my road-trip mix tape

ol' 55 by sarah maclachlan

rock me amadeus by falco

could you be loved by bob marley

how I'd spend $1,000

1) a better camera

or

2) a 1T external hard drive

or

3) another ipod

then, as a result of #3

4) more itunes stuff

if I had easy access to a helicopter, I'd fly to chicago this weekend

it's the only place close enough of interest. we'd do all the usual touristy type stuff: navy pier, shedd aquarium, lincoln park zoo, frank lloyd wright's houses, the field museum, sears tower, etc. and, of course, i can't forget my three favorite stores - anthropologie, ikea and sephora. then we'd let out the inner barbarian at the medieval times.

we're outta here!

it finally happened.  our cats have jumped ship.  i woke up this morning to find a "dear john" letter on the litter box.  apparently our decision to not take them with us to florida was the straw that broke the camel's back.  they opted for a romantic winter getaway at a resort/sculpture garden in ada, michigan.  the place must have every amenity (or at least wi-fi, breakfast buffet, karate lessons, spa services and karaoke night) as i found these in my inbox:

i'm beginning to think that we got the raw end of the vacation deal. hope you guys have lots of fun.  party like a rock star.  i just don't want to get any bills for trashed hotel rooms.

testing mom's limits...

this is what happens when you tell a 3-year-old "hurry up and get dressed, otherwise i'll leave you home with dad".  yep, that would be a t-shirt around his waist and pants on his head.

wit and wisdom of youth...

this also falls under the category of "woo-hoo!  dad's in charge!"

mom:  "what is this?"

sophie:  "tiger boy."

mom:  "who did this?"

sophie:  "laura."

mom:  "who is laura?"

sophie:  "laura is in trouble."

yes, laura, you are in trouble!

random quote...

"some people never go crazy. what truly horrible lives they must lead."

-henry chinaski in barfly

"i'd hate to be you if i were me."

-eddie in barfly

"i remember ordering a draught, barkeep.  what, are you out of brew, or has that lobotomy finally taken hold?"

-henry chinaski in barfly

artistic expression...

little girl carrying a bag of treats to her grandma

sophie, age 5

this creation is inspired by the movie hoodwinked (a twisted whodunit take on little red riding hood).  i especially love how the big bad wolf's character pays homage to chevy chase's "fletch".  that, along with red's sarcasm and granny's love of x-treme sports, makes for an awesome adventure.  awesome purple pigtails, soph.

confessions...

if you ask my husband, he'll emphatically proclaim "kim hates westerns".  and that would be about 99.99% accurate.  but, i must admit, during my late-night channel surfing sessions i have found myself pausing on (and subsequently enjoying) the following movies:

the magnificent seven

a fist full of dollars

the good, the bad and the ugly

westworld (yeah, yeah i know "technically" it is sci-fi)

but i still can't get into the unforgiven.

shhhh!  whatever you do, don't tell orhan.  he'll never let me live this down.  he already makes me watch shalako everytime it's on.

the tao of bumper stickers...