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And now for something completely different
 I can't believe Gretchen actually put this up. <evil grin>
posted at 11:36 PM | link--it | mail it | (8) shout it



Spank my booty
 In a new study out this week, after analyzing six decades of expert research on corporal punishment, psychologist Elizabeth Gershoff found links between spanking and 10 negative behaviors or experiences -- including aggression, anti-social behavior and abuse of children and spouses in adulthood. The one positive result of spanking that she identified was quick compliance with parental demands. "Americans need to re-evaluate why we believe it is reasonable to hit young, vulnerable children, when it is against the law to hit other adults, prisoners, and even animals," Gershoff writes in the new edition of the American Psychological Association’s bimonthly journal.

Todd and I were both spanked as children, and I couldn't find this study's results further from the truth in both our cases. Were you spanked as a child?



If you were, do you feel it affected you negatively? Because quite honestly, that time I threw my arms and legs around a gumball machine in the bank and screamed bloody murder 'til my Popeye pried me off kicking and screaming...well, it is my firm belief that my hiney needed tanned that day. Not "time out". And believe, me I never pulled that with him again! (Article from MSNBC.com.)
posted at 04:22 PM | link--it | mail it | (63) shout it



Mrs. Robynson
 Today's horoscope...anyone wanna audition? Heh.

"Your sensual side might show itself today, Robyn, and you might find yourself viewing young men in tight jeans more appreciatively than you usually do. Racy novels and movies may suddenly seem appealing, and you might want to make some purchases at the perfume or lingerie counters. Romantic encounters are intense and passionate - so make sure you allow plenty of time for them! Don't be surprised if you turn into a Siren! Enjoy yourself!"
posted at 03:33 AM | link--it | mail it | (11) shout it






You found out I've got a crush on you
 Guess who we both got to talk to on the phone tonight? This country is just too friggin' big sometimes! We all need to be able to meet up at the local pub on weekends for dinner and drinks just because...grumble, grumble... It was great talking to you, Mikey!
posted at 02:49 AM | link--it | mail it | (4) shout it



Dirty Deeds done dirt cheap
 We went to see "Mr. Deeds" tonight. If you're a Sandler fan, two thumbs up. Not his best...but definitely good for a few laughs. If you don't care for him all that much, make it a rental. Before we left Todd took a new photo of me in the shorts I started my diet in. They fit snug back then. My hips are the only thing holdin' them em up now -- I've dropped about two sizes. Goooooo water!

And I bought these tonight after admiring Stacy's new blog skin all week -- froggies!
posted at 01:34 AM | link--it | mail it | (17) shout it






Looks like Batman brought his own Robyn

Bitches and gentlemen, it's showtime, hurry hurry, step right up...

Let's get down to business. I don't got no time to play around, what is this? Must be a circus in town. Let's shut the shit down on these clowns. Can I get a witness? Hell yeah!

That's it. I hereby decree every Friday to be Eminem Friday. I kinda like this bouncy feelin in my computer chair goin' on...lightning? What storm?
posted at 05:48 PM | link--it | mail it | (12) shout it



Squish the bug
 By the way, I discovered a small little bug last night regarding MT 2.2's TrackBack feature. If you want the fix Ben provides one here.
posted at 03:50 PM | link--it | mail it | (7) shout it



Am I ever gonna see my wedding day
 In week two of "Today Throws a Wedding", you get to choose the couple's reception location. NBC's picking up the tab -- I pick Tavern on the Green! Sixteen bucks for a shrimp cocktail? You betcha! It's obvious their fancy money didn't go into web design though...
posted at 03:20 PM | link--it | mail it | (6) shout it



Señora, you're a whore-ah!
 E! has a new list of Adam Sandler's Funniest Moments. It's worth it just for the video clip of "Schmitt's Gay"! I still remember watching that live in the dorms back in college and nearly falling off the couch I was laughing so hard. Ahhhhh... Good times. But how in the hell (pun intended) did Little Nicky make the list?
posted at 01:48 AM | link--it | mail it | (5) shout it



Hitting the trifecta
 Hey Stacy -- remember when we were asked to come up with original reasons for disliking President Bush? Well can you please add these to my list now? (Article from MSNBC.com.)
posted at 01:22 AM | link--it | mail it | (5) shout it






Lizard lovin'

"Yeah, I shagged 'er baby. I shagged 'er rotten!" The view we had at dusk tonight when we were weeding the front yard. Couldn't resist capturing the moment and sharing it here...
posted at 10:07 PM | link--it | mail it | (21) shout it



A new World order
 The Daypop Top 40 has a link to "The New World Trade Center 2002", and most of the reviews of the design seem to be positive. But the first thing that popped into my mind when seeing it was "sticks of dynamite" and the thought of that gave me the willies. Is it just me? (For more info visit the New World Trade Center 2002 site.)
posted at 03:28 PM | link--it | mail it | (19) shout it



Why buy the cow...
 NEW YORK (Reuters) -- It's official. Men really are afraid of commitment.

Confirming what women have long known, an American study released on Wednesday shows men are dragging their feet on getting married.

Researchers say one of the biggest reasons that men are delaying marriage is that more and more couples are choosing to live together before marriage. As a result, sex -- traditionally one of the main reasons for men to marry -- is relatively easily available, they say... (Read full article at CNN.com.)

We got married at 23 and lived together beforehand. Oops.
posted at 02:28 PM | link--it | mail it | (8) shout it



CAT FIGHT!
 Damn. I missed it. (Transcript at Dawson Speaks.)
posted at 02:19 PM | link--it | mail it | (4) shout it



He's got the cutest little baby face

Kieran Nicolas was welcomed into the world with wide open arms at 2:22 a.m. on June 25, 2002. He weighed in at 8 lbs., 1 oz., 20-inches tall. Mommy, daddy, and son are at home now comfortably resting. Many congrats Nikki and Ryan. He's precious!
posted at 02:05 PM | link--it | mail it | (6) shout it



ASSMAN
 I love creative license plates. Here are "red lists of banned tags, letters taking umbrage at supposedly offensive plates, official letters notifying drivers that their plate is objectionable, plate holders's passionate pleas to keep their beloved tags, and more" from The Smoking Gun. Make sure to hit the "Letters of Complaint" section first. Apparently saying "RAIN SUX" is a very bad thing -- and quite offensive -- here in Florida. And of course, the best accidental plate ever, also from right here in the Sunshine State! (Link from The Smoking Gun.)

P.S. I think I'm related to this guy. At least, I want to be...
posted at 02:53 AM | link--it | mail it | (12) shout it



She's one in a million girl
 Did you ever see "Mumford"? Looks like Jason Lee's wet dream just came true. (Pun intended. Ba dum dum.) $5749 a doll though? And $6999 for a male doll with $800 shipping? Yikes. It's been awhile, granted, but I don't remember it ever being that bad to be single! (Link from nastybastard.org.)
posted at 02:00 AM | link--it | mail it | (5) shout it



I came to help restore your pluck...
 Dear Sandra,

I have seen your ass all 20 times you have mailed it to me in the last two days (at every single account I have). I promise. Really, I have. I wouldn't lie to you. Although it is nice, I have seen better to be honest. I also do not want to download your MPEG and watch you <censored for mom!> -- there's no telling where that ass has been. Now go away and pester that guy who wants his penis enlarged naturally -- I'm quite sure he could use your help/services.

Love,
Robyn
posted at 01:01 AM | link--it | mail it | (18) shout it






It's in the photograph
 Finally! Todd's cousin Susan just e-mailed me recent photos of her trip to Austin, so now you can all see the face behind the wit (and that bitchin' new haircut she's sportin').
posted at 05:14 PM | link--it | mail it | (4) shout it



Valley girl
 Another new WM! client to check out -- Napa Villa Vineyard Retreat. "The Villa is a privately owned luxury rental property completely furnished and equipped for destinations that could include vacations, executive retreats, family reunions or weddings."
posted at 04:05 PM | link--it | mail it | (7) shout it



Tempted but the truth is discovered
 I love Jason, yes I do -- I love Jason, how 'bout you? Because I always admire and respect a fellow overworked, underpaid perfectionist that doesn't know the definition of the word "quit"... After reading stuff like this yesterday, he went to work on Blogrolling again.

"I saw on a bunch of people's blogs how they were creamin' their undies about the feature in that other service where you roll over the blog's link and it tells you when it updated last. Well guess what? Go roll over your blogrolling links... If there isn't a description set for the link already and if I have a timestamp on file it tells you to the second when the blog was last updated. It's using GMT right now because that's the standard but I'll have it in soon to use custom timezones. That's a piece of cake but I can't be editing the DB tables tonight. Not exactly all that with it. But if the blog isn't found in the weblogs.com updates and you don't have a description set then it reverts to the URL in the description. Now isn't that snazzy?"

Happy Happy Joy Joy Happy Happy Joy Joy
Happy Happy Joy Joy Happy Happy Joy Joy
Happy Happy Joy Joy Happy Happy Joy Joy
Happy Happy Joy Joy!

I don't think you're happy enough. That's right! I'll teach you to be happy. I'll teach your grandmother to suck eggs. Now, boys and girls, let's try it again!

Thanks Jason!
posted at 03:01 PM | link--it | mail it | (6) shout it



Always a bridesmaid
 DeKuyper Schnapps recently held a "Worst Bridesmaid's Dress Contest". I seriously would have hurt the bride that forced the poor winner in her dress if it had been me! I realize the goal is make sure you, as the bride, are the most beautiful woman in the room -- but this and this and this are just darn-near criminal to do to a friend! At least the winner, Robin Durr, got a free trip to Puerto Rico out of the deal -- considering she was out $210 for the frock.

And speaking of weddings, today is my mom's anniversary -- we both hope you and Gary have a very happy one!
posted at 02:57 AM | link--it | mail it | (19) shout it






When I wake up in my makeup it's too early for that dress
 This blog entry about Courtney Love's fight with Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic (formerly of Nirvana) reminded me of this link Queen e-mailed me. Her caption said it all. "What the hell happened to Courtney Love?" There was a period a couple of years ago where she cleaned up, lost a lot of weight, and looked...dare I say...beautiful. But those photos are just frightening -- even if they were taken during a morning show. "Wilted and faded somewhere in Hollywood" is right!
posted at 11:04 PM | link--it | mail it | (10) shout it



The freshest you've got - this year!
 Just spotted over at Meryl's...freshblogs.com. "Unlike other programs, it doesn't rely a timed list like weblogs.com. If you don't do weblog rounds for a week, you can still see what's been updated since your last round of reading. Move the mousepointer over any blog in the list and it'll give you the date and time it was last updated."

Straight from the freshblogs.com website: "Freshblogs enables web users to track new content on their favorite weblogs. Your published watchlist displays the most recently updated sites at the top. As time passes, weblogs that are updated less frequently will drop in 'freshness' and disappear from the list."
posted at 04:24 PM | link--it | mail it | (8) shout it



Don't hate me because I'm beautiful
 Sorry Chris -- I swear I didn't mean to! It seems, at least for now, that Christine and I are the two slices of bread in a Chris Pirillo sandwich over in the Blogrolling Top 100 Links.
posted at 03:46 PM | link--it | mail it | (7) shout it



Think I wanna drive your Benz? I don't.
 As if we couldn't see the security cameras a mile away... E! is going to air a "True Hollywood Story" about Winona Ryder on Wednesday, June 26th.

E! also ranked the "best and worst TV moments" of the 2001-02 season. Their "best love triangle" was Ross, Rachel and Joey on "Friends". What-evah!

Arnold Schwarzenegger accepted an honorary doctorate on Sunday from Chapman University in Orange, California. His advice to the 2002 graduating class? "Buy when Martha Stewart buys. Sell when Martha Stewart sells. And if at all possible, marry a Kennedy."

Kermit the Frog is getting his own star on the Hollywood "Walk of Fame".

Entertainment Weekly asks "Is J. Lo the new Julia Roberts"?

And last but certainly not least...I found a new (well to me) entertainment blog discovery...anythingbut.com!
posted at 04:28 AM | link--it | mail it | (7) shout it



Here comes the bride...
 One of my long-term destination wedding forum members is getting married today in Vegas by Elvis. She left a note over the weekend saying "anyone who wants to view the wedding live can see it Tuesday, 4:30 p.m. Las Vegas time". If you catch the ceremony, let me know (and please take a screen capture or two if you can)! The address to watch for it is here.
posted at 02:59 AM | link--it | mail it | (2) shout it



Blow the candle out dear and make your wish come true

Statistics prove, prove that you've one birthday,
one birthday ev'ry year.
But there are 364 unbirthdays --
that is why we're gathered here to cheer.
A very merry unbirthday to you, to you.
A very merry unbirthday to you.
It's great to drink to someone,
and I guess that you will do.
A very merry unbirthday to you!

I'm sorry I missed your actual birthday Erika, but I wanted to wish you a very merry unbirthday today!


posted at 01:54 AM | link--it | mail it | (1) shout it






Permanent vacation
 "So why don't you tell us -- what did you do this summer, Robyn?"

Well we got to the Disney World Hilton about 2 p.m., even though check-in wasn't until 3 p.m. We were hoping to get a king-size bed if we got there early enough, since you can't specify room or bed type with Priceline.com. We didn't have any problem checking in at all, but after exiting the elevators and walking down literally the longest hallway I've ever been down in my life (while Todd fought the urge to skip and sing "I Want to Be an Airborne Ranger"), we got to the very last room at the end -- you guessed it -- two double beds. So we had to go back down the hall and try again. I told Todd this was probably their scare-tactic. By the time most people found the room they'd be too tired to argue. But a couple of apologies and few clicks of a keyboard later, we were off to our next room. And they must have upgraded us because it was literally twice the size of the other one! It had a long entry hallway, a separate little office area with desk and computer chair (better than our own!), walk-in closet, a really nice entertainment center, fully stocked fridge, two chairs, terry robes, bath sheets instead of towels, and a king bed with a feather duvet and feather pillows. *cue Robyn singing "I think I'm gonna like it here"*

We got settled in and then decided to head out for a late lunch. After about 5 minutes of "I don't know...what do YOU want to eat..." I had an epiphany. We'd yet to make it to CityWalk at Universal Studios so we headed over in that direction. We literally arrived just minutes before the rain. We had settled on Pat O'Brien's (a New Orleans institution) for lunch, and barely got our drink orders before the floodgates opened. The food was so-so. It was just enough like New Orleans fare to make us want an authentic muffuletta. But the drinks were perfection and we were both just a little lit when we made our exit. We decided to head over to the Cineplex and try to catch a show and wait the rain out. We bought tickets for "Minority Report", and then killed the hour before showtime "wastin' away again in Margaritaville".

No spoilers here, but I thought the movie was just "ok". I was very glad this theater sold alcohol to keep me distracted. I've seen a lot of very positive reviews floating around, but quite frankly, I don't like Tom Cruise. I'm sure that had a bit to do with my "eh, take it or leave it" opinion. Some of the technology was fascinating -- and some (like the advertising) was downright frightening to stop and think about. The thing that REALLY drove me bonkers in the plot line concerned Cruise's eye scans while he was a fugitive though. Hello?! Anyone ever thought of deleting him from the computer system and denying him access? Anyone? Most companies have your login and password out of the company's computer system before the security guard can even escort you and your belongings out the front door. But oh no. Not in this plot line. He had access to just about any room he (or his wife...ahem...) wanted to enter. Pretty weak if you ask me. But enough of that...

It was still raining when we left. Being good little Floridians we had rain gear, but the crowds were thin and there just wasn't all that much going on. We shopped for a bit and then decided to head back to the hotel about 10 p.m. We dried out for a bit, and then drove over to the Downtown Disney area. To be honest, I don't know how the folks at Disney are going to compete with Universal in this regard. The only thing Disney has going for them is better bus service to and from their resort (and nearby) hotels. Everything at Universal was just done better. We say this after having three years of Disney annual passes to back us up.

For instance, admission to Disney's Pleasure Island is now $19.81/person. This only includes your admission to the clubs inside. It does not cover food, drinks, or the AMC Movie Theater in the West Side. By contrast, for $8.95/person you can get an all-club access pass at Universal's CityWalk. Or for $12.00/person you can get all-club access plus a movie ticket. And $18.00/person will get you dinner (at either Margaritaville, the Hard Rock Cafe, Pat O'Brien's, Motown Cafe, NASCAR Cafe, NBA City, Pastamoré, or Latin Quarter) and a movie. Universal's Cineplex was much nicer inside than Downtown Disney's AMC as well.

We weren't in the mood to fight the rain all night, so we didn't bother with Pleasure Island admission. We just did a bit of shopping and then went on a hunt for food. Disney has started closing up the West Side earlier than they used to. Up until recently, you could shop and eat until 2 a.m. Lights started going off at 11 p.m. last night. So we gave up and drove off-property to search for food. It seemed everything was closed. Chili's here in town is open until midnight -- but not the one by Disney World. We threw our hands up in defeat and had a lousy late-nite meal at Steak 'n Shake that made us leave regretting the choice. We went back to our hotel room and curled up to watch "Shallow Hal" before going to sleep (and requesting a late 1 p.m. checkout).

We woke up today to sunny skies, but when the noon news came on it was already raining at the beach. There went our plans... So we scrapped them and went to the Orlando Premium Outlet Mall instead, after a yummy lunch at Chevy's. We didn't buy all that much (just a few shirts at Banana Republic, some Bobbi Brown cosmetics, socks, etc.) but it was a nice end to a fabulous quick get-away. Claire was very happy to see us again!

If I owe you e-mail, I do apologize. It's going to take a couple of days to catch up and I have a mountain of work waiting for me... At least we have more rain to look forward to tomorrow. Our new front lawn is loving it!
posted at 10:46 PM | link--it | mail it | (12) shout it



Orlando Magic
 Hi! 'Member me? Well we're back home with many tales to tell... (And of course a few new photos at Shutterblog.) Unfortunately we didn't get a lot of photographs because it pretty much poured buckets from the time we got there until the time we left. But we made the most of it. More to follow soon!
posted at 08:48 PM | link--it | mail it | (9) shout it






It's time to play the music - it's time to light the lights

"As a superstar, moi knew it was only a matter of time before I would be asked to star in my own music video. And how could I say no to Weezer, with the adorable Rivers, Scott, Brian and Patrick begging me to be their muse." ---Miss Piggy

"It was wonderful returning to the set of The Muppet Show to tape Weezer's new music video for "Keep Fishin". I know I speak for all the Muppets when I say it was great working with such a talented band. I just hope Pat has recovered from Miss Piggy's extra attention--both the kissy kissys and the karate chops, sheesh." ---Kermit the Frog

Just when I think I couldn't love Weezer more, I go and see this. My favorite track on Maladroit ("Keep Fishin'") and the Muppets are in it! And Rivers Cuomo is clean-shaven once again. I...need a moment.
posted at 01:30 AM | link--it | mail it | (12) shout it



Turn me on tonight, 'cuz I'm radioactive
 Todd just found this for me -- Blog.Elements, the periodic table of weblogs for 2002.

I am 93, Np, (Neptunium): Neptunium is a radioactive rare earth metal. It is the first transuranium element to be artificially produced. Edwin M. McMillan - Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1951 - and Philip H. Abelson first found neptunium in 1940 after uranium had been bombarded by neutrons from the cyclotron at Berkeley, Calif. Neptunium has been produced in weighable amounts in breeder reactors as a by-product of plutonium production from uranium-238. All neptunium isotopes are radioactive. Neptunium, a silvery metal, exists in three crystalline modifications. Neptunium is chemically reactive and similar to uranium. Neptunium ions in aqueous solution possess characteristic colours: pale purple; pale yellow-green; green-blue; colourless to pink or yellow-green.

Pretty freakin' cool, no? Don't you stand, stand too close - you might catch it.
posted at 12:13 AM | link--it | mail it | (4) shout it






Robyn is...
 Here's a fun one I got from Michele -- type your name and the word is (with quotes around them) in Google, and see what you come up with. The following are my top 15:

  1. Robyn is...Here
  2. Robyn is...my sexy swinging wife that love sex at swingers sex parties
  3. Robyn is...caught up in the hectic pursuit of attending high school while maintaining a career as a much-booked country singer throughout southern Ontario
  4. Robyn is...mean
  5. Robyn is...hard put to think of something as impressive; she even considers stealing
  6. Robyn is...a pitcher/first baseman who has the potential to see time at both positions (at least I'm not the pitcher AND "the catcher")
  7. Robyn is...currently doing a short solo tour of the United States
  8. Robyn is...abroad alone in this hostile land
  9. Robyn is...one of our international priorities
  10. Robyn is...the trendsetter of the 2000's
  11. Robyn is...a professional photographic model
  12. Robyn is...available to give presentations or workshops at your college, university or community group
  13. Robyn is...only 14...her amazing yodeling and singing talent is past her years
  14. Robyn is...in fact, one of the few art dealers in the world
  15. Robyn is...super cool! She smells okay too!
So what is/are you?
posted at 06:31 PM | link--it | mail it | (16) shout it



Birthday and anniversary greetings
 Happy first day of summer everyone! I wanted to wish Todd's brother, Brian a very happy birthday -- and also pass along anniversary well-wishes to Lynn and Michael. I can't believe it's been five years since we joined you at the Disney World Wedding Pavilion! Here's to many more happy years ahead for all three of you...


posted at 02:45 PM | link--it | mail it | (1) shout it



Today's the day we'll say "I Do"
 The Today Show is throwing yet another wedding on-air -- click here to vote on this year's couple. (I voted for choice #3, Rick and Dori, because of the way she got her ring and I got mine.)
posted at 05:32 AM | link--it | mail it | (6) shout it



The price is WRONG, Bob
 I haven't used Priceline.com for awhile, but I thought what the hey earlier tonight and bid on an overnight hotel stay for this weekend to surprise Todd. I somehow managed to snag a room at a 4-star Florida Hilton for sixty bucks! (The Hilton website offered a "discount rate" of $239 for the same room, same weekend.) Since we're not getting a full-week's vacation for awhile, and Todd has an extra week's worth of personal days to burn as a result, he's taking Monday the 24th off. Hilton, here we come!
posted at 04:57 AM | link--it | mail it | (3) shout it



If you need me, let me know, gonna be around
 July 18, 2002 is "International Blog MEETUP Day". Check to see if there's a gathering in your community! Both Tampa and Orlando are listed... (Link thanks to Christine.)
posted at 04:07 AM | link--it | mail it | (4) shout it






Sock it to me, baby!
 As a rule, I don't like Heather Graham all that much, but this photo is just damn cool.
posted at 05:14 PM | link--it | mail it | (15) shout it



Well I hate to say but pop ain't going solo
 Todd just sent me this link about one of my biggest peeves these days...the radio. We're too poor to fork over the bucks for satellite radio, but we just can't subject ourselves to the constant crap that is the Tampa Bay airwaves. No, I do not want to hear Creed for the 337th time today, thankyouverymuch, Mr. DJ. Instead, we live off CDs and MP3s.

One station in town has what they call "Sunday School" on Sunday nights. We actually find ourselves purposely going out during this time just to hear decent music. They play all "old school" alternative music, before it even was alternative music, during the 3 hour program. All the best in new wave and retro from early Depeche Mode, Talking Heads, The Smiths, Violent Femmes, Jane's Addiction, The Pixies, etc.

Beyond that, we're pretty much screwed. The show ends and we're back to six days and 21 hours of more Clear Channel "all Jimmy Eat World, Puddle of Mudd, Blink 182, and Linkin Park all the time" -- with playlists created specifically with 14-year old girls in mind. I also find it amusing that Tampa Bay has not one, but two self-proclaimed, "new rock alternatives". Unfortunately the "alternative" the other station is talking about includes piping out Ricky Martin and Eric Clapton over the airwaves. Yeah, I guess they didn't get the memo.

"FM is creatively tired," said Lee Abrams, a veteran radio consultant now employed by the satellite radio company XM. "The attitude is, 'We're making money. Why change it?'

"They make their money, they pay the bank, everybody is happy," Abrams continued. "And music is very low on the totem pole."

You said it, brother! For more of the above article, visit CNN.com.
posted at 03:19 PM | link--it | mail it | (17) shout it



The greatest thing since bread came sliced
 Here are a few blog reads for your Thursday viewing pleasure:

  1. desine.net -- I just LOVE this design
  2. The Aurora Chair -- you can thank Jason for Blogrolling
  3. Annessa's Blog -- my next partner in "Florida Blogger Goldschlager" crime
  4. color me pink -- if I bribe her, maybe she'll bring us Sonic and let us use her pool
  5. Nasty Bastard -- just look at those eyes
And if that's still not enough for ya', here's 10 more from last month...
posted at 04:05 AM | link--it | mail it | (14) shout it






Better cut off all identifying labels...
 I'm down to the oldie-but-goodie part of my t-shirt pile as a mountain of dirty laundry starts to grow. The one on top tonight? An OU NROTC Naval Ball shirt from 1992. I love this shirt. It's old. It's comfy. It's one of those that just makes you feel safe and snuggly when you put it on, because it reminds you how you got it. It was a loaner (that I obviously never returned) after a fabulous fall break in Pensacola... Everything I had to wear home had sand on it, so Bryan tossed me this shirt my final morning in town.

What's your favorite "I swiped this from my ex and never returned it" possession -- clothing or otherwise? Is there a good story behind it?

(P.S. Bryan, if you ever read this one day -- you can't have the shirt back. Sorry, but I've had it longer than you did now.)
posted at 11:53 PM | link--it | mail it | (11) shout it



Yakkety-YACCS, don't talk back
 Until this weekend, I didn't even know it was possible to export/import YACCS comments from Blogger into your Movable Type entries. (The Timekeeper found the link for me for his blog.) I'm about to attempt it for the first time, so I'll report in the comments how it went. Wish me luck! And detailed, step-by-step directions are here if you want to attempt it for your own blog.
posted at 08:44 PM | link--it | mail it | (5) shout it



Update those links
 Stacy has a new domain for Blogatelle. Make sure to update your Blogrolls and bookmarks!
posted at 04:47 PM | link--it | mail it | (0) shout it



Every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man
 Todd just sent me this link to an eBay auction...the auction title says it all! Too bad the auction has closed. They would have made such a lovely Christmas gift for him!
posted at 04:25 PM | link--it | mail it | (7) shout it



Wait this is death here - I haven't even been to NYC
 You've gotta feel bad for Britney. She's so depressed over the Justin break-up, that the poor thing can't even lip-sync anymore. Maybe lip-sync reminds her of N'Sync? But thank goodness the topic will bring us yet another album. Oh joy. (Article from MSNBC.com.)
posted at 05:34 AM | link--it | mail it | (7) shout it



You say it's your birthday
 We'd been married almost three months when I had a series of tests on my heart that darn-near killed me. (I was hooked up to a crash-cart during them.) Todd felt so sorry for me watching it all, that he promised me a puppy if I could just hang on. The next weekend, the same weekend Todd turned 24, we brought home Claire. (It's a family name. No really, Todd named her after Claire Danes.)

Our lives haven't been the same since. She's not just a Cocker. She was a human in a past life. Our dog tells jokes. Our dog snores like a 90-year old Jewish man. Our dog cheers with us when OU and the Bucs make touchdowns. Our dog doesn't just wag her tail -- she shakes her whole groove thang. Our dog is our child and she will melt the heart of anyone that meets her...even non-dog lovers. I'll put money on that. (Because I was a "cat person" myself until we got her.) So today, we both celebrate the sixth birthday of our little baby -- sometimes a lady, sometimes a tramp. (Just like mom.) But always our Claire. Carob-covered bones for everyone!


posted at 01:51 AM | link--it | mail it | (35) shout it






Let them eat cake
 It seems like a lot of people are singing the We So Po' Blues right along with us today, so I baked us all a cake to cheer us up. Here's your slice! If you hurry, Todd's still licking the beaters, so you can sneak two...


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No more wookin' pa nub
 Since my husband is listing his interesting Yahoo/Google hits, I thought I'd list a few of mine today as well:

  1. jello wrestling photos 2002 -- You'll have to ask Dave for those!
  2. is you is or is you ain't my baby -- Sorry. I'm his blog blog baby.
  3. what is the typical package guys want in a girl? -- Uhhhh...shouldn't the girls be wondering about the package on a guy instead?
  4. celebrities with perms -- It's no longer 1988. Just say no.
  5. ass liking kiss free photos -- I don'ta thinka it means what you thinka it means...

And now...a moment for us... I just wanted to say thanks to Chris (who just mentioned me on the air again!) and Gretchen (for her most amusing retraction). You could have thrown things at us, short-sheeted our beds, and put salt in our sugar shakers. But you didn't. You understood. August is gonna be soooo painful now -- Todd really planned on turning 30 sitting on Gretchen and Cat's laps. But you'd better believe we'll be first in line to read the daily updates and dig through the 'Dex photologs!

P.S. Forgot to mention (although I e-mailed her), Chris said Meryl's name on the air today, too!
posted at 05:54 PM | link--it | mail it | (5) shout it



Snoochie poochies
 Remember moviepoopshoot.com from "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back"? Well Kevin Smith just launched it as an official site!

"Uh...just what the hell is moviepoopshoot.com, you might be asking. After all, as far as anyone knows, that name was nothing more than a parody site in Kevin's last movie, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. So, what are we doing back here now? Is this our bid for respectability, our attempt at garnering critical praise? Our way to do right by our mothers and stop with all the poop jokes?

Oh, hells no. And at the same time, yes. See, the thing we've noticed out there in this expansive World Wide Web is that there are entertainment sites galore. There are serious news sites and rumor sites and review sites and porn sites... luscious, loving porn sites... er, sorry, that's a bit off-topic. But there's something for everyone. We know that. We're not trying to replace that. Some of the sites out there do a better job at what they do than we ever could. Instead, what we're intending to do is offer a slightly off-kilter (some might even say askew) look at all the elements of pop culture that we're into. Movies. DVDs. Comic Books. Music. Books. With the occasional foray into wrestling, video games, toys and maybe even porn. Sweet, luscious porn..." (From the "Inside Information" page.)

I'm just waiting for Todd to ask for one of these for his birthday...
posted at 03:52 AM | link--it | mail it | (7) shout it



Hunka hunka burnin' love
 Last week it was "Hollywood's 25 Hottest Blondes". This week it's the "25 Sexiest Men Still on the Market". Is it just me, or did the men end up with much more flattering photos?
posted at 03:30 AM | link--it | mail it | (16) shout it



Reality Bites
 So I'm sitting down paying bills tonight, and figuring out what gets paid this weekend as well after Todd's next check. While doing the mental math I flip through the calendar and think "mortgage check...bills check...mortgage check...bills check...", but notice that "extra paycheck" is written in Todd's handwriting on a payday for the mortgage. So I called him in and we did some fast page-flipping and calculations. Oops. Big oops.

You see, he gets paid on an every-other-week system rather than the first and fifteenth of the month. This leaves us with an "extra" paycheck each year that falls just so -- meaning it's a bills-free and mortgage-free two weeks. This year, it was "supposed" to be at the end of July by our original calculations as recorded on the calendar. But it's not. Math is hard and we screwed up. It's the check at the end of August.

Why does it matter, you might ask? Because the end of July is when we planned on booking (and paying for) everything relating to Gnomedex. Now that "extra" check will be showing up the week after the conference. Meaning...in the grown-up world...we won't be showing up. We just don't have the money out of our normal day-to-day budget to swing something that massive.

Surprisingly, I've taken it quite well. Normally I'm prone to throw huge, massive hissy fit tantrums in such instances. But instead I'm just bummed like I've let people down. Not that it revolved "around" me...but there were so many people I wanted to meet and get the chance to know face-to-face. Now I'm left with maybe next year...

We've decided to book a fall trip to New Orleans instead at the end of August. This October will be the 10th anniversary of when we met and first started dating, and the 7th anniversary of when Todd proposed. And we did marry there after all... So there you go. The true joys of being a one-income family. Anyone want two Gnomedex tickets real cheap -- it's New Orleans or bust now. Sorry Chris.
posted at 01:10 AM | link--it | mail it | (26) shout it






Oh Lisa, you and your stories...
 There's a lot of left-wing vs. right-wing brouhaha going on over at Stacy's right now. Someone asked for the original reasons we liberals hated George W. so much. Well, for starters, it would be a never-ending string of quotes like this:
"And so, in my State of the—my State of the Union—or state—my speech to the nation, whatever you want to call it, speech to the nation—I asked Americans to give 4,000 years—4,000 hours over the next—the rest of your life—of service to America. That's what I asked—4,000 hours." —Bridgeport, Conn., April 9, 2002
So sue me. I prefer my President to sound, uhhhh, Presidential -- and not so much like Homer J. Simpson 24/7. If that means a few displaced cigars here and there, well then so be it. (Quote, and many more just like it, from The Complete Bushisms.)
posted at 05:01 PM | link--it | mail it | (14) shout it



Sloppy seconds
 So Mikey didn't seem to think Todd's two photos with Darren's Dance Grooves counted as the extra-promised photos. So just for him, here are two more from our weekend o' fun. (photo 1, photo 2)

Have a great week ahead everyone!
posted at 05:03 AM | link--it | mail it | (10) shout it



Shine like it does
 All coding, no play, make Robyn something, something, something... There's still a day or two of tweaks yet, but the basic design is finally ready to roll. This is the reason I didn't get to share in all of the fun at Todd's blog Sunday night -- Horologium! Can someone please pass the bi-focals?
posted at 03:32 AM | link--it | mail it | (8) shout it






Ahhhhhhh...wipeout!
 Hope everyone is having a faboo weekend! Here are a few pics from our day in Orlando and Cocoa Beach. Check Todd's blog for more here in a bit!

1. let's go surfin' now
2. the best for your stick
3. let's play Frogger

Added later: (photo 1, photo 2)
posted at 04:45 AM | link--it | mail it | (18) shout it



Dear Daddy, I write you in spite of years of silence
Father of mine
Tell me where have you been
You know I just closed my eyes
My whole world disappeared...

Father of mine
Take me back to the day
When I was still your golden girl
Back before you went away...

Father of mine
Tell me what do you see
When you look back at your wasted life
and you don't see me...

Sometimes you would send me a birthday card
With a five dollar bill
I never understood you then
and I guess I never will...

I will never be safe
I will never be sane
I will always be weird inside
I will always be lame...

Today my husband and I both join the legions of other 70s and 80s children (whose fathers left them, remarried, and promptly forgot they even existed) in sending a hearty "FUCK YOU" to the men who donated the sperm to make us all possible.

I did it without you dad. And quite honestly, I feel I'm a better person for it. So wherever you might be -- just know you will never, EVER be allowed to hurt my children one day the way you hurt me.

Happy fucking Father's Day. And thanks for saving us the cost of a Hallmark and a stamp.

Love,
Robyn
posted at 04:11 AM | link--it | mail it | (33) shout it






You can't have the Mango (polish)

Photo just shot for Christine -- my submission for "Polish It!"
posted at 01:33 AM | link--it | mail it | (6) shout it



Two guesses where I got the song quotes from
 The June 2002 "Fifteen Minutes of Fame" wedding is up!

I'll be out of the "office" all day Saturday, so if you need anything...well, tough! No just kidding. Please contact Stacy for all things Sekimori, and Christine for all things Blogomania.
posted at 12:20 AM | link--it | mail it | (3) shout it






It's a clean machine
 Ok, can the new pMachine blog converts let me in on a little secret... Do you have to make people register in order to comment at your site now? Is this part of the software? Because quite frankly, I have too many friggin' registrations to keep track of elsewhere. The last place I want to do it is for all the blogs I read now as well.

Anyone else bugged by this (or have any idea of what I'm talking about)? Am I being too cranky? I'm not saying the software isn't the latest, greatest thing since Movable Type, because I haven't even tried it yet. But if registration is not required in order to make the software work properly, registration should be optional on your sites! And to think I got bitched at because I used to ask people to just leave an e-mail address so I could e-mail them with comment responses...
posted at 05:51 PM | link--it | mail it | (18) shout it



Love to love you baby
 Ok, so I've done lists for chick rock songs, do-me songs, and break-up songs now.

Christi has requested that we all put together another list of the "greatest love songs". (Word of warning: Even think about listing a Celine or Mariah song and you're out of my blog. Seriously. Just go.) For my pick, it would have to be "Head Over Feet" by Alanis Morissette. Your turn!
posted at 04:02 PM | link--it | mail it | (65) shout it



I see dead people
 I'm the first to admit our country is way too sue-happy for my own liking. But here is a couple suing MTV and the Hard Rock Hotel for $10 million dollars, and based on the facts (haven't seen the photos), I'm not sure if I blame them:

"The couple became unwitting participants in a practical joke filmed for a series under development at MTV called 'Harassment' while they were on vacation in January. Upon entering the hotel room, the Ryans 'discovered what appeared to be a dead human body covered and surrounded by blood, evidently the victim of a homicide,' as hidden cameras recorded their shock, the suit says. As the couple tried to flee, two actors posing as security guards blocked their way, and a third individual in the guise of a paramedic entered the room. The show's host and co-producer, Ashton Kutcher, who has described the series in interviews as a 'guerrilla-style Candid Camera,' finally emerged to reveal the prank."

Ok, it's a joke. Sure. I'll give 'em that. Ha ha. Funny. But then I try to put myself in the couple's shoes. Todd and I haven't had a real honest-to-goodness vacation since June of 1999. I guarandamntee you that if we waltzed into our hotel room to finally kick back and relax, and found what appeared to be a MURDER scene, the relaxing would end right then and there. Even if it was a joke. You don't go through that kind of instant-fear -- much less being prevented from fleeing the scene -- and just get over it and go drink by the pool.

Having seen a dead body taken out of the neighbor's house a couple of weeks back, I still don't look left when I go outside. It just creeps me out too much. Yet this couple was expected just to smile, pull down the bloody sheets, and start the vacation? I don't think so. I hope they get their $10 mil. And a free vacation at the Bellagio. (Article from CNN.com.) What do you think?
posted at 02:33 AM | link--it | mail it | (31) shout it






Turn and face the strain
 My momma raised me right. Had a bad week? Not feelin' so good? Time to get your hair done! Mine had definitely got into a rut...but that's nothing hacking a few inches off and adding some highlights couldn't fix... And here are a couple more of the front just for fun! Would you call that perky, Stacy?
posted at 11:10 PM | link--it | mail it | (24) shout it



Side-by-side on my piano keyboard, oh lord...
 Just overheard - comedian Chris Rock: "It really is the end of the world. The best rapper out there is white. And the best golfer is black."
posted at 04:31 PM | link--it | mail it | (7) shout it



I'm handi-capable
 Maybe it's just because I've been really sick today, and when I'm like this I get blindsided that this is my life after a string of really good days. Or maybe I've just been picked on one time too many. But I read a comment over at Annessa's blog (not by her) that made my blood boil. You cannot possibly imagine what I go through each and every time a local or national news program does an expose on handicapped parking and the "healthy" people using the spaces. Comments like these turn into actions out in the real world:


"My dark side? Well, I'd definitely run into/over someone non-handicapped if they blatently parked in a handicapped spot after they saw me coming. No, I'm not hostile."

I look healthy. You've seen my photos. I'm under 30. I'm not in a wheelchair. I don't use a cane. I don't walk with a visible limp. But like it or not (and believe me, I don't) -- I am handicapped. I do have a handicapped parking tag (even though I have been unable to drive myself since 1996). And on the days I need it, I do use it. What may seem just a few more spaces down and not much extra walking to you can literally make the difference on whether or not I can continue my shopping or have to leave early without my intended purchases.

In the state of Florida your drivers license number is printed on your handicapped tag -- and believe me, mine matches. I know this because we have had the cops called on us after entering pharmacies and stores to do our shopping, only to exit and find a police car blocking our route until we were investigated. The only times we are free from harassment when using the tag is when my grandmother comes down to visit and gets out of the car with us. Ironically, her visits have been to do things like help us move or help Todd with the cooking and cleaning when I have been too sick to do so myself. She can run circles around me -- but she "looks" the part. So I guess that must mean she is entitled and I am not.

The following is a letter I sent to the local news editor back in 1998 after being verbally attacked and physically shaken while trying to enter a store. When I tried to go the non-confrontation route and walk by the person (Todd walks faster than I do and had already entered the store without me unaware of what was occurring behind him), I was grabbed, flung around, and made to account for my use of the space. And that's not the only time. As mentioned in Annessa's blog -- I have been cursed at, flipped off, chased across a parking lot (and believe me I don't walk fast), had nasty notes left on my car, and stopped more times than I care to count.

I carry a Medic Alert card on me at all times. I wear a Medic Alert bracelet around my ankle. I am prepared when I'm stopped. But why should I have to be? Who made you judge, jury and executioner? Think about that the next time you're tempted to open up your big mouth and/or run me over. And please read this essay.



July 2, 1998

Hey you! Yes you, the one giving me the dirty look as I step out of my car and grabbing me as I try to go by to "justify myself"... Or you, gesturing towards me, pointing me out to your friends... And you over there, yelling obscenities at me, and telling me that I don't look handicapped... Even you, the one that put the nasty 'anonymous' note on my windshield while I was inside doing my shopping... Didn't your mothers ever teach you that it's rude to stare, that it's not polite to point fingers, or that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all?

How do you know that I don't have a heart condition? I do. I'm only 25 years old, but I do. Does every handicapped person need to have a wheelchair or cane? Do you have to be over the age of 65 to park in a handicapped spot in the state of Florida, or anywhere for that matter? Maybe not legally, but judging by the general public's reaction, certainly logically... WHY is that?

When did our society become so close-minded and petty, that we need to have 60 Minutes and 20/20 reporters chasing down healthy-looking individuals who park in handicapped spots? Even though a few healthy people might abuse the system now and again, do we then assume that every healthy-looking individual should not be entitled to disabled parking? Did any of you ever stop to think that some disabilities CAN'T be seen? Do you know there's a box for the doctor to check when they fill out the handicapped parking certification form that states, "Patient cannot walk more than 200 yards without rest"? This includes, but is not limited to, a host of lesser-known illnesses such as Lyme Disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Neurally Mediated Hypotension, Fibromyalgia, Gulf War Syndrome, Valley Fever, and Lupus -- just to name a few. HIV, cancer, and heart disease aren’t always 'visible', but they are very real and serious illnesses too.

You do not have to be missing a limb or be caught popping a glycerin tablet to legally, morally, or ethically park in a handicapped space. You do not have to be in a wheelchair like the universal handicapped symbol depicts. You do not need to be bald or have gray hair. You don't even have to be a passenger in the car -- you can be a disabled DRIVER, and still use a handicapped parking tag.

I've fought long and hard with the national government to be termed legally disabled. I don't have the strength or energy to fight with you too. It's not good for my health anyway. So leave me alone, and go pick on someone else. If you really think I'm breaking the law, then call the police and let them sort it out. It's not like I haven't been through that one before. Just stay out of it and mind your own business. I simply want to get my shopping done so I can go back to bed.

Sincerely,
Robyn L. Pollman


For more information, please visit invisibledisabilities.com. This quote rings quite true:

"Most people with illnesses and injuries would jump at the chance to trade their plates and placards in for the ability to walk from the farthest parking space! To those who are healthy and able to walk, they see these spaces as a bonus or luxury! But, for those who are sick or in pain, it is just a reminder of what they have lost. After all, these spaces do not make life easy, they make it possible."

posted at 01:15 AM | link--it | mail it | (48) shout it






We are the champions
 So are we the only ones that mutter as victorious teams slap the losers hands at the end of a game on TV... "Good game. Good game. Kiss my ass. You ruined my life. Good game. I hate you. There goes the Nike deal. Good game. Good game. You suck. You suck. You suck. The wife ain't gettin' any tonight. Good game. Where's the beer? Bite me." Too many years playing soccer and softball, I tell ya'.
posted at 11:46 PM | link--it | mail it | (2) shout it



This space for rent
 Yeah, I'm supposed to be sick and offline right now. Sue me. (And don't tell Todd). This was just on "Call For Help" though:

"YahooPOPs! is an application which emulates a POP3 mail server and provides free POP3 access to Yahoo! It does not depend on Yahoo's POP3 mail server which became a paid service in April 2002. You can use a POP3 mail client of your choice!" (Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, etc.)

And someone e-mailed me this cute wedding announcement movie Had to share it, too. Back to the bottle...of NyQuil...now.
posted at 06:18 PM | link--it | mail it | (11) shout it



I'm a little farklempt

I awoke that that sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever, so I'm pretty much out for the count feeling. In other words I have a shpilkes in my gonnec-tica-zoink, so talk amongst yourselves. Here's a repeat edition of "blogblogbaby.com". Enjoy.
posted at 04:22 PM | link--it | mail it | (3) shout it



On the cover of the Rolling Stone
 Whoeee -- I'm in the Lockergnome Windows Daily. Thanks Chris!
posted at 04:05 AM | link--it | mail it | (6) shout it



Here's looking at you kid
 Here's another list for today -- the American Film Institute's "100 Most Romantic Movies". I only caught snipets here and there, but Todd watched most of the show and told me when to look up. I was quite surprised to see that my very favorite movie of all time made the list ("Jezebel" with Bette Davis and Henry Fonda), coming in at #79. My favorite actress and actor, Ms. Katharine Hepburn and Mr. Cary Grant respectively, had the most films in the list -- each with six. Some titles were predictable, and even more caused our eyes to roll. But all the same, it will be a good list to keep handy for Netflix as repeat season kicks into full-gear. (Article and list from CNN.com.)
posted at 03:27 AM | link--it | mail it | (8) shout it



Don't let it bring you down
 Today, errrr yesterday (which is still today to me), was quite literally hell. Nothing went right with the project I was working on. By 11 p.m. Todd decided I'd had enough. He dropped Taco Bell to-go (yes, it took me that long to stop for dinner) and an Orange Hooch in my lap. And then...he made my day... After watching me pull more 5 a.m.'ers in recent history than back when I was in college, he brought up a very interesting fact I had neglected to recall. Saturday is June 15th -- the two-year anniversary of the day I was sliced, diced and julienne fried -- all in the name of trying to have a baby. That day, and each June 15th since, has been marked on the calendar as "Pamper Robyn Silly Day".

So my wonderful husband announced that this year he's taking me to Sephora in Orlando! And once the sun has started climbing back down the horizon, over to Cocoa Beach on the east coast (and back here again, too). I think I can manage to get through the rest of the week now! No, no. You can't have him. He's mine!
posted at 03:08 AM | link--it | mail it | (12) shout it






This is how we do it...
 Ok, because I'm a sucker for peer-pressure...here's the mini-Blogrolling tutorial I wrote up. Please keep in mind this was not meant to be a thorough "on the web" unofficial tutorial. It was meant to be a small set of e-mail instructions for friends having trouble only. So it's really not fancy -- just how to set up a Blogroll and get it to appear on your site.


The beauty Blogrolling for someone who's afraid of editing templates and HTML is that once you've set up a Blogrolling list, you never have to touch your blog templates again when you add, edit or delete your links! All you do is either go to the Blogrolling site and login, or use the handy dandy little bookmarklet to auto-add the page you're currently at. (The bookmarklet will fill in the site name and URL for you -- very cool. You can find more about the bookmarklet feature when you're logged in. It's in the center column under the title "One-click blogroll addition".)

Another big praise -- you can put what Jason calls a "prepend" or "append" either before or after your links. You add this feature when you're getting the code for the link-list, not in the actual entering of the links themselves. Once this is working, you will know directly from your site when each link has updated (if they ping weblogs.com)! On mine I got a little fancy and used star and starburst icons for my updated links, but you can make it as simple as "*" or "NEW". Or whatever you wish. That way when you've got a million reads like I do, you can tell exactly when they've updated (again, as long as they're pinging weblogs.com) straight from your site, rather than visiting each individual page one at a time, or waiting for weblogs.com to update.

And yet another reason I'm in love -- you choose how you want your Blogrolling list to appear. When you enter your links, you can give them a priority of between 1 and 9. (One for high, nine for low.) It's in a little drop-down box when you're entering the link. Then when you get the code to make the list, you can check for the list to display by priority. So your list won't appear in alphabetical order or random order (which are both options if you prefer them instead), but rather in the order of what you read most/first.


To get started, go to Blogrolling.com and login. If you haven't created a Blogroll yet, click on the link in the lefthand column that says "Create a Blogroll (Start Here)". Give it a name and your URL. (The reason to enter this information is so your links will be counted in the stats here, which also helps you see who has linked to you when you make the list.) Then back on the main page, once you've entered the above information, you should see your new Blogroll that you just made over in the right-hand column. Click on "add links".


At the "add links" screen, enter the Title and URL that you want. The description field is optional -- it will create a mouse-hover pop-up when you hover on a link. (I leave that blank for most of mine.) For the "target" section, instead of target_top I have target_blank so they launch in a new window. If you prefer to change top to blank, check the box that says "set as default target". Otherwise, just leave it as-is. Make sure to use the pull-down menu to set your priority between 1-9, and then click the "Add Link" button. As long as you want to keep adding links, keep the "add another link" radio button selected, and it will take you to the same "add link" page all over again.


By the way, you can also do multiple lists if you want to break your links up in chunks -- for example, here's my link list page:

http://www.tobynopoly.com/robyn/links.html

Each one of those is a separate Blogroll list (all under the same account).


When you're ready to add one (or more) of the lists to your site, click the "get code" link for each list. Select the radio "alphabetic", "random", or "priority" bullet depending on which way you want your list to display. Leave the "recently updated" box checked if you want sites updated on weblogs.com to display as recently updated. Then you fill in either/or/both the prepend and append fields with how you want the update to show up on your site. (HTML is ok if you want this to be a little icon image like mine. Or you can just take the easy route and type an asterick.) Just note that it takes 20-30 minutes after you create the code and install it for the weblogs.com updates to appear on your site. More information here:

http://www.blogblogbaby.com/archives/2002/003347.html


Ignore the table attributes section if you prefer to use CSS. Link goodies is also an optional section. Click how you want the blogrolling.com link to display as well (short version or long version). And then click "Generate my Blogrolling code" and paste into your site. If you want to customize your CSS, check out the instructions here:

http://www.blogrolling.com/css_documentation.phtml


That should be all there is to it!
posted at 07:30 PM | link--it | mail it | (10) shout it



Do you understand the words comin' outta my mouth?
 WM! got another new advertiser today... The company is "Occasional Words". If you have to give a speech at an upcoming wedding, anniversary party, retirement party -- or even a eulogy -- this site is for you!
posted at 06:19 PM | link--it | mail it | (0) shout it



Gentlemen prefer blondes?
 E! has a ranking (with photos) of "Hollywood's 25 Hottest Blondes". Could they have picked a more frightening photo of Jaime Pressly there? Her chest looks like old leather. Kim Cattrall needs to keep her neckline covered more often and lay off the plastic surgery -- she's getting Joan Rivers perma-grin face. And dear God, Pamela. Eeep! [/retracts claws]
posted at 04:11 AM | link--it | mail it | (22) shout it



Keep rollin', rollin', rollin'
 I've had a few people write me that were stumped about how to create a "Blogroll" for their site and get it up and running, so I wrote up a small little step-by-step mini-tutorial via e-mail. If you're one of those people still scratching your head, drop me a line and I'll forward it on to you, too!
posted at 01:47 AM | link--it | mail it | (6) shout it






Just to be with you is having the best day of my life
 In case you were wondering what the advantage of posing in your Superman skivvies might be...this is what walked in the door with my husband tonight... (photo 1, photo 2)
posted at 07:32 PM | link--it | mail it | (15) shout it



You grow girl!
 I'm working on a site logo right now, and the client sent me this gardening site as an example of what she had in mind. Thought I'd pass it along. It has "weekly updates that present plant knowledge for beginners and experts alike", plant journals, tips to making your own herbal vinegars and more... With all we're about to face with the front lawn, I'm sure I'll be visiting "You Grow Girl" often!
posted at 05:27 PM | link--it | mail it | (3) shout it



My name is Ted...and one day I'll be dead yo yo...
 Now I'm really torn...Gnomedex this August...or the new National Cowgirl Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. Life is full of such difficult choices. (Article from CNN.com.)

In other news: Ol' Liz will knight just about anydamnedbody these days won't she? Don't get me wrong -- I'm a huge "60s Stones" fan. But didn't it used to actually mean something? (Also from CNN.com.)

And last but certainly not least: Whoever sold their soul to Satan for this to happen, THANK YOU! I never gave up hope. (Courtesy of MSNBC.com.)
posted at 04:21 AM | link--it | mail it | (7) shout it



Let me see you stripped down to the bone
 Edited with a new warning: Do NOT open image linked below or links in the comments at work! Mmmmk?

This one is for Mikey from me and Todd. Your turn! (Read comments below for Easter egg.)
posted at 01:24 AM | link--it | mail it | (44) shout it






I need TP for my bunghole
 Touchee, Jennifer. Touchee. Too freakin' funny!
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Let us in -- we'll tear this mother out
 Well I have to say "Undercover Brother" was everything you'd expect it to be. Very silly. Neil Patrick Harris' character was hysterical. (I kept waiting for a "Yo, Doogie. Pick up the phone!" line, but only got a "Whassup?") Good for no thinking required and some serious belly laughs. Seeing it intoxicated might make the experience that much more special. (Just kidding mom...) Two thumbs up!

And we just took the "FindYourSpot.com" quiz (found over at Christine's). Number one on our list? Tampa, Florida! (Followed a close second by Orlando.) Imagine that. Good thing we liked it here enough to settle down and buy a house last year, I guess. I was also amused to find Philadelphia and Mobile on the list as well. Two other cities I'd move back to again in a heartbeat. And just for the Sooner in me, they included the Oklahoma City metro area. Can't rule out a fall/winter retirement home back in Norman one day...have to have an excuse to wear those red and white polyester plaid pants I've had my eye on...
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The leader of the Pack
 Todd is about to go into convulsions with me being at the computer all weekend, so we're taking a break, and taking off to see "Undercover Brother". I'll leave you with a moment of zen:

It's my Joshie all grown up and playing quarterback at Green Bay. Yum yum gimme some!
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Hurts so good
 I just finished a 3-skin (one less than a foreskin...ba dum dum) design over at "Painfully Cool" for Blogomania. Make sure to stop by and say "hi". Thank you very much. You've been a great crowd. The 10 o'clock show is the same as the 8. Tip your waitress please.
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Tastes like candy
 Just because I took the time to look it up elsewhere, here's the transcript to the Kids in the Hall "Girl Drink Drunk" skit to start your weekend off right. What about a Chocolate Choo Choo? Don't disappoint me.
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I woke up this morning with a bad hangover and my penis was missing again
And another good link from FARK.com today -- file this under "oops". Big "oops". Whoosh.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing's most popular newspaper has unwittingly republished a bogus story about U.S. Congress threats to skip town for Memphis or Charlotte unless Washington builds them a new Capitol building with a retractable dome. The source? America's celebrated spoof tabloid, the Onion...

..."The story was written by one of our freelance writers," an editor at the Evening News told Reuters on Friday. "His stuff has been pretty much reliable before." (Full article from Yahoo! News.)
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You might be a redneck if...
 This one is disturbing enough to warrant being linked both places!
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A clue for $500, Alex?
 Just when I think I can't be sickened by the Catholic Church scandals any more than I already am, I find (granted in a gossip column) that the Church is seeking help with their image from public relations firms. Heads up Monsignor -- a PR firm and a glossy coating of spin isn't going to help your image. Getting rid of priests that molest little children -- and then turning them over for prosecution, rather than hiding them and shuffling them around for years under the cloak of 'the system' -- is going to improve your image. 'Fess up, clean up, or forget about me feeling all warm and fuzzy because a full-page New York Times ad or low-lit, soft-focus Barbara Walters exclusive interview told me to do so. (Article from MSNBC.com.)
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Unce, tice, fee times a mady
 Just wanted to let everyone know that I'll also be guest-blogging over at PromoGuy.net today (Friday) while he's away on vacation. I'm schizophrenic and so am I.
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Nobody gonna hold me down...oh no...
 I took a break to sit down and watch the MTV Movie Awards with Todd, which reminded me it was time to update the old "Please P. Diddy Ruin This Song Too 2002 Mailbag". For those new to my blog, you can find the main page of my anti-Puffy site here. I made the site back in '98 and have updated it exactly once since then (after the Puffster changed his name). But the hate mail still keeps pouring in... A couple of my personal favorites from this round:

"why you haitin'. let diddy do his thing thing nah mean. you baller blockin' right now. you must be white cause he made those song better than they origianally were. don't hate case you don't have as much money as he does."

"LISTEN U NEEDS TO JUST SHUT UR POOR OLD ASS MOTHA FUCKEN SON OF A BITCH MOUTH UP!!!!!!!! LISTEN U OLD HAG INSTEAD OF COMPLAINING ABOUT SUM OLD OUTDATED PREHISTORIC SO CALLED MUSIC AND MAKIN URSLEF LOOK REAL STUPID Y DONT U SHUT UP AND KNIT. CAUSE BOO U R A BITCH WHO NEEDS TO CHECK URSLEF. U JUST LUCKY I DIDNT READ THIS EARLIER TRICK!!!!!!!!!!!!"

To go back in time, open the mailbags from '98-'01 here, yo.
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You may find your clothes getting in the way
 So would you rather die than take your clothes off? And I mean that quite literally, you dirty pervert! Because honestly my whole theory on the matter is that if we're all going to die anyway, why the hell not be naked together first?

It's at times like these the great heaven knows
That we wish we had not so many clothes
So let's loosen up with a playful tease
Like all lovers did through the centuries

We're just following ancient history
If I strip for you will you strip for me?

Don't freeze up girl. (Seattle Times article snagged from the fine folks at Daypop.)
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But it feels so empty without me
 I think I'm going to wake up to Eminem more often. It's turning out to be one helluva day!
posted at 04:33 PM | link--it | mail it | (3) shout it



Getting to know you...getting to know all about you...
 It took me two days to finish this, but here's "Blogger Pride: The Survey" (first spotted over at Krisalis)!


Ethics/Personal Life:

  1. Has a blog post ever got you into trouble? Until recently no... But that whole USPS fiasco last week. Well, 'nuff said.
  2. How many people do you know face-to-face who read your weblog? Quite a few actually! Todd (of course), Susan, , Stacy, Daniel, Christi, Joy, Tara, Susannah, and can't forget fellow Sooner Jana (regardless of what her current student ID says).
  3. Have you met any of your regional (or even remote) bloggers? We met Susannah over Thanksgiving, and went to a mini-Central Florida BlogCon over Memorial Day weekend. I hope to meet several others at Gnomedex this August!
  4. Do you modify or delete posts? How often? Why? Right after I publish, ohhhhh yeah. I'm horrible about posting something and then proofing it -- even with MT's preview feature. After the first comment, I rarely go back and modify and delete, unless like was the case with this weekend's events, the facts as I know them change.
  5. How much is your weblog a part of your personal identity? Do you feel like people who don't know about your blog don't really know you? I feel it's very much a part of my identity. It's the only journal I've ever been able to keep up with -- and I think a lot of that lies in the fact there's not the pressure to talk about me and my feelings all the time like with a paper counterpart. I can just talk about anything and everything that's around me. Things that may not be important 10 years...or even 10 minutes from now...but that I wanted to talk or reminisce about at the time. As for feeling like people who don't know about my blog don't really know me...I'd say quite the contrary... There's much more to me than just what's in my blog, and I think it's hard to say you truly know someone unless you've had much deeper two-way conversations with the person.
  6. How has blogging changed your life? It got Todd to start writing again. That's allowed me to see a whole new side of my husband -- one I never even really knew existed. I was very "lost" when he quit blogging a few weeks back. I felt like I was just getting to know that side of him, and suddenly he stopped. To say I was relieved when he started back up again would be a huge understatement. Blogging has also allowed me to step back from the wedding side of my online time, which I've truly enjoyed the break from. It's a lot more fun to design blogs than wedding sites. The white dresses all tend to blur together after awhile... Blogs have much more color!


Technical/Design:

  1. Do you know how to code at all? Did you learn how to code by blogging? Why yes, yes I do. Completely self-taught since '96 (long before blogging), and all my coding is done by hand in Notepad and BBEdit. I don't even know how to use Frontpage or Dreamweaver (which isn't always a good thing).
  2. What weblogging tool do you use and why? I use Movable Type. It has the most functionality of any tool I've used thus far (Blogger and Greymatter), the best interface, constant software updates, an incredible support forum...the list could go on and on... I'm on the MT Testimonials page here.
  3. Does the design seem like something that is just something that has to be dispensed with in order to be able to write publicly, or is your design an integral part of your writing and presentation? I'd say it's an integral part of my writing and presentation. I've added a few men as eye candy lately, but for the most part I've always tried to choose strong-willed women who look in control of their lives and who are on top of their game while embracing their own sexuality, and that I've identified with in one way or another throughout my life. You'll notice they are all either blondes or redheads, because depending on the date and time, that is my split-persona as well.
  4. How many times have you changed your weblog design entirely (or nearly so)? Too many times to count. My sidebar has a few of the older templates I used before Christine helped me skin the site.


Readership/Motivation:

  1. How many people would you guess (educated guess based on hit counts/logfiles) read your weblog on a weekly basis at least? It looks like I average about 4000-4600 hits a week right about now.
  2. What have you done to get more people to look at your site? Besides the obvious like webrings, Wander Lust and Blog Snob...I guess you'd have to include the Rack Browser.
  3. What one or two characteristics make a blog really popular? Are there things that you could do to have more people read your weblog that you conciously do not do? Why? Two characteristics: sense of humor and sense of self. As for what makes mine popular...who am I kidding? My wonderful wit... My great writing style... We all know it's the scantily clad chicks. And I suppose I could have taunted people with taking it all off, but the Rack Browser is as daring as I ever care to get.
  4. What really popular weblog do you think most deserves it...and/or least deserves it? I'd have to say Michele is one of the ones that most deserves it. She just has this way with writing that makes you spill your drink down your shirt and drop your chips in your lap because you're paying more attention to what she has to say than anything you're doing while reading along... As for least deserves it, well, 'nuff said (which I believe to be one of my best rants ever).
  5. How do you feel about your readership? What makes for a quality readership to you? I love the people who read here. When life events like this weekend happen, they stop to take notice and/or make sure we're doing ok. People don't seem to be afraid to speak up, whether they are new or old visitors. And I hope it always stays that way!


Influence of Other Bloggers:

  1. What other blogger is most responsible for you starting your own weblog? Ashley is the one I hold personally responsible. I've also long-admired Dawn and Cheryl's blogs.
  2. Who was the first other blogger (that you know of) who put you on thier sidebar, and how did you feel? How did it influence your blogging? Other than friends who "had" to, I'd have to say Christine. I did mental cartwheels the day she first mentioned me!
  3. What other blogger do you most admire for her writing skills? I've already mentioned Michele, so I'll also say Melly.
  4. What other blogger do you most admire for her design skills? I'm going to get in trouble if I list just one, so I'll say it's a tie -- Erika and Chel. And I can't forget Kristine. And Stacy. And.....
  5. Who is a blogger that you think is really good but doesn't get nearly the attention they are worthy of? I'll pick one of each sex -- Mikey and Susan!
  6. Do you feel obligated to have people on your link lists/sidebars that you never read? No. I do try to read them all at least weekly...
  7. What one or two characteristics define a really quality blog (in your humble opinion, of course)? Something that can make you laugh, cry, and write bad checks all in one sitting...


Bonus Question:
  1. Do you fear The Booge? I'm afraid I cannot answer that on the grounds I may incriminate myself...

posted at 01:12 AM | link--it | mail it | (8) shout it






Shades of grey are the colors I see
 My latest victim, errrrr, satisfied customer! Rollin' right along with Sekimori Design... Up next? A new set of skins for a Blogomania client!
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I see my red door and I want it painted black
 Ok, something must be wrong -- because not only have I watched two Oprah shows in two weeks -- I've also blogged about both of them. But I'm so glad I caught today's show! Paint guru and redesign expert Debbie Travis is back on again for "One Day Home Makeovers". If you're not familiar with the ways this woman can transform blah and dull rooms, just check out a few of her past projects! (Here is an old blog entry I've made about her show in the past, with my two favorite designs.) Oh to have access to an unlimited paint supply...
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I can't drive 55
 If Ashley Judd can't sweet talk Kentucky state troopers out of speeding tickets, what hope do the rest of us have?

Ashley Judd’s race-driving hubby got a ticket for speeding recently — despite the sweet-talking of his actress wife. Dario Franchitti was stopped a few days ago in Anderson, Ky., for allegedly driving their gray Porsche convertible 75 miles an hour on Bluegrass Parkway. Judd smiled her “big Hollywood smile,” according to State Trooper Todd Evans. Judd sweetly assured Evans that her husband could handle the speed because he was a race car driver. She also asked the trooper if he recognized her. “I told her I thought I did,” Evans said, according to the Anderson News, “but she didn’t look like she does in pictures, without her makeup and all.”

I've only received one speeding ticket in my life -- on my way to my first day at a new job when I was in college. I started to cry, knowing I'd be late, and knowing I couldn't afford the ticket. The cop told me to drop the 'poor sweet blonde' routine and shoved the ticket in my hand. When I got to court a couple of weeks later, the city attorney had been pulled over at the exact same spot, on the very same day. And she was blonde, too. My case was dismissed with a six-month warning. (Article from MSNBC.com.)

What's your best "get out of jail free card" story?
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Cult of personality
 Spotted at Kristine's...my Bloginality is ENFP (Extraverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving)!
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Playing catch-up
 Just getting around to this week's "Monday Mission" and today's "This or That Tuesday", I am.


First, This or That...

  1. Laptop or desktop computer? We have both -- an iBook and a PC desktop.
  2. PC or Mac? Again, both.
  3. DVD or VHS? And again, both. Although we're converting everything to DVD slowly but surely.
  4. Cell phone or regular phone? Todd has a cell that we rarely use and even more rarely fill up with minutes -- so mostly regular land line.
  5. Satellite or cable TV? We got DirecTV when we moved in the house and would never go back!
  6. X-Box or PlayStation? We just bought a GameCube.
  7. Netflix or video store? We signed up with Netflix recently and I don't know how we lived without it.
  8. Wide-screen or regular TV? Regular. *pout*
  9. Film or digital camera? Both, but I'm partial to my digital camera now for convenience and instantly knowing whether or not you need to take the shot again.
  10. Dial-up or high-speed internet connection? We have Verizon DSL. Before moving into our house we had Road Runner, but they didn't offer it up here yet.


And now this week's Monday Mission...

  1. Who or where do you go to when you need help for web-related problems? I think the ScriptyGoddess website is a godsend! Beyond that...it depends on the problem...but Christine, Jennifer, Kristine and Stacy have all heard my cries for help at one time or another...
  2. There is a big mess of gossip going on in some Blogs out there due to revelations about a very popular Blogger. I got very caught up in reading all the links to links about it until I stopped myself realizing it was none of my buisiness. Do you ever get caught up in gossip, either speading it or listening to it? How does it make you feel? Or have you ever been the subject of gossip? Ok. I'll go out on a limb here and say, "hell yeah!" I love gossip. Especially entertainment gossip. That may be bad and it may be a crime...but I do. So there. You just always have to consider the source... And we were the subject of gossip when we got married. We had a 'traditional' church wedding scheduled for October, and suddenly moved it up to June (six weeks away) without warning when we ran off to New Orleans. Everyone in town thought that I was pregnant it seems.
  3. In a relationship, when your other takes a dig at you (read: a fight), do you go for the jugular and get "in their face" or try to peacefully smooth things out and have a calm discussion? I don't fight fair when I'm so angry I'm seeing stars. And I know this. I always try to take time out and calm myself down first so I can be rational and have a calm discussion. The times Todd has pressed and tried to force the issue for a 'right then' fix have been times he's usually ended up regretting.
  4. A friend once told me "You can tell when someone is bored with what you are saying to them when they reply with 'That's interesting.'" And I have found this to be pretty dang true. How do you know when someone has lost interest in what you are saying? I'm sorry, what were you saying again? Couldn't resist. Usually when you hear "uh huh, uh huh, yep, uh huh". Or if you're watching The Screen Savers, it's when Leo says, "Woooonderful." Just like that DJ on Wayne's World 2.
  5. Ever get jealous of the popularity other Blogs? Only Wil Wheaton when he wiped the red carpet with my ass in the Bloggies.
  6. What is your favorite dirty word? (those who don't curse can pick your favorite happy word) Fucktard.
  7. (the continuing story...) OK, we are definitely doing that again. But seeing as it is nearly 6am now, how about breakfast? Anywhere you'd like to go or should we fix our own? What do you like? Or is there something else we need to do first? The only way I eat breakfast at breakfast-time is if I'm going to bed at dawn. Then I want McDonald's (Egg McMuffin). If I'm having breakfast for dinner, gimme pancakes or biscuits and gravy. Or if we're eating out, Denny's or Perkins.
BONUS: What have I done to deserve this?
Since you went away I've been hanging around
I've been wondering why I'm feeling down
You went away, it should make me feel better
But I don't know, oh
How I'm gonna get through?
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Grow your own
 And on the 17th day there was grass. So it is written. So it is done. It's the little things...
posted at 06:31 PM | link--it | mail it | (4) shout it



Just the facts, ma'am
 For anyone that wants the full-story on what happened over the weekend, a Tampa Tribune reporter passed along the following this morning.


From: jfjohnston@tampatrib.com
Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2002 11:06 AM
To: robyn@whollymatrimony.com
Subject: saturday story

Hello:

This is the story that ran Sunday in our paper about the incident you're concerned about. As you can see, we try to be very sensitive reporting deaths that appear to be suicides, but also wanted to let the people in the community know why there was a fire in their subdivision.

Thanks for writing.
Jo-Ann Johnston, Saturday editor
The Tampa Tribune
813-259-7804


DT: Sunday June 2, 2002
HD: Fire, Death Investigated
SO: A staff report

(BeginText)

PASCO COUNTY ... Authorities are investigating a fire and death discovered early Saturday morning in the [removed for safety] subdivision here.

Pasco County firefighters were called to a home on [removed for safety] after a dog's barking alerted neighbors to a problem. When firefighters arrived at about 2 a.m., they found the fire already burning through the roof of the home.

The owner was found dead inside the home, with early evidence pointing to suicide as the cause of death, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's department. The deceased occupant had family in the area, but at the time was living alone in the home, except for a dog. The dog, a mixed-breed, is uninjured and being cared for by relatives until a new home can be found.

Anyone interested in adopting the dog can call (727) 847-2201.

AI:

IT: Tribune photo by CHRISTINE DeLESSIO

Family and friends gather inside police tape Saturday morning after firefighters found the homeowner's body inside a burning house.

EH: FIRE DEATH INVESTIGATION PASCO FLA
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It could happen...

So I was just telling Stacy my new vision for blog design... Dominatrix Webdesign. "Sit down. Shut the hell up. And we will tell you what you want. And you'll be happy about it." Stacy is already picking out nice latex rubber ensembles, and Todd has come up with a slogan: "We whip it good." Anyone wanna sign up?
posted at 03:37 PM | link--it | mail it | (17) shout it



This one flatlined

It couldn't have picked a better time to show up. I'm in the middle of week two working 12-16 hour days/nights coding. And Mountain Dew unveils...Diet Code Red. Yes, the diet version of the nectar of the gods. The original being a mere 170 calories per 8 oz. glass.

Too bad it sucks.

If you think Diet Coke has an aspartame after-taste, you ain't drank nuthin' yet! We both had high hopes, thinking the fine folks at PepsiCo would pull off a miracle à la Diet Dr. Pepper and make my summer diet that much easier to take. But no. It was not meant to be. Todd claims that the flavor numbed his taste buds for a good two hours. I wouldn't go quite that far, but I do know that 2-liter is going to go flat before either of us bothers to pour another glass. So if you try it yourself, do so at your own risk.

Summer soft drink war score:
Coca Cola (Vanilla Coke) - 1
PepsiCo (Diet Mountain Dew Code Red) - 0
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Stay out da' Bushes
 What is going on in my state? Just look at these headlines:

  1. Florida can't find 1,000 kids in state custody. (Another article says 1,237 -- but who's counting? Certainly not the Florida Department of Children and Families!)
  2. Think you own the land your house is on? (Well think again! Not if land speculator Don Connolly has anything to say about it. He's already bought up the land under people's boat docks here in town. Now he's going for the ground below your foundation.)
  3. Runaway teen labeled as 'sex offender'. (She took a child she was babysitting and ran away as a troubled teen. A few days later she was arrested and the child was returned to its parents unmolested, unharmed and healthy. But Florida has made this young mother register as a sexual predator and has put her mugshot on its website time and time again even though the FDLE has agreed she should not be on its list.)
A Jeb state is supposed to be a happy state, riiiiiight?
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Crack the code
 After finally having e-nough spam coming in because I kept my e-mail address unaltered on my site, I took a tip from the Scripty Goddesses and used the E-mail Address Encoder to generate my e-mail link instead. It's a nifty little script you can have validate in XHTML or 4.01, and it even allows you to put in link-hover text. When your site visitors click on the link to e-mail you, it will look and act like a real e-mail address -- but your address is encoded in a bunch of gobbelty-gook (yes, that is a technical term) HTML that spam-robots usually can't harvest. You can check it out in action over in my sidebar. I think I'm in love...
posted at 07:29 PM | link--it | mail it | (6) shout it



She's right sexy
 I'm really going to have to get my arse in gear. Now Stacy/Sekimori is up for sexiest female blogger. (Go vote for her!) Man, you take a weekend off for an anniversary and neighborhood tragedy and the whole blog world passes you by...
posted at 06:08 PM | link--it | mail it | (3) shout it



Tony! Toni! Toné!
 This is the coolest client I have ever had. And he knows why the hard way. *giggle* I just finished the design last night, so check it out when you have a chance!
posted at 06:02 PM | link--it | mail it | (9) shout it



Me love you long time
 "What'll we get for ten dollars?"
"Every 'ting you want."

So it seems Christine is a blogwhore. Shocking, isn't it?
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Brought to you by the letter P and the number 3
 And before I head to bed...that "hey, something's not quite right here" feeling you might be experiencing right about now could be because this week, the date and timestamps are in...English! It's a language I really need to learn more of. No, seriously.
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Just another manic Monday
 I can honestly say in my 29 years on the planet that I have never been so happy to have a new week - and a brand new, clean slate - before me. I thought March was supposed to the month that came in like a lion and out like a lamb...

Thanks so much to everyone who has sent us well-wishes both here, and in private. I haven't been able to reply to all of them, but can't begin to tell you how much they've meant!
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In the daylight
 Still no word on exactly what happened...haven't found it on the news yet either... But here are a few photos from the daylight. All that exists, although it's somewhat hard to tell from the photos, is the outer stucco shell. The entire inside of the house, and the roofline (visible in the third photo) are gutted. Check my comments in the entry below this one for more.


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Things that make you thankful to be alive
 There is a fire, a very bad fire, four houses down from us and they just pulled a body out and took it away. Please pray for our neighbors.

UPDATE: I was right there when they pulled the guy's body out (thankfully covered). I had went down to see if there were any small kids that needed to go indoors with me or if anyone needed anything. It turns out the guy's throat had been slit (it now appears he died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds) and the fire was set after before that. Swarms of investigators are still around, fire marshalls, crime scene tape...lights flashing everywhere. Right now no one knows if it was a murder or suicide (the guy's wife died of cancer a year ago and he was in his mid 50s), but most suicides don't slit their own throat.

We finally met our sheriff neighbor 2 doors down and he kept promising over and over that he's been here for 14 years since this neighborhood first started going up (our house is 9 years old) and nothing like this has ever happened before. He was as completely shocked as the rest of us. Hopefully that means we'll get better inside information soon...but who knows if we want to hear it...

I'm just very thankful and happy my husband and I are safe and our house is ok. What a way to start your anniversary! We had to wet down the roof for the first 30 minutes because embers were flying all over our heads. My house burned to the ground when I was in the third grade, so I was terrified of losing another one. I took a few far-away photos because that's what I do to cope through things, so if any turned out, I'll post them soon. Just wanted to let everyone know we're ok. At least physically.

NEXT UPDATE: Here are the photos I took. Please excuse the bad photography. The "perfect shot" was the last thing on my mind tonight... The very last photo was shot across the street from our house, with the fire truck in front of it.




For photos shot around our neighborhood in the past, click here.
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