Newest acquisitions.........

I've been wanting a vintage typewriter for awhile now.  I looked on Craigslist several months ago and was surprised to find a number of options for sale.  Ideally I wanted something retro and funky, and a fun pink or aqua color, but sadly, I found those options to be A LOT more expensive than some of the other typewriters up for sale.  Like $400 expensive.  Definitely NOT in the budget.  Especially for something that I'll probably use once a month, if that, for various scrapbooking projects.  My co-worker's husband actually sells stuff at a flea market in Lynnwood on a weekly basis, so I figured she probably had her finger on the pulse of vintage typewriters.  I asked her to keep her eyes peeled for me, and pick up one for me if she saw one available.  Less than a week later, I was with typewriter!  Check it out:

She's a beauty!  Gray in color, with dark green keys, and a cool brown retro case.  And the best part?  It works and it was only $5!!  Pretty much scored on that deal.  I like the way journaling with a typewriter looks on scrap pages, and hopefully I'll bust out a page or two soon.  I checked to make sure all the keys work, and they do, except the V gets stuck in the down position and has to be raised up by hand.  No biggie considering V isn't the most popular letter in the alphabet.  I'll manage :)

My friend Brenda stopped by on my birthday to drop off a little package and say hello.  I didn't open the package while she was there, but she mentioned that it was for me to use in my scrapbooking.  I was intrigued for sure!  What would she get me to use in my scrapbooking that I didn't already have?  So after she left I opened the cute little package and was surprised to find these:

Hand forged barber scissors -- so awesome!!  What a unique gift!  They included a little piece of paper with their story: "These scissors have been made in India by a family that has been making scissors for generations.  The blades are hand-forged carbonized steel and the handle is cast brass.  Each scissor is signed by the maker.  In addition to having great decorative appeal, these scissors are excellent utilitarian tools for the home or office.  You will still find a Nai (Barber) sitting on a street corner in India using such scissors to trim hair or a beard.  To prevent the steel from rusting, a thin coat of oil has been applied to the blades.  If used regularly the scissors will not rust, but when not used a thin coat of mineral oil will keep them rust free."

How cool is that?  The maker of my scissors is named Parveen.  I will definitely be using this tool in my scrapbooking.  Thank you Parveen for making such a great pair of scissors, and thank you Brenda for finding them and thinking of me when you saw them.  You are a great friend!

The Spuzster

It has been a week since I brought little Spuz-a-relli home and he is settling in to his new digs quite nicely.  He has a few favorite spots to hang, none of which are the little pen that I have set up for him in the basement for when I have to leave him home alone.  I wouldn't want to be confined to a pen either, so I can't blame him for the few retaliation poo's he has taken in said pen.  But, he's not house trained yet, so letting him have free reign of the upstairs isn't an option at this point.  He had his first appointment with the veterinarian yesterday, and I was happy to find out that he's a healthy little guy, weighing in at 9.25 pounds.  You'd look at him and think he weighed more, but he's all floof.  He only weighs one pound more than Frank, but looks like he's about 3 times Franks size.  The vet did discover one thing -- little Spuz has infections in both ears.  So he's on drops twice a day for 10 days.  I figured he had something going on with his ears because the smelled sort of funny, and he was pawing at them a few times a day.  Poor kid.  Anyway, his ear pawing has lessened even after only three treatments with the ear drops.  I'm sure he'll feel better soon, and lucky for me he takes the drops like a champ, just a lil' bit of wiggling :)

I've scheduled his first appointment with the groomers for next week.  I'll be so excited to get his hair trimmed so I can see his adorable face.  I'm sure he'll be pretty freakin' pumped too, he can barely see from behind all that fur!!  Seriously, his eyes are almost totally blocked by a combination of the hair that hangs down from his forehead, and the hair that sticks up from the sides of his nose.  I would go nuts.  Speaking of nuts, he has them.  And they are going to get snipped in two weeks.  I also scheduled him to get neutered and microchipped in a couple weeks.  So he's going to have a busy few weeks with his various appointments coming up.  I'll have to get him an assistant to help keep track of his schedule.

 
My mom was in town for a few days this week, and she fell in love with Spuz.  And I think he fell in love with her too.  I think he loved having someone pay attention to him, literally all day long.  If he wasn't laying on her lap, she was making sure he was happy.  She took him outside every hour or so, chased him around the yard, gave him as many belly rubs as he could handle.  Cleaned his ears (much to his chagrin).  Napped with him.  I think secretly she wanted to put him in the car with her and take him back to Moses Lake.  I'm sure I'll plan a trip over the mountains for sometime this summer so Spuz can visit my parent's digs and play with their Westie, Bailey.

I'm still adjusting to my life with a dog again -- and I've missed it.  Part of me will always miss Milo, but it was time to move on and welcome another dog in need of a home into my life.  I feel pretty lucky I found Spuz!!

Shabby Chic Couch Makeover

I purchased my couch in the fall of 2008.  And less than 3 years later it looks terrible.  The fabric pills, the pillows that form the back of the couch are scrunched and malformed..... I kinda can't stand the couch actually.  But, replacing it isn't top on my priority list of things I'd like to spend money on at the moment.  Here's what my couch looks like:

 
Pretty gross, huh?  While my mom was here visiting this week, she came up with a great idea to make the couch look freshened up, without spending a ton of money.  The inexpensive fix?  Pillows.  Big colorful pillows.  We threw out the three large back pillows that came with the couch, and switched them out with some fun, bright, shabby chic pillows from World Market.  And I love the difference!!

Pretty cute, huh?  I love the way they look, and the pillows will give the couch new life for another year or so until I want to throw down the cash on another couch.  A couple other DIY changes that I'm working on over the next few weeks / months: switching my boring dresser knobs out for some cool, mismatched, vintage looking knobs, and painting an old wooden IKEA bookshelf a bright, vibrant aqua!!  I'm looking forward to working on these inexpensive projects.  Of course I'll post photos as they come together!

Any DIY projects you're excited about that you'd like to share?   

Birthday Birthday!!

Well, I turn another year older today!!  Does that make me wiser?  Maybe.  Did I take 600mg of ibuprofen at about 6am because my joints hurt?  Definitely.  Some parts of getting older aren't super awesome.  But so far I think I've done alright :)  I am truly blessed with an amazing family and awesome friends.  A house I love.  A cranky, aging cat that I love unconditionally while he loves me on his terms (although I'm pretty sure he loves me all the time, he just has a different way of showing affection).  And a new floof-tastic dog that looks like an Ewok or that furry brown thing that floated around on the floor of Mork & Mindy's house. 

Any birthday plans you ask?  Yep, in my usual fashion I have pretty much an entire week blocked off for celebration.  I like to spread the joy out over many days.  Friday night I hooked up with my closest girlfriends from high school -- Gina and Paula.  We met up in Mill Creek for some Greek food and gelato.  Ugh, I'm still full from that night -- let's just say, if I still had a gall bladder, it would have burst after that evening.  We had dinner at Cafe Neo, then gelato at some place called Cow Tipping or something like that.  Don't remember the name, but I definitely remember the gelato, because it was crazy delicious.  I had salted caramel.  Check out the kick ass poster they got me for my bday -- I love it!!!

They also threw down some coinage to go towards the framing of said poster, I'm so excited to get my frame on and put it up.  I love all things Seattle / Washington related, and this poster fits the bill to a T!!!  Love. It.  Thanks for an awesome evening Gina and Paula!!!

Also on deck for my pre-birthday weekend?  Breakfast on Saturday with Brenda, and Sunday with Kym and her boyfriend Ben.  On Saturday I met up with Brenda at one of our favorite Ballard spots -- Senor Moose Cafe.  I've been there for breakfast a number of times and I always get the same thing, Sopes de Tinga.  It is the best combination of two masa cakes topped with shredded chicken, a dollup of cream, and a wee bit o' fresh salsa, with a side of black beans covered in a yummy light cheese.  Mmmmmm...... so freakin' good.  And of course it was awesome to see Brenda and catch up!!

Sunday's brunch was at Bastille in Ballard.  Kym and I had checked out Bastille for dinner a few months ago.  It was awesome, so when she suggested it for brunch I was pumped.  My favorite breakfast food indulgence is eggs benedict.  I would say I'm somewhat of a benedict connoisseur -- if it is on the menu somewhere, I've probably tried it.  My favorite benedict, up until Sunday, was at The Dish on Leary.  Now, my favorite benedict is located at Bastille.  It wasn't too heavy, which is exactly how a breakfast should be.  It's never good to start your day in a food coma.  If you like eggs benedict, definitely try out Bastille's, you won't be disappointed!

Saturday night some friends and I met up at Nic and Heather's for a little barbeque action.  Regardless of the stankburger of a weather situation we've been experiencing here in the good ol' PNW, we managed to have a good time out of doors for at least a portion of the evening.  It was a potluck style affair with most people bringing sausages as their main source of protein.  As Mike Mabie put it, it was a total sausage fest!

There was chips, salsa, & guacamole as an appetizer, cous cous, avocado salad, and a green salad as side dishes, and red velvet cake as dessert (see photo above).  The Foils were so generous to gift me a certificate to my favorite record store in Seattle.  Sonic Boom.

I can't wait to purchase the new Death Cab for Cutie album that is about to "drop" at the end of the month.  Woot woot!!  Gift certif is as good as gone!!  And something else that is as good as gone?!?  The Malibu Rum that The Lauers purchased in celebration of my advancing age.

 
I'm a total girl drink drunk, which is why Malibu is my liquor of choice for cocktail consumption.  Although lately I've been enjoying gin & tonics -- virtually no hangover associated with gin & tonics for me.  Granted, I haven't done any double blind placebo controlled trials to prove my association, but I'm fairly certain of two things: 1. red red wine does not make me feel so fine -- side splitting headache all of the time, and 2. those sugar packed cocktails give me a wicked freakin' hangover.  Ugh.....I can not drink like I used to!!  Which is probably a good thing.  After BBQing the weather turned to shite and we moved the party inside.  We manage to have fun rain or shine so it was no biggy.  Thanks again for hosting Nic & Heather!

Anywho -- pre-34th-birthday-weekend was a smash hit!!  Thanks to everyone that was able to celebrate with me!!  Big love to everyone! 

In closing, I would like to share two quotes with you.  As I have grown older, there are times when I look back on my life and think 'I should have done this, or I should have done that'......and I've come to realize that looking back on what I could have done differently is a big waste of fucking time.  I am happy with 99% of the decisions I have made in my life because they have brought me to where I am today, which I'm actually pretty damn content with.  So I'm going to try and not look back on any choices I've made with regret, and just work on having a fun, full, rich existence in the present and while planning for the future.  I love this Mary Oliver quote:

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

The second quote is from a man I have known for probably 13 years now.  He is wise and a generous man to pass this life lesson on to us -- he is the original Mr. Lauer:

"Never waste a hard-on, and never trust a fart."

So true.       

there's a new kid in town.......

.......and his name is Spuz (pronounced like "buzz").  Short for Spurzheim.  If you're wondering, it is a family name.

But considering his likeness to an Ewok, I probably should have named him Wickett.  He is a big floofball!!  He's about 7 months old, and he's a Shih Tzu.  And he is mellow like jell-ell-o.  I swear I didn't hear a peep out of him for the first 24 hours I had him.  So how did I come about acquiring Spuz?  Well, it has been 7 months since my sweet Milo passed away.  I knew I wanted to give myself time to heal -- I fell for Milo hard and fast, and admittedly his death really threw me into a wee bit of a tail-spin for awhile.  Nothing like the combination of months of shitty NW weather and losing your best canine friend to send you searching for the warm embrace of your feather bed.  I loved having a dog, and I knew that I wanted to get another dog sometime in 2011.  One of my requirements for the new dog was grass growing in the backyard.  The winter saw my backyard as more of a mudpit than a place for a dog to hang out and catch some rays.  Or just catch some daylight for that matter.  So when I saw this......

....I decided it was time to start looking for another friend.  My mom has been looking at the classified ads online for months now, searching for dogs.  And recently Gina logged some hours looking at possible candidates on Petfinder.  A few days ago I found Spuz......within 30 minutes of meeting him we were jammin' to some tunes in my car, driving to the pet store to get him some supplies -- bed, treats, food, the essentials basically.  He's been adjusting well to life in Ballard.  He has been *really* cautious around Frank, which has been awesome.  Frank doesn't do well with any form of aggression, or chasing, so Spuz's calm demeanor has definitely helped in Frank's adjustment to having another animal in the house.

 
We are working on getting him house trained, which I didn't have to do with Milo, so that has been an ongoing learning experience on my part.  Luckily, Spuz is so small, when he has an accident in the house it is a small clean up.  When Milo had an accident in the house it was like a hazmat situation.  Granted, I'd clean up Milo's enormous shits a thousand times over to have him back, but that isn't going to happen, so I'll focus on the positives of a small dog's #1's and #2's.  So far Spuz doesn't know what a leash is, or how one operates.  He likes to stop and sit while on leash.  He's more of a wanderer I guess, a free-spirit.  We'll definitely be working on his leash skill set.  I think I'll enroll us in a training class to pick up some tips.  He has been absolutely wonderful so far, and I'm really excited for us to get more and more comfortable with eachother.

In other news, I have this coming week off.  It's birthday week folks!!  Yep, I'm turning 34.  I have the week off to relax and spend time with friends, family, and my animals.  And I'm soooo looking forward to it!!  Look out for some more blogposts.....I hope!!!         

Best. Screenshot. EVER!!!

Something happened to me this afternoon that I'll remember forever.  But in order for me to tell this story, I need to start first by telling another story........

Last summer I got my first iPhone.  Before this I didn't have a cell phone that had the ability to connect to wifi.  One afternoon in July, I was at a barbeque at a friend's house.  Most of the usual suspects were there, including The Foils, The Williams', The Lauers..... I think it was the 4th of July actually.  Not an integral part of the story by any means.  Just trying to set the scene.  So we're hanging out in the backyard, playing testicle toss or some other yard game, drinking some beverages, eating burgers and weenies, ya know, typical 4th of July activities.  I'm obsessed with my new super awesome iPhone, so of course I decide to check and see if I have any new emails.  So I bust out my badass phone and see what options are available for wifi connections.  If you have an iPhone you know what I'm talking about -- the list of possible networks that you can connect to that pops up if you're out and about.  I checked out the list and about lost my shit.  One of the connections listed was "Dr. Kenneth Noisewater" -- some of you may be wondering, who the f*ck is Dr. Kenneth Noisewater?  If you've seen Anchorman, then you probably know what I'm talking about.  There is a scene where Paul Rudd's character, Brian Fontana, is introducing himself to the movie watchers, it goes a little something like this.......

"People call me the Bri-man. I'm the stylish one of the group.  I know what you're asking yourself, and the answer is yes, I have a nickname for my penis.  It's called the Octagon.  But I also nicknamed my testes.  My left one is James Westfall, and my right one is Dr. Kenneth Noisewater.  You ladies play your cards right, you might get to meet the whole gang."

The 12 year old boy in me loves Anchorman, so of course, when I saw that someone else in the neighborhood also appreciated comedy I freaked out a little.  Well, a lot actually.  I think I started running around the yard trying to get my friend Foil's attention.  And when I finally told him what wifi network name awesomeness I had stumbled across, my friend Lauer (also the homeowner) just started laughing.  And that is when I realized that it was Lauer's network that was named Dr. Kenneth Noisewater.  I felt stupid for like 2 seconds, but recovered quickly because I was so excited about the thought of renaming my wifi network something totally absurd for the other people in my neighborhood to enjoy.  Why hadn't I thought of that before?  Sometimes I feel like I drop the ball on opportunities to show the world how juvenile and immature I really am outside of my professional life.  Ever since that day last summer I always take note of the network names that pop up on my phone.

This afternoon Casey, Kim, and I were checking out some stuff at the REI down on Eastlake.  While they were waiting in line to pay, I went outside to soak in some fresh air and check my email.  I felt like I found a random network name gold mine.  This is what I saw:

Glorious.  Whoever named this network knew EXACTLY what they were doing, and they are even more juvenile and immature than myself.  Comedic genius?  Probably not.  But definitely providing entertainment for the REI masses.

Seriously, I'm not joking.  This actually happened to me.  I can't make this stuff up.

SMASH IT!!!

I want one.

These boots were made for walkin'........

Just so you know, there really aren't any good quotes regarding "boots" out there -- believe me, I searched.  Look at these gems...... can't wait to slide them onto my welcoming feet.

 
Maybe I'll bust out a Riverdance to break them in.  Or Achy Breaky them in while line dancing.  Line dancing to me is like watching James Cameron's Titanic -- it is something that I will never participate in.  I've gone this long in life without doing either, and I intend to keep it that way.

I'm gonna wear the shit outta these boots!  Maybe my next impulse buy will be a stagecoach.  And I'll start dating a guy with an old timey prospector mustache.  I'm liking where this daydream is going. 

Friday I'm In Love.....

This past weekend was jam packed full of fun!!  A couple weeks ago Jon and Ash had told me they were going to try and hit up two, yes! two!, shows in one weekend.  Can you believe that?  That hasn't happened since we were spry kids fresh out of Western.  Now I'm lucky if I squeeze a show in once a month.  Anywho, they said two shows, and I said sign me up!  Small problem.  When we actually got around to buying tickets, we found out that both shows had already sold out!!  As Mike Mabie would say -- crap in a crap basket!!  Jon and Ash weren't phased by the sold out status -- their idea?  Let's stalk the shows, wear them down until they finally let us in or call the cops.  So that is what happened.* (*Parts of this blog post will be embellished for entertainment purposes*)

Friday night I met up with J & A at the Crocodile bar for some drinks and dinner.  Wow, the Croc has been totally revamped since it reopened.  #1 difference?  The restroom didn't look like 1. the bathroom from Trainspotting and 2. like you would get Hep C from looking at the toilet seat.  By the time I got there, J & A had already started the liquor train -- exhibit A:

They look like they are having fun, no? So I got on board for a spin with a little gin and tonic action.  So delicious as you can tell from my empty glass.  Don't worry, I had another one waiting in the wings. 

So, still no tickets to the show.  How to remedy this ticketless situation?  Slide tackle the box office guy?  Probably not.  We nominated Jon to check out the ticket potential at the box office when it opened.  No luck.  Box office guy was giving Jon NO LOVE!!  After a few more drinks and some more laughs we nominated Ash to feel out the ticket sitch.  The response?  Maybe, come back in 15 minutes.  Okay, okay, this is starting to look more positive.  Apparently the box office guy is a fan of girls, this is a good sign, we can work this angle a bit.  Croc love trio shot!!!

Woot!!  Woot!!  And yes, I'm still loving the ShakeIt app.  Have you tried the food at the Croc?  Best $6.50 pizza I've ever had, and my shirt got a few grease marks to prove it (later to be removed by OxyClean, love that stuff).  After our snacks Ash decided to go back to the box office and test her luck with the dude behind the glass.  And this is what happened:

Oh yeah!!  Score!!  3 tickets to the sold out show!!  We were pretty excited.  There was a lot of high fivin' and cheers-ing going on at this point.  Who were we going to see?  The Pains of Being Pure At Heart.  J & A had heard of them before, but I was new to their sound.  Here's a taste:


The Croc has a new upstairs bar / hang out area that we checked out once the show started.  I almost peed a little whilst walking up the stairs -- so many totally awesome show posters!!!  Check it out!!

Did I tell you I'm getting two more Pearl Jam posters framed at HangFire?!?  Yup, so totally stoked to get them back in a few weeks.  I'll post pics fo' shizzle.  I'd love for my house to be jam packed full of sweet show art and I'm working towards that goal.  Slowly.  After we found our little spot for the show, we proceeded to enjoy the show and people watch.  I managed to find a super fan who gravitated towards me for some reason.  How do I manage to attract the strangest people?  Anyway, this guy appeared to be of the frat douche persuasion (no offense to any former frat douches out there) -- he was trying to find me a spot up against the railing by pushing other people that already had railing spots out of the way.  Awesome.  Let's make other people cranky.  I somehow managed to remove myself from that future trainwreck of a situation, but DFD (drunk frat douche) kept coming over and whispering in my ear who he thought the band sounded like.  I think the final decision was My Bloody Valentine.  Granted, he wasn't completely off base.  The band did seem like a mish mash of many different sounds.  They totally ripped off some of Modern Love by Bowie and Just Like Heaven by The Cure.  And the lead singer's voice was too soft.  He sounded like Shy Ronnie.  Long story short -- we had a super fun night!!!!

So what happened Saturday night?  J & A came over to check out the three posters I had framed from a few months ago -- Jon is also a collector of all things rock show related, so I think he wanted to check them out for possible future framing options.  The show we wanted to check out was down in Ballard, at The Tractor, also sold out.  We ended up hanging out at my place for a few hours -- drinks and Nic & Heather ended up joining us.  And we did a little FaceTime action with Corbett and Jessie -- technology is crazy.  Crazy awesome.  It felt like we were hanging out with them even though they are 1,000 miles away.

We decided to ditch the show stalking idea and just head down to Ballard for some dinner / drinks.  Have you been to La Isla?  So delicious!!  Check it out if you haven't been -- Puerto Rican pulled pork lasagna is my favorite!  I had a cocktail called Surfing Rincon: white and coconut rum with banana liqueur and pineapple juice.  Totally refreshing.

It was a great weekend!!  My goal is to make more of my weekends that jam packed full of awesomeness.  Because you know what?!?  We are on this earth for such a short period of time in the grand scheme of things.  Gotta take advantage of every minute we have.

Newest postcard acquisition:

Ahhhhhh..... Gus Gus.......     

Ten Things Wednesday!!

1.  One of my favorite bands of all-time, Death Cab for Cutie, has a new album coming out at the end of May.  Their newest single "You Are A Tourist" is making it's way onto the airwaves.  Check out their new video!!  They shot it in one take, pretty awesome. 

2. Two weeks ago I went to a show at the Tractor Tavern.  I initially went to check out Boat, but while I was there I fell in love with one of the opening bands -- Pickwick.  They stole the show actually.  And my heart.   Love this song Hacienda Motel:

3. Last night I went out for Ethiopian food with Sean, Corey, Norah, and Heather.  We checked out Lucy next to the Oak Tree Cinemas.  Delicious!!  One of my former co-workers is from Eritrea, and he had introduced me to injera bread a few years ago.  So spongy.  So good!  I think I need to incorporate this kind of food into my diet more often.  Spicy?  Yes, please!

4. Dancing with the Stars is back on television, so that has been entertaining me the last couple weeks.  Who I'm rooting for this season so far:

Kirstie Alley and Maksim.  She is 60 years old!!  I did not know this, I thought she was like early 50's.  I actually don't know much about Kirstie other than she was on Cheers, and the media has chronicled her battle with weight quite tirelessly.  I hope she kicks butt! 

Ralph Macchio and Karina.  Does this guy age?  He only looks slightly older than his Danny LaRusso - Karate Kid counterpart.  He's 50 years old now, but moves like a 20 year old.

Kendra Wilkinson and Louis.  She was my favorite girl on Girls Next Door.  Her airheadedness was endearing at times.  Holly Madison didn't last more than a few episodes of DWTS, I hope Kendra sticks around for awhile.

5. I know you guys are dying to know how Frank is doing!!  He's doing surprisingly well.  I've been feeding him raw chicken for the past few weeks and he is in LOVE with this new diet.  And I actually think he's gaining even more weight.  I'd be happy if he broke the 8 lb mark!  We'll see at his next vet appt.  Until then, I shall keep feeding him anything and everything that makes him happy :)

6. I love my little neighborhood area.  This morning I walked just a short way to mail a package, then I walked to the dry cleaners to see one of their seamstresses for an alteration.  Love being able to get some small errands done close to home.  Then this afternoon I picked up an iced mocha and a copy of this weeks Stranger at the coffee shop a few blocks away.  Lovin' my Loyal Heights 'hood!!

7. I have been looking for a pair of Frye boots to add to my ever growing shoe collection for a few months now.  I decided on this pair.

I fell in love with them the second I saw them.  Despite the somewhat ridiculous price tag, I had to have them.  My heart swelled the first time I put them on, then proceeded to slowly break as I realized, as I took them off, that they were a little too hard to actually get off my feet.  I would end up mangling the ass end of them just to get them off.  I decided to send them back and get one size larger so that the dismount out of these boots would be easier.  Heart totally broken to find out Zappos didn't have them in the larger size.  They only had black and brown.  Hmmmmmm.  Still deciding my plan of attack.  Do I get a different color, or wait in hopes that my size in this color will someday return to stock??  Yes, I realize this is a ridiculous dilemma considering the state of the world at this moment.  And I'll probably burn in hell for it.

8. Today I was thinking about tattoos.  And how I want to get one......or five.....someday.  I'm inkless.  I've made it 33, almost 34, years without getting anything permanently inked on my body.  Anyway, while I was driving around today, running errands, I was thinking about what I would have inked on my body had I gotten the tattoo I would have gotten at age 15.  And let's just say my 33 year old self is thanking my 15 - 18 year old self for not getting any tattoos at that age.  Because this Red Hot Chili Peppers symbol could be somewhere on my body right now.....

With that said, I should probably not get a tattoo because my future 50 year old self will probably someday be thanking my 33 year old self for not getting something like this tattooed on my entire back.......


I love me some hound dog!

*Screw it.  My 50 year old self needs to quit being such a Debbie Downer. 
(*Dear Mom -- No, I am not actually going to get a jester-costume-wearing-Basset tattoo on my wingspan*)

9. So you know I am taking that One Little Word class over at Big Picture Classes?  Well, our prompt for the month of April is to write a letter to our future self -- where I am now, and where I'd like to be in a year.  This is not the first time I have written a letter to my future self.  In highschool, at the end of sophmore year specifically, we had to write letters to give ourselves at our 10 year high school reunion.  What a trip.  I'll have to cover the entire letter in another blog post, but here are a few highlights:

-How was college? Do you have a job? Are you on Saturday Night Live yet? (there is a big SNL theme in this letter)
-How many people do you know that have AIDS? Is it bad? Do you have it? If so, I'm sorry because you look like you'll have a great future.
-Can you still spend hours with Gina and not get tired of her? (answer to that one is: yes, somethings never change)
-Do you have any goals? My goals right now are to party down the next two years (what is this? Dazed and Confused?), go to college, then make something of myself, maybe a few episodes of Saturday Night Live.
-P.S. F*ck so-and-so -- he's a loser (the part of so-and-so was played by someone who shall remain nameless but all my homies from highschool will know EXACTLY who he is) 

I think for another blog post I'll write a letter to my high school self.  The themes will be 1. lighten up -- you're not going to an Ivy League college, 2. don't be such a prude -- you actually have to HAVE sex to get pregnant, and 3. the freedoms of being an adult come with a great price, and that price is responsibility, and sometimes responsibility really sucks.

10.  Homeless guys in Ballard love me and here's why..... So little side story here.  I think I may have told part of this story before, maybe not.  Anyway...... During my brief 4-month stint as a disgruntled Washington native in California, I was walking down by the Santa Monica Pier and a homeless man told me I needed to lose weight.  WTF?  Seriously!?!  You sleep in a f*cking sleeping bag behind a dumpster and you're going to critique my physique?!?  How about I give you some unsolicited advice -- get a goddamn job!  Of course I didn't say this because I'm freaking polite and my mother raised me to A. be respectful to my elders, B. don't talk to strangers, and C. don't mess with a Sicilian when death is on the line.  C may not be true, but you get where I'm going with this.  Fast forward a couple months/years.....I'm back in Seattle, happy as a rooster in a henhouse, pumping gas at the Shell station near 85th & 8th.  I see a homeless guy a few yards away, drinking some sort of paper bag covered malt beverage on the side of the Shell building.  He yells (and I'm going to modify this a bit cause this is a family show here....) "Hey sweetie!  Can I dine on your lady business?"  Of course I politely decline his offer. But hey -- at least he had something positive to say.  Then last week -- I'm walking down NW Market, almost to 24th and a homeless guy on a bench, seemingly three sheets to the wind, says "hey baby -- you're a knock out, you know you are."  Thanks buddy.  And that is why I love this great state.