Finders keepers...

Losers weepers.

Or so that saying goes.

The other evening I had taken D and Brian to our local grocery shopping to get our weekly groceries before I had to get ready for work that night. So I am trying to rush this little adventure along. All of us mothers knows how it can be to take to whole troupe to a grocery store, especially in the late evenings, right? I hope so, anyway. Well, we about 3/4 of the way through, nearing the finish line.

I shop from left to right, side aisles first and the middle on the way to the right and then to the checkout lanes. Well, we're in the back, just past the seafood department, headed towards the cheeses and lunchmeats-
When I hear Daylee say, "MOMMY, LOOK I FOUND DOLLARS!!!"
Well, I turn to look at him and whattayaknow! Daylee has found two twenty dollar bills and is holding them in his little hands. I look around and we are the only people in the back portion of the store, then I look at Daylee and I asked, "Where did you find that money, Daylee?" D points down and he had found the 40.00 between the seafood cold case in the middle of the aisle, smooshed between a pepperoni display case. Since no one was around and I knew if we turned in cash, especially such a small amount, someone would claim it to be theirs, even if it wasn't. I thought about it for a little bit, and I told D he could keep it. I know some of you may be shaking your heads, thinking maybe, possibly that I did the  'wrong' thing, or I'm a horrible, wretched human being, but no one was around, meaning no one in that part of the store was there at that time D found it to pipe up and claim it, and the place where D found it was hidden but also not hidden. It just took a kid of 3 feet to see the money, rather than a 6 foot adult.
So anyways, I told D to put it in his pocket and we finished up our shopping and I took him to Toys 'r' Us to buy a Lone Ranger Lego set (the one he's been pining after for weeks).
Brian told me that when he was little, around D's age he found a large bill- it was either 50.00 or 100.00 and that his parents took it from him and kept it. I felt like it would have been wrong to take that money from D, not turn it in and then keep it for myself.
So, anyways, I just want to ask the question- if your child would have found 40.00 the way Daylee found his, what would you do? Would you turn it in to the store manager? Would you let your kid keep it and spend it whatever way they wanted, or would you donate it to charity or buy someone less fortunate food or clothes, or would you as the parent pocket the cash for yourselves?
Please answer honestly.

Did you know/Did you hear?!

That Kevin Smith is making a CHASING AMY part 2?!

If you don't know who Kevin Smith is, or if you haven't seen the 90s movie, well, then that's just super sad... and so are you.


Kevin Smith movies:

Mall Rats
Clerks
Jay and Silent Bob
Dogma

***Kevin Smith is Silent Bob***

Well, Chasing Amy is a cult classic, and might I add one of my favorite movies of all time.
I remember being 15 years old and my Joanna and I would rent that movie on VHS (yes, you read correctly). Joanna and I would lay on the floor with our pillows in the dark and we would watch our favorite movies- My Girl, Casper, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, etc.


Chasing Amy stars Ben Affleck and Joey Lauren are the main characters, but this movie also has my hunky favorite, Jason Lee and a little known guy named Matt Damon.

This movie is about a guy (Ben Affleck) who falls for a girl (Joey Lauren) but finds out that she is a lesbian. They begin this beautiful friendship but Ben never stops chasing after Joey, and finally he gets the girl. After he hears something that upsets him about Amy and he feels betrayed, it hurts their relationship and they break up, followed by lots of insight and you get the picture.


So, what will Chasing Amy part 2 hold for us????

Who knows, but given it's a Kevin Smith movie- it'll probably have our favorite casts of characters, including Chris Rock, maybe Alanis Morrisette, Matt Damon and Selma Hayek- just to name a few....

Jamie's trial notes: Jodi Arias

I wasn't going to blog about this trial. Even though I watch it daily on the HLN network. I am literally obsessed with the day to day drama. Most Americans are actually right where I am. I have even heard of people missing their scheduled vacations to tropical islands to switch tickets to go to Arizona and wait outside the courthouse in Phoenix at 5:00 am to hopefully get themselves a seat. This trial is all over every type of media (i.e. radio, all the news stations; local and otherwise, in newspapers, blogs, etc.).
If you haven't been watching, and I'd have to ask if you have been hiding under a rock.... just kidding, but SERIOUSLY.

Jodi Arias is on trial for the massively brutal murder of her one time Mormon boyfriend, Travis Alexander.
The murder was gruesome. SO, so gruesome. The murder took place on June 4, 2008 at the beautiful home of the successful Travis Alexander in Mesa, Arizona. ***PLEASE NOTE*** THIS WILL BE GRAPHIC.
Travis wasn't just shot. Travis wasn't just stabbed. Travis was shot in the head, stabbed 29 times (in the heart, back, defensive wounds all over his head and hands, and finally, sadly and brutally- he had his throat slit from ear to ear, all the way back to the spinal cord.
It sickens me.
I know I have so many better things to be doing with my free time, other shows I can watch, but this trial is captivating. I watched the whole 18 days that Jodi was on the stand, and I have to add lying under oath. Lying about the fog.
And mind you that Jodi changed her dang story 3 times!!!
Her first story was she was no where near the crime scene, the next was that two ninjas broke in, attacked Travis, left hear unharmed and let her run away, and finally, after 2 years in jail, she changed her story again- self defense. Travis was abusive.
If you have not been watching-
currently there is Alyce Laviolete or whatever on the stand and she is the defense's dv expert and she is biased, and won't even consider that Jodi was the stalker, Jodi was the abuser.
I know this is so out of order, and I 'm here and there, but Jodi is a liar, an admitted murderer, and this man did not deserve to die.
Until this trial I was really against the death penalty, but after seeing those crime photos and hearing Jodi get caught in lie after lie, especially under oath (swearing to tell the TRUTH, the WHOLE TRUTH and NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH), and not only that but the defense experts are also getting caught up in incomplete stories and half-truths.
Well, now my opinion on the death penalty has changed, and in Jodi's own fake journal entry- the death penalty, death by lethal injection is too good for whoever committed this awful crime, well Jodi- it was you, and may you pay for the crime you committed.
Travis was young and he grew up having one of the worst childhoods I have ever heard of, and instead of falling into a statistic he made something of himself. You can tell he loved to travel, he enjoyed life, had so many people in his life that loved him and cared for him and from all the evidence(or lack thereof you know that he is not into child porn or pedophilia, that he was not physically abusive or hateful. He was kind and cared for Jodi and everyone in his life. When Jodi needed a car, he gave her a BMW, when she needed money, he let her do light house keeping and paid her 200.00 each time, he paid for trip after trip. Travis was a giving, kind and loyal man, and after months of being stalked and manipulated by this ugly human being he had had enough and sent her a very determined email that was supposed to be the final communications. The kind of email that says- LEAVE ME ALONE, I want nothing to do with you! He DID NOT deserve to die. Mostly, he didn't deserve to die the way he did, suffering for those 62 seconds.
Speculation as to why she did this:

1. a trip. A trip to Cancun. Her name was the first on that ticket, then Travis uniinvited her and gave the ticket to Mimi Hall.
2. The email/text where he told Jodi she was worse that Hitler, that she was evil and the worst person he had ever met and to leave him alone.

As for premeditation?
1. 4 large gas cans
2. The rented car.
3. The .25 auto stolen from her granparents 3 weeks before the murder. The caliber found at the crime scene? A .25 auto.
4 The back license plate on her rental turned upside down.
5. Coloring her hair from bleach blonde to brown.
6.Turning off her cell when she got into Az so her cell wouldn't ping towers, but turning it on when she was near the Hoover Dam.
7. Collecting and keeping all the receipts from her fake vacation.


If you are the least bit interested in this case- you can follow up with police interviews, trial days, experts and witnesses on the stand, crime scene photos, and oh yeah, the 48 hours interview where Jodi goes on camera telling the bogus ninja story to the world. They are all on youtube: Jodi Arias.

late; really, really late.

            HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY, LITTLE SEESTER!!!




Joanna,

You are not just my younger sister, but one of my best-est friends. Someone that I have always been able to count on, someone to laugh with, someone to also cry with. Here is a list of things I either love about you, my fondest memories of you, etc. I hope you enjoy it, and I am so sorry it is coming to you late.

Your sense of style. Love it!

You're so gorgeous. It pains me.

You are such a natural beauty.

You always look impeccable.

You have always done well, if no exceedingly well at whatever you put your mind to.

You have a huge heart.

You always have good advise, not matter the situation or circumstance.

You're tiny feet. I am, and always have been way jealous.

You have a great outlook and insight.

Your hair can be super pixie short or super long. It doesn't matter. It always looks great.

You're always on the up and up on fashion, way before anyone else has a clue.

You are a great partner in crime.

You are super intelligent.

You have such talent(s) (i.e. you blogs, the way you design and decorate things).

Your handwriting.

You're so funny.

You're so amazing with crafts (refurbishing old things. The girl's room for example on May St was so great).

Love going shopping with you.

Our long, in depth conversations.

Going to movies with you (unlike a lot of people I know; you DO NOT talk during movies).

Our Chicago trip (so much fun to travel with you, to go out to eat with you, sight see and go shopping).

How good of a mom you are to all of your girls.

The love in your heart for other people; your friends, family and otherwise.

Sharing our love of good books and t.v. shows (teen mom, anyone?!).

Our Cali road trips together.

Our shared love of good music.

Summer time swimming at mom's or elsewhere, laying in the sun, hanging out.

Holidays as a family.

The butterfly belt.

The Taurus.

 Going out when we were in our early 20s.

Knowing that no matter how far I've moved, how bad my life was that you were in my corner, not just giving me lip service and turning your back, but that you were there for me.

Our silly fights (and they STILL happen from time to time).

There's alot more I could add to this list but it's way too incriminating!!!

This is such a short list of things that make you who you are, and in my eyes- no one has a better sister, no one has a prettier, smarter, funnier sister than I do. I am so blessed. I love you!

Happy 30th.

Always-

Big Seester  

eyebrow? yes, eyebrow...

This is my left eyebrow:

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I know it's a little odd, okay very odd to have a blog posting of my eyebrow, but let me explain-
I was once a criminal to my eyebrows. I murdered my eyebrows several times over the last two decades. When I was 14, I distinctly remember sneaking my grandma's old, possibly even dull tweezers and just pulled with no clear function or purpose, other than seek and destroy those bushy things above my eyeballs.
Sadly, I ended tweezing half of not just one brow, but BOTH of them. You read correctly, I tweezed half of both of my eyebrows, and I also remember that I had no idea how to correct the damage, so I ended up using a dark brown or black cheap Wet N Wild eyeliner stick and I DREW on my remaining brows. The outcome of this tragedy?! One brow would be round, the other horizontal. It was HORRIBLE, AWFUL, ATROCIOUS. The only plus side to my hair pulling fiasco was that I could literally, and I mean literally draw on my moods. I can hear your laughter, but it is TRUE. Feeling mad today, Jamie? Well draw those brows straight across. Feeling happy today, Jamie? Well, the Ronald McDonald look has to be in style circa 1995, right? WRONG. The Ronald McDonald look isn't even hip with the clown himself, let alone a young teenage girl (who I should also note SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO TWEEZE A HAIR OF HER BODY LET ALONE BOTH EYEBROWS). I can;t really blame anyone for what I did. You'd think that my worst fear at this time would be having to draw those ugly suckers on each day, maybe the possibility of running out of liner, or even the blistering hot Arizona heat making those bad boys run like the mailman runs from a rabid pit bull, but NO, none of those things really crossed my mind. My worst fear you ask about having to draw on your eyebrows? Was pissing off your little sister, and then having her beat your ass and THEN wipe them off your face, before school, at the bus stop in front of at least 10 of your school-mates. And yes, this did happen, several times during re-growth. Now I can look back on these stories with hindsight, clarity and humor, but to a 14 year old girl who is ugly and awkward- it was like a death sentence.
Since that time in my life I have tried to keep both brows intact, maybe not always as 'thick' as they should be, but never again would I have to pencil in hair.
The last few times I've been home Joanna and my cousin, Michel have commented on how they like my eyebrows and Joanna has asked on numerous occasions  how I tweeze them, groom them, what have you, so I'd like to give up that information-
1. Start with the finger test (using your index finger measure from the  inner corner of your eye, angle your finger left and that is where they should start, then with your index finger measure from the middle of your eye up and that is where your arch should start, and finally, with your index finger measure from the outer corner and this is where your eyebrow should end).
2. ONLY tweeze what is absolutely necessary! Do NOT senselessly tweeze hair just to tweeze hair!
3. Tweeze the random hairs (closest to your nose, the start of your brow) and only tweeze the hairs that are out of place or noticeable.
4. Tweeze to the right of your arch and only the hairs that are out of place. Do not tweeze the longer hairs! Especially if they are the top or bottom of your brow. One tug of a long hair that is meant to be in your brow and you're a hot mess
5. If you have thin eyebrows and want thicker, or longer brows- RESIST THE URGE TO TWEEZE.
I know it sounds difficult, but it's not. No one will notice those stray hairs, and if they do, they aren't going to point them out and advise you to tweeze the heck out of them!

I hope that my story and my rules of thumb have helped you to create the eyebrow style that suits you best, and I hope that you will NEVER have to know what it's like to pencil in any missing hairs, and if you do- try to find the positives- you can draw on your mood for the day. I prefer the angry brow. People won't dare to ask you where your eyebrows went.

blogosphere

Yes, it's me and I'm back.
For weeks, months, and probably close to a year now Joanna has poked and prodded me about when I would return to the blogging community, and I lied- telling her, 'soon', or 'tonight', or 'no, I don't want to.' Mainly because I have all of 5 followers, and to me that is super lame, especially for a blogger, but after many conversations with my sister about her blog, her new fashion blog, etc., etc. I made my decision to update my blog page, site, what have you and well, here I am.
I wanted to tell all of you, all 5 of you....
*cringe*
That I will be adding more recipes, stories from the last year or so and adding photos.
I'm actually pretty jazzed, even if it sounds like I don't want to do this.
A lot has changed, lots of new things going on and to be honest, I probably need some input from those around me.
I'd also like to thank my sister for her encouragement to start blogging again.
What is it 'they' say about the written word?
Anyways,
I digress.
Since I have been gone for such a long time-
Here are some semi-recent photos of Daylee:


Left: D before his 'Texas' day Right: D on Halloween