Monday, July 30, 2007

by god...

it HAS been a long time since i've posted! long story short, i've been unable to blog/do other online stuff due to circumstances beyond my control, BUT NOW I'M BACK, yo.
new job=very very good. tomorrow is tuesday for the rest of the world, but it's my friday, meaning that my days off follow tuesday. and it's delightful and i love doing what i do, even though it came with a pay cut.
but as my wise friend ellermee said, "what's the good of the extra money if you are just spending it on things that numb the pain?"
wise beyond her years, that ellermee. wise beyond her years.
we have the 'puter hooked up to our TV screen and DAMN, this is the BIGGEST i've ever seen a post. for real. it's insanely huge.

see how ridiculous this is? SEE?


Tuesday, July 24, 2007

and i wait...

just waiting for my LAST story for my LAST two papers of the week and
then today is my FRIDAY! ahhh...the next three days will be spent
chillin' with my kiddo, housecleaning, doing dishes, doing laundry,
etc... but i reckon i can live with that.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Happy Birthday, Fetus!

it's my friend Brian's special day! happy birthday!

Saturday, July 21, 2007

why does crappy behavior still surprise me?

so i scampered to the evil walmart today to pick up a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for my kiddo this morning. yes, i know they are very, very evil, but i also know that they were selling the books for only 17.88, whereas barnes and noble was charging closer to 25 and, in times like these, every dollar saved counts.

ANYHOW, i was looking for a parking spot and i paused to let some shoppers cross in the crosswalk in front of me, however the minivan coming toward me didn't see them right away --- they didn't come close to being hit or anything like that, but the shoppers leaving the store were LIVID. the angry, pasty-white woman gestured as if to say "hello?!? we're right here!" and the woman in her minivan with her kid looked apologetic, as if to say "i'm sorry, i didn't see you in my blind spot." the woman in the minivan drives off and THEN the husband of the pasty-white woman actually FLIPPED OFF the woman and her kids... i've not seen a display of such utter jackassery in a long, long time.

had i been the woman in the minivan i would have stopped the vehicle, put it in reverse and told my kid "close your eyes, sweetie... mommy needs to take care of something..."

i know i was at walmart and walmart isn't exactly the epitome of class, but even THERE, is it really too much to just be fucking civil? to NOT go out of your way to be a complete fucker?

maybe i was in one of my super-vigilant moods... but DUDE, he flipped off a mom and her kid.

sometimes i think it's good that i still give everyone (MOST everyone) the benefit of the doubt that they won't be douchebags. i like that i'm basically pretty trusting and hope that, if i treat someone with even a basic level of respect, they will do the same.

but that's what bites me in the ass, b/c people will be douchebags on a regular basis. they will treat people like crap. and i guess i never learn.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

ugh.

do you ever get tired of feeling like you are the biggest fuckup ever? no matter what you do, bad shit keeps happening -- and will continue to do so FOREVER? crap.

i know what you are searching for online ...

so i log onto statcounter this morning to view my blog stats and i can see how people are finding my blog. well, one lucky reader came across my blog by googling the following:

"pussycat dolls sweating"


AWESOME! and, because i like to touch on EVERY important topic on my blog, this lucky reader found where i berated the pussycat dolls for covering "tainted love."

"pussycat dolls sweating"


people that search for images of the pussycat dolls sweating? that's my demographic.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

i just died a little on the inside.

saw the movie...

"sicko" last night, and i cannot adequately convey my anger at our government for not providing universal health care.

i once had a conversation with someone who felt that it was not our government's responsibility to take care of us and our friends/family/neighbors, but each person who can help, should.

sadly, i explained to him, not every person in this country was like that.

knowing that with a new job comes a new 90-day waiting period for health coverage, it makes me nervous. any mysterious symptoms arise and they'll be checked out...... but not until November 1.

and to anyone who thinks that universal healthcare is evil, find a Canadian and ask them how many times they've had medical bills sent to collection agencies because they couldn't keep up on payments.

can't get into it now. am still seething and my stomach is in knots over it.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

post 1472

that's a lot of posts, by god. some of them were just photos, some of them blog quizzes or memes. some were filled with gob and gobs of words and phrases and sentences and typos and the like. one thousand, four hundred, seventy two posts. a sliver of life -- a very, very large sliver at that.

tomorrow is the first day of my newspaper re-beginning, and i'm pretty excited. i'm not great at a lot of things, but i'm a whiz at Quark and can kick layout ass in that regard. mostly i'm just glad to be doing something i know i'm good at and that is all that is expected of me. gone are the days of fighting off the kool-aid sips and having to hide the pills in my pillowcase after i've pretended to swallow them. it's a nice sense of freedom.

here's the rub: i miss some people from my old gig, but that is the way it goes.

i need to start making snidecards again. i was really excited about it at first, and then felt as though i had no time to do any of them...THAT will be remedied, by god. one of these days we'll have a separate snidecard site and it will be wonderful and life-changing to everyone who sees it. i'll keep you posted.

as for tomorrow, i need to start putting stuff up in my cube, give it that ol' kari touch. (NIN poster, trout stapler, xray photo of bird, etc.) i'll post a photo of the completed project.

yay for visitors!

and no, i'm not talking about UFOs (although i'm sure i would have a blog post entitled "yay for visitors!" if there were UFOs in my backyard)...i'm talking about....

amy and rob! (center is my super-awesome kiddo)


i've known amycita since i was about 1 1/2 years of age... she and her sisters are practically kinfolk.


saturday's agenda: breakfast with amy and rob, followed by a viewing of the new Harry Potter movie with the kiddo, perhaps?

Friday, July 13, 2007

pop culture winnas!

i'm watching the VH-1 pop culture challenge show and i think i've figured out something -- people in my age group can name any, ANY 80s band, song, album, lyrics.. ANY. but if you put anything in front of us that is from anything in the time frame of Present-past few years, we have NO IDEA. at all. it's as though once the puberty passed and we no longer listened to Casey Casem's Top 40 countdown, we just stopped caring.

for example: i saw questions about album titles and i knew Nevermind, Appetite for Destruction, She's So Unusual and Pyromania (Nirvana, Guns N Roses, Cyndi Lauper and Def Leppard) but the one i didn't get.... an album from Outkast, and even now i don't recall the title.

so if the key to being a pop culture champion is to know about the crap that is out there now, i'm okay with relinquishing my crown.

dry dry dry dry

i wish it would rain.
i think i need sleep. i'm feeling.... down.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

i have a new mission

check this site and follow suit ... you all know what to do!

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

a bad smell.

we live near the airport and have planes overhead often, so if i smell something that smells strange, i assume it's coming from outside.

however, i noticed that a smell tonight wasn't coming from outside. i walked into the kitchen and opened the dishwasher that was in the drying phase...a plastic spoon had fallen from the top rack down below the bottom rack and ONTO THE HEATER COIL, thus emitting a horrible melting plastic smell from the dishwasher vent.

ICK. i feel unwell.

so, anyone wanna clean the coils in my dishwasher? i can pay you nothing but respect...but respect you shall have.

day one: not too shabby

i spent three hours in the new office today, filling out paperwork, meeting coworkers and acquainted with my computer. it's always the same sort of process and i should be used to it by now, but it's always kind of scary. i'm not terribly good at meeting new people, so it makes it tough to give off that "kick-ass, take names" persona that i like to display.

the new schedule is definitely something i'm okay with -- although i will never again be able to leave town on a weekend, i reckon i'll be fine with the trade-off for more kiddo time.

i've been slacking in seeing movies, and here's my updated list of movies i still need to see:

• hot fuzz (is this still at the cheap theater?)
• sicko
• waitress
• mr. brooks (yes, brian, i WILL see it eventually)
• transformers
• license to wed (it's JIM! i can't help myself!)
• harry potter (but i'll wait until i can take the kiddo to this)
• 1408 (but that can wait until the cheap theater)

anything else i should see?

Monday, July 09, 2007

DUDE what a week!


the happy couple, sara and darren! congrats, kids!


abbey and dust at the reception.


first dance of the new couple.



ahhh, the happy couple a few days prior...


no amount of sunscreen can keep me from burning.


my kid was the BEST GUEST BOOK ATTENDANT EVER!


shane actually whittled a spatula for food! go shane!


abbey with her aunt sara and uncle darren.


this is darren's youngest sister in a photo that abbey took...abbey definitely has her dad's photography eye, b/c this photo is AMAZING.

now here's some ACTION shots from the drive back to minneapolis!


serene, you say? now imagine seeing this for 500 miles. yeah.


you'll see a few of these on the roadside.


i DID take this while driving!


this antenna may give the illusion that there is cell phone coverage in the sticks. that would be incorrect.


almost home. ALMOST.
for some reason i'm unable to type in a title for this post. i think that's just fine, since it would be something generic like "going home."

in about an hour we'll be packing up the car, checking the air in the tire that has a slow leak (unless you drive all day at 80 mph, in which case the leak is faster...oh crap...) and, if you are like me, car singing like you are a total rock star. i woke up earlier than i needed to and for that, i fear i will pay dearly in about two hours. i'll just pump up the husband with some caffeine and hope for the best, i think.

i'm looking forward to posting some photos later this evening... we've had a really great time and i want to wish sara and darren all the best -- you guys are the greatest!

time to pack and choke down a box of caffeine pills.

Sunday, July 08, 2007

vacation winding down...

just hanging out in the hotel in minot whilst awaiting the gift opening, enjoying some incredibly crappy tv and the lovely air conditioning after an exceptionallly hot and muggy saturday. the wedding and reception/dance were fantastic and it's been lovely to have a few days out of town before starting the new gig. here's a few photos from this week, and there are many more to follow...

crap. nevermind. this internet is too effing slow to upload anything. at all.

so.... the movie that is on? Coyote Ugly. have i ever seen this before? not a bit. but i can tell that this small-town girl who is trying to prove herself as a songwriter is going to be the best scantily-clad barmaid EVER.

and i want a brownie for breakfast. who can bring me a brownie right this second?

Friday, July 06, 2007

quick update!

after a few days of travel and many a beer, i have a quick update for you all! you can stop crossing your fingers now, as i have successfully secured a gig with Sun Newspapers as a Design Editor, beginning this coming week. the hours are great and the work is something i can do with my eyes shut, SO that will be a good move for me and mine.

tomorrow is sara and darren's wedding, so today is filled with wedding prep type stuff and general chaos. kiddo has been with her grandpa the past few days and i'm REALLY REALLY excited to see her today!

i'll have gobs of photos to post once i'm back in town, but for now let me say THANK YOU to everyone who crossed their fingers and other appendages on my behalf. you are all my homies.

Monday, July 02, 2007

departure: nine hours.

i've packed. i've written things on paper to remember in the morning. there's only one thing left to do now...SLEEP. i'll update with EXCITING, NORTH DAKOTA-THEMED UPDATES when i'm able. until then, let's all keep truckin'.

Sunday, July 01, 2007

this is one of the best MST3K episodes. EVER.

"MUST...GET...TO...CRAPPY...SPECIAL...EFFECT..!"

(not embedded because it's the ENTIRE episode.)

updated: STILL watching Family Jewels

i am! and it's wonderful and funny and i may follow this marathon with NICK & JESSICA! i can't help myself.

i'll be out of town for a few days and probably not able to do much blogging from afar, but i'll return with plenty of photos and even more mosquito bites.

just finished removing a tick from dixie's ear (or rather, pointing out a tick on her ear to dustin and watching him remove the tick) and giving her a bath.

now, for the rest of the night, do i:
a) watch the rest of the Family Jewels marathon (it runs until 11 p.m.)
b) laundry
c) unload/load the dishwasher
d) all of the above

because i am a MODERN WOMAN who can multi-task like a ROCK STAR, the answer is d, all of the above. because that's the way i roll, bitches.

my vote for best reality tv series...

Gene Simmons Family Jewels. SERIOUSLY! he and his family are fucking hilarious. it's a marathon day and i shall sit and enjoy this marathon. all. day. long.

what in the...???

so i've had really strange dreams lately. two nights ago the following happened whilst i slumbered:

• one of our cats had kittens. but not small kittens, kittens her size. and then she also birthed a teddy bear and a piece of poster board that, upon being birthed out, unfolded into a huge, wall-sized piece of poster board.

• after the labor, i picked up the mother cat and it was a baby, but a weird baby that looked like a doll with a huge head that had a cone shape to it. but since the cat/weird babydoll had so much in it to birth, the cone head was flopped over with excess skin after birthing so much of what was inside.

note to self: no more eating pickle and cheese sandwiches before bed. i mean it.