And a Mess is Not Allowed

Welcome, at last, to Choose and Defend Wednesday! Today is a day to fantasize. Go ahead. Fantasize. Okay...now, come back here and play Choose and Defend :) Here is the scenario...you have come in to a great deal of money. You must use at least some of it to buy or build your dream house. Because this is Choose and Defend, there is this one stipulation....you house is going to be very isolated or right in the heart of a big city. But either way, it will be a beautiful, safe home! So there's that.  Which would you prefer?

City Home

OR

Country Home

Now....remember, for the purposes of our game, although you are quite wealthy now you cannot have both. It wouldn't be Choose and Defend if we did that!  So, Choose where you want to live given these two choices. In addition, please Defend your choice. Bring us over to your side!

And hey, I am a little late with it, but our Saturday Scavenger word for this week is GROW. The games just keep on coming :)  Thanks for playing!

This Musical Message is For Tasted Sin

When Hearts Like Ours Meet

FIRE! FIRE! Don't worry...I didn't yell that in a crowded theater. Just right here, in our Saturday Scavenger Shots post :) This week's word was chosen by the fiery Tara @ Eclectic Spaghetti. 

Was there any FIRE in your life this week? It is the right time of year for FIRE...I'd love to have a FIREplace...although I probably wouldn't like cleaning it. Maybe a nice gas log.  FIRE is mesmerizing to watch. You just don't want to let it get out of control! Fortunately, my FIRE is quite tame. Take a look---

This is the FIRE atop my birthday candle!  It cast a lovely little light and was easily blown out at wish time.  Thanks to DR and Girlie Girl for not putting up 49 candles...that is a FIRE that may well have gotten out of control!

So, I don't have a lot of FIRE...but the FIRE I have is very, very good FIRE. I have no complaints! Does that sound like me? haha! Have a great weekend you guys and don't go trying to put out any FIREs with gasoline!  

I Could Forget About Everything

Hey there! Ready for your Choose and Defend Wednesday? Let me start by saying that today I am tired. As you may have noticed, whatever is going on with me often drives Choose and Defend Wednesday...and so it shall today.  The question I pose to you today is - How do you most prefer to catch up on your sleep?

Go to Bed Early

OR

Sleep in Late

Now, I do know that sleep experts would have a thing or two to say about this. But I'm not interested in that. I am interested in what YOU most enjoy.  Tell us what you'll do - Choose. Tell us why you'll do it - Defend. It is as simple as that!

Choose and Defend! Thanks :)

All Laura, All Day

haha! It's not really. I am actually at work all day. And to further the indignity, it is my late day! I will be toiling away until 9:00 tonight.  Still, as you know it is Valentine's Day. And as anyone knows who pays attention to my not at all subtle hints, it is also my birthday today. Even at my age (49 today, thank you very much) I still get kind of excited on "my" day. And all I had to do was emerge from the womb.

On Sunday, we had our Jan/Feb birthdays family brunch. I was so happy to receive a bit of cash from my parents. They know what I need :)
Today when I picked Handsome Lad up for school he gave me his gift, and also one from his dad. Handsome Lad got me a very lovely watch. He's a man who still appreciates a nice time piece and I appreciate that! WTG, who for years bought anything I ever wore, got me a pair of pants, a tee shirt, and some boots.  He's one of the few people I know who can confidently buy clothes for other people.

A couple of days ago, Girlie Girl mentioned that she may make dinner for me tonight. That would be very nice...we'll see...she's a busy girl. haha! If she doesn't make a meal, I am fairly certain I will at least have a delicious cake prepared by DR. He has been cooking for me for the past week, since he's been back, and I can't tell you what a treat it is. As I've said many times, I don't particularly like cooking...but eating...yeah, I'm into that.  And I know it is all sappy and stuff, but for reals, having DR with me is like the best present ever.

My little bear friend just came by my desk to give me this -

In case you can't tell, it is a "cake" made of three chocolate waffles stacked up. This cake also features a charming banana smile, chocolate candy eyes, and Almond Roca eyebrows.  Fancy!  She also gave me two movie tickets and the most awesome tee shirt.

So, so far, in spite of being at work, I am having a fabulous birthday / Valentine's day! And I know it is kind of silly, but I get SUCH a kick out of FB wall wishes, stuff on twitter, and in the blog world (thank you Tara!)  I feel so loved!

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you! Don't think of it as an awful greeting card holiday. Think of it as: 1) Another day to tell the people you love that you love them.   2) My birthday ;-)

This Musical Message is For Man, Oh, Man, You're My Best Friend

I Haven't Seen the Worst of It Yet

Saturday Scavenger Shots are here...and it looks like I chose a good word for today! WATER. At least up here in these parts, it be wet.  Come see the WATER...

Took this a few minutes ago when it looked like there would soon be WATER falling from the sky. As I post here, it is actually raining. It's very light so far. Maybe not too much WATER up there....

Here's a little blast from the past for you kids. Guess who has two shriveled thumbs and still does dishes in a sink full of soapy WATER? This broad! Um, me. I do. I've never owned a dishwasher. I feel both sorrow and a weird misplaced pride in this fact.

I was going to post a photo of the WATER bottles I store in my fridge. I feel self-conscious though. I know WATER bottles are the scourge of the environment and I should be using a refillable bottle. I'm making a feeble attempt, though, to stay hydrated healthily and this works so well for me. But I promise to clean up my act soon. 

That's all the WATER I am prepared to show you for today. I hope you're all have a beautiful weekend doing the things you want to be doing. Thanks for stopping in....don't get too wet on the way out!

Aaannndddd...Tara? Over to you.

Friday 5 - Bubbles

Finally Friday! What a week it has been. You know I am all happy and sappy, as DR is back and life is just that much more fun :) 

How about some Friday 5 to start the weekend?  I always find it a fun way to just loosen up and start babbling....not that I need much encouragement.  Check it out -

1.When did you last have a bubble bath?  Wednesday morning before work. I nearly always shower in the morning, for speed's sake. But Wednesday was a special occasion and I wanted to start the day in a relaxing and 'treat yo self' kind of way. It was lovely.

2.What are your thoughts on bubble-wrap? I have never purchased it, but if it comes in a package I receive you best believe I am all up in the pop therapy. Aaaahhhhh...

3.In general, how large is your interpersonal-space bubble compared to other people’s? Mine might be a little smaller than the average American's, mostly just because I am around children a lot and they tend to be unaware of the concept of personal space. Because of that constant exposure, I feel like I don't mind as much when people get a little too close...I'm just not that bothered, although of course I remain sensitive to other people's preferences! I'm not one of those close talkers myself!

4. What carbonated beverage have you most recently enjoyed? I have not had a carbonated beverage in a couple of days. Let's see....Tuesday evening's dinner break here at work I had a Dr Chill with my meal. Dr Chill, as you may guess, is Dr Pepper-like, but it is the Albertson's brand.

5. Who in your life can be described as having a bubbly personality? My daughter, Girlie Girl. Usually, I am not the subject of the full force of her personality...but when I watch her out in the world I am amazed that she's my daughter. She's so happy and funny and has a natural gift for talking to people. She's so...bubbly!

There, you see? Just ask a few questions and watch me go - blah, blah, blah....  I invite you play along in comments or on your own blog.   Also, I hope you'll come back tomorrow for Saturday Scavenger Shots.  The word is WATER.

Happy Super Hot FryDay!

Back Here At Home With Nothing To Do

As I write this, DR is on his way back! It is a long day of flying those 3,000-ish miles, with two layovers. Still, he will get in just in time for me to make him wait while I go pick him up after work :)
So...I have traveling on my mind. Among other things.  And that, friends, brings us to Choose and Defend Wednesday! 

If you were going to take a lengthy, vehicle-based vacation which of these would you prefer?

Cruise

OR

RV

Hit the open road or the open sea! Which will it be? Make a choice. A choice that includes a nice strong reason gets bonus points! Okay...there are no points, but still!  Choose and Defend because it is a beautiful day. Thanks :-D

Do You Remember the Time...

Yesterday, I had a visit from the past. My first real boyfriend recently moved somewhat closer, after splitting up with this wife of 12 years. Our birthdays are just a couple of days apart and coming up soon, so we decided to get together for a nice dinner and talk. We've kept in touch on and off for the past 30 odd years, but the last time we got together was a good 10 years ago. So it was really nice to have the opportunity to talk about old times and share the insights we've gained over the years (and years and years...)  There is something very reassuring about talking to someone who loved you once and hasn't had any reason to ever stop.

Our awesome 1981 look.

We went to a restaurant halfway between our places called Orange Hill. As the name implies, it was situated on a hill, with an amazing view. We got there early enough to enjoy the sunset over a drink. We had a lovely, long and relaxing meal. I'm going to ahead and sound all hick-ish and say that I don't think I've ever eaten anywhere quite so posh. The food was delicious, but not exotic. We had 11 oz. bone in filet mignon, scalloped potatoes, and glazed vegetables. We both like dessert, so we shared a portion of chocolate lava cake. Should have photographed that...and the view!

The waiter did take a photo of us at the end of the evening with my friend's camera. Hoping he sends me a copy. If so, I'll post it.

So, the past is rather rosy right now...but the future is even more so. DR will be back home on Wednesday evening! I. Can. Not. WAIT!!!!  Yay!

This Musical Message is For Here Comes Your Man

So Peep It When I Funky Technique It

Today's Saturday Scavenger Shots word was chosen by Tara, mistress of Eclectic Spaghetti.  She demands that we ORGANIZE. Sure, sure...I am a model of organizational wonder. Or...not. Let's see.



As you may know, I work in a library. We ORGANIZE our books by

Dewey Decimal number for Non-Fiction and Author's Last Name for Fiction. 

We ORGANIZE our craft supplies on shelves, often in those plastic shoe box

type of containers. The die-cuts you see at the bottom of the photo are

ORGANIZEd in alphabetical order!

Um, okay, maybe I could ORGANIZE my personal workspace a little better. Since I prepare storytimes with crafts for 60 kids each week I do end up with lots of...stuff..around me.  A couple of times a year I clean up and ORGANIZE. The rest of the time, my workmates are very discreet if they talk about my piggish ways :)  And also, I can put my hands on anything you ask for! So I have that going on.... Internal organizaion!

Now you have had a glimpse into how I ORGANIZE, or don't, my work stuff. I hope you enjoyed it and do not think less of me. I encourage you to think of me as 'creative'. It seems to help people around here. 

Happy Saturday! Now go ORGANIZE a game or a meal or something else fun. And let's hope we can ORGANIZE a word for next week too...

Belated Word for This Week

Sorry for the late post with this week's Saturday Scavenger Shots word. I know there were legions waiting! ha! Okay, maybe not...  Anyway, this week we are going with ORGANIZE. This word was chosen by the fabulous Tara. If you get the notion, visit her blog: Eclectic Spaghetti.  And play Saturday Scavenger Shots! Yeah.

But How Much, Baby, Do We Really Need?

As you read, maybe, I am in a bit of a mood. Of course I thought - What better way to celebrate my blahs than to incorporate them into Choose and Defend Wednesday? Personally, I have a couple of ways I cheer myself up when I am having one of those days. These are quite probably not your ways to cheer up, but supposing that I made you cheer up in Fresh Hell fashion, which would you prefer?

Dance Party

OR
Pretend Spy Mission

Yes, I do actually use both of these techniques...pretty successfully, too! Would one of these things make you laugh a little? If not...would one be less onerous?  Choose and Defend! Bonus points for telling of your most surefire cheer-up technique in comments. Thank you for participating, as you know that will also make me smile. :)

Tuesday Tidbitch...I Mean Tidbits

- I'm tired. I'm not going to bed later or getting up earlier than usual. I am having weird, vivid dreams though, and I think they are disturbing my usual sleep patterns or something. I don't know. But I'm tired.

-Today is my dad's birthday. I called him before I came to work today. I admit to being somewhat relieved when he didn't answer and I could just leave a message. It is always challenging for me to have to speak on the phone to he and my step-mother simultaneously. They seem to have some sort of policy against alone time on the phone and it bugs me!

-My daughter got a really good report card! Yay! But I found out she is 2 units short of being able to get the "good driver" discount on our auto insurance. They bumped up my monthly payment. A lot. I'm so tired of struggling financially.

-My youngest son got a fairly horrible report card. It is frustrating, because he is an intelligent, but unmotivated young man. I've seen him to so much better when he cares to. I am going to have to go very, very hands-on this next semester and try to get him going. It is harder than it should be, since he's living with his dad.

-My current negativity is poisonous and I know that. Hopefully I can hoist myself up by the bootstraps and look at the bright side again soon. I guess that's up to me...and there is some comfort in something, anything, being up to me.

This Musical Message is For The Moon is On My Side

Fritter and Waste the Hours In an Off-Hand Way

Tick tock...TIME for Saturday Scavenger Shots. I choose this week's word. Possibly it was done before, somewhere in the mists of TIME.  I used to be able to go back to AlienCG's blog to see a chart of used words, but during his last change he removed it.  Totally understandable. Luckily, Tara has the most current incarnation on her blog, so I won't use anything too terribly recent :) Thanks Tara, for taking the TIME to keep track!

Is TIME on my side? I like to hope so!  Here's a couple of poor phone photos I took only moments ago.

We have his & hers calendars on the computer desk in our room. Mine has Modern Family quotes. DR's has brain teasers.  This is a way of making TIME that is nice and concrete. You will notice that my calendar is current and his is living a few days in the future. The TIME of the return :)

There are these pinata parts sitting on the floor of the kitchen. When DR gets back, we will have to take the TIME to turn them into an actual pinata...maybe for Miss Personality's birthday! TIME flies. SomeTIMEs...

Hope you are all having a good TIME this weekend. I will have a look around the blogs and see what's what and all that. Thanks for stopping in and wasting some TIME with me. xx 

PS- Can I try one more TIME to tag Silly Rabbit? Let's give it a whirl!

The Word

Haven't heard back from Silly Rabbit this week...she seems to have gone off the grid. So I'm throwing a hail mary pass to myself and just putting up a word. I will try tagging someone else again on Saturday. This week's word will be - TIME.

Play?

Trying to Forget My....

Feelings. This is a Wednesday Choose and Defend all about feelings.  Won't you share yours with the group?  Tell us how you'd prefer to spend your time feeling -

Nervous, but Excited

OR

Relaxed, but Bored

As usual, probably neither is quite ideal...but you know that you must still Choose one or the other. Then you must Defend your choice, as strongly as possible :) So what will it be? Choose and Defend!

Tiny Mind Thoughts

On my mind -

1. Sunday my mom called me to tell me she was retiring from work in May. Since she is going to be 73 on her birthday in couple of weeks, I am very happy that she finally feels ready to retire! Her Social Security isn't much, but she has a bit saved up and she has always been a very careful person. I'm a little worried about how she'll spend her time and if she will be too isolated. She doesn't care too much for socializing. She may end up living with my sister. Not ideal, but probably better than being alone all the time. Her memory isn't what is used to be and we do worry about her a bit. But anyway, for now she seems happy and excited about retiring, so I will be too.

Hi Mom!

2. Yesterday Little Prince had the tubes in his ears reinserted for the 3rd time. They also decided to remove his adenoids.  Everything went fine and today he is bouncing around like nothing ever happened. Kids are so resiliant and awesome :)

Hi Little Prince!

3. Only a couple more weeks until DR get home. I was telling him the other day that when we were apart before I couldn't really think that much in terms of missing him. I felt like I could drive myself crazy with that, since there was no real end in sight! This time though, I have that sort of luxury of allowing myself to feel the things you feel when you miss someone and want them there with you. It isn't a great feeling...but I feel lucky I can allow myself those feelings! When we speak on the phone I say - I miss you. I tried not to say that before. And I don't really think he likes hearing it, truthfully. It probably just makes him feel bad about not being here. But I do miss him. Hoping these next two weeks go quickly!

Hi DR!

4. Please everyone, be thinking good thoughts for our friend Tara and her mom who is in the hospital. All prayers, good vibes, positive thoughts would surely be welcomed.

5. Also, please come back here tomorrow to play Choose and Defend. You know you want to. Or at least you know I want you to!  Thanks.

This Musical Message is For Confront What You're Afraid Of

Baby Take Off Your Dress, Yes, Yes, Yes....

...But you can leave your HAT on.  Hey! It is Saturday and therefore time for the displaying of the Scavenger Shots.  For anyone unfamiliar, this is a game that some of my blogging associates and I have been playing, on and off, for several years now.  Every week someone suggests a word, then that Saturday we post photos that reflect that word in some (sometimes very nebulous) way. The photo(s) can be old or new...they are generally something you've taken yourself, but occasionally someone will put up something they found online that spoke to them :) We're pretty lax about any actual rules or guidelines in the game. It is always just fun seeing people's interpretations of the themes.

This week, the word word word is HAT, chosen by me, me, me!  Here are some HAT-tastic photos for you to enjoy or, um, simply view.

Here are some cute guys in HATs. We all get along because we like 

carbohydrates quite a lot. And wearing HATs.

I call this Still Life with Apples, Cherry Tomatoes, and Wizard HAT. 

You need these things for a good day, yo.

Aye aye! It is I, Cap'n Dork! You don't see me in a HAT too often, 

as I have a giant noggin. But here you go. Enjoy.  haha!

If you enjoyed, even a tiny, tiny bit, this Saturday Scavenger Shots post, I'd love to persuade you to play along too! Just drop me a note in comments and I will come check you out and make all sorts of admiring noises :)  

For next week, I'd like to tag Silly Rabbit to choose a word, if she would please. Thanah queueah.

Friday 5 - A Stitch In Time

Having myself a quiet Friday off work, so I thought I'd do a Friday 5 here. Time, time, time is on my side. Yes. It is.  If you have some time, please play along in comments or on your own blog or even in your moleskin journal.

1.What was your first wristwatch like? I would really like to be able to answer this, but I have no memory of my first wristwatch! I don't even remember how old I was when I began wearing a watch. I guess I never really wore one entirely regularly and now, with my phone almost always on me, I no longer wear one as a rule.  Remember Swatches though?  haha! I did rock one of those :)

2.What lately seems to have been a thief of time? Sleep. I go through periods of time, like now, where I wish I could somehow just skip it. Other times, sleep is a great treat. Lately, not so much. Just let me carry on with other things and sleep at some later date.
 
3.What were yesterday’s quietest five minutes like? I probably talked to myself through them. If not right out loud, then certainly internally. Shut up, laura, shut up!

4.In what way have you lately been saving time? This week was a nice change of pace for my morning commute. My youngest son had finals this week and had to be to school 30 minutes earlier than usual. That meant I could begin my commute 30 minutes earlier. And even though the travel time was the same, I didn't feel as rushed, of course. I got to work early all week and it felt somehow like I was saving time...but I guess I was really just saving stress. Next week, back to the same old mad dash.

5.We are often charged hourly rates for labor, but we never get to reciprocate in kind when promised completion times don’t match actual completion. If you could bill people for the time you spend waiting, what would be a reasonable amount? Hm...if I could bill people for time I spent waiting, I would be a rich woman, no matter what I charged! I wouldn't need to be greedy about it at all. I should set myself a little base amount of, say, $8.50 an hour. That is CA minimum wage. I wonder how much extra I could bring in over the course of each month? I'm guessing enough that I could at least go out for a nice meal a couple of times a month...where I'd make more money waiting!

I hope you didn't find this a waste of your precious time. Have a great weekend you guys...and come back tomorrow to check out my HATS in the Saturday Scavenger Shots!

Never Ever Let It Cool

Welcome to Choose and Defend Wednesday! Today's choice is inspired by one of my assignments at work today.  In just a while, I will be judging a Marshmallow Madness Castle Building Contest. I know, my job is awesome :) So, anyway, I have marshmallows on the brain...which leads to hot chocolate on the brain...which leads to my question for today!  Which do you prefer on your hot chocolate?

Marshmallows



OR

Whipped Cream

What a yummy choice, right? So Choose, then make us feel your conviction and Defend your choice!

****And please note that if you are playing Saturday Scavenger Shots, the word for this week (January 21) is HAT.****

Thanks for playing Choose and Defend Wednesday. Makes my week :)

This Musical Message is For You Cry and You Want to Die

The Sacred Geometry of Chance

Here I am!  I didn't forget! I am ready to do my Saturday Scavenger Shots...today's word, SHAPE, was chosen by the lovely Tara @ Eclectic Spaghetti.  What a great word, right? You can do a lot with SHAPE. Or at least *I* can, because I'm fairly awesome at this game.  Not to brag or anything, but I can basically make anything photo fit in with any theme. It's a gift. 

Speaking of gifts...I got one today! And it is one for my favorite SHAPEs!  Scheck it out, mang -

 This SHAPE is one of my favorites. It is the SHAPE of a book. 

It is, in fact, a book! I just got it today, courtesy of one of my favorite people in 

the world and the chooser of this week's word! Thank you, Tara. You rule!!!

I did some granny duty today and we had some art time outside.  

There were many SHAPEs involved.

Doesn't Miss Personality look intent on her work? The babies, as we call them, 

were in no SHAPE to compete with her commitment to her art.

 

 Here is one of the little foam SHAPEs that we employed today. Lovely.

Finally, finishing up with an image that is not so lovely. My apologies, but really, you must see this.  

I took this picture yesterday...one full week after the embarrassing heel debaucle of '12.  See how I suffered? Clearly my gigantic feet are in no SHAPE to be wearing fancy lady shoes. I am just not fancy lady material.

Thank you for joining me for this week's Saturday Scavenger Shots!  I am going to take a look and see if anyone else manned up here and showed a SHAPE or two.  I hope you are still able to enjoy the rest of your weekend after being forced to gaze upon my horrible, horrible injury ;-)  TTYL, Alligators!

Friday 5 - Type

How about a little Friday 5? We haven't done that in awhile and I always get to missing it. This one is cool and simple, I think. Please feel free to play along on your blog or in comments. Good times, good types :)

1. What’s a decorative font you really like?   Forte is pretty cool.  I use different decorative fonts when I do flyers...not for standard forms, of course. It is fun to be able to mix things up and feel somewhat creative by choosing a decorative font.

2. MS Word uses Times New Roman as the default plain font; Apple Pages uses Helvetica. Is there a plain font you like better?   I like Georgia (which is what you see here) and also one called Lucida Bright. I will also say that of the two mentioned, I prefer Helvetica to Times New Roman.

3. In words per minute, how fast do you type? (if you Google “check your typing speed” or something like that, you’ll find many online options for testing yourself)  Oh, I am not at ALL a fast typist. Especially for someone who spends most of the day on a computer. But I tend to type in short bursts...book titles, for example. And my blog posts are not speedily typed, not quite.  I think maybe 70 on a good day. haha!

4. Who in your life is just your type, but for some reason not romantically compatible with you?  A lot of people are just my type in one way or another. I find many people to be attractive or interesting and I can imagine getting along with them in many ways. But I cannot think of one person who stands out as being "my type", but not compatible romantically. If someone was truly my type, I tend to think maybe the romance might work itself out...or am I just not getting it here?

5. What’s your blood type? The attitude and the blood: B+

Hope you all have the type of weekend you want to have! I also hope you join me tomorrow in posting at least one Saturday Scavenger Shot using the idea of SHAPE.  kthxbai!

It's Alive! Alive!

Our dear, recently returned blogging friend Tara over at Eclectic Spaghetti, has suggested that we give Saturday Scavenger Shots another go. You know how I love that game, so I am all in!  She even gave us a word for this Saturday, January 14.  The word is SHAPE. 
Now, go look through your photos or take some photos and give some SHAPE to your blog this Saturday!!!  Do it!

Also, please Choose and Defend just below ↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓  Ta.

I Wouldn't Spend My Life Just Wishing

Welcome to Choose and Defend Wednesday here at Fresh Hell.  Today's Choose and Defend was inspired by some recent photo-worthy gatherings that I've attended...from the holidays, to the zoo, to Cougar Town.  I've noticed the different nature of those who photograph and those who are photographed.  So I thought I'd throw it out to you, my favorite people to throw things out to! 

Who are you?

The Photographer

OR

The Subject

We've probably all been both.  Even the smallest child can take a decent photograph in this age of digital magic :)  But at heart, you are one or the other...so which is it? Choose. Why is it? Defend.  I await your comments with bated breath! Choose and Defend!

This Musical Message is for You Can Be Addicted to a Certain Kind of Sadness

Cougar Town

Do any of you watch Cougar Town? I watched the first episode or two when it started a couple of years ago and didn't care for it.  DR stuck with it though, and after awhile encouraged me to give it another chance. I did and it ended up being one of my favorite shows...really funny, sometimes sweet, always quite clever.  The name makes it sound like a show about older women prowling for younger men...and it kind of started out like that. But it grew in to a show about the adult relationships that we form with the people around us.   The show is very well acted and helmed by one of the most dynamic writers / producers working in television today. 

Right now, the show is on hiatus. I haven't heard a definite date for its return, but there has been speculation that it will be in March.  In the meantime, the creators of the show, Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel decided to step outside the box and do something to keep the fans interested and enthused.  They began sponsoring Cougar Town viewing parties all over the country.  They promised that at least one cast member and one writer would be in each location. There would be lots of time to talk and ask questions. Also, they would preview an episode or two from the coming season at each event. Ticket giveaways have been organized through Twitter, mostly in a fairly last minute way to keep things interesting :) I was soooo excited and happy when I got the email saying that we were in!!!

Last night DR and I got to go to what was probably THE best of all of the nationwide events. Living in Los Angeles does have the occasional advantage.  We were able to go to Culver Studios where they actually do their filming. Since it was homebase, all of the cast and a great deal of the writing staff and other crew where in attendance.  They visited with the fans in a very casual fashion, right on the fake street that stands in for their Florida neighborhood.  They ran a Penny Can tournament, provided free drinks, and most importantly, just made themselves available for questions, comments, and photo opportunities. 

Me and my new boyfriend, Bill "VDOOZER" Lawrence.

DR and I spent the longest time glued to Bill's (I call him Bill, that's right) side.  He is the most gregarious person in the world.  He is the guy who created the show, as I mentioned.  He also ran Scrubs, which is one of my favorite shows ever.  He encouraged people to ask questions and answered them honestly. He had many great stories. He is married to the beautiful and funny actor Christa Miller. If you don't watch Cougar Town, you might remember her from The Drew Carey Show or Scrubs. Talking to him, and Christa, briefly, was absolutely amazing.

Here are some pictures of other people we met -

DR and Bob Clendenin. Bob plays the creepy neighbor, Tom, on the show. Nicest guy ever.

Me and the adorable Ian Gomez, who plays Andy Torres on the show.

DR and very cute Dan Byrd, who plays Travis Cobb.
DR made him laugh by mentioning remembering him from 28 Days.

This is a dark picture of me with Brian Van Holt. He gave us a tour of the sets and
 I have a small story about his extreme kindness.

He is a better picture of Brian Van Holt, who plays Bobby Cobb, with DR.
Aren't they the cutest?

  They divided the group into smaller groups for tours and had cast and other crew members give the tours.  Our tour was led by actor Brian Van Holt, who plays the hapless Bobby Cobb on the show. He was accompanied by one of the charming writers, Greg Mettler. By the time we were touring, we'd been on our feet for over an hour. Usually that would not be worth mentioning. However, I had decided to be cute and wear these new heels DR got for me.  I underestimated the amount of walking around the evening would entail and I was suffering. I NEVER wear heels and I don't know what I was thinking! Well...cute. I wanted to be cute. Anyway, Brian noticed that I was sort of pained looking. Later, after.we'd toured and I was sitting lamely at this little table all alone, he came up and asked me if I wanted him to get a golf cart to bring me back to the theater for the viewing.  Wasn't that nice? I was embarrassed though, at seeming infirm or something. I declined, but thanked him.  It was one way to be noticed I guess....the hobbler.  haha! So, not cute. But I tried.

Anyway, after another glass of wine and sitting around the big heaters they had out, it was finally our turn to go see some preview episodes of the show. We were in the second group and had a bit of a wait. When we went in, the cast were all seated in front for some more Q and A. It was the first chance to see Courtney Cox, who didn't really mingle before hand.  While this was going on, they were also handing out souvenirs. DR got a Cougar Town tour tee and I got a complete Season One DVD set.  After that Bill released the cast and we settled in to enjoy a couple of brand new episodes. We watched Eps. 1 and 4 from the coming season. At the last minute, we were invited to view Ep. 5 if we wished. We did!  Made me look forward to this third season so, so much...which of course was the point.

After that we hobbled off to the car and home. I think it was one of my best evenings ever and I was so glad that DR and I got to do it together before he takes off again in a couple of days. Go Cougar Town! :)

Happy Birthday, Girlie Girl!

Today my baby girl turns 19!  Happy Birthday Shelly Girlie Girl!  She's kind of my idol :)

Girlie Girl on your right, with a couple of her friends. They make their own rules.

Everybody Gets a Nice Autographed Picture

How about a little Choose and Defend Wednesday? I missed last week...did you notice? haha!  Anyway, I'm not giving it up! Choose and Defend is one of my favorite things ever.  Here we go...

This week, your life just got a little more dramatic.  You will have a choice about what form that drama is going to take. So, would you rather have each moment of your life...

Narrated by Morgan Freeman

OR

Scored by John Williams

  What will it be? How can we dramatize your life?  Choose one and then, please, Defend your choice.  Choose and Defend! It is Wednesday and that's what we do here.  Thanks :)

Welcome to What Comes Next....

Welcome to the future! 2012 is here and I'm ready. Just returned to work after another long weekend.  Not sure how I will be able to make it through a standard work week after the past couple of abbreviated weeks!

Had a great New Year's Eve. DR and I went to his sister's house for lasagna, board games, and sparkling cider at midnight. I really appreciate how welcoming his family has been....and I'm even willing to learn games for them :)  We ended up staying over there until around 5 am, then we drove on home and went to bed for a few hours.

On New Year's day, we went to the zoo with Kick Back Dude's family.  I was not in picture taking mode at all...not sure why! But there are pictures somewhere and I will post them if anyone sends them to me. The weather has been so sunny and pretty and the animals were so active. It was a really fun, but tiring day.

But here now...listen to this bit of bad news.  Not BAD bad...just, you know, not good.  DR is going to back to NC for another month. I am told his round trip ticket is Jan 10-Feb 8.  His mom would like one last bit of assistance as she gets settled into her new place.  So, I'm not exactly thrilled.  But am I going to be the horrible person who would deny his elderly mother help in getting situated?  That doesn't sound like me :) But honestly, I am feeling a bit resentful.  They had a year and a half to do all of their projects. Also, I'm upset because like when he left the first time, it was presented more or less fait accompli. I tend to think they had this plan in mind for some time.  DR didn't want to ruin at least the beginning of our time together, but by NYE he had to tell me or risk me hearing about it from someone else. 

Anway, if it is really a month, fine. I mean, what is really to be done in this sort of situation? I appreciate his sense of responsibility to his family.  I hope someday I will mean enough to engender those feelings of commitment.  I did have to say, though, that I am not willing to pin all my hopes on some date they've laid out. As I've seen, anything can happen.  So when he is at the airport then I will get excited again about his presence in my life. I'm going to try and enjoy this week, wish him a nice trip, and then just wait and see. I seem to be alright at doing that.