90-110/365

And now for an update on my attempt at Project 365!

Day 90 (October 16, 2009)

There are spider webs on my bush. Shut up….





Day 91 (Oct. 17)

My daughter made a fantastic Jack Skellington face to hang on the door for Halloween….



Day 92 (Oct. 18)

Pumpkins waiting to be carved on the back porch….



Day 93 (Oct. 19)

Autumn leaves….



Day 94 (Oct. 20)




Day 95 (Oct. 21)

I was admiring the Fall leaves at my nephew’s school….








Then my nephew noticed these massive mushrooms in the grass….




It’s almost as big as my hand!….


It’s almost as big as my foot!….


The moment definitely had an Alice In Wonderland feel to it!


Day 96 (Oct. 22)

I’m flying through the sky on my way back to Scope!! :-)….



Day 97 (Oct. 23)

FAIL! The only picture I took this day was this one of a smiley face water tower while zooming down the highway somewhere in Illinois. See it?…. Hiding there amongst the trees?…. No?…. Yeah, well, okay, it didn’t come out too well, but, hey, they won’t all be winners, folks….



Day 98 (Oct. 24)

Me and Scope outside the chapel just minutes after he proposed. Awwww….


We went back inside the chapel and I snapped this shot with my camera’s self-timer….



Day 99 (Oct. 25)

Saying goodbye to our hotel room on our way back to the airport (*sniffle*)….



Day 100 (Oct. 26)

Autumn leaves. Again….





Day 101 (Oct. 27)

Yes. My boobs. I took this picture for Scope’s Breast Cancer fund raiser. I took an even better (!!!!) shot than this too, but only Scope gets to see that one (nyah nyah!)….



Day 102 (Oct. 28)

This was my last day before my tonsillectomy, so my daughter and I went to Cold Stone. I was going to take pictures of our ice cream creations (mmmmmmmm) but ended up taking a picture of the ring on my hand instead. It really is beautiful, Scope, thank you so much….



Day 103 (Oct. 29)

I had my tonsils taken out today and spent the rest of the day cuddled up under this blanket on my couch….



Day 104 (Oct. 30)

I’m in my comfy sweatpants while I loaf around after surgery….



Day 105 (Oct. 31)

Our pumpkins were flickering in the front yard on Halloween night….



Day 106 (Nov. 1)

Yummy treats my daughter and I made for her 13th birthday party….





Day 107 (Nov. 2)

Leftover Halloween candy I can’t eat because of my tonsillectomy. TORTURE!!!!….



Day 108 (Nov. 3)

My pain medicine. *le sigh* How do I love thee? Let me count the ways….



Day 109 (Nov. 4)

I made a Jack Skellington card out of ripped paper for my daughter on her birthday and she LOVED it….



Day 110 (Nov. 5)

I’m just loving the colors of the leftover Halloween M&M’s….

.

© Love Letters By Cora

Things I Want Thursday: Drugged-Up Blogging Edition

Welcome to Things I Want Thursday hosted by my spitfire (in a good way) (duh) friend, Sass. Here’s how it works: I’ll tell you a list of things that I want and then in the comments you tell me what you want and then hopefully magic fairies or Leprechauns or Ewoks or whatever will stop by and read this blog and start granting our wishes.

It could totally happen, I swear!

*fingers crossed*

Ready to play? Goody!

HERE IS WHAT I WANT THIS WEEK:


1.
I want to eat real food again. Real gooooooooooood food. No more of this soupy mushed up baby food crap. I want pizza! I want fried chicken! I want a big hoarking platter of mystery Chinese food I’m not quite sure the names of! I want salads! I want Fritos! I want meat loaf! DAMMIT, I WANT TWINKIES!!

*pout*


2.
I want my daughter’s friends to come over more often. No, really. Pretty much all they did the last time they were here was look around the house, saying to my daughter, “ohhhhh my Gawd, you’re sooooooo lucky, you live in like the best house ever!” and “ohhhhhh my Gawd, you’re sooooooo lucky, you’ve got like the best mom ever!” and “ohhhhhh my Gawd, you’re sooooooo lucky, this is like the best party ever!”

That shit never gets old.

Never.


3.
I want my bloggy buddy JJ in LA to get better soon. In fact, soon doesn’t cut it – I want JJ to get better NOW. JJ has had it rough the last couple of weeks which is why she hasn’t been playing in Blog World. And honestly, Blog World just isn’t the same without her. *sniffle* Send her your positive vibes, you guys, she could really use them!


4.
I want my Neurologist (wait!!—there’s more to the sentence, punk! Don’t you dare stop reading it there and getting all winky at me and stuff and calling him ‘Dr. Sexy’ to me in a mock baby singsong voice while caressing your nipples or whatever it is you’re—never mind…. Eww…. Look, no, seriously, stop. Yes, he’s sexy. I know. I get it. But, please, my wonderful, sweet, smart, sexier fiancé, Scope, reads this blog, so, y’know, let’s leave past pro-doctor ohmygodwhatacutie blathering in the past and show a little respect, okay? And, if not, just know I will soooooooo kick your ass – and don’t you dare roll your eyes at that! I may look tiny and utterly nonthreatening, but it’s a ruse, my friend, a freakin’ ruse ~ I’m extremely flexible (ask Scope) (*wink wink*) and I fight dirty. ‘Nuff said. Just stay on my good side and you’ll be fine.) Anyway, where were we?…… Oh! Right! I want my Neurologist, Dr Aaron Heide, to win the position of Hospital Commissioner in our local election. Or I guess I should say I want him to continue winning the position of Hospital Commissioner, because (*SCORE!*) last I checked he was up in the polls….



….and I’d like it to stay that way once all the votes have been counted. You see, I know Dr Heide will do a brilliant job as Hospital Commissioner. I have absolutely no doubt. He’s the best doctor I’ve ever had, hands down. I would trust him with my life – in fact, I did, and he did not disappoint. He whipped up a miracle and saved this little ol’ life of mine while all the other doctors stood there gaping cluelessly at him with their jaws on the floor, going, “duuuuuuude, whassup” or whatever it is doctors say to each other when they are really impressed, which I dunno because I’m a Nanny and I spend all my time trying to beat traffic by flying with my umbrella and singing “A Spoonful Of Sugar Helps The Medicine Go Down” which is complete crap by the way because a big wad of sugar is really not that pleasant to swallow. Might I suggest a spoonful of chocolate frosting instead? Trust me, it’s much, much better.

*dazed blinking*

Hmm. I feel a little like this blog post is getting away from me just a tad. I’m still on the Roxicet, can you tell?

Ummmmm….

Yeah.

Anyway, the point was supposed to be 'go Dr. Heide,' but—well, never mind.

Moving on.


5.
I want to be healed enough from my Tonsillectomy not to need any painkillers by Monday morning. I go back to work Monday, so, y’know, I need to be drug-free because I do a lot of driving to and from schools. And I’m quite sure Roxicet, driving, and school zones are NOT a good combination. At. All. So, here’s to rapid healing!


6.
I want a whistle. Again, I’m thinking about work Monday morning. Right now I have but a wee whisper of a voice and, while I rarely have to raise my voice with the kids I take care of, I also vividly know how kids are: when they smell weakness, they turn into Satan’s minions. Right now I’m down a few pounds and I’m pale and I’m nearly voiceless and, dammit, I’m just radiating, sweating, exhaling, snoring and farting weakness!! It ain’t pretty. But if I had a whistle…. well, I just think it would give me the illusion of power, that’s all.

That or an air horn.

I’m not fussy.

Okay. I’m done. It’s your turn. What do YOU want?
.

© Love Letters By Cora

DruGgeD Up BloGgiNg (EpiSodE 2): HalloWeEn, AnD A PaRtY, And SomE BiRthDaYs (oH My!)

So, ever since I had my tonsils out last Thursday I’ve had a new best friend. Meet Roxicet….



Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Roxicet (or Roxi, as I soooooo fondly call her) is a wonderful, fabulous, fanfreakingtastic friend, let me tell you! Roxi is so very, VERY good to me. Roxi makes it all better.

*le sigh*

Okay, true, Roxi knocks me flat on my ass several times a day, but I don’t mind. At. All. And, hey, at least she warns me first….



(Pfffft! ”May cause dizziness,” there’s an understatement. In the words of Denis Leary, “it should say DON’T MAKE ANY FUCKING PLANS!!”)

Damn straight.

I rendezvous with Roxi every four hours. So, here’s pretty much what my life has been like the last six days (or however long it has been, I forget and I’m too Roxified right now to bother counting it up on my fingers) ~ I’ll have an hour of pain and grumpiness waiting until it’s time to take the med. Ding! It’s med time, so I take a dose and within minutes I feel perfectly warm and pain-free and happily dizzy and peaceful and giggly and everything-is-right-with-the-world-but-don’t-you-dare-sign-any-important-documents bliss. Then *BAM* I fall asleep for two hours, having beautiful, vivid, Technicolor dreams. Then I wake up and the pain starts to throb and I start watching the clock again waiting for med time to roll around again.

Basically, these days I’m either sleeping, stoned, or grumpily waiting until I can get stoned again. And somehow in the middle of all of that this past weekend, I managed to kinda sorta participate on Halloween and throw my daughter a 13th birthday party.

True, I have limited memories of both. But that’s what pictures are for, right?

Exactly.

So, mainly in pictures, here’s how the weekend went down:

Halloween:

My daughter and I got all dressed up. I was Strawberry Shortcake and she was The Corpse Bride….



My ex-husband brought his three other kids over to go Trick-or-Treating….



My daughter’s best friend came over to go Trick-or-Treating too….



My Dad came over to babysit me while the rest of the herd hit the streets demanding candy. And it’s a good thing he did because the next thing I knew I was waking up slumped over on the couch with my hat over my eyes with no memory of how I’d gotten there.

….huh?….

My Mom arrived and my Dad went home and I went off to my bedroom to go rest. When I emerged a few minutes later, my house was full of ex-hub’s kids who were running around, throwing candy, spilling juice boxes and mini cartons of milk all over my floor, jumping on my couch, screaming, and one of them (the three year old) had stripped down to just a diaper. My Mom was in ex-hub’s face saying “you can’t let them trash Cora’s house like this, that’s not fair” and then I walked up to ex-hub and whispered dangerously, “wrap it up, I’ve had enough.”

Scenting danger, ex-hub’s herd fled. Then my daughter, my Mom and I spent 20 minutes cleaning up all the mess they’d made, which, I’m revolted and pissed to say, included finding a turd (an actual TURD!!) on my living room carpet!!!!

Yes, a turd.

GRRRRRRRRR.

Someone (and, personally, I’m suspecting Diaper Boy) pooped on my floor. Gah!! How-- No, never mind; I don’t even want to know.

Anyway….

Then Sunday I hosted my Daughter’s Halloween-Themed 13th Birthday Party:

My daughter and I made wicked treats, like donut hole spiders….



And marshmallow eyeballs….



We got dressed in our costumes again….



Her friends all came over….



She got lots of gifts she was thrilled with….



….like this Nightmare Before Christmas Snuggie. (I dunno, I never thought I’d see the day when I thought a Snuggie actually looked kinda cool! Go figure.)….



And they decorated cupcakes….





And then they spent the rest of the party watching Edward Scissorhands and playing Mad-libs.

And, best of all, no-one pooped on my floor.

*BLISS*

And that’s all I can remember. Roxi is urging me to go curl up on the couch now before I fall face-first off my chair here. So I’m gonna go. I hope you’ve enjoyed this drugged up blog post. And I hope I don’t look back on it with too much regret tomorrow. Or whenever I’m off the meds. Which I kinda hope is never because I’ve grown rather fond of Roxi. She’s niiiiiiiiiiiiiice.

OH! WAIT! One more thing - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CALLISTA!!!! AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DAUGHTER!!!! I’d like to compose something beautiful and touching about how my two favorite girls in the world share the same birthday, but eh. Sorry, I just don’t have eloquence (nor elegance) like that in me these days. Maybe next year. But I will say I hope you two have a great birthday, and, Callista, I can’t wait to take you out and do something once I’m no longer Roxi’s slave! :-)
.

© Love Letters By Cora

Drugged Up Blogging (Episode 1): Happy Halloween

So, here I am on my favorite Holiday all drugged up and sleepy and stooOOooOOoopid. The surgery went well and I have few complaints – in all honesty, the surgery hurts less than the actual Tonsillitis infection did. Go figure.

Anyway, I’m going to make this short and sweet because I have all the attention span of a teaspoon right now:

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!
.

(thanks to youtuber weareactualsize for the video!)
.
Now, go! Go pig out on candy for me because I c-c-can’t. *sniffle*
.

© Love Letters By Cora

Things I Want Thursday: B(.)(.)bs and Awards and a Tonsillectomy! (Oh My!)

Welcome to Things I Want Thursday hosted by the splendiferous Sass. I’m kinda short on time today (more on that in a minute) so let’s get right to it.

HERE IS WHAT I WANT:

1.
I want you (yes, YOU!!) to send pictures of your boobs to my fiancé. Yes, I’m sober, thanks for asking. You see, my spectacular husband-to-be, Scope, is raising money for Breast Cancer research (you can read all the details HERE) but the gist of it is this: for every tasteful (read: no nip) photo celebrating breasts and/or bras submitted, the more money gets added to the fund. It’s for a good cause, people – so, c’mon, flash my fiancé!!


2.
I want to thank the super-sweet Soda and Candy for this Sweet Blogger Award she was so kind to give me when I entered her Literal Sketch Competition last week. Awwwww, S&C, you’re lovely!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Anyone who wants to see some mighty fine artwork from fellow bloggers, including Scope, Morgan, Words Words Words, and my very own literal sketch of a monkey wrench, you can see it HERE.


3.
I want to thank Cowguy (aka Dr. Cowgina) (*snicker*) for so adeptly analyzing a perpetually perplexing dream for me involving Rowan Atkinson, the Titanic, and…. uhh…. well, something that’s making me blush a wee little bit. (ahem.) You can read about my dream and Dr. Cowgina’s analysis HERE. (hee hee hee.)


4.
I want my Dad to be healthy and feel like his usual self again. He had a small stroke Saturday evening which he seems to have fully recovered from already (can you say Superman?) but he’s, understandably, still emotionally shaken up from it and I just want him to feel like he’s alright, you know? I don’t want him to view himself as fragile or broken or anything. And I think he’s getting there. I think he’s beginning to relax again. I mean, after all, we had a laughter-sprinkled 40 minute phone conversation the other day, during which he (jokingly) blamed ME for his stroke because he apparently had it right after I told him I got engaged to Scope!

It was a total coincidence, of course.

I’m positive.

No, really.


5.
I want my tonsillectomy this morning to go well. That’s right, those tonsils of mine are being kicked to the curb at 7am today. I warned them but they didn’t listen, so out they go – and they can take their floozy Tonsillitis with them! AND GOOD RIDDANCE!!!!


6.
I want to have the sense not to do any blog posting while I’m all high on my pain killers the next few days - ‘cuz that would just be stooOOooOOoopid, I’m sure!.... Then again, it might be quite entertaining, you never know. Let’s just wait and see, shall we? *snicker*

And we’re done. So, heigh ho, heigh ho, it’s off to the hospital I go. Wish me luck!
.

© Love Letters By Cora

The Finish Line

Okay, so y’all already know one thing I did this weekend, right?….



Uh-huh. I became the future Mrs. Scope! Hee hee hee. But wait-- there’s more! Here’s what else went down:

THURSDAY

I took an uber turbulent flight to Chicago. I mean TUR. BU. LENT. So turbulent in fact, that the flight attendant dropped a tray of drinks everywhere and then the drink service was suspended for the rest of the flight. Scary, huh? I know. I coulda used a stiff drink too (and that’s saying something since I don’t drink!!) *pout*

After being thrown around in the sky for 2000 miles, I finally made it to Chicago Midway where Scope picked me up. He really picked me up. He picked me up and held me there in midair and gave me that good old everyone-else-on-the-planet-has-stopped-existing kind of kiss I was hoping for.

*le swoon*

Then he took me to Chicago Brauhaus for dinner. Mm-mmm, good!






FRIDAY

Scope and I set off on our very first road trip! We were headed to his homecoming at college. On the way we stopped off at Sass’s house and I finally (FINALLY!!) got to meet her and her husband and their three kids.

As Scope and I pulled into her driveway, Sass came running out the front door, screaming, “GET OUT! GET OUT OF THE CAR!” and then she pulled me into a big hug. Now maybe I’m wrong, maybe Sass greets all of her visitors this way, I dunno, but I prefer to think I’m just special.

(No! Not that kind of special!)

(Special in a good way!)

(Shut up.)

(Punk.)

It’s funny, but so far all the bloggers I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in real life are just what I imagined they’d be. Spot on. This floors me every time. Sass is no exception. That hilarious, beautiful, energetic, smart-assed Sass that you find on her blog Are You Sassified? is exactly the same Sass you’ll find face-to-face.

EXACTLY.

And that smile of hers? DROP DEAD GORGEOUS. See?….



Sass’s MIL came over to babysit the spawn o’ Sass, and then Scope, Sass, Mr Sass and I went out to dinner and then hopped over to a bar where I got to meet the famous Shandy Chemist.

But alas, soon Scope and I needed to hit the road again, so we bid adieu to Sass and made our way to Jacksonville where we checked into our hotel and then hit Bahan’s Tavern where we ran into Gwen and a lot of Scope’s friends in full-on fun-tastic mode. Woo-hoo!!!! :-)


SATURDAY

Scope and I went to the homecoming parade….





And then *wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!* Scope proposed to me in the chapel. We called our families to tell them the news (which seemed to be a much easier chore for Scope than for me because his family was actually answering their damn phones! Grrrr) and Scope called his friend, Tony, while I called Callista.

Then Scope and I went to the tailgate party where we learned real quick how rapidly the news of our engagement had spread. Everyone was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!! And about a million pictures were taken of the two of us….


Frankly, we felt quite famous. ;-)


SUNDAY

Sunday Scope and I “slept” in late, then said goodbye to our happy little hotel room and hit the road again. We had lunch at Scope’s parents house where I finally got to meet Scope’s sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew, who toasted us with champagne and spoiled us rotten with gifts to celebrate our engagement. Awwwwwwwww. :-)

But far too soon we had to jump back in the car and head for the airport.

*sniffle*

The stupid, STUPID airport.

On the drive, Scope and I discussed some important decisions we have to make. Like who will move? (most likely me and my daughter.) Where will the wedding take place? (probably somewhere in Seattle, followed by another reception in Chicago.) And what will the wedding colors be? (definitely black, white and red.)

And then there it was, the airport, looming gloomily in front of us. We kissed, we hugged, we cried - and we smiled and giggled a lot. Why? Because, frankly, these days of torturing ourselves with goodbyes like this are numbered now. There’s a ring on my finger, thus we can see the finish line.

And that finish line looks FREAKING FABULOUS!!!!

:-)
.

© Love Letters By Cora

Yes!

So, get this—Saturday, I was hanging out with Scope and Gwen….


(No, not my daughter Gwen, Everything I Like Causes Cancer Gwen.)

(Don’t feel bad. Really. It gets confusing for me too.)

(Anyway…)

There I was minding my own business, being given a MacMurray college campus tour by Senor Sexy Scope and Ms Gorgeous n’ Glorious Gwen. I was completely innocent, I tell you.

Inn. O. Cent.

(Yes, really.)

(Shut up.)

But all the while those two were plotting against me. Uh-huh. It was a conspiracy. And they got me gooooooooood. They set me up and I had NO IDEA what was a-brewin.’

They lured me into the chapel….


And then Gwen had me pose for a picture, which would have looked a little something like this one here….


….except it didn’t because I felt Scope suddenly step away from me. Hmm. Kinda odd. So, I turned back to see what he was doing, and then….


There was Scope.

On one knee.

With a beautiful ring.

No. I’m. Not. Kidding.

HE ASKED ME TO MARRY HIM!!

AND OF COURSE I SAID YES!!

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


And thanks to Gwen, Scope has the whole thing on video too! I think Scope is posting it today, so you should be able to catch it HERE.

So, did you do it? Did you see the video? Oh my God, how cute was that, huh?!?! I told you, they got me and they got me GOOD. Crafty. I had no idea that was coming this weekend. At. All. Well played, you guys. Well played.

:-)

To Scope, my wonderful, amazing, spectacular fiancé (*giggle and swoon*) I love and adore all heck out of you!! And I am soooooo delighted, honored, awe-struck and completely unable to stop grinning!! Thank you. Thank you so much. You’re absolutely LOVELY!!!!

And to Gwen, my fabulous friend, thank you for being a part of that moment. It was PERFECT. As is the video. Scope and I would so name our first child after you.... but, y'know, I already went and did that. My bad. *wink*

Anyway, so there you have it. Scope and I are happily engaged. (*giggle and swoon again*) Let the bloggidy squealing and screaming commence!

Now please excuse me while I go find my sunglasses. This sparkly ring is blinding me.

[I’ll have more details on the rest of our weekend soon! In other words, Sass, I didn’t forget about you, my dear! I’ll Sassify this blog up tomorrow, I promise.]
.

© Love Letters By Cora

Things I Want Thursday: Homecoming Edition

Alrighty, it’s Thursday (WOOT!!) and once again I’m joining Sass in Things I Want Thursday. So, let’s get to it. Here’s what I want this week….


1.
I want my flight to Chicago this morning to go smoooooooothly and quickly. No delays. No shenanigans. No crap. At 11am I’ll be zoomin’ through the sky towards Scope ~ WHEEEEEEEEE!!!! ~ and I just want that to go painlessly, okidoki?


2.
I wanna smooch Scope in the airport today like no-one else exists. Mm-hmm. I think odds are good on this wish coming true. Ohhhhhh yes. :-)


3.
I, ummmm, want to lose my irksome traveling companion before coming face-to-face with Scope. You know what I mean…. Right? My traveling companion? My little friend? My monthly bill? My tea party? Yeah, you know what I mean. My Aunt Flo. The stupid hag seems to want to tag along on my trip this time *grumble and snarl* and I just wanna ditch the bitch in baggage claim or something!! Three’s a crowd, Flo – GET LOST!!!!


4.
I want to go to homecoming with Scope. Hee hee hee. :-)


5.
I want you (yes, YOU!) to have a fantastic weekend because I know I sure will! Scope, Sass and Gwen, I'll see you SOON! And everyone else, I'll be catching back up with you next week!

Annnnndddd now that that’s done, I’m outta here! Chicago here I come! Woo-hoo!!!!
.

© Love Letters By Cora

I’m Full Of Win

So, the most amazingly awesome Amy from WhisperWood Cottage (c'mon, you know Amy, she's the one who Christened me and Scope "Corascope" hee hee hee) must have been in the Christmas spirit a wee bit early last week because she tagged me with not one but TWO fabulous awards!!

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

First up is the Premio Meme Award….


To accept this award all I’m supposed to do is tell you seven random things about myself. Okidoki.

And then there is The Honest Scrap Award….


To accept this award all I’m supposed to do is tell you ten random things about myself. Hmmmm….

Okay, so I’ve crunched the numbers (yes, numbers are quite crunchy, didn’t you know? Must be full of fiber or something, but anyway….) and it appears I’m supposed to tell you a whopping 17 things about myself today. Egad! Seventeen?! I have nothing prepared, so I’m just gonna wing it with the first 17 things that pop into my head. Ready? Set? Go!

Here Are 17 Completely Random and Unrehearsed Things About Me:

1. This Thursday I’m flying to Chicago to see Scope again!
2. I love Scope!!!! I absolutely ADORE that man!!!! He’s the sweetest, cutest, most delightful person EVER!!!! *le sigh*
3. Scope is taking me to Homecoming. *giggle*
4. Four is my favorite number. Always has been. I have no idea why.
5. All this flying to Chicago I’ve done lately has really done wonders for my fear of flying. Seriously. I’m quite relaxed about it now. Well, okay, maybe not relaxed exactly, but a little less spazzy at least.
6. I’ll be meeting the one and only spectacular Sass from Are You Sassified? this Friday!! I seriously CAN NOT wait!!
7. I might also be meeting the marvelous Nikki from This Genius Is Insane as well. Maybe. I hope. Hey, Nikki, are we on? Yes? Please say yes – I beg you!!!!
8. I’ll be hanging out with the glorious Gwen from Everything I Like Causes Cancer this weekend!! YEAH BABY!!
9. If I get to honk Gwen’s boobs again this trip I promise to get pictures of it this time. Epic fail last time. EPIC. FAIL. *still hanging head in shame*
10. October 29th I’ll be having surgery. Those tonsils of mine that have been causing me sooooooooo much misery since July, well, I’m evicting their no good asses. Stupid morons. I did warn them, y’know.
11. The surgeon who will be doing my tonsillectomy is actually a plastic surgeon. Interesting, huh? However, I don’t think I would ever have plastic surgery on my face. I don’t care how wrinkly I get, I’d be too afraid that I’d walk out of there looking like Michael Jackson or, worse, Pete Burns. *shudder*
12. Then again if I’m ever in a disfiguring car crash or something, then let the plastic surgeons come hither. And quickly. And can I have a little button nose too while we’re at it? Pretty please.
13. I’m thinking about renaming Houdini. You remember Houdini, right? Houdini is my “special” boob. Yeah. I’m thinking about renaming her “Beelzeboob” What do you think?
14. Speaking of boobs, sometimes I think a boob job would be kinda cool. Not that I’d want MASSIVE ones the size of beach balls or anything. I mean, seriously, I’d topple right over and wouldn’t be able to get back up. But it would be really nice to have the girls lifted a little. I mean, they’re still good girls, don’t get me wrong, they’re not bad ~ but they used to be SPECTACULAR and I miss ‘em.
15. I’m done talking about my boobs now. Moving on.
16. I’m a sissy when it comes to driving in the rain. It really freaks me out. I drive sllloooooooowwwwwwwly in the rain. Grandmas in Jalopies overtake me and give me the finger. Bah!
17. I once saw a bald eagle soaring majestically in the sky…. right over Value Village. Odd place to see a bald eagle, over a thrift store, huh? Damn right! I felt like there was a message in there somewhere…. although I’m not quite sure what it was.

And done!

I’m supposed to tag a bunch of people with these awards and memes now, but that’s just sooooooooo not going to happen. Please. I have packing to do, people, c’mon! So, if you want one or both of these awards then *PING* they are magically yours. Enjoy!

My thanks again to Amy! I appreciate it! :-)
.

© Love Letters By Cora

Time Travelling Tuesday

Today I’m joining in Time Travelling Tuesday, hosted by the lovely NINA over at Nina’s Theories. So, hop on in my time machine, shut the eff buckle up, and hold the hell on because heeeeeeeeeeeeere we go back to the year….



But wait-- *screeching brakes* --our story actually begins in 1995.

(Yeah, I know. False advertising.)

(Sorry.)

As most of you already know, in 1995 I got married to an asshat a guy who ended up being quite scary, very controlling, perpetually angry, full of hurtful insults, and often violent. Yay, me!

*rolling my eyes in what-the-fuck-was-I-thinking-ishness*

Now, he never punched me in the face or threw me down a flight of stairs or anything like that, so, y’know, he’ll tell you he was a wonderful guy and all, blah, blah, blah, I’m sure. But, trust me, he was frightening and monstrous in many other ways. Examples?…. Ahhh, well…. he once smashed his fist into an overhead light fixture because I said I liked a pizza which he didn’t like; several times he threw knives and dishes across the apartment because whatever he was cooking wasn’t going quite right; he once purposely poured a bottle of maple syrup all over some things my grandma had given me because he was mad at me for God only knows what; he used to tell me I was ugly and fat if I wore a different outfit than the one he wanted me to; twice he kicked the hell out of my car because he was mad at other drivers on the road – one of those times he broke the headlight by kicking it; more than once he hit me with a big stick so hard that I had bruises; once he dragged me through a store by my wrist; once, when I was 8 1/2 months pregnant (!!!!), he pinned me to the floor and refused to let me use the bathroom to pee because he said I was peeing frequently just to “annoy” him… then he poked me in my belly over and over until I wet my pants right there on the floor and then cried my eyes out. That’s the kind of stuff he did. And the more I fought back/stood up for myself/told him that shit was NOT okay, the more violent he got…. until I learned it was safer to just keep my mouth shut and try to lay low…. and then, I dunno, I just kinda lost sight of who I was and started feeling like I was worthless and didn’t deserve any better.

My God, I hate thinking back on all of this. I hate reliving it this way. It makes me feel small all over again.

He called me horrible names all the time and tried to dictate my every thought and every move. And I was just NOTHING. Then in 1996 I had a baby and things got much, much worse and I was swimming in guilt that I’d brought an innocent baby into a terrible situation like this. I wanted to leave but was too afraid to go. He said he’d hunt me down if I ever left him and I honestly believed he would, so I stayed not knowing what else to do.

But then 1997 rolled around and, whaddaya know, I found out my husband was cheating on me.

Yep.

But wait, it gets better-- then he wiped out the bank account and left me and the baby with absolutely nothing.

That sounds tragic, huh? But nah—it was actually one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Seriously. Okay, true, I lost our home because I had no money for rent and I had to go crawling to my Mom’s house for help and I had to give up school and work lonnnngggggg twelve hour days just to make ends meet. But it was a hell of a lot better than living with ex-hub had ever been!!!!

Still though, ex-hub and I didn’t go to court for the divorce until 2001. Why? Well, I was in no hurry to go through the divorce because I was afraid of him mistreating our daughter if he got visitation rights, and he was in no hurry because, as he put it, he would “get screwed over by the court system” (which basically means he didn’t want to have to pay child support.) So, for years we lived apart but were still married.

*shudder*

That was NOT easy. The lines were blurred and the rules weren’t clear. I often wasn’t sure what my rights were. Without a parenting plan was he legally allowed to just come over to my house whenever he felt like it to visit his kid? Did I have to let him in when he showed up at midnight and stuff? He seemed to think so.

Being married was confusing in other ways too. FOR. HIM. He was mistakenly under the impression that he had the right to grab my boobs whenever he felt like it and try to make me have sex with him, etc. For four years I was fending him off while he was trying to get his filthy hands on me and snarling in my ear, “but you’re STILL my WIFE!” GRRRRRRRR.

(Please excuse me while I go vomit.)

(*insert nasty retching noises here*)

(Thank you.)

We finally got the divorce in 2001 because his girlfriend (one of the women he had left me for) wanted to marry him and she pushed him to get the paperwork done. To my surprise, being divorced felt like a mammoth, crushing weight had been lifted off of me.

HE WAS NO LONGER MY PROBLEM.

THE LINES WERE CLEARLY DRAWN.

HALLEFREAKINLUJAH!!!!
.
YES!!!!

I was free. My choices were mine. And I felt like I was finally starting over, starting a new life. To celebrate my new freedom, I booked a week-long trip to Disneyland for me and my daughter. When ex-hub found out about our plans he was apoplectic with rage. He said I had no right to take her without his permission and that he’d NEVER EVER give me permission, so she and I had no right to go. He tried everything he could think of to ruin our trip – threats, lies, scare tactics, tantrums, you name it. He even used the September 11th attacks, saying only a bad Mom would put her kid on a plane after what happened that day. He forbade me to go. But we went anyway. October 13, 2001. And we had a FANTASTIC time!!!!


But best of all – defying him and going on that trip was the beginning of the end of ex-hub’s reign of assholiness. That was when I stopped being afraid of him. And that was when the air spluttered right out of his balloon of power much like a big ole chili-fueled fart.

Yep. 2001 ROCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
.

© Love Letters By Cora

Now That’s More Like It

So, remember back a few months ago when everyone’s blogs were so rudely (and most undeservedly) (of course) insulting me? Oh, c’mon, you remember – I kept getting word verification captchas like these gems….








(Yes, I got called hyper TWICE. Go figure.)





Remember all that? It still stings, I must admit.

It still h-h-hurts.

*sniffle*

But, hey, things are looking up! No, really! Look what Candy’s sweet-talkin’ blog just called me….



*blushing*

I’m a looker. Yeah, baby!

Yeah, okay. I’m done. You can all go back to your lives now. That is all.

;-)
.

© Love Letters By Cora

83-89/365

And now for an update on my attempt at Project 365:

Day 83 (October 9, 2009)

Autumn ‘tis upon us….











Day 84 (Oct. 10)

Needing a few things for my daughter’s and my Halloween costumes, I ran amok in the fabric store, admiring all the colors….







Day 85 (Oct. 11)

*adopting Prince’s annoying singing voice* “U, I would dye 4 U, darlin’ if U want me 2”…. (ahem) (anyway….) My favorite quote of the week popped out of the mouth of dear, sweet Scope, who, upon hearing I was going to dye part of my daughter’s Halloween costume, said to me, “my baby has SKILLZ!!” Hee hee hee….





Day 86 (Oct. 12)

One of my Halloween decorations….



Day 87 (Oct. 13)

I was in the kitchen melting cheese on stuff cooking and I kept feeling like I was being watched. And I was. Eeep!! All of a sudden I saw it, this big ugly bug sitting there watching me. CreeEEeeEEeepy….



Day 88 (Oct. 14)

Yep. It’s definitely Fall. *grumble grumble*….


My kid will KILL me if she finds out I posted this, but I can’t help myself, it’s just too darn funny to resist. She lost her very last baby tooth and was a wee bit surprised that the Tooth Fairy left her a $20 bill instead of the usual $2 *snicker*….



Day 89 (Oct. 15)

Bats in my belfry dining room….


And ~ viola! ~ we’re done. Have a great weekend you guys!! :-)
.

© Love Letters By Cora

Things I Want Thursday

Welcome to Things I Want Thursday, hosted by Sass over at Are You Sassified? *insert trumpeting sassified fanfare here* So, here’s what’s going to happen: I’m going to tell you what I want, what I really, really want. And then (….wait for it….) YOU are gonna give them to me. (WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!)

You ARE going to give them to me, right?

R-right?

….Hello?

*crickets*

….Is this thing on?

*pout*

Anyway….

What do I want this week? Well….

1.
I want to see Scope again. I mean, really, it’s been faaaaaarrrrrr toooooooooo lonnnnggggggggg. Yes, okay, I know I’ll be seeing him next week. Fine. True. Whatever. And your point is?! I mean, next week is next week. Next week is not this week. Next week is a whole week away. Try and argue that, I dare you! You know, seeing Scope merely once a damn month is not easy, folks, okay?! *sniffle* I’d just like it to be more often, that’s all. :-(


2.
I want that vile, evil Halloween candy to stop calling my damn name from the cupboard day after day and night after night. “Cora!…. Corrrrrraaaaaaaa!….” It’s getting on my nerves. And my ass. And my thighs. Grrrrr.


3.
I want to flash backwards to the first episode of Flash Forward. I started watching Flash Forward on episode 2 and got instantly totally irreversibly addicted. It’s GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD. Yet, I don’t know exactly how it all began…. ????…. I mean, I get the gist of it, but… but it’s just not complete, you know? It’s like a puzzle with a piece (or two) (or maybe five) missing. Or a big ole bowl of Count Chocula with no delicious marshmallow bats. Or an adult novelty store with no-- never mind. My TV life just won’t be complete without that first episode. And I know you’re gonna tell me I can catch it online, blah, blah, blah, but I tried that already and my computer went on strike, so, you know, right now time travelling back to the airing of the first episode looks like it might be the easiest way to go. So…. yeah. I’d like a flashback, please.


4.
I want panties (Egad! Sorry, Sassy Britches, I know how you hate that word! I do apologize – I meant “underwear”) that match my bras. I have great bras. I love them. They love me. We’re like this X. (No, not X-rated!!) (Perv) We work well together. We’re cool. But my panties? Well, frankly, they stick out like sore thumbs. I mean, not literally. They fit. They just don’t match. I’m not color coordinated. My hooters don’t match my hoo hoo. My butterballs don’t match my butt. My Willie Wonkas don’t-- well, you get the idea. It might be nice to match for once. Yet, I can’t ever find matching sets I like. Either the panties aren’t the styles I like or the bras are itchy or whathaveyou. Why is it that I can never find matching bra and panty sets that I actually like?! Huh?! Like I said, it might be nice to match. Just once.


5.
I want my ex-husband to start caring about the things he should care about. Like our daughter getting braces. He was invited to her first Orthodontist appointment, of course he was. But did he go? No. Did he ask how it went? No. Did he ask how she feels about it or what is going to happen to her or how I'm going to pay for it? No, no, no. Did he mention anything about it at all since? No. As a parent, that kind of stuff should matter and it should be on his mind. But it isn’t. And it creates a wall between him and his daughter which he remains oblivious to. And the more parenting powwows he bails on, the taller and wider that wall gets. He’s always afraid I’m going to say something to her about him to turn her against him – and believe me I could – but I don’t need to, he does a mighty fine job of it all on his own. And it makes me feel bad for my daughter to know she feels that one of her parents doesn’t really care what’s going on in her life. Then again….


6.
I want my ex-husband to shut the hell up about things that are not his business…. which is EVERYTHING except the wellbeing of our kid. Just don't even get me started, I'll be here all day if I start listing it all. The boy tries to interfere in EVERYTHING (except the parental things he should!) It's sooooooooo annoying. Just GRRRRRRRRRRRRR. Priorities, man - where are your priorities?!?! GAH!!
.
*end rant*

Well, there you have it. That’s what I want this week. So, now it’s your turn. Tell me, what do you want?
.

© Love Letters By Cora

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas….

….well, okay, maybe it’s not (except in Hallmark, naturally) but here in beautiful downtown Blogtopia, it’s sure feelin’ a lot like Christmas these days. I mean, have you seen all the generous gift-giving suddenly popping up around here lately?

Hmm?

HMM?!

People, there are some serious prizes out there just waiting to be won!

Serious!! Prizes!!

Wowza!!

Don’t know what I’m talking about? Well, let’s take a looksie, shall we?….

Tia over at Clever Girl Goes Blog is offering up a fabulous FREE pumpkin just perfect for all the Twilight fangs fans out there….



Uh-huh. Seriously. Edward. Cullen. On. A. Pumpkin. My my my. Of course, I’m no Twilight fan (sorry, Tia. *hanging head in Harry Potter-obsessed shame*) so “RPattz” there will always be good ole Cedric Diggory to me. But, no problemo whatsoever, I entered Tia’s contest anyway. And most enthusiastically so. Why? To hopefully win that plucky little pumpkin for my Twilight-infatuated Mom. (*snicker*) But tarry not, folks, if you want a shot at Tia’s custom made pumpkin you’d better skedaddle ~ the contest ends at midnight TONIGHT!! How very Cinderella-y…. (check it out HERE.)

But, ohhhhh, the gift-giving spirit doesn’t end with Tia. No, no, no. Let’s go visit everyone’s favorite multitasker, Vodka Mom, who has TWO contests going on as we speak.

(type?)

(read?)

Yep, T-W-O. First, there’s one for a $50 Fandango gift card (WOO-HOO!! Free movies!!) and a slew of promo loot from the new film The Vampire’s Assistant! (check it out HERE.)



CooOOooOOool.

And then there’s the other contest she is running for a free copy of “Close Encounters Of The Third-Grade Kind” by Phil Done! (check it out HERE.)



Whew! See what I mean? The gifts are piling up around here. But wait—we’re not done yet!

Dear, sweet, handsome, amazing, spectacular Scope has a contest this week as well for…. well…. WHATEVER THE HELL YOU WANT!!!!

Yes.

Really.

Whatever. You. Want.

Let that sink in, people. I’ll wait….

Ready? Has it sunk in? Shall I continue?

Okay.

Pretty much all you’ve gotta do to enter Scope’s contest is join in splendiferous Sass’s Things I Want Thursday, and show a little linky love, and then you (yes, YOU) could have one of your very own wishes (within reason) (duh) fulfilled by Scope just like magic. (check it out HERE.)



Wow, huh? I know! The possibilities are endless! So, whaddaya want?



Alright. That’s it. Are you still here?! Really?! What the hell are you waiting for?! Go!! Get out of here!! Go win yourself some stuff!! Jeez.
.

© Love Letters By Cora

And Now For An Actual Conversation With My Five Year Old Nephew: The WHAT Man?!

My Nephew: “Cora?”
Me: “Mm-hmm.”
My Nephew: “Cora, can we watch a Halloween movie?”
Me: “Sure. Do you know which one you want?”
My Nephew [jumping around the living room in major Halloweeny glee]: “YEAH! I want the weally spooOOooOOooky one! The weally cweeEEeeEEeepy one!”
Me: “Which one is that, kiddo?”
My Nephew [with his eyes wide and whispering dwamatically dramatically]: “THE HORSELESS HEADMAN”
Me: *snicker*

Oh boy.

The Horseless Headman, huh? Hmm. Sounds like a lonely cowboy porno.

Yeah.

Totally cweeEEeeEEeepy.
.

© Love Letters By Cora

Guess What I Did This Weekend….?

I died.



No wait-- I dyed.



Big difference.

Sorry. My bad.

;-)
.

© Love Letters By Cora

76-82/365

And now for an update on my attempt at Project 365!

Day 76 (October 2, 2009)

Brrrrr. It’s getting cold. Time to break out my favorite Fall coat….



Day 77 (Oct. 3)

It’s ‘mill(er) time!! I love (LOVE) my new treadmill….







Day 78 (Oct. 4)

Halloween is just around the corner, thus I have let my good old friend Count Chocula back into the house. Mmmmmm….



Day 79 (Oct. 5)

Fall flowers….



Day 80 (Oct. 6)

Awww. One of the last remaining glimpses of Summer (*sniffle*)….



Day 81 (Oct. 7)

’Tis Fall fo sho. See? A leaf fell….



Day 82 (Oct. 8)

A coin purse I got from Callista. In reality the purse is pink, but, I dunno, I kinda like it as a black and white picture (especially right before Halloween!)….



Have a great weekend!! :-)
.

© Love Letters By Cora

Hey, Morgan! This One Is For You.

A chain was creaking, slowly, in the salty air as the inky darkness of the night sipped my surroundings of hue, smothering my vision. I blinked. Blackness. Damn. I blinked again. Clouds in the sky began to creep, fingerlike, permitting the skull-faced full moon they were binding to peek down upon me at last. And what a scene it saw.

The moon seemed to gasp, but wait-- no. No, it was merely the sea I could hear in the dark, dank distance, stirring restlessly. It called to me. In shards of moonlight I saw a battered stone wall inches from my face and I swayed unexpectedly. A salty breeze was brewing and I swung and spun at its mercy. My gaze followed the chain in the harsh moonlight from where it began, bound around my ankle, to where it snaked its sinister way up the stone wall to the top of the castle turret where a slew of filthy faces smirked down on me amid brandished swords, pistols and torches aflame. Pirates. They jeered. They taunted. They reeked of rum, grime and sweat. Buffoons. How they’d caught me, I did not know, but somehow they had succeeded (at last) and there I hung upsidedown by my foot off the top of a towering castle, twisting in the wind, knowing full well they intended to drop me to my death below. Bastards.

Hmm…. Just what did the promised death below look like, I wondered, and I craned my neck towards the ground. Ahh. A view of a maniacal metal garden of sorts met my eyes, sprouting not shrubbery, but axes, swords, knives, and other menacing blades, glinting evilly, and pointing up at me, awaiting my descent. My situation was precarious at best. Impressive. And most surprising. I looked to the gaggle of mangy pirates leering down on me and congratulated them with not a pinch of fear in my voice. They riled. Their ugly, scarred faces sneered. They spewed forth threats and cackles of laughter. They told me my time was short and diminishing quickly. I yawned casually and purposely, then said with a smirk something boldly blood-boiling about how I sincerely doubted that. They erupted in violence, first verbally directed at me, and then physically amongst each other. They were in disagreement about how best to drop me to my doom. They quarreled and crossed blades, all bellowing at once. They had taken their eyes off me. Big mistake. I grinned a sly smile in the night air.

Next thing I knew I was running down a dark stone corridor in the castle. Quite how I had escaped I was not at all sure, but I knew it was only a matter of time before the brawling pirates above would realize their prey had fled. Best to make haste, so on and on I ran, down floor after floor, past wall after wall within the crumbling, musty stone castle, my long, thick hair billowing behind me like ropes. I passed a massive mirror mounted to the wall on my right. As I sped past I caught a brief, blurred glimpse of myself and I skidded to a halt on the rough stone floor. Wha--?! Something was amiss. Very much so. Had I really just seen--? Hmm. I went back to the mirror for a better look, and there I froze. I wasn’t myself. I wasn’t me at all. I was…. I was….


I was Jack Sparrow. Huh?! How was this possible, I pondered. I raised my hand and the Jack in the mirror mimicked me perfectly. Bizarre. I turned my head from side to side and that Disneyland Theme Park Ride Pirate before me did the very same. Odd. I stuck out my tongue only to see that glamrock Johnny Depp sticking his tongue back out at me. What the F*CK?! What manner of trickery was this?! I was Jack Sparrow. And Jack Sparrow was me. I stared. I knew I should continue on. How humiliating would it be to have the bungling pirates still quarrelling above recapture me there engrossed in my reflection in a mirror? And yet I could not budge. I remained there, perplexed, wondering how – how could I not have known who I truly was? Did I not know myself at all? And then I woke up.

So, there you have it, Morgan. That’s probably my most interesting dream. I dreamt it about two or three years ago. Anyone care to decode it for me? Heh heh heh. What do you guys think it meant? (And be nice, dammit!!)
.

© Love Letters By Cora

Why I Hate Pinocchio (And Other Useless Facts About Me)

Hey, guess what I’ve got planned for today?!

(….wait for it….)

Nuthin.’

So, let’s steal a meme from Scope, shall we?




Here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award. ~ Thank you, Scope, for letting me pilfer these awards and this meme from you. When the blog cops show up looking for me, please tell ‘em I’m not bad, I just blog that way.

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog. ~ Check.

3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award. ~ Check.

4. List seven things about yourself people might not know. ~ Patience, I’ll get right on that as soon as I’m done posting the rules, mm-kay?

5. Nominate seven Kreativ Bloggers. ~ Am I still allowed to do that even though I stole it????

6. Post links to the seven blogs you nominate. ~ Pffft!

7. Leave a comment on the seven blogs you nominate so they know they have been nominated. ~ Double pffft!


Okay, here are seven things you might not know about me:

1. When I was four my parents took me to Disneyland. I had a fantastic time…. until Pinocchio had the gall to sit his obnoxious ass in my little sister’s stroller and got himself stuck there!! I was PISSED!! And totally coincidentally, of course, I have hated the Pinocchio movie ever since. (Hmm? Grudge? What grudge?)

2. Halloween is my favorite holiday. WHEEEEEEEEEE!!

3. Every year, my daughter and I keep our Halloween costumes a secret until Halloween night when we arrive at my sister’s Halloween party and surprise the family. The best one was the year I showed up as Cruella De Vil and scared the crap out of my nephew!! MWAHAHAHA!!….


But the year my daughter and I were Daphne and Velma from Scooby Doo, and the year I was “A Safari Gone Bad” were great too….



(And, yes, I made that Safari Gone Bad costume. I had no idea I could sew a black felt cooking pot until I tried! :-) )

4. My tonsillitis came back Monday morning (*sniffle*) so I’ll most likely be having my tonsils out when I get back from Chicago later this month. Honestly, I’ll be glad to be rid of them at this point. I’ve had enough!

5. When I was a kid I really, really, really wanted a pet mouse, but my Mom wouldn’t let me get one. Instead, she bought me two male hamsters. Boy, they were mean little fuckers. Not only did one of them bite me; and not only did they use to fight all night long so I got virtually no sleep for the two years I had them; but they also used to pin each other down and rape each other during the day, which really made it difficult for me to concentrate on my homework, dammit! Yeah, that C- I got in History that one year was sooooooo the fault of the dang perverted rodents!! Needless to say, when my daughter asked me if she could have a pet mouse a few months ago, I said no and bought her two little water frogs instead.

6. My little brother reads this blog. And he still talks to me. :-)

7. I have an issue with the “Because I’m The Queen Award” up there. (Hey, girls! Guys blog too, you know!) So, I gave the award a makeover….


YEAH!! Meet the Blog Queen (or King!) Award. See? Isn’t that a million times better?! Now it’s fit for EVERYONE, not just the chicks and the uber-secure-in-their-manliness dudes, like Scope. .
.
:-)

I’m not tagging anyone since I stole these awards (and mutilated Freddie Mercuryed one of them), but I highly urge you to steal them from me. Take my awards. Please. I mean, it will soooooooo alleviate my guilt. Go on, you know you want to!!

And now that that’s done, sit back and enjoy a Queen music video created by Youtuber Krikonn entirely out of Legos. Trust me, it’s BRILLIANT!….

.

© Love Letters By Cora

Wicked!!

I used to be an eBay seller, did I ever tell you that?

Yep. It’s true. But I gave it up about a year ago because of a fugly fight I had with eBay’s evil twin sister, Paypal.

Oooooooh, that Paypal can be a snotty little bitch!!!! There was hair pulling, name calling, kicking, slapping, scratching, pushing, shoving, punching, snarling, screaming, yelling, crying, bellowing, strangling, spitting, tripping, obscene hand gesturing, eye-poking, wet willie-ing, atomic wedgie-ing, swirlie-ing, indian burn-ing, and, of course, purple nurple-ing. There may also have been pasties, thongs, a Jell-O pit, and Pussy Cat Dolls music involved too, but I’m trying to block all that out, thanks.

(Ahem.)

At the end of the brawl, Paypal limped off into the sunset hanging her snooty Jell-O splattered head low in defeat and begging strangers for Band-Aids. *cough loser cough* And I lost my taste for eBay selling and started giving eBay the cold shoulder.

But I dunno, lately I’ve been hearing the call of eBay once again.

Ever heard the call of eBay? It’s quite pretty, actually. It sounds a little something like this: “CHA-CHING!!”

I decided to start thinking about possibly getting back into it (for the sake of my crap-strewn garage). Maybe. So, I did something I haven’t done in quite awhile, I accessed my old, dusty, cobweb-covered eBay seller’s account.

Everything looked normal there, just how I remembered it. Except — heeeeeyyyyy….

….wait a minute….

….what is that?….

….is that -- is THAT my eBay feedback score these days?!….



666?!

Really?!

Wicked.

;-)
.

© Love Letters By Cora

Say Hello To My Brand New Friend

So, I did it. Yep. I replaced my dead treadmill this weekend. Woo-hoo!!

Meet my new friend:


Isn’t it GORGEOUS?!?! I know!! And it’s sooooooooooo much fun to use!! It’s about twice as wide as my last ‘mill and I feel like I’m strutting down a damn airport runway when I’m on it; it’s HUGE!!

*happy sigh of contentment*

There’s only one proper way to celebrate a new treadmill acquisition, as I’m sure you know. We need OK GO! ;-)

Ready, boys? Hit it….
.

(Update: Oh poo. Looks like Blogger is cutting the right side of the video off ~ GRRRRRR!!!!! ~ sorry about that. To see the full video, click HERE. *stupid Blogger grumble grumble*)
.

© Love Letters By Cora

64-75/365

And now for my latest Project 365 update:

Day 64 (September 20, 2009)

Mmmmmmm…. Cupcake sprinkles…. *drooool*….



Day 65 (Sept. 21)

I put jar candles in my fireplace. All the light and warmth without the hassle of a real fire….



Day 66 (Sept. 22)

An old 80’s Strawberry Shortcake ragdoll which I adore….



Day 67 (Sept. 23)

A disco-y purse of my daughter’s (I wanna put on my-my-my-my-my Boogie Shoes just to boogie with you….)….



Day 68 (Sept. 24)

My car hit 90,000 miles this morning. Egad! And, yes, I know the picture is blurry ~ it’s not easy photographing your dashboard while driving down the highway, okay?!….



Day 69 (Sept. 25)

Look! I grew another strawberry in my garden and, whaddaya know, this one is (*gasp*) normal shaped!….



And we saw these gorgeous tropical fish at Rainforest Cafe….





Day 70 (Sept. 26)

Someone left a message on a window at the Gum Wall in Seattle. Wow. How much gum did it take to compose a plea like THAT?!….



Day 71 (Sept. 27)

Scope left today (*sniffle*), but the candy said it would keep me company….



Day 72 (Sept. 28)

Trying to take my mind off of how lonely and chilly my house feels without Scope here, I decided to break out the Halloween decorations….





Day 73 (Sept. 29)

Bats flock and flutter on my ceiling every October. Dozens and dozens of bats! (Just call it my Bat Mobile)….





Day 74 (Sept. 30)

It has been rainy ever since Scope left Seattle. Coincidence? I think not….



Day 75 (Oct. 1)

My daughter and I made these pumpkins in a glass blowing class two years ago. I leave them out year-round, but they’re especially fun to have out this time of year!….

.

© Love Letters By Cora

I Need A Hug.

*sniffle*

Sunday arrived all too soon and before I knew it it was time to take my dear, sweet Scope to the airport where the cruelty-lovin’, stink-eye-givin’, bad breath-havin’, ice-cold hearted, “MWAHAHAHAHA!!”-cacklin’, villainous fiends of Southwest Airlines were awaiting to whisk him 2000 miles away from me. Again.

(Note to Southwest Airlines: typically you’re not cruelty-lovin’, stink-eye-givin’, bad breath-havin’, ice-cold hearted, “MWAHAHAHAHA!!”-cacklin’, villainous fiends, I know, I know. Hell, on the days when you’re flying me to Scope (*wheeee!*) or flying him to me (*wheeee again!*), I love you with the passion of a thousand hormone-addled, bubble gum-poppin’, Justice-clad, smoothie-slurpin’, (insert random Jonas Brothers band member’s name here)-squealin’ and "like ohmygodohmygodohmygod"-in’ tweens at a JoBros concert. But, dammit, on those ohhhh-sooooo sad days when you are ripping me and Scope apart, well, you’re bastards and I hate you. No hard feelings.)

After a morning spent moping (and groping) around my house, Scope and I found ourselves at the airport at noon. We had a quick lunch at Dish D’Lish, cried, hugged, and then I sadly watched as my magnificent man inched his way away from me through the security line. Step by step by freaking torturous step.

And

then

he

was

gone.

:-(

I need a hug.
.

© Love Letters By Cora

I Ain’t Afraid Of No Ghosts!!

Saturday morning, Scope, my daughter, and I enjoyed delicious raspberry jam-filled scones my mom brought us from the Puyallup Fair for breakfast….


….Mmmmmmmm…. And then, after taking our time getting ready (‘cuz it was Saturday and all and, I’m sorry, but on Saturday you JUST! DON’T! RUSH!) and playing a game of Harry Potter Clue (WHAT?! Why are you laughing?! Do you people not know me at all?!?!), the three of us headed into Seattle.

Oh, Seattle, Seattle, Seattle. So beautiful….


So iconic….


So disgustingly weird….


Yep. That’s right. We went back to the Gum Wall….




How does one sum up the Gum Wall? Uhhh…. well…. I…. I don’t know. Words utterly fail me. Really. It’s just something you need to experience to believe. It’s just gum as far as the eye can see. And as you get brave enough to take a closer look, you find all kinds of treasures hidden within its gooey, gross and gorgeous gummiosity. People have imbedded coins, jewelry, keys, tickets, and all kinds of trinkets in the gum over the years….


They’ve created mini gummified artworks there on that wall….






They’ve even…. uhhh…. erected (*snicker*) pervy little gummy creations there too….


Seriously. A gum penis. Never thought you’d see one of those, did ya? Well, SURPRISE, now you get to see TWO!!….


You’re welcome. (Hee hee hee.)

See what I mean? That gum wall is a treasure trove of quirkiness! And, of course, I brought a purse full of gum to attack the wall with, and we promptly got down to work….




This was my daughter’s contribution….






That bubble on the wall was mine….


….but then it fell….


….and my bubble burst….


*sniffle*

And Scope’s offer to the Gum Gods at the Gum Wall shrine was to give that smiley face a gummy hat….


CUTE!! :-)

And then we waited there at the gum wall for our Pike Place Market Ghost Tour (BooOOooOOooOOoo!) to start. And we waited. And we waited. And we got silly….






And then we waited some more.

Then eventually our Ghost Tour began….


This was our spirit guide (the one in the hat) (sorry, I can’t recall her name, so we’re just gonna call her The Spirit Guide for the rest of this post, okay? ~ Hey, it’s that or The Ghost Buster!)….


The Spirit Guide took us all around The Pike Place Market and surrounding streets for an hour and a half telling us all about Seattle’s spooky secrets and haunted history. Like this restaurant, il Bistro….


….which is said to be home to several ghosts, including one which (*gasp*) haunts the women’s bathroom! (Moaning Myrtle, is that YOU?!)

She took us to the original Starbucks store….


….and told us its original sign of the split-tailed and bare-breasted mermaid was a symbol for prostitution. (Pffft! And I thought they were sellin’ coffee, I'm sooooo naive.)

She showed us a tile purchased on the floor of the Market by none other than the Heaven’s Gate Cult….


….Great. And I still have never found my own tile I purchased there like 20 years ago! Seriously, in TWO DECADES I have never ever found it. *sniffle*

The spirit guide had us take pictures down reportedly haunted hallways within the market attempting to capture orbs in the shots….




….but, as you see, I got nothin.’

And she had us snap pictures in the windows of the old haunted Butterworth Funeral Home (where in the early 1900’s the undertaker, Edgar R. Butterworth, would pay big bucks to anyone who brought in a corpse they found on the street…. and since corpses don’t exactly grow on trees or anything, Seattle citizens were… uhh… making their own corpses, if you will, by getting each other drunk and then drowning each other in Puget Sound. See, suddenly the Gum Wall doesn’t look so bad, now does it?!) Again, we were trying to capture orbs in our pictures….




….but I’m clearly orb-less. Fail. Oh well.

She also took us to an unnamed three-sided triangle sculpture on First Avenue by the Market where three ley lines intersect….


There’s a quartz crystal embedded at the base of the sculpture which you rub your hands over to energetically cleanse them before attempting to feel the energy of the ley lines by passing your hands over the sculpture, as you can see Scope doing here….


I swear when I tried it I felt a light tingling in my palms which sent a small shiver down my spine. Kinda weird for sure!

But all in all, the only ghost I saw on our tour was this one in the dark Ghost Tour hub where the tour began….


BOO!!

[Tomorrow’s post will be much, much shorter, I promise!]

;-)
.

© Love Letters By Cora

Love Is A Burning Thing And It Makes A Fiery Ring….

Friday morning I let Scope sleep in. It was only fair as my devious red dress had bewitched poor Scope into losing sleep the night before.

(Good dress! Good!)

(No wait—I mean, bad dress! Bad!)
.
(Yeah. That’s it.)

I took my daughter to school, then came home, and Scope and I eventually emerged out in public. We went to Bellevue Square, one of the local malls, where we invaded the Lego Store and Scope bought me this….


Yep. It’s a Lego Sears Tower!!!! (Or Willis Tower, as they’re calling it these days. I blame Todd Bridges. But anyway….) It goes perfectly with the Lego Space Needle I bought Scope a few months ago!….


(Yeah. I like Legos. So?!)

But Lego landmark models were not our main purpose for visiting the mall that day. No. No, we had other things to shop for. Things that rhyme with… uhh… ‘things’…. Things that sparkle. Things that shine. Things that look a little something like this….


[This is your cue to squeal and/or awww.]

Mm-hmm. That thar be an engagement ring.

*blush and giggle*

Seems that sweetie Scope is kinda taken with me and has a question he wants to ask me, but he doesn’t want to ask until he has a ring, and he didn’t want to spring for a ring without knowing what sort of ring I’d like, so we trekked the mall and haunted the jewelry stores looking at the different styles.

I’ve never been engagement ring shopping before. It was quite educational, I must admit. What did I learn?

1. That I’m a runt ~ that size 4 ring finger I told you I had isn’t a 4 after all. Nope. It’s a wee itty bitty 3 1/2!! (I’m built like a dang preschooler!!)

2. That I’m old fashioned ~ I like yellow and rose gold, not white. White is in. Yellow is waaayyyyyy out. (Just call me ‘Grandma’, okay?!)

3. That I much prefer smaller diamonds to bigger diamonds. (Unlike desserts where bigger is much, much better to smaller. Clearly.)

And now Scope, armed with this information, is out there plotting and planning…. something. Exciting, huh?! I know!! But if perchance you know what he’s plotting and planning, shhhhh, don’t tell me. *putting hands over my ears and chanting la-la-la-la-la* I don’t want to know any more than I already do. I want to be surprised, okay? Okay.

:-)

Anyway, after our trek through the mall, Scope and I went for a two mile walk around the running track and then we took my daughter to her favorite restaurant, The Rainforest Cafe, for dinner, where we saw (fake) elephants….


….(fake) gorillas….


….and (real) fish….


(Oh my!)

And we had scrumptious food….




….followed by a delicious Volcano dessert….


Yummmmmmm!

And we had a fantastic time!


:-)

(….to be continued tomorrow where you’ll find Scope and me playing with gum and hunting ghosts. Y’all come back now, y’hear?….)
.

© Love Letters By Cora