Saturday, December 31, 2005

The Last Day of the Year

And here I am, awake as it officially begins.

Actually, I tried to go to bed, but then I got up to take a quick peek at e-mail and found Tee-Hee online, and that was that. Up for another 90 minutes longer than I had intended.

: )

Previously, I have always felt that this particular time of the year should be great for some really deep thinking. And, perhaps if I were a really deep thinker, I would do some of that.

Alas: I am not. And so, instead of thinking, I babble.

I did think, earlier today (which was actually yesterday), about the possibility of making a New Year’s Resolution. I cannot remember the last time I made one. I mean, over the last 7 or 8 years, maybe longer, I have made it a point to give up something for Lent (I guess I figure I have a better chance of lasting from Ash Wednesday to Easter or thereabouts than I do for an entire year!), but I haven’t bothered with any kind of resolution.

Perhaps it’s because, in the past, I’d resolve to give up something that I knew, deep inside, I absolutely could not give up. (Apparently, it’s all about denial for me!) It was like, OK, I’m never going to _______ again ... and then, 3 days into the brand-spankin’ new year, there I was, doing exactly what I had vowed not to do, hence ruining the entire rest of the year!

My 2006 resolution, however, has a built-in cheat factor: If I slack off in any way, I can make it up the next day ... or the next.

I resolve to write one page a day for the entire year.

No rules, no predetermined topics, no spelling or grammar checks. (Like I use those, anyway! Gimme a break!) No nothing, really, except that I have to write one page worth of something, every day. So that, at the end of the year, I have 365 pages of stuff I have written.

And, with the knowledge going in that sometime during the course of the next 3 months, my computer will undoubtedly CRASH, I will also require myself to save each page to a floppy disk (how charmingly retro!) and print out whatever I’ve gotten done at the end of each week.

So, there! It’s in writing; there’s no backing out now!

(Check back with me in a year and we’ll see what I came up with.)

: )

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Dumbass

One of my favorite quick meals is Knorr Lipton Pasta Sides Stroganoff. (That link should take you to the stroganoff. It might take you to the chicken. Apparently, the Knorr Lipton site has some issues ... but you should be able to find what you are looking for. If you have patience, like I did.)

I discovered these tasty noodles during a random walk-by grab at Big John, back when we used to have an actual grocery store in this town. Nowadays, the choices include the local box store, the way-too-convenient Farm Fresh Store and, of course, the Wal-Mart SuperCenter — which, amazingly enough, did not appear to be carrying this particular flavor of Pasta Sides when I started looking for it.

Anyhoo, these noodles take, like, 15 minutes to make. And the recipe calls for half a cup of milk and a tablespoon of margarine, but you can actually make them without milk or without margarine. (I, of course, am usually without one or the other of these products; however, I have not attempted to make the noodles without both ingredients ... though I strongly suspect they would be just fine.)

Good for a side dish, as the product name suggests, or the way I usually have the noodles: As the main dish — or, rather, the only dish.

One suggestion, though: Do NOT leave the noodles simmering in the saucepan while you sit in the living room, sorting through the collection of junk that you have managed to ... well, collect ... between the pages of your address book. The noodles WILL boil dry, and you will end up with a collection of a different sort: a bunch of mushy noodles, half of them stuck to the bottom of the pan.

(Fortunately, I did manage NOT to burn the noodles, so there were plenty for me — and my cat! — to enjoy. I did, however, manage to pretty much ruin my saucepan ... unless I wanted to let it soak for 3 days and then see if I could borrow a jackhammer to remove the cooked-on noodles ... but instead, I decided, what the hell, this was one of the pans my old roommate left behind when she moved out some 14 years ago; this is my opportunity to get myself a brand new saucepan!)

: )

I am such a dumbass sometimes when it comes to cooking. If I stay at it long enough, though, I should have me a pretty fine collection of cookware.

: )

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Born

I discovered a truly awesome song tonight. Which I should have listened to long before tonight, but ... I am a little slow, sometimes.

Born

I was born to laugh
I learned to laugh through my tears
I was born to love
I’m gonna learn to love without fear

Pour me a glass of wine
Talk deep into the night
Who knows what we’ll find

Intuition, deja vu
The Holy Ghost haunting you
Whatever you got
I don’t mind

Put your elbows on the table
I’ll listen long as I am able
There’s nowhere I’d rather be

Secret fears, the supernatural
Thank God for this new laughter
Thank God the joke’s on me

We’ve seen the landfill rainbow
We’ve seen the junkyard of love
Baby it’s no place for you and me

I was born to laugh
I learned to laugh through my tears
I was born to love
I’m gonna learn to love without fear

— Over the Rhine

I keep having things to say but not getting them written. And here we are, now 2 days past Christmas, and I have all these thoughts swirling in my head — thoughts of Christmas Past and Present — but mostly I’m just out of it.

And I think I prefer life that way.

: )

I watched film version of Phantom of the Opera twice today and was reminded of what I love about it: The music and the story. And even though watching the movie cannot truly compare to experiencing the show in a theater (I saw it at the Fox in St. Louis back in the 1990s), there is one benefit to having it on film: You can see it virtually any time you wish.

And speaking of music:

Kitchen karaoke was among the Christmas Eve activities at my mom’s, and Debra and I performed selections from her Seventies Explosion 5-double-CD set. In this particular photo: “Rhinestone Cowboy.” (Other featured songs included “Kung Fu Fighting,” “The Night Chicago Died” and “Sad Eyes.”)

And I simply adore this picture of Debra and Cousin Kevin. (Not quite sure what they were laughing at, however!)

And on one final Christmas 2005 note: Heeeeeere’s Lucy!

Friday, December 23, 2005

Heh

This entry is being typed on the Treo. With my thumbs. Which, admittedly, takes FAR too long to do on a regular basis ... but I wanted to give it a whirl. (And the smartphone DOES have amazingly good access to alternate text entries.) : )

Thursday, December 22, 2005

The Coolest Site on the Internet

OK, so maybe it is not the coolest ... but it certainly is one of the funnest I have encountered in quite some time.

: )

http://snowflakes.lookandfeel.com/

You get to make your own snowflake(s)! Which is especially cool, considering there is virtually no chance of snow for this Christmas weekend. Which, to some extent, is perfectly OK with me because I will be driving.

(Hat tip to the one and only Janelle [a.k.a. DJDelicious] for the linkage.)

And I was feeling all contemplative earlier but then got sidetracked by my mom, chat-wise, and now I am off on another tangent.

And Mannheim Steamroller music is playing (relatively softly) and the only light is from the Christmas tree ... and the monitor ... and I wish I had been doing this over the last 3 or 4 weeks, but of course I was not ... and wow, if only work were not beckoning tomorrow ... and I could really really use a good conversation right about now, online or otherwise ... but actually, maybe this is better, the relative quiet and darkness.

Yeah. This is OK.

: )

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Pretty Woman

There are lots of great moments in this film, but none better than when Edward and Vivian kiss, on the lips, for the very first time.

(Great music, too.)

: )

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Saturday Night

All kinds of excitement on TV tonight ... although I did sleep through much of it.

: )

For starters, The Sound of Music was on. Yeah, I admit: I enjoy this film. Find myself singing at least 2 of its songs at any given moment. Sadly, I saw only a minute of it tonight.

Then I discovered Coldplay performing on Austin City Limits. And I do not care what anyone says: I think “Yellow” is a lovely little song. Noticed that Jakob Dylan & the Wallflowers were going to be performing on Soundstage, so I called Lea and woke her up.

(Jakob has a beautiful face and great hair. Lea and I agree on this much — well, actually, I am not sure how she feels about his hair.)

And I saw Neil Young perform his first song of the night on Saturday Night Live. And it was wonderful. Have not seen him on SNL since ... wow, 2000! And I am pretty sure I am getting his new CD for Christmas, so that makes me smile.

: )

Speaking of Christmas:

Great line by Tina Fey (sp?) during Weekend Update: “Just a reminder: Only 7 shopping days left ’til holiday.”

Heh. Heh, heh. Heh.

And a great scene featuring Debbie Downer (LOVE the “Waah, waah” after her comments!), including a snippet from “The Twelve Days of Christmas” when Santa tries to offer her a pair of roller skates: “Three broken fingers, two shattered kneecaps and a hematoma in the scalp!” (Or something like that!)

: )

Earlier today, I went on a vicarious road trip to the Poconos. It was fun!

Friday, December 16, 2005

Full Cold Moon

From this morning ...

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Pert Plus Fresh 2 in 1

So, I admit I am about as low-maintenance a girl as you will ever find when it comes to personal care products. Especially makeup and the like. I put some moisturizer on my face in the morning, right after my shower, and occasionally, this time of year, I apply a little lip balm. And that, my friends, is pretty much it for me.

There have been times in my life when I have worn makeup (foundation, blush, even the rare application of eye shadow). I never got the hang of mascara or lipstick; I was simply unable, in my one or two attempts to put on either product, to keep them from clumping or globbing, so I gave up. I have been known to use a little concealer to cover a zit — and, truthfully, these ever-present dark circles/bags under my eyes could probably use some coverage, too, but ... too much work. I just put on my glasses and pretend they do not exist.

: )

My girlfriend is from the Lipstick Generation: Women who have been conditioned, through years and years and years of wearing lipstick, to apply it before entering into any encounter with other human beings. Before we go in anywhere: “Wait a minute — I have to put on my lickstick.” (I roll my eyes and act sort of impatient, but truthfully: I think it’s sexy as hell.)

Tonight at Target, as soon as we’d finished wading through the toy aisles, she announced that she needed some new lipstick. She headed off toward the lingerie and jewelry.

“Hey, where you going?” I asked. “The lipstick is this way!”

How ’bout that: Me, knowing the way to the lipstick!

We made our way to the lipstick aisle, and once we arrived there, she just stopped. And stared.

I knew that look ... and I have been with her whilst she shops for lipstick. I knew we were in for a lengthy stay if I didn’t make a move — and quickly.

“Do you know what shade of lipstick you want?” I asked her in my best salesgirl voice.

“Well, actually, I’d like the same color I have right now,” she said, reaching into her purse. She pulled out her lipstick holder. I’ll take it from here, I told myself, as I ever-so-gently took the holder from her hand. I quickly took out the lipstick, looked at the bottom: L’Oréal Earth Rose 220.

“Here we go: L’Oréal!” I said, pointing to the display.

“Oh, there it is: Earth Rose 220!” she said excitedly. “Wow, I figured that would take all night!”

You and me both, sister, I said to myself.

: )

On the way home, as we were discussing moisturizers and other stuff, I decided to tell her about my new shampoo: Pert Plus Fresh 2 in 1.

Now, I am not one of those strictly brand-loyal girls; on the other hand, I tend to fluctuate between Pantene (“Do I smell? ... Pantene?!”), Pert and Dove shampoos. I will use one of those brands for a few months and then switch to another when I think my hair needs a break.

I honestly believe I am one of the few people on earth who has “normal” hair. Perhaps because I wear it very short, who knows; all I know is my hair never really seems to be too dry or too oily or too anything, really.

So, anyway, the last time I bought shampoo, I was still on a Pert kick, so I grabbed this Pert Plus Fresh stuff. I was intrigued by the words “for all hair types para todo tipo de cabello.”

All hair types! How amazing! In theory, this shampoo can be used by anyone, with any kind of hair: dry, oily, frizzy, damaged, permed, colored and, of course, normal!

Cool, I thought.

A few days later, when my previous Pert ran out, I used my new Pert for the first time.

And whoa.

Almost immediately, my head felt way cooler, temperature-wise, as if I was using some kind of medicated shampoo or something. I went ahead and finished my shower, then doublechecked the label: No sign of it being any kind of anti-itch or dandruff shampoo. Whatever, I thought; I mean, this was a 25.4 fl. oz. bottle of shampoo, I wasn’t exactly wanting to chuck it after just one use.

I continued to use it each morning, and I would sort of marvel at the cool, ever-so-slightly tingly feeling on my scalp. Naturally, of course, some of the shampoo would run onto my forehead and neck and along the sides of my face. It felt like a lightly cool blast.

This continued for a few mornings until the weekend rolled around. I decided to take a more leisurely shower than my usual 7-minute rush job each morning. Absentmindedly (or was it on purpose, I later asked myself?!), after I had lathered up my hair and scalp, I also soaped up my, uhm, nether regions.

And whoa. I mean: WHOA!

Without elaborating and/or pointing out the obvious, let me just say that as sensitive as you might think your scalp is ... well, I will admit I felt a much cooler blast down below.

And I have to admit: I really like my new shampoo.

: )

The Lovely seemed to enjoy the story as well.

“What kind of shampoo did you say that is?” she asked me after I had finished my tale.

Atta girl!

: )

Sunday, December 11, 2005

What is a migraine?

Alex, I’ll take “Worst Possible Way to Spend Your Saturday” for a thousand, please.

: (

So, I stay up a bit too late Friday night/Saturday morning — but, hey, I am chatting with one of my favoritest chat pals, so it’s OK to stay up a little later than usual. Sleep in ’til about 9:30 a.m., and when I awake: Massive headache. Feels like a sinus headache, but I’m not sure; those are usually much milder than migraines, so perhaps it’s simply wishful thinking on my part. I pop a handful of ibuprofen, which appears to do nothing for the pain in my head.

An hour or so later (about this time, I actually begin to lose track of all time), I decide to try some Tylenol 8-hour. And a granola bar. Apparently, this is a mistake: Now, along with being unable to find any comfortable position in which to sit, lie or stand, I am also feeling queasy, no matter what I do. (Fortunately [??], the queasiness subsibes once the various pain relievers and granola have vacated my system via the same way they entered my system ... bleh.)

Eventually, I sleep. Afterwards, The Lovely brings me chicken noodle soup, crackers, Coca-Cola and 7-Up. (You want a definition of “true love”? That’s it, baby, right there.)

: )

I’m feeling bettah today, thankfully.

Snow-Covered Covered Bridge

Leaf on Snow

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Snowy Thursday

Yeah, we got a little snow today. These shots are from early.

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Kisstletoe

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Losin’ It (My Mind, That Is)

My column for tomorrow, for the newspaper, is about how one of the reasons I know I am getting older is because I have, in the recent past, gone to pay for fast-food items and groceries (not at the same time or place, even though that is possible, now, thanks to Super Wal-Mart) without actually having any cash on me ... and then had to run home or to my ATM so that I could actually pay for those items.

Tonight, however, I have discovered proof that I am, indeed, losing my cotton-pickin’ mind: In the distance from the CD rack in the hallway to my spinny chair in the living room (11 steps — I just paced it off!), I have managed to misplace my Lennon Legend CD. Which I was bringing out here because I am putting together a Christmas compilation for Sheila and I wanted to include “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” song that I really like.

But no. Somewhere between there (CD rack) and here (spinny chair), the CD has vanished. Into thin air. I have retraced my 11 steps (and then some), and it is nowhere to be found.

Bah, humbug!

: (

On the other hand:

I have a new phone to play with, and I am totally psyched about it!

The fact that I am this excited is further proof that I am, indeed, a geek. Not a total geek, though; total geekdom will be not be accomplished until I have managed to figure out everything about this little gadget.

And I will say this: My blog looks pretty nifty on the Treo 650 screen!

: )

More later on the compilation. IF I can somehow locate the John Lennon CD.

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Holly

Thursday, December 01, 2005

World AIDS Day

I find it incredibly odd — not odd in a disturbing way, but odd in an unexpected way — that I am 40 years old and do not personally know anyone who has AIDS. Nor do I even know anyone who is HIV-positive.

That I know of, that is.

I consider myself extremely lucky for this ... and strangely grateful, for the fact that, at least regarding this hideous disease, my friends and loved ones are healthy.

I was in college when I first heard of AIDS, back in the early 1980s. Heard of it in terms of hearing it mentioned, and I am not even certain of the context. I do remember that, by the end of my college term (1987), AIDS was an occasional topic of conversation, especially amongst the gay crowd, but also in casual discussions everywhere.

If there were ever a time that I or any of my friends could have become infected, it would have been then: Before we knew, exactly, how the disease was transmitted, and when we were too stupid to care.

My own future best friend had a blood transfusion during this time but also managed to avoid receiving any tainted blood.

Random Soft Cell reference: Ohhhh! Tainted blood ... tainted blood ...

I suppose that is what I mean by my friends and loved ones — and myself — being lucky.

I did not do anything out of the ordinary today in observance of World AIDS Day; however, tonight, I did watch the last 90 minutes of Philadelphia — one of those films that I actually had the soundtrack for before I saw the movie. (Bruce won an Oscar for his song, which I adore, but my actual favorites from the album are the title song by Neil Young and one called “Dreams Come True” by a group whose name I cannot recall. [All I know is I used to blast it of a morning and dance around my living room.])

I was reminded, somehow, of Rain Man. Not in terms of similarities in themes, of course, but in a comparison of the characters played by Denzel Washington and Tom Cruise in their respective films: How they start out harboring lifelong beliefs and feelings about certain topics but have their lives — and their minds — changed when they allow themselves to care for another person.

: )

Changing the subject:

I have been on a technological tangent here lately as we head full force into the Christmas season. As previously mentioned, I finally took the plunge and installed DSL (LOVE it!), and I also ordered me a Treo 650 — something I had been obsessing about over the past couple of months. Merry Christmas to me!

Also, I have also managed to prepare the living room for the addition of my holiday decor — and yes, I believe I truly am going to have two (2) Christmas trees this year. Both very small, and unless the Norfolk pine can handle the weight of the mini lights I found yesterday, at least one of them will be without lights.

(As I mentioned in my column, I envision myself as someone with one of those huge Victorian homes with a fully trimmed Christmas tree in every room ... even though I live in a single-level house, and both of my trees will be right here with me in my own personal living space. Ah, well, at least I will not have to be giving any tours or anything like that!)

: )

OK, I have a couple of presents to wrap — and no, they are not for me! And Mannheim Steamroller CDs to drag out!