Vox

"I hope I don't find another one"

How no one smelled the horror that authorities say may have been up in Glenn Parker's overgrown tree for a year is a mystery, but the partially mummified body made itself known last week.

Odd. Just odd.

Love Is All Around

Perhaps my single readers would be interested in this tip for finding your soulmate.

Register at a forum. The example I am using is AZ Central, but I hardly think these poor lonely, lost souls trawling the internet are limiting their search to our local news site.

I registered at AZ Central a while back to comment on some story or other. Today I received this:

Someone found your profile on azcentral.com and wanted to tell you the following:

"Dearest One, My name is jessy ,i saw your profile today and became intrested in you,i will also like to know you the more,and i want you to send an email to my email address so i can give you my picture for you to know whom i am.Here is my email address( jessylove_xx@xxxx.xxx) i believe we can move from here.I am waiting for your mail to my email address above.Miss jessy Remeber the distance or colour does not matter but love matters alot in life. Yours Love Miss jessy jessylove_xx@xxxx.xxx "

Geez, if I wasn't already involved it might be difficult to pass up a come on like that - you know, leaving aside the whole gender issue. [/sarcasm]

Obviously this is some fake come on fronting someone who "just needs a few hundred/thousand dollars to get out of Kenya/Nairobi/London and then we can be together forever" I can't believe they are bothering to sign up on an Arizona newspaper site to do this.

I also can't believe there are actually people out there who respond to this stuff...let alone get suckered into sending cash.

Who Is The Bad Guy?

I feel really sorry for this lady - really I do.

But how is Wal-Mart the bad guy here?

BTW: Did the family bother to sue their original lawyers for taking over half of the settlement?

Top O' The Mornin'

Missed It By That Much

I was in a Washington Mutual branch today and noticed that they are offering an 8 month CD with a 4.00% APY - with a $1,000.00 minimum and early withdrawal penalties. Not too bad, except...

ING is advertising in Kiplingers for a savings account with a 4.10% APY - no minimum, and easy access to your funds with no penalty. Oh, and they throw in a $25 bonus when you sign up.

Hmmmm......

The HGTV Effect

I have heard it mentioned that prosecutors are having trouble with what would have previously been sure win cases - they attribute it to the CSI Effect. The jury pool has seen so many forensic shows, they expect every case to come with iron clad physical evidence. If cops can't nail 'em with fingerprints and DNA, the jury will assume innocence (or not-so-reasonable doubt, anyway)

I think we are also seeing something I will refer to as the HGTV Effect. There are some wonderful shows on that make over a room, or several, for a very small budget. The problem is, the budget they reference doesn't include the cost of the professional plumbers, carpenters, electricians, etc. that they use. Sure, if you have the knowledge and skill, you can have those miraculous results for $500, $1000 or $2000 - but you probably don't. If you have to pay a contractor to, for instance, build a wall/replace a door/build and install bookcases, it will cost you more than the price of materials.

D is running into this on a regular basis now. It seems there are oodles of folks just itching to put up new patios, remodel their kitchens....but they want it done for the Designed to Sell, Design on a Dime price. Yep, you guessed it - the price of materials.

Good To Know

I have honestly never heard anyone say "champing at the bit" - but if I ever do, I'll know they got it right.

I Am Vox, Slayer of Weeds

Yard work - hate it.

No, not, "Gee I wish I didn't have to do this" - I really, really HATE it. Further, I live in the desert, I shouldn't have to do it. I purposely disabled my automatic sprinklers because I think it is silly to have a lawn here; why waste all that water to make something grow - when you are just going to have to mow it when it does?

However, it does seem a shame to kill something that manages to grow here. But when I realized that my backyard was so overgrown with weeds packs of wild great Danes could be wandering in there and I would never know, I decided it was time to do something. I have hired people in the past, but they are remarkably unreliable - and expensive. Oh, and did I mention the size of my backyard? I refer to it as the Ponderosa - my house was built on a corner lot in 1960, back when they still included yards.

Gross Out Advertising

I've been seeing a new Carl's Jr ad lately, I think the product was a chili cheese burger. The script has a girl telling her companion he has a little something on his face. When he asks, "Here?", she replies. "More in this area". Then they show him as he asks, "Did I get it?"

And it looks like he has thrown up all over himself.

Were they hoping to make potential customers lose their appetite? Because I sure did.

Free Tech Support

Yep, FREE - until March 15th anyway.

Check out MinuteFix.

(After March 15th, it will be $.99 per minute with the first 5 minutes free)

Protecting the Pretty

February 26, 1919 - Grand Canyon Joins National Park Service

First designated a forest preserve in 1893, the Grand Canyon joins the National Park Service when President Woodrow Wilson signs a bill designating it the 17th national park. The Grand Canyon's annual visitation rate will be 44,173 in 1919. By 2008, that number will have reached more than 4.4 million.

Free Press

The AZ Repugnant had an editorial today regarding the lawsuit brought by the West Valley View against Sheriff Joe and his office. (I would link it if I could find it in their on-line edition, but they are far from being that new media friendly)

The gist of the suit regards the decision by some MCSO staffers to remove the West Valley paper from their press release email list. Apparently, they were removed in response to reporting on Arpaio that the MCSO found offensive - though I don't think the motive has much bearing on the issue.

Elliott Freireich, publisher of the West Valley View, filed his suit claiming that his First Amendment rights were being violated. He keeps winning - and the MCSO keeps appealing. The Republic, or whoever wrote this editorial anyway, feel that Sheriff Joe is wasting taxpayer money fighting this lawsuit.

Perhaps.

But how does Freireich have a leg to stand on, and how does he keep winning?

His First Amendment rights would only be violated if someone was keeping him from publishing - no one is doing that. He, or one of his employees, could go to the trouble of getting the information through more old school means.

The WVV is a for-profit enterprise that in most cases ends up going directly from the driveway to the trash can. To claim that he needs to receive the press releases via email to provide a service to his readers is presuming facts not in evidence. (D lives in the West Valley, I have tried to read the paper - not even the ads are worth the time - and I have seen them littering the driveways of his neighbors who don't expend the effort to pick them up until trash day)

Why should the MCSO, or any other office, public or private, be required to provide information to any Tom, Dick or Harry who wants it, in the format they want to receive it? Further, why would you provide it when you know it is only sought as fuel for their editorial fire? If I wanted to start a blog that did little more than regurgitate information from other sources, and criticize Sheriff Joe (it would be easy enough to do), they shouldn't be forced to add me to their list.

It would have been easier, and cheaper, for the Sheriff's office to simply add the paper back to the email distribution list. Perhaps they should have. (Though it would appear from what I have read that Freireich would still have found a basis for a continuation lawsuit)

There simply is no reason they should have to, and no reason for them to have thought they would lose the suit.

Is there?

Home Improvement

It's nearly time to start your Spring Cleaning, with that you may want to consider some improvements, as well. Something as simple as new fixtures can give your room a lift. New ceiling fans allow you to use your AC less (and the newer styles are much more attractive).

Ready to go all out? Why not add a patio to take advantage of out great weather - perfect for parties or just enjoying a glass of wine with your significant other.

How about a new bathroom or an improved kitchen? Not only can it make your life easier, those are two investments that pay off big time in resale value when you decide to move.

If I have your attention - I recommend you check out this website.

This is Beautiful

What is more important for the environment, the trees or the solar energy?

Pot Kills Brain Cells

Need proof, read this.

Looking for a Lawyer?

Thinking of choosing one from their remarkably annoying TV commercials?

You may want to avoid this guy.

PR

There is a company that has made their mark by pushing the censors and getting their Super Bowl ads rejected - for several years now.

The ads themselves are not particularly clever (this year may be the stupidest one yet) but their marketing is genius. They buy one ad slot, produce one offensive, unplayable ad, and the news media reports about it for weeks. There were at least two separate 'news' stories about it in todays Arizona Repugnant. There have been stories about it on Foxnews.com, USA Today, ESPN, Perez Hilton.....

Again, they do this every year. Nothing new to report, no surprise to their approach.

One ad buy, unlimited coverage. Brilliant

and also freakin' annoying.

Six More Weeks

Happy Ground Hog Day, anyway

Design Flaw

I recently picked up a roll of stamps. The man at the counter asked me if I wanted "flags or flowers"? That seems easy, of course I want the flags. Until I get home and unwrap them and see these.

Just plain fugly. How in the world do you take the red, white & blue and make it look so bad. Guess I should've done a bit of research first.

I wonder what the flowers look like? Hmm, pretty.

Satisfied

Accordingly to a poll in the February 2008 Playboy magazine, those respodents who are supporting Fred Thompson have the most frequent sex.

I'm just sayin'

Greatest Invention Ever

Well, that may be a bit of hyperbole. It is my favorite invention lately.

The heated mattress pad. Amazing, fantastic...cozy.

The one I am using is from Sunbeam, but only because that was what they had on sale at WalMart.

I love climbing into a warm bed. I love that when I stick my hand under the pillow, it is toasty. I love that if I wake up in the middle of the night, I am cozy and can just roll over and drift back to sleep.

Bliss.

The sleep fixation runs in my family

What Day Is It?

Christmas is only 9 days away!

Where have I been?

I do have a cushion with my family Christmas, which is on January 5th, but I am seriously behind on gifts for friends. And I have no idea what I am making for my ornament this year, so those two extra weeks are very important.

Yikes!

Marriage is Good For You

As long as you wear the ring.

Who The Heck Is Ashanti?

And why was she singing the National Anthem before the Cowboys/Jets game?

Ouch.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope you and yours have a safe and blessing filled day!

Lazy Sunday

Just about perfect way to spend the day:

At D's house, watching football together, reading the Sunday paper, rocking the high speed connection on my laptop.

Life is good.

Not Shaken or Stirred

I've never considered myself a drama queen, but this seems a bit to the other extreme, even for me...

You Are As Cool As They Come

Rational and relaxed, no one could accuse you of being dramatic. You roll with the punches, and nothing ever gets you too worked up. You are able to maintain perspective and see the big picture. And even if you're emotional inside, you don't let it show. You're great at keeping it together, and you're rewarded for that. People see you as an ideal friend, employee, and partner.

Happy Birthday, D

I didn't get on my blog yesterday, so I didn't get this up - sorry it's late, Handsome.

Work Product

I just saw a clip of the striking Writers Guild members outside the set of Desperate Housewives.

Their chant: "We write the storia for Eva Longoria"

Seriously, these are professional writers who are claiming they deserve more money - and that is the best they can come up with?

Yes, I Have Scary Hobbies

NameThatSerialKiller.com - Test your serial killer knowledge

Curious about the rating, which is below Sherlock Holmes level. How do I get them all correct on the first clue and not get the top score?

via Michael-Diebler.com

Falling

I got a new video editing program (not for any particular reason or project) and was testing some of the features. I wanted to test the 'Smart Movie' option, so I dug up this old video from our skydiving trip several years ago. I then selected a song, Falling by Kim Richey, and the program did the rest - it sliced and diced the original footage and churned out this little clip.

So, now you all know what I look like...or at least what I looked like years ago. Such a dork :-P

TIDBITS: It selects the different clips randomly, but matched the lyrics "best friend and lover" to the bit where I give my instructor a cuddle before the jump - funny. At the end of the video, it managed to include clips of all the important people that were there; my nephew (it was his birthday), my sister, her friend, and me.

A Legacy

Today in Legal History

OCTOBER 2, 1967 - Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall Sworn In

Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Before becoming the court's first African-American justice, Marshall led the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He successfully argued Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas before the Supreme Court in 1954.

How disappointed would he be in the NAACP today?

You Are Now Free To Move Outside The Country

I almost forgot to mention - I got my passport yesterday. When I finally managed to get the application in (boy, they don't make it easy, do they?) I was told I would have to wait until at least October 13th unless I chose to pay for expedited processing. Since I don't actually have anywhere I am planning on going, I figured I could just wait.

What a great surprise to open my post office box yesterday and find the official government mail. :-) The new passports are a lot prettier than the old ones, full of patriotic images and quotes. Of course, my old passport picture was better (spiral perm & peacock bangs not withstanding) - I changed a bit in the last 17 years....

I guess I should come up with a trip now - seems a shame to let a perfectly good passport go to waste.

Legal Trivia

Did you know:

There are 7 states where you can take the bar exam and become a lawyer without ever having attended law school?

That there are two states (well, one now, two next year) where you can become a lawyer out of law school without passing the bar exam?

Interesting.....to me anyway

Bad News/Good News

First the bad news - temperatures are going down. It hasn't even reach 100° today. Summer is on it's way out and the cold weather is just around the corner.

Now the good news - football season! I thought I had to wait until Sunday for the first game, but D just informed me that we do, indeed, have Thursday night football to look forward to. Woo hoo. Sure, my team sucks, and the NFL has some serious issues with players' behavior - but it is still a great game.

Are you ready for some football?

Have You Seen This Couple?

I would love to be able to return it to them, but . . . how do I track them down?

UPDATE: I uploaded a photo of the venue here, in case anyone recognizes it.

The Jokes Just Write Themselves

Report: Man with Almost No Brain Has Led Normal Life

Downtown Phoenix

So, here is my dilemma:

There is a concert tonight that I may want to see. D isn't interested, it really isn't his thing. After all, Snow Patrol is kind of girlie rock, especially compared to what he usually listens to. So, I would have to go alone.

The concert is downtown. I am a native Phoenician and I have always hated trying to get around downtown. Throw in the additional venues over the last few decades, and the light rail construction, and it is just a nightmare to even think about. And I would be alone.

I haven't been to a concert in quite a while (was Craig Morgan the last one, Sweetie?), I haven't been to one without D in . . . can't even remember.

I have a better offer - D is making burgers (and he makes great burgers). Should I go - or no?

BDay - 1

Well, tomorrow is my birthday...

Still not jazzed about it.

I did get all the info that I need to process this week from a client, so I won't have to work tomorrow. Thing is, I have always loved to work on my birthday - after all, you can't get flowers at work if you aren't at work. I think I have worked 97% of my birthdays since my mother first sent me flowers when I was working for her at a tennis match the day I turned 14 (I think it was 14)

This year . . . eh.

I must be burned out or somethin'

Birthdays

My birthday is less than 2 weeks away.

Normally, by this time I would have reminded you all about it several times - and have a countdown running up there on top of the page. This year is the first year I have sort of just felt "eh" about the whole thing.

A birthday coming and I'm not excited. . . I definitely need a vacation or something.

7/7/07

Do ya' feel lucky?

Well . . . do ya'?

Ode to John Edwards

Girl Crush

We watched Gray Matters last night (don't bother) so I thought I would confess my girl crushes.

In no particular order:

Monica Bellucci ~ the woman is a freak of nature. Someone, somewhere has mastered the manipulation of DNA. Of having her in the part of Mary Magdalen in The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson said. "It didn't matter how much dirt we put on her, we couldn't make her look bad".

Bonus news about Bellucci - she is in a new movie, Shoot 'em Up, with Paul Giamatti (great actor) and Clive Owen (yummy actor). Looks like a good action flick which D & I will definitely see.

First Day of Summer

Happy Summer!!!

Fortune

I have posted before about my affection for fortune cookies - well, more the fortune part than the cookie part. My collection is regularly fed by our frequent trips to one Chinese restaurant or another (mmmmm, Kung Pao)

Last night, D got a very strange fortune in his cookie, perhaps one of you could translate.

Now is the time to make circles with mints, do not haste any longer.

Fiery

So Sunsilk is doing this series of commercials about the weapons they are providing in the battle between blondes and brunettes.

Nothing in their product line for redheads, though.

I guess they are just surrendering to our natural superiority

Flickr Vision

Shiny Shiny is bad, very bad. They are constantly distracting me with all their gadgety goodness.

Today they have crossed the line by posting about the time sink known as Flickr Vision.

AAHHHHHHH - I can't stop myself from looking.

Father's Day

A beautiful vison of Mother's Day, from the wonderful Sand in the Gears

Synchronous

I promise that when I wrote this, I had not yet seen this. Exactly the type of feedback I was looking for.

U-Turn

Advanced education, say....law or medical school, at an advanced age.

Pros? Cons?

Happy Mother's Day

Meet Your Match

There's a new game in town, apparently, looking to grab it's share of the online dating market. All of the Chemistry.com ads mention what is wrong with eHarmony.com. For the most part, just the standard "we are better" stuff.

Tonight, however, they had a guy getting "a Dear John letter from eHarmony". The voice over says, "we don't know why eHarmony has rejected more than a million people" and something along the lines of "you're welcome here".

It seems, if you are looking to score with the rejects, Chemistry.com is your dating site of choice.

Virb

I think you all know how I feel about MySpace (cesspool), so the idea of me joining a social networking site seems unlikely.

However, having been recently introduced to Virb, I figured it was worth a try. They certainly don't have the numbers of MySpace, and so far they don't have nearly the number of cool bands. However, they also don't seem to have the wanna-be porn stars and hormone-raging teenagers.

If you decide to check it out, make sure you add me to your friends :-D

BTW: I haven't taken much time on customizing my page yet. Apparently the customization settings are much more user friendly than MySpace so I will give it a go when I have a few.

Why People Hate Lawyers

After the murders at Virginia Tech,

At least one legal advertiser has bought Google AdSense words in quest of victim families.

Via Overlawyered

Words Fail

Silly Bird

Sorry for the image quality, I snapped this pic with my phone.

Cut to yesterday when I was cleaning out my bird's cage. I had her settled (I thought) on her play perch in the living room while I was outside scrubbing her habitat. I came back in the house and realized she was nowhere to be seen so I started whistling to her. Fortunately, she seems unable to resist and always answers. After a minute or so of following her chirps I made it to the kitchen where I found her like this, contentedly nestled amongst the blooms. She seemed quite happy to pose for this shot...

BTW: I wish I would have snapped a picture of these flowers earlier. They were really gorgeous when I got them - still pretty good for more than a week later.

Lawn Service

For my own future reference, and because they did good work.

Claudia Reyes, Landscaping
623-742-5454

Hallelujah!

Please, please, please let this be true - Coke may give up high fructose corn syrup.

Coke definitely tastes better from the Mexican grocery store.

Not that I have a problem with it or anything.....

R.I.P. - Cathy Seipp

Cathy Seipp lost her long battle with lung cancer today, she was 49 - too young.

L.A. Times obit

Happy Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Now, go have one of these

Pretty Pictures

I had previously asked for postcards from my readers....hello, do I have any readers?

Anyway, I have a couple of people who took me up on it, so I decided to start scanning and posting. Not a lot up there, yet, but I am working on it. Luckily, my sister just went to Maui, so she sent me some from there. I still have the ones from her last Hawai'i trip - just gotta get 'em done.

If anyone wants to contribute, you can use this PO Box

Vox
c/o PO Box 39559
Phoenix, AZ 85069

BTW: Let me know if I can say who it is from, and whether I can post your message.

Poem

My step-sister is quite clever (I know, I know...I've told you that before). She just posted this poem on her blog

Plenty of Fish in the Sea

my fingers in the water,
combing, gently, stirring waves
reaching the bottom, scraping
looking for goldfish,
pulling up sharks
losing my fingertips
and eventually my self esteem.

I think most women can relate to that...

Total Geek

With a score of 34.714% I am ranked as a Total Geek

I am a little disappointed to have scored so low. I will, however, revel in the fact that one of my favorite geek friends branded something I did last week as "like a 10 on the Geekitude scale"

That made my day

3.14...

..159 26535 89793 23846 26433 83279 50288 41971 69399 37510 ....

Happy π Day

"The Riches"

I watched this show last night, it was much different than I was expecting. I haven't decided if I like it or not, but I will probably watch the next episode.

FX definitely gets this whole internet thing, though, posting the entire premiere episode online. If you are interested, you can watch it here.

Oops Is Right

From ShinyShiny

(PRODUCT) RED has brought in $18 million. Hooray. Unfortunately, they spent $100 million on marketing. Oops. [Neatorama]

"I'm Fine"

Forget what you think you know about persistent vegetative state.

Christa Lilly slipped into a PVS coma in 2000, and woke up this week for three days, telling her mother "I'm Fine". She was also interviewed by a local TV station.

Just something to think about.

The Trip

Yeah, I went out of town - and we had a good time.

And we ate WAY too much, but the food was really, really great.

And I have pictures...I'll post them eventually...really.

UPDATE: Here's a start, frogs & stuff from the museum

Just A Thought

Out of town till Sunday night, comments are off. Hope you all have a Happy V-Day and a great weekend.

Nasty Habits

I recently came across a review of Marshall Goldsmith's book, What Got You Here Won't Get You There, that included his list of 20 bad habits that damage your professional/personal life.

Seems like he's hit all the biggies. How many of them do you have? I would say I have 3-5.....(UPDATE: Just to clarify, that would be 3 to 5 of them, not 3 through 5.)

• The need to win each time
  
• The overwhelming desire to add our two cents to every discussion
  
• The need to pass judgment on others
  
• Needless sarcasm and cutting comments
  
• Starting with “no”, “But”, “However”
  
• Need to show how smart we are
  
• Speaking when angry
  
• Negativity: the need to share negative thoughts even when not asked
  
• Withholding Information
  
• Failing to Give Proper recognition
  
• Claiming credit we don’t deserve
  
• Making excuses
  
• Clinging to the past
  
• Playing favorites
  
• Refusing to express regret
  
• Not listening
  
• Failing to express gratitude
  
• Punishing the messenger
  
• Passing the buck
  
• An excessive need to be “me”: exalting our faults as virtues simply because they’re who we are

Only A Matter Of Time

I have been seeing these 'invisible' book shelves lately, and I instantly wanted one (or 5). They were a bit pricey, though, and it seemed that they should be reasonably easy to recreate.

Instructables shows you how.

I am quite sure this isn't the method the commercial shelves use, but it is a good one.

Coolness.

Pretty

I've never really listened to Kelly Clarkson much. Her tune selection immediately following AI was unbearable, or so I thought. Somehow I missed this gem. Or maybe it is just hitting me the right way today....

Beautiful Disaster from her 2003 album Thankful

What Would You Blow Up?

Suppose you were given a coupon to have an image printed as a 24" X 36" poster. I was, and I am at a loss.

What image would you want to have at that size?

Why Not DIY?

Just in case you were looking for a project to keep you occupied this weekend, Fuzzy Gerdes will show you how to construct juggling chickens.

Bay of Pigs and Watergate break-in organizer dead at 88

Former CIA officer and White House secret agent E. Howard Hunt died of pneumonia at North Shore Medical Center in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday, January 23.

R.I.P.

Thirty-four years ago the horrendous decision known as Roe v. Wade was conferred upon the unfeeling masses.

Since then, over 45 million children have been murdered in the name of choice.

As I have said previously, I absolutely support a woman's right to choose...not to get pregnant in the first place. After that, however, there are at least two other people involved in the decision; a father, and a child with no voice. Once you are pregnant, there are many resources available to help you through, such as these.

UPDATE: National Review on the inherent humanity of the human embryo.

UPDATE: Confirm Them

Excremental Expression

Amusing take on a juvenile (and, I imagine, smelly) issue.

Taking the First Amendment too far afield.

Duke LAX case

But Nifong's plea to Cooper is the first smart thing the DA has done right in the case in months. The other thing he did right was to take seriously the claims of a young black woman who claimed she had been raped. But in between those two points in the case, pretty much everything else Nifong did was foolish, shortsighted or downright unethical.

Well said by Jami Floyd at CourtTV

Fireflies

Way too cool, fireflies in a jar, sort of.

I wish I had the technical expertise to make it.

Abacab

Trivia from Volokh:

Some countries have names in which consonants and vowels alternate -- consider Canada and Panama. What is the longest such name?

I think they got the answer on his page, but I would love to see what you all come up with before you peek. (but if you must)

Marriage Is Good For You...

...as long as you're happy.

Get Over It

Yes, it is January 2nd, also known as Get Over It Day.

Now is as good a time as any, I guess....

Happy New Year

Hope you are all celebrating with people you love and keeping safe.

Welcome to 2007!

Suggestions

A friend of mine just heard about this list from her boyfriend, and passed it on to me. Basic common sense things, nicely compiled.

Number one reminds me of a quote I heard from George Burns. A reporter apparently asked him the secret to a long marriage and Burns replied, "Marry Gracie" Awww.

21 Suggestions For Success by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

1. Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.
   
2. Work at something you enjoy and that's worthy of your time and talent.
   
3. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
   
4. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
   
5. Be forgiving of yourself and others.
   
6. Be generous.
   
7. Have a grateful heart.
   
8. Persistence, persistence, persistence.
   
9. Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.
   
10. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
    
11. Commit yourself to constant improvement.
    
12. Commit yourself to quality.
    
13. Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect.
    
14. Be loyal.
    
15. Be honest.
    
16. Be a self-starter.
    
17. Be decisive even if it means you'll sometimes be wrong.
    
18. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.
    
19. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did.
    
20. Take good care of those you love.
    
21. Don't do anything that wouldn't make your Mom proud.
    

Last Minute Gift Ideas

OK, it isn't really that big of an idea, more of a reminder.

If you are still looking for gifts, especially for someone far away, consider an Amazon Gift Certificate. They can be purchased in amounts starting at $5.00 and sent electronically so you know they will get there in time.

I'm just sayin'

Doppelganger

I have been working out with a trainer for a couple of weeks now, usually at The Castle Sports Club. It is really a great place, not crowded and the people are all friendly.

A couple of weeks ago, an older gentleman that everyone just calls "Colonel", told me that I reminded him of Ann-Margret. Yeah, I wish. I heard it once before and had the same reaction, she was an uber-babe in her heyday and is still pretty smokin' today, the only things we have in common are red hair and a Swedish bloodline.

The Colonel came up to me today and said he had wanted to be sure, so he Googled her and checked out the pictures. He definitely thought I looked like her. T, my trainer, said he didn't think I looked like her at all and was sure no one else would, either. So he started asking, and they all agreed with the Colonel. Even the guy who didn't know who she was (he was young) agreed once we named a few movies she was in.

As we were walking out down the hallway, he asked the guy at the desk if he thought I looked like a movie star. He said he wasn't sure, but when T said, "everyone in there is saying she looks like Ann-Margret" he said, "Yeah, I can see that" LOL

Of course, this was after my REALLY pathetic workout - I am such a wimp. So when T says, "Well what do ya' know, I have a celebrity client" I said, "If I was really Ann-Margret, even at her age, I could probably lift a lot more weight"

He comes back with, "That pretty much goes without saying"

An Open Letter

Dear Mother Nature,

Vox

Drab & Wonderful & Everyday

I just finished watching Yours, Mine and Ours (the good one, for probably the 100th time) and was struck once again by this quote:

Life isn't a love in, it's the dishes and the orthodontist and the shoe repairman and... ground round instead of roast beef. And I'll tell you something else: it isn't going to a bed with a man that proves you're in love with him; it's getting up in the morning and facing the drab, miserable, wonderful everyday world with him that counts.

Runs With Scissors

I cut my hair last night.

Nope, I didn't "get my hair cut" - I cut it. Not wimpy little trimming, either. Big, drain clogging hunks of it.

It wasn't a move designed to spare my budget, purely a move fueled by frustration. I have been unable to get my hair to do anything I wanted it to for months now and I just didn't want to deal with a salon. My last few visits have left me wondering if they ever hear anything I say.

Those of you girls who were teenagers in the '80s may remember the quick easy way to feathered hair; bend at the waste, grab all your hair in one hand, chop it with the other. I learned that trick from B.J. Gack whose hair always fell into perfect feathers, despite the fact that she was always playing one sport or another.

I sorta did that, but not quite. At first it looked scarily mullet-like, but I was able to tweak it into a kind of flippy shag. I am sure it is uneven, and will probably have someone catch the obvious problems when I get to work, but I already like it soooo much better.

At some point, however, I will have to visit a salon and deal with the inevitable, "Who cut your hair?!?"

Operation Santa Clause

KFYI & the Sanderson Dealerships would like to welcome everyone back to
the Fifth Annual Operation Santa Claus Charity Drive. The first four
years of Operation Santa Claus have resulted in a record number of
donations for valley children's charities and this year we hope to do
even better.

To help our cause please bring new unwrapped toys, children clothing
items or packaged food donations to any of the three Sanderson dealer
locations from November 16th through December 21st. With each accepted
donation you will have the opportunity to enter to win your choice of a
new Ford Edge or Lincoln MKZ. Donations from Operation Santa Claus will
benefit the West Side Food Bank, West Valley Child Crisis Center and Tim
and Willy's FUN-Dation.

Giving Thanks

Via Shiny Shiny, I found more things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving - and they are all yummy.

Soundtrack Of My Life

Snagged this from Sofa King

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here’s how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend your cool…

Yep, you can listen to this soundtrack via a Radio.Blog

Open Credits: Blues - Eddie Duran
Waking Up: Out Of This World - Donald Byrd
First Day Of School: Shoo Shoo Baby - Frank Sinatra
Falling In Love: Frank's Theme - Holly Cole
Fight Song: Wrygly - Young Sounds Of Arizona
Breaking Up: Silent World - Donna Lewis
Prom: These Dreams - Heart
Life's Ok: I'll Be Loving You - Gabriela Anders
Mental Breakdown: No Judges - Kim Richey
Driving: Misty - Dinah Washington
Flashback: Tea House Moon - Enya
Getting Back Together: He's My Guy - Nancy Wilson
Wedding: Love Walked In - George Benson
Final Battle: Fear No Evil - Ann Peebles
Funeral Song: It's All In The Game/Make It Real One More Time - Van Morrison
End Credits : Egyptian March - Philharmonica Slavonica

Quotables

When I invite a woman to dinner I expect her to look at my Vox. That's the price she has to pay.

In the pursuit of mindless busy-ness, I turned myself into a movie quote.

Oooh, this one is even better for tonight

A Vox. Shaken, not stirred.

Funny like I'm a Vox? I amuse you?

You've got Vox on you.

Sing It, Girl

I don't know how I missed this earlier post from Felicia, but I'm glad I found it.

Nothing in there for me to disagree with.

Random Stuff

Possibility of TMI to follow -->

• I was attacked by a light fixture today. No, I didn't provoke it. My sweetie called and, while I was talking to him, I got up and walked down the hall. As I passed under the light globe that has been in that hallways much longer than I have owned the house, it dropped. Directly on my head. Ouch is an understatement. Then, of course, I reached up to catch it - yeah, that was gonna happen. It fell harmlessly on the carpet. I noticed, however, that my hands were covered in blood and, in rinsing them off was starting to worry that my head was split open. I finally found where my finger had been sliced open and would not stop bleeding. Apparently, when I tried to catch it, I managed to come in contact with the one section of the rim that was broken (you know how those get little nicks in them).

  Let's recap: the light globe fell at exactly the moment I was beneath it after residing happily on that ceiling for at least a decade, when I reached for it I grabbed the one spot that would do the most damage. Poltergeists, anyone?

  UPDATE: It hurts to shampoo when you have fileted the end of the middle finger on your dominant hand. [/whine]

• My land line has been on the fritz for months, since the big rains we had. During that time, anyone who called would have gotten a busy signal. I figured many people and telemarketers would have given up. I got the phone fixed yesterday. When I came home from work today, I found 3 messages. Two were from people who were trying to sell me something, based on my listing in a professional database over 5 years ago. I registered there in hopes of getting clients, but all I have gotten are telemarketers. The other call was from the Republican party - well, Rudy Guiliani telling me to vote for John Kyl.

• Long time readers know I have an old dog who has had some major health problems over the last few years, most recently just a few weeks ago. Some of you know that I have white carpet - well, it was white when I put it in 8 years ago. While shopping in the dollar store last week I found a product called "Urine Remover", supposedly their answer to "Urine Gone". I had seen the ads, but never believed the claims. However, for a buck.....

  I tried this stuff yesterday and it was amazing! Took those stains right out, so I figured I would try it on the others (my old roommate liked to have parties here, remember, and his friends were slobs). It was great. Took care of the soda stain in the middle of my living room, the red margarita stain in front of the living room chairs (rather than tell me he had spilled, the guy that did it had just moved the chairs over the top of the spill - he didn't even sop any of it up first. Pig), the odd and sundry stains I can't place. I am definitely getting more of that stuff.

• Conservatives who say that Republicans need to be taught a lesson by being out of office, and so are not voting or are voting for Democrats, make about as much sense as a man saying that Brittney Spears has been acting kinda trashy lately so he is going to date Tara Reid for a while.

• Back in the 80's, it was fashionable for those on the left to claim to be "Against Nuclear War". I used to always say something along the lines of, "Duh, nobody is for nuclear war, we just disagree on the means necessary to prevent it" Thomas Sowell agrees, and puts it in a contemporary setting.

  It is staggering that anyone could be so self-infatuated as to single out their own particular policy preferences as "anti-war." Anyone who is not a sadist or an idiot is anti-war. The only serious issue is how best to limit, deter or conclude war. But responsibility for confronting this issue is evaded by those preoccupied with the moral preening of being "anti-war."

Dreams

I am a dreamer. Almost every night I have some flight of fancy or other. Generally, these take the form of action that I am a part of - as bizarre as it may be.

Last night, however, my dream was like a movie. Very elaborate, lots of well developed characters, fantastic production values, and I was only an observer.

It was fun, but it was odd.

Unexpected

My biggest gun safety fear since purchasing my new gun is that it will be stolen.

Not because it was expensive, it really wasn't bad.
Not because I love it, though I really do.

I just hate to think of some low life getting a hold of it.

I didn't have that fear with my old gun. So why now, I wonder?

Next Up For The Sweet Tooth

The homemade strawberry ice cream experiment went well, my folks are asking for another batch.

Right now I am thinking of making an apple pie, which would be great with cinnamon ice cream, if I can find a recipe.

If not, I need to find one for coffee ice cream...

All Angels Day

Free Hugs

I like the tune, too

Free Hugs

Happy International Tool Day

I swear that when I heard that September 26th was International Tool Day, I assumed that someone figured out how to give Jimmy Carter a holiday.

Cleaning Demon

I have been on a tear the last few days. I got a wild hair and have been completing projects and cleaning house. So now, though my kitchen table is still covered in a craft project, my dining room table isn't. There is one on a side table....

I have lots of ideas for projects I want to start, but I have forbidden any new projects until I complete the ones currently scattered throughout my house. That means I had to reorganize those, and the spaces around them, to make it possible.

And then the demon got me, whatever cleaning demon possessed me to scour my kitchen to the point of cleaning inside the knife holder and oil up the fronts of my cabinet doors (that did make my whole kitchen smell lemony fresh - mmmm) I cleaned the under side of my dining room table. The gunk in the window tracks. I tossed magazines I hadn't even read (that is HUGE for me, people)

The depressing thing is that the house still doesn't look like I want it to, but the family room is next so I have hope.

TMI to follow, click at your own risk:

 
Also, I also ended up cleaning nearly nude. I had gone to the store in jeans & a tank top. When I got home, I took off the jeans because they were hot and I was going to clean after I read the paper. Tank top and panties, at this point. After I had been cleaning a while, I grabbed some bleach cleaner. Since I didn't want to splash any on my Raiders tank top, I took it off and kept cleaning. About 30 minutes later I realized that there was probably a porn with a plot very similar to that. This isn't the first time this has happened, I often end up that way (at least while I live alone) Anybody else do this, or is it just me?

Happy Kiss Day

Lessons Learned

I have been able to examine the final product from last night's furniture refinishing project. I give it a 7.

Some issues:

• I left it sitting a long time. I had decoupaged images on the table top of movie stars (classic stars, not today's bozos) in a random, over lapping pattern. By the time I got to this final step, the glue had apparently given out a bit. A couple of the corners lifted into (and out of) the epoxy.
  
• I bought the epoxy I was using to seal it a long time ago. I should have been completely clear but has a slight amber cast to it, perhaps as a result of age?
  
• I waited until it was too dark in my garage. There is lighting in there, but apparently not enough for me to see all that I needed to, for instance the bubbles in the top coat. They are tiny, and there aren't many, but I can see them now and it bugs me.
  
• I chose the wrong supports. You have to raise your project off of the ground to keep it out if the epoxy that drips off the edges. I could easily have picked up some blocks or something at the dollar store (or whatever) but I thought the plastic cups I had would work. They didn't. Unfortunately, they broke after I had poured the epoxy all over the top and it was in the self-leveling stage. One broke and as I tried to salvage it, another broke - I got a bunch of epoxy over one edge where I definitely didn't want it. The feet did get stuck in pools of epoxy, but I was able to break them out.
  
• The clear sealer I had sprayed over the pictures originally (they were photocopies so I wanted to be sure) may not have been thick enough. Where the overlapping images looked just fine before the epoxy, the chemicals apparently caused the paper to become a bit transparent. Now some of the images are showing through so you have, for instance, Shirley MacLaine's feet in Danny Kay's living room window.

Little Things

I had a pretty busy, productive day today and so I decided to treat myself to some pasta for dinner - Chicken Parmesan from Streets of New York. Yummy and close to home.

I had spent the evening completing up an old furniture refinishing project. I started it before I met SG and just never got around to finishing it (no pun intended). So, I was basically in my grubby short shorts and a tank top - standard grunt work wear for me. Didn't figure there was a need to change just to pick up a take out order, didn't count on their drive through window being broken.

No biggy, I have no problem going inside looking like that. But then I notice the people at the tables staring at me. Kind of pathetic stares, too, and mostly at my legs. Then it hits me - they are at just the right height to be confronted with my most mondo impressive scratch/bruise. All pretty and purple. Considering its location on my upper inner thigh, and factoring in my other visible knocks, I can only imagine the stories they came up with in their dirty little minds.....

Berry Good

I have been in a strawberry mood lately; got two different kinds of strawberry cereal, had strawberry sundaes from Costco the other day (my sweetie got his made with chocolate yogurt instead of the vanilla), and my first batch of home made ice cream is going to be...strawberry!

The house I was looking at today is near a WalMart, so I was able to pick up the rock salt I needed and a bunch of stuff I didn't.

I was also able to get my tire fixed at Costco - yes, it's brand new but has had a slow leak since I got it. When I dropped it off they said it would be 30-40 minutes so I headed to the mall. He called me shortly after that, but not soon enough to save me from the boots. The boots I just had to have. The boots with the insanely high heel that are so adorable I couldn't pass them up despite the fact that I will probably have very little opportunity to wear them anywhere. But so cute! Luckily the store has a AAA discount - yay them.

My ice cream is churning away in there, I'll let you know how it turns out.

Real Estate

I just went to look at a house that is coming on the market soon that I thought would make a good investment. I know the market is in the toilet right now, but it is under priced for the area - an area that should see a boom in about a year.

I have the advantage of being friends with the current owners, so I had an idea what the house looked like, and heard they were planning to sell well before they are actually going to be ready to do so. It is larger than I remember, but also would require more work than I was figuring. I had originally envisioned this being an investment with a friend who has the expertise, but that has fallen through. I had hoped that the work it needed would lean more to the cosmetic, but there is some serious 'work' needed. If I were to take this on it would require hiring contractors (always dicey, especially for a female with limited knowledge) and laying out cash.

But I still want to do it. Am I completely crazy? I don't know if it is under priced enough to make up for the amount of work that it will need. I don't know if I have what it takes to get it done.

But I still want to do it. I am crazy. It is a GREAT house. Arrgghh!

Well, I have a couple of weeks to think on it...... Any of you have experience with that sort of thing?

On the plus side, while checking out the house I got to spend time visiting with my friends - and I always love the chance to catch up :-)

Constitution Day

Happy Constitution Day

How do we get more of our elected officials to actually read the darn thing?

Armed & Dangerous

Literally - 51 year old woman strangles the hit man hired to kill her.