Swimming For Air

Transition

2006-05-09T21:56:00.000-04:00

For those faithful few that keep checking the site to see if there's anything new... looking to find some updates... or a simple picture... I have news.

Several months ago I made the mistake of bringing home a single Su Doku puzzle... she's on her 4th book. Yes I said book. As in three to four hundred page book, each page containing a puzzle more difficult than the next. Some how, after a long and stressful day at work... a glass of wine and a couple of puzzles seem to help her unwind. So needless to say the Blog gets almost no attention anymore. She does read through them from time to time, she just never posts on hers.

Oh yeah, remember the post she made back in December about moving to Southern California... well, we're moving. The native Floridian will soon be a Valley Girl ;)

So until next time... I'll leave you with a picture of a little tulip garden she planted last year. She's never planted anything before and only planted these because I told her that they required zero maintenance. She was thrilled to see them before we moved.

G

CUJO

2006-01-29T22:20:00.000-05:00

My dog is now called Cujo, instead of Holly. To see why click here G's site.

THANK YOU!!!

2006-01-15T22:18:00.000-05:00

I wanted to send out a BIG THANK YOU to my family, friends and IIF's. My birthday was great lot's of fun and of course GREAT presents. I milked my birthday into a a full weekend and I feel so rested, relaxed and ready to enjoy 25... again ;)

I thought that you guys would appreciate this cake G. made for me, it's sooooooooo delicious.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

2006-01-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday dear No-L,
Happy Birthday to me!

I'm now turning 25 for the 6th time. Yes-gosh-I-know-I-look-GREAT-for-my-age!

Also NO jokes about the date falling on a Friday ;)

Darth Tater Rocks!

2006-01-09T23:02:00.000-05:00

SNOW, SNOW & MORE SNOW!

2006-01-01T12:42:00.000-05:00

Well I didn't end up in Boston partying last night, due to the fact that it started snowing yesterday afternoon. Guess what, it hasn't stopped and according to the forecasters it won't stop til Wednesday, grrr!

So we didn't go out for the following reasons:
1. It was in the 20's last night, brrr!
2. We thought the fireworks would be cancelled, due to the snow. We were wrong, however we did see them on TV.
3. We were already concerned about drunk drivers on the roads, now add ice & snow... can you say SCARY!!!
4. After we saw all the people there, (again on TV) we were glad we wouldn't be fighting for parking, fighting the crowds and sitting in all the traffic.

Don't worry we still had fun, bringing in the new year. Well I hope all of you had a GREAT New Years celebration and are enjoying relaxing on the 1st day of the year.

Please comment and let me know how your New Years went.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2005-12-31T14:45:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone is having a great New Years Eve celebration!!! I will be enjoying downtown Boston, great dining and maybe fireworks... stupid weather permitting (ie. rain/SNOW forecasted eeek!)

Please be safe and have a GREAT time tonight!

Be back next year...

MY FIRST WHITE CHRISTMAS!!!

2005-12-25T12:25:00.000-05:00

This is my first official Christmas living in Boston. Last year I was here, however I was living in a Hotel Room for 2 months getting everything moved and buying and selling the houses. This Christmas is one of my best because it's a white one... YEAH, although it's missing something very important to me; all of my family :( So it's a little lonely and weird, there are things that are nice like opening presents at your own pace and being able to play with them right then and the other great thing is eating when you want, however you want. Those things are nice, but they don't make up for the lack of family and friends, so to all of them I miss you and love you.

These are pictures of the outside of our house:

These are pictures of me being domestic, which typically I'm NOT! I guess that's why my tree is so bare, well really my dog Holly ate all my glass ball ornaments a year or two ago. I just haven't had time to replace them, don't worry iif's it won't be as bare next year.

These are some great presents from my mom, she still knows style:

These are our spoiled rotten dogs and some of their presents:
Nika in her new sweater, Grody does this meet the design goddess standards?

Nika and her new elephant.

Holly and her new hedge hog.

Holly 5 minutes later with her now destroyed hedge hog.

This is me typing this posts to you guys, with some of my Christmas presents:

Now getting off the computer to watch a movie:

Happy Holidays everyone!!!

Christmas Rant

2005-12-09T19:05:00.001-05:00

This is hilarious, says all the things I always want to say and so much more.

As someone who absolutely loves Christmas and all the crap that goes with it. HELLO PEOPLE MY NAME is CHRISTMAS (well in French it is.)

*Warning not to be played in front of little ones and definitely not work friendly.

Check it out!

Doh!!!

2005-12-07T22:47:00.000-05:00

*Just a great pic of my Holly, she's such a clown!

Future???

2005-12-07T20:31:00.000-05:00

So the question has come up about the possibilities of me moving. There is an opportunity that the company has coming up, which would require me to move to Southern California next year. The position is opening up within one of our new divisions that they are interviewing me for. I'm ecstatic that they are interested in me for it; it's a huge compliment, which tells me a lot about where I stand. However I'm not completely sure that this is the position for me. So when they interview me, I will also be interviewing them; there are tons of questions that I have. Of course southern CA. seems very appealing, but it's still pretty far from my family in FL. and it will have extensive travel involved. I really enjoy Boston and feel very at home up here in New England. It's expensive to live here, but the seasons are beautiful and the people once they know you are pretty cool too. So we will see and of course I will keep you updated as things come up.

Perception!

2005-12-04T23:12:00.000-05:00

I'm now a brunette!

There's exactly nothing exciting about it, however it's interesting the way people seem to react to you.

For instance:
-Some people seem to take you more seriously.
-Girls are nicer to you.
-Guys will talk to you without feeling as threatened.
-There are definitely not as many looks from both guys & girls (you sort of blend in more.)

*This is just my perception of the things going on around me, however I really feel a big difference in the way people react.

Thanks!!!

2005-11-28T23:38:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for keeping in touch. As you can tell I've been away for away and I appreciate all of your kind thoughts and wishes.

Yes, SuDoku is very addicting but truthfully work has kept me extremely busy too. I've been spending a lot of my free time getting out and seeing what New England has to offer. Winter was coming and there's a chance that I could be moving soon so I had to get out there and see it all.

Hang in there, I do plan to start blogging more regularly.

Lost In SuDoku

2005-11-12T23:37:00.000-05:00

*** Update from a Guest speaker ***

For those of you wondering... Where has Noel been? What has she been up too? Surely she can't still be exploring New England, working hard, meeting lot's of deadlines and entertaining guest... can she?

I can answer all of those questions with one word.

SuDoku.

That's right, she's hooked. SuDoku has cast some magical spell over her and there's no telling when it will wear off. It's like her new best friend, it's always there for her, it's difficult, challenging, fun and rewarding all at the same time. She'll be back eventually, but until then I'll leave you with a this... a photo of her first Sudoku book. Notice how worn out this book looks. She just completed all 200 puzzles and then went out and bought another with 400 more tonight! Dude!

She does still check her email so leave your comments here, she'll get them.

Guest

Be Back Soon...

2005-09-25T23:20:00.001-04:00

Sorry guys for those of you who might be wondering!

I've been away and been really busy exploring New England, working hard... lot's of deadlines, being sick and entertaining guests. I promise to posts soon with some stories... our guest leave soon.

Blogs Should Not Be Work!

2005-09-18T23:23:00.000-04:00

In case you've been wondering... when going to Grody Jo-dee's site it comes up not found. NO, it's not an error. She shut down her site; don't worry not for any major reason. She's just going to be extremely busy with the new baby on the way and the move. She will probably still come around every once in awhile to see what's going on out there. I know I will miss all of her writing, as it was very entertaining. Fortunately I still get to hear about all the funny shit that happens in her life i.e. like when g. peed on the ant and killed it. :P

On another note, I had Chinese food this evening and my fortune stated "Keep true to the dreams of your youth."

I Heart Mac!

2005-09-14T23:28:00.000-04:00

Have I ever told you how much I love Mac? No Grody, I'm not talking about the makeup... Even though I do wear and love Mac makeup, I'm talking about Apple Products.

So why do I love the products???

It's not because of the advertising.
It's not because of the reliability.
It's not because they're designed to make sense and are easy to use.
It's not because they just work.
It's not because it makes me cooler than you.

No, it's because of the product packaging… the ultra cool and ultra slim designs that run throughout the product line. And the boxes they come in are neat too. :p

My 12" Powerbook with wireless broadband via an Airport Extreme and my Green iPod mini are really cool. But the new iPod nano is awesome... I have to have one!

Su Doku

2005-09-12T21:40:00.000-04:00

Thanks to G... I'm completely and totally addicted to this new Japanese puzzle craze Su Doku. Follow the link for instructions on how to play and there is also the solution for all you cheaters out there.

Did I ever mention how much I love puzzles? Well now you guys will be lucky if I can pull myself away long enough to blog anymore... I just bought a book full of them.

Happy Su Doku!

Yeah, For Football Season!

2005-09-09T00:15:00.000-04:00

Seriously, I'm so happy for football season to begin. Due to the fact that just for a little while I can maybe hear something other than everything there is to know about the Red Sox's.

With that said, maybe if I can hope that they will stop wearing those silly hats with socks on them...

Well here's to dreaming.

Dude, these guys wear these hats with everything, even when they dress up to go out.

Let me just tell you, I live in the most FANATICAL place on earth, these people are nuts I tell you, they have billboards and even the digital road signs for traffic that will cheer the teams on. The news isn't any better it Headlines about the Red Sox, before something much more serious that has happened.

I'm so excited that now they are going to go crazy about the Patriots instead of their beloved Red Sox's. Yes, soon I will be over them talking about the Patriots, but at least it will be a change of subject for a few months.

GO BUCS!!!

I heart Jon Gruden!!!!

*I know that the last two comments have nothing to do with my posts, but oh well! (PS. Don't tell them I'm not a fan, they might hunt me down and who knows what they will do.)

How Do You Shower?

2005-09-07T22:19:00.000-04:00

I got this off of Lilith's site and thought it was interesting to see how we all do the same thing by taking a shower, but how different we all do it. Here's how I take my shower every morning:

Turn on the water til it's the right temp (HOT!!!)
Get in and get entire body wet
Wash hair w/ Redkin
Wash face w/ face wash
Rinse hair & face
Condition hair w/ Redkin
Lather & loofah entire body w/ Vanilla Bean Noel (I love the name) ;)
Rinse body
Now that the body is appropriatly moist shave legs, underarms and the nether regions
Scrub feet with a pumice stone (remember how much I love my feet)
Then enjoy the warm water (*as Lilith puts it)
Then finally rinse with cooler water (needed after last item & it's suppose to be good for the hair to) ;)
Turn off water
Towel off in shower
Put hair up in strange towel formation
Put layers of lotion on entire body

I enjoy my shower, it's my meditation time I try to completly clear my mind. Depending on how clouded my mind is, how cold it is outside or how long it takes um you know, will depend on the length of my shower.

So don't be shy, tell me how you take your shower.

*I also have one of those wonderful multiple setting shower heads for just such an occassion.

Please Help!!!

2005-09-02T23:11:00.000-04:00

This is a link I was told about it is NSFW (not safe for work). Some people might be offended by what they hear as it has strong language, but it says exactly what I've been thinking.

Link you will need to click on the link on the right titled "Watch This Movie," then hit play and watch the movie.

I wish people would stop focusing on pointing the finger, looking for people to blame and start helping fix the problems. Most of these people on the news have no idea what they are talking about and aren't giving accurate information on any of this situation.

It irritates me so much and I could go on and on, but I need to stop for my own sanity and go help these people.

If you can't physically help in this situation, please help by donating to a reputable charity.

Where Are You?

2005-08-30T00:10:00.000-04:00

Come out, come out... wherever you are!!!

Since you guys all like to map where your at so much. I thought I would give you a tool to do it with, if you look to the right under my new weather pixie.

Which by the way, isn't she cute?

Anyways, I sort of stole this cute mapping thing from Anika. So please map where you are at and write me a note, I like notes.

Grrrrrrr!

2005-08-27T18:44:00.000-04:00

Keeping my blog Mac friendly for my IIF’s and the world… *cough, Grody.

TBIT Friday

2005-08-26T16:20:00.000-04:00

If you are unsure of what that means go to Grody’s site.

Her theme this week is Mary Jane or that stuff people get high on.

Well my IIF’s as a potential candidate on the 2008 ballot, I have to be totally honest with you.

Marijuana a.k.a. pot, chronic, dope, ganja, paca lolo (Hawaiian), hemp, wacky weed, reefer, cannabis, grass and Mary Jane.

I have never ever smoked the joo-joo. (For the phonetically challenged, it sounds like jew-jew) As an aspiring presidential candidate, I’ve never wanted that on my record… yeah right. It’s just that I can’t inhale, seriously. Please reference item #34 on my About Me. And I am not making this up like our friend Mr. Clinton either, it is physically and psychologically impossible for me to do this.

It is true that I have touched, smelled and even tasted the sweetness that is Mary Jane, but only as a contact high.

It was summer and the parents were at work. We used to hop on our own bikes, pre-sixteen, ride across town to the forest and then deep into the woods. Eventually stopping at a tree house built from scraps that a previous generation had left behind. It even had a rope swing high up in the tree that seemed like it was twenty feet from the ground. This particular summer I had a crush on one of the guys so I would tag along as often as possible. Each afternoon would consist of your typical early 80’s pre-teen activities.

One afternoon one of the guys, who had been stealing cigarettes from his father, lit up something that looked a little different and definitely smelled a little different. The strange manner in which he was holding this small rolled object really got my attention. Then there was the holding of the breath… what kind of cigarette is this, I thought to myself. He then proceeded to pass it around and everyone followed his lead when taking a hit. Since this was the guy that I had crush on and didn’t want to think that I was not cool, I accepted, took a drag and started to cough violently from the horrible burning sensation in my chest, that felt like fire going down my throat. You see, I had never smoked the cigarettes that were always passed around, but this time was different. What a mistake that was. By the second time around, not wanting to be embarrassed again, I took the joint and faked it. That’s right, I took a drag and held it in my mouth, then slowly breathed out to fake it. To this day I still can’t inhale cigarette smoke or any other smoke for that matter. So there you have it, my first experience with the joo-joo.

P.S. Note the time that I posted ;)

FABULOUS "7" MEME

2005-08-25T23:57:00.000-04:00

I've been tagged by Scorpio to complete the following meme with the "7" theme going on! I am suppose to pass this on to 7 IIF's but I think most of them have already done this, if you haven't and want to just copy & paste.

7 things I plan to do before I die
1. Travel to Greece & Italy and so many other places.
2. Have a baby or adopt one (a long time from now.)
3. Parachute out of a plane
4. Float in the Dead Sea
5. Walk on the Great Wall
6. Paint the pictures I see in my head
7. Be elected President ;)

7 things I can do
1. Touch my tongue to my nose
2. Bake a kick ass Lasagna
3. Mediate almost any situation
4. Scuba Dive (Naui certified)
5. Play almost any sport
6. Throw a football (perfect spiral)
7. Hold my breath underwater for a long time

7 things I cannot do
1. Roll my rrrrrrrrrrr’s
2. Tell a joke, at least not very well.
3. Sing (well I like to, but you wouldn’t like it.)
4. Bowl (hey gutters here comes my ball)
5. Juggle balls
6. Dance (I do this but probably shouldn’t)
7. Ride a Unicycle

7 things that attract me to the opposite sex
1. Confidence
2. Great smile, the kind where their eyes smile.
3. Sexy eyes (that just give you that look, you know the one.)
4. Nice ass
5. V (broad shoulders to narrow hips)
6. Straight white teeth
7. Great sense of humor

7 things that I say most often
1. Like
2. Back up (I say this to Holly)
3. Hot
4. Dude
5. Inappropriate
6. Shut the Fuck Up!
7. Baby

7 celebrity crushes
1. Mark Wahlburg (OMG the sex appeal)
2. Lenny Kravitz (not with straight greasy hair)
3. George Clooney
4. Johnny Depp
5. Tom Welling
6. Tyson Beckford (until he opens his mouth)
7. David Beckham (I can't help it, he's HOT!)

Public Address

2005-08-23T22:27:00.000-04:00

Dear Future Voters, Citizens and Staff,

I appreciate your support and well wishes. I will continue to update you on important issues as they arise. I would like to point out someone who has gone above and beyond the call of duty and has been campaigning for me see here. I am not sure why no one else has decided to do this *cough. Anyways he has shown loyalty and dedication almost immediately and I will have to appoint him to my Chief of Staff. Because everyone will need to be kept in line and all of you know that the biggest brown noser get’s the position. Don’t worry Undr; I’m sure it pays well ;)

Also for all of the others that have signed on late, we will of course take your contributions. We can always use freebies and we never turn them down.

Thank you all very much,
Future President No-L

P.S. Grody would never let me wear acid wash and leopard skin, unless she was mad at me.

No-L 2008

2005-08-19T23:51:00.000-04:00

Thank you all very much. I will let you know when my campaign begins, because I will need your help and of course your votes.

Anika, I will need an advisor for foreign policy.

Fribbett, I will need a body guard, I think I read that you are into some sort of karate?

Chianca, I won’t need a journalists however I will need good publicity so please write only wonderful things about me.

Lori, I will need your campaign contributions since you are a lottery winner.

Linda, I will need buttons and beads, your reputation proceeds you.

Grody, I will need you to be my personal stylists. Oh yeah, you already are. ;)

Marie, I will need you to handle all the HR staffing and as comic distraction for my audience when I screw up since you are to become a clown.

Lilith, since you have a bright future in brain surgery, I will definitely need my head examined, probably very often.

Locutus, I will need you to be my campaign director.

Blake, I will need someone to write my book.

Jen, I will need your pull to get into space for my other dream job. Hey maybe I could be the 1st president in outerspace. However as an outstanding artists I will need posters and marketing.

Fred, I will need a speechwriter and a teacher to coach me on my public speaking.

AP, I will need someone to plan my victory party and from the look of it you definitly know how to party.

Undr, according to the job predictor you are destined to become a rally driver and of course I will need a chauffer.

JoAn, if you are reading this I will need a Vice President.

Making the World a Better Place Since 1975.
Vote No-L for President.

"Choose the Chicks"

TBIT Friday

2005-08-19T23:02:00.000-04:00

This is a new thing from Grody to do on Fridays.

These are my two things

The original NES... My sis, bro & his friend Jeff and I would play it every Saturday after cartoons for hours and hours. We all got hooked on the 1st Zelda and we would help each other go through all the levels. That is of course until mom would make us go outside cause it was nice out. I recently played Zelda again on an emulator and beat it again; I know I’m a dork.

The original Head Bangers Ball every Saturday night on MTV from 12AM to 3AM. My bro, his friend Jeff and I would watch it religiously. We loved it except for 2 things: Adam Curry, we could never understand why he would be the host & pretty hair band groups like Poison.

Interesting

2005-08-18T23:13:00.000-04:00

According to the *Job Predictor my future job would be The President.

What's interesting about it, is that it's what I wanted to be when I grew up. I put it in an earlier posts on my About Me site.

True Story

2005-08-17T23:37:00.000-04:00

I was reading a posts from Fred and it reminded me of a story:

In my job, I sometimes have to do things I would prefer not to do. I guess in most people’s jobs there are things they don’t like about it. Well the thing that I don’t like to do is fire people, I know Grody hard to believe since I do it so often, so often in fact I have been nicknamed the terminator (which BTW I hate.) Let me explain, I can be considered somewhat of a cleaner, my company sends me to areas to get them back on track which can unfortunately mean firing people. It makes my stomach turn almost every time. I try to help these individuals anyway that I can; I give them coaching, tools and lots of support. Most of the time that works and I end up having a great employee, however there are the ones that, that doesn’t work out. So I have to do the deed, it makes me feel better that I have gone through everything I know to help these people and I try to tell myself that this is their fault and that they are really just firing themselves I have even told them that when they get defensive and try to act like it’s not their fault and they weren’t given a proper chance.

Well on to the reason for my posts:

One time several years ago I had this guy manager that worked for me, he was not very bright, he was what I call an inheritance; meaning I didn’t hire him he came with the area. Well he was a nice guy and meant well, he was just worthless. So really I blame the person who hired him for putting him in a position that this individual could never really succeed at. So anyways I end up putting this individual on a final warning and I have hinted to him rather strongly that he should really consider other opportunities in life, maybe other career options. Which would be the best-case scenario, because he is really not cut out for this type of work.

So I come back to see this individual in a couple of weeks. We start talking and he is so excited to tell me that his girlfriend of just a few months is pregnant and he just bought a brand new car and they were out house hunting. He was so excited to tell me how he had been working hard and felt like things were really coming together.

So I think ok lets see this guy really did not get the hint, of what I was trying to say to him and I am not exactly fluffy about my words in fact most people think I am too direct. So I just don’t understand, where did I go wrong?

The reason I was there BTW was to fire this individual, no matter how much I might like them, I have to put the company first and what is at stake. I am so nervous that this guy might go postal or something… remember he has just told me about all of theses things that are going great in his life.

So I fire him.

He seemed to take it ok and didn’t blame the company or me and didn’t seem to freaked out or anything. It was weird, I almost thought about calling his family, just encase he decides to commit suicide; maybe he was that introvert type of person. I didn’t know what to think. Well anyways life goes on.

So I am back in the area again later on that year when he decides to come in with his brand new baby and his fiancée. I am happy to see that he is well and talk to them both and look at their cute new baby, they introduce this baby to me as No-L… OMG yes they said No-L. I was at a loss for words, which BTW is rare, if you haven’t noticed.

Can you believe it? My name is by no means common and I fired that guy at a crucial time in his life.

I've Been Tagged

2005-08-16T23:09:00.000-04:00

I got tagged by Anika

"List ten songs you are currently digging....it doesn't matter what genre, or if they have words, or even if they're no good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying right now. Post these instructions, the artists and the tens songs on your Blog. Then tag five other people to see what they're listening to"

I love music and I always have to have different music for basically every mood. When people see my music library they are usually taken back a bit and one person went so far as to comment “that my music choices seem somewhat schizophrenic”. Well anyways here is my top 10 right now, not in any particular order and sorry I didn't have time to link them:

1. My Humps - Black Eyed Peas (this song is just plain hilarious, I love to dance to it and the rest of the album is also pretty good.)
2. Banana Pancakes - Jack Johnson (great on Sunday Mornings, I love Banana Pancakes. Did you know he also has a song called Bubble Toes you guys know how much I love my feet and all ;)
3. Feel Good – Gorillaz (It’s just a feel good song)
4. We Belong Together - Mariah Carey (I can’t believe I am liking her, but I love this song. I think it’s her best song ever.)
5. Swim & Pixie - Ani Difranco (both songs are always in my iPod, they are like life motto's.)
6. Frou Frou the entire album (I can’t pick just one song from them, the lead singer just had her solo album released in the UK, I have sampled it and it sounds great.)
7. I Just Wanna Live - Good Charlotte (I love to scream this song in my car)
8. In the Waiting Line - Zero 7 (I can so relate to this song)
9. Just A Lil Bit – 50 Cent (I shake my ass to this one)
10. Living Water - Ryan Farish (This song is just beautiful, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when I listen to it.)

Let’s see who should I tag??? Hmmmmmm... I think I will tag Grody, Blake, Lori, Marie, & Undr.

In Case You've Been Wondering...

2005-08-14T23:45:00.000-04:00

My mom came up to visit and we’ve been very busy taking in all of New England. On Wednesday evening we met up with some of my mom’s friends and went to an Italian restaurant in Winthrop. Winthrop is apparently only a one square mile town surrounded by water so our restaurant was right on the ocean. Note: This was a BYOB establishment so naturally we got hammered and the food was pretty good too.

On Thursday we met up with my mom’s friends again and had lunch / cocktails at a hoity toitie restaurant called Louis Bistro in Copley followed by shopping on Newberry St. We shopped at several stores and saw many interesting things however nothing beats what we learned at Lord & Taylor.

What? What could you possibly learn at Lord & Taylor?!?

I’m glad you asked.

I was looking at a few different Ben Sherman shirts for a gift and I thought some of the wording on them seemed odd. The shirts looked cool, the style was right, but I didn’t quite get what they were referencing. So I called G to ask him what style would be appropriate… and I was rudely interrupted with “It says what? …No way, I’ll explain it to you later.” (He was at work) so I hang up the phone and continue my shopping.

I end up approaching C (mom’s friend) standing with a sales clerk and C proceeds to ask me what happened to the shirts? I stated to both of them that these shirts mean something bad, but I am not sure what it is. The salesclerk is like what shirts? Which ones? We don’t carry anything bad.

Let me first off explain that C is about 60 and very conservative looking. Myself, while not conservative was dressed nice and this guy was also dressed nice in a shirt and tie with some rather cool looking braids.

So I show him the first shirt it has an English crest and says Prince Albert, he’s like that doesn’t mean… he then pauses, looks us straight in the eyes and states that it’s a meaning for a guy who when running where’s a chain attached to his penis…

OK STOP right here I am saying to myself, OMG I am in Lord & Taylor an upscale department store and this guy just says PENIS.

Okay back to the story… He continues his story by telling us about the piercing and why guys would use such a thing. Only to then rings us up for our purchases like it was nothing.

We walk away and C is like, “holy shit I can’t believe he said that” and we both bust out laughing, I knew she wouldn’t be offended, but seriously if he would have stated that to any other person or just the fact that it was a woman and remember in her 60’s. They would have reported him immediately and he would have been fired, remember I didn’t even ask him what they meant he just decided to tell us this whole penis thing.

On Friday we went to Province Town better known as “P” town. We took a ferry to fairy town (hee,hee). If you have ever been you will understand, it is very, very gay. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.” It’s just in your face gay and very over-the-top. Let me give you a few examples. It was hot, like 100 degrees hot, so hot that most people wouldn’t stand within a foot of each other. But every gay couple made it a point to walk hand in hand and arm in arm, hugging and kissing each other every five feet. Then there were the flags… OMG the flags! It looked like the day after 9/11 with all of the flags everywhere, except these flags were not red white and blue, they were all the pretty colors of the rainbow. Finally, there were all of the specialty stores… enough said. Anyways the beaches were beautiful, specifically Race Beach, I have never seen anything quite like it. It was nothing like the beaches in Florida or California, truly amazing. The water was freaking cold though; you would need a full wetsuit just to get in. Here’s the best part, there were tons of crazy people actually swimming in it like it was 80 degrees. I’m telling you it was maybe 65 degrees at best and I’m not exaggerating.

On Saturday, we vegged by the pool all afternoon. Too much walking can wear a girl out. It was nice and breezy and the pool temp was 78 degrees. Still too chilly for me; I like it like bath water, 85 plus please. For dinner we got dressed up and drove into Cambridge to a pretty cool restaurant called Cuchi Cuchi. I know, interesting name… cootchi cootchi coo always comes to mind, among other things… Anyways it’s a French tapas place and they really glam it up, it’s totally tacky like something out of the 20’s era. The girls wear fancy black dresses with pearls and the guys had open shirts with even fancier layered dangling beads and sparkles. The food was excellent and naturally we ate and drank way too much.

On Sunday we were in 3 different states. We actually drove through New Hampshire to get to Maine just to eat lunch… seriously, but it was really worth it. It was another BYOB and you could also bring other things. So we brought our wine glasses, wine, cheese & crackers and some freshly made Blueberry cake (don’t worry I didn’t make it.) Then we picked out our main course, the reason we drove there… the lobster or as New Englanders say it the lob-sta.
I had 2 lb’s of yum-me-ness while we sat on the water and enjoyed the great views. Then we drove a little bit further North of Kittery to the beaches and dipped our toes in the icy water. Further North still was a lighthouse and an old-fashioned ice cream shop. Of course we had to stop there to sample their goods.

What an absolute great day and a perfect way to end a great long weekend of eating, drinking and spending time with friends and family.

Domestically Challenged Am I

2005-08-09T23:13:00.000-04:00

(Note the recipe book and the measuring cup in the photo)

I am domestically challenged, seriously, I hate all types of housework and I am not very good at them either.

Actually I'm not very good at them on purpose so I won't be asked to do them.

Oops, did I just say that out loud? Shhh... don't tell anyone.

Well anyways G. asked me to make him a cake for his birthday, not just any cake my friends a "special cake". He wanted his cake to be red like velvet and strawberry flavored. This is special because G. usually likes chocolate cake, any and all types of chocolate cake, plus it's his birthday. So why the strawberry? I don't know but it was a special request so I felt compelled to oblige.

A quick trip to the overpriced grocery store and one box of instant cake later... He got a strawberry swirl cake with a strawberry mousse as icing, which I think is much better.

So a few hours and a few drinks later the cake was completed. And the best part... He didn't know it was instant cake :)

Is That A Tree In Your Pocket...

2005-08-06T00:38:00.000-04:00

I saw this on Inspired Monkey's site it is titled The Next Big Thing.

I have always loved trees, especially big Oak trees. So now to get my very own personal tree accessory, I definitly have to have it. I am not a green thumb, probably the furthest thing from it, so hopefully I can't kill it. It would totally crush me if I hurt it in any way.

Do you think that they are No-L proof?

Sorry Anika

2005-08-05T23:33:00.000-04:00

I don't actually have the answers to whether the pictures are real or that they are not real. Everyone cough *Anika* just assumed that I did. I will tell you if I think they are real or not real and I will also give you the popular vote for each one. (see the original posts)

Anika, I hope that you will still love me after this. ;)

Final Round, I Promise

2005-08-03T23:19:00.000-04:00

#7 I unfortunatly believe that this one is real, real toilet paper that is. Unless you live in the Hilton household, I'm sure Paris wipes her ass with $20's everyday.
-Popular vote 71% real / 29% not real

#8 This one I also think is unfortunatly real, DAMMIT!
-Popular vote 100% real / 0% not real

#9 I saw this on the news, it's from somewhere in the middle east when those guys ran a boat with expolsives into the ship, so definitly real.
-Popular vote 86% real / 14% not real

#10 Well guys, you know this ones FO REAL, I'm a SUPERSTAR! ;)
-Popular vote 100% real / 0% not real

Round II

2005-08-02T21:31:00.000-04:00

#4 I scuba dive and you can see some interesting things down there, however I don't think this is one of them, so not real.
-Popular vote 25% real / 75% not real

#5 Coming from Florida, I agree with Grody that Disney does some weird shit. This I believe is real & probably somewhere in England and on Euro Disney property ;)
-Popular vote 83% real / 17% not real

#6 This to me looks like a parade balloon gone bad, I wonder if people would try to get up closer to see if they could see up her skirt, I know I would. So yes I think real.
-Popular vote 100% real / 0% not real

Believe It Or Not

2005-08-01T23:49:00.000-04:00

#1 This one is probably real, it's my favorite and you will soon find out why.
-Popular vote 66% real / 33% not real

#2 Definitly not real, thank goodness that would be one poor dude.
-Popular vote 57% real / 43% not real

#3 I think that this is not possible due to physics, so not real.
-Popular Vote 66% real / 33% not real

You Tell Me

Little Nikita

2005-07-31T19:52:00.000-04:00

AKA Nika, Nee-kee, Little One, Lick Monster and Nika-Lou depending on what trouble she’s into. She is a Teacup Yorkie born on December 4, 1994. She is blue & tan and the runt of the litter from champion bloodlines. I went to visit her at 4 weeks; she was so little and a bit shy. However the next week when I went to see her she was a feisty little one. She was the center of attention and rightfully so with that little attitude she has. At 6 weeks for my birthday I got my very own first puppy, I have always had dogs but they were the families. When I first brought her home she could seriously fit in the palm of my hand paws and all, she now weighs in a hefty 3 1/2lbs.

I took Nika everywhere from the park, to shopping, to everyone’s house, the beach, etc… she rode with me everywhere. My roommates and I made the biggest mistake ever when she was a puppy, she made a little growling noise for the first time and it was so damn cute that we were all like awe. She thought that was so great, now no matter how much you want her to shut up she is the loudest yipper you have ever heard; she is so cute though that you still have to love her. Nika is so talented she can do all of these tricks: Sit, sit pretty, sit pretty and wave, lay down, shake different paws, roll over, play dead, fetch, kiss, she also will role over on her back when you say tummies, she can even do a little dance. Sometimes she thinks she is a cat, she will walk across steep furniture ledges and jump from heights that are way to far for her. She knows all of my moods and always is accommodating to them. One thing to be aware of, she is a serious klepto and will steal your hair bands and panties, then hide them under the bed.

A little over 4 years ago we brought home a sister for her, if you can call a Boxer puppy who at 3 months is already 4x’s the size of her, a sister. Well immediately Nika took charge, she told her what to do and when to do it and surprisingly enough Holly (the boxer listens to her.) Nika is the smallest one in the house, however she is also the loudest. But we love her and all of her attitude, who said dogs are a man’s best friend? I would take her over diamonds, any day.

- I had to write this as Nika was jealous of all the celebrity feedback from the stinky Holly pootie ass post.
- And yes it’s obvious that I don’t have kids, because the dogs are my kids.

Self Portrait Friday

2005-07-29T23:32:00.000-04:00

I know I am just a little late, but as they say better late than never. I got this from the space chick's site. This weeks theme is your favorite t-shirt. Of course, I couldn't pick just one.

Cheesy Mastercard Moment

2005-07-28T23:48:00.000-04:00

New Sunnies - $10

New Roxy Tank & Slippers - $48

New Beverly & Company Jeans - $132

An afternoon shopping at my favorite stores in Boston - Priceless

Are You A Genius?

2005-07-26T21:52:00.000-04:00

The following short quiz consists of 4 questions and will tell you whether you are qualified to be a professional. Scroll down for each answer. The questions are NOT that difficult. But don't scroll down UNTIL you have answered each question!

1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?
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The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door.

This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.

2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?
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Did you say, Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the refrigerator?

Wrong Answer.

Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door.

This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.

3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference… All the animals attend...except one. Which animal does not attend?
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Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there.

This tests your memory.

Okay, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.

4. There is a river you must cross but it is used by crocodiles, and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?
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Correct Answer: You jump into the river and swim across. Have you not been listening? All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting.

This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.

According to Anderson Consulting Worldwide, around 90% of the professionals they tested got all questions wrong, but many preschoolers got several correct answers. Anderson Consulting says this conclusively
Disproves the theory that most professionals have the brains of a four-year-old.

The Saying Goes...

2005-07-23T15:25:00.000-04:00

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Yeah, I don't think so in this case, these guys are scary. Hey Undr, do you still have that can of RAID?

*Last bug pics I promise.

Say Hello To My Little Friends

2005-07-20T23:22:00.000-04:00

This post is for you Anika since you have such a fascination with bugs on your blog ;) These are pictures that were taken in my backyard. Cute aren't they?

* Click pictures for an insane close up... be one with the bug!

A Book Meme

2005-07-17T20:25:00.000-04:00

Jen the spacechick put this on her site and tagged her viewers, so here's mine.

How many books do you own? A couple of 100 or so, I end up loaning them to people and never seeing them again or selling them at garage sales for $.25.

What is the last book you bought? Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination- it was pretty funny in the beginning and became to far fetched in the end. I almost wish that you were never really sure if she was crazy or not. (Does that say something about me?)

What is the last book you read? Same one, but right before that was Anna Karenina- I liked this book a lot, til the author decides to kill off the heroine. I know it is suppose to be different and unexpected, but when you can relate to it, it is kind of scary that she would commit suicide, eeek.

What’s the one book that you can’t wait to read? The Fiery Cross- it is 5th book of the Outlander series by Diane Gabaldon. I normally don’t read this type of book, however I read the 1st one not realizing it was a series and now I have to know what happens. Dammit, I just found out there was a 6th one, these books are not short by any means.

What 5 books are most important to you? (In no particular order...)
1. Ellis Island- this is the 1st book I read that I didn’t have to read, when I was a teenager. I loved it so much, I started reading everything I could get my hands on and haven’t stopped.
2. She’s Come Undone- I felt like I could totally relate to the character, which was somewhat scary.
3. The Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius- it is so real and the author is amazing the way he just tells it like it is. Thank you!
4. A Woman Of Substance- it is sooooo inspiring and makes you just want to hug your mom, I love you mom!
5. My Grandmother Marie’s Bible- it has all her favorite passages bookmarked.

I hope you enjoyed my answers and will read some of my favorites. I am going to tag Grody Jo-Dee and Anika to do this, all you have to do is copy the format and then post it on your site with your answers. Have fun!

I'm An Aunt

2005-07-16T22:00:00.000-04:00

Look at how cute my nephew JT is with my Bro:

I will be home to meet you soon, I can't wait!

Beauty And The Beach

2005-07-16T10:06:00.000-04:00

How can you tell the ocean is friendly?

It waves.

I know silly, but it goes so well with my day. We are headed off to the beach, hope it doesn't rain.

Is It Odd To Love Your Car?

2005-07-13T23:38:00.000-04:00

I do a lot of driving, A LOT of driving. In fact in just over a year I have accumulated almost 30,000 miles. You would think that I would hate driving, actually I love it, and I love it so much I think I am obsessed. Here are the Top Ten reasons I think I am obsessed with my Acura TL:

1. I talk to my car everyday and she talks back, seriously. (Sometimes I don't agree with her.)
2. I love music and I have more choices and better sound quality then most... 5.1 surround XM, iPod, DVD/CD,Radio & cassette (not that I have tapes.)
3. It has these lovely leather seats that lean all the way back (don't ask.)
4. Of course it's green! (Go Green!!!)
5. It has 270 horses (I don't know a lot about cars but it's pretty freak'n fast.)
6. It has a sports shift, so for when I want to race around and automatic for when I am lazy (which is most of the time.)
7. It tells me where to go and when to go (it's kind of like a backseat driver.)
8. It finds anything I want and directs me to it (my very own personal Chauffeur.)
9. My car has this blue tooth thingy that communicates with my phone and therefore I can call people and hear them through my surround sound. (It’s funny when you go through a tollbooth and you are talking to someone on it, they look around the car wondering where the other voice is coming from.)
10. It automatically dims those lights from behind. (Great when you have pissed someone off and they are flashing you, it doesn't faze me a bit.)

5:30AM Are You Nutz?

2005-07-11T23:50:00.000-04:00

I was just talking to someone the other day and they suggested I get up at 5:30AM to start my day. Well if you know me... HAHAHAHAHAHA. Then that is what you were just doing, yes it's ok, I know that you were LOL. Seriously I am the worst morning person ever. I snooze for over an hour and still sometimes don't get up. If I am awake that early, then I probably didn't go to sleep the night before. I am so lucky to have one of those jobs where you don't have to be in til 9:00AM, it's amazing when I'm on time. I couldn't believe they would even suggest this. They tried to convince me that something about the serotonin levels are better before 6AM. Something about if you wake up before then you will be more likely to workout and get a fresh start to the day. They said it would be totally refreshing and I would feel like a new person. I don't even know that I could get up if I wanted to, much less to workout. I barely do that during normal hours.

Reasons I would actually get out of bed that early:
1. The house is on fire. (I could always sleep in the car while they put it out, it's pretty comfy.)
2. Someone is making loud noises ie. screaming, snoring etc... (If the pillow over my head didn't drown out the noise, I could put it over theirs...not a good thought, no, not nice.)
3. Superman was knocking on my door. (Mmmmmmm... Supergirl would like that!)

I thought I could come up with more reasons, however I just couldn't think of any more reasons that were good enough to get out of bed that early.

Bizarro

2005-07-09T00:28:00.000-04:00

While blogging today, I was told that if I were to travel to end of the universe that I would find another universe with a Yes-L staring back at me. Maybe she would look somthing like this, the evil me.

Brown Noise

2005-07-06T23:33:00.000-04:00

One night when my parents were up here we were watching this movie called "White Noise". While we were watching the movie we kept being rudely interrupted by this fowl smell in the air. You see my dog Holly seems to have a problem. She can clear a room, quicker than a fire alarm. She has this stinky pooti problem, but we can't help but love her anyways. How could you not love this face? It's soooo ugly but yet so adorable. Trust me she will fart silently and pick up her fat ass and leave the room. We will be like what happened to Holly? Then we get a whiff of the air that has so violently entered our nose and it's like OMG! So obviously now we know why Holly has left the room. She was nicknamed Brown Noise by my parents. Holly will never live down this nickname with her stinky ass.

That is our other little girl in the pic, she is a much better dog. She basically doesn't have the Brown Noise issue.

Happy Birthday America

2005-07-04T17:05:00.000-04:00

We are on our way to see the big firework show on the Charles River in Boston. The Boston Pops are having a free concert and there are over 600,000 people planned to attend. This will be an interesting gridlock in the traffic system. Unfortunately the firework show doesn't start til 10:30PM. Not good when it will probably take over 2 hours to get home and you have to work the next day. Anyways, Boston is also celebrating it's birthday of being 375 years old the city will be celebrating the entire summer, supposedly there will be a city wide celebration. I can't wait to see that, it sound like chaotic fun. Hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday!

Wonka Wonka Wonka

2005-07-03T00:01:00.000-04:00

I can't wait to to see the new version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The movie looks so vibrant and strange. Johnny Depp is so perfect for this eccentric roll and it will be very interesting to see Tim Burton's version to say the least. If you didn't know this already it comes out on July 15th. My favorite line so far is when Johnny Depp says "Chewing gum is really gross, chewing gum I hate the most." I already own a shirt that says "I'm sorry, I don't speak American." I will probably have to buy the tank top too. I am not normally this much of a fan of anything, hmmmm... maybe it's living in Boston where everyone seems to be fanatic about something. Could I be turning into a Masshole? Please someone help me before I say wicked or add a r to somewhere it doesn't belong.

Anyways, back to Wonka mania I recently rented the old version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory on DVD. It was a lot brighter than it used to be, when it was in Technicolor. I wasn't the only one out there renting it, Blockbuster had over 20 copies of this digitally enhanced movie. I forgot it was a musical, I wonder if the new one will be? I don't typically like musicals, but I don't mind the oompa loompas singing a song or two.

Cutest Feet, Ever!

2005-06-29T20:01:00.000-04:00

Are these not just the most adorable feet ever? I have just a slight obsession with my feet, could you tell? Please comment if you agree that these are definitely the most cutest feet in all of the land.

_______________________________

fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more;
whine less, breath more; talk less,
say more; hate less, love more, and
all good things will be yours.
-swedish proverb

California Dreamin'

2005-06-28T23:21:00.000-04:00

California was great, it was beautiful the entire week and I now have a much needed tan...Yeah! While I was out there the company I work for had as always some fun functions: Casino night (gambling with fake $, which is a good thing when you tend to lose it all) & Bowling night (I thought the lower the score the better;). I also got to shop, eat good Mexican food (which you can't find up here,) see a movie and swim. Can you say exhausted? I am now in need of a vacation. I forgot about all of the Palm Trees and the tropical plants, I absolutely love and miss them. Do you think there is a way to grow them here? Anyways, I came back to Boston and it is very hot and humid, In New England there are 3 types of weather Hot, Cold and Unbearably Cold, there is no day that seems to be in-between. I already miss California and I am dreaming about the Palm Trees in my sleep.

Off to Callie

2005-06-20T20:53:00.000-04:00

I am flying out to Callie tomorrow. Unfortunately not a vacation, it is for work. Of course it is nice and warm out here, just when I am leaving for a week. I will be returning on Sunday, so hopefully it will be warm when I get back.

Post Secret

2005-06-19T23:19:00.000-04:00

I stumbled onto this site called Post Secret. It is a really interesting site, people send in their secrets on a post card and they get published onto the internet daily. Some are talented, some are depressing and some are just plain hilarious. If you have a moment you should click on over to see them.

Post Secret

Let me know what you think. Maybe you will see a secret from me ;)

Happy Fathers Day

2005-06-19T13:38:00.000-04:00

Happy Fathers Day. I wish I could spend the day with my step-dad, but I know my family is enjoying warm weather, probably by the pool without me. Hey, thanks JJ for the reminder to call your dad.

New Weather Forecast

2005-06-18T21:24:00.000-04:00

I just uploaded the weather forecast for Boston, so that you can see how much colder it is here.

Parents Come To Visit

2005-06-16T23:39:00.000-04:00

When you go someplace on vacation, it's like I have to go see this? I have to go see that? At least if you are like me it's one huge checklists. My vacations are always like that, I always need a vacation for my vacation. When I moved to Boston there were so many things that I wanted to see and do, I had imagined doing them all on every single day I was off, like as if I was on vacation. Anyways, on my days off I've been lazy and haven't done much of anything, except eat out, watch movies and be a big couch potato. Then my parents come to visit for a week and we see more in a week then we have in 6 months of living here, pretty sad huh?

Some of the things we did while they were here, which by the way didn't put a dent on the lists of things to do was:
-The oh so famous Duck Tour (It is this land to water vehicle and you actually go into the Charles River.)
-The top of the Pru (what the people here call it, short for the Prudential Center for all of you not from here, which is by the way the tallest building in Boston, such great views and shopping too.)
-Gambling at the Mohegan (I lost money, while everyone else won some)
-Faneuil Hall (it's been here since the 1700's, did I mention everything is old here?)
-The North End (which has great Italian restaurants and for dessert we just had to go to the place that puts your pastrys in these cute little boxes, which you hold by a string called Mike's Pastrys, mmmm, it's like little bites of heaven.)

There are so many great restaurants in Boston, we could almost not decide which ones to take them to. We should probably not know so many of them already. It defintly shows on the waistline, maybe I should skip the pastry shop next time or maybe not!?!

Spring In New England

2005-06-16T22:46:00.000-04:00

During the spring it was like January in Florida, 40 degrees during the day and in the 30's at night. This lasted til the last week of May. Then all of a sudden June was here and the temperature shot up to 80's. It was as they say in New England "Wicked Hot". So I thought to myself I won't need a sweater/jacket til the fall, of course, I'm lovin every minute of it. Okay, so it's the middle of June now and I walk out of my house with capris, t-shirt and flip flops on, you know the summer garb. This strong cold wind comes along and pushes me back a step or two and it's freakin cold. I go back in to get a sweater and check the weather report, it's in the 50's again, rainy and dreary. As they say in New England "if you don't like the weather wait 20 minutes, it will change." They are not kidding around. The weather forecasters definitly haven't figured it out and I haven't either. Everyone always tells me the reason they don't like Florida is that there are no seasons, well I'm sorry, why would you want to go through 6 months of cold miserable gloom to get a couple of months of color changing. Then it's miserable all over again before you know it. If were lucky we will get a good couple of months of warmth and sunshine, cross your fingers for me.

The Slap Heard Around The World

2005-06-15T23:45:00.000-04:00

This was taken at my birthday party. It's a funny picture and I know she will appreciate it, right? It was one of those birthdays that everyone makes a big deal out of, people state things like this is a mid-life point, you've entered adulthood, your over the hill and you have to be responsible now. Everyone thinks your going to get depressed, cry or just freak out! Well none of those things happened. If anything, this birthday was a coming to terms with myself, being able to accept me for who I am and not worry about disappointing people. Yeah, now I just don't give a fuck! No, I'm not bitter, just content and not trying to impress everyone.

To swim, or not to swim?

2005-06-06T23:45:00.000-04:00

It is finally hot enough outside to consider swimming. The pool is clear, the sky is blue and just standing outside for any length of time makes you sweat or for the ladies perspire. So you would think it's finally time to go swimming, well did you get a load of that temperature? That my friend is the temperature of the water, yes 67 degrees. Considering that I used to be cold if it was less than 70 degrees outside and 88 degrees in the water, I wouldn't have even thought of jumping in the pool without a wet suit. Well today it was so hot putting my new patio furniture and grill together that I jumped right in, no hesitation. The thing that strikes me most is that I didn't jump right out, I enjoyed it for a little bit and swam around. I think I am adapting to this climate and the biggest question is... Will I ever be able to move back home and stand the heat that I used to love?

First Time

2005-06-05T01:21:00.000-04:00

This is my first official posting, I never thought that I would do or be apart of something like this. I am however so intrigued by this whole world of Blogging, that I couldn't resist. I had no idea it even existed or that so many people were a part of it til the other day.

Water Lillies

2005-06-05T00:21:00.000-04:00

10115652-1
Originally uploaded by the1stnoel.

This is one of my favorite paintings.