it does warm my heart ...

when sid's friends say, "i want an Aunt Julie." :-)

a dark cloud of ick

joe and i rushed to the fair last night to see if any of my photos had becoming prize-winning.

i got nothing. well, except my "special olympics" ribbon for participating. woofuckinghoo.

i'm down for 2009. i must have one blue ribbon in my repertoire.

as heard on our home voicemail yesterday

"quoted and monitored.
i [computer] have a collect call from
'bob calling for amber,'
an inmate at ironwood state prison in blythe, ca

to accept dial or say 5
to refuse simply hang up."

can't make this stuff up.

ps. mom and kim - remember how many times we've stopped at that mcdonald's in blythe?

again, you can take the girl out of the trailer park ...

okay, so last week, in chicago, i was eating breakfast in my room, in my pjs, when i spilled some jam on my pj bottoms.

i washed them in the sink with some mint thyme shampoo, courtesy of marriott. i then hung them up in the bathroom, thinking they'd dry.

upon my return to the room, several hours later, i notated that the pj bottoms were as wet as when i'd left that morning. not only did i need to wear them to bed that night, i at least had to pack them in the morning.

so i did what i had to do. i wonder if my buyer at TV saw them?

OMFG

over the top but love it ...

ad from a high end luggage and handbag designer

"they'll fight over it when you're dead."

chicago beckons

it's no secret that i LOVE chicago.
it's also no secret that i've thought about moving here. i even have a job lined up here if i need it.

but i don't want to leave california ... because of family.

however, chicago is definitely trying to court me. i've been here five times this year so far and will return in 3 weeks. the weather has been FABULOUS every time ... not even humid this week. (okay, january was kinda bad but i was here for a record breaking storm so it really doesn't count).

we'll see how it is next month, but based on this year's trips, this would be an awesome place to live.

busted?

have you seen the tiny, glass jars of honey and jam that are typically offered in nicer restaurants and room service? well, a little lady in front of me in the security line got BUSTED for having 20 or so in her carry-on. tsa said they're liquids and she'd have to check them or trash them. seriously, they're barely liquids and she was like 70. doubtful that she was going to cause any malfeasance on the plane with her honey and jam. kinda made me sad for her. i know how long she must have collected them. :-)

hey, that's not nice!

so when i got home from entering my pictures, i showed joe the "participant" ribbon i got with my entry. i was excited because i'm really only in this for ribbons and infamy.

joe's sweet comment (and i'm paraphrasing as i am still wounded) - "wow, they give ribbons to participants at the Special Olympics too."

super awesome.

michelle wie? not me!

a couple of months i picked up an entry guide for the ventura county fair.
i've talked about entering photos for YEARS.
i decided this was my year.

so i picked 8 pictures ... tossed one picture and had them printed and mounted (couldn't figure out how to mount on my own). of course, i waited until the last minute to have them mounted as is how i deal when i'm not sure how to tackle a project.

yesterday, as i was making the labels for the back of the pictures, i noticed that i was supposed to submit and entry form by JULY 16th. which i had not done.

panic set in. pictures were at kinko's. i could see the blue ribbon dangling in front of my face. i HAD to be allowed to submit.

i was certain i was going to face unexpected disqualification and certain disappointment just like michelle wie did this week ... but i just couldn't let that happen. this is the FAIR ... not pro golf. so i did what i had to do ... i submitted my form late ... with a great excuse ... and was ushered in to the competition this morning.

pictures will be on display at the ventura county fair july 30th - august 10th. i entered 6 8x10s and 1 4x6. the following are the names of the photos ...

a jellyfish meets its untimely demise
cocktail weenies ring in the new year
paradise found in pismo beach
mama and her two daughters
joe enjoys new symrna beach, fl
chicago water tower at night
lola devours mr. snowman

good luck to me!

is my tiara on straight?

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lola

lola takes a bite out of texas after saving her frog from certain danger! i'm so glad to be back home with her!

pink is beautiful

i had forgotten that creme soda in canada is pink.

that is until i found some, quite by accident, in vancouver over the holiday weekend.

it is beautiful, isn't it?

alligator pear?

i had a lot of trouble considering eating meat on our alaskan adventure.
i think it stems from the talk of REINDEER SAUSAGE, how to roast a PIG in your backyard, and just the fact that i've been on the fence about meat for a long time.

last night we went to a new orleans style restaurant on the ship.
they had GATOR RIBS (which we don't even think exist) and lots of other weird meat on the menu.

so imagine my HORROR when an ALLIGATOR PEAR was listed as an ingredient in the green salad.

apparently, an ALLIGATOR PEAR is also known as a harmless avocado. WHEW.

channeling bappy

bappy was somewhat famous for her limericks. :-) she wrote them to all of us at one time or another.

i was inspired this morning on our way to anchorage. i know bappy would have liked this limerick.

There once was a girl named Sophia
Who couldn't wait to see the Tower of Pisa
She saved and she saved
Keeping her money in a cave
Until the plane came to jet her away-a!

ride 'em seabiscuit!

so, joe and i got a couples massage today.

OMFG.

during the massage, as i lay helpless on my stomach, i realized that the TEENY TINY woman (probably weighed a buck five) administering the massage had CLIMBED ONTO MY BACK and was now straddling me as she used her KNEES to massage my back. i was laughing so hard (on the inside) that i thought i might soil my massage bed. and i knew better than to look at joe ... i wouldn't have been able to control myself if we made eye contact.

all in all it was a great massage ... albeit a bit kinky.

wildlife update

here's a recap of what we saw today.

1 brown bear
countless whales - including MINKE, HUMPBACK and ORCA
4 sea otters (named one OTTO)
1 seal

BTW ... while we were watching the wildlife show, joe realized that he KNOWS the guy in the cabin next door. worked together at kinko's. SMALL world. and a little creepy.

glacier bay, alaska

we're now cruising through glacier bay. last night, we saw a very elusive glacier, the rainbow ... outside of skagway, alaska.

today we've seen the marjorie and the pan pacific. we saw a bear and are hoping for whales! we'll be in the bay today and tomorrow. i have never seen a shade of blue that remotely resembles the blue of a glacier. it's stunning.

i've taken a mere 400 pictures so far; joe is about the same + lots of video footage. OMG.

hello from alaska

i have survived 2 days on the ship. it's kinda creepy. even though the ship is only 6 years old, the decor screams 1982. seriously. it's hilarious. there are lighted sprial staircases and lots of mirrored signs. and the color scheme. don't even get me started!

yesterday was a bit rough, we hit some really rough water, but no puking, so that's awesome.
our room vibrates all of the time; it's like having a "magic fingers" bed that never shuts off. i am now somewhat used to it.

today we landed in ketchikan and took a 3.5 hour boat tour of misty fjord. it was beautiful. so many waterfalls; and lots of marine life! then we had about 45 minutes to shop ... which of course i made the most of!

the ship is now en route to juneau. we'll spend all day there tomorrow. just got finished with afternoon tea and am now headed back to the boardroom for a nap.

so far it's been a very relaxing trip; i have knocked out a lot of reading and am making fabulous progress on the DS version of yoshi's island. i even hit the treadmill!

happy 4th of july!

kim & sophia - claremont, ca

oh so much wiser

i'll never forget the first time i went to europe.
skye and i were there for about 10 days ... and i had THREE HUGE bags. seriously.
3 bags that were flown to paris, carried into paris on the RER, out of paris on the RER, flown to marsielle, flown back to paris, carried back into paris on the RER and finally back out of paris on the RER. what the hell was i thinking?

8 years and 750,000 miles later, i've FINALLY learned my lesson.

joe and i are leaving for alaska / bc in the morning (for 12 days) and i have ONE suitcase. and two small carry-ons. which are minuscule compared to what i took to france on that fateful trip.

only issue that lies ahead is that i'm sure my bag is over 50 lbs. well, it's better to pay $100 roundtrip for an overweight bag than break my back taking another.

i am so proud.

ps. i will be shipping home all souvenirs. which is what broke my suitcase on the way home from france. :-)

doesn't get much cuter than this

how to get your ass kicked in an airport

simple. just wear one of these.

streak desecrated

en route to salt lake for skye's baby shower, the handle on my favorite handbag broke. BROKE. it's only 6 months old ... a christmas present from my fabulous husband.

i had to take her, broken, to salt lake because there was no way i was leaving her in the car to be stolen.

i sent her back to isabella fiore today to have her repaired. you can only insure up to $500 online so i had to go INSIDE OF THE POST OFFICE AND SPEAK WITH A CLERK.

there goes 2 years of boycotting. flushed down the proverbial toilet. btw, they suck just as much as they did when i started the boycott.

obviously, i'm not a very good boycotter. one broken handbag and i lost sight of my cause.

tomorrow marks day 1 of the new boycott.