The Last Blog on Earth.....

Foreue Natural Skin Care Review

2010-07-28T17:57:00.000-07:00

Since I've started doing reviews on here, I've mostly gotten the chance to try out products from many different companies that sell organic, natural, hand made skin care. Because of the opportunities I've gotten to review these products I've been introduced to the world of chemical- free skin and hair care and have never looked back since. I've encountered awesome products from great companies that sincerely want to make and sell only 100% natural products, but I have also encountered several companies that claim to sell products that are organic and chemical free when they are in fact actually not. All it takes is a glance at a product's ingredients list to see what it's truly made from.
But I'm happy to say a company I recently found out about called Foreue is seriously the real deal. Foreue wants their customers to know that they can take comfort in knowing that only the best ingredients from nature, that bring no harm to animals yet bring high quality to humans, are included in their formulas.

Foreue also wants their products to WORK and strives to educate and offer the best natural products possible while doing their part to make the world a greener place.
Now when I say these products are 100% natural I am not even slightly kidding. All their beauty and personal care products are formulated with hand picked quality ingredients, featuring herbs, flowers, seeds, nuts, spices, clay, essential oils, vegetable base oils, and or oatmeal. Their soap is made from scratch, the old fashioned way. Using the cold processed method, it takes 5 weeks to complete a batch.
And as I've mentioned before, chemicals, synthetics and parabens in skin care products should be avoided. These additives can get into your bloodstream as toxins or clog your pores preventing good skin health (a little as a time). The detergent bars (some call soap) in the supermarket may seem harmless but in fact they may strip away our skin's natural sebum.
I was lucky enough to get a chance to try out several of these fantasic skin care products. First was their Rosewater Toner. Normally, I make my own toners because when I do I know exactly what I'm putting into them and can be sure that no toxic chemicals are being included. I was thrilled to read that the only ingredients in this toner was literally just Rosewater and Vegitable Gylcerin. That's it! It smells incredible and works great as part of my skin care routine before moisterizing. Next, I got to try the Replenish, Facial Moisterizing Serum. I've always wanted to try facial serums but was always afraid that since they have an oily texture to them (and I have oily skin) that they would some how clog my pores or make my oily skin even worse. But I've been pleasantly surprised that this serum hasn't done either of these things. Going on your skin it's pretty slick and greasy but after about 10-15 minutes my skin simply soaked it right in, leaving no oily residue behind. It's a great night time moisturizer and I've been looking for a good organic moisturizer for a long time now. The Replenish, Facial Moisterizing Serum is also made from some very comforting ingredients. It's made out of Jojoba Rose Hip (organic), Avocado, Wheat Germ, Borage (organic), primrose oil, carrot oil, Vitamin E and proprietary floral essential oils. Can't get anymore natural then that and most serums I've looked into had tons of weird ingredients in them. I can't wait to see, in the long run, the effect of using this serum will have on my skin. Especially since moisturizing is one of the most important things you can do to combat future signs of aging.

Now I've mentioned endless times how I'm an avid user of facial masks. I'm always on the look out for the best skin mask and lately I seem to keep coming upon some really terrific ones. As much as I love using face masks that I make in my own kitchen out of fresh, natural ingredients, I'll still buy face masks that are the type I cannot exactly make myself, like Foreue's Le Mudd Clay Mask. I've always loved using both Mud masks and Clay masks but haven't tried one that was combined. Clay is terrific for detoxifying your skin and drawing out all impurities. The Le Mudd Clay Mask is known as an acne mask. You can use it to clean and condition the skin daily or as a weekly mask to detox. It has high levels of trace minerals which remove toxins, smooth dermatitis, and soften the skin. I think it's interesting that it's gentle enough to be used as a daily cleanser but still strong enough to draw out deep problematic impurities. After using it as a weekly face mask I loved how soft and smooth it left my skin and how clean my face felt overall. I will definitely alternate between this and my usual face masks!

So I'm really glad I got a chance to review products from a company that is completely 100% honest about their products and that can proudly state that they are genuine in providing completely natural and vegan skin care products.

If you are interested in trying out natural products such as these, or want to try a more organic approach to your skin care regiment, then Foreue's product line is definitely something I recommend!

Couture Nerd $100 Sephora Giftcard Giveaway

2010-07-10T19:53:00.000-07:00

Now here is a giveaway everyone is going to love and want to enter. As I've mentioned in previous posts Couture Nerd is having a giveaway everyday in July. And I'm talking MAJOR giveaways. This one in particular is for a $100 giftcard to Sephora. Now if Lush is my candy store for bath/body/hair products, then Sephora is the make-up candy store of my sweet sweet dreams! I went there one time with my sister and I literally didn't want to leave. I wanted to sleep on their floor and play with their make-up samples all night long. But then I remembered I had a kid in a stroller with me and snapped myself out of the fantasy of hiding behind the MAC make-up section until the lights went out. So if you also have fantasies of living inside a make-up store and want to enter this fabulous giveaway then head over to the mother of all giveaway blogs, Couture Nerd and enter this giveaway, along with all the other's they've got running!

Couture Nerd $100 Visa Giveaway

2010-07-10T19:46:00.000-07:00

Well, get used to these Couture Nerd posts because their giveaways keep getting better and better, and I'm going to make sure and enter all of them! lol Well for this wonderful edition of awesome giveaways, Couture Nerd is giving away a $100 Visa Giftcard! This way if I don't win the Lush Cosmetics Giftcard giveaway I still got a shot at this one and I can blow all of it on Lush! haha. So make sure to head on down to Couture Nerd and enter this giveaway along with all the other great ones they've got going. And keep a look out for future giveaways since they are having one every day in July!

Couture Nerd $100 Giftcard Giveaway to any store you choose!

2010-07-09T20:06:00.000-07:00

I honestly think that Couture Nerd is officially my favorite blog. They have been having some incredible giveaways lately and every day in July they will be hosting a new giveaway. And these aren't your ordinary giveaways these are MAJOR ones. Recently I made a post about their $200 Giftcard giveaway to Lush which I'm dying to win and now they are having a $100 Giftcard Giveaway to any store you want! I've never seen a blog do a giveaway for literally any store that you choose. Of course if I win I'm going to choose Lush because I could totally get my money's worth at that store and Couture Nerd has already gotten my hopes up with their Lush GC giveaway! So make sure to stop by Couture Nerd's blog for this giveaway, along with all the other great ones they have going and are going to have in the future! There are tons of ways to enter and many extra entry possibilities!

Lush Products That Transformed My Skin and Hair!

2010-07-08T15:46:00.000-07:00

Now I've raved on my blog about my love for all things Lush before, did a big review on them last year when I was first introduced to the company, and have official declared myself a Lushie when it came to their bath products, but now I am literally smitten with Lush whole-heartedly after trying out some different types of products I hadn't used before. When it comes to Lush's bath bombs, bubble bars, and soaps not much needs to be said simply because they have the most delicious and unique scents that you will not find anywhere else, but as for their hair/skin care I think everyone needs to be aware of their effectiveness.

I had always been curious about Lush's solid shampoos, mostly because I liked the idea of no packaging and that these little hockey puck sized bars could last though at least 80 washes, but I was wearing that they wouldn't hold up with my super thick, long hair and sensitive scalp. Boy was I wrong! These solid shampoos are the best things I've ever used on my hair and there is no going back now. I have both the Godiva and Ultimate Shine Solid Shampoos and my hair looks like I stepped right out of a Pantene Pro-V photo shopped ad! No Joke. The Godiva is a shampoo & conditioner in one and it moisturizes my hair so well I barely have to straighten it after washing it. It just makes my hair so soft and smooth I can just air dry it and it looks great. After using Ultimate shine I decided to flat iron it just a tad, and I didn't even have to blow dry it straight first. The name Ultimate Shine says it all, my hair is literally glistening with shine as you will see in the pictures. I get compliments on how much people like my hair more then ever now. So basically all you gotta do is give one of these bars a try and you won't need anymore convincing. $9.95 for a bar seems a little steep but when you think about how much longer it lasts compared to bottled shampoo, how much better for the environment it is, and how effing great your hair looks it's a solid deal!

Now on to the miracle workers......the skin care. I did a lot of research before deciding on which exact products I was going to get. I narrowed down my search by reading other people's reviews and experiences with particular products as well as what my own skin type is. I've struggled with my skin since puberty and most of my skin problems are hormonal. I had moderate acne as a teenager but when I was pregnant my face literally blew up with cist like pimples. I didn't even want to leave the house! As much as I took care of my skin, nature was taking it's course and I just had to wait it out till I had my daughter and could get on birth control again (which seemed like the only way to control my acne), but even as the flare ups went away my skin was still left to recover from it's damage. I had some acne scars, red spotting, and just an overall dull look. I've also had dark circles under my eyes because of my ethnicity and sleepless nights from having a newborn didn't help with the matter. After I started using more natural and organic skin care products, along with making my own home made face masks and toners, my skin started to improve but nothing like what Lush has done for it.

So after my extensive little research project I decided on several products for my new skin care regimen. First I bought two Lush cleansers, Angels on Bare Skin and Fresh Farmacy. I had read the Angels on Bare Skin was a miracle worker for every skin type. Whatever your flaw was it would basically fix it and it contained a natural exfoliant in the almonds it contained. This cleanser is so fresh it doesn't even look like something you could wash your face with. It's squishy and moist, and when it gets wet it turns into a paste like texture, but somehow it still cleanses perfectly and leaves no filmy layer behind.

Since a lot of my skin problems are hormonal, as I mentioned before, I bought the Fresh Farmacy for that time in my cycle that I don't take birth control for a week and get PMS which causes my skin to break out for a few days. I've read that Fresh Farmacy has helped a lot of people with various degrees of severity in acne.

I was also dying to try one of Lush's fresh face masks because I strongly believe in the power of face masks (lol) and since I'm lucky enough to have a Lush store nearby I was able to buy one since you can't order them online because of their freshness and shelf life of three days. They also have be kept cool and refrigerated the entire time. The one I bought was the Brazened Honey which was hard to decide on, but after getting an in-store demo on my hand I decided on it because it left my skin so soft, even up until the next morning. Lastly I bought a few Tea Tree Toner tabs that you drop in hot water to steam your face. If I hadn't already gone over my budget with these products and some melts, bombs, and soaps, I would have bought a moisturizer as well to complete my skin care routine.

So for the first two weeks of getting these products I would wash with Angels on Bare Skin in the morning, tone with my own grapefruit & rosemary homemade toner, then apply some moisturizer with SPF to get me through the day. Then at night I'd cleanse with Fresh Farmacy, use a toner with witch hazel in it, and moisturize with a heavier night cream. Along with this everyday routine, twice a week I'd give myself a special facial at night. I'd cleanse with Angels on Bare skin, then give my skin a good 5 minute steam with the Tea Tree Tablet (you can save the water when it cools and use it as a toner for a couple days afterwards...AWESOME).

Then once my pores were nice and detoxified I'd apply the Brazened Honey Mask. What's great about this mask is that when your are ready to remove it after 15 minutes you just add a little water and rub it in before completely removing it which adds for some extra exfoliation. Also when I rinsed I used some of the left over Tea Tree toner water to rinse the mask off, then toned it with a spritz of it as well. Once the toner dried I applied my moisturizer and Voila! I would literally be glowing.

It's been a couple weeks and I swear my skin has changed completely. Even my acne scars, which I seemed to never be able to get rid of, have seemed to smooth out a bit and the color of my skin is brighter and more glowy. I've barely had any pimples or bumps and my pores are definitely smaller! My husband, who notices nothing and could live the rest of his life without ever hearing about another cosmetic again, noticed that my skin and hair have been looking great! For the first time I like my skin so much I'm willing to show the world my picture with NO MAKE-UP!

I am so absolutely impressed with this skin care routine I am never turning back. I don't care if I have to set aside a little secret stash of money to get my Lush fix every few months lol! There are so many different combinations of products that you can choose from to fit your needs and the one I discovered is just one of them. Oh I also recently tried their Coal Face because I got it as a sample and that is another cleanser that I'd definitely continue to use. Great for oily skin! I can't wait to try out their moisturizers (which is next) along with even more of their yummy flavored soaps and bath bombs/bubble bars, etc. If you haven't given Lush a try yet you definitely have to try one of these products and you will be an official Lushie just like me!

Aromatic Health Review

2010-07-06T08:21:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple years I have really grown to believe in the benefits of using products that are natural and organic. Through my understanding of using things that only contain natural ingredients, I've learned to understand the importance, and the beneficial experience one can have, from using aromatherapy. "Aromatherapy is a form of alternative medicine that uses volatile plant materials, known as essential oils, and other aromatic compounds for the purpose of altering a person's mood, cognitive function or health." Aromatherapy has been around for longer then we can track but the concept was first acknowledged by scientists as far back as 1907.
Although a lot of companies use the word Aromatherapy as a marketing tool it doesn't necessarily mean that they are actually using pure and natural ecessential oils in their products. I'm grateful that I got the chance to do a review for a company called Aromatic Health which stands behind being completely true to what Aromatherapy is really supposed to be about.

Aromatic Health carries products that are hand made, using only pure and organic essential oils and raw ingredients. Their products are cruelty free and do not contain synthetic fragrances, parabens, petrochemicals or preservatives. Another thing I love, and that is important to me, is that they use a minimal amount of packaging and promote the recycling or the re-use of their jars and bottles. Their Aromatherapist, who has been practicing for 10 years, uses her knowledge and experience to create essential oil products, and provide consultation services to aid in the healing of the body, mind and spirit.
I was lucky enough to get the chance to try out two of their awesome products to review. First was the Citrus Facial Toner. I absolutely loved this product and used it to the very last drop. Facial toners are very important after cleansing the skin because it allows the skin to absorb moisturizer more effectively. I have sensitive, combination skin that can break out or become oily very easily. This 100% natural, cruelty free, non-toxic, and Vegan toner is gentle enough to use everyday and still effective enough to cleanse your skin thoroughly. After using it my skin always felt so clean and fresh, and the smell was absolutely wonderful. Citrus is an awesome ingredient to use for skin and hair and I make it a point to always add it in any of my own home made skin care that I make for myself.
The other product I got to review was their Stress Relief Oil that comes as a roll on. It's made with a blend of essential oils that are known for their relaxing and anxiolytic properties. You simply roll it on your temples, the back of your hands, and the nape of your neck. I use this product often whenever I'm feeling stressed out, especially when I'm having PMS. And this little roll on bottle will last forever.
Both of these products are great and affordable. I highly recommend what I personally got to try and I can't wait to try more of the many products they have available. If you are interested in learning more about the healthy benefits of Aromatherapy and would like to give it a try then Aromatic Health is the place for you!

Giveaway for a $200 Gift Card to Lush Cosmetics!

2010-07-04T13:32:00.000-07:00

I'm an avid fan of using all different kinds of natural, organic, chemical free, and cruelty free products whenever I can, but most importantly cosmetics ones such as products for skin and hair care. Because more and more women are becoming aware of the dangers of certain ingredients in the beauty products they use, they popularity of using natural cosmetics is sky rocketing. All you have to do is a quick google search and you will see tons of companies promoting and selling organic or handmade beauty products. Lush has seemed to surpass them all in their popularity and for good reason.

Along with being my favorite bath/skin/hair product company Lush prides themselves on making products from fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, as well as the finest essential oils and safe synthetics. One of the things I really love about Lush is that they invent their own products and fragrances and make them fresh and by hand with little to no preservatives or packaging. They use only vegetarian ingredients and let the customers know when each product was made. Lush is cruelty free and does not test on animals or buy ingredients from companies that test on animals.

And I'm super glad that a really great Blog called Couture Nerd is having an amazing giveaway for a $200 Gift Card to Lush that I’m so excited about. There are a ton of ways to get extra entries so your chances of winning are major! Stop on by to this site and enter!

$100 Borders Books Gift Card Giveaway!

2010-06-21T16:29:00.000-07:00

The Borders Double-Dog Dare Summer Reading Program encourages children 12 and under to read 10 books this summer and receive a free book! Just download the form from the website and bring it in by August 26th!

In honor of the Borders Double-Dog Dare Summer Reading Program, two lucky Go Graham Go readers will win a $100 Gift Card to Borders Books!

My Baby Rocks Review

2010-06-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've done a review but since I absolutely love My Baby Rocks, I'm super excited to do my first one in a while for them! Here in Vegas there is literally like one store that carries Punk Rock clothes for kids and babies and their selection is very limited. As much as I want my daughter to be an individual and figure out her own style when she is older, I've got to admit it's fun right now to be able to dress her however I want. And I especially love having her wear something unique that sets her apart from the rest of her preschool class (even if it brings funny looks from other parents! haha). So I absolutely adore the items My Baby Rocks sent me to review. Their website is the best place to go to shop for punk baby clothes or punk toddler clothes, items, and accessories. The kitty dress is my daughter's absolute favorite and she gets a ton of compliments whenever she wears it.

So if you are looking for something unique for your rock n roll little one My Baby Rocks is the place to go!

R.I.P you beautiful dark Adonis.

2010-04-15T00:25:00.000-07:00

This is a post that I wrote a long time ago, but after hearing this morning's incredibly horrible, fucked up news I felt I'd post it again. I'm still in complete shock and trying to shake off this feeling of sadness. This man and his music had a huge spot in my soul. I can only hope that that one of a kind, hypnotizing voice of his will live on forever and more and more people will now become familiar with his music......отдых в мире Peter

I always love telling this story, although I never get a chance to because I hate bragging of any sort and I always think people don't want to hear me talk about myself simply because I don't want to hear them do it. But it was such a special, cool, and memorial night in my adolescence that I feel I should share it with the two people who actually read my blog...lol
So when I was about 16 years old I went to see Type O Negative with my two friends Meghan and Christina. They were both die hard Type O fans as well, especially Christina. So we arrive at the House of Blues super early so we can get right in the front row, which we did. This was the first time I'd ever seen Type O in concert so I had no idea what I was in for. And when Peter Steel came out in all his 6'6 glory I was floored. He was the hugest man I'd ever seen with long black hair, chiseled features, and a voice that could literally blow the bass of your speakers out. We had a blast being so close to the stage, and we sang every word to every song as loud as we possibly could. When the concert was over we headed toward the door and my beautiful friend Christina was stopped by the band's roadie/bouncer dude. He then hands her 3 passes, tells her to give the other two to her friends, and come upstairs. I don't think anybody could or will ever scream as loud as we did right then.
So gripping onto our passes (which I still have) as if they were our first born children, we entered the elevator going upstairs to the "V.I.P" room. Just the feeling of being let through into the elevators by security alone was enough to satisfy our teenage hearts for the rest of our adolescence. As we entered into this new world we saw all the other opening bands, beautiful groupies that we had only seen the likes of before in magazines and rock videos, as well as various roadies, managers, and other band members from Type O Negative. Mind you, we are the youngest ones there, and we are no where near dressed like these other chicks. They were clad in leather and corsets from head to toe, topped off with "fuck me boots" like I've never seen. The three of us were in baggy pants, bandannas, and wife beaters. We stood out like a sore thumb and had no idea how to act or what to do with ourselves. So we sat on a couch being completely silent watching the craziness around us. Then suddenly we heard a commotion and saw that Peter Steel was walking into the room. All the hip people started to mob him, the chicks were all over him, and people were asking him questions left and right. He looked super annoyed and tired and as quickly as he came he started to leave. Before we could even compute that he had walked into the same room as us, he turned around as he had one foot in the elevator to go, looked right at me and my friends and said, "well.....are you coming or not?". I swear it's like something had to take over our little bodies for us at that moment or else we wouldn't have moved. We felt like Robots, getting up in sync with each other and following him into the elevator.
He didn't say a word the entire way up, and I literally felt like a little person being 5 foot 2 and standing next to this beautiful Polish giant. We then follow him into his dressing room, which was so hip and cool to us. I mean it was the House of Blues. Who knows how many awesome musicians had been in that room? For some reason there were already 3 stripper whore chicks waiting in there. I have no idea what or who they were there for because Peter acted as if they were ghosts and didn't even acknowledge their presence. So he sits down on one couch and offers us a seat on the other one. It's completely silent except for the giggles and hiccups of the drunk strippers sitting next to him. Without saying a word he begins to take his shoes off, then his socks, and starts picking at his feet. My friends and I have absolutely no idea what the holy fuck to say to this guy. It was so surreal and amazing. So we literally just sat and watched him pick at his massive feet. So the stripper whores decide to take it upon themselves to actually speak to Peter and start asking him stupid questions like how many pets he had or some shit. And all he responds with is "I just want quiet....I just want quiet", and rubs his aching head. To this day, I believe he chose us to sit with him in his dressing room simply because we were three young, silent girls. He never made any type of passes at us, and he only offered us vodka (his favorite drink) once and then realized how old we were and never asked again. Which is all very weird, because he is known for his overt sexuality (even posing nude in playgirl), so now that I think about it, maybe he was willing to take advantage of us all along.......SWEET! So we sat there and watched this mysterious, amazing, and talented man pick his feet, and mutter once or twice how much he desired silence, for about 2 hours or so. If it weren't for the fact that we were 16, it being a school night, and my friend's mom waiting to pick us up, we probably would have stayed in that magical place forever. When it was time to go he was so incredibly sweet to us, giving us autographs hugs. I swear that hug felt as if I was being cradled in the arms of the Dark Lord or something. Like if he were to never have let go I would have been lost in some mystical world of leather, black hair dye, and vodka.
The next day at school we, of course, wouldn't shut the fuck up about it, and we didn't care. To this day every time I hear Type O, or hear their named mentioned a little twinge of happiness fills me up. I will always remember our little adventure on that wonderful night. Life is meant to be full of various moments just like that, and I am so grateful that I at least got one for my books!

By the way, if you ever decide to Google "Peter Steele in Play Girl Magazine Picture" you are in for a HUGE treat....lol

Flirty Aprons discount for readers!

2010-02-25T17:20:00.000-08:00

In order to thank all the blog readers Flirty Aprons would like to offer a 30% OFF COUPON!!!! To thank you for your support all you have to do is type in the code 30Coupon when checking out and you will get your 30% off. This coupon will end Sunday February 28th 2010 at midnight. You know how much I love cute aprons so this is a great deal! Head on over to Flirty Aprons now!

Where the hell are the "Save the Huntridge Theater" people?

2009-12-28T12:42:00.001-08:00

Aside from taking me into the heart of our Las Vegas Ghettos on a daily basis, my job forces me to go into neighborhoods in Vegas that I have never even entered before in my entire existence of living here. It also takes me through places that I hadn't been to in a long time, causing great stabs of nostalgic pain in my heart from certain memories and experiences. So yesterday I'm driving down Maryland Parkway and hit my old stomping grounds of Charleston and MP. Of course right on the corner is the historic Huntridge Theater. Now I knew it had been closed down and in bad shape for a while now but nothing prepared me for the state that it is in today. It is completely run down, tagged with graffiti, and apparently the sewage and power has been completely destroyed by it's now homeless inhabitants. I almost rammed right into the Toyota in front of me because I was so shocked! The Huntridge theater isn't just known for the Rock and Roll memories of my past, it is truly a Las Vegas Historical site. Opening in 1944 it was the first non-segregated theater in LV. It was originally built to accommodate the employees of the local factories who worked long shifts and then segwayed into being a theater that premiered movie's such as Sinatra's "Suddenly" where Frank himself sold tickets in it's box office......(You won't see Brat Pitt doing that these days will you?) It served as a theater for various artistic outlets and films. It eventually closed down, renovated, and reopened again. But the Huntridge I remember and now long for was completely different from it's old Hollywood hey day. The Huntridge was the place to go for dirty punk kids like me and my friends to see bands that wouldn't (or weren't allowed) to play anywhere else. Now these bands may not seem like big shit to kids now (or even then) but to us they were huge!! During my adolescence I was able to see The Vandals, NOFX, Voodoo Glow Skulls, The Misfits, Dead Kennedy's, Circle Jerks, Rancid, Suicidal Tendency's, Mike Ness etc. etc., all at the tiny little theater that always smelled like sweat, booze and week old crusted gelatin on mohawks. This was the first place that I learned the power of being a cute girl trying to get back stage at a concert. Where I learned that Jimmy Pop was willing to give an underage girl tons of shots of Jeger if you allowed him to sign your boobies and take pictures of them.....god help me where those photos eventually landed.......good jesus I was dumb. Ah, how I long for those days. For the sticky, Faygo drenched floors from the ICP concerts since The Huntridge was the only place in Vegas they were allowed to play. Also where took place the first and only time I ever danced on stage and looked out into the crowd to see what the band saw. To feel what they felt....hundreds of angry little punkers crowd surfing, throwing beer cups, punching each other in the face and making memories that will later make them ache for their youth. I even miss the little taco shop across the street that sold 59 cent tacos that gave you explosive diarrhea. But that is all gone now.Now after yesterday's little run in I decided to do some google research and find out why the fuck a historical and important theater is just sitting there rotting away in homeless piss. Turns out when it officially closed down in 2004 it was sold to the stupid mother fucker who owns the stupid annoying mattress store next door. Apparently the bastard boasted about reviving the little theater, and he (along with the supposed non-profit organization "friends of the Huntridge") even received more then a million dollars in grants to restore it. And now what has become of the idyllic theater? It's just fucking sitting there and the asshole owner refuses to do anything about it. And apparently because he received so much money in grants he cannot sell it or tear it down until 2018!!!......... 2018!!! Fuck it has to sit there for 8 more years, not only being an eye sore but a constant reminder that any reminisce left of old Las Vegas is completely obsolete. Now it's time to make way for City Centers, and more multi billion dollar theme casinos! It's like something out of a Margarate Atwood novel. Any sense of art and history will no longer be needed in Sin City. After all who gives a shit about the locals? The ones who have to actually live and work here and not just visit a resort casino for a alcohol induced weekend. So I ask, where is this "friends of the Huntridge" group now?? Last they updated anything on their site was in 08' and their other site savethehuntridge.com has vanished. I smell something bad brewing and I don't like it.....and believe me I'm not going to forget it either.

Tomorrow, Wendy By Concrete Blond (lyrics)

2009-10-02T10:49:00.000-07:00

It is complete now the two ends of time are neatly tied.
A one-way street, she's walking to the end of the line.
And there she meets the faces she keeps in her heart and mind.

They say 'good bye' Tomorrow, Wendy, you're going to die.
They say 'good bye' Tomorrow, Wendy, you're going to die.

Underneath the chilly gray November sky
We can make believe that Kennedy is still alive and
We're shooting for the moon and smiling Jackie's driving by and

They say 'good try'
Tomorrow Wendy's going to die.
Tomorrow Wendy's going to die.

I told the priest, don't count on any second coming.
God got his ass kicked the first time he came down here slumming.
He had the balls to come, the gall to die and then forgive us.
No, I don't wonder why, I wonder what he thought it would get us.
Hey, hey, good bye.
Tomorrow Wendy's going to die.

Hey, hey, good bye.
Tomorrow Wendy's going to die.
Tomorrow Wendy's going to die.

Hey, hey, good bye.
Tomorrow Wendy's going to die.
Tomorrow Wendy's going to die.

Only God says jump,
So I set the time
'Cause if he ever saw her
It was through these eyes of mine!
And if he ever suffered it was me who did his crying.

Hey hey, good bye.
Tomorrow Wendy's going to die
(Tomorrow Wendy's going to die)
Tomorrow Wendy's going to die
(Tomorrow Wendy's going to die)
Tomorrow Wendy's going to die

Hey, hey, good bye
Tomorrow Wendy's going to die

Hey, hey, good bye
Tomorrow Wendy's going to die
Tomorrow Wendy's going to die
Tomorrow Wendy's going to die

Extending giveaway for Flirty Aprons

2009-09-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

Going to extend the Flirty Aprons giveaway by another week in hopes Ill get more entries. Make sure to spread the word!

Images of the Week

2009-06-27T08:53:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite people and artists.....Frida Kahlo

Whatever you may have thought of Michael,,,

2009-06-25T15:33:00.000-07:00

If you have any respect for music as an art form, or music in general, or that the power of entertainment exists and can bring light and joy into life, then you realize what a loss this is. I'm not the type to indulge in the media-whoring that can occur when a celebrity dies (and believe me this is going to be a big one) but I am so completely shocked and saddened by this right now. I know everyone has their opinions (that may be negative most of the time) when it comes to Michael Jackson's life, but I honestly never believed that he hurt those kids in that way. I know it's off subject but I've always believed that he had the mind of a child. I mean it's all right in front of us. The poor guy didn't have a childhood at all. He had an abusive father that worked him to the bone before he even hit puberty, and he has been in the spot light ever since. He is literally the most famous music star in the ENTIRE world! I think he just so desperately wanted to have a child-hood that as an adult he recreated it, even by surrounding himself with children. I know many don't believe it, but I think those accuser's parents just wanted the money. Till the day I die I will never believe that someone who loved kids, helped kids, gave so much to kids, could hurt a kid in a way that was much worse then how he was hurt. And I don't care what anyone thinks of me for believing that.
Michael Jackson is a legend. He is up there with Elvis and The Beatles. He may not have made music lately but he still has the biggest following of all time. People would freaking pass out at his concerts and gather at his court-dates because they loved him so much. He changed the history of music as we know it and has inspired so many of the musicians we hear today. Just think of it (if you are a music lover). Just think about your life and your past in accordance with Michael Jackson's music. I remember being so little and being mesmerized by his music videos on MTV (when MTV was awesome). I remember looking forward to seeing what he was going to do next because even at a young age I knew he was something special. I remember Thriller scaring the shit outta me and my sister's playing the record to freak me out because the Vincent Price part was terrifying. I remember having the one silver glove, and seeing Captain Eo at Disney Land. And I remember dancing and singing my ass off every time one of his songs came on....and I still do that!
And don't get me started on his dance moves, because they are epic. NO ONE could or ever will be able to move the way he did. His creativity was a gift and a gift that he used well. He was a person not just a characature that we saw so many make fun of and imitate. He had a family, children, and fans who loved him. And his music has touched the world and almost every single person in it. And who the hell says what normal is anyway right? Michael Jackson leaves behind a life and legacy that can compare to no other and whatever he may have been suffering with lately no longer has to be endured. He will be missed.

If you get it....this film could change your life

2009-06-24T09:45:00.001-07:00

I'm starting to wonder if I should have two blogs now. One for my review and giveaways and one that is really about things I dig and things I wanna share. But I don't think I'll have the time so some of yous are just going to have to bear with the mixture and if I can open a few people's tastes along the way then cool, if not then eff it.

I am a HUGE HUGE movie freak. I can't describe my love for movies in words. It almost exceeds my love for music. When I was younger I dreamed of being a film maker...honestly I still do, but that train obviously left the station a long time ago and will never happen. So in a dream world I would be a world famous screen writer and film-maker. I feel like I am constantly making a movie in my head and I use films to heal myself, change my mood, and just make me plain happy. I want to introduce those who may not know of it, to a little film called "Hedwig and the Angry Inch". I know I have a lot of stories that relate to me being in rehab (what can I say I've been a treatment one time too many) but this one is really special to me. The first time I went to an impatient facility (which was not fun but if I knew what kind of places were in my future, this place would seem like the four seasons in comparison), I did a lot of movie watching when I got home. My body had just went through hell and all I could do was sit on the couch and watch films. I came across Hedwig in the video store and had always passed it by before, wanting to rent it, but something always stopped me for some reason before. So I felt compelled to watch it and 3 minutes into the movie I already knew it would become one of my most dear favorite films of all times. I think I watched it like 30 times in that week, bought the soundtrack, and learned everything I could about the creator John Cameron Mitchell.
I don't want to give away the plot but the movie was so touching and life changing that I would sit and think about it's meaning for hours. Thats when you know a film is good...when it makes you think about it and it haunts you way after the DVD is done playing. The music is incredible and the concept is like no other. It originally was a play that had a HUGE cult following and now it's a film with a HUGE cult following. I highly recommend you at least give this film a chance. For the morally squeamish, you might be appalled at first and I'm sorry for you in that sense, but maybe if you just open your mind a little bit this movie can change you in ways you never imagined. I've included my two fav clips for your viewing pleasure...

V.I.P night at Penn and Teller

2009-06-20T22:12:00.000-07:00

(pardon my fat grossness in the picture)

So when me and my husband (and Boo Boo) did the AIDS walk a couple months ago we got a cool ass prize package for raising $500.00. And it was 4 tickets to a V.I.P show of Penn and Teller here in Vegas. It was sooooo much fun! I brought along my sister, her best best, and one of my dear friends from college T.J. First we got to go to a meet and greet and eat fancy shamancy Hor’dourves , as well as take pics with Penn and Teller and get a private magic lesson from Teller (yes he actually talks in real life). Teller sat right at our table and talked with us which was pretty cool. I love his part of the duo because....well first he does all the magic....and second his facial expressions are priceless!

Then we got to see their INCREDIBLE show. I was really really impressed. I've been a fan of Penn and Teller's views from their Showtime show "Bullshit' and love all the things they stir up when it comes to certain topics (especially the political stuff) so I was really happy to see that they incorporated a lot of that into the show. And of course who doesn't love magic tricks??? I felt like a little kid sitting there in awe of the illusions they pulled off, and they were really like nothing I've ever seen before, and I'm a fan of magic!

We had so much fun and it was really great getting outta the house for the night. All three of us ladies are mothers of young kids so it was truly a treat to leave the little buggers with the husbands and have some good old Vegas fun! If you ever find yourself in Sin City be sure to check out the show if you get the chance!!!

This is me on stage. Can you spot me?

Disney Pixar helps grant dying girl her wish.

2009-06-20T12:57:00.000-07:00

This story made me burst into tears and I just had to share it on my blog. I love witnessing that there is still good and sweetness in this world, and that the power of film can sometimes heal, bring people together, or just create a little bit of happiness in a dark place.....even for a brief moment..

-"The folks at Pixar helped a dying girl fulfill her final wish when one of their employees hand delivered a DVD of the film Up to the family's residence for a private screening.

10-year-old Colby Curtin was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in December 2005, and ever since she saw a preview for Up, she'd been excited for the poignant film about a man who goes on an adventure after the loss of his wife by tying balloons to his house and flying away.

After the family had made a request that was never fulfilled for a wheelchair to take Colby to the theaters, a family friend began frantically calling Pixar as Colby's health dramatically worsened.

Finally the friend got through the automated messaging system by guessing a name. Pixar immediately sent out an employee to the girl's home in Huntington Beach armed with a DVD of the film and a gift basket of toys. The family sat around to a private screening.

Colby had difficulty keeping her eyes open through the film because of the pain she was in, so her mother narrated it to her.

Colby died 7 hours later and we hope her final moments were that much more comfortable for having her final wish granted!"

I hope she had sweet dreams of adventures, blue skies, and balloons as she left this life for whatever quest happens next...

Apologize for my absence!

2009-06-17T10:43:00.000-07:00

As you may have noticed, I haven't been posting much lately (and the reviews and giveaways are piling up!). Recently I had a little medical emergency which turned out to me a stupid ulcer. I guess too much stress, working, a crazy two year old, and copious amounts of caffine, will eventually result in a little ulcer friend growing inside me that make me feel like I had reached the pits of sickness hell. I HATE feeling bed-ridden and sick, but it was also a major wake up call that I need to start taking way better care of myself and try to slow down as much as I can, as well as eat a hell of a lot better then I have been lately.
But anyway, I'm SOOOOOOO far behind on my reviews and I deeply apologize to all the wonderful companies I'm working with. I promise everything will be caught up soon. I just need to pace myself a little better. But I guardsmen some great reviews and giveaways will still be on there way

Just like my ModBe swimsuit giveaway that ends in a couple days! Make sure to enter!

Zach Morris effing Lives!!

2009-06-09T19:02:00.000-07:00

Omg! He hasn't aged a bit!...LOL This made my day!

Toddler Virtues Tees Review

2009-06-09T10:56:00.000-07:00

I really love to feature products for kids that are really help to make a difference in their lives no matter how small or big. And Toddler Virtue Tees has really come up with a fantastic idea for their product. Each t-shirt has a different important virtue and definition in order to teach your children these incredibly vital ideas and lessons. I LOVE how Monika Hall, the Founder and President of Toddler Virtues, came up with the idea for these awesome shirts and I really want you guys to hear her story from her own words because they fully explain the importance of what she is trying to achieve with these t-shirts:

"I feel like I've 'danced like no body's watching' far before that phrase became popular. The picture to the right is of my son and I at a kid's concert (Ralph's World) last summer. It was here that my toddler virtue tee idea was born. As I looked around I noticed every child at the concert was wearing a tee shirt with a slogan or design on it. Whether it be spoiled, princess, high maintenance, little dude, a musician or whatever – this was the fad. At that moment it occurred to me that I had an opportunity to use this tee shirt craze as a platform to do some good by teaching toddler's virtues.

I feel that to make the world a better place, we need to start with our children. I propose that we bring back virtues. What if we instilled virtues like kindness, courage, tolerance, gratitude and patience into our toddlers? What if eventually these virtues became not only a word, but a way of life? What would happen if these virtuous toddlers became virtuous school aged children, young adults and our leaders of tomorrow? Maybe instead of seeing school shootings sprung by hatred, cowards for authority figures or wars arising from intolerance and impatience, we’ll see new and gracious generations make decisions based on respect and virtues. Just imagine what a world that would be!"

Her story kinda got me teary eyed. I mean we see those "diva, princess blah blah" shirts everywhere and I've always HATED them. I mean exactly what does that teach a 3 year old? That they are better then everyone else and should be treated that way? These Virtue T-shirts are a simple and fun way to teach your children important morals and Monika Hall also encourages everyone to participate in the Pass it On movement. This is where you can pass hand-me-downs to siblings and order tees for toddler friends! Donate hand me downs to local shelters or soup kitchens. Buy new ones for kids who normally wouldn't be reached by these tees. I love this idea, and am already putting a little money aside so I can buy one for a child who normally wouldn't get a chance to have one themselves. And if you would like to do something similar and help Pass it On you can send your outgrown Virtue Tee back to the company and they will distribute it to a local homeless shelter or soup kitchen for you!!

Olivia was generously given the "Tolerance" shirt which is actually really fitting with what I want to instill in her throughout her life. My husband and I strive to be tolerant of everyone no matter who they are or what they choose to do and be in life. I support equal rights for everyone and after growing up a child who looked different then what was considered normal I really really encourage Olivia to always accept and love people no matter what and that we are all the same. I can't wait to teach this virtue to her! Virtue Toddler Tee's encourages parents to use these 5 steps with their Virtue Tee. 1. Read the Virtue to your child 2. Define and Explain the Virtue 3. Tell a story relaying the Virtue 4. Repeat when Tee is worn and 5. Pass It On!

These T-shirts are really something you going to enjoy having for your little one and would even make an awesome birthday present. And don't forget to check out the Mommy Virtues as well, because you never stop learning even when your are all grown up. Virtue Toddler Tees are not just a shirt to be worn, it's an entire lesson. And a lesson in something that your child will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

And now through the entire month of June my readers will get the chance to Buy one and get another one half off. After purchasing your two shirts simply e-mail Monika ( toddlervirtues@gmail.com ) and let her know you are one of my readers and she will refund you the money! Take advantage of this offer while you can!

Sky Ranch Foundation

2009-06-06T18:09:00.000-07:00

I really want to share a foundation with you guys that is super important to me and my husband. Well, mostly to my husband but I think it's something important enough to spread the word about. It's called the Sky Ranch Foundation and it raises money for the Sky Ranch Boys Home is South Dakota. In 1950 a priest named Father Don Murray found himself looking after a few troubled boys at his rectory in the tiny town of Buffalo, South Dakota. He used a small plane to travel his large "territory" and soon found it could help him with the boys. Teaching them to fly really changed their outlook. But the priest had a dream and needed a lot of help to make it happen. He found the help, and so did thousands of boys who have been helped since then at Sky Ranch. Sky Ranch for Boys was incorporated in 1960. At first, the Bishop of Rapid City served as Chairman of the Board. From the start, however, it was agreed by all that the ranch would be non-sectarian, emphasizing the power of spirituality to help people without favoring one religion over another.

By 1963, 3,000 acres of ranchland on the Montana-South Dakota border had been acquired, and the first buildings were going up.Sky Ranch for Boys continues to help troubled kids (age 12-17) from all parts of America and plans on doing so for a long time to come! Some of the original buildings are nearing the end of their useful life and planning for rehabilitation or replacement has begun.

Sky Ranch is well known among professionals in the field for an outstanding success rate. More than 90% of boys sent to Sky Ranch successfully complete the program! During a single school year at Sky Ranch, most boys gain 2 or more grade levels in the school work they are able to handle. Many go on to very successful lives in a wide variety of fields.

The program has been enhanced recently by the implementation of a "Corrective Thinking" approach. Boys are held responsible for their errors and taught to think through how to avoid problems in the future. It has been very well received by boys and staff.

See my husband was sent to Sky Ranch when he was 17 and stayed there for a year. He went through a lot as a kid and got into a lot of trouble, and instead of having a judge send him to a juvenile detention center, he was luckily sent to Sky Ranch. He has told me so many stories about this place and has a ton of positive and wonderful memories about being there. He got his pilot license there, which is something he has always been proud of, and learned how to take care of horses. It was really something that he needed in his life at that time and he will always remember the place. I've been encouraging him that one day we will move to South Dakota (his dream state) and he will work at that ranch. I honestly believe it's his calling because no one will know what those boys are going through like him, and he is awesome with kids.
But this ranch and organization are so important and really needs help from outside sources. Even if it's small donations, they would still make a huge difference. This ranch is an awesome alternative to being locked up and instills leadership, responsibility, and positive learning during a time when boys need it the most. I couldn't imagine how being a locked cell is going to make a troubled kid turn his life around. Sometimes you come out of those places learning more negative things then you came in with. We need more places like Sky Ranch with people who really care so much about these kids and that are willing to do what they can to make a difference in their lives. Please take a moment to check out this foundation and spread the word...

Winner of the Bummas Cloth set!!

2009-05-30T08:30:00.000-07:00

Ok so the winner of the Bummas Cloth set of their choice is #55 Emily B. Congrats! I'm e-mailing you now and you've got 48 to get back to me with your info..

Tomorrow two of my giveaways are ending..

My Tot Clock

Crazy Baby Clothing

And make sure to check back each day of my birthday week for a new giveaway! Like these...

Dreamsacks Jewelry Roll

18x24 Poster Print

Adios Madre...

2009-05-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

So my mom is retiring and moving back to her country tomorrow and I gotta go say goodbye to her tonight. It's really bittersweet because although my mom can be horrible, a compulsive liar and gambler, a thief, and very conniving; she's still my mom. She was a terrible mother at most times but she is a good grandmother and for some reason my daughter really loves her. Me and my mom have had some roller coaster moments between us too. I think I have fought with her more then anyone else in the family, but she is still the first person I run to when I've found myself in any kind of trouble. I'm not exactly the most responsible person when it comes to living and I seem to always find my self in some effed up situation, but I always know that my mom is the one person I can go to when I don't want any other family member to know what kind of hot water I have landed myself in. And she always ends up bailing me out! Granted, there is always a heavy price to pay attatched to any kind of favor she does for me, and I always end up regretting it, but at least she does it. I can't even begin to tell you about the things that woman has put me through in my life, I'm talking some really horrible things, but for every shitty thing she does there is something good she does as well, and that is what has always screwed with me. I mean if you are going to be a bad person, be one all the way. Don't sprinkle your evil-ness with good acts here and there cause it messes with a person's head!
My mother has literally terrorized me and my sisters with her craziness, yet she always stayed by my side the entire time I would be in the hospital having surgery. She has stolen money from me yet when I went to her the first time I admitted I was a drug addict and needed help, she simply kept her mouth shut and hugged me. And then she called me every day in re-hab to remind me she had quit smoking so she could feel even a smidgen of what I was going through....lol
I've been an awful daughter and she's been an awful mother, but we only get one life and one family. So we have to make the best of what we've got. I have to let go of the past, try to remember the good shit, and stop falling for the same things over and over.
So it's kind of sad that she is moving so far away. Who the hell am I going to run to if I need bail money or O is throwing up all over the place and I'm scared to take her to the doctor by myself? I guess in a way her new phase of her life will force me to go through one of my own. Time to grow up and stop being co-dependent with each other I guess.
And I HATE good-byes. I just loathe them. I never even say goodbye to my sister when she leaves from her yearly visits. I just can't do it, so it's going to take a lot of strength to get through tonight, and it's going to take even more when I have to explain to Olivia why Grandma isn't around yet we are living in her house. Man life really sucks sometimes..

Poetry Corner - Arenas

2009-05-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

My Lover the Sea by Reinaldo Arenas

I am that child with the round, dirty face who on every corner bothers you with his "Can you spare a quarter?"

I am that child with the dirty face, no doubt unwanted, that from far away contemplates coaches where other children emit laughter and jump up and down considerably

I am that unlikeable child definitely unwanted,with the round dirty face who before that giant street lights or under the grandams also illuminated or in front of the little girls that seem to levitate projects that insult of his dirty face

I am that angry and lonely child of always, that throw you the insult and warns you: if hypocritically you pat me on the head I would take that opportunity to steal your wallet

I am that child of always before the panorama of imminent terror imminent leprosy, imminent fleas, of offenses and the imminent crime.

I am that repulsive child that improvises a bed out of an old cardboard box and waits, certain that you will accompany me

Anyone have or had very young toddlers that wear glasses??

2009-05-20T09:05:00.000-07:00

I'm asking because I'm pretty damn sure O is going to need them. This is something I worried about since I was pregnant because I knew her chances of needing them were very likely. My husband has three kids from a previous marriage and all three of them wear glasses, along with all three of his sisters and his mom. So it's something I always kept a look out for since she was a baby. And now the day has come. I notice that when she focuses on something or is watching her show on TV one of her eyes goes a little "cock-eyed". Then when I would call her name to grab her attention it would like move back. And when my husband noticed it (who is always in complete denial of ANYTHING ever being wrong because he thinks i worry too much) I knew that I wasn't alone in seeing something was off. Plus, one of his daughter's has a lazy eye and he said this is exactly how it started off. I am glad I'm catching it now because my niece has a lazy eye and they don't think they caught it early enough and now she is still having problems. It sucks for her and my sister!
But anywhoo, I'm wondering if any of you mommies have kids that needed glasses at a very very young age like this. What was your experience like at the eye exam (because I know it's not going to be pleasant with this child), and how on earth did you get a toddler to wear glasses?? Any experiences or advice would be kindly appreciated. Thats why I love having this blog. I always get great input from you guys!!

Disney Channel is out to ruin my life!

2009-05-19T08:10:00.000-07:00

Dear Disney Channel,
Exactly where the hell have The Wiggles gone to? They weren't on yesterday or today, and as I frightfully looked on my TV menu for the next two weeks I see that they aren't on any day soon either. Exactly what are you trying to do to me here? You are a channel for little kids and you don't effing understand that when a child loves a show as my daughter loves those four stupid men, that they expect to see the show everyday and even know what freaking time it comes on? Did you think that all the children around the world would suddenly forget that The Wiggles? Nothing is worse then telling your child "OK it's time to watch The Wiggles and give mama a break for 27 minutes out of the entire day", and your kid is jumping up and down on the couch yelling, "yay! Wake up Jeff!" over and over, and you turn on the TV and it's completely Wiggle-less. How exactly do you explain that to a two year old? Can you tell me Disney Channel? Please? I mean your company is literally bigger then Jesus, you control the universe, and you can't get 4 men in multi-colored t-shirts to appear on time? Maybe the rumors were right that Walt Disney was a Satanist.
I'd honestly like to know what the meaning of all this is. Did they need a break? It's not like you don't play re-runs of every other show 24/7. Seriously, I need answers and I need them fast. I can only perform "Captain's Magic Buttons" so many times in my living room. I've got things to do! Thanks.
Yours in misery,
Sasha

Because you need to know her......

2009-05-17T19:06:00.000-07:00

Beth Ditto.....

Epitome of Fashion, Art, and Punk Rock.....

If I could only be a quarter of as fabulous and Confident.....

I beg you to tour the US...

Know her and Love her....

Frecklebox Review!!!

2009-05-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

In my life, and my family's life, books are our center. Reading is so incredibly important to me and my love of literature and writing surpasses anything else that I might enjoy doing. I really wanted to pass that love on to my daughter and I vowed that starting from the day I brought her home from the hospital I would read to her every single day without fail. And I have! Now my daughter loves books about as much as I do and it makes me more then happy when she scuttles over to me carrying one in her hand and asks me to "read it mama",or when I hear her recite certain lines from her favorites.
We all have fond memories of books as children. Escaping into another world was such a comfort to me as a child and even before I could read myself I used to love when my big sister would read to me at night and do all the character voices she would do. My daughter has loved books since she could push them along the floor while crawling, and I will do everything I can to encourage that fondness for the rest of her life that I am in charge of. So I love any company that helps to make reading and learning fun, and I was more then happy to get to review Frecklebox.
Frecklebox specializes in making personalized gifts for kids. They strive to make children feel special by making their stories and artwork specifically about the child who the products are being given to. How exciting would it be for a kid to get a special item with their name on it? When I was a kid I had a cousin, one of the people in my life who made books important to me, who would get special gifts and books with me and my sister's names on them, and I just adored them! Frecklebox has personalized items such as storybooks, puzzles, posters, journals, place mats, stickers, growth charts, and party favors. And each item can be customized with your child's name!
Frecklebox was kind enough to send a personalized book for my daughter Olivia. It was awesomely called "Olivia Saves the Planet" and teaches about all the ways to help protect our earth. My daughter was literally so fascinated with hearing her name incorporated with the story that she has made me read it about 100 times since receiving it. I'm not even kidding. I have the book memorized by now. What is even better is that she is already recognizing things from the book in everyday life such as recycling and not wasting water when brushing our teeth. The greatest thing about childrens books is that they teach. So anything that can make learning fun for a kid is magic to me! The way Frecklebox incorporated her name into the pictures of the story is something I haven't seen before. I mean they didn't just write her name into the story, they placed her name in each picture on each page. Like for example (and this is adorable) for the page about not wasting water there is a picture of a big bar of soap with "Olivia" carved into it, and in the end there is a picture of a trophy with her name engraved on it as well. It's really amazing how clear they made it as well as the different ways they spelled out her name.
And what a better gift for a special occasion, milestone, or birthday then to get the kid in your life a personalized gift like that? Seriously, things like this makes kids feel so special, and seeing that look of happiness on their face is worth all the tantrums in the world. Frecklebox has a wide variety of themes to choose from for either a boy or a girl. From princesses to trucks and animals, Frecklebox has whatever your kid might be in to. What is also great is that it's so incredibly easy to customize your item. All I had to do was type in Olivia's name and a special little message from her mama (which I love) and voila! You can even view a preview of what your item will look like before you even get it.
The creators of Frecklebox are Scott and Mark. I had the pleasure of communicating with Mark and he was so incredibly kind. Both Mark and Scott are fathers who had a partnership together in a printing business before called Progressive Solutions. "As parents, these guys take the job of expanding their children’s minds very seriously. And as business people, they’ve been on a relentless mission to explore the possibilities of web-based digital printing."
I can't wait that as Olivia gets older this book will not only encourage and teach her to be environmentally conscience but that it will teach her to spell her name as well. She's only two so for right now she is loving the fact that she is a part of her own special story and it makes me so happy to see that fascination in her eyes. Frecklebox is just one of those companies that you know really cares about the development of kids, along with just plain making them happy. So make sure to check out Frecklebox so that you can make your little one feel special in a really unique way!

Image of the Week

2009-05-15T13:23:00.001-07:00

The Slave Market with Disappearing Bust of Voltair by Salvador Dali

The Things you can learn from Vanilla Joy's Blog

2009-05-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

My sister is a huge craft person. I mean you could walk into her craft room and literally go shopping like you were in Micheal's. And she can just about make anything. Now that she has a baby she doesn't have as much time to do crafts. But still I wish I could have helped her with her Craft Room Organization so that she could feel more enticed to keep making her awesome crafts! One of the ways she could stay organized is by getting some Scrapbooking Furniture to keep everything in it's place. But alas, we don't have time for these things since we are more worried about finding different methods of Discipline for our Children..

Before thinking I have gone bat poop crazy, this post is for a contest I'm doing at Vanilla Joy..hee hee

I don't care if I get 100 negative comments, this shiz is funny!

2009-05-14T12:04:00.000-07:00

Love this duo, and this song is awesome. Sorry but they are 100% spot on! Enjoy!!

Operation Smile - Cleft Lip Organization

2009-05-12T09:39:00.000-07:00

I'm really mad, because I just wrote this entire post and for some reason accidentally erased it, and I swear I almost bashed my stupid computer, as well as my own dumb head, in with one of O's toys. But it's so important that I will sit here for another 20 minutes and write it all over the eff again.

I'd like to talk about an organization that is so so important to me and personally close to my heart. I hope I can introduce it to as many people as I can that aren't already familiar with it. It's called Operation Smile. This organization is a worldwide medical charity whose network of global volunteers are dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children and young adults with cleft lip and palate. Operation Smile was founded by Dr. William P. Magee Jr. a plastic surgeon, and his wife, Kathleen, a nurse and clinical social worker. In 1982, the Magees traveled to the Philippines with a group of medical volunteers to repair children's cleft lips and cleft palates. They discovered hundreds of children ravaged by deformities, and although they helped many children, the volunteers were forced to turn away the majority of those who sought help. The Magees saw the need and Operation Smile was born.
You see I was born with Bi-lateral Cleft Lip and Palate, which means the cleft was on both sides of my lip and required a lot of work. Being born this was is a major major part of my life and everything I have endured because of it has shaped my entire existence. From being made fun of to having to go through painful surgeries all my childhood, and eventually to becoming a drug addict because I couldn't deal with all the memories of what I went through. All of this centers around the simple (well complicated) fact that i was 1 in 700 children born with a cleft lip and Palate. But the thing is, is that I was very very lucky in my situation. My mother worked at the same company for 26 years to get great insurance for my treatments, dental care, speech therapy, etc. I was brought to some of the greatest surgeons in the field to have my last surgery when I was 14 at the UCLA medical center. There are so many children in so many countries that cannot afford food let alone surgeries. It's more common in certain poor countries and South America and Asia, where babies with cleft really need help. And that very first surgery to close the cleft is the most important. This closure helps the baby to eat and eventually learn to speak, and without it life will be very brutal for them.
That is why I'm so happy and thankful that Operation Smile exists. They provide medical and dental care for children and Adults with cleft in other countries as well as in America too. It's so hard for new parents who have just discovered their baby has a cleft to deal with the overwhelming task at hand. They often don't know where to begin in getting their child the proper surgeries, dental, breast/bottle feeding care, and speech therapy that they need. Operation Smile is making it possible for those families to thrive and have happy healthy lives. And they even help with Dental care which is so vital when it comes to Cleft. Believe me, I spent almost my entire childhood in a Dentist or Orthodontist chair.
Without organizations like this, before my family had insurance, I wouldn't have had the care that I needed as a kid. I really hope that all people born with Cleft can one day be as lucky as I was. Today, a lot of people can't even notice that I had a cleft and although I am not vain (after going through a childhood where I didn't look normal at all) I am so thankful for that and hope this can be achieved over and over again with others.I really really urge you to take a moment to learn about Operation Smile and all the miracles they are performing. And if you are in a place where you can donate please consider it. Thanks for reading and please spread the word.

My love for Eric Schaeffer is still a go...

2009-05-10T22:07:00.000-07:00

So since I had like zero followers when I wrote my blogs about Eric Schaeffer, no one is probably going to understand (or honestly care) about the status of my infatuation with him,but that's OK because I write for me and me alone. So I'm happy to say that my adoration meter is tilting a little further up after this recent episode of "I can't Believe I'm still Single". See, my love was starting to falter a little bit with the new season because it seemed more about him trying to get laid (along with his narcosis growing madly out of control at the same time) and less about a quest for true understanding of love.

I was starting to get a little discontent after the last episode where one second he was praising a chick in a cafe and the next he was telling her to get her coffee to go and leave him alone because her hot friend, he was more interested in, had just showed arrived. Something about that irked me. Along with the fact that he falls in love with every chick he meets, just like another ex-boyfriend of mine. Yes I know I should love him for all his kooky ways, even if that means accepting his incredibly short attention span and need for instant gratification that blows cold so quickly. But something about that just seemed a little selfish. Seemed a little too much like someone else in my past that this man reminds me so much of it makes me literally nauseous.
But after tonight's episode I must say that he has redeemed himself a little. Now the crew has finally hit the road and we get to see Eric's beloved banter with the other passengers in the car and with himself. His narcosis is now lovable again and not uncomfortable, and when you see him become emotional after visiting his Father and his sister you can't help but adore the man all over again. Even if he spent most of the episode infatuating about Canadian whores, I'm proud to say that I'm still borderline obsessive with Mr. Schaeffer and all is well in my little world again.

Jon and Hate Plus 8 Debacle

2009-05-10T08:10:00.000-07:00

I came across this spot on post by Diares of the Professor , and I have to say that every single hilarious word of it it so true. I agree with everything he says and have predicted the downfall of these two crooks a long time ago. Yes I am Ant-Gosselin and if you aren't too then something is either really wrong with you, you have never watched the show, or you are just plain slow-witted. I'm sorry but you can't honestly believe that these two money-grubbing Anti-Christians could possibly be good parents.

Octo-mom is mother fucking Teresa compared to these two schmucks. And in all honesty, I don't blame poor Jon from straying from the monster with the dead animal on her head. Really I don't. Put yourself in the poor guys place. He marries a woman that he loves, has two beautiful twin girls that he adores, then even though they admittedly didn't have enough money to do so, his wife tells him she got a message from god or something and took a bunch of fertility drugs and popped out a heard of children. Now here is this dude who is very young and very immature, and he is literally thrust into this incredibly challenging life. He is forced into the spotlight and now expected to hold his responsibility as a father ten-fold. Yes, I believe he stuck around and did his duty because he loves those children. But what Kate did next was so unfair to the guy. When you have one child you need your family there (if you are close to them) to help you out, support you, teach you all the little tips and tricks to having a baby. But what did Kate do? She begun the first of isolation techniques to remove all other family members from the situation. I can't claim to know what the story is behind all that, but I do know that one day they were close to the family and the next moment Kate is saying "These people just aren't in the kids lives anymore". And this was one of several instances like this where family members suddenly disappeared. So here Jon was, a father to 10, without even as little as his mama to hold his hand. And then what happens? She becomes so addicted to the money, fame, and freebies that her head grows so incredibly big that she has no shame in even cutting her own good Christian husband down on camera for the entire world to see over and over again.
I'm not going to go on and list all the many other things that make Kate and Jon horrible and greedy. I mean all you got to do is watch the show, watch their itinerary, and view the proof of all the spending and church appearances. But I'm glad it's all finally crashing down on them. Sure it's sad for the kids, but it's not any worse then all the shit they have already gone through and all the damage that has been done. If Kate truly loved them, then she would be with them right now beginning the healing process. But where is dear Katie? Still shucking out yet another stupid book of hers and appearing on talk show after talk show. And don't tell me that she is contractually obligated to do it either. The bitch has so much money right now she doesn't have to do anything she doesn't want to. I'm sorry but if a huge scandal hit my family, my children would not be left to be comforted by the many nannies that I left in charge. But then again I'm not a snake like Kate Gosselin.

Mother's Day should be everyday.

2009-05-10T00:00:00.001-07:00

Seriously, and I know I'm not alone here, but don't you think that having a single measly day to celebrate the wonderment that is mothers, IS a little bit lacking? Mothers are the key to the entire universe I believe and deserve much more. I may not be the greatest mother by far, but the things that I have seen and witnessed mothers do is truly amazing and worth more then just 24 hours of recognition. We should have an entire month!
I will never forget that first week after giving birth to Olivia. Not only was I thinking, "what the crap did I just get myself in to?" I was in complete awe and wonderment of how incredibly strong and magical mothers actually were. I remember calling my big sister and just crying like mad that I didn't know what I was doing, the kid wouldn't stop crying, I was beyond exhausted, couldn't get breastfeeding to work, and thinking that I had made a huge mistake cause I just wasn't cut out to be a mom. And she said to me, "OK it may not be working out but just think about all that you are doing right now!" Only a mother could put themselves through complete emotional hell like that. You grew that baby for 9 months and protected it, and here you are...a complete wreck but you are still here". And then I realized that moms WERE super-heroes. All the things that they can do and all the hats that they can wear is something so unbelievable to witness. There are so many examples I can't even begin to list, but when you hear about a mother working 5 jobs to feed their kid, or a mother selling her body in a desolate country because her kids are starving, it just makes you wonder why all we get are some presents and a card on one particular day. I'm not saying that everyone is unappreciative, so please hold back on the badgering. All I'm doing is writing about how wonderful it all is if you really think about it. Everything in the universe is created or born....who does the creating and birthing? Everything needs to be nurtured to survive and grow...who does the protecting and tending? A woman's body is literally built to grow life and then feed that life with our very own souls and bodies. It's crazy!
The woman has always been the creator, the starter of wars, the subjects of poems, the despair and longing of artists and Kings. And you never love anyone like you love your mother. A mother can never be replaced.
So on this Mother's Day of course do the usual. Take your wife/mom out to dinner, buy her flowers, let her take a break without being disturbed by her tantrum throwing two year old (hint hint Paul) but try to let that celebration and praise carry-on throughout the year. Remember what moms do and keep that memory fresh. I only wish that we were born with the knowledge of knowing how much our mothers love us. I think adolescence would be so much different if we did. If I knew as a kid how much my parents had to endure and hurt watching me go through the things I had to go through then I think I would have turned out differently. And you only truly understand that deep love when you eventually have a child of your own. And now I can only wish that my child will grow up understanding, if only a smidgen, how complete I am now that she is here. And that I don't exist without her. So please Happy Mother's YEAR everyone!

Poetry Corner - Plath

2009-05-09T17:26:00.000-07:00

Lady Lazarus - by Sylvia Plath

I have done it again.
One year in every ten
I manage it--

A sort of walking miracle, my skin
Bright as a Nazi lampshade,
My right foot

A paperweight,
My face a featureless, fine
Jew linen.

Peel off the napkin
O my enemy.
Do I terrify?--

The nose, the eye pits, the full set of teeth?
The sour breath
Will vanish in a day.

Soon, soon the flesh
The grave cave ate will be
At home on me

And I a smiling woman.
I am only thirty.
And like the cat I have nine times to die.

This is Number Three.
What a trash
To annihilate each decade.

What a million filaments.
The peanut-crunching crowd
Shoves in to see

Them unwrap me hand and foot--
The big strip tease.
Gentlemen, ladies

These are my hands
My knees.
I may be skin and bone,

Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman.
The first time it happened I was ten.
It was an accident.

The second time I meant
To last it out and not come back at all.
I rocked shut

As a seashell.
They had to call and call
And pick the worms off me like sticky pearls.

Dying
Is an art, like everything else.
I do it exceptionally well.

I do it so it feels like hell.
I do it so it feels real.
I guess you could say I've a call.

It's easy enough to do it in a cell.
It's easy enough to do it and stay put.
It's the theatrical

Comeback in broad day
To the same place, the same face, the same brute
Amused shout:

'A miracle!'
That knocks me out.
There is a charge

For the eyeing of my scars, there is a charge
For the hearing of my heart--
It really goes.

And there is a charge, a very large charge
For a word or a touch
Or a bit of blood

Or a piece of my hair or my clothes.
So, so, Herr Doktor.
So, Herr Enemy.

I am your opus,
I am your valuable,
The pure gold baby

That melts to a shriek.
I turn and burn.
Do not think I underestimate your great concern.

Ash, ash--
You poke and stir.
Flesh, bone, there is nothing there--

A cake of soap,
A wedding ring,
A gold filling.

Herr God, Herr Lucifer
Beware
Beware.

Out of the ash
I rise with my red hair
And I eat men like air.

(A crazy English teacher I had in the 10th grade gave me this poem and I've kept it ever since. It forever will be my favorite piece of poetry)

Prissy Green's giveaway for a year supply of skin care!

2009-05-08T14:39:00.000-07:00

Prissy Green is having the most amazinghttp://www.prissygreen.com for Pevonia Botanical. This a definite one to enter!!

FINCA International

2009-05-07T14:27:00.000-07:00

Another post to bring light to something that everyone needs to learn about. FINCA International's mission is to provide financial services to the world's lowest-income entrepreneurs so they can create jobs, build assets and improve their standard of living. Their vision is to be a global microfinance network collectively serving more low-income entrepreneurs than any other MFI while operating on commercial principles of performance and sustainability. the Village Banking Campaign. It will enable FINCA to double its impact: to use the power of microfinance to extend loans, microinsurance, and savings to one million poor families by 2010 so they can effect their own development.

Microfinance refers to financial services provided to low-income people, usually to help support self-employment. Examples of microfinance products include: small loans, savings plans, insurance, payment tranfers, and other services that are provided in small increments that low-income individuals can afford. These services help families to start and build "micro" enterprises, the very small businesses that are important sources of employment, income, and economic vitality in developing countries worldwide.

Because salaried or wage-paying jobs are scarce in many developing countries, most citizens earn their livings through self-employment, creating and operating their own tiny enterprises. But without financial services to fuel their productivity, the poor can never grow their microenterprises into businesses that help them escape poverty. The microfinance movement was born to ease the suffering caused by poverty, and to awaken the global economy's sleeping giant: the under-capitalized productivity of the world's working poor.

By providing very poor families with small loans to invest in their microenterprises, Village Banking empowers them to create their own jobs, raise their incomes, build assets, and increase their families’ well-being. Here's how it works. Neighbors come together in financial support groups called “Village Banks.” Individuals borrow working capital for their microenterprises, and because they have little to offer for collateral, the group guarantees those loans. As businesses grow, families earn more, purchase more nutritious foods, and parents are better able to send their children to school. After a year or more, many Village Bankers make significant improvements to their businesses, their homes, and their lives. Because neighbors support each other while growing their businesses, Village Banking helps invigorate entire communities. Village Banking is designed to reach the poorest of the working poor. FINCA clients—70 percent of whom are women—have no other sources of working capital. FINCA works closely with its clients to help them build their businesses so they can earn more, become part of the larger marketplace, and enter the global economy. In addition to working capital, we provide them with insurance, savings plans, and other services to help them weather crises such as illness or death in the family, or natural disasters.

Please head on over to FINCA international to learn more about how you can be apart of this important movement forward.

The Lost Boys of Sudan

2009-05-06T16:29:00.000-07:00

A really incredible organization having to do with the heart breaking issue that is "The Lost Boys of Sudan" was brought to light to me by an owner of a company I recently met, and who I will be doing a future review for. It's called Hope with Sudan and I really hope all of you will take a moment to educate yourselves about the Lost Boys of Sudan as well as this organization.

(taken from Wikipedia) "The Lost Boys of Sudan are more than 27,000 boys who were displaced and/or orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005, about 2 million killed). In 2001, about 3800 Lost Boys arrived in the United States, where they are now scattered in about 38 cities.Halted after 9/11 for security reasons, the program restarted in 2004, but peace talks were underway in Sudan, and so other refugee crises in other countries took priority. As of 2006, the largest population of Sudanese refugees in the United States is in Omaha, Nebraska which hosts about 7,000 people. A variety of charities helped bring Sudanese refugees to the United States, such as Catholic Charities. A variety of programs have been done to help and understand these displaced people, everything from reconnecting to their traditional dancing to dental work to replace teeth which had been removed by traditional custom, but whose loss is negative in the USA.
Most of the boys were orphaned or separated from their families when government troops systematically attacked villages in southern Sudan killing many of the inhabitants, most of whom were civilians. The younger boys survived in large numbers because they were away tending herds or were able to escape into the nearby jungles.Orphaned and with no support, they would make epic journeys lasting years across the borders to international relief camps in Ethiopia and Kenya evading thirst, starvation, wild animals, insects, disease, and one of the most bloody wars of the 20th century.Experts say they are the most badly war-traumatized children ever examined.
When villages were attacked, girls were raped, killed, taken as slaves to the north, or became servants or adopted children for other Sudanese families. As a result, relatively few girls made it to the refugee camps."

Hope with Sudan is an organization that offers scholarships to refugee youth in need in Kenya, Uganda and the Silicon Valley. Through this site you can donate to this cause, as well as learn how to become a companion, mentor, tutor, or set up a program to tell the story of The Lost Boys to your community or anyone else who will listen. There are also a few documentaries on this subject such as "And God grew Tired of us" as well as others. So please check out this site and spread the word.

Basa Body review, Great products for a great cause!

2009-05-05T12:39:00.000-07:00

I love love love to encounter companies that not only sell wonderful products but who use their platform and proceeds for a good cause. It's so important that when one finds success they remember to use it in order to do good for others as well as for themselves. No matter how you are doing in life you can always find a way to help someone else who needs it. The story behind Basa Body products is one that really needs to be heard. It's a company full of love and selflessness and I hope that I can spread the word about it to as many people as I can. In the company's own words this is how Basa Body began:

"It began with a trip to Kenya where we connected with wonderful, intelligent women working hard to feed their families. We met with the women of Mombasa and visited the first small-scale coconut oil plant called Coast Coconut Farms where they produced pure organic coconut oil by hand. Determined to find a way to assist them in selling their oil and to help them grow their business, we came home and through the help of many good people, created Basa Body (named after the women of Mombasa). It is our hope that by sharing this natural healing lotion with their inspiring story, we can help lift these women of Africa out of poverty and help them become self-reliant. Basa not only purchases all our coconut oil from CCF, but we also donate back 10% of our profits to projects in Kenya to fight poverty."

The Coast Coconut Farm was created to lift rural poor out of poverty. This company’s mission is to provide sustainable employment, management and ownership opportunities for the rural people of Kenya, and eventually, across the globe. It has also provided employment for 100 Kenyan Families. Please read more about about Basa's Story here. Not only do these products help individuals in Kenya to achieve self reliance, but the products themselves are natural and earth friendly. There are many great health benefits of using Coconut Oil that I found interesting as well. You can also go to the Basa Body website and donate directly to these projects, and all proceeds go directly toward projects in Kenya. Basa Body is also developing a "Woman to Woman” direct sales model, with the idea that Basa Body is about women helping women. Basa Body “Mompreneurs” have an opportunity to sell Basa Body products, creating extra income for themselves, while creating employment and self-reliance for women in Kenya who are making the coconut oil by hand in the villages of Kenya." I know that I definitely will be involved in any way that Basa Body will allow me to be, because what this company is achieving is just so incredible and heart warming to me.
Now I also got a chance to sample and try these products out, and I must say that they, first of all, smell like absolute heaven. As soon as I opened the box the most delicious scent hit my nose. Its the perfect combination of a tropical and natural scent, and ladies you will love it. I first tried out the Basa Body stick, which is a natural coconut oil healing balm. Living in the desert my skin gets so dry and so I used it on my feet. Already they are becoming so smooth and soft so quickly. I also used it on this rash I've had on my arms for the past month now. Nothing would work before, not even hydro-cortisone, but I put the balm on it and it hasn't itched since! It can also be used to sooth irritated skin as well as diaper rash and chaffing! I know all the moms will agree with me that I love the idea of using something this natural on my daughter's skin.
The Cherry Chocolate & Mint Truffle soap smelled so good I could literally eat it. It's really like nothing I've smelled before and I love having a scent follow me around that not many are familiar with. It's nice to be different of course ;). Lastly, I tried the Natural Coconut Oil Lotion, which is free from parabens, artificial colors, and preservatives. My skin is sensitive so using something without harsh chemicals is important to me. This also smelled absolutely incredible in combination with the soap.
I loved reviewing Basa Body products, and honestly I would have posted about this company regardless of reviewing the products or not, because it is such a wonderful and important company. Each of my girlfriends and relatives will have to expect that all future gifts will be from Basa Body from now on!... hee hee. But I'm sure they won't mind once they learn what awesome work this company is doing as well as what a beautiful product they are creating. Please take the time to check out their website and perhaps even find something perfect in time for Mother's Day!

Uganda's Invisible Children

2009-05-02T14:15:00.000-07:00

If any of you watch and love Oprah like I do then you saw the episode this past week where she mentioned Uganda's Invisible children. This isn't the first time this horrendous situation was mentioned on her show, and I'm really glad that someone like her (who millions of people listen to) is smart enough and compassionate enough to use her voice to talk about things like this. The first time I watched the documentary I honestly couldn't believe it. Of course horrible things happen to children all around the world everyday, and all of us feel empathy and sorrow for what goes on. But this is truly something that could very well have an end put to it soon if enough people get involved to stop this. So please visit the Invisible children website, watch the documentary, learn about children in Uganda who are being forced to be child soldiers, and about those children who have to be locked in cages at night so they aren't stolen. Seriously, it doesn't take long to just learn about what you can do to help and where to go to voice your concern.

Ummm Can I give this kid back?

2009-05-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

So my two year old is hitting the terrible twos at like full freaking force right now and I am exhausted, stressed out, and re-thinking this parenthood thing (j/k....kinda). I know that tantrums all come down to lack of communication and her not being able to express herself (and her being a brat) but this is just down right crazy now. Before you become a parent, and you see a kid screaming in the middle of the store while going dead weight, you literally look at the parent like they are nuts and want to scream "control your child!". I vowed to never be that parent and now here I am, finding myself completely embarrassed out in public, and wanting to crawl into a dark place and cry "oh god why did I have a child?" I mean this kid is my heart, she is more important to me then air, and my body would literally stop functioning and drop dead if I had to be without her, but these past couple days I have actually had to go into another room, close the door, and pretend I was in my happy place because if I didn't I would completely loose it during her tantrums.
So I need to know how you guys handled this. I know there are a million opinions on this, but I like to hear from real people. I've been doing the time out thing, I have ignored her tantrums completely, but sometimes it still doesn't work. I swear this kid looks at me dead in the eye right when she is doing something bad. And if she wants something she cannot have she will go on and on for hours if I let her. I really don't want one of those kids you see on Nanny911. I really don't want to hear people tell me my kid is bad or question why the hell I am not doing something right with her. It's great that some kids are naturally wonderful...really I'm happy for you if they are. But my kid has always been a high needs, really smart and creative, have imaginary friends and locking the cat in the fridge kind of kid. I love her for that, but I got to get a handle on it as well. So any KIND advice would be greatly appreciated!

National Marrow Donor Program

2009-04-30T14:06:00.000-07:00

In light of a recent news story I came across about a little boy in Manhattan who was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of Leukemia, and who is currently looking for a matching bone marrow donor, I came across the National Marrow Donor Program. Now we all know how important it can be to people with cancer and leukemia to find a matching bone marrow donor in order to literally save their lives. And most people are either too afraid of the pain to even see if they are a potential match, or they have no way of going about finding out if they are. This is where the registry comes in. Now I had no idea this existed or even how easy it was. What you do is, is you sign up for the registry and then they send you a little kit with stuff to swab your cheek with, and then you send the sample back. They keep your results in a data base and when a doctor/patients does a search for particular bone marrow and they find a match in the registry, you then have the chance to save someone's life. Now there is a fee for filing (which is tax deductible and can be paid in portions...and it's really not that much) but that is only because this registry needs funds to keep going. They keep your data on file until you are 60 years old. There are some other guidelines that you might want to check out if interested. I honestly think this is such an important thing that everyone needs to do. I know you hear horror stories about the pain of marrow donation, but just think; a couple weeks of discomfort to save someone's (possibly a child's) life. If you or your family member were sick wouldn't you want there to be plenty of available donors around to help you out? The least you can do is check the site out. Me and my husband are definitely going to be doing it!

Congrats Team Broadsword!!

2009-04-30T07:26:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to my friends Jim Balent and Holly Golightly of Broadsword Comics! Their comic book, Tarot Witch of the Black Rose, was ranked #2 Hottest Indie Comic in Wizard Magazine! If you are comic-book nerd like me you will understand how incredibly awesome this is. I'm so proud of these two. They have come such a long way with running this label on their own, and now it is like madly popular. From across the world people are loving Tarot and it's so awesome. If you like comics, or just beautiful art, you have to check out Tarot Witch of The Black Rose. The pictures are amazing, the characters are beautiful, and the message is very empowering to women (and to everyone). Jim and Holly are honestly the most gracious artists to their fans. They are always there to answer an e-mail or questions, and they have become friends of mine simply from me loving their comic back. I mean anyone who can obtain a personalized autograph of my savior and king Glenn Danzig will always be number one in my book. Congrats guys! you work so hard and deserve all the great things coming your way!

P.S. this is not a review. I'm not gaining anything (besides love) from these two. I am just honestly proud of em!

Yay for progess!!!!!!!!

2009-04-29T12:59:00.000-07:00

Wow other then the impending doom for the Swine-flu. Today is a great day!!

The Senate in New Hampshire voted on Wednesday to legalize gay marriage.

The legislation will go into effect on January 1st, 2010, unless it is vetoed by Governor John Lynch, a Democrat. (let's hope not)

Lynch has said publicly that he opposes same-sex marriage, but has not commented as to whether he would veto legislation legalizing gay marriage.

If Lynch declines to take any action to block the legislation, the bill will automatically pass into law. The New Hampshire House of Representatives approved the bill on March 26th.

New Hampshire would be the fifth state in the U.S. to allow same-sex marriage if the legislation is passed into law.

That's right people! Equality for ALL!

Did the ancient Mayans predict the end of the world?

2009-04-29T06:31:00.000-07:00

The end is near. Or is it here?

You can be forgiven for believing it is.

Volcanoes in Alaska, earthquakes in Italy, war in the Middle East, floods in the Midwest.

And don't forget Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina.

If an $11 trillion debt and your shrinking 401(k) aren't causing you enough anxiety, here's another set of numbers to worry about: Dec. 21, 2012.

That date marks the end of a 5,000-year epoch as determined by the Mayan Long Count calendar, a device that ticks off days since the Mayan mythical creation date in 3114 B.C. It's been hijacked by New Age seekers and seers who interpret its end date as representing either a shift in human consciousness or an apocalyptic event.

Without the portent they impose upon it, the date marks the winter solstice and four shopping days until Christmas, and has the significance of the flipping of an odometer.

But to deny the date's influence is to ignore the network of books and Web sites that promote it, and the end-time themes that are appearing in dramatic narrative.

The two strands intersect literally this fall in the disaster film "2012," which asks: "How would the governments of our planet prepare 6 billion people for the end of the world?"

Doomsday also is the subject of films like "Knowing," in which solar flares threaten Earth; "Watchmen," whose characters are concerned about a nuclear war; "I Am Legend," in which mankind has been decimated by plague; and "Terminator Salvation," in which machines destroy humanity.

Sometimes, havoc rather than destruction is portrayed. In "Angels and Demons," due in theaters May 15, Tom Hanks battles a shadowy group called the Illuminati. On Fox TV's "Fringe," something called "the Pattern" is responsible for a series of ghastly events.

Modern popular culture is rife with such art-imitates-life metaphors. Radioactive creatures ran rampant in Japanese films post-Hiroshima. Cold War and Red Scare-era films were portraits of mistrust and uncertainty.

And much escapism produced since 9-11 is distinctly dystopian.

Dave Gibbons, who illustrated the "Watchmen" graphic novel upon which the movie was based and wrote the book "Watching the Watchmen" about his creative process, said his own "absurd" duck-and-cover experiences influenced the way he portrayed the Cold War atmosphere in the book, written by Alan Moore.

"There have always been doomsday scenarios, from prehistory through the Bible, to modern fiction," Gibbons said in an audio file sent in response to a reporter's questions. "I think it's a perennial concern of mankind that it will just come to an end someday."

Rather than attach any significance to prophecies or conspiracies to doomsday, Gibbons suspects "that if it ever does happen, it will be on a Tuesday afternoon. When no one's looking."

"Going back 300 years ago, it was witches and supernatural beings," said Robert Bonadurer, director of the Daniel M. Soref Planetarium and Humphrey IMAX Dome Theater at the Milwaukee Public Museum.

"And as we moved into the space age, it was flying saucers."

The current round of doomsday scenarios is simply the latest in a long line of such manifestations, said Bonadurer.
Apocalypse now?

And they are a sign of the times.

Jeffrey Kaplan, associate professor of religion at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, said doomsday concerns appear at times of the greatest social stress.

"And certainly we are living in one right now," he said. "And when fear rises, millennial and apocalyptic beliefs crest."

Apocalyptic texts are common to all religions, and most of them celebrate "what comes after the end. The new beginning," said Kaplan, author of "Millennial Violence: Past, Present and Future."

"Go into any church on Sunday and you'll find a room full of millenarians. It's very mainstream."

But when people act on such beliefs and try to "force the end," he said, violence can occur. "That type of violence is a subset of terrorist groups."

This possibility concerns the most objective observers.

Brian D'Amato is "very skeptical" about 2012 prophecies, but he worries about "trends intersecting around now, or around then, that are very disturbing," like climate change and species extinction.

"There is no reason the same people who shoot up a school or civic organization can't get hold of ricin or anthrax," said D'Amato, author of "In the Courts of the Sun," a literary thriller set in modern and ancient Mayan times that combines the scientific and fantastic. In his book, characters seek to prevent an act of end-times violence.

John Major Jenkins, a writer and independent researcher whom The New York Times described as bringing "academic rigor" to the discussion of the Mayan calendar, said doomsday prophecies made in association with the 2012 date "are more revealing about the preoccupations and biases of our own culture" than anything the Maya believed.

But "now that there's such hysteria projected onto that date, there's a sociological probability" something could occur, he admitted.
In the Maya of the beholder

Jenkins said his research revealed that the Mayans believed the date presented an opportunity for "transformation and renewal."

Daniel Pinchek is similarly oriented. Pinchek, author of "2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl," whose title refers to a mythical beast, said that although he "is not a fundamentalist" about the date itself, "it's clear that we're in an amazing process right now, and it's extraordinary the Maya targeted this particular time like a bull's-eye."

Pinchek, founder of the Web magazine realitysandwich.com and the social network evolver.net, believes 2012 is "an opportunity to create a new awakening" and to use "the ethical capacities we've developed to make a world that works for everybody."

But it is unclear what, if anything, the date meant to the Maya, said Andrea Stone, professor of art history at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

"It would have been the conclusion of a major calendrical cycle . . . but we have no idea of how they saw the implications of the end of that cycle or if they worried about it," said Stone, whose specialty is Mayan art and hieroglyphics.

The Maya flourished in Central America from about 300 B.C. to 900 A.D., when their civilization disappeared for reasons mostly unknown, although millions of ethnic Maya remain. Four ancient Mayan texts survived the invasion of the Spanish conquistadors, and what is known about them today is drawn from these writings and archaeological finds.

A display of Mayan pottery and figurines at the Milwaukee Public Museum calls them "the Greeks of the New World."

"The Maya were great astronomers," D'Amato said, and they were "especially concerned with solstices and equinoxes."

This dovetails with Jenkins' research that shows the 2012 date coincides with what he describes as "a rare astronomical alignment" of the winter solstice sun and the axis of the Milky Way, called the galactic or celestial equator.

Bonadurer, an astronomer, explicitly disputes this: They do not align on that date, he wrote in an e-mail.

For her part, Stone calls "the solstice thing interesting."

The Maya "loved these kinds of alignments," she said. And they saw the Milky Way as a "path, a road, a river." But, she said, they were unaware of the celestial equator. And she said they did not invent the long count calendar, but borrowed it from neighbors and refined it.
Learning from apocalyptic fear

While some in the academic and scientific community refused to speak on the topic, Bonadurer embraces 2012 as an educational opportunity.

"We don't want people to be scared of the future, but to embrace the joy of learning, and that is a fantastic process," he said.

Stone thinks Mayanists "are not too unhappy" about the attention, which means they are studying "one of the coolest cultures in the world."

And she equates the transformative possibilities the date represents to some with an experience she had at an open-air Art Garfunkel concert.

"The sun was setting, the crescent moon appeared and Venus, as the evening star in opposition to it, was intensely bright as he was singing," she said.

"And it was so incredibly beautiful I was totally inspired by it and jealous of the Maya. This was the kind of thing they paid attention to. So I don't begrudge the New Age people for getting that kind of inspiration from their calendar and their great cycle of time.

"It is," she said, "something to respect."

By Duane Dudek of the Journal Sentinel

Free Comic Book day!!!

2009-04-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

Free comic book day is one of my favorite days of course, because I am a COMIC BOOK FANATIC. I love everything comic books and hell I even starred in one myself!! So I'd love to remind you all (and if you have kids this is a fun thing to do) that May 2nd is Free Comic Book Day! Head on over to your local comic book store and ask for your free comic book. Tons of fun to be had...

Poetry Corner -Buckowski

2009-04-28T17:28:00.000-07:00

Carson McCullers by Charles Buckowski

she died of alcoholism
wrapped in a blanket
on a deck chair
on an ocean
steamer.

all her books of
terrified loneliness

all her books about
the cruelty
of loveless love

were all that was left
of her

as the strolling vacationer
discovered her body

notified the captain

and she was quickly dispatched
to somewhere else
on the ship

as everything
continued just
as
she had written it

And The Moon And The Stars And The World - Buckowski

Long walks at night--
that's what good for the soul:
peeking into windows
watching tired housewives
trying to fight off
their beer-maddened husbands.

Do most people not understand what a blog is?

2009-04-28T16:17:00.000-07:00

Apparently not, so let me explain it to you. A blog consists of someone's thoughts and opinions. It consists of things that they want to say, because it is their blog. It really isn't that hard to understand? So if you would honestly like for me to solely write a blog consisting of things that you, the reader, approves of only, then you are sadly sadly mistaken. Seriously folks, is it so incredibly wrong to have your very own blog where you can place, write, post, blog, bitch, moan, piss off, and do whatever the shit you want? Really it isn't that hard to simply NOT click on my blog. I know I know, it's hard because you became a follower for a giveaway, and cannot help yourself but to create an entirely new profile in order to let me know what your brilliant little mind thinks of me, and there isn't much I can do about it. But like I've said a million times. There are sooooooo many more things you can worry about in this world. Take the Pig flu for instance! Honestly, as much as you'd love to think otherwise, if you didn't come to my blog, you wouldn't be missed my friend.

Pretty clouds? Or sign of Impending Doom?

2009-04-28T07:49:00.000-07:00

Everyone who knows me knows that my greatest fear (besides something happening to my daughter, although this goes hand in hand) is living to see an apocalypse. I have literally had hundreds of dreams since I was a little kid about it occurring and there I am having to run through the streets from a mushroom cloud, or hide in the hills with a shotgun from looters. So you can see how this little swine flu occurrence is scaring the holy shit out of me. At first I didn't really freak out too much, because it would be mentioned here or there on the news. Then yesterday, after going to the Las Vegas Strip with my family...where there are tourist from all around the world and country....I turn on the news to see that it has spread and stuff. My heart started beating a little fast, and I started to feel a little bit of dread in my guts. I swear to god if this turns into the Superflu or something (I'm a huge fan of Stephen King) I don't know what I will do. I don't even want to leave the house. And I don't understand why they are letting people come from Mexico back into Las Vegas. Hello? The flu is in Mexico...why wouldn't you Quarantine it? Stupid government. And in all the movies the newscasters will say "It's OK. We aren't worried yet". And what always happens? BAM! The movie Outbreak is what happens. Samuel L Jackson was right when he said "I don't be diggin on no swine".

Las Vegas AIDS Walk 2009...Success!

2009-04-26T17:22:00.000-07:00

So last Sunday me, Paul, and Olivia were lucky enough to participate in this year's AIDS walk. Not only was it tons of fun, but it was a major sucess. AFAN raised over 100,000 dollars and over 7,000 people participated.

I just love going to things like this. Seeing a bunch of different people from all walks of life coming together for a good cause, just really warms my heart. And not a lot of things can make me actually feel warm and fuzzy, but seeing others do good, just for the sake of doing good, really gives me some faith in humanity. I can't wait to do it again next year and help raise some more money.
Not only did Olivia get to ride her first pony
She also met her first Drag Queen And I met Penn from Penn and Teller. Can't wait to use my free tickets to see their show on the strip!! Love those Atheist magical bastards.... Along the way we got to hear some cool bands and see some awesome street art downtown Can't wait for next year!

R.I.P Bea Arthur

2009-04-25T20:13:00.000-07:00

As many of you have heard today, Miss Bea Arthur has passed away. Now everyone has their favorite Golden Girl and mine was always "Dorothy". She was smart-assed and sharp-tounged like no other character on TV, and facial expressions alone were enough to cut someone's stupidity to absolute shreds. The other reason this show and this character are close to my heart is because of my Great Aunt Nada. My Great Aunt practically raised me and I have very fond memories of staying at her retirement complex for the summers and watching Golden Girls at night while she fed me all kinds of goodies. She would crack up at Dorothy's one-liners and although I was too little to understand the dirty jokes I still enjoyed watching it with her. As I got older I started watching re-runs and really couldn't believe some of the stuff they were pulling back then. I mean some really dirty shit sometimes and it's funny that my Aunt let me watch it...lol. But seriously, the comedic and theatric world has really lost a very special talent tonight. Good-bye Dorothy....

And as you can tell from this clip I posted, she was a ground-breaker as well.

So I watched Grey Gardens...

2009-04-23T07:47:00.000-07:00

Really, how could I not? You can't criticize and talk crap about something without seeing it in the first place. It's not like I watched it legally and paid for it or anything. And I have to say that it wasn't AS repulsive as I thought it would be.

In fact, it was actually pretty damn sad. I knew the story of these women, I saw the real Grey Gardens of course, but this told the story of how they got to where they were. In a way I could kind of relate to Big Edie. I have a daughter and the thought of her growing up, not needing me, and then eventually leaving me, makes me cry like a baby. Who wouldn't want to keep their little girl with them forever? But of course we cannot do that, and this story shows you exactly why. Big Edie wasn't a horrible, wretched, miserable, and mean mother. In fact, she loved Little Edie very much. It's just that back then they didn't know about mental disorders like they do now, and obviously Big E had agoraphobia of some sort.
Now as for Drew Berrymore's performance, I of course was disappointed but what can I do? Jessica Lang is a great actress so it's not like she could mess the part up. But in the end the movie just showed me that you CANNOT let life pass you by. It goes so incredibly fast sometimes, and the days can just run together, and before you know it you are older and wondering where the hell the time went.

Free Ice Cream Day!!

2009-04-21T19:22:00.001-07:00

Ben and Jerry's had free ice cream day and it was awesome. My sister took me, O, and her daughter and the kid's effing loved it! Hope everyone got to take advantage.

Homemade Beauty Regimines

2009-04-17T09:59:00.000-07:00

Unless you are going to find an awesome deal at CVS for beauty and skin care products, now isn't really the time to be spending a ton of money on them. And you really don't have to if you think about it. I mean what did the women of ancient times do to keep beautiful? They certainly didn't have botox and Loreal that is for sure. And if you look at some of the women from around the world who have been using their own homemade products and natural ingredients for centuries, they are some of the most beautiful people I've ever seen. So I wanted to share the few homemade things that I have been using for a while that work absolutely great. First off I have been doing egg-white masks for about a year now and I find that it really works great to get some tightening in your skin. It's super easy and quick too. All you have to do it get some egg whites in a bowl, mix them up a little so they are a little frothy, and apply it to your skin like a mask. You can use your fingers or a brush or whatever you prefer. Then you leave it on for about 15 minutes. It will harden and feel weird, but once you rinse it off you can definitely see a change to your skin. It will seem tighter and glowing. And always make sure to use a good moisturizer afterward. Moisturizing is like the number one beauty secret in the history of women I swear. Egg white masks are ideal to use right before going to a special night out or something too. The second homemade beauty product I use is cucumber peels. Also very simple. Just peel a cucumber and place the peels all over your face. Just leave them on for 20 minutes while you lay or sit down watching TV or reading. Then when you remove them your skin will be very soft and also glowing. Now my third one is one that I think a lot of women use. Beer on your hair. Drench your hair in a can of beer, rinse, and voila! Instant shine.
I'd love to hear everyone else's natural beauty regimens if you have any. I really enjoy hearing about recipes passed down from grandmother to mother to daughter. Because let's face it beauty secrets shared between women is one of the funnest parts of being apart of the female race!

Oh how lovely...

2009-04-16T14:17:00.001-07:00

So I'm washing dishes in the kitchen today and I hear my daughter giggling like a freaking maniac. I walk into the living room and see that she has done this to the poor cat..

Yes that is a kitten in an Easter basket. The cat totally didn't seem to even mind...

Remake of Grey Gardens = Blasphemy

2009-04-15T08:43:00.000-07:00

OK first of all, they shouldn't have even made a remake of this movie in the first place. Apparently the status of "Cult Classic" has no merit anymore. It is a classic because of what it is, and it can never be duplicated. But if they absolutely have to ruin such a profound movie they could have at least placed a good actress in the lead. She is going to ruin the character of Little Edie. So basically she put herself through isolation and starvation for nothing, because she sucks

I love the IFC channel and Sundance channel because whenever I'm up at 4AM or can't sleep cause the kid wanted to nurse all effing night, it will introduce me to incredible indie films and documentaries. That is how I came across Grey Gardens. If you have seen the film, imagine encountering it after 3 nights of no sleep and a colicky baby. You will feel like you just dropped acid and wandered into another world. For the unfortunate people who haven't seen the film it is a documentary film about two women, Edith "Big Edie" Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale, who were the aunt and first cousin of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. It follows them in the later years of their lives as they lived in isolation and squalor in a run-down 14 room mansion in Hamptons, New York. It's just one of those films where as you are watching what is in front of you, although it seems in your mind it just can't be real and you really want to look away, you cannot bring yourself to. The mother and daughter pair are exquisitely eccentric and although they seem a tad bit nutty you can't help but find them extremely charismatic. Like you could totally sit down with them and listen to them ramble and tell stories of their life and totally not realize that 4 hours had just passed by.
Although it isn't entirely tragically glamorous the whole time. It is in deed very sad as well. To see how these women went from a life of glamor, wealth, and status, to a life of complete seclusion and squalor is very intriguing. That is why it absolutely should not have been duplicated. First off it's a documentary so this was real fucking life! Not something that was made up from the minds of screen writers. This was them pure and simple. So to cast a bunch of actors to "remake" their little world is only going to bring the wrong kind of attention to this story. Barrymore is going to make a fool out of this once very profound and unique individual and that really boils my film-loving blood. Why oh why do they have to remake wonderful films? Are they seriously in that much of a demand for new material because I got about a hundred stories in my head that I'll be more then willing to supply Hollywood with.

Sylvia Rivera Law Project

2009-04-14T14:33:00.000-07:00

Mission:
The Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) works to guarantee that all people are free to self-determine their gender identity and expression, regardless of income or race, and without facing harassment, discrimination, or violence. SRLP is a collective organization founded on the understanding that gender self-determination is inextricably intertwined with racial, social and economic justice. Therefore, we seek to increase the political voice and visibility of low-income people of color who are transgender, intersex, or gender non-conforming. SRLP works to improve access to respectful and affirming social, health, and legal services for our communities. We believe that in order to create meaningful political participation and leadership, we must have access to basic means of survival and safety from violence.

I really love this organization because it is vital to society right now. Many people choose not to understand or accept people from the transgendered community and it's really a shame. Someone who is transgendered is just as human as you or I, and deserve the same legal rights and representation as everyone else. The reason that I love this project is because I am very much against transgendered prison inmates being subjected to disgusting and unfair placement and treatment in the prison system. Someone who is male to female should NOT be placed in general population to be abused and raped everyday. And they should also not be placed solely in 23 hour solitary confinement in order to protect them. Also they are usually not allowed to continue hormone treatment even though other inmates are allowed their prescribed medication. This can lead to serious health and mental complications. If you would like to learn more about the Transgendered community please visit The American Educational Gender Information Service. And please take the time to also visit the Sylvia Rivera Law Project Website.

Real Houswives of NYC tonight....a few words about this Kelly bitch

2009-04-14T08:48:00.000-07:00

So for some odd reason this season they added a new "housewife" who also isn't really a housewife, and I don't really understand why she is there. Now I watch this show strictly for the cat fights, and I think she will bring many on, but I honestly can't stand the bitch.

First off, I don't know if she is applying self tanner, or has rosacia or what. But with her mixed-matched skin tone and her smile containing way too many teeth, her face bothers the shit outta me. No I'm not trying to be completely catty and shallow, but it's apparent that the chick is on massive amounts of cocaine or prozac or something, so her skittish facial gestures combined with her features is really hard to look at. It's obvious she was only a model because she is 8 feet tall, because she is no beauty. Now don't get me wrong, I think if she was beautiful on the inside (which she is not) I wouldn't even notice her facial distortions. I'm the type of person that can see a horrendously looking person as the most beautiful creature if they are good hearted and kind.
She claims to be as loyal as a golden retriever.....no comment. But I think it's completely just part of her act. You can only force giving a shit about other human beings so much before it becomes painfully obvious that you don't. My number one clue is her lack of eye contact when someone is talking to her or giving her their opinion. I have a major problem with people not looking at me when I am speaking to them, and it's even worse when their eyes dart around the room as I speak. It's like they could care less so much that their eyes can't even attempt to focus on the person who is talking to them about something that has nothing to do with them. Call me crazy, but it's just a weird little instinct of mine. One great example is when she was told that someone's daughter had arthritis and her reaction was "Oh thats cute!'. Ummmmm...obvious she wasn't even paying attention to what was being said to her right then, and she had just walked into the room! So, plain and simple, look at people in the eye when they are talking to you, whether you like what they are saying or not, it's just plain fucking rude not to!.....I hope the Countess puts that in her etiquette book.
Now the whole debacle that this Kelly bitch had with Bethany, although really entertaining, was completely ridiculous on her part. She only got mad at Bethany because Bethany saw right through the bitch and called her out on it. Some people get really defensive when they are proven wrong or told they are not the person they are attempting to portray to others. The chick's obvious infatuation with celebrities proves that she is narcissistic. Any chance that she gets to throw in "Oh that so and so celebrity is a really good friend of mine" she does it. And it's obvious she is doing it so other people will know she is somehow connected to the celebrity world. The term "good friend" isn't something that can be used loosely in my book, and I doubt that Russel Simmons gives her a call and asks her to go to Pink Berry with him or anything. Seriously, in this chick's world every celebrity she knows is her "good friend". Shut the fuck up already!
She also contradicts herself constantly, and Ramona pointed it out when Kelly invited her to see her good friend's architecture models and Ramona knew more about Kelly's good friend from Googleing him then Kelly did. So basically, this chick talks out of her ass, her smile is so contrived and annoying, and I'd really like her off of my TV soon. I honestly hope that she gets some community service for beating on her boyfriend, and I hope it consists of her being hooked up to electrical cables and being shocked every time bullshit comes out of her, wide as the Hoover Dam, mouth.

Oh and BTW, no matter how much of a fashionista you think you are, hot pink rubber rain boots do not look cute with a green dress. I'm sorry.

My favorite Causes..

2009-04-13T13:25:00.000-07:00

Anytime you find yourself wanting to troll someone's blog or message board take a minute to breath, reflect, and think of others who are in a worse situation. Here are the links to some great organizations that need people to help in any way they can.

Aid for Aids of Nevada
Steet Teens - An organization for homeless youth
Wigs for Kids
Unicef
Cleft Palete Foundation
Amnesty International USA - Human Trafficking
Antiwar.com
Women for Women International
National Organization for Women
People Against Rape
PETA
AgainstChildPredators.com

I shall flogg myself.

2009-04-13T12:40:00.000-07:00

Got this lovely comment today...lol

Anonymous posted:
Feel free to delete this after you read it, in fact please do - it's just something I think you ought to think about. Do you really mean your profile to be as nasty and snide as it sounds? I got here from Alyssa's CVS Challenge page; I suppose the mommy bloggers there are the "conventional" and "completely annoying" moms you want to set yourself apart from. I'm not a mom at all but a starving grad student who likes getting stuff free, and I understand what you mean - nobody wants to have an image of herself as a diaper-buying mom and nothing else - but I find those ladies very helpful and they sound like nice ladies who are happy with their lives. I don't suppose they think of themselves as frumpy, soulless coupon clippers any more than you or I do. Your page makes you sound like a hipper-than-thou sourpuss who's ashamed of her life. Besides being just plain nasty. I highly recommend giving it a second thought, both out of kindness to others and respect for yourself.

To the coward who was so scared she posted as Anonymous,
Actually I meant for my profile to be whatever the holy hell I wanted it to be. I don't do anything, write anything, or create anything for the sake of making you or anybody else happy. I'm soooooo sick of the boo hoo'ing of commenter's on people's blogs. Seriously, because I find MANY mom bloggers to be annoying doesn't mean that I find ALL mom bloggers annoying, and if you want to generalize them in that way then that is your problem not mine. I'd LOVE for you to point out anywhere in my blog where I described ANYONE as (and YOU quote) "frumpy, soulless coupon clippers" (really funny BTW). I mean it sounds like you seem to be the one who has created that image in your mind, so please feel free to vent about it on your own blog. What I say on MY BLOG is my business and it comes from my own experiences, fears, and feelings of MY OWN life. Now you don't see me going on "I'm a whiny student who has no kids" blogs and complaining about what the fuck YOU do, do I? I'm not "hip" and I'm far from "ashamed" of my life. In fact, after reading your post I'm even more grateful that I'm not like YOU. I mean you are too scared to even post non-anonymously on the Internet for Jesus's sake.
Not that I need to defend something that is MINE, if I wanted to say that every single mom-blog was annoying then I would say that, and not frequent them. My blog is for MYSELF and MY FRIENDS who aren't annoying in the sense that you are annoying my dear. So since you want to make your point so well know, and maybe it will make your day a little brighter I will post your comment as well as my response as a post. And I leave you with the age old golden rule of the Internet. If you don't like what you see, go to another fucking site. Thank you!

P.S. You might want to try getting involved in some volunteer work or perhaps give all that wonderful energy into some well worthy causes. In case you weren't aware, there are a ton of more important problems in this world then worrying if a complete stranger FROM THE INTERNET offended some other complete strangers. If you'd like a list of organizations and charities that need support I would be more then happy to provide that for you. Sorry there are no "Protect the Mom-Blogs" societies that I have come across as of yet.

I Can't Believe I'm Still Single Season 2

2009-04-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

So the long wait of many months finally came to an end for me when the season 2 premier of Eric (my mega mega infatuation) Schaeffer's show aired a couple nights ago, and my thoughts are a tad mixed. Don't get me wrong, I was totally happy to see my fantasy boyfriend on screen again, but I have a funny feeling that this season may not be as rewarding to my mind as the first one. And if this episode set the tone for the rest of the season, I may very well be disappointed. First off,

beside from the original "cast" of Eric, his producer Em (who is adorable and the one true voice of reason among the madness), and the camera man Stass, they added Eric's long loved friend from his drug injecting, whore-screwing days. So far, the dude is kind of obnoxious, and you can only have one attention loving personality in a compact space at once time or else your head starts to hurt. So I don't really know why they brought the dude in. If I find out that SHOtime thought Em and Stass were too boring or something I will boycott the channel. You could lock Eric Scheaffer in an empty closet by himself and you'd be entertained with what he comes up with.
So, his friend is supposedly there to help him along his voyage and "scope" out all the chicks he's supposed to go on dates with. Which brings me to my next point. For this season, Eric has picked out 10 lucky ladies from myspace that he will go on dates with throughout the trip in hopes of finding his future wife. Now I get that this is the whole objective of the show. But what I loved about last season was that not only was Eric looking for love, but he found so much more along the way during the road trip. In each episode he would encounter people from all across America and ask them their opinions on love and life, or to tell him their own personal love story. This is what I ADORED about the show. It was so incredibly sweet and charming to watch him take advice from complete strangers from different ends of the country and different kinds of communities. It not only taught me many different valuable lessons, but it also warmed my heart to hear all the many different stories about how couples met or how they have managed to stay together.
Throughout the season there were many epiphany-like moments that Eric seemed to encounter and it felt like you, the viewer, were going through them with him. That is why the show seemed more personal then anything else I'd ever seen on TV, and that is why there is a second season now. But if this season will solely be about him going on a new date every single week, then having booty-calls on the side, with no other substance in between, people are going to be really disappointed. I mean I'm not jumping the gun yet, because it was only the first episode, but I'm really crossing my fingers that the rest won't mirror the premier. During the episode he goes on a date with a chick named Wendy Ho, a performance artist who sings "fuck me" songs in a black person's voice. Granted, she seemed "kinda" funny at times, but totally not for Eric. And then at the end of the date she reveals that she has a boyfriend and swears that she told Eric all about it. Eric then acts crushed and we are left wondering if this bitch only agreed to the date so she could get some major publicity for herself, or if he just threw her in the mix of potential wives to give us something interesting to catch our eye the first season. After all, she does teach us what a poop noodle is, and I thought I had heard everything.
So, I'm really crossing fingers that this season doesn't bum me out with disappointment. I love being one of the few people who really get and love Mr. Schaeffer, and I want to keep it that way.

I don't care what Gawker says....I still love Eric Schaeffer

2009-04-07T07:38:00.000-07:00

Before recently, I honestly didn't know who the hell Eric Schaeffer was. I remember watching "Starved" when it was still brilliantly on the air, and thinking that he was cute, but I was familiar with all that he had done before. I've even seen bits and pieces of "If Lucy Fell" when it would play on a loop on cable, and didn't even make the connection then. But one weekend last year I was bored, found nothing to be on TV, so I went to my trustee On Demand menu. That is where I found all episodes of Eric Shaeffer's docu/show "I Can't Believe I'm Still Single". After the very first few minutes I was enamored. Then realizing that this was the hot dude from "Starved" I settled myself into watching all 14 episodes straight through.
There was just something about this Eric dude that got to me. I must admit that at first it was mostly because he literally reminded me 100% of a man I had a long and gruelling relationship with years ago. Never in my life did I think I would ever witness or encounter anyone else like this guy. It was impossible! But there Eric was in full glory and neurosis. He truly is a character and it's really hard to describe in words the many different ways his personality pulls him. He is obsessive yet oddly grounded, sees beauty in everything and everyone yet is compulsive about his own looks, he is a yogist and spiritualist yet he's moving at a thousand miles a minute, and most of all he is so infatuated with finding a wife to love but can't seem to stop himself from doing things that push women quickly away.
The whole point of his show (well the 1st season) was to find love. He had written a book on his experiences with love and decided to go on a book tour while documenting his experiences with meeting women along the way. Throughout the entire season we get a really in dept look inside Eric. There are times when I'm not quite sure if this is really him or something he is putting on for the cameras. I mean he is an actor and an artist and they tend to be "on" when they should be being themselves. But if that was truly 100% real I would be existed just being him and living as him 24/7. He is constantly on the prowl using the mighty powers of the Internets social networking sites, talking to women (fans) who are interested in him. Grueling them with questions that literally catch them off guard and only going by his interesting little set of standards he had created for his search. The main criteria are that, first, they must be between the ages of like 23 and 35, because he wants to be able to have kids. Second, they cannot drink or smoke because I believe he is in recovery, and lastly they must be ready and willing to get married and start a family within 5 years. This seems to scare a lot of women, but I kind of agree with him. He is 45 and really has no time to waste on this shit so might as well get cracking. Also, the main theme of his show seems to be the topic of chemistry and instant connection. He says that if there isn't an instant spark between him and a women within the first like second of meeting then there is no point in continuing to pursue a relationship. True, he will still sleep with them in a second, but not consider them to be his future wife. A lot of people seemed to have had a problem with this and I don't really understand why. Chemistry between people exists for a reason. That is how the universe tells you that you have found someone to pair up with, if even for a short while, and continue experiencing life together. Sure you can meet someone you find attractive and nice, go on date, and maybe even marry them, but to have that fierce passion that you only find a couple times in life, there must be energy in the air between two people. Although it may not all still be there right now it was like that between me and my husband. In fact, it was like that with every guy (there aren't really many) that I've had relationships with. But with Paul it was absolutely instant. One true time that someone can say it was love at first site was when Paul and I met. I was 19 and he was completely not my type what so ever. I came to work for a company and he was supposed to be my manager. When he came to greet me in the entrance and I saw him for the first time there was literally a zap that went through me and I instantly knew right then and there that I was going to marry him and be with him for a long long time. I didn't know how it was going to happen, and he barely spoke two words to me, but I just knew we would end up together.
So I totally get Eric's ordeal. He wants that sensation and spark to occur right away when he finds his future wife, but I think that when you are anticipating it the way he is, it makes it hard to know when it's actually happening. Like you may be thinking, "OK is this it? This is it right?" because you want it to be there so bad. But I really commend him for not selling himself short. He knows what he wants, and knows that he isn't getting any younger/
But anyway, my whole point of this is that I swear if I were single I would do my damnest to date Eric Schaeffer. He literally will give a go to just about anyone and although he is semi-famous and actually pretty adored in the independent film circle, he will talk to and date regular people. He has even written me back on myspace before. But for all the people that dig his work and who he is, there are about a million more who hate him. They think he is a disgusting chauvinistic pig who uses women and goes through them like tissue. They think his fetishes are sick and wrong, and overall just think he is a complete tool. But to me, he is the type of guy I would completely and utterly want to be with. I have a thing for incredibly funny guys (not Paul) and more so for men who have deep philosophical insight and ideas. There are honestly a million things about Eric Schaeffer that scared me to witness because these were all things that I either had in common or sought after in guys. I am almost boarder line obsessed with the guy and maybe it is safer for him that I am married. I mean, in my hay day I was pretty good looking, and his standards when it comes to looks isn't exactly through the roof, so I'm pretty sure I could at least get him interested enough to take me on date or preferable to fly me to New York and make me his special vegan brownies. I honestly think I would probably like cyber stalk him and use all my charm until he gave in.
So I can't wait for the second season of his show to start tomorrow, and I'm really interested in seeing if he even comes remotely close to finding love. I'm honestly rooting for the guy, because it would really take a special certain kind of someone to be able to tolerate his madness. And if the universe lines up right one day, maybe I will divorce, find myself living in NYC, and dating Eric Schaeffer.

Las Vegas AIDS Walk 2009

2009-03-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

So for the 3 people who actually look at my blog (and hopefully anyone else coming across it) I'd like to remind you all about this year's AIDS walk fund raising event held by AFAN on April 19th. Thanks to my friend Juwanna who works for AFAN, she graciously invited me (and anyone else willing) to join her team and walk for this great cause. Sponsorship and donations will also be greatly accepted. And not to toot my own horn, I happened to get the Rainbow Club Casino to donate 500 smackeroo's toward the cause! So if I can hustle money for something worth giving to, anyone can. If you want to join our team here is the LINK . And if you would like to donate money or sponsor please go HERE. Gracias!

U.S of Tara part 2. I was right!

2009-03-29T15:10:00.000-07:00

So I just watched the season finale of United States of Tara, and what do you know? I was right! Well half-way right at least. So Tara confronts her "rapist" from boarding school, where she thought her trauma of the rape incident is what caused her to "separate" into her different personalities, and discovered that it was actually "T" who took on the two dudes and not Tara at all. By the way, SUPER funny when "T" reminds the dude (and his wife) that after she was done with each guy the two jocks continued the sexcapade with each other.
Anyway, all this meaning that she had multiple personalities before boarding school, thus supporting my theory that her dad or mom caused her trauma and molested or abused her in some way!! OK so I guess I shouldn't be so excited for guessing right about some fictional character's supposed molestation...but hell...I don't have many things to get excited about in my little world.

Now on to looking forward to The Tudors and seeing my future new husband Eric Scheaffer every Sunday!

United States of Tara

2009-03-22T12:26:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's just that I'm not completely retarded, but I seem to always figure out the "Big Secret" that a TV series will lead up to for an entire season. I do it with movies and books as well, so if there is a story or film that totally catches me by surprise I will rave about it to anyone who listens, because it's such a rarity.
The newest show, with a big secret, to strike my fancy is United States of Tara. At first I totally thought I had this one in the bag, but after the latest episode (I have On Demand so I can watch one episode ahead every week...it fucking rocks!) I am no longer positive, and I'm split between a couple theories.
First I thought that Tara's dad (or both parents) had something to do with her trauma. I mean it cannot be so obvious that that dude at her boarding school raped her like they have been implying. If that was the case then what would be the point of the show? I think it had to have something to do with her parents because "Gimme" made his first appearance when her parents came to visit (peeing on the dad while he slept), and the fact that anytime her sister is questioned about anything she brushes the whole ordeal off like it's nothing. This is either because she knows it was the dad and doesn't want to face it, or because it happened to her as well. The fact that "Gimme" came out again when Tara and her sister were both getting massages might have also brought back another memory of them being molested. Plus, why the hell did the parents send Tara to boarding school and not the other sister? Almost like they were sending her off so she would be out of the way and not say anything about what was going on.
My second theory, although not as strong, is that her room mate at boarding school had something to do with what happened to Tara. She claims that Tara started messing with her boyfriend or something, and we all know how vindictive and cruel rich, boarding school bitches can be so possible they threw that in there to completely through us off.
I'm pretty sure my first theory is right and if they don't reveal SOMETHING in next week's season finale I'm going to be super pissed (i.e. The L Word)!

Mommy.....I love the Misfits...

2009-03-07T09:13:00.001-08:00

Everyone that knows me knows my love for the Misfits. As hard as it is to narrow down one band and call it your favorite, I can proudly say that they are my favorite. My first tattoo was a green fiend skull, and I absolutely love Glenn Danzig no matter how many videos on youtube there are of him getting knocked out with one punch.
So I find it really really amusing and adorable that my two year old daughter loves The Misfits like she does. Some might think that I of course pushed and forced the kid to love them just because I do, but that is so far from the truth. I mean this kid is into Elmo, Mickey Mouse, and Barbies so it's not like I'm bombarding her with horror punk 24/7. One day I was watching a Misfits video on youtube and she came and sat beside me and asked, "What's that mama?". I told her "It's The Misfits, but it's scary so go play with Daddy". But she wouldn't budge. I thought the skeleton dude would freak her out but she loved him, and when it was over she screamed "again!". She made me play that damn video 20 times that night. So I showed her a couple different ones so I wouldn't get completely sick of that one song, and she dug those even more. Then things started to click and she started recognizing the Misfits stuff I had around the apartment. Like my posters, pictures, and clothes. And she was like "wow!".
So now here I have a toddler who knows the lyrics to American Psycho, and Dig up Her Bones. I know people in my family are probably having a conniption fit about me letting her watch them, but I honestly don't care. I think it's great that she is exposed to different things at an early age. Life doesn't always have to only be about "The Wiggles" and "Little People" all the time. She genuinely loves music so much, so how can I deprive her of it?
I just think it's awesome that she is a little fiend!

Mickey Rourke.....I love you

2009-03-05T07:22:00.000-08:00

I know there has been tons of hype around this man as of late, because of The Wrestler. And it's well deserved because both he and the film are incredible. But I have been rooting for this guy ever since I discovered who he was. I remember I was watching Sin City and my husband was like "I think that's Mickey Rourke playing Marv". So I'm like, "who's Mickey Rourke?", and my ever eloquent film-loving husband says, "He's the dude that fucked the hell out of Denise from the Cosby Show, in a pool of pig's blood, in this movie I saw once". Oh! That Mickey Rourke.
I soon after saw him in the movie Domino, and fell in love with his "fuck you all" attitude. And then once I saw 9 1/2 weeks it was over for me. I would let him dominate me and throw money on me as I crawl on hands and needs in his luxury Manhattan apartment any day.
And yes, just like the rest of the world I find what has happened to his face to be unfortunate. I understand that some people do not age well, but to add plastic surgery on top of it doesn't make it any better. So whenever someone criticizes him for looking like Joan Rivers I have to stop them short and say, "hey fucker, he was once one hot piece of ass in his day!"
I would still give him a whirl, even now. He just seems like the type of guy that would take you on a night out on the town, get you really tossed and coked out, maybe slap you around a bit, and then wake up the next morning in a room full of hookers without him anywhere in sight. Yum!

Real Housewives of New York City

2009-03-04T15:55:00.000-08:00

I didn't think anything could beat the cattiness of those Orange County bitches, but these New York chicks are fucking fierce. Apparently in Orange County you don't actually have to have a braincell in your head or an ounce of class as long as you have two implants and an Amex card. But it is some tough work to be able to hang with those Upper West Side cougars that is for sure. These bitches are educated, well traveled, scurry from one social circle to the next, and will not hesitate to talk shit about you right to your face! It's awesome!
Now lets talk about the characters of this season and last. I think the Bethany chick and the Jill chick are fucking hilarious. I love how Bethany isn't "having it" when it comes to anyone or anything, but yet she still has a vulnerable side to her. She is a strong, single independent woman who has made a name for her self in a man's world (as a chef) and I think she is fabulous. Jill is the typical Jewish American Princess. Also a no-nonsense kind of chick that I wouldn't want to piss off. She has a typical overweight Jewish American Princess daughter who she has sent to Paris to get some class and learn a new language, and yet she still isn't smart enough to not wear heels while touring Versailles.
Then we come to Alex and Simon. Where to start? There are already tons of blogs out there about how much these two pretentious fools fail at life, so I won't linger here too long. Now everyone knows my hatred for people who brag about their children and these people take the fucking cake. Not two seconds can go by without having to proclaim some amazing feat that these two children can perform, and yet there is nothing spectacular about that as far as I can see. I have never even heard the little Francois bastard say one word in french. And naming your other son Johan after naming the first one Francois is just plain child abuse. Plus, the chick's head looks like Frankenstein and she needs to invest some of her pretend money in a new jaw realignment.
Ramona simply has Adult ADHD and needs some Aderal as soon as possible please. She has Hershey squirt mouth which is like diarrhea of the mouth but more sporadic.
Now we come to Luanne. Oh Luanne Luanne Luanne. Such a beautiful fabulous woman but good god get over yourself! The scene where she corrects her friend by demanding that she be introduced to the limo driver as Mrs. Delassicunt (or whatever her name is) just made me want to puke as much as she did back when she was a model. Then in season two she does it again! She gets royally pissed off when someone again introduces her by her first name only. What the fuck is the problem here?? She is supposedly writing a book on etiquette and manners and yet she gets a F minus in social compassion and equality of the human race.

Toddlers and Tiaras

2009-03-04T15:43:00.000-08:00

Now I have always loved those documentaries Discovery channel used to do on the crazy ass pageant moms and their "soon to be needing constant approval as an adult and will probably sleep with many men" daughters. And now there is an actual series on it every week. As much as I feel sorry for those little girls, and feel that they are being objectified and exploited, I cannot help but watch the fabulous drama of these mothers!
And can we talk about Pageant Dad please? Thanks. Ummmm ok, does anyone else notice that he is a homosexual or is it just me? His quote alone of "I can't change a tire but I can sew on rhinestones" is enough evidence for me. I don't really understand what kind of arrangement is going on in that marriage but something is definitely amiss in that household. Maybe the wife just thinks it's cheaper to keep up her husband's facade then it is to hire a pageant coach and make-up artist? Either way, she will be coming home to hubby and the daughter's dance coach making sweet love soon enough.

Reading about Dissociative identity disorder

2009-03-02T10:58:00.000-08:00

I, like many people, have a habit of researching things that I am interested in. If I come across something that sparks my interest and I would like to know more about it, I of course, try to educate myself as best that I can. Just like everyone else I had a set idea in my mind about Dissociative identity disorder (or as it used to be called, Multiple Personality Disorder). I've read "Sybil", and have seen 'The Three Faces of Eve". Sybil really showed prime examples of the exact type of abuse that can cause DID to occur. But after reading stories from real people who have this condition and who have endured horrific trauma as children, I am starting to understand exactly why DID happens.
When children experience these types of abuses there innocent little minds do not, and can not, comprehend or endure them. So they separate from themselves to escape and create an alternate personality to replace them who can endure the trauma. That is just my simple way to define it, although it so much more complex then that. After reading some of the stories from people with DID it makes complete sense how this disorder creates itself in order to deal with what happened to them.
These survivors who have shared their stories and allowed me to hear them are some of the bravest souls I will probably ever encounter in my life. To keep going back to that "place" requires more strength then I think I could ever muster. No child should experience these kinds of things, and I will never for the life of me understand how a human being could perform these atrocious acts on a child. If ever I thought my childhood was hard I have been so so completely wrong. I am really really blessed and thankful that I've never had an adult treat me as if I was not alive like that, and that I haven't had to 'separate" because what I was enduring was so bad that my little soul would just shut down.
More and more I am seeing things that make me realize that all my complaints about life are such bullshit. I should thank "god" or whoever every single second for what I haven't had to experience and for what I have. My parents weren't perfect but I at least experienced love and nurturing. Right now I want to hold Olivia just a little bit tighter and closer and be so thankful that she gets hugged, kissed, and told she is loved 40 thousand times a day.
Those survivors are truly amazing people with such expressive and beautiful minds. And I wish that I could just wipe out all the bad people in this world. If I had one wish that is what it would be to do.

Other kid's parents bug me...

2009-01-06T21:56:00.000-08:00

I don't know why this is, but since having my own child it seems that most other parents bug the shit out of me. I've basically avoided all interactions with other parents (except those who are close to me) because of the simple fact that I can't stand them. It all started with one of my first encounters:
It always seems like there is this pissing contest between every parent besides me and I'd like to see the rule sheet for it. So there I was taking my kid to the park for the first time on my own to push her in the swing for the first time (she was about a year old). This was supposed to be an innocent time to create a lovely memory with my child, but instead I end up coming in direct contact with a "one upper" mom as I like to call them. I'm swinging my darling child, while making no attempt to catch the eye of anyone or let alone talk to anyone else around me, when this One Upper decides to speak to me. It starts out with the usual, "How old is she?" and after that she never asked another question about me or my kid for the entire duration of the conversation. She proceeded to tell me her whole labor and delivery story within the first 5 minutes of our chat while her tool of a Husband played with his cellphone and interjected only to brag about random things that he owned that didn't really pertain to the conversation at hand (yes he was one of those).
Now this chick had to be maybe only a year or two older then me and only had one child as well, but apparently that child being 3 months older then mine meant that this One Upper had a wealth more of knowledge then I had and was a complete expert at parenting. As I tried to get a few sentences in with things my daughter was or was not doing at her stage of development, she would always come back with something about how her daughter "already could do that, did it at an earlier age, or could do it better". Apparently her kid was sensational because she could turn on her husband's stereo system on her own. This is where he interjects with, "And I have a very huge, very expensive, and very loud system *chuckle chuckle". Then when I comment on how it's sunny outside and I wish that my kid would wear sunglasses at this age, she answers me with, "oh my daughter loves to wear sunglasses. In fact she never wants to take them off. Isn't that right Sally?" Then she proceeded to basically shove said pair of sunglasses onto the poor kid's face while the little girl slapped them out of her mother's hands over and over yelling, "no! don't want them!".
Next, I made the mistake of mentioning how my kid (who is and was at the time in fact very much developing ahead of her age...not that they would have known since they wouldn't listen if I had mentioned it anyway) was still not walking at the age of one. One Upper then answers, "oh my kid was walking at the age of......well....7 months....isn't that right honey?", she asks her husband. "oh it was more like....yeah 7 months" he responds.
"Wow...most kids aren't even crawling by then!" I say. "oh yeah...she completely skipped crawling all together", she tells me........ Of course she did.
So after listening to these two shrews brag about their extremely gifted child, who by the way the entire time is basically staring at the sun and eating dirt, I pulled out my big guns........breastfeeding. I prided myself on the fact that I exclusively breastfed my kid for a long ass time. I seldom bring it up but I knew a woman like her most likely didn't feed her kid the tit, or didn't try at all. So I mention in a subtle way that I can't get my kid off the boob, and then I ask the "One Upper" if she breastfed her brilliant child. She answers me by saying, "Oh I did for a while but I completely dried up!". Oh lord! I was just waiting for the excuse and she gave me a prime one. Because it's fucking impossible to dry up unless you stopped all together! Of course she quickly changed the subject back to her long and grueling delivery and how her husband yelled at every person in the hospital, demanding this or that because they deserved the best blah blah blah. And of course since I had a C-section and she didn't her labor was much more harder, and much more important and fu-filling then mine could ever be.
God I wanted out of this conversation, and my poor child just sat there staring at this women in silence. Part of me almost gave into the whole pissing contest between parents. I started thinking in my head, "if only this bitch could see what my baby could do...man I wish Olivia wasn't being so quiet right now. They must think she's slow or something". Then and there I knew it was time to go. But before we departed her husband had to throw in a few extra brags about how he'd seen the stroller I had at Wal-mart and was so glad he bought such an expensive one for his daughter...but he barely has room for it with all the toys and clothes she has.....Nice meeting you too.

Two days later I saw them coming out of the apartment a few doors down from me. Apparently they lived in the ghetto too. Apparently they were on low income housing section 8. No wonder he had so much to brag about...

WelFARE is not FARE

2009-01-06T21:46:00.000-08:00

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not completely against welfare. (Especially because if it wasn't for food stamps my ass would have starved when I was pregnant and fresh out of rehab) But today I received a sad little tid-bit of information that Paul and I didn't appreciate very much at all.
So we go in to pay our rent (late rent mind you cause we are poor...but not poor enough to be on welfare), and as we are waiting for our receipt a lovely young lady in house shoes, half braided corn rows, and a mickey mouse t-shit comes strolling in screaming about how our manager charges her too much money for rent. "That shit is fucked up yo!", she screams at our sweet old manager. He then responds with "But you only pay 85 dollars a month ma'am".....
"Ummm...... what?" Paul and I almost fell to the floor. Then Paul kicked me for saying out loud, "Lady are you fucking kidding me?".
She then proceeded to scream and complain all the way out the door, which she slammed behind her. I was speechless after that. Especially when our manager tells us that this happens at least once a day and that Paul and I are only one of three people in the entire complex who actually pay over 700 dollars to live here. That didn't make me feel any better either.
Basically because Paul chooses to have a job we don't get welfare which would help our struggle. And because Paul chooses to have a job with great benefits we get the honor of paying every body else's rent and food while they sit on their stairs all day "kicking it" and blast their stereo system at 3 in the morning waking my baby up.
After I had Olivia and we were really struggling because I wanted to stay at home to raise my own child while exclusively nursing her so she wouldn't get sick every 2 months and so she could also be incredibly smart (and she is so fuck you), and I applied for food stamps (not a fucking welfare check or section 8, just some goddamn food stamps, I was DENIED because Paul made 35 dollars over the limit.....35 DOLLARS OVER THE LIMIT! And this isn't counting car insurance, electricity, clothes for Olivia (not us), gas, school loans, medical bills, etc. ....All because my husband has a job..
So now I told Paul "Fuck it! Let's milk the government too! Why not? We can sit on our ass's as they grow into the shape of our couches, let Olivia be raised by the neighborhood kids as we make 4 more babies (more hand-outs for us!) while the family downstairs, which consists of a Husband and Wife who work jobs that don't pay shit for salary, pay enough taxes to take care of all of us!!

Got to be better then this struggle right?

Proposition H8te

2009-01-06T21:32:00.000-08:00

So tomorrow is the big nationwide protest against Prop 8. I'm going to try my hardest to go, but seeing as it wouldn't be too safe to bring Olivia with me, I'm not too sure I'm going to be able to. If I had someone to watch her that early there would be no question about it. But I feel so bad that I cannot attend a protest for something that I feel so strongly about. I always say that "you have no right to complain if you aren't willing to get up and do something about it".
But all this still makes me think about how this protest wouldn't even be taking place tomorrow if it weren't for the passing of this ridiculous prop. To this day it doesn't make sense to me why some people are so incredibly afraid of letting people be who they are. I just want to shake them and say "what do you care who someone loves?". They don't understand because their right to marry the person they love has never been taken away from them so they have no idea how that could feel. I'm not saying I can understand that pain myself either, because when I wanted to marry Paul I was able to just get up and do it with no questions asked. But even at that time I would think to myself, "what if I couldn't do this just because I was gay?" What if I was in the same situation I am in now but living with a woman for 7 years? (needing insurance but not being able to get it simply cause I was born a type of person whom some people do not want to accept.
I get that there are people who are against gay marriage because their bible taught them so. I totally understand that because they were probably taught these ridiculous things since birth and don't know any different. But what about the people who don't follow or believe that bible? Why should they be subjected to the same rules and laws of a religion they are not apart of? Even my very Mormon sister has come to realize the ridiculous role churches have played in the whole situation, and after having several very long talks with her has come to realize it isn't a choice at all.
It baffles me that one can believe that being gay is a choice in the first place. All you have to do is meet and befriend....scratch that, just talk to..... someone who is gay to understand that it is the farthest thing from a choice, and there are millions of people's stories to back this up. There are gay people who have been ridiculed their entire lives, and had violent acts made upon them because of who they are. Do you think that they honestly would have choose to have that happen? There are gay people who are attempting to live a lie as a straight person because their faith or their families wouldn't accept the way they were born, and everyday they are forced to live a tortured and miserable life simply because they cannot be who they really are. But then there are gay people who are completely happy and content with their lives, wouldn't want it any other way, and could never live any other way if they tried. There is absolutely NO DIFFERENCE between gay people and straight people other then who each group chooses to love. No difference at all.
There was a time when white people thought black people weren't even people at all, and didn't understand that the only difference between them was the color of their skin. I honestly believe that is where America is at today when it comes to gay people. It enrages me that ANYONE can take away someone's right to marry the person they love. Just as a straight person wouldn't want to be forced to marry someone of the same sex, why should gay people be expected to change and only have the right to marry someone of the opposite?
I honestly think that this country has come way too far to take such as step back as this one. Gay marriage isn't going to hurt anyone. All that bullshit propaganda that has been flying around about all the consequences that will follow if gay marriage is legal was only created to scare the ignorant into doing and believing what is desired by "The Right". And that is to discriminate against fellow human beings.
If this doesn't change then I will honestly lose hope in this country more then I already have.

Sorry I ramble when I'm enraged....

My New Hero

2009-01-06T18:16:00.000-08:00

My new hero and role model Beth Ditto. Yes this is her and she is fucking fabulous!! She could eat the face off that flyleaf chick in 2.3 seconds......

To Wean or Not to Wean....

2009-01-06T18:13:00.000-08:00

So after doing a lot of research, reading, and talking to a lactationist, I've come to the conclusion that I am no longer in a hurry to completely wean Olivia. Turns out the benefits of nursing a toddler are HUGE! And not only beneficial to her but beneficial to me (less chance of getting almost every cancer there is). There is literally a laundry list put out by the World health Organization as to why nursing past one is the best thing for your kid, and I've already seen so many positive outcomes in Olivia (she is NEVER sick and is smarter then the average 19 mth old).
Yes, it's a pain in the ass sometimes, and I have insecurities about what people think and say if they see or know I'm still nursing. But I figure .....when the fuck have I ever cared what people thought before? Why should I start now?
So since this is the most un-selfish thing I've ever done in my whole life I've decided I might as well stick to it. Her health is more important then my comfort.

A good article on extended breastfeeding for any future mothers wanting info..

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=245618677&blogID=349412814

Thank God for Books...

2008-12-15T08:28:00.000-08:00

So in a world that seems to be falling apart, and where people are drawing themselves further and further away from each other from the help of technology, it's good to know that one universal love that most people have for books still exists. I swear if the future ever becomes a place where all the fundamentalist end up burning all the books or censoring them, it would be a world I would quickly remove myself from by any means possible. And I mean VERY quickly. Because I honestly couldn't live without books. They are my escape and my connection to the minds of some very brilliant people. If I could only write half as well as my favorite writers I would be truly happy..

But anyway, this year I have read several wonderful books. Of course I've always loved reading, but after Olivia was born it kind of took a backseat, but now that she is older I am trying to consume as much literature as I possibly can. So I'm trying to set a goal this year (a small one) to read at least 40 of the classics (and some newer ones if they strike my fancy) by the end of the year. I'm sure I can exceed that but it's just a minimum I've set. Plus there are like a million more books I want to list but I'll just start with this for now. Now when I was in college I read a ton of the classics (mostly the Greek stuff) but because of what I've done to my brain over the years I've forgotten most of the details and want to re-read all of them. So I've made of list of the books I plan to read along with my own personal favorite books that I believe everyone should read before they expire to the big library in the sky..

Goal Books (to read and re-read):
1. The Divine Comedies by Dante Alighieri
2. Agamemnon, The Libation-Bearers, The Furies & Prometheus Bound of Aeschylus
Oedipus the King & Antigone of Sophocles
Hippolytus & The Bacchæ of Euripides
The Frogs of Aristophanes
3. Æneid, by Vergil
4. Don Quixote, Part 1, by Cervantes
5. Stories from the Thousand and One Nights
6. The Odyssey by Homer
7. Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
8. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
9. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
10. In Cold Blood by Truman Copete
11. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
12. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
13. The Communist Manifesto by Carl Marx
14. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
15. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
16. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
17. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
18. To Kill a Mockinbird by Harper Lee
19. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
20. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
21. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
22. The Sun Also Rises by Earnest Hemmingway
23. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
24. Walden by Henry David Thoreau
25. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
26. The Picture of Dorain Grey by Oscar Wilde
27. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
28. The Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse
29. The Call of the Wild by Jack London
30.Take it or Leave it by Raymond Federman
31. Going Native by Stephen Wright
32. Under the Volcano by Malcom Lowery
33. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
34.Crash by J. G Ballard
35. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
36. Native Son by Richard Wright
37. Memoirs of A Geisha by Arthur Golden
38. Go Ask Alice by Annonymous
39. Kite Runner by Khaled Hossein
40. Lady Chatterly's Lover by D.H. Lawrence

My Personal "must-reads" that I love:
1. The Dark Tower #1-7 by Stephen King
2. Night by Elie Weisel
3. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
4. The Bell Jar by Silvia Plath
5. Poems by Dorathy Parker
6. The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over the Hills by Charles Buckowski
7. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
8. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
9. A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
10. Naked Lunch by William Burrows
11. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
12. The Haindmaid's Tale by Margerate Attwood
13. Beasts by Joyce Carol Oats
14. The Story of O by Pauline Reage (for mature audiences only....very mature)
15. Justine by the Marquise De Sade (again for very mature audiences)
16. Metamorphasis by Franz Kafka
17. 1984 by George Orwell
18. Poems by Edger Allen Poe
19. Short stories by Raymon Carver
20. Dracula by Bram Stoker
21. Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
22. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
23. The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum (most effed up book i've ever read in my life)
24. The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff
25. Disco Bloodbath by James St. James
26. The Art of Racing in the Rain my Garth Stein
27. Les Miserable by Victor Hugo
28. The Golden Compass Trilogy by Phillipe Pullman
29. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Sallanger
30. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
31. The Witch and Vampire Books by Anne Rice

Now I know there are SO MANY more but right now I cannot think of them! *frustrating*

Well I hope I meet my goal. I really can't wait to read them all. I'm the type of person who gets super super excited when I'm about to start a new book. Seriously, when Paul comes home with new books from the library for me, nothing can make me happier!

You never know Part II

2008-10-04T14:25:00.000-07:00

So as mentioned in my previous post I had become friends with two of my favorite comic book artists by a chance meeting. What happened next was something I never in a million years would expect.
There is a major comic book convention every year called Comic-Con, and it's in San Diego. Fans, artists, and collectors all gather to do comic book related stuff such as buy issues, check out up coming creations, and most importantly meet artists. Now, I have been a fan of The Misfits since I was a kid basically. I am absolutely obsessed with Glenn Danzig and everything about him. And I honestly believe he is a legend of rock and roll and needs to be acknowledged as such. He has the most amazing voice on earth, an incredible imagination. and I just could go on and on about why I love him so I'll stop there. Importantly though, is that Mr. Glenn Danzig is and always has been a comic book nerd too. Which I find fascinating and beautiful since he's got this whole Satan Worshipping persona going on and he sings about the "dark side" and all that, and yet you can find him reading an issue of Wolverine quietly backstage before a performance instead of getting wasted and banging groupies.
But anyway, back before I had actually gotten to know Jim and Holly I remember seeing a picture in the back of a Tarot issue where Holly is sitting with Glenn Danzig at comic con. I also had seen similar pictures on her myspace, and I would always proclaim my jealousy to her and Jim for getting the chance to meet him. Even in the issue in which I appear Jim had made mention of my love for Danzig. So, they knew my obsession. I had even planned on going to comic con knowing he would be there so I could meet him.
Of course motherhood sometimes prevents us from doing the things that we would love to do no matter how inconvenient and expensive it may be, and thus I wasn't able to go to Comic Con this year. I jokingly told Holly to get me Danzig's autograph, and to my surprise she told me "She already had it in mind". My god! How awesome would that be, and how incredibly cool are these people who I've never even met in real life to even try to do something like that for me? I kept my fingers crossed and I prayed.
And what do you know? Several days after comic con Holly sends me this picture I have posted here of my hero, my idol, and my dream lover. And he is holding up MY picture in the comic book with his autograph across it. I literally almost died and threw up and peed my pants at the same time. I had so much joy in me I started to cry. Anyone who knows me will understand how utterly awesome and incredible this gift is to me. I've vowed that I wouldn't die until I had either his autograph or had met him in person. I honestly still can't believe it as I currently stare at it framed on my wall right now as I type this.
I didn't just cry cause I was so excited and happy to have this treasure of mine. I was crying cause of the mere fact that Jim and Holly would do something so incredibly kind for little old me. I mean it's not like Danzig is this bored celebrity with nothing to do. He is a freaking god in the punk rock world. And they went out of their way to find him, tell him about me, and get him to sign my picture. Love just overflowed in my heart. And I honestly hope I can one day make someone else as happy as they did me from doing an act of kindness.
And it just goes to show that you never know what is going to connect you to one thing from another. Or what random meeting can change your future outcome. By chance, I had come across that comic book one afternoon, talked to Holly on myspace, and appeared in an issue. Which all lead to me getting something that I have wanted more then any other physical object in the entire world. Now I can finally say that I have a "most prized possession".

You never know..

2008-10-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

It's always interesting to me how certain things can happen that you never expected just cause of one random act or one random meeting of someone new. And I have the perfect example of how funny fate can be sometimes.
I've always been a comic book nerd. I was into anything from Spiderman to Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. And I also used to love drawing things I saw in comics as well. Never in my life could I draw something from my own mind, but I can basically draw almost any type of cartoonish/comic style picture you set in front of me. It's something both me and my sister can do. So I was always on the look out for cool art to basically copy for my own enjoyment of the hobby of drawing.
So one day I'm in the comic book store and I come across this comic book that had the most amazing drawings of these women characters I had ever seen. The art was absolutely amazing, and the coloring was so vivid and beautiful. It was called Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose. I had never heard of this book that was apparently created by one of the legends of Comic Books, Jim Balent. But I instantly fell in love with it. After a couple years of collecting the book and searching all around town and on ebay for hard to find back issues I came across Jim Balent's wife, Holly Golightly's myspace page. Holly is also his colorist and business partner, as well as an amazing artist herself. They have a pretty huge fan base for an independent comic, and are actually one of the most popular comics out there, with back issues being hard to find as well as their worth growing with every passing day. So when I messaged her on myspace to say I was a fan I didn't think she would respond. But she surprisingly did, and even wrote me a little comment back.
Months passed and to my surprise and happiness I recieved an e-mail from Jim Balent himself asking me if I wanted to appear in his comic-book as a drawn in character. I've seen him do this with random friends and fans and always thought, in the back of my head, how awesome it would be to be drawn into a book like that. Apparently, he was doing a special issue where a bunch of fans were going to be included in the story line. I was psyched! My sister Jesso took various pictures of my in fighting poses and I sent it to Jim.
When the issue finally came out it was soooooo awesome to see myself drawn fighting alongside to the main character of the book and a bunch of other awesome women who were fans. The issue was called The Witch Key, and we were The Witch Key girls! From that I ended up meeting and talking with all kinds of interesting girls who appeared in the comic. Girls from all over the country who were each unique in their own different ways. To this day I am still in awe when I stare at my poster and see a comic book character with such striking resemblance to myself!
And since then I have considered Holly and Jim to be great friends of mine. Now, from that another story evolves on how the chance of meeting one person can lead to so many other great and unecpected things to happen. To be continued......

First Post!

2008-10-03T10:40:00.000-07:00

OK so this is my first official posting! Guess I should update, for those who come across this, how my life has been going. Well, most importantly I have a 19 month old daughter named Olivia Christina. She is the most interesting, wonderful, smart, creative, and beautiful creature ever made. And when I look at her I'm still in awe that Paul and I could have created such a fascinating creature. I know it sounds corny, but it's the truth. As hard as it's been to take care of a baby when I mostly still feel like a baby myself, this period in her life makes it all worth it. This age is so much fun to witness. Seeing her curiosity, her understanding of the things around her, and how she is now starting to copy things that we do, makes all the hardships worth it. Every night that me, Paul, and Olivia sit on the floor and laugh and play brings me more happiness then anything ever could. I was going through some really incredibly hard and horrendous things before Olivia came along, and I wasn't living my life in any type of respectable way. But she has changed that. And everyday she pushes me to do better. I'm definitely not a perfect mom, as I'm sure you'll see from future posts. But she is happy, loved, and healthy; and that is all that matters!
Paul and I just celebrated our first marriage anniversary yesterday, which was pretty cool. Before we got married we had been living together for about 6 years, so getting married didn't feel much different. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that I needed his insurance benefits we wouldn't have gotten married at all. I honestly wanted to wait until ALL human beings have the right to marriage before I did it myself.
Well that is all for now since Olivia is screaming "Boobies! pleeeeeese!",which is my cue to go. More on that one in a future post to come!