Tag: random

Craft Night but not so much for me


Last night we were able to celebrate The Brides’ fifth wedding anniversary with them. It seems like only yesterday when Tim was The Wedding Bitch and Greg was snubbed.

Meanwhile, Rhonda was the only one who was crafty, although Tim showed us a project he’ll be working on (and that I hope he shares with the Internet when it’s complete). While I bemoaned my lack of a theme for a final collection, the others tossed out ideas, but I managed to dodge them all. I did ask Kathy for her credit card so I could go to High Fashion, and she handed me her wallet! I was honorable and declined it, however. Probably I’m just luring her into a false sense of security, because that’s how I roll.

Remember when people used to say “that’s how I roll” and now they don’t? How great would it be if we could do that same thing to “Kardashian?”

What’s in a name?


“Cleanliness is next to ramliness.”

When I was younger, even during times I was poorer, I was brand loyal. I remember when generic products first began hitting the shelves, and it would have made economical sense to buy those white packages with the black letters, but I just couldn’t. Was it aesthetics? Because I always justified my choice by saying, “But I know exactly what I’m getting with my Jif, Tide, Hellmann’s, Golden Flake, Heinz, Campbell’s, Nabisco, Bama, Comet, Dial, Coke,” blah blah blah. I was certain that if anyone ever put me in a blind taste test, I could pick my favorite product.

I’m not quite as bad as I used to be. I’ll buy store brands or different brands for a lot of products now. Okay, never a peanut butter that isn’t Jif or a mayonnaise that isn’t Hellmann’s. But I’ve drunk store-brand colas and eaten store-brand oatmeal. I broke with my mother on loyalty to Tide, but only because of the expense. I still think it’s the best detergent. Because cost is one of my main criteria, I’ve grown indifferent to brand names on paper products, and I’m more likely to pick cereals based on the nutritional information on their labels.

Still, when I shot this photo, I wondered, if I were still using bar soap, would I purchase this?

Are you brand loyal?

Poetry and dolls and buttons, oh my

The lack of written content on this blog isn’t because I’m not tuned in to the world. In fact, lately I feel like I’m a little too tuned in again. Too much TV, too much news, too much politics, too much hateful language and behavior. But do you really want me to add my voice to the cacophony that is the Internet’s opinion on every wretched bit of human behavior we can display?

I didn’t think so.

Though I’ll admit to completely cracking up when I saw this Tweet:

We now return to our regularly scheduled rainbows, unicorns, dogs, and happiness.

Have a kitten

My sister is a Weather Channel addict. She’ll keep her TV tuned to it while she’s doing other things. One day, she heard a commercial and wondered aloud, “What?!? What does a kitten have to do with a disaster?”

I’m thinking it was probably this ad, which she paid better attention to the next time it ran. [2022 ETA: This was no longer a working link, but it emphasized the need to maintain an emergency KIT in case of disaster.]

Still, better safe than sorry, so she gave me this to keep me company on my drive home along the Gulf Coast just in case Tropical Storm Lee did anything crazy.


Get a kitten. Make a plan. Be prepared.

Kind of adorable

I received an email from a reader who’s turning 25 today (July 31). He jokingly asked what songs I was listening to when I was “ten.” We all know I wasn’t really ten in 1986, but I will divulge what my favorite songs were that year (not that all of them were released that year; they are just what I was listening to). Happy birthday, M., and here are 25 songs I enjoyed in 1986. I think you may be surprised.

    1. Addicted to Love – Robert Palmer
    2. Amarillo By Morning – George Strait*
    3. Boys of Summer – Don Henley
    4. Broken Wings – Mr. Mister
    5. Diggin’ Up Bones – Randy Travis
    6. Everybody Wants to Rule the World – Tears For Fears
    7. Everytime You Go Away – Paul Young
    8. Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Ol’ Days) – The Judds
    9. Guitars, Cadillacs – Dwight Yoakam
    10. I Fell In Love Again Last Night – Forester Sisters
    11. KISS – Prince
    12. Kyrie – Mr. Mister
    13. Life In a Northern Town – Dream Academy
    14. Mama He’s Crazy – The Judds
    15. Missing You – John Waite
    16. On the Other Hand – Randy Travis
    17. Pancho and Lefty – Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard
    18. Pink Houses – John Mellencamp
    19. Small Town – John Mellencamp
    20. Take Me Home Tonight – Eddie Money
    21. Talk To Me – Stevie Nicks
    22. True Colors – Cyndi Lauper
    23. West End Girls – Pet Shop Boys
    24. What Have You Done For Me Lately – Janet Jackson
    25. Why Can’t This Be Love – Van Halen

    *To illustrate: He’ll be looking for eight when they pull that gate…

    Random notes

    1. Sock monkey–found!
    2. People of LiveJournal: I can’t comment on your posts because LJ is apparently in Major Suck It Mode. At least that’s the technical term for it.
    3. It thundered. No rain. Stupid weather.
    4. I don’t really have a No. 4.
    5. “Project Runway” resumes in less than twenty-four hours!
    6. I’ll bet you’re thinking No. 5 should have been No. 4. Free your mind, and the rest will follow.