NO FLASHBACK TODAY

REPEAT because today is LOVE YOUR PET DAY

"and they called it 'puppy love'..."

i saw this today on facebook and it touched my heart. and because i KNOW so many of you are dog lovers, i just had to share.

10 THINGS YOUR DOG WOULD TELL YOU.... 

1. my life is likely to last 10 to 15 years. any separation from you will be painful: remember that before you get me. 
2. give me time to understand what you want of me. 
3. place your trust in me- it is crucial to my well being.
4. do not be angry at me for long, and do not lock me up as punishment.
5. you have your work, your entertainment,and your friends. i only have you.
6. talk to me sometimes. even if i don't understand your words, i understand your voice when it is speaking to me. 
7. be aware that how ever you treat me, i will never forget. 
8. remember before you hit me that i have teeth that could easily hurt you, but i choose not to bite you because i love you. 
9. before you scold me for being uncooperative,obstinate,or lazy, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. perhaps i might not be getting the right food, or i have been out too long, or my heart is getting to old and weak.
10. take care of me when i get old; you too will grow old. go with me on difficult journeys. never say: "i cannot bear to watch" or "let it happen in my absence." everything is easier for me if you are there, even my death. 

remember that i love you.

now go hug your dog!! or cat...or hamster...or fish! 

ps...i searched all over for the original poster or author and could not find it...

FLASHBACK valentine's day 2012

REPEAT: originally posted to provide christmas gift options, but valentine's day is only 10 days away. if you're too lazy to make this super easy gift, you can always buy one of the gifts i've linked...extra bonus: a hilarious video of ideas!!
"there's the strangest excitement today...if you're awake then you're welcome to hear...i got a gift and it blew me away" 
the bk and i don't really do valentine's gifts...#1~i hate roses. i HATE roses. not knocking you girls that love them, they just aren't for me...and #2~what do you get someone that feels like they have everything?...besides. st valentine's day is about celebrating love. so we do just that. this year we get up before the sun and go to valentine's day breakfast. we are the only people in cracker barrel at 6am, when it opens. we sit by a crackling fire...sip on bottomless cups of hot coffee...and i get to hear about how beautiful i am with no make~up, a messy bun and my glasses on...
but, the bk is unaware of something. i have tucked a small gift in his work bag. something i know he doesn't have. and something i'm sure he will think is stupid, but i do it anyway. i found it on pinterest...a book made of playing cards entitled "52 reasons i heart jamie"...
all you need:

• a full deck of cards (preferably worn and tattered, but you can rough new ones up with sand paper)
• a black sharpie marker (or a computer and printer labels if you're too lazy to write)
• labels
• a hole punch
• binder rings
• your brain

make a cover for your book with the jokers and simply write the title on one with your marker. use your brain (and heart) to come up with 52 reasons why you love him/her. write them on the labels and attach one label to each card (fronts only). punch two holes in each card (make sure they are aligned). and clip together with binder rings. voila!!!

FLASH FORWARD today

we are only 23 days away from christmas...every year it gets harder and harder for me to find the PERFECT gift for my bk. and i know it's gets harder for him. our answer every time one of us asks "what would you like for christmas?"? i have everything i need. which is completely true. this year got a little easier for him...my day job has turned me into a bit of a handbag queen. truth is...i always have been, but i've always been able to find the trendy bags for very cheap (let's not talk about how) so i refuse to pay full price for a designer bag. so, when macy's had their friend's and family sale, this week, i got a michael kors bedford bowling satchel. eek!! merry christmas to cardinal!! but, now...NOW!!...i have to find the bk the PERFECT gift. and he is still saying "i have everything i need/want". DILEMMA!! i m sure many of you are in the same boat so, i googled ideas and found these great gift ideas for under $100:

PARA ÉL:

j. crew classic spread collar shirt: $68 (reg $88); because every guy needs a classic white button up in his closet...

sunspel boxers: $39: come on...your guy needs to get out of the tighty whities...and you don't want to get him hanes at christmas!!

kenneth cole new york watch: $95; help him keep track of the time this christmas so he's not late for the schmancy fancy holiday party!!

art of shaving chrome futura safety razor: $95; because it's no longer NoShavember!!

coach bleeker bull usb keyring: $98; it's a keyring AND a 4GB usb flash drive...cool

                 

                           

         

PARA ELLA:

coach madison op art sateen large wristlet: $98; because sometimes all we need is a lip gloss, a credit card, and our cell phone.

michael kors holiday watch key fob: $48; because, if you aren't gonna have a jag in the driveway on christmas morning, at least make our keys look fancy!

guess multichain bracelet watch: $85; cause it's a watch AND a bracelet!

victoria's secret pillow talk tank pajama: $49.50; because we like to be cute when we lounge around...bonus! free slippers with every pair!

lady gaga fame perfume gift set: $84; because every girl should smell like a rock star...(actually, i wear this and it smells delicious..)

                   

 

                          

happy shopping!!!

BECAUSE IT'S THURSDAY?

"puff the magic dragon lived by the sea...."

dragon: a mythical monster like a giant reptile. in european tradition the dragon is typically fire-breathing and tends to symbolize chaos or evil, whereas in east asia it is usually a beneficent symbol of fertility, associated with water and the heavens.










just a quick list of my favorite dragons in honor of "appreciate a dragon" day:

1. puff the magic dragon

2. falkor (the never ending story)

3. elliot (pete's dragon)

4. smaug (j.r.r. tolkien's the hobbit)

5. the hungarian horntail (j.k. rowling's harry potter)

6. maleficent (sleeping beauty)

7. (and my all time favorite) h.r. pufnstuf

have you appreciated a dragon today? 

                                        

not so MANIC MONDAY

 "trick or treat...trick or treat...the bitter and the sweet..."

FLASHBACK 1974
halloween. so much fun in oxnard. daddy spends the day getting the house ready for a party. an album with ghostly moans and groans plays in the background. dry ice, in an iron bucket, gives the house a fog~filled look. lil bro, queenie, and i. all dressed up for trick~or~treat. all the houses are decorated...some scarier than others. we get all the best treats. snickers. baby ruth. double bubble bubble gum. homemade cookies. and, my absolute favorite, popcorn balls!!!! mom and rikki get their wine glasses re~filled every other stop. perfect night.
FLASH FORWARD 1993
i take the kids to a carnival at school. cody had just seen "nightmare before christmas" and wants to be jack skellington. i work my tail off on his costume. it even includes jack's dog, zero, floating behind. he wins a costume contest and gets a gigantic snicker bar. i don't get pictures because i'll get them tomorrow night, with all the kids, when we go trick~or~treating. cody wakes up, the next morning. "i don't wanna be jack...i wanna be hong kong phooey." are you flippin kidding me right now?! fine. and i go about trying to make dog ears. "i don't wanna be hong kong phooey...i wanna be a ghostbuster". really?! i begin to make a proton pack. it's time to go now. cody comes out in his "barney" pajamas. ugh. he still gets the best treats. snickers. baby ruth. hubba bubba bubble gum. and homemade popcorn balls from a woman, EVERYBODY in town knows, who also offers pre~packaged candy just in case the parents are afraid she might have poisoned the popcorn. boo.
FLASH FORWARD 2009

oops! last year, i agreed to go trick~or~treating with emma. i'm a witch...she's my cat. back in july, she starts talking about what we'll be this year. i leave it completely up to her...as long as i get to be cute. the bk and i have a party after, and we're going as pirates. emma doesn't want to be a pirate. okay. i can still do this. emma calls me. "we are going as the scooby~doo gang. i'm daphne". that means...ummmmm...that means i have to be VELMA! velma is NOT cute. emma gets the best treats. snickers. baby ruth. hubba bubba bubble gum (why doesn't anyone give out double bubble anymore?). but gone are the homemade cookies. and gone, forever, are the homemade popcorn balls. 
for obvious reasons, october is halloween safety month. so, i have a few tips for you and your kids:

#1~costumes: wear well~fitting shoes, costumes, and masks. this will help avoid blocked vision, trips, and falls. swords, knives, should be short, soft, and flexible. also, there should be some reflective tape on bags and costumes...this will help drivers see you. and avoid walking near candles or luminaries so that your costume doesn't, accidentally, catch fire. and test any make~up you will use on a small area of skin. it would totally suck to remove the make~up , at the end of the night, only to find you were allergic to it the whole time. ugh. 
#2~trick~or~treating: go with a group or trusted adult. never ever ever go alone. carry a flashlight, to help others see you and to help you see. and walk, don't run. try to use sidewalks and crosswalks whenever possible. only go to well~lit houses, and never enter a home without a trusted adult. and don't forget about stranger danger! DO NOT ACCEPT RIDES FROM STRANGERS!!
#3~the treats: examine all treats before eating. look for choking hazards and tampering. if it's open, toss it. the cdc recommends only eating factory wrapped treats and avoiding homemade goodies made by strangers.

a bit of information about #3. there are millions of stories, told by your friends, that go kind of like this: my friend's sister's boyfriend's cousin's girlfriend's mom's friend's daughter's teacher's son *insert halloween urban legend here*. maybe it was poison popcorn balls, razor blade filled apples, drug laced pixie stix. i did a bit of research...the drug laced pixie stix actually happened, but, as it turns out, the father of the boy that died was the culprit. he murdered the boy, in 1974, for insurance money and made it appear to be a madman passing out the candy. the razor blades in the apples? kind of false. oh, there were reports. but no one was ever taken to the hospital with an injury. and, there is some question as to how the razor blades got there...even some reports say the parents, or child, may have done it as a hoax. so my advice here: although it's always better to err on the side of safety, don't flip out if your kid comes in eating a homemade popcorn ball you didn't realize they had. the chances that it's poisoned are really non~existent. 
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

a gallery of awesome halloween costumes:

  

               

 

                        

 

                          

 

                                            

FLASHBACK 1692

a little repeat to celebrate the season:
"you've got to pick up every stitch...mmmm must be the season of the witch"
a history lesson for halloween: although i could go all the way back to 1484, and the publishing of malleus malificarum, to tell you about witch hunting...i'm going to stick with a more familiar story...the salem witch trials.
puritans who had settled in salem town and salem village, massachusetts, had a huge fear of paganism. they felt it threatened their way of life. something as silly as guessing a future event or having a wart on your nose could brand you a witch, which was punishable by death. yep. i said it. you could be killed for having a wart on your nose. okay. so, this reverend named samuel parris brings a slave woman, tituba, to care for his daughter, betty. tituba will, also, be caring for his niece, abigail williams.  tituba is from barbados and brings her voodoo with her. the girls in the village are fascinated. duh doy!! who wouldn't be, right? am i right? i know i'm right. anyway....the girls start acting like psychos. they are having fits of hysteria. they're throwing things around the house. they're contorting their bodies. making strange sounds. it sounds more like pms than witchcraft, but nobody asked me...now this doctor, william griggs enters the picture. since it's 1692 and no one knows anything about pms, he says the girls are afflicted by witchcraft. hmmmmm....
now other girls in the village are acting out. only they start calling out names of the WITCHES that are cursing them. you know, when i was a kid, nobody would have believed me if i said "regina is a witch", but it's whatever...anyway. if a wart could get you accused, imagine what would happen if an afflicted girl called out your name?!! now you're accused of consorting with the devil. you're interrogated. there is a trial, and you are found guilty, even though the only evidence is what the afflicted CLAIM to see. and imprisonment, or possibly death, will follow. a total of 20 deaths resulted from the salem witch trials.
enter the reverend francis dane. he was suspicious of the girls and saw something very wrong with these trials. he petitioned the governor and the courts saying the accusations were unfounded. he soon had support from increase mather, a puritan minister who was highly involved in the government of the colonies. he wrote, in a publication called cases of conscience concerning evil spirits, "it were better that 10 suspected witches should escape, than 1 innocent person should be condemned". after one final trial, all the accused witches, still in jail, were set free in may of 1693.
FLASH FORWARD today
we no longer burn suspected witches at the stake. and many people practice witchcraft freely. today's witchcraft takes on many different forms, but usually involves the use of divination, magic, and working with the elements (earth, wind, fire, and water), and working with unseen spirits and forces of nature. today's witches don't really fit the fantasy we have surrounded them with...they aren't green and wart covered. they don't melt when doused with water. however, i am fairly certain they will die if you drop your house on them. 

              

 

                                           

A WEEK IN THE LIFE: INSTAGRAM EDITION

"shake it, shake, shake it, shake it like a polaroid picture..."











the past week has been all about good food, baseball, romantic walks, friendship, and pineapples.

^when pizza is healthy^

^riverboats on the ohio^

^a cardinal and her bk^

^ducks on a pond^

^haunted riverboats...it's a thing^

^big brother is watching you^

^beer and cookies are a good thing^

^everything is better in a pineapple glass^

^it was a hot and sunny day at the reds' game^

^yellow watermelon...a delicious and healthy treat^

happy instagramming!!