Yes, I still Knit.

But several items I'm currently working on are for recipients who occasionally visit me here. But I can show you this. I'll give you three guesses (more if you're naughty!) as to what this is.



Went to the Craft 'Zine launch. It was nice, and it got me over on the east side, again. From the "I never win anything!" file, I was in the party maybe 3 minutes (long enough to fill out an entry form), when I won a door prize! Woo-hoo.



Including



And




Monkeys like freebies.

Afterwards, I headed over to my new favorite clothing resale place (BBC on Sunset) WITHOUT step-by-step mapquest instructions(!), and bought a few possibilities for Halloweeny. Not that I need them, but hey, at $8 for 3, how can I pass that up?

Then, over to Annika's house for an estate sale. Well, actually, I prefaced my visit with the old "I have less room and more crap than you, but I really want to see MY baby, Sam" line. Worked like a charm. All I took with me (other than the feeling of a beautiful baby in my arms) was a very portable feng shui item. Not sure how it works, or what it's supposed to do, but it's already up and functional at the Monkey Abode.

Sunday, went to lunch with WMG and Jman in Westwood. Out of all the places available to us, would you believe the fast food counter in the Whole Foods Market best suited our needs (diversity of palate and limited time)?! Too funny. But I had a fresh mozzarella, 'mato and basil sammich that was TO DIE FOR.

Afterwards, we saw why might easily be THE FUNNIEST play EVER. EH-VER. I know it was the funniest I've ever seen. I (I wish literally) laughed my a$$ off! Oh, it was poignant and touching and humorous and compelling. What a wonderfully brilliant show. And I'd never been to any of the theaters on the Veterans' Administration grounds (actually, rather ominous, especially going by the imposing Mental Health Administration building - I could see all sorts of psych experiments being perfomed there!), and the Brentwood is just lovely. Very intimate.

So. . . How was YOUR weekend?!

Long Time, No Post

Sorry for the absence, but (1) recovery from the first ever WeHo SnB HAPPY Hour took longer than expected; and (B) they're making me earn my keep again!

First, let me just say that L. Ron Hubbard towed my car. Just another reason to hate the crazies. Second, let me just say, I really need to get out more often, so that when I do, I don't act like a 16 year old cheerleader drinking grain alcohol for the first time. REALLY. Thank the gods there are still nice folks in Hollyweird that will take care of a loser drunk like me, I still had the good sense to walk away from a bad situation, and Jman and the WMG don't mind getting up at 1:40 ON A SATURDAY MORNING to pick my sorry arse up.

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa. I promise not to sin no mo'. At least, not until the next WeHo SnB HAPPY Hour. :)

I'mma baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad gurl.

OH WAIT - One more praise - to the gods of pharmacology: Thank you GOPs (Can you imagine?!) for Ambien. I was able to sleep off the most horrendous hang over EVER by taking just one of your beautiful weetle pee-els. I got off a lot easier than I should have. (EARLY pix here, iffin yer innerested.)

Well, the WeeMonkeyGurl’s birthday weekend was a blast. Friday night, we headed down Anaslime way. . . we had the hotel room for three (3!!!) nights. Managing to hit all Friday nite rush hour traffic, we got there in time to check in, and for me to make my order at Joe’s Crab Shack (none of us got crabs. . . that we know of!) before returning to the room to watch the rebroadcast of Gray’s Anatomy. See how I love my WeHo SnB group?!?! I give up watching the show on its original nite just so’s I can hang out with y’all.WMG (a/k/a, the UniBomber) with Cousin Alex and Uncle Mike

So. Saturday, WMG and Jman went to The Dland Parks with Cousin Alex and Uncle Mike. WMG and Cousin Alex(is that not the cutest picture EVER?!)


I saved money by sleeping in (in complete luxury!) until noon, then shopping at Target, conveniently located across the street from the hotel. I was in HEAVEN, people. I originally only intended to get tape (for present wrapping), but the weather had turned unexpectedly warm, and I had only packed jeans. I was desperately trying to find something less cumbersome that would look okay with my chaussure de jour, my platform combat boots. Clearly, shorts were out. And skirts were in SHORT supply! It appears as if the buyers at Target don’t differentiate between So Cal and Idaho when it comes to seasonal dressing. However, I managed to find some little thing that created quite the look. After purchasing that, some snackies, bottled water, extra wrapping paper, and a few little extra birdday goodies, I *still* managed to spend less than the cost of a one-day parkhopper ticket. Hmmmm….

Back to the hotel. Where I set up the “goodie bags” for the girlies. And decided why waste the lovely weather? I test ran my new skirt poolside, with some knitting to keep me occupied.

Sittin' and knittin'


It was lovely. Once the sun went down, I spent TWO HOURS wrapping presents. Mostly for WMG, but when at the FELT CLUB last weekend, I managed to find something perfect for her uncle/godfather/person-formerly-known-as-my-best-friend.

When she returned from The Parks, WMG *begged* to open “just one present”. After much pleading, I relented. She chose one, then changed her mind, but I said no, she had to open her first pick. Hee-hee. Out of ALL THE FANTASTIC PRESENTS, she picked. . . A twelve-pack of SOCKS. Not even colorful, pretty socks, but boring, white, wear-em-every-day-to-school socks. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I am evil. I think I may have laughed a little too hard, because she ran to the bathroom crying. Hey. It was FUNNY.

And yes, once she pulled herself together, I let her open another package, and was very happy to receive the princess pjs.

AT THE CRACK OF DAWN on Sunday (a/k/a, 8 am!) we woke to prepare for our day at OG Dland. Not that I have anything against Cali Venture, but the best ride there is the roller coaster, and both Jman and WMG’s birthday-mate, Douggles, are too chicken to ride it. The wee gurlies are too young. And Douggle’s former girlfriend/new bride, the Dawnster, manages to get me into all kinds of trouble. So it’s traditional theme park for me.

Monkey-Made Momma Crown


WMG and her Unca Duggles



Man, what a racket. I think I went on a total of 5 rides. For $60. Such a bargain.

Shaka, brah


It was good to see that The Diz has finally figured out how to pander to the less-than-wholesome crowd. With the success of POC and POC2, there is a whole host of “pirate princess” items. For the most part, I was able resist the lure, but I gave in on the military-style black hat for practical reasons (I *need* it when I’m driving with the top down!!) Even though it was 2.5 times more than what I would pay at Target for the same thing, this came with a black, sparkly “Pirate Princess” patch and what look like earrings on the brim (which closely match my own multiple earrings). Combined with my camo-mini, platform combat boots, and black skully tank, I was feeling very Janet Jackson/Rhythm Nation. A few mandatory skull baubles (earrings), bangles (bracelet) and beads (necklace) later, I was DONE.

Just da Gurls


WMG got in on the pirate act, too. She would not relent until she got the PIRATE PRINCESS mouse ears. Apparently, all the goods we got are available only on the campus (including, I assume, Downtown Diz), because I haven’t been able to find the items on-line.
Since D2 & The Gurls had to work/school the next day, we left the park (relatively) early.

Which was okay by me, because I was a bit Dlanded-out. Besides, we had PRESENTS to open!!!!



Opening pressies!

WMG Booty!!


After another night of blissful, air-conditioned, clean-sheeted sleep, we journeyed homeward. Good times were had by all.







Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Had A Great Weekend

Paying for it in blood. Here's a little something to keep you entertained.

aw, punkin!

Chemo Update

Despite my (obvious) expectation that the sentiment would be appreciated, I ran it by 'Dre when she was up here the last time. She confirmed it would be okay. So off it went to NYC. I recently got a note back from Kim. She says, "First of all, you are hilarious. I absolutely love the hat and can't wait to wear it to chemo. My mom was laughing so hard."

Exactly the response I was hoping for. Of course, being me, I was further heartened when 'Dre updated me on the family happenings. "Kim said she emailed you. she LOVED the cap. Ash [Kim's housemate] said she was wearing it all around the house and he kept reminding her that she still had hair but she wanted to wear it anyway!"

Can I tell you how good that makes me feel? Probably not, since I'm a freakin' idiot when it comes to that emotional crap. Instead, I'll show you how my beautiful babies ('Dre's son and daughter) are enjoying themselves.



Aren't they the most beautiful angels EVER?!?!

Model Monkey

WeeMonkeyGurl had a photo shoot with her pops. I'd upload them to PhotoWorks and provide a link, but PW says the resolution is too low. So I'm just keepin' 'em small.

She wants to be a movie star. Or a rock star. Can you tell?!

















And yes, I do know the bangs emphasize her eyebrows, and I hate them (the bangs, not the brows - there isn't much I can do about the brows until she's much older), but she *really* wanted them, so I let her get them. And yes, she was without her usual stylist (ME!) for the second half of the shoot (in the dress), so she's not nearly as cute as she was for the first half. Hey, what can I say - the Jman can take great pictures, but he's not so good in the hair and clothes department.

Just In Time

For the WeeMonkeyGurrl's birfday, there's a town meeting I just *may* have to attend (because I'm all civic-minded like that!) Especially since "they" will be combining their forces and storming our great city en mass on Saturday, October 7th at 6:00pm.



Hmmm. zombies, felt club, or sleep? Decisions, decisions.

FEED ME, SEYMOUR!

A partially digested mouse carcass inside a carnivorous plant. Pretty freakin COOOOOOOL!!!! (story here)

More Bars In More Places

Sounds like my kinda town - as long as they stock Bombay Sapphire. But apparently, my phone company is having an "issue" throughout the state of California! No getty connectivity!! No pics, no texts. Boosheet. Like I use my cell phone to TALK to people!

What a Life!

Due to circumstances much beyond my control, it turned out I didn't leave for San Diego on Friday nite. I spent the time, instead, doing some much needed laundry and getting even more needed sleep. I needed the sleep so much that, thinking I would have plenty of time to make it to San Diego in time for the party, I did nothing to prepare. Boy was I bummed when I woke up THREE HOURS after the alarm went off. Ooopsie.

However, since I had sent the Jman and WeeMonkeyGurl along ahead (Friday night), I got to make my inaugural journey to San Diego in the new car. I am happy to report she performed admirably. And it was saaaa-weeeeeet to drive down the coast in a convertible! I had the tunes blastin, the wind in my hair, and not much traffic for 3/4ths of the way there! Taking the toll road, there were times when I inadvertently let her coast upwards of 90 mph. OOOPSIE AGAIN. But I tried to keep it under control. (It really wasn't easy.)

Meanwhile, of course, I am having cell phone photo issues. I tried to participate in Uccellina's fuckling contest, but cingular.com is preventing that. Which is a mixed blessing, because my contribution is poor, at best. STILL.

I will be investigating the source of the problem and hopefully update with PICTURES, because, as we all know, blogs are just not as interesting without pictures.

Oh, and apropos of nothing, this guy is a pompous arse. I get that there are innovators in every possible venue, and I know how it feels when something you've loved for a long time (hello, original Johnny Depp stalker here!) is suddenly appropriated by posers and dilettantes, but you don't have to be such an ass about it. Or, you can be an ass all you want, but don't then go crying to the very people you mock by submitting questions to their yahoo knit groups.

I'm just sayin'.