Leaping & Lying (060/366)

“Thirty days hath September / April, June, and November / February has twenty-eight alone / All the rest have thirty-one / Excepting leap year / That's the time / When February's days are twenty-nine.”

One variation of a traditional English mnemonic rhyme regarding the days of the months

TIME:  9:21 & 9:11 PM
PLACE:  DramaQueen’s bedroom
SUBJECT:  StellaDella leaping up & DramaQueen lying down

Happy Leap Year! (Not if you’re Davy Jones though-He’s on the Last Train to Clarksville).  Amazing how fast children will do what you ask when you tell them to jump on a bed so you can take a picture.  SD was more than happy to oblige me.  The older daughter was kind enough to let us use her bed as the trampoline.  Thank you DQ…I know being nice tires you out.  Love ya!

I Got Off The Couch (059/366)

“The only reason I would take up jogging is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.”

Erma Bombeck (U.S. humorist, 1927-1996)

TIME:  6:52 PM
PLACE:  Local High school
SUBJECT:  Track & bleachers

Had my first 5K training this evening at 6pm.  I wore my new shoes & running pants.  I don’t know if they helped, but I was able to complete the alternations of 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of brisk walking for a total of 20 minutes with a minimum of huffing and puffing.  Now…let’s see how I feel tomorrow morning.  I’m sure it will be painful.

They’re Always Watching (058/366)

“I could tell my parents hated me. My bath toys were a toaster and a radio.”

Rodney Dangerfield (American Comedian, 1921-2004)

TIME:  11:17 PM
PLACE:  Bathroom
SUBJECT:  Bath toys

This is why I don’t take baths.  There is no hiding from prying eyes of the bath toys.  I need my privacy.

Doormat (057/366)

“There are only two types of women - goddesses and doormats”

Pablo Picasso (Spanish Artist and Painter. 1881-1973)

TIME:  10:52 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Doormat

I purchased this doormat while I was at Home Depot this morning.  And just for the record?  I am a goddess.

A Sign From Above (056/366)

“Stag – It’s Not For Beginners”

Stag beer slogan

TIME:  5:52 PM
PLACE:  Outside a bar
SUBJECT:  Stag beer sign

It was a trivia night that brought us to this place.  We (myself, HandsomeHusband, DramaQueen and my dad) did not do so well.  As a matter of face, we came in dead last.  In our defense, we only had the four of us sitting at an 8-person table.  I should have known that the evening wasn’t going to go well when, after purchasing some pain relievers at a convenience store, I get into the wrong car.  Oops.  Luckily the lady sitting in that car’s driver’s seat found my error amusing.  It also entertained my father and children who were watching me from the other vehicle.

Cotton Candy (055/366)

Damon Salvatore: I'm here to eat cotton candy and steal your girl.

“Founder’s Day.” The Vampire Diaries. 13 May 2010. Television

TIME:  6:38 PM
PLACE:  School
SUBJECT:  Cotton Candy

StellaDella’s grade school had a family movie night in the gym this evening.  One of the snacks available to purchase was cotton candy that was made in the school’s color – purple.  SD ate three of them during the viewing of “Dolphin Tale”

Putting My Feet Up (054/366)

Pippin: A mug of ale in my hand, putting my feet up on a settle after a hard day's work.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Peter Jackson, dir. 2003

TIME:  9:29 PM
PLACE:  Home
SUBJECT:  My shoes

I didn’t have a mug of ale in my hand.  What I did have was a Diet Coke on my desk and a large, orange cat sitting on my lap.  Sigh.  It just isn’t the same, is it?

Woven (053/366)

“Everywhere across whatever sorrows of which our life is woven, some radiant joy will gaily flash past.”

Nikolai Gogol (Russian, Playwright, short-story writer, and novelist 1809-1852)

TIME:  10:46 PM
PLACE:  Living room
SUBJECT:  Basket

Yep.  This is all I’ve got today.  Not very exciting, but I do like the texture and pattern of this photo.  So there’s that.

How Not To Bake A Potato (052/366)

“I put instant coffee in a microwave oven and almost went back in time.”

Stephen Wright (American Actor and Writer, b.1955)

TIME:  11:06 PM
PLACE:  The microwave
SUBJECT:  Baked potato and done-for plate

A piece of advice to all you parents out there.  Be sure to re-iterate to your children – especially the 8-year-old – that metal of any kind does not belong in the microwave.  Because when they use that appliance to re-heat a leftover baked potato that is still wrapped in aluminum foil?  It kind of causes issues.  I’m just sayin’.

A Beautiful Zombie (051/366)

Dr. Maxwell: She makes a beautiful zombie doesn't she?

I Walked With A Zombie. Jacques Tourneur, dir. RKO Radio Pictures. 1943.

TIME:  7:04 PM
PLACE:  Home
SUBJECT:  StellaDella

Here is another of SD’s birthday presents – a Girl Zombie Cozy from the Worldwide Zombie Awareness Coalition.  This was from my brother and sister-in-law.  It is so StellaDella.

It’s Like Looking In A Mirror (050/366)

[Sean Archer and Castor Troy, each wearing the other's face, meet]
Castor Troy: It's like looking in a mirror. Only... not.

Face/Off. John Woo, dir, Paramount Pictures. 1997.

TIME:  6:56 PM
PLACE:  HandsomeHusband’s shoulder
SUBJECT:  Blade and friend

We celebrated StellaDella’s birthday with family tonight.  Of course Blade had to come out and join the festivities.  Part of Grandpa’s gift included this “Squishimal” lizard.  I think Blade is impressed with it’s craftsmanship.

Oh, So It’s A *Girl* Fish (049/366)

Jenny: Well, if those are the teeth, and that's the tongue, then that must be the uvula!
Chowder: Oh, so it's a *girl* house...
Jenny: [looks at him] *What?*

Monster House, Columbia Pictures, 2006.

TIME:  10:01 PM
PLACE:  Home
SUBJECT: Plecostomus mouth

Who knew that algae fish have uvulas?  I didn’t until this evening.  I’ve learned something new today.

Pink Reebok (048/366)

“How classy is it for me to wear these pink tennis shoes with my tux?”

Will Ferrell (American Comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer, b. 1967)

TIME:  10:51 PM
PLACE:  Home
SUBJECT:  Running shoe heel

The local running club has set up a Couch to 5k training program beginning on February 28th.  It is a 9 week program for individuals to run three miles or 5K within two months.  I’ve decided to participate.  My goal is to complete a 5K Run in under 35 minutes on April 28th.  That date is significant because it is the day before my 45th birthday – yikes!  I know I can do this.  In preparation, I bought new pink running shoes, techfit shorts and running pants tonight.  Hey, at least I’ll look good while huffing and puffing and plodding along, right?

Nice Rack (047/366)

Dr. Neven Bell: You know, I had a bully in school too. He would wait for me every morning outside the bicycle rack.

”Mr. Monk and the Bully.” Monk. 6 Feb 2009. Television

TIME:  5:45 PM
PLACE:  School
SUBJECT:  Bike rack

MonkeyBoy’s volleyball game took place at a newly built school in one of the other school districts in our town.  Everything was so shiny - even the bike racks.

I’m Melting! Melting! (046/365)

“You cursed brat! Look what you've done! I'm melting! melting! Oh, what a world! What a world! Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness? Oooooh, look out! I'm going! Oooooh! Ooooooh!”

Wicked Witch of the West. The Wizard of Oz. Metro-Golden-Mayer. 1939.

TIME:  5:41 PM
PLACE:  The stovetop
SUBECT:  Onion slice

It’s a well known little known-fact that I (and the children) enjoy grilled onions on my burgers.  And since that’s what I like and I’m chief cook and bottle washer, when I make hamburgers, I always slice up a Vidalia onion and grill them along with the burgers in the cast iron skillet.  This onion slice doesn't look too happy to be in the frying pan.  That’s ok…soon after this shot, I was compassionate and put him out of his misery and into my belly.  Yum. 

Sucker (045/366)

Sugar: Story of my life. I always get the fuzzy end of the lollipop.

Monroe, Marilyn, perf. Some Like It Hot. Dir. Billy Wilder. 1959. United Artists.

TIME:  8:21 PM
PLACE:  Home
SUBJECT:  Heart shaped lollipop given to me by StellaDella

I know my husband loves me because he cleaned all the snow off my car this morning before he left for work.  He does that all the time, not just on Valentine’s Day, but because of the day it is, it just seemed extra sweet to me today.  I’ve got to enjoy that, because SOMEONE ate all of the chocolate covered strawberries he gave me on Sunday.  I’m looking at you oldest daughter.  I am so not happy with you right now.  I’m taking the Valentine candy I bought you back to the store.  Wait a minute…actually, I’m just going to eat it myself.  So there!

I’m With Cupid (044/366)

“I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon.”

Author Unknown

TIME:  2:57 PM
PLACE:  Home
SUBJECT:  Kewpie figurine

This is some of my other Valentine’s Day decorations…one of three ceramic Kewpie cupids that I purchased from Hallmark back in the mid 1990’s.  I nestled him in a lovely thrifted candleholder made of plastic white flowers and plastic birds covered in red velvet and a sprinkling of gold glitter.  Very 1970’s kitsch.

They Did Throw Her Something (043/366)

Lenny: Homer, how can you afford this Mardi Gras party every year?
Homer: Well, it's a little thing called a home equity loan. I spend all the money I want, and the house gets stuck with the bill. He he he he! Sucker.

”No Loan Again, Naturally.” The Simpsons. 8 Mar 2009. Television.

TIME:  5:48 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Mardi Gras beads

The Soulard Mardi Gras Beggin’ Barkus Pet Parade happened today in St. Louis and did I get to go?  Nooooo.  But guess who did?  DramaQueen.  She went with my cousin Pete, his daughter Sophia and another friend, Sara.  Yes, those are condoms on several of the beads she procured.  *shaking my head*  I was assured that she did not employ the traditional NC-17 way of obtaining them.

Brownie Pin (042/365)

Twist me and turn me and show me the elf;
I looked in the water and there saw – Myself!

The Brownie Story, Girl Scouts

TIME:  10:45 PM
PLACE:  StellaDella’s brownie vest
SUBJECT:  Brownie Girl Scout Membership Pin

StellaDella participated in a “World Thinking Day” (a special day set aside for Girl Guides and Girl Scouts to think about their sisters around the world) activity today with her Brownie and Girl Scout troop.  That meant I had to finally get around to attaching her pins, badges and patches to her Brownie vest so she could be “official”.  In fact, I had to make a trip to the Council shop earlier in the week to replace the pins that were given to her by the troop because I had no idea where they were in the house.  Miss Organized, that’s me!

The Birthday Girl & Skee-Ball (041/366)

"So it took an eight-year-old child to bring 'em to their senses.... "

- Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

TIME: 9:18 PM
PLACE: Home
SUBJECT: StellaDella

TIME:  6:49 PM
PLACE:  Laser Tag Center
SUBJECT:  Skee ball game

My SD turned 8 years-old today.  Due to scheduling conflicts, the family party with Grandpa and the Aunts, Uncles and cousins won’t be until the 19th.  But we couldn’t let the day pass without making it special for the birthday girl.  We let her choose where she wanted to go tonight for supper and she chose the Bar & Grill/Game room/Laser tag center.  I liked her choice ‘cause HH and I could have a soothing adult beverage while SD and MonkeyBoy spent quarters playing games. (DramaQueen was too busy texting)  After we ate, SD and MB played a game of laser tag.  Then, SD, DQ and I went to Barnes and Noble for about an hour, with a stop to get ice cream on the way home.  Happy Birthday StellaDella!

Antennae (040/366)

“Get the antennae! Get the antennae!”

Dr. Harold Medford. Them!. Dir. Gordon Douglas. 1954. Warner Bros. Pictures.

TIME:  8:23 PM
PLACE:  Home
SUBJECT:  Jack

Jack, sleeping on my desk.  How convenient for me.  Why?  Because, I don’t even have to move my lazy behind to take a photo.  I’m loving his kitty eye whiskers.  They are so long!  He almost looks like a bug.

Heart Light (039/366)

“A light heart lives long”

William Shakespeare quotes (English Dramatist, Playwright and Poet, 1564-1616

TIME:  11:45 PM
PLACE:  Living room
SUBJECT:  Valentine décor

I finally took down the snowflakes, put up the paper hearts, and hung this lighted heart on the front window.  That’s about the extent of my February decorating.

Buttons (038/366)

"Summoning spirits isn't 'Button, button,/Who's got the button,' I would have them know."
 
Robert Frost (1874-1963), U.S. poet. Two Witches (l. 7-8). . . The Poetry of Robert Frost. Edward Connery Lathem, ed. (1979) Henry Holt.

TIME:  11:46 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Assorted Buttons

Last week, StellaDella was asked to bring “100 of something” for the 100th day of school.  One stipulation was that the “something” had to fit in a brown lunch bag.  Then SD had to write 3 clues about her “something” and the rest of the class had to guess what it was.  We went with buttons.  Somehow, I have a ton of them.

Foggy Morning (037/366)

“Let us go in; the fog is rising.”

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), U.S. poet. Quoted in W.H. Auden, A Certain World, "Words, Last," (1970). Her attributed last words.

TIME:  8:44 AM
PLACE:  On the way to the junior high school
SUBJECT:  Tree in foggy field

It’s Monday and of course that means that one of my children *cough, DramaQueen, cough* forgot an important item that they needed for school this morning.  Since it had to do with registering for her high school classes, I drove it to the junior high before I went into work.  The upside?  A photo opportunity with this morning’s cold fog.

The Legendary Esquilax (036/366)

Chief Wiggum: Ooh, and here, out of the mists of history, the legendary esquilax, a horse with the head of a rabbit and the body of a rabbit. [the rabbit hops out of its pen] Oh, it's galloping away.
Lisa: [chasing it] Here, bunny bunny. Here, bunny.
Chief Wiggum: [correcting her] "Here, esquilax".

“Lisa’s Wedding”. The Simpsons. Season 6, episode 19. 19 Mar 1995. 

TIME:  5:17 PM
PLACE:  The backyard
SUBJECT:  Rabbit garden statue

This bunny is made of concrete and will not gallop away.  I think….I hope.  If it does, I’m betting that the zombie apocalypse will be close behind.

Daddy-Daughter Debut (035/366)

Lindsay Funke: Oh, God. Not that "I'm in love with my mother" dance thing. I'm so glad there wasn't one of those for Daddys and Daughters.
Lucille: Of course they have father-daughter dances.
Lindsay Funke: They do? He never took me!
Lucille: It was before we did your nose.

"Motherboy XXX." Arrested Development. 13 Mar. 2005. Television.

TIME:  5:05 PM
PLACE:  Living room
SUBJECT:  HandsomeHusband & StellaDella
(can you believe HH actually allowed me to post a photo which shows his face?)

HH & SD went to a Daddy-Daughter Dance this evening at the local high school which was sponsored by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.  SD was so excited.  She and I went shopping last night for a new “fancy” dress and shoes for the special occasion.  Daddy even bought her a wrist corsage to wear.  SD was proud that it was just her and her daddy going out together.  HH said that she was a dancing machine.  He also said that there over 600 people there – quite the big turnout.

Shades of Blue (034/366)

“I never get tired of the blue sky.”

Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, Painter, Post-Impressionist, 1853-1890)

TIME:  8:33 AM
PLACE:  Around town
SUBJECT:  The blue sky and contrails

A beautiful range of blue hues made up this morning’s sky.  Tonight?  It’s pouring down rain.

Got Milk? (033/366)

“Parties who want milk should not seat themselves on a stool in the middle of the field in hope that the cow will back up to them.”

Elbert Hubbard (American editor, publisher and writer, 1856-1915)

TIME:  9 PM-ish
PLACE:  Target
SUBJECT:  Milk cooler
(taken with cell phone)

I had to go on a milk/shampoo/other sundry items-run tonight.  Props to the Target employee who had just pulled all the milk stock to the front of the cooler and made them all even.  It was helped make a nice picture.  After I took my gallon of milk, I pulled the next one on the shelf forward so his work wasn’t in vain.  That’s just the kind of considerate customer I am.

Caution Sign (032/366)

“Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness.”

Bertrand Russell (English Logician and Philosopher 1872-1970)

TIME:  8:37 PM
PLACE:  Home
SUBJECT:  Sign

SD made this sign shortly after Mr. Blade Martin entered our household in December.  DramaQueen helped by printing “Caution! Loves EVERYONE!” as dictated by SD.  The sign hangs above Blade’s aquarium.  I hope that by posting this notice, we have limited our liability for any potential injuries that could result from gecko love.