Eau De Play-Doh! DOH!

I've seen Demeter's scents for several years. Dirt is pretty cool. Oh, and they had an Altoid scent that was hip and happenin'. Now this: http://www.perpetualkid.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1698 Play-Doh scented. I don't know about you, but when I want to feel sexy, I just roll up a little ball of Play-Doh and put it behind each ear, in my cleavage and behind my ankles. It's a bitch when it dries, though. So, maybe this new scent will do the trick? :-)

By the way...

I went shopping today just to one store which I thought would be pretty quiet as typically it's a veritable ghost town. Not so much today. I drove around and around the parking lot looking for a space...completely full! Took about 4 rounds to finally nab a space. All I wanted was a few pairs of socks for Ivan. They were half off, and he has a pretty great need for some new ones. So, yeah, it was as busy as heck. Remind me next year not to go near a store on the day after Thanksgiving. Aaaaaaaaack.

On the Tele...

I end up flipping to the HGTV channel fairly often. There are good and bad shows in their mix, but my overall favorite -- Divine Design with Candice Olson. While other designers on that network have hits and misses, Ms. Olson's rooms are always spectacularly beautiful.... The lighting....The lushness.... The color schemes. All magnificently detailed. Do ya think they could do a show from Utah? Our main living spaces (entry, frontroom, livingroom and kitchen) is in desperate need for some splendiferous beauty. Ahhhhh, perchance to dream! See some of her stuff online here: http://www.divinedesign.tv/

It's been 18 years today.

18 years since my mom died due to complications of emphysema. Complications. Well, basically, she was tethered to an oxygen tube for the last few years of her life. That in itself was a complication. The "complication" that finally ended her life -- a blood clot in her lung.

I was talking to friends of mine today who mentioned something that brought to mind my mom's demise. 18 years ago today. It struck me pretty hard. I don't really know why other than I didn't realize that today was the anniversary. I gave up directly tracking the anniversary long ago -- rather my tracking was simply year specific, not to the day. I mean her death was a significant "life changing" experience. A life's milestone. So, yeah, 18 years. Judging from the memories of that night and the following days, you might think it happened last year. The vividity of the memories are as intense today as they were 18 years ago.

I was her primary caregiver for the last few years, so I was well tuned to the tone of her voice when there was a kink in her oxygen tubes --a certain shrillness to her voice when she called my name in the dark of night or in the day. When her tubes where compromised, she didn't have the faculties to get to the kink. Her lungs were at 12% of normal capacity, so when she wasn't getting a high liter of oxygen supplement, her brain and body suffered from oxygen deprivation. So, yeah, that night, there wasn't the kink in the oxygen, but she was suffering from a lack of oxygen. Simple movements became difficult. We tried calling the doctor whom we had visited the previous day for advice. No luck there. I called an ambulance. Within the short period of time from the call to the time they made it to our place, she was nearly gone. I held her while she tried to breathe. The muscles in her chest and around her back were so very tight. Desperate for breath, her last words to me were, "I'm so scared." So was I. So was I.

There are tons of small details of that time burned in my brain, I really didn't drop many here. I was so young and really wasn't ready for her to go. Aren't parents supposed to die when you're 50? The lucky ones, I suppose. Anyway, it was a tragic end to a remarkable woman's foreshortened life. Yeah, yeah, everyone thinks their mom is remarkable. But, really, she was! She overcame a lot of obstacles in her life and still provided quite the idyllic childhood for me and my sibs. Eh, she wasn't perfect by any means, but you know, her imperfections were perfection in itself. ;-) It was an end that came too quickly due to addiction to cigarettes. She'd probably still be here today if it weren't for the sticks o' death. I do make a point of telling smoking friends or even friends of friends about her early demise. I tell them once and only once about the gory details of her last few years in some small hope of planting a seed that will get them to stop smoking. I know that my seeds fall on the ears of addiction, so there isn't much hope to be had. But you know, a girl's gotta try!

"Gedney...it's a Minnesota Pickle..."

I couldn't help but sing the old Gedney jingle when Ivan pulled this bottle out of the ground a week ago. It was found in Salt Lake in a privy that dates back to around 1890. I really wish it was whole! Anyway, if you click on the image, you can read "M A Gedn (break) Pickling Co Minneapolis & St. Paul". It was found with a few other Minnesota bottles. More than likely the home owners were recently moved from Minnesota. So, yeah, a little piece of home found here in Salt Lake City. I just looked up the Gedney company (click to peek at their site.) Apparently, they started in 1881, so this bottle is pretty close to being one of their original pickle jars! Cwazy!

Size

*Ahem*, I'm well into my triple digits in weight. So, why would something a mere fraction of my size provide such fear? Why would a spider (a really, really big one) drive me to think I couldn't go up the stairs? I thought, "How can I pass such a massive beast and survive?? Would he jump on my ankle as I try to pass?" He was in a tricky spot where I couldn't just step on him, so I had to pass and then find *something* with which I could squish him. I seriously stared at him for about 4 minutes with four bags of groceries in tow. "Move, dammit! But don't move so far that I can't find you after I pass," I thought. So, I put the groceries down and finally decide to dash (well, you know, move as fast as I can, which isn't really very fast) past him. "Please, please don't jump on me!" I made it, grabbed a bottle of Mr Clean and sprayed 'em. He was not happy, so I, of course, had to put him out of his misery by beating him senseless with a broom handle. I had won. David had finally beaten Goliath.

Ode To The Ugly Check Card

Always there...gleaming in your ugly orange and yellow. The ugly step-child to the pretty, sparkly ~real~ credit cards. Though far from beautiful, you never failed to provide the necessities of life. You lost my signature time and time again, yet you were always willing to step up to receive my ink. Your pretty bird lost its lustre, but you never lost your edge. Thank you, dear ugly check card, for your many years of service. I apologize for those who have wronged your number and taken you from us. They know not what they have done.

Will the idiot trying to break into my Blogger...

Please give it a break? I really don't need to receive any ~reset password~ requests. Thank you.

More news on my stolen check card...

I received a call tonight from a company called "mediaring.com". You guessed it...another international calling company. They asked for me with my married last name...not the name on the card. A *clue*. It's definitely not being used by someone who physically had the card. Most likely an online theft. Still no idea on which site, though. The woman who called had a really thick accent, so it was a little difficult to discern, but I think I have an email that *may* (but honestly, probably not) point to the loser trying to use my card. Oh, the drama of it all!

Oh for f*cksakes...

I just got off the phone with Visa and my bank. My Visa account has been compromised! AAAAAAAAck. Luckily, Visa Fraud protection was ~watching~ my account. So far, only 15 or so fraudulent charges. All 'of 'em on Yahoo Voice international calls and some company called IConnectthere.com -another international call company. I've never lost or given my check-card to anyone else, so ~they~ (whoever idiots ~they~ are) got my number from an online transaction. Grrrrrr. Aaaack. Grrrr. With any luck, my identity won't be stolen. Ya'll remember me, right? (If you ever saw "The Net", you know that just knowing who I am could be detrimental to your health. You're warned.)

Shhh...don't tell anyone...

But last night I figured out what to give my friends and family for Christmas this year. It's going to be fabulous! Last yearI decided that rather than solely buying crap, I would hand make gifties in addition to the homemade jams/cookies I typically send. (I'm sure it's a scary proposition for some...) I ended up making pillow cases out of fun, funky fabrics. This confused some and delighted others. "So, why did you send me pillow cases?" A definite hit/miss depending upon your point of view. This year...it's brilliant! Something that pretty much everyone needs/uses and it won't clash with current bedding ensembles. It's...it's.... well...you'll have to wait and see.

How Creepy!

There's a reservoir here in Utah called "Strawberry Reservoir". It's a hot fishing location. I've been there fishing a few times over the last few years. It's big and pretty quiet on the whole. A couple was thrown overboard into the water last week. They're most likely drowned and in the lake/reservoir somewhere. Rescue crews have been searching for them since the night they disappeared. During their search.they found one body missing since 2001. Yesterday they found another body.and today.yet another body!! Anyway, here's the creepy bit - neither of the most recent bodies are of the missing couple. Creepy, I say! Let me just tell ya, that no matter HOW hot the day is when I'm down there, I AM NOT going to put my toes in the water! No way, no how!

We're well into Chocolate Season

For those of you who have survived the chocolate rush of Halloween, I’ve found a new treat that’s sure to please lovers of the Cadbury Mini Eggs. You know, the solid chocolate eggs in the crispy shell? Well, now, they have the same chocolate and the same crispy shell in holiday colors! I’ve been googling around trying to find ‘em online, but no luck. You’re going to have to hunt ‘em down at your local store. And you *know* you will. Yum!

Mo' Bad Fat Chick Fashion

Fat chicks, I DARE you to wear this "cropped vest" and try to look "normal". If you hear people laughing/pointing in your general dirction and then hear "Look, shamu has outgrown her mooring, " don't blame me. Even if they're not anti-fat, upon first glance, they'll see a denim bra over your shirt. Or maybe a denim swim suit top over a white shirt. Now, maybe, just maybe it would look good on a chick sans shirt and with tiny, pert boobs, but probably not.