Friday night was FUN with these bitches!

Nappy (right in the middle there) is havin a birthday soon and we helped her celebrate with cocktails, food, and one gay man dancing on stage in his underwear.
:) :) :) :) :)

Now, are you totally sick of seeing that same poll over there?
me too.
I put up a new one.
A question I've asked myself many times over, pondered and played out different scenarios for, and discussed with a variety of people...
In love, is INTENSITY or PERMANENCE more important?

Is it the heat and passion that drives a relationship, or a sweet rock-steady love?
Can you have both?
Will permanence lead to boredom? does passion lead to uphevel?
Do you prefer a short lived, but intensely hot relationship
over a long lasting and but less passionate partnership?

what works for you?

ssssnakey, snakey come here...

I'd like a snake for a pet.
Sophie told me not to let this one in the house though. because he's not a dog.
but Dwayne says we can't have a snake for a pet anyway. awwwww!

No joke- I once lived in a house with rattlesnakes and other various wild animals

I believe this is the complete list of animals kept in this wild house at one time:
2 dogs- Hendrix and Nip
2 kittens- Mary and Daisy
1 flying squirrel- Sampson was the best!
2 boa constrictors -Rosy and Lugwig
1 Cayman crocodile- named Oscar because he was a grouch!
1 tiny snapping turtle named Elvis
2 western diamondbacks rattlers- Bonnie and Clyde
1 eastern diamondback, and 1 massasauga rattler
2 puff adders
2 Colorado River Toads, they secrete venomous ooze from their pores, also used as a psychedelic drug. I know nothing about that.
3 free roaming iguanas, big fat ones, and 1 small caged iguana(as it turns out they will kill and eat mice)
2 free roaming geckos -to keep the bugs out of the house
1 monitor
1 king snake for a day- she was captured, she laid her eggs, and then she vanished. We incubated the eggs until 4 hatched and we later let them go.

WHY? you ask
I was living in a house with 3 other wild boys that wanted animals that you weren't supposed to keep as pets. I was just along for the ride.
Who the hell keeps rattlesnakes as pets?
Crazy, ex-marines (RECON boys) that's who- one was my fiancee and his best friend, and another granola boy. The boys even built a glass topped coffee table/cage for the rattlers...that way you could watch the whole show when the mice were dropped in.

It was a whole house full of animals, cages, lights and cords, and lots of POOP!
It was quite an experience learning about so many animals and their ways of survival though.

like when a monitor eats a mouse and doesn't pass it within a week, you have to force feed it castor oil. ewwwww!
and a cayman will bite the head off a mouse and leave it's decapitated body floating in the water for days. freaky
geckos can bite really HARD. they have clamp stronger than man.
you cannot find a boa that's hidden inside a car if it doesn't want to be found. boas can hide inside a car for a week and come back completely unscathed. and it comes back all, "What? What are you guys lookin at?? Now feed me!"

Dwayne went and had himself a birthday on Saturday.
offshoot- Sophie has been calling her dad "Dwayne" all weekend. She's done it so many times now it's become an unconscious act.
('cept when she's cryin. then it's all "daaddddddy!!")

So we surprised him with a delicious cake from Lucy's and a few gifts in the afternoon. although it wasn't much of a surprise because somebody I know doesn't know how to keep a secret. sophie.
"I can't tell you about the cake we ordered from Lucy's Daddy. It's a secret." (this was back when he was still called Daddy)


Sorry I didn't put all the candles on this year Dwayne,
but I'm cheap and didn't want to spend the money on all those packages of candles. and there wasn't enough room on the cake. and last year the smoke alarm went off in the house after you blew out the candles.
But wait till I get ya next year when you "officially" turn old...

Holden shocked me when he actually chose to use a fork over his preferred 10 little built-in utensils to eat his cake.


There are times when I think I can't stand another minute of this crappy 'motherhood' job, when the repeated visions of running away into the forrest and hitchiking back in time to the days of fun partying, sleeping in late, and few responsibilities take over my mind...
but then one of the kids goes and does something so cute and tender that motherhood reclaims it's place of being worthy.
This past week Holden has made me stop bitching and struggling with the everday tasks of rearing two small needy children, and made me remember to step back and enjoy these times. Their sweet smell, the snuggles and tender little toes to nibble on. Their innocence and fresh eyes on the world...precious little beings. (not to say that they can't be total snots sometimes too)

So one day last week, Holden's language exploded and it won't stop gushing. Everyday I'm struck by 2 or 3 new words he proudly announces to the world! It's not even the fact that he can say the words, but more the pride in his voice and smile when he realizes he's using big words to communicate with us. It's quite touching. sadly these endearing moments only happen once. Once. And I'm just glad I'm here now to enjoy them.
Sweet times and all, every mommy needs a break. And I can appreciate these tender moments the most when I've gotten a break from the mom job.


All of the sudden I blinked and my child grew up.
Sophie is a little big girl now.

~~~~~~
and then we got to be grownups for the evening...

sort of.

Our dear friend Lauren and her weinie dog Oscar came over and played with the kids while Dwayne and I escaped the mayhem. We enjoyed a quaint and pleasing meal out to the Cosmic Cafe. funky, but a good place to eat.
And later that evening I gave Dwayne his *real* birthday present from me...

39 BIG FAT SPANKINGS!!!

Last week I had a quick run to the mall with a one track mind. FREE!
I had a FREE PANTY coupon from Victorias Secret (Free, no purchase necc, no tax, nothin). And some coupon for a FREE rejuvenating serum by a dermashmologist at Bath Body Works. FREE was what I was going for and nothing else.
no room in the budget for shoes or anything.

The thing with the mall is, I always park in front of Nordstroms. I rarely shop there though. I like their nice clean family bathroom and their flirty piano tunes, and the overall atmosphere. But I can't afford Nordstroms.

Oh but sometimes just sometimes they have a great sale!
With lots of cute summer shoes in your size.
wanna see?

there just wasn't a better way to shoot these than up in the air!

These were the Steve Madden's for half the price.

Sophie gave them a try too.


here are the Seychelles (crappy picture),
half price as well



~Oddly enough, this week in the mail I received another free panty coupon and one more that came addressed to Dwayne. Two more free panties.
hmmmmmmmmm...

I am a lame blogger lately. I know.
I hate that I'm out of touch with my blogging amigos and the blogging world. But my time's eaten by other tasks and projects I've got going on right now.

So I did a photo shoot of Cara and her familia this weekend. so cute!
Whenever I download the pics after a photo shoot and start to browse through them there are immediately a few certain photos that pull at me.
This one took hold of my heart and wouldn't stop tugging.



So timeless and sweet.
Baby hands and feet (and their little tushies too) are some of the sweetest things in life!

2,996 people died in the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
One of them was a man called Richie…


Richard M. Caggiano was a son and a brother. A friend to many.
His childhood pals recall the fun times they spent together playing ball in the streets many years ago. They say they can still hear Richie's voice echoing down those Brooklyn streets...

He was a grown man at 25 years old, but Richie was still a kid at heart.
Most remember him for his great sense of humor. He always wore a smile and set out to make others cheerful as well. His witty wisecracks and endless pranks made people laugh and remember him fondly. Richie was the guy always having a good time and sharing his joy with those around him. But Richie was a tender heart as well, a kind soul who was loved and adored by all those he knew.

Richie lived at home with his father, mother, and younger brother. Proud of his blue collar roots, he also worked hard to acheive his long time goal of working in the finicial sector of NY.
At the start of 2001 Richie landed his first big job. He and his family were so very excited about the beginning of his new career working for Cantor Fitzgerald as a stock options trader in the World Trade Center.

But Richie-
at 25 years old you suddenly became a victim of a cruel and inconceivable terrorist attack at the World Trade Center. A day forever etched, manically carved into our memories.
Sept 11, 2001.

Richie will not be forgotten by those he left behind in this world. His spirit will live on in their hearts and memories forever.
And Richie- I will remember you.
Our entire country will remember you...

Five years later as the new skin begins to cover over the wounds and scars of that day,
we will remember and honor the 2,996 individuals that lost their lives.

Last weekend I had the priveledge of photographing TxMom and her little fam, and totally scaring the bees out of their little girl, Pooter. She cried and cried whenever I neared.
I was thinking oh no! for sure this isn't gonna work.
But after I put Nik away (he can be a little intimidating) and gave Pooter some of my Napoleon Dynamite lines, she warmed up a bit.




they're not Texas fans or anything...



You can see some of the other pics on my Flickr site.

I'm thrilled when I have the time to participate in the Weekend Word Challenge.
OddMix lends us the words for the week to photograph.

So this week I present,

DIVIDE

the excruciatingly slow divide.
The great divide between the ugly wallpaper and the bare wall beneath.
A scraper and hot steamy water are my tools of choice,
but the progress is painfully slow, stagnant at times.


UNITE

the beads

(and this was my alternate choice for DIVIDE after I captured my UNITE picture)


Happy Labor Day!