|
|
|
|
November,
2003
Read
from the bottom, up - most recent entries are at the top.
|
Day of Rupert One day early! Be sure to tune in! (Special thanks to Frances for sending me an email reminder!) Due to Turkey Day, Survivor will be on tonight instead of tomorrow, so be sure to tune in and hope that Johnny Snotball is gone SOON!!!!! Have I ever told you folks about our downstairs bathroom? It has a shower and a toilet, but no sink. It's the size of a keyhole, and you can practically shower AND use the toilet at the same time (if you wanted to). It's got a wee-tiny mirror in the corner, but not big enough for Brian to see himself to shave in the morning. So I found this VERYCOOL shower mirror. It hooks into the water supply and spits water around the glass, and prevents it from steaming up! Ain't technology GRAND?!?!?! Anyhoo, it's in there, and it can be moved around on this stretchy arm. And now I'm obsessed with it. I turn on the shower each day and let the water warm up, make sure the mirror isn't too steamy, hop in, adjust the mirror so I can see my face, and then I party. I make faces, I sing, I soap my face up and try to blow soap bubbles with my nostrils. (By the way, I can blow HUGE soap bubbles with my nostrils!) I blast shower water in my mouth and squirt it out between my teeth. I turn my hair into a mohawk (Don't tell Geof. He will think I'm copying him). With my cool mohawk, I talk to myself: Ooooo. You bad. You so bad. I laugh as leftover mascara smears under my eyes and try to make myself look like Courtney Love. I laugh more, then make a mean scary Courtney Love face. I laugh again because I am truly a geek. Tongue out, tongue in. Big scary mouth face. Scrunchy eyebrows. BIG FANGS, Close one eye. Close the other eye. Fasterfasterfaster. blink, blink, blink, blink. I brush my teeth (because of the missing sink, I brush my teeth in the shower or at the upstairs sink). I gotta tell ya - brushing your teeth in the shower is quite fun. You get to be REALLY messy and it doesn't matter. Remember Peewee? "Ahhaaaa! Mad Dog! AAAAAA! Mad Dog! Ahahahaha!" Sing the "Brushabrushabrusha" song . . . I would dance, but the shower leaves only about two inches all the way around me, and I'd wind up slipping and getting wedged between the soap and the shampoo. I pause briefly to think to myself: What if Candid Camera put a web cam in that shower mirror to record my facial antics? . . . and then I follow up the thought by sticking my tongue out in the mirror and laughing hysterically. And before I realize it, I've been in the shower for 2 hours and 25 minutes. Skye has torn the house apart and eaten the wombats hiding in the toaster. The cat is howling because the dog is annoying her and she onlywantsthemadnesstoEND!! Mirrors. I think they need mirrors. Oh! I've got two Tudor gowns listed on eBay at sale prices. If you want them go get them! You can see them here: Click here One gown is a custom-made one - made to the high bidder's size. and the other is a gorgeous wedding gown with HUGE fur sleeves. There are a few other goodies in there too, so if you like anything, be sure to bid. (They make nice Christmas gifts too!) Tomorrow is TURKEY DAY and Brian's cooking! My family is coming (although, they wouldn't commit to anything until they made sure *I* wasn't cooking.) Nice family, eh? I think I'll give all of them shower mirrors for Christmas. ;-) Peace, till next |
|
*sigh*
Survivor fans, you know what I'm talking about. How? How? How could someone vote off Rupert??? Yeah. So he was a threat at all those challenges, but I've never seen a *nicer* Survivor competitor on this show (Paschal and Gabe were pretty nice, but they didn't have that lovable character quality Rupert has. Dontcha just want to keep him in your pocket???). At any rate, I'm really sad that Rupert is not going to be making me smile each week. I don't know who to cheer for anymore. Even the boys were throwing stuff at the TV last night. We *all* love Rupert and feel he deserved the million bucks more than ANYONE. We decided that Survivor needs to have audience participation votes and at the final episode, we should be able to call in and vote for RUPERT to win. If anyone out there knows Rupert: Please tell him that we think think he is positively AWESOME. We think he looks GREAT in a skirt. (In fact, if he gets in touch with me, I will make him a Rupert-customized kilt just because he looked fabulous as a skirted pirate - I know he would look even BETTER as a kilted Scotsman.) I know it's not the same as a million bucks . . . As far as we (me and the Thursday Night Survivor Groupie Boys) are concerned, RUPERT is the Ultimate Survivor, and even though he didn't win the million dollars, he's still the champ. And we're still keeping the Day of Rupert So, back to business: Why have I been missing? It's because I almost destroyed another computer. Since I have been a computer owner, I've destroyed several. I spilled a cup of coffee on my first computer and melted the hard drive. The second one was a snazzy laptop and I fried the fan on it - and melted the hard drive. Then I got smart and started paying extra for a warranty. I spilled another cup of coffee on it, and fortunately only fried the keyboard, but last week, I destroyed the fan on THIS one and had to take it in before I melted the hard drive on a second system. So now I'm all fixed and up and running and smiling like the Geek that I am! Brian's mom came out over the weekend and we had a BLAST. She got to meet all the boys and my mom, and she spoiled us rotten with delicious home-cooked meals. I wanted to keep her. Brian and I are hosting Thanksgiving this year for the first time with my family! However, before they agreed to come, they asked: "Ummm. Who will be cooking?" Of course BRIAN will be cooking. I can't cook coffee without causing the machinery to suffer meltdowns. Since Brian will cook, they agreed to make the trip out. (Brian is jokingly telling everyone that he is making TOFURKEY instead of turkey. Won't they all be excited when he breaks out his new chainsaw to carve it?) And on the business front: I've been buying up antique gowns and restoring them in my spare time. I've amassed quite a nifty little collection of some truly beautiful gowns. Some have only minor repairs, while others have MAJOR repairs - but all are beautiful and I can hardly wait to show you pictures! So far I have One Victorian dress, an Edwardian lawn tea dress, an Edwardian ballgown in silk chiffon and metallic gold embellishment, a roaring twenties gown done in silk, a fabulous Edwardian gown done in black wool, a wedding gown from the late 20s, and a fabulous coat from the early teens-20s! As I restore them, I will be documenting and duplicating them, and will offer these designs as new lines of truly historically accurate replicas. So, in addition to offering customized historically-accurate gowns, made from portraiture study (as with my Tudor Nobility gowns), I'll soon be offering Edwardian, Victorian, Civil War and other eras of fabulously accurate clothes! Don't forget - if you have antique clothing you'd like to trade in for new garb, let me know! I've just finished my first exchange. One of my past customers sent in the late-20s wedding gown, and I made her an imported silk brocade bodice with matching underskirt/forepart panel, purse and bumroll in exchange for the gown! I'd be delighted to work out a deal with anyone who would like to trade! :-) In the meantime, everyone have a FABULOUS Gobble-gobble day and I'll update again soon! Peace, till next |
|
(Entry has been updated with windstorm/snow pics! Read it again!) Since we all want Rupert to win anyway, and we all really love Rupert, and Rupert deserves to have a lot of cool things happen to him, I've decided to switch "Survivor Day" to "Rupert Day." Hence, every Thursday from now until eternity shall be Day of Rupert. (Remember War Games?) "Shall we play a game?" Is it only me, or is Johnny Fairplay annoying the bejuggers off everyone else in the world too? I want to see that snotty brat gone, but I know the secret to Survivor is to take the most obnoxious critter with you all the way to the end. Johnny Snotball is the *only* competitor that *anyone* could win against, so going to the Final Two against him would guarantee anyone a win. I was a wee bit sad last week when Savage was voted off - but he's been getting kind of mean. The last couple of episodes anyway - and listening to the thoughts of others, people either REALLY liked him or REALLY disliked him. Either way, I bet he's REALLY PO'd that there's he didn't get voted off *before* the Second-Chance Outcast team was formed! I won't even touch the whole Osten thing - did the guy NOT EVER see an episode of Survivor? Did he think this was going to be fun???? So I've been loving that line from the movie "A League of Their Own" and I've found you can apply it to just about anything. So, to Osten, I want to say: "WHAT?!?!?! THERE'S NO CRYING IN SURVIVOR!!!!!!" <Heather flails as a ladybug attacks> Crazy suicidal ladybugs have taken over my home. They were cute at first, but we have those big torch lamps, and they are constantly committing suicide and dive-bombing the really hot lightbulb. The smell is *not* pleasant. My friend Lori says the ones in her house bite, but I haven't tested these ones. I know they give off a funky smell if they are pestered, so I try to avoid them. Anyway - I have a few reviews for you! Music: Brian and I were treated to another concert on Tuesday night! My sister and her hubby (Shannon and Gary) took us out to dinner and to see Third Eye Blind at the Water Street Music Hall. Josh Kelley opened. Third Eye Blind was fabulous, and they put on a tremendous show. During the concert, some chick rushed the stage, and when she got up there behind Stephan Jenkins (lead singer) she just kinda stood there like a numpty-head. Of course, security grabbed her and "escorted" her away. Good ole' Stephan commented something to the effect of: "She looked like a nice girl. But people, if you're going to be ballsy enough to rush the stage, do it right! TACKLE ME when you get up here! Don't stand there looking around - she was SO CLOSE! If you're gonna rush the stage, do it right!" So we danced, and grooved and laughed about how old we were in comparison to the rest of the crowd. Shannon and I plugged our ears and sounded like somebody's mother: "It's too loud!" I'm standing there, looking around doing my usual people-watching gig, and I see someone who looks just like our neighbor Ethan. I poked Brian and said, "Heyyyyy! Isn't that Ethan?" Brian: Nope. Ethan's taller. Me: You sure? I mean, that looks EXACTLY like the back of Ethan's head! Same hair and everything! Brian: Go touch his hair and see if it's him! I'm sure WHOEVER it is won't mind. <wink> And just then the Ethan-person turned around and it wasn't him, and Brian laughed and said, "Honey, you're always seeing people who aren't really who you think they are." I was getting ready to argue with him and tell him that was not true, but just as I opened my mouth, Rob Thomas from Matchbox 20 walked by and I got distracted. . . . But beyond 3EB, Ethan and Rob Thomas, I have to tell ya, Josh Kelley was PHENOM. If you haven't checked him out, give his music a try. It's upbeat, happy and I really-eally-eally-eally-eally like it. Besides, he hung out in the club after his show with us reg'lar folks and how many cool band members do that? NOT MANY! So the wind is blowing and howling and it's snowing and it's gonna snow MORE all weekend. (update: One of our big trees just came down! It's THAT windy here!) Here are two pictures for you - click on the picture to enlarge - the first one is of the tree that just came down a few feet from the house, and the second is looking off past the trees into the BLIZZARD that's coming our way! That's not mist or fog, it's SNOW! The house keeps groaning and moaning, and it's actually kind of scary. I can't help but wonder if I'm gonna wake up in somplace over the rainbow. Or worse. Kansas.
<shiver>
Brian's mom is arriving in town TOMORROW!!! YAY!!!!! And be sure to tune in tonight to see how this Pirate-y Day of Rupert pans
out. Will Johnny Snotball be voted out, or will they keep him around
as their token "Number Two?" Peace, till next |
|
Here
is a pictorial feast for all of you who have been patiently waiting
for updates! :-)
First, our outing to see Chico's band perform on Sunday. What a treat! I can't wait for them to play again - although, this was the first performance in 15 years, so it may be awhile!
Next are house pictures. We've got some of the newly painted living room, and the progress on the porch. We're about 1/3 of the way done on the porch. We plan to install new flooring. (Hopefully by next week) and build storage benches along one wall for all of the skydiving, rock climbing and kayaking equipment. Living
room: Porch:
Peace, till next |
|
Young Brian has pneumonia (or as my sisters and I used to call it, "The Monya") So he's been taking it easy and hasn't been going chainsaw crazy. Girl Heather has forced him to stay quiet all week and has fed him lots of garlicky things, because my dad says garlic cures what ails ya. Home Improvement Shopping Adventure: Goal: To raise our living room floor to a stable, non-bouncing, non-sinking level, without collapsing our house into the basement. Needed supplies: Manually crankable floor jacks. The ones that you raise a little bit at a time to avoid breaking and snapping your floor joists. We seek. We find. Heather doesn't trust the boxed instructions, so she hunts down the nearest Home Improvement Store Handy-Helper. Me: Our floor is floppy, so I was told that this here jack is gonna make my life perfect. So, I take them and crank them an ittybittybittybit at a time, until I hear some snapping and cracking and popping, and then I stop, wait a week, then do it again. Right? <Very enthusiastic!> Home Improvement Helper: <scratching head> Wellllllllllll. You *could* do that. but it's really slow. <shuffling feet> I mean, to be honest, if you stop twisting that thing every time ya hear a "snap" or a "pop," yer never gonna get it to where you want it. Me: Uh-huh, ok. So? Home Improvement Helper: Soooooo, that's the SLOW way. I have a BETTER way. <wink> Me: Yeah? <Excited> Tell me! Tell me! Home Improvement Helper: Wayyyy-ellll. A few weeks ago, I went over to my buddy's house to do this, and may-un, I tell ya, this crap is slower than . . . well, it's SLOW. So I went out and got me this swank new hydraulic jack, and let-me-tell-you, I got that badboy floor jacked up in TWO BLEEPING MINUTES! Me: <jaw drops> Home Improvement Helper: YEEEEHAAAA! Yeah! It was a SNAPPIN' and a POPPIN and a CRACKIN' and my buddy, he was a FREAKIN', cuz like ALL the plaster and sheetrock just started crackin' and fallin' down. It was AWESOME! Me: Ummmm. Home Improvement Helper: So, yeah, like have you already done new sheetrock? Me: Ummmm, no? Home Improvement Helper: COOL! You should totally do this then! You don't need none of those stupid slow-crankin' jacks. Get a HYDRAULIC one and crank that bleeper up in two minutes! Just be sure ya WAIT to do the new sheetrock until AFTER you get it cranked! You'll be stylin'! <flashes two thumbs up, a big smile, and another wink> Yeahhhhhh. Color Heather Speechless. Me: <fake-smiling> Ummmm! Yeah! OK! Thanksohsomuch! I walk away and give Brian a li'l kick for giggling under his breath, while he asks me if that's gonna be my NEW plan for raising the floors. *sigh* Peace, till next |
|
People who work with Brian: Your job today is to walk up to him and ask him the following two questions: A)
What did you get for your birthday? Brian's birthday was on October 27 and he's a whopping 33 years old! Huzzah and Happy, Happy to young Brian! For his birthday, he mostly asked for tools. Among themt: A chainsaw. He got it. So he has been walking around the house all weekend making this noise: GNIIIING-ING-ING-ING-INGINING-ING-WAHHHHHHHH-WHAAWHAAAAAAAAAAAA-GIIIIIIIN-ING-ING - just like a well-wound-up chainsaw would make. And he squinches his face all up like a chainsaw-weilding maniac. Very poetic looking. He's such a delicate flower. On Saturday night, he sat down and read the instruction manual cover-to-cover. He learned everything there is to know about chainsaw safety, care and creativity. He was a little sad because it rained all weekend and he couldn't give it a test drive, but the manual and sound effects kept him thoroughly entertained. Brian: <matter of fact tone of voice, in reference to the damp weekend weather> Can't use it this weekend. Gotta wory about "kickback", ya know. So arrives Sunday, and Brian has offered to treat me to a matinee movie. How can I refuse? Popcorn, mindless entertainment, a date with my fella? - well, I *can't* refuse. ;-) He flips through the newspaper's entertainment listings and points to his movie of choice. Big grin. I read: Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I grin. I am a slasher movie junkie. We head out to the theater, and as we park the truck, Brian realizes that his new chainsaw is still in the back seat. The mental gears start grinding, and he suddenly thinks it would be a GREAT idea to bring the chainsaw into the theatre. Brian: I could go up to the counter and plop it in front of the ticket lady! When she asks what movie we want to see, I can say <deep leatherface scary voice> "What movie do ya think I wannna see?" GNIIIING-ING-ING-ING-INGINING-ING-WAHHHHHHHH-WHAAWHAAAAA-WAAAAAAA-GIIIIIIIN-ING-ING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Me: Don't you think we might get into a little bit of trouble? Brian: Nahhhhh. There's no gas in it, so all I can do is make the sound effects. <pause - acts out what he would say to ticket girl> GNIIIING-ING-ING-ING-sputtersputter-sputter. . . GNIIIING-ING-ING-ING-sputtersputter-sputter . . . GNIIIING-ING-ING-ING-sputtersputter-sputter . . . Hold on, ticket lady, - this is REALLY scary! <manical laughter> GNIIIING-ING-ING-ING-sputtersputter-sputter . . . GNIIIING-ING-ING-ING-INGINING-ING-WAHHHHHHHH-WHAA-WHAAAAA-WAAAAAAA-GIIIIIIIN-ING-ING-WAHHHHHHHH-WHAA-WHAAAAA-WAAAAAAA-GIIIIIIIN-ING-ING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Heather: That *is* scary, honey! And I bet everyone would be laughing sooooo hard as they hauled us away in handcuffs! We get our tickets, buy the big popcorn combo, get seated just in time and settle in for what turned out to be a GREAT Texas Chainsaw flick (if ya like typical slasher movies, that is). Leatherface finds the two girls who are stranded alone in their van, and as he is GIIIIIIIN-ING-ING through the roof of their van, Brian leans over to me and whispers, "He should really be worried about kickback!" ********************** I received a great little email over the weekend from a fan of the Carniegie Deli: -----Original
Message----- heather, the only thing better than the Carnegie Deli's cheesecake is their sandwiches. their sandwiches are HUGE like a pound of meat on really good crusty bread and they have good sour kosher pickles. you should come to nyc catch a concert at the hall and have dinner at carnegie deli. its sooo worth it. Sara I think this is a BRILLIANT idea, and if I can tear Brian away from the chainsaw, I'll suggest it! I would love an opportunity to head down there and give those cheescake-making ladies great big hugs for sending me such a wonderful treat! Sara, thanks for the idea! :-) Peace, till next |
