gamany’s Neighbors

Illustration Friday: enough

nobody@vox.com(SnuggleMuffin) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:55:55 -0400

I couldn't decide who should be eating such an obscene amount of ice cream (it is national ice cream month, don't you know?), so went for little girl and hairy monster because I'm fond of drawing both. You can decide which you prefer. These were done with acrylic paint, black ink and some brown pencil.

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In The Cocktail Lounge: 3rd Chemo Treatment Completed

nobody@vox.com(Hopluv) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:52:43 -0400

Voluntary poisoning at it's finest.

Me on my work laptop (not working) maxin and relaxin in the Chemo Lounge:

Kickin Back During Chemotherapy

Voxing During Chemotherapy

I've reached the middle ground, 3 of the 6 treatments completed today!
3 weeks following the 6th treatment I start radiation therapy - everyday for 6 weeks. Blahs!
Met with Dr. M., my Oncologist before chemo today. She said my CBC (Complete Blood Count) looked great and my limited number of side effects was very positive! At this point with the exception of increasing fatigue, I shouldn't experience any new side effects.
My blood pressure has been increasingly high, something she is very concern with. I have had a problem with high blood pressure before the Breast Cancer diagnosis and at one point was on medication. She said we have to get it under control quick fast and in a hurry!
C, T and my brother came to treatment with me today, thanks family!
I will try hard to have an enjoyable weekend, before the after effects of treatment kick in around Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.
Next chemotherapy treatment August 8th, yeah-boo-hiss!

Other non-cancer related ramblins...

The "Air" is doing great, still loving it! The Steve Sleeve showed up, I don't like it as much as I thought I would. Definitely not worth the 50 clams I paid for it. Probably will be replaced PDQ (pretty, damn, quick).
T got all four wisdom teeth removed on Monday. Monday was the toughest due to all the bleeding, she had a lot of soreness but experience no pain - mainly because I kept her loaded up on the pain meds they prescribed - Vicodin. She has a little swelling looking rather "chipmunkish." She insisted upon going with me to treatment today even though I suspected she didn't feel totally up to it - which she confirmed this evening. The worst of it is over and overall I think she feels pretty good. It was actually kind of weird, I enjoyed babying my 19 year old daughter the last few days! It made me feel good :)
T told me today she plans to take real estate classes early next year and then take the licensing exam to become a Realtor. The plan is to partner with me to sell homes next summer. How cool is that?! I've had my license since 2003 - although I have a full time job I like to sell homes on the side!
I had doubts, but I'm really enjoying the Wendy Williams Show! How yooooou doooin? The show debuted on Monday of this week, for a 6 week run in a few selected markets - New York, Detriot, Dallas and Los Angeles.
Went to Urban Taco for dinner tonight following my brother's recommendation. Didn't like it! Everything was blan and I felt it was overpriced too. $9.25 for 3 tiny tacos, don't think so. I called him afterward and told him, I didn't care for it. This place puts them to shame - Tin Star. The tacos at Tin Star are flavorful and much larger and much cheaper!
The local Smart Car dealer called me this afternoon to tell my triple black Smart ForTwo Passion Coupe will be here Aug 14th! She wanted to know if I was still interested in it. Of course I am! I reserved this car back May 2007, so its been a long wait. It will be a second car for me as I purchased a new car the end of May this year - AKA "Benzie" which I really love! The Smart Car is something cute, fun and gas efficient to possibly add to the household.
My Smart ForTwo

Here are the specs:


fortwo passion coupe, 1.0 L, 70 HP, 3 cylinder engine


Base price		$ 13,590.00

body panels in deep black		N/C

tridion safety cell, black		N/C

Black leather seats

Standard equipment

Engine/drivetrain

1.0 L, 70 HP, 3 cylinder engine

5 speed automated manual transmission

Paddle shifters

Wheels

9-spokes alloy wheels (15") with front tires: 155/60 R15; rear tires 175/55 R15

Tire pressure control system

Exterior

body panels in deep black

Panorama roof (sun screen included)

Projector beam halogen headlights

Side indicators in yellow

Exterior mirror cap in tridion color

Interior

3-spoke leather sports steering wheel with steering wheel shift paddles (incl. leather gear knob)

Basic seat with weight detection and seatbelt recognition

Flat folding passenger seat with backrest adjustment

Storage areas beside the steering wheel and in both doors

Coin holder

Dome light

Mirror in passenger sun visor

Storage

Lockable glove compartment

Audio

smart radio (AM/FM, single CD; incl. 2 speakers, Aux input jack for MP3 device)

Safety

Hydraulic dual-circuit brake system

Tire repair kit

Top Tether for child restraint system

Panic button on key

esp - electronic stability program with hill start assist

Anti-lock braking system (abs) with electronic brake force distribution

Full-size driver and passenger airbags

Head/Thorax-Side Airbags

Integral safety seats

Seat belts with belt tensioner and belt-force limiter

Drive lock - auto-activation of the central locking when driving

Functional/electrical equipment

Air conditioning with automatic temperature control (incl. dust, pollen filter)

Power windows with one-touch lowering function

Electronic and heated side mirrors

Central locking system with remote control

Instrument cluster with multifunctional display (fuel-level indicator, coolant-level indicator, residual fuel indicator, service interval indicator, trip mileage indicator, clock)

Outside temperature indicator

Indicators with lane changer function

Front windshield wiper with speed-dependent interval wiping and wiper-/wash function

Intermittent rear windshield wiper with wiper-/wash function

Electric rear window defroster

Electric tailgate release

Locking gas cap

12-volt socket, with cover

Special equipment

Comfort Package - includes the following features		$ 850.00

Black leather seats

Heated seats

Electric power steering (eps)

Rain sensing windshield wipers

Light sensor (autolight)

Auto-off headlamps with exit delay

Total price[*]:

$ 14,440.00

I will probably go test drive one next week. If I don't simply love it, I will leave it!

Nuff said, enjoy your weekend!

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If you like Cartoon Network...

nobody@vox.com(Kat the Acrobat) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:03:49 -0400

Powerpuff Girls Manga

Since we're probably not going to see a Snoopy Manga anytime soon, I figured I might as plug Bleedman's Powerpuff Girls Doujinshi...you'll never look at Cartoon Network characters the same ever again! There are cameo appearances of favorite characters like the RowdyRuff Boys, Billy and Mandy, Ed, Edd, and Eddie, Jenny (My life as a Teenage Robot), and more!

Bleedman gives the characters complex personalities, draws with so much detail, and incorporates this all with a great mix of his own characters.

He also writes two other comics - one is based on The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, the other is purely all of Bleedman Designs. Check out his comics though the links below!

Powerpuff Girls Doujinshi

Grim Tales from Down Below

Sugar Bits

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Girl's Day Out

nobody@vox.com(java janie) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:29:25 -0400

Sophie and I got a girl's day out today. Victoria had a slumber party and Josiah went to Six Flags with his bestest friend in the whole wide world.

I had to track down a movie theatre in the area that was still playing the American Girl Doll movie. Seems it got bumped from a bunch of theatres because of The Dark Knight. I had been promising her all week we would go. Most of the showings were too early. I finally found one in Annapolis that was showing at 4:10pm.

I got everyone else to where they were going and we headed out. I was super excited because there is an Amish market AND a Whole Foods in the same shopping center. I needed more truffles (Yes, I finished off the box I bought Monday night, but in my defense I shared with the kids, my mom, my sister in law, and broke them out on TV Thursday.) and wanted to grab some creme fraiche since no local store sells it.

The movie was good, but a bit of a tear jerker. Not once, not twice, but like 5 times at least. The Great Depression was definitely depressing. The cool thing was almost every group that came in consisted of a mom, some kids, and a great grandma (at least, I'm assuming it was a great grandma, they all looked like my Mom-Mom). There was even an elderly couple by themselves. I couldn't help but think that my Mom-Mom would've enjoyed it, considering she lived through the Great Depression herself.

After the movie we hit up Whole Foods. I bought my truffles and creme fraiche. I also picked up some cute grocery bags that were made from recycled plastic bottles. I love me some reusable bags. I hate plastic grocery bags with a vengence. They always seem to multiply and it's gotten to the point that I feel horribly guilty throwing them away knowing they are just going to sit in a landfill somewhere. The hardest thing is making sure I remember to take my bags into the grocery store when I shop.

On the way home, Sophie was dropping hints about going to dinner at Sakura, a Japanese hibachi restaurant. I was trying to steer her toward a local Korean restaurant, even reminding her that Jon and Kate Plus 8 just made Korean food. She could have some just like they made. She wasn't buying it though.

Steve got home shortly after us, and was like, let's go to Sakura, without Soph ever saying a word. Needless to say, she was thrilled. She was also thrilled to find she is too old for the kid's menu, so she got an adult portion. Nothing like a good dinner and enough leftovers for lunch the next day. Knowing Sophie, she may just break it out for breakfast.

So, anyway, I'm rambling. Soph's in bed, so Steve and I are going to curl up and watch a movie.

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Homegrown

nobody@vox.com(Janette) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:34:11 -0400

I post this rather sheepishly because I know it's not extraordinary to grow tomatoes. I've read they're some of the easiest vegetables to grow. But, for me the following photo does show a gardening feat (as I tend to kill anything green)...or at least vast improvement from where I was in garden cultivation a couple years ago.

Homegrown tomatoes!

They taste amazing. Which is definitely worth the little bit of work it takes. Also, in the age of the salmonella scare the peace of mind knowing these were grown in my backyard helps.

I will definitely be growing more of these babies in subsequent years. Now if only I could move to a new residence with a little more land...

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Eddie Izzard's show

nobody@vox.com(Deborah) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:32:40 -0400

Eddieizzardshow

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Bachelorette party tonight :) This

nobody@vox.com(Nikki) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:14:10 -0400

Bachelorette party tonight :)

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

0718081712.jpg

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[220]: the sirens will always pull you to shipwrecks

nobody@vox.com(brick & sailor) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:28:26 -0400

he drinks all the juice
and says
he won't be back for a few days
and she can't tell
if that breaking
is from abandonment
or jealousy.

the empty vase on the counter
whispers
and she's still figuring out
if she just can't hear
or if she just not listening.

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Quote of the day

nobody@vox.com(Red Pen) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:26:50 -0400

"We're borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that's got to change."

–Al Gore

link: video/text of speech

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Ready for work!

nobody@vox.com(Abject) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:19:45 -0400

photo.jpg

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