Let's take a look inside.
Look familiar?
A few months ago, the kind folks at This Is Why You're Fat emailed me asking me if they could use my photo for their book. I had no idea it was on their site.
When they asked me what I wanted my credit listed as, of course I used it as an opportunity for shameless self promotion.
Guess what everyone's getting for Christmas this year. :)
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Before October I started working on it but I just didn't like what was coming out. What I needed was a little inspiration. That came from my friend Mason. He's a super-duper creative smarty-pants who takes awesome photos and uses his friends and family as models.
A few days ago, he days ago he took these Fever Ray inspired photos of his sister. They were just the inspiration I needed and he kindly gave me permission to use one of them. (Thanks Mason!)
The All Souls Procession is just around the corner. It is absolutely one of my all-time favorite things about living in Arizona.
Bring out your dead, y'all.
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I'll give you a few minutes to stop laughing.
Finished? Good.
Saturday a friend of mine from high school posted a few photos from a band trip we took to Epcot during our junior year. While in France® we watched a performance of Renaissance Street Theater. They pull people out of the audience to be characters in a humorous take on a famous play. The one we watched was Romeo & Juliet. I was picked to be Marcucio.
I blame the shorts. We called them "jams" back in the day.
Hawt, right?
As for the shirt, if I'm remembering correctly, it was an inside joke we had that had something to do with Billy Joel's Piano Man.
I think I could OD on nostalgia on all these. We. Are. So. Young. It was so long ago and yet, in some ways it feels like yesterday.
Good times.
My new printer-scanner is being delivered tomorrow. Photographic revenge will soon be mine.
(You're still laughing aren't you?)
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I finally put that label maker to use.
If you look closely, you can see about 20 scissors. WHERE DID THEY ALL COME FROM?
I. Am. Exhausted.
]]>Daniel and I have known each other through our blogs for about a bazillion years and we thought meeting face-to-face was very overdue.
The drive is a bit boring. There's not much to look at. UNTIL you get to Gila Bend.
ZOMG! We HAD to stop.
Daniel and Richard and the sweetest, nicest fellas and it was great getting to meet them in person finally.
Daniel's been sporting a beard lately.
Hawt, right?
Here's Richard.
Cute dimples, right?
Here's Richard's lunch.
Bacon with a side of sandwich. The photo's a little blurry because of the intensity of the bacon. A sort of pork fat glare.
We had a lot of fun searching for something to do in Yuma on a Sunday. Turns out... there's not a lot of anything to do on a Sunday, but that didn't stop us from having an awesome time.
PS - Those polaroid photos were made with Shake It Photo. So much fun!
I've been avoiding writing about this for a few months. The results of the MRI were not great. I have a herniated disk. My doctor referred me to a neurosurgeon without even asking how I felt or was I still in pain before telling me the results.
I fired him.
Currently, I'm doing okay-ish. I can work a full day and lead a mostly normal life. But there is pain. Every single day. Usually it's a mild ache or occasional discomfort, but it is persistent. Physically, I'm limited what I can do.
And there are drugs. Lots of drugs. I have more drugs in me than Charlie Parker. I detest taking medication. But it's a necessary evil I suppose. My chiropractor, who is pretty awesome, has been very helpful and supportive.
My new doctor has been pretty great so far. I'm still getting to know her, but the first thing she told me was surgery would be the last option after other treatments have been tried. I wanted to tongue kiss her for that. I have an appointment next week and will likely start physical therapy next month. I'm hoping that helps a lot. Meanwhile, I try to take it easy and avoid things that will aggravate my condition. It hurts the most when I have to stand up or sit down. If I sit too long the sciatica starts. My range of motion has decreased a lot.
The hardest part is feeling like this is never going to end. And feeling really fucking old. Forty is supposed to be the new twenty damnit! Not the new sixty-five. Sometimes it's like my life is divided into two parts: before this and after this. I don't even know what to call this exactly. The day-to-day struggle wears on my soul. It shows on my face that something's not right. But like every other challenge, I press on.
Pretty much this occupies most of my thoughts, and frankly I get tired of hearing myself talk about it. So, I doubt I'll have more stories to tell for a while. But you never know, there may be something that pops up once in a while.
Peace.
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A lesburrito from AJ's.
09:33
Getting my emissions tested.
11:02
Early birthday gifts for Homer.
Mason and I drove to Tucson today to have lunch and hang out with Homer.
13:25
Homer with one of his gifts: The Ronald Reagan Paper Doll book!
13:37
Want a grand piano toilet seat?
13:40
Mason and Homer at Grill in Tucson.
13:58
ZOMG TOTS!
14:45
After lunch, Homer took us to the Presidio.
14:51
Mason petting a dog.
14:52
There's something wrong with this picture. Do you see it?
15:46
Homer made cupcakes!
16:19
A visit to Homer's isn't complete without a cameo by Henny Penny.
]]>Oh yeah, and Laura really loves her some Depeche Mode. Just a teensy bit.
They are both charming, adorable and completely hilarious, Plus they have a daughter who is following in her parents' creative footsteps and will probably rule the world one day.
Together, they have an awesome monthly podcast that makes laugh out loud every single time I listen.
As if that weren't enough, they are also two-thirds of a band called The Sleep who just released their first music video for their album Never In A Million Years.
It's dark and gothy and you'll never look at steak the same way. Check it out.
09:18
Best. Birthday. Card. Ever. It's like art and stuff. If only you could feel the black velvet.
09:41
Our network kept imploding today so my monitor looked like this most of the day.
Like my monitor stand?
11:00
Our new vending machine has "healthy" snacks like Baked Cheetos. Although, I do point out, they are still Cheetos.
11:14
Frida!
11:29
One of my coworker's pink shoes. He can pull them off.
12:19
Leftover pizza for lunch.
14:28
Homer gave me these for my birthday.
14:32
Mary Mo's new office with BIG ASS WINDOWS.
18:30
After I got home, my neighbor rang my bell. She had a package that was delivered for me....from fredflare.com!
18:31
Last week, Jen emailed me to tell me I won a contest they had. I won this awesome book that Chris & Keith are featured in.
18:32
Chris & Keith signed it too! And there was a nice note from Danit. Those guys and gals at fredflare.com are just the best people ever.
18:39
To enter the contest, we had to leave a comment about a great find from a thrift store. This is mine. A 1937 copy of Etiquette by Emily Post. It is hilarious.
An example of the useful advice: "A girl may give a boy a photo of herself, but don’t sign it, because a name on a girl’s picture in a college man’s room is apt to challenge the sort of attention that every well-bred man hates."
Hey look! I actually finished my 12 of 12. Who would have thunk it?
Thanks Jen, Keith, Chris, Danit and everyone else at fredflare.com! Stay cute.
]]>She replied quickly.
Cute pictures. Glad that you all had a fun afternoon. Have you been sleeping well? Looks like you have dark circles under your eyes – or is it just the lighting? Take care – Love, Mom
The thing about mothers is they know which buttons to push because they installed them.
I replied that of course the lighting was bad. It's a courtroom and reminded her I would soon be turning forty.
"Here's a guide to help you with this transition."
So, it's here finally. Forty. FORTY! I've been getting a lot of questions how I feel about it. To be honest, I feel just fine. For months now, when people asked me how old I was, I never said 39. I always said, "I'll be 40 next year," or "I'll be 40 in August."
Maybe that was my way of preparing for The Big Four Oh® but I think instead, I've been looking forward to forty.
My thirties were spent figuring out a lot of shit. I clocked a lot of hours on my therapist's couch. I spent a lot time getting my (mind's) house in order. Clearing out the shit that wasn't useful. Renovating what was there to make it better. More inviting. Making it a more welcoming place.
My life is very different from what it was ten years ago. I am very different.
I've said it before, but it bears repeating. The last year has been a difficult one. Loss of jobs. Loss of Elliott. Loss of health. But when I look back on the last fifteen months, I don't reflect on what was bad about them, but the good stuff.
My friends are the most generous, helpful awesome people and I truly am blessed for having them in my life.
As hard as it was to see Elliott go, I am so grateful for the time I had him, especially the time we spent together during his last three weeks.
As painful and difficult June was, it has made me reevaluate how I want to spend the rest of my time here and where I want my life to go.
I didn't mean to say much with this post. Funny how the fingers start flying some time.
So here's to forty. The best has yet to come.
Speaking of those awesome friends, I spent Saturday with many of them. It was a perfect evening and exactly what I wanted.
Photos are on Flickr.
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Today, my dear friends (and former roommates) got married. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon. I am very happy for them both.
Congratulations Julie & Jason!
]]> We had a little fun in the courtroom before the judge arrived.
Friday night, we celebrated Kandy's birthday at Dave & Buster's in Tempe.
It was a fun night despite the SHITTY service from our douchey server. Unfortunately, I'm ancient and was falling asleep around 10 PM.
Saturday during the day, Julie and I hung out to celebrate her last weekend as a single gal. She and Jason are getting married this week.
We had pizza near where we used to live, shopped for shoes (OMG! Shews.) and then did something Julie loves... a mani/pedi.
This was my first time. It felt weird. Kinda ticklish. But otherwise, very relaxing.
Then last night we celebrated Mason's birthday.
It was a nice evening. Good to meet Mason's friends too. His friend Frankie made Redneck Sushi which should so be featured on This Is Why You're Fat. To be honest, it was more like an eggroll than sushi.
First Cookie Science and now the making of Redneck Sushi. Enjoy!
Today at work, two coworkers decided to baked cookies in a car. After all, it is HOTTER THAN HELL here. It was pretty rad and fun and the office (and Holly's car) smelled like fresh baked cookies after.
And they were delicious!
UPDATE: Macy wrote about it on her blog. Pictures are below or on Flickr.
Jill Sobule's music always makes me happy. You should check out her new album. (Robbie reviewed it on Womenfolk.) It's quite lovely and it was funded 100% by her fans.
Now THAT is awesome.
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