Going Once, Going Twice....

I'm sure this will be of absolutely no interest to most of you in which case you'll want to out click asap.  But if by chance you are in the market for a totally rockin', out of this universe, stellar camera, you're going to want to stick around (gotta utilize the free advertising opportunities).  Because mine?  It's available.  I've had it for a little less than 2 years and not only has it never had a problem (canons rock like that), but it kinda turns me on.  Anyone who knows me knows that my camera is important to me.  Like more important to me than my children.  

It's a canon EOS 5D.  It's a full frame and has 12.8 megapixels among other noteworthy features.  If you need more info, just google it.  

It includes the camera body, battery, charger, memory card (2 gb) and original instruction manual.

Shut up.  I had to use the crappy camera to take pictures of the awesome camera.  

I'm asking $1250.00 OBO.

Any questions, e-mail me at annielewis@mac.com 

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, I Love Oregano

Thanks to the ever lingering inversion, I've been doing a bit of reorganizing around the house (heaven forbid we should actually inhale non-circulated air).   It feels good to de-clutter.  Maybe someday I'll regret chucking my old dance company costumes but for now, b-bye (I did keep the little pink, crushed velvet number just because.....crushed velvet).  However, about mid-way through my project I started to notice that I've got an astounding number of multiples of certain things.  Like:

-pencils

-duct tape

-nail polish remover

-apple scented tea light candles

-garlic bread sprinkle

-band aids (hello kitty and batman just to name a few)

-and oregano

The oregano.  Oh, Sweet Mother of Mercy, the oregano.  I guess when I'm at the grocery store having forgotten my list, oregano is the default item.  Our food storage is non-existent but it's good to know that in the event of a natural disaster we will be well manicured, fashionably bandaged, and we'll be free to do some aromatherapy with our candles.  The light by which we will feast on our spices.  If we actually had a lighter.  Or even two rather abrasive sticks.  

Oh.  And then there was this:

I was making cookies (I needed a break from organizing all my super-useful household items) when I realized that there were no chocolate chips.  Actually no, there WERE some because I bought some on Thursday.  But they had mysteriously disappeared since then.  

me: Hey, where are the chocolate chips I bought yesterday?

griff:  I dunno.

me: Eliot, do you know where those chocolate chips are that I bought yesterday?

eliot:  Uhhhhhh, No?

me:  El, look at me and tell me the truth.  Do you know where they are?

eliot:  Mom, no.  Geeze!

me:  Eliot, you and neighbor kid were upstairs for a long time yesterday (which NEVER happens unless there's trouble).  What's that bruise on your face?  Come-eer.  UH!  That's chocolate!  Wherearetheyyoutellmerightnowori'llsmackyourass!

eliot:  O-KAAAAYYYY (going up the stairs, stomp stomp stomp) GEEEZZZZZE!

eliot:  (walks back into the kitchen with chocolate chip bag filled and I mean filled with money)  Here mom.

me:  What the hell?  You ate ALL of them?  And where on earth did this money come from?

eliot:  Neighbor kid gave it to me.

me:  Neighbor kid gave it to you?

eliot:  Well no. We traded.

me:  What did you trade him for FIFTY dollars?

eliot:  Marbles.

The little chump stole and consumed an entire bag of chocolate chips and then used the empty bag to house the fifty bucks he conned off the kid next door.  Under normal circumstances one might be concerned about this type of behavior.  But me?  Eh, don't care. This is Eliot we're talking about people.  And I could tell you stories about him that would make this one seem like humanitarian aid.   

Count Your Losses

Things I've lost:

> My wallet

> Other people's pictures.  Several times.  Recently.

> My temper

> My kids (although security at Fashion Place Mall passed that test with flying colors)

> Chapstick (over and over and over again)

> Sleep (on a nightly basis)

> My desire to watch Greys Anatomy (icicle breaks loose falling directly into Yang's gut at the exact moment she happens to slip on the ice landing belly up........What. Evar!)

> My composure 

> Every race I've entered.  Ever.

> Sunglasses (always the hot ones, always)

> My jury duty notice (tee-hee)

> Bladder control (ahh ahh ahh-CHOOOOO! - bless me.  And pass the Depends)

> This game on Saturday night (the fake smile on my face should be all the explanation you need)

*Except that I still think Daniel and Ryan cheated.  And maybe Natalie too.

*Never mind that Ryan's head is seemingly over inflated and completely blinding in this picture (that's what happens when you put the camera in the hands of your 7 year old at 10:30 pm......or anytime, really). 

> My kid's tooth

> My neighbor's kid's tooth (I'm not really for the whole crazy little winged woman who carries unlimited amounts of cash and stashes molars thing anyway.....obviously)

> The bottoms to my favorite swimming suit (there was a wave runner, a tube, and me hanging too far off the back) (and did I mention the profanities?)

What have you lost?

I Mean, What I Meant Was........

Did you ever have that day where you were taking pictures for someone (a rather important, middle-aged, female someone) and you were at the point where she was all posed, ready to shoot and you told her to "bring your chin down just a little bit" and she replied "oh dear, that makes my jowls more noticeable", but because you were preoccupied and didn't quite catch what she said, you responded (and I quote), "no no, they look cute"?  But you proceeded to take picture after picture, snapping away until about 3 minutes later when the "jowls" comment finally entered the grey matter?  And then, you were so obsessed with trying to come up with compliments to counteract your unintentional insult that your pitters seeped down to your waistline?  And when she was leaving, you did that weird thing where instead of just saying "take care" or "see ya later" you kinda combined those two phrases in a sort of slurred fashion and said "take-ck-she-later"?  Did you ever have that day?

Yeah?

Me too.

It's a Girl Thaaang

Everyone meet my girls (my friends, not my rack).  The plethera of boxes in my basement threatened to swallow me whole before I could find an old picture that accurately represented the entire group (there are a few missing), but you get the gist of it.  These are my high school sweethearts.  Most of them I even went to jr. high with.  Actually, most of them I went to elementary with too.  And a few of them I've known since the day I was born.  

Except that now days, they look more like this (again, a few were m.i.a. when this was taken and please pay no attention to the midget wearing polka-dots standing in the front row)...

They've moved on from soccer players to soccer moms, from cheerleaders to business executives, and from sterling scholars to college graduates.  But it seems like nothing has changed at all.  We're spread across the country, the world even (we lost one to Germany - freekin' husband that works for the department of defense) and don't see each other very often anymore but when we finally re-unite, it's like we haven't missed a beat.  And at this point in my life these friendships are invaluable to me.  They are true.  They are without guile.  They have stood the test of time. 

And y'all thought I wasn't sappy.......