Funny Fruit

To Becky's growing list of misfit foods (Exhibits A, B, and C), I would like to add one asexual apple.

That just ain't right. I thought it tasted funny too, natch.

Cognac boots

This post is dedicated to Lola, Amanda and Dave. Each of you have been a significant part of my journey to finding the perfect pair (right color, right style, right price) of low-heeled, cognac boots. Thank you all for your support.

Please, feast your eyes! These are my new boots. They are Steve Maddens, purchased from TJ Maxx tonight for $40. Boo-yah.

I will wear these with love.

Bam Bam

Jennifer of the late '90s could often be found rocking a certain Flintstones T-shirt. It goes a little something like this: Bam Bam kisses Pebbles. She likeys what she sees. Pebbles attacks Bam Bam.

I pulled it off the shelf at my parents' house a couple weeks ago to wear for pajamas. And then took pictures of it because it's that cool.

Front. Pebbles is coy.

Back. And then, not so much. :-D That's my girl!

No Shutterfly photo book for me

I was all over the Shutterfly "SUMMERBOOK" deal for a free 8"x8" hardcover photo book if ordered by Aug. 26. I spent days crafting a book of my London trip only to find out at the bitter end that my account was not, in fact, eligible for such a lucrative deal. As a lover of all things bargain, that was a major blow. Now, I'm stewing over whether or not I want to order it by Sept. 1 for a paltry 20 percent off deal.

Since I can't show you my book in all it's paper glory (you know I would have showed it to you), this little slideshow will have to suffice.

Click here to view this photo book larger

And just in case you're stuck with IE6 and can't view this slideshow and get a message that says something to the extent of "the photo book has been deleted," please know that this is a lie!

Dave's Day at Famous Dave's

Be sure to take your favorite Dave, David or Davy to Famous Dave's this Sunday, Aug. 30 (it's Dave's Day), for a free entree! I'm taking mine.

I'm gonna eat me some ribs. Thanks for the tip, Lola!

La la la aviators

La la la. I got new prescription sunglasses! Since the recent demise of my vision, I've become dependent on my glasses when driving (good news for fellow drivers on American roadways). After a couple tough calls on whether it would be better to squint through the blindng sunshine, take off the glasses and go blurry with sunglasses, or try to perch one pair atop the other, I decided Rx shades were in order.

I hit up Zenni Optical again for glasses on the cheap...$17.90 total with shipping! I found many pairs that I thought would make good sunglasses, but my eyes are so freakishly close together, that my pupillary distance was too small to order those frames. I ended up with a petite pair of aviators. Suh-weet!

La la la. Taking pictures in bathroom mirror. La la la.

Squirrelizer

Prediction: blogs are going to be blowing up about this one. First there was this squirrel, now there's Squirrelizer (found thanks to Cute Overload)!

I'm doing my part to make it go big.

BAM! Squirrel! I knew it was going to happen -- I've been saying "squirrel" so much it sounds weird now. Word.

My official statement

Regarding international travel with an infant...It can be done, but it is not for the faint of heart.

Hey, baby, wanna go to Paris?

London. Done.

Where to next? I'm back from London and that's the question at the forefront of my mind. Now if only my paycheck would catch up with my big thinking. :)

London (and Paris, too!) was a fantastic experience. What made it so great? The people! No matter where I go, I'm reminded time and time again that it's the people that make the place.

Our international posse.

A little organized joy

Chances are this video is old news (and an organized PR thing). But, I keep watching it over and over again, so it's time for me to share. If my life was the musical that I wish it was, I'm pretty sure it would look like this.

If you are not among the 2,334,110 people that have already viewed this, please enjoy. And even if you are among that lucky 2.34 mil, please enjoy again.

ZOMG, London!

ZOMG! It's official; I'm going to LONDON! Never in my life have I made such a quick decision. My sister Becky answered the call for travel companion. Tickets are purchased. Hotel is booked. I am beyond excited...actually, in the spectrum of emotions, I'm halfway between excited and uh-what-did-I-just-do?!.

Becky and me just after we arrived at my aunt's house in Taiwan (May 2008). These two tired travellers are at it again. woot!

London, anyone?

My brother has been bugging me (daily!) that I need to take a vacation. And I've just found myself in an interesting predicament at work where I need to burn some of my Personal Time Off or else I will lose it. So, now with tickets to London costing just $491.72 on United, I think it is as good a time as any to go. Anyone want to go with me, say, in the next couple weeks? Come on, you know you wanna!

Who's in? We can make goofy faces (or throw up gang signs) in front of Big Ben if you'd like. Photo from flickr.

A Banner Day

This is an emergency post to say, today's Google banner might be the best EVER! Eric Carle's Very Hungry Caterpillar? Yes, please!

Spring has sprung on the Interwebs!

Do you doodle?

It's the doodle's day of reckoning! I just read an article from Time about a study that found doodling helps people pay attention. It requires just enough cognitive processes that it keeps people from daydreaming.

This is most excellent news for me, because I doodle a lot! And now, I've got science on my side to back up my hard and fast doodling ways.

I found these doodles on a sheet of scrap paper on my desk. I believe I originally started writing on this particular piece of paper to note how to treat wood rot. It evolved from there.

Homegirl got glasses

Hey, look! Homegirl got glasses! These are just a cheapy temporary pair to tide me over until my beefed up vision insurance plan kicks in in January and I can spring for pricier frames. The ones I'm currently sporting came from Zenni Optical, a super-discount online glasses retailer I learned about from Ashlynn's blog.* These bad boys only cost $8! With the added anti-glare lens coating and shipping costs, my grand total came to $17.50.

The one tricky part about ordering them was measuring my pupillary distance, which is the only necessary figure not considered part of the prescription, and therefore not provided by my eye doctor. So, I had a friend measure the distance between my pupils with a metric ruler about a dozen times until we both agreed that 53 mm did seem to be the correct measurement.

$17.50 never looked so good! With glasses, it's like I'm now viewing my world in high definition.

*Although it might sound as though Ashlynn and I are chums, I, in fact, do not know her. I just like to read her blog.

See what I mean?

Confirmed. Homegirl has to get glasses. Sad.

*Sigh* Such is life.

Guten Tag

Janelle tagged me. I now feel like I'm officially part of the blogging club!

Seven random things about me:

1. I don't like it when people (ahem, siblings) touch my collarbone, or spine for that matter. My collarbone may protrude farther than any other collarbone you've seen in your life, but you should still resist touching it. I think my aversion to this is similar to others' dislike of fingernails on a chalkboard.
2. More and more, I've discovered I like being at home. If not at my house, then at least in my city.
3. Unless you catch me after a workout, which are far and few between these days, you will rarely see me in sweats. I just feel so much more confident in something a little more structured.
4. I like a good literary nightcap. Although, I can't decide what I like better - that phrase or the actual act of reading before going to sleep.
5. I'm a "psycho magnet." That's what one such "psycho" told me on the bus tonight. Last week, he had turned around and called to me, halfway across the bus, "Yoo-hoo!" This kind of stuff happens with alarming regularity. Must buy mace.
   
6. I took some rocks from Machu Picchu back to the U.S. with me. I sometimes wonder if they are cursed like artifacts from the Egyptian pyramids. I doubt it, but my imagination can be quite vivid.
7. I'd rather ask you questions than divulge my own details

And here's a random photo. My mom, sisters and me.

Oh, Bee-have

A swarm of bees. That's what my friends and I were for Halloween. As a result, local hardware stores noted a shortage in yellow duct tape leading up to the big day.

Eleven of us swarmed the streets Friday night decked out in our best bee garb. While we all might have come from the same hive, we each took on our own persona. I went as a spelling bee. H-O-L-L-A. I love Halloween!

Here we have BYOB, Killer bee, B Real from Cypress Hill, Worker bee and Spelling bee.

Here's the whole hive, workin' it.

Dragon boat

Wee! Dragon boating has started once again. I'm not much of an athlete (read: I'm terrible at sports), but I think I do OK paddling the dragon boat. That said, we had our first practice tonight and I'm wiped out after just one hour on the water. I have a sneaking suspicion that I will feel all rigor mortis-y tomorrow morning.

It is a lot of fun though, and it does support something worthwhile. And - bonus - it makes me feel just a little bit like the Olympian I know I am inside (hehehe).

Last year. Pushing off. I'm the second one from the front on the port(?) side of the boat.

Ben Jammin'

This weekend I ventured to my hometown to watch my brother Ben perform as the Tin Man in his high school's rendition of the Wizard of Oz. He did such a great job! The whole show was quite good and incorporated some sweet technology (wink, wink siblings). Here's a little clip of Ben singing in the Emerald City. I wish I would have taped him during his solo, "If I only had a heart," but I was busy. Watching the show that is.


Can you hear Ben? He's the one with the low voice (baritone?).