There's No Place Like Home

One of my biggest fears is natural disasters. I'm especially afraid of tornadoes. As I write this, I'm sitting in my basement, all bloody.

I came home from work today with the hope of taking a nap. I'm exhausted for a variety of reasons - work, PMS, not getting enough sleep because our weather alarm kept going off last night. I spent a good chunk of the night in the bathroom with the window open - listening for a calm before a train sound.

Tonight, I just wanted to sleep. It was rainy today, but it was also sunny! As soon as I turned on the TV to see if Barack Obama had picked a running mate, Derek said it would be like this:

Take cover if you live in Indiana, and hey Erin, in Maineville - get yourself and your cats into your basement. NOW!

Of course, I obliged.

If you know cats, you know that herding them is an exercise in futility. One cat is pretty easy to get into the basement, two is so-so, but three is a bloody mess. Cleo has asthma, so she was all - do I really have to move out of my bed? It's so inconvenient... Indy is a fraidy-cat, so when he saw the basement door, flashes of last night entered his mind, and he started crying. (At least he didn't pee on me like he did last night).

Then there was Agile Allie. Man, does she need a pedicure! After she wriggled her way free and escaped my grip the first time, I found her, tried to wrap her up in my shirt, but she still managed to reach around and get me good.

I finally made it to the basement, our power is still on (hence the wireless connection to blogger), the TV has switched from weather to Extra, and the kitties are starting to look like they'll forgive me.

After the storm's blown over, I'm going to pour myself a glass of wine, give the kitties some Whiska Lickens treats as a bribe to love me again, and get out the hydrogen peroxide and bandaids to treat all the puncture wounds on my back and shoulders.

I'm a little tired of this weather!

Crazy Eights.

All the way from Cleveland comes a request from Amy to play along in this thing called Crazy Eights.

8 things I’m passionate about:
1. Roman
2. Cleocatra, Alliecat and Independence Eli Powell (aka. Cleo, Allie and Indy)
3. Taking photos
4. Health and Fitness (Lifetime Fitness!)
5. TV - in the form of good writing (like 30 Rock, Six Feet Under, Ugly Betty)
6. The work-week-recovery benefit of weekend naps
7. Being a good friend
8. Recycling

8 things I want to do before I die:
1. Travel (and photograph) Ireland, Australia, Scotland, and as many beaches I can get to
2. Learn how to do freeform peyote stitch and actually finish a project using it
3. Learn to speak Spanish fluently
4. Make a difference in other peoples’ lives
5. Start my own photography business, using alternative processes.
6. Spend a long vacation relaxing in one of those huts that live over the ocean
7. Learn how to scuba dive so I can take some amazing underwater pictures
8. Run (or walk) - ok, finish - a full marathon

8 things I say often:
1. ... ok.
2. Hey
3. Ohmygod.
4. Whatcha doing?
5. INDY! STOP IT! (he likes to “play” with Cleo, who doesn’t like to “play”)
6. Duh
7. Gotcha
8. I need caffeine.

8 books I’ve read recently (or am still reading):
1. Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America. Steve Almond
2. The Interruption of Everything. Terry McMilan
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. J.K. Rowling
4. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. Malcolm Gladwell
5. Jenny and the Jaws of Life: Short Stories. Jincy Willett
6. I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence. Amy Sedaris
7. Polaroid Transfers: A Complete Visual Guide to Creating Image and Emulsion Transfers. Kathleen Carr
8. Through the Lens: National Geographic’s Greatest Photographs

8 Songs I Could Listen to Over and Over:
You can find all of these on my iPod right now:
1. What’d I Say - Parts I & II - Ray Charles
2. Times Like These - Foo Fighters
3. Where the Streets Have No Name - U2
4. Debaser - Pixies
5. One by One - Foo Fighters
6. Let Love Rule - Lenny Kravitz
7. Better Together - Jack Johnson
8. Burning Love - Elvis Presley

8 Things that Attract Me to My Best Friends:
1. They make me laugh.
2. They’re interesting because they’re all so smart.
3. They always have a shoulder I can lean on when I need one.
4. They’re real people - no pretense.
5. They make time for me.
6. They put up with (and support) my idiosyncrasies.
8. I can learn from them.

8 People I Think Should Do Crazy Eights:
1. Steph
2. Molly
3. Mom
4. Roman
5. Karen
6. Maurita
7. Angela
8. honestly, I don't think more than 8 people even read my blog :)

Personalized License Plates

I’m all for the clever ones. In fact, I have one myself! Most of the ones you see on the express ways are kind of boring, like “MOMOF3” or “MY BMR.” They thoroughly lack in the creativity department.

I have friends who personalized their plates. My friends who collect Pez dispensers, who are also in the printing business, have “CMYK PEZ.” A co-worker, a graphic designer, has simply, “CMYK.”

A few years ago, I saw a really good one, “SAPPNIN”

Roman and I were at Jungle Jim’s the other night and saw one of the best plates ever. Here’s the picture. Note the bumper sticker. Classic!

Tales from the Crypt

It’s 6:30, and trick-or-treat has been underway for a half hour. It’s a little slow so far. However, I must say, the munchkins have been awful adorable. I've seen two Power Rangers, one frog, a Jasmine, several witches, a storm trooper (oh my!) and an already-frazzled dad asking for beer. Ok, it was Stan, and he was probably kidding. But probably not. :)

It's 6:45 and I’ve already cast my vote for best costume. Napoleon Dynamite rang the bell. After I gave him a Reese’s Cup, he said, “Thank you. Vote for Pedro. Pedro offers you his protection.”

I’ve seen a dead bride, a dead soccer player, Dorothy (Toto was absent). I wonder if I’ll see an Elphaba.

Teo pre-teen girls just came by. I opened the door, and the first thing out of their mouth was, “Sweet plasma!” referring to my tv. Apparently, they told the whole neighborhood, because some parents told me they heard I had a nice plasma.

I really want to photograph the cute little ones, but in this day and age, you just can’t do that. I’ll never forget a few years ago, the best costume I ever saw. A little boy, probably around two, came to my door. He had overalls on, a patch that said his name, tools in every pocket, and the largest ring of keys I’ve ever seen attached to his pants! It was adorable, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget that one. The picture’s only in my memory.

Oh my god... A devilish 14-ish-year-old with a tatoo on the back of her neck just scored a Butterfinger from me. I’d better not see any tramp stamps tonight, or I’m giving up on society all together.

A little boy in a Nascar costume just stopped by. I know nothing about Nascar, so I asked him who he was. "Braden!”... um... “Awesome!” I didn’t know what else to say. (I found out later that Braden was the kid’s name. Maybe next year, I’ll know to ask “Who are you dressed up as?”)

We just got complimented on our sidewalk (by a parent). Apparently it’s wider than those in the rest of the neighborhood. We just had it put in because MI Homes sucks. Our sidewalk cracked after it was poured, they re-poured it, and it cracked again.

A pharoah, a creepy dead-brain guy, a dead golfer’s wife and a dead Minnie Mouse. The latter two probably didn’t have a costume until 5:45 tonight.

A girl with what I think is Down’s Syndrome just came by. She looked to be in her twenties, and I think it’s great she has the confidence to trick-or-treat. She was a mouse, and when she saw Cleo, she said, “meow, kitty!”

7pm. It’s only been an hour?

The girls are getting lots of compliments. They love it when the doorbell rings, partly I think because Indy hides under the bead. It’s girl time! Since Indy’s a vegetarian (meat comes back up), we also give the girls Fancy Feast when we have company. They LOVE the doorbell.

Roman just got home. Apparently he told the parent of the kid at the door that he was surprised I wasn’t sitting outside (I used to). She said “Everybody else is.” I’m a loner, Dottie. A rebel. We’re going outside. Now that Roman’s home, that’s cool - I just didn’t want to sit alone!

It’s over. And I finally had time to eat dinner. Somehow, we have about five pounds of candy left over.

YES!