Last Friday, I told you about the water heater. Well, it didn't get fixed Saturday...or Sunday...but hopefully it did get done today! I've been showering at the gym, not fun, but the extra added benefit is I actually am working OUT at the gym as well. Took a broken hot water heater to motivate me, LOL. I haven't felt self-concious (well, at least not TOO) and as a result noticed that there are actually people my size there. Hell, I even got up this morning at 6 AM to go work out!

Anyway, Friday night I went over to Pat's with every intention of taking a shower, but she made dinner, pasta & meatballs, and some yummy sangria. We ate, plunked ourselves in front of the tv and then I went home LOL

Saturday, I did the Zombie thing, walked the dogs and other than working out, that's about it, I think.

Sunday I worked out and then drove to Marblehead with a coworker and her fiance to take pictures of them in various poses against various backgrounds for their engagement photo:

(obviously this isn't the one they'd choose, I just think it's cute!)

Then I met Michelle and the plan was to take down the pictures at Starbucks, then go eat a late lunch/early dinner. Only, lovely awesome friend that she is, she got to Starbucks before me and took almost all of them down so all I had to do was pack them up! She was hungry, that one :)

Got home, popped dinner in the oven for Dad, walked the dogs and fell asleep at 8:30...must've been that sea air!

Today when I got to work, there was a pretty gift bag on my desk, along with a card, from my coworker thanking me for taking the pictures. Inside the bag was two DVDs: Sleepy Hollow and Finding Neverland! She's feeding my Depp addiction :-)

Also today I got eight 8x10s printed and then framed them to hang at the Starbucks in Woburn. The manager wouldn't let us use nails, only S-shaped hooks that hooked onto the lip of the wooden piece of molding on the wall. He had 4 hooks; I had 9 pictures. This means I must now search for these S-shaped hooks so I can hang the rest of the pictures (as soon as possible, according to him, cause he can't.leave.the.walls.bare!). Sheesh...he's a bit high maintenance, but shhhhhh....

That's it! Jewelry class tonight, search for the S-hooks, do laundry, and watch 24. That's my plan!

How was your weekend?

Don't you wish you lived in a castle by the ocean

and had a car like this in your driveway?

Until recently, the top five most popular photos on my flickr account were:

1. shiba toes, 141 views (Wolf's feet)
2. je11, 111 views (Jules & her baby)
3. Awwww!, 103 views (a shiba puppy)
4. je15, 98 views (Jules & her baby, another view)
5. weeds, 95 views (a blurry picture of weeds that I was going to delete and which everyone else seems to really like)

That was until the Zombie March!

Here are the new top five:

Here is this week's photo...

What is it?

Just read my horoscope, and it couldn't be more true today!

Venus in your 10th House of Career can help you shine in your professional life now. Others are seeing you in a more favorable light, and even within your family and community, situations can change for the better. Although you may be eager to show off, this can also stir anxiety for you as you feel less than safe coming out of your shell [oh HELL yes]. Consider the alternatives, but don't waste precious energy worrying about it once you decide to step into the spotlight.

Today, I was asked to do a couple things I don't normally do at work, and was rewarded with three thank yous! That in itself is a miracle :) One of the things had the added bonus of making me laugh; what a joy to speak to someone with a sense of humor!

Also today, someone asked me to photograph their wedding in September. Luckily, it's not the same day as the other wedding I'm photographing in September; no Murphy's Law at work here.

I heard from two friends that I haven't talked to in awhile and kind of finalized plans for a trip this weekend.

I sold another picture, too (although, when she told me she wanted to buy it, I realized I hadn't cashed the check she gave me for the first one yet! Hmmm...where did I put it?!).

Now I'm on my way to buy a new lens from a guy I met in a camera store; he says he doesn't use this particular lens much anymore and he's selling it way, way belong list price.

Just so you don't think it's all good...I did crash a huge database at work today and corrupted it. Oops!

ooooh, Hurley's gonna be PISSED when he finds out Michael shot his chick!

Canon 50mm 1.8 EF

Wolf, trying to sleep

Max, doing the same

Holy jeez! What do you think? Wolf's a little dark, granted, but the sharpness! Look at his whiskers LOL! I LIKE it!

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Thirteen Things about foods Fondofsnape could never get sick of!

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

1. wheb you comment, you go here!

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("He" is a she; her name is Annabelle and she was reunited with her owner!)

This huge guy came running up to me this morning, or more accurately, came running up to Wolf while I was walking him. He was in the middle of the road when I saw him, and trailing a 20 ft leather lead. What could I do? I grabbed the lead, brought him to my house and tied him to a tree in the backyard. He had no license, so I called the dog officer and left a message there. Hopefully someone will claim him! He's a wicked sweet dog, knows sit and down. He's very skinny tho, and VERY big!

Seen at Smoochdog or technically, via an email from her, here I am as a South Park character:

This new South Park character needs a name...what to call her? Your thoughts?

My friend MaryEllen did one too, and as she doesn't have a blog, I thought I'd post hers here because I find it amusing:

(doesn't she look like she's trying to asphyxiate the kids behind her?)

So if you'd like to see your alter ego as a South Park character, click on this link.

Last week, I drove past a beautiful house in Marblehead. The garage was being painted by about 5 guys (it was a big garage, bigger than my house) and the name of the contractor? "Juan In A Million". Made me laugh and I'm bummed I didn't get a picture of it!

Today I was replying to an email when I noticed an interesting URL listed above it:

Betcha he's glad they found it, eh? Wonder if Lorena Bobbitt was in the picture...

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Have a great weekend :-)

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.
~Audrey Hepburn

I saw that quote yesterday over on Carl's blog; and I brought it up last night with my hairdresser. She said, it's all well and good, but you can't be in a relationship by yourself. True...but I still like the quote :-)

The weekend was great, even all the driving! The play was incredible and I'll talk more about it tomorrow; right now I'm going to play with Wolfie!

Here's some pictures to tide you over:

view from the bus on the way to Toronto

You know you're in Canada, or close to it, when you see Tim Horton's!

the tickets!!!

The sign outside the theater

More tomorrow!

The highlights

- ice cold Yuengling!
- Seeing Betsy, Griff & the kids and Kim (see where they rank? right after the beer!!!)
- Walking around Highland Park with Betsy, enjoying the scent of the lilacs (the park looked remarkably like our Arnold Arboretum; and in fact was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who technically only advised Charles Sargent Sprague with the Arboretum's design, but still, you could see similarities)
- the bus ride to Toronto (the Tour Director asked if there was anyone on the bus who knew the LOTR story well enough to explain it...HAHAHA! Betsy and I ended up going up front and giving a synopsis and took a few questions. No, I didn't show off the ring and hopefully, none of them noticed us getting into my car after we got back...the GOLLUM license plate would've been a bit embarrassing!)
- yummy chopped liver sandwich with chopped eggs & onions at a deli in Toronto!
- playing with the girls
- watching late night tv with Kim (she has the BEST laugh!) and enjoying a couple ice cold Yuenglings with hothot wasabi peas
- Popeye's chicken!
- Getting a case of Yuengling from Betsy in return for taking pictures of her girls

The lowlights

- Mo forgetting about the plans and having to cancel cause she was dog sitting :-(
- giving Kim the "read between the lines" gesture in front of the assistant pastor on the bus (the bus trip to see the play was arranged by the church Betsy attends...or used to attend LOL! Betsy thinks the assistant pastor didn't understand the gesture, one can only hope! I don't need any more black marks, thank you very much)
- having to listen to Honky Tonk Badonk (or some such weird title) on Kim's iPod...my ears are still bleeding!
- the price of gas! It was $3.07 at one place, the most I've ever paid for gas in my life (not counting Japan)
- Kim: "Snape? You think SNAPE is HOT??? You're joking, right?" No, Kim, I'm DEADLY serious ;-) (Betsy: "Who's Snape?" I see I'm going to have to expose her to all things HP, just as I did with all things LOTR. I see another addiction in the making.)

The weekend was built around about going to see the play, The Lord of the Rings, at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto on Saturday.

What a production! The stage design was spectacular; unfortunately no pictures were allowed and I didn't want to attempt it, lest my camera get confiscated. There were branches extending out from the stage all the way to the top balcony and before the play began, various "hobbits" were trying to catch "fireflies" that flitted here and there among the branches. The hobbits came down into the audience, climbing over vacant seats and the like...it ws funny! The costumes were fantastic, too, except for the orcs...not going into THAT!

Bearing in mind the length of the trilogy, and the fact that there were 3 movies made, at about 4 hours each (the extended version), creating a 3 hour play was not an easy thing. All in all, they did a great job. Eomer was cut, as was Faramir & Grima Wormtongue. All the hobbits were there, and Gollum (who got a standing ovation and most definitely deserved it), Gandalf (didn't care for the actor's portrayal at all, much too soft spoken and he spoke too fast, so he was very hard to understand), Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli (the lone American actor; had a great Scottish accent!), Elrond, Arwyn, Eowyn, Theoden, Sauruman, Sauron, the orcs, the Ents (including Treebeard and to hear him speak Entish was hysterical!) and the nazgul (on horseback!).

The songs weren't nearly as good as the score composed for the movies by Howard Shore, but again, they did a decently job with what they had.

For a dedicated LOTR fan, it was well worth the trip! Combined with the chance to take some photographs at Highland Park, seeing Betsy & Kim, playing with the girls and Yuengling!, it was a fantastic weekend.

little pink tree

pansy butterfly

one of these is not like the other!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

What does it mean when you see a coyote
in a very ritzy residential area, and a man crossing the street in Somerville wearing a maroon sweater and matching maroon skirt?

Well, of course, it means you're going to have a wondeful dinner at Henrietta's Table at the Charles Hotel in Harvard Square AND get to watch the last half hour of 24 (why, oh WHY couldn't Logan just pull.the.trigger???), carrying both your xxxdirty martini AND chocolate bread pudding with carmelized bananas and vanilla ice cream out of the restaurant and up to your friend's room! Oh, and seeing an authentic Joel Meyerowitz photo on the wall at the Charles was like the icing on the cake! His photographs are the most beautiful I've ever seen, and are probably what inspired me to use natural light.

Had a great time with my friend Art tonight; he lives on the west coast, and I rarely get to see him. In fact, this was only the second time, although we've known each other for more than 5 years.

He told me about sitting next to Liza Minelli recently on a flight home...she was telling him about her dad, Vincent Minelli and the movies he made. I was thinking...man...why couldn't he be sitting next to Johnny Depp, tho! Of course, I said that and of course, he laughed at me :-)

It was nice seeing you, Art!!! Come back soon, k?

I noticed these when I was leaving work yesterday; they're planted inside the building. I always thought calla lillies were white, so they really caught my eye!

What IS it?

Amy reminded me of this site, Unconcious Mutterings:

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Represent :: lawyer
2. Mumbling :: speak up!
3. Meetup :: blogger
4. Tantalizing :: Snape
5. Fake :: nails
6. Dale :: Dorman
7. Deny :: with all my might
8. Calories :: are too easy to consume too many of!
9. Roll :: with the punches
10. 44 :: was the year I first started feeling old [ish]

I was going through some of the pictures I took of my friend's children this past weekend, and thought I'd share this one with you:

The Flower

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Thirteen Things about fondofsnape's song memories

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Borrowed the idea from Carmen.

Wolf answers your most probing questions in this exclusive interview:

1. What's your favorite food? Cheese! In any way, shape or form. I'd kill Mommy for a piece of cheese! Well, not really...maybe just bite her really hard ;-)

2. What is your favorite toy? My disemboweled, destuffed squirrel, closely followed by my ball on a string. I love when Mommy throws that for me and I love to scare her by flipping over backwards trying to catch it, and landing on my back. Ouch!

3. What is your best trick? Mommy probably thinks it's my high five; but I think it's my ability to get Mommy to save me her last bite of food at meals!

4. What is your favorite human trick? I love when I do the shiba scream cause Mommy gets such a panicked look on her face! AHAHAHAHA!

5. What human rule do you break often? Oh, whatever ones I can get away with, to include not sitting when I'm told, not coming when I'm called and barking, LOUDLY, when I'm told to shush.

6. What do you wish your human knew about you? That I love her very much ;-)

7. What are you glad your human does NOT know about you? How often I lick my butt before I lick her face!!!

heh heh heh ;-)

If you've got a dog or cat and want to participate, tag away. Tell me all about it.

and the nine songs at 9 were:

Hollywood Waltz - The Eagles
Fame - David Bowie
Don't Call Us, We'll Call - Sugarloaf (wow, haven't heard this in a LONG time!!!)
Take The Money and Run - Steve Miller
50 Ways To Leave Your Lover - Paul Simon
She's The One - Bruce Springsteen
S.O.S. - AbbA
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
Crystal - Fleetwood Mac

and Charles' flashback: Marley Purt Drive - the Beegees (a rocker, not a disco tune)!

LOL I had a dream about Charles last night...we were in some beach house with a bunch of other people, and he was saying that he didn't like hip hop. I said, the old skool stuff was GREAT and handed him my iPod and put on Doug E Fresh's The Show for him. Then I woke up LOL!

Ok, so it took seven months for me to get to know her, but just as I start...she leaves! How unfair! Good luck to my crazy co-worker, Lisa, on her big move to Arizona. I'll miss her, but there's always email and I know she'll be reading the blog from time to time.

The moral of the story is don't let me take your engagement photos ;-)

Found at Random And Odd and it sounds like fun!

The challenge this week is to post pictures of 1) something you have 2 of; 2) something you wish you had 2 more of; and 3) “Two”.

Here goes:

Something you have two of:

Wolf and Max

Something you wish you had 2 more of:

Two more ham & cheese crepes from my favorite creperie in Paris would be nice!

"Two":

In honor of Mother's Day: mother and child.

What I Know About My Mother: Mom was born in Amish country in PA. When her mother and father divorced, she moved with her mom and 2 brothers to Brighton, MA. She loved singing and was a member of the choir at the Allston Congregational Church and then the First Congregational Church in the town I grew up in. When Dad wanted to buy the house "in the surburbs", Mom was worried there'd be nothing to do, having grown up a city girl. She needn't have worried...she was very involved in church and she worked, first for a lawyer in Boston, then at Bon Marche, a department store in downtown Lowell, then as a church secretary and finally as a secretary in the special needs department of the local high school.

In her younger days, she loved an ice cold gin & tonic; as she aged, she found a chardonnay would do the trick. Mom loved to talk and socialize; at the restaurants my parents frequented, they knew everyone's names. As she grew older and it became harder and harder for her to get out and about, she became a very avid reader. She'd always loved to read (that's where I got my love of reading from), but now that her world was so limited, she'd pick up a book and that bad things would melt away. She always gave her books away when she was done...to friends, the church or to the hospital, where she ended up spending so much time during her last year of life. Mom's other favorite beverage was coffee...black!

Although my Dad's mom didn't really accept her (no one was good enough for her Georgie LOL), the rest of Dad's small family did, and I have so many great memories of time spent on Cape Cod with them. Heck, she'd even agree to vacations spent camping, cause she knew we kids enjoyed it so much. Her idea of a good time did NOT involve sleeping in a tent! My parents also took us on vacation to where Mom grew up, Lancaster PA, and we'd have shoofly pie, big soft pretzels, lebanon bologna, scrapple and other delicacies of the area.

She made a big deal out of each holiday for my brother and me; new outfits at Easter, costumes at Halloween and big to dos at Thanksgiving & Christmas. Our family tradition was to make cookies, called "Sand Tarts" at Christmas. Mix the dough, roll it out and use cookie cutters to cut them into the shapes of christmas trees, bells, stars, santas, a scottie dog, a horse & a fish. All the cookies except the fish, after being brushed with melted butter, got colored sugar or sprinkles. The fish, always, got cinnamon & walnuts. I loved making those cookies with my parents as a child, less so when I got older. When I lived in Japan, my parents would send me care packages all the time and always those cookies would arrive at Christmas. I made her some Christmas of 2004, when she could no longer make them herself. She was quite surprised, I think.

Things got strained between us when I reached my early teens...I'm sure it was rough for her as she and Dad didn't have children til they were in their mid-30s, so Mom was hitting menopause when I was hitting my teen years...a volatile combination, to be sure. Nevertheless, I always felt she was there for me if I needed anything.

She traveled alot with Dad after they retired...driving cross country and even coming to visit me in Japan (Me: Mom, what do you want for breakfast? Mom: cornflakes...it doesn't have fish in it, does it??? Me: LOL!) where they had a great time (I think).

What I Wish I Asked You Then......Why couldn't we be closer?

What I Wish I Could Ask You Now.......Are you mad at me for not being there when you died?

I borrowed this idea from Terri quite awhile ago, and really struggled with writing it. I tend to not think about things that bother me or cause me pain, and because I feel so much guilt about my Mom's passing...well...

But, of course, I do think about her and remember her every day in 1,000 different ways, and wanted to talk about her on my first ever Mother's Day without her.

Happy Mother's Day to you, Mom, I love you.

Also, Happy Mother's day to all you Moms, grandmoms, step moms, moms that have furkids only, and women that wanted to be moms but for one reason or another didn't become moms. Here's a picture for you, especially Mel & MB, who love lilacs:

I call it Lilac Dreams...

I'd like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, everyone who either called or emailed or left a comment for me today, offering comfort or an ear or just to let me know you were thinking about me (as Gaylen said, bless your heart[s]!). Your caring support and kindess was appreciated more than you know.

And now I'm going to bed. Goodnight!

Oh, and Wolf says good night, too...

Unconcious Mutterings:

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Immune :: system
2. Together :: again
3. Blank :: slate
4. Professional :: demeanor
5. Thousand :: islands
6. Penetration :: ooh
7. Shutter :: speed
8. Upside down :: cake!
9. Neck :: ing
10. Unlisted :: number

Hope everyone had a good weekend! I barely left the house except to go shopping; Friday I stopped at Home Goods and bought a 15 x 10 jelly roll pan (used it Sat & Sun, too lol) and a whisk. Saturday & Sunday, food shopping, cooking, a bit of cleaning and lots of tivo watching.

Did any of you catch Al Gore in the opening segment of SNL? OMG I nearly peed my pants laughing. The oil thing especially...LOL!

Sunday I made dinner from recipes I found over at Amuse Bouche and MAN, was it GOOD! My brother ate almost all the tenderloin LOL! Thanks, Jo, for your help with that :-)

And the rain...will it ever stop?

and the nine songs at 9 were:

It's Still Rock & Roll To Me - Billy Joel
I Got You - Split Enz (ahhhhh new wave!)
Fire Lake - Bob Seger
The Tide Is High - Blondie (she's touring with the New Cars featuring Todd Rundgrun as their lead singer this summer)
Rock N Roll High School - the Ramones (soooo New York!)
Kid - Pretenders (hmmm...after Precious and Tattooed Love Boys, she started a downhill slide...or maybe radio just didn't play her tougher stuff anymore)
Freedom of Choice - Devo (then if you got it you don't want it / seems to be the rule of thumb / don't be tricked by what you see / you got two ways to go / I'll say it again in the land of the free / use your freedom of choice / freedom of choice)
Cadillac Ranch - Bruce Springsteen
Boulevard - Jackson Browne

And Charles' "Flashback" song was I Put A Spell On You - Screaming Jay Hawkins

***I'm going to leave this on top til June 10th...in case anyone would like to donate***

On June 11, my friend Monique (or as I like to call her, Transvestite Bait) is walking 7 miles to help raise money for Children's Hospital Boston in honor of her son, Cam. Here's his story, in her words:

"When Cam was born he was diagnosed as having VACTERL Association. Three hours later he was whisked away to Children's. He had surgery at 2 days old to connect his esophagus to his stomach, remove a connection between his trachea and esophagus (basically, whatever he swallowed would go into his lungs), repair some abnormalities with his heart (asd/vsd/pda and right arched aorta) and fix some of his lower plumbing (he had a connection between his urinary tract and his bowels).

10 days later he came home. he's had 4 surgeries total at Children's and you'd never know the kid ever had a problem. His second stay at Children's was at 6 months old, his third stay at 8 months, his fourth and final trip was at 2 years old. If it wasn't for that hospital and the care he got there, he wouldn't be here with us."

If you'd like to contribute, just click the above link to her blog and then the "sponsor me" link in her blog. It's for a good cause :-)

* I AM: getting ready to watch 24
* I WANT: a new home
* I WISH: that life could be easier, just a bit.
* I HATE: ignorance
* I MISS: my mother
* I FEAR: spiders and bees!
* I HEAR: when I want to.
* I WONDER: why I make life harder.
* I REGRET: not staying longer that night at the nursing home
* I AM NOT: pretty egotistical
* I DANCE: when I go to clubs, which isn't very much lately
* I SING: all the time, in the car
* I CRY: rarely
* I AM NOT ALWAYS: on time
* I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: blogposts
* I WRITE: cards and letters more often in the recent past, but not as often as when I lived in Japan
* I CONFUSE: most people
* I NEED: my camera
* I SHOULD: be less self concious.
* I START: and sometimes don't finish things
* I FINISH: not everything I start
* I TAG: whoever would like to be tagged

While looking up the initials "AIN" for work, I happened upon the Scottish edition of Wikipedia. Who knew!

Also, I wanted to share this cute picture of Sarah with you; she's made my friend, Pat, a VERY proud and happy Auntie!

Check out the heart design the sunlight created on her head (no, I didn't take the picture)

!!!24 SPOILER IN EXTENDED ENTRY!!!

And it's about damn time Mrs. Logan shot SOMEONE...why it couldn't be her husband is beyond me! At least she saved, for the time being, poor Aaron!

You may feel as if an important change is taking place within, but are not yet clear about its true nature. You are going through a transforming growth spurt, and may not have much patience with yourself. Don't try to analyze what's going on; just roll with it. Romance is highly favored today. [ha]

I need to remember that bolded statement. Just roll with it...easier said than done, but oh how much more fun life would be!

I need a 'tini...anyone want to go with me?

and the nine songs at 9 were:

Cisco Kid - War (What a fantastic band War was!)
Rocket Man - Elton John
Blue Sky - Allman Brothers Band
Your Mama Don't Dance - Loggins & Messina
Garden Party - Rick Nelson
Tightrope - Leon Russell (I loved this song back in the day..and I'm going to see him this summer)
My Woman From Tokyo - Deep Purple
Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Jackie Blue - Ozark Mountain Daredevils

Charles's flashback was from 1969, Marie La Peau - Salloom, Sinclair and the Mother Bear

1972...hmmm...what an interesting year THAT was. Not that I can remember much...and those things I do remember are not totally clear. Hmmm...

OMG I so want to go to this! Anyone want to go with me?

There were quite a few people there taking pictures, one nice guy told me about the trapped fish across the street:

On my way to check out another place for pictures, I saw this guy:

Purty, ain't he!

Here's last Wednesday's solution:

I mercifully spared you a large picture...but everyone who guessed pig or snout or pig nose was correct! Pat yourselves on the back, now, k?

Here's today's:

What is it?

Top 25 key phrases that have brought people here:

1. snape tattoo: Hmmm...no, I don't think so. The dark mark, tho...hmmm...
2. hot snape: Well, d'uh!
3. hunts photo comm ave.: Where I need to go to buy some camera stuff.
4. wolf fantasies: Cheese/squirrels/food. Oh wait, that was wolf not wolf's. Sorry!
5. invisible fence shiba inu: Don't do it!!! They don't work well with shibas...can you say phobia and booboos and dog psychiatrists?
6. richard brautigan and toothbrush ghost story: Toothbrush ghost story? I'll have to google that myself! Love me some Richard Brautigan!
7. fussa japan body massage: I always heard there were "those types" of places outside the base...
8. okonomiyaki 101: When I go back to Japan, I'm finding me a good okonomiyaki place and indulging!!!
9. definitely dead spoilers charlaine harris: Go read it! Good book; I particularly liked the expansion of the character that shapeshifts into a tiger...mmm, mmm, mmm!
10. krista perfect body tis: Krista? Something you're not telling me?
11. the fools night for beautiful girls lyrics: Ahhh, love me some Fools (not the human kind, the band kind)
12. the year of magical thinking was such a comfort to read i lost my mother: It wasn't for me; I think The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom made me feel better...but to each their own!
13. lotr skin ipod: Hmmm...that would be cool! A Snape skin for my ipod would be even cooler!
14. your soul was born in the shadows: sigh...you're so right...
15. is robert plant still married?: Why? Think you have a chance? HA!
16. severus snape and spanking: One word...yum! Five words: spank ME, Professor, spank ME! Ok, stopping now.
17. take a walk on the wide side lyrics: I love this song!
18. snape is a 19th century sea captain. harry is his cabin boy: HAHAHA!!!
19. invasion and supernatural renewed? So sorry, Zoot informed me Invasion was NOT renewed; it remains to be seen what happens to Supernatural. Bastids!
20. why vampires fascinate: *shiver* the sharp teeth...the neck biting...the living forever thing...the strength...I don't know but they certainly fascinate me!
21. williams sonoma cinnamon clove lotion: Hadn't heard of this lotion, but I'll definitely check it out!
22. dr. john and the night tripper: That would be Dr. John THE Night Tripper...and I'm psyched I'm going to see him this summer!
23. tattoo shops in fussa japan: Dan, Dan The Tattoo Man! Bastid wouldn't give me a shot of tequila when he was torturing tattooing me.
24. the hobbit novel pictures: Go see John Howe - he was the original illustrator!
25. feet eating fantasies: I saved this one for last...I didn't think Laura would make it all the way thru the list if I didn't! Um...people? GROSS!!!

And a hearty thank you to my top 10 referrers!

1. foryourpawzonly
2. trampslikeus
3. skiptomylooloo
4. misszoot
5. randomandodd
6. stainlesssteeldroppings
7. carmen
8. tnchick
9. occasionalmelancholia
10. smoochdog

Thirteen Things that are on my mind lately

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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While at the nail salon with Michelle last weekend, I picked up an old Oprah magazine. There was an article about perfume inside, and it mentioned that Thierry Mugler had a new scent out, called Alien. He made Angel, too, which is my favorite! I didn't discover Angel til 2003, but no matter :-)

I got a sample of Alien yesterday and OMG...I LOVE it! Zoot, you'd probably like it too, one of the main components is Jasmine.

My question is, have any of you seen this? Macy's doesn't carry it, neither does Lord & Taylor. Guess I'll have to head out to Chestnut Hill...

Random And Odd has come up with three new items for "Stuff Portrait Friday":

1. Something Discarded:

Saw this laying on the forest floor and was intrigued by the circles and lines.

2. Lay down on the ground and find something ugly and make it beautiful:

I dont think flies are particularly attractive, but this shot kinda makes the lil guy look...well, maybe not beautiful, but cute,,,

3. Take a picture in the style of the person that inspires you:

My cousin, Mel, loves to photograph flowers and she loves lilacs. I set out to take a nice lilac picture for her and saw this. Thanks for the inspiration, Mel!

Met up with Krista after work; we shared a Trio Plate at Chili's...and a couple drinks and still had time to wander around Barnes & Noble. I grabbed a couple photography books and planted my butt in a nice soft comfy chair for a bit and read. I have so much to learn!!!

After that, we went to see American Haunting...and it's not nearly as bad as the reviews say. In fact, I wasn't bored in the least. There were a couple of times I jumped and the animals were gorgeous :)

I also heard The DaVinci Code got some not so great reviews...but if Roger Ebert liked it, that's good enough for me.

Diane and I drove up together to Schenectady, NY to meet up with Betsy, Kim, Mo & Cheri at Union College's ReUnion this weekend. This is my favorite picture of the four 1986 alums (Kim and I didn't attend Union) I was with:

In front of The Nott Memorial, left to right: Betsy, Cheri, Diane, Mo

Even tho it was rainy and chilly, we had a great time, as usual when we all get together.

Diane and I had a bit of an interesting adventure on the way...her car broke down on the Mass Pike. After a few starts and stops, we made it to a service station off the highway, where her car finally died. Ever the intrepid travelers and with an agenda to stick to, we called Enterprise Rent-a-car, got a Hyundai Santa Fe and we were off. Made it to the Class of 1986 reception with 15 minutes to spare, wandered the Campus afterwards for a bit, and then headed to the Chili's that was attached to our hotel for drinks.

Sautrday, rain rain rain, but we walked the campus anyway, checked out a rugby game (the girls played rugby during their time at Union) and then Kim left to go visit a friend. We had lunch at a twilighted zone Friendly's and then back to campus to catch Union's very own Dutch Pipers, an amazing a cappella group. Boy, were they good! And cute!

We met up with Kim & her friend in Saratoga Springs, where we had dinner at a place called Brindisi’s...yum! It was so good, I had a delmonico steak with a baked potato, asparagas and a mohito. Delish! Dinner was on Kim and it was NOT cheap. She's awesome like that :-) Dessert was at Coldstone Creamery and then 3 of us stayed to catch a band, and 4 of us headed back to the hotel. Guess which group I was in? (I had my nose SO deep in Augusten Burrough's book, "Dry", that I was more than happy to head back to the hotel LOL! )

Next morning, Mo went to visit her brother & sister in law, and the rest of us got pedicures, which my lady sliced the living KEERAP out of my toe...OUCH! She had a hard time stopping the bleeding. I still tipped her. Moron, huh? If it gets infected, I'm going back to kick her ASS!

Kim wanted to get going, she & Betsy had a 6 hour drive, so I asked them to drop me off at a Border's, where I bought Burroughs' book, "Magical Thinking" and headed to the Friday's next door to wait for Mo to pick me up.

All in all, a great weekend!

How was yours?

I took Wolf for a walk when I got home Sunday; it had stopped raining and the sky was blue. Not 5 minutes after I got home, I happened to look out the window...and this was what the sky looked like over the house across the street.

Good timing, eh?

May 22, 2006 / HAMPTON FALLS, N.H. --Two men from Maine were driving north on Interstate 95 around 7 p.m. Sunday when they saw what appeared to be a funnel cloud coming toward them. The men stopped their vehicle and got out to watch. They told police that when the cloud moved closer, they got back in their vehicle, but a strong gust overturned it and threw it about 50 feet.

Weird, weird weather...we don't normally get tornados here...

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Yours :: truly
2. Charcoal :: drawing
3. Platitude :: platypus
4. Graduation :: ceremony
5. Hungry :: hungry hippo
6. Somewhere :: over the rainbow
7. Nurse :: Laura
8. Freak :: Laura (kidding!) of nature
9. Unbelievable :: the way some folks treat others
10. Walk :: in the woods

If you'd like to play, click here!

This how it works: TNChick gave me the letter "C"; I'll write ten words beginning with "C" (what fun!). When you leave a comment on this entry, I'll give YOU a letter (if you want to play) and then you post this in your blog...and so on and so on :-)

1. Camera: Of course, my list of Cs would have to start with this. It's my passion, my outlet, it's something I can't ever imagine not doing...and it's FUN! Ironically...my favorite brand of camera over the years has been Canon.
2. Cancer: Awhile back, I had an appointment with the dermatologist to get a teensy little patch of skin on my arm (right under my cherry blossom tattoo!!) checked out. I heard from the dermatologist today; not entirely good news, but not really bad, either. It's squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), which is the second most common skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma is the first). No big deal though, they just scrap it off and then cauterize the area. No cutting off of the arm required...(see picture below...it's the red spot)
3. Chocolat, cafe-creme, crepes and Champs Elysees: Things I enjoyed in Paris!
4. Cemetary: I really like exploring cemetaries, so quiet and peaceful!
5. Clams: AKA steamahs...with an ice cold beah...a delicious New England summertime meal!
6. Cousins: I have two that I love, MB & Mel!
7. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The closest I've gotten yet to seeing what Johnny Depp would look like as a vampire!
8. Chamber (of Secrets): I think this was my favorite Harry Potter movie so far. MMMmmm, Lord Voldemort was a hottie when he was young!
9. Celebrity crush: What I have on Johnny Depp, Viggo Mortensen and Professor Snape (well, technically, I guess, Snape is a character crush)!
10. Cooking: It's a passion of mine; it never bores me and the only thing I dislike about it is cleaning up the pots, pans & dishes!!

I swear, it was more difficult choosing just these 10 then thinking UP 10! I think I thought of at least 25 and pared it down.

Bad, mean cancer!

I had Wolf outside on the line last night, and went to check on him. I saw him staring intently at something on the ground and reaching toward it with his paw; when I got closer I saw this:

(click on the picture to see the rest of the set over in flickr)

Wolf is fascinated with bumblebees--he must've snuck up on this one and caught it somehow without it stinging him...cause if it had stung him, all y'all would've probably heard the dreaded shiba scream!

Here's last Wednesday's solution:

Taken on a walk with my cousin in August of last year.

Here's today's:

What is it?

Checked my blogline reads this morning, and found out I was blogged forward, thanks to Pat! What the hell am I talking about, some of you might ask? Well...courtesy of Buzz, today is...

Blog It Forward Day!!

Here's how it works, in Buzz's words:

"For those of you who are new to this, let me 'splain. The rules are really quite simple. All you have to do is pick someone (or sometwo or somethree) from your blogroll and post (on your site) just what makes them linkworthy. I mean, there's obviously a reason that you allow them to take up that valuable real estate on your site, right?

Well, how about a brand new site that gives your funny bone a good ticklin' every day? Or how about one of those oldies but moldies that you just can't live without? Or maybe it's someone that you know is great but just isn't getting the kind of traffic that you feel they deserve."

I break down my blog reads into categories in my bloglines and I'm going to choose 3 from the category, "New to me": ok, THAT didn't work...here's a combo of new and old, but all interesting, which isn't to say those of you I DIDN'T pick aren't interesting...so don't even GO there (I'll so delete your comments if you do and also put a curse on you):

1. Amy's Bad Groove: I discovered Amy through Spoil a Blogger 3.0; she was my Secret Spoiler...and damn, she was GOOD!
2. Miss Meliss: I don't remember now how I found her, but holy MOG, she writes some AMAZINGLY good (and hot!!!) fanfic about Snape at her other site.
3. Gina; she inspired me to get my Sony DSC-717, she loves animals & Johnny Depp (check out her "From the Deppth of My Heart" skin)...and she takes some of the most amazing pictures I've ever seen.
4. Carmen; she's going to Egypt on vacation soon, and I just know her pictures will be fantastic!
5. Carl; he is one seriously funny and intelligent guy! His reviews are more in depth than what you'd read in a newspaper and his comments, especially on my What Is It Wednesdays, never fail to crack me up!

Wolf does NOT like the camera!

Thirteen Things about Memorial Day

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Now THAT was a season finale!

Sawyer, ripping his shirt off and diving into the water to swim to the sail boat...YUM!

But wait, there's more...don't read if you haven't seen it!

- I was cringing, just waiting for the boat that Michael & Walt were on to blow up [my friend, Jules, thinks Michael will turn the boat around to rescue Jack, Freckles & Sawyer...what do you think?]
- The remaining half leg & foot of the statue; 1. reminded me of the statues in LOTR and 2. four toes?
- Loved Desmond's back story.
- Is the island definitely a product of the government? The guy who rescued(?) Desmond said he was a spook for 10 years...that makes me think yes...or was that all a plan of Pen's father's too? Did that guy not type in the numbers, causing a system failure when Desmond's sailboat was near, similar to when Desmond didn't type in the numbers and caused the plane to crash?
- Desmond...and LIBBY??? Was Libby Pen's father's second wife? How did Libby then end up in the mental hospital? Is that why "the others" let Hurley go?
- Why didn't Locke believe Desmond?
- Who knew that notHenry was actually their LEADER??!
- Locke's face: I think I made a mistake. HOLY MOG!
- Personal experience matters: Eko & Locke saw the same film and drew very different conclusions.
- Pen, at the end...why/how did she know to look for a magnetic anomaly? Did Daddy do something?
- During the magnetic...explosion? release? Why did the sky turn a different color and everyone's ears hurt, then all was ok?
- Think Desmond survived? I love his accent and his curly hair :-)

And completely unrelated to the plot questions: Why did I like the sound of alcohol sloshing about in it's bottle so much? Made me want a drink, yo!

Random And Odd has come up with three new items for "Stuff Portrait Friday":

1. Your suitcase/s or travel bag:

Abandoned suitcases, for the time being...

2. Your ground:

Also my dog's ground and he loves to dig in it.

3. Something you are powerless to:

That would be alcohol, lately. I can stop...but I don't really want to and I usually drink just a bit too much.

When I was driving Friday afternoon, I saw these clouds in the distance (pictures were taken with my camera phone):

Drove a couple more miles down the highway and the sky looked like this:

and a couple more miles and it looked like this:

very weird weather!

My favorite character in X-Men 2 was Nightcrawler:

My favorite character in X-Men 3 is Beast:

Possibly I just really like the color blue...

Spoilers ahead, don't read if you haven't seen the movie and want to!

The body count is high in this one. First and foremost, Xavier (Professor X). So sad! Patrick Stewart still has it goin' on, mmm mmm MMM!

Jean dies (phew, she was one scary beyotch), Scott dies (so sad, but hey, he should've known better); Rogue (willingly), Magneto (very UNwillingly) and Mystique (accidently) lose their mutant powers, due to a "cure"...or do they?

A few new characters are introduced, including this guy who throws metal...spikes? screws? one after another after another...good thing Wolverine heals quickly!!!

Anyway, I really liked it, even minus Nightcrawler, that sexy mfer ;-)

But...I just read this on a message board:

But as for the ending after the credits [OMG there was an ending AFTER the credits? SHITE! I didn't wait, dang it!]

Early in the movie there was like a commercial on that said a conscious person could inhabit the body of a brain- dead person. Well, in the end, there is a man hooked up to a bunch of machines with a female doctor standing over him. All of a sudden, Professor X's voice is like, "Hello, doctor." or something else very ominous to life. I learned that the doctor is the one and only Moira MacTaggart. Professor X lives!

aaaaaaaand...let the weekend begin!

Friday night: Went to see X-Men3...already talked about that.

Saturday: Drove 2.5 hours to CT to attend a graduation party for my cousin Mel's youngest child. It was so nice to see everyone, and I enjoyed talking with Mel's friend Lisa very much! I'm going back down towards the end of June to take 3 gazillion pictures at a rose garden Mel told me about...Lisa's coming, too, yeah!

That evening, met my friend Diane at Vinny T's in Lexington, where we had an appetizer and a drink (and a very nice waiter!) then headed off to see the movie, Thank You For Smoking. Go see this, if you get the chance. The audience laughed out loud so many times I lost count (it's satirical comedy). I'd say it's a fair and accurate portrayal of the cigarette companies. One of my favorite quotes was from Nick's boss, BR: "We don't sell Tic Tacs, we sell cigarettes. And they're cool, available, and *addictive*. The job is almost done for us..."

Sunday: Drove up to visit my other cousin, MB (aka dackelprincess) and her husband Jack. I brought Michelle along, and Dad; Jack's Army buddy (Ed) and his wife (Janice) were there as well...had a great time talking to him (photography and recipes) and her (Harry Potter & jewelry). They made the best fresh salsa I ever had! We also had hot dogs & hamburgers & MB's yummilicious potato salad, and as MB had requested something chocolate, a flourless chocolate cake for dessert. It was my first time making this, and altho I thought I should've left it in the oven a bit longer, everyone liked it. I guess that's all that counts, right? Great food, great company, and I even bought a really pretty pair of earrings at the craft fair downtown. Sigh...perfect! Well, that is until the drive back...when we got stuck in a massive traffic jam due to a horrendous accident. We didn't get home til 10 and we left at 7. Oh well! Michelle and I had fun staring at the other motorists around us, including one guy in a Davy Crockett hat! The things you see LOL!

MB made poor Michelle work for her hotdog, hamburger and unending glass of wine; Queen Greta cast a disdainful eye on the goings on ;-)

Monday: Got up, read a little more of Possible Side Effects, by Augusten Burroughs (started it last night, borrowed from Michelle). This guy makes me laugh in a slightly horrified way LOL! Headed to Dunkin Donuts for coffee and the local farm stand for plum tomato, jalapeno, rosemary & cilantro plants. I ended up also getting basil, tarragon, leeks, and some cherry tomatoes (they were called Elf tomatoes, how could I resist?). So I had to end up making another garden plot, and put the tomatoes & leeks in that one.

At least I put the grass I dug up to good use, covering the bald patches the backhoe left when the rhododendron was moved from next door to in front of our porch. Mowed a little bit, too.

Went out to dinner with Dad and then had some alone time, watching The DaVinci Code...it was ok, but I liked Dogma better :-)

How was your weekend?

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Bounce ::
laundry sheet
2. Wasting time ::
is kinda fun!
3. Utility ::
vehicle
4. London ::
cheddar cheese & pickle sandwich (the only reason I thought this was because I was reading Augusten Burrough's latest book and he tells a story about being in London, staying in a hotel and ordering this type of sandwich)
5. Pregnant ::
pause
6. Cranberry ::
bogs
7. International ::
star
8. Disappointment ::
is lurking
9. Sponsor ::
network
10. Second ::
that!

If you'd like to play, click here!

Here's last Wednesday's solution:

Looks yummy, eh? My brother gave me all those goodies for Christmas.

Ok, this week I'm making it tougher, and I'm posting it a bit early so Lisa can see before she leaves for AZ!

What is it?

Think he has enough toys? I didn't arrange this, either LOL!

Speaking of pictures, I took this screen cap of some spam in my email:

If you can't read what it says, click on the picture :-)