Greetings from Justinland

MMQB

Welcome to the Hotel California Edition

Favorite Fast Food: Arby’s Roast Beef and Big Eye Swiss, the au jus is a little difficult to handle while driving, so save this one for when you get to the office.

Weird stuff I bought on Ebay: A bamboo tabletop fountain. It’s a feng shui thing

Most Dangerous Obsession of the Week: M2

Second Most Dangerous Obsession: M2 and Rianne and I must say that if you are mature enough to own seductive undergarments, you should be mature enough not to leave them in the public areas of the house. Can I get an Amen!?

Song of the Week: Hotel California, of course. Such a lovely place.

Sock on the Needle: Some multi-colored thing by Berroco that I am not digging at ALL.

Future Mrs. Travis of the Week: Rosie and wife. You go, gurlfriends

Democrat: I don’t like any of them and I hate the whole idea of the lesser of the two evils. We deserve better

Reading: Dr Phil ‘Relationship Rescue’. Freud may have his own slippers, but Phil has a teevee show

Movie I Want to See: I’ve never seen any of the ‘Lord of the Ring movies’, could it be time?

$$$ spent at Target: $472. Yeah, I went a little crazy. Acquisition therapy?

Disappointment of the Week: My asshole behavior

Recipe of the Week:It involved chicken, tortillas, rice, red pepper,sour cream and black olives.

Where I Wish I was Instead of Here: Palm Springs, Living it up at the Hotel California. Anytime of year, you can find it here

Close Encounter of the Tantric kind: see above

Health: other than the tsunami inside my head? and the feeling that my eyes are on fire? Oh, and my mind is Tiffany twisted

Goal for the coming week: Smile, be happy and quit being an idiot…and moisturize, because I got a pretty little tan in PS.

Stupidest thing I have done all week: Ok, I am coming out of the grocery store and I have a gallon of milk in the left hand, several bags of groceries in the right (plastic, not paper) Car keys are in the right jean pocket. So I have to switch groceries to left hand to get the keys out. I place the jug of milk on the roof of the Expedition, but I forgot that I had left the sunroof open. Milk crashes thru the roof, hits the dash and explodes all over the leather interior of Ray’s SUV. Don’t tell him, OK

Mirrors on the ceiling; drink champagne on ice. She said "We are all just prisoners here of our own device"

JJ Answers the Friday Five, on Thursday

...and so can you

What one thing are you most looking forward to. . .
1. ...today?

Dinner with the kids and hubbies and reading some more in Edmund White’s ‘ A Married Man’

2. ...over the next week?

Miss Becky turns sweet 16 Saturday and wait until you see her present. Wow! Also the Chiefs will be defeating the Colts and moving on to the next round in the playoffs. That's footballs,kiddies.

3. ...this year?

November 2, 2004 Anybody but Bush. Please

4. ...over the next five years?

Career opportunities that take us someplace other than Kansas.

5. ...for the rest of your life?

Getting older and wiser and finally finishing the mates to all these damn single socks

Now, it's your turn

the Friday Five

Dr JJ answers the Friday Five because I am still feeling to crappy to have an original thought. You can answer too, Won't that be fun?

1.Do you enjoy the cold weather and snow for the holidays?

I think that snow is one of those things we idealize in Christmas songs, but no one really likes to deal with it. Snow is best when it’s outside the window of your cozy home and no one has to go out. I must be getting old because the idea of knitting with a cat on my lap sounds nice. Wednesday morning my car was covered with ice and I had to use a blow dryer and a crowbar to get inside. That was festive.

2. What is your ideal holiday celebration? How, where, with whom would you celebrate to make things perfect?

About now Christmas on the beach at Cancun sounds good. Where doesn’t matter as long as you are with the people you love. Since there is no ‘perfect’ you should prepare yourself to embrace all the little unperfect moments. Like when Baby Harry pitched a ball into the middle of the Christmas dinner table and took out several hundred dollars of Waterford crystal. I said ‘We’ll laugh about this next year’

3. Do you do have any holiday traditions?

We have a sun instead of a star at the top of our Christmas tree. It’s a Pagan thing. The biggest family tradition is that I am always finishing a handmade gift Christmas Eve.

4. Do you do anything to help the needy?

I knitted some cute hats and scarves for Project Warmth and we always support the St Joseph’s Indian School. One of their alumini is precious to me.

5. What one gift would you like for yourself?

I’d like my throat to stop hurting

How about you?

The Friday Five: Monday Edition

This week the questions were fun:

1. If your life were a movie, what would the title be?

"Family Values" and I’d want Tim Burton to direct

2. What songs would be on the soundtrack?:

Madness ‘Our House’

John Lennon’s ‘Nobody told Me There’d Be Days Like This’

Robert Palmer ‘Bad Case Of Loving You’

Seal 'Crazy'

Van Halen ‘Jump’

B-52s ‘Love Shack’

and some Lakota flute music

3. Would it be a live-action film or animated? Why?

Can’t I have both? Like ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’? Looney Tunes Chuck Jones animation would be nice.

Why?

1. Because Chuck was the best.

2. We could explore the secret lives of the family pets.

3. I want Super Hero Powers, mind reading would be cool

4. Hawk would look HOT as an anime character.

5. Inanimate objects could talk back, Disney style, like a wheezing refrigerator. 'Help me Hawk, I'm dying!!!!' Don't you love the big production number in 'Beauty and the Beast' with all the kitchen utensils? I want talking food, too.

6. I always wanted those little angels and devils whispering in my ear

4. Casting: who would play you, members of your family, friends, etc?

Me: the adorable Meg Ryan

Hawk: the smoldering Antonio Banderas

Michael: Johnny Depp with Asian eyes and a long wig

Miss B:Christina Ricci, as Wednesday Addams

Maria: Julie Andrews or Natalie Wood (it’s a joke, son)

Craigory the Boyfriend: Ashton Kutcher

Mom and Dad: Kenny Rogers and Stevie Nicks

Sister Betsy: Martha Stewart

Sister Lacy: Bettie Page

Adam the Witch: Popup screen on a Gateway Computer

Dorothy the Cleaning lady: Oprah

5. Describe the movie preview/trailer.

Think Saturday Morning Cartoons with a Darkside

And since YOU are a part of the happy Justinland gang, who is gonna play YOU

50 Questions, 50 Smartass Answers

Some nosy person sent me these 50 questions to answer. You can answer them too

1. Your name spelled backward. Nitsuj....sounds Japanese, doesn’t it?

2. Where were your parents born?My mother was born in St Louis, Mo and my Dad was born in Excelsior Spring, Mo. Missouri is the ‘Show Me’ state

3. What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer?Santana with Michelle Branch, ‘The Game of Love’ BTW, The Santana ‘Shaman’ CD is pretty good

4. What's your favorite restaurant?/The $6.95 Chinese Buffet. Try the Lemon Chicken

5. Last time you swam in a pool?/Sunday with Maria at the Country Club. Beat painting with Ray and Mikey

6. Have you ever been in a school play?/Yeah, I played ‘Will’ in ‘Oklahomo’ In High School and I was a lineless cherub in another play. Stop laughing

7. How many kids do you want?/ Well, I’d like to have more and I know Ray wants a son someday, but no mater how hard we try, I don't seem to get knocked up. We’ll see what happens. I love kids, its people my own age that scare me.

8. Type of music you dislike most?/ Anything that Miss B likes, I hate. The Insane Clown Posse, what's up with that?

9. Are you registered to vote?/Of Course, aren’t you?

10. Do you have cable?/Yeah, $73/month worth and I only watch the ballgame and Food TV

11. Have you ever ridden on a moped?/No, I don’t like motorcycles. Life is precious

12. Ever prank call anybody?/Of course not,that is sooo rude

13. Ever get a parking ticket?/Yeah and it pissed me off because ½ the car was parked legally so I thought I should only have to pay ½ the amount.

14. Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving?/I don’t see that happening. See answer 11

15.Furthest place you ever traveled./ New Zealand, as far away as you can go without coming back

16. Do you have a garden?/I have an herb garden; Ray and Mikey have a REAL garden that requires work and sweat.

17. What's your favorite comic strip? /'Cathy' don’t ask me why

18. Do you really know all the words to your national anthem?/ “…and the Home of the Brave. PLAY BALL!’

19. Bath or Shower, morning or night?/Morning Shower or else I don’t wake up.

20. Best movie you've seen in the past month?/‘Finding Nemo’

21. Favorite pizza topping?/Chicken, Basil, Spinach, Artichoke and black olives with alfredo sauce

22. Chips or popcorn?/Lets see the fat grams first.

23. What color lipstick do you usually wear?/Hmmph! What kind of a boy do you think I am? I do have a Pink Lemonade Lip Smacker. Did you know you can use that stuff as lube in an emergency?

24. Have you ever smoked peanut shells?/Huh?

25. Have you ever been in a beauty pageant?/No, but I was once Mr June on a now defunct website called www.myboyfriendsbutt.com

26. Orange or Apple juice? /Orange, but I don’t like pulp.

27. Who was the last person you went out to dinner with and where did you dine?/Becky and Maria, we went to Applebees.

28. Favorite type chocolate bar?/Dark Dove

29. When was the last time you voted at the polls? /November 2002

30. Last time you ate a homegrown tomato?/ Yesterday

31. Have you ever won a trophy?/Yes, in fact my high school baseball team took the state championship. Go Lancers

32. Are you a good cook?/Anybody that can read and find the garlic can cook

33. Do you know how to pump your own gas?/When was the last time you saw a gas station where you didn’t have to pump your own gas? I haven’t a clue how to change the oil, however

34. Ever order an article from an infomercial?/Yeah, I bought the Incredible draining Pasta Pot, but Ray wins this one. He bought the Bow-Flex

35. Sprite or 7-Up?/Sprite is good for an upset tummy

36. Have you ever had to wear a uniform to work?/Do scrubs count?

37. Last thing you bought at a pharmacy?/30 day supply of Celebrex and a gallon of 2% Milk

38. Ever throw up in public?/Is the backroom of a very dark gay bar considered public?

39. Would you prefer being a millionaire or find true love? /I have true love, show me the money.

40. Do you believe in love at first sight? /Yes, I’m Certain that it happens all the time

41. Ever call a 1-900 number?/Yeah, Madame Cleo said that one day I would answer a bunch of silly questions online and waste an entire hour thinking up smart ass answers

42. Can exes be friends?/Ex –wives are Ok, but no Ex boyfriends There is a reason they are the EX. I’m a Scorpio, remember.

43. Who was the last person you visited in a hospital?/Uncle John, he’s doing well, thanks for asking

44. Did you have a lot of hair when you were a baby?/I don’t remember. I was very young at the time

45. What message is on your answering machine?/Something dull and professional

46. What's your all time favorite Saturday Night Live character? /Mango, of course

47. What was the name of your first pet?/Marianne, she was a calico cat and a real kitten factory

48. What is in your purse?/I have a briefcase. A novel, a hairbrush, postage stamps, a sock I am knitting, my dayrunner, some pens and my lunch

49. Favorite thing to do before bedtime?/Oh please

50. What is one thing you are grateful for today? /It’s Friday

Now its your turn

More Friday Fun

The weather around these here parts continues to be gothic. More tornadoes, thunder, lightening and hail last night. We’ve been keeping the computer unplugged, just to be safe.I lost a just-over-a-year old Gateway to lightening once, and Yes, I was using a surge protector. Did you know lightening damage is not covered in your warrantee? What a surprise.

I was forced to buy a bigger and better system

Take a look at my latest sock. It may look like your garden variety handknit sock, but it’s my first attempt at toes-up, short row heel using the Magic Loop method. That is 3 new skills in one sock. If you were a knitter, you would be impressed. BTW, the yarn is handspun and dyed by a local girl

I was shopping at Target (yea!) today and stopped into the Starbucks kiosk for a cup of coffee. The Starbucks dude is a gorgeous, a really dark skinned body builder who is completely bald. Oh yeah, he’s as hot as a shot of espresso. I just want your basic cup of coffee, but Starbucks stud gets me going by asking if I want regular or (lowers his eyes suggestively) ‘dark roast’

Well, it was dark roast for me

Here's the Friday Five:
1. Would you consider yourself an organized person? Why or why not?

Can you hear Ray laughing? No. I am not organized at all. If something is really important, I hand it directly over to Ray, claiming that I am blond and he’s the Daddy. I wouldn’t say that Ray is obsessive-compulsive, but you will never see him searching for his W-2 on April 14th

2. Do you keep some type of planner, organizer, calendar, etc. with you, and do you use it regularly?
I have a day runner someplace, maybe in my backpack...or it might be in the car. We have a dry erase calendar in the kitchen we use a lot to coordinate everyone's schedules.

3. Would you say that your desk is organized right now?
A picture is worth 1,000 words

4. Do you alphabetize CDs, books, and DVDs, or does it not matter?
Nope, but if someone else wants to organize them, I will respect their system. My niece Abby recently alpha-organized all of our herbs and spices. Abby organizes her underwear drawer by color

5. What's the hardest thing you've ever had to organize?
The research for my dissertation, So I hired a professional to help me. Worth every cent

Have a great weekend

Friday Five

I was going to answer the Friday Five today but the question all seemed self indulgent.

1. What was your most memorable moment from the last week?

Probably Uncle John's much needed bath, although it was hardly what I would call a highlight

2. What one person touched your life this week?

This photo of an Iraqi shepherd touched my heart. He's a handsome rascal and the man owns sheep. I own sheep. These are real people we are fighting, folks

3. How have you helped someone this week?

See #1

4. What one thing do you need to get done by this time next week?

Become an instrument of peace. It may be an effort. If that doesn't happen, at least I want to finish the red crocodile socks

5. What one thing will you do over the next seven days to make your world a better place?

Will any of my actions over the next 7 days make the world a better place?

I hope so.

Psychologists tend to be optimistic folks that believe that we are all capable of change. Can we see that change occur in the 10 visits your HMO will pay for is another story.

JJ answers the Friday Five

and you can too...they are short and simple this week

1.If you had the chance to meet someone you've never met, from the past or present, who would it be?
Jesus, I have a few questions for him

2. If you had to live in a different century, past or future, which would it be?

I’d want to be a Medici and live in Renaissance Italy

3. If you had to move anywhere else on Earth, where would it be?

Taos, New Mexico. I like the way it smells

4. If you had to be a fictional character, who would it be?

Merlyn the Magician

5. If you had to live with having someone else's face as your own for the rest of your life, whose would it be?
Brad Pitt, He's pretty and I’m no fool

JJ answers the Friday Five:

You can answer too

1.Do you like talking on the phone? Why or why not?
Hate it. Most of the time I check Caller ID and don’t answer the damn thing. With 2 teenagers and two physicians in the house, it’s not going to be for me anyway. Why? Because I hate to let someone else waste my time, (although I have no problem wasting it myself.) Also I am a visual person and need the body language. I’ve had phone sex exactly once. It lacks body heat

2. Who is the last person you talked to on the phone?
My Aunt Mary. My 86 year old great Uncle John is in intensive care and probably won’t last the weekend. I may have to go to St Louis suddenly, so if you don’t see me around, that’s where I am

3. About how many telephones do you have at home? 11, if you count all the cell phone. That’s embarrassing, isn’t it?

4. Have you encountered anyone who has really bad phone manners? What happened? People tend to be well behaved around me, if not, I’ll hang up on them.

5. Would you rather pick up the phone and call someone or write them an e-mail or a letter? Why or why not?
E-mail, the most valuable commodity any of us has is our time, even more than our money. There is no social ritual in e-mail. Its too the point. Love letters are an entirely different matter

In other news, we had the most INCREDIBLE thunderstorm Thursday night with marble sized hail. The sky was roaring. I love gothic weather.

Look how odd this Opal Brown Croc is coming out. It looks like something good to eat

Opening Day for Baseball Countdown: 10 days!!

JJ answers the Friday Five

You can answer too
1) What was the last song you heard?
‘Too Shy’ Kajagoogoo. I love that song

2) What were the last two movies you saw?
‘Chicago’&‘Frieda’ Both are good

3) What were the last three things you purchased?
My receipt from yesterday's trip to Walgreens says:
DOVE B/BAR 2 2.00 SALE that’s soap
AUSS SPRN 8Z 3.99 that’s Aussie Scrunch spray
OREO CRM 17Z 4.29...yum cookies

I also picked up my prescription for Celebrex

4) What four things do you need to do this weekend?
Go to Hobby Lobby and buy paint for the 'painted cane project'
Laundry (always)
Rake up the sweetgum balls in the front yard
Lure some nice man into my bed for an evening of debauchery

I see you raising you hand, Jeff!

5. Who are the last five people you talked to?
1.Brenda…’Yes, I would like some more coffee, thanks Sweetie’
2.Michael ‘Good Morning, Want to get together for lunch? We decided on Chinese
3.Lori, ‘I’m going to the snack shop, Can I get you anything? then we discussed her daughter getting into ballet camp
4)Ray on the phone ‘You want to go out tonight before the theater or do you have something planned for dinner?’
5)Guy at Starbucks ‘I’ll have a large house blend and a cranberry scone’

Damn, all I have done is talk about breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks