No More Empty Fortune Cookies!

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Who's the Most SPOILEDEST Puppy in the World?????

Photo by Wifester

Not only does the Sunny dog get her own toy bin, full of toys
** ahem...well, usually full unless she's pulled them all out to play with...**
And not only does she have two mommas who love her more than anything in the world.
A..n..d........not only does her momma make her fresh, organic, preservative free, antibiotic free, dye free food
But she ALSO gets her own organic, whole wheat, yummy, yummy snacks too!


This is her new batch. These are whole wheat, spinach and herb. She LOVES them. They were supposed to have bacon, but well, lets just say that didn't quite work the way I wanted it to.
There was a house full of smoke involved, smoke alarms, and a now blackened glass skillet lid.
That's ok, though, she doesn't know they are missing the bacon. She gobbles them up with such enthusiasm, it's hard to believe how cheap and easy they are to make! I can't believe we waited so long to start doing this for the Sunny dog!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Taking Stock

Wifester won't let me tell you about this wonderful conversation we had today. Something about privacy and coworkers and stuff. Eh... that's alright. I can still tell you some other fun stuff.
Like the fact that when she realized that The Office was a rerun tonight, she pouted. I, being the optimist that I try to be, said that's OK, we can watch the Top Chef finale that we missed last night. She chimed in, Oh no, I'll still be watching The Office. Really, Wifester? Really? Cause I'm pretty sure you've seen this exact episode at least four times already, and you have it on DVD...guess what I'm sitting here watching right now?
Michael Scott is friggin' hilarious, though, I have to admit.
Although, I am just about to go watch Maddow in the other room, then join her again for 30 Rock... Occasionally I can actually get her to watch The Daily Show.
I keep her informed of the goings on in Washington and she reminds me to laugh.
Symbiotic. We work well to balance each other out.
I've found myself evaluating our relationship a lot lately. Years of therapy have taught me to be introspective in order to obtain a more clear perspective. I find that taking my personal inventory today is much easier than it was back in the early days when I was first learning to do it, and it's kind of fun to learn a little and grow a little. I'm weird that way.
In taking stock of my relationship, I found myself pondering why I would be taking my relationship's inventory and evaluating it with such a scrutinous eye. I've come to multiple, interweaved conclusions:
1. Because I keep watching our friends' relationships dissolve around us
2. Because our country doesn't recognize our marriage
3. Because my own parents don't acknowledge our relationship
4. Because I love her more than I ever thought I could possibly love another person and I just
don't want to see our relationship fail.

I imagine that's healthy, natural even to look at your relationship and evaluate. I don't doubt our strength. In fact the more I look at us, the better I feel about us. That's reassuring to me. I can't honestly say that I've ever had that in my life before. I suppose that's one of the reasons I married her.
One of our friends was here one day and she said to us " Oh, you guys are the perfect couple" and I thought Yeah, we are, aren't we? I can't think of anyone on this planet that I'd rather spend my time with. Honestly. And isn't that how it's supposed to be? I think it is...
But I see all these couples around me who seem to be tired of each other's company, exhausted with one another. Exasperated.
Not Wifester and I. With each day that passes, each year that passes, I only love her all the more. I am more and more excited to see her at the end of a long day of work . She's not just my Wifester, she's my best friend, my confidant, my muse and my motivator.
I don't get why that's so offensive to some people. I mean, aren't we all just supposed to nurture and support and love one another anyways? Wouldn't it be nice if everyone got that concept? I mean really got it.
I guess that's the kind of thinking that makes Wifester lovingly call me a modern day hippie.
I'm OK with that. I really wouldn't have it any other way.

Don't Rain On My Delivery!


My new sofa gets delivered tomorrow... I'm so excited. I have people coming to pick up the old sofa, people coming to deliver the new sofa... and LOOK AT THIS WEATHER REPORT!!!



Ain't that just the luck? *Sigh*
Hopefully they will deliver during one of the scattered times when it's not going to be raining, hailing, or otherwise producing inclement weather. I suppose it could be worse. They could be delivering on Saturday...brrrrrrr!

Bobby Jindal / Kenneth the Page

Monday, February 23, 2009

Monday Ranting

So I had my interview with the reporter...still no word on when that story will air. I'll keep you posted. I got the Wifester a nifty little gadget that enables us to record from tv, vhs, and other media and convert it to digital files for the computer. So when it does air, I'll capture it and be sure to have it available...

In other news, I'm irate today. Nothing new for a work day these days, but there is some uncalled for nonsense going on, and I just can't tolerate it.
I suppose I have to tolerate it, at least until I've finished school and get a new job, but this madness is infuriating.

Without going into too much boring detail, I'm doing the work, and someone else is getting the recognition. Now, I wouldn't necessarily be so livid, if it wasn't an ongoing situation, and if there weren't monetary rewards involved.

The problem is, the person providing the recognition to the wrong person is so clueless, that they just take the other person's word that they are performing, rather than verifying, because verifying would require you know what you are looking for in the first place, right? Yeah. So that's what I've got going on. And on top of it, I keep getting more and more work piled onto my desk, while this person sits on their cell phone and visits at other cubicles, giggling, gossiping, and eating all day long.

I HATE office politics.
It really doesn't matter how hard you work. How much your customers (in my case bank managers and vp's) write in to say how wonderful you are, how helpful you've been, or how pinnacle you are to their operations.
You just have to be in good with the boss, and then you can slack off and do nothing, and get rewarded for it.
I hate working for tha' man.

Did I tell you I want to be my own boss? I want to open a small business. And I will, too. Wait and see.
I can't tell you too much about it right now, or you might be tempted to take my oh-so-cleaver idea and make it work for yourself. Oh no, padre! Not so fast. I've got plans,you know, and I'm going to work them out. Just wait and see. Just you wait and see...

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Calling all Nashvillians...

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Once Upon A Time...



... a somewhat disgruntled, blogging girl wrote a blog about her excessively high electric bill. She was only venting and ranting, as she is prone to do from time to time. She knew blogging about it would not change the bill, but she needed to get the frustration off of her chest. Resentment is a heavy burden to carry.
Days passed, and eventually turned into weeks, when suddenly, the disgruntled, blogging girl received an email from a reporter with a local news station. The girl was simply excited that someone had read the blog at all, much less thought enough of it to contact her. But this reporter was not contacting her simply to say "Nice Blog." She wanted to have an interview with the disgruntled, blogging girl. She seemed to think the blogging girl had something worthwhile to say. Imagine that!
So a date was set and now the disgruntled blogging girl is a bit less disgruntled and much more impassioned to continue blogging about the daily social injustices, fleecing of citizens, and corruption in general she so happens to bear witness to.

... To Be Continued

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Ouch!


There's a really good reason my childhood nickname was fumble-butt. I don't know why I'm so clumbsy, but I always have been. This is how I finished Monday. Sorry, no mellow yellow monday photo, no WWC photo this week.
I'll just be here nursing my wounds. Until then...I'm going back to the canvas, it's never hurt me!
Oh, yeah, remember the flowers and fishy that I started the other day? Here's it now



Monday, February 16, 2009

A new painting in progress...


I started this one on Saturday night. I have a base down, now I think I can start detailing it the way I want. I have today off, so I'll spend some time with it again.
I wish I could spend every day with paint and canvas. Practice makes perfect, not that I'd ever be perfect at it, but at least better...
My "If I win the lottery" wish is to travel and paint. I want to go to all the beautiful places I've never been or have been but didn't have the time/opportunity/supplies to paint while there.



Sunday, February 15, 2009

New Painting in the works...

I started this one last night. I have a base down, now I think I can start detailing it the way I want.
I wish I could spend every day with paint and canvas. Practice makes perfect, not that I'd ever be perfect at it, but at least better...
My "If I win the lottery" wish is to travel and paint. I want to go to all the beautiful places I've never been or have been but didn't have the time/opportunity/supplies to paint while there. Like the desert. And Norther California. And then off to places like Thailand, Alaska, Ireland, New Zealand...easel and canvas in tow.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

My Green Puppy

So a while back The Wifester and I discussed the benefits of going organic and home made with the Sunny-dog's food. The reasons are many and varied all have her best health in mind. I blogged extensively about it here. I've since then made some batches of organic, fresh Sunny-dog approved treats and daily food too. So far she loves the home made treats even better than the commercial store bought ones and same for the food.
I've noticed that she actually does eat smaller portions since she's actually getting nutrients rather than so much filler, and she really really does have smaller poops. The books I've read said this happens because the food I'm feeding her are almost completely digestible while the commercial foods contain so much filler and preservatives that their bodies have to get rid of that stuff via the poop...Makes sense to me.

I've tried the treats with some friends pups and so far have had rave reviews. I think Sunny's treat is definately going to be a staple. I cooked up a new batch of food for this week for her. This one smelled so good! I wanted to taste it! I mean, it's just ground turkey, potatoes, bacon, spinach, broccoli, green beans, rice, and some puppy safe seasonings like rosemary and oregano. I don't add any salt, I think the bacon covers that element. Pups don't need a lot of sodium. The vets said the spinach provides lots of nutrients that are good for her bones, her hips, and her eyes. The rosemary helps keep her liver and pancreas healthy, and I found glucosamine supplement to add to it so it can help with her aging hips. Sunny has never been so happy. She has started picking out the dry food that I've been mixing the new food with, and spitting it on the floor beside her bowl! Only eating the fresh cooked food. Brat! I suppose it's time to finish weening her off the commercial stuff all together. This morning I fed her home cooked only. She wagged her tail the entire time she ate. And she didn't look up until it was gone. Usually she walks away and looks to see if anyone else has something they are willing to share with her. Not now. I like that I have varrying recipes for her too, so she can have a variety. I mean, I'd so hate to eat the same meal every single day of my life.

And you know what? She already looks better. Her eyes are shinier, her coat is shinier. She does seem less itchy.
Hooray for organic home made doggie food!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

A Rose by Any Other Name

The Huffington Post provided audio of James Gorman, co-president of Morgan Stanley, in a conference call saying
"There will be a retention award. Please do not call it a bonus. It is not a bonus. It is an award. And it recognizes the importance of keeping our team in place as we go through this integration."

The payments being calculated based on performance numbers from 2008, to ensure an increase in the size of the awards.

"I think I can hear you clapping from here in New York," Gorman snarked, oblivious to the disservice occuring to you and I. Meanwhile, taking our tax dollars to provide these awards to people who make more money in one year than many of us will make in our lifetimes. "You should be clapping because frankly that is a very generous and thoughtful decision that we have made. We spent a lot of time kicking this around. We could easily have done it from the point of closing, which is obviously going to be somewhere in the latter half of this year or around the middle of the year. But we just decided... that it was right thing to do, to give you that certainty that it would be based off '08. '09 is a very difficult year... So that degree of anxiety, which many, many of you have emailed me about... is now off the table."

While I'm cuting corners and clipping coupons. Saving all I can because I keep watching my once healthy 401K dwindle and diminish, like a cancer patient in his last few days...gasping for air.

I don't want to end up like Henrietta Hughes. I mean, sure it seems to have worked out ok for her now, but jeez! She lived in her car...with her son.

That's not supposed to be my country. But the other day when Wifester's cousin was here visiting us from Ohio, as we drove home from a trip downtown, we drove through an underpass and there were men sleeping under the bridge. In the winter, in Nashville. I felt bad. Not that I've never seen them before. Nashville's had homeless for a long time. But there's more now than ever before, and they are in areas that you never saw them in before.

I was almost one of them. Seriously. Almost one of them once. Its so easy for it to happen to you before you even realize it. One day I'm living my life, paying my rent, stretching my dollars to make ends meet when all of a sudden I wake up to my partner gone, my transportation -gone, my savings - gone. An explanation that she's in love with my boss. My boss... consider how difficult that work situation became. It didn't last long. And neither did my funds nor my ability to support myself. I found myself at the mercy of friends who graciously took me in and helped me out until I could get back on my feet. But I know that not everyone has that luxury. In fact, had I not been able to travel the 2,800 miles to reach those friends, I would have been on the streets within another 2 days. That's no lie and no exaggeration.

How did I get out of that ditch? Help from friends. Rehab. Detoxing from that smorgasbord of chemical substances really helped a lot. And therapy. I became very introspective and studied my life, my patterns and my behaviors.

I wonder how many of these people could get a home and possibly even some help for their problems, to rehabilitate them and help them become productive citizens again on just one of those "awards?"

I don't really care what they call it.

Bonus.

Award.

Corporate Greed.

A rose by any other name? That ain't no rose, let me tell you... and sweet is NOT how I'd describe what I'm smelling...

Which all has me playing Ani Difranco's Serpentine over and over and over again in my mind.

If you don't know the song, here's the lyrics, and you can listen to it here:




pavlov hits me with more bad news

every time i answer the phone

so i play and i sing and i just let it ring

all day when i'm at home

a defacto choice of macro

or microcosmic melancholy


but, baby, any way you slice it

i'm thinkin i could just as soon use

the time alone


yes, the goons have gone global

and the CEOs are shredding files

and the democrins and the republicrats

are flashing their toothy smiles

and uncle tom is posing for a photo op

with the oval office clan


and uncle sam is rigging cockfights

in the promised land

and that knife you stuck in my back is still there

it pinches a little when i sigh and moan

and these days i'm thinkin i could just as soon use

the time alone


cuz all the wrong people have the power

of suggestion

and the freedom of the press is meaningless


if nobody asks a question

i mean, causation by definition

is such a complex compilation of factors

that to even try to say why

is to oversimplifly

but that's a far cry, isn't it dear?

from acting like you're the only one there

unrepentantly self-centered and unfair

enter all suckers scrambling for the scoop


exit mr. eye contact

who took his flirt and flew the coop

but whatever

no matter

no fishin trips

no fishin

cuz mamma's officially out of commission

and did i mention

in there


somewhere

did i mention

somewhere

in there

that i traded babe ruth?

yes, i traded the only player that was bigger than the game

and i can't even tell you why

cuz you'd think i'm insane

and that's the truth


and the music industry mafia is pimping girl power

sniping off their sharpshooter singles from their styrofoam towers

and hip hop is tied up in the back room

with a logo stuffed in its mouth

cuz the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house

but then

i'm getting away from myself

as i get closer and closer to home


and these days i'm thinkin

i could just as soon use

the time alone


an i must admit

today my inner pessimist

seems to have got the best of me

we start out sugared up on kool-aid and manifest destiny

and we memorize all the president's names

like little trained monkeys


and then we're spit into the world

so many spinny-eyed t.v. junkies

incapable of unravelling the military industrial mystery

preemptively pacified with history book history

an i've been around the world now

and i can see this about america

the mind control is steep here, man

the myopia is deep here


and behold


those that try to expose the reality

who really try to realize democracy

are shot with rubber bullets and gassed off the streets

while the global power brokers are kept clean and discreet

behind a wall

behind a moat

and that is all

that's all she wrote


an my heart beats an sss o o o sss


cuz folks just couldn't care care care less less less

as long as every day is superbowl sunday

and larger than life women in lingerie

are pouting at us from every bus stop

shelovesme shelovesmenot shelovesme shelovesmenot...


and "big government should not stand between a man and his money"

cuz "what's good for business is good for the country"


our children still take that lie like communion

the same old line the confederacy used on the union


conjugate liberty

into libertarian

and medicate it

associate it

with deregulation

privatization

we won't even know we're slaves

on a corporate plantation


somebody say hallelujah!

somebody say damnation!

cuz the profit system follows the path of least resistance

and the path of least resistance is what makes the river crooked

makes it serpentine

capitalism is the devil's wet dream

so just give me my judy garland drugs

and let me get back to work

cuz the empire state building


is the tallest building in new york

and i always got the feeling

you just liked to hear it fall


off your tongue


but i remember my name


in your mouth

and i don't think i was done

hearing it close to my ear

on a whisper's way to a moan


but pavlov hits me with more bad news every time i answer the phone

so i play and i sing and i just let it ring all day when i'm at home


a defacto choice of macro

or microcosmic melancholy

but baby, any way you slice it

i'm thinkin i could just as soon use

the time alone


© 2003 ani difranco / righteous babe music


Monday, February 9, 2009

Unexpected gems

This is quite possibly the most brilliant thing I've read this year. I love it.

Mellow Yellow Monday

MellowYellowBadge



Today's Mellow Yellow Monday photo is one taken by the Wifester, go on over and check out her Flickr, she's really good. I thought the Sunny dog made a great MYM subject, being both MELLOW and YELLOW herself. She was way too busy peeing on everything when we were on our hike, and that's a yellow nobody wants to see. I tried to get some yellow leaves, but there's an absence of those these days. The only good photo came out like this:

photo by Fortune Cookies

Mellow? Check.
Yellow? Eh...Not so much.

If you want to join the Mellow Yellow Monday group, go visit Drowsey Monkey at teh Mellow Yellow Home. But be sure to come back and look around here a while.Who knows what you may find?!

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Courage Campaign

Speaking of paying it forward...
My friend over at Three Continent Family sent me this awesome video, so I wanted to pass it on.
"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Per Ben's Request

early works, posted because Ben, from Both Sides of Ben, asked to see them since I mentioned them over at his place...


These two are very understated, simplistic.
I've always loved Picasso's Femme

and because of it, I just wanted to do my version, in a sort of tribute to the great master. Not that I could ever try to compare...He wins, hands down of course. I just wanted my twist on it.

Then, still inspired by the simplicity of those lines, I did this:



all of these were my solution to some moldy, old and ugly prints from the thrift store. Back before Wifester was in my life, I had some pretty lean times. My choices would literally be either buy groceries or pay rent. But rarely could I do both. During those times, I often spent .50 -1.00 at the thrift stores on things like these that I could paint over to create art for myself, that's when I wasn't going through a dry spell of not painting at all. Paint costs money and back then, it was quite rare that I could even afford it.
When I got these, they had oriental prints that had seen much better days. I had to bleach them to kill the mold, scrub them to get the years of grime, and scrape them to slough off all of that funky combination just to get a base that I could work on.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Who Picnics in the Park in February?


We do!
It was in the 60's today and the sun shined nicely for a good part of the day, so we took the Sunny dog and headed to the park for a hike and a picnic. Who's ever heard of such nonsense in February?? It was wonderful.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

This Weed Smells Like a Rose! & It's Mellow Yellow Monday Again!

I was shocked when Wifester's mom emailed me on Friday telling me about an article she'd read in the Cleveland Plain Dealer about a local church who is taking a stand in support of gay marriage rights by refusing to sign state marriage licenses, until same sex couples are allowed the right to marry in Ohio. Oh sure, I know of pleanty of churches who are supportive of the gay community, what shocked me so was the fact that it was a Church of Christ. The United Church of Christ, a 1.2-million member denomination headquartered in Cleveland, has aparently adopted a resolution supporting gay marriage at a national synod in Atlanta three years ago. Who knew?

I jokingly wrote back to Wifester's mom saying that it's surely snowed so much up there that Hell must have finally frozen over. I mean, that's my only explanation for a Church of Christ supporting gay marriage. We were out to lunch with some friends yesterday, one of which is a member of the Church of Christ, here in Nashville. She's not a homophobe, but she will quickly tell you that her church is adamantly against homosexuality. I told them about the email from Wifester's mom, and how I just could not believe that it was a Church of Christ, Wifester interrupting me to say "I'm pretty sure mom got that wrong." when Church-girl said "Oh, she must have read that wrong, I bet it was Christ Church. You know, they're completely different."

With so much debate over whether or not it was the Church of Christ or the Christ Church, what got lost in the conversation was the wonderful fact that now we have large, major congregations banning together in support of our plight. That's such a tremendous step in the journey to equallity.

I've not been able to stop thinking about this article, so I had to look up the newspaper Wifester's mom was telling me about, to read it for myself and to double check to see once and for all, is it Christ Church, or Church of Christ? I just need to know. Trust me, it matters.

Turns out, Wifester's mom is on her game. It was the Church of Christ. Which makes this victory all the sweeter to my pallett. Why is that?
Well, if you pick up a lovely pink rose, and sniff it, and it smells sweet, well, you expected that to happen, but if you pick up a gnarley twisted weed, and it seems dead and dry, but you sniff it anyways, and it smells just like that rose did? That's something to take notice of!

Now on to the fun stuff...

MellowYellowMondayBadge

I used an archived photo for this week's Mellow Yellow Monday post...

From Gatlinburg


Mellow Yellow Monday is a cool photo meme, here's the 411
The rules are pretty simple:
1. Every Monday post a photo with a little or a lot of yellow.
2. Please only post photos you have authority to use.
3. Include a Mellow Yellow Badge or a link to the mellow yellow blog in your post.
4. Leave the link to your Mellow Yellow post below on Mr. Linky.
5. Visit other blogs listed ... comment & enjoy!

When to Post:
Mister Linky will be available every Sunday at 5:00 pm EST and will remain open until the following Wednesday.

If you want to join, go on over and sign your self up