Ooooh Oooooh Ooooh Ooooh-wah-ooooh

Do you guys know that song on the dog commercials that sounds all sweet and happy and is just "ooooh"s? When I got home from the vet last night, the honey was watching Scrubs. And it was the one where Cox tells Carla she'll have the courage, Kelso tells Turk he had a heart all along, and JD tells Elliott she has the brains. Then the a capella guys are singing that and someone is playing the ukelele. And when they finally get to the opening lines, it turns out to be "Over The Rainbow". I burst into tears. I was crying for my lost childhood and the things that my family has put each other through. I was crying for my Papa and my mom and the smell of a real Christmas tree and how wonderful it used to be even though it was rotten underneath. I am crying now, again, for all those things. I'm scared I won't ever have enough money and that I'll never have a career that makes me fulfilled and that I'll have to have another biopsy which was the most painful experience of my entire life. I miss being a kid. I miss going to Orka and Papa's with Daddy and Mommy, and having Mom and Orka "take a nap" while Papa took me to Baskin Robbins in the dead of winter for a mint-chocolate-chip-on-a-sugar-cone. I miss coming back and seeing all the presents under the tree that Santa "delivered" while Mom and Orka were "sleeping". I miss being five.

Bah.

Poop on the world. My finger hurts, the dog cost me $80 at the vet last night and chewed one of my planties, my honey argued with me this morning over something completely pointless... Plus it's rainin', and the snow's a-comin'. Poop.

Sherious Shtuff

Lisey's Story is making me tell the honey much more often how I feel about him. I can't describe the book in genre or plot, except to say that it's captivating. When I was in middle school, I used to wait for my stepdad to pick me up at 4:30. I would read outside in a pine tree if it was nice, or inside on the benches by the front windows if it was nasty. It was a common occurrence that people would try to talk to me while I was reading, and I wouldn't know it until they came right up in front of me. That's how I am with most Stephen King books - I get so immersed that when I come up for air I feel like this is the fantasy world, and the world in the book is the one that's real. I know people probably think I'm silly for saying this, but I am of the opinion that Stephen King writes literature, not just fiction.

My mom and stepdad are on their way to do a walk-through of their new house. They stopped to see the place where my great-grandparents are buried, and my great-great grandmother. She was always called Grandmother. VERY old when she died - Oomah's mother. So my mother's father's mother's mother. Long one, eh?

I got to talk girlie talk with the copier sales rep today - she is engaged! And I always worry that I will creep out brides-to-be by sharing my ideas, but we had a great time talking about it. So that was fun. I always like to help people with that stuff - I've done all this research, and it doesn't cost me anything to share it! Plus we have similar tastes and budget, and I showed her a glitzy, gorgeous dress I thought would be just perfect for her!

Life is good, but I feel like there's a windstorm lurking just over the horizon. Something big is about to happen - not necessarily bad, but definitely big. Big.

I have so much I want to talk about, and I can't! I want to tell you what I want to get the honey for Christmas, but he reads the blog. So better not to say anything. It's killing me!

The copier is still utterly fantastic, in case you were wondering. I love it muy much.

Sarah, Don't Read This!

This is a picture of Sarah's birthday gift, which I got from Cammy at BeJigged. Sarah, don't look! I want you to be surprised when you open your present on Saturday!!!








Sarah don't look Sarah don't look Sarah don't look Sarah don't look Sarah don't look Sarah don't look Sarah don't look Sarah don't look Sarah don't look Sarah don't look Sarah don't look Sarah don't look Sarah don't look Sarah don't look Sarah don't look Sarah don't look Sarah don't look


























Aren't they amazing!?!?!?! They're even more beautiful in person, and longer than I imagined they'd be. They're so elegant, and the labradorite is really amazing. It glows like moonstone but is prettier because it's deeper. They're absolutely gorgeous.

I am reading Lisey's Story right now - the new Stephen King - and it is really great so far. I will keep you posted. Buy boho jewelry from Cammy - you will love it!

C'est Fini!

I'm done decorating! Doesn't it look great? I wish it were a real tree, but this one is really good-looking for a fake tree.














Here's a closeup. Some of my favorite old ornaments are in the picture. I also have some great new ones that I got as gifts.


Here is the creche. I love it.











The mantel with my stocking and the not-working snowglobe. Also shown is the new system for keeping the entertainment armoire's doors open on the "hill" it sits on.


I finally finished painting the living room! Ooh, I'm so happy to be done with this!









Cuddle puppy.
















I wrote a whole big long post about the things I want, the struggle between serene happiness and wanting to shop, and all these things that are on my Christmas list. Then I tried to delete one picture, and it all erased. So I'm not really going to go into it again here. Just sit back and look at the inside of my decorating mind. I love this wardrobe because of the mirror and the fact that it's traditional. The Aspelund wardrobe from IKEA. $200.

The Leksvik wardrobe from IKEA, $200. Traditional and fabulous. The honey has built up his wardrobe and now needs more space. I think an armoire, which I've always wanted, would be perfect.




This is the side table I want for the Guano Room, from West Elm. Now I have a dilemma. Do I want these because they are the "originals", or should I get the ones that are close at Target and save half of the money that I would have spent on these?








The shelf I want from homedecorators.com to display the honey's Red Sox bat.

Side table from You-Know-Where that would be an okay replacement for the campaign side table that my Daddy said he would make for me. But a Daddy-made table would be better, of course.



Had a pretty good weekend...some weird things happened and I've been a little bummed out today, but it's been really nice weather and we got a lot of things accomplished. So I will call it good. Super-highlights: I am being good about shopping! Cammy is starting my custom ring! The house is happy to be clean! Some of the craziness: honey was really pissy this afternoon. People were talking to themselves at Kohl's last night. My car made a weird noise today when we were out for a drive.

Thank You for Letting Me Be Me

Our Thanksgiving with my dad and the C.D. was fantastic. We had a perfect, juicy turkey, some peppery mashed potatoes with sour cream, homemade stuffing using C.D.'s mom's recipe, corn, peas, canned cranberry sauce, and for dessert: custard apple pie, pumpkin pie, and shortbread with chocolate. It was really great. My dad's new furniture had arrived, so we could sit in the ergonomically magical oak chairs and pick at the food long after we would have been uncomfortable in any other chairs. My dad hates TV, but he set it up so the honey could watch football, and we all sat around watching the games. The C.D. and I looked at old catalogs.

Radar had a great time, too. He absolutely loves my dad and the C.D., and he followed my dad around the whole place looking like Babe with his little bowed back legs. He and I went down to the future livestock pasture and sniffed at the brush pile. He drank from the little creek, and we ran full speed back up from the little valley by the apple trees. When it got dark, the trees in the distance were perfectly silhouetted by the sunset, the pond was glass-still, and the little sliver of moon was shining down. I really love my dad's farm.

Next week, my friend Sarah is coming to visit and we're going to bum around town and celebrate her birthday a little early. Cammy has assured me that Sarah's birthday present will be arriving this week from Canada! And soon I should also be getting my custom ring from BeJigged. I'm so excited!

I won the wishbone-pull last night, and I wished for something big. The C.D. said she wished for something similar. I think it's really getting close - but then again, I've said that lots of times before...

I hope you all are having a good end to your week!

PS: I have my Christmas cards halfway done, but I've lost interest...and the tree has some of my favorite ornaments on it already.

E-Tree

This is my cutie-pie Santa mobile. Isn't he sweet?

This is the Christmas tree with lights. Ornaments soon!

My faboo shortbread with chocolate. After making a double batch of shortbread, sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Wait until melty, then spread with a spatula.

Wrapped presents. Aren't they pretty?

This is one of the funniest things ever. It's a wedding announcement to my great-grandfather from his sister. On the envelope, my great-grandfather (Oompah) has written, "WHEREIN MY SISTER HAS DONE IT." I think that is the shit!

The silk quilt I want from Target. Not in this color, obviously.

The lamps I want from Target for the Guano Room.

More later. Words, not pics. I think this is enough pictures for one day!

Some Thoughts

I put up the tree last night, and it is looking fantastic. Our tree is a fake one that comes in lots of pieces. It has a base, two middle posts, and innumerable branches that you pop into the holes in the posts. It starts at M and works its way up to F. There are six for each layer, which I guess would make 48 sections of branches. Then the top is a conical section of branches that also have to be artfully arranged. The first year it took me three days to set it up. Last night it was less than two hours. Lights are next.

I also stapled (sh! don't tell!) a Santa-face mobile to the header over the inlets (space between foyer and living room), and it also looks fab. My grandma and grandpa used to send out something cute every year to everyone on their Christmas list. Once it was hand-pressed intaglio prints that I made from an old copper plate that my great-great-great aunt did. (She was an artist who taught at Oberlin College.) Another year it was crocheted ducks that pooped JellyBellys. And one year it was this cute mobile, which I will take pictures of and post.

I was shocked while reading an article about saving money during the holidays the other day. One of the first "tips" the article listed was, "Don't buy new decorations - put up last year's or trade with a neighbor." Wha? Is this really what people do - buy all new decorations each year? Call me crazy, but I always thought the best thing about Christmas was hanging the "1984" mailbox that I used to hide Hershey's Kisses in. Or putting up my Ball-jar-lid Jesus ornament that I made in Sunday school, with garish gold glitter and a yarn hanger. Or hanging the porcelain bells for the Twelve Days of Christmas that Orka used to hang from her chandaliers. Putting out the creche that was from Italy, whose hay-room used to hold my Smurfette doll prisoner. Hanging my Santa-face stocking with the angora beard and remembering reaching way, waaaayyy down into it when I was little to get the apple and orange at the bottom. These are the best parts of holiday decorating for me - tying myself back to my family traditions. I also came across some more art, some photos of a trip to the Bahamas that I love, and some old B&W copies of my dad's parents from when they were young. I will be framing them and probably making a display in the upstairs hall, right where you come up the stairs. It occurred to me while thinking about this that the objects I love most aren't especially valuable - I also came across all my change coins from Ireland - 20p, 10p, etc. I am easily pleased with little things. They make me happy.

(Shriek!)

The copier is now networked. I printed a proposal presentation for the big boss this morning and it looked even better than on our color printer! Eeeeee!

My horoscope says that my relationships will be moving to the next level tonight. I've heard that before from the stars, though.

We have yummy apples for pie and our free Nestle Chocolatier morsels for shortbread, and all the presents are bought except three. And I only need to figure out one of those - I know what I'm getting for the other two people.

I also did a good deed and shared my discount-store coupon with our IT guy today - I saw a sweater that would be perfect for him there, and I was telling him how great it is.

My Christmas cards are almost ready, and they're really cute.

Here was my art project: I was using silk dye to paint some watercolor paper to be invitations. It didn't go so well, as mentioned earlier, but I think I know what will make it better. Instead of trying to swirl pink and yellow, I'm doing a pink wash on one side and a yellow wash on the other. And then what do you think of vellum envelopes? I thought that would be cool.

Eeeeeeeeee!

Yep, Aliens.

Haley's right - it's definitely aliens. Since I'm awake super-early AGAIN this morning, I realized something else that shows I'm being replaced by an alien version of myself - I've been getting up ridiculously early almost every day. Not that I'm some bum who always sleeps late, but this weekend we got up before eight every day. And don't forget that I woke up at quarter to four on Friday. Definitely something wrong with me.

Another thing - Road Rage Jennie hasn't been rearing her ugly head as often. (Erika, yesterday was just a fluke! I swear!) I have been much more sanguine when it comes to stupid people driving.

Okay, enough of this. I made some art last night. It was good. Ish. It didn't turn out exactly as I'd hoped, but I learned what I need to do to make it better. We'll see how it goes.

Talk to you later!

Whatwhatwhat?!

Something very strange has happened. Something mystical. Something bizarre. Prepare yourself for this. It's very odd.

I have a coupon for Bath & Body Works. It will give me one free item of my choice, with a value up to $12.50. I could not find anything at Bath & Body Works that I had to have. And believe me, I tried. I came out of Bath & Body Works empty-handed. And they have a lilac candle that actually smells like lilacs. EMPTY-HANDED!

Okay. No big whoop. I also have a two coupons for my favorite local discount store. The one where we always find thousands of dollars of things that we want, like Coach purses and suits for the honey at awesome prices. I looked at but didn't buy a Via Spiga white leather purse that would have been $80, a chunky wool sweater for the honey that would've been $24, and a velvet queen-sized quilt that would have been $46. Plus a pair of leather woven gloves that I've wanted for months, and which would've been $40. I only bought the honey's brother's Christmas gift, and a $6 pair of salt and pepper shakers to replace the ones that don't work that we have.

I seriously think there's something wrong with me. Maybe it's that I'm still feeling under the weather from my weird sickness from Friday. Also consider the fact that it's seven o'clock, and I'm exhausted.

Do you think aliens kidnapped me and put an alien parasite in my body that's turning me into someone else?

La Grippe Ha Ha Ha

That's a Squirrel Nut Zippers song. I was working on some things yesterday morning when a giant wave of nausea washed over me. I picked up the phone and dialed the first three numbers of the big boss' cell phone, and I was thinking, do I really need to go home? I felt really awful, but I didn't want to be a wimp. While I was trying to decide, one of our clients called about a meeting she and I were supposed to have. I told her I wasn't feeling well, and she told me she had the same thing all last weekend. The waves washed over me some more, and I talked to the boss and left early. It was weird because I would feel relatively okay, and then just awful for about a minute. I think I must have had a little fever, too, because I went to bed cold and woke up roasting. The honey was feeling a bit under the weather yesterday, too. Mine was also weird because it hurt right at my ribs all the way down to the lower belly. Sucks!

Today we are both feeling somewhat better. We went to my most favorite place in the whole world, where the Guano Room bedside tables are $20 off. They don't have them online! I meant to take a picture but got distracted. They had so much cute stuff! And I was really good - I only bought one kind of Christmas cards, and I didn't buy the huge metallic gold balls that I saw.

I do not feel very motivated to wrap or put up tree. Good thing it's only Saturday. I'm suddenly feeling completely unmotivated to do anything.

Christmas Time Is Coming So Soon

But Hanukkah is coming even sooner! Everyone make Haley's Hanukkah bright by ordering things from her store, www.kidsdeserveart.com. She's having a sale!

The new copier is blurry brill. Life is happy. Replenished the coffers this morning and bought my stepdad's Christmas present - it's so cool, he's gonna love it.

I woke up at four this morning, and it occurred to me that now I can mail my friend Jenny the present I bought her! I was so excited that I couldn't sleep and I went downstairs and chilled and surfed and ate breakfast one of two.

It's kind of neat and sunny here today! It's supposed to rain and be cold all day, but it's pretty right now...hopefully the honey won't freeze to death out there.

I am so excited about Christmas - I have about half my presents bought already. Usually I am done way before this, but whaddaya-whaddaya. The only people I'm stuck on are the people I'm always stuck on. What do you buy for the man who has everything, when you have a limited budget?

Arti arti arti arti

I found one of my favorite photos as I was moving all my albums to the whatever-it-is piece of furniture in the front foyer.
I was coming home from the back of the art building and the grass behind my dorm was just glistening in the sun, and glowing too. It was so beautiful! So I took a picture. If you like this picture too, I can get you one. I will post more hopefully soon.




Another good day today. I was down a little bit last night, but today is going relatively well. Hope you are having a good day too!

Joy To The World...

...The Copier's Here!
Let every person/
Prepare their documents/
Let Jennifer rejoice and sing/
Let Jennifer rejoice and sing/
Let Je-e-e-ennifer rejoice and sing!



Also working on a manuscript and have a publishing contact at Hyperion. (!!!)

ALSO am getting a chicken sandwich with mayonnaise for dinner tonight - exactly what I'm craving.

ALSO doing something fun - a cost/benefit analysis on a new website system for work. I love sales as long as my supper doesn't depend on it!

ALSO got a personal e-mail from Lillian Too about my plant situation at home. Lillian says to put your plants at the south to get recognition and career success. Tracey and Haley - give it a shot for a boost! I am utterly CONVINCED that feng shui worked for me.

I love you all and I'm very happy today even though it's bleak and rainy. Life is good!

Feng Shui-ing Your A** Off

So here's the dilly-yo. I moved my avocado plant from the southwest corner of the house (library windows) because Lillian Too said that it's bad feng shui. Immediately, I began to find all kinds of great opportunities. But the avocado seemed to be drooping - he enjoys lots of sun. So I moved him in between the blue chairs, and didn't hear from our new possibly-rainmaking client at all. Today I moved it back toward the east, and she called and came in to work on her presentation for advertisers and donors for her company. Weird, ne c'est pas?

I don't know what I'll do if he starts to droop again.

PS: I've already started wrapping Christmas presents.

I'm NOT Obsessed...

...Yeah, right.


This is what I was thinking for the background color. If money is no object. These are not a bad price, just more than the budget. But don't you like the way I formatted the different text sections?

The little box is the color I'm hoping for. Guess will have to order samples! Eventually. When we are actually ready to do it. Sick of hearing about this yet?

Yeah, I don't want "Big Bird yellow". I want a sweet little yellow. Why does this happen? I guess because the small box is actually a picture of the paper, and the preview is a computer-generated color. I am leaning toward this yellow.

Wictory is Mine!

Ha HA ha! Figured out how to send photos from my phone. Apparently you can do it with Outlook but not Yahoo! Mail. Poo.

Papa update: going home from the hospital today. He was able to swallow some and he's better off at the nursing home anyway - they are very nice there.


This is my dad's gorgeous table set that is being made for him. So awesome!









This is the beautiful beveled edge on the table. It's simple, but it really makes the whole thing look great.

These are the super-comfy chairs that I could sit in all day and not have my butt get tired or my back hurt! I was afraid Daddy wouldn't think they were comfortable because he's so much taller than me, but he liked them too.







This is a picture of the actual mango that gave me the idea for the "mango" color scheme. Isn't that crazy-cool? I really like the way it looks. I won't be DOING that, since I don't believe in that level of assigned seating, but it is a great inspiration. This is scanned, not from my phone, but I wanted to include it here.
Here is a blue-and-gold macaw named Casino that loves to be petted and give kisses. I met him at PetSmart. In this picture, he is FULL-ON sticking his tongue through the bars to kiss my hand! He is sweet.

Fall

It's my favorite.






















The linden tree in front of our house, and the maple (I think) across the street.

The coolest urns I've ever seen. "Campaign" style, just like the little table I want. These urns make this my favorite downtown building. One of our clients is leasing it.

Papa Update: Still in the hospital. They're planning to send him home on Monday (back to the nursing home). I wish I could give him a hug and squeeze his hand. I hope his unconscious mind is someplace fun, and not at the hospital. I hope that in his brain he is doing something he loves - maybe wiring a building or making something. And when he takes a break from his work, I hope he has a sandwich on rye and some nice iced tea. And something good for dessert. Then I hope he splits a banana with Inky and gets a kiss from Orka. I hope that he is having a great dream that he never has to be afraid or sad in. Then I hope we meet in our dreams tonight, and he tells me my favorite bedtime story: how screws are made in a die in a factory.

We're planning to do chores today and go see my dad tomorrow. I can't wait! It's raining today, which ruined my plans. I went to Target this morning, and I've revised my Christmas list. Now I only want Target gift cards. They have everything I want there! Mmm. I love Target!

My Papa Isn't Doing Too Well

That is my Papa. He isn't doing too well today. He went to the hospital last night because he couldn't swallow anything. They put him on an IV, but he has a DNR order and a no-feeding-tube order. He's 83 and has advanced dementia. NOT ALZHEIMER'S! Just dementia. He will probably go back to the nursing home for the weekend, but it's sad and scary and I wish he didn't have to go through all this.

I loved all my grandparents very much, and it's really hard to lose them. I know that I'm a big girl and I shouldn't care so much, but I miss my Papa and I wish he would go back to normal.

I don't know whether he's already somewhere else and his body is just left behind, or if he's trapped in there and can't be free. I miss him. I worry that I'll forget them and won't have the pieces of them that are me anymore.







I wish no one ever died. That is me, my mom, my great-grandmother ("Oomah"), and my grandfather ("Papa").














I love that I am totally flopped over in this picture. Isn't my dad handsome?














This picture makes me happy. And jealous of my mom's awesome suit! Look how hot she is!
















In other news: We are getting the copier next week! Our usually-truculent IT guy is totally on board and is even bringing an extra-long network cable!

Also, we had a building fire safety meeting today, and it made me want to go live in a bomb shelter way out in the country and sell things on eBay. Then Tessa and Ray made me feel better. Probably nothing bad will happen. Except fire drills.

Hopefully tonight will be a good night, and this weekend will be a good weekend. I'm sorry this is so lacking in timeliness and content, but I've been crazy-busy and emotional today. Just got these pics scanned in and wanted everyone to be able to see them.

Chug, Chug, Chug Went Persuasion...

Ding ding ding went the bells (hopefully!)

Don't get all excited - it's not ON yet. But we talked about it again last night! I have a moral dilemma. If the church is more than $800, we'll be even more over budget. But if it's free or cheap for members, and we become members just to save money, then that's evil. But neither one of us wants to go to church just for the "fun" of it. We're just not church people. And the honey said that $800 is worth six months of sleeping in on Sundays. He also called me a "Methadonian" and said that all Methodists take crank. Poop on him!

We also talked about the food last night. We went to our favorite cheap Chinese place, and I wondered aloud if they did catering. The honey wants our favorite NOT-cheap Chinese place, and I questioned their ability to fit into our budget. He said he thought that wouldn't be a problem. And he said that if I don't let him have egg rolls in addition to the crab Rangoons at the tables, he would trade his crab Rangoons to someone from his group of guests.

He also approved the "mango" color scheme!




See, now isn't that more exciting and fun than plain old white roses? This is $30. Maybe the girls will get corsages or simple little bouquets I can make myself.









I love the way Brittany Murphy's hair looks here. Do I really need a veil at the reception? This would also work with the flowers on a barrette straight across the back, and a veil that fell from there.
















Christy, remember that dress I thought of that I described to you? The top of it looked a little like this. Although not so much decolletage for me in church, thank you!

YOU'RE ON THE WRONG TRACK, VILSACK!

This is something we used to say when Governor Vilsack was running for governor in Iowa. See, he had a commercial where various people talked about his conservative policies, and then would say enthusiastically, "You're on the right track, Vilsack!" But obviously my college friends and I didn't agree with his conservative policies, what with wanting to choose what to do with our unborn children and being able to say that we helped people in need with social programs.

Also, when I was in high school, we used to joke about this thing called the "Three-Prong Attack". When a male person accosted one, one could use this to ensure that the male attacker would suffer and let the potential victim go. Well, Governor Vilsack had a "Three-Prong Attack" for dealing with the meth problem in Iowa. We thought this was uproariously hilarious, so we used to shout, "Three-Prong Attack! You're on the WRONG TRACK, VILSACK!!!!" all the time when we were freshmen (freshwomen).

Now Governor Vilsack has said that he will run for President. I beg you, PLEASE! now that we have ousted the Republicans from Congress, don't put another one in the White House! He's waaaay worse for Iowa than Branstad ever was, and he'll be bad for the rest of the country too. Help me convince Powell and Nader to run together. Or Scott Adams and my honey, who have great (but a little weird) ideas for dealing with America's social ills. The honey wants to give everyone the option of having up to three years, either accrued or all at once, that they can be on welfare. But they have to be going to school or working on getting a job. At the end of their three years, that's it! No more, ever. Good plan, don't you think?

Whoa Baby!

What a day yesterday was! The Dems have practically taken over, the minimum wage will go up in Ohio, and smoking is banned in public places throughout the state. AND Britney is throwing Kevin out for good!

I have to say that I've become more conservative since I voted for Nader. I didn't want the minimum wage to go up, and here's why: minimum wage goes up. Employer expenses go up. Cost of everything goes up. Minimum wage no longer buys more. Minimum wage earners lose again. Also, I have seen meth-heads living on welfare and growing weed in their bathtub, so I think our welfare system is really broken. But take heart! I have some liberal leanings still! I am VERY pro-choice, and I think all couples should receive the benefits afforded to married people. Hell, I even wanted to start my own group once that would fight for the rights of non-married heterosexual couples. Imagine the pressure that would be reduced if I could get health care from the honey's company without having to file jointly! PLUS under our current social laws, if something happened to me, the honey would have no property rights or rights to contribute ideas to the disposal of myself and my assets, even though they are, in practice, his.

Oop! Gotta go! Let me know what you all think of this later. But be nice: I'm feeling sensitive.

Honey, You Don't Need Revenge

I had some epiphany this morning when I went back to bed. Here's what I came up with:

You shouldn't get revenge on people, especially years after the fact, because shocking someone with surprise violence is really evil. I had the worst nightmare last night about the honey and the dog getting crushed by a truck by a guy who was trying to steal a watch. And I was thinking about someone who did me wrong whom I've never forgiven, and I imagined smashing his brains out with one of those in-flight telephones (he was doin' me wrong while I was gone). Then I realized that everyone is someone's honey, or kid, or friend, or SELF! and hurting them out of the blue is really bad. I was still thinking about it on my way to work, and I was thinking about wishing you'd said something to someone at the time, and letting that frustration fester until you want to bash their brains in. And I decided: you should serve your dish HOT, not COLD, and the only revenge you can morally be allowed to take is telling them something that you didn't tell them before to spare their feelings. Feel free to let loose about everything that bugged you once you know it's over, but don't slice their Achilles' tendon while they're getting out of bed.

PS: Who's that cute little bald baby there?

Some Pretty Stuff, Some News

Did you hear that Imelda Marcos is starting her own fashion line? Without knowing anything more than that headline, I predict it will make a big initial splash. Even though what she did was so, so wrong, her name is synonymous with fashion-consciousness.

Having an excellent day today. I e-mailed Cammy these pics of the ring I dreamed about one night. None of these are an accurate representation of what I dreamed about, but I know Cammy will make me something cool.

Also, here are some pictures of flower arrangements that I like. I could do the white ones myself (I think), and even though I really like the blue-blue-tan color scheme, I have also thought about a "Mango" theme based on a mango placeholder I saw once in InStyle magazine. It was a mango that was partly orange and partly fuschia, and it had the person's name written in gold marker for their place setting. So these Cherry Brandy roses would fit that theme nicely. And I don't want it to be TOO simple and colorless! I want it to have fun splashes of color, which is why I'm not too into the idea of white flowers. Of course, all this makes me have Billy Idol stuck in my head.




















And, on that note, Andy Warhol's "Gold Marilyn" has always been my favorite work of his. I love the way he uses religious iconography to comment on how we view our celebrities. But I recently discovered his "Diamond Dust Shoes" and I have to say that it might be my new favorite. I'm sure you can see why.