Guess who’s coming to Halloween…

Angel Face

I saw this young girl the other day. She had the sweetest smile and the face of an angel. She was without tattoos, make-up or teenage attitude.
I don’t know about you but I think we should clone her. 😉

Magically Delicious

Ok, I admit it. I am a charmaholic. I have been eating Lucky Charms since they came out in 1964. Granted, for the first 5 years, I only ate the magic marshmallows. For years my Father could never figure out why “his” cereal never seemed to have any “Charms”. Little did he know, after leaving for another hard day at work, the old oak table was covered in nasty toasted oats while busy hands sifted through… carefully gathering up all that magical goodness. In my teens, I finally succumbed to eating the oats. I found them tolerable…as long as the charms were there to sweeten the deal. As an adult, now I seek out the largest box on earth. Last month I was so excited to find a 1lb, 8oz (28oz) box on sale for 3 bucks. Tonight (OMG) 2lbs, 12 oz (44 oz) of goodness! I was so proud I shot a picture next to my teapot (the only thing in my kitchen that gets used beside a cereal bowl) so you could share in both my happiness and the sheer enormity of the box.

An advertising agency convinced General Mills in 62 to create a cereal for kids based on a charm bracelet and all these years later…the legend lives on. The original 64 charms were pink heart, yellow moons, orange stars and green clovers. I can remember the jingle. The blue diamonds were added in 75, purple horseshoes in 84, red balloon in 89, rainbows in 92, pots of gold in 94, leprechaun hats in 96, shooting stars in 98 and the hourglass in 2008 while others were removed.

Oh and the Leprechaun mascot, Lucky (also known as Sir Charms and originally called L.C. Leprechaun) was born in 1963 and now has his buddy Emerald Elder.

Tangled up in blue

Just funin Mr Zimmerman 😉

Spotted Canna

Small Mischief

Ishika’s Smile

Kweli on inspiration

Kweli discusses the inspiration for her work at the final show (The Waking Dream) held at Anuvue Studio in Huntington Beach in April 2009. The show featured the work of both Kweli Walker and Yumiko Yanone (seen in the background).

Video by Christie McGill

Monkeys on the pier!

The month of August is designated free movie night at pierside. They bring in a giant blow up screen and project a different movie each Thursday at dark. Tonight’s feature was The Wizard of OZ and there were lots of folks down there enjoying the old classic right along with their kids. I have always hated the monkey scene and tonight was no exception. Those things used to scare the heck outta me. I saw one little girl who reminded me…well…of me.

Another Visit

Some of you know I’ve been battling some very persistent skin cancer on my left cheek (no, the one on my face). Today was my meeting with the plastic surgeon. Naturally I was curious since my Doctor is from Newport Beach, the plastic surgery capital of the world. Thank God for good insurance (even as it runs out). Little did I think I would ever be in a plastic surgeon’s office…ever!

I knew the place was close to work, but realizing it was my first visit, I figured the polite/smart thing to do was to arrive 15 minute early. I made my Internet driving map (when will I ever learn) and found it to be about 10 minutes away. I got in my car with a cool 30 minutes to spare. I started on my way and realized right away…I was outta gas. That big annoying gas can light showing up in my face, glowing from the dash. I have a problem remembering about gas. The car needs it. I forget it about it. Not the best combination. Isn’t that what husbands are for? I decided to chance it. I took off and it was at some point up the road I noticed the name of the street on the map had an additional SE (south east) attached. Well, I knew where the road with the name “Bristol” was…but hell, how did I know there was a N, S, SE, SW, NE and God knows what other streets criss-crossing like a heated chess match. I started to freak out because not only had I left my dang cell phone on my desk…(apparently I have some issues I need to address) but the last time I ran out of gas…a friend from work had to rescue me off the freeway offramp…and he brought a camera to make sure he got a good shot of my dilemma before the gas was handed over. So… I pulled in to Chevron to maintain my dignity.

After an enormously long time, the tank and I were on a first name basis and I had only 14 minutes left. Oh so many Norths, Souths, etc. to choose from. I took another chance. Hey, I am a Sagitarius. I found a parking lot with a maze of buildings scattered and interlocked. On the outside of the lot, I saw my sought after address (along with 12 others) on a big sign. I drove around all of them, like a child on a scavenger hunt, searching for that last item to win the grand prize. I found every bloody address but the one I needed. I parked. I walked. Finally I found the address tucked behind a tree, climbed the stairs and went inside what I presumed (ya know how that goes) was the lobby. In reality, it was a series of halls and doors sent from the bowels of Hell to confuse the unsuspecting patients. I noticed I was on the 100 level and needed the 200 level so at the end of the very long dark hall, I saw the stairway continue just outside of the last glass door. I exited and went up one flight to the next glass door. It was locked. I went back down the the first floor to re-enter where I’d just left. It was locked. I went up to the third level. Oh yes…Locked. I went down to the basement and found myself standing in some strange underground parking structure. By now, I had 5 minutes, I was wheezing and I was pissed. I ran across the lot swearing at parked cars. I embarrassed a postman (and myself). I went back to the front of the building with the first flight of stairs, carefully checking my way onto the second. I opened yet another glass door and low and behold! Mecca! I entered the Doctors office with one minute to spare and promptly inquired if new people had any problems locating them. The receptionist replied “Only half” ONLY HALF!!! I muttered “Probably because the other half die on the stairs”…

Ok, Now I get a chance to look around. I’m a plain ol regular person but I do enjoy design and I see stainless swirled around walls, glass blocks, real paintings and exotic looking floral displays. Now I know I’m in Newport Beach. I’m secretly thankful…well hell..it’s my face! I take a seat. I am surrounded by women that have had just a bit “too much” done. Too much boob, too much lip, too much tight skin. They are talking about needing a massage and how their poor little necks are so tight with knots. I can hear this weird zen music being piped in and as it continues to get louder, the women keep talking. Somewhere in the middle of a particularly weird instrumental sound I calmly asked if they knew when the Mother Ship was landing. The room was suspended in time. My bad. Hey, Don’t blame me… it was all the stairs and a lack of oxygen. At last I had peace…and lots of personal space too!

Within 10 minutes I was called in by the “ONLY HALF” receptionist. She then admitted, when she’d applied for the job, she had taken quite a few “misguided detours” of her own… It’s a wonder she ever made back without a long rope! I was ushered into a very creatively decorated room and plopped onto the usual patient table. When the Doctor showed up, she looked like something out of a fashion magazine. She was beautiful…and lucky for me, very normal. I instantly like her. She joked with me and laughed a good hearty laugh. I don’t trust people who can’t laugh. I’m in good hands.