Apparently, I ain't ugly

First off, I have bad news about the mango pyramid. RiteAid f*cked up my order and printed doubles but failed to provide the photo disc and black and whites that I PAID for. I'm hopeful that they will fix the error when I pop in today - but this is RiteAid -- they can't even spell their own name so I'm sure that customer service is NOT their number one priority.

Secondly, it's a fact that summer is in full swing. I am booked solid every weekend now until August (which is only 4 weeks away.) I love summer, especially in Seattle where it's not to damn hot and the dress code is casual anyway. I spent a happy 4th of July weekend frolicking in the waters of Puget Sound near Port Gamble. PG is a cute little community which consists of 15 restored houses circa 1802, a cemetery (with a stunning view of hood canal) and the oldest operating wood mill in the United States. It is very reminiscent of Oysterville, WA - but the houses have been converted in to bookstores, spas, cafes, and stores specializing in handmade items. Oysterville - for the uninitiated is a quaint town on the Long Beach (WA) peninsula of privately owned historic homes. It's lovely - but the only thing you're going find to eat will be out of your picnic basket.

Anywho... spending the extended weekend with friends at their cabin was a great way to unwind. The weather was amazing and we spent at least 3 hours each day in the bay and enjoyed many hours on the deck. At night the B&B across the bay had a fireworks show each night which was lovely. We managed to see the Kingston 4th of July parade or most of it until Collin the 2 1/2 year old child of my friends had a melt down and we ducked into McD's for chicken nuggets.

Collin is a surprisingly pleasant child, who speaks French (or one particular phrase over and over and over) but get this he sleeps until 9 am. No shit - the kid goes to bed at like 7:30 or 8 and sleeps until 9. I tried to tell my girlfriend how lucky she was but words can not describe the joy of waking up day after day because you're done sleeping - not because the alarm has jolted you awake, or that mommies little angel gets up with the sun at 4:30 am. For those of you with angels of your own, who get up at 6am I think it is ok to have just a little spite in your heart for Collin's parents. They do know that every 9am day is a blessing and the rest of their lives are so bleak and dark that you really can't hate them.

I need to give a shout out to my parents who celebrated their bagillionth anniversary this weekend. I'm about to turn 37 (Christ almighty) which means (do the math....) they celebrated their 38th anniversary. That is a long damn time to put up with each other and they do it very well.

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad. I loves ya!

Lastly, a belated note regarding a movie that Yasmine brought to movie night at her house. The Machinist staring Batman Begins Christian Bale. I'm not a suspense movie gal - I have a hard time when things like the refrigerator start to bleed - but this movie was pretty good. It was twisty and confusing and fun like Memento was fun. I don't like bleeding appliances, but I like having to think and figure out what's going on and I dig imagery clues - which is I think why I love LOST!

Yaz is funny in the way she consumes movies - she will see everything by an actor rather than bend to the whim of the media wind. Clearly, she's on a Christian Bale tare at the moment. WWW.netflix.com is perfect for those of you who like to see everything by an actor. It's how I came to see Girl with the Pearl Earring. I love Mr. Darcy -- oops he probably prefers to go by his given name Collin Firth or as I refer to him in my dreams - Mr. TP gal.

HUGE NEWS (for me anyway) my boss finally (after 2 years of begging) approved a job requisition and I'm getting a minion!!! Happy dance in my office in 2 minutes! I'm sure there will be plenty to blog about once the minion comes online. (I hope not to call the minion - minion to their face - but we'll see how that goes.)

I'm off to Las Vegas this weekend for a batchelorette party - I'm sure there will be fun tales if we survive. The pre-party last Friday was fun - but it was a plastic penis straw kind of event. I'm not a plastic penis straw kind of gal. After dinner we went to a dance club called Larry's. I haven't been out to a club club in ages - all my people are married. I expected to spend the evening dancing with the girlfriends but not so. Larry's caters to the urban male (hip hop music, go go dancers) and some of the urban males have a hankerin for the larger ladies. (I don't think I'm revealing too much when I say that I am not a barbie.) I was pinched, winked at, asked to dance, and had a bouncer bump into me and say:

"If you EVER bump me like that again..." leaning in and close "it would be ok by me baby." Uh, thank you Mr. 7 foot tall bouncer man.

The bride to be bestowed upon me the "biggest flirt" award. Frankly, the whole night was outside my comfort zone, I'm not use to being seen that way. One nice man asked me why I didn't have a boyfriend "you ain't ugly" he told me. I was at a loss as to how to respond. "I don't know, I'm looking for a man who wouldn't say to a woman, you aint ugly as a come on." Also, I'm not looking just to 'hook up' (that means just have sex Mom) no offense to those of you who can and do hook up, I'm looking for more and I don't think it's too much to hope for -- after all I ain't ugly.