Spirits in Camphooperville.

Despite total exhaustion, oppressive heat and mosquitos, and a vacation TOO far away in the future, the ladies of Camphooperville are hanging in there with not too much to report, other than a possible spirit infestation in the homestead.

Here is recap of our other-worldly run-ins of the past 5 days:
1. Montana wakes up at 3am to hear her iTunes blaring Elliot Smith from the room where Oliver and Sprout sleep. The keyboard is stowed beneath the desk and there is no reason iTunes should spontaneously be playing at any time....

2. Red and Fox, who sleep in their comfy box, bust out and come wake us up at around 5:30am. The box is latched and there is no way they could unfasten it, without assistance.

3. I make coffee on Saturday night so that on Sunday morning, all I have to do is hit "on"....I wake up and do so, only to return to see the water streaming all over the counter. I am CERTAIN that the basket was in place when I hit "on." Certain.

All I can figure is that whatever is going on....whatever spirit, energy, what-have-you is going on in our home, it must like dogs, coffee and music. Go figure.

the Girl effect.

beautiful, simple execution...great message. design at its finest.

Go Cynthia, Go!

My boss' wife, who owns Pink Magazine, recently edited *ahem* "Men at Work" signs around town. It has resulted in this article in the AJC as well as over 40 pages of "colorful" responses. Too many of these are hate-filled verbal vomit....I think we should all respond in support of someone who is bold enough to go after seeing a problem and demanding a solution.
this, from another enlightened Georgian:

and yet....more dead things.

This evening, while cooking dinner, Red, the trusty dead-thing-retriever brought a dead bird inside....and, of course, laid it on my side of the bed.

Nancy Grace isn't the only Nancy I love.

Brought to you by NPR, one of my favorite childhood book series....Nancy Drew....
"I loved Nancy Drew because of her curiosity, a fascination with assembling clues — or facts — into a story and her certain recklessness. For me those qualities add up what it takes to be ... a reporter." ....or a designer :)

Kill update.

This is what I woke-up to this morning from my beautiful beagle, Red.

A dead rat....................on. my. bed.

catching up....sort of.

Whoa, were those two of the lamest. posts. ever? Yeah, well that is what you get when you are balls-to-the-wall busy. Sadly, I must report that my weekend included neither margaritas nor a pool. On the upside, I did see the new Sex in the City movie...and it was fab. Made me want to run off and live in NYC...that is, until my beagle kindly brought a dead bunny into the house...onto the couch...and I realized this could never happen in the middle of Manhattan. Aah, domestic bliss.

my new favorite youtube.

weekend bliss.

This is what I want for the weekend.

a few things about me.

50 odd things about me:

1. Do you like blue cheese? Yes

2. Have you ever smoked heroin? uh, no....

3. Do you own a gun? not yet.

4. Your favorite song? currently, I am into bluegrass and Lucinda Williams.

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? only when I've had unprotected sex

6. What do you think of hot dogs? they are only good with beer at a festival

7. Favorite Christmas song? Oh Holy Night

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? coffee with real half and half (color just slightly darker than brown paper bag)

9. Can you do 10 push ups? YES!

10. Favorite thing about the 80's? that it's over.

11. What's your favorite jewelry? my watch and rings...

12. Favorite hobby? cooking

13. Secret weapon to get the opposite sex? hmmm.....in my case, being a lesbian.

14. Do you have A.D.D? not right now.

15. What is one trait you hate about yourself? I can be controllling and demanding.

16. Middle name? Caldwell

17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? I want a nap. I hope Oliver (my cat) is okay. It is FRIDAY.

18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday? Taco seasoning, chips, refried beans.

19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? red wine, water, coffee.

20. Current worry right now? A broken washing machine and a sick cat.

21. Current hate right now? gas prices and mosquitos

22. Favorite place to be? home and at the beach

23. How did you bring in the New Year? champagne, food and friends.

24 Where would you like to go? Spain....or the beach.

25. Name three people who will complete this: people who feel like wasting a good chunk of time.

26. Do you own slippers? Yes

27. What shirt are you wearing? white v-neck t-shirt

29. Can you whistle? Yes

30. Favorite color? orange

31. Would you be a pirate? no, they are mean and have beards

32. What songs do you sing in the shower? whatever I wake up with in my head

33. Favorite girl's name? I don't know

34. Favorite boy's name? Cooper. Harry.

35. What's in your pocket right now? nothing

36. Last thing that made you laugh? my co-workers

37. Best bed sheets as a child? plain ol' white ones....they smell like my mom's linen closet.

38. Worst injury you've ever had? I fell into a rusty pipe on the playground in 7th grade a busted a hole in my shin.

39. Do you love where you live? Completely

40. How many TVs do you have in your house? 1

41. Who is your loudest friend? Amy

42. Do you have a dog? 3: Red, Fox, and Pfeiifer

43. Does someone have a crush on you? my beagle....but it's mutual.

44. Favorite cartoons? watched Spongebob the other day...pretty funny.

45. Who is your favorite author? Don't have one specific

46. What is your favorite candy? reeses peanut butter cups

47. Your favorite Sports Team? LSU

48. What song do you want played at your funeral? Go forth into the world in peace....whatever, i'm cheesy today.

49. What were you doing 12 AM last night? looking for my cat in the yard.

50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? it's FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dreams.

WHY do I continue to have dreams of planes crashing? Last night, I dreamt plane after plane after plane after plane crashed to the ground...some just couldn't make it into the sky, some got about half-way through ascent and crashed, but I just stood there watching.

This is what DreamMoods.com says:
To dream that a plane crashes, suggests that you have set overly high and unrealistic goals for yourself. Your goals may be too high and are impossible to realize. You are in danger of having it come crashing down. Alternatively, your lack of confidence, self-defeating attitude and self-doubt toward the goals you have set for yourself is represented by the crashing airplane; you do not believe in your ability to attain those goals. Loss of power and uncertainty in achieving your goals are also signified.

Well I say FUCK THAT.

Yup, it's Monday.

I know...I am the worst blogger ever. I have been utterly slammed at work and my Lady and I spent the entire weekend putting ourselves through the ultimate relationship challenge: assembling an oversized piece of IKEA furniture. We survived, but the endeavor left me tattered and bruised not to mention exhausted and longing for an extended beach vacation. I did, however, purchase some new NIKE running shoes in honor of my friend, Audrey, who is moving to Portland today to work for NIKE...plus, my knees are basically turning into two piles of sawdust, so it is time for some new kicks. Not that anyone really cares, but I need fodder for this entry.
Which brings me to today.
Monday.
The most important nugget of wisdom I can proffer to my kind readers is to ALWAYS make sure that, when ingesting vitamins, one must do so on a FULL stomach. Wow, who knew vitamins on a banana and OJ could create such disharmony in one's gut.
Cheers and Happy Monday!

Justice is Served.

Thank God.

public transit.

"Somebody git my hair so I can GO!"

Catching up....

Whew, has it been nearly 2 weeks since my last post? Crazy how life goes by so fast. I am sad to say that I have been mourning the passing of my hard drive....it crashed about 2 weeks ago and I have been struggling to catch up with and restore my digital life. It is crazy how much we rely on these little metal boxes. A gentle reminder to BACK your work up because when it is gone it is GONE. In the meantime, Montana's mom was in town for her birthday...much fun has been had and many brain cells killed over Grand Marnier and dice. (see below photograph).

I'm sure there is much more interesting news to report, but i am easing back into blogging....I wouldn't want to strain myself.

Please be patient.

Yes

This is "leveraged" blog content from 37 Days, but so beautiful and so perfect for. right. now.

Yes

It could happen any time, tornado,
earthquake, Armageddon. It could happen.
Or sunshine, love, salvation.

It could, you know. That's why we wake
and look out - no guarantees
in this life.

But some bonuses, like morning,
like right now, like noon,
like evening.

- William Stafford

New Painting.

Here is a new painting I am working on....it may be finished....I'm not sure. Hope you like!

incredible.

This is amazing! The human form is absolutely incredible and these brothers from Poland (I think?!) do things I did not think were humanly possible.

Lauren Greenfield

Wasting time on the internet, I came across this site today: Lauren Greenfield Photography.. A very happy find and VERY relevant to my previous post. Here is a little bit about Ms. Greenfield:

"Acclaimed photographer Lauren Greenfield is considered a preeminent chronicler of youth culture as a result of her groundbreaking projects Girl Culture and Fast Forward. Her photographs have been widely exhibited and are in many museum collections including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the International Center of Photography. She was named by American Photo as one of the 25 most influential photographers working today."

what?

I am, by no means, a prude. I think human form is beautiful. I paint it, I photograph it, I don't have any freaky-weird hang-ups about nudity, but I have a serious problem with this company. (No offense, Lonny....my friend who works for Abercrombie and Fitch and has launched this new sub-brand). The first glimpse we get at this new arm of Abercrombie and Fitch is a "promotional" video on their website which, by the way, you have to submit your age in order to view. The video is a montage of naked, anorexic-looking young women and buffed, tan men swimming, dancing, flirting and hanging up laundry in the great outdoors. My problem with this is that the target audience for A&F consumers is usually 18 and under (partially because of the style and partially because no one with an actual ass or thighs could wear their clothes otherwise)...the women featured in this video could not be older than 18, IF they were even that "old." What I want to know is WHY do we need to use sex to sell to girls that are 14? I mean, seriously, that is so ridiculously unimaginative and lame. 14 year old girls have neither the ability nor the maturity to understand these messages or make informed choices regarding what this brand is telling them. Do I think they should be banned? Absolutely NOT, but I don't think A&F supports or endorses healthy, substantive role-models for young women and uses ideas and images that send inappropriate and confusing messages to young women (and men). I just wonder who makes decisions to put these images and messages out there and why. It is not smart, it is not anything new, and it feeds a social beast that eats away at the self-esteem of so many women. Where is ANY sense of responsibility?