Flamingo Gone Wild

Oh my goodness, what a night. The flamingo costume was quite the success. I was the talk of the show...A ton of comments from several admirers, some folks wanted the name of my designer and or where they could buy the costume. Whodathunk that the MomUnit could be a famous designer. She's said no to this awesome opportunity due to some blindness issue. Whatever. But here's the gang for last night. Cat = Julie Washburn (a galpal from my Geeksoft days), Me (of course), HikerGirl (Runaway Bride - or whatever people guessed), and Mark and Vanessa Levine (50's couple).

The show was fantastic. This year's top 10 Worst songs were in fact BAD. Unfortunately I can't remember one of the 10, but I assure you it was bad. But the most important thing that you need to know is this Flamingo WON A PRIZE. Yes, that's right my flamingo fans, I won!! I've been going to this show since 1999 and have never won a prize. But then again, I've never dressed up either, which might have something to do with it. But this year, my favorite lead guitarist chose me to win the prize. My prize, why the Lost in Love album by Air Supply. And I think it's only important that you, my dear readers, know that I actually OWNED this album when it first came out. Oh man, I could belt out All out of Love with the best of them. How could Air Supply go out of style? I mean really, just look at those hot boys.

So you wanna know what songs made the top 10? I'll make you wait no more.

The "guest" band this year was The Cure. (Which will explain why they are all in dark wigs in the videos below) I'm not a huge Cure fan so I had no idea who they were when they came out. I recognized the second song they sang Boys Don't Cry, but otherwise I had no idea who they were. But alas, they still were fun and now after watching a Cure video they did a pretty good job of dressing up like them.

Top 10 Worst Songs for 2007

10. 500 Miles - The Proclaimers
9. Sail Away - Styx
8. Rain Drops Keep Falling on my Head - BJ Thomas(by the way, if you check out this video, check out the ears on this guy)
7. Safety Dance - Men Without Hats
6. Sexy Back - Justin Timberlake
Or if you want to see the DMQ boys do it...





5. I'm too Sexy - Right Said Fred
4. Young Girl - Gary Puckett and the Union Gap
3. Mickey - Toni Basil (And for a special treat, this video is with the Solid Gold Dancers. If you don't know who the Solid Gold dancers are....shut it. )

2. Informer - Snow
And the number one worst song:



That's right - Oh Sherry from Journey was the number one song. Hilarious to me. Especially since Blueberry (aka Sherrie) wasn't there at the show and she hates that song, for obvious reasons.


It also seems that several people thought I was Dame Edna. Now, not knowing who that was I needed to google her/him today to see just why people thought this. And I gotta say, wow...I did kinda look like Dame Edna. The end result was I was one kick ass Flamingo and H.O.T. Hot. The bad side of the flamino suit was the heat. Man, it was hot will all those feathers. The beak made it very difficult to drink, so the beak wasn't on for most the night, but I would say it definitely made the costume more obvious.

Eight Random Facts about Me. Moi. Yo.

I rarely do any of the meme's that come my way. Mostly because I generally have other stuff to bore you with. But today is different. It's a quiet day here in the office. Suddenly I find myself in cubeland all alone. Skippy and Pointed Hair boss are off a Geeksoft. PMDude is off on vacation today. Creed is ... well who knows where Creed is. And so I find I have a few minutes to spare for you ... my favorite reader.

1. I have an 8ball Vista gadget on my desktop. I use it daily to make critical Proj Mgmt decisions. That and I use it in conjunction with PMDude's Magic 8 Ball on his desk to make critical determination about how cool or uncool Skippy is.

2. I have a knack (some might call it an annoyance) of getting weird random songs stuck in my head. 9 times out of 10 I have no idea how they get there. There is that one rare time that I see something like a dog poster and suddenly "How Much is that Doggy in the Window" pops into my head. Immediately I try to change the topic and that's how "What's New Pussy Cat" gets stuck. Really, it does make sense in the Land of Jenn.

3. I like pens. For some reason, I have this need to have several pens around me. I buy pens all the time. As I am choosing my new pens I am sure they are going to make my handwriting like it was in the day I used to actually write things (read: back in college). Now, sitting at my desk, I count 10 pens in my pen cup. Who needs 10 pens? And since I've been at work today I've used 3 of those 10.

4. I have a ton of shoes and yet seem to wear the same two pair almost all the time. In the shoe closet the shoes are broken out into categories: Summer, FancyPants shoes, No More than 2 hour shoes (and preferable 2 hours of sitting), everyday shoes, shoes I'll never wear again, and a few pairs of tennis shoes. I go through my shoe closet on a regular basis with the intent of getting rid of a few pairs, especially the No More Than 2 Hour shoes (I think only the female readers of this blog get what that's about), and yet I can't part with them.

5. I loathe this time of year when elections are looming. I hate political commercials, and I hate all the political mud slinging that goes on with it. I get so tired of the He said/she said crap that I frequently don't want to vote at all. I, however, do vote because I'm convinced my vote does still count. I am going to start NOT voting for people who are currently in office in the great state of Washington, because they all SUCK.

6. I have a somewhat irrational fear of death. I say "somewhat" irrational because I think there are a lot of people afraid of dying. I have had moments when I think about how little time I might have left on this earth and I get all panicky about it. The good side is it forces me to make sure I'm living each day. The negative is I HATE that panic feeling.

7. I get addicted to TV series. For example, a recommendation came in to me to watch Gilmore Girls. I put them in my Netflix and then spent the next several weeks, freakishly, watching all the seasons. I did it with Angel, Buffy, Six Feet Under and a few others. I see that my addictive personality takes over and I can't wait to get through the series. Just finished Supernatural last night (though admittedly I had been watching it during the season).

8. I can't wink both my eyes separately. While I can roll my tongue (not a useful trick at all), I can't for the life of me, wink both my eyes separately. It drives me batty when people can and I try so hard, but can't. My mind's eye isn't apparently attached to my right eye as it won't allow it to wink separately. It's a defect. And I'd like my money back now.

There...took me 3 hours to think of 8 things, but I did it. If you feel so inclined to do this meme please do. The big news is, of course, tomorrow night is the big night. DMQ Spooktacular. So stayed tune for the top 10 worst songs. The fear factor of the top 100 is not just how many I actually know, but how many are on my iPod.

OOps I did it again...

It has been pointed out to me by a few of my loyal readers that I've been somewhat remiss in posting. I assure you it's not because I don't love you all individually and uniquely (which kinda makes me sound slutish) but more because I have nothing to say. Life, as I know it, has been somewhat uneventful of late and therefore nothing noteworthy to blog about.

I can "warn" you however that Saturday will be the great unveiling of the Greatest Flamingo Costume inthe world!!!

The crowd will gasp and applaud at the imagination, sweat, torment and pride that went into creating such an outfit. The band will surely award me the "Best Flamingo/Dudley Fan Ever" award. I mean really, what band wouldn't want a Flamingo as a groupie? The men will flock to me (get it? flock? Birds flock. Come on. That's funny!). If they can get past the feathers they will meet the gem that lies beneath...moi! If they're allergic to feathers, best they move on.

And less you forget, the Top 100 Worst songs are being counted down here. I warn you though, they are catchy little tunes that do cause Stuck Song Syndrome (or SSS as it were). My current SSS is the Macarena.

Da le tu cuerpo
Alegria Macarena. que tu cuerpo es para alegria cosa buena.. Heeeeyyy Marcarena.

When I dance they call me Marcarena
And the boys they say cosa buena...
They all want me / they can't have me

I'm a Happy Girl

I’ve got absolutely nothing to write about. Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zip. But you know I can’t not write anything…so I’m taking a chapter out of Patron’s Saint’s blog and writing a list of what makes me happy for today.

1. Well, the obvious, its Friday. And not a moment too soon either. It’s been a super long week for some reason, especially at work. Skippy, I believe, is causing me to not be as productive as normal. Being that he talks non stop, and feels the need to provide commentary on everything he’s doing and anything that’s happening around him even if he’s not immediately involved. For example, I was having a work related, fairly detailed conversation with a colleague, TechGuy, and Skippy bounces over (I can’t get this image of Odie from Garfield and that stupid ass look on his face out of my head every time I say Skippy) and says, “So what do you use to shave your head?” Um, right. Because that question is clearly obvious when two people are talking about a work related issue that YOU are not involved in. Whatever. I’m still happy it’s Friday. Two days without Skippy.

2. ChexMix kicks ass. I bought some for my scrapbooking party on last Sunday and barely anyone touched it. So I brought it to work and have nibbled on it all week. Here’s the thing though, I’m not a big fan of all the stuff they put into ChexMix. In fact, I really only like the “chex” part of the “mix”. I might accidentally on purpose eat a pretzel, but the other little viddles I despise. They end up being tossed. A part of me thinks I can pick through and leave the viddles for the others at work. But the “picking through” part grosses me out and so I don’t think its appropriate to even for work people (who generally eat anything).

3. I am 88% done scanning heritage photos. Whew! I got this suitcase of photos from a cousin and I promised I’d have them scanned in by the end of August. What? October / August ..they both sound the same. Anyhow, I’ve had a blast scanning in and recording these photos. I’ve set up an excel spreadsheet that corresponds with lots I’ve put the photos in. So as they scan, I record who/what and when if its obvious or if it’s on the back of the photo. Did no one write on the back of photos back then? Come on people…record your life on the back of the photos. But do it safely with an archival safe pen/pencil.

4. Mustang Saleen. There’s a new Mustang Saleen parked in the garage downstairs. PMDude and I went down earlier this week to oogle and aggle over it. I’ve been down once to “visit” it. I think I may have to start parking down there just to see it. Maybe my car and that car can hook up and have little baby Saleens. Is thinking about car p0rn weird?

5. Dammit. I forgot what five was.

6. Heroes. Oh. My. God. Have you been watching it? This is going to be one helluva season. I watched it last night and wish it was a book so I could flip to the last chapter and see what happens. If I were a Hero I’d want that to be my ability.

7. Dudley Top Ten Worst songs are counting down. The “show” and the Flamingo costume happen next Saturday. (BTW – A British colleague of mine used the term “flamingoed”. When I asked him about it he said it’s when you utterly and totally F something up. I might have a new term to use). Anyhow, the songs this year I’ve been sharing with PMDude and forcing him to take a walk down memory lane. Though his memory lane is a bit shorter than mine in that he’s a wee bit younger. But the great part about it is the blog has videos so even you can enjoy.

That should be enough for now and I should probably get back to work and earn a living.

My Pumkin is missing it's innards

Officially, the pumpkin carving party was an enormous success, in my humble opinion anyway. And I base this opinion on several factors.

1. No food remaining after the event. That's right. They ate my out of house and home. Now, anyone who knows Wraspir's well know that we tend to cook for small armies. Therefore, it's almost always guaranteed that we'll have several days of leftovers after a meal. Not so in this case. The menu: Balsamic marinade flank steak, Swiss Potatoes, Sugar glazed carrots, Warm Bacon vinaigrette salad, and apple crisp for dessert. I planned for 10 people. 9 showed up and had two very small slices of steak left and a small sliver of apple. Had I let them, they might have licked the bowls.

2. 9 pumpkins carved and looking every so stylish. This year we had a special guest show up to the pumpkin carving; Baby. That's right. At last year's event, Claudia took all the pumpkin guts and tossed them in her garden. Out of it grew "Baby". Pictured in the middle and who remained uncarved. We just couldn't do it. Megan got the "Fancy Pants Carving" Award fro most creative (bottom row, next to the Seahawk). Claudia's pumpkin - the one that looks like it has pitch forks in it - is really a replica of the tablecloth iron fence around the graveyard. Very creative. Most non original is mine I would say. I'm a traditionalist, what can I say. Two triangle eyes, one triangle nose and a goofy snaggle tooth smile (pictured above to the right of Baby). Oh and we got extra crazy this year and put candles in them. OOOO...spooky.

A special note to Claudia for bringing her "tool" to the party. Without your battery operated little gadget we wouldn't have been as satisfied with the outcome as we were. What? You perverts, I'm taking about a battery operated little cutter/saw thingymabob. Ultimatey it was useless, but it sure amused us for several minutes, and prompted very off color jokes throughout the night. Ahhh Good times.

3. New contenders. We had some new contenders this year. HikerGirl has not ever participated in a pumpkin carving event, but has participated in past holiday events and so was well aware of how far out I go for some events. Claudia brought a friend to experience the event and I'm not 100% sure he doesn't think we're all insane. Brought his sarcastic witty game and fit right in. From Left to right: Mark, Vanessa, Mike, Nancy, Claudia, Chris, HikerGirl, Megan, me and Pookie (who made an appearance long enough to spout off something in cat and then went back to his nap).

4. I was pooped the day after. I can always tell when I've had a fun party because I'm usually 1) hung over the day after, 2) hung over and pooped, or 3) just pooped. I was three this time. Sadly didn't hardly drink at all during the event. But alas, I got to do the dishes. Oh boy.

38, 24, 2

No not my high school locker combination. But all my birthday ages. Yes, I have three birthdays. Don’t you?

38 is my actual age. I’m not happy about being 38 and less happy about being 39 in a couple of months. And don’t even get me started on the 40 that’s coming. I’ve not even begun to save for DMQ to play at my party of 1 + 5 band boys. OOO la la….

Ahem….

24 is the number of years old I am according to my dad. He adopted me 25 years ago (if you ask him he only married mom because he wanted me as his daughter). Every year after the adoption we celebrate my “birthday”. Every year I get a gift. My first year I got diapers, a bib and a sippy cup. Last year this kick ass, beautiful teddy bear.

And 2. Two would be the number of years, officially today, that I’ve had a blog. TWO FREAKIN YEARS. When I look back to starting the blog, I was sure I’d not have anything to ever say. And here I am 2 years later spouting off still. In that two years, we’ve seen the blog grow from … well… it really hasn’t grown. It’s still the same drivel it’s always been. And I can’t even say its more mature. My blog. My rules (Courtesy of Patron Saint) has been my motto.

I decided to google to find out what “anniversary” this would be, and according to the interweb it’s the Cotton anniversary (too bad it’s not the wood one. I can think of so many jokes for wood). Cotton has also been known as a symbol of great prosperity. Maybe this means my third year will be prosperous. Or my second year was and I missed it. Dagnabit!

Two years ago I was still working at the Cat Shack and hating every minute. Now I’m loving my job, despite Skippy joining the team. Thank god I have PMDude here to keep me sane

Two years ago I was still single. I’m still single, but more okay with it. And happier in my own skin then ever before.

Two years ago I was driving a VW GTI. Now I’m driving the stang…oooo aaaaahhhhh

Some Blog stats for those who like such things: 431 posts / 26,031 hits in two years.

As I reread some of my blog entries I’m struck with this notion that my life is an open book. Whether it’s a good book or bad, I don’t know. I like where it is now and like the fact that I am writing more and more chapters each day – in my life book that is. Well, and the blog. But you get what I mean.

Speaking of chapters, a lot on tap for this weekend.

Tonight is massage night with Chicken Lady. She celebrated a birthday yesterday so a big shout out to her. Happy Birthday Chicken Lady! You don’t look a day over 29.

Saturday night is the annual Pumpkin Carving party. Last year’s party I had a bit of a hangover due to the large amounts of wine I consumed. This year, more people will be attending AND I’m making some Halloween Cocktails that will surely kick my butt into a hangover. The menu this year, I believe, is top shelf. Balsamic marinade flank steak, Swiss potatoes (a take on au gratin potatoes but better), Warm bacon vinaigrette spinach salad, Sugar glazed roasted carrots and Mom’s famous Apple Crisp (once I get the recipe). Mmmm, I’m hungry now.

Sunday is an all day scrapping party at my house. It’s fall. The weather is changing, which means activities come indoors. So why not do a little scrapbooking. I’ll be working mostly on my Christmas cards. I already have all the envelops addressed and ready to go. I have 1.5 of the card stuff ready to go … Now I just need the time. Sunday is the day. Though if the mood strikes me I might work on *gasp* the UK trip. Or *gasp* the DC trip. Hard to say what I will fancy. I do know I’ll be making Spaghetti and Meatball Stoup.

Whatever happened to Honey?

So the boys at DMQ are counting down the top 100 songs and it so happened that Honey by Bobby Goldsborro came in at #49. If Blueberry read my blog she'd spit her water out right about now.

See in college, we had what you youngsters might not have heard of, cassette tapes. Frequently when taping to a cassette tape it was hard to plan the end ing just right so not to have too much room and not to cut off a song.

Well, I cut off Honey in the middle of the song.Blueberry and I joked that we would never know what happened to Honey. Well, thanks to the boys at DMQ we now do.

Be sure to watch the video. It's hilarious with regards to how the artist incorporated the song with the action figures. And if it gets stuck in your head for the rest of the day. I apologize.

But Honey I miss you.

Papa’s Got a brand new hat. Or is it Mama’s got a brand new dress?

Either way… the Stang has new clothes.

Yes sir and it looks H.O.T. HAUGHTTTT! I drooled a little at the site of her sitting in the parking lot after being fitted with the new look. Okay, I slobbered. All I did was get the windows tinted and it’s amazing how much more of a rockin’ car it appears. Even PMDude said it was sick. Or is that sic?

Here’s something I bet you didn’t know. Tinting of one’s windows is directly correlated with an increase of one’s speed. It’s true. I’m living proof. Since the tinting of the windows, I apparently believe I’m invisible. As if the tinting is some type of cloaking device. When I was picking the shade of darkness, I chose one level higher than legal. I asked the worker bee if he’s ever heard of anyone getting pulled over for too dark of windows. He said that I would be more likely to get pulled over for speeding. Me thinks he knew of this transformation and did not include it in his instructions of care for the new windows.

The other connection that tinting of windows has is with the volume of the stereo. For some reason, it plays louder now. Maybe it’s because I can sing louder and no one will see me singing at all, regardless of how loud it is. It hasn’t, however, had any connection on the music getting better. No, it’s still relatively bad music. It’s just louder.

I’ve been lax in a few other important items to discuss.

1. It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month – thus the pink blog. It has nothing to do with the flamingo costume. Which had something new added to it yesterday. A beak.

2. Directly connected to the beak and costume is the top 10 worst song countdown. DMQ has a blog this year in which they are counting down the songs. PMDude BEGGED me to post this song to my blog - I think it's his new favorite song. But I just couldn’t put all the other readers through it. Instead I’ll just provide this link.

AND as if this isn't enough blogging...I got a shout out from my favorite photographer (Fall Projects - Plus, a Nice Rave). I discussed Leslie's work in a previous post. And she blogged her name and found my post. Consequently posting my comments to her on her site. When she becomes famous, I too will be famous. I'm sure of it.

Hi.

Remember me?

I'm your friendly, neighborhood, pink wig wearing, flamingo toting blogger.

I've been back in Seattle since LATE Tuesday night and can't help but feel I've been in a whirlwind of activity, and yet don't feel like I've accomplished a darn thing.

I was greeted, as expected, by a very vocal, and not too happy cat who had more than enough to tell me Tuesday night (read: Early Wednesday morning like 2AM). He didn't stop for almost 45 minutes. And I think he only stopped because I duct taped his mouth. Okay, I didn't. But I thought about it and even looked for tape.

I'm still trying to unbury myself at work. I at least have read all the emails and am EVER so thankful to a few PM type folks who did some of my work whilst (that's British for while) I was gone. I've been handed a few more projects and two more events to plan. Oh goody!

While I was a way, a new member joined our illustrious team here. PMDude and I have already named him. Well, PMDude named him whilst I was gone, and I seconded it upon my return. Skippy. Yes, his name is Skippy. He's a young buck who seems to think he knows everything. PMDude and I met with him yesterday to discuss what we, the PMs, do and how we, the PMs, would work with him. I'm sure he learned nothing because he couldn't keep his trap shut long enough to actually listen to what we were saying. Skippy also has this annoying habit of talking...All. The. Time. He possesses no filter that stops his mouth from saying what crosses his mind. He's dropped f-bombs and complained about his "stupid computer" (which by the way is a brand new laptop). It just goes on and on on.

I'm telling you about Skippy, or rather warn you, because the pot is boiling. It will take every ounce of my being to not squish his little Know It All Pea brain between my experienced PM fingers. Its just a matter of time before Skippy goes too far and I will be forced then to be very unlady like. It won't be pretty. So stay tuned.

In other, and in my opinion, more important news, I fell asleep last night trying to make up a limerick about my flamingo costume. The MomUnit finished it, is blind because of it, and brought it to DC at which time I tried it on immediately upon entering the hotel room. It's hot. H.O.T. Hot. No I mean, it's going to be really warm. So with the poncho o'feathers as I call it, my flamingo ensemble is complete. I'll try to put it all together and take a photo this weekend.

Speaking of photos, all DC photos will be processed and posted to flickr this weekend too. I have ot fit that around catching up on all the damn TV I've taped, two dates with FrogBoy1, meeting up with HikerGirl, potentially meeting up with another old friend, cleaning the apt, AND doing my WIP reports for work. There just isn't enough weekend here...I think I need 4 days.

The Stang goes in today to be beautified. It's getting beautiful hightlights on its windows. Or as some call it, tinting. (I got beautiful highlights last night at the salon ... ). Can't wait to have tinted windows. I can make faces at passing people and they won't even know. Or sing and they won't think I'm crazy. Yay.

Have a good weekend all my avid readers - Toodles

Not To Be Forgotten

My vacation is winding down and I have to say I need to go home to get rest. I can't believe how much we've walked. The Metro is about a quarter of a mile, and we've been walking it several times a day. The weather has been sensational. Its said it's high 70's but I swear it feels like mid 80s. Sunny, humid and beautiful.

Today we took a somber approach to our day and visited Arlington Cemetery. You can't even put into words or photos how amazing and how moving it is. Approximately 300,000 military personnel are buried here. The rows and rows of marble head stones is truly a sight to see. We learned something today too. We learned each headstone is 250 lbs each. And they are as much below the earth as they are above the earth.

We also got a chance to see a ceremony that's taken place since 1921. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was a magical and very thought provoking ceremony. The military men who guard the tomb are truly exceptional too. They go through a rigorous process to get the honor of guarding the tomb. It's a 2 year commitment and has rules they have to follow for the rest of their lives.

I leave tomorrow, but before I do we're going to head to the Capital building. We realized we haven't actually seen it from the front. We also haven't seen a few other historical buildings in the Mall area. The MomUnit and SLSIL want to go to another museum. So why they are in a museum, I'll be wondering the Mall area again. So stay tuned.