2.3.05 - link now fixed (and polite). oooops.

i'm in alhambra. that means i am in california.
it's wierd to drive into your hometown (or homeland?) on the same freeways you used to travel as a child, in a different car, with different things than before, and only as a pitsop on to a different place. me? sentimental? never!
things i am going to do while in the southland...
bodyworlds
retrieve my 3 year old avocado plant from the backyard of the house i grew up in, that was recently sold to someone else (the house, not the plant. the plant was leaft in the back yard because the movers couldn't take it because they couldn't transfer plants across state lines).
maybe secretly visit dot the cat and and family.
eat good food
see parts of my fam
get my car looked at (darn pesky check engine light)
and hope that things don't get stolen from my car.

things i learned from driving from charlotte to here:
driving isn't so bad when you don't do it at night
david sedaris, tom wolfe, & jane austen make wonderful travel mates
blood oranges still taste good
texas is huge
there is continual 'fog' hanging over midland, tx. i'm convinced it's a 'protective measure'
only in texas will you find a subaru outback with connecticut plates and a "w" sticker on the back. (brian posits the sticker was added as 'protection' for the journey through texas...blending in).
300 miles is no big deal
if you drive a full-packed car, people will make conversation/chat with you at every gas station, but will chose from a select list of pre-approved lines:
"wow, looks like you could fit just a bit more in that corner right there."
(said while pointing at the tiny bit of trunk that has space, near the rear window)
"good thing you don't have any passengers" (sorry s.)
"where ya headed?"
"are you plannin' on paddlin' that here? it's too cold/we ain't got no water for that."
and that i love the fact i can fill my tank with about $20 and go twice as far as i could in jeepie.

here i go!
almost everything fits in the car. including me. and hopefully there will be plenty of space for the special guest star who will be joining the grand tour in san fran. i can't believe i have so much stuff. stuff. stuff. stuff. always stuff.

so, in about 20 minutes my extensive collection of book-on-tape and i will be departing for portland, oregon. let's just hope that i get there.

until next time!

i'm not quite panic-ing yet, but i'm just wondering what things i can live without, and won't have to fit in my car...so that i can!

iam just eating up the jane austen book club that a very special austin/green pants/aca9 gifted me for christmas. it's so delicious, and it makes me want to re-read every austen novel. love it love it love it. time to go read!

more new things! yay! yay!
newest most favorite duct tape color combination:
avocado and brown (maybe even with a touch of pink)
things are looking so bring on the business front, it's exciting. and hard to contain myself with the thought of a move coming up too. so many exciting things at once. and hopefully when i get to pdx i can find affordable studio space and actually have a real studio, which i think would help so much on the productivity and creativity fronts. regardless, i was asked for a diaper bag sample. i posted a sample over a year ago of the same idea (link to come), but revised it much for this sample offering. this is so exciting because it features (yes, i did research on what is important in diaper bags!) 2 interior removable bottle holders (for easy transfer from diaper bag to gym bag when yound lad or lassie is grown), two inside pockets, one exterior pocket, magnetic snap closure, and a really neat little d-ring for hanging keys or pacifier (ick!), as well as two over-the-shoulder durable nylon straps in brown. ok, they might be invisible in this picture, but that's because my stock hasn't been delivered yet. use your imagination. i just love this color combo and design. i've been wanting to treat myself to a new bag for me (if anyone has seen the rainbow bag i've been carrying lately you'll know why), and the body is modeled after this one (i just love the colors). ok, enough rambling on. if you've made it this far you deserve to see the pictures. cheers. oh, bag is 16x12x6. straps will be 13" drop.

front with small pocket

back with off-center stripe

functional hook!

oh, and it will also be available in brownie/avocado/aqua for thos who feel pink isn't appropriate for boy babies. and if this wasn't a sample for a predominately female oriented outlet i think i would have made it less fem.


all images copyright vanessa jean 2005

this is the most exciting part of my week. yesterday i got to see karl kasell do a live broadcast at the local npr affiliate wfae. it was really neat, he is really cool, i am a happy camper. who loves karl? i do. who loves the news on npr? i do. who loves wait wait...don't tell me!? i do!
me = happy
(hmmm, that was an old post that accidentally got saved as a draft. did i mention i got a free mug out of the deal too!)

[i've decided that this blog will only be about my pets, until i leave them]
dog discovery...
sport the dog loves to be scratches. if you start to pet his back, he'll roll over and ask for you to scratch his tummy. however, i started to notice that he actually sort of lays on his side when he does that, and he always hangs out on his right side. so i started to pet and scratch his right side, so that he can't roll onto that side...and he won't lay down onto his left side. he just stands there, letting you scratch his side, but looks really, really confused. it's a fun game.

ladies (seeking men), do you need this help from lars, buffy and mandy? i think things like this are really funny. mostly, because it is directed at women seeking men, when really, lots of these pieces of advice can be for anyone seeking anyone. hmmm. maybe i need to collect my thoughts more before i write. maybe i just like buffy and lars.

new stuff!! new stuff!!

"Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing, never can bring about a reform. Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world's estimation. "

--Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906)

things my dog will eat : :	: : things my dog won't eat
avocado ham cat food pot roast pork loin soy cheese socks turkey bacon radish fresh ginger marzipan dark chocolate bars bacon paper towel strawberries mild kim chee flan soy yogurt brussel sprouts	oranges cabbage baby carrots ginger wasabi dressing tea bags not-mild kim chee

some days are lagging...
like today. i have a loooong list of things that i need to get done...
but every one has one little piece that needs to be filled into the puzzle before i can get working on it (...waiting for a customer to respond with a color choice...waiting for a supply order to arrive...trying to get things done on the computer that i know nothing about...) and i always feel a bit unfocused and don't know where to start working. it's also a great excuse for continued procrastination. and it's really cold out today, well, colder than i am used to, and it's fun to be all bundled up in the house.

i'm tired. it's been a long, hard day here (ahem)
it got very cold here today, and so i thought that my cats really needed a way to stay warm (apparently cats get disoriented when it's cold) (aren't they kinda disoriented anyway?) (not yours, just mine.) and i decided that i should use my newly minted knitting skills to help them out.

yes, i clearly have no (ie zero) life, but i love it and adore it and couldn't be happier. back to work tomorrow. so many exciting duct tape things going on...

[in my biggest, best, loudest sarcastic voice]
yes, yes this is exactly what we need right now.

very large frogs brought into house by cats this week: 2
quilts made so far: .5
people now living in house: 3
pets in house: 4 (advantage pets)
awesome new loose tea lead containers: 6
cute, new, nameless duct tape items created this week: 3
rolls of duct tape dropped on foot: 1
dog bites: 0
action figure jesus vs. sport the dog showdowns: 5
unseasonal bulbs blooming in kitchen window planter: 4
tornado: 0 (almost 1)
cups of tea: too many to count
nights sleeping in new tent: soon to be one

sometimes it's just nice to stop and think about how neat life is, and how many things happen during one week, or even one day, or how we can end up doing things we never expected. so, cheers to that, and happy weekend.

one of the best ads ever, care of puma. (and thanks to d-face).

i'm on the phone with kodak . they ask for my full name etc to open a file, but then they guy on the other side of the phone started to sound really creepy when saying...
"now, vanessa, what make is your camera?"
"vanessa, how old is your camera?"
"vanessa...are you in california now?"
i know it's just for personable and friendly service, but there is something a bit unnatural and creepy about a male stranger i don't know started every sentence with, "so, vanessa...."
ick.

it's always nice to realize things. (how's that for a generic introduction?) i have, more than once, second guessed my move to portland. it's the first time i've ever had the marvelous opportunity to move absolutely where ever i want to, so it's nice to go back and read this old bike the vote posts from september 17 and realize that i should always just go with my gut...

"Monday lunch-time we all started to head our own ways as Chris and Jessie headed up to Seattle. Wednesday Ally and Steve headed for San Fran. I’ve been kickin’ it in Portland and if I didn’t have other places to be, I would definately stay here…at least through the election, but probably for a long time after that too."

at that timei had plans for october and november, and glad i remained in portland to work on the campaign. i was also sure i'd still just head back to new haven when all was said and done, and i'm glad i opened myself up to the opportunity of trying something new and living in a different place. wow, sometimes i am just in awe of the completely unexpected places life takes us.

adam and even not adam and sleeve.
[thank you brian.]

...but can i still call 900 porn numbers if i sign up for sienna communications?

q: what's the difference between a guitar player and a pizza?

a: a pizza can feed a family of four.

[my newest favorite joke, especially appropriate as i continually fret about my 'artsy fartsy' lifestyle, and if it will continue to support me.

this is what i want, i love fridays: (demanding, aren't i?)
take out thai food
season two of bbc's the office
3 kittens
1 soft blue blanket
a fire
2 books
peppermint tea
sleepiness
(and i will have them all)

alias season premier last night.
my opinion: so so.
maybe it's getting old. maybe sydney didn't wear enough funky costumes. maybe the romance between vaughn and sydney was too automatic, none of that lusty and wonderful anxious waiting that we've been used to. definately not enough recap of last season! i don't know how i feel about the sister character. and throwing sydney right back into the old gang...it all just happened too fast.
i did, however, really like sydney's 'quitting scene' and then the turn around. that hiding the truth starts all over again (cause that gets people in trouble). but there doesn't seem to be enough info on exactly who the evil is that they are fighting. and sloane? really. c'mon. let's develop the face of the evil opposition in a continual way so that we aren't just being introduced to new bad people to fight off in each episode. where's the continuity?

whew, thanks to a guardian angel, vanessa jean is actually back to it's full glory now. sometimes i think i'm being so smart and clever, just to find out i'm not. it's also nice to know there are people out there who are kind enough to watch over me. so now the site is back to normal, and you should check it out.

the vanessa jean website is back to its old, full glory, so if you haven't seen it in a while, or you are new to the site, you should check it out again. that makes me happy, mostly because it means i got to legitimately play on the computer all morning, and that is good. now i am going to teach myself more new things about how my website works so that i can add some fantastic new items, like the funky clutch and the lanna. ok, back to work, but maybe i'll have a ham sandwich first.

yesterday i got to take out my brother's stitches.

updates to what my dog eats

i'm quilting up a storm, and learned a valuable lesson about quitting (ha! quilting) while you are ahead. the small sections are ok, but we'll see what happens when i put it all together.

a few thoughts on insurance:
car insurance: is good. full coverage is good. a rental policy is good.
renters insurance: is good. is great. is even better with a computer policy.
health insurance: is a nice thought, and one day soon i may have it again.

it's time to do the books! which might be my favorite time of year. numbers, organizing, sorting, calculators! oh my!

my cool dad occassionally swears around my brother and his friends
one of the cats (phil) seems oddly pensive. longing.
my mom stole a dinner plate from the japanese restraunt we went to last night.
the dog does not like to float in boats
green pants is on her way back to rochester
watch american splendor if you haven't already
that is all