death drives a chevy silverado

i was driving dot to school this morning when i got stuck on the 55 mph highway behind a 40 mph slowpoke - in the left lane. i flashed her and nothing happened. meanwhile, traffic is piling up behind me and the right lane is whizzing by me. i finally get over and pass.

on my way home, i set my cruise control to 55 and relaxed in the post-early-morning-rush emptiness of the roads. i glance up and there is a black truck tailgating me. i don't do anything because i am going the speed limit and my left turn is coming up. truck lane-changes to the right and passes me. the windows are blacked out, but once they are in front of me i can see that the driver is wearing some sort of dark hood. we get stopped by the same red light at the left turn, make the same left turn, and thankfully, death did not come to my house. apparently, he works the night shift.

toast and eggs... eggs and toast

and a cup of coffee. that's my breakfast every day. i went to petco and picked out the meeces for dot. so cute. i wonder what she'll name them. midge and i had 2 mice as kids. twitch and squeaker. one thing is sure, she won't be naming them hannah and montana. they would be laverne and shirley if they were mine as a kid. they could be padma and parvati. i don't know, we'll see.

mgk's quick tips for life

i thought i'd compile some useful tips that may or may not be common sense.

1) if you tend to 'lather, rinse, repeat', use half of the amount of shampoo during 'repeat'. it takes much less to lather in cleaner hair.

2) if you have those little bumps on the back of your arms, an easy, drug-free remedy is to apply a small dab of shower gel to a moist pumice stone and scrub the affected area while showering until you have a rosy glow. apply a thin coat of moisturizer or body oil once out of the shower and you'll have baby smooth upper arms.

3) when in vegas, the wynn has one of the best buffets. at $35 a person, it should be! in the casino, apply for a free red card and you will receive a complimentary buffet. you and your spouse can both sign up. save $70! and keep your wallet and waistline thick.

4) the fastest way to start a fire is to wear corduroys on the treadmill.

funny bunny

i'm not sure what's up with my title.


just getting in the moooood for christmas. still don't know what that has to do with the title. what gift are you most excited about giving this year? here's my top two:

this is an eyeclops bionicam. it magnifies up to 400x and takes pics.


of course, both for dot. if i can get hubby to agree to the meeces, i know she will be over the moon for both.

eleven days later...

so i've been in a schlump.
i thought i'd start a new theme for the next days leading up to christmas.

my favorite toys as a kid. mom, tell me if you remember these.

1. my mickey mouse doll. he was plush and small, and so worn that his pom pom nose had to be replaced.

2. my white rabbit. he was my first 'baby doll' and i still have him.

3. my scratch and sniff smurf book. the page with the grape was my favorite.

4. my fisher price record player with all my 'read along' books.

what was one of your favorite toys as a kid? anyone? anyone? bueller?

wanting to sell my inventory

i have made up these gift baskets of my sweet lime products for easy gift-giving. if you are interested in ordering, please let me know asap, so i can get it shipped.

$30 large sets: facial steam, toner, scrub, lip balm, washcloth/tissue holder

$10 small sets: scrub, lip balm

feeling the recession

i'm just tired. we don't have any money. the only presents i have bought are the obligatory extended family gifts that names were exchanged for. i haven't sold any of my products online. i know i'll have to get a job. what bothers me about that is where my son will go while i work. there's no point in even thinking about daycare (ew.) because of the cost. i just don't know who would hire a college dropout. i do not want to take a 'high school' job (ie. fast food, grocery store, retail, etc.). i need a place that can accomodate to the hours i need. like 8 am - 2 pm. and what about school breaks? i cancelled netflix. a whopping $17 a month will not be spent now. right now we're just existing. christmas is coming,but underneath our tree is bare. what can i do?

domo arigato, mr. roboto

i have been incommunicado.
just looking forward to the holidays, the cooking, the minimal shopping (tight wallet), the decorating. this is my favorite time of year. i am almost done with chapter 2. and i expect things to pick up in the writing. i am also going to be making up gift baskets of my sweet lime products and taking them to local offices and businesses. hope i can sell off my stock.
happy thanksgiving.
glad i'm not at the turkey bowl. (a little pcc humor for those in the know.)

help me pick

friday, i'm going to dinner and twilight with a group of girls. what should i wear!?!

a

b

c

please comment and choose one for me to wear. also should i wear my hair curly or straight?

so a comment/vote should look like this:

b/curly

but don't put that answer combo down just because it was an example.

HELP!

i am alive, i will survive

this is worth it!!!

i'm on the 'oh crap, i gained 10 pounds' diet. it's day 8 of 11. i've lost 5 pounds. my last day is friday, which is also twilight day. so excited. today is all vegetable day. boo! sounds like salad for lunch. if anyone would like the info for this diet, let me know. ;)

~

these are the locket charms i made for our group of 13 going to the movie on friday.

this one is mine.

it's been one week

my dad and his 3 sisters and his brother, and their spouses go on a Mediterranean cruise. my mom has an accident and breaks her foot! she's still smiling, though. at least she'll board the plane first.

most ridiculous thing i've seen this week:

what's the healthy part about apple pie? the apples, of course. so what happens when you replace the apples with ritz crackers and tons of sugar?

Mock Apple Pie

INGREDIENTS

pastry for 2-crust 9-inch pie (butter and flour)
36 RITZ Crackers, coarsely broken (about 1-3/4 cups crumbs) (butter and flour)
2 cups sugar (sugar)
2 tsp. cream of tartar
Grated peel of 1 lemon (is this our vitamin c for the day?)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice (ditto)
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine (more butter!)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
~

Make It
PREHEAT oven to 425°F. Roll out half of the pastry and place in 9-inch pie plate. Place cracker crumbs in crust; set aside.
MIX sugar and cream of tartar in medium saucepan. Gradually stir in 1-3/4 cups water until well blended. Bring to boil on high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer 15 minutes. Add lemon peel and juice; cool. Pour syrup over cracker crumbs. Dot with butter; sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll out remaining pastry; place over pie. Trim; seal and flute edges. Slit top crust to allow steam to escape.
BAKE 30 to 35 minutes or until crust is crisp and golden. Cool completely.
~

Kraft Kitchens Tips
Size-Wise
Enjoy this mock apple pie treat but be mindful of the serving size.

i'm warning you: do not make this! i'm sure it tastes great, but what is in it?

Nutrition Infomation
Calories 410
Total fat 17 g
Saturated fat 5 g
Cholesterol 5 mg
Sodium 430 mg
Carbohydrate 63 g
Dietary fiber 0 g
Sugars 40 g
Protein 3 g
Vitamin A 0 %DV
Vitamin C 2 %DV
Calcium 2 %DV
Iron 8 %DV

they tell you this pie has 10 servings. think of a normal size slice of pie... you only get 6-8 slices out of a pie. 410 calories, 40g sugar and 17g fat!?! make sure you have a big slice with a scoop of mock vanilla ice cream after your thanksgiving dinner!

are apples so expensive now that you have to replace them in a pie? no! when was the last time you bought a box of ritz? (shannon, it was when i made chicken tenders for the girls that night) they are expensive! a can of apple pie filling is even cheaper than a box of ritz. kraft foods is so bent on people buying their products, they've thrown nutrition completely out the window! oooh! eat this cracker pie that's full of butter and sugar, but don't call us when you're in a diabetic coma!

food for thought

show us obama's birth certificate!

two days in the life of mogloki

friday was my halloween dinner party. i made 3 meat pies, mashed sweet potatoes, and apple pie with crispy cheddar. we also had spinach and cranberry salad and a delicious chocolate cake. here's the meat pie:

here's me with the pies:

my two gals came as mrs. lovett and cyndi lauper.

cyndi's hubby was the joker. creepy.

i got home after midnight, and i was feeling all achy - like the flu was coming on. so i took some medicine before collapsing into bed. i was awoken by my dog barking at 4 am. i looked around, but didn't see anything. until the next morning, when we found this:

so i got to call the sheriff and the highway patrol. they told me they couldn't do anything about it. i didn't get a tag number.

that afternoon, shannon and i went 1/2 mile down the road to see sarah palin. it was so awesome!

p.s. we got a note on sunday from the girl who took mr. toad's wild ride through our yard. she supposedly has a friend who does fences who will fix ours.

my version of mrs. lovett

so, here it is! the mrs. lovett costume i made for my gal, shannon!

doesn't she look terrible? (in a good way, because mrs. lovett was so unkempt)

thanks also to elizabeth for hair and makeup.

the inspiration and film adaptation of mrs. lovett.

my neighbor is the repo man

which means the beep, beep, beeping of tow trucks backing up at all hours. did you know that repo men pick up cars and rv's after the regular hours that people are awake? which also means that jack is constantly barking at all the action. i still have to finish sewing costumes for halloween. looks like dinner for a dozen. it'll still be fun.

congrats to jb and melissa on the birth of their daughter.

something else to be disgusted at

selma 'fat'

selma regular

this is an article i thought i needed to share.

Hollywood actress Selma Blair hated having to pile on the pounds for her latest role in TV comedy Kath + Kim - because her on-screen wardrobe was so tight, her clothes cut into her thighs.
The 36-year-old recently wrapped filming for the U.S. adaptation of the hit Australian show, but admits she struggled to enjoy herself on set when she was forced to squeeze into her character's tight-fitting clothes.
She says, "(It was) unpleasant. I'd have lacerations on my body from my shorts being so tight. They'd yell 'Cut!' and people would come over with a bathrobe because I was so embarrassed about the flab rolling over. It was so ugly. That and my double chin."
And Blair was constantly trying to avoid seeing photos of herself in character in the press - because the brightly-coloured outfits were so cringe-worthy.
She adds: "The character's fashion sense is really horrific. I'm wearing a lot of bright clothes and I don't wear anything except black and white in real life. I'm wearing orange and blue together. It's horrible. And wedge flip-flops all the time, toe rings, and an anklet. I have long hair, too, so I have these horrifying extensions and these long nails. It's so embarrassing."
The star has now slimmed down again, but insists it was a hard task: "I've lost the weight but it's difficult to get it off as you get older."

oh, please!!!

my dog hates it when i shop

apparently jack, my dog, doesn't like it when i go shopping. i had a great shopping experience on saturday! this happens very rarely for me, so when it does, i get excited. this was part 2 of a 3 part birthday bash for my friend, shannon. we started at ulta, playing with makeup and putting our faces on. i found a 5 pack of nice makeup brushes on sale for $12.99 from $25. also a $10 mascara for $5. and an undergarment for $4 from $30! we went next door to old navy, and i got a $20 pair of jeans and a $20 jacket, originally $32.50 and $39.50 respectively. euphorically, we walked across to dsw and invaded their clearance room where i found 2 pairs of $50 shoes for $15 and $25. I spent $108 and saved $137!!
back to jack. he came into our room as we slept on sunday morning and found my shopping bags. he decided to mark them as his property. thankfully plastic is pee-proof. bad dog!

actually looking forward to november

thanksgiving and christmas will seem like a breeze compared to what i've been through the last month or so. i'm going to do all online shopping. i hope everyone realizes what a tight year this is going to be present-wise. i don't even have a list yet, for me or anyone else. since my mom bought me a new vacuum, i don't have to put that on my list. i didn't buy any new halloween stuff this year after last year's bounty.
RANT ALERT
by the way, i have received criticism about taking my party sign-up sheet to church. excuse me! it is a church party. this is the third year i have planned a party especially for people in our church, so don't be preaching at me about connecting halloween and church. are we still in the 17th century?

all this planning and such and going out of town... i'm just looking forward to the ladies' retreat in november.

i have a confession to make

and it's a real confession. there's a mom at school that i don't like. it started when i would see her walking her girls into class every morning. the girls were dressed in the most outrageous, trendy outfits. a different one every day. you remember hot pink fur, and cheetah fur trimming hot pink leather, and fur trimmed leather uggs, and on and on. the mom dresses just as trendy with her amazon self and it's like watching kimora take her kids to school.
then it continued with her gigantic cadillac escalade. she peals into the parking lot with 2 minutes until the late bell rings, turns in front of people without any care for the right of way, parks in the grass and stilettos (see how i made a verb out of it) her way into the school with no care for anyone else or the fact that her girls need ample time to prepare for class before the bell rings, then she comes back out, climbs back into her monstrosity and backs out without looking to see if anyone is behind her. her over-inflated sense of self-entitlement makes me fume.

did i mention the limo that picks up all the kids in her daughters' classes when one of them has a birthday?

and here we sit, with our peanut butter and jelly and 1/4 tank of gas because the mortgage is due this week. i don't want to be her. i don't want people hating me because i've left them in the wake of my self-absorbed supernova. i just want to sell my book.

still tired from losing 3 hours last week

i really don't know what to say. i'm working on my 'big h-ween party'. i took a sign-up sheet to church yesterday, and only 1 couple signed up. i guess everyone else wants to be poopoo heads and not have fun. i still have a group that weren't present to see if they are coming. i still haven't' slept in to catch up on my lost time. my hair is growing out nicely. i went shopping at kohl's. they just opened here and i found some really great stuff. i was about sick of seeing hayden's face everywhere. oh well. popular cheerleaders and their stupid good genes.

it needs to stay in vegas

they are not kidding. it amazed me at the level of nudity. i had fun, but i do not like vegas. here are some family friendly pics.

this looks amazingly like my picture of the original eiffel tower.

these are actually wax statues. amazing, right?

i heart ned

pushing daisies premieres tonite. don't miss it!

my new boyfriend

i changed my wireless carrier for him. i hope he calls me back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuftRh3QUsU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjCMRZGdV54

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tqIluIi3_U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy4YtMVAxzA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dewjMYWbt9s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEmfrcO1sO4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqoC_t64kKc

who do they think they are?

i got all excited after seeing the new target ads for their exclusive makeup lines. np, jemma kidd, and pixi. i was there 2 weeks ago and thought i'd check them out. maybe pick up a new eyeliner or something. apparently, target (who's ads are all about how much you're saving) now thinks that they are sephora and can charge $28 for eyeshadow, and a basic kit (very basic) for $39! that is NOT saving me any money. looking 'natural' just became very expensive, even for us po' folks. hey, po'folks, wasn't that a restaurant? i think it was. odd.

and what about david blaine's lame lame lame stunt last night? seriously, the announcer (also lame) is like, 'he just flew up into the sky! it's amazing!'

david lame

alright! i decorated the house

since i'm always decorating everyone else's house for my parties, i decided to decorate mine this year.

feel the burn

i did some spontaneous squats on saturday and now it hurts to sit. sitting doesn't hurt, it's the transition from standing to sitting that hurts. ouch.

you can't beat the classics

these are so cute. mom, can you make these for me?

it's beginning to look a lot like halloween

it's my favorite time of year. the chance to dress up, have fun with other adults who are dressed up and watch classic horror movies, or play silly games. when i say classic horror, i mean boris karloff, lon chaney and bela lugosi. the decorations are almost all out in the stores and i am loving it. my project this year is turning a pile of boxes into a haunted mansion display. i worked on it yesterday, taping the boxes shut, gluing them together and making sure i have all the passages cut for the interior lighting. i guess i'll post updates at various stages of completion. so here's the first pic. i was just doing the layout.

out of the closet, and back in again.

yesterday, i spent the whole day taking ev-er-y-thing out of boy's closet. after throwing out garbage, removing my stuff from the days that his room was the 'spare room', and trying to hose vacuum it since my belt has broken - again - my husband and his girlfriend, kenny, installed this.

and today was spent trying to put everything back in. it results in getting rid of 2 dressers, a toy chest, and a small bookcase. his room will be so nice and, well, roomy. i still have 2 more shelves to put in that gaping hole. the large 'drawer' is actually a laundry hamper. but since boy's clothes are still so small, i'm using it as a toy chest. yes, more toys.

on this anniversary

my mom recently had a near encounter with the neighbors whose dog nearly killed my mom's pomerhuahua. the dog was there, too, and she was suddenly inspired by the irish blessing. and this is what she wrote. when i think about what happened on this day 7 years ago, i feel this is even more poignant. interpret however you may:

May the bile rise up to meet ye,
May the knife always be in your back.
May the hot sun make blisters upon your face.
May the rains flood your fields and we never meet again.
May the pot of gold elude y ou forever, and your pint be always stale.
[Saints preserve us! Judas, Herod and Jezebel!]


the original goes like this:

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

a new career?

it took 20 (1/8") braids, many straight pins, some glue, and several hours over 2 days, but i completed a regency hair style on a barbie. what do you think? i know, what a waste of time. blah, blah, blah. it is to go with the dress i was planning to sew. i thought, if i'm sewing a regency dress, she'll have to have the right hair. so i did the hair first.

now dot (who doesn't play with dolls) wants me to do the hair on the other 3 dolls. i guess i'll have a cast for home versions of my favorite stories. more wasted time. hey, barbie never looked so good.

okay, so i went ahead and sewed the dress. just some practice with a little scrap of material.

here's mr. darcy, he's a little wooden.

i thought i was gonna die!

so my girls and i went to rock the universe this weekend. third year in a row for an all weekend blowout. and our last. we went back to our hotel early friday night- 10:30. crazy, right? i sat on a ride next to an obnoxious girly-boy (that's what he called himself) who spit when he talked. i had to fight off girls half my age (literally) to keep myself from suffocating. we're going to do individual concerts from now on. we did discover a really great new band. special d.

check them out. no, that is not drake bell.

this is drake bell.

~

and of course, my favorite band: jars of clay.

sorry, no shorts this year. so in case you missed it last year - here's a recap: