To Christina

From this site comes my favorite from the vast collection at the Art Institute of Chicago. Before kids I was a member for years and year and years. Actually, I was a member when I did NOT live in Chicago (it was cheap to be a National Associate, and I was in town often enough that it was worth it).



Picasso -- Crazy Woman with Cats (hey - it's been the story of my life at times).

HELP (not)

We need to replace the flooring in the dining room. I decided before we do the floors we I might as well paint the walls. They haven't been done since we moved into the house, and I've been wanting to paint for a while. The way I figure it, might as well paint over the old -- about to be discarded -- carpet. Doesn't matter if I splash paint all over that now does it.

I'm sure many of you have seen TV shows or commercials or print ads with the lovely couple bonding over redecorating their lovely suburban home. Ah yes, the perfect married couple bonding over cooperative job efforts.

Well, as Bob Dylan would say "It Ain't Me Babe." Spouse and I figured out a long time ago that we don't work well together. I'm not saying that like it's necessarily a bad thing - it's just a fact of our relationship.

SO -- over the past two days I've been doing all the "painting stuff." Prepping the walls, washing, taping, painting, cleaning up, putting on the faux stuff.

I've had some help from both Princess and Spouse.

I'd probably be able to work twice as fast with less than half the help.

I'm just saying. OR -- as Helen Reddy said

Leave me alone won't you leave me alone
Please leave me alone, no leave me alone
Leave me alone, just leave me alone, oh leave me

Can I play too?? Edited (thanks MLL)

One Feather Tail did this and I was going to but forgot, then it popped up again on Doc Thelma's House (which is private so you might not be able to link to it) and A Squib's Life. I figure it's my turn to play.

What I have done

Those that I have done are in italics, my comments are bold.

1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
2. Swam with wild dolphins
3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
8. Said “I love you” and meant it!
9. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea WAY COOL
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise I'm not good at getting up early, but I am good at staying up late.
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game I guess that depends on your definition? A Cubs game? Yes. A World Series Game, no?
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables Yeah, but going to Farmer's Market is much more convenient.
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Drunk tequila In a margarita
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster see number 31.
35. Scored a winning goal
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Visited all 5 continents
40. Taken care of someone who was drunk Hmmm, maybe part of the reason my ex-husband is my EX-husband.
41. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
42. Watched wild whales
43. Stolen a sign
44. Backpacked
45. Taken a road-trip
46. Gone rock climbing
47. Midnight walk on the beach
45. Gone sky diving
49. Taken a train through Europe
50. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
51. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table, and had a meal with them
52. Milked a cow
53. Alphabetized your CDs
54. Sung karaoke
55. Lounged around in bed all day BEFORE number 93.
56. Gone scuba diving
57. Kissed in the rain
58. Gone to a drive-in theatre
59. Started a business
60. Taken a martial arts class
61. Been in a movie
62. Crashed a party
63. Gone without food for 5 days
64. Gotten a tattoo
65. Got flowers for no reason and given
66. Performed on stage
67. Been to Las Vegas
68. Recorded music
69. Eaten shark
70. Buried one/both of your parents
71. Been on a cruise ship
72. Spoken more than one language fluently
73. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over Well, a job was involved.
74. Walked a famous bridge
75. Had plastic surgery
76. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
78. Wrote articles for a large publication
79. Tried to lose weight seriously
80. Piloted an airplane
80. Petted a stingray
81. Broken someone’s heart
82. Broken a bone Hmmm, does it count if someone else actually broke the bone for me??
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Parasailed
86. Skipped all your school reunions
87. Shaved your head
88. Caused a car accident
89. Pretended to be “sick”
90. Swam in the Pacific Ocean
91. Saved someone’s life No, but saved someone's eyesight.
92. Fainted
93. Been in the room while someone is giving birth (Self only)
94. Hitchhiked No -- but taken rides with strangers.
95. Adopted a child
96. Been caught daydreaming
97. Been to the Painted Desert
98. Called off a wedding engagement
99. Donated your blood
100. Had an out-of-body experience

Edited

Bye Bye Waitress

There are quite a number of blogs I read on a regular basis (see list to the right, under the Deathly Hallows countdown). Three of these blogs are "servers" of sorts, every one's favorite waiter, the lady that gives us something to go with our caffeine fix, and a good old barmaid. The good old barmaid is retiring from blogging, and I'll miss her insights and commentary on humans.

I'm not sure if these three have improved my tipping practices (I think I've been pretty good all along) but they've certainly made me more aware of my practices. They've also (jointly) reminded me (what I already knew) that "folks is folks" and it's interesting how humans everywhere are the same.

One that that totally amuses me though, these three (wonderful) writers have all had encounters with and commented about cheap mother fuck3rs the more frugal members of our society.

I run a tax business (anyone want to buy it) The thing that I have found to be of interest, is when the cheap mother fuck3rs more frugal folks, is that sometimes the people that whine and moan and complain are apt to try to strike a deal are often loaded not those in the most need.

When the folks go into a restaurant and ask for hot water and lemon (while having brought their own tea bags), or gentlemen go and sit and have "one" beer at Waitress' bar, or have Barista Brat make multiple bar drinks because the first (and second and third) were wrong (and then try to walk out with the extras for free) the folks serving them don't know something that I get to find out....

When these same folks come into my shop and try to finagle their way to get discounts on my services (my friend paid "$x.xx at the competition") ("can't I use this coupon AND this coupon AND this coupon") ("but I got a quote of $x.xx on the phone" when I make the policy and know dang well exactly what quotes are given over the phone) they forget...

I'm doing your taxes honey -- I know exactly what you make, what your mortgage payments are, where you live, what your property taxes are, how much you've made (or lost) this year on capital gains.

So Waitress, Brat, Waiter, the next time someone comes in and tries to pull one over on you -- yeah, you could think that they might need a break, but that could also be the person that makes $180,000 a year and LOSES (yea that's right loses) over $10,000 per year gambling.

At the end of this tax season when my manager and I were looking back and realized, the people that bitched the MOST were also the people that MADE the most.

Surprised??

(NOTE -- there were also a number of people that were wonderful, salt of the earth, and treated us as fairly as we treated them).