June 2006

Usually once the alarm goes off and I've gotten the first couple sips of coffee into me I wake up pretty quickly. Not today. I'm still REAL hazy after almost a whole cup. I think this is the sign of a rough week. I can sleep in a bit tomorrow, although I have to be downtown by 11:15. This girl will always forego sleep for a manicure/pedicure.

Disney World used to be the happiest place in the world. Lately, though, doesn't it seem like this is happening all the time? It's now the SCARIEST place on earth. I don't wanna go there.

Say it with me: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK.

This is cool! They're bringing back the Dodge Challenger. It's a boy car - the ultimate 70s muscle car. Here's the original.. and here's the new model. Purty.

My secret American Idol boyfriend likes older women. *pumps fist* Score for chele!

Lots of other people get the long weekend.. but alas, chele will be up and working on Monday. For part of the day, anyway... I make no promises about working the whole 10 hours. It will be quiet, which means I'll be able to get lots of stuff done. But for now, time to start today. Get thru it, have some nice italian comfort food for dinner, start the weekend. Sounds like an excellent plan, doesn't it? Ciao, Bellas.

I've gotta say, this week couldn't be flying by any faster. And *knocks wood* really, the weather couldn't be any nicer. This is what we Minnesota kids live for. I wish summer would never end.

Holy God, We're having way better weather than you folks out in the northeast. I'm sorry for youse guys. Come visit me here. I'll take you to the Mall.

I don't get this either. It seems pretty clear. It's a public school. You can't put up pictures of religious figures.

I loves me my Google, and now it's taking over the world! *insert maniacal laughter here*

Interesting. And about time.

You know, there are some things I just don't need to see.. this being one of them.

Twinkie Lasagna? Bleah. Don't worry. I won't be making this anytime soon.

In other exciting, yet unfascinating, news, these allergies are KILLING me today, and I have NO CLARITIN LEFT. Sneeze. Sneeze. Wheeze. Wheeze. I never had 'em like this when I lived in the concrete jungle that was downtown St. Paul. I'm hoping that by next year I'll be used to most of this nature stuff that grows outside my door.

And you know what the best thing is? Laying in bed and thinking "oh, that alarm is going to go off any second now", and then you look at the clock and you still have another whole hour. Aaah. It's like a 60 minute vacation. Yes, it IS the little things in life that make me happy.

Okay, kids. That's it for me, and I'm outta here. Thanks for visiting. Ciao.

Good Day, Peeps.

I'm sure I did stuff all day and all night long yesterday. Just gimme a minute and let me think of what it was.... Oh, yes. I worked like a FOOL! We're really coming down to the wire on construction, so lots of little land mines blowing up here and there. Still trying to get thru the vast sea of e-mails and regular mail that's sitting on my desk. At one point in the day, I just kind of threw up my hands and surrendered. It came to me - stressing about all of it was kind of like stressing about my inability to move Mount Everest.. so why put myself thru it? After that I felt a little better. Well, that and ice cream. Grazie, il mio ragazzo. Ti amo.

Aww. Look at her being all sad and sobbing. Perhaps next time you shouldn't drown your children, ya big freak. Grrr. I can't even TELL you how mad this makes me. GAH. I have no more words for that.

Now that this girl is gone, I might actually watch "The View".

Sometimes, just the headline is enough. I don't even need to say one other thing. Heh.

The coolest thing about this is that I know who Artie Bucco is now. I took a little break from all the catching up on Sopranos yesterday, but I'm pretty sure I'll have to watch a couple more episodes tonight.

I suppose I should go do some work related things now. Because I'm just that way. Have a most excellente day, and I'll see you tomorrow. Ciao.

That was certainly all the chaos I'd ever need in a day. And more! Basically 10 solid hours of react to this, react to that, deal with this, deal with that. In between, answer one of the 300 e-mails. (I guessed there'd be 300 yesterday morning. There were 303. Pretty good, eh?

Went with some of my peeps to the St. Paul version of The Chatterbox after work. I left before we played any games because I was exhausted from the day, but it looks like a fun place. I had the most delicious build-your-own mac and cheese EVER. mmmm...

I'd better get myself moving here.. I've got a ton of stuff to do today, and never enough hours to get it all done. Talk to you later. Ciao.

I flew out of bed this morning before the alarm went off, because I heard a weird noise. I think MaddyCat was pounding on the window.. trying to get at a bird that was out there tormenting her. So here I am. Back in up early for work mode once again.

I'm loving the Netflix thing, and spent too much time yesterday getting all caught up on The Sopranos. Yes, I'm the last person in America to see it.

Let's talk about news stuff:

Well eeeka freeka. What makes someone snap like that, go into their work place and start shooting and lighting fires? Horrid.

Ahem. Oh no, we won't.

What a sick f*cker. He says he's "eternal, he's going to live forever." Yes, he will. In hell. So ha.

Man. Looking at the news makes me sad. and mad.

I missed two things on the weekend: 1. Happy Pride, to those who celebrate that. And even to those that don't! And 2. RIP Aaron Spelling.

This is too cool. Papa would have loved it. At the end, he missed reading the most.

So.... yes. I don't know one other thing. It's back to work time, it's summertime. July starts a little bit of a chaotic time, because I have to move a whole lotta people. (Goodbye Saturdays and Wednesdays. I needed those days to be extra crazy anyway. Ha!) I will require extra TLC, beer, hugs and ice cream - not necessarily in that order. And I'm sitting here wondering what I'll be coming back to at my desk. I'm guessing about 300 e-mails and a go-jillion voicemails. I'd better get to it. Send me some good thoughts, and I'll send some right back at ya. Ciao, Bellas.

Good food, good friends, good vino. A night doesn't get much better than that. The only thing that WOULD make it better would be to have a self-cleaning kitchen. I'm going to invent one of those and become a go-zillionaire someday.

The plan for today is to clean up the kitchen (one load of dishes down, one more to go) and then r-e-l-a-x. It's looking like an excellent deck day. And I'll probably only be one TEENY bit nervous about il ragazzo sul motociclo. (really. it's getting better.)

I can't believe I have to go back to work tomorrow. Hopefully I can hang on to a little bit of vacation mindset. La vita è bella, no? Ciao.

Just time for a quick visit.. I'm having peeps over for dinner and I've got about eleventy things to do. The car show was a blast! We walked forever, and I've never been more tan - I'm like a supermodel, seriously. Or not. Our favorite car was the very last one we saw as we were heading home. Pictures of it right here. And that's all I've got. Time to make some gnocchis. Ciao.

No super duper early phone calls today - I just woke up on my own a little while ago. Yet another gorgeous perfect day out there, and in a few hours will be wandering around the fairgrounds looking at way cool cars. Excellent!

Check out the size of the house that Rob Lowe is building in Santa Barbara. Um - his guest house is bigger than my REAL house. Since he is my secret SB Boyfriend I know that he's building this for me when I go out there. He'll probably be sad that I know about this already.

I didn't know that there really WAS such a thing as a citizen's arrest. I'm going to arrest everyone I see today.

I loved loved loved Bruce Almighty. Now, I don't know about Evan Almighty. It stars Steve Carrell, who's hysterical in The Office.. but.. the thing I don't get about sequels is we've already SEEN the jokes already. Why do them all again? Who knows? Maybe this WILL be the one and only sequel that I like.

Here's the goosebumps story of the day. ***Shudders***

Attenzione, il mio ragazzo - Don't do this. Thank you. Hehehe. (now, I KNOW he never would - he's far smarter than that. But still.. a little reminder can't hurt.)

Time to go start another day! TiAmo, Amici, talk to you later. Ciao.

Now I KNOW I'm on vacation, because my cell phone rang very very very very early this morning, and it was the oncall tech telling me that a bunch of phones were down. Shit like this ONLY happens when I'm on vacation. Heh.

We picked up il motociclo last night. I was 90% okay, 10% terrified as I was following them back to the house (well, maybe it was closer to 60/40, or 80/20). It really IS cool, and it makes him happy and excited.. so I will get myself okay with this. It just might take a little while.

A couple of appointments and whatnot today, and it looks like another gorgeous one. I'm completely lucky on the weather this week. There will be much driving around in Audrey. Tomorrow is chele's other christmas, AKA the great big old car show. Lots of fins and painted steel. For being as girly-girl as I am, I LOVES me those big muscle cars. Yay!

I must hit the ground running now. Talk atcha later. Ciao.

*Rushes into the room, throws down purse, smoothes hair*

Yes, yes... I'm late but I'm here. Good morning, how are you? It's been a slow moving morning so far. Sipping on coffee, playing on the internets, chatting up. I did get to Home Depot and found 3 tiles I really like. I'm going to throw 'em all on the floor this morning and live with 'em for a bit to see which one is MY floor.

We're heading over to Matt's for some Jucy Lucys for lunch. Mmm. Then it's time to go get ragazzo's bike. Again - all of you, be careful and watch for him when he's riding. Grazie.

I'm loving vacation time. After just one day, I can tell that I'm mentally - and physically - more relaxed. By Sunday I'll be a little pile of goo. But I'll be happy. OOOH! and it's the BEST day of the year - because it's the longest day! Get out and enjoy it. I hope you have the best day possible as well, Amici. Talk to you later. Ciao.

Hellooooo, World. Did I mention that I'm on vacation???

I woke up at 4:15 - the usual time. Even before the kitties! I never really went back to sleep after that, and I finally got up at about 6:00. I have to go to the doctor this morning for my checkup (send all good thoughts this way, thank you very much!), so it was actually okay to be up a little early. I can get some stuff done before I have to go over there.

Last night was possibly one of the best in recent memory. We did a little shopping (and now ragazzo is allowed to ride the bike, because he's got all the necessary gear), and then had some kick ass tamales and margaritas for dinner. We got to sit on the patio because it was a gorgeous evening.. and drove home with the top down under the stars, and the occasional passing airplane. that was a little disconcerting at first, but then really quite cool. What a great way to kick off a little vacation time.

I think I was on vacation at about this time last year, too, but I was moving and unpacking almost the whole time, so that was a lot of work. This year it's all about the play. Heh. I want to stop at Home Depot and look at some new tile flooring for the kitchen. I don't think I want to spend a lot just yet.. but I need to see what's out there, and to see if I can do a kind of quick cosmetic fix up this year.

I'm gonna go read the news and start the day. Updates on live journal as they happen! Have an excellent day, Amici. Ciao.

I woke up WAY before the alarm today, for no particular reason. It was a really good day yesterday, for which I'm grateful. I visited Papa's grave (and took him a Hershey Bar. He was always more a candy guy than a flower guy.) Then Indy-Grrrl, who was in town for the weekend, came over and we hopped into Audrey and cruised around for HOURS. I'm so sunburned, but it was the perfect top-down day. Came home and chatted with friends, heard about ragazzo's spectacular race day (he really IS the best speed-racer), and went to bed at a fairly reasonable hour. Now I just have to deal with one very crazy jam-packed day of work, and then - - ahhhhhh - - SIX days in a row off. Lordy Lordy, bring 'em on.

It's been a while since we looked at the news:
Oooh - I joined Netflix this weekend. Yes, yes, I'm the last person in the world to do this, I know. But I'm tired of being the girl who's never seen ANY of the movies everyone is talking about. Hehe. But when Cars comes out on DVD, we're watching it on the BIG television, okay?

Um, yeah. her character bugs me on the show, and she bugs me in real life, too. Bleah.

Wow - this is fascinating. Geez. Who knew that giving birth was scary? This is a BRAND new discovery. She's the first person ever to do it, you know...
Okay, I'm done being sarcastic now. Sorry.

One of the travel hints they give here is to avoid hubs. Hmm. Now, since I LIVE in NWA's hub, this might be a tad difficult. Too bad. I'm going to Santa Barbara anyway.

I think I'll head in to the office early, and get a jump on some of this stuff. Have a most excellent day, kids. Talk to you later. Ciao.

I have a lot of routines and rituals. (pausing to wait while you fall over from NOT surprise. heh.) My Sunday morning routine is to get up, feed the kitties (well, that's every day), get a cup of coffee, settle in on the couch with the laptop, and click over to PostSecret. I read the first couple of postcards today and suddenly, it hit me like a ton of bricks.

Today is Father's Day.

Now, I knew that yesterday. I knew that all week. But I hadn't remembered it yet today.

Li manco giornalieri, Papa. Voi sono il babbo migliore nel mondo. Ti amo molto.


Unforgettable
That's what you are,
Unforgettable
Tho' near or far.

Like a song of love that clings to me,
How the thought of you does things to me.
Never before
Has someone been more...

Unforgettable
In every way,
And forever more
That's how you'll stay.

That's why, darling, it's incredible
That someone so unforgettable
Thinks that I am
Unforgettable, too.

~interlude~

Unforgettable
In every way,
And forever more
That's how you'll stay.

That's why, darling, it's incredible
That someone so unforgettable
Thinks that I am
Unforgettable, too.




Ciao.

Who in the WORLD would make a haircut appointment across town early on a Saturday morning? Oh, that's right. That would be me. I was obviously having a mental breakdown when I did that.

Holy thunderstorms last night. I drove home from work with the top down (Audrey's, not mine. heh.) and JUST beat the raindrops. Got inside, fed the kitties, talked to il ragazzo who's racing cars this weekend (good luck, hon!), decided to quickly go online before I threw some dinner in - and all the power went out. That's twice now in the last few months. Someone said that the power goes out in this neighborhood at the drop of a hat. Hmm. I'm beginning to think they were right. So I quickly wolfed down some cereal because I was starving, and then decided that I couldn't possibly sit home with no TV or internets. My neighbor and I plotted to go down to the garage and release the auto door opener (I'm now quite an expert at that), and then I headed out to the Mall of the Universe. I mostly window shopped - after all, I think we've spent enough moola for one week, and headed for home about 8:30 or so. It poured and poured and poured - and Audrey's cloth top doesn't leak ONE BIT. Hooray! I turned into our neighborhood and hallelujah, let there be LIGHT.

So today is haircut and then cruising around with CuzGirl. Tomorrow I get to see a friend that I haven't seen for ages (her nickname to be determined. I like to give people the opportunity to come up with their own. heh.) Her arrival was a complete surprise. I'm glad, because I was a little worried about tomorrow. Father's Day is still one of the toughest days of the year. Ten years later, I still miss Papa every single day. It's not debilitating or anything - it's just that there's definitely a little piece missing from my heart that can never be replaced. And I guess that's a good thing.

So andiamo, Bellas. Let's go start the day. Cross your fingers again for that racer boy! Talk to youse later, Ciao.

This has been a rather spendy week. I got Audrey, and il ragazzo found a motorcycle that he's gonna get. So it's all about the transportation dollars, I'd say. I used to ride on bikes a lot - up until even a couple years ago, when a good friend of mine had a Harley - but had gotten away from it a little bit. In fact, the last time I was on the bike I was even a tiny bit scared.. this from the girl who's ridden LOTS of miles on bikes. And most of those miles were without a helmet. Eeeek. *shudders* Now, I want to make sure that he never rides without jacket, helmet, gloves, boots, wrapped in bubble wrap, etc. etc. etc. Heh. A tad hypocritcal.. but it's him riding, not me, so it's different. See how I am? So when he first talked about wanting a bike, I was a little mental about it. But seeing how excited he is now, and actually seeing and hearing about the new one.. well.. I guess if he's happy and careful, that's all I can ask for. But all of ya - watch out for him on the road, okay? Thanks.

I had to bring an enormous pile of work home with me last night. I generally dislike doing that because I try so hard to keep work separate from my home (having the stores really sorta killed every raging workaholic instinct in me) - but I was so far behind it was freaking me out. So I spent a couple hours diving through paperwork and accomplished in those hours what it would have taken me 6 hours to get through at work. So, sadly, I guess I'm going to have to do that for a while - bring stuff home once a week or so - until all the construction is done.

Did I mention - vacation next week! I've gotta go visit the doctor a couple times for the regular checkups and check-ins and stuff, but there will still be much time for play and much time for rides in Audrey. Then we get to pick up a bike at the end of the week and go see big, beautiful classic cars at the big show at the fairgrounds. Plus lots of other fun stuff. Chele's week of fun never ends! Hehe.

I got all the car worries from yesterday taken care of - the garage door opener works, and so does the iPod. La vita è bella. I'm gonna click around on the news a little bit, then I'm going to get ready for work. Thanks for visiting, and I'll talk to you domani. Ciao.

Well, would you just LOOK at that! I actually, factually OWN THAT CAR. That realization sunk in last night as we were driving away from the dealership. "Oh my GAWD! We can drive this WHENEVER WE WANT! I NEVER have to give this back!" Hehe. Or we'd be driving along, look at each other and say "Pretty cool, eh?" Unbelievable. I've never been the girl with the COOL car. I've been the Chevette girl, the Nissan girl, the Blazer girl, even... but I don't think I've ever been this excited about my own car. Pretty. Damn. Cool.

Now, because I am chele and all things can't go smoothly all at once (heh), I have a couple things to deal with today. I dropped my garage door opener yesterday and it broke into pieces.. and even after he put it back together again for me, it's not working. So poor Audrey had to sit outside last night. I have to remember, though, that she sat outside at the dealership for a long time. (I also have to remember that she's an inanimate object and does not have feelings or a sense of 'self'.. hahaha.). So I must call the man this morning and see about getting a new opener. Then I was driving myself over to Target last night, and I just KNEW that I shouldn't start playing with all the buttons on the stereo, I KNEW that I shouldn't, and I did anyway. And now I can't make my iPod play thru the stereo anymore, dammit! It USED to work. I have to stop just randomly pushing buttons. I also know I should probably read the owner's manual and find out how to fix that..but really, it's so much simpler to say "Honey, will you just make this work, please?" Okay, Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll give it a shot first. Fine! *smiles*

I must get myself ready for work.. but I think I'm going to take the long way in to the office. Oh, yeah. Have yourself an excellent day and remember - life's short. Put the top down. Ciao.

Ahem.
Okay.

I BOUGHT A CONVERTIBLE LAST NIGHT!!!

So yeah, that's my big news... YAY!

Oh - you want more details? Well, Lemme tell ya! It's beautiful! Silver with a black cloth top and black leather interior. Automatic everything. Cool stereo. FRONT WHEEL DRIVE (that was the huge part.. I don't have to be afraid in winter now.) She's just the best, and her name is Audrey, because she's so damn glamorous. Even now, I'm jumping up and down just a little as I'm typing this. YAY!!! She didn't get to come home with me just yet. We looked her over really well, and that ragazzo of mine, he's really smart. He decided she needed one new tire and to have all four of them rotated and they needed to just get her all cleaned up and everything. So we're gonna go get her later today. THEN, there will be pictures. I promise.

It was a good little adventure going to get her. The one that I'd seen online - the blue one that I was convinced was gonna be mine - was really pretty beat up. So we had to go into the sorta-scary back lot, where there were one MILLION (or so it seemed) Audreys. She was in the last row, back in the corner. Once I drove her, I knew she'd be MY CAR. So then we had to go and sit in the little salesman room and do that whole deal. At one point I asked the guy if ragazzo and I could have a moment to discuss something he'd just asked me. He left the room, and I said "really, I was just tired of listening to him talk. I needed a little break." It's like doing the closing on your house, only not-quite-so-many papers. Still! Blah blah blah blahty blah.. We finally got done, and I was a tiny bit sad that she couldn't come home with me. But it will be good for her to be all cleaned up and have 4 good tires. I truly wouldn't have even noticed that.. Again, did I mention how my ragazzo is the BEST? Thanks, hon.

After all that hoo-ha I was starving, so we had a little dinner. Mmmm. Nothing like stuffed shells to celebrate a new car. Heh.

I can't believe that I actually have to sit thru construction meetings all day when there's a perfectly good convertible just WAITING to come home with me. But still, I have to be a someone responsible adult. Besides, next week I'm on vacation for four days, so I'll have lots of time to cruise around. So I'll take my leave now. Have a most excellent day, Bellas, and I'll talk to you later. Ciao.

Good Morning, World! *Twirls*

It was an adequate workday, with the requisite amount of chaos and such. I met a couple friends for dinner and then came home and had some quality time with the kitties on the deck. Did I mention how I love that the sun doesn't set until after 9:00 now? This is the best week of the whole year. I love the light.

It's possibly the best DAY of the year today, because I may very well have my new car by the end of it! W00T! I have to focus and get thru two meetings and such before the END of the day.. but after that, all bets are off. Poor ragazzo. When I run off at the mouth with a list of how I'm gonna look at it, drive it, "...and then I'll have my car!", he always finishes with "...after we have carefully looked it over." He's like a saint, that guy. Heh. He puts up with me, and for that, I'm ever grateful.

Watch out, Florida peeps - Here comes Alberto.

How scary is this? Well, it's almost as scary as this. (warning - don't read that if you're easily queasy, or if you're eating.)

But then, there are wonderful stories like this one that restore my faith in humanity a little bit.

Note to self - Program TiVo to get this.

Yesterday I went on and on about the joys of living with all this nature, etc. etc. Today, something in that nature is making me sneeze like a crazy-woman. So today, nature SUCKS.

Okay! I've gotta go get thru the day so I can buy my car. "After we have carefully looked it over". (see? I do listen, hon.) Ciao, Bellas.

The sun finally did come out yesterday. By that point, I was deep into being a homeowner, and taking doors down and stuff. Photographic proof is right here.

Someone needs to explain this to me. Yes, my place is very small.. it's less than 700 square feet (but I like it). How is it, that with 670 square feet of floor on which to step, I can find the ONE place with the squishy blechhy hairball that the cat yakked up? Ewwww.

I have to get thru two - count 'em - two entire days of work before I get to drive the new cheleMobile.. I don't know how I'm gonna do that. I get to have lunch with my ragazzo today, though, so that will make this one go a little quicker. Monday lunches have been our tradition since.. forever. It's still my favorite one of the week.

I was just looking outside and saw two pheasants, a cardinal and a deer. Did I mention that my backyard is full of nature and stuff? I can't believe I used to look out at steel and concrete, and hear garbage trucks and traffic in the morning. This really IS much better. So I'll leave you with that thought. Hope your day is the best ever. Ciao, Bellas. TiAmo.

Where's the SUN?

I'm not feeling very inspired this morning. So I will leave you with an ice cream quiz. Mmmmm.. ice cream..

You Are Strawberry Ice Cream

A bit shy and sensitive, you are sweet to the core. You often find yourself on the outside looking in. Insightful and pensive, you really understand how the world works. You are most compatible with chocolate chip ice cream.

It's time to go do a couple more little home improvement projects, and then go knit and play. Ciao, Bellas.

The big news from yesterday is that everything fell in place for me to buy a new cheleMobile... YAY. It's not gonna be one of these now. I'm disappointed in the way they seem to be jerking me around, and the fact that I can't have one until OCTOBER now. How can I possibly be expected to wait that long?? And after last weekend, when I drove a little bigger car around for a while, I decided it might be nice to have something not-so-tiny anymore. Therefore, I present to you - The New CheleCar!
I talked to the insurance-girl (only $9/mo more than what I'm paying now), talked to the Credit Union-girl and got all pre-qualified for a loan. I love my Credit Union. They stood by me years ago when I had the time of badness and had to file bankruptcy.. and they've financed THREE cars for me since then. How cool is that?
So ragazzo and I are going to go drive some and decide which one I want. And can I mention how cool it is to know a boy who KNOWS cars inside-out-and-backwards? I'm lucky.

Time to drink more coffee now. I'll talk to youse guys a little later. Ciao.

First of all - show of hands, here. Who's glad that it's Friday? Uh-huh. That's what I thought.

Second of all, if you're looking for a meme, look no further.

Third of all... hmmmm. well, really, I've got nuthin'. If I do think of something, I'll put it on the live journal later. Have a good day. Ciao.

At last. That was a much better day. All the meetings went very well, construction clicked along with only a couple small crises, and really - what could be better than a nice grown-up lunch? (we agreed, it would have been perfect had we been able to down a couple cocktails, too.. but then I would have spent the afternoon dozing at my desk, I suppose.)

Came home and did some mundane stuff - laundry, bills, dishes, blah-blah-blah... suddenly realized that it was warm in here. Warm even for ME. Oooops. 87 degrees in the house. So shut everything up, cranked on the AC and went to bed. It was like a meat locker in here this morning! I don't know why it's so hard to keep the temp regulated in here.. this place is pretty tiny.

Yesterday I showed up at work with my TV remote in my briefcase. I don't know what I hoped to accomplish there with it... but I laughed pretty hard when I pulled it out of the bag.

No politics on cheleblog (well, hardly any, anyway), so all I have to say about this is Ann, for God's sake, have a samich. You're skin and bones

And then I clicked over and read this article. I may never sleep well again.

Anyway... I've ditzed around here long enough. I'm starting to look at cars online, so I could just be sitting here all day and that would be most unproductive. Time to get my move on. So have a good day, Bellas, and I will chat with you later. Ciao.

I would like a do-over of yesterday, please. Well, on second thought, maybe not. Yesterday was, to steal a word from Smellen, a shite day. (hehehe. words always sound much better and classier when you say them, girl.) Lord, it sucked! And it wasn't even just me.. my peeps were all having blecchy days as well. I don't know who was crabbier by the end of it - il ragazzo or me.. but either way, it wasn't pretty. Heh. I bought some food, had a little samich, laid down and took a nap and felt a bit more human after that. I put on the happy little party lights and sat on the deck and read and wrote and got back to the center of myself (know what I mean?) - and was finally calmed down enough to get to sleep. When I did crawl into bed, I slept like a rock.

Now it's a brand new day. it smells cool and summery outside. AND it's quite a special day - Buon compleanno, innamorato mio! Ti amo mólto.

Couple quick newsy things: RIP Billy Preston ("Will It Go Round In Circles" and "Nothing from Nothing".. also, I didn't know that he wrote "You are So Beautiful"..). And can I just say YAY for Adult Swim on Cartoon Network, because they are going to rerun all 45 episodes of Pee-Wee's Playhouse starting on July 10! *runs to set TiVo* If it were possible to be in love with a TV show, I would, indeed, be in love with that one.

I promise that it will be a better day/week/month/year starting right now. Ciao Bellas.

Good Morning, Los Internetos.

Well, that was certainly a day of much chaos and turmoil. I was a little raggedy around the edges by the end of it. That ragazzo.. he's good to me, though. We sat for a while a decompressed over a couple adult beverages. Then I felt a little better.

Once again, someone needs to explain to me why and how gay-marriage is such a scary thing for some people. HOW is this an attack on marriage? How is anyone's definition of what marriage is more or less correct than anyone else's? I can think of two same sex couples that I know personally who've been together a lot longer than a lot of married people. Some of these so-called "christian" people are the meanest, most intolerant people.. do you supposed if they all wore Breathe Right Strips on their heads that they'd all be a little more open-minded? (hehehehe!)

How scary is this? A woman just starts showing up at your house, and then takes off with your baby.

I guess it's just a day for scary stories.. after all, look at the date!

But it's a day for good news, too. These cute little girls got out of the hospital. Two separate, healthy baby girls... Sometimes there really ARE miracles.

Tonight I must finish up my little project. I found some pretty new fabric to put on my japanese screen. I used both the iron AND the staple gun last night and didn't seriously injure myself, so that's always a plus. I didn't want to push my luck and trim the edges, though, so I'll do that tonight. And my house is kind of a mess, so I need to straighten up. Now, my house is never REALLY a mess.. I'm too much of a neat freak for that. But some stuff is out of place *gasp*, and there are dishes on the counter *double gasp*.. and that will never do. So yes.. time for tidying. And I really have to go and shop for real groceries. My sadly bare cupboards are still mostly sadly bare. And with that I will take my leave! Ciao, Bellas.

Harsh little reality check when that alarm goes off, I tell ya. But in just a couple of weeks, I have ALMOST a whole week off..(have to see what I can do about getting that Monday off, too. With construction, though, that's a tough thing.) So time to slam down some coffee and maybe see what's happening in the world.

When I first read this headline, I read it as "ballroom". But it's BALLOON. What were they thinking, anyway??

Oh, my. People are all whipped up about the date tomorrow. I'm pretty sure the world won't end or anything. After all, I don't have my new car yet, so I'll be pretty mad if it does end before then.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the tasteless award of the day goes to... HBO.

This is completely disturbing. I don't understand it at all. How does hurting yourself relieve stress? eeek. Someone needs to explain that to me. On second thought - no. I don't want it explained to me.

On the other hand, I absolutely understand this. I knew a family where NO treats, NO sugar snacks were allowed EVER. When the kids got old enough to make their own food choices, they chose every single thing they were never allowed to have - they all got HUGE. Moderation, people. Moderation in all things.

It's dart night again already.. So we get to go throw things tonight. Lots of other little stuff this week, too, and the construction just keeps going on and on. So there ya have it. Have a most wonderful day. Ciao.

When I woke up this morning, the first things that popped into my head were two poems that Papa used to recite to us when we were kids. He was big into memorizing obscure little bits of poetry when he was younger. He shared these particular two with us over... and over... and over... AND OVER... AND OVER again, 'til we were sick to death of them! We'd cover our ears and run out of the room! Now I'd give anything in the world to hear his voice just one more time. So I'm mostly doing this for me.. because I've never written these down anywhere, and I want to remember them just exactly the way HE said them - even if it isn't the exact way they were written. (see, Papa? all the times you recited them, I DID listen.. because 35 years later, I can still say them, word for word. Ti Amo, Babbino)

This first one, I Knelt to Pray, is actually out there on the internetsweb. I googled it this morning, and found it on several different sites. However, none of them are the exact way Papa said it. So here's his version:

I knelt to pray
When day was done
And prayed, "Oh Lord, bless everyone.
Lift from me saddened heart the pain,
And let the sick be well again." (he'd always say aGAIN - with a long "A")
The following day,
I did not try
To wipe a tear from any eye. (as kids we'd say "from any ear".. we thought that was hysterical!)
I did not even go to see
The sick man just next door to me.
Yet once aGAIN, when day was done
I prayed, "Oh Lord, bless everyone."
But as I prayed,
Into my ear there came a voice that whispered clear,

(big dramatic pause here)

"PAUSE, hypocrite, before you pray!
Whom have you tried to bless today?
God's sweetest blessings always go
by (I think it should have been "to") hands what serve Him here below. ("what serve Him".. hehehe)
And then I hid my face and cried
"Forgive me, God, for I have lied.
Let me but see another day
And I will live the way I pray."


Before you read this next one, go look at this Wikipedia article about Calvin Coolidge.. especially the last paragraph. This poem is a LONG way to go for a joke, but once I realized what the joke was.. hehehe.. it's pretty funny.

I had to be a juror
And was summoned to your room
To hear of bills and bumpers
And a verdict to assume.
We heard the case and counsel plea
And then with nice deep voice,
You said we'd wait 'til next day
Before we made our choice.

Next morning it was early
When I took my jury seat.
I wore my brand new stockings
Upon my legs and feet.
But just as I leaned backward
To listen to you talk
My stockings caught upon the chair
And ran, and didn't walk.

One run upon my stocking
With a jury chair to thank
Is nearly as upsetting as
A run upon the bank.
No needles in the courtroom
And saying "Darn!" won't do.
And laws that are for legacies
Don't mean the legs that are my own.

And so, dear Judge, will you just add
Onto my juror's pay
A sum for stocking's injuries
And my shins in worn display?
And I will shop all over town
When jury serving's done
To find a pair of COOLIDGE hose
THAT DO NOT CHOOSE TO RUN


Hehehehehe!

Anyway... thanks for indulging me. (hey - it's my blog.. I pay for the domain, I can do what I want with it, right? Right!) I'm going to go look at some news, pay some bills, and then be home projects girl for the rest of the day. Talk to you later. Ciao.

How much fun was that? *smiles* Really, you wish you were us.

We didn't get to ride in the first fancy schmancy vehicle I thought it was gonna be - it was this one instead. Still pretty freakin' cool. We drove over to Hudson and looked around a bit.. being up on the big hill and looking down over the river was so pretty. Then.. oh. my. lord. Steak. Incredibly wonderful. We ended up on the patio, enjoying the beautiful night. It really couldn't have been a better day.

Today my dining room looks sadly empty without the presents on it, and I have to go give back the fancy car.. so it all goes back to normal real life. I guess you never want to get used to the WAY fancy life, because then it ceases to be special. It's good to have memories of days like that, though. And the good thing is, you can always make more memories.

So yes, I'm going to take the fancy car back, and then I must go buy some food, because my cupboards are sadly bare. I haven't thought much about what I'm going to do beyond that. Maybe walk off some of that food. Heh. Talk to you later, kids. Ciao.

There really wasn't going to be any kind of sleeping-in going on today. The kitties are now used to getting up at 4:15 to have breakfast, and the lack-of-caffeine headache woke me up at about 5:05. I threw back 2 (or 3 or maybe 12, who knows, I wasn't awake yet) Advil and tried to sleep for a while longer. I got up at 7:30 - 3 hours later than normal, so that's not bad.

I have many things to do! It's ragazzo's birthday chelebration, and we're doing it up in style. We get to tool around in a fancy schmancy vehicle (hey - I got connections! what can I tell ya..). We're going to have massive amounts of red meat for dinner, and we're going to the greatest place EVER for dessert afterwards. Oh, and he'll maybe get a present or two. Or three. Or more. Yay!

So I am gonna quickly fly around and get ready.. I hope your day will be a gorgeous one too. Ciao, Bellas. TiAmo.

Someone needs to explain to me how it's gotten to be JUNE already. I never believed my papa when he would say that time flies. Now I know that, as always, he was right.

Oh, the condo meeting WAS a big fight at times. We're getting ready to spend a lot of money, so it makes sense that people felt pretty passionately about it all. Bottom line, though, is that it has to be done. And it's really NOT the end of the world. There were a couple of folks there who said that this would bankrupt them. I felt bad, but I also wanted to say - man - if you're really that close to the edge, maybe buying at this time wasn't exactly the right decision for you. I've had tight times too.. but you do what you have to do. I left after almost 3 hours. I couldn't stand the shouting anymore - it had become unproductive. We'll make a decision as a group and move on from there.

It's cheleFriday! Tomorrow, on REAL Friday, we're celebrating il compleanno del ragazzo. I still have a couple things to do to get ready for that. He'll have the best birthday ever.

*Marks it on the calendar* - Taylor Hicks' singles will be released on June 13.

Oh for the LOVE of GOD. How does something like this happen?? Hello? Seems to me like the coroner or SOMEONE should have checked, oh, dental records or DNA or, you know, had someone LOOK at her to identify her. Those poor families.

Is she finally done on the Today Show? Heh. Seems like this took a long time.

That's what I know so far. I think I'll go start this day so I can get closer to yet another long weekend. Gotta like that. Ciao, Bellas.