll treat you to the train wreck of paper and art supplies and boxes and goodness knows what that is The Computer Room. It is more multi-purpose than that, but I'm way too lazy for the whole hyphenate thang.

(Deep Breath)(check the notes - I'm addicted to flickr notes!) Here goes:
Mortification
Wasted Space
The Great Distractor
Not All MY Fault
Ok, THIS Is Pretty Much All My Fault

It is my hope that now that I've confessed, I shall go and sin no more. I am a stay at home mom - what else do I have to do?? It's what I get paid for. (Hee, if you don't actually say it you know you think it, huh, Andrea?) Maybe the public can shame me in to action. It's time I started pulling my weight around here.

I'm going to go lie down.

Tomorrow came and I wasn't ready

2006-06-16T22:23:00.000-07:00

Due to personality traits that, even at 36, I have yet to outgrow, the promised baring of my soul post will not be, erm, posted. You have my assurance that I am working on it as I type. (Ok, well, not as I type right this second because I'm typing this. But you get my meaning.) In the meantime go here and buy this. It does, indeed, smell like bliss.

Where I Reveal How Windows Inept I Can Be. But Also Dazzle You With My Eclectic Musical Taste.

2006-06-15T16:33:00.000-07:00

And that was my entry for Longest. Title. Ever.

The ineptitude part? I tried to make a screen shot of my very first iTunes iMix. To no avail, as I'm sure you've guessed, what with the lack of picture and all. Anyway, while you wait in anticipation for tomorrow's big airing of my ::ahem:: dirty laundry, (and if you have iTunes. Sorry to those who don't. I don't know what to tell you) please check out my iMix!

Velvet Vox's Music to Create Art By

Yup. Exciting stuff. And just so's you know: I look at ya'lls Flickr in slideshow format while listening to #44. I can't hear that song enough. And I sit in my office and sing #43 over and over again. I'm a chronic song repeater.

Am I the only one addicted to other people's Flickr? Should I have maybe kept that to myself?

Will someone tell Blogger's spellcheck that "ineptitude" is a word.

Is so.

Can too much Earl Grey make your head explode?

2006-06-12T11:47:00.000-07:00

Holy cow! I've got to get a move on, but I can't seem to stop commenting on everyone's blogs. And they're all chatty and what-not. Must be the ginormous mug of Earl Grey I consumed earlier. Two bags with to packets of Splenda. Two pieces of toast apparently weren't enough to counteract the caffeine.

So, if you see comments and yer like "HUH?", please pardon my caffeine fueled spazziness.

Oh, and to the person from India that is looking at my blog right now? Comment! I love me the comments. Hopefully I will be visiting your country with my spouse next year. (Not to brag or anything. I'm just mentioning it casually.)

Now. Shower. Costco. Chaperone the Band and Orchestra Pool Party for H. (ohjoy) and then H. has a baseball game. MUST GET OFF COMPUTER.

Ok. No time for Costco. Deeeep breath...and maybe a snack.

Spaz, out.

Diamonds (And Rubies) Are A Girl's Best Friend

2006-06-11T21:42:00.000-07:00

Well, Mr. Perfect Gift did it again. Last night we had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Jack & Guilio's. It was the place he took me for our first date way back in 1987. After a delicious dinner and some lovely wine, he set a black velvet box on the table in front of me. In it was the ring he had given me 18 years ago. About 10 or 11 years ago one of the rubies fell out, so I took it off and put it in a safe place. It's so called "disappearance" caused one of the few real fights we've had. He accused me of not knowing where it was. I went and got it and it's possible that I threw it at him. I'm just saying it's possible. I did throw a fork at him once. Ask him - he loves to tell that story. I wouldn't have actually tried to hit him with it. As far as you know. And in my defense, I threw it at the door he was closing behind him. Uh. Ok. Back to the ring. Apparently he had it in his desk at work until recently. As you can see, now it has two gorgeous new stones. Oooo, preeeety. Shiiiiny.

And then, because I guess he didn't think that was enough, he presented me with another black velvet box. In it? A diamond encrusted wedding band designed to nestle ever so snuggly against my ruby ring. This is a man who listens sometimes when I talk. He heard when I ~~whined~~mentioned that I'd never really liked my fat wedding band. (It was on sale. We're were broke. However, it is the original one that he slipped on my finger at the alter. I did not loose mine in Puerto Rico while working. Ahem.) What does he like about the ring, you ask? When I'm not wearing the ruby ring, the band looks like a ZZ Top ring. He actually said that. Such a romantic.

So. Yeah. There were tears. My specs fogged. And then there was free chocolate mousse. With candles, which of course I used to show off my new sparklies. All in all, an excellent evening.

(Bonus: Because the ring pic turned out so crappy, I get to buy a macro lens for my camera. Huzzah!)

Photobooth Friday #6

2006-06-09T16:18:00.000-07:00

Check me with the creative titles.

What? Hello? Guess whooooo?? I know, I know - you thought I'd dropped off the face of the earth. Truth is, for the life of me, anything I started to write didn't sound, um, right. Plus I've been reading all these other fantastically insightful, witty and interesting blogs and I felt, frankly, substandard. ::sniff::

I've been mulling over whether or not I should share with you, my dear Internet friends, my deepest, darkest, dirtiest secret. But I worry - will you still love me or will you turn from me in horror and pin a large, scarlet letter on my URL? Will Alison at Brocante Home revoke my Vintage Housekeeper membership? Oops. I think I might have just let the mangy cat out of the greasy, crumpled bag.

Looking back over these short paragraphs, I'm also worried that I might have used up my quota of commas for this month.

Well, while I wrestle with my demons, enjoy my stretching of the definition of photobooth. This fab pic is one of my recent eBay finds. One for which I paid promptly - as I always do. And one which took a month to get to me. I am now sufficiently wary of dealing with newbie eBay sellers. I was hurt, people, and it's been hard for me to move on.

ALSO, I almost forgot - I finally get my birthday present from D., this weekend. Apparently it is mind blowingly good. Like, custom made, even. Stay tuned!

Other Photobooth Friday Fun:

LeSophie
hulaseventy (June 2)
hulaseventy (today)

p.s. Whoever is outside tunelessy whistling? Stop. Stop. With. The. Whistling.

p.p.s. Forgot to say: "June 1949" is written on the back of this classic piece of vacation Americana.

Teri, The Early Years.

2006-05-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday. In honor of this momentous occasion I decided to treat you to a pictorial trip through my childhood. It is by no means a complete chronicle, because I didn't want to overwhelm you. And I wouldn't want to be responsible for the bleeding from the eyes that could result from the excessive viewing of the incredible cuteness that was me as a child.

Also, this gives you an opportunity to learn a little more about me. Awesome, huh?

First I would just like to say that I love my birthday. And I don't mean because of the city-wide celebrations or the amazing gifts that come from all the corners of the world. For you to begin to understand, you must know something about me that colors my world in subtle and, at times, not so subtle ways. I am adopted. Or as we like to call ourselves: a Chosen One. Ok, well, I kid about the captial letters, but you see my point. Someone got to say,"We'll take that one." Everytime my birthday comes around, I am reminded of how blessed I am to even be here. If I'd been born 15 years later, or even 10, I doubt that I would have been so fortunate. Coherent sentences fail me at this point. I can't pretend to know the grief, strife and shame that would have been dumped onto a pregnant 15 year old girl at that time. I can only be eternally grateful for being given the chance to grow up in a home filled with love and to go on to have a family and home of my own. I'm sure my husband and daughter are grateful, as well.

Ok. So, the emotional part of this post is over. On with the fun!

As a side note, my daughter came home from the hospital with the exact same kind of blanket that I did. Weird. Of course, she was born at the world famous Mary Birch Hospital for Women and I was born down the street at the Booth Memorial Hospital for Unwed Mothers. Yep. I like pullin' that one out when someone asks me where I was born.

Yeah, that first picture isn't me at my most attractive. I was much better dressed when they brought me home, but looking slightly peeved. I mean really? It's in my contract that you must hold and love and kiss me at all times!

Aaaaah. Much better.

Jump ahead to 1975! I was always a stylish child.

Jump again (work with me people, I'm sparing you a couple of awkward, pudgy years) to the beginning of a new decade. 1980! I like to call this "Happy Mona Lisa."

My, what a difference two years makes. (Just FYI, it was 50's Day at my Jr. High and this was as close as I could get.)

The next year was my attempt to rock some feathered bangs, a tuxedo shirt and a bowtie. I loved that outfit. I had very classy gray pinstripe pants to go with it. Must have been my Annie Hall phase.

I'm bummed because I don't have a copy of my Freshman year picture. I had cute hair. And the photographer complimented my legs. Perv.

Marching on toward Sophmore year. 1985! I want these eyebrows back. And, hello??? Did you see that perfect hair? The bangs had just the right height. You can see how happy I was about it.

Nothin' for Junior year - I'm really gonna hafta dig out my yearbooks. But, let's press on...

Senior year. I'd had my first date with my future husband on December 4, 1987. I'm a girl, that's why I remember things like that. Plus it was a great date. Fancy Italian Restaurant in Pacific Beach (cool, beach area - duh) and a movie - Princess Bride. It was nice to find out that we were similarly twisted in our humor. On a side note, we are going to that same restaurant for my birthday tonight. It's moved and is a little more casual, but yum. YUM. Sorry, I digress. Now, without further ado, the much worn senior picture.

Now, I've saved the best for last. The highly talented Jess Riley was brave enough to blog her fashion, um, er, uh, sense of the '90's to the world and I salute her courage. I now humbly submit my own rockin' style, circa 1988.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

This was inspired by the amazingly beautiful Lena over at Cheeky Lotus. Check it out, cuz she did it way better. (Nooobody does it beeeeter... makes me feel sad for the reeeeest... Nobody does it HALF as gooood as yoooou... baby you're the best! --- That's goin' out to all my blawggin' homegirls.)

And if you want to see the pictures all together (and who wouldn't??) go view as slideshow here.

Photobooth Friday - Installment #5

2006-05-26T07:11:00.000-07:00

Yay me - I found another one! And you can actually see my face. That's me on the right posing with my cousin, Karen. It's dated 01/31/87 and I have zero memory of where we were (probably shopping). I assume Karen is still alive, but she won't call me back. CALL ME BACK, WOMAN. Gr. Heh - aren't I fierce?

So. That's me at 16.

Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end, we sing and dance forever and a day... we'd dodeedodeesomething, we'd fight and neeeever lose... those were the days - oh yes, those were the days!

What? I love that song.

Other Photobooth Fridays:
LeSophie -She's got a lovely post!
hulaseventy Photobooth Friday Mama Extraordinaire

You'll Laugh, You'll Cry, You'll Get Your Groove On

2006-05-25T10:38:00.000-07:00

This man? This man is a genius. Genius.

Caveat

2006-05-23T22:35:00.000-07:00

I had actually shut down my computer, taken off my make-up and gotten into something a little more comfortable when I suddenly had a thought. (Oooh, so that's what that burning smell is, you say.)

Blondes, please do not be offended that I mentioned that the two devil girls were blonde. I have no idea why I provided that little, inconsequential detail. My own Monster is blonde and the only person she is annoying right now is me. GO TO BED. NO, YOU MAY NOT READ MY POST UNTIL TOMORROW. UH, HELLO - IT'S 10:30 - GO. TO. BED. BED! GO! NOW!

So. I am in no way, shape or form insinuating that blonde children are more annoying than non-blondes.

Alright. I've said my peace. Piece?

G'night! GO. TO. BEEEEEEEED!!!!!!!!

Ranting. Raving. Oh yeah, I'm harsh.

2006-05-23T22:06:00.000-07:00

So, this afternoon my mind starting going a thousand miles a minute - all about posting ideas. Unfortunately, I had to go do snackbar duty down at the Little League field. Have I mentioned that H. is playing baseball this year? Anywho, it has come to my attention that whenever I have something I have to do that I don't want to do, that's when I get all excited about something else. Like posting on my sadly neglected blog. Could these ideas have come to me this morning at 8:30am? Of course not. It's gotta be right before I have to leave. I'm already not really looking forward to this, because, pook, I gotta leave the house. And interact with people. Eh. And the whip cream (we haven't gotten to the cherry, yet) on top is that I could have avoided it. The team mom hadn't called me back about when I was scheduled to work. Not wanting to be seen as a deadbeat parent, I called her. Duh. And to skim over part of some of this increasingly boring story, one mom was late (but when she told me where she was commuting from, all was forgiven) and the other two didn't show. Had to call the team mom, who graciously came over, but with short, blonde, heely wearing spawn in tow. Uh, kid, get out of the way. And then the very annoying kid of one of the moms who didn't show came in to "help". POOK. People, we're busy here. The Little League watching public want their nachos and hot dogs. Stop getting in my way. Stop touching the money. Stop asking for free food. Get a personality, then call me. (wow. that was harsh.) If you couldn't tell by now, I guess I should confess that there are many other people's kids who make me nuts. I have no doubt that those of you who have kids and read my blog have, as much as possible, taught your offspring good public manners and actually pay attention to them and don't let them run wild and irritate me. I have faith in you. OH, another example: (Little League, again) (I must be boring you to death, but I've got to get this out of my head, where it is festering and taking on a life of it's own. And destroying the tenuous hold I have on my anger management issues.) Another little blonde girl. Being raised by grandparents - who let her completely ignore them - runs wild. WILD. And completely sasses her grandmother. But lets face it, this woman would be the first to get voted off the island. She "cheers" all the players on with helpful comments like: "Be a hitter" and "Throw it in his glove, honey!" in a voice that, as one of the other parents so aptly put it, makes you want to eat glass. She. Makes. Me. Want. To. Curse. Thank you Grandma Obvious. Now shut the h-e-double hockey sticks up. I think it. I don't say it. That would be rude. One of these days, though, my eyes will starting spinning like a slot machine and I'll make with the scary, possessed voice. (Let me know if you'd like to hear it - it'll give me an excuse to audio post. Cuz obviously my brain isn't churning out the witty repartee. Uh - can anyone tell me how to make the little accent marks over my more foreign words?)Maybe I should take up kickboxing or something, cuz I'm wound up tighter than a... um... uh... darn, I could really use one of those descriptive Southern phrases right now...

p.s. There is currently no accompanying picture (and you know I love posting pictures) because Blogger has chosen this moment to mess with me. Uh oh... there go the eyeeeessssssssss...

Mother's Day Meal Recap

2006-05-15T20:46:00.000-07:00

Not only does my man wield a mean nail gun, but he can cook, too. Sunday he did our kitchen proud. Spring greens with a citrus vinaigrette. Scallops baked in garlic, butter and 6 Italian cheeses. Julienne vegetable medley roasted with garlic and rosemary. And filet mignon, grilled over applewood, served on a bed of couscous, topped with a mushroom demi-glace/red wine reduction, garnished with parsley and a slice of shitake. He rocks. Ooooh yeah.