vanessa jean & co are on hiatus...

we'll miss hurling boring nothings in your general direction, but chances are we'll be back
no, really, dry those crying eyes...we'll be back

...and if you really miss us, read the archives

check out the online store at www.vanessajean.com

yo...i know, i know, the vj blog has been away. we like being away. we like our fans and all, but it's nice to be away. however, today i have received a plethora of blog-worthy link through e-mail. dear goodness gracious, thanks green pants, darce and bri (no, he doesn't have a link, but if he did it would be this one since he takes care of the whole entire site!). so if you are bored, need to be grossed out, want a crazy trip or a new addiction, or a new perspective on the absurdities of reality tv, go for it. peace out, i'm on the veekend now.

vanessa jean & co are on hiatus...

we'll miss hurling boring nothings in your general direction, but chances are we'll be back
no, really, dry those crying eyes...we'll be back

...and if you really miss us, read the archives

check out the online store at www.vanessajean.com

so, i happen to come in contact with a lot of raw materials that turn into art projects, usually on a rather large scale, and usually in mass volume. yea, yea, you have absolutely no idea what i am talking about, but i am used to that by now. but a few of us thought it was time to start to compile a list of things that have been a bit overused by me lately...

-yarn (all sorts) especially red
-paper, large rolls, small rolls, the kind that has to be cut into squares
-hot glue (i'm frequently quoted as saying 'hot glue is HOT')
-'sale' yes, the actual word. you can only write it so many times before going crazy.
-strips of white and green fabric
-did i mention yarn?
-glitter
-spray paint (especially white)
-the color red
-white, twinkly christmas lights

...i can hardly think of them all now, but i think that's a good start. and i am sure it will grow. look for tissue paper and cardstock soon.

things that are fun...
running in the dark
cold houses and warm comforters
indian food with friends
and gawking at the awfulness of 'extreme makeover'

viola, and on that note i'm off.

joy of joys life is good...
ok, barring a really high gas bill and very little sleep, but i actually thinl those things make everything else feel even better than the best they are. and i found a free ride into the city...could luck shine on me anymore?

ok, so run to your computers (ok, so you are already there) and take a peek at the site explodingdog.com. it's funny, and it's a fun thing to spend a lot of time looking at. i think i might just be striving for this type of eccentricity in my life. anyhow this is my favorite of the moment. much to investigate in the future.

i know these guys, trophy dad sketch comedy, and they are hilarious (ok, well the ones i know are, and i asume that together they are hilarious). i'll be there for the show, will you?

i know these guys, trophy dad sketch comedy, and they are hilarious (ok, well the ones i know are, and i asume that together they are hilarious). i'll be there for the show, will you?

i know these guys, trophy dad sketch comedy, and they are hilarious (ok, well the ones i know are, and i asume that together they are hilarious). i'll be there for the show, will you?

after looking at this practical joke...don't get ANY ideas involving duct tape.

some sentiments are just too strongly felt to be ignored...this is the story of my life lately...

when the sunlight has gone
and the green hills turn gray
and the day turns to evening
somehow,
then i'm thinking of you,
though you're so far away,
and i'm wanting you
close to me now.

oh, chocolate chip cookies
so high on the shelf,
hiding inside the jar -
i'm not tall enough
to reach you myself.
so near, and yet so very far.

i can never forget you.
you're all i adore.
through many long moments
i've tried.
i call out your name,
but i'll have to do no more
to bring you back here
to my side.

oh, chocolate chip cookies
so high on the shelf,
hiding inside the jar -
i'm not tall enough
to reach you myself.
so near, and yet so very far.

if i had three wishes,
they'd all be for you.
if i had my way,
you'd be mine.
oh, the rach wouldn't matter
if i had a ladder.
if i weren't so short,
we'd be fine.

-faraway cookie by caitlin mc ewan in philidelphia chickens (a too-logical zooligical musical revue).

this song thoroughly sums up my mood pre-christmas and for the last 2 days. mmm, especially chocolate cookies with while chocolate chips...the best part about the above mentioned book is that it comes with a cd of totally famous people singing these great children's songs about animals, or with animal characters. where else can you get a book and cd with the bacon brothers, laura linney, the seldom herd (ha!),meryl streep and eric stoltz. you can't, so get it here.

roomies.
roomies are great. we just had a new roomie move in, and the traveling roomie just came back last night. it was nice to have 4 generations of the clan in one place for a nice meal tonight. yay for us.

skateboard babysitting is quite hard. in the last week i have had 13 near fatal experiences. but it's all good because it reminds me of two friends from high school who went through a brief, but intense, skateboarding phase. it was all this skateboarding lingo all over the place, and i think someone even bought special shoes. the best part was that one of these little dearies did quite a number on his ankle trying to do some sort of little flip turn kick thingy, and it swelled to the size of a whole tennis ball. oh, back in the days of the photo lab!

papers from the britany spears annulment at the smoking gun.

florida
i have this thing about trying to get to all 50 states really soon. i also have this teeny tiny thing against florida. it's a long story, really really long. florida happens to be one of the few states i haven't touched ground in, or so i thought until this last weekend. my feelings about florida are so strong that i was willing to boycott a trip to florida on prinicipal, and that i would be ok saying 'i've been to all the states, except florida!' however, i just remembered that i have in fact spend a balmy three days in florida en route to argentina (for a wonderful summer of house arrest, sense my sarcasm). so, i have been there, and it's sort of nice to be able to check it off the list. coming soon, a full list of unvisited states.

heyoooh britany, married? for some reason this 'news piece' made me giggle, giggle, giggle. a joke that went to far, hah! can anyone verify this?

about a boy is good. cute. liked it. however, since i do judge movies on the crying-basis...it wasn't that high...but it was still good. i sort of like the feeling of it, all those friends together, people who met under interesting circumstances and have become pretty close...i like it...it was cute, and it is another step in the hugh grant redemption process. so brian, yes, i did like it (i didn't hate it) but it wasn't as good as love actually but i also didn't see it on the big screen.

dear loyal readers (all two of you...or as i learned today, three of you)...
i may be two-timing you. well, as loyal readers, you know that, but i might as well out myself to everyone else.

really, my life doesn't revolve around duct tape...i have another job as well. i do display work for a national chain that sells high end womens apparel and home goods...that's just the entree to this little ditty about my cute parents.

today i received a phone message from my mommykins. you see, recently one of the stores i work for opened in my hometown, really close to my house...so my cute parents have been about a bazillion times to check it out. i was excited to receive a message from the mommykins today. she was explaining that the store has a new window display, and she was explaining to me all the details. i think this is cute and heartwarming and adorable for a few reasons.

1. i like the fact that they notice, and then tell me. it makes me feel loved.
2. it's cute that they give me all the details of what it looks like, since, i know what it looks like because a)i did the same thing and b) i got the exact same directions so i know what it looks like (or as much as they can describe over the phone.
3. i like the fact that it's like leaving a little piece of me at home, so the can sort of check in on me (by checking the store displays) and get a general sense of what i am up to. i think that's nice. and i think it's equally serendipitous that my mom is returning the favor by opening bank of america spots in new haven.

cheers!
my cutie parents are great!

it's fun to be in that middle-of-the-road not quite adult not quite a kid place anymore. it means i can revel in the excitements of both worlds.
adult joys of the day: making an extremely good computer accessory decision.
kid joy of the day: flip turns in the pool. yay. finally.

my intense sausage cravings continue. thank goodness for the kielbasa on christmas and my newest, favoritest sausage pasta dish. it's all i've been able to think about all day. irony lives on.

dearest brian, you will be happy to know that tonight i am snuggling in to watch about a boy. there is a lot of pressure riding on your shoulders for this one. i'll let you know how i feel in a few hours.

and i thought this ad was for arthritis meds. yup, i guess that's justnot my game.

yea!pasadena.

i'm doing a bit of research for a tech gift i might be purchasing for one of my kind family members (christmas is not in decemeber anymore folks!) and i found this terrific gift giving guide from scientific american. it came up under a google search for 'tech gifts' or something like that...and so i laughed out loud when i found the james watson bobble head doll, an ambient orb stock market monitor for $150.00, and the hypocondriacs teddy bear. nerds unite!

i love this article from the ny times about smoking in bars in nyc" nine months after the smoking ban was set in place. the article sets such a romantic and underground atmosphere, it's so seductive.

big fish, big fish!
friday i went to see big fish, which was a wonderful movie. i really liked it alot, and it hit just the right spot. (and i'm a poet and don't know it). i would recommend it if you want a feel good movie with some great effects and good emotion, but i can also see how people wouldn't like it. but i thought it was good, and it had a really nice cast. and the book hero with a thousand faces by joseph campbell was onthe father's night stand in the movie...which is also noted in the following article from the new york times, and has been sitting in my to read pile for the past two years. oh well. the moral of this story is... big fish good, campbell not as good.

(from brian) the new york times' list of most overrated and underrated ideas of 2003. they polled a bunch of important people, but if you have any thoughts you can e-mail them to ideas@nytimes.com. yea, yea the overrated ones are all expected (beauty, monotheism), but i quite like the list of underrated ideas...like the link between money and happiness and leisure...

Leisure

We are tethered to our e-mail, day and night. We are rarely out of cell phone range. Long working hours extend into evenings and weekends. Most of us feel lucky to love our work, but we put few limits on it. Less fortunate Americans labor long days to compensate for laid-off co-workers or simply to pay the bills. Studies reveal that Americans do an average of 350 hours (the equivalent of almost nine 40-hour weeks) more work each year than Europeans, and two-thirds fail to sleep eight hours a night. Stress-induced illnesses are rampant. Even when we're not working, we "work out" or watch reality TV. We have turned our homework- and activity-burdened older children and ourselves into workaholics, multitasking 24/7. What are we trying to prove?

- Lizabeth Cohen, professor of history at Harvard University and author of "A Consumers' Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America."

i'm back!
[ok, more appropriately, my internet access is back!]