April 2006

Yep... go look at the live journal.

Wanna know about my day? Go read the Live Journal. Ciao.

It was the day of total chaos and long long long conference calls (who schedules calls at the END of the day, anyway?).. and when it was finally done, a nice glass of chardonnay with il ragazzo who patiently listens to me. He's like a saint, sometimes. Heh.

I don't want to go thru any newses this morning, because sometimes I'm just not patient enough to do that. So instead it's time for a random list of stuff:

1. HEY - I'm gonna go test drive a Saturn Sky next week!
2. I have to clean out my desk and my bookshelves and shred about 40,000 pieces of paper this weekend. Just call me Enron.
3. I made gnocchis with parmesan IN them. I haven't cooked 'em up yet, but I think they'll be awesome. I AM the Barefoot Contessa.
4. What the hell, man? It's supposed to be rainy and icky all weekend. I guess that makes the #1 item a little easier to tolerate.
5. Lots of drama here at our association.. we need new siding - but do we NEED a new roof and doors and windows? I know that if I was living in my own place I'd have that expense, and it's good that I get to share that expense with a bunch of other people.. but still, it sucks just a little.
6. Smellen's hair? CUTEST EVER. I have to go see that guy next time. He'll help me cut it to grow it (and yes.. only girls understand that concept).
7. I lost my inhaler last night. Dammit. I know they're gonna make me pay full price (rather than co-pay) for a new one. But I can't NOT have one.
8. Life is rather awesome right now. Thankyouverymuch.

Okay - let's start Friday so we can END Friday and start the weekend. Ciao, Bellas.

We just keep doing this every day, don't we? Don't you sometimes think that work is just something that we all invented so we'd have something to DO everyday so we wouldn't get bored and get into trouble??

Got home from all the knitting (did we knit? I don't think so. I didn't take mine out of the bag..) and watched both episodes of American Idol - and so long, there, Kellie. Easily the worst performance, and she knew she was going home. How she lasted this long I'll never know. And good God.. how sucked into this AM I, anyway?

Yes, work is still crazy. Truthfully, I'd rather it be crazy than boring.. but a little more towards the middle would be good. Every once in a while, though, it's good to sit back and realize that no matter HOW insane it gets.. no matter how much stuff is piled into my in-basket, no matter how much I get hassled about minor things.. I don't have it as bad as this poor woman.

Eeeka! I didn't know that lightbulbs could explode.

Gadzooks - there's like 1100 cases of mumps in Iowa. The last time I paid attention to this, weren't there like 18 cases? Yeah.. don't get those. They're bad.

Super Duper Bonus Find during the first Spring at the new house.. The tree right in front of my deck has little flowers on it. Loving that. And on that happy note, it's time to get going. La Vita è bella, eh? Ciao.

I decided I was feeling pretty okay last night, so I'd run out for a bit to look for a new spring coat. I don't know what ever happened to my pretty flowery raincoat. So there's a coat (and other stuff) store not far from here.
Oh.. My.. Lord. It was like.. well.. I can't really describe WHAT it was like. It was what I imagine shopping in a third world country might be like. It was dimly lit, messy, disorganized. There were eleventy million people in line and the cashier didn't even seem phased. The thing is - I found this very cute pink coat for such a great price that I HAD to buy it. So I just considered the whole thing to be an adventure and stayed. Now I have a new spring coat.

After that I came home and rested, because I was still a little achey and uncomfortable. I did the "s" word meme over here and I went to bed at a reasonable hour. Now I'm up and I'm still a tiny bit achey, but I think I'm mostly better. Lemme see what else is in the newses:

Would you choose jail time over community service? And who is this girl? I don't watch "Lost" anymore. I lost interest (ha! it's a pun!) a long time ago.

Holy God - It's been 20 years since Chernobyl.

Geez, Dad.. Just calm down. Don't be shooting at the computer. Perhaps you need to spend a little time just talking to your son?

Work is still just busy busy busy. I've given up on trying to be caught up again, and I'm settling for just reacting to whatever gets thrown my way. I don't know if that's the best way to do it.. but it's the only way that's working right now. I know I stay busy every single moment that I'm there, and that things go on and off my desk.. but at the end of the day, it looks exactly the same. Gah. Note to self - just win the stupid lottery already.

That's what I know thus far. Have a most excellent day, peeps, and I'll talk to you later. Ciao.

Let's get a do-over on Monday, okay? Only we'll call it Tuesday this time and do some different stuff.

Oh for the LOVE of GOD.. This is scary. Repeat after me: Cats, not kids. Issy was a little annoying this morning.. he was hungry at about 4:00 and started bugging me to feed him. But you know what? He's never come after me with a metal bar. I don't get it. They said this kid was "a bad kid".. well, duh. Obviously. But kids aren't BORN bad.. I don't believe that. What MAKES them bad?

Speaking of bad kids... How scary is this? What made these kids bad? Yep. The kitty decision has definitely all worked out well for chele.

I wasn't feeling particularly great last night (and if you want to know more about that, read here), so I laid low and went to bed early. Today's gonna be better. Lemme go start with it and see what happens. Talk to you. Ciao.

It certainly seems like a looooong time since I've had to be up for work. Some 3 day weekends are like that. The good ones, anyway.

Gas prices are just insane again. My little desktop widget that keeps track of pricing for me lists the lowest price around me at $2.78 a gallon. Granted, I don't have to fill up all that often anymore - I cut my work commute by over half when I moved - but still, it's painful. I'm REALLY glad I don't have the big blazer anymore.

I LOVE a good boardwalk. I've been to Santa Monica, Rehoboth Beach, and Ocean City. Now I've got vacation on the brain. This doesn't bode well for getting anything done at work today!

Every day I drive past at least 3 or 4 panhandlers with signs. This guy wins for most creative one.

I'm sitting here realizing that I don't even know what's up for the week, and I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Heh. I suppose I should just get started and find out what's going to happen today, anyway. Have a good day. Comportisi, and I'll chat at you tomorrow. Ciao.

Bowling for the Cure was the absolute, best, most fun EVER. Lots of people came out to show their love of bowling and their love of boobies! While I'm certainly not as - ahem - SKILLED as some of the other bowlers, I'll bet I'm most improved! Last time I bowled, I got 9. NINE. In ten frames. This time, I got 33 the first time, and 44 the second time. And I only dropped the ball ONCE. Hehe! And that ragazzo, he's so nice.. he didn't even laugh at me. Not once. Thank you...

It did finally clear up yesterday, and it looks absolutely gorgeous today. I think I will head over to St. Paul for a little brunch this morning, then plant myself outside with a book and some stitching. That sounds like a plan.

I hope your day is just as good. Ciao, amici. TiAmo.

Listy Time:


1. I finished my "fuck cancer" cross stitch sampler.. it's hysterical! As soon as I get the camera back from that ragazzo-boy, I'll post a picture of that (and my hair, too.. I promise.)

2. I had no idea I was that knotted up through my back and shoulders. I hurt today, but it's that good hurt.

3. I stayed home and was domestic last night.. I made canollis and stitched. My gramma would have been proud of me.

4. Where is the sun? Did you ever notice that when I have a long weekend the weather goes right down the toilet?

5. Bowling for Boobies! Be there! Tonight!


I'm going to be lazy and put this list up on my live journal, too, so I don't have to type twice. Because it's vacation, and because I'm just lazy that way, sometimes. Ciao!

C'mon.. you REALLY didn't think I was going to sleep IN this morning, did you? It's too beautiful out there. Also, I knew that I needed to run to Caribou to get coffee.. they have the special Amy's Blend out right now. It's good coffee, and it supports a cause near and dear to me. Go get some now! Oh - was that bossy? *wink*

Holee Hannah - we had the best gnocchi of all time last night. Well, second best compared to mine, and you're very sweet to say that, punkin'. It was so nice to be back in the old neighborhood too. I do miss it.

I have a whirlwind day - the wonderful, glorious massage first, then LOTS of other running around errands. La vita è bella, and I need to enjoy every second of it. I'll keep up the running commentary in the live journal, so good play there today if you want. Talk to you later, bellas. Ciao.

It's cheleFriday, and for that I am grateful. From this side, the weekend looks most excellent and fun-filled. I just need to get thru those pesky 10 hours of work today, and then andiamo - let the good times roll.
First, a word about allergies though. They suck! I love my new house.. I really do. But there's lots more - nature around it than there was around my old place which was smack in the middle of the downtown concrete jungle. Consequently, because of all the nature, there's lots more stuff to make me sneeze, cough, hack, wheeze, drip, and generally be UNgorgeous. Mmmm... snotty. I'm hoping that maybe I'll get used to it. After all, I'm horridly allergic to kitties, and I manage to live with two of them (although I do remember the first year being a little rough). So anyway - lemme just sneeze one or two more times, and then let's look at the news of the world, the universe, infinity and beyond:

Yesterday was the 11th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. I remember exactly where I was when I heard about it. Our head cashier came in to the store early to tell us about it, and we hauled the TV into the office to watch the coverage. She was from Oklahoma, and was really shaken up about it. At first I just wanted to believe it was a horrible accident - so the realization that someone had done this on purpose was doubly terrifiying. The first in the series of "life's never going to be the same again" moments. Take a minute to remember.

I still have two episodes on TiVo, but I wanted to read about who got booted from American Idol (and if you don't wanna know, skip the next couple of sentences). Yeah! It's about time that Ace went. I'm surprised that Chris was in the bottom three - and this makes me anxious to watch the episdoes and see how he did. I think that Paris will probably go next week. I can't BELIEVE I'm this sucked in again. And gee - how long 'til Big Brother starts up again??? Heh.

Just sitting here daydreaming about the weekend. We're going to one of my absolute most favorite EVER restaurants tonight. Mmmm...gnocchi. And tomorrow, I get to have a NINETY minute massage. Heavenly and decadent. And that's just the first DAY of the weekend. Yay! I've been posting more and more on my live journal since I can now do that from my phone. Great. More random cheleThoughts making their way onto the internet. That's just what the world needs. Heh. Go look over there if you're especially bored. I'm gonna go start the day up. Ciao, Bellas.

It was all chaos at work, interrupted by a couple of bright spots - lunch with Jenni from the Internets, and one-glass-of-wine-that-turned-into-more with il ragazzo after work. Isn't it the best when you can sit and talk for hours and it seems like moments? Yeah.. I like that. Got home, chatted even more, and then toppled over into bed.

It's all babies, alla time in the news today (even though, as we all know, babies suck! well... according to subversive cross stitch, anyway.. heh). Tom Cruise and Super-Stepford-Girl Katie Holmes had baby Suri (with the fringe on top. sorry. couldn't resist). Brooke Shields had a baby girl, Grier (whatever happened to, say, Mary, or Anne, or Lisa for girls' names?). And Melissa Etheridge and her partner are expecting twins. (And Melissa is still my hair-role-model.. we both lost our hair at the same time, and mine's just a little longer than hers is in the picture). Good on all of them.

These guys are assholes. And - HELLO? - they're freakin' lacrosse players.. those aren't REAL athletes. I'm pretty sure that I could kick a lacrosse player's ass.

Attention, knitty girls! Someone - get going! I need some projects.

I switched from contacts back to glasses years ago. I got a scratch on my cornea and was supposed to take a couple weeks off from contacts - and I just never went back. I never saw as well with them, and they were just too much work. The picture that goes along with this article just skeeves me out, too. **shudder**

Say it with me - well, EEEEEEEEK! Bubonic PLAGUE?? That can't be good.

Time to go play clean off the desk again at work. Every time I get it down to a manageable level, it just piles right back up again. I guess it's job security, but it would sure be nice to just be caught up. I'll be hangin' with my knitty girls tonight.. see youse guys then. And to all the rest of ya - have a good one. Ciao, Bellas.

Feria #36 Chocolate Cherry is WAY more cherry than chocolate, I have to tell you. I'm hoping that after a few days the cherry calms down a little bit. It was a bit disconcerting to rinse it out in the shower... just a leeeeetle too much like a scene from "Psycho". Eeeeek! But my hair is now officially (almost) one color again - even if it IS a color not found in nature.

Here's huge news... good prevention, fewer side effects.

And let's get all the BAD crime news out of the way at once:
1. The news from Duke University.
2. The news from Aruba.
3. The news from Maine.

We didn't get to see Grey's Anatomy on Sunday, and it was because of this stupid Brian show that no one watched anyway. Bring back Meredith! Bring back George!

My greatest find (well, my greatest find of last night, anyway): Cute little pink sandals, that I also bought in black, because you must have them in both colors, you know. I resisted the white ones, because I already have a pair of white sandals. But maybe... just maybe...

I've gotta run. Ciao.

Wow - I'm just this second remembering the dream I had right before I woke up. I dreamed I was getting my hair cut in this room that looked like my parents' bedroom in the house where I was growing up. The gal that was cutting my hair was paying NO attention to what I wanted, and then when she was done she was using a curling iron on what little hair I had left and she caught my finger in the curling iron. When I yelled at her to stop she said "Oh. Well. I suppose you won't be back. Merry Christmas, then." Suddenly, I was in my parents' living room, eating shrimp and drinking beer.
Okay - what the hell does all THAT mean???

Things from the weekend - I can now post to my LiveJournal from my phone and about 4 dozen other places, so I'm going to put the link back up and start using it a little more. I don't think it'll ever replace good old cheleblog.. but it's an easy place to quickly throw thoughts up. The link's over on the left sidebar, right under the shameless promotion. He's selling a bunch of boy toys.. c'mon - you must know some boys who want this stuff!

Dude - SICK! I promise, we will never speak of sick things like that on cheleblog. It's all sunshine, happiness and Hello Kitty here.

"One life, with each other, sisters, brothers" is Britains favorite song lyric. What if you just had to pick ONE line of one lyric that was your absolute favorite? Could you do it? The one that immediately springs to mind for me is "the less I seek my source for some definitive, the closer I am to fine" from Indigo Girls.

Oh, well, these two are just too precious for words, aren't they? Bleah.

Opus Dei = Big Whiners. Hello? It's a movie. It's just pretend.

Every day, just when I think Tom Cruise can't possibly GET any weirder, he just DOES. Oy. I'm growing tired of you now, Tom. Just go away.

At first this story about the big red paperclip seemed interesting. Then I got bored halfway through. Someone just tell me how it ends, okay?

Acupuncture for pets. Hmm. Sometimes I don't even NEED to provide the smartass commentary. Some stories just speak for themselves.

Okay kids - I gotta fly. Have a most excellent day, and I'll talk at ya tomorrow. Ciao.

Happy Chocolate Easter Bunnies, if you're into that sort of thing. Otherwise Happy Sunday.

I finally bought a couple cross stitch kits yesterday. WARNING! They're not your gramma's stitching.. hehehe.

That's all I've got so far. I'm going to be able to post to my Live Journal from my phone.. as soon as I get that REALLY working the way I want it to, I'll put that link back up and then you can click on it to listen to me blather ALL. DAY. LONG. Because I know you want to. So I'm outta here. Talk to youse guys later. Ciao.

Some goofy sh*t happened yesterday - the kind that threatens to put me off track. Times like that have to be turned into good "teachable moments" - the kind where you learn to just deal with it and move on. I allowed myself a little bit of freak-out time, told myself that it's okay to accept help during freak-out times, and then consciously made the decision to get over it and on with it. And Grazie, you. (yep.. I'm lookin' at you.. you rawk.)

I'm gonna go see my knitty home-girls for a while this morning, and then it must be time to play outside. It would be illegal to be indoors on a day like this. Ciao Bellas. TiAmo.

Good Morning, Internets.
One word this morning - Fantasia on the BIG TV. Okay, that's like five words, but you get the general idea. Big TV with some number (5.1?) Dolby sound.. It was the coolest, coolest ever. Again, I was a little sad when the alarm went off this morning and I realized that there was no coffee (and no creamer - horrors!) and I have to drink jive CHAI TEA (which has not as much caffeine but lots of sugar, so I'm getting all hepped up pretty quickly..).. but seeing that movie was totally worth it. That ragazzo - he's pretty cool, AND he's got cool toys *smiles* How'd I get so lucky? I must have had some good karma stored up.

I'm gonna go into work now and see if I can't get finished up a little bit early... so sorry, you'll have to find your own newses today. Ciao Bellas.

Didn't we just do this yesterday? Oh yeah, we did.

All over the news yesterday - the cockpit recordings from Flight 93, and the case against this guy. They were hard to listen to. And does this guy just want his moment in history, or did he really play a key role? It makes me mad - and sad - that we even have to consider these things. Back on 9/11 (and just writing those numbers now makes me a little ill as well) - one of the first things I thought as we were all standing in that conference room, watching events unfold on TV, was "man, life's never gonna be the same after this, is it?" And it really isn't. I hope for the sake of the families they wrap this trial up fast. How horrid it must be to have to listen to that, and relive it.

Oh, I just broke down and went to McDonald's for lunch the other day. The lure of the french fries was just too much. Then I read articles like this one, and now I have to buy about 20 different gym memberships AND go run a marathon.

Skip this paragraph if you haven't watched American Idol yet.. Okay. How is it that this Ace guy gets to stay and Bucky gets booted? I thought Bucky's performance was far and away better. Ugh. Now is the time in the season when THIS thought starts: If Ace (or whoever I dislike the most that year) wins, I'm NEVER watching this again. Heh.

I'm like a crabby old person sometimes. I hate Halloween, clowns and most amusement park rides. But now I'm justified in this last thing. A woman died after going on a ride at Epcot. It's not a good idea to get spun around and be subjected to twice the force of gravity. Nope. No spinning for chele.

RIP June Pointer.

Oh, and in addition to the aforementioned clowns, Halloween and amusement park rides, I also get the heebiest of jeebies from anything related to contact lenses, or sticking stuff in the eyes in general. And once again it appears that I'm justified. Ewww... eye fungus. Bleah.

Here's Patient Zero in the mumps epidemic. So, should I add flying in one of those germ tubes - I mean airplanes - to the list of things that freak me out?

Here's today's stupid teenager story.

Okay - first of all this silent birth thing is just plain freaky. And second of all - look at this picture. In EVERY picture you ever see of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, he's got the death grip on her, as in "You're NEVER getting away from me, Toots!" Eeeek!

Ladies and Gentlemen: NASCAR Meats. Um... and I have no other words about that.

Okay, Bellas. I gotta run. TiAmo.. and have a good day. Ciao.

It's a very cool thing. The full moon is dead center in the middle of my dining room window, and it's so bright I could ALMOST turn the lamp off. I so love not having lots of buildings in the way. Someone needs to tell me again why I didn't do this a long time ago. Oh, that's right, because this house wouldn't have been for sale. I had to wait for this one. This is where I belong.

Wow - she's just the perfect mom, isn't she? The kid gets dropped on the floor, rides in the car without a car seat...sheesh.

Well, just... holy scam, batman. Wouldn't it have been easier to just rob a bank? Panhandle? ASK for money?

I like these traditional biblical names.

Note to Self: don't buy drinks with Benzene forming in 'em. Eeek.

I had never heard of this Dolores Hart. She was in a couple Elvis movies before becoming a nun.

Attention, CuzGirl: when are we going to Vegas??? I think I'll call the travel agent today...

Don't read this if you haven't yet watched - or don't care about - American Idol. I hope to God Ace goes home this week. I'm sick of him.

Here's a girl who needs to get a job. Oh, and by the way, honey? They can catch you, and they did.

I get to go hang with the knitty girls tonight, although I think maybe we'll actually do more drinking than knitting. YAY! Have a quality day, kids, and I'll visit with ya domani. Ciao.

Good morning. Life is much calmer now. For a Monday, it wasn't half bad. It was 73 and gorgeous out there yesterday, I got to have lunch with my favorite ragazzo, I got a lot of stuff cleared off my desk, I came home and mostly planted myself on the deck for a while. Let's get back to the regular business of cheleblog, shall we?

He's retiring at the end of this season, and I'm glad I got a chance to see him play this year. But mostly, I just like to say his name - Robitaille. One of those that just rolls off the tongue.

Here's another name that's just plain fun to say - Vito Spatafore. I've never seen one minute of The Sopranos. Someday I just have to get the DVDs and watch every single episode. Sorta like sitting down to watch home movies, eh? Hehe.

At first I liked the idea of watching shows online.. then I read that you can't skip through the advertising. Hmmm. What's next? They're gonna MAKE us sit in our seats and watch it? Make it so the mute button doesn't work?

Apple has a little brother - Moses Martin. Moses? Really? Well, I guess it's a little more mainstream than Apple.. but, c'mon Gwyneth. Next time, gimme a call. I'll help you come up with some names.

This is interesting. Kinda yucky to think about, but interesting. I've never **knocks wood** had a sinus infection, but know that people just suffer miserably from them.

I promise, I will never again complain about my cell phone bill.

Okay, peeps. That's what I've got so far today. The work plan is to barricade myself in my office until that huge stack of paperwork is GONE. I'm pretty sure I can get that done. Have a most most most excellent day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow. Ciao.

Okay - you know what's NOT FUNNY?

When people buzz your security doorway and say things like "delivery" and "pizza", and you tell them "I don't know who you are, but go away"... and then, about 5 minutes later, someone is knocking on your front door. So you call the police, to say that someone has gotten into your secured building (while you are doing this, you're on the floor, scared and crying. Yeah - this is HILARIOUS, isn't it???). And then, while you are doing this, they yell "Michele! This is ....." Now, you don't KNOW how much I want to break the rule and put their REAL NAMES on cheleblog.. because I know at least one of them reads this page every single day... but I won't put their names on here. I was kind enough to tell the city's PD to NOT come over and haul them away. Because I'm just kind that way.

So yeah - NOT FUNNY, ASSHOLES. We're grown ups. Go play elsewhere. For five minutes today, I felt unsafe in my own home. And if you think that's funny, you're fucked in the head. And if you ever pull that again, I WILL make your lives miserable. We'll spend a little bit of time exploring the court system together. Now doesn't THAT sound like fun? No? I didn't think so.

Let's see.. Since we last visited, I:

1. made kickass gnocchi and meatballs
2. got to go for a ride in a cadillac (also a kickass thing)
3. got to bed at a reasonable hour
4. woke up at a reasonable hour as well
5. was lazy and bought dessert for chicks with sticks (I'm starting to like Byerly's. Maybe that will end up being my grocery store)
6. saw a Saturn Sky Convertible going down the freeway! I can't believe that someone in the Twin Cities has one and it isn't me!
7. went to Chicks with Sticks and knitted and had brunch
8. did approximately 5,394 loads of laundry

Well, I'm still working on that last thing. AND I'd like to take a teeny tiny little nap, too. So I will talk to you later, internets. Ciao.

I totally, absolutely, 100% completely love life today. How's that for being in a good mood?

We had Frankie's pizza last night, which rules. Mmmm.. pizza. I slept until - gasp - almost 11:00! I can't believe that. I am turning into a girl who likes quiet and sleeps in. Who'd a thunk it? Once I finally got motivated, I ran to IKEA and got a down comforter and this quilt cover, and these curtains. It's like a I have a whole new bedroom. Now I just have to re-fabric my chinese screen, since it's been a couple of years and I need a new look there as well. Call me Martha Stewart, only not quite so mean..

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go make some chocolate chip cookies for this one ragazzo I know.. **smiles** See? Just like Martha... Ciao Bellas.

I fell asleep pretty early. It feels wonderful to wake up refreshed, instead of waking up - well - tired. But again, I don't really feel like clicking thru the news so instead, another Q&A.

Q. Elaborate on your photos:
A. Me when I was about 9 months old, the laptop that I blog on, the lawn at St. Kate's, my kitties, my house the day I moved in, Como Lake, our fire on the beach in Carmel by the Sea CA, me and CuzGirl.

Q. What's your current relationship status?
A. I love everyone!

Q. What exactly are you wearing right now?
A. *sigh* Pink sweatshirt and plaid pants. My usual blogging uniform.

Q. What is your current problem?
A. Hmmm. I don't have any HUGE issues weighing on my mind. I need to figure out how to get my old showerhead off so I can put my new rain showerhead on.

Q. What do you love most?
A. That's really hard, too. I love my life, my peeps, and my job (most of the time).

Q. What makes you most happy?
A. Right now, il ragazzo makes me pretty darn happy **smiles**

Q. If you could go back in time, and change something, what would it be?
A. You know - all the choices I've made have gotten me to where I am today. Would I be exactly here if I'd done even one thing differently? If I had to.. I'd have tried to stick with teaching a little longer, maybe.

Q. If you MUST be an animal for ONE day, what would it be?
A. A cheleKitty. They have a really nice life!

Q. Ever have a near death experience?
A. Yep.

Q. What's the name of the song that's stuck in your head right now?
A. Well, nothing WAS before. Now U2 "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is. Thanks a lot for that.

Q. Who will cut and paste this first?
A. I don't know. Whoever wants to, I guess.

Q. Name someone with the same b-day as you:
A. Kathie, this girl I used to work with.

Q. Have you ever vandalized someone's private property?
A. No.

Q. Have you ever been in a fight?
A. A word fight? Yes.

Q. Have you ever sang in front of a large audience?
A. Yes.

Q. What's the first thing you notice about the OPPOSITE sex?
A. Their eyes.

Q. What do you usually order from Starbucks?
A. White chocolate mocha, or Almond steamer (with skim milk).

Q. Have you ever hurt yourself on purpose?
A. No! Ow!

Q. Tell a secret about yourself.
A. Sometimes I really miss my sisters.

Q. Has anyone ever said you looked like a celebrity?
A. No.

Q. Do you still watch kiddy movies or TV shows?
A. The cartoons I watch are Family Guy and South Park. I don't think those can be counted as kiddy TV shows. I WILL sit and watch "The Parent Trap" (the ORIGINAL, with Hayley Mills) all the way through if I happen to click by it on TV.

Q. Did you have braces?
A. Yes.

Q. Are you comfortable with your height?
A. Yes. I can wear 4" heels with no fear of EVER being taller than anybody now!

Q. Do you speak any other languages?
A. Enough Italian to get me into trouble, and enough Spanish to get me lost in Mexico.

Q. What is your favorite smell?
A. I have lots of those: my gramma's kitchen, lavender, rosemary, the Demeter Perfume called "Laundromat", bread baking, outside right after it rains, Baby Smellen (how is it that ALL babies come with that smell? hehe), cigar (reminds me of my Uncle Sam), clean-boy-smell.

Q. Have you ever been to a tanning salon?
A. No. I couldn't possibly lie still for that long.

Q. What magazines do you read?
A. I dunno - 5 maybe?

Q. Have you ever ridden in a limo?
A. Yes, for my sister's wedding and my papa's funeral.

Q. Has anyone you were really close with passed away?
A. Yes. Too many.

Q. Do you ever watch MTV?
A. No.

Q. What's the latest you have ever stayed up?
A. Oh, I've done quite a few stay up around the clocks in my time.

Q. Have you ever been rushed into the emergency room?
A. Yes, I've had three trips in an ambulance. I only remember two of them.


It's FRIDAY! I think we get to have pizza again tonight, and I picked up a nice bottle of chianti. I tell ya.. quiet evenings are the best. I could get used to these really quickly.
So let's start the day so we can end the work week! Ciao Bellas.

That alarm went off this morning and I was a sad, sad girl. I hit the snooze and when it went off again, I thought it was TOMORROW. It's obviously a 3 cups of coffee morning.

It just sounds too difficult to look thru all the news today, so let's do the one-word meme thing from Pea Pod:

1. Yourself: italian girl
2. Your Friends: the best
3. Your Hair: coming back
4. Your Mother: next question
5. Your Father: missed every day
6. Your Favorite Item: the laptop
7. Your Dream Last Night: can't remember
8. Your Favorite Drink: coffee
9. Your Dream Home: I'm in it!
10. The Room You Are In: my living room
11. Your Pet: Issy & Maddy
12. Who You Are Now: chele
13. Who You Want to be in Ten Years: chele!
14. What You Want to be in Ten Years: retired chele!
15. What You're Not: mean
16. Your Best Friend: new
17. One of Your Wishlist Items: Saturn Sky Convertible
18. Your Gender: female
19. The Last Thing You Did: take a sip of coffee
20. What You Are Wearing: pink sweatshirt/plaid pants (that's what I'm wearing EVERY time I do a meme!)
21. Your Favorite Weather: Spring
22. Your Favorite Book: House at Pooh Corner
23. The Last Thing You Ate: pizza & canolli
24. Your Life: so great
25. Your Mood: sleepy, but content
26. Least favorite word: cancer

Okay, kids. Time to go start the day. Ciao, Bellas. TiAmo.

So yeah - I now have a greater appreciation for electricity. In case you didn't see it yesterday (and if you didn't - well - what kind of cheleblog reader ARE you, anyway? heh.) - someone hit a transformer down the street from here, and the power went out at about 6am. Lessons learned: 1. how quickly I can shower 2. if I HAD to, I know which bus I can take to work 3. how to use the emergency release on the big automatic garage door downstairs.

Oh for the LOVE of GOD. Doesn't this just make you feel better about our whole "homeland security" thing? That, in their off hours, the ranking officials of the department are seducing kids? Oy.

I have wild turkeys in the marsh behind my house. I am afraid of these wild turkeys, because they are creepy looking and they scare me. (and one ended up on my deck once. eeeek!) Today there are TWO stories in the news about turkeys - they discovered fossils of a new dinosaur that resemble a large turkey (how can a dinosaur be new, anyway?), and a wild turkey that lives outside some cafe. That's just too much turkey news to take. I'm not going outside ever again.

Oh... just... shut up, Jennifer Aniston. Don't be coy about your $8 MILLION dollar wedding to Vince. Hell, if I was having an $8 MILLION dollar wedding - thrown by Oprah, no less, I'd be screaming off the rooftops about it. And just because I'm that-kind-of-nice girl, I'd invite all of ya, too.

A big change for the Today show - but good for Katie Couric. She'll be a great news anchor.

I don't think I'm ready to see a movie about United 93 just yet. It feels too soon. In fact, do you think we'll EVER be ready to see that?

Well, this is all good. 5:45 and I still have lights. It's going to be a much better day - I can tell already. Gonna see if I can't have lunch with my home-girl Jenni.. and it's beer and pizza night tonight. mmmmm... You all wish you were me. Have an excellent day, kids. Ciao.

I learned two things yesterday: 1. REAL darts are ever-so-much-better than bar darts. As soon as I got halfway used to them, they were way easier to throw and I can actually aim better with them. I WON games last night.
2. Well, it's no wonder il ragazzo likes me - I'm one of his favorite cars, according to this test:

I'm a Chevrolet Corvette

You're a classic - powerful, athletic, and competitive. You're all about winning the race and getting the job done. While you have a practical everyday side, you get wild when anyone pushes your pedal. You hate to lose, but you hardly ever do.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

BuhBye Tom DeLay.

What. The. Hell. Man. Air Marshalls are smuggling coke. That's it. No more flying for chele. I'm walking everywhere.

Holy Nightmare! Can you imagine looking up to see a 10 ton construction platform coming down at you? EEEEK.

This story gave me my first laugh of the morning. HA ha!

Reason #487 to stay away from cyber dating sites....

I think I'll skip the whole mouth grill thing, thanks very much.

UPDATE AT 8:15 AM: About 2 seconds after I wrote that, I heard a crash and a BOOM - and then all the lights went out. It was just starting to come back on when I left. I am decidedly not glamorous today. No blowdryer. No curling iron. Makeup applied in the dark.. what a mess. Heh. So now I'm at work, half discombobulated. Let's see how the rest of the day goes. Ciao.

*Thinks*
Hmmm. Where did that weekend go?

It was rainy and horrid all day here yesterday, but at least there were no tornados.

Holy God. What is it with people opening fire whenever they want to? That one happened in CT, This one happened right here in downtown Minneapolis, about 6 blocks from the office. The day will soon come - when I TRULY don't leave the house anymore! Eeeeka.

Here's my question - if everyone - even kids - is considered overweight now.. maybe NONE of us really are.. maybe the way we're measuring it is just wrong! Thus ends the cheleRationalization for the day. Heh.

My cell phone is turned on - and with me - 24x7.. Partly for work, partly for everything else. I talk, text, e-mail, instant-message, take pictures and COULD play MP3s on it. I spent the first 30-something years of my life without one. Now, when I forget it when I'm running to the grocery store, I'll turn around and go back to get it. When I lived at my old place, I brought it with me downstairs to the laundry room (in case I got stuck in one of the awful elevators).

Oh for the love of God. Instead of sending this guy to jail, let's just put HIM in a car and set it ablaze. Bastard.

I've never listened to Stern, and I don't get this. Is it schtick, or is he just a jerk?

I must have had too much coffee already - I just realized my hands are shaking like mad! Whoops. Maybe it's a good thing to start the day this wired-up.. I seem to remember that there's still a pile of paperwork on my desk that I have to finish plowing thru. Time to go throw darts tonight. I finally went out and bought myself a set.. incredibly girly, but sadly not pink. Oh well. I'm off to start the day, and I hope yours is excellent as well. Ciao, Bellas.

Sometimes, I think I talk too much. BlahBlahBlahBlah BlatherBlatherBlather. Heh. It's a cool, rainy morning, and I think I'm just gonna be quiet for a while. I'll talk to you later.

Can I just say - ROCK!

OUTSIDE - on the deck, with new table and chairs, new umbrella stand that actually HOLDS THE UMBRELLA UPRIGHT, and the deck-couch out for the first time. It took Issy about 15 seconds to reclaim his place in the corner. It's still a little chilly out for all this... but I believe that ALL the time deck-time is just around the corner.

Hi chelePeeps. Welcome to the weekend! Here are ten random things I'm happy about and/or thankful for today:

• my ragazzo

• the cheleKitties

• it's SPRING, man

• new springtime pretty french tipped nails

• all my new-in-the-last-year chelePeeps

• whatever that one bird is outside that sings like a maniac. I think it's a cardinal

• coffee with creme-brulee creamer

• my house

• my health!

• Saturday morning with the knitty girls

One year ago today I wrote the purchase agreement on my house. Truly the best thing I ever, ever did. Thank you everyone who helped me with that.. Carol my realtor & friend for life, Matt the UBER-banker, Pam & Robin the wondergirl mortgage girls, Mare my real estate advisor. This IS where I belong. I know that with utter certainty. Ciao, kids. TiAmo.