XX Car

Volvo is designing a car by women for women. At first, I thought that adding in an indentation to accomodate pony tails into the headrest was a bit OTT... then I realized, I have had to take my hair down before to get comfortable while driving, and curly-haired ladies, you know... after you've had your hair up for a while, then take it down, it poofs out so you look like Carrot Top on a bad hair day - and have to drive around looking like a madwoman... so maybe it's not so crazy after all.

The puppy's not coming today. Supposedly tomorrow, but now I'm not getting my hopes up.

Went and saw "50 First Dates" last night (at least there's a movie theater nearby), it was very cute. Made me think of PT *;) - Hawaii is so beautiful and such an interesting culture. I read a good article about it in National Geographic - about how many years ago, Native Hawaiians were forced to give up their culture and language, and more recently, there is a resurgance in rediscovering the traditions.

So I'm in Florida on vacation. Not my idea of an ideal vacation by any stretch of the imagination. Smack dab in the middle of the state... nowhere near beaches or good shopping or young people... in a retirement village... where the most exciting thing to do is play Monkey Train (have yet to figure out what that is, but my Mother-in-law is excited to get us to play)

But let me try to relay the positives:
- it's warm, 85ish... until tomorrow anyway, when the high will be in the 60s (still better than 30s)
- my in-laws are getting a puppy tomorrow
- got to have Chicken Madeira at The Cheesecake Factory (after driving one hour each way)
- I'm not at work

Sooo, that's about it.

Other than that, I want to say to PT *:) that I owe you a BIG thank you for the Valentine's Day giftie, brightened my day. Sorry I'm such a slow-poke loser in thanking you.

And I want to thank Jenny for packing Piglet and tell you that I saw the super-skinny lady. Eeww. This woman we saw last year, she looks both 90 pounds and 90 years old, a sun-worshipper with wrinkles in every crack and crevice (or as Joel might say, crev-ah-se ;). She's probably only 65. Inspired me to wear my hat in the sun this year! I do not want to get old and decrepid... but if I do, I'd rather be plump than look like a slim-jim with arms.

Ooh, if you live in the LA area, you should apply for this Blowout show on Bravo - it looks like fun! What would be even more fun would be if Tiger Woods and Tobey Maguire were the ones doing the blowdrying!

Change of subject...
C'mon, Lord of the Rings didn't have to win EVERYTHING. Thanks goodness Sofia Coppola pulled out Best Original Screenplay. Billy Crystal was funny, the women looked great, Sting looked hot "playing" that chunky monkey or whatever Jenny figured out it was called. It was a fun evening. Perhaps, someday, I will be there as the little sis of a famous actor.

This year Jenny and Aaron, veteran Winterluders, invited us along to Ottawa. Jenny booked hubby and I at the Alanbury House Bed & Breakfast, complete with resident cat Penelope and jacuzzi tub. It was wonderful.

We skated, ate Beavertails, saw a great trampoline exhibition by the Canadian Olympic skiiers and snowboarders.

I finally committed and bought a snowboard. I went to The Lounge on the recommendation of my friend Tony (who designed their website). I was told to talk to Josh. I walked in, met Josh, gave him my backstory (still a beginner, don't want to fall, etc.)... he walked over to the rack of snowboards and pulled out the Solace by Ride, made especially for women....

When I saw the beautiful little pandas staring up at me... the clouds parted, angels sang, and the heavens spoke, "this is the chosen one".

Josh pulled out a couple more less pricey options, but I'll be honest, given that the techie specs of the board seemed to fit my needs better, I was willing to pay extra for cuteness. I don't think I had a choice. The snowboard had chosen me.

I haven't had a chance to ride it yet, but even if I never ride it, just looking at it brings me happiness. I may just hang my zen board on the wall in my living room and use it for art instead of sport.

It truly is a thing of beauty.

Be Like Mike.... 's Sister

If you want breast accoutriments like Janet Jackson, search no longer.... you can buy them at Tribalectic.com (attaching barbell sold separately).

Even though I bought a snowboard this weekend, I can't help but wish with all my heart and soul that this was me, at Monkey Mia resort in Australia, petting dolphins.

I was very saddened to hear that Adam Sandler's dog Meatball died last month. Of all things, he died of a heart attack. He was only 4.

Today was Go Red for Women day to promote awareness of heart disease in women. Apparently women don't recognize their heart attack symptoms and just the awareness could save your life.

They say that most heart attacks start slowly. Here are the symptoms:

- Chest discomfort... in the center of the chest... lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back
- Discomfort in other areas of the upper body... can include discomfort in arms, back, neck, jaw or stomach.
- Shortness of breath
- other signs may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness

To learn more, go to the American Heart Association site. If you enroll, you can get this very cute pin.

Movies Movies Movies

Daniela has been using Netflix for years and recommended it many times over. Last month I FINALLY signed up and I love it! For $20 a month, you get as many DVDs as you can watch... three at a time. Each time you send one back (even if it's a month later), they send you the next one in your queue within days.

I started off renting Colin Firth movies:
Pride and Prejudice: Vol. 1 (vg)
Pride and Prejudice: Vol. 2 (vg)
My Life So Far (g)
Fever Pitch (g)

Then went for a semi-mainstream George Clooney movie:
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (vg)

And moved on to Indy flicks:
Y Tu Mama Tambien (vvg)
Whale Rider (vvg)
The Shape of Things (good, but pissed me off)

Today I received 'I'm With Lucy', which likely isn't good, but rented it because I liked Gael Garcia Bernal in Y Tu Mama Tambien. Side note: Gael is also going to be in the new Pedro Almodovar movie, Bad Education.

And coming soon, my queue contains:
Capturing the Friedmans
Lost in Translation (worth watching again)
Queer as Folk: Season 1 (also worth watching again)

I like Netflix not just because it's convenient, but because it's so easy to search for movies... think how difficult it would be to go to the video store and find all the movies for your Christopher Guest Movie Marathon Party.

Another marketing point they should pick up on... the ability to rent Malibu's Most Wanted without getting dirty looks from the Skater Punk Video Store Clerk. (Not that I'D do that, I just recognize it as a benefit).

Strangeness

Couple strange things occured on my ride home... first, I'm stopped by 3 deer standing smack dab in the middle of the road. I beep, they barely move... I yell, "get out of the road!" Again, hardly a flinch... I yell again, "don't MAKE me come over there!"... they wander off very slowly...

Observation: the deer this year have extra fluffy fur

Than, a guy on a bike rides by. Why is that strange, you ask? Because he's riding his bike at 10pm, on a Wednesday, in 23 degree weather with a wind chill factor of about 97 below. Strange!

Bubblicious

Janet Jackson SOOO meant to do that. You don't wear a solar-burst ring thing without expecting it to be seen.

Celebs are just out of control with their antics these days. On that note, why is it that it seems like the only male nudity you see these days are old guy's butts? Jack Nicholson (Something's Gotta Give), Danny Devito (Big Fish), Harvey Keitel (every movie he's in)...

I love all things Aveda. Not only are their products wonderful, but they also donate to Rare to help protect the planet. Couple of my faves:


Curessence Damage Relief
Shampoo and Conditioner


Hand Relief lotion

... meanwhile... elsewhere in the world...
Dead Whale With 5 Foot Penis Explodes Onto Streets of Taiwan.

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

Ma'am, would you like some fries to go with that bicept curl?

Jenny & I worked out today... fourth day this weeks... very good, you say? Yes, but for dinner, I followed up with a bacon cheeseburger and fries.

Also this week... Jenny brought in a GINORMOUS tub of Laffy Taffy. I only like the banana flavor, so I'd root through and pick out all I could find... getting more scarce with each passing day. Today, with my stress level high and no yellow wrappers visible, I desperately dumped out the tub and managed to find one last handful of golden buried treasures. Barely a minute passed and I had devoured six of them. Take time to read the jokes, you ask? NOPE... peel, eat, peal, eat, peal, eat... I stopped myself with four left, which I brought to Joel, shaking, and asked him to save me from this downward spiral...

I'm scared because I'm well aware of the fact that you can buy a whole tub of JUST BANANA. I have done so in the past and it wasn't pretty. Three women, one tub, gone in 3 days... works out to a 20-a-day habit. That's 750 calories worth of sugary banana heaven in one day!

Now you know why I'm worried the addiction will kick back into full swing. Damn you Willy Wonka!

Hello, my name is Tina, and I'm a product addict, with newly restored internet connection and a weakness for clever marketing...

These Lube-in-a-Tube lip balms from Urban Decay are cool-looking, cool-sounding, and probably taste yummy. The description on Sephora reads: This rich, creamy shea butter and mango-enriched lip balm leaves your lips smooth and kissed with a hint of sexy, vanilla-mint infused color. Gotta get me some NYC.


Also just ordered some new Cleansing Queen goodies. With names like Liquid Lingerie, Sugar Daddy, and Butter Me Up, how can you resist?

I know alot of us are bunny huggers, but this Penguin Batting game is still fun.

For the past few weeks, my internet connection had been getting worse and worse, to the point of driving me insane.

When I first call, they say "no problem found, it must be your computer". So I delete many applications & files, check for viruses, reinstall my operating system... no improvement. Call again... they send two burly-guy techs, who show up, reaking of smoke, get snow and dirt all over the rugs (yes, I was too meek to ask them to take their boots off... I HAVE seen "The Cable Guy"... but honestly, shouldn't they have a policy...), and tell me "can't find a problem". So I install an upgrade to my OS (XP) and overwrite the old one. Still can't connect.... dying to book flights for Florida and/or Vegas but connection is too slow or gone. Pulling hair out. Another service call, another big burly technician (who wears grocery bags on his feet so as not to dirty the carpet)... yep, it's the modem... it was shot.

Back to lightning speed and getting my internet fix nightly. Hopefully will blog more now.

ME, as told by dictionary.com...

...in terms of my job:
Entry: disappointed
Function: adjective
Definition: saddened
Synonyms: aghast, balked, beaten, blue funk, cast down, chapfallen, complaining, defeated, depressed, despondent, disconcerted, discontented, discouraged, disenchanted, disgruntled, disillusioned, dissatisfied, distressed, down, downhearted, foiled, frustrated, hopeless, let down, objecting, shot down, taken down, thwarted, unhappy, unsatisfied, upset, vanquished, worsted

...in terms of my environment:
Entry: freezing
Function: adjective
Definition: cold
Synonyms: arctic, biting, bitter, chill, chilled, chilly, cold, cutting, frigid, frost-bound, frosty, gelid, glacial, icy, nippy, numbing, one-dog night, penetrating, polar, raw, shivery, Siberian, snappy, wintry

...in terms of my marriage:
Entry: enamored
Function: adjective
Definition: in love
Synonyms: amorous, attracted, besotted, bewitched, captivated, charmed, crazy about, crazy over, devoted, dotty, enchanted, enraptured, entranced, fascinated, fond, gone, gone on, hipped on, hooked, infatuated, loving, nuts about, silly about, smitten, stuck on, taken, wild about

...in terms of missing Mom:
Entry: brokenhearted
Function: adjective
Definition: devastated
Synonyms: crestfallen, crushed, desolate, despairing, despondent, disappointed, disconsolate, grief-stricken, grieved, heart-sick, heartbroken, heartsore, inconsolable, miserable, mournful, prostrated, sorrowful, wretched