Can't sleep

It's 2 am (two ay em) ... I just spent a half-hour looking for the song that has those lyrics. geez.

I can't sleep.

I know I'm tired. I KNOW I am. I just can't sleep! I lie there and get all wide-eyed. It's awful.

Now it's 2:15. The time thingy at the bottom down there, the post time stamp is off by 25 minutes (approx). I should fix that....


Tomorrow, er, today, I mean, tonight I'll sleep better.

Shopping, reading, my car and SPIDEY

(Marvel, you are awesome! Thanks for the pic!)




I SCORED today at Goodwill! I've been looking for a new wardrobe, pretty consistently, at thrift stores and have come up empty. Today, I hit the jackpot! Ten tops, three bottoms and shoes all for about $50! YAY! I might post pics later. If I do, let me know what you think; I'm a TERRIBLE judge of what suits me.
Which is why I'm going to go shopping again, in about a month. Museum Girl very sweetly offered to go shopping with me, and, as she always looks really polished and put-together (and has kick-ass jewelry), I'm going to accept and we'll figure out a date. Right now is super-busy for both of us, so we can hold off for a while. I'd like to check out some new stores, like Pink Blvd (http://www.pinkblvdclothing.com - sorry, I couldn't make it "clicky") and some old faves, like Ann Taylor and Talbot's. And maybe Banana Republic, but their colors are dull.

Also, here is Edward Cullen:
(aka Robert Pattinson) (photo credit:AP Photo: In this Friday, Nov. 18, 2005 file photo, actor Robert Pattinson appears in Tokyo...)
I've enjoyed the Twilight series so far (by Stephenie Meyer) and am waiting VERY impatiently for the fourth and final book. The series is intended for the teen market, but I like it, anyway. The girl is a regular Jane, not a richy or a supermodel or perfect. She's just a regular kid. I remember the all-consuming and irresponsible love I had for my first love (oh, my god, what a saga) and this brings it all fresh to my memory (and not without a bit of pain). The movie based on Twilight comes out in December. If you have a teen, particularly a teen girl, you know all of this already!

This is what I drive. She's an automatic trannie, not a lot of get up and go. But she does what she has to! One of my favorite things is to turn a corner really fast and sharply while braking so she kind of slides or "drifts" around the corner. Very effective for making red lights! hee hee! People just don't expect a Prius to behave that way!


Now, I'm off to go catch up on my Spider-Man comics. Jim at Argos Books is a gem! He'll track down used books for my and he saves three Spidey titles for me and doesn't get mad when it takes me a fiscal quarter to pick them up!
(http://www.argosbooks.com - sorry, I couldn't make it "clicky")

Nope, no whining here.

I posted a bit of whining but just deleted it. I'm going with Dory's mantra:
"just keep swimming, just keep swimming"
(Thanks to imdb.com and pixar and maybe even Disney for the pic)

Just keep going forward. Let life continue, see what's coming up next, do NOT stay in the ditch when you can just drive on out! I've actually never gotten stuck in a ditch. I almost got stuck in sand once, in a 1971 Monte Carlo. It was the neighbor's car and manohman could it go! It had a 245hp 350 V-8 in it and it ate up the road! All I had to do was THINK about the gas pedal and it sped up! I was 17, my boyfriend lived half an hour away, down a nice, twisty country road! I loved that car! It was amazingly nice of the neighbor to let me drive it! Oh, and I NEVER let the boyfriend drive it. heh.


Hey, I'm feeling better already.

Chatting

Well, it's been a busy, busy couple of weeks! And yet, nothing really unusual has happened. Hmmm.... I had cereal for breakfast today....

Actually, last weekend, Bro was in town for a blink, just to check over his now-empty house and clean it up. I wish I had his energy and discipline! My house is so messy and, I fear, dirty. Gross, I know. I just can't seem to find the gumption, energy, will to clean it! Maybe moving to the cottage is the solution. It's much, much smaller and would be easier to keep clean. It's easy to say things like "set a timer and clean for x# of minutes" or "just start and you'll keep going - it's the getting started that's the hard part, just force yourself" or "start in one corner of one room and focus on only that so you don't get overwhelmed" all good suggestions, but not helpful, really. I KNOW all that stuff already. It is the getting started, yes that's true... and I remain stalled. An engine in need of a tune-up or downright repair. I think it's my distributor. All the energy and power is going to things other than housework!

Anyway, it was great, great, great to see Bro and George (his son, my nephew). He looks like George Clooney. True! He's a really good person, I hope he's proud of himself for how he's turned out! He's caring and thoughtful and gregarious and sweet. I love my nephew! Mr Handsome and I took them to see the cottage. George and Mr Handsome made the cottage seem really tiny - they're both well over 6 feet tall! Me and Bro fit right in - short Italian people!

I've been struggling with my wardrobe, too. I have a lot of t-shirts that simply are NOT appropriate for the bookstore (if any t-shirts are, actually, which I doubt, but mine aren't, for sure)! Most have a "cute" thing on them, like a saying or a picture, etc. Too young, probably, for me in general, but certainly not right for the bookstore. I try to go shopping, but can't find anything. Of course, I'm only going to thrift stores. I just hate spending $30 for a shirt at a "real" store!!! That's TEN shirts at a thrift shop! TEN! So. I either need to go thrifting more often, or I need to go shopping for real.

Hometown Girl and I met in Saugatuck last week and had a great time, non-stop chatting! I got VERY sunburnt. Stupid me. I KNOW better! Ah, well! It's Summertime! Gotta get a burn at least once! It really was wonderful to just hang out with her for a few hours. Just drift through the little town, stopping now and again for food or shopping. I hope we can do that again, soon.


























The condiments are in the Bud Light 6-pack holder. This picture in no way endorses Bud Light as a beer, unless one is drinking it after some strenuous physical activity and even then ONLY if no water is available. Or juice. Or, hell, milk! Anything! Light beer! eckh.

bookstore

Some pictures of the bookstore, starting from when you come through the little foyer into the store proper. Look to your left and you see me!








The last 2 pictures show the poet who read his stuff, John Rybicki and the band that played on Friday (Solid Geometry) . It was fun and was darn successful! We sold the poet's book and the band's cd and a (very) few other stuff, too!












I sat on Cleo today! I hope she's ok! She was underneath a blanket on the chaise and I didn't know she was there! "MeeeYOW!" she said. yikes!

Robin of Sherwood

This has been a crazy kinda week! I still plan on posting more about Seattle; I've got lots of pics and stories to share. And I also want to show off my new place of employment! And interior pics of the Cottage (still needs a nickname...)!

But I'm too tired tonight. I've been kitty sitting for a gorgeous cat named Eliza (Miss Doolittle, unless otherwise invited to call her by her given name). She's very shy and I feel quite flattered that she lets me pet her! Anyway, so I babysat Eliza this morning, then worked all day and then we went to our first yoga class. It was a long one, an hour and a half! I'm going to be sore tomorrow, I bet. Also, tomorrow, I'll be petsitting Ruby and Leo at the crack of dawn, then go to my Bro's house to monitor the packers for about an hour and then it's work time. We're having a poetry reading/music performance after store hours, so it'll be a long day, but a fun one.

So, to bring sweet dreams, here's a couple of pictures of Michael Praed as Robin Hood in the British TV show "Robin of Sherwood" from the early 1980's. IMDB for more info. I can't remember from where I downloaded these pictures, but they aren't mine and I'm grateful to whoever put them on the 'net! I know they're copyrighted 1983 HTV Goldcrest Films







It was a GREAT series! I loved it! And he was not only fantastically handsome, he was a fantastic Robin Hood!


(no, no, no, he's NOT Steve Perry)










ooooooh, just a lovely man....

My kids

Cleo's work station




Upside down Bubba





He's going to fall, I just sense it.

Dinner Out with the Girls

We Girls try to get together for dinner once a month. We're pretty good at making it happen! It's always, never fail, a good time. I am so lucky to be friends with these women; they are, each of them, so fascinating, interesting and just all-around lovely people.

Lima has a tan, but, more impressively, her nail polish matches her automobile!

I've put a black bar over my friends' eyes to help conceal their identities, don't know if it helps. It sorta looks like a "G1amour Don't." But, many people do not want their pic on the 'net, so I try to comply (even if they've said it's ok). I'll remove the bar(s) later if they say "Geez, Homebody, that looks ridiculous. Set my eyes free." ~~UPDATE 7/9~~~ Lima said Amnesteye International called and demanded her eye's freedom! Bar removed! (But I didn't from the picture she shares with Museum Girl 'cause I'm lazy. Hey, it's my blog. I can do what I want!)


Lima and Museum Girl (concealed behind a museum) go over the bill.

The Blonde couldn't make it this time (family commitments), but the rest of us did, including Furniture Girl's victim, er, friend! We ate at a Turkish restaurant, Zeytin's, and everything was delicious! It's a very beautiful restaurant, very spare decor, and elegantly done. Our server was just the right amount attentive, too. Quite a feat with five women!


Furniture Girl has beautiful hair. I covet her hair.

There was a trio playing pop music along the lines of Cowboy Junkies, and, um, I forget the other covers they did. They were very good, but it's a small restaurant with lots of hard (sound-bouncing) surfaces, so it was quite loud, which was annoying. But only slightly. I just dislike feeling I must shout to be heard and/or missing part of the conversation because I can't hear what's being said.

Furniture Girl and her friend, NKY, have awesome smiles!

So, we've been doing these dinners since January. I think it's been pretty collaborative. Apparently, though, I'm all talk, and no walk. I didn't realize I hadn't been pulling my load. It was decreed that I should have a cookout at my house for the next one, including spouses, SOs, etc. Ok! I have to work the day that was suggested, but everyone can just come a little later. It'll all work out. And I asked/begged/demanded (I hope I didn't do THAT) of Furniture Girl that she bring her World Famous Salad! Honestly, her salad is soooooooooo good! I could eat it as a main course and I am a confirmed carnivore.

Your hostess, Homebody, enjoys a nice Robert Strong.
















I told you Lima's polish matched her auto!

Kitties

They're actually touching! She's even sleeping, curled up next to him! WOW!


Today was my second day as a bookseller! It is SUCH a pretty store, such a nice place to be. There's a lot of work to do, which is great! I mean, it'd be terrific if I could sit there and read all day, but, after all, it is a JOB! So, it's good to work. Book Doctor is very easy to get along with and a good boss in that she's not awkward about letting me know what she wants. I want a boss to be a boss, y'know? Not a drill sergant and not a kindergarten teacher. A boss. AND she's nice! I have high hopes for this job! I just need to get over the shyness of approaching people who come in. I don't want to tackle them, but I don't want to be too aloof, either. I think I'll read some biz books, to learn how to be a better biz person.