Sunday, February 20, 2005

evening

More Happy Hetero Love

LOOGOOTEE, Ind.—A man shot and killed his estranged wife, his two children and his wife’s boyfriend Sunday, then killed himself…

On that note:  A parental warning on tonight’s episode of The Simpson’s.  They’re goddamned cartoon characters.  Stupid fucking Parents Television Council.

Remember - Gay Marriage = Bad

evening

Kindred Spirit - Hilary Liftin

I just started reading “Candy and Me (A Love Story)” and it SPEAKS to me.  No, like seriously, I mean it.  Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved candy.  All kinds.  Chocolate.  Fruity.  Hard.  Soft.  Gummi.  Sweet.  Sour.  You get the point.  I didn’t consume (nor want to) nearly the sugar volume of Hilary Liftin, but my joy was no less great.  I remember getting in trouble when I was little because my cousin brought me some gummi worms & pacifiers home from Germany (before gummi anything was popular here), and I ate them too quickly.  I had a big bag of them and apparently they were supposed to last me a while.  But, they were so very very good.  Even now, I’m not big on anything lasting too long.  Life is short, eat candy.

I’m also generally not happy with just your average candy.  For instance, Life Savers bore me, but find me some weird Japanese candy that has to be ordered from Japan with outrageous shipping prices and I crave it.  Hershey bars?  Zzzz.  I need Coffee Crisp from Canada or Cadbury oddities from the UK.  I always notice when new stuff shows up at the store.  Naturally, I get hooked on something when it’s a “Limited Edition”, never to be seen again—hear me calling, Dark Chocolate Kit Kat?

Saturday, February 19, 2005

mid-afternoon

I’m Cranky

* I have Harriet and am out of sorts.
* The tube feedin’ cat just threw up all over the bathroom...and probably all over Leigh-Ann too.
* It’s STILL raining.
* I have a free sweatshirt waiting for me at the Santa Fe, but I don’t feel like going there and getting it
* This goes with the above - I don’t feel like going there because I’m going to end up smelling like I smoked five hundred packs of cigarettes.
* I don’t smoke.  I hate the smell of smoke.  I hate just about any strong smell.
* I need the sun back.  Now.  Not late next week, but now.
* Hormones are stupid.

Friday, February 18, 2005

late afternoon

Blech, I Don’t Feel Like Doing Anything Today

I don’t think I can take this rain much longer before I PULL all of my hair OUT.  Yesterday was fine; we went with the family to see The Harlem Globetrotters at the Orleans.  It was fun, even though the Globetrotters of my youth were so much better than these guys.  More impressive basketball tricks, funnier with the crowd, etc.  Once again, the soft pretzels & cheese came through for the arena.  I left a happy girl.

But today, today I’m cranky (and crampy) and it’s raining.  Picture me saying that with tears in my eyes...because that’s how it is.  Our back yard is flooded again.  The ground is starting to smell moldy.  We are NOT Oregon.  We’re not even Hawaii.  It’s supposed to be dry here, goddammit, dry.

I signed the refinancing papers (in the rain), then we went to Borders, where I looked for some glass etching books, but they were all out of stock or special order.  I soothed the pain in my soul with two wee rubber duckies - one yellow, one purple.  They cheered me a bit. 

I have so much to do, but I’m so tired and lifeless.  I need a kick in the pants...or a few days of sleep.  Or maybe a good run of idiots of the day. 

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

evening

Starbucks Liqueur - My New Favorite Thing

One of the first things you must know about me - I love Starbucks.  I love the drinks (not their brewed coffee), I love my baristas (hi Rebecca, Celso & Margie), I love the smell, I love the mugs, the bears, the candy, et al.  I don’t care one iota that they’re a big chain.  I live in Las Vegas, home of big chains.  If someone comes along that’s better, they’ll take business away from Starbucks.  For instance, I love bubble tea, but Starbucks doesn’t care about all of my beverage needs, so a local place opened near us.  I often spent my daily beverage cash getting bubble tea, instead of going to Starbucks.  See how that works?  Anyway, the place was mismanaged (ugh, they had the WORST espresso) and went out of business.  I’m still mourning their demise.  So, anyway, first a Quigman’s comic that’ll give you some insight into my life, then on to the liqueur.

Now that you understand me a bit better, let me continue on with my story.  Today, we went to Von’s to buy a few necessities:  dog water (my precious Phoenix, of the horrendous allergies/bladder problems needs bottled water), Soft Soap w/ Moisturizer (everything else dries my hands out), Friskies Turkey & Gravy (to entice our new adopted cat, who stopped eating because she was depressed and now has a feeding tube, into eating with her actual mouth)...and really, that was about it.  Naturally, the total ended up being $141.  Have I mentioned that I love grocery stores and new products?  No, probably not.  If anyone will notice a new product at the store, it’s gonna be me.  Someone should use me to test advertising or something.  Anyway, we walked in the store, veered slightly left and something made me go down the booze aisle.  It’s a rarity for me.  I’m a horrible drinker.  Ever since I was a kid, when I tried to sneak booze from my parents’ bar while they were out of town, I’ve wasted more booze because I thought it tasted gross.  As a kid, I tried to make screwdrivers because that’s all I knew about it and orange juice was the only mixer in the house.  No matter how much I OJed that baby up, it still tasted like vodka.  Blech.  But I love the pretty bottles and I’m always tempted to keep trying.  When Leigh-Ann was in Philly with her family last fall, I was home watching Monday Night Football alone.  I figured I’d give booze another shot.  So, I made whatever one makes with limeade, ice and citrus vodka.  Again, no matter how much limeade, I could taste the vodka.  They should really scoop up some of my genes and spread them around some alcoholic families. 

Oh yeah, back to the booze aisle.  I was admiring all of the pretty bottles and wishing I liked alcohol more.  We have a bar (cuz it’s pretty and says “Bar” in stained glass on it), we have a bunch of different bottles, but I never drink more than once or twice a year.  But, but, but, then my keen eyes espied the Starbucks logo on the shelf!  Whooo, a new product in the store.  It was $27.99, more than any other bottle of booze I’ve ever contemplated buying.  I told myself that if I didn’t like it, at least the bottle looked swell.  I came home, had a little splash in glass.  It was yummy.  Sweet and coffee-ish.  I added some half & half (bought especially for my coveted Starbucks drinkie) and it was sweet, coffee-ish and creamy.  None of the icky boozy burn in my throat from other drinks.  It tastes a little like Kahlua, but much better.  Although, for the price, it should be.  Normally, as a mostly non-drinker, I’d be ashamed of my $28 impulse buy, but today I found out the mortgage refinancing was approved and I felt like celebrating a little.  Leigh-Ann got some Cosmopolitan mix for like $3.  I’ll just try to think of it as we spent $15 each on booze, even though hers didn’t even have any alcohol in it.  It smelled exactly like Hawaiian Punch, which I also love.  This trip to the store, so worth it.