Roar

Has anyone else noticed that there are a disproportionate amount of LEO bloggers? It seems like every blog I follow has or will have a birthday very soon! It must be the fact that we LOVE to be the center of attention. I think that blogs were made for leos.

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR.

Ayuda me, por favor!

I help a friend who owns a wine bar/restaurant in Phoenix with her social media, a little bit of marketing/PR and special events. We've decided to host a speed dating event next month!!!

What are some fun questions to add to the questionnaire that I'm sending to the participants?

I want to go above and beyond the standard!

Help me out bloggers!

Seven Summer Essentials

Below are my Seven Summer Essentials, per MamaKat's instructions.....

#1

The pool at the Judge's house.

The Judge and Carol are my uncle and aunt.

When you swim at their house you get to listen to NPR and drink beer.

So refreshing!

#2

The ocean.

Aaaaaaah, how I miss my Pacific.

I'm very glad I got to see it this summer.

This is me gazing at Alana's wedding.

#3

Watermelon.

The best summer fruit!

#4

Snow cones make me VERY happy in hot hot Phoenix.

For more on Snow cones, please see the post below.

#5

Suave coconut body wash.

Pretty sure I've been using this during the summer since I was 12??

AND, it costs around $1.

CRAZY delicious, affordable, moisturizing, amazing.

#6 Colore Science mineral refreshing facial mist.

I love spritzing mon visage with this stuff!

#7

And I've saved the best for last.

Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc.

I'm usually more of a red girl,

but this white is SO crisp and refreshing!

My name is Taylor, and I am an addict.

I have developed quite the addiction this week.

Number one sign I have a problem?

Bright Red Tongue.

I have a Snow Cone problem.

This is my fourth one in five days.

I'm dog sitting for Steph's parents and there is a Snow Cone store right on the way home!

How convenient.

Tigers Blood is my fave AND Nina over at CenPho has discovered a NEW snow cone store right by my condo. So, when I am done watching Pugsley and Lola, I will still be able to get my fix.

Also, I've come up with a genius theory to justify my out of control snow cone consumption. I've decided that when the temperature is over 100 degrees, you sweat SO much that the calories in the snow cone are completely cancelled out.

It makes so much sense, right?

Summer Song

So, I was kind of bummed this summer because I hadn't found my Summer Anthem! There's always a song that I become obsessed with that is light and fun and summery that I play over, and over, and over, and over, and over.

Well, I found it.

I heard it a month or two ago randomly, LOVED it and didn't figure what it was until two nights ago. It's Michael Franti and I can't believe I didn't realize it was him! I am such a bad hippie after leaving Flagstaff two and a half years ago. :) I'd better break out my Dr. Bronner and Soy not Oi! Does anyone know when the next Food Not Bombs dumpster diving meet up is? JK JK. Sort of..........

(btw, I was only a hippie in my heart. I've always showered regularly and never let go of my love for shopping and all things pink. I was a lone Coco Mademoiselle in a sea of patchouli.)

FYI: Michael Franti doesn't wear shoes. Since 2000 he has gone barefoot as a poverty protest. I love going barefoot. I love shoes, but only for about 20 minutes at a time. I get in trouble for walking barefoot around the office. :( They are not very open to the Barefoot is Beautiful lifestyle.

And yes, I have a big hippie crush on Michael Franti.

Really Reid?

You are someone I COULD see myself spending the rest of my life with is NOT a proposal.

You fail.

And I don't like Ed.

I expected more from Jillian.

GRRR!

Winner! In Oh So Many Ways.....

So, I have won a ridiculous amount of things in the past two weeks. AND, I've won all of them through blogging or twitter. Here is my list;

1. Tickets to Arsenic and Old Lace
2. A $25 gift card that I won by guessing a number between 1 and 1,000. I was the closest to the number, and was only 7 off! Gift card is from AZ Media Watch for Basha's (an Arizona grocery store).
3. An in home exhibit/installation for one month from awesome local photographer, Tyson Crosbie.
4. A bag of happy from Domestic Bliss.

I've been having a really hard time lately, with life in general.
I love blogging because it allows me to put my best, most shiny, happy face forward.
A sort of 'fake it 'till you make it' mentality.
It helps me to focus on the things that are GOOD and HEALTHY and FULFILLING.
So, I think the universe has recognized that I've been having a hard time and has been giving me prizes because it knows that presents make me happy. :)

So, thanks.

But, four things in two weeks?
That's a little excessive.
Let someone else have a turn!

I'm doing ok now.

:)

Awful

This is one of the saddest articles I've ever read.

So this 8 year old survives the dictatorial, dysfunctional rule of warlord Charles Taylor (now on trial at The Hague for crimes against humanity)........spends who-knows-how-many years in a refugee camp.......is placed in Phoenix.......and is RAPED by her peers.

Because she wanted some bubble gum. That's right, they lured her with bubble gum.

Then, her parents blame her for being victimized and disown her for bringing shame on the family.

She's now with Arizona CPS who, quite possibly, have one of the WORST reputations in the country for their ineptitude and corruption AND WHO'VE HAD THEIR BUDGETS CUT by such a large amount that they've had to eliminate substance abuse counseling for 'borderline' parents and have had to eliminate almost 200 positions in the agency (good call Gov. Brewer).

I felt the need to call CPS to see if there was ANYTHING the community could do for this poor little love. I just wanted to send her a blankie, or a friggin My Little Pony, or Ayaan Hirsi Ali's autobiography or something. The first person I spoke to had NO idea who I was referring to (this case has been ALL over the local and national media), the second person I spoke to transferred me, the third person said, "Uh, no, um, I don't think she needs anything."

I beg to differ.

Sorry for such a depressing post. Misery loves company.

Check it, yo.

Check out this cool lady from Liberia who was on the Colbert Report. I found her on Erin's really cool blog. Actually, just go to Erin's blog to read the info and watch the video. What a clever way to end war! Thanks.

Guess who....

Is coming home tomorrow?!?!?!?!?!?!?

JULIE KIEFER!!!!!!!!

YAAAAAAY!!!!

She left me to spend the 'summah' in Connecticut with the hubby (but really, who can blame her. Phoenix is ridiculously hot from months June-September AND her husband, Reedley, is super rad, def my fave husband of a friend ever) but now she's coming BACK to the hot hot hot Phoenix, Arizona!

HOORRRAY!!!!!!!

I could not be more thrilled.

My martini/shopping/gossiping/therapist/BUDDY is BACK.

Can't wait to see you friend. :)

kids jeopardy

Alex feels awkward......

Has anyone been watching Kids Week on Jeopardy?

It has been pretty intense, but I've been doing pretty well.

Here are my fave contestants so far.........

This is Zachary from Deer Park, NY.

He wants to be a musician or a drawer

and used the word 'incidentally' in his video bio on line.

He is super cute and chubs

and is very excited to be a Jeopardy contestant.

He plays 6 instruments.

This is Ethan from Austin, TX.

He wants to be the Chairman of the Federal Reserve when he grows up.

For real.

He is super skinny and his voice cracks a lot.

He thinks the best part about being a kid

is having a 35 hour work week (approximately)

as opposed to a 40 hour work week.

He also has a fear of round objects flying at his head.

This is Savannah from Charlotte, NC.

She is very confident and poised. I thinks he might take it all.

She sees herself in college in ten years. Me too Savannah.

This is Sophia from Newark, DE.

She thinks she's in the top five or so of her class, but she's not totally sure.

When the camera panned to her at the beginning of the show

she had a sassy little hand-on-the-hip-pose

that I'll definitely be using the next time I'm on Jeopardy.

ugly people

I went to Trader Joe's yesterday and I saw the UGLIEST woman in the next checkout stand. Mind you, I don't mean physically ugly, she was actually very average looking. Had she been dressed in a cute outfit with a blowout and a little makeup, she might even be considered attractive. However, she was so RUDE to her checker-outer-man! She kept arguing with the checker-outer-man about the price of her wine. She bought three bottles of the same wine, so the checker-outer-man rang the bottle up as 3@5.99. On the screen she was watching (the credit card swiping machine) the total for the bottles came up as $17.97. She FREAKED OUT! Yelling that her bottle of wine was $5.99, not $17.99. He tried to (calmly) explain that he'd wrung it up as 3 bottles at $5.99, hence the $17.99 price. Still wasn't enough. She argued with him the entire time I was in line (there were four people in front of me) and after she'd finally paid and received her receipt she was STILL arguing with him. I finished my transaction (no questioning the price of my 2 buck chuck) and left the store, being sure to give the checker-outer-man a 'great big brownie smile' and a little 'I know how you feel, you're doing a great job' WINK. ;)

I wanted to say, "There are enough ANGRY UGLY people in this world! LEAVE it to the professionals!!!!

We have Rush Limbaugh to be angry and ugly and spout outrageous comments......

..and random angry bachelor man who would get pissed for no apparent reason....

...and Perez who spreads ugly rumors and makes catty comments....

and SHREDDER! He is SO angry.....those turtle boys don't cut him no slack.

..and BritBrit when she takes too many pills and goes agro on a car using an umbrella after shaving her head......

(It's ok brit, I still heart you and always will)

...and we can't forget about Dr. Claw and his stupid cat....

...and Voldemort! He's SO ugly and mean....

..and don't even get me started on this guy! Actually, I secretly think that Voldemort and Dick Cheney are the same person. Shhhh, don't tell.

And this totally random super pissed baby I found when googling 'angry people' !!!!!

See rude Trader Joe's lady? There is enough ugly angry in the world. Be kind.

Shake Face

I'd like to introduce you to one of my FAVORITE games.

Only super cool people play.

It's called Shake Face.

I learned of Shake Face while hanging

out with our friend

(and mom's former employee)

Jocelyn.

Jocelyn and her friends are super fun.

If you go out with them, be sure to stretch your liver

& be prepared for an insanely fun night.

I try to introduce Shake Face to as many people as possible. I love that the point of the activity is to have the ugliest face ever. It takes a lot of the posing-pressure off that comes with traditional photographs.

Here's how you play;

1) let your hair down

2) completely relax your face

3) shake your face as hard and fast as you can

4) have someone take a photo

**you can do self portrait shake-face but it makes the photos blurry**

So here are some VINTAGE Shake Face pictures from Jocelyn's polka-dot birthday party at my mom's house.

Jocelyn and Kelsey

Jocelyn and Kelsey

Kelsey Solo

Jocelyn and Jeff

Jocelyn and Jeff

Group Shake

Group Shake Face Close Up

and some new shake face.....

Self Portrait Shake Face at the Cooper's Memorial Day get-together.

Julie and Taylor Shake Face

*I love having Julie as my AZBFF because she will do silly stuff like this with me*

Shake Face at Joe's

Self Portrait Shake Face

Joe Shake Face

Julie Shake Face

then there's cough face.......

...and obese face.....

......but I'll save those galleries for another blog post.

And just so you can see what non-shake face silly putty face Julie looks like......

Julie and Taylor (dance machines) at JuliAnna's bachelorette.

Now I want ALL of you to

SHOW

ME

YOUR

SHAKE!

Feeling Hot Hot Hot

Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew.

Moi

***I tried to be clever-er-er by adding photos to my answers, but they made the spacing kind of funky. LAME.

Alicia at It Aint Easy Being Cheesy tagged me for this fun blog that is all about ME.
Here are the rules:

1. Respond and rework; answer the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your invention, add one more question of your own.
2. Tag other people.Sounds simple enough, right?

What is your current obsession? Current obsessions are Kool Aid and popsicles. They're the only things that get me through these miserable Phoenix summers. Why did I move from Huntington Beach? Can someone please remind me? Thanks.

What are you wearing today? Bootcut jeans, a blueish dress that I've turned into a top (I'm too tall to wear it as a dress without being scandalous), zebra headband, zebra purse, black sandals.

What’s for dinner? LisaG Pizza night! Once a week Lisa makes the MOST delicious pizzas. My mom and I are going to have one. Hooray! It's also psychic night at LisaG. I hope psychic Joe has some good things to tell me.

What would you eat for your last meal? First course: Chicken d'Van with rice, my FAVORITE meal EVER. Second course: Haagen Dazs Ice Cream. Third Course: Creme Brulee. Fourth Course: Popcorn. I would wash it all down with Veuve Cliquot and Jordan Cabernet.

What are you listening to right now? Going back and forth between Conor Oberst and Ben Kweller.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? A beach in Bali.

Which language do you want to learn? Arabic. I really want to learn how to write it. I think it's the prettiest language on paper.

What do you love most about where you currently live? Eesh. I really don't like Phoenix that much. Sorry to say. :( I like that I own my condo (yay equity!) and I love that I'm super close to Julie's house. I'm learning to like it more and more. I love the Central Phoenix community.

What style is your current home decorated in? See for yourself! My living room is decorated in tans, reds and blacks. My bedroom is shabby chic to the max. I love distressed beachy furniture.

If you were a time traveler what era would you live in? It would be a difficult choice between the 20's and the late 19th century. I think flappers are so cool but was (am) obsessed with Little House on the Prairie. I would love to be Laura Ingalls Wilder's BFF. WE could braid each others hair, play with Jack (the dog), swoon over Almonzo (we call him Manny) and help Mary around because she is blind.

What is your favorite color? Pink. Pink. Pink.

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe? A pair of old navy sweats.

What were you doing ten years ago? Cruising around in Courtney's Jeep, top down, driving to San Onofre to go surfing with the Light House Crew, coming back in the evenings to sling fritters at the Shenandoah Cafe.

If you had $300 now, what would you spend it on? Clothes. Mine are looking very tattered lately. :(

What are you going to do after this? Hanging out with mom.

What are your favorite films?

The Philadelphia Story

How to Marry A Millionaire

You've Got Mail.

Your favorite books?

The Alchemist

Little Black Sambo

I also love ANYTHING written by Jen Lancaster.

Funniest.

Person.

I've.

Read.

EVER.

I think we're BFF soul mates. I want to star in the movie of her life so that we can drink massive amounts of wine and be snarky all day.

Do you collect anything? All of the women in my family collect Halcyon Days boxes.

What makes you follow a blog? I love blogs. I will follow if I like their posts, photos, art, or if I know the person for-the-reals. It's my favorite way to keep up on everyone's lives.

What was the most enjoyable thing you did today? Enjoyed a latte from Starbucks and ate a delicious fruit salad.

Ann's Question:What makes you comment on a blog? If I read something that I can relate to or add to?

Amy's Question:What is your favorite thing to do when you have some free time? I love reading. And floating in the pool, and reading while floating in the pool.

Annissa's Question:As you know I homeschool -- If you could would you? Do you agree with homeschooling? I don't agree or disagree with homeschooling. I think it totally depends on the school district you're in and how well you function as a teacher. I know that I couldn't do it, and I agree with Alicia that the social interaction at school is VERY important in developing social skills.

Tonya's Question:What is a talent you wished you had? I wish I could play the piano.

Kyooty's Question: If you could be any animal other than a human, what would you be? A dolphin!

Carrin's Question: Rush just told me that by 2042, white people will be the minority. Do you believe that? Would that be a big deal to you? I absolutely believe it, and I think it's a good thing. Let's mix it all up baby! I'm SO weary of labels based on gender, sexual preference, race, ethnicity. I think they're detrimental to democracy, society and life in general.

isabel's Question: Would you want your blog to be as popular as Dooce? What would be some of the pros and cons? Of course I would want my blog to be popular, how flattering would that be?! Spoken like a true narcissist. LOVE ME LOVE ME LOVE ME! Tell me I'm pretty and wanted and liked. :) <--- Pros. Cons- Pressure to write well and often.

Beth's Question: What made you start writing a blog in the first place? A lot of my married w/ kids friends started blogging and I always thought it was cute. I didn't feel like I really had much to share living the single life but THEN when I bought my condo last summer everyone back home in CA wanted to see what it looked like. That is when I decided to blog. Since then it has turned into my favorite place to vent and speak and share. I love that I can say what I want and people can read it, or not!

Alicia's Question: What fad do you wish was popular again? Hoop skirts a'la Gone With the Wind.

Taylor's Question: Which celebrity do people say you resemble most? Drew Barrymore and Anna Nicole Smith.

And I'm stealing my closing line from Alicia at It Aint Easy Being Cheesy -alicious:

Aren't you so glad you know all that about me now!

I bet you will sleep soooo much better tonight!

I'm passing this to Annie at Chapters of Our Life. Go do it!