Reissued vs. Vintage

I've always adored fashion from the 50s & 60s. With my body type I think I'd be married to a billionaire right now had I been born just a few decades earlier. And, after working years of retail, I learned quickly and often that one shouldn't just follow trends to follow trends, but look your absolute best. Sadly, I have friends who look good in everything but for the rest of us born with curves and such what not, we have to be a wee bit careful.

In my quest to learn to sew I was quite lucky as Russel picks patterns on the more traditional side for his garment sewing classes. These look good on me so needless to say I signed up for all of his classes. You've already seen my skirt. The next step was the dress.

Now, I knew the dress wouldn't be easy. I had seen students from previous dress classes attend the next session to finish. So, I should have been prepared. But this pattern isn't the friendliest and if I hadn't had Russel, I probably would have tossed the dress half way through. But, with all the compliments I get, I'm glad I stuck with it.

I made some changes to the dress. I did snaps instead of buttons (since it was SCREAMING for a wide belt to go with it) and the sleeves are poofier than the pattern said they would be. That's ok, I love a poofy sleeve so I just went with it.

(This is why I have other people take pictures of my dresses)

Since making this dress I've been on the hunt for patterns with a more vintage feel. So, I'll be curious to see if patterns from the past are easier to work with than the patterns with a vintage feel from the present. I have several reissue patterns in my collection. And, I just ordered my very own vintage patterns from this fabulous Etsy shop thanks to this post on Gertie's New Blog for Better Sewing. I didn't know I'd be able to. I mean, people from the 50s and 60s are wee little people. I was so excited to find patterns that would fit me! So, I can't wait for the vintage vs. reissue smackdown to commence.

Now I just need a fabulous pattern for a full skirt. I have this idea for some of the fabric I bought in Alaska...I just need the perfect full skirt to pull it off....

Because all the cool kids are doing it...

1. Favorite Food: risotto
2. Hometown: Los Angeles
3. Favorite Color: Red
4. Celebrity Crush: Russell Crowe
5. Favorite Drink: Diet Coke
6. Dream Vacation: Tahiti
7. Favorite Dessert: Flourless Chocolate Cake
8. What I want to Be When I Grow Up: Grow up?
9. Name: Jenna
10. What/Who I Love Most in the World: Todd
11. One Word Describes Me: Random
12. Username: Radomile (Yeah, I cheated. There were no photos tagged with Radomile.)

You can do this too. Here's how:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search. (Please, go to Advanced Search and choose Creative Commons images only. Otherwise you are stealing.)
b. Pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into this free mosaic maker

New York Fashion Week Gets Crafty

See, needlework IS cool....not that I needed any verifcation or anything. But, if someone wanted to send me one of Anya Hindmarch's needle kits (pictured above), that would be cool. I'd d like that.

And I call myself an Angeleno

I have lived in West Los Angeles my entire life (save for 4 years of college education in Arizona) and yet I did not know the magic of World on Wheels.

I'm embarrassed but I'm coming clean today.

Todd was going to be in Minneapolis for Valentine's Day (oh, the perils of long-distance love) which left me dateless. Randomly I thought I needed to get a group together to go roller skating. (I'm telling you, living inside my head is not for the faint of heart.) A quick search on the Google lead me to World on Wheels, the only skate rink in Los Angeles.

So. Much. Fun.

We only skated for about an hour and a half (with copious amounts of breaks) but holy wow was it a workout. And the people watching? Fantastic. The kids who skate are nothing short of amazing. We're going to go every week. No, I'm not kidding. Its that much fun and its that much of a workout in a this-is-too-much-fun-to-be-burning-calories sort of way. Free this Saturday? We'll be there at 7pm. I'm not kidding. Regina was just pricing out skates on lowpricedskates.com and yes that really is a website.

A few things to note:

If you're at San Vicente and Venice & you see a Ralphs, you're in the right place. The skate rink is around back. And yes there is a bowling alley right above it. Seriously, does it get much better?

There's a disco night on the last Saturday of the month. (I can't be there this month since I'll be in Florida but I will remind you for the March date since I will be there.) There's also a goth night. Sinful Thursday is apparently the place to be but I hear its so crowded that you probably won't skate. Personally, I'll go one week just to see it since I keep hearing about it.

You think you can't skate. Don't tell me that. There were people of all ages, sizes, and personalities on that rink. There were people alone, people in groups and a few couples.

Want to come skating with us? Drop me an email or leave a comment. We'd love to have you join us. The more the merrier!!

And a huge thanks to Catherine, Laurie Ann, Russell and their respective entourages in making this Valentine's Day one of my all-time favorites!

Crafting Guilt

"How much did you pay for that yarn?"

"How many hours did you put into that?"

"Sewing is not a cheap hobby."

"How much did it cost to buy all the supplies for this?"

How many times have we heard these questions?

Do you ask triathletes how much they've put into their bikes? Or, how much someone spent traveling to Asia? How long did someone prepare for a marathon? I don't. I think its tacky. Unless of course I might have general questions if you've made something or gone somewhere and I'm just dying of jealousy and I want to price out if I can afford to do it. And the curiosity questions, the can-I-do-what-you-do questions, always flatter me. But here, I'm talking more about the accusations and the second guessing which I've never understood.

On Friday night, after fighting with my mom's Singer over a HEM, a straight seem for crying out loud, I decided I would buy a sewing machine. (I know, rockin' single girl life over here.) I knew my approximate comfort level for cost and timing.

And then something happened.

Regina & I were talking with Russell at the Sewing Arts Center last night about machines. And after settling on a machine I could afford, Regina said something that really struck me.

"I really want a lifetime machine."

How many times have we bought cheap knitting needles only to never use them again because they broke or splintered or even bled onto work? One one project alone I bought THREE different sets of needles before I broke down and bought the nice ones I should have started with in the first place.

I mean, its only crafting, right. Cheap supplies should be fine. Its not like food; its not something you need.

Or is it?

I don't do therapy. My medications don't allow me to drink away my problems. When I'm upset or oxygen-impaired I make something. So then why is buying a new crafting tool considered such an extravagance? Why do I feel fine buying a new computer but I feel I have to justify a new sewing machine? What is this guilt, this need of justification to spend on something we love to do?

I don't know.

I do know that I worked on these machines in class and sewing was fun! Its still not easy, but its learnable. On the home machine threading could take up to an hour...getting even stitches could take equally as long and all that takes place before even working on whatever. But working in class, assuming I was paying attention, I could thread the machine in under a minute and have something complete in just a few hours. And I can make something fun and its mine and no one has one just like it.

So I bought it. The new machine. The one most definitely not in my first price range but the one I really wanted and feel happy and comfortable with and one I won't be looking to replace in a year or two...one I can grow into and make things to torture all of you with.

The he!! with the guilt, this is going to be fun.

Yes We Can!

Wema for First Dog!!

Seriously, doesn't this dog belong in the White House?

Wema is originally from Southern Minnesota and although she appears to be the cutest, friendliest, most hypo-allergenic dog ever, her owners had to surrender her to the Martin County Humane Society. Wema is real. (One of my friends volunteers at that shelter and can verify that Wema is a sweet dog that should have a new family.)


Dear Diary endorses Martin County's selection and urges you to vote for Wema for the White House! I have no idea where we can vote but the nice people at the Martin County Humane Society are hoping to get the word out on their candidate for First Dog. Blogsphere, are you with me?!

I think she deserves a new home...a big place with a big lawn and tons of staff.


But that's just my opinion.

Vote for Wema!



*Dick & Jane also endorse Wema for the White house

Life List

I don't think I've done one of these before and really I'm too lazy to search my own archives. And, since Natalie wants to get to know me better, I'm game!

Bold the things you've done & post on your blog!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars - Yes people I've camped. Grades 7-12 I was forced to go on retreats with my school. The most distinct memory of this was along the Colorado River...5 days. Wow. And some of you wonder why I don't camp anymore.
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii and danced on a lava cliff with the roar of the Pacific below.
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain - See retreats reference above.
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo - For those of you who don't know, I'm sure you'll be shocked to hear that I was a drama geek. My favorite solo was the dead grandmother come from beyond the grave in Fiddler on the Roof. Not only did I have my solo but I did it on stilts walking down the isle of the theater.
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch - Hmmmm, does teaching yourself poorly count?
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors - Does going to Italy count?
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke - Yup, in and after college and there may have been alcohol involved.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris - Dude, and I walked up all those gosh darn stairs.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business - Does a store on Etsy count?
58. Taken a martial arts class - Long, long time ago. If anyone knows of one that an asthmatic could take (i.e. not hard-core cardio) let me know!
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma - I have bad veins and my doctor recommends that I have my significant other donate. He does!
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check - Technically no since I've always had check protection but once there might have allegedly not been enough funds in the account without the bank's assistance.
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt - Class starts in February!
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car - 1998 Honda Civic DX, baby!
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper - Does a Church newspaper count?
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year's Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life - Yup, I made my best friend stop wearing pleated pants. Seriously, she's a size 4 and has not reason to add extra bulk to her tiny frame. Total life saver!
90. Sat on a jury - Yup, twice - one criminal, one civil.
91. Met someone famous - I doubt anyone wants to read the list....I worked high end retail for about 10 years, we'll leave it at that.
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

Keep them holiday gifts rollin'
Rollin' rollin' rollin'
Christmas!

Yeah, I just made that up.

Here at the cube farm there are many people who make my job possible. Several people I know call that "doing their job." Since, I'm also support staff, I understand that in theory, but, its still nice to say "thank you" and "please eat this." Besides, when I really need something I can say "would you like another cupcake?" and then magically files appear in my office. The people I work for think its my winning personality that gets them everything they need done in record time. The truth is my mom is an exceptional baker and I'd rather share than gain 100lbs.

Since it is the holidays, I wanted to give mom the weekend off (and besides I think violence would have occurred if I had tried to add to her already busy baking schedule) Therefore, today I handed out chocolate dipped hand-made marshmallows. They're fantastic, if I do say so myself. And, since I pretty much dislike everything I make, that's saying something.

Cute right? And I so don't do cute well.

You too can do this! And cheap!

Packaging:

• The boxes are from Smart & Final ($6 for about 50 - 100 of them).
• The gift tags are from Costco (seriously people if you're buying gift tags anywhere else, even those sticky ones for $3 at Target, stop now. 100 of these tags were $10. Aren't they cute? And, they have different ones every year. Next year pick them up. Seriously.)
• The stickers are from Target.
• In stuffing the boxes...you know those wax paper sheets they use at the bakery to give you your muffin? Yeah, you can buy a box of those for $6 at Smart & Final as well. Voila! Instant non-stick paper for the gift and it looks fancy too.

The actual gift:

Ok, you already have the link to the recipe (which I'm printing again right now since mine is covered in Pam.) Here's how we do it my house, with a few tips the recipe doesn't give you but my mom gave me.

1. Spray any utensil you plan on using with Pam. I don't know how you're getting your marshmallows out otherwise.
2. Senior Brown uses a metal baking pan, we used our silicon baking pan. Honestly we haven't loved how many of our baked goods have cooked in ours (hence our sacrificing it to the marshmallow doGs) but nothing sticks to it. Its sort of brilliant. Don't get me wrong, you need to do the Pam & the powered sugar/cornstarch lining to it. But, when my marshmallows got a wee out of control and went up over the side to the other side of the pan, I peeled it right off...no drama!
3. Cleaning your stuff is super easy. Two words: Hot Water. I found this to be an easier clean-up than making cookies.
4. You need a Kitchen-Aid mixer. I'm sorry, it won't be the same otherwise. You need a big engine and the ability to flog your machine to mix on high for 12-15 minutes. Any other mixer in our house would have caught fire from trying this. I'm not trying to be a brand snob here people; I'm just looking out for your safety.
5. Follow the recipe. Since this is complete chemistry if you do something silly like mix the marshmallows on low instead of high you'll end up with taffy, er, so I heard.

As for the chocolate dipped part...

• Let the marshmallows set for at least 3 hours. We usually do overnight but I didn't have that much time and 3 hours did nicely.
• Get a big knife and, all together now, spray it with Pam. Then, cut whatever size you like!
• Mom picked up a bar of Bittersweet chocolate at our brand new Trader Joe's but you can use anything. My absolute favorite was mint chocolate chips. Mmmmmmm.
• If you're not using chips, chop up some chocolate (about a cup's worth), as small as you can, put it in a small bowl, nuke it for a minute, stir and if its not melted keep nuking in 30 second increments.
• Make sure your marshmallow is dusted on all sides (again, not that I made this mistake or anything) with the sugar/cornstarch mixture, then dip into chocolate and let it set on a wire cooling rack (wax paper will do if you don't have the wire cookie cooling rack thingies.)

My mom did the math and I think all 20 of my boxes cost me a total of about $20 since everything except the containers were on hand. But really, if you had to buy all of the ingrediants that might set you back like $10.

I have a few extra...please come visit me and take them away before I eat the leftovers. .

Where the wild things are...

One aspect of gift-giving that I spend an embarrassing amount of time trying to wrap my head around is that the gift be something the person wants and not something I just want to give.

As you've seen from my pictures, my knitted gifts are pretty vanilla. I mean, other than me, I can't imagine many people wanting a HUGE dayglow yellow and green bag with pink flowers or a sweater that can be worn to work or as part of a Freddy Kruger costume. Personally, I think that's where the loving hands at home thing gets a bad rap. Many people think that everyone likes what they like.

But, that gift theory goes beyond crafty gifts. My Amazon wish list started because one year my dad gave me books about Hasidic Judaism. I'm not kidding. Boychiks in the Hood was an actual gift for a twenty-something working high-end retail. I totally understood the thought involved. Dad was in his Jewish phase and he was really moved by this book and wanted to share it. I get it. I tried to read it. After my dictionary failed to have some of the terminology I needed to understand the book, I started my Amazon list. How about you get me books/cds/dvds/stuff that I want? So, I try desperately to employ that thinking for others. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail. But, if thought counts, crazy lady here wins.

On to today's finished object....

Its a bird, its a plane, its...


...a happy bear made out of organic cotton.

Ok Allison, you win. Organic cotton really does kick regular cotton's booty. I picked this up when Supercrafty was moving from L.A. to PA and Allison was having a sale. Now I'm hooked. I don't think I can make baby things out of anything besides organic cotton. It didn't hurt my hands as much as regular cotton does and after I washed the bear once to get my stitches even, I wanted to keep it....sooooo soft.

This little guy is going to a 20 month old with parents who I know will approve of the colors and the organic cotton. At least, I hope everyone likes it. Crazy lady strikes again!

A Moment of Thanks - A Thanksgiving Wrap-up

Obviously, I'm thankful for my friends, my family, my dogs, my home, my job, my Miu Miu shoes. With that in mind, here is what I was most thankful for this holiday weekend:

As you've read by now, Regina has created some unbelievable holiday hats. I'm thankful that she allowed me to share in her fabulousness and I was able to model my very own pie fascinator at our modest dinner for 41.


I'm thankful no one caught me in the bathroom taking headshots of myself.

I'm thankful for untraditional Black Friday sales at Wildfiber, A Mano, Giant Robot, Cusp and J.Crew. Not that I bought anything at the above stores, I'm, uhm, just thankful for them generally.

I'm thankful for the 3 pies I was able to score on Friday night. I made a call to my dealer (aka the scene of our Thanksgiving) for a piece of leftover pie and was sent home with 3 pies and homemade ice cream. (OK, the ice cream I lifted, but whatever, I left the other flavors behind.)

I'm thankful that I still have two dogs after one of them allegedly ate about 3 lbs of turkey off the kitchen counter on Saturday. Not that I'm naming names or anything...


I'm thankful that I live with a chef who felt the need to make mashed potatoes, Waldorf salad, and soup to go with the last of the turkey I was able to salvage from the above-mentioned turkey incident.

I'm thankful for two days of errands, dog walking, left-overs and knitting with nowhere really to be, no time to really be awake, and no tight fitting pants really to wear.

Now, I need to be thankful for a treadmill.

With Black Friday Approaching...

We're all spending money. We're lying if we say we're not. We might be cutting back, crafting, not buying something unless we really feel we need to, but we're still buying. With that in mind...

Remember, the money you do spend speaks volumes, especially in these troubled times. If you like a store or restaurant, go there. Do you like a specific mom'n'pop website, spend there. I've been wanting to write about this for awhile but something hit home last week.

Jenny invited Regina & I to dinner before SnB. She wanted to try Tart. She's driven by it about a thousand times and read the reviews and just hadn't made it in. I've passed by it about a thousand times and read the reviews and just hadn't made it in. Thanks to Jenny, we all made it in.

There was no one there.

It was us.

When we were finishing, another group of ladies walked in.

That was it.

I'm not telling you how to spend your money. I'm not telling you just to buy handmade or only support local artisans. (Though, really, feel free to buy me a log, or three.) I'm just asking you to think about where you shop or buy dinner. With the way things are going, these places aren't going to be there when we all come out of this economic mess we're in. And no one is immune.

And, that's all I have to say about that.

But here are some cute puppies. (Thanks Catherine!)

I voted

We interrupt the wedding recap for the following announcement...

I voted.

I don't know about your voting experience, but mine was quite different this year. Not only was there a line at 7am (a first at my polling place), but everyone brought their dogs, kids and nannies along. And, I'm not just talking about bringing the baby along, 'cause, well, you can't leave the baby at home. I mean, people brought all of their dogs, all of their kids (from 0 to 16 years old) and a few even brought along the nannies. This wasn't just voting, it was an occasion, a learning experience. People had cameras and were taking pictures of each other.

I've been voting at this location for years (I adore my voting garage) and its never been like this. Typically I'm the only person there with a camera and usually people are giving me dirty looks even though I'm taking a picture of the garage from across the street.

I admit, I'm one of the lucky ones. I only had to wait about 15 minutes and parking was easy.

But yeah, this election was different.

Greetings from Cambridge

Sorry for the radio silence on all fronts. We have a badly behaving router so we often lose the connection.

A few observations:

• The pound is dropping daily...a great excuse to use credit cards so you can take advantage of the better exchange rate.


• Brown and black are interchangeable. You can wear an entire black outfit with brown shoes and apparently this is acceptable. I don't pretend to understand.


• All women, old and young alike, wear fun socks and tights. I am not a freak. I simply live in the wrong country.


• Chicks here wear the BEST boots but the boots in the shops are all ugly. Quite mysterious.


• Nobody uses cell phones on the train...even though the ride is well over an hour. Now, I'm not saying that people are more polite. I've been slammed into and cut off more on this trip than in my entire life but people are incredibly polite with cell phones on trains.
  
• Bikes and buses share the same lane. Therefore, you will often see a cyclist dressed in business attire, on a fairly old bike (also common here) with a basket on the front being followed by a double-decker bus.

Alright back to my maid of honor duties...

Updates and random stuff

Really this should be titled guilt about not blogging but whatever...

On the craft front: I'm in the middle of a few projects (crochet, knit & counted cross-stitch), I need to block a finished project (knit) and hand-finish another finished project (felted knit) so I haven't had anything pretty to show you lately.

On the food front: I had lunch at Craft today and that was nice, not mind-altering, but nice. The maple bacon ice cream was good but tasted mostly vanilla, in case you were curious. In other food news I'm on a mission to eat at BLD and Nickel Diner. If anyone wants to help with this issue, I'll be available Halloween weekend.

Oh, the SCV and the SFV are on fire and I'm a smidge scared that my breathing will shut down like it always does. So this can be my official l.a.-is-on-fire-again post that I seem to do every year. Because of the winds and their unexplainable fear of the winds, my dogs are passive aggressive to each other because they both want to sleep in my bathroom and neither of them want to make room for the other. (Yes, I used two clauses starting with 'because' in one sentence. You'll be ok.) Why the bathroom is so much safer than their dog beds 10 feet away is beyond me. But, they obviously know something I don't. So there's that.

On the internets front: I just entered 2006 and joined Facebook. I'm so hip its unsettling. Though, I will say that the facebook is interesting in the personas that develop on that site. Obviously we all show different sides in different situations, like work, social, interwebs, etc... but facebook is fascinating in how the application gets people to share much more than they would, lets say, on a blog or MySpace. Speaking of facinating, did you see the CNN.com write up of The Oxford Project. If you're looking to kill a few hours, pull up a chair and start reading.

So, that's what's going on right now.

This I had to share

http://www.google.com/search2001.html

Enjoy!

13 is indeed a lucky number

Have a nice evening sir. It might be 13 years overdue, but, to the day, here we are.

Holy Crap its October

I know, Queen of the Obvious today, eh?

A few things to announce:

1. Its October. Holy crap. Although I've laid the groundwork for Christmas gifts and crafting I'm freaking out just a little thinking about how behind I think I am. This doesn't mean I am actually behind, it just feels that way.

2. Its hot people. For the non-L.A. people, holy crap. Yesterday was the first day gramma turned on her AC all year. Now, that's hot. And not in a good way. Because the baddogs are by definition seniors and they both hate the fan blowing on them, I had to send them into grammas room last night for fear that they might melt in mine.

3. Just 17 days from now I leave for the UK. This marks a few things.

a. I haven't been outside of the US in 4 years. Considering I had been going to the UK annually from 1997 - 2004 , that's pretty huge. As someone who prides herself on traveling as much as she can, to think I've stayed in the US for the last 4 years is a wee weird. I mean, I've been to Oregon, Hawaii, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, New York, Nevada and Arizona in those four years. And that's pretty outstanding. But that's all the U.S. That's home. It'll be good to get out of here, to have to look the opposite way to ensure I don't get hit by a taxi, to take trains and be on the lookout for cheap food, not to think about the exchange rate when I need to buy something, to have people think that I have the funny accent.

b. My best friend is getting married. And this means that although she's been living in the UK since 1997, this marks her actually really not ever moving home.

c. I have a total of 24 hours on an airplane (and we're not even discussing self-imposed layovers in Minneapolis) and that means I need to figure out projects to bring. (See Christmas gifts above.) This might sound easy to non-knitters. You bring a few magazines and a few books. But, when you're going to be away from home for 10 days and you're faced with a huge amount of time in airports and airplanes, its pretty stressful.

d. Its a thousand degrees out (see above) and I have to wrap my head around packing for dreary London weather. And a wedding. And a rehearsal dinner. And I still don't love my bridesmaid's dress so I'd like to find something else that's in a jewel tone tone in a fairly sleek silhouette. But the dress I have fits and its free and I should get over it. And really, I haven't see anything I've liked any better than what I had in the closet.

Holy Crap. Its October.

I'm not sure why, but last night I had one of those how-did-I-get here types of moments. Not the 33-year-old-living-at-home-with-two-dogs-as-roommates type of moment. More the, how- did-I-end-up-in-a-job-I-really-freaking-like kind of moments. Here's how the chronology ran in my head.

Got out of college and had two job offers...a really crappy on in Tucson (where I went to college - Go Wildcats!) or a really crappy on in L.A. Mom offered to let me move home so I did. Three promotions (with no extra pay) and a year later I left to go work assisting someone fabulous. A year later she left but took me with her. A year later I enrolled in paralegal school (mom's idea) and mentioned to the chick I sat next to that if a position ever opened up over there, please sign me up. Three positions opened, I sent her my resume, she sent me the key words that HAD to be on there (PowerPoint, Outlook, etc...) and after a few serious promises that I would learn any software they wanted, I got the job. 18 months. 2 going away parties, a $500 gift certificate to Neimans and a trashed office later I left for my first paralegal gig where I was greeted with "Do you always dress like that?" "Why don't you wear makeup" and my favorite "How do you expect to catch a man like that?" Five years later I left for another firm and then a year later I found myself here. 14 months its been and what a ride.

And after I went through that chronology, I thought to myself, when I talk about how long I've worked here, even if I say 10 years, I'm always going to refer to it in months. 'cause I'm cool like that. I make my own rules.

Inflation hits home

So Regina & I went to Gelson's for soup. This is almost a daily routine as, well, we like soup. And we're busy at lunch doing important things, like knitting, so there's no time for food. Priorities people. So we hit the over-priced soup bar, laugh at some of the produce prices, laugh at ourselves for buying some of the produce and do whatever work-related grocery shopping we need to do. Nutra Grain bars for me, crackers for her....back to the office.

Soup was good but I'm still just a smidge hungry and I'm not really feeling the Nutra Grain bars.

Hmm. No change. Fine, I'll take a dollar down to the 4th floor vending machine.

E5

Always E5, the magical Planter's peanut butter cracker sandwiches. 190 calories of protein-salty goodness. I don't even have to look. My peanut butter crackers are always there for me. I can ignore them for weeks without a visit, but when I need them, there they are.

Dollar goes in. Change falls into the tray. Crackers fall into the bottom of the machine. You always have to watch them fall...I've been that guy yelling at the machine 'cause the corner of the plastic of the package just catches so it doesn't fall...balancing for its life...taunting me. But, I should know better. Its the evil Twix that does that, not my beloved crackers. But I watch anyways.

I bend down to get my 2 quarters.

Why is there only one quarter and a dime. Stupid machine.

I look at my beloved E5.

$ .65.

It was $ .50 last week.

I'm going to have to start carrying more change.

And they say that we're not in a recession. Tell them to come over to my vending machine!

Summertime & the livin's easy

A little background:

I have two dogs, Jane is 10 and Dick is 8. Jane's arthritis has progressed to where she's very mobile and still causes trouble but doesn't want to go on walks. She takes vitamins and medication and we need to cook for her to try to keep her weight up and her digestion normal.

I have a bathroom that's currently under construction (by me, scary to think, I know) which, if I can't fix it, I can't take showers in there. The water leaks from the shower (no, not the pipes, we checked, scientifically I might add) and onto the 1st floor. I hope to be done by this weekend and back using my shower by the following weekend.

We just rebuilt (thankfully not by us, we hired actual professionals) our patio that was, uhm, super broken. It cost a bunch of money (totally reasonable and they did a incredible job) and well, yeah.

[work, ringing phone.]

"This is Jenna."

Mom: "We have a problem."

"Ok."

"So I was sitting outside on those new chaises we bought."

"Ok."

"Just enjoying the day and Jane comes out."

"Is she ok?"

"Yeah, she's limping a little but fine. That's not the problem."

"Ok."

"So I'm sitting there and she comes up next to me and curls around me on the chaise."

"So, that's the problem? The dog wants to sit on the chaise?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, you've got a problem. Need anything at the market?"

"Nope, I just went."

"Ok, then I'll see you at home later."

Yeah, dog didn't need to be rushed to the vet. Ceiling didn't come crashing down. Patio is still as fabulous as the contractor left it. No, the problem is that the arthritic dog wants to sit on the new 50% off chaises we just bought at Target this weekend. (BTW, all of their patio stuff is 50% off...if you need anything, now is the time to buy.)

Yeah, nothing changes your priorities like having a summers off from work.

Maybe I need to rethink my career. I dig problems like that.

Holy crap I'm blond

It wasn't until I saw Ellen's pictures that I realized how blond.

That's awesome. Of course, that explains the conversation I had with my mom Tuesday night. I got home from the salon and I might have, ahem, forgot to tell her I'd be late. Normally when I tell her I'm getting my hair cut and I come home after she says my hair looks the same, which for the record, it never does. I mean, I have an entire section of my very neglected website just for my hair. (!) So, I thought I'd just let her notice, or not notice on her own.

"Hi."

"Why are you so late?"

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"Did you get your hair cut?"

"Yup."

"You're. so. blond."

"Ok."

"What's your natural color?"

"Did you feed the dogs?"

"Its too blond."

"Is that a yes or a no that you fed the dogs."

"I like it darker."

"Ok, then its a no, you didn't feed the dogs."

"Of course I fed the dogs."

[Exit mom's bedroom.]

"...Are you mad at me..."

[continue walking to my bedroom]

Its no secret that my mom prefers my hair longer and brown. And that's fine. I prefer my rent free but we can't always go back to the way things were. I like to pay people to do nifty things to my hair. I can't do it. If I could, I would. And that's my primary rule when getting my hair colored: I want whatever shouldn't be coming out of my head...if it doesn't match my eyebrows, perfect! Well, and my new rule...as Regina & I work together, hang out together, and go to the same hair salon I always tell our colorist not to do whatever she has...not that I don't love her hair...I do, its just people at work think we're Frick & Frack right now...I don't need to help that along.

So yeah. I'm blond.

I think the universe is trying to tell me something

Yippee! I have another respiratory infection! Woohoo!

Oddly, not being able to breathe and hacking up a rainbow of colors isn't upsetting me like it usually does. I carry my meds in a fabulous lime green cosmetics case, drink tea like a grown up and whine like a child so mom makes me soup. (She did, BTW, orzo, spinach, chicken and carrott...mmmm.) Maybe its not upsetting me 'cause right now I'm surrounded by people with real problems and they have, like, the world's greatest attitudes about it.

• Frank is evicting non-Hodgkin's lymphoma from his body and is perkier in his posts that I am after four Diet Cokes.
• I have another friend who just had surgery for breast cancer on Friday, and is facing another surgery 'cause they found more cancer and she's all excited about starting a blog. (No blog yet, or else I'd link to her.)
• Then, one of my best friends lost her dog, seriously, one of the coolest dogs ever, and wrote the sweetest tribute to him.
• Regina spent her weekend at the hospital 'cause her kid had an appendectomy, which the symptoms of course started at 3am 'cause nothing can go wrong during, I don't know, business hours.

And yet all of these people are either learning from their experiences, have some sort of f-you- world,-I'm-going-to-kick-whatever-is- going-on-right-now's-a$$ attitude or they're just being all positive about it.

So yeah, respiratory infection...second one this year? Whatever...that's kids stuff.

Then & Now

You know the saying, you can never go home? For any of you that know me, you know I can't exactly say that. I mean, I live at home. But, to me, that saying more applies to when you leave somewhere, like a job or a relationship, there really isn't any going back. I just had a very stark reminder of that today.

As some of you may know, I've been a part of the Brentwood School community since I was born. My first yearbook picture was taken at age 2. (By the way, how cute is my mom in these pictures.)

I remember when the school was just a converted military academy, before "baby Brentwood", when classes were held in trailers because the lower school was being built. Back in the day they'd rent the campus for productions. Once a production was going and the actresses went topless and played volleyball for the cameras. That production was stopped real quick. On the weekends they rent out the campus and the teachers would come to their classrooms and find mattresses. There are a thousand stories.

I derived much of my identity as a teacher's kid...in both the good and the bad that came with that designation. I was always in the thick of what was going on at the school but at the same time laughed at for being one of the poor kids, unable to afford the clothes and random stuff that goes with attending a private school.

Yeah, my senior year ID. I'm not wearing my glasses but I am wearing make-up, something you'd only see on book day. But, as you can't exactly see, I'm wearing my prize possession at the time...the only item I bought that last summer working at Fred Segal, my Koobai gray eyelet bodysuit. Yes, all the ladies who lived through 1992 remember the bodysuits. And, at that time, it was the only designer item I owned. I was so fabulous in it I could hardly stand myself and helped to start an addiction I still proudly support today.

Its been 16 years since I graduated that campus, and I still get mixed emotions going there. Today, there was nothing mixed. It was an all-alumni BBQ but mom & I were there to support a friend of hers, the Dean of Students, the heart of Brentwood.

I've moved on from Brentwood. Sure, today I wore the Dolce & Gabana capris, the Miu Miu shoes, the Betsy Johnson purse... I'm still the fashion-obsessed kid I was 16 years ago. But, now I'm making a bit more than the $2,000 I'd clear every summer from Fred Segal so I can feed the beast easier.

But, at the same time, I'm more comfortable having a friend shoot me paparazi style at a birthday picnic.

I like home where it is now. I like who I am now. I couldn't say that in high school. Its nice to say that now.

SATC

'cause there aren't enough reviews of this movie yet.

You know, I don't think the right reviews of the movie are out there, so I'll present you with two.

One: Sex & the City = Fashion Porn

Two: Sex & the City is a good chick flick.

The whole if-its-going-to-be-the-length-of-five-episodes-it-should-have-done-more doesn't really fly with me. They basically covered in one movie what an entire season of SATC would have covered. And I thought that was pretty cool. Each of the characters had their own issues and demons to deal with and in the end there was a resolution. And some amazing clothes.

Granted, this is not a guy movie. I would no more take Todd to see this than I would take my father. This just isn't a movie for them and they'd be asleep in the first 15 minutes. Though, there is quite a bit of sex in the move...I mean, it is in the title. So, for any of you guys out there whose girlfriends/wives missed the boat on the girlfriend's day at the movies and they drag you. There's quite of bit of nudity and sex...even a threesome...though each only lasts a few seconds, its very much there. So, there's that.

But, other than that, it was SATC for all the reasons we love and hate the show. The women are thinner and more fashionable than you are. Unless of course you have the time to work out three hours a day and have Patricia Field to dress you. And, they all have fabulous husbands/boyfriends that are richer or funnier or more supportive than anyone on this earth. Then again, none of us date Michael Patrick King. He could write our love lives and that might solve that problem.

Hell, between Patricia Field and Michael Patrick King, I think all of our problems could be solved.

Why Brick & Mortar isn't doing too well

Ok, yes, I understand the economy is in the tank. I understand we're in a recession but not in a recession. Gas prices are sky high and food prices are increasing daily. I get that. But, with four (4) days of unintentional research, I can tell you why brick & mortar stores aren't doing well:

One word: Attitude

Example 1: Sunday, I found the cutest shirt EVER. EVER. Seriously. This might help solve at least one crisis in the middle east. Turns out, I know the store owner who was selling the aformentioned shirt. (And by know I mean I know who she is and she knows me as someone who is always happy to spend money in her store.)

Me: Do you have this in my size?

Her: I only have what's out there.

She didn't get up from her chair or look herself 'cause usually clients are stupid and can't see what's in front of them. She didn't care that I couldn't find the overpriced shirt and she didn't even try to show me something equally as cute and overpriced. She even knows me & Todd 'cause we always buy the same line (*cough* Hello Kitty *cough*) and didn't even attempt to mention or show us oh, I don't know, the 3 racks of new stuff she had. She just sort of hung out in her chair.

So yeah, I went home did a few searches on the google and ordered the shirt online. Five magical days later I had the shirt.

Example 2: Monday I wandered into J.Crew on my lunch hour and started trying things on.

Me: Hey, I was in here 2 weeks ago and you had these awesome denim capris but I was helping a friend shop for a business trip so I didn't feel I could try them on. Could you help me find them?

Saleslady: Yeah, we don't have them any more. Why don't you try these on and then I'll order you the size from the catalog.

Me: Uhm, those are a completely different fabric, size, style and fit.

At this point I'm still talking but she's looking at me like I'm speaking Japanese...not that Japanese isn't a lovely language, just a language the saleslady doesn't speak. So yeah, I walked out.

Example 3: Tuesday I ran out to the pet store to get Advantage for the kids. Not only was it almost twice the price as buying it online, which I was willing to pay to get it immediately, but the line at the register was four deep with no other sales staff in sight (and this isn't a small store) to help and the chick ringing wasn't exactly speedy or even trying to be speedy.

Yeah, walked out, went to the dry cleaner and then ordered it online. Two days later, with free shipping (!), I had the Advantage and tortured the dogs with it.


Example 4: Wednesday I went to Bath & Body Works as they one of the only stores to carry my nail polish. I stood at the wall o' nail polish and they didn't have ONE SINGLE THING I needed. They didn't have the color my mom has worn for YEARS or any of the new stuff from either spring or summer or even the new top coat. So I walked out, came back to work and, all together now....ordered it online. Two weeks later, poof, like magic, I have three polishes, one for mom, two for me and a new topcoat to try out.

Here I am, breaking all the current spending trends by buying stuff I don't necessarily need, but definately want and no one is helping me. And I've worked retail...for years I worked retail. I've worked at Express, Bloomingdale's, Fred Segal, Frette...I've done $9 shirts and $150 jeans and the jeans were $150 15 years ago. So, I'm not very patient with the excuse that people who work retail don't make much...I know that...I had that paycheck for almost 10 years and yet I still helped people because that was my job.


So, when I'm watching or reading the news and all the retailers are complaining that sales are down and woe is me and blah, blah, blah...here's an idea, how about you help the people who are in your stores. Maybe you could start there 'cause until you're nice to the people spending their money on your merchandise, I'm not going too feel too sorry for you.

Happy Birthday Gramma!

Yes, today is my mom's birthday. It is also my friend Nina's birthday and Regina's wedding anniversary. Its a big day.

For Nina, I left voicemail; for Regina I shouted Happy Anniversary as she walked into her office and for mom, we went to the Peninsula last night for dinner. I have three words for you to sum up our dinner, the new chef and the new menu: Tofu Tasting Menu.

Seriously.

Tofu.
Tasting.
Menu.

Dude, I understand you're trying to capture a younger crowd. I get that. And you should. When my mom and her best friend are younger than everyone else in the room (except me) by 30 years, you've got an old crowd. But, tofu tasting? Yeah, not so much.

I had the scallops, mom had the salmon and Eleanor had...what did she have...some small bird off the side dish section of the menu. And, don't get me wrong, it was all quite tasty and the portions were perfect. But, here was the conversation over our desert to sort of help you with the tone of the food for dinner:

Waiter: How do you like your desert?
Eleanor: Its different. I've never had a carrot cake like this before.
Waiter: Its organic.
Eleanor: Oh.

When we ordered the cake, it said organic carrot cake. When the cake came, it was a very different consistency than other carrot cakes. I liked it, mom didn't and Eleanor was sort of lukewarm. But, here's the thing. I understand the importance of organic but really, "organic" is not impacting my cake. The recipe and the time it cooked impacted the cake...not that the carrots were grown by a loving farmer that read poetry to his crops every day. I know what goes into a carrot cake and if mom used all organic ingredients in her cake, it would not taste like that did. It would be carrot cake and it would rock you. It wouldn't be a carrot cake with an odd consistency.

I'm just sayin.

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Container Store's Travel Sale

With nothing but love in my heart and sincerity in my tone do I tell you the following:

The annual Container Store Travel Sale has begun! Woo!

Seriously.

I'm not kidding.

I've been waiting all year for this. Regina and I went to the store weekly (ok, maybe daily) before her trip hoping the sale would start.

And then she went to London.

And the sale began.

Isn't that how it always goes?

But in all seriousness, if you travel at all, their travel accessories really do make all the difference and the sale makes them even better. They have the legal-size-won't-leak bottles and the best packing system. I used to be the exploding suitcase sort of packer. Now, I'm all organized and can actually see everything in the suitcase. Stop laughing. Yes, I have seen the state of my bedroom. No, that doesn't mean I don't pack all tidy and neat. Shut up. Anyways, back to the travel stuff...

I have a few of these folding thingies and a few of the cube thingies. Seriously, they work. Not only do they keep everything nice and neat and wrinkle free (or at least at the same wrinkle level that they entered your suitcase) and they keep your socks and underwear from running amok in your suitcase, or is that a problem that only I have? Then, when everything is dirty, you can cram it into the cubes and obtain all of this magical packing space for all the crap, er, stuff you've bought on your trip. Its scary how much dirty laundry you can pack into those cubes. And, for the stuff that is oddly unworn and clean (because I'm sure NONE of you over pack) you can keep that safely folded away where it won't touch the icky dirty stuff...very handy for lazy people like me who don't want to do any extra laundry if they don't have to.

The following has also been brought to my attention. My mom uses those space bags for compressing all of the down comforters we have. Did you know they have smaller space bags just for travel? For all the paranoid yarn packers out there, you know who you are, the ones afraid they won't have enough projects to last through your trip. Well, the idea was hatched (ok, fine, it wasn't mine, it was Regina's) that you could put the extra projects into one of these bags and just smoosh it down to nothing so that it doesn't take up all the space in your carry-on ('cause duh! you're not checking yarn). Brilliant! Not to mention, another great place for your dirty laundry...just suck all the air out and you have even more space for all that crap, er, stuff you're buying.

So yeah, that's your helpful tip for today.

Insanity, partially explained.

If someone could explain to me how to craft and work and have enough time for blogging, I'm all ears. I can't seem to do all three. Lets go on a narrative of my latest project which I think illustrates why I can't do all there.

When I'm starting a project, I'm easily distracted. The project is shiny and new and there's no end in sight. I can pick it up, put it down, not even really think about it or its finish time. However, once I turn a corner and I'm on the back end of the project, I turn into a woman possessed. I stay up later. I knit longer. I. just. want. to. finish. So I work and work and work and work and then sleep. And then I go to work. That doesn't leave a whole lot of time for ye old blog. Hmmm.

That brings us to last night. I was at the very end of a project, a wee tote designed from corn yarn (yes, corn, how cool is that?!?) because corn is cool and its soft and the sig. other's mom lives in place where they grow corn and I knew she'd get a kick out of a bag made out of corn. Its an easy little project. Regina taught me how to crochet in the round and change colors in a pretty way so off I went striping to my hearts content.

I let the bag tell me where it was going and what it needed. (Yes, yarn talks to me. You want to make something of it punk?) So, it finished itself and declared itself to be a wee bag to be used for garage sale forays or bake sale volunteering, small enough to wear on the hip and big enough for money and keys. Sounds good to me! But it needed to be lined.

Off to Michael Levine on Sunday, my first time by the way. I'll be honest. I expected it to be bigger. But once I started to look at the fabrics, my head almost exploded. Everything was fabulous. They even had yarn I needed that I had no intention of buying there. So that was a plus and saved me another stop or two to find the yarn. Another bonus was Santino. That sighting can only be appreciated by the true Project Runway fans out there. He's even taller and skinnier in person than on the show. But, he looked the same otherwise, hanging at the button counter.

Everyone at Michael Levine was fabulous and helpful and I left with everything I needed for the wee bag as well as Mom's Mother's Day project.

Last night I sewed the lining for the purse. Now, I've sewn exactly three things, all for me, none of which had to be perfect. But, this is a gift so I wanted it to be nice. Needless to say, I did the lining and redid the lining and then the iron burped on the lining so I did it again.

Finally.

I was done.

I put the purse down.

I turned to grab something.

I knocked the iron over.

Are you gasping?

Gasping now would be a good thing.

Yup.

Hot iron + corn yarn = melted purse.

At 11pm.

sigh.

As "luck" would have it, it fell on the top of the purse. And as any crocheter will tell you, one of the many nice things about crochet is that its damn easy to frog and put back together. So I cut out the burned portion, saved the lining (!), crocheted the top again, affixed the closures again and promptly collapsed at 2am.

Now, any rational sane person would have just turned the iron off, cursed the iron (because its obviously not your fault for being a klutzy moron) and gone to sleep...I mean....someone rational would know that they're not leaving for Minnesota until Friday so they could have spent copious amounts of time during the rest of the week fixing the purse.

Yeah, rational doesn't live here.

The blog doesn't get updated. I post a month's worth of 366 at one sitting. I crazy. But, on the plus side, since my last blog entry I've finished 2 purses both fully lined. I'm even using one as my daily purse. I'll post pictures as soon as I find the time to upload them.

After I finish this purse.

heh.

Inspired!

So I'm reading Eating L.A., a blog I visit about three times a year. Its not that I don't dig Pat Saperstein's blog....just the opposite, I always enjoy it. It just isn't on my usual radar. And no, I don't need to add to the list of blogs I check every day. Seriously, that list both for work and for personal is out of control as it is. So, on a day like today when I have a few extra minutes, I read the whole thing at once. Her blog is just full of useful information. And you know, I'm all about blogs giving useful information.


Inspiration No. 1:

A cupcake map. That's right, I said it. I even linked it. (Thanks to the L.A. times for creating the map and thanks to Pat for tossing it onto her blog.) How cool is that? Most of the westside shops I've hit and blogged about. But there are more still waiting for me. In fact, I think I need to hit one new cupcake shop per week until they are all conquered. This will be a stretch as several of them are in the *gasp* valley as well as Torrance and Pasadena. But, I'm guessing I can find the will to drive.


Inspiration No. 2

Lately I've been in a bit of a rut...no fault of anyone except myself. I just haven't put the time into finding new places. Half of that is based on my new mission to save money and cook more when Todd is in town and half of that is sheer unadulterated laziness.

Last night Steve & I ventured out for chow and ended up at one of my all time favorites, Ramenya. (Don't worry, we're getting to the inspiration...) They had a sign on the wall as well as a menu for Asian-ya. Dude, its called Asian-ya. And its owned by the Ramenya kids. Seriously, how do you go wrong with a restaurant that hyphenates a "ya" in their title? The reviews aren't too promising yet but I'm still trying it. You can't stop me.

Haven't see the Ark yet

but I can report there is water falling from the sky at a quick pace.

Weather people have been forecasting the second coming of Noah for the last few days. He was supposed to be here yesterday in the first of three storms that were all supposed to meet up together. But, Noah's late to his own party. Instead, sadly, we had all these newscasters scattered all around the city in rain gear with no rain. So, they all had to cover the Britney meltdown. I'm sure that's why they all went to journalism school and put in the long days they have over the years.

But I digress, RAIN RAIN RAIN. Most people, those not from L.A., don't think we have seasons. But, we do. Spring, Summer, Fire, Flood. Obviously, right now we're starting flood. Once everything burns then it gets wet and falls down and that's not good. Then you have people who can't drive on a good day but put some WATER in their way and all hell breaks loose.

But, the rain also brings drama to Chez Radomile. When you live in a house built in 1927, it has its quirks. But, more importantly, when you have two greyhounds accustomed to dry weather and a large backyard at their beck and call, its an even bigger issue. Jane feels the same way I do about restrooms, they should be clean, private and warm. So yeah, her little wet square of grass in the backyard isn't doing it for her right now. As luck would have it, I'm only out of the house for a few hours a day so I can talk her through how to be a dog and actually use the little girls room when its wet out. A mother's work is never done.

So for all the SoCal kids, I hope you're keeping dry and warm.

So for all the non-SoCal kids, I hope you're keeping dry and warm. I guess there is weather in places other than L.A., eh?

Good Enough

I try to keep this blog sunshine and moonbeams but I can't be adequately thankful for this past year without being completely honest about how this past year ended.

Its been an incredible year filled with a new job, new friends, travel, love and really just about anything a girl could want.*

Christmas held family and friends, even a logical sighting at Xian (the only yummy restaurant open in Beverly Hills on Christmas) and more gift cards and knitting books than I can still wrap my head around.

My birthday began at the Bel Air Hotel where we sat next to the Divine Miss M but ended almost going to the emergency room. I didn't go...I'm lucky to have the only pulmonologist on call during his vacation and he walked me through the medications needed to breathe again....medications I hate and will tell each and every one of you not to take unless its those medications or the hospital. But they work. And I blog now after 36 of the toughest hours I've had all year.

Therefore, I begin 2008 humbled and grateful for all that I have.

To my loyal blog readers, I thank you. I hope your 2008 extraordinary.

XOXO,
Jenna

*I must admit, I am still waiting for that Mini Cooper to appear in my driveway, with keys and a title in my name.

Best Laid Plans

The plan was to stay at home, eat leftovers and knit. I had every intention of doing just that. But, I have embarked on the single most difficult knitting endeavor ever. Its "Level 2." That means easy people. This shouldn't be difficult. Seriously. And I can't show you because it may or may not be a gift to someone who may or may not read this blog. I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

So, to get a bit of breathing room from something so ridiculously simple, I headed down into the trenches. Black Friday.

Well, not really. I went down into Westwood to Bel Air Camera. I was fightin' the crowds. It took me 3 seconds to make eye contact with Victor, it took him about 15 seconds to grab what I needed, about 2 minutes to discuss the purchase and another minute to be rung up.

Do I suffer for my deals or what?

Ok, for those of you who don't know Bel Air Camera, you should. In this age of big box stores taking over the world, Bel Air Camera keeps getting bigger and better. I mean, how many camera stores do you see in buildings that used to house banks. Everyone in there knows their stuff. Its a nice change from a kid earning a few bucks an hour over minimum wage shrugging when you ask a question about a particular product. In the interest of full disclosure, I paid about $30 more since I didn't stand outside of Circuit City at 4am this morning.

Hmm, getting up at 4am or paying another $30. Fighting crazy crowds or paying an extra $30. I don't know about you, but I think it was worth it.

So yeah, I ran a few errands and came back to continue the most difficult project ever.

And ate my left overs.

Even the best laid plans can have wee bit of modification.

Thanksgiving came early

Because of Mom's mad cooking skilz, she's a wee busy this time of year. This week alone, she's already baked dog and people cookies and made two batches of soup. For Thanksgiving, she's doing two turkeys, one for my stepdad and one for the extended family. Then there's the salad and veggies she's making for 33 people. (No, I'm not kidding.) Did I mention she works full time? Yeah, she's a bit busy. I understand this. However, what I didn't understand was the announcement that she wasn't making stuffing. As someone else had that responsibility for the main dinner, she figured she wouldn't do it this year.

That's not funny.

That's like Christmas with no gifts.

That's like Halloween with no costumes.

That's like Jenna with no designer shoes.

We don't joke about things like that.

Needless to say, I was a bit disturbed. Several conversations ensued. Conversations turned to negotiations. The final agreement: in addition to my usual indentured servitude, I would exchange my chopping assistance for her willingness to making stuffing. Completely fair if you ask me.

Tonight, I chopped celery, onions and eight heads of brociflower, giddy with the thought of stuffing tomorrow.

I knew she was doing the stepdad turkey today. What I didn't know is that she stuffed it for me. I'm sitting upstairs knitting a gift and she pages me for turkey. After finishing the row I was on I saunter down:

"There's the stuffing. Its all yours."

(blink, blink) All of it?

"Well, leave a bite for Tony, but yeah, all of it."

Its sick how happy I was about this. I was dancing around the kitchen. It was so good. It was everything I've been waiting for for the last year. My blessed stuffing.

"The hills are alive, with the taste of stuffing...."

Plus, I get more tomorrow from the Turkey she's making for the family dinner. (There's a small group of us who share that stuffing. Everyone else gets the "other stuff." Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

Thanksgiving came early today.

doG bless us, everyone.

Panic at the Disco

I'm a professional shopper, kids don't try this at home, filmed on a closed course, no animals were harmed in the shopping at this mall. I shop the department stores, big box stores, boutiques, sample sales, outlets, you name it, I'll shop it. I've been pushed, elbowed, glared at and threatened. If there's a deal, I'll find it and I don't care what you say, how you look at me or how you try to get by me, I won't be intimidated. But, with all that being said, there are certain understood rules to shopping.

Rule 1: Get in early, hit hard, and get out.
Rule 2: Don't Panic.
Rule 3: Use only as much force is necessary but don't hurt anyone enough to get thrown out.

And yet, this early in the game, all of the above rules are being broken. Not cool.

We went to Costco last Saturday at opening to get the majority of our Thanksgiving shopping out of the way. We grabbed our cart and sauntered inside. People were literally running through the aisles with their shopping carts. Running. Why are you people running? Seriously. Its Saturday. I don't understand. Why are you freaking out? That's so not in the shopping handbook; you're breaking all of the rules. Just so you know, Thanksgiving isn't tomorrow, its Thursday. The store is empty. The prices don't change in 10 minutes. This isn't Black Friday.

And that brings us to to Black Friday....

If people are freaking out the Saturday before Thanksgiving, what sort of chaos and anarchy are we in for on Black Friday? Unless requested otherwise, I'll have my booty firmly planted in my bed, watching bad TV, shows on my DVR, knitting, wrapping Christmas gifts (see shopping credentials above) and such what not. But, I don't really think I'll be venturing too far outside my neighborhood. I've seen the Walmart video. Those amateurs scare me. They don't play by the rules.

Pictures on the run

I'm sure you got the same message. Yahoo photos was going to implode. I didn't really care. I hadn't looked at them in years and really, if any of my pics were that important, I'd have them saved somewhere. Then I received another message. Your Yahoo photos would be moved to flickr. So that was cool. I didn't even look at them as I'm, uhm, photo challenged for much of my computer day.

I looked at them last week.

Holy crap.

That's my dad and my two half brothers. Its a picture from 2003. As it is 2007, the boys are a bit taller and more grown up. But the holy crap part comes more from how I think of my dad and that guy in the picture isn't it. Here's how I explain it:

Every time I see someone I haven't seen in awhile, they're convinced I've lost weight. Right now its true, so I take the compliment. But, usually I'm at the exact same weight. It always strikes me as odd that people must think of me as so much bigger than I am. With that in mind, I don't feel bad that I hold a specific image of people in my mind when I think of them. But, Dad's picture above did get me thinking of how I see myself compared to how other people see me.

I'm the one in the cute white dress. I know there are a few people in this world who still see me as that wee one. That's ok. The family who see me like that are cool. I'll let that slide.

I think this is how people saw me in high school.

Based on the hair length I want to say this was from the 10th grade. No glasses though I always wore them...just never in pictures.

The sweatshirt doesn't match the button down shirt underneath but the barret in my hair does match the shirt. Yeah, that's how I rolled.

I cringe to think what shoes I was wearing. Thankfully those were spared from the picture.

But I am proud to say that I still have the sweatshirt as it bears the team of my mom's high school. Penn Hills in the house!

Yeah, its klassy...we bought it at Giant Eagle. For those of you not familiar with Giant Eagle, its a supermarket. Hey, even at a young age I could shop anywhere.

Here's how I like to remember myself from high school.
That was a scene from our version of "Godspell." To this day it was my favorite role. Our characters were self-made, based on characters you'd find on the Venice boardwalk. I was a lost teenager. (Heh, that was a stretch.) Though, my mom would have been horrified if I ever dressed myself like that in "real life," in one of the styles of '92: tshirt, striped tights, cut off jean shorts and Docs. From "In Living Color" to a high school stage near you. During the play I was able to perform a sort of sermon, a specialty of mine to this day as my dad's 2nd wife played one on TV.

And, I left the picture unedited since that hand on the left belongs to Elizabeth. Since age 11, she has always next to me.

From teens to the 20s.

Here's how I think of my 20s.

The picture doesn't show it well, but my hair is 4 different colors. I know it looks goofy now, but that was one of my favorite haircuts ever. And that shirt was the beginning of my designer consumption. (James Pearse for those of you playing along at home.)

1998 was a busy year as I was working at Bloomingdale's as a personal shopper and met that guy next to me, the one with the HUGE head, who was to become one of my very best friends.


So I guess that brings us to the 30s. Since we're just beginning I guess I'll find something recent, something you've seen before.
Where to next?

Better yet...how do you see yourself?

File this under stuff I didn't know

Tito's Tacos chips never go bad.

I was the lucky recipient of boxes of tacos and bags of chips last Saturday. I put one of the paper bags full of chips into a very fancy Gelson's plastic grocery bag and tied it up. Its like a Ziploc only not.

Mom calls me at work today to announce we're going over to a friend's house for dinner. She grabbed the bag o' chips, and a bin o' Tito's salsa and a 3 chick party was born. Both the chips and the salsa tasted exactly as they did last Saturday.

I'm not sure if I'm excited or frightened by this discovery.

Then I came home, walk and fed the pups, watched Heroes on my DVR and knitted.

Do I know how to party or what?

And now for something completely different

I started blogging about how someone moved my cheese. Some of my, ahem, internet freedoms had been changed over the weekend. So, I've been adjusting. Then I was going to blog about some old pictures I found. I even thought about blogging about this get-rid-of-a-hundred-things thing that's been a topic of interest on the wee web ring to your right.

Then I received a phone call.

There was an accident.

No one was hurt.

Police were called. Cars were totaled. Dinner was skipped.

I mean seriously. Does it matter that I have to access blogger and comments from home? Am I in the mood to wax nostalgic about old pictures of me and my family? Does talking about decluttering really interest me right now? The answer to all three is no. But I will say this.

Hug the people you love.

Pat the people you like on the head.

Ignore the people who annoy you.

The holidays are upon us people, lets remember what they're all about: the people we love...and presents.

This job may be hazardous to your wardrobe.

I dig my job. I don't think its a secret that I'm the paralegal for an investment banking firm. You can probably imagine the level of formality (for L.A.) and the lack of any sort of physical labor. Sure, I've been known to carry a box. But, for the most part, I'm beating on a computer or stacks of vicious paper, bending them to my legal will. I've been known to really expect a lot from my attire at lunch, sitting with Regina, knitting, kicking off my 4 inch heels for a chance at taking in a bit of vitamin E before heading back into the land of florescent light.

So, its rather odd that clothing is just bowing in submission. In all of my years of actual physical work, running around in suits and heels carrying boxes and baskets and racks of clothes, I ran stockings but never lost entire articles of clothing. There I was surrounded by clothes and not once did I ever need to buy anything for use that day other than hosiery. And yet today we had yet another casualty.

I'm sure the fug girls would be happy to hear that my favorite black Donna Karan leggings committed suicide. A huge hole attacked my thigh and raged on for the last hour of my day. And this is just the latest death. We've lost our favorite black dress, two pairs of shoes, a khaki skirt and a shirt. Some have gone quietly. The shoes, like the leggings, died towards the end of the day. Others, like the skirt, did their little dance first thing in the morning, in the middle of Century Park West for a nice man in a Mercedes to let us know about. Then there was the black dress that ripped slowly, my only hint was the draft as I walked to Gelson's for my morning muffin. Needless to say, not only do I keep a sewing kit at work, but I now keep a box of safety pins and have used both on several occasions.

If you can't find me at work, knock on the handicapped stall in the 5th floor ladies room. Odds are good, I'm sitting in the chair in there sewing up something so I can finish my day.

Just a little bait

Everyone knows that L.A. has earthquakes and high rent and (almost) unaffordable real estate and crazy drivers and such what not. Then we have days like today. Technically, it was a federal holiday. But, everyone I know had to work. So, you tool around on the freeways on a "work" day and everything is moving. The weather is fantastic. This is how we lure people in. They visit on days like this and think they could handle the traffic and the high rent and the earthquakes if it means that they'll have fantastic weather and a great job market and all the cheap ethnic food you can eat.

Then we slowly bring the traffic back. And drive you insane. And drive you back from wherever you moved. Unless you've assimilated and think that its all worth it.

I think its worth it. But, then again, that's just me.

Reality without writers?

Ok, sitting here watching "Biggest Loser" (whatever, I'm folding laundry and getting all the Halloween decorations put away so I'm not really watching) a deep thought occurred to me. I'm sure everyone else already thought of it, but whatever...

Here are a couple of things we know:

1. Reality tv is scripted.
2. We're in day 2 of the writer's strike.

So, if everyone is counting on reality tv to substitute for "written" shows, how is that possible if there isn't anyone to write the reality? Are they going to subject us to more shows like "Kid Nation." Or are the networks just going to bring over shows like "Intervention." (Seriously, showing people shooting up can't be scripted...can it?)

See, this is why having me write for my blog every day is a bad idea...you're stuck seeing the chaos in my brain without all the editing I usually do for you at no extra charge.

1991 called

And she wants her Docs back.

Most of the clothes I wore in college are gone (1992 - 1996 for those of you who may be curious). But, I did have the good (relatively speaking) sense to keep just a few key pieces. I had the coolest black vinyl tank dress from Contempo. That's right. I admit it. Where Eurochow is now. Yeah, that was my Contempo. I bought it on sale, marked down to $19.99. Hidden from mom to this day. I kept that. My original pair of Doc Martens 8 holes, duh. The most expensive pair of socks in 1995 ($16 at Fred Segal less my generous employee discount) white scrunchy socks with a black stripe at the top...still in great condition.

And its funny...putting all that on...it still fit. I might not be the person I was all those years ago but it didn't feel too weird. Its still a part of me. The dress didn't stay on for too long...that part of me is obviously not too active. But hours later, I'm still wearing the Docs. They marched me through my last year of high school, my four years of college and the first year of full-time retail, to be retired when I began as a personal shopper at Bloomingdale's.

Since we left the 90's I haven't worn them much. Pedicures and high heels have replaced Docs and Georgia boots. But its nice to know they're there.

Dude, its Thanksgiving

That was my thought looking at my datebook right now. As I am a full-fledged member of the 21st Century, of course I have the most modern appointment keeping tool available. And, there it was, staring right at me...Thanksgiving. Yes, I understand there are a few weeks until then but seriously.

10/26 - 10/28 - T is in town.

10/31 - Halloween

11/1 - S'n'B WeHo Day-of-the-Dead-Halloween Party - I'm so close to being done with my "costume" I can't stand it. Hopefully tomorrow...see T is in town entry above.

11/3 - Soap Making at UCC - I don't see it on the website but I have an email that lists it. 10am - 1pm - Fight Club! Come join me!

11/9 - 11/13 - T comes back to town.

11/17 - Brentwood Holiday Boutique - Anyone want to go with me? Its a great place to get ideas on things we can make and we can laugh at how much the parents are paying for the stuff. Think of the legendary Pidge. I'm sure we'll see stuff like that.
11/17 - S'n'B UCLA Hockey Night - Who wants to drive?

11/18 - Erin Fetherston for Target - Yes, I will have bought most of the collection on-line, but that doesn't mean I can't check it out in person as well!
11/18 - Felt Club - Ok, I've been promised that the new venue is like a bazillion times better than the last one. So, I'm willing to give this crafty gathering another go.

11/22 - Thanksgiving.

One year ago...


Three years ago...

Can't not say anything

So I was avoiding the whole fire blogging thing. But, seeing as we're on day three and I have friends and family in harm's way, I can't really post about yarn or decorations in the office before covering this.

As of 6pm last night, all friends and family were accounted for. However, that was over 12 hours ago so now we being the round-up again.

After watching both the local and national news I feel like I should say a few things to my non-so-cal friends/readers. The first fires were caused by nature. That's pretty much been established. But, anything caused by nature has to be copied by dumb-ass people so now we're dealing with arson. And no, L.A. is not on fire. I mean, don't get me wrong there are about 15 fires burning up and down southern California, but L.A. itself is not burning. Malibu is. Malibu is not only a beach community but is also filled with pretty canyons and people have horses and stuff. That's what's on fire, at least locally. For the best map I've seen yet, click here. (Thanks to s.ly)

"Ok, so you're in the city, what effects are you feeling?"

So glad you asked. It really depends on where in the city you are. For the valley kids, they're dealing with alot more of the smoke and ash than those of us on the westside are. That doesn't mean that we don't have the particulates running around. In fact, my mom who never gets allergies is suffering right now 'cause she's not in A/C all day.

"Hey, we hear you're pretty sickly. How do you keep out of harm's way?"

Another damn fine question. Those of us with respiratory issues just stay inside. I work in a small 5 story building with A/C for days so I'm really good here. And since I park in the building, I really only have to go outside between my car and my house. And, as Dick will tell you, that's all of the outside world I'm seeing. If I'm not at work, I'm in my room with my air purifier watching the news and knitting.

"So you mentioned local vs. national news, what's the difference?"

The national news is oddly amusing. The say things like "I'm standing in a place known as Canyon Country." Seriously, exact quote from NBC last night. For those of us here, that's like saying "I'm standing in a place known as Cleveland." So yeah, they don't quite understand the communities here.

The local news kids have really stepped it up the last few days. I have mad respect for what they're doing. Granted we had the Chuck Henry "Stupid Truck" incident a few years back, (he didn't leave the scene of a fire when asked and then had to be rescued by the fire department when his news van caught on fire) but the reporters this time around have been super respectful of the firefighters and have really been in the thick of things to bring everyone up to the minute news of where exactly the fires are, what homes and businesses have been lost and really what's going on. Personally, I feel better knowing what's going on rather than just guessing what's on fire and what isn't. But, I'm a little weird.

If any of y'all have any questions, let me know.

PSA

Friends don't let friends pole dance after receiving a flu shot. That's a really bad idea.

You're welcome.

Oh. Mi. Gawd.

Its raining.

Alert the media.

Send the weatherman into the valley to interview people "braving the weather."

Everyone drive REALLY FAST.

Except for those of you who need to drive really slow.

Halloween, Halloween, Halloweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen

"Halloween spooks outside your window..."

D@mn, now I have that song they play on KROQ every year stuck in my head.

Thanks to Mighty Goods, I have found the best male costume EVER!

Mighty Goods likes Julie but seriously, Captain Stubing (I think the dude above looks more like Gopher) is just the best EVER.

I heart Buy Costumes now more than ever.

Deep Thoughts for a Tuesday

Personal:

Weehoo! We have a fabulous baby girl. Mother and baby are healthy and happy and really that's all we can ask for.

Knitting:

Why is it no matter how many needles I buy I never have the right ones for the pattern I want to make? And its not that I can't find the needles. They're all organized. No, seriously, they are. I'll show them to you. For whatever reason, I just don't have the correct needles. Ugg, drives me nuts.

Fall TV Season:

I so missed my fall TV. Sure, Burn Notice is fabulous and Ice Road Truckers changed my life. But I need me my Heroes and Grey's Anatomy. And, the new shows are a good diversion .

Will anyone else admit to watching Gossip Girl. Other than the Chuck character who tried to date rape not one but two girls in one episode, it looks really good. Seriously, Josh, keep the date rape down to one per episode if you're really feeling that need. But we get it, Chuck is a skeeze, message received, really.

Speaking of new fall characters named Chuck, Chuck surprised me. I didn't expect it to be that good. (Dude, NBC, work on your ads.) Then I saw the credits as the show was opening and my expectations were raised. I'm definitely interested in seeing more.

Could someone fill me in on Journeyman. I watched the first 5 minutes and ran away. Did I pull out too soon?

Ah, and that brings me to my beloved Heroes. I love that show. As much as I love Masi I'm not loving his story line. But, the show just rocks on such a higher level than 95% of the tv out there, I can deal with one story line I'm not loving.

Aaarrrrrrrrrggggggggg

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day. Link provided for people like my mother who think I'm making this day up so I can wear my pirate shoes to work.

Since its 9/11

I randomly decided this morning that everyone has to be nice to each other today. For the most part, at least for me, this idea has been working.

I remember, during the original 9/11 in 2001 that was what struck me most...the kindness that came out of that time. That day and the days that followed people were nice, at least for awhile. I think if we're not doing a national day of mourning or something, we should do a national day of nice. Like Talk Like a Pirate Day, only you can talk as you usually do, but you're nice to people.

Just an idea.

Sorry I'm late my blog blew up

So I'm not sure what happened but I lost all my formatting today. I swear I didn't change anything. (This is becoming a theme this week.) So, this will have to do until I have the time and energy to figure out something more fabulous.

Bad Newz for Vick

Obviously, 18 - 36 months in jail doesn't seem like enough punishment for creating, running and profiting from a dog fighting ring. But, if he loses his NFL career, then yeah, that'll do.

The Interwebs: For Good or For Evil?

B posed an interesting question, and one that has hit a wee too close to home. Is it over-reacting to take *any* mention of anything where someone could maybe find you or your family off the web?

We have blogs and websites and photosharing and myspace and all of this other stuff to better keep in touch with one another. And just like being listed in the phonebook, all of this is done quite innocently. These sites allow people to vent about life after divorce, to share their designs and really just keep up with one another.

Personally, I don't think of myself as they type to be stalked and didn't really feel that my sharing anything would harm anyone, especially myself. I mean, I don't talk about work or family in any negative or revealing way. I don't even talk about people who have inflicted harm upon my wee Honda.

If anything this blog has been a positive outlet for whatever I feel the need to talk about. I mean, after writing and editing and proofreading, I've spent about 70% of my need to talk about a specific subject. That isn't to say that I won't ever mention it again, but it definately cuts down on how many times I need to talk about it. And really, that's a public service for everyone.

But, once that has been violated, like a pedophile looking at pictures of kids, or someone posting anonymously saying bad or threatening things, is it ever the same? Do you throw your internets defense up forever? Or, is it like some drunk driver hitting the wee Honda? I'm scared to drive but I get over it about a week later.

Just a thought.

130 is like REALLY old

You can't eat someone who's 130 years old...I don't care how tasty he would be with a nice butter sauce.

Harry Potter and the Order of a Whole lotta Whining

That's how I think of HP5. 800 glorous pages of Harry whining about how horrible his life is. It wasn't one of my favorite books.

Short review:
If you've read the books, go see the movie. Its fabulous. They really edit down the whining. If you haven't read the books, go see the movie and bring someone with you who has read the books 'cause you'll need a guide through the new characters.

Long review:
I really have to hand it to David Yates. Its his first time out directing this series and he did one heck of a job. I don't really know the *exact* role of a director but from the differences in these five movies, he/she seems to hold and control the vision of the movie. I think Columbus is a fabulous director and an even more fabulous father for walking away from the series to participate in his own family life. Since we can't have Columbus, Yates did a stand up job bringing us more of a timeless vision of the series, something I feel was lacking with Mike Newell and most obviously with Alfonso Cuaron.

The "kids" in the HP series just get better and better. Obviously Daniel Radcliffe is fantastic and I'm sure his turn in Equus holds most of the credit for his leap in ability. Emma Watson and Rupert Grint are also growing literally and figuratively. Most notable is how they share the movie with the new characters. True, they aren't the focus as they have been, but they did great both holding their own and not becoming over-bearing in their scenes with others.

Although, I do have to say that Evanna Lynch is brilliant as Luna Lovegood. Urban Legend holds that she walked into her audition confident that despite the other thousands of hopefuls, she knew the role would be hers. Yeah, if that is true, she has reason for that confidence. I can't wait to see more of her.

Holy Guilty Plea, Batman

For those of us in, out or vaguely related to the class action world, this is huge.

For my 4 readers who might not know what the firm does, here's the common woman's background synopsis of a securities class action case (and this is just my simplified way of doing it and bears no resemblance to the firm and how they actually do business.) :

Company X announces that they have the BEST do-dad EVER. They are going to make a BAZILLION dollars on it. So, you read about the company, how well they're doing and this great new product so you buy stock. A few days, weeks or months later, Company X announces that they have to restate earnings or something of that effect because the gizmo isn't working and won't hit the stores until 2010 or whatever. "Oops," they say. "Our bad." Ok, that sucked, you just lost your money 'cause these clowns made promises they didn't keep.

On top of this, there's a little thing called a Form 4 that insiders in a company have to file when they sell stock in their company. So, if the insiders sell stock AFTER the FABULOUS announcement and before the gee-we-suck announcement, that's available for all of us to see.

Company X can now be sued for lying to shareholders to drive up the price of the stocks so the insiders can make money and then harming the stockholders.

Bad Company X. BAD, BAD Company X.

That's how I like to explain securities class actions. I'm not saying its right or wrong. I'm not saying that these companies do it on purpose or by accident in the normal course of business. I'm not here making any judgements. (I'd never do that in writing.)

The reason I say all this...

This investigation has been going on since Bush II took office. For it to finally result in a plea, holy wow. (And, BTW, for the four reading this who really don't care, I can only imagine the hundreds of millions that have been spent over the years to result in one plea of one attorney.)

ONE PLEA. This didn't stop the securities class action business. If you look at the numbers of cases filed by Milberg or Lerach, I'm sure that they've dropped. But, I'm sure if you looked at the number of cases filed in general, that hasn't fallen much. Now, instead of the 800lb gorilla, or even the two 400lb gorillas (after Milberg split), you're looking at armies of wee gorillas. (I'm sure the attorneys with their smaller firms are loving being called wee gorillas, but I digress.) All I'm saying is that the attorneys are still out there, as are the class actions. Sorry current administration, you didn't conquer the class action nation, which is what I think they were trying to do.

So, Jenna, what did all that money and investigation really accomplish?

A damn fine question and one I hope much more knowledgeable writers on this subject cover.

The next question, for the kids playing along at home, will they dismiss the case against the firm? I mean, c'mon, who sues an entire FIRM. That's just rude.

And then, if you really want to play guessing games, you can ask yourself if this is going to result in anything good or bad for Partner A or Partner B.

Inquiring minds want to know.

(Don't worry, we'll soon get back to knitting, eating, spending money like a drunken sailor and general revelry.)

All he needs is a little red wagon

Ok, the whole Scooter Libby thing.

First of all, the name Scooter is just funny. When you ditch the diapers, you really should ditch the name Scooter. That's the first reason I've paid any attention to this story. If he had stuck with Lewis, I probably wouldn't have even cared.

Second of all, he was convicted of perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to federal agents investigating the 2003 exposure of former CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson (according to CNN.com) and yet Paris Hilton did more time. Freakin' fabulous!

Third of all (which doesn't roll off the keyboard nearly as nicely as first of all or second of all), Scooter went and bought a money order to cover his $250,000 fine. I don't know about you, but my first thought trying to imagine him going to the Kwik-E-Mart for a money order. I mean, when I think of money orders, I think of convenience stores and those check cashing places. Obviously, as The Smoking Gun shows us, Scooter popped over to B of A. But still, I prefer the image in my head of the clerk standing on the other side of the bullet-proof glass and saying: "You need a money order for how much?"

I haven't a clue

Seriously.

I'm in a bit of a routine. I mean, not that I do, but if I had a stalker, I'm sure he left because my life is just that predictable right now. There's no challenge for him. Its a fun routine and its not something I could do living anywhere else in the world, but its a routine nonetheless.

And it doesn't help that the top news for like the last month has been freakin' Paris Hilton. I watched 15 seconds of the Larry King Live show thingy and just ran away. Of course I tuned into the 15 seconds where she once again does not take full responsibility.

"I only had one drink..."

"My lawyers said I could drive after 30 days..."

One word honey, responsibility. Maybe the first time you got pulled over and were told your license was suspended may have been a HINT. Maybe. Just a small one.

And she went on to say that she works very hard and has "earned" all of her money. Yeah, 'cause the rest of us have parents that fly us around the world at 15 to party and go to fashion shows. Honey, I remember that article about you and your sister clubbing when you didn't even have a driver's license. Yeah, you "worked" for that. Every teenager I know can afford a management team to handle their "brand" and help them craft an image. Right. Ok.

"If you don't have anything nice to say, come sit next to me."

One of my all time favorite movie quotes and definitely one of my guiding principles to my life, but not how I run my blog. I might rant or rave about something. But I do try to keep quiet if things sort of suck generally. That's why I've been vaguely absent.

Again.

I guess that's why I'm writing. Since I blog for a variety of reasons, one of which is to keep track of my life, I should keep track of the suck too. If I had been brave enough to blog about all the side-effects my meds had after the brush fires of aught five, then I wouldn't have given my doctor such a stupid look when he asked my what exact side-effects I had from prednizone. Instead I had the above-mentioned stupid look and a "Uh....I couldn't eat." Yeah, that sort of logic works well with a seasoned medical professional.

My week:

Thursday: Woman of the Year dinner for the YWCA. Lovely dinner, AMAZING women. I think I might get involved with the group though what I could add alludes me. Anyways, I *thought* I got food poisoning that night.

Friday: Over at Eleanor's having a lovely time. I *thought* I had the beginning of an allergy attack, runny nose, pretty much what I deserve for skipping my allergy shots all year.

Saturday: Eyes sore (which means I can't read, knit or even watch tv), runny nose, fatigue, weakness, sneezing, headache....stayed in bed all day and night slept most of the day and night.

Sunday: Runny nose, sore throat, chest tightness (i.e. can't breathe well), fatigue, headache, swollen lymph nodes (neck area) and grandma would like me to add grumpy as all hell, slept 4 hours, awoken once by Mr. & Mrs. Squirrel having a very loud verbal altercation outside my window.

Monday: Chest tightness, fatigue, headache, swollen lymph nodes - see doctor - start antibiotics - Wake up repeatedly during the night for lack of oxygen (The only reason I didn't call 911 was the knowledge that no one dies from Sleep Apnea. Your body will wake you if you're not breathing.) due to my throat swelling up and all this crap running around in there (and no my nose wasn't running so I'm yet to understand that fun) - Slept a total of 4 hours.

Tuesday: Managed to talk to my doctor without crying (my goal) and decided that since my rule for prednizone is that I won't take it until fear of death...well, waking up from not breathing qualifies. Chest tightness, fatigue, headache, swollen lymph nodes - 5pm: take pred - 6pm - nausea (intense) followed by headache - 12am - 6am - weehoo, slept 6 hours IN A ROW.

Wednesday: Chest tightness, fatigue, nausea (mild), headaches (mild to severe).

Ok, seriously. I know I have a respiratory infection again. I know I get these freaky symptoms that no one else gets. I mean really people. When did your flu give you a swollen throat. I haven't gotten a sore throat since I was about 12 so that was new in and of itself. Buy my whole damn neck swelling from the inside out cutting off pretty much all oxygen intake. That's just wrong on so many levels.

And that brings me to why I'm writing all of this down. Today, lunch was a treat. I got to hang with Erin and we did Panini Cafe followed by Sprinkles.

Food intake for today: I've had one (1) Naked Juice (7am) & about a 1/2 cup of Multi-Grain Cheerios (8am) to try to help settle the nausea. I managed a half a sandwich before the nausea came back (12:30pm) . Then I stared at a box of cupcakes about an hour later. I ate 1/2 of one. Nausea was immediate. Oh, f it, I want my damn dark chocolate cupcake. I ate the other half.

All of that is wrong.

I don't want food? Yeah, that's like Jane not wanting to rip up a rug.

I'm sorry but half a sandwich is not a meal. I mean, it might be for you skinny people. I want my sandwich, my fries, my Diet Coke and my cookie. I didn't get to this perfect size 10 skipping meals ya know.

"It takes work to look like this."

So that's what I need to keep track of. And no, I won't bore you with it daily. I'm hoping all of this dies down by the weekend. Hell, everyday of this I think this is the end of it. And, the good news is, since the swelling in my neck has decreased (apparently that's something pred helps with) I don't have to continue on that medication. Now I can report back on *exactly* why I hate prednizone to my doctor next week. That way, next time I get ill and can't breath (in a normal way, not this throat closing stuff) and he asks me why I'm refusing prednizone and dislike it so much, I can just say:

"Let's look at my chart from May."

That's much better than.

"Uh, it sucks?"

Coming up in our next more interesting, positive and most importantly educational blog post:

Fight of the Century: Sprinkles vs. Danties

Stay tuned.

Monkey, Monkey, Monkey

I don't talk about work but I will tell you that we did find a fondness and a fear of monkeys last year at trial. As I sit here in my monkey shorts (love that Paul Frank), every time I see a monkey I smile.

I saw this on my way to B's last night.
I almost ran into a parked car I was laughing so hard.

Extreme Makeover

Blogger Edition.

I don't even know where to start. My head just might explode.

This weekend I had Todd and Elizabeth and Don. We're not just talking different states but different countries, different lives. Just to see one of them is a HUGE treat, to see them all at once, well, I'm still tired.

For those of you who don't know the story of Don....

Between my sophomore and junior year of high school I was able to scam my way into a summer program at Oxford University. It was so nice to get out of L.A. for a month. Nice is the wrong word. Its like the after version of me on my asthma meds. Its a horrible comparison but I really did breathe better there, mentally and physically. I was comfortable. I spent that summer actually liking myself. It was one helluva vacation from high school.

People often ask how Elizabeth & I have maintained our friendship through the years, including that summer.

Two words: separate rooms.

That's why we're always so happy in pictures together. You don't get sick of someone if you don't annoy them 24/7. That's us only 4 years into our friendship. (Wow my hair was long. And those high waisted mom-jeans are something fierce.) We're not old enough to have a learner's permit but we could annoy a whole other country together! This is one of my all time favorite pictures of the two of us. If memory serves, that fabulous black Contempo Casuals top was the first item of clothing I bought and hid from mom. Ah, the memories....

At this particular program you have a "major" and a "minor." My major was drama and my minor was law.

Stop laughing.

One of my drama teachers was Don Winslow. (I had a SWEET Kodak Disc camera in case you were wondering how I captured these fabulous moments 17 years ago.) Don kicked ass and not too surprisingly still does. I think Elizabeth will have to fill me in on when/how we found out he was a novelist. (Remember kids, this was before The Google.) Ever since, we hunt and devour every one of his books.

Usually, if I like you, I'll give you a copy of whatever I have extra. I just gave away my last extra copy of Death and Life of Bobby Z . (That was an amusing sentence to write.) But DO NOT touch my first edition hardback copies. You're likely to get your ass kicked for doing something like that. Seriously.

So yeah. Don has a new book out. I've known that for awhile but I could only find it online. And really, I'm all about instant gratification which translates to my not having bought it yet. I know, I'm a very bad stalker.

So ends the story.

Elizabeth was in town on this work thingy this past week and told me to find something "fun" to do on Saturday. I was running through the list o' authors for the L.A. Times Festival of Books (she's one of them readin' types) and there he was.

Don.

So I surfed the web for a minute (heaven forbid the L.A. Times have an all-encompassing list of authors and signings and such) and found him doing signings for the Mystery Bookstore.

As we're killing time before his 5pm signing, Todd takes a flyer from the kids at Borders, sees Don's name on it and points.

"Isn't that Don?"

Wha? (I really wish I was more articulate.)

"Don, your teacher."

Sweet.


He's just as sarcastic and bitter as ever. We love him.

Cute little panda

"Where are you going for lunch?"

Dunno, you?

"Dunno."

I'm thinking about going Downtown, ya know, get a change of scenery.

"That's a good idea. There's a Panda Express there, right?"

***

Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Olvera Street, Grand Central Market, 7th & Fig, Pete's...the food I immediately think of when I think downtown.

One thing I have to constantly remind myself, and this may seem obvious to you, but I have to remember that everyone doesn't see the world the way that I do. I'm not saying that my way is the right way (but I think we all know it is) but its good to be taken out of your comfort zone.

I mean, I'm not a Panda girl. Panda makes me swell like a balloon and really, if you want Chinese food, go to Chinatown. But, that's just me. And I have to remember that. Some people really like chain food. Its comforting and yummy. Its just not my thing. He!! some of my favorite restaurants scare people...the neighborhoods, the mismatched chairs, the counter-ordering.

CCW might be 3 miles from downtown and 7 miles from my house, but my has it reopened my eyes to the world I share with other people. There are other people in this world...I have to keep reminding myself of that.

Thank doG for TSA

Fade in Easter Sunday, cute girl with a blue wheeled duffle bag, and one large black tote bad standing in the security line at MSP airport. Sad, yet wearing her bunny ears ('cause Jesus loves the Easter bunny), she puts her coat & UGGS into a bin, her purse into a bin & tosses the tote and the duffle through.

TSA: "WE NEED A BAG CHECK ON 4!"

Cute Guy: "Think its yours or mine?"

Bunny Eared Girl: "Its mine....Its always mine."

TSA: [holding bin with white purse] "This yours?"

BEG: "Unless he happens to carry the same Betsy Johnson handbag, I'd have to say yes."

TSA: [Beginning to walk to the bag check area] "This all you're carrying?"

BEG: [pointing to the parade of bags on the conveyor belt] "No, not at all."

TSA: [Takes bin to the end of the conveyer belt & riffles through purse] "Where are your lotions?"

BEG: "Excuse me?"

TSA: "Your lotions. Shampoos. Your Ziploc bag."

BEG: "Oh, I don't carry any of that when I travel."

TSA: [confused yet glaring]

BEG: "My boyfriend lives here so I just leave a bag o' stuff with him."

TSA: [digging FURIOUSLY through the understated yet stylish handbag...finally the look of triumph on the angry man-lady's face] "What do you call THIS?!"

BEG: "Nail polish."

TSA: "Why isn't in a ZIPLOC?"

BEG: "'cause I didn't know I had it in there."

TSA: "I'll let it go this ONE TIME but next time have it in a Ziploc."

Yes, that's right. I had a bottle of nail polish, forgotten at the bottom of my bag. Because, if there is something to really fear when flying, its not terrorism, stupid loud talkers on cell phones, or even fear itself, but Lippmann Collection nail polish. Those sparkles are something scary.

I get stopped like this every time I travel. And I don't travel with any of the forbidden stuff. I either have my girly crap waiting for me when I arrive, or I'll buy it when I get there.

And the sad thing is, I wouldn't even mind all the torment if I felt any safer flying. But while they're scolding me about nail polish, who knows what could be taken into the airport through an employee entrance or even security.

Dear Abby

Normally I'm totally Get-Off-My-Lawn. To say I haven't reacted well to random contractors blocking the street and even going so far as parking IN MY DRIVEWAY would be an understatement. I don't like kids playing in that same driveway 'cause they're usually there super early on weekend mornings, and frankly, I'm tired and want my precious sleep.

Imagine my surprise when I walked down to my car and met Abby. She was very cute, and very sweet so its not like I could be cross with her. But, she really liked playing in the driveway. No matter how many times I asked nicely for her to come into the front yard so we could call her mom, she just wouldn't listen. Seriously, my driveway just sucks kids in. I totally understand, I used to play down there myself. Luckily Abby isn't too big so I just picked her up and carried her out. She was ok with that; she would have rather stayed in the driveway but I think she understood.



How can you not love a kid with ears like that? The hand and skirt belong to two random Japanese students parked NOT IN MY DRIVEWAY after they spent the day at UCLA. They were sucked in by Abby's charm as well.

As luck and good parenting would have it, Abby had her tags and her owner was located on the third ring. Someone left the gate open and Abby went exploring. Abby's mom came quickly and Abby wondered home.

She was cool. Abby is the one neighborhood kid welcome in my driveway ANY TIME.

I can resist anything but temptation

Ok seriously, the dress was talking to me. You don't walk away from talking dresses. Bad things happen when you do that. I could tell you what exactly happens but then the potty monster might get me.

But seriously, this dress was for me. I mean, I'm taking pictures of myself in a dressing room. Even *I* don't do things like that. Well, I guess I do now, but I don't normally. This is what certain clothing drives me to do.

Now, the other sale dress I bought was for everyone else. Now, that might sound weird but think about it...there are the things we do for ourselves and the things we do for others. It can be in terms of time or money or work, doesn't matter. Everyone has a different button.

I've noticed with the clothes I wear, some of it is for me and some is definitely for others. I never really saw the distinction until recently.

I can walk out of the house feeling like a million bucks because I'm wearing something that makes me happy. You might not completely understand my Imitation of Christ sweatshirt but holy crap does it make me happy. I've had people look at it and go, huh, ok. Doesn't matter to me, I freakin' love it.

Ok, here's an example that might make more sense. Two baby showers, two very different audiences...one young, one not so young. For the first one, I wore something that made me happy, for the second, I wore something that I knew would go over well. Here's how it played out.

"Young" Shower: I bought this adorable Free People dress/long shirt. Its fun and plaid and green and low cut and just happy. I wore that with a pair of denim capris and fabulous brown heels. Not one compliment, nothing. I mean, that's ok. I love it; it makes me happy so I really didn't care. But the shirt was just so happy...I was a little sad no one else saw the happiness I saw.

"Adult" Shower: There's the blue Three Dot dress I bought. Its fine...kinda boring for my taste...navy blue, to the knee, low cut, fitted, 3/4 length sleeve. I wore it with a fitted tank under so my cleavage didn't attack the attendees of this shower. You would have thought I was a Princess in that dress. I got more compliments than I knew what to do with. I was the picture of demure beauty everyone wanted me to be. There wasn't anything wrong with the dress...its quite nice...but I bought it for work, for ease of wear, not because I LOVED the style. But everyone else LOVED it, loved me in it; it was flattering and nice...that's dress for everyone else.

Its been years since I've seen people that pleased with what I've worn. It was a little weird. I mean, I'm a girl so I'd be lying if I said I didn't appreciate the compliments. But it was just so odd because the dress wasn't me and yet that's what everyone else liked.

Now before you get all judgey on me, think about what you wear around the house or on the weekends...comfy boxers, an old t-shirt, jeans, whatever. Then think about what you wear to work or to dinner with grandma or that first date. It reflects all different sides of you. Think about how much time you give the start of a relationship, how you hardly think about staying up all night and then think about it 3 months later and how tired you are. Apply it to whatever, but think about it, it makes sense.

I don't think people will love this dress...but holy crap does it make me happy.

Should I get a dog?

In every office I've ever worked, I've been asked this question. I don't find it surprising since I set myself up as the resident shopper/dog person. Its an odd combination but it fits well. But, since this post concerns dogs, we'll stick to those conversations.

I can easily answer questions about acupuncture, vets, dog trainers, dog whisperers, etc... But the should-I-get-a-dog question is always my most difficult. If you're even asking, you maybe shouldn't. But, if you're asking 'cause you've never had one, here's how I handle the conversation.

Are you ready to spend your last dollar taking care of the dog?

Are you ready to be awakened in the middle of the night to use the little dog's room?

And, my most recent question, are you ready to be awakened at 1am by your 9 year old hound, her had spinning around, vomiting everywhere? Are you ready to clean that up, do a load of laundry and then cook for her for the next few days? Not that I spent my Friday night doing that...nope, not at all...just a random example. Yeah, random.

I don't talk about the love, affection and wonder that comes from having a dog. Everyone knows about that. I talk about the vet visits, the surgeries, the food, the clean up, and the cash. Anyone can adopt a dog from the pound or buy one from a breeder. Not everyone is prepared for the commitment. And that's ok. If you're not ready, there's nothing wrong with that. But, nothing upsets me more than someone who gets a dog and then gets rid of them when they're too much work or money. But, that's a personal issue.

In my opinion, my dogs are a gift. I adore them and I wouldn't give one dollar spent back. (Though, if you want to give me the money back, I wouldn't object.) Hell, I still call Hanna my BMW 'cause when she got sick I was playing with the idea of getting a 3 series. But, after all her bills, I was still driving her in my Honda and somehow $10k in vet bills (thanks to contributions for different parties) got paid.

Yeah, she was an extreme case but talk to any pet owner and they'll tell you stories of late night emergency room visits, surgeries, dialysis and biopsies. And, every one of those people will laugh about it and not once regret the money spent.

Slowly Entering the 20th Century

Yeah, you read that right, the 20th Century. So I have wireless accessories to the 'pooter, blue tooth, digital camera and now, the ultimate 20th Century accessory, Direct TV. Yup, the broken antenna on top of my tv has finally been retired. (No, I'm not kidding. One of the rabbit ears broke off. Yes, I spent far more than that on shoes. No, it didn't occur to me to buy a new antenna. Can't we just focus on the good? Ok, thank you...) Now I can watch CBS and NBC without having to adjust the set. Hell, I got to watch "Pimp My Ride" in my own bedroom! Its overwhelming, I tell ya.

Of course, even with 155 channels (not including my 3 month promo of free Showtime), there still wasn't anything on tonight.

A Quick Hello

I know, I know. I've been absent lately. Fighting off a pretty nasty respiratory infection for a week morphing into fighting with a respiratory infection for a week hasn't left me much time or inclination to post. I've had all sorts of interesting blog posts planned like, "Tamiflu, friend or foe?", "Fun with Antibiotics and Dick and Jane", and lets not forget "Hey Baby, buy me a Cranberry Juice?" Yeah, its basicly sucked to be me. And, before you think how much it sucks to have the flu, just remember I don't get sick like most people get sick. Its an amazing blessing and a curse. All ya'll go through boxes of Kleenex, I have aliens land in my chest. Its weird and its tough to describe. But, that's ok. Its annual, it passes and then I'm even more grateful for the small chunck of oxygen I'm allotted.

So, I'm here. We'll begin again tomorrow with silly pictures and opinions on issues that matter to the universe (i.e. me).

Try to keep warm and I'll see you tomorrow!

Things that work

Ok, so there are like a zillion yarn shops in L.A. and online. But you need to go to Super Crafy. Seriously. I'm not kidding. Read this, then go buy something. If you don't knit, you can buy me something. I can always use more yarn. ;-) Besides, everyone can't have their lives solved by reality tv, so lets all pull for the little guy...litterally...he's only 3 months, he's pretty small.

In case I haven't chatted with you online about it, the local Sephora has been doing nothing except annoying me. Every time I go in there, they ask me if I need any help. If I'm gulible enough to say yes, they make me feel like I'm the dumbest person on the planet to ask that question. What question do I ask? Well, whatever question brought me in there....a sunscreen that didn't irritate my eyes, trying to locate my hair spritz stuff, trying to figure out an cool xmas gift for mom who has a weakness for goofy face creams....ya know, usual girl crap I know nothing about. I mean, this is a whole store of girl crap, you'd think they'd be happy to work with me on this stuff. Oh, silly me. And, they never seem to have what I'm looking for. Yet, I keep going back again and again. But now the cycle is officially broken. Sephora.com rocks my world. Everything was in stock, I scored free shipping and it showed up all purty-like in about three days....except for my hair spritz. I had to go to Bloomingdale's to get that. I know, you were worried.

So, despite my wicked work schedule, I still feel the need to make stuff. Actually, I'm thinking because of my wicked work schedule, I feel the need to make stuff. But, making stuff in a rather dimly lit bedroom is not a good plan. So, I invested in an Ott Lite. Ok, craftsters, seriously, with the 50% off sale, you need to go get one....so worth while. I'm vaguely pondering getting a second one. But, I think I need to wait until the next sale. They are a wee bit spendy.

Oh the Horror!

So, I could write about the unmarked parking lot behind Jack Sprat that you would never know was there unless you were told, in a speakeasy sort of way, since that's how parking in L.A. works....rumors and innuendo.

I could write about my new expensive take-out habit (see Jack Sprat reference above). I could talk about my knitting or my new Ott Lamp. No, what truly motivates me is my dog being bratty about putting on her pj's. Yes, I did just put dog and pj's into the same sentence. See, I have very skinny, very fur challenged animals (a.k.a. greyhounds). So, when the temperature dips down, they get light coats to wear. My room is mostly windows so we're a little insulation-challenged around here. And, since they won't sleep under blankets and I've caught Jane on more than one occasion tucked into a little ball shivering, they kids get coats.

Now, Dick is a weird one. He likes to wear stuff. So he isn't my issue. Jane, the gimpy old girl who finds all clothing offensive no matter what the purpose, is my drama queen. I wish I could have gotten a picture of the look she gives while I put the coat on her. But, this will have to do.


Oh the torment this one must endure. And yes, please note that princess sleeps on top of two beds since one does not do for the princess. She had hamburger mixed into her kibble and has her own custom covered ottomans to lounge on during the day thanks to gramma. Also, please note her lovely coat courtesy of the raffle at the NGLA picnic. If you have the means, I highly recommend you attend....a good time was had by all. I'm hoping to go stalk the Giley Girls again this year.

Does honesty count if its anonymous?

Ok, so I totally blame dub for this. And I find it fascinating, hence my talking about it again here. And I absolutely invite you to comment. Please...lets all talk about how fabulous and complex I am. Heh.

I find it oddly interesting. But, I'm not finding it interesting for the reasons I thought I would. Four people have tossed in their two cents. Two left their net identities, two didn't. The most recent person to comment, "anon," which by the way is an AMAZINGLY original identity, seems to be the sort to think they know me. I don't mind the less flattering descriptives. Ya'll know self-conscious only scratches the surface of my neurosis (even if I am a goddess surrounded my mere mortals). Nervous and tense are two words they chose and words I would only use to describe myself in very specific, very low points in my life...which leads me to think that I know who "anon" is.

Dude, just leave your initials or something...don't be that guy in the market who only says things when my back is turned.

I don't know. I try to understand how people see me. Sometimes I'm shocked at impressions people have of me, but that's mainly work people. Its a reach to think that people can see past whatever persona you have in a professional environment. And, lets be honest, most people just aren't that interested.

Arena (known to self and others) energetic, loving, self-conscious	Blind Spot (known only to others) bold, caring, complex, confident, extroverted, friendly, giving, knowledgeable, nervous, proud, silly, tense, trustworthy, warm, witty
Façade (known only to self) dependable, intelligent, sympathetic	Unknown (known to nobody) able, accepting, adaptable, brave, calm, cheerful, clever, dignified, happy, helpful, idealistic, independent, ingenious, introverted, kind, logical, mature, modest, observant, organised, patient, powerful, quiet, reflective, relaxed, religious, responsive, searching, self-assertive, sensible, sentimental, shy, spontaneous, wise

All Percentages

able (0%) accepting (0%) adaptable (0%) bold (25%) brave (0%) calm (0%) caring (25%) cheerful (0%) clever (0%) complex (25%) confident (25%) dependable (0%) dignified (0%) energetic (25%) extroverted (50%) friendly (25%) giving (50%) happy (0%) helpful (0%) idealistic (0%) independent (0%) ingenious (0%) intelligent (0%) introverted (0%) kind (0%) knowledgeable (25%) logical (0%) loving (25%) mature (0%) modest (0%) nervous (25%) observant (0%) organised (0%) patient (0%) powerful (0%) proud (25%) quiet (0%) reflective (0%) relaxed (0%) religious (0%) responsive (0%) searching (0%) self-assertive (0%) self-conscious (50%) sensible (0%) sentimental (0%) shy (0%) silly (25%) spontaneous (0%) sympathetic (0%) tense (25%) trustworthy (25%) warm (25%) wise (0%) witty (25%)

Created by the Interactive Johari Window on 22.1.2007, using data from 4 respondents.
You can make your own Johari Window, or view radomile's full data.

To Market, to market

Thanks doG work has two refrigerators. One that 99% of the staff uses and one tucked away in a corner that only 1% of the staff uses. And yes, if you had to guess, that 1% is me. Since I've been living at work, I've kept most of my food there as well. You need a Lean Cuisine or an Amy's Meal, I'm your girl. Its just easier & cheaper than relying on the 3 places in underground city. The hours nor the food are consistent and lord knows I can't miss a meal.

So, I'm at the market today loading up on such staples as english muffins, Nutri-Grain bars and the above mentioned meals. My coupons are out, my Ralphs card was handed over, the atm charge cleared and the parking validation wasn't working.

As I'm leaving I hear:

"There should be a sign about cel phones. People shouldn't be allowed to use them in here."

Excuse me?

"Its rude. These people are providing a service and you're on your phone. Its like when you're at the bank."

I have to go to work and this is the only time I can talk.

He had nothing else to say and really, I didn't want to get into a fight. My time was just too damn valuable for that and I'd rather talk to the sig. other than this jackhole.

There were a few things about this exchange that bothered me:

1. I'm not passing judgement on this guy's obvious alternative lifestyle, so who is he to comment on mine.
2. I wasn't holding up the line or moving slower. If anything, the chick in front of me buying one item took longer than my 20. And, by starting this exchange, this guys is the one holding up the line.
3. I'm working 7 days a week again. I can't talk while I'm working; my breaks are really random and I'm dealing with a sig. other in another time zone that will start traveling again next week to an even further time zone.

And he doesn't know any of that. All that mattered was his little editorial comment that he didn't even have the nerve to say to my face. No, he waited until my back was turned to start talking. My life isn't normal. But I like it and like I said in no. 1, I'm not judging yours, don't judge mine.

And people wonder why I hate everyone.

Workin' 9 - 5

What a way to make a livin'

Sorry, that song is currently stuck in my head. So yeah, enjoyed my Saturday from the view of the 37th floor. I actually got quite a bit accomplished since I didn't have to compete with anyone for the copy machines or answer the phone or any emails. But, more important than that was my break in Beverly Hills.

I head into the big 90210 once a month to go visit Chroma. And, although it is a fabulous make up studio, I rarely take advantage of that. (Seriously, go see Lisa. When she does do my full makeup I look so naturally fabulous its overwhelming. And yes, I really do mean that.) However, Santa decided that I needed makeup so after my usual maintenance we got makeup. I know, very exciting. But, I was looking cute (and btw, the hair is pulled back for the other part of the appt. and no, I didn't wear it like that all day) and got quite a few nice looks from people so maybe this makeup thing could work for me.

After that I headed down to Tiffany (finally) to have my watch repaired. The idea of going into Tiffany on a Saturday is usually more than I can stand but the weather was rather off so I figured it wouldn't be too crowded. My sweet watch is off to NYC tomorrow for its 3 week vacation in the big city.

Any for those you that aren't overly familiar with Rodeo...Tiffany lives in a "Collection" (not a mini-mall) called Two Rodeo. Its very pretty and is designed to look like a small street in any European country. But, let me ask you, do you really think this is necessary?



I mean, I know there are poor out of work actors that need the money, but really.

And lastly, here I am awaiting my watch's fate. They took him in the back and left me waiting long enough for me to get bored and start taking pictures of myself.

Something in the water

Ok, so on the westside, really only one person lives here....you. Its all about you. If you want to be in this lane, if you want to be first in line, if you want to cross the street, its all about you; no one else exists. Watch people and you'll understand, odd but amusing to witness.

That is of course unless you want to get into your own HUGE driveway and someone who is too parking-impaired to park less than FOUR FEET from the curb takes the spot blocking your driveway.


Seriously, if I hadn't been at work for the previous 11 hours, I would have not only grabbed the camera but also the tape measure.

And you want to know what else? The owner of this car claims to be a Yale graduate. Seriously. They announce it on the frame of that license plate. If that's true, this school should be embarrassed that its graduates behave in such a manner. I mean, I have University of Arizona and honestly, no matter what I do, it won't exactly bring down the great name of the school.

But yeah, this is what greeted me after a long day...


I was seriously 2 inches from this jackhole's bumper the first time I attempted this. Silly me, I didn't want to jump the curb of my own freakin' driveway.

And people wonder why I favor small cars living in this city.

The New Kids

If you don't know what CAA is, just think about the kind of people who put together deals worth $200 million for David Beckham and you get the idea. For those of you who know CAA, yeah, the new neighbors.

Now, I'm genuinely happy that they've moved shop to Century City. I've talked about it before and its very cool. Watching my immediate area as well as the mall take a whole new persona has been really cool to witness. However, every good thing comes with a price:

"Look, here are our new neighbors. Aren't they precious?"

This being said in a sing-song sort of voice I use when talking about Lauren and how cute she looks in her new hat. Ok, if I were 9 months old, this would be appropriate. However, I don't care who designed your pants or how much you paid for them at Neimans, you're in Century City now, not Beverly Hills. Deal with it. You can be condescending to us all you want but you need to know that you're now one of us.

I mean, that's the thing most people don't realise about L.A....every little pocket of the city is totally different. Venice & Santa Monica are right next door to each other but the personalities and the people in the neighborhoods are completely different. The same goes for Beverly Hills and Century City. And that's weird 'cause many people who work in Century City live in Beverly Hills but the affect of the areas only split by zip code are completely different.

Example: Working in Century City no one knows or cares about what the labels are in my clothes or handbag. Working in Beverly Hills everyone knows and cares about the labels in your clothes and hanbag and will make an judgement about you in that instant based on the above two. And I'm not saying that Century City is better than Beverly Hills 'cause its not...its just...they're different.

But yeah, we're "precious" because for the most part, Century City isn't the land of large Hermes handbags and hand-tailored suits. But, I wouldn't be surprised if that changed in the next few years.

3 + 3

Ok, seriously. I do understand my pictures are about as interesting as my life right now. I mean, I'm pretty much living at work and I can't really tell you about the interesting parts about work because of that whole work privledge thing. (Yeah, its a problem.) So, until that madness ends, you have to deal with boring pictures.


Technically, this is supposed to be one of the busiest intersections of the world. And, let me tell you, it certainly feels like it on some days. But, thankfully today was pretty chill.

Living in and driving around Westwood can often be a challenge...not just for the busy intersections but living with a lack of parking and tens of thousands of undergraduates. You think about that statement for a minute and then come back to the blog...

Ok, you're back...I mean, UCLA is a super tough school to get into. I had no chance in he!! of getting in (not that I wanted to go to college 5 blocks away from home). I understand there's a certain level of intellegence needed for acceptance. But, let me tell you, when you're trying to get your grocery shopping done, you certainly question the testing ability of the SATs.

So I start, as I always do cutting through produce to get to the first aisle I hit. Its the biggest aisle in the store to start, salad dressings and the like on your right and the whole produce section on your left. Standing in front of me blocking this HUGE opening are three, count 'em three boys, seemingly freshmen (they tend to travel in packs) pondering ONE bottle of ranch dressing.

Dude, I couldn't make this stuff up.

So, I make my way around the market dodging adults and students alike and end up in a checkout line. Again, a different experience in Westwood. Like it takes three boys to pick out a bottle of ranch dressing, in front of me were three girls buying a bottle of vodka. When I saw the line next to me open up, I jumped into it. Getting behind the junior buying water and fruit is a hellevalot faster than standing behind three girls (one of which *may* have been 21, but I woulnd't bet the fake id on it) buying a bottle of vodka.

I don't get it...

Where did Christmas go?


Sorry Dick, we had to put Christmas away.

Tonight we took down the tree. Yes, I know, its like a week later than everyone else. But, you have to have a pretty-much-dead-Christmas tree to have a regifting-post-holiday-nothing-homemade potluck. I mean, duh. Where would you put the presents?

But yeah, the regifting-post-holiday-nothing-homemade potluck is over so its time to get the fire hazard, eh, tree out of the house. Gramma was kind enough to help. So, that was cool. Tomorrow I put everything else away and the holidays are officially over.

But remember, the season isn't over until Mother's day. And with Michele back in town, who knows if we'll even end the season there. I foresee much change; I think 2007 will be an interesting year.

And if you understood that last paragraph, you know me WAY too well. And if you don't, stick around. This could get interesting.

Its been a good year

Thinking back on where I was last year at this exact time and where I am this year (physically the EXACT same place but mentally...), its enough to make anyone's head spin.

Anyways, I'm not one to make new year's resolutions because, like "diets" they're vaguely impossible to stick to for life. But, I do belive in goals. And, I'm REALLY good at goals. Here are my goals for the coming year:

To have the amount in my savings account match the amount in my 401k;
To participate in this project; and
To get Dick properly trained.

Sure there are lots of little things to talk about like maybe one day having my own house and stuff like that, but for the most part, I live a pretty gosh darn fabulously good life and I'm happy (even if I do hate people). So yeah, I've got three goals and I'm ok with that. What are yours?

We'll see where we're at this time next year. We can meet at the same place...I'll be in bed, with my fabulously glamorous cloud sheets, you'll be somewhere in cyberspace.

MySpace Madness

Its an odd thing Myspace. I can go months without logging in and then the one time I finally do, I check it three times a day looking at and for people. I'm hoping this phase passes quickly. I stay busy enough with tmz, perez, crazy aunt purl, and cnn. I really don't need other sites I'm vaguely addicted to.

I guess I'm into myspace more now because of the comedy thing. I'm not the most gifted at the music thing. I mean, I dig it but I'm horrid at remembering which band did what song on what album and I'm now old enough to demand seats or a backstage pass for the huge multi-band stadium shows. I'm sorry the whole sitting in the grass for 10 hours in 100+ degree heat to pay $5 for a small bottle of water to see one hit wonder bands is just so over for me. (I know, I know "Get Off My Lawn!!") So, the comics speak to me more than the random musicians trying to be discovered. Besides, its fun to randomly find people you've known in one life or another.