Whole lotta Christmas loot. . .

OK, so I got some great loot this year. Things that I really love: a beautiful set of Calphalon bakeware, so I don't have to hate on Jody for THAT. Some really sharp knives! A cool set of Corona glasses (for our new bar downstairs). I got myself a new cellphone, so that I could join the rest of the 21st century with a flip phone. Then, since we're such Scene It freaks, a new HBO version of the best game ever. Also, a variety of clothes, jammies, slippers, DVD's. The best gift I could get would be getting back into our house before the next month is over. It seems closer and more possible as the days go by. The adorable garden window is in the kitchen--it's the cutest thing I have ever seen. Then with all the great books I got from Cindy, I'm all set to seriously kick back and relax.

Gosh, does that suck. . .

Kind of getting in the Christmas, er, Holiday spirit. Thinking about all the awesome Christmas movies that I always enjoy. Here's my top ten:

1. Scrooged (1988)--Bill Murray at his sleaziest
2. How the Grinch stole Christmas--yeah, the real one, not the Jim Carrey crap-fest
3. A Christmas Story (1983)--I love the goofy kid and the crazy dad
4. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)--"If that cat had nine lives, he just blew 'em all!"
5. Jingle All the Way (1996)--Love Arnold throwing all the Santas around in the warehouse
6. Nightmare before Christmas (1993)--OK, so it's a Halloween/Christmas movie, but you gotta love Boogie's boys
7. Trading Places (1983)--"Is there a problem, officers?"
8. Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)--It's Ernest P. Worel's holiday best
9. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)--just for the great piano stuff
10. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)--Because everyone should get a second chance

Saturday Night. . .Dead?

I am a huge fan of SNL. My delight with the show has continued through the bad years (it has always seemed to recover) and began with the ground-breaking early years when I was still in college. Has it been almost 30 years? The show has been a breeding ground for clever political humor, but now those days are over. The lame impersonation of GWB by this man has contributed most to the demise of SNL's political sharpness. I realize that someone gets this dirty job of impersonating whichever commander in chief is in office, and that it can be daunting and confining to be relagated to that role every week. When you're an unfunny doofus like Will Forte, that has GOT to hurt. The entire cast seemed to deflate when Jimmy Fallon left. (Yeah, I know HE wasn't even that funny!) He seemed to be the last glue that was holding the show together. It seems to me like no one's heart is really in it anymore. Maybe it's time to end the facade now before anyone else falls into a coma-like sleep while watching it.

Everyone loves a (clown) parade. . .

Been working almost night and day the past few weeks--if not on school work, then at my other job. People love them some Halloween costumes. My uninspired choice for creating havoc in my classroom tomorrow is a clown. Don't know why anyone would be scared of clowns, but it seemed to be the general opinion of most customers at the shop in the informal survey I conducted. Definitely a BIG hit with the authentic Willie Wonka costume from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Everyone wants to win a prize, and they do with costumes from our place.

A history of. . .Viggo

Oh, yeah, he's a babe, for sure. One of my favorites. I first noticed him in G.I. Jane, where he played a murderous commanding officer to Demi's tenacious SEAL recruit. He got internationally known as Aragorn, with his smoldering eyes and his acceptance of a duty he never really wanted in LOTR. But there were loads of other characters along the way. In Indian Runner he played a sick, alcoholic loser, and in A Walk on the Moon he was the philandering hippie blouse salesman who led Diane Lane astray. In Hidalgo he was a cowboy con man in love with a horse. None of these prepared me for the disturbing image he presents in A History of Violence as a family man-gone horribly wrong. He's one of the most masterful actors working today, and one of the most underrated. But, gosh, Viggo, do you always have to tear my guts out? He's the master of hurting/healing split personalities on screen, and I don't know if I'll be able to forget Tom Stall any time soon. Go see History at your own risk--just don't expect to not become emotionally involved.

"I got a weakness for the Sweetness. . ."

It's a sweet little movie--nostalgic, loaded with great music, great skating and a touching family side story. I know Bow Wow is supposed to be the star, but every time Wesley Jonathan is on screen, what female in her right mind could take her gaze off of the "Sweetness"? Yeah, he's the 'bad guy', but he looks soooo good! This flick was an entertaining surprise that would have made summer a little less boring in the matinee seats. Go see it NOW!

Hey, you wanna see something really scary?

OK, so the Vikings have been scarier, but not in recent, post-move-to-Minnesota memory. The "God Bless America & the Vikings" signs are fewer and farther between, but of course the old, scarred-up, beat-down fans die harder. "If only I were coaching, . . ." cries are more common. Mike Tice looks not long for this world. Seemed he cut off his nose to spite his face with the playoff ticket scalping scandal, but he's still standing. What Minnesotans really can't stomach, though, is a 0-2 start, and maybe a 0-3 start after this weekend. But if you're still not shaking in your boots, here's something that should do it. Scarier than Freddy vs Jason, I swear. 'Tis the season to . . . hate on the Vikings.

An open letter to Dennis Haysbert. . .

Dear Mr. Haysbert:
I feel I must address your callous attitude toward accepting acting jobs. Whatever Allstate is paying you, it's not enough for selling your soul to the devil. Do you actually have Allstate as your insurance company? If you did, you'd soon find out what they're all about. "Are you in good hands?" is not only just lip service, it's a gross misrepresentation of the profile of this company. You are misleading people into trusting this deceitful corporation by your participation in this advertising campaign. Come on, Dennis! I know it's been tough getting great roles, but this one will haunt you.
Thanks for listening!

A dissatisfied Allstate customer

Wake me up when. . .

It's another new school year. It looks good--no major roadblocks so far. Keeping up on the paperwork, but I always do at first. Keeping busy is the key. My after school job is fun, but makes it a long day, some days.

September 13 is the day. Hopefully the judge will give some hopeful news about the state of my house and the claim with *that insurance company*. They continue to disrupt my life, but maybe it will come to an end soon.

Weather has been weird--hot and muggy one day, cool and damp the next. Feels a little like fall for a few seconds, and then it steams up again. Homecoming parades should do the trick with the fall colors. I love fall! Getting in the Halloween spirit.

Heartbreaking devastation

I haven't watched the news for more than 5 minutes in the last three days. I know I'm a coward, but the misery and tragedy are too much for me to contemplate and digest. I read stories on news websites, but usually can't finish them, and usually end up in tears. I feel like most people can't even comprehend what this disaster means. I know that the tsunami last December was a million times worse, but it felt a million miles away. Then to see the air of detachment--soullessness, coming from our commander in chief. . .well, it's just too much. They're his next-door neighbors, for God's sake. I want to do something, but it seems so hopeless, so gigantic. I pray and hope that some good can start happening for these poor people, soon. My problems seem non-existent.

OMG is summer really almost over?

It is something in the air, I know, that almost always makes me sad this time of year. A sense of loneliness, a coolness that wasn't here yesterday, or just that hint of brown around the edge of a leaf. It flew by again and tomorrow is my first day back at school. Everyone is always hopeful that this year it will be better and things will really get going right this time. It's a great feeling of completeness that rarely is matched at any other time of the year. Got this great picture back from our trip--think of the cheers these kids could do at their games!

Corn, corn, wherefore art thou, delicious sweet corn?

Just have had a horrible revelation--the only good sweet corn I have munched on this summer has been from Young's Farm in AZ. It's a sad state of affairs, when I have built Minnesota corn up in my mind these past few years; actually comparing it in my memory to farm corn from our own corn patch back in the day! What is going on? In my opinion there must have been some weird drought stress that affected corn here and affected the flavor and texture. There is still more time for MN corn to redeem itself, although the corn days are becoming short and sweet like the last days of summer.

Started my new PT job at Custom Costumes--a funky, fabulous little haven of creativity and quality, run by the awesome costume maven, Carol. I do odd jobs, sew, press, wait on customers. It will likely get HECTIC before Halloween, but as far as PTJ's go, it will more than satisfy.

Esta mas buena que tu pensabas. . .

It seems like a dream now--the balmy breezes off the ocean, flounder sizzling on the grill, limes floating in an icy Sol, but yeah, we are almost back to our little home nest. The drive has been fun, not too taxing. We even stopped at the best preserved meteor crater in the U.S. It slowed us down a couple of hours, but it was pretty stunning. We are back in Kansas, and I can tell you, a pillow top matress and HBO make ALL the difference in the world. More from home with extra pictures of assorted freaks along the way. Just finished reading The Kite Runner. Made a poignant impression on me and added a different dimension to my vacation.

View from our balcony

But it's a dry heat. . .

We finally made it to the oasis by the sea. To get there though was a kind of firey gauntlet. The temps ranged from a balmy 95 to a sultry 105. I had forgotten how that kind of heat felt.

Rocky Point has grown so much in the last five years. There are new condo projects everywhere, and the small sleepy beach town atmosphere of 15 or 20 years ago is gone. The sea is still awesome and the beaches are still great.

A whole week of relaxing and having fun awaits!

Topeka KOA swimmin' hole

Toto, thank God, we're not in Kansas anymore!

After a hot and sticky start, we finally made it to Topeka, and when the road to the campground was gravel, I should have been getting some messages. It was what you would definitely call boondocks. We decided it was useless to ask if they had high speed wireless access.

The place reminded me of something in one of those southern horror movies. If anyone terrorized you out there, no one could hear you scream. But the pool was glorious (it's not really the one in the picture). We stayed in until our body temperatures had cooled enough to set up the tent (what was I thinking?). Oh well, it was a learning experience to see that we couldn't possibly survive the next couple of days in those conditions.

So I changed the reservations I could to Kamping Kabins (they are the adorable little log cabins in every kid's dream of a playhouse), and here we are in Amarillo. The weather took a sudden beautiful turn to total cool. We are happy and comfortable, finally.

Traveling down the highway

In just hours we'll be starting out and hopefully make it safely to our first stop in Topeka. The weather looks blistering, but it's August afterall. It's starting to rain in AZ, which is typical for this time of the year as well.

Whenever I make a LONG trip like this (which I haven't done for a few years), I always marvel at the fact that I can actually do it. The driving, the boredom, the crazy drivers. The trick is not to take too much on in one day, and stop when you feel tired. It helps not having a toddler ( a teenager, now) and no pets along for the hairy ride. And of course your guardian angel watching over you on the road below is the main thing.

Later posts from unseen stops to follow!

Traveling Kittens

This is my fave story of the day. Those poor little babies! (link deleted)

The icky weather

It just keeps up--the humidity, the high temps, the sticky air. The only time you can do anything outside is maybe in the morning before noon or so. The AC has been running nonstop since that little 3-day cool spell we had last week.

The weather has been great for the tomatoes, though. They are getting ripe daily.

We're going to mow the lawn today, which is the first time in a long time. With the scorching weather, there hasn't been much growth, except for that shot of 2 or 3 inch rain about two weeks ago. It probably will be OK til we get back from vacation. Then it's SCHOOL! Yikes!

Princesa de Penasco 

Countdown to August 3

Just three more days until we leave. I'm a little anxious about the camping outside part. Hope it's not too hectic to set up and take down on the road when we have all that driving to do. And it will be HOT!

I think I have everything under control as far as getting ready. The house stuff getting started would be a dream come true, but I don't know if that will happen before we leave. If the electricians could get in there first and do something, we could really get going when we get back.

It looks like Rocky Point is starting to get some rain. Hopefully it won't be too miserable when we get there. This is a picture of our luxurious condo once we arrive on Sunday. We're pretty stoked.