I really, really hate Halloween. I never even liked it when I was a kid. I used to get all dressed up and go out trick or treating, but here in Minnesota on October 31 there's a good chance that it'll be cold and rainy and/or snowy that day... so you'd have to figure out a way to put on your costume OVER your coat, or wear a coat over your costume and then no one could see it. And then there was the time we thought it would be a good idea to put VASELINE in my hair to slick it back (it took a week to wash it all out). And the time that the big kid from around the block (I don't remember his name.. but I'm sure he's reading this from his prison cell today) pushed us down, took our bags of candy and stepped on my hand. Or the time the mean neighbor lady stopped me and gave me a ten minute lecture about how my skin would break out even MORE if I ate all the chocolate that was in my bag. Yep. Those were some good times, weren't they? Ugh. Frankly, I was relieved when I was really too old to do that anymore. I've had some fun times as an adult with it.. At one of my stores, one of the department managers and I dressed up as Homer and Marge Simpson, complete with tall blue hair made out of dipped cheesecloth. But really, for the most part I'd rather just ignore the whole thing. Thus ends my scrooge moment of the day.
It's almost time to watch the Vikings, and then finish cleaning up the place. Have a scary day. Or something. Ciao.
10/30/04 10:44 AM
Quick Saturday morning post, since I don't seem to be getting anything else done this morning..
We watched two movies last night:
The Day After Tomorrow was hella-lame, I thought. Some cool special effects, but overall - dumb. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. Like Independence Day dumb (both coincidentally written by the same guy, Roland Emmerich). It was better to see it at home, so we could make sarcastic comments aloud and not disturb others. And how did we like it? Oh yeah, we thought it was dumb.
Then we watched Super Size Me. EEEEEK. That's it. I'm never going to McDonald's ever again. (Good thing we'd eaten our chinese food BEFORE watching it). I'm sure we'll be back to our old ways again soon.. but I guarantee I'll think about it twice before heading through the drive-thru. The scariest thing of all was the little experiment he did with the french fries. He put McD's french fries in a glass jar and just left them there. One, two, three, four weeks, eight weeks, ten weeks - they NEVER started to mold, rot, breakdown, decompose.. nothing!! What's IN them? And do I just have 40-some years of french fries still in my system?!? eeek. eeek. eeek.
I bought some Patons yarn yesterday: Melody - Happy Daze, and I'm doing a baby blanket in a really simple garter/stockinette stitch pattern. (if you want the pattern e-mail me, or I'll bring it to SnB on Monday).
Today I must clean up the place, and then we'll maybe take a run down to the Apple store to check out the new iPod Photo.
That's it! What are you up to? Ciao.
10/29/04 9:45 AM
It's vacation Friday! It's a rainy day (as lots of my vacation days have been..) but it's still a good day, because I got to sleep late and I'm drinking coffee wearing my PJs, planning the day (yarn store, Target, chinese food?), and having general relax and not-be-at-work time.
Read here about the courage of a little 8-year-old boy. And then someone please tell me that they have the death penalty in Washington...
Well, this lawsuit went away quickly. And yeah, we don't ever want to hear about it again! Gives me the heebies of jeebies!
Please, for the love of God.. everybody VOTE on Tuesday so we can stop reading about it.
Three fire trucks just came screaming down the street a while ago - past my place, thank goodness - but the poor kitties are now terrified of them. When we hear sirens now, we ALL go rushing toward the bedroom.. me, to pull the door shut so that they can't go hide under the bed - the kitties, so that they can do just that. They don't like getting stuffed into those cat-carriers for the long trip down the stairs. So today when I think bout what kind of place to buy, I'm thinking one or two story townhouse. Tomorrow it'll be a condo in the sky. The best part is that I don't have to decide today. or tomorrow, for that matter.
Time to start the rest of the day (and the sun has just now come out!). Ciao, Bellas.
10/28/04 5:17 AM
How is it possible that it's the end of October already?
We had clouds last night, so we missed the lunar eclipse. This was the view that Seattle got, lucky dogs!
Oh yeah, Boston won the World Series, I guess... (yeah, yeah, it's a big deal to you baseball people, I suppose. I'm still bitter over not having hockey).
Wow - suddenly I feel light as a feather. Good for him, though. And I think I'll be skipping the double cheeseburger for lunch, thank you.
We're knitting today at lunchtime at work. I've gotten two small projects done in the last week: the FruityPebbles scarf, and a smaller felted tote. (pictures to come). I'm working on another pair of fuzzyfeet slippers - I want a pair that I can leave at the office. And I want to do up a few baby blankets for the crisis nursery for Christmas (my good deed projects for the year.. last year it was booties), so I need to track down a couple of quick and easy patterns and some nice washable yarn. It never ends, does it?
I've gotta go get ready for the day.. Last day of the (work) week, and I'm looking forward to sleep in a little bit tomorrow. Have a good one! Ciao.
10/27/04 5:23 AM
It wasn't actually a BAD seminar... it was just a LONG seminar. It felt like I started the day four hours late. I never really got caught up again.
I'd forgotten that Julia Roberts was pregnant. Or maybe I'd missed that altogether.
Note to others (vs. note to self): chele's birthday is a little over a month away.. shop early, shop often!
This is gonna be kind of sad.. All the stars of "Dallas" have to be about 102 years old now.
A little more coffee, then it's time to start the day. Ciao, Bellas.
10/26/04 5:02 AM
Good Morning.
I've been through the paper and the daily blogs and I've got nothing! I have to sit through a 4 hour seminar this morning. Before that, I have to go to my real bank. I have direct deposit and do the online banking thing, so I almost never have to walk into the actual building. Last time I did, I realized that not only had the remodeled the whole place, they'd actually moved down the street! So different from the days of my dad's bank, where he used to hand-write deposits and withdrawls in his customers' passbooks.
Anyway.. maybe I'll have something after the seminar. I'll write notes on just how bored one girl can be. Have a good day. Ciao.
10/25/04 4:58 AM
Yes, it's been a busy weekend. We went to hear some music on Saturday. We actually only heard about 10 minutes of actual music, though.. most of our time was spent in the clown lounge, because it was quieter and less smoke-filled. It was fun.
And how 'bout those Vikings?? Finally - it was all about the defense! Could this be the year we go all the way?
Is it really a suprise to anyone that singers lip sync on live TV? The video of this was pretty funny, though. She did some half-hearted hopping around, then just kind of drifted off stage.
Pictures like this one make my head explode. Each of those fuzzy blobs is a galaxy. And because it takes light 300 million years to get here from this region of the universe, that's the way it looked before there were dinosaurs here. Eeeek. Suddenly, I feel very small and insignificant here at my desk in my little corner of the world...
Other random thoughts: It's a short week - I only have a couple more Fridays of vacation to burn up.
It's knitty night tonight (Jude? are ya going to be there?).
I'm hoping they finish our laundry room soon. I got a load washed, and someone had taken up every.single.f*ing.dryer, so I had to haul out the wooden clothes rack and hang everything up to dry (it's surprising, though, how much fits on there...).
I think the pink eye is gone. I have drops left for its inevitable return. Back when I was teaching, once I got it, I would get it about every other week for a month or so. (and on the alternate weeks I'd have strep throat. Day Care = Germ Factory)
Anything else? Nope. I guess that's it. Ciao, Bellas. Have a good day.
10/22/04 5:17 AM
Not much going on this morning.. but this made me laugh out loud.
The news is all bad (shootings) or boring (politics right now.. ENOUGH already). So for your entertainment and mine - well mostly for MINE - here's a little list thing:
First
First job: nurse's aid at Bethany Convent Nursing Home
First screen name: chelebel
First funeral: fifth grade, older sister of one of my classmates
First pet: Collette the Siamese cat
First piercing: ears - forever! I was really little when I got 'em done.
First tattoo: shooting star on my right ankle
First credit card: Daytons- when I was 18. had I known then what I know now....!
First kiss: 14
First enemy: those 3 mean girls in 6th grade..I can't remember their names, but they were REALLY mean!
Last
Last car ride: home from work last night
Last book read: Zen and the Art of Knitting
Last movie watched: Stargate - last Friday night
Last beverage drank: drinking coffee as I type this
Last food consumed: Chips Ahoy cookie - last night while watching ER
Last phone call: Dame! - last night before ER started
Last time showered: about 24 hours ago - don't worry, I'm going to again as soon as I finish this.
Last CD played: CD? Oh yeah, I remember those.. I never listen to those anymore. Last song that played on my iPod was Criminal by Fiona Apple
Last website visited: startribune.com
Now
Single or Married: single
Gender: female
Birthday: November 29 (start shopping now!)
Sign: Sagittarius
Hair color: brown - with more grey in it everyday. eeek..
Eye color: brown
Shoe size: 5 - yes, I have freakishly tiny feet
Height: 5' 4"
Wearing: white t-shirt, Hello Kitty sweatpants
Thinking about: sneezing
Listening to: In the World - The Roches
That was fun - or a complete waste of time, whichever you prefer. Do your own list and send it to me! (or send me the link and I'll post that for ya). Have a most excellent Friday. Ciao, Bellas.
10/21/04 5:19 AM
I had to go to the REAL doctor yesterday, because I have ---wait for it--- pink eye
:::insert dramatic music here:::
And now it's in BOTH eyes. I have eye drops that are helping... but ouch, man, the first two times I had to put them in. I can tell it's better this morning, though.
While I was waiting for the prescripton to be filled, I strolled on down the street to the Yarnery. Picked up more Cascade 220 (another, smaller felted bag is in the planning stages), and I was looking for some fun yarn to make a scarf. I found Funny (in the rainbow multi-color). I started working it up on #15 needles last night.
Mac looked at it and proclaimed "Fruity Pebbles"... so it will now be known as my FruityPebbles scarf. I worked on it until about 11:45 last night. It's almost 2 feet long already.
U2 and iPod. What a very hip and cool combination.
Well, how about those Vikings?!?! Even without Randy Moss in the second half, we were still pretty doggone good. Totally excellent game, and a quiet, mellow day. I turned off the phone and just vegged, because sometimes you need to do that. I was a little productive, though:
It's the UNfelted version. It'll be a lot smaller when it's done. Tonight at knitting I'll make the little pouch that goes inside.
And in the eeeky freaky news of the day - I just said to Mac not one week ago "You know, we haven't been to the pizza place in a long time." I don't think we'll be going there anytime soon, now.
And now it's a whole brand new week in front of us. Have a great day. Ciao.
10/17/04 9:30 AM
Weekend Update
Friday night was rainy and cold and windy - the perfect night to stay in and eat take-out-chinese-food and watch TV. We watched Stargate, starring (my boyfriend) James Spader and that weird freaky guy from The Crying Game. Also starring that weird freaky guy from Third Rock from the Sun - who knew? It was good.
Last night was a little less sedate. We went to Mai Village. It underwent a $3.8 Million Dollar renovation last year.. and it's absolutely gorgeous. And the food! My God, the food! It was so good, I almost cried. Definitely on the list of favorite new places. Thanks and kudos to Miss Michaels for the suggestion.
It's sunny today, but you can tell winter is just around the corner.
So today has to be about doing some laundry, watching some football, and general laziness. I don't even know if I want to leave the house. Whatever you do, have a most excellent day. Ciao.
10/15/04 5:00 AM
Is it Friday yet? Oh yes, it is. Good thing, too. I don't know that I have any more get-up-earlies left in me this week.
Let's hope that Michael Bennett is ready to play next week. Mewelde looked pretty good last week, but that's an awful lot of pressure to put on a rookie.
Good news for Melissa Etheridge. Although I'm a little wary of the movie she's doing..
I've never done this. I always just clean it out. It seems much easier.
Time to go.. Ciao.
10/14/04 5:07 AM
One of these mornings, I'm gonna have to turn on the heat. But not just yet. I'm not ready to admit that it's getting cold. Instead, I have about 10 layers on.. any sweatshirt/pants thing that I could grab out of the closet. Quite the fashion plate am I.
Someone needs to explain this to me. How can you have phone sex against your will? Can't you just hang up?
I'm not even going to tell you all how to avoid this. (Just buy a Mac. Really.)
For thos who haven't seen it yet (yeah, I'm lookin' at you, Dame! You too, Mare.), here's a pretty good recap of "Desperate Housewives" so far. Now...let the viewing parties begin!
I'm looking forward to the new season of The West Wing.
(Really, I DO other stuff besides watch TV. I swear!)
I stopped at Borealis Yarns (my favorite store!) on the way home and picked up the yarn for my next project, a felted bag in fabulous Hello Kitty Colors:
A quick sail through the news:
I think that this guy should have probably considered an alternate career path. Don't want to fill birth control prescriptions? Then don't f*ing be a pharmacist, ya nutball. Okay. I'm done now.
One of the sites I have to cruise by every day is the astronomy picture of the day. This one is especially cool. And yes, I'm a geek. Thanks for asking.
Is Senator Mark Dayton just a scaredy cat, or does he know something?
This news story sounds like a dream you'd have after eating mexican food before bed.
Time to get the day started. Ciao Bellas.
10/12/04 5:12 AM
I think IssyCat has it in for me. Maybe it's because of the trip to the vet. Maybe because he needs to lose a little weight, so the portions of kitty food have gotten a little smaller. Who knows? Whatever the reason... he laid in wait for me to walk past him in the hallway and he TRIPPED me! I went down in a heap, coffee went flying, I smacked my shoulder into the coffee table, landed on my left knee. Then he just walked on past. his job here was done. Stupid cat....
As Mac said, that Green Bay game was hiLARious! 48-27!! Sorry, cheeseheads.. they're done.
Let me confess. I flew to Delaware, bought the winning lottery ticket, and then flew home. I'm just a little shy about claiming the prize. Yeah. That's it.
Reason #736 that cats are better than kids. Because while Issy might trip me, he'll never use a firearm against me. And he's pretty much grounded all the time.
That's what I've got. Have a good day. Ciao.
10/11/04 5:07 AM
The first story that I heard on the news this morning was that Christopher Reeve had died. How very, very sad. He was so courageous and determined to walk again - I always believed that he would. RIP, Superman.
The Vikings Game yesterday! How exciting!! We went from a 21-0 lead to, finally, a 34-28 win in overtime. In the end, in the highlight films, it looked easy.
Maddy-Cat did just fine at the vet.. She spent most of the time trying to hide underneath my sweatshirt. She got a clean bill of health, got her shots, and now she doesn't have to go back in again for a while.
The old vacuum cleaner exploded on Saturday afternoon in a cloud of dust. Well, perhaps I exaggerate just a bit. It wheezed, coughed, belched and then died. It was a fun little science project, taking it apart to see what caused it. In the end, I just made a trip to Target and bought a new one. It'll probably be the only time in my life that I can truthfully say that I own a Jaguar.
I've gotta go get ready and start the new week... Have a most excellent day. Ciao!
10/09/04 8:48 AM
An every quicker update this morning. The appointment went well. I think it's gonna be just fine.. will let you know when I know for sure, and thanks for all the well-wishes!
This morning MaddyCat has to go to the V.E.T. (she knows what this means). Then it's time to go to the Goodwill! Talk to you later. Ciao.
10/08/04 6:08 AM
Just a very quick update this morning.. I have a quick appointment this morning (send some good wishes my way), then I'm going to lunch with the Realtor and we're gonna go look at these cool condos. They're far, far, far outta my price range. But we decided that we must at least look at 'em.
That's it. Have a good one, Ciao.
Quick Update - Melissa Etheridge has breast cancer. Sounds like they caught it early enough.
So time for another PSA - Have Regular Mammograms! Seriously! They'll save your life. That is all.
10/07/04 5:16 AM
Good Morning. No flu shots for us this year. Fine.. Last year I got the shot and three days later got the flu. So I guess it worked (?).
Okay - I admit it. I'm now officially hooked on "Lost".
Not much to say today, I guess. It's been a long week and I've got some stuff cookin' up for tomorrow (which I can't talk about on here yet.. but will let you know as soon as I can). In the meantime, have a good day.
Ciao.
10/06/04 5:21 AM
My alarm clock didn't go off this morning. It looked like it was set correctly. Good thing I have the furry alarms! Issy jumped right up onto my pillow at 5:12 AM - "why aren't you awake yet? it's time for me to eat!" It's good to have a safety net.
I'm sick of all these debates. Why not just have them all arm-wrestle? (for some reason that's make me laugh and laugh. I've obviously not yet had enough coffee).
C'mon Dame! Everyone else is watching Desperate Housewives. You should be, too...
Excellent lists posted yesterday, as always. (not that Megan's was up yet. Yeah.. I'm looking at you, girl! I'm sure that when it is up, it will be excellent as well). I have some new songs to look up on iTunes now.
We did Monday night knitting. It was a great group, and I finished the first of CuzGirl's
fuzzy feet slippers:
(there's a weird shadow on it - they really are blue and white all the way down to the toe)
I'm convinced that the apocalypse is just around the corner: this weekend, Arizona, San Diego AND Kansas City all won. It's the bizarro football trifecta. My three picks against them were the three I was most confident of. I suck at both fantasy football and pick 'em as well. I miss hockey!
And, as long as I'm ranting just a tad about football - Michael Bennett is like a china doll. First the foot. Now the knee. He's one of my favorite players - when he plays. How many injuries can one player have??
Okay. I think I'm done now.
Desperate Housewives is going to be one of my favorite shows. Boston Legal, starring my new boyfriend James Spader, is my other favorite new show. TiVo is set for season passes on both. (yeah,Dame!, I'm kinda breaking the no-new-TV-show rule, aren't I?)
Elton John certainly is a crabby ol' queen lately, isn't he? He was just yelling at some photographers last week.. this week, he's going after Madonna.
Show of hands: who cares? Uh-Huh. That's what I thought.
And to wrap it up this morning, well, I have no words. Nope. None.
1. Judas Priest - Diamonds and Rust. A chele-top-ten-list wouldn't be complete without at least one Judas Priest song, would it? This song has a WAY different feel when it's by JP than when Joan Baez sings it. Sometimes I'm just in the mood for a slightly angrier version of Diamonds and Rust!
2. Blue Moon - Cowboy Junkies. I don't even know who did the original version of this song. I know it wasn't the Marcels (the be-bop version - not my favorite). Margot Timmins has a slow, sultry way of singing this one - growl!
3. Everlasting Love - U2. My favorite U2 song of late. Great guitar.
4. Drift Away - Uncle Kracker. Dobie Gray's version is one of my favorite songs of all time. I hadn't heard it for years, and one day I turned on the radio and heard this version of it. Not bad.. and it helped tide me over until the original was available on iTunes.
5. Desperado - Clint Black. I love this song.. and Clint Black is a REAL cowboy! (well, in my mind he is, anyway. leave me to my fantasies, please...). What could be better?
6. You've Got a Friend - James Taylor. I love Carole King's version as well. I admit it - I tear up every single time I hear it.
7. Tom's Diner - DNA Featuring Suzanne Vega. This was the first version of Tom's Diner Mac ever heard. He kept trying to get me to listen to the whole thing, and I resisted - Tom's Diner was the first Suzanne Vega song I'd ever heard, and I thought that hearing this new mix would spoil it for me somehow. Wrong! It's a completely different song - with a totally different feel. Sometimes I'm just in the mood for a little variety.
8. The First Cut is the Deepest - Sheryl Crow. I like Sheryl Crow/I don't like Sheryl Crow. I like Sheryl Crow/I don't like Sheryl Crow. It depends on the week. Or if it's a full moon. Or something. This song - I like it all the time.
9. The Air That I Breathe - k.d. lang. She's got a voice like an angel. Even if she DOES look like Clay Aiken.
10. Over the Rainbow - IZ. This was the song that was playing when Mark Greene died on ER..Well, first Judy Garland sang it.. but again, a MOST different feel to the song when IZ sings it. Again - voice like an angel.
That's it! And yours.....?
Ciao.
10/03/04 8:45 AM
Weekend Update
Yesterday should have been a cleaning up and laundry type of day, but I blew that all off and we had chinese food for lunch and then just played for the rest of the day. This means that today must be cleaning up and laundry. The Vikings don't play, so I can just watch Green Bay lose out of the corner of one eye while I put this place back in order again.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month (and the month that cheleblog turns pink!).. so here's my PSA: Make sure that you have a yearly mammogram.. Or if you're a boy, make sure that all the women in your life have a yearly mammogram. Early detection - and early treatment - make all the difference in the world. I'm a walking-around, living, breathing testimony to that! And if you want to know how and where to send donations that will make a difference just e-mail me (the link is on the left). Thanks.
A bunch of us (Brooks, Megan, Sven to name a few off the top of my head) will be posting our now-almost-famous-monthly top ten lists tomorrow.. This month it's top ten cover songs. I have to admit that I did ask Mac for some help on this one. I'm not always good at recognizing cover songs, and he is pretty much the Rainman of music. Yeah, yeah, I tell him every day that he should start up his own music/sports blog. One day I'll get him over to the dark side with us. hee hee!
That's all for this morning. You'll have to read the news for yourselves. Have a most excellent day, Bellas. Ciao.
10/01/04 5:17 AM
It's October 1, and they're talking about SNOW FLURRIES up north. It sounds like tonight is going to be cold and rainy. Hello, Fall. It will be a good night to stay inside and knit. And go to bed at a reasonable hour. Last night I went to sleep at a most UNreasonable hour, but I had a good excuse: We watched Return of the Jedi. Now I know how it ends! And it's a happy ending! That was my favorite of the three movies.
The way it's going, Onterrio Smith may get to serve his suspension AFTER the season ends! That's okay, the league needs to just take its own sweet time making its decision..
This just isn't right. Trix and Cocoa Puffs aren't supposed to be HEALTHY - they're supposed to TASTE GOOD.
I love reading Yahoo's Question of the Day. And I learn so much from it. Sadly, there can be no Cheleland.
What else? I realized I still haven't put up the rest of my Snoopy/Woodstock pictures - I'll do that this weekend. I started the shawl again, this time in a nice, easier-to-keep-count-on basketweave stitch.. my first attempt at that. The yarn is from Spain: Linen/Cotton blend, whose name escapes me now. What do you think so far?
