Thirteen Pets Who've Owned My Heart

1. Tippy: She was my first cat, fluffy, grey & white...and also the first ghost I ever saw.


2. Cocoa:

She was my first dog. We got her from my piano teacher up the street...Cocoa's mother was apparently the whore of the neighborhood...each puppy looked like a male that lived nearby. She had 5 of them.


3. Jasiah: My first Siamese...she was amazing! Kind & gentle and smart as a whip; she loved to play fetch.


4. Boris & Karloff:

Technically, they weren't mine, but belonged the guy I was living with. Both german shephards, Boris was an exceptional dog. Karloff...she was a bit flaky. Yes, that's me in the picture...ROFLMAO!


5. Meow:

She was a Maine Coon Cat and LOVED spaghetti...see!!!


6. Bruno: My first dog ... which of course my parents ended up owning. He was a Doberman Pinscher, and that dog was BRILLIANT. He was owned by a Chinese couple and understood only Chinese when we first got him from the humane society. He LOVED to run and play and to have his picture taken. He lived a good long life, and I think of him often.


7. Toy:

My gorgeous tortoiseshell persian...she had orange eyes and was just the sweetest cat. Here she is with two kittens from her first litter.


8. Squeaky:

He was a grey cheek parrotlet...he was the funniest thing! I could tell him to "play dead" and he'd lay on his back in my hand and turn his head to the side, closing his eyes...but he'd open one real quick to see if I was looking, then close it again.


9. Abby:

My beautiful Abyssinian cat; these are her kittens. When my first ex and I broke up and I had to move to an apartment, I could only have one cat...and I chose Toy


10. Cameo:

She was a gorgeous cat, a long hair calico, but dang, she could be mean. Michael loved her (and Toy, too), tho! That's Michael's nephew, Jason, in the picture with Cameo.


11. Molly:

She was born in England and was a barn cat before she "moved" to the states with her military family. We agreed to watch her for friends, and fell in LOVE...couldn't let her go lol! She was destined to have a well traveled life, she came with us to Japan. She loved chocolate donuts and could be trusted outside; she'd come when I called her. She loved nothing better to lay in the sun all day! (that's Max with her)


12. Jasper:

I was innocently driving past a house at the end of my road one day when I saw a sign that said...Free Kittens. Hmmm...won't hurt to just look at them, will it? Nah...and just like that, Jasper came home with me. She was a gorgeous black & white half persian (an oops!) cat.


13. Chibi:

Ahhhhh, Chibi! I still miss that little divil! He was a miniature pinscher and just FULL of the devil! He was soo much fun; he and Wolf would play fight like crazy, even tho he was all of 12 pounds, he wouldn't back down. He lives on a farm in CT now...he was having aggression issues with Dad. Even Dad misses him tho LOL! That's Max in the picture with him.

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Random and Odd's SPF picture is "Buttons"

These are some buttons/pins Megan gave me for my birthday last year...along with the green wallet seen in this picture FILLED with cut out pictures of my favorite hotties! Yup, girlie's got quite the imagination!

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code. Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

Gross =

Sorry, this is the grossest photo I have *shiver* yuck, ugh, GROSS!!!

To the man (can't use the term "gentleman" because he wasn't, and I am loathe to use the terms d!ck, @$$hole, or self important mfer) driving the Chrysler 300 with New Hampshire license plate "Sox":

What in the world happened to you to make you think you deserved to take up two spaces in front of the Owl Diner (aka 4 Sisters) on a busy Sunday morning? C'mon...is YOUR car really more important than others? No matter WHAT you think...it isn't. And then...I saw you leave, impatiently cutting off a long line of traffic so you could go on your merry way.

I only wish I had my camera with me.

DebR is the Wednesday guest blogger at Create a Connection and I'm playing along. This week, she says: We're going to explore our reactions to the world around us, as experienced through the five senses.

1. What are some of your favorite smells? What's a smell that many other people seem to like, but you don't?I love the smell of cinnamon, of apples, of spices of all sorts. The ocean, the air before a storm, oranges when they're being peeled. I love the smell of lilacs and roses, but NOT in perfumes, I do like honeysuckle in both it's natural form and perfumes. I don't know what other people like that I don't...the only thing that comes to mind is I DON'T like the smell of food on my hands, specifically hamburgers or fried foods. YUCK!

2. What are some of your favorite tastes? What's a taste many other people seem to like, but you don't?A better question is what's a taste many other people seem to hate, but you don't LOL! My favorite tastes are fresh watermelon, blue cheese, salty chocolate, vinegar chips, ume paste. I could go on, but I won't.

3. What are some of your favorite textures? What's a texture that many other people seem to like, but you don't?I love the feel of flower petals, so soft! Wolf's fur is pleasing to me, as is Max's. I love soft grass and smooth pebbles. Again...I don't really have an answer to the second question...

4. What are some of your favorite sounds? What's a sound that many other people seem to like, but you don't? Ahhh, rain, I love the sound of rain! Thunder, too, but it scares me at the same time. Led Zeppelin, Alan Rickman's voice, the wind in the trees, chimes. A sound other people seem to like that I don't is the sound of their voices interrupting my movie watching ;-)

5. What are some of your favorite sights? What's a sight that many other people seem to like but you don't?Horses, ocean waves, dark purple lilacs, a field of multi colored flowers, pumpkins are some of my favorite sights. Something I don't like but other people seem too are accidents.

Bonus: If you could greatly enhance just one sense - say for instance see as many colors as a bird, or smell as many distinct scents as a dog - which sense would it be and why? I'd enhance my memory...cause I have a serious case of CRS!!!

Your past life diagnosis:

You were born somewhere in the territory of modern West Africa around the year 1825. Your profession was that of a medic, surgeon or herbalist.

Your brief psychological profile in your past life:

Ruthless character, carefully weighing decisions in critical situations, with excellent self-control and strong will. Such people are generally liked, but not always loved.

The lesson that your last past life brought to your present incarnation:

Magic is everywhere around you, even in the most usual, most ordinary situations. Your lesson is to understand this magic and to help other people to see it, too. You are a magician!

I brought magic (in the shape of a pizza) to my friend Diane's little girls, Chloe & Meri, Saturday night

How was your weekend?

The description: wormwood essence, light mints, cardamom, anise, hyssop, and the barest hint of lemon.

My first response: Pledge...it smells like Lemon Pledge. After 5 minutes, I took another sniff, smelled anise...and then it tossed me back in time to Okinawa! It smells JUST like the week I spent there...oh, what fun we had! Geckos and beautiful warm water, pristine beaches, rainbows...just Gaylen, Reva & me.

When I want to remember the beautiful beaches of Okinawa, I will wear this scent.

Two-Fer Meme (courtesy of DebR and Kristen)

Two names you go by:
1.. Janet
2.. J

Two parts of your heritage:
1.. English
2.. Irish

Two things that scare you:
1.. Spiders
2.. bees

Two everyday essentials:
1.. Coffee
2.. quiet time

Two things you are wearing right now:
1.. black top
2.. jeans

Two of your favorite bands or musical artists (at the moment):
1.. Led Zeppelin
2.. The Beatles

Two things you want in a relationship (other than love):
1.. trust
2.. truth

Two truths:
1.. I'm so incredibly psyched and sad for the 7th and last Harry Potter book to arrive.
2.. Lilacs smell beautiful

Two favorite hobbies:
1.. Photography
2.. making jewelry

Two things you need to do this week:
1.. Move the rest of the boxes into storage unit
2.. Get dog food

Two stores you shop at:
1.. Barnes and Noble
2.. Target

Two favorite sports
1.. ice skating
2.. racquetball

Two shows you like to watch:
1.. Lost
2.. Heroes

Two things you'd buy if money were no object:
1..A new house
2..A trip around the world

Two wishes for 2007:

1. That I find a new house that I can afford
2. That my family and friends are happy and healthy

ok, I'm tossing this out there for advice.

My car is leased. The lease is up on 3/13/07. Yeah, next month. I have two choices here, obviously. I can turn the car in and purchase or lease a new car, or I can buy the car (or refinance). Simple in theory, right?

Well...in order to turn a leased car the following items are required:

- Get the car inspected (no problem, I'm under the allowed mileage)
- Proof of maintenance (big problem, I basically changed the oil every 3,000 miles, bought new tires and had a 40,000 mile or thereabouts checkup...not quite meeting the lease requirements.)
- Receipts for said repairs (which, of course, I don't have)

Plus, if I refinance what's left on the car (about $7,000.00) my monthly payments will stay about the same, albeit for a shorter period of time.

So...if my payments will stay the same do I keep the old car or buy a new one? I don't think I'll lease again...I'm not good enough at keeping receipts, etc.

Advice?

For those of you that watch Heroes, did anyone notice the license plate on the car that Hiro's father got into? I nearly DIED laughing!!!

NCC-1701 was on the license plate; it was the Starfleet registry number on the USS Enterprise! Hiro's father is played by George Takei, who also played Sulu on Star Trek. Image courtesy of Zoot!

Here's last Wednesday's picture:

This is the shot it was cropped from:

Darlene was close...she said: "It looks like one of those bendable lamps, maybe?"; DebR got it totally correct: "It looks like the bendy "stem" to a desk lamp with an autumn leaf trapped behind/under it." and Carl just plain grossed me out: "I think I saw this in my grandparent's bathroom. It looks to be a vintage 1950's ribbed condom, possibly from the Rock Hudson line.". Thanks for playing along!

So this week...

what is it?

Swampgrrl is the Wednesday guest blogger at Create a Connection and I'm playing along. This week, she says: So this meme is a chance to practice snap decision making. Here are your instructions: Answer the following questions by intuition ... whatever comes to you immediately. If you spend more than 2 seconds on the answer, leave it blank and move to the next question. Ready?

1. You run into a friend who has just chopped off all her long hair (or suddenly has an Afro). What do you say? If any of my friends made a change to their hair, especially something drastic and quite different from what they'd had before, I'd comment on it (if I noticed it LOL). And then we'd have a conversation about it, I guess.

2. You walk by a well dressed man with manicured hands who smells like a gin martini. He asks you for money. What do you do? Not sure why I would be able to smell his hands when I'm walking by him, but generally when someone asks me for money, I keep on walking. Of course, most people who ask for money aren't well dressed, so that might stop me in my tracks, and I might ask if he was ok...

3. Your brother or sister or best friend falls madly in love with someone you think is a jerk. What do you do? HA! Can't fool me with this question. I ignore it, cause the quickest way to lose a sibling or friend is to comment on their choice of dating material.

4. You get a terrible present from your husband, wife, girlfriend or boyfriend. Do you let it show? Tough one. If it's from someone that knows me extremely well, then I might say something. Generally, I've been lucky in the presents I get from loved ones.

5. Who's your favorite Beatle? George! No, John! No, George! Argggghhhhh!!!

6. You walk by a disheveled man wearing soiled & tattered clothes. He politely asks you for money. What do you do? Keep on walking!

6. Skinny Elvis or Fat Elvis? Skinny Elvis.

Bonus: Good job! Next, go find an outrageous picture of your Elvis on the net and post it at the bottom of your answers. Be sure to give credit to the photographer. (Give yourself bonus points for velvet).

This is the most outrageous photo I could find :-)

Credit to opmden

Thirteen of my favorite Johnny Depp movies

1. My absolute favorite is Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Hot & sexy Depp at his best!


2. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. I know it didn't get good reviews, but I really don't know why! I loved Bill Nighy as Davy Jones! His mannerisms just cracked me up.


3. Finding Neverland. The man should've won an Oscar for this...he was so damn good in this movie!


4. Dead Man. I saw this on tv one day...and was entranced. Not for everyone, tho!


5. From Hell: Johnny on opium...chasing a murderer...in England...ahhhh


6. Chocolat. Yum!


7. Don Juan DeMarco: Quirky and loveable


8. Edward Scissorhands: Amazing the people this guy has worked with...Vincent Price was awesome!


9. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: I didn't see the original, plus my second ex LOVED the original so I had no problem with this remake.


10. Nick of Time. With Christopher Walken!


11. Sleepy Hollow. Again with a very scary Mr. Walken.


12. The Ninth Gate. Filmed in France! With Frank Langella, who was QUITE sexy back in the day as Dracula.


13. What's Eating Gilbert Grape. More quirky and loveable.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

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Random and Odd's SPF challenge is "SOMETHING RED"


I had SO many red pictures to choose from! This one I had seen recently and was on my mind, so I thought I'd post it...

This one, tho, is more indicative of my FRAME of mind right now:

and I don't mean that in a religious sense, nor do I want a cup of coffee or tea.

and this one just reminds me of how much I want spring to be here:

1. The last thing I took a picture of was ....
2. ... is like oxygen; you get too much you get too high, not enough and you're gonna die. [song lyric]
3. One of my favorite scents is ....
4. ... makes me laugh ALOT.
5. When I daydream it's usually about ....
6. Lions and tigers and ... oh my! [movie quote]
7. This weekend, I want to ....

1. The last thing I took a picture of was this:
.
It's for the Project 365 thingie I joined on Flickr.
2. Love is like oxygen; you get too much you get too high, not enough and you're gonna die. [song lyric] I heard this on the radio a couple weeks ago and thought it would make a nice fit here...I love that people were creative and used other words, however!
3. One of my favorite scents is clove lately. It's dominant in the BPAL scent, Blood Kiss, that I put on this morning.
4. 30 Rock makes me laugh ALOT. Freakin' Alec Baldwin hahahah!
5. When I daydream it's usually about places I want to travel to, or places I've been.
6. Lions and tigers and bears oh my! [movie quote]. From the Wizard of Oz, one of my favorite movies :-)
7. This weekend, I want to [edited for content] and also look for a new car; I'm still undecided as to whether I want to keep the one I have or get a Honda Fit.

08:28 AM - Comments (13)

I went car shopping today...and guess what I got? Not.a.damn.thing. In fact, I decided to keep my car!

The Honda Fit is not a good fit for me; it's ... too light, too...simple. I was quite disappointed actually. The salesman asked my why I wanted to trade "down" from my current car, a Honda Civic Si hatch (which they don't make anymore, sad to say). I hadn't realized the Fit was trading down until I finally found one to test drive. Definitely not for me. I also test drove a Honda Element; while nice, it's too big for my needs and as Jimbo said...it's so empty inside it echoes LOL! I sat in a Civic Si coupe, which was nice, but not big enough for Wolf's crate. Gotta take into consideration the dogs and Wolf doesn't like being in a moving car unless he's crated.

So after talking to the salesman, I decided to keep what I have for now. And truth to tell, I'm quite happy with the decision! It's a peppy car, well made and solid...and the stereo sounds awesome!

Before I went out I put on some sauce to simmer; my office mate gave me the recipe, and boy was it good! Here's the recipe:

one package of boneless pork spareribs
one package of sweet italian sausage
three 28 ounce cans of peeled crushed tomatoes (Pastene)
fresh garlic
olive oil
beef bouillon cubes

Pour a couple tablespoons of olive oil into a dutch oven, toss in 3 or 4 beef bouillon cubes and some garlic (I used 5 cloves, smushed flat with a the side of a knife) and heat that.

Brown the spareribs on all sides; remove to a plate

Brown the sausage. Put the spareribs back in the dutch oven and add two cans of the tomatoes.

Stir; then simmer for ... however long you wish LOL! I simmered it for 5 hours and the meat just fell apart!

A half hour before serving, add the third can of tomatoes. Voila!

I also added some pepper, salt & basil. Delish!

If you'd like to play, click here!

1. The best thing :: (s) in life are free
2. Hold :: on!
3. Rapture :: Fab 5 Freddie told me everybody's high
4. Cover :: album
5. Restrictive :: rules
6. Baker :: bagels
7. Author :: Stephen King
8. Pill :: forget
9. Months :: days
10. Valentine's Day :: Vosges!

Seen over at fleur de lisa's blog:

Have you had sex in the past 24 hours? ten times!
Are you gay? Yes, very happy, thanks!
Do you have hairy legs? So hairy I have to braid 'em!
Do you smoke anything? marshmallows.
Do you like monkeys? They're quite cute, as long as they're not flinging poo!
How many fillings do you have? oooh lots and lots, going back to when I was 14!
Would you rather swim in the ocean or a lake? Ocean
Have you ever licked one of those square batteries? Only by mistake once, it slipped out of my [edited for content]
Have you ever read the Bible? oh my yes, I liked The World According To Garp better, tho ;-)
Did you ever go to Sunday School? Every Sunday I couldn't get out of it as a kid and sang in the choir, too!
Do you wear a lot of black? Not alot..why? What do you care?
Did you ever bring a weapon to school? hahaha! Hmmm...what was considered a weapon in the 60s & 70s. Scissors? Sure. Drugs? Doubtful ;-) Alcohol? Yup! Guns/knifes/bombs? No.
Have you ever hugged a tree? hahahah actually I dated one!
Do you know what a sphincter actually is? Why, is yours clenched right now?
Describe your hair? It's green & purple and spiky...I love it!
Are you a wild beast? Usually!
Do you like to have fun? I believe that fun is VASTLY underrated and that more people should try to have some. Yes.
Do you like drama? Only on tv or the movies, otherwise: NO! No, I HATE it! Please, no drama, no drama queens, not even drama princesses allowed!
Do you like mayonnaise? Hmmm...on my olive loaf & white bread, yes. In my hair or other parts of my body, no.
Are you afraid to die? I really can't say.
Do you like playing in leaves? Yes, I adore the smell!
Have you ever peed your pants as an adult? *snort* Just a few weeks ago in the bathroom at Grendel's ... hehehe
Have you ever thrown up on somebody as an adult? Only in some really freaky foreplay once...
Are you an adult? Chronologically, certainly. Mentally, I'm not so sure.
Ever won a spelling bee? Actually, yes, I have.
Do you ever eat because you were depressed? Good lord, who doesn't!
Are you a television addict? I could stop watching if I had to, but I'd really miss Lost, 24, Heroes, Supernatural, ER, Miami Ink, My Name is Earl, hmmm...maybe so?
Do you think OJ was guilty? I'd like to think not, cause really...you know? But who knows for sure, besides him?
Do you enjoy spending time with your mother? Sometimes I did, she was a funny woman
Have you ever had sex in a hot tub? Writing a book or something?
Do you like Elvis? Shouldn't that be DID you? He was ok...
Do you enjoy watching animals “do it” on the Discovery channel? You're really weird, you know that?
Ever been hit on at a zoo? No, but at an aquarium once a Leafy Seadragon winked at me. He was hot!
Have you ever had sex with a total stranger? Maybe.
Do you enjoy the calming effects of turkeys? Turkeys? Calming? Not so much...especially when I'm driving fast cause I'm late to work and a gaggle (pack? bunch?) of them are sauntering across the gd road!
Does your mom think someone is hot? She loved Sidney Poitier!
Are you a sugar freak? I'm just a freak, period.
Ever been arrested? Nope, not by the REAL police. Maybe by a boyfriend or two.
Ever commit a crime and get away with it? Almost every day, I consistently drive over the speed limit. Shhhhh.
Do you like orange juice? Yes, particularly in sangria!
What sign are you? Cancer the Crab, or in Chinese astrology, I'm a Cock. Really!
Where do you wish you were right now? Walking on the beach
Did you enjoy this? I tend to try NOT to do things I don't enjoy. So, yeah.

Picture of the Day:

I was over my friend Diane's house a couple Saturdays ago, playing with her two little girls and making pizza and fondue...and of course, taking pictures. This one was taken by Diane:

It's so freaky she's staring right at it!

Here's last Wednesday's picture:

This is the shot it was cropped from:

Finn said it succinctly: "Bookmark with ribbons." and Dyane got it precisely (where you looking in my bedroom?): "Satin ribbons on the end of a bookmark, iniside of a book that looks like you're about half through with." I was sad that the usual suspects (cough carl krista monique cough) didn't contribute their usual bizarro comments :-(

So this week...

what is it?

A treat for your eyes...a laugh, a smile, a sigh ;-)

which one do you like better:

This or this

Make your own!

xoxoxo, me!

Thirteen Things I Love that begin with the letter A

1. Apples: My favorite is Macintosh :-)

2. Auntie Rosa: My cousin MB's mother

3. Angel perfume by Thierry Mugler: I was walking through a Sephora in Paris on the Champs-Elysees when I smelled this for the first time; it smelled like Christmas trees to me, although there are many other scents in it, too. This scent is the basis for my current fav, Snape; it's mixed 50/50 with Tunisian Opium.

4. Absinthe: Anything that tastes like licorice is fine with me!

5. Athens scented oil from BPAL: "voluptuous myrrh, golden honey, red wine, and sweet flowers"...yum!

6. Ale: Particularly Boddington's!

7. Alan Rickman: Especially as Professor Snape :-) ... you all probably didn't know that, huh?

8. A Girl Must Shop: A site Megan conceived and designed, it showcases unique and interesting products for girls (and boys!) to buy!

9. Adirondack chairs: Especially when they're overlooking a body of water...one of my favorite things to photograph.

10. Artichokes: Such a fun food to eat, peeling off the leaves one by one, scraping the end on your top teeth, and then ... the heart! Delicious!

11. Asparagas: Nothing says spring like fresh asparagas, and I prefer mine simply cooked, with no sauce or butter.

12. Aragorn: Shhhhh, don't tell Pat I think so, but he's DAMN sexy.

13. Angel food cake: My favorite dessert :-)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

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! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Tammy is the Photo Thursday guest blogger at Create a Connection; the topic this week is Family. Tammy says: I thought it would be fun to share photos of the people you love if you want to do that! Or if you're not comfortable with that, share things that make you think of family, traditions you have, etc.

Well, today is Dad's 82nd birthday, and I snapped a quick picture of him this morning to commemorate the day:

Happy Birthday, Dad!

My only other immediate family is my brother, Larry, shown here with one of the furry, 4-legged members of the family, Wolf.

Here's a picture of Larry when he was younger with Babydog, who belonged to our cousin's:

I was struck by the similarity in the two pictures!

Last, but not least, here's Max.

That's it! Small family, eh?

1. In the evening ....
2. I don't know what it is I like about you but....
3. So a house elf shows up in my bedroom ....
4. Well, it's been ten years and maybe more since I first ....
5. So I'm packing my bags for ....
6. Many times I've gazed along ...
7. Leaves are falling all around, It's time I was....

1. In the evening .... I like to watch the stars come out.
2. I don't know what it is I like about you but.... I like it ALOT!
3. So a house elf shows up in my bedroom .... and since he likes to clean, boy is he in elf heaven!
4. Well, it's been ten years and maybe more since I first .... set eyes on he who shall not be named.
5. So I'm packing my bags for .... Las Vegas, baby!
6. Many times I've gazed along ... the open road
7. Leaves are falling all around, It's time I was.... on my way to Rivendell

08:32 AM - Comments (13)

Random and Odd's SPF challenge is "FREE"


Freedom has FREE in it...will that work?

2007 is The Year of the Pig (or Boar), which begins on Feb 17th. In China, the Pig (a more correct form would be the Boar) is associated with fertility and virility. To bear children in the year of the pig is considered very fortunate, for they will be happy and honest. If you're born during the following dates, it's your year!

- 22 January 1947 - 9 February 1948: Fire Pig
- 8 February 1959 - 27 January 1960: Earth Pig
- 27 January 1971 - 14 February 1972: Metal Pig
- 13 February 1983 - 1 February 1984: Water Pig

Wikipedia says:

The Pig type is usually an honest, straightforward and patient person. He/she is a modest, shy character who prefers to work quietly behind the scenes. When others despair, he/she is often there to offer support. This type of person is reserved with those they do not know too well, but as time passes and they gain confidence, those around them may discover a lively and warm-hearted person behind that mask of aloofness. Despite those born in the year of pig having a wide circle of friends and acquaintances, they have few close friends who understand them and share their inner thoughts and feelings. It is easy to put trust in pig type; he/she won't let you down and will never even attempt to do so. Such people simply want to do everything right according to social norms.

There is a tolerant and peaceful side to their character. Such people are never afraid to allow others their freedom of expression; they do not want to cause arguments and if there is any way to avoid arguing, they will probably take this option. They are not weak, however, and if the situation forces them to fight these people will rise to the occasion, whether it is to defend themselves or those close to them. People of the Pig type are the most admired by others.

Her royal highness, the Princess Blonder, asked me to post this! I think I've done it before, but what the heck!

1.My name:

2.Where did we meet:

3.Take a stab at my middle name:

4.How long have you known me:

5.When is the last time that we saw each other:

6.Have you been to my house:

7.What was your first impression of upon meeting me/seeing me:

8.What's one of my favorite things to do:

9.Am I funny:

10.What's my favorite type of music:

11.Can I sing?:

12.What is the best feature about me:

13.Am I shy or outgoing:

14.Am I a rebel or do I follow the rules:

15.Do I have any special talents:

16.Would you call me preppy, average, sporty, punk, hippie, glam, nerdy, snobby, or something else (what):

17.I'm hot? Am I not? Go ahead, you can say ... :

19.Have you ever hugged me:

20.Kissed me?

21.What is my favorite food:

23.Am I dating anyone:

24.If there was one good nickname for me, what would it be:

25.What's your favorite memory of me:

26.Who do I like right now:

27.What is my worst habit:

28.If you and I were stranded on a desert island, what is the one thing I would bring?

29.Are we friends:

31.Do I believe in God?

32.Am I family oriented?

33.Who is my best friend?

34.What kind of car do I drive?

35.Will you repost this so I can do it?

If you'd like to play, click here!

1. Threshold :: doorframe
2. Jason :: monster
3. Suspicion :: not good
4. Tender :: mercy
5. Tempted :: by the fruit of another
6. Crimson :: and gold
7. Repulsive :: hideous
8. Bulldog :: Stephanie
9. Garage :: sale
10. Racket :: noise

Have you made your own WeeMee yet? I've made a few; which one do you like best?

To make your own WeeMee, go here; when you're finished, save it, and then invite me as your friend (search for fondofsnape)! It's a little slow, still, but it'll get faster and there are big things in store!

No work today, woohoo! Instead, I laid in bed til 10 am reading the latest Patricia Cornwell novel, Predator. Then I got up, showered, made a shopping list and met Lauren for lunch at Macaroni Grill...yum! Next stop, or would've been if I could've found a parking space, was Barnes & Noble. Gave up after a bit and headed to Border's where they had 10 books on sale for half off, and I bought Michael Crichton's latest, Next. Then I went back in search of the purse I saw at Marshall's on Saturday.

Oh, I didn't tell you about that! I went to see Pan's Labyrinth (awesome movie!) and got to the theater early, so I figured I'd browse Marshall's. Found a purse I really liked, then I noticed the loooooooooong checkout lines and knew I'd never make it to the movie. So I put the purse down and figured if it was there when I came back, I'd buy it. Well...it wasn't. So then I had the great Purse Search of 2007. Today I found it!

Cute, eh?

Now I'm making chicken soup from the roast chicken I made on Saturday:

Then I'm going to hopefully finish Predator, before 24 starts! Wish me luck!

Seen at DebR's blog:

What curse words do you use the most? Hmmm...when I'm mildly pissed, it'd be Crikey...when I'm really pissed, all bets are off. For example, my second ex-husband's nickname is SFSSDMF; Short Fat Snoring Small D!cked Mother F*&#er. Well deserved, too :-) You might ask why I married him...I ask that of myself sometimes.

Do you own an i-pod? Um...*embarrassed* three

What time is your alarm clock set to? I don't use one right now, but I'd really like this one. Also, I'm leaving Deb's answer, as it applies to me, too:

It isn't. I usually just wake up when I wake up. If I need to get up at a certain time, I'm pretty good about just reminding myself of it before I go to bed and waking up then, although if I need to be someplace at a certain time (like an appointment, or catching a plane or something), I'll set the alarm on those days just to be sure. But 9 times out of 10 I'll wake up a couple of minutes before it goes off.

Would you rather take the picture or be in the picture? I'd MUCH rather take the picture; I don't photograph well.

What was the last movie you watched? "Pan's Labyrinth"; awesome, sad, beautiful!

What cd is currently in your player? Bunch of Zeppelin tunes from my iTunes

Do you prefer regular or chocolate milk? I don't like the taste of milk here, but if I had to choose, it'd be chocolate (better yet, coffee milk!)

Has anyone told you a secret this week? Ohhh, yes, but I can't tell who or what!

When was the last time you had Starcrack Starbucks? Friday night, before seeing "Music and Lyrics", the new Hugh Grant/Drew Barrymore movie; love the cinnamon dolce latte, fat free, sugar free

Can you whistle? Yup, but not as well as I could pre-braces

What are you looking forward to? The last [sob] Harry Potter book; the 5th Harry Potter movie; the last POTC movie; my birthday celebration in Vegas in June, Krista's wedding, Diana's wedding, Aislinn's wedding, especially if it's in St. Thomas ;-)

Did you watch cartoons when you were little? Oh, Bugs Bunny! Pepe LePew was a favorite, too.

Do you own any band t-shirts? Yup, mostly Zeppelin :-)

What will you be doing in an hour? Probably reading, maybe watching tv

What was the last song you heard? damned if I know!

Last time you cried? HAHAHA Friday night

Desktop or laptop? Desktop, unfortunately

Desiring any new ink? YES! I'm addicted. Next one will most likely be a flower on the top of my left foot.

What’s the weather like? Heat wave! It's 40 degrees!

What were you doing an hour ago? Eating dinner

How many hours of sleep do you need to function? at least 5...but I'd rather have 8!

Do you eat breakfast daily? Not a traditional breakfast, no. Sometimes it might be a handful of raw almonds, maybe an orange, maybe some leftovers.

What did you do last night? Ohhh, watched 24; such a shocker at the end!

Do you use sarcasm? Nahhhhhhhhh, no, not me, not ever ;-) or as the button Megan gave me says: "I speak sarcasm as a second language"

Do you like mustard? Oh, hell yeah! I love all kinds of mustard!

Do you sleep on your side/back/stomach? I don't know...I'm asleep!

Do you watch the news? No! I hate tv news, it's all sensationalized for ratings ... crap.

How did you get one of your scars? I have a scar on my left knee that I got one summer cause I kept falling on it...in gravel. I swear there's still gravel imbedded in there! And that's just a scar on the outside...I got a few inside, too ;-)

The end! Phew, huh? If you want to answer these questions too, have at it, I say!

Here's last Wednesday's picture:

This is the shot it was cropped from:

Amy got it right: "I have two thoughts. It is either ice in a glass or those stones in a fishbowl...I am leaning towards ice"; DebR "It's obviously a tinsel-eating alien jellyfish. Duh! :-)" and Laura "a jelly fish on acid" cracked me up! Thanks for playing :-)

So this week...

What is it?

I had two bananas to use up ASAP, so I made this :-)

1.5 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (which I forgot to add...ME! Forgetting salt!)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 medium-sized, ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan.

In a small bowl, combine flour, backing powder, baking soda, salt & cinnamon. In a large bowl, cream together butter & brown sugar. When light and fluffy, beat in egg, followed by mashed banana and vanilla extract. Blend in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.

Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn loaf out of pan and let cool completely before slicing.

Store in an airtight container or plastic wrap.

Thirteen Things I Love that begin with the letter B

1. Blingo! I've won an Ipod Nano, a $200 Visa gift card, a $25 Amazon gift card, 3 $10 iTunes gift certs and 2 movie tickets; Zoot recently won $5,000.00!!! Free and clear, people, no strings! Won't you sign up as my blingo friend? Just click the link below if you'd like to!



2. Birthdays: I love to celebrate mine, my friends', my family's, my dog's! Birthdays are something to enjoy; if you weren't born, you wouldn't be part of my life, therefore, I celebrate!

3. Bacon: Waking up and smelling it cooking is one of my favorite memories; throw in some coffee and woohoo!

4. Bagpipes: Amazing Grace played on bagpipes is ... well, amazing!

5. Boats: I love to go out on boats, fishing for stripers or just ... floating!

6. Bakeries: Particularly French ones...a cafe creme and a chocolat croissant...YUM!

7. Balcony: When I lived in Japan, I lived on the 6th floor of an building and I have two balconies, one off my living room and one off my bedroom. I loved to stand there at night and watch the city, and on a clear day, you could see Mt. Fuji. Beautiful!

8. Bar: I love going with friends to a bar, sitting and hanging out, chatting with the bartender...another favorite "B" word ;-)

9. Barefoot: My favorite state of being!

10. Beach: Especially during the off season, then I can bring the dogs and they can run and dig and just have fun!

11. Bonco: A dice game I played in Japan; it involves twelve people in sets of 4 that keep rotating from table to table. Boy, do I miss it!

12. Back in Black: One of my favorite AC/DC songs

13. Beginning: Things are often the most fun at the beginning

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Tammy is the Photo Thursday guest blogger at Create a Connection; the topic this week is Fun. Tammy says: For this week's Photo Thursday, I needed a light and airy topic. I've had a rather heavy, difficult couple of weeks. I decided, what better way to let myself (and YOU!) lighten up, than a topic of FUN? Wide-open - just the way I like it!

Fun! I love fun! I try to make fun a top priority in my life. Some people look down on me for that..."Fun's not very important" they say...to which I reply, Pshaw! It's MOST important!

You might have to click on the picture to read the text; at the bottom of the box, it says: "For Fun and Prophet" So irreverent...but funny!

A SCARY fun house! Even better than just a FUN fun house :-)

And finally, what's better than a bride with a sense of humor:

My friend Betsy set up this shot, she has the best sense of humor of anyone I know! I'm in the picture, too, can you tell which one is me?

1. I love going to ....
2. Do you think it hurts when a ....
3. ... is one of my favorite decorations.
4. My collection of ... is important to me.
5. How many ... does it take til ....
6. Up, up and away in my beautiful ...
7. I am SO looking forward to ... this weekend!

HAHAHAH I forgot to fill this in last Friday!

1. I love going to Grendel's.
2. Do you think it hurts when a heart is broken?
3. Skeletons is are one of my favorite decorations.
4. My collection of camera lenses is important to me.
5. How many lies does it take til a person stops believing?
6. Up, up and away in my beautiful denial of reality!
7. I am SO looking forward to not going to work this weekend!

12:00 AM - Comments (19)

The boys and I had fun with Michelle up in Salisbury yesterday! It's always fun to have an extra set of hands to hold a leash, steady a dog, free me up to visit with cute puppies or whatnot!

Came home and made a mushroom lasagne, using the sauce I'd had simmering all day. Pictures forthcoming!

Saturday, I did nothing. Seriously.

Friday, it was coooooooooooooold out; Megan and I were supposed to go to McCormick & Schmick's for dinner, but I just didn't have it in me to traipse around Boston in the cold. So we went to Macaroni Grill, ordered a bottle of wine, had some pasta and collapsed at Barnes & Noble til they closed. I read Hannibal Rising...not quite a book, more like an outline. Still, I read about 70 pages LOL!

How was your weekend?

That was tasty! Just one more bite!

I was driving to work this morning, scanning through the radio, when I heard "Sweet Caroline"; it took a minute to register that it wasn't Neil Diamond (I cannot STAND Neil Diamond, sorry to anyone who likes him, but ... UGH! Maybe something bad happened to me during a Neil Diamond song [and lord knows there were many opportunies in my early days for THAT to happen] or something, cause, ... JUST UGH!) singing it, so I flipped back to listen to who it was. At first I thought it was a failed American Idol joke thing...then I thought maybe it was Tom Jones. The more I listened, the more I was sure it was Tom Jones. Um...no. It was Dave Matthews (live from the Fenway LOL). This blew my mind! Dave Matthews sounds like Tom Jones? Who else wouldn't I recognize if I heard a random song by (damn, what great sentence structure THAT had!).

So the next song I heard after that was "The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World; the first two lines were:

Hey, don't write yourself off yet
It's only in your head

Hardy har har...how friggin' appropriate!

This post brought to you by Ramblings of a Lunatic!

Here's last Wednesday's picture:

This is the shot it was cropped from:

ROFLMAO! So many of you made me laugh last week! The pierced fish lips, the eyes, the cursed gems...ahahahah!!! I love you guys! Anyway, this week it was Amy who was closest to getting it right: "My guess is a clam holding red earrings!"; as you can see, it's not a clam, but those are earrings! Thanks for playing :-)

So this week...

What is it?

Recently, An Island Life was giving away a book...and I just happened to win it (thanks again!!!):

I tried to read at Barnes & Noble one night, but it just hit too close to home, you know? Now I can read it in the privacy of my own home (ha. more or less) and cry if I want to.

An excerpt: "So," she said, moving away, "now you know how badly someone wanted you, Charley. Children forget that sometimes. They think of themselves as a burden instead of a wish granted."

That was me...but I still think I was a burden.

Anyway, I'd like to continue what An Island Life started and pass this on when I'm done with it, so if you'd like to read it, please leave a message. I'll draw a name at random and away it'll go :-)