It's been awhile!

I know I haven't posted anything in many months, but I've been busy! Here are some wedding photos (in no particular order):


Me & Ray with my mom, dad & bro:

Me, my parents & bro in the back yard before leaving for the church:

Me, Ray, his mom, step dad, brother (also the best man), sister and nieces:

Our very lovely and delicious cake:

Ray & I with Linda (MoH), and Mike (Best Man):

Ray & I in church:

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church:

It was a fun day, but already seems like soooo long ago!!

Put-in-Bay, Butterfly Sex and Raspberries

Linda & I went to Put in Bay on Friday. Before we left she asked me "What do you do on Put in Bay?" I said "I don't know, but there must be something to see or do." I suppose if you had a boat it would be far more interesting. If we would have stayed overnight and I could have drank my way up & down the Bay, that would have been good too! However, I think that you can actually get busted for DUI on a golf cart, so I wasn't taking any chances...

We got an insanely slow golf cart, but it was ok for a leisurely drive around the lake. Here's Linda in our cart...



Here's the lake (and some Loch Ness looking thing sticking up out of it)...




Then we went to a butterfly exhibit. You just walk into this little room and the butterflies are flying around all over the place. They will even land on you if you hold still. I thought it would be something interesting to do. Linda has a thing about birds, they freak her out and she's worried about getting her eyes pecked out. I didn't realized this also applied to butterflies. So we get in there, and they are right there in your face, and she looks like she's going to cry or wet her pants. It is a little strange at first but they are pretty non-threatening. Meanwhile, there were 2 year-olds running around and giggling, but she soon calmed down and we enjoyed the butterflies.





And then there were these butterflies... I had no idea, but they only have a life span of 2 weeks!! 2 weeks!! What a waste of prettiness for only 2 weeks. But I digress... I thought this one orange butterfly was hurt and his friend was trying to help him. Well, no, I was wrong, apparently this is butterfly mating...



These little yellow guys were going at it too...


Butterfly love, who knew...


Here's Calvin looking how I felt after we got home on Friday night:


As I've always said, Linda & I could have fun doing anything or nothing. There really is nothing to do on Put in Bay, but we had a great time!


Here's some of the bumper crop of raspberries we had recently:

Yummy, yummy!!

And here's some wedding cuteness:

My mom is working on my card box for the wedding reception. Soooo cute!!

A Bunch of Random Crap...

So, to take a page from Linda, here's some random stuff that recently happened or crap I was thinking about (in no particular order)...

Here's the patriotic cheese cake I made for Memorial Day:


I decided I'd better head up to the attic to go through all of the "stuff" I've been accruing since I got out of high school. I have a huge box of Tupperwear, a box full of Pampered Chef & Party Lite goodies, and then there's the Fiestaware!! Holy Fiesta!! Here's the roster:

1 Deviled Egg Plate
1 Smiley Face Plate
2 Large Serving Bowls
1 Butter Dish
2 Water Pitchers
4 Serving Platters
4 Sm. Bread Plates
2 Sets of Salt & Pepper Shakers
2 Flower Vases
4 Rice Bowls
1 Sugar & Creamer Set
1 Spoon Rest
1 Toaster
1 Waffle Iron (yes Linda, this is the waffle iron I had to leave work early for so I could win it in an ebay auction!!)
1 Set of 4 Small Bowls (ice cream size) w/ a Matching Large Bowl
13 Place Setting (6 of the 5 Piece Set and 7 of the 4 Piece Set)
2 Small Orange Plates - I got them at a church sale and they are the original Fiestaware that was still made with lead, so you can't eat off of them, but I thought they would make a good decoration.

I registered for one more place setting so I have an even 14. However, in all of those boxes, there is no flatware to eat off of all these dishes with!!

I also threw out a bunch of junk. I swear that I must have had 20 of those stupid Clinique/perfume "free" tote bags!!! I also found this little gem up there:



Yes ladies, this is the Richard Caruso Molecular Steam Hair Setter! Do not ask what hell I'm doing with this thing or where I got it. I'm praying to God that it was a Christmas gift and I didn't actually go out and buy it for myself. When have I ever spent this much time on my hair??? I have a curling iron & 2 flat irons that I probably use 6 times a year, combined!!! WTF???


My wedding dress wasn't cheap, but it wasn't several thousand dollars like the ones those nutty chicks on"Say Yes to the Dress" pick out. So now I'm trying to figure out how I can buy the Manolo's that Big proposes to Carrie with in the Sex and the City Movie. They are $945, which is more than the dress cost. Priorities, priorities...


Most everyone reading this blog knows I'm not a supporter of the Country's current administration. I (still) see all kinds of anti-Bush bumper stickers out there, and I never say a word about them. I certainly wouldn't yell & scream at the person in the car with said bumper sticker. I however, try to voice my opinion and got yelled at, honked at, sneered at and given the finger (no, not the thumbs up) many times. Interesting, considering "those people" are the ones screaming about peace all of the time.

After the election I put the following bumper stickers on my car. This first one didn't last very long after I was at a traffic light and some very angry, large, thug-like gentleman proceeded to honk, yell f___ you and gave me the finger for the entire duration of the light!!




This next one is still on my car as I believe people like the aforementioned person is not smart enough to understand what it means.



As Mark says, the first amendment gives everyone the right to be offended. And like I say, when I want your opinion, I'll give it to you!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!!

It's my mom's birthday today. Happy Birthday Mom, I Love You!!! I won't reveal your age. You don't look a day over 29, which means you were -3 when you had me :-)

Here's the cake I made. It's a giant cupcake, but sort of looks like a carousel in person. I dyed the coconut pink to match the frosting on the bottom of the cupcake. How Martha of me :-)






Even the marmosets wish you a happy birthday!!!!

Cat Funnies

I thought Linda's dog comics were pretty funny so I thought I'd post my favorite cat cartoon. I bought a desk calendar of New Yorker Magazine cat cartoons a few years ago and this one was in there. I never really understood New Yorker magazine (maybe you actually have to be a New Yorker to appreciate it), but I love the cartoons! Here's my favorite:

Wedding Dress Bonanza

Yesterday I went with Linda & my mom to look for a wedding dress. I found some online that I really liked at Alfred Angelo, but wanted to see them in person. There are some local shops that carry the Alfred Angelo brand, but I wanted to go to one of their stores to see everything. For some unknown reason there is not an Alfred Angelo in Cleveland, but rather in Boardman. I don't know if you have ever been to the Boardman/Youngstown part of Ohio, but if you have, I'm sorry! I have not seen that many hillbillies in one place before. And by hillbilly I mean, no teeth, no shoes, dirty screaming kids, etc. Not to mention that the bridal shop itself was a complete dump! However, amid all of that chaos and entertainment I got the dress I went there to see, but holy cow was it an experience!!

And now for the dresses I didn't pick:





And the one I did:




JUST KIDDING!!! You didn't actually think I'd spoil the surprise. You'll just have to wait until October to see what I'll be wearing.

And we thought she knew everything...

We often joke that my mom knows everything (including how to speak French, Linda). And while she is very wise and knows how to do a great number of things. Apparently making a cake isn't one of them. And here's the proof...






This is the finished product, we had not yet cut into it or even tried to tear it apart with our bare hands!

However, she did try to redeem herself by making this beautiful styrofoam wedding cake at work. I said it doesn't count if you can't actually eat it!





I LOVE YOU MOMMY!!!

... and tatts!

I posted about my cats and now I'm finally getting around to posting about the tatts!

Here's the new one I got last night (the flowers are crocuses):


Here's the whole thing together:



Those pink & purple Sweet Pea's are a cover up. All that was there is this (sad little thing):



Here's my Rosie the Riveter on the outside of my right ankle (For some reason this picture came out a little blurry. She's very crisp & clear in real life):


These are the pansies on the inside of my left ankle:


And the unknown type of flower on the outside of my left ankle. This was also a cover up of a small peach that was there. The tattoo artist that did the cover up had to come up with something that would fit over the peach, and this worked perfectly.


I'm eagerly awaiting the day when I win the lottery and can quit my "real" job so I can cover my entire body in tattoos, pierce my nose, dye my hair pink and be a total freak!!

Some people seem to think that tattoos have to have all kinds of deep meaning. Some of mine are very meaningful and others are just because they are pretty and I like pretty things!!

All of this fine work was done by Sarah Fish at GenX Tattoo in Willoughby. http://www.genxtattoos.com/

Ladies, sometimes it's good to be me!

A few Saturday's ago Linda & I went to TJ Maxx. I find the best stuff there when I'm not actually looking for anything. I have, however, been searching for a new pair of black dress boots for months, but haven't found anything suitable (Not because I'm all that picky, but because I've got messed up feet & most shoes are not wide enough for me. I'm headed towards a life of orthopaedic shoes in a triple wide.)

I found this pair of boots on the clearance rack:



They are Anne Klein New York Carmi boots. The original price tag at TJ Maxx was $124.00, which I would never pay for any pair of footwear EVER!! They were then marked down to $99.00, then again to $69.00, and yet again to $39.00, when I happened upon them!!! So I decided to Google them to see what they would cost at a regular store. Get this, they are going for $295.00 at shoes.com!!! That's more than an 85% savings!!!

It's the little things that make me happy!!

This is it!! I'm going to go live with the Amish or something...

I love animals as much as the next guy, but I'm also a leather wearing, fur coveting carnivore!
Cows were meant to be eaten and the only reason I don't have a mink coat is because I'm poor!!

Then I come across this madness!! These PETA freaks are just that, FREAKS!! They want to change the name of fish to Sea Kittens. Why, you ask? Because kittens are cute and who would want to eat or hurt a kitten. No, I'm not making this up, I'm not nearly that cleaver!! Check it our for yourself!!

http://www.peta.org/sea_kittens/about.asp

And believe me, if kittens tasted like Lake Perch or Walleye, sorry Karma, Calvin & Hobbes, pass the tartar sauce!!

I'm going to go live on a island in a mud hut or become part of a nice Amish family where I have no access to TV, radio, the Internet, newspapers, magazines, etc. Because, if I hear anymore of this sort of craziness I'm going to have to check myself into a mental institution!

(I have to give credit to Ray for tipping me off to this crazy BS. Thanks, dear!!)