Mini Me

After a week spent steam cleaning all the carpets and stairs in the house, we decided, a good next step would be to get a puppy that needs house breaking.

On a lark, we found Maddie, from the same breeder that we got Izzie. Maddie's our second Schnoodle (half schnauzer, half poodle) and is Izzie's "Mini Me." They say two female dogs will not get along (my mom used to say they don't call female dogs bitch for nothing), but they're really enjoying playing together. On occasion, Izzie will have enough of Maddie's non-stop energy and will have to set her straight. I think all the playing has been good for Izzie and they sure are funny to watch together - playing and sleeping.

Mad about Mad Men

A few years after everyone has been telling me I need to be watching AMC's Mad Men, I finally get it. I Tivo'd all of season two last week during an AMC marathon of the show. And then after not being able to find season one at any local video store, bought the first season via Itunes.

The verdict is - I'm loving it! It's so retro and cool. Not to mention well written. And Jon Hamm, as Don Draper, is just so freakin' smooth and suave I can't even stand it. The fashions on most of the women (especially that of curvy office manager/vixen Joan), are just so fun.

And yes, I know season three just started yesterday, but don't tell me about it (puts fingers in ears), because I'm only on episode two of season two.

By the way, the picture is how I'd envision myself in that smooth 60s world. Try it yourself at madmenyourself.com. It's swell!

Just because

Just random cuteness of a bunny stealing a cookie.

Reminded me of a bunny I had as a kid. It's name was Cookie and it was a white rabbit. We also had a Westie named Willie. Willie's problem was that he "knew" the word "cookie" to mean he was going to get a treat, so he'd get all riled up anytime you talked to the rabbit. Ahh, hilarity ensued...well, maybe because I was about 7 years old it was totally hilarious. Really not that funny now. Oh well.

I think the heat is making me punchy. Did I mention it is over 100 degrees in the Seattle area today? Oh, and it was yesterday also. And it will be for the next few days. And it is muggy and humid too - just general ickiness.

Happy Anniversary Man on the Moon

So, if you've watched TV at all this week, somewhere in between the coverage of Michael Jackson's death, and Walter Cronkite's death, was coverage of how today is the 40th anniversary of man stepping foot on the moon. I, of course, don't remember this from when it happened live because I wasn't born yet. I do, however, remember when a man on the moon was the MTV logo (see picture). That was back when MTV (Music TV) had actual music that was played on the network, but I digress.

The most disturbing factoid about the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, a fact that I just realized today, is that I was born roughly 9 months after the moon landing. Why you say is that disturbing? Well, consider this. My older sister was born 9 months after the assasination of JFK. My mother always joked that there was nothing but coverage of JFK on TV for days when that happened and they got bored. Whoa! When the moon landing was on TV, I'm assuming that hogged the airwaves as well. And it would appear that when my parents had their fill of breaking news, their fall back recreational activity of choice was procreation. Ack! Must erase visual of my parents doin' the deed in the 60s. You know it involved some cat glasses (on my mother's part), and some Aqua Velva cologne (on my dad's part), and probably some Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass all over the turn table. Ack!

The Tastiest Iphone

An Iphone made entirely of cupcakes! Two great things that go great together!

Speaking of Iphone, I've officially had my new Iphone 3GS for a few weeks now and I have to say it's pretty sweet. I had the original Iphone, but never updated to the 3G last year, so I got the deal on the 3GS.

The 3GS is definitely faster, cuter, etc. and all that other techy stuff I should appreciate. My fave apps these days, in no particular order: Facebook, OmniFocus, PhoneFlicks (Netflix), Word Warp, NetNewsWire, and FML.

Apparently what Willis was talkin' about....

70s sitcom marvel or 2000s building namesake? Why not both? In a brilliant move of nostalgia, Sears tower in Chicago was officially renamed this week in honor of Willis from the 1970s sitcom Diff'rent Strokes.

I shall patiently await further namings of monuments based on sitcoms from my youth. Top on my list? Anything named after anything having to do with The Brady Bunch. Runners up? Anything named after Three's Company, Charlie's Angels, Family Ties, or Growing Pains. Stranger things have happened!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July. However you choose to celebrate.

Picture courtesy of Colbert Nation. He IS America, haven't you heard?

007 Popsicle

In a UK poll conducted by Del Monte, apparently the most lickable (not likable, but lickable) star is James Bonds' own Daniel Craig. To be fair, the voting options consisted only of Daniel Craig, Hugh Grant (lickable), Jude Law (would taste pretentious), and Tom Jones (seriously?).

So the good folks over at Del Monte (creators of ketchup?), went into production with blueberry, pomegranate, and cranberry flavored "Superfruit Smoothie Lollies" in the likeness of Bond.

The "lollies" are under 100 calories each, not available outside the U.K., and being marketed towards women or anyone who enjoys licking a fruit flavored man torso. Bon Appetit.

Swine Flu

This adorable little child might just be patient zero. Little kids will touch and/or lick almost anything. Little kids are way germy!

But seriously, if I hear one more thing about swine flu, I think I'm going to gag. I was watching television the other night, and they interrupted a show I was watching to talk about how their might be one case of swine flu in Washington State. One. Ooooo....scary! Do they break in on the news every time there is someone driving crazy on the freeway that might kill me a hell of a lot faster than any flu? Nope, they sure don't - because in Washington that would be non-stop coverage.

I know it is important for people out there to get as hygienic as possible when there are potentially fatal flu strains out there, but for those of us that are normally pretty OCD about the hand washing, do we really need to see a news anchor explain that your hands get cleaner if you use soap? I don't think so.

Ok, enough ranting. Little piggies are kind of cute, and I refuse to think they would kill people. Even cuter? Guinea pigs. I had tons of those as a kid, and guess what, I lived to tell about it.

Marketing Gone Wrong...

The sad thing is, I bet this product would totally fly off the shelves in certain demographics. Scary.

Bill Maher's SnugWow!

Octomom Costume

You know you're the subject of public mockery when people mock your lifestyle via costume a full SEVEN months before Halloween.

In all seriousness, it's completely sad that a woman with no job, no stable mental pattern, and no means of providing for her children, decides to have 14 of them. Contrast this with the ads every single week in the local papers of people desperate to adopt children. Nadya Suleman's flagrant misuse of her clown car of a uterus to pop out 14 children must be especially annoying to those women not even able to have one child.

Death, Taxes & Ikea

They say nothing is certain except death and taxes. It appears that also certain is that everytime you hit up Ikea and buy yourself a box of Ektorp, Bjursta, or Expedit -- you're diverting money away from "the man" and to a charity of sorts.

The reason Ikea can flourish in this economy, when other firms are floundering, involves not paying taxes...a tactic that I'm sure would help many (but you didn't hear that from me).

More on Ikea's corporate brilliance can be found HERE. Click on the graphic below to enlarge the text.

Glad to Not Be Dating....

It would appear things have changed since the last time I was in the dating scene, according to this picture (courtesy of FailBlog). For this I think I need to be thankful.

Speaking of dating...or, errr, not dating...today marks my 2nd wedding anniversary. Hard to believe it has been two whole years! Come to think of it, that is two whole years longer than I've been married to anyone else. He must be a pretty special dude. :)

The Way My Dog Sees It...

I love the little "The Way I See It" sayings on the back of my Starbucks cups. My dog, however, is not interested in philosophy as much as he's interested in licking the skim milk latte foam out of the cup. Good times.

My recent favorite "The Way I See It":

The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating – in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life.
- Anne Morriss

Speaking of hydration...

I used to think the new Pepsi logo was trying to capitalize on the Obama "Hope" campaign logo. But according to the Andrew Sullivan blog, it is sending a message of a different sort. Not exactly "Hope," eh?

Koala hydration

With the devastating recent Australian wildfires/arson, comes total and complete cuteness in the form of a thirsty koala. Apparently this Australian firefighter came across a wild koala (which are NOT supposed to be friendly), and after tending to the koala's burnt paws, gave it some bottled water.

You know the makers of that brand of bottled water are going to try to use this in their ads, because it is beyond cute and makes you go awww and want to buy that water.

Maybe even the firefighters will cash in. I would totally buy the typical scantily clad fireman calendar if it had scantily clad firemen AND koalas!