The Essence Of Z

2010:

2010-12-31T07:21:00.001-08:00

How can I complain? Maybe I have gotten some tickets the past few weeks, and maybe a few things are making me slightly crazy and maybe the scripts I thought I would finally finish NEVER saw more than a two page treatment, but how can I possibly complain?

1. Alex turned 40 and I was able to take him to Club 33, the ALL exclusive Disneyland secret-squirrel fine dining restaurant and spend two fun days at the happiest place on Earth!
2. I had the most beautiful wedding shower thrown by my lovely sister-in-law.
3. I got married :) in Santa Barbara, CA And had an amazing celebration with our little i.c. friends to celebrate!
4. We went to Chicago to do Part Deux of close friends / family celebration and got to spend a little time with everyone there.
5. We tackled and fought the ominous garage beast (long story...trust me) in a weekend of mayhem and won.
6. I watched Baby Noah come into this world...magical.
7. We updated our home in less than six weeks with a little help (well...a lot of help) from our wonderful friends, Mirna and Zoran :).
8. Becky and Brian came for an last-minute, super fun and happy visit just a week before ....
9. I found out I was pregnant!!!
10. And upon finding out I was pregnant, we were able to throw together the fastest planned honeymoon trip to Europe and were able to fit in Paris, Belgrade, Vrnjačka Banja, Skopje AND Munich.

That's not to say all of the fun in-betweens weren't amazing, too. We met a lot of new wonderful friends and lots of fun times were had with old and new exploring, carousing with lots of laughter. Our dad's our doing well for another year and close friends have gotten married, babies are on their way in all different time zones, friendships have been found and renewed and mostly, everyone around us has climbed and conquered and all are happy and healthy with many ending this year full of more happiness and love they could have ever imagined.

May 2011 bring EVEN more love and blessings to you and yours. Be safe tonight!!!!

FABULOUS

2010-01-12T10:04:00.001-08:00

Aw...LOVE

2010-01-05T16:03:00.000-08:00

When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew.

William Shakespeare

OG....

2009-12-16T06:45:00.000-08:00

“I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.”

Og Mandino

Manifesto

2009-11-20T23:57:00.001-08:00

Sleepless.

So much love in this life. There is so much emotion attached to everything, even to people and situations where there should be none. But that's just how some people think. Heart on sleeve -- may not be the safest but that's just who you are. And then you start to figure out who you are not -- and that is sometimes even tougher.

But it makes you start to think, lose sleep and feel restless. It makes you start to question -- not with the endless mind of a kid, but with the open heart and experience of someone who has been living this life for a little while. Personally, you see and feel the effects of good decisions, of being open-hearted to the right people who will love you til the ends of Earth. But you can't apply this to every facet of your existence.

Or maybe you can and you just haven't found the right place to plant yourself.

Great quote:

2009-11-15T18:10:00.000-08:00

"The more anger towards the past you carry in your heart, the less capable you are of loving in the present." - Barbara De Angelis

On your TOES!

2009-10-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

Dane Shitagi's photography series "the ballerina project," is so captivating! His beautiful photos place modern day ballerinas in various locations in and around New York City. I love the idea of these ethereal beings in their delicate poses in these rough city streets areas (well, not THAT rough, but still) -- the ballerina on the fence looks like she can fly!

ENGAGED!

2009-07-26T22:02:00.000-07:00

As of this last Sunday the 19th, I am now officially girl with Feyonce’ in tow!

Obviously, the past few months have been so difficult and while we have been taking time off and planning a trip in a few weeks, I was a little shocked when Alex asked me if I could take last Monday and Tuesday off. His words, not mine, “We NEED to get away.” Hardly one to say no that, I wistfully took the time off. But where were we going?

When I asked our plans, with a little, “heh heh” under his breath, he said to pack clothes to hike in and dresses to go out in. Hmmm.

We left on Sunday morning for a drive that seemed like we were heading north up the coast. When we turned onto the pike that read, “Yosemite,” I thought we were heading for a camp ground and got really quiet.

Sometime I will write about my last camping experience, but let's just say it is NOT my idea of 'getting away.' More about that another day...but for at least a ½ hour, I was dismally quiet as Alex kept giggling and saying, “Aw...what's wrong??”

Then as we headed up through the mountain passes, I started thinking out loud...”Is this where you are going to throw my body after you kill me?? I mean, really, no one would EVER find me here if you threw me to nature.”

More laughter.

The we started to see mountains and gasp – water falls that just rushed out of the mountains. I started going picture crazy when Alex reminded me there was a lot more to see...

After being in awe of my surroundings, we arrived at our destination and I started to really cry – in happiness.

The Ahwahnee (website words, not mine):

The Ahwahnee shines as Yosemite National Park’s distinctive Four-Diamond hotel. Known for its magnificent façade, and architecture, The Ahwahnee was specifically designed to highlight its natural surroundings, featuring Yosemite Falls, Half Dome and Glacier Point. The destination of queens and presidents alike, The Ahwahnee offers a perfect balance of history, hospitality and elegance.

Kids, this place was more than I could have ever bargained for as a little “getaway.”

We dropped our bags off as our room wasn't ready and started wandering around the grounds. Everywhere we walked, there was something new to be in awe over – mountains surrounded us whist within each mountain there were more waterfalls. Streams were nearby and redwood trees that looked like they reached heaven.
After having nature moments for a ½ hour, we sauntered into the Ahwahnee bar. We each had a glass of the Ahwahnee wine, when I decided to brave it and go for a real cocktail: the El Capatini:

El Capitini – The First Ascent (Classic Size Only)
Absolut Vodka, Cointreau & Pomegranate - “Topped Off” with celebratory Champagne, Sugar Rim & Orange Twist Climber’s Knot This drink “ROCKS”. Created by our bar staff to commemorate the first ascent of El Capitan fifty years ago in November 1958. The climbing party included Wayne Merry, the founder of the Yosemite Mountaineering School. Served with a keepsake carabineer.

Dudes, this drink was NOT for the wusses. A few sips of this and I was a whirling dervish. I was sucking in the great outdoors and all her beautiful natural landscape, laughing with my man and deciding that even I should not continue drinking this...and then Alex said, “our room is probably ready, let's head back to get ready for dinner.”

We headed back and walked down a little woodsy path to our room, absorbing the beauty around us when suddenly, Alex turned to me, started to kneel down as he slid a ring on my finger and said, “Will you be my wife?”

Me: (choking up) YES YES, YES (tears!!) YES!!

The ring fit perfectly. Then the real crying started. Was I dreaming? I couldn't believe it!

Alex then said, “This ring was my mom's engagement ring...she gave it to me for you and only you. You will hear the whole story over dinner.”

It was as if all of these happy emotions, sentimental feelings and a vision of a lifetime had all wrapped themselves up in this little ring and I could not stop staring at it. And now the man who will be my husband was giving it to me.

The more I looked at the ring, the more it made me cry. Tears of joy. Tears of honor. I went to call my Dad – which was a feat in itself as there was little to know phone reception and I was crying like a banshee. As I was talking to him, I heard a familiar, “MAMA” and looked over to see Alex's sister C and one of her little guys sneaking into nearby cottage. She and her brood were going to surprise me for dinner!

That night at our beautiful dinner in the most amazing room in the lodge, C told me that her mother loved jewelry and over then years had gotten some crazy, brilliant pieces but her engagement ring (which W had gotten her in Italy almost 40 years ago next month) was her favorite piece and she'd given it to Alex for me.

I couldn't be happier -- on every level this life is pretty darn beautiful.

Here are some highlights of our beautiful place of engagement!

Loss

2009-07-16T09:53:00.000-07:00

This is something I NEVER wanted to write – and didn't think I would for many years:

This Friday, it will be a month since the world lost Zora.

Where do I begin?

Zora was Alex’s mother – and mother to Alex’s wonderful sister, wife to their dad and Nana to three of the cutest little boys you’ve ever laid your eyes on. She was also a friend to so many, you couldn’t even count. Everyone who knew Zora understood the groundwork: unconditional, friend to anyone she spoke to, and helper to all.

I will never forget when Alex said to me, “I can’t wait for you to meet my mom…you’ll love her.” In some instances, this would be the greatest red flag to a girl and in my experience it could mean that the umbilical cord has not been cut or that Mama has great hold on Junior. I was a little nervous and cautious but knowing and trusting Alex, I was open. Then I met his mom – and understood.

Zora was like a light force in the Universe. She walked through her life helping, giving, laughing and smiling whilst her goodness was being spread. She was more than Alex could have ever described and yes, I did love her, instantly.

There was no fear of her. She accepted me quickly and when I was put under her wing, I felt like I was in the position of honor.

When I saw Zora and Alex together, I understood. They were as close as a son and mom could be. The two of them could hang around for hours. They talked all the time and they were really good friends. Old pictures of Alex being a little boy dictate this as well. There is a great picture of them from a few years back – they are about a foot apart and Alex’s hands are out in a talking manner and Zora is laughing. It is exactly as they were.

Zora and I always had poignant conversations -- about people, about ghosts and horoscopes, about our lives. I loved when she spoke of her kids and all of the light they brought to her. She knew them in the deepest personal way. Alot of parents lose sight of who their kids really are, but even as adults, she knew both of her kids on a whole other level. They were close friends beyond just being mother and child.

She understood people in general, and as her daughter said, she looked at the good in people -- not that she was naive, but that her focus was on the good parts.

The first Christmas after my mother died, Zora and Alex’s father W invited my father and I to their home in Vegas. My dad is not a person that has ever been guested by strangers, but I assured him he would be comfortable.

Zora not only was the best hostess, but she went out of her way to make Yugoslavian foods that my father hadn’t eaten in years along with enough Potica (Slovenian walnut bread) to send to my siblings.

My father was also touched that Zora brought out my old love of cooking / baking and were like a team in the kitchen…we were literally on the lockdown for hours. But it was never work. We chatted. We laughed. We even cried once or twice. And I learned a great deal in those times behind the scenes…and my father, who again, rarely stayed with strangers, had the best time. He felt at home and laughed with them and enjoyed every minute on his adventure.

The weekend of Father’s day, we were supposed to go visit Zora and W in Vegas. The Monday before (June 15), Alex’s sister called saying no one had heard from Zora all day.

This might seem odd for most, but again, Zora had 100’s of friends…she could be anywhere. But there was something deep down that felt wrong. After W made some calls, we found out she’d been in the hospital ½ of the day. What.the.fuck?

Alex drove out the next morning. I stayed back thinking I would be going out there the following week to help her get back to normal. I thought it was just a little stroke and there would be rehabilitation. I thought I would just be around to help nurse her back to health. I just assumed she would be fine in a few weeks.

By the time Alex arrived, I’d already bought a ticket to fly out. There was a feeling of urgency every time I spoke with another family member. Alex’s sister, whose brood was sick, was also caring for her new 6-week old baby but made the trek with her family.

I can only say those were the two cruelest days I’d ever experienced and watching her family was heartbreaking. When I looked at her two children, who were both the loves of her life, I just wished I could take all of their pain away…

She died the night of the June 17th at 10:22 PM.

The days that followed were just utter craziness. No sleep. A memorial in Vegas. Rushing home, going to work with my head in a dark bucket and trying to digest the emptiness. Tons of flowers, cards and phone calls came. Friends came around and listened, cried and helped SO much. The memorial in L.A. at our house was beautiful, especially when Alex’s sister delivered the most heartfelt, tear-jerking speech about her mother. Our little home was at full capacity. We expected 80 people and got about 130. Neighbors who were virtual strangers came to tell stories of her and her ways of getting involved and helping. Friends cried, family held each just a little closer. Stories were told. There was a little laughter and a lot of tears, along with food, drink and so many desserts, some I’d forgotten about until the next morning…

And then it was quiet.

I had just said a few months back to Bunnie, that the day something happened to Zora, it would be the worst thing her family could go through.

This doesn’t even really cover it. There is SO much more to say.

Having lost my own mother, I know how hard this all is, but with terminal disease, your mourning comes out in different moments, and when the time comes that they are taken from you, there is a strange feeling of peace. You’re sad, but you know it’s inevitable.

This was not anything close. She was only 63. She was so present. She was so involved with so many people in so many ways. She was so full of life, light and love.

While I am so grateful for the time I had knowing her, there was so much more I wanted to learn from her. I am happy that my father and sister and a few close friends knew her and adored her, too but I wanted my other family members and friends to know her. Her children were not through getting great advice, telling her their secrets, laughing with her or getting fed from the best cook on the planet. They weren't through with any part of her. Her friends weren’t done laughing with her, playing penny slots, cooking, getting real estate advice or just advice in general…

I think everyone feels robbed. I know I do.

The Gish Sisters

2009-03-26T06:17:00.001-07:00

Early screen stars Dorothy and Lillan Gish with their mother, early 1900's.

The Gish sisters in their teens...

Ziegfeld girl circa 1915

2009-02-27T11:00:00.001-08:00

Breathtaking...

These make me happy...

2009-02-27T08:49:00.001-08:00

this is the best bad day lifter evar...

2009-02-12T19:39:00.000-08:00

Kingsford Goes to the Beach - Amazing videos are here

Turning the page...

2009-01-20T16:31:00.000-08:00

on the Bush years!

What a day! After 8 years of bad decisions, embarrassing ideas and a whole lot of problems -- a new day has dawn. It's not to say our new President is not going to have his hands full with cleaning up this mess. It's just nice to feel hope again. And it's good to know the power is with someone who has the confidence and the smarts to lead us properly.

Proud to be an American -- again!

REALLY???

2009-01-09T13:41:00.000-08:00

Today is just one of those days...

I couldn't sleep this morning. I was up at 4 am and was watching a TIVO'd SVU episode and waiting with bated breath to check my balance in my bank account as I am BROKE and today is payday.

At 5 AM I check and alas, there is not check deposit. WTF, I think! I need money!

I get on with my morning and pull out my favorite t-shirt to wear as it's Friday, but what the HELL is on the front of it? Some alien splatter was all over my beautiful shirt and I had to go the clothing piece number two.

Amazingly, there was no traffic so I thought my bad karma was over. Work was fine.
Payroll said the check would be cut and I would have it in my hands. WRONG. I am leaving at 3 today and was just notified I need to go to our other building to pick it up, but my 3:15 appt is the opposite way -- see where THIS is going??

And to wrap things up, my beautiful, newly filled water bottle spilled all over the front of me. When that wasn't enough, I went sit it back up and it spilled again over the inch of me that was dry. I am now wearing what looks like the escaped fashion victim from a salvation army drop box. BAD BAD BAD!!!

SCAM ALERT

2008-12-18T12:54:00.000-08:00

Acai Berry, Slim Tea and all of the other "trial" for $4.95, etc...

DO NOT DO IT. There are all sorts of scam sites, fines and fees that these companies are hiding in their fine print. I ordered the Slim Tea and minutes later, Alex told me to cancel. A week later, I not only had a $69.95 charge, but a $19.95 charge for something called Fit Factory, something I did not sign up for. It also took weeks to get this stuff removed as their phone number don't always work!!

This has happened to myself and three of my friends who live all over the U.S.!!!

If it's too good to be true, it probably is! AVOID THIS!!!

Eternal Memories

2008-12-04T15:10:00.000-08:00

It’s been nearly two years and while I never actually spoke of my mom’s death on here, I figured seeing that next week would be her 77th birthday and that a few weeks later is the second anniversary of her death, I thought I would make a simple entry on her behalf:

Thru pictures, I thought my mother had been a movie star – my father, too! I was often confused seeing them in the hideous polyester 70’s smocks in my own reality, but then looking at pictures of them when they were younger in their beautiful clothing, beautiful looks and best poses, I was sure they’d given up their careers to be our parents. My mom looked like a beautiful actress from that time period – a starlet with dark hair, dark, twinkly eyes, flawless skin and a beautiful smile. When she wasn’t smiling, she looked like Ingrid Bergman, a look we all came to know.

My mother’s life was tough as was our life with her. She was mentally ill and it took its evil toll on every facet of her life and our lives. You wanted to hate her sometimes, but you could see the terrible struggle of a woman who truly loved her family, but who also was tugged and pulled by the power of illness.

But that wasn’t all her. She was also extremely gifted: she could draw, paint, and played the piano like nobody’s business. A self-taught piano player who later was in lessons with a superstar piano teacher in Chicago, my mother saved every penny in the early 1950’s to save for her own piano – the piano that is still at my dad’s house and someday I will somehow get here to L.A.

She was also a hero. My brother once fell through a plate glass door nearly severing his finger and maiming his arm. My mother carried him almost two miles to a hospital. This is one of the many times where she played doctor, nurse, cook, maid, problem-solver, etc.

My mother loved her own children, but even more so, her grandkids. She never held back on her time with them and taught them to cook, how to clean up after themselves, and loved taking them on adventures. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for those kids.

But her Catch 22 was when one illness seemed to lie dormant, a bigger monster was waiting for her. I knew when I moved to L.A. that her forgetfulness was becoming more obvious, that her gait seemed to be thrown off and that her eyes were starting to look dimmer. Every visit home seemed to give more clarity to that fact and when I called her doctor that fateful day, I knew what his answer would be. My mother’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s threw us all into such a frenzy as we’d just moved on from one big illness.

After things had gotten so bad and she was placed into her wonderful, loving nursing home, we knew time was becoming more precious and anything that we’d known before, mostly the bad stuff, made way for a new peace and understanding of our mother who was slowly fading away.

I saw her for my last time on Thanksgiving of 2006. Alex had come home with me for the first time to meet my family and we’d spent every day at the nursing home. I am so grateful they met each other.

Our final moments were quick and sweet, with a hug that felt so deep and soulful, but left me with deepest, heaving weight in my heart for the weeks leading to her death. I knew deep down it was all imminent.

She passed the day before the new year.

There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of her: sometimes it’s happy, sometimes it’s sad. Sometimes it’s guilty and other times it’s just breezy, like she is here with me.

I feel like the best gift you can give a parent is a to live a good, solid, interesting life, full of love and light. Every day I hope I am doing a good job.

Losing a parent is going to happen to everyone – appreciate them and all of their idiosyncrasies while they are here.

'I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life” – Maya Angelou

Miss you...

Marilyn Zalokar December 11, 1931 - December 30, 2006

SAVED

2008-11-29T16:26:00.000-08:00

As most people who know me know, I hate hard candy. Besides not being anything remotely pallet satisfying to me, I have always had a total fear of choking, something I was just discussing on Thanksgiving Day when presented with some French hard candies.

Today we ran to Costco and then I did trader Joes run. Nothing eventful at all. We were hanging around the house. E called me and I was talking to her when the phone died out. Just as I was waiting for her to call me back, I saw my vitamins and figured I would pop one while waiting.

I have been taking vitamins for years. It seems the more organic they are, the horsier they become. But like most things, you grow used to the size of the pill and know what to expect. I have grown so accustomed to these particular, horse sized pills that I typically don’t drink anything until afterwards – I just pop one.

As soon as the pill hit my throat, I knew it was bad. It fell right onto my windpipe and I immediately felt the air stop, the blood rush to my face and panic setting in. I was in our kitchen and Alex was in the living room. I drank a little water but that only seemed to exasperate the situation. Those seconds felt like an eternity and since I could not speak, moan or scream and was too panicked to move, I started hitting the counter with my hands as hard as I could.

Alex wasted no time as I know he saw my panic as I was banging like a crazy person on the counter. Without a moment to lose, he hit me on the back and then grabbed me and performed the Heimlich maneuver. I felt the pill come up and threw it up in to the sink. And then I breathed in like I had never done before. Then I cried.

I have no idea what I would have done had he been down the hall in the shower or worse, not been there at all.

It’s been a few hours and every time I think about it, I get choked up – the “what if’s.” One of my worst fears WAS the worst. Much worse, it got me thinking about folks who take these monster pills and have no one there to help them in cases like this one.

Today it was scary. I am SO shaky and freaked out but my amazing boyfriend was my hero. Today I am so thankful.

Imagining things just a little differently...

2008-09-18T19:45:00.001-07:00

Today I went on an emergency hike (a light one since I am still slightly gimpy) with a good friend who was having the rottenest kind of day – you know, one of those 'holy crapshoot, if I don't get out into the woods I may combust" kind of things.

She and I got to talking as we always do, about how if you had your choice of day jobs (not the fantasy ones like being a full-time, highly paid screenwriter, an ice cream taster for Ben and Jerry's, having your own cooking show or hell, a starlet with nothing to do but be pretty, get prettier and find ways to maintain pretty -- I could go on for hours and haven't even gotten to my science nerd / astronomy / paleontology fantasies), but real day jobs that you can REALLY do.

I noted that besides my purely condensed hate for my commute and the fact I still do like my present day job, I would still travel the distance for my fantasy jobs -- mine being doing massage 2-3 days a week for a reputable chiropractor – and the other two days? Being a dog walker. For real. Oh, I would throw in there an occasional class or maybe an extra job if need be, or I could even thin out my fat butt to teach fitness classes again (a big love of mine) but I think those would combine two things I love and give me more time to do other things I neglect. The last thing I want to do these days after sitting in front of a computer is to come home and sit in front of the computer to write. And it wouldn't be forever...but it'd be a fun, temporary change!

But this would all have to fit together in a way that made sense and since I do have debt, it would have to work monetarily.

But a girl can dream.

The Iraqi’s have $80 billion dollars and we have swill….

2008-08-28T19:49:00.000-07:00

So here we are again, watching the DNC, and I am back in tears – I am moved. Obama is making me hopeful. He is making me think. I believe him because, quite simply, he not only gets it but he’s been there. He has seen the true middle class first hand. He has worked with people who were truly down and out and watched them crawl out of their holes. There is something so sincere and deep down heartfelt about his approach that I can’t imagine that we are going to have ANOTHER 8 years of selfish, rich, clueless people that are going to wreck us. Our economy can't take it. Our people can't take it.

I have so much hope. I hope others feel this resonating in them, too.

No Excuses...

2008-08-26T10:31:00.000-07:00

Oh.My. I know. It's been way too long. I have plenty to say, to share and even show but I am in the process of downloading pics, finding the time to put them together and also get caught up!

So at best, expect something new by September!

A few things:

I just read the man that wrote, "100 things to do before you die," did indeed die -- at the age of 47. Such irony.

My little car was dead ALL summer long. Just got new life breathed into her old body -- new radiator. Not cheap, but for what it's worth, she's practically NASCAR in her Toyota clothes.

I think I am in that place where I am about redefine my life and (ulp) -- organize. I am feeling a little unsituated and it's time to get rid of stuff and be a little more minimal. Or at least just get rid of some stuff.

We found an answer to Kitty and her Exorcist-like bouts of hissing and biting to staff members when getting her nails clipped. A sweet 19 year old girl at Petco put a cone on her head. Sweet Jeebus! Most.hilarious.thing.evar. While she was pissed off as hell, it worked and voila -- seconds later nails her clipped and there were no prayers needed and no evil looks thrown my way!

I finally saw "The Matrix" last night. I KNOW! It was a ridiculous movie to not see and while I had seen pieces of it, I'd never watched it all the way thru. The Arclight is doing a Sci-fi series so we were able to watch it on the big screen. I am happy to have been able to put all of the pieces together and wow -- what a spectacle. Now I understand the hoopla...from 10 years ago.

Sigh. Much more to come but for now, watch this:

Some new things and Bada Bing

2008-06-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

Hello darlings. Here are some new products I love, a new show I love and my old / new favorite thing to do workout-wise besides the (zzzz) gym!

1. Peroxide: A zillion uses but the best one? Your toothbrush. For real. Not only can you clean your toothbrush but swish a little peroxide (watered down a bit, please) in your mouth before brushing and seriously, your teeth will feel a million times cleaner (not to mention, it kills many bacteria if you feel like you are catching a cold or the like AND does make your teeth whiter…)!!

2. Cetaphil antibacterial bar: This stuff is amazing. I don’t like regular Cetaphil lotion-y stuff as I feel like there is also leftover residue on my skin (and it also has an ingredient that is not to my liking), but not this bar – it is like magic. Seriously. Try it on a washcloth…it will change your life.

3. Vitamin E oil, Trader Joes: Not only does this oil moisturize to a WHOLE new level, but if you’re like me and get those weird bumps on your legs (some people get them on their arms), this stuff will help it. Totally affordable at $3.99, especially since you only need a tad.

4. Moroccan Oil – For your hair. Thanks to fabulous Hair Guy Hal, I have stumbled upon a product that makes my hair talk. What does my hair say? “Oh thank you kind lass. Because of this bitchin’ product, I feel shiny, smooth, moist (ha ha – mooooist) and strong!” While it is a strong $40 price, this stuff will last you a YEAR. Just like they used to say about Woolite, “A penny (or in this case, 50 cents) a capful for the look and feel you loooove.” A little dab goes a LONG way and really gives your hair…sheen. I love that. Did I mention the scent? THINK BEACH.

As for the “Bada Bing…” I am IN LOVE with “The Sopranos.” Mr. A was able to get me the first few seasons and I am completely addicted. I am really glad I missed the boat and was not addicted when it was on because there is NO WAY I could have waited between episodes and / or seasons to see what would happen next. So now we have gotten into this routine of watching just one and getting so sucked in that I am up until 1 AM getting thru two or three. So amazing. Tough to watch at times I will admit but mostly just unbelievable.

And what is with these mafia movies / shows eating and drinking and making you crave big honking vats of pasta, “gravy” (as Pauly Walnuts says) and tons of wine?? OMG. I think I ate a whole garlic clove last night whilst starting Season 3.

As for my favorite new thing to do besides the (snooore) gym, it’s Balboa Park. I forgot how gorgeous the grounds are, how peaceful the walks can be and how nice it is to be outside and one with nature. And it’s a helluva walk. And now that the hellacious heat has calmed its wonky ass, it’s back onto the path and into the green. If you’ve never been, there are also walking grounds within the park that include a beautiful lake, little pedal boats and people picnicking all around who actually CLEAN UP after themselves. Nice.

I didn't think I would care so much:

2008-06-03T11:50:00.000-07:00

As my days start early, this morning I was leaving the house after a nice big cup of joe and my mind set for my drive.

Our street is very cute: lined with trees, cookie-cutter houses, occasional kids but mostly, a lot of birds, squirrels and other natural habitat.

I was assembling my drive music when I noticed a slew of squirrels playing tag and running into the middle of the street. As always, I waited until they all ran by and started to drive when my car started doing a "thump thump thump."

My first thought was a bad tire but of course, I then realized that one of the squirrels hadn't hustled enough and met my tires. I had turned the corner and looked over to see his little squirrel legs in the air, flailing and pining. I drove away and started crying immediately. Why wasn't I more careful? OMG, I killed something.

I called Mr. A and started to really sob into the phone. I told him to please call animal control and could barely speak. He said he would but would first walk over to check this guy out first.

Mr. A called a few minutes later and said, "Where did this happen??" I explained again (it was only a few houses down) and he assured me there was no squirrel.

I responded in tears, "Can you look for brain matter?" "Did a neighbor take him in??" The thought then crossed my mind that Mr. A put ME out of my misery and did something to the squirrel to make it quick. He assured me there was no squirrel, he had not played God and that there wasn't any body matter anywhere on the street.

With that said, I began to breathe again but am in fear this little guy is going to come back and get me. Poor little rat.

"A squirrel is just a rat in a cuter outfit"

Carrie Bradshaw

SIX THINGS THAT HAPPENED LATELY

2008-05-27T11:24:00.000-07:00

1. He was born. Oh yes. Mr. McLean Patrick is here in the world with the most adoring fan base already. But I can’t share this story until his Mama Bunnie does, but that was the best thing that has happened in a long time.

2. I have been sleeping. This might not seem like a big phenomenon to anyone, especially since I just wrote of a newborn and his mama, but trust me when I tell you, it’s a miracle upon miracles when I am not just taking naps, but I am going to sleep, staying asleep and even sleeping in!

3. We went to the most fabulous dinner this past Saturday at a French restaurant called, Brandywine. This was just NOT your typical restaurant: it was old school, small and quaint and could have been romantic had the other patrons been a little quieter, but in my wildest, decadent dreams, I could never have fantasized a more delicious dinner, with better company, with the most utterly fabulous staff. The waiters, maître d' and everyone else on staff were in very dapper suits and said things to one another like, “Sir, Table 6 seems to need another napkin. Would you be so kind to get them one?” “Oh yes, sir. I will get Table 6 that napkin. It would be a pleasurrre to help.” Um, yes. For real. But they were never snobby and in fact so friendly that you felt homey and comforted. The scallops I ordered were perfectly done in a perfect sauce with spinach and mushrooms. And I ate the mushrooms which I would avoid at ALL costs NO MATTER WHAT but there was something a little special about them so I went for it. Worth eating fungus for this five star dinner.

Brandywine
22757 Ventura Blvd
Woodland Hills, CA 91364-1334
Phone: (818) 225-9114

4. My darling father was in New York again this past weekend. He just impresses me with his ease when it comes to “going with the flow.” You can take the man out of the city, buy you can’t take the city out of the man. Seriously – for someone who’s been suburbia-bound for 35+ years, his “city-ness” turns on and he becomes “one of them.” I love hearing his excitement at the people, the stories of the folks he’s spoken to on the busses and trains and his all around take on “the” city in our country. I wish he could be in that environment all of the time. It’s SO him and in our blood. My sister took a bunch of pictures of him at the hot dog stands as this seemed to be the place to be. Lots of talk of sports and politics, two subjects my dad loves to talk about.

5. I heard gunshots in the wee hours of the morning the other night. Seriously – and then heard police / squad cars followed by ghetto birds. It was about 3 am and I thought I might be going crazy. Not so. The following morning we got a call asking if we knew why the freeway closest to us was closed down and / or why the SWAT team was out. Turns out some dude got mad at his girlfriend and starting shooting at her. Nice. And it turns out it was much further away than expected so either it is SO quiet that I heard it or SO loud where it happened that I heard it. Either way, they finally caught the perp the next day but the whole thing is just freakish.

6, My new Sigg water bottle. Okay, I need a moment to explain and geek out. I hate drinking out of plastic and obviously, walking around with glass containers is out of the question. Sigg water bottles make my dreams come true. They are SOOO cute to look at (and come in 144 varieties, though they were on Oprah and are getting scarce) and can be found at your local Whole Foods (though again, it took three different WF to find them and the variety was down to 4). But they are good for the environment, have a really cool screw top and keep your water cool, not cold (good for someone like me who only likes water room temperature). They are also mostly break resistant, easy to clean and the taste is SO much better than anything else on the market. Some people might find $22 a lot for a water bottle, but I find it worth every penny. You can read about them here: http://www.mysigg.com/index.asp

Oh Mundane Monday...

2008-04-28T15:43:00.000-07:00

What a fun weekend…

Saturday we duded up and headed to Chateau Marmont for din-din. Really. I can’t even joke. It is just as amazing as I’d always envisioned it, just as fabulous, glamorous, etc. I mean, yes, you can go to drinks at Bar Marmont, but sitting in the ultra-sheik garden with candles everywhere, the beautiful building in front of you and fabulous people surrounding you – it just doesn’t get better than that. Not to mention, you really forget you’re in the hectic world of Sunset Blvd.

The rooms inside proved itself to be every bit as spectacular as one would think and there was just a really cool, old vibe flying around in every area.

Our dinner was delicious as was our company. Damn me for never taking pics! My only regret was the 5 inch stilettos I donned for the night. For no reason except walking like I might fall, Mr. A needed to walk me to the bathroom like I was a hip-replacement patient. But sitting was just fine.

And I know this is just a “me” thing, but the bathroom was one of those bathrooms every girl only WISHES she could have. The lighting made me look soft and perfect.

Yesterday I started out great – ran to the store, did some errands, yadda yadda when suddenly I got nailed with the worst headache EVAR. Like the kind that makes your eyes tear just because it’s throbbing so bad.

I ended up in bed for 5 hours and even (ulp) watched, “Georgia Rule” which was the disaster of the movie with Lindsay Lohan (movie she got in BIG trouble for), Jane “lay off the plastic surgery” Fonda and Felicity Huffman.

I won't lie--this was not the best movie I've ever seen, but it was not the worst either. The movie was strangely amusing even though the plot was muddled, creepy/dark and the unexpected twist kept me watching. While I can’t give it a thumb up, I won’t give it the finger either. But this all could have been my cloud of pain so don’t trust my review.

Afterwards, we did a long awaited Easter dinner with Mr. A’s sister and her lovely family. And I am in love. Darling Baby Boy C cooed at me, loved on me, let me hold him all afternoon and was just darling. I have loved that kid since meeting him a wee 1 ½ hours after his birth. He is now 6 months old and a whole lot more boy than he was in September, being a preemie and all. We are bonded. Oh and hi, the food was so tasty (Yugoslavian cuisine) as was the company.

By the way, did I mention it is HOTTER than HADES outside?? And it's snowing in Chicago??

P.S. hi Kelly :)

Our Earth Day tribute

2008-04-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

This weekend marked the first weekend I believe, in my life, that I spent planting things. No, not bombs or anything of the like, but I did indeed participate in re-planting, planting and buying seeds. The irony is, we did this but had no idea it was Earth Day weekend and / or that we were actually participating :)

Let's just say that I once had a cute balcony covered in flowers and months later, my one lone survivor was Loni, my pretty planted bush plant who now has found a new home in the ground in our backyard, and who started to sprout the most beautiful purple flowers.

Loni has been with me for years. In the beginning he was the most majestic looking plant but as time would have it, he would die and come back, and die and come back again. This time, he has a new permanent home. He is surrounded by Herculean-like plants that I believe will give him the strength to keep going. I have also made a vow on this pre-Earth day weekend to give him my time and extra care. Hopefully, this will be a good spot for him.

I also replanted some beautiful, boppy looking gerber daisies that Bunnie gave me, who started out looking they were doing the death dance from Dance Interpretation 101and now are sitting boldy in their pot.

Mostly, me and Mr. A decided that since we both love herbs, tomatoes and the like, it would be a good time to test our farming skills along with some catnip for our furry child…stay tuned

Great quote!

2008-04-11T06:27:00.000-07:00

“Ninety-eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hardworking, honest Americans.It’s the other 2 percent that get all the publicity. But then, we elected them.” – Lily Tomlin

What will become of them?

2008-04-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-polygamists_08tex.ART.State.Edition2.466ebcd.html

I was driving in this morning and listening to Robin Quivers and Howard Stern. They were discussing the news, specifically the 401 (as of this morning) young teenage mothers to baby aged kids that were found on the polygamist compound in Texas.

Upon arriving to work I kept reading. It’s not just horrifying on a moral level, but looking at the pictures of some of the residents of this compound in their 1800’s-era pioneer dresses with hair down to their feet – I just start to wonder – what will become of them?

Living in their isolated world that seemingly believes that everything else but there is full of evil, how will those 400 women and children blend into a society that is certainly laced with evil, but also progressive ways of thinking as well as living?

Change will do you good….

2008-03-26T09:41:00.001-07:00

I am not sure if has something to do with being a Scorpio, with being a believer in the strange and ominous ways of the land or if the Lunar Eclipse back in February really did a number on everything or if there is just some other interesting cosmic entity in the air, or hell, if the Full Moon last week REALLY was that strong…but everything feels like it’s changing – in a good way.

I am not sure if it has anything to do with some really interesting books I have been reading lately or the fact that life has been serving me some really interesting moments and opportunities as of late, but man – I feel touched, focused and strangely ethereal by this really cool energy.

Many people I know have been noticing – some things have started; some things have ended (for the better in the long run) and some things are slowly being ignited but mostly, the good euphoric vibe is just creating a good solid change. And whether things are in a state of disarray right this minute, as always, when the chips fall as they may, I think we are all in for some wonderful surprises.

P.S.

I forgot one other BIGGIE:

The Vernal Equinox is a time of balance. These are the days we welcome the light and plant new seeds towards the magical things we want to manifest in the future. According to some legends this time also reflects upon the past and atoning for the mis-deeds of our previous year. Letting go of the things no longer useful or productive to our happiness.

Remember this time is all about:
rebirth
renewal
resurrection
liberation
letting go
sacrifices
choices
responsibility for actions

Since I won't be near any parades watching people hurl their guts out...

2008-03-13T13:40:00.001-07:00

I really need to start taking pictures –

2008-03-10T09:41:00.000-07:00

This weekend flew by in a blink. Friday I was stuck in awful traffic due to a horrific accident, tried to chill when I arrived home and then prepared for Saturday. Saturday was busy and after the massage stuff, which was wonderfully, there was a dinner with Mr. A’s lovely parents.

Sunday we had an event at the Serbian Church – St. Sava. I am not quite clear of the traditions, but I do know it was to honor Mr. A’s Aunt that died a year ago. While I did not understand what was being said, it didn’t really matter -- it was all very beautiful, including the choir that sounded like angels and on its own, the church was just gorgeous.

We did the church luncheon, mingled with family and headed home when I found out we had dinner plans with Mr. A’s brother-in-law’s parents.

They don’t live far from us, but for some reason, everyone thought I’d been to this house before. WRONG. And this is where I wish I’d had a camera –

This house – how can I explain it?? Just amazing. Mr. A’s little nephew took me on his own 2 ½ year old version tour of the house which was very entertaining, but I could not help but stare with questions and mouth a gape at some of the treasures…

Bro-in-law’s father is from India and much of this home was shipped from there. The dining room we were sitting in was sooo cool and cozy. The table was thick and heavy and all of it covered in fine china, all the forks and place settings and beautiful crystal wine goblets and water glasses. Even the little guy had his own little silver cup and wine goblet.

On one end of the dining area was a beautiful cherry wood hutch, all hand-made by the men of the family. On the other wall was this magnificent silver door that was from an actual palace in New Delhi. Father Bear had wanted to use this door as their front door but it was not to regulation, so they used it as a wall in this room and my gosh – I was just in awe.

Dinner was amazing. Everything we ate melted in my mouth and all of the wines we had were unbelievable.

Then there was the photography. I could not help but look around the house and the photography that looked like it’d been done by computer just because it all looked so surreal, specifically one of the Golden Gate bridge at night with a full moon overlooking the city of San Francisco. I later found out that Papa Bear had driven his vehicle to the top of a mountain and ‘waited’ for this particular shot – in 1950!!!! I can’t explain how unreal it looked, but hearing the story behind it made it even more superior.

And that’s how this night was – full of stories old and new -- sharing of the adventures of this family before they had children and now, with all of the grown children and their kids.

It was all very special and a perfect way to wrap up with the weekend.

Forgot to mention...

2008-03-02T20:12:00.001-08:00

Oh yes – forgot to mention we watched, “The Barefoot Contessa” this morning – not be confused with the Food Network show, this is a movie starting Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner. While it was slow at times, the characters were clearly played and there was something sooo nice and meaningful about the monologues and dialogues that are definitely missing in today’s movie world.

Ava Gardner does a great job as Maria, an earthy innocent with a really good story to back up her character and her characters quirks.. And as usual, Humphrey Bogart plays Harry Dawes with a worldliness yet sweetness that plays so well with Maria’s vulnerability. Their relationship is so well done and interesting without ever crossing the line.

I recommend this – it’s sad at times and again, you will really laugh at some of the smart and great lines the actors both had. And hell – Ava, as always, is just breathtaking as are her clothes. I really need a diet after watching that!

little ole update

2008-03-02T18:35:00.000-08:00

Friday – a whole lot of laid-back nothingness – not to mention I had to be up early for a massage gig.

Saturday: great massage day. Was feeling so Zen and between the yoga and a few other things, I felt good -- plus the weather when I looked out the window was gray, so I didn’t feel like I was missing a thing…

Saturday night, me and Mr. A went to dinner at this fun Mexican restaurant. Actually, it was just “okay” but the company was great, nonetheless.

Today we did our yearly hike for Kathy’s birthday. We met at the top of Topanga and hiked for a whopping three hours! Our group was pretty much the same as last year which was great and fun -- and fortunately, the weather was cooler so unlike last year, we weren’t stinky and hot the whole time.

It was ridiculously beautiful and clear and at times I wanted to chime out tunes from “the Sound of Music” and this would have been the right group to do that in, too!

Afterwards, we went to the Reel Inn in Malibu. My meal was meh, but again, company was great.

On a sad note, I found out my Aunt Flo died Friday night. My shock comes from the fact I truly thought she would live forever – so full of energy, opinions and surrounded by so many people that loved her – and she definitely wore the pants in her family with my Uncle of 57 years and their six daughters. But right now, I feel for her family that is left to cope – love to you all at this very difficult time -- and much hope that Aunt Flo meets up with my Mom at some point…

Just a little Zen...

2008-02-27T19:56:00.000-08:00

Those who know do not talk.

Those who talk do not know.

~Tao Te Ching

After the eclipse...

2008-02-20T21:51:00.002-08:00

You are the World

Completion, Good Reward.

The World is the final card of the Major Arcana, and as such represents saturnian energies, time, and completion.

The World card pictures a dancer in a Yoni (sometimes made of laurel leaves). The Yoni symbolizes the great Mother, the cervix through which everything is born, and also the doorway to the next life after death. It is indicative of a complete circle. Everything is finally coming together, successfully and at last. You will get that Ph.D. you've been working for years to complete, graduate at long last, marry after a long engagement, or finish that huge project. This card is not for little ends, but for big ones, important ones, ones that come with well earned cheers and acknowledgements. Your hard work, knowledge, wisdom, patience, etc, will absolutely pay-off; you've done everything right.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Good decisions...

2008-02-18T20:26:00.000-08:00

Finally feeling normal again! Still coughing, but out of death’s doorway or whatever you’d like to imagine…

This weekend was quiet, but really nice. Lots of resting...

Friday we helped Little E celebrate her 18(2) birthday at the Great Greek in Sherman Oaks. Not only was the company perfect, but the ambience was perfect for celebrating. While I was on a major coughing jag for 95% of our time there, it didn’t stop me or our group from getting up and doing the night time Greek dance with the entire restaurant! Seriously. I would say in the packed restaurant, 60% of the people got up, joined arms and literally danced in a big group across the place! Totally fun and silly, though I felt bad for the person on my left as I know I must have made them nervous with the endless coughing. But it was still really fun and my first outing in days which made it extra nice.

Today was super fun! I met NT (Neighbor T) down in the ‘bu. We were supposed to meet at my favorite coffee shop but apparently, NO ONE sent me the memo that it closed down so as we were driving to meet at a lame old Starbucks, I thought we should change locales and go to the Malibu Inn.

What a good decision. The Malibu Inn is across the street from the Malibu Pier and just a few feet from one of the best surfing areas. Besides great people watching on the drive in, the Malibu in is just a cluster of amazing stuff…

The inside is filled with old school movie actor photos…but not your typical ‘stars’ but people that actually used to eat there. Remember, this place has been around for over 50 years! The place has an old school, rustic vibe and I am sorry that it’s been more than a few years since I have been there.

While I was waiting for NT, an adorable older couple who were sitting a table away in the other “best seats in the house” started chatting with me. They told me they were high school sweethearts that lived just, as the man said, ‘480 feet apart” when the first met. He used to be a driver for Bette Davis! He also had a load of great memories of the Malibu Inn “back in the day…” Most were star-studded and the kind of stuff that you only hear about but I got first hand information!

NT arrived and we started chugging down coffees when the decision to get a Bloody Mary came into question. Another good decision! Our wonderful waiter told us “they were the best Bloody Mary’s in town,” and she wasn’t kidding. Not only were the Big Gulp size, they were definitely the best in town and very addicting.

Super fun was had by both of us and I highly recommend stopping in the next time you’re in the area! The place is filled with the friendliest people!

Malibu Inn Restaurant
22969 Pacific Coast Hwy
Malibu, CA 90265
(310) 456-6060

Can I mention that I totally feel this full moon -- it's actually tomorrow but I feel creepy weird!

Happy

2008-02-13T14:58:00.001-08:00

One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life; That word is love.

--Sophocles

Day Three - Cabin Fever

2008-02-11T18:27:00.000-08:00

So here is my update. I am STILL sick. And wouldn't you know it, many of my work cohorts are sick, too and have been sick almost exactly the duration I have been - oy, whirlwind.

Today was different. I would normally revel in a day off from work but let's face it – I am sick of being sick. My head still hurts and I still have that that 75 year old – geriatric whiskey and ciggies cough, only I am sober with the exception of the oodles of illness libations I have been concocting.

My lone trip to the store this morning was simply for necessity and air. Another beautiful day missed and gone and while the sun was shining, I had the shivers.

On a happy note? I had bitchin' Indian food for lunch that was so spicy hot that I think it burned a hole into my fever. And since Mr. A now works for home, I had my feathers fanning and grapes fed to me all day. Kitty also got to sit outside since we were both here to keep our eyes on her.

Couch Potato TV update:

As of 4 AM this morning, whether it was too much Vitamin C too late at night or mixing too many cold surplus supplies, I watched a marathon of the show, "Jon and Kate plus 8" – the story of a family with two parents, a set of twins and a set of sextuplets. I ordinarily would find this stuff a little humdrum as I once was a nanny for a set of quadruplets, but eight kids are eight kids and let me tell you, a six hour feverish marathon of diapers, potties and feedings actually kept me in stitches. So darling. The parents are very likeable and the kids are really adorable.

I watched "American Gigolo" this afternoon. I'd seen it before but failed to realize that whomever did the music took the song "Call me" from Blondie and turned it into 25 different songs. That is, "Call me" is played throughout the entire movie in MUZAK -- sometimes with synthesizers, sometimes in porn chime and mostly, just annoying….wasn't the opening credits with the REAL song playing enough?? But hi, can we talk about a wee bit of full frontal from Mr Gere??

I think my couch potato days are about to come to an end though. As of this moment, I think I can comfortably say the storm is passing and to be fair, I am over it. Lovelies, stay healthy and TAKE YOUR VITAMINS!

I caught the plague

2008-02-10T15:41:00.000-08:00

Movies and sneezes
Illness. It’s what I get for bragging on Thursday that I “never get sick…” And so my punishment is a gnarly cough, a massive headache, the start of a cold and total sleeplessness that started a mere day later.

What had I been doing with my time? Funny you should ask. For about a year or so, I have had what I call “movie ADD” – that is, I cannot sit still long enough for anything at any moment. A half hour show is about my maximum.

But this crapola illness has changed that. My movie marathon started with “Alice, Sweet, Alice,” later re-named, “Communion” or vice-versa. It’s a 1970’s horror about a little evil girl named (guess…) Alice. Ended up being much better than expected and perfectly creepy. I even later found out that the mom in the movie is Jackie Gleason’s daughter and Jason Patric’s mom. Brooke Shields film debut, too (she’s only in it for 10 seconds, btw.)

I then watched, “Matrix” which I haven’t sit and watched in forever but then slept thru most of it.

This morning, after a try with no avail to get up and do something, I lay on the couch more to watch “Pretty Woman” that was on over and over again. Why does cable do this? I really only need to see this movie once every 10 years, if that. I mean, they completely destroyed “Shawshank Redemption” by playing it over and over.

I then found that “Sex and the City’s” first six epidodes were running on HBO On Demand. How happy did it make me, even if at this point I was running a temperature?

I then watched “Rumor Has it…” -- du-um. Had potential but lost it quickly. Jennifer Aniston vehicle and it’s just – meh.

Today I watched “Dick” – just darling. Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams (yes, Heath’s Michelle) were the stars.

Super Big Product Fun Show then became my addiction. This is between napping, mind you. I still feel like cack. SBPFS is this Asian network show, dubbed into English that is so funny and bizarre and at moments, a little creepy. They basically take a product to see what it is and if it’s for real but the products are FREAKY – like a Scorpion Bong. For real. It’s a bong tube wide enough for a Scorpion to go down…into your mouth. And they have several volunteers trying this.

That’s all of now. Btw. Did I mention my bitterness for missing out on my entire weekend and the Summer-like temperatures (it’s 80 here today and ahem, 1 degree in Chicago, btw). But as the Man says, it will be permanent Summer here before we know it. And this little rest has been sort of nice, minus the whooping cough and Scarlett Fever

Da-da-da Ditch Day…

2008-02-06T17:53:00.000-08:00

Okay. It really wasn’t a ditch day. I did take it off ahead of time -- how fun!

After a fun night of watching the primaries with the Daddies, I woke up and headed over to see my gurus. The gurus would be the acupuncturists at South Baylo University in Koreatown. Seriously kids, if you haven’t tried acupuncture, you are simply missing out on perhaps the healthiest way to keep your body balanced --on top of avoiding the taking of meds for everyday problems (colds, headaches, allergies, etc.)

I have written before about my time with the gurus. It’s been a while since I have been there but they were no less amazing. Zee back eez out of whack. Really. My lower back is a disaster and when I think of the physical beating I have been putting my body thru lately, I realized it was time.

As always, the girl that was the student and Dr. Lee, one of the lead gurus, spent a long time asking me about my back, looking at my tongue (which is a huge part of their study) and taking my heartbeat. Dr. Lee was pleased to know how much I consider acupuncture just as important as having a regular doctor. We then had a really interesting chat about Heath Ledger’s death and then I was put on the table. Dr. Lee noted that I was “chi deficient” and started the needles.

Less than an hour later, I was back out in the world, feeling amazing as I always do: If you ever are in the area, it is a school, but these people are already masters and trust me, they would not let a stupid dolt into this school. These people are very serious about what they do. And it’s $20. No shit. And while you can’t make an appointment, they do tend to get you in quickly.

South Baylo University
2727 West 6th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90057

Toll Free: 888-64-BAYLO (888-642-2956)
Phone: (213) 738-0712
FAX: (213) 480-1332

I arrived back home to my darling Man who took me to lunch at a place I’d never been to:

Les Sister Soul Kitchen is hard not to fall in love with. If you blink, you’d miss it, but trust me, it is truly a little gem. The walls are covered with New Orleans blues musicians and the food is not only hearty and homemade, but it’s delicious. I couldn’t believe how packed this place got in a matter of minutes or how friendly the staff was. While the service was a little slow, I didn’t really care because everyone was smiling and happy.

My mistake was getting the BBQ. I just wasn’t in the mood for it and when I saw someone nearby eating a heap of jambalaya, I felt very jealous and mad I hadn’t ordered that instead. But it was still delicious AND – they had real tea and fresh squeezed lemonade for damn good Arnold Palmers (all unsweetened, to my liking)!

All in all, a total gem and worth checking out! And seriously, read the reviews – there are dozens of good ones!

Les Sisters Southern Kitchen
21818 Devonshire St
Chatsworth, CA 91311
(818) 998-0755

After all of this, I went for a walk. Today was one of those wonderful days that felt Spring-like. Well a huge chunk of my loved ones are battling total crap weather as we speak, I couldn’t help but breathe deeply at the glorious day and vivid views since the sky is clear and smog-free (for now.)

Hope your day rocked, too!

Awful...

2008-02-02T17:13:00.000-08:00

I know. Bad things happen everywhere. And I would love to hope that this is just "one of those things...." But you would like to think a little town like the one I grew up in would be passed up when it comes to shitty, nonsense, just plain awful crimes. It also takes the cute, simple, white picket fence image and makes it seem not so safe anymore...

http://chicagoist.com/2008/02/02/5_shot_dead_at.php

Dishing

2008-01-28T15:36:00.001-08:00

Things that are making me batty...

1) I am so tired I can barely stand it. For some reason, after falling asleep around 11:30, I woke up at 3 a.m. Wide-awake. I lay there for awhile and decided maybe getting up would make me realize how tired I am. Nope. Around 4:45 I fell back to sleep only to be woken up by Hungry Kitty, who was pouncing on me and shaking me with her thumbless little paws, screaming in Kitty Lingo "I am hungry Dammit..." This was 6 a.m. I am bleary.

2) There is a constant cackle about two feet from me today. Co-worker. Unusually awful today with words like, "enema," "gingko" and "Socrates" all coming out with the witchy cackles to follow.

3) I don't want to go to the gym but I have to go to the gym. I didn't go all weekend...was that a weekend??

4) Weekend there was very much late night owl vampire-like stuff happening followed by very strange late sleeping, which is so not me and threw off my wee little veek-hend break -- and way too busy.

And that's all I've got at 3:34. Peace. Zzzzzz....

Panic! Worry! Over...

2008-01-24T15:21:00.000-08:00

As many friends of mine know, I have a severe fear of eye doctors. Whether it was my first eye doctor, Dr. Kutt (oh yes -- imagine that) to the later brands of demons who have poked, tweaked and prodded my eyes, I avoid them at all costs.

Having had eye surgery five years back, my fear increased. It wasn't because they were scary or evil but I was literally over anything coming near my eyeballs. Being stabbed seemed somehow better than having someone poke me in the eye. I also still have memories of the pain and the looking like "Stigmata" (yes Kelly.. I know you know)...

These past few days my left eye has been killing me. I wake up, it hurts. It burns and even itches. I thought a few eye drops would stop it but this morning I woke up with a Holy Sh** Sty and knew I could not avoid the inevitable (and now that my beloved regular doctor retired, I am f***ed.)

I have not seen N.E.D. (Nice Eye Doctor) for five years. Five years ago I hated him and he was just plain ole E.D. There were all sorts of terribly uncomfortable tests I had to endure before my surgery and this man was responsible, so I had literally gray-boxed his face in my mind and considered him the enemy.

But today was different. We laughed. We giggled. He told me my eyes looked fantastic.

Then it was gross -- he flipped my eyelid with a q-tip (for real) and suddenly it dawned on me he was the same Kook Doctor that tried to gorge my eyes out years ago. I saw flashes of the character Alex from "A Clockwork Orange" -- you remember the part when he has those awful eye clamps on -- and I got really shifty and uncomfortable. N.E.D. then said, "I am not going to hurt you..." and he didn't. Peace again.

Anyway. I did it. I survived a two hour appointment (he also gave me a real eye exam and it was fine). He told me I needed to change my make-up (woooooo - I "need" to buy new make-up - water soluble stuff) and that the eye drops (all five different brands I carry at all times) are all complete crap.

He also told me a new tip: baby shampoo. He said to remove under eye make-up, take a little baby shampoo, mix it with water (10% shampoo / 90% water) and dip the q-tip in, swish it around and run it under the eye to remove any debris. All that AND a beauty tip. He's back on my list of good people AND -- I don't have to see him again for a year!

The Dawning of Scorpio

2008-01-23T13:38:00.000-08:00

These are some amazing photos that My Darling Kelly (licka licka) took on her visit back in November...

Melissa and I Missing An Angel...

Blowing glitter and moondust into your soul...

CHEESE!

"look eento our eyez" Possessed! And can we just all agree that Mz. Kelly Kelly looks like a reincarnation of a flaming hot old-school screen star? Maybe Ms. Harlow?

Ethereal

2008-01-21T20:51:00.000-08:00

Isn't this just breathtaking? I found this on a whim and later found out it was taken in the early 1940's. Can you imagine?

Give a hoot ---

2008-01-15T09:44:00.000-08:00

Dear Litterbug:

I started writing down your license plate number but was not sure who to call. I thought of following you home just to see if you treat your own house with such utter disdain. I even thought of driving up to your window to yell obscenities, but in this day and age, you never know what that could lead to.

What do I know of you? Obviously, you really love Burger King or you don’t, which is why you decided to whip a large bag of it out your window onto the street . I know you really like your Monster Truck as the gleam of the fresh wash beamed into my eyes as I watched you contaminate the street with your garbage. And you like your vehicle enough to not leave your own trash inside so instead, you leave it to Mother Nature.

Am I taking this out on just you? No. Friday as I drove down Sunset, I watched a person fling Starbucks out of their Mercedes. God forbid you dirty the Mercedes because your latte with the twist had too much foam. The Earth is a much better place to throw your trash…

Not so. I care. And I wish there was a way to make citizens arrests for fucktards that decide that throwing the remnants of their ashtray out the window was somehow a good thing. I wish I could fine people in parks for leaving all of their weekend nosh leftovers to raccoons and the very over-worked and underpaid park workers who have to clean that shit up. Don’t even get me started on the sewers and the fact they drain into our oceans and lakes causing more…ugh, nevermind.

Mostly, I just wish everyone would take a moment to put a bag in their car if they eat or drink in it and dispose of it as nature intended and NOT leave it as the eyesore and contamination it becomes.

Christ people, it’s 2008. There are more than enough warnings that we keep making HUGE mistakes for our environment and all…can you just put your damn garbage in the trash as it belongs? Or compost!

Big wheels keep on turnin’….

2008-01-13T19:16:00.000-08:00

This weekend turned out to be a little bit of something special. We have been pretty caught up in the Car-ma -- the fact that I have had two flat tires and pretty much have held hostage the amazing Infiniti that would belong to Mr. A has been the deal.

Friday we made the most amazing Margherita pizza you have EVER had. I cheated and bought a pre-made crust from Whole Foods (the crust was perfect, btw) and had fresh basil, fresh mozzarella and the most beautiful tomatoes you have ever seen. The wine I bought at Whole Foods was equally awesome so we ate, drank and chilled.

Saturday morning we met Bunnie and Derek for breakfast at Cici’s in Tarzana. Have you ever had breakfast sexonaplate? The pankcakes at this place are so enormous you that you just assume you couldn’t dare eat a lot…I did. I damn well nearly ate my weight in, get this, chocolate-macadamia nut-whipped cream with fresh strawberries pancakes. O.M.G. Bunnie had the unbelievable tiramisu pancakes that were dripping with marsacone, whipped cream and all the fixings Derek had Monkey Business that were so luscious to stare at – and this was even what we really “ordered” to eat. It was our “side”…. And every bite is so decadent it almost makes you feel – naughty.

We lazed about a lot of the day, running mindless errands and then went to Jason and Melissa’s for dinner. Upon arriving twice (their darling son, Mr. J insisted that he open the door for us since when we first arrived, he was on the potty) we walked into a mass of aromas. Melissa can cook up a storm and is equally fun to watch. She is really like her own cooking show. My big job was helping to peel crawfish. She was making Etouffee (that was to DIE for), the tasty French bread and the and let me tell you, between that, the wine and the conversations, it was a perfect night.

We arrived home and shortly thereafter when to bed. Of course I woke up wide-awake at 3 AM and the ONLY thing on was Beverly Hills 902100. .. and it was on again at 4 and the 5. I watched curiously -- could this be the same show that I once coveted and could not leave the house for?? It’s corny, but I will forever love the infamous Brenda line, “ I hate you both. Never talk to me again!" As I dozed off, I received a work call at 6 am about a missed flight – sigh.

The car is finally fixed though. Four new tires . Peanut the car and I am back in business!

Equally decadent Margherita pizza was made tonight for Mr. A, only this time I bought gooey dough from Trader Joes. While I loved the Whole Foods crust, the Trader Joes was equally good, was fun to prepare (you have to roll it with a rolling pin, but you feel like you are contributing more!) and hi…the price? The Whole Foods crust was almost $6, while Trader Joes was a mere 99 cents…GOOD BUY. Not to mention, you can make a bevy of things with this very tasty dough.

Final thought:

Can I comfortably admit that I miss the Red carpet for the Golden Globes like an old friend? I love it. I miss it. Call me what you will but nothing gives me pleasure more than amazing gowns and even frightening ones. Please Writers Strike – be over soon. Give us back our shows and our red carpet and rid us of the dreadful, filler reality shows.

Give me some skin...

2008-01-10T15:45:00.001-08:00

I LOVE skin care products and am a freak about skin care, period. Whether it was my mother always saying to “stay out of the sun” or my darling Kelly (whose face is like a baby’s rump) constantly moisturizing — I can comfortably say I am too, a true addict.

Skin care is more than just looking young…its prevention to keep our skin healthy. Our skin is our protection, our shield. After all, it’s the ONLY skin you have so be good to it.

Bottom line – the condition of your skin comes from genes but mostly is a reflection of what is happening inside your body so if you do unhealthy things – BAM, they will live and be free on your face.

When I first moved to L.A., my face started to look like a diaper rash. It was bumpy, creepy and I finally consulted a dermatologist (who is still in my life…). It was there I learned that besides the smoggy air that was a part of my skin reactions, I was stressed out. Stress goes right to your face, so my friends ….stay chill.

Beyond just stress, our everyday actions always have consequences whether it’s waking up with a bad hangover or years later, receiving a clump of wrinkles as your reward for being a party maven. What we do when we're younger plays a role in how well we age. Nothing will stop aging but we can keep it at arms length by taking care of what we have.

I get regular peels. I call them “chemical” peels but they are actually acid peels which are fruit based. BE CAREFUL with peels, people. Any peel is “chemical”. Only get them from an actual dermatologist’s office. Many skin care specialists will offer peels, but often times they are overly harsh and / or abrasive and can cause burns and even scarring. The idea of a peel is to remove the dead top layer of skin which in turn improves skin texture, slowly removes scars, fine wrinkles and other skin blemishes. Less is more. The peel lasts less than a week and then your skin looks shiny and new J

But beyond the peel, everyday should be a good skin day. Since we are all different, it’s important to test different products and see what works. Is your skin oily? Is it acne prone? Is it sensitive? I highly recommend going to a dermatologist. If you don’t have good insurance or are too shy, I also recommend Whole Foods for beginners because their products tend to be effective, lovely, but much milder.

Another good thing to do is to get samples and try different products: what works for one person may not work for another. Everybody has different skin and everyone reacts differently to products. Having sensitive skin / high histamines like I do, I need to be way careful with what I put on my face or I end up looking like a Puffer fish!

Products I use / love:

o I love Chanel products but let’s face it…they are expensive, but I will say, they are luscious and make you feel privileged … tee hee.

o I use Epicuren moisturizer every morning and night. A little dab will do you. You can also use it under your eyes, which I love because it forces you to not need two face products. It’s light, it smells oh-so fresh and it lasts about 2 months if you use it daily.

o In the morning, I always use an SPF 25 – 40 sunblock before applying my makeup.

o Get breakouts? Seriously, use Dial soap. For real. Try it.

o Every evening I use Epicuren herbal face wash and follow with a swab of Witch Hazel. And then a little moisturizer.
o
Treat yourself. Get a facial. The rule of thumb is to get a facial every season, more if you have problem skin. Facials are not only effing relaxing, but it is the most effective “cleaning” your skin can get.

o Drink water. It sounds like a myth, but water is not only cleansing for your insides, but definitely plays a part on your outside. Think of how dank you feel if your are overheated with no water: that is how your skin feels. Hydrate! If you don’t love drinking water or find it annoying, a good trick is either to use a straw (which I do) or make a nice water stew. Take a pitcher of water and in it put cucumbers, oranges, lemons (thinly sliced, kids) and let the fruits / veggies settle in the water. It creates a very nice, crisp flavor (all of the spa’s are doing it, you can to!!)

o I love a good mask. I love a good old fashioned mud mask (which you can find at the local drugstore). Lush has a few good masks as does Epicuren, but I find they are VERY strong, so use them sparingly. A mask is good to clean up and tighten your skin, but like everything, use in moderation.

o A good homemade mask can be as close as your fridge! Got eggs? A full raw egg is perfect for normal skin, egg whites good for oily and yolks good for dry. Put egg on your face and let it dry. Remove with wet, warm washcloth. Niiice.

Products rock, but don’t use too much. A little goes a long way. Except sunblock:

STAY OUT OF THE SUN or at least be smart. A little sun goes a long way. SUN BLOCK yourselves. It’s NOT cute to get sunburned anymore. Being bright red should only be for blushing cuz you’re so darn cute. Beyond adding years to your skin, our atmosphere is too messed up to protect you and skin cancer SUCKS.

(Thanks for the idea, Jillie...!!!)

Great quote I read today

2008-01-09T20:09:00.001-08:00

When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you

- Lao-Tzu

Alright already...

2008-01-08T21:07:00.000-08:00

Kitty has become my shadow. I cannot sit, walk, talk, cook or anything of the like without Kitty at my feet, pawing me, mewing at me. She nevers stops stalking me. It just started a few weeks back but it is starting to drive me crazy. Right now, she is perched up next to me, face on my hand and body heavily cemented into me. When I am sleeping, she lays thisclose and stares at me.

Okay ... I just got up and walked away and she followed me! And I am back here writing and guess who is next to me??

Bunnie has spoke on this behavior with her big brown dog Rufus, but she is pregs. Now Rachel has recently spoke of her cat, Phoebe, doing the exact same annoying thing. And ahem, Rachel is preggie, too!!!

Now Kitty...only I am not with child, just a furry one. I think Kitty read their blogs and took notes.

Sigh.

Annoyance and joy

2008-01-07T20:25:00.000-08:00

If ever you notice a chunk of typos (it happens) in my stuff and they seem to be all concentrated to one area, let me share: there is a big thick, nasty, gnarly, angry, line that goes down the center of my screen on my laptop. It's an anomaly. It drives me MAD. Mad I tell you! But I guess I can’t complain. A year ago, I had NO computer so this is not the worst thing ever, but it definitely gets in the way when I feel like blabbing.

If any techie nerds know how to fix this, feel free to give me your two cents!

Otherwise, today was a great day. While I indeed had to be up extra early, the day was filled with interesting moments, new and more interesting people and traffic wasn’t so bad on my way home. I also e-mailed with a few darling friends and just felt good and shiny all day!

Want to see something adorable?? I just can’t get over how amazing this story is…I hope no moronic people break the peace.

http://dailycoyote.blogspot.com/

Ramblings…

2008-01-06T12:24:00.000-08:00

We did not go to sleep until the late A.M. and I was up when the roosters were crowing… I did a bunch of stuff and then of course, broke down like an old jalopy.

We finally saw the movie, “Waitress” last night. I highly recommend it.

Keri Russell is adorable, but plays her character as she is – tough, strong, and very torn about many aspects of her life. Her cohorts, played by the always funny Cheryl Hines and the late Adrienne Shelley (who wrote and directed this movie) make the whole piece funny, sweet and very sad at the right times. And who knew Andy Griffith would not just make an appearance, but have real heart in the movie? The whole cast is amazing (I can't discuss my darling Jeremy Sisto or his character ...see it yourself). There are so many interesting moments and some really great lines. The hardest part was I felt like I was holding my breath thru the entire movie and was finally able to breathe again after the ending. I won’t give anything away. SEE it. It’s not slick…it’s quirky, smart, funny but sad all in one.

Sadly, Adrienne Shelley did not live to see the opening of her mini masterpiece (if you don’t know what happened to her <<>> Google it.)

Btw, did you know if you take any random cake mix and mix it with a can of any random soda, you can actually bake a cake?

I thought is sounded odd, but I took a white cake mix that was lying around and took one of Mr. A’s diet Cokes (blech, I don’t drink soda) and added two egg whites for tighter consistency. I threw the batter into muffin tins on 350 for a half hour and voila, we have pretty darn tasty cupcakes. No kidding. I made to different frostings (a fattening and a low-fat since I am sporting a Cartman-like body these days) and dayam, they are SOOO good. Try it. Easy, breezy white-trash baking  Actually, the siet soda thing is all over the Internet for diabetic / low-fat baking websites.

Suffering from the Sunday blues – tomorrow is going to be an early and long day. Not so fun.

Enjoy your day!

Happy Endings...and two posts in ONE day??

2008-01-05T18:35:00.000-08:00

Beyond the obvious fabulous writing for “SATC”, the last four episodes are always the true “waterworks.” I hate when things wrap up. I hate when you know the end is near. I hate the shitty things that happen. I hate Carrie with the Russian. But what I love is besides seeing the “girls” stand by each other and reunite in the end, and that everything wraps up so nicely for everyone…it also is reminder of our own friendships, and that you are truly blessed to have your own girls to lean on and that no matter what you have going on in your life, your friends are worth gold.

I just got done watching the last four on On Demand. Now that I am a sputtering, swollen mess from crying, I just had to take a moment to be grateful for the best friends and best sanity I have in my life. Love you all!

Leaving well enough alone…

2008-01-05T14:52:00.001-08:00

Another “chick” blog but don’t you HATE when everything is fine and you decide to get a haircut and suddenly, it’s not so fine?

A month ago, I cut my hair, something I do often when I am bored. Two weeks later (and ago) I thought I should get a professional cut to “fix” it. Nothing was wrong but now…BAH.

I need to learn to just leave well enough along. I will be wearing my hair in a bun for at least a month or two.

maintenance for the mavens

2008-01-03T20:40:00.000-08:00

Today a friend told me I should I should share, ala blog, some of my beauty secrets / product junkie hints / trade secrets / favorite girlie spots since I am definitely a gal that likes to be girlie-girled with hair goo, face gunk, mani's, waxes, etc. But then I thought, if I share, they wouldn't be secrets anymore. Alas, since it's a new year, and I would like to think of myself as a practical maintainer as well as a mare that can share. Since I have hours of this to share and my palette for the new is always changing, I will start with a few:

1. Bumble and Bumble hair products. They not only make your hair bouncy and shiny, but they are also conditioning at the same time. While I don't have the $$$ for all of the products, my favorite is the Styling crème. While it's around $25 for a bottle, it will last you forever. The trick is (and this goes for any product), less is more. Always start small. This creme is good for any type of hair but seems to work best with thicker hair (sorry, it gets a little gluey in the wrong head of hair) but otherwise, for waves, straight, damaged...it's lovely. You can do all sorts of heat inspired looks (hot rollers, irons, etc.) and it conditions your hair to a point of keeping it safe from the hotness…that hotness in the end is you!!

Their surf spray rocks but here’s a tip: if you mix 1 3/4 teaspoons of sea salt (or regular salt) with one cup of water in a spray bottle, you can get the same results. If you like you can add a few drops of your favorite essential oil such as lavender to get not only conditioning, but you’ll smell just dandy. Make sure you SHAKE well each time you use it. Use it on damp hair and either air dry or scrunch under a hairdryer. Excellent and sexy.

2. Favorite bikini / Brazilian waxer in L.A.

Get WAXED!! I realize I am bouncing around here, but this is a MUST. After months of terror getting my privates ripped, torn, burned and shredded, I thought I had found a utopia. This place had a wax that was different and I "thought" the waxing was, too. But afterwards, I suffered with outgrow problems I won't get too graphic with. Then the gates of Heaven opened and I found her at Billion Dollar Brows. I only got my eyebrows done there once but it wasn’t because they were bad. Nope. I don't get my brows done. Have you seen them? They are Marlene Dietrich-ed (mom ALWAYS said at some point they would never grow back...but I wanted to be a grunge rocker in the 90's!!) They are now thin as rails. But the day I did go, they giggled and cleaned up the two or three loose hairs, shaped them and filled them in so I had sexy diva eyebrows. And can I also say it’s relaxing? As if! Their chairs recline in the most comfortable way and your head is back in a perfect spot so they while they work and you close your eyes, all you do is here the light background music and the hum of the cars outside the door. It also is fast and does not hurt!!!

Billion Dollar Brows rocks for regular eyebrow care but back to the wax. Marina is her name and waxing is her game. She is the cutest, tiniest woman you have ever seen and makes you feel extremely comfortable, which is plus since she is touching all of those spots that otherwise might make you blush. She also tells the wildest tales about her life, other clients and in return, you get a very fast, pain-free wax. Also, the aftermath weeks later are unbelievable. One word of caution: she has a mirror in that odd place that when you happen to crane your neck, you are suddenly face to face with your sassy spot. While SATC taught us it's good to look at it and love your sass, seeing it at angles with all of the other parts of your body tends to make you want a Xanax.

All of that aside, I give it a high kick in short shorts!

http://www.billiondollarbrows.com/

3. Old standbys. I did listen to my mom when she told me to always keep a jar of Vaseline around just.in.case. It took me years to do this since I was still recovering from the time I took an entire jar and smeared it all over myself because I liked how shiny I looked…but she was right. Vaseline is good for burns, but even more, its great for dry skin. Right now my hands are like how I picture Yoda’s claws – dry, flaky and sometimes they hurt. I have been slapping some ‘line on them before bed and don my little cotton gloves and voila, soft and pretty hands are what you get the next morning. Works for feet, too!

Witch hazel. While you can use it for a variety of things: sores, bruising, anything swollen, I like to use it as an astringent. It’s mild, natural and does not strip your skin like many more popular products. Not to mention, a jug of it is CHEAP.

Indulge my darlings…and wear sunblock!

I survived!

2008-01-02T21:49:00.001-08:00

Day 1 back at work: not so bad. It could be the fact that everyone is still out, including the two people I work closest with and do the most work for, so really, I just stopped in, said hi to my usual peeps, sorted mail and hung out.

K and I did our usual run into Beverly Hills. We are so lucky to be so close to such good walking adventures. Beyond just the great shopping (mostly the best apothecary EVER and Whole Foods) the people watching never fails us. We had seen some of ODDEST sites in our daily walks and they have nothing to do with star sightings or the like.

One day we were walking into one of the very lush neighborhoods and found a very large box of empty condoms lying on a lawn . A few steps further there were condoms littered in a strange and orderly fashion, every five feet for about a block. At the end of the block was a scrap of paper that looked like someone had taken some blocking notes for a script, ripped a chunk of the paper off and dropped it on the ground. It said something like ".. and Fefe broke it off with him like a hamhock in stew..." We were dumbfounded.

Anyway. Day 1 was okay. still have two flat tires and am quite sure there is an angry elf somewhere that is taking some joy in poking my wheels.

Well. As they say in the homeland, Lahko noch (that means good night)

I got me da' blues...

2008-01-01T19:14:00.001-08:00

No, not real blues, but I am definitely sad that after my almost 2 week hiatus, I am back to work tomorrow.

In all truthfulness, my time off ROCKED!!! My first few days my darling dad (pictured below) was in visiting. He has had a helluva year...while some of it was difficult, his spirits picked up after he'd spent Thanksgiving in New York with my sister and then of course, his Xmas with Mr. A and I. And we had a fun schedule...nothing. We had nowhere to be, no pressure, except of course to do our drive to Nevada, which was fun.

But in between, it was just nice to hang out. I would try to wake up before him to make coffee and once dad was up, I would make him his 78-year old man's breakfast --bran flakes and prune juice. Cringing aside, it was interesting to see that we are both morning people (I am a night person, too so ... what does that make me? A vampire?) and both enjoy the morning peace and quiet.

But it was never really quiet. My Papa, a normally quiet man, talked about the little things and the big things. Moments, my dad's childhood as a "dirt poor" kid who still always felt like "George bailey" and much more.

At night, Mr. A and I would play card games and have old school Xmas music in the background. Papa Z. would sit with us and not just play "name that singer" but always had a very profound story about each musician.

Nevada was so amazingly fun and Mr. A's parents were warm and welcoming, not to mention Mr. A's mother, the unbelievable cook she is, made my Papa Z. all of his favorite old school Yugoslavian cuisine. My Papa is NOT a man who normally stays over at other people's homes, but he couldn't help but be comfortable around all of the excitement and chatter that takes place over there.

When we returned to L.A., Mr. A got sick just in time for all of our fun Xmas parties we had planned to attend and Papa had aching feet from the crazy amounts of walking we did (sorry Dad :) so I did a few parties and the men sat around and bantered for hours about sports, cowboy movies, war movies, etc.

Papa Z. spent Xmas day with my brother and returned to us at night. The next day, after our super fun lunch at Marix in the Palisades (and some AWESOME star-sightings) we said our goodbyes and for the first time, I think my dad wanted to stay longer!

After he left, I fell into this crazy reorganizing / cleaning mode. Since these moments rarely ever happen to me, I jumped on it and accomplished SO much.

Mr. A was sick for NYE, so we hung at home and like the old farts we are not, fell asleep by 11.

And can I tell you that my person is NOT ready to return to work? I walked out to my car this morning to find not one, but TWO flat tires! What in tarnation? Anyway, I get to drive Mr. A's luxury car while he brings my car in for some nursing.

Anyway. That's a few weeks in a nut shell. I never even touched on my little birthday celebration a few weeks back with my darling guest star / diabolical side-kick Kelly and her surprise visit! I am giving a lot away but that will be for another day since I plan on trying to post a little more.

Kisses, love and glittery things...

Chi

It's been a while...

2007-12-30T22:26:00.001-08:00

Here are a few pictures from Papa Z.'s Big Adventure in L.A. / Nevada. Also, in honor of my mother, who died today a year ago, Mr. A and I ventured over to the SRF in the Palisades this afternoon.

Kitty was NOT having any part of our leaving for Nevada...

Papa Z and Mr. A outside of Bob's Big Boy...

Papa Z. and I scurrying thru the hordes of people at the Bellagio...

TODAY...a most beautiful day at the SRF

A little fuzzy, but pretty nonetheless!

Beautiful statues surrounded by gorgeous flora...

And finally...a moment at my favorite beach in the Bu'..

There are a ton of pics, but for some reason our computer is not cooperating with me. Hope your holidays were lovely and that 2008 bring you all the riches ...

It's been TOO long...

2007-12-30T22:26:00.000-08:00

and here is an update of my darling Papa Z's trip to L.A. and today, our little commerative spiritual day at the SRF in the Palisades, devoted to my mom, who died last year today...

Kitty was NOT having any part of our leaving for Nevada...

Papa Z and Mr. A outside of Bob's Big Boy...

Papa Z. and I scurrying thru the hordes of people at the Bellagio...

And today...a most beautiful day at the SRF

For some reason this is taking FOR-EVAH to upload, so I will put more pics on in the future! Otherwise, hope your holidays have been lovely and that you have a happy and safe 2008 :)

2007-10-02T12:46:00.000-07:00

Things to do with DD on a rainy day….

2007-09-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

So what happens when you bring someone a ½ dozen donuts from elsewhere and you never end up getting together? Rather than letting those babies go to waste (or in this case, waist) – you get creative!

My creative bulb burst after reading about people who make (gack) Krispy Kreme soup. That’s a little over the edge for me, but when you are talking donuts, anything goes.

In my case, I thought starting out with plain ole milk would be great, but since we were out of virtually everything during the recent SoCal weather splurge, I hade to get EXTRA nifty and used Vanilla Nestle Quik….I poured some (about a cup) onto the stovetop into a frying pan with the same amount of water. I then broke up the somewhat stale leftover donuts that were disintegrating and let everything simmer together for about 10 minutes (it starts to look like oatmeal). As I stirred it, I threw in some powdered sugar for some grip.

Once all of the liquid absorbed, I raised the heat to high and fried up the donut guts. It starts out very globby, but as it fries up it retains a new, globular stiff mold (add more powdered sugar, roo) and tastes much like what it is – greezy, delicious, re-fried doughnut dough. I served it hot with vanilla ice cream and black coffee. Omg. Heaven with tons of calories! Ba dunk a dunk.

... and the City, Part 2

2007-09-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

The next leg of our trip included Dunkin’ Donuts, Luby’s in downtown Tinley Park (fabulous lunch with my adorable father and entertaining Auntie’s…)

It’s a damn good thing there are no Dunkin’ Donuts out in these parts or I would be bigger than some of the colossal mansions that frequent almost every square inch of the better parts of L.A. It’s not so much the donuts – I mean, donuts are just plain, greasy goodness. But it’s the coffee.

Now there is argument on this topic: personally, in its virgin form, I think it pretty much sucks. But if you get it the way it’s SUPPOSED to be enjoyed, you would know that extra cream and extra sugar is a requirement. True, everything tastes good with an extra vat of both, but trust me when I tell you that a good cup of DD coffee with the works is like drinking the best slice of cake, only warm and fuzzy going down.

And then there was lunch -- Luby’s was our second choice. The truth is, the food was forgettable, but the entertainment, AWESOME. My aunts, both in their 70’s, are the hippest, coolest, most up-to-date-with-everything-of-interest people you could ever meet. They occasionally drop ‘f’ bombs (well, one of them) and they tell the BEST stories and love to listen to yours. So, lo and behold, nothing good to say about the restaurant except the bar in back looked fun and upon being there around one in the afternoon, I noted that almost everyone (young and old) had martinis. Oh, and like everything Chicago, there was a nice BIG “Bears” emblem on the door.

Da’ Bears. Wearing Bears clothes anywhere in Illinois is trendy. That morning I was getting a mani/pedi in possibly the slowest nail salon I have ever been in. I believe I was there for 1 ½ hours and had had my Big Gulp size DD coffee and was ready to writhe on the floor from boredom. Anyhow…after my pedi, I was getting my dreadfully long mani and started to people watch when I realized the woman next to me was practically in costume: Bears blue shorts with bright orange polo with Bears blue tank underneath. Then I noticed her jewelry: football “teeth” leather band around one wrist, Bears charm bracelet AND a whopping BIG C Bears ring. If that weren’t enough, I noted Bears flip flops…who knew??

Not quite the flips flops, but sheesh!!

…. And the City, PART 1

2007-09-19T10:27:00.000-07:00

Another trip to Chicago was had. As per usual, it was fast, hurried, harried and overly booked, but still fun.

One thing me and The Man have NOT gotten down to a science is the fact that in order to take pictures, SOMEON E has to remember to bring the damn camera. And in that same realm, if we don’t remember to bring the digital camera (or can’t find it), we should bring one of the many throw-away cameras we have filling our kitchen junk drawer.

That NOT being the case, I will give you a guided tour via the Internet…(or as they say I the town that I grew up in, “the Internets”)

Let me start by saying we received a nice warm welcome in arriving to Midway Airport. I mean warm in that there were not razor sharp winds or heaps of snow. It was quite balmy, especially at 1:30 AM.

After picking up our rental car, I decided to take the Man to the City to the (drum roll, please), Weiner’s Circle. That’s right kids. Hot dogs are among the bevy of good food that the City holds, and this place is one of the greats.

Before we arrived, we drove down Lake Shore drive

to

Wrigley Field (Home of the Chicago Cubs)

and then drove south down Clark Street to check out the sites – bars, restaurants and MORE bars…and many, many drunk folk. I am not talking 1 or 2, but herds of people leaving from one place to another, leaning on one another. Stumbling. And one man was even an acrobat (a wobbly one) and did cartwheels through the intersection only to fall flat before ending his gymnastic-like adventure.

The Weiner’s Circle was VERY interesting. The people working at the counter were, um, let’s say, the RIGHT kind of people to deal with the drunkards that come in their doors after 2 in the morning. For one, we were greeted with, “Mother F---cker, what do you want??” Once they realized we were completely sober, their demeanor changed (even their tip jar said, “Tip me here, Mother F----er!.”) But as we waited, the place became mobbed with the group of college kids that were holding one member of their team up and trying to feed him fries. Then a group of guys that we’d seen further down the street leaving a reggae club came in to chime back with their own “m’fing” language.

The hots dogs and fries? M-effing amazing (even though, all of you kiddies who know me know I DON'T really eat dogs, just a taste :)

Too bad I couldn’t show you REAL pictures, but you can get the jist...next stop?

Navy Pier...

Credit

2007-09-04T14:50:00.000-07:00

Since it was almost a year ago today since my perp tried to get my credit -- I thought I would share this:

I’d encourage anyone and everyone check your credit report NOW from all three credit reporting companies (Equifax, Experian, Transunion). By law, everyone is entitled at least one free credit report a year. Use the site below to easily navigate the three sites and actually get your credit reports for free. Free. For real. FREE. What do you have to lose?

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/

P.S. Happily, there has been no activity on my report since the beginning of this year, but I implore you -- if you EVER think someone has gotten a hold of your identity, get to the police ASAP.

P.P.S. Is it me or did past year FLY by? I am in shock right now...

Too cute

2007-08-15T12:56:00.001-07:00

When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.

Karen, Age 7

Shaken like a martini, minus the buzz...

2007-08-09T11:03:00.000-07:00

In the Midwest where I grew up, we did things called, “tornado drills,” in school. This was a time, during tornado season, where a very ghastly alarm would go off, teachers would herd our little troubled and frightened souls into the hallways, and we would lurch our bodies onto the floor into an almost Yoga-like position with our hands over our heads to protect ourselves in case the ceiling were to blow off and cave in.

Once in a blue moon, the sky would become ominous and yes, there would be real tornado sirens going off in the distance we would have to, in panic-mode, run to the halls and do this strange, protective position.

While lying with your head jutted against the wall, all sorts of worries would come into my head. “Is my mom okay??” “Will I ever see my dad or siblings ever again?” “Will it be like the Wizard of Oz??” Since I was brought up in worst-case scenario mode, these dismal thoughts would cloud my 4th graders brain.

Having been awoken last night by the Man during the 4.5 earthquake (which was only a few miles west of our home) I could have kept sleeping, but he was ready to run and get into position with a look of …terror. I use this word mildly, but I realized that my “tornado drills” were just that…drills. Even in some of the creepiest storms I have witnessed, there might have been masses of sky swirling that were actually small tornados, but the touchdowns were always in the same areas, far from the house I grew up in, and not so ironically called, “tornado alley.”

But earthquakes are a whole other monster. There are no real drills. There are no signs due to weather, time of day, time of year or anything else. It just happens when it happens. Some people like to say there is “earthquake weather,” but that is just a myth. It just happens because rifts in the ground want to move. Or there is some uneasy tug from the Universe. Whatever the reasons, I can’t help but feel for my Man and my Bunnie who grew up in the very edgy headspace and have both endured real life disturbances due to these quakes.

Why even my own brother and his wife were on one of the MAIN streets during the 1994 quake and had their apartment totaled.

No rhyme. No reason. No warnings..just shakes, rattles and rolls. And sometimes, disaster.

Wonderful Quote

2007-07-02T20:19:00.000-07:00

We must be willing to get rid of the life we planned in order to have the life that is waiting for us.

Joseph Campbell

Ah, the humanity

2007-06-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

Last week I escaped work really early with the idea that I would skip the usual mundane and tedious packing for the move and instead take some time to go for a hike. After getting on my workout gear, plugging in my MP3 player and running up the street and heading to Runyan Canyon, I reached into my pocket to feel both my drivers license and debit card, safe and secure. About 20 yards later, I only felt one. My drivers license had escaped.

In a fit of desperation and to avoid the endless DMV bs, I walked up and down the same route over 10 times, retracing every step and staring at the ground in a crazy rage. After 2 hours, I called it a night.

The following morning, I woke up and did the same walk twice (isn't insanity defined as doing the same act over and over??)

Anyway, I made the stupid DMV appt, but a friend suggested I wait a few days, "just in case."

My appt. was made for this morning. Imagine my surprise last night when I went thru my mail to find that some kind soul mailed me my MIA drivers license.

To whomever you are, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

P.S. Hi Kelly :)

Jury Duty

2007-06-18T09:53:00.000-07:00

For weeks I had been tortured by the vision of UGH -- Jury Duty. since I'd never been called for it before, it was extra torturous as I did not know what to expect.

As per my persona, I arrived at the downtown L.A. traffic court almost 40 minutes early. After parking and walking the plank, I noted the longest line I'd ever seen and shuddered that I had to stand in it. Fortunately, I found out it was for the real perps...people there for traffic court, etc. The line for jurors was a mere little sign that read: jurors -- and I was first.

After a few moments of standing, I was pretty much directing traffic for people figuring out what to do and where to go. I finally walked away and sat. A few other jurors were standing around at that point and girl sat next to me. We started giggling and chatting about our dread of "duty." Jennifer was easy enough for me to remember as she was cute as a button and reminded me of a 19 year old version of Jinnfer Goodwin (the youngest wife from "Big Love").

Things were brightening up already. After getting into the room, we laughed like school girls at the boring speeches about why were there and practically passed notes to keep things entertaining. It was around that time we heard another person laughing loudly.

Maya was sitting a few seats away and as she applied make-up, she giggled loudly too as we were trying to make the best of an otherwise buzzkill situation. She also noted that the man she originally sat next to was reading a magazine and mutter, "f***sh**f***sh***" to himself over and over and figured sitting by him was NOT a good idea.

The three of us spent the morning chick chatting -- where we grew up, if we were dating people, what they were like and our favorite subject -- our animals. We all spoke of our animals as if we were sharing the logic of the Universe. Jennifer has a little old dog whose name escapes me right now and Maya, two cats and a dog named Molly, who ironically had a bad haircut recently just like my Kitty.

As the late morning wore on, Maya suggested we all go to lunch and she would take us on a tour of the area since she'd grown up around there and still lives there. In agreement, we took off at 11:30 for the first leg of our lunch tour.

Upon arriving to Maya adorable little blue car, I noted her license plate (a take on a Star Wars character that I won't mention to protect her identity), but it was so fitting as she said, "____ because all of the good jedi's wore blue."

Our first stop was what Maya considers the best Mexican food in Los Angeles. Chicken Itza is a food counter located within the beautiful Mercado la Paloma, a Latino oriented market (subsidized by private donations and for profit enterprises) with different shops and restaurants. Chicken Itza specializes in the cuisine of the Yucatan and dayam was the food amazing! Over our delicious mogging food, we continued chatting and were figuring out our next leg of the tour.

We left and then arrived at Maya's house to meet her darling dog, Molly, who was waiting patiently at the gate for us. We played with her for a while, met the turtles and the cats and even granny who lives with Maya.

We then went to Olevera street and the three of us ran around like chickens with our heads cut off because not only was there a ton of people watching, but tons of markets, shopping and more beautiful restaurants. We wandered around for yet another fun filled time when suddenly we all realized that we were actually not out having fun, but were at effing jury duty.

We arrived back at the chambers at oops, 2:30. Thankfully our names had not been called. it was as quiet as a morgue until we arrived and chirped about our fun afternoon.

Within the next 45 minutes, both Jennifer and Maya got called in for jury duty and have to return Monday. After they were done, they came back and we all hugged goodbye like old friends. Within the hour I was sent home.

Not bad for my first time at jury duty!

A MUST try!!

Chicken Itza
3655 South Grand Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90007
(213) 741-1075
www.chickenitzrestaurant.com

The Bunnie and her Love

2007-06-11T09:46:00.001-07:00

If you have not been reading (and if that's the case, I might be breaking up with you) the lovely, talented and most darling friend in the world, Jennie (aka Bunnie) got hitched to the wonderful man of her dreams.

What? You didn't know? Are you NOT reading Bunnie's Blog??

Go for it. It's romantic. It's special. It's so worth sharing!

I think I need an exorcist.

2007-06-04T13:02:00.000-07:00

I have a jinx syndrome right now. I don't know how it started, but I believe I have surpassed the #4 mark in finding all things breakable and unknowingly have started my mission to seek and destroy.

It started over a month ago. Setting: Cinco de Mayo weekend -- I am at a fun and festive crawfish boil, drinking beers, ripping heads off of crawfish, jamming to some old school NOLA tunes and wearing the greatest and most expensive sunglasses that have ever donned my face. Not mine, but my darling boyfriends shades that he tells me look so great on me. (All fun and kidding aside, they are pretty effing cool)

Five hours later and too many beers over, a lens is MIA. Just fell out of my head. Darling boyfriend is not mad but completely stumped and befuddled as to how it fell out and where it went.

A week later, it is 5 a.m. on a Saturday. I have Great Neighbor with me. We are pulling out of my eeny Hollywood parking spot with all the glee a girl could muster as we were heading to Disneyland! As I was carefully and slowly pulling out of my spot, I get side-tracked by the Monster Truck in my garage. I look away for a hair strand and partially rip off my passenger side mirror, only to hit it again on a later date.

A week later, I am in Chicago with cell phone on me at all moments. Cell phone liquidates or SOMETHING to create the lubey-slippage that starts occurring -- not really lube but, yes. I dropped said phone. Not once, not twice but over five times. It was as if it no longer wanted to be near me – like it was escaping. Trying to talk on it after the fact was like trying to get phone reception in a coal mine. Thus, cell phone is now in cell graveyard.

Then yesterday the darling boyfriend and some friends were parked in the backyard. It was a beautiful day with great conversations and some great sippy wine. Nothing is wrong. No bees are trying to nail me. No birds are trying to poop on me. I am wearing my favorite long white skirt – you know, the kind that is long, cottony and flowing (yes, the kind women wear in tampax commercials). Fortunately, that wasn't the case, but I was getting up from the beautiful wood picnic table when I feel my arce area is attached to something. An eeny piece of material hinged itself around a piece of wood the size of a splinter and ripped the entire back of my skirt in the worst and most noticeable place.

I think I need an exorcist.

Don't sit too close, I might take your eye out.

P.S. Sunglass lens was found and cool shades are back intact!

great quote

2007-05-15T10:35:00.001-07:00

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

Don't mess with Mommie

2007-05-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

I Scream

2007-02-06T12:13:00.001-08:00

I must fess up to my latest addiction.

To make a short story long, I am NOT your typical “sweets” kind gal. I can always skip dessert and would much rather have an extra piece of carb-filled bread with fat-globbed butter over most desserts. Give me an extra scoop of mashed potatoes over anything and I will be a happy camper.

However, this weekend I met my match.

I am not quite sure what the connection is between Slow-Churned ice cream and American Idol -- but WHO cares!!! And while I am hardly a product endorser I must share:

Dreyers Slow-Churned Take the Cake - may very well be the best frozen dessert flavor E.V.A.R. Cake-flavored ice cream with chunky swirls of gorgeous blue frosting and sprinkles?!?

Again, not sure WHY there is a stamp of American Idol on it, but here’s another little catch: it’s ½ the fat of regular ice cream (4 grams per serving to be exact)!!

So while the skads of Superbowl food me and the Man bought were okay, the ice cream? Well, let’s just say we ate the entire gallon in just a few hours.

Mmmmm…can’t wait for ya’ll to try it!!!

When bad things happen to BEST peeps...

2007-01-30T15:32:00.001-08:00

Let's face it...bad things happen all of time. You just don't want it to happen to people that you know and love.

Case #1: A certain close friend of mine (who must remain nameless for the sake of the current) is dealing with a thieving nanny. It’s absolutely outrageous to me to think that she and her wonderful husband/family are dealing with this since this woman is not only a neighbor, but a person they considered their friend AND the watcher of her children.

It started with little things: batteries, can(s) of soda (which of course one would NOT notice unless it was six or seven at a time), jewelry -- the kind of things you might lose, displace or something...but then came Xmas when her little boy's MAIN Xmas present (an expensive electronic one, to boot) went missing. My nameless friend spent days tearing apart her house, her vehicles, etc, only to start blaming herself, thinking M.A.Y.B.E. she never really had it but forgot it at the store.

That's when her further instincts kicked in and she called the store to find that this particular toy had a serial number, which could be traced.

After even MORE work on her part, she found though a store manager that this particular gift had been RETURNED and repurchased.

Infuriated and defeated, she and her husband tried to figure out WHO could have done this...which could only have been their "friend" and "neighbor."

My darling friend, who is one of those women that you look up to and want to be when you grow up, took the high road and decided to confront her. Upon and hour and half confrontation (give or take a few minutes), she finally fessed up and being the good person my darling friend is, she forgave her.

After that, my darling friend bought a nice nanny-cam -- though she still found that said perp had her bags filled with soda (6 to be exact) a few weeks after the confrontation.

What's WRONG with people?

CASE #2: To further this problem of thievery, my beloved Bunnie and her darling family were burgled this past Friday -- you can read her explosive, yet poignant report of what happened here.

As for me, yes -- first post of this year. At the risk of bringing down the crowd, yes…my darling mother died on December 30, one month ago today in fact. There is so much to say, but right now, I will say thank you to everyone who always sent her good thoughts, good vibes and prayers. And to everyone who after the fact made me and my family feel so comforted. It’s all been so appreciated and mattered more than you could ever imagine.

HAPPY HAPPY HOLIDAZE!!!

2006-12-21T09:59:00.000-08:00

Since I am off to Nevada this very evening...I want to wish EVERYONE a very merry holiday and happy happy new year!!!

(Don't let that monster named SANTA get you...)

jk...hope its peaceful!

"watchya gonna do when the come for you?"

2006-11-30T09:46:00.000-08:00

As I pried my fingers from the steering wheel, the red lobbing cherry lights surrounded the car like a disco ball on crack. Nope. Not a Technicolor Dream or a groovy drug experience, but our first night in Chicago...actually, our first 2 hours in Chicago....

As we all know, I HATE driving, but have learned in this past year, that sometimes its just how it is. In Los Angeles, we creep. We snail crawl. Its the reason why talking on a cell phone here is NOT that dangerous as traffic doesn't really flow (although I say this, knowing that 90% of the population here just can't drive, so chatting on a cell is NOT a good thing). I walk faster than traffic.

Here we were, the a.m. in Chicago. Got off our flight into 35 degree temperatures, which were alarmingly glorious having had just sat on a smelly, meely and overly warm flight. With our windows rolled down in the rental car, I took us on a journey into the now desolate downtown of Chicago.

The city was glorious -- clean, a little blustery, but still alive. People were still on the streets, leaving bars and/or coffee houses. We drove north to Fullerton, the street I used to live on. Further north we went by Wrigley Field and then the Metro (The Smashing Pumpkins made their BIG debut there). I did a u-turn and we drove south to Wells street to see the new area where there was once a huge chunk of Cabrini Green, one of the most notorious housing project areas in Chicago. We then sped down to Michigan Avenue to see the light display from the carefully placed Xmas lights as well as the buildings.

After an hour of sight-seeing in the city, the clock read: 3 AM and I decided it was time to trek out to my dad's house.

I couldn't quite remember which of the two main highways were being worked on. I'd only heard thru many curse words of friends and family that it S.U.C.K.E.D.

As we flew down the 90/94 toward Indiana, I thought we were scott-free, that is, until we hit the one-lane, one-horned Flying Purple eater -- dead stop. We sat there for a while as I realized, it was 1 a.m in LA. and I am old and tired.

We cut down a side-area, one of which I thought were a familiar area to find that we were NOT in the best part of town. I am talking scary, but no worries. We drove down until I found a familiar street to go South on.

When we finally got to a named street, I started to fly. Forgive me, but my L.A. darlings all know...if you are able to fly down the street, you will. Its almost as if the Heavens opened up to allow us to cough out our under 35 mph cobwebs.

It was fabulous. It was fun...that is, until I flew our car by a mass of cheery-blazed cop cars that had already pulled over another dumb a-- person. That person would be me. A car pulled up on the left, the right and in front...very similar to a "COPS" episode only my Darling Sidekick was slouching down in the seat whispering as he sunk deeper into his coat, "OMG...why didn't you stop??" As Officer Schmoe walked up I suddenly heard the anthem, "Bad boys, bad boys, whatchya gonna do...whatchya gonna do when they come for you" as I handed him my California license which immediately got a laugh from him, then my insurance papers. He then mumbled something about "rental car."

As Officer Schmoe walked off to commiserate with the other officers, I suddenly felt the sick despair of, "how much is this going to cost me?" and "wow, i haven't had a ticket in over 6 years," all true. DS and I started going back and forth about what was going to happen...was I going to the klink? Were the Fuzz busting me??

Many minutes passed and I imagined this mass of tickets being handed back, followed by handcuffs, camera lights or something.

Instead, Officer Schmoe walked up, scratched his head and said, "We have a bar brawl to break up, so here is your "warning citation." Go home and hang it on your fridge as a reminder not to speed..."

Was it wrong that I was dying to follow them to a bar brawl at almost 4 a.m on a Tuesday morning?

Unfortunately, modern day gizmos will not allow me to show this "Warning Citation" online (but I did try!)

Hope your holiday was wonderful!

"Jagshemash! My name Borat. I like you. I like sex. Is nice"

2006-11-06T13:35:00.000-08:00

I try not to overdo reviews on here, but I have to give the credit of HIGH FIVES, thumbs up, fists of rage, Academy probability .... all the way for "Borat". I have never been to a movie where the entire movie theatre laughed consistently throughout the movie, nor have I been to a movie that is SO offensive, yet NOOOOT (inside "Borat" joke). I can't say much more except -- SEE IT!!! See why a movie that only had 1200 screens this past weekend made the #1 spot.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN -- may ALL your SCREAMS come true!

2006-10-30T16:07:00.000-08:00

And don't let the KILLER LUNATIC bunnies get you...

Satanic blog?

2006-10-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

Why are there upside down crosses down the right side of my page? Is it a Halloween thing??

Coop

2006-10-19T10:15:00.000-07:00

I just finished Anderson Cooper's book, "Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival"

I will admit...I really knew little of him before picking this book up. I knew, as the fashionista I'd like to think I am, that his mother is Gloria Vanderbilt. I knew that he had silvery grey hair and assumed he was MUCH older than he is. I also knew that when Katrina happened, the event seemed to spin his career from just a journalist into an iconic voice of the people.

At the risk of saying too much, I think that Anderson Cooper needs to have more than just a show on CNN or a blog at CNN.com at he needs to be heard daily via networks and radio -- hell, he could run for president and knock that squelcher out...but...

What I loved about his book? It's funny and it's sad. It's a quick read, and written well, and often times moved me to tears.

Highly recommended, but mentally prepare yourself: this is the real thing. He has truly seen the events he speaks of. He has smelled the smells. The terrible and frightening sights that make most of us flip the page or turn the channel, he has been there and has walked the walk. He has spoken with the survivors and/or the victims of events all over the world. He has laughed and cried with these people. He has seen their loss first hand...

But while he is telling these stories, he speaks of his owns losses. Some might think of him as the "poor little rich boy" (ironic, since that is what his mother was touted "Poor Little Rich Girl" in the NY papers after the horrifying death of his brother). While one might figure out having gone to Yale on his mothers dime wasn't really roughing it, you never feel as he pulls his "born with a silver spoon in his mouth" punches, as you realize, traveling to this fifth-world countries on his own with nothing but a backpack, a camera and some frightened crewman, really makes him one hell of a journalist -- grounded and makes his writing raw and real. He never mentions money because where he goes, it makes little difference. He never talks of the riches he's seen, because he has seen so much horror and loss.

He is so real that you can't shake him, but so interesting you can’t put the book down. And you really feel like you’ve been given a spot on history lesson.

He's officially made it to the dinner table -- you know, "If you could choose 10 people, dead or alive, to have dinner with." He's got a permanent seat at my table.

A quick review

2006-10-13T12:31:00.000-07:00

Oh Happy Happy, Joy Joy....

I am digging my new job. It's all very confusing and overwhelming at times, but it's very interesting, the people are nice and I am LEARNING.

I can WALK to work. Well, let's just say that I, being the seasoned veteran walker I am, can walk to work. Most people wouldn't, but I feel like I have found some new freedom!!

Life is damn good!

Thank you, OPRAH

2006-09-26T10:46:00.001-07:00

I haven't been able to talk about this, since it was a subject that was making me so sick to my stomach that I couldn't even speak of it without getting not only mad, but upset.

About a month and a half ago, I was having a light bulb moment or as Oprah would say an "Ah-hah" moment at work. It had to do with finances and since anything to do with numbers or money is like talking to me in Chinese, I am always a little hesitant and confused, not to mention nervous -- but this day I was curious. I was perusing Oprah's site to get to Suze Orman's link. Suze Orman is that woman that can talk anyone off a ledge about finances and somehow make everything palpable.

This particular day, I was reading Suze's advice about how to get yourself out of debt. Nice. Seven steps, one being to check your FICO score. A FICO score is a credit score developed by Fair Isaac & Co. Credit and is a method of determining how likely it would be for a credit user to actually pay off their credit. It also determines how often you ask for credit (which effects your credit in case you did not know) and where you stand in the wonderful world of credit.

I hadn't checked my credit score in months but remembered it being fairly good. That is, until I checked that very day.

My score had dropped considerably, but I couldn’t figure out why since I have not used a credit card since last November, so I decided to run an entire credit report.

I nearly fell off my chair at work when reading not only the marks against me for all of the accounts that had been opened, but nearly went into a panic attack when reading how MUCH credit has recently been opened AND approved.

Yes, kids. I am a victim of ID theft.

Fortunately, I was boss-free this particular day, so I went in his office and I immediately called the first credit card that I saw. It was for a women's clothing store, one in which I would NEVER have opened an account for. The guy there was SOOO nice and SO helpful. He also let me know "my perp" (how very "Law and Order," right?) had my social security number. He told me to call every credit number on my account, the credit agencies and to file a police report.

Police. What? Un-effing-believable. I sat on the phone all afternoon that day, calling different agencies, all of the companies on my account and noted that several things had happened just a few days before I'd found out I'd been robbed.

The next day, I went to the police. The Los Angeles Police, as you would guess, are a little too busy solving murders and busting druggies and such to care that I am being thieved on and all, but I was lucky enough to have a fairly nice cop who filled out a police report and asked me a barrage of questions…mostly, did I know who this person was??

No, I told him. There wasn't a soul I know who would steal from me.

He told me they would send my information downtown and from there, if there was enough to work with, it would become an investigation.

In the meantime, I started getting credit cards in the mail with my perps name on it. And they were those kind of credit cards that have the sticker on them that say they don't activate until you call. And then the frightening part started. My perp/whore/bitch-using-my-identity had already used them. And let's just say, the balances were outrageous and made my already stirred up emotions MORE exhausted.

The worst parts are that beyond that fact someone is stealing from you AND racking up credit, you have to stay on top of everything, at all times. This means, if someone from a credit company sends you a statement, you have to call immediately, send them the proper documents AND add more to your already over-flowing police report, not to mention, within a month, I had accrued two large files full of paperwork. And there are also sh**-buckets of affidavits to send just to prove -- you are you.

After all of the anger passed, I just started thanking my lucky stars (and Oprah) that I'd caught on so early. I then received a postcard from one of the stores my perp bought stuff from that said, "Hope you are enjoying your plasma T.V." That pushed me off the edge of anger and more into a sitcom mindset.

And at that point, I'd cracked and cracked up. What more could I say or do? It was like someone stealing your vacation money and then sending you a postcard. "Yo bitch. Having the best time...on you!"

But let's just say, I am SO fortunate. In just a matter of weeks, the police did indeed open an investigation (though I am finding that to be a quite moot matter with them), but the good news yesterday morning one of the credit agencies e-mailed to say to almost everything has cleared and I may be back to my old debt, without my perp-whores "little" extras.

I am a lucky one. There are people that don't catch on for many years of this massacre.

So I guess this was really long-winded, paranoid and about to get preachy, but seriously...CHECK YOUR CREDIT REPORTS FREQUENTLY. Do NOT give out your information to ANYONE. I believe that someone may have gotten my information while I was getting my taxes done at H&R Block. Its so ridiculous to think that someone would steal but the dates of the first occurrences are right around the time I had my taxes done this year.

A quote in honor of Former Gov. Ann Richards

2006-09-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

Her thoughts of George Bush, Sr.

"Poor George. He can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth."

Another line she often quoted summed up her view of the aspirations of women in politics:

"Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels."

Love it!

R.I.P.

Rock n' Rocks

2006-09-12T16:14:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning was absolutely beautiful and the weather was perfect. Alex had this great idea for a day plan ... to go to Vasquez Rocks. Not one to say no to something I know nothing about, he told me to wear workout attire, we'd bring some water and that I'd love it.

We drove to Aqua Dulce, which was a mere 35 minute drive with some of the most eye-blazing and almost solar-system like scenery. There is farm land everywhere and for a moment, I felt as if we were in Napa or some docile region of the Midwest. Not many cars, tons of land, the CUTEST homes on acres of land and clean, clean, clean EVERYTHING.

When we pulled up to the sign that said, Vasquez Rocks, I was informed that many movies have been filmed there (Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Blazing Saddles (BUNNAY!!), Planet of the Apes, to name just a few) and not to mention, this past weekend, after seeing "Little Miss Sunshine," lo and behold, the rocks were in the background (FANTASTIC movie, by the way). Oh and T.V's...STAR TREK.

Anyhoo. We parked in a sandy marsh area, but in the distance were these ginormous rock formations that look extra-terrerestrial...seriously, right out of an old "Twilight Zone" or "Star Wars". As we started to get closer, chills kind of shot through my spine. These were made from nature. This was not a Hollywood set...especially when Alex said the scariest words I have heard him utter, thus far, "Watch out for coyotes and ... rattlesnakes."

Sidebar: I grew up in the Midwest, as you know. We had deer and wolves and things of that sort. We had gardener snakes that were essentially worms with attitudes. I like nature. Love it even. I mean, I was the always first kid to try and pet wild animals or chase loose dogs, but something about the habitat in Southern California makes me frightened like a sissy. Maybe its the fact things don't die ... E.V.A.R. or that there are many more poisonous, man-eating, flesh-loving, human-hating critters are out in these mountainous areas. Am I crazy? I have NO problem swimming in the ocean, with the bacteria monsters, sharks and scabie-like things, but man, hearing the words, "rattlensnake" brought me back to the days of "Wild Wild World of Animals" or one of those, "When Snakes Attack..."

Anyway.

After my warning, I was walking with saucer-like-despair-eyes, and avoiding any hole in the ground that might have a snake in it, but alas, I couldn't help but be fascinated by these rocks/mountains.

Apparently, these rocks have been around since prehistoric times when the sandstone rocks were uplifted at an angle which is why we see their jagged sides. The rock formations are part of the San Andreas Fault. They are called, "Vasquez" after Tiburcio Vasquez - one of California's most notorious bandits - who used these rocks to hide from the po-po, or back in the 1800's...law enforcement.

After taking picture after picture (which i will post at a later date) we CLIMBED up one of the sharpest peaks. It's odd. From far away, its as if nature created the perfect way to climb these things, but when you get closer, its the natural discoloration that makes you believe its a little bumpy when in fact, the rocks are smooth and a little slippery. There are also holes (not snakes holes, thank goodness) throughout the formation which look like nostril but naturally keep air filtering through.

The climb up was a little freaky, but there is almost a natural guide to the way the rocks formed together to make it not so hard to maneuver, though every so often I would look over the side and think about how odd it would be to fall off a cliff, literally, a splat to my doom, especially when I dropped the large water bottle I'd been carrying and watched it roll down, down, down until it hooked into some bushes.

But we did get to the top. And it was GORGEOUS. And windy, which made me want to hurl off the side, but we did get some awesome pictures...of ourselves, since after all, we did do it and we did it well.

After getting back down, which to me, is the scariest part of climbing that high, we walked through some trails, again with saucer eyes since we were now on the ground.

We also learned you can horseback ride there, which would be ferociously cool.

After all of this nature, dirt in my pores and dust all over my person, Alex then announced the next leg of our journey...to the local winery!!

Aqua Dulce Vineyards is only about 15 minutes from the Rocks. It is absolutely adorable and worth the trip over. The wine-tasting takes place in what looks like a very high-fallutin' barn and as you can see in the link, the inside is just sweet. The people that work there are so very nice. One wine-tasting is $7 and provides you with five sips of very nice wines. Its very quaint and makes you totally forget the hubbub of L.A.

Highly recommended, BOTH.

Another fun LINK

What I did this Summer -- by me.

2006-09-01T11:11:00.000-07:00

The Happiest Place on Earth

Since I have really fallen off the wagon of keeping up witchya'll over what I have been doing, here's a little taste:

Disney was one of those things growing up that my "rich" friends did, only they'd go to Orlando to Disneyworld. While we shrugged along to see Michigan for our umpteenth time, even commercials for Disney always made me feel like I'd truly missed out and I was pretty sure I would someday need therapy for missing the Disney boat.

When I moved to L.A. (SIX YEARS AGO, NEXT WEEK), one of my best friends took me. I was pretty sure that my inner child had missed out completely and that there was no going back or that I purely had no sense of fun. It was okay. Cute. Niiiice. But just okay.

One day this summer, A and I were in Huntington Beach. The word, "Disneyland' popped out of his mouth, about every third word -- what was he trying to say?? A, are you trying to tell me something?? Dis -- dis, what?? You see, A is the epitome of Disney. He KNOWS Disney. He sleeps and dreams Disney. He would live in Disney if he could…

So we trekked on over towards the Big D. We opted to get a room and do the following day at Disneyland. We got ourselves some quick fix clothing (including a bitchin' bikini for my person) at Target so that this girl could lay out at the pool. The 2 zillion kids that were trying to drown each other and the mother's from Where.Jesus.Left.His.Shoes, Alabama trying to keep their little monsters intact, was pure entertainment for me.

The hotel we stayed at was quite nice, but much nicer when they told us there was a 2 hour cocktail hour, for FREE. Let's just say we were in and out of line for 2 solid hours…

We then eased on down the road to Downtown Disney. Now let me just say, I had NO idea there was such a thing called, Downtown Disney. Really?? A insisted that I had to see this. In fact, he was so excited, he started to implode…We ate at this amazing restaurant called, The Jazz Kitchen. After plenty of oyster shooters and drinks, I can't tell you much more except that we had a whole lot of fun, especially since we sat on the top tier, overlooking the whole downtown Disney, that had this awesome New Orleans vibe.

The next morning we quickly got ourselves together to grab our free breakfast and like a baby, head out. Only, when I opened our thick, sunless hotel curtain, I was shocked to see something you NEVER see in southern California…RAIN. Buckets of it. A thought I was pulling his leg, until he scampered over and with the pain of a child who sees his parents instead of Santa putting his presents under the Xmas tree, let out a little whimper followed by a "fuuuuck." All night we'd heard loud, bowling alley-like noises, but when you are near the Happiest Place on Earth, you just assume its rides and rollercoaster's, NOT thunder.

But like most Hollywood marriages, it didn't last long and sooner than later, the sun peaked his hot and happy head out to light up the trail to Disneyland.

It was hot. Hotter than what I imagine my home in Hell will be like, but besides that…when you go to Disneyland with the BIGGEST.Disneyland.Fan.EVAR (BDFE), you can't help but enjoy every damned second of the glorious spectacular, especially when the BDFE is behind you, poking, pointing and furiously making sure you see EVERY drop, every inch of lighting, know the history of every square inch and … just makes sure you are laughing. And I did. ALL day. Till I was hoarse. I screamed. I ooohed and ahhhed during "It's a Small World" -- TWICE. I went on Space Mountain -- TWICE (once in the front seat). We went on every ride, sometimes three times. I squealed when I saw Pooh Bear (and felt pain for the dude in the suit) and giggled when I saw little kids, pawing and so screamy-happy at all the various characters milling about in the park.

At night, we watched the fireworks display and snickered at all of the half-asleep kids, fighting to keep their eyes open to catch a glimpse of Mickey (who was MIA ALL day in the park) doing this little dance on the big boat. It was very adorable. And as spectacular as I'd hoped.

I realize now, I am ALL about Disney and my inner-child, is happy and no longer in need of therapy (at least, not for that).

-----

And a shout out to my darling niece who turns (ulp) 18 on September 5. Happy Happy my sweet baby girl!!

Ahem

2006-09-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

“Human beings were not meant to work in little cubicles, staring at computer screens all day and going on about Mission Statements . . .,”

Office Space

Been down so long ...

2006-08-24T14:31:00.002-07:00

Going to Vegas this weekend -- YAY!!!

Just saw the cute male blond doctor from "House" -- YAY!!!

Yesterday was Bunnie's birthday and today is brother Bill's!!!

Happy Weekend

Wanted for Robbery: Steve

2006-08-09T16:55:00.000-07:00

Becky (who was visiting this past weekend from Illinois) and I spent our Monday basking in the Malibu sun (sans sunblock on our buns, which really fried and hurt later in the night).

As we watched dolphins, traded bad magazines, napped, played in the waves that were GInormous as our bodies were numb from the arctic cold water, we pondered on what we should do next.

The Good Boyfriend o' Mine called and said, "Since your in MEL-ibu, why not go to Moonshadows?" It didn't sound so riveting as this mama had had her share of mojitos the night before, but what a fun story to tell em' back home, right Beck??

So we left our amazingly warm beach slumber to trek up the PCH.

Upon arriving at the valet stand, we were able to breath in the mix of ocean air and PCH fumage. The valet dudes were super nice as we drowned-rattily skittered inside.

Moonshadows is VERY nice. There are quite a few okay beachy food/bar places on the PCH, but this is definitely one of the better ones.

The staff was unbelievably friendly. I mean, friendly like you wanted to hang out with them friendly. As we reached our seats in the corner of the back deck bar, we noted that this bar is ON the water, which made us VERY happy. We each ordered a drink as the group of afternoon drinkers all started the discussion of Mel Gibson. I then added in my "Nick Nolte AND Vince Neil both have been drunk here," as "ooooh" and "ahhhhs" came soaring through the air.

Then we noticed there was bird poop falling like mini-bombs from the heavens above. And then there was one brave-ass bird that swooped down and sat right next to me.

This bird has cajones bigger than Texas as he forcefully walked right over to my drink and stared at it, trying to make it his own. I grabbed at my very delicious pina colada when this CRAZY wailing noise came out of him. I somehow understood this wail. I do speak bird from time to time so I took a piece of bread that our waiter Brad had left and stuck my hand out as a peace offering. Bird ate half of it, kind of nodded and then SPIT the rest of it out. He then nodded to me and made a screech. I understood. He was waiting for me to butter it.

As I now, under the seering eyes of Bird, started buttering a piece of bread for him, Brad the waiter came out and said, "Oh, that's Steve."

Steve isn't just ANY bird, he's the Moonshadows bandit. Seems that the night before, Steve swooped down and grabbed a man's steak off of his plate. Sometimes its been hats, other times he's stuck his head into drinks. He's notorious. He's a little pissed off. He's Steve.

After my own dealings with birds over the years, I am not one to take chances with angry ones, so I sweetly buttered the bread, handed it over to him and in his special bird squawk way he said, "Thank you, Ma'am."

Ma'am?? Steve, I'm only 33. Ma'am??

What a bastard!

This is Steve.

Amazing (and true) quote

2006-08-09T16:02:00.000-07:00

Fate chooses our relatives, we choose our friends.

Jacques Delille 1738-1813, French Poet

My Exorcism

2006-08-04T12:55:00.000-07:00

At some point this week, I hurt myself. I don't know when or why. It may have been the skid out of my flip-flop that resulted in a moment of pure agony or it might have been doing squats, while watching that David Navarro/Tommy Lee rock star show. Whatever the case may be, my left foot had been hurting all week. But I did what you should not do:

I walked at lunch twice this week, around the golf course -- which isn't exceedingly long, but if you have pain, you shouldn't do anything. Especially at the pace we went at.

I wore heels. Not a good thing to do when you have foot pain.

And then there was Wednesday, when I did Runyon with the newly engaged Bunnie. Not my best move, but it was really, really fun and I think we might have delved into bottle #2 of yummy fizzy wine had there been no motivation.

So here it was Thursday night. After doing two too many rounds of grocery shopping for my dinner for the man tonight AND for the arrival of Becky tomorrow, I realized my foot was not only throbbing, but my calf AND my thigh were starting to hurt.

I put my leg up for most of the night and then went to bed. After two hours of sleep, I woke up to more nagging pain. I was pretty sure I had The Gout. Or that there was a heartbeat, alien -- of course, in my leg. Was my leg pregnant with some sort of alien "It's Alive" spawn?? Whatever the case may be, it was freaky and unusual and a source of manic, non-sleep, thoughts -- of how I could POSSIBLY go salsa dancing Saturday night or more importantly, how I was going to be able to sight-see properly with Becky, since her first visit to see me starts tomorrow. And generally speaking, how I would get through work in this pain.

After looking at my leg and foot and realizing they were both swollen, I opted to take a Tylenol PM and waited to be hopped up, no pun intended. I then struggled with what I should do next -- call my doctor or go to acupuncture.

Problem is, my regular doctor would give me pills and tell me to stay off my foot. The acupuncturist would actually get rid of the pain.

This morning I hobbled over to Koreatown to visit South Baylo University, the home of many amazing healers. I have been to this acupuncture place a million times, sometimes for things like allergies or little aches and pains, but this was different.

I had to wait a little while longer than usual, but then a man -- an internist, Kim Lee came out. I told him that my left leg was twitchy and totally painful. Minutes later, I was lying on my stomach on the massage table as he and another internist started surveying the damage and poking onto areas that I hadn't even known were hurting. They were talking in their native speak as I lay there, trying to decipher what they were going to do. Then I heard the familiar clink of needles…

And then the exorcism started --

Warning: If you've never had acupuncture before, DON'T let this scare you away!!! This is JUST this instance and should NOT keep you from going!!

The first needle went in and I yelped, more out of the unknown than just for pain. There were a smorgasbord of needles in my feet, to start. Not bad. Then they put one in my middle right finger (eff yeah!) and then in my side of my right hand.

Then things got really ugly. My left calf was getting needles inserted. Then my knee. The epicenter of the pain was in my left thigh, on the side. As the needles went in, I thought of things that must equally hurt -- bamboo shoots in your fingertips, getting a toe cut-off with a metal clipper, having a bowling ball fall on your foot, childbirth, lobotomies -- and right at this moment, my head started to spin. Seriously. The worst effing pain I think I have felt in eons. Or ever. And it was constant. Tears. Throbbing. My breath -- I could see it. And there were more needles added to the throbbing pain. The other internist left Mr. Lee alone.

Good times, right??

I wanted to clock him. I wanted to poke HIM with needles -- in his eyes. I thought he was done. He'd quietly tiptoe back to do more. As he put more needles into the evil, screaming painful area -- a very scary, deep and guttural, devil-voice came oozing out of my person, "NO MORE NEEDLES." Ahhh.

He stepped back. My eyes, I believe, were glowing red. Before I could spew green, he looked at me, eyes wide with terror as he walked backwards into the curtain and murmured, "…be back in 15 minutes."

For 15 minutes, I was strewn there, like a human pin-cushion, swearing under my icy breath, speaking in tongue and trying to figure out if work was anywhere near as painful as this moment, since I had to call in for the morning to get this done.

When Mr. Lee returned covered in armor, I knew he was very afraid. He asked if he could remove the needles. I moaned out a "yes." I thought for sure at any moment, the alien pod would start hurdling its way thru in its mucous-membrane sac -- though the worst was over. The pain was still there, but he'd let the Beast out. My eyes returned to normal. I know longer had an urge to pummel Mr. Lee with sharp instruments. My breathing returned to normal. My voice became almost melodic as I squeaked out a "thank you."

And now, I feel much better.

BTW. Today is Robb's 33rd birthday. I explained to him in his comments that being on the tail end of 33, as I am, I have decided its definitely been one of my best and favorite years! Remind him that he's OLD!!! And of course, wish him a happy one...

2006-08-01T17:31:00.001-07:00

Please read my darling Bunnie's beautiful moment (and so well-written as always..)

So happy for these two!!

…when the MUSIC'S over…

2006-08-01T11:34:00.000-07:00

Today marks the 25th anniversary of MTV.

I remember staying up with my siblings to watch the first night of MTV and how exciting and breakthrough that moment was. From there in out, our house was an MTV house, watching groundbreaking moments happening all over the world in music. How else, besides buying an entire album of bands you were otherwise unfamiliar with, would anyone have seen the likes of half of what became popular? For instance, I became a HUGE British pop fan and had Banarama, Fun Boy Three among others in my record collection. I wouldn't have had any clue who these people were without MTV.

And then of course, besides my love of hair bands, was my deep, forever love of Duran Duran. Watching their videos made there songs even better since, of course, they weren't bad to look at (JOHN TAYLOR .. JOHN TAYLOR).

Where else would kids that were into Madonna learned to follow ALL of her million looks over the years??

Here are some other time-lines from the Chicago Tribune's RED EYE:

Thriller"
Michael Jackson's first "event" video debuted on Dec. 2, 1983. It was a 14-minute movie with Vincent Price and other frightful creatures that elevated music videos to an art form. Back in March 1983, Jackson's "Billie Jean" was the first video from a black artist to air on MTV.

Madonna
Madonna became a superstar when she humped her wedding veil onstage while performing "Like a Virgin" at the first Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2003, even though her "American Life" album flopped, she showed she wasn't going down without a fight. She planted lip locks on both Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera during the 20th VMAs, making front pages everywhere.

College video
Beginning in 1986, "120 Minutes" became MTV's version of college radio, giving people who preferred their music edgier than Lionel Richie or Debbie Gibson alternative artists such as The Pixies, The Cure, Psychedelic Furs and Echo & The Bunnymen.

Rap blasts off
"Yo! MTV Raps!" hosted by Dr. Dre and Ed Lover, premiered in 1988, bringing rap to the masses and helping make it the dominant music form for young America today. MTV created shows to highlight two other musical forms, alternative and heavy metal, with "120 Minutes" (1986) and "Headbangers Ball" (1987).

Grunge is born
When Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video aired on Sept. 29, 1991, it killed hair metal and made grunge the hot new music scene.

Reality ride
The 1992 debut of "The Real World" "invented reality TV," said Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University. Casting Pedro Zamora (left), who was gay and soon to die of AIDS, in the 1994 season solidified MTV's position as champion of tolerance.

Heh-heh. Cool
"Beavis and Butt-head" debuted on March 24, 1994, telling gross-out stories, bashing videos they played and making the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.

After school special
"Total Request Live" debuted on Sept. 14, 1998, ushering in a new era in teen pop and crowning Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears as king and queen. With host Carson Daly, the show became a true tastemaker on Oct. 22 that year, when "TRL" shut down Times Square for a Backstreet Boys appearance.

Bleepity-bleep-bleep
The first bleeped-out swear word on the 2002 premiere of "The Osbournes" was followed by 58 others. For a while, the confused old rocker, his crabby wife and bratty kids became America's first family.

Chicken or tuna?
"Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica" gave D-list pop singers Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey what they never gained with their music: fame. The newlyweds became household names in 2003 when a can of Chicken of the Sea confused Simpson, and she asked her hubby, "Is this chicken, what I have, or is this fish?"

Punks and stunts
"Jackass" quickly became MTV's most popular show when it began in 2000, showing Johnny Knoxville and his merry band doing painful stunts such as the human wrecking ball and butt piercing. In 2003, Ashton Kutcher (above) "Punk'd" Justin Timberlake and put the term in America's vernacular.

No confessions
In 2004, MTV tweaked the reality show genre with "Laguna Beach," a docu-soap that unfolded slowly, without scripted set-ups like confessionals and planned trips. Kristin (right) and her "real O.C." pals became instant reality stars.

MTV changed everything, but for itself, its own changes have left this girl a little sad. Of course, everything needs to move on, but it seemed like the time when it was continuous and progressive was replaced with game-shows, reality shows, and a bunch of time-wasters that made me NEVER want to watch again, (though I will say, they did start Beavis and Butthead, the Osbournes and Jackass, which all cracked me up) -- but then it all got out of control. And I know. There is always MTV2 but to me, the epitome of MTV was MUSIC and now its over.

Haiku Friday

2006-07-28T11:21:00.000-07:00

heat is awful
boiling from inside out
no end in sight

And for additional fun, check out

Haiku's about traffic -- right up my alley!

http://www.honku.org/

Hut, 2 ...3....4....

2006-07-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

I decided about a month ago that I was in a physical slump. I have been working out since the prime age of 19, was a fitness instructor for many moons and have always had gym memberships, but nothing was peaking my interest.

I have done yoga. It was fun and still can be, but I sometimes need a little more aggression. I have been a runner, but that gets old. Last year I discovered the beauty and wonderment of Runyon Canyon. After doing that hike about 2,000 times, I could walk the walk with a blindfold. I then adopted myself in the routine of doing Spin. You know spin -- the riding a bike for an hour and never really getting anywhere? Precisely. It was fun for about four months and then slowly became drudgery. I then partook in a weight/step class that was REALLY fun and then again, became boring after a few months of the same old/same old.

Last month I'd just had it. Time to be done with the gym. One day I just had enough. Very nice gym, don’t get me wrong, but I was starting to get that illness of driving to work, getting into a building, getting out of work, driving to another building, driving home and then getting into yet another building. Tomb-illness, I suppose.

I killed off my membership. Blam. Dead.

As I walked away from the gym, I thought of what I would possibly do with my time. Walking is a great last resort for me, but I knew that wouldn't be enough.

I decided that I would do something I'd thought about since my days in Chicago. I used to see people doing the work-outs on the lakefront and thought they were crazy.

I decided to be that crazy: I joined Bootcamp.

Stipulations up front: No booze for the month. No desserts. Call time, 6 a.m. at the of the La Brea Tar Pits.

Typical morning (M,W,F): Wake up at 5:35 a.m. no sh**. Wake up, brush teeth (as a way to make friends), change into work-out garb. Drive 9 minutes to park. Be ready by 6 with water and weights. Chatter with some of the other crazy folks and prepare for butt-kicking. We'd run about 2-3 miles and then do weights or sometimes these lung-pumping relay things that consist of running with your knees up, jumping with medicine balls, doing jumping jacks and all other sorts of torture. Some mornings after our run, we run up and down stairs, do lunges across the top of the stairs and then (flail) run, grab our weights and do all sorts of weight-bearing exercises. Sometimes we'd lie in the grass, with the hungry, sweat-hungry gnats attacking, but you'd just bear with it because it was all in the name of getting it done.

What's been interesting:

I am NEVER bored. The hour flies by.

We don't do a million sets of weights, but maybe two sets of 15. But we change it up. All.the.time.

The gentlemen that runs it, "The Major," runs with us and pushes us. Its this weird competition yet, there are no feelings of anyone trying to outdo another.

The running is actually peaceful.

We have time to streeeeetch.

And lemme just say, there is something bewildering and breathtaking about Los Angeles at 6 a.m. Its cool enough to be comfortable, but warm enough to still be in a tank top.

And....I leave feeling sore and like I actually did something.

FYI:

This past Friday was my last class -- I lost 2.5% body fat and 8 lbs. Niiice!!!

Not sure what's next, but I highly recommend checking out your local Bootcamp for a good, solid a**-kicking with lots of fun attached!!

2006-07-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so."

Mark Twain

Beyond just the Mercury rising ....

2006-07-19T14:15:00.000-07:00

I believe that I am being maliciously pelted with weird stuff since the beginning of Mercury Retrograde. http://astrologyzone.com/forecasts/mercury.html

2006 Mercury Retrograde dates
March 2--March 25
July 4--July 28
October 28--November 17

(From Astrologyzone.com -- the BEST horoscopes, EVAR!)

At several points throughout the year most of us will be bombarded with the maddening effects of Mercury in retrograde. Mercury is a planet which governs all transportation and communication issues. Mercury is not an emotional planet, but rather a highly objective, truth-seeking one. It rules intelligence, education and truth. When it is in retrograde, some of its power is held back.

When Mercury starts turning in an apparent backward motion, we will start to feel the effects of this event days or even as far as two weeks earlier. When the planet normalizes we will see the tempo of events pick up in our lives as the planet becomes "stationary" and then speeds forward.

Gemini and Virgo are signs ruled by Mercury, so if you are one of those born during those months, you will be complaining especially loudly. If you work in the industries ruled by this planet such as sales, writing, public relations, advertising, publishing, air freight, the post office or express mail, any transportation industry, from the airlines to Amtrak, you'll also be especially vulnerable to this planet's weird motions in September. (If you are a Gemini, for example, who works in publishing, it's no use calling in for a month of mental health days--you can't escape!)

What happens when Mercury retrogrades? You miss appointments, your computer equipment crashes, checks get lost, you find the car you just purchased during Mercury retrograde is a lemon. (Or, you hate your haircut, the lamp you bought shorts out, your sister hates her birthday gift.) There will be countless delays, cancellations and postponements--but know these will benefit you in the long run. Don't fight them, although your frustration level and feeling of restlessness will be hard to cope with at times.

All machinery and things with moving parts--such as computers, VCRs, camera equipment, garbage disposals, and so forth, will reveal any weak links now. It is critical that you back up your data system and be more careful and vigilant than ever. Projects will demand more time and money than anticipated this month.

In matters of the heart, if your boyfriend or girlfriend breaks up with you or says something hurtful, take a wait-and-see attitude. Since Mercury rules speech, they may not mean what you think they are saying now. Let them have some space, and wait to see if they mean in October what they said in September.

When traveling, leave early and allow for extra travel time. Have all bags double-taped closed, count your belongings, double-check addresses and reconfirm appointments. Things get lost when Mercury messes us up. Take NOTHING for granted. The sector of your chart that Mercury happens to be skating through will be effected most dramatically, so check your forecast!

Why would the Universe give us Mercury retrograde? Because to move forward it is sometimes necessary to backtrack and reconfigure our paths in life. It is important to reconsider, repair, reflect, and reconnect. Mercury forces us to slow down and fix what's broken, and in so doing, rethink things. It also gives us time to get to projects we have put on the back-burner.

Some activities are lucky or actually improve when Mercury retrogrades. You are likely to bump into old friends that you haven't seen in years. Adopted children tend to find their birth parents during Mercury retrograde periods, or people locate their long lost siblings. Prosecutors often find clues to crimes that had previously remained unsolved for years. (Although sometimes the reverse is true--there is a greater danger, or example, that police can bungle evidence during a Mercury retrograde period, for clear thinking doesn't come easy for any of us then.) Mail that went astray weeks or even years ago shows up during Mercury retrograde. Some things that were lost reappear.

Now is also a good time to dress old wounds, clean up relationships or to simply bury the hatchet. Some people have great breakthroughs in psychotherapy during a Mercury retrograde period. For salesman, it is a positive time to backtrack over previous contacts rather than call on new ones. It is a perfect time to schedule work on projects that you haven't had time to do and you've let pile up. Bring your resume or portfolio up to date, and clean out your closets. Take time to paint the house. Clear your decks.

Just try not to start new things. If you have to start a job during a Mercury retrograde period know that the nature of the job is likely to change dramatically over time. Perhaps the person you report to will leave, or your responsibilities will be very different from what you thought they would be. Or your company won't be ready to take you on, and you won't have much to do until things are reorganized. But remember, if this was a position that you tried for in the past, then you've got the vibes working for you rather than against you.

Finally, what about people born with Mercury retrograde? If you are due to give birth to a baby during this period, don't fret. The ancients felt that this aspect lends a more philosophical tone to the character. Mercury rules thinking, therefore an individual born with this aspect tends to reflect deeply over events and issues throughout their lifetimes. In this case, having this aspect could be a big plus! Your astrologer was born with Mercury retrograde--so relax!

I KNOW. i know. It sounds all flakey and Ms. Cleo ("Call me NOW") and stuff, but I am truly believing that somehow the Universe has harvested my innards and are now playing an evil game of Dodgeball with my life. STOP!!! The good news is, just a few more weeks of it! Whew.

Feeling Hot Hot Hot

2006-07-18T14:30:00.000-07:00

Are there anthems to sing on weeks that feel as if you have been kerplunked in between the weaves of a George Foreman grill? Is there any relief besides waiting for snow (as if) -- or any other type of weather (as if)???

I am think that Hell froze over and sent their weather all over the country.

Great Quote

2006-07-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

"The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money." -Anon.

Walkin' in L.A...

2006-07-07T16:35:00.000-07:00

As I should knock on wood before making SUCH a statement, driving has not been as harried for me lately. For some reason, the bevy of beast drivers have NOT been eating away at my soul as they've done in the past. I don't know if its my musical choices, having great air conditioning that drowns out all outside noise, the recreational drugs I've been dabbling in (jk) or if for some reason, I have been spared the pain and anguish of bad drivers as of late.

But lest I go there, there are still the drivers on the road I LOATHE:

1. The Octopus: The Octopus is the person that is eating a burger, putting on mascara or picking their nose, talking on the phone, rummaging on their passenger side seat and/or smacking their dog or child, all whilst driving their vehicle. These people are usually the ones that one might mistake for a drunk on the road, as they tend to veer over lanes while tending to all of their other "important" matters. They seem to have several sets of hands, though the most important ones are not on the wheel, nor are their eyes engaged on the road.

2. The Cutter: The Cutter isn’t necessarily late, they just can't WAIT. They cut--cut--cut off every single car in their path. If there is a traffic jam, they take it upon themselves to drive up the shoulder and make others eat their dust, even when the line has been politely waiting. They somehow squeeze their cars in just because they can and want to. They insist on weaving in and out. Who knows. Maybe its some sort of pent up energy. It's their world, we are just living in it.

3. The Blinker, 1 & 2: There are two types of Blinkers: Blinker #1 is the person that NEVER turns off their stinkin' blinker! No one knows where they are going, what their next move is and whether to be on the offense or defense. The other Blinker, Blinker #2 does not USE a blinker! They weave in and out, bobbing their heads while humming songs of peace, freedom and happiness while those around them dodge the bullet of these hellions of the road!

4.The Braker:Brake.Drive.Brake.Drive.Noreason.Justbrakingbecausetheycan.Brake.Drive.
Especially.irritating.on.freeways.when.there.is.a.nice.long.stretch.of.nothing.and.they.just.stop.Brake.Drive.Brake.Drive.Especiallyscarywhengoinguparamp.Brake.Drive.Brake.Drive.

5. The Rollers: They live on my street. I deal with them daily. Rollers don't believe in stop signs -- they just go through. They don't care that there are three other cars that might possibly be in the right to go, they just fly through the sign, smugly going on their merry way. Forget it if you are on a bike or blades, pray now, head for a ditch.

The list is endless. This is only the beginning.