The Envelope Please

Jenny was surprised to find out that the Oscar nominees receive gift baskets. Oh YES, they receive quite the basket of loot... Even those who PRESENT an Oscar get a basket worth about $20K. Barely a drop in the bucket for them, but hey, I tend to want to believe that no matter how rich you are, you always love getting free gifties. Apparently, things that are "bejeweled" are preferred. Here's some of what they're getting:


A Victoria Secret Bejeweled Bra


Motorola V70 cellphone. Hey, you can win one at motorola.com


Coach custom made director chairs

Then the presenters get stuff like this:
- Ebel stainless steel watches
- Tag Heuer Sport Vision sunglasses
- Loveletters Loungewear
- Free visit for BriteSmile Whitening treatment
- Tempur-Pedic mattress (gift certificate)
- Birkenstock shoes
- Piquadro cigar and flask holder
- Frette robe
and more...

andThings

I found a really cool blog that is linking to me... all the way from the UK. andThings. I know "Suzie" is cool because she's going to Ozzfest and she posted the words to Chop Suey by System of a Down.

BTW, if you haven't seen "The Osbournes" on Mtv, you really should, it is HILARIOUS. Ozzie is very funny. Here are a couple of zingers he's thrown out:

[To his son, who he can't hear] "I've been standing next to 35000 decibels me whole life... write me a f**kin note."

[To his wife, after discussing the problem of all his dogs - 6 of them - pooping all over the house] "I'm not picking up another turd... (pause)... I'm a rock star."

[As the dog therapist, Tamara, is leaving the house] "See ya tommorra."

My Flavor

I took the flavor test on Emode... I am Pink Grapefruit. Kindof a load of crap, but here's the description:

"Mmm ... pink grapefruit! Sweet and tart at the same time, you're bursting with sun-kissed goodness. If you were a song, you'd be "It's a Sunshine Day" by the Brady Bunch — you're just that perky and refreshing. That's not to say that you don't have an edge — quite the contrary. In fact, a little bit of sugar (aka gifts, praise, and other goodies) can always bring out your naturally sweet flavor. But when it comes down to it, you prefer folks who can match you in strength and independence. Luckily, that kind of attitude is appealing, so you always have 'em wanting more. Citrusy, tangy, and a little exotic, you're a truly tasty treat. "

What's your flavor?

Pick Me Firth

I rewatched my "Bridget Jones Diary" DVD this weekend. All I can say is... Colin Firth, Colin Firth, Colin Firth. I don't think I got the full impact of how sexy he is until I watched the kissing scene at the end again... and again... and again... God I love DVDs!

World's Best Bathrooms

Ironically enough, the Travel Channel had on World's Best Bathrooms yesterday.

Number 3 on the top 5 was a world-class portable bathroom for outdoor events (essentially a converted trailer). You know, those rich and famous people certainly aren't going to do their business in a port-o-potty. These were fan-cee. They charge $3500 per event to rent. I think I see a new business in hubby's future.

They also highlighted the bathrooms at China Grille at Mandalay Bay in Vegas. Dammit, wish I'da seen that before I went.

How Many Bites does it take to Barf

I want to barf. I just ate about 15 midgee tootsie rolls. Joel and Jenny decided that the serving size of most candy is determined by how much you can eat before you feel nauseous. Pondering that thought, I've took a guesstimate at how much I can eat of some of my favorite treats before wanting to hurl:

3 Circus Peanuts
5 Peeps (frozen)
3 Peeps (not frozen)
27 Banana Laffy Taffy
10 Large Robins Eggs
3 Handfuls of Candy Corn
3 Krispy Kreme Donuts
8 Strands of Licorice
999 Love Hearts

Restroom Rant

In all this travelling I'm doing, I've had to frequent alot of public toilets. Many annoying/upsetting things have happened, here are some:

Those toilet seat cover things rip into 3 pieces before you can even TRY to place it on the seat, then it falls into the water just as you're sitting down. Whoever invented them should give back any profit they've made and be forced to live in an old refrigerator box.

The automatic toilet flushes while your still sitting on the f**ing toilet

The plastic t.p. holder pops open and bonks you on the head.

The tp holder is so tight, as soon as you pull one square, it rips... so you have to rip off enough one square at a time for a decent wipe.

I'm the only person in the bathroom, in about the middle of a row of at least 10 stalls, with 10 empty stalls on the other side... I hear footsteps, then a women enters the stall DIRECTLY NEXT to mine!! How insane is that? Nineteen other stalls to choose from and she's gotta be RIGHT NEXT TO ME. Get the *F* away from me!

The only decent public restroom I've been in is at the Chicago airport. Lots of nice features. For one, you gotta LOVE the plastic covered toilet seat that automatically advances to present a clean portion of plastic. They also have larger doors for better privacy, they have sensors on everything so you don't have to touch stuff and they mist in a lemony scented spray to keep things smelling nice. I'm also convinced that they pipe in white noise so you CAN'T hear a pin drop (among with some more unpleasant noises) like most public bathrooms. The head of facilities at Ohare should win a Nobel Peace Prize. Why hasn't the rest of the world caught up yet?

Learn more about the History of Public Toilets. And if you're really brave, visit the Poop Page. Be sure to check out The Poopie List. ** Warning: Gross Potty Humor **

Finally Home

Well, I'm finally home again. I have been gone about 6 weeks out of the first 9 weeks of the year. Mostly good, but not all that great. The best part of leaving town is going to cities that have stuff we don't have. Like Jamba Juices, Cold Stone Creameries, Sephoras, Skinmarkets and In-N-Out Burgers. Yes folks, I'm all about food and beauty products. So I'm chubby but I smell nice.

Good Stuff

As I'd previously mentioned, I was very much looking forward to shopping at Sephora and Skinmarket while in Las Vegas. I spent an hour at Sephora and only bought one little eyeshadow, but I went buggy at Skinmarket. Here's what I got (in addition to a few gifty items):


At Sephora, I bought a Vincent Longo eyeshadow because they were cute. The one with the dark plum outside and the pinkish purple flower.


Then I got all these goodies at Skinmarket:


Love is: smooth, Pomegranate Sugar Scrub
-- haven't tried it yet but if it's like the Orange Vanilla Brown Sugar Body Scrub, it will be luscious --





tancho tique
hair control stick
from Japan
-- cool pkg, nothing special though --



brown sugar
fragrance spray
orange vanilla scented
-- mmmmmmm, I smell yummy! --






double dates
lip and cheek glaze
-- good color, has a built in mirror, very portable --



deactivator
anti-acne spot treatment
-- smells very nice, not sure it works --

I'm Off Again

Only back for 4 days and now I'm off to Orlando for a conference. I was slightly enthused because I thought it was going to be warm there, then I saw that though it's supposed to be 83 on Sunday, on Monday it drops to 59. Shit.

And I don't think there's a Jamba Juice in Orlando. Shit.

Lucky You

I've come to accept the fact that I am not a lucky person. I am fortunate... I have a very good life and good things happen to me... just not things that require luck. So, I've come to realize that I will never win any significant amount of money gambling (ie, anything over $50). I will never get bumped up to first class, therefore, I will never find myself sitting next to Benjamin Bratt on a plane discussing the effectiveness of Hooked on Phonics. I will never get picked to kiss Shamu at Seaworld. I will never be shopping in a boutique on Melrose and see Winona Ryder shoplift a Paul Frank Julius watch. I will never win the lottery. I will never get let off on a speeding ticket (well, I'm still holding out hope for this, especially if I have Grandma's Pizzelle's in the car with me to use as bribery). I will never win an Mtv contest to have Bon Jovi come and play a concert in my backyard for 200 of my closest friends (for that matter, I'll never have 200 close friends). I will never get invited to a People Magazine after-Oscars-party to mingle with Jack Nicholson and Nick Cage and I will never get picked to "come on down" on The Price is Right.

I'm Baack

I'm back from my vacation in Las Vegas and work trip to the Olympics. I am tired, have a cold, and generally feel like a loser (thanks mainly to the video poker slots in Vegas). But all in all, it was a good trip. Jenny and Aaron did a stellar job taking care of Grizzy and Punky. Apparently Grizzy got vacuumed every day (he LOVES it) but, alas, he won't get the same treatment at home. But that's what grandparents are for, spoiling. Heh, heh.

The highlight of my trip? Yes, believe it or not, a small bit of luck. Hubby spotted Steve Young walking behind us on the street in Salt Lake City. I got my picture with him (thanks to my coworker Tom who insisted on asking), and chatted with him for a few moments. I think he might have thought I was about 12 years old, but hey, whatever works. As he called to his wife and walked off, I considered calling to him, "hey, need another wife?" but in light of the fact that his current wife is ten times better looking than me, I quickly realized that I would be the ugly, cookin' & cleanin' wife, so I scratched that idea.

Jamba Justice

I emailed Jamba Juice today... here's what I said:

"The family vacation was planned. We were going to Las Vegas. I'd been there many times and even lived there for a while, so my excitement was absent. That was UNTIL I checked the Jamba Juice website (I am a Jamba addict who lives in a city FAR from any locations) and saw that there were a few in Vegas.

Thrill set in and I couldn't wait to get off the plane and have my first Orange-a-Peel in 7 months.

Shortly after arriving, I checked the phone book and called. Disconnected. Panic set in. Then, after calling directory assistance, my worst fears are realized... my hopes dashed... they've all been closed.

I can forgive you for closing the stores, I assume business was not up to par (which is beyond my comprehension), but I cannot forgive you for not updating your web site. It is unforgivable and I am still recovering from the wounds.

Please make every effort to keep your web site up to date so no one else has to suffer like me.

And to add insult to injury, I left Las Vegas for Park City, Utah... again with hopes up to visit the Jamba Juice I had frequented every day of my one week visit last year, only to find the sign gone and the windows papered over.

I did finally find salvation on 400 Street in Salt Lake City, but it's been a long hard road.

Sincerely,
an addict who wished you'd open a store in Rochester, NY"

They better send me a case of Jamba Juice in a little cooler like the one Jenny got from Dean & Deluca.

I'm ALIVE

FINALLY, internet access! I've been lost. Anyhoo, quick quick update. Done with Vegas, could have done without Vegas. Very much enjoyed visiting my brother though. Ate at waaay too many buffets. We're not talking normal buffets where you have a few items to choose from... we're talking buffets where you leave your wagon at the door only to have it hijacked by circus performers and not returned for weeks. Choices of food from every type... American, Mexican, Italian, Chinese, BBQ, shakes, and the dessert selections, they're enough to send a diabetic into shock just LOOKING at them.

Anyhoo, I'm fatter and now in Salt Lake. Trying to get all my credentials straightened out as I am currently a peon's peon.

I'm hoping that Grizzy and Punky are not driving Jenny and Aaron insane.

Gotta go.

Hip Hotels + Cool Toiletries = Frustration

Ok, I'm up late. Can't sleep. Mind racing. Looking up hotel rates for Vegas and LA as the timeshare ends on the 16th but we're in Vegas til the 18th. Most likely will stay with my brother, but it's tempting to see about staying at The Hard Rock Hotel, The Venetian, The Palms, The Bellagio... along with fantasies of driving to LA and staying at one of the many hip hotels with cool, contemporary design (even 5 star hotels in Vegas have cheesy decor)... hotels like The Mondrian... I've stayed there once before, it is the epitomy of high design, but unfortunately, it costs big bucks to be hip... or Maison 140 in Beverly Hills which offers Philosophy toiletries and is actually reasonably priced... or it's sister hotel, The Avalon, which has a special Avalon Chillout Package for $199 per night where you get the Chillout Session cd from Ministry of Sound, a bottle champagne and a 50 minute massage in your room. May not be able to pass that one up...

** rant ** I want to be able to look up hotels by what toiletries they offer or by what type of interior design they have. Why is this so f*in difficult? You'd think hiphotels.net would have good info, right? NOPE. They don't even list The Mondrian. UGH. And if a hotel has Kiehl's toiletries (like 15 Beacon in Boston), that's something that would sway my decision. I hate that Bath & Body Works Juniper Breeze sh*t. It smells gross! ** rant over **

My searchings did lead me to this cool website, Splendora.com, to find out the best places to get pamered in NY and LA.

I think I see a market for a website! I'd be able to write off all my travels and stays. JACKPOT. Gonna have to look into that when I get back home.

Get Your Love On

So in checking up on my email, I had a nice little mailer from Skinmarket, one of my very favorite stores, which I WILL be patronizing while in Vegas. They have a new sugar body scrub. I've used the brown sugar body scrub in "Deliciousness" and it is just so yummy I want to lick myself (on the arm, perverts). They now have "love is: smooth" pomegranate sugar scrub. Gonna get me some of that.

Olympic Dreams

As it gets closer to the opening of the Olympics, more and more people are realizing that I'm gonna be there... so the requests are rolling in.

Joel wants an olympic snowglobe for Hannah.



Michael (my brother-in-law) wants an olympic team hockey jersey.



And Squib wants Powder (the love hearts bribe is an offer I can't refuse):



May I add that I am giving mad props to whoever came up with the mascots for Salt Lake 2002. They are the cutest mascots ever!!!

Don't Go in The Water

Just this weekend, Jenny was pondering if Will & Grace was about the "jump the shark" by having Matt Damon on as a guest star. I made her explain the term "jump the shark" as I wasn't sure the meaning. She explained that it is the point at which a tv show does some crazy stunt to get ratings and after that point, the show goes into the toilet and eventually gets cancelled. The term was coined based on the Happy Days episode where Fonzie jumped the shark. (SIDE NOTE: I had the BIGGEST crush on Richie - Ron Howard... long before he went bald... yep, had a thing for red hair and freckles back then)

Anyhoo, today I happened upon a website all about Jumping the shark - www.jumptheshark.com.

The best part about it, you get to vote when you think a show jumped the shark.

Drink Me

Taking Daniela's lead, I checked to see what drink I am...



Which drink are you?

I LIKEY IKEA

Headin' to IKEA tomorrow. Very excited. Want to buy stuff. Want buy stuff to organize my stuff. Need places to put my stuff. Jenny's gonna shop for stuff for her new house, I'll help.

My one concern... will Chuck go the extra hour to Toronto so I can buy Love Hearts at SugarMountain? It's a tough sell, I might have to highjack the Blazer and drive myself. Hey, you do whatever it takes to feed an addiction.

REMINDER TO SELF: Don't eat the swedish meatballs - last time they tasted good going down, but not so good coming back up for the next 12 hours.

I've got Bawls

A bunch of us went out tonight, it was a great time. After dinner and Movies on a Shoestring, we went to The Spot Coffee shop. I got a bottle of Bawls. I bought it for two reasons - 1) the bottle is really cool looking and 2) the soda is made from guarana, a small fruit found in Brasil. I had diet guarana soda while in Brasil and liked it alot as I'd normally rather drink puddle water than diet soda.

What I didn't realize, when making the purchase at 10:30pm, is that it's a caffeine drink... you know, where they add a sh*tload of caffeine supposedly for "maintaining peak performance". "BAWLS Guarana is a light and refreshing beverage that gives an exhilarating boost". I drank about a third, it is light and refreshing... and the "exhilarating boost" explains the 12:45am blog, but if I'd have drank it all, I'd be watching the sun rise.

Itty Bitty Elephants

I found an article on the web (apparently from Weekly World News) that claims some Russian scientist found a way to splice mouse genes into elephant genes and create tiny elephants. And they're all the rage in California at only $350.

The article says they "provide hours of fun with hilarious antics such as:
- Butting their little heads in fights.
- Letting out squeaky "roars."
- Using their trunks to pick up pennies, pins and matchsticks.
- Stampeding in panic from "threats" such as vacuum cleaners."

Dr.Muskovic says they should be available nationwide by spring and predicts "every little boy and girl in America is going to want one."

I know it's a load of crap, but I WANT ONE!!!

More Bad Male Prostitute Names

All inspired by food:
Puddin'
Jello
Soft Serve
Slim Jim (credit: Jenny)

Well Hello Big Mac!

While helping Jenny at her new house last night - munching on Wendy's takeout - the topic came up about the male brothel in England that had closed down. Apparently, the men weren't asking for payment up front, so when it came time to fork over cash, the women would only pay what they thought the men were worth. Thus driving the brothel to bankruptcy.

From there, inspired by the mention of the word "tiny" and in turn, the "BIGGIE" french fry box, we ended up coming up with nicknames you would NOT want if you worked in a male brothel and nicknames you WOULD want if you worked in a male brothel.

Nicknames you would NOT want if you worked in a male brothel:
- Tiny
- Stubby
- Pee Wee

Nicknames you WOULD want if you worked in a male brothel:
- Mr. Big
- Biggie
- Big Mac
- Whopper
- Chalupa
- Snake (inspired by the topic of fixing the drain)

Basically, the whole fast food ordering system would probably work well for a male brothel. The women could drive up and say, "I'd like a Whopper meal and please super-size it."

FBPOTM

My favorite beauty product of the moment is my Shu Uemura eyelash curler. I got it for Christmas from my brother and sister-in-law. It got me stopped by airport security, but it was well worth it. It's a great little tool, every girl should have one.

That Cat Hates Moby

Tonight I read in Rolling Stone that Moby had to be hospitalized after being bitten by a stray cat he tried to pet. I sent him the link to mycathatesyou.com. Obviously, the cat that bit him hates him and his music*.

*the opinions expressed by hateful cats in no way reflect the opinions of the owner of this blog

My Cat Hates You

Natalie posted the link to this website, mycathatesyou.com. I think it is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Here's an example of what you'll find:


"Louie hates you to the core. Not even cute stuffed animals escape his wrath..."

Nutty Diet Plan

Peanut butter is a hot topic recently. First I read about peanut butter slices, then I read about research that shows that eating peanut butter can help you lose weight AND lower your cholesterol!

I think it works because you feel more satiated and full. Even the men's magazines are talking about it (side note: the fact that Men's magazines discuss diet issues is both disturbing and deeply rewarding at the same time).

There's a woman's version of the diet on iVillage, though it includes other stuff like olive oil and peanut oil. Not quite the "eat a tablespoon full of peanut butter on top of a miniature chocolate bar" diet that I was hoping for, oh well.

All I know is, I'll be having pb&j (that's reduced fat peanut butter on light wheat bread with a teaspoon of jelly) every day until my clothes fit comfortably again.

There's also a book, The Peanut Butter Diet (of course) available on Amazon..

Funny Girl

One example of why Jenny is so funny... In a discussion about having judges for our food contests we do at work (for example, Cookiepalooza), Jenny was making the argument for allowing everyone to vote on a winner vs. having designated judges. Here's what she said, in a matter of fact tone:

"Let's say you have three judges and two of them don't like nuts - you're little nut cookies are screwed!"

Focus, Focus, Focus

I'm having the same problem as Joel, I'm having trouble focusing on work.

I will have been gone 5.5 of the first 10 weeks of the year. Brasil took up two and soon I'm off to Vegas (for vacation) and Salt Lake City (for work). Then, after being home for 4 days, I head to Orlando for a kiosk convention. I know it all sounds great, but let me weigh the pros and cons.

:: Vegas ::

PROS: time with hubby; nickel slots at the Hard Rock Hotel (if I can get anyone to go there with me); potential celebrity sightings; get to visit with Eddie & Christina (brother and sister-in-law who live there); Sephora; abundant cheap food

CONS: going with the in-laws who aren't in to going to clubs or even gambling for that matter; in-laws will have control of the rental car; won't be hot (maybe 50s); Eddie will have gotten back surgery 5 days before I arrive so he'll be no fun; I've been to Vegas MANY times (even lived there for 3 years) - so I've already seen it all; abundant cheap food = Tina becomes a fatty fat fat

:: Salt Lake City ::

PROS - ok, it's the Olympics, that's very cool; Chucky's going too; pretty scenery; maybe sunny; free abundant food at the hotel; potential celebrity sightings (though sports celebrities don't excite me)

CONS - will be working the whole time; will spend at least 2 hours/day travelling from Park City to Salt Lake; it's going to be COLD; I probably won't get to see even a single event; going snowboarding seems out of the question; most of my time will be spent many miles away from the free abundant food; and even if I DO happen to see Ben Affleck chatting with Tara Lipinski, I'll be a dweeb bundled up in Kodak clothing

:: Orlando ::

PROS: warm and sunny (maybe)

CONS: conference the whole time; there alone; don't think I'll have a car so stuck in the vicinity of hotel; no time to go to Disney or SeaWorld but can't afford it anyway


OK, not saying I'd trade it (though I would pass up Orlando if it wasn't going so applicable to my current project and potentially career enhancing), but it's certainly not all wine and roses.

I suppose on some level I'm being granted these opportunities for "fun" because in April, the fun level drops significantly when I have to have an incision into my uterus via my bellybutton. Aaagh!

Box of Snakes

Funny story. As Sophia, Daniela, Chuck and I were leaving the beach house (in Brasil), Daniela's Mom (Charlotte) handed Chuck a box and said, "Here's a box of snakes for your trip." Chuck was taken aback, wondering if there was a little know Brasilian custom to travel with snakes for good luck. He hesitated to take the box... Charlotte saw the look on his face and said, "snacks! I meant a box of snacks!" Chuck was relieved, took the box, and we munched on snakes for the 3 hour ride to the city.

It's finally a bit bright out today, not the dismal grey it had been since we got back from Brasil. Luckily I can still envision my feet in the sand and the sound of the water lapping at my heels.

So since this is the Daily Bite, it's really only appropriate to pay homage to some of the yummy foods we had in Brasil:

Mandioca Fritas, fried yucca root
Alot like french fries but better, because yucca root is a bit stringier and each little stringy piece gets fried to a golden, crunchy crisp.
Mmmm. This was my personal favorite, so I tried to find yucca root at Weggies, with no luck as of yet.

-------------------------------------------



Brigadeiros (chocolatey, fudgey, and very sweet)... mmm...

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Bolo de Rolo (Jellyroll with guava)... we had a homemade version, with very thin layers rolled tightly. We nicknamed it "the arm", because to carry the cake all wrapped up in foil was like carrying an arm around... long and heavy. It was very tasty.

-------------------------------------------



PÃO DE QUEIJO (cheese breads)... something about these little balls was irresistable, at the beach house they made them fresh and I think I ate about 15 of them.

-------------------------------------------

Dammit, now I'm hungry and craving cheese breads!

Oi! Como vai voce?

We're back from Brasil. It was great! Daniela's family was incredibly hospitable and fun. Almost too much to talk about, so I'll condense things...

After the maniacle drive from the airport (think passing on a double yellow on curvy single lane roads), the first week was spent at the beach. Remarkable scenery - lush, tropical mountains set against a white sand beach with rolling blue waves. I don't think there is any place in the US other than Hawaii as lush as Brasil. We walked the beach (2+ miles) almost every day. New Year's Eve was incredible. We all wore new white clothes and after a fabulous dinner put on by Daniela's family, we all walked down to the beach. At midnight, everyone kissed each other on the cheek and wished each other Feliz Ano-novo, then we drank champagne, waded into the water a bit, made a wish and jumped 7 waves. Then we backed out of the water. There was a slight mishap with the fireworks, what was supposed to be a half hour show turned into a 3 minute explosion (the first one fell into the others and all went off at once), but other than that, the evening was incredible.

After the beach, we went to Sao Paulo for a day, then off to the country house for the weekend. The country house was beautiful, they grow abacaxi (pineapple), bananas, sugar cane and many other exotic things. Hopefully I'll have some great pix eventually.

The last few days were spent in the city, which is a sight to see! Getting to the city was an incredible experience. The roads wind up through the foliage covered mountains and you wonder how the hell they built these roads into the mountains. Then you begin to see the city... soon your entire view is high rises - as far as the eye can see. Like NYC, Chicago, and LA combined! In the city we relaxed, played Buraco (a Brazilian card game similar to Gin) and did a little sightseeing and shopping.

Overall, an incredible experience and wonderful vacation! I'll add more detailed accounts later, hopefully with pictures...

Getting Ready

It's getting close to go time. As in go to Brazil. I have to get up early tomorrow and do 5 million things, then finish my packing. I sense overpacking in it's early stages.

First time outside the US other than close-to-the-border-parts-of-Canada and the Caribbean, but they don't really count, because it's very easy to get in and everyone speaks English. Trip of a lifetime. I think I'm getting nervous.

Anyway, probably not a good idea to stay up until 4am tonight as I have for the past few nights. Must sleep.

Wonderful Christmas

What a wonderful Christmas. Last week, I got spoiled with great gifts from my friends and my Sis. This morning, after having breakfast and presents with Chuck's family, went to my Mom & Stepdad's. We watched The Grinch with Jim Carrey. I like the cartoon better. Mom was extremely generous (as usual), not only giving lots of good gifts, but lots of cashola to help fund our trip to Brazil. She also gave me money for a FBPOTM... Thank You Momma!!! ...hmm, wonder if there's a Sephora in Sao Paulo...

We brought Punky (my cat) over too. They'll be kittysitting for the next 2 weeks. Punky (recently nicknamed Pukey) will probably barf all over their house. Hopefully his furball-remedy food and treats will help, but he doesn't like his treats. Picky Punky.

I found myself very sad on the way home. Not sure why. I know I miss my Dad around the holidays and I'm going to miss my family while I'm away, but probably mostly just hormonal.

All Hail the King

I took the Lord of the Rings Test and apparently I'm Jenny's husband, Celeborn... Celeborn, Elf, King of Lothlorien, husband of Galadriel and grandfather of Arwen.

I don't know what that exactly means, since I haven't seen the movie yet, I'm just pretty sure I feel OLD if Arwen is the HOT! HOT! HOT! archer elf I keep hearing about from Sarah, Jenny, Trina...

Crack Cookies

Slowly I'm gathering proof that my Grandma puts crack in her cookies... they make me stay up VERY late and they are addictive. She gave me Pizzelles to bring to Brazil with me. I probably would've gotten attacked by drug sniffing dogs with those on my person. Good thing you can't import home baked goods... now I know why...

Merry Christmas

And a belated Happy Hannukah to many of my friends also... may you all be blessed with happiness, peace, health and love!

Congratulations Joel & Lara

Joel and Lara had their babies. Twin girls. Olivia and Leah. Congratulations and many wishes and blessings for health and happiness.

You Won $10,000! NOT!

My Mom always gives scratch-off lottery tickets as gifts, as she did this evening. Then she remembered the cruel joke she played on my brother a few years ago. He had just moved to LA, was totally broke, unemployed (waiting to get back surgery) and was living on a futon at a friend's house who had offered him a place to stay. My Mom sent him a fake lottery ticket. The kind that looks totally real except for some tiny print on the back. He scratched it off... then became ecstatic, thinking he'd won $10,000. He immediately called Mom, proclaiming his joy and excitement at getting a break in life. The only break he got was that of his heart as she told him, "check the back". He cried for two days straight.

Tonight she said, "what was I thinking, sending my poor, destitute son a fake lottery ticket?" Then we all laughed. It's funny now, years later, for US... not sure if he's recuperated.

So if you think I have a demented sense of humor, now you know where I get it from... my crazy Momma ;-)

FBOTM

My favorite beauty product of the moment is
Lip Venom.

It's a gloss that is supposed to make your lips look bigger (bee-stung... venom... get it?). I'm not sure it really accomplishes that, but it's still a cool product. It makes your lips feel tingly, makes them nice and glossy, and smells and tastes yummy.

The DuWop online store has a couple other goodies that I may have to purchase one of these days, including Shades of Venom lipstick.

Subtlety

Don't you just love it when you're trying to be discreet and get someone's attention with a look or a gesture and they yell out "WHAT? What's the look for? WHAT DO YOU WANT?" So much for subtlety!!

That's exactly what hubby did to me today in front of the in-laws. I was trying to motion to him to change the music and didn't want to just "say it" because I didn't know if they were enjoying it or not and I didn't want to be rude. It's always better to be offended by your son than your daughter-in-law.

So instead of being rude, I just looked like an ass.

Favorite Beauty Product of the Moment

As you may or may not know, I am a beauty product junkie. I love anything that smells good, smooths on, scrubs away, exfoliates, moisturizes, prevents zits, diminishes wrinkles, makes my hair shiny, makes my hair curly, makes my hair straight, goes on my eyelids, nails or lips and so on. This does not mean that I wear so much makeup I look like a hooker, nor does it mean that I am high maintenance, it just means I have a well stocked bathroom.

On that note, I'm going to try to do a "Favorite Beauty Product of the Moment" every so often. I love to read about stuff people have tried and like, so now I'll do the same.

My FBPOTM for today is Terax Crema. It's a rather rich hair conditioner. Makes my hair feel lovely. I highly recommend it. If you live in Rochester, you can't buy it in town, I got mine in Toronto... but you can buy it online from Heaven and Earth for $16 (thank God for online shopping, but can someone PLEEEAAASE open a Sephora in Rochester?!).

Hey, Wanna Touch my Keypad?

In doing some research on kiosks today for work, I came across this little number, available through www.thekioskfactory.com...

I know I have a perverted mind, but doesn't this jackal/pharoah kiosk look a little off to you?



Joel said, "at least it's a keypad and not a joystick."
Baaa haaa haaa.

We're Legal

Chunk and I FINALLY got our visas to go to Brazil. I never would have imagined it would be such a pain in the ass, mainly because of where we live. The closest consulates are in NYC, Boston, DC, and Toronto - a minimum of a 6 hour RT drive.

NYC (our jurisdiction) doesn't take applications by mail - they suggested using a service, which tacks about $150 PER VISA onto the regular fee of $45. Basically I could fly down to NYC and get it myself cheaper. And I contemplated that... if only Jetblue hadn't sold out of their $29 each way fares.

Sooo, we decided to get them in Toronto, the closest Consulate. We left at 6am this morning after about 2 good hours of sleep, luckily Chucky let me nap... saintly considering he was dead tired too. The good news, they turned them around in one day for us (they list 3 days). I rewarded them with chocolates. They were very nice and helpful.

On top of that, got to have lunch with Squib. I really enjoy her company! She has a fabulous new hair cut and is getting thinner by the second. Her self control is envious - she even resisted chocolate! She is determined and thus successful... I wish I could be so good... moreso about exercise, just to firm up the jigglies. No one believes I have jigglies because I'm small, but believe me, my thights have more dimples than the Backstreet Boys. Those in Brazil will have the rare opportunity to see. And NO, I will not be wearing a thong bikini... the nightmares abound just thinking about it.

Why You So Ugly?

The feature on Mohammed Ali is up in our eMagazine... I helped a little bit on the usability... It's very cool, check it out, let me know what you think...



My Mom also told me that when we met Mohammed Ali in Vegas in 1980, he said to my brothers, "How come you so ugly and your sister so pretty?" Pretty cool considering I was a very chubby 12 year old with a unibrow.

As Matt pointed out, that encounter (and flattery) probably started my affinity for celebrities (OK, Matt used the word "stalking").

Veruca Salt

I took the new emode test, What Flavor are You?, that Squib pointed to and apparently I'm a blueberry. Here's their explanation:

Mmm ... blueberry! Tangy and sweet, you're as fresh as a mountain sunrise and as natural as homemade jam. If you were a Broadway musical, you'd be The Sound of music — we can just picture you twirling for joy in an Alpine meadow. Best with breakfast cereal and pancakes, you're simple and refreshing, with just a touch of tartness to give you an edge. Always a favorite, people can't get enough of your spontaneous nature and easy-going approach to life. Who wouldn't be attracted to your sporty, summery flavor? Fun-loving and genuine, you're a truly tasty treat.

Sound right?

Spidey

Sony sent me a link to the very cool new Spiderman web site today. Not only cool Spidey stuff, but a very cool Flash interface for the sight.

Vroom Vroom

A bunch of us went out tonight for Sarah's birthday (Happy Birthday Sarah!). I made the mistake of having Chai at 8pm and now, at 12:19am, am WIDE awake. If it's not sugar (which kept me up Monday until 2:30am), it's caffeine. Then again, I think I'm just genetically programmed to be a night owl and I should quit my day job (so to speak) and work the late shift at Krispy Kreme. Then I'd be sleepy AND fat.

On summer vacation from school, I'd stay up until at least 2am (yes, Joel, watching late night cable), and sleep until General Hospital came on at 3pm. So, not only do I like to go to sleep very late, I like to sleep for MANY MANY hours. My Mom is the same way. On Christmas morning, my brother would pop up at 6am and beg Mom for about 5 hours to get up so he could open presents (does that sound about right Mom?). I fear my kids will have to do the same for me... either that, or they'll inherit the "sleepy gene" and I'll have to wake them up. I can only PRAY for that!

Squibnocket & Toronto

Jenny and I drove up to Toronto yesterday to have lunch with and go shopping with Squibnocket. It was so much fun.

We met Squib's bunny and hubby (in that order =) and got spoiled with really cool presents. Squib made Jenny and I each a VERY cool hat. We look exceptionally cute in them.

We were going to go the annual Umbra warehouse sale, but the wait was 3 hours out in the cold. Good thing, because I was starting to get hungry and might have had to gnaw someone's arm off. So Squib treated us to lunch, then we caught some cool shops on Queen. The finale came when went to a Japanese/Chinese mall with numerous stores with Hello Kitty, MashiMaro, Tare Panda, ... and all those other EXTREMELY cool Japanese characters like you can find at dreamkitty.com.



I thought Jenny and I were going to pass out. I also, FINALLY, got my lucky bamboo.



I wish Rochester had good shopping. Other than Firehouse 15 and Parkleigh, we just can't get much of the funky stuff or the really cool cosmetics like MAC, Urban Decay, Tony & Tina... thank goodness for online shopping!

Oops

Those of you who looked at my blog yesterday (The "How YOU doin?" blog where I proclaimed "this guy is HOT! HOT! HOT!!"), may have seen this picture:



I have not gone mad. I do NOT have the hots for a 102 year old Jewish man (not that there's anything wrong with that). I just used the relative url (which calls a different picture daily, duh) instead of the absolute url of the picture. Squibnocket pointed it out in the car in Toronto yesterday. I almost passed out! I *think* I have now safely linked to the archived version of the EXACT picture I was talking about. I will reference my links more carefully in the future. Meanwhile, look below for the picture I was really talking about.

How YOU doin?

This is the KODAK Picture of the day for today:



I don't know if you'll all think I'm wierd, but I think this guy is HOT! HOT! HOT!! The photographer writes, "I asked him to strip and took a photo with his tattoos in the foreground." I think I'm going to become a photographer...

Float Like a Butterfly and Sting Like a Bee

I had breakfast this morning with Howard Bingham today (me and about 10 others). He is the photographer who has been taking pictures of Mohammed Ali since 1962. They've become great friends.



Howard was wonderful. He is so witty, a bit of a (as Matt so eloquently put it) ball buster. I love that in a person. He's not only funny and charming, he has alot of very interesting stories to tell and he takes incredible pictures.

We are doing a feature story next month on Kodak e-magazine about Howard's pictures of Ali in real life and his pictures from the movie set of Ali, with Will Smith. I helped with the usability. It's going to be a great piece, I'll post a link when it's up.

Catch up

Ok, what's been going on? Last friday night, after shopping for door prizes for our office holiday party (I LOVE shopping with someone else's $$), Chuck, Jenny, Aaron and I went and saw Shallow Hal.



It's about a guy (Jack Black) who has a curse put on him so that he only sees the inner beauty in people. So though he's dating a rather LARGE woman, he thinks she looks like skinny little Gwyneth Paltrow. It was mostly good, but I could've done without (STOP reading if you don't want to know part of the plot) seeing a human with a tail. UGH. That image is burned in my mind... GROSS. Especially the wagging. Ugh.

Saturday was our office holiday party. It was alot of fun. The DJ sucked at first, playing songs such as "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" by Meatloaf and "Keep your Hands to Yourself" by the Georgia Sattelites. I mean, COME ON! (Note, I do like Meatloaf, I just don't want to hear 'the longest song every recorded that you can't dance to' at a holiday party). You would think that after he repeatedly cleared the dance floor, he'd get a clue that he SUCKS. Anyway, after demanding that he stick to our request list, the dancing commenced.

Post for MOM

Ok, MOM, here you go... the links to the pictures I promised I'd post for you.

Remember, to get in to Ofoto, use your email barbara_a_hic... (you know the rest) and the password is the name of your street.

Tina turns twenty-nine, again

Mikey goes to Vegas

Feeling Better

After lots of sleep, Niquil and chicken noodle soup, I'm finally feeling better. I still feel like my head is hollow and my words reverborate through my head, but at least I can breathe through both nostrils.

Got a flu shot today too. If this stinkin little cold made me feel so bad AND made Chuck worry that I had Anthrax, then imagine what the flu would do!

On a side note, if and when my face is ever zit-free again, I think I'm going to throw a party. Right now I look like a clumsy vampire tried to bite my forehead. Ugh!

Sicky

I hab a code. Hobe sick. Yuck...

Estamos indo a Brasil

Thanks to a very generous invitation by Daniela and her family, Chuckie and I are going to Brasil!! We are going for 2 weeks over New Years, to both Sao Paulo and to her parent's beach house on the ocean. It looks like paradise. I am sooooo excited! I've never been anywhere outside of North America.

New Year's Eve will be wonderful. Daniela has told me a little bit about the customs... you wear all white and at midnight you wade into the water... This will all bring good luck. There is also a tradition involving underwear, but I'll have to brush up on the details. I know that it must be new and you wear a specific color to bring you love, money or health. I'll be wearing the color for money (no, it's not green).

Here are pics from Daniela's site of the beach where her parents have a house (now you can see why I'm so excited!):

Mmmmmmm

Well, Thanksgiving was great this year. My stepdad makes the best damn turkey and gravy! My stuffing came out good too, but the Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake was an even bigger hit.

Pumpkin Pie

Well Natalie, now I'm baking pumpkin pie (for tomorrow and thursday) and it smells yummy. Of course it's courtesy of Mrs. Smiths, nothing homemade. I will be making, from scratch, Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake (Grammy goes nuts for it) and I'm even going to try my hand at homemade stuffing - after tasting how yummy Sarah's turned out. If it comes out bad, there's always Stove Top =-)

Birthday Bash

This birthday had to be one of the best ever! It got kicked off to a great start with the visit to Daniela and Su in CA and ended in a finale of owls and wizards. I was showered with gifts, cards, and good wishes, ate lots of cake, and got a GORGEOUS bouquet of velvety red roses from hubby (from Arenas!!).

On Thursday, I had dinner with the family at Gram's. My Uncle and his girlfriend got me an adorable little plant. After I raved about it, Gram came out of the kitchen, saw it, picked it up and exclaimed, "thank you! thank you! thank you! Is this for me?" Nobody could speak... we didn't have the heart to tell her... but she quickly figured it out and started giggling... we all had quite a laugh over it.

Friday was my actual birthday. After getting spoiled at work, we met everyone out for dinner at Jack Astors. I couldn't believe how many people showed! It was Jenny & Aaron, Abby, Matt, Andy, Sarah & Denis, Jo & Steve, Joel & Lara & Hannah (she's such a cutie pie), Kenn & Jen, Tony & Ange, and of course Chuckie. The "Astors" made me get up on a chair, stand like a teapot, pointed out to the whole place that I was turning 21 (I told the guy I was turning 33, he lied FOR me... I liked him after that), and sang a version of "I'm a Little Teapot". How embarrasing! But fun. Jenny coordinated it and set the locale, so she'll be the one I seek revenge upon ;-) Not sure any place in Rochester embarrasses you MORE than Jack Astors, but I have a few months to find out!

Then most of us went to see Harry Potter (thanks to Matt for ordering tix online and making life easier). Not as amazing as it was hyped to be, but a good movie. I think it may be better to people who haven't read the book... I was thinking too much about what matched, what didn't, what was going to happen next... etc. I give it a 7.

Thank you again to my family and friends who all made me feel very special. I am a lucky girl!

Blessed

I am truly blessed with a wonderful hubby, a loving family, and kind, thoughtful friends.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes and cool gifts and a dozen long stemmed red roses from hubby, too!!

More to come... for now I have to run off to an evening planned with fun and frolic.

IQ

I took an online IQ test this evening. Got 138. The site says: A person whose IQ score falls in the range of 129-143 is considered to be "highly intelligent". But considering Madonna got 140, I don't feel too great about myself right now.

...I took it again and got 158. Now I'm "gifted". THATS more like it! Left Madonna in the dust and I'm catchin up to Bill Gates.

Is taking it again cheating?

Oops

Oops, I think I left off a quote in the image tag in my last post (the one entitled Zit Face). It screwed up the post and now I can't edit it.

Anyhoo, THIS is what I look like today:



I thought one of the benefits of getting older was no more zits. I was sadly mistaken.

Zit Face

This is what I look like today:

BlogThis!

Zit Face

This is what I look like today:

BlogThis!