• Adventures with Suzette,  Apartmentlandia,  house stuff!,  rando bits

    Got my mojo back, maybe.

    fabulous-at-50.

    I actually woke up excited to blog today. That is huge! It’s been probably fifteen years since I looked forward to blogging. It was such a job there for a while, you know? It was fun when I was famous but then blogs fell out of fashion and mommy blogging was so overdone…I was kinda ashamed to be part of all that but I think in spite of myself and all the flubs I’ve committed over the years, I finally have a great corner of the internet all to myself. I really look forward to the comments here and I feel like you are my real friends. I love updating you. I love the inside jokes we have. So here I am, back!

    I’ve felt slightly better over the last few days. Payam and I are friends and today I walked the dogs which was a HUGE serotonin hit. I follow a bunch of golden retriever accounts on Instagram (to combat depression obviously) and they make me miss Cody so much! Of course, I miss Whiskey too but there aren’t as many cute wheatens on the internet as there are golden retrievers. I’m a sucker for a good puppy video. They get me every time.  It was really fun to walk them. I walked them all the way to Starbucks and got them big glasses of water and puppuccinos. They were so happy. I might make it a regular thing.

    boho-apartment

    Yesterday I got a bee up my butt and I rearranged the living room furniture. That’s definitely a sign that I’m feeling better. I also re-covered that chair you see on the left. I bought it at an estate sale for ten bucks. It was soooooo dusty. I think the original owner must have been in dead or in a home for years before they opened up the house and decided to sell all the stuff. There were so many amazing antiques. I bought a pot and a can opener and a chair! I love a good estate sale. It’s been nice to have a new place to furnish. I wish I was a professional estate sale shopper. If anyone needs unique furnishings, email me. I’m great at finding unique things!

    my-goober

    Oh yes, remember this goober? She still steals my phone and takes hundreds of silly selfies. I love it.

    bug-got-her-bike-stolen

    In other news: Bug’s bike got stolen right out of our carport. It was locked to the trellis wall with my bike (Suzette the bicyclette) and the thieves just cut the lock and took it. We are so bummed. They didn’t take Suzette though so I whipped her upstairs and have her stashed half in my closet and the other half sticking out. It’s not the most aesthetically pleasing arrangement but nobody’s going to steal my bike if I can help it. We filed a police report and an officer actually came out to talk with us. He said there isn’t much we can do but they took all of our information and they were really nice about it. I’m so glad Toby still had the serial number so if they do find it they can return it to us. Sigh… thems the breaks of apartment living.

    blood-moon

    Last night Bug and I crept onto the golf course to take a photo of the super moon. It was so fun to sneak around in the dark where we normally are not allowed. I didn’t even care that I was wearing my pajamas.

    feelin-it

    This is definitely proof that I’m getting my mojo back. I think I want to throw a “fabulous fifty” birthday party and ask all my friends to dress up for a pool party at the clubhouse in our complex. I’m planning the ultimate photoshoot and everybody must dress up. The more fabulous the better. I was thinking crazy flowered pants and Elton John style glasses but when I went to a thrift store to find some “70’s glam costumery” all I found was this amazing peacock green gown instead. It is truly AMAZING. There is so much fabric and it’s super heavy and stretchy like a swimsuit. You can tie it a million different ways and every way is flattering. I’m also working on a Brendarita invitation with real margarita powder and freeze-dried strawberries (just add tequila)! If you want to be on my exclusive mailing list email me. Because if you are still reading here on this corner of the internet you deserve to be at this party!

  • 15 minute posts,  fighting the fat gene,  half assed posts,  illos,  place holder posts,  rando bits,  the dogs,  Tis the Season

    Mid-Month Catch-up, Who Dis?

    fall-in-Oak-Glen-2021

    I cannot believe that it is feeling like fall here in Southern California and it’s not even Halloween yet. Usually, it’s hotter than dog’s breath all the way up to Halloween and then magically on the dot it turns cold the night of trick-or-treating and that costume you thought was great on a warm night in September is now needing a sweater and tights! But nope. Not this year! We are actually hovering in the mid 60’s and breaking out the fall sweaters. I LOVE IT!

    I had a minute at work so I thought I’d pop in and share a few photos from this month. The top photos are from an impromptu visit to Oak Glen with my mom and Suki. We totally went there for the apple cider doughnuts, I’m not gonna lie. They are such a treat. There is nothing like waiting in line for a popping hot tiny doughnut freshly fried and covered in cinnamon sugar. I don’t have any photos because I was too busy making a tictok.

    I know, who am I?? Do I think I’m some kid playing on tictok? Next thing you know I’ll be filming myself dancing with my teenagers? The answer is: Yes, and no. I am on TicTok and I do actually love it but NO I am not dancing. Are you kidding me?? I’m terrible at memorizing dance moves!!! I might do it for a parody but I am not on purpose following that trend. I’m actually just making little micro movies and I love it! I don’t know if I can put them here. I’ll have to look into that but if you have an account you should check me out. It’s been really fun.

    Cdm5K2021

    Oh yes! I ran the CdM 5K. The same one I used to run back in the day. (Man, I used to be so skinny. The Corona Virus twenty didn’t miss me.) I’ve been trying to keep in shape but it’s a losing battle as I approach fifty. I had planned to run a half marathon but that seems to be pushing itself out further and further.

    pumpkin-patch-blair-bear-2021

    You know what I love about this time of year? Everything! Bring on the pumpkins, bring on the apples, bring on the cozy sweaters! We took Suki’s baby to the pumpkin patch for her first traditional pumpkin patch picture. We didn’t get any good pictures but it was still fun for us. Then I bought enough pumpkins to decorate my front porch that it looks like Martha Stewart lives there. I am a sucker for disposable fall decorations.

    october-2021-vegas-trip

    Payam and I also took a trip to Vegas to visit my good friend Bethany. It’s pretty funny how often I write about hating Las Vegas and yet, here I am visiting again. This is all Payam’s fault and Bethany’s. But I did really have a good time in spite of the hotel that was craptastic. I will not recommend the Flamingo for staying overnight. While it’s been remodeled it’s still pretty dirty and gross. However the flamingos are cool! And who doesn’t love a good pink-themed decor!

    It was so funny, I woke up early like I alwasy do and wandered around the really nice garden pool area with my cup of coffee in hand looking for flamingos. I saw every other bird imagineable but no flamingos! Then the very last place I checked (a back corner near a restaurant) there they were! There weren’t a ton but they were indeed there and I love them. The color of their feathers! So pretty!  So if you are a bird lover or a pool lover I can recommend the flamingo but if you are a fan of cleanliness I’d say skip it.

    what-happens-in-vegas

    We did really have a good time. The ice bar was over-priced but maybe worth it for all the good photos we got. I thought it would be like the ice bar in Finland or Iceland with luxurious furs and ice sculptures but it was more like hanging out in the meat locker in the back of a restaurant. At least we looked groovy in our coats.

    poor-whiskey-got-shaved

    In other news: I am now a dog groomer! Just kidding. I’m so not. But I did order some dog clippers and I went to town on my poor Whiskeybutt.  See, the thing is there are so many people owning dogs now (a side effect of the pandemic and people seeking pets to save their sanity during quarantine) that our local vet (who is also our groomer) is totally booked for grooming all the time. We have had to put off Whiskey’s much-needed monthly grooming for three months and he has been looking rough. I bathed him in the shower and that backfired on me because his fur is so fine it matted up like barbie doll hair. I was so frustrated with trying to brush him and snip out the mats by hand with scissors. It was just getting worse and worse. So I gave in and bought some clippers and guess what! Now he has no more mats! My family thinks I’ve gone crazy but both Whiskey and I are feeling much better. And, yes, he is cold (because he’s a Southern California Pansy ass like the rest of us) so he has his own special jacket. You might think he looks pissed in that top right photo but actually, that is his gentlemanly model look.

    fall-in-the-nature-trail-2021

    Now that Whiskey has no fur we can walk in the nature trail again! It’s beautiful as always.

    inktober-1-2021

    I’ll close out this October post with some inktober drawings. I’m experimenting with adding more texture for darkness…I have a lot to learn. It’s always so hard for me to slow my process down but it’s a good exercise.